Your faith walks on broken glass & the hangover doesn't pass, nothing's ever built to last [W6, Fri]

[hydrokinetics]

[He thinks of where she could be not long after he receives his letter from Hannibal. He remembers something Natalie told him not long ago, about how she and Jason came here once to drink away their sorrows and he finds it funny even now.

It's the only bit of humor he has left.

It's with this in mind that he enters the church quietly and shuts the door silently behind him. Churches are fake, he thinks, too boxed in and too reliant on only one god. Then again, it's not like the gods have ever helped him here, have they? And they won't help now.

Percy's spoken to Natalie before about losing friends. And his heart sinks as he realizes just how true those words are.]

...Natalie?

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[hydrokinetics]

[He's patient as he lets her tell her story. He had suspected the first part given what Natalie's already told him, but it's the rest that's a little heartbreaking.

No wonder. It's no wonder now why Natalie had tried so hard to push people away. It's no wonder Natalie didn't believe in making friends or connections. How could you rely on strangers to become your friends when your own family refused to acknowledge you?

You can't replace people. So…to hear her say that Jason, Xion and himself changed that is a relief. He knows how badly people can mess up when they're ignored and alone. He never wanted that for her from the day they met. Another arm goes around her shoulders for another hug because…what can you even say to that? She's not invisible. She's here.]

It will. I promise. [He rests his face in her shoulder for a moment.] You have become one of the most important people to me. And…I've met guys who tried to destroy the world because their parents neglected them. You chose to try for the better. I want you to be proud of yourself for everything.

[A pause.] And thank you for telling me. I know that kind of thing isn't easy, but you've gotta know you won't be left behind. Not by me, not by Jason, and not by Xion. Never. [A nod.] We'll go together, with Annabeth, and…it'll be perfect. [Or as perfect as he can daydream. But it must be said.]

[robitussin]

[What a strange feeling, she thinks, to have someone tell her she should be proud of herself. Of course, she can't recall if that has ever happened before. It makes her feel strange, like an impostor in her own skin, but... Maybe she can grow to deserve it.

She certainly doesn't feel like she deserves it now, when the memory of Hannibal's broken and bleeding body set before her is still fresh in her mind. But it's almost funny, how this keeps happening. Jason comforting her by the lake after that happened to Seizaburo, Xion telling her she has nothing to apologize for - all of it makes her wonder if there's fundamentally worthwhile about herself that she's been messing.

What a wonderful thing to think about, and what an awful time to be thinking about it. That would be the way it goes, wouldn't it? Her smile grows a little bitter, but no less genuine. She feels his face resting on her shoulder.

He is here with her, and soon Jason will be too, and that will be enough.]

Yeah. It'll be awesome, no doubt.

[Something to pull her through tomorrow, no matter what happens.]

[hydrokinetics]

[There's a nod and he finally pulls back to make things a little less...this. He dreads tomorrow, but he hopes those words will help her enough. They're important. She's important.]

Until then...wanna go find Jason? Or let him find us?