When you lose something you can't replace, when you love someone, but it goes to waste [W7, Tuesday]

[hydrokinetics]

[He lets Jason rest. He doesn't know if Jason's even asleep or in that familiar pocket Percy's found, the one that feels like dreaming but it could never be a dream. A dream would be a kinder reality. This is just a suspension of time.

He lets Jason rest, but whenever Jason emerges from his mountain of blankets and his sleepless rest, he'll find there's something on the bedside table. It's a plate of toast that looks like Percy held them in the fireplace, along with a glass of juice. The toast is cold by now and the juice is warm, no telling how long it's been there. Percy's been up for a while.

When Jason looks, though, he'll find that Percy's standing with his back toward him and a pen in-hand. There are papers tacked up all over the wall, and a pen in his hand as he draws. It's messy and not exactly artistic talent, but it's clear that it's a city skyline. There's a large building hundreds of stories high. There's the curl of the ocean. There's a large pine tree.

And there's Percy staring at it all. He turns his head to lean down and grab a bottle of juice by his feet, stopping when he sees that Jason's eyes are open. He tilts his head and offers a half-smile.]

Morning. Or afternoon. Not really sure which it is.

Comments

[impulsiveness]

[Jason is so tired.

He's done little more than sleep since Percy convinced him to return to his room, only leaving once or twice and only for brief periods of time. The plate of toast will go untouched for now, as Jason blearily stares at the changes in the room, though he'll definitely be taking a few, careful sips from the juice. They're all slow and measured, his face pinching with the effort it takes to swallow anything down nowadays.

Percy will get a brief nod, though he'll have to forgive him for not returning the smile. Good mornoon, Percy. What a fine day to be alive, huh? Maybe. Probably. There is so much more room to stretch with thirty two of their own dead, at least. Goodness. Gesturing at the papers, however, he furrows his brows at him.

The question is more or less clear. What is Percy doing?]

[hydrokinetics]

[He looks back at the Empire State Building he's drawn, quirking an eyebrow and shrugging a little in response.]

Nothing else to do. I don't know how to draw so I'm doodling mostly, but...just thinking, I guess. [He moves in to add some details now, little windows and doors.] Counting the time I've been here, it's been almost ten months since I've been home. I'm really starting to miss it. Is that lame?

[impulsiveness]

["Home." The word alone causes something cold and awful to squeeze at Jason chest, much like nostalgia but somehow worse. He misses his home, too, so maybe he understands how Percy is feeling. But his measly two months don't really compare to ten, do they?

His question earns him a shake of his head from Jason, followed by him placing the cup down to rummage around for something to write on. Once that's done, he scribbles something down to show to Percy once he's done adding some more detail.]

Not lame. Being homesick's normal.
You're from Manhattan?

[MAYBE IF YOU ASKED MORE ABOUT PEOPLE'S PERSONAL LIVES, JASON TODD. But, no. He's never asked because he dislikes having his personal life pried into, with Batman and Bruce and nasty things in general.]

[hydrokinetics]

[There's another grin because yeah. Homesickness is normal. It's just more intense now that he remembers he has a home. He lets Jason do as he pleases though he's more attentive now that he's realizing the other boy's going to engage in conversation. He's working on the wall but keeping his head partially turned to see him.]

Yup. I've lived there pretty much my whole life. [Mm...] I've got a lot waiting for me there whenever I can go back. It'll be another couple of weeks even after we leave this place.

...are you from Gotham, too?

[impulsiveness]

["Engaging" makes it sound like he's not still swaddled in blankets, eyes drooping a bit like he's ready to curl back up at any given moment. But, yeah. For now, he's making an effort to exist here.]

Sounds busy, but nice. Bet someone's going to hug the shit out of you when you make it back. [Because it's Percy and why would nobody welcome Percy back like that? He's a protag, even in Jason's mind.

The "too" at the end of that sentence makes him look confused for a second, but then he remembers—]

Yes. You've been talking to Damian.

[hydrokinetics]

More like I've been listening to Damian. Sometimes the kid just talks and I don't think he realizes what all he's saying to me. [A wry grin.] He didn't tell me what Gotham was like though. I just assume it's a city like New York.

[But his grin fades a little and he nods. Yeah. Someone probably will hug the shit out of him.]

I was kidnapped in December. It's the middle of July now back home and I haven't seen my mom since then. I was only supposed to be gone for a few days so...yeah. She probably will. [Implying he won't hug her first, honestly.]

[impulsiveness]

[There's a soft sigh here. Perhaps it would have been a laugh in another timeline, but... well. He shakes his head, lips twitching upwards but not much else. To what Percy says about Damian, Jason writes:]

Close enough. Maybe if New York had a trashy younger sister.

[Because Gotham is a pile of shit. Jason won't even pretend, even if he would never give up on it.]

"Kidnapped." [P...ERCY???] Are you telling me you've gotten kidnapped twice in a row now

[hydrokinetics]

[It's definitely a start. He'll take it and in place of Jason's response there's a laugh of his own.]

Pretty sure they call that Brooklyn. No wonder you're both from a line of vigilantes.

[But he nods anyway.] That's pretty much it, yeah. Kidnapped in December, woke up in April with absolutely no idea who I was or anything about my life. At least when I woke up on the train I knew what was going on before then.

[impulsiveness]

["A line of vigilantes." That makes him wonder what, exactly, Damian had been speaking to Percy about. For all his fighting and hollering about not wearing the uniform on that very first week, he sure got pretty comfortable around Percy Jackson.]

He shouldn't have told you that.

[At least he doesn't have the energy to get worked up about it, other than worrying slightly about how easy it'd be to link Bruce Wayne to Damian Wayne, who introduced himself as Robin. But regardless—]

You have crummy luck, dude. [UNDERSTATEMENT.] Your mom's going to ground you until you're 30 so you can't get kidnapped again.

[hydrokinetics]

I know. There's probably a lot that Damian's mentioned to me that he shouldn't have told me. But seriously, don't worry about it. The only person I'm even telling is you since...you know. [They're technically brothers in a weird timeline shenanigans sort of way. But instead he's now starting to draw something else on the wall. It looks like a cabin of some kind.]

It wasn't luck, it was Hera being a bitch. [He doesn't seem to have remorse for that, especially since Hera probably can't hear him.] I called and left my mom and Paul a voicemail, but there's no way for them to call me back. I should probably check in again and let her know I'll be home a little later than I thought. [There's a low chuckle.] My mom's also used to pretty weird things happening with me anyway.

[impulsiveness]

More worried about who else HE might have told.

[But... there's nothing to be done about that. Thanks, Damian? Dad would not be proud of the blood son on this occasion, no.]

Hera and Perseus. [If Percy didn't know by now, then. Yeah. Jason was close enough to the execution to hear.] If you're trying to star in your own Greek tragedy, I strongly suggest against it.

[........... too bad Friday happened, huh.]

[hydrokinetics]

...trust him a little, Jason. Damian only told me when I asked the right questions and gave him a reason to trust I wouldn't spread the information. I really doubt it spread that far from him. He's pretty cagey for being a kid.

[But there's a lopsided smirk.] I think I'm a little late for that if you really want to know. But I mean...Perseus is one of the heroes who actually got a happyish ending. My mom named me after him because she was hoping I would, too, despite everything. Seems to be working okay so far.

[impulsiveness]

Trust gets you murdered.

[It could be taken to mean something related to Whole Ass. Percy wouldn't be entirely wrong in assuming that, or that it's a jab against him, but — well. Ethiopia sure did happen to Jason Todd.]

So far. Until it stops working okay and you're dead for real. [Pessimism is fun.] If you make it home, will you go back to your mom right away? Say yes or those toasts are getting used as projectiles.

[hydrokinetics]

I know, Jason. [The tone suggests a heaviness that Percy usually doesn't reveal. It's in the pull of his mouth away from a smile to something more heartbroken, it's in the weight of his hand writing on the wall, the bow of his shoulders and the downcast of his eyes. Trust gets people murdered...but it's too hard to go without trusting people anyway.

He doesn't look at Jason for the next part after he reads it.]

They predicted I'd live to see sixteen. That's longer than most people like me. And...I can't say yes so I hope you've got good aim. [His voice sounds a little more than tired.] I have to get back to finish closing the Doors so that we can stop Gaea for good. After that...a few weeks after that when we win, I can go home.

[impulsiveness]

[Well.

The toast does get tossed his way, but it's more of a halfhearted attempt than anything meant to punish him for being an idiot. At best, it hits Percy on the shoulder and harmlessly falls to the ground, all while Jason sinks down a little more in the bed.

That took more energy than he actually had.]

And if you don't win? You'll never go home. Your mom will never see you again. You keep saying "when," but there's no guarantee.

[hydrokinetics]

[It'd be laughable if Percy wasn't serious. The toast bounces harmlessly and he looks at Jason again, knowing there's a reaction.]

If we don't win, there won't be a home to go to. We're the only ones who can do this, so even if there's no guarantee I have to make it a guarantee. We have to take out the giants and Gaea's army, and Gaea, before August 1st.

[There's a pause. And then, his tone shifts more like he's reciting something.]

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire, the world must fall, an oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

That's where Annabeth and I were before we came here. The other side of the Doors of Death in Tartarus. There's no guarantee, but I can't stop. I can't go home until I make sure my home, my family, and my world will be safe.

[impulsiveness]

[Destiny bullshit. Of course it's destiny bullshit. He remembers that first meeting with Percy, back when Harry and Natalie were alive and they all thought they could find a way around this mess. Percy had mentioned something similar, hadn't he?

And then, when Natalie spoke of how the Sheriff has known the winner of this game all along—

He's so tired of things being predetermined.]

Your world is fucked up.

[Says the boy who will, one day, mysteriously dig his way out of his grave only to be eventually turned into a guided nuke against his father.]

If you don't make it back, I'll find you and drag you home myself. You have to survive, Percy.

[That kind of applies to here, too.]

[hydrokinetics]

[He wonders now if Jason understands or believes him. It'd be funny if the end weren't over the horizon. He doesn't know what to do about that now though, so instead:]

You can probably thank my dad and his side of the family for that.

[The Olympians sure are fucked up. He doesn't know what's waiting for Jason, especially if Jason's dead. He pauses for only a brief moment in between his first response and his new one but he makes the transition as smooth as possible.]

I don't go down that easily. Like I said, I beat the odds and lived to see my sixteenth birthday after finishing the Titan war. This is just one more thing and I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure the best outcome happens. [This, too, applies to here and there.] But...I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Going home. Have you thought about it much?