Ten Realities and My Trusty Fork

Was it black? Maybe it was more of a dark gray. He blinked a few times- or tried to- but couldn’t settle the internal argument. He wasn’t sure how to exactly describe the darkness anymore. It was dark. It was black. It was quiet and boring.

And then the world appears like it always had, yadda yadda, whatever. Been there, done that. He was settled in what was pretty much the most pitiful living space he’d ever seen.

The apartment he was in was tiny. It would’ve been sad if it wasn’t decorated extensively: colorful blankets and pillows were strewn about, picture frames covering the walls, and it was quite tidy. It almost looked like a Pinterest dream come to life, of course downsized slightly to fit the apartment owner’s smaller budget.

Leo took out his fork to work it between his fingers. It was kind of a nice thing to have around, he realized. Like something that tied him to reality. He looked down at the small silver fork and gave it a nod of approval like the fork was an animate object that could understand this notion. He scrunched his face up at that. He didn’t wanna keep calling it a fork. This fork was familiar. He decided it was time that he named… Forky.

Yeah, that worked.

Was he really going crazy?

Leo took a step over to the side table right by the loveseat, kneeling down to squint at the picture. It looked to be Jason, almost. The boy looked younger, probably just barely a preteen, and didn’t look nearly as ripped as someone who’d been training nearly all their life.

Leo straightened up. He froze when he heard a voice demand. “Who the hell are you?”

He turned around to face a woman with tan skin, long brown hair that was streaked with some gray, eyes narrowed into fierce slits, and gripping a blade that was so dull it looked like it’d either been used too little or too much. She was tall, quite beautiful, but when she caught sight of Leo she immediately softened up. “Leo? That’s… You…” she blinked several times.

“Piper?” he blurted out, staring at the women in mild confusion. She looked old, she had to be at least in her thirties.

“Oh my god, Leo, I haven’t seen you in…” she looked like she was trying to hold back tears, “I haven’t seen you in over twenty years…” she covered the lower portion of her face with her hand. She set the knife aside.

“I…” Leo was left speechless. How did he respond to something like this?

“Jason, he’s going-,” she stopped herself abruptly, “Oh, well, that doesn’t matter. Come here.”

She held out her arms in a invitation to hug her. He shoved his fork in his pocket and surged forward, falling into Piper’s arms. She was warm and motherly.

“I knew time on Ogygia was varying, but this is insane…” She pulled away, hands firmly planted on your shoulders, “Where’s Calypso?”

“She… I…” He struggled to find words. This was far from the last world. “We’ve been staying in a hotel just a few blocks down. Once I found out you lived down here, I had to see you,” he lied, “Where’s Jason?”

Piper’s hands hands tightened almost deathly on his shoulders. “Jason?”

“Uh, yeah, I saw that picture of…” he trailed off, not wanting to make an incorrect assumption, “So where is he?”

Piper let her hands fall back to her side. “He’s… He’s been dead for twelve years.”

Leo stared at Piper for a long, long while. “He’s been what?”

“I’m sorry you can’t see him.”

“No, I don’t…” he shakes his head, “Are you okay?”

“No.” Piper deadpans, “No, it’s hard being by myself, Leo. I can’t expect you to understand- you might be as old as me, yeah, but you haven’t lived as long as me- but raising our son, making enough money to support us, protecting him…”

“Your son?”

“He’s thirteen,” Piper said, “Jason died when he was one year old. He doesn’t remember his father.”

“Do you tell him anything?” Leo asked, “About his dad? About Jason?” He decided to keep up the facade of being some long-lost Leo. Easier to learn things about Piper this way, right? Easier to learn about this world.

“I tell him enough. He doesn’t know he’s dead,” Piper said, “I try to keep him safe, though. He doesn’t know about his lineage.”

“He doesn’t know you’re a demigod.”

“Yep. All he knows is Jason was in the Air Force. And he was,” she clarified, “He was in Rome here in New York. It’s an Air Force base, ironically enough. The place was attacked by monsters. They killed him first, and then everyone else in the place.”

Leo fiddled with the ends of his sleeves. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to this.

“You’re his godfather, you know,” Piper added, “My son’s. Xavier.”

“I am? But I haven’t…”

“Been around for twenty years? Yeah, I know. But it was your right. Jason missed you a lot. He had Percy and Frank, yeah, but you…” Piper looked near on the verge of tears, digging her fingernails into her palms, “You were his best friend.”

He blinked a couple of times, trying to take this in without completely breaking down. This Leo was absent. This Leo wasn’t him, and he felt dirty for acting like it was. How would Other Piper take it when he inevitably vanished? “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Piper cleared her throat and closed her eyes a moment to regain herself.

“Are you still friends with, you know, the others?” Leo tried to change the subject.

“Oh… No. After Jason passed, I cut myself off. My father’d sort of spiraled down, leading a messy life. I didn’t get much inheritance. I’m basically living off the minor amount of that I got and my shitty part time jobs,” Piper laughed bitterly, “It’s kind of funny, really. Hazel’s a world renowned author, Frank’s a lawyer, Annabeth’s an amazing architect, and Percy was a model before he became a huge name in the marine biology department. Even Nico’s husband is a neurosurgeon. They’re loaded. I’m the only one of my friends whose life went downhill.”

“I’m sure they would be willing to help-,” Leo started, but that seemed to light some sort of fire in Piper’s eyes.

“I provide for Xavier just fine. I don’t want to live on their charity, spend my summers in the Jackson beach home in Italy or whatever. Besides, getting in close with them would be putting my son back in danger and if he was dead, I really would be all alone.”

“But sending him to camp is safer,” Leo insisted, “Don’t you know that?”

“Where they’ll send him on quests? Make him fight battles he’s much too young to fight? I refuse to have my son relive what I had to go through!” then she added quietly, “What we had to go through.”

“How did you get your friends to just forget you?”

“I died,” Piper said, “It just took a little help from my mother and manipulation of the mist, but me and my son died in a car crash five months after Jason died. The entire Grace family, save for Thalia, died in the same year.”

“Isn’t it more dangerous like this? I mean, you could’ve had friends to help you raise Xavier. He could’ve been training. Learning how to protect himself. Even still, he’s not a full demigod, so why should keeping him away from monsters matter?”

“You know me and Jason are both demigods, and with him being a child of Zeus, he has a very strong aura. Plus, monsters might want to target him to get revenge on Jason or something. On top of all that, he’s my son and I’m going to make sure he lives a normal life,” Piper’s eyes flickered over to the kitchen, “Are you hungry?”

“Hungry?” he asks, “I mean… Sure?” Truth be told, Leo had never felt more full in his life, but Piper probably just wanted off this topic. Come to think of it, he hadn’t needed much of anything since he’d died. Maybe that was why. He was dead.

“Xavier’s bringing over a friend today. You need to be gone around five, or else he’ll ask questions,” Piper leads him into the kitchen. He glances at the clock on the stove. 4:32 is what it reads, the little PM flashing beside it.

“Oh, alright. I can always drop by another time. Unless you don’t want me to.”

Piper lets the question fly by her ears, completely ignoring it. She pulls out a plate and sets it on the table. Next, she’s at the fridge. Leo speaks as she prepares whatever she’s preparing, “So, wow, it’s kinda crazy to see you…” he laughs a little. Keeping this role up is absolute hell, and he doesn’t want Piper getting suspicious, “Tell me about Xavier.”

Piper seems to lighten up a little bit at this. A small smile plays across her lips as she takes some ham and a block of cheese from the fridge and sets both items on the scarce kitchen space she has, “He plays soccer. Best on his entire team, in my opinion. He looks just like his father, and he acts just like him too. It’s uncanny. They’re so similar.” Piper looks so sad, yet so happy. It’s a weird combination Leo doesn’t think he likes, “He’s a smart kid. Just not… He’s not good at showing it.”

Leo nodded. “So he’s not, like, book-smart?”

Piper chopped up pieces of cheese and cut pieces of ham. She opened a nearby drawer, taking out tin of toothpicks, and pulling it out. “No. He’s average. Maybe a little below. But I know he’s not an idiot.”

“Have you ever remarried?” Leo asked, “It’s been over a decade since… you know.”

Piper’s expression darkened. “I have never considered it nor will I ever do it. There will never be a guy on par with Jason.”

“Wouldn’t you think he’d want to have you happy even when he’s not here?” Leo continued, at this point just simply wanting to help.

She was quiet for so long that Leo was certain she was just going to ignore him once more. But after a moment she inhaled and then exhaled her words, “I want to be happy with him.”

And Leo didn’t push it any further, simply watching Piper stab toothpicks into the ham and cheese stacks and hand him a plate. He took it, thanked her quietly, and ate one. For a block of cheddar cheese and piece of honey ham, it was pretty good.

“Do you plan on marrying Calypso?” Piper asked and Leo nearly choked on the toothpick he was eating off of.

“W-Well,” he stammered, less from embarrassment and more from the lasting shock he’d almost died (could he die, when he was already technically dead?), “time’s different for us… I want to, for sure, though. You’d be my best woman, right?”

Piper laughed a little and gave Leo a sidelong glance, “Yeah, I would love that.”

Leo’s heart tightened in his chest. He’d never felt particularly bad for deceiving clones in the other universes, but here, with a Piper that was seemingly so vulnerable, he was guilty beyond belief. He needed to get out before anything-

“Mom! I’m home!” Piper stiffened at the announcement. She didn’t have time to tell Leo to get away before a boy bounded into the kitchen and instinctively opened the fridge, dropping his bag off by the couch.

“Yes! You got Coke!” He grinned and pulled out a can. This must be Xavier. His expression morphed into one of confusion when he turned and Leo. He did look like Jason. Scarily like Jason. His eyes were blue as the sky and he was rather well-built for a 7th grader. His blonde hair taper-styled. The only thing that wasn’t Jason was the lack of his lip scar and the small portion of his hair that’d been offed by that weird pirate dude.

“Mom..?” Xavier asked cautiously, “Who is this?”

Leo butt in before Piper could come up with an excuse. “Leo Valdez. Pleasure to meet you.”

The boy narrowed his eyes, “You’re… a high schooler. Older than me, at least. Why are you here?”

“I…” Piper gave him a warning look, “My dad knew your dad.”

Xavier didn’t seem to be happy about hearing this, or even indifferent. “Oh,” he muttered, “him.”

“Yeah,” Leo said, somewhat confused at the boy’s tone, “him.”

“Not anyone that matters, I guess,” Xavier said half under his breath, taking a swig of his soda and leaning on the counter. Leo felt his eyes widen.

“Xavier Leonardo Grace!” Piper exclaimed.

“What?” Xavier shot back, “Why should I care about the guy who left you, doesn’t pay any child support, and doesn’t care about his own son?”

She took a deep breath, trying hard to keep her cool. “Your father isn’t a bad person, Xee-Xee,” Piper reprimanded. Xavier seemed to flush at the use of the nickname, coughing to hide his embarrassment.

“I’m not a baby anymore, Mom,” he huffed.

Piper arched an eyebrow humorously. “Oh? Well, you’re my baby.” Before Xavier could protest, she walked over to him and gave him a hug. He groaned and complained like a teenage boy ought to, which prompted Leo to manage a small laugh.

She let go of him, holding his shoulder, “Now, where’s this friend of yours?”

“Should be here soon,” Xavier said, stepping out of her grasp and picking up a ham-and-cheese-kabob from Leo’s plate and eating it. Leo didn’t mind all too much.

Piper gave Leo a critical look. “Swear on the Styx you won’t hurt Xavier.”

“Mom, you’re being-,”

But Leo felt the drawing urge to do as she said. Charmspeak. “I swear on the Styx.”

Piper looked satisfied. “I’m going to take the laundry down. You two’ll be good?”

They both mumble positives. Piper nodded and grabbed the laundry bag from the couch. She glanced back at them, and then headed out the door.

There was silence between the two boys for a moment.

“So,” Xavier started, “How does your dad know mine?”

“Old friends,” Leo said. Xavier took a drink of his Coke. His eyes flickered over to Leo for a moment. They widened.

“Wait-,” he sat his can on the counter, gripping Leo’s wrist and dragging him into the living room, “Wait, wait.”

“I’m waiting..?” Leo’s voice rose at the end in a question.

Xavier stood on his tip toes to get a book down from the top shelf of a cabinet. When he got it, he flipped through the first few pages. He beckoned Leo over, who stepped over and read the book over his shoulder. It was in Greek. Leo was about to ask a question before he flipped to a random page in the middle of the book and pulled out a stack of photos paperclipped together. They looked old and worn, like someone had gone over them a millions times.

Xavier tossed the book on the couch, taking the paperclip binding the pictures off, and held one up to Leo. “That’s him? Your dad?”

Leo blinked at the picture. He… remembered taking some on an old-timey camera they’d found in Bunker 9 with Jason and Piper back when they were building the Argo II. Leo was on the right, and Jason and Piper to his left. Jason was holding up a piece sign, one arm around Piper, and all three of them were smiling like idiots as one of Leo’s arms held the camera in front of them to snap the picture. It wasn’t his dad, it was him, but he nodded anyways.

“And those are my parents,” he said, laying his index finger over the smiling faces of Jason and Piper, “I’ve been wondering who…” he shook his head, “Wow. Does you know anything about my dad?”

Completely deviating from how he acted earlier, Xavier’s eyes shone with enticement and interest. Leo didn’t know why the guy was so bipolar about his father’s stance in his life. He decided not to ask.

“Only what my dad tells me,” Leo lied through his teeth, “Why?”

“Can you tell me?” He asked, flicking through the pictures. “Your dad, some time around where the others come in, drops out of the pictures. He’s not in them anymore.”

“The others?”

“The black haired boy, the blonde girl,” he held out a group picture of the seven, minus him, and Nico and Reyna, “The Asian kid, the black girl, the tall girl and emo boy, my parents. This is the first picture your dad isn’t in. Then it goes on, all the way to the wedding pictures…” he trailed off, showing Leo a picture of Percy and Annabeth’s wedding, “Those two.”

“You’ve been studying these,” Leo pointed out, “But you said you didn’t care about your father.”

“I don’t,” he snapped defensively, “I care about finding out where he went and how to get him to repay what he’s taken from us.”

Somehow, Leo didn’t quite believe him.

“It doesn’t matter anyways. Chuck’s the one who suggested I try and unravel my past. He’s my friend.”

“Chuck?”

“Yeah, he’s supposed to be on his way,” he clipped the photos back into place and carefully laid them in the book, closing it and returning it to the shelf.

“Xavier…” Leo started hesitantly, “I can tell you everything you need to know about your dad.”

His eyes widened. “You can?”

Leo grabbed a notepad and a pen from one of the lower shelves and began to scrawl onto it. “Look, I don’t know how soon your mom will be back, but this is important.”

Xavier nodded, looking instinctively to the door. Leo tore off the note and handed it to Xavier.

It read:

CAMP HALF-BLOOD
long island sound
mention jason grace (hes your dad)
do not tell your mom
ask your friend about it- he may know something

“Camp Half-Blood?” Xavier met Leo’s eyes again.

“Yeah, it’s a safe place. If you ever feel like something’s after you…”

“Go there,” Xavier finished for him. Leo nodded. “How do I know you’re not just trying to, I don’t know, prank me?”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Would you? And why would I be unsafe?"

Leo didn’t respond. He was directly disobeying Piper’s wishes, going against what he’d been told, and potentially sending some kid to his death. This world couldn’t be Percy’s or Nico’s or Frank’s or Annabeth’s. This world was unlikely to be Hazel’s or Reyna’s or anything. It was Piper’s or Jason’s at this point. And wouldn’t Jason be alive in his own world?

He needed to help Xavier first, that was top priority. “Your dad didn’t leave you, Xavier. He died.” Leo blinked a few times, “He… Your mother kept this from you to protect you.”

“I don’t get it,” Xavier murmured, “What do you mean?”

He didn’t say anything back, though, because he finally realized the deal here. Jason didn’t need to be alive in his own world to be terrified of it. Jason would be scared of dying without a reason. Jason would love to have a son, but be horrified if he were to grow up without a father. Jason would hate to see Leo, his best friend, never return after the war. Jason would hate seeing Piper trying to isolate herself and their son from the only world he’d ever know.

“Jason,” Leo muttered without thinking about it. Immediately he began to fade. Xavier watched him with wide eyes.

“You can’t leave! I need to know these things!”

“Go to Camp,” Leo insisted as his image faded, feeling like he was acting out some horribly dramatic scene in a B-list fantasy flick, “You’ll find it all out.”

The last thing he remembered of that world was Xavier’s desperate expression as he vanished from the living room.