Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

THANKSGIVING

[JASON GRACE]

Thalia didn't surprise him by coming home. Or even calling him. She did the bare minimum and texted him 'Happy Thanksgiving! <3'. Jason didn't reply.

Instead, he slept in until midday. When he got up and walked downstairs, Beryl was in the lounge.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Mom," Jason said.
"Oh, it's Thanksgiving?" Beryl asked. "We should celebrate."

Jason knew Beryl's idea of 'celebrating' was drinking alcohol with an excuse.
"No thanks, Mom. I'll make you dinner." Jason said, hoping to keep her from taking too much alcohol. He couldn't make some fancy dinner like turkey, but it was better than nothing.

While the food was cooking, Jason checked his phone again. He had a text from his dad, just like every thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving. Check Venmo.

He got the same message every thanksgiving. Then his dad wouldn't reach out to him until Christmas. On rare occasions, he'd text on New Year. Jason checked Venmo. His father had sent him $250. It was a lot, but Jason would've preferred if his dad actually tried. He had loads of money to spare. Giving money to Jason was like paying for a loaf of bread in the supermarket. Another thing off the list.

Thanks. Jason replied. He didn't care how ungrateful it sounded. He hoped his dad got the actual message: don't talk to me.

He finished making the food and set the table. Beryl was sober enough. A little more than she usually was during holidays, anyway.
The two of them ate together in silence. It wasn't how a normal family would spend their Thanksgiving, but the Graces definitely weren't normal. They were barely a family, either. They were just two people, a mother and son.

After they ate, Jason put the dishes beside the sink and went back to his room, to spend Thanksgiving like any other day. Alone.

[REYNA AVILA RAMIREZ-ARELLANO]

Having the whole family together would either cause destruction or happiness.

The thing was, Reyna's parents got on relatively well. Unless one of them were angry. Which was quite common. Thankfully, Hylla and Reyna would manage to keep the peace.

They were eating Thanksgiving dinner together. Reyna was born and raised in America but Hylla was born in Puerto Rico, just like their parents. There, the Ramirez-Arellanos didn't treat Thanksgiving as a massive holiday, but they always celebrated it now.

Reyna couldn't completely concentrate, though. She couldn't stop thinking about Jason possibly being alone. She also wanted to tell her family about Rachel. They'd most likely be supportive but she was still scared. In freshman year, when she realised she was lesbian, she had a hard time accepting herself. A lot had changed since then. She had come out to her family long ago but had never had a girlfriend.

Was Rachel really her girlfriend, though? They'd been talking and going on dates but hadn't made it 100% official. It was hard to know.
She figured she could tell them another time. She'd call Jason later. Right now, she wanted to have a good Thanksgiving.

[HAZEL LEVESQUE]

When Nico said he didn't celebrate Thanksgiving at all, he meant it.

He got up and must've completely forgotten it was Thanksgiving until Hazel mentioned it to him.
"Oh, right," Nico said. "Happy Thanksgiving."
Hazel frowned. "You seriously don't celebrate at all?"

"Sorry, but I don't see the point. What is Thanksgiving? Christmas in November?"
"The hint is in the name, Nico."
"To give thanks? Okay, thanks. Woo. Celebrated."
"Ugh," Hazel muttered.
"Okay, okay, fine," he said. "I'm sorry. I just don't get it. Didn't Frank celebrate a few weeks ago? You can invite him over if you want."
She sighed. "Yeah, okay."