Aether grabbed his wife's hand. "Percy's calling us."
She looked up from her drawing. "Thank goodness. I don't think we have much time left."
They both flashed, teleporting out of their home.
Percy took a deep breath. "I can do this," he whispered to himself. "I can!"
"Percy?" Hemera asked behind him.
He turned around and smiled at his loves. "Hey!"
Aether looked around the building. "What are we doing?"
Percy pointed at the plane in the hangar. "Food and skydiving."
Aether grinned. "I love you so much."
They all boarded the plane, and the pilot took off. Percy began pulling food out of the air, giving it to his lovers.
Hemera smiled as she cut through her steak. "All this for us?"
Percy nodded. "Of course."
Aether smiled, momentarily forgetting his see-through hand. "I've always wanted to do this."
Hemera laughed. "And yet you never mentioned?"
"I didn't think you would ever go with it, and we can both agree that getting to Earth was difficult," he responded.
Percy smiled and bit into his blue burger. "And it suddenly wasn't once I came along?"
"Once you came along, Tartarus gave us free access to his realm," Hemera said. "It was actually quite nice."
They continued to eat and talk, reminiscing over past moments and laughing along with each other, ignoring the slow spread of see-through skin.
"Alright, everyone," the pilot said over the intercom. "Get the correct backpacks on and have fun."
They all put on the parachutes and jumped, falling through the air.
Percy laughed as the wind rushed around him. "I've never done this!"
His lovers laughed as well. "Us either!"
They swam through the air towards each other, grabbing the others' hands, until they all held onto each other in a ring.
"I love you," Percy said. "So much."
"And we the same," Aether and Hemera replied happily.
They eventually split apart, tugging at their parachutes and slowly gliding to the ground. When they landed, Percy grabbed both of them. "I have something else planned."
They teleported away, finding themselves in an empty wheat field.
"Where are we?" Hemera asked, ignoring the fact that the see-through skin had reached her chest.
Percy smiled. "Just a random field in Idaho."
"What are we doing here?" Aether asked.
Percy grinned. "Marco Polo."
His lovers laughed, and Aether closed his eyes. "I'll go first."
Hemera and Percy ran around him for a while, but he eventually managed to tag Hemera, who laughed.
As the see-through skin reached her neck, she tagged Percy. "You're it!"
Percy laughed and closed his eyes. Hemera ran from him towards Aether, and then stumbled.
Aether caught her, and she started to breathe heavily. "Oh. I think -"
"No no no," Aether said. "It can't be this sudden. Please, not yet. At least go with me."
She grabbed him and lifted herself, staring into his eyes. "I- I'm sorry, dear. I love you. Please..."
She began to fade. "Please comfort Percy before you go."
She disappeared, and Aether stared at the empty air in his hands. His eyes snapped to the wandering Percy, who was starting to grow a worried expression. No one had said Polo.
Aether rushed to him as the see-through skin hit the bottom of his neck.
"Marco!" Percy yelled worriedly.
Aether reached him and grabbed his hands. "Percy. Percy, Hemera faded. She -"
"No," Percy whispered, gripping Aether's hand. "She's fine. She's just- she's just tired and not responding."
Aether shook his head and reached up, hand on Percy's cheek. "Percy, please. I'm next. Don't do this."
Percy gripped his hand tighter. "No. No, you'll- you'll keep playing, you have to!"
The see-through skin reached the top of Aether's neck. He leaned forward and softly kissed Percy on the lips before resting their heads together.
"I'm sorry," he said. "But it's my time, Firebug. Please, will I see you on the other side?"
"You- please, Aether," Percy said as tears began to drip from his closed eyes. "Please don't go."
"Will I see you on the other side?" Aether asked again.
Percy nodded weakly, and Aether smiled in relief. "Then I will see you there, my love. I'm sorry, but... goodbye."
He closed his eyes and faded, his body turning see-through and disappearing. Percy fell onto his knees, clutching his arms to his chest.
"Why," he sobbed. "Why is this so hard?"
He stayed on the ground for a while, crying. Eventually, he managed to stand up. Gathering his strength, he unsteadily opened a portal and walked to its entrance.
Before he entered, though, he turned around and looked at the ground where his tears landed. The plants in the area had grown impressively and glowed with life.
He turned and walked through the portal.
----------------------------------------------------------
"Where's Percy?" Hazel asked.
Annabeth shrugged. "He just said to meet him here."
They stood in front of a restaurant, waiting for their friend. The restaurant seemed empty, other than the waiters, who all seemed bored. The air next to them picked up in speed, and in a flash of light, Percy appeared. He looked like he had at the senate meeting, if not worse. His eyes were puffy, and he was very closed off.
"Oh, good, you're all here," he said quietly.
Reyna nodded. "Annabeth invited us," she said as she gestured to Nico, Will, Calypso, and herself.
Percy nodded. "Okay."
Annabeth reached a hand forward. "Percy, are you -"
"I'm fine," he said quickly, pulling away. "Let's just go in."
They entered the restaurant and were quickly seated.
"So..." Jason said as he looked at the menu. "You said you would answer our questions?"
Percy didn't touch the menu. "Some questions. There are some things I can't answer."
"Can't or won't?" Reyna asked.
"Both."
Piper put her menu down, having decided on what to order. "Alright. First question. What happened down in Tartarus?"
Percy shrugged. "A lot of things. Traveled a bit, fell, was caught by Tartarus, agreed to the primordials offer, spent lovey-dovey time with them, got captured by Medusa, was almost... let's just say some very unsavory things could have happened had my lovers not saved me in time. Oh, and I met my mother-in-law."
"You were captured by Medusa?" Calypso asked. "How did that happen?"
"I was tricked," Percy said bitterly. "She had a monster pretend to be someone I loved."
"And you stayed in Tartarus for six years?" Nico asked disbelievingly.
Percy chuckled. "Nah. I spent a lot of time in my lover's dimensions."
Frank raised an eyebrow. "What're those?"
"Well, Tartarus is Tartarus, Gaea is the Earth, Ouranus is the sky, and N-"
His voice cracked, and he continued speaking. "Nyx is the night, et cetera."
"How does that work with Eros, though?" Piper asked. "Love is kind of an abstract concept, unlike the Earth."
Percy nodded. "Right. His 'dimension' is... well, the abstract primordials basically just have their own big room that floats super far out in the void of Chaos. Eros's has a big bed, it's got pink lighting, some lovely pillows..."
Percy's gaze grew distant. "And it's usually where we -"
Piper held up a hand. "Stop. I get it."
His eyes refocused, and he smiled apologetically. "Sorry."
The waiter came around, and they all ordered their food. Percy just ordered some mozzarella sticks.
"Why aren't you eating a meal?" Hazel asked.
"I already ate," Percy said in a tone that indicated he didn't want to explain more.
Annabeth looked at him sadly. "Percy, do you want to talk about -"
"No."
She sighed, and Jason spoke. "Woah, hold on. Talk about what?"
"Nothing," Percy said. "Let's move on."
"Is it why you look so terrible?" Will asked.
"I don't want to -"
"Percy," Frank said. "You can talk to us."
"No I ca -"
"Yeah," Piper said, nodding along with Frank. "You can trust us. We're your friends and -"
Percy slammed a hand on the table, instantly quieting everyone.
"I said. I don't. Want to. Talk about it. Let's move on," he said angrily.
Everyone shared a look of worry.
"Okay," Annabeth said, relenting. "We'll move on to the next question."
"What happened earlier with Ourea?" Leo asked.
"Oh," Percy said quietly. "It's not -"
He sighed. "My, uh... my children happened."
Everyone stared at him. "Like Coral and Arc?" Jason asked.
Percy shook his head. "No. My other children."
The table was quiet for a moment until Piper turned to Annabeth.
"Did he tell you?" She asked softly.
Annabeth nodded and cut into her steak. "Yeah, he did," she admitted softly.
Piper turned back to Percy and clasped her hands together. "So... even though you had a wife, you married others and -"
"No, Piper," Annabeth said as she grabbed her friends shoulder. "I don't -"
Piper shrugged her off and continued talking. "You were married, but you still decided to marry others and have children?"
Percy stared at her before cracking a smirk. "You've been waiting to ask me this all day, haven't you?"
Piper shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Answer my question."
"Fine," Percy said. "Yes. You are correct. Although for the record, the last thing I saw of her was her voting for my death."
"And you believed it?" Piper asked. "I thought your gut was always spot-on."
Percy grinned as the waiter came by and passed out plates.
"Nah, I didn't believe it. But seeing it happen really screws with how you think, you know? And if it's any consolation, they don't actually exist yet."
"What?" Calypso asked. "How do they not -"
"Next question," Percy said as he bit into his mozzarella stick.
Will pointed at Percy with his fork. "Why mozzarella sticks?"
Percy smiled. "Reminds me of home. Chronos makes the best mozzarella sticks."
"Mm," Leo said, swallowing his bite of taco. "Speaking of Chronos, what was with him?"
"What do you mean?" Percy asked.
"His interaction with Jason," Leo explained. "What was that about?"
"Ah," Percy said. "Well, about that... that's a question I can't answer."
"Darn," Leo said. "And that was my main one too."
"When you said your mother-in-law," Hazel asked. "Do you mean Chaos?"
Percy nodded. "Yeah. She's my mom, it's awesome."
"You mean... like your mom, right?" Nico asked, having met Sally and knowing no one else could beat her in mom status.
Percy chuckled. "No. She -"
He suddenly froze, and then cleared his throat. "I mean, yeah. Like my mom."
Percy looked away from Nico as Frank spoke. "You're with Apollo and Dionysus as well?"
Percy nodded. "Yep. Ariadne, too. Love them."
Nico looked at Percy, momentarily forgetting the fry in his hand.
"May I meet Nyx?" He asked.
Percy stopped and looked back at him. "Why."
"When I went through Tartarus, I encountered her. She was... nothing like someone you would fall for," Nico said.
"She changed a lot," Percy replied. "She was still in the process of waking up when you, Annabeth, and I met her for the first time."
"Then can I meet her?" Nico asked. "I would like to -"
"No," Percy said quietly. "You can't meet her, Nico. Not until... no. You can't meet her."
"Why?" Nico asked, causing Percy to grimace. "There's some questions I need to -"
"No, Nico, you don't need to. I'm sorry," Percy said. "But you just can't."
"At least give me a good reason!" Nico said. "I really have to talk to her!"
"No you don't!" Percy said, beginning to get angry. "You can't meet her. Please, just accept that."
Nico sat back and crossed his arms. "Why? I NEED to ask her about the conversation we had. If she was constantly spending time with you, then why can't she just -"
"BECAUSE SHE'S FUCKING GONE!" Percy roared.
Everyone froze and stared at him in shock, watching as his rage filled face morphed into one of sorrow and tears.
"She's gone... her, and Erebus, and Hemera, and Aether... they're gone."
He let out a sob and let his face crash into the table. "And the others are next. Eros, and Ouranus, and Tartarus, they're all going to go soon, too."
Everyone continued to watch in shocked silence as he let out another sob. "And even though I knew it was going to happen, and I know what will happen, it's still so hard."
Annabeth placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're here for you, Percy. You can talk to us."
Percy sniffled. "I know. But... I don't want to, because when I leave, it'll be harder for all of us."
"What!" Reyna exclaimed, snapping out of her shock. "You can't leave again!"
Percy laughed through his tears. "You think I have a choice? The end is written. Now, all that's left is following the path to it. If I could stay, I would. But I can't."
Piper sighed and reached forward, lightly touching his head.
"Sleep," she commanded through charmspeak.
Percy chuckled. "I'm only letting this work because I want... I want to... to get out of the... the..."
He began to snore, and Annabeth softly lifted him up, sitting him upright on the seat.
"You guys finish dinner. I'll go get this idiot in bed," she said as she stood up and left, carrying him.
----------------------------------------------------------
She flicked on the lights to her bedroom and softly laid Percy on the bed.
She smiled at his sleeping form and turned around, going to pick up her kids from the babysitter she hired when Percy mumbled.
"I luv you, Annabeth. Yur tied with Zoe as my bes fren."
She turned around and walked towards the bedside, softly kissing him on the forehead. "You're my best friend too, Percy."
As she left the room and clicked the light off, Percy smiled.