Falling Backwards (A Heroes of Olympus AU and Fanficton)

Chapter 4

As it turned out, 'the market' was actually a local farmers' market.

When they arrived, Jason unbuckled Leo, picked him up, set him in the stroller that Piper pulled out of the car, and buckled him into the stroller.

They began to push the stroller as they walked around, and Leo could hear Piper say, "I think that's them. Yeah, I see Annabeth. Let's go." Annabeth was here? Leo tried to focus on figuring out where they saw Annabeth, but he kept getting distracted by all of the brightly colored stalls and vendors selling all kinds of fresh produce, flowers, honey, dog treats, soaps, antiques, cheese, and all other kinds of things. Leo didn't see Annabeth until they were about 10 feet away from her, and even then Leo only really saw her legs.

"Piper! Jason!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Guys, I found them!" She ran over, throwing her arms around Piper, then Jason. "How have you guys been?"

"We've been alright. Leonidas has kept us busy." Piper replied, making Annabeth laugh.

"I can only imagine. Where is the little guy?"

Jason pulled the visor back up on the stroller so that Annabeth could see Leo, and she squealed.

"Oh, he's so adorable! Can I hold him?"

"Of course." Jason unbuckled Leo and scooped him up, handing him to Annabeth. Except -- just like Piper and Jason -- this wasn't the Annabeth that Leo knew. This Annabeth wore a pale pink short-sleeve blouse, short denim shorts, flip flops (and not the cheap plastic kind), little pink flower earrings, round sunglasses, a straw bowler hat with a pink ribbon bow, lip gloss, and light makeup. Her hair fell down past her shoulders in waves, framing her face with gold. Her smile was too bubbly and her demeanor was too giggly to be the Annabeth that Leo knew. Though Leo also knew that Annabeth had never squealed a day in her life.

She cuddled Leo to her chest, giggling and saying, "Oh, sugar! You've gotten so big! You're just the cutest little man I've ever seen in my life!"

Another familiar voice said, "Babe, give Junior some room." Leo looked up and saw another imitation of one of his friends, except this time it was Percy. This Percy looked way more intimidating than the easygoing Percy that Leo knew. He wore a black Metallica t-shirt, torn black jeans, huge black combat boots, a biker jacket, finger-less biker gloves, aviators, and a studded leather belt. His jet black hair was spiked and messy, and he had a nostril piercing in his left nostril, and an eyebrow bar in his right eyebrow. In total contrast to the intimidating vibes he gave off, his face lit up when he saw Leo. "Hey there, Junior! How've you been, kiddo?" He gave his signature lopsided grin, and Leo saw the Percy he knew shine through. "Your parents treating you right?" He ruffled Leo's hair before turning to Jason and Piper, hugging them both. "Frank and Hazel will be here any minute. They were just finishing up buying some strawberries for Hazel to make jam with."

And -- true to Percy's word -- Hazel, Frank, and Nico walked over.

Hazel looked the most like the Hazel Leo knew. She wore a yellow sundress, sandals, and bronze bangles. A straw sun hat sat on top of her curly cinnamon-brown hair, and her golden eyes sparkled with mirth. She was absolutely beautiful.

Frank looked fairly ordinary. He wore jeans, a button-down blue plaid shirt, and sneakers. His dark hair was in its usual buzz-cut, and one of his hands was intertwined with Hazel's.

But by far, out of anyone Leo had seen so far, Nico looked this most different. He wore a pastel-pink button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans, white converse, a periwinkle newsboy cap, and cream-colored glasses. His dark brown eyes -- that usually looked dead and lifeless -- were now bursting with energy and happiness, and his black hair was cut neatly and attractively.

All three of them hugged Jason and Piper with the usual "I've missed you!" or the "What have you been up to?" Then they all turned to Leo.

"Well hello there, Leonidas." Hazel smiled, trading with Annabeth so that Hazel could hold him. "You've gotten so big!" Leo smiled at her from behind his pacifier. "Oh, there's that smile! Oh, I've missed your smile!" Hazel peppered Leo's face with kisses, and he giggled and giggled and giggled. Hazel held him for a good 10-ish minutes while the other adults caught up some, though Leo was soon passed to the next person who wanted to hold him.

"Hey, Hazel! Quit hogging Junior!" Percy grinned. "It's my turn." Hazel passed Leo to Percy, who grinned. Percy bounced Leo on his lap, making Leo giggle a little bit. Percy was definitely a pretty cool Uncle, that's for sure.

Soon though, Leo was passed to Nico, and Leo had absolutely no idea how to react to Nico.

Nico smelled like flowers. Nico, who was known for his powers that involved controlling the dead, smelled like flowers and freshly tilled soil. Leo was starting to get freaked out. The fact that he didn't know where he was or what was going on was starting to get to him again, and his lip started to tremble.

"What's the matter, Leo?" Nico asked, his voice dripping with concern. "You doing alright, kid?" Leo suddenly felt his pacifier fall out of his mouth, which was the final straw. He wailed, terror took over his mind. He didn't know what was going on, where he was, who these people were, or why they looked like his friends. He just wanted to go back to his familiar life where he had a vague semblance of control over what happened.

He felt himself being passed into an unfamiliar set of arms. He couldn't seem to stop crying. He was just so scared.

This new person who was holding him gently pat his bottom, which calmed Leo down slightly, but not enough for him to stop crying. He felt another pacifier being pushed between his lips, and he accepted it, desperate for comfort.

Then, he felt the chest of the person who was holding him begin to rumble gently as he heard them start singing in a different language. As the person sang, Leo felt himself relax, his fear easing and his mind clearing. He felt so relaxed in this new person's arms. More relaxed than he had felt in anyone else's arms. They were gentle, strong, warm, and safe. And they smelled like peppermint.

Once Leo had calmed down, he looked up to see who was holding him.

"Hey there, little buddy." Frank smiled down at Leo, using his thumb to brush the remaining tears off of Leo's cheeks. "You doing better now, bud?" Leo buried his face into Frank's chest, feeling involuntarily safer than he'd felt all day. Frank chuckled. "It's all good, buddy. You're Mom and Dad are just doing some quick shopping with Aunt Annabeth, Uncle Percy, and Uncle Nico, so you'll get to hang out with me and Aunt Hazel. Doesn't that sound like fun?" Leo grunted, which made Frank's smile grow even more. "Don't worry, we'll have all kinds of fun, right Hazel?"

"Right." Leo looked up when he heard Hazel's voice and he smiled at her again from behind his pacifier.

Maybe today wouldn't be so bad.