All Heroes Fall

"Oh gods. Oh my gods. Percy!" Piper squealed. She ran forward and threw her arms around him sobbing. It almost looked as if Leo would follow suit, but he restrained himself apparently. I smiled. My family. These guys were my family. I just couldn't imagine life without them now. Turning to the others, Percy gave them his gorgeous half smile.

"Hey guys." It was Hazel's turn to break down next. One by one they all followed suit. Even Jason, with his serious expression and stiff demeanor. The hug was a bit awkward, but it was cute nonetheless. Leo decided to go last, claiming he wanted to save the best for last, but we all knew he was just trying not to cry.

"I missed you, man." He clapped Percy on the shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut. This is how I wanted everything to stay. We were together, reunited. We were a complete family again. It would have to take a lot to break us up agian. I would make sure of that.

"Uh, guys?" Frank asked hesitantly. We all looked toward him. Pointing to the door, he said, "Uhm, I think we should probably close the door while we still can." Grumbling Leo let go of Percy.

"Always gotta jack the moment don't ya Panda boy." Frank blushed and I strode to the door. I came to the black frame. Darkness. You could see absolutely nothing from this end. A blistering breeze attacked my face, leaving it ripe with beads of sweat. Grasping the handle I prepared to close the door. It was loose. It shouldn't be loose. And it was getting looser and looser by the second. That wasn't good. Nope, definately not good. I slammed the door shut and turned to face the rest of the group. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's closed." There was a smile on everyone's face. Later I would realize how we all seemed to grow closer in that one moment. Later I would realize that no matter how much we despised each other, we would do whatever it took to keep each other safe. And later, I would realize that not quite everything felt right...

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