hiraeth

twenty-seven

a/n: this entire fic isn't even pjo or pjo vibes or makes any sense anyways--

last half of this chapter is Peter and Nia <3

xxvii. Nia

Herman must be keeping secrets, because the locked wardrobe is on fire but hasn't burned down to cinders.

Unlike the other two.

Leo stands sheepishly in the wreckage, soot marring his face. Nia feels the sweat drip off her forehead from helping Peter carrying buckets of water from the sink in the main room of the shop.

In the meantime, Piper and Jason lay down on the floor like snow angels, exhausted. Enne has her head buried in her hands next to them, Peter is shaking his head, and Will looks traumatized.

But it's Susan and Lucy who stand near the burning wardrobe in awe.

"This is so cool!" Lucy bubbles.

"How is it doing that?" wonders Susan.

"We could have died in here!" exclaims Piper.

Nia, personally, could not care less, because the possibly of dying was not as bothersome as the fact that she just had to do physical work. The smell of smoke clings to their clothes, and not all of it is completely gone, clouding her vision slightly.

"Leo, never-" Jason gasps. "Never, ever, do that again."

Leo sniffles indignantly. "That," he says, waving a hand at the burning furniture, "wouldn't have happened if I hadn't done anything."

"What exactly have you accomplished?" Peter inquires.

Nia steps up to the blazing structure. "This is probably it, right? The portal?"

"But how do we know?"

"We don't." She rolls her eyes at him. "Wasn't it your brilliant plan to try this?"

"In hindsight, I didn't think it through," Peter admits.

"Yeah, no kidding." Nia looks back. "Let's get Leo to open it."

Leo backs up. "I'm not going in there?"

"Should we put the fire out?" asks Will.

Nia shakes her head. "What if that just ruins it?"

"It's literally burning," says Peter. "I doubt that would ruin it."

"Okay, why don't you put it out since you're such a smartass?"

"I didn't say-Maybe we shouldn't-"

The door to the storage room flies open.

Herman barges in. He takes a long time surveying the literal damage.

"Uhh, we can explain-" Enne says, standing up.

He holds up a hand. In a gruff voice, he rasps, "i thought you kids were looking for chairs."

"Wasn't me," says Nia. "I was just sleeping"

"we were looking for chairs," Leo tries, "but um, nothing caught our eye."

Herman crosses the room slowly, and Nia realizes he's using a cane. "so you resorted to wardrobes, naturally."

"Naturally," affirms Leo, looking at Jason and Piper for help, but they mouth "you're on your own"

"may I ask why?" Herman is now stationed right in front of the burning wardrobe next to Nia, Lucy, and Susan, but he doesn't even bat an eye. Rather, he stares at it with some amusement, almost in admiration.