Falling Backwards (A Heroes of Olympus AU and Fanficton)

Chapter 18

It was well into November now, and Leo was a year older and wiser. His parents had thrown him a big party, and all of his favorite aunties and uncles had come, bringing him presents.

Snow had already begun to fall, and Leo had heard his parents beginning to talk about something called 'Thanksgiving', but Leo had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. All Leo knew, was that it involved lots of food and lots of people -- both of which Leo enjoyed.

When the day came, Leo woke up, the excitement in the house palpable.

While Leo babbled nonsensically to Banjo, Jason walked in with a big smile on his face.

"Hey there, little man!" He scooped Leo up and swung him around, peppering his face with kisses. "Guess what today is!" When Leo only giggled, Jason cried, "THANKSGIVING!" Then, he kissed Leo's face again. "Everybody's coming over in a little bit! It's gonna be great!"

Jason carried Leo over to the changing table and set him down, changing Leo into a clean diaper and dressing him in a brown onesie with Leo's hand print on it that was made to look like a turkey. Jason picked him back up and gave him a great big kiss.

"Now, let's go see Mama! I'm sure she'll want to say hello before everyone gets here."

Jason carried Leo out of the room and into the kitchen, where the delicious smells of roasting meat and vegetables were already wafting throughout the house. Piper bustled around, moving from one area of the kitchen to the next, cooking with expertise.

"Oh, good morning, sweetheart!" Piper walked over and gave Leo a big kiss, before turning to Jason and giving him a quick peck on the lips. "Will you be okay watching Leo for a little while this morning? I need to get everything in the kitchen done." Jason smiled, pulling Piper into a hug and kissing her.

"Don't worry, Pipes. Everything is under control. I've got Leo, and you do what you need to, okay?" Piper nodded, calming down a little.

"Okay. Thank you, Jason. You're the best." She gave Jason one more quick kiss, before returning to her cooking, and saying, "There's a bottle and some yogurt in the fridge for Leo."

Jason thanked her, grabbed the bottle and the yogurt from the fridge, and walked into the dining room, setting Leo into the highchair, strapping him in, and setting the table in place.

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Not long after Leo had finished his yogurt, there was a knock at the door.

Jason promised Leo he'd be right back, and left to go see who it was.

Leo didn't like that his Daddy had left, especially since his Mama was busy and Leo was still stuck in his chair. He began to whine and yell.

All of this, of course, ended when his Uncle Frank entered the room.

"Hey, there, Leo!" Frank sat down in front of Leo's chair and picked up the cloth that Jason was going to use to clean Leo off. "How you doin' kid?" Frank began to wipe off Leo's face and hands. "You excited for all of the food? I know your Aunt Hazel brought some of her green bean casserole, and your Aunt Annabeth promised she'd bring her famous pecan pie. Man, that stuff is the best!" Frank finished wiping off Leo, and slid off the tray, unbuckling him and scooping Leo up. Frank grabbed the cloth and Leo's bottle, walking back into the kitchen. "Hey, Piper! How's the food coming?"

"Oh, hey, Frank! It's going pretty well. I still need to stuff the turkey, but everything is going well."

Frank made his way over to the sink, where he rinsed off the cloth, and began to warm Leo's bottle with the warm water. When he finished, he carried Leo into the living room, where Jason, Hazel, Nico, and Will all sat, talking about Will's med school.

When Jason saw Leo and Frank, he said, "Oh, thanks, Frank. You really didn't have to do that." Frank only smiled, sitting down on the couch next to Hazel, and positioning Leo in his lap.

"It's no problem. Besides, Leo's a good kid." Frank began to feed Leo, who sucked down the formula in the bottle hungrily. 

The adults sat and chatted for a while, Aunt Hazel and Aunt Annabeth leaving at one point to go and help Piper in the kitchen.

At around noon, just when Leo was starting to get hungry again, there was another knock at the door.

Jason got up to answer it, and Leo could here him saying, "Hey, guys! Come on in! Happy Thanksgiving!" Leo heard a voice he recognized as his Aunt Thalia's, but there were a few other voices that he didn't quite recognize.

Jason led the group of newcomers into the living room, and when Leo saw Thalia all dressed up in a nice pink dress, he grinned, reaching for her. She smiled back, scooped him up, and swung him around, giving him a big kiss.

"Oooh! Hey, there, munchkin! How you doin'? Oh, I missed you, too, kiddo!"

After the quick reunion, Leo turned his attention to the other new adults that were standing in the room.

There was a beautiful woman with kind blue eyes, brown hair that had a few streaks of grey, and a warm smile. She wore an elegant blue party dress, black flats, and light makeup.

Next to her was a very good-looking man with salt-and-pepper hair and a dazzling smile. He kind of reminded Leo of his Grandpa, in the sense that he was kind, and exuded an air of confidence and humility. The man wore simple black dress pants, a light blue button-up shirt, black dress shoes, and a black blazer.

There was a young girl standing between them, who looked like she was around 7 years old. She had beautiful chocolate-brown hair that was pulled back into a braid, and brown eyes that sparkled like the man's. She wore a pretty purple dress, and she seemed to hide behind the man's leg a little, while holding the woman's hand. 

The other adult was a young woman, with piercing black eyes framed in sharp winged eyeliner, glossy black hair in a long braid that went down to her waist, a beautiful face of Hispanic descent, and an aura of power. She wore a wine-colored sweater, a black knee-length skirt, black heels, and lipstick that matched the color of her sweater. Leo could see the letters SPQR on her arm, with a crossed sword and torch, as well as eleven dark lines. She smiled at everyone, her face becoming light and happy.

Everyone stood up to hug them, including Frank, who handed Leo to Jason after he finished hugging everyone. Leo noticed that the older couple and the little girl seemed to smile the widest when they saw Percy and Annabeth. He also heard Percy call the couple Mom and Paul, and the little girl Charlotte.

Leo was brought around to meet everyone by Jason, and he decided that he really liked Paul and his wife, who Jason called Sally. He was still a little unsure about Charlotte, though. She seemed very shy.

When Jason introduced Leo to the other woman, her smile widened even more.

"Hey there, little bug! Oh, you're far cuter in person than in pictures!" Jason handed Leo to her, and Leo noticed how warm and strong her arms were. She bounced him slightly, chuckling softly. "Oh, Gods are you a cutie! Oh, man!" She gave him a quick kiss, and Leo burst into giggles. "It's so good to finally meet you, little bug! I'm your Aunt Reyna!"

Leo played with his new aunties and uncles for a little while, deciding that he really liked his Aunt Reyna and Charlotte, who had finally come out of her shell.

Finally, just as Leo was sure he wouldn't be able to last any longer, Piper, Annabeth, and Hazel all walked into the living room, and declared that the food was ready.

****Well, there you go! I'm really sorry that I haven't really updated in a while, but I've been running out of ideas, so I could really use your help with chapter stuff. I have a few more ideas, but not too many more. 

Remember: if you have any OC ideas, the template for information I need is in the last chapter. Feel free to send me a private message for OCs.

I hope you guys enjoyed that! Today is Thanksgiving, so I figured I'd give you a little bit of Leo's first Thanksgiving! Anyways, peace out in demigodishness and all that!

~~~mrsleovaldez32123****