[ 3 years after chapter 50 ]

"Leo!" Annabeth almost shrieked, jumping up to hug him as they clashed in the middle of the field on the campus of MIT.

She knew they were probably getting weird looks, but she didn't care. "I haven't seen you in nine months," Annabeth said accusatorially. "What?" Video chats could only go so far.

"I know!" Leo wailed, sitting down on the grass and yanking her down beside him. "I've been so busy."

Jason walked up behind them and sat down, giving Leo a side-hug. "Hello."

"The levels of enthusiasm here are sending me mixed messages," Leo said, raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry," Jason mumbled. "We just came from Illinois." Annabeth, Percy and Jason had taken a roadtrip during their Thanksgiving break to tour the states. They'd spent a few days in Illinois with Frank, Hazel and Piper, and then left to find Leo, leaving Percy in Illinois with them.

"Ah," Leo nodded. "Piper."

"It's fine now," Jason said reassuringly, but he looked like he was trying to convince herself. "Well, I thought I was. I mean, it's almost been three years since we broke up. When we were staying in Illinois, it was fun too. It felt like we could be friends again."

Leo frowned. "Then what's the problem?"

Annabeth winced. "Piper's boyfriend came over on the last day."

"Oh no." Leo scrunched up his face. "Is it Brett? It's Brett, isn't it? God, I hate that guy. He was horrible to me."

"Not Brett," Annabeth corrected. "Vincent."

"Vincent," Jason tried out the name. "Even his name is annoying."

Annabeth stifled a laugh.

"Oh, shut up." Jason picked at the grass by his feet. "He's actually a great guy. The nicest person ever — damn it. And he's smart too. And sporty."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow. "Is Piper dating him or are you?"

"There's an obvious solution to this," Leo insisted. "Jason, you haven't dated anyone since Piper."

"I did!" he protested. "I've been on so many dates!"

"Leo has a point," Annabeth agreed, rounding on Jason suspiciously. "Dates don't count — the only actual relationship you had that lasted more than a month was Emily. And you broke up with her last year."

"Leo has no ground to stand on in this situation!" Jason said indignantly. "Calypso's studying at Berklee and he hasn't made a move!"

"What?" Annabeth demanded, turning on Leo. "Is that true?"

Leo had gone red to the roots of his hair. "I told you that in confidence, Jason."

"If I'm going down I'm taking you with me," Jason told him.

"Berklee's nearby!" Annabeth frowned. "Why haven't you done something about it?"

Leo flopped onto his stomach, resting his chin on the heels of his palms. "I don't know," he stammered. "It's been four years! I haven't...We lost touch a month after she left New York. Isn't it weird to just go up to her one day?"

Annabeth shrugged. "No. You guys dated for a bit. College is a good time to try new things anyway. I don't think she'd care."

"Yeah, well," Leo stared at his hands. "I don't know if I want to risk it. The few weeks we had in high school were nice. I don't want to ruin the memories."

What if she says 'yes'? Annabeth wanted to protest, but she could sense Leo's apprehension on the subject.

"Oh, fine," she grumbled. "We won't talk about it anymore for a bit. How's school going anyway?" Annabeth couldn't help grinning at the shudders elicited from both men.

"No one told me how difficult MIT would be," Leo said, wringing his hands.

Jason gave him an incredulous. "Why did you just think it was prestigious?"

Leo shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! They only took geniuses? I have three more years to go and I think I'm at serious risk of burnout. I swear, it's like the projects just never stop." He gave Jason a look of appraisal. "And what about you, anyway? Parson's going okay?"

Jason winced. "Depends on what you mean by 'okay'."

"Like, passing everything," Leo said vaguely.

"Oh," Jason paused. "Then no."

Annabeth laughed, and he shot her a glare. "Oh, come on," she insisted. "I'm sure it isn't as bad as you think it is."

"Oh, believe me, it is," he snorted. "I should actually be studying over the holidays, but I'm just...too lazy to do it."

Leo high-fived him.

Leo squinted at Annabeth. "I bet you're doing fine at Yale."

"That's because I don't procrastinate, unlike you two," Annabeth pointed out.

"Ouch," Jason clutched at his chest. "That was harsh."

They spent the rest of the day together, allowing Leo to show them around Boston. Unfortunately, he seemed to know even less about the place than the others, and Annabeth was delighted to share the trivia she'd picked up about the city as they explored. It was safe to say that Jason and Leo didn't find it as entertaining.

When they reached one of the college bars, they got a booth and ordered a few drinks. Annabeth nudged Jason. "Why don't you go up to the bar and ask someone out?"

Jason gave her an incredulous look. "Are—are you insane?" he hissed.

"Relax," she rolled her eyes. "We're spending a night here. You might as well—" She gestured wildly. "—make the most of it."

"No!" Jason blushed hotly. "You know I don't do that."

"Oh, not like that," Annabeth said exasperatedly. "I mean, just talk to her for the night. Get your mind off of Piper."

That seemed to intrigue him. Annabeth knew Jason had been more affected by Vincent and Piper than he let on. He'd gotten over Piper long ago, but occasionally things like this would bring up buried feelings.

"Go," she insisted, shoving him out of the booth.

Leo returned to their table holding three mugs of beer, glancing back curiously as Jason stumbled over to a girl with curly back hair.

"Why is he talking to Winnie?" Leo asked as he slid back into his seat, pushing one of the drinks over to Annabeth.

"Why not?" Annabeth took a sip of her drink and pulled a face. "Urgh, I knew I should've gotten a cocktail. I told him to go talk to her and stop thinking about Piper."

Leo regarded her carefully. "So you're not going to tell him what Piper said?"

Annabeth gripped her mug tightly. "What's there to tell?"

"You texted me about it," Leo lowered his voice. "That she said she misses him."

Annabeth sighed, running a hand through her hair, untangling the strands. "Yeah, I know. But she wasn't clear about whether it was as a friend or not. Plus, she seemed so happy with Vincent. Mentioning it to Jason would only make him more miserable."

There were a few beats of silence.

"Do you think it'll ever go back to normal?" Annabeth asked quietly.

Leo set down his cup, silent. "I don't know," he said at last. "But even without the break-up, I don't think anything would've stayed the same. I mean, we knew that people lose touch after high school."

"We just didn't realise how easily that would happen," Annabeth agreed. She rubbed at her eyes. "We haven't all seen each other in two years, Leo. That's...Well, it should feel longer than that. But time's flown by and everything's changed. I don't think the seven of us will ever be exactly like it used to be."

"Depressing," Leo muttered into his glass.

"Yeah," she said softly.

"How are you and Percy?" Leo enquired. "I mean, we've talk about Jason and Piper. Are you guys doing okay?"

"It's harder than we thought," she admitted. "It's, um, a lot of crying." Annabeth bit her lip. "We almost broke up over Christmas."

Leo winced. "Oh no."

"We didn't," she assured. "But it was close." Annabeth swallowed. "Actually, we're thinking of moving in together."

"What?" Leo's splutter was supported by him fumbling with and almost dropping his mug. The drink sloshed and splattered onto the table. "How—Why havent you mentioned this?"

Annabeth covered her face with her hands. "I don't know," she said, her voice muffled. She took a deep breath. "I haven't told anyone about this so don't say anything to Jason. Percy brought it up during the fight where we almost broke up. Neither of us have to live on campus anymore, and Percy said he'd come over New Haven."

"But he's still in school," Leo said, puzzled. "Is gonna commute?"

"That's what I said!" Annabeth paused and allowed herself a small smile. "Percy said he would drive two hours just to be with me on the weekends."

"I hate how single you make me feel," Leo said with a scowl. "So...do you think you'll do it?"

Annabeth shrugged helplessly. "I genuinely don't know. Maybe we should wait a bit. We're barely in our twneties. It's a little early to commit, isn't it?"

Leo scoffed. "Are you kidding me? I've known you two we're gonna get married since we were 17."

Annabeth blinked. "What?"

"Come on, you guys are one of those couples who actually make it through long distance and all that," Leo waved a hand dismissively. "Trust me, Annabeth. The issue here isn't commitment. It's you being scared."

Annabeth blushed. "You think?"

"Look at me in the eye and tell me you don't want to marry Percy someday."

Annabeth frowned. "Damn it."

"My point exactly!" Leo said. "Look, moving in together's a big step, I agree. But if it's killing you to be away from him all the time, then maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing."

"It does sound like something I would want," Annabeth admitted.

"So wait till you graduate," Leo suggested. "It's only one more year. He'll be working or whatever he wants to do after college, and that's always more flexible for a relationship."

"I'll still have three years of law at Yale," Annabeth said with a sigh. "I don't even want to think about what a long time that'll be."

"Well, you can live together during those three years," Leo pointed out. "Right?"

Annabeth mulled over the thought. "Yeah, you're right."

"It's rare," Leo sipped his drink. "But occasionally it does happen." Annabeth laughed, eliciting a chuckle from him.

"Thanks, Leo," she said truthfully. "It's good to talk this over with someone else."

"That's what I'm good for," Leo promised. "Engineer and emotional guru. That should go on my resumé."