[ti]solo[/ti]Keepsakes

For what is far from the first time in his life, Percy finds himself wondering if this is what it's like to be a parent: fussing over the every action of his notoriously not-at-all-responsible cousin because it's all too likely that this notorious lack of responsibility would lead him to forget or not even consider doing something of importance before their flight back to England. Hell, it might even lead him to expect Percy to take care of all of that instead, because Percy always takes care of everything, doesn't he?

And so, questions such as: "Did you check to make sure that you're not leaving anything behind?", "Did you weigh your luggage? I don't want to pay excess baggage fees." and "Do you have your passport?" were repeated more than once before leaving the hotel. And, in all the stress brought upon him by this fussing, checking out of their hotel room, and the fact that they would clearly only make it to the airport three and a half hours before their flight instead of Percy's preferred five, he completely forgot to stop by the booth to claim a Dreamer Stamp.

This was the fact that ate at him during the shuttle ride to airport, perhaps because thinking about something as seemingly insignificant as a stamp was... easier. Easier than thinking about everything else that had happened these past four days. Easier than looking at the last few pictures in his phone's gallery; a thumb hovering over the colourful 'Photos' icon on his phone before opening the UNOVRCon app for what may just be the last time.

Stamps. An Aviator Stamp that had appeared when advertisement reminded him to download the convention's app, a stamp to which he had paid little mind at the time. A Dreamer Stamp from the Dream Kingdom lounge, where he and ibis had first had ran into each other even though he hadn't been prepared for this at all. A Seer Stamp from the stages, where they had spent the grand majority of a day together — just talking and seeing what the convention had to offer. A Player Stamp from the arcade, because Pace had wanted to play some silly VR game that reminded him of Neopets and how could Percy say 'No' when he looked and sounded so damn excited about it? And a Freezer Stamp from when they had gotten lunch together at the arena, even though Percy can barely even remember what he had ordered or what the food tasted like — it's not what had mattered the most at the time.

It's silly, but in a way, he regrets not having physical copies of most of these stamps, perhaps because there's a strange need to hold onto every tangible reminder that these past few days weren't some strange fever dream — that it all actually happened and was real. Why? What does it all mean? What had it all meant to him?

There's no way that the smiling woman at the airline's check-in booth knows of these thoughts or of Percy's regrets, yet in all of her lack of awareness, the AVIATOR STAMP he already has a digital copy of is stamped onto his plane ticket as if a final memento. He's baffled at first, but the need to correct her is suppressed, because truly, when looking down at the ticket, he can't help but remember every good moment.