Chapter Text
It takes a couple of weeks in New Rome, but Jason finally hammers out a routine. He wakes up early for his morning runs. Then, with the three-hour time difference, he calls Annabeth to catch up as he waits for Thalia to rise.
Most of the time, Annabeth’s ramblings about architecture are white noise while Jason prepares for the day—but he gets to witness the hiccup in conversation, when Percy Jackson, more often than not, appears and calls her for Ancient Greek or Swordfighting classes. It's the happiest he’s seen Annabeth—being able to commit an entire summer designing new cabins for gods outside the court of Olympus.
“I can’t tell if Cabin Thirteen looks better or worse than the others,” Annabeth admits some days—critical of her own work and blueprints.
At first, Jason fell into a role of reassuring Annabeth that her designs were great. But the longer the summer has gone, that slot has been filled by someone else. Before Jason can even open his mouth—
“What if you installed one of those reinforced beams or whatever you were talking about?” Percy asks, before Jason can say a word.
The first time that happened, Annabeth raised her head, surprised, and the son of Neptune shrugged.
“Did I say it wrong?” he’d asked—which is when Jason knew Percy Jackson had a much easier time picking Annabeth’s brain than he did. Jason could offer design ideas from years of research as much as he wanted, but Percy apparently liked to hear her talk—including all the technical stuff.
It makes Jason feel less guilty for spending the summer (his first summer) away from Camp Halfblood—no matter everyone’s insistence that he can do what he wants.
“Hades Cabin is ready for you whenever you’re here,” Annabeth promises him. Not a when you come back or, once you’re done with New Rome. Just—whenever, with a quiet countdown of when Annabeth will finally start college in the fall.
(Admittedly she’s probably more excited about NRU. Jason would be hard-pressed to get between Annabeth Chase an architecture book.)
Percy and he keep conversation civil. There’s always a lifted eyebrow, or a calculated demeanor—which is how Jason knows that Percy Jackson, son of Neptune, is smarter than people give him credit for. Jason’s seen firsthand how much Nico values his relationship with his old co-centurion. And for all of the teasing Thalia gives the Fifth Cohort centurion, it’s always laced with a profound respect.
The first time he catches Reyna leaving the apartment in the morning, Jason has a fresh pot of coffee ready for her. She stares at him with tired eyes, while he greets her cheerily at the edge of dawn—and they have a strange conversation.
“You’re done with your run already?” she asks, while he cleans dishes in the sink. “Normally you’re still out by the time I leave.”
Jason arches an eyebrow at her straightforward comment. Normally they tiptoe around their current living arrangements (or therelackof.) “Sometimes I have to change it up. You…don’t have to sneak around me. You’re my sister’s girlfriend.”
Reyna stares at him oddly, in a way she did when they both lived in Camp Halfblood. She sets her mug down.
“We…never really discussed arrangements,” she says—and in another life, Jason wonders if they ever worked together. Reyna strokes her mug tentatively, evidently gauging his reaction.
“Oh,” is all Jason says, and he stares at her, puzzled. “I mean, is that something we have to discuss?”
“I play mediator for a lot of conflicts at camp, Jason,” Reyna says. “You’d be surprised how many feuds are started over someone claiming the wrong bunkbed. I…would like to avoid any potential drama over living arrangements. So, if at any point my presence is uncomfortable—”
“—you have your own house, where I’m sure you and Thalia go when you want more alone time,” Jason finishes for her. The corner of his lips lifts, and he offers her more creamer from the fridge. “I’ve had to stop a fight or two over a stolen teddy bear or blanket in Cabin Eleven, Reyna. I don’t think we’ll ever get that ugly.”
She flashes her own look of amusement as she stirs her coffee. “So long as you don’t feel like a stranger in your own home, Jason.”
Home, in New Rome with his big sister. With Bianca and Nico only a few doors down, and a university where his childhood friend would be attending in two more months. Jason’s chest swells at the mention of the word each time it’s used.
And he smiles, giving Reyna’s mug a gentle clink.
“I’ve got no complaints so long as my sister’s happy,” he reassures her. “And believe me—I’ve only ever seen her happy with you.”
Reyna blushes. She gives him another onceover. Whatever she notices, she doesn’t mention—but Jason can tell she’s in a better mood after that talk. Every now and then, they enjoy a quaint sunrise together while Thalia remains a night owl.
Breakfast usually follows at a bakery in town on the mornings Thalia insists Jason doesn’t need to cook. He’s not sure when the habit started. Jason’s used to enchanted plates from Camp Halfblood’s Dining Pavilion and Camp Jupiter had its own Mess Hall—but there’s something nice about having his own kitchen and his own pots and pans. Even if his skills don’t extend further than scrambled eggs in the morning.
On the mornings where he isn’t trying to busy himself, he gets to see Nico.
A sleepy, tired Nico who hardly seems awake with weddings and Reyna’s chores on his docket. Jason manages to swipe a slice of cherry pie out of Nico’s range more than once before the son of Juno can faceplant.
Even after Thalia and he get settled in, and Reyna takes back some of her own duties, both praetors both seem to have their hands full with integrating both camps. Weddings are apparently Nico-specific—and while he doesn’t seem to mind them, the weeks where they’re back-to-back leaves his voice raspy.
They usually get a word or two in over breakfast—before Reyna and Nico are swept away to the praetor’s office. Jason spends days with Thalia exploring San Francisco or New Rome—or with Bianca, trying to find the same cadence as easily as he did with Nico.
Two months without each other is different from a whole year and a half—with all of the tension of unsaid words in between. Maybe Bianca is trying to please him in the way Jason used to fall in line with her.
It's…all a work in progress. Even if Annabeth and he are still tentative in some of their conversations, it’s a life Jason wouldn’t trade back after last year.
Life, with his big sister and his two best friends. With a new friend, in both Nico and Reyna. A new home away from Camp Halfblood—and all of the bad things that outweighed the good. The degree of free time he has is a change of pace from working at the med bay or helping out with classes or younger campers—but it’s time for himself.
At the end of the day, Jason’s happy that he moved.
Until the nightmares start up again.
*
Jason wakes up, gasping.
The ceiling fan spins above his head, and ambient light creeps through the window from the streetlamps. He feels around, hands outstretched with the expectation to reach the edge of his tiny twin bed at Camp Halfblood—but it reaches further, on his new full mattress. On his new bed, in his apartment in New Rome—with a nightstand holding his glass of water, and the journal he’s dutifully filled out every day on his desk.
It takes a moment for his pulse to settle. For the quiet to overcome the chaos of his bad dream. Jason curls a hand over his wrist, to ease the trembling between his fingers—and with steady breaths, eventually calms himself down.
He sees his bookshelf off in the distance, rather than the crowded array of twin beds and trunks. A poster on the wall, instead of a mural of winged shoes painted in the name of the Messenger God.
His own glass of water beside him, rather than…
Jason shakes his head. He rubs his forehead first, then curls his hand against the back of his neck. Two nightmares this week. Back-to-back.
It’s…not ideal. Jason reaches out for his journal, his fingers struggling to curl around his pencil. He scribbles his thoughts, as instructed by Mr. D. They don’t really make sense—not between exhaustion and confusion. When he can’t seem to make sense of his own thoughts, he shuts the notebook and lays back down.
Waits.
A second. Two.
A minute. Five.
And then eventually, Jason pushes himself out of bed and gets dressed instead. He pulls his tennis shoes out of the closet, double knots his laces, and goes for an evening run.
*
*
“Oh, you’re still in bed.”
Jason rubs the sleep out of his eyes and meets his sister’s gaze. Thalia looks at him from at the door of his bedroom, the surprise evident across her features. She’s dressed in her usual attire—some assortment of leather and fishnet—and most importantly, all things spiky, edgy, and black. She’s also more awake than most mornings. Jason had grown used to leaving her brunch in the microwave.
The edge of Thalia’s lips quirk into a smile. “You finally getting used to the time zone change, baby brother?”
“Which one?” Jason asks—and he smiles back sleepily. After traversing the world for the last two months, they’d learned to sleep on their own schedule. Thalia’s nocturnal clock seemed to adjust immediately when they got back to New Rome, while Jason’s was…well. A work in progress.
“It’s Friday,” Thalia reminds him.
“Oh—sorry.” Jason stretches, a yawn at his lips. “I’ll get dressed.”
Fridays were breakfast days at Fabiano’s, where the Legion had an extra hour to themselves. In other words—neither Praetor Ramirez-Arellano nor Praetor di Angelo had to work right away. Thalia and her girlfriend’s schedule met a middle ground for waking at a reasonable hour.
He brushes his teeth and dresses quickly. Bianca, Reyna, and Nico are already in the living room, evidently waiting for his wake. Bianca perks first at his appearance, shifting enough weight on the couch that Nico rouses from his little nap, annoyed.
“Can you not?” Nico grumbles groggily—and he rubs his forehead.
“Morning, Nico,” Jason greets. Before he realizes it, the edge of his lips curl into a smile.
Nico stirs after a moment’s more, his blue eyes disillusioned by his sister, and he glances in Jason’s direction. Eventually he replies. “Morning, Jason.”
Thalia claps a hand on Jason’s back, a pertinent grin to her face, and they’re all ushered out the door.
Fridays were nice. The schedule seems to set itself up, rather than the other way around, as Jason tries to find things to fill his day. Watching Thalia’s eyes light up at the sight of her girlfriend—in a time of peace, rather than impending war—is always a better alternative. New Rome welcomes a normal to it that Camp Halfblood often lacked for Bianca—and Jason is finding that he really enjoys the change of pace from Long Island. The long, extended hills and the grassy valleys.
“You been running in the evenings now, Jason?” Thalia asks, when they finally settle into Fabiano’s.
“This past week, yeah.” Jason takes his rich brownie with a glass of milk.
Thalia shakes her head. “You know—for a retiree, you are way too active.”
Jason laughs awkwardly, arms crossed over his chest, and sips his milk. “I’m still trying to get into the swing of things. New Rome’s not really as…familiar to me as Long Island was.”
“The weather is much nicer,” Bianca interjects—and her eyes glimmer. “Like Venice.”
“I dunno—I don’t think he’s doing this senior citizen thing right,” Thalia jokes. She looks across the table, her lips curled in amusement. “What does the Senate say?”
One-half of the Senate is half asleep near the maple syrup. Jason gives Nico a gentle nudge, and the son of Juno is quick to wake.
“What?” Nico asks blearily.
Reyna arches an eyebrow—and reaches over to smooth Nico’s hair. “This senior praetor thinks you’re going to bed too late after you’re done with all of these weddings.”
Nico wipes the sleep out of his eyes once more and huffs. “Your co-praetor would like to remind you that his predecessor would have you sign off on city permits for screamo concerts that would make the whole city go to bed late.”
“Oh,” Thalia muses, “we haven’t had one of those in a while.”
“You won’t this week,” Nico says. “Someone booked the Coliseum for their wedding tomorrow evening. There’s going to be a duel to the death. I’m flying down on a chariot.”
Jason coughs and hides a laugh behind his fist. He watches as Nico’s eyes dart back to him momentarily, a flicker of amusement in his own eyes, while Reyna wrinkles her nose.
“Why do the Romans insist on a Duel to the Death?” Bianca asks, with a fraction of exasperation her tone.
“Why do the Romans do anything?” Nico rolls his eyes—and in one of the rare instances, the di Angelo siblings almost look like the same person in their bemusement.
“Honest to gods, who has so much money that they’re willing to rent out the entire Coliseum?” Reyna asks in disbelief.
“Babe,” Thalia replies. A grin spreads across her cheeks as she points to herself—and Reyna rolls her eyes.
“I know it’s not you,” Reyna retorts—but it gets a lively snicker anyway.
“People spend as much or as little as they think they should on a wedding. Kind of a scam,” Nico comments wryly. “At the end of the day, they all want the same thing for their relationship. A commitment.”
“Must be nice,” Jason says, “falling in love with someone and wanting to spend the rest of your life with them, I mean.”
And not having it completely blow up in your face, he decides not to say. Nico studies him carefully, a hand brushed up against his new tattoo, and he shrugs.
“Sometimes love isn’t even involved. Sometimes it’s a business transaction—or in Mammina’s case, blackmail,” Nico says—and Jason bites back another smile. “How’d we even get on this subject?”
“We were talking about how my brother spends his entire retirement just working on his eight-pack,” Thalia teases—and Jason feels the red blooming in his cheeks. “Seriously, I think the longest I’ve seen you sit still is to eat.”
Jason grows redder at his sister’s assessment, but Nico blinks.
“Your eight-pack?” he repeats, evidently still exhausted from his eventful days.
“I’ve been running in the evenings,” Jason translates—and he rubs his own bicep self-consciously. “Um. On top of my runs in the morning.”
“Jason gets his morning exercise before the cadets are even awake,” Reyna comments—which is something she can only say after a few weeks of staying at their apartment. “It’s a habit he hasn’t shaken from Camp Halfblood.”
It’s then that Nico frowns, slowly turning back to Jason. “Why?”
With Nico asking, Jason can’t help feeling self-conscious. He shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. “Just because, I guess.”
To his surprise, Nico looks a little more awake. He stares for a moment, then opens his mouth to speak. Bianca beats him to the punch.
“You’ve been like this long before we met,” Bianca chastises—and she shakes her head. “You should slow down, Jace.”
“Hard to do that when the year’s almost halfway over,” Jason says—and his lips lift into a tired smile. He looks between their little group, with the realization that he’s the center of attention. Then, Jason sits a little straighter in his seat. “I’m fine, really. I’m just…used to doing things around Camp Halfblood. Basket-weaving. Candle blowing. Ancient Greek.”
Fighting, he doesn’t say. Training and planning.
“Which you don’t do anymore,” Nico says slowly, “because you’re retired.”
“Now he’s caught up,” Thalia says—and she laughs affectionately as Nico glows pink. “You’re welcome to come and go as you please, baby brother. Annabeth promised me Hades Cabin would look nothing less than badass.”
Something tells him that Annabeth and his sister may have different definitions of the word badass. Jason shakes his head, biting back the queasiness at the pit of his stomach. “Maybe another weekend.”
“You could attend the War Game tonight,” Reyna suggests. “Not participate—but they’re similar to Capture the Flag. You might enjoy yourself.”
“Another night,” Jason promises. “I…might have to, though. I’m feeling like the odd-one out for skipping out on those.”
To his surprise, Nico nudges him in the shoulder, with a careful look in his eye. His lips press into a flat line. “War Games aren’t for everyone. There’s plenty of other things to do in New Rome.”
In his head, Jason can almost hear their conversation from when he first came back. Fighting isn’t for everyone. He takes in Nico’s empathetic look and settles a little more in his seat.
Thalia gives him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. “You okay without me tonight?”
“I’ll find something to occupy my time,” Jason says—and he gives her a reassuring squeeze.
Still—finding something to preoccupy his time may take the longest of all.
*
Thalia ends up parting ways to walk Reyna and Nico to the principia. As always, it leaves Jason and Bianca together.
They’ve talked occasionally since the end of spring. The more Jason sees her in New Rome, the happier Bianca seems—in a content, normal life without the fear of a quest or unavoidable destiny looming over their heads. Which—works out best for the both of them. Bianca gets what she wants, and Jason has one of his best friends again.
Most days are spent enjoying the ambiance. Bianca takes pictures around all of the buildings of New Rome, or they wander around San Francisco. There’s a year missing between them, where Bianca was a huntress before death, and Jason mourned everyone who died. They don’t approach that subject often.
In a way, they’re both still trying to get used to what New Rome has to offer compared to what Camp Halfblood lacked—a life within a safe haven, rather than a safe haven from life. There’s a relief in Jason, when Terminus strictly tells them that weapons aren’t allowed past the boundaries of the city.
Bianca is partial to the mall, where demigods can safely gather and go in and out of a store without the fear of monsters looming over them. She has a nervous energy that followed her in rebirth—all related to her new life and making things perfect with Nico. Making things right.
“Is Nico okay?” Jason asks—when Nico’s disgruntled demeanor lingers in his mind. “He sounds like he’s shouldering a lot this summer.”
Bianca shrugs as she rifles through clothes. “It’s the combination of wedding season and integrating both camps. If he’s not busy with one thing, then he and Reyna are busy with the other.”
“Integrating both camps is…a lot,” Jason says, and his lips press into a worried frown. “That’s basically twice as many people.”
“I volunteered to help him with the wedding stuff,” Bianca admits—and she lets out a tired sigh, “but he told me not to worry about it. I…think he still feels bad over the whole Calypso thing. Me deciding to stay rather than travel the world with her.”
Jason thinks of the Titan daughter that graced their presence at the edge of spring. He remembers how firm Bianca was about staying in Ogygia, until Zeus forced her against it. “Have you guys talked about it?”
“No,” Bianca replies blithely—and she pulls out a dress to look at. “That would involve talking about my love life, and neither of us want that.”
She’s pointed in her statement, her nose wrinkling, and Jason holds back a smile. Still—he notices her eyes dim with a quiet frustration. One that isn’t too far from what he’s seen in the past.
“If,” Jason starts slowly, “that’s something that worries you, maybe it’d be worth talking about.”
“Jace, my love life?” Bianca asks, and she looks at him with grimace. “When’s the last time you wanted to talk about yours?”
“Well,” Jason starts—and he stops soon after. He shifts uncomfortably. “Um.”
The last time he had to talk about his love life was with Eros—and he’s not keen on reliving those memories again.
As Bianca flashes him a guilty look, Jason’s not sure if it makes him feel better or worse. She hangs the dress back up. “Sorry. We can go back to my pathetic love life.”
“I hardly call having a goddess for a girlfriend pathetic.”
She smiles at him more tentatively than he expects. Then she pushes a lock of long hair behind her ear and guides him to another rack of clothes. “She and I were never going to last in the long run.”
“You’re so sure about that?”
“We didn’t want the same things.” Bianca glances back at Jason. “I mean—we both wanted a life where the gods didn’t have control over us. She was stuck on an island for thousands of years and I lost my brother because of something stupid I did when I was twelve. I got my brother back, and she got a life again. If…I was stuck on an island, where someone would leave every time they fell in love with me, I’d want to focus on myself, too. Because I want to. Not because I’m forced to.”
Jason thinks back to the vision he saw of Bianca in Ogygia. The one with her bare feet in the sand and dressed in a Grecian gown. Bianca looked as in her element in an island paradise as she did wielding a bow and electric arrows. She’d held onto Calypso’s hand like a lifeline, but…Bianca also changed lives like the clouds changed weather—so the atmosphere would fit her, rather than the other way around.
Still—he thinks of how hopeful she was on Olympus when she begged for Calypso’s freedom. How excited she was, her hands laced together with the goddess and a smile to her face. One moment, Jason saw his best friend in love—and the next, she was telling him how they’d broken up, with nothing but a sad smile to her face as she and Hazel got to know each other. It’s just…hard to imagine.
“So,” Jason replies, “you’re really over it.”
Bianca looks at him—almost studying him in a way he’s grown used to with Nico—and nods in return. “I mean…it took a while, but yeah. I really don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t want to be with me. I deserve that much, don’t I?”
“You do,” Jason agrees. The corner of his lip curls into a smile. “When you put it that way, it doesn’t sound nearly as pathetic as you think it does.”
Her laughter is quaint. “The mindset’s half the battle, Jace. Actually finding someone who wants my company is another mission entirely.”
“I like your company,” Jason says—and she rolls her eyes.
“You’re a good friend,” Bianca replies. She folds a hand over a clothing rack and shakes her head. “Maybe I’ll just die alone. At least this way I can’t get roped into some loveless marriage.”
It’s an interesting thing, listening to Bianca joke about her previous life. She’s happier now. Truly, compared to her life before the Huntresses, when she pretended the prophecy didn’t exist. Jason used to enjoy those moments where they weren’t son of Hades and daughter of Zeus—but two teenagers, sneaking out and living.
Now they got to blend the two.
“I’m a son of Hades, Bee,” he reminds her. “I’ll enjoy your company in death, too.”
Bianca looks up to him, the corner of her lips lifting into another a smile. She puts away a dress and kisses him on the cheek.
“You’re going to make some lucky girl’s heart explode someday, Jace,” she declares. Bianca hooks their arms together. “Or boy.”
“I…doubt it,” Jason replies—and he decide against commenting on his own love life.
They check out of the first store with a few new outfits for Bianca. She has fun talking up the cashier—a pretty nymph that lives in the ficus behind the counter. Bianca’s eager to have conversations that blend the mortal world with the mythological one—and ends up getting an extra discount on top of her clothes.
“Do you even have room in your closet?” Jason asks.
“Let me worry about that,” Bianca promises—and Jason bites back another smile.
On their way out of the store, Jason spots two familiar faces. “Oh—I think that’s Leo and Piper.”
Sure enough, the son of Vulcan and daughter of Aphrodite are chatting with a satyr—a faun—that is waving around a mysterious mug. Jason’s not sure what to think of it.
“Oh?” Bianca perks. “Oh.”
And then she shrinks behind Jason, nearly taking his weight with her as she hides.
“Whoa—” Jason blinks, feeling one daughter of Hera sidle under his silhouette. “Um. Bianca?”
“I’m not here,” Bianca hisses hastily.
“What? Why?” Jason turns to face her—but she’s quick to shove his face frontwards. “Bianca, I’m confused.”
“Just pretend I’m not here,” Bianca repeats, “and shield me when they walk by.”
She uses the same tone of voice from when they would play Capture the Flag together, with an impromptu rescue mission for their comrades. Jason blinks and follows Bianca’s line of sight. “Is this because of Piper? I thought the two of you got along.”
“We—” Bianca glows, and she tugs at the back of Jason’s shirt. “—don’t hate each other.”
“That clears things up, Bee.”
“Your sarcasm isn’t appreciated,” Bianca retorts.
Jason turns his head again. “I just don’t understand—”
“Hey, it’s the Ghost Boy.” Leo comes into their line of sight, a nefarious grin to his face as they come close. “And…friend?”
Bianca would’ve hid better if she hadn’t squeaked. When she does, Piper looks over, one eyebrow lifted into the air.
“Hi Leo,” Jason greets. “Hi, Piper.”
“Jason,” Piper replies—her tone courteous. She’s dressed in a tie-dye Powerpuff Girls tank top, a pair of loose-fitted jeans, and a dirty pair of chucks that look like they don’t belong with the outfit.
But—being the daughter of Aphrodite that she is, it comes together. It’s a far cry from the dainty image that Jason’s grown used to from Bianca.
“Bianca,” Piper says, as though sensing the contrast herself. “Hi.”
Jason finds himself at an impasse, with Bianca’s hands fisting the back of his shirt and both Leo and Piper staring awkwardly. Eventually, Bianca unfurls her hands from Jason’s back and peeks over his shoulder.
“Hi,” she offers—and Piper doesn’t look any less amused.
“You buy a new dress?” Piper asks.
Bianca stares back at her blankly—until Piper gestures to the bag in her hand. “Oh. Oh! Yes. I bought a dress. For me.”
The edge of Piper’s lips curl into a smile. “Cool.”
“Cool,” Bianca repeats. “Yeah. Cool.”
Jason stares at his best friend quizzically—at her nervous demeanor, and the way she curls her hand over the handle of her shopping bag. Then he looks over to Leo—who seems to be darting back and forth between both girls, demeanor filled with amusement.
“So,” Jason says eventually, to fill in the awkwardness. “How’s the weaponry shop doing?”
At the mention of his shop, Leo splits into a grin. He crosses his arms over his chest. “Pretty well, man! Business is booming this summer. You’d be surprised how well a souvenir double-edged sword goes for first-time visitors in Camp Jupiter.”
“I think you have a pretty good reputation after building a boat out of a dragon, Leo.” Jason smiles amicably, while Leo shrugs.
“Whatever pays for Festus’s parts,” Leo says. “My boy’s almost up and operational again. I’ll have enough money by the end of the summer to get all of the sheet metal I need to fix him up.”
“I…thought Festus was at Camp Halfblood,” Bianca says. She stares at Leo curiously.
“He is,” Leo reassures. Then he rolls his eyes and nudges Piper in the shoulder. “But this one is all the way out on the west coast. Hard to say no to a first-class ticket.”
Piper smiles back and nudges Leo affectionately. “First class means you complains less. That’s the only way I’ll have you, Valdez.”
“Beauty Queen, I will gladly fill in the gaps with something else to annoy you.” Leo snickers and ribs Piper back just as warmly. For two Roman and Greek demigods, they get along swimmingly—long before they had to worry about ballistae firing across New Rome. Jason can’t help but relish in their friendship.
Bianca looks over to Piper. “You’re…not at Camp Halfblood, either?”
Piper makes a face and shakes her head. “I think I’ve had enough demigod time being stuck in the Labyrinth for all of spring semester. I’d rather have some me time.”
“Here,” Bianca replies, “in New Rome.”
“Piper’s dad lives in Malibu,” Leo explains. “Not the quickest trip, but—”
“Much closer than going coast-to-coast,” Piper finishes for him. “After everything that happened this past spring, I just want to be close to family. You know?”
Bianca studies her carefully, a look of surprise passing over her features. Then she gives a reaffirming nod. “I know.”
“Hey—I’ve seen you with a bow and arrow. I’ve got some trick arrows I’ve been working on if you’re interested. Maybe some doggie armor for that ferocious hellhound of yours.” Leo grins and pulls out a business card from nowhere. “Hit me up, Bee.”
Bianca is reluctant, but takes the card anyway. “Jace is the only one that calls me Bee.”
“Ignore him,” Piper says—and she rolls her eyes. “Leo goes for girls out of his league to get a rise out of them.”
At that comment, Bianca’s cheeks flourish pink. And she repeats, “Out of his league.”
“Guilty,” Leo replies. “Though—you’re less out of my league and in the absolutely no fly zone.”
At that comment, Bianca’s lips contort into a frown.
“Ignore him,” Piper says again—to which Leo laughs.
“Yeah, ignore me,” Leo agrees. “So, you guys eat yet?”
Jason blinks as Leo’s eyes suddenly land on him expectantly, despite speaking with Bianca only moments before. Leo’s lips curl into a crooked smile, and he looks like a devilish Santa’s elf.
Bianca’s stomach erupts in a growl—garnering all of their attention. She flushes, red dusting across her cheeks as she looks back to Jason—equal parts hopeful and mortified.
“Sorry,” Jason says, and he pats his stomach. “Guess I could eat.”
*
The last time Jason talked to Leo was aboard the Argo II, when the son of Vulcan admitted how much he missed his family—the one he gained after coming to New Rome.
The stress of war had made Leo chary. For all of the ways both wars had affected Jason, he felt awful for putting Leo in a similar position. Still—they never got to revisit that subject after Gaea exploded. Jason spent a week in Camp Halfblood’s med bay alongside Will Solace and the rest of Cabin Six, but once he announced his departure, the expectation was to faze him out of a lot of the responsibilities at camp.
Leo and he saw each other in passing before he left. For the most part, Leo and the rest of his siblings from Cabin Nine seemed to enjoy hiding out in the bunker and fixing up their mechanical dragon. Hazel, Frank, and Annabeth knew Leo much better after months on the Argo II together. Jason’s time was split between the med bay, Annabeth, and Bianca’s sides before they all saw him off with Thalia.
It was…hard to let go. But also one of the most relieving decisions Jason was allowed to make.
War weathered everyone. The stress that came from a second civil war and the rise of Gaea made it more important to look out for each other—and harder to like each other. So Jason understands how Leo could grow antsy on a boat while away from his weapons shop and the blacksmiths that trained him.
With war aside, talking to Leo feels like their first few meetings before things grew tense between the Greeks and Romans. It’s light and easy—which is probably why Jason enjoyed the company so much to begin with. Now, though, Leo seems even more at ease with family on both coasts, and his best friend at his side.
Jason picks a chicken strip off his plate, while Leo and Piper recount a story of Capture the Flag from this past weekend.
“Man,” Leo says, and he claps his hands to the food court table. “What I wouldn’t give to break apart Clarisse’s spear.”
“And see what it’s made of?” Jason asks, the edge of his lips curling with amusement.
“No,” Leo dismisses, and he shakes his head. He leaves it at that.
On the other hand, Bianca laughs at her words and nabs a French fry from Jason’s tray. “Annabeth, Jace, and I used to team up for Capture the Flag. You put the three of us together and the Red Team basically had no choice but to handover their banner.”
At that claim, Piper’s expression flickers in surprise. Jason recognizes it from months ago, when Bianca called him a swordsman when Piper expected a healer. “Really?”
“You should have seen it,” Bianca gushes—and she relishes their glory days with a sense of awe. “Jason was amazing. He shouldered all of camp back then—there wasn’t anything that he couldn’t do, but—”
She pauses, and glances over to Jason, who smiles tentatively in his seat, hand curled at his bicep.
“—but he’s retired now,” Bianca finishes, her vibrato lowering. She smiles at him, the vigor of her voice changing into something calmer. Jason can’t help but smile back. “And he’s become one of the best healers that I know.”
“Oh—no, I believe that much. You can’t walk two feet in Camp Halfblood without hearing how Jason used to do this or that,” Piper says—though no exasperation lingers in her voice. She turns to Jason, and they share a glance that’s nothing more than neutral. “Cabin Thirteen looks badass. Annabeth did a good job with it.”
“So I’ve heard,” Jason replies—and he smiles tentatively.
“I was surprised to hear you played Capture the Flag,” Piper explains—and she turns back to Bianca more pointedly.
Bianca stares back, surprised. “Why?”
“You…just don’t seem like the fighting type. Not like Hazel, I mean,” Piper explains—and Bianca looks back, offended.
“You were literally holding onto me while we rode across camp and slayed monsters,” Bianca reminds her. She arches her eyebrow.
“Sounds romantic,” Leo comments—and Jason holds back a laugh.
“I recall the dog doing most of the work,” Piper says—her voice much more even than Bianca’s own.
“You think hellhounds are easy to train?” Bianca asks. She looks more like her godly mother, her intonation sweet, but eyes daring Piper to say something rotten. “Jason, tell her how hard they are to train.”
Jason decides he’s better off not biting. He startles at the sound of his name and coughs. “I—uh. I don’t think I have a dog in this fight.”
“Jace, you literally own Mrs. O’Leary,” Bianca points out, and she uses a shrewder tone. He shrugs. “I was a huntress, too. I swore my life to Lady Artemis. I can fight.”
“Didn’t you die?” Leo asks—and Bianca whips a frown in his direction. Immediately, he brings his hands in front of him. “Whoa, girlie—I mean that as least offensively as possible.”
He turns to Jason.
“Is that considered offensive?” he asks. “Asking someone who came back to life about their death?”
“I…can’t say it’s something you see very often,” Jason replies, as he gauges his best friend’s reaction. “So…circumstantial?”
“I didn’t mean any offense,” Piper says quickly—and she eases back into her seat. “To be fair, I didn’t exactly see much of you between Disney World and now. I just figured you were like most girls.”
“Most girls how?” Bianca asks, her voice wry and disapproving. She smooths out her hair over her shoulder.
“You know, most girls,” Piper replies, and she places her vegan burger back on her plate.
“What’s wrong with most girls?” Bianca frowns, while Piper looks uncomfortable to continue.
“Girls who just care about their looks and being with the alpha crowd.” Piper waves a French fry in Jason’s direction.
“Does Jason look like an alpha to you?” Bianca makes a face and shakes his shoulder.
“Again,” Jason reminds her, uncomfortable while Leo laughs. “No dog in this fight.”
“We were literally just talking about what a legend Jason Grace, Son of Hades is,” Piper protests. She shakes her head and spares Jason another glance before going back to her food. “Look, it’s a compliment. It just means you’re not like other girls. You shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Bianca studies the daughter of Aphrodite with an eerie silence. Then, “You think most girls are underestimated?”
“Well—I don’t think any girls should be underestimated.” Piper shakes her head. “But—you have to admit that there are a lot of girls out there who make it harder for the rest of us.”
“Us other girls,” Bianca supplies, her tone speculative.
“Like us, Reyna, Hazel, Thalia, and Annabeth, yeah,” Piper agrees—and she looks back at Bianca expectantly. “I mean—just because you like to get your hair done and look pretty doesn’t mean you’re any less intelligent. But the other girls who like that stuff—like my sister Drew—she makes it harder for the rest of us. People laugh at my cabin because all they care about is being popular and looking pretty.”
At the mention of Drew, Jason’s lips twist into a grimace. “That’s…kind of—”
“I’m a girl,” Bianca replies, her tone of voice steady. “And I like to dress up in cute clothes and get my hair done because it makes me feel good. Just like shooting arrows, and hunting, and winning Capture the Flag makes me feel good. Neither one makes me more or less of a girl. I’m all girl.”
Piper stares at her, confused.
“Just like how you wielded a knife, charmspoke the Labyrinth, and you care about your looks because they make you feel good,” Bianca finishes.
“I don’t care about my—”
“You’re dressed like that because you like the way you look.” Bianca gestures to the daughter of Aphrodite’s ensemble—then to her hair. “And you did your own hair because you like how that looks. And Leo’s literally one of the Seven—so he’s every bit as popular as Jace is.”
“Care to tell my agent that?” Leo muses—and his grin spreads with Bianca’s charm.
Bianca sits a little straighter in her seat. “You’re pretty and powerful. Just like Drew. I sincerely mean that as a compliment—she’s a fun one to go shopping with.”
Piper stares back at Bianca, evidently not expecting the rebuttal. For a daughter of Aphrodite known for her charmspeak, she’s evidently speechless. Red flushes across her cheeks, embarrassed by her own words.
“Hey, Ghost Boy—” Leo leans across the table and nudges Jason with his own foot. “Who’s winning here? Because all I hear is Beauty Queen and Stargirl over there calling each other pretty.”
Bianca suddenly flushes as pink as Piper, and the daughter of Aphrodite shoots Leo a dirty look. Leo grins anyway, much more amused by the exchange than Jason.
“My mother is the goddess of family and women,” Bianca reminds Piper. She lifts a hand. “So from one demigod with a power goddess mom to another—how about we just agree that girls are awesome?”
Piper doesn’t look happy about being chastised. She stares down at Bianca’s hand and eventually reaches out with her own.
“Girls are awesome,” Piper agrees—and the corner of her lip curls into a steady smirk. “But you’re gonna have to put your money where your mouth is about Capture the Flag.”
Bianca takes in the taunt and grins. “It’s a date.”
They shake hands much more amicably than before—and Jason can’t help exhaling a sigh of relief. It’s rare he sees Bianca riled up—but she looks far less nervous now than she did when they exited that clothing boutique.
Then, Piper asks, “Is it now?”
Red flushes in Bianca’s cheeks once more. She’s quick to pull her hand away and go back to the food at her plate.
There’s a daft silence at their table, where no one speaks. Not until Leo gets fed up and asks, “So—do you like ketchup or barbecue sauce with your chicken strips, D.P.?”
*
“So why exactly do you not like Piper?” Jason asks much later, after a long day at the mall. They take the lengthy way back, after perusing few more shops. While Bianca’s arms are full of bags of new clothes, the surplus spills over to Jason.
Bianca flushes as they make it to the edge of New Rome, where Terminus gives them the slightest onceover before dismissing himself to ridicule another New Roman or camper not up to code. “I don’t dislike Piper, I just don’t know how to talk to Piper.”
“That’s a whole lot of not talking you did with her today.”
“I don’t remember you being this sassy before I died,” Bianca retorts—and Jason smiles sheepishly. “Piper’s nice. I get why Nico gets along with her, I just—don’t know how you’re supposed to talk to someone that pretty.”
“Like every other person from the sounds of it,” Jason says helpfully—and this time, Bianca rolls her eyes. “Sorry—I couldn’t really follow half the conversation. I think Leo and I were just trying to make sure it wasn’t going to escalate.”
Bianca stares at him weirdly. “Why would it escalate?”
“Because,” Jason says—and then he stops. “I mean…because it sounded like it was going to escalate?”
“You just don’t understand girls.”
“I hardly understand boys,” Jason agrees, and he stares back at her, flummoxed. Love and marriage. Jason thinks he’s given his heart too many times to the first one—all ending with more cracks than the first attempt. He’s not sure how Nico could summarize marriage as a business transaction when one seems essential for the other—but he also never thought he’d live long enough to consider it an option.
He still doesn’t.
“So are you going on a date with Piper?” he asks—and Bianca almost walks into a telephone pole. Jason yanks her back.
“What part of that conversation makes you think that Piper wants to go on a date with me?”
“The part where she said she wanted to see you in Capture the Flag, and you called it a date,” Jason says—and he watches as she glows pink. “It’s…not like how Calypso wants to travel the world. It sounds like Piper’s just going to be a few hours away.”
“You’re rushing this,” Bianca says miserably.
“I’m—not rushing anything.” They halt as they reach their residential block, and Jason’s eyebrows furrow together. “You know I’d never push you.”
Bianca’s demeanor twists—and they’re quick to diminish the topic of Piper McLean. Instead, she turns to meet his gaze, and they approach another rough patch in their friendship. Where Bianca di Angelo did whatever she wanted and Jason Grace obliged because it was better to have her here, than gone.
“I know,” she agrees softly, and she curls her hands over her shopping bags. She touches his shoulder with some unknown strength (because seriously—her clothes were heavy) and rolls to the soles of her heels. “I don’t know—she hasn’t necessarily seen me at my best. I’m either arguing with Nico, or I’m saying something stupid.”
“I don’t think Nico would disagree with what you said today,” Jason protests. “Look, Bee—I’m not pushing you to do anything. I’m just asking questions. Honest. But you did call your love life pathetic earlier.”
Bianca snorts—and Jason can’t help but think it’s a habit developed after living with Nico again for so long.
“And,” Jason adds helpfully, “it sure beats dying alone.”
The corner of her lips lifts, and she looks more like herself as she leans into him. “What happened to always having you by my side?”
“I’ve reconsidered and respectfully decided you need someone who can keep up with you on the dance floor,” Jason informs—and she laughs.
“We’ll see if fate allows us to meet again,” Bianca declares—and she pulls a lock of hair behind her ear. It’s hard not to think about their past lives—that twelve-year-old girl with her green cap and timid eyes, next to a just-as careful twelve-year-old Jason.
“That’s very poetic of you.”
“Less poetic when the Fates literally control our lives,” Bianca retorts wryly. They make it to her house, and she hands over more of her bags to unlock the front door. There’s a foot of distance between them, as peers back at him carefully. She takes the bags out of his hand. “I’m…thankful that you’ve never pushed me, Jace. But a gentle nudge for you wouldn’t hurt.”
“A gentle for what?” The edge of Jason’s lips twitch.
“You,” Bianca says, “and your love life.”
Oh. Jason blinks and stares back at her, taken aback.
“Just a thought. I’m not pushing you to do anything.” Bianca echoes his words from earlier and lean against her doorframe. “But…next week will mark a year. You know?”
“I…” Jason starts. His nose twitches. “Um.”
“Even the King of the Dead doesn’t walk alone in life,” she reminds him. “You can’t keep up with me, but maybe someone else is already moving at your pace, Jace.”
Jason considers her reasoning. “My dad was a thousand years old before Persephone was even born.”
“And now he lives in the most faithful marriage known to demigod,” Bianca points out—which makes Jason smile. “It’s just a thought, Jace.”
Before he can protest—or give any response, really—she kisses him on the cheek goodbye and heaves a heavy sigh.
“Now I must find room in my closet,” she declares.
“You sound like you’re going off to war.” Jason smiles faintly.
“There will be many casualties,” she says forlornly—and then she smiles at him like she would have after a day trip to NYC. “Bye, Jace. Have a good night.”
“You too, Bee.”
She shuts the door behind her, leaving Jason alone with his thoughts. That thought.
*
Running around New Rome in the evenings has actually helped Jason learn the landscape better. There are fewer people out at night—no one but the critical Lares, who glowed in midnight’s dusk and waggle their fingers at him if he happened to run across their path. Jason doesn’t do that often—but tonight in particular, his head is elsewhere.
If it were any other demigod, they’d go right through the Lares—but Jason Grace, son of Hades, has a special knack for bumping straight into them. He apologizes profusely, of course—he’s been in his own thoughts in the last few days. Bianca’s gentle (unexpected) nudge seems to push him further into that headspace. Especially now.
He's always enjoyed running. No weapons to worry about, no people who need protection. Just Jason in his thoughts, without destiny clamoring at his ankles.
He drags his feet across different terrains—the asphalt of the via principalis, the grassy hills of the outskirts of New Rome—and the cobblestone steps within city limits. Jason runs a little further every day. West, in the opposite direction of Long Island and Camp Halfblood.
But, he knows the longer he goes west, he’ll circle back to east coast. His childhood home.
With Bianca’s thought on his mind, it blocks out some of the other reasons why he keeps his steady trek. At the same time, it makes those thoughts worse. Those nightmares.
Jason hadn’t given much thought to his love life—if ever. His heart was taken to the Fields of Punishment, where he wasn’t keen on going. After Eros’s arrows and piercing words this past spring, he’s even less inclined to want love than after his sixteenth birthday.
It’s just not something he gave a lot of thought to, since everything—everyone—focused on what would happen that day. Instead of the other days in Jason’s life, where he was just…trying to live. Trying not to die because he had a duty.
HIs camp beads are a heavy rope around his neck—much like the noose of the Achille’s Curse that pulled him out of the River Styx. Each bead he earned became a countdown until the very last one. The one that held the name of every other demigod who died for his destiny.
He thinks of Bianca’s words about Hades—how of the Three Kings, his father was the most faithful to his wife. For a long time, Jason struggled with the fact that the one time Hades, King of the Dead, was infidel was to sire a son who would deal with the heavy hand of the fate of Olympus. So, good and bad. Mostly bad, for Jason.
And some good, wedged in there like hope in Pandora’s Box.
Jason is enough, his mother had said. Jason Grace, the healer—someone to bring his mother out of the glamorous life that turned her into a hollow shell.
He’s retired from that life now, because there was meaning outside of Camp Halfblood and Olympus.
So—in his efforts to find a new meaning in his life—in cherishing his relationship with his sister, rekindling his connection with Annabeth, finding common ground with Bianca and understanding that Camp Halfblood did him as much wrong as he did it—maybe love could be there. For him.
“Maybe not,” he says almost automatically to his father’s crypt. His evening runs always seem to end up there—with Jason staring at his father’s small statue and offering new flowers or offerings in the brazier.
A lot has changed since last year. In going west—further west, he’s crossed Moscow, Odesa, and Croatia again. All of the places that made him feel better as a son of Hades when Jason questioned whether he should even be alive. Jason thinks he’s finally understanding what it means to be his father’s son—but whatever Eros and Aphrodite intend for his love life is a bad monster he’d rather keep in Tartarus.
Or—as of right now, in the Fields of Eternal Punishment. And getting it out of there feels…dangerous.
He’s so deep in thought that he doesn’t notice someone walking up behind him. “Jason?”
Jason smiles before he can help himself, his head bowed—and then turns to meet Nico’s gaze. Nico’s not dressed in the shining glamor of a crown or bangles or whatever other jewelry—just the same Camp Jupiter t-shirt in the summer’s heat and a praetor’s badge. It’s different from the regalia he’s adorned to officiate weddings, and the praetor armor Jason’s used to from their quest.
But, no less Nico, who flashes him a curious glance. “What are you doing up so late?”
“My evening run.” Jason takes a final inspection of his father’s brazier before standing to his feet and dusting of his knees. “Who won the War Games?”
He’s not expecting Nico to look at him so oddly, one eyebrow high in the air. “The First and Fifth, once they stopped butting heads.”
“Sounds like trouble.”
“So are most teambuilding exercises,” Nico remarks. “Reyna and I were announcing lights out when I noticed someone running through Temple Hill. Is this when you normally take your evening run?”
“Yeah.” Jason looks back at Nico, puzzled. “Why?”
“Because it’s a quarter past one,” Nico points out—and Jason flushes.
Jason touches the back of his neck self-consciously. “Dad’s crypt is my checkpoint. I usually run through a bit of New Rome before I head back home.”
Nico stares at him. Then he turns around and points to the red-roofed porticos off in the distance, near the boundaries of New Rome. “You go there.”
“Um. Yeah.”
“And—” Nico gestures past the via principalis, where both praetor houses and Jason’s apartment complex sit. “—you run past home.”
“Yes.”
“Across the Forum, up the hills of Temple Hill, all the way to your dad’s crypt?” Nico frowns and eyes him again. “That’s more running than I expect out of my cadets, Jason.”
There’s a way that Nico says my cadets that warms Jason’s heart. Nico’s grown into the role as praetor to the legion comfortably after a few short months. Jason can’t help but smile—but then he remembers he’s also on the hot seat with one son of Juno.
“No one else is out in New Rome right now. My only enemy is a phone booth if I’m not looking,” Jason jokes. “Easier to clear my head this way.”
“Do you need that these days?”
Jason blinks. When he looks back up, Nico sports the same look he did this morning, before Bianca interrupted him.
“I thought you said you were running just because,” Nico continues. His expression is less curious now. “You sure you’re okay, Jason?”
The edge of Jason’s lips curl into a nervous smile, and he concedes. “Can’t get one over you, can I?”
Nico flushes and crosses his arms over his chest. “I can’t help it if I notice things.”
“I appreciate it,” Jason promises. “I just…you’ve been so busy these days that I didn’t realize there was something to notice.”
There’s a moment of hesitation, where Nico looks at the dirt at his feet, then slowly scoots his shoe across grass. He sighs and rubs the praetor badge pinned to his shirt, then shakes his head.
“You only touch the back of your neck when you’re nervous,” Nico says finally. “You did that a lot during our quest. It’s…hard, not to notice.”
Oh. Again, Jason blinks, and looks back to the son of Juno, who stares at him just as flustered as before. Even as he speaks, Jason realizes his hand is curled at the base of his neck.
“That’s where the curse is,” Nico says, “right?”
Wow. “I…really can’t get one over you.”
“You just have to look for the right things,” Nico says—and he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his pants. There’s a moment where Nico looks shy, but Jason can’t figure out why. “I…spent too long on our quest not looking for the right things. I. don’t really want that to happen again.”
Jason stares back at the son of Juno, taken aback once more. The pads of his fingers brush against the weak point of his neck—then he brings his hands to his sides.
“It was just a guess,” Nico continues quickly—and he brings his shoulders to his ears. “You can tell me I’m wrong and I’ll believe you.”
“It’s fine, Nico.” Jason sits against a patch of grass and pats the area beside him. Nico looks back, nervous, and slowly makes his way beside Jason. “You just surprised me. I don’t think Annabeth even knows.”
“Is that what’s bothering you?”
“Not necessarily,” Jason says—and he brushes his thumb over his neck again—as though it’s still raw and new. He remembers doing it almost a year ago and thinking about how his entire mortality was reduced to something smaller than a fingerprint beneath the knot of his necklace. “I had a weird conversation with Bianca earlier.”
“It’s Bianca,” Nico retorts—and Jason laughs. Then, “Weird, how?”
Jason breaks down their mall visit. How they ran into Leo and Piper, and the awkward experience of watching Bianca di Angelo and Piper McLean have a showdown about how awesome women are.
“Leo’s shop is doing that well, huh?” Nico notes. “I signed a document today so he could get a bigger booth at the Forum. Good for him.”
There’s no animosity there. Jason recalls awkward run-ins aboard the Argo II, where Nico and Leo tried to avoid each other—lest they both wanted to rub each other the wrong way. Now, though, Nico sounds sincere. Maybe it had to do with the shield Leo rushed to make before Jason and Nico diverted onto a quest of their own.
“I think they were flirting,” Jason says next. “Bianca and Piper, I mean. I’m not really sure.”
“Ah,” Nico says. He doesn’t sound surprised.
“You knew about them?”
“As little as I can possibly can.” Nico shakes his head and wrinkles his nose. “I try not to talk to Bianca about her love life.”
Jason bites back a laugh, after hearing the same sentiment echoed by Nico’s sister a few hours prior. He looks down to his hands and rubs his fingers. “Well…I told her I’d support her happiness no matter what, especially after Calypso. Then somehow we got on the topic of my love life.”
Nico blinks. He looks up to Jason—with maybe more surprise than Jason expects—and palms his new peacock tattoo. “Oh. Um. Why, exactly?”
“To see if it’s time to move on.” Jason heaves a heavier sigh than he intends. It’s easier somehow, doing it now in Nico’s presence. “To think about it, at least.”
“Oh,” Nico says again.
“Yeah,” Jason says.
“Is…it time to move on?”
“Hard to move on when there was nothing really there to begin with.” Jason rubs his forehead—and the same nauseating knots from when Bianca first mentioned it furl in his stomach. To his surprise, Nico brushes a hand over his wrist.
“There was something there,” Nico argues—but his voice is gentle. “Otherwise it wouldn’t have taken such a toll on you, Jason.”
Looking into the sky of Nico’s eyes, it’s hard to argue. No one’s seen Jason the way Nico has—in that cave in Croatia, where Eros prodded at his emotions—and every journey after that. Jason tried to keep his feelings tucked under a rug with all of the quests that loomed over their heads. But Nico’s right—it wasn’t nothing if there if he felt like there was something to hide.
“I…just always thought I would die before it really mattered,” Jason admits. Earnestly. He doesn’t know how else to put it. “I can hardly get my days together. How am I supposed to figure out dating?”
“Your days,” Nico echoes. Then, “You’re restless.”
Jason peers back at Nico, surprised, and the other demigod shrugs.
“We don’t exactly offer campfire singalong and basketweaving here,” Nico replies wryly. His tattoo seems to shine against his forearm, with the six inked stripes showing exactly what Camp Jupiter had to offer. “I…could talk to the New Rome Hospital for you. Maybe our infirmary. I’m sure they’d appreciate a helping hand.”
Jason hesitates. “Thalia offered the same thing. I’m…not even sure if I want to go back into medicine, if I’m being honest.”
He’d gotten into it to counteract every bad thing that happened last year. To heal, rather than add to the destruction of Camp Halfblood—but it’s one of those things that felt like a responsibility. The right thing to do. When he looks back up, he notices Nico frowning.
“Sorry,” Jason says.
“No—I’m glad you’re actually willing to admit that.” Nico makes a face of his own and rubs his tattoo again. “I…hate that New Rome makes you feel that way, though.”
“It’s just a different routine from what I’m used to,” Jason admits, and he touches his neck again. “I’ll find my way. Running helps.”
Nico looks doubtful, his gaze following Jason’s palm, but he doesn’t comment on it. Instead, he pulls a leg to his chest. “And the…other thing?”
“I…don’t know,” Jason admits—and even that answer feels tightly sewn into his heart. Talking about Luke was never easy—even when Jason found talking to Nico easier than most people.
With Annabeth, they had to navigate through the grief of each other’s emotional absence. Bianca tried to be careful of his feelings after so many years focusing on her own. Having Thalia as his big sister made him want to tell her everything—but maybe Nico was right. Talking about something so personal with his big sister felt…too raw.
“The anniversary of his death is coming up,” Jason continues. “I’ve…worked on getting past a lot of things, but it feels weird to get past that. You know—?”
“Wait.” Nico halts him with a hand, his demeanor shifting. “The anniversary of his death.”
“Um, yeah.” Jason stares at Nico in surprise. “July 1st.”
“He died on your birthday,” Nico continues.
“I…yeah.”
“Jason—” Nico whips back to him, an incredulous look on his face. “—your birthday’s next week.”
Jason shifts uncomfortably on the patch of grass he’s sitting on, with Nico’s full attention. “Yeah.”
Nico sits a little more upright on the hilltop—and he stares at Jason with an unreadable demeanor. His fingers twitch over his arm, and he coughs. “Do you have any plans yet?”
Jason shakes his head.
“Do you…want to have any plans?” Nico asks next, and his voice is just as gentle before—mindful of how last summer was for him. “It’s the first birthday that you and Thalia would be able to celebrate together. I know that means something for the both of you.”
“We talked about it.” Jason purposefully keeps himself from rubbing the back of his neck again. “I don’t feel right celebrating. Not when so many people died. It feels…wrong.”
“What would you and my sister do in the past?”
“Escape Long Island for a couple hours and pretend we weren’t demigods,” Jason replies. “It…usually got overshadowed by some big battle or quest of sorts because of Kronos. And a countdown until one of us turned sixteen.”
And more bodies to bury, he doesn’t add.
“What about before Kronos?”
Jason flushes red. He awkwardly scratches his arm, unable to look at the son of Juno in the eye. “Same kind of countdown. But. Luke used to sneak in cupcakes from somewhere and we’d have our own little celebration. So it wasn’t all bad.”
Nico studies him carefully—to the point Jason grows nervous.
“I’ll…probably visit Camp Halfblood at some point between now and then,” Jason admits. “I just. I don’t know what to do about this.”
Nico draws a breath. Jason latches onto it immediately, looking back to the other demigod. So fast that it apparently startles Nico. Red flushes in Nico’s cheeks and he looks back at Jason suspiciously. “What?”
“Oh,” Jason says, and he feels his own face redden. He touches his own forehead awkwardly and splays his legs out. “I was hoping you’d tell me what to do.”
“Tell you?”
“This is where you tell me to do what I want to do instead of what feels right,” Jason says—and his cheeks darken as Nico’s brow seems to lift higher in the air. There’s amusement there.
“Can’t get one past you,” Nico echoes from earlier. “Can I?”
“I…have a lot of respect for your opinion,” Jason admits—and he smiles as Nico blushes. Still as humble as ever, even with the title of praetor. Maybe that’s why Jason likes Nico so much.
“There’s a lot more you in that decision than there normally is.” A tentative smile etches across Nico’s lips. “So what do you want?”
Jason mulls over it. Longer than he probably should in one sitting—but Nico waits patiently, anyway. “Maybe…eventually, it’d be nice to have an actual birthday. One that doesn’t feel like it’s a countdown to the end of the world. But I don’t think anyone will be in a celebratory mood.”
“There’s more than enough to celebrate next week,” Nico argues—and he touches Jason’s shoulder gently. “Slaying Kronos. Toppling Krios. You, making it to seventeen.”
Of all the things in his sentence, Nico seems to place importance on the last thing. Jason’s chest swells. He peers back up to Nico and gives the other demigod’s hand a soft squeeze. “Thanks, Nico.”
Nico’s quick to recoil—which startles Jason.
Then—“Oh, sorry. Cold hands—”
“No,” Nico cuts off quickly, but he still thumbs his own palm thoughtfully. “Sorry—I’m. Exhausted.”
“I can imagine with your busy schedule.” The edge of Jason’s lips twitches—and he has a little more trouble hiding his disappointment the second time around. Moving to New Rome was a huge step that he wholeheartedly welcomed—but he thinks he sees Nico less now than he did before the war.
Before Nico can notice that, too, however, Jason stands to his feet. He extends a hand more cautiously this time.
“How about I take you home?” Jason asks.
Nico stares at his palm carefully. “You don’t want to talk about the other thing?”
The other…? “My love life?” Jason asks. “I don’t want to keep you up longer than I’ve already had.”
Jason thinks he’s gotten too good at pulling pie away from Nico’s face in the mornings.
Nico flashes another look, and he rubs his tattoo.
“I…know I’ve been busier this summer than anyone expected,” he says, “but. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to me. I. I like talking to you, Jason.”
For a second time that night, Jason feels his heart swell with warmth. There’s something calming about it—in a way that running around New Rome couldn’t achieve for him. Jason’s smiling before he knows it, while Nico inspects the dirt wedged at the end of his own shoe.
“I,” Jason admits, “think my head and heart have to agree on that one.”
“What are they disagreeing about?”
“My…head says it would’ve been a longshot even if he was still alive.” Jason smiles sheepishly and rubs his own knuckles. His hands haven’t held a tremor in a while—not in a long time since the war with Gaea—but it’s hard to break the habit of looking at them. “Not like I ever had the guts to do anything about it before he left Camp Halfblood. And—you know, the age difference.”
Luke was nineteen when he left Camp Halfblood, while Jason was a pint-sized eleven-year-old kid.
“And…your heart?”
“Eros said it best.” The next smile is a little harder to muster. Jason palms his chest. “It’s still down in the Fields.”
Jason has moved past a lot of things since his sixteenth birthday—of what he had to do, and the path he had to take to get there—but Luke is always going to be something hard for him to pass. A sister’s love couldn’t fill that hole.
“Eros also tried to make you feel guilty for being conflicted between being Hades’s son and being yourself,” Nico points out—and he looks at Jason a little more confidently. “You…proved him wrong once already. You’re a son of Hades by being yourself.”
Jason stares at Nico, surprised. “You really think that?”
“I was there to witness it.” Nico shrugs—but then he flashes Jason another meaningful look—one that sports the same pride Jason holds for a son of Juno who became praetor on his own accord. “There’s…a perk to dating, you know. You get out there because you want to—not because some prophecy said so.”
“You…always know the right thing to say, don’t you?”
“You get some practice in after making speeches about loyalty and commitment,” Nico remarks wryly—and he rubs the sleep out of his eyes. Jason can’t help but laugh. “Don’t do what Bianca says, just because. Do what you want, Jason. When you’re ready.”
“You’re…really not going to push this?”
Nico eyes him—and Jason reminds himself that it’s a difference between Nico and his sister, rather than the little nuances he’s noticed of both di Angelo siblings. It’s one that Jason appreciates, and makes him hopeful for more of Nico’s company.
“If you’re going to spend all summer on your eight-pack, then you might as well not let it go to waste,” Nico replies dryly. Jason blushes. “But…don’t add dating to the list of things you don’t think you’re allowed to do because of what happened in the war last year, Jason. You’re allowed to be happy, too.”
At that reminder, Jason feels less unsettled than before. “You do always know what to say.”
Nico snorts. This time, he takes Jason’s hand and dusts himself off. “Make sure to mention that in my Yelp review for wedding officiants.”
Jason laughs. He’s surprised at how much lighter his heart feels.
“I feel better now,” he admits. “Thank you, Nico.”
At that gratitude, Nico flashes a tentative smile of his own. “Good.”
“Yeah,” Jason agrees—and the edges of his lips raise into a greater smile. “Good.”
He extends his hand—much more carefully this time, and watches as Nico’s gaze sit at his palm.
“Can I take you home now?” Jason asks. “I—can’t really do anything about the cold hands, but—”
Nico meets Jason with a hand of his own, with a sense of exasperation flashing in his own eyes. “Just ignore everything that I’ve said this evening.”
Um. “But…”
“Except for the important bits,” Nico revises. He sighs softly and pushes a hand through his hair. He hesitates. “I’d. Love it if you took me home. We’d be going in the same direction anyway.”
Jason bites back his excitement. It’s not often that he gets to escort Nico di Angelo home. “Okay.”
He gives Nico’s hand a gentle squeeze—and then they plummet into darkness.
*
They arrive at the front gate of the di Angelo residence, in the shadow of a streetlamp. Nico stumbles—not as used to shadowtravel as he once was after the Athena Parthenos. Jason steadies him with another hand to the shoulder.
Nico takes a step back once he’s reoriented—then looks over his shoulder. “That’s my stop.”
“Hope your driver was good to you,” Jason jokes.
Nico pats him on the shoulder.
“He’s always good to me,” Nico reassures. “Probably a little too good to me, sometimes.”
Jason’s heart warms, and he can’t help but laugh. “Can…I offer you some advice now?”
“There’s the little too good part,” Nico muses. He stares up at Jason, curious.
“Block out some time for yourself if you need to. Like—actually block it out in your schedule so no one can bother you,” Jason replies. “There’s nothing wrong with scheduling some personal time for yourself.”
Nico stares at him skeptically. “I’m hearing this from you?”
“I learned it a little later than I should have,” Jason admits. A sheepish smile curls against his lips. “After some trials and tribulations, and…a quest with a really nice guy who told me to treat myself better.”
Nico doesn’t respond right away. He studies Jason once more—evidently soaking up a wealth of information for what little time they get to see each other. “If…you want some company next week to Camp Halfblood, then I can go with you. It’s been some time since I’ve seen Hazel anyway.”
Jason blinks. “What about your busy schedule?”
“I’ll block some time out,” Nico quotes—and the edge of his lip curls in a way that makes Jason smile, too. “I think Reyna and Thalia can cut their honeymoon phase short for a day or two. If—you want me to, that is.”
“Nico, I’d love it if you could come with me.” Jason’s smile widens, and he watches as Nico’s gaze falls to the ground.
“Oh, good,” he says. “Great.”
“Great,” Jason echoes.
Nico visibly bites the inside of his mouth. He crosses his arms over his chest and looks up. Surprisingly, there’s concern in his eyes. “You…gonna be able to sleep tonight?”
Oh. Jason peers back at Nico. Whose blue eyes are steady as he glances back. As Jason touches his neck now, it’s with the knowledge that Nico is watching, too.
“I…don’t think I’ll have any nightmares tonight,” Jason admits—and on cue, he finds himself yawning. “This might be the best sleep I’ll get since moving to New Rome.”
He can’t really tell under the streetlamp, but Nico’s face looks a little darker. Nico keeps his gaze on Jason, his hand at his tattoo. “My door’s always open if you need someone to talk to. And…my couch. I know you sleep better with company.”
Jason can’t help but smile. “Another night. Thalia should be home this evening.”
Nico looks reluctant—far more observant than Jason thinks he deserves—but it’s a kind of concern that makes Jason’s smile grow.
“Rumor has it that you’re flying down from a chariot tomorrow,” Jason muses. “I don’t really want to keep you longer than I already have.”
Still, Nico’s gaze doesn’t waver.
“Okay,” he says carefully. “But I’m here if you need me, Jason. Don’t—”
“Don’t bear the burden on my own,” Jason finishes for him.
Nico blinks.
“Was I close?” Jason asks.
A flicker of amusement in Nico’s gaze. He reaches out and dusts grass off of Jason’s shoulder.
“Don’t forget we’re friends,” he says instead.
“Trust me, Nico.” Jason chuckles softly. “I…don’t think I could’ve survived the night without you.”
Nico averts his gaze, pink dusting his cheeks. “I’m…glad I ran into you then.”
“Me too.” Jason’s always glad to see Nico.
Nico falls quiet. Contemplative. Then he peers back up tentatively. “Good night, Jason.”
“Good night, Nico.”
Another moment passes before one of them actually moves. Then, Jason can’t help but watch Nico walk away. The houselights are already off, with Bianca long asleep—but he listens to the key as Nico unlocks the front door. Nico peers over once more, giving Jason one last glance for the evening.
When Nico is finally out of sight, Jason turns around and makes the slow trek back to his apartment complex. A steady sigh of relief flutters from his lips as he climbs the steps.
He looks at Nico’s house from the distance, feeling settled for the first time all week.
*
