Chapter Text
‘I’m sorry… really. But this just doesn’t work out. I hope you’ll understand.’
It wasn’t as if Jason didn’t understand. There wasn’t even a single reason, not that that would have been easier. It was everything, really.
They had tried to make it work, for two years. Had gotten to know each other again, started fresh, after getting over the fact their relationship so far had been built on lies and false memories. And for a while, things had been looking up. But their lives simply hadn’t fit together; not when he was travelling all over the country most of the time and splitting the rest between New Rome, Camp Half-Blood, and Mount Olympus. Not when he spent more time with architects, high priests, and consulting small cult followings of long-forgotten gods, than he spent with her. The realisation of Piper’s bisexuality had been another wave to rock their boat and if Jason was being honest with himself, his jealousy that followed had been less than honourable.
And at the end of the day, his life was not the life Piper wanted. She felt a responsibility towards her cabin, and more than that, she wanted a place to call home. Reconnecting with her father after the war, the strengthened friendship between the seven of them, having a place and future worth fighting for… she’d had more than enough nomadic travelling for a lifetime.
Her life was one Jason didn’t fit into anymore, and in all honesty, she didn’t fit into his life either.
That didn’t mean, however, that it didn’t hurt.
He’d nodded, hugged her, assured her they would remain friends, come what may. And after she had shut the door, he had kicked his bed in frustration, cursed Juno, Venus, Kymopoleia, and the rest of them, cursed until he was hoarse, and then told himself to man up, get a grip, and soldier on.
Discipline. That was the keyword.
A resolution that lasted all of two days before he got fed up with it all. He’d been keeping to himself, tending only to his work – a shrine for some minor god of the local seas that was being built on Half-Blood Hill – and otherwise staying away from the rest of the camp. The last thing he needed was pity, or eager fans throwing themselves at him; he’d had enough of that back home, when he’d first made praetor. But he needed someone, if only to take his mind off it all, and since Leo was gods-knew-where, Annabeth comforting Piper, Reyna busy, and Nico… gods-knew-where also, that left…
Percy.
Only an Iris Message and a quick ventus flight away.
Or rather, a phone call. Brand new and monster-safe, with ‘certified Leo Valdez monst-a-way’, as Jason’s best friend had christened it, cellphones had finally become a viable mode of communication for them. And while many people still preferred the drachma-and-rainbow method, Jason knew Percy was one of the first owners of Leo’s invention.
And, as it turned out, in much the same situation as Jason. He had barely started venting about the injustice of the whole situation when Percy cut him off with a grimace.
‘That sucks, bro, but guess what?’
‘What?’
‘Last week, Annabeth told me the same thing. I mean, not literally the same, but you know… our “goals don’t align” and all that. She wants to go back west next year, she’s already signed up for college in San Francisco and all that.’
‘Wow, shit, dude, I had no idea!’
‘Oh and apparently I’m’, Percy air quoted, ‘“not her type” any more. She, uhh…’
‘Let me guess’, Jason sighed, ‘girls? Because Piper…’
‘Yeah’, Percy sighed. ‘Wait, Piper too? Damn J-Man, what are the chances?’
‘Hell if I know’, Jason sighed. ‘Did we do something to piss off Lady Venus or something?’
Percy snorted. ‘Tell me something I don’t know. She told me – Aphrodite, I mean, not Venus – I mean, obviously – anyway, she said she’d make my life “interesting”’, he pulled a face, ‘like five or six years ago.’
Jason whistled. ‘That’s tough.’
‘Yeah’, Percy grumbled. ‘Not really how I wanted this year to go.’
‘Oh!’, Jason’s face lit up, ‘tell you what we need?’
‘What?’
‘Bros’ night’, Jason declared. ‘Guys gotta stick together, right? I’m thinking you, me, beer, Captain America?’
‘Pfft’, Percy snorted. ‘Of course you’d pick Captain America. Try Iron Man and we’ll talk.’
‘Both’, Jason suggested. ‘It’s not like we have to get up early or something.’
‘Both sounds good’, Percy agreed. ‘But uh… I don’t think my mum and Paul would appreciate it. Sorry, bro.’
‘No problem’, Jason grinned. ‘I can be there in an hour by air. We can take your car and we’ll be back here for dinner.’
Percy thought about it for a minute. Then…
‘You know what? Fuck it, I’m in. I’ll get the booze, I know a place off Atlantic. Meet me here in an hour?’
‘Deal.’
ΠΔ
‘Ppercy’, Jason mumbled, ‘I tthhink we’ve had a little too much.’
‘Mhmhmh’, Percy groaned back, ‘think so?’
‘Yeeaaaah. Feel like… like I’m seasick.’
‘I don’ get seasick’, Percy muttered.
‘Shoulda had Bacchus as dad’, Jason complained. ‘No hangovers, never.’
‘Eugh. No thanks.’ Percy burped. ‘Dude’s an aaaass-hole. Asshole. ’pletely nuts.’
‘You can’t say that’, Jason gasped. ‘You wanna get turn inno a dolphin?’
‘Nah man’, Percy scowled. ‘Dude’s fucked baco ff to ’lympus, I can say what I wanna.’
He threw the empty bottle at the wall. ‘Do we have ’nother, Jayjay?’
‘Stop callin’ me that’, Jason slurred. ‘Sure you wannanother?’
‘I dunno ’bout you, but I’m not feeling better.’ Percy frowned. ‘I jus’ think ’ts shit, y’know? We… we win ’em wars an’ what do we get? Bam, gone.’
‘Mmmm’, Jason hummed. ‘No fair.’
‘Fuck it’, Percy grumbled before cracking open another beer. ‘We don’ need ’em, right, Jay?’
‘Nah. We got ourselves, rightt?’
‘Right!’, Percy tried to clink his bottle against Jason’s and missed. ‘Hold still, bro, I’m tryna toastchu.’
He tried again and managed.
‘Whoo!’ He took a big gulp and poured half of it over himself. ‘Here’sto us, dude.’
Jason downed his and reached for another.
‘To us’, he toasted. ‘We’re good… uhh… good ’nough ourself. Yeah.’
‘Ouself!’ Percy cheered. ‘Selves!’
‘’ere’s to us’, Jason joined in. ‘Nomore… no mo girls. Jus’ get your heart broke.’
‘Thas right. Evry time.’ Percy hiccupped and frowned. ‘Raschel, Cali— Calps— you know, ’n now ’beth… ’m done.’
He chugged down the rest of his beer and burped.
‘Bros befo’ hoes!’, he exclaimed, with Jason joining in for the second round. ‘Beffo hoooos!’
ΠΔ
Percy was so, so, so sick.
‘Eugh!’
‘Easy’, Jason mumbled, although he wasn’t feeling much better. ‘Easy does it.’
‘Jason…’, Percy whined, ‘why the fuck did we do that?’
‘Do wha—’, Jason cut himself off to lurch towards the toilet.
‘What do you mean?’, he groaned. ‘The beer? The chips? The—’
He retched again.
‘I think it was the vodka’, Percy mumbled. ‘Baaaad idea.’
‘Your word in Bacchus’s ear’, Jason muttered. ‘You sure we can’t just go to the infirmary?’
‘Nah’, Percy spat some bile into the toilet. ‘Never hear the end of it.’
‘You Greeks suck at this’, Jason complained. ‘At least we have proper orgies.’
‘Sure’, Percy teased him. ‘With wine. Who the fuck gets drunk on wine, Jay?’
‘Shut up dude’, Jason gagged. ‘Can’t a man throw up in peace around here?’
(Which he did, immediately.)
Once they had flushed everything they’d eaten recently down the toilet, once they were sure everyone else had gone to breakfast and nobody would see them stumble out of Cabin One, Percy dared to make his retreat.
‘Ah, fuck’, he cursed as soon as he opened the door. ‘Why the fuck is it so bright?’
‘Told you, bro’, Jason elbowed him. ‘You had too much.’
Percy stuck his tongue out. ‘Too much yourself!
‘Seriously though’, he continued, ‘we should hang out more. We’re in the same situation, right?’
‘Right’, Jason grinned. ‘Totally. But next time, we’re throwing up in your cabin, ’kay?’
‘Deal!’ Percy slapped his back. ‘See you, bro of all bros!’
Jason was way too hungover for that level of Percy-ness.
ΠΔ
Seeing Thalia was always something to look forward to. Even more than two years after finding out she was still alive, Jason cherished every moment he got to spend with his big sister. So when Chiron announced the Hunters would be arriving soon and staying for a few days, Jason’s troubles were all but forgotten. No sooner had the Hunters set foot into camp than Jason charged at Thalia and pulled her into a hug.
‘Hey little bro’, she grinned. ‘Long time no see, eh?’
Not that ‘little’ was still an appropriate description. Thalia, eternally stuck at fifteen, had long been outgrown by him and at eighteen and a half years, Jason could easily rest his chin on her head. But no matter what, to him, she would always be his big sister.
‘So how long are you staying?’
Thalia shrugged.
‘Couple days at least, maybe the whole week. Lady Artemis is on the lookout for some very nasty prey right now; as soon as she knows more, we’ll be moving out.’
‘So, capture the flag tonight?’
‘Chiron promised’, she grinned. ‘It’s time to wipe the floor with the newbies again.’
‘Pffft’, Percy called from a few metres away. ‘Just because you’ve been doing it for eternity…’
‘Kiss this, Jackson’, she shot back and flipped him the bird. Jason loved this bestie-rivalry thing they had going on. ‘You wanna bet?’
‘Like I’m making that mistake again!’
‘Damn right. Bet on the winners like you should.’
Before they reached the dining pavilion, where the welcoming feast (and thus the reason half the campers were excited about the Hunters) would be held, Thalia pulled Jason aside and led him behind the Zeus cabin.
‘Say, little brother’, the fake innocence on her face didn’t bode well, ‘I had a little trouble understanding your message. Maybe you could explain this?’
Message? Jason didn’t remember sending her anything recently.
‘Let me see that.’
She handed him her phone – silver, with an engraved bow, because Leo was extra – and Jason choked on his spit.
The photo wasn’t the worst. Sure, it showed him and Percy, in his cabin, and visibly very drunk. And sure, there were beer stains and spilled food and empty bottles all over the picture. And both of them grinned at the phone camera like delusional idiots.
But no.
The worst was the messages.
11:38 PM: heyyyyyyyy sis whavs uppqppr
11:38 PM: peqcy says hi
11:39 PM: we#re gonna b lhke u now no mor dating
11:39 PM: dshdkskjh
11:42 PM: sorr percy got the phomnooomoon
11:43 PM: perc again sory
And if that wasn’t bad enough… Jason felt like his face was burning the more he read.
11:45 PM: we don’t neeed no grils anymor we got this
11:46 PM: sry wrestling perce
11:48 PM: WE GOT THIS OURSELFS WE’RE WAY BETTER AT THIS sorry caps loc
11:49 PM: (Image)
11:49 PM: hi thalls qercy here look at urr dokr bro
11:50 PM: were jsut 2 good at the sex no nore grils
11:51 PM: hunters of big 3 forev
11:53 PM: jayjay is mean to me
11:54 PM: sorry had to gte the phone frmm pervy
11:55 PM: PERCY
11:56 PM: howr u?
‘Fuck’, Jason whispered. ‘What the fuck, Thals, I’m so sorry…’
He handed the phone back, even though he felt as if it would slip out of his sweaty hands.
‘Some evening, huh?’, Thalia grinned.
‘I… don’t remember sending that’, Jason admitted. ‘We, uh… had a little too much to drink.’
‘Yeah, no shit.’ She slapped his back. ‘So, Hunter of the Big Three, how’s the all-boy diet going?’
‘Shut up! It’s not – we were just getting drunk, I swear!’
‘Sure. I’ll tell Piper and Annabeth you said that.’ There was that shit-eating grin again. ‘Unless you’d rather I not?’
With sisters like that, who needs enemies?
‘No!’, Jason yelped. ‘I mean… I’d rather you don’t.’
‘I’ll think about what you can do for me, little bro’, she teased. ‘Just kidding, your secret is safe with me. Hey, no judging, alright?’
‘We didn’t… oh shut up.’ He playfully punched her arm. ‘Don’t you have a match to prepare for? And a speech to give?’
‘Ugh, don’t remind me… bla bla, friendship this, bla bla, time-honoured tradition this… honestly, I don’t get why Chiron can’t do that alone’, she grumbled. ‘It’s not like it’s a secret everyone just wants to dig in and get beaten up by us.’
‘You keep telling yourself that’, Percy interjected from behind them. ‘Hey Jace, why’d you sneak off? I’m starving and everyone’s waiting for Thals!’
‘On my way’, she smirked. ‘Try not to jump each other until later, boys.’
If possible at all, Jason’s face heated up even more.
‘What?’ Percy stared after her. ‘What the hell is she talking about?’
Jason sighed.
‘So, uh, remember last week?’