Chapter Text
Jason tugged at the button up shirt uncomfortably. He was used to formalities, like those in Camp Jupiter, but not those of the outside world.
A former legion member living outside New Rome had contacted Camp Jupiter to donate his collection weapons for the upcoming Titan battle. The current praetors elected Jason, being son of Jupiter and all, and his friend Reyna to collect them and speak with him about the Camp’s status.
Reyna didn’t look any more comfortable than he did. She wore some kind of blouse, that to his little knowledge of fashion, was terribly ugly. It was faded purple and had puffy sleeves that looked itchy. Minus the Venus kids, Roman legionaries were not too experienced with mortal fashion trends.
He studied her as she pulled at it, until one of her manicured nails finally ripped it. “Shit!” she exclaimed.
Jason stifled a laugh.
“Hey,” she scolded, although a smile pulled at her mouth. “You’re not the one wearing this grossly colored potato sack.”
“Put down your hair,” Jason suggested.
Reyna did so, her silky black hair flowing down her shoulders. Reyna rarely wore her hair like that, it often got in the way of demigodly duties.
Jason stared. No matter how ugly the shirt was, she looked beautiful.
She studied him in return. “You should undo the top button, it looks odd,” she decided, doing so for him. Their faces were only inches apart as she hummed to herself, taking out the button.
Her dark, beautiful eyes met his. He could feel his face heat up. “Uh, thanks. It was bothering my neck,” he said, pulling away. “We should get going.”
Reyna pursed her lips and nodded. They stood at the end of the street, two overly dressed teenagers with no car in the middle of a road.
Everything went smoothly, the man was named Jonathan Tedesco, son of Vulcan. Over his years, he’d made and collected many weapons before moving out of New Rome to start a family with a mortal woman. He asked them about the brewing war and how New Rome planned to handle it.
Reyna and Jason sat politely, accepting the warm cookies Jonathan’s wife had brought them.
“It’s a shame you kids are the ones fighting… child soldiers…” Jonathan said, staring at photos on the wall of his own children.
It made Jason shift uncomfortably, he rarely left Camp so he rarely heard criticisms of it. Was it dishonorable to let this kind of talk slide, should he defend the legion?
Reyna didn’t object, so he followed her lead of silence.
In the end, Jonathan gave them a magic sack, a gift from his dad that held all of the gear, which was a blessing considering they were counting on him providing some sort of transportation of it all back to Camp Jupiter.
“Thank you sir,” Jason said as they got up to lead.
Jonathan smiled at him, giving him a pat on the shoulder. “You kids stay safe, or try to as best as you can.”
They both nodded, but Jason knew that wasn’t something he should remember on the battlefield.
The neighborhood was quiet, peaceful. It looked like what Jason imagined he might grow up in if he had never gone to Camp Jupiter. The houses were medium sized and the lawns well kept. The sun set, giving them all a glow.
“Well we better get back-” Reyna said, hefting the sack over her shoulder. Jason was about to offer to carry it when a voice cut through the neighborhood’s peace.
“Get away from me!” a girl’s voice screamed out. “Never come to my house again, I’ll- I’ll kill you myself! I swear I’ll do it!”
Jason and Reyna turned to see where the commotion came from.
It was a blonde girl standing in the doorway of a house, yelling in the face of a taller blonde boy.
“Probably a break up,” Reyna decided nonchalantly. “Mortals are so dramatic.”
Jason felt the urge to watch for some reason. Maybe he wanted to make sure the girl wasn’t being threatened, she looked around his age, perhaps a year older. Maybe he wanted to see if she really would kill this guy. Most likely, it was just because mortals fascinated him.
They got to live in the real world, no legion duties. No pressure of being the son of Jupiter.
The rage in the girl’s voice sounded like more than a break up (although Jason never experienced one).
Reyna didn’t suggest they leave, she let Jason stare. Jason figured she realized he didn’t often see mortals.
The tall blond boy left, getting in a black Suburban with tinted windows that drove off in the opposite direction.
Once he was out of sight the blonde girl left her porch, and began to swipe at her tears as she walked down the sidewalk in the direction he’d gone. Maybe she wanted to walk the other way, but didn’t want to have to awkwardly approach the two teens all dressed up with a suspicious sack.
Jason was about to tell Reyna they could go home when he saw it. One of the biggest hellhounds he’d ever seen, about to pounce on the girl.
She grabbed for something on her leg that wasn’t there, then looked like she was actually about to stand her ground and fight the thing with her bare hands. She wouldn’t make it, the thing was huge.
Reyna dropped the sack, and together she and Jason ran. Jason grabbed Ivilis out of his pocket and threw it in the air so it landed on heads. The golden gladius was in his hands at once.
They weren’t fast as they wanted to be, because the hellhound had already pawed at the girl, sending her hurtling across the concrete.
“Reyna, grab her. I got this,” Jason said as he ran to face the monster.
Reyna nodded, scooping up the demigod, he assumed.
It took some maneuvering, but Jason managed to jump onto the beast and stab it, sending it back to the Underworld.
“She’s alive, but we should bring her back to Camp,” Reyna said. “Obviously a demigod.”
Jason nodded, carrying the sack as Reyna slung the girl over her shoulder with ease. He cursed himself for not having ambrosia on hand.
Their ride arrived soon enough, and they were on their way home.
The girl was tended to in the infirmary. Her eyes fluttered open after receiving the nectar, but closed again and she began to sleep, snoring heavily.
She was pretty, with her button nose and blonde princess curls. From what he’d seen for a split second, her eyes were a stormy gray.
She awoke again after dinner, which was good timing as Jason and Reyna had returned to check on their rescuee. Reyna was staring intently, as if she knew the girl.
The girl opened her eyes groggily. “Luke?” she asked, studying Jason’s face as she wiped her eyes. “You’re not Luke,” she realized.
“I’m not,” Jason affirmed. “Was that your boyfriend?”
The girl’s expression became downright murderous. “No!”
Reyna decided to speak. “You snore in your sleep.”