Originally this was meant to be Piper's thoughts only, but it somehow got turned into fluff halfway through... anyways, enjoy!

Piper buried her face in her pillow, letting out a small moan. She wanted to cry, but was all out of tears, wanted to scream, but didn't want to wake up the other demigods. Most of all, she wanted to curse every single god and goddess in existence for making Percy and Annabeth fall into Taratarus. And her mom, the love goddess herself, did absolutely nothing to stop one of her favourite "stories" from plunging to their imminent death. She probably thought it made their love life even more interesting. Piper thought it just made their lifespan significantly shorter. She let out another small moan at the thought of Percy and Annabeth sitting somewhere alone, bloody and bruised while a spider wrapped a silky cocoon around them.

And then there was her love life. Even thinking about it made Piper want to go join her friends in Taratarus. She had said it to Jason, right before they were almost drowned in the water. She had told him that she loved him. Those were words that she could never take back, words that someone only said if they truly loved someone.

But did she love Jason? Regardless of the fact that they had been dating for the past six or so months, she still wasn't sure if she loved him. The words had slipped out of her mouth much like the food from the horn of plenty- fast and uncontrolled. At first she had thought that it had been her mother's doing, but then she realized there was none of the usual nagging sensation she got at the back of her head every time Lady Aphrodite decided to pay her a visit.

And did Jason even love her? Piper's thoughts went back to Percy and Annabeth almost immediately. Even from aboard the ship, she could still sense the love in both of their eyes as they fell into Taratarus hand in hand. Would she be able to do that for Jason? Or would she let him fall alone? The right answer hit her at the same time as someone began to pound on her door. Ignoring it, she buried her face deeper in her pillow until she heard a muffled voice.

"Beauty Queen? You in there?"

Piper groaned. She didn't want to talk to Leo right now.

"Beauty Queen?"

"Go away."

"Do you want me to get Jason?"

At the mention of Jason's name, Piper shot straight up and walked over to the door. "No, I'm okay." She said hastily, letting Leo enter her cabin. "What are you doing up so late?"

The son of Hephaestus grinned cheekily. "I could ask you the same thing."

He walked over and sat down on the bed, his expression suddenly becoming serious. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Leo, two of our friends just fell into Taratarus. Do you think I'm okay?" Piper snapped.

Leo held up his hands. "Not like that. Did something happen between you and Jason? He's been acting weird all evening."

Piper's heart immediately began to beat faster. "Not really…"

"Not really? So there's still something?" Leo raised an eyebrow.

"I told Jason I loved him." Piper blurted out, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

Leo let out a low, long whistle. "That explains a lot. He's been walking around like a lovesick puppy ever since we got back on the ship."

"He's probably just tired." Piper said defensively. "I mean, he almost drowned and then killed two giants with Percy and Dionysius's help right afterwards. Not to mention he had to watch Percy and Annabeth…" She stopped, tears threatening to prick her eyes for about the millionth time that night.

"Alright, that's it." Leo stood up suddenly. "I'm getting Jason."

"What? No!" Piper protested, blocking Leo's way. "He needs to sleep!"

"Yeah, and so do you." Leo pointed out. "Piper, he's your boyfriend. As much as I hate you guys acting all mushy around me, you guys are great for each other. You can't keep pushing him away."

Piper sighed, admitting defeat. "Fine."

Leo grinned cockily, before running across the hall to Jason's room, walking in without knocking. "Hey superman! Wake up!"

Jason blinked blearily, looking over at the clock on his nightstand. "Leo? It's 2 AM!"

"Sorry, but your girlfriend needs you." Leo pulled the blanket off of Jason's legs. "She's not sleeping."

"Are any of us now?" Jason grumbled, but he looked worried.

Leo glanced at his watch. "I'd say you have roughly one minute before she starts screaming."

"Crap!" Jason cursed, jumping up and racing into Piper's room. Leo smiled a bit to himself, before leaving his two best friends alone.

Piper looked up from where she had gone back to smashing her face into her pillow just in time to see Jason enter her room. He didn't speak, only sat by the foot of her bed until she had calmed down.

"Leo said you weren't sleeping." Jason glanced over at his girlfriend, noting the bags underneath her eyes for the first time.

Piper scowled fiercely. "Who needs sleep?"

"You do." Jason looked over at her. "Pipes, I can tell something's bugging you and it has nothing to do with Percy and Annabeth. What's wrong?"

Piper bit her lip before responding. "Do you like me?"

"Yes."

Piper's voice became even softer. "Do you love me?"

"Yes." Jason's voice cracked.

"Say it again."

"Piper McLean, I love you."

Piper's face suddenly broke into a large grin. "Then I'll go to sleep now."

"That's it?" Jason laughed. "You weren't sleeping because you were afraid I didn't love you?"

Piper pouted a little. "That's a perfectly legitimate reason!"

"Pipes." Jason lifted her face up until they were eye-to-eye. "The reason I never told you I love you is because I didn't think you needed to hear it. We were always in love, you just didn't realize it until now."

"Wow, Sparky." Piper grinned. "Never knew you were that deep."

Jason smiled and stood up, planting a kiss on Piper's forehead. "Get some sleep."

"Can you just stay here for a little bit?" Piper pleaded, and Jason let out a small sigh before laying down next to her.

Needless to say, they spent the next day with bells tied around their necks.

Well... that did not turn out how I was expecting at all... but it's still cute, so I'm posting it. Not a big fan of the ending, though...

Anyways, please review and feel free to offer CC or flames (if you must)!

~Jace =)

PS: Thank-you to everyone who reviewed or favourited my other One-Shot, Kaleidoscope!

PPS: I know that people hate when someone does this, but on my profile I have this little kinda-blog thing going, and I'd really appreciate it if you could check it out!