"Keep moving Private!" Jason yelled. "Did I give you permission to stop running Valdez?! No! Keep running!" Jason stood on the field with his arms crossed over his chest watching as the students did their morning routines.
"Is he always this strict?" Leo panted as he jogged along side Frank, a tall and buff Asian-Canadian guy who you have to strain your ears to hear him speak half the time.
"Always." Frank grunted out as he got to the three mile mark of their five mile routinely morning run. "Ever since the day I met him."
"I don't see him running." Leo grumbled.
Frank rolled his eyes at the scrawny elfish looking Latino. "Sergeants do their own strict warm ups and work outs. Rumor has it their workouts are more intense than our warm ups."
"This is a warm up?!" Leo said in horror.
"Well of course." Frank said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You didn't actually think military school would be easy did you?"
"Well no, but I didn't think we'd have to do a 5 mile run every morning at the asscrack of dawn." Leo said.
Frank tried to stifle a smile. "If you wanna be Warrant Officer or Sergeant Major as some call it, then this is what it takes."
"I don't want to be Sergeant Major. I don't even wanna be here."
"Then you shouldn't have gotten yourself sent here." Frank sassed back.
"Oh yeah," Leo raised an eyebrow. "What did Princess Frank do to get sent here then?" Leo teased.
Frank sent Leo a glare at the nickname. "My mom was in the Army and my dad's a war enthusiast. Loves anything and everything to do with the military. It's kinda in my blood."
"Oh so yo-"
"VALDEZ! CORPORAL! Save your tea talk for your lunch break Private! Keep running!"
"I'm really gonna dislike this guy." Leo muttered.
"So I'll see you later?" Percy asked with a smile.
Percy Jackson is the one guy who has the Jason Grace; the bossy, strict, moody, temperamental, pain in everyone's ass (especially Leo's), Sergeant absolutely smitten and actually capable of showing human emotions. Percy was the previous Petty Officer of the school's Navy program but dropped out the previous year to be a marine biologist. And to be closer to his mom and his sick half brother Tyson. Now the seamen and Leading Seamen, the equivalent to the Army's privates and Corporals, are now stuck with Chrysaor, the new harsh and foul Petty Officer who makes Jason Grace look like a saint.
Leo watched from his table with his friends and fellow Privates during their lunch break as Jason smiled and nodded, giving Percy a nod goodbye and heading back to do his business.
"Did you guys just see that? He smiled. He actually smiled." Leo turned towards his friends with wide eyes.
"It's shocking really." Nico, a small Italian guy piped up.
"I didn't think he was capable of smiling." Piper said, taking a bite of her food.
"I think he's just misunderstood." Hazel Levesque said with a small smile from her boyfriend Frank Zhang's side.
"Well if he wasn't such an ass maybe we wouldn't misunderstand him." Leo rolled his eyes.
"Private Valdez, is that disrespect towards your Sergeant I hear?" Reyna asked with a "I'm-judging-you" look.
"Of course not Sergeant Arellano." Leo said innocently. "I would never disrespect my higher ranks."
Reyna, Jason's co Sergeant and girlfriend to Thalia Grace; Jason's older sister, sat down at their table and gave him a small smirk. "I would certainly hope not Private. I would hate to give you extra time on the field with Sergeant Grace. Again." Reyna said with a sneer. "I heard he works wonders."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were out to get me." Leo said.
Reyna rolled her eyes, "I'm only doing my job Private. And you guys really need to cut Sergeant Grace some slack."
"He's never nice to us." Piper sassed.
Reyna gave her a glare. "Private McLean, this is the military, we train our students to be soldiers and marines. We're not here to be nice to you and be your friend. You were either sent here to have your attitudes straightened out, which we will do, or you come here because you want to be apart of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, or the Coast Guard. And some of us, like myself, Sergeant Grace, and Corporal Zhang were raised to be in the military. We know no other way. So I suggest before you judge your Sergeants, you get to know them and what kind of life they had before you make assumptions." And with that Reyna stood up, giving the group one last look and left to meet up with Jason.
Annabeth looked up from the book she was reading and looked towards the group. "She's right you know. You really shouldn't judge Sergeant Grace too harshly."
"Well how can we get to know him if he never speaks to us unless he's yelling in our faces?" Leo asked with an eye roll.
"And telling us what we're doing wrong." Nico added.
"He doesn't yell at that Percy guy. Why?" Hazel asked.
Annabeth sighed and put her book down. "Okay so as some of you know, Percy Jackson used to come here. Well he was the Petty Officer of the Navy program but he dropped out last year. There's many rumors as to why he dropped out ranging from abusing his power as Petty Officer to having an affair with one of the teachers, all of course started by Chrysaor to make Percy look bad but that's not true at all. Some people claim he dropped out after a really bad argument he had with Jason towards the end of last year and he left so he wouldn't have to see him or talk to him again. Again, not true."
"But they did have a really bad argument last year." Frank pointed out. "I remember them arguing last year, it was all around the school for a while."
"Yes they did argue but Percy didn't leave because of it. Percy told Jason he was leaving and Jason got really upset about it and they started arguing. Then Percy left and that's why everyone believes the rumor."
"Well why did Percy leave?" Piper asked.
"He told Jason and the school he was leaving to become a marine biologist or something in that field of work which is half true. But during the summer I went to visit him since we been friends since we were twelve and his mother Sally told me he moved back home to help take care of his sick brother Tyson. He got the job as a marine biologist so he could be closer to his family in case something were to happen to Tyson. I think it's mainly guilt though." Annabeth sighed.
"So he and Sergeant Grace were close?" Hazel asked.
"Inseparable. I always figured Jason had a little school boy crush on him since he came here. Everyone always expected so much out of him because of who his father is and when he didn't live up to their expectations, they kinda just pushed him around and they were a bit harsh towards him. Then one day during training Percy, who was the Leading Seaman at the time, witnessed what was going on and stood up for him and threatened the seamen in his section extra training with the Petty Officer at the time and Warrant Officer.
Scared them straight a bit and after that Percy kinda took him under his wing and trained with him and helped him achieve Corporal status. After that everyone kinda left him alone. And then together they achieved Sergeant and Petty Officer status. They been best friends since. But then Percy left and Jason changed. He always was a bit strict but it got a little worse after Percy left.
I guess he feel like he has no one else. Or well no one who understands him like Percy. He's nice to Reyna and they're friends, but I think Percy leaving changed him a lot." Annabeth finished and took a bite of her lunch.
"Okay well I get that, but just because your best friend doesn't want to be apart of the military anymore doesn't mean you can be an ass to everyone in lower ranks than you." Leo said finishing his lunch.
"Like Sergeant Arellano said Leo, this is military school, we're not supposed to be nice to you. If you think once you're out of here and in the real military or navy or army or where ever you're going, that your higher ranks will be nice to you, then you're sadly mistaken. They don't care about you. We're training you. We're not here to be your friend. And you also don't know what Jason's life was like before he came here." Annabeth sighed and checked the time. "Lunch is nearly over guys. We should get to our classes soon."
"And up! Come on di Angelo! You can do it! Climbing over that wall is nothing! It's one of the easiest tasks! Private Levesque! I wanna see you climb down that wall the right way this time! You're not gonna fall! Private Valdez! That was pathetic! It's just tires! Faster Valdez! Private McLean! It's just crawling! I've seen babies crawl faster than you! It's just mud! It's not gonna kill you!" Jason rolled his eyes at the privates in front of him. It didn't seem like any of them would be making Corporal status by the looks of it.
"Yeah but the barbwire might hurt a bit."
Jason turned to find Percy leaning against a tree in his uniform smirking. "Jackson. What are you doing here?"
"What? It's a crime to visit my best friend?" Percy smiled.
"Yes." Jason said with a poker face.
Percy faked hurt, "Grace. You wounded me. I'm wounded."
Jason rolled his eyes. "Why are you here Percy?" Jason sighed. "You're interrupting my training session."
"You mean the part where you stand around and yell? Ah yes that was always my favorite part about being Petty Officer." Percy smiled.
"It was your favorite part because you're lazy and you didn't have to do anything except stand there and tell people what to do." Jason said turning his back towards Percy and focusing back on the privates.
"I'll have you know I worked very hard to get to Petty Officer status so I could finally not do anything and just yell at people." Percy sassed back and stood on the side of Jason and looked over at the students. Jason snorted and shook his head, trying to hide the smile threatening to appear.
"You could've easily been Warrant Officer this year." Jason said somewhat coldly.
Percy looked over at Jason and raised an eyebrow, "Last time I checked you're not Warrant Officer either. You can easily be it. But you turned it down. Why?"
"Oh so you checked? What you're stalking me now or something?" Jason sassed back.
"You're avoiding my question. But yes. Yes I am. I have to check on my boy and make sure you're not suffering without me." Percy winked.
Jason looked away and cleared his throat. "Privates! You're dismissed. You have ten extra minutes of free time."
Everyone let out a breath of relief. Piper and Leo sent Percy smiles. "Thanks Percy! We owe you!" Percy smiled and shook his head as everyone left leaving the two of them alone.
"You never told me why you're here." Jason turned his attention back to his best friend.
Percy sighed. "I thought telling you in person would be better than over phone or letter."
"Tell me what?"
"I'm joining the military aga-"
A smile broke out on Jason's face. "Really?! That's great! Wait so you're coming back?! Percy that's amazing! We can start training again together an-"
"Jason." Percy interrupted him, looking away to avoid seeing the hurt expression on his friend's face. "In New York. Not here."
Jason's smile faded. "What?"
"I'm moving back to New York."
Jason's face became expressionless. "Why are you telling me this?"
Percy looked back at him trying to figure out how Jason was feeling. "I thought you should know."
"Why should I?" Jason looked away and back down at the students laughing and talking to their friends. "I'm not your boyfriend." A flash of hurt appeared on Percy's face but Jason ignored it. "I'm your friend, you don't need my permission to do anything."
Percy's expression turned stony. "You're right. You're not my boyfriend." Jason winced at the tone of Percy's voice. "It's not like I have to tell you that moving across the county. I guess it was silly of me to think that my best friend should know. But whatever. I'll let you get back to yelling at your privates Sergeant Grace." Percy turned and left.
Jason kept his back turned as Percy left, ignoring the hurt in his chest at his best friend's leaving. Trying to ignore the pain he was feeling, he tried to focus on anything else but couldn't help but notice Chrysaor and his seamen training across the field. A wave of nostalgia hitting him at remembering how good and fit Percy looked in that uniform and remembering all the times Jason sat back after classes and watched as Percy used to train his seamen. Damn, Percy sure did know how to work that uniform. But now Jason is stuck watching Chrysaor wear and ruin that uniform with his sour and foul attitude and watches as he uses it to intimidate his lower ranks. Disgusting.
Everyone loved Percy as Petty Officer and tried to start a petition to make him come back once he left. But unfortunately Percy refused and Chrysaor was appointed Petty Officer since he was the only eligible leading seaman to be promoted. Now everyone is trying to start another petition to overthrow and de-rank him. Jason's considering finding the seaman who started the petition and sign it himself if that means Chrysaor can't wear that uniform anymore.
"Sergeant Grace? What are you doing standing in the middle of the field?" Hazel asked hesitantly as she walked over to him.
"Considering signing that petition to overthrow Chrysaor as Petty Officer." Jason said turning to look at Hazel. "Private Levesque, what can I do for you?"
"Sergeant Arellano sent me over to tell you she would like a word with you before dinner."
Jason nodded, "Thank you private Levesque. You're dismissed." Jason and Hazel saluted each other and Hazel went to leave but turned back towards him.
"Sergeant Grace?"
Jason turned back to look at her, "Yes private Levesque?"
"I think you should go after him. It's obvious he likes you. He left slow enough as if he was waiting for you to go after him. Maybe you should."
Jason didn't say anything and Hazel sighed, taking that as her signal to leave.
After Percy announcing he was going back to New York, Jason's training sessions became more and more intense and Jason's criticism wasn't getting any better either. Leo and Nico were thinking about devising a plan to kidnap Percy and force him to stay at the school if it meant Jason would ease up on them a bit. They weren't 100% sure what went down between Jason and Percy but Reyna filled them in the best she could without giving away too much.
According to the girls, Reyna wasn't much better than Jason at the moment. Piper suspects something happened between her and her girlfriend Thalia. Reyna was starting to become an unbearable nightmare in the girls' dormitories. Training wasn't much better either. It seemed like her and Jason were sharing a bad mood and giving each other tips on how to be strict and giving more intense workouts. You would think they were training to be marines on how tough and intense their workout and training sessions have been.
"Everyone! Guess what!" Frank turned his head from his chess game with Annabeth to look at the excited scrawny kid.
"What's the good news Dennis?" Leo asked the first year.
Dennis smiled wide like a kid on Christmas. "Chrysaor got demoted! He's no longer Petty Officer! Somebody reported how badly he was treating us to the Dean and he's under investigation! We're getting a new Petty Officer soon and a Warrant Officer I think. This is the best news I've heard all day!"
"That's great! But who's gonna replace him as Petty Officer?" Annabeth asked.
"Triton I believe. Not exactly sure. Triton isn't that great but he's an improvement!" Dennis smiled.
"Dennis!"
Dennis turned towards Jason with a smile. It seemed like nothing could ruin his good mood. Not even Jason's sour attitude. "Yes Sergeant Grace?"
"What are you so happy about?"
"What it's a crime to be happy now?" Leo asked. Jason sent him a warning glare.
"You haven't heard? Chrysaor got demoted and is getting replaced!" Dennis beamed. "Triton is replacing him and we're getting a new Warrant Officer! It's the best day ever!"
Jason seemed to grow more bitter at the thought. "Go do your homework Dennis."
"Sir yes sir Sergeant Grace!" Dennis saluted Jason and bounced away to do his homework. It seemed like all the Navy cadets were celebrating at the news of Chrysaor's demotion.
"What are you privates and Corporals staring at? Go do your homework." Jason glared.
"I'd watch that tone of voice Sergeant Grace, you might end up getting demoted like dear seaman Chrysaor if you're not careful." A smug voice teased.
Jason turned around and found no other than Percy Jackson staring back at him with the newly appointed Petty Officer Triton at his side looking smug.
"What are you doing here Jackson?" Jason crossed his arms over his chest and gave him an expressionless look.
Percy gave him another smug look. "That's Warrant Officer Jackson to you Sergeant Grace."
If Leo wouldn't be so tired and sore from Reyna's workout session he would've taken the risk of another personal workout session just between he and Jason if it meant he could laugh at the expression on Jason's face. It was priceless.
"Wait..what? Warrant Officer?" Jason looked absolutely dumbstruck. "How?"
"I've decided to stay in California for a bit Jay." Percy smirked and pinched Jason's cheek. Nico had to stifle a laugh. "I made a deal with my dad and came back. The Dean and my old Warrant Officer immediately offered me the status of Warrant Officer and so. Here I am."
Annabeth immediately stood up and gave him a hug. "Finally! We missed you!" Percy smiled and returned the hug, ruffling her hair a bit.
"I missed you two Corporal Chase. Now, if you excuse me, I have to meet my cadets and issue the new training schedules." Percy sent Jason a smirk. "I'll see you around Sergeant Grace." Percy turned and saluted to Reyna. "Sergeant Arellano." Reyna confusedly saluted back to him and watched as he walked away towards his fellow navy students as they cheered.
"What is Percy doing here? And why did he call me Sergeant Arellano? He always calls me Reyna."
"He's Warrant Officer Jackson now." Frank smiled. "He decided to come back."
"That's great." Reyna turned towards Jason.
Jason looked at Percy who sent him a subtle wink and turned back towards his cadets. Jason sighed and looked away. "Your homework and studying better be done." Jason gave his group a look and left.
It's been a week since Percy's return and Jason was avoiding him like the plague. Reyna called him out on it but it's not like Percy was making any effort to seek him out either. Now that he thinks about it, he hasn't seen Percy around campus since he announced he was back. He knows not everyone's training schedules are at the same time as theirs but it seems like Percy was requesting times when he knows Jason was busy so they didn't have to see each other. But then again, the Navy's program does all their training indoors for some reason.
Jason did, however, take Percy's advice on watching his tone of voice and attitude with his privates. He really doesn't need to be demoted back to Corporal or Private like Chrysaor. Frank or Annabeth would be promoted from Corporal to Sergeant, no doubt about it since they're the only eligible ones. Jason would promote them himself if he knew for sure they were capable of doing their jobs.
His and Reyna's attitudes may have calmed but their trainings were still as intense, not as bad as a week before, but still intense nonetheless. He knows if he doesn't relax a bit Leo and Nico might be the next ones to start a petition to demote him. Mainly due to the fact that everyone sees him as a douchebag during and outside of training. And so what if they think he's an asshole? At least Reyna, and his Sergeant Majors or Warrant Officers, whatever name you want to call them by, respect him. He doesn't care if his lower ranks hate him, he's not here to be their friend. He already has a best friend and they're currently ignoring each other at the moment.
Jason made it to the 5 mile mark on his run and took a break. Sitting down on the ground as he caught his breath, he looked up at the night sky.
"Beautiful night isn't it? The moon is lovely. Seems bigger somehow."
Jason's heart felt like it was gonna beat out of his chest. Percy sat down on the ground by him and gave him a smirk. "Evening."
"Officer Jackson," Jason tried to keep his voice steady. "What are you doing out here? Thought you were busy with your cadets."
Percy smirked. "Triton is handling them right now. I needed a break."
"How did you find me?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
"You always workout when you're stressed, worried, or angry about something. It calms you down. Probably how you achieved Sergeant Status. You workout too much." Percy teased.
"I do not workout too much. It's called staying fit." Jason glared.
"Why don't you tell me what's really bothering you Grace without getting so damn defensive." Percy glared.
"Nothing's bothering me except you right now. You're interrupting my focus and nightly run." Jason stood up off the ground.
Percy rolled his eyes. "Oh please Grace. You sat down and took a break. I just sat here to keep you company."
"Well thanks for the thought but I really need to continue my run."
"Great! I'll join you." Percy smiled and stood up from his spot on the ground.
"If you can keep up." Jason teased.
Percy gave him a teasing smile, "I'm sure I can keep up with an Army Sergeant. The question is, can you keep up with me?"
"Of course I can keep up." Jason smirked, "Haven't you heard? My workouts are known to be intense. I just don't want you to get tired out too early. Because I'm your friend. And I care."
Percy laughed, "Thanks for your concern Grace," Percy gave Jason another smile. "But I'm sure I'll be okay."
"I think that's the longest I've ran in a while." Jason panted as they finally finished.
"I think you were just trying to show off to me." Percy teased with a smile. "Not gonna lie though," Percy let out a breath, "We lasted longer than I thought we would."
"So you admit you had a hard time keeping up." Jason smirked.
"Oh please, you could barely keep up with your own self." Percy sassed.
"Well I did run 5 miles before you decided to crash my workout."
Percy smiled, "Well it felt good to join you after you been ignoring me for a week. Felt like old times."
"Me ignoring you?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "Last time I checked you haven't tried to find me this past week either.
"Well I have been busy with my navy cadets. Didn't really have my work cut out for me. Nobody trained Triton on how to be Petty Officer so I had to show him the ropes. It's been a long week. But you still could've came to find me, you would've been a really great stress reliever."
Jason tried not to blush.
Percy noticed but didn't say anything, together the two started their walk back to their dorms. "Now what's bothering you? And don't give me any of that you're okay shit because I know you and you're not okay. You're still my best friend even though neither of us have really shown it lately."
Jason sighed and looked at the ground, "I should've known you wouldn't have let it go."
"Of course I won't. I wanna know what's bothering you and how I can help."
Jason stopped walking and turned to look at Percy. "You really wanna know? Fine. My problem is you. You're my problem. You think you can tell me you're going to New York and expect me to be okay with that? Do you expect me to be okay with you rejoining the military in New York when there's a perfectly good school in California where I'm at? Do you honestly THINK I'm okay with losing the first and only friend I really have because you were going to move to New York to join the military there after I asked and pleaded for you to come back here with me? Then you leave and come back announcing you're staying in California and that now you're Warrant Officer and act like nothing ever happened? Like we didn't end on a sour note? I'm not okay with that Percy! Why are you even here?" Jason let out a breath and shook his head. "I'm supposed to be furious with myself and mad at you for leaving."
"I came back because I care about you you idiot!" Percy glared. "Isn't that obvious? I could've easily left and joined that military school in New York and stayed with my dad but everyone I care about is here. Especially you. You're here. I couldn't leave you behind Jason. You're too important to me."
"Oh yeah? And what if you leave again? You have a nasty habit of leaving whenever we fight." Jason sneered.
Percy glared, "You're a pain in the ass."
Jason rolled his eyes, "I don't want to get attached if you're just gonna leave again. It's not fair."
Percy's eyes softened, "Jason I'm not gonna leave. You're stuck with me."
Jason refused to meet his gaze. "You said that last time and you left."
"Jason.."
"I gotta go." Jason went to leave but Percy grabbed his wrist and pulled him back.
"Percy, I hav-" Percy interrupted him with a kiss. Jason froze for a second not knowing what to do. Percy bit his lip and pulled away, resting his forehead against Jason's. "What did you do that for?" Jason asked quietly.
"I like you you idiot. Sorry..I don't know what I was thinking..I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." Jason interrupted Percy's rambling with a kiss. Percy instantly relaxed against him and returned the kiss eagerly. Jason fisted Percy's shirt in one hand and laid his other on Percy's lower back.
"Don't go filling me up here Sergeant Grace." Percy mumbled against his lips. "I won't be able to restrain myself."
Jason smirked against his lips, "That's my whole plan."
"You smooth little shit."