The Outline of a Memory
A PJO drabble
by mew-tsubaki
Note: The Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus characters belong to Rick Riordan, not to me. Some spoilers for HoH…but I think most people know what happened by now. ;P Read, review, and enjoy! *Written for starlight .moon .princess for the Gift-Giving Extravaganza 2014 forum with the pairing Jason/Nico.
- ^-^3
After meeting Eros…Jason couldn't exactly look at Nico the same way.
It wasn't even knowing how Nico had felt about Percy, even. There was something else about Nico. Something familiar. And for Jason, someone who'd spent his fair share of time forgetting things, he hated not knowing what it was about Nico that was catching his interest.
"You all right?" Piper asked him on the Argo II.
Jason shrugged her off. "Yeah, I'm fine." Somehow, he didn't think Piper could sympathize her way through helping him this time around.
The daughter of Aphrodite didn't take offense, though. They'd grown close since their first quest together, and she'd learned when to leave him to his musings.
But…Jason got the feeling that it wasn't just musings he was experiencing.
- ^-^3
Sleeping on the ship didn't help to put his mind at ease, either. His dreams bothered him, but at least they did so less than they had as of late.
It was as though he was reaching out, grasping for air. It wasn't even the kind of air he could control and tame—it was like another trap a god or goddess was teasing him with, and it was annoying.
In his mind's eye, he could see someone…someone who he was sure was Nico…kind of. Jason could only catch fleeting glimpses of this person, but he was certain at least that they were male.
The guy was frail and rigid. Not like Jason's other friends. Heck, Jason wasn't even sure if he was friends with this guy. And yet there was something different about him. Something Jason cared for—perhaps something others couldn't see. But Jason, willing to give anyone a chance at least once, had found out about this guy, and that had changed things.
That had changed the glare on this guy's face, and his eyes had crinkled with mirth and not with derision as they did these days…
After a few nights of these visions, which grew with ever-increasing clarity (and ever-increasing…musings), Jason forged ahead. He wouldn't ignore his dreams, but the more he thought about them, the more he realized such things would have to wait until after the war. Then he could sort it all out.
Himself.
His feelings.
His mystery man.
His…Nico.
(No, no, no, that had to be Eros' effect on him…didn't it?)
- ^-^3
In the midst of battle, Jason's mind was clear. With all of their tasks completed, pushing back the Romans out of Camp Half-Blood would be easy for the Seven.
A slash here, a block there—it was almost recreational for Jason, who had spent the longest at Camp Jupiter out of the others in the current Twelfth Legion.
Only once the battle was won did Jason stop and let his heart catch up with his mind. At least Camp Half-Blood made it relatively unscathed (he'd have to ask Percy to put out the fire at the foot of Cabin One, though). And his friends—they were all fine.
Looking in front of him, Jason locked eyes with a familiar pair of eyes set in the thin face of a disagreeable person, someone who had started this nonsense. Someone who Jason couldn't stand…
And then it hit him.
The person no one liked. The person Jason hadn't exactly befriended. The person who was a kind of one-man army in Camp Jupiter.
(The person who couldn't explain himself. The person who was…misunderstood. The person who eventually opened himself up to just one person who cared and whom he cared about—Jason.)
Jason turned away before Octavian's eyes could bore holes any deeper into him.
- ^-^3
Within his heart, Jason cursed Hera. He would do so in the morning, before cabin inspection. He would do so during activities. He would even do it during the sing-along at the campfire.
It's not fair, he thought. Hera took my memories, and that was bad enough.
But to fabricate some?
They stung him, those thoughts, especially every time Jason spied Nico creeping around the camp's edges in the post-war reconstruction days. Guilt tugged at him anytime Jason found himself alone with Piper. And a dull ache rolled around in him when he thought of how they'd sent Octavian and the other Romans back west while Jason had remained here in the east.
As Jason regained his heart, he apologized internally to Piper. His type was lanky and male, not shapely and female.
He apologized internally to Octavian, as well. Maybe things could've been different if the war hadn't happened. But…
"What are you looking at, Grace?" Nico grumbled from the shadows during archery practice.
Jason smiled, not surprised his eyes had found their way to the boy on their own. "Nice to see you, too, Nico."
The son of Hades rolled his eyes and purposefully turned away, but he didn't leave. Maybe, just maybe, it was his body's way of telling Jason they could give "something" a shot. Maybe not right away. But someday.
So, sure, Jason could be angry at Hera. For taking his memories, for fictionalizing others—
But perhaps there was a silver lining if Jason had this chance to make new ones of his own free will.
- ^-^3
Whoops…a little rambly… But I like the idea of Jason's type—"lanky and male"—because it fits. From Octavian to Nico… I ship Jason with either (though Octie's my top choice). XD Also, the Octason pairing was discovered by my pal, BlueMango, so it'd be nice to give her a mention if you write them, thanks (it's an Aphrodite's Reject—see my profile for more about AphRejects). Hope you liked this, starlight! I…tried… -.-; *meep*
Thanks for reading, and please review!
-mew-tsubaki :O