So here I am yet AGAIN, typing up a one-shot because the plot bunny won't leave me alone. Whatever. Welcome to "Promises, Promises"! Based on the awesome song by Incubus.
Disclaimer: I don't own the song or the characters.
Promises, Promises
I'm only twenty-three for
Another hour, give or take,
Jason kissed Piper lightly on the cheek. "Happy Birthday," he whispered in her ear. Piper smiled up at him as he walked over to Thalia.
Thalia hissed in his ear, "We're all waiting, you know. You still have the ring, right?"
Jason patted his pocket. "Course I do."
I'm a fan of yours
And I need a good mistake
Jason was nervous, to say the least. He had planned to propose to Piper at her twenty-fourth birthday. They'd been together since age sixteen, once Gaea had been locked back in her slumber and the giants had been destroyed.
I'm not a sinner, a preacher
All I have is slight of hand
I do magic tricks for
All the boys in the band
He could never forget the hurt look on Reyna's face. In dreams, he'd wake up remembering the shattered darkness in her eyes.
Shortly after he'd announced that he was dating Piper, the old rivalry had sprung up again. The Greeks and Romans had separated for centuries for good reason. Connor Stoll had been one of the first casualties. Then it was Hazel, who'd gone on a quest with Percy Jackson during the first exchange. It was hard to believe—a friend he'd known for so long, just… gone in an instant.
Jason had sided with the Greeks—after all, his girlfriend was a Greek.
"You're a traitor," Reyna had spat at him. "You're a filthy, lying traitor. "
"You're just saying that!" he'd protested.
Reyna smiled coldly. "Am I? Look at your arm, Grace. You'll always be Roman. You will never be Greek. NEVER. You can't escape your past!"
She'd left him staring at the tattoo on his forearm: SPQR.
Baby could I be
The rabbit in your hat?
I'd swing if you'd hand me...
Hand me the bat
Piper blew out the candles on her chocolate cake, eyes closed. Then she opened them again, grinning.
"Hey, uh, Piper," Jason said awkwardly.
"Yeah?"
He dropped down onto one knee.
I'm on the road of least resistance
I'd rather give up than give into this
He paused, feeling all the eyes in the room on him. Thalia was grinning. Leo looked completely shocked.
So promise me only one thing, would you?
Just don't ever make me promise…
"Oh, so you can promise to love her forever and keep it, but you can't keep your promise to me?"
Jason started, shocked by the voice in his head. Reyna's voice. He hadn't heard it in years.
"No, it's not like that, Reyna!" he pleaded out loud, much to the confusion of everyone watching.
No promises, no promises
"You promised me you wouldn't ever leave me! You promised, Jason. You promised." Reyna's voice was free of the dripping sarcasm it had had before he'd left. It was like… the old days, back in his childhood.
Jason rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his head.
Piper asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I'm going crazy. Is that it?
I've never done this before
"Just hurry up and say the magic words!" Thalia practically shouted.
Leo stared at him. "Come on, dude! Do you have the guts to ask or not?"
Promises, promises,
The words stuck in Jason's throat. How could he ask Piper to marry him? How could he promise to love her forever as best as he could, when he'd broken the same promise to Reyna?
I'm enjoying the illusion
And the things my body says
He was stuck in a web of broken promises. And he couldn't escape them. He felt as though someone had just poured broken glass down his throat. Traitor! Reyna had been right. How could he leave her? How could he leave who he was behind?
Now you see me, now you don't
Oh, how well you disappear
What are you running from
And may I interfere?
"Jason?" Piper asked carefully.
Jason got up and brushed his pants off. "I-I'm sorry. I can't." He fished the ring out of his pocket and threw it at Leo. "Here, man. You take it. Try your luck." Then he ran out the door and jumped into the car.
"Oh, great. Now I'm stranded here," he heard Thalia say through the glass.
He started the ignition and drove, not knowing where he was going—just trying to get away from Piper's Beverly Hills apartment.
Baby, could I be
The rabbit in your hat?
Jason stopped at last. He'd just driven for miles. He got out of the car.
And then he found himself staring at the numbers painted on the door of the house before him: 1763. 1763 Armand Avenue.
How had he gotten to Reyna's house in Los Angeles?
I'd swing if you'd hand me…
Hand me the bat
He knocked on the door loudly. It swung open almost instantaneously.
Jason found himself face-to-face with a girl. A dark eyed, raven-haired demigod girl, to be exact.
"What," Reyna said, dumbfounded, "are you doing here, Grace?"
Jason blurted, "I'm so sorry I left you, Reyna."
Reyna's shock turned to anger. "Get out of here!" Then she slammed the door in his face.
I'm on the road of least resistance
"I know you're still there!" he called through the door. He hadn't heard her footsteps retreat. So he quickly continued.
"I'm sorry I chose Piper over you. I was…"
"Scared? Weak? Stupid?" offered his childhood friend sarcastically.
"All of those! I'm sorry. I chose Piper because… it was the easy way out. She was easier to be with than you and—"
"This isn't helping my opinion of you at all," Reyna snapped.
He took a deep breath. "I fell in love with you the first time I saw you. All those years ago when we were kids. When I saw you at first glance, I thought, 'Wow, that girl is really pretty.' And I swore I would make you mine someday."
"Cut the sappy junk, Grace."
"Okay, okay." He held up his palms in defeat. "But I was also afraid of you."
"Me?"
"Your long hair. That look in your eye. And you still scare me."
"What's your point?"
"Reyna…"
I'd rather give up than give into this
She opened the door a crack, dark eyes curious. "Continue." Was that a smile on her face?
"I…"
So promise me only one thing, would you?
"I love you."
She stepped back. "Wow. That was…"
"Random? Yes. But true."
Reyna leaned forward and wrapped him in a hug. "Okay, then. I forgive you."
Just don't ever make me promise…
"Promise you won't leave me again?" Reyna's eyes were pleading.
"I can't," he said with a sigh. "I don't trust myself anymore."
"Well," she said after a moment's thought. "Anything else to say?"
Jason knelt down for the second time that day and pulled a paperclip out of his pocket. "Will you marry me?"
"You're giving me a paperclip?" she stared at him. "Of course, you dummy."
They burst out laughing, two friends that had yet to heal each other's scars.
But for now? They were okay.
No promises, no promises
No promises
Wow, that was random. R&R, anyway!