Hi everybody. I'm so sorry for not updating A Game of Us- I've been focussing more on this story in the meantime, but rest assured that I am still the hugest Jeyna fan of all time and will not drop it!

Thank you for reviewing! I'm hoping for more this chapter, and possibly more readers too :) Here's Day 1, hope you like it.

Day 1

This search was so strenuous and, in fact, almost impossible to the point that Jason Grace, manly man of all manly men (not true, but he liked to think that way) started a mini diary documenting his profound, spiritual search for perfection in his life.

Today was the first day of his journey. Though he had a feeling that Reyna was not so happy about Gwen's question and thought it somewhat misogynistic or whatever that perfection existed, he himself was curious and interested in the subject. Perhaps he would even learn something about himself in the meantime, and learn what he loved most and what he needed to treasure most in the short life of a demigod living on the edge of danger (or Tartarus, in Percy and Annabeth's case).

It was a Monday morning, and just like all other teenagers, Jason was no exception to the phenomenon of Monday-hating. He felt lethargic, especially after the rare Sunday off that the demigods were given once a month, when they'd stay up late visiting Brooklyn's large assortment of clubs and shops.

Groaning, he cursed, slamming a hand down to stop the incessant beeping of his monstrous alarm clock. He knew, however, that he needed to get his lazy podex up to practice his sword-fighting. After all, he was praetor—he could never let his people see him slack off or be weakened, or they would not look to him for guidance.

Changing into his favourite camp T-shirt and a pair of comfortable and practical dark jeans, he slipped IVLIVS into his pocket, silently thanking Jupiter for calling in a favour and retrieving his most prized possession from the depths of the ocean as he ran his thumb over the familiar faded design of the gold coin.

Shoving his feet into sneakers, Jason slipped a peek at the mirror—oh, gods. His hair was an absolute mess and looked more like a bird's nest than a real one did. Oh, well. He was running late already (five more minutes in bed turned into ten), and he'd only have to hope that Reyna wouldn't be at the Colosseum to laugh and mock him.

Hurling his body out of his villa, Jason set a comfortable pace and started to jog the short kilometre or so distance to the Colosseum as a warm-up. Only five minutes later, he had arrived. Waving at some other early risers (and by early, he meant really early—it was hardly 6:15!) who were making their way to the Mess Hall to grab breakfast before training, Jason casually flipped IVLIVS.

"Surprise me," he grinned at his trusty weapon. Though he was an expert swordsman, it never hurt to experiment and practice with other weapons—one never knew when they would lose their weapon and have to improvise with anything they could find on the battlefield. This time, the coin didn't fail—Jason was shocked to find a long spear gripped in his right hand. His bright expression faded to one of playful irritation. The spear was probably his worst weapon. "Thanks a lot, IVLIVS. You just want me to suffer, don't you?"

Nevertheless, he walked towards a row of dummies, steadied his posture, and started to go through some motions Reyna had taught him. It figured that one of his worst weapons was one that his girlfriend loved and was extremely good at wielding.

Pumping his fist in silent joy after he perfected a particularly complicated manoeuvre (though it had taken him almost ten tries to do it), he spied a piece of dark purple fabric half buried in the dirt floor. It was far from the centre of the arena, in a small patch of grass. Digging it up with some effort, Jason wasn't surprised at all when it fit into the hole in his own shirt perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. He smiled to himself, remembering when and how it had gotten there.

Jason groaned, rubbing his tailbone, which had taken most of the impact of his painful, graceless fall. Despite the pain, his neck burned with embarrassment as he opened an eye to meet Reyna's narrowed ones.

"Come on, Airhead. You can do better than that. Quit whining and get your podex up so I can kick it again."

Reyna's sharp, no-nonsense attitude towards things she took seriously and biting, rarely-found sense of humour were just two of the many reasons they were best friends.

A jolt of pain erupted as he poked a spot in the bone. "Pluto!" he yowled, face scrunching in pain, fists clenching. Reyna's features immediately softened, her expression morphing into one of concern. She knelt down beside her fallen friend, brown eyes alert, roaming over his body to search for injuries while she poked and prodded with her fingers. Jason was sure he was fully blushing at this point under the sweep of Reyna's gaze down his body.

"Don't fidget, I'm just checking—"

"Checking me out, you mean?" he teased, smirking at her raised brow, the only sign that she had heard him at all.

"Turn over, idiot." With a slight push, she helped him flop onto his belly. "Where does it hurt? Show me."

Wordlessly, Jason pointed at his tailbone. Reyna's hand reached for the spot, and their hands touched, sending a spark through Jason's spine. They didn't flinch at the contact—it wasn't unusual, unlike other people who would jump out of their skin at any physical touches. With gentle hands, the daughter of Bellona pulled Jason's shirt up, drawing a breath through her teeth as she saw the huge, swollen bruise that was quickly turning greenish-purple.

"Gods, you'd think Gaia came to life and punched you or something," she laughed.

"Rey, you may be an Ice Queen, but it's still too soon to be joking about Mother Earth."

"More like Murderer Earth, am I right?" Jason laughed, feeling himself relax as they talked aimlessly about nothing in particular. Reyna's fingers drifted over the sore spot, pressing occasionally.

Sensing Jason's remark before it came out of his mouth, she quickly justified her actions. "I learned on the island that with huge bruises, the best thing to do is massage it. That disperses the blood so it doesn't become a lump. Just bite your teeth, okay? It will help."

Jason nodded, taking comfort in the fact that Reyna would never hurt him on purpose and was just trying to help. Her deft fingers lightly massaged it, starting from the centre and circling outwards. The action sent waves of strangely comfortable pain through his body, and soon he was feeling much better.

"Ready for another round?" he asked, voice muffled by the ground.

"You sure you can make it?" Reyna shot back. "I don't want to carry you to the infirmary because you can't stand losing to a girl."

He gratefully took her outstretched hand, pulling himself up and dusting his jeans off. "I don't mind if the girl in question is you, Queenie," Jason grinned. Picking up his discarded spear, he playfully poked Reyna in the stomach with the blunt end. "Let's play."

The two circled each other like hawks, spears extended halfway. Jason feinted a hit to Reyna's head, which she predictably ducked gracefully, then made a jab at her stomach, only to have his spear almost flung out of his hand as she parried with her spear shaft and twisted, forcing his wrist backwards. He stumbled, and Reyna took advantage of this, lunging toward him. Jason recovered just in time, pushing her spear point away just as it was about to slice his calf. They went on like this, trading blows and ducking masterfully, until finally, Reyna feinted to the left, swiped swiftly downwards and forced Jason to his knees to block her blow, then spun in an arc and pushed her spear at an angle towards Jason that would have impaled his stomach from the side. At the last moment, she twisted her wrist, changing the spear's direction so instead of the point, it was the shaft that struck Jason, knocking the breath out of him. In his moment of shock, Reyna kicked his chest, pinning him to the floor with her foot, her spear grasped in both hands, point positioned and ready to strike into Jason's heart and kill him.

"Wow. I am so done with spears," Jason breathed between pants. Reyna smirked back, salvaging her moment of victory for a few more seconds before lifting the weight of her foot off the blond and sticking her weapon into the ground to help him up yet again. This was the way their spear fights usually ended, with Jason on the floor and Reyna pulling him to his feet.

"I hope not," Reyna chuckled at the dirt streaks on Jason's face. "It's fun wiping the floor with you." Spotting a leaf in his haywire hair, she balanced on her tiptoes (he was so much taller than her now, unlike before when she looked down at him) and plucked it out, smoothing down the blond strands, showing him the offending object and throwing it away.

"Thanks," he smiled, aware of the setting sun but having eyes only for his best friend. The red light danced in her dark eyes, bringing a childish sparkle to the deep irises, and Jason felt as if he was looking through her, looking into the depths of Reyna's eyes and connecting with her. The light glowed off her bronzed skin and smooth, dark river of hair. But most of all, she looked happy and young, as if the Titan War had never happened and the girl of just almost sixteen years had never had to bear the responsibility of being a praetor, a leader.

He had always known Reyna was beautiful. Even with leaves in her hair and strands coming loose from her braid; even with grazed knees and dirty hands, she was breathtakingly stunning, and didn't Jason know it.

"For what?" she asked, her smooth, slightly husky voice bringing him back to his senses.

"For everything," he replied, his voice tender and true. Reyna rolled her eyes, turning away and breaking their gaze.

"You're so cheesy," she complained, nudging his side with an elbow. He swore there was a pinkish tint to her cheeks, but he knew that he probably mirrored her flustered expression. Sweeping his blue eyes over her face, he tried to memorise her features, memorise her smile if one day they were to be torn apart.

Throwing an arm around her shoulders, Jason sighed. His muscles hurt and though most of the pain had been washed away by his adrenaline, the bruise on his tailbone pulsed. "Let's go home."

To his surprise, Reyna's arm found its way around his waist. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

That had been a perfect moment, one that he hated himself for taking so long to remember when Juno had finally decided to return his memories. But Jason's quest for perfection had just started, and something told him that this quest would be unforgettable.

How did you like it? Please review if you did, or even if you didn't!

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