NB: These are all one-shots… except this one. This one's a three-shot. LOL.
Me: All rights go to Rick Riordan where due.
Percy: Does that mean you don't own me?
Me: No. I don't.
Percy: Or Annabeth?
Me: No. I don't own her either.
Percy: Or Jason? Or anybody else? Or the places or -
Me: *shouting* Styx, Percy! I only own the plot! Okay?!
Percy: Jeez, no need to shout.
Me: *about to murder Percy* Just, shut up. *still mildly annoyed, but calmer* Anyway, I just want to say, I'm not a Percy-hater or a Jason-hater, I just particularly enjoy fics where Jason is a b*****d and should die. But don't mistake that for me hating him. 'Cos I don't. Oh, and it's kind of OOC and sometimes the flashbacks and the stories aren't the same as in the book, but I tried to keep it as close as possible, and -
Percy: infinity?
Me: Yeah?
Percy: Shut up.
Me: NEVER! *starts babbling on and on about different book series*
Percy; URGH! *shoves head into palms* *looks at you (the reader)* I just had to set her off, didn't I?
**LINE**
Jason was seated at the table in the dining room of the Argo II. He was alone in the room, as all the others were in the sitting room, listening to all of Percy's quests. Percy. If Jason had to hear one more thing about the stupid son of Poseidon, he would go crazy. At Camp Half-Blood, yes, they had accepted Jason as their stand-in leader whilst Percy was unconscious and amnesiatic, but all the time, he was constantly compared to with Percy. "Oh, Percy never listened to what he was told to do, but he always came out triumphant", "Percy was always modest and selfless to the point where it was annoying", "Percy was such a rebel, that the only streak he had was for compliance". Even his sister, his own blood sister, seemed to prefer Percy to him. And then, to make matters even worse, Camp Jupiter made him Praetor. Okay, semi-leader was okay. A rank below, level with Octavian, was acceptable, too. But, Praetor? In a week? That p***ed him off on a whole new level. He didn't understand how Percy managed it. He was nothing like a Roman. The complete opposite, in fact. But, of course Mr. Perfect could manage it, couldn't he(?) Even Piper and Leo seemed to be picking Percy over him and they were his friends first.
Jason went to his room and sulked. Falling asleep, he woke up the next morning feeling worse than he did last night.
He padded to the dining room and surveyed the room. Percy was sitting at the head of the table (of course), with Annabeth on his lap. Hazel was sitting to his left and Frank was on his right. (Jason didn't mind that.) After all, they did go on a quest with him. Leo was sitting next to Frank and Piper was sitting next to Hazel. They were all laughing at some joke that Percy was telling everyone.
"And Zoe didn't even notice the joke. So when we were talking and laughing about the dam restroom and the dam gift shop, she didn't know what it was about. And she was so confused, and that just made it even more funny."
Everyone was laughing. Jason didn't understand. That was probably the most stupid thing he had ever heard. Percy stopped laughing and reached for his fork, so he could eat his blueberry pancakes, when he stopped. "Hey, Jason. We were waiting for you." He grinned up at Jason.
"Yeah, man." Leo continued. "We were thinking about setting a course to follow today, but we didn't want to start without you."
"Why? Looks like you don't need me." Jason knew he was being mean for no reason other than outright jealousy, but he made no effort to stop. "Just ask your captain."
"Look, dude, I don't-" Leo began.
"I wasn't talking about you, Leo." Jason interrupted. "I was talking about Percy." Jason stared at Percy, missing the flash of hurt on Leo's face.
"Wait, what?" Percy's eyebrows scrunched together. "Man, did I do something wrong?" He looked around, but everyone was as confused as he was. "'Cos if I did, then I'm sorry-"
"Of course you're apologising. You're always apologising. You're always Mr. Perfect, aren't you? You always do the right thing. You're always the hero. Well, guess what? Move aside! Poseidon's kids aren't as powerful as Jupiter's children, so know your place!" Jason ended up yelling.
Annabeth slid off Percy's lap as the older boy stood slowly. He still stood about two or three inches taller than Jason and Jason was trying hard not to look as intimidated as he felt. "I may just be Poseidon's kid, Jason, but if you don't take control, I will."
"Oh yeah? So, you were in complete control when the Great Prophecy was about? Huh?"
"You want to lecture me about the Great Prophecy?" Percy's voice sounded incredulous and his fingers twitched towards his pocket, where everyone knew he kept Riptide. "Grace, I was the Great Prophecy."
"Really? What about Luke?" Jason saw something flare in Percy's eyes.
"Uh-oh..." Annabeth muttered. "This won't end well."
"Jason..." Piper warned, but Jason held up a hand to silence her.
"What about Luke, Grace?" Percy asked, with gritted teeth.
"Just couldn't stand Annabeth being with someone other than yourself? Couldn't stand the thought of someone else loving her?" Jason goaded.
"Jason..." Hazel cried, softly, but Frank held her back.
Percy's hand dug into his pocket and out came Riptide. He didn't open his pen, so Jason didn't take out his gladius.
"Jason Grace," Percy said in a warning tone, "be very careful with where you're going with this."
"You couldn't stand Luke with Annabeth, so what did you do?" Jason continued.
Suddenly, he found himself sparring with Percy. He knew it was suicidal unless Percy let him go. Percy was the best swordsman in over three centuries. They were finally locked in an X-shaped position.
"Stop!" Annabeth said. "Jason, Thalia always had had a small crush on Luke, so that made it hard for me to love him as anything more than a brother."
Percy shoved his head through the X until it was right up against Jason's. It was a risky move, but he was strong enough to stop Jason from moving his gladius a centimetre. "Listen here, Grace, Annabeth chose me. Me over every single guy out there. Styx knows why she did, but I was the one she chose. Not Luke and not anyone else. On top of that, I didn't ask to be part of two major prophecies. I don't wake up every day, thinking 'Percy, what amazing feat can you do today?' I'm just the unlucky guy that the gods have picked to mess with. The Fates have chosen my stupid miserable life to be the one they use barbed wire for. I did not ask for this life." With that, Percy pushed Jason away and left the room. As he reach the doorway, Jason turned and yelled. "You have their deaths on you, you know!" Percy stopped, not turning around. "Bianca's! Zoe's! Silena's! Beckendorf's! A load more!" He shouted.
Percy turned to him slowly. "You think I don't know that?" He said, quietly. "You think I don't beat myself up every day because of it? You think I can look Nico in the eye without thinking of Bianca's death and thinking that it should have been me? You think I can't look at the stars without remembering Zoe's death? You think I have it easy?" Jason was stunned. "Where on Earth do you think these came from?" He turned and lifted his shirt to show multiple injuries on his back and shoulder blades.
"He never explained those to me. I always assumed that they were injuries from a fight and he just didn't want to talk about them." Annabeth murmured, sorrowfully.
"I see if I can punish myself until I have at least compensated for a portion of the pain and deaths I've caused and it still hasn't worked." That was when he turned and left for real. Everyone heard a splash as Percy dived into the ocean to cool off.
