A/N
I'm slowing this story down.
I've decided that Arma Roma is going to be slower-paced now, owing to the fact that I tend to skip or skim over some crucial moments, and well, that's not good. Still, this chapter doesn't have any action, but there's a B-plot going that I need to advance - namely, Percy's work at Camp Jupiter. Needing to expand on that, so that's what I'm doing.
18 will see the Hunters, like I said before. So sit back, relax, and rage slightly at the fillers I'm putting out.
190 Favs and 240 Follows is the greatest thing I could have asked for - thank y'all, you all are blessed by the awesome Sun God Apollo now.
To Willbabwe: Thank you for that resource, I'll definitely be utilising it in the future. Anyways,
Enjoy!
Chapter 17
Tick Tock, Doc Ock
The Son of Neptune smiled softly at Reyna. She'd been his rock for the past month, constantly checking up on his leg, keeping him fed when he felt unable to eat, and doing memorable shit like this. He wasn't an idiot; he knew that Reyna had likely pulled a ton of strings to do this.
"I want you with me, Reyna."
The Daughter of Bellona sighed heavily, and Percy's heart plummeted.
"I can't." It was a bitter admittance, but it was true. "I don't think I can do that. I'm built to fight in the legion. You- you are capable for so much more." She smiled softly, encouragingly at her boyfriend, whose face is now downcast. "And I think this is it. Go find Lady Artemis and see what you can do for the legion. Warfare isn't just limited to the battlefield, after all. I understand."
Percy groaned. "Fine." He smiled, a bittersweet smile that pulled the corners of his lips up, showing Reyna the cute dimples of his she'd found unreasonably attractive. "But I'll miss you like shit, Rey."
He pulled her into an embrace, one she gladly returned.
"I'll miss you too, tonto."
They held their embrace for the time being, neither willing to let each other go.
Percy...
Michael...
"Fuck."
"Language, Percy."
The Son of Poseidon sent a glare in the Son of Venus's direction, and the latter put up his arms in surrender, before Percy started grumbling and turned back to the machine in front of him.
"Ow!"
"That's more like it."
"Shut it, Kahale."
Michael was still undoubtedly surprised at the sudden way Percy started to warm up to him throughout the past month of rehabilitation; some of it had been due to the fact that they were of the same Hawai'ian heritage and how for two hours daily they'd been meeting with Max for rehab. Apparently, losing the legion's best fighter and a member of the First Cohort was concerning for their Centurions. Zimmerman and the Primus Pilus, Elizabeth Michaels, had actually come down to the gym to evaluate on their progress every two weeks, but the Son of Venus reckoned there was something off about them. They seemed so... stressed.
"Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. This fucking hurts."
Michael's face contorted into a frown, displeased by the copious amounts of swearing that Percy was currently involved in. "Language."
"Shut it, Kahale," his partner said again, mimicking his earlier statement, "you try hopping on your broken leg seventy times as rehab."
"That's not even close to a good argument. You're not even supposed to be doing it seventy times. Actually, you're doubling the damn amount of reps you're supposed to perform."
"No, he said thirty-five. Times two, that's seventy."
"Why are you even doubling it, Percy?"
The Son of Neptune blinked once. Then twice. His face was blank, yet Michael could see the confusion written within his features.
"Isn't that what you're supposed to do?"
It was Michael's turn to be utterly bewildered. "No. Where the hell did you learn that from?"
Percy narrowed his eyes, squinting as he tried to understand the current situation. "Lupa. She told me that to be better, I needed to practice more. So I just doubled everything I did."
In reality, it was far more than that. Ever since he'd been rescued from Gabe by his father, Percy had vowed never to be weak again. The Son of Neptune vividly recalled some spars with his half-brother (or full-blooded? Percy wasn't really sure) Triton, which had always ended in the God kicking his ass, and the bruises and the pain just reminded him of Gabe's whip.
Then the he'd found the Hunt. Percy had tried to get into their good books by not only doing what they told him to do, but doing it well and even more than his regular chores – it had worked, to an extent. His archery had been downright terrible, but extra training – a lot of it – had made up for his ability, or rather, lack of it.
Still, he wasn't about to divulge all of that to Michael, even if he found some sort of kinship within the other Hawai'ian native.
The Son of Venus frowned, not remembering Lupa ever saying anything of the sort to him. All he could recall was the Wolf-Goddess giving him the standard introduction, the "be a good Roman" talk, then sending him on his merry way after two days of training.
Then again, Percy hahd trained under Lupa for three years. Michael supposed that training under the Mother of Rome for that long would mean that the Son of Neptune would learn something different from everyone else. After all, Michael doubted that swordsmanship was the only thing the Wolf-Goddess had instructed Percy on through the years; if he were to guess, there was likely some politics involved as well.
"Well, Percy, maybe that works for regular training but this is rehab," the Son of Venus reminded him, emphasising the last word. "You're not supposed to strain yourself. It's still healing."
"it's getting better," Percy replied stubbornly. "I can do this."
Michael sighed as the demigod before him got up again, stumbling a bit as his leg nearly gave out to his body weight.
"It is getting better," Michael conceded, "but if you're going to strain it this much it'll just get worse. I'm sure Reyna would say the same thing."
As a Son of the Love Goddess, one of the abilities or gifts he'd gotten was a fluency in reading people and their emotions. And he could feel some sort of tension whenever he was around Reyna and Percy, as well as a certain... tingle he'd get when they were together.
There was definitely something going on there, but Michael wasn't dumb enough to ask the Titanicius about it.
Titan-Killer. An unofficial agnomen for the Son of Neptune, but the Senate hardly mattered when it came to the Legion. Though important, the Senate was an entirely separate entity from the Legion of Rome, and no one really cared if those politicians decided to disallow Percy Jackson to hold the title. Sure, they were technically a part of the Roman Republic, with no Emperor, and were supposed to be fiercely loyal to the senate, but freedom had been a big thing in the past few Centuries. Rome had changed with it.
As Percy stood up and Michael watched on, the latter having learned long ago that his partner preferred to be much more... independent, the two of them had to let out groans as they heard a squeaky voice that rang through the air from outside.
"It's Octavian again," Michael grumbled.
"Isn't he your sponsor?"
Percy looked questioningly at the Son of Venus, who nodded, though a bit reluctantly.
"Yeah. I'm grateful and all, but sometimes he's just a bit too much."
The two couldn't hear it from here, but there was no doubt in either of their minds about Octavian's current stance – the 'sudden disappearances of the Son of Neptune!' and the 'breakdown of communication', though the second one was quickly shut down by the Praetors, skillfully enough that no one questioned the future Augur when he stopped preaching about the confusion among the Twelfth Legion.
"Mm. I'll take care of him."
Michael narrowed his eyes. "He's the future Augur, Percy. You'll have to be careful around him. If word of this gets out- Apollo might even get in your way. You're his champion, but Octavian's his descendant, his legacy."
"Oh, it won't," Percy said dismissively, waving his hand. "I have my ways. Plus, Apollo doesn't even like him that much." He paused, before continuing. "I won't kill him, anways."
If this were any other person, the Son of Venus would have doubted their ability to shut Octavian up. But in the past month he'd spent with the enigmatic Son of Neptune, well, Michael knew Percy would find some way.
"Why do you sound so reluctant saying that?"
Percy didn't answer.
"Percy?"
The demigod turned around, and Michael flinched at the poison that sat within his eyes. But as soon as it arrived, there it went.
"Octavian's the type of guy I hate. Lying, cheating, bastard. Probably capable of blackmail."
A tense silence descended upon them. Michael shivered as he thought back to Percy's eyes; they had flashed with malice the Son of Venus had never seen in them before. And... call him crazy, but he was pretty sure they'd changed colour. He remembered an orange flash within his eyes, even if it quite literally disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Then, the silence was broken as the timer went off, signalling the end of their daily rehabilitation. Percy sighed loudly and walked over to the clock before smashing it to turn it off.
"Wow. I need a shower." Percy paused, before turning to Michael and – there it was! The flash!
"Say, I've never seen Octavian in the baths."
"Yeah...?"
The Son of Neptune smirked. "Cool."
Michael breathed a sigh of relief as he felt himself breathe freely again, having kept in a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Then, he sent a smile Percy's way, though he received little more than a courteous nod in return. It had been like this for a month now, with the Son of Neptune making cordial conversation during the duration of their therapy before returning to his stoic look whenever the bell went.
"Good evening, Michael. See you at the Field of Mars."
"aloha ahiahi, Kaikua'ana."
Percy raised an eyebrow, his expression neutral. "I'm not your brother, nor am I older than you."
Michael shrugged. "Well, I'm going to keep calling you that. And with what you've done, you might as well be older than everyone here."
"Percy! Let's go!"
Hearing his girlfriend's voice, the corner of Percy's lips twitched up in an involuntary response. Michael's Venus-senses were starting to go haywire within the presence of the couple.
"Duty calls. See you, Kahale."
Arma Roma
Reyna...
Percy...
"You know, we still have to talk about Venus."
Inwardly, the Son of Poseidon groaned. He'd managed, despite his girlfriend's best efforts, to avoid the topic for the past month, normally faking pain or something of the sort when they started breaching upon the subject.
He didn't want anyone to get him wrong – he wanted to be with Reyna, probably more than he'd ever wanted anything in his life, but Percy wasn't exactly comfortable, per say, with these kinds of talks. It had taken up every single ounce of his willpower to talk to her all that time ago, and sometimes Percy would still wince about it. About how vulnerable he'd been.
Still, he'd indulge Reyna. Maybe Percy could rip off the band aid. She would want that too, probably.
"And we're going to be doing it properly."
The Son of Neptune didn't groan like before. Instead, he sent a questioning look her way; Reyna volunteering to talk about... this kind of stuff? Percy had wanted to avoid this conversation as much as he could, given the fact that talking was involved, but he couldn't. So he'd expected for it to be a short conversation where they discussed a bit about feelings then kissed a bit for a little while. Or a long while.
But the situation was already giving him flashbacks to the time he'd poured his entire heart out to her. Percy didn't regret it, not one bit, but it was wildly uncomfortable. He wasn't keen on experiencing it again, to be honest.
Still, for some reason, Percy agreed.
"Yeah. It should be."
'It should be?' Percy chastised himself for his remark. It sounded so... awkward.
But before either of them could continue, the buccina sounded, alerting the couple to the start of war-games. In the distance, they could see some early legionnaires already arrive at the Field of Mars as other soldiers rushed to fall in. Percy watched on with a bittersweet feeling in his chest; he loved the Legion, but as of right now the Son of Neptune was rather useless.
"I've got to fall in," Reyna said, looking towards the Second who'd assembled on the Field of Mars, ready for battle. "Talk to you later?"
Percy just hummed his agreement before pulling Reyna in for a surprise kiss on the forehead, making the Daughter of Bellona squeal in shock.
Pulling back, Reyna scowled at her boyfriend, ignoring her beating heart. "We could have been seen!"
Percy put on a mock-horrified face, looking hurt at her words. "I thought you knew me better than that!"
Unable to control herself, Reyna snorted then pecked Percy on the cheek. "Kay. I've got to go now. See you."
The Son of Neptune watched his girlfriend run off, her frame slowly decreasing in size as she kept going, getting further and further away by the second. Percy looked down at himself and frowned. He couldn't even run anymore; what use was he?
Percy sighed, before slowly trekking towards the Field of Mars as well. If he was lucky, maybe he'd see Jason there.
Arma Roma
"Percy!"
"Jason."
The Son of Jupiter smiled widely, looking at his cousin and best friend, who was currently walking down towards the Field of Mars. It was an unusual sight to see Percy so... fragile, if he were to choose a word. The Son of Neptune was borderline hobbling as he approached his cousin.
"We haven't talked in a while, you know."
"I do." Percy, though participating in the conversation, seemed a tad distracted, his eyes surveying the area, seemingly searching for someone.
"Who are you looking for?"
"ad anguis."
Jason raised an eyebrow. The Snake. It wasn't the most original name, but Percy had various names for Octavian, the future Augur, ranging from "The Scarecrow" to the "The Cat". To be honest, the Snake was actually one his better code names for the slimy little shit.
"Why, exactly?"
Percy snorted, his eyes still looking around, picking apart the crowd and looking for the legacy of Apollo. "I never really need a reason to, but this time, he's spouting shit that I can't be bothered listening to another time." He paused, narrowing his eyes, before shaking his head and moving on to the next crowd of fighters. "I'm going to make him shut up."
Jason nodded silently. As... unconventional as his best friend could be, he doubted murder of a fellow Legionary was a viable choice in Percy's books. The Son of Jupiter trusted his cousin to do his thing, and hopefully not get caught doing it.
"Why aren't you fighting? I figured the Fifth would want their best fighter in tonight."
Jason shrugged, not really knowing himself. "Well, Abigail told me to sit out tonight. Don't know why, but I'm not going to question my officer's direct order."
The Son of Neptune raised an eyebrow, finally tearing his eyes away from the clashing legionaries and turning to his cousin. "Really? She didn't say a single thing. How old is she, again?"
"Um... I think she's turning nineteen this year."
"So... how many years of service?"
"I think this is..." Jason trailed off before a lightbulb seemingly lit up in his head, catching on to Percy's meaning. "Wait."
"Yeah, Jason." Percy sent his cousin a small smile. "You're going to succeed Abigail. Centurion Grace."
Jason was seemingly frozen, shocked by the sudden revelation. His cousin smirked, poking at him.
"Now, Centurion, we can't have you freezing up in a battle, can we?"
The Son of Jupiter seemingly snapped out of his musings, his eyes showing clear panic.
"Centurion? Really? I don't think I'm very cut out for this..."
"Cut the crap, Jason." The demigod turned to the Son of Neptune, who continued. "We both know you're going to be a kick-ass leader. The entire cohort looks up to you, Jason Grace. Don't fuck up."
The Son of Jupiter was momentarily stunned by Percy's sudden pep-talk – especially because it was a little violent – before he nodded.
"Yeah."
Percy smiled. "Good."
Arma Roma
Percy...
The Son of Neptune had to be honest, a solo Roman Bath was really soothing.
Normally, the entire place would be filled to the brim with legionnaires looking to shower, some of them quickly doing so, others indulging in the baths for too long a time, and some fighting over one thing or another.
But Percy had picked up on a fact that surprisingly no one else did – Octavian was never there.
He didn't know whether the Legacy of Apollo was insecure about his body, but Octavian had always been rather skinny, though not to the malnourished extent. It was far more likely Octavian valued privacy – and so did Percy, thought the Son of Neptune was about to majorly invade the future Augur's privacy.
It was a pleasant feeling that ran through his body when he caught sight of Octavian entering the Bath, the Legacy of Apollo looking like he was a deer caught in the headlights. Percy sent a smile Octavian's way, and was very satisfied by the shiver that ran through the latter's body. The Son of Neptune had perfected a predatory grin years ago, under Lupa's tutelage.
"Hello, Octavian. Mind chatting?"
"In fact-"
"Fantastic. Now, would you be so kind to sit right around there?"
The Legacy of Apollo seemed to struggle with the annoyance in his humiliation fo losing control, to the point where he'd been interrupted mid-sentence so callously, and with the feeling of being scared shitless of the Son of Neptune who just sat there, shirtless, in the bath. Hesitantly, Octavian stepped in.
"Excellent. Now. I'm here because I know you come after hours – and before hours – to the baths to get your private time. And by sitting here, right now, I blatantly show you I don't care. I have taken control of this conversation, and you are also sitting within water, which is my domain."
Octavian was now hyperaware of whirlpools forming around him, miniscule as they were. The sensation of water rushing past his skin wasn't very pleasurable.
"Enough dilly-dallying. I'm going to get straight to the point. Stop talking shit about me."
"I don't-"
"Cut the crap, Octavian." The future Augur gulped as the whirlpools all around him started speeding up. "You know what you say, I know what you say. Normally, I'd offer an incentive, but let's be honest. I don't need one."
"Excuse me?"
"You know what I can do." The water started bubbling, reaching temperature levels exceeding those of what should have been possible, but the Legacy of Apollo couldn't bring himself to move – whether or not that was Percy's doing was unknown. The Son of Neptune's eyes flashed a colour that Octavian couldn't make out and a malice filled those eyes. Those orbs of sea-green that had formerly only possessed an indifference now shone with malice and hatred, and Octavian knew he was currently severely outmatched.
"Ye-yes." Octavian tried to sound calm, but he knew that his voice probably squeaked the word out in a very un-Roman way.
"What did I do?"
His voice was calming, for some unknown reason. Octavian noted to himself to research this Sea-Spawn carefully as soon as he could; maybe the Son of Neptune was capable of Charmspeak, possibly a legacy of Venus.
"You- you killed the Titan Pallas."
"Do you want to know how?" Before Octavian could respond, Percy continued. He was dominating this conversation, anyway; he couldn't really be bothered listening to Octavian squeak out a cowardly response. Percy could feel Dimiourgos influencing his feelings, but decided to let him do what he wanted. "No, you don't. It was rather... unsavoury."
Octavian nodded obediently, like some sort of dog, and Percy smirked.
"Good." Then, Percy twitched his head a little to the left, his eyes still boring holes into Octavian as his gaze grew more intense. When he spoke again, his voice was not his – scratchy, raspy, broken. It differed so much from the smooth, eloquent way the demigod normally spoke.
"Now. Do we have a deal?"
"What-"
"You know what."
Octavian flinched at Percy's interruption. It wasn't malicious, nor was it anger-filled, but it was placed just right in the conversation, and the Legacy of Apollo had too concede.
He'd been beaten at his own game – and much too quick, much too easily. The Son of Neptune had always been an enigma, and Octavian would admit – though reluctantly – that this might've been bound to happen.
"Yeah. Fine."
The malice left the sea-green eyes of Percy Jackson and the future Augur sighed in relief.
"I don't want to hurt you, Octavian. I know you love Rome. But these methods, well, I don't exactly support them." The Son of Neptune paused, and then spoke again. "I propose a truce."
"A truce?"
"Yes. Let's just say... an alliance. Not friends, not enemies, just working together for a common goal."
"Rome."
Percy looked down at Octavian out of the corner of his eye; the future Augur was a lanky, above-average height boy, but the Son of Neptune was taller.
"Yes. Rome. What do you say, Legacy of Apollo?"
Arma Roma
Percy...
Reyna...
"Okay. Let's do this."
It was somewhat of an awkward affair, this talk, but it was a neccessity, and both parties understood the importance of having it.
Reyna broke the silence by prompting the discussion. "So. Venus and Charleston. Thoughts?"
Anyone else would have cringed at the formality of their talks, but Percy and Reyna liked it. It was a format they'd discussed multiple times, though this was the first application of said format. They'd start off formal – it was a comfortable launchpad to get started, then move on to more feelings-based topics.
"She called us soulmates. I guess it was a possible exaggeration." Percy replied, thinking back to the day.
"I believe so too. However, the implication of this statement suggests that Venus must have measured our compatibility somehow, and she must have seen us... compatible, I guess."
Percy scrunched up his face in thought, and Reyna's heart melted slightly. it was cute seeing him think so hard; so focused on this subject.
"I think the main problem isn't Venus." Percy paused, waiting for the information to sink in, and Reyna nodded, gesturing for him to continues. "I think it's our disbelief that a notion such as soulmates could exist – we are, after all, rational thinkers."
Reyna nodded, agreeing. Percy continued.
"I think when it comes to love, well, neither of us have really great childhoods, right? I mean, I had some type of parental guidance but you, well, you had Hylla." Percy ignored Reyna's not-so-subtle glare and continued. "The Hunt was shit for a bit, then it was cool. Circe's Island was safe, but I doubt it was a home."
Reyna continued for Percy. "Yeah. So neither of us really know what this is supposed to really be like. Add the fact that we're fourteen going on fifteen, and well, love isn't something typical people are looking for - hell, even when it comes to demigods."
"Well, we're not exactly normal, are we?"
The two of them shared a small chuckle, the tension in the air dissipating as they did so.
Her boyfriend stopped, seemingly lost in thought. Reyna rubbed her temples, exhaling out of her nose heavily.
"So. I know I called this talk, but I'm not entirely sure of the purpose of it. I just... knew we had to talk about it."
Percy shrugged. "I don't either. I guess... I feel like we should just take it slow. Especially considering our backgrounds, it would be uncomfortable to just... act lovey-dovey all the time."
Reyna nodded. It wasn't much at all, but it was good enough, for now.
"Hey. When do you leave?"
Percy blinked in surprise, before sighing. In actuality, he'd been aiming to leave as soon as possible, but his leg was hampering the whole process. Rehab was working, it was just too slow.
"I don't know," he admitted, "I was aiming for next week, but my foot's fucked up..."
Reyna cocked her head, leaning it onto Percy's shoulder. "Well, you're looking for the Huntresses of Artemis. Maybe they have some sort of magical voodoo natural cure, or maybe Artemis can heal it herself."
Percy shook his head. "No, Apollo said I had to heal it myself. Whatever that means. It's not working very well, currently."
Reyna shrugged, though her mobility was restricted by her position. "Well, maybe think outside the box. You know how Gods are."
Percy hummed in agreement, before hanging his head, a drowsy feeling overtaking his senses.
"Yeah. Maybe. I feel tired, reina. We should head back."
"Sure," she replied, yawning. "Let's go."
Reaching downwards, her hand found his and their fingers intertwined, their actions covered by the inky darkness of the night. They walked on for as long as they could; only parting ways – and hands – as they split directions to their respective barracks. They'd cherish this for as long as they could.
A/N
Review, as always, thank you for reading if you made it this far.
Sorry if you were dissatisfied. Admittedly, I don't like writing filler chapters - this stuff is boring to me, too, but I felt like Octavian could be used not as an antagonist or someone favoured, but like a slightly dislike-able ally. Don't worry, I won't make our dear Legacy of Apollo too much of a pushover; I'm planning for some more... altercations between the two.
Some more Michael Kahale. Yay. Some Preyna. Yay. And what's going to happen to Percy's leg? Who knows, man, Tune in next time to find out.
cheers,
combatwombat14