Book Two: Chapter Three
Jason was just finishing up his latest story when Piper sat on his desk, nearly knocking his coffee onto his keyboard. It was only a subtle flick of his finger that stopped it from tipping that saved his work.
"Hey, Sparky, get this—Will Solace of Solace Industries is hosting a fundraiser to raise awareness about pollution in the water, and they invited Riptide." She said excitedly. "Lupa's put us on the story!"
"Oh god do I have to fly again?" He sighed. "I literally just got back from Boston."
"Lucky for you, it's here in the city." Piper grinned. "Oh, by the way, when I say Lupa assigned us to the story, I really mean she assigned me as your date, because you received a personal invitation from Will freaking Solace himself."
"I did?"
"You did. It was sent to Lupa. The richest man in the world invited you at Riptide's suggestion. Really moving up in the world, huh?" She nudged him. "I still remember sneaking into that club to speak with Marky Marlow with you."
"You're remembering that horribly wrong, then," Jason said wryly. "I snuck in after you went and got your awful blonde wig knocked off."
"I thought the whole Mother-of-Dragons looked would let me pass unnoticed," Piper shrugged. "Anyway, just thought you'd want to know. It's being hosted at the Solace Foundation building downtown. Pick me up at six?"
"Sure." Jason hoped his face wasn't flushing. "Sounds good."
"Awesome! And dress to impress! We'll be schmoozing it with some heavy hitters."
Piper practically skipped away from his desk, and Jason buried his face into his hands. He finished up his draft, emailed it to Lupa to check over, and then walked to her office.
"Not hearing it." She said when he closed the door behind her. "It was a personal invitation, and I couldn't risk you taking some small-town girl with you when I could send Piper."
"Was I invited as the press or as myself?" Jason said instead. "If it was a personal invitation…"
"You're a reporter, Jason. Even if it was a personal invitation, the understanding is always that you're going to report." Lupa told him. "Or does this have to do with your adorable crush on Piper?"
"That's not—I'm not—that's—"
"So it is," Lupa mused, an evil smirk on her face, "well, there are no rules about fraternization. Just be careful, Grace. You two work well together. Now scram. You've got…five hours to prepare. Hope you have a nice suit."
Jason knew there was no winning there, so he returned to his desk, gathered his things, and prepared to retreat to his apartment. He did have a nice suit, but it wasn't nearly nice enough for a Solace event. There was no way he'd get one tailored in time, and—
His thoughts were cut off by him crashing into someone's chest. While being clumsy was an act he sometimes put on, it was rare for it to genuinely happen. Still, a pair of strong hands stablised him before he could tumble over, and he found himself looking into surprisingly familiar sea-green eyes.
"You!" He growled.
"Me!" Percy Jackson said with a broad smile. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, with a backwards baseball cap covering his head. All-in-all, he just looked like another guy, not the famous Riptide. "You ready to go suit shopping?"
"What?"
"We have…four hours and forty-five minutes to find nice suits and have them tailored for us. Luckily, I managed to make us appointments at a place that not only has snazzy suits but can also work with that time-table. Ready to go?" Percy told him. "Too bad, I'm not letting you recover. After you."
He shoved Jason into a waiting town-car, and once the door was closed, the driver left immediately, like he…oh god, Percy was making an event out of this.
"Did I do something to offend you?"
"Not at all. I thought it would be fun for the both of us."
"Are you mad at me?"
"Nope."
"Is it a prank? Did Reyna put you up to it?"
"No and no. I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart. And bank account, so suck it up and get ready to get stylish." Percy laughed.
Ten minutes later, they pulled in front of a suit store that Jason knew sold their suits starting at a couple grand.
"Dude!" Jason hissed.
"Bro!" Percy mimicked right back. "I'm like, stupid rich, technically. You'll wear this more than once, especially because I'm going to make you go to any event I go to when I'm in the city, and since I'm making friends with Will Solace and his crowd, you will too. Take advantage of the gifts I'm giving you. A new suit and new contacts with the upper class."
"I am grateful, it's just…don't you think people will get suspicious?"
"Not really. Anyone who knows me knows that I can make friends as easily as I can make enemies, and you did yourself a massive favour by writing an exposé on me, so no one really questions my motives." Percy said as they walked in. A man immediately moved to greet them. "Appointment for two, name's Thalassapóros."
"Of course sir, we've been expecting you." The man said. "If you'd follow me?"
"Lead on." Percy said, smirking back at Jason and following the attendant further into the store. There were lines of men getting suits tailored, and Jason even recognised a few of them from the tabloids. This was the kind of place he came to do one-on-one interviews, not to…well, not to shop. They reached two empty stations, and almost the moment they stepped in, a small team of people moved in.
"Startling blue eyes." A middle-aged woman got in his face. "Almost perfectly symmetrical face and sharp jawline. What event was this for, again?"
"Solace Foundation fundraiser." Jason said. The woman blinked at him in surprise.
"I have just the suit in mind for you. Wait one moment." The woman vanished and a man took her place, measuring Jason's shoulders, arms, torso, waist, and legs. A quick glance confirmed Percy was getting the same treatment, but he seemed almost bored by the whole thing. And he moved as if he had had it done before. Arms raised before he could be asked, he moved as the clothes were put on him.
Then again, his armour was a perfect fit for him, the right mix between protection and mobility, so maybe he was more used to tailoring than Jason had expected. There was also his whole life in Atlantis to account for. Outside of knowing that Percy was royalty, he didn't know much else about his time in the deep. He had lived almost seven years there before returning to surface, and there was bound to be an entire book's worth of stories there. Stories Jason wanted to know, but there was no safe way to ask, and no way in hell that Percy would tell him while keeping an entire underwater kingdom secret.
An hour later, they walked out with a commitment to return at five-thirty to get their suits. That wouldn't give him a lot of time to drive and get Piper, but he'd make due.
"Thalassapóros?" Jason asked as they reached the town-car.
"Greek. Roughly, it means 'of the Sea.'" Percy explained. "I found it fitting. Percy Jackson is a name that people know, but Phillip Thalassapóros is just another rich guy."
"Phillip?"
"Father of Alexander the Great. Everyone always remembers Alexander, but Phillip created the army used in his son's conquests." Percy shrugged. "And I like the name. The car'll drop you back at your apartment. I'll see you tonight."
"What about you?"
"I've never really gotten a good look at San Francisco." Percy said. "I'll wander around before coming back here."
"See you tonight then." Jason said as Percy held the door open for him. He climbed into the car and started to tell the driver his address, but the man cut him off and told him that he already knew it.
Well then.
XXX
Jason nearly went blind when he saw Piper. Of course she had a dress that would let her fit right in with the people they were about to be with, but Jason hadn't been expecting her to go all out for it. Form-fitting, a vibrant red, and with lipstick and heels to match, she looked ready to kill. Jason nearly tripped over himself, and even worse, his x-ray vision nearly activated because he couldn't control himself. He managed to avoid accidently taking a peek under the hood, but only barely.
"You look—wow." He said. Piper glanced up from her phone, and he watched as her eyes widened.
"You're wearing Hugo Boss!" She exclaimed. "Jason, how did you even afford this?"
"I have a sugar daddy." He said blankly. Piper, however, wasn't taking it for an answer.
"Seriously, Jason, this must have cost, like, five grand at least." She said. "You can't be dropping your money on it."
"I didn't." He told her. "Promise. I'll tell you once we get there, okay? But we've got to go before we're late. Unlike the actual rich people, we can't afford to be fashionably late."
"Fine, but I expect a better excuse than 'I have a sugar daddy.'" She rolled her eyes. "I mean, really."
Except, that wasn't entirely far from the truth. He had a wealthier benefactor—Percy—who paid for his suit. All eight grand of it. Jason had been ready for the joke banners to fly down, but when he had arrived, they had simply shown him where he could get changed, given him the final adjustments, and sent him on his merry way, informing him that it had already been paid for before he got there.
"So, honest answer, how'd you afford the suit?"
"I didn't pay for it." He said honestly. "The sugar daddy thing was a joke, but a…friend paid for it."
"Who do you know that can afford Hugo Boss suits?" Piper narrowed her eyes. "None of our work friends, obviously. None of your small-town friends either. That really only leaves…oh my god. Did…did Percy Jackson buy you a five-thousand-dollar suit?"
"No." Jason said before winking at her. "He bought me an eight-thousand-dollar suit."
"Jason!"
"What?"
"Why is he buying you suits in the first place?"
"Because he, and I quote, 'thought it would be fun for the both of us.'" He told her. "You don't refuse a man like Percy Jackson. Especially not recently. Didn't you hear what happened to that Sheriff that arrested him?"
"Oh, man, that was brutal." Piper sighed. "Man lost his job, pension, was hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and had his house trashed by an angry mob of groupies. All because he wanted to arrest a freaking super-hero. I didn't think he was smart, but that was too much."
"Yeah, and do you remember what happened when someone told Percy what had happened?" Because Jason did. The most evil shark smile he had ever seen overtook his friend's features, and when asked what he thought, he had simply said 'good.' It had cost him some support, but the next day he had freed nearly forty prisoners from a pirate camp on the Somali Coast and all was forgiven.
"I do." Piper confirmed quietly. "Just…be careful. Jackson is dangerous. Maybe the most dangerous of all the Argonauts. Praetor's strong and all, but Jackson just…"
"Just?"
"Just seems like he's one bad day away from drowning a city." She said after a while. "He acts like he still blames all of humanity for what happened to him. Like everyone is guilty of his mother's death. As if anyone is going to try and hurt him again."
"It's hard for us to understand." Jason told her. "Everyone has their hardships in life, and I'm not diminishing them in the slightest, but Percy had a pretty shitty run from the get-go. It didn't get better for a long time."
"I guess you'd know." Piper agreed. "Still, be careful with him."
"I always am."
They finished the drive out in silence, and when they arrived at the Solace Foundation building, Jason almost lost his nerve again. There were hundreds of people crowded around the roped off entrance, and he was going to have to walk in with Piper on his arm in front of people he considered his peers and rivals. She seemed to realise it, though, and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, we'll be fine." She told him. "It's not my first event like this. Stick with me and you'll be golden. We've just got to ask enough questions between us to share a by-line and then we can hide by the drinks and ignore everyone. Sound good?"
"Yeah." Jason nodded. "Sounds good."
Jason had barely stepped out of his car when a valet approached him.
"Your keys, Mister Grace?"
"What?"
"I'm to manage your car, sir. Courtesy of Mister Jackson. He handed me five hundred dollars to valet your car, sir." That sounded like Percy. "He told me to ask you how you liked the suit."
Jason handed the keys over without further delay. He held his arm to Piper, who studied him for a moment.
"You were joking when you said you had a sugar daddy, right?" She asked. "Because that entire interaction screamed 'sugar daddy,' Jason."
"You know…I'm not entirely sure anymore." He admitted. "We'll see how it shakes out."
"Well, all things considered, having the king of the seven seas as your sugar daddy wouldn't be terrible, I guess." Piper said, and Jason felt his heart hammer in his chest.
"The who of the what now?"
"Oh, yeah, you missed that conversation." Piper grinned. "Dakota pointed out that Riptide has an uncanny ability to show up anywhere in the world faster than pretty much any other person except for maybe Praetor. He knows the oceans like the back of his hand, per his own words. It's not unreasonable to think he's pretty much the ruler of the oceans. Besides, he's like, super rich now, and he wasn't before. How does one become rich? By making money. Since he's not a mercenary, he has to have made his money another way. My guess is shipwrecks."
"And other precious minerals." None other than Percy swept in, throwing an arm around Jason's shoulder, which immediately set flashes of cameras off by lurking paparazzi. He led them into the building with ease, as if he knew exactly where he was going. "You're a good reporter, Miss McLean. Shame you weren't the one to get my exclusive."
"You couldn't handle me." Piper rolled her eyes. "I'm fierce. Unlike Jason, I wouldn't let you keep secrets."
"What makes you think I have kept secrets from him?" Percy grinned, all shark and no smile. "Who's to say he knows things that no other person knows? That he's kept those things for me?"
"Has he?" Piper challenged, turning to face him.
"No." Percy laughed. "But it's not impossible. I don't have a lot of friends. I consider Jason to be one."
"You here with a date, Percy?" Jason cut in. "You didn't say earlier."
"Nope." He replied, popping the 'p.' "I'm going stag tonight. You're certainly punching outside your weight, though."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper frowned. "You think I'm too good for Jason?"
"Too pretty, maybe," Percy shrugged. "But no, that's not what I meant. This is new for him. No so much for you. You may be rusty, but you have experience in these things, and…"
Percy's eyes had wandered, and he drifted off as his gaze landed across the room from them. Jason followed it, and immediately understood why Percy had lost his focus. Reyna had just arrived, and by God was it a sight. He had seen her in battle armour, and he had seen her in civilian dress—mostly a neat suit she wore to meetings—but for this, she had gone all out. She wore a purple strapless dress accented with gold. She also looked noticeably annoyed, swarmed by men asking her questions.
"Excuse me," Percy said, and immediately swept across the room. Before Jason could do anything else, Piper had yanked him to follow. They were only a few feet away when Percy reached Reyna and the small circle of suitors. "Pardon the interruption, Princess, but you look like you could use a dance."
Reyna's eyes lit up as she recognised Percy's voice, and she turned around to grace him with a smile. She eagerly took the hand he had offered, and the men seemed to realise that they had missed their opportunity, though not without shooting glares at an incredibly smug Percy. Jason hadn't even known Percy could dance, but he led Reyna with ease across the floor, quietly talking to one another. He could have eavesdropped, but that would have been out of place. Better to let the duo have their privacy.
"That was weird." Piper noted. "I mean, I've always known he gets along with her best—they spend a lot of time together, after all—but that was almost…soft? The Princess clearly was uncomfortable with the attention and he just swooped in. Did you see the way she lit up? Or the way he completely lost his focus when he saw her."
"It didn't escape my notice." He agreed quietly.
"Do you think they're…together?" Piper asked. "Oh thank god that Lavinia wasn't your date, the gossip column would be insane."
"Let's not speculate." Jason offered. "Since both of them can squash our heads with one hand."
"Smart move." She laughed. "Come on, I think I saw Elon Musk over there…"
MMXXI
Is Percy Jason's new sugar-daddy? Maybe. I think a thing to note is that in Chapter One Sally makes a comment about picking up extra shifts, which kind of hints towards their financial situation, and now Percy is arguably among the richest people in the world. He says that it has to do with being able to recover lost treasures, amongst other things, and that's part of it. The other part is pretty much the Atlantean treasury funding his bank account on the surface, through magical technology. So while Percy is like super rich, it's less of a 'let me show off my wealth' thing and more of a 'let me help me friend fit in a little more' thing. He spent seven years as a Prince of Atlantis in his brother's court, he knows how to act around rich pretentious people.
I'm still undecided for a ship, and while it seems like its leaning towards Preyna, it's not certain. If anything, I see them as platonic soulmates right now, not necessarily romantically attracted to each other. They love each other, sure, but they're not in love with each other. That may or may not change, since I'm hesitant for both of my active stories right now to be Preyna, but who knows. Artemis is out of the running, though, so sorry about that. Let me know what you think regarding a potential pairing.
As always, leave a review or send me a PM! The best way to get a response is by either DMing me on this site, or send me an ask on my tumblr, which is also CombatTombat. Otherwise, questions in reviews are pretty much not going to get answered. I don't have the time, energy, or inclination to respond to each individual review in my author's notes, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people skip these anyway.
Cheers, CombatTombat
