Jason was not having a good time. Their trip to Ithaca had started out like a great idea. Get some time away, go visit Odysseus' old place. Do some light intel recon for their journey ahead. Instead, Jason got to play the role of old codger to infiltrate a party of angry old ghosts, see his mother's mania, and get stabbed by an Imperial Gold blade. The smoking hole in his chest left him in so much pain he could barely sit upright as he recounted their trip to the crew. Gods he hoped Reyna, Nico and Hedge were having a better time than he was.
"Varus," Percy growled hearing the name of the former praetor.
"Yeah," Jason coughed. "Guy was not happy about you before he bit the dust again."
"Feeling is mutual. He sicked his dead legionnaires on me in Alaska then threw their entire stash of Imperial Gold off a glacier which we had to retrieve."
Jason whistled but decided not to push the topic further. The dark shadow that passed over Percy's expression made him uneasy. He knew Percy could get…temperamental at times and Annabeth had warned him back at Camp Half-Blood. Percy was the son of the sea god whose mood shifted as easily as…well as water. Still, ever since returning from Tartarus, Percy had this sort of dangerous edge to him that seemed to boil just under the surface. For the most part, he was the same laid-back, goofy kid he'd heard about and gotten to know, but it was like treading on thin ice. One wrong move and that could all shatter, and Jason didn't even want to imagine what Percy was capable of should that happen.
"So next stop Olympia?" Leo asked, fingers racing to plot their next course.
"Home of the Olympic games," Annabeth nodded.
"To subdue victory," Frank muttered.
"Yeah, great, we set?" Jason asked, everyone turning and nodding in consensus. "Cool, cool. I'm gonna go and pass out now. Pipes, can you help me out?"
Piper threw his arm over her shoulder and helped him hobble away to his room while the rest of the crew went to work rigging up the ship.
"Come on old man, let's get you in bed," She chided.
Jason chuckled which hurt his ribs. He wished he was well enough to help in Olympia, but all he could do for now was pray to his father. Being with Piper made the pain bearable though as she playfully tucked him into bed and fed him some ambrosia and nectar before leaving. He knew she was worried sick, but she didn't want to show him that. In that way, she reminded him of Reyna.
His mind began to drift as consciousness faded away from him. Percy had his work cut out for himself if he was going to go toe to toe with Reyna. She was strong and disciplined and Percy was decidedly less so, but fiercely loyal. Maybe that was what they needed from each other. He'd never seen Reyna so happy in all his time at Camp Jupiter. It felt like she was finally doing things that she wanted to do, not just what she was expected to. Maybe he could talk with the son of Poseidon about that and give him some pointers. The thought made Jason smirk as his mind finally slipped into slumber.
A screaming goddess in the stables was the last thing Percy wanted to hear as he rolled in bed, trying to cover his ears from the incessant wailing that echoed in his room. Some of the others had it even worse, their beds posted closer to her than he was. Nike screamed out a string of constant complaints about things not being up to par. Of course, when par means perfections, nothing is up to par. Before heading to bed, Frank grumbled something about this being like back home with his grandmother.
Eventually, enough was enough and Percy couldn't take it any longer. He threw his hands up in defeat and decided to get some air on deck away from the screaming banshee. His hand was at the door when he gave up and decided to move all his stuff outside and just sleep there. Grabbing his pillow and blanket, he angrily marched out onto the ship, the strong night breeze drowning out the wailing. While he wasn't a fan of air travel, right now it had its perks.
As he searched for a place to set up for the night, he realized he wasn't alone on the deck. Leo was also mulling about, checking things and making small repairs at a leisurely pace. Curious, Percy stashed his things so they wouldn't fly away and walked over to the mechanic. He waved and Leo looked up from his work, surprised that someone else was up at this time of night. Leo put his tools down and wiped some of the sweat and oil off his face as Percy made his way over.
"Hey," Percy opened.
"Hi," Leo replied. Nothing more was said as the air seemed to grow still even with the wind whipping around them.
"Nice job with the net," Percy said, motioning awkwardly to the stables.
"Thanks," Leo nodded. "I modeled the design after the one my father used. The celestial bronze weave should be enough to keep her there until we can figure out what to do with her."
"Right. So why are you out so late?" Percy asked.
"Just thought I'd check on the ship. Some things were bugging me, and I couldn't sleep. You?"
"Screaming goddess."
"Right. Did not account for that. Not enough materials to add soundproofing this late. Sorry."
Percy sighed. Leo was being deliberately curt with him, and he was pretty sure why. He wasn't sure exactly how to broach the subject but figured there was no better time to do so. His insides twisted as he prepared to bite the bullet when Leo spoke instead.
"Look, I'm sorry," Leo began. "If this is about Calypso, I don't really know how I should be feeling around you right now."
"I understand," Percy replied, his heart sinking momentarily.
In a flash, his face lit up and he raced back inside leaving Leo dumbfounded on deck. When Percy returned, he was carrying a tote bag of supplies in his arms.
"What was that look for?" Leo asked. "I know you've done some crazy things but usually I'm the one with the wild looks."
Percy dropped the bag to the ground and Leo peered inside. Bags of graham crackers, chocolate bars and blue marshmallows were stacked to the brim. He looked back up at the son of the sea god even more confused than before.
"S'mores?" Leo asked.
"Yup," Percy said proudly. "Figured we could make a little fire and hash things out."
"Dios mio Percy Jackson," Leo said, punching Percy in the arm. "You really know the secret to a man's heart is through his stomach, huh?"
Leo began digging through his pouch and procured a bronze pot, tinder, wood, skewers, some mugs, and coffee grounds. He placed the tinder and wood in the pot and set it ablaze, Percy summoning fresh water from the kitchen to fill their mugs as they roasted marshmallows and made coffee in the middle of the night.
"I didn't' imagine I'd get this opportunity so soon," Percy admitted, sipping his mug. "Also, the fire totally kills the blue in the marshmallow."
"Why does everything you eat have to be blue?" Leo wondered, putting another s'more together. "I mean I get the whole son of Poseidon thing, but really?"
"Blue food tastes better," Percy shrugged. "Anyway, Calypso…"
He began recounting his stay on Ogygia to the son of Hephaestus. How he'd erupted Mt. St. Helens in desperation and awoken on Calypso's Island. He recalled how gorgeous she was and her kindness and generosity before leaving on a magic raft. He had promised her freedom and brought it up before the gods after the Battle of Manhattan.
"But I should have known," Percy whispered solemnly as he stared into the flames. "They didn't keep their promise and I never thought to check. I failed her and she hates me for it."
Leo was silent. Percy's story was so different from his own encounter with the Titaness. He'd had to win her over and fight for her help. Still, he was able to see Percy in a new light sitting in the dark with him around their makeshift campfire. At Camp Half-Blood, everyone treated Percy like a living legend. Him coming back from Tartarus only added to that image. Now, Percy just looked like a normal sixteen-year-old boy who was tired and afraid after facing countless hardships.
"Man, why couldn't you just be awful?" Leo bemoaned
"I'm sorry?" Percy asked.
"Calypso told me about you. Everything you said checks out. I wanted to hate you for what you did to her. It was cruel and it was wrong. You broke her heart."
"I know," Percy choked. "Back in Tartarus, there were these curse demons, the arai. They showed me exactly how I failed and how I hurt her. Then they threw it back in my face."
"Front row seats to your own personal tragedy," Leo nodded thinking back to the night Gaea took his mother from him.
"Leo, if we make it through this, do what I couldn't. Make things right."
He stopped mid-bite. "What makes you say that?"
Percy shrugged. "Maybe it's because I've been there as well, but I feel like you have something that will bring you back."
"Yeah," Leo admitted pulling out the crystal. "I'll see her again."
"Thank you," Percy sighed in relief.
"Don't thank me yet," Leo countered, putting the crystal away. "I wanted to punch you to get back at you, but I think you've done that work for me."
The boy mechanic pointed at Percy's shoe which had strayed a bit too close to the fire. The laces were ablaze and smoking profusely and the flames were quickly climbing up his pants. Jumping up, Percy tried stamping the flames out to no avail. Leo laughed at the sight before calmly walking over and dumping his mug of coffee on Percy's clothes, extinguishing the fire.
"Hey," Percy complained, trying to pull the coffee off his clothes. He managed to get some of it off, but his night sweats were definitely going to be left stained.
"Now we're even," Leo laughed, taking in the burnt cloth.
"Alright, I deserved that," Percy laughed. "I'm gonna head back in to change and try to sleep through Nike's threats."
"Wait," Leo said, rummaging through his pack. "Here."
He handed him a set of soft, bronze-colored earplugs.
"Those are special made to block out any unnecessary noise. They're basically magic noise filters. Just focus on drowning out Nike and they should go to work."
"Thanks," Percy said gratefully, accepting the gift. "Say, how long have you had these?"
"Just mocked them up tonight after the loco goddess didn't stop. Those are the prototype. I should have more ready soon but try them out and give me some feedback."
"Thank you, man, really," Percy said, fist bumping Leo and turning to head inside.
"No, thank you," Leo replied, turning back to clean everything up.
He quickly tossed the ash, stowed the pot and groceries, and picked up the mugs. Walking back to one of the workstations he had built aboard the deck he placed the mugs on top. Rummaging below he pulled out a hidden water heater and pitcher. In a few minutes, he had a new cup of steaming hot joe ready and waiting. Taking a sip, he relished the flavor. Coffee never tasted so sweet.
A/N: Wow, 10 chapters. Never thought I'd be here, but as always, I'm so thankful for all the love. I have less than 5 chapters left planned and after that, I'll write up a retrospective on all of this. I may add some epilogue chapters but we'll see. Hope you enjoyed, stay safe and have a good one! -SH