College sucked.
That's all Percy could say. Constant testing, constant pressure, constant stress. It wore a person down after awhile. Sure Annabeth was there for him, but even she was getting caught up in the whirlwind of exams. It all culminated into what Percy was currently doing, walking along the Little Tiber in New Rome.
It had proven to be therapeutic for Percy. He enjoyed the sights of Rome, he enjoyed watching demigods grow old, he enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the city. Annabeth once said he looked happier when he walked this route, and he supposed he did. For a man who lived as harsh a life as he, he hasn't had much time to himself. And that's exactly what his walks were, time to himself.
Nonetheless, as good things come to an end. And today, that would end would appear in the form of a runner from the Third Cohort.
"Message from Praetor Zhang and Praetor Reyna sir." The legionary stated after saluting in the manner of the Legion.
Percy returned the salute and opened the scroll that was handed to him.
Praetor Perseus Jackson (ret.),
We have an urgent matter to discuss with you and we would like to meet over lunch sometime within the next couple days. Send Messenger Dawson back with your reply.
Praetor Frank Zhang, Praetor Reyna
Percy chuckled at the formality of the letter. Reyna's rubbing off on him he thought.
"Well, I might as well come with you. I don't have much else to do today." Percy said with a smile
Dawson nodded, and the two started off towards the Principia.
It wasn't long before they arrived. Percy was whisked inside and told to have a seat, and he waited patiently for the Praetors to arrive.
"Jackson" Reyna greeted. Percy stood and shook hands with the two of them before settling back down.
"We…have a proposition for you Percy." Frank started carefully.
"We're still involved in mopping up operations throughout the continental United States, and we're aware of a particularly large pocket of hostiles in Kansas" Reyna took over, blunt as always. "The problem is we can only spare the First Cohort at this point in time, and they're…well, leaderless. Michael is a good Centurion, but he's not ready to lead the Cohort into a large-scale battle yet."
"And where do I come in?" Percy asked.
"We want you to take Michael's position on this deployment." Frank said
Percy's jaw hit the floor. "I-can you do that? With me being an ex-Praetor and all?"
"Technically, yes. Just as in the modern world, officer ranks never expire. We can reinstate you as Praetor Jackson, and it would not cause much of an issue as you would be on campaign." Reyna said
"But I'm not much for tactics." Percy muttered under his breath
Reyna barked out a laugh. "Jackson, you held off the Titan of Time and his cronies with a much smaller army, I think you're not giving yourself enough credit"
"I didn't have a choice!" Percy protested. Frank just shook his head.
"You really don't see it, do you Percy?"
"See what?" Percy asked bewildered.
"You're a fantastic tactician. You've had moments of genius that put Bellona to shame. I remember the first time I fought beside you during the War Games. I was there when you climbed out of Tartarus. You are one Hades of a demigod Percy, and everybody sees that but you"
"Think over our proposal Percy. Just give us an answer by the end of the week." Reyna finished.
Percy stood and saluted before turning on his heel and left. His mind was a whirl. Sure, he hated college. Sure, he was looking for any excuse to quit. But was this really the only way? Or rather, was this the way he wanted to go?
He sighed and decided to go to the Field of Mars to clear his mind. The Legion would be drilling there he knew, and one way to clear one's mind was to go spar.
Timeskip
Percy threw himself onto the couch. He had spent all day sparing with the Fifth Cohort, and damn did they ever improve. Under Dakota's leadership, they were all grew to be great fighters, and anybody would be lucky to have a member of the Fifth by their side.
"Babe?" a voice asked. No matter how often Percy heard that voice, he could never stop the massive smile from appearing on his lips.
Annabeth came walking into the house they shared with groceries under her arms. Percy quickly jumped up and took most of Annabeth's load from her.
"Why'd you go shopping?" he asked.
"Originally I asked you to do it, but I knew you'd forget" Annabeth replied.
"Hey! I did….well fine I forgot" Percy muttered.
Annabeth just smirked at him. They both knew he could be incredibly forgetful. It was the curse of being a Seaweed Brain, or so Annabeth said.
"What'd you do today honey?" Percy asked
"Oh just a couple things. I redesigned parts of Hera's palace on Olympus because she apparently….." Percy's eyes glazed over after a while. He loved his Wise Girl, but architecture was not one of his forte. Nor was what Hera wanted or didn't want.
"…and what did you do?" Annabeth asked. This snapped Percy back into reality. He was washed with panic for a moment. Did he really want to tell Annabeth that he was planning on deploying with the First for a couple months? She wouldn't be happy to hear that. After all, Percy was the one who preached "finally living a peaceful life" after the Giant War. And now he was expecting her to be happy that he was once again going off to fight?
On the other hand, he couldn't let her come with him, which she might want to do if he leaves. She had too much riding on her here. Her architectural degree, rebuilding Olympus, designing the different temples of the various gods and goddesses that Jason found. Percy couldn't let her put those on hold because of him.
"Nothing much. I walked along the Tiber and sparred with the Fifth." Percy lied. He felt terrible for doing it, but he had to.
"All day?" Annabeth asked, suspicious.
"Pretty much" Percy said. "Have you heard anything from Piper recently?"
That brought the two on far more comfortable avenues of discussion, at least in Percy's mind. It wasn't long before the two were laughing and joking, with the thought of the Legion furthest from Percy's mind.
Timeskip
Percy was once again walking around New Rome, drinking in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. Couples walked hand in hand, families rushed around to various activities, legionaries marched to and from the Field of Mars, senators idled along towards the Forum.
It was peaceful. It was New Rome. It was Percy's home.
That thought struck a chord in Percy. He had seen this home of his come under attack once, and he rose to defend it. It was a different city back then. The full might of Rome had risen up against the threat of Polybotes. Yet even they would have not managed to fend him off had it not been for Percy.
And should those monster bands that Reyna and Frank told him about rally and turn towards Rome, the same destruction that Polybotes brought with him could happen again. Percy wouldn't let that happen.
The call of duty ran rampant within Percy. He knew better than anyone that if one should wish for peace, than one must be prepared for war. And Percy Jackson certainly wished for peace.
With a resolute heart, Percy stood from the bench he had sat on and walked towards the Principia.
AN: Well, here we go. Silver and Sea Green is being worked on, don't worry about that. This is just a little side project if you will. If anyone wants to see an actually good Roman Percy fanfic, look up Imperator by CombatTombat. It's one of the best fanfictions I've ever read, not just PJO fanfics.
Side note, if anyone has a better name for this fic, hit me up. I'm on the fence about it.