Disclaimer: I own nothing,
When Percy woke up, he was alone.
Now, that wasn't anything new, but it was the fact that he was in a room with different walls than his, and he clearly remembered a young woman curled into his side when he faded ino a dreamless, deep sleep. He was missing that woman, and instead of being warm like he was last night, there was a tinge of ice spreading through him.
When he had processed tht his Piper left the bed before he woke up, he felt sorely disappointed, and okay, a little sad. Of course, he shouldn't feel that way because if he remembered yesterday morning- was it really that early ago?- waking up with each other was awkward, and really not something he wanted to repeat. And, don't forget, they shouldn't either be sleeping together- clothes on included- because they were just friends and he had just admitted to killing her best friend just before they fell asleep and they both had a nightmare. Oh, and she was his boss, too. Can't forget that little piece of information now can we? But, all that included, Percy still felt that way.
He liked the way she felt in his arms, the warmth that was covering his body that wasn't his, the weight of her head on his chest and looking down at her brown hair sprawling over him and her face, the way she'd clutch his shirt at the stomach in a soft, cute little fist, and most importantly, the feel of her chest rising and falling in steady, deep breaths against him. All of it made his heart a little heavier than it was with something he had no idea what it was, and his stomach always felt funny like that, too. Funny thing? It's only happened once and that was yesterday...right?
Despite the sadness and disappointment, he felt a little relieved. He did not want to go through another awkward morning when she jumped out his arms. That was a little degrading for him. And they were already on fragile terms of their friendship, so waking up to her again, wouldn't really help it any, would it? Besides, it's better this way. It won't hurt so much when she leaves, will it?
No matter what Percy was feeling as his mind slowly started waking up and taking everything around him, his eyes grudgingly staying open and his heart keeping up a faster pace to pump the blood through him. He stretched his arms above his head, gave a great yawn, and then ruffled his hair. After a few moments of debating on whether he should really get up, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and headed downstairs. He could smell bacon, and damn, it smelled pretty good to him. His growling stomach agreed immensely.
Downstairs, on the couch, was Bailey and one of her crew members. In the kitchen was Naden and Carl, cooking waffles, something else that Percy didn't want to eat- it could be toxic, you know- and bacon. The rest of the members were spread out in the room, most with toast and fruits of all kinds (Percy thought they were fruits, at least) chatting and laughing. But, Piper was no where to be seen.
"Welcome Pea Brain!" Bailey greeted with a grin as he took a seat on the couch and looked up at the TV, playing some weird movie he had never heard about. "It's about time you woke up."
He looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "What time is it?"
"Like eight," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "The Romans have breakfast really early, so we skipped."
"Where's Piper, then?"
She studied him, her eyes bright and mischievous. "You noticed right away, huh?" He blushed and glared. "Well, she went down to Reyna, to, you know, do her job, but she should be back anytime."
Percy frowned deeply, worry sparking in his slightly blurry eyes. "You let her go alone, are you crazy?"
"Of course not," she snapped, looking a little offended. "No one was awake, but Faughn and Marcus; they went with her. Piper left a note."
He relaxed some, but still felt as though she should've woken him up so he could go with her. He didn't like the idea of Piper meeting up with Reyna, and most likely, Jason. Not alone. Not without him. Besides, it was his job to protect her. He should've gone with her. To do his job, and make sure she's okay. You know, what he's supposed to do...
Piper, Faughn, and Marcus walked into New Rome, looking for everyone's favorite praetor. Faughn, being the shortest and looking like she couldn't do anything with her petite frame and rosy cheeks (the nature from the planet, Venus, actually), strolled along side Piper, chatting away cheerfully. Marcus, with the bigger build and the arms that seemed made of steel- they were somewhat, considering he came from Mercury- strolled a little to the side so he could watch all open threats. Piper, being the leader, just walked.
Piper, upon waking up in Percy's arms, was in a very good mood. Her heart wasn't broken, she knew Leo died a hero and was in the best part of the Underworld, and she knew that none of it was Percy's fault. Plus, him being there to comfort her right before the nightmare ended was a great advantage, too. It was like he knew what was going on with her before she did. But then again, she could've screamed out loud. She liked the first theory better, though.
She was a mission, though, one where it was life or death if you didn't make the right decision and make it fast. And this mission was one for the lives of hundreds of hard-headed Romans who could go to war with each other. Granted, Romans fighting each other never seemed likely or anything of the sort had ever popped into her head, it was still a mission. She was given to it with the thought of her completing it and not relishing in one of her crew member's arms early in the morning. Which is exactly why Piper slipped out Percy's arms before he or anyone else could wake up and headed out. She was originally planning to go alone and be back before anyone would know she was gone, but she met Bailey's crew members and they threw a fit and fought about her going out alone and she was forced to fight with them for a little bit before just dragging them with her.
So, her mission today was to get Reyna to follow her plans, the ones she had made up as they walked, and then head back to headquarters before planning what to do next. This 'finding peace within herself' thing was hard to figure out exactly what that meant, but she guessed whenever her heart stopped breaking upon seeing Reyna and Jason together, Jason alone, or their kids, that would be it. The rest with the making peace within the Roman Camp, was relatively easy. Romans stick together, and she doesn't think that there has ever been a harmful war raging between them. They're soldiers and comrades, and they don't fight each other, but the enemy.
When they had found Reyna Grace, she was whacking a dummy dead with her sword, her hair tied up in a braid so it didn't get in her way. There was the tell tale signs of sweat starting on her forehead and her dark eyes were cold and sharp, ready for anything to happen. And with the way she was weilding that sword, it was really fucking obvious that she meant business. Somehow, when she spun on her heel mid-swing to point the sword at Piper's throat, she knew they did, too. "What do you want?" she snarled, panting, and ignoring the way both Faughn and Marcus took out their swords and pointed it at her.
"You to put that down," Piper replied calmly.
Reyna scoffed and stood her ground. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you, I'm trying to make peace-"
"Not that!" Reyna growled, her eyes flashing, and if her little doggies were there, they would attack. "Here, where I was supposed to be alone?"
"Looking for you," Piper answered with a tilt of her head.
"To do what?"
"Talk. Guys, swords, down," she ordered, looking over at them with the sword point at her throat.
"Peacemaker," Marcus tried only to grit his teeth at the look on her face.
The swords were lowered.
"Now, Reyna, sword please."
Reyna narrowed her eyes in response. "No," she spat.
Piper sighed and took a step back, Reyna following her. "Okay, we'll talk like this then," she said a little bitterly.
"What?" Reyna snapped. "What could you possibly want to talk about?"
"Oh, you know, magazines, fashions," Piper replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "What do you think? I'm here for a reason, and I don't like it anymore than you do."
Cold, harsh eyes studied her. "Talk, then."
Piper let out a long breath and tried not to think about her death in waiting that was very sharp and cold. "You can't allow anymore people to come in or out of Camp Jupiter."
Reyna suddenly grew suspicious. "Why?"
"Because I don't want spies or fights with the Greeks." Piper grabbed the blade of the sword and pushed it a little away. "Because it's best for the Camp, because it's what I decided to tell you, and because it's my job to think about all the possibilities for someone."
"Just because you come in here, doesn't mean you can tell me how to run my Camp!" Reyna snarled, eyes dark and dangerous, sword at the ready and structure tense and ready for a fight.
"Do you not understand any of this?" Piper snapped, her calmness fading into frustration. "I'm trying to help you, keep you in power, and save your people's lives! Chaos sent me here for one reason and one reason only, and that was to make sure you Romans don't fight each other or pick sides of a war that could well end the world! Think about it, Reyna, I wouldn't tell you how to do your job if I wasn't being told to do mine!"
The gold of the sword glinted and blurred as Reyna spun it in her hands and put the tip on Piper's stomach. "I don't think you understand," she hissed lowly as the two crew members, one from Mercury, another from Venus repointed their swords at her, "this is my Camp, I give the orders, and I do not let someone who ran away from their problems try and take over!"
"I'm doing my job," Piper replied, anger and bitterness in her voice as she clenched her fists. "I'm trying to help you, not take over!"
"I do not take orders from someone who makes up jobs and wars in order to seem better than everyone else. You haven't changed at all, Piper McLean, you're still the second best and always will be."
In five seconds flat, Reyna was groaning on the ground and Piper had her foot in her stomach, her own sword pointed at her throat. "I'm second best to one person only," Piper snapped, her eyes a dangerous green and her voice hard and filled with anger. "And that's Chaos. You will tell everyone that no one leaves or comes in or I will. I'm more powerful than you now, Reyna. And I always will be." Piper turned Reyna's chin up using the sword and touched just the harder on her throat. "Are we clear?"
In response, Reyna spit at her.
Piper closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath before wiping her face. "You're just lucky I'm not permitted to hurt someone while on the job," she said slowly, sticking the sword deep and harshly into the ground directly next to the praetor's throat. "I'll be making an announcement tonight and any attempt to stop me, I'm letting my crew, and Bailey, do whatever they want." She wiped her black uniform off before heading towards the exit, the grinning crew members following behind her.
Reyna, still on the ground, let out a roar of anger as their backs faded back towards that stupid building that wasn't supposed to be in her Camp.
Percy and the rest of the two crews, looked up from breakfast and cards for some, as Piper, Faughn, and Marcus entered. Piper, despite what happened, looked relatively calm. And it stayed until she was up in her room and then she slammed her door with a force that made the nameplate on her door fall to the ground, tettering before falling with an echoing clank. The two crews looked at each other and then the stairs.
Percy cleared his throat, pushed his plate away and proceeded to go up after her. Faughn and Marcus retold the story as soon as they decided not to bother her. They wanted their lives, and obviously Percy didn't. "It was all Reyna, calling her second best and making stupid remarks," Percy heard Faughn saying with a little bit of hatred woven carefully into her words. "She thought she was all tough, but she was just talk..."
Carefully, nervously, Percy knocked twice on the now nameless door. "Go away," Piper shouted instantly through it, her anger showing in her voice.
"I can't," he replied slowly, wondering if he made one of the stupidest choices in his life.
"Why not?"
Come on, Jackson, don't give up now! he screamed at himself as he shuffled in the doorway and rubbed the back of his neck. "I...uh...forgot something?"
"Forgot what?" she snapped.
Okay, she didn't believe it, but go along with it! "Er...my...pillow?" That was the best you could do? I've lost all respect for you.
But on the other side, Piper snorted loudly with laughter. "What pillow? You didn't even bring one."
"Yeah I did..." he said carefully, his heart pounding wildly. How in hell was he supposed to get out of this one? "You just...didn't notice...?"
"When?"
"Er...last night?"
"You didn't."
"Yes I did..."
"No, you didn't."
"But I did, and you just didn't notice because you were so tired and everything..."
"Uh-huh. And where is your pillow now?"
"Um...on your bed?"
"Right, and why didn't you take it when you woke up?"
"Because I was tired and forgot...?"
"Mhmm. So why did you remember now?"
He could practically hear the smile and her amusement through the fucking door.
"Er...I was sleeping on the couch...you know...and you came in...and, uh...slammed the door, so I guess I kind of...remembered..."
Why couldn't he be a more convincing liar?
"How did that have anything to do with you remembering your pillow in my room?"
"Well...you slammed the door to your room...and I remembered, I guess..."
The door opened to revealing a giggling Piper. "You're an idiot, Percy. You should've tried something better."
Before she could change her mind, he slipped in and smiled sheepishly at her. "It was all I could think of."
She rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of her unmade bed and watched him. "What do you want, Percy?" she asked after a while, him starting to squirm under her gaze.
"Well, you seemed pretty pissed off," he replied as he sat down next to her. "And I wanted to know what happened." He then remembered his horrible lie and said quickly, "And get my pillow back."
She smiled, but then sighed and looked down at the ground, fiddling with her thumbs. "It's nothing important."
"You broke your door," he deadpanned, watching her with a frown. "Of course it is."
"I didn't break my door," she protested weakly.
He hesitated before wrapping his arms around her. "What happened, Pipes? Was it Jason?"
She shook her head and sighed. "It wasn't Jason, it was Reyna."
"She didn't hurt you, right? You know, being her and everything..."
"No, she didn't. She wanted to, though." She shrugged. "She just pissed me off, that's all."
"Well, what'd you say?"
She wrinkled her nose. "That no one was allowed to come in or out in Camp."
"And she got all mad because you're trying to...'controll' Camp, right?" he finished with a roll of his eyes.
"Mhmm."
"Well, you're not, because Romans can't really be controlled. I mean, we've learned that the hard way."
Piper gave a small smile. "We know that, but I don't think Reyna does."
"You kicked her ass, though, right? Marcus looked pretty proud, you know."
She giggled and nodded, leaning into him. "I have to make the announcement now, though."
"You have us with you, so it's technically not alone."
She rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Percy. I have to say it to everyone since she won't."
"You think they'll follow it?"
"Probably not, but I can try, right?"
He nodded and they sat in a brief silence before he asked, "When are we leaving? Going to Camp Half-Blood, that is."
She shrugged. "A couple days. We just have to make sure nothing happens here before we go, you know. Keep the peace."
"Why don't," he sighed and played with her hair, "you let Bailey, the Peacekeeper, stay while you, the Peacemaker head to Camp, where they probably need you more? Bailey will come, just not with us."
"Why are you so keen on going?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don't want you beating Reyna up anymore, you'll scare everyone away."
She laughed and pushed him away weakly. "Whatever, Percy. I'll think about it."
"Sweet." He kissed her cheek and stood up. "I'm going to finish my breakfast, you should come down, so no one will freak out."
She nodded and watched as he headed out of her room before touching her cheek that was warm and tingling. His lips were really soft.
At the flag ceremony thing before dinner with Reyna constantly glaring at Piper who was standing with the others on the side with Percy's hand in hers, things went smoothly. Reyna went about her normal announcements, people stared at the Chaos group, Jason glared at the hands of the Greeks, and the new Octavian muttered things about the stupid auguries. It wasn't until after the eagle of Rome came by that Piper took a deep breath and Percy squeezed her hand before dropping it, ignoring the cold of it now.
Reyna opened her mouth to give out the last words before they could all eat, and Piper took that as her chance. She stepped up beside Reyna and the pegasus before saying clearly and loudly, "One more thing, Romans."
Reyna's eyes widened and she was quick to jump off her pegasus, but Bailey was just as fast, grabbing onto the praetor's hands and tying them behind her back with a glare. "Since there's a potential war going on," Piper continued as if nothing had happened and Jason was being held back by Percy for going towards Bailey, "no one will be able to leave or enter the Camp. I don't want you and the Greeks to be fighting over something stupid if you meet, and I don't want anyone made a spy. None of you, as I know, are spies, and none of you would ever be a spy because this is your home and these are your people. In order to keep all that in order, no one can leave."
By this time, Jason was on the ground with Percy holding him down, a hand over his mouth to keep him from interrupting. Reyna, however, was pulled out of sight by Bailey and Naden. Nick and the twin daughter were held back by Carl and Marcus, the rest of the crew members standing by Piper.
The Romans? Well, they were a little open mouthed and wide eyed.
"I'm leaving tomorrow after I see to Bailey, the Peacekeeper, getting all the preparations set. So, any problems and they will be taken up with her. Any fights or siding, and they will be directed to me and I'll come right back to sort it out if she can't. Now, why don't we all eat dinner?"
Percy stood up with a jump and Jason was free as he headed toward Piper, grabbing her hand. "You're awesome at that," he told her with a grin as the others followed.
She beamed as Bailey and Naden joined them after untying the praetor. "I know."
At about mid-day the next day, in the middle of the Field of Mars, Piper and her crew were beginning to get ready to go. Bailey and her crew had all been informed on the expectations and though, she didn't think it was a good idea for them to go to the Greek camp without them, she reluntactly agreed with the promise of all agruments with Reyna starting and ending with her. The rest of Piper's crew agreed because they were all tired of the harsh environment and none of them liked any of the Romans. That, and they were worried that Jason would come back and say something that could possibly break their commander again.
It turns out, as they were beginning to board the ship, Jason did have something to say. He darted up to their ship with his purple t-shirt, jeans, gold armor on and his run urgent. "Piper!" he yelled making her turn around and Percy to wrap an arm around her stomach protectively, his eyes alert and angry. "I need to talk to you!"
"I have to go," she replied quietly, everyone watching with hands on their swords.
"Please, it'll be for a minute, that's it."
After hesitating for a few moments, she nodded. "It better be quick," she warned weakly as she took off Percy's arm and walked through the small crowd of Chaos recruits. "Stay!" she ordered, looking back on them. "Don't move, don't listen."
Percy watched with narrowed eyes, wondering what got into her. His hand was playing with Riptide, still in pen form, but hopefully not for long. His body was halfway in the ship and his eyes were following the two old, old friends' every move. His heart was pounding and his stomach was knotted in worry and hatred. Anything, he thought, he does anything and he's jumping in there and kicking his ass a third time.
"What, Jason?" Piper asked, crossing her shaking arms over her chest and looking at him once they were out of hearing distance from the ship.
"I wanted to say...stuff, you know," he replied quietly and nervously. "Before you left and I never saw you again."
"If it's an apology, I don't want to hear it," she snapped, going to turn on her heel.
"No, wait!" He grabbed her elbow and Percy tensed, his eyes alert and dark. "No, I just- I want to explain."
With furrowed eyebrows of confusion, she turned back around to him. "What?"
"Explain what happened," he told her, removing his hands instantly. He was very aware of the stares he was getting. "You know, everything."
She tilted her head. "Why?"
He ignored her and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, Piper, you have to believe me when I said I never wanted to hurt you. You were my best friend when I didn't remember anything and I did love you, I did. I loved you when I remembered a lot, and when we were on the Argo II, but when we landed and I saw Reyna, it just sparked something that I never knew was there."
"Jason, if you're telling me to hurt me, you can stop," Piper said in a strained voice, her eyes down on the ground and filled with tears.
"No, I'm not, really, I'm not," he replied quickly, reaching out to touch her, but thinking better of it and dropping his hands awkwardly. "Really, it's just...I'm trying here, Piper. I-I'm trying to make you see that I never wanted any of this, I never wanted you to leave or anything. During the war, you kept me grounded. You weren't giving me orders or acting like everyone was going to die if we didn't push ourselves to the limit all the time. You were the light, you know, in a war. I did love you, I really did, but I think it was just...I was trying to make up for making you feel like I did with the fake memories. I was trying to make myself love you. We didn't even know that much about each other, and I think we were both trying too hard to find something good in our fucked up lives.
"But when the war was over, I didn't need someone to keep me grounded. I just needed someone that would never fade. And I thought you were going to fade. I thought you were going to change because of the war, because of everyone that died that was close to you and everything. So I talked with Reyna more and more, since she was there and I knew she would never change. We worked together, and you've got to believe me when I say that I didn't mean for anything to happen. I didn't want anything romantic with her, I just wanted someone there."
"Jason what's the point of this?" Piper sniffled, making sure Percy or anyone else couldn't see the tears falling.
"But then we did kiss, and it was completely an accident," he continued, ignoring her and pacing in front of her. "But it was something amazing and I fixed it and did it again. I was so fucking stupid. I knew I should've done something, I should've told you and I should've broken up with you or something, but I couldn't. I was young and stupid and gods, Piper, I felt so horrible."
"Not enough to do anything about it," she snapped weakly.
"Yeah, I know, right? What kind of best friend am I? I wasn't thinking, and that's why I went behind your back. Reyna, she brought something out in me and I just...I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what was right and what was wrong, and I was so fucked up, Piper. The war and memory loss, and you and Leo, and Reyna, and gods, I was so confused. So I thought by doing what I was doing, I was keeping you safe and unharmed. Then they told me you disappeared and I searched for you, I did, really. Leo told me it was my fault because he found some stupid video and so I lost him, too. I tried to find you and make us friends again, but I couldn't."
"So you gave up and moved on?"
"I never loved you in the way I thought I did," he pleaded, grabbing onto her hands and Riptide was a sword now. "I didn't know until I started dating Reyna, but you've got to see it, Piper. I thought I loved you, but how could I? I didn't know anything about you, we never had a friendship before we dated. It was just dating. And I didn't know it. I led you on like the idiot I am, and I'm sorry for that. But I had to move on, would you have wanted me to just lie to myself forever and not found the happiness you thought we had?"
Piper swallowed heavily before shaking her head.
"I went out with Reyna, and eventually, you know, got married. That horrible feeling of losing and Leo never left, though. I wanted you there at my wedding, but as my friend. So you could tease me about it and laugh at my nervousness. You were there for me the whole time, and you believed in me when no one else would. But when I remembered enough, we just dated. We didn't wait to see if we had something solid, something real. We based it on fake memories and my own that I didn't even have. We just did it because that's the only thing we could think of doing without losing each other. But it didn't help, nothing did."
"What are you trying to say?" she snapped, pulling her hands away and glaring at him.
"I'm happy, Piper," he whispered, taking her hand softly. "I was happy with you, but it's because I had a friend and someone who would never leave me. Now, I have a family and someone who never thought I was gone. You have to understand that. We didn't have anything real, but Reyna and I do. I never wanted us to stop being friends and I never wanted you to leave. I just wanted something that would be solid and ground me forever. Reyna and my kids do that. You only did it in a war where I needed someone who I knew."
"Whatever," she choked, grabbing her hand back and walking towards the ship. Was he trying to make her feel horrible? Was he rubbing it in that she never made him as happy as Reyna made him? What was the fucking point of his fucking speech?
"Do you know the name of my daughter?" Jason yelled from behind her, not moving.
Percy grabbed Piper's arm as she shook her head and wiped her face for incoming tears.
"Piper," he replied. "It's Piper Thalia Grace."
I just felt like Jason and Piper needed some closure, so there it is. If the speech didn't make any sense it was because Jason didn't make any sense when he was doing it. Jason's not really good with words and explaining himself, so there you have it. As for the rest, they need to get going and really, the Romans wouldn't get in a war amongst themselves. This camp was more for Piper than anyone else.
Well, Happy Memorial's Day. Thanks to all those soliders over seas, all those who fought (or are fighting) for us and our freedom. You guys make everything we do possible(:
Okay, next one Wednesday. Who's excited? They get to Camp Half-Blood there! Welcome more fun...
Now...what'd you think?
Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it(: