Chill, people. If I don't update for one day, it doesn't mean I'm not updating ever again.

I'm updating today mostly because of the combined fact that I love you guys, and because I didn't yesterday and feel obligated to do so.

Considering the fact that I'm only 51 reviews from 2000, which is particularly spectacular, you'll probably be getting a double update tomorrow or the day after. It depends on whether I can find time or not. Hopefully, I'll be able to, because you guys so deserve that double update.

I'm trying to enjoy my summer, though, and actually, like, do stuff, so I'm going swimming with my sis today and we're supposed to leave in like two minutes. So, sorry, no responses to reviews.

But I do thank you, and will answer The GoldenGroups questions, because she asked stuff.

My name is Courtney, middle name Elizabeth, and I just turned 15 a little over a month ago. As for fanfic ideas...I dunno. Maybe you could write different interpretations of that prophecy line, An oath to keep with a final breath. Because everyone knows there are a lot of ways that could go. I'll try to add some more when I update tomorrow or the day after-sorry, I've meant to be doing writing prompts in the author's notes every other chapter, but I've kind of forgot about that.

Enjoy!

Chapter LXXXIII

Piper

Piper can't sleep. It isn't that she's not tired-she is, although she doesn't know why, since she slept for hours after the Peryton attack.

Part of it is the fear of another dream visit from her mom-even though she knows there's a very slim chance of that. But it doesn't matter how many times she tells herself that; the fear's still there. She doesn't want to talk to Aphrodite again. It hadn't ended well the first time, and it'll end even worse if it happens a second time.

Other than that, though, she's not sure why she can't sleep. She just...can't.

She kissed Jason goodnight at his room when they first came down, and he promised her that they'd spend some time together in the morning. After that, she went to her room, and that's where she is now, staring up at the ceiling.

Honestly, she thinks, I should have Leo or someone paint something up there for entertainment, considering how often I stare at it. Maybe I could pin some pictures up there.

Piper sits up-she knows what she can do.

She stands, smiling mischeviously, and grabs the camera from where it's resting on her dresser. Then she tiptoes out into the hall and debates on where to start.

I could take some pictures of Percy and Annabeth-they're so cute when they're sleeping. I'll just have to make sure they're actually asleep first. Piper decides, and pads quietly down to Percy's room.

She opens the door slowly, so that it doesn't creak, and peeks into the room.

Percy is laying on his back, with his arm around Annabeth, and she's nestled against his side with her head resting on his shoulder. His head is resting against hers, with his quiet breath ruffling her blonde hair every time he breathes out. They're holding hands in their sleep, their fingers tightly intertwined with each other's.

Piper smiles softly and raises the camera, taking the picture.

Percy opens one eye-the only one visible-and smiles when he sees her standing there. Piper smiles back, and waves a little before backing out of the room and closing the door.

She sighs softly and goes to Hazel's room next-to be greeted by a surprise.

Frank is in her room two, and they're cuddled up against each other, propped against the headboard and pillows so they're sitting more than laying down. They're in positions pretty similar to Percy and Annabeth, besides the fact that they're not laying down completely on the bed. And Hazel's feet are curled up so that her knees are resting against Frank's thigh.

Piper smiles again-a little sadly this time, for some reason-and takes her picture. Neither of them wake up, and she leaves the room without them ever knowing she was there.

She decides to look for Leo next-he's either in his room or in the engine room.

She peeks into his room first and isn't the least bit surprised when he isn't there-he can never seem to sleep in a normal bed.

She walks quietly down the stairs to the engine room next, and then has to weave her way through all the crazy machinery-the engine is insanely complicated, and the Celestial bronze tubes snaking out from the center of the room are a major tripping hazard, especially for someone who's never been particularly graceful.

After ducking past one of Leo's unfinished projects, she finally finds him.

Awwwwww. She thinks, looking at his sleeping form. He really is just so cute when he sleeps.

He's sitting at his table, his face pressed against his blueprints. His desk lamp is still turned on, casting shadows on his face that just perfect the picture.

Once again, Piper raises the camera and snaps a photo. Then she steps forward to turn off the light.

As she clicks it off, Leo murmurs something in his sleep about a crystal, and Piper can't help but wonder what he's dreaming about, and if it has something to do with where he went when Khione blasted him off the ship.

She shakes her head-it's none of her business. He'll tell her when he's ready.

Why is he sleeping at his table, anyway? She wonders. There's an actual bed only a few feet away-he knew he was going to be down here a lot, so he had a fold-out bunk built into the wall. It's been folded down, and has a blanket and pillow and everything-it has to be a lot more comfortable than sleeping on his table.

Piper sighs and starts to turn away-but she can't just leave him there like that. It really can't be comfortable, to be sleeping in the position he's in when he's leaning on that table.

She turns back and steps closer to him, wondering if there's any way she'll be able to get him from the table to the bed without waking him up-doubtful.

She looks down at him and sighs again-and then leans closer, furrowing her brow. She picks up his right hand and looks at it closer-his knuckles are split open. They aren't bleeding or anything, not now, but she wonders what happened.

"Come on, Leo." She murmurs to him. "Bedtime." She leans down, setting the camera a safe distance away, and puts his arm around her shoulders to make it easier to lift him up.

He breathes in suddenly, and opens his eyes halfway, obviously still half asleep. "What're you doing, Piper?" He mumbles.

"Moving you to an actual bed. There's no way sleeping on this table can be comfortable." She tells him, pulling him up.

"'M fine, Pipes." He says. "Go back to bed."

"Not happening, Leo. You need an actual good night's sleep, and that's not going to happen when you're sleeping in such an uncomfortable position." She replies, huffing in exertion.

This probably wasn't one of my best ideas. She acknowledges as she drags him over to the bunk and helps him lay down on it. "There. Isn't that better? Sleeping on a mattress, with an actual pillow?"

Leo mumbles something unintelligable and rolls over.

Piper sighs and shakes her head before draping a blanket over him.

As she turns to go, his voice stops her. "Pipes?" He mutters sleepily.

"Yeah, Leo?" She asks, turning back.

"Thanks. You're a good friend." He tells her.

Piper smiles-his compliment means a lot more to her than he'll ever know. "You're welcome, Leo." She says softly.

His only reply is a snore, and she grins before scooping up the camera and heading back up the stairs.

Taking a picture of Jason would be the normal next move, but Piper has a weird feeling-just a feeling-that he might be awake too.

So she goes back to her room first, and puts the camera back on her dresser, smiling fondly down at it before looking up at herself in the mirror hanging on the wall.

She's still wearing her clothes from the day, and her hair is a mess-well, a bigger mess than usual. Her braids have all fallen out, and it's ridiculously tangled.

She huffs in annoyance and grabs her brush-normally she wouldn't care, but she wants her hair to look decent if Jason is awake. She rebraids the small braids in her hair, leaving out the eagle feather-it always falls out in her sleep anyway. Then she goes ahead and changes into pajamas-her Cherokee eagle pajama bottoms with a black tank top.

Then she heads out into the hall-time to see if her intuition is on target.

She keeps her footsteps quiet just in case she's wrong-and she doesn't want to wake anyone else up, either. They deserve to sleep.

When she gets to Jason's room, she knocks quietly on the door before opening it a crack. "Jason?" She calls softly, opening the door a little wider.

He sits up quickly in bed, smiling. "Piper-how'd you know I was awake?"

"I didn't-I just had a feeling you might be having trouble falling asleep too." She replies, smiling back.

He nods. "It's weird-I'm tired, I just can't sleep."

"Same here." Piper says, padding softly over to his bed. He scoots over to make room for her, and she crawls onto the covers next to him.

"Is everyone else asleep already?" He asks.

"Yeah. Everyone except for Percy, and he might be asleep by now too." She answers.

"Guess it's just us, then, huh?" He says.

Piper nods. "Guess so."

They sit in a slightly awkward silence for a few minutes. Piper looks down at her lap, twisting her hands.

Jason suddenly shifts, and she looks up at him. He has a weird expression on his face, and Piper wonders what he's thinking-hating the fact that she doesn't have any clue what it might be.

"Look, Piper-" He starts, and dread coils in Piper's stomach-she's never had a good conversation with someone that started that way.

"Yeah?" She says casually, hoping her feelings don't show on her face.

"I'm sorry we haven't had much time together. There hasn't been much of a chance for that since we were at Camp Half-Blood." He explains, his tone apologetic.

Relief floods through Piper-along with a fluttery feeling at his words. "It's okay, Jason. That's not your fault."

"No." He agrees. "But I could have tried harder to find time to be with you. Percy and Annabeth seem to manage it just fine."

Piper grins. "They seem to manage it a little too well, if you ask me. You rarely ever see one of them without the other."

"Not really, no." He looks up at her, a strange look in his eyes. "They really care for each other." He says softly.

Piper's breath gets a little shallow. "Yeah." She agrees. "They do."

She remembers when they were trapped in the nymphaeum with Percy-gods, she felt so stupid afterward. She told him she loved him-and she does. But what if he doesn't feel the same way? He hasn't said it back-and they haven't talked about it at all.

"Kind of like the way I care for you." Jason adds, and then glances anxiously at her, waiting for her reaction.

She kisses him-hard. Her hand finds its way into his, and her other hand presses against his back, pulling him closer.

She pulls away first, and he smiles at her, a little nervously. "I guess this means you feel the same way?"

Piper laughs, happy tears welling in her eyes, and nods. "Yeah. I feel the same way."

Jason grins and pulls her closer to kiss her again. Then they lay back, sharing his pillow, and Piper finds herself finally falling asleep.

It might not be an 'I love you,' she thinks contentedly, but I'll take it.

Then she drifts off into a deep, dreamless sleep, closing her eyes at the same time as Jason.

I love you, take some time to chillax, eat blue pizza (is there such a thing?), and buy big bags of nothing but blue candy!