A/N: Hi guys!

I apologise for how long it's taken me to get to this chapter (finishing my Bachelor has been a freakin' nightmare) but it's here, it's 14 pages long and it's a teeny tiny bit Jason-centric which means next chapter is THE DATE.

Thank you to everyone who continued to review, reply and message me with endless patience and support. You guys are absolutely lovely, telling me to take my time and not to rush. I think you're all wonderful, thank you.

Enjoy!

-Shy

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

The first time Leo took Calypso on an honest to gods date, he may have underestimated how difficult arranging it would be. For the first two days, he'd been pretty much on air, his brain working furiously to scrounge up any ideas for where exactly they could go without attracting every monster in the Tri-State area. Even Piper had to tell him to settle down before he blew a fuse.

The advice hadn't really helped; Calypso found his nerves cute and her finding him cute made him find her cute and suddenly their date felt like the biggest deal in, well, forever.

Anyone would've thought he hadn't been on a world-saving mission just a few months prior with six of his best friends. He tried to remind himself of that. He tried to remind himself that he had beaten things on his quests scarier than a date. But a small pesky voice in his head retorted that there had not been any beautiful, intelligent, mean girls who kissed him and told him he was an idiotfor most of that quest and even if there had been, he hadn't had a chance to actually date one of them.

As the weekend drew nearer, Leo had planned around 82% of his date. He figured they'd leave early (he still needed to find a shirt that didn't have scorch marks on it but holy Hephaestus, it was like looking for Persephone in January), head in on the bus, walk around Times Square, maybe see the Empire State Building (if the sight of Olympus didn't bring up any bad memories because oh gods, what if she hated it?!), eat lunch at somewhere he could maybe afford (he still needed to collect his winnings on the last Gladiatoys match from the Stoll brothers but it was like they could sense when he was coming to their cabin and they made themselves scarce on purpose…) and finish up in Central Park somewhere. Maybe. Okay, so maybe it was only 66% of his date planned but the point was, he was working on it.

And so far, there had been no problems.

Until the pair had attempted to pick up a Leave Pass from the Big House the day before.

"What do you mean no?" Leo echoed, frustrated.

"I mean no, Liam Vander. Nyet. Non. Bù. Ne. No." Mr D snapped petulantly, slurping on his grape soda.

Part of him was hardly surprised by this reaction. When he'd offhandedly mentioned his upcoming date- and by offhandedly, he meant loudly and cheerfully with a tiny (read: enormous) dash of smugness-, Percy had winced and grimly told Leo of the trials and tribulations of getting Dionysus to agree to let campers off on the weekends. Sometimes the wine god was in a bad mood and said no, and sometimes he was in a great mood and still said no. More often than not however, the drunken god handed over the responsibility to Chiron who then organised for groups and couples to leave camp on weekend passes. Fussy, old-fashioned centaur that he was, he didn't allow overnight passes and he was incredibly picky about evening passes. But on the bright side, he was usually far more lenient about day trips. Unless Dionysus stuck his nose in and overruled Chiron entirely.

Leo should've known Mr D would stick his fat ugly nose into his first date with Calypso.

They stood in the main office of the Big House, in front of Mr D's rarely used desk. Leo was half convinced the god had zapped away the guest chairs that usually perched there so they'd be forced to stand like children sent to the principal's office. "The Titanis not allowed out of camp." He continued, shrugging.

"I'm here of my own will! Besides you don't even want me here!" Calypso pointed out, angrily.

"That may be," the Olympian allowed with a gloating gleam in his deep violet irises. "But I can't have you wandering around the place, conspiring to raise your parents!" he countered.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Zeus oversaw her release!" he argued. "If she was a threat, don't you think he would've reconsidered?"

But Mr D was deaf to reason. "She stays here. You're lucky I don't keep her in the Big House permanently." He added, his smile sharpening with the last word.

He hardly paid attention to the thinly veiled threat but Calypso suddenly looked pale and far less steady than she had been when last talking to the Lord of the Vine. "Dionysus-" she began.

"Uh-uh." He tutted and she practically growled.

"Lord Dionysus." She gritted her teeth. "I would like you to reconsider."

"No." he replied simply. "Now run along before I turn you both into lemons and juice you."

Leo was perfectly ready to argue more- talking was arguably one the best skills in his tool box after all. But Calypso laced her fingers with his and tugged him backward, casting a final dirty glance to Dionysus before escaping through the front doors. She didn't stop until they were almost near the centre of camp, right next to the largely unattended hearth where she let out frustrated screech.

"That bitter little-" she snarled but seemingly bit her tongue at the last moment. The air was cooler than usual, the skies pale with cloud cover and a gentle breeze rippling through her hair.

"Ditto." Leo grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "We could ask Chiron tomorrow when he's by himself…?" he proposed, weakly.

"There's no way for Chiron to directly overrule Dionysus once he's made a decision." Calypso pressed her palms into her eyes and sighed as well. "I'm sorry, Wonder Boy."

"Why are you sorry?" Leo snorted. "I'm not losing out. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I've seen plenty of cities before."

"I know you had made plans already." She replied, leading him to one of the thick logs benches that encircled the bonfire.

"Well…maybe a few…" Leo confessed, wheedling but unable to hide his disappointment.

"I had too." She confessed, leaning her head on his shoulder. The contact made him feel about 30 degrees warmer and from the way she nuzzled slightly, almost unconsciously, he wondered if his special little ability was reacting to her close proximity. She didn't seem to mind.

"Oh yeah?" he asked, trying to salvage the afternoon. "What did you have planned?"

"I had decided to find the gardens of New York." She told him, sheepishly. "Percy once told me no one has any gardens in the city but Rachel mentioned otherwise, once."

"Gardens in New York sounds like a good way to spend the afternoon." Leo sighed, casting another dark stare over his shoulder to the Big House. But Calypso's attention had slipped away, a proverbial light bulb clicked into existence over her head.

"Rachel…" she murmured, thoughtfully.

"What about her?" Leo replied.

The former goddess sat up slowly, casting her eyes around them once until she was satisfied they were without eavesdroppers. "How do you feel about breaking a few rules, Wonder Boy?"

Leo's mouth split into a mischievous grin automatically. "Haven't I already mentioned how I feel about rules?"

Jason heard the wailing from the Training Arena.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, suddenly alert.

"Hear what?" Piper asked, breathing hard as her blade swung through the air in graceful arcs. Sweat had gathered at her forehead but far from fatigued, the daughter of Aphrodite looked invigorated.

Another wail pierced the air but the noise was…off somehow. Overly dramatic like a bad stage performer during their death sequence. It didn't strike fear or alarm into his heart like he was used to. Which, he pondered, was probably a bad sign.

"That." Jason confirmed, narrowing his eyes at the Big House in the distance. From the Training Arena, it was a moderate red blob on the horizon but the howling was ear splitting in its intensity. "Something's up."

Piper paused in her training, letting her sword drop to her side. "Sounds kind've like Rachel." She added, bewildered as another howl echoed from a distance. "But it doesn't sound…"

"Panicked?" Jason supplied, equally confused. "I know."

Piper sighed. "She's probably fine."

"Probably."

"…We're going to check on her anyway though, aren't we?"

"Knowing this place, it's a good idea." Jason agreed, quickly stowing his gladius.

"Gods forbid we should get through a single training session completely." Piper teased, also sheathing her weapon although her voice carried a note of accusation.

Jason winced. He hadn't intentionally been avoiding his girlfriend and their weekly sessions- as a matter of fact, he'd spent most of his time at Camp trying to find ways to see her around the endless meetings and planning for the Temple Hill project back east. The only problem was their sparring sessions had a bad habit of being disturbed.

"I swear, it's not even my fault this time." Jason held his hands up, innocently.

"Are you admitting it's been your fault previously?" Piper asked, in a silky tone.

He paused for a second, rewinding their conversation in his head. "You missed your calling as a lawyer you know." He told her instead. Truthfully, while Jason hadn't been interrupting their sessions on purpose, he hadn't exactly avoided aforementioned interruptions.

"Jason, we talked about this." She reminded him, grabbing her sweatshirt as they made their way toward the Big House where the yelling continued. "If you take it easy on me-"

"-you're not really learning, I know, I know." Jason finished, following after her. "I just don't want to hurt you."

"You can't be certain that you will." Piper said, nudging his shoulder as they walked. Neither hurried with any alarm; the noises were curious but not urgent. "Is it because I'm a girl?"

"Gods no!" Jason responded, immediately. "Thalia would kick my butt from here to Salt Lake City if that was the case." He knew it to be true: his sister liked Piper, from the few times they'd met. Piper had an ease that allowed her to get along with most everyone, even sworn virgin huntresses who were fiercely protective of their baby brothers.

"Then what is it?" she prodded. "Because if you keep running away, you'll give me a complex." She added in a joking voice.

Jason smiled as they neared the Dining Pavilion. "I- I just know you're still learning. It'd be the same if I was sparring with Leo. I wouldn't want to hurt you guys accidentally."

As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, Jason felt guilt and shame curl in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't precisely a lie, he told himself. He'd thought about it a lot since the battle with Gaea: how hard it had been to watch his friends fighting nightmares and monsters and know there was no way to protect them. Trusting in their strength had always been easy before but something about the sight of Piper encircled by half-snake creatures or Frank slicing through an unending wave of slobbering dog-headed predators or Leo attempting to block enormous boulders thrown at the Argo II- it had rattled him, to say the least. He didn't like the idea of putting them in that position again.

He couldn't really remember when it started, only that he'd obviously not had the problem during their final battle. And he remembered spending some time on hand-to-hand fighting with Piper and Frank before they'd left. But with a pang, Jason tried to recall the last time he'd picked up his sword with confidence. All he could remember was when he nearly sliced his hand open on his gladius one day, trying to clean it with hands that hadn't shaken so badly since he was a kid and his ADHD made staying still impossible.

That was the day Jason decided to avoid the Training Arena for a while.

After all it wasn't unheard of for warriors to come back from long tours tired, right? It was probably just exhaustion, some bad memories. It would get better in time and then he'd be back in the arena.

But then came all his duties as pontifex, working as mediator between the two camps, trying to help Frank settle in as praetor where he could and then settling himself at CHB- who had time for the arena and swords and practising?

In fact, Jason's conscience whispered shamefully, if it hadn't been for Piper, he probably could've gone the rest of his life hiding like a coward.

In reality, his girlfriend softened slightly for a moment, his half-lie obviously not what she was expecting. "That's sweet." She told him, kindly. "But Leo can turn into a human fireball and I've been training with Hazel and Annabeth for weeks. I'm not sure you could hurt us even if you tried." She added, flippantly.

He paused, narrowing his eyes from behind his glasses. "I know what you're trying to do."

"Oh?" she answered, lightly.

"You're goading me." He accused.

Piper blinked, looking every inch the bewildered ingénue. "Goading? Me?" The only part that betrayed her was the challenging glint to her eyes. "Now why would I resort to something like that? It's not as though I've exhausted all other means to ask for help…"

"Piper-"

"…oh wait! Yes I have!" Piper rolled her eyes. "I'm going to end up sparring with people, regardless of whether I spar with you first. If you want to help me, shouldn't you want to help train me?"

Jason craned his neck back as they neared the Big House, as if praying for an answer from the skies but the cool pewter grey clouds were silent and brooding above him instead. How was he supposed to explain to her that the thought of using his sword made his fingers quiver? That the roar of blood in his ears overtook him at the sight of a spear in his hand? That his brow became soaked with nervous sweat from the sounds of bronze and steel colliding? How could he describe his frustration at knowing what his body was capable of and still having his mind flinch from the idea of combat?

How could he possibly make anyone, but especially Piper –brave, strong, beautiful Piper- understand, without sounding like a coward?

"Yes." He finally answered. "Yes, of course I want to help."

His beautiful girlfriend brightened, victoriously. "Excellent. Tomorrow then, 2pm, no if or buts." And with that she took off into the Big House from which Rachel's horribly drawn out wailing spilled out onto the air.

Jason could only exhale, helplessly as he followed after her. Yep. Definitely a lawyer.

Putting the argument out of his head, Jason didn't know what to expect when he entered Rachel's room in the creaky old farmhouse. A fidgety Calypso tending to a moaning Rachel with Piper eying them as though they'd both lost their minds was not it.

"Wha-?" he began but Calypso merely shushed him and jerked her thumb towards Piper, indicating for him to stand beside his girlfriend instead of in the doorway which both girls eyed closely. Rachel lay in the cot that had been her home for the past few days while she suffered from the Oracle's mysterious 'attacks' while Calypso sat beside her, dipping a washcloth in a small tin bucket of water, over and over, wringing the cloth in her hands anxiously. Jason shuffled over obediently, bewildered by the situation and whispered aside to Piper: "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"Not a clue." She whispered back with a slight shrug.

Rachel let out another croaky howl. Calypso scowled. "Well that's certainly convincing isn't it?"

"Hey, you wanted my help, we do it my way." The Oracle countered imperiously, her dark green eyes glittering like chips of jade.

"Er…guys?" Piper interjected, carefully. "You wanna explain what's going on?"

Rachel waved her off, distractedly although Calypso did glance back to them for a moment. "There is a plan in motion." She said, equally side-tracked.

"An escape plan." Rachel piped up, grinning.

"It's not an escape plan, I'm coming back." Calypso interrupted, still keeping an eye on the door.

"The love birds are flying the coop!" the Oracle ignored her roommate entirely. "And I make a handy distraction if I say so myself."

Calypso rolled her eyes but continued, still wringing the washcloth and glancing toward the door. "I'm making sure we have alibis. Leo's finishing off some other…details."

Jason quirked an eyebrow. "Sounds to me like he's about to break some rules."

"I'd rather he break Dionysus' face." Calypso grumbled but straightened her neck as though attempting to rise above her frustration. "No matter." She added, stiffly. "This is a necessary step."

"So why are we here?" Piper enquired, warily.

Rachel shrugged. "You were the first two who responded to my brilliant howls of despair-"

"You mean the over performing yodelling?" the daughter of Aphrodite cut in, pointedly.

The heiress bristled slightly but seemed too preoccupied to mind the quip. "Everyone's a critic."

"We just needed witnesses." Calypso filled them in instead.

"Witnesses." Piper echoed, bluntly.

"Yes. You see, Rachel's been having one of her attacks all morning." Calypso told them in a rather matter-of-fact tone. Both of their heads swung towards Rachel who, apart from looking slightly peaky, seemed rather perky as she nodded, cheerfully.

"I can barely move, they're so bad." She told them brightly.

"Is that so?" Jason repeated, starting to piece together the scene.

"Indeed. So when Dionysus bursts through the door, looking for the source of her yodelling, as you put it-" here Rachel unleashed a particular ear splitting wail and a dirty look toward the former Titaness. "-you'll be here to confirm that these attacks are much worse than normal and Rachel should be brought back to the Cave immediately where I can take better care of her." Calypso finished, succinctly.

"So you want us to lie through our teeth?" Piper clarified.

"Please, like you haven't done that before." Rachel rolled her eyes, settling under the covers of her bed further.

Jason tried to look somewhat affronted- after all, he didn't like to be considered a liar- but to be frank, the Oracle had a point. From the looks of it, Piper agreed. "So when is this all due to go down?" he queried.

"Any minute now-" the redhead replied but the sound of the front door slamming cut across her words. "Show time." She grinned, instead.

"What in all of sweet Naxos is that infernal racket-?!" Mr D grunted, his heavy tread thumping towards the door, which swung open, announcing the immortal's arrival. Clad in one of his customarily horrific striped shirts (this one was a rather spectacular collision of green and orange), Dionysus looked far more irritable than concerned.

The girls leapt into action with enthusiasm- Rachel moaning and wailing like a dying diva in her bed, one hand pressed to her forehead and Calypso dabbing her face with the cool washer, her expression tender and concerned, save for the unimpressed tilt of her brows whenever she looked at Rachel, as though she were itching to roll her eyes.

"She's been like this for the last half an hour," the former goddess explained with great concern. "The cool water helps some."

On cue, Rachel let out a noise that sounded like a cross between a croak and a screech.

For a moment, Piper looked like she was desperate to roll her pretty kaleidoscope eyes as well but then the moment passed and left in its place a concerned and yet confident façade that Jason had no trouble believing. Piper's ability to adapt was one her best strengths in his opinion- where other demigods might hesitate, the daughter of Lady Love never wavered. If she told you she was the boss, no one could question it. If she said she could crush rocks with her bare hands, it was hard to even consider otherwise.

"If she needs constant supervision, she should go back to her Cave where Calypso can watch her." She said, decisively. And apparently, if she spoke like a doctor, she'd be obeyed like a doctor.

"Absolutely not," Mr D snorted. "The Titan can keep her quiet here until I say otherwise."

Or not.

"I have a name." Calypso spat out under her breath but Dionysus was too busy peering at Rachel with a faintly disgusted look as though wondering if she was contagious.

"Mr D…" Jason interrupted, carefully remembering not to slip up and call him Mr B. Since the end of the battle with Gaea, the gods had been cooperating with their separate halves but it was an unspoken rule to avoid directly antagonising one or the other. "Surely Calypso can help Rachel much more easily at their Cave. It'd be more comfortable for everyone."

"And most importantly, more comfortable for you." Piper continued, her voice taking on that subtle layered effect that signalled her charmspeak. "After all, who needs all this noise echoing around camp, bothering people? There's no sense in putting yourself out."

"I could always send her to sleep for a century." Mr D proposed, as though half-considering it.

Sensing the opportunity, Calypso paused in dabbing Rachel's cheeks with the cloth and the redheaded Oracle squealed again with a gurgling finish like a stuck pig. Even Jason had to wince at the pitch of the cry.

His girlfriend had once explained the efficiency of her charmspeak to him: "They have to want to believe me. The most convincing lies are the ones you want to be true, you know?"

Dionysus was obviously desperate to be rid of Rachel's squawks because at once he flapped his hands with a scowl and conjured a Diet Coke to soothe his oncoming headache, pressing the cool can against his temple. "Fine! Get her out and keep her quiet Titan or you'll answer to me!"

Jason could almost see the amount of restraint necessary for Calypso to hold back her biting response but instead she merely inclined her head slightly and began to help Rachel out of bed. Jason held her right arm, Calypso her left while the redhead flopped like a dead fish between them.

He left Piper to smooth over their exit, slowly helping Calypso support Rachel as they shuffled to the front porch and across the Cabin Courtyard, listening to her grumbling and moaning as they went. As soon as they reached the path near the edge of the wood leading to their Cave, Calypso let her roommate's arm drop and Jason suddenly had to compensate for the dead weight of the completely limp soothsayer.

"Was all that really necessary?" Calypso berated, hands on her hips. "Honest to Helios-!"

"Hey, you asked me to pretend I was in pain!" Rachel countered, 'miraculously' regaining control of her limbs for a moment.

"Pain. Not mind-bending agony." She clarified, pointedly.

"It worked, didn't it?" Rachel shrugged.

"Anyone care to explain what's going on?" Jason interrupted the bickering, almost dreading the answer which somehow involved tricking an Olympian.

"The lovebirds are headed to Manhattan and I'm covering for them. Calypso's going to be far too busy 'tending' to me to be seen around camp so they should have the afternoon off at least," Rachel explained, suddenly walking, perfectly fine, off to the north, toward the Oracle Cave. "Now come on, I want my own bed and you need to get ready for your date."

Piper perked up at the word. "You and Leo are going on a date? Why all this run-around then?" she asked, curiously.

Calypso turned bright pink but Jason only caught half of her explanation about Mr D's embargo on her leaving camp and her and Leo's ingenious (if convoluted) plan. Admittedly, he was distracted by a periodic rumbling which kept interrupting his thoughts, long growling, gurgling noises coming from across Zephyr's Creek, deeper into the forest.

"Is that coming from-?" he began, suspiciously and Calypso sighed, although she didn't manage quite the amount of exasperation she was aiming for. Jason could see the blush in her cheeks and the excited gleam in her eyes, as easily as if she were spelling it out for them all and by the looks of Piper's face, he wasn't the only one.

"Leo said if I handled our alibi, he'd handle the escape and then he disappeared into that Bunker." She said, her toes literally twitching in her shoes.

"I don't suppose you asked how…?" Piper began, somewhat cautiously. After all, Leo's plans could spiral into some…unconventional territories.

Rachel suddenly laughed aloud, loudly. "Oh, my sketch from last night makes so much more sense now!" she said, her eyes wide with realisation. "Oh Calypso, you're going to hate it."

At this, the former Titaness paled into a ghastly pallid shade. "Rachel-?"

"Oh no." the Oracle cut in, eyes bright with humour and a touch of wickedness. "No, no, no. I'm not spilling. You criticised my superb acting choices, think of this as punishment."

Calypso's jaw tensed. "You have to sleep at some point, Rachel Dare." She breathed, gazing out towards the rumbling with dread.

Piper, sensing the obvious tension, rushed to smooth it over in that effortless way of hers. "Don't freak out, Rachel's probably trying to wind you up-"

"Wind me up…?" Calypso echoed, bewildered.

"-don't listen to her, you need to get ready. Leo could be ready at any point and you guys have a very short window of opportunity from the sounds of things." Piper continued, gently pushing the former Titaness after Rachel who looked rather gleeful at the prospect of helping Calypso 'get ready'.

Sensing he was no longer needed, Jason gestured toward the rumbling. "Maybe I'll go make sure Leo hasn't burned himself to a crisp?" he offered and Calypso threw him a thankful glance even as she was ushered along. A Titaness, a demigod and an Oracle are getting ready for an illegal date…he thought, amused. It sounded like a bad joke.

It was still semi-morning so finding his way to Bunker 9 wasn't as tricky as it had been the last time he'd made the trip, way back when Annabeth had led them deep into the heart of the forest with the promise that Leo would confess what had been bothering him. It felt like an age ago and Jason wondered if this was what being an adult was like: when time started to fly past and yet still managed to feel like a carton of rocks on his shoulders.

Parts of him still felt seventeen. The parts that wanted to hang around his friends, kiss Piper until they could barely breathe, go flying for the hell of it. The parts that still struggled to concentrate on building orders and reports and notes, the parts that made eager to keep his promise to the minor gods.

But then there were the parts that felt so old, he was sure he'd crumble into dust if he acknowledged them. The parts that remembered facing Porphyrion with his father, facing Gaea with his friends, facing the Suitors of Penelope with nothing. He'd worn a Mist-induced guise then, the skin of an old, aging man. Sometimes Jason wondered if he'd ever actually taken it off.

Before long, the growling, snarling, rumbling grew so loud it couldn't be ignored, yanking him out of his thoughts and into the main work floor of Bunker 9. His eyes could barely comprehend what he was looking at however.

"Whoa." Was all that came out of his mouth.

The sound caught Leo's attention, putting an end to the growling blare for a moment. He glanced up at his best friend with a wide grin, gesturing to the bronze and steel creation beside him. "It's pretty cool, huh?" he asked, his fingers rapidly playing with some minute piece of engine. He was utterly covered in grease and sweat, his orange camp t-shirt ripped at the sleeves and what appeared to be metallic shavings and dust splattered across his cheeks and in his curls. He was crouched near the middle of the workroom, several tool and supply boxes splayed open beside him as he worked.

"Leo wh- I mean, how- when in all of Hades did you make this?" Jason stuttered, astonished by his friend's speed.

Leo shrugged. "See, this is the part where I say 'oh this ol' thing? Oh I just figured I'd whack it together this morning, no big deal' but to be honest, I've been playing with this since before I left. It was a jet ski first, you know." He spoke with that kind of nervous twitter, like his tongue was moving too fast for his mouth but after so many months of friendship, Jason found himself understanding the gibberish perfectly.

"It was a jet ski?" he echoed, dubiously. "Why didn't it stay one?"

Leo threw his friend an impatient glance. "How am I gonna get to the city if it stays a jet ski, Superman?" he said in a 'duh' tone of voice.

"Wait, this is your escape plan?" Jason wasn't exactly proud of the way his voice came out as a near squawk.

Leo poked his head up again, flipping his goggles up to reveal a perfect line where the grease ended around his eyes. "Oh so Sunshine filled you in huh? Good, good. Does that mean she's done with our alibis? I think I'm almost done here, I just want to make sure everything's perfect first before I add-"

The former Roman pressed his palms into his eyes and counted to ten. "Leo, you don't even know how to drive." He said, in a pained tone. Hellish monsters, conniving witches, demons, primordial goddesses, pissed off giants, certain doom- after all that, a gods damned motorcycle was going to get his best friend killed.

Leo snorted, not even looking up this time, still checking the air in the front tyre. "Oh ye of little faith." His creation was beautiful, of course. Everything Leo made was beautiful somehow but Jason could tell the difference between oh-shit-there's-a-vicious-monster-waiting-to-swallow-me-I-gotta-make-something-to-save-my-ass and something he'd actually spent time on. The bike was definitely not slapdash, even if Jason thought it was one Leo's stupider ideas.

The outer shell was grimy silvery grey metal but the internal engine practically glittered Celestial Bronze. It wasn't exactly a large vehicle but he knew from the Vespas they'd seen in Italy, it still had some power in the bones of it, buried in the sleek design. He had to admit, it was a pretty sweet looking ride. But Jason was more concerned with the idea of Leo actually driving than its looks.

Steering a floating ship? Sure. A metal flying dragon? Not a problem. A robotic crane? Well enough to take out a trio of bloodthirsty Cyclops. But a motorcycle? Leo was bad enough with his feet on the ground, distracted, twitchy, mind going a dozen different directions at once. This seemed more like a recipe for disaster than an escape plan and Jason told him as much.

"You're gonna have Calypso on the back of this as well you know." He added.

Leo snorted. "Calypso would be happier if we were still riding around in chariots." He replied, his voice very obviously making it clear what he thought about that idea. "Not that I have anything against chariots." He added soon after with a sly grin. "Jake and I have been working on some ideas for the next race coming up which I can't discuss with you, you being the enemy and all."

Ignoring the quip, Jason took a seat beside his friend, looking over the bike with a somewhat sceptical expression. "She's gonna hate it."

Leo shrugged. "She got used to Festus pretty quick. Besides she looks kind of like a stunned squirrel when she's surprised and it's really freakin' cute."

"You're a terrible boyfriend." The pontifex replied dryly.

"Hey, I'm staging an escape for this girl!" Leo defended, although it was slightly marred by the screwdriver jammed between his teeth. "Again!"

"Do you even know how to ride one of these things?" Jason asked dubiously, spinning a wrench around in his hand, although he had absolutely no clue how to use it. Not to build anyway. He could probably take out a few monsters with one though. As if on cue, his hand quivered and he let the tool fall back into its box. He barely contained a frustrated growl, instead choosing to focus on Leo's response.

"Sure." His voice was quick, almost flippant. "I used to ride 'em all the time back in Texas. The first time they kicked me out of a foster home was because I took my foster dad's bike joyriding." Leo shrugged as though the information was old news but then paused for a moment, pensive. "Well, actually it's cause I took one out and then fixed the spark plugs so the old man knew it was me but still, I used to play on them since I was a kid." Leo's smile dimmed after that which made Jason suspect there was more to the story than that but he let it pass.

"So your grand plan is to sneak out on a homemade motorcycle while Mr D thinks Calypso tending to Rachel in the Oracle Cave." Jason pieced together.

"Yep."

He sighed. "Well, we've had worse plans."

"Way worse." Leo paused for a moment, lifting his goggles for the first time with an uncertain expression. "Jason, man, are you okay?" he asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be?" Jason replied, proud of the calm in his voice.

"You just seemed a little stressed out before…" Leo shrugged, attempting nonchalance. "And usually you're the voice of reason when I'm doing something stupid. Not the one freaking out. I usually leave that stuff to Frank, he's way better at it."

"I wasn't freaking out. My best friend just told me he was about to escape from camp without permission on a home made bike that he may or may not be able to ride." Jason pointed out. It came out a little sharper than he'd intended but indignation masked it well. It wasn't as though he was overstating things. And he was not freaking out.

"Whoa, okay Mr Hall Monitor, chill out, don't be such a nark." Leo grumbled back, slipping the goggles back over his eyes.

The guilty shameful feeling had returned to his stomach, yanking the real answer out of his throat: I can't stand the idea of any of you guys getting hurt because I can't help protect you right now because I'm weak and useless and I can't pick up my gods damned sword or any weapon at all.

Jason clenched his teeth as though he were crushing the unspoken words between his molars. "Leo- look, I'm sorry man, it's just-"

"Forget it." Leo cut in and although he couldn't see, Jason imagined his friend rolling his eyes. "I have too much to stress about without adding you acting weird." Far from offence, pure relief swept through him from head to toe. "But when you're ready to 'fess up, I'll be waiting with popcorn and one of those head shrinker couches."

"Head shrinker couches?"

"Yeah, you know," Leo flipped his goggles up. "Like the ones you lie down on, to make it easier to spill your deepest darkest secrets and talk about how 'it all started the day you were born'." He added, snickering.

Well really it started the first time I picked up a sword after the Battle at New Rome, a small part of his brain piped up.

Outwardly, he snorted. "Sure thing Valdez. But you know," he continued, moving the subject far away from his own stupid problems. He'd fix them. He just needed some time to figure it out. "Calypso's never getting on this thing. She still thinks the motorboat Cabin 5 uses on the lake is a monstrosity."

Leo's grin returned at the mention of his girlfriend. "Sure she will. She doesn't know how fast bikes go."

"Yet." Jason countered.

"Yet." Leo repeated and then winced dramatically. "I should probably look into some neck protection in case she tries to strangle me huh?"

"Probably a good idea." Jason replied, wryly.

A/N: I'm ba-ack.

Not much time tonight to respond to replies/questions/and reviews but I'm hoping to post the new chapter and a much longer Author's Note soon.

For now, let me just say you're all rock stars and I hope you like the new chapter. Thank you so much for reading!