Chapter Text
Jason should probably thank Piper.
She had saved him and Leo from killing each other. If Leo and he had fought to the death like that crazy Zombie Medea had planned, the Great Prophecy would never be fulfilled.
They were apart of the seven of the prophecy, right? It only felt right. Jason feels it in his heart, however anxious he is about leading a group of six. He trusts Piper and Leo to follow and support him, but would the other four?
In the back of his mind, Jason feels the urge that he was born and bred to lead. He’s not sure why, but the nudging is inevitably there, and he has to trust his gut.
He should still thank Piper though. If it wasn’t for her and her charmspeak, he might not be able to sit here on Festus’ back.
“Pipes, you all right?” Leo asks. Jason tilts his head to look behind at the girl slumped on his back.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Okay, fine.” Leo glances behind at the two of them. “You don’t like any of the names I make up for you. But if your dad’s in trouble and we can help-”
“You can’t,” she groans, her voice getting unsettlingly quieter. “Look, I’m tired. If you don’t mind…”
Piper sighs against Jason’s back and tightens the hold around his waist. She must’ve fallen asleep after a few moments of slow breathing. Jason figures he can just thank her later anyway.
When they were in that mall, Jason’s figured out some pretty important stuff. There were others like him- other demigods with the same purple shirt. Jason squints at the dark sky and the dim trail that Festus was following to reach Aeolus’ fortress. Somewhere out there was an entire group of demigods like him. The thought made Jason buzz with excitement.
What were they like? Are they like the demigods at Camp Half-Blood. Something told him a definite no. Jason had liked his very short stay at the camp. In about a day -even with the weird looks the Greeks had all thrown him after spewing Latin- he had come to appreciate the small camp. He wondered what the camp looked like during the summer when it’s in it’s prime and bustling with activity.
Since Piper’s asleep, he should say something to Leo too. He doesn’t know about Leo and what the other boy had said, but some part of Jason did mean what he said. “You’re annoying, Leo. You never take anything seriously. You can’t even fix a dragon.”
It was mean, no duh. Jason’s not sure why so much anger was put into his words- they had only really met a few weeks ago, and Jason really likes the Leo he’s gotten to know recently. Cool fire powers, great cook, (very) corny jokes- it’s not that big of a surprise that Leo had originally claimed them to be best friends on that bus at the Grand Canyon.
Still, something about Leo bugged Jason. He was always so- so extra. Like he’s putting in unnecessary energy to seem fine and ready for anything. And there was also the thing that Leo had spat at him, under the spell’s influence: “Jason’s always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted.”
Ouch. Did Leo really feel that way? Does Jason take him for granted?
Maybe he should say something. Jason definitely appreciates all that Leo’s been doing for them- if it wasn’t for the son of Hephaestus, he and Piper wouldn’t be alive. Heck, they wouldn’t have even started the quest if it wasn’t for Leo repairing Festus (“You can’t even fix a dragon.”).
Jason leans forward, ready to talk, but Leo seemed to have other plans. His head bobs up and down, with his eyes fluttering lightly. He must’ve been exhausted from the non-stop fighting. Jason felt tired too- but his body doesn’t feel the strain he might’ve expected. In fact, he feels like he can still take on an army- and maybe he can.
But both Piper and Leo are normal. They’re not used to this- not in the same way Jason thinks he is. They both need proper food and rest. Speaking of- when was the last time Leo’s slept? Jason can only remember Leo piloting Festus during the night.
“Catch a few Z’s. It’s cool,” Jason rubs Leo’s back to urge him to sleep. “Hand me the reins.”
“Nah, I’m okay-”
“Leo, you’re not a machine. Besides, I’m the only one who can see the vapor trail. I’ll make sure we stay on course.”
Leo subconsciously yawns, eyelids sliding down. “All right. Maybe just…”
Jason had to catch him, so he doesn’t fall off of Festus’ back. He makes sure that Leo is securely against the machine’s neck, before letting out a sigh.
Great. Now he’s got two sleeping demigods on a mechanical dragon following a magical trail that only he can see. And he never managed to apologize to either of his new friends.
Jason feels Piper moving before he hears her sleepy groan. “Are we there yet?”
Jason chuckles. “Hardly. We’re in Nebraska though, so we’re close.”
“Cool.”
A silence passes over them when they soar through the clouds. Jason figures now might be a good time.
“Hey, Piper,” Jason says, “thanks, by the way. For, y’know… what you did back there with Medea.”
“‘S no problem.” Piper slurs, warm breath hitting Jason’s neck. “Can’t have my boys killing each other.”
“That’ll probably be for the best.”
Piper sits up. “Did you mean what you said? When you were complaining about Leo?”
You’re annoying, Leo. You never take anything seriously. You can’t even fix a dragon. Jason shakes the intruding thought away. “It was mostly the spell, but maybe a small part of it? But I regret it now.”
“Good,” Piper says, “Or I might have to beat you up. You might’ve been my fake boyfriend at Wilderness, but Leo’s my best friend of all time.”
“Uh,” Jason glances back. “Good to know?”
“And he does take things seriously,” Piper resumes, leaning forward again to loop her arms around Jason’s waist. Her chin sits on his shoulder. “You’d be surprised how dedicated Leo can be.”
“I know.”
“Do you think you would’ve done it? Stab him?”
Jason shivers. He can still feel traces of Medea’s charmspeak lingering over him like a phantom. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing you stopped us when you did. How did you do that, by the way?”
Piper’s hold tightens for a quick second before she relaxes with a shaky breath. “I don’t know. I kind of just kept thinking that Medea was going to make you guys fight to the death, and I wanted to do anything to stop that.”
“Your powers are growing then,” Jason says. “That’s great!”
“I don’t know about that,” Piper says, uneasy.“I don’t want to be like Drew, y’know? Medea was just so- so evil and controlling, and it reminded me a lot of the Aphrodite Cabin being so scared of Drew to talk back to her. It’s terrible.”
“You’re not going to be like her,” Jason rubs Piper’s knuckles. He holds onto Leo’s waist for balance, staring at Leo’s dirty shirt. They all needed showers and clean clothing- sewer sleeping and monster fighting aren’t exactly the most luxurious things in the world.
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, I like you, much more than I like Drew. You’re a lot braver than Miss Afraid-of-Frizz.”
Piper giggles. “Frizzy hair is a natural enemy with the Aphrodite kids. That and chipped nails.”
“Aphrodite can’t just be about looks,” Jason says.
Piper sighs. “Sometimes it feels like that. All the kids are so obsessed with their looks and, like, relationships. I just feel like there’s something more to Aphrodite but no one’s hit it yet.”
“Maybe you’ll be the first.”
“Maybe.”
Jason clears his throat. “Actually, speaking of, how are we? Are we still…” He trails off. In front of him, Leo mumbles something about Zeus being a jerk, scrunching up his nose.
“Oh,” Piper says. “I don’t know anymore. I want to, but you don’t understand why I want to.”
“Alright,” Jason says. In truth, he didn’t feel a lot of romantic feelings towards Piper. There was definitely something there, but it didn’t seem to be what Piper had been wanting. “Do you think we could make it work, though? Even with all that’s going on.”
“I don’t know,” Piper admits. “I have a lot going on. I’ve spent my entire life wondering who my mom was, and she turns out to be this giant princess goddess with all these snobby kids. And my dad’s still missing-” Piper stops there.
Jason looks back at her. “We’ll find him, Piper.”
“I know. I just don’t know if we’ll find him and he’ll be fine.” Piper shudders against Jason’s back. “Anyway. I don’t know about me and you. I feel bad for Leo.”
“Leo?”
Festus makes a clicking whine at the mention of Leo’s name. Piper reaches out and rubs Leo’s back, pushing Jason forward against him. “Yeah. You don’t remember, but we both remember how alone he felt after you and I got together. Actually, I think he was jealous too.”
Jason stares at Leo. The wind plays with the baby hairs curling against the nape of Leo’s neck. He can’t imagine what Wilderness was like. Currently, he’s having bare traces of memories of his other life, but he can’t picture what it’d be like to have fake memories. What’s inside that crazy mind of Leo’s?
Jason’s always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted.
Were they really best friends? How close were they? Jason would like to be close to Leo again- he feels like they’ve got a good relationship going on right now.
“How’d we become friends, Piper?” Jason finally asks.
“What? I don’t know… I think we shared a few classes, and you were Leo’s roommate so we saw a lot of each other.” Piper presses her cheek on Jason’s shoulder. She hooks her arms around his stomach again. “Leo kept dragging you into crazy things with me, and you finally gave up and started coming voluntarily.”
Jason smiles. “That sounds fun.”
“It was,” Piper says. “But I like you you. It’s like I get to properly remeet you.”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Jason, son of Jupiter.”
“And I’m Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite.” They both laugh until it softly drifts away into the night.
“I think we’re getting closer,” Piper says after some time. “Is Leo up?”
“Not yet.” Jason leans forward to adjust Leo’s position against Festus’ neck. His skin is warm to the touch, the feeling spreading through Jason’s palms pleasantly. “Do you know how me and him became friends?”
“You were roommates,” Piper explains. “You guys just clicked after that. He would always talk about you, and vice versa. Had a lot of inside jokes that I didn’t get.”
For some reason, Jason blushes. “Oh.” He glances at Leo again. He’d like that again. Jason would love to have inside jokes with Leo (and Piper, of course).
“Did I- did I take him for granted?”
Piper hums. “That’s what he said, right? Back in Medea?”
Jason hesitates. “Yeah.”
“I don’t know if you took him for granted,” Piper said. “But there was always some kind of tension between you two. But that’s something you’ll have to ask Leo about- I have no clue what he’s referring to.”
“Okay,” Jason says. What he would do to have those sacred Wilderness memories that Piper and Leo seem to share… but only to understand. Just to understand what’s going on with the three of them. “Do you think I’ll be able to apologize to him? About what I said? He’s not annoying. Much.”
Piper pats his back. “That’s on you, Jason. But I think everything will be fine soon.”
“And what makes you say that?” Jason’s hands squeeze at Leo’s waist. Could she really tell?
Piper finds that funny. “Duh. I am a daughter of Aphrodite even if I might not like it. Ever since I was claimed, I've been getting good at reading people. But I could be wrong.”
Jason’s mouth can’t stop from curving upwards at that, despite how hard he tries. It’s reassuring to hear that come from Piper. He’ll be on good terms with both of his friends then.
“Cool,” Jason smiles to himself. “Super cool.”
“Hey, Jason,” Piper tugs on his shirt. “Is that hill coming really fast, or are we falling?”
Jason looks past Festus, to find the three demigods falling out of the sky, and fast. Underneath them, Festus had grown cold to the touch. Jason quickly realizes that the clicking noise Festus had made earlier wasn’t appreciation towards his repairman. It had been a warning for him being low in battery.
Leo mumbles something about Wheel of Fortune, as Piper and Jason scream on their way down.
Well. Jason might have to hold off on that apology just a little longer. If he doesn’t die, of course.