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“Math? Done. English? Done.”Jason mumbled over his textbook, study checklist in hand.
The checklist was his physics teacher’s idea, and Jason liked his physics teacher. The just above middle-aged man let him draw in class since it helped him focus better on what he was hearing. Jason did not mind at all that it gave him a chance to work on his designs for Camp Jupiter.
He was working hard to finish since Lester and Meg mentioned how excited Hazel and Frank were to present the designs to the people of New Rome.
Apparently talk around the town was about how the people of Camp Jupiter had already started on some of the buildings that had been on the board Lester and Meg had taken to camp for him after he got hurt on Caligula's boat. Good thing he had the second-best (and proud of it, Apollo was very proud of his son) healer ever as a brother.
Even if said brother couldn’t entirely heal him and he had to stay in the hospital for a while, though Jason would argue that that was more their father’s fault than Lester's.
Speaking of Lester, he should be arriving any moment now. Jason had called him last night on a whim, after he’d rediscovered a crumpled piece of paper that had made a new home on the very bottom of his bag right under the study notes he’d also stuffed in there. Taking the study notes back out to prepare for his test in a few days, made the permission slip fall out too.
That alone made him more nervous than the test.
The few friends he made before the quest had tried to convince him to come on the trip with them,
“Oh come on Jay, we need you! How else are we going to get Mister Smith to let us get super close to the exhibits?” one asked.
“Ya dude, he only lets us sit together and whisper because he thinks you are blind as a bat, since at your first lesson you forgot your glasses and needed me to tell you what it said on the board.”
Jason rolled his eyes, “He lets us whisper because he knows I’m the only one in our group that understand what he is trying to teach and is hoping I infect the rest of you with my interest in the class.”
Ben, a brown-haired boy, and one of his first friends at the school, crossed his arms.” It’s not our fault that you are the only one in our class with more than passing interest in aerodynamics. Really though, come with us, you cannot be the only one who is not going on the boring trip. We need you to suffer with us.”
They started to get the idea when he changed the subject on why he couldn’t go around the third time.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, he did…But he couldn’t exactly send the king or queen of Olympus a school slip to sign between meetings over the fate of the world. Which he was subtly complaining about to Piper and Leo, while they were having their monthly call.
‘Monthly call’ was reserved for the busier times, when their trio was too occupied with homework and other things to talk more frequently.
Piper asked him why he didn’t just ask Lester, and when Jason asked her what she meant, Piper kindly informed him that when he was in the hospital Lester was the one who talked to the doctors and nurses. Saying he was allowed there because he was Jason's older brother and somehow got them to name him, the usual un Lesterified version, as an emergency contact.
(You know, just in case Jason got attacked at school with a broom that was really a spear, by a teacher that was really a manticore, or a fury, or any of the other monsters that were still out to get him. He wasn’t exactly running low on enemies.)
Meaning Lester could sign the slip.
Rhythmical knocking on his wooden door was a pretty good hint as to who was on the other side.
Golden blonde curls were the first thing Jason caught sight of, a mixture between the curly locks of Lester and the golden blonde colour of Apollo. He looked weirdly similar to Will Solace, if not for the fact that Apollo currently looked like he was in his early twenties. Which probably wasn’t that weird considering Apollo was literally Will's father.
“Hello Jason.” Strolling inside the room he seemed to be noting the made bed and neat pile of paper on Jason's desk, Apollo(not Lester, he reminded himself) smiled like he was recalling something.
“Hi.” Jason greeted suddenly remembering how hard it was to convince his centurions to let him go into the New Rome, or San Francisco, and he was not even going to mention the experience of asking Lupa. The only way he could really convince them of something was by ‘mentioning’ how other little kids were still playing in the streets rolling their eyes at their mothers after being told to be home in time for dinner, whereas he was already busy perfecting his soldiers’ march. That tended to work. Maybe he should try something similar?
“So how are you? How is school? You are still taking it easy right? Arrow wound aren’t a small injury.” Apollo had taken a seat on one of the two chairs in Jason's room.
Alright Jason lay the guilt on thick. “Neither is being impaled,”
Judging by how pale Apollo's face got he was, as Apollo himself would say, playing the right chord. “but no I’m not doing any sport, or excessive fighting, right now.”
A wince
“And I’m doing good, weirdly enough I think I’m enjoying all the work. The non-war related work.”
Another wince. Well, this is easy.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Apollo absent mindedly drummed a beat on his chair as he spoke.
Jason thought that it was probably to drown out the silence. The habit reminded him of Lester, a comforting thought, sometimes he wondered if the perfectly golden guy in front of him was really the same person who risked his life for them. And then Apollo would do something with Lester level of awkwardness and it reassured Jason that it was indeed the same person who accepted him as a brother.
Apollo finally looked like he thought of something to say, another Lester-esque action, “What about Piper how is she? Are you dealing with her moving so far away? Is she dealing with it?”
“She’s happy. Apparently, there’s this one girl she gets along with particularly well. And I’m happy for her, it’s not her fault someone,” Jason shot a pointed look toward the sky,” messed with her memories like that.”
“Someone’” Apollo imitated his glare at the roof,” should really stay out of other people’s business.”
The conversation went on for longer than Jason thought it would. At one point Jason mentioned how he was learning about the American revolution, and that it actually managed to make him so sleepy, when he (finally) left the class, he didn’t remember a thing. To which Apollo gasped and proclaimed that he’d take him to see a show that, as Apollo said, was supposed to help “Not throw away his shot at getting a good grade”. Then he giggled to himself which made Jason even more confused.
‘Hurry it up and ask before my earlier hard work wears off completely’ he mentally chided himself.
Finally, Apollo sighed, “I should get going, I am supposed to be at dinner with the council in an hour. Why she thought this would be a good idea I have no clue, and I’m saying that as somewhat of an expert on good ideas.” At Jason's questioning glance he added,” Hera and Hestia thought it would be a good bonding experience, you know because most of us are actively plotting each other’s demise.”
Jason couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve been like to go to dinners with Thalia, which could still happen but it would have to wait until she was in town. Or maybe Lupa since he was with her for quite a while. Yes he complained about her, but she was still a big figure in his upbringing. A sliver of a thought also kind of wondered if he had been born immortal, like some of his half-siblings, would he be chatting with his father? Would Juno have fully played the part of his mother? Would he be asking them to let him go on stupid school trips?
Jason came back to the present when he felt an unusually warm hand on his shoulder,” Are you alright?”
How could he have possibly wondered if that would’ve been better even after seeing just what they did to his brother? After none of them showed up while he was threatening to stab himself? “Did you ever talk to them about what happened on the boat?”
Apollo seemed like he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the question, then decided to try and answer honestly (something he was supposed to be good at but struggled with sometimes.). “No, I did not. I try to avoid them most of the time, but I’ve been doing that since before the trials, I just stopped pretending about it.”
He mentally scolded himself after feeling guilty for asking about the dam boat. What was he thinking? Jason knew Apollo felt horrible over that. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier, you know about being impaled.”
“Why are you sorry? It is my fault you got hurt. I asked you to come on the quest.” Apollo said like it was the most obvious thing ever.
Jason shook his head,” No it is not. It was my choice, and I knew I would get hurt. Heck, I thought I would… you know ‘three letter word starts with d’.”
Apollo was quiet for a moment thinking about what to say to that, when he sat up straight and looked Jason in the eyes seeming to realise something, “Jason, were you trying to convince me of something?”
Jason was surprised by that question to say the least. “How did you know?"
“You were using the same technique I did when I convinced Z- I don’t want to say his name but you know who- to let Asclepius be on house arrest in my palace, you know his actual house, instead of that horrible place that made such a mocking of sweet Hygeia!” Apollo paused and collected himself, smiling ruefully, “Seems he feels the tiniest bit guilty. I can’t let that chance go to waste.”
“Did it work?” Jason asked, curious about the answer.
A small smile,” Yes, and I’m quite proud of it, but please know that you don’t have to give me high blood-ichor- pressure just to ask something.”
Jason considered for a moment then turned around looking for the paper he needed a signature on.” Can you sign this slip? It’s for a school trip, and obviously I can’t send it to-,” he took a moment then continued his sentence, edited so as to not catch unwanted attention,” Can’t send it to you know who.” He frowned hearing himself, “We sound like Harry Potter. “
Apollo walked over and put both his hands on Jason's shoulders, “No Harry Potter sounds like us.”
Returning the gesture Jason whispered, “Im not sure that's how it works-”
Apollo made an objecting noise,"Ah ah ah! I'm older and therefore wiser."
Making a pen materialize in his hands (which was entirely unnecessary, standing directly in front of Jasons desk with pens scattered over it.) ” See, now we are acting like real brothers. Now where do you need my signature? And when did you see Harry Potter?"