Uncomfortable Truths - Jercy, Jasiper, Percabeth

Uncomfortable Truths - Laid Bare - Jason

The streets of New Rome are bright and bustling with people when we arrive. The smells are so familiar, the warmth, and I'm not really paying attention to any of it. Even Terminus gave me a few suggestions about getting my head out of the clouds and I'm pretty sure that's what Piper was teasing me about before she popped into the grocery store.

I stand with my back to the brick wall of the grocers, lost in my own head.

We've been staying in Piper's dad's Los Angeles apartment the past couple of weeks while waiting for Charon to grant me an audience. The pontifex maximus gig has been rewarding, but it keeps me constantly on the move. I was half-relieved that Charon turned out to be a bit of LA executive-type asshole and Piper and I had a chance to slow down a bit before dealing with his representation at the camps.

Last night was pretty heavy. We packed up all our gear and went to bed where we talked about why me hooking up with Percy isn't going to ruin our relationship. I'm a pretty straight-laced guy, what can I say? It's gonna take some time before I truly buy it. But hearing her complain about how she feels like she's falling short in the bedroom makes me want to do anything possible to find a solution. I admit, it's a hard pill for me to swallow when she says things like that, with the way she acts afraid of my size. I mean, it's hard for me to just drop my need to be in control when I feel like I'm scaring her just because of how my body happens to be. We've definitely got problems, but what couple doesn't? Still, the idea that she's going to Hylla for help makes me nervous. All right, really it's just Hylla that makes me nervous. She looks so much like Reyna but is about ten times as fierce and twenty times less willing to compromise when there's a man involved.

I tell myself it's just my fear talking. After agreeing that what we're planning with Percy and Hylla is actually constructive in that we'll each be able to have our unfulfilled needs met - then when we're together we'll be able to focus on all the other things we love about each other without dissatisfaction getting in the way - we held each other all night. Our kisses were sweet, loving, real. I know marriage isn't in our immediate future, but after glimpsing what our future looks like during the battle in Athens, seeing our grandchildren ... I think we both know how we'll end up. I can't help but smile at the thought. It's sort of like a security thing and makes dealing with the issues we've got now feel less scary.

A bell rings loud against the quiet afternoon, and I watch as a swarm of children race onto the playground from the brick elementary school across the street. A generation of legacies. In the very back of my memory, I remember going to classes at the school in the early days before they realized I was a son of Jupiter and integrated me into the twelfth legion. I'm not sure life in New Rome is what I'd want for my kids, but it really is too soon to be thinking about that right now.

I jump when Piper touches my shoulder. She laughs at me and pulls me by the hand, a shopping bag slung over her other arm. "C'mon, Sparky. Aren't you a little bit excited?"

My stomach squirms and I'm not sure if it's indigestion from the chicken sandwiches we wolfed down earlier or nerves. I shrug and grunt noncommittally. "Dunno. What's in the bag?"

"Changing the subject, huh? Well, I picked up some munchies for Annabeth and myself for our girls night in. So don't get your hopes up."

She lets go of my hand and slings her arm around my waist as we keep walking toward the end of the main street. We walk in silence for a couple of minutes until the imposing tapered roofs of the University are within sight, just a couple of blocks south. "You have to miss him a little, Jason," Piper says, her voice softer than usual. "He's your best friend."

She stops talking and I know why. I swallow past a huge lump in my throat at her accidental replacement of Leo. We haven't talked much about him the past couple of years, and I do admit that once Percy and I started getting to know each other, Leo had kind of slipped out of the best friend spot without me realizing it. I can't help feeling like I deserve being taken down a few pegs.