ᴾʰᵒᵇᵒᵖʰᵒᵇⁱᵃ [ᴶᵃˢᵒⁿ ᴳʳᵃᶜᵉ]

xviii.

If Gleeson sang 'Old MacDonald' (with weapons instead of animals) one more time, Aza was going to throttle him. It seemed Piper noticed her quick irritability, because the daughter of Aphrodite decided that they were going to have a picnic in the park, and she forced the satyr to agree, with the caveat that they stay in his vision.

Jason scoffed, "What are we, kids?"

Gleeson snorted, "Kids are baby goats. They're cute, and they have redeeming social value. You are definitely not kids."

They spread Aza's red-and-white checkered blanket under a willow tree beside the pond, and Piper used her cornucopia to spill out an entire meal - neatly wrapped sandwiches, canned drinks (Diet Coke, of course, for Aza), fresh fruit, and for some reason, a birthday cake with purple icing and already lit candles. Aza's eyebrows sewed together, "Is it someone's birthday?"

Beside her, Jason winced, "I wasn't going to say anything."

"Jason!" Aza scolded, and she slapped his bicep, "You little Roman bastard! Happy birthday!" She learned to kiss his cheek, her cheeks turning hot when she pulled away. She winced when she remembered Piper was there, and for a moment she was worried - after all, Piper had once thought she was dating the son of Jupiter, but she seemed unaffected. If anything, she seemed annoyed that Jason hadn't said anything about his birthday.

"There's too much going on," Jason shrugged, wincing when Aza lightly slapped his arm again, "And honestly, before last month, I didn't even know when my birthday was. Thalia told me the last time she was at camp."

"July First," Piper said, "The Kalends of July."

"Yeah," Jason smirked, "The Romans would find that auspicious. The first day of the month named for Julius Caesar. Juno's sacred day. Yippee."

"Sixteen?" Aza probed, and when Jason nodded she leaned forward and pinched his cheek, "Ooh, yay! I'm older than you, oh, how does it feel to finally be sixteen? You know, you missed my birthday, Boltboy. I didn't get any presents."

"Well, do you have any for me?" Jason asked, raising his eyebrows. When Aza's mouth opened and closed several times, Piper shook her hands in the air like jazz-hands and said, "You can get your driver's license!"

"Oh, boy," Jason rolled his eyes. He leaned forward and blew out the candles, and the three enjoyed their picnic. As Jason plucked an extinguished candle from his cake, and Aza chewed on cantaloupe, he said, "I've been thinking."

"I thought I smelt smoke," Aza teased. Piper reached across the blanket to nudge her and she asked, "What about, Jason?"

"Camp Jupiter," he cut a slice of cake for each of them, "All the years I trained there. We were always pushing teamwork, working as a unit. I thought I understood what that meant. But honestly? I was always the leader. Even when I was younger–"

"The son of Jupiter," Aza nodded, "Most powerful kid there. You must have been the star - like Percy was at camp. Getting all the quests, all the glory. Not that that's bad," she added quickly.

Jason fidgeted in his seat. Piper and Aza glanced at each other, but he avoided their eyes as he placed cake on both of their plates, "Being in this crew of eight... I'm not sure what to do. I'm not used to being one of so many, well, equals. I feel like I'm failing."

"You're not failing," Piper frowned. Aza reached for Jason's hand when he scoffed and looked off into the trees, "It sure felt that way when Chrysaor attacked. I've spent most of this trip knocked out and helpless."

"You were knocked out because you were a hero," Aza squeezed his hand, "and you fought. Being a hero doesn't mean you're invincible and win every battle."