My Boyfriend is a Dead Roman Hero | Jason Grace

Jason's First Warning

Jason is tired.

It's been almost a year since he woke up on that bus. Almost a year since he had any idea who he is or what he's really supposed to be doing.

For a while, he's felt like things are on track. He has friends he would die for, a girlfriend who loves him, and a quest that gives him purpose. As long as he has those things, it doesn't really matter what he was before. But, once those things are gone...Jason has no plan for what he's meant to be after.

To storm or fire, the prophecy says.

It's possible that Jason won't even have an after. If he does, though...Well, he has plenty to think about.

Camp Halfblood would take him in. He has Cabin 1 there if he needs it once this is all over. He has Juliette and Piper and Leo. Even Annabeth has been looking at him with less and less suspicion with every passing day. That solution seemed like a no brainer until Reyna showed up.

Jason doesn't remember her, just for the record. But, he remembers that she's important to him.

Seeing Reyna up there on the prow of the ship, dwarfed in one of his spare SPQR shirts yet still radiating authority, he got flashes of scenes from their past - times he's seen her look the same: clasping that purple cape around her shoulders for the first time upon her promotion to praetor, looking up at that stern, yet pleased expression after she finished feeding him colosseum sand for breakfast.

He knows that they were friends. He knows they were siblings in arms. Maybe that's why he feels he owes it to her to have this conversation before she's out of reach again.

"Do you have everything you need?" Jason asks, walking alongside Reyna as she heads towards to Athena Parthenos to depart.

She adjusts the fastenings of her arm braces, frowning at them like they aren't being very cooperative. "I believe so," Reyna says stiffly. She finishes tightening her newly repaired armor back down and comes to a stop beside the statue. None of her party has arrived yet. She turns to Jason and folds her hands behind her back. "What can you tell me about my companions?"

Jason thinks. "Well, Nico's great. He'll have your back, even if he won't admit it. He's very powerful, just not very friendly. Hedge..." He winces. "Just, keep him away from explosives, and you'll be fine."

Reyna nods.

The evening is cool out. The sun is almost completely behind the rolling hills on the horizon. Juliette is probably inside fussing over Nico before she lets him escape into the night. Hedge is likely buffing one of the dents out of his baseball bat or something. It should be just the two of them up here for a little longer.

"Reyna, listen-"

She holds up a hand, and Jason stops. Her eyes are narrowed.

"I don't need your explanations, former praetor Grace. The gods' plans are beyond mortal understanding," She says stiffly.

Jason looks down. Reyna's military boots are gleaming and toed with Imperial Gold. His worn grey sneakers look silly across from them.

"Maybe so," He grants her. "But, maybe I need to say them. To you. Even if you don't need to hear them."

Reyna frowns at him, catlike eyes flicking back and forth between his own like she's deciding if he's tricking her or not. Whatever sign she's looking for, she must not find it. With a hesitant purse of her lips, Reyna nods for Jason to continue.

"Thank you," He says in relief. Jason straightens his back, sets his jaw, and pushes down his emotions. "In December, I awoke on a school bus in Arizona with no memory of who I was. Not even my name. I was with Piper and Leo, who you met in New Rome," Reyna's face darkens at the mention of the son of Hephaestus, but Jason presses on. "They told me that I was Jason. That I was fifteen years old. But, it wasn't until my first night at Camp Halfblood that I remembered even my parentage."