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Thunder rumbled in the distance and Piper watched as her boyfriend basked in the sound. His eyes slipped closed and a small but noticeable smile grew on his face.
Her heart did a stupid little skip at the sight of him leaning back against a tree, completely relaxed. He was in the middle of the camp with his hands buried in his pockets while the rest of the camp was either bundled up in the Dining Pavilion or holed up in their respective cabins in wait of the forecasted storm. But not Jason.
As she studied her boyfriend, she could still see the sweat beading along his forehead from the sword fighting he’d been participating in earlier. His glasses slightly fogged from the perspiration. He’d creamed everyone, and while Percy had put up a good fight, being a natural at sword fighting, he was still no match for Jason’s twelve years of training in the legion.
She walked up to him with a smile of her own, “What are you thinking about, Sparky?” She asked quietly, trying not to disturb the peace. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he opened his eyes and beamed down at her, pure golden retriever energy radiating from his entire being.
“Hey Pipes,” He greeted enthusiastically, “Not much…” he trailed off, fumbling for an answer.
The ends of her mouth turned down slightly and her eyebrows furrowed, “Everything alright Jason?” She prodded softly.
He nodded quickly to reassure her, “I’m fine, Pipes. Just…” His eyes got a faraway look, “memories.”
Her brows furrowed again, he hadn’t had any flashbacks in over a month “From?” She asked cautiously.
He chuckled sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck, looking away from her, “Um, before Camp Jupiter…”
Her eyes widened in surprise, “Oh.”
He winced lightly and muttered, “Yeah…”
“Not that it’s bad!” She rushed to reassure her partner. “Can I ask..?” She prompted.
He licked his lips and swallowed in apprehension. “Yeah…” he whispered, then cleared his throat. “Um… I… I don’t know what time it was, or when it was or… I- I was two and half maybe? But it was right before a storm and we, um… me and my mum, I mean, we were standing on the verandah of our apartment and watching it roll in.” He got that far away look in his eyes again, and Piper watched fascinated as her boyfriend’s eyes lit up behind his golden framed glasses.
He continued, “We could see the lightning flashing in the clouds, short sharp strikes. It was mainly chain lightning that I could’ve sworn we could see hitting the ground.” He exhaled sharply, almost a laugh but not quite, “We could hear the rain and the thunder booming, it was shaking the building! And I could smell the rain and the wind was freezing, whipping around us and mums hair kept hitting me in the face.” He chuckled wetly, “Sh- she was holding me against her hip, just whispering little things in my ear. But she said one thing that, um…” he trailed off again as he swallowed.
Piper squeezed his waist comfortingly, “What did she say?” She prompted softly, wanting to know.
He sighs, smiles and repeats. “Never fear a storm, Jason, it's your father saying that he loves you.” He sniffled, “I remember being so impressed and saying something along the lines of ‘Daddy sent the storm?!’ Mum laughed, I think it’s the only time I remember her actually laughing, and she just pulled me into her really tight.” He licked his lip and tilted his face down as if to hide from her. “I- I don’t actually even know if it’s real.” He whispered, frowning.
Pipers heart cracked slightly, she turned herself into her boyfriend and just cuddled into him, trying to offer her warmth. He pulled her into him and rested his chin on top of her head. She vowed in her head that her boyfriend would never doubt his memories with her for as long as she could help it. She pressed a kiss into his shoulder and felt him relax minutely.
They stayed that way until the rain came, pouring down on them, before finally making their way to the Dining Pavillon, greeting the rest of the seven who shot them knowing looks as they remained intertwined with each other.