How many fingers in a room of small children? Well, there are about as many predicted reactions and results for our little Piper-likes-Jason-Jason-may-or-may-like-Reyna-and-/-or-Piper-and-Reyna-is-just-confusing situation. So here's another one I haven't heard of much.

Writen for Words Like Water, Prompt Entry: Line

Disclaimer: I refuse to have a disclaimer! Why do I have to tell them that I don't own the Heroes of Olympus or Jason or Reyna or anything? Why do they need to know that the real owner is Rick Riordan, hun? Why? The public can believe what they want to believe! Which is why I will have no disclaimer. Take that society.

As child of Jupiter, Jason had never been a big fan of Hera, but his dislike was getting ridiculous. Thalia would be proud- or maybe not. Depending what way she saw things. She just had to make things so complicated when they were already so complex they'd give a polyglot rocket scientist a headache.

Okay; so after remembering who in Rome Reyna was… Well, he quickly realised that any bit of leading on he might have given Piper was a horrible, terrible mistake. He'd talked to her sooner than later. That was the right thing to do, right? That's what he'd thought- but apparently Piper would have rather not heard it.

So after 8 months of her clearly not talking to him and showing no sign of wanting to any time soon (soon meaning next decade), they got to Rome.

If Jason were a dying man and he really did get a flash of the best day of his life, it would have to be that day.

Sure; it'd started off really badly. The Romans had circled the ship fully armed- but the one thing he'd told the others to calm them down was that they weren't shooting. That had given hope to Jason. If they were hostile- they wouldn't wait. Roman motto was basically 'just shoot the dang ennemy and move it'.

They'd waited, the cohort that had circled them had waited, but not too long until a party of people in togas came from the senate. Reyna was in the lead, walking fast with long strides in a way that made people clear a path for her before she did it herself. There was another guy besides her, Percy Jackson, but Jason wasn't all that focused on him right now (leave that to Annabeth). She'd raised her hand and yelled in Latin for them to lower their spears, and looked up.

"Are you going to stay in that ship forever?" She called up tauntingly, directly at him. Jason waited for nothing more before jumping overboard and landing it perfectly. He'd held Reyna like she was the one who might slip away. Reyna hugged him the same way except when they'd let go she's punched him in the arm.

"Don't do that again." She said sternly. Jason replied that he wouldn't dream of it. Percy and Annabeth were kissing and Jason couldn't help but smile for her. She'd become a good friend in the last few months and Jason only knew the tip of the iceberg about how much she really had missed Percy.

Everything had settled down, they'd toured New Rome, the Greeks had watched muster, etc, etc. Everything was good.

That night, Jason and Reyna were walking back to the praetors' houses.

"Whoa- where are you going?" Reyna had asked when he'd held his hand out for the door's handle.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not done with you Grace, get your butt over here." Reyna said drawing her dagger. Jason smiled and drew his gladus. Sparring. Every night, at sunset when they really were alone… Oh gods, he'd missed that.

It was about an hour later that they were lying in the grass around the houses and looking at the stars. There were always more stars in New Rome- in a place where Ancient ways still existed. It was beautiful, but Jason was really focused on the weight on his chest. And he wasn't talking about Reyna's head.

"Rey," he said. "I've got to tell you something."

"What?" She asked. Jason sighed. Thank the gods he could still get away with calling her Rey- he could count the people who could on a hand. Even some of her best friends couldn't.

"It's sort of important."

She sat up and turned around to look at him.

"Okay, I'm listening." She said. Jason sat up too.

"Percy didn't have any memory when he got here, right?"

"No," Reyna said. "Of course not. He remembered Annabeth, but that's about it."

"Right." Jason said. "Well, I didn't have any memory either. But… The people around of me sort of did. The kids in the school bus-"

"Right, Piper and Leo."

"Yes," he said. "Piper and Leo."

"So- they thought you were a mass murderer? Juvenile terrorist? Schizophrenic? Monster?" Reyna asked. "Personally I think Juveline Terrorist was your best title so far."

"Funny. But no. Leo thought he was my friend, which was true. And Piper…" this was the hard part, and he saw in her eyes that Reyna was suddenly bracing for something. "Piper thought I was her boyfriend."

She raised an eyebrow above her eyes, dark like obsidian. And like obsidian, they threw off most attempts to figure out how she felt, or how things were going. Unless you were Jason, then you read her wel, and you were really confused right now because she didn't care.

"Mmm-hmm…" She said. "And?"

"And what?"

"What does that change? Are you breaking up with me?"

"No!" Jason protested.

"Okay, then let me lie down again." She said.

"You're not, like, mad?" Jason said. He still had trouble figuring her out, and he knew her best. He'd expected her to chew it out for not remembering her, for this, for that, for whatever. Leo had said the same thing (although more in the lines of 'she's good with weapons? Good luck man').

"Well, I have a sudden desire to run you through with a sword." Reyna said. "But that's been happening all day and it's just because you're such an idiot getting yourself kidnapped, which means that I've been missing an idiot for the last 8 months. Honestly Grace, I couldn't care less about other girls liking you. News flash; I've been dealing with that forever. Have you told her it wasn't happening?"

"Yes."

"Have you apologised for the confusion?"

"Yes."

"So let me lie down again. Honestly Grace, life is so simple; why do you insist on making it complicated? Have you been chewing yourself out about this? Gods of Olympus… What am I going to do with you?"

And so they lied down again, and kept starring at the sky.

Reyna was wrong; everything was complicated. He was still going to have to go on the Argo II, he was still going to have to figure out this weird prophecy, get people to cooperate, fight a war, kill giants, make himself worthy to convince his father to open the doors of Olympus…

But lying there with Reyna close bye, having her near him, hearing her voice, looking at a zillion stars… Well, he was making it complicated.