the great wave | percy jackson

𝑥𝑣𝑖𝑖 - jason

"AUUUUUUUURRRGHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Oh, how tired Jason was getting of being woken up by screaming. Before his eyes were even fully open he'd leapt to his feet, squinting into the bright sunlight that now bathed the room, wait, wtf, why was everything gold???, to see a familiar satyr wreaking havoc before him.

"Coach is awake," Leo told him, which was kind of unnecessary. Hedge was capering around on his furry hindquarters, swinging his club and yelling "DIE!" as he smashed a 24-karat tea set and bashed the shiny sofas.

"GLEESON!" Golden fringed pillows flew everywhere when Ash suddenly stood up out of her sleeping fort to come and step in front of the raging satyr, which Jason thought was pretty brave considering they were about the same height, barring the horns. Hedge was just rearing back to punt her head like a baseball when his burly arms froze.

"Tran?" The coach blinked, and then to the trio's utter surprise the two were suddenly hugging fiercely, a five-foot-nothing OOMPH of an embrace while Ash laughed, blabbering about 'it's so good to see you,' and Hedge dropped his club, pounding her back. When they pulled away, it was like Leo, Piper, and Jason simply didn't exist anymore. The satyr put his hands on Ash's shoulders and checked her out like a mama goat searching for ticks, shooting rapid-fire questions.

"What are you doing here, cupcake? Got anything for me to fight? Ain't ya supposed to be taking time off? Oh, I see, you finally ditched that little boyfriend of yours, didn'cha? Now that's what I'm talking about! I never liked Jackson anyways, unashamedly handsy, that boy..."

Ash's face was turning red, Leo and Jason were exchanging looks of mixed 'scuse me? and damn, respect, while Piper looked like she was trying not to laugh. She decided against it, however, when Ash cleared her throat and ducked her head. "No, Gleeson. That's actually why I'm here, kind of. He's uh... he's missing."

"Missing?" The coach blinked before scratching his head and snorting. "Missing some braincells, that's for sure."

"Coach," Ash groaned, and there was a note of desperation in her voice that made him look at her more seriously. "It isn't a joke. He's gone. He disappeared. He–" She choked up at the end and Hedge put his arm around her shoulders.

"Ah, cupcake, you know I'm just teasin'. Look, if there's one thing I know from watching you two dance around each other these past five years, it's that boy will chase you anywhere. You'll find him. Promise."

Ash sniffed and wiped her eyes quickly as the three other demigods looked on in sympathy and Hedge gave her a little squeeze. She smiled and nodded, and with one last ruffle of her hair the Coach finally turned to the rest of the group, eyes locking on Jason.

"Now, who were you again?"

₪₪₪

Coach was pretty disappointed to hear that their quest actually wasn't a rescue mission for him, but nevertheless very willing and ready to help them out on the rest of the journey after they'd filled him in. So willing and ready, in fact, that when the owners of the mansion they'd too-literally crashed in walked into the room, he immediately charged at them yelling "DIE! DIE!"

"Woah, Coach!" Jason said, grabbing one of his arms. It took him, Leo, and Piper to hold the ornery goat back. "Bring it down a few notches."

Why wasn't Ash helping? Oh, because she was sputtering in shock at the two men who'd just walked in, an old dude in a bathrobe and a younger man in a Cornhuskers t-shirt.

"You!" She exclaimed, immediately unsheathing her sword and leveling it at the boy her age's throat.

The curly dark-haired man smirked and Jason immediately found himself bristling. The dude carried a wicked sword and was positively ripped, with a chiseled face that would have been handsome if it wasn't shredded by scars. He had as many or more than Ash did, which put Jason on edge-- clearly he'd won a lot of hard fights.