AH, JULY! HOW I LOVE THEE!

Well, the Kalends are here, and we all know what that means! Fictions detailing birthday exploits of our favorite Son of Jupiter! Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the wonderful Jason Grace and/or his affiliates.

1

"Jason Grace!"

Jason sat up straighter in his seat and winced. He had forgotten. Again.

"How old are you?" Marcus, Camp Jupiter's praetor, was standing at his table, looking at him through narrowed eyes. To any outsider, it would've looked like the older boy was mad, but Jason knew that he wasn't fully serious and, if the smile lines near his eyes were any indication, only teasing.

He wasn't about to let him, though.

"Eight years old, praetor!" Jason said in as clear a voice as he could muster.

"And how long have you been eight years old?"

Drat. He had him. Jason stared down at his toes. "About seven hours and forty-two minutes."

Immediately, the breakfast hall erupted in cheers and a loud chorus of, "Happy Birthday!" Marcus sat down, laughing along with the rest of his table. Jason could hear the girls nearby cooing over how adorable that was, and if any of the boys commented on that, they would break their nose.

Jason sat down as well and slumped down in his seat.

He hated July first.

2

"Jason!"

Jason turned around, trying to bite back a sigh. He was dirty, hot, tired, and basically ready to just go take a shower and crash for the night. Training had been brutal that day, involving a lot of complex maneuvers that involved rope swings, arrows, and a large mud puddle.

"What, Bobby?" he asked his friend as the other boy came running up to him, armor hitting his body uncomfortably.

Bobby bent over double, trying to catch his breath, mainly because he'd been sprinting in full armor from the arena to the barracks. When he managed to get enough air into his lungs, he straightened up and grinned at his slightly shorter friend. "Did you think I forgot?"

"Forgot?" Jason wasn't really paying particular attention, concentrating more on the fact that he had dried mud between his helmet and caking his hair. "Forgot about what?"

"Your birthday, doofus!" Bobby exclaimed, playfully shoved Jason with his shoulder. "One only turns twelve once, my son." He stopped, and looked at Jason, half-incredulous, half-concerned. "You didn't say anything to anyone else?"

"I didn't think it was that important," Jason muttered. So that's what this was all about. His birthday. Great.

"Not important?" Bobby looked surprised. "Were you ever even a kid, Grace?"

"Sometimes I highly doubt it," Jason grumbled under his breath, tugging his armor straps free and tossing the pieces onto his bed.

3

Thirteen is an unlucky number, right?

Really, Jason didn't know why this thought came to mind on the first day of July. Maybe it was because Romans were mildly superstitious (though Jason didn't think of himself as that type), maybe it was because he was leading his first quest soon, or maybe it was because he really didn't want to be awake at six in the morning.

Whichever it was, he still found himself getting up, getting dressed, and heading down to the breakfast hall.

As soon as he walked in, Dakota was at his side, guiding him to their table.

"Dakota, what-" Jason tried to protest, but Dakota was very, very determined. "I can walk by myself, Kota!"

"Ta-da!" Dakota proclaimed grandly, stepping back and letting Jason look at the tabletop in front of him.

Pancakes. A lovely golden brown stack sat in front of him, melted butter and sweet syrup wafting through the air. A circle of candles sat on the edge of the top pancake, flames flickering in the wind of the aurae. A couple of wrapped packages sat around the plate, and a balloon was tied to the back of Jason's chair.

"Um," Jason said.

"Eloquent as always, Grace," Reyna assured him, slipping into her chair across from him.

Dakota was looking like a kid on Christmas morning. "Blow your candles out!"

"Seriously, Jason?" Bobby came up behind them, shaking his head. He clapped Jason on the shoulder. "Are you expecting us to forget about your birthday or something? Cause it's never gonna happen."

"I just..." Jason trailed off, shaking his head. "Why?"

"Because you're our friend, idiot," Dakota said. "You've never forgotten any of our birthdays, so what makes you think we'll forget yours?"

Because I wish I could, Jason thought. He didn't have time for any more of that, because all of a sudden, Dakota and Bobby were shoving him into his seat and standing up on the table, leading the room in singing "Happy Birthday" while Reyna laughed and licked syrup off of Jason's candles.

Jason dropped his head to the table and groaned, so his friends wouldn't see him smile.

4

Jason slashed forwards with his sword, kicking a member of the First Cohort back and landing a well-placed hit on another's helmet. He dodged someone else's spear and ducked under the battlements, scampering up to the top of the fortress where the water cannons should have been firing all over the place.

There was nothing, which was weird, but he figured that the other offensive cohorts were doing their job... and that he was actually a halfway decent swordsman now ("halfway decent" meaning, of course, that he was the "best freaking guy with a sword that ever lived," according to Dakota).

Besides the absence of water cannons, the First was playing defense fiercely on the ground below, the lower cohorts acting as a distraction so that a few of their members, Jason included, could get the flag... which, as of that moment, was only being guarded by two people.

One of which included Reyna. Well. Fan-freaking-tastic.

It wasn't that he couldn't beat Reyna at swordplay-because he could. He just... didn't want to.

It looked like that wasn't going to be a choice, because Reyna had spotted him and had her sword drawn. Jason sighed, and charged her.

Now, Reyna wasn't the best opponent Jason had ever gone up against, but she was certainly one of the fiercest, which also made her quick. Jason had a hard time keeping up with her sure deft, movements.

Slowly but surely, though, he managed to get her turned around, making it so he had his back to the flag and she had hers to the other fighting. He disarmed her in one fluid movement, leaving Reyna gasping and defenseless. He twisted his body, lunging for the flag, closing his hand around the pole just as Reyna tackled him and they went sailing off of the battlements.

Jason hit the dirt ground hard, Reyna landing on top of him, knocking all the air from his lungs. When the spots cleared from his vision, he registered the offensive cohorts cheering, and Reyna laughing on top of him, and his hand still closed around the flagpole.

"Good game," he gasped.

Reyna got up, holding out her hand for Jason to take. "I let you win, y'know."

"What?" Jason said, staggering a bit.

"You really didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

"What?"

"Happy Birthday, Jason," Reyna said, laughing and striding away.

Jason stared after her. "What?"

5

"Hello?" Jason called, wandering into the barracks. The lights were out, and no one seemed to be inside, so Jason took advantage of the silence.

He slumped against the wall and rubbed a hand over his face. The war was... well, it was coming. And it would be hard. They were training more than ever, and being sent on more quests, with monster attacks coming in more and more frequently. Sometimes, Jason felt he was being singled out. There was that prophecy printed on the floor of the augury, and the fact that the praetors often kept him behind for extra sparring. Jason had a feeling that he was being conditioned for some role that he didn't really want to take.

In a nutshell, he was exhausted, and just wanted to be alone for a while-

"SURPRISE!"

Jason jumped as the lights went on and dropped his helmet. Standing where he thought there had been no one was the entire Fifth Cohort, as well as some of his friends from the others as well, meaning that the barrack was super crowded. In front of the people was a table with a bunch of balloons, a cake, and some gifts laid out on it.

"Oh my gods," Jason gasped as he reached down and picked up his helmet with shaky hands. "You guys scared me."

"That was sort of the point," Dakota said, standing on a chair to fix some streamers.

Jason looked around. "What is all this?"

"Your surprise birthday party, dummy," Reyna said, linking her arm through Jason's.

"My what?" Jason asked. "Wait... what day is it?"

"July first," Bobby told him, looking slightly concerned. "Your birthday. You know... the day you were born?"

"Oh," Jason said. "Oh... right. Of course."

"You actually forgot, didn't you?" Reyna asked, dragging Jason in front of her to examine him. What she saw must not have made her happy, because she commented further. "Jason, are you okay?"

"Me?" Jason said, looking around at everything. "Yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine." He mustered up a smile. "Thanks, guys."

+1

"Jason?"

Jason turned from where he was coming out of the Big House, face splitting into a grin. "Thalia!" He gave his sister a hug. "When did you get here?"

Thalia smiled. "Just a few minutes ago, little brother." She ruffled his hair. "So... how are things with our Saving Grace?"

Jason rolled his eyes at the nickname. "Same old, same old. My memories are slowly coming back, Leo's driving everyone crazy, and the Argo II is pretty close to being done. Percy'll be home before anyone can blink!" And I will be too.

"Percy..." Thalia mused with a smile. "As much as I hate to admit it, I've missed him. Sort of." She glanced at Jason. "He's just the type of guy who... gets under your skin and into your heart and doesn't let go. Ever. I swear, he's like a parasite." She flung an arm around Jason's shoulders. "Kinda like you."

Jason laughed. "I hope so... otherwise, I'd hate to see the mess we'd make."

Thalia nodded. "He and I were the same way. There were times where I would hate him and want to murder him in his sleep, but he's also one of the best friends I'll ever have. You two are a lot alike, Jason. And I think you'll get along fine."

Jason smiled. "Thanks, Thals."

Thalia grinned back, then stopped. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She reached behind her back and pulled a silver wrapped package from her quiver.

Jason took it, turning it over in his hands. "What's this for?"

"It's your birthday present," Thalia explained. "You know, a gift you get because you were born? I'm not sure if I'll see you before then, so I thought I'd give it to you now."

Jason stared down at the gift, not saying a word, his mind filling with images that pressed against the back of his eyes, making his head throb.

"Jason?" Thalia placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I..." Jason sat down heavily on the Big House's steps. "... when?"

"When... oh." Thalia sat down beside him, eyes shining with sympathy and sadness. "You don't remember when your birthday is, do you?"

Jason shook his head, his throat feeling hot and thick.

"It's okay, little brother. I remember." She took his hands in hers. "You were born during a thunderstorm."

"Really?" Jason murmured.

"Really." Thalia laughed softly. "July first. There was thunder and lightning and this small baby boy that had just appeared out of nowhere. I remember staying with our neighbor, and she brought me to the hospital to meet you."

"What was her name?" Jason asked, desperate for any part of his past he could grasp.

"Mrs. Rodriguez," Thalia said. "She was a tall, thin, Hispanic woman who shouted too much but made the best brownies in the universe. And she took me to see my new baby brother." Thalia sighed. "You were so cute, all pink skin and blonde wisps of hair and bright, bright blue eyes that shown up at me. You were so little, and you didn't have that scar yet." She poked at Jason's upper lip gently. "Completely unblemished, and pure. Mom let me hold you, and I don't think I ever put you down again after that."

Something inside Jason stirred, and he almost thought he could feel warm arms around him and see identical blue eyes peering down lovingly. "That's... that's amazing, Thalia. Thank you."

Thalia shrugged. "It's your birthday, little brother. I figure I owe you for missing the last fourteen of them."

"It wasn't your fault," Jason told her. He relaxed his grip on the package he had been holding so tightly the paper had ripped a bit.

"I know," Thalia said. "But I still wish I could've been there."

Jason nodded. "I do too." He fell silent for a minute. "July first, right? That's my birthday?"

"July first," Thalia said. "In the middle of a thunderstorm."

THE END

And there we go! A lovely birthday fic for Jason Grace.

I love writing this guy.

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