A/N: This was inspired by Wilhelmina Willoughby's Percabeth fic "Early Morning Sun" she posted on tumblr.

Hope she doesn't kill me for this poorly written spin off.

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, HoO, or any characters.

It must have been watching Annabeth and Percy fight in the tournament that got them into this. Leo's side business as a bookie probably had a part too.

Jason tried to talk his way out of it. Told them he didn't want to, that he was tired from traveling, and every other excuse in the book but no one wants to hear it. They all want to see a fight.

Jason was in New Rome during the tournament and Piper chose not to participate. Now they are paying for it. The others have gathered in the arena, eagerly awaiting the match between the Camp's other power couple. They are just as well known as Percy and Annabeth. Beauty Queen and the Roman, Piper hears the campers call them in hushed tones. After the fight she's going to let Leo have it for coming up with that stupid name.

Right now she has to focus on the one hundred and seventy pounds of muscle and blond hair across the arena from her. Piper tries to remember everything Annabeth has ever taught her about fighting with a dagger. She runs through stances and moves, how to parry an attack with her smaller blade, and when it's best to just move out of the way.

"Aim for his legs, you're a lot faster than he is and if you can nick his thigh it'll slow him down even more." Piper hadn't noticed Annabeth come up beside her. "And you'll need this." Annabeth extends a dagger hilt first. It's Annabeth's personal dagger.

"Thanks," Piper smiles at the gift. She knows the trust the gesture holds.

"Thank me by taking him down. We need to show the boys who's boss." Piper laughs as Annabeth says the words.

"Getting pretty serious about a sparring match aren't you?" Annabeth tilts her head forward and reiterates her statement with her storm grey eyes. "Okay, girl power or whatever." Annabeth gives her a smile and heads back to sit next to Percy.

Piper looks back at her boyfriend and tries to examine him like Annabeth would.

Jason is wearing his Roman armor, lorcia segmentata he had told her once. It's made from a series of overlapping metal bands that wrap around his torso. It gives him more flexibility than her solid bronze breastplate but a blade can be slipped between the segments. He's holding his gladius, two feet of Imperial Gold. Piper know's it's mostly used for stabbing but it can cut just as easily. He's also wearing greaves and a helmet. Piper also notices he doesn't have his normal shield with him, instead he carries a round Greek one. This is good. His Roman shield is almost as tall as he is and just as wide making it incredibly difficult to get around.

Annabeth is right. His thighs are the most vulnerable, the only part that isn't well protected. If she can get close enough she might be able to slip a blade between the segments of his armor and force him to yield. The only problem is getting inside his reach.

Jason finishes adjusting his armor and turns, catching her in the middle of strategising.

"Should I be concerned that you look like Annabeth right now?" Jason cracks a smile.

"Hey!" Both Annabeth and Percy shout from behind her.

"You should always be concerned, Sparky." She shoots back.

Jason lets out a huff of air. "Ready then?" Piper flips her grip on the blade in her left hand, now holding it point down. She shifts onto the balls of her feet and moves forward. She won't let them say she sat back and waited.

Ω

The leather grip groans and shifts under her fingers, her blade skips off his shield again. She's caught open stanced and inside his reach. Jason sees the opportunity and thrusts but Piper's quick and leaps away in time.

She can hear the campers around her but she can't make out the words. She tuned them out after the third time someone called her an "Aphrodite pretty girl" and the distraction nearly won Jason the fight. Now she's here to prove herself.

He left arm is streaked with blood from a cut at her shoulder. Her eyes burning from the sweat and salt and sand. Her hands ache from the constant jarring of metal striking metal.

Jason isn't much better. His legs sport numerous cuts and he's limping a little but he's still standing tall and keeping his sword arm high. He comes at her again and Piper pushes his thrust away with her left blade and stabs at his arm with her right. She misses and he catches her shoulder with his shield pushing her back before he attacks again.

He brings his blade down diagonally from right to left and Piper shifts out of the way, he twists his wrist and carries the momentum of the swing around to bring it down again. This time the opposite direction. Piper dodges this attack too and kicks him in the thigh, landing the blow on one of his cuts. Jason takes the hit and forces himself forward. He raises his shield to batter her with it and she ducks but instead he thrusts and his blade skims her side leaving a gouge in her armor.

In response she give his arm a quick swipe and rolls away coming up on her feet in a crouch. Another trick learned from Annabeth. While he resets his stance she circles around to his right trying to get around his shield. She dashes in but he turns his sword and Piper has to avoid impaling herself while her momentum carries her forward. They collide and Jason uses his shoulder to try and knock her down but she keeps herself steady. His next attack is a backhanded swing and Piper has to use both blades to catch the blow sending shockwaves up her arms. She steps in and slams her knee into his gut. Jason cross checks her with his forearm and opens up space between them. Then he comes at her with another thrust.

This time she sidesteps and swings with her left hand, Jason catches her arm with is elbow and slams the rim of his shield into her breastplate. Piper loses her breath and stumbles away. She falls to a knee and sucks in shallow breaths. Jason steps forward with is sword raised and Piper wonders how he can do it.

The sand is burning every inch of skin that's touching it, she's thirsty, she's tired, she just wants to close her eyes. Her bones hurt for gods sake but Jason doesn't show anything. Every minute of this damned fight he's been nothing but perfect stance and attack. He doesn't hesitate or rest or stop to breathe. That's when she sees them, the fourteen stripes on his forearm.

When she catches his eyes they seem cold instead of their normal warmth of electricity.

It's been almost two years since the war, since they met and fell in love. Two years of them being together but it's all still there. Two years can't erase the mark of the twelve that came before them.

Jason was raised like this. Sent to scratch and fight his way to the top when he was a toddler. Trained and raised as a son of Rome, as a Legionnaire, as a soldier. Piper drops her blades and wonders how many times he's had to fight someone he cares about, even if it's just training. She wants to know how many nights he went to bed tired and sore, only to get up again the next day and do it again.

Piper remembers now that he's killed a Titan by himself. That he took part in the Titan war, lead the charge on Mount Tam, and helped kill the Trojan Sea monster. That Jason always was and always will be Roman to his core.

Everyone has suffered, it's what happens to you as a demigod, but Jason's done it since he was two.

He was literally raised by wolves and had to fight ever since. He's been branded, he's owned by the Legion until he dies or leaves. Even then, even after he chooses to walk away, they still have a little piece of him and they leave their mark on his flesh to let him know that.

Suddenly Piper doesn't want to be a fighter. She's glad she's a daughter of Aphrodite, that she wasn't claimed until she was a teenager, and that she got to live a semi-normal life even if only for a little while.

Piper sinks to her other knee and lets the first tear fall. "You win. I yield." She says loud enough so at least a few of the spectators closest to her can hear.

She expects someone to cheer or boo or make some type of noise. Instead Jason kneels beside her and wraps his arms around her gently.

"Piper, what's wrong?" He whispers to her. She keeps her head down and tries to keep him from seeing the tears. "I'm sorry, Piper. I-" She lets out a single burst of laughter.

"For a son of Jupiter you're pretty dumb sometimes." She imagines that stupid confused look on his face. "You didn't hurt me."

"Then what's wrong?" It's the concern in his voice that gets to her, the fact that they were just fighting a moment ago but all he cares about is making her feel better now. She lurches into him and nearly sends them toppling over. She wraps her hand around his tattoos.

"I'm sorry." It's all she manages to say. She can't charm speak only works when she can find the right words to say and right now that isn't happening. Instead she holds him and apologises.

Ω

They're sitting in front of the campfire, her sitting between his legs while they toast marshmallows for s'mores. Piper is playing with her fingers on his arm, brushing them across his skin like she's been doing the past few minutes, when she realizes Jason is watching her.

"Sorry," she mumbles and goes to move her hand away.

"Piper," his tone stops her, "why were you tracing the letters of my tattoo?"

She glances down and realizes she was. Her fingers are pressed on top of the four black letters.

"I'm not sure." She feels horribly embarrassed but doesn't know why.

"It will always be a part of me," he squeezes her a little tighter, "but so will Camp Half-Blood. So will you." Piper blushes and hides under her face in the crook of his neck. There in his arms she thinks that maybe he still is very Roman but right now he's not at Camp Jupiter.

He's here with her.

A/N: Thanks for reading!