Join Us - A Pirate's Life is Best

Chapter 30 : Reunited

Travis' POV

Travis and Katie had stayed almost silent as the ship pulled into the river back home. Travis decided to simply appreciate the fact he was returning, not just with the girl he loved, but also with his little brother's best friend.

In fact, while the others all stood at the bow of the ship, Travis had taken Katie to the crow's nest, taking in the beautiful sights, while simply standing together in silence.

"Connor's gonna kill me, y'know." Travis broke the silence with a whisper. "For not telling him Miranda's coming back with us."

"I think he'll be too overcome with joy. You know what those two are like, they do everything together." Katie assured him, her voice as quiet as his, almost as if they were being watched, though both knew that was not the case.

"Yeah, but it's been so long... what if they don't get along as well?" The topic had been bothering Travis for a while.

"We worked it out, didn't we?" Katie squeezed his hand slightly. "They will as well, I'm sure of it."

"I hope so..." 

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see his brother again as well." Katie whispered, leaning her head onto Travis' shoulder.

"He'll probably try lighting a literal fire under my ass." Travis muttered, but he couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing his little brother again.

"I might help him." Katie chuckled.

"Please don't." Travis did not want to be reminded of the last time Katie and Connor had worked together to prank him. While it had resulted in a first date with Katie, it was terribly embarrassing and he did not want to relive it.

The two chuckled slightly, before a calm and comfortable silence fell over them. "What are we gonna do about the huts?" Katie suddenly asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Does Chiron actually allow multiple people that aren't siblings sleep in the same cabins now? Or is that still not allowed?"

"That was a rule?" Travis chuckled.

"Of course you didn't know." Katie groaned, but she was smiling nonetheless.

"Well I knew about it at first, but Reyna and Thalia slept in the same cabin all the time, didn't they?" Travis said

"Yeah, that's because they threatened to dig a tunnel under their cabins to combine them if they weren't allowed." Katie explained. "I was in the room when that conversation happened. It was quite hilarious."

"It must've been." Travis laughed. "Chiron really never had any control over the two, did he?"

"I think he just likes them a lot, and he knew they would've gone through with it. He was doing them a favour, really."

"Very true. I can't believe they haven't been dating since the moment they met, I mean, it pretty much was love at first sight, wasn't it?"

"How long did it take you to admit your feelings to me again?" Katie smirked.

Travis blushed. "Shut up, you could've said something yourself." He muttered.

"You were the one constantly pranking me to get my attention." Katie shot back, nudging his shoulder with her head.

"Hey, those pranks were very good, and you weren't the only one I was pranking!" Travis complained.

"You pranked me at least once every day!" Katie noted. "The others got pranked like... once a week." She added after thinking for a moment.

"You were the easier target." Travis tried sparing his embarrassment, but, while his statement was true, he knew that deep down, Katie was right anyways.

"Don't deny it, Stoll." Katie scolded jokingly. "I love you anyways." She added, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good to know." Travis smiled broadly. "I love you too, Katie-Kat." He said with a smile, turning sideways to kiss her properly.

"Oi lovebirds!" Thalia's voice pierced the sky and made Travis jump slightly. "Tour's over! We're gonna dock at Camp now!"

"And?" Travis muttered quietly.

"What she's trying to say is: Get down here!" Percy yelled.

"Ah, right." Travis chuckled lightly. "We're coming!" He shouted.

He wasn't quite sure, but he could've sworn he heard Nico say "That's what she said."

"Took you two long enough." Reyna chuckled as the two landed on the deck. 

"Yeah, anyways, does anyone at Camp know we're here yet?" Katie asked.

"I don't think so, we're a few days early, even with all the time we spent training Jace and Hazel with their powers." Thalia answered as they got off the boat and hopped onto the beach Travis had missed so much.

"Seeing as y'all are as sneaky as a pack of wild chimpanzees, I do know you're here, punks." A familiar voice growled from behind them. 

Travis turned to see Clarisse sitting in her wheelchair, a new, black leather eyepatch covering her left eye.

"Been a while, Reyna, good to see you've found your way back home, and you as well, Gardner girls." Clarisse grunted, moving towards them.

How she managed to move along sand in her wheelchair, which contained around two tonnes of hidden weapons, was a mystery that still baffled Travis, and would most likely baffle him forever.

While they moved towards her to introduce the new-ish arrivals, there was a loud grunt as Miranda was suddenly tackled by someone who could only be Connor. 

"Con! I missed you too, but I've got sand everywhere now!" Miranda screeched as the two rolled around the beach in a tight embrace.

"Thank the gods you brought her back, the kid's been driving me crazy. I'd get up to hit him, but I'm missing a few key body parts to do that." Clarisse said with a grave chuckle.

Suddenly and without warning, Travis felt a sharp pain in the side of his head. "Why didn't you tell me you were bringing her back?" Connor asked, sounding angry, but when Travis turned around, he saw that his brother was grinning like Christmas and his birthday had come at the same time.

"Thought you might like the surprise." Travis replied. "Ouch, by the way." He added, rubbing the side of his head.

"No, you deserve that." Connor said flatly, turning around to grab Miranda by the hand and run away with her. "Good to see you, see you later." He said quickly.

"Yeah, missed you too, Connor!" Reyna shouted.

"There goes that, I guess." Thalia said with a chuckle. "Where's Chiron, Clarisse?" 

"In the Big House, I think. I'm not sure though, he might be at the bar or in the forest as well. Last I saw him, he was in the Big House though, so that's where you should start." Clarisse answered.

"No need." A voice bellowed from the left, one that Travis had heard so many times before, and it could belong to only one person: Chiron. "I'm right here!"

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AN: Two uploads in less than two days? Who am I??? All jokes aside, hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope I'll get another chapter done in the next few days.