That night, though, Cressida couldn't sleep. And it wasn't just because she might see her father tomorrow.
She was dressed in a black camisole and orange camp half-blood sweat shorts when she ripped the covers off her body and padded across the hall to push open a door.
Percy was already awake as she slipped inside and closed the door.
"Cress?" he said groggily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Everything ok? Are we there yet?"
"No," she answered. "We're not there yet. And, uh, I just couldn't sleep," she said, and Percy just stretched out his arm, beckoning her forward.
"Come here."
He lifted the blankets as she crawled into his bed, Percy's cabin smelling like a sea breeze just like his one back home. Annabeth and Cressida had made it this perfect mix of his cabin and his bedroom in Manhattan. It had felt like home the second he stepped inside. Cressida had even put some framed photos on his dresser. One of him and his mom and Paul. And one of Cressida sticking her tongue out at the camera as Percy kissed her cheek.
He moved that photo to his bedside table.
He held her close as he covered her with the blanket, her face nuzzling into his neck.
"I will warn you," Percy said, still sleepy. "If Coach catches us, I'm blaming you."
She gave a small laugh. "Again, you have no sense of adventure."
"Do you want to go back to your cabin?"
"As if you of all people would actually kick me out of your bed."
"Good point," he said as he hugged her closer if it was even possible. "Talk to me," he instructed, figuring it would distract her from whatever was preventing her from sleeping.
"About what?"
He thought for a second. "Your tattoo. When did that happen?"
He felt her chest deflate as she took a deep breath. "I was staying at your mom's house when Pollux showed up. It was his twentieth birthday. For as long as I can remember, he and Castor had a deal. When they both turned twenty, they wanted to get tattoos, why twenty, I don't know, but they weren't allowed to tell anyone what they were getting. They were going to find out what it was once they were done."
She had to pause for a moment, as Percy rubbed her back.
"Castor, clearly isn't here anymore, but Polly still wanted to do it. I'm sixteen. I could get a tattoo with parental consent. And even if your mother didn't pretend that I was her daughter I would've made the tattoo artist do it either way. Both she and Paul were with us when we got them done. And we both ended up getting the same thing."
Percy traced the cursive script that was inked on the back of her shoulder.
"Pollux has his over his heart. The other half of him. But, one of the last things my brother said to me before he died...was that he had my back. So, I figured, why not make it literal?"
Percy kissed her hair as it all finally made sense.
"Sleep," he told her. "Sleep, because I promise you, I swear it on the Styx, that I'm still going to be here when you wake up in the morning."
Her fingers gripped his skin tighter since he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Unless Coach catches us and kills me for even thinking about putting my hands on you."
She smacked his back. "Not funny."
"I'm sorry," he said but there was amusement in his voice. "Go to sleep, Grape Girl. I'm not going anywhere."
And despite the obvious fear that had her shaking in his arms, eventually, the sound of Percy's steady heartbeat, coupled with the slow music he turned on by hitting a button on the headboard of his bunk - let's just say that his girlfriend opened his eyes to various types of music in the five years she'd known him - Cressida fell into the most peaceful and dreamless sleep she'd hand in months.
******************************************************************
Cressida woke up extremely refreshed before she tore herself out of Percy's arms to quickly get ready for the day. He'd kept his word and she'd woken up in his arms only to be wrapped up in his arms again as they waited on deck for everyone else to get ready.
And let's just say the fact that Percy was back in a camp half-blood t-shirt made Cressida's anxiety basically vanish.
Percy smiled at Piper when she came up onto the deck, which seemed to surprise her. Though she supposed it had a lot to do with the smile and the light that was in Cressida's eyes, like she'd come back to life.
She and Annabeth had been really good friends to Piper over the last few months, Annabeth filling Piper in on some of the history the girls had been through, specifically the parts that explained why Cressida had run out of that council meeting when they realised Percy was at Camp Jupiter with no memories. So, Piper was really glad to see her happy even despite the dangerous quest they were facing. At least she had her boyfriend back.
And Annabeth had her best friend back - both of them.
"So!" Annabeth said cheerily as she plucked the bagel out of Piper's hand and took a bite, stealing each other's breakfast a running joke between the two. "Here we are. What's the plan?"
"I want to check out the highway," Piper said. "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."
Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, and the sails lowered themselves. "We shouldn't be far," he said. "Festus and I calculated the landing as best we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?"
Piper explained what she'd seen in the knife—the man in purple with a goblet. She kept quiet about the other images, though, like the vision of Percy, Jason, Cressida and herself drowning, which had Percy and Cressida grip each other tighter. She wasn't sure what it meant, anyway; and everyone seemed in such better spirits this morning, she didn't want to ruin the mood.
"That sounds like Papa," Cressida said, talking about the vision of her father. "But he's normally in leopard print. It's strange."
"Purple shirt?" Jason asked. "Vines on his hat? Sounds like Bacchus."
"Dionysus," Percy muttered. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D—"
Cressida covered his mouth with her hand. "You're only just on my father's good side and I'd like to keep you there. You do not know the lengths I had to go through to convince him to lay off you in the first place. I also haven't seen him in six months so watch what you say next," she warned, and Percy just sighed.
"Mr D...oh, joy," he said very unenthusiastically, and she rolled her eyes.
"I'll take it," she said before something wicked glittered in her eyes. "But if you play nice with Papa, I'll give you that rain check."
Percy smirked as he pouted his lips, and she stretched up to kiss them. "Imma hold you to that."
"Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much...."
Piper shuddered. Jason, Leo, and she had had an encounter with the maenads a few months ago and almost gotten torn to pieces. Granted, they probably should've taken Cressida with them, but they didn't want to bother her with everything she was going through.
"But the god himself is okay," Jason continued. "I did him a favour once up in the wine country."
Percy tried not to look appalled, and it was kinda convincing - if his girlfriend wasn't the daughter of the god of theatre. "Whatever, man. Maybe he's better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around in Kansas? Didn't Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals?"
"The gods haven't been very good at following that order," Frank noted. "Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said —"
"And Leo said," added Leo.
Frank scowled at him. "Then who knows what's going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there."
"Sounds dangerous!" Leo agreed cheerfully. "Well...you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth—I could really use your help. You're the only other person who even sort of understands engineering."
Annabeth looked apologetically at her friends - she'd been really excited about going out with them again. "He's right. I should stay and help."
"Hey," Cressida said as she moved away from Percy and took Annabeth's hands. "Have I ever left you hanging?"
"You've been late before," Annabeth said with a small smile and Cressida smirked.
"Fashionably so. We'll come back. So, expect a dramatic entrance."
"I expect nothing less," Annabeth said as she hugged her best friend, thinking about how far all of them had really come from that first quest together before she moved to hug Percy.
"We'll be back soon," he promised as she let go and Percy took Cressida's hand again.
"Promise," Cressida grinned.
"And you know how Cress is about keeping promises, like that rain check she promised me," Percy said as he kissed her temple, and she rolled her eyes.
"You're relentless," she replied but she was smiling.
They were so easy together, it made Piper's heart ache. Jason was great, of course. But sometimes he acted so distant, like last night, when he'd been reluctant to talk about that old Roman legend. So often he seemed to be thinking of his old life at Camp Jupiter. Piper wondered if she would ever be able to break through that barrier. The trip to Camp Jupiter, seeing Reyna in person, hadn't helped. Neither did the fact that Jason had chosen to wear a purple shirt today —the colour of the Romans.
Piper doubted that there wasn't anything that Percy and Cressida couldn't talk about - then again, from what Annabeth had told her, they'd known each other almost five years. They'd had five years to bicker and argue and work out issues and yet, they seemed so perfect together. So fun and loving and supportive and open. She was a little jealous if she was being honest.
Cressida ignored the little spat that Hazel, Frank and Leo had, but she still wondered what the hell was happening there.
Hazel turned to Percy. "Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose."
"Karpoi?" Piper asked.
"Grain spirits," Hazel said. "You don't want to meet them."
Cressida just looked up at her boyfriend whose expression just said that you should trust her words. Then he actually said, "That leaves four of us to check on the mile marker. Me, Cress, Jason and Piper. I'm not psyched about seeing Mr D again. That guy is a pain - ow!"
"I warned you!" Cressida said with a scolding finger after she smacked the back of his head.
"Eight months apart and I didn't miss that," he said which just earned him another smack.
"Greek or Roman, he's still my father. If there's anyone that can talk Papa into helping us, it's me," Cressida said determinedly and Piper just grinned.
"I don't doubt that," she said and the girl gave her an appreciative smile.
"Piper," Jason said. "It's your vision. You should take the lead."
Piper shivered. She'd seen the three of them drowning in that dark well. Was Kansas where it would happen? That didn't seem right, but she couldn't be sure.
"Of course," she said, trying to sound upbeat. "Let's find the highway."
"Sounds like a plan," Cressida said as she marched over to Piper and linked arms as they went to walk off the gangplank.
"Wine Vine, I thought we were in this together?!" Percy called after her.
"We are," she called back. "You're on the right track for not getting a rain check though."
"Drama Queen," he muttered under his breath.
"I heard that!"
And Percy just sighed as he gestured for Jason to follow after the girls.