"My usual, please," Jason cast his usual grin to the waiter, his face was unique (beautiful) enough that no matter how long it was between his visits, he was impossible to forget.

The rest of the interaction fell into a blur, his eyes were trained on the person behind the counter, but you were ignoring him. The waiter walked to the back, presumably to hand the cook his order, something you did every other time Jason visited.

As a form of good luck, Jason liked to visit a particular diner when he travelled between camps or on a quest. It was the longest he spends in one place, a dangerous decision as he is the son of Jupiter.

Well, if he was willing to risk his life to be there, there must've been a pretty good reason ─ and there was! He was able to see his long term penpal, and partner, but right now he was trying to make things right.

The first time he was there, he could admit he hadn't been in the best shape. You knew to some extent he was different, not often did anyone show up to a diner when they should've gone down to the E.R.

You served him anyway, blissfully unaware that the beaten man in front of you was not a result of gang activity but a close manticore evasion. Jason planned on keeping it that way, the truth a secret, for the most part.

For penpals, your relationship was far too serious to back out of now. There were a multitude of things he wasn't telling you, for starter's why you had to send letters but not texts and how his address kept changing. Of course, there was also more on top of that.

"Don't leave─ please, just a minute." Before he knew it, he found himself right in front of you. His hand rested idly on the counter as he fought off the was to reach for your arm, prevent you from leaving. "I'll tell you what you want to know, promise."

How he'd explain everything you knew about the world was mostly wrong, he wasn't quite there yet.