The Argo II felt different that day.

Not louder or busier — gods, that ship was always chaos — but charged, like the air itself remembered the two of you before your minds even caught up. Like bronze and storm and prophecy had been waiting for this moment as desperately as you had.

Jason stepped onto the deck first, that unmistakable Roman posture, shoulders squared, jaw tight, eyes scanning for danger the same way he always did when he was nervous. And you were already there. Waiting.

The moment your eyes met, it hit you both at the same time.

A month. A month of radio silence, quests, separate battles, sleepless nights, longing so sharp it felt like a wound.

His breath left him in a soft exhale — pure relief.

“Hey,” you whispered.

He didn’t answer. He just walked toward you, hands shaking a little, and pulled you right into him.

That first hug after weeks apart wasn’t soft. It was everything you both had been holding back.

His arms wrapped around you like he was afraid you’d disappear again. Your fingers curled into the back of his t-shirt, your face buried in his chest, feeling the steady, grounding beat of his heart.

Safe. Finally.

When he pulled back, he scanned your face like cataloguing what changed since he last saw you — your hair slightly different, a faint bruise on your cheek, the tiredness under your eyes.

“You okay?” he asked softly.

You nodded. “Yeah. You?”

“Better now.”

It was barely a kiss — just the softest brush of his lips against yours — but the meaning behind it nearly melted you. It was the same tenderness as always, but deeper now, heavier with everything unspoken.

By evening, everyone had drifted into their own corners of the ship. Meetings done. Plans made. Leo disappeared to tinker with the engine, Piper went to stargaze, Hazel and Frank took a walk on deck.

And Jason led you to his room quietly, hand warm against yours.

Once the door shut, the world felt… small. Gentle. Safe.

His bed wasn’t big — not for a Roman brick wall like Jason Grace — but he sat on it and opened his arms to you with that shy half-smile that never matched his powerful presence.

You crawled onto his lap, curling into him instantly, head pressed to his collarbone.

“You have no idea how much I missed this,” he murmured into your hair, fingers tracing slow circles on your back.