Revival

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Christian Moreau had gathered a regular sleep schedule of the years at Camp Jupiter. In just a couple of months, that had changed greatly. One early morning, and a brutal quest later, he was on the fast track to never living that life again. If only he knew how great that was going to be.

He had an alarm set for 2:40, with an earbud in his ear. They weren't supposed to have any of this stuff after lights out, but who was going to nail Christian for it? Maybe Corinne, but he was good at hiding it. Not that it mattered. Christian was up on his own by 2:20 in the morning. All he could do from there was count the minutes, and count, he did. He hadn't felt alive like this in so long. The adrenaline from sneaking around the rules, combined with the butterflies about seeing Rowan was an entirely new feeling. He'd been missing out on some great emotions.

He could only count so many minutes before he just couldn't stay still any longer. It was 2:40, but the twenty minutes felt a lot longer. He was tired, but that was the last thing his body or mind was processing. He could surely go a little earlier than planned? If anything, he couldn't lay in this bed for another minute. He sat up, and keeping quiet still came naturally to him.

Christian got up, and his heart rate began to pick up in anticipation and excitement. His authority-driven half did convince him to do a quick head count, from what he could see in the dark. Corrine was asleep, Lennie, Jerome had even stayed put in the bunks lately, and Christian felt proud. Kaitlynn was asleep, but it looked like she was standing for drill still. He did notice one bunk was empty, Charles's. Only a moment of concern hit Christian, however. Charles had eight years under his belt, and Christian had all the time in the world to look later. Right now, he had much more important things to do.

When Christian stepped out of the barracks, he felt free. The breeze flew through his air, and bliss filled his chest. No one was looking for him. There were no drills. No one needed him for anything right now, and he could go and do anything he wanted. The feelings was somewhat familiar, and yet, despite that freedom, he knew there was only one place he wanted to go.

He moved quickly, and without fear. Outside of the barracks, sentries were almost non-existent. He knew the paths to take, and even when he wasn't entirely sure, he still went with his gut. He felt alive, and soon enough, he was close to Temple Hill.

Christian had to take a moment to gather himself. The grin on his face was a mile wide, and he couldn't give Rowan the entire satisfaction of knowing he was twenty minutes early after laying awake for twenty minutes. Even still, through catching his breath, he couldn't stop smiling no matter how he tried. He'd work it out on the go. The silence of the night was glorious, and he appreciated everything about it.

The legacy worked his way up the hill, quickly, before ducking into the Temple of Venus. He hadn't even seen Rowan yet, but he could stop himself from laughing out with glee, but he did try to keep it quiet. All that was left to do was wait.

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Rowan lived for 3 am now. With everything that was going on, it was so nice to have something constant. Something good. She might still be living at home for the time being, but that didn't keep her from waking up even earlier to get to their meeting spot. Their house was so big none of her siblings would be able to hear her slip out at night. Then again, its not like it was a strange thing. 16 year old Rowan snuck out all the time. 18 year old Rowan was just getting back into it again. Of course like last time, it was for a boy.

Like the night on the hospital roof, the air was cool. Rowan went for her usual 'sneaking out to see a boy' outfit, which was a crop top and shorts. Thankfully it was late spring so she wasn't freezing. Not that she really cared. She'd survived worse.

Rowan made her way out of New Rome and cut across towards the path up to the temples. She was really hoping there weren't other centurions doing rounds tonight, because that'd be awkward to explain. Especially to Carter. 'Yeah I'm just going up to Temple Hill to meet another centurion and definitely not fraternize. No fraternization at all. Nope. Don't look at what I'm hiding behind my back. Please.' Rowan wasn't even sure if Centurions were allowed to be together. Well they'd cross that bridge when they came to it.

By the time Rowan made it up to Temple Hill, her clock read 3:01. She tried not to look at her mother's temple as she walked past it. Because she was 50 percent sure she'd look over and see the disapproving look of Bellona staring her down for what she was about to do. Hey, Venus was probably cool with it. She loved this sort of shit.

Rowan ducked into the temple off the love goddess, and smirked at the sight of him. She kept both hands behind her back, hiding what she had brought to show him. "Hey there." She half whispered. As if Venus wasn't reading their thoughts already.

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The fifteen minutes or so was good for Christian, to settle down on the revitalized spirit. He hadn't ever been in the Temple of Venus alone before, only to show others that were involved. It was always strange bringing a child of Venus up here when they were new to camp. It was like you could feel Venus asserting that if she wanted to, she could have her children mess with your feelings.

There was none of that tonight, however. The temple was dimly lit, with curtains blocking off miniature sections. Christian was aware that times were different when the gods were known, but would it have hurt to have modified at least this temple? Then again, he was being slightly hypocritical with that thought. Then, of course, there was an offering bowl at the end, like all of the other temples. What did Venus like anyway? Flowers? Candy?

He heard footsteps, but they were very hard to hear. He wondered just how colorful Rowan's background was. He suspected that within the coming months, he'd be finding out anyway.

"Hey." Christian replied. He'd wiped the grin off somewhat, at least so that it wasn't a mile long. The dim lights were enough to make her out well, the outfit choice was different. "Nice outfit?" He said, relevant to the fact he'd never seen her wear a crop top. It was a good sign, and a good sight. He leaned in to peck her on the lips.

"You're late, you know. Sixty whole seconds." He teased.

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Rowan accepted the kiss, walking farther into the temple. She was pretty sure she heard something from the temple of Cupid as she came in, but she decided to ignore it.

Rowan grinned, "Yeah it's from my rebellious days as a 16 year old. Half of my closet at home is filled with clothes that a father would not want his daughter wearing." She figured since her father was behind bars, he wasn't gonna stop her from wearing a crop top tonight. Also, he'd probably be more bothered by who she was seeing. It kind of made Rowan like Christian more.

"I can just go then." Rowan teased, backing up towards the door. "Or I could show you whats behind my back." Without waiting for an answer, she showed him. She had stolen it from Carter's bunk a little over a week ago. Sophia had told her about Carter having to buy a new one after Rowan had accidentally thrown his original into a volcano. What a shame. However, Rowan couldn't resist stealing it again. Honestly, he needed better reading material.

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"No one starts a conversation better than you." Christian playfully mused. It was a little strange, after knowing Rowan as just a friend for so long, to be able to verge onto different manners. Not that he liked it any less. "I guess that's probably why you're wearing it, huh?" Christian was happy that her dad was behind bars, it was nice to know that he wouldn't be haunting Rowan anymore.

He saw the book, and even in the dim light, of course he knew what it was before reading it. "No. Way." Christian was pretty shocked. If Carter was willing to buy two, how many was he willing to buy after this? "I know the Virgos are rich, but if you keep up, you might get them to go bankrupt." He remarked. That surely wouldn't be so bad.

"So, before we crack that open," Christian said. "When did you get so good at stealing?" The legacy grinned. It shouldn't have been an attractive trait. But it was a very attractive trait.

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Rowan looked down at her clothes, "Yeah, partly. Also because I look good in this." What, she was shamelessly confident. Rowan gave Christian a wry smile.

"It's not that hard when you're a centurion." Rowan commented, "Everyone just assumes you have a right to be there." Also Rowan had gone in during first cohort drills. Nobody had even noticed her presence. She did see Carter looking a little sour later that day, so she assumed he noticed. Was he even aware they were behind the theft of the first copy? It was anyone's guess really.

Rowan took a seat on one of the benches and began thumbing through the book, "Now, where did we leave off?"

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"Could have fooled me." Christian remarked. "I was under the impression that you looked good in almost anything. Almost." Christian knew to keep his words in somewhat check. Otherwise, Rowan might test him. He'd already let enough slip that he wasn't ever going to be able to live down.

"Uh, part two of the book, 'Ways to Make People Like You.' More specifically, 'how to interest people.'" There was just enough light to be able to read, but Christian sure didn't want to be the one to strain his eyes doing it. Christian took his seat next to Rowan, and peered his head over her shoulder.

"It's weird," Christian began, "I've never had more interest in Carter than right now. I wonder if 'buy this book' is in this section."

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Rowan looked up from the book, "So, what don't I look good in?" She started, before giving him a playful smile. Part of her just really loved messing with him.

Rowan flipped to the section, and read aloud, "'Everyone who was ever a guest of Theodore Roosevelt'- oh my god, this explains why he has a book about Theodore Roosevelt. Everything about Carter suddenly makes sense now." Rowan was willing to bet every weird fact that Carter knew could be traced back to this book. She was fairly certain this is why he started wearing suits too.

"I swear, he would do so much better without this book."

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"Business suits." Christian stated, matter of factly. "I'll have you know, I've thought deeply on this topic. Specifically, pinstripe business suits. Anything else is great. I reserve the right to waive the statement if times change, though." He replied with a coy look. He listened intently to Rowan's reading, which didn't get far until there was already a point of connection.

"Yeah, no, you totally want Carter to stop reading this." Christian smiled. He knew that if Carter went and bought a third copy of this book, he'd have it for less than a day before Rowan got her hands on it. "I have to know how far he is. Clearly he's at least at this point. But clearly he also hasn't reached 'If You're Wrong, Admit It.'"

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Rowan paused, "Well are we talking like, female pantsuit, or like, a man's suit? Because I can rock the first one." To be honest she really didn't wear formal wear all that often. Even during family dinners, she wears jeans. When half of your closet was being taken up by "clothing inappropriate for any daughter of mine to be wearing" you don't really have room for like, fancy shit. Besides half of her life was spent outdoors.

"I'm trying to save his life here, his social life." She paused, "And when you think about it, his actual life. I wouldn't put it past someone to assassinate him for being well....him." His pompous attitude did make it hard to deal with him at almost any moment. It only seemed to increase as time went on. Poor younger her thought he was annoying then.

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"I meant the second one, but, come on, pinstripe? I'm doing you a disservice at that point." Christian remarked. "Do you even own a pantsuit? Are you looking to run for Praetor?" Christian teased. He wondered just how much physical punishment Roz might give him for a joke like that. Then he imagined Roz in a pantsuit. That was a weird image to be thinking of in front of a sort-of girlfriend.

"Assassinate?" Christian playfully remarked back to her. He adjusted his head so that it was under hers, and in front of the book. "Please, I would love to hear the Rowan Davenport rendition of Carter Virgo's assassination. Are we talking John F Kennedy style or Abe Lincoln?"

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"Well I'm going to have to buy one now." Rowan's smile faltered, "They set the trial date. I'm testifying." Rowan originally had no intention of turning this night sour, but she needed someone to talk about it with. To make matters worse, Liam was still in the coma. If he didn't wake up in time for the trial, it was just going to be her out there. Her and her dad.

"I would say more of a Bush shoe incident. Just with a more deadly shoe." She gave Christian a smile, as if she was trying to convince him that she was fine.

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Christian didn't see it coming. He felt guilt fall onto his shoulders. Why would you possibly mention formal wear when there was going to be a court battle soon? Still, he was supposed to do something to make everything okay. So many cliches involved that. He wished his talents layed there instead of theft and secrecy. One of Christian's hands gently gripped the end of the book, and attempted to take it from Rowan, if she would allow it.

"Shhh." Christian cooed. He wasn't the best at consoling people. People in his Cohort acted out of anger and angst when they carried baggage. With Rowan, it was more hollow and sad. It broke Christian's heart. He put his arms around her, and pulled her in. It was the best thing he knew how to do. "When's the court date? I want to be there for that."

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Rowan took the hug gratefully. "Next week." She said into his shoulder. "They're not even sure if Liam will be awake by then. So I might be going up by myself. None of the staff want to testify. Probably because my father is scary and employs them."

Most of her day had been spent in the stuffy ADAs office going over the details of the trial. They already told her that the trial was already leaning in their favor, but they couldn't be sure what tricks the defense had up their sleeve. Her father had already spent a very large amount of money procuring the best defense attorney he could find. Which meant that this trial wasn't going to be easy.

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It was a brutal reality to see Rowan act like this. She, who wasn't bothered by anything, whether it be getting maimed or spoken down to, was now as vulnerable as the rest of them. Christian wouldn't dare fault her for that, especially given what her life had turned into. His thoughts digressed, vulnerable or invincible, Christian still wanted to be her support either way. He gently coddled her head into his shoulder further, he wanted her to feel welcome.

"Hey, come on." He gently cooed into her ear. "You're Rowan." Christian didn't in particular mean to leave out her surname. In hindsight, he wasn't sure if he'd done it to not remind her of her father or if he'd truly forgotten she was a Davenport at all. Surely, it wasn't how he viewed her lately.

"The only thing that might be able to touch you in that courtroom is how monotonous and boring court proceedings are." He joked. "I know it's scary right now, but you're going to kick that guy's ass. Again."