Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series, or the characters that I currently have doing my bidding in this story. Mr. Riordan does. I'm not making any money from this, just gaining reviews and such that may or may not be positive.

This just sort of came into my head one morning and I just had to make it happen. I might write another chapter if it is well received.

Jason woke and instantly panicked. This was not his bed! As his nose caught the familiar scent of Will, however, he calmed down some. As his brain woke further, he remembered how he had come to be in Will's bed and why he was still completely clothed. Jason, Percy, and Nico had left camp for a bit of adult relaxation. Will had left camp years ago to go to college, so the three had been pleasantly surprised to find him chewing on a straw and staring off into space at one of the tables. Personally Jason was taken aback when Will was joined by another young man, obviously on some kind of date. The three young men discussed whether or not to bother Will on his date, and eventually decided to keep an eye on him between drinks, and approach when an opportunity arose. That was the plan until Percy downed too much alcohol too fast.

"Ugh I think I'm dying." Percy said, lying on the ground outside the bar, dangerously close to a puddle of his own blue vomit.

"Oh Percy." Nico said in an exasperated tone. Jason merely watched the two, wondering if the bar would let him bring out a glass of water to the son of Poseidon and how much work it was going to be to get Percy back to camp.

"So this was nice." the blonde heard Will's voice across the parking lot. Blue eyes moved from Percy to the bar's front door, where Will and the other man were standing.

"Yeah. So do you want to come over and watch that movie?" the man asked hopefully.

"Not tonight. I've got work in the morning." Will replied and Jason inwardly smiled. Will could do so much better than this gingerbeard.

"Can I at least get a kiss, then?" the man asked, pulling on Will's hip.

The sandy blonde moved backward, "You know what? I'm not feeling all that well. Wouldn't want you to catch anything I've got."

The man scowled and Will's face became nervous. Jason was debating whether or not to swoop in and rescue his friend when the man muttered something about a waste of time and left in a huff. Will leaned against the cool brick of the building for a moment before pulling his keys from his pocket and walking across the parking lot. About halfway over he looked up and locked eyes with Jason.

"Jason?" his eyes moved from the blonde to the other two and instantly rushed over, "Percy? What are you guys doing here?"

Nico spoke first, "We got tired of hanging with kids all the time, so we came here for some adult conversation."

"Fix me, Will. I'm dying." Percy groaned from the asphalt.

"Um yeah. You've poisoned yourself, Percy. Alcohol is a poison. That's why your body is trying to get rid of it."

Percy suddenly turned over and vomited, punctuating what Will had said.

"Have pity on the poor guy." Jason chimed in, "We don't get out much and I must admit that his pretty blue drink looked delicious."

"It was." Percy said between retching, "It really was."

Will sighed, "He can't go back to camp in such a state. Come on, I'll take you to my place. The roommate is gone for the weekend so it'll be okay."

Jason was glad. He would get to talk to his friend and also get to see what he was up to these days.

On the drive to his apartment Will asked the boys what they had been doing lately, and Jason felt a bit sheepish that they were doing basically the same thing they had been doing four years ago when Will had left. Will, on the other hand, had been going to school and working at the college's clinic. Officially he was a receptionist, but he occasionally got to stick on a band-aid and hand out a lolly so he counted it as experience. Still, the blonde didn't seem to hold it against them, he was just glad that they were happy.

When they arrived at the apartment Will and Jason deposited Percy on the roommate's bed and left Nico to attend to the passed out form of their friend.

"You can sleep in my bed. I can sleep on the couch up front." Will said, moving to do just that when Jason stopped him. Will looked down at the hand on his in curiosity and Jason hastily let it go.

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch, Will. Go on into your room. I'll take the couch."

"You're a guest. It's fine. The couch is quite comfortable, I assure you."

"Nope."

Blue peered into blue in challenge, "Fine. We'll share then, shall we?"

Jason faltered, "What?"

Will smirked, "If we can't come to an agreement about who gets the bed, the next logical conclusion is to share it."

Blonde eyebrows raised in surprise, "Are you okay with that?"

"I'm totally fine with it obviously. It's you I'm worried about." Will said, his expression communicating much more than his words were saying.

"I'm cool with it." Jason said, frowning to let Will know he understood the silent reference.

"Then it's settled." Will opened the door to his room, "Welcome to Willsville." he said, letting Jason inside. Soft yellow lamplight illuminated the room and Jason looked around, turning to face Will when he heard the mattress creak. The other blonde was removing his shoes and Jason sat in the computer chair to do the same.

"So who was that guy?" Jason found himself asking.

Will stood up and started unbuckling his belt, "Just a blind date I let my friend set me up with. I don't really date much, so people feel like they need to help me. Why don't they understand that sometimes people can be alone by choice?" Will dropped his pants and Jason hoped the dim light hid his faint blushing, "Anyway, I disappointed him so I doubt there will be a second date happening. Fine by me, really." he said, getting into the bed. He patted the spot in front of him, "Come on. Maybe I'll get lucky and my roommate will come home early and see us in bed together and stop bugging me about getting laid."

Jason stopped pulling his belt from the loops, "What now?"

Will rolled his eyes, "Relax. I'm just trying to make this uncomfortable for you since you were too stubborn to just let me sleep on the couch."

Jason also rolled his eyes and then crawled into the bed, "It's going to take more than that to make me uncomfortable."

"Is that why you're sleeping in your clothes?"

"I'm shy or something, okay? Just trying to be respectful."

Will snorted, "Liar." he said quietly before snuggling into the bed, "Nighty-night Jason."

"'Night."

Jason closed his eyes for a moment until he realized that the light was still on. He turned to face Will, "Hey, do you want the light off?" he whispered. Jason watched the other man expectantly for an answer. When Will didn't respond Jason smiled at how quickly the other man had fallen asleep. He took a moment to look at Will... *really* look at him. He looked at the freckles spattered across the bridge of the blonde's nose and the shadows his eyelashes cast on his cheeks. Jason found himself reaching out to move a piece of hair from in front of Will's face and thinking how beautiful the demigod looked just then. He moved to lay on his back again and stared at the ceiling, kicking himself for ruining everything they could have had back then before finally falling asleep.

Now it was morning and Jason was alone, surrounded with Will's scent. He was reluctant to leave the warm cocoon but he could hear Will in the kitchen and figured he should help him with breakfast. Maybe he would offer to pay to take them all out so that he could stay with Will just a little bit longer. When he padded into the kitchen he found Will in his boxers and an oversized hoodie, leaning against the counter with a mug in his hands.

"Hey." Will said quietly and carefully put the mug down, "The kettle's still hot. Would you like some tea or something?"

Jason scratched the back of his head, "I'm not much of a tea drinker, actually."

"I have cider or hot chocolate, too."

"I don't know why, but cider sounds delicious."

Will nodded and opened a cupboard before going about making cider for Jason. He handed Jason the mug before picking up his own and quietly watching Jason from above the rim of it. He finally put the mug down, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, actually. How about you? Did sharing disrupt your routine?"

Will shook his head, "No. I actually slept really well. Nico got up once to ask if he could have another blanket for Percy, but the night was pretty quiet otherwise."

A silence fell as Will refilled his mug and Jason sipped at his cider. Nico had seen them in bed together. Jason wondered what he thought about that. He also wondered why Will hadn't stayed up all night taking care of Percy.

"Nico still loves him, doesn't he?" Will asked, suddenly sounding much too loud in the quiet kitchen.

Jason nodded, "Percy loves him too, in his own way. Never in the way Nico wants him to, though."

"Is that why Percy never dates anyone? He doesn't want to hurt Nico?"

"Probably. Their friendship is complicated."

Will shrugged, "As long as they're happy, I guess."

Another silence fell as the two finished their mugs. Will took Jason's from him and set them both down in the sink.

"Jason, may I ask you something?"

"Of course." Jason said, though he wondered why he suddenly felt nervous.

"Did you mean to call me beautiful last night?"

Blue eyes widened in surprise, "Oh, I didn't think I had said that out loud." he paused for an agonizing moment, "I meant it though."

Will's ears turned a dark shade of red and his neck flushed, "Okay."

"I've always thought that." Jason said, reaching toward Will, who turned away.

"Don't do that." He said quietly, then he looked at the taller blonde, "I know you have. You said it... on that night."

It was Jason's turn to look away, "I'm sorry for what I said the next morning."

"It's fine. I understand now."

"You know you could have fought a little harder."

Will's heart dropped. He'd never heard Jason use that tone of voice before. How much trouble was he in? "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean Will. I know I told you that I wasn't ready, but then you just left. You didn't even try. You just said 'okay' and walked away and stopped everything."

Will noted how close Jason was and sat on the counter to put some space between them again. "I didn't want you to resent me."

"Why would I ever resent you?"

"Because I didn't want to hide. I would have pushed you too fast."

Will was confused when Jason cracked a small smile, "You wouldn't have. I know you, Will. You would have waited."

The smaller blonde straightened his spine and gave Jason a pointed look, "So do people know now?"

"Yes."

"Really? How did that go?"

Jason shrugged, "Most had already figured it out. A lot of the people at camp were really supportive. Some of course had to point out that bisexuality doesn't exist and eventually I'll decide on one or the other."

Will rolled his eyes at the last part. "How did it happen?"

Jason's face dusted pink, "It was after you left to go to school. For a long time I thought it was my fault that you left. I mean, I know now that it wasn't even about us, but yeah. Anyway, I got really quiet and sad for a while. Nico asked me about it at lunch one day. Being the smart guy he is, he figured out a lot more than what I was saying. I guess other people heard our conversation, plus Nico and Percy are both terrible at keeping secrets. The next thing I know, lots of people were asking me if I liked guys. It really wasn't any of their business and it wasn't relevent to anything, but I figured it was he best way to get it out and stop hiding. Now it's just one of those known things that nobody really talks about."

"Anybody give you shit?"

Jason liked the way Will asked, as though he were ready to gut anybody who had. He shook his head, "Nothing I can't handle."

"Well... I'm happy for you. Glad you got it all figured out." Will said much too cheerfully.

"Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" Will asked. Jason had gotten close again. He didn't know what to do.

"Cut me out. Run away."

"I'm right here." Will said, giving Jason a challenging look.

"You look terrified." Jason said, taking a step back. He felt a tug on his shirt and looked down to see Will fisting his shirt, knuckles white.

"I am. I'm absolutely terrified."

Jason took hold of Will's hand, gently removing it from his shirt. He flattened Will's palm against his chest. "So am I, but in a good way."

Will felt Jason's heartbeat underneath his hand. It was beating fast and hard, just like his. "Jason," he said, looking into those blue eyes. His mouth moved to speak again but no words came out.

"I know Will." Jason said, voice cracking, "I know." he kissed Will's forehead.

Will pulled Jason close and they held each other quietly for a long time. Will looked past Jason's shoulder when he heard someone walking down the hallway. Should he let go of Jason? Before he could decide, Nico appeared in the kitchen.

"Morning." he said, making Jason turn his head. Dark eyes moved down to the floor as he quietly said, "I was just coming to get Percy some more water."

Jason turned around to face the smaller man, but stayed in Will's embrace, "How is he?"

Nico gave a small half smile, "Looks like shit, feels like shit. He'll be absolutely fine."

"Well, you guys can stay here until he feels better. I just have to run to the store." Will said, moving Jason over so that he could slide down from the counter.

"Can I come with you?" Jason blurted. Nico gave him an alarmed look and Will paused to study his face for a moment. Finally he shrugged and nodded before saying something about putting pants on.

"Jason." Nico said once Will had exited the kitchen.

The blonde winced at Nico's tone, "What?"

"Don't."

"Don't what?" Jason asked, knowing full well what.

"Don't mess with him. If you don't want to start something with him, don't make him think you do."

"Nico, I-"

Nico relaxed his face and he blinked long and purposefully before looking up at his friend, "I know you mean well Jason, but we all know that Will likes you way too much to play the friend game. That's why we left him alone when he left camp."

"I know, Nico."

"I hope you do." Nico's voice got low and dark, like his father's, "Look at Percy and I, Jason. I know his sexuality is never going to change. I know in my heart that he's never going to fall in love with me. I know this but I keep hoping it will. I know he genuinely cares about me and loves me as a friend and that should be enough for me, but it's not. It's because of the fact that I'm allowed to be so close to him that keeps me hanging on. Last night was great because he needed me, he let me take care of him, I got to feel like the most important person of his life, just for that moment. Fuck." he closed his eyes again as he regained composure, feeling Jason's eyes boring into him until he looked up again, "Sorry, none of this is what I meant to say. What I mean is that if you need to clear your conscience that's fine, but man's inherent need to appear kind is what makes us the cruelest creatures of all. Don't be nice to Will now if you don't plan on being nice to him in the future."

Jason stared into the desperate dark eyes of his friend, not sure what to say about his admission about Percy, nor of his situation with Will.

"I checked in on Percy. He's sleeping like a rock." Will's voice sounded before he appeared in the kitchen, making both men jump. His eyes widened in surprise for a moment, looking like Nico had earlier, "Um, so I'm ready to walk down to the store. Jason, are you ready?"

Jason blinked as his brain processed the words, "Yeah, let me get my shoes." he said before disappearing down the hall. Will walked over to the sink and took the glass from Nico's hands before he began filling it with water. "Percy's going to be passed out for a while. Would you like to come to the store with us?" he asked, handing Nico the glass.

Nico shook his head, "No. I think it's best I stay here."

"Yeah I guess Jason and I have some things to talk about, don't we?"

"I meant that I should probably stay here with Percy, but yeah... you two should talk I guess."

Will's cheeks flushed, "Oh."

Jason entered the kitchen, "Ready?"

Will nodded, "Yeah. Let's go."

They said their goodbyes to Nico and then left the apartment, both staying rather quiet until they were out on the sidewalk. Will spoke first.

"Nico is quite the tragic figure, isn't he?"

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"I mean his love life. He's in love with Percy who he can't be with, we crushed on each other for a bit but that was all it was... he's just so alone, you know?"

"Yeah, but lots of available guys want to ask him out. They just don't because he's hung up on Percy and everyone knows it."

"That Percy... What are we going to do with him?"

Jason shrugged, "Be there for him, no matter what."

They came to a stop as they waited to cross the street, their conversation quieting along with it. Jason wanted to reach down and hold Will's hand. Will seemed much more alone than Nico did.

"I hope he can be happy." Will said when they had gotten to the other side of the street.

"There's this guy at camp who's a little younger than Nico. He likes Nico and I think he would treat him really well. Maybe they'll get together when he's ready."

"Maybe. I suppose that's not really our business though, is it?"

Jason shook his head, "No. It's not."

Will suddenly turned to his right and opened the door to a store. Jason followed, his nose getting greeted with the smell of fresh baked bread.

"Hey Will, who's your friend?" a girl asked from the nearest aisle, pausing in her stocking of the shelves.

"Hey Melanie. This is Jason."

The two awkwardly shook hands and then Will moved to another aisle, "Crap, I forgot a basket."

"I'll go get one." Jason said before quickly fetching one and handing it to Will.

"Do you want anything? I'll buy you a candy bar or something."

Jason shook his head, "No thanks. I don't really like candy that much."

Blue eyes moved up and down the taller blonde, "I can tell. You look really good, Jason."

"Thanks. You do too."

"Thanks." Will said, looking away as he continued adding things to the basket. Jason watched him for a moment, taking in his figure, wanting to wrap his arms around that thin waist and walk closely behind him, smelling his hair and feeling the vibration of his voice as he spoke.

"You look sick. Let me take you back. I can buy these later." Will's voice came through his thoughts.

"I'm not sick."

"I know. I was lying. You look really mad."

"I'm not mad, either."

Will pressed his lips into a line for a moment, "Then what are you?"

Jason sighed, "Frustrated."

"What kind of frustrated?"

Blue looked into blue, "This is not the place to have this conversation."

Will looked scared and it killed Jason inside. What was he doing? "Let me buy this stuff and then we'll leave." Will said before moving up to the checkstand where Melanie joined him and began ringing up the items and dropping them into the reuseable bag Will had brought with him. Jason gave him his space, remaining a few steps behind his friend as they left the store. They came together again as they waited to cross the street.

"So is this a good time to talk? My apartment isn't going to really give us privacy."

"Can we stop somewhere?"

Will nodded, "There's a little garden area behind my apartment, come on." Will said, reaching behind him and gesturing for Jason to follow. If the taller man didn't know better, the movement looked like he was wanting to take Jason's hand. Will led him through a gate and to a bench surrounded by flowers. "So." he said expectantly, "Let's get it all out."

Jason couldn't tell if Will was angry or not. There was definitely a strong emotion coursing through him, but he was covering whatever it was fairly well. He took a breath, twirling the handles of the grocery bag.

"That night... I'm sorry." he began.

Will shrugged, "It's fine Jason. I told you that I understand now. I'm over it."

"I'm not though." Jason said, more force behind his words than he had intended. Will's eyes widened, but he pressed his lips together to show that he wasn't about to say anything. "I liked you before you kissed me in the forest, and I liked you after it happened too. I was just stupid and scared and now I want to be with you but I know I hurt you and I'm terrified of doing it again." he looked intently at Will, "Since that night, and especially right now all I've wanted to do is kiss you and hold you and make you feel safe and happy but I'll probably just keep messing things up so I want to tell you that I hope you find someone who can make you happy and all of that other stuff but I really hope that person is me."

Will looked away and Jason's heart felt like it exploded, not knowing whether to break or not. "Wow." Will whispered, "Wow." he got up from the bench, still not looking at Jason. "I didn't know you liked me that much." he said, glancing up only to quickly look down again. "Still, I mean."

Jason stood up and got closer to Will, wanting to touch his face, but giving him his space, "I'm just as bad as Nico."

"Well..." Will looked up at Jason, "So am I."

"Really?"

Will took a step closer to Jason, "Yes. Do you really think it can work now though? You at camp, me at school..."

"You live twenty minutes away, dork."

The skinnier blonde pouted, "You never visited me before."

"I didn't think you wanted me to."

"I probably didn't."

"So can I kiss you now?" Jason closed the distance between them.

"Nope." Will said with a grin at Jason's expression, "Just kidding. Come here." He pressed their lips together. Memories flooded both of their minds of a cool end-of-summer night, of Will's back pressed against a tree and Jason's fingers in his hair. When their lips parted, Will looked at Jason, remembering what happened the next morning. He closed his eyes in painful memory, remembering the way he had basically thrown himself at Jason, and the other man had quietly explained that the night before had been an accident, that he didn't know if he liked guys or not, that he didn't want anybody in his business about it. Will remembered the way the room had spun around him as he realized his stupidity, and then he had run. Jason found him quickly but Will simply said something cordial and excused himself. They stayed that way until Will left for school, nice to each other, but distant.

Will jumped when he felt lips on his again. Jason was gentle, tentative. When the other man didn't pull away Jason's hands found Will's arms, slowly rubbing up and down. Will decided that the past suddenly didn't matter, the future really didn't either. All that mattered was this moment, right now. He would take all that Jason was willing to give in this moment. He wound his arms around Jason and pulled him closer. Encouraged, the taller blonde deepened the kiss. Will made a noise in his throat but responded in kind. When he felt out of breath Will pulled away, resting against Jason's chest and whispering his name. The men held each other in silence for quite a while until Will looked at the grocery bag on the bench.

"Better get back upstairs. Percy needs to eat something."

Jason tightened his hold, "He has Nico taking care of him. Just stay with me a while longer."

Will liked the feeling of someone wanting him with them, holding him tightly. He put his arms back around Jason and hugged him for another moment. He pulled away again and Jason didn't protest, merely pouting at him as he picked up the grocery bag.

The two men were silent as they made their way up the stairs to Will's apartment. Will was busy wondering just how deep he had gotten himself just now and what he was going to do about it. Jason was caught between elation and a sort of somber feeling; he was happy with what had happened, but could he really deliver on the promises he had made to Will? The troubling thoughts left the minds of both men as Will opened the door to his apartment, finding Nico and Percy laying on the couch together, staring at the television's blank screen. The blondes moved to sit on either side of the other two, and they all sat in a strange, contented silence for a while. At one point, Will turned his head to look at Jason, then at Nico and they all shared the same look that said, 'This is enough... for now.'