In the morning, Jason woke up to an odd sight.
Percy was sitting by him on the bed, a blank expression on his face as he watched Jason. Oh gods, Jason thought, He probably thinks I'm a creep for watching him last night. Is he mad at me? He probably is, and I don't blame him.
It unnerved Jason, so he took a deep breath and sat up, smiling as if nothing was wrong.
"Morning! Sleep well?"
"I guess...," he shrugged.
And then, he went silent and continued to sit there, watching Jason in silence. At this point, Jason wondered whether Percy was actually staring at him, or through him. According to Percy, he did that quite often without realising it. But neither option calmed Jason's nerves.
"...Hey, Jason?"
Percy voice was quiet, and immediately Jason knew that this was going to end badly. Percy going quiet was the calm before the storm, and Jason didn't think he coul handle the storm that would no doubt ruin their friendship. Gods, why did he have to go and ruin everything?
"Yeah Percy?"
"Can I ask you a question?"
"...Sure. Go ahead."
"Do you... I mean, do you like... ugh, forget it."
Percy sighed and looked away, suddenly looking very shy and flustered. Jason meanwhile had dread in his heart, and unconsciously moved away from Percy.
"Do I what?"
"Do you... like me? I noticed you looking at me last night, and maybe I'm wrong, I don't know, but I feel like you do. Like me, that is."
"O-Of course I do, you're my bro," Jason tried.
Percy shot him a look, and Jason gave in. Percy knew, and now he was going to tell Jason that it would never happen, and he was stupid for thinking he ever had a chance.
"Fine. Yes. I like you," Jason admitted while staring at the bed, "As in I want to date you 'like you'."
Percy nodded and looked away. Jason waited for him to say something, anything, but Percy kept silent. Just Jason had given up and was about to get up and leave, Percy spoke.
"Thank the gods."
Confused, Jason looked up to see Percy wearing a hesitant smile that took his breath away.
"W-What?"
"Jason... I like you too."
Jason couldn't process it. Percy... liked him back? It just couldn't be real, could it? Percy was 100% straight and even if he was, why would he like Jason? It just made no sense.
"B-But you're straight?" Jason said.
"I could say the same for you," Percy chuckled, "And I'm bisexual, actually."
"Me too..."
"We can be bi buddies," Percy joked, "Or, you know... you know what, never mind."
"What? We could be what?"
Jason shifted forward and tried to bite back a smile. Percy actually liked him. He liked him back! How was that even possible?
"...Bi boyfriends?"
"That sounds amazing... and really dorky."
Percy threw back his head and laughed, and Jason couldn't help but join in. This wasn't at all how he imagined this day would go, but he was in no way complaining. Then Percy met his eye and smiled softly, looking too beautiful to be true in the morning sun, and Jason felt like the luckiest man alive.
"Come on," Percy said after a while, "Let's get up."
"Why?"
"Because I am not kissing you with your shit morning breath."
Jason got up and ran to toilets like he was running for his life, fueled on by Percy's happy laughter. He brushed his teeth faster than he had ever done before, Percy's words echoing in his head. They were going to kiss. They were actually going to kiss. Jason couldn't believe it.
It didn't take long for Percy to join him and a minute later, when they both deemed their teeth clean enough, put down their brushes and stood close to each other.
They weren't kissing, not yet. They were waiting for the other to make the first move. Jason had a feeling that it'd be him. His fingers were itching to thread through Percy's hair like he had imagined himself doing a thousand times before, and pull him closer. Close enough to see every individual freckle, close enough to kiss...
There was barely a inch of space between their lips, and he could feel Percy's breath, warm and moist and unsteady against his lips. He'd never felt more alive. His heart raced and that inch of space suddenly felt unbearably large, and he couldn't hold back.
Jason leaned forward and closed the gap.
Percy's lips were rough and full and tasted of mint, and Jason knew that Elysium could never compare to this. Everything felt warm and wonderful as Percy wrapped his strong arms around Jason's waist, and Jason dragged his fingers through Percy's curls. God did it feel good, Jason thought. His heart was racing and he was getting drunk on the feel of Percy's lips against his. He never wanted to stop, and even if the world would end unless they broke apart, Jason thought he wouldn't be able to care less.
Percy was far more important.
Way too soon Percy was pulling back, breathing heavily. And Jason was immediately chasing after his lips, making Percy chuckle as he gently pushed Jason back. He was breathing heavily too, and wore a massive smile on his face.
"Every heard of breathing? It's something humans kind of need to do in order to live," Percy joked.
"Yeah, I've heard of it," Jason snickered, "I don't like it very much though."
"Why?"
"It stops me from kissing you."
"That's so fucking cute."
Percy didn't waste another second. He leaned forward and stole a kiss. Jason made a mental note to be as 'fucking cute' as humanly possible as often as possible since it seemed like a surefire way to get a kiss from Percy.
Slowly, Percy pulled Jason back to the bedroom and the two of them feel onto the bed, never once letting go of the other. Jason didn't plan to let go of Percy for a long time, and the idea of spending a morning kissing his new boyfriend sounded like a pretty fucking perfect day. Breakfast could wait, the outside world could wait, everyone and everything could wait because all that mattered was Percy.
