Kiss on the Mouth
Percy was a wee bit distraught. That was the short version of the story. This whole business of living with the two people he was in love with but not really acknowledging it or doing anything about it was killing him. Percy liked to consider himself a pretty straight forward guy. He preferred action to stewing over hypothetical situations any day. The only reason he didn't in this particular situation was because he was pretty sure he'd spook both of the boy's he was in love with if he just jumped them.
And he was perfectly okay with not jumping them too. If they really wanted to remain just friends then he thought he could be still be really happy and content with that. He really could. Except that he kept getting all these mixed signals from both of them. 'Yes I want you please come closer… no wait, why are you coming closer go away!' Most of that came from Nico, but Jason sometimes panicked too, though he was better at hiding it. To say the least, it was confusing as heck. There was very little in this world that he wouldn't do to make those two happy. The problem was that he was certain that Jason and Nico wanted but he didn't think either of them knew what they wanted and so Percy was at a loss of how to give it to them.
Even though Percy didn't always act like it, he was very conscious of the fact that he was the oldest out of the three of them and he really did try and look out for the other two as much as he could. As a consequence of being children of the Big Three, none of them had had much of a childhood. All of them had had to grow up much faster then they should have and shoulder responsibilities not even adults would ever have to bear. So there was a bit of Percy that- even though there was now no doubt anymore in his mind over if he wanted to enter a romantic relationship with them- was determined make sure that both of them could take this at their own pace.
Percy had known for years that his fatal flaw was that he would sacrifice the world for the people he cared about. He'd come to realize what was most dangerous about having this flaw is that it wasn't immediately apparent what a twisted sort of flaw this could be. When people discovered that was is 'fatal flaw' often times they would just kind of roll their eyes and scoff 'you really are a hero through and through aren't you?'. People made it sound like some kind of virtue rather then a vice. While Percy still believed in caring for his friends and loved ones with his whole being, it'd taken till Tartarus to fully recognize the darker side of his flaw; that saving the world twice had less to do with any sort of moral high ground on his part and more due to the beliefs of his friends. He had killed hundreds of people- and he had enough friends who were "monsters" to know that being a monster didn't take away 'personhood'- and he would probably do it again if those who were precious to him were in danger again… and that really scared him. In many respects he wasn't much better then the people he fought so hard against and that twisted him with guilt and made him feel undeserving of the affections he received.
"Don't you see how messed up I am?!" he wanted to scream sometimes. But he had a feeling that if he ever did his 'loved ones' might just punch him in the face and get really upset… He did seem to gravitate towards people who were more violent in nature after all.
But he'd been trying, he'd really really been trying to change. To learn how to still love fully without being self destructive or compromising his morals at the same time. He had never really voiced this to Nico or Jason, but he knew they both saw the changes and supported him as well. Not to say that they didn't have problems as well; wars and more quests then he could count had given all of them a little bit of hero complexes. Not that it wasn't completely understandable why that was, or that there wasn't some truth to that, but it could still be harmful to their relationships(and mental health, his mother was always reminding him, was extremely important). Being close to Jason was actually shedding more light onto why he needed to continue getting his shit together(it was always a work in progress, probably always would be). Like, Annabeth had told him many times how awful it was when he decided to "go all self sacrificing and heroic" and how much it pissed her off and freaked her out in equal amounts. His mom and other friends had told him something along the same lines at other times, but it really wasn't until he watched Jason try and shoulder all the responsibility all the time and hide his sufferings that Percy really got it. Because that was horrible for everyone involved and also unnecessary. He caught himself thinking all the time, 'It really wouldn't be so bad if we all just shared this burden together' which is not his default manner of operating.
The situation with Jason really did worry him. Nico also had dark moments, like, really dark moments where Percy would call in sick just because he was afraid of what would happen if he wasn't close by… But he always had Jason on his side in those situations, and Hazel, and Reyna, and Will. All of which were very familiar with the son of Hades and the ways he needed to be supported. When Jason got it into his head that he didn't want to impose on them and bottled everything up and smiled or went off on his own on dangerous missions… well, he and Nico had shared many a panicked glance whenever they caught wind of whatever was going on behind the scenes that time.
It really had to stop. They really had to stop hiding stuff from each other; they were just going to end up hurting one another.
"Percy, there is a major quest coming up for you three soon." Rachel informed the moment he picked up his phone after work. No nonsense or dancing about, just blunt and to the point. It was no mystery why he had crushed on her when he was a teen sometimes.
"Hello to you too Rachel." Grinned Percy as he fished his wallet out of his bag to get money for a cab, "How soon is 'soon' do you think? Like the 'should I expect a visit from a god on my way home?' kind of soon or is it the average 'it could be anywhere from next week to next year' kind of soon?"
"It's the 'you should probably pack your bags when you get home' kind of soon." Rachel informed him, ignoring his sarcasm. Percy frowned, it really must be an important quest.
"Got it, did you call the others yet?" asked Percy tapping his foot impatiently as the cab stalled in the packed NYC traffic.
"No I… I think it's going to be one of those quests where Jason might try and go solo so I thought…" said Rachel a little bit anxiety.
"Oh- Oh s*** are you serious? Have you had a vision of him going off-" began Percy panic mode starting to settle in.
"No! No, thank the gods, I just know Jason, you know? And this is going to be that kind of quest for him." Rachel warned, and Percy let out a tight breath. Well at least nothing was set in stone, he reflected.
"Thanks for the heads up Rach, Nico and I really appreciate it. We'll look after Jason, no worries. Just keep us posted if you see anything definite." Said Percy sighing and dragging a hand through his dark hair. Rachel snorted despite the seriousness of the situation, "What?"
"My gods… You guys have really got to get together. I don't know what you're worried about; you're all practically married to each other alre-"
"SO! I've got to go, call me if you need anything!" Percy said hurriedly and hung up before she could tease him anymore. Percy hoped his face wasn't as red as it felt, but since the cab driver was barely suppressing his laughter he figured he probably was. His embarrassment quickly faded back to stress as he quickly shot Nico a text to 'come home as soon as you can. I think Jace is going to do something stupid again' and they rounded the corner to the street where their apartment was.
"Here's good." He told the driver with a quick smile as he handed over his cash and hurried on his way. Jason should've already beat him to the house. There was no guarantee that he had even heard about whatever the quest was going to be yet but… Percy was almost all the way to their floor when he thought better of his plan to just march in. Instead, he took a detour up the fire escape and managed to climb through the window into his bedroom. These days, the room was mostly used as a movie room or for storage since all of them slept in Jason's most night's. Which was good because the muffled TV they usually left on covered up the sound of his entrance. Sneaking quietly through the apartment Percy found Jason just where he dreaded him to be; in his room hurriedly stuffing clothes, ambrosia, and other supplies into a backpack.
"Don't you dare." Growled Percy surprising the blond as he quickly tackled the other demigod to the floor, "You don't get to leave us behind on this one."
"Let go Percy! I've got to do this quest!" protested Jason struggling to escape his grip. Percy's element of surprise was fading and he knew it was only a matter of time before it became very apparent why they were equals in strength.
"Yes! You do! And we're coming with you!" Percy bit out and he was relieved when dark shadows joined his hands in helping to restrain the son of Jupiter. He panted as he sat back on Jason's middle and Nico silently crouched down next to him radiating frustration. Percy was once again extremely grateful for shadow travel.
"Anyone care to explain?" asked Nico sounding pissed and a little hurt.
"There is a new quest meant for all of us, but someone thinks that it's cool to try and leave us behind." Percy summarized.
"You guys can't come." said Jason shaking his head raggedly, "This quest is my problem. I am not risking you two getting yourselves killed-!"
"And that's supposed to make us feel any better about sending you off on your own?" demanded Nico.
"It doesn't matter!" Jason insisted and Percy watched something crumple in the blonds expression, "Don't you get it?! I love you two! If either of you get's hurt or killed because of my dumb problems-!"
"That's no excuse!" Nico surprisingly recovered himself first from the confession and nearly knocked Percy over as he grabbed Jason's shirt to haul him upright, "Love is never an excuse to do self destructive s***! Isn't that what you're always telling me? Well it applies to you too!"
"Whoa Nico-" Began Percy a bit startled about the passion with which Nico was speaking, he usually held himself in reserve, preferring to stew and glare rather then shout.
"Even so… I just can't… I've been having these dreams all this week of all these horrible things happening to you two on this quest and I… if there is even a chance of those dreams becoming reality then I am not risking it. I am not risking you two." Jason whispered, something desperate and vulnerable in his gaze that made it impossible for Percy to stay angry with him. Especially when he could relate. Nico let go of his shirt and Jason flopped back onto the floor, letting out a shuddering breath in an obvious attempt not become teary. All the anger had drained from the room. Percy shifted closer to both of them and wove his fingers together with Nico's and cupped Jason's face gently with his other hand.
"Jace… It's the same you know, for me at least. I love you guys too and I would do almost anything to protect you two." Said Percy struggling with his words a bit because, gods above this was important and he didn't want to screw up, "But I realize that means sometimes I have to protect myself, because you guys would be hurt if I was hurt wouldn't you?"
"Yeah…"
"Of course, dummy…"
"So it's the same, it's the same for you Jason." Percy insisted leaning down to shyly brush his mouth against Jason's, "So please… don't push us away."
"I-I-!" breathed Jason looking disbelieving and all around flustered.
"You two are going to be the death of me…" groaned Nico glaring at both of them, before his gaze softened and he also leaned down and kissed Jason briefly making something short circuit and fizz pleasantly inside Percy's brain, "But I agree with Percy on this one."
"You- I- You two aren't playing fair!" protested Jason as Nico finally released his shadowy bonds now that it looked like the blond was no longer going to blot.
"Nope." Agreed Percy popping his 'p' as a giddy feeling spread through his chest.
"To address your other concern though, I wouldn't really matter if one of the dreams really was some kind of prophetic vision because then there would be no way to change it, and if it wasn't then it's just some god trying to make you do something dumb like leave us behind." Nico huffed seeming content to continue the conversation and pretend his cheeks weren't flaming red.
"I guess…" said Jason hesitantly.
"No 'I guess' it's true, don't you know? Nico's always right." Percy informed them cheekily.
"I am going to remind you that you said that next time we disagree." Nico replied.
"I figured you might." Chuckled Percy in response before shifting so that Jason could sit up with them, "And next time, for real Jason, wake us up if you have a dreams like those again."
"S'fine, I usually feel better just waking up and having you both right there." Mumbled Jason in embarrassment.
"It's not fine if they're making you think about stupid things." Nico shot back sternly.
"I guess." Said Jason still not looking 100% convinced. Oh well, thought Percy, they had time to work on that, "So I guess there is not really anything I can do to stop you from coming along on this quest, huh?"
"Nope."
"Nothing. We'd just follow behind anyway."
"Well then, I guess we should get packing." Sighed Jason scratching his head.
"Yes, but first!" Percy said sternly taking both of their hands and joining them all, "Let's do this properly so there is no more confusion."
"What properly?" asked Nico looking perplexed.
"I want to ask you both to officially become my boyfriends." Smirked Percy though his eyes were serious.
"Oh, that." Mumbled Nico, flushing.
"Yes, that." Agreed Percy.
"Yes. I will." Jason responded immediately, his blue eyes intense and determined. Percy beamed and squeezed his hand.
"I- yeah- I mean yes, I want to- uh- date both of you too. Because I- ah- you know- also lovebothofyou." Mumbled Nico.
"What was that you said?" teased Percy.
"I said shut up." Nico shot back in embarrassment.
"Gladly." Said Percy cheekily leaning forward to steal a lingering kiss from him. He was pleased to see the son of Hades looking a little dazed after.
"J-Jason! Tell us about this quest!" Nico said quickly to cover up how flustered he was. Both Percy and Jason grinned at each other.
"Well, like I said before, this quest is going to be super dangerous for you two so I want you to promise me to be careful…" Jason began to explain as they sprawled out on their bedroom floor.
Despite many lingering problems and the fact this quest would be likely hard as usual, Percy had never felt so giddy and content. He sitting with his boyfriends! The word felt thrilling to say in his head. He'd actually gotten to exchange all sorts of kisses with them, even long before this. And as they all put off moving to gather their things Percy thought;
I hope we all get to have many many more types of kisses together from now on!
