CH. 14—Drunk In Love (Or Just Plain Drunk)

"Nico," Maria di Angelo's voice was unreadable. "You're alive. Thank God."

"So are you. Where is… he?" Saying "Dad" didn't sound right anymore.

"At the store. But he'll be back soon, Nico. Where are you? Are you safe? You shouldn't have called."

"I'm using a payphone somewhere in…" He looked around. "Chinatown."

"You're still in New York?" She hissed. "Out in the open? Have you lost your mind, dear?"

"Mom, I'm fine, I've been staying with a—"

"No," she interrupted, her voice full of panic. "Don't tell me. I can't know where you are. Nico, you need to get out of New York. If your father knew—"

"I couldn't leave without you. Grab whatever you can from the apartment and get out now, okay? I'm on my way."

Before he could hang up, his mother shouted, "No! Nico, you can't. You can't come anywhere near me."

Fissures formed on the surface of Nico's heart. "What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere without you, and you can't stay with him."

"I am the parent here, Nico. Get out of the city now. It's not safe for you."

Nico's voice was high with desperation, "Mom—"

"I'll be fine. And when the time is right, maybe I will be able to get away, but not now."

"Mom, you're a witness, he'd kill you before he would let you get away."

His mother said nothing to that. "Get out. Now. And you can't call me again. It's not safe."

"I—I can't—"

"You can. I love you. Addio, mio caro."

"Mo—"

The line went dead.

"Damn it," Nico cursed, slamming the phone back into place. "Damn it. Damn it!"

How could he save his mother when she didn't even want to be saved? Weeks of struggling for a way to rescue her, and his mother didn't want him to. She was trying to protect Nico.

But Nico knew he could never leave without her. He couldn't. He wouldn't dream of it. All along, his goal hadn't been to get revenge on his father, not to clear his name, not to walk free under the sun, his biggest wish had been just to get his mother. To escape with her and never see his father again.

Now, he was utterly lost.

Nico slumped against the telephone booth, sliding down the wall until he lay slumped on the floor, and began to cry.

Tears were so useless. God, Nico hated crying. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the feeling of hopelessness from turning to liquid and spilling from his eyes. Fuck his father. Fuck his self-sacrificing mother. Fuck Jason. Fuck the whole fucked up world. He didn't quite know which of them he was crying for anymore. Perhaps all of them.

Where did Nico go from here?

Maybe he should listen to his mother. If she wouldn't go with him, then the sooner Nico got out of town, the better. Why hang around in a city where everyone knew your face and wanted to see you behind bars?

He still had ten dollars in his pocket. Not much, but more than he had when he ran away the first time. Maybe, in time, his mom would be able to get away too. Maybe they would find each other. And they could be safe, just like Nico had dreamed of.

The safest option. The smartest option. Right?

You know that isn't the right decision, his conscience whispered. Running away isn't the answer.

Nico scolded himself. Of course running away was the fucking answer. Staying in New York was practically suicide. And why bother? What did he have here, if not his mother?

Nothing. Nothing to hold him.

Liar, his heart accused.

Jason Grace.

Jason Fucking Grace.

He'd never been part of Nico's plan. Nico had been right to try and shake him initially. He should never have fit into this equation. Should not be even a blip-it on Nico's radar.

But that didn't matter anymore. Jason, for better or for worse, had rooted himself in Nico's heart, and no amount of anger or fear or frustration could destroy that. Nico loved him. God, did he ever love him.

And well, he supposed that Jason must have cared a lot too, to do something as stupid as tracking down Nico's old apartment building. People did stupid shit because they cared, right? That counted for something.

Jason was still an idiot, though. Caring or not, Nico didn't need to date some hero. He didn't want to love someone so willing to put himself in danger. He didn't want to lose Jason. He couldn't. In all of the insanity, the loss, and the fear, Jason was there, a lighthouse flashing through the darkness.

The problem was, Nico couldn't seem to walk away any more than he could sit around and watch the boy he loved endanger his life. Love. What a contradiction it was.

Ever since realizing the depth of his feelings, the word swirled around inside of him. This was what it meant to be in love with someone. No matter how angry he got, no matter how much he wanted to punch Jason in his perfect fucking face, he couldn't turn away from him. He couldn't turn away from the feelings Jason stirred inside of him.

He just couldn't.

So he turned around.

And went back.

Cursing himself the whole way.

…

Jason, Piper, Leo, and Mitchell stood outside of Khione Winters' building, staring up at the stone facade.

"Wow," Leo whistled. "Her family must be loaded."

Jason didn't care.

"Well, Valdez, if you're done gawking, I'd like to see how you New Yorkers party," Mitchell said, his eyes landing on Jason, even though he spoke to Leo.

Jason didn't care about that, either. He'd be happy to pretend Mitchell didn't exist at all, and he also didn't care if that made him a dick.

He wasn't here to cheat on his boyfriend.

If he is still your boyfriend, a voice whispered in his mind. Jason shook it off.

Rule number one of the night: don't dwell on what happened with Nico.

Rule number one was easier said than done.

"Yeah, let's go inside," he said, starting forward without waiting for the rest of the group. He needed loud music. He needed music so loud he couldn't think.

By the time the others caught up, Jason had already summoned the elevator. Leo and Mitchell argued over New York parties versus LA parties as they rode up. Piper shot Jason a look of concern.

You okay? She mouthed.

Jason ignored her. Piper's concern grew.

On the way to Piper's, Jason had been forced to stop and throw up in an alley behind a restaurant. It hadn't been pleasant.

Could heartsickness lead to actual sickness?

Maybe he did have the flu after all.

The sound of the party floored Jason the second he stepped out of the elevator, pounding through the walls. A wonder the cops hadn't shown up. Though, the residents of the building had surely grown used to the noise.

A word or two about Khione Winters: Her father came from money, as did his father, and his father's father, and his father's father's—you get it. The family moved to Manhattan from Quebec City three years ago and since then, the three children had become exceptionally popular through their parties. Their single father spent most of his weekends conducting business in Canada, leaving his luxurious financial district penthouse apartment with his three little angels.

A poor decision, Jason mused as he walked through the front door and was floored by the sheer number of teenagers. Or, not all teenagers, Jason supposed. Khione's older fraternal twin brothers Cal and Zethes had graduated the previous year and were now attending NYU. A miracle, considering they must have had a combined IQ of twelve. But Jason figured their father had more to do with that than anything.

The air stank of alcohol. Beer and vodka and tequila and God only knew what else floated around in cups. Music shook the room. People packed every corner, jumping and dancing and kissing and—whatever those girls were doing on the table.

"I wonder if Calypso is here!" Leo yelled, leaning in close so Jason could hear him.

"I wonder if anyone in the senior class isn't here," Jason retorted. This party idea had sounded like a good distraction, but now that he was there, Jason felt claustrophobic and irritated and he wanted nothing more than to go home, cuddle up with Nico, and watch a movie.

Too bad he hates you.

"Want to dance or something?" Mitchell asked, barely heard above the music. He casually brushed his hand against Jason, who flinched in response.

"I need a drink," Jason muttered, walking away.

Jason Grace, who never drank , especially not at parties. Who almost never went to parties to begin with.

"Hey, Jason!" Connor Stoll greeted, pushing a cup into Jason's hand. "Try this! Trav and I came up with it ourselves."

Jason didn't question, he took a sip.

The alcohol burned in his throat, nearly causing the blond to choke. "What the hell is in this?"

"Don't ask," Connor grinned, disappearing into the crowd and leaving the cup with Jason.

The absolutely disgusting drink.

Without a second thought, Jason downed half of the cup. This time, he did choke a little.

"Can I try?" Mitchell asked, once again appearing beside him. What the hell was with this dude? Jason could have told him to shove off, but didn't really see the point. Just because he was in a bad mood, didn't mean he had to be a total asshole.

Wordlessly, Jason thrust the drink at him. The other boy smiled and took a sip. The smile faded. "This tastes like someone poured four different drinks into one cup!" He yelled.

Jason shrugged. Mitchell handed back the cup with a puzzled look on his face. "You're really quiet tonight," he announced barely heard over the music.

I don't want to be here anymore.

And Jason knew Mitchell hadn't done anything wrong, but looking at the boy only upset him more. He had dark hair, almost black like Nico's, but his eyes were green and his skin was tan and he kept looking at Jason like he was expecting something from him.

"I'm always quiet," he snapped, finishing the cup and making his way into the crowd.

…

Two hours and countless drinks later, Jason found himself in a room upstairs with a group of college students he'd never met. They were loud, crude, lewd, and probably the last people Jason would normally associate himself with.

Which made it the perfect place to hide from his friends and get absolutely plastered.

He supposed the group wasn't so awful, they didn't pry, they kept the alcohol moving, and most importantly—they didn't utter a single word about Nico di Angelo.

A fist closed around Jason's heart and he took a long gulp straight from the bottle of tequila he'd been clutching for the last twenty minutes.

"Hey, maybe you should slow down a little—Jordan? Justin?" One of the girls asked. Jason had heard a guy call her Lou Ellen. He thought. Honestly, it was hard to keep anything straight in his mind other than the fact that Nico hated him. His boyfriend kicked him out of his own damn house. Jason took another swig and decided he rather despised the taste of tequila.

"Jason," Jason corrected, "And I'm fine."

"Fine? At this rate, you're gonna finish the whole fuckin' bottle. You look like shit, man," the blond guy beside Lou Ellen slurred.

"I feel like shit," Jason retorted, clutching the bottle tighter.

"I'll drink to that," another guy—a bulky dude with an out-of-place rainbow tattoo—announced, tipping back the rest of his cup. Jason vaguely wondered what had been in his cup and if it tasted better than pure tequila.

"A fuckin' men," the first guy said. He and Lou Ellen both drank.

"S'what's going on with you?" Lou Ellen asked, sliding herself closer to Jason and pouring some of his bottle into her cup. Jason frowned. Get your own damn bottle.

"Everything," he groaned, suddenly feeling an overwhelming need to vent. She wasn't Piper, but he supposed this drunk college girl would do. "I got in a fight with my boyfriend. We—we've never fought before. And I said stupid shit and now he like, fucking hates me and I can't go home because he's there and he told me to get out and I don't want him to leave and—and—" In a sudden fit, Jason chucked the half empty bottle across the room, watching as the contents spilled everywhere and the glass shattered. "Everything is fucking ruined and it's never going to be fixed! Just like that fucking bottle!"

"Whoa, dude," rainbow guy said, placing a cautious hand on Jason's shoulder. "Calm down, I'm sure things will work out."

"No you're not!" Jason wailed, shoving him away. Fuck, why had he wasted so much tequila. His plan to drink until he felt numb wouldn't exactly work without the alcohol. "You have no idea!"

"Here," the third, smallest guy said, passing Jason his cup. "You need this more than I do."

"I think he's had enough to drink tonight, Cecil," Lou Ellen chided, sounding more sober than she had a minute ago.

"I knew he didn't want me to interfere," Jason moaned, "But I just wanted to help him! I—I was trying to—"

Forming sentences felt a lot harder than usual, though Jason couldn't tell if it was due to his frustration or the two miserable hours of intense alcohol consumption. As if it mattered.

As if anything mattered.

It was all hopeless. Absolutely hopeless. Jason was a fuck up of a boyfriend and now he could lose the only guy he'd ever loved.

"I love him," Jason admitted, "I love him so much. I love him so so so so so so so so much."

"Will," Lou Ellen said, addressing the blond dude, "Maybe we should clean up the glass."

"It'll be fine," Cecil interrupted, shoving her arm. "We are helping our poor gay friend Julian through a major crisis."

"Jason," Jason corrected glumly, snatching away the bottle of… Jason honestly didn't even know what… from between the Cecil and Will and took a large gulp, nearly choking in the process. It had a horrible artificial fruity taste. Alcohol really was disgusting, but if it made his mother's problems go away, eventually it would have to start working on him.

"Julian, Jason, same whatever," Cecil waved a hand in the air

"Maybe he's bisexual like me," Will grinned. "I could make you forget about your boyfriend I bet."

"My cousin Luke is gay," Cecil offered, "If things don't work out with your guy you could totally jump his bones. Or he could jump yours. Whatever's cool."

Be with… not Nico? Jason felt nauseated just considering it. (At least, that was probably why he felt nauseated.)

"Castellan is with Ethan Nakamura now," Lou Ellen chirped. "Where have you been?"

"I don't want to be with anyone else!" Jason hollered. "Only Nico!"

"Okay, okay, it's okay," Lou Ellen said, slinging her arms around Jason. "S'all okay. We're friends, Jeremy. Here, I'll give you my phone number and you can call me if you ever want to talk." She dug around for his cell phone.

Jason didn't bother correcting her this time. He feared if he opened his mouth he would begin to sob. And sob. And sob.

So instead he just shook his head and pushed his palms into his eyes. Fuck, he really felt shitty. But at least his current ailments distracted from the cheese grater wearing away at his heart.

Then the door opened, hitting the rainbow guy in the back and causing a string of curse words to spill from his mouth.

Jason examined the new arrivals—maybe they'd brought drinks—and saw the faces of his friends.

Well, shit.

Piper led the charge, Leo at her side and lingering just behind both of them, Mitchell. Jason frowned at the trio. He didn't want them around. Piper, with her scary intuition, Leo with his knowledge of Jason's romantic life, and Mitchell… Mitchell was a problem for numerous reasons.

"Jason?" Piper said, scowling down at him. "What are you doing? We haven't seen you since we got here. We've been looking for you."

"I didn't want to be found," he mumbled. Being around Piper and Leo and Mitchell only intensified Jason's feeling of misery. He felt like he may burst. His mind zeroed in on one topic, one thing, one name. Nico. Nico Nico Nico Nico.

"One of those guys your boyfriend?" Lou Ellen asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Boyfriend?" Piper asked, glancing over her shoulders at the other two and then focusing her gaze on Jason. Who even cared if Piper knew the truth? Why shouldn't she? Maybe Piper would know what to do, maybe she'd know—

"Well, we found Jason, now," Leo said hurriedly, pushing into the room. "Come on, Jase, time to go."

Jason threw his fist down onto the floor. "No! No I don't want to go! I want to stay here with my new friends! This is Lou Ellen and Cecil and Will and…" he paused at the rainbow boy, "And that guy. I'm never going home! I can't! He'll get mad and—"

"Dios mio, Jason. You're completely wasted, aren't you?"

"Why would you say that?" Jason demanded, standing up shakily. "I—I've only had a little bit to drink!" He was aware that this was a total lie. Even as he stood, the room spun around him. Spinning as if the whole world was turning around Jason while he stood perfectly still at the center of it all. But Leo didn't need to know that.

"What's he going on about?" Mitchell asked Piper quietly. The dark haired girl shook her head. Whoa, okay, too much moving at once. Shit.

"I'm a bad boyfriend!" Jason wailed, falling onto the bed. "I'm such a fuck up!"

"Probably just crazy drunk talk," Leo deduced quickly, crossing to the bed. "I've never seen Jason take more than a sip of champagne in over three years. And God only knows how much he drank tonight."

"I'm not drunk!" Jason grumble again. "I feel fine! No, I don't feel fine. I feel like shit. But then Travis—or maybe Connor—gave me a drink and now I have a headache but what does it even matter? I'd rather have a million headaches than go home, Leo!"

Leo gave him a look as if to say, close your fucking mouth right now you damn idiot.

"We're going to talk about this, but first let's get you home, Jason," Piper said. "We'll call a cab."

"No!" Jason shouted. "I can't go home! That's the problem. He's too pissed! I can't face him! I'm a fuck up. I'm a fuck up. Fuck. Get me a drink."

"Who is pissed?" Piper urged.

How dense was she? "You're the one acting like the drunk one, Piper. Who do you think? It's N—"

"Mitchell, can you get Jason some water?" Leo blurted suddenly, cutting off Jason mid-sentence and clapping a hand over his mouth. "And Piper, call a cab?"

"Leeeeeeeeo," Jason groaned, tearing the hand away. He could smack the Latino right now. Jason needed to talk to Piper about this. Piper would fix things. "It's rude to interrupt people. I'm just trying to tell them—"

"Jason, you're wasted. Shut up now," Leo warned, talking right over him. The blond pouted.

"How about Mitchell gets the water and calls the cab?" Piper suggested. Jason almost saw gears turning in her head, which he may have found funny if he weren't so damn depressed. Normally Leo was the one with a mechanical brain.

"Mitchell doesn't know the first thing about New York cabs. Actually, you know what, I'll take Jason and we'll wait outside for the cab to come. I'll call. Piper, you find Khione and tell her thanks. Mitchell, make it a bottled water."

Before his friends could utter a word of protest, Leo dragged Jason out the door by his ear.

"By Jonathan!" Lou Ellen sang drunkenly. "Text me some time! We'll hang!"

"You fucking idiot," Leo scolded as they retreated down the hallway, checking over his shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

"I love him, Leo," Jason said, as if to justify everything. "Did you know that? I looove him. I just love Nico and I want him to not be mad at me and love me too. I love him love him love him love him soooo much." He felt on the verge of tears. In fact, throwing a tantrum sounded quite appealing to Jason.

Leo looked around hastily once more and pinched Jason's lips between his fingers. "Stop talking idiot, before you let the whole world know who has been hiding in your bedroom," he hissed.

They elbowed their way through the crowd—okay, Leo did all of the elbowing—and finally wound up back at the elevators. They got n alone and Leo quickly pressed the button to shut the doors. "But he needs to know how much I love him! Maybe if he knows that I love him—he won't be mad. I could message him right now and tell him how much I love him and—"

Jason's phone was snatched right out of his hands. Damn Leo Valdez. Damn him to hell. Jason needed to tell Nico, he needed his phone. He couldn't just send telepathic messages. Leo pocketed the phone. "Oh no, Casanova. You aren't breathing a word of love to that boy when you are drunk off your ass. Got that?"

"But—but—"

"Jason, there are two things I am certain of. One, Kevin Jonas will never have a solo career, and two, you never make any big declarations when you're drunk. Never never never. Whatever is going on with you two, it'll get worked out."

"You make no sense, Leo," Jason informed as they crossed through the lobby.

"Of course I do! Now come on, we gotta get out of here before Piper and Mitchell show up. You're a little too chatty for your own good, Jase."

"You really think I can work things out?" He mumbled.

"The way that boy looks at you? Wouldn't surprise me at all. Of course, there is the issue of your fantastic drunkenness."

"Don't fucking mock me. I'm not drunk," he protested as he tripped on the front step of the building. "Damn it! Fucking ground!"

"You're hopeless," Leo sighed.

…

Nico stared at Jason's computer screen, wondering if he should just go ahead and message Jason. Come home, he wanted to say. It was past midnight now, and still no sign of the blond. Granted, Nico had told him to get out, but it wasn't like Jason could move out forever. Yet here Nico sat at 12:03am, utterly Jasonless and more miserably alone than ever.

Sister: Dead

Mother: Doesn't want to be saved

Boyfriend: …

He sighed and closed the laptop. Fuck Jason. Maybe a night wandering in the cold would do his idiot brain some good. Maybe Jason could go to Nico's old apartment to warm up over his father's fireplace. Or in the oven, kabob style. Who fucking knew with Hades di Angelo?

Nico slammed his fist against the desk with a growl of frustration.

Where the hell was Jason?

He could stay gone, Nico was done with him.

If he didn't get back in the next thirty seconds Nico would go out looking for him.

Nico would bolt the damn apartment door and let Jason beg.

Nico only wanted to cuddle against the blond and forget this day had ever happened.

He was angry enough to kill Jason himself.

He loved him like crazy.

Fuck. It was like Nico had two different brains, the one that wanted to strangle Jason and the one who wanted to hug him so tight he could barely breathe.

Nico went to the kitchen and started a kettle of water. He could really use a steaming cup of hot chocolate right now. Being in the apartment all alone was a lot more depressing when he wasn't sure when Jason would return.

Should Nico make Jason a cup of chocolate too? What if he was cold when he returned? No, that wasn't Nico's problem. Fucking let that meddling bastard be cold. In fact, Nico didn't even know if he would say a single word to him.

When the kettle began to whistle, Nico poured himself a cup and located the powder Jason used. He methodically spooned the powder into the cup and stirred, focusing on the drink and only the drink. Only after a minute of tedious stirring did he recall that Jason put the powder in the cup before the water. He threw the spoon into the sink in frustration.

Nico crossed to the fridge to get the whipped cream—he wanted to replicate the drink as closely as possible—and cursed to find there wasn't any. "Fucking perfect."

No whipped cream. No idea where Jason was. No fucking point in doing anything. He poured the cocoa down the sink without a single taste. Had he really though a hot beverage would solve all of his problems? Sherlock Holmes couldn't even solve all of Nico's problems.

Then, a miracle happened. Or maybe a nightmare. The front door opened.

Nico's entire body tensed as he turned to the sound. Jason, finally? Or Mrs. Grace? Which would be worse right now?

He didn't expect to see the stupid mug of Leo Valdez shoving Jason through the front door while he protested, "No Leo I can't I can't I can't I can't." The blond slumped against Leo and nearly sent them both toppling over.

"Damn it, Jason, control yourself."

Nico's feet carried him in the direction of the boys, almost without meaning to. Something was wrong with Jason, and Nico had a sick feeling he knew what.

"Leo?" He questioned. "What are you—"

"Your boy toy is fucking wasted. Absolutely plastered. And not my problem anymore," he shoved the drunken boy in Nico's direction. Jason stumbled into Nico's arms and gripped his shoulders for support.

"Nico," he groaned. "I'm sorry. I'm—don't be mad at me. I wasn't thinking! Forgive!" Jason fell to his knees and clung to the younger boy's legs. Nico stared down at him in wordless shock. Jason, his Jason, drunk? What the fuck had he been thinking?

"Where the hell were you two? You didn't think to stop him from drinking? I notice you're perfectly sober," Nico snapped, absentmindedly brushing his fingers through his foolish boyfriend's hair.

Concern for his wellbeing first, anger could come later.

"What, no 'Thanks Leo for bringing my boyfriend home before his drunk ass could blab to the whole world about how he's hiding me in his bedroom, that was so kind of you to leave the party early.' And it's not like I followed him around all fucking night, you know."

Party? Nico wanted to demand. Instead he let out a deep breath and tried to quell his anger. "Thank you, Leo."

"I mean, tons of fine ladies were hoping to get a piece of the Leo and I had to turn all of them down to take Jason's sorry ass home. Really, you're lucky I'm so thoughtful and selfless."

"Don't push it," Nico growled. "It's your damn fault he even knew where I lived, you moron."

"Nicoooo!" Jason wailed. "Stop ignoring me. We can fix this! We can work it out! I'm sorry! I'm sorry." Nico glanced down at the blond—looking absolutely pathetic with his arms wrapped around Nico's legs—and sighed.

"Come on, let's sit you down on the couch," he said, unlatching Jason's arms and practically dragging him to the sectional, which would have been much easier if Jason didn't fight him on it.

"We're made for each other, Nico! You can't get rid of me! Please! We can watch Casablanca! Kiss me!"

Nico deposited him on the couch. "Stay here and lay down, got it?"

Jason gave a sorry nod and frowned, like a scolded child.

The younger boy rubbed his forehead and crossed back to Leo.

"At least he's home now," Leo said. "I'm sure Mitchell would have loved to get a piece of him if I hadn't been there."

Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell… where had Nico heard that na—

Piper's cousin. The family reunion.

Oh hell no. Had he tried to move in on Jason? Had anything happened while Leo wasn't around? A sick feeling twisted in his gut. No, no, Jason wouldn't do that. Argument or not, Jason wouldn't cheat on Nico to spite him, right?

Maybe sober Jason wouldn't… Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck.

"Look," Leo said, interrupting Nico's internal freak out, "I don't know what happened between you two and I don't care, but don't blame me. Just fix your fucking problems, it's annoying. Besides, you two live together, is any argument really bad enough to change that? I'm just saying, Jason may be an idiot, but he also really really cares about you. So just forgive him, okay? I don't want to have to do this again."

Nico could only stare at him. He couldn't tell if Leo actually gave a crap, or if he really was just annoyed to have to deal with it like he'd claimed, either way, the words of Jason's best friend surprised him. Nico had got the impression that Leo would really rather Nico fall off the face of the earth and leave Jason alone forever, yet here he was, telling Nico to give Jason another chance. And he'd followed Hades several blocks knowing exactly how dangerous he was.

"Th—thanks again, Leo."

"Don't mention it, di Angelo," Leo replied. "No, really, don't mention it. I'm too pretty to go to prison."

Nico rolled his eyes. So much for the moment of questionable friendship. "You're an asshole," he told the Latino half-heartedly.

Leo chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Take care of your boyfriend, he's going to feel like shit in the morning."

"He's so stupid," Nico sighed, his eyes drifting back to Jason, who sat pouting on the couch.

"Tell me about it." Leo left, dropping Jason's key on the counter on his way out.

And Nico was suddenly alone with Jason.

"Nico, come here," Jason whined, "I just want to cuddle. Don't hate me, please."

"I don't hate you," the younger boy said, keeping his feet firmly in place. He still loved Jason, but that didn't mean he was ready to ignore what had happened earlier, what Jason had said, or how he'd handled himself afterwards. "But I am pretty fucking pissed at you."

Jason hung his head in shame.

"Is this how you handle conflict, Jay?" Nico asked as he began pacing the room. "You go out and drown yourself in alcohol? Your mother is a fucking alcoholic! What goes through your mind half the time? How big of a death wish do you have?" He threw his arms up in the air.

"I—I'm sorry," Jason sniffled.

Nico halted. Was Jason crying?

He started crying harder. "I up—upset you. I was so ash—ashamed. I c—can't lose you."

The dark haired boy watched as his boyfriend curled into a ball and sobbed on the couch. Perhaps Jason was still a little too drunk for a lecture. "Jason, shh, it's okay," Nico soothed, going to kneel beside the couch. The sobs calmed down to just tears.

"Please don't hate me! We need—I need—each other—need—fuck, maybe I did drink too much," the blond sputtered.

"Let's talk about this when you're sober, okay?" Nico suggested, wiping away Jason's tears.

"You don't—you—hate me?" He choked, looking on the verge of sleep at this point.

"I already told you I don't. I'm your boyfriend, Jay. Now come on, you're too full of alcohol for us to be having this conversation. Let's put you to sleep."

"Kiss me," Jason muttered as Nico helped him off of the couch. He leaned in and tried to place his lips on Nico's, but the younger boy easily shoved him off.

"I don't kiss drunk people," he stated, guiding Jason down the hall and to their bedroom.

Once they got into the room, Nico retrieved the old comforter from the closet, the same one he had used as a makeshift bed when he'd first started staying here. "You're too drunk to sleep in the bed," Nico told the blond. In Jason's current state, he'd probably end up vomiting or pissing all over the sheets.

"I hate the floor," Jason protested, attempting to nuzzle against Nico's neck.

"You should have thought of that before you decided to drink away your bad feelings," he retorted without sympathy, dropping the comforter on the floor between the bed and the bathroom. He considered getting Jason some medicine, but figured that the other boy would just end up throwing it up. That would have to wait until morning. Hydration though, that Nico could do.

"Get ready for bed, I'll go get you a glass of water," Nico announced. Jason gave a solemn nod.

As Nico stood in the kitchen and filled a cup with water, he allowed himself to consider what would happen when Jason was sober again. They couldn't just go back to normal, obviously. But Nico also knew he couldn't stay mad at Jason, at least not for long. He supposed his boyfriend had acted with good intentions, no matter how stupid they were. Reasonably, he knew the smartest answer was still to get out of Jason's life, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen. Maybe he could have managed it three hours ago, but now? With Jason home and—reasonably—safe? Nico wouldn't, Nico couldn't leave his side now.

What a fucked up situation these boys had gotten themselves into.

Back in the room, Nico found Jason passed out on the floor, fully clothed and only half on top of the blanket Nico had left for him. Rather than try to rouse him, Nico shut off the lights and pulled the blanket so it partially covered the blond.

"Night, Jay," he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on top of the blond's head.

"I love you," Jason mumbled, his eyes cracking open for only a second. Nico tensed. Then, just as quickly, the blond was deep asleep once more.

Had Jason just… Had he been talking to Nico?

No, Nico thought. Drunk talk. It had to be. For all Nico knew, Jason could have confused him with Thalia, or Leo, or really anyone. He was barely conscious and completely wasted. Nothing that he said could possibly be taken seriously.

At least, that's what Nico kept telling himself. Don't dwell on this, it doesn't mean anything. After all, hadn't Nico decided from the start that his feelings for Jason were far more serious than Jason's feelings for him?

With that unpleasant thought, Nico crawled into Jason's bed, sweatpants, t-shirt, and all. But none of that was enough to stop Nico from shivering. All. Night. Long.

A/N: So this is the last weekly chapter. It's been fun while it lasted. From here on out the chapters will come as I finish them, and I promise it will RARELY be on a weekly basis. My schoolwork owns my life. That being said, difficult chapters will obviously take longer. 15 is trying to be difficult with me. But I'll hopefully get this chapter up before Christmas Break. No promises though. Now would just be a really great time to follow me on tumblr at nephilimgirlbooksSee you next time darlings!