"It's all Percy's fault," Jason cursed. He should have known better! For the love of Gods, how could he have been so stupid?
When he looked up, his gaze fell on the teen standing in the arena's center. Sinful parted lips, eyes as deep as the Tartarus, and skin so fair Selene herself must have blessed each precious inch. There he had his answer. Nico di Angelo - Aphrodite's divine punishment. How he deserved such was beyond him. He'd risked life and limb in the name of gods, was nothing but a loyal soldier and still... What had he done to earn her wrath?
Through the air danced Stygian iron, loose strands of hair escaped a sloppy ponytail, it's color so dark it put the blackest night to shame. Jason's throat went dry. Nico was nothing short of poetry in motion. He looked amazing, so good, unbelievable. Though it wasn't just the beauty of the son of Hades that haunted his dreams. He was also kind, kind and gentle and loving and so very brave. Jason couldn't help it. He didn't even bother hiding his smile whenever he thought of the younger. There were only butterflies and Jason had to double-check if he was floating or not.
Their eyes met. Nico gifted him one of his rare half-smirks. Hoo boy. All the son of Jupiter wanted was to speed up, gather him in his arms, and never let go. Sadly his knees had other ideas and decided now was the perfect moment to turn into jello. Damn. He'd fallen so hard for him. Not like he was purposely in love with his friend. He was sure Nico just saw him as a big brother not a - Jason blushed at the thought, lover. If that was what fate had in store for them then that was fine too, really, kinda - Oh, who was he kidding? Reyna's dogs would have ripped him to shreds. Jason wanted nothing more than to be exactly that - be with him. Jason wanted the impossible.
Nico called his name and his survival instincts kicked in. His mouths produced something akin to a greeting and his shoulders relaxed. Maybe this was going to be okay. Being casual was the key. He had to play it cool. Act normal. No problem. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Oh gosh, the time spent with Percy was taking its toll. His IQ was gradually degrading to nothing.
Nico lifted a questioning brow. He was suddenly right in front of him. Incredibly close. Too close. There was the faintest hint of pink dusting over the Italian's delicate cheekbones and everything inside Jason screamed: Mission abort!
He successfully managed to stay put and not run with his tail between his legs. Defeating Gaea was nothing compared to the task of asking Nico out. Should he really jeopardize the more or less healthy relationship they'd developed?
"What's up with the outfit?" Nico gestured at him.
His voice was like a breeze in spring. Jason's eyes gazed over the Younger's muscle-shirt. Black and tight it hugged his lean but nicely built body. Sweat glistened on his collarbone and he wondered how it would taste on his lips. Jason breathed heavier. He wasn't gonna make it. There was no salvation on the path he was on, and he hoped it would lead to kissing the other boy senseless. But that was a problem for another day.
Nico tilted his head when Jason failed to answer.
"Uh." Smooth Grace. "I, eh, am...," he gulped. All of a sudden Jason felt ridiculously overdressed and yearned for the safety of his usual clothes, a camp shirt, and a pair of simple pants. He tried not to come across as overly anxious, but he really, really didn't want to do this. Get it together, he scolded himself. Just explain it to him, his inner voice urged. It's not that hard. What could go wrong?
"Percy ... I … we," Jason stuttered. His words simply wouldn't work. Before he could embarrass himself any further he gave up on them.
"Oh…" Nico replied hesitant, his eyes cast on the ground.
Silence wrapped around them so thick it was beginning to get awkward.
"So what do you think?" Jason asked hopelessly. "How do I look?" He scratched the back of his neck and pointed at himself.
Nico hummed thoughtfully. "You look… uncomfortable."
Well, that was one way to put it. Jason grimaced. The memory of hours spent in the Aphrodite cabin and Drew's weird-ass makeover play-list flashed up in his mind. You gear up for war so you have to do the same for love. Percy had made it sound so easy, but now standing in front of Nico he contemplated all his life choices. Of course, Nico's assessment wasn't wrong. After all, he had exactly summarized how Jason felt. He knew him well. Nonetheless, it took a huge amount of willpower not to let his face crumble in disappointment.
Nico's expression softened, "But the new haircut really suits you."
A pale hand reached up, running his fingers through freshly trimmed strands. Jason blinked. For a moment nothing mattered but the feeling of Nico's palm pressed against him.
"So soft," he heard the other boy mumble while a small flush was rising on Nico's cheeks. Cute.
Jason grinned dopey and Nico shifted from one foot to the other. That was also hell of adorable. His smile grew till he got punched into his shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" Jason asked.
"Next time tell me when you ditch me for Jackson," Nico grumbled. "I hate to miss kicking your butt, even if it's just for practice."
"What?" Jason's jaw dropped. No. Nonononono. His guts churned tight. What his earlier words implied was definitely not what he meant, but now it was too late to take them back.
"Oh, right. Uh. Yeah, sorry about that." Jason had screwed up. Big time. He shot him a worried glance, that Nico pretended not to notice.
"Have fun you two." The object of his affection shook his head before waving Jason off.
.
.
.
Great, Jason sulked. His shoulders slumped as he made the lonely road back to his cabin. He was supposed to spend the day with Nico, either training or otherwise. Any time with him was precious and now he completely messed up.
He almost tripped twice and couldn't care less when the third time finally brought him down. Not that it mattered, Nico was out of sight anyway. Nothing mattered.
"Here lies Jason Grace. Face planted into the dirt. He died as he lived: a complete idiot." A familiar voice announced.
The son of Jupiter pounded. "Fuck off Jackson. I am forever going to be alone," Jason wasn't being dramatic. He swore.
"So, I take it, it could have gone better? I told Piper the sunglasses were too much." Percy had to fight tooth and nail not to burst out laughing. Jason was acting like the main character of a bad rom-com ever since he declared his undying love for the one and only Ghost King. And he was enjoying every second of it.
"It's over."
"You know, I saw Nico checking you out from behind." Despite his best attempts, he couldn't suppress his gleeful cackles.
Jason lifted his head. "Really?" Maybe, just maybe, there was hope. He was a believer at heart.
"Totally." Percy's foot nudged Jason who was still laying on the ground. "Wanna elaborate now?"
"I kinda said I am going to hang out with you."
At the sound of a palm smacking against a forehead, Jason turned onto his back.
"How? How is it even possible to be this bad? What happened to the cool and confident: 'Hey Babe, wanna go out and see a movie with me? By the way, look at my bazillion abs.'" Percy had the guts to do actual air quotes.
Jason groaned in misery.
"He probably believes you got the hots for me now." Percy waggled his eyebrows.
"What?" The son of Jupiter jolted up mortified. "No!" He protested. The truth couldn't be further from it. Millions of possibilities of what Nico may think of him bounced around in his head and he didn't like any of them. How was he ever getting out of this mess?
"Dressed up all fancy-pantsy just for me. You're lucky I am with Annabeth or it would have been worse."
"Stop it. This is all your fault."
As a being of pure hindsight, Percy added, "Told you, you two are doomed. Poor Nico. Don't worry. I bet Solace will cheer him up just fine," Percy laughed. Also, Percy had never run faster in his entire life. Damn Jason was scary.
