Chapter 11: Lovers
"You're such a coward."
"Am not." Percy pouted.
Annabeth was one cruel person. There he went to her and actually tried to have a serious conversation about his feelings and she was making him look like an idiot.
"Percy, he was talking to Leo. Of course he wouldn't go and say 'Oh yeah, I'm so gay for Percy now'. If Leo had asked you, would you have said 'Absolutely! I love him!'?"
Percy shook his head wildly. "That's something different. And if he really liked me, don't you think he'd actually say something?"
"Are you saying anything to him that could show him you like him?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why would he?"
Percy pressed his lips together. Then he looked away, infuriated. "I am not gonna tell him. Never."
Annabeth laughed. "Percy, what's there to lose? You've already had plenty of sex, I can imagine. So you know he's at least sexually attracted to you."
Percy felt his ears reddening and reminisced about their sexual encounters for a moment.
Maybe not very helpful.
"Still." He pouted and looked around Annabeths room.
It looked different from back when they were dating.
Annabeths stuff was still on her desk, but there were also some of Pipers belongings lying around.
A notebook here, a poster of her fathers new movie there. Mostly clothes though.
Piper seemed to not be the cleanest either.
Percy wondered faintly if Jason had minded her mess as much as he minded Percy's.
Seriously, ever since Jason had looked so shocked at his mess, he had made it his painful duty to clean up every now and then halfheartedly, at least keeping the floors clean.
He didn't like it much, but he liked Jason's almost disgusted face even less.
So sacrifices needed to be made.
"You really like him, don't you?"
Percy sighed. "Are you keen on trampling on my pride? Of course I do. Do you think I'd be sitting here, crying about my fucked up love life if I didn't really like him?"
Annabeth chuckled. "Well you two did go about it the wrong way. Seriously, who starts having sex before even being friends, to then keep having sex, still refusing to admit you're friends, just to then fall in love with him, still unsure whether you are friends or not."
Percy scowled. "Thanks for the comfort, Wise Girl. I feel so much better now."
Annabeth sighed. "You know what your problem is? You are both too proud, too stuck up to admit even the tiniest sign of weakness. If I said: Write him a little not saying 'Do you want to go out with me? Yes, No, Maybe', then you'd tell me-…"
"Won't work. He'd see it as a challenge. Plus he wouldn't tick 'Yes' anyways."
Annabeth stared at him pointedly. "Exactly, he'd see it as a challenge. And you know why? Because you've made him see a challenge in pretty much anything. It's all your fault."
"Somehow, again, I don't find that very comforting." He deadpanned and kicked at a sweater lying to his feet.
"It's not meant to be. You've got yourself in quite a mess here. And only you can get yourself out of it."
"But hooooooooooow?!" Percy howled, falling back on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
"With TELLING him, Seaweed Brain. Tell him you fell in love with him. I don't know Jason much but I know he would never make fun of you if he knows you're serious."
"But…"
"I don't care. Even if he says he's not interested in you like that, I don't think he's gonna stop having sex with you just because you say you like him."
"It's not about the sex!"
"Not?"
"No!"
"What are you worried about then?" Annabeth asked confused.
Percy blushed. "Well…that…you know…" He started stammering, his face getting hot.
He sat back up, noticing Annabeth looking at him with raised eyebrows, her expression a mix between surprise, expectation and what looked like a hint of glee at his misfortune.
Evil ex-girlfriend.
"Well…you know. First of all, I don't want it to get weird between us. He's gonna think me stupid and it's gonna be awkward. He'll probably start feeling uncomfortable around me and as caring and considerate as he is, he's probably going to avoid me completely, not wanting to hurt my feelings, that lousy idiot. And then he will sleep alone and I'll sleep alone and there will be no touching, no kissing, no cuddling – stop laughing! I know what you're thinking! I haven't gone soft!"
But Annabeth was laughing heartily now, holding her stomach and tears building in her eyes.
He scowled and crossed his arms, refusing to look at her. Here he was, pouring out his heart and she was making fun of him. Laughing at him.
He felt annoyed. She rubbed her hands over her eyes, still giggling.
"You really love him, don't you?"
"How many times are you going to ask that?"
"I just…I just can't believe it, that's all. Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus and what not, admired and loved by everyone, sitting on my bed like a lovesick fool, crying about Jason Grace not cuddling with him."
Percy looked around at her with a deadly expression.
"Thanks. Thanks a lot. I love you too."
Annabeth chuckled and got up. "Yeah, whatever. Out with you, I want to go cuddle with my girlfriend."
His expression sour, he got up and let her push him out the door.
"And don't show your face here again before you told him how you feel." She said, winking and closed the door in his face.
That was so not helpful.
Maybe he should have gone to Piper instead.
Since she was Annabeths girlfriend, they were bound to have talked about Jason and Percy, so it was quite obvious she'd know about their doings as well.
Still, he didn't feel very comfortable picturing himself going to her for advice.
Then again, he hadn't really been looking for advice.
More like he had been looking for somebody to comfort him.
His heart ached and he was upset, ok?
.
"Oh, come on, Jason, just tell him how you feel, how difficult can it be?" Piper asked incredulously, shaking her head.
He scowled at her. "Very, considering he's STRAIGHT and doesn't even like me."
"Oh please. If he really didn't like you, why would he let you molest him at the dining table?"
"It's not like he wanted me to."
"He still didn't stop you."
"He tried to." He held up his right hand, which still had some scratch marks on it from Percy's futile try to get him away from his pants.
Piper raised her eyebrows. "Oh wow. So you're telling me that you seriously think he tried to stop you…because he scratched a bit at your hand?"
Jason blinked. "What do you mean?"
She sighed exasperated. "Jason, this is Percy we're talking about. If he had seriously wanted you to stop, he could have done plenty things. Kicking you in the gut or turning around and smacking your face would be the most harmless ones. You do know he has Riptide with him wherever he goes, right?"
"He wouldn't have done that. You might not have noticed, but he's a pretty proud person. Showing that he's bothered by it would be like admitting to others he's flawed."
"So he'd let himself get raped just to seem tough?"
"I wasn't going to rape him. I always make sure he likes it."
Piper had just opened her mouth to say something, but now she closed her mouth again, blinking.
Then she inched closer. "Does that mean he's bottoming?" She asked, a curious expression on her face.
Jason felt his ears getting hot.
This was way too personal.
He really shouldn't give Percy out like this.
"Sometimes…" He said, not meeting her gaze.
She giggled. "So you are telling me he's letting you do him and you still think he doesn't like you?"
"I can be quite dominant. He didn't stand a chance."
"So you did rape him?"
"Nah, he liked it."
"How do you know?"
"Well, he was writhing and moaning, pushing back against-…let's just say I know."
Pipers face was flushed. "Yes, I think you prove your point. Anyways…back to the problem at hand: How to find out whether he likes you."
Jason made a face. But before he could say anything, Piper held up her hand and he kept quiet.
"If you really didn't believe there might not even be a chance, then you wouldn't have come here. You'd have sulked in your room and tried to mend your broken heart with eating way too many brownies."
Jason scowled at her. "I would not."
"Shush."
"Hmpf."
They stared at each other.
Then he sighed. "How would it work, anyways? I mean how do you date another guy…as a guy?"
Piper looked at him, dumbfounded.
Then she cleared her throat, looking towards the floor. "Erm...it's really as a normal relationship between a boy and a girl, I suppose. You kiss, make out, maybe take each other out for romantic outings, like a nice dinner, or…"
"Stargazing…" Jason muttered, remembering how Percy had snuggled back against him while they looked up at the starry night sky, pointing out some constellations.
Piper looked surprised. "You two went stargazing?"
Jason felt his face flushing. "Not really. It was just…we had the night shift together and kind of…erm…warmed each other, looking up at the sky?"
Piper chuckled. "You really like him, don't you?"
"Yes…" He instantly replied, a fond expression on his face.
Then he blinked and looked sour. "How many times are you going to ask me that, anyways? It's not like I'd sit here talking to you about this if I didn't really like him."
Piper snickered. "I know, but it simply seems so…unlike you. You always seem so collected and calm. Always strong and handsome, logically analyzing the situation and everything, yet you sit here on my bed, crying about Percy possibly not liking you. It just seems so…ironic. Praetor, son of Jupiter, everybody thinks you got it all. Strength, looks, power, you can control the air around you…but you're scared that Percy doesn't have romantic feelings towards you."
Jason scowled. "Rub it in a bit more, would you? I don't think I get your point just yet."
She laughed. "You know I don't mean it bad. Just go and talk to him, ok? I highly doubt he'd laugh at you or something if he knows you're serious."
Jason sighed. He thought back of the time when he had had that horrible nightmare.
Percy hadn't made fun of him even once. Not while he was comforting him and not anytime afterwards.
He also hadn't pushed him to talk about it.
Jason knew he would have listened quietly and comforted him, had he wished to talk about it.
Because Percy was simply like that. He acted all tough and proud, but in truth, he was quite considerate and caring.
He had never outright hurt Jason.
So even if he didn't feel the same for him, he knew Percy wouldn't rub it in.
Then again, did he want to risk it?
They were in confined space here. If things got nasty, there was nowhere they could go to avoid each other.
The war with Gaea and the camps was inevitable and coming towards them at top speed.
Was he really considering destroying the peace of the ship just because he was in love with Percy?
What if it really ended badly and the two wouldn't even look at each other anymore?
What if Percy didn't come to him anymore if he had nightmares?
What if Tartarus came haunting him again and he got lost in his nightmare again as before?
Was he going to be too proud to come to Jason and give up again?
Could Jason forgive himself if something happened to Percy because of his feelings?
Doubt gnawed on him. Fear filled his insides.
"Jason?" Pipers voice was soft and worried. He looked up into her kaleidoscope eyes.
"I don't think I can tell him, Pipes." He said quietly, letting his head fall into his hands.
Piper patted him on the back. "Why not?"
"Because…it's just so fragile. Everything is. We aren't even really friends. I don't want to destroy the tiny bit of connection I have with him right now."
Piper stayed quiet for a moment. "But will you be ok?"
Jason got up. "I'll simply have to be." He replied with heavy heart and left the room.
.
"How can you even fight with a stance like that?" Percy called, outright frustrated as he swung his sword at Jason's front.
As expected, Jason blocked it, but Percy wasn't aiming for that anyways.
He kicked at Jason's side with his legs and Jason actually toppled over.
Percy stopped, lowering his sword and holding out his hand to Jason.
Jason scowled and took it, getting back into his stance.
"See, that's what I'm talking about. That's good. But as soon as you slash a few times you automatically try to get back into your original stance."
He stepped behind him, moving his arms and pushing his knees against Jason's legs to make him move with him.
Jason let him do it, sighing annoyed and pleased at the same time.
Percy was a good teacher and Jason of course knew how to move, but he simply couldn't concentrate at all.
It had been a horrible day, what with his constant inner conflict whether to confess his feelings or not.
Otherwise, the day hadn't been much better either, though.
Three monster attacks right after each other ever since 2am in the morning.
Why they were training instead of sleeping, Jason had no idea.
Maybe it was simply because if he went to bed now, he'd never wake up, no matter how badly the ship would be falling apart.
He copied Percy's movements behind him, pushing the fact out of his mind that Percy was so freaking close he could feel his heartbeat.
It was a quick heartbeat.
Probably because Percy was pretty mad at him right now.
Jason sighed once more and as Percy let go of him and started training again, he tried halfheartedly to at least get his stance right this time, though he didn't really try to beat him.
He was just too tired.
.
Percy stopped. Jason sure was unusually quiet today.
Not to say out of shape.
Then again, he had been up the whole night and had not gotten any sleep ever since.
That was the bad part of having the night shift and then running into trouble in the early morning.
Percy sighed. "Ok, let's stop here. How about you lay down for a bit? I can wake you if there's trouble on the ship." He offered, but Jason shook his head, raising his sword again halfheartedly.
Poor guy.
He really seemed tired, though obviously it didn't seem to lessen his stubbornness whatsoever.
He easily sidestepped Jason's attack, swiftly cutting towards him with Riptide, knocking Jason's weapon clean out of his hand.
Jason sighed defeated.
"You should really lay down, Jason.", he said quietly as Jason picked up his weapon just to drop it again.
"I'm ok."
"Jason."
"No."
"Jason."
"I said I'm fine."
"Why do you have to be so stubborn? I said get to bed."
"So? You aren't my mother." Jason retorted, looking away.
He actually liked Percy fussing over him a little bit. But he wasn't going to give in this time.
He knew he wasn't in top form, but he still had to help his friends if there was another attack.
"No, but I'm your…your…" Jason raised his eyebrows, waiting for Percy to label them.
This was interesting.
What would he say?
Friends?
As hurtful as the thought was, given their past doings, it was still a kind of progress, considering Percy had treated him like his archenemy before.
Percy shook his head, pointing Riptide at Jason.
"Whatever. I'm Percy Jackson and you're going to bed."
Jason couldn't stop himself. He laughed.
It just sounded so funny having Percy stand there, utterly serious and telling him something like that.
Percy looked outright hurt. "I don't see what's so funny." He said drily and Jason tried to put his calm face back on.
"You are." He said grinning.
"Blah. Whatever, go get to bed, superman."
"Never."
"Gods, Jason, are you going to wait until I drag you there?"
"Is that an option?"
"Grace!"
"What?"
Percy rolled his eyes, turning Riptide back into pen form and putting it into his pocket.
"You know what? Fine. Stay stubborn as you are and see where it gets you. If you get yourself killed, I'll stomp on your grave yelling 'I told you so', just so you know."
"Gee, thanks. So much love."
For some reason, Percy blushed. Jason found it quite adorable.
"You…I…oh, shut up.", he said and turned away.
Jason sighed. "Percy, I really am fine."
"I know you think you are. But I also got eyes in my head. I don't know why you are so stubborn, but I know that I don't want anything to happen to you. So, would you please just go and lay down?" Percy's voice was gentle, unlike his raging a mere moment ago.
Jason hesitated.
It wasn't like Percy to be so…open.
At least not with him.
Which meant that if he said something stupid now, he might push Percy away permanently.
Damn it, this was worse than him threatening him.
He sighed in defeat.
"Fine."
.
Hours later, he was glad Percy had forced him to go to sleep.
As he swung his sword at the monsters around him, he felt a lot better than when he had tried to train with Percy. The dark-haired boy had actually accompanied him to his room to make sure he really did lie down and reassured him he'd wake him at the first notice of monsters attacking.
He hadn't.
This was the third attack since Jason had gone to sleep.
Then again, Percy had been kept busy in all the fights, so it wasn't that surprising.
Though Jason still wished he would've woken him sooner.
He slashed through some venti, happily soaring through the sky at his enemies, while Percy kept to the ship, slashing at his opponents in wide arcs.
It was quite a sight.
Typical Percy and his typical fighting style.
Jason forced himself to concentrate on the monsters around him, rather than stop to admire Percy.
It would probably be more helpful to everybody else.
As the last venti vaporized, he landed next to Percy, close enough to fight with him but not too close to be in his way.
Percy instantly acknowledged and accepted him and they started slashing and stabbing at their opponents together.
Jason noticed that – when they weren't fighting each other – they made a pretty good team.
Percy would slash at the lot, then push some over to Jason who'd take them out additionally to his own, though he would sometimes pass some back to Percy.
Thinking about it, it was surprising how well they harmonized and how they seemed to have an additional sense telling them when the other send a monster their way to slash at it instantly.
.
The monsters didn't get any fewer.
Jason somehow wished they were travelling by sea, that way he could just blow them off the ship and Percy could drown them and be done with them.
Instead, they were forced to keep fighting, sometimes sending one or two over the railing and Jason would let a lightning bold strike them.
Of course, the venti weren't bothered by that, but all the other assortments of monsters seemed quite sensitive to it.
If the vaporizing stood for anything, that was.
Jason looked around him.
He could see Annabeth and Piper confusing their share of monsters with Pipers charmspeak and Annabeths wit, while Frank was fighting off his own mob of monsters in the form of a giant tiger.
Hazel was somewhere behind him, fighting off a few monsters herself with her newly developed fighting techniques.
Jason wished he could help them somehow, but he was quite busy himself, even with Percy's help.
Talking about Percy, was it his imagination or were they being separated slowly?
Jason slashed at some more monsters in front of him and looked to the son of the sea god.
He was completely concentrating on his enemies, but Jason noticed how his motions were a tad more sluggish than usual.
'He's getting tired.', shot through his head.
Percy might have had some sleep that night, but he had been up ever since the first attack and Jason could bet his right hand he hadn't rested whatsoever.
Stubborn idiot.
Why did they have to be so similar?
But while Percy had forced Jason to go and lay down, Jason hadn't really thought of pulling Percy into bed with him.
He began cutting through the vast amounts of monsters around him, hearing their hissing and spitting and growling but not really giving a damn, creating a path to Percy.
But they kept getting separated.
There were simply too many.
Where were they coming from anyways?
Most of them didn't even look as if they could fly.
Jason looked around and watched as a couple of venties flew up the side of the ship, dropping some monsters on it as they soared higher.
Great.
Jason looked around at Percy again, then took off to slash at some venti.
He'd be back in a moment.
Instead of going for the ones above the ship, he started going down, checking where the hell they were coming from.
He spotted a swarm of venti some few feet away, carrying loads of non-flying monsters.
Jason flew towards them, summoning lightning again.
He knew it wouldn't harm the venti, but his goal was the assortment of other monsters.
If he took those out, there wouldn't be any more flooding onto the ship and the other few venti he could take out no problem.
A loud CRACK sounded as the lightning bolt surged down, insta-frying the lot.
Jason felt his strength subsiding and decided to slash at the now quite furious venti, vaporizing them as the others.
Then he flew back to the ship, hoping to at least have taken out most of them.
If not, then he at least hoped to have bought them some time.
As he flew up the side of the ship to the deck, he found Percy being cornered by most of the monsters while the others were still fighting off their share.
Jason joined the fight, ignoring his weakened state.
He still wished they were travelling by sea.
Then again, that would just push everything onto Percy, and he didn't want that either.
Percy was pretty damn amazing though, fighting off swarms of monsters, slashing through them mercilessly, even though he had been awake all day long and fought all the while.
Jason helped slashing through them, finally seeing the swarms decrease slowly.
But there were still so many. He looked around to see Leo running after one that looked a bit like an ostrich that seemed to be carrying some sort of remote.
"Give that back!" Leo yelled and threw random things from his tool belt at it. Anything else that got close to him got incinerated.
Jason checked on Annabeth and Piper, just to watch Piper making an assortment of monsters step dance in an attempt to keep them from killing them any moment before turning them on each other by yelling 'He thinks you look fat in that getup!' and other random things.
Frank was still in tiger-mode, now with Hazel on his back, slashing at monsters he didn't tear apart first.
Then Jason focused back on Percy.
He was getting tired.
He could see it in his face.
Jason slashed wildly, not daring to use lightning again, not wanting to push even more onto Percy with fainting in mid-battle.
In the end he would wake up in a grave with Percy stomping onto it yelling 'I told you so'.
Somehow, the thought was strangely comforting, though still bizarre.
He shook his head, slashing through the monsters again, looking for a way to get closer to Percy.
Maybe he could fight back to back with him.
If he ever got that far.
.
A moment later though he found a monster running headfirst into him, catapulting him half across the ship and forcing the air out of his lungs.
He crashed into a mast on the way.
"Jason!" Came the cries from several of his friends, but he couldn't even really tell which ones.
Everything spun.
His head was pounding.
His back aching as well as his front where the monster had rammed him.
What the hell? He tried to get up, looking around him dazed.
The mast behind him was half broken. It was by sheer luck HE had not been broken into two like a twig.
He shook his head and raised his sword again – at least he tried to.
Somehow, he must have dropped his sword while getting thrown across the ship.
Great. Just great.
He saw a group of monsters coming towards him, but Frank turned into a giant gorilla and threw himself at them, Hazel following behind him, looking around at Jason, but he only raised his hand in a sign of thanks as well as a 'I'm ok'.
Which was a lie.
He wasn't feeling well at all.
He looked around and found most of the monsters collecting around Percy.
Not good.
He looked around for his sword, but couldn't see it anywhere.
Even worse.
He looked back to Percy, who was being pushed towards the rail.
Oh gods no.
They wouldn't.
Would they?
Jason rushed forward just as two venti soared down.
"Percy!" He cried and Percy looked up, slashing at the venti.
How he had known what Jason had meant, he had no clue.
One venti vaporized, but the other evaded the attack and went down, grabbing Percy by the shoulders.
"Percy!" Came in unison from the crew, all except Jason, who was being pushed down by some monsters.
They were holding him down so he couldn't help Percy.
Somehow, the thought cleared his vision, cleared his mind.
His pain disappeared, rage collecting on his insides, filling every fiber in his body, pushing anything else out.
He pushed the monsters off, scrambled up and went running for the railing.
Percy was meanwhile dangling in the air, trying to get at the venti with his sword – which might not be such a great idea, considering he was dangling mid-air and the ground was over 10.000 feet away.
But it seemed a better option to Percy than being insta-fried, which would be his fate any moment now, judging by the way the air started crackling.
"No, you won't!" Jason growled, sidestepping monsters and concentrating hard on the storm spirit, trying to seize control of it.
To his utter horror, it disappeared.
Percy fell.
"Percy!" He yelled and could hear crackling behind him.
The monsters were laughing.
And Percy was falling.
He didn't think.
All his rage went into one single thought: Kill.
The air crackled all around him as he was two steps from the railing.
"Get away from the monsters!" Annabeth yelped behind him somewhere.
He jumped off the railing.
The next moment, there was the sound of a hundred lightning bolts hitting its marks.
The air smelled of electricity.
And Jason was flying to get to Percy.
.
Had he ever mentioned Jason looked like a freaking blonde superman?
Though a really good looking one.
Then again, he had never fancied superman (nor any other guy) before Jason, so he rather didn't say anything about his looks.
He was just freefalling, wondering what would get him first.
Zeus/Jupiter, Jason, some more venti that flew some hundred feet away or Gaea.
Though, of course, he had full trust in Jason.
He saw a vast assortment of lightning bolts striking the Argo II., illuminating it as if it was a giant firefly.
Hopefully nobody got harmed.
Jason was almost with him now.
Only a few hundred feet more.
Sadly, the storm spirits were closer.
Percy slashed at them, but it was kind of pointless, really.
Oh great.
Well, he supposed Zeus would be pleased.
He had wanted to blast him out the sky for an eternity already.
Now the storm spirits would do the job for him.
He looked up at Jason.
So close.
Yet so far away.
Pity.
Maybe he really should have told him about how he felt.
Now Jason would never know.
Well, maybe Annabeth would be kind enough to inform him after Percy's death.
He could almost picture them standing by his grave, Annabeth laying her hands on his shoulder and saying 'Did you know he loved you?'.
He wondered what Jason would say to that.
Knowing him he'd think it was a joke and laugh, waving it off and even if Annabeth insisted on it being the truth, he'd just think Percy had fooled her into believing or that she was playing a prank on him.
Or maybe Jason would believe her and be weirded out.
Great. Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing Jason didn't know after all.
Hopefully Annabeth didn't tell him either.
Percy looked up at the deformed storm spirit holding him up, feeling the air crackle around him once more.
How ironic, he wasn't even scared.
But maybe he had simply looked death in the eye one too many times to actually be scared.
He closed his eyes, waiting for the sick crack that always accompanied attacks by those stupid venti.
Jason's lightning bolts made a much nicer sound.
Though real lightning bolts didn't make a sound at all.
He frowned.
Why was he even thinking about this? He was about to die and all he could think about was the different types of lightning bolts?
'Well, at any rate, I like Jason's the most.', he thought and smirked.
CRACK!
Ah, there it was. Percy braced for the pain.
It didn't come.
Instead, he felt two strong hands grabbing him, tearing him away.
"What the…"
His eyes flew open.
Jason held him, staring down at him worriedly, his face white as a sheet of paper.
"Are you ok?" He yelled.
Percy blinked. Then he looked around him.
They were flying upwards now, leaving the storm spirits behind them, cursing and spitting and crackling in rage.
Percy was alive.
He looked around at Jason. "You made it!" He said, unbelieving.
He had been so far away! How had he made it?
His heart was beating at least twice as fast as usually, his hands wrapping around Jason, pulling him close in a hug.
"You made it." He repeated, happily.
Jason chuckled weakly. "Of course I did. Why are you acting so surprised?"
"You were so far away! I mean, I don't doubt your powers, but seriously, you were SO far away!"
The realization that he had actually survived, that Jason had saved him, that they were flying up the side of the ship – it all made Percy lightheaded.
Or maybe it was because of his wounds to his chest and stomach.
Either way, he was babbling.
Jason held him tightly, smiling down at him.
"Yeah, I know. But you're safe and that's all that matters." He muttered and Percy found his ears turning red.
They got to the deck of the ship and Percy could see several black scorches on the wood.
The monsters were gone.
The others all stood at the railing, watching them.
Percy looked around at Jason. "YOU did that thing with the lightning?" He asked, awed and shocked at the same time.
How much energy had Jason used up right there?
Was he alright?
Jason smiled weakly. "Yeah, my temper got the better of me, I fear."
"But why?"
"Because you were in danger." Percy felt his face getting hot now as well.
He looked away.
As they tried to land, Jason immediately staggered.
Percy felt wobbly on his legs as well, but managed to keep his balance; grabbing Jason and helping him remain upright as well.
He looked at him worriedly.
He was still white as a ghost and could barely stand.
The others came rushing towards them.
Annabeth pushed something in Percy's hands.
It was a flask of nectar. He turned to Jason and helped him drink, still half holding him up.
The voices all around him were dim, muffled.
All that mattered right now was Jason.
"That was for YOU, Seaweed Brain!" Annabeth hissed in his ear and he frowned, another flask of nectar finding its way into his hand.
"What? I'm fine. It's Jason who needs help." He said and looked around at Annabeth incredulously.
The others stared at him. "Have you looked at yourself? You look almost as bad as him! If not even worse!" Leo blurted and Percy looked down on himself.
He did? He saw blood gushing out several wounds on his body, some looking rather nasty.
Oops. He had forgotten all about them.
He looked around at Jason, who seemed only half conscious, still mostly resting on his arms, his legs barely supporting him at all.
"Did you see how he just suddenly summoned all those lightning bolts?" Hazel asked, in awe.
"Yes, and that with being thrown across the ship a second before!" Frank said, amazed.
Annabeth nodded in agreement. "It was amazing. He got up even with all those wounds and utterly weaponless and rushed to your aid, Percy. He even pushed off two of those nasty things that tried to hold him down – without a weapon!"
Piper only shook her head, touching Jason's cheek carefully. "That lightning thing was very risky..."
She looked at Percy, who only had eyes for Jason, looking at him worriedly. "...but he'll be alright. He's tough." She added and he looked at her for a moment, wondering if she was using charmspeak, and if yes, then on whom.
Then he fixed his gaze back on Jason.
"That's superman for you. Jason is damn awesome." Leo agreed and Percy nodded.
"Yeah, he is a great guy."
Everybody stared at him. He didn't care. Instead, he looked around at them, the flask of nectar still in his hand.
"I'll get him under deck and put him to bed so he can rest. If you need anything, just call for me." The others nodded quietly and he left, dragging Jason with him.
He was getting heavier by the moment, but Percy was too distracted to care.
Jason had just pretty much saved everybody, completely neglecting his own health.
That sounded just like Jason.
Still, Percy was shocked.
How had Jason managed to do that?
He had seen him getting thrown across the ship – that had actually been what had distracted him off the monsters for a moment.
He had been hurrying towards Jason before even looking around whether there might be monsters in the way.
Thanks to that he had most of his wounds now.
Oh yeah, wounds.
He should probably take his nectar.
He pushed the door to Jason's room open and brought him over to the bed, putting him down carefully in a half sitting position.
He couldn't even tell whether he was conscious at all anymore or not.
"Jason?" He asked tentatively.
"Hmm?" Jason hummed and turned his head slightly in his direction, his eyes closed.
"How are you feeling?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Really horrible."
Percy opened the flask. "Here." He muttered quietly and gave Jason his nectar.
He could simply get some more later.
Since Jason hadn't taken any all day next to a bite of ambrosia in the morning, Percy knew it wouldn't burn him up or anything.
Jason tried to drink but couldn't keep his hands steady whatsoever, nor really tilt his head back.
Percy slowly took the flask and helped him swallow the content.
"Ok, that's it. Now let's put you down." He helped him get beneath the blankets quietly, checking his body for other injuries other than the wound at the back of his head and his didn't look good at all.
Percy made a mental note to get a first aid kit or two later just in case the ambrosia didn't fix up everything.
He laid him down on the side as to prevent him from being in too much pain.
Jason still groaned, making Percy's heart clench.
He softly brushed a few strands of hair out of his face.
"You're going to be alright in no time, Jason. Just sleep for a bit, ok?"
Jason mumbled something.
"Hm?" Percy leaned closer.
"You should sleep too." Jason muttered and Percy chuckled.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be just fine."
Jason's arm moved and his hand found Percy's.
He grabbed onto it gently. "Please."
Percy hesitated. Then he sighed and sat down next to Jason.
"Fine. How about this: I'll watch over you until you fall asleep, then I'll go to sleep myself. Deal?"
Jason mumbled something but then nodded, though not entirely convinced.
Percy kissed his cheek softly, stroking over his hand with his thumb.
"Sleep. I'll go to bed as soon as you are sound asleep." Jason sighed in defeat and snuggled into the blanket.
Percy smiled fondly at him, still holding his hand, caressing it soothingly.
.
When Annabeth came half an hour later, Percy was still sitting next to Jason on the bed, their hands still entwined.
He knew it would be her, so he didn't even bother hiding it. She looked at them for a moment, sighed, then looked him up and down.
"Why am I not surprised you didn't take your nectar?" She asked, shaking her head and giving him some ambrosia.
He shrugged. "He needed it more than me."
"Of course he did."
"Well, you saw him."
"Yeah, I did. And I also saw you."
"I already had lots of ambrosia and nectar today, it could have burned me up for all we know."
"Percy, you had two bites of ambrosia and one sip of nectar the entire day."
"Blah. Why do you always have to know everything better, anyways?" He looked away, annoyed, and took a bite of the ambrosia.
He instantly felt better. He could practically feel his injuries healing and his pain subsiding.
He looked around at Jason worried, his thumb still caressing his hand absent-mindedly.
"He'll be just fine. Seriously, you never worried about anybody else like that before."
He glared at her. "Nobody else did just fly across the ship, smack into a mast, then summoned a stupendous amount of lightning and caught me just in time before getting insta-fried and landed safely on the ship all in one go either. Plus he took out those other monsters that were on their way to the ship before all of that already with a superb lightning bolt attack."
"How'd you know that?", Annabeth asked, frowning.
Percy had his gaze on Jason's hand, entwined with his.
"I might have looked over the railing every now and then by chance to see if...if there were more venti coming."
He could almost feel her raising an eyebrow. "So you were so close to the railing because you were actually checking on Jason? Do you know how dangerous that was? What if the monsters had kicked you off in your moments of distraction?"
He shrugged. "They didn't. Do you really think I would have looked if I wasn't certain there weren't any monsters in immidiate reach of me?"
"Erm...let me think...yes?"
Percy scowled.
Annabeth glared. Then she sighed. "But anyways..." She pointed to their entangled hands.
Percy sighed. "I...there was a moment while that venti was holding me...where I thought: This is it. I'm going to die here and he doesn't even have a clue about my feelings. And I found myself thinking I should have told him. But then again...should I really?"
Annabeth looked down for a moment, thinking of an answer. Then she sat down on the chair at the desk.
"If...if people never took a risk...how many couples do you think there'd be?" She asked quietly.
Percy looked away. "I know what you are playing at..." He started, but she cut him off.
"Percy. Look at Piper and me. I was straight all my life. She was straight all her life. When we met, there was nothing like 'sparks flying' or the like. But there was something. And at first we both just thought of friendship. We had no idea we could feel more for each other. But the more time we spent together, the more we noticed how well we fit. When Jason broke up with her, I had no idea it would end with us breaking up as well. I really just wished to comfort her. But while I was with her, I realized how good it felt. And she did too. And when she took my hand and asked me to stay, I knew that's what I really wanted to do. All I ever wanted to do. Do you understand?"
Percy didn't, really. She must have seen it on his face, for she sighed exasperated.
"She took that risk. She took my hand and told me to stay. And in that moment, she didn't just mean stay in the room or stay a night longer for comfort. She meant 'stay with me' as in forever. And I could have said no. I could have acted as if I misinterpreted it. I could have ignored it. I could have left that room and went back to you. Because after all, I barely knew her compared to how long I've known you. I've never dated a girl before or anything. I had no idea what was going to come. There was no plan I could follow whatsoever. Yet, I also took the risk. I took the risk of breaking us apart and dating her, even though I had no clue whether we would really work out or anything like that."
Percy looked down at Jason. That was nice and all, but he didn't understand what it had to do with Jason and him.
They had comforted each other before and he admitted there had been that one time where he had found himself reaching for Jason's hand – that day when they had kissed so soft and sensually.
When Jason had been about to leave for guard shift.
Percy had wanted nothing more than to grab his hand and ask him to stay.
He remembered seeing him at the door, looking back at him, his mouth open as if to say something.
Percy had so wished he'd come back to the bed with him.
But even more so, he had wished to hear what Jason was going to say in that very moment.
But he had let the moment pass.
He hadn't asked him to stay.
He hadn't taken his hand.
And Jason had left.
He sighed. Then he looked around at Annabeth. "What if I let that opportunity pass?" he asked quietly.
She looked at Jason's sleeping face then back at him. "The opportunity never passes. You are holding his hand right now. What do you think would happen if he woke up and found you still there, holding his hand?"
Percy looked down at his feet. "He'd be hell pissed off because I promised him I'd go to sleep, really." He said and Annabeth groaned.
"Seriously? Percy, you know what I meant."
Percy chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. But the thing is...I don't know..."
"Percy, what are you scared of?"
Percy didn't look at her. "I...I don't want him to reject me, ok?"
"But what if he doesn't? What if he actually likes you too?"
"He doesn't."
"What makes you so sure? Because he told Leo he was straight? Hell, Percy, do you consider yourself gay because you like Jason?"
"I...I don't know..." He stammered.
Only Annabeth could make him stammer like that. It wasn't in a particulary good way either.
"Boys. But seriously, even if he rejects you-..."
"Annabeth, I don't want to be rejected ok?! I just...I just couldn't...I couldn't..."
"What?"
"I couldn't stand it...to see his face all surprised and whatnot and then becoming all uncomfortable, trying to tell me in the least hurtful way that we are not gonna...well...date? I just...I'm scared...of the pain...of Jason not liking me...this way I can at least be whatever we are to each other. This way, I can be with him in a way that otherwise I couldn't. Face it, Annabeth, there is a war going on right now, there are more important things than my feelings. We don't even know whether I'll make it out alive, what with Gaea picking the two of us especially. And if I have to die, I rather die knowing Jason will think of me as something like a good friend or what not, rather than thinking 'Ew, there lies the dude that suddenly liked me, what a loser'."
"He would never think that and you know it."
"I don't know anything. All I know is that I don't...I don't want to take the risk, Annabeth. I'm scared, ok? It worked out great for you and Piper, but life isn't all fairytales and happy endings. If you look at how many people take the risk and lose, I simply don't want to be part of those. There are so many things that could go wrong. We are in the middle of a war. I don't think we really need additional trouble on the ship because of my selfish feelings."
Annabeth was quiet now.
She stared at Percy. Percy stared back.
"But what if we make it through this war, are you going to tell him then?"
Percy hesitated, his hand gripping Jason's hand hard. "I...I don't know."
"And you'd be ok with that? What if he found himself a new girlfriend?"
Percy gritted his teeth, refusing to look at either Jason or Annabeth.
He tried picturing Jason with a girlfriend. His blonde superman with somebody other than himself by his side.
The thought sickened him, yet made it painfully obvious that this was exactly what everybody would expect to see.
He had never actually thought of how others would react to them, if they ever happened to get to together in some distant fantasy of Percy's.
The members on the Argo II were one thing, but the camps? The mortals? How would they take it?
Would Jason really want something like that?
He pictured him with a cute girl by his side. People would approve.
They'd cheer for them and wish them the best of luck, telling each other they fit together so well.
The girl would of course be happy.
How could she not? She had Jason after all.
Even though Percy felt a rush of jealousy wash over him at the thought, it still sobered him up.
That was exactly how it should be.
He looked up at Annabeth. "If he'll be happy, I will be happy for him."
Annabeths shoulders sagged. "Oh Percy..." She whispered quietly, tears collecting in her eyes.
It kind of matched how he was feeling on the inside, but he didn't wish to point that out.
.
When Jason woke up, he was feeling a lot better.
His headache was still there, but the open wounds were healed and he could actually stretch his back no problem.
As he sat up, the first thing he noticed was that he was still holding Percy's hand.
The second thing he noticed was that Percy had dropped sideways, half lying on Jason's legs with his upper body, his legs pulled tightly to his chest, one arm wrapped around them.
He was sound asleep.
Jason couldn't imagine that position to be very comfortable.
As he tried to move him, he heard the door opening and looked up.
"Ah, you're finally awake." Annabeth said and put down a plate of food and two cups on the small bedside table next to him.
He looked down at his hand, still entwined with Percy's, but she only smiled weakly.
"You've been holding hands the past eight hours, no need to hide it now."
He felt his ears redden but left their hands together. "Eight hours? I was out that long?"
He looked down at Percy.
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, he was worrying sick. Only fell asleep around half an hour ago."
Jason softly pulled Percy closer, making him mutter something indistinguishable in his sleep that sounded a lot like 'I'm not your teddy bear, Grace'.
He suppressed a chuckle. They didn't go well with headaches.
Annabeth pushed some toast into his hand. "Eat. You need your strength." She ordered and he obeyed, absent-mindedly letting his thumb caress Percy's hand.
He was so nice and warm.
Why was he always so nice and warm?
As he finished his toast, Annabeth gave him one of the cups. "You are much easier to handle than Percy, I daresay." She commented as he drank the contents, which tasted like a really horrible bitter tea. It probably was.
He looked down at Percy. "Not really. He's simply more stubborn than me."
"That, I can believe. But he's also a coward."
"How so?"
"He was babbling this whole entire time how annoying it is that you never show any sign of waking up, because he was scared he'd still be awake by the time you wake up. It had something to do with him promising you to sleep or something. He was afraid you'd be mad at him if you noticed he couldn't leave your side, worrying about you like a lover."
Jason blushed.
Lover.
Did Percy use that word or was it just Annabeth interpreting things.
"I...I would have been upset. After all, he was up since like 2am in the morning, fighting off monsters.", he said quietly to stop himself from relishing in the sound of the term.
Lovers. That was almost boyfriends.
He wished it had been Percy to have called them that. But the more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed.
"Actually...he was awake longer than that."
Jason looked up. What?
Annabeth wasn't looking at him, instead looking intently at her hands.
"How'd you know?"
"Because he came to me. Piper had nightshift with you after all so he knew I'd be alone. He complained about not being able to sleep or something."
"How long was he awake?"
"He came around half an hour after you started your shift."
"What?"
"Yep. It was a pain to get rid of him, too. He kept crying around about not wanting to push himself onto you or make it seem like he couldn't be alone. When actually, he really can't be alone. Can you imagine it? And I always thought hubris was MY fatal flaw."
Jason didn't reply, instead brushing one of those persistent strands of hair out of Percy's face that kept falling back.
His mind was in turmoil – which wasn't going well with his headache at all but he didn't really care.
Percy wasn't able to sleep without him?
Had Jason known…well, then what?
Would he have switched shifts so they could sleep together?
Would he have asked Percy to be with him?
He hadn't wanted to push himself onto Jason…where'd he get ideas like that from?
Jason would have been utterly happy if Percy had shown up.
Well, he would have been happy to see him but scold him all the same to go to bed, more likely.
He remembered Percy trying to train with him. He must have been as tired as him back then.
If he had been awake the whole entire time, then even more so.
He softly stroke Percy's face.
And still, he had stayed awake trying to watch over Jason?
"You know, he always acts all tough and such, but in reality, he's one big softie. He always tries to hide his feelings and if you ever want to get an honest answer about them out of him, it always has to be you taking the first step. He's stubborn like that.", Annabeth said quietly, eyeing them with those stormy gray eyes as if knowing exactly what was going on between them.
Since she was Pipers girlfriend, he wasn't really surprised.
Still, it made him nervous.
He gave Percy another tug and pulled him up to his chest, wrapping the blanket as well as his arms around him.
Ironic, how he would try to get closer to Percy to get over his nervousness around Annabeth when being close to Percy caused the nervousness with Annabeth.
His gaze fixed on her. She didn't look surprised, didn't look displeased but also didn't look happy.
"What exactly are you two to each other?", she asked instead, her head tilting sideways.
Ah, difficult question. Why wasn't he surprised?
"Ok, forget I asked. I'll be leaving you alone now, ok? If there's anything you need, I'll be in my room. Make sure Percy eats when he wakes up. He was worried sick about you and wouldn't eat a thing this whole entire time. Talk about a drama-queen."
With that, she got up and left.
Jason looked down at Percy again, nuzzling his nose against his hair, taking in the scent of the sea.
Percy cared about him.
His heart seemed to be leaping out of his chest.
It was more than he could have hoped for. He knew, somewhere inside him, that it wasn't enough, but he pushed his selfishness aside.
Lovers. The term sprang to mind again.
He smiled softly. "I wish…", he muttered and hid his face in Percy's crook of the neck, inhaling his scent and watching over him.
.
When Percy woke up hours later, Jason was glued to his back, his face in his hair again.
He tried to move, but the arms wrapped around him tightened their grip.
Jason growled. Percy flushed. "Dude, let me go…" He complained, though he kind of liked it.
He heard Jason move but instead of letting him go, he put his face at Percy's neck and nibbled. Percy shivered.
"No.", Jason said flat out.
Percy tried to look at him. "Seriously?" He asked, incredulously.
Jason moved into his field of vision, staring down at him with his sky-blue eyes.
Percy felt his ears redden under his intense gaze.
"Seriously."
Percy felt his face getting hot and started moving.
Jason bit his shoulder. "Stay."
Percy froze. Stay. He'd love to. Not only here in bed, but by Jason's side.
He slumped back against him.
Jason didn't mean it like that of course.
He knew not to get his hopes up. But meh, why not give him what he wanted?
If he already wanted him to stay, then Percy could just stay and enjoy the closeness a while longer.
Jason's grip softened and he placed a gentle kiss on the spot he just bit.
"Annabeth told me you were worried sick about me."
Percy squirmed. Just great.
What else had they talked about other than that?
He racked his brain for excuses. None really came to mind.
Jason snuggled closer to him. "I have to admit, I was a bit surprised. I thought you didn't care much about me, to be honest."
Percy blinked, feeling his face getting hotter.
He turned it towards the pillow. "Of course I care about you…" He admitted quietly, feeling his heartbeat quicken.
Not helpful. He heard Jason's sharp intake of breath.
Then he felt his lips against his neck. "I'm glad." He muttered, barely audible.
Percy still heard him. His eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened.
No, he didn't mean it this way.
"She also said you fussed over me like a lover."
Now Percy squirmed again, his face flushed. "I…I…"
Then he stopped. Lovers. He liked the sound of that.
Jason sighed against his neck. "As I thought…" Jason whispered and loosened his grip on Percy.
"What?" Percy asked, confused and turned around to face Jason. He didn't look at Percy.
"Nothing…I was just wondering if that's what…if that's what you thought we were…" Percy flushed.
He scrambled out of bed.
"Percy…" Jason started, but seemed at a loss of words.
Percy wasn't listening anyways. He had jumped off the bed but was now standing stupidly in the middle of the room, forcing himself to not start pacing.
Lovers.
The sound of it.
He loved it.
"W-Would you like us to be…lovers?" He asked, forcing his voice to come out calm.
His insides were on fire.
He braced for anything. A laugh, a chuckle, a shocked 'What the hell?!', anything.
He heard Jason getting up behind him.
"Percy…"
Ah. The talk.
The I'm-sorry-but-this-is-not-what-I-want-talk.
Percy's stomach turned. He would have preferred the chuckle.
Jason wanted to say more, but right in that moment the door smashed open.
.
"You are aliiiiive!" Leo called, storming into the room and rushing at Percy, pulling him into a hug.
Before Percy could even remotely react, Leo let go of him and rushed at Jason, who could only hold up his hands in a futile attempt to stop him.
Needless to say, it didn't work.
Leo threw himself at him, making them both fall onto the bed.
"Leo!" Jason exclaimed, the air pressed out of his lungs.
Leo laughed.
Percy got over his initial shock and looked around at them, unsure whether to be relieved about the interruption or annoyed at the fact Leo was flattening HIS Jason.
He scolded himself.
He shouldn't be jealous at all whatsoever.
He had no right to be.
Leo got off Jason, helping him back up. "Sorry, man. Too much momentum. But seriously, you were out the whole day. First I wasn't allowed to come in here to see Jason because of reasons nobody bothered to tell me, I couldn't even go check on Percy. Then I tried to sneak in, but Annabeth stopped me. Man, she can be scary. Well, anyways, the whole night I was worrying because I heard Annabeth tell Piper that Percy didn't take his nectar at all so I was worried, but when I got into his room he wasn't there and I freaked but then Pipes took me into custody in her room and all and now they just pop up and go like 'Oh yeah, they're fine.'! Seriously! Never do that again!"
Percy stared at Leo.
Jason stared at Percy.
Leo looked around at both of them.
"So what were you doing in here together? Watching over each other? Are you dating or what?"
Jason and Percy both flinched, faces flushing and started stammering something.
Leo laughed. "I was only joking. Oh gods, I'm just so relieved you are alright. Promise me to come over later. I'm still waiting for that gaming night. What better night to celebrate than this one?"
And with that, he left, banging the door shut behind him.
Jason and Percy looked at one another.
"Is he always like that?" Percy asked, sitting down on the chair at the desk.
Jason was about to lower himself onto the bed, then noticed the plate with the toast and went over to that instead.
"Only when he's having his emotional moments." He said and held the toast out to Percy. "You should eat."
Percy looked down at the toast, frowning. "It's not blue."
Jason couldn't suppress a chuckle at the disappointed tone of voice. "Of course it isn't. It's toast, dummy."
Percy looked up at him, pouting.
Jason felt his face getting hot and pushed the toast at Percy.
Percy gave a last disapproving look and took a bite. Jason blinked.
He had somehow expected Percy to take it himself, not letting Jason actually feed him like that. Not that he minded.
Percy's face was scrunched up as he chewed.
Jason sighed. "I'll get you something different later, ok? Annabeth said she put something on here that will help you get fit again faster."
Percy didn't reply, instead taking his time swallowing, his face still screwed up.
"As long as it isn't hummus." He muttered and let Jason feed him more toast.
He wasn't really sure why he wasn't just taking the toast out of his hand and eating it himself or why he was eating it at all in the first place – if Annabeth had given it to him he'd have flat out refused to eat it.
As he swallowed his last bite, Jason leaned over and kissed his forehead.
"I should go tell Leo that we aren't having his gaming night tonight." He said quietly and moved towards the door.
Percy's forehead was burning and the place he had kissed felt abnormally hot and tingly.
He looked around at him. "Why?"
"Because you need sleep."
"I just slept like…erm…" He checked the time.
"Five hours." They said at the same time.
"You were up all day yesterday, fighting and then you wasted roughly eight hours at my side, watching over me. You are going back to bed."
"I'm completely fine."
"Percy, why didn't you tell me you were up all night because you couldn't sleep?"
Percy wanted to start another sentence telling Jason he was alright. Then he froze.
"How…how do you…"
Annabeth.
Percy blushed. Jason sighed exasperated.
"Why didn't you just say anything?"
Percy looked away. He was so going to have a talk with Annabeth.
He had gone to her as a sign of trust and she sold him out like that.
Traitorous ex-girlfriend.
He started fidgeting around. "I…It wasn't like that…"
Jason didn't buy it.
He lifted Percy's chin slowly, forcing him to look him in the eye.
"I didn't want to…well…", he started but then hesitated.
He didn't want to push himself onto Jason too much.
Didn't want to annoy him.
Didn't want to seem like a weak idiot.
Didn't want to make Jason uncomfortable.
Didn't want to bother him.
Didn't want him to think bad of him.
Didn't want to admit he needed him.
He looked up at Jason, suddenly feeling helpless.
This was so stupid. What was he doing?
This made him look even worse.
A stammering, uncertain something.
He could pretty much stamp GAY right onto his forehead by now.
Great. Just great.
Jason's sky-blue eyes bore into him.
Then he muttered something indistinguishable and the next moment, Percy felt his cool, soft lips on his own.
He blinked.
What?
He returned the kiss hesitantly.
Jason's hand found his cheek and softly caressed it with his thumb, deepening their kiss, letting his tongue slide past Percy's slightly open lips.
Percy sighed happily into the kiss, leaning against Jason.
Their tongues started their dance again.
Jason's other hand wrapped itself into Percy's hair, pushing him closer to him.
Their kiss became more heated.
Their breaths came out in huffs in the few moments they parted, their tongues entwining again instantly, binding them together.
Jason's hands travelled from Percy's head down his body as Percy's tightly anchored themselves in Jason's blond hair.
He could feel Jason tugging at his sides and got up, letting Jason guide him to the bed while their kiss became more and more passionate.
Percy didn't give a damn anymore about being top or bottom.
All he cared about was that Jason never stopped kissing him like that.
He moaned into the kiss, shivers running down his back.
"Percy…" Jason purred and Percy swallowed.
That voice. That sexy, husky, irresistible voice.
As Jason nibbled on his bottom lip and slowly moved towards the side, Percy was already turning his head, offering his neck.
Jason softly kissed his way down, nibbling and sucking gently, trying not to leave marks this time.
He pulled Percy's torn shirt up, exposing his warm skin beneath.
Percy huffed and let his hands go down Jason's back, holding on to him as his lips moved over Percy's collarbones to his chest, licking, nibbling and kissing his skin, making Percy huff and sigh contently.
He let himself fall back into the pillow, letting Jason ravish him willingly.
.
Jason felt like he was going to explode.
He felt himself tremble with want as he kissed over Percy's sun kissed skin, watching him shiver and huff beneath him.
Why did Percy have to be so irresistibly sexy?
He began licking around Percy's nipple, teasing the sensitive skin around it.
Percy gasped slightly and Jason could feel his nails digging into his back slightly.
He smirked.
Then he began to tease the light pink bud.
Percy was writhing beneath him, trying to hold back his moans.
Jason let his teeth graze against his nipple and Percy nearly buckled beneath him, moaning and clawing into Jason's back unconsciously.
He looked up to see Percy gaze at him longingly.
His heart did a double take. Those beautiful seagreen eyes.
He went to the other nipple, licking and nibbling on it softly, his eyes glued to Percy's face.
I love you.
He moved back up to Percy's lips, tonguing him passionately, trying to pour all his emotions into the kiss.
He pulled his shirt off, rubbing their bodies against each other, sucking on Percy's bottom lip.
I love you.
He went back down to his nipples, ravishing them and luring those beautiful moans out of the son of the sea god.
I love you.
He slid further down Percy's front, kissing and tracing his muscles, nibbling here and there, opening his pants with one fluid motion and pulling them down.
I love you so much.
Every part in his body burned for Percy.
All he could do to stop himself from saying those three small words was to keep going, making Percy moan and writhe beneath him as he wrapped his mouth around his dick.
He loved seeing Percy like this.
He was a complete mess, his face flushed, his seagreen eyes dazed with lust and want and need, his lips parted, breath coming out in huffs.
His hands were in Jason's hair, where he found they rightfully belonged.
"Jason…" He groaned as Jason let his tongue flicker around the tip, sucking on it tentatively.
Jason loved the way he said his name.
Percy's hands clawed into his hair, but he didn't mind at all.
He loved it. Every little thing.
The way Percy grabbed his hair, the way Percy said his name, the way he moaned, the way he writhed beneath his touches.
The way his head was falling back into the pillow, his eyes closed, a tickle of saliva running down the side of his mouth as he completely stopped caring about his composure.
Jason concentrated on moving up and down Percy's dick, letting his hand fondle Percy's balls.
Percy was going crazy beneath him.
When he tasted pre-cum, he pulled back, hearing the expected whine from Percy an instant later.
He looked up at him teasingly.
Percy looked down with an expression Jason couldn't really pinpoint.
He came back up to push his lips against Percy's again, resulting in another tongue play while he started taking his own pants off.
Percy seemed completely beside himself – and Jason had never seen anything more adorable.
He had his arms tightly wrapped around Jason now, holding him close as if he could disappear any moment.
Jason kissed him longingly. "Gods, Percy, I love…" He stopped himself, trying to cover up his slip by nibbling on Percy's bottom lip.
Percy looked up at him with those dazed green eyes, a hopeful sparkle in them, though Jason didn't know why.
"I love this…" He corrected himself, rubbing their dicks against each other while kissing along Percy's cheek to his ear, nibbling on his earlobe softly.
Percy gasped and Jason chuckled softly.
.
Percy was going crazy. It felt so freaking amazing. Everything did.
Forget pride, Jason deserved to be the top.
Percy groaned as Jason's hand closed around their dicks, pumping them both together.
He looked at Jason's flushed face.
How much he wished he would have said 'I love you'.
But he hadn't.
Though just hearing Jason saying he loved this was already more than Percy could ever ask for.
He moved his hips against Jason.
Wasn't he going to take him? He was more than ready.
Not that he was keen on being the bottom…again…ok, scratch that, he was more than keen.
Gods, how he wanted Jason.
It didn't matter whether he was top or bottom.
Jason was Jason and he wanted him. Now.
"Jason…" He huffed, trying to think of something to say that indicated he was willing but without making it sound as if he desperately needed it.
Jason gazed intently into his eyes, as if trying to read what he wanted.
"Percy…" He breathed, his voice low and lusty.
Percy shivered.
He loved the way he said his name.
He loved the way he looked at him.
He loved the way he touched him.
He loved the way he moaned and huffed.
He loved the way he kissed him.
He loved everything about him.
But seriously, why wasn't he taking him?
The confusion must have shown on his face, for Jason chuckled and moved his head to his ear.
"Percy…"
Percy shuddered. Oh, that voice. That beautiful, raw, sexy, seductive voice.
"Top or bottom?"
Percy frowned. What? He turned his head to Jason, who looked at him intently.
He chuckled, which made Percy tremble with lust.
That chuckle. How much he loved that chuckle.
"Do you want to top or bottom?" Jason repeated and Percy blinked, surprised.
He…he gave him a choice?
"I…I…" He got lost in those sky-blue eyes.
They looked at him as if they looked right through him.
As if they saw everything of him.
Percy swallowed. "I don't care…bottom…top…bottom….I…" He flushed a deep red.
Jason blinked. Then he smirked broadly and went to kiss Percy's nose.
"Bottom now, top later?" He offered in that sexy voice.
Percy nodded wildly. He just wanted Jason right now right here right how they were.
"Deal." He faintly noticed how this was the first time they had actually officially settled for a definite next time other than the time Jason had molested him on the head chair.
He loved it.
Jason grinned down at him, kissing him passionately again and starting another tongue play.
Then he slowly went down on him again, licking the length of his dick as his hand made its way to Percy's backside.
Percy let him.
When Jason's finger pushed inside him, he pushed down the weird feeling, instead concentrating on the way Jason was licking at his tip now, sucking on it softly every now and then.
He got used to Jason's fingers much faster than before.
Soon, he was a moaning, writhing mess once more, begging Jason wordlessly to just put his dick inside him.
He kept thrusting against Jason, but Jason just kept thrusting into him with his fingers.
"Jason…please…" He started hiding his face behind his arm, embarrassed by himself.
But then he felt Jason's other hand tugging his arm away.
"Don't hide…" He practically begged.
"Then finally…" Percy moaned as Jason hit his good spot with two fingers, unable to finish his sentence.
But Jason seemed to finally get the hint and pulled his fingers out slowly, positioning himself between Percy's legs, pushing them up so he could prod against his entrance better with his dick.
Percy looked up at him dazed, noticing this was actually the first time they really had sex facing each other with Jason as top.
His mind flashed back to the first time they had done this, with him on top and Jason beneath him.
How stupid they had been for holding back, letting their pride turn the pleasure into pain.
How very stupid.
As Jason thrust into him, he found himself grabbing Jason by the neck and pulling him down, realizing the advantages of the position.
This felt amazing.
He heard Jason groan as he slipped his tongue inside and a wild tongue play started.
As Jason thrust into him, they tried to keep the kiss up for as long as possible, but soon they were both moaning and groaning and writhing and thrusting too much to really keep their mouths connected.
.
Percy was clawing Jason's back again, sweet cries of pleasure leaving his lips with every thrust of Jason's.
Jason loved this position.
Other ones might let him be rougher and give him a better grip on Percy to go faster and deeper, but this one was definitely more intimate.
He could see all of Percy.
The way his naturally messy hair seemed to be a thousand times messier, falling across the pillow like dark waves.
The way his face was flushed the most adorable pink with lust and pleasure.
The way his seagreen eyes seemed to be even more intense in color and showed all the emotions surging through Percy.
The way his lips were parted, longing to be kissed again – which he fulfilled instantly, locking their tongues in their dance again while thrusting into him over and over again.
He could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest, see his erected nipples, just begging to be played with.
See the way his muscles moved when he thrust into him, moving him along with him on the bed.
See the way his dick was pulsating, ready to blow.
He loved it all.
They huffed and moaned and groaned and hissed and growled and cried out in ecstasy, looking at each other as if there was nothing else on this world worth looking at.
Jason could feel Percy moving his legs and the next moment, they were firmly wrapped around him.
He loved it.
Percy gave him that look again, as if he was the most important person in this world to him.
He loved that even more.
He began supporting himself only with one arm, using the other to play with Percy's nipples, making him almost scream, holding onto Jason for what seemed like dear life as Jason picked up speed with his thrusts, still amazed by Percy's tightness around his dick.
"Jason..." He groaned loudly, followed by a soft 'Ah' and a flush of pink spreading on his cheeks, looking at Jason with that beautiful, dazed expression before moaning helplessly, writhing beneath him.
Jason hissed at the effect his face had on him.
"Oh gods, Percy..." He groaned helplessly and the next moment, they came together.
Not one after another.
Not really close after one another.
They came at the exact same moment.
Percy with throwing his head back, crying out something Jason couldn't catch though he could have sworn it was something important, clawing at Jason's back and his cum squirting all over the two – though none of them cared – feeling as if he was going to die from the utter ecstasy taking hold of him.
Jason came hard inside Percy, groaning and trembling, watching Percy cum beneath him with dazed eyes as his orgasm washed over him, filling every fiber in his body with such a strong feeling of pleasure and contentment that he thought if he died now and went to Elysium, it wouldn't even feel half as great.
They stared at each other, their brains slowly progressing what had just happened, stupid smiles spreading on their faces.
Then Jason huffed and flopped onto Percy, flattening him beneath him, his face next to his neck.
"Uff..." Was all Percy said and just let his arms drop sideways off Jason, laying beneath him like dead, just his heavy breathing gave him away.
Jason inhaled his scent.
Gods, he smelled so nice.
He sighed happily. He wished this moment would never end.
"Percy..." He muttered quietly, not wanting to get off him.
"Hm?", Percy asked lazily, unmoving.
Jason could feel their hearts pounding equally fast.
The thought soothed him.
I love you.
I love you so much.
Be with me forever.
I'll do whatever it takes, but please, just never leave my side.
Stay with me.
Forever.
I know it won't be easy, but I need you and I know we'll be able to make it work.
Jason sighed. "Nothing." He said, nuzzling against Percy's neck.
"Ok." Percy muttered quietly, raising his hand and stroking through Jason's hair gently.
Jason hummed.
Percy chuckled softly.
I love you so much.