Food was practically overflowing on the large dining table, and there were still pizzas on the way. It was far more than any two people could possibly eat in one sitting.

Thalia stared down at the table excitedly and said, "We're going to get so fat."

She turned to Jason who had already stuffed a couple potstickers in his mouth. He coughed at being caught and hurried to finish them to hide the evidence.

"Or at least one of us is, not everyone has a superhuman metabolism."

Jason returned the look she was giving him. "I'm going to go set up the movie."

It had been a while since they'd had a real siblings night. A tradition that began when Thalia started college; Once a month they would watch old silent films and B-rated movies, and eat tons of unhealthy food, but mostly they used the time to talk and catch up. It was probably one of the main reasons they were still as close as they were.

Thalia brought over some of the chinese takeout that they'd both been sneaking bits of and handed a carton to Jason. Just as she sat down there was a knock at the door.

"Fucking really?"

Jason snorted, his eyes narrowed slightly as he looked through the door. "It's the pizza guy."

"Great! Money's on the table." Thalia smiled at him. Jason tossed a pillow in her face as he got up.

Jason grabbed the money off the table and opened the door. If the pizza guy noticed the table already covered in food he said nothing, likely thinking it was for a party or something.

"Did you really have to order four pizzas?" Jason asked as he shut the door.

"Who are we if we don't have options?"

"I'm going to be eating leftovers for days."

It took a bit of maneuvering but Jason finally found a place to put the boxes with the rest of the food in the kitchen. This was a crucial part to not getting sick from overeating on siblings night; if you couldn't get up to get food then you shouldn't have anymore. It worked at least seventy-five percent of the time.

Jason grabbed drinks out of the fridge on his way back over. Once he got comfortable on the couch he started up the first movie. 1927's Metropolis. They had both seen it plenty of times but their commentary never got old. But every time it was also still annoying that Freder and Josaphat didn't kiss, because they were in love damn it! Maria who?

They had eaten nearly all the chinese takeout before the movie had ended and now various other half-eaten takeout containers where on the coffee table. Another crucial rule, always pace yourself. With no food being eaten and nothing currently on screen to comment on, suffice to say the next movie wasn't quite as fun.

"So." Thalia said.

Jason glanced over at her. Her arm was on the back of the couch with her head resting in her hand still staring at the screen. "So."

"You never did tell me what all happened at the gala."

"There's nothing to tell. You read the report."

"I did." She was looking at him expectantly.

Jason sighed. He knew she'd figure it out one way or another, might as well just come clean.

Where was he even supposed to start? There was still so much unknown about Nico, perhaps that was even part of the appeal. So he started from the beginning.

When he finished Thalia was looking at him with a raised eyebrow, and partially covering her mouth with her fingers as it still rested in her hand. Jason might have went off on a small tangent about Nico's eyes and that smile that he'd tried to hide behind the rim of his glass; not to mention his dry wit that made rare appearances.

"I don't know what to do."

"It's not what you want to hear, but that's something you have to figure out for yourself, baby bro. I've learned not to meddle in people's love lives."

Jason nearly jumped off the couch. "It's not love!"

"Look," Thalia said, moving to look at him properly. "You like him. Sure he's the son of a famous supervillain and your cousin's worst enemy-"

"You're not helping." Jason groaned.

"But, he's shown he's not like his father. Unless he's playing a really long game, but to be honest I don't think he is. He seems like he's a good guy, a bit standoffish, but not evil."

"I know." Jason sighed and stared down at his hands. Maybe he was thinking too much into this. Sure Nico was attractive, he could clearly see it the first time he'd met him. But just because someone was attractive didn't mean that Jason was attracted to them. If Piper hadn't said anything then he might not have noticed, or at least not until much later.

But that was the thing now.

He noticed. Something you can't unsee. Something you can't stop thinking about; like when you realize you're blinking or breathing.

Jason did find Nico attractive, this much he could admit to himself. But getting real feelings involved? They had just started considering each other as friends, this was a whole other ballgame. Theoretically he could see himself in a relationship with Nico, but Jason wasn't sure if that's what he really wanted, or if it were something that could even work.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." Jason said, wanting to change the subject. "How are things with Reyna?"

"...It's good. Really good." Thalia looked off to the side. "I mean it's hard to get a proper date night with our conflicting schedules. But we're making it work."

Jason felt like there was something Thalia wasn't telling him, but he decided to leave it for now.

They got through two and a half more movies and at least a third of the food before Thalia's phone chimed.

Siblings night had to once again be put on hold for a mission; this time it was for an escaped alien prisoner.

People were scattering in the streets by the time they arrived.

And someone was already fighting the alien. They were covered head to toe in black, no distinguishable features visible except for a small slit in their mask for their eyes.

"That's not one of our agents." Thalia said.

They seemed to be holding their own fairly well. Making strategic jabs at the alien and blocking with their shield. That is until their shield gave off a small spark, the alien swiped it's arm at them and the mysterious figure went flying.

Jason had fought this alien before, which meant he knew he couldn't take it on his own; or well he theoretically could, but not without mass destruction to the surrounding area.

"I'll hold it off until reinforcements get here." He told Thalia. Jason didn't wait a second before stepping in.

The alien turned and growled at his approach. With it's full attention now on Jason, Thalia rushed to help a few citizens who were taking cover nearby. Jason charged forward, and slammed himself into the alien's middle which sent it back several feet. It's large size causing it to crash into the ground with a heavy thud. Jason crept forward as the dust from the destroyed concrete settled.

A large hand wrapped around Jason's throat and lifted him off the ground. The alien rose out of the dust and held Jason high in the air, cutting off his air supply. He grasped at the hand trying to pry it away, but it didn't budge.

The alien jerked to the side suddenly. It's grasp loosened ever so slightly, but it was enough for Jason to get free.

The mysterious figure was back, apparently they had fixed whatever was wrong with their shield. They gave him a quick nod before turning their attention back to the alien.

The alien quickly regained its footing and roared at them.

Jason and the stranger stood side by side ready for the alien's next attack. The DEO should be showing up any minute now, they just had to hold it off for a bit longer.

The alien charged and they both advanced forward to meet it.

It was quickly clear the stranger didn't have any powers of their own from the way they relied on the shield. Surprisingly, they didn't get in each other's way. It were as though the stranger knew how Jason fought. The thought that someone had been watching him long enough to know his fighting style left an unsettled feeling in his stomach.

Jason nearly missed the small red light as it shot through the air and attached itself to the alien. Wires of red light wrapped around the alien as it tried to detach the device. As it struggled the wires only tightened and eventually caused the alien to lose its footing and fall to the ground, now unable to move.

The agents had finally arrived.

Now that the threat had been taken care of Jason turned his attention fully to the mysterious figure, who pulled their bike out from a nearby alleyway and was preparing to leave.

"Who are you?" Jason asked as they got on. They turned their head to look back at him. From the slit in the mask Jason could see their eyes glistening in the moonlight, but it was too dark to fully identify them.

"A friend."

With that, they drove away.