Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Jason!”

 Jason looks up from his makeup station to be met with the sight of Percy Jackson casually strolling towards him. He plops himself in the chair, and kicks his bare feet up onto Jason's station, knocking over a can of hairspray that clatters to the floor.

“You gotta do me today because Piper's out sick.” He blows a large bubble with the gum he's been smacking loudly and it bursts with a loud POP!

Jason tightens his jaw. There is no way he could be stuck with Percy, right? He looks over at Mr. Stanley, the overhead of the production- who is yelling at some poor intern that got decaf coffee instead of regular. The man glares at Jason when the blond attempts to telepathically let him know that under NO circumstances, in ANY way, could he POSSIBLY work with Percy Jackson. He looks from Percy and back to Jason angrily, ignoring Jason's silent pleas. He did not get the message.

Jason sighs and returns his attention to the abomination currently taking over his station. He pleads with anyone up there listening to please, please get him out of this situation.

He receives no answer.

Instead, the blond man grabs Percy's bare feet and shoves them off the counter.

“Dude! You made me run into the pipe! I almost beat my high score!” Percy whines, like a petulant child. Jason refrains from strangling him.

 For now, at least.

“Dude!” Jason mocks his tone. “Shut up and sit up,” He commands. Percy glares at him and straightens. 

“I don't what's scarier,” he mutters. “Your attitude or the neck tattoo.” 

Jason rolls his eyes and sticks his hand out in front of Percy's face. The slightly older boy raises an eyebrow at him.

“Gum,” Jason says, staring at his hand pointedly. Percy looks at him incredulously.

“You're kidding.”Jason waits and Percy spits his gum into his waiting hand. “Put your phone in your pocket while you're at it.” Jason throws the wad of gum away and washes his hands, scrubbing furiously. He dries them with a towel and turns around just as Percy is about to prop his foot on the makeup counter again.

Jason grabs Percy by the ankle before his foot can land. He puts his face right in front of Percy's line of sight, his blue eyes radiating the sharpness of electricity caused by lightning storms. “And keep your dirty feet off my table.”

Any other sane human being would have been intimidated by Jason's fierce gaze. Percy, however, idiot that he is, accepts the challenge. He looks directly into Jason's eyes and flashes him a cheeky smile and tugs slightly on the hem of Jason’s ‘Misfits’ T-shirt. 

“As you wish, dear.”

“Jason, wait!”

Jason cringes at the sound of Percy's voice grating against his ears. The older man is running towards him and grabbing his forearm. 

“What do you want?” he sighs. “And please let go of my arm.”

Percy obliges and releases his hold. “I have blood in my hair,” he states. It's not real blood of course, rather a synthetic liquid to imitate blood.

 “Yes,” Jason acknowledges. “You do.”

He grabs his bag and is turning to leave again but Percy grabs his wrist. This time, Jason just wrestles his hand away from him. “What the-”

“I need you to get the blood out!” Percy pleads. “Piper has this stuff, and it's in a blue- no purple- container thingy and it has like a green cap and-”

“You mean this?” Jason asks. He holds up the shampoo Percy has been struggling to describe. 

“Yes!” Percy exclaims. His face floods with relief. “Can I use it?” He reaches for the bottle.

“No.” Jason states. He holds the stuff over his head, out of Percy's reach. 

“Please!” Percy begs, widening his eyes and sticking out his lower lip. Jason's always been a sucker for the puppy dog face but he stands firm. Everybody else has already left, ready to live it up at the swanky new bar across the street, and Jason wishes nothing more than to join them.

“C'mon man,” Percy drops the puppy dog face but continues to plead. “I have a date in an hour and I can't get this stuff out by myself.”

All Jason wants is to leave, but he can't deny that abandoning Percy in his oh-so-desperate situation would be kind of rude. Percy just stares into his eyes silently imploring him to relieve his problem.

“Fine,” Jason relents. Percy beams and again tries for the bottle. “But I'm doing it,” he adds. “You'd probably do something idiotic and ruin the product.” Percy beams at him and hops into the adjustable make up chair.

Jason wheels it over to the sink and leans Percy back under the faucet. “Not too cold please- AARGH!” Percy shrieks as he gets assaulted by cold water.

“What's that?” Jason calls over the loud swooshing sound the water is making. “Can't hear you,” He lies, smirking.

Percy mutters profanity under his breath. Jason squeezes clear liquid into his palm and starts massaging it into Percy's scalp, none too gently.

“Dude, could you be less rough?” Percy asks.

Jason ignores him and detaches the nozzle to rinse his hair. He doesn't intentionally spray the stream into Percy's eyes, but he certainly doesn't mind when it happens.

“Hey!” Percy shouts. “Hi,” Jason replies sarcastically. He repeats his previous actions, applying the shampoo into Percy's dark hair, not quite as roughly this time. “So anyway, the dates with this girl named-”

“I really don't care, Jackson,” Jason interrupts.

“-May. She's really cool-” Percy continues despite Jason's interruption. 

“Please shut up.”

“-and we're going to- ERGHFP!” Jason sprays him again with the detachable nozzle and effectively fills his mouth with water, shutting him up.

“Oh, WOW, look you're all clean now!” Jason exclaims with mock excitement. Percy sits up and is met with the fluffy towel that Jason has thrown at him. He snatches the towel from his face and begins to shimmy it across his wet hair.

“What? No ‘thank you’?” Jason tuts, packing the shampoo bottle away and using his tongue to move his lip ring around.

“Thanks,” Percy snaps, glaring from under his sopping mop of hair. Jason smirks at him then grabs his bag and heads out the door. Percy watches as Jason saunters out the doorway, his tight black skinny jeans helping to exaggerate the swinging of his hips.

Asshole. 

“Howdy.”

Jason's surprised to see none other than Percy Jackson leaning back in his makeup chair sporting a cowboy hat on top of his messy dark hair. He isn't surprised, however, to find that Percy has again decided to place his feet on Jason's counter.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Percy stands to meet Jason, tipping the hat. “Looks like I'm your problem from now on, partner,” he says with an exaggerated southwestern drawl.

He places the cowboy hat on Jason's head. It's immediately thrown off, and Jason glares at Percy.

“Okay, first, what? Why are you even here? Second, why do you have a cowboy hat? Where did you even find that? Third, don't ever try to talk like that ever again. Seriously ever. And last, Why are you even here?”

During some point in Jason's questioning, Percy had gotten bored and decided to help himself to Jason's face paint. He had half a mustache painted on before Jason managed to wrestle away the brush.

“Oui oui! I am French! You cannot touch me with your filth! Unhand me this instant!” Percy breaks out in laughter. Jason wants to break his face.

“Will you at least tell me why you’re here?” he says, placing the paintbrush in its proper place.

“Dude I just told you,” Percy says, dropping his ridiculous accent. “I'm all yours.” He kicks back in the chair and spreads his arms out.

Jason's confused. Percy is Piper's client, not his. If he was, Jason would have probably stuck a bullet in the back of the model’s head by now. “No, actually- where's Piper?” The spunky woman doesn't seem to be anywhere.

Percy shrugs. “Remember? She went and got herself pregnant. The suckers about to pop!”

No. NO. Piper’s out for maternity leave? She isn't that far along is she? And how the hell does that explain the 23 year old who's now shaping his hair into the most lopsided Mohawk Jason's ever seen?

“Okay, just- stay here and- don't touch anything!” He takes the hair gel from Percy's sticky hands and sets it on the shelf.

After walking a few feet away and gathering his thoughts, he decides to call Piper to find out what the hell is going on.

She picks up on the second ring.

“Hey, Superman, what seems to be the problem?” She answers, way too cheerfully for Jason’s taste.

He doesn't beat around the bush. “What is he doing here?”

“Hate to break it to you, Jay, but you're going to have to a bit more specific.”

Jason's getting a bit frustrated as he watches Percy does the exact opposite of what he had told him. What part of “don't touch anything” didn't he understand??

“Percy. What the fuck is Perseus Jackson doing at my station, telling me that I'm his new stylist? And that you're on maternity leave? Since when?”

“Since like two weeks ago when I gave my two weeks notice? What did you think I've been doing all this time, growing a pumpkin in my stomach? And yeah, I kind of recommended you to be his new babysitter…” She trails off.

“You what?! Piper you know I can't fucking stand him! What in the deepest parts of the freaking underworld compelled you to do that?”

Jason's glaring at Percy like this is all his fault, though most of his anger is probably derived from the fact that he woke up late and had to skip coffee.

“Okay, calm down Superman. Percy's honestly not that bad once you get used to him. I mean, yeah, he can be annoying and childish and just plain weird at times, but he's a good guy.”

“.... I hate you.”

“Love you too, Jason. Also, I'm having some major back pain so I'm going to go lie down. Have fun!” She hangs up and Jason's even more frustrated when than when he started.

There is no way he is working with Percy. He literally cannot put up with the man. Being one of the biggest stars in the LA modeling business must have gotten to Percy's head, as he was one of the most outspoken, confident, and annoying guys Jason had ever had the (dis)pleasure of meeting. 

There's gotta be a way out. Jason looks away from the hellish mess that is Percy Jackson, and spots Mr. Stanley.

The overhead of production was not a fun guy. Quite the opposite actually. More like an “I-would-rather-have-a-tea-party-with-a-wild-bear-than-risk-disappointing-him” kind of guy. And Jason was about to ask for something that frankly, no man should ever ask their production manager. But Jason would rather have a tea party with ten wild bears while being covered in honey, than work with Percy for the next five weeks.

Jason musters all the courage he has and clears his throat. When that doesn't get Mr. Stanley's attention, Jason goes for a more full approach.

He taps him on the shoulder.

“Uh- sir? Could I, uh, talk to you? Just for a moment?”

The stoic man turns to him and give him a look that seems as though Jason just interrupted the most important conversation of his life. Shit. He hadn't even been talking to anyone! Just staring at his employees with a disgusted sneer on his face.

“What is it Mr. Grace? I'm a very busy man.” His voice has an almost steel-like quality. Very cold and piercing.

This was a bad idea. “Well you see- Sir, I- uh, can't really... workwithpercy.” He gets the last words out as quickly as he can, and once they're floating in the air, Jason wishes nothing more than to suck them back in and bury them deeply in his chest.

“You can't work with him? And why would you be incapable of working with Mr. Jackson? Has he done something to harm you?”

“... No.”

“Has he killed your dog?”

“No.”

“Are you allergic his hair, cologne, or laundry detergent?”

“No!” Jason longs to sink into the nonexistent black abyss beneath him.

“I'm not seeing any reason as to why you couldn't work with the star of our production. Now if you won't work with Mr. Jackson... well, that could be a problem.”

Jason is inwardly cursing himself in every language he can think of. He gets about 50 terms in before the older man stops to take a breath.

“It's an honor to work with such a fine young man, and if you don't accept the work that you are assigned you will be out of a job.” Jason swallows the lump that has been forming in his throat.

“Do I make myself clear Mr. Grace?”

Jason nods furiously. “Yes sir, sorry sir.”

He chides himself on the way back to his station. He wasn't usually one to be pushed around. He knew what he wanted, and knew how to get it, usually. He never choked on his words, and he was even voted “Most likely to be a leader” in high school.

So why did talking to his boss make him want to soil his jeans in front of everyone?

“Ooh- someone's grumpy,” Percy jokes when Jason returns. “I totally understand your pain dude,” he sympathizes.

“You do?”Percy rests his hand on Jason's bicep, in what is probably meant to be somewhat of a “comforting” gesture, but is just really awkward and weird.

Percy nods sadly. “It must be really difficult to turn somebody as beautiful as me into an ugly monster. But I believe in your skills Jay Z, you can do anything you set your mind to!”

Jason's head starts to ache. This is going to be a long few weeks.

“Why do you hate me?”

It's been a week of working with Percy, and Jason's more or less gotten used to the man. He did his best to ignore whatever he said, but Percy had a way of getting under his skin. 

Despite his less-than-friendly relationship with the model, the question throws him. 

“What?” he asks, pretending like he didn't hear him. 

“Why do you hate me?” he repeats.  Jason starts shaking his head, prepared to negate his assertions, but Percy cuts him off before he can. “Don't pretend like you don't. I hear you when you talk to the others. They hate me too. I mean, I don't care, I know I'm totally awesome, but why?”

As much as Jason can't stand being around Percy, he doesn't hate him. And he wouldn't want to hurt the older man’s feelings. Scary as Jason may seem, he's not an asshole.

“I don't hate you.”

Percy stares at him like ‘yeah, right.’ 

“I'm serious,” he continues. “You might not be my favorite person on earth, but I don't hate you. I don't hate anybody!” 

Percy pupils move up and down, checking Jason out. “You look like the kind of guy who hates everyone.”

Jason tries for a laugh but it comes out more like an exasperated huff. “Yeah- well, I don't. Okay? Good, now can you just shut it so I can get this done?”  

Percy shrugs and lets Jason do his thing. 

“You know I don't try to make people hate me, right?” 

Jason sighs and runs a comb through Percy's silky hair. "No one hates you," he reassures him. He's not sure why he feels the need to reassure him, maybe it has something to do with the fact that Percy's never seemed anything but childish. 

Yeah, kids may be annoying, but they're also cute and innocent. Percy had this aura about him that, while though insufferable and irritating, was childlike, and Jason maybe has this innate sense to protect him. Underneath the tattoos and the facial piercings, he's always been a giant teddy bear and hell be damned if he hasn't tried to hide it.

“Jason?” Percy asks.

Jason rolls his eyes. “Yes?”

“Thanks for lying to make me feel better,” he says, looking up at Jason.

The younger allows a small smile. “All in a days work.”

Nothing is funny but they’re both grinning and Percy’s green eyes are twinkling at him like they’re sharing an inside joke and maybe, just maybe, he’s not so bad after all. 

“I don't like this stuff.”

Jason ignores Percy's whining and continues to apply the weird clay mixture type thing to Percy's face.

“It's COLD,” Percy complains. He bounces on the balls of his feet, making Jason's job a lot harder than it needs to be.

“And you're annoying,” he shoots back. Percy's spastic bouncing is getting out of hand. “Sit down,” he commands.

“You just asked me to ‘stand up so I could get a better angle,’” Percy mutters under his breath, but he sits down anyway. Jason rests his knee on the chair between Percy's legs, so he can properly grab Percy's face.

“If you would stand still, this wouldn't be a problem.”

Percy squirms in his seat and Jason swears he's about to fucking quit. “Stop moving,” he demands.

“Well, if you would remove your knee from my crotch, I probably wouldn't be moving,” Percy retorts bitterly.

“Just let me do my job, Jackson.”

Percy falls silent, thankfully, and Jason does his best to get Percy ‘camera ready’ despite Percy's wiggling. Jason's about to thank his lucky stars for Percy new found silence when not even five minutes later, the dark haired man speaks up again.

“The Ramones?” Percy inquires, acknowledging Jason's T-shirt. Jason sighs inwardly.

“Yes. They're a band,” he says quickly. They're running out of time and there are still things that Jason needs to perfect. He reaches over to his station to grab a few products: face paint, hair spray, the weird bottle of shit that makes wicked looking scars, a bit more fake blood, and some sponges.

“Oh, REALLY, gee, I've never heard of them,” Percy says sarcastically.

Jason rolls his eyes.

“~TEN MINUTES!” Someone calls over the loudspeaker. Shit.

“Could you shut your mouth for ten minutes?” Jason begs. He runs his fingers through Percy's hair to give it that thrilling undead look that everyone's trying to achieve this season. Percy coughs a bit when Jason accidentally sprays hair spray in his mouth. Obviously, if he had shut his mouth, that wouldn't have happened.

“You don't have to wear those T-shirts so people know you’re a punk-” Percy says. Jason ignores him and uses his sculpting tool to create scars on the side of Percy's cheek.

“-It's pretty obvious with your weird ass haircut, and your docs, and your plethora of tattoos-”

 Jason turns Percy's face to look toward the mirror at the wall and paints some blood on to the scars.

“-And don't you think the eyeliner is a BIT much?” 

Jason releases Percy's face and stares at him in disbelief. “Do you ever shut up?”

Percy ignores the question and observes Jason as he begins to clean up. “I like it though.” Jason remains silent and concentrates on the task at hand. He puts caps on bottles and throws brushes into the sink. “Did you hear me?”

Jason shrugs it off and wipes down the counter of his station. “Jason?” When Jason still doesn't respond Percy gets out of the chair to join the blond.

“Hello? Jason? Jay? Jay Z? Mr. Grace? Avril Lavigne? Sexy god of punk?”

Percy frowns and plants himself firmly in front of the younger man. Never one to be deterred by the idea of ‘personal space’ he place both hands on either side of Jason's face and presses their foreheads together so that their noses touch. “Jason are you alive?”

Surprised, Jason jumps backwards, almost falling into a chair behind him. “Dude, what the fuck do you want?” he asks, a hint of anger in his voice.

“Did you hear what I said?” Percy repeats.

“No, I was too busy not caring.”

Percy rolls his eyes. “I said I like your eyeliner.” Jason stares at him the same way one would look at a monkey attempting to fix a lawn mower.

“... Really makes your eyes...”  Percy closes then opens both fists to imitate a firework bursting. “POP!”

An awkward silence falls over them and Percy's left with his fingers spread out on either side of his face.

“~FIVE MINUTES!”

“I think you need to go,” Jason says nodding over to wear the cameras and other models are.

“...right.” Percy shoves his pockets and makes his way over to his designated spot. Jason's eyes travel down to Percy's bare feet and again he wonders how the man doesn't step on or in anything.

Shaking his head, Jason resumes cleaning. He's caught by the sight of himself when he goes to wipe the mirror. Sky blue eyes stare back at him, intensified by the black eyeliner surrounding them. 'I do have nice eyes,' Jason thinks.

He makes a mental note to pick up some eyeliner on the way home, he's almost out. Not because Percy likes it or anything.

It does make his eyes pop after all.

“The Beatles? They aren't a punk band.”

Jason follows Percy's gaze down to his chest where a black and white photo of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr is printed.

He raises an eyebrow. “And?”

Percy puts his hands on his hips. “And, I didn't think ‘Mister-Too-Punk-To-Care’ would listen to Classic Rock.”

“You can't define my music taste, Jackson. Shirt off.”

Percy shrugs the shirt over his head and tosses it carelessly onto the blue suede chair. “C'mon Jay, let's do a duet!”

“Don't call me Jay.” He fixes Percy's hair so that it just barely falls against his eyelashes and smooths it out.

“hEY JudE-” Percy starts in a very off key voice, before Jason covers his mouth with the palm of his hand. 

“I will rip your tongue off,” he promises.

“Is that a threat?” Percy wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. Jason doesn't take the bait and grabs the tool used for airbrushing. He loads in the spray and begins to lightly mist Percy's toned chest.

“Chin up,” he reminds as he moves the tool up Percy's neck. He continues the spray evenly to Percy's shoulders and he's allowed to relax his chin.

Jason kneels onto a stool so he can airbrush Percy's torso. “I still don't understand why this is necessary,” Percy questions.

Jason sighs and explains, once again, why they have to do this every day. “The cameras pick up everything, any freckles, hair, discoloration, needs to be covered so the skin looks perfect.” He turns Percy around to do his back.

“But why? I'm supposed to be a zombie, Jason. I've watched ‘The Walking Dead’, I'm pretty sure dead people don't have perfect skin.” Jason gets a slightly darker shade to contour and shape Percy's abs.

“Target audience is teenage girls. Studies show that teenage girls enjoy hot guys with their shirts off.” Jason plants his left hand on Percy's abdomen to hold him still while misting.

“You think I'm hot, Jay-Z?” Percy asks, succeeding in his attempts to stand still for the first time in his life.

Jason finishes and steps back to admire his work. “One, Don't call me that ever again. And two, You wouldn't be here if you weren't considered attractive by 14-19 year old girls,” he states, checking over Percy's stomach for any mistakes.

“Not what I asked.” Jason switches out to the lighter color. Percy places a hand on Jason's chest when he turns around to demand his attention. “I asked if you think I'm hot.”

Jason swallows. “Undeniably sexy,” he says dryly. “Jeans off.” 

Percy grins victoriously and lets his pants drop. He's wearing plain black boxer briefs underneath, per instruction by management.

Although, he's still not quite sure how almost naked zombies with abs are supposed to sell anything, but the pay is good so he's not complaining.

Jason airbrushes Percy's thigh and carefully works his way down. He's gotten used to Percy's hairless legs, although he has to admit, it freaked him out the first time. Apparently, Percy's managers make him shave in order to be presentable for the advertisements they're shooting for.

He lets his fingers trail down Percy's calf, and wonders, not for the first time, if Percy does some sort of routine to keep his figure like this. He has the body of a swimmer, and Jason wouldn't be surprised if the man had been blessed by Poseidon himself.

Percy's still chattering about how ‘The Jason Grace’ finds him hot, and Jason's considering punching him in the face. Unfortunately, bloody noses aren't considered attractive to 14-19 year old girls.

Over the past few weeks, Jason's learned that the only way to get Percy to shut up about something is to change the subject.

“So I've been meaning to ask, why don't you wear shoes?” Jason interrupts. He's not only trying to make Percy stop his fangirling (which happens to be annoying as fuck), but he is genuinely curious (not that he would ever actually tell anyone that).

“It keeps me more in tune with the earth,” Percy states with a straight face.

“...you’re kidding.”

“Um, no, actually. I just really enjoy being at peace with my surroundings.”

“...”

“Yes, I'm kidding.” Percy wiggles his toes. “Are we done, yet?”

Jason gives him a strange looks and stands up straight. “Uh, sure, just spin real quick.”

Percy turns slowly, allowing Jason to check for anything he may have missed. Percy's skin, of course, turned out flawless, as usual. “You're good, go ahead.”

Percy grins and flexes for Jason's enjoyment. “Enjoy the show,” he says wiggling his hips in a ridiculous motion.

“... Just get on the fucking set, Jackson.”

“Who the hell is that?”

Jason follows Percy’s gaze. Walking over to them is a man dressed in tight leather and combat boots. Dark shades cover his eyes, but he’s obviously looking directly at Jason. His left hand threads through his hair as he grins lazily. In his right hand he holds a paper bag with ‘Mcdonald’s’ written on the front in bright, bold letters. 

“Nico!” Jason exclaims, pulling his best friend into a large bear hug. The smaller boy allows the physical contact for five seconds before pulling away. He removes his sunglasses, revealing his sparkling brown eyes.

“Guess who brought lunch?” he asks, holding up the bag. Jason smiles and gives Nico another hug (shorter this time). Percy watches the exchange, tapping his foot impatiently. “It’s so good to-”

“-Jason are you going to do my makeup or not? We’re kinda at work.” He directs this last part at Nico with a glare. Nico extends his hand in response.

“Nico di Angelo,” he says. Percy glares at the hand with a mix of disdain and disgust before ignoring it entirely. 

He returns his attention to Jason. “I have to be ready in an hour,” he reminds him. 

“Right!” Jason says, oblivious to the hostile daggers his client was shooting towards his best friend. He looks around until he finds what he’s been looking for. 

“Justin!” he calls to one of the other makeup artists. Justin looks up from organizing his sculpting tools. 

“Are you busy right now? I need someone to take care of Percy, just for a few minutes.” Justin shrugs and agrees to help. 

“Thanks! Percy do you mind? I really need to catch up with him,” he says, throwing an arm around Nico’s shoulders. Percy huffs, blowing his bangs out of his eyes to glare at Nico one more time, then stomps over to Justin’s station, muttering under his breath. 

Jason takes the bag from Nico, digging into his McNuggets. 

“Dude, when did you get back?” he asks, setting the food down so he can open a packet of barbecue sauce. 

“Last Tuesday, I think? Sorry for not telling you, I wanted to surprise you.” Nico pulls out another box of nuggets for himself. He watches a Jason dips his nugget into the monstrous puddle of barbecue sauce and ketchup he’s created. “You are literally the most disgusting person I’ve ever met.”

Jason sticks his tongue out. “So how was Italy?” he asks. 

Nico’s whole face brightens. “Oh my gods it was amazing Jace, you should have gone! It’s so beautiful and everybody is great and god the food…” he trails off into the memory of his travels. 

“Also I got something…” he takes off his left fingerless glove, revealing a thin silver band on his ring finger. 

“He proposed?!” Jason asks in a hushed whisper. Nico nods and hides the ring under his glove again. 

“Yeah but I’m not supposed to tell anyone,” he grins sheepishly. He’s never been able to keep a secret from Jason. “Also who’s the pretentious hottie that’s trying to kill me with his mind?” 

Jason follows Nico’s nod to find Percy glaring at them from over Justin’s shoulder. Noticing Jason’s stare, Percy blushes and looks away, much to the dismay of the artist working on him. 

Jason doesn’t understand the apparent animosity Percy has for Nico. “Why is he being like this? He’s usually a pretty friendly guy, sometimes a little too friendly.” 

Nico gives him “the look”. Jason doesn’t know what “the look” means, but Nico gives it to him every time he thinks Jason is being stupid. He got that look quite a lot in college.

“Are you kidding me?” Nico asks. Code for: Jason you fucking idiot do you not realize this thing that is incredibly obvious to literally everyone but you.

“What?” He asks, only causing Nico’s “look” to increase in severity. “Seriously, do you know him or something?”

“Ohmygod,” Nico mutters, rolling his eyes. “He’s jealous,” Nico explains. 

“Of you?” 

“Yes of me, Jason have you not noticed?” Nico questions. “He likes you,” Nico draws out for him, at Jason’s ongoing confusion. 

Jason glances at Percy again. “Are you sure? Maybe he just hates your outfit,” Jason suggests. 

Nico shakes his head. “Watch,” he says. He moves a step closer and rests the palm of his hand on Jason’s chest, laughing loudly. Jason looks over at Percy, who looks like he might literally explode if somebody doesn’t stop him. Justin is trying to talk to him, but Percy is ignoring him. 

“Look at me,” Nico commands. He gets even closer and stands on his tiptoes, cupping Jason’s cheek with his slender fingers. Their faces are pretty damn close and Nico is still coming closer, almost as if to kiss him.

Jason is starting to get slightly uncomfortable. Nico’s never been one for close contact and Jason’s pretty sure they’ve never been pressed up against each other like this in the ten years they’ve known each other. “You aren’t actually going to-”

“JASON!”

All of sudden Jason finds himself being tugged toward Percy and consequently away from Nico. He regains his balance and realizes how warm Percy’s fingers are, as they wrap around his bicep. Nico is smirking at him from behind his nugget. 

“Justin sucks at everything-” “-HEY-” “and I’m not working with anybody else but you,” Percy declares. He shoves Nico slightly as he plops into his chair. “Also, everyone’s going to That One Place to party tonight. I expect you’ll be there.”

He directs his attention to Nico. “You can’t come. Employees only. Sorry.” 

Jason has a feeling he isn’t sorry at all. Nico winks at him and mouths ‘I told you so.’

“Anyway,” he says aloud. “I’ve got stuff to do, so I’ll be seeing you guys later. Nice to meet you Percy.”

“Thanks for the lunch!” Jason calls after him. “Also, tell that cute fiance of yours that I said ‘hi’!” Nico responds by turning and saluting while walking backwards. He places his sunglasses back on with a flick of wrist and then he’s out the door.

“Fiance?” Percy asks.

Jason gives him what he hopes is “the look.”  

“Justin, you can go, I’ve got him from here,” Jason says. 

Percy spends the next 45 minutes trying to convince Jason to attend the party. He succeeds.

“I’m not drunk.”

Jason takes the glass from him. “Percy, it’s time to go,” he insists, paying the bartender for Percy’s drinks.

“But I’m not!” Percy slurs. “One more Jay, pleeeeease…”

Jason decides that he hates his coworkers. Of course they had forced him to babysit drunk Percy, all of them running out at the slightest sign of Percy being “difficult.” “Difficult” meaning a literal fucking mess who refuses to listen to anyone. 

“We’re leaving,” Jason says, grabbing him from around the waist and lifting him from the stool. Fortunately, he was very light despite his height. Percy grumbles but is too far gone to fight back, instead opting to be annoying as possible by forcing Jason to carry him out of the club. 

Percy allows Jason to drag him out into the street. “My ‘partment is close -hic- we can -hic- walk ifya wanna-” He’s cut off by his own stomach betraying him. Jason watches in disgust as Percy empties the contents of his stomach onto the sidewalk. At least it’s on the sidewalk and not his MCR T-shirt. 

“Yeah, no, we’re getting a cab.”

Jason flags down a taxi easily and gets Percy into the back without any major injuries. The ride to Percy’s apartment is uneventful. Percy babbles the entire way home, and Jason does his best to keep him from puking in the cab. 

When they finally arrive, Jason pays the driver and carries Percy out. It takes nothing short of three miracles to get Percy up to his room, but they do it and Jason drops him at the door, exhausted. 

Percy uses the door handle as leverage to keep himself from falling. “S’ya wanna come in?” He asks Jason, almost slipping. 

“And why the hell would I want to do that?” Jason says, checking Percy’s pockets for a key of some sort. 

Percy pulls Jason up to make their faces level. “For sex,” he whispers rather loudly. Jason shushes him and Percy follows with a chorus of ‘shh’s until he breaks into giggles. 

Percy slips again and this time does fall, and Jason catches him, holding him upright by pressing his arms to his sides. 

“Percy there is no way I’m going to have sex with you while you’re drunk.” Percy pouts. “Or any other time for that matter.”

The model puts his hands on Jason’s hips and pulls him closer. “But JAyyyyyy,” he complains. “It’ll be funnnnnnnnn.” Jason gently removes Percy’s hands from his hips and offers them to the older man. “Don’t you wanna have fun with me?” he asks suggestively. He tries to kiss the blond, but his attempts are thwarted when Jason sidesteps and reaches around him into his back pocket.

Success! Jason pulls the key out in a swift motion and shove it into the keyhole. He makes a grab for the handle but Percy puts himself between Jason and the door. He grabs the belt loops of Jason's dark jeans, being careful around the studded belt. 

“Jay-son, I want you,” Percy whines, sticking out his lower lip. “And I always get what I want,” he informs in a hushed whisper, pressing his lips to Jason’s neck. Okay, shit, Jason needs to stop this now.

“Not today, Perce. It’s time for a bed, okay?” He turns the handle and pushes the door open. Percy detaches himself from his neck and wrinkles his nose.

He shrugs. “‘ave it your way, but I'm tellin’ erryone you’re a goddamn prude when we get back to work Monday.”

Jason chuckles. “Yeah, okay, you do that,” he says, knowing full well that Percy wouldn’t remember any of this by the morning. 

Percy gives him a sweet smile and Jason would have thought he looked innocent had he not been trying to get into his pants thirty seconds ago. He surprises Jason by leaning in for a kiss again. This time Jason allows it and Percy’s lips land on the corner of his mouth.  

“G’night, Jay,” he says, before walking into his dark apartment and closing the door.

“Goodnight,” Jason whispers to an empty hallway.

“Hey, I’m sorry about Friday night.”

Percy is swiveling in his seat, holding a rubber duck. “That was really unprofessional, and I should have more control over myself.” He isn’t looking Jason in the eye and his words sound oddly rehearsed. 

“Percy, do you even remember what happened?” 

He shrugs and sets down the duck next to the paint brush container on Jason’s station. “Not really. I mean, I know I was drunk and that you took me home. I know we didn’t, er, do anything, but I’m pretty sure I tried and yeah. Sorry.” 

Jason exhales. He feels eyes on his back and turns to see Percy’s manager glaring at him. Phil nods once at Percy, then turns on his heel towards the break room. The harsh glare explained some of why Percy was acting so out of character. The model is playing with the rubber duck again, still avoiding Jason’s eyes. 

Jason takes the duck from him. “It’s fine, Percy. The party was fun, okay?” Percy offers a small smile. 

“I don’t remember much of it,” he admits. He stands up and lifts his shirt up, exposing a dark purple bruise on his side. “I have no idea where this came from, but Ashley and Phil are pretty pissed.”

The blond runs his fingers over Percy’s skin. He prods at the bruise slightly, eliciting a quiet hiss from the older man. “D’ya think you can cover it up?” he asks. 

Jason nods. “Yeah, no problem. Does it hurt a lot?”

“Nah, it’s not too bad if I don’t press it hard,” Percy says. Jason takes one more look at it before standing. While he gets materials, Percy blabs about his weekend. How one can waste so much breath on a basketball game, Jason has no idea. He tunes out quickly.

He’s working on covering the bruise when he feels a slight tug on his hair. 

“Jason?”

He says it loudly and Jason’s certain this isn’t the first time he’s been called. “Yeah?” he asks, setting down the concealer. Percy tugs at his shoulder, bringing him up to eye level.

“Do you think I’m pretty? Like, honestly,” he asks. 

“Of course,” Jason answers truthfully. ‘Why the sudden insecurities,’ he wonders. Percy frowns at his reflection. He nods.

The model nudges his bruise, wiping off some of the concealer off. “Just making sure.” 

“I got the pictures.”

Jason rubs his eyes. He woke up late (again) and didn’t have time to put in his contacts, resulting in him wearing thick black framed glasses that he used to wear when he went for the “nerdy chic” look. The frames are crooked but he could care less as he starts arranging his station.

“What pictures?” he asks, addressing the envelope Percy is holding in his hand. 

Percy hands him the envelope. “The ones from the first shoot. They haven’t completed the editing and stuff, but they let me have a sneak peak.” The envelope is a crisp white color and has already been opened. He pulls out the smooth stack of high quality photographic paper. 

His gaze is immediately drawn to Percy’s eyes. They’re looking directly into the camera and Jason almost wants to shrink from the intensity radiating from them. In contrast to the typical lightness and mischief usually contained in them, his iris are a deep sea green. There’s a slight darkness to them that Jason’s never seen before. A chill runs down his spine.

The rest of the shot is all dark muted colors. It’s only from Percy’s mid-torso up, and his shoulders are held in a stiff position, giving the impression that he’s prepared for a fight. Jason’s makeup accompanied by the special effects give Percy an eerie but slightly entrancing quality. The lighting (and probably some photoshop) had drained Percy from his natural tan skin tone and left his exposed skin looking like translucent porcelain. While Jason much prefers Percy’s warm tone, he does have to admit that the fabricated paleness makes a nice contrast with his jet black hair. 

Percy has such a serious, in control look about him, Jason almost forgets how annoying and intolerable he is on a daily basis. 

“Wow,” he says simply. The other pictures follow with ease, some with other models, some with Percy alone. “These are pretty… wow.”

Percy takes one of the photos from him. “I need to work on not being so stiff,” he frowns.

“What do you mean? Percy, these are amazing,” Jason says, not looking up from the pictures. He puts them in the envelope.

“Phil said I look constipated,” he admits. “I wouldn't go that far, but I definitely could work on a lot of things.” 

Phil, one of Percy’s managers is in a heated discussion with Percy’s other manager, Ashley. They held another envelope identical to Percy’s between them. Percy is obviously disappointed with himself and his pictures, and Jason has a feeling these two are to blame.

Jason tosses the envelope onto the counter of his station. “Well, hey, we’ve still got a few weeks of the shoot. That’s plenty of time to fix anything that needs fixing.”

Percy offers him a small smile. “Yeah I guess. Time to make me look horrific?” he asks.

“Time to make you look horrific,” Jason agrees, sweeping Percy’s hair out of his eyes. He clips back Percy’s bangs and begins his transformation. 

Silence.

Something Jason should enjoy, he's been asking for it, after all, but this uncharacteristic trait is really throwing him off. Percy Jackson and silence do not belong together.

The one word that truly describes him is loud, always loud, and this silence... this silence is wrong. Usually, Percy can't even keep his mouth shut for 5 minutes.

It's been 6.

Jason tries to ignore the quiet as long as he can, organizing the makeup station, waiting for Percy to say something. He doesn't. So Jason does. 

“Hey, man,” Jason says. Percy doesn't look up. “You okay?” Percy gives his shoulders a slight shrug and now Jason's worried. Percy has always had a loudness about him, in his speech, in his movements, and the barely noticeable shrug is what scares him most. 

“Percy, what's wrong?” Jason stands in front of him now, a hand on each shoulder. Percy slowly brings his head up and there are tears forming in his green eyes. Jason's heart drops. “C'mon,” he commands. He leads him to the single stall bathroom.

“Tell me what's going on,” Jason demands. “Please?”

Percy bursts into tears.

Chapter Text

Jason always assumed Percy would be an obnoxious crier. Loud sobs, accompanied by hiccups and exaggerated tears. 

He's wrong.

Percy has his knees pulled up to his chest, but his face is entirely visible. Silent tears stream down his face and he bites his lip to hold back a quiet sob. Bewildered, Jason has no idea how to comfort him, and instead sits quietly, hating himself and feeling like a jerk. Percy's hands are starting to shake, and Jason takes the left in his slightly larger one.

Percy scoots closer to him, and Jason attempts to wrap his free arm around him, resulting in the most awkward side hug he's ever experienced. Percy takes a loud breath and speaks for the first time that morning.

“I'm sorry.”

The tears are continuing to roll down his face and Percy just repeats the words over and over, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, and Jason's heart breaks a little bit more each time he utters the phrase in his broken voice. “Hey, hey, shh...” Jason attempts to offer some sort of solace, pulling Percy towards him to at least make the position more comfortable.

“What are you sorry for?” he asks. Percy doesn't answer. Instead, he trades the ‘I’m sorry’s for a chorus of ‘I can’t’s. “I can't,” he whispers. “I can't, I can't, I can't-”

“Percy what can't you do?”

“I can't-” Percy takes another shuddering breath. “It's not working,” he insists, his fingers gripping the fabric of Jason's ‘Sex Pistols’ T-shirt, bunching the material in his fists. His tears are soaking the shirt but Jason couldn't care less about his clothing.

“It's not working, and I can't stop, and it burns, Jason, it burns every time, and I've tried to stop, I really have, but I just CAN’T-” Percy breaks down again, this time putting all of his weight on Jason. The blond holds him tightly as silent sobs rack the older boys body.

Jason rubs what he hopes is soothing circles on his back and shushes him softly. “What are you trying to do, Percy, what's going on?”

Percy nuzzles his head into Jason's neck and tries to control his breathing. “I need- they told me I have to lose weight, if I want to, keep, like, my job, and I tried and I'm trying and-” Percy's cut off by his own ragged breathing, and, honestly, Jason is having a hard time making out what he's saying.

“Percy, who... who's ‘they’?” Jason inquires.

The crying boy is trying in vain to wipe the years for his face. “Um, Ashley and Ph-Phil.” Percy's managers. Jason blood boils and he feels the need to go up to the two and break their fake ass faces with his bare hands.

“They told me to, and I did, and I- it worked for a while, but it stopped and now I can't stop, Jason I can't stop. And I'm so fat, it's disgusting, and I can't look in the mirror without wanting to-” Percy's no longer crying, but he's lost the ability to speak, and instead sinks further into Jason, pulling at his hair.

“Percy? Do you... Do you, um, you know...?” Jason can't bring himself to finish the question. He nods his head slightly in the direction of the single toilet and Percy just closes his eyes. Jason takes that as confirmation.

It makes sense. Getting up to use the restroom, at the same time everyday, just after lunch. Refusing the offers to go out to eat after work, with the rest of the crew. Hell, Jason has even noticed his weight, or at least the fat on his body, fluctuating. His hip bones went through a cycle of becoming more or less prominent.

Although Percy's not crying anymore, small sniffles penetrate the otherwise silent room. Jason clears his throat. Percy adjusts in Jason's lap so he can listen better.

“When I was about 11 a kid in my class called me fat for the first time,” he admits. “His name was Charlie. Probably doesn't even remember me, but that was the first time I hated myself. I was 13 when I stopped eating,” he continues.

“My dad was never there, and my mom probably shouldn't have been. She was an alcoholic who slept all day and rarely had a job. The smell when you walked into my house.... I could never have friends over.”

“It was my sister, Thalia, who noticed. She raised me, really, the best way she knew how: microwaved Spaghetti O's and Greenday.” Jason smiles at the memories.

“We used to perform to American Idiot,” he remembers. “When my mom wasn't home- Thalia, she'd turn her ancient radio player up, and we'd jump on the bed, singing our hearts out. Complete with air guitars and hair brush microphones. She was actually the one who introduced me to different genres of music.”

Jason's too wrapped up in his tale to notice that Percy's no longer tugging at his dark tresses, and is now running the pads of his fingers softly over Jason's skin. He plays with Jason's hands and traces the tattoos that grace his muscular arms.

“Still, by the time she realized what was going on, I had lost almost 60 pounds and was severely underweight. I don't blame her of course, she was busy with high school, her part time job, and she really did the best she could with what little we had,” Jason finishes, unconsciously interlacing his fingers with Percy's.

He suddenly realizes what he's been talking about. This is something he never planned to share. His anorexia,  his drunk of a mother, his sister... Those were things he hadn't told anyone, and now here he is, holding hands with Percy Jackson, confiding in him the deepest parts of his past.

“Sorry,” he mutters. “Didn't mean to make this all about me.” Percy is playing with the ring on Jason's thumb, something Jason has chided him for before, but he allows it this time. “I just have no idea what to say, what to do, in this situation,” he confesses.

“I think you're doing fine,” Percy mumbles hoarsely. He straightens a bit in the younger man’s lap. “It's been about a year,” Percy says. “I had been trying and failing to force myself to do... that, but on my 25th birthday I convinced myself that if I could get drunk enough, I wouldn't have to try, it would come up anyway.”

“It worked and I managed to coax myself into a routine.” Percy's voice is stronger now, no longer shaking, but still somber. Quite a contrast to his normal, upbeat, annoying as crap voice. “After a while, I didn't need to force myself. My body just naturally spewed out food after eating. I lost control Jason. I- I can't stop now.” Percy resumes his position, shlumping against Jason's firm chest.

Jason squeezes his hand. “You can though. I know people, places you can go. They can help Percy, make you better!” Percy just sort of shakes his head.

“I don't know, Jace, I can't stop working right now, we're in the middle of production, and-”

Jason interrupts him. “You wouldn't have to stop working Percy, just go to short meetings and stuff. I believe in you, really. Besides, this isn't something you can put off. Your health is so much more important than your job.”

Percy sighs. “What am I going to do with my life, Jason?” He laughs humorlessly. “I'm so messed up. And yeah, I'm pretty, but how long will that last? One day I'm just going to fall off the face of the planet and nobody's even going to care.”

Percy shifts so that he's laying down on Jason's lap, and picks at the pair of old converse adorning his feet. Jason's had the shoes for who knows how long and they're practically falling apart.

“I’ll care,” Jason says quietly. He checks his phone and it's only 20 minutes until Percy has to be ready, and Jason normally needs at least 30. “Hey, uh, I hate to say it but... We need to get you ready, like, now.”

Percy nods and they both get up. He rinses his face off with water and looks in the mirror.

“Oh, God,” he says, taking in his appearance. His face is red and his jet-black hair is sticking up in all the wrong places. The worst part, though, is his eyes. They are rimmed with puffiness and it's obvious that he's been crying. “You can fix this, right?” He asks, turning to look at the taller boy.

“Yeah,” Jason says. “I can.”

“I did it.”

Percy looks relieved for the first time since Jason’s met him. He puts his cell phone in his pocket, then without warning, launches himself onto Jason, wrapping his thin arms around Jason’s waist.

“Thank you for understanding,” he mutters into the crook of Jason’s neck. “I had to do it myself.”

Jason pats his back gently. “I’m just glad you finally got rid of them,” he says, giving Percy a final squeeze before releasing him.

“So what are you going to do now?” Jason asks. It was the last day of production, well for he and Percy anyway. The editing team still had a lot of work to do in terms of getting the models’ shots ready for advertising.

Percy shrugs. “Well, find a new manager, first of all,” he says patting the cell in his pocket. “Then find another project I guess? I’m thinking swimsuit calendars,” he jokes, striking a ridiculous pose. Jason laughs.

“Also, maybe until that happens, I don’t know, I was wondering if we could do something? Coffee or a movie or just hanging at my place…?” he trails off, picking at the hem of his frayed T-shirt (one that Jason had given to him when he accidentally spilled fake blood on his button down… about a month ago.)

Jason can feel his cheeks heating up and unconsciously mirrors Percy’s movements, tugging on his own shirt and biting his lip. “Yeah, that’d be really nice actually,” he says. Percy nods and stuffs his hands into his pocket.

All around them people are moving, breaking down the set, cleaning their stations, but Jason and Percy are standing in what has to be the most awkward silence in the history of ever.

“I should probably give you my number then,” Percy realizes, searching his pockets for a pen. When he can’t find one, Jason pulls one out of his bag and hands it to him. Percy gives him a sheepish grin.

Jason offers his arm, and Percy carefully etches his phone number onto the blond’s wrist, adding a smiley face at the end for more pizazz. He returns the pen to Jason.

“So, I’ll call you, yeah?”

Percy nods. Then he presses a kiss to the corner of Jason’s mouth, the same place he did a few weeks ago when he was intoxicated, and gives him another hug.

“I’ll see you around Percy.”

On his way out, Percy turns around to give one last half-wave, accompanied by a smile that melts Jason’s punk-rock heart. Jason rubs the inky scrawled numbers on his wrist.

He’s never been one for goodbye’s and now he doesn’t have to be.

“So how about that date?”

Jason chuckles. After waiting the minimum “three day rule” he had finally dialed Percy’s number into his phone. Or rather, tapped on the contact he created three days ago when Percy first wrote on his arm.

They’d talked about thirty minutes about Percy, Jason, and the cute billboard of the dog outside Jason’s apartment that Percy can see from his window, until Percy asked about the date he was promised on the last day of production.

“Did you have anything in mind?” he asks, erasing the last line he drew. He was currently sketching out the design of the new tattoo he was hoping to get sometime next week. “Lost the battle, win the war,” is written on a banner attached to the mast of an intricate ship.

Percy hums on the other end of the line. “Maybe we could go see a movie and then head back to my place or something?”

“Is there anything good out?” Jason asks. Percy notifies him to “hold on, I’ll check,” so he puts the phone on speaker and sets it on the coffee table so he can concentrate on his tattoo design. He shades around the edges of the ship, then smudges the pencil to make them softer.

His iPod is on shuffle and suddenly the opening chords of “Now” by Paramore are resonating through his living room. He sings along softly and adds a banner below the ship so that it can say “I’m bringing my sinking ship back to the shore.”

“Big Hero 6 is showing at 4:30 tomorrow,” he suggests.

Jason wrinkles his nose and fixes yet another mistake. “Isn’t that a kids movie?” he asks.

“What’s wrong with that?” Percy demands. “Besides, it has Fall Out Boy on the soundtrack. Who doesn’t love Fall Out Boy?”

Jason smiles at Percy’s defensive nature. “Oh, alright,” he relents. “You’re paying, though.”

“Only if you buy the popcorn,” Percy negotiates.

“It’s a date.”

“If that fuckin robot dies I'm burning this movie.”

A chorus of loud ‘shh’s are directed at Percy. Jason puts a hand on his left arm to calm him. They watch the rest of the movie in silence, Percy leaning on Jason’s shoulder and taking most of the popcorn. After the final credits roll, Jason stands and stretches, offering a hand to Percy.

Percy laces their fingers together as they walk out of the theater. “That’s the best movie I’ve ever seen,” he says.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but yeah, it was pretty good,” Jason agrees. “I had a good time with you.” If he was being completely honest, Jason probably paid more attention to Percy watching the movie than to the film itself. The darker haired boy seemed entranced by the animated characters and was too enthralled to notice Jason’s staring.

They find their way to the lobby of the cinema when a teenage girl stops Percy with a loud screech. “Oh my gosh! You’re Perseus Jackson!” she tells him.

“Um, yes, that’s me?” he says, blinking in confusion. She lets out another squeal.

“I saw you on the cover of M and had to check you out! I’ve seen every photo shoot you’ve ever done and you’re literally the hottest person on the planet,” she rambles.

“My favorite is the one you did for RotD. You know, the zombie one? The lighting was so amazing! I really want to be a photographer, and that shoot is, like, goals for me. And the makeup was epic, I couldn’t imagine working with a special effects artist like yours, if I met them I would die,” she notifies him, finally pausing for a response.

Percy gives Jason a look that makes it clear he has no idea what to do, nor does he intend to say anything.

Jason decides to step in. “Well we might as well bury you then, because that artist is me.”

She looks him up and down, from his spiky mohawk to his black boots, taking in his tattoos and piercings. He’s roughly a foot taller than her, and realizes that he might come off as more intimidating than previously planned. Fortunately, though, she doesn’t seem too frightened.

“Can you guys sign this?” she blurts, shoving her popcorn bucket towards them, causing a few kernels to go flying. Jason takes the bucket and offers it to Percy nudging him with his elbow.

“Oh!” Percy says, finding his voice. “Yeah, yeah, of course,” he says, scrambling through his pockets for a pen. He finds one and takes the cap off with his mouth, his other hand still holding Jason’s.

Jason keeps the bucket steady so Percy can scrawl his signature on it with the sharpie. When he’s done, they switch so Jason write his name too. He doesn’t have a fancy signature like Percy, so he just writes “JASON” in all caps and hopes it’s sufficient.

“Would you like a picture as well?” Percy asks. The girls eyes go wide and she rushes to pull her phone out of her back pocket. Jason hopes she isn’t missing her movie.

Percy finally releases Jason’s hand so that he can take a selfie of the three of them. They all smile and Jason holds up a peace sign as that camera goes off.

The girl takes her phone back and grins at the picture. “Thank you guys so much, you have no idea how much this means to me,” she says sincerely. She turns to leave.

“Wait, what’s your name?” Jason asks, realizing how rude it was not to ask her earlier.

The girl’s grin is blinding by this point. “Emily,” she answers, hugging her popcorn bucket to her chest.

“Well, Emily, I hope you have a great night,” Percy says, offering a slight wave. She waves to the both of them, then spins on her heel and makes her way to a theater across from the one they had been in.

Their hands connect again as they leave the theater. On the cab ride to Percy’s place, the model spends the whole time freaking out over meeting his first fan.

“Hey, she liked me too,” Jason reminds him.

“Yeah, but I’m the one she recognized,” Percy argues, sticking his tongue out. “Besides I’m she thinks I’m wayyyy hotter than you,” he adds.

“Well, she’s not wrong,” Jason agrees, stealing a kiss to Percy’s cheek.

A blush forms on the cheek of the older man. “Oh shut up,” he mutters. “Fuck you,” he adds when Jason starts laughing at him.

“We can do that later, but right now i just want to hold your hand.”

“So what do you want to do?”

Jason shrugs and looked around Percy's large apartment. Despite seeing the front door when Percy had his drunken incident, it was his first time actually being in his apartment. Upon entering the front door, there is a kitchen immediately to his left. Further down, the hallway opens up to a huge room with a flat screen tv mounted on the wall, and a comfy looking sofa.

“Large place,” he states. Percy picks up a framed photo from a small desk that was shoved against the wall. “Yeah,” Percy says. “It's just me. Gets kind of lonely sometimes,” he admits. He sets down the frame and continues into the living room.

Jason moves to follow the older boy but stops to look at the picture. In the frame stood a slightly younger version of Percy with a woman and a man. Jason assumes them to be a couple. Percy had his arms around the woman and they were all grinning brightly in oversized Christmas sweaters. Percy looked to be about 18 or 19 and showcased a large mess of unkempt hair.

Next to the picture is another framed photo. This one is of the same woman as before, only younger crouching down next to a young boy. They were on a boardwalk out looking the ocean, the sun setting behind them.  She had her auburn hair held back in a ponytail and was pointing at the camera, trying to direct the attention of the toddler toward the camera man. Jason realizes with a start that the toddler was Percy. He had the same dark hair and bright green eyes, but was rather chunky and holding a plastic fishing pole.

There seemed to be a man next to the woman and Percy, but curiously enough, most of his body was covered by another picture placed on top of the existing one. Jason wondered if that was the same man from the previous picture. Something told him it wasn't.

The picture that was obstructing the man on the boardwalk looked like one of those things you get from the old photo booth machines. The ones that have three or four pictures taken inside the small cramped space shielded from the world by a flimsy black curtain.

In the collection of pictures, was Percy again, along with two other people. A blonde girl and a boy on Percy's right. If Jason had to guess he would say they were about twelve. The trio smiled happily and made funny faces, squished together. In the last picture they all had their eyes closed and their mouths open, laughing at a joke Jason wishes he could've heard. Printed on the top by the machine is “BEST FRIENDS FOREVER.” Next to it though, are words written by hand “Happy birthday Seaweed Brain. See you soon! Love, Annabeth and Grover.”

“Are these your parents?” Jason asks. He gestures towards the first picture, the one of teenage Percy and the couple in the sweaters. Percy walks up behind him and takes the picture from him, looking at it before he speaks.

“Yeah. That's my mom and my stepdad, Paul.” Percy smiles at the picture in his hands. He glances at Jason and his eyes turn sad. “They're back in Manhattan, where I grew up. I couldn't ask them to leave their home to follow my dumb dream.”

“Must've been hard. Moving to L.A. on your own. Leaving your childhood city,” Jason sympathizes.

“Yeah...” Percy trails off. There's a moment of silence before Percy looks up at Jason, a sparkle in his eye.

“Come on!” he demands, setting the picture down carefully then dragging Jason to the living room.

“What are we doing?” Jason asks. He trips over a discarded shoe and Percy mumbles a half hearted sorry. They both fall onto the couch.

Percy perches on the arm of the sofa and waits for Jason to sit up. “WE,” he starts, “are going to build...”

He holds onto a pillow, eyes widening with excitement. "A FORT," he finishes and looks at Jason expectantly.

Jason sighs inwardly.

“It’s my house so I get to choose the movie.”

He pops the disk into the DVD player and joins Jason in the fort they built together. Jason’s surprised it turned this well considering his lack of fort building experience.

The fort was built in the middle of Percy’s living room, facing the 80” screen television. Three sheets were used as a ceiling above them, supported by chairs taken from Percy’s dining room. Another sheet acted as a back wall, draping over Percy’s sofa and closing the pair off from the rest of the world. The inside of the fort was filled with comfortable blankets and about 600 pillows taken from every corner of Percy’s apartment.

Although Jason tried his hardest to convince Percy to watch The Lion King, the older had insisted on Wall-e and as he said, it is his house, so Jason resigns himself to watch a movie about a robot on a quest for love.  

The opening credits begin and Percy shushes him, despite Jason not making any noise. Jason rolls his eyes, and shifts uncomfortably. He was still wearing his black docs and was just large enough to have to duck awkwardly to avoid the “ceiling” of the fort. A soft laugh hits his ears.

Percy’s attention has turned away from the movie he had so vehemently argued for, and instead is focused on Jason, and he’s stifling a laugh behind his hand.

“What’s so funny?” Jason demands.

Percy shakes his head. “Nothing.”

Jason glares at him.

“Nothing,” Percy insists. “Just... you look kind of silly. A punk in a fort made of polka dotted sheets? It’s just a bit… unorthodox…” he breaks off into a fit of soft giggles.

The blonde pauses the movie. “Oh you think I look funny, huh?” he asks, failing in his attempt to look threatening. Percy nods, his giggling turning into loud peals of laughter.

Jason tackles him, and then they’re sent tumbling, fort and all. Percy lets out a hard oomph as he hits the ground. “Well let’s see how funny I look when I’m tickling the shit out of you, you little fucker.”

Percy’s eyes go wide and he struggles to get out a ‘JASON, NO-’ before Jason jabs at his side, causing him to fall apart into a fit of broken laughter.

“Don’t- Stop!- JASON PLEASE-” he begs, writhing under Jason’s hands. His breathing is becoming shorter as he half-heartedly tries to fight Jason off.

“Don’t stop?” Jason smirks. “Well if you say so…”

Percy finally manages to grab Jason’s hands and clutches them to his chest. “Jason, please stop,” he pleads. He looks so pitiful that Jason doesn’t have the heart to continue and instead leans down to rest on his elbows on either side of Percy’s head.

“Hi,” he whispers, still smirking softly as their foreheads touch.

“Hello there,” Percy murmurs back, cradling Jason’s head in between his palms.

And then they’re kissing. Percy’s lips move against Jason’s like they were made for him. Jason nibbles on Percy’s lip, resulting in a loud moan from the older boy. The blond dips into his mouth, and Percy’s arms wind around his neck, pulling him closer.

They fall into a lazy sort of kissing, one occasionally breaking away to trail kisses down the other’s jaw. The movie is all but forgotten when Jason notices a pull on his lower lip. Percy is gently sucking on one of his piercings, rolling the smooth piercing around with his tongue.

Jason pulls away giving him a quizzical look. “What are you doing?” he asks. Percy shrugs and reattaches their lips.

“It feels nice,” he says, playing with the piercing again. “I think I want a piercing,” he muses. “A tongue ring would be nice.”

“Fuck,” Jason mutters. He gives Percy another deep kiss. “You can’t kiss anybody for a while though. You could get an infection.”

Percy wrinkles his nose. “Hm, maybe not then.”

He pulls Jason in again, their mouths connecting one last time.

Jason pulls away first. “We should probably finish the movie,” he suggests. Percy nods. They rebuild the fort and rewind the movie.

Percy is captivated by the film, but Jason can hardly keep his eyes open. He kicks his shoes off and falls into the older man. “G’night,” he mutters, using Percy’s lap as a pillow.

“Good night, dork,” Percy whispers. He realizes his words fell on deaf ears when Jason’s soft snoring becomes audible. Sleepy punks are cute, he decides.

“BRB.”

Percy sets down his fork and stands, almost knocking over his chair in the process. He manages to catch it though, and pushes it under the table.

“Where are you going?” Jason asks after swallowing the last of his chicken salad. Percy had made dinner for the two of them, seeing as the younger man was at his house almost constantly. It had only been two months since they started dating, but Jason stayed in Percy’s apartment so often that there was a drawer of his things in Percy’s room including a toothbrush, an extra phone charger and about three complete outfits.

He gathers their plates, intending to bring them to the sink.

“The bathroom,” Percy answers. “I have to pee.”

Jason hesitates.

“Are you sure?” he asks.

Percy gives him an incredulous look. “Am I sure that I have to pee?” he reiterates, raising an eyebrow. Jason cringes inwardly. Surely Percy knew what he was trying to say, right?

Percy sighs, indicating that, yeah, he knows exactly what Jason is trying to say. “Look you don’t need to watch my every move. I’m not going to do anything. Dr. Sings said we needed trust, remember?”

Jason remembers. After being officially together for two weeks, Percy had decided it was time to introduce Jason to his therapist. She and Jason had had a ‘little talk’ on his helicopter habits. She also made it clear that Percy will still have problems with his eating disorder and while a watchful eye is good, it was also important not to overreact if he finds Percy purging.

Purging. Jason hates that word. Just the sound of it makes him feel sick. But it was something his boyfriend had to deal with. It had only happened twice while Jason was around but the sight of it was enough to last a lifetime. Fortunately, he remembered Dr. Sings device and made sure to not let Percy see him upset, or blame him for his illness. Instead, he waited outside the door until he was done, and offered him a glass of water and a hug.

He still worries though. “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t mean to- yeah.”

Percy smiles at him and Jason drops the dishes into the sink. When Percy’s gone Jason finds himself waiting outside the bathroom door again, just in case.

There aren’t any suspicious sounds coming from the bathroom, but he doesn’t plan on leaving until he hears the sink running.

Suddenly, the door opens and he comes face to face with a slightly miffed Percy. “You know you could breathe a little more quietly if you don’t want me to know you’re spying.”

Shit.

While Jason tries to come up with a sufficient apology, Percy washes his hand, scrubbing roughly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Percy, I’m so-”

The model cuts him off by pushing him out of the doorway so he can leave the bathroom and walk briskly down the hallway. Jason follows him, apologies falling off of his lips and into the cold apartment. Percy picks up a plate and begins scrubbing it, dish soap lathering up on his bare hands.

“Babe, please, I’m just worried about you-”

“I know,” Percy interrupts. “I know you’re worried, and I know you care, and I know you want to help but when you follow me around like that it just makes things worse.” He drops the dish into the water and turns into Jason’s chest.

Jason’s eyes are full of guilt and he holds Percy against him gently. “I’m sorry,” he repeats, begging for forgiveness.

Never one to hold a grudge, Percy pecks him on the lips. “All is well, you completely tolerable dork.” Another peck. “Just don’t do it again,” he warns.

“Okay,” Jason agrees, ducking his head to press his lips to Percy’s neck. Percy smiles and pulls him up to kiss him properly.

“I think it’s time for bed,” he says. Jason nods. They make their way to Percy’s bedroom, closing the door behind them.

“Well that was a fucking mess.”

Jason nods his head, still too breathless to speak. His back is sore from being pressed awkwardly against the leather seat of Percy’s Tesla. The gray hoodie he had been wearing before is now on the head of the passenger seat and Jason uses it to wipe some of the, er, mess off of himself and the seat.

“Uh, Jay?” Percy asks.

“Hm?”

Percy’s face is still flushed. “You’ve got some in your hair,” he notifies him cautiously. Jason slowly brings up a hand to his hair and finds a sticky substance that is definitely not hairspray. Oh god that’s gross.

And then he laughs.

And laughs.

And laughs.

Because he has cum in his hair and lube on his hoodie. Because Percy just looks so genuinely concerned and completely fucked out at the same time. Because out of all the places they could have had their first time, it happened in Percy’s car. And if you can’t laugh after sex, then what kind of sex is that?

Percy joins him and now he’s falling into Percy’s bare chest, awkwardly trying to kick his jeans out of his way. His heart lifts as Percy grins and pulls him closer, feeling lighter than he has in years. God, it felt good to laugh. Especially with Percy.

There aren’t any stars out but Jason still makes a wish on the bright lights of a billboard outside the window that this feeling will linger, at least for a little while. Perhaps someone out there can help him keep this man in his arms for as long as he’ll stay. Jason would like that.

“Will you calm down? They’re going to love you I swear.”

Percy grabs Jason’s hand and laces their fingers together to further reassure him. Jason is still having a bit of trouble breathing, because what if Percy’s wrong? What if Sally and Paul hate him and convince Percy to break up with him?

Jason isn’t sure if he can handle not being with Percy and he’d rather not test out that theory now. The older man had insisted they both take a break from work and dragged him on his trip to New York to “meet the parents.”

In order to prepare, Jason wore a long sleeved turtleneck jumper that hid most of his tattoos and took off all of his piercings save the small gauges that occupied both ears. He also skipped out on the eyeliner and gelled his hair back in an attempt to look like a polite “boy-next-door” type.  

But he’s still nervous as hell. Percy knocks on the door with the hand that isn’t being held captive by Jason’s. The door opens to reveal a beautiful woman who immediately pulls Percy into an enthusiastic embrace, causing Jason to lose his grip.

“Percy! I’m so glad you’re home,” she says, hugging him tightly. Jason wants to argue that no, this isn’t Percy’s home. His home is the same as Jason’s. Home is the apartment. It’s laying on the sofa in nothing but sweatpants and eating leftovers from yesterday’s takeout, while watching Friends re-runs. Home is driving down the streets of L.A. in Percy’s car, the music of the memories they’ve shared playing in the background.

But he doesn’t say any of that, because that would be a bit weird and also incredibly rude, and Jason isn’t an asshole. Besides, this is Percy’s mom and Jason needs to make a good impression.

So when she pulls away from Percy, he puts on a smile and reaches out his hand. She takes his large hand between her small ones and gives him a warm handshake. And then her lips curve into a smile that reaches her eyes and then Jason is hit with a sense of familiarity because that’s Percy’s smile.

Then and there, Jason knows he could never hate Sally Blofis.

She invites them in and Percy grabs his hand again, leading him into a small but well kept kitchen. Just from the smell of the place he can tell there are cookies baking, likely chocolate chip. Sally is talking animatedly, asking about Percy their trip and encouraging Jason to “set your bags anywhere, dear.”

“Is that Percy?” A man’s voice calls from the living room. The room is visible from the kitchen and Jason see’s a older but youthful man lean over the back of the couch. When he sees Percy his eyes light up and he scrambles to get up.

It’s the same man from the Christmas card in Percy’s apartment, except his beard is scruffier and his soft brown eyes are behind a pair of wire framed glasses. Percy greets him with an enthusiastic “Dad!”

They hug tightly and Jason wonders if all families are this touchy-feely. While they embrace, Sally takes the cookies out and the home is filled with the sweet smell of warm cookies and nostalgia.

“And you must be Jason,” Paul says, shaking his hand firmly.

Jason nods. “It’s so nice to meet you Mr. Blofis.”

“Call me Paul,” the man corrects, his eyes twinkling. Jason nods again, relaxing for the first time since they got off the plane.

Percy has hopped onto the counter and is having a lively conversation with Sally. He reaches for a cookie, but his mom slaps his hand away. Paul reaches around her to grab two cookies, escaping before she could take them back.

While she’s distracted, Percy makes another reach, but is again intercepted. He pouts as Paul hands Jason a cookie.

“No fair,” the older man complains.

Paul takes a large bite of his cookie. “You snooze you lose, Perce,” he says, with mock sympathy.

A phone rings somewhere in the apartment and Paul goes to answer it.

“I need to go start the laundry,” Sally says. “Will the cookies be safe while I’m gone?”

“Of course, Mom,” Percy assures her, faking sincerity.

Sally raises an eyebrow. “Watch him, will you?” she asks Jason.

“Yes ma’am,” he says, saluting.

She gives him one last smile that reminds him so much of Percy before she leaves the kitchen to do the laundry. He turns to see Percy staring at him happily.

“Hey cutie,” he says, gesturing for Jason to come closer. The blond obeys and settles himself in between Percy’s legs, his hands falling lightly on the fabric covering his thighs.

He rests head in the crook of Percy’s neck and winds his arms loosely around the model’s thin waist. “You okay?” Percy asks, running his fingers through Jason’s hair.

“I’m great actually,” he responds truthfully, melting into Percy’s touch.

“What do you think of them?”

Jason smiles into Percy’s neck. “They seem nice. I like it here a lot.”

“Good.”

Jason hums in response. He lifts his head to press a kiss to Percy’s lips.

“You taste like chocolate,” Percy complains.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Jason retorts.

“I want a cookie.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “Too bad,” he says, pressing himself against the counter (and consequently his boyfriend), and trapping Percy. “Your mom said no.”

Percy frowns but wraps his legs around Jason’s hips, pulling him even closer. “Guess I’ll have to settle for you then.”

“How disappointing,” Jason says, grinning into the kiss. Percy holds his jaw to keep him still while he licks into his mouth heatedly. Jason’s fingers dig into Percy’s hips. When Percy moves to nibble at his jaw, Jason moans quietly. He reattaches their lips together roughly.

Their passionate makeout session is cut short when Sally clears her throat. Percy pushes Jason away at the sound and they both turn bright red.

“Uh, Mom, hey, we were just- uh-”

“Percy, you're almost 27. No need to act like you don’t kiss your boyfriend,” Sally says. “Just… maybe not around the food, yeah?”

Percy blushes harder. “Right.”

The rest of the weekend goes swimmingly, and Jason is almost as sad as Percy is when it’s time to leave. Sally and Paul send them off with a plate of cookies and an unspoken agreement that Jason is welcome back any time.

“Could you get that?”

Jason closes his laptop and walks past the bathroom where his boyfriend of 16 months is showering. He can’t help but smile at the model’s off key rendition of “Royals.” Whoever is at the door knocks again, loudly, and Jason shouts an irritated “Coming!”

Behind the door is an aggravated man with a square package, tapping his foot to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive.” He aggressively pushes the box into Jason arms, which is soon followed by a clipboard. Jason struggles to shift the box so he can sign for whatever the hell Percy bought.

He manages to balance it on his hip and use the door frame as a temporary desk and scrawls his messy signature on the designated line. The delivery man scowls at him and takes the clipboard back. ‘I wonder who pissed in his cheerios,’ Jason thinks, closing the door to the apartment.

Their apartment. Their, as is in: Jason and Percy’s apartment. Though the move had been official roughly a month ago, by the time Jason’s apartment lease was up, the majority of Jason’s nights had been spent in Percy’s arms. Because he’s lazy, Jason hasn’t unpacked the boxes of his belongings and random cubes of cardboard are piled sporadically in the front hallway. Regardless, he’s never felt more at home than he does now.

“What’s that babe?” Percy asks, sauntering into the living room wearing nothing save for a towel  wound haphazardly around his waist. His hair is still wet, and Jason stares as a single drop of water cascades from his neck, down through the contours of his torso and finally disappears into the fluffy white towel.

“Hm?” He responds, still mesmerized by the almost naked form of his sexy af boyfriend. Percy rolls his eyes and marches up to Jason, taking the package for himself.

He puts a finger under Jason’s head and lifts it so that their eyes meet. “Eyes up here, darling,” he teases. Jason steals a kiss instead.

The package contains some of the photos from Percy’s last shoot. They look through them together, laughing at Percy’s ridiculous outfits. The project was for some high class designers new clothing line, and Jason can’t imagine anybody actually wearing these clothes.

“You’re so hot.”

Percy takes the photo from him. This one had the model in a skin tight lime green suit, lying on a rock on a white beach, facing the water away from the camera. “Eh I’m alright.”

“Oh shut up, you know you’re perfect,” Jason says, snatching the picture back.

“No, you’re perfect,” Percy argues.

Jason shrugs. “Well, we’re both fucking great then.”

Percy leans into him. “Yeah, we are.”

They have pancakes for breakfast.

“Hey ba-mmmph-”

The dark haired is man cut off by Jason’s mouth crashing against his own. He melts into the kiss easily, dropping his arms to rest on his boyfriend's broad shoulders.  When Jason finally breaks away, Percy is sandwiched between his toned chest and the wall of the front hallway.

There’s a picture frame digging into his back but Percy smiles anyway. “Someone’s happy to see me,” he acknowledges, playing with the collar of Jason’s shirt.

“I got the job!” Jason tells him, unable to suppress his excitement.

Percy’s eyes widen. “Jay, that’s amazing!” he exclaims, cradling the blond’s face in his hands. He reconnects their lips and allows himself to be pressed against the wall once more.

Jason’s breathing turns ragged as Percy takes control and begins the process of unbuttoning that pesky shirt, trailing kisses along Jason’s jawline as he skillfully removes the shirt from his boyfriend’s torso. “Fuck,” he moans into Jason’s neck as the blond palms him through the rough fabric of his jeans.

They don’t even make it to the bedroom, but bedrooms are overrated anyway, at least in Jason’s opinion.

The mattress is cold.

Percy isn’t in it. Jason moves his arm around, hoping to bump into the warm flesh of his boyfriend, but only finds Percy’s pillow and disappointment.

“Percy?” he whispers into the dark room. When he receives no answer, Jason fumbles around for his glasses and leaves the comfort of his bed to search for his boyfriend.

He hears Percy before he sees him. The disheartening but familiar sound of retching is coming from their bathroom and Jason almost wants to ignore it and go back to bed. But that wouldn’t be fair to Percy.

Like he always does when this happens, he gets a glass of water before entering. Percy is done when he opens the door, and is now kneeling next to the toilet crying.

Jason doesn’t say anything at first. He wipes Percy’s tears off with his hand and offers him a towel for his mouth. The man is shaking so much that Jason has to take the towel from him and wipe off his mouth himself.

Percy slides into him, his body continuing to shiver as silent sobs rack his body. Jason pulls him close, cradling him like an infant.

“You’re okay, it’s okay,” he murmurs into Percy’s ear, holding him tightly. The older man continues to cry, soft whimpering escaping from the confines of his throat. Jason hushes him quietly, rocking back and forth.

“I didn’t mean to,” Percy insists, his voice hoarse. “I really- I-I’m sorry-” He’s still babbling but Jason can no longer make anything out.

When he stops talking, Jason offers him the glass of water. Percy takes it and sips slowly. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes.

Jason opens his mouth to tell Percy that there’s no need to apologize but the model cuts him off. “I woke up and I wanted to get a snack. I don’t know why, I’m not even fucking hungry, I just wanted to so I got up and I did.

“I ate some chips, and then I wanted something sweet, you know? So I ate a slice of that cake that we got for your birthday… and then another, and then I finished the pizza-”

“From dinner? Percy, there was over half a pizza left!”

“You think I don’t know that?” Percy snaps, his fists tightening in Jason’s stained t-shirt. His eyes widen at Percy’s sudden hostility. The model relaxes his grip on the fabric, but he doesn’t apologize. “And then, I realized what I’d done, and I just- I felt so gross and like I couldn't control myself and I had to get it out, and so I came in here and I…. I didn’t mean to wake you…”

Jason rubs his thumb in small circles on Percy’s thigh. “I think you should start seeing Dr. Sings again,” he whispers in a hushed voice.

“I can’t believed I messed up again,” Percy says to no one in particular.

Jason’s thumb stops and he turns Percy around in his lap so that he can see his face. “Percy it’s okay. Please don’t beat yourself up, you’ve been doing so much better! I’m so proud that you’ve made so far.”

Percy gives him a brittle smile. “Thanks, Jason.”

“You ready to come to bed?”

The older man shakes his head. “I think I’m going to have a bath. I feel a little… dirty. But first I’m gonna brush my teeth. My mouth is a bit gross.”

One understanding nod, an offer of running the water, and almost half a bottle of bubble bath later, Percy is in the tub and Jason is on the floor next to it. They can’t both fit in it, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be close.

Percy’s hand fits in Jason’s hand perfectly and that’s all that matters for now.

“You can’t, we’re shooting tomorrow.”

Jason frowns and releases Percy’s nipple from in between his teeth. “So?”

Percy shrugs his shirt over his head. “Soooo no marks.” He turns them over so he can hover over Jason’s half naked body. “On me at least,” he smirks, kissing and nipping at Jason’s neck.

Despite Percy’s ministrations (or perhaps because of them), Jason sighs. “Hickies aren’t even hard to cover up. It’s makeup 101 for Christs’ sake.”

“Oh stop complaining,” Percy says, wiggling Jason’s shorts down. “You’re getting laid aren’t you?”

He gets the shorts off successfully and tosses them onto the pile of the rest of their clothes. Jason doesn’t answer so Percy puts his mouth to use with his own. The blond moans into the kiss and flips them over, pinning down Percy’s wrists to get the upper hand.

He nuzzles his head into Percy’s chest. “Fine, but I’m topping.”

“Hey, I never agreed to th- fuck,” Percy is cut off by his own moans when he feels Jason grinding onto him. Jason peppers kisses onto his chest as he continues grinding, and Percy begins to fall apart beneath him.

“Shit- JAson, let me get my jeans off dammit,” he insists, attempting to move the blond from his pants so he can undo them.

Jason obeys and climbs off the bed. The lube is in the first- no second drawer now, he remembers, pulling the bottle from the dresser. By the time he can get the damn thing open, Percy is already naked and waiting for him, albeit a bit impatiently.

The older man bites his lip and winks and Jason’s boxers become even tighter. “You coming, darling?” he asks, smiling.

“In a minute babe,” he tries, cringing before he can even get the words out. “Shall we get down to business?”

“To defeat the Huns?” Percy asks, propping himself up on his elbows.

“Huns?”

Percy sits up and crosses his legs. “Dude, Mulan. ‘Be a Man?’”

A momentary look of confusion flashes across Jason’s chiseled features before he realizes what Percy means. “... I hate you.”

“Sure you do, Nerd,” Percy says, smirking. “You're just mad because you aren’t as swift as a coursing river.”

There’s a short moment of silence that is soon broken by the sound of Percy laughing at his own joke. He throws his head back as he laughs, falling back against the headboard. Jason can’t keep from smiling because god what has he done to deserve this beautiful man?

Percy’s hair is in his face and he’s still laughing like he’s the most goddamn hilarious person in existence, and Jason could really get used to that laughter. It’s addicting. And then Percy opens his eyes and stares straight into Jason’s soul, and his tongue is poking out his mouth slightly as he laughs, like he has no idea of the effect he’s having on the smitten blond.

“I think I might love you.”

The words rush out of his mouth without his permission and Jason’s just surprised as Percy, if not more. Fuck, he did not mean to say that out loud. Or at all, for that matter.

Percy hasn't blinked yet and Jason’s starting to wonder if somebody had hit pause on his boyfriend. Please just say something, Jason prays.

“Yeah,” Percy starts, breaking free from whatever spell he was under. “Yeah- uh me too.”

“Okay.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“How many tattoos do you have, anyway?”

Percy traces the boat on his arm, following the pattern of the elegant scripted quote. They do this sometimes. Take a lazy day and just lie in bed, or on the couch, and do nothing. Tracing Jason’s tattoos is one of Percy’s favorite Lazy Day activities.

Jason shrugs, causing Percy to lose his place. “I’ve stopped counting,” he answers.

“They’re beautiful,” Percy says, pressing a kiss to the rose on Jason’s shoulder. 

Jason responds with a kiss to the top of Percy’s dark hair. “You’re beautiful.”

“Maybe I should be on there then,” Percy suggests, only half joking. He prods at an empty space on Jason’s bicep.

“Maybe you should.”

“Maybe not. Tattoos are pretty permanent.”

“Good thing I plan on keeping you around for a pretty long time, then.”

“It’s late.”

“It could also be really early,” Jason counters lazily.

They both know that Percy’s right but somehow they both know that this conversation was finished before it started. 3:17 A.M. can be a funny time like that. There’s not a reason that they’re up at this time, just that they are and it’s nice.

“I like that we hold hands,” Percy comments after a brief moment of silence.

Jason squeezes his fingers. “What do you mean?” he asks, because it’s late (or early) and his mind isn’t working in the same way it does when the sun is up. 

“After we have sex. I like that we hold hands,” he explains. It’s a strange way to have a conversation, with Percy’s back to the younger man, their arms and legs tangled together in a complicated web of limbs and love.

“Do you?” Percy nods, then breaks away from Jason’s embrace to turn and face him. “I like that you tell me things that you like.”

“Do I?” Percy asks. Jason traces the outline of Percy’s lips with his thumb. 

“Yeah, you do.”

Percy flattens his hand on top of Jason’s, so that they’re both pressing on his cheek. “Well maybe I should do it more often then.”

Jason doesn’t say anything, just idly staring into Percy’s deep green eyes. Percy takes this as a cue to continue.

“I like that you kiss me-”

“Everyone likes being kissed, Perce,” Jason interrupts with chuckle.

Percy makes a face at him. “I meant,” he continues. “I like how you kiss me. Sometimes it’s gentle and sweet and it feels like how chocolate tastes, and other times it’s rough and fast and I get light-headed from lack of breath, but somehow I still can’t pull away.

“My favorites, though, are when I’m talking, or hell even just sitting there minding my own business, and suddenly your lips are on mine. They leave just as fast as they appeared, though, because then you pull away and you just have this look in your eyes, like in that moment I’m the most important thing in the world. It makes me feel special.”

“You are special,” Jason interjects, pressing his thumb to the corner of Percy’s mouth.

“It’s your turn.”

Jason grins at him sleepily. “I like that you throw all of yourself into everything you do. You never hold back whether it’s with your work, our relationship, even making dinner. It’s like a piece of you goes into everything you touch and I get to keep the best piece.”

Percy shies away from him, blushing slightly.

“I like how you don’t judge me by my physical appearance. You’re the only one who’s taken the time to see past my tattoos and piercings and the intimidating mask that’s permanently glued to my face to get to know the real me. I like that a lot.”

Another moment of silent passes until Percy speaks up.

“Same for me. For seeing who I really am? People think I’m an annoying, high-maintence, slightly eccentric model with weird habits, but you’ve made me feel comfortable enough to be who I really am. I like that you stay even though I’m a little fucked up. I guess we both are though. I like that you like my mom.”

“I like that your mom likes me,” Jason jokes. “I also like the little things you do. Every Friday you wear blue. I don’t think you realize it but every single Friday for the past two years, and probably longer, you have worn blue. I like that you’re in love with cartoons and that you won’t kiss me in the morning until I brush my teeth-”

“-Morning breath is disgusting and unsanitary!” Percy defends.

“You’ ve had your tongue in my literal asshole, Jackson don’t you pull that fucking card with me,” Jason retorts.

Percy opens his mouth, searching for an argument but is unable to come up with anything sufficient. He settles for wrapping his arms around Jason’s waist.

“I like that you make me feel safe, even if you are a jerk,” he mumbles from inside Jason’s chest.

“I like that you make me feel like I have a purpose, Nerd.”

“I like that you call me a nerd,” Percy admits.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“We should probably get some sleep, Nerd.”

Percy tightens his grip around Jason’s waist, pulling him impossibly close. “But then we won’t be able to talk and I’ll miss you.”

“The sooner you go to sleep, the sooner we can get up and spend a whole ‘nother day telling each other what we like about the other,” Jason offers.

The older man turns around in Jason’s arms so that they’re back in their original position, and Jason threads their fingers together.

“Night, Jay,” he whispers to the bedside clock, now flashing 3:43.

They play the “Like Game” a lot after that. There are new discoveries made every day to add to the infinite bank of things they like.

Maybe one day they’ll write these things down, but for now, the letters forever etched into their hearts will have to do.

“Relax, Pipes, we’ll be fine.”

Jason nods in agreement but Piper still looks hesitant. “I don’t know Jason, maybe we should just take Marci with us-”

“You can’t take a toddler to your aunts fourth wedding, Piper. She said no kids, remember? Besides, Percy and I have watched her before,” Jason insists.

“She’ll be great,” he adds, nodding over to where the two year old sat, “coloring” with a pen Jason had found in a kitchen drawer filled with miscellaneous items. Percy had joined her and was complimenting her “use of asymmetry,” while attempting to steer away from the coffee table and back to the sheet of notebook paper.

Piper frowns. “Not for a whole weekend. I’ve never been away from her for this long before Jason, I’m-”

“Late for your flight is what you are,” he interrupts, realizing the time.

Piper swears under her breath. “Matt’s gonna kill me, I have to go,” she says, grabbing her things. “You promise you can take care of her?”

“Piper it’s me. I promise nothing will go wrong. Marci is a doll, and we’re thrilled to have her.”

She’s about to argue again, but checks the clock on the oven and decides against it. Already having said her goodbye’s, with one last look at her daughter, Piper pecks Jason on the cheek and leaves quietly, closing the door behind her.

As the night continues, Jason realizes that while Marci is the epitome of good child behavior, caring for a toddler is difficult as shit. The only thing she would eat was spaghetti, and that resulted in a saucy baby and a fucking mess.

He still isn’t sure he’s gotten all of the pasta out of his hair.

The young girl also insisted on following Percy all night. Jason had to bribe her with ice cream to keep her from throwing a tantrum when he wouldn’t allow her to follow his boyfriend into the bathroom.

Ice cream presented to be another mess, and Jason kicks Percy out of the shower early to give Marci her second bath of the night. The elder wasn’t to pleased about that- “I haven’t even rinsed the shampoo out of my hair-” but he forgave the pair after Jason promised that he could pick the movie.

He chooses Wall-E. ‘Wow, what a shocker,’ Jason thinks to himself. Wall-E is Percy’s favorite movie, and frankly, Jason is starting to grow tired of the adventures of the tiny robot (instead he daydreams of other activities he could be pursuing while staring at his greek god of a boyfriend).

Marci proves to be tired of the movie as well, or possibly just crashing from a sugar high, and she quickly falls asleep, drooling on Jason’s lap. Normally, Jason would put her to bed at this time, but Percy is leaning on his shoulder and he’d rather not stir either of the children resting on him. His hand is heavy with the weight of Percy’s, and his heart is heavy with the weight of adoration he holds for the man.

“I think I might like to have kids someday,” Percy whispers, his eyes still glued to the screen. When he speaks, Jason can feel the movement of his jaw and the vibrations of his vocal chords against his shoulder.

The toddler in his lap shifts, then wraps her arms around his leg, using it as a makeshift pillow.

“Kids would be nice,” he agrees, in the same hushed tone. As he says it, Jason suddenly sees himself in five, ten, fifteen years. Settling down in an actual house, maybe with a white picket fence and a blue mailbox, having kids, being married to Percy.

Family barbecues with Grandma Sally and Grandpa Paul, complete with badly grilled burgers that will probably be exchanged for pizza later. Birthday parties that turn into mini disasters and cake on the ceiling. Waking up at four on Christmas morning, because technically it is morning, isn’t it?

A squeeze on his hand brings him back to reality. Marci is snoring softly and Percy is moving from his place on Jason’s shoulder to shut off the DVD player. Jason gathers the young girl in his arms, making sure to handle her as gently as possible so as not to wake her.

The lights are already off so they stumble through the apartment to the guest room with Percy leading the way. Jason figures if one of them is going to trip over a random piece of furniture it should probably be the one not carrying the baby. God knows Piper would throw a fit if something happened to her only child.

They make it to the room without any major incidents and Percy tucks Marci in snugly, humming to himself. She instinctively reaches for the stuffed duck occupying the pillow and clutches it her chest with a smile.

Percy places a hand on Jason’s bicep and together they back out of the bedroom. He wonders what it would be like to do this every night, with a child of his very own. Percy’s arms falls to wrap around his waist and together they walk to their room.

Kids would be nice but Jason doesn’t need them, or undercooked hamburgers, or even a white picket fence to be happy, just as long as he has Percy.

“I’m going to miss her.”

Jason hums in agreement as they watch Marci enter the elevator with her parents. It had been a stressful weekend but a nice kind of stressful. The kind of stressful that makes life worth living.

The kind of stressful Jason wouldn’t mind having for the rest of his life.

“I love you.”

There’s nothing to warrant this confession but it feels right. They’re eating breakfast at the dining table when Percy says it. Afterwards neither of them can remember what the conversation was about- Percy’s work schedule maybe?- but that isn’t important.

What is important is Jason’s reply. This time there isn’t any ‘I think’s’ or hesitation. Because Jason’s sure. They both are.

Because Jason can’t imagine a world without Percy. Because he might not need him but he sure as hell wants him by his side for anything that life decides to toss his way. Because they might get into fights about who’s turn it is to get the milk or how Percy left the cabinet doors open again, but they can always crawl back into bed at the end of the day and know everything is okay.

Because Percy is the perfect little spoon and Jason has the good sense not to snore too loudly. Because there are still bad days, and nights when they both stay up crying on the bathroom floor, but that doesn’t make them love each other any less.

Because every day is another chance to fall in love all over again, and Jason wouldn’t dare pass that up.

“I love you, too.”’

Cold pizza has never been more romantic.