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Jason dropped onto the bleachers next to Piper and Annabeth with a sigh. He had missed the very start of the meet because of weight training, but he had managed to duck out early even though they had a game that night. Unfortunately—or, he supposed in this case, fortunately—the entire soccer team was well aware how whipped their captain was for a certain captain of the swim team, so he had been able to leave with only minimal teasing from his team.
“Did I miss anything good?” he asked, grabbing the paper packet of events from Piper’s hand. She rolled her eyes, but allowed him to flip through it. Percy was swimming the 50 and 500 free, and anchoring the 400 free relay. He would crush them all without lifting a finger—Jason honestly felt bad for anyone who had to swim against him.
“Hi, Jason,” Annabeth said, squeezing his hand in greeting. “You just missed the 200 medley. Percy swam butterfly and his team won by a landslide. Practice go okay? Are you guys ready to win tonight?”
Jason sighed, looking down on the floor where the other team’s red sign was up, a lion emblazoned on the poster. Both the swim team and the soccer team were facing their rival school today, and Jason was more nervous than he cared to admit. As both goalie and captain, so much responsibility fell on his shoulders. Not to mention the fact that college scouts could be at the game tonight.
“We’ll be fine,” he finally decided. “The team has worked hard. We’re as ready as we can be.”
“You’re the best goalie this school has ever seen,” Piper added reassuringly. “It will be okay.”
“Besides, you can’t let us down, the volleyball team won last night,” Annabeth said. “I have no doubt Percy will pull out a victory, then it will be just up to you. We could have a clean sweep.”
“Congratulations again on that, by the way,” Jason told Annabeth. He, Percy, and Piper had all gone to her game last night where Annabeth had led the team to a smashing victory. Piper had been radiant in Annabeth’s letterman jacket, cheering for her girlfriend to win and then running into her arms after the game.
“It was nothing,” Annabeth smirked playfully, and Piper punched her shoulder. They all laughed, and Jason perked up as the women’s 50 free started. They all cheered as a girl from their school won, adding another point to their team’s tally. Finally, it was Percy’s event, and Jason caught his first glimpse of his boyfriend at the meet. He was clearly in the zone to compete, his wild curls already pulled tight into a swim cap. The competition must have been something fierce at this meet because his legs were shaved too–something Percy only did when he was worried the traction might slow him down. Jason swallowed.
As Percy stepped up onto the block, his eyes darted up to the bleachers until he caught Jason’s eye. His eyes were covered by his goggles, but he still smiled, and Jason waved sheepishly. Percy’s smile widened as he turned back toward the pool, his lithe body bent into the starting position. Jason’s heart started to pound–swimming was so much more stressful than soccer in his opinion. Everything rode on just these few seconds, and if you messed up you couldn’t come back. He held his breath as the horn went off, and Percy dove gracefully into the water.
Percy swam like a man possessed. He was the fastest swimmer on the team by a landslide, but today he was swimming even faster. In the first three seconds he had already passed the people on either side of him with ease, and his lead kept gaining. Jason’s eye flicked up to the timer and he gasped. Percy was going to break his own record.
“Holy shit,” Annabeth breathed as Percy made his flip turn before everyone else was even halfway across the pool. “Holy shit.”
Percy’s hand connected with the wall after 18.65 seconds.
The bleachers erupted with cheers.
“That’s like, in the top 10 of all time,” Piper breathed. “Do you think Chiron is going to be mad?”
“Nah,” Jason shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. “I won’t tell him if you don’t.”
She laughed at that, then called out a whoop. Percy was panting a little from exerting himself, but his coach was yelling something and patting him on the back. His goggles were hanging around his neck and his eyes found Jason’s again. He stuck his tongue out and Jason laughed.
“He’s terrible,” he said to no one in particular. “I adore him.”
After the 50 free was a break for diving. Jason had just dug into his backpack to pull a book out when Percy dropped onto the bleacher next to him, still soaking wet and wearing nothing but Jason’s letterman jacket over a bare chest and his speedo. Jason choked on his own spit (not his finest moment, he would admit, but hey, could you blame him?)
“Are you supposed to be up here right now?” Jason asked incredulously, but Percy just grinned, leaning up for a kiss with a smirk in his eyes. Jason sighed, giving it to him. Percy pulled away, stealing a bite off of Jason’s forgotten granola bar before pecking his cheek again.
“Hi. I beat my record.”
“I saw, baby,” Jason said quietly, running a hand through Percy’s wet curls. “I’m so, so proud of you. That was amazing.” Percy leaned into the touch like a cat.
“Good job, Perce,” Annabeth added from beside him, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. Behind them the diving portion had started, and Jason was almost certain Percy, as the captain, should be down there, but he certainly wasn’t going to protest having Percy next to him, even for a few minutes.
“Thank you for coming guys, I really appreciate it,” Percy said to Piper and Annabeth, leaning over Jason. “This is our biggest meet. If we don’t win today, we’re screwed.”
“Which is why you pulled out that inhumane time,” Piper laughed. “Usually you aim for a conservative first or second. Did you just want to scare the other team? Because I think it worked.”
Percy’s grin grew wider. “Just wanted to rough them up a little bit. What kind of captain would I be if I didn’t take home a win for my team?”
Jason huffed, kissing him quiet. “I’m sorry. I might miss your last event,” he said quietly. “Coach wants us down on the field in an hour to warm up.”
“That’s okay,” Percy’s smile softened to something just for Jason, and warmth spread through Jason’s chest at the sight. “I’m probably going to be a few minutes late to your game. I’ll have to finish up and then talk to Coach, help hand out ribbons and shit like that. So if I’m not there right at kick-off, don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Just come whenever you can, darling. There’s no rush.”
Percy hummed and leaned in to kiss Jason again. He ran his hands over Jason’s shoulders, pulling back with a pout. “Where’s my jacket?”
That made Jason laugh. “It’s a million degrees and humid in here Perce. I’m not putting your letterman on just to sweat through it. Not all of us can be half naked and wet.” At Percy’s pointed glare he sighed. “It’s in my locker. Sorry for not wearing it.”
Percy tugged at the sleeves of Jason’s jersey with a sigh. “How will people know you’re mine if you’re not?”
“Jackson!” the swim coach yelled up at Percy from down on the pool deck. “Stop messing with your poor boyfriend and get down here!”
“I think they know anyway,” Jason laughed. He loved that people knew they were dating. People still respected him as the captain even though he was dating a boy (actually, he thought, they probably respected him more now that he had somehow pulled the hottest guy at school), and they were practically a shoe-in for the cutest couple in the yearbook. Piper and Annabeth were giving them a run for their money, but Jason had hope they would pull through in the end. He loved wearing Percy’s letterman even though it was tight along his shoulders, and he loved seeing the way his was slightly too big on Percy.
Really, he just loved Percy.
“I’m going back down,” Percy said, placing a small kiss on Jason's shoulder. “Good luck at your game tonight. Knock ‘em dead for me, yeah?”
“You too,” Jason smiled. “And I expect to see my semi aquatic boyfriend down there. None of that ‘pulling for second’ stuff you do sometimes because you feel bad. I want you to crush them.”
“So unlike you, my sweet, noble boyfriend,” Percy said, standing up. Jason pulled on the edges of his jacket so that Percy was standing between his legs. Percy cupped his face in one hand, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll win for you if you win for me. Deal?”
“Jackson, if you’re not down here in 10 seconds you’re off the team!” Percy’s coach yelled again, and Jason winced.
“Deal, baby. Now go.”
Percy giggled, and Jason smacked his ass playfully as he raced down the bleachers to the pool deck, Grace bold across the jacket on his back. He looked back to blow Jason a kiss before dropping the jacket with his bag, looping his goggles around his wrist to get ready to race. I love you, he mouthed, then blew a kiss. Jason blushed but reached up to catch the kiss, holding it to his chest. Percy beamed.
“That was almost embarrassing,” Piper said, pulling Jason out of his Percy-induced reverie. “But at the end of the day I think that was just what you needed to pull you out of your funk about your game tonight, so I think I’ll let it slide.”
“I wasn’t in a funk,” he protested, but both Annabeth and Piper leveled him with a glare. He sighed. He had been freaking out about the game. They couldn’t lose. But now, here was Percy, challenging Jason to win for him, and Percy would do the same. It wasn’t about letting the school or his team down anymore. No, now it was serious.
Of course, Percy won the 500 yard freestyle by a landslide. When he pulled himself out of the pool, panting and soaking wet, goggles and swim cap still on and so, so gorgeous, he cocked his hip as if to say, your turn. Jason nodded, and started to pack up his bag. He had a game to win, after all. He couldn’t let Percy down.
***
The locker room before the game was always incredibly hectic.
Everyone was getting into their cleats and gear, yelling at each other. Jason already was wearing his jersey, so all he had to do was pull on his socks and cleats. He grabbed his gloves from his locker, fingers brushing over Percy’s jacket that was hanging in there, and tucked the gloves under his arm. His team started chanting “speech” once he was dressed, and as their captain, who was he to deny them? He hopped up onto a bench while everyone whooped and chanted his name.
“Gentlemen,” Jason began and everyone cheered. “We have had a great season so far. Our offense is some of the best this school has ever seen, and our defense hardly ever even gives me a chance to defend the damn goal.”
The boys yelled again in agreement. “This is the biggest game of the season. I’m not going to give you some crap about ‘just playing is the victory,’ because we’re going to go out there and win!”
“We’re gonna crush those assholes!” someone yelled.
“Not literally!” Jason agreed with a laugh just in case one of their coaches was listening in. “But our volleyball girls crushed it last night, and I just came from the swim meet where I’m pretty sure a victory is in the bag. We don’t want to let our school down. We’re the biggest sport here, we can’t be losers.”
“Did Percy win his races?” someone else called out from the back. Jason blushed but nodded.
“Not important! But yes, and now it’s our turn. Now, put ‘em in!” They all put their hands in the center and cheered, then followed Jason out onto the field. They were going to play, and win, and then Jason was going to kiss his boyfriend on the field and everyone was going to cheer and it was going to be perfect.
The game was 10 minutes into the first half by the time Percy slipped onto the bleachers.
His hair was still wet, curling at the ends, but he was wearing Jason’s jersey and Jason’s letterman jacket and Jason was so, so in love with him. They made eye contact for a second, long enough for Percy to wink and blow him a kiss while Jason flushed. We won, he mouthed, over exaggerating the words while looking delighted so that Jason could see it all the way from the field. He nodded, setting his shoulders. Percy won for him, now he had to win for Percy. That was the deal. Unfortunately, their exchange was long enough for their coach to yell, “eyes on the ball and not on your boyfriend, Grace!” His blush deepened, and he settled back into a comfortable stance in front of the goal.
The team played incredibly, but unfortunately the opposing team was not ready to go down without a fight. With less than a minute left of the game Jason’s team was winning 1-0, and their rivals did not want to end the night on a goalless game. But Jason was a rather kick ass goalie, and that made them mad.
The opposing team called a time out and Jason ran with the rest of the team over to their coach. He wanted desperately to look up and catch Percy’s eye, but knew he could not afford the distraction right now.
“I don’t like the way the tall attacker with the dark hair on the other team is looking at you,” one of the coaches said to Jason quietly while the other coach spoke with the offensive line. “He’s going to do anything he can to make a shot in these last seconds. I imagine he might get a little violent, if the rest of the game is anything to play by. I would rather he make a shot than you get too injured to play, are we clear, Grace?”
Jason nodded his agreement, already knowing he wouldn’t listen. After all, what was a trip to camp for some ambrosia if it meant winning the game? After the timeout he did look up at the stand to meet Percy’s eye. Percy gave him a little wave then made a heart with his hands. Jason returned the gesture, in love and stupid with it.
Their coach was right.
In the final 5 seconds of the game, the tall attacker on the opposing team gave Jason a nasty smirk, kicking the ball with enough power to take out a grown man. Jason’s eyes narrowed, time practically slowing down as he took in the angle of the kick and the way the ball began to fly, realizing quickly that it was going to go over his head and into the goal if he didn’t do something about it.
In a split second decision, Jason jumped up, allowing the wind to help him just slightly, literally intercepting the ball with his head. It crashed into his forehead, knocking Jason over, but the ball bounced off, safely away from the goal.
From the ground Jason heard the buzzer signaling the end of the game, and the stands erupted into cheering. Jason groaned half-heartedly, allowing one of his teammates, Zach, to pull him to his feet.
“That was an incredible save,” Zach said to Jason and Jason blushed.
“Thank you,” he answered. “Should probably find my boyfriend now. Something tells me he’s not going to be happy with me about that though.”
Zach laughed. “What, Percy? He’s as reckless as they come. It’s Coach you should be worried about.”
Jason caught their coach’s eye and shivered. He did not look happy. Jason supposed that had probably fallen into the category of reckless things their coach hadn’t wanted him to do, but that didn’t matter now. Jason was totally fine, and they had won the game. He would deal with anything else later.
As they approached the stands, Jason looked for Percy, but Percy was already running down the bleachers to meet him. Percy launched himself off of the second bleacher and Jason caught him easily. He wrapped his legs around Jason’s waist, allowing Jason to take his full weight before pressing their lips together. Percy moved to wrap a hand in Jason’s hair but Jason winced.
“Shit, Jay, do you have a concussion?” Percy pulled away from their kiss, yelling over the sound of the crowd. “Again?”
“Don’t care,” Jason yelled back. “I won.”
Percy laughed, and Jason spun him around. “You did. I’m so proud of you. That was incredible. You didn’t let them score once. My boyfriend, the star goalie. God, that was hot.”
“My boyfriend, the swim champion. Percy, you’re so amazing. We did it.” Finally, he set Percy back on his feet, who immediately went on his tiptoes to kiss Jason soundly. Jason was pretty sure he heard his teammates cheering and catcalling them good-naturedly.
“We could go celebrate,” Jason breathed and Percy laughed.
“Absolutely not until Will has checked your head out.”
“Baby,” Jason whined. “Don’t you want to go out with the team? They love you.”
“And they will still be there to love me after we make sure you do not have a concussion.” Percy scolded, and Jason should have known he would lose. He always did–he was absolutely incapable of saying no to Percy. He leaned down to kiss him again in compliance, and Percy grinned into the kiss. The stadium lights were bright all around them, and the cheering of the crowd hadn’t died down yet.
They had won.
They always did.