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There was probably someone Percy could pay for this kind of thing, but Luke Castellan was the cheaper option. Normally, Percy got a meal out of it too, which he'd come to claim was his primary motivation. Luke didn’t buy it for a second. It was especially hard to believe on nights like this one, when the pasta Luke lovingly prepared grew cold on the stove top, and Percy wrapped around him like he was protecting his brigade from an active landmine.
Luke wouldn't tell Percy he worried about him. It felt like a boundary not to cross in their dynamic: any conversation that could lead to either acknowledging an emotion. Luke knew it was none of his business, but that didn’t stop him from ensuring extra food was available whenever Percy stopped by. If Percy didn't eat it just meant leftovers for himself at the end of the day. Luke wouldn’t admit he stepped up his cooking game just to save money on feeding both of them.
Percy didn't question it, but insisted on helping Luke with groceries for the effort. He'd joke that the food is what kept him coming back, but the reality was that he'd just grown to feel comfortable around Luke. There weren't many people who would agree to being exclusive cuddle buddies, Percy thought. Certainly none that would cook for him and let him spend the night safe in their arms while binging trash TV.
Luke never questioned why Percy trusted him enough to ask to start this little arrangement, but he secretly thought he got more out of it. Percy's warmth was an anchor keeping him grounded on earth. Everything else melted away when Percy wrapped his arms around Luke's back, using his chest like a pillow. Luke would swear Percy practically purred like a happy cat in his lap on nights like these. Percy didn't have the heart to admit he also heard the low grumbles vibrating through Luke's chest out of fear that he'd find a way to stop it. In reality, both were cold.
It wasn't conventional, and it wasn't defined, but it worked for them. Neither seemed in a rush to do much more when it worked. Neither felt the need to explain themselves; they knew each other well enough to orbit in stable synchronicity like two asteroids at the edge of their solar system, hurdling through space close to each other to keep their cores warm. Neither felt words would suffice in explaining what they felt through simple touches that didn't mean more than what they were.
A rerun of Friends played on Luke’s tiny TV, and both could forget anything outside the safety of the studio apartment that felt too small with just Luke, but more than enough when they got cozy under a blanket on the futon. Luke ran his fingers through Percy's hair, soft enough for Percy to fall asleep. Percy didn't think this arrangement could last forever, not without giving more than what he was willing to offer, but the sound of his hair moving on his scalp distracted him from worrying about endings he didn't want to consider.
Luke had seen this episode before, but he would watch it a million times to stay in this feeling forever. They'd done this song and dance countless times before, but he thought he could spend the rest of his life like this. If he didn't need to be a human, he would simply do nothing but watch garbage television with Percy cozed up to him like there was nothing the other man ever dreamt of doing. He wasn’t sure if it was true, but the realization hit him quickly that he wouldn't trade this time of his life for anything else in the world, so then the words slipped out, clumsy but certain.
“I love you.”
The sitcom's laugh track blared in the background on cue, and Luke almost wished he hadn’t said a thing at all, letting the night pass like any other in their quiet routine.
Percy turned his head to rest his chin on Luke’s sternum, careful not to hurt Luke in the process. The taller of the two men met his gaze with a neutral expression, but Percy could smell fear radiating off of him like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park. He wondered if the other man felt it too, maybe just the rush of his heartbeat. Somehow, he still felt safe.
“I love you too.”
Chandler makes a joke that only the laugh track responds to, while his friends change the subject. The two of them watched each other, certain the other would pounce like in a scene out of a romcom or a nature documentary, but neither made a move in any direction. Both felt the other's heart beat quickening in their chests, spurred by any shift in weight or gaze. Soon enough, the beats sank into a natural rhythm in tandem with each other like the steady one-two of a metronome. Both had talked enough about feelings for one night, so they returned to watching TV, holding the other a little closer and a little tighter than they had before.
It's not that neither of them saw it coming… except neither of them saw it coming.