Work Text:
A/N: This is a birthday gift for NerdyFangirlFeels ;)
Sorry once more for the Christmas-y theme in September XD
Hope you like it~
-Tári
Selfies
>>Bet my decorations are better than yours.<<
Percy stared at the text message, trying to decide whether to scowl or laugh.
Seriously, Jason?
He looked back at his cabin, where he was currently putting up Christmas lights (which wasn't as easy as Annabeth had made it sound, by the way), after having already put up most of the other decorations around.
Ha. And Jason thought he could top this?
No way.
Grinning, he bent over his smartphone (courtesy of Leo - Percy loved that guy), furiously typing back a reply.
>In your dreams. This place looks like Santa's second home. There's no way you can compete with this level of awesomeness, bro.<
He clicked 'Send' before actually reading it over to fix any spelling mistakes, but Jason knew by now not to expect any less, anyways.
At least they had managed to turn off the Auto-Correct function ages ago, after Percy had ended up sending very insinuating messages by absolute, utter accident.
No, really, it had been an accident!
He swore it on the Styx (though not out loud).
Okay, he might have WANTED to write something along those lines, but he would have never actually done it, if Auto-Correct hadn't had a hell of a time to correct his perfectly innocent and sensible words to something else entirely.
He was never going to forget that feeling of utmost horror that had spread through him as he had read over his sent message, just to realize he had invited Jason to 'bone him at heart's content'.
Not to mention the all-capital 'GET LUBED' that had happened instead of the originally intended 'GET LOST' when Jason had made a rather bad bro-pun. (He was pro at those. Or bro at those? Man, why couldn't Percy make better puns?)
And those had been the ‘innocent’ ones.
Percy saw Jason typing a reply, and instantly forgot all he had been thinking about, solely concentrating on the small, blue smartphone in his hand.
What would he say?
Percy hoped it would be something along the lines of 'Can't wait to see it.' - together with a date of his return from Camp Jupiter - but he highly doubted Jason would indulge him like that.
Unless Percy asked explicitly when he'd be returning, Jason wouldn't tell him. Percy knew that from experience by now.
And while he'd love to ask, he didn't want to run risk of Jason knowing just how much Percy missed him.
They were bros, yes, but...Percy's feelings for the blonde might not be entirely platonic, so he tried to stay away from anything that could nudge Jason's mind into that direction and alert him to anything.
Not that Percy thought he'd react badly to finding out Percy was pansexual.
But he'd definitely act differently after knowing Percy had the hots for him for forever already, and he certainly didn't want that.
His phone vibrated with the reply, and his eyes instantly hushed over the text as fast as possible, his grin only widening.
>>Yeah, right. I'll have you know this place looks like it IS his home (all thanks to me, of course). Yours can be his summer house, though, if you insist. How are things going?<<
Percy huffed at the clear cockiness, though he knew Jason was only making fun.
All decorating forgotten, he climbed down the ladder and flopped down on his front porch to reply, waiting a moment on purpose to not make it seem as if he had been waiting for Jason's message or anything.
>Things are going well, planning to get done with this by evening so I beat Nico and Will to it. They're such nerds, I'm telling you. They also said I'm overdoing it, but they clearly don't know what they're talking about.<
Jason typed on a reply almost instantly, making Percy's heart skip a beat as he pictured Jason someplace at Camp Jupiter, gazing at his phone with a soft expression and waiting for Percy's messages the same way Percy always anticipated his.
>>Sounds like them. I still think my place looks better.<<
That guy.
Percy leaned back over his phone.
>You haven't even seen it yet, Jace.<
>>Don't need to. I see this place, after all. Nothing could top this unless you were here.<<
Percy made a startled sound in the back of his throat and stared at the message, rereading it a couple of times to make sure his dyslexia wasn't playing tricks on him.
Did Jason just…had he just…no, Percy shouldn't overreact.
Jason and his stupid wording sometimes.
He probably just meant that as a joke, or a sort of 'if you were here you'd manage to mess this up even more, which is NOT a compliment'-way.
Percy should react accordingly and ask for a picture of that oh-so-great place.
Hey, that wasn't even that bad of an idea.
Maybe Jason would be in the picture, too.
Percy would love to see him again, and the pictures on his phone with the blonde were several months old already, from back when they had gotten their phones from Leo.
They had taken them jokingly, making faces and shaking with laughter, and it showed on the mostly blurred pictures.
On some, Percy couldn't even see anything other than a blob of blonde or what looked like the blurred frames of Jason's glasses.
He still kept them, though he wasn't sure why.
Percy had wanted to take new (and better) pictures of Jason countless times, but had never found a suitable excuse to do so.
He'd imagine it to be pretty damn obvious if he walked up to Jason and said something along the lines of 'Hey, your eyes are gleaming so nicely right now and you look stunning with your windswept hair and all, mind if I take a picture?'.
Yeah, no.
Percy started typing a reply again, and hit Sent once more before checking - which made him drop his phone in horror a moment later.
>Fine, now I'm curious. Send a selfie.<
No.
No, he hadn't just written that.
He had meant a picture of the place! The decorations!
Not a freaking selfie!!
Damn it all!
Percy and his messed up thoughts!
And now he couldn't even blame it on any Auto-correct function, because, even if that was on, no program would ever change 'Send a picture of the place' to 'Send a selfie', not even if it was programmed by Leo.
Well…okay, he might have probably been able to use that as an excuse, because Leo could be an ass like that.
But Jason knew Percy had his auto-correct off.
He knew because they had worked for hours to get that dumb thing off in the first place, each with the other's phone.
Damn, damn, damn.
Maybe he could blame it on poor wording?
He picked up his phone, his heart both dropping into his pants as well as beating hopefully when he saw Jason was typing on a reply.
But then he stopped.
Silence.
Oh no, Percy had messed up.
Or maybe Jason was simply busy?
Maybe something had come up?
Jason started typing again, but then stopped again, and Percy's heart sank even further.
He sat there, staring at his screen, anxiety and anticipation coursing through him.
Another minute passed.
Then two.
Then five.
Was Jason going to say anything or not?
Did he catch wind of Percy's underlying need to see him again?
Was he typing up a very subtle but direct text to show Percy not to get any hopes up for anything past their current bromance?
Was he contemplating how to best tease Percy about it?
…Or maybe he was typing up a long and detailed plan of when he'd come back, together with some dating plans.
(One could always dream.)
Percy sighed, tapping his screen before it went black.
Or maybe Jason was trying to take a good photo?
Of himself? The place? The decorations?
Maybe he was looking for somebody to help take a picture so he could be in it properly but with all decorations still shown?
Maybe he'd indulge Percy and send a series of pictures, all with him in it?
(Again, one could always dream!)
Wait, was Jason taking this long because he was waiting for Percy to correct his wording?
Percy dropped his phone all over again at that realization, making him curse and sputter, glad nobody else was close by right now.
When he picked it up again, there it was.
A picture.
Loading.
From Jason.
Percy had to fight the urge to do a victory dance.
Of course, he had no idea what the picture would contain.
It could be just the decorations.
But it could also be just Jason...
Before the first picture was even done loading, there were two more, then Jason was typing again.
>>There you go, bro. Now show yours ;)<<
Percy started shaking his phone, hoping to somehow get the pictures to load faster.
If only the reception at Camp was better.
After what felt like way too long (forty-seven seconds, not that anyone paid any attention to the time), he could finally look at the first picture, and was both disappointed to not see Jason anywhere, and mildly impressed by the festively decorated building he saw instead.
He glanced over his shoulder up at his own cabin.
…Meh.
It was still better.
There was a definite lack of blue in Jason's decoration, so, as impressive as it might be with all the reds and golds and purples, Percy's was definitely a lot more...erm...a lot better.
More personal.
Yes.
And thus, better.
Yes, yes, yes.
He nodded to himself, sliding his finger over the screen to hopefully show the next picture, which might or might not grant him a glimpse of Jason, at the very least - just to let out a startled breath when he indeed did see Jason, his whole face, even, as well as the victory sign he was making, along with a goofy grin and sparkling blue eyes.
Percy felt his heart thumping loudly in his chest, a small smile automatically appearing on his face as he stared down at the picture.
If he hadn't been sure whether he was in love with his best friend, he certainly knew he was now.
Gods, he looked stunning.
How had Piper ever let this guy go?
Percy tried to take in each and every detail he could make out, from the way Jason's hair seemed exactly the same blonde it had been back when he had been here, but now a teensy bit longer, to the way his skin had started losing its tan due to the wintery temperatures and lack of sunlight.
Also, those eyes.
Percy absolutely had a thing for Jason's eyes.
Maybe because they were blue.
He swiped to the next one, but it only had a bit of Jason's hand in it as he was pointing up at a twig with what seemed like small, white berries, which had been put over the doorway.
Was that a mistletoe?
Percy decided not to ask, instead exiting the pictures and furiously beginning to type a reply.
>Looking good!<
It only occurred to him after he pressed 'Sent' that he hadn't meant the Christmas decorations one bit, instead solely referring to Jason.
Oh well, he didn't have to know.
It only took a few seconds before Jason was typing back, making Percy’s heart thump happily at the thought of him really gazing at the screen and waiting for Percy’s replies the way Percy was.
>>Thanks ;) Admitting defeat already? Still send yours!!<<
Oh! Right, Percy had to send over some pictures, too!
He glanced back up at his cabin, suddenly a tiny bit apprehensive.
Would Jason actually like it?
Or would he agree with Will and Nico and say he was overdoing it with the blue?
Come on, blue was awesome!
It was the color of hope, the color of ‘This is my way, I’ll do this and you can’t stop me! Watch me while I beat you at life’!
Well, at least that’s what the color meant to Percy.
Also, Jason’s eyes were blue, so that only made blue all the better.
Percy exited the texting app and brought up the Camera, trying to find the best spot to photograph and cursing the lighting around him.
Couldn’t the sun show a teensy bit more so he could at least impress Jason with bright, high-quality pictures?
Of course not.
Percy huffed, snapping a few pictures, then he halted.
Would Jason want him in one of the pictures, too?
No, he shouldn’t assume.
Jason had probably just put himself in one of the pictures because Percy had explicitly asked for a selfie (stupid him), but he hadn’t written back ‘Send a selfie, too’, instead only asking for pictures of the decorations, right?
Percy worried his bottom lip as he stepped closer, taking a close-up picture of the blue (and a bit orange and silver) decorations he had put around his window from the outside, his whole pride and joy.
And hey, he wasn’t even done yet.
What was he even worrying about, Jason was so going to be impressed, especially since Percy had been doing this all by himself.
Talking some courage into himself, he scrolled through his pictures and selected three of the best, then sent them to Jason with a wildly beating heart, the worry of course instantly back once he hit ‘Sent’.
Maybe he should have sent the other picture, the one where one could glimpse past the cabin, to show that other cabins weren’t nearly as nicely decorated as Percy’s.
Or maybe he shouldn’t have added the close-up of his window, since it definitely granted Jason a glimpse inside his cabin, and thus all the mess and opened boxes in there with more decorations.
Maybe he should have added a picture of the Camp as a whole, in case Jason had forgotten how nice it was over here and that he was definitely missing out by not being here.
Jason was typing a reply, and Percy flopped back down on his front porch, heart in his throat.
Would he say something nice?
Would he be impressed?
Or would he laugh?
>>Wow. Looking good! Very blue, indeed, but I’m not surprised. Still, how do I know these are legit? Might have just used google or something… ;)<<
Percy blinked, then blushed when the meaning of Jason’s message sank in.
Jason did want to see him!
There was no way Percy could find a picture of his cabin decorated in blue on Google, after all, since mortals didn’t even know of the existence of this Camp.
He had half a mind to write him back, to point that out, to very subtly tease him about asking Percy so blatantly for a picture of himself, but then he didn’t.
He had asked Jason straight out for a selfie, after all, so he supposed it was only fair of him to do the same back.
(Plus, he had been a lot more obvious about it, so he couldn’t really tease Jason about anything, as unfair as it was.)
Stupid him for not doing that in the first place, anyways.
Then again, this way he actually had it blue on white that Jason wanted to see him.
Perfect.
Percy opened his camera once more, this time directly in the app, and noticed the stupid grin on his face, as well as his flushed cheeks.
Oh gods, there was no way he could let Jason see him like that, no way at all.
Trying to school a neutral expression, Percy was about to take a picture when he realized he’d seriously be the only thing in there.
No, no, no, no, no.
That would be way too obvious.
Jason wanted ‘proof’ that he was the one decorating this cabin, and that this was his cabin, so said cabin definitely had to be in the picture.
Adjusting his position, he chose the spot close to the window, but then moved back to where he stood before, because the light was too bright and the camera couldn’t focus properly.
The minutes ticked away as he tried to find a good position, a good expression, the perfect angle of his face to make himself look passable (damn his hair), though all that happened was that he was turning exceedingly nervous and agitated and frustrated.
In the end, he somewhat posed a few feet away from his cabin so the whole thing was visible, with ladder and all, and he even allowed himself to smile, though he more aimed for a cocky grin rather than the giddy, nervous grin that tried to force its way onto his lips all the while.
“Hey Perce, what are you doing? If you’re trying to send nudes, this is not the way to do it.” A voice sounded next to him, and he flinched and blushed, his finger hitting the shutter button.
No!
Percy wailed, almost dropping his phone in horror as he scrambled to check how the freaking picture had to look now.
“Nico! Why?! I was in the middle of something important!” He lamented loudly as he turned to glower at the Italian, who was grinning smugly at him, hands entwined with Will’s, who was grinning from ear to ear and looked ready to combust – probably because Nico was slowly becoming more and more comfortable with showing off he had a boyfriend now, and Will was absolutely loving it.
All of that was pretty unimportant to Percy right now though, his eyes already back on the smartphone, opening the picture he had just sent Jason.
He released a relieved sigh.
Thank the gods, it was alright.
A teensy bit blurry where Nico’s head was trying to make an appearance in the picture, but Percy was still grinning, and the decorations were clearly visible.
The light tinge of pink on his cheeks could very well be blamed on the cold temperatures, he was certain.
“Oooh, something important, huh? Let me guess, sending some nice pictures to your bro because you love him so much and want him to see what he’s missing out on?” Nico teased, and Percy shot him a dark look, though he felt his ears heating.
Shit.
“Oh, be quiet. What even tells you I’m talking to Jason? I might as well be texting your sister.” He shot back, and Nico’s face momentarily darkened, though he then put on a rather dangerous grin.
“Nah, you’re making heart eyes at your phone, so I know you’re not talking to Hazel, but nice try. So, have you spilled the beans to Jason yet?”
How Nico had ever figured out what Percy felt for Jason, he had no idea.
He only knew that, at some point, Nico had come forward and mentioned in passing he had noticed how Percy was looking ‘at a certain blonde’, and when Percy had blushed a dark shade of red and exclaimed Jason was simply wearing too weirdly colored sweaters for him not to look at him, he had sort of taken that as confirmation he was right.
Since then, Percy obviously hadn’t had one quiet moment when Nico was around.
That guy.
One would guess he’d have mercy on Percy, given that he had supposedly had a crush on Percy at some point (which he still didn’t understand completely) and had been apprehensive about coming out.
But Nico was as ruthless as they came, yelling across the Camp grounds to ask Percy when ‘his boyfriend’ (= Jason) would be coming back, and teasing him relentlessly whenever they were more or less alone about his apparently ‘very obvious’ crush on the ex-praetor.
Cruel kid.
And there Percy had helped him get together with Will.
He would have expected that to make the most difference.
But apparently not.
“Leave me alone, I’m in the middle of decorating my cabin, as you can see. Shoo.” He retorted, making shooing motions with his hands, and the two guys laughed, before exchanging telling looks.
“Oh yes, because it definitely needs even more blue in it. I think there’s a whole inch over there that isn’t yet covered in blue, Perce.” Nico teased, and Percy stuck his tongue out at him, feeling his phone vibrate with a new message, though he didn’t dare check with those two still so close by.
Which was another reason why he wanted them to get lost.
“Oh well, come on, Nico. I wanted to take you to the frozen lake for some ice skating, after all. And after that: Hot Chocolate. Doctor’s Orders.” Will chirped, and Nico gave him a warm, affectionate smile that Percy had glimpsed quite often since those two had started dating, and which always filled him with pride.
Right now though, he wanted them to flirt less and move faster, because his phone was vibrating with another message.
“Of course. See you around, Percy. Ask Jason when he’ll come back, okay? And ask him out while you’re at it, you coward, or we’ll do it for you.” Nico called over his shoulder as Will tugged him along, and Percy flipped him the bird just because he could.
He glowered after them until they were far enough away, then he fumbled with his phone to check what Jason had written back.
>>Alright, I believe you ;) Not that I didn’t, before. Looking good!<<
>>…Percy?<<
>>Is that my sweater you’re wearing???<<
Percy looked down at himself and cursed, dropping the phone all over again (good thing Leo had tinkered with these to make them practically unbreakable).
No!
No, no, no, no, no!
Nooo!
Why?
Why had he not checked what he was wearing before he had taken that stupid picture?!
Why had he not noticed?!
He had just…today in the morning, when he had opened the boxes…he had just…
Jason’s pullover had simply been there, folded on the bed next to Percy’s, where he had put it after noticing it must have gotten into his laundry pile at some point by accident.
(Possibbly when the two had sparred in front of his cabin and gotten all gross and sweaty and had taken their sweaters off three or so weeks ago. That had been an amazing day, to say the least.)
And he had just…it had been such a temptation to just…slip into it…for a little while…
It hadn’t even smelled like Jason much anymore due to the detergent, but just the fact he had been wearing Jason’s sweater had somehow given him that sense of peace and comfort.
Percy had completely forgotten he hadn’t taken it off anymore.
Well, that would explain the glances Annabeth had shot him throughout breakfast.
It also explained a few of the other glances he had gotten throughout the day.
Damn it.
Damn it all.
Could he be any more obvious about his crush?
Did everybody know now?
Did Jason know?
Could he talk himself out of this somehow?
Percy racked his brain for any possible excuse as he picked up his phone, scrolling down to Jason’s messages once more, just to find he had written more.
>>Not that I mind.<<
>>Percy?<<
>>You still there?<<
>>Is that Nico’s head in the background?<<
>>…Percy?<<
>>If this is about the sweater, it’s really no big deal. I found one of your shirts in my backpack just yesterday. No idea how that got in there e_e<<
>>You should take better care of your stuff, it was practically falling apart in my hands.<<
>>If you need more, I’ll give you some of my clothes, no problem.<<
>>Or I can bring you some when I come back?<<
>>Don’t tell me you’re busy decorating again.<<
>>If you are, don’t forget to put up a mistletoe. Every doorway needs a mistletoe.<<
Percy realized Jason was still writing, and tried to keep his face from heating any further as he realized Jason must have been waiting for a reaction from his side all this time.
But what could he possibly write?
‘Yeah, I couldn’t find anything good to wear, thanks for the sweater.’?
‘Haha, yeah, sorry about that, I didn’t even know it was yours.’?
‘No, actually, I miss you to bits and this helped me feel better a tiny bit.’?
Percy groaned and bent over his phone, typing up a reply.
>Sorry, Nico and Will were teasing me about my decorations. They were passing by to go on some sort of date, apparently. You know, ice skating and hot chocolate.<
There, that at least explained why he hadn’t been writing back.
It also showed he was absolutely not embarrassed about the whole sweater-thing.
Nope.
Never.
>Aren’t you supposed to kiss under the mistletoe?<
He then added, just to find Jason typing on a reply the same moment.
>>Yeah? We should do that sometime, too.<<
Needless to say, Percy dropped his phone all over again.
His heart thumping loudly, he cursed and reached out, but then ended up giving the phone a rather harsh kick with his foot and sending it flying.
Noo!
Percy lunged for it, which resulted in him laying facedown in the snow no second later.
Had he mentioned he sometimes hated his life?
He fumbled for his phone and turned it around – just to see he had replied to Jason’s text with >wxsflok.9am<.
…The fates had it out for him.
That was the only explanation.
Especially when he realized Jason had sent another message before Percy’s nonsense.
>>I meant the ice skating and hot chocolate. Would you be up for that?<<
Oh gods, that almost sounded as if Jason was asking him out on a date!
And Percy had replied with utter nonsense!!
Nooo!!!!!
He cursed himself and sent a hurried >Sorry, dropped the phone<, and was about to type up a reply with >Sure!! Wait, is this a date? :3< to inconspicuously figure out Jason’s motive behind this (and whether he was actually asking him out!!!), but then Jason was already typing again.
>>As bros, of course.<<
Percy stopped, his shoulders slumping as his heart sank again, aching miserably in his chest as he deleted the message hurriedly.
Oh.
As bros.
Not a date.
Well, of course Jason wouldn’t ask him out on a date.
What world did Percy think he was living in?
Not bothering with keeping the misery out of his face, he made to get off the ground before his clothes got too wet (he also didn’t want the pullover to get dirty) and typed up a reply, of course trying to make it sound as upbeat as possible.
>Sure thing!! But you’re paying ;) :D<
He hit Sent, then wondered whether he shouldn’t have rather used just one smiley.
Oh well, it didn’t matter.
Not really, anyways.
Jason started typing on a reply again, and Percy sighed.
No date, then.
Oh well, at least he’d get to spend some quality time on the ice with Jason.
Also, if Jason paid for the hot chocolate, Percy could tell himself late at night that it had been a sort of date.
>>Of course I will. So, how much more will you be doing decoration-wise? We could send each other some pictures every here and there of our progress, if you’re up for it ;)<<
Percy’s lips twitched, and this time he gave in to the urge to tease.
>You know you just want to see me so badly ;) You’re supposed to work over there, not swoon over your phone, bro.<
Percy wasn’t sure whether he was being extra harsh because he was still upset about the no-date thing, or whether he was trying to be self-destructive and set himself up for hurt, because Jason would undoubtedly write back something-…
>>Har har. Whatever. We both know I look better on pictures, so it will be you swooning.<<
Percy huffed indignantly and started typing again, noticing how much quicker he already was, compared to when he had first started writing Jason.
See? Another thing that made him totally awesome.
Yep.
>Lies. I take the best selfies ever.<
Jason’s reply was almost immediate.
>>Oh yeah? Prove it. Let’s make a contest, Perce. We have until nightfall to send each other the best selfies, then we’ll see who takes the better ones. Deal?<<
Well, damn.
Percy bit his lip, cursing himself and his big mouth, which apparently got him into trouble even when he wasn’t using it per se.
He sucked at taking selfies.
He lacked the patience for it, and his hair was always all over the place, making him look like an idiot.
How was he supposed to compete with Jason freaking Grace?
The guy actually looked like a Greek God, instead of just the son of one (or Roman, but whatever).
The world wasn’t fair, had Percy mentioned that before?
He worried his bottom lip for a while longer, trying to think of something to say that might get him out of this.
But then he realized this would actually guarantee him some more pictures of Jason.
Actual selfies.
He could finally delete his blurry nonsense and have actual pictures of Jason on his phone!
He could even put one up as his background!
(At least until Jason would be back, of course, then he’d have to quickly change it, since they tended to switch phones by times for fun.)
Suddenly realizing all the possibilities, Percy found himself grinning and typed without thinking.
>Deal!<
Of course, it only occurred to him after he had sent that reply, that he hadn’t even asked what the ‘winner’ would get, nor how a winner would even be determined.
Each of them just had to say they looked better, and the issue would never be solved.
And they couldn’t even say they’d let a different person decide, because Percy knew he’d certainly pick somebody who’d pick him as winner, and he was pretty sure Jason would do the same.
So, yeah, no.
Then again, if they couldn’t settle on a winner, there wouldn’t be a winner, so nothing had to be specified.
Just two guys sending each other selfies all day long.
Absolutely not gay in any way.
Everybody sent their bro a bunch of pictures at random.
Yep.
Percy rolled his eyes at himself and glanced back down at his phone, grinning when Jason didn’t reply with text, but a picture of himself, winking at the camera with the faintest hint of a blush creeping up his neck.
Probably because of the cold, but Percy liked to think Jason was at least a tiny bit as flustered as Percy was about this.
Percy hopped in front of his cabin, this time not fighting the grin that was spreading on his face at that thought as he lifted his phone to take a quick selfie as reply.
It didn’t even look all that bad, in his opinion.
Who knew, maybe he’d manage to rock this thing, after all.
***
>>Ooh, that’s a good one. I mean, mine are still better of course, but that one is really nice, bro.<<
Percy beamed at his phone, feeling proud and smug and happier than in a while.
They had been sending each other selfies every few minutes for the past hours, and while he was pretty sure they’d both be done by now with their decorating if they weren’t distracting each other like this all the while, he still wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
Needless to say, his lights still weren’t up completely, but he didn’t give a damn.
He could simply do it tomorrow, no big deal.
What was a big deal was the wide assortment of pictures he had gotten from Jason, all with him in it and with the silliest expressions one could imagine.
Percy loved it.
He’d so put one of those as his new phone background.
Probably the one where Jason was shooting him a rather cocky, though also rather seductive look (at least Percy found it seductive).
>Thanks, but you should stop lying to yourself, man. We both know my selfies are tons better. You simply have the advantage of better light.<
He wrote back, then actually bothered working on attaching his lights over the doorway somewhat, though only in order to send Jason a picture and show him he was still working properly.
Because he could definitely see the blonde instantly replying, which meant he must have stopped to wait for Percy’s reply – which he seemed to have done a lot.
All in all, Percy was pleased.
Very pleased.
He had new pictures of Jason, he had an excuse to send Jason some pictures of himself, the blonde was texting with him for almost the entire day already…
Things couldn’t be any better, huh?
Well, them dating would make the whole thing perfect, but this was good enough for Percy, too.
>>Of course, blame it on the light. Hey, did you put up the mistletoe yet?<<
Jason and his mistletoe.
Why was he so persistent about that, anyways?
Percy couldn’t stop smiling at his phone, taking a picture of the somewhat secured lights before climbing down the ladder once more to look at his work from afar, though he turned his face towards his phone again the instant he was on the ground, too eager to reply to think.
>Nope, no idea where I’ll get that from. Why? Plan to kiss me?<
He simply couldn’t resist, okay?
Then again, this was a perfectly innocent question, right?
He was merely teasing Jason.
Yes, yes.
He was so not hoping for Jason to reply with a ‘yes’, nope.
>>Tsss, everybody needs a mistletoe over their doorway.<<
>>…And you know you’d like it.<<
Percy flushed and stumbled, nearly slipping on the icy snow, though he luckily managed to catch himself in time.
That guy!
>Yeah right. We both know I’m the better kisser here, so if anyone liked anything, it would be you!<
He shot back, dimly aware he was sort of low-key hitting on Jason right there, though he hoped the blonde wouldn’t notice.
>>Which is why you didn’t even put up a mistletoe. You seem to be very confident in your kissing skills, indeed.<<
Jason smart-assed back and Percy scowled.
Fine!
>You just wait until you get here, then we’ll see who’s more confident in their kissing skills!!!!<
Wait, had he just told Jason he was going to kiss him once he was back?
Erm…
Percy made a face.
This was all Jason’s fault.
Hopefully Jason knew that, too.
He waited for Jason to reply, for him to backtrack, for him to tell him it was all just a joke, or make a bro-pun or whatever.
But instead, his blonde replied with something that both made Percy’s heart beat quicker, as well as make his cheeks flush.
>>We’ll see ;)<<
Wait, wait, wait.
Did that mean Jason was seriously going to kiss him?
Or expect Percy to kiss him?
Percy looked around at him frantically.
Alright, where the fuck was he going to get a freaking mistletoe from?
His phone vibrated, and he glanced back down in confusion for a moment, before he realized Jason had sent a file, instead of a normal message.
Huh?
Clicking on it curiously, he expected it to be a picture, already cursing the horrible connection at camp all over again – but then he realized it was actually a video.
A video.
From Jason.
Probably of Jason.
Percy was pretty sure he had never needed anything to load faster than this very thing, tapping his screen so frantically and hard he was beginning to wonder whether Leo would give him a new phone in case he broke the screen.
Then again, wouldn’t that mean he’d lose all the pictures of Jason he had just gotten?
Percy instantly stopped his wild tapping, instead trying to be patient.
Three seconds later, the video finally loaded and played.
“Hey, sorry, but I really wanted to show you this. Look at this, isn’t this neat?” He heard Jason’s voice, and saw him talk as he grinned at the camera, before tilting it back slightly to show the rows of lights above Jason’s head.
Jason’s head appeared again, and he winked, before looking sideways at something Percy couldn’t see, apparently turning some switches, by the sound of it.
The lights changed color.
It…it really did look rather nice.
“Just look at that! I can even make them blue, though Reyna complained earlier when I tried it out. Alright, this one’s just for you, Perce.” He heard Jason say quietly, and his heartbeat sped up to the point he was certain his heart would either leap out of his throat, or break out of his rib cage.
His eyes were still glued to Jason’s perfect smile (and the stapler scar, though he could only barely make it out due to the quality) when he saw the lights blink, then change to all sorts of shades of blue, and he gazed in wonder at the beautiful display.
He also gazed in wonder at Jason, who was grinning from ear to ear, as if he knew exactly how much Percy would love this.
Then, there was a loud and very annoyed sounding “Jason! What did I say about impressing your bo-…” from an apparently very annoyed Reyna, and Jason winced, scrambling to end the recording with a small laugh and a blush creeping up his neck, cutting her off mid-sentence.
Percy wished he hadn’t.
What had Reyna been about to say?
Boyfriend?
No, probably not, he knew he shouldn’t assume, but…but…
Percy sighed loudly, playing the video two more times to make sure he caught each and every detail of both Jason and the decorations.
Then he glanced around at his own cabin.
Why couldn’t he have color-changing lights?
He sighed again, then looked back down, noticing Jason had texted him again.
>>Did you watch it yet? Pretty cool, don’t you think? Don’t mind Reyna, she’s in a bad mood all day already.<<
>>She just told me she’ll shove the lights up my backside if I dare change them blue again.<<
>>Rude.<<
>>“Blue is not a Roman color.”<<
Percy chuckled, leaning over his phone again.
>Good thing I decided for Camp Half-Blood. Would hate to give up on blue. Blue is the bestest. If I could, I’d make e v e r y t h i n g blue.<
>>Bestest isn’t even a word, Perce. But yeah, I can so see that. You without blue is like a brownie without chocolate. Know what, I’d help you. So, what did you think of the lights?<<
Jason instantly replied, and Percy scowled and chuckled at the same time, which absolutely didn’t work.
He knew full well ‘Bestest’ wasn’t a word, alright?
He’d make it be a word, anyways.
Because he could.
Yep.
He read over the rest of Jason’s message again, a feeling of giddy joy rushing through him at the realization Jason was comparing him to brownies (in a way).
Jason loved brownies, after all.
>Pretty. Wish I had some color-changing lights, too.<
>>What for? You’d keep them on the blue setting all the while, anyways.<<
Damn, Jason knew him too well.
Percy grinned.
>Maybe. But I liked the way they blinked. Mine can’t do that…though mine are still better than yours!!<
>>Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, Perce. How do yours look? I thought they were blinking, too?<<
They were, but not quite as nicely as Jason’s.
Percy made a face, wondering how to explain that.
Or maybe he could take a few pictures?
Wait…or was Jason asking him to take a video, too?
>You want me to send a video?<
He asked before he could stop himself, then regretted it when he realized how uncertain it sounded.
>>Sure. You know how, right?<<
Hey!
>I’m not an idiot!<
He shot back, then frowned and worried his bottom lip, suddenly doubtful.
Wait…
>I have to go into my camera app, record a video and then attach that, right?<
He asked, just to make sure.
>>That works, too. I was thinking you can just click on the small arrow and press the ‘Record’ button, then it will film and automatically send the file once you press ‘Stop’. It’s a bit faster, in my opinion.<<
Jason explained, and Percy nodded quietly, though he knew it was an unnecessary gesture, given that Jason couldn’t see him.
>Guess I’ll try that then. Thanks.<
>>;) Looking forward to it.<<
Percy sighed loudly, wondering what the hell he was getting himself into again, since the moment he followed Jason’s instructions, he realized he could detect no option that would let him delete the video or re-do it.
Thanks a lot, Leo.
Did that guy always have to tinker with everything?!
At least Percy assumed this had been the Latino’s idea.
Oh well, nothing for it.
This film simply had to be utterly perfect first try.
Percy tried to find the best angle to get the entire cabin visible on the small screen, but then scrapped the idea and moved back closer, settling on the space in front of his window.
It was his whole pride and joy, after all.
He practiced a few things he could say, but then shook his head stubbornly and decided he’d just wing it somehow.
Then, with a last, determined breath, he pressed the ‘Record’.
“Hey there, Jace. Here’s the video of pure awesomeness, as requested.” He said, inwardly wincing as he opted for a cocky grin, though it felt more like a grimace.
Alright, so far, so good (or not).
He pursed his lips, turning the phone to show his window properly, and the lights and ornaments he had put up.
“Here is a close-up of my window. I’ll have you know I spent most of my time on this, so you better appreciate it. I might not have fancy, color-changing lights, but have you seen this?” He stated, moving forward to zoom in on the small figures peeking out every here and there, as well as showing how nicely he had sorted the varying shades of blue he had found.
“There’s some orange and silver at the side, too.” He explained unnecessarily, pointing to the side and wondering what the hell he was doing.
This was so lame.
Jason probably even thought his window lame.
Why didn’t Percy have any fancy tricks?
Or anything nice to show Jason?
Anything impressive?
Percy turned the phone and saw he was pouting slightly, so he hurriedly opted for a wide grin.
“Hey, did you see my reindeers yet? I don’t think I took a picture of those earlier. They aren’t blue.”
As if Jason really cared.
Percy hurried down the steps, almost slipping again, but he managed to catch himself by sheer willpower alone.
There was no way he was going to send Jason a recording of him crashing face first into the snow.
Nope.
He hurried to the reindeers he had put up just to spite Annabeth.
(She had lectured him on Mythology and Christianity and the whole Christmas-isn’t-Greek-thing, not to mention the fact that there couldn’t possibly be somebody like Santa Clause, and it was physically impossible for reindeers to fly. Pah, what did she know? As one could see, he hadn’t been impressed.)
“I named this one Rocky because I forgot what it was called.” He stated very seriously, patting the one with the red nose that he vaguely remembered to have some sort of important role.
“We leave you to yourself for a few hours and you start talking to plastic reindeers? Why am I not surprised?” Nico deadpanned behind him and Percy shot him a dark look, feeling his cheeks flush.
There he was, hand in hand with Will again, both of them dripping wet from head to toe and with dumb grins on their faces, as well as travel mugs full of what he assumed to be Hot Chocolate.
He was about to correct them and tell them he was filming this for Jason (and to lament a bit about them being mean, because, hey, this was perfect proof of that!), but Will got there before him.
“Aww, let him, Nico. Maybe he’s practicing asking Jason out.”
Percy dropped his phone in horror, sputtering.
No!
Not now!
He was still filming!!
Nico laughed.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he was. Percy, just ask him already. Remember when you smart-assed me about just ‘going for it’ and not to make such a fuss? You should follow your own advice, you dork. I mean, by now everybody knows you’ve got it bad for him. There’s even bets running on whether or not you two will actually get together before we find you wildly making out behind a cabin or something. Seriously, when I said you’re making heart eyes at your phone whenever he texts you, I wasn’t joking.” Nico happily chattered on while Percy wailed and hissed and sputtered and rushed after his phone, of course promptly kicking it a good foot or so away and lunging after it, landing facedown in the snow, much like earlier.
“Nico, shut up!” He cried, but then, to his utmost horror, the moment he thought he could finally reach his phone and take out the battery or something to delete that video…long, thin fingers wrapped around his blue case, and Nico looked at the screen.
“Huh? You’re filming?”
“Don’t press anything!” Percy cried, trying to jump up, but everything around him seemed to slow down as he watched Nico’s finger moving over his touch screen, pressing the Stop button.
“Dude, just take a new…oh.”
Percy’s heart stopped.
Or maybe it was the time around him.
Or maybe both.
Something stopped, at any rate.
Then Nico looked at him, realization dawning on his face, and everything sped up again as Percy let out an angry, anguished cry and lunged for his phone.
“What? What is it? What happened?” Will asked, utterly perplexed, while Nico – that absolutely horrible being – had the indecency to merely look a tiny bit guilty as Percy snatched his phone from him, shooting him a dark look that hopefully conveyed just how badly Nico had messed up.
“I didn’t know!” Nico defended himself, but Percy resorted to another anguished cry as he saw his fears confirmed.
The video was right there, free for Jason to see, to save, to look at over and over again.
Jason would find out.
He absolutely would.
“What happened?” Will asked, still confused, but Percy wildly shook his head, feeling as if he was going to cry.
“Percy was recording inside the app. It automatically sent the file once I hit the ‘Stop’ button.” Nico explained meekly, and Percy turned his back to them, typing furiously into his phone as a last, pathetic attempt to save himself.
>DON’T LOOK AT IT!!!!!!!<
>PLEASE!!!<
>I’LL TAKE A NEW ONE!!!! DON’T LOOK AT IT, JASON!! PLEASE!!!<
No response.
Percy stared down at the screen, dimly noticing Will and Nico talking behind him, saying soothing nonsense like ‘It’s going to be okay, Percy’ and ‘You can just say we were joking.’.
Percy didn’t listen, biting his bottom lip and feeling his eyes sting.
Why had he had to film that dumb reindeer, anyways?
He should have just stuck to his window and sent Jason a dull and perfectly boring video, instead.
Still no response.
Percy’s heart sank.
How high were the chances Jason was watching that video right now?
Percy worried his bottom lip some more, now pacing in front of his cabin.
Nico and Will were still there.
Percy ignored them.
Then, he stopped and leaned back over his phone.
>I can explain…<
He started typing but right when he was about to hit ‘Send’, his phone suddenly started vibrating.
Then, the ‘Bromance’ song he had set as Jason’s ringtone back when they had gotten their phones started playing, and he dropped his phone for what had to be the tenth time that day.
Realization took its sweet time sinking in.
Jason was calling him.
Jason.
Who never called him.
Who had only ever called him once, when Percy had slept through the entire day and missed all Camp activities and Jason had covered for him.
Jason was calling him.
Now.
He knew.
Percy’s heart sank, and he just stood there, staring down at the phone at his feet.
“Percy! Answer it!” Nico hissed, while Will put his hands in his hair and hopped on his feet.
“That’s him, isn’t it? Answer it! Come on, do it!” The blonde insisted, but Percy couldn’t tear himself out of the standstill inside him.
“Percy!” They both exclaimed in unison, and Percy felt himself moving, bending down, picking up the phone, pressing the ‘Accept Call’ button, lifting the phone to his ear.
“Percy?” Jason’s voice sounded in his ear, beautiful, wonderful, and very, very cautious.
“I can explain.” Percy heard his own voice, weak and breathless and rushed, though he was still rooted to the spot.
Nico and Will appeared at the edge of his view, motioning for him to shut up and wait.
“I…what Nico said…” Jason started, sounding hesitant, and Percy found himself crouching, one hand pressing his phone against his ear, the other arm wrapped around his legs.
Jason had watched the video.
Of course he had.
He had probably checked his phone the moment Nico had sent the file, and had of course promptly watched it to see how much of a fool Percy would make of himself with his decorations.
Percy opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t find any words, so he closed it again.
Jason was silent for a moment, too, as if waiting for him to argue, to explain, to exclaim it was all a joke, that Nico had been joking.
Percy wanted to, too, but he couldn’t form the necessary phrases inside his head.
He wasn’t sure whether that was because of his ADHD or his nerves, but he decided he blamed it all on Nico, anyways.
Did he really have to say anything?
Did he really have to tease Percy about his crush?
Did he really have to appear right then and there?
Couldn’t he have waited five more minutes?
Jason let out a loud, long breath, and Percy’s heart ached as he braced himself for the rejection that would undoubtedly follow.
“Percy…”
There it came.
“…would you like to…erm…watch a movie with me, maybe? We could watch ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’, if you want, since you apparently haven’t seen it in a while…” Jason said, sounding the tiniest bit rushed, and Percy found himself frowning, the words not sounding like the ones he had expected, at all.
“I…what?” He asked, confused, and he could see Nico and Will crouching in his peripheral vision, looking between eager and anxious.
He made a shooing gesture at them and turned away, fighting the urge to pace and instead remaining in his crouched position, his heart now pounding in his chest again.
Had Jason just…
No, it couldn’t be.
He hadn’t just asked him out.
He must have misheard.
Jason took another deep breath.
“Or something different? Ice skating! And hot chocolate. Would you…would you like to do that?” Jason tried again, but Percy’s frown only deepened.
“I…I thought we’d already do that…” He muttered awkwardly, feeling extremely slow on the uptake again.
Nico was clutching Will now, both of them transfixed on Percy and his phone, and he sent them a dark scowl, trying to shoo them away again.
“No- I mean yes, but…I mean…would you…” Jason started, and Percy wasn’t sure he had ever heard him stammer before.
“Would you like to go with me as…as a date?”
Percy lost his balance and flopped into the snow with a small gasp.
“A…a date?!”
Nico and Will both let out triumphant whoops behind him, and he thought he could see them high-fiving each other, but his whole world was spinning too much for him to pay much attention.
“U-Unless you don’t want to!” Jason hurried to explain, and Percy blinked, his heart suddenly lifting as the words tumbled from his mouth.
“I do! I mean, I…I would…want to. If you don’t mind.” He rushed to reply, knowing he was undoubtedly making a fool of himself again.
Jason exhaled loudly, a small chortle escaping him at the end, and Percy thought he sounded a teensy bit relieved.
“Really? That’s…that’s great! It’s a date, then?”
Percy found himself grinning, his heart going crazy in his chest.
“Yeah. It’s a date.”
He glanced sideways and found Nico and Will doing some sort of victory dance, and Nico yelled ‘Jason and Percy are going on a date!’ towards a passing Lou Ellen, who immediately brightened up, turned around and ran to tell Cecil, who’d undoubtedly tell the rest of the Camp.
Percy was going to have a talk with Nico about this whole privacy-issue sometime.
Seriously.
Jason chuckled into the phone, sounding relieved beyond belief.
“Awesome. I’ve…actually, I’ve been meaning to ask you that for a while already. I just wasn’t sure how you’d react.” Jason confided quietly, and Percy found himself beaming.
“Really? Same here, actually.”
Jason chuckled.
“Oh! Your decorations at the window…they’re very nice, by the way.” Jason suddenly said, and Percy glanced up the steps to his window, still grinning.
“You think so? Better than yours?” He asked, and Jason laughed softly into his ear.
“Maybe a tiny little bit.”
Percy bit his lip, his smile so wide it was beginning to hurt.
“You’re just saying that, aren’t you?”
“No! No, I really think it looks very nice. Can’t wait to see it in person.” Jason insisted, and Percy’s smile tried to widen even more, making muscles in his face twitch he hadn’t even known he had.
He dimly registered he was still sitting on the ground, but he couldn’t find it in him to care, all his attention on the phone in his hand.
“When will you be back?” He asked the question he had been burning to ask for the past week already, and Jason chuckled into his ear again.
“Miss me so much?”
Percy felt his face erupting into flames and stammered something not even he was certain what it meant.
“Just joking, Perce. You’ll have to excuse me, I’m more than a little nervous right now. And…you have no idea how badly I want to get back. I’ll be back by the end of the week. Maybe a bit earlier, if Reyna has mercy on me.”
Percy’s heart skipped a beat.
Jason was nervous? Just like he was?
And wait, he’d be back by the end of the week?
This week?!
That meant soon!
“Jason, why exactly are you hiding behind these boxes with that dumb grin on your face? Know what, I don’t want to know. Just finally get over yourself and ask Jackson out. I swear, if I have to live through another day of you raving about him, I’m going to-…” Percy suddenly heard Reyna’s voice, a tiny tad muffled, but clearly audible.
He also heard Jason’s flustered squeak and lots of shuffling to apparently shut her up.
“Reyna! I’m on the phone with him right now!”
Percy couldn’t help it.
He laughed.
“Stop laughing, Percy!” Jason exclaimed indignantly, but Percy couldn’t stop.
“It’s not you, it’s just…I’m just glad we both have such cruel friends, Jason…” He said pointedly, shooting Nico a dark look that the Italian met with an innocent smile.
Jason huffed into his ear, but then he heard him chuckling, too, and he grinned, knowing he understood and agreed.
“Yeah, I’m glad, too. Well, I have to go now. Don’t forget our date, yeah?” Jason said quietly, his voice unusually gentle, and Percy bit his lip again, drawing various shapes into the snow next to him.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. See you at the end of the week?”
“I’ll be there.” Jason promised, and Percy beamed to himself.
“Okay. Goodbye then, Jason.”
Was that a suitable way to end the call?
Percy had no idea.
He was bad at hanging up, which was another reason nobody ever called him.
“Bye Percy. Oh, and…” Jason started, and Percy instantly pressed the phone harder against his ear.
“Yes?”
“Don’t forget the mistletoe.” Jason said, and for a moment Percy thought he could hear the insinuating grin that just had to be on Jason’s face right now.
Then, the call ended, and Percy was left sitting in the snow with a bright red face and all sorts of thoughts in his head about what they’d be doing under the mistletoe.
He turned his head, meeting Nico’s and Will’s expectant gazes as they stared at him, eager and euphoric.
A date.
With Jason.
He knew exactly what he was going to do.
“Guys, I need mistletoes. A lot of mistletoes.”
They both groaned.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to decorate your entire cabin in mistletoes now!” Will exclaimed, while Nico put his face in his hands.
“Percy, no!”
Percy, yes.
The End