Archive of Our Own

Leo was going to run on that woman's feet if she didn't shut the fuck up soon.

That was just his luck. First time grocery shopping in months and he walked straight on a Karen. Whoever decided fate up there was probably laughing like a manic (Leo had given up on God and Christianism a while ago).

Anyways, cursing a deity he didn't believe in wasn't gonna help him get out of this situation -- a white middle-aged woman blocking his path and ranting about immigrants and unworking gen Z, along with the obvious 'everyone's woke now, and getting disabilities just to suck off us hardworking people'. What a bitch.

"Can you just fuck off ?" snapped Leo when she decided to speak about the gays. "My wife's waiting at home and I still gotta buy the soy sauce and peanut chips she's craving. I don't fucking care 'bout your beef with the left."

The Karen made an offended noise but Leo ignored her and pushed her to get the peanut chips Piper was whining about. The downside of marrying your best friend was that she was a fucking annoying prick. Unfortunately, Leo loved her.

That's why he was the one out on a fucking Saturday to get her three different kind of ice creams, peanut chips and sweet soy sauce, just because she craved some (honestly, Leo owed her that since she'd been there for him through every one of his periods, until he discovered that his GYN was a fucking bigot and that taking the pill would actually help him and not trigger his phantom limb pain like she'd said. Piper had helped Leo and now Leo was going to help her get through her own periods, even if it was annoying as fuck).

"The world has no place for sinners like you !" said the Karen as Leo rolled away. "It's the homosexuals like you who make our country regress !"

Homosexual

That word hurt him at a deeper level.

Because he'd said his wife;

Because that Karen was referring to them both as homosexuals.

Leo wanted to crawl and cross his arms around his chest to protect himself from these words, from the world. He wanted to, but he just raised his head, looked at that bitch dead in the eyes and said "Your husband wasn't complaining 'bout us when he came to my workshop."

The Karen kept yelling at him, but Leo ignored her, choosing to focus on his groceries. He caught his reflection on the frozen food section, and realized his hair had grown quite a bit since the 3rd of December, when he, Piper and Will all cut their hair because Will's girlfriend ditched him on Heather Sweater Day (or whatever it was called). 

Leo bit his lower lip and took out a pen (he was pretty sure it was the purple one, the less harmful pen for his skin) and scribbled down 'pipre cut heir'. He couldn't bear to live with that another day when he knew that dysphoria would make him spiral and feel like shit before he cut his hair by himself during a mental breakdown and he'd end up with a bowl cut and Piper laughing at him.

He sighed and took the ice creams Piper ordered and added frozen macarons for himself -- they reminded him of one of his foster parents, one of the only ones who were actually nice to him. 

He was about to head for the checkout when he received a text from his unfortunate wife. Asking for 'that spicy asian chicken Will was too white to eat remember' and Leo, like the good husband and best friend he was, did a U-turn and went for the spicy asian chicken Will had been too white to eat. 

He coldly declined when a few people asked him if he needed help and he'd just grabbed Piper's order when a strong hand slammed on his shouler and another landed on the back of his wheelchair. 

"Neeks !" exclaimed a bright voice before a white man approached, his hand still on Leo's shoulder.

Handsome was the first word that came to Leo's mind when he saw the man. Dork was a close second and asshole had been the third. 

And, yeah, Leo was polysexual. Attracted to men. So he was able to say that this very rude stranger was quite gorgeous. His smile shone bright and if he hadn't decided to be an ableist prick, then maybe Leo would've flirted a little just to see a blush on Handsome White Prick's face.

"What the hell man ?" said Leo, shoving off the stranger's hand from him.

The man's face crumpled and he scanned Leo's face for a moment before he blushed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he said, looking really apologetic. "You're not Nico. I thought you were my friend-"

"Well not everyone in a wheelchair has to be that Neeks," said Leo, dusting off his shoulder in a way that clearly carried his annoyance.

"I am really sorry," repeated the white one. "That was very rude of me- very ableist," he admitted. "Could I repay you for my rudeness ?"

Leo's heart did a little swoop in his chest -- he couldn't help it ! a very cute, very handsome, very buffy man was apologizing to him, looking like a kicked puppy and asking him out on a date. (Maybe not a date. Not yet. Leo liked to plan things in advance.) 

(Leo should maybe get checked for something, because his quickness to dismiss a man's wrongs because he looked hot was concerning.)

He cocked his head with a smirk and said in his best seducing voice : "Well, I heard that there's a French café downtown," he lowered his voice, like he was confessing a secret, and added : "They give free parfaits à le fraise to cute birthday boys."

The man blushed violently and looked down at the 'BIRTHDAY BOY!!' pin on his chest. 

"Yeah," he croaked. "I'd like that."

"Great ! That's gonna make it up for the ugly meeting. I just have to hand these to my..." Leo caught himself before he could ruin it, "best friend. She lives near the café anyways so we can just head out if you got everything you wanted."

"I do," smiled Handsome White non-Prick. "My name is Jason, by the way." 

"Cute," nodded Leo. "I'm Leo."

"Nice to meet you," smiled Jason. Leo smiled in return, surely blushing too.

He couldn't wait to tell Piper.

Piper, after whining and complaining about Leo's betrayal, kissed his cheeks three times each for good luck and kicked him out of the condo before he could even sign a goodbye. Jason was waiting in front of the building, leaning on the wall and typing on his phone, his brows furrowed.

He straightened up when he saw Leo and his face brightened. "Hi," he said with a smile.

"Hi."

They stood there for a moment, eyeballing each other for a moment, before Jason cut in.

"Your eyes are very pretty."

Leo blushed. "Thank you. Yours are not bad either."

Jason giggled and held out a hand, before dropping it to their side. Shit. What an idiot, he thought, Leo can't hold your hand. Pull yourself together !

Jason felt like an idiot. He didn't know how the whole dating thing worked, and was rather new in that domain -- they had Reyna, Nico and Hazel, and didn't feel the need to create havoc on the careful balance he'd put on. It didn't matter anymore -- Leo laughed so prettily, it had to be worth it.

"Maybe later, pretty boy," said Leo as he rolled in front of Jason, a playful smile on his lips. Jason returned the smile and followed him, wincing when stepping on their bad leg.

"Valdez !" exclaimed a blond man when they stepped in Ecole du Monde Sauvage. "Tell your wife that next time she stands us up she'll take the Monday Morning shifts !"

'Your wife'

Jason turns to Leo, who just laughs and throws a cheeky answer to the barista. 

Did Jason misunderstand the situation ? Reyna told him quite a lot of times that they couldn't pick up clues at all and that he needed to be more aware of when people flirted with him when they just thought said people were being nice. But Jason had been pretty sure this was a date -- after all, Leo had flirted with him quite a lot. Calling them pretty boy, and cute, and saying his eyes were pretty.

"You have a wife ?" they asked Leo. 

He blinked in confusion, before his eyes widened in realization. "Yeah. My best friend and I got married in college -- we thought it'd be fun. I just- didn't want to mention it now, you know ? It'd be weird. I understand if you're weirded out."

He sighed and looked up at Jason, hurt in his eyes. He gulped, nervous, and put all his weight on his right leg, the pain in his bad knee making him dizzy.

"If- if your wife and you are not, like, dating, don't have romantic feelings for each other, I don't mind," stammered Jason, feeling themselves blush yet again.

Leo broke into a grin, and Jason nearly fell -- because Leo looked beautiful, not because the pain was worsening. Then, Leo's smile faded and Jason's heart missed a beat -- did he do something wrong ?

"You okay man ?"

Jason blinked, confused. "Yeah, I'm alright," he lied. "Why ?"

"You've been shifting a lot. And you don't look okay. I know pain and your acting needs to be improved."

Jason felt embarrassment wash over him. He was ruining their first date -- he wasn't sure if it was a date but whatever that little rendez-vous was, he was actively ruining it.

"I forgot my crutch at work," he admitted. "I have chronic pain, but I was feeling well today. I guess the air conditioning triggered it."

Leo blinked, and Jason felt a sudden fear that Leo would act like a bigot, before he remembered that Leo was also disabled. Which seemed like something pretty hard to forget if you were able-bodied, but to Jason, who was surrounded by friends who also had disabilities, it was like a part of his everyday life.

"Okay," said Leo. "Go sit at a table, I get the drinks 'n food. You wanted iced tea and panna cotta, right ?" 

Jason nodded and looked around, searching for the closest table. He sat down and let out a relieved sigh. The pain was still there, but lightened, diluted. They took out their glasses and pressed his hands on his closed eyes, feeling like a migraine might come later that evening. He put his glasses back on and took out their phone. Reyna had written a simple 'No couch sex, I will bring my girlfriend over tomorrow' to his enthusiastic text about Leo. Jason pocketed the phone, not bothering to type an answer -- Reyna knew that they wouldn't answer while on a date. 

"An iced tea, panna cotta and parfait aux fraises for the birthday boy !" cheerfully said Leo, putting a tray on the table. "I also got ya a cane. Will's partner forgot it in the break room once and we've been using it to dust off the roof. It's probably too small but you can use it until you get your crutches back."

Jason was in love.

"Thank you," they croaked rather pathetically, but Leo smiled and cracked a joke about accessibility. Soon, Jason was laughing and it was the best first date he'd ever had.

Jason was faceblind. It was something he'd had since he was a toddler -- maybe even before -- and they were quite used to it now. He could see people's faces, but not entirely. He remembered how Reyna smirked when she was amused, how Nico rolled their eyes when strangers asked them about the numerous stickers on their wheelchair, how Hazel's eyes wrinkled when she laughed.

He didn't remember people by assigning a face to their name but by assessing a handful of features to the name. Reyna was to be recognized by the smell of mint and eucalyptus, the windbreaker she was always wearing, the scowl she had on her face whenever she was outside, the way she carried herself. Jason had been Reyna's friend for more than a decade now and could recognize her if she was on the other side of a soccer field. 

But for people he'd just met -- like Nico's boyfriend, or the stepmom of one of his preschoolers --, it was harder to memorize. 

Leo was someone they'd just met. Even if Jason had a bit of a crush on him, they'd only met the Latino the day before. 24 hours hadn't even passed since their date and even if Leo had sent over a hundred texts to Jason (who hadn't minded at all and enthusiastically answered), Jason hadn't had the time to memorize all of Leo's features. He remembered a few. Not enough to recognize him on instinct, but enough to know who he was talking to.

So when they walked in the condo he shared with Reyna and saw her canoodling someone wearing Leo's military jacket and with the same tattoo as him, they assumed it was Leo.

"Leo ?" they let out, his hands gripping his crutches. He felt his chest hurt. 

"Leo ?" repeated Reyna, disentangling herself from the person she was kissing. "Isn't that the boy you've got a crush on ?"

The other person turned to face Jason, then looked at Reyna again with confusion visible on their face -- the curve of their mouth, the questioning in their eyes and the tilt of their head.

Jason looked at them more carefully -- it wasn't Leo. Leo's hair was a mess of curls falling on his shoulders. His eyes were a warmer tone of brown, his lips chapped, his ears were pointy like a gremlin's. He was shorter, his skin was darker, his tattoo was on the other arm.

It wasn't Leo.

They let out a relieved sigh and looked at Reyna, waiting for her to present whom Jason assumer was her girlfriend.

Reyna roller her eyes and turned to her girlfriend.

"Jason, this is Piper. My partner," she said. "Piper, this is Jason, my best friend and roommate."

Piper turned to Jason, a smile on her lips and stood up, holding out a hand for Jason. 

"Nice to meet you !" she said enthusiastically -- a bit too loudly, but full of life.

"Nice to meet you too," replied Jason with a smile. Piper looked like an energetic girl, full of life, mischief and laughter. Someone who didn't seem like she'd got along with Reyna -- but Jason knew she was exactly who Reyna needed. Someone who could help her and hold her and use ridiculous excuses to make her stop overworking.

"You're Leo's Handsome White Prick !" exclaimed Piper. 

Jason started at the sudden sound. "What ?" they croaked 

"You're Leo's Handsome White Prick," repeated Piper. "The one he met yesterday. I forgot your name. Birthday Boy ?"

"Oh." So this Piper was a friend of Leo ? "Yeah, that's me."

It hadn't been Jason's birthday -- they'd explained it to Leo during their maybe-date. Nico just found the pin while reorganizing their room and since they didn't identify as a boy anymore, they decided to give it to Jason. Hazel had liked the idea and put it on Jason, who had forgotten he was wearing it when they got out to get tea for Reyna later that afternoon.

Piper smiled and quickly looked at Reyna, who lifted her hands a signed something -- that's when Jason remembered that Piper was deaf.

"I'm Leo's wife and best friend," said Piper. "If you break his heart, I'll break your legs."

"Breaking his heart is not in my plans," carefully said Jason. The world was smaller than he thought. Leo's wife ('We're very platonical," had insisted Leo the day before. 'We did it to piss off our parents.') was Jason's best friend's girlfriend.

"I like you," said Piper, patting his shoulder, before she turned to Reyna and sat down between her legs. "Do you wanna..."

She blinked a few times, and looked at Reyna and signed something, frowning.

"Get to know each other ?" said Reyna, not looking sure either. 

"I'd like that," said Jason honestly.

Reyna let out a breath and smiled to her best friend. 

"I've heard from my wife that you're faceblind," said Leo.

It was their second date, at a cat café owned by one of Jason's friend -- the infamous Nico, who also happened to be Will's partner, Niccolo (Will was the only one calling them by their legal name, which Hazel and Leo found hilarious and Nico hated loudly and liked not-so-secretly). The world was definitely small. 

Jason blushed but nodded. "I am," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"Oh !" exclaimed Leo. He waved his hands in a quick dismissal, laughing. "I'm not reproaching anything ! It's just interesting, that's all. I'm colorblind," he grinned. "And trans."

Jason's eyes widened. "I'm demiboy," he said. "He/They. That's a lot of common points between us."

"Yup," chuckled Leo. "Maybe we're meant to be," he added.

Jason blushed, his neck red and looked away, a small smile on his lips. "Maybe we are," they said, their voice high. 

Cute. Jason was cute, and handsome, and a fucking dork. Leo liked him a lot.

"So," he said after a moment. "How much face blindness sucks ? On a scale 1-10."

"Well, face blindness in itself doesn't suck that much." replied Jason, the word suck emphasized, probably because Jason didn't seem to be the kind of person to say it much. "The ableism and ignorance from people that comes with it does, though."

"Ableism," sighed Leo. "My worst enemy, right behind gender dysphoria, of course."

Jason laughed brightly, which widened Leo's grin. Great. This second date was going superbly.

"I guess you don't see blurry circles on people's faces ?" joked Leo.

"No, I don't. I can see people's features -- I can see your dimples, your freckles, your eyes. I just can't see the face as a whole -- everything blurs together, like a Picasso painting. And I assume you don't see the world in black and white ?" they chuckled.

"Nope," said Leo. "I have protanopia. You probably know it as red-green color blindness. That, plus my uncooperative legs, made it really hard for me to get my license. Pipes drives most of the time, but we don't need that much."

"I see," smiled Jason.

"How's your pain ? Do you feel better ?"

Jason nodded. "I didn't forget my crutches, as you can see. And I took my painkillers, so everything is good."

Leo looked at Jason's hands on the table. He wanted to hold them -- he wanted to know how they felt in his hands. Would they be soft ? Leo assumed that Jason would put on hand cream every night. 

"Why aren't the cats coming to us ?" he asked, looking up to the café. They were the only customers who didn't have cats purring next to them.

"Your monster wheelchair scares them," said Will, putting their orders on the table. "They also hate Niccolo's."

Leo blushed when he realized that Will must've been standing there for a moment. Great. He was going to tease Leo so much later. And threatening him by saying that Piper was Will's boss and could fire him didn't even work anymore since Piper would just join Will on Teasing Leo Time and Will knew it.

"I can get you Festus, if you want. He's been grumpy all morning."

"Great, dump me the ugliest one," sighed Leo. Will gave him a thumbs-up and went to the cats' rest room. "Festus is my cat," he explained to Jason. "But he prefers Will and Niccolo, so we have joined custody. He's at the café this week."

"I can't wait to meet him," beamed Jason. "I have to make good impression. I will be dating his father, after all."

Dating.

Leo flushed violently and put his head between his hands, trying to regain composure.

"I'm sorry. Was that too soon ? I don't want to pressure you."

"You move fast," said Leo, shaking his head with a smile. "I like it."

Jason blushed cutely and a smile bloomed on their lips, a giggle escaping their mouth. That was fucking adorable. Leo was going to have a heart attack from how cute that man was.

"So," he said instead of losing his mind over Jason's crooked glasses, "when's your real birthday ?"

"That would be next week," said Jason.

Leo's eyes widened. "Are you serious ? Mine's next week too !"

"Really ?"

"Yeah !"

Jason looked at Leo in disbelief before he laughed. "I guess we really are meant to be."

"What ? You doubted it ?" grinned Leo.

"Gross," muttered Will. He dumped Festus on Leo's lap. "Here's you son. Take him home with you. We don't want him here anymore."

"Don't listen to him," cooed Leo. "You're an angel, aren't ya ?"

Festus purred, which made Jason startle. Leo didn't blame him. Festus' purr was halfway between a normal but very low purr and the sound of a motorbike starting. 

"Let me introduce you. Festus, this is your soon-to-be stepdad, Jason. And Jason, this is my baby, Festus. He don't bite but he scratches when he senses bad vibes. Don't worry, you don't give any."

"Thanks ?" chuckled Jason. They took Festus in his arms and cupped him, carrying him as if he were a baby. Festus purred.

"He likes you !" exclaimed Leo. 

"He does," smiled Jason.

"That's so unfair. It took him three weeks to stop biting me !"

"Maybe he sensed bad vibes."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure he did. I guess he's just a racist prick. He liked Niccolo instantly too."

"But he doesn't like Will either."

"That's 'cause Will is Muslim. He also got Pakistani ancestry. It's too far in the family line though, so his spice tolerance is as great as a white man's."

"So he's got none."

"You are a very intelligent man," grinned Leo. "That reminds me -- I'll have to prepare you to Pipes' special pot-au-feu."

"Is it that spicy ?" 

Jason sounded worried. Cute. (Leo ought to stop repeating that word, but again, Jason was cute. It was simple observation, really. The sky was blue, Festus was fat, Niccolo was a bitch and Jason was freakishly cute.)

"Not that much," dismissed Leo. "But the taste is horrid ; Pip can bake but if you give her something salty to cook, she'll burn the kitchen."

Jason pet Festus, thoughtful. He seemed to decide that arguing wasn't worth it and asked instead : "When exactly is your birthday ?"

"7th of July," said Leo. "And you ?"

"The first of July."

"You missed Pride month !" noticed Leo.

Jason nodded, laughing nervously. "I did. Neeks used to joke about it, saying I was so straight I had to be born the day Pride month ended. That was before I came out, of course."

"That must've sucked."

Jason shook their head, a smile on his lips. "Not at all ! Nico found it even funnier when I told him I'm gay."

"It is funny," admitted Leo. "Well, you can count on me to organize you the greatest birthday you'll ever have."

Jason just blushed at that, and Festus purred louder.

"Comin' !" exclaimed Leo when the bell rang for the second time. He cursed Festus' tendency to leave toys everywhere like a yob, and rolled to the door. 

"Hi," said Jason with a smile when Leo stayed silent, too surprised to talk. "Um, Reyna and Piper kicked me out of the house so that Reyna could give Piper a private concert. She told me you were aware that I was coming but... I assume she lied."

"What a bitch," cursed Leo. Jason looked unfairly handsome with his buttoned-down shirt -- a deep blue that shouldn't suit them so well but still did --, and fucking mouthwatering shorts. 

Leo tried not to stare too much at Jason's legs. (Very handsome legs, by the way. Very tanned. Very muscle-y looking. There were scars on his shins, and his knees looked rather knobbly -- a brace was on his left knee, almost unnoticed under the shorts. Leo noticed a few bruises on their legs which, according to what Jason had told him on their second date, was perfectly normal, nothing to worry about.)

On the opposite, Leo was wearing one of Piper's tank top because all his were drenched in sweat and currently rolling in the washing machine, and a pair of cotton shorts he'd bought as a teenager (following Piper to California had been a very bad idea, especially considering it had been The Very Dreadly Fall of 2019). His hair, that Piper had cut around noon (right before she went to Reyna's), was still a bit wet from his cold shower -- cold shower that didn't fiw anything at all. Leo was already sweating like a madman and it wasn't even mid-afternoon yet.

"Come in," Leo said, realizing Jason was still standing. "You're letting the warmth enter !"

Jason quickly got inside and Leo locked the door. 

"It's pretty dark in there," noticed the white one.

"It's 43 degrees outside," shrugged Leo. "It's either being kept in the dark or liquefy."

Jason chuckled at Leo's stupid pun.

"What a terrible weather for the last day of pride month," said Jason.

"It is," agreed Leo. "By the way, about tomorrow..?"

"Yeah," smiled Jason. "I'm in for the movies. And illegally swimming in Piper's dad's pool."

"Technically, Piper gave us permission to do so," grinned Leo. "Plus, Papa McLean practically adopted me when I was a teen. He won't mind."

"I hope he doesn't."

Jason and Leo entered the living room, where Festus was proudly lying in front of the fan, his tail in Leo's iced tea.

Festus' tail was going to be sticky and the demon that Leo had adopted was going to whine about it for hours. Shit.

"Welcome in my humble abode," said Leo. "You can move this big baby out of the way, and monopolize the fan. I'm going to get iced tea -- want some ?"

"Okay," said Jason. 

"I also got leftover pastries from the café, and a weird fuzzy asian drink. If you want." Was Leo stressing too much ? Probably, but Jason Grace was sitting in his living room, looking like the prettiest man on Earth, and Leo was about to have a heart attack.

"Just the iced tea is alright. Do you need help with anything ?"

"Nah, 't's okay. Piper exploited me a lot when she opened the café, so I'm used to it."

Jason giggled and put his crutches against the wall, before they sat on the couch and sank in it.

"It's comfortable," he said, a note of surprise in his voice.

"I know," snorted Leo. "We stole the couches from Will's awful granddad."

Jason laughed at that, and Leo came back in the living room with two iced tea and a contained with the unsold mini-cheesecakes.

"So," said Leo after transferring from his wheelchair to the couch, next to Jason. "A private concert, mm ?" he grinned suggestively, raising his eyebrows.

"Not that kind of concert," spluttered Jason. "Reyna is asexual."

"Does that stop her from a heavy making-out with Piper ?" smiled Leo.

"I guess not," admitted Jason after a moment. They scrunched his nose in disgust. "Ew. I don't want to think about that."

Leo threw back his head and laughed. "Did I ever tell you about my marriage ? Piper and I had to kiss. It was horrible."

"I'm all ears."

A few hours later, Leo woke up to Festus whining about his tail. Classic.

"You're such an ungrateful child," he said, untangling his legs from Jason's. 

Jason was sound asleep, his head on Leo's shoulder, his body arched. Leo sighed, sad to leave Jason like that, but his little monster was now screeching like wheels on hot asphalt, and that sound was going to wake Jason up. Which would be a horrible thing to do. Jason looked really peaceful in their sleep.

"I'm coming, you little monster."

Leo, after twenty awful minutes of wrestling Festus and getting all the sugar off his tail, came back exhausted into the living room, wearing a new tank top since the other was now drenched in sugary water thanks to his little monster.

Jason was awake now, rubbing his eyes with exhaustion. He put his glasses back on and beamed at Leo.

"Hi," they said. "What time is it ?"

Leo checked his watch. "Six p.m.," he announced. 

"Okay," said Jason. He stood up carefully and stretched, and they saw Leo eyeing his exposed stomach. They blushed. Leo grinned. Jason shook his head, a warm feeling bubbling in his chest.

"Your hair," he said. "You look good like that."

Leo flushed, fighting back a smile, then decided he didn't need to hide and grinned widely. "How would you know that, pretty boy ? I thought you were faceblind."

Jason laughed. He loved Leo's jokes. 

"Are you hungry ? I've got that weird Turkish salad from Will, and three whole watermelons. It's too hot to eat anything else."

"Just a portion of watermelons, maybe ?" said Jason.

"Good choice," nodded Leo. "A fest to end Pride month !"

Jason laughed and followed Leo, deciding that he didn't need his crutches for a walk from the living room to the kitchen.

Suddenly, the lights went off and the fan followed after a second, leaving Leo, Jason and Festus in the dark.

"Fuck," said Jason. They looked around -- only the faint light of the timer of the oven cut the darkness. 

"I've got a flashlight somewhere !" said Leo from in front of them. Jason took a few steps and when their hand found a wall, he grasped it and waited for Leo, who was rummaging through what seemed to be every drawers in the kitchen. The noises stopped suddenly and Jason opened his eyes wider, in some instinctive attempt to see more clearly.

Then light blinded him.

"Shit," they swore, shutting his eyes. He took a step back and fell on their bum, pain shooting through his back.

"¡Carajo!" exclaimed Leo. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to...  Are you alright ?"

"I think so," said Jason.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry," repeated Leo. "Do you need help ?"

"Can I use your wheelchair to get up ? My back is starting to ache."

"Go on."

Jason carefully got up again, grimacing in pain. Thankfully, they kept painkillers in their backpack, just in case. 

"Can you walk by yourself ?"

"I can. It's twenty feet away."

Jason still leaned on Leo while staggering through the twenty feet before he slumped on the couch. 

"Sorry," repeated Leo. 

Jason shook his head before they thought about the situation again and started laughing uncontrollably. 

Leo stared at them for a moment before he broke into a grin. "How dare you interrupt my heartfelt apologies ? Am I a joke to you ?"

Jason's laughs just intensified, and Leo quickly joined him.

"Is your brain located near your bum ? 'Cause I think you've got a concussion."

"Stop that," wheezed Jason.

"Being funny ? Nah, it's a part of my personality."

Leo's hand got on Jason's forehead, warm and comforting. Also very terrible for the high temperatures, but Jason liked Leo's hands quite a lot, so he wasn't complaining.

"You okay ?" he asked Jason, who nodded.

"Don't apologize again," they said.

"I'll try to."

Leo brought Jason a glass of lukewarm water for his painkillers. 

"How do you feel ?"

"Better already," answered Jason -- he did feel better, but he also felt a migraine start to develop. He'd have to take his meds once home, and then nap for at least three hours, which meant he'd have to take a day off work -- his little kids would be so disappointed, especially Neva to whom he'd promised he'd teach origami.. "I might get even better with some watermelon," he added with a smile. Leo returned it, worry still clinging to his eyes.

"Comin' right up !"

Jason smiled and shut his eyes, just wanting to rest a moment.

He woke up one hour and a half later, with Leo curled against him and eating the last slice of watermelon.

Jason's 23rd birthday did not start well.

First came the fact that his head was killing him, along with his left knee -- the bad one -- and their right leg. His hips were also protesting against the rough treatment his bum had received the day before, not to mention the heat.

Reyna, right before she went to practice with her band, the Huntresses, told Jason she'd make sure that none of the birthday celebrations their friends had planned would take place -- Jason was grateful of that. They had been barely able to drag himself to the living room, where the temperature was cooler than in his room, and took his meds along with more painkillers than he probably should, and ate half a cereal bar. He was planning on lying on the couch most of the day, listening or reading a book Nico had recommended, or texting Leo.

Texting Leo was obviously what they wanted to do the most. Just lie there and laugh to Leo's jokes, feel the fluttering in their chest whenever Leo did something inherently Leo-esque, and smile so hard they'd forget about his headache and worry about the pain of his cheeks. 

Their phone lit up with a text while he was fighting with the entangled phone charger.

From : Leo <3

> gotat get a corectpr

Jason smiled and typed an answer -- yes, he liked chocolate, and he'd liked to see Leo if Leo didn't mind. Leo answered instantly, saying that he'd be very happy to see Jason, and that he'd also bring leftover sorbet from Piper's experiments. 

Jason felt themselves blush when they realized he'd see Leo again. Not that he didn't want to, but...

The day before, as Jason was leaving, Leo asked them to come closer. And they'd kissed. 

They hadn't kissed before. Jason thought it was too early and didn't want to scare Leo. 

Leo thought that, maybe, Jason didn't like him that way. Maybe the flirting was just a way of joking. Or to get closer, but in a friendly-way. That was how Leo and Frank had gotten closer after all (even if the flirting was coated in a heavy layer of insults and provocation), and they'd dated for a while before they realized they were the most toxic couple ever. Leo had now no idea what his ex-situationship was up to, and he didn't want to lose Jason the same way. He liked Jason a lot (way more than he'd ever liked anyone -- romantically speaking, Festus always being first, obviously). 

But when he saw Jason smile at him, a shy blush making them look cuter than ever, he decided to go all in and had kissed him. 

(To be more precise, he'd asked Jason to get closer, and Jason had bent down. Leo had gotten closer, their lips just a few inches close, and Jason had been the first one to reduce them and kiss Leo. So Jason had been the one to kiss him first, but technically, Leo'd been the one who made that happen. So that was thanks to him, technically.)

So. That kiss became a lot, and Leo and Jason had kissed for a good dozen of minutes before Jason had started to grimace. They had stopped taking Jason's back into consideration. Which. Didn't help. Why did they stop. Jason's back hurt anyways. Leo could've continued kissing Jason, but he was too much of a gentleman to do so, and Jason regretted accepting to stop, because they would rather spend an hour kissing Leo and then having the worse flare-up ever known to mankind than stopping and still get a flare-up the next day.

"Heyyy," said Leo when he got into the condo. He'd used the emergency key Reyna had given Piper. "I brought sweets ! Sugar blesses the soul, right ?"

"Hi," smiled Jason. "I didn't know that was a saying."

"It's not. Papa McLean says it and I picked it from him."

"It's a great saying. Very accurate."

Leo grinned widely, putting a carton bag on the coffee table. 

"I'm pretty sure the sorbet melted, but it's still cold. We can drink 'em -- they came in re-usable plastic glasses."

He met Jason's gaze and blushed, suddenly stopping in the middle of his monologue. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," repeated Jason, feeling starstruck.

"In the mood for a kiss ?"

"Always."

Leo's face lit up like a bonfire, and he got closer to Jason, trying to fit his wheelchair so that he could be the closest possible, and kissed him.

Whoah.

Jason was going to need that at least every day of their life. It was now a vital matter. 

The greatest of painkillers was Leo's mouth.

And oh.

Oh.

His tongue too, apparently.

Jason was in love.

"So," said Leo, fiddling with a strand of Jason's hair.

He had somehow ended up out of his wheelchair and sprawled next to Jason on the very large couch -- Jason had pouted when Leo refused to lie on top of them, saying that maybe Leo could kiss him better if he hurt them. Leo, despite liking that idea, refused, not wanting to give Jason more pain.

Jason hummed.

"Do you feel better ?"

He shrugged, the movement moved Leo's body closer to them -- he wasn't complaining, though.

Leo gave them a peck on his lips and then on his jaw. "And now ?"

"Better already," said Jason, burying their nose in Leo's neck -- not quick enough that Leo missed their blush.

"How did it happen ?" asked Jason, unprompted.

Leo's mind jumped on his feelings for Jason, before he registered Jason's hands on his upper thigh. Oh. That.

He had made a few jokes about having pissed off some deity, 'because he'd experienced being able-bodied before he had to be thrown into yet another minority hated by society.

"There was a fire," he said softly. He'd never told anyone aside from Piper and his therapist. "In our home. The workshop. My Mamà didn't make it out- and a part of the roof collapsed on me. The ER surgeon thought it'd be fine and he didn't operate my hips."

"I'm sorry," said Jason, his voice muffled since they were muttering in Leo's hair.

"I had time to process. I won't say it ain't shitty but I had time to process. Being able-bodied would help and be easier, but it's a part of me now."

Leo took Jason's hand and squeezed it tightly, before he guided it to Jason's brace on his left knee.

He didn't have to ask. It was pretty clear that Jason wanted to talk about it.

"My mother wasn't the best parent. Not the best person either. When I was two, she thought I was a cursed kid and that a god asked her to sacrifice me to them. I ended up in a kind of cult until I was eight -- I then moved to a military school. That's where I met Reyna. I already had bad days, where I was exhausted for no reason at all -- the pain was mainly around my hip --, and then..."

He exhaled and put their arms around Leo. 

"We were training with spears, I don't remember why and one of the instructors got too harsh on me. And the spear slipped from his hand. I still have the scar."

Leo held them tighter. "It must've been scary."

"It was a long time ago. I don't know why I'm thinking about it now."

"Thanks for telling me," said Leo. He hated it when people said that, but he meant it -- and he despised not having a better way to express the bundle of emotions in his chest.

"Mm."

They stayed like that, curled up into one another for a moment.

It was peaceful.

It was quiet.

Then Jason's stomach rumbled, and Leo let out a laugh.

"Someone's hungry," he said as Jason groaned in embarrassment. "Don't worry -- I got the birthday daifuku for the birthday demiboy !"

Jason laughed and tried to straighten up. Leo stopped them with a tut. "Don't even think of moving. You're gonna lie here all day and look pretty."

Leo took the box full of slightly melted daifuku and put a candle on top of one.

"Happy birthday !" he said, showing the pastry to Jason.

He giggled. The fondness in his eyes made Leo want to crawl in their arms again and never leave. It reminded him of the first time Piper had called him a boy. It wasn't the same thing, he knew that, but the feeling was the same. 

"The candle's not lit," observed Jason.

"I don't have matches on me," replied Leo. "Doesn't matter ! Take the fire of passion in your heart to light it and make a wish !"

Jason closed their eyes a moment, a wide smile on his face, and then blew on the unlit candle.

"What did you wish for ?" grinned Leo.

Jason's eyes met his, and they smiled. He took his hand and kissed it, a faint blush on his cheeks.

"Guess."