*・゜゚・*:.。..。.:*・'・*:.。. .。.:*・゜゚・*
During a late night talk on the beach, Percy and Jason reveal their many confused feelings— about their friends, a quest, and each other.
The sand is warm on my feet despite the sun’s absence and the chill in the ocean breeze. As I make my way over to the figure sitting by the shore, I take note in the calmness of the water. My feet pause before I go any closer, my heart beat loud in my head.
Why did he call me so suddenly? My head rattles around a million ideas, staring at the dark haired boy in front of me. Is something wrong? Is this goodbye? Where’s Annabeth?
Like he could read my thoughts or feel my racing pulse through the sand, the boy turns and locks his eyes on me. The unruly wind doesn’t seem to affect him, just give him the perfect blowout. The color of his skin like a dark sand, speckled with pebbles and seashells. His ocean-green eyes swim around me, as gentle as the tide at your feet. My face gets hot, hopefully not noticeable without the bright beach sunlight above me. I still can’t seem to move.
“Jason,” He says my name and smiles and I feel lighter. “Come here.”
With a playful pat on the sand, he gestures for me to join him. Impossibly, I am able to move again and sit down beside the boy as he returns his gaze to the horizon.
“Percy,” My voice catches in my throat. “Is everything okay?”
Percy laughs, a sound like a wave breaking over the sand.
“Everything’s fine, but it’s nice to know you worry about me.”
“Of course I worry about you,” I say like I feel like I’ve said it a million times. “I worry about all of us.”
Percy’s eyes drop and the ocean becomes wild again, as if his gaze were the only thing keeping it calm. I blush at the power.
“Percy,” I speak, but he won’t look at me. “Did something happen to someone? How come I haven’t heard about this?”
“Everyone’s okay, I promise,” Percy lets out a nervous laugh. “I just— I wanted to… I heard about…”
My heart was beating faster, louder, but not because of him. If something happened to one of my friends because I wasn’t there for them, I don’t think I could forgive myself.
“Percy, what is it?” I grab his shoulder, shaking him for his attention, a gesture that makes me almost nostalgic for our quests together.
“I spoke to Apollo,” Percy’s eyes remained on the sand. My stomach twists at the god of prophecy’s name. “Well, it wasn’t Apollo, but it was. He was with someone else and they had to do a quest and—“
“He wanted you to help them?” I guessed from his guilty expression that whatever they had talked about did not have a good outcome. Percy threw up his hands and I noticed tears pricking in his eyes.
“I just— I’m so sick of the quests! Running around for the gods, helping the ones that don’t care if I live or die,” The ocean became crazy, waves on the shore larger than I’ve ever seen. “But he needed me. Him and this little girl needed me and I said no. What if I did the wrong thing?”
I blink. I can’t imagine Percy Jackson turning down a quest, refusing to help someone in need. Then again, he was kind of the poster child for every quest within a six year span.
“It’s okay, man, It’s okay,” My grip on his shoulder becomes softer. I want him to know I really am there for him. “You deserve a break. Did they say what the quest was about?”
“Yea. The emperors of Rome are, like, zombifying? They’re coming back to take over the world and—“ Percy stops suddenly and whips his head around to look at me. My face goes hot.
“You’re not thinking about…” Percy throws his hand toward the ocean, insinuating a long and difficult voyage.
“Oh,” I look around for anything else to stare at. “I mean, if I’m able to, I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”
Percy stares for a little while longer, like something is trying to burst out of his mouth but he’s holding it back. I realize I’m staring at his mouth and quickly look back down to the sand.
“Jason,” Percy turns fully to face me, much closer than we were before. “Do not do this to yourself. Lester— Apollo needs help, but just be careful how you give it to him. He has to learn his lesson somehow.”
My head is once again clogged with thoughts of how this makes any sense. A god, a mortal, on a quest by the gods, asking for demi godly help? Except this time, the god helps, too? It honestly sounds a lot better than the previous quests they’d been sent on.
“I can’t just leave them to do it on their own,” I finally say. “I help people. I like helping people. You deserve a break, but all I did was one lousy quest across the world with you.”
I blush at my words, specifying that I went with just him and disregarding the others. Percy’s eyes study my face like he’s scared to lose me.
“It wasn’t lousy and you know it,” Percy gives me that handsome smirk that’s been getting him in trouble since the fifth grade. “I actually called you here because I knew you’d be the only one to understand how I felt. Which is horrible, by the way.”
“Only one? What about Annabeth? Or even Piper?”
“Well, Annabeth knows how I feel, but she has her own world of mortal problems going on with school. I didn’t really want to dump all of this on her right now.” Percy brushed his hands through the sand as if they were remnants of his girlfriend. My heart jumps. “As for Piper… Honestly, I thought she’d be coming with you.”
Now I’m sure you can see my blush through the evening light. My nervous eyes must have told him everything because Percy speaks before I can explain.
“Why didn’t you tell me, man?” Percy’s hands find their way to my arms, gripping me like I need to be here in this moment with him right now.
“I— I don’t know. Didn’t seem important? Didn’t want to bother any of you guys?”
“This is super important!” Percy has this gentleness in his eyes, telling me that he’s right here with me, ready to talk. Although I don’t know if I am.
“Uh…” Suddenly I feel way too embarrassed to talk about my relationship in front of him. “I mean we’re not here to talk about me. You called me here for a reason, remember? Apollo and all that?”
“Hmph,” Percy scoffs. “I did. But we will come back to this.” He spins his finger around in the air as a reminder that we must return to the conversation.
“So, what, Apollo and this kid are just prancing around New York right now?”
“Well, they’re actually on their way to… California...” Percy says, tiptoeing around his words.
“What? Why would they—“ The realization hits me like a truck and my body is fueled with adrenaline. “Piper is in California. What does he want with Piper?”
The anger inside of my is almost embarrassing, considering that we broke up months ago. I shouldn’t feel this way about her, but I do. I still care about everyone that was on that ship with me no matter what.
“Jason, I’m sorry,” Percy’s face goes blank, consoling me for a sadness I don’t feel.
“Why are you sorry?” My eyes search his face for a clue, but it’s as unreadable as the ocean in the middle of nowhere. “Now I can go and stop her from joining the quest, I can—“
“I told him where to find her,” Percy finally lets out. “I told him that… You and Piper knew about the burning maze.”
My eyes fill with tears. He told him to find me and Piper? To ask us for help on their quest? Maybe he didn’t expect us to go with, or to even agree to it, but… He called me— us— here to stop us…
“I’m sorry, Jason. I thought I’d get a hold of the both of you, I didn’t think she’d say yes—“
“She said yes?” My entire body fills with… I’m not quite sure. Rage? Grief? And towards who? I can’t blame Piper for agreeing, she’s been through so much and has such a big heart, of course she’d help them out.
“I thought you’d understand. I thought I could come here and warn you and maybe figure out a way to—“ Percy’s words are cut off by tears. He’s crying?
“Percy,” I am suddenly right back on the beach with the son of the sea god. “Of course me and Piper are going to go. I can’t have you running off on any more quests, especially if I’m not on them.”
“I shouldn’t have told him,” Percy wipes his face. “I should have just gone by myself and dealt with it. That way, if anything bad happens, it would be to me. It would be in my control. I’m sorry it’s not.”
The two of us stare, for a long time, just at each other. Percy’s eyes shimmer like the stars reflecting on the water. His face is red after being worked up like that. His lips are damp from his tears, making them look softer than usual. I catch myself staring at his mouth again, but I don’t look away this time.
Percy’s eyes flutter, his movements unsure until his lips press into mine. My heart explodes, beating faster than I’m sure it’s meant to. My body relaxes into the sand as I feel his hands on me now, grabbing at my neck. His tongue slips into my mouth and we become connected. Maybe it’s his tears, or just the natural state of his body, but I swear I taste salt water. My mouth moves like I can’t get enough as I press into him. Annabeth is lucky to get this all the time. I think to myself, then quickly push Percy away. Annabeth!
My eyes go wild, guilty and ashamed and embarrassed. Percy looks at my like a lost puppy, begging for more.
“I can’t— I didn’t— I’m sorry, I don’t know why…” My words fail me. How could I do this to Annabeth?
Then, as if the world were one big joke, Percy laughs. He laughs and laughs, so much that I start laughing, too. Now I feel insane on this beach with him, alone, laughing into the night sky. My body is so warm, I’m scared I’m going to heat up the ocean all by myself.
“Why are we laughing?” I finally asked through chuckles.
“Because,” Percy wipes his face again, but this time the tears are from belly laughter. “It’s really not that funny, I just couldn’t believe the look on your face!”
I laugh some more, but I am beyond embarrassed.
“It’s cute that you’re concerned,” The word slipped out so casually I almost missed it. “But I guess you don’t know about me and Annabeth the same way we didn’t know about you and Piper.”
“WHAT?” I scream so loud, a nearby flock of seagulls fly away. “You and Annabeth broke up?!”
“No!” Percy yells back as if the idea scared him. “Gods, no. I don’t think I’d be this calm about that. Her and I, we just… Wanted to try something new. Polyamory? Non-monogamy? We’re not sure, but she knows I’m here right now. With you. With these feelings.”
“Oh.” I say dumbfounded. This is… Not how I expected this night to go.
“Is that okay with you?” Percy moves closer again, so close that I can feel his breathing.
“Yea,” I nod, unable to focus on anything but his lips. “Fine with me.”
Percy kisses me again, hard, grabbing me and pulling me closer.
Feelings. I think to myself again. He has feelings for me?
He must have been able to feel my thoughts, because Percy pulls away for a second.
“Relax.” He whispers into my mouth before kissing my again.
All of the emotions, the roller coaster of feelings we have felt within the time we’ve spent sitting here on this beach come spilling out. Every ounce of anger, grief, sadness, guilt, love, admiration— They pour out of me and wash away into the ocean. My hands fall on Percy’s body, pushing up his shirt and feeling his warm, soft skin. He’s kissing me like he’s going to lose me, like he misses me, like he wants me. His hands grip my body like he’s guilty about it, and I feel his body twitch as I pull at his waist.
He’s as nervous about this as I am. The thought makes me smile into the kiss before I press harder, taking the lead. My hand slips below his pants line and he lets out a noise.
I stimulate him over his underwear until he is twitching underneath my touch. I continue to move until Percy pulls away. Instinctively, I pull my hand out of his pants and let it rest on his stomach.
“Jason,” Percy whispers, and my name is filled with adoration. “Please, don’t go on this quest.”
I smile. He really cares about me.
I kiss him, slowly and tenderly. When I pull away, our lips are still touching.
Percy smiles before we start moving again. We spend our night with each other, feeling each other. Gods, I’ve never seen him so vulnerable. My heart swells at this new side of the son of the sea god.
As our night ends, Percy leans against me, watching the ocean. His hair tickles my neck and his warmth engulfs me. I smile into the air.
“Do you miss it?” He asks.
“Yea,” Percy takes a deep breathe, then releases. “I kind of miss the water.”
We both stare at the horizon, the endless mass of unexplored sea. The salty air reminds me of our endless days on the ship, constantly fighting and fending off enemies. It reminds me of our friends, the ones I care so much about. The ones in danger from this new threat, the Roman emperors and a rogue god. I close my eyes, soaking in the sounds of the ocean, thinking about this quest, my friends, Percy. And right there, with the demigod on my shoulder, I make a silent decision to accept the quest. To protect the world, to protect my friends, to protect him.
“Yea” I finally speak. “I miss it, too.”
note: original work by me, posted on my ao3 (sefoxx)