[Jason Grace x Leo Valdez]
summary: jason grace schedules his daily crash outs, leo valdez finds out later on. established relationship <3 (my shaylas)
genre: fluff (that tried so hard to be angst)
notes: not so accurate to the books, i apologizeâŠ! i also believe this is hardly as angsty as i wanted it to be. another thing -> this is set after hera wiped his memory, he got it back, then went back to being praetor with reyna (iâll be the first to say: I KNOW ITâS STUPIDđ)
Jason Grace believed in time management. In scheduling his life to the minute, heâll be efficient in his day-to-day tasks. And it worked⊠for a while. However, there was that small problem he hadnât accounted for, that being the stress of being Camp Jupiterâs Praetor (alongside Reyna) â it didnât help that he was also a Hero of Olympus.
The son of Jupiter struggled to keep his emotions inside, oftentimes after intense senate meetings he had to take a few minutes to calm down, it was taking a toll on him. Everyone looked up to him, everyone needed something from him. There was always something to be done.
But it was fine⊠right? He swore relentlessly that he could still go on. He could still be the leader everyone can rely on. Jason was adamant on being an ever present figure that could be trusted as eternal â never changing, staying the same as he was before. (He found happiness in the feeling of being needed, unable to realize that he was a rapidly burning star getting closer to an explosion).
Though pushing his feelings aside and repressing them wasnât working, in fact he realized, he suddenly had minor memory problems. It started with forgetting the tiny details like food that the Mess Hall was providing that day, or the exact time he was needed at the war room. Then it grew into forgetting what he did just seconds ago, or entire meetings wiped from his memory.
Jason didnât like that. He didnât approve of it one bit. He sat in his room, head in his hands trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with him. He felt as if heâd went back in time and was experiencing Heraâs mind wipe once more â but this felt different, he was sure of it.
He looked around the room, a mess of papers and used clothes mirroring his messy brain. He wasnât usually like this, his âusualâ is being fine, his âusualâ is being tidy, his âusualâ is not forgetting things.
For days he struggled with his schedule, spaces between it filled with tears spilt on documents, cries muffled into his hand as he tries desperately to reel in his slipping control of his emotions. He hates it.
After a particular War Game at the Fields of Mars, Jason crumbles on the floor of the Praetor House, unable to even make it to a bed before his feelings completely take over. Overwhelmed, suffocated, consumed by his idiocy of repressing emotions. His chest tightens like fingers gripping his heart and squeezing until all he knows is pain and the dark spots dancing in his vision, tendrils wrapping around his lungs and cutting his air supply.
This was getting out of hand, he thought.
The day after his episode, he had sat at the Praetor table in the Mess Hall, his hair barely kept, circles darkening around his eyes as he downs copious amounts of liquid â that, to no ones surprise, doesnât help his pounding headache. Jason felt miserable.
So his solution? Schedule his daily crash outs. He thought this was it! His big break. An amazing breakthrough to a seemingly permanent problem that was ruining his life.
Every 8:30 PM at Jasonâs cabin, anyone passing by (not that they are) can hear the weeping of a praetor â can hear the crumbling of a put-together man in the confines of his private room. And thirty minutes later, heâs off to bed, sleeping early to wake up at 3 AM and repeat the cycle.
Jason breathes a sigh as he scans a paper of another proposal for New Rome architecture, his fingers smoothing his eyebrows as he glances at the clock, six thirty.
Leo peeks his head into the room, his messy black curls bouncing as he strides to Jason with a smile and darkened hands â soot. Probably still fixing Festus, Jason thinks. âYou good, Superman? You look like youâre about to cry.â
âThatâs not for another two hours,â Jason assures â like it was normal to schedule cry sessions.
Leo chuckles, a deep sound that bounces off the walls perfectly finding Jasonâs awaiting ears. âRight,â he murmurs, thinking the other boyâs joking.
âSo, why are you here?â The praetor breathes tiredly.
Leo â sensing his exhaustion â leans closer, eyeing Jason curiously (suspiciously would have been a better word). âI was just taking a break from fixing Festusâ wiring. Wanted to see you,â he purrs.
Jason sinks into his chair as the Hephaestus child does this, heart beating Leoâs name in morse code. âYouâve seen me. You can now leave,â he mumbles lamely.
They donât see each other again until later at night. Leo, being the cutesy little baby boy that he is, checks up on Jason. And confirming his suspicions, he hears the whimpers of the praetor. Unable to take it, he enters the cabin, surprising Jason.
âLeo,â he gasps in shudders, hands clutching the wrists of the hands that caress his skin.
Leo wraps his arms around the Roman, fingers carding through his hair as he whispers soft reassurances of comfort and love. Jason melts into the warmth Leo provides, the other boyâs (unnaturally) hot skin pressing against his (equally unnatural) cold one.
âShhh, shh. Iâm right here, Jase. Youâre not alone, Iâve got you,â he promises, rubbing Jasonâs back with his free hand.
Every choked sound that leaves Jason physically stabs Leoâs heart like tiny swords in the form of materialized cries. It was painful to see his beloved so distraught, he couldnât even imagine how much Jason was holding up on his shoulders. The praetorâs tears fall on Leoâs neck like liquid flame burning his skin, trickling down the freckles Jason loves to trace with his fingers.
In those thirty minutes he schedules his crying sessions, Leo stays beside him. This was the first Jason had another person with him, but he finds that he doesnât really mind â not if itâs Leo, anyway. Pretty, warm, soft, and fiery, Leo Valdez.
Leo popping by becomes Jasonâs norm. In between bites as he eats at the Mess Hall, while he prepares for War Games, as he walks towards Temple Hill. Leo is always there, checking up on him, making sure he was okay.
Today is no different. âHey, Jase. Thought Iâd drop by to make sure youâre eating,â he teases, plopping a box of brownies on the praetorâs desk.
The blond nods simply, pushing it aside and gazing up at the boy leaning over his desk. âWhat are you doing?â
âReading your documentsâ oh, hey! Thatâs Annabethâs proposal!â Leo beams, a toothy grin flashing on his face.
Jasonâs eyes droop to his lips before he turns his attention back to the paper. Huh, how had he not noticed it before. It was the Chase girlâs proposal. âIf thatâs all you have to do, Leo, you can go now,â Jason says, lifting his head.
Leo smiles, wiping his hands on his shirt â dirtying his white tee more than it already is â and untying the cookie box. âIâm hurt, Jase. I came to eat with you.â
âI donât need to eat right nowââ
âSay âahâ, Jasey.â
âMmhphâ Valdez,â Jason manages to grumble against the cookie haphazardly shoved lovingly placed in his mouth. But his pinking cheeks attest against his annoyed tone.
Leoâs irises flash in the color of fire as he stares at Jasonâs scar, which makes the latter think âheâs staring at my lipsâ. Leo had always been observant of Jasonâs mannerism, but he is especially observant now, knowing the other boyâs scheduled crash outs. His own lips quirk upwards as Jasonâs scar twitches. âThatâs right, just eat the cookie, Jase.â
The sweetness bursts in Jasonâs tongue, the perfectly baked cookie dough splitting as he chews down on it, but all he can think is how glad he is that Leoâs here.
[inspiration from this post by @damstaplereater]
extra note: got this out before my luke fic đ. but let me know what you think in the comments! iâd love constructive criticism and how i can improve my works đ. alsooo, jason defo wakes up at ungodly hours, trust me, iâm his blanket!!
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