Stable Ground
Stable Ground
Two children of the Big Three, the sea and the sky. Two forces beyond control, destined to be forever free. Two heroes born from different gods, from different camps, with different training and beliefs. Two half-bloods carrying the names of ancient heroes, both renowned for their strength and courage. These two strong, determined leaders together in one camp for the moment, unknowingly about to be pushed towards each other. Annabeth just wished it wasn’t today, of all days.
“This is a bad idea…” Leo whispers, fingers tapping out the lyrics to one of his favorite AC/DC songs nervously.
“Shh.” Annabeth shushes him, pursing her lips together tightly as her fingers close over his, forcing the infuriating thrumming of Thunderstruck to stop. She watches her ex-boyfriend curiously, judging his actions, weighing his words while silently agreeing with the short half-blood beside her. On an ordinary day, this would be a bad idea, introducing Percy to the idea of dating another guy, a Roman half-blood with a hero complex as large as his own, a freak control obsession and the son of Zeus would be a bad idea, but today is no ordinary day. No, today is a bad day. Storm clouds clutter the skies, the lake waters thrash violently against the docks, and the sound of Riptide clashing against the beginner swords of the new kids echoes in the humid air. Not even Nico Di Angelo, the poor boy sulking out of the training arena, can cheer Poseidon’s son up.
"Seriously, Annabeth, we should do this tomorrow. Or next month. Any day but today." Pulling his hand out from under hers, Leo moves around the bench and takes a few steps backwards, eyeing the arena with apprehension. His brows furrow and he chews his bottom lip nervously. “Seriously, any day but today.”
Ignoring him, Annabeth walks towards the other half-blood, determination flooding her veins. "Nico."
The son of Hades glances in her direction, uninterested, before doing a double take, eyes widening at the sight of the daughter of Athena and the son of Hephaestus. Dread fills him. "Please tell me you aren't doing this today."
Annabeth gives him a wry smile, crossing her arms over her chest to still her weary fingers and hide the slight nervousness flowing through her veins. No sense worrying the others. "That's the plan. How is he today?"
"Upset" Nico answers, running a hand through his unruly hair while staring hard at the entrance of the arena. His brows furrow and he shakes his head, sending strands of dark hair tumbling into his eyes. "No, I wouldn't even say upset. He is furious."
"About?" Arching an eyebrow, Annabeth winces as the sound of metal on metal clashes loudly, followed by a swear. The obvious answer to her question hangs in the air, ripe for the taking, but she knows it’s not just about training. Percy’s emotions run deeper than that.
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. I haven't seen him this angry since the time that my father kidnapped Sally" he answers, dark eyes flicking to the ground before gazing up at the daughter of Athena, apprehension flooding them. "I think you should reschedule your plans."
"Annabeth" Leo whispers suddenly, voice shaking with nerves and urgency, poking her arm in an attempt to draw her attention back to him. "Um, Annabeth?"
The incessant prodding assault on her arm continues as she ignores him. "If it’s not today, it won't ever be done, and you know it." Annabeth twitches, narrowing her eyes dangerously and slapping Leo's fingers away. "What, Leo?" She hisses, spinning around to chew him out, her eyes landing on the blond son of Zeus a few feet behind him. She straightens up, drawing her hands back to her sides and quickly erases the surprise from her face. “Hey Jason.”
He grins at her easily, hands tucked into the pockets of his blue jeans. "Bad time?"
"The perfect time, actually." Forcing a smile, Annabeth ignores the amused grin Leo is shooting her, waving him away behind her back. "We were just about to look for you."
I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Jason asks, the grin never leaving his lips. His gaze travels towards the training arena, where more swears fill the afternoon air. Curiosity flashes across his face and he raises his eyebrows. "Is Coach Hedge training the new kids again?"
"Nope. Percy's breaking them in" Leo answers cheerfully, waving a hand in the air dramatically. He bows, backing away slowly. "I should go make sure he's not training them to be fish bait." With that, he turns and heads towards the arena, humming a merry tune.
Watching Leo retreat into the arena, Jason arches his eyebrows further, amused. "I didn't think Percy was the type to beat up children."
"He's not" Nico answers darkly, eyes narrowing on the blond demigod, fists clenching at his sides. Defensive for his friend, Nico straightens up, still nearly the same height as the son of Zeus. "He's trying to train them. It’s not his fault that they are incompetent."
Annabeth jumps in, uncrossing her arms and clapping her hands together once. She smiles at Jason, hoping he'll get the message. "Exactly. He needs someone as skilled as himself to demonstrate the proper sword techniques."
"Like you?" Jason asks, lips twisting up further.
"I'm busy." She answers bluntly, close to snapping, smoothing he hands out on her thighs in an attempt to hide her annoyance. "You don't look busy, though. Why don't you go help Percy?"
Jason shrugs, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he gazes down at it before smirking. "Sure. Always looking for an excuse for a good fight." He starts towards the arena, unsheathing his sword and inspecting it on his way.
"Dear Athena, he can be as dense as Percy sometimes" Annabeth mutters to herself. She glances at Nico, raising her eyebrows. "They will be perfect for each other. Seaweed brain and Sparky."
Nico straightens, pressing his lips together to hide a smile while following her.
Dropping the disarmed sword to the ground, Percy waves the panting kid away, dismissing him with no interest. A son of Apollo, barely able to hold the sword up for more than two minutes. A bow is helpful long-range, but the kid needs to be able to defend himself with a sword as well, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever be able to. Percy shakes his head, hair flying around his face and beads of sweat splattering to the ground, letting out a shaky breath before turning back to the group of new kids. "Anyone else want to give it a try?"
"How about giving them a break?" A voice calls from behind him, amused with an edge of excitement.
Percy glances over his shoulder, the storm in his head receding at the sight of the blond demigod. Relief of a sort rushes through him, easing his grip on his sword. "They have ten minutes left of practice and they need to actually learn something."
"Maybe they need to see how it's done" Jason steps up beside Percy, inspecting the tired demigods and their drooping swords. "We can give them a show. Show them how the techniques look." He shoots Percy a smirk, pointing his sword at the kids. “What do you guys think?”
"Yes!" They cheer, most dropping their swords to the ground and slumping into the bleachers for a better view, rubbing various body parts that must have made better acquaintance with the ground than they wanted to earlier. At the cost of not living up to Percy’s expectations, certainly.
Jason presses his lips together, watching them for a moment longer as they grumble about pain. He knows Percy isn’t violent, knows that he likes coaching new kids easily with encouragement and praise, and knows that there must be something seriously bothering him if Percy is pushing his students to the point of pain without batting an eye. Jason shakes his head and shoves his concern away from for the moment, smirking victoriously while turning back to Percy, raising the tip of his sword to point at the hollow in Percy’s throat. "How about it, Jackson?"
Percy presses his lips together until they form a white line, gripping Riptide tighter. He weighs his options, glancing at the bleachers full of demigods hopeless with a sword. "Fine. Just don't go easy."
"Same goes for you." As the words leave Jason's lips Percy lungs forward, Riptide arcing up from his side to clash against the gold of Jason's sword, sending sparks scattering. Jason stumbles back a step before regaining his footing, pushing back with his sword. "You aren't usually this forward" Jason comments, tensing his muscles before pushing Percy's sword away and slashing downwards. "Or this aggressive."
"It's been a bad day" Percy answers, narrowing his eyes in concentration, sidestepping the sword and slashing at Jason's unprotected arm.
Jason pushes Riptide away with the metal cuff on his forearm. "I can tell" he growls, pursing his lips and pressing forward, locking the other demigod's sword against his and twisting in an attempt to disarm him. "Care to share with the rest of the class why you felt the need to train extra hard today?"
Percy jerks his head to the side as a response, jerking his sword violently along with it. His frustration only increases when Jason steps closer to him, mirroring his movements and keeping Riptide interlocked with his sword. Growling through clenched teeth, Percy eases his pressure, letting Jason edge closer, striking out with his free hand and slamming his fist into Jason's stomach.
Jason chokes, pushing Percy's sword down and stumbling back to catch his breath in surprise. "What the hell? That's not part any sword fighting technique I know" he coughs, glaring up at Percy accusingly. The pain on his face doesn't register to Percy.
"No, but it is a part of fighting" Percy hisses, lunging forward and jerking his sword harshly. Jason's sword flies out of his hand, gold blade sinking into the grass a few feet away. He ducks under Jason's stunned arm, spinning around and tapping Riptide between his open shoulder blades. "I thought I told you not to go easy on me."
"Percy..." Nico's soft voice warns him from above, somewhere in the bleachers opposite from the new kids, the shadows of the arena darkening in response to his unease. Percy ignores him, keeping Riptide pointed squarely at Jason.
“I thought we were going to show the kids how to fight, Jason.” Percy leans forward, whispering softly in Jason’s ear, pressing the tip of Riptide harder into the dip between his shoulders. “I thought we were going to show them a real fight.”
“What’s your problem, man?” Jason hisses, turning around slowly and pushing the sword away from his chest. He crosses his arms across his chest, fists clenching and unclenching as anger sparks through his veins, static electricity raising the hair on his arms. He tries to contain his rearing anger, pressing his nails into his skin.
“These kids are my problem!” Lowering Riptide, Percy runs a hand through his hair, shaking as he looks around the arena, anywhere but at the half-blood in front of him. The new kids watch curiously, pissing him off further, and he quickly glances to the other side, at Nico, who presses his lips together and silently pleads with him to be civil, and Annabeth and Leo, both with a glint in their eyes that makes Percy feel exposed and analyzed. Narrowing his eyes defensively, he swings Riptide in his students direction, spinning back to face Jason. “They don’t know anything! They can barely hold a sword, they can’t slash and parry, and don’t even get me started on their stance.”
“They are new! Did you know how to do any of that when you got shoved here?” Jason answers, placing his hand over Percy’s on Riptide and forcing the blade down until the tip brushes the grass below their feet. “This is their first day. Give them a break.”
“It’s in my blood, and it’s in theirs. I didn’t get time to stand in an arena and be stupid when I was twelve; I had to hunt down a lightning thief!” Percy drops Riptide and yanks his hand away from Jason, as if he was burned, and steps away. His eyes flash dangerously, a barely contained raging ocean in his loaded voice as the whispering of his students reaches him. “I didn’t get to train!”
Jason presses his lips together, taking a step back to give the other boy space. He lowers his gaze, spotting Juno’s gladius a few feet away, and walks over to it. Gripping the handle, he wrenches it out of the ground, slipping it back into the sheath hanging off of his belt. He stares down at the slash in the ground that his sword made for a moment longer, whispering low enough for only Percy to hear. “They aren’t you, Perce.”
“If the boundaries fail and the camp gets attacked, or if they leave to go to school during the year and a Minotaur attacks them they need to be able to defend themselves!” Percy yells, his voice echoing off of the trees outside the arena, scattering birds and silencing the whispers from the bleachers. Jason watches as his blue eyes sparkle with mist, from painful memories or the image of the kids dying horrible deaths because of his inadequate training. “They need to know this stuff, they need to be able to swing a sword and take a hit.”
Jason knows Percy cares. He knows that Percy can’t stand the thought of the kids dying, of them not having a chance at a longer life just because a monster was attracted to their demigod smell. He knows that Percy wants them to be able to defend themselves, believe in themselves, and be proud of their demigod blood. His anger dampens at the crack in Percy’s armor, the break in his exterior. He knows the pain of loss that Percy’s had to deal with, he’s dealt with it to. “They have two months to learn how to defend themselves. Try teaching them a lessons spread out over the time instead of trying to teach them months of lessons in one day.”
Percy leans down and snatches his sword off the ground, recapping it and shoving it into his pocket. Straightening up, he spins around and marches past the bleachers, towards the arena exit, ignoring the calls from his friends and his students. “If I don’t teach it all to them, then they won’t stand a chance.”
Jason follows the other demigod with his gaze for a moment before jogging after him, one hand on the hilt of his sword. “Then make a plan!” He calls, slowing down at Percy’s side and glancing at the older boy’s face, evaluating. The skin pulled taunt by pain does nothing to sooth Jason’s unease.
“Maybe I will” Percy snarls softly, speeding up his pace and purposefully avoiding Jason’s questioning gaze. As soon as the gates of the arena block them from view, he shudders and leans against the rough metal and drags a hand through his hair, collapsing in on himself.
Seeing an opening, Jason leans against the gate next to him, staring into the arena, watching the kids climb down from the bleachers and stretch out their sore muscles. Annabeth makes her way down the opposing bleachers, unsheathing her sword and waving the kids over. She starts off the lesson where Percy apparently left off, pointing down to her feet and exaggerating her stance. “This isn’t you, Perce.”
“Then what is?” Percy whispers softly, following Jason’s gaze. He avoids looking at Annabeth and the students that she, in his opinion, teaches better. His gaze slowly travels over to Leo playing with a bronze shield, dented and deformed from Percy’s blows earlier. Nico crouches in the shadows, his black sword drawing shapes in the sandy part of the arena, a forlorn look possessing his face. “You know, I never expected Nico to come back to Camp Half-Blood, not with what happened to his sister. I never expected him to forgive me either. Now look at him, staying at camp to train with me.”
“The kind instructor who teaches with patience and acceptance and who laughs and jokes at mistakes and helps fix them with a steady hand” Jason answers easily, the words spilling from his lips as easily as anything else. “And Nico sees that in you, even when you don’t.”
“How do you know?” Percy’s eyes land on Jason’s calm face, and when Jason glances at him he doesn’t look away. Raising an eyebrow, he holds Jason’s gaze for a minute before looking at Nico, something softer in his eyes, fading the agony back to a numb pain.
“Do you see him defending the honour of any other living being in this camp?” Jason snorts, amusement coloring his voice. “I don’t. It takes sticks and stones to make that boy actually have a conversation with me half of the time. He likes me, but he doesn’t hang onto my every word or pester me during breakfast to train with him. You are the only one he’s here for, if you haven’t noticed.”
Percy’s lips twitch in the shadow of a smile and he shakes strands of black hair out of out his face. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he tries not to think of all the reasons that Nico should not be here for him, and failing miserably. “His sister died while I was supposed to be protecting her.”
“And so he’s adopted you as an older brother” Jason smirks, knowing Percy’s tactic by heart and knowing that he’s already won the battle. “I’d say you should live up to that.” He angles his body towards Percy, pressing his shoulder against the cool metal of the gate. He raises his eyebrows, lips quirking up slightly. “Is this really about Nico or the kids in there?”
“I don’t know anymore” Percy mutters, closing his eyes in pain before turning away. He lets his feet guide him down the sand path, towards the lake. The call of the water, soothing, cool, relaxing, promising release and an oasis away from the pain for a period of time, granted a short period of time, calls to his blood, and tired of the pain and the worrying for the kids and their lives, he follows it willingly.
Jason catches on, shoving his hands into his back pockets and pushing off the gate, following Percy silently. Watching the son of Poseidon, he chews his lip and glances at the glittering lake in the slowly fading afternoon sun, wondering how deep Percy’s pain runs. Has he just started scratching the surface? After being on the quest to save the world with the demigod, Jason learned a lot about the other boy, about his painful past and all the trials he’s already had to undergo due to the gods, the losses he’s faced, and the pain he’s had to endure. Being paranoid about how well the new kids, only twelve years old, will hold up once they get out into the real world again at the end of the summer, is normal enough, but the pain seems to have more depth to it. A personal depth. Dealing with upset male demigod emotions not being high on the list of things Jason’s good with, he resorts back to the things he knows help him when he’s drowning in his emotions.
The sandy shore of the lake comes within view and Percy’s shoulders sag with relief. He slips off his shoes and socks, leaving them behind in the grass and stepping barefoot on the sand. Jason watches, jealous of the ease at which Percy seems to relax, despite the pain held within. Following his lead, Jason slips off his sandals and steps onto the warm sand, digging his toes into it. “Have you had a good, unwinding fight in a while?”
Percy glances back at Jason, a small smile touching his lips as he walks to the edge of the water and rolls up his jeans, stepping in and shuddering. “I thought I had one with you a while ago.”
“I meant hand to hand.” Holding his arms open dramatically, Jason gestures to his own body and makes a show of punching the air. “A rough tumble in the sand, a few punches and kicks, no rules. Usually helps me unwind enough to talk to someone about whatever’s bugging me.”
“No. Not since I lost my sword during the quest. Not since Tartarus.” The son of Poseidon shrugs to hide his wince and leans down, dipping his hands into the water and splashing his face, scrubbing water across his skin and through his hair before slashing once more and stepping out of the water.
“That’s probably why you are so strung up” Jason mutters, narrowing his eyes. Unclasping his belt, he holds it up for Percy to see before tossing it, along with his sword, back onto the grass. “Come on, toss Riptide aside. I don’t want you freaking out and drawing it when I beat you.”
“If you think it’ll help.” Reaching into his pocket, Percy withdraws Riptide and tosses the pen to the patch of grass. He steps out of the water, completely dry, and holds his arms open. “I’m ready, Grace.”
“Alright Jackson. Let’s play.” Jason smirks and rolls his jeans up to his knees, using it an as excuse to lung for Percy’s ankles. Percy jumps back, dodging his fingers by a breath and reaching down to grab the other boy. Expecting his move, Jason rolls to the side, jumping to his feet and deflecting a punch aimed at his face. Shifting to the balls of his feet, Jason catches Percy’s fist and yanks him forward, flush against his body, using the leverage to spin them around and shove Percy backwards, sending him tumbling into the sand. Percy kicks out, foot catching Jason’s ankle, tripping him and sending him sprawling in the sand beside him. Rolling onto his knees, Percy grabs his shoulders and holds him down; trying to maneuver himself onto Jason’s thrashing body. Shifting and squeezing his knee between their bodies, Jason flips them.
Grabbing Percy’s wrists, he quickly yanks them over the raven haired boy’s head, his constricting grip pinning them down as one knee digs into the other demigod’s stomach and the other stretches down, holding down his legs, pinning Percy down in the sand. “Now will you tell me what’s bothering you?” Jason pants, breathe washing over Percy’s face as he smirks down, easing up on the pressure on older boy’s wrists. Catching his breath, he doesn’t lean back, instead enjoying the mildly surprised look on Percy’s face as he readjusts, knees sliding off of Percy to straddle his hips instead, hands releasing their hold on his wrists and moving to the sand on either side of Percy’s face, holding his weight partially off of the other boy.
“Everything” Percy breathes, pupils widening as he shifts beneath the son of Zeus, leaving his arms above his head. His breath catches at the nearness of the blond on top of him, and his heart hammers against his ribcage, daring him to move and at the same time threatening to burst out of his chest if he even tries.
“Well, don’t hold back. I have nowhere else to be” Jason ducks his head to Percy’s neck, his lips curving up into a smile against his skin. “Come on Perce, if you can tell anyone, it should be me. I’ll probably understand better than Annabeth, better than Hazel, probably even better than the Ghost Prince you have training around after you.”
“Annabeth, after everything we went through together, she left me to study some ancient knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, there was no love between us, I mean she was like a sister to me, but she just left me. Just like that. And Nico. I love the kid to death, but the kid is using me as a replacement for the sister he lost, and I can’t be that. I can barely keep myself alive, how does he expect me to keep him alive, train him, and be family to him when I can’t even do those things for myself?” It comes gushing out of his lips so fast that Percy can’t stop it, and shutting his eyes against the torrent, he doesn’t stop. “The new kids at the camp. The awe in their eyes when they watch us camp leaders train, how they want to be like us, yet they don’t realize why we train or the reality of how serious it is out there, how easily they can be killed, how many monsters they attract by just simply breathing. The fact that even after everything I have given up, everything I have lost, people still expect me to be the leader, they expect me to have a plan and keep everyone alive, to pull magic out of my ass and command the ocean to slay our enemies with a blink of my eye” His soul, the unbearable responsibility that tortured him relents with every word, leaving enough room in his chest to finally be able to breath, and think clearly.
Jason’s breathe slows as he absorbs Percy’s words, eyes wide in surprise. His chest tightens for the older boy and the responsibilities weighing down his shoulders. His hands absentmindedly trail up further, running through Percy’s hair and tangling in the pesky strands, tugging lightly. “You save the world and they still expect you to be the one holding the sky up from the Earth.”
“Exactly.” Percy gasps softly, hands moving to grip Jason’s shoulders, fingers digging into the purple shirt. “I’m only a demigod, I can’t hold the sky up forever. I can’t do it alone. Not forever.”
Jason pulls up and looks down at Percy curiously, tilting his head at his tone. The emotion reflecting in Percy’s eyes makes Jason’s breath catch and his heart pound in his chest, almost painfully. He barely manages to get his next words out, the hammering of his heart drowning out everything else. “Two half-bloods make a whole, Percy.”
“Jason…” Percy murmurs, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as he looks up at the demigod on top of him under lowered lashes. Percy’s words are cut off as he sees the same emotions reflecting on Jason’s face. He tilts his chin up, a giddy smile edging onto his face as his body warms, cheeks flushing under the attention. “Can you?”
“I can.” Jason’s answer comes in a hushed whisper before he leans down, catching Percy’s lips with his own and kissing him softly, shyly. Percy responds enthusiastically, kissing him back with the passion flooding his body in a nearly painful way, raising his hands to press one at the back of Jason’s neck and the other to rest on his waist, pulling him flush against his own body, moaning softly when Jason responds by tugging at his hair playfully and nipping his lip. Jason slowly pulls back; breathing in deep and opening his eyes to gaze down at Percy, lips swollen, cheeks flushed and eyes closed, and swears softly in Latin.
Percy slowly opens his eyes and gazes up at Jason, a shy smile gracing his lips. Jason’s replying smile is slow and sensual, the sight of it surprising Percy with a jolt of lust that tingles across every inch of his skin. “I think that you should train with me more often. In fact, you should help me train the kids, and do everything else that requires another person near me” Percy mumbles, smiling up goofily, his cheeks tinted red with the newfound emotions raging through him.
Jason laughs, ducking his head back into Percy’s neck to hide his blush. The emotions welling in his chest, strong enough to make him explode, are a certainty of the love that he’s felt for Percy. He remembers the first time he realized that he loved the older boy, not at first sight, but when he watched Percy fall into the hole, to possibly be lost forever in Tartarus. The realization of love for the other demigod at the same time as losing him nearly killed Jason. “Yeah, sure. As long as we can make this one on one thing a daily practice, say, after dinner? Your cabin is plenty big enough, and we’d be completely alone.”
Percy’s answer comes without hesitation, without thought, and without regret. Only the warm sensation growing in his chest, stronger than he’s ever felt for anyone, a type of attraction that he’d know anywhere. Love. That he felt for Jason ever since he met him on deck of Argo II. “Deal.”
“This is a bad idea…” Leo whispers, fingers tapping out the lyrics to one of his favorite AC/DC songs nervously.
“Shh.” Annabeth shushes him, pursing her lips together tightly as her fingers close over his, forcing the infuriating thrumming of Thunderstruck to stop. She watches her ex-boyfriend curiously, judging his actions, weighing his words while silently agreeing with the short half-blood beside her. On an ordinary day, this would be a bad idea, introducing Percy to the idea of dating another guy, a Roman half-blood with a hero complex as large as his own, a freak control obsession and the son of Zeus would be a bad idea, but today is no ordinary day. No, today is a bad day. Storm clouds clutter the skies, the lake waters thrash violently against the docks, and the sound of Riptide clashing against the beginner swords of the new kids echoes in the humid air. Not even Nico Di Angelo, the poor boy sulking out of the training arena, can cheer Poseidon’s son up.
"Seriously, Annabeth, we should do this tomorrow. Or next month. Any day but today." Pulling his hand out from under hers, Leo moves around the bench and takes a few steps backwards, eyeing the arena with apprehension. His brows furrow and he chews his bottom lip nervously. “Seriously, any day but today.”
Ignoring him, Annabeth walks towards the other half-blood, determination flooding her veins. "Nico."
The son of Hades glances in her direction, uninterested, before doing a double take, eyes widening at the sight of the daughter of Athena and the son of Hephaestus. Dread fills him. "Please tell me you aren't doing this today."
Annabeth gives him a wry smile, crossing her arms over her chest to still her weary fingers and hide the slight nervousness flowing through her veins. No sense worrying the others. "That's the plan. How is he today?"
"Upset" Nico answers, running a hand through his unruly hair while staring hard at the entrance of the arena. His brows furrow and he shakes his head, sending strands of dark hair tumbling into his eyes. "No, I wouldn't even say upset. He is furious."
"About?" Arching an eyebrow, Annabeth winces as the sound of metal on metal clashes loudly, followed by a swear. The obvious answer to her question hangs in the air, ripe for the taking, but she knows it’s not just about training. Percy’s emotions run deeper than that.
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. I haven't seen him this angry since the time that my father kidnapped Sally" he answers, dark eyes flicking to the ground before gazing up at the daughter of Athena, apprehension flooding them. "I think you should reschedule your plans."
"Annabeth" Leo whispers suddenly, voice shaking with nerves and urgency, poking her arm in an attempt to draw her attention back to him. "Um, Annabeth?"
The incessant prodding assault on her arm continues as she ignores him. "If it’s not today, it won't ever be done, and you know it." Annabeth twitches, narrowing her eyes dangerously and slapping Leo's fingers away. "What, Leo?" She hisses, spinning around to chew him out, her eyes landing on the blond son of Zeus a few feet behind him. She straightens up, drawing her hands back to her sides and quickly erases the surprise from her face. “Hey Jason.”
He grins at her easily, hands tucked into the pockets of his blue jeans. "Bad time?"
"The perfect time, actually." Forcing a smile, Annabeth ignores the amused grin Leo is shooting her, waving him away behind her back. "We were just about to look for you."
I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" Jason asks, the grin never leaving his lips. His gaze travels towards the training arena, where more swears fill the afternoon air. Curiosity flashes across his face and he raises his eyebrows. "Is Coach Hedge training the new kids again?"
"Nope. Percy's breaking them in" Leo answers cheerfully, waving a hand in the air dramatically. He bows, backing away slowly. "I should go make sure he's not training them to be fish bait." With that, he turns and heads towards the arena, humming a merry tune.
Watching Leo retreat into the arena, Jason arches his eyebrows further, amused. "I didn't think Percy was the type to beat up children."
"He's not" Nico answers darkly, eyes narrowing on the blond demigod, fists clenching at his sides. Defensive for his friend, Nico straightens up, still nearly the same height as the son of Zeus. "He's trying to train them. It’s not his fault that they are incompetent."
Annabeth jumps in, uncrossing her arms and clapping her hands together once. She smiles at Jason, hoping he'll get the message. "Exactly. He needs someone as skilled as himself to demonstrate the proper sword techniques."
"Like you?" Jason asks, lips twisting up further.
"I'm busy." She answers bluntly, close to snapping, smoothing he hands out on her thighs in an attempt to hide her annoyance. "You don't look busy, though. Why don't you go help Percy?"
Jason shrugs, a hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he gazes down at it before smirking. "Sure. Always looking for an excuse for a good fight." He starts towards the arena, unsheathing his sword and inspecting it on his way.
"Dear Athena, he can be as dense as Percy sometimes" Annabeth mutters to herself. She glances at Nico, raising her eyebrows. "They will be perfect for each other. Seaweed brain and Sparky."
Nico straightens, pressing his lips together to hide a smile while following her.
Dropping the disarmed sword to the ground, Percy waves the panting kid away, dismissing him with no interest. A son of Apollo, barely able to hold the sword up for more than two minutes. A bow is helpful long-range, but the kid needs to be able to defend himself with a sword as well, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll ever be able to. Percy shakes his head, hair flying around his face and beads of sweat splattering to the ground, letting out a shaky breath before turning back to the group of new kids. "Anyone else want to give it a try?"
"How about giving them a break?" A voice calls from behind him, amused with an edge of excitement.
Percy glances over his shoulder, the storm in his head receding at the sight of the blond demigod. Relief of a sort rushes through him, easing his grip on his sword. "They have ten minutes left of practice and they need to actually learn something."
"Maybe they need to see how it's done" Jason steps up beside Percy, inspecting the tired demigods and their drooping swords. "We can give them a show. Show them how the techniques look." He shoots Percy a smirk, pointing his sword at the kids. “What do you guys think?”
"Yes!" They cheer, most dropping their swords to the ground and slumping into the bleachers for a better view, rubbing various body parts that must have made better acquaintance with the ground than they wanted to earlier. At the cost of not living up to Percy’s expectations, certainly.
Jason presses his lips together, watching them for a moment longer as they grumble about pain. He knows Percy isn’t violent, knows that he likes coaching new kids easily with encouragement and praise, and knows that there must be something seriously bothering him if Percy is pushing his students to the point of pain without batting an eye. Jason shakes his head and shoves his concern away from for the moment, smirking victoriously while turning back to Percy, raising the tip of his sword to point at the hollow in Percy’s throat. "How about it, Jackson?"
Percy presses his lips together until they form a white line, gripping Riptide tighter. He weighs his options, glancing at the bleachers full of demigods hopeless with a sword. "Fine. Just don't go easy."
"Same goes for you." As the words leave Jason's lips Percy lungs forward, Riptide arcing up from his side to clash against the gold of Jason's sword, sending sparks scattering. Jason stumbles back a step before regaining his footing, pushing back with his sword. "You aren't usually this forward" Jason comments, tensing his muscles before pushing Percy's sword away and slashing downwards. "Or this aggressive."
"It's been a bad day" Percy answers, narrowing his eyes in concentration, sidestepping the sword and slashing at Jason's unprotected arm.
Jason pushes Riptide away with the metal cuff on his forearm. "I can tell" he growls, pursing his lips and pressing forward, locking the other demigod's sword against his and twisting in an attempt to disarm him. "Care to share with the rest of the class why you felt the need to train extra hard today?"
Percy jerks his head to the side as a response, jerking his sword violently along with it. His frustration only increases when Jason steps closer to him, mirroring his movements and keeping Riptide interlocked with his sword. Growling through clenched teeth, Percy eases his pressure, letting Jason edge closer, striking out with his free hand and slamming his fist into Jason's stomach.
Jason chokes, pushing Percy's sword down and stumbling back to catch his breath in surprise. "What the hell? That's not part any sword fighting technique I know" he coughs, glaring up at Percy accusingly. The pain on his face doesn't register to Percy.
"No, but it is a part of fighting" Percy hisses, lunging forward and jerking his sword harshly. Jason's sword flies out of his hand, gold blade sinking into the grass a few feet away. He ducks under Jason's stunned arm, spinning around and tapping Riptide between his open shoulder blades. "I thought I told you not to go easy on me."
"Percy..." Nico's soft voice warns him from above, somewhere in the bleachers opposite from the new kids, the shadows of the arena darkening in response to his unease. Percy ignores him, keeping Riptide pointed squarely at Jason.
“I thought we were going to show the kids how to fight, Jason.” Percy leans forward, whispering softly in Jason’s ear, pressing the tip of Riptide harder into the dip between his shoulders. “I thought we were going to show them a real fight.”
“What’s your problem, man?” Jason hisses, turning around slowly and pushing the sword away from his chest. He crosses his arms across his chest, fists clenching and unclenching as anger sparks through his veins, static electricity raising the hair on his arms. He tries to contain his rearing anger, pressing his nails into his skin.
“These kids are my problem!” Lowering Riptide, Percy runs a hand through his hair, shaking as he looks around the arena, anywhere but at the half-blood in front of him. The new kids watch curiously, pissing him off further, and he quickly glances to the other side, at Nico, who presses his lips together and silently pleads with him to be civil, and Annabeth and Leo, both with a glint in their eyes that makes Percy feel exposed and analyzed. Narrowing his eyes defensively, he swings Riptide in his students direction, spinning back to face Jason. “They don’t know anything! They can barely hold a sword, they can’t slash and parry, and don’t even get me started on their stance.”
“They are new! Did you know how to do any of that when you got shoved here?” Jason answers, placing his hand over Percy’s on Riptide and forcing the blade down until the tip brushes the grass below their feet. “This is their first day. Give them a break.”
“It’s in my blood, and it’s in theirs. I didn’t get time to stand in an arena and be stupid when I was twelve; I had to hunt down a lightning thief!” Percy drops Riptide and yanks his hand away from Jason, as if he was burned, and steps away. His eyes flash dangerously, a barely contained raging ocean in his loaded voice as the whispering of his students reaches him. “I didn’t get to train!”
Jason presses his lips together, taking a step back to give the other boy space. He lowers his gaze, spotting Juno’s gladius a few feet away, and walks over to it. Gripping the handle, he wrenches it out of the ground, slipping it back into the sheath hanging off of his belt. He stares down at the slash in the ground that his sword made for a moment longer, whispering low enough for only Percy to hear. “They aren’t you, Perce.”
“If the boundaries fail and the camp gets attacked, or if they leave to go to school during the year and a Minotaur attacks them they need to be able to defend themselves!” Percy yells, his voice echoing off of the trees outside the arena, scattering birds and silencing the whispers from the bleachers. Jason watches as his blue eyes sparkle with mist, from painful memories or the image of the kids dying horrible deaths because of his inadequate training. “They need to know this stuff, they need to be able to swing a sword and take a hit.”
Jason knows Percy cares. He knows that Percy can’t stand the thought of the kids dying, of them not having a chance at a longer life just because a monster was attracted to their demigod smell. He knows that Percy wants them to be able to defend themselves, believe in themselves, and be proud of their demigod blood. His anger dampens at the crack in Percy’s armor, the break in his exterior. He knows the pain of loss that Percy’s had to deal with, he’s dealt with it to. “They have two months to learn how to defend themselves. Try teaching them a lessons spread out over the time instead of trying to teach them months of lessons in one day.”
Percy leans down and snatches his sword off the ground, recapping it and shoving it into his pocket. Straightening up, he spins around and marches past the bleachers, towards the arena exit, ignoring the calls from his friends and his students. “If I don’t teach it all to them, then they won’t stand a chance.”
Jason follows the other demigod with his gaze for a moment before jogging after him, one hand on the hilt of his sword. “Then make a plan!” He calls, slowing down at Percy’s side and glancing at the older boy’s face, evaluating. The skin pulled taunt by pain does nothing to sooth Jason’s unease.
“Maybe I will” Percy snarls softly, speeding up his pace and purposefully avoiding Jason’s questioning gaze. As soon as the gates of the arena block them from view, he shudders and leans against the rough metal and drags a hand through his hair, collapsing in on himself.
Seeing an opening, Jason leans against the gate next to him, staring into the arena, watching the kids climb down from the bleachers and stretch out their sore muscles. Annabeth makes her way down the opposing bleachers, unsheathing her sword and waving the kids over. She starts off the lesson where Percy apparently left off, pointing down to her feet and exaggerating her stance. “This isn’t you, Perce.”
“Then what is?” Percy whispers softly, following Jason’s gaze. He avoids looking at Annabeth and the students that she, in his opinion, teaches better. His gaze slowly travels over to Leo playing with a bronze shield, dented and deformed from Percy’s blows earlier. Nico crouches in the shadows, his black sword drawing shapes in the sandy part of the arena, a forlorn look possessing his face. “You know, I never expected Nico to come back to Camp Half-Blood, not with what happened to his sister. I never expected him to forgive me either. Now look at him, staying at camp to train with me.”
“The kind instructor who teaches with patience and acceptance and who laughs and jokes at mistakes and helps fix them with a steady hand” Jason answers easily, the words spilling from his lips as easily as anything else. “And Nico sees that in you, even when you don’t.”
“How do you know?” Percy’s eyes land on Jason’s calm face, and when Jason glances at him he doesn’t look away. Raising an eyebrow, he holds Jason’s gaze for a minute before looking at Nico, something softer in his eyes, fading the agony back to a numb pain.
“Do you see him defending the honour of any other living being in this camp?” Jason snorts, amusement coloring his voice. “I don’t. It takes sticks and stones to make that boy actually have a conversation with me half of the time. He likes me, but he doesn’t hang onto my every word or pester me during breakfast to train with him. You are the only one he’s here for, if you haven’t noticed.”
Percy’s lips twitch in the shadow of a smile and he shakes strands of black hair out of out his face. Shoving his hands in his pocket, he tries not to think of all the reasons that Nico should not be here for him, and failing miserably. “His sister died while I was supposed to be protecting her.”
“And so he’s adopted you as an older brother” Jason smirks, knowing Percy’s tactic by heart and knowing that he’s already won the battle. “I’d say you should live up to that.” He angles his body towards Percy, pressing his shoulder against the cool metal of the gate. He raises his eyebrows, lips quirking up slightly. “Is this really about Nico or the kids in there?”
“I don’t know anymore” Percy mutters, closing his eyes in pain before turning away. He lets his feet guide him down the sand path, towards the lake. The call of the water, soothing, cool, relaxing, promising release and an oasis away from the pain for a period of time, granted a short period of time, calls to his blood, and tired of the pain and the worrying for the kids and their lives, he follows it willingly.
Jason catches on, shoving his hands into his back pockets and pushing off the gate, following Percy silently. Watching the son of Poseidon, he chews his lip and glances at the glittering lake in the slowly fading afternoon sun, wondering how deep Percy’s pain runs. Has he just started scratching the surface? After being on the quest to save the world with the demigod, Jason learned a lot about the other boy, about his painful past and all the trials he’s already had to undergo due to the gods, the losses he’s faced, and the pain he’s had to endure. Being paranoid about how well the new kids, only twelve years old, will hold up once they get out into the real world again at the end of the summer, is normal enough, but the pain seems to have more depth to it. A personal depth. Dealing with upset male demigod emotions not being high on the list of things Jason’s good with, he resorts back to the things he knows help him when he’s drowning in his emotions.
The sandy shore of the lake comes within view and Percy’s shoulders sag with relief. He slips off his shoes and socks, leaving them behind in the grass and stepping barefoot on the sand. Jason watches, jealous of the ease at which Percy seems to relax, despite the pain held within. Following his lead, Jason slips off his sandals and steps onto the warm sand, digging his toes into it. “Have you had a good, unwinding fight in a while?”
Percy glances back at Jason, a small smile touching his lips as he walks to the edge of the water and rolls up his jeans, stepping in and shuddering. “I thought I had one with you a while ago.”
“I meant hand to hand.” Holding his arms open dramatically, Jason gestures to his own body and makes a show of punching the air. “A rough tumble in the sand, a few punches and kicks, no rules. Usually helps me unwind enough to talk to someone about whatever’s bugging me.”
“No. Not since I lost my sword during the quest. Not since Tartarus.” The son of Poseidon shrugs to hide his wince and leans down, dipping his hands into the water and splashing his face, scrubbing water across his skin and through his hair before slashing once more and stepping out of the water.
“That’s probably why you are so strung up” Jason mutters, narrowing his eyes. Unclasping his belt, he holds it up for Percy to see before tossing it, along with his sword, back onto the grass. “Come on, toss Riptide aside. I don’t want you freaking out and drawing it when I beat you.”
“If you think it’ll help.” Reaching into his pocket, Percy withdraws Riptide and tosses the pen to the patch of grass. He steps out of the water, completely dry, and holds his arms open. “I’m ready, Grace.”
“Alright Jackson. Let’s play.” Jason smirks and rolls his jeans up to his knees, using it an as excuse to lung for Percy’s ankles. Percy jumps back, dodging his fingers by a breath and reaching down to grab the other boy. Expecting his move, Jason rolls to the side, jumping to his feet and deflecting a punch aimed at his face. Shifting to the balls of his feet, Jason catches Percy’s fist and yanks him forward, flush against his body, using the leverage to spin them around and shove Percy backwards, sending him tumbling into the sand. Percy kicks out, foot catching Jason’s ankle, tripping him and sending him sprawling in the sand beside him. Rolling onto his knees, Percy grabs his shoulders and holds him down; trying to maneuver himself onto Jason’s thrashing body. Shifting and squeezing his knee between their bodies, Jason flips them.
Grabbing Percy’s wrists, he quickly yanks them over the raven haired boy’s head, his constricting grip pinning them down as one knee digs into the other demigod’s stomach and the other stretches down, holding down his legs, pinning Percy down in the sand. “Now will you tell me what’s bothering you?” Jason pants, breathe washing over Percy’s face as he smirks down, easing up on the pressure on older boy’s wrists. Catching his breath, he doesn’t lean back, instead enjoying the mildly surprised look on Percy’s face as he readjusts, knees sliding off of Percy to straddle his hips instead, hands releasing their hold on his wrists and moving to the sand on either side of Percy’s face, holding his weight partially off of the other boy.
“Everything” Percy breathes, pupils widening as he shifts beneath the son of Zeus, leaving his arms above his head. His breath catches at the nearness of the blond on top of him, and his heart hammers against his ribcage, daring him to move and at the same time threatening to burst out of his chest if he even tries.
“Well, don’t hold back. I have nowhere else to be” Jason ducks his head to Percy’s neck, his lips curving up into a smile against his skin. “Come on Perce, if you can tell anyone, it should be me. I’ll probably understand better than Annabeth, better than Hazel, probably even better than the Ghost Prince you have training around after you.”
“Annabeth, after everything we went through together, she left me to study some ancient knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, there was no love between us, I mean she was like a sister to me, but she just left me. Just like that. And Nico. I love the kid to death, but the kid is using me as a replacement for the sister he lost, and I can’t be that. I can barely keep myself alive, how does he expect me to keep him alive, train him, and be family to him when I can’t even do those things for myself?” It comes gushing out of his lips so fast that Percy can’t stop it, and shutting his eyes against the torrent, he doesn’t stop. “The new kids at the camp. The awe in their eyes when they watch us camp leaders train, how they want to be like us, yet they don’t realize why we train or the reality of how serious it is out there, how easily they can be killed, how many monsters they attract by just simply breathing. The fact that even after everything I have given up, everything I have lost, people still expect me to be the leader, they expect me to have a plan and keep everyone alive, to pull magic out of my ass and command the ocean to slay our enemies with a blink of my eye” His soul, the unbearable responsibility that tortured him relents with every word, leaving enough room in his chest to finally be able to breath, and think clearly.
Jason’s breathe slows as he absorbs Percy’s words, eyes wide in surprise. His chest tightens for the older boy and the responsibilities weighing down his shoulders. His hands absentmindedly trail up further, running through Percy’s hair and tangling in the pesky strands, tugging lightly. “You save the world and they still expect you to be the one holding the sky up from the Earth.”
“Exactly.” Percy gasps softly, hands moving to grip Jason’s shoulders, fingers digging into the purple shirt. “I’m only a demigod, I can’t hold the sky up forever. I can’t do it alone. Not forever.”
Jason pulls up and looks down at Percy curiously, tilting his head at his tone. The emotion reflecting in Percy’s eyes makes Jason’s breath catch and his heart pound in his chest, almost painfully. He barely manages to get his next words out, the hammering of his heart drowning out everything else. “Two half-bloods make a whole, Percy.”
“Jason…” Percy murmurs, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as he looks up at the demigod on top of him under lowered lashes. Percy’s words are cut off as he sees the same emotions reflecting on Jason’s face. He tilts his chin up, a giddy smile edging onto his face as his body warms, cheeks flushing under the attention. “Can you?”
“I can.” Jason’s answer comes in a hushed whisper before he leans down, catching Percy’s lips with his own and kissing him softly, shyly. Percy responds enthusiastically, kissing him back with the passion flooding his body in a nearly painful way, raising his hands to press one at the back of Jason’s neck and the other to rest on his waist, pulling him flush against his own body, moaning softly when Jason responds by tugging at his hair playfully and nipping his lip. Jason slowly pulls back; breathing in deep and opening his eyes to gaze down at Percy, lips swollen, cheeks flushed and eyes closed, and swears softly in Latin.
Percy slowly opens his eyes and gazes up at Jason, a shy smile gracing his lips. Jason’s replying smile is slow and sensual, the sight of it surprising Percy with a jolt of lust that tingles across every inch of his skin. “I think that you should train with me more often. In fact, you should help me train the kids, and do everything else that requires another person near me” Percy mumbles, smiling up goofily, his cheeks tinted red with the newfound emotions raging through him.
Jason laughs, ducking his head back into Percy’s neck to hide his blush. The emotions welling in his chest, strong enough to make him explode, are a certainty of the love that he’s felt for Percy. He remembers the first time he realized that he loved the older boy, not at first sight, but when he watched Percy fall into the hole, to possibly be lost forever in Tartarus. The realization of love for the other demigod at the same time as losing him nearly killed Jason. “Yeah, sure. As long as we can make this one on one thing a daily practice, say, after dinner? Your cabin is plenty big enough, and we’d be completely alone.”
Percy’s answer comes without hesitation, without thought, and without regret. Only the warm sensation growing in his chest, stronger than he’s ever felt for anyone, a type of attraction that he’d know anywhere. Love. That he felt for Jason ever since he met him on deck of Argo II. “Deal.”
Awesome, amazing, spectacular!! Really see the spark between those too... Percy is uke right? Right?? RIGHT!?
3/15/16