Do men's restrooms ever have couches in them or is that a women-only thing???

This'll be fun, he thought bitterly.
*****

"Jason? You in here?" Leo called out cautiously as he opened the door the the courthouse's restroom.

"I'm here," the blonde responded quietly as Leo came into his line of sight. (I 100% typed Nico instead of Leo)

Leo sat next to Jason on the black couch in the corner of the room. His friend sighed, leaning back and looking over to the shorter boy. "Did anything happen after I left? Does Percy need me?"

"He's on the stand again," Leo told him, deciding it wasn't the appropriate time to make a joke about Jason's crush on the green-eyed boy, "but nothing's really happened. I just came to check on you."

Jason nodded solemnly. "I'll be okay. I didn't like what he was saying about Thalia, obviously, but I'll get over it. Just needed a minute to breathe, you know?"

"I guess," Leo frowned. He knew Piper should have gone to find Jason instead of him. The girl insisted, also addressing the fact that Leo and Reyna shouldn't be left alone together. Still, he'd never been the emotional support of the group. Actually, he thought it was safe to say he was the least helpful when it came to emotions. He was always willing to try for Jason, though.

Jason sighed again. "Do you think they'll lose?"

Leo quickly noted the worried expression on the blonde's face. He assumed Piper or one of his other friends would reassure Jason, tell him that nothing would go wrong with the trial. He couldn't bring himself to say anything like that to the blue-eyed boy, just in case he was wrong. "I don't know. His stepfather's lawyer has pointed out the most random things, dude."

The blonde nodded, not looking very pleased with that answer. He muttered sadly, "I don't want anything to happen to him."

He knew Jason was referring to Percy, but he wasn't sure what else to add other than maybe a "mood" or "same, bro." He placed a hand on Jason's shoulder, and when Jason shifted his eyes to look into Leo's, he saw the shorter boy's infectious grin. Jason's lips curved upwards slightly as he pulled his friend into a brief hug. Jason was always the hugger...

After pulling away from the blonde, Leo's smile remained unwavering. "You think you're good to head back inside?"

Jason hesitated, seemingly lost in thought for a couple moments before nodding. He walked with Leo to the courtroom doors and, with a deep breath on Jason's behalf, they reentered the room and joined Piper and Reyna back in their seats.

There was a thick tension in the room, seemingly weighing everybody down in their seats. Leo felt extremely uncomfortable in the silence that presented itself. Gabe's attorney stood smugly with his hands clasped in front of him as the judge and the Jacksons' lawyer read a piece of paper at their individual posts. Percy's face was hidden behind his hands, although the same document appeared to be in front of him as well.

With his phone on the lowest brightest in his lap so nobody at the front of the room could see, Jason started a group text with himself, Leo, Piper, and Reyna. It was less awkward for the blonde than shattering the quiet that had settled.

Jason: What happened?

Piper: not really sure but percy's lawyer has made so many objections while you were gone

Reyna: The defense supposedly submitted evidence trying to invalidate Percy's testimony.

Leo: but why

Piper: maybe he thought percy had what they needed to prove he was guilty???

Reyna: I wasn't here for Percy's first testimony or his mother's, but I can only assume they're just trying to decrease his offenses at this point.

Jason: What do you mean?

Reyna: He can't get out of this untouched, and it appears his lawyer knows it. However, having a few domestic assault charges against his wife is much better than having years of child abuse pinned against him. The goal is probably to get away with just a restraining order.

Leo: so if percy's testimony doesn't count, they can't do anything about it??

Reyna: It's difficult to distinguish between the fights at school and home. Plus, any outside witnesses besides his mother, who is very biased towards Percy, have no way to prove that Percy was being abused as opposed to his mother.

Nobody said anything else, partially because they weren't sure what to add, but also since Gabe's lawyer finally decided to speak after the long silence. "Any initial comments, Mr. Jackson?"

When Percy made no move to write a response, the interpreter tapped his forearm gently. The green-eyed boy flinched at the touch, removing his hands from over his eyes and turning his head to look at the lawyer questioning him. Jason immediately noticed the dull shine in Percy's red eyes. If this man was making Percy cry, Jason was going to have to leave again before he started a fight with the attorney.

After realizing Percy didn't have anything to say, the lawyer asked a new question, "When was this written?"

A little over a year ago, the interpreter read from Percy's paper. The boy's hand shook as he wrote, and the reply came much slower than the previous ones.

"Your stepfather isn't mentioned once. Why is that?"

Percy tapped the paper in front of him a few times with his pen. He looked like he'd been backed into a corner. Jason wondered what they were all reading.

He didn't deserve to be in it, Percy wrote after a long time.

The lawyer shrugged. "Wouldn't it help your mother to mention it, though?"

Maybe, Percy answered, but I wasn't thinking at the time.

"So you were unable to recall the idea that Mr. Ugliano was abusing you?"

Percy sighed, sending a helpless look in the man's direction before nodding miserably.

Gabe's attorney offered a smile that didn't fit in with the rest of the scene. None of the four teenagers spectating knew what happened still, but it didn't seem like something that needed to be smiled about. "That's all for now. Thank you, Mr. Jackson."

Percy left the stand and immediately retreated to the hall outside the room, ignoring his mother's caring hand that reached out as he walked by. Jason nearly missed it, but Percy caught his gaze for a split second as he left the room. The blonde assumed it was a request to follow him, but he would've done that regardless.

"Stay here," Jason whispered to Leo, implying that he should tell their other friends, before leaving his seat and following Percy's path.

The boy wasn't far, only standing a few feet to the right of the courtroom door. Jason approached him slowly, gently placing both of his hands on Percy's cheeks when he got close enough. Percy had a couple of tears that managed to escape, but Jason just swiped them away and said nothing else.

"I don't know what happened, Perce," Jason admitted, "but whatever it was, it's over now. I'm right here, no matter what. Okay?"

Percy nodded, his eyes staring down towards his feet. He couldn't look Jason in the eyes when he was this close.

"Do you need water or anything? Or did you just need to take a breather?" Jason asked, slowly removing his hands from the other boy's face.

Percy weakly held up two fingers for the second option, and Jason nodded. He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when he faintly heard Percy choke back a sob. Instead of speaking, he reached out and took Percy into his arms, who broke down as soon as he was wrapped in Jason's embrace.

Sure, he'd heard Percy cry before a few times, but this was different. The boy seemed absolutely heartbroken, and Jason didn't even know why. It was a similar cry he'd heard before, but he couldn't place where from. He didn't dwell on it for too long, though, as he was preoccupied whispering reassurances in Percy's ear.

"'M sorry," Percy whispered between sobs, and Jason nearly missed it. In all the recent chaos, he'd almost forgotten that Percy had spoken to him before.

"No, you're okay, Percy," Jason told him softly, "there's nothing to be sorry about. I got you."

Percy didn't reply verbally, but Jason felt his head move slightly in a nodding motion.

The two stood there, surprisingly uninterrupted for a while. Once Percy's sobs calmed into silent tears, Jason led them to one of the benches nearby and sat them down, wrapping an arm around Percy and keeping him close still.

"Hey," Jason whispered to the next to him, "you don't have to tell me what happened in there, but if you want to, I'm all ears. Whatever's best for you."

Percy responded scratchily, "Later."

He added nothing else, but Jason wasn't surprised. He was convinced Percy was only talking because his phone was in the other room and there was nothing to write with. Jason wished he would've learned ASL for Percy.

After a few more minutes, Jason was glad to see that new tears had stopped coming from Percy. He was left with just red, puffy eyes and prominent tear tracks down the sides of his face. Jason guessed Percy had no intention to return to the courtroom anytime soon, but he didn't mind. He was there to support Percy, after all. In turn, Jason was a little bummed when the courtroom door opened and Alastor stepped out looking disappointed.

"Kid, why the hell didn't you tell me you wrote this?"

Any predictions, dear readers??? I feel like I'm very predictable LOL

Also, do any of y'all got any Jercy or Percico stories you'd recommend on here? I feel like I've literally gone through all of them, so if anybody has some lesser known ones or ones that are harder to find, let me know. Feel free to self-advertise, I'll gladly read your stuff, guys. I have so much time on my hands.

Bye, everybody! See you soon!