Hope not everyone thought I was rushing things last chapter, I promise there was logic behind it LOL

Anyways, here you go. Have fun.

Percy had to physically restrain himself from shoving Jason off the bed.
*****

Jason woke up in an empty room, the boy he'd fallen asleep with out of sight. He sat up slowly, stretching his back as he looked towards the closed door. There was no sound in the apartment besides a quiet clinking of what sounded like glass from the other room. The sunlight streamed in through Percy's curtains, softly illuminating the space around him. He could hear very faint sounds of running cars from outside and wondered if this was how Percy woke up every morning. With the occasional shout from the streets and the few barking dogs nearby, Jason could start to see why being silent for so long was a task Percy could handle. There was already enough noise to fill the atmosphere without him.

He pulled the blanket off himself, wondering how it got there in the first place, before swinging his feet over to the floor and standing, grimacing at the chill that brushed over him after leaving the bed. He made his way to the door, pushing it open and poking his head out to look down the hall. Percy sat on a stool in the kitchen, staring out the window to his left with his chin resting in his palm. Jason smiled fondly at him as he leaned against the doorway.

His dark hair was even more of a mess than its usual tousled look, and Jason could only assume Percy hadn't even tried fixing it yet. The morning sun reflected onto his face, making his skin shine and his eyes almost sparkle. His expression held a newfound serenity that Jason decided he liked seeing on Percy.

"Morning," he called out, watching as Percy turned his head to look at Jason, nodding a hello to the blonde.

Jason made his way down the hall with a yawn, meeting Percy at the kitchen island. Percy pointed at the oven behind him.

"I made muffins," he explained quietly.

Now that he'd mentioned his breakfast plans, it was very easy to tell. The scent of the muffins was faded but definitely still present in the quaint kitchen. Across the room, the sink held an empty mixing bowl, a few measuring cups, and several spoons. He'd learned recently that Percy wasn't the best with conserving dishes when he prepared food. It was hard to care after learning about Percy's culinary skill, though.

Jason gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Perce."

Percy opted for another nod, acknowledging he'd heard Jason before returning his gaze to the window. Jason couldn't tell what Percy found so fascinating about the alley lined with fire escapes, but he chose to just let the other boy enjoy the moment. He tried to follow where Percy was looking, but he kept finding himself with his eyes back on the boy, eventually sighing and settling for staring at Percy until he finally spoke.

"I used to sneak out through that window all the time," Percy told him, tilting his head as if the memory confused him.

"And go where?" Jason asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

Percy shrugged, not having much of an answer to give. Truthfully, he just went anywhere besides the apartment itself. Sometimes he'd walk down to some 24-hour store and browse, doing his best to ignore the curious glances he got from the workers. Other nights, if he didn't want to risk the rare attempt at conversation, he'd hide away in an empty alley or find a bench out of the public eye. Apart from the occasional creepy man talking to him or the drug deal he had to pretend he didn't see, it was a good escape for him.

Jason didn't pry for anything more, much to Percy's surprise. Before either of them could say something else after a brief silence, there was a loud beeping as the timer went off. With a sigh, Percy grabbed the closest oven mitt and pulled out the muffin tray, setting it on the counter to cool down. Jason caught sight of them and smiled, always amused by the absurdly blue food made by the Jackson family. It seemed like Percy sometimes forgot that blue food didn't make many appearances elsewhere, a thought that Jason found endearing.

"My mom's supposed to get home in a few minutes," Percy said, returning to lean on the counter across from Jason. "Can we make sure that we cover...uh, you know?"

Jason squinted in confusion before the memories of the previous night flooded back. "Thalia's gonna kill me."

"Sorry," Percy apologized sheepishly, never sure if he had been too much the night before.

Jason shook his head, waving his apology off to tell him it wasn't a big deal. Really, he was being overdramatic (or at least he really hoped he was) about his sister. He certainly wouldn't be telling her unless she found out on her own, of course, but Jason at least thought he'd live to see another day if she did. Sometimes Jason forgot that Percy lived in a different reality only a few weeks ago. It was such a difficult concept for Jason to grasp that Percy went through several days where he wasn't promised to see tomorrow. Coming home with a hickey would've been a very different experience for Percy that it would be for him.

Gods, Jason hated Gabe Ugliano.

He swallowed back his bitterness at the subject of his thoughts and asked Percy if he had anything that might help besides just wearing Percy's hoodie and hoping for the best. Nodding, Percy disappeared down the hallway before returning with a small bottle of some kind of makeup. He gently tilted Jason's head to the side, doing what he could to cover up the mark that he happened to be guilty for in the first place. It was a short process before Percy switched on his phone camera and let Jason inspect his work.

"Oh, wow," Jason muttered, looking at it from different angles. You could barely tell it was there anymore. "You did pretty well, actually."

"Practice makes perfect," Percy said, earning himself a frown from the blonde. With a smile that very clearly told Jason that his comment was meant to be a joke, Percy gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going to put his things back where they came from on the other side of the apartment.

They could finally eat the muffins when Percy came back and plated one for Jason to try. Percy rarely used the box instructions because of his dyslexia, typically using his knowledge of food he'd gotten from his mother to throw things together. Everything he made was either committed to memory or a total wild card, and the muffins unfortunately had to be considered the latter. After Jason took a bite and didn't look like he hated life, Percy decided it was fine for him to follow suit.

They weren't anything spectacular, but they were at least edible, which Percy hoped would be enough for the other boy. A minute or so into their meal, the front door clicked open and presented Sally Jackson, looking somewhat exhausted from her long shift. Percy frowned, having told the woman at least once a day that she needed to get more sleep. She never seemed to listen to him.

"Good morning, boys," she greeted, setting her bag down near the door and walking around to stand at Percy's side. He directed her to the still-warm muffins behind him, gratefulness washing over her face as she thanked him. Percy just nodded in response, obviously not thinking it was much. Jason already knew that, if Thalia randomly showed up while he was making food, she would absolutely not be receiving any from him.

Percy was giving, though, something else Jason liked about him.

"How'd you guys sleep?" Sally asked before taking a bite of her muffin and ruffling Percy's hair, much to the boy's dismay.

Jason gave her a "pretty okay" while Percy opted for a thumbs-up. She accepted the answers as good enough and started telling them about her time at work. Sally talked to Jason as if she'd known him for years, as if he were just another one of her sons. She reminded him of the comfort he used to receive from his own mother when he was younger, long before she started developing issues. Plus, he enjoyed watching Percy interact with Sally. He always seemed to give her his full attention, something that Percy lacked with most other people. He'd still listen to everyone, but he usually looked like he had others things on his mind. With his mother, however, it appeared that Percy didn't need to worry as much about whatever else was happening in his life.

Jason watched Percy's normally frantic eyes settle on her face, the faintest hint of a smile playing on his lips as she animatedly told a story about a customer. Besides being heartwarming, Percy was also just generally adorable to Jason, so he took whatever chance he could to appreciate him.

The chatter among the three (although Percy was mostly silent) died down a few minutes later, and Percy offered to finally take Jason home. Jason grabbed the couple of things he'd brought inside before following Percy out to the car his mother had just returned with. Surprisingly, he offered to return Percy's hoodie, but the green-eyed boy merely waved it off, saying he'd get it back later when Jason didn't need it to disguise the result of the previous night. Percy's coverup job had gotten past Sally, so Jason could only hope things went similarly with Thalia and Piper.

The drive was rather calm, and Jason smiled every time he heard a song come on Percy's playlist that he'd recommended to the boy. There were a few that he believed Percy did actually like, but Jason could tell that a couple of them were only there for the blonde's sake. Regardless, he enjoyed the reminder that Percy cared about him and his interests. He mentally thanked the gods that he could finally call the boy his own. Perseus Jackson was his boyfriend, a though that made Jason giddy, even if he would've never expected it a year prior.

Regretfully, Percy dropped Jason off at his house, wishing him luck and pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles before sending him on his way. Jason spun around and gave overdramatic goodbye gestures—a big wave, an air kiss, the whole shebang—several times, lighting up when he saw Percy chuckle from the driver's seat. With one final goodbye, Jason stepped through his front door, grateful that neither of the two girls in the house were near the entrance. He did hear Piper's voice call out to him from the kitchen, though. He rounded the corner and saw her at the sink, washing some dishes while music played softly from her phone.

"You wanna help me?" She asked with pleading eyes, glancing at the stack of dishes behind her.

"I definitely don't want to," he shrugged, "but I will."

She grinned at him. "Hell yeah, Jase, you're a real one."

Jason gave her a nod, not really thinking he was doing much by helping her out. It wasn't like he had anything else to do besides homework, and he'd strongly prefer talking with Piper instead of doing that. He took over the washing part while Piper dried everything and put it away. They chatted about school, specifically their absurd amount of homework from their math teacher. Apparently, Piper had already mentally prepared herself not to do math homework for the rest of the year. Jason sighed; he'd sic Thalia on her later.

When Piper finally asked about Percy, Jason nervously scratched the back of his neck (regrettably, since he'd forgotten to dry his hand off) as he told her about breakfast. She didn't need to know much else. Regardless, Piper took the chance to tease him while she still could. As soon as she found herself in another relationship, she knew it'd be over for her. Jason would absolutely never let it go.

Finally, they wrapped up the dishes and Jason got to dry off his hands before leaning against the kitchen counter with a sigh. Piper turned towards him, looking as if she was about to say something, but froze and gaped at the boy in front of her.

"Jason," he looked up at her, not enjoying the shit-eating grin that was spreading across her face, "what the fuck is that?"

He scrunched his eyebrows, looking confused. Piper rolled her eyes, pointing in the direction of Jason's neck. Quickly, his confusion morphed into terror. "Oh my gods."

"You let him give you a hickey!" She exclaimed, laughing at Jason's embarrassed blush as he pulled his hood up. "And that's not even your sweatshirt!"

"Nothing happened," Jason told her sternly, his flushed face betraying the tone he was trying to convey.

Piper nodded, clearly unconvinced. "All the signs say you're a filthy liar. And to think, you two just started dating yesterday!"

"Piper! We didn't do anything!"

She continued laughing at him. "He got you good, too."

Jason sighed, moving his hand to cover the area. He must've washed some of the makeup away when they were doing dishes. Apparently, it was the last time he'd be helping Piper with chores.

"I gotta tell Leo about this later," she sighed blissfully.

Jason's face showed he wasn't a fan of that idea. "He'll make jokes about it for the rest of our lives. Do you want to live through the next half a century listening to that?"

Piper shrugged. "I wouldn't be opposed. This is hilarious, Jase. What's Thalia gonna say when she finds out?"

"She won't," Jason said with a hint of a warning in his tone, "but if she did, she'd kill me—"

"That's fine."

"—and then Percy."

"See," Piper waved her hands around like a madman, "now that'd be sad."

He gave her a disapproving look, already knowing Piper would definitely tell his sister eventually. Jason had reluctantly started to accept his fate.

"Help me cover this up," he requested desperately, not mentally available to make up a believable excuse for wearing his (or Percy's, he supposed) hood up all the time.

She sighed at him, thankfully nodding in agreement. "My foundation's too dark for you, and your sister's is in her bathroom."

Jason gestured for her to keep going, unsure what the problem was. Piper rolled her eyes. "She's in her room. Broken back, remember?"

"Of course I remember," Jason snapped at her half-heartedly, "What should we do?"

"You should sneak in there and grab it," she said, making it very clear Jason was on his own until he had the supplies.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Did you forget the part about her not seeing me?"

Piper was fully prepared to shoot back a witty remark when Thalia's familiar voice shouted Jason's name from the top of the steps. She pulled the boy's hood up for him, quietly wishing him luck and telling him she'd attend his funeral. With a deep breath, Jason left the kitchen and made his way to the bottom of the stairs.

His sister gave him an embarrassed smile. "Help me get down there?"

Jason nodded, walking up to slowly guide Thalia downstairs and trying to block out the image of her wincing every time she went past a step. The pain was very evident in her eyes, something Jason had a difficult time dealing with.

"Thanks, Jase," she told him when they finally got to the ground level. Thalia hated feeling so helpless, but at least she had people like Jason and Piper helping her out.

"When'd you get home?" She asked him as the two went to find Piper still in the kitchen.

Jason shrugged, not having paid any attention to the time that he left Percy's. It always flew by when they were together, anyways. He seated himself at the kitchen table, scrolling through his phone while Piper chatted with Thalia about gods know what. Thalia sat next to Jason at the table, setting the boy's nerves on fire.

When she scrunched her eyebrows at him with a puzzled expression, Jason thought he was done for. He protectively crossed his arms over his chest and braced himself for whatever storm he had coming, but instead, Thalia just tugged gently at the sleeve on his sweatshirt.

"This new?" She asked curiously.

Jason made a so-so motion with his hand, earning himself a confused glance before he finally elaborated, "It's Percy's."

A smug smile began appearing on Thalia's lips as she nodded. She patted his shoulder, still oblivious to the mark on Jason's neck. He thanked the gods that Thalia wasn't very physically observant. "Sure hope he won't miss that when you never give it back."

"It's warm," Jason defended himself quietly. Besides just being a comfortable hoodie, it reminded him of Percy. The boy's faint but seemingly eternal sea-like scent lingered on the fabric, and for Jason, it felt like having Percy at his side, a great reassurance.

Thalia nodded, clearly knowing there was another reason besides the sweatshirts's warmth, before swapping her attention towards her phone. Jason exchanged a cautious look with Piper, who made a gesture telling Jason that she'd be raiding Thalia's bathroom while they still could. He mouthed his thanks, watching as she quietly left the room and ventured upstairs. Quietly, Jason offered to make some kind of breakfast for Thalia, driven both by the girl's injury and by Percy's generosity earlier that morning. She declined, fairly surprised Jason asked in the first place. Maybe she'd been right about Jason being nicer to her after the accident.

"How long did you two stay up last night?" Thalia inquired, a discreetly worried glance passing over her face. "You seem tired."

Jason shrugged. He wasn't particularly tired, but he assumed Thalia was referencing his out-of-the-ordinary hooded figure and decided to play along for his own safety. "You know how we are—party animals."

Thalia scoffed, sarcastically humming in agreement. The two boys were far from being "party animals." It would be much easier to find them curled up under blankets watching movies together on a Friday night than it would be to find them at any large social event.

Jason's phone dinged, disturbing their conversation, and a text from Piper lit up the screen, telling him to come upstairs. Despite knowing he would look incredibly suspicious, Jason slid out of his chair and told Thalia he'd be right back.

"You know I could not care less, right?" She asked Jason when he tried to walk away.

He spun on his heels, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "About what?"

She pointed in the general direction of his face. "The fucking hickey."

Immediately, Jason tried to sputter our various excuses, earning nothing but laughter from his sister in return. Piper came down the stairs, intending to ask Jason why he was taking so long but quickly realizing what was happening because of Jason's furious blush and Thalia's smug laughter.

"Jase, I don't care what you do with your boyfriend as long as you don't get arrested or get an STD or something," Thalia told him, calming herself down, "It's not like either of you can get pregnant."

"I-he-we didn't-I wouldn't—," Jason seemed to have forgotten the English language as his brain worked faster than his mouth. Thalia guided him through a deep breath, sharing an amused glance with Piper across the room.

"I'm just saying," Thalia concluded with a slight shrug.

Jason couldn't believe this. He expected to get caught by one of the two girls eventually, sure, but he didn't think he'd be exposed twice within an hour of getting home. Clearly, neither of them cared very much, so Jason's nerves had at least calmed down slightly. He still felt incredibly awkward, though, as he pulled Percy's hood further over his face.

He'd never hear the end of this.

Please pray for my stress levels, I did fourteen pages of math homework the other day and had to make a biology Quizlet at eleven pm the night before my test just bc I understood absolutely none of the material. Apparently it worked bc I got a 90???

In conclusion, I'm not having a good time. Hope y'all are doing better than I am LOL

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, everyone! Sorry it took a hot second, but I'm always completely exhausted by like 9:30 every night and I do most of my writing between 11-12 at night, so I've been struggling. This one was extra long just to make up for it though.

See you soon!