Just slightly inspired by couch guy on TikTok. Clearly I started this one a while ago.

Percy's day sucked.

As an amazing start to his morning, he'd woken up five minutes before he needed to leave for class and had to skip a majority of his morning routine only for his car to refuse to start. Percy ended up missing his two classes for the day regardless. He frustratedly slammed the car door behind him, contemplating walking down the street to get coffee for the sake of his sanity, only to realize that his keys were in the car. Percy had to bother his eternally-cranky landlord for a spare key to his apartment to get the extra car key, and by the time he got back outside, the grey sky had started raining down on the city of Manhattan. Annoyed and now also drenched, Percy trudged back up to his apartment to call his boyfriend that, of course, lived approximately 40 hours away, but he didn't receive any kind of answer and frowned when he heard Jason's voicemail.

He always picked up.

Percy sighed, chalking it all up to the shitty morning he'd been having. He glanced at the clock and reluctantly rolled off the couch, getting ready to start the journey to work. For the first time in a long time, Percy would need to take the subway if he wanted to get there within the next hour.

To nobody's surprise, especially not Percy's, the subway was horrible. A woman kept flirting with Percy despite his obvious disinterest, a man nearly shoved him to the ground when he walked by Percy on his way out of the train, he saw several more rats than usual, and the damn train was running behind schedule. He nervously glanced down at his watch. His boss frowned at him when he clocked in eight minutes late, but he seemed to notice the fallen expression on Percy's face and chose not to say anything about the matter.

Percy usually just restocked shelves in peace, but he'd already been yelled at twice that afternoon by customers. The third time, he was seconds away from getting a fist to the face when he stood up for one of the high school workers getting screamed at by a man twice Percy's size. Admittedly, Percy could've been a bit gentler when speaking to the man, but he was naturally very protective over the younger employees. Thankfully, a manager came over and dealt with the guy before Percy lost all of his teeth, so he fled and hoped that he would never have to interact with the man again.

His boss guiltily let him go on a short break after he dropped several cardboards boxes on Percy's head from his spot on the top rung of a ladder, and Percy stepped outside and sat on a bench nearby. He tried to call Jason again, but all he heard was the blond's stupid voicemail for the second time that day. He thought about leaving a desperate plea for Jason to call him back but ultimately decided against it. Was Jason mad at him?

Probably, Percy sighed. It would fit with the rest of this day if Jason suddenly hated me.

The last few hours of Percy's shift were surprisingly uneventful, and as soon as the time hit five, Percy gave his boss a quick wave as he clocked out and immediately left the building. Hopefully, fewer things could go horribly wrong if Percy was by himself in his own apartment. He didn't even bother taking the subway on the long ride home, instead opting to walk in the rain once again. Even if his socks did get drenched in the puddles and a woman accidentally hit him in the face with her umbrella, Percy was surprised he didn't get struck by lightning. He expected worse.

Just for fun, Percy tried to start his car when he got home to no avail. He sighed and slumped in the driver's seat, contemplating shedding a few tears, when his phone rang and scared him half to death. He glanced down at the caller to see the goofy picture of Jason that he'd saved as his contact. With a sad smile, Percy accepted the call and held his phone to his ear, stepping out of the car and making his way back to his apartment.

"Hey," Percy muttered, trying and failing miserably to sound upbeat as he walked into the building.

Jason didn't even seem to notice. "Hey, Percy! I have a question."

You don't pick up my calls all day, Percy thought bitterly, and now you have to ask me a question.

"Shoot," Percy said as he angrily glanced at the bright 'OUT OF ORDER' sign on the elevator before beginning his trip up the five flights of stairs.

"How do you feel about getting a dog together?" Jason's question was the most random thing he could've asked.

On flight number 2, Percy sighed as he ran a hand throughout his hair. "Look, J, I've had a really bad day."

"What happened?" The concern in Jason's voice was immediate.

"So many things," Percy waved his hand in the air as if Jason could see, "but I just don't really wanna talk about literally anything of importance like my classes, or your internship, or my job, or fucking pet care—even if I do love dogs."

Percy opened his apartment door with a frown and tossed his keys aside miserably before turning around and going silent with his mouth agape. Standing in the middle of Percy's apartment, Jason offered a kind smile.

"Miss me?" Jason held out his arms.

Despite the fact that he was wet and gross from the rain, Percy tossed his phone in the direction of the closest surface and sprinted into Jason's embrace, practically melting when familiar and warm arms wrapped around him. He could feel the California sun radiating off Jason's skin. He buried his face in Jason's shoulder and sighed, relishing in every moment he'd have with the blond before he had to go back to California in the near future.

"Was your day really that bad?" Jason asked quietly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Percy's head.

"Gods, it was awful," Percy said, unable to stop himself from laughing—he could hardly be mad when Jason was standing right in front of him. "But this...this is much better."

He could almost visualize Jason's grin despite being too close to the blond to see his face. The blond separated the two of them so he could properly kiss his boyfriend, letting their foreheads rest against each other afterwards.

"How long can you stay?" Percy asked quietly. He needed to know how much time he actually needed to dedicate to Jason before he left again.

"Depends," Percy felt Jason's shrug, "are you gonna let me move in with you?"

Percy's eyebrows scrunched together as he stepped away from Jason to fully examine his face. "You're serious?"

Jason's joy was tangible, making his skin glow and the atmosphere bright. Percy, on the other hand, was more shocked than anything else. "What about your internship? You love that thing, and I'm not letting you leave just to—"

"They have a program here in Manhattan," Jason cut him off to explain before Percy got too worried about ruining Jason's dreams. "I've been trying to get in since February, and I found out they accepted me a couple of weeks ago. They told me I could start as soon as I got in the city."

Percy finally noticed the small stack of boxes, their contents neatly labeled on the side panels, in the corner of the room. He imagined finally getting to see Jason every day—waking up next to him and not freezing in the morning for once, talking about their days over dinner, being able to go out together whenever they wanted, not having to keep his phone fully charged every day in order to make himself available for Jason's calls. The apartment would be much less lonely, and terrible days like the one Percy'd been having would suddenly not be so awful. He caught Jason's expectant expression and gave him a close-lipped but genuine smile.

"I love you," Percy grabbed one of Jason's hands, "and I would love for you to move in."

They'd shared an apartment a year or so ago, but they obviously lived alone or, in Jason's case, with other people for the time while they were apart. Jason eagerly pulled Percy his embrace again. He was a huge hugger whenever he went for some time without Percy.

"I can't believe you're actually staying," Percy laughed breathily. "This is perfect."

Jason hummed in agreement. "You're perfect."

"You're an idiot," Percy rolled his eyes, "but I'm glad you're here."

Finally, Jason unraveled himself from his boyfriend. "Percy?"

"Hm?"

"I was serious about that dog."