Stone Walls (Jercy AU)

JASON

Jason lay in bed that night, his mind wandering to a certain raven haired boy. Jason had no idea why he had him on his mind. Jason didn't even have a clue why he kept staring at him during dinner. Instead of eating his fettuccine, Jason was constantly gazing at Percy Jackson. There was something about Percy Jackson that intrigued Jason. Maybe it was just some hero complex driving Jason to be there for Percy. Maybe it was just him wanting to help someone. It didn't really matter what it was because Percy was slowly getting better. But some part of Jason was dreading the fact that he was taking Percy to his old apartment tomorrow.

The sun rose just as Jason was about to close his eyes. Jason felt like a cranky child, but he got ready and walked out of his room to the kitchen. He expected Percy to already be up and waiting, but he wasn't. Jason didn't see him in the living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom was empty too. Jason thought he was still sleeping so he went to go knock on his door.

Jason knocked and heard a small voice say, "Come in."

Jason opened the door and saw Percy sitting on the bed, staring at a picture in his hand. Percy didn't even glance up at Jason. His eyes didn't move from the picture he was staring at. As sleepy as Jason was, he knew Percy wasn't ready to leave. For the first time since Jason started helping Percy, he didn't contemplate whether he should stay or not. Jason sat next to Percy on the bed, a small gap between them. Jason wanted to move a little closer but he didn't know if Percy would be comfortable with that so he stayed where he was, not saying a word.

Jason looked down at the picture Percy was staring at. The picture had a small coffee stain at the corner and was creased all over like it was folded too many times in too many different ways. There was a tear down the left side of the picture, like a part of it had been ripped off. Jason noticed a male looking hand on the side that was a ripped, and he assumed a man that was in the picture was torn off. But the picture itself was still full of happiness and joy. There was a small boy, maybe about 10 years old, with his unruly black hair sticking out in all kinds of directions. He was grinning big and wide, and missing one of his front top teeth. His green eyes seemed to sparkle from the camera's flash. Next to him was a beautiful woman with brown curly hair and blue eyes. Her bright, wide smile perked her cheeks up and the corners of her eyes were slightly wrinkled. Jason was sure he had never seen a kid so happy to take a photo. And Jason knew that kid was Percy, smiling happily with the one person who loved him more than anything, his mom.

Jason's looked at Percy, who was still quiet. "We don't have to go today if you don't want to," Jason said softly.

Percy finally looked up at Jason. Percy's eyes told Jason all he needed to know about how Percy was probably feeling. His eyes were dark and gloomy. They looked almost foggy in the dim morning sunlight.

"I don't wanna go back there," Percy whispered, "but there's something I need."

"Okay," Jason whispered back, giving Percy a small smile. "I'll wait in the car."

Jason got up to walk out of the room, but he felt something grab his hand. When he turned around and saw Percy was holding onto his hand, he felt his heart beat start to pick up. He stared at their intertwined fingers for a while before looking down at Percy. 

"Stay with me here for a little?" Percy asked.

Jason smiled. "Of course."

Jason took a seat next to Percy on the bed again, except this time their shoulders were touching. It took a few seconds for Jason to realize their hands were still together. But for some reason, Jason didn't bother letting go. He just sat there, holding Percy's hand for what seemed like an hour before Percy snatched his hand away. He told Jason he was ready to go and before Jason could say anything, Percy rushed out of the room.

Jason sat there on the bed, his eyebrows furrowed. He was holding hands with a boy when he barely even held hands with Piper, the girl he dated for months. But he sat here in Percy's room, holding his hand in complete, comfortable silence. Jason pushed the thought away and got up to go to the car, where Percy was already waiting. The drive to the apartment was a quiet one, and slightly awkward for Jason. Not that Percy made him uncomfortable, but he kept replaying his moment with Percy over and over in his head. It puzzled him and most importantly, how he felt in that moment puzzled him even more. Jason felt like he was suddenly taking an English test on Shakespeare, by far his least favorite subject.

When they finally reached the apartment's block, Percy told Jason he could wait in the car and Jason couldn't have been more relieved. So Jason sat in his car, his head pounding as he kept thinking about how he felt around Percy. He ran it over in his hand over and over, leaning his head against the seat as he breathed deeply.

He held Percy's hand, more than once.

He felt comfortable around Percy.

He gazes at Percy from across the dinner table.

He smiles like an idiot around Percy.

His heart flutters around him.

Jason knew there was only one explanation for how he felt around Percy. He knew there was only one thing that made sense. Jason's eyes shot open. He had feelings for Percy. The "more than a friend" type of feelings. "Oh shit," he whispered to himself.

Then the car door opened and Percy sat down in the passenger seat with a turquoise wooden box in his hand. Jason followed Percy's every move, intaking every detail of him, but still a bit confused about how he felt.

Percy looked up and made eye contact with Jason. Jason's cheeks turned red and he quickly turned his head away from Percy, opting to gaze out his window.

"You okay?" Percy asked slowly. Jason took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before turning to face Percy.

Jason avoided making direct eye contact with Percy. "I'm good. What did you pick up?"

Percy opened the box and Jason saw a bunch of photos. All of the pictures were of Percy and his mother. A few of them had his dad, who Percy said he knows nothing about, and a few of them were ripped. Percy went through each photo of him and his mom with Jason. He told Jason about every moment the photos captured. Jason found it amazing how Percy remembered every dream so vividly, but what Jason admired more was how Percy looked.

Percy had the biggest smile plastered across his face, his eyes crinkling like his mother's. He would glance up at Jason once in a while as if to make sure Jason was still paying attention. Jason was paying attention. He leaned over to see the pictures and listened to every story Percy told him. He heard about Percy's unfortunate experience with a jellyfish sting and his excitement when he got in person experience with a seal. He was paying attention to how effortlessly Percy was opening up to him and how relaxed he seemed.

Jason was even paying attention to how he was feeling. He paid attention to how his heartbeat quickened, and how his lips slowly turned up into a smile. He noticed when he gazed at Percy while he ranted about the happiest moments of his life. And he noticed when he truly realized his feelings for Percy Jackson was far beyond friendship.