Percy’s words gave Jason pause. His body was half-off, half-on the bed. The sheet had fallen just enough that his torso was bare to the elements, but it had pooled around his waist. It had also shifted so that from Jason’s point of view, he had a good view of Percy’s lithe musculature.

Jason had always preferred men younger than him, especially when they were slightly innocent. His dick twitched against his leg when he thought about how he delighted in the way that his more inexperienced partners often just let slip the word ‘daddy.’ He shivered.

Luke Castellan had been the one exception to that. He had loved hearing Luke say ‘daddy’ just as much, but he had looked forward to a life with Luke. The boy had been fifteen years younger than him—in the physical sense, at least. He had never really bothered to ask after Luke’s actual age, so enraptured in the young man’s charm as he was. Although, now that he knew Luke had been turned against him, he could only imagine that his ex-fiancé had been genuinely young.

Despite knowing the boy—and Reyna was right, Jason had to stop kidding himself, Percy was just that—for barely a day, Jason was feeling familiar stirrings in his chest. Looking at the way that Percy bit his lower lip, as though afraid he had said the wrong thing, made Jason’s heart skip a beat. Perhaps Luke Castellan would not be the only exception. Perhaps, given time, he would begin to look forward to a life with Percy, too. Only, that was never going to be a possibility for as long as Zeus still drew breath.

Jason placed his hand on Percy’s—the one that was on his arm. His ears, somewhat enhanced, picked up the adorably brief and sharp breath that Percy took. He saw the subtle widening of Percy’s eyes, and the flush that crept not only up Percy’s neck but also down and over his shoulders.

“Alright,” said Jason, unable to help the smile that danced on the corners of his lips. “Alright,” he said again. He slid into the bed beside Percy and drew the sheets up to about their necks. It was cold, he had to admit, and he was glad to have Percy to share body heat with.

An involuntary low-pitched whine met Jason’s ears as he wrapped his arms around Percy and pulled the two of them closer together. “That cold?” said Jason, with a smirk. Percy looked up at him, eyes wide at first, and then narrowed into a glare.

“Just kidding,” said Jason. He wanted so badly to cup Percy’s ass with his hands as the younger man nuzzled into his neck. Another boom rocked Scipio, though no alarms were going off. Jason wasn’t so sure that was necessarily a good thing, but he decided to stay quiet about it.

“It’s alright,” said Jason, when he noticed Percy shaking. “We can be afraid together,” he said. Had Percy been anyone else, the words might not have meant anything, but Jason realized that he actually meant them. He really was afraid, too.

Jason brought his hands to Percy’s back and rubbed slow, comforting circles in the soft skin there. “What are you afraid of?” said Jason. Percy’s arms wound around his neck and tightened as another boom—this one louder than the last—shook the entire room.

“I’m not afraid of anything,” said Percy. Jason could tell the answer was a begrudging one, especially after the soft gasp that left Percy when another explosion made the hull vibrate. The arms around his neck loosened, though the muscles remained equally as tense. “I’m afraid for everyone,” said Percy.

When Jason looked into Percy’s eyes, his heart almost stopped in his chest. He hadn’t taken the time to properly examine them, but now that he was so close, he could see that they were as green as the seas were. During his time on earth, the oceans had been dirty, their colours muddied. Computers showed Jason what had once been, and looking into Percy’s eyes, he felt as though he was looking at the real thing.

Jason pulled Percy closer, arms wrapping around the younger man even more tightly. The boy was precious. Even more reason to protect him.

Percy pushed away, slightly. At first Jason felt a twinge of guilt and hurt, but it seemed that Percy just wanted to look him in the eye as they talked. “W-when I found out about the strange DNA sequences in Bessie, I kept it to myself. I never accessed the data on a networked computer.”

Jason felt the tremor that tore through Percy’s comparatively-petite frame. Another low boom. “He still found out, somehow.” Jason’s blood ran cold in his veins. There was no other person that Percy would talk about in such hushed tones, as laced with anger as they were.

“When I went to my office that day, there were people going through my stuff. And Zeus was there, standing like he had known I was coming all along.” Jason’s heart constricted in his chest. He could almost imagine the scene, could almost feel the fear that must have sank into Percy at the sight of the madman that headed the Hellenes.

“He just looked at me,” said Percy. “He said it was a routine inspection.” Percy shivered again and Jason couldn’t help but pull him closer. “It was obviously a lie. Why would he have two armed guards looking through my shit if it was just a routine inspection?”

Jason let himself chuckle, and even Percy did, too. Percy was clearly remembering terrible memories, but Jason had to admire the way that Percy still managed to smile. “He said I had nothing to worry about—as long as I had nothing to hide.”

“I went right home that day,” said Percy. “The door was completely kicked off its hinges. My personal computer—that had all the data—was on the floor, shot through. I managed to look at it, and it was completely wiped. Someone tried to brute force it and Annabeth’s program had destroyed all of our work.”

Jason held Percy tight as Percy’s shoulders began to tremble. He could feel the sobs building, the tensing of the muscles. He could feel fists being made at his shoulders, the arms braced against his chest pressing harder into it. “All I had left from mom was a hastily scribbled note that said she had gone into hiding and that Gabe was dead.”

“Are you afraid you’re going to lose someone?” said Jason, in as soothing a voice as he could manage. He tucked a stray lock of hair behind Percy’s ear and pressed a kiss to the younger man’s temple.

“No,” Percy whispered, snuggling deeper into Jason’s chest. “I’m afraid of not being able to do anything all over again.” Percy’s voice broke. A sob made its way through the tough walls that Percy had been struggling to keep up. “I thought that maybe if I had you on my side that we could get Bessie out of there as soon as we can, but now…”

Jason felt something warm and wet drip onto his chest. He looked at Percy and saw tears streaming out of the corners of those eyes. “Everyone’s out there, fighting a battle,” Percy sniffled. “I don’t even know how to pilot a fighter drone. What can I do?”

Jason grimaced when Percy’s fingers dug into his shoulders. “The best thing I could come up with to get Bessie out of the Hellene Group was to curry favour with you so you could speak for me. I depended on someone else because I couldn’t do anything.”

Another sob wracked Percy’s body, and all Jason could do was shush him. “Don’t worry,” Jason whispered in Percy’s ear. “You want to be able to do something? Help them crack whatever is in Bessie’s DNA.” Jason rubbed Percy’s back. “You’ll be saving a whole lot of people if you can do that.”

“And besides,” said Jason, pulling away from Percy to look into Percy’s eyes. “Besides, we can make a fighter out of you, yet.” Jason smiled at the way that Percy’s eyes seemed to light up. “Reyna is one hell of a good teacher.”

“Granted,” said Jason, with a nonchalant shrug. He remembered when he had asked Reyna to train him. He had never had an aptitude for fighting before then, and he had always come home somewhat battered and bruised. “Training with Reyna might hurt, but I think that as long as you keep the reason you fight close to your chest, you’ll survive it.”

“You would really talk to her for me?” said Percy, voice low but enthusiastic all the same. Jason felt a warm tingling in his chest. He wiped away Percy’s tears with his thumbs.

“No,” said Jason. Percy’s face fell. “I won’t talk to her about training you. That just wouldn’t be right.” Jason could practically feel the anger coming from Percy. He half-expected to get punched, from the way that Percy’s entire body seemed to tense. “But, I can definitely tell her that you’re interested in learning from her.”

“She gets to decide whether she wants to take you on as a student or not,” said Jason. He pulled Percy to him again. “And the only way you’ll have a chance is if you approach her yourself. That’s the only way you’re going to show her you’ve got the spine to take what she’s going to throw at you.”

Percy sighed against Jason’s chest. Percy’s entire body went limp, but Jason just held him tighter. “When I was about as young as you are, Reyna and I were eating lunch and I kind of just let it slip that I wanted to learn how to fight…”

Percy looked up at Jason, sea-green eyes sparkling in the light of the room—which dimmed after another explosion rocked Scipio. “What happened?” Percy asked.

Jason chuckled. “She got up, picked up her tray, smacked me across the face with it and told me to actually man up and tell her that I wanted to learn how to fight instead of trying to treat her like one of my pet business projects.”

Percy giggled, the sound adorable to Jason’s ears. His dick twitched against his leg, but he tried his best to ignore it. “Well,” said Percy, “did you?”

Jason shrugged, nonchalantly. “Well,” he said, trailing off. “Eventually, I did. But it took me until we were departing from Earth on ARKIII to do it.” Jason looked at Percy and found an expectant look. “Well, the next thing she did was beat the shit out of me and send me to med bay. Apparently it was to motivate me to do better in her lessons.”

“Did it work?” said Percy.

“Eeeh…” Jason averted his eyes as a tinge of pink crept into his cheeks. “A little?” Percy giggled again. “Well, let’s just say that the next session, instead of defending myself, I started running away from Reyna and things didn’t end prettily.”

The room shook with another blast, but this one knocked out the lights. Jason felt Percy’s arms wrap around his neck. He also heard the soft gasp of surprise that followed.

The thrum of Scipio’s engines fell silent. The moment stretched on and on and on, seemingly without end. Jason could feel Percy shaking against his chest and decided that maybe, just maybe, they could both use a distraction from whatever was going on outside.

“You know,” Jason whispered in the darkness. “I think it’s adorable when you giggle.”

Jason felt a punch land on his shoulder. It wasn’t particularly hard or meant to hurt, but he definitely felt it. “I do not giggle,” said Percy, indignantly. “And I am not adorable.” Jason felt Percy’s arm return around his neck and felt them tighten. “I’m very manly,_” said Percy.

“Stop me if you ever feel uncomfortable, okay,” said Jason, as he let one of his hands wander down Percy’s lean but well-defined chest and stomach. He traced his fingers over the taut skin and muscles, noting in his mind every part that made Percy squirm ever so slightly.

“So, my manly man,” said Jason, hand drifting ever lower in the darkness. “Tell me, can you take it like a man?” Jason could feel Percy’s breathing grow shallow against his neck. He had come to Percy’s belly-button, and he was deliciously near to his prize.

“I can give it like a man,” said Percy, through gritted teeth. A gasp and a moan were all that Jason heard from Percy when he took his other hand and used it to cup a pert little buttcheek. “What are you doing?” Percy hissed, after a few moments. “Why are you doing this? What if Scipio’s about to explode?”

Jason chuckled and brought his face close to Percy’s. He could feel Percy’s warm breath wafting over his cheek. “Because,” he whispered, in Percy’s ear, “I think that you and I both need a distraction. If there are no alarms, then there is no trouble. Scipio might just be using all of the ship’s power for other things.”

Jason bit his lip. Percy’s legs parted ever so slightly when he massaged Percy’s ass. There was also an unmistakeable shiver of pleasure through Percy’s body when he pressed a finger to the puckered entrance that hid in the cleft of Percy’s butt. His other hand sought out Percy’s treasure trail and elicited a gasp from the boy’s soft lips. “Do you want me to stop?” he said, tone both teasing and sincere.

Jason traced the gentle curve of Percy’s cock with the tips of his fingers, felt it twitch and pulse against his touch. “G-gods,” Percy gasped. Jason lightly curled his fingers around the crown of Percy’s cock and stroked the head with his thumb. “D-don’t stop,” said Percy.

Jason closed his eyes as he gently stroked Percy’s sizeable—but, in comparison to his, relatively smaller—member. The darkness was both a boon and a curse. He could feel Percy’ writhing against him. He could feel Percy’s back arching, Percy’s legs flailing helplessly. This was, quite frankly, everything that Jason rather liked in a partner. It was only unfortunate that he couldn’t see what he was sure was a rather adorable fluster on Percy’s face.

Jason pressed his cheek to Percy’s and breathed in the clean scent that drifted from him. It reminded him, almost, of saltwater. He pressed soft, fluttering kisses to Percy’s neck and jaw, relishing in the small sounds of pleasure that escaped the younger man. He decided, at that moment, that if everything between himself and Percy ended when Scipio’s lights came back on, he was glad to have at least spent this moment with the boy.

“Loosen up, Percy,” Jason drawled, lazily. He slowly moved the fingers circled around Percy’s shaft up and down. A low-pitched whine followed. “Just… enjoy this.”