Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jason and Percy were sitting on the couch when they heard the first knock. Thinking that was going to stop after the one, Jason kept reading. You see, his boyfriend, Percy, has dyslexia. And Jason just happens to love literature so, sometimes Jason will read books to Percy. They have only been together five months. However, two months into their relationship, they trusted each other completely. So, Jason told Percy he was red hood. Percy smiled and said, ‘I’m a demigod’ Jason told Percy he wasn’t joking, and Percy replied the same. After a display of weapons and powers, they stayed up all night talking. That’s probably Jason’s favorite day post-pit.

The next day went a little like this: Percy had been awake for at least a few minutes and had been watching as Jason’s chest rose with each breath. Jason started to move, and Percy could tell he was waking up. Percy knew what was going to happen. He knew that when his boyfriend wakes up, he panics. He doesn’t know why though. But after their conversation last night, Percy feels like he can ask. Jason freezes and stops moving for a moment. He then, moves again and opens his eyes wide. He slowly turns to face his boyfriend and relaxes once Percy is in his line of sight. Percy reaches one hand out to hold his boyfriend’s face.

Then he asks lowly, “Hey baby? Can I ask you something?”

Jason who was still a little tired smiles as he answers, “Anything.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Percy asks quietly as the hand he has on his boyfriend’s face traces a scar.

“Talk about what?” Jason questions.

“Jay, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Jason looks confused but nods along so Percy continues, “Why do you panic when you first wake up? I’ve noticed that you do that every morning. You freeze but only for a moment and then you relax back into bed. It happens every day without fail.”

“I-” Jason looks surprised by the question. “I didn’t think it was so obvious.”

Percy shrugs, “If I didn’t know you as well as I do, it wouldn’t be.”

Jason stares at Percy as if deciding, “I struggle with my mind.” He admits. “When I wake up, I freak out and struggle with all these intense feelings of rage and I feel so hateful. It started after I went into the Pit. Every single morning it happens. I wake up and struggle with controlling my thoughts. This madness just takes over me and I can’t- I just need for things to be calm. It used to be worse; I would wake up and try and fight anyone near, that’s why I kept avoiding us falling asleep together for so long. I never want to hurt you, Percy.”

“Okay.” Percy says.

“That’s it? No questions?” Jason asks his boyfriend.

“Are you comfortable with me asking questions?” Jason only nods in response to Percy’s question. “Why did you call it a madness?”

“Really?” Jason asks with a small laugh. “Out of everything I said that’s what you want to ask about?” Percy only nods, “Okay. well, I called it a madness because I guess sometimes it makes me feel like I’m going crazy. Just insane, you know?”

“Well, I might be able to help?” Percy says quietly, “I got a blessing from Dionysus, that makes it so I can cure certain madnesses. I’ve never actually tried to before. So, I have no idea if it’ll work. But I was warned that it only works for some madnesses definitely not all.”

His boyfriend smiles at Percy and says, “Maybe I’m that special kind of crazy.” Percy laughs at his boyfriend.

“You’re so stupid sometimes.”

“And yet you love me.” His boyfriend says, as Percy gets manhandled and moved on top of his boyfriend.

Percy straddles his boyfriend’s waist, and rolls his eyes but still smiles, “Whatever you need to tell yourself.” His smile falters as he asks, “do you want to do this right now?” Percy looks concerned as he asks, “If you’re sure about this, I’ll do it right now.”

“It’ll only effect my mind, right?”

“Yeah, that’s kinda the whole thing.” Percy reassured.

“Okay. Do it.”

“Are you sure, baby?” Percy asks again.

“I trust you, Percy.”

“Tell me if you want to stop.”

“Why? Are we doing something a little more interesting?” Jason asks with a smirk.

“Jason, I’m not joking.”

Jason looks at Percy more seriously now, “Okay. I’ll tell you if I want to stop.”

“Good.” Percy breathes a sigh of relief.

It takes about 20 minutes to figure out. But in the end, they get it. Percy almost passes out and collapses on top of his boyfriend. Resting his forehead on Jason’s chest.

“How are you feeling?” Percy mumble tiredly.

Jason groans, “Like I have the worst hangover ever.” Jason mumbles a little before he asks, “What about you?”

“I’m tired.”

“Yeah, Sleep sound good right now.” Jason agrees.

-

Jason wakes up first this time. His head hurts a little and his boyfriend is passed out on top of him. Not wanting to wake Percy, Jason quietly reaches for his phone and turns it on. It’s 2 in the afternoon. They’ve both slept a while. Jason is debating whether or not to move Percy. His options are lay here and be sure he won’t wake up his boyfriend or attempt to move him so Jason can make them something to eat. Before he can come to a decision, Percy moves. His boyfriend’s head resting on Jason’s chest. Jason runs his finger through Percy’s hair. Admiring how beautiful he looks like this. Percy finally looks up and looks into Jason’s eyes. Percy’s smile falters, his face gives a look of confusion. Percy stares at his boyfriend not saying anything.

“What?” Jason asks quietly.

“Your eyes are blue.” Is Percy’s only response.

Jason’s hand pauses in Percy’s hair, “What?” He asks again.

“Baby, your eyes aren’t green anymore.” Percy says quietly.

Jason starts to slowly smile, “Really?”

Percy nods, “Really.”

Jason reaches for his phone to check in the camera, and sure, enough his eyes are the color of the sky. He puts down the phone and smiles brightly at his boyfriend.
Percy looks a little confused and asks, “So, this is good then?”

Jason smiles at him, “It’s great. My eyes used to be blue. They only were green because of the Pit.”

“Oh.” Percy says calmy, his hands moving to his boyfriend’s face. He smiles genuinely, “They’re really pretty.”

Jason flips them around in the bed, now Percy is under him and Jason says, “Did you just call me pretty?”

“I said your eyes are pretty.” Percy then smirks, “But yes, You’re pretty, too.” Jason’s hands tighten around Percy’s waist.

“If anyone here is pretty,” Jason leans down and kisses his boyfriend, “It’s you.”

-

Jason wasn’t sure how to tell his family so, in the last 3 months he hadn’t attended the family dinners and had kept his helmet on when he ran into a vigilante while patrolling. Since they couldn’t talk about their personal lives in costume, no one asked. So, Jason said nothing.

Until now.

They heard a fifth knock; each time they had been two minutes apart.

“Oh, my gods, will that person just answer their door.” Percy had said, clearly getting annoyed.

“You’d think they would get the hint.” Jason said.

“Right.” Percy responded.

“Hey. Did you see where I left my phone?” Jason asked while checking his pockets.

“I think it was in the kitchen.” Percy said. “I’ll get it.”

“Thank you.” Jason spoke as Percy got up. A few moments later Percy held out the phone to Jason. Jason reached for his phone. And Percy pulled the phone away from his boyfriend.

“Nuh uh, you don’t just get this for free. I walked all the way into the kitchen for this.” Percy said with a smile.

“Oh?” Jason smiled back, “What’s the price for it?”

“A kiss.”

“Just one?” Jason teased.

“I could be persuaded for more.” Percy responded as he sat in his boyfriend’s lap. Jason responded by pulling Percy toward him, their lips touched briefly before Jason pulled back.

“Just the one, right?” He said with a smirk.

“Shut up.” Percy spoke as he pulled Jason in again. Their lips moved in sync as if they did this all the time (they do.).

A loud noise startled them apart.

“Ugh.” Percy mumbled as he put his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“I’ll take care of it.” Jason said as he moved his boyfriend, so he could get off the couch. Jason walked to the door. Opening it before speaking, “Could you stop?” then, he realized that the person was knocking on his door, and that the person was Tim.

“I thought you lived over here.” Tim said while gesturing to the door he was knocking on.

“I do.”

“So, what? Your… hooking up with a hot neighbor then?”

“No. I’m hooking up with my boyfriend who happens to be my hot neighbor.” Jason said with an eye roll. “What are you doing here?”

“Do you have any coffee?”

“Seriously? Again? This is what? The third time this month?”

“Fourth.” Tim corrected.

“It’s the fourth time this month that you got banned from having coffee and you’re still trying to get some.” Jason shook his head as he spoke.

“They won’t let me have any at the manor or at work, and dad froze my account so I can’t buy any.” Tim explained.

Jason sighed before speaking, “Fine. Come in.” He opened the door the rest of the way.

“Are you inviting me into an apartment that’s not yours?” Tim said with raised eyebrows.

“Do you want coffee, or not?”

Tim walked into the apartment.

=

“Um, hi.” Tim said as he saw someone sitting on the couch.

“Hello.” The guy waved as he spoke.

“Percy, this is my brother, Tim.” Jason said with a smile before turning to Tim, “Runt, this is my boyfriend, Percy.” That’s when Tim noticed Jason’s eyes.

“Wait.” He paused, blinking as he stared at his brother. “Is it just me, or are your eyes blue? They look how they did before.”

Jason’s smile faltered, “um yeah.” He put his head down as he said, “Percy helped me get rid of the Pit side effects.”

“Wait. He knows?” Tim asked because there is no way Jason gave away his identity to someone he barely knows.

“I’ve known for like three months.” Jason’s boyfriend spoke up. What? Tim is even more confused at this point.

“How long have you two been together?”

“Five months.” Jason spoke this time. Hold on. Wait a minute. This is not helping Tim’s confusion. If they’ve been dating that long, why hasn’t Jason brought him up before?

“Really? That long?” He stared at his brother, “How come I’ve never heard you talk about him before?”

Jason looked at his brother before asking, “Do you still want coffee?”

“Well-. Yeah.” Tim barely had enough time to finish talking before Jason left the room. “Okay, then.”

“Right.” The guy said as he gets up, “I’m Percy Jackson. Jason talks about you sometimes.”

“All bad things?” Tim tried to joke. But he knew Jason didn’t like him much. Or at least he didn’t a few months ago. I guess Tim knows why Jason’s been acting different recently. The guy- Percy laughed.

“Um, no. actually.” Percy gave him a soft smile before saying, “He really loves you guys.” Tim might have miss heard him. Because what? Jason loves his family, yeah, this Tim knows, but he says it? Out loud? To another living being? That just doesn’t seem very Jason like.

“So, Should I be giving you the shovel talk?” Tim asked, unsure what else to say.

“If you’d like to but, Selena already gave me one.” Percy said.

“You’ve met Selena?” Tim spoke,

“Her, Harley and Ivy. Jason said they’re your aunts.” Percy answered Tim’s question.

“I guess they are.” Tim looked at Percy before saying, “so, um, if you don’t mind me asking, feel free to just not answer, but how exactly did you get rid of the Pit madness?”

“Oh.” Percy paused as if deciding what to say, “Long story short, I got a blessing from a god.”

“A god? Like the Greek gods? Like Hestia?” for some reason the last question made Percy smile.

“Yeah, exactly like Hestia. She’s my favorite goddess.” ‘That explains the smile’ Tim thought. “How did you come up with her first?”

“Oh, um well, do you know that the Red Hood works with the Justice League sometimes?” Percy nodded. So, Tim continued, “Right well, Wonder Woman mentions her and Artemis the most.”

Percy nodded again, “That makes sense.” Percy looked at him as if just realizing something, “do you want to sit down?” Oh. How had he not noticed he had been standing this whole time?

“Sure.” Tim sat on the couch cushion farthest away from Percy. Don’t judge him, okay? He doesn’t know the guy.

Jason finally walked back into the room, while saying, “Percy only had the brand I like. So, here.” He said as he handed the cup to Tim. His brother thanked him but didn’t take a drink yet. Jason sat down between the two of them.

“I don’t like coffee. Plus, I have ADHD.” Percy explained why he only had the kind of coffee Jason likes. “Do you want a cookie?” Percy gestured to the cookies that were on the coffee table in front of them.

“Why are they blue?” Tim asked. Before he then yawned.

“Doesn’t matter.” His brother responded. Percy moved to put a hand on Jason’s shoulder, as if to say, ‘it’s okay’.

“I had this Asshole stepfather. Anyway, one day he said that blue food doesn’t exist so, my mom dyed the food she made, blue for two weeks. And I guess the cookies just kind of stuck.” Percy explained as he grabbed a cookie and took a bite. Tim nodded and grabbed a cookie before taking a bite. And- what the hell? Are there drugs in these cookies? Cookies aren’t this good naturally; that’s not an act of nature.

“These are really good.” But seriously are their drugs in the cookies?

=

“You know what, no.” Jason said as if he decided something. And now Percy is confused. Because what the fuck is his boyfriend up to? His question is answered when Jason reaches in front of Tim and takes his coffee.

“Hey!” Tim protested, “That’s mine!”

“Not anymore.” Jason held the cup up so Tim couldn’t reach it if he got up. “You need sleep. Right now. In fact, if you fall asleep right now um- Percy will make you a bunch of cookies.” Percy was planning on making cookies later anyway so, he nodded along. Jason smiled at him.

“I can’t just fall asleep at the snap of my fingers.” Tim said, right before yawning again. “Okay. Maybe I need some sleep.” Jason looked surprised. Percy isn’t sure why because all that happened was, he asked his brother to do something, and his brother agreed. Do siblings not normal agree? Estelle couldn’t talk the last time Percy saw her so; he’s never argued with her. But if they’re anything like how Percy, Nico, and Thaila act around each other that makes more sense. “When are we going back to your apartment?” Tim stared at Jason expectantly, “I’m actually willing to sleep so it better be soon.”

“To my apartment?” Jason asked, “No. I’m staying here tonight. You can go to my apartment if you want, or you can stay on the couch here.”

“There you go again. Offering things that aren’t yours.” Tim said. Now if somebody walked into Percy’s apartment and started offering things to other people, He would do the normal thing and get mad. But this wasn’t just anybody, this was Jason. He knows Percy’s boundaries and where to draw the line. He also knows Percy would have offered anyway. So, no he isn’t mad.

“I was going to offer anyway.” Percy interrupted the two.

“Okay fine.” Tim stared at his brother before saying, “Go get me a blanket and pillow, dumbass.”

Jason got up off the couch as he spoke, “maybe you should ask nicely, replacement.” However, it was clear he was going to do it anyway.

“I’m going to help him.” Percy said. Before getting up and following his boyfriend.

“Hey.” Jason smiled at Percy as he walked up to him. Opening the closet door to grab a blanket and pillow.

“Hi.” Percy smiled back. He reached to grab the blanket first, but a hand on his wrist stopped him. Jason pulled his wrist, pushing Percy against the door before kissing him. Percy’s hands moved to his boyfriend’s hair as Jason placed his hands on Percy’s hips, pulling him close.

“You two better not start fucking right now!” Tim yelled from the living room.

“Fuck.” Jason mumbled under his breath.

“Maybe later.” Percy said with a wink, as he quickly grabbed the pillow and blanket. Then, walked away from his boyfriend.

“Fuck.” Jason mumbled again. This time running a hand down his face. Percy smirked as he walked into the living room.

“Okay, here you go.” Percy said to Tim.

“Thanks, man.” Tim said in response. “But seriously, could you two not fuck while I’m here? Or at least be quiet?” Then added, “please.”

“Yeah of course.” Percy nodded, then mumbled, “One of those will happen.”

“That’s probably the best I can get. Tell Jason I said ‘goodnight, idiot.’ Make sure you add the idiot in there.” Tim smiled as he said, “It’s important.”

Percy laughed, “Sure, see ya later.”

“Goodnight.” Was what Percy heard as he walked into his room.

Jason was laying on the bed with a book. “I was gone for like a minute. How are you already reading?” Percy questioned his boyfriend.

“Well, some of us don’t take 5 minutes to read a single sentence.” Jason retorted.

“Yeah, sure, make fun of the guy with dyslexia.” Percy spoke with a fond smile. He walked to his dresser, changing into a pair of sweatpants and one of Jason’s hoodies that he stole.

“Is that my hoodie?” Jason asked, with a smile.

“It was your hoodie.” Percy smirked at his boyfriend as he climbed onto the bed, “Thank you for the donation.”

“Well, as long as it’s going to a good cause.” Jason said as he pulled Percy on to him.

Percy smiled at his boyfriend, “I love you.”

Jason spoke as he leaned in to kiss his boyfriend, “I love you, too.”

=

The first thing Tim noticed when he woke up is that he didn’t recognize where he was. The second thing he noticed was that his brother was sitting in a chair across from him. Right. Tim is at Jason’s Boyfriend’s apartment.

Jason looked up from his book, before speaking, “Morning sleepy head. Well, afternoon actually.”

“What? It’s the afternoon? How long did I sleep?” Tim questioned.

“About 14 hours.” Jason said calmly.

“What?! 14 hours?! And you didn’t think to wake me up?!” Time exclaimed.

“Oh, come on. When was the last time you got that much sleep?” Jason asked his brother.

“Never. I don’t sleep that long.” Tim protested.

Jason scoffed, “well, you did.”

“I’m late for work.” Tim said as he got up from the couch.

“It’s Sunday.” Jason said, “Come on, I asked Percy to make more cookies for you.”

“Where is Percy?” Tim asked.

“He left for work a while ago.” Jason watched as his brother looked confused.

“And you didn’t I don’t know… Wake me up!?” Tim glared at his brother as he spoke, “so, what you thought ‘oh of course, Tim still wants to sleep he doesn’t have anything to do today.’ Wrong! I do have shit to do. Now I’m late. So, great. Thank you so much.”

“Okay, my bad.” Jason admits. “Could you not tell everyone I have a boyfriend? and at least take the cookies. Percy spent like an hour making them this morning.” Jason requested.

“Yes, I’ll take the cookies and yes, I’ll keep your stupid secret.” Tim told his brother.

“Percy’s not a secret!” insisted Jason.

“Oh yeah, then why does none of the family know about him?” Tim declared.

“Because I wasn’t ready. I’m not even sure if I am now. And okay, I really do want to tell them but, I freak myself out every time I try.” Jason confessed.

They both freeze, as if taking in what was just said.

They stare at each other for a few moments before Tim breaks the silence, “Do you want help?”

“What?” Confusion clear on Jason’s face as he spoke.

“The next time you try to tell everyone; do you want help?” Tim asked again.

“I- I don’t know.” Jason said quietly. “I want to bring him to the Gala that’s in 2 months.”

“Come over for dinner at the manor. Explain it to everyone then.” Tim suggested.

“Maybe- when?” Jason asked.

Tim laughed, “well, if you checked the family group chat more, you’d know that dad tries to make everyone be there on the last Friday of the month, every month.”

“Oh, I might possibly show up next time.” Jason told his brother.

“You can show up whenever. We always want you there, Jason.” Tim said sincerely. Before hugging his brother.

“Stop. This is getting too emotional. Just take your cookies and go.” Jason said with a small laugh, before shoving his younger brother towards the door.

“See you later, zombie.” Tim said with a smirk as he opened the door.

“Yeah, whatever, replacement.” Jason spoke before pushing his brother out of the apartment and closing the door.

-

It wasn’t until a few days later, that Tim reached out to Jason. He called his brother not really expecting an answer.

“Hello?” Jason asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

“Hi. Um. I can call back later?” Tim suggested not wanting to annoy Jason more.

“Oh. Tim, no need. Sorry I didn’t check who it was before answering.” Jason’s voice a little lighter as he spoke.

“Right.” Gods why was this so awkward.

“So, what’s up?” his older brother asked.

“You know what? This was a stupid idea. Sorry to bother you. I’ll see you at family dinner.” Tim rushed the words out.

“Wait. I’m sure it isn’t stupid.” Jason said calmly, not a hint of judgment in his voice. “You can tell me.”

“So, I just had this idea. It’s stupid though. Doesn’t really make sense, anyway.”

“Tim.”

“Right. So, you know how a few days ago I slept over at your and Percy’s place?” Jason hummed in agreement. “I was hoping I could, maybe, do that again?” Neither of them said anything for a moment. Before Tim broke the silence, “I was just thinking that because I slept for 14 hours while there, and I’ve never really done that before. So, maybe it was just being there, or maybe it was the calm atmosphere, or maybe it was a one-time thing. I just figured because I haven’t slept more than an hour since, that I could at least try and ask. You know?”

“Yeah, okay.” Jason agreed.

“Because maybe- wait. You agreed?” Tim asked sounding surprised.

“Of course, you’re my brother. Why wouldn’t I?”

“What if Percy doesn’t agree?” Tim started to worry.

“He will.” Jason doesn’t hesitate to answer.

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“One sec.” Jason’s voice was a little quieter the next moment. “Babe, can Tim stay over again?” then he heard a “sure. But if he wants cookies, he’ll have to help make them this time.” Jason spoke to Tim again, “He said ‘yeah’ also, if you want cookies you got to help make them.”

Tim laughed in response, “Sounds great.” A smile already forming on his face.

-

He hadn’t meant to make it a thing, going to Percy’s apartment to sleep. Really, he didn’t. He just felt really comfortable around him and Jason. There was something that made a cozy atmosphere in their apartment. Tim just felt safe while there. Not that he didn’t feel safe at the manor, because he did. It was just different. Percy’s place just gave off this calming, homey, warm, comfortable vibe, that the manor didn’t have. The manor had more of a secure, guarded, and sincere vibe.

Both place’s felt equally safe to Tim. Which he honestly found weird because he had been at the manor for years, it was filled with his family, it has batman there for fucks sake. However, Jason and Percy always made Tim feel welcome. Percy helped Tim become decent at baking (maybe Alfred will let him help in the kitchen now.) and Tim tried to help Percy with understanding technology because Percy said he hasn’t used it much (Tim didn’t ask why.). Tim started to meet the Jason from the stories Dick and Bruce told. Now that Tim has properly met the two, he doesn’t want to go back.

“-Tim, what do you think?” Percy interrupted his thoughts.

“Sorry, what?”

“What video game do you want to play?” he summarized.

“Oh, uh, maybe Mario Kart?” Tim shrugged.

“See, I told you.” Jason smirked. “I knew he was going to side with me.”

“You know what?” Tim rushed out the words, “let’s actually go with what Percy suggested.”

“What?!” Jason protested.

“See, I told you.” Percy repeated Jasons words to him.

“Nuh, uh. No way.” Jason then accused, “you’re only saying that so, you don’t agree with me.”

“What? No. I would never.” Tim denied.

“Oh really?” Jason questioned. Tim nodded his head in reply. “Okay, that’s what we’ll play then.” Percy reached over to high five Tim. While, they were pulling their hands back Jason spoke again, “If you tell me the name of the game Percy suggested.” Fuck. How is he supposed to know this? Why wasn’t he paying attention earlier? Behind Jason, Percy started to act something out, Tim sucks at charades, how is he supposed to guess this. Oh, he is so fucked.

=

Dick missed his brother.

He hadn’t seen Jason in weeks. They might not be on the best of terms since Jason’s return. But he and Bruce had tried so hard to bring Jason back legally, after Jason gave them the go ahead. Jason even agreed to go to the next Gala. So, Dick thought things were getting better. But then, Jason had started to ignore Dick out of costume. He doesn’t know what he did. Of course, Dick feels bad that he hadn’t noticed until about a month and a half ago, but he’s pretty sure it’s been going on at least 3 months.

He wants his little brother back. So, he made a plan. 1. Surprise visit at Jason’s apartment. 2. Get him to confess what’s wrong. 3. Fix problem. 4. Get his brother back. It’s not very specific but, Dick thinks it’s a pretty good plan. Right now, he is on step one. He knocks on the door a second time. When he gets no answer, he grabs out his phone and calls his brother.

“What’s up, dickhead?” is how Jason answers his phone.

“Open your door.”

“You’re at my apartment?” the shock in Jason’s voice was clear.

“Yes. I also saw your bike outside so don’t say you aren’t home.” Dick says.

“I’m not there.” Jason says before he rushes out, “not that I’m not in the building. I’m just not at my apartment right now.”

“Oh?” Dick asks surprised. “Then do you mind telling me where you are?”

“you’re facing my door right now?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, then go one door to your left.”

“Seriously? Are you sleeping with your neighbor?” Dick asks incredulous.

“Why is that everyone’s first guess?” Jason asks before opening the door. The first thing Dick notices is that Jason has his head down. Dick hangs up and puts his phone in his pocket as he talks.

“Am I wrong then?”

Jason shakes his head and mumbles a ‘no’. fuck. What did Dick do to make his brother so weird with him.

“Jay, who is it?” A voice Dick doesn’t recognize asks.

Before a voice Dick does recognize says, “I swear if they don’t have pizza, stab whoever is standing there.”

Without thinking Dick says loud enough for Tim to hear, “I think you’ve been spending too much time with the demon.” He feels like a hypocrite as he says while walking in, “violence is never the answer.”

That makes Jason laugh before the guy sitting on the couch next to Tim says, “He’s right. Violence is never the answer.” Then looks at Dick as he says, “violence is the question. The answer is yes.”

“Oh, my gods” Jason says as he closes the door and moves to sit on the couch between the two, but before he could Tim moves closer to the guy. “What are you doing?”

Tim ignores the question and turns to the guy, “You are so right. Please marry me?” What the fuck did Dick just walk into?

“Hey!” Jason pushes Tim away from the guy as he says, “Leave my boyfriend alone.” It’s more of a growl as he speaks. The guy (Jason’s boyfriend?) stands up and walks toward Dick as Tim pushes Jason back.

“I’m Percy.” The guy- Percy says as he holds out a hand.

“Dick. I’m Jason’s older brother.” He shakes Percy’s hand as he speaks.

“Those two have told me a lot about you.” He gestures to Dick’s brothers just as Tim punches Jason in the gut.

“Should we stop them?” He asks as they watch the two start to brawl.

“I guess.” Percy pauses before yelling, “Boys!” Jason and Tim act like they don’t hear him. “If you two break anything you will be the ones to fix it.” They continue to ignore him. So, he says, “Fine. If you don’t stop, I won’t make any cookies for a week.” They both pause. Jason gets up off the floor and holds out a hand for Tim. He pulls him halfway up before letting go. Tim stumbles but doesn’t fall.

“You asshole.” Tim says as he lunges at Jason again.

“Boys!” Percy yells again, this time they both stop at glare at each other.

Dick freezes as he watches the two. That can’t be. Is he hallucinating?

“Jason?” Jason turns to look at him. He’s almost afraid to ask. “Are your eyes blue?” his voice just barely shakes as he asks.

Jason looks like he was caught off guard, “yeah.” He speaks quietly. He nods dumbly.

“Percy got rid of some of Jason’s Pit side effects.” Tim interrupts. What? Percy did? Is he a meta?

“Are you a meta?” Dick asks before he can stop himself. Apparently, he should have tried harder because his brothers glare at him. “Obviously, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“Sort of, I guess.” Percy responds. It’s vague but Dick accepts it as an answer.

He nods, “okay.” He looks around the room before asking, “I feel like I’m intruding. Should I go?”

“no.” Jason says calmy. Okay so, maybe Dick didn’t do anything wrong then. Wait.

“That’s why you’ve been avoiding me. You didn’t want me to see your eyes.” Dick accuses.

“Yeah, I wasn’t sure how to tell you.” He scoffs, “Or anyone for that matter.”

“Oh, good. You can help us now.” Tim says to his eldest brother. “Jason’s needs help telling everyone else about his eyes and about Percy. You game?”

“Yeah. Of course.” Dick doesn’t hesitate to agree. Jason wraps his arms around his boyfriend and puts his head on his shoulder. Did Dick say something wrong? Did Jason not want him to agree? Did he think Dick wouldn’t be on his side? He will always be on his little brother’s side. It’s not even a question, really.

That night, Dick drives Tim to the manor. They spend the whole drive talking. At dinner Tim adds Dick to a group chat.

-you’ve been added to whores and bores-

DGW- what’s up with the gc name?

TDW- Some people here are whores and others are boring

PJ- ^^^^

JTW- which one am i?

PJ-whore

TDW- bore

PJ- ECUSE ME?

DGW- Excuse*

PJ- IM DYLSEXIC YOU FUCK

JTW- smh I thought you were better than this, dickhead

TDW- yeah, we don’t correct percy in this gc

DGW- sorry?

PJ- you r forivgen

DGW- thank you.

TDW- ANYWAYS

TDW- back to the original point. DID U JUST CALL MY BROTHER A WHORE????!!

PJ- I am many tihngs, but a liar is not one.

PJ- and to be fait im allowed to say these things abut my bf

TDW- NOT AROUND ME

PJ- yeah huh

TDW- nuh uh.

PJ- YEAH HUH

TDW- NUH UH

DGW- do I ignore this?

JTW- that’s what I do.

PJ- YEAH HUH!

TDW- NUH UH!

DGW- are they always like this?

JTW- unfortunately.

Dick smiles at his phone.

Should he?

You know what, fuck it.

Contact name changed PJ is now Futurebrotherinlaw

Contact name changed JTW is now Percy’sbitch

Contact name changed TDW is now Bluecookiewhore

Bluecookiewhore- you know what? These names are accurate

Futurebrotherinlaw- asdfghjkl

Percy’sbitch- I…

Percy’sbitch has changed DGW’s name to Dickhead

Dickhead- rude.

Yeah. He missed his brother a lot.

-

Dick had an interesting next day.

The most notable part had been when Jason actually responded in the family group chat. Which was surprising to everyone, except him and Tim.

-Batchat-

BW- Family diner on Friday. Be there.

BG- Sorry, I’m busy this week.

BW- That’s okay Barbra.

DGW- I can be there

DT- ^^^^^

SB- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

CC- ^

TDW- ^^^

JTW-^

DW- I will be there, Father.

TDW- of course you will u live there.

DW- You also live at the manor, Drake.

SB- yeah don’t be a hypocrite, red.

DT- are we ignoring the fact Jason replied? He never replies in this gc?

JTW- do u not want me there?

SB- of course we want u there. duke, whats wrong with u?

BW- Jason, we want you to be there.

BG-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

CC- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

TDW- ^^^^^

DW- I guess, it would be adequate for you to be there.

DGW- I don’t want you there

SB- DICK????!!!!

CC- WHAT!!

JTW- Fuck you, Dickwing.

JTW changed DGW to Dickwing

Dickwing- no. fuck you.

Dickwing changed JTW to Percy’sbitch

TDW- LMAO

TDW- this is amazing plz continue.

Dickwing changed TDW to Bluecookiewhore

Bluecookiewhore- you know what?

Bluecookiewhore- just bc ur accurate does not mean ur interesting.

Percy’sbitch changed BW to Batdad

Percy’sbitch changed DW to thedemonchild

Dickwing changed CC to theniceone

Percy’sbitch changed BG to theprophet

Percy’sbitch changed DT to basic

Percy’sbitch changed SB to Purple

Thedemonchild- I suppose I won’t stab you, yet.

Purple- um

Purple- I FUCKING WILL

Purple- WHAT KNID OF A NAME IS PURPLE??!!!

Theniceone- kind*

Basic- R U REALLY COMPLAINING ABOUT UR NAME??!!!! LOOK AT MINE

Bluecookiewhore- is he wrong tho?

Basic- UM YES

Theprophet- no.

Theprophet- now to the more important matter.

Theprophet- who’s Percy?

Percy’sbitch- see what you did, Dickhead

Dickwing- I’m sorry.

Bluecookiewhore- LOL

Percy’sbitch- laugh at me again and Percy will never make cookies for you, ever.

Bluecookiewhore- im sry

Percy’sbitch- ur forgiven. But ur on thin fucking ice.

Percy’sbitch- also

Percy’sbitch- Percy is my boyfriend.

Purple- WHAT??!!!!

Theniceone- What

Basic- HUH??!!!

Theprophet- I’m glad you found someone, Jason.

Thedemonchild- I was unaware of your relationship. I must challenge him to a battle to see if he is good enough for you.

Percy’sbitch- Dami, please don’t fight my boyfriend

Batdad- bring him to diner

Batdad- only if you want too of course

Purple- GUYS!! No capitals or punctuation.

Purple- Jason, I think you broke B.

Batdad- im fine.

Bluecookiewhore- OMGs

Basic- it might be because of his name.

Dickwing- It is.

Batdad- untrue

Thedemonchild- Father, they are correct. You are acting strange.

Theniceone- Yes.

Percy’sbitch- I can change it?

Batdad- Don’t you dare.

Dickwing- LMAO

Dickwing- B and I r at a league meeting and they all just watched B scowl at his phone while typing that.

Dickwing- Barry just said, ‘I feel bad for whoever is on the other side of that phone.’ AND EVERYONE NODDED

Bluecookiewhore- LMAO

Percy’sbitch- aww B. you love me that much?

Batdad- Of course I do.

Bluecookiewhore- GUYS!! JASON LOOKS LIKE HE MIGHT CRY

Percy’sbitch- SHUT UP, REPLACEMENT

Bluecookiewhore- LOL

Bluecookiewhore- Percy just asked Jason what was wrong. Jason said ‘I don’t know how they can still love me.’ And Percy said, ‘it’s really easy.’ THEY ARE SO FUCKING CUTE

Dickwing- I KNOW. IT’S DISGUSTING

Thedemonchild- that sounds like an accurate description.

Purple- WAIT! Dick, Tim, have you two met Jason’s boyfriend?

Bluecookiewhore- uh Duh.

Dickwing- yeah.

Dickwing- in fact, when I met Percy, Tim was there, and he asked Percy to marry him.

Basic- WHAT

Bluecookiewhore- I forgot about that.

Purple- TIM U DID NOT

Percy’sbitch- He did. I hit him.

Bluecookiewhore- IT WAS A JOKE

Dickwing- they started brawling on the floor.

Dickwing- they only stopped when Percy bribed them with cookies.

Theprophet- you keep mentioning the cookies. Are they really that good?

Bluecookiewhore- they are like the best thing in the world.

Bluecookiewhore- I would do anything for those cookies.

Thedemonchild- Anything?

Bluecookiewhore- I would kill superman if that was the only way to get more cookies.

Dickwing- 100% agree with you.

“Nightwing!”

Dick looked up from his phone and noticed his dad walking towards him. “What’s up?”

“Did you mean what you just said?” His dad asked.

Dick nodded, “Oh, yeah. Completely.”

His dad was probably squinting his eyes under his mask, “That sounds like a security risk.”

“You don’t understand.”

Diana interrupted the two, “What’s going on?”

“I would like to also know.” Clark spoke up.

“It was a joke!” Dick tried to defend himself. “But not really.”

“What does that even mean?” Hal whispers to Barry, who just shrugs.

Dick starts walking towards his room. “Where are you going?” his dad asks.

“Wait here.” Dick says as he continues to walk away, “I’ll be right back.” Dick rushes to his room and quickly grabs the container of cookies off the desk before walking back to the others. He walks over to his dad, opens the container and holds it out to him. “Try one.”

“Have you two been texting about cookies?” Barry asks sounding bewildered.

“No.”

“Yes.”

They glared at each other.

Bruce took a bite of the cookie. He paused a moment, before looking his son in the eyes and saying, “Are there drugs in these cookies?”

“What?! No. of course not.” Dick tried to defend the delicious treats.

“Are you trying to drug him?” Oliver asked.

“No!” Dick looked around at everyone in the room, “There are no drugs in the cookies.”

“Cookies aren’t naturally this good. There has to be something in them.” B said.

“That’s what I thought at first, too. But I tested what was in it and it’s just normal cookie ingredients.” Dick rushed the words out.

“Bullshit.”

“No! it’s true.”

“Sure, it is.”

“Fine, if you don’t believe me then, you don’t need anymore.” Dick claimed. He snatched the container back and put the lid on.

“Fine.” His dad spoke, “I believe you.”

“Woah, am I seeing shit? Or did Batman just admit defeat, for cookies?” Barry asked.

“No. I saw it, too.” Hal said.

“Me too.” Oliver agreed.

“How about we-” Clark was interrupted by the alarm ringing through the tower. “We’ll talk when we get back.”

=

Jason wasn’t sure what to do.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure what he wanted to do. He had said that he would be at family diner on Friday. Dick brought up Percy so, at least he doesn’t have to figure out how to tell them about him. His eyes though? That’s going to be difficult to talk about. Or maybe since his dad invited Percy, He will help. Honestly, Jason thinks his boyfriend just being there, would help a lot.

“Hey, Babe?” Jason waited until Percy looked up at him, before continuing, “Do you want to go with me on Friday? For my family diner? Obviously, you don’t have too.”

Percy placed a hand over Jason’s as he spoke, “I would love to.”

Jason smiled at him softly. He’s not sure what exactly he did to deserve Percy. Honestly, He’s a killer. Jason has literally murdered people and he still does sometimes. Jason stared into Percy’s eyes a moment before saying, “I don’t deserve you.” He knows Percy understood what he meant.

“What?” Percy’s smile faltered, “no. if anything I’m not good enough for you.” He held Jason’s face with both hands, “you think you’re so horrible; just because you killed maybe a hundred people at most. I have taken at least a few thousand lives. If anyone’s a monster here, it’s me.”

“You are not a monster, Percy.” Jason rushed out. His hands wrapping around Percy’s waist to pull him closer, “I need you to believe me when I say this. Okay?” Percy nodded. Jason held on a little tighter, “You are my everything. I love you more than I ever thought possible. You are the best thing in my life and honestly, now that you’re here; I don’t think I could ever live without you. I don’t want to live without you. You’re the love of my life. I think you are perfect in every way possible.”

Percy had tears in his eyes as he asked with a small laugh, “The love of your life, huh?”

“There is never going to be anyone else.” Jason said sincerely.

“Gods, you’re such a romantic.” Percy huffed a laugh, “You’re the love of my life, too” After he finished speaking the words, His boyfriend pulled Jason in for a kiss. It was delicate, reassuring, and so full of love. It could have been hours or minutes later, when they finally pulled away. They didn’t go very far, just barely an inch between their lips as they rested their foreheads together. How ever long it had been, it definitely wasn’t enough time.

The door opening startled them, but neither moved.

“Seriously?” Tim asked as he looked at the two, “I was gone for maybe an hour.”

Jason slowly pulled away from his boyfriend and then sat down on the couch. “How about you leave for two more hours?”

“What? No.” Tim dismissed, “I just got all the ingredients we needed to make brownies. I am not leaving until I get brownies.”

“Suit yourself.” Percy said before he straddled his boyfriend. Grabbing Jason’s face again and pulling him in for a kiss. Jason’s hands instinctively wrapped around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Stop!! Okay! I get it!” Tim yelled. Percy pulled away but didn’t move off his boyfriend.

“You sure? Because-” Percy started.

“No!” Tim glared at him. “Fine.” He placed the bags down and said, “I’ll be back in two hours.” He closed the door a little too harshly after he finished speaking.

Percy started laughing. Jason couldn’t help but smile at him as he spoke, “You are evil.”

“Oh?” Percy questioned with a smirk, “but you love me, anyway.”

“But I love you, anyway.” Jason repeated back.

=

It’s Friday, and Tim is ready for the chaos.

Is it wrong to say he’s excited about today? It’s not to spite Percy or Jason, no, nothing like that. He just couldn’t wait to see everyone’s reactions. It’s going to be hilarious. He’s sure Dick thinks so, too. Getting through the school day was difficult enough. But now dinner is only a few hours away and Tim was getting restless.

“Hey, Tim. Who’s right? Me or Cass?” Stephanie asked.

“Right about what?”

“Well, I think that Percy is going to be scary like Damian.” She gestures to Cass as she speaks, “Cass thinks that Percy’s going to be a big softie, like Dick. So, who’s right?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure how to describe Percy. He’s both of those things I guess.” Tim looked at Steph, “But he’s also not?”

Stephanie shakes her head at him, “Thanks, that totally clears everything up.”

“Sorry?”

Cass signs at the two of them, shaking her head, ‘Me. Right.’

“That’s not what he said!” she denies.

Tim smiles at his older sister, “Nope. But Cass’s guess is closer than yours.”

“Don’t team up on me like this!”

Cass just smirked, “What team?” she asked before walking away.

“Don’t you-” Stephanie, follows her, “Hey! Come back here!”

Duke walks into the room in that moment, “Why’s Steph chasing Cass?”

“She doesn’t want to face the truth.” Tim responds cryptically.

Duke just looks at him, tilting his head, “That’s- you know what? Sure.” He moves to sit down on the couch next to Tim. “You want to play a game?”

Tim shrugs, “Why not?”

Tim isn’t sure how long they play Mario Kart until Dick walks in. He doesn’t say anything, just moves to sit on the other side of the couch next to Tim. Dick waits until the round is over to ask, “Do you know when Jason and Percy will be here?”

“No.” Tim shakes his head, “why don’t you ask in the group chat?”

Duke looks at the two, “Are you both Jason’s favorites?” Dick nods and smiles proudly while, Tim looks shocked. Could he be one of Jason’s favorites? I mean he was the first one to meet Percy. No. No way. Jason hates him because Tim tried to replace him. Sure, he wasn’t trying to replace Jason. He just wanted to help Bruce. But still. Tim shakes his head.

“No way, dude.” Tim says, “That’s like impossible.” Dick looks confused at that statement.

“What?” He asks.

“Jason hates me remember?”

“No. Jason doesn’t hate you.” Dick tries to defend Jason, “Maybe he did before. But now? He’s our brother he wouldn’t just hate one of us for no reason.”

Duke looks at Dick skeptically, “You mean the Jason with extreme anger issues? The Jason that is an ex-crime lord? The one that literally tried to kill Tim? That Jason?”

“He’s not that person anymore.” Dick defends his little brother.

“You can’t just change who you are overnight. That’s not how the world works.”

“It’s different.” Dick fails to explain, “You’ll see when he gets here tonight.” Honestly, if Tim didn’t already know that Percy got rid of most of Jason’s Lazarus Pit madness, he’d probably would have hit his brother for being so cryptic.

“I guess you’re not wrong.” Tim conceded. “I’ll see when they’ll be here.”

-Whores and Bores-

Bluecookiewhore- Jay, Percy, when will you two be at the manor?

Percy’sbitch- IDK

Percy’sbitch- babe?

Futurebrotherinlaw- we r leving after Im done makng cookies

Futurebrotherinlaw- so soonish.

Bluecookiewhore- okay

Percy’sbitch- Tim, should Percy bring a sword?

Bluecookiewhore- YES!! LITTLE D WOULD LOVE THAT!!!!

Futurebrotherinlaw- u were sreious bout that?

Percy’sbitch- Obviously.

Futurebrotherinlaw- okay. fine. I’ll brnig riptide

Bluecookiewhore- u name ur swords?

Futurebrotherinlaw- just the 1

Bluecookiewhore- k.

Bluecookiewhore- r u bringing the cookies?

Futurebrotherinlaw- obviusly

Bluecookiewhore- okay. can I get a eta

Futurebrotherinlaw- an hour?

Bluecookiewhore- okay. c u then.

Tim looks up from his phone to see his other two brothers glaring at each other. Oh, for real? Have they been doing this the whole time? Tim decides to interrupt their little staring contest, “Percy and Jason will be here in about an hour.” Neither of the two moves, “Um- okay.” He waves a hand in between the two, “Dick, is Wally going to be here tonight?” that makes his oldest brother smile.

“Yeah. He’ll be here,” he checks his phone for the time, “around the same time as Jason and Percy.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you show up so early?” Tim’s younger brother asks.

Dick smiles brightly, “I just wanted to see my amazing family before dinner.”

Duke leans over to Tim and whispers (loud enough for Dick to hear) “What’s wrong with him?”

“Hey! There is nothing wrong with me! I am perfectly fine; thank you very much.”

Ignoring his older brother Tim whispers back, “Maybe it’s his old age.”

“I am 26!” Tim almost laughs at Dick’s clearly insulted tone.

“Since when?”

“Since-? Oh. You know what? Fuck you.” Dick’s response makes Tim laugh. Then Duke joins in and pretty soon the three of them are all laughing. Dick’s the first one to catch his breath, “You’re both idiots.” That only makes the other two laugh harder, and Dick just smiles at them.

“Would you two stop trying to impersonate Quinns hyenas?” Damian says. When did he get here?

“Dami! My favorite little brother!” Tim declares.

“Rude.” Duke says with an eye roll.

“What do you want, Drake?”

“Why do you think I want something?” Tim says innocently. Damian just glares at him, “Okay, fine. Jason’s boyfriend, Percy has a sword and Jason convinced him to bring it.” Tim shrugs, “just thought you would be interested.”

“This stranger is bringing a sword into our home?” His youngest brother asked.

“Yeah. Jason told him that you were interested in that kind of thing.”

“Can he fight well?”

“Well, I’ve never seen it. But from what I heard, yes.” Tim says.

“That is fortunate for him. He may not back down when I challenge him to a fight.” Damian looked at his brother and asked, “What kind of sword?”

“Oh. I actually don’t know.”

“Tt. Imbecile.”

“I can ask him?”

“This is knowledge you should know, Drake. Were you just going to let him bring any sword he wants into our house?”

Dick interrupted the two, “I just texted him and he said it’s an Xiphos.”

“Huh. Greek.” Damian mumbled, “Interesting choice. I shall find a sword worthy of the coming battle.” He walked away from his brothers.

“I think that went well.” Dick spoke up.

“Well?! The demon brat just challenged him to a fight. Who knows what Jason will do to us if his boyfriend gets injured here?” Duke brought up a good point. But honestly, the way Percy carries himself makes Tim think he has seen battle before. Hopefully Damian won’t hurt him too much, though.

“He’ll be fine.” Tim assured, even though he himself wasn’t sure. “Hopefully.”

“Hopefully?!”

=

Percy was nervous. He and Jason had been standing outside the manor front door for less than a minute. But he can’t seem to bring himself to go inside.

He doesn’t get nervous very often. But he was meeting his boyfriend’s family. He was meeting Jason’s family. Thankfully he will already know 3 people there: 1. His boyfriend who loves him, 2. Tim who likes Percy well enough, 3. Dick who Percy thinks likes him. Oh fuck. What if Tim and Dick don’t actually like Percy? What if they were just be polite? What if they hate him? Even if the do actually like him. What if the rest of Jason’s family hates him?

“You’re thinking too loud.” Jason complained.

“Oh. Sorry.” For some reason his response made Jason frown.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…” He looks his boyfriend in the eyes, “What if they hate me?”

“They won’t.”

“But what if they do?” Percy argued.

Jason grabbed his boyfriend’s chin so, he couldn’t look away, “Then who needs them? If they hate you, I’ll hate them.”

“Jason they’re your family-”

“And you’re the love of my life. If I ever have to… You got to know that I will pick you over them 100 percent of the time.”

“Jason-”

“You know I love you more than anything. So, just trust me on this.”

“I’ll aways trust you.” Percy leaned in to kiss his boyfriend after they finished speaking. It hadn’t been very long before a voice broke them apart.

“Uh. Sorry. I don’t mean to interrupt but, can I get in?” A ginger guy asked. When did this dude get here?

“Wally! Hey.” Jason moved to hug the guy who looked shocked. Probably because Jason was hugging him.

“Hey, Jason.” The guy- Wally says. The hug lasts less than two seconds before Jason pulls away.

Jason looks at Wally then to Percy and says with a small smile, “Wally, this is my boyfriend, Percy. Percy, this is Dick’s boyfriend, Wally.” Percy waved politely. Wally opened his mouth to say something before stopping as if just noticing something.

“Is that a sword?” Right. Percy was holding Riptide, which Hephestus blessed so Percy could use it against any threats in this world because there are no monsters here. Well not the mythical kind at least. Which means everyone can see it because there is no Mist here either.

“Yeah, actually. Jason seems to think that if I brought it, Damian might like me more.” Also, Percy didn’t want to have riptide in pen form and then randomly have a sword.

“Oh, cool. Wish I had something like that when I first met Damian. Do you know how to fight?” Wally asked.

“Decently.” Percy shrugged.

“Good, because Damian will probably challenge you.”

“What?”

“Yeah, he’ll probably try to fight you. He did it to me. Except I didn’t have a sword. He did though.” WHAT??! Percy doesn’t want to fight a kid (no, his cousins don’t count, Thaila and Nico are technically older than him anyways.). The only other time Percy would fight a kid is for sparring. I guess that’s what this could be considered? Hopefully.

“Right,” Jason spoke up as he opened the door, “shall we?”

He led the two into the main room. Which is where Tim, Dick and some other kid (Duke probably he seems older than how old Damian is.) were all playing Mario Kart. (Is that the only game people know how to play in this universe? Or is it a family thing?) Tim just won a round which is surprising because he always loses.

“Hah! You owe me that camera now.” Tim said to the kid (Duke?).

Dick was the first to notice them. “Hey guys!” He spoke as he got up and kissed his boyfriend quickly. He then hugged Percy and Jason.

“Hey, Dickhead.” Jason says as he pushes his brother away from him.

“Sup, Dick.” Percy says. “Quick question, is Damian actually going to try and fight me?”

“Oh yeah. Definitely. He went upstairs a little bit ago to ‘find a sword worthy of battle’ so, good luck.” Fuck.

“Is there any way to get out of this?” Percy heard a snort. The youngest of the group looked at him then asked.

“Why are you scared?”

“Of hurting a kid? Yes!”

“Oh please, I doubt you’ll be able to get one hit in.”

“Babe, he could hold a sword since before he could walk. Don’t worry.” Jason says to Percy.

“Which is how many years? Exactly?”

“About 12 or 11.” Dick answered. Percy breathed a sigh of relief. Before admitting.

“Okay, that makes me feel a little bit better. He’s been doing this longer than me. so, it’s fair? Right? Does that seem fair?” Percy asked no one in particular.

“I guess we will see.” Was Tim’s answer.

“Cryptic.” Percy nodded, “I can respect that.”

Tim’s face lit up, “are those cookies?” He reached for the container as he asked.

Percy held the container away from him and said, “Nuh uh, these are for after dinner.” Tim kept trying to reach the container as Percy kept moving it out of his way.

“Do they do this a lot?” Wally asked.

Jason nodded and Dick spoke, “You get used to it.”

“Stop!”

“No, you stop!”

“Will you just-”

“Hey! Let go!”

“Stop being a-”

“We should probably-” Dick gestured to the two.

Jason nodded, “Yeah.” The next thing Percy knew Jason Picked him up off the ground and pulled him away from Tim just as Dick pulled Tim away. Tim was struggling against his brother’s hold. Percy didn’t even attempt to move away from Jason and just let himself be carried.

After, they reached the opposite side of the room Percy asked, “Can you put me down now?”

“Your request has been taken into consideration.” Percy could hear the smirk in his boyfriend’s voice.

“Fine.” Percy then went limp in his boyfriend’s arms. Jason didn’t move to hold him up higher (a mistake). The moment Percy’s feet touched the ground he leaned backwards, causing Jason to stumble, before he quickly moved forward to flip Jason onto the ground. He expected his boyfriend to let go. But instead, Jason held on, and Percy landed on top of him. The room was silent for a moment before Percy burst out laughing. “Oh, my gods.” He shook his head as he spoke, “I can’t believe you let my feet touch the floor.” The laughing stopped but Percy was still smiling widely as he fondly says, “Idiot.” His boyfriend remained quiet, so Percy asks, “Jay, are you okay? Sorry if I hurt you but, in my defense, I thought you would let go.”

“I’m fine.” Jason finally let his grip on Percy slip. So, Percy moved to face his boyfriend.

Tilting his head he softly asked, “are you sure?”

Before Jason could answer Tim interrupted, “Dude! How did you do that?”

“I would like to know, also.” Duke said.

A guy (who Percy assumes is Alfred) walked into the room at that moment, interrupting Percy before he could even speak. “Dinner is ready.” Different versions of ‘thank you’ could be heard around the room. Percy got up and held out a hand to help his boyfriend up. Who pulled Percy back down on top of him.

“Seriously?” Percy laughed.

“Seriously.” Jason agreed. Which just made Percy laugh harder.

“Let’s go.” Dick stood in front of them as he spoke. Percy got up again, still offering a hand to help his boyfriend up. Jason took it and actually got up this time. As he stood up Percy noticed that Alfred(?), Tim and Duke(?) had already left the room. Wally was still waiting though. Percy decided in that moment; he likes Wally (even though he was probably just waiting for his boyfriend. But still.), the guy seems nice. The four of them walked into the dining room (hall?) together. The people at the Table that Percy knew consisted of Tim and- wait, nope. Just Tim. Percy knew absolutely no one else that was already in the room.

A man (Percy assumes is Bruce, Jason’s dad.) stood up as he spoke, “You must be Percy. You can call me, Bruce.” It’s not surprising that Percy guessed right. Really, if he played a game of trying to see how many he could guess right he would probably win. Jason talks about his family a lot.

“Nice to meet you, Bruce.” Percy followed his boyfriend to the table, as Bruce sat back into his seat. Jason grabbed Percy’s hand to pull him along, stopping next to a blonde girl (Steph is the only thing he has heard them call her.) and pulling out a chair for Percy next to Wally while Jason sat next to the girl. “Thank you.” Percy quietly says to his boyfriend, who nods and smiles in response.

“It’s pretty obvious but, anyway, this is my boyfriend, Percy.” Jason introduces to the group as they both sit down. “Do people want to introduce themselves or am I introducing you?”

Tim speaks up, “they can do it themselves.” Before looking at the girl across from the blonde girl and saying, “If they want to, of course.”

“I’ll go first.” The blonde girl says, “I’m Stephanie. Call me anything else and I’ll stab you.” She says with a not so friendly smile. Percy smiles. She reminds him of Nico.

“Cass.” The across from Stephanie says.

“Seriously? You just met him. It took me months before you let me call you Cass.” Then the guy adds, “I’m Duke by the way.”

The girl signs something in response. Jason puts his head down; so, Percy holds his hand. Tim laughs. Stephanie (Percy’s starting to like her) translates, “She says, ‘Anyone who can make her brother smile like that deserves to call her Cass.’ She smirks and says, “She’s right. So, I guess you can call me Steph. But call me Stephanie and I’ll stab you.”

Percy smiles genuinely, “Got it.”

Steph nods, “good.”

Jason’s youngest brother speaks next, “I am Daimian. I will not tolerate being called anything else. Tell me, is Percy a nickname? I don’t do nicknames.”

“Technically my name is Perseus. But if you don’t want to call me Percy, you can call me by my last name, Jackson.”

“That will do. Drake says you have a sword.” Percy nods, “Good. We shall battle after dinner.” Damian claims.

Percy shrugs, “Sure, why not?”

Damian nods, “Good, he is not a coward like West. I approve, Todd.”

“What?” Wally protests, “I’m not a coward. And don’t you have to fight before you approve?”

“Yes, you are a coward. No, I do not have to fight first.” Damian explains.

“Hold up.” Steph says, “You have a sword?”

“Yep.”

“And you brought it here?”

“I was advised to.”

She nods, “Damian’s right. I also approve of him.”

“What?!” Wally says, “Do you guys just not like me?”

“We do, now.” Tim shrugs. “Also, I believe that just leaves, Duke and Bruce’s approval.”

“I don’t know him that well. Sorry but I can’t approve just yet.” Duke says.

“Yeah, that’s valid.” Percy agrees.

“I am going to have to agree with Duke, here. I am sure over time I will come to approve of you. Just not yet.” Bruce says.

“That is completely understandable.” Percy nods.

“Understandable or not, I still don’t need their approval.” Jason mumbles, but everyone can hear it.

“Jay.” Is all Percy has to say for Jason to understand what he means.

“Fine. But I’m not apologizing.”

“Okay.”

Cass is the next to speak, “Good together.”

Percy smiles at her, “Thanks.”

Steph pauses in the middle of reaching for her water. She blinks a few times then asks, “Is anyone else seeing this?” Most of them look at her confused so, she continues, “Do Jason’s eyes look blue to anyone else?”

“Holy shit.” Duke mumbles.

Cass’s eyes widen when she looks at Jason. She nods slowly.

“Akhi?” Damian asks.

Bruce doesn’t say anything.

“Yes, Jason’s eyes are blue. Now, can someone please pass the-” Tim starts.

“Hold up!” Steph says, “You can’t just brush past this.”

Cass nods, “Agree.”

“Are you wearing contacts are something?” Duke asks.

Dick starts talking next, “No contacts. Just his natural eyes.”

“Holy shit!” Steph says, “You knew about this!” She accuses Dick, then looks around the table and says, “Tim! You knew too!”

“So what?” Tim says as he takes a drink of his water then, after says, “I know a lot of things.”

“You kept this from us!” Duke says.

“So?” Tim says, “People are entitled to their privacy.”

“He says, like he didn’t literally stalk some of us.” Jason mumbles.

“I’m defending you!” Tim claims.

“Did I ask you to?!” Jason shot back.

“You didn’t have to!” Tim yells.

In that moment everyone starts talking at once: Bruce says “You need to explain yourself-”, Cass demands “Why not trust us?”, Damian asks “Akhi, are you doing well?”, Duke claims “Why did you keep this secret? Do you not trust us anym-”, Steph says “What the hell is going on?!”.

“Hey!” Percy yelled getting everyone’s attention, “Take a second. And calm down.”

“Stay out of this!” Duke yells at Percy.

Fuck.

That shouldn’t have hurt Percy as much as it did.

All he can think about is Gabe yelling at him. Telling him that no one wants him. Saying that Percy shouldn’t even be alive. That he doesn’t deserve-

“Don’t Yell at Him!” Jason says to Duke while glaring.

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want!” Duke insisted.

“Boys!” Bruce interrupts the two. He doesn’t say anything for a moment. Just stares at them until they both look at him. “Now,” Bruce takes a deep breath, “If he wants to; Jason will tell us how his eyes became blue again.” He gestures to his second oldest son.

“Fine.” Jason relents. “My eyes are blue because,” He tries to calm down a little more, by taking a deep breath. “Well, Percy helped get rid of some of the Lazarous Pit side effects. Mainly the anger.”

“What?!”

“How did Percy-”

“Is he meta?”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?”

“When did this happen?”

Pretty much everyone yells.

“Okay!” Jason loudly claims, “No more questions.” He paused a moment, “I haven’t told you all until now because I wasn’t sure how to. This happened about 4 months ago. If Percy feels like it, He can answer the questions about him.”

The whole table is quiet and looking at Percy, “Right. Well, I guess I’m sort of meta. Long story short, I got a blessing from a god. That’s how I was able to help Jason.”

“A god?” Steph asks, “What kind of god? Which one? What-”

“I said no more questions.” Jason interrupted.

After a few awkward conversations, the rest of dinner was spent getting to know each other. Percy ended up talking more about himself than anyone else. Not that he minded, much. The questions Percy was asked ranged from things like ‘what’s your favorite color?’ to ‘how did you and Jason meet?’ and ‘how did you get a blessing from a god?’.

“Hey, Percy?”

“Yeah, Steph?”

“Are you doing anything tomorrow? Because Cass, Tim and I were going to go shopping. You can join if you’d like to.”

“That sounds great.” Percy agrees.

Steph smiles at him.

Almost directly after dinner, Tim says, “Okay! Game time! What are we playing first?”

Damian interrupts, “First, Jackson and I must battle.” Everyone, except Percy and Damian, sighs. “Where is your weapon?”

“Oh. I must have left it in the main room.”

“Tt.” Damian says, “Akhi, fetch your partner’s weapon and meet us in the gym.”

“Actually, I can get it myself.” Percy protests.

“No. Akhi will.” Damian claims. Percy feels bad making people do thing for him. But it’s Jason, and Jason doesn’t do things he doesn’t want to do. So, Percy doesn’t feel that bad. Jason walks towards the main room. Percy and pretty much everyone else follows Damian, He thinks this feels suspiciously like a test. Percy hopes it isn’t a test. He never does good on those.

They walk for only a few moments before Percy asks, “What are the rules?” Damian looks at him but before he can speak Percy clarifies, “Of the fight, I mean.”

“Tt, obviously. The first to draw blood wins.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Percy claims. Which for some reason is funny to Cass, Steph, Duke, and Tim because they all start to laugh.

“Then, you will lose.” This makes Percy laugh.

“My fatal flaw is loyalty, not hubris, try again.”

“Fatal flaw?” Damian asks.

“A fatal flaw is a trait or personal belief that will lead to one’s downfall.” Percy explains. “Mine is loyalty, my best friend’s is hubris, my cousin’s is holding grudges. It just depends on the person.”

“Could I have an example?” Damian asks.

Percy nods, “So, basically if someone betrays me and I still trust them, I might actually not fight back. Which you know, would be the death of me.”

“What are you guys talking about.” Jason asks as he joins the group and hands Percy riptide.

“Fatal flaws.” Percy explains to his boyfriend.

“What’s mine?” Damian asks.

“Oh, I don’t know you that well so I’m not sure.” Percy says.

“Fine.” Damain pauses before asking, “What’s Akhi’s?”

“Oh. Let’s see.” Fuck this is difficult. OH. “Probably, empathetic decision making.” He pauses before continuing, “Basically, making a decision in a moment full of so many emotions, that it’s difficult to tell them apart.”

“It’s crazy how accurate you are.” Jason says as they continue to walk.

They only get a few steps before Percy speaks, “Can we change the rules though? I really don’t want to have to hurt you.”

“Fine. The first to draw blood or disarm the other wins.” Damian decides.

“Doesn’t that sound a little too easy?” Percy questions.

Damian stops walking. “What’s up?” Percy asks.

“We are here.” Oh. Yeah. They are definitely in a gym. There is an obstacle course on one side and a climbing wall leading up to the ceiling, which is close to fifty feet. Damian leads them to an open floor space. “Ready?”

“Um. One sec.” Percy takes off the hoodie he was wearing and throws it to its original owner. Jason rolls his eyes in response. Percy (now in a t-shirt and jeans) says, “Now I am.”

Damian doesn’t waste a second. He lunges for Percy who effortlessly move out of the way. Damian then strikes with his sword, which Percy blocks with riptide.

This goes on for maybe 5 minutes before Percy decides ‘why not?’ and uses the disarming technique Luke taught him during his first lesson.

Damian’s sword clangs to the floor. It’s loud seeing as everything else is so quiet.

Damian looks at Percy with shock clear on his face as he says, “I lost.”

Percy genuinely smiles, “Don’t take it personally. I’ve been practicing that technique for seven years.” He decides not to mention that he did it perfectly the first time he tried. “I can teach it to you if you want?” Percy offers.

“You will?” Damian asks, “That would be adequate I suppose.”

“Cool.” Percy agrees. Then, he walks over to everyone else and Jason hands him his hoodie with a smile. Percy puts the hoodie on before pulling Jason in for a quick kiss. They are both smiling stupidly.

“You two are gross.” Tim declares.

“Oh, shut up.” Percy says.

“Seriously, please don’t kiss my brother in front of me.” Tim begs.

“Oh, my gods. We have had this conversation before.” Percy says.

“And we will not be having it again.” Jason says to interrupt the two.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Wally says to Percy.

“Thanks, man.”

“It was totally cool. No one ever beats Damian.” Steph claims.

“Where learn?” Cass asks.

“Oh, I learned at this summer camp I’ve gone to since I was twelve. Practiced whenever I could.” Percy explains to Cass. He phrases it that way because ‘Practiced whenever I could’ sounds better than ‘killed monsters and fought for my life’ Percy didn’t want to tell them about that side of his life yet.

“That’s great, dude.” Duke says with a smile.

“Alright, pay up.” Jason says loudly to the whole group. There were a few protests before people started to pass money toward Jason.

“You bet on our fight?”

“Yep.” Was all Jason said. Percy started laughing. He couldn’t help it. “There’s a few hundred here.” Wow. These people really thought that little of Percy? Or maybe they just thought that highly of their little brother? Hopefully that’s it.

Percy really wants these people to like him.

=

Jason loves his boyfriend.

Honestly Percy is his everything. Jason would do anything for him. Most of Jason’s family like Percy, too. Bruce and Duke haven’t decided yet; but at least everyone tolerates him. Percy was worried that none of them would like him. Jason doesn’t understand how anyone could not love him. They have only been together 6 months. But sometimes it feels like they’ve known each other for years.

Damian challenged Percy to a sword fight. Of course, Jason knew his boyfriend was going to win. But, Cass betting against Damian? Jason hadn’t expected that. Percy had started laughing when Jason mentioned the bets; Honestly, Jason wouldn’t be upset if it was the only sound, he heard for the rest of his life.

Jason finished counting the money before giving Cass her half. Percy looked (adorably) confused and asked, “You didn’t bet against me?”

Cass just smiled and said, “Had a feeling.”

Percy smiled at her so genuinely that Jason thinks he might have fallen in love with his boyfriend again. Is it bad that Jason would go back to being a crime lord if it was the only way to make Percy smile like that? Maybe? It’s probably not good but, Percy would never ask Jason to do that. However, that doesn’t mean he wasn’t willing.

“Okay!” Tim yelled, “It’s finally time for games, right?”

“What are we playing?” Percy asks excitedly.

“Well, we usually start with seeing who can do the obstacle course the fastest then, we play charades, Mario Kart, then Two Rooms and a Boom, and finally we play uno.” Dick explains.

Percy nods, “Okay. I have no idea what that second to last game is. But I know the rest.” He is so cute. No, Jason pay attention. Oh fuck. Someone is talking. Jason doesn’t really want to tune in. He should though.

Ugh.

“-It’s more of a ‘see who can get second place’ because Dick always gets first.” Duke says. Oh, they’re talking about the obstacle course. When did they get to the gym? Oh. Percy is holding his hand. He must have noticed Jason spacing out and dragged him along. Gods Jason loves this man.

Now, Jason wishes he were able to say what all happened during the obstacle course but. Well, Percy took off shirt half way through and Jason’s brain checked out after that. Thankfully he did the obstacle course before Percy (small mercies) so, he didn’t have to try focusing much.

It was actually much easier to just not focus on anything.

Oh no.

Oh fuck.

He was totally dissociating.

Why didn’t he realize this sooner?

Fuck.

No. no.

Fuck, he hates this.

Okay.

Deep breaths.

Why isn’t this working? Fuck.

Count to ten. Count to ten. 1. 2. 3. 4. Oh, gods Jason feels like he might throw up.

Okay. He just needs to pinch himself. That should totally help him focus. And… he is numb to the pain. Great. Just great.

He needs something more painful.

Digging his nails into his arm? That should work.

=

Percy was getting worried.

At first, he thought Jason was just spacing out. But it’s been a while and Percy thinks it’s getting worse. Think. Think. Think. Come on. What should he do?

Wait.

Breathe.

What helps Percy? Water. That’s an easy question. But, Jason’s not a son of Poseidon. What if water doesn’t help? What if it makes things worse? No. stop. Fucking anxiety. Water helped the last couple of times. Yeah, last time this happened Percy had sat with Jason under the shower for almost two hours. He remembers his boyfriend felt bad for crying on him. He doesn’t want Jason to feel like that. Not ever again.

Okay. no one has noticed. Jason probably prefers to keep it that way. Percy needs to find Tim or Dick. Dick isn’t too far from the door. He wonders if Jason will still follow him if he pulls him along.

Yes. He will apparently, because now Jason is following Percy like a zombie- Fuck! Bad analogy. How could Percy get Dick’s attention while not drawing to much attention to them? Percy might just have to hope everyone is focusing on Damian do the obstacle course. Is Percy’s plan to just walk over to Dick, pull him into the hallway and explain? Yes. Yes, it is. Grabbing Dick’s hand and pulling them into the hallway was easier than Percy expected. What he did not account for was Wally following them. Fuck it. Jason needs help right now. It’s fine if Wally knows.

“What’s up with you two?” Dick asks, worry seeping into his voice.

Just cut to the chase Percy, “Jason’s dissociating.” Oh fuck. Maybe not that blunt.

“What?” Dick checks his younger brother over. “Jay?” he asks as he moved to put his hands on Jason’s shoulders.

“Don’t.” Percy says as he grabs one of Dick’s hands. “It will make it worse. We need water. Preferably cold.” Percy paused and took a deep breath before saying, “Last time we ended up sitting in the shower for two hours.”

“Okay. fuck. Um. Fuck.” Dick panics a little.

“Both of you need to stop and take a breath.” Wally cut in. they both did as he said, “Now, Dick’s room is closer than Jason’s, so we are going to go there, turn on the shower, and wait there until Jason comes back.” He started walking, only taking a few steps before saying, “Come on.” While gesturing them to follow.

Percy, Jason and Dick started to follow Wally. And fuck is Percy glad that Wally followed Dick. They rushed through the hallways and Percy followed as they walked into a room and then, walked in a bathroom. Wally turned on the shower, making sure it was cold. Then Percy gently grabbed Jason’s arms and guided him into the shower. Percy walked into the shower with Jason, Willing his clothes to stay wet because that’s what Jason needed right now. A few seconds after being under the water, Jason slumped against Percy, placing his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Jason’s shoulders started shaking and Percy could tell he was crying. Dick must have been able to tell too, because in that moment he walked into the shower and just stood there next to his brother. It was clear to Percy that Dick wasn’t sure if he should touch him or not.

Percy spoke softly, “It’s okay.” He wasn’t sure which one he was saying it to. But he then gestured for Dick to be closer to them. Before moving to place his back against the wall and slide down it. Jason moved with him, just laying his head on Percy’s shoulder with his knees on the floor now. Then Dick sat down next to them and as if sensing it, Jason moved and wrapped his arms around his older brother.

Jason’s voice is shaky as he asks, almost inaudible, “Dick?”

“I’m here, Jaylad.” Dick says quietly. “You’re going to be fine, little wing.”

Percy decided to get more comfortable by sitting with his legs crossed. Jason must have sensed this too, because the next thing he did was sit on the ground between the two and put his legs on Percy’s lap with his head on his brother’s shoulder. Percy sadly smiled, If the sight wasn’t so heart breaking it might have been cute.

After quite a few minutes, Wally waved to get their attention before pointing to himself then the door. Signaling that he was leaving the room. Percy nodded and put all of his attention back on his boyfriend, continuing to trace random shapes on Jason’s thigh.

It had been almost 40 minutes later when Jason started being more present. The first thing he did was pull away and start apologizing. The last couple of times this happened Percy held on tight and didn’t let Jason go as Percy told him that he didn’t need to apologize. Saying I love you every few moments and leaving kisses on his forehead. But Dick didn’t know to not let Jason pull away. So, Jason moved to the other side of the shower. Dick looked shocked, about as much as Percy was the first time this happened. Percy didn’t speak as he moves to the other side of the shower and places his hand in Jason’s just to remind him that Percy is there. Jason moved his other hand to place it on the side of Percy’s face. Percy instinctively, leaned into his boyfriend’s touch.

Jason lets out a breath of relief. Mumbling, “This is real. You’re real.”

Percy nods as he quietly agrees, “This is real, baby. I’m not going anywhere.” Then adds, “I love you.”

That makes Jason huff a laugh, “I love you, too.” He leans his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, his hand still on Percy’s face tracing circles with his thumb. Jason’s shoulder’s tense and he looks around searching for something. “Dick.” He says a little louder than before. Percy squeezes Jason’s hand to remind him, that this is in fact real. All of the tension leaves his shoulders almost immediately.

Dick looks worried as he asks, “Do you want me to leave?”

“Do you want to leave?” Jason answers the question with a question.

“It doesn’t matter what I want. If you’re uncomfortable I can leave.” Dick suggests, giving Jason an out. Percy hopes he doesn’t take it.

“Do what you want.” Jason responds. Which was probably the closest he could get to ‘stay’.

Dick smiles and says, “If I do what I want, I’d never leave you alone. You would get sick of me in minutes. I’m sure both of our boyfriends would learn to live with it. But hey, I get to do what I want. So, if I want to cuddle my baby brother, or cook for him, or-”

“Shut up.” Jason interrupts with a laugh. “Like I would ever eat anything you cook.”

“Hey! I can cook.” Dick protests.

Jason smiles, “Oh? Is that why Alfred kicked you out of the kitchen?”

“Dude!” Dick complains, “I thought we agreed not to talk about that.” Jason smiled but didn’t respond. They faded into a comfortable silence, no one speaking, the only sound they can hear is the water hitting the shower floor.

Percy waited about 5 minutes before asking, “Are you ready to get out?”

Jason closed his eyes a minute, taking deep breaths before nodding. They got up and exited the shower, Dick followed them out.

Dick looks at his brother and says, “I’m going to get you two some clothes.” And leaves the room.

“Do you want me to leave?” Percy asks, just because he asks every time.

Jason’s answer is the same as every time before, “Stay.”

Percy’s response doesn’t change from his previous ones, “Always.”

Dick walks into the room at that moment. So, either he is very fast or he had some of Jason’s clothes in his room. “Okay so, Wally apparently, picked out clothes for all of us a while ago. So, this is me apologizing for his horrible fashion taste.” He drops the clothes on the counter before reaching into a cabinet and grabbing some towels, and saying, “Percy if those clothes don’t fit you can borrow some of mine.” Before leaving.

Percy grabs a towel and starts drying himself off as Jason does the same. Percy freezes, “Wait a minute.” Percy rolls his eyes, “I’m an idiot.” Jason looks at him questioningly, “I can just dry us off with my powers.”

“Don’t.” Jason stops him. “You’re tired and it will be suspicious if we leave magically dry.”

“Ugh. It’s annoying when you’re right.” Percy opposed.

“So, I’m annoying all the time?” Jason questions as he pulls on his boxers.

Percy smirks and says as he buttons his jeans, “All the time.”

“Oh, really?” Jason smiles as he picks Percy up and sets him down on the counter, standing between his boyfriend’s legs.

“Yeah.” Percy agrees.

“How about now?” Jason asks as he starts kissing his boyfriend’s neck.

Percy gasps then teases “Maybe a little less.”

“And now?” Jason grabs his boyfriend’s hips and pulls Percy against him.

“Fuck.”

“I’m trying.”

Percy laughs which quickly turns into a moan, “Jason.”

“Yeah, baby?” Percy can feel Jason’s smirk against his neck.

“We gotta- We can’t-”

“You look so pretty like this, love.”

“Mhm.”

“I like the way you look in my clothes.”

“I bet you do.”

“I like it when people know your mine.” Jason mumbles with a bite.

“Yeah” Percy agrees breathless.

“You want this, baby?” Jason asks as he unbuttons Percy’s jeans.

“Yeah.” Percy feels like there was something he should be doing, it was- it- “Jay” Percy gasps. He needs to- He needs to stop. “Wait.” The moment the word leaves his lips he regrets it because Jason pulls away from him.

“You want to stop?” Jason asks sincerely.

“No, but-” Percy bites his bottom lip, “We need to.”
“Whatever you need, love.”

Percy tilts his head back, against the mirror and smiles, “You are making this very difficult.” Jason just laughs, and Percy wonders why he needed to stop. His eyes wonder around the room, stopping at the shower. Right. That’s why. “I’m serious, you just had an episode and-” Jason takes a few steps away from Percy before he can finish speaking.

A look of regret on his face as he says, “Oh fuck. I’m so sorry. It completely slipped my mind.”

“I should be the one apologizing.” Percy says.

“No, I should be. You were the one who made the ‘no sex after an episode’ rule.” Jason claims.

“Only because I don’t want to take advantage of you.” Percy explains even though Jason already knows.

“It seems like I was the one to take advantage of you.” Jason says apologetically.

“No! that’s not what happened.” Percy says quickly.

“It feels that way.” Jason admits quietly, as he put on his jeans.

“Baby, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Percy tries to comfort Jason. “You literally asked me if I wanted this, to which I said yes.” Percy laughs, “Honestly, I think we both kind of forgot the rule.”

“Oh.”

Percy huffs, “Yeah. ‘Oh’.”

“Still, I’m sorry.” Jason confesses.

“I’m sorry, too.”

Jason looks confused, “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

Percy scoffs, “Neither do you.” Jason opens his mouth to argue but Percy cuts him off, “Now that we’ve both apologized,” Percy hops off the counter, grabs a shirt and puts it on as he says, “And we can tell we are both idiots,” Jason laughs which makes Percy smile, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Jason smiles.

Percy grabs the shirt he isn’t wearing and throws it at his boyfriend, “We should get out of here before your brother thinks we started to fuck in his bathroom.”

Jason smirks, “Well, we wouldn’t want him to think that.”

“Why are you smirking like that?” Percy questions his boyfriend.

“What ever do you mean?”

“You know damn well what I mean.”

“We need to leave, right?” Jason switches topics.

“I know you’re changing topics but, I’m going to let it slide because your hot.” Percy claims.

“Thank you.”

“I don’t know which one you’re thanking me for, and I don’t want to know.” Percy says as he opens the bathroom door and leaves the room. “Hey, Dick. Hey, Wally.”

Wally doesn’t look up from his book as he says, “Sup, Percy.”

Dick, however, greets Percy properly. He smiles as he says, “Hey, Percy.” Before his smile drops and he asks, “Seriously?” That gets Wally’s attention. He looks up and laughs. Then Dick asks, “Please tell me you and my brother didn’t fuck in my bathroom?” Percy opens his mouth to respond but before he can Dick says, “Never mind, don’t tell me. Ignorance is bliss and all.”

Percy tries to ask what they’re talking about but before he can ask Jason walks up next to Percy and says, “Hey, guys.”

“Babe,” Percy says slowly, “You want to enlighten me here?”

“You might, just maybe, have a hickey or two.” Jason explains.

“What?”

Wally snorts, “‘A hickey or two’ he says. As if I can’t see at least half a dozen.”

“What?!” one of Percy’s hands hit his neck in attempt to cover the hickeys, he then looks at Jason, “Oh my gods, I’m dating a vampire.”

“It’s not that bad.” Jason shrugs.

“‘it’s not that-’ Ugh! I can’t believe you! I know you did not just say that." Percy takes a few steps before asking, "Jason?” The man in question looks at his boyfriend while slightly tilting his head, “I’m going to go in the bathroom, look in the mirror and if I have more than two hickeys, I am breaking up with you.”

Jason scoffs, “No you’re not.”

Percy glares at him, then sighs, “No, I’m not.” Percy walks the rest of the way to the bathroom, looks in the mirror and sure enough he has at least half a dozen hickeys. He doesn’t want to count because he doesn’t want to know.

Percy walks back over to the group. Lays on the bed face down and asks, “Dick? Can you find me some make up?”

Dick sounds sympathetic as he says, “Steph’s skin tone might match well enough,”

Percy lifts up his head, “Really?”

“Yeah but,” Dick pauses, “She’s going to want to know what it’s for.”

“Ugh!” Percy groans as he drops his head back onto the bed. “You can tell her.”

“She’s probably going to want to see so uh- I’ll be back with Steph and make up.” Dick says before leaving.

“Fuck.” Percy mumbles.

=

Stephanie was trying to not die.

Someone was trying to run her off the road.

Not just any road, Rainbow Road. How fucking dare, they.

“Which ever one of you fuckers are trying to run me off the road just know this is basically murder.” Steph declares.

“Don’t even, Steph.” Duke says.

“Is it you, Duke?! If it is, just remember I know where you sleep.” She threatens.

Cass giggles.

“That’s suspicious Cass, why are you giggling?” Stephanie questions her sister.

“Funny.” Cass shrugs.

“Sure, sure.” Steph’s going to have to keep an eye on her.

“Oops.” B says right as Stephanie gets hit with a shell and pushed off the road.

“Dad?! Did you just kill me?” Steph asks he father.

A loud gasp fills Steph’s ears, “B, how could you?! I thought you had a no kill rule?!” Steph’s most annoying (oldest) brother says.

“She’ll come back.” B tries to reason. “Wait! That was bad reasoning.”

“You think?” Dick says, “I’m going to tell Jay you said that.”

“That’s not what I-”

Damian interrupts his father, “Father, thank you for killing Stephanie.” Just as he finishes speaking, he crosses the finish line and wins first place.

Stephanie stands up and glares at her youngest brother, “You. Oh, I’m going to-”

Dick grabs her arm and says, “I need to talk to my youngest sister.” He drags her into the hallway. Not letting go of her arm as they walk.

“Dick, let me go. I wasn’t going to hurt him that much.”

“Nope.”

Steph doesn’t say anything until they stop at her room, “Oh, I know you are not trying to ground me.”

“Stop being dramatic, Steph.” They walk into the room, and he asks, “Where’s your make up?”

She looked at him skeptically, “Tell me why you want to know, or you won’t ever find it.”

“Jason gave his boyfriend a bunch of hickeys and now Percy doesn’t want to face to rest of the family with them visible.” Dick summarizes.

Stephanie burst out laughing, “For real?!” He nodded, “That’s amazing. But, if you want to use my make up, I have to do it, because you’ll end up breaking something.”

“I thought you’d say something like that. So, I asked Percy before I left the room, and he was fine with it.” Dick claims.

“Great.” Steph grabs a bag and says, “Okay, let’s go.”

The walk to Dick’s room was silent. Dick opens his bedroom door and gesture for Steph to go inside. Wally is sitting on a chair in the corner of the room, reading a book. Percy is lying face down on the bed, and Jason is sitting on a desk, laughing about something. It was nice to see Jason smile as much as he has been doing today. “Okay.” Steph says loudly, “Your savior is here.”

Jason looks at her unimpressed, “Seriously?”

Percy moves to sit on the edge of the bed, “No, she’s right.”

He waves at her and she start’s walking towards him stopping for a moment when she sees his neck, “Oh my god, Jason are you part vampire?” Jason laughs in response and Percy hides his face in his hands. She sits down next to Percy and says, “If you want me to cover all that up, you’re going to let me do regular make up, too.”

Percy’s head snaps up, “What?” she looks at him with a serious face, “Okay, compromise, just eyeliner.”

“Deal.” Steph agrees, as she sit down next to him on the bed. Dumps her bag out and grabs what she needs. He tilts his head to the side as she starts the process of covering up the hickeys. “So, how long have you and Jason been together?”

Percy smiles, “Just over 6 months.”

She pauses for a moment before continuing to cover the hickeys and asks, “Do you love him?”

Percy looks at his boyfriend as he says, “Unfortunately.”

Steph smiles, “I also unfortunately love my brother.”

“It’s so unfortunate.” Percy says sarcastically.

“So, unfortunate.” Steph agrees with a nod.

Jason interrupts the two, “If it’s so unfortunate maybe you should stop.”

“No, Fuck you.” Steph says to her older brother.

“What she said.” Percy agrees.

“Percy what kind of eyeliner do you want?” She asks as she finishes with the foundation. Before cursing, “Fuck.”

“What’s up?” Percy asks her.

“I only have liquid eyeliner, and I suck at liquid eyeliner.” She admits. “I guess your just going to look stupid.”

“Nope.” He stops her hand as she opens the eyeliner.

“You said you would. So, you need eyeliner.” She complains.

“I’ll do it then.”

She looks at him confused, “Are you sure?” He nods then, she shrugs and asks, “What color? I have Black, White, Blue, and Purple.”

Percy thinks for a moment before answering, “blue and black.”

She looks at him questioningly and shrugs, “Okay.” As she hands him the eyeliner.

Percy gets up, starts walking towards the bathroom and says, “I need a mirror. I’ll be right back.” She only nods in answer.

Stephanie turns to her older brother and nods in approval, “I like him.”

“Me too.” Jason agrees.

After a few moments Percy leaves the bathroom and she looks over the make up and says, “Dude! You’re like really good at that.”

“Thanks.”

“Can you do mine?”

“The same style?” He asks. She looks at his double winged blue and black eyeliner and nods, “The same color?”

She ponders the question for a moment before shaking her head, “No. purple and black.”

He smiles and says, “Okay.” He sits down next to her on the bed and says, “Close your eyes.” She can feel the make up on her face. The cold eyeliner, against her skin. She tries her best not to blink. It only takes a few seconds before he says, “Okay, done.” She smiles excitedly and rushes to the bathroom to check the mirror.

She looks over her reflection and smiles a little brighter, “Thank you.” She yells before walking out of the bathroom.

“You’re welcome.”

Steph looks at her brother and says, “If you don’t marry him, I will.”

Jason tilts his head and asks, “What is with my younger siblings and trying to marry my boyfriend?”

“Who else tried?” Wally spoke up.

“Tim.” Dick says at the same time as Jason and Steph.

Percy looks at Steph. “How did you know that?”

“Dick mentioned it in the family group chat.” She explains.

Percy nods, “Cool.”

“Okay, now,” Steph looks around the room, “Who wants to tell me why you are all hiding out in Dick’s room?” The four men look at each other. “You guys know me; I’m not going to snitch.”

“It was me.” Percy says, “I got nervous being around so many people I don’t know.”

Steph scoffs, “I have known you for only a few hours and I know that’s a lie.”

“It was my fault.” Jason admits quietly, “I had an episode, these idiots helped me out.”

“Episode?” Steph asks.

“Dissociation episode. Sometimes I struggle with knowing if something is real.” Jason explains.

“Not to be that person, but isn’t that Derealization?” Steph asks her older brother.

Jason nods, “Derealization is a type of Dissociation.”

“Oh.” Steph nods. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jason asks.

“Well, it’s none of my business now, is it?” Steph then says, “You’re my brother and as long as you don’t need my help, I won’t make you take it.”

“You’re smarter than those idiots.” Jason laughs.

“Thank you.” Steph says with a smile. She’s thanking him for both the compliment and telling her, she can tell he knows by the way he puts his head down as he shrugs. “We should probably head down stairs. Everyone will start to think you four left.” Steph suggests.

“Sounds good, Steph.” Dick says as he walks towards the door.

Wally nods and follows, “Yeah, we probably should.”

“I hate when you guys are reasonable.” Percy says as he stands up to follow. Jason doesn’t say anything just gets off the desk and walks over to Percy, grabbing his hand. Percy smiles at his boyfriend.

As they left the room Steph asks, “Hey Percy?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to come to dinner next month?” Steph questions.

“If you guys want me there.” Percy admits.

“Of course we do.” Dick says.

Wally nods, “He’s right.”

“Um, well then, probably.” Percy decides.

“Good.” She smiles at him. “Hey, do you guys want to stop by the kitchen and get ice cream?”

“Uh. Of fucking course.” Percy agrees. “Jay, you in?”

Jason smiles at Percy and says, “I’ll follow you anywhere.”

“Ew!” Steph says, “Stop being gross or we’re leaving you here.”

“He says romantic shit all the time, then acts like it’s nothing.” Percy admits.

“Of course he does.” Dick scoffs, “Must have been all the books he read growing up.”

“Speaking of,” Steph tries to get to know Percy better by asking, “Percy, do you like reading as much as Jason?”

Dick and Jason look like they are both trying to hold back a laugh and Percy shakes his head no, while smiling. Percy laughs and it’s like a dam brakes because then Jason and Dick start laughing too.

“Oh, my gods.” Jason mumbles quietly with a smile.

Steph interrupts them, “You guys could have just said no. You didn’t have to laugh.”

“No. it’s just, Percy absolutely hates reading.” Dick laughs once more before saying, “Because he’s Dyslexic.”

“Oh.” Steph says. “Sorry for bringing it up?”

Percy smiles, “It’s fine. Besides when Dick found out it was because he corrected me in a group chat.” Percy looks at her an says, “Now that was funny.”

“Dick corrects everyone’s spelling in group chats.” Steph then pauses, “Well he hasn’t recently.”

“We trained him well.” Jason says, which makes Dick slap him on the back of the head.

“Ow, Dickhead.” Jason says as he pushes his older brother. Who moves to push him back, but before he can Jason moves out of the way and Dick ends up pushing Percy. Percy glares at him and honestly Steph’s a little scared. Which is crazy, right? Percy’s been so friendly but, his glare reminds her of a wolf. Then he grins, and- fuck that is definitely scary. Wolf glare plus sharklike grin equals- well, Steph’s pretty sure it’s a nightmare.

“Sorry, Percy.” Dick speaks quickly.

Jason laughs at him, “You should run him through with riptide.” Jason suggests to his boyfriend.

“Riptide?” Wally asks attempting to change the subject.

“My sword.” Percy says.

“You named your sword riptide?” Steph asks with a laugh.

Percy’s grin softens into a small smile, “It was already named when I got it.”

“Really?” She smiles.

“Yeah. Well, technically its name is Anaklusmos which is ancient Greek for riptide.” Percy explains.

“Ancient Greek?” Dick asks. “Isn’t that a dead language? So can you really be sure what it says?”

Percy says something in what Steph assumes to be Ancient Greek, that sounds like an insult. Stephanie needs to know, “Dude, do you know Ancient Greek?”

“Yeah,” He paused a moment, “I guess you could say my dad’s side of the family insisted I know it.”

Steph smile, “Dude, that is awesome!”

“Thanks.”

“Any other dead languages you know?” Wally jokes.

Percy tilts his head, “Does Latin count?”

Dick laughs, then realizes that Percy is not in fact laughing, “You know Latin?”

“Yep.”

“How many languages do you know?” Dick asks.

“Just the three.” Percy says.

“Let me rephrase this. So, Percy knows English which I’m assuming is his first language, he’s dyslexic but thinks it’d be a good idea to know Ancient Greek and Latin? And he just does that? How, dude?” Steph says.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure.” Percy says as they finally reach the kitchen.

Steph walks over to the fridge and grabs out the cookie dough ice cream, holds it up and asks, “Any objections?” After a response of nos from the group she see’s Jason grabbing bowls and Dick getting spoons for the five of them. She places the ice cream at the table in the center of the room. The bowls and spoons are placed next to it. She starts scooping up the ice cream and handing out the bowls, “Is it weird that we’re hiding out?” She asks.

Wally shrugs and Dick says, “Is it really hiding? I mean we are just eating ice cream in the kitchen.”

“The four of you wondered off from the rest of the group about 2 hours ago.” She points out.

“Good point.” Jason says, “Fuck. There’s no way we can return without getting questioned, is there?”

“There might be.” Steph says, “Let me handle it.”