The babysitter

Fifty-Six

"No, Bruce, I'm not-" Jason cut himself off at the sound of the zeta tube. He stood away from her, facing Bruce and Tim. Bruce and Tim stared at her in shock. Slowly, as if trying to stay in this moment longer, Jason turned around. "Percy?"

Percy felt knots in her stomach as Jason stared at her. Not saying anything. "Hey, Jay."

In an instant, Jason was running forward. Percy stumbled back slightly at the force of Jason's hug. Embracing the hug, Percy had forgotten how good he smelled, like sandalwood and libraries. Which might have been a weird combination, but it matched Jason so well that it made Percy feel warm inside.

Jason pulled away, although still keeping a tight grip on Percy's face. He stared into her eyes, looking back and forth, almost as if trying to catch a lie or trick. When Jason finally looked away from her eyes, he quickly checked over the rest of her body, making sure she wasn't hurt. After Jason had made sure that she wasn't in immediate danger, he pulled her back into a hug.

"I'm sorry," Percy whispered into his shoulder.

Jason was clutching the back of Percy's shirt and cradling her head. Percy heard quiet sniffling and a wet spot blooming on his shoulder. Jason wasn't saying anything, just slowly rubbing Percy back.

"Percy?" Tim asked.

Percy stood on her tip toes and peeked over Jason's shoulder. Tim and Bruce were standing behind Jason, giving them comfortable space. "Hey, Tim. Hey, Bruce."

Tim wiped his face with his sleeve and tried to look away. But Percy ushered him over with her hand, to which Tim sheepishly shuffled over to the hug. Percy, very carefully, moved Jason to the side of the hug and pulled Tim in.

Tim quickly joined the hug, and kept a firm but tight grip on Percy. "I thought you were gone."

"I'm sorry," Percy felt tears glide down her face. She wished that she could even explain what had happened, but she was confused too.

"Perseus." Kaldur said from behind her. His voice startled Jason and Tim, which let her turn enough to look at him. "I am needed back at Atlantis."

Percy nodded, "thank you for coming with me."

Kaldur bowed slightly. "My pleasure."

Jason was watching Kaldur leave before turning back to Percy. It was almost beginning to unnerve her, Jason's lack of talking. Percy furrowed her eyebrows before glancing at Tim and Bruce. Tim had taken a step back and was wiping at his face while Bruce was standing with a soft smile. Percy squeezed Jason's arm before going to give Bruce a hug. Jason caught the hem of her shirt and followed her to Bruce.

"Hey, Bruce." Percy said softly.

"Percy." Bruce smiled, "we missed you."

Percy felt guilt squeezed at her insides as she pulled from away from the hug. She couldn't even come up with an explanation. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's fine." Bruce smiled at her, before looking back at Jason. "I'll give you too a second. I'll grab Damian and Cass. Meet us in the living room?"

"Sounds good." Percy smiled. She watched them go until they reached the elevator. Then she turned around to face Jason.

"I'm so sorry." Percy reached up and cupped his face. He had started crying again. She stared into his eyes and seconds slowly dropped by. Then she whispered. "Will you say something?"

"I love you." Jason said. Rushed out like he was scared to lose the confidence.

Time seemed to freeze. This was the first time one of them had said that. Sure, Percy had been thinking about it for a while, but it was weird to hear it out loud. "And I'm not just saying that because I missed you. I mean, fuck, Percy. I missed you so goddamn much that it hurt. But I meant to say it before you disappeared. I never got the chance. And I just want you to know, that I love you. I don't expect you to say it back, but it has been eating me because I thought I never got to tell you how much I love you-"

"I love you, too." Percy cut him off. She stared up at him. It was weird to see Jason ramble anxiously. Sure, he had talked about his favorite book and rambled and the plot or conspiracy theories. But this was a whole new side of Jason that Percy had never seen. And it made her heart bleed and made her love him more. That he felt comfortable showing this side to her.

"Can I kiss you?" Jason asked, in a soft whisper.

Percy nodded wordlessly.

Jason pushed his lips up against hers, and softly pulled at her hips till their bodies were flush together. Jason tentatively ran his fingers through her hair while Percy did the same. They loved their lips in sync, in soft, slow, mirrored movements. When they both ran out of breathe they slowly pulled apart.

"I'm sorry, about leaving I mean. I do-"

"You can explain later." Jason smiled.

Percy frowned. "Yeah, but I'm still sorry."

"Doll, you don't have anything to apologize for. You were going through something, and I pushed you too far. I've been wanting to apologize to you because I pushed you away. And I was scared that I was never going to get that chance." Jason looked down, running his thumbs softly over her hips.

Percy honestly didn't even know what to say. She didn't really remember much from four months ago. "Thank you for not giving up on me."

"What?" Jason tilted his head in a way that reminded Percy of a puppy.

"I heard that you refused to hold a funeral for me. Thank you for not giving up." Percy smiled softly and cupped his face. Then moved her hand up to his hair, trying to smooth out the messy curls.

"I was mostly in denial. I didn't want to lose you, and a funeral would finalize that." Jason admitted, looking down at his shoes. Then softly chuckled. "Which could not have been healthy, so I'm not sure that you should be thanking that type of behavior."

Jason looked up at Percy with a halfhearted smile that made her melt inside. "There he is."

Jason furrowed his brows. "What?"

Percy huffed out a small laugh. Pressing a quick laugh to the corner of his lips. "Nothing."

Jason shook his head. Then sighed, "Alright, we should probably head up there. I've been hogging you all to myself and Damian missed you more than I did."

1103 words

10/22/23

Hey.

At least it wasn't a whole year that I didn't update. Haha. I'm still sorry about that.

But my knee surgery went well and I finished physical therapy. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon, but honestly who knows with me. Anyway

Pieces Angels and Stay Safe <3