Percy Jackson One Shots And Crossovers

After Tartarus

Post Tartarus rescue
Jason/Percy bromance
Angst, hurt/comfort
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The midnight air was cool against Jason's skin, soothing his clammy and hot body.
He had trained close to four hours with Hazel until just about fifteen minutes ago, before the daughter of Pluto had excused herself with a barely hidden wince. Jason himself was sore all over, but his mind was working on high-speed, refusing to quiet down.

He sighed heavily, messaging his smarting biceps. He had agreed to take first watch in hopes of calming his racing thoughts.

After an attack of a rather small sea serpent the day before, they had agreed to shut down the lights once the first watch set camp, so the only light-source was the moon hanging low in the sky.

With a content sigh, he closed his eyes, enjoying the cool breeze. Inhaling deeply, he tasted salty tang of sea on his tongue.

Waves had been calmly lapping at the wood, but now started to shake the Argo, rocking the ship back and forth wildly. Big floods of water crashed against the wooden war ship, and Jason grabbed the railing desperately, trying not to fall over.

Percy had a nightmare again. It was the only explanation. It was the second night after Percy and Annabeth had been rescued from Tartarus and both hadn't recovered yet. They'd tried to eat, but vomited right after, something about drinking fire water and their bodies not being able to hold proper food.

Jason hated that his cousin and Annabeth were hurting. He was so sick of the screams and it pained him to see them struggle.

The sea calmed down again, Jason carefully extracting himself from the railing. He was going to do another round on the deck, but a shadowy shilouette slouched over the railing caught his attention.

Jason took out his coin and flipped it, holding a golden sword just a second later. He smiled at the familiar wight resting in his hand. He slowly approached the figure, keeping his footsteps light.

It was hard to make out what stood there through the dark, but his sword glowed slightly, giving him enough light to recognise the outline of a human.

He sneaked closer and recognized the raven black hair and skinny form of his cousin. Percy still hadn't noticed him, so Jason took the chance to look at him closer.

His hair was longer than usual, his head resting on the railing, his frame shaking slightly. Jason could see Percy's ribs through his shirt, his arms were too thin, and his cheeks sunken in. He seemed frail. It almost hurt to look at Percy.

Jason sighed and put his sword away, resting a hand on his cousin's shoulder.

Percy flinched away from the touch and guilt washed over Jason as he retreated his hand quickly. "Sorry, I didn't meant to startle you."

Percy raised his head, eyes staring at the blue see. "I thought I would never see it again." His voice was hoarse and full of sadness, not acknowledging Jason's words.

The son of Jupiter leaned against the railing next to Percy and tried to catch his eyes, but the demigod's hair covered his face. "How are you holding up?"
Percy sighed and finally looked at the blond boy. "Honestly, not good."

Jason was surprised by the bluntness. Percy never talked about his emotions so freely. He would listen to others, encourage them to deal with the terror of the demigods life, but he never wanted to burden others with his fears (not that it was a burden, but that's just how his mind worked).

But apparently, that had changed now, too.

"I am... scared, Jason. Scared and... hurting. The things that happened down there. I'm hurting, because Annabeth is hurting, I am scared for Annabeth. I... I can't live without her, Jase."
Percy sounded so lost, so terrified, it caused Jason heat ache.

Jason felt anger bubble up inside of him. Anger at Tartarus, at the monsters and at Percy himself. The teenager was so damn self-sacrificing, never caring about the trauma he had had endure himself.

"It's time that you start caring about yourself! You're hurting, so we are hurting. You say you wanna keep Annabeth safe? Then don't shut yourself out. We need you, because you are what keeps us together. Do you think I'm not scared? That I'm not hurting? Every day, the person I love most could die. My best friends could die! I am torn between my two families and I can't decide whether I am Roman or Greek. I don't know what you experienced down there, but it wasn't easy for us either. Leo and Nico were blaming themselves for your fall and honestly, I did too. I thought; why didn't I fly you up? Why didn't I cut the string? But then I realised that I couldn't have done anything. The fates decide what will happen, whether we like it or not. So stop hurting yourself and let us in!" Jason took deep breaths, trying to calm himself, while Percy looked at him in shock, his eyes wide.

Suddenly, Percy did something Jason had never expected him to do. He started to cry, tears rolling down his cheeks, so Jason did the only thing he could do: he hugged his cousin right back, clutching him to his chest.

He let Percy cry on his shoulder, his shirt getting wetter by the second, but he didn't care. He patted the black haired boy's back, comforting him.

He made a promise to himself right there and then: he would do anything to keep Percy safe. He would keep him, as much as he could, out of fights, being there for him when the night terrorized him again, and if necessary, forcing him to eat.

After some time, Percy stopped crying and pulled away from him, wiping his eyes. "Thanks," he muttered, smiling wetly at Jason. It wasn't the lopsided grin everybody knew before all of this, but it was something. Jason grinned. "It was a pleasure. But you owe me a shirt now."

Percy let out a watery laugh. "I guess I do." Jason nodded and said, "Let's head under deck. It's Frank's shift of keeping watch." A mischivous twinkle in his eyes cought Percy's attention. "What are you planning?" he asked suspiciously, crossing his arms. Jason grinned. "The girls are having a sleepover. Wanna spy?" Now Percy was grinning too. "Sure. Let's spy."