Just Let Me Leave (Jercy AU)

Chapter 41: Marvel Opinions Tearing Families Apart

Oh boy, another partially bAD chapter. Let's just dive on in, I guess. Have fun y'all.

"Want some tea?"
*****

Jason wasn't sure what exactly he had been expecting to come home to, but it certainly wasn't the smell of tea and his sister's excited voice in the kitchen. He was coming back by himself, Piper having gone off to hang out with Annabeth, and he had assumed Thalia would either be hidden in her room watching Netflix or at work.

"—like Iron man more?" He heard his sister finish asking a question as he walked to the kitchen. There was a small pause before she continued, "Thank the gods! Jason keeps insisting Captain America is better, but if you're on my side, then we can definitely convert him. If he doesn't listen to us, he won't listen to anybody."

The younger Grace rolled his eyes before peeking into the kitchen and gasping slightly when he saw Percy. The green-eyed boy saw Jason in the doorway and smiled at him.

Jason couldn't stop the faint smile that he returned before turning to his sister. "So what's this I hear about my conversion?"

"Nothing, really," Thalia shook her head, "we were just drinking our tea and talking about how you're wrong."

He feigned hurt before responding, "Wow, really love the support of my family and friends."

Thalia just shrugged at him. She grabbed her drink and walked towards Jason in the doorway, gently elbowing him and throwing a glance at Percy. The aforementioned third party was staring into his tea, swirling around the string attached to the bag inside the cup. Jason nodded, as he knew she was giving them privacy. She left the room, and the blonde cautiously walked over and took the seat across from Percy.

The two boys both stared at the table in a calm silence. Jason, after a few moments, looked up to speak but stopped himself when he finally got a good look at Percy. He had bruises starting to form around his neck, a scratch running along the back of his hand, and his usual look of exhaustion in his stunning green eyes.

What the hell had Gabe done to him now?

He slowly reached across the table and cupped the side of Percy's face with his hand, silently asking him to look up.

"What happened?" The blonde asked calmly, preparing himself for the worst.

Percy glanced down and typed a few words on his phone before spinning it around for Jason to see.

Thalia called cops, Gabe's in custody

Jason stared at the words for a moment as he processed their meaning. His sister had done what Jason was too afraid to do and reported Gabe. They actually believed her and took him in. Gabe had been removed, even though it could be temporarily, from Percy's life. He was...safe? No more showing up physically beaten and battered in the dark hours of night, lying about his bruises and scars. Percy could finally have even a small chance at being happy.

A grin broke out on Jason's face. "Oh my gods, Percy!"

He scrambled out of his chair, quickly making his way over to Percy and pulling him to his feet and into a tight hug. The green-eyed boy didn't seem particularly prepared, but easily relaxed in the blonde's arms. Until he met Jason, Percy wasn't sure he'd be able to do that again.

They stood there for a few moments longer than most people would've and were only interrupted by the loud noise Percy's phone made as it vibrated against the kitchen table next to them. The green-eyed boy reached over and flipped the device over, revealing his mother's name and photo. He sighed as he answered and tapped the speaker button. There was a silent understanding between the two boys that Jason would be the middleman of the conversation since Sally Jackson insisted on calling her son.

"Perseus Jackson," Percy flinched at his mother's stern usage of his full name, "would you like to tell me why I come home to a completely empty house after getting a call from the police? Hello, Jason, by the way."

"Wha...?" Jason trailed off as he exchanged confused glances with Percy.

Salt must've heard him, as she continued speaking, "Thalia called me–consider yourselves lucky to have her, both of you–and I probably would've assumed you were over there anyway. Really, Percy, you're very predictable."

Jason chuckled as Percy used his free hand to cover his face. He wasn't particularly prepared for his own mother to call him out. The blonde continued to chat aimlessly with his mother as he absentmindedly reached out to pull Percy's hand away from his face and hold it in his own. Percy couldn't tell if it was completely intentional or just an impulse, but he didn't complain as Jason's thumb drew gentle circles on the back of his hand.

Percy wasn't sure if he was relieved that his mother had given up on talking about the whole "our abusive husband/stepfather is probably going to go to jail" thing that had come to light. While he didn't exactly want his mother scolding him for not waiting at home in front of Jason, he needed to talk to her about it. Although, he definitely didn't mind the hugging or hand hol—no, he needed to go back to see his mother.

He motioned to Jason between himself and the phone, hoping he got the message as he mouthed 'home' at him like an idiot. The blonde, thankfully, seemed to understand and smiled as he sent Percy on his way with a reminder to text him later.

He made sure to wave to Thalia on the way out and took the metro back to his apartment, finally not in too much of a rush to truly think about public transportation instead of running. After a couple odd encounters with a very talkative college girl, a creepy old guy with a dog, and a spider that jump scared Percy on three different occasions, he could get off at his stop as walk to his building.

And, for once, he didn't have to enter in fear.

Okay, tea, I just now noticed that September was the last time I updated. Shoutout to all of you for being understanding of my schedule and whatnot. I really appreciate! Hopefully I won't skip whole months between updates since the high school season's over, but we've all learned by this point that I'm pretty unreliable.

Very sorry that the ending is kinda rushed there. I'm trying to get a few things out of the way before I can give y'all what you came here for.

Hope everyone had a good Halloween! See you soon (definition of soon may vary)!