The Nico di Angelo experiment

Stories and Parallels

Jason's friends hadn't thought he could get any sappier. He was proud to admit that they were wrong.

Okay, so maybe the ability to turn to absolute mush over some guy shouldn't be impressive. Still, anything that made Piper and Leo be quiet for more than twelve seconds was a welcome distraction, even if they were only hushed to make exaggerated gagging noises. At this point, Jason would take what he could get.

He hadn't gotten to his house until nearly an hour after they'd first kissed, mainly because Nico was a huge fan of hand holding. He doubted that their hands hadn't been interlocked for more than two minutes the entire ride home; another factor that made the going slow, since driving one-handed was dangerous and not recommended by the driver handbook. Nico had teased him relentlessly, but Jason didn't care at all. Getting to hold hands and stare at Nico without abandon were well worth any slight driving rules being broken, in his opinion.

He'd pulled into Nico's driveway with some reluctance, and they'd sat in his car for about ten minutes before they couldn't delay parting any longer. Jason had insisted on walking Nico to the door, and they loitered under his porch light without speaking until Jason decided to hell with it and pulled him in for another deep kiss.

"Bye." He'd muttered sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. Nico didn't look much better, with his ruffled hair and fiddling hands.

"Bye, Jason." Nico echoed, stepping backwards into his house and shutting the door slowly behind him. Jason stared at the oak door for a few seconds, breathless and positively giddy, before he'd gotten back into his car and driven to his house. He didn't look forward to Piper, Leo, and Percy's interrogation, mainly because he couldn't get the smile off his face. Regardless, he practically floated into his house, leaning his weight against the door and taking a deep breath.

The house was suspiciously silent, save clattering noises from the kitchen. Nearly afraid of what he would find, but still smiling like an idiot, he made his way to the kitchen and saw...

Well, he wasn't quite sure what he saw.

Piper and Percy were posed on opposite sides of the table, locked in a fierce arm wrestling match, determined scowls resting on both of their faces. On either side of them, about an arm length away, were shallow rimmed plates filled with what look like....hot sauce? Yes, hot sauce, mustard, and some other suspicious substances he didn't want to think about. Leo sat on top of the counter with a corndog in his mouth, apparently the referee, although he couldn't be understood through the wad of food jammed in his mouth.

"...What are we doing here?" Jason asked in confusion, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Double Death arm wrestling." Piper explained, never tearing her eyes from the game. Percy looked up briefly, taking in his dopey smile, and momentarily let his arm go slack in amazement. Piper, ruthless as ever, took this as her opportunity to slam Percy's arm down. Right into the hot sauce mixture.

"Ewwww!" Percy complained, lifting his arm to examine the sauces coating the skin. "Dang it, Jason! You're distracting!" His whining was drowned out by Piper's cheering as she leaned over to high-five Leo. As they did so, however, his corndog fell from his mouth, and he collapsed on the ground in dramatic anguish.

Piper ignored Leo's grief and turned back to Percy, eyes glinting mischievously, and Jason shivered. Even before they'd dated, Jason had learned to fear that look. She grabbed the untouched plate and held it before Percy.

"You lost, Jackson. Now lick."

"Nooooo!" Percy whined. "It's not fair, Pipes! Jason's dopey face distracted me!"