Wasted Butterflies

Let's give it a shot

Mom made us blue waffles for breakfast the next morning, and Nico ate about half his plate this time, which was good progress. I was a little worried we'd have to light up with him again any time he had to eat. 

As we walked into the thrift store, my birthday money in my pocket, I looked over at Nico. He seemed nervous, almost overwhelmed by choice, and mostly stuck to us. "... So... What should I get?" He asked. 

I shrugged. "I dunno, just kinda whatever you want I guess." 

He stuck to his comfort zone, picking up relatively new red converse to replace his old ones. These had black ribbons instead of shoelaces, though. 

He got ripped black jeans and nervously considered the fishnet stockings before deciding against them. 

He thumbed through the shirts on the rack. "Oh hey, there's some Star Wars merch in here." 

My brows shot up. "You like Star Wars?" I asked. 

He shrugged. "Well, no, but..." He stopped himself, and let go of the shirt with the yellow print. "... Let's get something else." He muttered to himself. 

He ended up getting a plain black button down. 

After a while, he found a soft, dark red sweater. It almost looked like velvet, and he pulled it down and put it in the bag. We paid for the stuff, sure beyond a doubt that he could get into it, but he still changed in the changing room. 

"Jason, Percy?" He asked through the door. "I... I need help." 

I stood up. "Yeah? What's wrong?" 

"Come here for a minute. Please?" 

I opened the door to find that Nico was trying to shove the sleeve of the button down over his cast. "Help..." 

I sighed and unbuttoned the cuff, trying to yank it over. It still wouldn't go. It would go down a little bit, but then it would stop. "... Jason?" I asked. "A little help?" 

He came in and sighed. "Just leave it." He answered. "Maybe the sweater'll fit over it." He grabbed it from the bench and slipped it over his head. It went above the cast easily, and Jason kneeled down to tie Nico's shoes too, since that was a two-hand job. 

Nico smiled up at Jason when he stood back up. "Thanks, Jace. I really owe you one." 

"It's fine." He cupped Nico's cheek and sighed. "... I love you." It just kind of slipped out of his mouth. 

Nico's own mouth dropped open. "... I... You... What?" 

Jason's tan skin flushed white. "I'm sorry, I-" 

"You... Love me?" He asked again, quietly. 

Jason swallowed. "... Yeah. I... I do." 

I smiled. "We, um... We both do." I added quietly. 

"... Jason... I've been meaning to, um... Tell you. Well, before... Y'know. Back on the ship, that I... I felt something for you. But I-I didn't want the crew to hate me even more." 

"They never hated you. And, look... You've just gotten out of a relationship. All three of us have. I don't think anyone here needs to start looking for a rebound. 

"Don't tell me what I do and don't need." He snapped. 

Jason's brows shot up. "... Ok." 

He seemed to regret saying anything. "S-sorry, it's just, you like me, and I like you, and... What's the problem? I mean, except..." He sighed. "... Except you also like him. And he also likes me, and... I..." He swallowed. 

"Well, if we all have feelings for each other, I don't see why we should make ourselves choose." I suggested.

Jason seemed open to the idea, his eyes flitted between me and Nico, who stared up at me slack jawed, as if I had asked if we should have human hearts for breakfast tomorrow. "... Like... Polyamory?"

I nervously rubbed the back of my neck. "Um... Yeah."

Nico bit his lip, his blush almost glowing on his pale skin. "I mean... I never quite realized that was an option. But... I-I'd be up for it, if... You are."

Jason nodded. "I... I'm not really sure how this is gonna work, but ok. Let's give it a shot." He slipped his hand in mine, laying his other on his back.

I grasped for his good hand, running my thumb over his knuckles. "Alright. So... We're all boyfriends now, I guess."

(sorry for the super short chapter lol)