𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

138

Percy watched Hadrian sleep.

These days, he was lucky to get three hours of sleep, but he always insisted Hadrian get proper eight hours ("You need your beauty sleep" he argued)

How many times had he watched him sleep like this? Every night since Tartarus, and some nights before as well. It was weird to not sleep next to Hadrian now. Whenever Percy woke up, he'd listen for the soft snores, search for the smell of his favorite deodorant, he'd turn and make sure Hadrian was alive before he could do anything else.

Percy had thought he already knew Hadrian, but after Tartarus, he'd started to roll over in his sleep and drape an arm or a leg over Percy. The boy in question never mentioned it, in fact, he tried to ease his heartbeat every time it happened.

Once, he remembered two days after the House of Hades, Hadrian had snuggled close, his head on Percy's chest, mumbling about heartbeats while his lips barely grazed Percy's neck. And gods, Percy had been to Olympus, he's been face to face with Aphrodite, nothing could compare to the simple touch.

Even now, he couldn't help but look over at the boy sprawled on top of him, one arm hugging Percy's waist, one leg over him as well. It was cute, it was domestic, it was... Percy couldn't describe it.

Hadrian's leg shifted and oh.

Oh shit.

Percy tried to wiggle out of the awkward position. He couldn't help the heat that pooled in his stomach, the way his cheeks burned and the only thing on his mind was Hadrian.

Was it just him or had the temperature gotten nearly ten degrees hotter?

He couldn't breathe. He was sure if he stayed under the covers even a second longer, he'd do something incredibly stupid.

Kissing Hadrian had been stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Why had Percy ever thought Hadrian would like him? How could he ever imagine Hadrian of all people liking him back? Shame burned like a bullet wound through him.

Percy pushed Hadrian off him slowly, careful not to wake him. He tried not to think about the skin-on-skin contact that sent his brain into turmoil. He just scrambled out of bed and grabbed a jacket from the chair before going out of the room.

With Coach Hedge gone, none of them had to worry about awkward encounters anymore. But sometimes, Buford the table would yell at them to put on clothes if he ever found a guy and a girl alone. Needless to say, everyone wanted to rip the table apart piece by piece.

Thankfully, the table didn't say anything about two guys together or two girls. So Percy had been sleeping in Hadrian's cabin all these days.

He emerged on deck, riptide in pen form in his hands. He just needed to let off some steam, that's all. He just needed to get his mind off Hadrian. He needed to focus on the quest.

As soon as he uncapped Riptide, Percy noticed he wasn't alone. He'd spent so many years with her, it was impossible not to recognize who it was.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Something like that" Percy cleared his throat, "You?"

"Night watch" Annabeth started pulling back her unruly blond curls. The wind whipped her hair around, tangling it. Percy stepped ahead, making his sword shrink back into a pen before putting it back in his pocket. He took the hairtie from her and beckoned her close to him.

Annabeth was familiar. Annabeth was safe. Annabeth was... not Hadrian.

He gathered her hair in his hand and tied it up the way she always did. Sometimes, she would be too stressed to focus on anything but work and Percy would have to do her hair and annoy her into taking a bath and eating. ADHD was like that sometimes.