Gladiators

Chapter Twenty One

"I hate flying." Nico mumbled, looking sickly pale as Jason flew them across the sky, towards the Thracian mountains. "Live a little!" Percy exclaimed, loosely hanging onto Jason's hand as they flew through the sky. Percy held out his other arm, making him feel like he was flying.

Nico, on the other hand, clung tightly to Jason as if he was going to fall to his death at any moment. Jason smiled, amused by the two. At first, Jason hadn't liked Nico because of his obvious love for Percy, but since they began their journey, he's noticed how adorable Nico truly was. Jason wasn't sure what to do about his emotions- he was sure that Nico didn't like him back, and Percy didn't want him either. The only reason either of them were touching him was because flying is the fastest way to travel.

Suddenly, the winds became rougher and they began plummeting. Nico screamed and shut his eyes even tighter, his arms tightening around Jason until Jason could hardly breathe. Percy began slipping from Jason's fingers, and Percy screamed from fear as he began falling faster than Jason and Nico, plummeting towards earth.

Jason's whole body was consumed with fear. Adrenaline was coursing through him, and he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. His heart pounded as he made the wind make him fall faster, desperately trying to catch up to Percy. He watched the boy he loved plummet, Percy's eyes staring up fearfully at Jason. Jason tried to make the wind lift Percy up, but the wind seemed to be fighting him, as if a stronger being controlled it.

The ground was rushing up to meet the three as they just kept falling faster and faster. Just before they hit the ground, Jason caught Percy's hand, and Jason willed the air to lift them up and land them gently. Their feet touched the ground, and Nico instantly let go of Jason and launched himself at Percy, hugging him even tighter than he had Jason.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked frantically, looking him over worriedly. Percy stared at Jason and Nico, once again overwhelmed with his feelings for both of them. Then, before Percy could rethink his actions, Percy was kissing Jason as if his life depended on it. Jason instantly kissed back, and Percy pulled away from him, panting for breath.

Nico stared at Percy with hurt, his dark eyes slowly welling up with tears, and he was just too adorable for Percy to resist. Percy wanted to make him feel better, so he kissed him just as he had Jason, startling the younger boy. Nico kissed back, and Percy ran his fingers through the smaller boy's black hair.

Jason felt a slight pang of jealousy, but not nearly as much as he had felt when Percy talked to Reyna, or any other time in his life. He didn't understand it. He should be furious. He should want to kill Nico, not taste Nico like Percy currently was. Feelings are weird, Jason thought to himself.

Percy soon pulled away, leaving Nico with a dazed expression and eyes that were glazed over with lust. Jason stared longingly at Nico's puffy red lips for a moment, longing to taste him. He knew Percy tasted heavenly- like the finest sweet things in all the lands. Jason wondered if Nico would taste similar, or completely different.

Jason's ran his fingers absentmindedly through Nico's black hair, loving the silky feeling of his hair between his fingers. Nico turned to him, his dark brown eyes staring into Jason's blue ones. They both began subconsciously leaning in towards each other until they could feel each other's breath on their faces.

Jason stared between Nico's eyes and lips, waiting to see if he would pull away. When he didn't see Nico moving away, he closed the small amount of space between their faces. Their lips met in a small, little kiss. It was brief, and so light that they barely felt it. But Jason could feel the sparks. Those wonderful tingles that Jason had only ever gotten with Percy were now racing all over Jason's body, making him feel giddy.

Nico had only ever felt this kind of feeling with Percy- the feeling like he had gained something he didn't know was missing. Now he was feeling it with Jason, and that confused and terrified him. He thought that people should only have these types of feelings for one person, not two.

Percy stared between the two, happiness consuming him, yet also apprehension. If they began to like each other, all three of them could be in a relationship together, and Percy wouldn't have to choose. But Percy feared that they would decide that Percy wasn't worth it and would leave him for each other.

Jason blinked, seeming to wake up from a trance, and cleared his throat. Nico seemed a bit hazy, as if he wasn't sure where he was, but soon shook his head slightly as if waking up finally. "Uh, let's keep going." Jason muttered, and began walking in the direction they were headed earlier. Nico followed him, a few steps behind.

Percy stared after them for a moment, shaking his head in disbelief. He wondered how the two could ignore their feelings so blatantly, pretending like that didn't just happen. Then he followed after them, staring at the ground in disappointment as snow began to fall.