Room 313, Sunday Afternoon

[dontvotemeout]

After calling Bruce and filling him in on how things were going - some things, at least, and Bruce might have known he was leaving stuff out, but Jason was convinced that it would be worse to tell Bruce everything - Jason went downstairs to check up on Nico. He knew that the demigods had things to make themselves feel better when they got hurt, but Nico had been looking really bad after his fight with Percy, and Jason was, quite honestly, worried. It was a weird feeling, and one he wasn't going to share with anyone else. Maybe not even Nico.

When he got to the door, Jason knocked, and listened for the sounds of anyone being in the room.

Comments

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

Nico didn't know if it was the sound of Jason's words or the feel of his breath that sent a shiver down his neck. Either way, he couldn't help his reaction. "Guess I'll have to sit closer this week."

[dontvotemeout]

"I guess you will," Jason said, unable to resist kissing Nico's neck while he was so close. "I need all the practice being sneaky that I can get."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Mm, I'll always be willing to help you sneak around if it means good things on my end," he teased, just barely angling his neck toward Jason's touch. "I'm a natural liar, after all."

[dontvotemeout]

Jason pulled back to just brush his lips against Nico's neck, so he could still talk. "You have so many skills that can be used to my advantage. I like that," he said. For some reason, he wasn't all that worried about Nico lying to him. He figured he'd be able to tell if that happened.

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

Nico turned slightly, smirking at Jason. "Is this one of those 'our powers combined' mastermind talks?"

[dontvotemeout]

"More of a 'When I become a superhero of my own, you'd be an awesome sidekick' talk," Jason said.

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

Now that had his eyebrows lifting in amusement. "Hold up, I can raise the dead and you make me the sidekick? Weak."

[dontvotemeout]

"What, you'd want me to be your sidekick instead?" Jason said. "I mean, I know I'm the best sidekick ever, but still."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Nah, I'm not much of a hero," Nico answered honestly. "I'll leave that to you and the other guys with your face. I'm better at watching from the sidelines and jumping in when I get tagged."

[dontvotemeout]

"You really should have a better opinion of yourself, you know," Jason said, kissing Nico's neck again. "I'd tag you into any fight I got into."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"This from the guy who thought I'd lose. Badly." Nico wasn't bitter, just accepting that no one believed in him.

[dontvotemeout]

"Hey, that's not what I said," Jason replied, trailing his hands further down Nico's back. He hadn't said he'd lose badly. "Luke keeps telling me not to fight Percy 'cause he'll kick my ass, so I thought he'd be some kind of amazing. But you were both equally good. Why wouldn't I want you fighting at my side?"

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"No offense, but you're human. I'm supposed to be one of the best powered matches for Percy. But in my world, I'm a little younger than him and he's...really good." Invulnerable. Invincible. All those words that described things that were forever protected, right? "This was my chance, no one thought I could do it, I blew it, end of story."

[dontvotemeout]

Jason frowned at Nico as he tilted his head around to try to look at him. "Hey. I'm sorry I didn't have more faith in your skills, okay? But as I remember it, neither one of you came out on top. You were equally matched, so that means you're really good too. And it's not like you're never going to fight him again, right? You didn't blow it."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

Nico didn't really want to look at Jason. Not when he'd reminded him so much of his father and was now being so nice that Nico felt like a complete ass.

"Well..." How did he put this without giving things away? "There's the chance I won't. I don't know, I just feel like I have something to prove with him. But I'm starting to understand I'm not meant to manage it."

[dontvotemeout]

"Are you trying to prove something with the Percy here, or the one you have at home?" Jason asked. "And you can't know what you're meant for. Fate isn't that strict."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"I don't know. Both? Maybe just to myself." Or his father. He looked up at Jason again. "I'm sorry, you're here, rubbing ointment on my wounds and I'm talking about family stuff that should've been buried years ago with the labyrinth."

[dontvotemeout]

"It's okay, you can talk," Jason said, leaning back again and going at a wound he hadn't helped yet. "I don't mind. I just don't want you to feel like you failed. Or, really, I don't want you to think that I think you failed."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"So, I didn't fail because we tied? What if I'd woken up with blood in my mouth and he'd won?" Nico asked curiously.

[dontvotemeout]

"Then I'd be sitting here putting stuff on your wounds and giving you tips for how to kick his ass next time," Jason said, hoping that was close to the right answer.

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

It wasn't a terrible answer as far as Nico was concerned. "I guess I could deal with that. What if I managed to eke out a win?"

[dontvotemeout]

"Then I'd be celebrating," Jason said with a hint of a smirk. "Assuming you weren't too injured for it."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"I don't think there's such thing as too injured," Nico decided. "I mean, unless we're talking maiming and I don't see anyone being interested right then."

[dontvotemeout]

Jason finished getting Nico's wounds covered with ointment, and then began moving his fingers over the uninjured parts of Nico's back. "And there's ways of celebrating that are...low impact," he said. "At least, on one person's part."

[deaths-demigod.livejournal.com]

"Guess it's too bad I didn't win, huh?" Nico teased, going with the assumption that losers didn't get celebrations.