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Jason had managed to pry more things from Percy after the cookie incident.
After the boy had burned himself, Jason had been allowed to rub the cream on his stomach, something that had made Jason very happy. The burn had still scarred, even after all the treatment Jason had forced onto his new boyfriend. It joined the legion of marks that littered Percy’s body, but the dark haired boy had told him that he liked it. It would forever remind him of the time Jason had finally decided to make his move and yanked him over the counter. It may have been a lighthearted sentiment, but it made Jason curious to know the stories behind the scars.
So here they were, a month old couple lying in Percy’s bed. Percy’s shirt was off and the room was dimly lit.
Jason’s hands swept over Percy’s skin, searching for every little scar. His fingers traced each one individually, he felt Percy shiver. “This one?” He breathed, fingertips finding a long, jagged line that ran from just below his collarbone to his pectoral.
“Sword,” Percy blushed. “I wasn’t fast enough, wasn’t good enough. Luke was a better fighter.”
“How old were you, Percy?” Jason trailed his lips across the wound
“Thirteen.”
“How long had you trained?” The boy scrunched his eyebrows.
“I don’t know, about a year, I guess.”
“How old was Luke?”
“Nineteen? Maybe older.”
“How long had Luke trained?” Jason grinned against the skin. Percy let out a defeated puff of air.
“Longer than I had, that’s for sure.”
Jason moved on.
He kissed his way up Percy’s collarbone, each time he found a scar, he asked Percy where he had got it. A hellhound, a fury, a god, a titan, a giant. Sometimes the scars were from things that were far more mundane. A tree branch, a wipe out on a bicycle. The ones that angered Jason the most were the ones from bullies, the ones from monsters you weren’t allowed to kill.
After about an hour of this, Jason discovered some scars that made him feel a little sick. He gasped when he felt them They were very faint, just tiny raised blemishes littering Percy’s skin. Jason would never have found them if he hadn’t been paying close attention. His fingers were calloused from years of training and fighting, not as sensitive as they used to be. But Jason found them. They were round and they were old.
“What are these?” Jason said lowly, almost growling. Percy shifted a little, uncomfortable, Jason was pretty sure what they were, but he wanted to hear it from Percy. There was a long length of silence, Percy’s body slowly relaxing, lungs slowly taking in air and letting it out.
“Cigarette burns.”
“Where else?” Jason asked, feeling for them. They were across his collarbone, on his abs, his ribs. They were everywhere.
“My hips, behind my ear, the inside of my elbow, my spine-” Percy stopped suddenly, he took a deep, ratcheting breath. Jason kissed his forehead, then he went searching. He found every single burn, kissing down his spine vertebrae, licking over his ribs and collarbone, mouth finding the one hiding behind his ear, out of sight. His fingers, traced his hips where they disappeared into his jeans. He pried open Percy’s fly so he could reach where the trail of horror stories ended.
A thought kept coming back into Jason’s head. It was unthinkable, yet Jason couldn’t help but think it. “Did he touch you, Percy?” It came out firmer than he thought it would. His voice full of strength, full of love.
“No.” Percy answered. “No, he didn’t. Not that way.” Jason breathed a sigh of relief, head thumping down onto Percy’s chest.
“I’m glad, Percy. I’m so glad that you didn’t have to go through that.”
“I know.” The boy breathed deeply again, something that he did when he was about to bare his soul. “I look at these scars and I’m not proud of them. They remind me of all the times that I have failed, that I’ve been humiliated, that I’ve been hurt. The burns especially. Ever since I discovered who I am, that water can heal me, I’ve tried to make them go away. Every time I do, they fade just a little bit.” He closed his eyes a sad, faint smile fell across his lips. “But I don’t think they’ll ever go away.” His eyes opened slowly, focusing on Jason’s face. His mouth curved into one of his signature wry smiles. “Of course, there are a few scars that I wouldn’t mind keeping.”
They kissed after that, all heat and vigor. Jason was smiling, Percy was too.
“Mmmm,” Percy groaned as Jason rubbed his jean clad hard on against the other boy. “Take your clothes off.” Jason gave him another heated kiss before climbing off of the other boy and staring at him while he removed his shirt and pulled off his pants. Percy gave him his best sultry look before speaking in a voice that made the other boy groan.
“Lube’s in the drawer, Jason.”