Blue

My favourite colour has always been blue—specifically sky blue. Seeing Time Square's lights bounce off Jason's sky blue eyes just affirmed my preference tenfold. It was stunning, seeing his eyes sparkle like gemstones.

"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean, what?"

"You're staring, weirdo," he rolled his eyes at me, those beautiful eyes.

"Of course, I'm staring," I shrugged. "You're breathtakingly beautiful."

"Are you dying?"

"Why can't I tell my boyfriend how beautiful he is?"

"I'm nowhere as beautiful as you, though." I leaned in to give him a peck on the lips.

"The two of you are nauseatingly cute," my mother quipped from behind us, mouth full of hotdog.

"You didn't have to come along," I mumbled.

"I already gave you all morning. I'm spending tonight with my son."

"That, and Paul is busy chaperoning a dance tonight, and you don't want to be alone." My mother feigned offence, but we both knew it was true. I was the same, frankly. I hated being alone.

Luckily, Mum and I always had each other, so we didn't get too lonely. Of course, some people said we were too close. One asshole had once implied that I was fucking my mother. He lost a few teeth, and no one dared say anything about my relationship with my mother ever again. Not to my face, anyway.

"Why didn't you join him?" Jason asked. Coming from anyone else, it might have sounded like a jab, a hint to be left alone. Coming from Jason, though, with his innocent smile and eyes holding genuine interest, it was an honest question.

"Well, I felt like it was to soon to announce the relationship so openly..." she answered, not quite making eye contact.

"Not to mention, you need a bit of a break from kids for a while." My mother slapped my shoulder in outrage.

"Perseus!" she scolded, annunciating each syllable very clearly.

"What? You just got me and all my friends out of the house. Are you seriously telling me you're not enjoying the peace?" Mum had the decency to look a little sheepish.

"You weren't that bad," she said, burrowing into my side. "I miss some things."

"Mum, I blew up a school bus by shooting it with a Revolutionary War cannon."

"What?!" Jason cried from my other side, and Mum started cackling.

"Fifth grade. It's not like I was aiming for the bus." Jason stared at me in disbelief. "I got expelled anyway, though."

"Expelled?" Jason nearly choked.

"Careful, Percy. He might just combust," Mum whispered in my ear.

"You've been expelled?"

"Yeah, nine times." Jason froze. He blinked at me like the words from my mouth were utterly foreign to him. "Five of which were military schools, where they believe that paddling is good for the soul."

"Nine times?" he asked, voice tight. "And...from five military schools?"

"You got yourself a real bad boy, babe." He didn't seem to enjoy my little joke. "A bad boy who's good only for you." Still, nothing.

"To be fair, strange things would always just happen around him," Mum tried to save me. "Like when he was in fourth grade on a trip to an aquarium. He accidentally hit the wrong lever on the catwalk when his school visited the Sea World Shark Pool and made his class take an unplanned swim. Or when that man with only one eye was following you around in the third grade."

Jason stared at us, blankly. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before he screwed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, I'm trying to process the fact you got expelled, not even suspended, from military school." I chuckled at his flustered state. "I mean, I get the cannon incident and the unplanned swim, but that only accounts for at least two of the five."

"I set fire to a music room once, but funnily I didn't get expelled. It was at Half-Blood High, and Paul actually helped me get off with a lighter sentence." Mum started chuckling fondly. "And then I finally started dating you and turned into a law-abiding citizen. I've even stopped flunking school."

"And the fourth-grade swimming incident wasn't a military school," my mother added absentmindedly.

"What?" Jason squeaked.

"Hey, at least you know you're never gonna get bored with me," I smiled at him. Jason stared at me for a minute before he laughed.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." He ran a hand through his hair. "You're probably going to surprise me till the day I die."

"Jason, I promise to entertain you all my life."

"Are those your vows, Percy?" Mum raised an eyebrow at me. "I think you deserve better than that, Jason, dear."

"Remind me again, why didn't you join Paul tonight?" Coming from me, the question was definitely a jab. Mum narrowed her eyes at me before she jutted me in the side with her elbow.

"So what are you boys planning for Christmas?" she asked, ignoring me.

"Well, we have the semi-finals on the first of January, so I'm probably going to train." Both me and Mum stared at him. "What?"

"How the fuck did I end up with someone who is not only willing but actually fucking plans to train on holidays?"

"I don't know, baby. I thought I raised you better." Jason's eyes flicked between Mum and me. "The only exercise acceptable on the holidays is sex." Jason choked on his own spit before he looked to me for help. I didn't give him any.

"Agreed. Wanna plan for that?" Jason's cheeks flared crimson as he glared at me in indignation.

"The expulsions are starting to make sense now..." Jason wouldn't look at either my mother or me, the crimson spreading to his ears.

"Oh, honey, you're too cute." Mum let go of me and latched on to Jason. "We're so lucky to have you."

"We?" Jason asked softly, stiffening in my mother's embrace.

"Yeah. My mother and I are a package deal, babe."

"Please let me feed you on Christmas Eve," Mum begged, giving Jason her puppy dog eyes. No way in hell would he be able to resist. I mean, I have pretty choice puppy dog eyes, choice puppy dog eyes that I got from her.

"I guess I could drive in for Christmas Eve," Jason conceded. "But, I'll have to go back Christmas day to train." Mum smiled at Jason.

"You could invite Thalia." Jason's eyes bugged slightly.

"Oh, I forgot about Thalia."

"Wait, as in, Annabeth's Thalia?" Mum asked, confused. "The girl from the big sister program?"

"Yeah, she's Jason's actual big sister."

"Oh, please invite her. We'd love to have both of you." Mum seemed genuinely excited. I guess she really did miss some aspects of having me in the house.

"Sure. I'm having dinner with Thalia tomorrow night, so I'll ask her then." Mum beamed at Jason.

"That's great. Now I'm freezing my ass off." She made a big show of shivering. "You boys ready to head home?"

"I don't know. Was Time Square everything you thought it would be?" I asked Jason.

"Yeah, it's stunning. And really loud." Mum and I laughed.

"Welcome to New York," we replied in unison.

"Okay, I'm getting us a cab, and then I'm making us hot chocolate at home," she bounded off, hailing a cab. I tugged Jason closer by his scarf.

"You really are fucking beautiful, Jason Grace." He was blushing again. "You are undeniably, irrefutably, way too fucking good for me."

"Percy, I'm not..."

"Let me finish." I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Every single day, I try to be someone, to have a shred of semblance of someone you should be with."

"Percy, look at what you did today. What you've given me today, I won't ever forget." His eyes were glittering, reflecting the dancing lights, and my chest felt impossibly tight, my mouth unquenchably dry. "Today means more to me than any amount of money I've ever received."

"Jason, I want to give you everything." He opened his mouth to argue, but I silenced him with a quick peck to the lips. "And I know you don't necessarily want everything, but that doesn't mean I don't want to give you everything. But..." I started pulling him toward the cab my mother had flagged down.

"...I'm not stupid, and I also know I will never be able to give you everything I want to give you. But I'll give you everything that's left of me, and pray to any and every god that would listen, that you never wake up and realise you deserve much better than a broken soul like mine."

With one last kiss, we got into the cab and made our way back to the apartment. Mum made us hot chocolate, and we swaddled up in blankets to watch a Disney animation. The entire day felt oddly domestic. I never imagined ever having such a calm, happy day in my life. Maybe it was my reward after enduring years of hell. I kissed Jason on the temple and pulled him closer. Feeling his warmth seep into bones, into my very core. I felt so utterly content that I almost felt guilty.

After the movie, we went to bed. Mum went to her room while Jason and I went to mine. We settled under the covers, Jason splaying out across my chest.

"Hey," he whispered into the crook of my neck. "Just so you know, there isn't and never will be anyone better than you, and here's why." He raised himself up onto his elbows to look me in the eye.

"You've been through hell. You've seen all the worst qualities in this world, and somehow you kept smiling. Somehow, you found a way to still love people. Not just me, but your mom, dad, brother, your friends. You were the brightest light when all you knew was darkness. I'm never going to find someone as brave, strong, and caring as you. I love you, Percy."