Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1. Accept that you want to get better.

When Travis tells him he’s leaving for college Connor is what every loving younger brother should be; proud, but also fully prepared to make fun of Travis. Then it occurs to Connor that without his brother he’s going to be the only head counselor in cabin eleven. Which would normally be fine except for the fact that Connor has already been having a slight mental breakdown about how much pressure it is already. When you take over as co-head of the cabin at 13 you don’t really think of the consequences of your actions. Connor was always just proud that he was able to get all of the kids to sleep every night. Most of the time the schedule for his cabin mates had been: do whatever you want just make sure you cause some chaos. That had all been fine for a while. Travis and he had had a ton of fun wreaking havoc and pranking the other cabins. Sure it wasn’t without its consequences, but a rivalry with the Demeter cabin and all of his clothes being too small was well worth all the laughs he had. 

His crisis starts when Katie yells at him after he and Travis pulled a particularly nasty prank on one of the younger Demeter boys. 

“You can’t keep doing this to the little ones. Gods, with you two as counselors we’ll have another Castellan trying to destroy the world. Can’t you two idiots take anything seriously?” Katie yells,  turns on her heel, and stomps off back to her brother. 

Connor is pretty sure that Travis yells something to her retreating back, but he can’t focus on anything after that. Luke’s betrayal had hurt cabin 11 significantly more than it had hurt the rest of the camp, and Connor was not an exception. Luke was his brother and Connor had loved him almost as much as he loved Travis. Luke was one of the first authority figures to treat him kindly. He only laughed off their antics and never once got their names confused. Once for Connor’s birthday, he had sent him a pack of custom M&Ms because he knew Connor loved them. 

So losing Luke had hurt more than Connor had words to describe, and Katie implying that his boneheaded actions could make others betray the camp felt the same. The worst part is that in some ways it was true. The gods weren’t perfect parents and Connor knew that. Even if he had no ill will toward his dad, he knew that not every half-blood thought that way. Even Percy who was arguably the favorite demigod of just about everyone in Olympus still had issues with them. Without having a proper support system here at camp it wasn’t exactly out of the realm of possibility that one of the campers could feel the same way that Luke had. Even if they didn’t go to the lengths that Luke had it made Connor sick to his stomach that anyone could feel as angry and hurt as Luke did. So Connor decides then and there that he is going to put in a concentrated effort into being the best head counselor that Camp Half-Blood has ever seen.  

As if to add insult to injury it’s Nico DiAngelo who is the one to ask him if he’s alright when he notices Connor has been standing in place staring at the ground. Nico is another great example of how much of a failure Connor is. Connor had only had Nico in his cabin for such a short time when he first arrived but Connor had liked the kid. He was sweet and innocent and most of the time he just wanted to play whatever that card game he liked so much. Connor can’t blame himself for Nico’s sister dying or him being born in a different generation, but he does take credit for the fact that Nico stayed away for so long. When Nico had come out to everyone he had made it pretty clear that he didn’t think that people at Camp Half-Blood would be accepting of him. That was why he had stayed away from everyone and lived with his father instead of staying at camp. 

The fact that Connor hadn’t made Nico feel welcome enough at camp made Connor feel like the lowest scum on earth. Connor should know better than that. Hell Connor had gone through the same thing as Nico when he was around Nico’s age. Luckily, Connor had had his brother and his mom who were both more than wonderful about the whole thing. Travis constantly joked that the best way to tell them apart was Travis would only check out girls while Connor was interested in anybody. Nico didn’t have a support system and Connor wasn’t a good enough counselor to provide one for him. 

So now Travis was leaving him all on his own to ruin the next generation of half-bloods. Great, he could do this… probably. He just needed to make a plan. Connor ducks into the Athena cabin that he knows is empty at this time of day. All he needs to do is make a plan to be a good camp counselor. He grabs an empty notebook and pen from the Athena cabin and opens it to the first page. Ok so maybe stealing from the Athena cabin doesn’t exactly fall under the whole trying to be a better person thing but hey he’s only just beginning. On the first page, he writes Connor Stoll’s Guide to being a good camp counselor. Number one: Accept that you want to get better. 

‘Alright,’ Connor thinks, ‘Let’s do this thing’.

1. Break up with your girlfriend because you realize you’re gay. 

Jason Grace loves Piper with his whole heart, sort of. He loves Piper, he really does. He thinks she’s funny, and smart, and looks like she belongs in a vogue magazine. The problem is that these are also all things he could say about his sister. Nico is the one that breaks it to him. Well not really, because Nico didn’t just come out and say “hey man I think you’re not attracted to women.” Honestly, it would have been much easier for Jason if Nico had done it that way. Instead, he just talked about how he feels about Will and how different it is from pretending to be attracted to girls. 

Something about the word pretending had stuck with Jason. Was that what he was doing? Just pretending to be attracted to Piper. It had just been so easy for him to say he was. After all, anyone on earth could see that Piper was beautiful even if she tried to hide it with her chunky hair and baggy clothes. Jason had liked the baggy clothes, even if Leo sometimes teased her that she dressed like a boy. Ok, maybe that should have been his first clue, but it was just simple to be with Piper. It was obvious that Piper liked him and she was exactly the type of person everyone assumed a person like Jason would like, even himself. So, he just goes with it. Except now he can’t just keep going on like this. 

Jason and Piper had already decided they were going to stay in Piper’s dad’s beach house on long island for a couple of days before camp started so they could spend some time together. Piper had specifically called it alone time in a voice that made Jason feel the panic rise in this throat. So, when he gets out of the cab at Piper’s house, he knows he must look tense. Apparently, Piper doesn’t notice while she grabs the bags out of the trunk. Jason takes both his and Piper’s because even if he was about to break her heart he was still going to be a gentleman about it. He shoulders the bags and heads up to the large house that is meant to be theirs for the week before returning to Camp Half-Blood. 

Jason really misses camp. He keeps thinking about how badly he wants to see all of his friends and be able to just have fun. Speaking of his friends he really needs to call Nico and let him know that he got to the east coast safely. He knows that Nico isn’t really worried, but he just needs to talk to someone who will understand what he’s going through right now. He drops the bags on the couch and heads out to the back garden to find a hose. 

He grabs a coin from his bag and tosses it in, “Nico DiAngelo at Camp Half-Blood please Lady Iris.” 

Nico appears in the spray, “Jason did you guys make it here ok?” 

“Yeah the plane ride was fine and we just got to the house,” Jason says while listening to the sound of Piper putting her clothes away upstairs. 

“Have you um” Nico waves his hands like he doesn’t quite know how to say it.

“No, not yet. That’s why I called. I’m sorta freaking out,” Jason sinks his teeth into his bottom lip out of worry. 

“Hey, Piper’s a good person I’m sure she’ll understand. She was fine with me when I came out,” Nico picks at the black nail polish on his fingers and Jason hears Will scolding him about it in the background.

“Well this is different,” Jason wants to snap at Nico, but he knows it’s not his fault.

“Jason, you have to calm down or you’re going to have a panic attack,” Will says, his face coming into view as he presses into Nico’s side. 

“I mean how do you even tell someone that you can’t date them anymore because you realized you’re gay and you guys only got together because your goldy stepmom was trying to save the world and also ruin your life?” Jason asks. 

Jason hears the door slam behind him, “Well it would help by saying it to her face instead of behind her back.” 

A lot of things happen all at once. Nico is grabbing Will’s arm and pulling him out of frame. The little shit didn’t even say goodbye. Not that it would even matter because Jason has dropped the hose he was holding. Piper steps out into the garden fully with her arms crossed. Jason can tell she’s on the verge of tears. It’s the same face she would make whenever anyone would mention Leo’s name after they had thought he had died. Jason feels the hose spray his entire lap and land on his shoes. Well if that isn’t an insult to injury. 

“Jason I think you should go,” Piper says, squaring her shoulders. 

“Piper wait-”

“Jason I love you, but you need to go,” Piper is fully crying now and Jason has never felt so much shame in his life. 

“I didn’t mean for it to go like this,” he pleads. 

“You didn’t really think you could just break up with me and then stay at my house right?” Piper asks. 

Ok, maybe he hadn’t thought that one through, “Pipes, please. Let’s at least talk about this.”

“Go,” There’s charm-speak in her voice that time and even if there wasn’t Jason knows when he’s not wanted. 

“I love you and I’m sorry,” he says as he grabs his bag and heads out the door. 

“I know. I’ll see you next week alright?” She kisses his cheek and lightly pushes him out the door. 

As it shuts behind him, he hears a choked sob from behind the door. It’s almost enough for him to turn back around. Almost. He holds his bag close to his chest and takes off into the air. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he hopes that the air will dry his pants and wet shoes. Sadly camp isn’t far enough for Jason to feel any drier. So when he sees the golden fleece that once saved his sister he’s still soaking wet from the waist down. 

The walk over the hill is a silent one and during that time Jason can slowly feel the events of the last twenty minutes start to weigh on him. He just needs to find Nico and Will and maybe put on some dry pants and everything will be alright. Of course, this plan all goes down the drain when he nearly runs into Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. Connor is carrying a huge stack of paper, a bucket of markers, and what looks like a metric ton of glitter. All of this is piled well above his head and Jason is sure he can’t see where he’s going. 

“Um, do you need help?” Jason cocks his head at the sight of the demigod peaking around his pile. 

“Oh my gods, yes. Thank you so much. You have no idea how hard it is to carry all of this stuff without a second pair of hands. I could kiss you right now!” Jason can tell he’s blushing but he quickly grabs half of the things out of Connor’s hands.

Connor nods his head toward the Hermes cabin and Jason follows behind him hoping to ensure that Connor can’t see what a mess he is right now. It works for the most part and Jason is feeling so confident in his ability to look put together that he decides to ask Connor why he seems to have raided a crafting store. 

“So who’s the victim?” Jason asks as they pass by his own cabin. 

“Huh?” Connor asks, looking genuinely confused. 

“You have glitter and other random supplies. I figured you were pulling a welcome back prank,” Jason says like it’s obvious. He’s only been here for a little bit, but he knows enough about the Stoll brothers to know they’re always planning something. 

“Oh um no. I’m actually making welcome back cards. Oh and a schedule board and a chore chart. If I finish those before everyone gets here hopefully I can make little nameplates for everyone’s beds,” Connor looks so excited about this that Jason is taken aback, “Oh shoot wait do you think that everyone would rather make their own nameplate? I wouldn’t want them to have to deal with my poor handwriting and everything.”

They’ve made it to Cabin Eleven and Jason is surprised by the look of concern on Connor’s face about his nameplates. As Jason follows him in he tries his best to think of a way to get a smile back on the guy's face. 

“Well, I bet getting everyone together to do it would be a fun bonding experience. That way everyone can put their own creative spin on it,” Jason hopes that’s the right answer. 

“That’s a great idea! Maybe the other cabins will want to get involved too!” Connor bounces on his feet as he plops all of the supplies on his bed gesturing for Jason to do the same, “Hey your girlfriend is head of the Aphrodite Cabin right? Do you think she would want to join in?”

Uh oh. Jason’s crying. Which honestly, he should have seen that coming. Connor, however, didn’t see this coming, and his brown eyes widen in shock. Apparently, Connor is just now noticing how much of a mess Jason is because his eyes dart down to his soaked pants and shoes and back up to his face where his glasses have spilled tears clouding them. 

“Oh fuck ok uh. Did I say something to upset you? You can make your own nameplate too! Or I can make you one. We can do it in your favorite color which is, um, shit I don’t know your favorite color. Is it blue? You seem like a blue kinda guy. Not Percy level but. Anyway uh please stop crying? Shit ok, that wasn’t the thing to say, I mean um. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better right now?” Connor seems to be panicking, but he must be smarter than Jason because he runs to the door and shouts for Nico. 

  Jason feels sorry for the guy. He doesn’t deserve to deal with a disaster like Jason right now. All he was trying to do was make some arts and crafts for his siblings. Jason hears him shout Nico’s name a few more times and then comes back over to Jason. He quietly takes Jason’s hand and leads him to sit on the bed. Connor quickly sits next to him and begins rubbing small circles into his back. This starts Jason off on another crying spree, but Connor doesn’t stop his movements. 

Connor only does this for a few minutes before Nico enters the cabin. Even though Jason has his head in his hands he recognizes the way Nico sighs and knows that the footsteps walking toward him belong to the younger boy. Nico grabs Jason’s bag from where he left it by the bed and reaches his hand out to place it on Jason’s shoulder. 

“Hey, Jason,” Nico says softly, “want to come eat ice cream with me and Will? I bet if I ask nicely right now Connor will let us use one of the iPods I know he has hidden and we can watch a movie or something.” 

Through his tears, he can see Nico shoot a glare at Connor who immediately springs up and grabs an iPod from under his bed. Nico takes it from him and Connor stands silently seemingly unsure what to do now that Nico has arrived. Jason looks up and mouths a thank you to Connor before walking out of the cabin with Nico. Jason sees Connor wave from the doorway but is quickly distracted by Will holding out two pints of ice cream. Will hands him the fudge brownie one and Jason begins to try and erase this whole day from his brain.

Chapter Text

2. Identify someone who needs your help
Connor’s second step was actually going to be: make welcome-back cards for his siblings and the other head counselors, but then Jason Freaking Grace had come into his cabin and had a mental breakdown. Now, people crying in his cabin wasn’t exactly an uncommon occurrence. Every year he had a couple of kids who would shed some tears about having to leave their parents or dealing with the stress of being a demigod. Connor and Travis had taken it all in stride. After Luke’s betrayal, the Hermes cabin had a certain sort of gloom that it had never possessed before. Connor had gotten used to tears and late nights filled with nightmares. He was used to slinging an arm around one of the little ones and whispering jokes into their ears until they would finally give him a smile. Pulling a younger camper into a prank so they would laugh after a bad day was an easy way to cover up the looming war that had been brewing.

 Connor could handle one of his siblings crying, but Jason crying was something completely different. Jason was barely younger than him. He wasn’t sure how to comfort him, especially when it seemed Connor was the one who had made him cry in the first place. Connor hadn’t meant to offend him or anything. He was just really excited about being able to do something nice for his siblings and the other campers. Had that bothered him? That he didn’t have any siblings at camp with him? 

Connor remembered Jason’s sister Thalia’s short time at camp and before that the legend that she was. Connor liked Thalia, she was strong and feisty and in many ways reminded him of Percy. Thalia joining the hunters hadn’t really come as a surprise to anyone at camp. Something about Thalia Grace had just seemed so godlike already. Maybe it was the fact that she was a tree for a couple of years. Regardless when she joined the hunters Connor didn’t even bat an eye. Sure Thalia seemed much less stuck up than the other girls had been, but she carried herself in that same proud way that the hunters always did. 

As far as Connor knew Thalia was fine so it didn’t really make sense for Jason to be crying about her. Maybe he was just lonely. Connor can’t imagine living in a cabin alone, especially one like Zeus’s cabin that is so explicitly not made for people. Connor would probably cry if he was stuck in there alone all the time too. Whatever the reason was that Jason was crying Connor knew that he didn’t like it. He also knew that this was the perfect opportunity for him to practice becoming a good head counselor. Which honestly, if Connor really thought about it is a little opportunistic, but hey he was still a child of Hermes after all.

So all he needed to do was figure out a way to cheer Jason up and make sure he knows that he is appreciated at camp and isn’t lonely. Alright, time to think of things Jason likes. The only problem is that Connor doesn’t really know Jason all that well. He thinks he might like the color blue because Jason hadn’t argued with him when Connor said it. To Jason’s credit, he was crying at the time but still, it counts. Ok, the color blue. What else? Wind stuff? Connor’s not really sure what comes with being the king of the god’s son besides lightning powers. If Jason were Percy he would just give him something to do with water and be done with it, but things in the sky aren’t really the same. Connor can’t just pluck a bird out of the sky and say “here you go feel better dude.” 

Yeah, that’s really not going to work. So what else does he know about Jason? He knows Jason clearly likes ice cream, but that’s not really helpful when Nico has already gotten him some. He knows that Jason is hot, but he’s not really sure how that will help him. Connor could get him a really tight-fitting shirt, but that would probably be more of a gift for him and the girls who swoon over him at camp. Speaking of girls who swoon over him at camp where was his girlfriend anyway? Shouldn’t she be the one comforting Jason? Maybe Jason’s upset because he misses her. Connor’s not really sure how he could fix that problem besides figuring out where the hell Piper is, and if Connor thought he didn’t know a lot about Jason he knows even less about her. 

Alright, so far all he can think of is that Jason is hot, has lightning powers, and is probably straight. What do straight people like? Football? Connor could offer to play football with him. Connor doesn’t know how to play football, but he could learn if it made Jason feel better. Jason was also Roman. What did the Romans like? Slaughtering other civilizations? Out of the question. So clearly this isn’t working for Connor. He has to talk to someone who is smarter than him and knows Jason better than him. Nico and Will are out of the question because they’re both with him right now. So who knows Jason and is smart? Luckily Connor knows the perfect person. 

“Annabeth!” Connor singsongs into the Iris message when it shows her face. 

“Connor?” Annabeth seems confused to be hearing from him. In the back, he can hear Percy question ‘Stoll’.

“Hey, Percy’s there too, perfect!” Connor figured they would be together but one can never be sure, “I need your help with something.” 

“Connor, is something wrong? We can be there as soon as possible,” Connor could see Annabeth already gathering her things. 

“No no! I just have a question about something,” Connor does his best to placate her. 

Annabeth visibly relaxes, “Sure Connor what’s up?” 

“I was wondering what Jason likes?” Connor hears Percy snort. 

“Well Con I’m pretty sure he likes his girlfriend, but if that changes I’ll make sure to put in a good word for you,” Percy says easily leaning back on the bed they’re sitting on.

Connor blushes, “Wow ok not like that. I’m just trying to do something nice for him. Does he like candy or anything? Nico already gave him ice cream so I can’t do that.”

“Wait, Jason’s at camp?” Annabeth has a look on her face that Connor doesn’t like. 

“Yeah, he showed up like twenty minutes ago with wet pants and helped me carry my things to the cabin. Then I asked about nameplates and he started sobbing,” Connor feels bad for sharing Jason’s bad day with Annabeth but the look she’s wearing makes him uneasy. 

Connor can hear Percy whisper a quiet curse, “Connor we should probably go figure out what’s going on with Jason, but just do something from the heart. Jason would rather have a nice letter than a pack of peanut M&M’s and a free stink bomb,” Connor would feel offended if he wasn’t a little proud at how well Annabeth knew him. 

“Ok yeah, you’re right sorry to bother you guys. Bye,” Connor laughs as Percy does an over the top wave while Annabeth rolls her eyes. 

Well, that answered his question. Now he only needed to figure out what to write. It had to be something heartfelt but also very cool and casual. Also maybe he should throw in some M&Ms too. It’s not like they could hurt. Well, actually they could hurt if he was allergic. Connor would have to make sure he gave him just the plain chocolate ones instead of the peanut ones he gives his dad and the peanut butter ones that he eats. And maybe he should incorporate a little bit of the air theme into the whole plan. Has Jason seen Avatar the Last Airbender? Probably not. Well, either way, he had a plan and he had work to do.

2.Cry about your break up and establish you have a type. 

Jason is almost halfway through the pint of ice cream that Will had given him before he even thinks to ask how they knew his favorite ice cream flavor. Will pauses the episode of Avatar that they’re watching before answering him. 

“Is it really so hard to believe that we remember things that you mention? We’re your friends, you absolute goofus,” that’s Will for you. Never afraid to get right to the point of things. 

Right now the thing he’s targeting seems to be the fact that Jason’s kinda wonky self-worth. Jason knows that Will and Nico are his friends. Right now they’re basically his best friends with Leo still galavanting around the world with Calypso. Jason really can’t deny that Will and Nico are his friends from the position he’s in right now. Both Jason and Nico are practically laying on top of Will as they all watch Avatar the Last Airbender on the iPod touch Connor had let them borrow. No one can blame Jason for cuddling with his friends. Will is practically a human radiator and lanky enough that Nico and Jason both fit comfortably tucked into either side. 

Jason knows he should feel like a third wheel right now. After all, Nico and Will are holding hands and Nico keeps looking at Will like he’s the sun. Jason can’t really argue with the metaphor there. Despite that, Jason feels completely at home with the couple. Will and Nico are important to him and he knows deep down he’s important to them too. 

“I guess I just didn’t realize I mentioned that I like this kind before,” he mumbles digging into a piece of brownie in the ice cream.  

Nico laughs, “Dude you love brownies, you eat them all the time. Even if you hadn’t told us it wouldn’t have been hard to guess.” 

“So,” Will starts and Jason just knows he’s going to regret this, “are you ready to talk about what happened today?” 

“Not much to say that you guys didn’t hear. Piper told me she didn’t want me to stay at the house so I left,” Jason’s chest starts to tighten and he Nico reaches across to draw shapes on his arm with his fingers. 

“Yeah, honestly one of us should have seen that one coming,” Nico cringes. 

Jason can tell that Will probably did mention that by the way he shoots a glare at Nico, but he’s far too nice to mention it.

“Maybe we should talk about something else,” Jason suggests, desperate to change the subject. 

“Will let’s play the game,” Nico suggests sitting up on the bed. 

Will laughs sitting up as well bringing Jason up with him, “Alright do you want to explain the rules, or should I?” 

“I’ll do it. Ok, so Will made up this game when I first came out to everyone. Basically, you just name a person, and everyone votes on if they’re hot or not. It’s kinda stupid but it’s a good way to normalize finding boys attractive,” Nico plays it off casually like he hadn’t just mentioned how wonderfully considerate of a person Will is. 

“Alright let’s do it,” Jason says fully ready to make a fool out of himself. 

“We’ll start easy,” Will offers, “Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid.” 

Nico rolls his eyes, “Not hot. What is it with you and that dude?”

“Dark hair, goofy smile, brave and a sweet personality,” Will smiles at Nico who blushed deeply. Forget what Jason said about not feeling like a third wheel. He needs to send Leo a gift basket or something.

“Alright Jason, settle the argument. Who is the hottest Disney prince?” Nico asks looking away from Will. 

“Flynn Rider,” Jason answers easily. 

Will gets a funny look on his face, “You like thieves Jason.” 

Jason blushes, “Flynn is kind-hearted and handsome. He only steals from the rich, he’s basically doing medieval wealth redistribution. What’s more attractive than that?” 

“If you say so,” Nico moves on with the game. 

The game continues on for a while with only a couple of interruptions. A small pillow fight breaks out between them all when Jason offers Percy’s name and Nico smacks him without hesitation. From there the game descends into naming campers that at least one of them thinks is attractive. Until Will gets a look in his eye and Jason knows he’s in trouble. 

“Connor Stoll, hot or not?” Will makes it sound casual but Jason can see that stupid look in his eye. 

“Hot I guess. Like I guess he’s kinda attractive but not in an I want to make out with him kind of way. Just in an, I can see why someone would want to kinda way,” Nico looks at Jason expectantly. 

Huh. That’s interesting because if Jason had to categorize Connor’s hotness he would pretty solidly place him in the want to make out with him column. Connor’s got nice curly brown hair and pretty brown eyes. If he wasn’t already conventionally attractive, the smirk he often threw people’s way would easily place him firmly into the solid make out partner option. 

“I think he’s hot. He’s got the whole roguish thing going for him and from what I can tell he’s got a good personality. I mean I practically had a mental breakdown in front of him and he dealt with it. That’s gotta put him in the make-out category,” Jason can feel his face go hot, and he just knows Will is going to be an asshole about it. 

“Jason the only two people you’ve properly advocated for during this game have been two thievish types with brown hair and a sweet personality. I’m starting to think you’ve got a type,” Will laughs. 

Jason can’t argue with that, but he can hit Will pretty solidly in the face with a pillow. So he does just that. Will seems to be ready for the attack and Jason doesn’t even get the satisfaction of hitting him squarely upside the face. Nico has clearly taken Will’s side in this because in the half-second Jason has to mourn not hitting Will, a pillow knocks into the pack of his head. 

They play like that for a while. Until Will has flopped over both of them breathing heavily. Jason lets out a deep belly laugh and soon Nico and Will join him. He’s not sure how long the three of them lay like that laughing like maniacs. Finally, Jason rolls over freeing himself from Will and Nico. 

“Alright I’m going to go put my stuff in the cabin,” Jason grabs his bag from its place on the floor, “I’ll catch you guys at dinner alright?” 

Then Nico does something that takes him by surprise. Nico wraps him in a hug, “I’m really proud of you Jason and I’m sorry that things didn’t go well today.” 

Jason knows he’s tearing up again, but he ignores it in favor of hugging Nico. Nico lets him go and subtly pushes Jason out the door. Jason waves as Nico and Will call out goodbyes. Jason takes the walk back to his cabin to think about what Nico and Will said. He totally didn’t have a type. Even if his last girlfriend was technically convicted of theft a couple of times. That was just a weird coincidence. 

When he reaches his cabin he feels the same sense of dread that he always does in the cabin that’s not made for people. Jason knows what’s going to happen when he opens that door. He’s going to see that same old cot that they dug out of storage for him. He’ll have to look at the judgemental eyes of his dad and try not to quiver under the gaze they send him. Jason is going to enter his cabin and be reminded that he’s alone. 

Except when the door opens none of that happens. Instead, over a hundred balloons fall from the ceiling and land all around him. Jason’s first reaction is to grab for his weapon, but the thought passes pretty quickly when the only things in the cabin are the balloons and a note on his cot. Jason does his best to walk over to the cot stealthily but it’s hard when his floor is covered with balloons. On his cot rests a folded piece of notebook paper and a package of M&Ms. 

Hi Jason, 

Just wanted to give you something that would lift your spirits. I wasn’t sure what kind of M&Ms you like so I figured plain was best for now. The last thing I would want is to give you an allergic reaction on your first day back at camp. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I’m glad you chose to come to Camp Half-Blood and I hope you know you have a home here. I’m really sorry if I said or did anything to upset you. If there’s anything I can do to make you feel better let me know (even if it’s cleaning up all the balloons I unleashed in your room). Tomorrow I’m going to get started on all my welcome back cards. If you want you, Nico, and Will can join me. I know you and Nico don’t have any siblings at camp but maybe you could make some for your friends? No pressure. Once again I’m so sorry if I did anything to upset you. You’ve got a friend in me if you want one Jason Grace.  

Yours, 

Connor Stoll 

Jason reads the letter twice before he can even begin to process it. Unconsciously he begins to trace the yours Connor had written. After the third read Jason realizes he’s blushing, and if he folds the note up and stashes it under his pillow that isn’t anyone’s business than his. Huh. Maybe he did have a type.

Chapter Text

3. Make your cabin look like a glitter bomb went off

When Connor invited the other boys to come make cards he didn’t honestly expect them to show up. He had seen Jason at dinner and Connor thought he looked better. His eyes still had a slight puffiness to them but other than that he looked like his normal perfect self. Connor wonders if he has ever looked bad in his life. Even when he was openly crying in Connor’s cabin he had looked like some sort of movie actor crying in a blockbuster. Connor would have to pray to Aphrodite every night for a year to look even half as good as Jason did. Connor had done a lot of embarrassing things in his life but he wouldn’t be caught dead sending an offering to Aphrodite. He was perfectly happy stealing peanut M&Ms for his dad every day. Thank you very much. 

Connor starts work on the cards pretty early in the morning. Well early for Connor. Which is arguably not that early, especially for the Apollo kids who seem to be awake so long as the sun is up. Once again Connor is glad Hermes is his dad and not some other god who would try and make him like poetry and wake up early or try and give him makeovers. Connor had seen one too many spontaneous makeovers to ever want one for himself. He’s not sure even Aphrodite could do anything with his curly hair. Drew had tried once and Connor had dyed her hair green as payback. 

Connor starts the work for the crafts around eleven in the morning. He’s not sure how long he’s been working but he’s stopped twice to eat cheese whiz out of the can. Just a typical breakfast/lunch for Connor. Connor goes to brush some of the hair out of his eyes and realizes there’s glitter on his hand. Connor sends a silent prayer to his dad that his face isn’t covered with glitter. As always he doesn’t get any sort of response back. Until there’s a knock on the door. 

Like Connor said he really wasn’t expecting Jason and his friends to join him so when he opens the door he’s genuinely surprised to see the three of them standing on the stairs. Connor only has a brief moment to be worried about the fact that his breath smells like artificial cheese before Nico bursts out laughing. That’s when Connor remembers the glitter incident. He’s sure his face has turned a horrifying splotchy red in embarrassment. 

“Uh, Connor you’ve got some,” Jason gestures to his face awkwardly. 

Connor quickly scrubs at his face in the place where he thinks that the glitter will be. He even shakes out his hair for good measure. Will and Nico are trying their best to hide their giggles so Connor shoots him a middle finger. This does nothing to quiet their laughter and it sets them off on another round of giggles. Connor shoots Jason some puppy dog eyes hoping he’ll make them stop.

“You’ve got some just below your eye,” Jason says reaching for Connor’s face. 

Jason takes Connor’s face in his and uses his thumb to wipe the glitter near Connor’s eye. For a minute Connor can feel his whole world slowing down. His mind turns to Kronos for a moment. Remembering the way time had seemed to slow to a halt that awful day in Manhattan. He’s shocked out of the memory by Jason bringing his thumb to the corner of his mouth and brushing away whatever craft supply has made a home there. Connor is blown away by how intensely intimate the whole interaction feels. 

Will’s the one who ends the moment, “So are we going to make some crafts or not? I’ve got siblings who will be pissed if their Hermes friends get cards and they don’t.” 

Jason pulls his hand back abruptly like he’s been shot by lightning. Connor supposes he would be the one to know what that feels like. Will pushes his way to the crafting area that Connor has set up further into the cabin. Connor has always liked Will. He had given Will his bed when he first arrived at camp. It was before the minor gods’ cabins had been built, and they were seriously pressed for bed space. Connor and Travis were always the first to give up their beds. Even as the boys got older and sharing a twin bed with your brother got less appealing, the idea was never worse than the idea of a new camper being forced to sleep on the ground.   Will seems to notice this because he walks right over to it.

“Hey, this was my bed!” Will says pointing to Connor’s bed and the picture Connor has up of his brother and mom. 

“Yeah well before you were claimed we had run out of beds so I gave you mine,” Connor scratches the back of his neck. He doesn’t exactly like to tell people that there were a couple of times where Connor had slept with Travis or on the floor hoping that one of his cabin mates would be claimed so he could get his bed back. 

Will shoots him a funny look, “Oh I didn’t know that. Sorry my dad took a couple of days to claim me.” 

Connor shrugs him off and goes back to the place he was sitting before. He’s still got so many cards to make. He’s already made them for all the head counselors of the major gods’ cabins. Now he just had to do ones for the other counselors and his siblings. Connor is careful to make sure that Jason, Will, and Nico’s are tucked near the bottom of the pile. He doesn’t need them to make fun of him for his poor crafting skills this early in the day. 

3. Have a really awkward moment and then make cards with the hot counselor. 

Jason is doing his best to pretend the last few moments of his life didn’t happen. Will seems to be going along with this as well because he had broken the moment with light conversation. The conversation quickly turns to how nice of a guy Connor is, which now that Jason thinks about it, most of his conversations for the past two days have been going that way.   Nico doesn’t seem to want to let the moment go as easily as Will. While Connor has tucked himself back into his crafting station Nico makes kissy faces at Jason. 

Jason really regrets the day he chose to take Nico under his wing. If he had known what a little shit Nico would turn out to be he would have just given him an awkward bro shoulder tap and then been done with it. The Nico he met then really wasn’t anything like the Nico he knew now. Old Nico had been prone to isolate himself from others and only spoke when spoken to. Though Nico was certainly not a social butterfly now you’d be foolish to call him introverted. If Nico could help it he was around people as often as possible. At least the ones he cared about. Right now Jason really wished he wasn’t one of the people that he cared about. 

Jason pushes Nico on the shoulder and makes his way farther into the cabin. Connor’s area is a mess of paper and glitter, but the chaos is surprisingly organized. On his right is a large stack of cards all of varying color and shape. The one on the top is clearly for Annabeth if the slightly misshapen Parthenon with doodles of owls all over it is anything to go by. Jason has a sudden urge to look through the entire pile and see if Connor has made him one. He knows the feeling is silly. Connor has known Annabeth for years and only just met Jason a little over a year ago. Most of that time Jason was traveling the globe trying to save the world. Expecting Connor to make him a card was silly. 

Will seems to be excited to start crafting and has hoarded a large stack of yellow construction paper. Nico plops down next to Will grabbing himself a single piece of black paper and a white-colored pencil. Jason sits down in the only other spot without glitter on it. Which happens to be right next to Connor. Without looking up he can feel both Nico and Will’s eyes on him. He hopes the glare he’s sending them right now is enough to express that he really hates them right now. 

Nico and Will both seem to be extremely focused on whatever it is they’re making. Jason kind of wants to laugh at the fact that they have both chosen such cliche paper choices, but he’s distracted by Connor’s loud groan. Jason shoots a funny look at the boy who has now buried his head in his hands. Next to him sit a piece of paper he has clearly drawn on and erased several times. 

“I’m never going to be able to draw this for them,” Connor throws his head back in frustration. 

Jason takes a closer look at the paper, “It’s a cow right?” 

Clearly, that is not the right answer because Connor dramatically flops onto his back. Connor is rambling at a breakneck pace, but Jason can make out a few thoughts here and there. Something about horses and a kid named Victor and how Connor would much rather be drawing a cow right now. Connor takes a slight conversational detour to talk about Scottish highland cows and how they’re just these “fluffy shaggy things” and how good cows are. 

Connor explains that he’s trying to capture all of his friend’s essence in these little welcome back cards he’s making. He grabs Percy’s from the pile and happily shows the entirely blue card he’s made. The card has an obvious sea theme, but Jason can spot some other doodles that are things he knows Percy likes. 

“I’ve got all these cards to make before everyone gets here and I can’t even draw a stupid horse!” Connor punctuates his little rant by crossing his arms. 

“I could try and draw one for you. I’m not the best artist in the world but maybe you could tell me about your friends and I’ll do my best to draw something that looks at least a little manageable,” Jason offers. 

Connor brightens at that and immediately sets off on a story about his former cabin mate who is now the head of the Nike cabin. It’s clear Connor really cares about all of the demigods who had stayed in the Hermes cabin at one point or another. He tells a story about nearly every counselor of the minor gods’ cabins. Will will occasionally add details or share stories about the other campers. On rare occasions, Nico will pipe in with something he knew from his brief stay in the Hermes cabin. Most of his comments have to do with their skill level at poker which seems to be the main thing Nico and Connor had done while his sister was on a quest with Percy. 

When they move on to making cards for his siblings Connor’s passion nearly doubles. His stories shift from the person’s interests to the many adventures they had gone on while they stayed at camp. Connor told stories in a way that forced Jason to listen. He wasn’t sure if he had the same effect on Will and Nico because they would often ignore Connor in favor of whispering quietly to each other. Jason almost feels jealous of the relationship and he can’t help but look Connor’s way. Connor is in the middle of telling a story and is gesturing wildly. Despite the fact that Jason has taken on doing most of the art on the cards Connor has managed to get glitter on himself. 

Instead of looking silly like it should, it gives him an almost ethereal quality to him. The gold flecks shine when he turns his head toward the window. If Jason were thinking clearly he would probably be concerned at just how quickly he seems to be developing feelings for this goofy boy. Connor is clearly oblivious to Jason’s staring because he continues on with the story about his youngest sibling. Jason hasn’t been paying attention to the words he’s been saying for a while now but he would have to be blind to miss the look of sheer fondness on Connor’s face. Jason’s heart clenches once again. 

Jason finishes the final drawing and hands it to Connor who has a pile of cards he has to write things on the inside. He quickly flops himself down with a pen in his mouth and a stack of empty cards in front of him. Jason realizes maybe he should make a card himself. He has no siblings at camp, and he wasn’t sure when he would see Thalia. He sees the seven so often that he doesn’t think giving them a card would make all that much sense. Except. Maybe there was one person that deserved a card from Jason. 

He grabs a nice orange paper and sets to work drawing something he thinks Piper will l like. He doodles little things that he knows she likes. Little things she had commented on over the last year of knowing each other. Flowers she likes, food that makes her eyes light up, and animals she would always aww at. Jason’s still not the best artist but he tries hard on it. He’s careful not to add glitter because he thinks that would really be the last straw for her. Instead, he fills the paper with colored pencils and little stickers Connor had found. The final result isn’t exactly the most beautiful thing ever made, but it certainly looks like it came from Jason’s heart. 

He hesitates to write anything in it right now. The idea of trying to think of all the things he needs to say to her here in Connor’s cabin feels wrong. So Jason puts it to the side. When he looks up he can see that Connor is just finishing up writing in his final card. Nico and Will had also finished and were now keeping themselves busy by throwing up wadded up balls of paper at each other.   

Will is the first one to say anything, “Well it looks like it’s about dinner time y’all ready to go.” 

Connor springs up, “Oh my god I can’t believe I spent my whole day eating cheese and making cards.” 

Will makes a face and Jason is pretty sure Connor is about to be the victim of a Will Solace lecture. So Jason does the only thing he can think of and chucks a ball of paper at Will’s head. Will barely hesitates before he fully tackles Jason. Jason is easily stronger than Will, but Will has the element of surprise and the boniest elbows known to man. He and Will roll on the ground for a moment while Nico laughs and cheers on Will. Jason doesn’t have it in him to be annoyed that Nico isn’t rooting for him. Connor seems completely oblivious to the chaos going on around him as he picks up the paper and puts everything under his bed. While under his bed he also grabs a bag of M&Ms. 

Jason is too busy watching him to notice Will give him a sharp poke in the side. Jason lets out a yelp that Will takes as a victory. Connor holds out a hand for Jason and pulls him up. Jason makes sure to grab Piper’s card with great care. He holds it close to his body as he follows the other boys out the door. He glances at Connor who is joking with Nico about something and the card in his hand suddenly feels a little heavier.

Chapter Text

4. Notice warning signs by lightly stalking Jason Grace

Connor wakes up to an empty cabin for one of the last times this summer. Tomorrow his siblings will arrive and Connor would be able to fully put his plans for being a good camp counselor into action. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to see everyone. The excitement is only slightly dampened by the concern that has been nagging at him. It’s not the normal concern that Connor usually feels. Instead of worrying that he’s a bad older brother and role model like normal, he’s too focused on Jason Grace. 

Connor has been watching Jason since they spent the afternoon together making crafts. Not in a creepy way. Just in a casual friendly way. At least that’s what Connor tells himself so he doesn’t feel like a first-class creep. Jason has just been acting slightly odd that's all. Connor knows that he doesn’t know Jason all that well but the little he does know about him seems to be thrown off by the way that he’s been acting this week. Jason has been spending nearly all of his time outside. Which is mostly normal. Connor’s sunburn can attest to the fact that everyone spends a ton of time outside. 

The thing that is odd about it is that Jason stays outside until the last second he possibly can. Before Jason came Connor was the only one who was ever out after hours. For Connor it was normal. He was always out in the middle of the night doing something or other. These days his nightly adventures had mostly been grabbing M&Ms for dad and getting things he knew his siblings would like before they arrived. 

Jason just seemed to sit around. Sometimes Connor would see him on the steps of his cabin just sitting there. Other times Connor would spot him at the lake or near the strawberries. Jason never seemed to have a purpose. He just wandered around during the night. To Connor, it looked like Jason was just avoiding going into his cabin. Connor could understand Jason avoiding his cabin. When he had snuck into Jason’s cabin he had noticed just how barren the cabin was. In it sat a large statue of Jason’s father who seemed to be able to notice him from every angle. Connor had felt a strange sort of delight when he filled the place with balloons. 

Avoiding his cabin is one thing but the thing that really concerned Connor was how tired Jason looked. He had quickly developed dark circles under his eyes. Connor was adamant about the fact that he wasn’t stalking Jason but Connor often found his eyes wandering to the blond. Nearly any time Connor would look at Jason the boy would be yawning or looking dead on his feet. 

To say Connor was concerned would be an understatement. Connor couldn’t stop thinking about Jason’s abnormal behavior. Was he not sleeping for the same reason he had been crying just the other day? Was the lack of sleep due to nightmares? That wasn’t actually that uncommon at camp half-blood, especially for a camper like Jason who had experienced so much in his short life. Sometimes nightmares were better than the much scarier thing that would sometimes possess half-bloods as they slept; visions. Connor believed there was very little worse than having a vision about something you couldn’t control. 

In the years after Luke left Connor had visions constantly. Sometimes they would be intentional, Luke reaching out to him in his dreams in hopes of getting him on his side. Other times Connor knew Luke would not have wanted him to see the things he saw. He saw the way Luke had suffered. Even worse he saw the ways that Luke took great pleasure in growing his army. Each night Connor would watch as Luke slowly turned from his brother to a person he couldn’t even recognize, far before Kronos claimed his body as his own. 

Other nights he would have visions of his father. He watched his father with a woman who looked so much like Luke it wasn’t hard to tell it was his mother. He would watch his father worry about Luke and watch as Hermes battled with what to do with his son, Connor’s oldest brother. So yes, Connor could understand how visions would keep you up at night, but Connor knew something else too. Having someone with you always made it better. Connor had Travis. Travis would always understand no matter what. He would simply sit next to Connor on the bed and lay next to him as Connor calmed down. That alone was more than enough for Connor. Just having Travis near him let him know that he wasn’t alone. 

Could the same be true for Jason? Did he want someone else to be around him? Connor knew he went to a boarding school so he probably had someone around him all the time. Connor couldn’t imagine going from having someone with you all the time to sleeping in a creepy old cabin all alone with your dad watching over you. 

In the end, the idea of Zeus’s creepy old face looking at him that sets Connor’s plan into motion.

4. Move in with a boy, but like platonically

Jason is tired. The sort of tired that sticks to your bones and makes you feel heavier. He knows part of it is because he still hasn’t talked to Piper. Which isn’t completely his fault because Annabeth had explicitly told him that he wasn’t allowed to contact Piper until she reached out to him. That doesn’t stop him from feeling shitty about it though. Part of him is really afraid of Piper being mad at him. He's really not sure what he's going to do if Piper hates him. Despite being scared, he mostly wants to talk to her about everything. Because before all of this happened Piper was one of his best friends. He desperately wishes he could talk to her about everything he’s thinking right now. He wants to tell her about his complete disaster of a first impression on Connor. Piper would be smart enough to know if filling someone’s entire room with balloons counted as flirting. Not that Jason even knows if he wants it to be flirting. For all that he knows Connor is just a straight guy who was nice to him. Nice straight guys exist. Frank is living proof of that. 

It’s not just his Piper problem that is giving him trouble. The other thing that is keeping him up at night is his stupid cabin. Jason hates his cabin. Obviously, it’s nothing that he has ever said out loud. Jason’s not sure he’s comfortable with his dad smiting him over something quite so stupid as him not enjoying living in his temple/cabin. So even though Jason has never voiced it he absolutely hated living alone. He longs for the barracks of Camp Jupiter, and for the first time in a long time, Jason feels homesick. He had liked sleeping in the same room as people he trusted. There was a certain comfort in having people around you that Jason had always loved. 

Sleeping alone just wasn’t something he was used to anymore. Not after his days with the Romans, and now his time spent at boarding school. Even his days spent on the Argo II in his own room hadn’t felt so lonely. They may have had their own rooms but there was never a moment where Jason had felt alone. Here in this stupid cabin, he feels like he is on an island completely by himself. He had no idea how Percy dealt with it for so many years. 

Don’t even get Jason started on the statue of his dad in the room. Jason felt like those eyes never left him. He hated it. He understood why Thalia had hidden in a little corner to sleep for the brief while that she was at camp. Jason just didn’t think he would be able to sleep on the floor for that long. Jason may only be a teenager but he was sure his back would kill him if he lay on the floor for so many nights. 

So Jason wasn’t really sleeping properly. He just tossed and turned all night until he finally fell into a fitful sleep and woke up again in the morning to do it all over again. He knew that he probably looked like crap, but he wasn’t sure there was anything to be done about it other than just try and get over it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew Will would probably intervene if it got truly bad, but Jason also knew that campers would be arriving tomorrow and he would be busy with all of the scrapes and bruises that the first day always had. 

Jason expects today to be like any other day he’s had in the week that he’s been home. He’ll do some training, goof around with Nico and Will, go for a walk, and if he’s lucky Nico will let him take a nap in the Hades cabin before dinner. It’s not a perfect routine but it’s the only one he’s got right now. 

Jason’s day immediately goes off the rails when he’s pulled into the infirmary by a mildly pissed off Will Solace, “Jason I swear to god you need to come to me about these things instead of my hearing about it second hand.” 

“I’m sorry what?” Jason asked, looking genuinely confused as Will shoves a thermometer into his mouth. 

“You haven’t been sleeping for a week and I have to find out because Connor Stoll wants me to write a doctor’s note so you can sleep in the Hermes cabin. How is it that Connor Stoll knows more about your health than I do?” Will takes the thermometer out with more force than Jason really thinks is necessary. 

“Connor Stoll wants me to sleep in his cabin? With him?” Jason says, feeling a little lightheaded. 

“Jason I’m going to need you to stop being a gay disaster for just like one second and focus on the important things. You could be really sick. Sleep loss is a sign of a lot of conditions. Have you made Hypnos or Hermes mad lately by any chance?” Will asks, writing something on a chart. 

“Will I’m not sleeping well because my cabin creeps me out and I don’t like sleeping alone. I’m not sick nor did I anger a god.” 

Will deflates a little, “Oh well good then. So I guess I’ll just sign this doctor's note and you can move your stuff over to cabin 11.” 

“Yeah about that. What exactly is going on?” Jason is suddenly back to being confused.

“Connor came by and asked me to sign a doctor's note so you could sleep in cabin 11 with him and the other Hermes kids. I assumed he asked you about it first, right?” Will cocks his head to the side.

“Um unless I’ve suffered another head wound I don’t remember him doing that, no” Jason flinches at the look that crosses across Will’s face at the mention of Jason’s multiple blows to the head. 

Before Jason can come up with a reason for Will not to perform a concussion check on him Connor bursts through the door, “Hey Will! Did you sign that note I gave you? I’d really like to get it over to Chiron before I tell Jason so that way I won’t be giving him an option he doesn’t actually have.”

“Little late for that actually!” Will says.

Jason can tell Will is enjoying this now that he knows Jason isn’t feeling unwell in any sort of way. Will’s got this stupid upturn of his lip and Jason just knows that Will is ready to tell Nico all about it. Jason looks away from Will to look at Connor. Connor’s got a darker complexion than Jason, but he can still see a faint blush on the boy's face. Jason is probably blushing too. Who can blame him? All he knows is that a cute boy is trying to use Will’s doctor privileges to be roommates with him. That would make any recently out gay teen blush at least a little bit. Even if the boy wasn’t as cute as Connor is. Except Connor is cute, which makes things even more awkward. 

“Oh Jason, shit, uh hi,” Connor grabs the back of his neck, “alright well this is super awkward.” 

Jason quirks an eyebrow at him and gestures to him to continue, “Alright so I noticed you haven’t been sleeping. Not in a creepy way! Just in a friendly, you cried in my cabin and I wanted to make sure you’re ok kind of way. So I figured it must be because you live in a kinda creepy temple basically and I know I wouldn’t be able to sleep there so I figured you couldn’t either. Plus I always sleep better with someone else in the room. Maybe that’s just because I had Travis and - shit ok I’ve been talking too long sorry.” 

Connor looks up from the spot on the ground that he had been staring at while rambling. Jason is suddenly filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. How could a practical stranger be so kind? And to him of all people? Jason, who was in so many ways an outsider here at camp. More than that Jason, who was always meant to be the leader. Who was always meant to be the one who was checking in on other people. How could someone be so kind to him?

It’s during the last thought that his legs make the decision before his brain has the time to catch up. Suddenly he is throwing himself off of the exam table and running full force at Connor Stoll. Connor may not be the camp’s best fighter, but no one could fault his reflexes. So when Jason throws his arms around Connor and pulls Connor into a fierce hug. Jason can feel Connor relax into the hug as Jason squeezes just a bit tighter. 

“Connor Stoll I think you’re the sweetest person I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Jason doesn’t mean for it to be something he whispers in Connor’s ear, but that’s just where his mouth had ended up in the hug. 

Jason enjoys the moment for a second longer before Will clears his throat, “Alright well I actually have things to do if you too are done cuddling in my infirmary.” 

Jason pulls back rather quickly after that. Somewhere in Jason’s heart, he knows that both of them would rather be hugging again. Connor has placed his hands in his pockets and Jason feels a wild desperate want to grab one and hold it. Just to reestablish the contact they had had in some way. 

“Well, I guess we better go talk to Chiron huh? And then we can go get your stuff from good old creepy cabin one,” Connor says keeping a casual stance. 

Jason cringes slightly at the slander against his dad, “Yes totally! The sooner I get out of there the better.” 

“Alright then Jason Grace! Let’s go get you set up for a summer of fun in cabin 11. Hope you’re ready for a couple of months of chaos,” Connor sends a stupidly handsome smirk his way. 

Jason feels a bubble of hope rise in his chest, “You know what, I really think I am.”

Chapter Text

5. Commit some light burglary to make Jason feel at home 

The first night with Jason feels a bit like a sleepover with a new friend from grade school. Connor is desperate to impress him and make sure Jason knows he’s welcome, so Connor really pulls out all the stops. Connor had already made sure that Jason’s new bed was made perfectly. Obviously, he knew that it was Jason’s choice whether he wanted to decorate the wall next to his bed but Connor had thought it had looked so empty compared to Connor’s own bed. 

Connor’s wall was covered in pictures and little knick-knacks. Pictures of his family were scattered all around. From a picture of his mom holding both Connor and Travis on her back to a picture of Connor doubled over laughing while Travis struggled to keep his baseball cap on over his unruly curls, everywhere near his bed told stories of bits and pieces about his life. Even the tiny little pan pride flag that Travis had gifted him when he was 14. 

Seeing Jason’s wall look so empty just felt so odd. So before Connor even knew if Jason was allowed to move in he had taken the liberty of livening up the space for him. Some of the Satyrs loved taking pictures. It was pretty much an unspoken rule at Camp Half-Blood that if you were doing anything fun you were probably going to get your picture taken whether you realized it or not. So Connor knew there must have been pictures of Jason lying around somewhere. 

Sneaking into the big house had been easy. Connor had never met a lock he couldn’t pick, and Chiron had learned that fact quickly so at this point he didn’t even try. Connor loved the big house even if the whole thing was a little bit of a disaster. Tucked into one of the corners was a large trunk. Most campers would probably suspect some cool godly artifact was hidden there, but really the entire thing was filled with pictures. Connor loved looking in the picture trunk, especially after a prank. It was always fun to know what his genius plans looked like from an outside point of view. 

Connor also knew not to look too deeply into the trunk. Sometimes memories were a little too painful. Connor’s not sure he would have been able to handle finding pictures of Silena and Beckendorf, or worse, pictures of Luke. So Connor had stayed at the top layer of pictures. There he found what he was looking for. About a half dozen pictures of Jason. One of Jason holding Nico in a headlock with Will in the background laughing. Another of Percy pushing Jason off the docks and into the lake. There’s at least two of Jason in the air, one with a terrified looking Percy holding on for dear life. Connor grabbed them eagerly. 

It’s only then when he notices how many pictures there are of Jason and Piper together. Jason blushing while Piper laughs. Them sitting on a sprawled out blanket smiling at the camera. Another one of them close together while Annabeth is clearly telling them something.  Something about them sits funny in Connor’s chest. Whatever that feeling was it’s enough for Connor not to bring those pictures as well. If Jason really wanted them Connor could always tell him where to find them. 

So now as Jason places his things on his new bed he looks at the little moments in time Connor has hung up for him. Connor can tell he’s surprised even without the little gasp he breathes out. Jason’s hand goes out seemingly unconsciously and he’s brushing the edges of the picture of him and Nico. Jason turns to look at him and he’s got this watery sort of smile on his face. 

“Connor Stoll you never cease to surprise me,” Jason says, a fond look passing over his features. 

Connor shrugs, “I do what I can.” 

Jason laughs at that and gets to work putting away his belongings. Connor doesn’t want to invade his personal space too much and instead takes a seat on his own bed. He pulls out a comic book that he started reading the other day and starts doing his best to keep himself entertained while Jason settles in. They continue like that until it gets dark. Jason settles himself into bed and Connor has prepared for this. He’d come up with a list of things they could talk about while it was just him and Jason. Things that would help Jason get comfortable in his new living situation. He even wrote it all down in his be a better counselor notebook. 

As it turns out Connor hadn’t needed to worry about what he was going to say to Jason at all. 

“Hey Connor I just really wanted to say thank you again for helping me out,” Jason starts letting out a big yawn. 

“Dude, it was totally no problem you’ve always got a place here in cabin 11,” Connor wants to continue, but before he can, Jason is fast asleep. 

Connor takes a moment to just stare at Jason’s sleeping form before he realizes how creepy that is before turning over and going to sleep himself. If Connor dreams about blond hair and blue eyes well that’s nobody's business but his own. 

5. Meet the family

It’s been a long time since Jason has woken up without an alarm or a bad dream jolting him awake. In some ways it feels so foreign, laying in his new bed in a sort of half-asleep. He can tell it’s well into the morning with the way that the warm light shines from everywhere in the room. 

Jason wonders for a moment if he could just lay like this forever. He could stay here in a cabin that isn’t his own with this new boy who is rapidly worming his way into his life. He could just bury his face deeper into the pillow and pretend that all of the ways that his life has flipped upside down in the past week haven’t happened. Jason can pull the blanket tighter around his shoulders and never have to face the real world. Just scrub the last few years from his life completely. He could just be a normal kid at a sleepover with Connor. When he wakes fully he’ll tell Connor about his crazy dream he had about how he was the son of a god who never really lived up to his full potential, and Connor will laugh while he gets this fond look on his face. Maybe Jason will gain courage from his dream hero self and pull Connor into a kiss. Connor will make a joke about morning breath, but Jason will know he doesn’t mean it by the way Connor kisses him again. Then Jason will hear the giggling-wait what?

Jason jolts up with a start. Which would have been perfectly fine if Jason wasn’t sleeping on his face. So instead he rolls violently and ends up face up on the floor. When Jason finally gains the courage to open his eyes he sees two girls staring at him. Even though the girls look nothing alike Jason can tell easily that they’re siblings. Something about the way they stand next to each other with matching expressions makes that clear. 

“So are you sleeping with our brother or did your dad disown you?” The shorter of the two says. She’s got sharp eyes and pin-straight hair pulled into a tight ponytail high on her head. 

Jason sputters, “Um neither?” It comes out as a question even though Jason doesn’t mean it that way. 

“So you’re sleeping in Trav’s old bed just for fun then?” This sibling has got her hair loose and it falls in messy curls all down her back. Neither of them seem to care that he’s still lying on the ground. If anything they both seem to be enjoying the odd power dynamic that comes from towering over them. 

“I have a doctor's note,” Jason says, feeling defensive. 

 That startles a laugh out of the taller sister with the curly hair, “So you’re really not dating Connor then? Probably for the best, I don’t have a shovel speech yet. What about you, Alice got anything prepared?” 

“I’ve only got a couple of brothers left. If you hurt this one I’ll beat you over the head with a brick,” Alice says, tone dark but surprisingly calm. If Jason hadn’t known her father he would assume she was speaking charm speak. The effect is the same either way. 

Before Jason can try and think of an eloquent response along the lines of ‘I’m not dating your brother, and even if I were I would rather throw myself in Tartarus than hurt him’ without sounding like a dork who has developed a crush on someone far too quickly; Connor walks in the room. Jason watches as the 5 stages of grief cross over Connor’s face when he processes what is happening. Jason suddenly remembers that he’s still sprawled out on the floor, and makes the move to sit up. 

“Alice May Miyazawa and Julia Ester Feingold if you don’t step away from one of the saviors of the world this instant I will shave both of your heads in your sleep,” Connor rushes toward the three of them. 

Both girls’ hands rush to their hair, “You wouldn’t dare!” Alice yelps taking a large step back from Jason. 

“Oh I absolutely will, and I’ll get Clovis to make sure it’s a deep sleep so you won’t wake up in the middle of it. Maybe I’ll even leave a little in places so it’s nice and patchy. Jules, I think the shaved head will really compliment that scar you have on the side of your head. Oh and Alice I bet that boy you have a crush on in the Nike cabin will love the new look,” Jason has never seen Connor be threatening before. It’s a nice look on him. His eyes narrow and his shoulders sit in a way that makes him look less lanky than he is. Though he’s shorter than Jason he’s still taller than both of his sisters by at least three inches. 

Both of the girls trip over themselves to get away from Jason. Connor reaches out to help Jason up. Jason can feel his face heat as Connor helps pull him up off the ground. Connor inspects Jason for a second looking him up and down. Jason knows his hair must be a mess from sleeping for so long and his clothes have to be wrinkly and unflattering. Still, Connor seems satisfied with what he sees and turns his gaze to look at his siblings. 

“Jason is honorary Hermes cabin this year and you know what that means,” Connor looks at them expectantly. 

“He’s off limits” they chorus back to him. Connor seems satisfied with this and starts to make a move to his bed. 

“Wait a minute,” Alice pipes up, “we can still mess with the Aphrodite campers even though Jason’s dating their head consoler, right? 

A dark look crosses over Connor’s face for a moment and he opens his mouth to say something, but Jason beats him to it, “We’re actually not dating anymore.”

“What?” Connor asks, but Jason can tell he regrets it after he says it. 

Jason continues anyway, “We broke up before I got to camp. We, uh, wanted different things… or  I guess the same thing. I, uh, don’t like girls.”

Before Jason can even look up from the spot on the floor he’s been staring at three pairs of arms wrap around him. Jason doesn’t cry, but for a moment it feels like he’s going to. He’s not sure how long he just stands there. Connor’s pressed up against his chest and Julia and Alice are on either side of him squeezing both of his sides. 

“Well, congrats Jason you’re officially Greek!” Julia laughs slightly. 

“A friend of Connor is a friend of ours, Jason Grace. Welcome to the madhouse,” Alice says squeezing just a fraction tighter. 

That’s how Cecil finds them. All of them pressed together with Jason in the middle. Connor has his head resting on Jason’s chest and Jason wonders if he can hear how hard his heart is beating. 

“Hey guys, why are we hugging Jason Grace in his pajamas?” Cecil asks from the doorway. 

“Julia and I decided he’s our honorary brother now,” Alice says as she pulls away from him. 

“Well ok. Um Annabeth is looking for him so maybe he should get dressed before lunch starts,” Cecil says, moving to put his things on his bed. 

“What does Annabeth want?” Jason asks as Connor pulls away from the hug.

Jason has very little time to mourn the loss of the hug before Cecil responds, “No clue. I just ran into Will who mentioned it in case he saw you. It didn’t seem urgent.”

Jason starts to grab clothes out of his bag before Connor grabs his wrist, “Hey sorry about the hugging thing we’re kind of a tactile bunch.” 

Jason smiles, “Wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Chapter Text

6. Give your friends and siblings the cards you worked hard for and ignore their knowing looks

Jason leaves the cabin with a joke about how if he didn’t come back it’s because Annabeth has murdered him and then suddenly Connor is left alone with his siblings. He knows if he doesn’t do something quickly he’s going to get a million questions about Jason. So Connor grabs all of the cards he made. That was an important part of his plan to be a good camp counselor and role model to his siblings after all. Just because he may have slightly altered some of the plan to make Jason Grace happy doesn’t mean he’s not still going through with his original ideas. Making Jason feel at home here was basically a test run for how he’s going to make everyone at camp feel at home and loved. Even if no one at camp has eyes as pretty as Jason’s or is recently out and apparently interested in guys. Jason might be handsome and dorky and hides his hands in his sweater when he’s nervous, but Connor still has a redemption arc to go through goddamn it he can’t be distracted like this. 

So as his sisters watch Jason leave and Cecil unpacks his bag Connor hurries over to the box where he put all of the cards he had made. He grabs the ones he made for his siblings from the top and places the rest on the bed so he’ll remember to bring them to lunch for the people who have already arrived. 

“Hey so I made you guys something if you wanted to check it out,” gods Connor hadn’t expected it to be so awkward giving them something he made. 

He hands Alice hers first and his nerves vanish at the look of genuine joy on Alice’s face. Julia is next and she takes it cautiously like it might be a bomb. When she sees the poorly drawn Hello Kitty Connor drew for her she seems slightly less hesitant. When Connor hands Cecil his card a big goofy look crosses over his face. Connor thinks it’s probably the little wizard he drew on the front of his. Connor and Cecil both know it’s a reference to Lou Ellen even if neither of them wish to mention it. 

Connor thinks this is the end of it and hurries back to his bed. That is until Alice runs and jumps on his back. This would normally be fine. Alice is the smallest of his siblings despite only being a couple of years younger than him. Heck Connor thinks that most of the 12 year olds are taller than Alice. Connor has had Alice on his back so many times it’s only second nature to him to grab her legs and make sure she’s secured safely. The problem comes when Julia comes to his side to join in on the unconventional hug and starts to pull Connor off balance. Then of course comes Cecil. Connor loves Cecil with his whole heart, but when Cecil’s around things tend to go from bad to worse. So when Cecil globs on to Connor it’s the final straw.
Some part of Connor sees it coming so he has enough time to twist and make sure he’s the one that's hitting the ground first. He’s sure that any of them could easily take a tumble to the ground, but it’s just not in his nature. He’s their big brother and he has to make sure that they’re all safe even if it means his ass is going to be bruised. 

The fall isn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be, but having three people land on top of Connor certainly knocks the wind out of him. Cecil’s the first to start laughing. Alice starts in next and Connor can feel her shaking with giggles on top of him. Connor elbows Julia in the ribs and that pulls a snort out of her. Before he knows it they’re all laughing and Alice is poking him in the ribs. Julia is smart enough to know when things are going to break out into a full on brawl and she rolls off of the dog pile in time to miss the elbow that Alice throws her way. Cecil unfortunately doesn’t miss it. His retaliation for that seems to be pulling Julia’s legs out from under her so she ends up back in the dog pile. 

“Alright kids can we maybe stop trying to kill your older brother please?” Connor wheezes.

Cecil stands up pulling Alice with him. Julia gives him one last poke and stands up as well. None of his siblings offer to help him up. Ungrateful brats, Connor should have never tried to be nice to them. He should have just started ruling the cabin with an iron fist and made all of his siblings do his bidding every day. That’s what Drew had done and it had worked for a couple of years until Piper came along. Shit Piper. 

Connor didn’t really know Piper that well other than that she was one of the seven and she was a lot nicer than Drew had been. Not that that had stopped any of them from messing with the Aphrodite cabin. The only other thing Connor knew about her was that she was dating Jason. Which is now something that is obviously not happening anymore. Gods, was that why Jason had cried that first day back. Now he felt awful. Connor is pulled from his pity party by Juila clearing her throat. 

“So are we going to talk about Jason now?” All eyes turn to Connor. 

“What is there to talk about? Jason wasn’t sleeping well in his creepy Zeus Cabin,” they all pause for thunder that doesn’t come, “So I got Will to write him a doctor's note so he could sleep in here with us. We’re meant to be safe for travelers and all that right?” 

“That doesn’t change the fact that you think Jason is hot,” Alice says, not even looking up from where she’s picking at her nails, “Which is totally fair because Jason’s basically out of a teen magazine.”  

Julia rolls her eyes while Cecil makes a face, “Ok Jason isn’t that cute. I always thought Piper was too pretty for him anyway,” Julia argues. 

Connor gets an irrational sense of anger that he really doesn’t want to think about so instead he chooses to yell at Julia instead.

“Julia you’re thirteen-” “I’ll be fourteen next month and you know it” “you’re too young to think anyone is hot” Connor crosses his arms. 

“Alice is only eight months older than me, but she’s allowed to think Jason is hot?” Julia yells. 

“Actually no. She can’t either, only Cecil is allowed to talk about dating because he’s fifteen and that’s acceptable. Plus he’s in love with Lou Ellen and it’s fun to pick on him about it.”

Cecil mumbles something in protest but is overshadowed by Alice, “Please he’s only allowed to talk about it because he hasn’t mentioned your boyfriend,” Alice taunts. 

“He’s not my boyfriend! I didn’t even know he liked boys until today!” Connor whisper-yells. 

Connor knows first hand how easy it is for someone to overhear conversations like this. Julia rolls her eyes and exchanges a glance with Alice. Connor wants to pummel them into the ground. Connor seriously considers going to get the clippers from the big house when Will Solace walks in. 

“Hey, guys! Welcome back. Connor, I think we’ve got one of yours, maybe two, and I figured you’d want to show them around camp before Drew or somebody traumatizes them,” Will hangs in the doorway. 

“Yeah totally, of course, let me just grab my backpack,” Connor grabs the box of cards and shoves it into his bag, “I will see you guys at lunch in like 50 minutes ok?” He looks around at his siblings.

Julia and Alice both nod while Cecil shoots him a thumbs up. Connor follows Will out the door. Connor hands him the welcome back card he made him. Will’s face lights up like, well, the sun. He shoulder bumps Connor and laughs at the little drawings on the front. 

“So how did Jason’s first night with you go?” Will asks as he reads the card. 

“Good, he slept half the morning. I was really happy for him,” Connor beams. 

“Well now that you guys are living together when’s the wedding? I need to think of a way for Nico and me to match outfits. Oh, and of course you’ll need to give enough notice for Leo to come back from wherever the hell he is right now. Jason would be pretty upset not to have him there,” Will gives him a mock serious look. 

“Oh gods not you too!” Connor whines, “I’m going to murder you, Will, I promise.”

Will laughs and takes off in a run toward the big house. Connor follows close behind him. Is everyone trying to embarrass him this summer?

6. Get Chewed Out by Annabeth 

Jason sets out to find Annabeth with a pit in his stomach. He’s confident that Piper must have told her what was going on if the first thing she wants to do since getting here is to see him. It’s not as if he doesn’t want to talk about what happened. He’s sure Annabeth would give good advice on how to fix things with Piper once she got done being mad at him in the first place. 

Jason knows he’s ready to be out to his friends. If he wasn’t ready he wouldn’t have broken up with Piper. He wouldn’t have told Connor and all of his siblings. Jason knows that he’s ok with telling people. He knows he won’t get any real hate for it, besides some confused questions and some pitying looks that will probably be directed more at Piper than him. So yeah in his head he’s ready to be out, but his voice hasn’t fully caught up with the program. Maybe his heart hasn’t either because every time he thinks about saying the words “I’m gay” an uneasy clench in his chest tries to stop him. 

Annabeth is in front of the Athena cabin sitting on the steps. Percy is there flopped down on the grass in front of her. One of her siblings rushes up the steps into the building when she sees Jason coming. Which is certainly not a good sign for Jason’s fate. Percy still being on the ground is maybe a good sign. Or perhaps Annabeth murdered him in a rage really meant for Jason and he’s about to stumble upon the crime scene. 

This line of thought is quickly shattered when Percy pops up off the ground. He offers Jason an easy greeting of bro and a quick punch on the arm. Jason is thankful for the normalcy that Percy provides. He also probably knows that Percy is championing the don’t kill Jason parade right now. If Percy wasn’t here right now Jason would have already gotten at least judo flipped to the ground and maybe a kick to the shins. 

Annabeth remains sitting when she says, “Piper won’t fully tell me what happened, but she made it pretty clear she’s upset because of you. So I’ll give you thirty seconds to explain yourself. If I like your answer maybe I won’t have to give you another head injury.”

Jason stares at her for a few seconds before Percy whispers to him, “Dude now you’re at twenty seconds say something or run.” 

Well now or never Jason supposes, “I’m gay. That fact doesn’t really uh go over well with girls you’re dating. Sorry.” 

Jason scratches the back of his head awkwardly. Annabeth stares at him with a blank look on her face. Percy’s got this look on his face like he’s trying really hard not to say something stupid. Annabeth has deflated completely. Jason is still just standing there looking at two people that he saved the world with. He’s fought monsters and gods and giants with them but he’s still more scared right now than he’s been before. Why aren’t they saying anything?

“So not to be insensitive, but I have a question?” Percy takes a step closer to Jason. Percy’s cocky attitude is back and he’s got a stupid smile on his face. If Percy asks him about sex Jason will actually die. 

“Am I your type?” Percy nearly falls over himself trying to strike a pose, “I have to be somebody's type. Nico was a fluke. I can’t live the rest of my life knowing gay men aren’t attracted to me. I think it will actually kill me, bro.” 

The stupidity of the question seems to shake Annabeth out of whatever trance she was in. She hops up off the stairs quickly and makes her way to Percy’s side. Once she reaches him she swiftly slaps him in the back of the head. Then she squeezes Jason’s arm. Jason thinks back to Connor hugging him earlier. He knows that Annabeth and Percy show their affection differently, but Jason can’t help but long for a hug from Connor. 

“Percy, I’m going to be honest you’ve got the whole hot delinquent vibe going on which is nice, but the scary girlfriend is kind of a turn off,” Jason is decidedly not thinking about how Connor has the vibe and no scary girlfriend, thank you very much.

“That’s not a no!” Percy puffs up happily.

He does a little dance around them and then because it’s Percy and he’s stupidly perfect he does a backflip in excitement. Annabeth rolls her eyes at the display that he’s putting on. Jason’s distracted by Will walking his way over to the Hermes cabin. He sends Will a wave and Will waves back shooting him a smile across the lawn. 

Annabeth catches the exchange, “If you have a thing for Will, Percy is going to have to kick your ass. You guys might be best bros, but Percy’s basically got a life debt to Nico.”

Percy nods, “Yeah dude, and also if I lose another bro to Dr. Sunshine I’m going to start to develop a complex.” 

Jason gags, “Woah no way I absolutely do not have a thing for Will Solace. Will is so not my type. We’re just friends. He gave me a doctor's note to stay in the Hermes’ cabin this summer.” 

Percy lights up at that, “Oh is that why Connor called and asked about you? You’re becoming an honorary thief?” 

“Connor asked about me?” Jason perks up. 

Annabeth squints at him, “Yeah he sent an iris message asking what you liked. He’s the reason we knew you came back to camp early. When did you suddenly become friends with Connor anyway?” 

Jason flushes, “I don’t know if you’d even really call us friends. He’s just been crazy nice to me since I got to camp. I think he’s taking pity on me after how pathetic I looked when I first got to camp.” 

“You know I lived in the Hermes cabin for a while. Connor’s basically like my brother in some ways. We’re not close like him and Travis or anything, but I know the guy pretty well. If you wanted me to put in a good word for you I can,” Percy waggles his eyebrows. 

Annabeth shoots him a glare, “Jason make sure you talk to Piper soon alright? I know it’s going to be awkward, but I doubt she blames you for feeling the way you feel.” 

Before Jason can respond Will shoots past him on a mad dash to the big house. Connor is close behind him. Jason can just barely hear the threat that Connor is making to Will. What Jason can hear clearly is the laugh that Connor lets out when Will nearly trips over his own feet. Jason knows he’s got to have some goofy look on his face at the sound of it, but Jason’s never been great at keeping his feelings of joy hidden. They were so rare for a while Jason never really learned to conceal them the way he did his other emotions. He’s sure both Percy and Annabeth notice it. 

Percy cracks another grin, “You know one time Connor saved me from drowning.” 

Jason cocks his head, “Percy buddy you can breathe underwater.”

Percy ignores him, “Once Connor saved an entire orphanage on his own with only a pocket knife and uh,” Percy pauses clearly looking for the right words, “his six-pack abs. It was all he needed to keep the bad guys at bay.”  

Annabeth looks at Percy like he’s grown a second head for a second head, then they do this weird thing with their eyes and Annabeth turns to him, “Connor kept us fed in Tartarus and helped keep camp from falling apart while we were gone,” Percy gives her a hand motion, “Oh and he once… um… saved a bunch of puppies from a burning building,” Percy motions once again, “with his shirt off? Then he donated a kidney to um the Pope.” 

Annabeth looks at Percy for confirmation. He responds with an eager thumbs up. Jason can’t help but stare at the two of them. Jason’s worried that Percy is going to keep telling more weird lies about Connor when suddenly the man in question appears with three young kids behind him. Percy lights up like a Christmas tree when he sees Connor. Annabeth seems to take more interest in the kids standing behind him. 

“Hi guys sorry to interrupt, but I’ve got some new campers here that are looking to be shown around, and since this once here,” he pokes one of the little girls in the head and she lets out a tiny giggle, “claims to be a child of Athena. I thought it would be nice to have her big sister show her around.” 

Each of the children looks up at Connor with big eyes and Jason can tell that he’s already gotten them all to fall in love with him. Jason’s learning that Connor’s pretty good at doing that. The Athena girl twists one of her dark braids around her finger. The other two kids have slowly moved closer to Connor. Jason realizes that they’re probably more than a little intimidated by Percy. Jason realizes with a start that maybe they’re intimidated by him too. Well, Jason can’t have that. 

Jason bends his knees to be at the same height as one of the kids behind Connor, “Hi everyone, my name's Jason. Nice to meet you!” 

The smallest one of the bunch steps forward. He’s got bright blond hair and a sweet round face, “My name is Cameron. Um you can call me Cam. Is Hermes your dad too?” 

Jason cringes at that, “Well I live in the Hermes cabin, but I’m not related to Connor,” Jason hears Percy snort, “I’m a son of Jupiter, uh, Zeus.” 

“So while Annabeth takes Missy here Jason do you want to show Cam and Madelyn around with me?” Connor asks smiling down at where Jason is still crouched. 

Jason shoots up, “Oh yeah totally!” 

Connor smiles at him. Percy looks between the two of them and leans into Annabeth to whisper something to her. Annabeth elbows him before fiercely whispering back to him. Jason doesn’t have time to deal with their hijinks right now. Instead, he looks at Connor. 

“So where to first?”

Chapter Text

7. Meet your new sibling. Do NOT get distracted by Jason Grace 

When he’d arrived with Will at the big house he saw the usual first day of camp sight. A group of kids ranging in ages looking around with big eyes. What caught his eye were the three young children who were talking to one of the satyrs. They were younger than the average new camper they got. None of them could have been older than nine years old. Will had pointed at the shortest of the three and claimed that was the one who thought he was a child of Hermes. 

Connor was obsessed with all of them the minute that he had laid eyes on them. He could tell the trio wasn’t exactly happy to split up once Missy was with Annabeth. Cameron had told him that they had all gone to the same after school program and that’s where they had met the satyr who had brought them to camp. Both Missy and Cameron had known they were demigods, but it had come as a complete surprise to Madelyn. They had prattled on to him all about it as they made their way over to Jason and Annabeth. 

He thought that having Jason come along with him to show the new campers around would have been a good idea. Connor was quickly rethinking that idea. Connor watched as Jason held both of the children in his arms and was floating them five feet off the ground. Madelyn was cackling with laughter while Cam hid his face in Jason’s neck. 

“Jason middle-name Grace. Please for the love of all that is good let the demigods down,” Connor pleaded. 

Jason shot him a cocky smile and landed back on the ground. Cam jumped out of his arms quickly while Madelyn plopped a large kiss on the cheek.

“That was the coolest thing ever!” she shouted, “Can you teach me how to do that?” 

Jason laughed, “Not unless you’re a daughter of Zeus, and trust me I think you’d rather have a less, hmmm, stern dad.” 

“Maybe you’ll be a child of Hermes too, Mads,” Cam piped up from his place by Connor’s side, “then you can live with Jason, Connor, and I!” 

“Well no matter who your godly parent is we’ll probably find out tonight at the campfire,” Connor said grabbing Madelyn from Jason’s arms and swinging her before placing her on the ground. 

“Well it’s almost lunch time so why don’t we go get some food. Madelyn until you’re claimed by your parent you can eat with us,” Jason looks at him, “right Connor?” 

“Of course Alice and Julia will be super excited to have another brave girl like you to bother the rest of us,” Connor smiles at her, “Oh, and Cam you’ll fit right in. We’re always happy to have a sweet looking face to get us out of trouble.” 

That sets the both of them off on a series of giggles and Jason shoots him a goofy smile. Connor can’t help but smile at him too. Ahead of them Cam and Madelyn race toward the picnic tables where Missy is waiting for them. They all chatter on excitedly about what happened in the few minutes that they were apart. Connor can hear his and Jason’s names get thrown around a few times but other than that he can’t make out much of what they’re saying with them all talking over one another. Jason and Connor watch them for a moment before Connor gently tells them they should get their food. 

It takes them all a while to agree to separate again and only really do so when Connor promises they can explore camp all together after lunch. Jason leads them over to get food and explains the sacrifice process to them. Connor pulls the package of M&Ms out of his back pocket and throws it into the fire. He watches as the new campers diligently take pieces of their lunch and lob them into the flame. 

Connor can tell that Jason is clearly looking around for something or worse someone. Connor shoots at a glance at the Aphrodite table and can’t help but feel a bit relieved that no one from that cabin has arrived yet. Probably all doing their hair, Connor thinks perhaps a little pettily. Connor can tell that Jason’s worried about it because he keeps looking at the table and around the green space near the tables. Connor can’t have Jason getting all upset about his break up in front of the new campers, so he grabs on to Jason’s wrist. Jason blushes, probably at the fact that Connor has caught on to the fact that he’s been looking around for Piper. Connor pulls Jason along to the table. 

Cameron and Madelyn follow behind the two of him. Julia and Alice light up when they see the two new additions to the table. Alice immediately pulls the two of them into a conversation. Connor focuses his attention on Jason. It’s only then when he realizes that he’s still holding on to Jason’s wrist. Now is Connor’s turn to blush. 

“Try not to stress about Piper in front of the little ones alright?” Connor says bumping his knee into Jason's.

“Yeah you’re right,” Jason says, “I’m just a little nervous about seeing her again after the awkward way that we left things.” 

Jason doesn’t pull his knee back from bumping into Connor's and if Connor were any more of a disaster he’d probably have done something stupid about it by now. Instead, he decidedly does not stare at where their knees are touching and looks Jason in the eye. Jason’s got this sort of caged animal look on his face. Connor turns his head toward the Aphrodite table where campers are slowly starting to trickle in. Piper’s not there yet but Drew is, and she’s giving Jason a weird look. Connor honestly can’t tell if it’s a flirty look or an ‘I’m going to kill you for hurting my sister’ look. Either way, Connor knows that he doesn’t want Jason to be on the receiving end of it. 

So Connor tries to distract him, “So... new kiddos seem to really like you. Especially Madelyn. You were a regular prince charming. You even got a kiss on the cheek in return for your troubles.”

“Oh shut up!” Jason shoves him. 

“I’m serious! I’ve been a head counselor for years and no one has ever given me a kiss for showing them around. You must be something really special Jason Grace,” Connor swoons mockingly. 

Jason gets a funny look on his face for a moment. Connor vaguely recognizes it as close to the one Jason had worn during battle. So for a moment, Connor thinks Jason may just punch him for his mocking. It’s not completely out of the question. Both of his sisters have sucker-punched him before along with a couple of monsters in his time. Connor doesn’t really even have time to brace for the blow before Jason is moving toward him. Except, the way that he’s moving is completely wrong for a punch. Instead, Jason leans his head in and kisses Connor on the cheek. 

Distantly Connor can hear Julia make a shocked noise and the two new arrivals to the table are giggling. From across the green space, he can hear Percy yell something about how his plans were working, whatever that meant. Nico is the one who shuts Percy up with a chicken nugget lobbed at the side of his head. Jason just steels himself and turns back to his food, shoveling some into his mouth. Connor is slack jawed. 

“Hey what was that about?” Alice questions, turning away from her conversation with Cameron. 

Jason chews for a second then offers a sly smile, “Just shutting Connor up. Poor guy couldn’t bear to not be the center of attention a second longer.” 

Connor smacks him. How was Connor supposed to deal with Jason all summer? Not only was he cute but he could also hold his own when it came to teasing. Gods Connor was so screwed.

7. Avoid your ex-girlfriend for way too long to be reasonable

Jason has officially been avoiding Piper for a month. Which is bad. He knows that it’s totally not cool. He knows that he should talk to her and apologize, but every time he thinks about doing it he chickens out. This means that he’s been spending an insane amount of time with Connor. Which isn’t something he’s going to complain about. 

Just last week he and Connor had snuck out during the night to watch the meteor shower. The night was filled with shared laughter and bursts of excitement at the beauty of the night. Jason told Connor stories about his days at camp Jupiter and Connor in return shared all of the stories from camp before Jason had shown up two summers ago. 

Jason didn’t think he’d ever forget Connor’s voice when he talked about Luke. There was a sharp sort of pain that lived just under the surface of Connor’s stories. Jason can’t imagine the way Connor feels about Luke. He’s only ever had Thalia, who has been loyal since he was born. Even if he and Thalia didn’t have the traditional childhood experience he still trusted her more than anyone else in his life. 

That night Jason had been almost sure that something was going to happen. There was something in the air that Jason couldn’t get out of his mind. All night while they talked Jason couldn’t get the idea of kissing Connor out of his mind. While Connor told a story about some prank he and Travis had pulled Jason’s mind had been entirely focused on what it would be like to roll onto his side and kiss him. Jason’s sure he must have sounded like an idiot the whole night because he was so distracted. 

Now a week later Jason is just as distracted. Connor is lying on the shore next to the water, spread out like a cat in the sun. He shifts slightly to stretch even farther and a sliver of skin on his stomach appears. Jason loses all brain function for a moment. Connor seems perfectly happy to just lay in silence but Jason can’t handle the thought of just sitting here ogling Connor. 

So he says the first thing that comes to his mind, “Tell me about your mom.” 

Connor sits up quickly, looking slightly shocked, “You want me to talk about my mom?” 

Jason feels his ears heat up. Honestly, Jason hadn’t meant to say that. Truly he did want to hear about Connor’s mom. He was always curious about what kind of woman could woo the messenger god twice. As one of the few other demigods with a full sibling, Jason couldn’t help but wonder what she was like. As far as he knew she wasn’t famous like his own mother, nor was she like May Castellan who had the gift of true sight. 

“My mom is the head of security for the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Connor says, shrugging slightly when he sees the puzzled look on Jason’s face, “What, not what you were expecting?” 

Jason shakes his head, “Not really. Honestly, I thought you’d say she was like a cat burglar or jewelry thief or something.” 

Connor smiles, “Well everyone has to retire eventually.” 

Jason’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise, “Wait really?” 

Connor spends the next twenty minutes telling him all about his mother. Who had met Hermes while she was stealing art. Apparently Connor’s mom, Sarah, only ever stole from private collectors to give to museums and back to the rightful owners. 

“She mainly stole pieces that were stolen by the Nazis,” Connor says a proud smile on his face. 

Hermes had apparently taken a liking to Connor’s mother and offered her a deal. If she could steal something from him he would give her whatever she wanted no questions asked. Connor’s not sure of the whole story or just how his mom stole from a literal god but in the end, she came out on top.

“So what was her wish?” Jason asks, staring intently at Connor. 

Connor blushes, “Well it was Travis and me. Mom wanted kids but she was never really into romance or dating, so she figured this would be the best way.” 

Jason sits up on his elbows, looking over at Connor, “So you’re literally a gift from the gods huh?” 

Connor throws his head back in embarrassment. Jason can’t help but stare at him. It’s not the first time that Jason has looked at Connor and realized how hopelessly deep his crush on the boy had gotten. Nor would it be the last time that it happened. Despite this, every single time without fail Jason felt as though all of the air had left his lungs. Some part of him thinks maybe it really has. Maybe Jason’s own powers are plotting against him to kill him. 

Connor shoots him a look “Alright smooth talker. You asked a personal question so it’s my turn.” 

Jason sucks in a breath. He’s not really sure he’ll ever be able to talk about his childhood. Not that he really had much of one, but the things that he knows about his mother don’t exactly make him want to talk about it. 

Connor probably senses that he doesn’t want to talk about his mom because the question that he asks is much, much, worse, “Why are you avoiding Piper?”  

“I’ve been annoying you that much by hanging out with you all the time, huh?” 

“That’s not an answer Jason,” Connor says, sitting up fully so he can look down on Jason who’s still laying on the ground. 

“What if she hates me?” Jason asks quietly.

“Well you avoiding her for a month probably hasn’t helped that,” Connor jokes. 

“It’s just that since the moment I’ve got here it’s always been, Jason and Piper. I mean my godly stepmother brainwashed her into thinking we were dating. There hasn’t been a single moment since I’ve known everyone here at camp that I haven’t been in some way connected to Piper. So if she hates me what am I without her?” Jason can feel Connor’s look of concern without even looking at him. 

At this point Jason feels a bit like he’s spiraling, “I mean I’m just a sort of a less interesting Percy. You know Jason Grace? Yeah, the Percy Jackson knock-off who can’t even sleep in a cabin alone so Connor took pity on him. I’m the disposable one of the seven. Heck, I wasn’t even awake for half of it. People liked me because I was Piper’s boyfriend. If you asked people to choose between the two of us it’s not hard to know who they would pick. So I keep thinking if I avoid her she’ll never be able to tell me she hates me and I’ll never have to actually know about it,” Jason’s worked himself up to the point of nearly crying and the clouds have rolled in. 

Connor doesn’t speak for a long moment and then he’s pulling Jason into a hug. Maybe that’s too elegant of a way to describe it because it’s more like a half tackle, and now Jason is flat on his back with Connor spread out on top of him. Jason likes the pressure of it. For the first time in a month he really feels like he’s grounded, he no longer feels like if he makes one wrong move he’ll take flight and never come back to earth. 

It takes Jason a while to realize that Connor has been speaking this whole time. When he finally comes back from his own head he registers Connor has been whispering things to him since he tackled him. 

“You stupid, wonderful, self-doubting boy. When are you going to realize that people care about you? I’m going to sick Nico and Will on you if you keep this shit up. Do you really think that Nico is only friends with you because he likes Piper? Or because you’re some half-rate Percy Jackson? Gods how many hits to the head did you have when you were off saving the world?” 

That shocks a half laugh half sob out of Jason, “Honestly probably too many.” Connor reaches up and cradles the back of his head. Jason is once again bombarded with the thought that they’re going to kiss. Instead, Connor just slowly runs his hands across all of Jason’s head as if checking for bumps or scrapes.

“Well if you keep talking badly about yourself I’ll make sure to add a couple more whacks to the head. Jason Grace you are a wonderful human and your value is not tied to any other person on this earth. You’re my friend because I care about you as a person. Alright?” 

Jason nods and pushes down the tiny stupid part of his brain that feels a swell of disappointment at Connor calling them friends, despite that being what they are. Connor rolls off of him at that moment and Jason mourns the loss of his weight and warmth. He doesn’t have long to feel sorry for himself before Connor is smacking him hard in the arm. Jason stares at him in surprise. 

“Don’t ever talk bad about someone I care about again,” Connor says deadly serious, “You talk bad about Jason Grace again and it will be more than a sucker punch to the arm next time.

Jason cackles, “Oh and one more thing,” Connor continues, “just talk to Piper for everyone’s sake.” 

Jason nods. So much for his plan to avoid her forever. Well, when has anything in his life ever gone according to plan?

Chapter Text

8. Use your sneakiness for good

“Alright we’re going to do this rapid fire, alright Cam,” Connor is bent down so he can look the eight-year-old in the eyes. 

Cameron nods a determined look on his face, so Connor continues, “What are you going to ask Jason?” 

“To spend the day training me with swords so I can get better.” 

“And if he asks you why?” 

“Some of the older boys were making fun of me because I’m the youngest camper.” 

“And what are you absolutely not allowed to do?” 

“Mention that today is Jason’s birthday or tell him you’re planning a surprise party.” 

“What happens if you mention any of those things?” 

“You throw me in the lake or feed me to a monster depending on what kind of mood you’re in,” Cameron hasn’t broken eye contact once, but Connor can tell he falters a little at the idea of being eaten by a monster. 

Connor gives him one last look over and pulls him into his arms and swings him around. Cameron lets off a chorus of giggles as Connor praises him for how good he’s been at remembering the plan. When Connor sets him down Cameron’s hair is ruffled and Connor does his best to make it look a little less crazy. 

“Okay last thing,” Connor says as Cameron heads to the door, “What’s the code word for if anything goes wrong?” 

Cameron smiles at him, “We don’t have one because nothing is going to go wrong.” 

“Exactly. Now get out of here I have a whole party to plan.”

After Cameron sets off Connor makes his first visit of the day to Will and Nico who are sitting on the step of the Hades cabin. Connor tries not to feel jealous of the easy bliss that seems to surround the couple at all times. To this day Connor is still a little surprised that the pairing works as well as it did. Not that Nico and Will were as different as everyone seemed to think, because even though Connor had only known Nico for a few days before he had run off Connor knew there was a happy, bubbly, sweet kid under all that emo aesthetic.

What surprised him more was how easily they had fallen into it. Like it was always supposed to happen. There had been no dramatic years-long build up like Annabeth and Percy, nor was it full of intense pining and grandiose displays of affection like he had seen with Beckendorf and Silena. Nico and Will just seemed to fall together as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Connor wasn’t used to things being so easy, and he desperately wanted something similar. 

Will must notice he’s spending a lot of time in his head when he finally makes his way over to them, “What’s up Stoll? You look like you’re in a mood.” 

Connor shakes it off, “Nah just a little stressed about all the planning that needs to be done. Nico, are Frank and Hazel all set to arrive on time?” 

“Yep. Don’t worry about anything on our end,” Nico says, looking totally calm in the face of Connor’s slightly frantic energy.

“And you guys have birthday presents and everything,” Connor asks. 

“Just because you’ve been stressing so much about a present doesn’t mean that the rest of us have. We’re good, he’ll like what we got him,” Will says placatingly. 

Nico doesn’t seem as invested in calming Connor down, “You know if you really wanted to get him something he liked you could kiss him already. I think that will beat whatever present you came up with.” 

It’s not the first time that Connor really debates whacking Nico DiAngelo upside the head, but this is definitely the strongest urge he’s had in a long time. Will shoots both of them a stern look. Connor wonders sometimes if Will is a mind reader or if Connor’s just too easy to read. He liked to think it’s the former because if Jason could tell that Connor was hopelessly crushing on him he’d certainly want nothing to do with him.  

“Alright well, I’m going to go talk to Annabeth and Percy. Please make sure nothing goes wrong on your end alright?” Connor pleads. 

Will shoots him a thumbs up, “No promises,” Nico says from next to him. 

That’s good enough from them. Next Connor heads to the shore where he knows Percy will be. Sure enough, Percy is there with his feet in the water while Annabeth reads a book. The book has to be greek from the speed at which Annabeth seems to be reading. Percy entertains himself by making a little ball of water spin like a top on the water’s surface. 

Annabeth looks up when she hears Connor’s footsteps, “before you ask Connor, yes we’ve gotten ahold of Thalia and Reyna. They’re all set to come to the party. Please stop freaking out.”

Connor would huff in indignation if she wasn’t so spot-on in his constant worryings. He can’t help it. He just wants to make Jason’s birthday special. After all, it was a crucial part of his becoming a better person journey. Yep, that’s it, no other reason. He definitely wasn’t doing this because he has a giant crush on Jason. That would be pathetic and Connor Stoll is not pathetic. He’s just slightly infatuated with a very handsome boy, and who could blame him. 

Percy perks up when he realizes that this conversation is going to be centered around making fun of Connor, “So lover boy. What did you get my dearest bro?” 

“No way am I telling you. You can’t keep a secret to save your life, Jackson,” Connor’s not actually sure if that’s entirely true, but he knows Percy would blab to everyone about how cheesy Connor’s gift is. 

“Well there’s no way you’re beating my gift,” Percy says with a grin, “Unless your gift is a marriage proposal.”

Connor rolls his eyes, “You may have saved the world, but I can still cover your entire cabin in glitter. What did you get him anyway?” 

Percy ignored the glitter comment, “I convinced Rachel to paint him a superman painting. Because when we first met I compared him to superman a lot. Rachel did a good job, he's going to love it.” 

“Sounds amazing. I’m going to head back and make sure everything’s ready. I’ll see you guys later?” Connor asks, already turning on his heel. Annabeth looks up from her book to give him a wave while Percy offers him a goodbye. Connor leaves them and heads quickly back to the cabin. He doesn't really need to rush, but his nerves get him there far quicker than average. It’s not like there’s really much to do. He’s already gotten the food and games, and Julia and Alice had decorated the whole cabin while he was gone. All that is left is to wrap Jason’s present. 

The wrapping takes him a surprisingly long time. Connor can’t help it if he acts like a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to this. He just really wants to make sure that Jason has a good birthday after a string of so less than happy ones. When he finally finishes his siblings have arrived back at the cabin. Alice greets him by sticking out her tongue. Connor returns it half-heartedly. Julia throws a pillow at him. Connor catches it and throws it back only to have it hit Cecil squarely in the face. 

Before they can have a repeat of the Great Pillow War from two summers ago Percy enters the cabin. He’s holding a large poorly wrapped present in his hands along with a smaller nicely wrapped present that Connor’s sure is probably Annabeth’s. Percy gently places the presents on Jason’s bed and then flops down on Connor’s. Leave it to Percy Jackson to act like he owns the place.

“Where’s Thalia and Reyna?” Connor asks. 

“With Annabeth. They’ll be here in a minute. I think Thalia’s secretly trying to convince Annabeth to give up men again,” Percy says casually. 

“Maybe they just didn’t want to lose brain cells talking to you, Jackson,” Nico says entering the cabin with Will at his side. 

Leave it to Nico to make an entrance with a snide remark. Percy makes a big show of clutching his heart and pretending to be wounded. Will grabs the pillow that Cecil has been holding awkwardly and throws it at Percy while he’s distracted. It hits him soundly in the face. Connor braces himself for an all-out war when another large group enters the cabin. 

Connor doesn’t know Frank and Hazel very well, but he knows that Jason cares deeply about them. So when they enter with Reyna, Thalia, and Annabeth he feels the desperate need to impress them. He doesn’t even bother trying with Reyna. He’s met hunters in the past and he’s pretty confident there’s nothing he can do to impress her. 

“You must be Connor!” Hazel excitedly rushes up to him, “Jason’s mentioned you whenever we talk.” 

Connor blushes, “Hopefully he hasn’t said anything too bad.” 

Frank laughs, “I don’t think Jason has anything about you that wasn’t about what a great guy you are.” 

Connor makes a strangled noise at that, thankfully Annabeth saves him, “I saw Cam and Jason wrapping up a minute ago. They should be here soon.” 

Connor nods and every sets off in a flurry. Cecil turns the lights off, and they all make a half effort to hide. Percy is the only one really dedicated to hiding and worms his way under the bed. Mostly, people just fall silent. Because Connor is a great trainer Cam is speaking very loudly as the two approach. 

“That was so awesome Jason!” Cam babbles loudly, “I don’t know how I can thank you for helping me today!” 

Jason laughs, “Don’t worry about it, little buddy. Spending the day with you was all the thanks I need.” Connor’s heart clenches fondly. 

Cameron is stomping on the stairs now, “You mean you don’t want anything for your birthday?” Shit. 

“How’d you know it was my birthday?” It’s official Connor was going to feed the kid to a hellhound. 

The door opens then and all thoughts of sacrificing his youngest brother go out the window. Jason flicks on the lights and the room is suddenly chaos. Apparently, Alice and Julia had gotten confetti cannons somewhere. Confetti is falling everywhere while Jason looks around in confusion. Percy is awkwardly trying to claw his way out from the bed while everyone makes themselves fully seen.  

“Surprise!”

8. Kiss the boy (hopefully). 

“Surprise!” Cameron yells. 

Jason laughs, “Cam buddy it’s not a surprise attack if you yell surprise.” 

Cameron sets off into a series of giggles. Jason watches him fondly. If you had told Jason a year ago that he’d be spending his birthday happily play-fighting with a little kid he would have probably had a lot of different reactions. First and foremost he’d be happy to be alive. That wasn’t always a guarantee in Jason’s life, especially not last year. He’d probably also be a little disappointed that they weren’t celebrating his birthday. Jason wasn’t really one to make a big deal about his birthday, but he always sort of secretly wanted to do something special for his birthday for once. 

Now though, spending the day with Cam feels special. Jason’s really developed a love for the kid since he joined camp a month ago. Jason thinks he might actually know what it feels like to have a sibling properly. Besides, it’s not like he would have been able to celebrate his birthday with all his friends today. Leo sent him a birthday card, but wouldn’t be able to make it today. Frank and Hazel had an important feast today that apparently had been scheduled months ago. Even his friends at Camp Half-Blood wouldn’t be able to properly celebrate today. Chiron had scheduled a meeting for later today with all the cabin heads to discuss a decision the gods had come to during the solstice last week. 

Because Annabeth, Percy, and Connor had all attended the meeting they were busy most of the day setting up the presentation. Whatever they had been talking about must have been really important because his friends seemed like they had a lot of planning. Then of course Will was working in the infirmary and Nico had promised to help him. So Jason was spending most of the day with Cameron. Which was good. Even if a tiny part of him wished that at least Connor was spending the day with him. Honestly, Jason would have been happy if just the two of them got to hang out all day. Maybe Jason could convince Connor to go out with him as a birthday present. Or maybe he could make up some lie about how in Roman culture it was customary to kiss the birthday boy. Connor would probably believe that one, maybe. 

Jason is distracted by the fantasy when Cameron whacks him in the back of the knees with the flat side of his sword. Jason topples over and Cameron giggles from where he stands above him. Jason pokes him hard in the side. Soon both of them end up on the ground poking each other and play slapping. Jason knows if Chiron saw them he’d probably retire, but right now Jason doesn’t care, he’s having fun. 

Eventually, Jason calls it a day. Cameron looks around for a second frightened. Jason frowns, “Something wrong?” 

“No just wondering if the people from the Ares cabin saw my sick moves,” Cam jokingly flexes. 

Jason rolls his eyes, “I’m sure everyone is super impressed.” 

Cameron is no longer looking around nervously so hopefully whatever was bothering him was just a passing thing. Now he’s happily cleaning up the small sword he was using and putting it back where it came from. Jason does the same and pretty soon they’re walking back to the cabin before Jason has to head to the meeting with Chiron. 

Cameron is talking so loudly he’s surprised that the whole camp can’t hear him. Jason smiles and chats with him as they walk back. They reach the steps and Jason can’t help but think that Cameron is the loudest kid on this side of the Mississippi. Good thing no one is sleeping in the cabin. 

“You mean you don’t want anything for your birthday?” Cameron asks him. 

Jason cocks his head, “How’d you know it was my birthday?” 

He’s pretty sure that he hadn’t told any of the Hermes cabin that his birthday was today. He didn’t want them to go out of their way when they’d already done so much for him. He didn’t even tell Connor and Connor is his best friend at this point. So, how did Cameron figure it out? Cameron is avoiding eye contact with him as they enter the cabin. The room is dark so Jason flicks on the light. 

Suddenly the entire room is covered in confetti. Cameron runs over to where Julia is standing holding a confetti cannon. How did she get a confetti cannon? Jason doesn’t have time to think about that because he suddenly realizes how many people are in the cabin. Frank and Hazel are smiling from one of the corners of the room. He’s pretty sure that Percy’s head is sticking out from under the bed. Nico, Will, Reyna, and Thalia all stand together smiling at him. Then in the center of all of these people that he loves so much is Connor. Connor sends him a lopsided grin and Jason has never felt so overcome with happiness than that moment. 

He barely registers it when they all cheer surprise at him. He’s too busy staring at Connor. Connor is staring right back at him with a nervous look on his face. Jason desperately wants to kiss him. He has a fraction of a second to be annoyed that Hazel and Frank will ruin his roman kissing custom ruse before Thalia is hugging him.

“My dearest little brother is getting so old,” Thalia says squeezing him tightly. 

Jason squeezes back just as hard. He had missed her so much. Thalia and he may not have the most normal sibling dynamic, but she is the most important person in his life. She’s the only family he’s got. The one thing he could remember when he lost everything else that he knew. She’s his family and she’s here. 

“Took a day off from the hunt huh?” Jason says still holding her tight. 

“Annabeth sent a message, but the whole thing is all the Stoll boy’s doing,” Thalia responds, “since when are you friends with him?” 

“It’s kind of a long story,” Jason faulters, “listen Thalia I’m-”

“I know kiddo. Don’t stress about it alright? I love more than anyone in this world nothings going to change that,” Thalia squeezes him once more before pulling back, “But we are going to have to talk about Connor at some point”

Jason sputters, “I saw your face a second ago Jason, I’m not stupid.” 

With that Thalia pulls away and rejoins Reyna. Frank and Hazel are the next to pull him into a hug. Hazel is going on about how well their lie had worked and Frank is singing happy birthday as he pulls them into a bear hug. Jason thanks them for coming about a million times before Frank finally releases him. Jason sure does love these people. 

Connor speaks up, “So do you want to open presents?” 

Opening presents is a crazy affair. The Hermes cabin went in on a gift and made him a custom Hermes cabin shirt. If Jason were a little braver, he probably would have put it on in front of everyone. Thalia gives him a picture of the two of them from when he was a baby. Jason immediately puts it on his wall above his bed. His other friends all give him great gifts of things that he loves. Percy’s superman painting is both funny and wonderfully done. Jason will have to make sure to thank Rachel when he next sees her. 

After they open presents, one of the Hermes kids pulls out a music player and music fills the room. Snacks are also pulled out and it begins to really feel like a real party. Connor sticks to his side as Jason happily chats with his friends. For a while, they all just chat and laugh talking about old memories and making each other laugh. Eventually, he and Connor end up sitting alone while everyone else is in small groups chatting. 

“Hey uh want to head outside for a quick second,” Connor asks quietly. 

Jason nods and they head to the door. Connors got a large bag in his hands that he brings with him. No one seems to notice them leaving except Nico who makes kissy faces at Jason. Jason flips him off. Connor leads them outside to the porch. He sets the bag down at Jason’s feet as they sit on the steps. 

“I wanted to give you your gifts away from everyone else,” Connor rubs his neck, “I’m not going to lie, I went a little overboard. Didn’t need everyone to think I wasn’t going to go this big on their birthdays.” 

“You really didn’t have to get me anything,” Jason smiles at him, “Planning this was more than enough. You’ve already given me the best birthday ever.” 

Connor shrugs and pushes the bag toward him. Jason opens it and is surprised to see all of the wrapped objects in it. There has to be at least thirty different things in here. Most of them all seem to be roughly the same shape and size. 

“Um, there’s some context. I know you mentioned that growing up the way you did meant you didn't have the same childhood as most people our age. So I got you my favorite book and movie from every year of my life. I thought we could watch and read them, and then talk about them,” Connor looks at him sheepishly.

Jason just stares at him for a moment. Connor’s right in saying that Jason didn’t have a normal childhood. This was such a thoughtful gift Jason could almost cry. Connor is looking at him with increasing worry on his face. Jason must look like a crazy person just staring at Connor with his mouth open. 

“You also totally don’t have to do that though. I kept the receipts and also you could just um not talk about them with me if you want,” Connor babbles nervously. 

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever given me,” Jason says without thinking. 

“Well that’s good because I have one more thing,” Connor pulls a small box out of his pocket. 

Connor hands the box to Jason. Jason opens it quickly, desperate to know what’s inside. Inside sits a tiny silver band. It’s a ring but definitely not one that would be big enough to wear on any of his fingers. When Jason picks it up he sees that something is engraved on the inside. 

You’re home. 

Connor gestures to his neck, “I figured you could put it on your necklace.” 

Jason stares at the ring for a second before his mind is made up. He is going to kiss Connor Stoll if it’s the last thing he does. Connor bites his lip. Jason knows logically it’s out of nerves but Jason can’t help but wonder if Connor is thinking about kissing him too. 

“Help me put it on?” Jason asks. 

Connor nods and unclasps the necklace from around Jason’s neck. Connor carefully slips the ring on. It slides down to meet the bead he has there. Connor goes to put the necklace back on Jason. Their faces nearly touch as Connor reaches in to affix it around Jason’s neck. Jason can tell that Connor has attached the necklace, but Connor’s arms don’t move from around Jason’s neck. Jason’s eyes flicker down to Connor’s lips and Connor smiles softly. Connor leans in slightly and Jason is sure it’s finally going to happen. Connor is going to kiss him in. 

Three. 

Two. 

“Jason Grace we need to talk right now.” 

Connor springs apart from him and before Jason can process what’s happening Connor is already left to go back inside. Which means he’s left alone outside. Well not alone because standing in front of him is Piper. 

“Jason I swear to god if you keep avoiding me I’m going to stab you.”

Chapter Text

9. Talk with Dad???

Connor practically sprints back into the cabin. Percy falls over backward from the force with which Connor opens the door. Everyone is looking at him which is NOT good. Percy hops up off the floor and gives Connor a pat on the back. No one speaks for a moment. 

“So did you guys admit your feelings for each other?” Nico asks. 

Connor sighs going to sit on his bed, “No.”

“Ha, trick question we were watching from the window. You were totally about to kiss,” Percy says smirking. 

“So you saw how his ex-girlfriend came right before I was about to make a total fool of myself. Great,” Connor flops back on his bed. 

“Ok so that part was less than ideal,” Annabeth admits. 

“But he was totally going to kiss you,” Thalia pipes up, “Trust me I’m his sister.” 

“Jason’s wanted to kiss you since he got to camp this year,” Will adds. 

Connor just groans. This is the most embarrassing moment of his life. This is how he dies. Connor survived the Battle of Manhattan but he can’t survive this moment. Bring Kronos back to life and end Connor’s suffering. Julia comes over to the bed to comfort Connor when there’s a knock at the door. All of the heads in the room turn instantly. For a moment no one is sure what to do. 

“I guess I’ll get it then,” Cecil says heading toward the door. 

Connor’s pretty sure Cecil mutters something passive-aggressive under his breath. Connor can’t really find it in him to care. Connor’s not really sure who would be knocking at the door. Jason would just come in because he lives here. Piper maybe? But why would she want to come in without Jason, and if it is her, where is Jason? Maybe it’s just an Athena camper who wants the Hermes cabin on their team for capture the flag this week. They’ve been much more coveted now that Jason works with them all the time. Whoever Connor thinks it will be, he’s not expecting the oh that Cecil lets out when he opens the door. 

“Um hi?” Cecil says awkwardly.

From this angle, Connor can’t see who’s at the door but some of the other people in the room clearly can. Everyone’s posture has changed and Cameron looks a little bit like he might vomit. The person at the door says something to Cecil and Connor can’t hear it all but he’s sure he hears his name. 

“Um, Connor it’s for you,” Cecil says moving away from the doorway. 

As Cecil moves Connor can finally see who is standing there. Well, it’s not someone from the Athena cabin, and it’s certainly not Piper McLean. No instead of any camper here in the doorway stands Hermes himself. Hermes offers an awkward wave when he sees Connor. Connor sits up immediately and starts heading for the door. Well, this isn’t good. 

“I guess I’ll see you guys later. Feel free to keep enjoying the party,” Connor says as he reaches his dad. 

Percy, because he is a little shit, takes that as a cue to turn the music up again. So Connor leaves the cabin as Lady Gaga’s poker face blares loudly from the speaker. This is seriously the weirdest day of Connor’s life. 

He and his father walk in silence toward the water. Hermes snakes titter on about rats but stop when Hermes flicks one of their heads. They remain silent after that. Hermes stares out at the water for a moment before he turns to look at Connor. Connor can’t help but be so struck with how much he looks like Luke at that moment. Looking at him is like a sharp burst of pain from a wound that you thought had healed. Maybe that’s why Connor breaks the silence. 

“If you’re here to give me a quest, I’m not exactly interested. I’ve kinda got my own personal growth journey I’m working on. Maybe ask Percy,” Hermes sucks in a breath like he’s been stabbed. 

“No nothing like that. Never anything like that. I promise,” Hermes looks him in the eye deadly serious. 

“Well that’s good,” Connor says lamely. 

“I’m actually here because I need to apologize,” Hermes rubs his neck awkwardly. 

“We talked about the Luke stuff dad, it’s fine. I’ve actually been working really hard to be a good role model for the younger ones I promise,” Connor’s not really sure why he feels so desperate for his father’s approval at this moment. 

“Oh, Connor I know. I’m so proud of you. You have to know that,” Hermes smiles at him, “I haven’t been the best father, but your loyalty to me means more than you will ever know.” 

Connor coughs awkwardly, “So uh why are you here then.” 

“I may have accidentally gotten Aphrodite on my bad side and she’s taking it out on you,” Hermes has the decency to look ashamed. 

“What!?”

“It’s really Apollo’s fault honestly. He made some joke about how he and Athena were now the only ones who had kids who were dating sons of the big three. Aphrodite wasn’t very happy that Jason broke up with her daughter. You know how she is. Well anyway. I mentioned that it seemed like soon I would be included in this list. Aphrodite didn’t take well to that. Said some rather rude things about you which are wholly untrue. I happen to think your ears are a good size for your head,” Connor quickly puts his hands to his ears. 

“Anyway all is to say that I’m sure that she’s causing trouble to spite me. It’s not really a coincidence that her daughter is the one that interrupted you tonight. So I just wanted to let you know that tonight is sort of my fault and I take full responsibility,” Hermes finishes. 

Connor just stares at him for a moment. How do you even respond to any of what he just heard? Connor and Jason didn’t kiss tonight because his dad has got a psycho goddess mad at him. Perfect. Just perfect. On a lighter note, this probably does mean that Jason does want to kiss him or else Aphrodite wouldn’t have sent Piper to intervene. 

“Alright so how are you going to fix it?” Connor asks.

“Oh, she’s had her fun. I doubt she’ll even care about this by tomorrow. It’s not like you’ve actually done anything to offend her,” Hermes shrugs. 

Alright well, that's good. Connor didn’t think he could handle having an angry love goddess mad at him. He already struggled enough with Jason by himself. He didn’t need her butting in. 

“Well thanks for telling me dad,” Connor offers. 

“I’m not the messenger god for nothing kiddo,” Hermes laughs slightly. 

“Anything else or?” Connor pauses. 

“You know I meant it when I said I’m proud of you right. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how hard you’ve been working now that your brother is gone. Honestly, how hard you’ve always been working. I know you’re on the quest to be a better counselor, but you’ve always been a great role model for your siblings. You’re a gift from the gods my son, don’t forget that,” Hermes smiles at him. 

Connor can’t help it; he hugs him. Hermes let’s out a soft oh before returning the embrace. They stand like that for a moment and Connor thinks how odd his life is that he’s hugging a Greek god. Even ignoring the fact that said god is his father. 

“You know the last person who hugged me was your mother,” Hermes says as he pulls away. 

“Yeah that sounds like mom,” Connor laughs. 

“Take care of yourself and your heart alright?” Hermes asks. 

“Only if you promise not to get me in any more trouble with any of the gods,” Connor bargains. 

“Deal,” Hermes laughs and suddenly he’s gone. 

“My life is so fucking weird,” Connor says into the empty air.

9. Actually Communicate

  Jason follows Piper as she makes her way to wherever it is she’s headed. Jason’s not really paying attention. In one hand he’s holding Connor’s present, and in the other, he’s fidgeting with the ring around his neck. Jason knows he should be more worried about talking with Piper, but he’s so focused on what just happened with Connor that he can’t think about anything else. Connor was going to kiss him. They were finally going to kiss after the weeks they had spent dancing around each other. Until Piper had interrupted them. Speaking of Piper, where the hell are they going? 

When Jason finally shakes himself out of his thoughts he finds himself in front of the Zeus cabin. Great, he was going to have to face both Piper and his father’s judgment. Piper marches up the steps and holds the door open for him. Jason looks around the room he’d been avoiding for so long. Jason sort of expects it to look different than how he remembers it. Honestly, he sort of expected that he had imagined some of the creepy emptiness of the room. Still when he really takes everything in it looks exactly the same as how he left it. Good to know somethings never change. The only difference from the last time he was here is that Piper is standing in front of him.

She moves to sit on the edge of the cot that he had left in here. Once seated she motioned for Jason to join her. Jason reluctantly sits on the other end leaving space between the two of them. Two months ago Jason wouldn’t have hesitated to sit directly next to her. Now though, so much has changed. 

“Happy birthday,” Piper laughs slightly, “How long have you been dating Connor Stoll?” 

Jason chokes, “We’re not dating.” 

“Jason you don’t have to pretend, I saw you guys. You were literally about to kiss.” 

“Pipes, we’re not dating. I don’t really know what the hell is going on there,” Jason sighs.

Piper’s eyes widen, “Oh my god I ruined it didn’t I? You were about to get together and I totally ruined it. Shit. I totally didn’t mean to. Honestly, I don’t even know what I was thinking when I came over. I was just so fed up all of the sudden.”

“It’s not like I didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I was just so worried you hated me,” Jason can’t meet her eyes.

“I don’t. Hate you I mean. I was pretty mad for a while, but honestly, I just want us to be friends again,” Piper puts her hand on his shoulder. 

Jason can feel his eyes well up, “I just felt like so much of my identity was tied to dating you. Who is Jason without Piper, you know? So when I realized I was gay it just felt like I had no idea who I was at all.” 

“You’re not the only one who feels that way,” Piper admits. 

“I think Percy and Annabeth’s relationship skewed our concept of dating,” Jason laughs. 

“Not just the Jason and Piper thing. I, um, think I might be. Well I mean. Um,” Piper stutters. 

In all of Jason’s life, he has never seen Piper at a loss for words like this. For a moment what she’s saying doesn’t register. Then it hits Jason like a freight train. Oh. He quickly wraps Piper into a hug. Piper lets out a sound that’s somewhere in between a laugh and a sob. Jason knows he’s crying now too. Everything starts to make sense. They’re both gay. Jason was going to have a word with Hera the next time he saw her because she was the world’s worst matchmaker. Jason has a million things he wants to say to her to comfort her, but Jason’s still Jason so instead, he says the first thing that comes to mind. 

“You’re the only girl that I’ve ever met that wasn’t attracted to Percy Jackson,” Jason blurts out. 

Piper laughs, “Trust me, I know.” 

The conversation progresses better after that. Piper tells him all about what she’s been doing while he was avoiding her. They both talk about their own self-discovery and how Hera is basically a real-life metaphor for compulsory heterosexuality. Somewhere along the line, the conversation turns to Connor. 

“So you have feelings for him right?” Piper prompts. 

“Well yeah, but it’s not that simple,” Jason argues. 

“He was about to kiss you. Doesn’t seem that confusing to me,” Piper shrugs. 

Jason goes on to tell her all about the time that he has spent with Connor. From their first meeting where Jason has cried in front of him, all the way up until today when Connor had given him his birthday presents. The whole time that he’s talking Jason is playing with the ring around his neck. Piper looks at him with a fondly exasperated expression on her face.

“You guys are good for each other,” Piper smiles at him. 

Jason blushes and tries to hide his face in his hands. He really doesn’t need to be made fun of. It is his birthday after all. Piper just laughs at his attempts to hide his face and shoves him lightly. 

“You should go kiss him,” Piper says casually. 

Jason whacks her arm, “Seriously, my mom is the goddess of love. I think I know what I’m talking about. Also, I’m coming to this party because I want to see everyone, and also I don’t trust you to do it on your own.” 

She leaves no room for debate when she stands up and grabs Jason’s arms pulling him along. Jason scrambles to his feet to avoid getting his arm pulled out of the socket. Piper drags him along as she heads over to the door. Jason is terrified of what’s going to happen but more than anything he’s just happy to have Piper back in his life.

Chapter Text

10. Spite the Goddess Aphrodite

When Connor arrives back at the cabin he’s not surprised to see that the party is still going. Percy is still clearly controlling the music because Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA is currently playing. Most people are settled on different beds talking and eating snacks, but Percy seems to have convinced Frank to have a sing-off with him. So Connor is greeted by Percy loudly singing off-key while Frank dances beside him. 

“SO I PUT MY HANDS UP- Oh Connor you’re back!” Percy stops singing to address him. 

“I’ve got the goddess of love trying to ruin my life apparently,” Connor says more casually than he feels. 

Annabeth raises a glass to him while Reyna says, “Welcome to the club.” 

The music is turned down and everyone gathers around to hear about Connor’s conversation with his father. Connor recounts the conversation he had with Hermes. He intentionally ignores the little heart to heart they had about Connor being a good brother. Connor didn’t need everyone knowing about his master plan. Still, they all seem interested to hear about how Aphrodite is the reason that Jason and Connor didn’t kiss.

“So you’re going to kiss him when he gets back right?” Will asks. 

“Connor if you don’t kiss him I’m going to go insane. Do you know how hard it is being a wingman for you?” Percy shouts, “I convinced Jason that you saved an orphanage.” 

“I also told him you know the Pope,” Annabeth adds.

“I’m not Catholic,” is all Connor can think to say. 

“I panicked,” Annabeth crosses her arms indignantly.    

Connor thinks for a moment. Is he going to kiss Jason? He’d certainly like to, but also he has no real confirmation that Jason actually likes them. Other than the fact that Aphrodite seems to think that she needed to interrupt them. Which she probably wouldn’t do if Jason would have rejected him, but Connor isn’t going to but his fate in the plans of the goddess of love. Especially knowing all the things he does about that particular diety. 

“What if he doesn’t like me the way I like him?” Connor asks quietly. 

That sets the room off into a flurry of different shouts and movement. Nico smacks his forehead repeatedly, and if Connor heard him right he’s complaining about how stupid everyone he knows is. Will is giving Connor the biggest look of pity Connor’s ever seen. Reyna, Annabeth, and his sisters all roll their eyes. Percy is the one that’s causing the most commotion. 

“Are you kidding me?!” Percy shouts, “Are you accusing me of not knowing the feelings of my number one bro? Do you think I would work this hard on a worthless cause? Jason’s head over heels for you stupid!”

Of course, it’s that moment when Jason opens the door. Well, really it seems that Piper is the one who actually opened the door, and she seems to be dragging Jason by the arm with bruising force. Percy’s eyes widen a little in fear when he sees Jason. He quickly places a hand over his mouth and shoots an apologetic look at both Connor and Jason. 

Connor doesn’t really know Piper that well, but he knew Silena so he knows the face she’s making. It’s the classic Aphrodite matchmaking face. Connor really doesn’t like when that look is directed at him. Still, there’s nothing he can do about it. So Connor stands there frozen as Piper sports a Cheshire cat-like grin. 

“Percy’s right. Jason totally has feelings for you. Right, Jason?” Piper asks sweetly. 

Jason appears to be doing his best impression of a deer caught in headlights. Connor wants to kiss that stupid look off his face. Then he realizes that he can if he really wanted to. Except that would require him to move and it feels like he is frozen to the spot. Apparently, Will picks up on that because he stands up and makes his way over to Connor. Will puts his hand on his shoulder quickly and then firmly pushes him in Jason’s direction. 

Connor stumbles and Jason grabs ahold of his arm to steady them. Jason’s arm doesn’t leave his arm when Connor regains his balance. The room is quiet as everyone stares at the two of them. Connor desperately wishes the ground would swallow him up. Then he immediately regrets that because if the last year has taught him anything it’s that the ground can and will actually do that. 

“We should, um” Jason starts nodding to the door.   

“Yeah, um, totally,” Connor follows Jason out the door. 

Once there Connor is pretty sure that they’re just going to both stare at each other awkwardly until one of them dies. Which isn’t what Connor wants. Connor wants to pull Jason into his arms and kiss him until he can forget how fucking weird the last couple of hours have been. Connor could probably do that, but he has to say something first. 

Jason beats him to it, “You’re the first person who ever saw me for me.” 

Connor sucks in a breath as Jason continues, “I’m not sure how you did but you’ve always been able to understand exactly what I need and what I feel, and just who I am.” 

“Knowing you has made my life so much better Jason. You know that right?” Connor steps impossibly closer. 

Jason laughs, “It’s a little stupid how wonderful you are.” 

Then they’re kissing. Jason grabs Connor’s face in his hands and Connor can’t help but sigh in content. Kissing Jason is everything and nothing like Connor imagined. The hopeless romantic part of Connor had imagined that fireworks would go off. Or maybe that his leg would pop like in the Princess Diary movies. Instead kissing Jason just feels like coming home. His leg doesn’t pop but his hands do tighten around the back of Jason’s neck. There may not be any fireworks but Connor’s never felt as happy as he does at this moment.   

When Connor pulls away he hears it. The whispers coming from inside the cabin. When he looks at the window quickly he sees multiple faces all duck down to hide. Only Cameron is slow enough that Connor can see his face, but Connor knows they must have all been watching. He points this out to Jason who has been busy running his fingers through Connor’s hair. 

“Oh my god, my sister is in there,” Jason groans, burying his head into Connor’s shoulder. 

“If it makes you feel better I’m pretty sure my dad is watching us right now. Oh and by the way Aphrodite might be mad at me so there’s that,” Connor laughs.

“We can have that conversation later I guess,” Jason says with his head still pressed into Connor. 

Percy clearly has gotten tired of waiting for them to finish up their conversation as he begins to play loud music once again. Why he’s playing Love Story by Taylor Swift Connor isn’t really sure. Percy opens the door stands in the doorway with the rest of the party behind him. Connor’s not sure who but someone claps, and another person wolf whistles. He’s pretty sure it was Thalia. This sets everyone off a chorus of laughter and Connor joins him. Jason it seems isn’t as excited about the public humiliation. 

“Alright well this has been embarrassing so we’re just going to go,” Jason addresses the crowd. 

With that, he hoists Connor up so that Connor is clinging to him and takes off in flight. Connor lets out a small shriek of surprise, which Jason laughs at. Jason doesn’t fly him far which Connor is thankful for. Connor’s not sure he would have been able to hang on for that long. Jason lands them on the roof of the Zeus cabin. Connor is reluctant to stop being held by Jason, but Jason doesn’t seem to have any interest in actually putting him down. 

They just stand there for a moment just holding each other. Connor wants to make a dumb joke about being swept off his feet, but he can’t seem to word it correctly. Jason seems perfectly happy to just stand there. Eventually, Jason moves to put Connor down. Connor lies down on his back and pulls Jason down with him. Jason links their fingers together. 

“So I know this is kind of a dumb question, but we’re dating now, right?” Jason asks. 

Connor laughs, “Good luck getting rid of me.” 

Jason rolls onto his side and cuddles up to Connor. Connor places their interlocked hands on top of his chest. Connor feels so unbelievably happy he thinks he may burst. They lay like that for long Connor couldn’t possibly tell you if it had just been minutes or hours. Maybe it had been days. Maybe his entire life had come and gone and he had missed it while laying here with Jason, if it did he couldn’t think of a better way to spend his time.

10. Take a Victory Lap

Jason’s looking for his glasses when he finds it. For a minute he can’t really tell what it is because again he was looking for his glasses. So he just throws the book on his bed and continues searching around Connor’s bed. He’s sure they had gotten knocked off when he and Connor were together earlier. Now though Connor was practicing archery while Jason was in the cabin blind as a bat. Eventually, he does find them sitting on Connor’s desk. Connor must have put them there because he was the only person who would think to put them somewhere safe. 

Jason’s distracted by his fondness for Connor for a moment when he remembers the book he had found by Connor’s bed. It’s a pretty normal-looking notebook all things considered. Just one of those plain spiral notebooks that you’d find in any school or something. Jason’s honestly not sure why he feels compelled to know what’s in it. Other than the fact that he’s never seen it before and it looks like it’s been used at least a little bit. Jason figures it will just be old school work that Connor has or maybe this is where he plans out his chore schedule. Maybe Jason can tweak it a little so he doesn’t have to clean toilets for the next few weeks. 

Whatever Jason expects he doesn’t expect to see Connor’s handwriting and the words Connor Stoll’s Guide to being a good camp counselor. Number one: Accept that you want to get better written on the first page. Jason is immediately interested. Some of the first few pages are what he had expected. Chore chart ideas and different crafts that he wanted to do with his siblings. Also listed are all of the people that Connor had wanted to make welcome back cards for. He laughs when he sees his own name written at the bottom of the list and underlined three times. 

Then Jason laughs, even more, when he sees Connor’s step two and how the whole step is devoted to making him feel better. There’s a list of different things he thought Jason might like with comments in random places. Jason laughs at the word football which has been written and then aggressively crossed out. Then at the bottom in red underline call Annabeth . 

Jason reads the rest of the notebook with a happy lightness in his chest. So much of this notebook shows how deeply Connor cares about everyone in his life. Every time Connor mentions him Jason feels his heart expand. From a practice speech to give Chiron about Jason living with them, to the list he had written of all of his favorite movies and books to show Jason. The whole thing is so wonderfully Connor that Jason isn’t surprised that he’s crying by the time that he gets to step 10. How on earth can one person be this wonderfully kind?

“Hey babes, I was thinking we could go- oh you’re crying,” Connor is by Jason’s side in an instant. 

Jason kisses him soundly, pulling Connor into his lap. Connor returns the kiss. But Jason can tell that he’s confused by Jason’s apparent mood change. Connor pulls back and frowns at Jason. Jason can’t help but lean into Connor’s hand as he brushes away the tears that spring from his eyes. 

“It’s a good cry I promise,” Jason laughs. 

He holds up the notebook he had been reading and watches as Connor processes what’s going on. Connor nods and kisses him on the forehead. Jason sighs and for a moment just sits in contentment. Gods, he really loves Connor Stoll. What a wonderful, sweet, perfect person. 

“I love you,” Jason says without really thinking. 

Whoops. They’ve never said that to each other before. They’ve only been dating for like six weeks at this point. Was it too early to say it? Well, it doesn’t really matter now because Jason’s said it. All he can do is wait for Connor’s reaction. Speaking of Connor’s reaction. Connor has tensed slightly from Jason’s lap. He’s looking down at Jason with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Connor grabs the notebook in Connor’s hands and flips to the most recent page. Then hands it to Jason. 

How to tell Jason I love him for the first time. 

Jason laughs happily and pulls Connor in for another kiss, “You actually have to say it out loud for it to count.” 

“Jason Grace I’m so in love with you I feel like I could burst,” Connor says looking him in the eye. 

“Do you have a pen?” Jason asks. 

Connor shoots him a confused look but gets up to grab a pen anyway. Connor rummages around in his drawer for a moment before finding a bright green pen that he hands to Jason. Jason takes the pen and flips back to the front page. Underneath Connor’s own words he draws a little star. Then at the bottom of the paper adds Alternatively Titled Jason Grace’s Guide to Getting a Boyfriend.