Archive of Our Own ^beta

Jason flopped down onto Apollo’s bed and buried his face in his cousin’s pillow. Apollo wasn’t typically Jason’s go-to for things like this, but Apollo understood their family better than his other friends.

“What happened?” Apollo asked, spinning his desk chair around to face him.

“I- I came out to my dad.”

“Oh, shit. How did that go?”

Jason sighed. “It was fine. It’s just- he was okay with it, but he seemed disappointed that I wasn’t going to marry some girl and pop out a dozen grandkids for him. He didn’t even care when I told him I have a boyfriend. It’s the asexuality part that he just doesn’t get. It’s like he didn’t even hear me when I mentioned I could adopt kids. I just won’t have any of my own!”

“I’m sorry, Jay. It’s great that he’s supportive of you and Leo, but I get it. It’s like you tell them one thing and suddenly you’re ruining their goals for your future. But hey, you were really brave today. I’m proud of you.” Apollo got up and sat on the bed next to Jason, reaching out to give his cousin a pat on the back.

“I just hate feeling like I’m disappointing him. It’s one thing to disappoint him if I get a bad grade in school, or don’t do well in a game. But this? This feels like I’m disappointing him for just being who I am. Like my existence is a disappointment to him,” Jason was full on crying now.

“Do you think you could tell him that?” Apollo asked.

Jason sniffled. “Probably. I guess.”

“Do you want me to go with you? I can be there when you talk to him, if you’d like?”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course I will.”

~

“Father?”

Jove turned around to find his son and his nephew standing in the doorway of his office. He quickly closed his laptop, feeling mildly embarrassed at the content on his screen.

“Jason, I thought you were out today?”

“I was, but Apollo convinced me to come back and, uh, talk to you about something,” Jason replied nervously. “Do you have a minute?”

Jove thought back to his conversation with his son this morning. How Jason came out to him, explaining that he has a boyfriend but they’re both something called “asexual.” He didn’t care if Jason had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, or whatever. Hell, he had a college fling with a handsome red headed boy his first year of college.

He just didn’t understand asexuality. Did that mean Jason wouldn’t have kids? Wouldn’t have a normal relationship or marriage? He wanted to understand, but Jason seemed upset by his questions and stormed out. So Jove shut himself in his office to do his research.

“Of course, Jason. Come sit.”

Jason, followed closely by Apollo, made their way into his office and sat on the forest green sofa. Apollo looked expectantly at Jason, giving him an encouraging nod, and Jason took a deep breath.

“Dad, when I came out to you this morning, you- uh. You made me feel like- like I’m a disappointment to you. I appreciate that you are supportive of me having a boyfriend, that really means a lot to me. But, when I tried to explain that I’m asexual, I felt like all that mattered to you was whether or not that means I’d be able to give you grandkids. And feeling like you’re disappointed in me over a grade or a game is one thing, but feeling like you’re disappointed in who I am as a person is another. Just because I’m uninterested in, uh, sex, doesn’t mean I’m not me. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to adopt someday. It doesn’t change who I am.”

Jove watched as tears welled up in his son’s eyes, and his heart broke.

“Oh, my son. I’m so sorry for making you believe that I’m disappointed. You and your sister are my greatest pride and joy, and I will love you no matter what. My questions earlier were simply from a place of lack of understanding. I’ve been trying to research asexuality all morning, just to understand. I get that it’s not exactly a new concept, but it’s new to me. That wasn’t something I learned about in my youth. Hell, when I was a kid you were either gay, straight, or bisexual. I didn’t know there were other options.

What I’m getting at is that I am so very sorry for making you feel that I’m disappointed in you. I could never be disappointed in who you are, my son. You have always made me so proud.” Jove took his son’s face in his hands and wiped away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks.

“You- you did research?” Jason asked, his voice shaking.

Jove chuckled and scooted back to his desk to open his laptop. It took a second, but the screen lit up and revealed the Wikipedia page for Asexuality. Jason huffed out a wet laugh.

“Son, I don’t care if you give me grandkids or not. I don’t care if you have a husband or a wife or a, uh, non-binary life partner. As long as you are happy and safe and loved, I will always be so proud of you. Again, I am so sorry that my questioning made you feel that way. I should have just told you I needed time to research what this means. Jason, I am proud of you and I thank you for trusting me with this information. I love you, son.”

Apollo squeezed Jason’s hand as Jason stood up from the couch and was embraced by his dad. He knew it would be okay, and he’s happy he could be here for his cousin.

~

Jason and Apollo walked side by side down the street toward Apollo’s house. They’d gone out to lunch with Uncle Jove and decided to walk back so they could get a little fresh air before the others arrived for their planned movie night.

“Hey, Jay?”

Jason looked up from the rock he was kicking down the street.

“I’m really proud of you. I know having a conversation like that with your dad is really tough, and I’m glad you were able to do that. And I’m really glad he was so cool about it.”

Jason knocked Apollo’s shoulder and smiled at his cousin. “Thanks for being there to support me. It means a lot.”

“Of course. I’ll always be here for you.”

~

Leo linked his fingers with Jason’s and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips. “I’m really proud of you, Jace. Coming out takes a lot of courage, and you did that!”

Jason ducked his head down to hide his blush. “Thank you, Leo. It- I’ll be honest, it was really scary and I did not feel brave or courageous or any of those other words people use to describe coming out. I felt scared and nervous.”

“Jason,” Leo’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet. “Bravery, courage, is being scared and doing it anyway. And you did it anyway.”

“I did it anyway.”