#needthat

The next morning was a Monday, which meant back to work. He got up at 7:00, which he realized was because Oliver was non-stop messaging him due to his majorly fucked up sleep schedule. For whatever reason, Oliver decided to talk to him through TikTok as a testament to his boredom, and Percy almost cursed out loud at the amount of notifications. Oliver had basically sent his entire feed and comments to go with every video.

@wercypeasley76: please stop

Before that, Oliver had sent him a video a minute ago. He must've been in the middle of sending another one, because a video and commentary about it was sent before his reply.

@olliewould: Percy!!

@olliewould: you're awake

@olliewould: how did you sleep

@olliewould: good I hope

@wercypeasley76: why did you do that

@olliewould: do what

@wercypeasley76: send all those videos

@wercypeasley76: that's weird... don't make me block you

@olliewould: lolol

@olliewould: feeling in a reading mood

@olliewould: think I might stop by the library today

Percy felt his heart stutter and his hands began to clam up. He knew they'd see each other eventually, but today?

@wercypeasley76: feeling in a working mood

@wercypeasley76: think I might also go to the library

@wercypeasley76: maybe we'll go to the same library and see each other

He knew it was lame, but he had to let Oliver know that he was open to the idea without outright saying "please come."

@olliewould: imagine how crazy that would be

@olliewould: I'd actually be so surprised that I'd panic and kiss you

Percy, like many times when Oliver got like this, was left speechless.

@olliewould: sorry that was awkward

@wercypeasley76: yeah okay bye Ollie

Oliver didn't reply, and Percy secretly hoped Oliver felt a little bit of shame. That was one of his lamer lines. Turning over, Percy went to sleep for about another hour and a half, because it was too early for all that.

He woke back up at around 8:30, made sure Penelope was up, and then got ready for work. They left at 9:00 to anticipate traffic and got there at around 9:45. Percy was ready to go home by 10:15.

Irma was feeling particularly crabby today, and Percy could understand her. The heat was sweltering and the AC wasn't blasting as high as it normally would. Penelope was miserably resting her head in her hands, as she hadn't gone to sleep until late yesterday, up in her room doing lord knows what. She always did this, and not much was expected of her to begin with. 

One asshole had came in with 30 overdue library books. Percy was confused as to how he'd managed it as he should've been cut off after the first few, but he soon came to realize that the books were under several different accounts. While he spent the better part of an hour getting those checked in and on the shelves, Penelope followed him around under the guise of helping. She was actually just scrolling through Instagram and talking about people, but Percy appreciated the company. 

After some routine cataloging and shelving, they stood around at the checkout desk doing relatively nothing like always. They got a handful of more people who came into the library to seek shelter from the heat, but they gravitated to the computers and Percy and Penelope weren't really needed.

And now, Percy was typing away at the computer behind the desk. He could sense somebody had come up to the desk, but as he waited for Penelope to start talking to them, she never did. He could tell she was still right there as he could quite literally see her out of his peripheral, but she wasn't making a move to do anything.

"Percy, there's someone waiting for you to check them out," she politely informed him.

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," he responded pleasantly. He didn't want to act the way he truly wanted in front of customers, but god was she making it hard for him. "But you know, Penelope, you could also help them." He used her full name to convey his anger.

"Why don't I just take over that for you?" She asked, pushing him off of the computer.

Percy scoffed, affronted, but he quickly regained his composure. He didn't know what was up with that, but they were at work and in front of people and wasn't that just a humiliating display of unprofessionalism. 

"I'm sorry," he told the customer without looking up. "What can I do for..." Percy's breath caught in his throat as his eyes met familiar brown ones. In front of him, waiting patiently and watching with an amused smile, was Oliver in the flesh. That would explain Penelope's annoying behavior. He cleared his throat, finishing, "You. What can I do for you today?"

"Well," Oliver began, leaning forward and squinting at Percy's name tag. "Percy, is it? I'd like to check out this book," he said with a smirk, depositing the book on the counter.

Percy pursed his lips. It was Icebreaker. "I wouldn't recommend it, but okay."

"Really?" Oliver said, leaning forward with his elbows on the counter. "What would you recommend? I'd like something hockey related."

Percy pretended think. "You're better off just playing hockey than reading this book, I can tell you that."

"Wow, you must really hate this book," remarked Oliver. "But if it's okay with you, I'd like to go ahead and check it out anyway."

"Of course," Percy replied dutifully, scanning the book. "And... do you have an account with the library?"

"Oh... no." Oliver looked forlorn as if genuinely upset.

"That's alright," Percy assured him. "I just need your name, some ID, and proof that you live around here."

Oliver gaped at him. "I... don't."

"Well, I'm sorry sir," Percy informed him apologetically, slipping the book from Oliver's loose grasp and placing it behind the counter, "but I can't let you check this book out. Feel free to stick around and read it, though."

Oliver frowned, but his demeanor quickly brightened. "On second thought, I'll take your suggestion and go skating instead."

"Brilliant idea," Percy nodded. He had no idea where this game was headed, and he was starting to get bored. He wished Oliver would've just showed up like a normal person and been like, "hey, it's me, Oliver." But no.

"Since you think it's so brilliant, why don't you join me?" Oliver invited him enthusiastically.

Oh. So that's where this was going. Somewhere to the side of him he could hear Penelope giggling and calling them weird, but Percy was too caught up in forming a response. He came up with the best one: "I'd love to."

"Great! It's a date," Oliver smiled. Percy smiled back. They were stuck like that until there was a clearing of a throat behind Oliver who appeared to have jumped out of his skin upon hearing it.

"Has his service been satisfactory, sir?" Irma asked, glaring at Oliver.

Oliver smiled awkwardly. "More than, thank you."

Irma hummed and nodded, and Oliver stood there awkwardly before shuffling away without a word. Irma walked away when he walked away.

Penelope started cackling. "That was hilarious, Percy. Aren't you two just the most adorable idiots ever? And Irma's face..."

Percy winced, knowing that she would go on and on about that until the end of their shift. At least he had a date to look forward to.

The rest of their shift went by uneventfully. Normally he was excited to get off of work, but now he was positively buzzing in anticipation. He didn't get too for ahead of himself as they hadn't technically agreed that the date would be today, but when then?

When they got off at 17:00, Penelope graciously took the wheel so that Percy could panic text Oliver about their date. What scared Percy the most was that he had not a clue how to skate, let alone ice skate. He was better off inviting Oliver for golf.

Oliver confirmed that he'd meant the same day, so they were meeting at 19:00 at some random rink in the city. That didn't leave Percy a lot of time to change out of his work clothes, but it was definitely possible.

Penelope insisted on helping him, but after criticizing the 6th shirt he'd picked out, Percy kicked her out and told her to just see if she liked what he ended up wearing. She didn't, but fortunately it wasn't her outfit so it didn't matter how well the shades of blue complimented her eyes. She insisted that they had the same eye color, but Percy would have to disagree there. Hers were a darker blue, much prettier and less startling. Other than that, Penelope contented herself to letting him go out like that, so Percy took the keys and was off to the rink.

When he arrived, he parked and waited in the car until exactly 19:00 to brace himself (and because he liked when the time was right on). As he got out of the car and went to the entrance to the place, Oliver was seated on one of the benches outside, hunched over his phone. 

"Hey," Percy called when he was 4 meters away.

Oliver's head shot up and he stood up soon after. "Hi. You ready?"

"No," Percy sighed, opening the door. He was grateful he read the push sign, as he'd almost pulled it. "I have no idea how to skate."

"That's okay," Oliver assured him as they walked to the rental counter. "Watch and learn."

Percy rolled his eyes at the playful cockiness in Oliver's voice. 

"Sizes?" The person behind the counter asked monotonously.

Oliver told him his size and then looked at Percy's feet and guessed. He was a little off.

"Trust me, you'll want them a little tighter than too loose," Oliver answered his complaint before he could even say anything.

Feeling defeated at having been read so easily, he decided to say, "Jeez, Oliver. You've got some big feet."

"Shut up, Percy," Oliver retorted, accepting both pairs of skates that the person had passed over the counter. "Not everybody can be small and dainty like you."

"I'm literally taller than you," Percy pointed out, accepting his skates from Oliver's hand.

They sat on a nearby bench. "Not by a lot," Oliver protested, kicking off his shoes. Percy followed his lead and slipped on his skates. Leaning down, he went to lace them up and realized that he had no idea what to do from there. Oliver made it look easy, but he didn't want to break his ankles on this silly outing.

"Um, Oliver?" Percy asked hesitantly.

"Give me a moment," Oliver replied, finishing tying up his second skate before turning to Percy. He looked at Percy's distressed state and loose skates, and laughed slightly before kneeling in front of him and grabbing the laces of Percy's right skate.

Percy blushed and grumbled, "You could've just showed me," but Oliver was ignoring him and Percy really didn't mind it as much as he was letting on. 

Once he was done with that complicated stringing process (which he did with ease), Oliver pulled at the laces before tying them and looking up at Percy. "How does that feel?"

"Tight," Percy clipped, his brows knitted together as he stared down at his foot.

Oliver pressed at the top of the skate, feeling for Percy's toes. "Not too tight," he declared before taking Percy's left foot and placing it on his knee.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Percy asked worriedly, ready to move his leg. He was also a little embarrassed because Oliver was tying his shoes for him like he was a little kid, but he was mostly concerned, though, honest.

Oliver shook his head. "I wouldn't have done it if it hurt me," Oliver pointed out, artfully weaving the laces onto the shoe. He made quick work of it.

"Hmm, I think you would've," Percy teased. "You strike me as a feet guy," he continued as Oliver dropped his foot.

Oliver smirked, standing up and helping Percy to his feet. "Caught me."

Percy wobbled a bit, but Oliver was right there to keep him steady and he quickly found his balance. Walking wasn't really the problem. Skating, however...

The ice was well, slippery, and Percy would've fallen flat on his bottom had he not immediately grabbed onto the dasher boards. Oliver was no longer there to keep him upright, having chosen to leave him and immediately go two laps around the rink. Percy was left to agitatedly keep to the outside while he waited for Oliver to circle back to him.

"Git!" Percy called as soon as Oliver was close enough. He didn't even want to be there anymore and Oliver's shit-eating grin was grating on his high-strung nerves.

Oliver, to his credit, did look a little sheepish. "Sorry, Perce. I just really love the ice."

"I can see that," Percy huffed. "Personally, I prefer to love it from a distance. But we're here now, so you ought to help me out a little."

Oliver smiled fondly. "This reminds me of this video I made with my baby brother. You know the one, right?"

Percy knew very well which video he was referring to, as that was the one where he'd left the stupid comment and virtually started everything. Looking at Oliver's knowing stare, he chose to answer, "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to."

Oliver laughed. "Oh, the memories."

Percy stared at him mutely.

Finally, Oliver held out his hand for Percy to take. "This will be fun." Percy doubted that. With his other hand, Oliver dug his phone out of his pocket. "I don't have my camera today, but I have my phone. This is definitely being recorded."

"Please don't," Percy begged him. "This'll be humiliating. Bad enough that everyone else here has to see it."

"It's for memories," Oliver stressed to him. "And besides, no one is going to judge you. Look at all the people here who can't skate."

Percy did take a moment to look around. There were people like him who stuck to the perimeter, but then there were also little kids skating circles around everybody. Percy wished he'd learned at a young age so that he didn't have to go through this. "Alright," he reluctantly agreed. "Don't let me fall."

"I won't," Oliver promised. "Can you stand by yourself?"

That, Percy could do. However, if he'd known that Oliver had only asked him that to let go of his hand and skate away again, he wouldn't have moved from the dasher board. Percy watched as Oliver went all around before he ended up stopping somewhere that was already relatively close to them. He left something leaned against the shielding and then came back.

"It's my phone," Oliver explained at Percy's inquisitive look. "I'll need both hands."

"I'll pray nobody steals it," Percy joked.

"Me too," Oliver agreed, taking both of Percy's hands in his. "Then somebody else will be blessed with all my pictures of you."

"Alright, Oliver," Percy sighed, diverting his gaze. So it made him blush a little, that was fine. It could be written off as the cold from the ice. From Oliver's self-satisfied smirk, though, he definitely knew it wasn't because of the temperature of the rink.

Oliver started guiding Percy forward as he himself went backward. Percy had a vice grip on Oliver as he was desperately trying not to fall and Oliver wasn't being of much help. They were moving, yes, but he wasn't really telling Percy what to do to move on his own.

"Oh, right," Oliver spoke when Percy turned confused eyes on him for probably the 50th time. "I forgot I was supposed to be teaching you. So basically, you should start by moving your feet."

Percy looked at him tiredly, as if to say 'really?'

"Don't look at me like that! You haven't even been moving by yourself this whole time," Oliver protested. "Actually, wait," he said. His hands went to drop Percy's and Percy panicked, holding on even tighter. "Easy," Oliver placated, hands moving away slower that time.

"A warning would've been nice," Percy muttered bitterly. This time, he was ready, and let go of Oliver's hands with ease. 

Oliver grabbed his shoulders and slightly adjusted his posture. Biting his lip, he said contemplatively, "I'm trying to remember how I was taught."

Percy just stood there for a minute with Oliver's heavy hands resting on his shoulders, eyes wandering while Oliver thought about what to do. His eyes landed on Oliver's camera, which he now realized they'd ended up directly in front of. He took the opportunity to make faces at it as Oliver wasn't actively looking at him.

"Okay," Oliver announced. "Swizzling. Go like this," he instructed, doing some elaborate move with his feet. 

"Go like this," Percy mocked the obvious lack of real instruction. As he tried it, though, it was actually fairly easy. He was basically just making circles by pushing his feet in and out.

"See? Great," Oliver praised after Percy went up and down their side of the ice that way. "I should probably teach you how to stop, but... you'll be fine."

Percy looked at him alarmed. "What?"

"Anyway," Oliver continued. "We'll do some gliding now."

As Percy's lesson went on, he began to feel more comfortable on the ice. By the end of it, he was able to get around fairly easily, but it was one of those rudimentary understandings where if he found himself coming back by himself after around 2 days, he would probably lose all his abilities. Oliver had by no means made him a pro, but they were able to skate around together without Percy having to cling to Oliver. Oliver's instructing skills didn't get much better, but Percy was able to adapt.

After around an hour of skating, Percy's feet began to get tired and he was about ready to get off the ice so he told Oliver as much. Oliver, who was showing off some spins like he was a figure skater rather than a hockey player, pouted but understood. 

When Percy was able to get around on his own, Oliver had taken his phone back and carried it around, basically recording every movement they made. Now, he was giving Percy an impromptu interview.

Throwing an arm around Percy's shoulder, he asked, "How would you rate my teaching on a scale from 0-10?"

"Zero," Percy deadpanned, sparing a mere glance at the camera in front of his face.

Oliver looked offended. "But you know how to skate now!"

Percy bit his lip. "Hmm, I guess you could argue that."

Oliver looked at him blankly before rushing out, "okay, thanks," and ending what was now a 2:32:47 long video.

Percy, upon seeing the time stamp, pointed out, "you know you could've cut the video at times, right? I mean, we weren't even in the frame sometimes."

"Well, yes, but I didn't want to chance it. All the superfluous stuff will be cut out when I look over it," explained Oliver.

Percy looked at him skeptically. "You're not actually going to comb through all that, right?"

"I'm watching every minute," Oliver told him enthusiastically. Percy didn't want to believe him, but that did seem very plausible.

They got off the ice, and it was a bit jarring to go from slippery ice to regular ground. Percy just managed to stay upright. Walking to the nearest bench, Percy sat down and immediately unlaced the skates. Luckily, they were much easier to take off than to put on, and he and Oliver had their shoes back in no time.

Now seated comfortably in the lobby, Percy decided to take off his extra sweatshirt and gloves. He was very grateful that he'd worn them, because right about now it felt like they hadn't worked at all.

"Blimey, Perce! You're cold," Oliver exclaimed as their hands brushed together.

Percy huffed. "Gee! Thanks Ollie, I hadn't noticed."

"So much attitude," Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. Still, he took Percy's hands in his gloved ones and rubbed them together. It was effective in warming Percy up, but Percy didn't think it was the friction that caused his body to heat. "Better?" He asked, hands still wrapped around Percy's.

"Yes," Percy murmured as he avoided Oliver's imploring gaze. There was that intense eye contact again.

"Aww," Oliver cooed. "Am I making your icy heart melt with my charming gestures?"

"Don't ever say that again," Percy cringed, pulling his hands away quickly.

"It's okay to admit it, Percy," Oliver said sagely. "I'm not here to judge."

Percy didn't know if he'd ever be admitting that exact thing anytime soon when he'd yet to admit to Oliver more important things. Baby steps. Still, he nodded, "I'll keep that in mind."

They sat there a minute as Percy finished taking off his layers, stripping down to nothing but the t-shirt he'd worn. Either Oliver didn't comprehend that it would still be warm outside or he was just one of those people, because he'd yet to take anything off. "Perce?" Oliver said suddenly.

"Gosh, Ollie. At least take your gloves off. You're going to sweat swimming pools out there," Percy chastised, reaching for one of Oliver's gloves. Oliver just let him.

He seemed to struggle to spit out what he wanted to say. "Want to come back to my place?"

"Oh," Percy said softly, minimally pausing in taking off Oliver's other glove. "Yeah, sounds great."

"Great," Oliver beamed.

Oliver was convinced to take off his sweatshirt once they stepped outside and Percy got the chance to admire his arms. He texted Penelope to let her know that he'd be out longer and probably wouldn't be back until the next day, and then they took the car to Oliver's Airbnb, and Percy was glad to have it this time because he liked to avoid taking the subway in New York if it was possible. 

As they took the elevator up to Oliver's apartment, Percy realized that the place was quite nice. He wondered at how Oliver was affording it and the trip in general, and he didn't think there was any harm in asking. So he commented casually, "This place is quite nice. How are you paying for it?"

Oliver was bunched up right next to him despite the entire 7x5 elevator being vacant, so it wasn't hard to hear the humor in his reply. "Teenagers make financially irresponsible decisions."

"That doesn't apply to you, right?" Percy retorted, recalling the conversation that Oliver was referencing. "So, what?"

Oliver shrugged. "I just have money saved. Go to work, post a TikTok, and then there's my pocket change. Nothing else to spend it on once I put like half of it in savings."

"What am I doing wrong?" Percy muttered to himself jokingly.

"I like to imagine you to be one of those really financially responsible kids with every expense sorted out and a bunch of savings," Oliver told him.

Percy cracked a smile. "I like to imagine that too."

When they got inside the room, Oliver offered him tea or cereal to which Percy declined both, and then they sat on the couch to watch Netflix or something. Percy was in charge of choosing what they watched while Oliver ordered them takeout, and it overwhelmed him so much that he just picked something random. Oliver didn't seem to care.

"The view really is nice," Percy remarked, setting down the remote. "I've never seen the city from this far up."

Oliver hummed. "Glad I could offer you these new opportunities." 

30 minutes in and Percy could feel more than see Oliver's gaze on him, but he knew he wasn't imagining it. It was distracting him from the movie, which he was sure would be quite interesting and enrapturing if he didn't have this troubling him. "Something on my face?"

"Uh..." Oliver hesitated, looking like a deer in headlights. "Are you cold?"

Percy opened his mouth to say "no, not really," but Oliver was already moving and unceremoniously throwing a blanket over them.

"All good. That's all," Oliver nodded decisively, eyes focused on the screen.

Oliver did some really weird stuff, but Percy would consider that to be one of the weirder interactions they've had. It was so bad that it felt unreal to experience. Still, he gave Oliver the benefit of the doubt (maybe that was really all he wanted) and turned to watch the movie again.

Food came, and Oliver shot up to go get it from the lobby. Percy was going to go with him, but Oliver insisted he didn't have to get up. So he stayed on Oliver's couch, snuggled up under the blanket. He checked his phone, which he hadn't done since he first texted Penelope when they left the rink, but there wasn't really anything too interesting save for some teasing texts from Penelope. His life was pretty quiet. 

Looking around, he wondered whether he'd spend so much on a rental. He did have money in his savings like Oliver implied, but this would probably cost him 15%. He giggled to himself. Maybe it was Oliver's TikTok money. He didn't think it paid that much, but perhaps it helps with a few things...

After a few long minutes of silence (Oliver made him pause the film, it was getting good), Oliver finally came back from getting the food. He was miraculously already eating by the time he placed the bag on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Dinner," he announced with a full mouth, like Percy couldn't see that.

They resumed the movie. Percy got full fairly quickly and he saw Oliver casting sidelong glances at his food, so he handed it to him without a word. When they finished the movie, Oliver had eaten enough for the two of them and Percy... well Percy had just fallen asleep. He didn't realize he'd nodded off until Oliver shook him awake.

"No sleeping on the job," Oliver joked, leaning over Percy's lethargic form.

Percy groaned.

"You can have a shower," Oliver offered. He pointed some place where Percy's eyes couldn't track, "Bathroom is just over there."

Percy pursed his lips before pointing out the obvious; "I don't have clothes."

"Borrow mine."

So yeah, this stay was much better than the spontaneous one in London, if only because Percy got to shower and change into clean clothes this time. He could hear Oliver shuffling around and cleaning up outside the door when he was drying off, and he couldn't help but think about the domesticity of it all. He could get used to this, ignoring the fact that it really wasn't possible for them. That made him feel sad.

Anyway, dressed in Oliver's, well, everything, he exited the bathroom with his clothes balled up in his arms. He kind of stood there aimlessly, debating where he should go and if he should ask Oliver for clarification. Oliver ended up making the decision for him. 

"Let me take these for you," he said, easing Percy's clothes from him. "There's a washer and dryer unit here..." His voice got quieter as he walked further away.

Now he was back to square one. Should he go back to the living room? Should he follow Oliver? Should he listen to the voice at the back of his head and run back to Penelope's to bury his head in his pillow? Naturally, he made his way to the living room.

He didn't see Oliver once he heard the washing machine turn on, but that was explained when he heard the sound of the shower. There was a loud crash and an "I'm okay!" and then radio silence. That was until he heard Oliver singing. It was muffled yet loud enough to carry throughout the unit, and Percy recognized it as some Queen song. With an elongated deep breath, he turned on the TV and turned up the volume.

Percy found himself interested in what he'd happened to turn on. It was just some people looking at houses, but it was fun to watch and cringe at what they ultimately decided to go with. Their ambitious plans with their limited budgets tickled him. In fact, he was so interested that he hadn't noticed the shower turning off or Oliver coming out of the bathroom.

"What are we watching?" A voice abruptly cut through Percy's focus, way too close to his ear.

His heart leapt out of his skin and he nearly fell over with how hard he jumped. "Bloody hell, Oliver!" Percy exclaimed, actively trying to get his heart to stop racing. That didn't really work, as when he laid eyes on Oliver, the man had nothing on but a towel. Percy shielded his eyes out of shock and instinct, shouting, "Put some clothes on!"

"Calm down, Percy," Oliver soothed. "Don't act like you don't like what you see. Besides, this is basically what I sleep in."

"You sleep in a towel?" Percy repeated skeptically. "I've slept with you before, remember? I don't know if you're lightheaded from all the singing you did in the shower, but there's quite the difference between boxers and a towel."

Oliver shrugged, already walking towards the bedroom. Percy hoped and presumed it was to put some pants on. "I was protecting my modesty."

After that weird exchange, Percy couldn't even focus on the Italian couple looking for 5 bedrooms with a $1200/mo budget. He was staring forward blankly, eyebrows furrowed in consideration. 

"Percy!" Oliver yelled from the bedroom. "Come quick!"

Percy got up immediately and rushed to the bedroom, worried that Oliver had done something stupid and needed urgent help. Looking around, however, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Oliver smiled innocently. "I just wanted you to come here."

Percy walked away, ignoring Oliver's "hey!" He often times tried hard not to find Oliver's antics to be endearing, but this time it wasn't too hard at all. For a second there he'd genuinely been worried. 

Oliver followed him into the living room. "Sorry," he said, and seemed genuinely apologetic. "I didn't think you'd care."

"Why wouldn't I care?" Percy wondered out loud as he folded the blanket that was resting on the couch. They were obviously done here. 

"You don't normally take me too seriously," Oliver reasoned. "Didn't mean to scare you or anything."

Percy could concede that point, he supposed. And he could never really stay too mad at Oliver. But, "I do take you seriously!" He protested. "Sometimes..."

Oliver scrunched his face up in disagreement. "Do you really, though?" He took a step closer, grabbing the blanket from Percy's loose grasp and haphazardly throwing it on the couch. "I mean, how long have I been flirting with you and we're still in the same place?"

Percy wanted to say that that was completely out of left field, but he almost saw it coming. "Yeah but... that's different," He objected weakly, busying himself with setting the decorative pillows up right.

Oliver was silent, only bothering to respond when Percy was looking at him again. "If you say so." But it was so detached and disbelieving that it was almost bitter, and somehow (just somehow) Percy got the feeling that it wasn't a mere "if you say so" matter. 

Percy wasn't really trying to talk about what they were tonight. He was kind of tired. So, he let Oliver lead the way to the bedroom without an added word. 

Oliver climbed into the bed and went to the far side. Percy hesitated, but Oliver was looking at him expectantly (and really where else was he going to go?) so he climbed in after him. 

Percy stared ahead wearily as he watched Oliver flip through channels. His eyes were heavy and the events of the day, from work to ice skating to all that driving, was all catching up to him, and he was just so tired. But for whatever reason, he couldn't go to sleep. Something was nagging at him. He knew it was more for romantic relationships, but Percy liked to keep a strict "don't go to bed angry" policy, and he got the feeling that Oliver was a little upset with him.

"You know, Perce," Oliver began suddenly, gaze still fixed on the television. "Sometimes I get the feeling that you don't like me as much as I like you."

Percy internally groaned. Here they go, the conversation he'd dreaded since they first got into this mess. "You have no idea how much I like you, Oliver." It took a lot out of Percy to say that, because he hated talking about his feelings. He understood that in a situation like this, however, it was entirely necessary for him to wear his heart on his sleeve lest he lose this forever.

Oliver sat the remote on his lap, giving up any pretense of being occupied. That had Percy swallowing thickly. "You don't really act like it," Oliver stated. It was said like an observation, but to Percy it sounded more like an accusation.

"Bit hard for me, sorry," Percy replied defensively. "What do you want me to do?"

"I understand," Oliver sighed. "I guess I just... I dunno. I thought we were getting somewhere when we were leaving that hotel in London and you told me..." Oliver didn't finish his sentence, but Percy knew very well what had been said. "But it's okay. Just wanted to know if I've been wasting my time."

"I should just come out with it, then," Percy exhaled. Oliver was in the middle of protesting, telling him he didn't have to, but Percy just felt obligated to at this point. He didn't see the sense in saving this for another night. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Really, Ollie, you are. And I guess I'm scared to mess it up. Sometimes, I find myself wondering whether we'd ever work," At that, Percy noticed Oliver frowning and ready to interrupt him, so he pointedly continued, "but I see I'm making it worse. And this is all a tad terrifying."

Oliver was silent for a moment. "Well, that was nice to know," he said finally. "So does that mean you're ready to take a chance on us or am I going to be waiting a little longer? You know, nothing is guaranteed but we can grow together and I really think that if we take things slow and give it a tr..." 

Percy interrupted Oliver's spiel by grabbing him by the neck and kissing him. It was very impulsive on his part, but it was a long time coming and felt like something he should've done ages ago. Oliver's shock was evident in the way that he froze for a second, but he was quick to respond with vigor, a hand coming up to encompass Percy's jaw and lessen the space between them impossibly more.

Oliver's mouth was warm and he tasted like mint toothpaste. His lips were quite soft, but that was probably the only soft thing about the kiss. He kissed like a starving man, open-mouthed and hard, and Percy almost reeled back in shock when Oliver first bit his bottom lip.

"Sorry," Oliver said sheepishly as Percy pulled back. His eyes didn't speak of regret, though; they were dark and spoke of an unsatiated hunger. Percy felt heat pool into his stomach. He'd never done this with anyone before, but he knew he wanted more.

When they'd separated, they'd only went 5 inches apart, and Percy was still able to feel Oliver's quickened breath on his face. "S'okay," he assured, hearing the hitch in Oliver's breathing as he once more closed the gap between them.

This time didn't feel as desperate, and when Percy subtly leaned back, Oliver followed. It reached the point where Percy was almost completely lying down, save for his head which was cradled in Oliver's hands. Oliver was leaning over him and was basically on top of him at that point. 

After a minute or so, Oliver pulled back, and Percy was prepared to say something stupid like "wow" and have that be over with, but then Oliver was mouthing at his neck, placing wet kisses and light bites. Percy was all for it at first, even moving his head back slightly to make it easier. But then he really thought about what was happening, and panic set in.

"Oliver," he spoke through labored breaths, tugging lightly at his hair to get him to stop.

Oliver looked at him with concern. "What is it?"

"I've work tomorrow," Percy explained, licking his lips. He saw Oliver's gaze flicker to them. "I can't — you can't leave any marks. Penny will know and Irma probably wouldn't even let me enter."

"Oh," Oliver shrugged, placing another kiss on Percy's neck. "Just call in sick."

"Oliver," Percy chastised. "Please. I'm going to work tomorrow."

Sighing, Oliver thought for a moment before trailing his mouth even lower. "Your shirt is collared. Wear it tomorrow," he instructed before sucking at a spot on Percy's throat near the junction between his neck and collarbone.

Percy sighed with both contentment and resignation.

They had to stop eventually because neither of them wanted to take it much further than that, but by the end of it Percy was semi-hard, his lips were kind of swollen, and his neck and collarbone were just littered with dark red bruising that would definitely be even darker by morning.

Oliver, who was laid out next to him, wasn't much better. Although, he wouldn't even let Percy up once he'd started, so Percy didn't get a chance to offer his neck the same treatment. Bummer.

Now, staring up at the ceiling, Percy thought about his life leading up to this moment and how life would be after it. He by no means regretted it, but he just got in his head so much...

"Alright?" Oliver asked him, turning on his side so that he was facing Percy with his head propped up in his hand.

Percy only turned his head to respond. "How will this work?"

"Oh, I don't know," Oliver replied, confused. "We can go to sleep now if you want, I guess I just didn't think you'd mind..."

"What? What are you talking about?" Percy frowned. "I meant this. Like us. How will we work?"

"Oh, that's funny," Oliver laughed at his own misunderstanding. He sobered up when he actually thought about it, though. "That's a good question."

Percy smiled wanly. "I don't suppose you'd want to move here?"

"Not a chance," Oliver cringed. "And you wouldn't want to come back to England?"

"Nope," Percy confirmed. "I quite like it here, thanks."

"Yeah, I know," Oliver said morosely. "What do we do?"

Percy pursed his lips. He wouldn't have asked if he had any clue what to do. "I was hoping you'd know."

"You're the smart one!" Oliver protested jokingly.

Percy was just tired, and it didn't seem like they were going to come to a resolution here without him wanting to rip his hair out. They'd figure it out in the morning. Turning over, he sighed, "Good night, Oliver."

"Percy, wait!" Oliver pressed a hand to his shoulder as if to turn him around. 

Percy groaned. So tired. "What?"

"You're my boyfriend now, right? That's what all that kissing was about?" Oliver's voice was unsure when he said that.

Percy thought back to the kiss and still couldn't believe that he'd actually done that. Penelope wouldn't. But it wasn't like he was kissing Oliver just for the fun of it, even though from now on he would. That was his way of making a move, so he simply answered Oliver, "Yes."

"Okay, good. Good night," Oliver said. He then kissed Percy on the cheek softly, and Percy could practically feel the hesitation in his movements. He didn't know why Oliver wanted to get all shy and bashful now, but it was endearing nonetheless, and he found himself quickly falling asleep with Oliver's arms wrapped around him tightly.