ax_main | Percy and Vax, backdated to Shinobi's party

After his run-in with Warren, Percy finds solace in Vax's company.

Percy ducked into the nearest, out of sight corridor and dropped to the floor, tucking himself into a corner. The shadow wouldn’t stop coming. It was drifting thick as fog out from underneath the wrists and collar of his shirt, leaking out from his pant legs and pooling around his feet… It felt as heavy and suffocating as the anger and fear choking his lungs and the more he unsuccessfully scrambled for a hold on it, the heavier and more suffocating it got.

With shaking hands, Percy dug out his phone and sent a text to Vax.

Are you busy?
Can you come get me?
I’m in the hallway outside my science classroom.
Please.

A few breaths later, Vax stepped out of a shadow across the hall, eyes sharp and alert. When he caught sight of Percy, he took two quick steps toward him, then dropped to his knees, eyes widening at the sight of the darkness leaking out of his boyfriend. "Hey, hey, fuck. Perce. I'm here. What the hell is this?"

"It won't stop," Percy said, panicked, his breathing short. He swiped at it hurriedly, trying to wipe it away with no success. "I can't get it to stop. I was upset and it--it just started and now it won't stop."

“Hey,” Vax grabbed at his hands, then pulled Percy closer. “Breathe. Just. Come here,” he wrapped his arms around him, focusing. He didn’t know what he was doing. He just wanted to draw the darkness off of him, calm him down, protect him.

Percy clung to the front of Vax's shirt, knuckles going white with the strength of his grip. He tucked his head in against Vax, trying to focus on his voice beside his ear: Breathe. Just breathe.

Before they knew it, the two were wrapped in a pair of broad, shadowy wings, shielding them from the outside world. Vax just folded his arms around the other boy, softly coaxing him out of his panic.

In time, with Vax and his comforting darkness around him, Percy's pulse slowed and his breathing evened out. His fingers uncurled from Vax's shirt and, absently, he smoothed out the wrinkles his grip had left. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"About what?" Vax breathed, looking up at him, slowly unwinding his arms, but not pulling the wings away.

Percy huffed a humorless laugh. He tilted his head to look at Vax, but in the darkness made by the cradle of Vax’s wings he couldn’t quite make him out. “Leaking…shadow everywhere? Falling apart? Making you come down here to get me? Pick one.”

"Fucker," Vax reached up to slip his fingers into Percy's silvered hair. "I'll always come to get you."

“You’re an idiot,” Percy said with a soft fondness.

"An idiot who can get you to our room if you want? I mean, so we aren't hiding outside of the classrooms," Vax smiled softly.

Percy glanced around as if just noticing they were in the middle of a hallway. Might as well make light of the situation where he could. “Oh, yes, that might be a good idea. If you wouldn’t mind, dear.”

For a moment, the hallway was there, then it was as if they both sank into a hole in the darkness behind them, slipping and sliding down the hall and up the stairs into their room, tumbling out into the light from a nearby lamp that had been left on. There, Percy landed on Vax's chest with a soft thump, his wings spread out behind him on the floor, and Vax smiled. "As you wish.”

Percy’s laughter at the sudden drop softened into a smile as he gazed down at Vax. His heart swelled with an emotion he knew all to well, but didn’t dare voice and, smiling still, he caressed Vax’s cheek tenderly with the back of his fingers, then dipped his head to give him a kiss. “You’re such a contradiction,” he said quietly.

"Am I?" Vax grinned up at him. At least he'd gotten Percival from panic to laughter.

"Mm," Percy confirmed. "With your dark clothes and your dark hair and your mutation... Everything about you is so dark." He mused quietly as he toyed with strands of Vax's hair. "Yet the whole room lights up when you're in it."

"Bullshitter," Vax huffed softly, though his cheeks pinkened a little.

Percy shook his head. "Never with you. Especially not about this."

Partly to get them off of the subject, and partly to steer Percy back onto what happened in the first place, Vax sobered a bit, and gave his friend's shoulder a little squeeze. "What happened down there?"

Percy's expression clouded. "I..." He sighed and shook his head. "I was an idiot. I haven't been careful enough and now I've paid for it."

Vax pushed up on an elbow. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Warren knows who I am. I stopped by the party to talk to him and he asked me about it. I--" Percy's laugh edged on delirious. "I don't even remember exactly what he said. I heard 'de Rolo' and my brain shut down."

Vax'ildan eyed him for a moment. "So he knows who you are. I don't think he'll say anything."

"I know, I know," Percy said with a frustrated sigh and a wave of his hand. He pushed himself into a sitting position, then climbed off Vax and stood, moving toward his side of the room. "I panicked."

"Hey." Vax pushed to his feet and followed, reaching out to (respectfully) grab the back of his shirt. "It's okay to panic."

Percy stopped at the gentle tug and turned back to Vax. "You did see me, didn't you?" he asked rhetorically.

With a sigh, Vax tilted his head. "So...okay, it may not be okay to panic, but it's perfectly reasonable that it happened.”

“Maybe,” Percy said, though he didn’t sound convinced. His fingers hooked into Vax’s belt loops and he drew him in a little closer. “Don’t worry about it. I’m alright.”

Vax stepped in close to him, dragging a kiss over Percy's throat. "Hey. Why don't we go out? Fuck the party.”

Percy hummed quietly at the kiss. He slipped his arms around Vax’s waist, smiling, and said, “Yes. I’ve been meaning to take you out on a proper date.” And, after tonight, getting out of the school had never sounded better.

Vax raised a brow, lips curling in a sly smile. "A date?"

"Yes, a date." Percy playfully dug his fingers into Vax's side. "What's so funny about that?"

"Not funny!" Vax protested, then paused. "A bit funny. But only because I've never done such a thing and trying to picture myself trying to behave myself in some posh restaurant is making it difficult to keep a smile off my lips.”

Percy poked Vax again. “Who said anything about posh? Even if I wasn’t completely destitute, I wouldn’t drag you somewhere you didn’t want to be. No matter how comprehensive their wine list is.” His expression sobered some, the humor fading as he regarded Vax curiously. “You do know that if some posh place didn’t want you because you didn’t know your salad fork from your dinner fork then I’d want nothing to do with it, don’t you?”

Vax flushed slightly. "I do, actually. Know the difference. Only because Syldor and his wife drilled it into our heads when he took us on."

"That actually wasn't my point," Percy said with a small laugh. "Never mind. Come to dinner with me? Somewhere casual and decidedly not posh."

Vax didn't hesitate. "Absolutely. Wherever you want to go."

Percy took out his mobile and quickly looked up nearby restaurants in Salem Center. He scrolled through the list for a minute, then asked, "How does this look?" He turned his mobile around to show Vax the pub-style restaurant he'd found. It had decent reviews and was definitely not posh. Also it was within Percy's budget which was a huge plus in its favor.

"Fantastic," Vax admitted, his stomach already getting a little gurgly at the thought of a real restaurant. "But, fuck, can you afford it?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry about me," Percy said dismissively. He did not have Vex's skill for finances, but he'd been scrimping and saving where he could for things such as this. Vax was most definitely worth it. "Let me spoil you.”

"Well, if we're spoiling...I'll make it worth your while," Vax grinned.

Percy arched an amused eyebrow. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

"Is it working?" Vax inquired. "I can try again, if not."

"Hm," Percy pretended to consider. "What are you offering?”

Vax slipped his arms around Percy's middle, tugging him closer. "Putting our beds together tonight, for one."

Percy arms went around Vax's neck as he was tugged in. He kissed him, feeling stupidly warm and giddy at the prospect of spending the night curled up in Vax's arms. "An excellent start.”

-----

The pub wasn't really a pub. Not in the way that Vax or Percy were used to. It was too new, too...New York, to really be anything like home, but Percy was right about one thing. It wasn't posh. It had a decidedly after-work sort of crowd that made it feel a little bit more comfortable, and the smell in the air - one of beer and soda mixed with fried potatoes - made it all the better. Vax found them a booth in the back, where the shadows crept in and kept their ages a little hard to pin down. Then he kicked his feet up on the seat across from him, right next to Percy's ass, and leaned back happily, taking a look at the menu of American fare. "Alright, this isn't terrible," he agreed.

"No, not half bad at all," Percy agreed as he perused the menu. The apple spiced pork chops sounded good and the fish and chips were tempting... "Do you want an appetizer?"

"Why bother?" Vax shrugged, ignoring the salivation going on in his mouth at the sound of a few of them. Percy didn't need to be spending all that money on them, anyway, and they'd always gotten by with very little.

“Because it’s a date and I’m pulling for pushing those beds together for more than one night?” Percy suggested.

Vax found his lips curling into a slow grin. "You sly arse. Expecting a lot to come out of this, aren't you?”

Percy’s own smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he joked, “It’s possible I intend on milking tonight for all it’s worth.”

God, Vax loved making Percy smile like that. It was a little ball of warmth that curled up in his chest whenever he saw it. "Fuck, you can have whatever you want tonight.”

Percy stared at his menu as he blushed at the fondness in Vax's voice, warm pink bright and obvious on his pale cheeks. Damn his fair skin. "That's a dangerous line to draw," he jested. "There's no telling what I could ask for.”

"That's true," Vax hummed thoughtfully. "Should I take it back, then?”

Percy considered his reply, then, deciding why the hell not, he looked over his menu at Vax and quite plainly said, “It depends on whether or not you consider wanting to blow you a gross abuse of my power.”

It had been timed perfectly—intentional so, really—as not even a minute after Percy had said it, their waitress arrived at the table. She was dark-haired and pretty and she smiled at them as she said, “Hello, welcome to O’Reilly’s. Can I get either of you something to drink?”

Vax was so tongue-tied that he couldn't even answer the woman. Where normally, he might have flirted harmlessly, this time, all he could do was cough, clearing his throat, turning a little red in the process.

“I’ll just have a water, thank you.” Percy looked over at Vax innocently. “And you, Vax? Are you sure you don’t want an appetizer?”

“Water. Potato skins,” Vax managed, slowly getting himself somewhat under control.

“Got it! I’ll be right back with your drinks,” the waitress said cheerfully, and then was gone, her ponytail bouncing behind her.

Percy returned to perusing his menu. He still wasn’t sold on anything, though he was leaning towards the pork chops. “Alright?” he asked Vax.

"Fucker," Vax shot back, though his lips were twitching with a grin.

That made Percy's own barely contained grin break free. "Completely. I'm terrible. You should know this by now."

"I should," Vax agreed, but shot the other teen a knowing look. "It's not. By the way. An abuse of power."

"Oh." A blush crawled up Percy's neck which completely ruined the flirtatious air he'd been going for earlier. "Excellent."

Percy looked back to his menu. "What're you thinking of getting?"

Vax tapped his menu thoughtfully against the table. "The honey chipotle ribs with truffle fries.”

Percy smiled politely at their waitress as she returned with their waters and set the glasses down in front of them. "Potato skins will be out in a few minutes. I'll take your order then if you're order." She left with that, hurrying off to a table that was waving her down.

"That sounds good," Percy told Vax. "God, I can't remember the last time I ate at a restaurant.”

Vax's stomach twisted. He remembered that feeling. Though his father had taken him a few times since, it was still a bit foreign. "I should have brought you sooner."

His brow furrowed, Percy put his menu down. "Why do you say that?”

"Be...cause you should have been to a restaurant before now. I should have..." Vax frowned. "It's been months.”

The confusion softened into a understanding that made Percy's chest warm. Of course, that was what Vax was worried about. His Vax with a heart that was far too big. "Don't do that to yourself. Between being a mutant, attending a secret school, and being separated from your sister, you've had a lot going on."

"Maybe," Vax agreed. "Still, I'm sorry.”

Percy put his hand on Vax’s leg just over his ankle. “It’s alright. You’ve done plenty for me already.”

"You're doing plenty for me now," Vax murmured, trying not to let his face heat too much. Percy's hand on him - anywhere - following the declaration of what he wanted to do when they got home was doing slightly uncomfortable things to him.

Percy’s eyebrows lifted in surprise as a fresh blush pinked his cheeks. Hesitantly, he slipped his thumb under the cuff of Vax’s jeans and started making slow circles around his ankle. “There’s a lot I’d do for you.”

"You know you don't have to, yeah? It's not expected..." Vax breathed out.

"I know." Emboldened by Vax's reaction, Percy flirted, "I'd do it here for you, you know. Now. Underneath the table, kneeling on the filthy floor.”

Vax couldn't help his arousal at the mental image - the simmering heat low in his belly, jeans tight enough just to be a little uncomfortable. He licked his lips, eyes dark in the dim atmosphere of the pub. "You're a bastard, you know that?”

“I do,” Percy replied with a please sort of smirk, his thumb still caressing Vax’s skin. “An utter one, actually. I think you like it.”

"Yeah," Vax admitted quietly. "I do.”

Percy was momentarily struck speechless. He’d only been joking and hadn’t expected Vax to answer so seriously, never mind so sweetly. “Vax’ildan—” he started, but was interrupted by the arrival of their waitress with their potato skins.

“Are you both ready to place your order?” she asked, smiling brightly.

Vax blinked, looking up, and had to clear his throat again just to carefully reply, "Yeah, eh, the ribs, with the fries?" Hopefully she wouldn't notice how goddamned aroused he was.

“The apple-spiced porkchops, please.” Percy’s thumb stopped its caressing, but he left his hand where it was. He was feeling bold and there was something immensely thrilling in knowing he was getting such a reaction from Vax.

“Got it!” their waitress said as she scribbled down their order. “Let me know if you need anything else!” She tucked the notepad into her pocket and left.

As soon as she was gone, Vax focused his gaze on Percy again, licking his lips. "I'm going to make it through this dinner, get you back to our room, then pay you back for every single thing you're doing to me right now. You realize that, yeah?”

Percy stopped in the middle of pulling a potato skin onto his plate and looked over at Vax, a jolt of heat racing through him. God, the way Vax was looking at him… He shivered. “Are you going to punish me?”

"Oh no," Vax smirked, his gaze smoldering. "Only rewards tonight.”

Percy had to think very hard about the periodic table to prevent something awkward happening at the dinner table. “I’m looking forward to it.”

The rest of the meal passed without incident. Or rather, they ate their dinner, had the kind of conversations people on date’s had, and Percy only now and again looked at Vax like he wanted to eat him for dessert rather than whatever chocolate concoction was on the menu. He paid for their dinner, thanked their waitress, and then they were out the door. As soon as they were out of sight, his hand sought Vax’s just as Vax sought his and they slipped into shadow as Vax transported them back to their room.

Hardly before they'd stripped themselves of the shadow's veil, Vax was pushing Percy up against one of the closet doors, kissing him with an eager, hungry excitement. His hands had Percy's shirt up to his pits, feeling him up with a recklessness that was so very much Vax'ildan.

The hunger in it took Percy's breath away. He pressed up into Vax's touch, hands buried in his hair as he kissed him back, trying to give back as much as he got. Nervousness and excitement knotted and rolled inside him, and his heart pounded against his chest.

Vax slithered out of his own shirt in between kisses, then stroked his hands over Percy's sides, then down over his ass. "Do you know what you do to me?"

Percy's hands ran down Vax's bare chest hungrily and his fingers hooked over the band of his pants to pull him in closer. "I have a feeling you're going to enlighten me.”

Laughing softly, Vax pressed against him, kissing him, and then they were covered in shadow again, vertigo taking them both before they suddenly materialized on the bed, with Vax carefully stripping Percy of his shirt. "Maybe I should simply show you.”

God, did Vax know what he did to him? Percy could be undone by a smile, or a look. And when Vax touched him? That brilliant brain he prided himself on so much broke in two. “I am more of a hands-on learner.”

"You know, I've noticed that about you," Vax grinned, sitting up to straddle Percy's chest as he tossed the shirt away.

Percy stroked his hands up Vax’s stomach and chest, then laced them behind his neck to pull him down to him. “Have you?”

Vax nudged his lips against Percy’s, sliding his fingers into the other boy’s hair. “And I want to notice so much more.”

Percy tilted his head to close the distance between them in a kiss and let him self get lost in letting Vax do exactly that.