Third Person's POV.
It was the weekend, and the apartment was a haven of domestic tranquility. After a lazy breakfast prepared by Percy, they had spent the mid-morning in the building's pool. Gemini, thanks to Percy's patient, determined tutoring, could now swim laps confidently, his fear of the water completely dissolved.
They were now on the sun-drenched terrace overlooking the city.
"Can I put on my shirt now?" Gemini asked, trying to subtly reach for the discarded garment draped over the back of the wrought-iron lounge chair.
Percy narrowed his brows in warning, the gesture completely halting Gemini's movement. "Stay still, Bunny. The light and the angle are perfect right now."
After lunch, Percy had suddenly announced he wanted to paint Gemini. After many protests, Gemini had given in, but only on the condition that he was fully clothed. Percy, however, was having none of it. After a long, ridiculous debate, they had settled on only wearing swimming trunks—Gemini was sitting on the lounge chair, shirtless with a book in hand (an unsuccessful attempt at looking busy), while Percy worked intently at an easel a few feet away.
Gemini couldn't help but feel intensely self-conscious as Percy's intense green eyes gazed at him with such focused intensity, moving only to guide the brush. Anytime Percy looked at him like that, Gemini got all tingly and flustered and couldn't think straight.
"I thought you don't paint people?" Gemini prodded, needing to break the electric silence. "What brought this on? I've only ever seen you do just blueprints and building concepts."
Percy dipped his brush in a rich shade of azure before answering. "I didn't paint people, not because I couldn't, but because no human being had ever inspired me to paint before. So I just stuck with drawing buildings and designing yachts. They are predictable subjects."
"And I inspire you?" Gemini prodded, a blush creeping up his chest.
Percy nodded, a slow, genuine smile lifting the corner of his mouth as he briefly glanced at his boyfriend. "You're beautiful. Utterly." He paused, setting the brush down to look directly at Gemini. "Wanna know what I thought the very first time I saw you?"
Gemini swallowed thickly but nodded regardless, his heart beginning to beat faster against his ribs.
"I thought you were the most ethereal being I'd ever seen," Percy confessed, his voice low and serious. "I didn't think it was even possible to have such beautiful blue eyes in real life. I honestly thought I'd imagined the whole thing up to the moment you ran away." He picked up the brush again, his gaze intense. "And then I saw you again, the second time that day, and I couldn't help but tell you to wait after your shift."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that," Gemini said, nodding vigorously. "I was so scared when you told me not to leave. I thought you wanted to get back at me for waking you up in the library. I thought I was going to be in serious trouble."
That made Percy laugh—a deep, booming sound that was pure affection. "And?" he asked, leaning back slightly to assess the canvas.
"And what?" Gemini asked, confused.
"And what happened after you realized I wasn't trying to hurt you?"
Gemini blushed deeply, looking down at the book in his lap. "Honestly? I didn't know what to think at the time. I was terrified of you, but also... profoundly drawn to you. It was a very confusing time for me. It felt like fighting gravity."
Percy's expression softened with genuine regret. "I'm sorry about scaring you. I know I should have communicated my intentions better. But the truth is," he confessed, "I don't think I even knew what my own intentions were back then. I was just confused as to why I suddenly wanted to be near you all the time. So I just did the obvious thing: I made sure I kept you close."
He dipped his brush again, painting the subtle curve of Gemini's clavicle. "And then there was that thing with my insomnia. Suddenly, I could actually sleep without my medication when you were around. That's when I knew it was serious, far more than just a passing interest."
"When did you fall for me?" Gemini asked, his eyes soft.
Percy paused, tilting his head as he considered the question deeply. "Probably from the first moment we met, honestly. Penelope noticed it that night we went for dinner. She called it a 'date,' even though I told her vehemently it wasn't a date." He smiled at the memory. "But if I'm to pin point the moment I realized I was irrevocably in love with you, it would be that Valentine's Day when you didn't want to spend the day with me. That distance, that hurt—that's when I understood I wanted more, permanently."
Gemini winced. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I thought you would bring someone over, and it would really hurt me to see you with someone else. I guess I was trying to protect myself."
Percy shook his head, a teasing smile playing on his lips. "It's fine. At least I know how wonderfully possessive you are now."
The teasing hit its mark, and the blush spread from Gemini's chest up his neck. "Percy! I told you not to say things like that. I swear, if you say something like that again, I'm putting my shirt on and this artistic masterpiece is over."
They were in the middle of this intimate, teasing exchange when the doorbell suddenly cut through the quiet afternoon air, making them both jump. They looked at each other, identical expressions of surprise crossing their faces.
"Penelope?" they both mouthed simultaneously.
Percy stood, shrugging on a linen shirt. When he opened the door, Penelope was indeed standing there, but she wasn't alone. Standing beside her, beaming, was Ohio.