Jerome's Bunk

"Good"I snapped and rolled on my stomach to look the other way. Stupid son of Apollo and stupid socially awkward me. Just accept it and let him take you out. Yeah, you don't trust him, so what? It's how all other people do it! But of course, I forgot, your different. Geez, even my inner voice was a sarcastic little b***h.

The son of Apollo walked up to the son of Cupid and started talking. After about five minutes of touching and making plans, Jerome came back and sat down on his bunk with a small smile on his face. At least he wouldn't be bored on Friday night.

"There, happy?"

"Me? Just peachy"I replied in a overly excited and happy tone. "If there's even one person here that can tolerate you enough to go on a date with you, congrats to them. They deserve a freaking medal or whatever"

Jerome knitted his eyebrows. "You should be happy. You don't have to worry about me creeping on you anymore. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"A date won't fix your stalker tendencies"I shrugged, toying with the loose end of his blanket. "But at least you'll stop begging me to date you now"

Jerome laughed, shaking his head. "You're right about that. Don't have to worry about me trying to get you to go on a date with me." He stood up and stretched again. "We're eating at Pomona's on Friday at 7:00. I'm pretty excited about it. He has a really nice ass."

"That, we can both agree on"I chuckled and shook my head, sitting up and turning to face him. "Try not to get distracted by it when crossing the street, blood is terribly difficult to clean"

"Yeah. Too bad your ass isn't like that." Jerome said nonchalantly and looked over at the son of Cupid and waved. He waved back. "Hm, damn. Anyway, you're off the hook."

"My ass is perfectly fine, thank you"I huffed and stood up, streching my arms above my head before sighing. "Oh well, I guess my job here is done then. See you around, Jerry"I waved and quickly made my escape to go sulk alone at my bunk at ease.

Jerome laughed and waved goodbye to Robin before making his way over to the son of Cupid.

My life had finally settled down. J was back in the Fifth and our albeit weird friendship was still intact. We had even adopted a new routine of training together every Wednesday afternoon. It was now normal of me to drop by unannounced for a sparring match with the young archer.

What was not normal was for him to be packing up when I came by. "You know, I should at least get a heads up before you move back in with me."I teased him as I leaned against the wall by his bed, raising an eyebrow in question.

"A quest? Wow"I replied with as much enthusiasm as I could mster. "Pompeii, huh? That's pretty cool, I guess. Great, so, uh, I'll see you when you get back, mister Heroic. Oh and, pack another jacket, you never know"I added in what I hoped was a helpful advice before backing away. Wow, great way to say goodbye to your crush that may die in a few days. Good job!

I stared at him speechless, pretty sure my mouth was hanging open but too stunned to care. "No, J, no 'just in case', I won't have it. I-I'll keep it for you, kay? I-I'll keep it safe until you come back."I rushed out as soon as I managed to process everything. Afraid of what he might find, I turned my eyes down to gaze at his hand holding mine, without pulling away though. If you come back. It's an if, not a when. "Just... Be careful? Please?"I asked quietly as Iooked back up to him again, eyes wide and shiny with unshed tears. Don't forget the if. If.

Jerome moistened his lips. He knew that he couldn't make promises like that especially with what they could be faced with. He looked down into Robin's eyes and slowly leaned in. He kissed his lips only briefly before slowly pulling away. "...If...If I die, just know that I never stopped liking you. Ever." The son of Apollo wrapped his arms around Robin and pulled him into a hug.

For once, my now normal blush didn't appear on my face. Instead I felt wetness on my cheeks instead of heat as I was pulled into a hug. Something broke inside me at the prospect of never seeing the person who had become my best friend and so much more in such a short period of time again. And for the first time since the accident, I cried. Not the loud, exaggerated sobs you see on movies, no. Silent tears of remorse of what had never managed to be and fear of what could possibly never be. "I like you too"I whispered, my words muffled since I had my face pressed up so hard against his shirt I could hardly breathe. "But you won't die. Don't you dare die on me, Jerome Clarke, or I will hunt your spirit down and torture you, you hear me?"

"I'll think about it"I chuckled, wiping my face on the sleeve of my jacket as I turned my attention to the mess on the bed. With a dramatic sigh I snapped my fingers, the clothes folding themeslves and one by one entering the travel bag. In an afterthought, I snapped my fingers again, choosing to surprise Jerome. "I really can't imagine what you would do without me."I laughed, trying to return to a more calm and playful ambiance.

"That's alright. No one has the exact same powers, you know?"I shrugged as I saw my daggers flying in through the open window with the corner of my eye, catching them behind my back in order to hide them from Jerome. "Uh, so, I was thinking.... Since you're giving me your lyre for safe keeping, maybe I could give you something as well?"

"N-no!"I exclaimed, the familiar blush covering my face. "I, um... Look, I can't let you die out on that quest cause I like you and you're the only one worthy in this stupid place we call a home but you're an archer which means you have to fight from a distance and I can't rely on the others to help you if it comes to close combat."I rushed out, suddenly very embarrassed about my idea, and handed him my daggers, eyes firmly locked on the floor. "I've shown you how to use them and, if it comes to it, promise me you'll just run to safety."