Once and for All- Part Three Of The Conclusion To The United Series

Chapter Five

Jason's POV:

I'm breathing heavily and shakily when I wake up again.

"Jason, calm down. It's okay." A soft, soothing voice calls from next to me, but I don't listen to him. My vision is blurry even after having it healed back to 20/20 by John. I can barely process where I am or what's happening. All I can think about is the vision; Max, Setràkus Ra, Hecate, the weapon and the void.

She fell. Setràkus Ra pushed Max in and she fell...

At that thought, my heartbeat quickens and I'm struggling wildly to get away from whoever's next to me. He holds me down by my shoulders, trying to calm me down, but I don't want to calm down. I want to be on the Mariot, right next to Max. I want to make sure that my vision never actually happens.

"Jason, it's okay." The voice calls to me again and now he's face-to-face with me. I immediately recognize the coal black eyes and messy black hair. Ivan, and he looks worried. He places one of his hands on my cheek and stares me in the eye.

"Jason, just calm down. Just breathe." He orders me calmly, but I can't seem to do it. No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to make myself stop breathing so heavily or keep my heart from beating so quickly.

I let out a small gasp, trying to get some air. Ivan shakes his head and pulls me closer to him, forcing my head to rest on his bare chest. The only thing I can hear now is his heartbeat.

"You hear that, Jason?" Ivan asks me, one of his hands on my shoulder and the other wrapped around my back, trying to keep me as close to him as possible. I nod my head and try to take another breath.

"Just focus on that." Ivan softly whispers into my ear, stroking my hair and gently rubbing my back. I do as he says and focus on his heartbeat; calm and peaceful. My vision starts to slowly get less blurry and my breathing and heartbeat slow down. I take a deep breath but keep my head resting on Ivan's chest. I just want to listen to this; to his heartbeat.

Ivan softly kisses my head and I feel more relaxed than I have in months. This is what I want. I just want Ivan to hold me and kiss me, to calm me down when I wake up from something like that.

Ivan reaches for something and grabs a fuzzy, warm blanket and wraps it around my shoulders. He also grabs a full water bottle from the nightstand next to us, opens it and tips it towards my mouth.

"Drink." He orders me and I don't refuse. I take a few sips and pull away and Ivan closes the bottle and sets it down on the floor. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my head again.

I look up at him and stare into his ink black eyes. So dark they could pierce the night itself yet warm enough to melt ice. And I notice something other than the beauty of his black eyes- the look inside them. It's a look I've only seen a couple of times.

Scratch that. It's only a look I see on him when he's looking at me.

Or at Max.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when Ivan speaks up again.

"Are you okay?" He asks me, his hand that's wrapped around my shoulders under my chin. He softly traces his thumb across my cheek and I can feel my heartbeat quicken again. I nod my head but stay completely silent. I know that if I try to speak up it'll just come out as weird, incomprehensible sounds- just a bunch of white noise.

But I so badly want to say no. I'm not okay. I just watched a vision where Max died and Setràkus Ra got ahold of the most powerful weapon in the universe- a weapon so powerful it can defeat the gods themselves. And now there's Ivan. I'm one hundred percent certain about it now- I like him. I really do like him. But I don't know what to do about it. I'm not sure if I should tell him or keep it in. I'm not sure if I should go with him or stay with Piper. She is my girlfriend, after all, and I love her. But Ivan makes me feel something I've never felt in my entire life. I don't know how to explain it or what it is exactly, and that's probably why it's so confusing and conflicting. Once I understand it, I might be able to make my decision. But not now. Not after what I just saw with Max and Setràkus Ra. Now's not the time for this stuff.

I look back up at Ivan's soft, concerned eyes and my heart soars higher than the clouds. He smiles warmly down at me and my eyes flicker down to his lips for a brief second. If I just lean in close enough I can make my decision right now. I won't have to choose or stay confused for any longer. If I can just get it over with...

I can't. I can't cheat on Piper. I told her that I'd never leave her and I have to keep that promise. She'd never leave me, and I have to do the same.

"Thank you." I whisper to Ivan and he smiles down at me again.

"Anytime, Jason." He replies, placing his hand under my chin again. At first I think he's going to kiss me, but he just softly grabs my shoulders and lays me down on the floor, my head over a pillow again.

"Try to go back to sleep, Jason." Ivan tells me, leaning in and kissing my cheek for the third time now. My face heats up as he gets up and lays down a few feet away from me, exactly where he was before. I stare at his bare back for what seems like minutes before my mind wanders back to the vision I had.

I can hear Max's screams ringing in my ears, I can see her falling down the void and the bright white light engulfing the whole room. The most vivid thing stuck in my head is Max's last word as she fell- 'Dad'. Her last word was calling out to Setràkus Ra, calling him her dad after being betrayed and killed by him.

I can feel my heartbeat quickening all over again. I shoot back up to a sitting position when my breathing starts getting out of control.

"I-Ivan." I stammer in a panicked tone. Within seconds Ivan has his arms wrapped around me again, softly whispering comforting things into my ear.

"Shh, shh. It's okay. You're okay, Jason." He whispers to me, placing my head on his chest again. I listen for his heartbeat and it's beating a bit quicker than before. He's scared. He's actually scared for me. I grab onto his waist and get even closer to him.

At that thought, my breathing slows down a bit and Ivan helps with the rest. Before I know it, I'm perfectly fine again.

After a few more moments, Ivan sighs and looks down at the floor where I'm sleeping. I don't want to try to sleep. I'm just going to remember the vision and start panicking, then Ivan will have to calm me down again. Apparently, Ivan's thinking the same thing.

"You don't want to try again, do you?" He asks me. I shake my head no, tightening my grip on his waist. Ivan thinks for a moment before getting up and grabbing his pillow and blanket from the floor a few feet away from me. He places his pillow right next to mine and lays me down on the floor again.

"What are you...?" I trail off as Ivan lays down right next to me, his face just inches away from mine.

"Turn around." Ivan orders me and I immediately turn around so my back is facing him. Once I do, Ivan wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer to him so my head is right up against his chest, just close enough so I can hear his heartbeat.

"If you get scared again, just remember I'm right here." Ivan whispers to me, taking my hand in his and intertwining our fingers. I can just barely control my breathing from all this. Ivan is sleeping right next to me. He's basically spooning me and holding my hand.

My gods. If this is what happens after every vision, give me a million of them.

But for now, I'm finally calm again as I slip into a peaceful sleep next to Ivan.

Jason x Ivan? Comment your thoughts please!