(Available for reading on AO3 as well /with some graphics/. Link on my profile!)

Title:: Square End

Author:: AislinCeivun

Fandom:: Atlantis (BBC)

Pairing:: Jason/Pythagoras

Rated:: NC-17

Genre:: Angst/Drama, Romance, Friendship

Disclaimer:: Nope, still can't take any credits for the show – it's all BBC property.

Warnings:: post – Hunger Pangs, slash, special ability – which at times kinda acts like sex pollen, friends to lovers, slow build, slow burn, pining, UST, masturbation, big gay crisis, bisexuality, self-esteem issues, body image issues, Hurt/Comfort, first time, smut, post 1x11

A/N:: Sequel to Circle of Contemplation, last instalment to the Shapes of Tomorrow series.

There are quite a few shout-outs to stuff from previous parts so refreshing them is recommended.

Million thanks to Lauren/hercolourwasred for still taking the time to beta-read for me! You're a goddess~ (L)

Summary::

With the lingering effects of Hekate's curse still sticking around, Jason and Pythagoras find themselves in a situation where closing their eyes against their mutual attraction is no longer an option.

Square End

1.

The Situation

.

Pythagoras couldn't tear his eyes away from the shining droplet of grape juice that was sitting teasingly on Jason's lower lip. It had been quivering there for at least twenty seconds now, as if the sole reason of its existence was to make Pythagoras unable to recall a single thing about the problem he was supposed to be working on. Jason was listening to Hercules rant about a past adventure of his with an amused expression on his face, totally oblivious to the fact that he was subjecting Pythagoras to unbearable torture. Minutes passed until Jason started laughing and the droplet finally fell to its death. Thank the gods, at last!

However, if Pythagoras thought this was the end of his suffering, he was sadly mistaken.

"Oops," Jason murmured, raising wet fingers and smearing the remains of the sticky liquid across his mouth. His lips were soon the colour of ripe grapes, plump and tempting, and when even a pink tongue darted out to lick up the mess, Pythagoras couldn't suppress a groan.

Of course they had heard him.

"Is everything alright?" Jason asked.

"Yes, of course." The mathematician forced his gaze to fall on the parchment spread out in front of him. "It's just… I can't seem to get this problem right."

Never mind that he couldn't remember what theory he was even testing right now. From the moment Jason had returned from washing up wearing only a pair of raggedy trousers that sat dangerously low on his hips, with his curly hair soaking wet and dripping water onto his shoulders, Pythagoras had been fighting an exceptionally stubborn hard-on. Even though he had got his fair share of drooling at sight of Jason's body in various unclad states over the course of the past few days, he still found himself affected by it.

He closed his eyes, trying to shove the image of a confused and naked Jason covered in feathers out of his mind, and stroked his fingers over the parchment lying on his desk.

Jason didn't notice Pythagoras' inner turmoil.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"No, there isn't. Don't mind me."

"Yeah, don't mind him," Hercules grunted, waving a hand at Pythagoras in a way that was rather familiar to the mathematician. It was a gesture his friend used often when he had enough of rants about geometry and wanted to express his general not-too-flattering opinion about the subject. Pythagoras had long learnt not to take offence. "I'm just getting to the good part. So there was this lass, sweet as you can get, thinking I'm a wealthy merchant on the verge of proposing to her. And then I thought, why break her heart? Sure, her father wanted to skin me alive, but she knew nothing about that! So I just went to her and…"

Pythagoras didn't pay any attention to Hercules' story. After trying to focus his thoughts on the parchment for several minutes and failing miserably, he resumed watching Jason from the corner of his eye. It was a bad – very bad – idea, he was aware, but he couldn't help himself. He'd seen plenty of people eating grapes before, but none of them mesmerised him like Jason did.

Pythagoras swallowed around the hard lump in his throat Jason reached for another grape. His friend didn't eat grapes like normal people – gods, no. He pressed the berries to his mouth, broke the skin with his teeth and then sucked the juicy jelly out before tossing the remains in his mouth. It would have been a fairy distractive act to watch even if Pythagoras had been deaf, but with all the happy, slurping noises Jason added to the sight, it was outright maddening. And it had been going on for at least half an hour.

Pythagoras wondered which would run out sooner: the grapes in the bowl or his self-control.

Right now, the grapes appeared to be winning.

It certainly didn't help that Pythagoras was way too fascinated by the elegant curves of Jason's sticky fingers as they held the grapes It was far too easy to close his eyes and imagine the same fingers threading through his sweat-damp hair, cradling his face, brushing tears away from his cheeks. The phantom feeling of Jason's comforting touches stayed with him all the time, like they had taken root in his body, and Pythagoras often found himself reliving those moments of comfort. He had experienced them for only a couple of days while he nearly broke from the resurfacing of his old guilt, shame and terror… and yet it was apparently enough for him to develop an unhealthy addiction to Jason's close proximity.

Sometimes, he woke up at nights feeling unease without the heat of Jason's body soaking into his side. He hadn't suffered from nightmares anymore, yet he wished for Jason's hand to stroke his cheek and pull him close. Pythagoras wanted to bury his face into Jason's neck and inhale deeply to see if he really had the scent of peace and safety or it was just something Pythagoras' mind had come up with. He wanted to feel kisses being pressed freely to his temple again.

A shiver raked through his body, and Pythagoras tore his eyes away, looking down at the desk.

The desire for these things was not a new development; if he wanted to be perfectly honest, he'd been wishing for them since day one. But the events following Arcas' reappearance had consequences Pythagoras didn't expect at all, and Jason spoiled him for good. It was difficult enough to keep a leash on his feelings even without knowing just how tender Jason could be, how safe Pythagoras felt in his arms or how calming it was to lean against Jason's chest.

Pythagoras had a hard time keeping his feelings in check after the incident with the Furies had come to pass – but even so he was unprepared for the utter disaster that was a cursed Jason. Because, really? The gods must have been determined to drive Pythagoras to an early grave, otherwise they wouldn't have tried to tempt him with a situation where he was forced to watch over a very naked Jason more times than he cared to admit. (Even now, with his eyes closed it was awfully easy to recall the sight of an embarrassed Jason stumbling into the house covered in dirt and feathers, or reaching for clothes from behind a rusty cabinet while averting his eyes.)

And the worst thing in all this? The cruel reality of Jason's love for Princess Ariadne being shoved directly into Pythagoras's face. Hard. So hard, in fact, that Pythagoras felt like his heart had been broken in two and now the tiny shards pressed into his lungs with every breath he took. His heart ached whenever he remembered Jason's frantic pleas not to tell the princess anything, or how asking about her was the first thing that came out of his mouth after Pythagoras cured him with the help of Hercules.

It hurt. Jealousy took deep roots behind his ribs and was busy tearing his soul apart with every waking hour. It burnt with the fierceness of fresh lava, keeping him awake at nights.

No matter how much Jason obviously cared for Pythagoras, he was in love with the princess – and there was not a damn thing Pythagoras could do about that.

Laughter filled his ears and Pythagoras looked up, glancing toward the table. After what happened with Medusa, it pleased his heart to see Hercules laughing again but it irked him that he wasn't able to join his friends whole-heartedly.

As if sensing his gaze, Jason turned back and looked straight at Pythagoras. The mathematician averted his eyes and dropped his gaze to the parchment once again, trying his best to look like he was deep in thoughts.

Well, he was – just not about the problem he was supposed to be working on.

His cheeks warmed up when he could still feel Jason's eyes on him even after several moments had passed, but he stubbornly refused to acknowledge his friend's searching gaze. Instead, he bent down and scribbled down some equations, humming softly for added effect. After a while the warm tingling under his skin stopped, letting him know that Jason finally turned back to Hercules.

Pythagoras' fingers stopped short on the parchment, and he stifled a quiet sigh.

This was something that happened a lot recently, and frankly, Pythagoras was fed up with it. Jason's obvious concern was nice, but it made everything so much harder for him!

Ever since they'd put the Furies-incident behind themselves, Jason was looking out for Pythagoras way more than before. His eyes followed the blond man, he asked after him, and whenever Pythagoras woke up from a nightmare about his past (which, thankfully, was happening less and less now) Jason was somehow always awake. He never asked questions and never offered to come and sleep with him anymore, but his willingness to comfort oozed from his body almost visibly.

Pythagoras knew he only had himself to blame. During his breakdown, he had revealed a lot more about himself than he had intended and it was little wonder that things couldn't go back to the exact way they had been before. If Jason concluded that Pythagoras was weak and needed constant care, someone to worry about him… then as humiliating as it was, Pythagoras couldn't do anything to counter it now. He only hoped that someday in the future, he could prove it to Jason that he wasn't that weak.

He hoped that one day, he would believe it himself.

The change was less obvious but still there in Hercules, too. His old friend was genuinely mortified to learn about all the secrets Pythagoras had buried deep inside and he felt betrayed. Their exchange in the oasis was one of the most difficult conversations Pythagoras had ever had; he had never wanted Hercules to learn about his past, but it was terrible to realise how much he'd hurt his friend with his silence.

Hercules was considerate. After learning of the abuse Pythagoras suffered by the hands of his father, he made an effort not to appear drunk in the mathematician's presence. Well, that was until the tragedy with Medusa happened and Hercules fell so hard into despair that Pythagoras feared the man might crumble completely under the weight of it. Pythagoras had known him for many years and he never believed him capable feeling such heartache. True, he never really thought that his friend's relationship with Medusa could work but… he hadn't ever imagined it would end like this, either.

Hercules numbed himself with alcohol and though it made Pythagoras wary, he couldn't blame Hercules for it. He was just worried.

Time passed, things had started to come together once again and their lives seemingly went back to normal. Only, all three of them had been aware of all the pain lurking behind their strong, stubborn fronts, waiting to spill out. Hercules, Pythagoras… even Jason, though he was the best at hiding his problems. But Pythagoras was no fool. He knew something was going on with Jason, and though he couldn't wrap his head around it, he had a feeling that sooner or later the man will trip over the edge.

He just hoped that when that happened, Pythagoras would be able to offer his help and comfort to his friend like Jason had for him.

"Pythagoras?"

Snapping his head up, the mathematician looked up sharply. He never realised how late it had gotten until he blinked and noticed all the shadows that fell on his desk. A quick glance at the window confirmed that the sun was setting, and he had been lost in his grim thoughts for more than an hour.

Hercules and Jason were watching him with odd expressions, and he tried to cover up his embarrassment with a small cough. "Yes?"

"You've been very quiet, and I swear that frown will become permanent if you keep it up any longer," Jason said, straightening his back. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Pythagoras shook his head, tried to force a smile on his lips. "No. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Hm. You should lie down and rest, then."

"I will." Pythagoras pushed his chair back and got up, crossing the distance to his friends. "And? What are you guys doing?"

"It makes my heart swell to know that I can have you undivided attention when I tell you to listen." Hercules crossed his arms and squinted up at Pythagoras with an overly gruff expression. The young man might've fallen for it had it not for his many years of experience and the fact that a smug smile quirked up the corners of Hercules' mouth. "Really, just for this, I should leave you out of it. Or collect your payment for myself. Gods know, I deserve it for the length I go for you!"

"Wait, you lost me. Did you manage to get a job for us?"

"Aye, and an easy pie at that. Pays well, too. Well. Concerning…" He shared a look with Jason, who stifled a chuckle and shook his head.

Pythagoras raised an eyebrow and looked from one man to the other. "What?"

Jason grinned up at Pythagoras. "Romance in the night!" he sing-songed. "We actually have to deliver a love token. Iole's father doesn't allow suitors near her, so Nileas wants us to sneak into their house at night and leave his present on her night desk. Should be easy enough."

"Iole? Isn't she the daughter of Hypatos? The wealthy merchant who lives in a fortress of a house near the palace?" Pythagoras refused to laugh when Jason's face fell faster than a drunken Hercules on the stairs. "I heard that he is a hard, merciless man who served in King Minos' army for many years, and his daughter is one of the most well-guarded maidens in Atlantis, second only to the princess herself. And this Nileas fellow of yours wants us to break into his house?"

Jason's mouth fell open and judging by the horrified expression on his face, Hercules had not privy him to these details.

"Hercules!"

"What?" Caught red-handed, Hercules shot a dark look at Pythagoras before turning back to Jason. "It's an honest, well-paying job. And we need the money! I was starting to turn into skins and bones and neither of you could come out with a solution, so either you 'fess up whatever supplies you still have or shut your holes and do the job."

Pythagoras and Jason remained silent, thought they shared a long, suffering look. If he noticed, Hercules didn't seem to mind it.

"I tell you, it's a great offer. We have sneaked around before. Fought off guards plenty of times. Hell, it can't be harder than getting into palace now, does it? And it probably won't take us more than an hour. Maybe two, but that's pushing it. And Nileas is willing to pay twenty drachmas!"

That was a lot of money. Pythagoras's frown deepened; it couldn't have been an 'easy pie of a job' if Nileas would pay so much for it.

"Okay, okay," Jason said, raising his hands. "We get it. Just… next time, give a guy some warning, alright? I prefer knowing these things before invading the house of some crazy, powerful daddy."

"So you want to go with it?" Pythagoras asked, surprised.

"Well, at this point there really isn't much we can do. I mean, Hercules is right: we do need the money. I don't want to get so close to starving again that I might desecrate another shrine or something."

He said it with a small shrug and a tentative smile, yet a shiver run through Pythagoras' spine. "Fine. If you think it's a good idea, I trust your decision. But surely it's not a three-man job?"

"Actually, it is," Hercules said. He sat back and scrubbed his jaw, scraping one day's worth of stubble around his smug grin. "Men such as Hypatos have really huge houses. It shouldn't be too hard to climb the walls but the windows are so high up Jason will probably need someone to prop him up. Cue, me. And if I'm busy playing step-stool for him then someone else has to take watch and guard the place until he returns." He pointed his gaze at Pythagoras and raised an eyebrow.

Jason didn't let Pythagoras react. "Why am I the one only one who has to go inside?"

"Well you're the acrobatic one, aren't you? And would you rather Pythagoras went with you just to watch your back as you work? Come on, don't be a baby!"

"Don't worry, Jason," Pythagoras said, turning to his friend. "Whatever happens, we won't leave you there."

"Actually," Hercules interrupted, "if something does happen it would make more sense to just leave him there and go back for him later when no one expects it." At the glare of his friends, he shrugged innocently. "What? It's true."

"Okay, forget it. When does he want us to deliver this… love token?"

"Tomorrow night."

Pythagoras nodded. "Alright. Then I suggest we all go and see the place tomorrow before making plans. It wouldn't do good to attempt this without certain preparations."

They all agreed on that. Pythagoras wasn't entirely happy with this job but even he had to admit that after the disaster they'd made of their last job (thank you for that by the way, cursed Jason) it was little wonder that people had been wary to pay for their services. And though they hadn't been dancing around the edge of starvation this time, he really didn't want to go back there again.

As if on cue, Jason's stomach gave a loud grumble.

Hercules laughed but Pythagoras just said, "Right, it is dinner time. I believe we still have some cheese to go with the bread."

"Bread. Right." Jason closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, shooting a longing looks toward the balcony. "So nice to eat bread while the neighbours are feasting on beef stew."

Pythagoras frowned – he couldn't smell anything like that – but as he started for the kitchen he arrived to an abrupt halt. Jason had started stretching carelessly with his arms thrown up as if trying to reach the ceiling and dear gods the sight was mesmerising. Pythagoras couldn't take his eyes off the man. Still half-naked, muscles flexed and moved under smooth, tanned skin and Pythagoras felt like he'd been slapped in the face by all the gorgeous angles and perfect lines that made up Jason's body. He swallowed hard when his mouth started to water, and a blush crept onto his face when the stirring heat still lingering in his guts flared up with the force of a thousand suns.

He'd seen Jason naked plenty of times. So why in the name of the gods did he still have this reaction?

Jason's eyes snapped open and Pythagoras was pinned down by his friend's gaze. Jason looked surprised and Pythagoras could just imagine the kind of face he must've made – cheeks caught on fire, eyes huge and still, mouth slack and breathing too quick to be normal…

The room suddenly felt too hot for his comfort. He wet his lips and turned on his heels, mumbling something about washing up because he felt filthy, grabbed the bowl and sponge from the shelf and dashed for his room.

As soon as he pulled the curtains back behind him, he put the bowl down and stood unmoving in front of the wardrobe for several minutes. After taking several long, deep breaths to calm his crazy heart, he leant forward and pressed his forehead against the cool wall.

He was on fire, his face aflame with shame and his guts squirming with burning arousal. Turns out he hadn't lied: he was filthy. No righteous man would look at his friend and have such shameless thoughts about him.

Oh but the thoughts Pythagoras had! Even though it was a disgrace, even though Jason was his friend who had already given his heart to someone else… all of that didn't seem to matter. Pythagoras wanted, and there was no stopping these wants.

If only it was bodily pleasures he sought, it would've been easy enough to cure – but he knew for a fact that it wasn't the case.

Once – only once – when he was sorrowful and desperate enough, he went to find Thelamon. The man was the owner of a respectable pleasure house dedicated to offering the company of boys to those seeking it. Pythagoras shared some history with him back from his early days in Atlantis, and although he and Thelamon hadn't talked in three years and the man now had an eromenos, he didn't turn Pythagoras down. They were fully aware that if the truth came to light it would shame both of them (especially Pythagoras, who at his age should have gone there as a patron and not as some begging whore) so they never mentioned it outside the room.

But it was fine, because Thelamon didn't turn him down. Without asking too many sensitive questions, he pushed Pythagoras face-down onto the bed and fucked him like he was desirable. Young Nikides sat at one of the corners with his legs crossed and watched them nonchalantly, sometimes moaning or crying out for the sake of the other residents when Pythagoras couldn't hold back his own noises. They all had their images to maintain, after all.

Release was good and he felt sated after, but his soul? It ached more than before. Pythagoras thanked Thelamon and left a small gift for Nikides, but as he left the establishment, he firmly resolved not to return again. Not until the matters of his heart were settled.

Many months had passed since then and his heart was still not settled. Even now his body was flushed, restless, and he knew there was no release from this.

Pythagoras striped off and washed himself clean with the sponge that was so cold from the water it made goose bumps rise all over his skin, yet the burning heat persisted. He bit on his lip when he pressed the wet sponge against his hard shaft but the touch only made his insides coil and squirm more.

Ridiculous. How could he have so much control over his mind and so little over his body? Pythagoras didn't want to give in to the urges and yet he found himself wrapping a hand around his aching member.

At the first stroke of his hand, his cock twitched hard and heat flared up in his stomach with renewed force. It spread out everywhere in his body like a hot liquid, pulling his skin tighter and leaving him breathless. Near sobbing, he wet his lips and closed his eyes.

Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

He didn't want to think about anything in particular but as soon as he started stroking himself with intent, the ghost feeling of fingers threading through his hair returned, making his scalp tingle. He could feel gentle brushes across his cheeks, a warm palm resting on the side of his neck, dry, soft lips being pressed against his temple. Pythagoras shivered and choked on a ragged moan, then bit on his lip hard to stifle the noise so hard it nearly drew blood.

No matter how casual they had been, he missed Jason's touches. Ever since the last time they had slept together on the night of their return to Atlantis, Jason had avoided physical contact with him. It was understandable – Pythagoras himself told the man that it was embarrassing – but still… Maybe the reason it pained him so much was because Jason was so convincing when saying that it was not something to be embarrassed about, that he didn't mind it. He seemed so sure of himself that against his better judgement, Pythagoras believed him.

It was a mistake.

Now Jason was embarrassed, probably regretted the whole thing and didn't want to touch Pythagoras any longer. He outright flinched whenever Pythagoras so much as brushed against him. Initially, it wasn't that bad – but during the past couple of days following Hekate's curse? It reached a whole new level of awkwardness. It was as if the mere sight of Pythagoras was too much for Jason; now he rarely met his eyes. And although Pythagoras wanted to make it better, he had no idea how to do that. This was just another thing to be added to the pile of regrets he already had.

Pythagoras swallowed hard. His eyes were stinging, and he felt so terrible he couldn't believe his desire was still persisting. Pleasuring himself didn't feel good. On the physical side, maybe, but it was nowhere near to the bubbling warmth he had shared with Naos in his youth – back then when things like this had been easy and uncomplicated.

If he'd known it would be like this, he would've drowned himself rather than to fell in love.

Trying to focus his thoughts, he recalled lying close to Jason, strong arms being wrapped tight around his hips, warm breath gusting over his cheek. He thought about the way Jason's dark hair curled against his forehead, the warm smile he wore while talking about his father, and the way he looked at Pythagoras when telling him that he wasn't worthless. "You are perfect the way you are," he said.

It was a sentence that Pythagoras had recalled more times than he could remember. He wanted to burn the words into his mind, play them on an endless loop in his head, cradle them to his heart and wrap his soul with them until they melted right into his being so nothing could take them away from him, ever.

"There is nothing wrong with you. There never was. You are perfect the way you are."

He didn't need to think about anything sexual. The memory of Jason's soft touch and earnest voice was enough to take him over the edge. Climax took Pythagoras without preamble and it was harsh, raw and oddly unsatisfying.

Breathing hard, Pythagoras hastily finished cleaning himself up and put on fresh clothes. He waited until the warmth left his cheeks before stepping out of his room.

Darkness fell by the time he returned to his friends, candles lighting up the room. Hercules was already eating but Jason hadn't touched his portion, apparently waiting for Pythagoras to return. The gesture made him smile.

It fell away however the moment Jason let out a thin noise and snapped his head up at the approaching mathematician. The cup he was raising to his mouth fell from his hand, splashing water everywhere.

"Hey! Watch what you're doing, boy!" Hercules growled angrily but Jason didn't pay him any attention. He just stared at Pythagoras with wide eyes… and then flushed bright red.

Fear and worry prickled along Pythagoras' body. What was it? Had he missed a spot? Maybe he was still flushed? They couldn't have any inkling as to what he'd done in his room, could they?

His lips moved but he couldn't find his voice. Hercules kept calling Jason's name until he finally snapped out of whatever shock had come over him.

"Um…" His voice was rough. He turned his head toward the ground, and yes, there it was again – he refused to meet Pythagoras' eyes. "Actually, I'm not that hungry. I think I'll just lie down instead."

Hercules raised his eyebrows. "Now? The sun's just set. It's rather early."

"I know. I know, it's just…" Jason shrugged and raised his head a bit but he didn't get higher than Pythagoras' chin before averting his eyes once again. He shrugged, and Pythagoras felt a sharp pain in his chest when Jason stood up and left without turning back. "Excuse me."

The mathematician kept his eyes on Jason as the man stopped at his corner, got into bed with his back to them and pulled the blankets so high up that only the top of his head was left visible. He didn't move, and after a while Pythagoras turned back to his plate, feeling sick. He had no appetite left.

Hercules tapped the table quietly to get his attention, and when Pythagoras glanced up at him, he gestured toward Jason's still form and spread his arms out in an obvious question. What's wrong with him?

Pythagoras shook his head and refused to voice any of his fears.

xxx

Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit.

Jason pulled the blankets tighter around his body and tried willing his heart to stop beating quite so much. It was a futile attempt; his ribs felt like cracking open from all the crazy drumming that was going on beneath. It certainly didn't help that he felt awful for marching off like that without explaining himself (although how on earth he should've done that without revealing everything was beyond him) because… that hurt look on Pythagoras' face, Christ! It was a terrible thing to see. But Jason couldn't risk staying a second longer. Not with the scent of release sitting so heavy in the air that it made his insides pull into a tight knot of unease.

Pythagoras had just jacked off.

Pythagoras. Had just Jacked. Off.

Which, in itself, was not that shocking – he was a guy, after all. But Jason knew without doubt that his friend had jacked off after spending two solid hours gazing at him with fucking hearts in his eyes like some lovesick teen, practically oozing waves of wantlovedesire and–

Jason bit on his tongue to stop himself from groaning out loud.

Bloody hell, how was he supposed to deal with this? Knowing about Pythagoras' feelings for him had been hard enough to process, yet nothing could ever stay simple, could it? He had to go and do something stupid like getting cursed so he was now stuck with the freaking superhuman senses of a dog. Or werewolf. Or whatever.

No matter how much distance he'd put between them when walking away, he was pretty sure he could've tasted the lingering musk on his tongue if he had done so much as lick his lips. There was no way to describe what he'd felt, what he'd sensed.

Jason had spent a couple of nights running around as a rabid dog but when Pythagoras made the cure for him, he had thought that would be the end of it. But no. For whatever reason, the heightened senses remained.

He hadn't noticed until the first night following the incident. He never turned again but found his body restless – and when the sun set, he was assaulted by a sea of new and strange sensations. Smell, hearing, vision, reflexes… When he hadn't turned into an animal he planned on telling Pythagoras and Hercules about this but as soon as morning came, the weirdness washed away without a trace. Jason figured it was just some lingering post-effect that needed more time to disappear.

Only, his senses sharpened again the next night. Jason freaked out the moment he could hear the mice squirming under the house, smell Hercules' sweat from the next room and see the small wrinkles of exhaustion around Pythagoras' eyes from the other side of the living room.

It was weaker than the night before, though, and that was Jason's clue. Whatever remained of the curse inside him, it was slowly fading away. He was sure that it would pass completely in a few days' time, but that meant he had to struggle through a few nights before that.

He thought it wouldn't be hard. Oh, how wrong he was.

He was damn thankful that he'd come to know of Pythagoras' feelings for him beforehand because he was sure he'd have shat himself from shock if he had learnt it from the near constant stream of heat and desire rolling off of the mathematician. Whenever he was close to Pythagoras, Jason couldn't help but notice how the man's heart-rate picked up, how his breath turned shallow and uneven, how blood crept onto his face and made pink blossom on his cheeks. His gorgeous sky blue eyes turned dark and hazy and his scent, goddamn it! His entire body warmed up and started oozing waves of a strange, heavy something that never failed to make Jason's insides coil tightly. It was a feeling almost like arousal but… not exactly that.

It didn't sit well with Jason that he had no way of knowing if he was like that simply because his body corresponded to Pythagoras' proximity and the heated sensations he gave off, or it was something he was experiencing by himself.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to hurt Pythagoras but he didn't want to reject him, either. Jason came to accept Pythagoras' love for him during the time between The Furies Incident and The Hekate Incident, and he treasured and cherished the feeling. He had had some girlfriends and casual lovers back in London but he didn't think any of them had felt quite this way about him. But that didn't mean Jason was ready to return it. Especially seeing as his feelings toward Ariadne hadn't dimmed, either.

Jason was stalling. He knew it, and Hercules knew it as well. The man called him out on it not long ago; he didn't beat around the bush and had told Jason that he should outright reject Pythagoras if he wasn't capable of returning his feelings.

Jason got mad. He didn't want to do that. He loved Pythagoras. He never had anyone he felt this close to, ever.

But… surely it wasn't romantic love? He couldn't imagine himself sleeping with a man. The thought made his insides curl uncomfortably.

Only… this was Pythagoras. Not the faceless bastard who made Jason's Math lessons a nightmare. This was the brilliant, fragile, strong and gentle man who was awkward and scrawny and had the biggest heart and brightest smile that Jason had ever seen. Who always put others' needs first, who hid his dark demons away, who wanted nothing more than to be loved and accepted.

Jason never thought of himself as the kind of man who wanted to pull another man into his arms but the last few weeks made him realise that he would be perfectly content doing just that to Pythagoras for the rest of eternity. He would be happy to wrap him in his embrace and shield him from all the harm and pain nobody protected him from before.

Up until a few days ago Jason could explain it away as being concerned for his best friend. Then Hekate happened and even with the curse mostly gone, trouble just kept slapping him in the face.

Last night marked the first occasion when Jason looked at Pythagoras and was nearly overcome with the urge to pull him close and kiss his mouth.

The force of that sudden want kicked the breath out of his lungs, and Jason had to mumble an awkward excuse to get away from the mathematician. It did him little good, however; even from his corner of the house he could scent Pythagoras as if he was standing right there beside him. He knew that Pythagoras worried about his odd behaviour and Jason had a suspicion that his friend probably interpreted it as embarrassment, rejection or worse.

Jason wanted to comfort him and reassure him that it was neither… but didn't. Couldn't.

Last night he wanted to kiss Pythagoras because that's what Pythagoras was probably thinking about. Jason remembered that his friend's heart was beating a crazy rhythm, he had held his breath, his body had heated up and started omitting that strange, heavy and intoxicating fragrance… Surely that's why the mood caught Jason and he responded in kind.

But those were not his own emotions. He was responding to Pythagoras' desires because of the lingering effect of Hekate's damned curse. But it wasn't him.

… Or was it?

Jason stifled a groan as he turned around in the bed and pushed his fist hard into the mattress. Glancing up, he noticed how the main room had quietened completely. Hercules' door was closed and Pythagoras, too, had retired for the night. Even though everything was pitch black, Jason could make out the person lying on the bed perfectly. Pythagoras had pulled the curtains of the doorway closed but Jason could still see him playing absently with his fingers. Apparently, he couldn't sleep, either.

Jason felt bad about it. He should have made it clear that his abrupt departure had nothing to do with Pythagoras; that the problem lay solely with Jason.

Had he been in his right mind, Jason would have got up from the bed and gone to Pythagoras, reassuring him that he shouldn't blame himself for the odd situation they've found themselves in. But Jason couldn't bring himself to do it. Not until he sorted out this mess on his own.

His greatest worry right now was the fact that he kept thinking about kissing Pythagoras. The first time it had happened was last night when he was obviously under the effect of the curse. But once the thought popped into his head, it took root and there was nothing to make it go away.

All day today, he kept thinking about it and it drove him crazy. He was startled to find himself staring absently at his friend's mouth, wondering if his lips would feel as soft as he recalled. (How long ago was that, again? It happened on the very first day they met. By now Jason was aware that Hercules was merely having him on and there was no such tradition in Atlantis as a 'good luck kiss'… but still, he didn't mind it.) He watched the way Pythagoras's throat moved when he swallowed, and felt something warm moving restlessly in his belly whenever a pink tongue darted out to run over dry lips.

Jason couldn't wrap his head around this sudden fascination. Surely, the curse couldn't affect him at daytime too? He had not detected any heightened senses so the only logical conclusion he could draw was that he kept thinking about kissing Pythagoras because he wanted to be kissing him.

Except, that didn't feel right, either. What if it was all because of the curse? What if he gave in to the urges and kissed Pythagoras, only to realise later that it was not right? What if he regretted it? He would sooner cut his tongue out than giving Pythagoras hope only to change his mind later on and thus break his heart.

No. He wouldn't risk that.

So Jason had kept his odd, treacherous thoughts to himself and done his best to put some distance between Pythagoras and him, even at the cost of upsetting the man. He told himself he would make it right later when the damn situation was over.

But he really hadn't anticipated that Pythagoras would pine over him all afternoon (hell), get aroused from the sight of a half-naked Jason stretching (bloody hell) then actually go and jerk off in his room like a horny teenager who can't control his urges (fuck fuck FUCK) and seven hells, Jason had to sprint away because he nearly got hard on the spot. Hell, he was on the verge of getting hard right now just from thinking about it.

Actually, scratch that. He was hard. Painfully so. He could feel it throbbing between his legs; an aching heat that demanded his immediate attention.

Fuck.

Jason refused to touch himself. It wouldn't have been right. He'd never wanked to fantasies about Ariadne; he could certainly refrain from wanking to fantasies about Pythagoras, too.

The fact that this was the very first time he popped a boner for a guy raised a whole new pile of questions, none of which Jason wanted to deal with right now. He knew he was freaking out but he couldn't help it.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the demanding urge subsided and he was left with a tired ache in his groin and a slow burn in his guts. He stopped biting at his lip and turned onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling. If he was quiet enough he could pick up the even sound of Pythagoras' soft snoring from the other room; if he strained himself just a little bit, he could hear the slow beat of his heart. His friend didn't emitted waves of heat and desire anymore, just his normal, usual scent that brought a surprising amount of comfort to Jason.

Jason inhaled deeply and let the familiar scent wash over him and fill up his lungs, lulling his body into some hard-earned rest.

Even as he slowly succumbed to sleep, his thoughts kept going back to tomorrow. He knew he had to pull his shit together if he didn't want to fuck things up royally. He needed to give some sort of explanation to Pythagoras or else the poor guy would never stop blaming himself. Then, Jason would have to come up with a plan on how to survive their night out without revealing the presence of those blasted super-senses and messing up his friendship with Pythagoras. He didn't want to experience a repeat of tonight.

When he recalled the last look Pythagoras had given him before Jason stormed off in panic, something twisted sharply in his chest.

He never ever wanted to see such a hurt expression on his friend's face again – especially knowing that he was the one who put it there.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Square End is considerably longer than the previous parts of the series so I broke it down into 6 chapters. WILL UPDATE EVERY FRIDAY.

I know it's been a while, but I hope you'll still enjoy reading it~ Reviews are welcomed and treated as shining gemstones^^