Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How the Kitten seduced the Goldfi- no, the Merman

*Disclaimer: I don’t own Percy Jackson. No money is made with this, I write out of love and not for money. Comments and kudos are more then welcome though. Enjoy!*

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This was bad. This was very, very bad. Nico knew that but what could he do right now? He was fighting to stay conscious as it was, fighting for every flick of his tail that pushed him further away from that horrible place. But his movements grew slower and slower the more blood he lost. Nico knew that he was leaving behind a bloody trail and if not those fishermen, then some shark or any other predator that dared to get close enough to this harbor would notice him.
Clutching the harpoon wound on his side tighter, Nico blinked to try and clear his sight. Was that a cave? An underwater cave? Glancing backwards, Nico could feel more then hear the fishermen rowing through the waters, looking for him. He needed to hide. Now! And this seemed to be the best option he was going to get right now.

Summoning what was left of his energy, Nico dove into the cave. Much to his surprise, it wasn’t as small as it had looked from the outside. Quite the opposite actually. Peeking out of the water, Nico noticed that this was more like an underwater cave with connection to the dry land. There was something like a beach inside of it. Crawling onto its shore Nico’s arms trembled, he was short from passing out. He could make out some furniture further away from the water, so someone must have once been here, maybe using this cave as a place to hide for themselves. But everything looked dark and abandoned so it had to be save. Not that Nico had much choice. There was no way he would get anywhere else right now. He just hoped that he had gotten out of the water enough so that he wouldn’t bleed into it as much, but that his tail would stay wet enough to not dry out too much either.

Coughing wetly, Nico looked around in hope to find some washed ashore seaweed or something to put on the wound. But instead of seaweed, he was met with a pair of green eyes. Flinching, Nico almost dug his claws into the newcomer. Just in time did he realize that it was just a cat. A black kitten, small and rather cute actually. Sighing, Nico dropped his heavy arm.
“S-sorry,” he slurred, blinking against the dark that was about to swallow his vision. “Pretty kitty~”
The kitten tilted it’s head, meowing in confusion. Opening his mouth, Nico tried to say something else, but before he could do so, his last bit of energy left him and he passed out.

~to be continued~

Chapter Text

A numb pain and warmth were the first impressions Nico’s consciousness recognized when he woke up again. Blinking to clear his sight, he found himself still on that inside beach in the cave, his tail still half in the water. His upper body was covered by something warm and soft though and not too far away, he saw a small bonfire. Nico’s eyes widened in panic and he was about to get up and crawl back into the water when a burning, piercing pain in his side reminded him of his injury.

“I wouldn’t move too much,” a voice said and Nico’s head snapped up and around, trying to locate its owner. There, mostly hidden in the shadows by the furniture he had spotted earlier, sat, or rather crouched someone. All Nico could make out from where he was laying was dark hair, a bright, almost glowing pair of greenish eyes and dark clothes clinging to an apparently male body of a person close to his own age.

“Who are you?,” Nico asked, voice horse from disuse. It had been ages since he last spoke the human language. The stranger tilted his head and hummed.
“You can call me Percy. And before you ask, yes, this is my place and I don’t appreciate you bleeding all over my beach.”
Nico huffed. “I’m sorry, Your Highness. Next time I’m being chased by fishermen and bleeding to death, I’ll try to avoid the nearest hideout in case someone is living there.”
The stranger stood slowly and walked up to him and Nico watched, glaring up at him. He knew that if he would move too fast, he would rip his wound open again. But if this Percy would try to hurt him, he was going to fight with teeth and claws, that was for sure. Glancing downwards, he noticed that someone, Percy maybe, had covered his wound with some kind of white bandage. It looked and felt very different from the materials Nico’s kind used for medial treatment but he guessed it was better then nothing.

Looking back up, he saw that Percy had gotten close enough for Nico to properly see his face now. He looked a bit apologetic and crouched back down in front of the merman.
“Hey, I’m not saying I’m mad at you for hiding here. It’s just…,” he sighed and reached up and scratched his messy mop of dark black curls, the movement drew his attention to a pair of triangular ears in-between them. Nico frowned. As far as he knew, human ears did not look like this. Their ears, while lacking the fins most of the merpeople had, were weird to look at, but never before had Nico seen ears like these. And then there was a twitching movement behind Percy and… was that a tail?
Percy’s left ear twitched in what must be irritation, but he choose to ignore Nico’s rude staring. Instead, he finished his sentence: “Maybe you’re not the only one avoiding humans and needing a place to hide.”

It took a while for Nico to process all that information. So Percy wasn’t human either? But what kind of species was he? Would it be rude to ask? From the tail and ears and the slit pupils he just now saw, as well as those sharp looking nails and a pair of tiny fangs he could see when Percy spoke, Nico was sure that the other had to be at least partly a predator. But Nico didn’t know much about humans, much less about the predatory fauna of the dry lands.
“A cat-hybrid.”
“Huh?,” was all Nico’s still partly foggy and definitely overwhelmed brain supplied.
“That’s what I am. I can shift between a full cat form and this. I’ve got reflexes and some other abilities of a cat,” Percy elaborated, his mouth twitching into a smirk and his cat-like green eyes twinkled with humor.
“Why…?”
“Why I’m telling you this? Because you’re looking like you’re ready to burst from curiosity. My little brother looked the same…,” Percy’s expression shifted into it’s previous darkness and waves of sadness seemed to roll off of him while he let his sentence trail off.
“I’m sorry,” Nico said and he meant it. Whatever had happened to Percy’s brother, it sure hadn’t been good. Memories of his older sister scratched at the back of his mind but he tried to ignore them as best as possible. He didn’t know this cat-hybrid, he surely wasn’t going to spill his life story out for him.
“It’s not your fault,” Percy sad and stood, dusting his pants. “Get some sleep. I’ll change your bandages in a few hours.”
And with that, Nico was left alone at the shore with his thoughts and thousands of questions.

Chapter Text

To say his stay in Percy’s cave was awkward would be too much to say. They were basically strangers after all. But the more days Nico spend healing at the hidden beach, with Percy changing his bandages and treating his wounds and their occasional talks, the closer the two grew. Percy was funny and smart, he was strong too. That was something Nico learned pretty soon, even though it wasn’t the physical strength. No, it was on one of the nights they ate dinner together. Percy had lit a fire and sat down close to Nico, munching on his fish. It had come as a surprise to Nico, but the cat-hybrid liked his fish partially raw, just like Nico.
While they had been sitting there next to each other, Nico had told him some minor stories about his family. About his father who had sired children with more then one mate – a normal thing for merpoeple, even though most took just one mate these days – and about some adventures they had had together. Somehow, he found that he could tell Percy everything. It felt natural, the little hums and quiet questions the other would ask in-between from time to time made Nico feel comfortable. Comfortable enough to tell Percy about Bianca, something he rarely talked about, even to his closest friends.

“… And then, Bianca left for that hunting trip… it was the last time I saw her and I regretted that I never got to say goodbye. At first, I was so angry because I didn’t get to go with her. I was sure that if I would have been there, I could’ve protected her. But I was too young, I was just a guppy back then. But even now I still miss her so much and I want to tell her that I love her. Rationally, I know that she knew. I know that she loved me too. But…,” the sadness made Nico’s tongue feel too heavy to talk and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, his clawed fingers digging into the rough, stony sand beneath his hands.
“… but it isn’t enough. It will never be enough. No matter how often we told them, no matter how much time we had together, it will never have been enough,” Percy finished and suddenly, there were warm, gently fingers on Nico’s, giving his cramped hands a light, comforting squeeze. Looking up in surprise, Nico noticed once more the sad, haunted look in those sea green eyes. There were tears in them, ready to flow out and run down those tanned cheeks, the colors shifting with emotions.

After a moment that felt like a century, Percy blinked his unshed tears away and looked back into the flames of the bonfire. Immediately, Nico regretted not saying anything and his heart felt even heavier then before. But what could he possibly say that would relief his pain? If there were the right words somewhere out there, nobody had ever told them to him. So instead of making a fool out of himself, he twisted his hands and took Percy’s into his, squeezing them just like Percy had done moments prior. That must’ve been the right thing to do, because Nico could see the corner of Percy’s lip twitch and the tension that had seeped into his posture leave for the most of it. And then, Percy told him his story:

“His name… my brother’s name was Tyson. My mom was just like me and… people like us, hybrids like us, we don’t have the same rights as humans. We are basically… pets,” Percy said, spitting out the words with anger.
“My mother got pregnant and when she had me, she needed a place to stay. But as single mother and a hybrid on top of it, she couldn’t get a job or a place to stay at on her own. There was this man who promised her a home, promised she would be allowed to keep me, that we would be a family. She believed him, because he was nice. But over the years and after she got pregnant with my baby brother… he treated us like shit, threatened her to sell me off to his gambling friends or as a sex slave. He hit her, he hit me, told us if we didn’t take it, if we didn’t keep quiet, he would go to my baby brother, to Tyson. And one night… I came home from running an errand from him… he had been drinking, there were bottles everywhere. I can still smell the food mom had cooked for him. His favorites, of course. There were broken plates on the floor… there was… so much blood. He had killed them. He was sitting in his favorite armchair, watching TV like nothing had happened. But on the floor… there was so much blood and their bodies… I don’t know what had happened and I don’t know what I did when I… saw them. But when I… woke up again, he was dead too.”

The last words were barely audible, but they were the ones that counted. Percy had avenged his family. He had fought for them, had suffered for them and when they had been taken away from him, he had made this monster pay.
Following his instincts, Nico sat up further and wrapped his arms around Percy, pulling the cat-hybrid into a hug. At first, Nico feared he had done something wrong, because the other went stiff as a piece of driftwood, but then Percy eventually relaxed.
“I would have done the same thing,” Nico whispered, his voice tight with feelings. He could only imagine how much all of this hurt Percy and he wished, he could do more for him, protect him.
Percy chuckled softly and leaned against Nico, his eyes fixed on the flames that reflected in them as much as in the tears he had cried at some point.
“Thank you,” he whispered back and sighed.
No more words were exchanged that night, but they stayed wrapped up like this for much longer.

Chapter Text

Much to Nico’s surprise, Percy liked to swim. Because from what he knew, animals like cats didn’t like getting wet much. So when Percy one day just walked past Nico’s designated resting spot on the cave’s beach and jumped head-first into the water, Nico was a little concerned. But when he saw the pleased and content expression on the hybrid’s face, he swallowed every question that had been on his tongue.
“What?,” Percy asked, floating around on his back, a smug expression on his face. “Never seen a swimmer before?”
“I’ve never seen anything like you,” Nico answered honestly and was surprised by the blush that adored Percy’s face after. What was even more of a surprise to the merman was how much he liked seeing Percy flustered like this. It became Nico’s mission to make Percy blush as often as possible. In no time, he had figured out that it worked best with compliments. And there were a lot he could give to the pretty hybrid.

Going swimming together became a habit of sorts when Nico got better and wanted to stretch his fins again. At first they stayed in the cave’s waters because Nico would get tired soon. But swimming with Percy was a lot of fun and Nico found himself dreading the day when he would be fully healed. Because then he wouldn’t have an excuse to stick around. Sure, it was unlikely that Percy would kick him out. Or at least Nico didn’t take him for that type of a person. But this was still Percy’s hide-out and home. And Nico was kind of intruding. But so far, Percy deemed Nico too weak to make it back to his pond and home out there.

A few weeks later, however, Nico was sure he was fully healed again. Percy and him had gone onto swims out of the cave and it had gone very well. A little too well, because afterwards, it was now the cat hybrid who would be tired and in need of rest. They both knew that Nico was back to full health but neither of them said anything about it. Nico didn’t know why Percy didn’t, but he himself had grown rather… fond of the other. He didn’t know how to describe what he felt yet, so he didn’t say anything.
One day though, they couldn’t avoid the topic any longer. The two had gone out for another swim, when they came across one of Nico’s kind. And it wasn’t any other mer, it was Nico’s baby sister.
“Nico?!,” the bronze and gold colored mermaid exclaimed and crashed Nico in a tight hug. “Where were you? We’ve been worried sick!”
Then, Hazel noticed Percy and froze, staring at his rather prominent human features.
“Hazel, this is Percy. He’s a friend. Perce, this is my sister Hazel.”
“Hello,” Percy greeted enthusiastically, waving a little as he climbed onto one of the nearby rocks to avoid having to tread water all the time.
Hazel relaxed slowly and listened to Nico’s story about getting hunted and recovering at Percy’s.
“Thank you for taking care of my brother,” she said to Percy, tone earnest and Nico knew that Hazel meant it. But he could also see the remains of distrust in her golden eyes.
“Will you come home now, then? You’re all good again now, right?,” she asked and looked at Nico expectantly. And before Nico could come up with an excuse, Percy said:
“You should go and see your family Nico. She’s right, they’re probably worrying about you.”
Nico felt rather hurt at that. He didn’t want to leave and this sort of felt like being kicked out. His feelings must have shown on his face, because Percy’s expression softened. The cat hybrid came back into the water and hugged Nico softly, making those little purring sounds. “You can always come to visit me, alright? You know where to find me. But your family… your pond needs you.”

And Percy had been right with that. When Nico returned with Hazel, he had to tell his story over and over. Their pond’s healer checked him over, impressed with how well Nico had healed. He went hunting with his pond and did a lot of other things to strengthen their bond again. And Nico felt good. He had missed them after all. But now, back out in the ocean, he also missed Percy.

“Hey! You’re back,” Percy said and rose from where he had been cooking food. Within seconds, Nico had his arms full of a purring cat hybrid despite him being still quite a bit away from the cave’s shore. But neither of them cared about that.
“Of course,” Nico said, blushing a little. “I missed you.”
Admitting that was a little embarrassing, but it was also true.
“I… I missed you too,” Percy said, looking at Nico while one of his fangs worried his bottom lip. A habit he had whenever he was feeling nervous or insecure. Without thinking about it, Nico reached up and brushed his thumb over Percy’s lip, stopping him from accidentally hurting himself.
“It’s alright,” he said, “I’m here now.”
And the smile on Percy’s face was so bright, Nico forgot to feel even more embarrassed about touching him like this.

Chapter Text

“I’m glad you came visiting today,” Percy said when they had sat down by the shore, sharing the food Percy had been cooking. “Because otherwise I don’t think we would’ve seen each other again…”
It took Nico a moment to realize what Percy had been saying. Forgetting the food, he stared at the cat hybrid.
“What do you mean we wouldn’t have seen each other again?”
But just when the words left his mouth, Nico noticed what had been unconsciously bugging him since his arrival at the cave. Percy’s things had disappeared. There were a few bits left but most of his stuff was gone. Near the entrance lay a full bag, most likely with clothes or something else that was easy to carry.
“You’re moving? Why?,” Nico asked, confused and a little hurt. Why would Percy leave the cave without telling him?
“The human hunters are getting too close. There have been a few close calls already. If I stay here any longer, they will find me,” Percy explained, dread and sadness evident in his voice. “I’m not sure where to go yet, but I’ve hidden most of my stuff and will get it once I find a good place to stay. This cave isn’t safe anymore.”
It broke Nico’s heart to hear this because he knew how much of a home this cave had been for Percy. And for him too, but that was mostly because this was Percy’s place. Percy made it a home, a safe spot for them both. Loosing it felt weird and horrible.
“I’m sorry,” Nico said and reached out to give Percy’s hand a what he hoped to be a comforting squeeze. Percy nodded and squeezed back, looking over to the waves lapping at the shore. What could he do to help Percy?

“Would you move in with me.”

The words were out before Nico could stop himself. For a moment, they just stared at each other wide eyed – one shocked by his own actions, the other surprised.
“What?,” Percy asked, being the first one to find his voice again.
Nico’s mind was racing. While it would technically be possible for Percy to move into Nico’s cave (there was a pretty big air bubble with connection to the outside and dry space for things he needed to storage), it would also mean for Percy to live somewhere with no connection to the main land. It would be like a trap.
“Uh… I mean… I’ve got space. But it’s far away from land so you’d need a boat to get anywhere and it’s not that big, but if you need a save place, then you can always stay at my place,” Nico rambled, feeling his cheeks growing hot. Looking down at the ground beneath him, he started picking at the remains of a broken shell. What was he thinking? He wasn’t thinking, that was the problem. He didn’t want to leave Percy and he didn’t want for Percy to be in any possible danger, but wasn’t that a bit too much? Nico was sure he had just made a fool out of himself.

“Yes.”
“Huh?” Nico’s head snapped up and he stared at Percy again. Percy who was smiling, his eyes glittering with something akin to mischief.
“I don’t mind taking a boat. I barely go out as it is. If moving in with you means being save and getting to be with someone I like, then yeah, why not? It’s not like I can’t leave when I want, right?”
“Right. Sure, okay,” Nico agreed hastily, grinning uncontrollably. “Do you need help? Should I get the others to help with your things?”
Percy had to grab Nico’s arm to hold him back from jumping right into the ocean to call for his pond mates.
“Nico, relax. No need to hurry,” he assured and then winked at Nico, “I didn’t think you’d be that eager for me to move in with you.”
The blush returned to Nico’s face but when he was trying to come up with words, anything to say, Percy surprised him by capturing his lips in a chaste kiss.

Percy’s lips were a little rough yet soft and tasted like a mixture of salt and strawberries. Nico could get lost in the taste but the kiss ended as soon as it had started. Opening his eyes, Nico blinked up at a rather shy looking cat hybrid.
“That… that’s okay, right? I didn’t read the signs wrong, did I?,” Percy asked softly, his fangs worrying his bottom lip again. Hastily, Nico shook his head, taking Percy’s hand again. He had known that his feelings for the other had grown past those of platonic friendship but he hadn’t thought his kitty cat would feel the same. Smiling softly, Nico leaned in to steal another kiss.
“You didn’t,” he whispered once they parted again, Percy looking a little dazed. “I really like you, Percy.”
“I like you too, Nico,” Percy whispered back, rubbing his face into the crook of Nico’s neck to scent him before leaning up again, stealing another soft kiss. Needless to say that Nico was even more eager for Percy to move in with him now.
“I’m glad. Now I can’t wait to come home with you,” Percy said and hugged Nico tight. Hugging back, Nico hummed in agreement. He was looking forward to it too.

*End!*