Work Text:
In hindsight, when Percy decided to officially adopt Mrs. O’Leary, he didn’t really think things through. He only thought that he was finally – and properly – fulfilling his overdue promise to Daedalus of taking care of her, which he was, to the best of his abilities. Unfortunately, the “best of his abilities” wasn’t enough to keep up with her nature, hence why he found himself standing in front of Nico di Angelo.
It didn’t matter whether he was looking at his twelve-year-old or eighteen-year-old version – the son of Hades never failed to intimidate him with his presence alone. But now, Percy regarded him with respect and admiration as well because, really, he and Nico had always been equals.
“I’m disappointed in you.”
Well, maybe not at that moment.
“Yes, Daedalus trained her, but that doesn’t mean you can slack off. You’re supposed to continue training her, otherwise this happens.”
“This” meaning Mrs. O’Leary becoming disobedient, which resulted in significant property damages throughout New Rome. So much for gaining approval from Hazel and Frank on her stay; he had been warned by them that if her behavior continued, they would be forced to revoke her grant.
“How was I supposed to know she wouldn’t listen?” Percy complained, looking pitifully at Nico. For a moment, the glare in Nico’s eyes seemed to soften, but it was so brief that Percy wondered if he had been mistaken.
“Percy,” Nico sighed. “You’re her owner before her friend. If you can’t make her acknowledge that, she definitely won’t listen to you.”
“She listens to you, and you’re her friend,” Percy pointed out to the hellhound who was sitting obediently on all fours a few feet from the younger male. Mrs. O’Leary was calm for once, her eyes closed as she panted lightly. “How am I different?”
“Because she recognizes me as a figure of authority first before a friend,” Nico answered as he approached her, placing his hands on her ears to scratch them. “Whereas in your case, she’s slowly recognizing you as just a friend.”
While Percy was glad to know that Mrs. O’Leary perceived him as a friend, the fact that she was only recognizing him in that role was obviously troublesome. It reminded him of Annabeth’s warning in a time gone by, that his overindulgence was going to backfire eventually. He should’ve listened to her at the time, but he was riddled with guilt for neglecting Mrs. O’Leary for so long that he let her be.
“By the way…” Nico started, interrupting his thoughts. “You could’ve asked Annabeth to teach you. She attended obedience training classes, and she managed to tame Cerberus before. Mrs. O’Leary wouldn’t be a challenge. But why did you come to me?”
“Can’t I just be missing one of my oldest friends?” Percy teased, to which Nico’s eyes narrowed dangerously in response.
Although he said it as a joke, he meant every word of it. He did miss Nico; they rarely saw each other after the Second Giant War, much less heard news of him. Last he heard, Nico and Will broke up due to ‘irreconcilable differences’ – whatever in Hades those were – and that was more than a year ago. Percy was certain he saw Will more recently at New Rome University, but he was too busy rushing to class at the time to confirm. Now that he was back in Camp Half-Blood, it seemed that the rumors were true.
“I don’t really feel comfortable asking favors from my ex-girlfriend,” Percy admitted. Judging by how comical Nico’s eyes widened, he was likely unaware. Percy then explained briefly, “We separated more than a year ago. It was a mutual breakup.”
No need to share that it was messy. No need to mention that it had been emotionally exhausting. Percy made peace with the fact that some things just weren’t meant to be, and first love was unfortunately one of them. When he was sure he exhausted all the fight in him, the only thing left was to accept.
Acceptance allowed him to preserve all their good memories throughout the years. Acceptance allowed him to push the bad ones to the back of his head. Whether they were meant to reconcile in the future or not, at least there was no bitterness in his heart for her.
“I see. Anyway…” Nico murmured, looking away. Percy was thankful that he was tactful not to press on the subject or show pity. “I can help you retrain Mrs. O’Leary. How long did you say you’re going to stick around for?”
Percy didn’t, but he answered, nonetheless. “I’m here for the entire summer. I told you: I missed one of my oldest friends,” Percy added with a playful wink when Nico looked at him in surprise.
“Grover’s not here.”
Percy sighed at the quick clapback. “Stop that. You know I meant you.”
“Let’s get one thing straight,” Nico started, walking towards Percy. He jabbed a finger to his chest as he spoke. “We’re not friends. Our relationship is complicated, but not to the point where I can’t tell what friends are and aren’t. We’re acquaintances, at most.”
That comment stung, but not undeserved. Their relationship was the very embodiment of ‘It’s complicated’. They had so much history between them that they couldn’t consider each other as strangers, and yet, for the same reason, Nico – with his roller coaster of emotions for him – couldn’t consider them as friends. Percy couldn’t blame him.
“I think we can change that in a span of a few months,” Percy said confidently, undeterred. “A lot can happen in three months,” he added with a smile.
Nico frowned, eyeing him warily. “You mean it? You’re staying here for three months?”
“Never really had a proper summer here in camp since I arrived,” Percy mused. Boldly, he moved to Nico’s other side and placed one of his arms around his shoulders. Immediately, Nico tensed up beside him, but surprisingly didn’t push him away as if he was a plague. “I definitely need someone to show me around.”
“Ah, yes. Who better than the son of Hades?” Nico asked in a rhetorical manner. He alternated his gaze between Mrs. O’Leary and Percy for a few seconds before he eventually sighed in resignation. “Fine. I’ll entertain you. I’ll also help you retrain Mrs. O’Leary. But–” Nico held up a hand before Percy could start cheering. “–you better stop getting in my space. When I tell you to back off, you back off. Got it?”
“Sir, yes, sir,” Percy agreed readily, saluting.
Nico rolled his eyes at his antics. “Dork,” he mumbled, pushing his arm off before walking ahead. “Come on. We’re going to the Hephaestus cabin. Hopefully, Nyssa or Jake can spare us some scrap metal for Mrs. O’Leary to play fetch with. You’re carrying them.”
“Wow, putting me to work already,” Percy remarked. He closed the distance between them in a few steps, quick enough to catch Nico smiling before the son of Hades schooled his expression.
“Come, Mrs. O’Leary,” Nico called out to the hellhound, and Mrs. O’Leary bounded after them. She nudged his side playfully, too playfully in fact, pushing his smaller frame towards Percy.
“Woah! Easy there,” Percy laughed, steadying him. He immediately released Nico once he was properly on his feet, remembering his words earlier about needing his space.
Nico glared in return, but it was lacking its usual heat. In fact, his cheeks looked slightly flushed, making Percy question whether it was due to the summer heat or from embarrassment. At that moment, he looked–
“You know what? You two are getting retrained,” Nico grunted, walking briskly ahead. It interrupted Percy’s thoughts, which he was grateful for… maybe. “Behave, Mrs. O’Leary. Behave or no treats.”
The hellhound whined and whimpered pitifully, redirecting her sad eyes to her owner. Normally, Percy would indulge her, and indeed, Percy felt the need to. However, the memory of the look of disappointment in Nico’s eyes quickly reminded him of his main purpose for coming to camp. He couldn’t let Nico down. Not so soon, at least.
“We can do this girl. It’s just three months of extra hard work,” Percy encouraged her, reaching out to pat one of her paws. “Be good, and you’ll get your treats soon.”
“WOOF!”
“Jackson! Mrs. O’Leary! Hurry up!” Nico called out.
“Come on, girl. Let’s not keep Nico waiting,” Percy instructed, jogging over towards the son of Hades who was looking at them rather impatiently.
It was going to be a long three months. But, with Nico around, Percy was genuinely looking forward to it.