A/N: Hey everyone! This is something I've been toying around with since I finished House of Hades. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the first chapter right now, but I can't stare at it anymore. Just to forewarn you, there will be mentions of emotional/sexual manipulation and underage in the story, but it won't be explicit. It isn't exactly non-con but it's really close because one of the characters is so young and the other is older. So TW!

There are HoH spoilers, so if you haven't read it yet, you've been forewarned!

I'm not sure how long this is going to be just yet, but I do have a decent length outline written out so far. Hope you like it!

Like a Drop in the Ocean

Chapter 1

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

-Mother Teresa

When he dreams, it is of the dead. The people he couldn't save, the ones he's killed or who died as a result - indirect or not - of his actions. Their faces swirl together in his mind, berating him for failing them, cajoling him into joining them.

He sees Bianca's dark flashing eyes, the wrinkle in Zoe's pensive brow, Beckendorf's calloused hands. Silena's grin, Bob's kindness, Damasen's courage.

But it wasn't just his friends, but those whose lives were ruined by the war by the enemy in a different way. He also saw the angry twist of Ethan's mouth, Luke's deep-cut scar and scared, pleading eyes, the rasp of his voice when he spoke low in Percy's ear.

After the first time, after that first death, Percy had trouble sleeping. It began with just insomnia, long hours staring at the ceiling of his bedroom at home or his cabin at camp. Sometimes Tyson was there and he tried to concentrate on the steady breathing and snoring that filled the room, hoping it to lull him asleep. It rarely worked.

When the insomnia finally caught up to him, and it always did, Percy would fall into a deep, disturbed sleep full of night terrors and they went on for years. After they'd defeated Gaea, Annabeth was there for him, but her fatal flaw didn't weigh on her conscious the same way Percy's did. She tried, tried so hard for nearly two years to help him, sticking by him long after her family and friends recommended she cut her losses.

And eventually, she did.

Percy felt the loss, felt it so much, but it didn't affect him as much as he wanted. Their relationship had ended the day he'd failed to save his mom and Paul and his newborn sister near the end of the war.

So when Percy woke screaming, pale and sweating and breathing hard, he felt his bedmate, a guy he met a few hours earlier at a bar, slip wordlessly out of his bed. He scooped his clothes up off the floor and was gone, not wanting to deal with that sort of baggage.

A few hours later when Percy finally conceded he wasn't falling back asleep, he got up, glancing around his place for evidence of the man. This one, too, failed to leave any sort of contact information. Percy hadn't really expected him to but it still left his stomach filled with a knot of loneliness.

Sometimes, he heard from his old friends from Camp Half-blood. Grover tried to catch him by Iris message every few weeks or so, Juniper and their two little ones running around in the background. Old campers dropped in on him on occasion. The Stoll brothers stayed a weekend at Percy's place about a month ago and Clarise and Chris dropped by a few weeks before that.

Other than that, though, Percy is alone. After Annabeth left him, Percy had fled New York as fast as he possibly could. With his family gone, with the constant plague of nightmares, there was nothing keeping him there anymore. He left his apartment with a backpack and a duffel and, after wandering the country a few weeks, found himself in San Diego, staying in a hostel nearly a week before Percy found a small, run down house to rent in Ocean Beach. He found work as a surf instructor and lifeguard and other sea-related odd jobs. He didn't have a lot of money, but it was enough to get him by.

He loved living right next to the ocean. The Pacific was so different the Atlantic, all restless and agitated and frenetic like how Percy felt inside. The only time he ever really felt calm anymore was after work when he would sit in the wet sand, the ocean lapping at his legs, to watch the sun set.

It allowed him to, even just for a few moments, forget the way his life fell apart around him.

Every weekend, Percy tried to make it up north to Camp Jupiter. For as much as New York was a painful reminder of the past, Camp Jupiter didn't conjure up the same memories. It was nice to spend time with Hazel and Frank, and even Reyna was a good, if not brash, distraction from his life.

Not long after Percy settled down in San Diego, Blackjack moved to Camp Jupiter to stay close. Percy didn't travel much except up north to Camp Jupiter, so Blackjack was always eager to stretch his legs and pick him up during the weekends. After moving, Blackjack had met a nice pegasus, and they'd had a few kids. Percy was glad to know that, while his own life was in shambles, it wasn't necessarily the case for those he cared about.

One such Saturday, Percy touched down near the stables within the camp, spending a few minutes chatting with Blackjack's mate and cuddling his kids before stepping outside into the sunlight. He raised his hand to block out the sunlight blaring down into his face.

From his left, he heard footsteps and soft gasp. Turning, Percy saw Hazel and another person, a male that wasn't Frank, approach him. "Percy Jackson," she said happily, coming forth to hug him, "as I live and breathe." Her smile was wide when as she pulled back, smoothing some of her curls behind one of her ears.

"Hey Hazel," Percy said, feeling a small smile slip onto his face before he turned to her companion.

Even though it had been nearly six years, Percy would have recognized Nico di Angelo anywhere. He had to be around twenty now and it showed. He'd grown a lot, now around Percy's own height. Nico was still on the slender side, but he'd clearly filled out, broader shoulders, thicker muscles with wiry long legs and a flat torso. Percy took in the shaggy dark curls and olive skin, lingering on his high, defined cheekbones and the graceful slope of his nose before darting to his eyes. They were dark, still filled with the same intensity Percy remembered from when they were younger.

He'd never noticed how long Nico's black eyelashes were before, but was struck by them when they briefly rested against Nico's cheeks as he blinked.

Something, a weird, encompassing fluttering sensation, passed through Percy's stomach and he felt his pulse speed up as he and Nico stared at each other for a long moment. Percy was vaguely aware of Hazel curiously looking between the two before Percy cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Nico. It's been a while."

Nico breathed in sharply and crossed his arms over his chest, Percy's eyes darting down at the movement to watch his muscles flex, before looking back up. "Hi Percy," he murmured, looking hard at the older man before dropping his eyes down to his feet.

Hazel looped an arm through one of Nico's and offered her other arm to Percy. He tore his eyes away from Nico and took Hazel's arm with a small smile.

"It's so nice to have my two favorite Greeks here with me again," she said, leading them away from the stables. "It's been years."

"It has," Percy said, keeping himself from looking over her head at Nico's profile like he wanted to.

"You hungry, Percy?" she asked, smiling up at her friend. Percy wanted to say no, that he'd eaten before he left that morning, but she'd know he was lying. His silence told her as much. Hazel frowned. "Yeah, that's what I thought," she grumbled. "You haven't been taking care of yourself again. C'mon, let's go feed you, Percy." She steered them toward the mess hall.

Percy felt Nico look over at him. He looked back.

Nico's gaze was inscrutable. It had been so long since Percy had spent any time with him and even before, Nico had always been something of an enigma to him. Now didn't seem to be any different.

Several minutes later, they sat in the mess hall with trays of food in front of them. Percy obligatorily dumped a portion of his chicken fingers and French fries into the fire and stared around the room. It was between breakfast and lunch so there weren't many other people around.

"I can't believe the three of us are all together again," Hazel said, almost gushing. Both Percy and Nico looked over at her.

"Yeah, sorry I don't get up here more often," Percy said with an apologetic smile. "Work keeps me pretty busy."

"You, Percy, are forgiven," Hazel said, reaching across the table to gently rub the back of Percy's hand, before turning her attention to her brother. "But Nico here, this is the first time I've seen him in person since the war ended."

Nico frowned and Percy could see the guilt etched onto his face. "I've been busy as well," he said in a small voice. "You know how Father is."

Hazel sighed. "I do. At least you send regular Iris messages." Her voice was sardonic but the smile on her face was affectionate. "I just missed you, Nico, that's all."

Nico looked uncomfortable at the attention, but attempted a small smile for his sister. Looking up at Percy, the first time in several minutes, Nico asked, "So how is Annabeth?" he asked. There was something curious about his voice and made Percy frown.

The question startled him. "Annabeth? I don't know. I haven't seen her for a while."

It was Nico's turn to look surprised, his eyebrows knitting together. "You haven't seen her for a while?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Well yeah," Percy said, shrugging. "We broke up like four years ago."

It was almost comical to Percy how wide Nico's eyes grew. "Oh wow, Percy, I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay," Percy murmured, "it's been a long time."

He gave his old friend what he hoped was a reassuring smile, but wasn't sure. It wasn't often Percy was around people that were able to trigger any sort of emotional response from him, people who really knew him and had for a long time.

The three of them lapsed into a silence while they ate before Nico asked, "How is your mom doing?"

Percy's fork clattered to the table, a loud clanging sound breaking the silence. He clenched his fists tightly, suddenly so angry that it was blinding. It was stupid and he knew it, but Percy just wanted to lash out, to break something, anything to make the tight pain in his chest dissipate.

"Nico!" Hazel hissed harshly, Nico looking over at her, confused.

Percy did his best to push the anger and ache aside. His voice came out as a deep, gruff sound. "You really haven't been around for a while, have you?"

He pushed up from the table, spared one last glance at his friends, and said, "I'll be back in a few. I just…I just need…yeah," and he was gone.

"What did I say?" Nico asked his sister as he watched Percy hightail it out of the mess hall.

"Oh Nico," she said, grabbing her brother's hand, "Percy's had a really tough time since the end of the war."

"A lot of us have," Nico said, unsure, prompting her to go on. His frown grew when he saw the tears fill her eyes.

"When we got back from Greece, Percy went home and found his family – his mom, stepdad, and sister – they were all dead. We think one of Gaea's minions went after them when things started to look bad for them."

Nico felt like he was going to be sick. He'd met Percy's mom and stepdad before and he'd really liked them. They were beyond kind and welcoming to some dumb little kid that tumbled in unexpectedly through Percy's bedroom window on his birthday. He hadn't even known that Percy had a sister, but she had to have been young, barely more than a baby.

"I had no idea," he said finally. He pushed his tray away and leaned his elbows on the table, burying his face in his hands.

Hazel absently rubbed his back. "I know," she said softly. "I wanted to tell you, but it's not something you exactly tell someone over Iris message."

"You're right. I made a decision during the war to stay away, to retreat, and this…is one of the consequences. Sometimes I really regret it," he replied before releasing a sigh.

"I know, Nico," Hazel said. "I've always known why you needed your distance." He looked over at her quickly, face unreadable.

The old panic that filled Nico wasn't the same as it had been when he was fourteen, now a much duller anxiety, but it was still something he'd never talked about with his sister.

Though he hadn't grown up with her like he had Bianca, Hazel still knew him well. She knew how he felt about Percy and had for some time, remembering the devastated looks on his face when Percy fell into Tartarus and whenever Percy and Annabeth were around.

"I should go talk to him," Nico said finally.

His feelings for Percy were complicated, always had been, woven with years of longing and loathing, but he still hated knowing that he was the cause of pain for Percy.

"You're a good friend, Nico," Hazel said, offering him an encouraging smile.

Nico found him a few minutes later at the Camp Jupiter's corral, leaning against the fence and staring out.

Despite the years that had passed since he'd last seen Percy, it was still instinct for Nico's eyes to rake down his body. It wasn't necessarily sexual this time, not like it was often was when he was younger and confused, but more observatory. Back when he was fourteen, Nico had been unintentionally good at reading the older boy simply from years of looking. He'd known when Percy was upset or angry or frustrated even when the boy hadn't outwardly expressed as much.

Years had passed, but Percy's body language hadn't changed so much that Nico couldn't read him. His shoulders were locked, tense, back stiff. His weight shifted anxiously from foot to foot. Anger and unresolved grief radiated from him in waves; years of spending time with the dead made that much obvious.

Even throughout two wars, Nico had never seen Percy this way, adrift, distracted, without focus. Just lost. It hurt Nico to see him like that, and much more than he thought it would after so much time.

He watched Percy for another moment before walking forward and settling next to him on the fence. Nico opened his mouth to speak, but his brain blanked. It had seemed so easy when he was still in the mess hall to just go out and apologize for speaking carelessly. But now that he was there, standing next to him, he couldn't think of a single thing to say that sounded like enough.

After a moment, Percy looked over at him wryly, a look that didn't quite extend to his too green eyes, and said, "These horses are better entertainment than any soap opera you could find on daytime TV."

One of the horses, a big russet stallion with scars down his sides, snorted, making Percy let out a bark of a laugh. Nico looked over at him, raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon, Bruce, we both know it's true," Percy said to the horse, who merely whinnied before trotting off.

Turning to his friend, Percy said, "Well, Bruce there is in love with Carmen-" Percy pointed to a pretty black horse with a white stare on her muzzle, "-but she broke up with him for a horse named Baxter. He's not here at the moment. But now Carmen's pregnant and she refuses to tell Bruce who the father is. And now a pegasi named Dane has set his sights on Carmen as well. Dane is Blackjack's brother-in-law – you remember him, right? – and absolutely loathes Bruce. They've been rivals since they were kids. Dane gave Bruce those scars during a game of truth-or-dare turned ugly."

Nico snorted. "Wow, that is complicated," he said dryly, adding, "I'd forgotten you speak horse." He looked over at Percy again.

"I speak sea creature too. Just one of my many talents," Percy replied, looking over too. His voice was low, barely a murmur that Nico felt all the way down to his groin.

Fuck, Nico thought, was Percy actually flirting with him?

Before he could even think about it, before he could rationalize it, Nico found himself saying in an unintentionally husky voice, "I bet you have a lot of talents."

Immediately, he wanted to kick himself, to find the nearest shadow and high tail it out of there for the next six years, but the smirk Percy gave him in return was genuine which made it so worth it.

"So I've been told," Percy replied, and Nico felt six years of distance and anger and repressed emotion effervesce with awareness. So much for being over it.

They lapsed into a silence after that, staring out at the horses. Bruce sidled up to Carmen, who seemed a little pleased with the attention.

Inside, Nico was still reeling, not having had to deal with feelings this intense in years. He was trying to sort through them when Percy broke the silence.

"I'm not angry with you," he said. "I mean about what happened in the mess hall. You didn't know."

Nico sighed. "That's sort of the problem though, isn't it?" he asked, running a hand through his curly hair. "It's been six years and I didn't know. I've been in the Underworld of all places, and I didn't know."

"Nico, it's okay," Percy assured him, turning his entire body to face him. "You didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't your responsibility to keep track of every little thing in my life."

"Percy," Nico said with a sigh, "the loss of your family isn't a 'little thing.' More than anyone, I know that."

The unreadable expression on Percy's face, so unlike the Percy Jackson Nico had once known, filled Nico's gut with ice. "Yeah, I know you do," Percy said, his green eyes intense. He exhaled, and ran a hand down his face. When he finally looked back up, he looked apologetic. "I've been a bit of a mess for a while now, but you don't need me to dump on you, right? So why don't we go rejoin your sister?"

"Yeah," Nico said. He didn't really want to drop it, but he could tell it was Percy needed at the moment. So instead, he said, "Okay, let's go."

When they made it back to the mess hall, Percy saw that Frank had joined Hazel. They looked like they were having an intense conversation that abruptly silenced when they noticed Percy and Nico approaching them.

"Hey Frank," Percy said, sticking his hand out.

Frank immediately stood, shaking Percy's hand in his own. "Hey Perce, it's good to see you again." He looked next to Percy at Nico. "Good to see you again too, Nico. Even though it's only been about two hours since I last saw you."

They all sat down and Hazel plastered a smile across her face. She rummaged around in her bag for a moment and pulled out two envelopes, sliding one across the table to Percy and one to her brother. Percy frowned at her a moment before picking it up. He saw his name written across in neat script. His eyes looked back up at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Open it, silly," she urged. Frank smiled over at her, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her to him.

Simultaneously, Percy and Nico opened their envelopes. Percy grimaced as he mutilated his envelope, pulling out a small card. A pair of doves resting on a sword adorned the front of the card. He smiled a little, opening it.

"You guys finally set a date?" he asked, grinning up at them.

"We finally set a date," Frank confirmed. He planted a kiss on Hazel's temple.

"Wow, only three months from now?" Percy said, reading over the card before grinning back up at his friends. "I can't believe you guys are finally getting married."

"I know," Hazel said tranquilly. She and Frank shared a kiss, but even for as quick as it was, Percy could see the love that radiated between them. "I feel like we've been together forever already." Frank articulated his agreement.

Percy felt Nico shift next to him and when he looked over, saw a pensive expression on his face. His dark eyes shifted to look at Percy briefly before he reached across the table and took his sister's hand.

"I'm really happy for you, Hazel," Nico said. Percy was surprised by how soft his voice was, like velvet, like a whisper, and again Percy found himself strangely pleased by the ways the years had changed Nico di Angelo.

After spending most of the day with the campers on the river in canoes, Percy agreed to referee that night's war games. The war games were several hours earlier than they were usually held because of a dance that Percy had completely forgotten he'd agreed to help chaperone. He'd just finished fulfilling his two-hour time commitment when he spied Nico sitting by himself in front of a campfire.

Percy felt a strange tug in his chest, a sudden desire to go over and talk to him. He scooped up an extra can of pop from the cooler and made his way over, sitting down next to him.

"You look like you're having a lot of fun out here by yourself," Percy said, handing over the can of cola.

Nico grimaced. "Yeah, dances aren't really my thing. Especially when I'm several years older than most of the people here."

A deep, resonating laugh burst from Percy's chest and he briefly clapped Nico on the shoulder. "Gods Nico, if you're old then that makes me ancient."

He saw Nico roll his eyes, scoffing. "You aren't ancient, Percy. You're perfect." Percy was sure Nico hadn't actually meant to say it out loud, but was surprised by the sincerity he heard in Nico's voice. He didn't know what to make of it.

"I don't know about that," he said, staring into the flames. He then pushed his uncertainty aside, nudging Nico with his elbow, smirking, and said, "You're such a flatterer, di Angelo."

Which only seemed to fluster Nico more. He ran a hand through his curly hair and, if Percy didn't know better, his cheeks brightened, confusing Percy.

After a moment, Nico forced a protective, albeit not entirely fierce, glare on his face and said, "Only you would accuse me of that, Percy." Percy was intrigued by the way the corners of Nico's mouth curled up in amusement.

"You're probably right about that," Percy said with a laugh. It had been such a long time since he'd spent any time with Nico, especially time alone, and it staggered him how bizarre and right it felt at the same time. The two of them had a rocky past at times but regardless, Percy had missed him.

"So what have you been up to all this time?" Percy asked. "Hazel said this was the first time she's seen you since after the war?"

Nico made a strange noise and tightly gripped his pop can. "I've been in the Underworld. It's been in chaos for years because of the war. Especially because the Doors of Death were open for so long. It really messed things up and there was a huge backlog of dead people. It took a long time to sort things out."

"The Underworld?" Percy asked, stunned. "For six whole years?"

Nico sighed. "There weren't many people who could help Dad out. So it kind of all fell to me."

"Jeez Nico, I'm really sorry," Percy said, giving his friend a long look.

"There's no reason for you to be sorry, Percy," Nico said, and his voice was soft again.

"Hm," Percy hummed noncommittally. "Most of the time, I'm not so sure. I've made a lot of mistakes." A lot of people died because of me, he didn't add.

"Percy, we all have. You're just harder on yourself than most people."

"Yeah, I think that's part of my fatal flaw. I put the people I love before everything else, but when I fail them, I just can't let it go," Percy admitted. The anxiety, the fear, the disquiet he felt after waking up from each nightmare came creeping back, settling in a pool low in his gut.

"You know," Nico began, voice thoughtful, "in a way, your flaw is a little like mine."

Percy frowned. "You mean holding grudges?"

Nico nodded. "Exactly. Only instead, you can't stop from holding a grudge against yourself."

"I think you might be onto something there, Nico," Percy said, looking thoughtful.

"It isn't and never has been your job to save everyone, Percy. No single person can save everyone."

Snorting humorlessly, Percy said, "Annabeth always did say I had a bit of a hero complex."

Almost imperceptibly, Nico briefly tensed before relaxing again. He gave Percy a sardonic smile. "A bit of a hero complex?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

This time when Percy laughed, it was full of his old mirth and brightened his entire face, green eyes gleeful. "Heh, you're right about that. When did you get so wise, Nico?"

Nico smirked, dark eyes flashing. "Puberty might have had something to do with it," he said throatily.

"Yeah," Percy replied, his eyes sweeping over Nico, "I can tell."

The weekends Percy made it up to Camp Jupiter, he taught the younger campers horseback riding, aquatic activities, and Greek-style combat. The next day, Percy bumped into Reyna who informed him he'd be working on sword fighting with his students that day. She taught the campers Roman warfare herself, but wanted her campers to have a well-rounded education.

After the end of the war, the Greek and Roman demigods had made great strides not only towards friendship, but also in working together. While campers were now able to choose the camp they primarily attended, many of the kids chose to stick with the camp that corresponded to their godly parent, there were still efforts, trips, and quests put forth every year to integrate campers. For the most part, it worked and the campers got along with each other, much better than they had at least when Camp Half-blood first made contact years ago.

Officially, Percy was the representative from Camp Half-blood, while Jason was Camp Jupiter's rep, acting as liaisons for their home camp and bringing forth their own unique styles to the other camp.

That day, Percy demonstrated a few sword fighting drills with his students before he divided them up into pairs to spar. He walked between them as they fought, periodically correcting form and posture and giving advice. After a while, he stood back, arms crossed, to watch them.

"You're really good at this," Percy heard someone say behind him. He turned and saw Nico approaching.

"At what?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

"Teaching," Nico elaborated as reached his friend.

Percy snorted. "Well, that's good because I teach in my other job too."

"You're a teacher?" Nico asked, clearly surprised.

"I am," Percy said, but Nico saw the way he was grinning. "I teach surf lessons. I'm a lifeguard too."

"Ah," Nico said, and he was smiling too, "I can see you doing that. You live on the shore?"

"Down in San Diego," he admitted absently before taking a step forward, attention on a pair sparring nearby. "Al, you're dropping your elbow again. Keep it up!"

Al diverted his attention and his partner, a girl about fifteen or so, dropped Al on his ass and cheered. Al groaned. The girl pranced closer to Percy, swinging her sword around carelessly. Nico raised an eyebrow.

"Why don't you give us a demonstration, Mr. Jackson?" she asked. "We've never really seen you fight before. Not for real."

"Need a partner?" Nico asked, drawing his blade before Percy even had the chance to think about it, to back out.

A familiar glint sparked in Percy's eyes and he slipped his pen from his pocket, uncapping it, and Riptide sprang forth into his hand. Percy dropped into a crouch, flipping the blade a few times around his hand.

A wicked smile stretched across Percy's face and Nico felt his breath catch in his throat because this was Percy in his element and clearly years of telling Nico telling himself he was over him didn't work nearly as well as he thought it had. Nico mimicked Percy's crouch and readied himself.

"You ready for this?" Percy asked, his voice teasing.

"Are you, Mr. Jackson?" Nico asked mockingly before striking. Percy raised his sword and parried, spinning out of the way.

From there, it was simply a clash of blades and adrenaline coursing through them. Percy hadn't felt the burn of a real fight since the last time Jason had visited the camp. Some buried, repressed part of him still loved the way pure instinct took over during a fight, even something as simple and nonthreatening as a spar. It made him feel more alive than much else did anymore.

Nico swept his blade at Percy's feet and he barely had enough time to jump out of the way before Nico was on him again. "Good to see you haven't been slacking in the Underworld, Nico," Percy said with a laugh. He jumped out of the way again before pivoting and attacking.

"Someone's gotta be able to wipe that stupid, egotistical smirk off your face," Nico said, dodging Percy's strike.

The class formed a loose circle around the two older demigods, but their cheers and shouts were completely drowned out by the clang of swords, the blood surging in their ears, and the thump of their erratic heartbeats. Even Hazel, Frank, and Reyna ended up wandering over sometime during their fight, but they weren't aware of it at the moment.

Neither of them was sure how long he fight went on, but they were both breathing hard, tired, and slick with sweat by the time Percy finally tripped Nico up, pressing a blade to his throat. He crouched over him, one knee on the ground and the other grazing Nico's thigh.

A dark look flashed across Percy's face and he involuntarily rolled his hips just once. Nico let out a ragged breath, which seemed to snap Percy out of it. He shook his head, almost to himself, before he withdrew his blade and stood up, offering Nico a hand. Nico frowned and took Percy's hand, feeling a jolt through his body at the contact as Percy hauled him to his feet.

"Thanks," Nico said, voice shaky. He stared hard at Percy, his heart still beating wildly. Percy stared back, looking as though he was about to say something when Frank came up to them, clapping them both on the back.

"I haven't seen a fight like that in years," he said happily, towering over both of them.

"Yeah," Percy said faintly, face flushed, "it was quite a fight."