It Takes Two

By: dnrl


Percy is a suffering student of marine biology at NYU. Against his wishes, his cousin signs him up for a tutor, and he resigns himself to endless boredom...but the tutor he gets definitely isn't what he was expecting. Percabeth, AU


Chapter Two: When You Assume...

"Oh my god, Percy got laid."

I almost hung up. So tempting.

No. Bad Percy. Do not hang up on cousin.

"No, I did not get laid."

"...Then Percy's about to get laid."

"I have no intention of getting laid tonight."

"Why can't you just be like all the other little boy - oh my god. Are you gay, Percy?"

"...Are you drunk?"

"Only a little."

"Define 'a little.'"

"Um...hey, you! No, not you, asswipe, the other guy - yeah, you. How much liquid is in three bottles of tequila and five margaritas?"

"Shit, cousin. What have you done now? Or, more precisely, what has he done now?"

"Why are bartenders so pretty, Percy?"

"Because it gets them more tips?"

"I think it's because God hates me. I think...I think that God hates me so much that he thinks that I don't deserve love."

"Thalia - "

"No, really. Like, am I not good enough? Do I not try hard enough? Why won't he love me, Percy? All that bartender had to do was look at him and he started salivating...so I left."

"Thalia, where are you?"

"I...I don't know, Percy. I'm all alone here, me and my shots and the bartender and those guys in the corner."

"...Thalia, can you put the bartender on the phone?"

"I dunno, are you gonna try to hook up with her too? Because - "

"No, Thalia. I just wanna find you, okay?"

"Okay. Hey, hey you...will you talk to my cuz for me? Pretty please?"

I sighed quietly. After walking Annabeth home and returning to my dorm, I found it empty. Nico, I knew, was probably with his sister Bianca - the only one who could calm him down properly after a rage. Grover...god only knew what that guy got up to at night. But Thalia...I was expecting Thalia to be there because she always wanted to know all of the juicy details. Or just to have an excuse to make out with Luke on my couch, because she knew I hated it. You say tomato, I say pain in the ass. Same difference.

Only she wasn't there.

So I assumed that she and Luke had gone out.

But then she didn't come back in another hour.

So I went to her dorm room - her empty dorm room.

She wouldn't be sleeping at Luke's - she believed in "chastity until marriage." She wouldn't be sleeping at a friend's, because all of her friends either lived in Greece, Italy, or in the dorm hall - and sleepovers weren't allowed in the dorm hall. So where, dear reader, was my cousin?

At a bar.

The fact that that was the first thing that entered my mind says something about her lifestyle, but I prefer not to think about it much. So does she. So does just about everyone, because, as my mom says, it's easier to deal with a problem when you don't have to stare it in the eye.

Moving on from life outlooks, I immediately started calling.

See, Thalia has seven cell phones. One is for long-distance; one is for business calls (her father makes her help out with business even though she's only twenty-four); one is for family (we have a big family, okay?); one is for emergencies (built in tracking device); one is for calls to Italy (special discount); one is for calls to Greece (same deal); and the last one is for everyday use.

So she has seven phones, but not enough common sense to actually use them for their intended purpose. She usually carries all seven with her at the same time (seven phones!), but as she hadn't answered the first six, I was forced to call the emergency phone.

Which she had dropped in a toilet, disabling the tracker.

Thus I was talking to a barkeep at 3:37 a.m. on a Monday morning, trying to track down my now drunk cousin who was apparently breaking up with her boyfriend. Again.

"...Uh...hello?"

"Hi. This is Percy, Thalia's cousin. Listen, could I please get the address of your bar so I could come get her?"

"Hey. Um...yeah! Yeah, sure. It's, uh, seven forty seven, corner of Hudson and Canal. Right down the street from Strangefellows (1)."

"Right. I know the place. Lightning Streak, right?"

"Yeah. So you'll be right down?"

"Of course. Could you please tell Thalia?"

"Sure thing, dude."

"Thanks."

Click.

I pressed "End" as I snatched my keys up from the dresser top. Walking to the parking garage, my mind was dwelling on Thalia.

Okay, that's a lie.

I was thinking about golden curls and silver-gray dresses and stormy eyes and slender ankles and burritos and how she would look beautiful even with a cheap burrito plastered to her face...about Annabeth. Annabeth...uh. Crap. I didn't even know her last name!

I did, however, know her phone number.

"Here." A scrap of a napkin, scrawled on hastily as she climbed out. "Just in case we need some pizza, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Sad thing?

I had already memorized it.

Barely two hours after she had given me the number, and I had it memorized. And I am not a smart person; I barely even have a memory, let alone know what one is. And yet I had memorized this girl's phone number in less than one hundred and twenty minutes. Jesus.

I pulled up into the parking space outside of Lightning Strike to find Thalia attempting to prop herself up on a telephone pole.

She was dressed up - silky black dress, knee-length, swishy skirt, low cut. Silver belt just underneath her chest. Little silver handbag dangling precariously from her wrist. Strappy silver stilettos. Lipstick, blush, eyeshadow, all dark tones. Painted nails, up-do for her hair - a silver-and-diamond clip Uncle Hades had given her for her birthday last year.

Shit.

I got out and opened her door, gently easing her into the Volvo's leather seat (Annabeth sat here two hours ago). She was giggling insanely, humming "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts." Her eyes were crossed, and a dazed look was splashed across her features. I sighed and slid behind the wheel, pulling away and speeding towards the dorms.

"Pe-ercy!"

"How much did you really have, Thalia?"

"A lot." She frowned, a slight dent appearing between her eyebrows. "A lot a lot. The bartender complained until I paid her."

"How much?"

"A...a thousand?"

Well, that did tend to shut people up.

"Alright. Okay, cuz. Just...just close your eyes, okay? We're gonna be home soon. I'll lay you down and get you some water and blankets and pillows, and you can go straight to sleep, yeah?"

She hiccupped. I took it as a yes, made sure she was buckled in, and drove home.


It was a sad testament to our four years of college when the doorman for Thalia's builing took one look at us, rolled his eyes, and buzzed us in.

I was carrying her bridal-style at this point, and she was nearly asleep, her arms looped around my neck. She was drowsily humming an off-key rendition of "Mary Had A Little Lamb" under her breath, her eyelids dropping shut and flickering open again. I fished for the keys to her dorm on my keychain, and I had just inserted the key when I felt Thalia's sleepy body tense.

I turned, and he was standing at the other end of the hall.

His dirty blonde hair was messed up, his tie was undone, and his nice dress shirt was untucked. His hands were casually stuck in his designer pants pockets, and he was watching us with his blue eyes. "Nicely manouvered," he commented, leaning on the wall. "I could help."

"You could also go to hell," I suggested, shifting Thalia's weight onto my other arm. She buried her face in my neck. "I kind of get the feeling that Thalia would also suggest it at the moment."

He sighed, and for a moment I almost felt compassion for the guy. Then he started talking. "Look, it was all physical, okay? You're a guy, y'know...what it feels like when you're just floored by this one chick..." Sleazeball.

"Yes, and then I tend to get to know the chick and get emotionally involved before screwing her in a bathroom stall."

"I can't wait until marriage like she can!" he said, pointing at Thalia. "She's so much stronger than I'll ever be, being able to wait like that for someone she loves - "

"And if you really loved her, then you'd wait," I snapped at him. "You wouldn't go off and let your dick drive your actions, alright? I don't give a damn how much business your dad does with mine, you hurt her and you will pay for it. Go screw your bartender." I entered Thalia's dorm, yanked my key out of the lock, and slammed it shut, locking it firmly behind me.

Luckily Thalia's dad had given her enough to get her own private on-campus dorm...as opposed to my dad, who had made a deal with his brother and gotten me a room with Nico. Not that I was complaining, but really, my own room would be great.

She was tense in my arms, shaking, and it took me a minute to realize that there was wetness on my neck and that she was crying. Sobbing. All because of that asshole in the hallway.

I sighed and laid her down on her sofa. I pulled her hair down and took off her shoes, wiping at her mascara-slicked, tear-drenched cheeks with a Pizza Hut napkin. I tugged the tapestry blanket - a Christmas gift from my mom three years ago - over her, and I brought in an empty garbage can from the kitchen for the next morning.

I left a note on a purple post-it (she had thousands) that told her to call me, stuck it on the fridge, and left.


When I got back to my dorm, I ran across Bianca in the hall.

Bianca was a year older than Nico, Thalia, and I, and had graduated last year as head of her class with a business and accounting double major. She was taking over the company when her dad retired, a fact for which her little brother wa eternally grateful.

Despite her having graduated, she still worked here as a teacher's aide to earn some extra cash. Bianca had never liked the "born into money" deal, and always made her own way. It was especially handy when Nico had episodes...like now, for instance.

She was pulling her long, silky black hair away from her face when she saw me. She smiled, but it was a tired gesture. "He's calmed down now. He wouldn't really tell me what happened...something about a gorgeous bitch and expensive restaurants."

I shrugged. "Grover had a blind date."

She winced. "Ah. Got it. Well, I need to go...I have a class in..." she glanced at her watch and cursed. "Two hours."

I grinned at her. "Sleep. It's good for you."

She mock-glared at me before giving me a brief hug. "Thanks for taking care of those two, Percy. It's not easy."

"Well, I've got you for help. That makes it better."

She laughed, waved farewell, and dashed down the hall.

I sighed and entered the room, glancing at my own cell to catch the time. I mentally cursed. Four thiry in the damn morning...Jesus.

"Hey, Nic," I said before collapsing onto my bed. He gave a little wave from where he sat glued to Final Fantasy X.

"You plannin' on going to bed any time soon, cousin?"

"Dunno. What time is it?"

"Four thirty something."

"...It's the last class, we won't be doing anything anyway."

I rolled my eyes and curled into my bed, not even bothering to unmake it. I just tugged a blanket over me and drifted away.


I was awoken by a sound flick between my eyes.

I cursed and flailed around a bit, feeling like a fish that was just thrown out of the bowl and into a fire. Screw the frying pan. No one liked them anyway.

See, this is why I don't stay up late…and when I do, I don't wake up early. I tend to get a bit…more idiotic than usual.

I flicked open one eyelid to find a tiny black cat perched on my chest.

"…the hell? Nico, do we have a cat?"

"It's Grover's new best friend. He dropped it off this morning with like twenty pounds of cat food because his dorm won't take pets."

You've got to be kidding me.

The malicious little creature eyed me with evil intent glowing in its beady little gray eyes. This did not bode well for me. Not at all.

I picked the thing up by the scruff of the neck, ignoring its hiss of its royal displeasure. I sat up and stared at it. "Did he name it yet?"

"No, he said we could have the honor."

"Lucifer."

"…No."

"Satan."

"…No. And Hades isn't an option either."

"I wouldn't insult your dad by naming this abomination after him."

"It's a kitten, Percy. Not a sin against mankind."

"It hit me!"

"…Damn, it is too early to wake you up. I waited until ten…"

I sighed. "What are we going to name this thing, Nico?"

"Uh…Shadow?"

"…No."

He sighed. "I don't know. Maybe we should treat it like family and give it a mythological name."

"Makes sense."

"Nemesis?"

"I like it."

"I was kidding. Um…"

I stared at it for a few minutes, its gray eyes reminding me of another pair. But really, that would be a bit obvious…

"Athena," I said quietly, thinking of the little that Annabeth had told me of her family last night. The name was familiar – who didn't own something created by Athena? – but I doubted that Nico would connect it to Annabeth. He wasn't that smart.

"Athena," he agreed, coming over to rub the little fuzzbutt on the nose. "Sounds good."

That was when I got the call from Thalia, and everything went straight to hell.

A/N Welcome to chapter two! My apologies for the long wait...I was stuck. D:

Chapter One (1): It's a reference to Titan's Curse...when they're at the dam snack bar. :D

Chapter Two (1): For those of you who know the bar I'm talking about...Taylor kicks ass!

Anyway, thanks for being so patient with me! I'm really working towards it...finals are almost done. -sob- TT-TT

Um, to answer a few reviewer questions (can't remember if I got you, and this should avoid repeat questions):

Oldmanmah: No, Thalia is Percy's cousin.

Moondragonheart: Yeah, you got it right! It is from Titan's Curse. Battle was so good! -nomnom-

bubblegum11: I figure that since Ares has a thing for Aphrodite, he likes pretty chicks. So Clarisse's mom should be fairly good looking, I think. And pineapple pizza is love.

Thank you guys so much for your reviews and love. Hopefully I'll update again soon!

- dnrl