Percy and Rumi spent the last day of his internship taking it easy. They had both been pretty banged up in their respective fights, and they decided that a day of short patrols, and a light training session was enough. They shared a final dinner together at the same little restaurant that Rumi had taken him to before he started at U.A. It had been a bittersweet evening, and as nice as it had been, Percy would admit that he was more than a little disappointed to be heading back to school.

There had been a blessed freedom in working with Rumi. Something about having a schedule that didn't include classwork, and actually feeling like he was using his abilities for good had been wonderfully liberating. Still, he would admit that he was looking forward to seeing the Cats and his classmates again. Though he would admit that he was looking forward to the lecture that he was certain was coming from Mandalay.

In spite of everything that had happened, Percy couldn't deny that the week had been a complete success. He'd been keeping a key eye on the recent polls, and ever since the news broke that Percy had accepted an internship with Rumi, and even just in the last twenty-four hours following the battle in Hosu, Rumi's popularity had been sky-rocketing. She had gained nearly four places, and was threatening at breaking into the top-three ranks. Percy figured that it would only be a matter of time before she broke through, though he wasn't sure if she'd be catching that Hawks guy anytime soon. All told, Percy had accomplished everything he'd wanted to accomplish the past week, he'd repaid the debt he felt he owed, and he'd even managed to make some serious progress with his father's gift. Still, he was going to miss this, was going to miss Rumi, in the last week, he felt as though they'd really grown close. He enjoyed her presence, even when she was being a hard ass, she was good company, and did a lot to make him feel completely at ease.

He was just finishing packing away his things, closing the lid on the the traveling case for his uniform, Rumi was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe watching him work. Latching the case closed, he hoisted it into his hands and turned to face Rumi,

"So," He said awkwardly, unsure of quite what to say,

"Yeah…" Rumi said, an annoyed expression playing on her features,

"Guess this is it." Percy said,

"Not forever," Rumi said quickly, marching forward and jamming a finger into Percy's chest, "You better keep in touch, and don't forget that you have to have a work-study next semester, and-and if I don't see a request form on my desk I'll march down to U.A. myself and-"

"I know, I know," He laughed, brushing her finger away, "Anyone ever tell you you're a broken record?"

Rumi just glared at him, "I'm being serious smartass." She growled, "I need a quality punching bag, they're hard to come by and you're fun to smack around,"

"Funny," Percy said, brushing past her and heading out into the hall, "Because I'm pretty sure that it's eight to five in my favor,"

"Bullshit!" Rumi spluttered, racing after him, "You can't count those first three times, you were cheating!"

"Oh right," He said sarcastically, "Because when you kick me hard enough to shatter my ribcage that's totally fair, but I drop one little river on you and suddenly someone's cheating."

"Your power-set is broken and you know it jackass." Rumi grumbled,

"Can't help being a badass," Percy shot back as they descended down the steps, "It's okay, being jealous is a perfectly natural reaction to being just so thoroughly overpowered."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're an asshole?"

"Yeah, this short-stack with a fluffy tail called me that once, so I threw her through a wall."

"I hate you,"

"Lies,"

They stopped short of the door to the exit, and they fell silent as a slightly heavy weight seemed to fall on both their shoulders. Rumi's ears slouched forward somewhat as she crossed her arms and looked adamantly at the floor.

"Rumi," Percy quietly, though she still didn't look at him, "Thank you, you know, for taking me in…I know you didn't need to, and you certainly didn't need to teach me anything, but you did anyways. You brought me in, in spite of everything, and you really beat some sense into me…so thank you. This has been one of the best weeks I've had since coming here, even with all the bullshit."

A rueful smile spread across her lips, and she finally looked up at him, "Don't tell me you're going soft on me," She deflected, slugging him playfully on the shoulder,

"Shut up," Percy said, before hesitating for a moment, deciding to just go with his gut, he wrapped his arms suddenly around the smaller woman and brought her in to a tight embrace. She stiffened momentarily at the sudden contact, before she relaxed and matched the gesture, wrapping her arms around his jacketed torso, burying her face into his shoulder. Her ears were twitching against his cheek, and tickling the small bristles of stubble that he'd neglected to shave.

"You're making me soft," She grumbled, even as she clung a little tighter, and Percy just laughed. "Keep in touch, all right?" She demanded, as she broke the embrace and took a small step back, and jammed a finger into his torso, "And more importantly, you better not start slacking. Because I'll be keeping up with the Cats, and if I hear you're giving less than everything you have and then some, you'll have me to deal with. You're wearing my symbol now," She gestured to the small ornament that Percy had attached to his hip, "And I can't have you representing me badly."

"I won't," He chuckled, "Would hate to have to embarrass you in front of the kids," And then he had to duck out of the way as Rumi aimed a swipe at his head, laughing as he pushed open the door, he stepped out into the cool night air.

"I'll be in touch," He called out to her as he stepped out onto the street, giving her a small wave.

"You better!" She called back, glaring at him as she perched herself against the door jam.

Giving her one last smirk, turned, and began walking back towards U.A., and his apartment.

BREAK

It was sunny the following morning, and the chill of early spring had finally given way to the warm early mornings of summer. Percy would admit that he was still coming to grips with the absolutely wild way education worked in Japan, he couldn't fathom having to come back for a summer term, though he supposed if that meant that he got to get out of school a year earlier, he wasn't exactly going to complain…much.

His jaw cracking around a massive yawn, he took a sip from the coffee in the thermos he was carrying, he'd had the strange dream again the previous night. It had gone exactly as it had the night at Rumi's. Every moment, exactly the same, as though he'd hit rewind on a VHS player. He was convinced now, that it meant something. That someone was trying to reach out to him, someone from New York, from Olympus. He just couldn't figure out who it was supposed to be. He had been so certain that the rest of the Pantheon had gone, but he supposed he hadn't actually gone to New York to check and see if his suspicions had been correct. But if that were the case, surely someone would have come to see him by now, right?

Maybe he was just giving the gods too much credit though. They were self-centered to a fault, or rather, most of them were. The thought that it was trap had occurred to him as well, that one of the enemies he'd made in his youth were trying to get back at him. Kronos maybe, trying to finish the job he'd started a few months…or rather a couple hundred years ago. But that couldn't be right, surely if Kronos had taken over then the world would be an unmitigated shit-show, right?

He scowled and took another deep pull from his coffee, it was too early to be worrying about something like this, but still, he decided that he would need to meet with Nezu, the little rodent would be understanding about the situation. Might even be willing to help Percy get across the ocean too.

"Hey! Percy!" A familiar called out, rousing Percy from his thoughts. Turning his head, Percy smiled as he caught sight of Midoriya running to catch up to him. He had a few bandages on his face, and a nasty looking black-eye that had already turned a rather nasty shade of yellow.

"Hey Midoriya," Percy greeted as he arched a brow at the boy's disheveled appearance, "Gods be good kid, you look like you've been through twelve rounds with Mayweather,"

"Who?" Midoriya asked, tilting his head to the side,

"Nevermind," Percy sighed, rolling his eyes, before glancing around quickly to check and make sure there weren't any students nearby to eavesdrop and leaned in close, "Heard you, Iida, and Todoroki had a little run-in with a certain armed Psycho."

Midoriya froze mid-step, and Percy wasn't surprised. That was supposed to be confidential, but being close with a member of the top ten had its perks. Rumi had filled Percy in on exactly what happened, and how the Hero Commission and Police Commission were running with the story that it had been Endeavor, and not students of U.A. that had been the one to stop Hero-Killer.

"H-how did y-you-" Midoriya stammered out,

"Nevermind how I know," Percy said, crossing his arms over his chest, "So?" He asked expectantly, and Midoriya averted his gaze, and fidgeted awkwardly with his hands,

"It-it was after you sent me to find I-Iida," Midoriya mumbled, "I got a text from him, just a set of coordinates but I just knew that it m-meant something b-bad was happening, so-so I went there, and Todoroki arrived shortly after-after I did. It-it got pretty ugly," The young hero winced, and rubbed uncomfortably at a bandage still on his arm, "But all that training with you and-" He flinched, and looked away for a second, his eyes watering, and Percy had the sneaking suspicion he was going to say All Might. Percy had always found that the pair had a strange relationship, but never felt that it was his place to pry, what Midoriya's relationship was with the former Symbol of Peace wasn't his problem.

Midoriya rubbed quickly at his eyes in a desperate attempt to stem the sudden flow of tears, and Percy allowed him the moment to compose himself,

"All of my training with you really paid off, and Iida and Todoroki have been working hard and really improving too, and the three of us managed to stop him, but Iida got pretty banged up. He's okay!" The boy added hastily when Percy opened his mouth to respond, "He just got cut p-pretty bad on his arm but he's o-okay now." Midoriya looked down at his shoes, his fingers clenching,

"Thank you, by the way," He muttered softly, so quietly that Percy nearly missed hearing the boy say anything, "For saying something to him. Uraraka and I…we were really worried about him, before we left, and-and I wanted to say something to him, but I saw you do it and-and" The boy suddenly bowed, and Percy became immensely aware of all of the people that had suddenly stopped to watch the strange interaction,

"Thank you for talking to him! I was so worried that something was going to happen and I-"

"Oh for the love of-" Percy groused, and pulled Midoriya to his feet, "Come on man, please don't do that,"

"I'm sorry!" Midoriya said again, and made to bow a second time, before catching himself, and Percy just rolled his eyes, and sighed, before turning to head back into the building. Kid was just too polite for his own good. Midoriya's footsteps clapped against the cobble road as he scrambled to catch up to Percy,

"Sorry," he said again, "Just…thank you, for doing what I was too much of a coward to do."

Percy stopped, his foot on the step to the school, and looked in confusion at Midoriya,

"Too much of a coward?" He asked, bewildered, and the younger hero just shifted uncomfortably in place,

"Well…Yeah," He said awkwardly, "I wanted to say something to him…but I couldn't bring myself to say anything, and then when I saw you say something I just…" He trailed off, averting his eyes and looking more dejected than Percy had ever seen him look before, "Heroes are supposed to help people, but I can't even help my friends,"

Percy's jaw clenched, tightly and he stepped closer, placing a hand on Midoriya's shoulder,

"Midoriya…Izuku," He clarified, and Midoriya looked up, "Confronting your friends, telling them what they need to hear but not necessarily what they want to hear? That's one of the hardest things a person can do. Should you have said something to Iida?" Percy shrugged, "Probably, but you didn't, chances are that he wouldn't have listened to you anyway." He placed his hand on Midoriya's shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze, "What matters right now though, is that you learn from what happened, and promise yourself to do better,"

Midoriya took a long moment to consider Percy's words before he ultimately nodded, "I promise," He said,

"Don't promise me," Percy said, shaking his head, "Promise yourself,"

Midoriya smiled and nodded his head emphatically,

"Good man," Percy said, clapping Midoriya on the back and began walking away and Midoriya scrambled to catch up.

"How are you by the way?" He asked, looking around nervously, "I-I watched your fight on TV, in the hospital, you-you looked kind of rough…"

"I'm fine," Percy said with a dismissive way, "Sore as all hell, but I've taken my share of lumps in my time."

"What…" Midoriya swallowed thickly, "What was it like? Fighting…fighting that thing?"

"Painful," Percy snorted as he opened the door to the school and let Midoriya pass him, "Guy hit harder than anything I've faced since coming to the future. Stubborn bastard had a counter to everything I threw at him. Don't know how much longer I'd have lasted if All Might hadn't shown up."

Midoriya flinched again and Percy clicked his tongue, suddenly annoyed with himself for the slip-up. He should have known better than to bring All Might up around Midoriya.

"Midoriya-" He started to say but Midoriya waved him off,

"It's fine, Percy," He said, looking down at the ground as they walked, "I…it had to happen eventually…didn't it? All Might couldn't be a hero for forever…I just…" He flinched again and Percy stopped, his brow furrowing. Something weird was going on, he'd been suspicious of Midoriya and All Might's relationship for some time but the way the kid was acting now…

Reaching out he stopped Midoriya as he was about to walk into his English class,

"What's going on Midoriya?" He asked,

"It's nothing!" Midoriya said hastily,

"Bullshit," Percy snorted, "Please don't lie to me Midoriya, you're not exactly good at it,"

Midoriya's shoulders slumped and Percy leaned up against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest,

"Talk to me about it Midoriya," He said, "Don't bottle these kinds of things up, take it from someone who knows, it comes out sooner or later and you'll feel better if you talk about it."

Midoriya flinched again, and hastily looked up and down the hall, luckily with classes starting soon, most of the students had already vacated the halls. When he was certain that they were alone, he asked in a shaking undertone,

"Do-do you ever…do you ever feel like you're being asked to be more than you are? Like people-people expect you to be something…to do something more than you can do…like you're expected to-to fill some kind role but you can't?"

Percy's eyebrows shot to his hairline, "All the time," He said easily, "But where is that coming from?"

Midoriya unconsciously fidgeted, his hand clenching an unclenching, "I don't-I can't" He shook his head vigorously, "I'm-I'm sorry Percy, but I-I n-need to get to c-class! I'll s-see you later!" And before Percy could say anything more, Midoriya dashed into the classroom.

"What the hell is going on with you Midoriya?" Percy asked under his breath, looking incredulously at where the smaller boy had vanished. Shaking his head, and making a mental note to talk to the young hero later, Percy strode down the hall towards his own classroom. He made it through the door just as the bell signaling the beginning of classes tolled.

The classroom he shared with the Cats was empty, save for Mandalay leaning against the head desk, her arms folded under her chest. She looked up as Percy walked into the room, a sour expression painting her features, Percy recognized that look, it was the same look his mother used to give him right before she scolded him.

Sighing, Percy deposited his bag on the floor, and sat on the edge of his usual desk and met Mandalay's gaze evenly,

"I'm about to get a lecture, aren't I?" He asked,

"Damn right you are," She said sternly, "What the hell were you thinking? Going after someone like that? Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"I didn't go looking for him!" Percy snapped, "I was doing something else and-"

"I know exactly what you were doing!" Mandalay all but hissed, "You were going after the League!"

"You're damn right I was!" Percy said, pushing off the desk and getting up in Mandalay's face, "They attacked my friends! The bastard tried to kill Tsu! Did you think I was going to let that slide?"

"I thought you would be smart enough to call for backup!" Mandalay shot back,

"I didn't need backup!" Percy said in exasperation, "Shigaraki was all bark, no bite. You corner him and the only thing he could do was run away!"

"Right," Mandalay said with a roll of her eyes, "Must be why he managed to take your arm,"

Percy glared at her, "There was a hell of a lot more to it than that and you know it,"

"You don't get it!" Mandalay seethed, pushing Percy roughly with her paw, tears welling up at the corner's of her eyes, "You have absolutely no idea what it was like. I was there! I was there when they pulled you out of the water. I was there when we found your arm, when they dragged you out of that fucking lake looking like you had just been thrown in front of a bus, do you have any idea what that was like? What it was like to be in the ambulance when you died? To sit in that damn hospital room, hoping and praying to whoever would be willing to listen that you'd be able to even breathe again? Let alone walk or fight?" Tears dripped down the side of her cheeks, and Percy recoiled slightly,

"Shino-" He started to say weakly,

"No!" She cut across him, "No! You don't get to talk right now, you get to listen!"

Feeling suddenly rather numb, Percy couldn't do more than nod in understanding,

"I don't care," Mandalay said, "I don't care how strong you are, I don't care if you can wipe the floor with all four of us with one arm tied behind your back. You don't get to scare us like that, you don't get to go after the people responsible for mutilating you, and putting us through that hell all over again. You don't get to have some kind of overpowered throw-down with some super-villain freak-show and act like it's not a big deal, because it is!" Her shoulders were shaking as the tears were falling even more freely and her body quivered with each racking sob,

"You matter to us, you might as well be family at this point Percy…" She wiped desperately at her eyes with the back of her paw, "And seeing you fight something like that…seeing you go after the people who hurt you in the first place…seeing you get hurt again…" Another choking sob escaped her as she curled in on herself. Moving forward, Percy just wrapped the smaller woman into a tight hug,

"I know," She sniffled, as she allowed the embrace, "I know that I can't ask you not to put yourself in danger…I know that I can't ask that of you, but please, please, don't needlessly try to throw your life away. Don't do that to us after we just got you, please."

Percy just nodded, his mouth dry, "I can't promise that something won't happen," He said softly, "You know I can't promise that, but I do know that there are people here who care about me, people I care about. People I want to fight for, and people I want to live for. I won't promise not to get hurt, but I will promise to always come back."

It was an empty promise, both of them knew that. Their lives were simply too uncertain for that to be true, but the fact that Percy was willing and able to say the words was enough to calm the sobbing woman. They didn't get much done in terms of an actual lesson that morning, but Percy was once again reminded how much he had now.

And just how much he stood to lose.

BREAK

Percy was already feeling drained when it was finally time for their afternoon Hero lessons. There was a lot of activity coming from the homeroom as he shuffled inside, and despite his fatigue from the emotionally draining morning, he still couldn't quite fight the smile on his face as he saw the rest of his classmates regaling one another with stories from their internships. Sharing a look with Tokoyami, who gave Percy a meaningful nod, Percy squeezed past his classmates and deposited himself into his seat in the back. Yaoyorozu turned, and made to say something but stopped herself as Iida strode over to Percy.

"Class President," The teen said, dipping his head forward in a respectful bow, Percy sighed but kept himself from groaning. "I wanted to thank you for what you said to me before we left for our internships,"

"Glad to see that you listened," Percy said shortly, and glanced down at the boy's wrist to see that it was in a sling, "Safe to assume that you've worked through your stuff?"

"Yes…" Iida said curtly, "I…spoke to my brother after it happened, and you were right. He…reprimanded me rather severely for my actions, and I believe now I understand why you said what you did."

"Glad to help," He said with a shrug, "Just remember that we can't do everything on our own,"

"You ever going to follow your own advice?" Yaoyorozu asked, her eyes narrowed,

"Not you too," Percy groaned, collapsing deeper into the desk, "I just spent all morning getting the third degree from Mandalay, could I please not get it from you too,"

"No," Shoji said, as he and Tokoyami approached, "Because you're acting like a hypocrite, telling Iida not to run head first into trouble when you constantly do the same thing,"

"How on earth did you-" Percy began to say before one of Shoji's tentacles transformed into an ear,

"I hear everything," He said cheekily,

"Thought that was Joan's schtick," Percy grumbled, and folded his arms, "Do as I say and not as I do?" He said helplessly, but that didn't seem to sway his friends, "All right look, there's a difference okay? I didn't actively go looking for a fight with that All for One asshat, he just yanked me to him. There's a bit of a difference."

"Be that as it may," Tokoyami said, "You are the leader of this class, and you are repeatedly finding yourself in situations that are exceedingly dangerous, you should lead by example,"

"I would have called for help if I could have," Percy tried to explain, "Things escalated quickly, one minute I'm throwing down with some bad guys, next thing I know I'm being dragged away through a portal and I'm sitting in a basement of some weird ass lab with Mr. Potato Head. Besides, my phone got trashed in the fight with the Nomu so I was kind of S.O.L. on calling out for any help."

Shoji just grunted, and Yaoyorozu still looked less than pleased at the explanation,

"Look," Percy said, "I'm sorry guys, okay, you're absolutely right, I should have called for help and if I could have, I would have, and I promise to try and be better about it."

"This is going to be a theme with you, isn't it?" Yaoyorozu sighed,

"Probably," Percy admitted,

"I guess this is the best that we're going to get," Shoji grumbled, before clapping Percy on the shoulder, "That aside, that was a hell of a fight. Always knew you were holding back on us."

Percy chuckled and shrugged his shoulders before glancing at the clock, seeing as classes were about to start he gestured with his hand and the others took the cue, and got into their seats. Only a few seconds after Tokoyami took his seat, the door to the classroom opened and Aizawa shuffled in. He barely spared a glance at the quiet class before taking his place behind the podium.

"As you no doubt know," He said, "We are only a few weeks away from the final exams." The rest of the class seemed to lean forward in slight apprehension. "There will be three days of written examinations followed by your practical exams. I shouldn't need to tell you that you all need to be training your minds as well as your bodies for what's to come. Anyone who fails the exam doesn't get to go to the training camp this summer, as they will be forced tot take remedial classes. Now go and change up, you'll be meeting at Training Ground Gamma. Jackson, outside, I need to have a word with you."

"Godsdammit," Percy grumbled as he stood up, and grabbed his things before following the teacher from the classroom. Closing the door behind him, he turned to face Aizawa as he perched himself against the far wall.

"A couple of things," Aizawa said without preamble. "First and foremost is your final exam, I will trust you not to divulge this to the rest of the class, but the final exam will be a fight between the students and the teachers, the students will either need to escape or subdue their teacher."

"That's..bold," Percy observed, "You really think they can take on you guys? Even in pairs? They've come a long ways in a short time but still-"

"We'll be handicapped, the support department has something in the works to more evenly level the playing field." Aizawa explained, "But don't interrupt me." He glared and Percy fought not to roll his eyes, "Originally, All Might was slated to fight in the test as well, but obviously now that won't be happening. We would like you to fill his place."

Percy blinked, "Wow," He said, "All right, yeah, sure, I can do that. But why go to me? Why not just ask another pro?"

"Because they'll charge us for it, why bother outsourcing when Nezu already has you bent over the table," Aizawa countered, "Any other questions?" and Percy glared at him,

"Good," Aizawa nodded,

"So is that going to be my exam too? Because that doesn't seem particularly fair to anybody, either way someone will fail."

"And I would argue that's a good lesson for all young heroes to learn," Aizawa said harshly, "But unfortunately, I have been overruled. No, your final will be something different. After you finish the class exams you'll be reporting to the USJ for your exam." He checked his watch, "Now hurry up and get to class," Without another word, Aizawa turned on his heel and marched away down the hall.

"Asshole," Percy muttered, before running off towards the changing room.

BREAK

Sweat dribbled down the side of face and he did his best to control his breathing, it was getting harder to hold onto his concentration, the door to the gymnasium opened and Percy lost his concentration. The winds he'd summoned from the palms of his hands to stabilize him disappeared and he plummeted to the floor with a startled yelp, landing harshly with a grunt of pain.

"Dammit!" He hissed out, as he did his best to try and catch his breath, the fall had knocked the wind completely out of his lungs. Giving up, he allowed himself to collapse onto his back, staring up at the ceiling, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"That looked painful," A cheerful voice said happily as Percy's vision was obscured by a sudden mass of blue hair and eyes.

"It was," He said,

"I don't think it's working out for you." Nejire said as she reached down and offered Percy a hand, which he gratefully took and allowed himself to be hauled to his feet.

"Probably," Percy grunted as he dusted off his pants, "Every time I try and move more than three feet I just rocket through the air like a damn missile,"

"Would probably hurt if you hit someone with that hard head of yours," Nejire said, tapping Percy on the side of the head with a finger tip. Percy looked at the smaller girl skeptically and rolled his eyes,

"You going to lecture me too?" He asked as he peeked around her, "Amajiki and Mirio hiding out somewhere? Going to triple-team me on this?"

"Nah," Nejire said, as she suddenly launched herself into the air with her quirk, she did a series of complicated looking arial loops before floating around, upside down, by Percy's head, "Pretty sure Miss Mandalay and your friends have done enough lecturing for one day." She flipped right-side up and dropped to the floor with a twirl.

"Show-off," Percy smirked, and Nejire stuck her tongue out at him petulantly.

"Don't be jealous," She said as she took off into the air again,

"So have you decided not to be stupid anymore?" She shouted as she raced through the air, and Percy groaned,

"I thought you said you weren't going to lecture me." He shouted back. Nejire twirled mid-air, firing off a pair of spiraling corkscrew blasts from her palms that smashed into a pair practice dummies, completely destroying them. Dancing through the air, she shot back towards him, coming to a skidding stop at his side.

"Not a lecture," She said happily, "Just a question. Have you decided that you aren't going to be stupid any more? I thought we'd gotten over this, but apparently that head of yours is thicker than I thought it was."

"Look!" Percy said, getting frustrated, "I'm not going around trying to find trouble or get hurt!" He was getting really tired of getting the third-degree from everyone. His fight with Shigaraki? Yeah, he would take the fall for that one, that was on him, but the fight with All for One? Percy had literally been dragged into that fight, and he was tired of people ripping into him for something that wasn't his fault.

"Percy," Nejire said calmly, not letting Percy's agitation get to her, and she placed a hand on his chest, "Breathe." Percy took a second and inhaled deeply through his nostrils, closing his eyes and counting down backwards from ten, by the time he reached six he was feeling considerably calmer.

"I'm not here to lecture you, I wouldn't be telling you anything that you haven't heard already." Nejire explained. "I'm just going to tell you that the reason people have been so hard on you today, is because they care. Whether you like it or not Percy, people are rather attached to you now, and as weird as this might be, we don't like seeing people we care about get hurt. That's why people have been getting in your face about your fight with the faceless guy."

Her fingers traced up and down the cool metal of his faux arm, and Percy flinched slightly, not at the contact, but at his understanding of what she was telling him.

"Because one of these days you're going to run into someone or something who is as strong or worse, as stubborn as you are. You're powerful Percy, but you're not invincible. We just don't want to lose you, right after we got you."

Percy sighed, and his head dipped to his chin.

"I'm sorry," He said softly,

"You're forgiven," Nejire chirped happily, and Percy couldn't help but chuckle,

"You're a little pixie, you know that?" He asked, and she nodded her head,

"Yup," She said, her hair bobbing up and down. She opened her arms wide, "Now hug."

A laugh burbled up from his chest, as he stepped forward and brought the smaller woman into a hug,

"Hug," He said back.

AN: Awe, this was a cute little chapter to write. Lots of heart-to-heart convos and fun character interactions. Not much plot related, but the next couple of chapters get real fun and interesting so get read! As always shoutout to Double0Sxvxn for being an awesome Beta and dealing with my bullshit and as always if you enjoyed this but haven't checked out my other work, give them a try you never know you might find something else you like. I'm also on discord now, where I and a bunch of other writers hang out, chat and brainstorm ideas, you just have to copy the link that's in my profile bio if you want to come and hang out with us. Stay safe, stay healthy and have an awesome week.

All My Love and see you next week,

LilDB