A/N: It has been too long! Work has been nothing but craziness. Hope you all enjoy!

Almost two weeks since Percy joined the household. It only took five days for Audrey's mangy tomcat to make an appearance. Missing several teeth, half an ear, and an eye, Roosevelt was known for making children cry and men go for their guns.

Well, they used to. Two trailers down lived a cranky old widower named Mr. Morrison. He tried to feed Roosevelt to his rottweiler. A nasty dog who possibly had rabies. No one witnessed anything, but that dog now spent most of his days under the porch and pissing himself.

Which is why when Audrey walked into the living room one Sunday morning, she nearly dropped the plate of toast she was carrying when she saw overgrown rat curled up on Percy's chest, purring and leaning in for a scratch behind the ear.

Even more surprising, was the look of content on her roommate's face. For the first time, he looked completely relaxed and at peace. His eyes were no longer darting around, nervously scanning everything, nor were they squeezed shut when he forgot how to move his arms. They were half-mast and staring sleepily at the television. His usually tight mouth was relaxed into a small smile.

After that, it was like Roosevelt had taken it upon himself to adopted the awkward, silent boy.

"Ingrate," Audrey muttered as Roo wound himself between Percy's legs. "I've been feeding you for what? Three years now? And I'm still not good enough to pet you, huh?"

But inwardly, she was glad. Her new roommate still had barely uttered said more than four words at a time. After their supply trip, he'd built his walls higher, and hadn't left the house since. Audrey didn't begrudge him for it. He barely ate anything, so the food bill hadn't increased much, and he only took a shower when she reminded him too.

It scared Audrey, just a little bit. It was like he would just shut off. If she left him now, he would probably forget to eat. Just sit and waste away. Or when he'd be in the middle of doing something, like sipping tea, he'd suddenly stop. He'd go rigid and trembling, and he'd stay locked like that until Audrey talked him down, sometimes helping him complete the action. She'd watch how his eyes turned into liquid pools of terror and despair. A faint ring of brown encircling inky pools.

Slowly though, she felt like they'd been making progress. He'd smile sometimes. He'd even ask an odd question here or there concerning her non-magical life (still wouldn't talk about his own though). He even came outside once or twice to sit on the small porch and watch Audrey try to keep her lawn alive. For some reason, he really seemed to like sitting in her studio, watching her paint.

"What's that?" He asked once.

Audrey regarded the mess of greys and browns. "It's supposed to be a griffin," she replied.

"It's a Hippogriff," Percy said.

"A what-now?"

It was the first time Percy had talked about his world. "You gave it the lower body of a horse. Griffins have the lower body of a lion."

"Huh. Alright then."

They'd fallen into a routine. Routines were good. Stable.

Something nagged at Audrey though. She noticed the way, occasionally, he'd reach into his pocket and a look of sorrow would cross his face. The action confused her at first, but when she finally figured it out, she felt like smacking herself.

The first thing he did when he first woke up was ask for his wand.

"You twat," she muttered at herself.

Other than his burst of what he called accidental magic, caused by extreme stress, he'd shown no other signs. No tables turning or glass breaking. Nothing. Audrey concluded that wizards needed their wands to control their magic. She also guess by Percy's complete lack of understanding in the most basic of technology told her that wizards probably relied on magic for nearly everything.

When he finally figured out how to use the remote, Audrey would never forget the satisfaction on his face. Like he'd uncovered all of the world's mysteries.

She went out and cleared out the thrift store's supply of history books the next day. When she came home, she almost choked on her gum.

Mary and Jenna had invited themselves over (as her friends often did), apparently tired of their friend's constant excuses to not go out for drinks after work, and had clearly made themselves at home.

So Percy was sitting on the pull-out, eating a danish, sandwiched between two very well-endowed women in fishnets and watching the nature channel.

"What is this?" She asked, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.

"You didn't tell us your cousin was staying with you," Jenna said accusingly.

Percy shrugged at Audrey's raised eyebrow, the corner of his lip turned up in a smile. He looked for all the world like a regular, well-functioning person. No mysterious trauma weighing him down. Audrey shrugged. "We've been sorting a few things out."

With a smile, she climbed onto the bed, draping herself at the foot of it. "So what's happening with the elephants now?"

After they left, she glared half-heartedly. "Cousin?"

For someone who had just had their world ripped out from under them, Percy was doing an incredible job at adapting. For hours, he'd pour over the books, soaking in every bit of information he could find. A nerd through and through.

But he missed magic. That much was clear.

Audrey slipped out in the early morning, saying she was going for a run. And run she did. Down the road to where she hoped was the location of their first meeting. If wizards needed their wands for magic, then his still had to be somewhere. Hopefully still in one piece.

Within minutes, Audrey's arms were covered in mud and muck. She cursed herself for not thinking of this sooner. She prayed that it would still be in one piece. Percy needed some semblance of control back in his life. Maybe he'd be able to go home. Start to rebuild his life.

That thought left her with a sour taste in her mouth. She's gotten used to his presence, and the thought of him immediately taking off didn't sit well with her. Then again, he said he didn't have family to go back to.

"Come on," she muttered. "Where the hell are you?"

Luck seemed to be in her favor though. A long, smooth stick caught the corner of her eye. She gingerly picked it up, rubbing the dirt off. It was dark brown, smooth, and with a carved handle. This had to be it. No doubt about it.

Grinning like an idiot, she crawled out of the ditch.