Chapter Two

Peter was really starting to find the increasing regularity of his person being thrown bodily into an alley rather irritating.

"This is a bit of a road trip for you, isn't it?" He asked Percy Jackson coolly.

"What did you do to Nico!" Being the rough brute he is, Percy had his arm across Peter's windpipe and his back pressed painfully against the wall. To their right, Peter could hear the chatter of Italians going about their business in their capital. He'd left the girls' hotel feeling considerably more relaxed and more at home already, only to find himself accosted barely three streets later.

"Oh, careful, Perce, you should know that I'm into the whole pain thing. Press any harder on my throat and I might just get excited."

He growled in anger and did it anyway. Not one to go back on his word, Peter promptly rolled his hips into Percy's side to prove his point. Percy stared at him. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Take out kidding, and my answer is in all likelihood, soon."

He gave Peter a disgusted look and stepped away. "Tell me what you said to Nico before you left."

Peter decided to be nice and humour Percy. He wasn't used to remembering information, being a live-in-the-moment kind of guy, but he thought. And thought. "Oh, well I told him I knew what his deepest fear was, and how I could make it become reality. Do you mean that?"

Percy looked stunned. "What were you talking about, how could you know what it was?"

Peter shrugged. "He knows who my grandma is, so given that I assumed it was to do with you, should I want to I could see what he's so worried about. But it would take a while for me to shift through all that useless info 'bout just how darned sexy he thinks you are, and I couldn't be bothered, so I guessed."

"You don't really know."

"Keep up, keep up. All brawn and no brains, eh?"

"He's avoiding me for no reason! Well whatever it was you guessed at, it hurt him pretty badly, you bastard." He looked like he'd like nothing better than to drown Peter where he stood. Peter knew he wouldn't, so deemed it safe to taunt just a little bit more.

"Does Annabeth know you're here? Or why?" The blond asked innocently.

A shadow passed over Percy's face. "You're coming with me." He growled, grabbing Peter's arm in a vice-like grip.

"Uh, no. And you can't make me... unless... I'll go with you if you can get me an audience with Athena."

Percy gaped, then seemed to collect himself somewhat and said, "No promises, but I can try. Come on."

Peter allowed himself to be manhandled further down the street, where a horse with wings was waiting. "Uh, no. You want me to go with you to the Big Apple, then we're going by plane. End of discussion." Percy visibly paled. "Come on, you wimp. And don't worry about being blown out of the sky, or anything. Aphrodite loves me and would never let Zeus hurt my pretty face. Besides, you can't be that important. Not anymore, at least, what with the world safe from impending doom and all."

Percy glowered furiously. "Fine." He muttered, then turned to the mutant horse and whispered something gently in its ear. It shot me a dirty look before soaring away. "You better pay for our flights, 'cause I'm sure as hell not going to."

"Relax, big boy, one flash of my cute dimples and we'll have two first class tickets. Might roll up your sleeves a bit for good measure, give 'em some flesh." Percy's glare intensified and Peter shrugged. "Oh well, have it your way. I'll just have to rely on my charm."

*

Peter was flirting outrageously in Italian with the brunette air hostess when Percy fainted.

"Oh, just leave him, it's probably better," Peter told the doctor who was conveniently sitting to their left. "He hates being in the air." He explained to the Italian girl.

She smiled, and nodded understandably. "Can I fetch him anything?" She asked, fulfilling her duties. Peter shook his head. "What about you, sir?" Her smile turned seductive. Peter always had preferred flirting in Italian, rather than English: it was so much more romantic.

"The pleasure of your company would be a start."

She glanced down the gangway at where her co-workers were throwing her jealous looks.

"That's something I'd have no problem in giving you. So, is he your boyfriend?" She asked quickly, giving Percy's unconscious form an appreciative look.

"Yeah," Peter confirmed. The brunette's expression lit up, clearly picturing the two of them together. She arched a questioning eyebrow at Peter. "But I'm not ready to be exclusive yet." He added, leaning forward.

*

"What the hell do you know about what Percy wants?" The much-loved hero himself winced as he heard the girl's, who Peter presumed must be Annabeth, loud and angry voice.

"Because I-"

Percy slammed the door open before Nico could say what we all already knew. As Percy stood in the doorway, looking at his girlfriend and his bit on the side, Peter was abruptly aware if who Percy loved more. Aphrodite's grandson could feel the jealousy radiating from Annabeth - a gorgeous blonde, he noted with interest - but Nico just wanted to kiss Percy, welcome him home, tell him how very much he'd missed him. Anteros would be pleased that Nico's love wasn't unrequited, and Peter had to admit that he was too: Nico had grown on him over the last few months. Percy, meanwhile, was evidently struggling to keep his gaze off Nico's face.

Peter needed to talk to Annabeth anyway, so whispered in Percy's direction, "Go on." Then stepped past Percy and Nico, scooped up his cousin and marched into what Peter presumed was her and Percy's bedroom. "Hello, I'm Peter."