Since this is the first fic for Fleetchy, I'd appreciate a small mention if you wrote them, thanks. :)

Disclaimer: The Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus cast belongs to Rick Riordan, not to me.

Please enjoy this oneshot!

-8-

As Butch was flying his chariot, he sighed. He needed a break from finding Percy. Days and days had he and Annabeth been searching for the missing Percy, but they'd had no luck. Butch pulled on the reins to slow down his pegasi and shifted the reins from his right hand to his left. Being the son of Iris allowed him to create a mini rainbow with a flick of his wrist, so he grabbed a coin from his pocket and threw it into the rainbow, praying:

"O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show Iris, goddess of the rainbow."

Butch wasn't used to the new chant. He was accustomed to "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me…"

Saying "Fleecy" made him irritated. Who was this Fleecy who had replaced his mother's name? Iris was the goddess of the rainbow and messages, not Fleecy.

Butch gripped the reins, his swift skills in handling the pegasi allowing him to look into the rippling rainbow image while driving.

"Hello?" came a voice that was coming in from a faded background.

"Yeah, hi. Who is this?" Butch scrunched his face, making it look more brick-like as a result of his irritation. He couldn't make out the figure in the message, but he saw white hair, which was frizzy and sticking up in all directions. He wondered if it was Fleecy or if it was the reception of the Iris-message distorting the image.

"Fleecy. And you are?" The voice came through scratchy, making it hard to hear.

"Butch. Is Iris there?" he asked, trying to be as patient as possible while directing his agitation towards his control of the reins, picking up speed to his mother's place to make sure she was all right. This Fleecy thing was annoying him.

"She's busy right now—may I take a message?" The person's voice sounded like a windstorm, the words coming out in spasms like those of a frisky wind.

"No!" He huffed, clearing away the indistinct image. He slapped the reins even harder to go even faster, determined to make it to his mother and see all about whom this Fleecy was.

So much for a break.

-8-

Butch saw his mother's R.O.F.L. Co-op below and his pegasi flew down to the hilltop on which the shop was located. He patted his horses and thanked them for their hard work, promising to give them water and food when he returned. They neighed at him but were calm, choosing to busy themselves with grazing while in the shade of the roof of the shop.

He turned and went through the glass doors of the shop. There were eclectic items everywhere, and the aisles were decked out in organic food. There were statues of gods and goddesses displayed throughout, but his mother—who was usually at the cash register—wasn't there.

"Mom?" Butch called out, hoping he wasn't too late and that nothing had gotten to his mother. He turned around as he heard a shuffle among the bins of dried fruits. "You there! What did you do to my mother?!" He ran to the source of the noise…but was stopped in his tracks, for he saw the frizzy white hair.

Fleecy, Butch thought as he remembered the hair from the call.

"Yes?" came that same muffled voice from behind a big stack of boxes this thing was holding. Fleecy lowered the boxes onto the ground and looked up at Butch.

"Who and what are you?" Butch looked at her, taking in her muscles, her yellow R.O.F.L.t-shirt, cargo shorts, and boots.

"Fleecy. Your mother's assistant here at the shop. I also help deliver her messages when she gets busy. I'm also a cloud nymph." She spoke with a breathy tone that sounded like the giggling start to a storm.

It took Butch a second to say something, for he was lost in her color-changing eyes. He didn't know what to make of this girl. One second she literally was giggling up a storm and the next lightning flashed in her eyes.

"Hello? Butch, your mom is here." Fleecy waved her hands in front of him, trying to wake him up. She produced wind when she fanned her hands, which seemed to do the trick. He blinked a couple of times and did a double-take when he saw that his mother okay. Fleecy chuckled as he sighed in relief.

"Not funny," He said to her as he went towards his mom.

"Fleecy, why don't you get us some green tea, please," Iris asked of her assistant with a smile.

"Yes, ma'am." Fleecy saluted her and walked off to boil water for the tea.

"Butch, why don't you join me in the café, hmm?" Iris left little room for objection as she directed their way to the café and he followed until they were at the table by the bay window, and Butch felt glad to have a piece of home once again.

-8-

Butch liked to visit his mother whenever he could; it was a nice break from all the hustle of Camp Half-Blood and demigod business.

"How are you Butch?" Iris asked in a patient tone that matched her ever-motherly gaze.

"Everybody at camp is trying to find Percy Jackson, but there's been no luck yet. It's tiring," he sighed, at last showing his defeated side as he submitted to the comfort of his mother.

Iris took his hand and held it. She rubbed his cheeks the way a mother would to comfort her son. "Don't worry and don't give up," she encouraged him. "The story will unfold soon enough, though I can't mention any more than that. I hope you understand." The sun's rays peacefully hit his mother's closed eyes behind her rimless glasses, making them shine along with her long black hair and her sad but warm smile.

Butch grunted, but Iris knew her son well enough to know that that was his thanks.

"Iris, your tea is ready," Fleecy announced, peeking behind the doorway and not wanting to intrude on the mother and son. After all, moments with one's godly parent were rare.

"Ah, Fleecy. Come here, it's okay." Iris smiled as she waved her hand for Fleecy to join them.

"Here you go." She put down two cups on the table for the mother and son.

"Thank you, Fleecy. But why don't you join Butch? I have a lot of work to do in the shop." The goddess gave Fleecy a look that only the nymph understood.

Butch looked between the two, knowing that something had passed between Iris and Fleecy. He had no idea that Fleecy understood very well what Iris was asking of her: help cheer up Butch and give back a little of his fighting spirit.

If only Fleecy knew him well enough…

-8-

Iris was long gone by the time Fleecy had slurped the rest of her green tea, but unfortunately it had been the only thing that filled the air between her and Butch.

"So, Butch…" She tried to ease into the conversation, since the tea had made her calm and more awake.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking out the window, not wanting to be distracted by her eyes, her hair, her…everything.

"How does it feel to be a son of Iris? Must be cool!" She clapped her hands together, excited.

He jerked in surprise at Fleecy. "It's not bad, okay?!" His tone came out a little harsher than he'd intended.

"I'm just trying to make a conversation," she said by way of apology. Her eyes were overcast, and rain seemed to be forming in them.

"I know…," Butch mumbled, trying to focus on his words. Gods, this girl was distracting! He knew that if he saw this girl in a passing chariot, he would probably crash. "So…," he began, trying to change the subject. He took a gulp of his drink. "How is working here?"

"It's awesome! I love it!" The sun rose in her eyes as she held her cup gleefully.

"That's nice." He smirked unknowingly, catching her energy.

"Hey. You're smiling." Her smile was so bright, it could have been a constellation in the night sky.

"Am not!" he growled, but he felt calmer. Maybe it was a side effect of the tea…or maybe it was the side effect Fleecy—because she literally was by his side. He shook his head. What was he thinking?

"Whatever you say, Butch." She laughed, but he didn't feel that she was laughing at him. She simply laughed.

As the pair sat in silence, they turned their attention to the steam rising above the green tea to outside where the sun loomed over the hill and to the wind chimes that created a lovely little melody. The silence was a nice change from the fast-paced life at camp, and Butch felt recharged as he'd had a small conversation with this cloud nymph.

Or was it after their conversation?

Agh! This girl was indeed distracting, which he noted as he looked at her from across the table. He didn't have time for any more problems. But Fleecy wasn't really a problem—she was just a distraction.

She cocked her head to one side and smiled. She was a nice, fresh breath of air. But Butch wasn't going to admit that. He smirked inwardly.

"Looks as though you two enjoyed the tea," Iris said, appearing in time to disrupt the quiet. She winked at the two.

Butch wondered what that wink had meant, but he just liked the feeling of contentment he now had. He liked being in the moment; he liked being with his mother and her organic foods and little trinkets; he liked the coziness in the enclave of the R.O.F.L. Co-op and the presence of her assistant, Fleecy. He sighed a happier, reenergized sigh, finally ready to return to the camp.

At last, Iris and Fleecy walked Butch to the front of the store. "Here you go." Iris handed him a purple bag labeled The Masculine Accessory Bag. He gawked at it inwardly, not wanting to upset his mother. But, gods, that had to be one of the most embarrassing things she'd come up with lately.

"Thanks," he said quickly, hoping she wouldn't ask him if he liked it or not. He turned his head away from his mother, a little embarrassed to be holding that kind of bag in front of Fleecy, though she was preoccupied with the wind chimes dangling above her.

Iris gave him a bear hug. "Good luck, my son. I'll be praying for you and keeping you in my thoughts. I'll miss you." She kissed him on the head and hugged him one more time.

He hugged her back and smiled into her shoulder. Not often did he get to see his mother, and he wanted to take as much opportunity with her because so much could change in one instant. He was lucky that his mother was one of the immortals still talking to her demigod children, as many of the gods had gone quiet, an event that still mystified even the likes of Annabeth.

As the two separated, Fleecy walked over, marching awkwardly so as not to interfere with their moment.

"Well, Butch, 'til we meet again," Fleecy said. She twirled her Fleecy (it really was the only way to describe it) hair, and her eyes darted up and down as she held out her hand.

"You, too, Fleecy. But you better not tell anyone what you've seen today," he added gruffly. He quirked his eyebrow to show her that he only was teasing her and shook her hand. A jolt of electricity shot through him, which made him wonder what else this girl had in store.

"Butch, here we make peace," Iris warned him. She lifted one eyebrow as she folded her arms, scolding her son.

"I know," he said, all the while holding Fleecy's hand. He rolled his eyes, but if there was one thing he could never do, it was refuse his mother. So… "Come here!" Butch ordered. It was Fleecy's turn to be confused for once, and confused she was as her eyes produced thunderstorms in response before he pulled her into a bear hug like the one his mother had given him. But Fleecy was light and weightless, just like clouds. He could tell next week's forecast just by holding her, and he learned that there would be rough winds on the way back to Camp Half-Blood. He held her at arm's length, discovering he had more questions than answers about Fleecy.

"Uh…" Fleecy cocked her head again and nervously giggled. Perhaps she was raising some questions of her own, about him.

Butch caught her giggles and chuckled before giving her another bear hug. Her arms wrapped around him and her legs lifted up as if weightless in air. He seemed to have become wrapped in a cloud…and he liked it.

It seemed that when he went shopping from now on, he would always have his head in a cloud nymph.

"Well, I'm off," Butch stated finally after he'd given his pegasi a spot of food and water. He loaded into the chariot, the purple purse over his shoulder, and he ate a gluten-free simulated cupcake.

"'Bye, son." Iris smiled one last time as he lifted off into the clouds. Butch, however, looked back to the cloud nymph beside the goddess. Even thousands of miles in the air, he could tell her apart from everything else. She was a one-of-a-kind cloud, with her fizzy hair and her otherworldly eyes…

The wind crashed into him, and he shook his head as he scrunched his brick-like face.

"Cloud nymphs…," he grumbled on the trip back home.

This time, though, he had the clouds following him…and he didn't seem to mind for he had his head lost in the clouds—cloud nymphs, of course.

-8-

Hi, all. Hoped you liked this oneshot as much I loved writing this story and couple. This takes place in the first book, around the time Annabeth and Butch are searching for Percy. I can't wait to write more of them in the future. Even though Butch may seem mean, he's just a guy with a lot on his plate. Which is where Fleecy comes in to be his distraction. Also, it makes sense for FLeetchcy. I mean, the son of Iris and her assistant together, anyone? ;)

Tell me what you think by slipping in a review. ;)

Thanks to mew-tsubaki for beta'ing. Go check out her stuff for Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, anime, TV shows, and movies. :D