Title: Pet Names

Author: MidnightinJapan

Disclaimer: Characters, locations, etc are the property of Rick Riordan.

Edited by the fantastic Lordandladiesofthesilverscreen

This is a gift for betsib! Happy birthday, darling!

He really wasn't trying to compare them. Annabeth was Annabeth and Nico was Nico. But there were some differences he couldn't ignore. For example, Annabeth wasn't very fond of nicknames and any shortened version of her name was especially hated. He could never call her "Annie", or "Beth", or any variation thereof. Once Leo had made the mistake of calling her "A-beth!" and Piper had to charmspeak Annabeth to make her take her dagger away from the boy's throat.

As for nicknames and endearments, she was okay with the occasional "babe" or "Wise girl" when they were teasing but she would start to look a little annoyed when he went further than that. It was never a big deal or even something he thought too often or long about. Later when it hadn't worked out and he started dating Nico, he thought that maybe despite the mutual affection they had for each other they would never feel really easy together. Nico was kind of skittish and Percy was at a loss because he wasn't the best at relationships, Annabeth had done all the hard work between them.

But one day at the movie theater while ordering popcorn, Percy absentmindedly turned to Nico and asked, "Do you want extra butter, babe?" He registered the slip immediately but managed to ignore his own internal freak out long enough to see Nico smile shyly as his cheeks turned pink. He said yes to the butter and when Percy turned to inform the girl working behind the counter he saw that she was smiling too.

"You're a really cute couple," she said almost dreamily.

After that it became something special between them and a way that Percy could make Nico more comfortable around him. Sometimes he would come up with silly nicknames just to make Nico laugh. Like the day he was trying to convince Nico to spend more time at camp so they could be around each other.

"I can stay for a little while but I've never been comfortable hanging around for long," said Nico as they lounged on the grass in front of the lake.

"Not even for me?" Percy asked. He smirked in the way that he knew Nico loved and watched his boyfriend blush.

"You're the only reason I'm here to begin with, but you know I don't really belong."

"Yes, you do and I want to use this summer to prove it to you. Stay, please?" Nico still looked unsure and Percy scooted closer to him.

"Please, Huggy Bear?"

Nico looked at him in an amused shock and then started to laugh. He chuckled without a sound at first but it grew into a full laugh that took Percy by surprise before he started laughing too. A few seconds later and Percy was clutching his sides and trying to breath. When he looked up Nico was wiping tears from his eyes and his face was completely flushed. Seeing him like that made Percy happy and the knowledge that he was most likely the only one who could do it, made him feel singular.

"So, you'll stay?" he asked hopefully.

"I guess I can…since you asked nicely…" answered Nico.

"Good," said Percy grinning, "I'll have to use that nickname more often!"

"No, please don't!" Nico begged and started laughing again.

"Come on," Percy said taking Nico's hand and standing up. "Capture the Flag is tonight."

Nico rolled his eyes but Percy only laughed at him.

"Don't pretend like you don't love it. I remember the first time you played it…"

"Don't," said Nico closing his eyes and looking exasperated.

"You came running up to me," Percy continued, "your armor was too big and your helmet kept falling into your eyes, but you had this huge smile…"

"You can just end this trip down memory lane," said Nico frowning cutely.

"Just try to have fun tonight because I have a surprise for you in the morning," Percy said pulling him along to go find some armor.

"I guess asking you what it is would be pointless?"

"Yep!" Percy smiled brightly at him. "C'mon, Huggy Bear," he said and they both started giggling again.

The next morning Percy knocked on the door to cabin thirteen and came face-to-face with a yawning Nico. It was weird how so much had changed between them. He'd never noticed enough about Nico before because he had never really looked before. Now, he noticed everything, like how adorable Nico looked when he was sleepy. His eyes were droopy, his hair disheveled, and his face was so relaxed that he looked three years younger. He yawned again and ran a hand through his hair making it even more of a cute mess. Percy leaned in and kissed Nico without warning. When he pulled back Nico suddenly looked very wide awake.

"Good morning, sunshine." Nico blushed all the way to his hairline and stuttered a quick "good morning" back before letting Percy in.

"Here," said Percy tossing him a pair of black swim trunks.

"Is this my present?" Nico asked smiling faintly. Percy gestured to his own attire. He was wearing blue swim trunks and a hoodie and a simple pair of sandals.

"I thought we could go on a date before breakfast." Nico shrugged and exited to the bathroom to change.

The beach was quiet and empty just like he hoped and they walked to edge where the waves lapped at the sand. Percy closed his eyes and concentrated until his mind touched the creatures he wanted to call. A few minutes later two brightly colored hippocampi popped their heads above the water. Percy grinned and pulled off his hoodie.

"Wanna race?" he asked Nico who smirked at him.

"Is this fair? I mean racing the son of Poseidon in the water?"

"I promise not use my powers," he said.

Nico stripped off the t-shirt he was wearing and they both walked into the water.

"I haven't been on one of these since the Titan battle," Nico said looking slightly uncomfortable.

The hippocampi were as high spirited as ever and unlike other horses, they weren't bothered by Nico's son of Hades vibe. Percy helped Nico climb on and instructed that hippocampus -Pound Cake was its name—to take very good care of his boyfriend.

"We're going to race to see which one of you is fastest, okay?" he said.

"Yes, lord!"

"No diving underwater with Nico," he said firmly.

Once they got started it turned into one of the best dates they'd ever had. Nico loosened up quickly and soon they were laughing and yelling as they chased each other over the waves and around in circles. They forgot they were racing at all and only when Percy started feeling extremely hungry did he call it to an end. The hippocampi took them back to shore and he thanked them and promised they could come play again soon before collapsing on the sand next to Nico and their discarded shirts.

They breathing heavy and laughing for no reason. Percy hadn't seen Nico this light-hearted in years. He rolled over and pecked him on the cheek.

"Should we make this a regular thing, Huggy Bear?" he asked smiling. Nico laughed and looked at him.

"I think we should, Angel Face." He kissed Percy and then they both started laughing again.

End