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Title: Percy's Manticubs – Percy, Nico and their Monstrous Family

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post both series

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, they belong to the old Greeks. This fanfiction and its OCs on the other hand are entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, fluff, cuddles, adopted family

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Mrs. O'Leary, Blackjack, Small Bob

Own Characters: Kovu, Vitani (Manticore cubs), Nessie (Cetus)

Summary: Percy finds two baby manticores and brings them home. Nico is not amused.

Percy's Manticubs

Percy, Nico and their Monstrous Family

Percy heaved a sigh as he capped Riptide. He had just been on his way home from a trip to the store because they had run out on milk, which – as always – caused more items to find their way onto the list and then, at the store, Percy would also find some more stuff they totally needed at home.

What had not been on the list had been the giant Manticore growling and lunging at him like he had been on the Manticore's shopping list for tonight's dinner. But the beast was easy to slay. Frowning frustrated, Percy started to gather up his groceries again so he could get back home.

Only, before he had a chance to leave the back-alley where he had been attacked, a soft meowing sound reached his ears. Putting his bags down once more, Percy slowly approached the giant dumpster. The meowing grew louder. When he pushed the lid open, his eyes widened.

"Oh no", whispered Percy, eyebrows knitting in guilt. "She was a mom. Oh... Oh..."

Two tiny little Manticores stared up at him. Really just adorable little lion cubs with scorpion tails and such tiny bat-wings that they would never be able to support the cubs in actual flight. One of them was slightly bigger than the other and lighter in color. It seemed to shield its sibling. They were the most adorable things Percy had ever seen. Clumsy little baby lions.

"You guys don't look like vicious monsters at all", whispered Percy gently as he reached a hand out. "I... I am so sorry for... for killing your mom. I didn't know. Do you... have someone else to take care of you? Do Manticore dads stick around? Probably not. Godly dads don't either, you know?"

He smiled as the smaller cub started sniffing his hand curiously. They really were adorable. Percy could not leave those orphaned little kittens all on their own. They were going to die. Frowning, Percy shed his backpack and dumped the content into his shopping bags before he returned to the cubs. Both of them were now staring at Percy curiously. Smiling, Percy carefully took the bigger one out of the dumpster and put it into his backpack. It meowed in protest, while the little one meowed desperately, at least until Percy picked it up and put it to its sibling.

"Don't worry, guys. I'll take good care of you", promised Percy with a reassuring smile, patting their heads. "I got an awesome pegasus buddy. And a giant hellhound-puppy. And a skeleton-kitten. And a Loch Ness monster. I'm sure you'll get along great with them, right? The only one you'll have to watch out for is my grumpy little bat. He growls a lot, but he doesn't mean it, I swear."

With that, he shouldered his backpack once more and gathered his groceries to head home.

/break\

"No", growled Nico, a glare etched into his features.

"But Nico, they're orphans. Because of me", argued Percy upset.

He sat on the couch, one Manticore on each of his thighs, all three of them facing a more than unimpressed Nico. "They're monsters. You're a demigod. You're supposed to kill them. And not to feel guilty for turning their cubs into orphans, Percy. No, we're not keeping them."

"But look at them, they're just helpless little kittens", continued Percy, patting the cubs' heads.

"No, Percy", repeated Nico once more. "We are not keeping the scorpion-tailed lions. Absolutely nothing about that plan sounds reasonable or sane, amore. Even if they were regular lions, it would be a ridiculous idea. But those lions come with wings and deadly scorpion-tails. Percy, no."

"Percy yes", pouted Percy, pushing his lower lip forward. "They need someone to love them. They're all alone, Nico. Don't make me abandon them."

Nico's glare turned even more unimpressed as Mrs. O'Leary whined loudly behind Percy and rested her head right next to Percy on the backrest of the couch, a miserable look on her face. The glower grew even more as Small Bob meowed in agreement and jumped on to sit on Percy's left on the backrest of the couch. How was this even his life? Percy's eyes did that thing where they seemingly doubled in size and looked far too hurt and vulnerable to be real.

"Stop it with the sad kitten-eyes, Percy. We are not keeping the-", started Nico once more, just to have Percy double down on the misery. "...We are keeping the deadly scorpion-lions." Heaving a sigh, Nico paused for the victory yelps from Percy and Mrs. O'Leary. "But you are going to feed them and take care of them and clean their cat toilet! I want nothing to do with this, Perseus."

"Su—ure", nodded Percy with a bright smile before bending over to talk to the two Manticores in a hushed voice. "Just like he doesn't take Mrs. O'Leary out for walkies and doesn't let Small Bob curl up on his lap during Game of Thrones and he also never takes Blackjack out for a flight either."

"...I can hear you. You know that", growled Nico with a glare, arms crossed.

Percy's grin just grew as he patted the bigger Manticore cub between its ears. "I told you to watch out for my grumpy little bat, didn't I? But no worries, he only barks and never bites."

"Sometimes, I wonder why I'm living with you", huffed Nico exasperated.

Percy blinked slowly and looked up before holding up his hand to show off the ring on his finger. "Dude, it's like all totally modern and casual these days, but I think spouses should share houses."

"Ah, yes. There is that", drawled Nico, absentmindedly playing with his own wedding-band.

"Not to mention! Think of the children", grinned Percy, motioning around him.

Nico raised both his eyebrows as he looked at the giant hellhound, the skeleton-kitten and the two Manticores. He could hear Blackjack whine in the backyard, agreeing out of principle.

"What do you want to name them?", asked Nico softly when he got up to go and sit next to his husband instead of opposite him. "Please make better naming decisions than the last one."

Percy stubbornly stuck his tongue out at Nico. "Okay, so the bigger one is a girl and the smaller one is a boy. So I was thinking of naming them Vitani and Kovu. What do you think?"

"Vitani and Kovu? Not Kiara and Ki-", started Nico.

"We do not mention that show in this household, Mister di Angelo", stated Percy seriously. "It's trying to ruin my precious Lion King franchise and we do not tolerate that. Kiara was like my least favorite character from the sequel and the other doesn't exist."

"Of course, how could I forget, Mister di Angelo?", agreed Nico with a playful smile.

It always appeased Percy very much when he was being called Mister di Angelo. Smiling pleased, Percy leaned in to kiss Nico slowly. At least until Vitani reached up and swatted at their faces.

"Ouch", laughed Percy. "I think Vitani isn't a fan of PDA between her new parents."

"Cockblocked by a Manticore", muttered Nico and shook his head.

Even though Nico should really be used to it. All of this. Being cockblocked by magical creatures as well as his husband picking up strays and keeping them. After all, Percy had done that far before the two of them had even been a couple, much less married. And in the end, that habit of Percy's was what had brought Percy and Nico together as a couple three years ago...

/flashback\

It had started with Blackjack. Though it had been more a matter of Blackjack adopting Percy than the other way around. But Blackjack had been the first hint to where things were heading for Percy and Nico. After all, despite horses hating Nico – because they could smell death and disliked that – Blackjack had allowed Nico to ride on his back during the Giant War. Later on, Nico learned that was because Blackjack had months ago started referring to Nico as 'the boss-mate' because the pegasus had been able to smell Nico's attraction to Percy (which was wildly humiliating).

That had been the first indication.

There was Mrs. O'Leary, who adored Nico and had an instant connection to Nico because both of them were creatures of the underworld. Partially, that was why Nico loved Percy. Because Percy loved Mrs. O'Leary as though she was a cute little puppy for cuddles, even though she was a giant hellhound and other demigods would on instinct try to slay her. Instead, Percy cuddled her and took her out on walkies. He loved her. He saw past the 'monster' and past the 'underworld' and found something worth loving. That was... all Nico wanted for himself too.

Then came Small Bob, who also had a special connection with Nico since Nico had been friends with Bob and since Nico was a creature of the underworld too.

And those two – Mrs. O'Leary and Small Bob – were the reason Percy and Nico had moved in together. Percy planned to go to New Rome for college, two years after the Giant War, and Nico found himself following like a loyal, love-sick puppy. The thought of Percy living on the other end of the US was not pleasant. Not to mention, all of Nico's important people were now in New Rome. Hazel, Reyna, Jason. With Percy moving there too, there was no reason for Nico to stay at Camp Half-Blood. Somehow, that had made Percy smile happily – later, Nico would learn that was because Percy had fallen in love with Nico during the two years after the war, when Nico had helped Percy through his nightmares and PTSD, when Percy had helped Nico see the light and joy in life too. They had grown quite close during that time, so it really shouldn't have surprised Nico so much that Percy asked him to move in together. After all, they were friends, they moved there at the same time and – as Percy had pointed out – Nico got along with Mrs. O'Leary and Small Bob, the two underworldly creatures making it rather hard for Percy to find another roommate. Many demigods regarded the monsters wearily. So Nico and Percy moved in together.

It was good. Nico enjoyed living with Percy. Percy was kind and warm and he baked delicious goods, while Nico usually cooked for them. In the evenings, they'd sit together in the living room and watch movies or TV-shows. Small Bob in particular took to Nico and enjoyed curling together on Nico's lap during those lazy evenings. Nico loved it. Loved how domestic it was.

All of that changed – just slightly and not in a bad way – when Percy came home with a large egg.

"...Omelet for dinner?", guessed Nico curiously, one eyebrow raised.

Percy glared at him protectively, holding the egg closer. It reached from Percy's belly-button all the way up to his collarbone. The shell was a soft-blue in color, with splotches of purple on it.

"You will not eat my egg", growled Percy protectively. "I found it near the palace. Rhode said it's a Cetus egg and that its mom must have been killed by hunters, because Cetae never abandon their babies and the egg has been sitting there for two days already. She said Amphitrite isn't a fan of pets so she asked if I can take it home with me. So... we're raising a Cetus."

"What the Hades is a Cetus?", muttered Nico with a frown, trying to remember. "Never saw one."

"Neither did I. Guess it'll be a surprise once it hatches", chimed Percy happily.

Nico snorted fondly, because this was just so Percy. And for the following two weeks, the egg had its own spot on the couch, with lots of pillows and blankets and red-light lamps shining on it to warm it. Which suited Nico just fine, because it left Percy close pressed up against Nico during movie-nights, having Percy's head on his shoulder and Percy's feet in his lap.

Things started to change when the egg hatched though. "Holy underworld, that is a Loch Ness monster. You brought a Loch Ness monster to our home, Jackson."

"Hello, Nessie, aren't you the cutest little thing ever?", cooed Percy, instantly enamored with it.

It was azure-blue, but its fins were tipped purple. Large, dark-purple eyes stared up at Percy. Nico stood slightly behind Percy, staring with disbelieving eyes at the creature that looked exactly like the Loch Ness monster. Just as a baby. The creature cooed and clapped its frontal fins together. Percy smiled brightly and clapped his hands in reply, prompting the creature to coo again.

"Oh. Uhm. Oops", grunted Percy with a stunned expression.

"What does 'oops' mean, Jackson?", asked Nico sternly.

"I guess clapping and cooing is how Cetae... identify their... moms", muttered Percy with a blush.

"...So you just became a Cetus-mom", snorted Nico, face-palming.

"Guess so", laughed Percy sheepishly as he gathered the little one up in his arms. "Hello, Nessie."

"And you named the Loch Ness monster Nessie", sighed Nico and shook his head.

Percy grinned brightly at him as the Cetus snuggled up to him, rubbing its cold snout against Percy's neck and cooing happily. Okay, that thing was kind of adorable, especially when Percy was hugging and cuddling it. Oh well, what's one more monster in the house...?

Over the following weeks, Percy grew into his roll as Nessie's mom and somehow, Nico started to become a... Cetus-dad. Or so he learned three weeks into Nessie's stay with them at home.

"N—No. Nessie, no", mumbled Percy flustered from the bathroom.

"You two alright in there?", called Nico concerned.

"U—Uh. Yes. Totally", squealed Percy embarrassed.

"...And now try again with the truth", prompted Nico a bit amused.

"It's just... Nessie asked if daddy will join us in the bath?", offered Percy, still embarrassed.

"Oh", grunted Nico surprised. "Wait. Me?"

"She thinks you and I are... her mommy and daddy", said Percy and Nico could hear the blush.

"Uhm. I mean. Sure. You and I are raising her, after all", drawled Nico slowly, carefully.

"Sure we do. Yeah. That's... ", started Percy before groaning as Nessie started cooing inquisitively. "No, Ness. No, mommy and daddy aren't mates. That... No... Nessie, no."

Nessie wailed and there was a loud splash. The next moment the Cetus was waddling into the living room, leaving a wet trail behind her. She had grown, was by now the size of a Saint Bernard dog. Cooing and looking miserable, Nessie came over to nudge Nico's leg.

"Hey, princess. What is it?", asked Nico confused.

Nessie pushed him from behind and he allowed her to lead him. Percy all the while came out of the bathroom himself, frown on his face, fluffy blue robes on. When she saw Percy, Nessie pushed harder causing Nico to slip on the wet ground and crash right into Percy. He landed on top of the son of Poseidon, so close to Percy that he could feel Percy's breath on his lips. Nessie cooed as she jumped up onto Nico's back. With a groan, Nico collapsed completely on top of Percy, lips crashing against Percy's. Both of them stared wide-eyed at each other while Nessie cooed pleased and got comfortable, resting her heavy head on Nico's, nuzzling his curls.

"Nessie doesn't like that mommy and daddy aren't together?", guessed Nico when he managed to push the mighty beat off his back and rolled off Percy himself. "You can't do that, Lochana Nessandra Jackson di Angelo. You can't force people to do what you want."

"Jackson di Angelo?", echoed Percy with a small smile.

"Well, we just established I'm her father", huffed Nico seriously. "And you are grounded, young lady. Go back to your pond and think about how uncomfortable you made your mother."

Nessie cooed and pouted as she waddled out through the veranda door to the backyard. "...Her mother? Not both of us? So... you think I would be... uncomfortable kissing you, but you're not uncomfortable... kissing me? Am I... reading that right, Nico?"

Nico's eyes widened and he blushed as he looked at the son of Poseidon. "Well, I mean... Yes?"

The next moment, Percy grasped him by the neck and pulled him into a slow, soft kiss.

/flashback|end\

Percy smiled knowingly as he exited the house to look for his family in the backyard. Nico was sprawled out on a blanket under their pomegranate tree. He was laying on his back, one arm folded beneath his head. On top of Nico were three cats – Small Bob, Kovu and Vitani. The two Manticore cubs were curled together, Vitani grooming Kovu while Small Bob got a patting from Nico. Mrs. O'Leary was curled together behind them in a protective manner, sleeping peacefully. The first one to spot him was Blackjack, who galloped out of his stables. This backyard was why Percy loved this house and why he loved living with the son of Hades – Percy would have been fine with a two-bedroom apartment, but Nico had insisted on this house, with enough space for the stables and even with a pond large enough for Percy to swim his rounds in the morning. Well, originally at least. By now, the pond's main function was housing Nessie.

"Boss! You're back! The boss-mate has been spoiling the scorpion-kittens again!", tattled Blackjack.

"He does that all the time, doesn't he?", chuckled Percy as he produced a doughnut for the pegasus.

Blackjack whined pleased and ate the doughnut while Percy caressed his mane with his free hand. Pressing his forehead against Blackjack's for a brief moment, Percy continued on. Though he did not come far, because he was being tackled before he had a chance to reach his husband.

"Mommy, mommy, mommy! Why did you and daddy make new siblings? Do you love them more than me? They've been cuddling on top of daddy all day, but daddy always complains when I do!"

Percy braced himself for impact as Nessie collided with him full-force. Smiling sweetly at her, he wrapped his arms around her neck, barely able to touch fingers around her thick neck.

"Hello to you too, Nessie", chuckled Percy. "No, daddy doesn't love your new siblings more than you. But Kovu and Vitani are small enough to cuddle up on daddy's chest. You're... a big girl now."

Craning his neck he looked up into Nessie's pouting face. With her neck-length, she could easily poke her head into the windows at the first floor, her body the size of a small family-car. She had grown quite some in the past three years. Caressing her flank soothingly, Percy slowly made his way over toward where Nico was laying. The son of Hades was watching him amused.

"Well, what is it? Nessie has been grumpy all day. For days now", mused Nico.

"Ye—eah. She's jealous of her new little siblings getting all of daddy's love", smirked Percy.

He knelt down and got comfortable next to his husband, Nico gladly offering his folded arm for Percy to rest his head on it too. Kovu meowed and crawled out from Vitani's hold so he could lay on Percy's chest instead. Grinning, Percy traced the Manticore's delicate wings before ruffling his slowly growing mane. Vitani and Kovu had been with them for only three weeks now, but they had already grown very used to them and gotten comfortable with Percy and Nico. Though both were wearing caps over their scorpion-stingers, just to make sure, because neither of them had good control about the aim with those things. Vitani's cap was shaped like a star and Kovu's like a heart. Nessie whined with a pout and laid her head over her parents' legs.

"Don't be pouty, princess. You know mommy and I still love you", chuckled Nico.

He patted her head gently while Vitani snuggled up to his chest some more, Small Bob hissing at her. Smiling, Nico turned some to see Percy, Kovu and Mrs. O'Leary. Yeah, his family was good.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: This was inspired by Cryptid-Creations daily painting of two utterly adorable Manticore cubs. I never considered how adorable monster as babies could look and with Percy's track-record, it was really-really obvious that Percy would totally adopt them. Then I had a thought about Nessie and how cute it would be if Percy owned a Loch Ness monster (or, as they'd be called in Greek, the Cetus). So, I dunno, the idea ran a bit away from me? xD

Anyway, I drew a picture of Nico and Percy cuddling with their Manticore cubs and you can find it on my DeviantArt, if you wanna check it out (Takara-Phoenix)! ;)