PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO || A Pair of Peculiar Professors || PJatO || Nicercy || PJatO

Title: A Pair of Peculiar Professors – The Secret Golden Couple of Athena University

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus

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: m/m, mortal AU, fluff, future fic, college AU

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Jason Grace, Annabeth Chase, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Leo Valdez, Piper McLean

Own Characters: Bianca Maria di Angelo, Hades Poseidon 'Donny' di Angelo

Summary: Professor di Angelo is very strict and never talks about his private life. Professor Jackson is very out-going and loves showing off photos of his children and loves to talk about his family and his very loving and adorable husband. Their students would never expect that they're actually married.

A Pair of Peculiar Professors

The Secret Golden Couple of Athena University

Jason Grace was a perky first semester. He was majoring in history and minoring in archaeology. College was a new stage in his life and he genuinely couldn't wait for his first class, because this was going to be nearly entirely different than high school. 'Nearly' because his best friend was also majoring in history and they had enrolled in the same college, which only made him more eager.

"You're such a nerd, Jason", whispered Reyna amused, nudging him.

"Shut up", grumbled Jason and stuck his tongue out.

"Classes start at exactly a quarter past." Both startled and turned toward the sharp, dark voice at the front as a man in a perfectly tailored Italian suit walked up to the blackboard. "Not sixteen minutes past, not fourteen minutes past. If you run late, you don't need to bother coming at all. If you miss a class, that is your own loss. I will not run after you about your missed homework. Hand in your assignments on time or not at all and suffer the consequences. You are no longer children being held at the hand by your moms and dads. You're adults, responsible for your own education."

The man surveyed the lecturing hall once before grabbing the chalk and writing his name in large letters. "I am Professor di Angelo and this is European History 101. If you are in the wrong class, pack up and leave quietly. Everybody else, start taking notes."

Jason scrambled for his pen as Professor di Angelo started listing requirements to pass his class.

/break\

With a groan did Jason collapse on his bed in his dorm-room. His roommate looked up from the book he was reading, eyeing Jason curiously. When Jason had moved in last week in preparation for his first semester, he had been really nervous about having a roommate. But Leo Valdez was pretty awesome. The two boys had instantly hit it off. Leo was an engineering major.

"What's wrong?", asked Leo curiously. "First week so hard?

"Ye—es", groaned Jason and rolled onto his back. "Remember how I told you about that scary professor? My European History 101 teacher?"

"Professor di Angelo. Yeah", nodded Leo. "What about him?"

"He also teaches Italian!", exclaimed Jason frustrated. "And you know for my history major I have to learn either Latin or Italian. And Italian seemed more practical but now I am having... regrets."

"Mh. My boyfriend said the Latin teacher is super cool. Mister Brunner", replied Leo.

Jason grumbled and wiggled his nose before burying his face in his pillows. "I don't want to."

"Come on, dude. It won't be that bad", laughed Leo. "You'll be fine. And hey – you said you have your first archaeology class today, right? Something to look forward to?"

"I guess", mumbled Jason and wiggled his nose. "I just hope Professor Jackson is better..."

/break\

Jason found a seat relatively up front, next to a girl with a haircut that very much looked like home-made. She somehow radiated the same chaotic energy as Leo, so Jason found himself hopeful.

"Uh, hi. That seat taken?", asked Jason hopefully.

The girl looked up at him. "Nope. Not like I already know anyone. Take it."

"Well, now you do", offered Jason with a half-grin. "I'm Jason, hey."

"Piper, archaeology major. You?", asked the girl curiously.

"History major. Archaeology is my minor, I figured that goes pretty well hand in hand."

Just as Piper opened her mouth to say something else did the door open and their professor entered. He was wearing a blue zip-up hoodie over an aggressively orange shirt that read Olympus High. His hair was dark and messy, making Jason wonder if he just didn't own a comb. With a look at his phone, Jason noticed that it was already nineteen after. The professor put down his laptop.

"Hey, guys!", greeted Professor Jackson with a smile as he looked up. "I'm Percy Jackson and I'll be teaching you all about the most awesome myths. This course's main focus are the myths around the foundation of Rome. If you've heard the names Romulus, Remus and Aeneas before, I do hope you are excited to learn more about them. If not, I hope you're excited to meet them!"

He wrote down his name on the blackboard, as well as a date. "This is when our final exam will take place. Now, don't worry, it just looks really close. We have a whole four months to learn everything and for those of you who need some more reassurance, Hazel – a former student of mine – is offering additional recap classes to discuss any open questions. If you have any problems, may it be with the things we discuss in class, or if you want some additional information or have personal problems interfering with your college education, these are my office hours. Feel free to drop by. I know it can be hard being a freshman, the difference between high school and college is quite hard for many, so don't feel shy to ask for help!"

After scribbling his office's address down beneath the office hours, Percy turned toward them with a smile. "And since we're not that big a class, I figured we could get to know each other a little bit. Making new friends in a new environment can be hard, so maybe this exercise can help you open up to your fellow students. I'll start off and then we'll just go through the rows, okay?"

Percy paused and hopped up onto the table, legs crossed beneath his body and hands resting on his crossed ankles. "I'm Percy Jackson, as I just said. I'm thirty-three, born and raised in New York but moved here to LA with my husband a couple years ago. I'm married. He's awesome. We have two children, though they're both still very young. I teach various archaeology courses with a heavy focus on the mythological influences on culture. Now, your turn, the blonde at the far end. What are you majoring and minoring in, where are you from, age, maybe more if you want to?"

Jason startled and started at the professor who was smiling encouragingly at him. "Uhm, I'm Jason Grace. I'm eighteen, fresh off of high school. I'm originally from Los Angeles but lived the past years in San Franciso. But I figured coming back here for college would be... nice. I'm a history major, minoring in archaeology."

Percy smiled at him in a friendly and welcoming way. Wow. This was an entirely different class-feeling. He immediately found himself eager to spend more time with Percy, hear him talk as freely and enthusiastically about archaeology. This class could be really interesting!

/break\

Most of Jason's professors were very average. They taught well, Jason didn't actively dislike or like them, they were just... doing their jobs. The only two that really stood out were Professor di Angelo and Professor Jackson, as very polar opposites of how teaching worked.

Professor di Angelo's whole focus was on the subject he taught. He did not tolerate interruptions or distractions, he always stayed on schedule and was never late to start or end a class. He was strict but definitely fair, as Jason noticed when he got his first assignment back with notes. Still, his cold demeanor and detached way was making Jason, and many of the other students, uncomfortable.

Percy however was a sunshine. And yes, the students were totally allowed to call him by his first name and he had gotten permission to call them by their first name. Class sometimes ran late – but no one was forced to stay if they had to go, still most stayed because the discussions they had were absolutely fascinating. Percy usually sat on top of his desk and gestured wildly. He was a very engaging teacher, who prompted a discussion and a dialogue with his students, unlike Professor di Angelo who taught very frontal, meaning he talked and everyone else just listened.

Percy was everybody's favorite professor, really. And sometimes, Percy would get distracted by his family and would then start talking about them. Like, the myth of Perseus came up briefly the other day – not really related to the foundation of Rome, after all – and Percy talked about how his mother had actually named him after Perseus, for being the only hero to really get a happy ending, and Percy got side-tracked by talking about his mother and what an inspiring and wonderful woman she was. Somehow, it was fascinating to learn more about the professor.

"I am so sorry. I gotta take this. Read into the next chapter?", asked Percy as his phone rang.

Jason frowned as he exchanged a look with Piper, who just shrugged her shoulders, when Percy ran out. The two turned their attention onto their assignment, until the door opened again and Percy slipped back into the room. Though he did look less cheerful than he normally did.

"Is... everything alright, Percy?", asked Piper softly after a moment.

"Ah. Sorry, yes", laughed Percy a bit sheepishly. "Donny's home sick and, well, he's only three years old so a cold is literally the worst thing he has ever experienced in his life so he's really afraid of it. And while my sisters-in-law take good care of him, sometimes he fusses too much without me or my husband, so well, little phone-calls to reassure him. I know Donny's going to be fine, but... I wish I could be with my boy. I just can't cancel classes for days."

As always when talking about his family, there was a sparkle in his eyes. And everybody knew that Percy's sister-in-law – the sister of his husband – had been the surrogate for the children ('Donny looks just like Nico, but he has my eyes! While Bianca Maria is an exact copy of her biological mom' was what Percy had said when first showing off baby-pictures). Honestly, Jason really hoped to be this happy one day too. Married to the love of his life, having amazing and cute children, really finding joy in his job and generally gaining the admiration of those around him.

/break\

It was Valentine's Day and everybody was in a very happy mood overall. The weather was great, some older students were handing out small chocolate hearts to everyone entering the building. Jason's first class being with Percy was also a real mood-lifter.

"You're chipper today", noted Jason as he entered the class, ten minutes early.

"O—oh yeah", replied Percy with a smile. "It's Valentine's Day, after all."

"Oh, got any big plans?", asked Piper curiously, some of the other students tuning in too.

"Nico's gonna wine and dine me", said Percy with the cheesiest grin possible, kicking his legs back and forth. "We handed off the kids to my sister-in-law, who is a true blessing, and once classes for the day are over, we're going to have a romantic day. I guess, since he planned it."

Jason exchanged a grin with Piper at that. They knew that Nico Jackson was a real romantic. On the day of their anniversary, Percy had gotten slightly distracted, telling them all about the romantic way in which Nico had proposed to him in Rome – Nico being a born Italian, he had taken Percy out on a vacation and then, just as the sun set on the hill overseeing Rome in the most beautiful way, he had gone down on one knee and proposed to Percy. It was probably stupid to get this invested in his teacher's love-life, but somehow seeing just how happy Percy was and how much he loved his husband actually gave Jason the hope that true love did exist.

So Valentine's Day put Jason into a good mood. And perhaps Jason had gotten a tiny bit too optimistic when sitting down in his European History 101 class four hours later, because he genuinely thought that maybe on this day, Professor di Angelo would be in a more sharing mood than normally, braving to actually ask about his plans for the day.

"What gave you the impression that my private life is any of your business, Mister Grace?", asked Professor di Angelo in a tone of voice even colder than usual.

"Uh. I'm sorry, sir, I just figured, since... everyone's so...", shrugged Jace awkwardly.

"Please concentrate on the task at hand", ordered the professor humorless.

Wincing, Jason returned his concentration to the exercise in front of him. Reyna nudged him.

"Are you out of your mind, Grace?", whispered Reyna lowly.

"I just thought...", drawled Jason and shrugged. "I had class with Percy before and he was so enthusiastic, I figured maybe there is like... some redeeming quality to Professor di Angelo? Like, that he actually is a human being and not a cold teaching robot...? But yeah no, there is no way Professor di Angelo is doing anything romantic or has anyone to be romantic with..."

Scoffing, Jason instead fully concentrated on their task at hand. It was true though. He couldn't imagine Professor di Angelo having kind words for anyone. Shaking his head, Jason tried to shake the whole thing off. True love existed. Percy Jackson was proof of it.

"Urgh, finally this day is over", sighed Jason relieved.

"What? Don't have any special plans yourself?", asked Reyna curiously.

"Well, Leo's going on a date with his boyfriend and his girlfriend – yeah, he now has both of those, it's a pretty recent development", replied Jason. "Which means I have our room to myself, which means I will take a very nice nap after finally watching that new Mission Impossible movie. Leo hates them so we don't watch them together but I wanna watch it with the whole surround-system, not just with my headphones on, you know?"

"...Wow, romance truly isn't dead", drawled Reyna as she put her things away.

Jason stuck out his tongue at that and shouldered his backpack. He paused though when he noticed Percy leaning against the doorway. Grabbing Reyna's hand, he tugged to gain her attention.

"Look. That's Percy – Professor Jackson – the one I told you so much about", stated Jason.

"You're nearly making me want to take a course in archaeology with all your fanboying."

"It's not fanboying", grumbled Jason, cheeks turning red before he cleared his throat and headed to the front of the class with Reyna. "Hey, Percy. What are you doing here? Didn't you have plans?"

"Ye—ep. Plans, like picking my husband up from work so we can go on our date", replied Percy with a grin and a nod of the head. "Ne—eks. Move it or we'll miss our reservation."

"I made the reservation for us and I am precisely on time", grunted Professor di Angelo. "And I have asked you plenty of times not to call me that in public, Perseus."

That gave Jason pause and caused Reyna to walk right into him. Jason stared wide-eyed.

"O—oh. Perseus", echoed Percy with a teasing grin as he walked up to Professor di Angelo. "You know, I really hate the name, but I do love how it rolls off your tongue, Nico."

Professor di Angelo heaved a sigh in that exasperated way he did, but then something utterly unexpected happened – he smiled. A genuine, soft smile, dark eyes filled to the brim with love as he looked at Percy Jackson. Jason was pretty sure his brain needed a reboot. Nico... di Angelo? Jason knew Professor di Angelo's first name was Niccoló from the schedule, but... that he was the Nico who was married to bright and cheerful Percy Jackson? The one Percy had talked about so much, had told all those loving and romantic and cheesy stories about...? Unrealistic.

"Amore, you're undermining me", grunted Professor di Angelo in a soft voice.

"It's Valentine's Day and I haven't seen you a—all day", huffed Percy with a pout. "Don't you love me anymore? Come on, show some compassion."

Nico rolled his eyes as he wrapped one arm around Percy's waist and pulled him close enough to place a very gentle kiss on Percy's cheek. "There. That is the maximum of PDA you are getting out of me, even on Valentine's Day. For anything more, you will have to wait until we are home."

"Mh... consider me pacified", hummed Percy contently. "Well then, let's go. The sooner we get going, the sooner we get home again and I can have all the affection I want. Bye, Jason."

Good... bye, Percy", grunted Jason stunned, just gaping at them.

"Mister Grace, do close your mouth before you catch flies", prompted Professor di Angelo dryly.

"Yes, sir", replied Jason on autopilot before Reyna shoved him with a laugh.

/break\

"Thank you so much for watching them, Annie", grinned Percy as he took his son.

Annabeth sighed, patting Donny's head one last time. The little boy yawned and cuddled up to Percy, while his older sister was clinging onto Nico's hand, causing Annabeth to smile a little.

"It's no trouble. Not like I had Valentine's Day plans, what with Bianca being away on business..."

"For what it's worth, she would rather be here with you than in Venice right now", offered Nico.

"It's worth something", sighed Annabeth. "Anyway. Go. I do have a skype date with her."

Nico made a face as he pulled his husband and children away and toward their car. The drive was quiet, the children already half-asleep, until they reached home. Somehow, that re-vitalized them.

"Can we watch a movie, papà?", asked Bianca Maria hopefully.

Nico paused. He had been looking forward to some quality time with his husband. Donny, re-vitalized by his big sister, turned large eyes on their parents too now. Sighing, Nico picked Bianca Maria up and carried her over to the couch on which Percy and Donny had already sat down.

"At least something romantic for the occasion?", asked Nico with an amused smile aimed at Percy.

After putting The Lion King 2 in, Nico finally got to collapse next to his husband on the couch. He sighed contently as Percy snuggled up to him, resting his head on Nico's chest after kissing him.

"Hey there, love", whispered Percy with a smile. "Happy Valentine's Day."

"Happy Valentine's Day", replied Nico, resting his chin on top of Percy's head.

Bianca Maria gladly cuddled up to Nico from the other side, while Donny laid next to Percy, clinging onto their dad. Finally, Nico got to let go of the tenseness of the day. Yes, his date with Percy had allowed him to shed his professional work-persona, but it was even more relaxing to just lay with his beloved husband and both their wonderful, amazing children.

"You still spend your days scaring your students, don't you?", accused Percy. "I saw Jason's face."

"I just think that our private life is none of their business, Percy", grunted Nico pointedly. "You still have our kids as your laptop background and probably gushed all about them on their birthdays."

"Of course", huffed Percy offended before kissing Nico's cheek. "I love you three, after all."

"We love you too, daddy", chimed Bianca Maria and Donny at that, making their dads smile.

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: This is based off a tumblr post I read, someone saying that there are only two kinds of professors, the ones that totally overshare and are chill and the closed-off ones who will never talk about their private life. A reblog went "Plot twist: They're actually married" and my brain (and my reblog) went "THAT IS NICO AND PERCY!". Whiiich then prompted some people to say that I should totally write that. Which I am weak to. So, here we are. Anyway, come visit me on tumblr at takaraphoenix because I do a lot of pitching and headcanons over there, not all of which actually end up in stories. ;)

But this was a ton of fun to write. Never written a relationship from an outsider's perspective before. *grins*