Ghost King Meets Batman

Murphy's Law

[Edited April 18, 2023]

"Whose, Annabeth?" Dick asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Percy's better half." Nico teased. Percy's cheeks tinged red but didn't deny it.

"She's my girlfriend. She's pretty much a genius." Percy scratched the back of his neck. Nico nodded in agreement.

"Really? What's her favorite subject?" Dick asked-- interested. He was a people- person. He liked socializing, meeting new people, and listening to people talk about things they were passionate about. It really wasn't all that surprising that he was the one initiating conversation with their guest. Sometimes his energy really impressed Nico-- who would just as soon fight a hellhound as attending a gala.

"I don't know, Architecture? Why?" Percy frowned. He was caught off guard by Dick's interest in his girlfriend. It was a good thing that Percy wasn't the jealous type, or the question could have been bad. Dick had no intention of dating Annabeth, either. As far as I knew, he was too married to his work to put any serious time or effort into a partner. He was no threat to Percy's relationship status.

He was just being a bat, getting his hands on any information Percy was willing to share. No doubt Bruce had asked the others to scope him out. Though, Nico figured that they'd have been curious either way. It wasn't like they'd had any shortage of questions. Actually, Nico had been impressed at everyone's restraint at dinner. He was sure they were just itching to ask about the New Mexico incident, the time he was kidnapped and dragged across the country, or any of the other suspicious things that probably came up when you dug into Percy's background. However, he was a guest and he was Nico's friend so they were pacing themselves. Nico was grateful.

"Richard here is a math genius himself." Tim came up behind the group and leaned on the back of the couch.

"Really? I like PE myself." Percy joked good-naturedly. Nico didn't respond because he couldn't remember taking classes before the military academy, and his first semester there was abruptly cut short. Since then, getting a formal education had seemed unnecessary. He could get all the practical knowledge that he needed from Camp or from the Underworld and he doubted that he would be able to live among normal people being a son of Hades. Monsters would follow him no matter where he went. Why did he need a GED?

"What about you, Nico?" Tim asked. Nico cursed internally.

"What? What is my favorite subject?" He clarified-- partially to buy time and partially because he wasn't sure that they were still on the same subject. Tim nodded in affirmation.

"Well, none of them were enjoyable for me." He shrugged, "Even PE sucked at the military academy." Dick chuckled.

"I bet." Before they could talk anymore, Alfred came in.

"I think it is high time the young masters retire to bed." The group of boys all consented, though reluctantly, and left for their respective rooms. So far, so good. Nothing bad had happened and they were halfway through Percy's visit.

The demigods didn't immediately go to sleep when they had gotten ready for bed. Instead, they took the time to catch up and swap stories of what had been happening the last several weeks. They started off talking about the Waynes and what it had been like for Nico to live there but then, the conversation turned to the prank war. 

"You set the centaur mosquito-killer loose?" Percy laughed hysterically. His laughter was contagious, and Nico found himself laughing too. It was pretty funny when he thought about it.

"Yeah! You should have seen their faces! Man! It was great!" He said, remembering Damian's face, "It was right after Damian spilled to the other boys that I couldn't read," Nico admitted. He described the conversation before the prank and the big apology the next morning.