Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, obviously. Nor do I own Percy Jackson and all related material.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare peered out of her car at the house at the end of the road. The mailbox read Jackson, as she knew it would, and the porch was painted a soft blue. She chuckled. Of course Percy would paint his house blue. And of course his house would be big enough for her to live there while she interned at the art gallery.

"Are you sure about this?" In the drivers seat, her father drummed nervously at the wheel. "It's not too late for us to find you an apartment."

"Dad." Reaching out, she squeezed his arm reassuringly. "It's perfect." She kissed his cheek and pushed open the car door. "Love you. I'll call tonight." She collected her bags and didn't look back until the car was out of the driveway. Only then did she allow herself to turn around.

"Rachel!"

Rachel spun around. Percy Jackson rushed toward her, scooping her into his arms. "It's been so long!" he exclaimed. "I almost didn't expect you to show."

"What's up with that?" she teased. "Am I that much of a flake?"

Percy laughed. "Nah," he said. "If anyone, I'd be the flake." Another chuckle, and he had Rachel laughing with him. "Come on. Can I get your bags?" He took them anyway, and headed toward the front door. "You're going to be on the second floor with Annabeth and I. Piper, Jason, Thalia, and Leo are on the first floor. The basement is Nico's domain, and Hazel and Frank have the attic. And, oh, right." He laughed. "Stay out of the shed. Leo's got a shop set up back there."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "What kind of shop?" she asked.

"Workshop. His 'not-quite-girlfriend' Calypso comes by sometimes to help him out. She lives on the other side of town."

"What's down there?"

"Not much," Percy said. Rachel nodded.

"Any art stores?"

"Nope. Just the gallery." He pushed open the door. "Please come in."

The first step was easy. After that, it got harder to step around the bodies scattered across the floor. The twelfth of such steps brought Rachel crashing to the ground alongside a dark haired girl. A pair of blue eyes stared into her soul.

"Uh…"

"I'm Thalia," the girl said. "Hi."

"Rachel Dare." Rachel stuck out her hand. Thalia took it and shook firmly. "It's nice to meet you."

Thalia laughed. "I like this girl," she said. "Are we keeping her?"

Before Rachel had the chance to protest that she wasn't a pet, Percy was scooping her up and planting her back on her feet. "All right there?" he murmured. Rachel nodded.

"Is everyone like that?" she whispered. Percy shook his head. His chin bumped her ear.

"Nah. Mostly, they're cool. You're just the shiny new toy." He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Come on. I'll show you your room." He led her through the living room and up the stairs.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to everyone?" Rachel hissed. Percy shook his head.

"Rule number one: Never interrupt movie afternoons."

"What are movie afternoons?" Rachel asked. Percy shrugged.

"When the gang gets together and watches Disney crap."

"Oh." Fortunately, their reaching Rachel's room saved the moment. Percy pushed open the door and beckoned for her to take a look inside. "Oh, wow." It wasn't that the room was bigger than hers. It was at least two times smaller than her room at home. It was that it was furbished to her tastes, with wildly colored blankets, and pink walls. Someone had taken the time to set up a desk with books and paper.

"This was all Annabeth," Percy said. Rachel looked at him.

"Who's she?"

"My girlfriend."

Rachel felt like she'd been slapped. Biting her lip, she struggled to keep her eyes on Percy. "You didn't tell me about her," she said. Percy had the decency to look guilty.

"I meant to," he said. "It was just so sudden, you know. We only really settled everything over the last month, and then with everything going on, I guess I just forgot."

"You forgot," Rachel mumbled, forcing herself to keep her tone light. "I've been your best friend for twelve years, Jackson. Don't bullshit me like that."

"I'm sorry," Percy murmured, and he sounded so sad that Rachel couldn't help wrapping her arms around him.

"Just keep me up to date next time," she said. Percy agreed.

"So, you're Rachel," a voice said. Rachel whirled around. A dark haired young man leaned against the kitchen door.

"Um…yes. Did you want something?"

The man smirked. "The kitchen," he said. "I'm cooking dinner."

"Oh." Blushing, Rachel moved out of the way. "Sorry. I'll just go."

"You don't have to do that," the young man murmured, suddenly bashful. "I'm Nico di Angelo."

"Oh, Basement King." It slipped out, leaving Rachel's face redder than her hair.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Nico di Angelo narrowed his eyes. "Is that all you've heard?" he asked. Rachel nodded. "Good. Okay. That's okay." He waved a hand. "Now move! I need to work!"

Rachel shuffled into a corner and let him work his kitchen magic. She didn't know if he was any good or not, but he looked legit, dicing various greens like he was born to do it. Every so often, he mumbled something to himself in a different language and crossed something out in his recipe book.

"What're you making?" Rachel asked.

"Eggplant parmesan," he said. Defensiveness crept into his gaze. "You like eggplant, right?"

Rachel nodded. After that, it got easier for her to talk to him. As he rushed around the kitchen, she chattered aimlessly about her internship, feeling only a little guilty that she wasn't letting him get a word in edgewise. When he did talk, he used wild gestures, and more than once she had to duck a sauce covered spoon. She made sure not to let him get to that point.

"So," he said finally, turning to face Rachel. The delicious eggplant dinner was baking in the oven, and he was stirring at a bowl of salad dressing. "What's your story?"

"Haven't you been listening to a word I just said?" she asked. Nico shook his head, flushing with embarrassment.

"I got into the cooking zone," he explained. "Sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So…"

Rachel sighed. "I'm an art major," she explained. "I'm interning at the art gallery here."

Nico snorted. "What? The one in this two block town?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "I liked the look of it," she explained. Nico nodded, still looking incredulous.

"Well, okay," he said. He deliberated for a moment, stirring idly at the dressing. "Wanna help me with dessert?"

Rachel nodded. Dessert, it turned out, was some kind of chocolate pudding with raspberry sauce dribbled over the top, and strawberries artfully arranged. Nico was an absolute fiend about tasting things, and made her wash any spoon that went into the pot with boiling hot water. (Two tastes per person, he told her, and no double dipping.) No matter how hard she tried to sneak behind his back, a cold hand always closed over hers before her spoon could reach the pot.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed after one such incident. "Your hands are freezing!"

"Bad circulation." Nico pulled his hand away from hers and went back to embellishing desserts. "Pass me the sauce, would you?"

Dinner, Rachel learned, was loud. It wasn't just the hum of chatter, or the noise of silverware. It was the sound of multiple people shouting at once. There was this scrawny guy with a weird goatee in between Percy and Thalia who kept screaming about nature, and not wasting tin cans. Thalia was screaming right back about the wastefulness of cutting down so many pine trees at Christmas. Percy was belting out Under the Sea as loudly as he could, and Annabeth and Hazel (Rachel liked her.) were discussing math.

Next to Rachel, Nico slouched in his seat, picking grumpily at his salad. "It's too salty," he complained.

"You made it," Hazel chastised.

"Yeah," he grumbled. "But someone knocked over the salt." He shot a pointed glare at Rachel, who pretended to be completely absorbed by her own salad.

"Don't whine," the dark-skinned girl warned. "It's unattractive."

Nico stuck out his bottom lip in an equally unattractive pout. "I take pride in my cooking."

"I think it's delicious," said the guy to Hazel's left, shoving another forkful into his mouth. "But I''ve got a problem with the Parmesan."

Nico winced. "I made you pasta, Frank," he said, offering his hands in surrender. "With meat."

Frank grinned, looking altogether too much like a happy panda bear. "I know, dude," he said. "I'm just messing with you." He forked more salad and stared at it. "Dude, I can see the salt!"

Nico made a sound that couldn't even be considered human, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's not my fault!" he yelled. "Everything else is good, sí?"

"Sí," Leo agreed. He winked. Nico looked away, pouting even more. "No, really, Nico. It's delicious."

Nico frowned. "Shut up, stupid."

"Stupid?" Leo pressed a hand over his heart. "I'm wounded." He grinned widely. "Wanna kiss it better?"

Nico slammed a hand against the table. "Stop it, Leo," he barked. "It's not funny anymore."

Rachel leaned uncomfortably into her seat, staring between the bickering young men. A stony silence had descended upon the other occupants of the table, and everyone's eyes were fixed on either Leo or Nico. Suddenly, Nico pushed back his chair, grabbed his nearly full plate, and stomped toward the kitchen.

"Welcome to the family," Thalia said dryly.

Two weeks passed without a hitch. Rachel found herself fully immersed in life with Percy & Company. She spent most of her time in her room or at the gallery, working round the clock to keep up with everything. When she wasn't giving tours or setting up for talks, she was hunched over an easel, painting as though her life depended on it.

Nico cooked dinner for the group pretty much every night, no matter what. More than once, Rachel wandered in to the kitchen to find him nursing a headache and stirring a pot of something. At the third incident, she offered to take over, to which he waved her away, muttering something about how she was probably incompetent in the kitchen, and wasn't to be trusted with a knife.

"Is this safe?" she'd asked Thalia, watching Nico grip the counter tightly, looking as though he were about to be sick.

"Wanna try to get him out of there?" the girl challenged. It was clear that try was the operative word. "He can deal with a headache. Just leave him alone."

Rachel nodded, allowing Thalia to drag her away. If dinner wasn't as good as usual, no one commented. In fact, everyone made a point to eat more than usual, probably so that Nico wouldn't have to deal with the clean up.

"Go to bed, dude," Percy said, clapping the younger man on the back. "We've got this." And with a wave of his hand, he sent everyone into cleanup mode. Rachel wound up washing dishes next to Annabeth. It was awkward, in the beginning. Rachel stared at the girl out of the corner of her eye. She could see what Percy saw in the girl. She was well proportioned, with long blonde princess curls and large, stormy grey eyes. Her skin was beautifully tanned, golden and dewy. As she worked, she bit her lip gently in concentration. Yes, she was perfect. Rachel could hardly fault Percy for liking her.

"Hi, Rachel," Annabeth murmured.

"Hi," Rachel said back, twisting the dishtowel in her hands.

"We haven't really talked, have we?"

Rachel shook her head. Annabeth smiled. "I must seem so rude," she continued. "Not talking to you. But I'm really busy. I'm working on a big project right now, and-" She frowned. "Between that and helping my little brothers with school, I haven't really had time for anything else." She smiled. "I hope you understand."

Rachel nodded. "What project?" she asked. Annabeth's face lit up. She looked stunning, standing there in the light of the kitchen. Rachel felt a stab of jealously.

"I'm redesigning Olympus Studios," she said, glowing with pride. "It's almost past the planning stage. Pretty soon we'll be able to get a team in there!" Her smile was contagious, and Rachel resented her for not being unlikable.

"That's…cool." Wishing she could be anywhere else, Rachel continued with the dishes, listening to Annabeth's idle chatter fade into the back of her mind.

"Nico?" Rachel pushed gently on the basement door. It didn't open. "Nico, I've got dessert."

"Go away," Nico called. "I'm not hungry."

"Nico?" Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. "Are you okay?"

"No," Nico groaned. "Migrane." He winced as light flooded in from the stairs.

"Oh." With a gasp, Rachel rushed into the room and shut the door. "Sorry!"

Nico grunted softly. "S'okay," he whispered. "Just, don't walk so loud 'til you reach the rug."

"I'm guessing you don't want desert," Rachel mumbled. There was a rustling sound as Nico shook his head. "Is something the matter?"

"No. Please be quiet."

"It's clean down here," Rachel commented, running a finger over the desk. No dust came away.

"Has to be," Nico breathed. "Asthma."

"Isn't the basement bad for you, then?" Rachel asked.

"No. I like it down here. It's quiet, and it's dark."

"Death boy," Rachel muttered. Nico laughed, and then winced.

"I shouldn't do than anymore," he murmured. "That hurt." He pressed his face into the pillows. "I don't want to sound rude, but can you leave? I really need to sleep."

Pride smarting a bit, Rachel crept back toward the door. If she slammed it a little too hard on the way out, she pretended it was an accident. Nico's angry curses died away quickly, and Rachel plodded back into the upstairs area.

"DARE!" Nico shouted. Rachel heard his feet on the stairs, and then her door burst open. "Dare, I want to show you something! Or, well, Leo does, but we both worked on it, and we thought it was super cool, so we wanted to show you!" By the time he reached her door, he was red in the face, mouth moving, and sound coming out, but the words going too quickly for Rachel to understand. She thought that some of them might not have been in English.

"Slow down," she laughed, waving a hand to calm him. "Take a couple of deep breaths. You're fine."

Nico did as she asked, leaning against the doorframe. "Are you coming?"

"Sure." Rachel rolled her eyes, allowing Nico to pull her up. "What do you have to show me?"

Nico grinned. Rachel liked it when he did that. "I can't tell you," he said. "But it's really cool, and it's for you!" He grabbed her hand again and started tugging. Reluctantly, Rachel followed him. "We've been working on it since you got here, since you're into art and all of that. We were going to wait for your birthday, but then we realized that we don't actually know when your birthday is, so we decided that there's no time like the present. And, uh, if you're not into it, we can totally scrap it or something." He rubbed at the back of his neck, the way he did when he was agitated or nervous.

"I'm sure I'll love it," she assured him. He nodded absently, playing with the lock on the door.

"Help me get this open," he said. Rachel flipped the lock, and Nico wrenched the door open. Cool evening air played across her skin, ruffling her wild hair. Beside her, Nico tilted his chin up slightly, breathing deeply. They walked around to the back of the house in comfortable silence. Nico gripped her hand awkwardly, like it was something he hadn't done in a long while, but he seemed content, so Rachel let it go. Three minutes walk led them to Leo's shed. Nico knocked briskly on the door.

"Leo," he called. "I've got her, Leo."

There was an answering shout, and then the door was pulled open. Leo Valdez grinned wolfishly at the pair of them. "Come in," he invited, waving a hand in the general direction of his workshop. "I don't bite."

Next to Rachel, Nico snorted softly. "Let's just show her what we came here to show," he grumbled. "Skip the fancy introductions."

Leo grinned even wider. "Sorry, princess," he drawled. "Didn't know I was bothering you." Again, he gestured toward the workshop. "Please come in. It wouldn't be nice to leave you out there." He winked, as though he'd just shared something very personal with them, and stepped away from the door.

Rachel sucked in a breath at the sight of the workshop. There were tools lined up all along the walls, and half built gadgets hung, crawled, and slid across every available surface. A hamster ran through the tubes of what looked like a vest, and Rachel had to resist the urge to run over and touch it. She settled for squealing like a little girl instead, pointing at it. Leo laughed.

"Cool trick, huh?" he said. He flipped a switch in the back of the vest, and the hamster disappeared. 'It's an illusion. A hologram, if you will."

"That's amazing," she breathed. "That's incredible!"

Leo looked flattered. "Wait until you see what we've got for you," he murmured, leaning in conspiratorially. He took her hand in his, and she marveled at how warm it was. Nico took her other hand, and together they pulled her toward the back of the workshop.

"Close your eyes," Nico whispered. Rachel did as she was told, obeying Nico's gentle directions of "left" and "right". "Open," he said at last. Rachel did, and her heart stopped. An entire corner of the workshop had been transformed into a painter's shop. A large easel took up a great portion of the space, and paints hung in baskets suspended from the ceiling, colorcoded and compact.

"I can't believe it," she murmured. "Thank you so much." Quickly, before she could think better of it, she planted kisses on Nico and Leo's lips, and pretended not to be hurt when Nico wiped his kiss away.

"We thought you might like it," he mumbled, looking down. He wasn't even blushing. Rachel wondered what his problem was. Leo, to his credit, was blushing madly.

"Geez," he sighed. "I get my first kiss from a pretty girl, and it's not even for love."

"I was your first kiss?" Rachel squeaked. "Oh my gods! I'm so sorry!"

Leo smirkd. "What're you sorry for?" he asked. "At least now I can say my first kiss was from a drop dead gorgeous redhead."

"How old are you?" Rachel asked.

"21."

"I was your first kiss?"

Leo looked hurt. "You don't have to rub it in," he mumbled. "Especially after I just did something really nice for you. And besides," he continued, looking slyly at her. "I never said it was my first kiss. Only my first kiss from a pretty girl."

"And who was your first kiss?" Rachel demanded. Leo blushed even more.

"Well, I…If I told you that, the mystery would be gone!" he cried, floundering for an answer. He gaped like a fish for a while before finally hanging his head in defeat. "You were my first kiss," he mumbled.

"Say it again," Rachel dared.

"You. Were. My. First. Kiss." Leo ground out, glaring. Nico laughed loudly, doubling over and clutching his stomach. "Oh, shut up, Zombie Dude," the taller boy growled. Nico shook his head, still laughing.

"What the hell is so funny?" Rachel demanded. Nico frowned.

"It's just funny," he giggled, holding out his hands in surrender, "That a self proclaimed babe magnet like Leo's never had a first kiss." Pressing a hand to his chest, he straightened up, breathing hard and grinning like a madman.

"Jesus," Leo commented. "Don't laugh yourself to death."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm okay."

"I'll bet you are. Was laughing physically painful for you?"

Nico stuck his tongue out at Leo, brushing off imaginary dust and rubbing the back of his neck. "No," he hissed. "It felt nice, actually."

Leo snorted. "That's because laughing releases a chemical that makes you happy," he explained slowly, as though he were speaking to a five year old. Nico pouted. Rachel felt the need to jump between the two of them before shit got real, but didn't know how.

Fortunately. She was saved from having to do anything by Nico's phone going off. He grabbed for it angrily, flipping it open violently. "Hello?" he growled. A staticky voice sounded on the other side. Nico swore gently. "I'm sorry," he said. "Yes, I'm fine….No…no…Oh, hell no. Okay. Bye." With a sigh, he hung up again. "Dad wants me home for a week," he grunted. Leo groaned.

"Dude," he complained. "Last time sucked."

Nico nodded. "I know," he sighed. "But I've gotta do it. He's all alone, except for that bi- witch of a woman." The dark haired man bit his lip, frowning. "It'll only be for a week. I'll be back before I'm missed."

Leo bristled. "I wouldn't miss you," he snapped. "No way."

Nico wrinkled his nose in distaste. "That's not very nice," he grumbled.

"Neither are you," Leo snapped. Rachel bit her lip, frowning.

"What's up with going to your dad's?" she asked, hoping to turn attention away from their squabble. It worked. Leo pursed his lips and Nico turned to look at her.

"I'm going to visit for a week," he said. "He's kind of alone since my mom died. He married this awful woman, but she's always doing stupid shit with her stupid friends, and I'm kind of all he has left. Me and Hazel, I mean." He sighed. "I almost feel sorry for him, even after everything he's done." Clouds closed over obsidian eyes, and then Nico shook his head. "Never mind," he said. "Enjoy your gift." With a last smile, he left the shed, leaving Leo and Rachel alone.

Nico had been crying when Rachel found him. He didn't look up as she sat down next to him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he breathed, dragging his sleeve across his face.

"Are you okay?"

Nico shrugged. "Fine. Sorry." He faked a smile, and it froze Rachel's heart. "I'm just tired."

"Like hell that's it," she growled. "What's wrong?"

Nico shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "I...Nothing." He sighed.

"Could anything else be triggering this?" Rachel asked. Nico laughed.

"What are you, a psychologist?" he joked weakly. Rachel chuckled.

"Nope. Just a friend." She smiled. "Your friend."

Nico smiled, too. "Can I ask you to do me a favor?" he asked. Rachel nodded. "Okay. Can you tell Leo I'm leaving now? I don't want to deal with him right now."

"Sure," Rachel said. "I'll create a diversion. You just do whatever you need to get out of here."

Nico gave her a grateful look, standing and bolting toward his basement lair. Rachel pushed herself up and set off looking for Leo. He wasn't hard to find. He was right where she left him, hammering away at something in his shed.

"Hey," he called as she peered around the door. "What's cooking, good looking?"

Rachel plastered a grin on her face, stepping into the light. "I came to paint," she lied, batting her eyelashes. "Is that all right?"

Leo grinned. "I wouldn't have fixed that up if it weren't," he reassured her, winking devilishly. Rachel laughed, and was surprised at how genuine she sounded.

"Thanks." She filled a bucket with water from the sink and carried it over to her station. "Can I grab a stool?"

Leo nodded and kicked one in her general direction. "Have you seen Nico?" The question was casual, thrown out like old garbage, but Rachel got the feeling that Leo wanted the answer, and he wanted it fast.

"I…um…I think he's busy." So much lying was starting to taste bitter in her mouth, but Rachel forced herself to keep lying and smiling. Leo looked at her long and hard, a frown playing at his lips.

"You sure?" he asked. Rachel nodded and busied herself with mixing paints and setting up her canvas. "You positive?"

Rachel nodded, keeping her back to Leo. "He might be packing," she said. "He's leaving now."

Leo sighed. "I wish he wouldn't," he muttered. "He needs to breathe, literally and figuratively."

"What do you mean?" All her years of Finishing School couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice. Leo sighed.

"He…you can't tell him that I told you this, but he and his dad don't have a very good relationship. Last time he was there, they got into a big fight, and Nico panicked and ran off. He ended up in the hospital."

"Why?" Rachel looked at Leo. He didn't look at her, staring dully at the screwdriver in his hands.

"He had an asthma attack. He couldn't get oxygen to his brain. If he'd been in a less populated area…" He trailed off, giving the screwdriver an angry twist. "Don't tell him I told you any of that, and do me a favor?"

Rachel sighed. She was doing an awful lot of favors lately. "Name it."

"Give him a call. He won't answer for me. Just, don't let him panic. I really care about him, and I'm sure you would too, if you knew him as well."

"I'll do it," Rachel agreed. "And I won't tell him you said it." She admired the colors of paint on the walls. "Now, pink or blue?"

When Leo and Rachel finally staggered into the Big House, (That's what Leo called it, anyway.) it was growing dark. Rachel had pink and blue paint splattered over her face, shirt, and jeans. Leo's hair was unintentionally slicked back with grease. They were laughing. Leo had his arm slung over Rachel's shoulders, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Did I tell you about the time Percy passed out into his pizza?" Leo asked, nearly holwing with laughter.

"What about it?" Rachel was equally giddy, one hand twisting around her red coils.

"Well, Percy was doing this talk at some marine biology center, and the day of, he had this really high fever, but like the fish-brain he is, he decided to go anyway. So, he's right in the middle of answering questions for the head of the center, and he passes out and face-plants smack-dab into his pizza!" He laughed even harder. "Annabeth was livid! She yelled at him the whole way home!"

As Rachel was wiping merry tears from her eyes, she felt a force pull Leo away from her. "What the hell have you been telling her?" Percy growled, looking angrier than Rachel had ever seen him. Leo winced.

"What I want to know," Rachel countered, hoping she didn't sound intimidated. "Is why didn't I hear this story from you?"

Percy blushed. "It's embarrassing," he mumbled. "Where's Nico?"

Leo grimaced. "Driving to his dad's as we speak."

"You let him go?" Percy growled.

"I didn't." Leo jabbed a finger at Rachel. "She did."

Heat rose to her cheeks. "How was I supposed to know?" she demanded. "No one's told me anything."

Percy sighed. "It's not your fault," he said. "We couldn't have stopped him, anyway. Guy's like a ghost when it comes to sneaking around." His expression softened. "Leo, do you think you can get in contact with him?"

Leo shook his head. "I already asked Rachel."

Percy frowned. "I don't know what's going on, Leo," he said. "But I trust you. Both of you. Don't screw this up."

Rachel bit her lip. "Screw this up?" she wondered aloud. "How the hell could this get any more screwed up?"

Rachel had to call six times before Nico picked up. "Hey," he said, sounding tired and sad. "Do you need anything?"

"I could ask you the same question." Rachel made an effort to sound casual. "I just called to say hi. I miss you already."

Nico laughed. "No one misses me," he murmured. "But thanks."

"Leo misses you."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the phone. "That's…thanks for telling me, I guess." Nico made a small noise that could have been a sob. "Listen, I have to go. Maybe we'll talk later." There was a click, and then Rachel was left alone, with nothing but the buzzing of a disconnected line for company.