Author's Note: Written for aimmyarrowshigh's prompt "Rachel, the daughter of Hades, and Nico, the Stoic Sage. (A roleswap fic?)" over at the Rachel/Nico Holiday Challenge on the Rachel/Nico comm. on LJ. What an awesome prompt - and here we have my answer to it! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO.
Nico had heard about her, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the daughter of Hades. Most of the half-bloods enjoyed gossipping about how, on top of such a unique and foreboding title, she was the heiress to the fortune of a father who thought she was his own, but Nico could care less about that; he just couldn't wait to see what a child of Hades would look like.
The answer was in no way anything he would have expected. Percy was good friends with her, had been the one to find her and bring her to Camp Half-Blood four years ago, when she was fourteen, and he had told Nico that she was nothing like you'd imagine a kid of Hades. Annabeth had seconded this, saying, "When I met her, I'd assumed she was an Apollo kid. When Hades claimed her...I haven't been that surprised since it turned out Percy was a Poseidon kid."
Nico would have met her a long time ago if it weren't for his traveling, which he had embarked on both to hone his skills, his Seeing abilities, and also to avoid certain...tensions that had arose with himself and Percy. Not that Percy was aware of this, of course, and he planned on keeping it that way; and the traveling had helped, assuredly. Hestia had suggested it, knowing more than she let on, he knew, and for that he was grateful.
And so on his return to Camp Half-Blood, Nico felt much better, in more ways than one. Yes, he still experienced feelings he didn't quite care to identify or dwell on with Percy, and a resentment towards Annabeth that only made him feel even guiltier...but all in all these emotions were dimmed significantly, and when he heard the news that the daughter of Hades had opted to stay at camp for Christmas, he was more than intrigued; he'd had no visions or premonitions of her, to his dismay, but then again, the surprise might be refreshing.
When he laid eyes on her in the living room of the Big House, air thick with the scent of firewood, pine, and mistletoe, he'd stopped dead in his tracks. Percy and Annabeth's assurances that she was nothing like one would imagine a Hades kid didn't even begin to cover it. This girl had long, curly, fiery red hair, and sharp, expressive green eyes to boot. There was a smattering of freckles across her nose, and her skin had a healthy, creamy hue to it. Nico was struck with the thought that he looked more like a child of Hades than this girl.
But the aura that surrounded her did not lie, and Nico could see it clear as day. Pitch black and sturdy in its clinging presence around her form, it spoke volumes to who she was, to her abilities, to her roots. Even had Nico not been told who she was, he would have known, would have known from what she'd been spawned, just from that strong, pulsing aura that surrounded her figure.
This was something he'd never encountered before...creatures of the Underworld, of course, but no half-bloods, and certainly nothing from that realm that looked like Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
Nico felt a pull towards her, and for a boy that'd been deemed "like, practically emotionless" by some choice members of the Aphrodite cabin, that was saying something. He just had to talk to her, had to get to know her, had to...understand her? Was that it?
He wasn't sure, truth be told, but he did know, with a sort of resigned acceptance, one thing: he was a goner.
-o-
Dinner was being made by Katie and a few other Demeter kids in the kitchen of the Big House, Dionysus sitting in a chair in the corner, staring morosely at a bottle of rum beside a bottle of eggnog. Occasionally he would yell at the demigods, saying they were making a mess and threatening to make them all eat microwavable dinners for Christmas Eve and Christmas. Katie paid him no heed, reminding him that the harpies were there to help clean up, and Dionysus simply proceeded to caress the rum and eggnog, longingly.
Not many demigods stayed at Camp Half-Blood for the winter; there were maybe twenty-five, thirty max. Most of them were in their cabins, wrapping presents or decorating; Nico knew for a fact that the Stoll brothers were planning a big Christmas prank, so they were probably working on that; some others were watching TV in one of the rooms off of the kitchen in the Big House; Annabeth and Percy were sitting with Chiron in the dining room, playing cards; and Rachel was in the living room, cozy with a fire going, decorating the large Christmas tree the Demeter kids had procured. Nico made his way there, nonchalantly as possible.
Rachel was standing on a ladder, attaching a large green ornament towards the top of the tree, a look of concentration on her face. Nico came to stand by the foot of the tree, awkwardly shifting from foot to foot, before saying, "Hello."
Rachel glanced down, and help up one finger with her free hand. "One sec."
Nico nodded, wringing his hands behind his back.
The daughter of Hades placed the ornament on a branch, leaned back slightly, assessing, and with a satisfied smile clapped her hands together. Then she looked back down at Nico. "Hi," she said, brightly. "You're Nico, right?"
"Yes," he said, nodding. "And you're Rachel -"
"- the daughter of Hades, in the flesh, yep. If you want a full scoop on the supposed inner details of my life, the Aphrodite cabin's the way to go, just make sure you ask for Drew. Apparently I sleep hanging upside down. Who knew?" Rachel shrugged.
"Oh, I didn't mean -"
Rachel's smile cut him off, and he waved a hand. "Don't worry, I'm just joking. You're a Seer or something, from what I've been told, I'm sure you get all the same kind of shit."
She definitely wasn't wrong. Before Nico could say anything in response, however, Rachel plowed on speaking.
"So what's up with that anyway? Are you, like, the stand-in for the Oracle? Are you an Apollo kid? Do you just have the Sight? I knew this girl, in one of my middle school classes, who had the Sight. She avoided me like the plague."
Nico wasn't sure where to begin answering these questions, but he tried his best. "I'm a sort of stand-in for the Oracle, yeah, I guess you could say that...but I'm not an Apollo kid. I'm not a demigod at all."
"You're full-on human?"
"Yes - well, with the Sight."
"Got it." Rachel nodded, hand on her hip, making direct eye contact with him even as she towered on the ladder. "And what, did you meet some demigods and they like, kidnapped you, or…?"
Nico smiled slightly. "I met Percy, same as you. I could see what he was...and yes, I got pulled into it all. I met Hestia, and she became my patron goddess."
"Oh, I love Hestia. I met her when I first got to camp - sat with her, by the fire, y'know. Nobody does that, I don't think."
Nico was dumbstruck. He knew for a fact that, indeed, no one did that. He was surprised Hestia hadn't mentioned Rachel to him earlier.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "you can't be telling me that Apollo just doesn't care about you. From what I've heard he's pretty equal-opportunity, if you know what I mean."
Nico blushed, looking down slightly, hoping Rachel didn't notice. "Um, yes, he has. He's helped me to become more in touch with my abilities…"
"I'm sure he has," Rachel laughed.
Nico was blushing furiously now, and desperately grasped for some topic of conversation to divert to. Spotting the worn cardboard box filled with Christmas ornaments by his feet, he gestured to it, asking, "Would you like some help with the tree?"
Rachel was successfully diverted. "Oh, yeah, that would be great. If you could just hand me the ornaments I need while I'm up here, yeah...it was getting to be a real pain, climbing up and down this ladder."
"Glad I can help."
"Um, okay...oh, yeah, see that one, the sparkly blue? Yeah, that one. Thanks!"
Their fingers brushed together as Nico reached up to pass her the ornament. The contact didn't help diminish his blush any, but luckily Rachel didn't seem to notice, enamored with finding the perfect placement for the new ornament.
"You really enjoy decorating the tree," Nico commented.
Rachel nodded emphatically. "It's the ornaments, I think."
"You mean you just like the ornaments?"
She laughed. "Don't get me wrong, I like the tree too. I love trees. Trees are very important. Another topic my father and I disagree on...but no, it's just with the ornaments, I relate to them."
"Relate to them?" Nico cocked his head.
"Well, I mean, by this logic I relate to the tree too - both the trees and myself are deemed superfluous by my father." She laughed again, and nothing about it sounded bitter, despite her words.
"Your father...being…" Nico trailed off, not meaning to offend.
"Oh, yeah, my mortal dad, of course. Don't even get me started on the other one. But yeah, with the ornaments...we serve the same function."
"You feel like an ornament?"
"I feel ornamental," she corrected. "Functionally ornamental. Oh, that'd be a good band name. I should write that down."
Nico wasn't sure what to say, again. Her words, on paper, sounded like the words of someone who needed comforting, but then again, Rachel Elizabeth Dare in no way shape or form looked like she needed - or wanted - comforting. And all the better, as Nico doubted he was in any way suitable to comfort.
"But aside from the weird metaphorical reasoning I just let loose, yeah, I love decorating trees. It's an art, truly. My parents always hire a professional team to do our holiday decorating for us, and it always looks just so perfect, like out of a magazine. It's not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that I think it sort of defeats the purpose. When you do it that way, it's not an art, it's like...an equation." She nodded, apparently happy with her own wording. Nico was hanging on every word.
"Sorry," she went on, "I'm totally talking your ear off, here."
"No, I'm interested," Nico assured, too quickly, and flushed. Rachel smiled in response, though she didn't look at him.
"Purple one, shaped like a snowflake," she instructed.
Nico obliged.
-o-
When the box was empty, and Rachel had climbed down from the ladder, she and Nico stood in the center of the room, looking at the tree. Nico thought it looked perfect, but Rachel wasn't nearly as immediately pleased as he, assessing it for a long while.
Finally, she spoke. "Look at the good work we did! We make a good team." She smiled over at him.
Off the ladder, Rachel was maybe a couple of inches shorter than him, which was a relief, for some reason. At fourteen, Nico was fairly tall for his age, if far too skinny, but standing next to Annabeth, who he'd only recently met in height, he didn't feel particularly tall. Nico started inwardly, wondering why his mind was even making the comparison.
Looking over at Rachel, he gave a small smile, and said, "Yeah, it looks really good."
Just as the unbroken eye contact adorned by silence began to make Nico grow hot under the collar, he heard footsteps behind him, and turned.
"Hey, you guys finished the tree," Percy said, flopping down onto the couch backwards, giving them a thumbs-up. Annabeth sauntered in after him, sitting cross-legged by her boyfriend's head.
"Yep, Nico was a big help," Rachel said, going towards the fire to add another log.
"So, I see you guys are getting along," Annabeth noted, assessing the two of them with a slight smile.
Before Nico or Rachel could say anything, Percy groaned. "Ugh, no. Rachel's my sworn enemy, Nico, and there can only be one of us. I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're going to have to choose a side, and you're going to have to do it right now."
Rachel nodded in agreement. "Sorry, I didn't want to put you on the spot earlier, Nico, but he's right. And I think now would be a good time to note that I am very rich."
"Isn't this a little at odds with the Christmas spirit," Annabeth commented, dryly.
"Nah, there's nothing more festive than a family brawl during the holidays, Annabeth. Just ask our parents."
"Too bad Thalia isn't here," Rachel added, mournfully.
"Oh, yeah. There's another contender for you, Nico," Percy went on. "But again, remember that Rachel is really rich - wait, no, don't remember that."
"No, I think I'll definitely keep that in mind," Nico replied, and Rachel laughed.
The conversation was broken up by Dionysus loudly announcing that the food was ready, and everybody had to eat it as quickly as possible, because they all needed to get out of his house. Everyone congregated to the large dining table that had been pulled out and expanded using leaves found in the attic. Enough mismatched chairs had been found to just fit everyone still at camp.
As the half-bloods chowed down on what was truly a feast constructed by the Demeter cabin, Dionysus eyed the whole scene from the head of the table, a disgusted look on his face.
"Remind me again why I'm allowing you all to eat here instead of in the public dining area?" he asked, eyeing them all over his goblet of diet coke.
Travis Stoll was more than happy to remind him. "You lost that bet about Drew being able to go without makeup for a day."
Drew nodded from her corner of the table, eyeing a forkful of mashed potatoes. "I am not getting nearly enough credit for that."
Dionysus sighed. "Chiron, remind me to never lose a bet to any of these heathens ever again."
Chiron smiled, complimented Katie and her helpers on the stellar food, and proceeded to argue with Percy over his choice of Dean Martin Christmas music. Eventually Frank Sinatra was settled on, and all was well.
-o-
After dinner, many of the half-bloods held a campfire, which Rachel was excited to go to. After some discussion, Percy and Annabeth opted to go have some alone time, while Nico ended up going with her, quietly but gladly.
"So, where do you stay, mostly?" Rachel asked him, as the other half-bloods around them sang carols loudly and off-key.
"I was just travelling for a while, but usually here."
"Do you have family, or…?"
"Ah, no, they died." Nico didn't feel like talking about his mother or sister right now, though he felt he could be surprisingly open with Rachel.
"Oh, I'm sorry." She sounded genuinely so. After a pause, she continued, "So you're planning on staying here all year?"
"I hadn't thought too much about it, but yes, probably."
"Oh, well, I'm only here for Christmas. I go to school in the city, which is sort of a non-negotiable with my dad." She rolled her eyes. "Private school," she whispered, as though it were a scandalous topic. Nico smiled.
"Are you in the city a lot?" she asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I've stayed with Percy before."
Rachel smiled brightly. "At Sally's?" Nico nodded. "Gods bless Sally Jackson. That woman is my rock. She's everybody's rock, actually. I don't know how she does it."
Nico could only agree. "She made me a blue birthday cake last year."
"She's a miracle worker, truly." Rachel looked towards the campfire, and it reflected in her eyes. Nico found himself staring at her, face illuminated by the firelight. He was broken from his reverie as Rachel spoke again.
"Just so you know, if you're ever in the city and need a place to stay or anything, feel free to call me up. My dad can be a pain about things like that, but I have a whole floor to my house, and hey, he's preferable to Persephone." She laughed again.
Nico was caught off guard by the offer. "Wow, that's...really nice of you." He was worried he didn't sound gracious enough, or that, worse, he sounded uninterested. Rachel didn't seem put-off in any way, though.
"It's no biggie. And anyway, I have entirely selfish motives." She leaned in closer, and Nico felt himself holding his breath as he waited for her to speak. "In return, you can be my second whenever I have to go to Underworld dinners. Percy's about a visit away from getting incinerated, and I don't think Annabeth's willing to risk it."
Nico smiled. "I could do that."
"It's a deal!" she agreed brightly, and held her hand out for him to shake. He did so, and for a moment the warmth from her hand, the campfire, and her smile was almost too much for Nico.
Rachel Elizabeth Dare was certainly nothing like he'd imagined a kid of Hades.
First of a few holiday fics I have planned this month. Review!