The next few weeks seem to pass quickly.

After that fateful night, Nico and Rachel had agreed to keep their progressing relationship a secret and, so far, it seemed that Apollo was none the wiser. In some ways, it felt as if things hadn't changed all that much- they still spent nearly every evening together, they still had movie nights and they still went out with Percy and Annabeth on the weekends. The fact that their feelings were now out in the open, however, did provide a welcomed sense of relief and it had been nice to make their couple-hood official.

And, of course, they had now added a few new...activities...to their schedules.

Although they had been doing their best to keep the physical aspects of their relationship to a minimum until they figured out a way around the whole Virginal Oracle thing, things had already gotten rather heated on a few occasions. They hadn't technically broken any rules yet, but Nico was pretty sure that they were getting pretty close to the limit- and they had both spent far too much time thinking up creative ways of getting around Apollo's ridiculous restrictions.

Despite the rather unusual annoyances, things with Rachel had been good- and he sometimes found himself wondering if it was all finally happening.

That was not to say, however, that life had been completely peachy.

Al's funeral had been rough, and he had been glad to have Rachel there to offer her support. She hadn't known the old man well, but she knew what he had meant to Nico and she had been with him when he had needed her most. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to get through that week without her.

The atmosphere at work had definitely become more subdued in recent weeks, and there was no doubt that Al's absence had had a huge impact on the staff and regulars at the Centre. And it was even harder for Nico than it was for most- not only had he been close to Al, but the memoires of their final conversation filled him with a fresh wave of grief every time he walked into the front lobby. No matter how many times he tried to go past Al's favourite chair with his head held high and his mind frantically searching for any possible distraction, it still hurt to be there- and he was beginning to wonder if the pain would ever really go away.

Thankfully, he had Rachel to help keep him sane- and by the gods, he had really needed her there the first few times he had come home from work.

Unfortunately, the situation with his father also continued to be problematic, and the resentment he felt towards the god seemed to get worse every time his thoughts drifted to Al's final moments. Nico knew that holding grudges was his fatal flaw- but this time, he felt like it was completely justified. His father knew how much the task he had assigned would hurt him, and yet he had sent him anyway- probably to test his emotional strength, or diminish what was left of his humanity, or something twisted like that.

As far as he was concerned, his father was sadistic and manipulative, and he had refused to visit the underworld since the completion of his last grisly task. He was even making an effort to keep his power usage to a minimum (so far, that had been pretty successful- with the exception of the monster attack last weekend), and he had quickly banished any messengers his father had sent to speak with him. If the god really wanted to see him, he could come himself- and Nico was ready to tell him exactly how he felt.

Annoyingly, ignoring his father and his kingdom was a task that was easier said than done- and he could not deny that his yearning for the underworld had been growing the longer he stayed away. As much as he tried to ignore it, he could feel his body aching for the darkness below, and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to hold out. He knew Percy felt the same way about the water, and his cousin had recently discovered that it was much easier to maintain his sanity if he frequently returned to his father's realm. It was, they had concluded, one of the consequences of being a son of one of the "Big Three." Nico couldn't remember the last time he had gone this long without a trip to the underworld, and he hated that it was now a constant struggle to resist its call.

But he refused to give in. Primarily because he knew that second that he did, his father would know- and would probably track him down to smugly point out that that was where he belonged.

He did not want to give the god that sort of satisfaction.

So for now, he kept holding on- and he was unbelievably grateful that he had Rachel there to help make the task much easier.

He was, in fact, on his way to see her now, and there was no denying that there was a spring in his step as he approached the gallery she worked at. She had the amazing ability to push everything else from his mind and, having had another difficult day at work himself, he was very eager to see her.

With a deep breath, he pushed open the gallery door. It had been nearly two months since the attack during the charity auction, and he was impressed that most of the considerable damage had now been fixed. He could see that a few workmen were still attempting to replace the pipes Percy had burst but, aside from that, everything else was nearly impeccable. Although he had been unconscious for the end of that ordeal, his friends had informed them that they had made it out before the cops had arrived, and the subsequent news reports blamed the damage on faulty plumbing (apparently, the giant snake and the three sword-wielding demigods had gone unnoticed by the mortals). None of them had been mentioned in the reports, and Rachel had been able to return to work without anyone suspecting her involvement.

Things had, however, been pretty hectic as the gallery had worked frantically to fix the damage, and the redhead had put in many late nights in recent weeks. Luckily, things were now winding down, and Nico was glad that she would be getting off work at a decent hour that Friday. They had dinner plans with Percy and Annabeth, and he was looking forward to a nice, normal, evening.

After waving at the security guard, he walked towards Rachel's small office and knocked lightly on the door. Seconds later, she jerked it open, and he was pleased to see a wide grin spread across her face.

"Sorry, I'm a few minutes early," Nico said, returning her smile.

She shrugged, struggling to suppress the grin and trying to look nonchalant as she placed the papers she had been holding on a nearby table.

"No problem- I guess you can come in and make yourself comfortable while I tidy up a bit."

He obliged, and watched in amusement as she made a point turning away from him, acting as if she cared little about his arrival. A few months ago, he would have believed that she actually didn't care- but now, he knew the game, and he was happy to play along.

After shuffling around a few more papers, she spoke again. "You might want to shut the door," she stated, trying to sound nonchalant. "The workmen are making a lot of noise- I find it distracting."

"Sure, if you insist."

Rachel turned around and, for a moment, their eyes met. He could see a spark of playfulness in her gaze, and he suddenly couldn't wait for the door to be shut.

"I do." She replied, the smallest of smiles tugging at her lips.

Trying not to seem too keen, he slowly shut the door, noticing that his heart rate was already beginning to increase- this wasn't the first time they had been alone in her office, and if last week was any indication...well, he was willing to bet that they would be late for dinner.

Again.

Seconds after the door clicked shut he felt her hand snake around his waist and he whirled around to see her standing right in front of him, grinning once again. The game was over, and it was time for the reward.

"Much better," she stated, before reaching up and capturing his lips with a greedy kiss. "I have been looking forward to that all day."

"Me too," he replied, brushing a strand of red hair off of her forehead before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

Not matter how many times they did this, the thrill of feeling her body against his never seemed to fade. He felt like he was on fire- in the best possible way- and he found himself wishing that they could stay that way forever. And if they hadn't been separated by several layers of clothing...well, needless to say, that would have been even better.

Luckily, she seemed to feel the same way.

"You know how much I hate that jacket," Rachel muttered, rolling her eyes in mock disgust as she brushed a hand across his favourite leather garment. "It needs to come off. Now."

"Ah, come on," he shot back, pretending to resist. "What sort of girl doesn't like the James Dean wannabe look?"

He attempted to steal another kiss, but she turned her head to the side before he could reach her lips and shook her head resolutely.

Nico knew he had lost the battle- but this time, he didn't really care.

"This girl likes the shirtless demigod look," she replied, reaching up to undo the first few buttons of his black dress shirt.

He laughed and shot her another wide smile.

"Well, I suppose that can be arranged."

Before he knew it, the jacket had been pushed to the floor, and Rachel had managed to undo the next two buttons on his shirt- it was hanging open now, and Nico could not deny that he felt a swell of satisfaction as she starred at his chest appreciatively.

As much as it sucked sometimes, being a demigod did have a few advantages- including the tendency to develop a fit body with relatively little effort. He hardly ever worked out anymore but, somehow, his muscles remained well toned. It must have had something to do with the divine genes and, for once, Nico wasn't complaining. Neither, it seemed, was Rachel.

"Much better," she murmured.

Unable to resist, he kissed her again, revelling in the feeling of her curvy chest against his. Unfortunately, she was much more concealed than he currently was, but he was willing to be that it was only a matter of time before that was remedied too. The mere thought sent a surge of pleasure through him, and he pulled her even closer than before.

Limbs intertwined, they stumbled across the office, taking short breaths between feverish kisses.

After another chaotic minute, he managed to pull off her cardigan (leaving only her thin tank top between them) before being gently pushed into her cushy office chair. She pulled back for a moment, a smile on her flushed face as she looked down at her now shirtless boyfriend.

Her hair was a mess, her cheeks were red, and one of her tank top straps had fallen half-way down her arm- she was completely dishevelled but, in Nico's eyes, she had never looked more alluring. She was gorgeous, and insane, and perfect- and he knew that the desire in her eyes echoed his own.

Gods, he wanted her so badly...but he knew things could only go so far.

It was, however, better than nothing, and he was happy to push the boundaries as far as they possibly could. Maybe one day, they would find a way...but even if they didn't, he knew that she would always be the only girl he wanted.

Now that they had broken apart, his body yearned for her warmth once again- and his desire for her overcame all other feelings. For a moment, he wasn't the cursed son of Hades- he was just Nico- just a guy who was lucky enough to have the affection of the most fantastic girl he had ever met.

That was all he ever wanted to be.

Rachel grinned and moved towards him once more, straddling his legs and placing herself backwards on his lap. Their faces were inches apart, and he could not resist the urge to pull her in for a long and deep kiss. His heart was pounding, and certain areas of his jeans were growing painfully tight- the pressure of having her on his lap...so close...it almost drove him mad.

And he was pretty sure that she knew it.

As she inched forward, he groaned in pleasure.

"Scopata," he murmured as she pulled back from another long kiss. "Lo guidate pazzesco."

He heard her giggle, and he could see her blush deepen. Soon after they had confessed their feelings, he had discovered that Rachel had a real thing for Italian guys, and he would be lying if he said that he hadn't used this to his advantage.

If she was going to push his buttons, he was certainly willing to push hers.

"Siete bello, Rachel," he whispered, leaning close to her left ear. He could feel her shiver on top of him and he knew that he was driving her almost as insane as she was driving him.

It was almost too simple.

"You're not making this easy, Nico." She whispered back, her hot breath brushing across his neck. "Apollo..."

"We'll stop." He replied, a slight pang in his chest at the thought of having to pull away before things went too far. "We always stop. But not yet."

He kissed her again, and the world around them seemed to fade away. There was only them, and nothing else mattered.

Nico moaned as he felt her hand drift towards his jeans- she brushed against him before fidgeting with the button and pulling down his zipper. He was thankful for the partial relief, but the feeling of her hand- there- was almost too much.

"Excited, aren't we?" Rachel asked playfully, inching even further up his lap and taking a quick glance down at his obvious arousal.

Nico could only nod weakly before their lips met once more. He gently thrust against her, groaning again as they pressed against each other and silently cursing his boxers and her jeans. He was on fire, and he wanted her more than he had ever wanted her before.

Gods, he was going to lose his mind.

When they pulled apart, he could see her satisfied smile.

"Annabeth was right, you know," she muttered, "the whole 'big three' thing finally makes sense."

Despite the reminder of his parentage, and the fact that Rachel and Annabeth had clearly been talking about him and Percy, he gave her a smug grin.

It was advantage number two of being a demigod.

"I'm glad I helped clear up your confusion," he replied playfully.

Their lips met again, and he felt her hands slide down his chest as he reached behind her and slowly began to lift her tank top.

For a second, everything was perfect.

They were alone.

Together.

And the only thing that filled all of his senses was her.

But, unfortunately, it was not destined to last.

Quite unexpectedly, the door suddenly bust open- causing the two young lovers of cease their activities abruptly.

They both looked towards the door- breathless, dishevelled, and shocked.

For a moment, the only thing he noticed was a burst of yellow, and Nico was certain that Apollo had finally caught up with them.

Thankfully, however, it wasn't quite that bad.

Instead of seeing a very angry sun god, an annoyed and disgusted middle aged woman stood at Rachel's office door, a stack of papers in hand. She was wearing a yellow sweater and there was no mistaking her disapproval as she surveyed the scene.

"Sophia." Rachel squeaked, frantically adjusting her shirt and jumping off of her boyfriends lap.

Although he knew it was necessary, Nico wished she hadn't. He suddenly felt extremely exposed- after all, his shirt and jacket were in a heap across the room, and his jeans were currently unzipped. He silently thanked the gods for his boxers- and Rachel's desk- which partially blocked him from view.

"We were just..." Rachel began, her cheeks bright red and her gaze down at the floor. "Just heading out. For a walk."

Her co-worker, who Nico vaguely remembered seeing at the charity show (if he recalled correctly, she had sent him several nasty looks), looked unconvinced and shot him a particularly nasty glare.

"Of course" she said, her sarcasm evident. "Mr. Johnson just sent me to give you these pamphlets about the installation going up next week," she snapped, placing the stack of papers on a nearby table. "If you're not too busy fornicating, I suggest that you look them over this weekend."

Her tone was unfriendly, and Nico could tell that she had very little respect or admiration for Rachel. She made no effort to hide her distain and, had the situation been different, he wasn't sure if he could have resisted the urge to tell her off for being such a jerk. But, as it was, he was far too embarrassed and distracted to do much about the situation.

With a small huff, Sophia stepped out of the office.

"Have a lovely weekend, Rachel," she said, her voice dripping with exaggerated sweetness. "I do hope you'll tell me all about your walk on Monday. I hear that the cemeteries in New York are particularly nice this time of year."

As soon as she turned away and her yellow high heels clicking down the hall, Rachel shut the door and gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, that sucked."

Nico nodded in agreement as he got up from the chair and hastily grabbed his discarded shirt.

"No kidding."

Even though they were alone once again, there was no doubt that the mood was gone- and he silently cursed the middle aged woman for the unwelcomed intrusion.

And there was something else about the situation too- something odd that he couldn't quite place.

A sudden thought occurred to him.

"Don't you think it's a bit weird that she sai..." Nico began to speak, but the sound of Rachel's cell phone cut him off in mid sentence.

The young woman quickly fished it out of her purse, and looked down at the tiny screen.

"It's a text from Annabeth." She said, grabbing her own discarded shirt off of the floor. "She and Percy are already at the restaurant."

Nico grimaced. In all of the excitement, he had nearly forgotten why he had come in the first place- they had dinner plans and, once again, they were going to be late.

"Crap. We should hurry, or they are going to start getting suspicious." Rachel said hurriedly as she made a frantic attempt to smooth down her dishevelled hair.

Although they knew that their two closest friends would never betray them, the couple had decided not to tell anyone about their new developments quite yet. After all, even saying things out loud increased the potential of getting caught, and the less it was talked about, the better. For now, Percy seemed to be completely oblivious- but he was pretty sure that Annabeth had her suspicions- the daughter of Athena was much too observant for her own good.

Showing up late, and together, was only going to make things worse.

They were going to have to fess up sooner rather than later.

Doing up his shirt and throwing his jacket back on, Nico quickly ran a hand through his hair and wiped off a smudge that Rachel's lip gloss had left on his cheek.

"Okay, ready." He declared.

A few moments later, Rachel gave up on her hair and shrugged. "Good enough, I guess," she muttered, grabbing her purse and the pile of papers Sophia had dropped off.

"You look beautiful, il mio amore." Nico cut in, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

After giving him a quick peck on the cheek, Rachel opened the door and walked into the hallway. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and take her hand, but he knew he couldn't- it was too risky, and one close call was enough for the day.

They walked out of the gallery, several feet apart, doing their best to keep up the charade.

They didn't know it was already too late.

And they didn't know they were being watched...

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A/N- Thoughts? Good? Bad? Over the top? Do let me know- reviews keep me going and I am interested to hear what people think of my attempt at semi-smutty romance!

As requested, some translations for you (I apologise to anyone who actually speaks Italian- I did my best):

Scopata- f**k

lo guidate pazzesco- you drive me crazy

siete bello- you're beautiful

il mio amore- my love