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Title: A Teacher's Life and Love – The Italian Substitute

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; high school AU

PJatO 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, of course. They are all copyright by the old Greeks. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, explicit intercourse, anal, shoujo-ai, hetero, threesome

Main Pairing: Nico/Percy

Side Pairings: Piper/Annabeth, Grover/Juniper, Chris/Clarisse, Charles/Silena, Jason/Reyna, Frank/Hazel/Leo, Luke/Octavian, Octavian/Percy (past)

Percy Jackson Characters: Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, Jason Grace, Juniper, Grover Underwood, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Clarisse la Rue, Chris Rodriguez, Luke Castellan, Octavian Simmons, Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Summary: Nico is the new guy at school and while trying to fit in, he also had to find a place to live at. A good thing the swimming coach's roommate happened to have moved out recently. The down sight? Nico was really starting to crush on his colleague who kept walking around half naked in their apartment. And the rest of his new colleagues are driving the new Italian teacher crazy too.

A Teacher's Life and Love

The Italian Substitute

Chapter 2: A Place to Stay. A Home

"So, how do you like your new job?"

Nico smiled and looked up. He had been in New York for two weeks now he had finally found the time to go to the so-called Happy Dragon, the restaurant his sister and brother-in-law owned. Hazel returned his smile as she placed a glass of red wine in front of him before sitting down with him. She was beautiful, chocolate-skin and deep, golden eyes. No resemblance to Nico at all.

"I like it. The librarian seems to dislike me, but that is because I interrupted him when he was in the middle of fucking the principal on my first day", replied Nico, making Hazel laugh.

"And the others? Are they nice?", asked Hazel, hands folded under her chin.

"The football coach Jason is alright. I get along well with him. And his girlfriend, who happens to be the co-principal. I feel that everyone is or has been with at least one person from the staff."

"Oh? Well, if that is tradition, then you need to find someone too", teased Hazel with a grin, but she grew serious when she saw her brother blush. "Wait, you already found someone? Who? Not Leo!"

"What? Leo?", asked Nico confused. "The assistant mechanic? Why do you think that?"

"Uhm, well... I'll tell you, another time. Now, tell me about yours", prompted Hazel.

Yours. Was she implying that Leo was hers? Nico frowned. Nico recalled that Hazel and Frank had some trouble in their marriage, but would she truly have an affair? To be contemplated later.

"His name is Percy Jackson...", started Nico, to be interrupted by a squeal.

"Percy? That's great! He's such a nice guy!", exclaimed Hazel and hugged him. "I'm happy for you. He's very kind and friendly and funny. Frank and I have been friends with him for years."

"I'm not dating him yet", chuckled Nico and shook his head. "I just like him."

"Well then do something!", ordered Hazel and nudged his shoulder.

/break\

What Nico had told his sister was right. He really liked the Aken Academy and his fellow staff. The students too, they were mostly well behaved and eager to learn. Mostly. There were also those that tired him out by constantly insisting on using Spanish grammar, just because Spanish and Italian were similar. It was giving him a headache, one that he tried to cure with coffee.

"Someone looks like he's not having as much fun anymore", teased the chemistry teacher Alabaster.

A partition of the garden belonged to the teacher's lounge, separated by hedges. Alabaster and his boyfriend Ethan were sitting together on a blanket on the grass, looking over at him as Nico took a seat on one of the two garden tables they kept right outside the teacher's lounge. Nico grunted non-comically and inhaled his coffee, the sun warming his face.

"It's just all very different. I'm still adjusting", replied Nico.

"If you want to talk about it, I don't just provide counseling for the students", offered Ethan.

He was the guidance counselor and by the looks of it a very balanced person himself, not easily angered or something. Very much in contrast to his temperamental boyfriend Alabaster.

"Thank you. I appreciate it", nodded the Italian, sipping his coffee again.

All he really needed was something nice to distract him. Something pretty, for example. Closing his eyes and leaning back, he enjoyed the warmth of the sun and let his thoughts wander to Percy. Since he had started working here, Percy had been nothing but a darling. He had shown Nico New York, had introduced him to the other members of the staff and helped easing Nico into this new place.

"Good morning, Nico. Do you want a blueberry muffin?"

Nico smiled as he opened his eyes and looked at Percy. The sun was shining behind him, making the young man glow and look like an angel. He was holding a basket with muffins as he sat down, taking two to throw them at Alabaster and Ethan. Then he handed one to Nico.

"Oh! Can I have a muffin too? They look delicious! Jay, you want one too?"

The hyperactive Latino mechanic and the blonde football coach joined Percy and Nico, just sitting down and stealing muffins. Mh, Leo. Nico cocked his head curiously and looked the Latino up and down intensely. He was going to keep a close eye on that one from now on. His sister and her husband may have problems, but no cute little thing was going to ruin that marriage.

"They're awesome. You should have become a baker instead of a teacher", moaned Leo.

"Chew and swallow before talking", grunted Percy and rolled his eyes, hitting the Latino.

"But he's right, they are delicious", smiled Nico charmingly, licking his lips.

Percy blushed, his heart speeding up. That smile did things to him. But he didn't like the way Nico kept glancing at Leo. Was Nico keeping two possibilities open, or was Percy misinterpreting the smiles Nico had to offer for him? Frowning slightly, Percy picked on his own muffin.

"Valdez! Why are you taking a break?! Get back to work!", interrupted Charles irritated.

The Latino whined and grabbed another muffin before leaving. He nearly ran into Reyna, the very beautiful Puerto Rican co-principal. The woman only cocked one eyebrow, used to the Latino.

"Jason Grace, move your ass now. We have a lunch date with Clarisse and her husband and you know that. I hate being late and our break isn't endless", stated Reyna a little annoyed.

"Oh shit. I totally forgot that", muttered Jason and hurried up.

Nico was pleased to be alone with Percy again. Well, Alabaster and Ethan were still there too, but they were too busy making out with each other to really notice anything. Percy smiled slightly at Nico and pulled out a magazine. Nico understood that after an exhausting morning, he wanted a little peace of mind, so Nico got the newspaper out himself. The thing was that Percy had the attention span of a fly so soon he was holding onto Nico's arm, his chin resting on Nico's shoulder to look at the newspaper too. He was curious what kind of article had Nico so captivated.

"What are you reading?", asked Percy completely confused. "There are no articles..."

"I'm looking for apartments", chuckled Nico amused, pointing at the ads.

"Apartments?", asked Percy confused. "You've been living here for two weeks."

"Yes. It's not as easy to find a place in New York as I thought", sighed Nico and shook his head.

"So are you living with your sister then?", asked Percy interested.

"She and her husband are having... issues, I don't mean to intrude, so I'm staying at a hotel."

"Oh no you aren't!", exclaimed Percy surprised and shook his head, before he yelped.

"What was that?", asked Nico a little surprised.

"I'm living with Annabeth, you know, the literature teacher, right, and we were actually rooming with a third friend of ours. We've been living together since college, but our buddy, Grover, he recently moved out because he got married and now we have an empty room, but so far everyone who came for it was kind of a weirdo and since Annabeth, Grover and me had been inseparable since junior high, it's hard for Annabeth and me to accept someone new!", rambled Percy.

"What are you trying to say, prezioso?", asked Nico, very confused.

"You could move in with Annabeth and me!", exclaimed Percy delighted and stood. "Wait here, I'll talk to Annabeth and maybe you could drop by tonight and check it out, see if you like it!"

Nico blinked a couple of times and looked after Percy surprised. Percy offered him to move in...?

/break\

Leo frowned upset. He had done his best to avoid Frank all day. He always did when he had plans with Hazel the evening. He had a bad conscience and he knew that what he was doing was wrong. On so many different levels. He heaved a sigh as he sat on Piper's desk.

"Why are you putting yourself through all of this if you feel so bad about it?", questioned Piper.

She was his best friend, aside from Jason and Percy. He shrugged and bit his lips.

"I don't know. I just... I was crushing on Frank when he first got here and then he invited the whole staff to his restaurant and then I got drunk and woke up between his wife's thighs", sighed Leo. "But I can't stop it. I love Hazel. But I also kinda love Frank. I know I'm hurting him, but..."

"You're horrible", sighed Piper and pulled him into a hug.

The worst part, the part he had not even told her, was that he was also sleeping with Frank. Just that neither one of them knew of each other. He had slept with Frank since the first week the cook had started working at the school. And then he had met Hazel and like he had just said, drunken one-night-stand that had led to an affair. But both parties always talked about their partners with so much love, Leo couldn't possibly come clear. Frank and Hazel would be so disappointed in each other and they would maybe get divorced and they'd never talk to Leo again for ruining their marriage. Why had he to be the one stuck in the middle of awkwardness like that?

/break\

"Please, please, please, please, please!", whined Percy, kneeling in front of Annabeth's desk.

He was giving her his infamous kicked-kitten eyes, the ones that never failed. She heaved a sigh.

"Nico? You actually want him to move in with us?", asked Annabeth softly.

"He's amazing and if he'd live with us, I could listen to his voice all day. Also, he's a friend, right? So we can't let him live in a hotel, out of a suitcase forever! Maybe it'll just be temporary, until he finds his own place, mh?", suggested Percy, his eyes turning more pleading.

"Okay fine, we'll see how it works out", sighed Annabeth. "He can move in with us, for now."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!", exclaimed Percy and hugged her tightly.

"You're way too hard to resist", snorted the blonde and shook her head.

/break\

Rachel rolled her eyes as she helped Percy cleaning Grover's old room, getting rid of some cobwebs and dust and stuff. Because he wanted to impress Nico. It was so obvious that Percy had the hots for the handsome Italian. But she was glad. He hadn't been with anyone since Octavian. She grinned as she used the feather duster to brush his face. He coughed and sneezed before glaring. She smirked and started to tickle his arms. He giggled and tried to wrestle the thing out of her hand.

"Ah, scusi, is this a bad time?"

Percy, having Rachel pinned to the ground, looked up wide-eyed to find Annabeth and Nico standing in the doorway. Blushing a little, Percy hastily got off Rachel and scratched the back of his head. Well, at least the room was relatively clean now. Since Grover had moved in with Juniper, he had left most of his furniture, so the bed, nightstand, wardrobe, desk and chair were still there.

"Uhm, hi Nico. So... This is the room", grinned Percy sheepishly and stood.

Nico nodded stiffly. He was gripping his suitcase tightly. So Percy had a girlfriend. He should have figured. He wouldn't have thought that Percy would actually make out with her in the middle of the room he had promised for Nico to stay in? Heaving a sigh, he looked around. Well, he could stay here until he found a permanent place at least. Too bad the pretty thing was straight though, he had gotten such a gay-vibe from Percy, with the blushing and the smiles and all...

"I like it. I'll take it, for now. Grazie mille, to both of you", said Nico with a small nod.

/break\

Leo moaned and threw his head back, hitting the window with it and wincing. Well, he loved cars, so sex in a car was nice, but sometimes he wished Hazel could take him home, like a normal couple. But they weren't a normal couple. He was just the plaything Hazel enjoyed when she wasn't with her husband, who she loved more than anything. Panting hard, he curled around her.

"Mh, I really enjoy you, my pretty little thing", whispered Hazel, dragging her lips over his shoulders. "You're so cute when you meow like that when you come..."

"I don't meow", protested Leo and blushed.

"Yeah, you do", grinned Hazel and kissed him. "You're such a beautiful distraction."

Yes, that was what he was. A distraction. Nothing more. He'd never be anything more.

/break\

Nico heaved a relieved sigh when he woke up. A bed that didn't stand in a hotel kind of felt different. More like home. Rolling out of bed, he hastily got changed and left his new room. He had slept incredibly well. And then he left his room and ran into a wet body. Grunting slightly, he nearly fell and out of reflex, he grabbed the other body around the waist to hold onto him.

"Oh. Nico. Not used to someone coming out of that bedroom anymore. Sorry, I shouldn't have run that fast. Uhm, good morning. Would you mind letting go of me?", rambled Percy.

Nico blinked a couple of times and looked at the naked, dripping wet Percy in his arms. He could get used to that, especially when Percy was blushing so delicately in embarrassment.

"Buongiorno, carino", said Nico slowly. "Do you always walk around naked...?"

"Uhm. No. I took a shower and I was still half asleep so I forgot to take a change of clothes with me and then I tried to run to my room to get them and collided with you. Sorry again."

Nico nodded slowly, his eyes roaming over the delicious body. "Well, you should get dressed."

"Uhu. Yes, I should. Really. Uhm... Gonna see you for breakfast", nodded Percy hastily.

Nico licked his lips as he watched Percy run. His ass truly looked even better without shorts. What a pleasant start into the morning. Too bad the pretty thing was already taken. He hummed softly to himself as he made some scrambled eggs and coffee for himself and his new flatmates.

/break\

Nico felt another headache coming as he wrote a list of the most essential phrases and tried to make his class pronounce them half-way right. He had known teaching would be hard, but he hadn't thought it to be nearly impossible. His eyes wandered out to watch Percy swimming his rounds. Mh, he really loved his room. While he ordered the class to write them down and try a simple conversation – saying hello, asking for the other's name, asking how they feel – he turned his full attention on the sadly enough straight swimming coach. What a waste of perfectly fine ass.

/break\

Percy glared with a slight pout as Nico's full attention laid on Leo during the lunch break. It was mean. Was Leo really that much cuter than Percy? The worst thing; he'd wish Leo someone nice to be with. Leo was awesome, he deserved a good, handsome boyfriend like Nico. Huffing slightly, he turned his glare to Leo, who was fooling around with Frank. Yeah, Nico would definitely be better than keeping to long for the married cook, because that would only end in heartbreak.

"Percy. Tonight. You promised me something in return for helping you yesterday", chimed Rachel.

Percy whined. It was embarrassing and he hated it, but a promise was a promise.

/break\

Nico was tired by the time he finally got home. He had spend the day stalking Leo, but judging by the way Leo interacted with Frank, he was rather having an affair with Frank than being guilty of having an affair with Frank's wife. Very confusing. But he was getting behind this. He wouldn't have Hazel's marriage sabotaged, his baby sister deserved to be happy.

"Miele, sono a casa!", called Nico out, grinning slightly.

He was looking forward to seeing Percy. The swimming teacher's day had ended around noon already so he was probably already home. The grin slipped off his face when he saw Percy. Naked. And with Rachel. Okay, so that was not what he had expected. Percy yelped and blushed, hastily grabbing a blanket to cover himself. Naked twice in one day. Must be Nico's lucky day.

"Percy! You're not supposed to move!", exclaimed Rachel annoyed, throwing a paint brush at him.

Nico blinked and took a closer look. Okay, no sex. Rachel was painting Percy. Huh.

"You're not having sex?", asked Nico bluntly.

"What? No. Ew. Not with Percy", huffed Rachel and made a face. "Uh, sorry, Perce."

"No problem", muttered Percy, ruffling his hair embarrassed. "No, we're not having sex. I'm modeling for Rachel. I do it a lot. Kinda forgot about you... uhm, well, about you coming here, living here. We normally always do it in the living room, because the light is better here. Annabeth never minds because she's seen me naked hundreds of times already, so yeah..."

Hundreds of times? So Rachel wasn't the girlfriend, Annabeth was? Then why weren't they sharing a room? To keep some privacy and not sit on each other? Nico shook his head. He really wasn't in the mood to think about Percy's love-life at the moment, he had his sister's love-life on the front of his mind. Until he figured out what Leo was doing, he had no room for Percy.

"I won't be a bother. You can just continue, I'll be in my room", said Nico and turned.

"No! Get naked and come over here!", demanded Rachel. "I'm drawing Percy as an angel, you would be the perfect devil beside him! Please, this will be a masterpiece!"

"Rachel, leave him alone, please. He's obviously agitated", huffed Percy, embarrassed on Nico's behalf. "You should take a bath, Nico. They always relax me. We have like a dozen different bubble baths in the bathroom! You can use them all, but the ocean-scented one is my favorite!"

That explained the ocean-breeze-like smell and why Percy reminded Nico so much of Italy, when he used to walk the beach. Nodding slowly, Nico walked to his room to dump his stuff and gather a new set of clothes before heading to the bathroom. A bath was a good idea.

/break\

Octavian grunted as he arrived home. He had spend the evening sorting the library with the help of Annabeth. A library would be so much better if there weren't students in it, putting books everywhere aside from the place where they belonged. He frowned confused when he saw his boyfriend hastily closing his laptop. Was Luke looking at porn or what? Octavian grinned.

"Hey, babe", murmured Octavian and wrapped his arms around Luke's shoulders from behind.

"Hello", nodded Luke and turned around enough to kiss Octavian, holding onto his laptop.

Octavian decided not to comment on it, instead choosing a lighter topic. "How long do you think it will take the new guy to seduce Jackson? I think one word from him would be enough for Percy to drop on his knees and open his mouth wide. I give them two weeks, max."

"Yeah. Maybe", nodded Luke and stood. "I'll go and make dinner, mh?"

Octavian frowned confused. What was wrong with Luke? He watched how his boyfriend left for the kitchen. Once he was clear, Octavian hastily opened the laptop. He just wanted to see it. Okay. No porn. An adoption page. Adoption? Was that why Luke was behaving so weird sometimes? Because he was thinking about staring a family? The open page showed a cute, little blonde girl.

Author's note: Next chapter will have Nico catching Frank and Leo in the act. He will also spend some of his time assuming that Percy is dating Annabeth. And then that he's dating Piper, until Percy's had enough of those straight accusations and sets him... well, gay.