Fic: Babysitting (Rachel/Nico, Slight Percy/Annabeth - PG-13)
Title: Babysitting
Characters/Pairings: Rachel/Nico, Sophia (daughter of Percy and Annabeth), Percy/Annabeth
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nico is stuck babysitting Percy and Annabeth's three-year-old child. Rachel is stuck at a party she hates. Unusual parenting ensues, a forbidden couple is caught doing things they shouldn't, and a toddler is fed blended spaghetti.
Author's Note(s): Wow. This is the second fic I ever wrote. I'm putting it on here because I wanted to give all of you lovelies that gave me prompts something to tide you over, need you be, while I finish some of those fics up. Remember, it's the second fic I ever wrote, so please don't be too harsh. It may be a bit sappy, IDK. Comments are always highly appreciated!
"No, that's ridiculous," Nico di Angelo said, shaking his head at the dark haired, three-year-old girl.
"But why?" Sophia asked, in that little way of hers, slapping her hands down on her tiny legs.
"Because you're mother said not to let you. Along with instructions on what to do in case a Tsunami occurs, or World War Three breaks out." Nico said.
Sophia giggled momentarily. "No Tsunami's in New York," She pronounced Tsunami like too-na-mee. Nico couldn't help but smile slightly. Both at her knowledge on the subject and her pronounciation of the word.
She then put that serious look back on her small face, which was absolutely hilarious, but of course Nico didn't show his amusement. "Mommy told you no Spaghetti baths?" She asked.
"Yep," Nico lied. When Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase had insured their daughter in Nico's care, Annabeth had in fact told him what to do in the occurence of natural disasters or potential wars. She had not however touched on the topic of her daughter taking a bath in Spaghetti, but he was pretty sure that she would not be particularly OK with it.
"Why?" Sophia said. Nico hadn't been thrilled with the idea of babysitting Sophia, considering he didn't like children all that much. No, it wasn't that as much as it was that kids made him uncomfortable. He didn't know what to do with them. But he had known Sophia since she was born, and she had recieved her mother's IQ and her fathers perpetual sarcasm, so she was most definitely his favorite person under 15. And, as was a shock to everyone, the feeling was mutual. Sophia absolutely adored Nico. Perhaps it was because he didn't show as much interest in her as others, so she followed him around on default, searching for this due adoration. Or maybe it was because he spoke to her the same way he spoke to everyone else. Whatever the reason, they hit it off like gangbusters.
"Because your Mommy's mean," Nico responded matter of factly. They sat on the couch of Annabeth and Percy's apartment, Sophia having kidnapped Nico's jacket the second he walked in, now sitting in it. Considering that it was 3 times bigger than her she was practically drowning in it.
"Well then what?" Sophia demanded.
"You have to go to sleep soon. This is also because you're mother's mean. So here's what you can do: go to sleep early, watch TV, or I could cook you Spaghetti. And, no, you cannot bathe in it. Cooked or not."
Sophia frowned, but decided she would settle for eating the Spaghetti. She held on to Nico's leg while he cooked, which caused him to glance down at her, not sure what to do, but finally he just decided to leave her alone.
All the while he cook, she sat there, fiddling with his shoe.
-o-
On the other side of town Rachel Elizabeth Dare was not happy.
Her father had made her go to some stupid New York socialites birthday party, telling her it was the least she could do considering he tolerated her choice of friends (this mainly, and absolutely referring to Nico,) and that it would look bad if she didn't show up.
Honestly, Rachel couldn't care less whose birthday it was or how it would look. She was simply miffed because she'd had to blow off another one of her and Nico's quite common "dates".
Her and Nico had found in the last year or so that they actually quite enjoyed each others company, and they had enough in common, so they became best friends so to speak. Nico would cook for her and make fun of her obsessive reading of Harlequin novels, and then they would bond over crazy father stories.
They would really do the oddest things together. Things they hadn't done in years. They would play old board games while sharing a bottle of Vodka. Once they had even played 'hide and go seek'. Rachel had turned off all the lights in her gigantic pent house apartment, and commanded Nico to find her. Of course he always did, in record time no less, considering he could bend shadows to his will and all that jazz.
That night Nico was supposed to have tried to teach her how to cook some simple dishes, but her father had sprung this highly overrated party on her, and she had to go. If she was going to push it with Nico all the time, she had to succumb to some of her fathers wishes.
But it was already an hour into the party, and Rachel had escaped the piercing eyes of her father and retired to a small table in the corner of the large ballroom. She sat there in her emerald green dress, hair done up professionally, pricey jewelry on, snacking on expensive appitizers. There she could see and not be seen. A married man and a very young blonde woman are sneaking our of the room together. A 50-something ex-ballerina in scolding her young daughter. Young woman sneak to the restrooms to powder their noses or reapply lipstick or purge. Never to actually use the bathroom. Typical, Rachel thought with a sneer.
She was wondering why she didn't just fake her own death and move to Europe with Nico when her phone rang. She pulled it out of her emerald green clutch, reading the name on the screen and grinning.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Whatever you're doing at that creepy rich people party is less important than what I need," replied the voice on the other end.
"Mm, someone's a tad full of themself," Rachel replied drily. "What are you doing?"
"Making pasta for another woman," Nico responded.
"You're cheating on me with food? Who's the bitch?" Rachel demanded, smiling.
"Um, I doubt you want to call Annabeth and Percy's child a bitch. She's not that bad."
"Wait. You're watching Sophia?" Rachel scoffed.
"Don't act so surprised. She loves me. She thinks I'm the coolest thing since Spaghetti baths." Nico said, and Rachel could hear Sophia agree with this on the other end.
"But it's 7:20. She has to go to bed by like, what? Eight?" Rachel said.
"Annabeth was very specific. 7:50 was the exact time she gave. So I'm going to take the pasta when it's done, blend it in the, uh, blender, and put it in a bottle for her." Nico said matter of factly.
Rachel gaped at the reciever. "You're going to blend the pasta and put it in a bottle for her." She repeated, incredulous.
"Yep," Nico replied. "But that's not the point. She has to go to bed, and I'm bored, and Annabeth and Percy don't get back till ten, and you should come over."
"You want me to come over and watch you feed a 3 year old blended pasta." Rachel said.
"Yeah. It'll be like what they do for coma victims. Ya know, they just blend it all up and put it in that tube thing, and voila. You have a fed comatose person."
"Yeah, that's not creepy."
"So are you coming over?"
"I can't Nico. My father will set the dogs on me!"
"Oh, come on, Dare. Am I talking to the same girl that stole Percy Jackson's pegasus? That rode into the middle of the Titan War in a helicopter? That threw a hairbrush at Kronos?" Nico retorted, scoffing at the end.
Rachel grew livid. How dare he imply that she couldn't stand up to her father. But she couldn't get out of it now. And he knew that. he knew that once he said that, she had to come. She couldn't let that one go. She just couldn't.
That arrogant bastard.
-o-
"Why did you leave the door unlocked? You're babysitting." Rachel demanded, standing in the kitchen doorway, lookingg at Nico who stood at the stove, and a little Sophia curled around his feet.
"I'm not really afraid of anyone who could be thrown off by a locked door." Nico responded.
"She's beautiful," Sophia said, staring at Rachel with wide eyes, even though she'd known her since she was born.
"Sophia's really superficial," Nico said, stirring the pot of noodles. "She doesn't go for that whole tortured artist thing that you're usually working. She likes fancy." Nico nodded. "But you do look beautiful," he added, turning back to the pasta.
Sophia giggled at this, and Rachel smiled, blushing slightly. "Thank you," she said, smiling at Sophia, who smiled back.
Nico then proceeded to take the pot of pasta, drain it, and pour the contents of it into the blender.
"Nico!" Rachel said, rushing over. "I thought you were kidding!"
"I don't kid about anything pertaining to Sophia and her diet." Nico responded, hitting the on button.
Rachel's protests were drowned out by the blenders loud whirring. Nico picked Sophia up because she kept poking his leg, wanting to watch the blender do its work. The Italian then began to line the inside of one of Sophia's sippy cups with pasta sauce, Sophia watching with keen interest all the while on his hip. Rachel wasn't sure whether to be creeped out by this picture, of amused.
He turned the blender off then, the food having been turned completely into a liquid substance. He dipped his finger in, trying it, then making a surprised face.
"Better then I thought it'd be," he said, pouring it into Sophia's sippy cup, shaking it, and handing it to the 3 year old.
Sophia sipped it without protest, smiling at Nico after she did.
"You cannot be serious," Rachel said. Though there was something about the fact that Nico had just cooked and now had a child on his hip that made him intensely attractive.
"It's good," Sophia said in her little voice.
"See," Nico said, setting the child down. "OK, I gave you Spaghetti." He said, looking at Sophia. "You have to go to bed now. Just scream like, Spaghetti baths, or something, if any monsters come in." Sophia nodded, hugging his leg quickly, then running from the room.
Rachel and him watched the retreating child, and then Rachel turned to him. "You're not tucking her in?"
"What? She's tough. And smart. And obedient. And oddly not afraid of the dark, which I like. Probably because I can beat up shadows, so I think she assumes that everyone has that ability." He shrugged, drinking some of the left over liquid Spaghetti straight from the blender.
Rachel shook her head, but said no more on the matter. She didn't know any more about children than Nico did. She'd been raised by nannies, who were all nice, but it wasn't the same as your actual parent reading you to sleep at night.
"So," he said, smiling that arrogant smile of his. "What'd you wanna do?"
-o-
Rachel and Nico sat in the dark living room, Sophia sound asleep two rooms away. A Spanish Soap Opera was on the television, and they were laughing quietly at the ridiculous program. Yet another odd thing that they did regularly.
"So, let me get this straight," Rachel said. "Diego is pissed at Angela, 'cause she slept with Alejandro?"
"No," Nico said. He actually understood some of what the characters said, considering he spoke Italian, which was a similar enough language to Spanish. "Diego's, like, abusive. But yeah, that's one of the reasons he's mad. But her and Alejandro are soulmates, or something stupid like that. If you spoke any language other than English, you'd see all this."
Rachel was caught on something he said, frowning. "You think the idea of soulmates is stupid?" She asked, looking over at him. There faces were only inches apart.
Nico shrugged, looking over. "I don't know. I guess I think that if two people are meant for each other, it shouldn't be so difficult."
They were looking at each other now, faces only a inch apart, breath hot on each others faces. Heart rates increasing. Temperature rising.
"You don't think that," Rachel said, not breaking eye contact.
"No, I don't." He agreed, moving closer, if that was even possible.
Rachel swallowed. "We don't really have to say it, do we?"
"No," he said, breath on her face. His hand on her cheek, their lips touch, she wraps her arms around him, and they begin to deepen the kiss-
"What. The. Fuck."
They both jump, landing on opposite ends of the couch, to find Annabeth and Percy staring at them, mouths hanging open, in the doorway.
"Nico blended pasta and fed it to Sophia!" Rachel blurted.
"What?" Percy and Annabeth said together, Nico shooting daggers at Rachel.
"Look," Nico said, holding his hands up. "You've caught us doing weirder things."