Found Family (HoO, Mortal AU)

HAZEL LEVESQUE

She found Nico at the end of the school day. She still didn't fully know the way around her new school, but she was getting the hang of it. They walked to the car together, the rain pouring down on them as they went. They both jumped into the back seat of their car.

"Hi, Jules-Albert." Hazel said, buckling her seatbelt.
Jules-Albert was their chauffeur. He drove them everywhere. Though Nico and Hazel were both sixteen, Hazel being just a month younger than Nico, they hadn't learnt how to drive. Hazel had started learning back in Alaska, but didn't make much progress. Of course their father was never home, so Jules-Albert was hired. He'd been working for Hazel and Nico's father even before they both moved in.

"Hello Miss Levesque, Mr di Angelo." Jules-Albert said.
The different surnames also made people believe Nico and Hazel weren't siblings. They both had their mother's maiden names. Nico's mother and their father never married and their father only visited them in Italy about twice a year. Hazel hadn't even met her father until she was thirteen. He visited before being sent away by Hazel's mother. They didn't meet again until Marie died and Hazel had to move in with them. Again, the completely opposite appearances made people think Nico and Hazel weren't even related.

Their father was mixed race. Hazel always assumed he was black until she met him. Her mother had never wanted to talk about him, so she had to form her own opinion. Nico's mother was white, and he looked completely white, just like Hazel looked completely black. It confused a lot of people, but they'd done DNA tests.
"Hello." Nico said to Jules-Albert, before putting in earphones and staring out the window.

They drove home. Jules-Albert opened the door for them and they both got out. Hazel walked inside, Nico following. The maid was just leaving as they went in.
"Wanna make pancakes?" Hazel asked.
"I'm sure there's some in the fridge." Nico said, setting his school bag on the ground.
"No- I mean make them. Like homemade. From scratch. I miss cooking." It was true. Hazel's mother was rich, but they never had maids or cooks. They used to cook all their own food.

"Okay?" Nico said.
"Didn't you used to cook? I mean back in Italy." Hazel knew not to talk about Nico's past too much, but surely he used to cook.
"Uhm. I guess, yeah."
"Then come on!" Hazel went into the kitchen.
She stood on the counter to reach the cupboards- she was shorter than most people her age, and Nico was only a few inches taller than her. She got the flour out of the cupboard. She jumped down of the counter.
She got out her phone. "Taylor Swift or One Direction?"
"Uhh-"
"Taylor Swift it is!" She hit the playlist.

They started making pancakes, making a bit of a mess. There was flour everywhere- the floor, their clothes, their faces, the counters, somehow even the walls. Nico stirred the batter.
"Our father won't be happy with the mess." Hazel said. Our father. Not dad. Hazel didn't know if she could ever see him as 'dad'.
"He's never happy." Nico said, pouring some of the batter into the frying pan.

"Okay, okay, we need to flip it. Can you flip pancakes?"
"Nope." Nico said, but tried anyway, making the pancake land on the floor. "Yum." He said sarcastically.
Eventually they got the hang of it. They finished making the pancakes and went to the dining room to eat. To be fair, they weren't the nicest pancakes ever. But making them was fun, at least. Spending time with Nico was fun, too. He even smiled, which was rare.

Eventually he stood up. "I have two tests tomorrow. I better study." He walked off to his room.
The happiness never lasted, really. Even when they both pretended to be okay, they knew they weren't. But they never talked about their feelings. It was easier to pretend they were okay.

She walked back to her own room. It was finally completely decorated. When she'd first moved in, she wasn't in the mood to do anything other than cry. Over the summer, Nico helped her make it her own. It was much more colourful than the other rooms in the dark manor, mostly purple. One of her nightstands had most of her crystals on it. The windowsill had a few photos of her old friends from Alaska. There was one hidden behind the others. Of her and Sammy.

Then there was that other boy. He looked almost identical to Sammy. Hazel almost fainted when she first seen him. She wanted to find out more about Sammy's doppelgänger.

She sat out at her desk, taking off her hoop earrings. She left the other earrings in, her ears being pierced multiple times. There were tarot cards spread around her desk. She gathered them up and put them away, taking out her homework.

The first month living in New York was the worst. Her father, the man her mother hated the most, was never there for her. If she was honest, she'd hated Nico. They'd never talked, but she could hear him and their father fighting every night. Once they finally talked to each other, they became practically inseparable. Hazel didn't cry everyday. She had someone who understood what she went through.

Their stories were surprisingly alike. Nico's mother was killed, just like Hazel's. Then their father took custody over Nico and his sister, Bianca. They were moved from Italy to America. Then Bianca died. Hazel wasn't sure how, Nico wouldn't talk about it. She didn't want to force him, either. Bianca had been two years older than Nico, her death traumatising him. Death seemed to be a big thing for both of them.

———

It was late when their father got home. Hazel and Nico were in the kitchen, finally cleaning. They seem the car pull into the driveway. Hazel turned down her music, wiping the suds from cleaning the dishes away from her face. They went to the door to greet their father.

He barely said hello before walking upstairs to his office. Hazel sighed.
"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Nico."
"Night Bia- Hazel. Hazel."
That wasn't the first time it had happened. Hazel went to her room.

———

Word Count: 1064

———

A/N: wow two chapters in a day I'm amazing. Jk. Anyway I just wanted to say I am in no way trying to change Hazel/Nico's race by making Hazel partially white and Nico partially black. It was the easiest solution for them being siblings. Also I'm aware Hazel's birthday is in December in canon, but it's in February in this fic cause Nico has to be older for some reason ahahahaha. And I didn't wanna make Hazel 15 instead cause Frank is like 17 and that's make Frazel a lil creepy. Plus why would hazel, a fifteen year old, hang out with Percy, Annabeth and Grover later in the fic, who are all 18. Anyway I'm done talking sorry thanks loads of love!
-Rachael