Secret Life of Bree Ann Stark

Stuffed Animal Delivery for The Death King

I sit on the couch with Nico while he eats his mac and cheese. The boy decided to sit on the floor in front of me, using the coffee table as a dinner table and my dangling legs as his backrest. I gently comb out the tangles in his hair while making sure that he gets enough to eat and drink. He's gotten so much thinner since the last time I saw him. I can't help but worry about him.

I had been going to the same school Nico and his sister were at when they were found as demigods. I had some suspicions when I met and befriended them. I had honestly hoped back then that I was wrong. Before Bianca left on that quest, she made me promise that I would keep Nico safe and care for him if anything happened to her. I had sworn on the River Styx that I would do everything in my power to look after him. I hate the fact that Nico hasn't been taking enough care of himself to eat more.

"Nico, maybe you should stay here for a while," I suggest. "My dad won't mind, I promise. Besides, you need to rest and reenergize yourself."

"I'll be fine, Bree," Nico sighs. "You need to stop worrying so much about me."

"I have to worry about you," I exclaim. "Your sister made me promise to her that I would take care of you and I had taken that promise above and beyond by swearing on the River Styx. You know I can't help but worry and care about you."

Nico sighs and takes another sip of his Gatorade. He remains silent. I smile slightly, knowing exactly how to convince him.

"I'll make you homemade hot chocolate and tiramisu if you stay," I sing. "I know you love them."

Despite trying his best to hide it, I can see Nico's smile peeking out. He throws his head back dramatically in defeat. Though his best efforts to look annoyed and mad, I could see the amusement and admiration in his eyes. I just smile down at him before we both burst into laughter.

"For gods' sake," Nico laughs. "Why do you always have to make such tempting offers?"

"You won't stay any other way!" I tease.

"I guess you have a point."

"Always do! Wisdom's daughter, remember?" I muse.

Nico rolls his eyes and punches me in the shin. I recoil in pain but laugh nonetheless. For such a small and scrawny kid, he does have quite the punch. I take pride in being the one to teach him that. Just then there's a knock on the door and Nico and I look towards it. I hear my father's voice on the other side asking if it was ok to come in. I don't think about it as I automatically answer yes. Dad enters with a smile.

"Hey, my golden owl," dad says affectionately. "I was coming by to see if you need anything to help you set up your design for tomorrow."

"I should be good, dad," I smile. "Thanks."

"Oh, hey, Nico," Dad smiles. "Didn't know you snuck in."

"Hi, Mr. Stark," Nico says. "Yeah, I got here a little while ago. How are you?"

"I'm good," dad shrugs as he walks up behind the couch. "Anyway, owl, get some rest."

Dad kisses my hair and gently rubs my shoulders. I place a hand over my father's and give him a small squeeze. My dad isn't always good at expressing his love for me in words, so instead, he shows it through small gestures and actions. Not that I don't I always relish the moments he does say it aloud. He's gotten better over the years at saying it aloud, but I always know that moments of complete and utter affection like these are part of his way of saying I love you.

"I love you too, daddy," I say as he pulls his lips away from my hair.

"Oh, and Nico," dad says. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need. You don't have to worry about monsters or anything. The tower has a few systems that help to repel them."

"Oh, um, thank you, Mr. Stark," Nico says.

"Just call me Tony, kid," dad smiles. "I'll come to check in on you two in the morning. If you need anything, let JARVIS know."

"Alright, dad," I say. "Love ya. Good night. And get some sleep. No going back to the lab tonight. I don't want to have to come up there and find you sleeping at your station tomorrow."

"Ok, sweetie. I promise," Dad agrees as he starts to walk to the door.

"In fact, JARVIS?" I say. Dad turns around and looks at me.

"Yes, young mistress?" The AI replies. Nico looks around wildly for the source of the voice.

"Alert me if Dad tries to enter the lab before nine am tomorrow," I smirk at dad. Dad rolls his eyes and chuckles in amusement.

"As you wish, Miss," JARVIS answers. "Anything else I can help you with?"

"No, thank you JARVIS," I answer.

"Alright, now get some sleep you two," dad called behind as he leaves.

"You too, Dad," I call behind.

There is a moment of silence after the door clicks shut as Nico continues to eat. I go back to combing out his hair. I momentarily wonder when the last time he had a decent shower was. This leads me down the rabbit hole of when the last time he had a decent night's sleep was. When did he last have a good healthy home cooked meal? Was it the last time he had snuck in? I'm so wrapped up in my thoughts that I don't even realize that Nico had finished eating until he leans back against me. I look back down at him in response and take note of the empty bowl.

"You should go take a shower," I comment. "You remember where the guest bathroom is?"

Nico nods and gets up. He heads over to the guest bathroom. I don't get up until I hear him close the door. I take a deep breath and quickly clean up the mess. Once I finish, head to my living room and prepare one of the trundle beds I have for times like this. I put fresh sheets and blankets on the bed and a few of my spare pillows and spray it all down with some lavender oil. I head to my room and riffle through my box of spare stuffed animals to find Nico's favorites: a black unicorn and a black cat with a skeletal design printed on its fur.

Despite being the son of Hades and the prince of death and darkness, Nico has a small soft spot for stuffed animals and the smell of lavender. He claims they just help him to sleep, but I know better. I take a step back and smile at my handiwork. The bed had a soft gray-black theme to it, perfectly suited for a prince of darkness. It had some of the softest blankets and pillows that had the perfect balance of softness and firmness. Dad had made sure that all the mattresses in the tower were optimized for each person's preferences for sleeping. I had asked that all of the mines be able to cradle a person's pressure points and keep their back in line to prevent waking up achy and sore.

I smile and nod as I triple-check everything. Then I realize that I forgot to give Nico proper sleepwear. I smack myself in the forehead for forgetting about sleepwear. I rush to my room and open my drawer I keep spare clothes for my unexpected sleepover guests. I pull out some boxers, a pair of size medium sweatpants, and a plain white T-shirt that I knew was going to be a tad bit big on my 12-year-old possibly malnourished companion. But alas, it was the best I could do. I head to the guest bathroom and knocked on the door.

"Hey, Nico. I'm going to open the door so I can slide in some fresh clothes for you to wear to bed," I call through the door. "I won't look."

I heard something that sounded like a muffled ok. I crack the door open and place the clothes just on the inside of the door. I can still hear the shower running so I quickly shut the door and retreated to my room to get ready for bed. After a shower and a change into my pajamas, I make my way out to check up on Nico. I smile when I see him peacefully passed out on the trundle I had set up for him. He lay slightly on his side with his arms wrapped around the black unicorn. His nose is slightly tucked into the unicorn's fur. He had changed into the pajamas, but he must have passed out before he could properly get tucked under the covers as he was partly laying on top of them. He looked even more like the child that he is fast asleep like this. I walk over to him and gently stroked his hair. He stirred slightly but didn't wake up. I tug slightly on the blankets so that Nico wasn't laying on them and proceeded to tuck him in. He just kept snoring away. I smile at the sleeping boy before heading back to my room to sleep.