During her first full summer at Camp Half Blood, Rachel found an unusual friend in Nico de Angelo. It wasn't that they hadn't been friends before, they had, but it had always been through mutual relations.

Soon though, Rachel discovered that they had some things in common. Both were asymmetrically packaged new kids; not quite unfamiliar to the place, but certainly not like everyone else. While their philosophies on fitting in were different, they still meshed nicely into a friendship.

Both had 'daddy issues' to say the least, although they were issues that paved completely different paths. Rachel's dad was not enough, and Nico's dad was too much for him to handle. Nico wanted to please his father, and Rachel never did.

So yes, they were different. Their stories flirted with one another, but never quite met up in unity. They were not identical, certainly, but they had sporadic regions of sameness to their pasts.

They had already been friends by default, and they soon discovered that they could be friends by choice, as well.

"Did you get your cabin set up?" Rachel asked.

Nico had just slid beside her by the lake, an expression of distaste on his face. "Yeah, pretty much."

The Hades cabin had taken a while in production, but now it was finally complete. Only Rachel seemed to understand Nico's slight lack of enthusiasm. A whole cabin, all to himself. He'd like it, perhaps, but it left too much time to think.

"Have you seen Percy?" he asked.

Rachel turned, getting a better look at him. His hair was disgruntled, and he looked tired. She smiled sympathetically. "No, I haven't seen him. Can I help with anything?" Percy, along with Annabeth and Grover, had become quite popular. They were almost always busy, whether it was with the camp activities or with each other.

"Nah," Nico said, folding his legs. "That's okay." He lowered his voice, turning to Rachel with a sly smile, "They're probably making out, so whatever."

Rachel gave a light giggle, and Nico's grin broadened. He was unaccustomed to making people laugh.

"Yeah," Rachel said. She cocked an eyebrow, broaching Nico's problem with her custom bluntness. "What's it like? Having a cabin all to yourself?"

Nico shrugged, looking away. "It's fine. Kind of weird."

"You know," Rachel said, "You must be the first person to. Well, other than Percy."

"Yeah…"

"But," Rachel continued, her voice rising, "Even he has Tyson most of the time. And Thalia was hardly here for long at all. So, you're by yourself for longer." She smiled, thinking she was helping him.

Nico chewed on the inside of his cheek. Great, another thing to make him different from everyone else. Sure, Percy was different, but it was a respected kind of different. Nico replayed his prized motto in his mind: if you can't join them, beat them. It never occurred to him that there was a reason that the original saying was the other way around.

He nodded. "Do you like staying in the Big House?"

"A little awkward," she admitted. "But not too bad. Hey, have you met any of the minor-god kids?"

"Yeah," Nico said, grinning. "They're pretty cool, some of them."

Rachel wiggled her head in agreement. "Yup."

The conversation quickly came to a halt, but such things were never uncomfortable for them. Rachel always made sure that they were talking about something.

The summer continued to unfold with ease, and the friendship between the two gradually expanded.

Nico found that friendship with Rachel took less energy than friendship with other people, and Rachel learned that Nico was an entertaining tag-a-long. It was just what each of them needed, and slowly they learned to rely on one another.

Nico could make Rachel laugh, and Rachel could talk to Nico without him losing interest. They had the same levels of stamina, and similar shallow renditions of depth. But most of all, they both unconsciously liked the idea of a kindred. While they might not have been exact counterparts, it was this sort of succor that they found in one another.

For most of the summer, they were great friends. Unfortunately, something struck a chord in Nico. Perhaps it was because Rachel had kissed Percy, or purely because he wanted some level of normalcy in his life, but he developed a crush on Rachel.

At first, it was just her looks. He remained platonically connected to her soul, while his eyes drifted ever-so-slightly over her exterior. She was pretty, and his developing testosterone appreciated such a fringe benefit.

Despite the slight age difference, he started being able to imagine them together. She was his girlfriend, both her looks and her bright personality. He liked the idea of her always by his side, the idea of them dating. He saw how happy Percy and Annabeth were, and he wanted something like that. Whatever else was true about Nico, he was rather susceptible to jealousy.

Rachel, she noticed the change in his behavior. He was a little more careful about his actions, a little slower with his words. He didn't want to say something stupid to her.

She was neither offended nor flattered by his wandering vision, and passed it off as cute. He was the little brother she never had, and she rarely thought about him as more than that.

Sometimes though, she told herself that there might be a spark. Sure, he was young, but maybe in a few years, and if she weren't… No, never mind. Too complicated.

She could never remember meeting anyone whom she got along with so well, though. Sure, Percy, but it hadn't been like this. Percy was a friend, and a good one, but they'd never clicked as obviously.

Rachel and Nico didn't tire of one another, and Nico seemed to stand her quirkiness with ease. She liked him, definitely as a friend, and on occasion her mind roved right alongside Nico's gaze.

It was the last day of camp, when Rachel spoke up about it. She hadn't, to spare them both the embarrassment, but she figured it was that it was time. She couldn't let him go a year dreaming of things that could never be.

"Nico," she said, suddenly.

He turned, surprised. Oddly enough, they rarely called one another by their names. They just started talking.

"We can't."

He looked confused for a moment, and then started to say something. Rachel placed polish finger atop his shoulder to stop him.

"Nico, I'm serious I mean maybe we could, but not as us. I really can't." She met his eyes with her usual clarity and force, and Nico found that he did not look away. He would still like her, even if it was impossible. He was stubborn like that.

"Yeah," Nico said finally, sighing. He gave a shrug and a reluctant smile. She was his first, but he knew she wouldn't be his last. She had opened the door of girls to him, and it left a pleasant trail of imagination in her place. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Of course," Rachel replied, smiling back at him. "I'm glad you understand." She gave him a hug, and proceeded to pack her bags for high school. As sad as it was, their ending fit with both their patterns. Nico the son of Hades, Rachel the Oracle. Not really relationship types.

They belonged together, maybe, but it could never happen. That was the problem with being a demigod; your actual self was only a fraction of your destiny.

A/N: I know they don't actually end up together, but that's just sort of how I work with stories. Listen, though. I want to challenge myself to write one pairing fic every week/couple of weeks, so please leave requests, if you'd like. No Percabeth, though, since I already have Percabeth fics. But yeah, any (and I mean any) other pairing is fine. Thanks for reading!