The Wants of a Young Demigod Heart (Nico di Angelo, Leo Valdez x OC)

Manticore Filler

Nico POV

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Merrily ended up having to help Ryan put on Taylor's diaper. Then Chey good-naturedly gave up her duffel bag so Ryan could store the baby's stuff. Then, because Taylor's stuff took up so little space, we were able to cram the new baby stroller into the baggage area. Next, Leo managed to talk Ryan into hanging Taylor's basket a little bit off the side of Festus. I have no idea how in the world he managed to do this, but then the entire trip to Texas, I don't think Ryan set Taylor down once, so I feel like Ryan only agreed to get Leo to shut up. 

Right now, we're about halfway to Texas. I can tell, mostly because it's getting way hot, even though we're really high in the air. Also, I can tell Leo is really nervous because his hands are shaking, and every time they do, Festus will lurch in some random direction. Taylor has learned a few curse words due to this. 

The trip to Texas isn't really all that long, but when you have a two-day-year old baby, a hyperactive teenager, two sleep-deprived Hermes kids, and two emotional teenage girls, and a one hour trip... well, just kill me now why don't you?

Anyway, we finally land sometime around mid-afternoon in the middle of basically a desert. Which absolutely sucks, because it's still mid-August and it's flipping hot out here! By the time we're only halfway ready to set out, my hair is sticking to my forehead and my aviator's jacket is wrapped around my waist. Everyone is in similar situations to mine. Merrily tried to pull her hair into a ponytail, but everyone objected so violently because she looked too much like Annabeth. So it's just out. She's in a yellow shirt and acid washed jeans, which she's rolled up to be capris. Ryan has ditched his jacket and rolled up his pants legs. His baby is good to go though, since Taylor's just in a onesie. Chey has pulled her hair up into a ponytail and has tied her leather jacket around her waist. I've never seen her without it. Underneath she's wearing a hot pink top. I was fully not expecting that since all she wears is black, besides her headband. Abigail is also wearing a tank top, but only in a light lavender. 

I wipe my wet black hair out of my face. Then Merrily taps my shoulder. 

"It's your clothes," she informs me.

"What do you mean?" I ask, looking down at my black band shirt and black pants. 

"Since your clothes are all black, they absorb heat more," she explains matter of factly.

"Won't Taylor be hot too?" Ryan interjects. 

"A little bit, but then she's in a onesie," Merrily points out. "But you might want to shade her a bit. Luckily the stroller has one though."

Ryan nods and gets Leo to help him pull the stroller out while Chey bounced Taylor. Merrily leans back against me and closes her eyes. I wrap my arms around her and lean my chin into her hair. It smells pleasantly like cherries. Finally, we're all set to go. Leo had to land us really far out in the desert because you obviously couldn't just land a giant metal dragon in the center of town. Probably because it'd look like one of those new plane things. 

So after forty-five sweltering minutes later, we finally see signs of life. I purely envy Leo. He hardly looks hot. I mean, he's sweating and stuff and his cheeks are a little red, but besides that, he looks fine. Taylor is gurgling happily up at the shade-thingy on her stroller. Lucky little imp.

The town we're in is very clearly small. The road we're standing on has a few structures. There are a few smaller houses on either side of the road. If you look further down, you can see a small grocery store and a beautiful set of gates. Nearby, there are a couple of smaller neighborhoods. It's a pretty nice town.