Drabble? Dunno, it's not long enough to be classified as a one shot, but nothing much happens. Eh. Nico and Piper friendship, I guess. Feel free to R&R!
"What is this...garment?" Nico's voice quivers as he takes in the item before him. It's pink and lacy- in other words, the last thing a fourteen year old boy would like to be holding. But he's in the Aphrodite cabin, so he's pretty much screwed. Piper smirks and shakes her head. "You'd better put that back. I think it's Mitchell's."
Nico doesn't hesitate to fling it accross the room. The look on his face is enough to dissolve Piper into hysteria again.
"Okay, ok," she says, once she's calmed down. Piper's sprawled on her bunk half-buried under an avalanche of shirts, jeans, sneakers- the works. "That's not for you..." She tosses him a plaid shirt and he wriggles into it, muttering under his breath the whole time. The shirt is one of Tristan McLean's old hand me downs and one of Piper's personal favourites, so she's hoping Nico will feel the same. Unfortunately this isn't the case.
"Too bright," he complains. "I look like a tomato!"
"But a cute tomato," Piper shoots back, and Nico flushes, tearing it off. It must've been her charmspeak, he tells himself, else he'd never have agreed to this inclusive display of idiocy. "Makes all the boy tomatoes go-"
"This is stupid," Nico grumbles. "Remind we why we're even doing this again?" He kicks a pile of shorts into the corner. "I hate clothes."
"Fireworks night," Piper repeats, for what feels like the eightieth time this afternoon. "It's important. There's no way in hades you're going dressed like death." There's another reason behind this, and she knows it, but it's easier not to say.
"My dad's god of the Underworld," Nico deadpans, but he's not scowling anymore. He'll play dress up for a while, if only to humor her. It's not like he has better things to do or anything.
Piper rifles through a seemingly magically-appearing drawer under her bed, reappearing seconds later with an obnoxiously fuchsia mini-dress. "Got it!"
"Um." Nico can't quite meet her gaze. "Please tell me that's for you?"
"Nah," Piper grins. "JASON!" And to Nico's horror, the son of Jupiter bursts out of the bathroom, having apparently been hiding there this whole time. It's difficult to distinguish Nico's flaming face from the material of the dress. "You didn't hear-" he splutters, but Jason already has him in a chokehold. "C'mon, buddy! Let's make you faaaaaab-u-lous-"
"You know," Nico spits, "I actually preferred you when you were Roman."
Jason graciously ignores him. Several agonizing minutes later and Piper is clapping her hands in glee, whipping out a cellphone and snapping a picture before Nico can even react. "I'm so proud of you!" she squeals, and Nico narrowly misses out on a bone-crushing hug that's (probably) intended for Jason.
"Selfie time!" Jason snatches the phone. At Piper's confused expression, he explains, "Leo will never believe us otherwise," and they pose ridiculously on either side of their victim. Who, incidentally, has plotted more variations of their painfully drawn-out deaths in these few moments than Thanatos ever will in his entire existence.
Nico begins to shudder, his head spins, searching for even the tiniest shadow. To his dismay the cabin's so well lit- Piper must have thought things through in advance, he realizes, a little too late- that escaping by magic is out of the question. Though how he would explain showing up in hell dressed like a reject from Toddlers & Tiaras is a situation he's glad he managed to avoid. "Screw this!" Nico growls, writhing out of their grip. "I'm done."
Jason recoils like he's been slapped. As good as, really, because Piper's large doe eyes are boring into him, silently willing him to leave. "Just- don't show the others," she nods towards the phone pleadingly. Jason shrugs and hands it to Nico, who's still frozen, fists balled up at his sides, then leaves.
The moment he's out of sight it's like a weight has been lifted off Nico's shoulders and he straightens up. Breathes a little. Piper helps him out of the dress, only commenting once, her mouth quirking up at the corners- "You make a very, very attractive girl,"- to which Nico only grinds his heels deeper into the carpet.
"Wait a sec," Piper momentarily vanishes, leaving Nico to contemplate whether she'll notice if he left- the answer, he finds, is yes as the cabin door is also locked- and bounds up to him with a new, less glamorized pile of clothing in her arms.
Nico's instantly hit with the familiar scent of the sea; it's faint, overpowered by the homely whiff of fabric softener he hasn't smelt ever since that one July, before everything changed...
Piper smiles at him tentatively, and he wonders if this is what having another sister must feel like. He's already had two, but, hey. In contrast to the rest of his messed up family, beggars can't be choosers.
The shorts fit him perfectly, if not a little on the large side, but Piper sorts that out in a millisecond. Despite the shirt being fluorescent orange and faded from months of wear, despite having been cleaned, it still smells like him.
It doesn't matter that it's too big, or that Piper's staring. He knows that she knows. She knows, but doesn't comment on it. Her gaze flickers up and down appreciatively and Nico hopes he's passed the test. If she likes it, then maybe he will.
Even if Nico's not his utmost priority right now, maybe, just maybe, he might notice. He doesn't even need that much attention. The smallest wave, a nod of acknowledgement..
Hell, just friendship.
He'll be satisfied with that.