A/N: Sorry if I made Paul Blofis out of character… And Juniper… And maybe Tyson… And everyone else…

Warning: Nico's my favorite character and everything, but this story tortures him for entertainment purposes. If reading Nico torture makes you cry, stop reading this right now. Also, there are spoilers for all five books. If not in this chapter, then in one of the next ones.

Disclaimer: I am not awesome enough to have written Percy Jackson and the Olympians. All characters belong to Rick Riordan.

Another Thanksgiving with nowhere to go, no family with which to spend this day of grace. Nico supposed he could take a trip to the Underworld, but he didn't think he could stomach a meal composed entirely of wheat, as Demeter would undoubtedly prepare. Not to mention Persephone's constant whining, which was even worse than her mother's food choice.

The miserable boy groaned and pulled the covers over his head, trying to go back to sleep and avoid facing the world.

Meanwhile, Percy Jackson walked toward Camp Half-Blood's wooded area, passing through the circle of cabins on the way. When he was halfway to the forest, he yelled, "Grover! Juniper! My mom's here!"

A moaning sound came somewhere from Percy's left. He froze, listening closer.

"Shuuuuuuuut uuuuuuuuuup…"

The invincible demigod creeped slowly up to Hades cabin. In one swift motion, he flung the ebony door wide open.

"Sunlight…it burns…" Nico groaned, retreating farther under his Darth Vader blankets.

"Nico! For Poseidon's sake, it's Thanksgiving!" Percy scolded.

"Yeah, I noticed," was the muffled reply.

Percy sighed, exasperated. "Well, go out and spend time with your family!"

"They're all dead."

"Why don't you come to my house?"

Nico made no effort to repress his laughter. "Ha ha ha! That's a good one, Percy, but torture-Nico-until-he-craves-death day isn't until February!"

Percy was just about to strangle the uncooperative twelve-year-old, when two figures appeared in the doorway. "Percy!" Grover bleated, "We're ready!"

"Great!" the irritated boy replied, trying to sound happy, "But, wait. I thought Juniper couldn't go very far from her tree."

"You see, Percy, now that I'm Lord of the Wild…"

While her boyfriend was explaining the complicated situation, Juniper stepped into the cabin. "Hi, Nico."

Nico's throat was suddenly dry. He tried to come up with something witty to say, but all that came out was, "Uhhhhh…hi."

Juniper laid her head on the satyr's shoulder and watched him speak, but Nico couldn't hear a word Grover said. He was too busy staring at the beautiful dryad. His eyes soaked in the exact shade of green of her silky skin, and his mind replayed the sound of her beautiful voice uttering his name.

By the time Grover's lengthy monologue came to a close, Nico was drooling. However, the sudden silence snapped the boy out of it, and he quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve, face slightly reddened.

Percy sighed in defeat as he stepped out the door. "Bye, Nico."

"No! Wait! I'm coming! Just let me get dressed!"

Percy was puzzled. What could have made the stubborn kid change his mind so quickly? He shrugged, not about to complain.

Ten minutes later, they were piling into Sally Jackson's van. Sally and Paul Blofis sat in the front, with Percy's mom driving. Tyson claimed the middle, right next to his beloved half-brother. That left Grover, Juniper, and Nico for the three backseats. The two nonhuman lovebirds sat next to each other, but Juniper was squished in the middle. The tight fit made it inevitable that Nico and Juniper's knees touched. So, naturally, Nico was hyperventilating the whole ride to Manhattan.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Paul teased his stepson.

"She's spending time with her father in California," Percy replied glumly.

"Great for her! I'm glad she's forging a better relationship with her father. You should be happy for her." Sally gave her son a meaningful look in the rearview mirror.

"I know. I'm happy for her and all, but why couldn't her father and stepfamily come up here for Thanksgiving? I'm going to miss Annabeth…"

"Don't be sad, brother. Tyson's here." He looked at the demigod with his one calf-like eye.

"Awww, thanks, big guy."

"So," Paul eagerly changed the subject from all this mushy stuff, "I hear that Nico is in the backseat?"

"Yeah, I'm right here." It came out as a squeak, since the car swerved just as he was answering, pressing Juniper's body against his for a moment.

Percy turned around and shot him a funny look. Something was awfully suspicious about Nico today…

"Remember that awesome battle last summer? And you were sword fighting! And you had a cool sword! And you were so good at it! And we made an awesome sword fighting team! And-"

Sally cut her husband off with a laugh, "Calm down, Paul."

"Yeah, I remember that." Nico tried to sound cool and nonchalant in front of Juniper, "We must have killed what, fifty monsters? Sixty?"

"Too bad I couldn't see what I was doing!" The man laughed, then looked down at his lap, disappointed. "I wanted to see the monsters…"

"Ha! I remember that!" Percy smiled, "Nico, you had so much monster dust in your hair! You looked worse than when you were living in the streets!"

Much to Percy's puzzlement, Nico shot him the special Nico-brand Glare of Death. Percy squirmed uncomfortably. What had he done wrong?

"You lived on the streets?" Juniper was shocked.

Nico blushed and concentrated his glare full-force on the back of Percy's seat. "No. I lived on the outskirts of the Underworld. And then in the Labyrinth."

"Oh, my! That's even worse! You poor, poor child!" Nico was just feeling put off by Juniper's referring to him as a "child" (after all, he was twelve, almost a teenager), when Juniper enveloped him in a hug. Although it only lasted a matter of seconds, it was enough to make Nico's head spin, and his cheeks redden.

"Nico, are you okay?" Grover asked, "You look kind of…overheated."

"It's all the black he wears," Percy commented. Under his breath, he added, "E-mo."

By this point, Nico had to repress the urge to strangle the older boy.

When the car finally, finally, finally pulled in Percy's apartment's parking lot, Nico undid his seatbelt before the car even came to a full stop.

"Nico," Sally warned, "Wait for the car to stop moving."

"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Nico mumbled. Apparently, he didn't need Percy's help making himself look like a fool.

The seven companions made their way in a single file procession up the staircase. Paul, at the front, inserted the key into the doorknob and turned.

Inside, the house smelled of homemade food. "I just have to finish cooking the turkey," Sally informed the group.

"Mom! You left the oven on while you were out of the house?" Percy was shocked, his face pale as a ghost.

"Can't I go on dangerous adventures, too?" she teased, "Besides, if you weren't away at that silly camp of yours all the time, you could have stayed home and watched the oven."

"That's right," Paul agreed, "I was playing the important role of radio control-person, so your mom could drive with both hands on the wheel. That would be your job, if you weren't always away from home."

Much to the amusement of the others, Percy looked down and mumbled, "I'll stay home if you really need me, mom."

Sally smiled, touched. "Awww, Percy, but what about your training?"

"I think you're more important, mom."

Sally laughed. "Good to know, but I was kidding."

"No, I mean it," Percy insisted, "I should stay home with you. I've already had enough training!"

The on-looking crowd raised their eyebrows, waiting intently to see what would come next.

"Absolutely not!" Sally shouted, startling everyone. "You need to prepare; you're a hero; they need you to defend the camp and teach new campers! Besides, you smell too strongly. All you'd end up doing is putting us both in danger!"

Percy looked down, ashamed. In the awkward silence that followed, Sally left to check on the turkey. The rest looked at the floor, afraid to speak.

Finally, Nico broke the quiet atmosphere. "So…since Percy and I are in the same room, and we're both children of the Big Three, does that mean we're all gonna die?"

Paul laughed. "Gotta love this kid," he thought with a smile.

And just like that the awkward silence dissipated. Paul started to question Percy and Nico on life as a demigod, and Grover and Juniper retreated to a corner, where they had a giggle-filled conversation in hushed tones. The younger boy said little, keeping his eyes glued to the dryad in the corner. He strained his ears to hear her melodious laugh.

After a while, the conversation shifted, with Paul drilling Percy about his plans for the future, especially where education was concerned. (Percy was taking the year off from school to help out at Camp Half-Blood, what with the large quantities of new demigods arriving.) Nico seized the opportunity and edged over to where Grover and Juniper were sitting, stopping about a yard away.

"Hi, Nico!" Juniper greeted. Nico's heart skipped a beat. "Is Paul creeping you out? I think he stalks you. What do you think, Grover? Is he a stalker?"

"Um…I don't know. He seems nice."

"Yeah, but you can't really tell with these things. You're nice and you're a stalker."

"Am not!" Grover's cheeks turned crimson and Juniper giggled.

Nico stood there awkwardly. He could tell that he didn't belong, and started to back away.

"Come sit down, Nico," Juniper invited. Nico obediently sat on the couch, disappointed that Juniper had claimed the end seat, making it impossible for him to sit next to her.

"Sooo…" Grover started awkwardly.

"Hey, Nico, do you have a girlfriend?" Juniper asked sweetly.

"N-no…" he sputtered weakly. Oh, no. He was not going to cry. Just because he wanted Juniper so badly didn't mean that he was going to let it get to him.

"Juniper!" Grover scolded, "That's not something you ask someone! Look how uncomfortable you've made him. And of course he doesn't have a girlfriend! He's only twelve!"

"Twelve?" Juniper looked taken aback. "I thought you were older. Are you really tall or something?"

Nico nodded, annoyed. He had been counting on the fact that he looked older than he was. Now that Juniper knew the truth, she probably wouldn't even consider going out with him. Assuming she ever broke up with Grover…

Suddenly, Sally called, "Dinner's ready!" and they all piled into the apartment's small kitchen.

Gathered around the small kitchen table, the group was overwhelmed by the delicious smells of Sally's cooking. The woman tapped on her glass to get everyone's attention.

"I think it would be nice," she started, "If we went around the table and all named one thing that we're thankful for. I'll start." She closed her eyes. "I'm thankful for my wonderful son, Percy, and my amazing husband, Paul." Under her breath and out of hearing range, she added, "Sorry, Poseidon. I love you, too."

Next, it was Percy's turn. "I'm thankful for…um…my mom. She's the best." The green-eyed boy proceeded to blush, resulting in a slightly Christmassy effect. "And I'm glad that Nico's not dead. Or a hobo."

Nico rolled his eyes. "First he's a momma's boy, then he thinks he's my momma," he muttered, causing Juniper to giggle.

"Percy! And peanut butter! And Annabeth! And my bad guy hitting stick! And Rainbow! And peanut butter!" Tyson smiled, proud of his highly eloquent speech.

Grover was sitting next to the relatively small Cyclops. "Uh…I'm thankful for my friends and my girlfriend." His blush was not quite as deep as Percy's.

Nico frowned. It didn't sound like Grover and Juniper were breaking up any time soon.

"Oh," said Juniper, realizing that it was her turn, "I guess I'm thankful for my lovely, caring, kind, supportive-"

"We get the idea, Juniper," Grover mumbled, embarrassed.

The dryad ignored him. "Good-looking, smart, attractive, handsome boyfriend." She smiled deviously.

Nico had to fight back the bile that was rising in his throat, making it hard to articulate. But that was okay, as Nico didn't have much to say, anyway. In a barely audible voice, he confessed, "I'm glad my dad stopped hating me…"

A look of concern appeared on Percy's face. "Aww, Nico…"

"Shut up, Percy!" Nico countered. Immediately, he regretted his outburst, and glanced over at Juniper to see her response. She was smiling at the boy, barely suppressing her laughter.

Another thing Nico was thankful for.

The last person to give thanks was the man seated on Sally's right. Paul cleared his throat. "I'm thankful for my wonderful new family, Sally and Percy. Also, for my home, my safety, and my job. Lastly, I am thankful for," he paused for dramatic effect, "knowing about the awesome Greek gods! They're real! They're really reeeeeeal! And they're SO awesome!"

Sally smiled. "That was really nice. Thank you all. I appreciate it." She nodded at Paul.

In his most dramatic voice, Paul added, "Now, without further ado, let us eat!"

Hours later, Nico was sitting on the couch next to Percy, chatting happily. At least, Nico was chatting happily. Percy was a bit…exasperated.

"Nico, for Poseidon's sake, do you live at camp or not?"

"…Maybe."

"Because you only sleep there like, four days a week. Where do you go? And why do you disappear in the morning and barely show up for any meals?"

"I do things."

"Where?"

"Places."

"Which places?"

"…Wouldn't you like to know." Gods, this was better than the time ghost-Bianca had forced him to go to therapy!

Nico was in the middle of savoring Percy's expression, when Sally called, "Come on guys; let's go!" She walked up to Nico. "Nico, dear, can you go get Grover and Juniper? I think they're in Percy's room."

The black-clad boy ambled down the hallway, smiling to himself. Maybe he'd make Juniper laugh on the car ride home. He certainly hoped so. And it wasn't impossible, seeing as he'd done it twice during dinner alone!

He reached what he remembered to be Percy's door and turned the knob, feeling good about himself. However, the feeling soon flew right out the window.

Grover and Juniper were sitting on Percy's bed, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, making out.

Nico quickly slammed the door shut, leaning against it. And in that second, he regretted not spending the day shoving wholegrain food products down his throat. Anything but this.

"Why can't I have a good day, not even once?" the boy thought miserably. And he determinedly resolved that somehow, someway, Grover Underwood was going down.

A/N: I was not expecting it to be this long. I make no promises, but the next chapter will probably be a lot shorter. But it's up to you: Should I write the next chapter by Christmas/Winter Solstice, or have it done much sooner and be slightly out of season? Please tell me your opinion in the reviews! :)