Nico wasn't sure what he was doing at Percy Jackson's apartment on Christmas. Percy hadn't wanted him to spend Christmas alone at camp and invited him over- but Nico still felt awkward. Why had he come?
Nico internally knew the reason. He'd never really had a real Christmas. Sure, there were those few he had had when he was little- but he barely remember those at all. Camp did celebrate Christmas, but it wasn't the same as being with your family around one tree, exchanging gifts and enjoying each other's company.
Nico realized, as he stood outside Percy's apartment, that he had come because he was lonely. The dark haired boy's hand lingered over the door, clenching in a fist, ready to knock. But something held him back.
His entire being didn't seem to want to let Nico go. Every second spent with Percy would be another second Nico subjected himself to torture. Every moment he was with that son of Poseidon, Nico wanted to rip his hair out. It hurt- it physically hurt, knowing that Percy would never... like him. But Nico tried to move on. He ignored the impulses and the feelings, forcing them deep down where no one could find them.
Taking a deep breath, Nico knocked on the door.
Almost immediately, the door was opened by none other than Perseus Jackson himself. His sea-green eyes lit up when they saw him. "Nico! You came!" Nico forced himself to meet Percy's gaze. "Come on!" Percy gestured for Nico to follow him, while calling back, "Mom! Nico came!" Shutting the door, Percy smiled widely at the son of Hades. "Merry Christmas."
Nico stared up at him before answering awkwardly. "Merry Christmas..." He looked around the Jackson's apartment. There were candles and tiny Santa's everywhere. Christmas cards lined the fridge, showing Thalia with a Santa hat on and a few Hunters in the background, Annabeth smiling in front of a brightly lit Christmas tree with her family, Grover, himself, and Chiron standing in front of the snowy Big House, plus many more. "You really get into the Christmas spirit, don't you...?" Nico asked hesitantly, looking up at Percy again.
Percy laughed. Nico could feel himself flushing and looked away. Gods, he hated himself. Why had he come... "Yeah, I guess you could say we do. Come on!" Percy gestured excitedly for Nico to follow him into the living room, where Nico could see the glow of tree-lights. Nico couldn't remember the last time he had willingly seen a Christmas tree. Probably with Bianca.
Ms. Jackson smiled, looking over at Nico. "Merry Christmas."
"Hello Ms. Jackson." Nico said softly, pulling at his aviator jacket. Percy's living room had transformed from a normal living room into the center of Christmas. Red and green blankets were on the backs of the chairs and couches, fake candles were lit up in the window, and the tree... The tree was giant. Lights were strung from the top of it down to the multiple branches at the bottom. The tree was covered with colored Christmas balls and at the top of the tree was a star.
"Alright!" Percy clapped his hands together, smiling. "Okay, so Nico, you can either sleep on my bed or the floor. You choose."
"What?" Nico looked up, meeting Percy's sea-green eyes again.
"We're not going to bring you here to celebrate Christmas a day early." Percy laughed. "You can either sleep on my bed or the floor, doesn't matter to me." Nico's eyes were wide. Percy's smiled faded slightly. "You're okay with that, right?"
"Y-Yeah." Nico snapped himself out of it. "Yeah, it's okay."
Percy's smile returned and he gestured with his head for Nico to follow him. "Welcome to mi casa!" Percy said, smiling as he opened the door to his messy room. "You can choose that." Percy pointed towards one of the only clean spots on the floor. "Or that." He pointed to his bed. "You choose. And yes," Percy added, "you will be allowed a mattress if you choose the floor."
Nico scratched the back of his neck self-consciously. He wasn't sure why he had agreed to come- he had known it would end like this. Everything would be awkward- at least for him. Gods, why had he done this...
Percy's smile faded a second time. "Hey... You okay?" Nico nodded, his bangs falling into his eyes. "Are you sure?"
Nico wasn't sure whether Percy was being annoying or genuinely concerned. "Yeah." Nico sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's just... different."
Percy nodded. "When was the last time you celebrated Christmas?" He asked, shutting the door with one hands, leaning against it lazily. Nico felt his heart pick up slightly before he forced it away.
"Uh..." Nico thought back. "I don't... I don't know."
"Was it back with Bianca?" Percy asked. Nico shrugged, then nodded. "Sorry." Percy added. "I know it's probably still hard-"
"No." Nico sighed, looking up at Percy and flicking his head to brush his hair out of his eyes. "No, it's okay."
An awkward silence fell over the two, before Percy interrupted it. "So... floor or the bed?"
Nico wasn't used to being around people who generally accepted him- or at least, who tried to accept him. Sure, there were the others at camp- but none of them accepted him. None of them wanted to be around him. They were probably scared.
Well, Nico thought as he sat on the couch next to Percy, if they could see him now, maybe they wouldn't be so scared. After all, once Percy Jackson did something, it was considered cool. Granted, Percy had hung out with him multiple times, so Nico was probably just thinking the impossible.
Percy's mom was looking through a cabinet underneath their television, trying to find a Christmas movie. Personally, Nico didn't really care what movie they watched. The entire time, he was going to be wondering why he had put himself through his. After all, he was sitting in Percy Jackson's living room, about to watch a movie with Percy Jackson and his mom. He was going to sleep in Percy's room, on that little spot on the floor. Gods, Nico wasn't going to sleep at all...
Percy's voice interrupted Nico's thoughts. "Yes! I mean..." Percy looked over. "Nico, you okay with that?"
Nico glanced over at the movie Percy's mom was holding- Elf. He shrugged. "I guess...?"
Percy nodded, a wide smile over his face as his mom put the movie in. She got up, leaving to make popcorn. Nico glanced away from Percy, tugging at the sleeve of his Aviator jacket again. "So basically..." Percy said, turning to face Nico again, one arm on the top of the couch and the other waving around to help Percy explain. "Elf is about this guy who was raised by elves. He thinks he's an elf, then goes to find his real dad in New York, but his dad's on the naughty list and he knows nothing about life in New York. It's hilarious."
Nico nodded. Sounds like my life, he thought as Percy's mom came back into the room, carrying a few bowls of popcorn with blue M&M's mixed in. Percy pressed a button on the remote- after pressing it a few times, and the movie started to play.
"You sure you don't want to sleep on my bed?" Percy asked, walking beside Nico. He pushed the door open as Nico shook his head. "Well, you can have this." Percy said, reaching towards his bed. He grabbed a giant, puffy blanket and threw it towards the son of Hades. "I have too many anyways." Percy smiled. Nico nodded, sitting down on the mattress Percy's mom had set out. "Hey Nico... You sure you're okay?"
Nico nodded, pulling the blanket around his shoulders. Percy had to admit it made Nico look a lot younger than he acted- more like his own age. "It's been a while since I've done anything like this." Nico explained, shrugging a little. "I guess it's just..."
"Different?" Percy finished. Nico nodded. "I get it." Percy felt as though that wasn't really the reason Nico was being so closed off- well, more closed off than usual-, but he didn't push him. "Well..." Percy smiled, grabbing a pillow off his bed and throwing it down to Nico, who caught it. "You gonna sleep?"
"I guess." Nico shrugged, resting on his forearms before laying down.
Percy watched for a second- before he realized how creepy that might seem-, then leaned back over towards his lamp. "Night." There was a muffle response from Nico as the light flickered out.
"Hey, Nico." Nico groaned in protest. "Come on, wake up! Don't make me-"
Nico opened his eyes, squinting up at Percy's face through his messy bangs. "What?" Nico demanded irritably. One thing Nico hated was being forced to wake up.
"It's Christmas!" Percy had a giant smile on his face. "Come on!" He grabbed at Nico's arms, trying to pull him up onto his feet. Nico felt himself flushing as he yanked his arms back, pulling himself onto his feet. Percy didn't seem to notice- he was too busy yanking open the door. Nico bushed his bangs away, rubbing his eyes as he followed Percy- who was acting like more a child than he was.
Percy's mom was already awake also, sitting by the lit tree with a steaming mug in her hands and a red and green blanket around her shoulders. "Merry Christmas, Nico." She said, but Nico wasn't paying attention. His eyes were on the tree.
The last time he had seen a tree lit up like that... Bianca had still been alive.
"Hey." Percy was tapping his shoulder. "Earth to Nico..." Nico blinked away his thoughts a memories, wondering how long he'd been unresponsive. "You alive in there?"
It was a simple question, but it made Nico want to scream at him. "Yeah." Nico answered through gritted teeth. He wasn't going to ruin his friends Christmas because his emotions were having a field day. "Sorry."
Percy's childish smile returned to his face. "Alright." He turned towards his mom, who threw him a small box. Percy caught it, then held it out to Nico. "Merry Christmas."
Nico felt himself flush with embarrassment and realization. He hadn't gotten either of them a thing. Granted, he hadn't been sure if he was going to come, and he had no idea what to get either of them, but he hadn't even thought about it until now. Nico bit his lip awkwardly.
"It's gonna get awkward if you don't take it soon." Percy said, still holding out the present to Nico.
"Thank you," Nico started, "but I don't-"
Percy laughed. "I told you he'd try and refuse." He shook his head, letting his arm drop to his side with a smile. "Just take it, okay? You aren't exactly the easiest person to shop for."
"I didn't... Get you anything." Nico answered through gritted teeth once again.
Percy shrugged. "Hey man, I don't care. I'm just glad you came."
"Still..." Nico shoved his hands into his pockets, his gaze on his feet.
"Hey." Percy laughed, throwing an arm around Nico's shoulder. Nico felt himself flush further and tried to stare a hole into the ground. "It really doesn't matter." He held the box out towards Nico. "Here. Merry Christmas."
Nico glanced up at Percy, smiling a little. Percy didn't take his arm away- it was unnerving Nico. Slowly, he popped the top off of the box, shifting the tissue paper around to look inside. A leather necklace stared up at Nico, different colored beads with different images strung along it. Like the ones Percy and Annabeth wore- it was a Camp Half-Blood necklace.
At first Nico was confused, but Percy walked in front of him, his gaze down on the necklace in Nico's hands. "It's... It's kinda cheesy, but I realized you didn't have one." Percy's eyes met Nico's. "You know you are a part of our weirdly amazing demigod family, right?"
Nico didn't know how to answer. He'd never really felt like a part of Percy's "weirdly amazing demigod family", but... The way Percy said it- he really meant it. There wasn't a trace of doubt in his voice- he was being sincere. Nico smiled a little, looking back down at the necklace. "I... I guess, but-"
"Because..." Percy took it from Nico's hands and tried to shove it over Nico's head. "You are. No matter what you decide to think." Nico's smile grew a little. "Okay. That was really cheesy..."
It had been really cheesy, but Nico had to admit... It had made him feel... better. He felt... he felt happy.
It was almost 2 months later- sometime in February. Percy had been trying to sleep for a few hours now, but he just... couldn't get himself to sleep. One of the many perks of having ADHD. It was like he could sense something was going to happen. That's when he heard it- someone softly calling his name. "Percy?" He sat upright, his brain going into demigod-overdrive, wondering what kind of monster it was. Squinting out into the darkness, Percy suddenly realized that it wasn't a monster.
"Nico?" Percy walked over towards the door, where the Son of Hades was standing awkwardly. "Whatcha doing here, it's like... 12." Percy rubbed his eyes.
Nico sighed, glancing around before looking up at Percy again. "I just... Thanks. You know, for the whole Christmas thing." Looking as though he'd regret it, Nico pulled a hand out from behind him, handing Percy a fuzzy, black and white panda pillow-pet.