Christmas is almost near and as promised… I made a fic for my OTP! They definitely deserve the love!

Wake Me Up When December Ends

Chapter 1

Snow was everywhere (apparently, the camp decided to let winter in for the holidays), and the air was filled with holiday cheers. Surprisingly, there were more people in camp unlike last time. And it seemed like everyone had gotten closer since the last war, which shouldn't have been a surprise. Even some of the Romans had decided to drop by.

There were laughter and snowball fights everywhere. Some campers were ice skating on the frozen lake, while couples cuddled within the Mess hall.

Except for the two demigods that seemed to be busy with something else rather than smooching or doing anything couple-related—which they were not.

"So what are you planning for today's holiday, Will?" Lou Ellen asked the blonde in front of her, who was busy wrapping something.

"Nothing special." He replied, a little distracted as he tried to fold a shiny red wrapper.

She raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing?"

"I'm—" He pulled the tape that was stuck on his right cheek and pasted it against the red paper, "—trying to wrap a gift."

"What gift?" Lou Ellen bent forward against the table, trying to get a better look, "Who's it for?"

The son of Apollo grumbled at the small crease on the tape and tried to peel it off again, "Just—wait— don't distract me."

"You do know you're the son of a god who's all artistic, right?" Lou Ellen tried to hold back her smile as she saw the crooked cutting of the wrapper, "How can you be having a hard time gift-wrapping?"

"First of all; he's the god of music, poetry, archery, healing, prophecy, etc.—not the god of gift-wrapping!" Will said in exasperation as he dropped the half-wrapped gift, "And second; if I can't have those archery skills or musical talent, what chances do I actually get in having the skills in gift-wrapping?"

"Awe, come on. It's not that bad—hey wait—" The daughter of Hecate narrowed her eyes down at the cloth that was sticking out of the wrapper, "Is that—" She made a dramatic gasp as she looked at the boy in front of him with wide eyes, "Is that the beach towel you've been knitting the past few months?!"

Will was now as red as Rudolph's nose, "It's not a beach towel!" He grabbed the item away from her view, "It's a scarf!"

"Dude, it was wide like a towel—"

"Most scarves are!"

"And you're actually planning to give that to Nico?" If possible, Will got redder but Lou Ellen did not pay him any mind. Of course, she (and pretty much everyone else in camp) was aware that there was a bit of chemistry between the two. So she really didn't need Sherlock Holmes to figure out to whom the present was for, "Will, it's baby pink."

"Not all of it…"

"Are you talking about the yellow and green polka dots?" Lou Ellen rubbed her temples as she practically remembered catching a glimpse of the hideous clothing.

"He's always wearing black!" He then shrugged, trying to act nonchalant as he went back to his wrapping, but he was obviously still blushing, "I just thought a bit of color would be… nice."

Lou Ellen stared at the wrapper that had small creases and tiny rips at the side, then back to the baby-pink scarf before asking, "Are you sure you're not adopted?"

"HEY!"

"Will! WILL!" Both demigods looked up at the distressed voice they heard and saw Piper running towards them, looking really frantic. This made them frown in worry.

"We have an emergency." She panted as she stopped in front of them.

"What? Did the Hephaestus cabin tried to make a snowball machine again?" He remembered last week's incident where almost all the campers that got hit by the machine always ended up with nasty bruises and bleeding noses.

The Hephaestus kids really took the challenge of the Ares cabin a little too seriously.

"No. it's not." She bit her lower lip in worry, and her multi-colored eyes landed on his pale blue ones. A sudden spark ran up his spine that immediately got him to his feet when the demigod continued,

"It's Nico."

Will practically barged in the infirmary, wasting no time taking off his scarf and coat. He pulled off his beanie as he asked a nearby healer where the son of Hades was.

He was immediately led towards the demigod and was then told about what happened, "They said they found him outside, just lying on the snow. He was freezing cold when Percy and the others brought him here. We covered him in thick blankets, trying to warm him up as much as possible but not too sudden—apparently he had a mild case of hypothermia, but so far he's doing fine."

Will was relieved at that, "So he's okay now, right?"

The way his sibling wasn't looking at him in the eye told him otherwise, "Kind of…?"

"What's wrong?" He immediately demanded.

"We can't seem to wake him up."

Will didn't really listen to his next explanation as he quickly headed towards the bed lined last and pulled the curtain to the side. Percy and Annabeth stood by the bedside and they seemed to be in a deep conversation before stopping as Will suddenly appeared. He didn't mind them as his eyes immediately landed on the son of Hades who was unconscious. His skin was as pale as it ever was and his raven hair stuck out from all the thick, plain sheets that covered him.

He took his position next to him and quickly put a hand over his head. He noticed he was a little cold as his hand slid to the side of the face of the unconscious demigod.

"He seems to be okay." Will concluded, before looking up to his sibling, "Maybe he won't wake up because he's tired."

"Actually…" Percy suddenly spoke, catching his attention, "I don't think that's the case."

"What do you mean?"

"He's been really unresponsive." Annabeth said, "And we think it's more than just exhaustion."

"What?" Will did not like how they exchanged looks.

"Seriously, it's like Nico's in a coma." Percy's frown deepened.

"If he were just unconscious, he should've woken up by now. Or at least gave us a sign or any response… but he didn't."

"So what are you saying?" Then Will's eyes widened, "Did he hit his head?"

He was just about to check his head but Annabeth stopped him, "No. We think… that someone did this."

"What…?"

Then there were rushed footsteps behind him, and Jason and Piper appeared behind him, looking a little winded. The son of Jupiter pushed his glasses up his nose as he turned to Percy than Will, "What happened? Is he okay?"

"He is." Will frowned as he turned to Percy and Annabeth, "At least I think so…"

Annabeth turned to Piper and nodded to her, "Where did you exactly find Nico before you called for help?"

Then Piper's eyes widened in understanding, "Just outside… Cabin fifteen."

Clovis shifted uncomfortably on his bed as Will, Annabeth and Jason stood around him. For once he didn't look like he was in the verge of sleeping as his eyes darted back and forth, "I swear, it wasn't on purpose."

"What exactly happened?" Will demanded while looking really worried, "What did you do to Nico?"

He sighed deeply, "We didn't do anything to him. It was just one of our traps."

"You have traps?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow at this.

"Just recently…" He said looking guilty and at the same time annoyed, "The Stoll brothers kept making these pranks in our cabin, attaching annoying blow horns everywhere… so one thing led to another, we attached some sleeping powder by the door—and well, I wasn't expecting a visit from anyone else other than them."

"Then what if it were other demigods that came? To inform you about meetings?" Jason asked looking at him in disbelief.

"Look—It's nothing serious!" Clovis defended, "He's just trapped in a deep sleep."

"Nico almost froze to death outside." Annabeth crossed her arms.

"It wasn't supposed to be him…"

"Then do something!" Will insisted as he gestured to the door, "Try to reverse the spell! He can't sleep forever!"

"He won't." Clovis fingered his blanket, "And I can't reverse it. It's not a spell. It's just sleeping powder. Technically, we just have to wait until the effects wear off and Nico will wake up."

"And how long will that be?"

"Just three days."

Relief immediately settled on them, all except for Will who was devastated to hear this. Christmas was within two days, and apparently, he was looking forward to spending the holidays with the son of Hades for the first time—which was apparently the reason why he decided to stay in camp instead of going back home.

He immediately noticed Annabeth observing him. The daughter of Athena then tore her gaze from him and asked, "Isn't there any other way to wake him up than just waiting for three days?"

"You could try shocking him awake."

Jason frowned, "You mean electrocute him?"

"No. I mean surprise him… try to shock him into waking up." Clovis suggested, "It's usually the basic thing to do and it never fails."

"And how exactly will we be able to do that when he's in a really deep sleep?" Percy asked as he looked back at Nico, "The dude is practically in a coma!"

Jason shrugged, "We could just wait for those three days. At least now we're sure nothing's wrong with him."

"So I'm guessing we're just gonna attach an IV on him…?" Piper didn't look too happy about the whole thing.

"Afraid so." Annabeth sighed before mumbling some Greek curses, "And it's bad enough he's already skin and bones."

Will didn't say anything. Instead, he just stared at the ghost king, trying not to look upset than how he already felt. Two days until Christmas, and he already had the whole thing planned out. Invite Nico to a snow ball fight or some ice skating, then take him out to the city to go watch some movies or shop (the monsters he could care less; it had been five months of no monster activity—and thank gods!) And finally, take him to a special spot where they can watch the fireworks the Athena and Hecate Cabin had planned, which was definitely something to look forward to (Seriously, Hecate and Athena? The results will either be stupendous or devastating) and give him his hand-made gift.

Of course, that wasn't really the main event. To Will, it would be during the time when he tries to finally establish whatever was between him and Nico.

For five months, they've been beating around the bush. Sometimes it was like they were the best of friends. But sometimes, it was like there was more. And if it was possible, Will hoped there was more to it than just ending up being friend-zoned.

And he also hoped he could manage to steal a kiss from the son of Hades if he ever confirms that they were more than just friends.

Of course, he remembered that Nico was not the touchy-feely type. That's why he had to steal the kiss. If Nico ever got mad or embarrassed, he could handle either one (or both). After all, that's where his five months of training would be put in use!

"Will, you alright?"

He snapped out of his reverie and turned to look at Piper who was frowning at him in worry, "Uhm, yeah! Of course I am!"

"You seemed to be deep in your thoughts." Jason commented before tilting his head to Nico, "Shouldn't you be preparing his IV? Seems like we'll be waiting for three days 'til he wakes up."

Will didn't want to. Because he was sure Nico would wake up before Christmas. But he stood up from his stool in the end and left to go check the supplies. He vaguely heard Jason yelped before asking his girlfriend what he did wrong.

It was now a new day and the sun was just rising when Will appeared by the infirmary's door. His blonde hair was disheveled, he was wearing his usual green surgeon shirt which was topped by a baby blue blazer; a pair of long jeans and boots (it was snowing outside, you didn't expect him to wear flip-flops now did you?). In his hand right hand he held a cup of warm coffee and the other held a notebook.

He quickly darted to where Nico was still lying asleep and was a little relieved that none of the others were around.

He set the coffee on the bed side table, on top of the notebook and headed towards the nearby window. He pushed the curtains open and not much sunlight entered (sun was still rising—so apparently, Apollo is still on his way), but it was better than nothing "Rise and shine Death boy!"

No response.

Will loudly made his way back to the bed, trying to emphasize the heavy footsteps of his boots (he shouldn't even be wearing boots with all the health protocols about sanitation and stuff) as much as possible before he stopped next to Nico. Not even a flinch.

The blonde looked around and was relieved to find that there were no patients around, except for the one demigod found at the other side of the room. But if he was complaining with the noise, Will never knew, seeing that his entire body was covered in a cast.

"I brought you some coffee!" He picked the cup and tried to wave it in front of the demigod and even tried to fan the smoke towards his sleeping face.

"If I tell you it's from McDonalds, will you wake up?"

Silence.

Will then slumped down to the stool next to Nico before taking a sip of the beverage.

"You could try shocking him awake."

The healer looked at his notebook, and grabbed it. Inside was a list of the things he can do to shock Nico into actually waking up. One involved reciting his poems to him—he might be shocked to find out how amazing he was. Another was singing to him with his breath-taking (hint the sarcasm) voice—surprise would surely ensue. And many more—

If still not awake, he still had two back-up plans. It involved water… and some defibrillate…

"Wow… you really are trying to wake him up." He spun around to see Lou Ellen, grinning at him cheekily, "I heard what happened from Annabeth."

Will looked back at Nico and shut the notebook, "Yeah. He's always a magnet for trouble."

A hand patted him on the shoulder, "Hey cheer up, he'll still wake up the day after tomorrow. It's not like it's the end of the world."

"No… but…" Will tried not to sound like a little boy whose Christmas got cancelled—which may actually be the case at the moment.

"Christmas, right?" Lou Ellen actually sounded sympathetic, "I know. And honestly, I'd do anything to help you."

"You could lend me some of your pig balls." He asked hopefully and watched as the other gave him a disbelieving look.

"Will, if I remember correctly, you're supposed to shock him awake. Not annoy him awake." Lou Ellen huffed, "And besides, those things are too precious to just be handed over!"

He still looked at her expectantly, but the daughter of Hecate kept firm, "No." And she looked out the window just in time to see some campers heading towards the mess hall, "Oh! They're awake! I really have to go Will, my siblings might start another food fight without me!"

Will slumped further down in disappointment and his friend gave him a considerate smile.

"Come on, all hope's not lost." She tried to cheer him up, "The day is just beginning! There are still loads of time to try and wake sleeping beauty up!"

And with that she left, without waiting for Will to respond.

He sighed for the umpteenth time and ran a hand over his hair. Right. Time to get to work.

"You are an angel,
Only that you don't have wings!
But I do not mind!"

He looked at his sleeping patient expectantly. Nothing. He flips through another page and cleared his throat.

"Death boy please wake up,
Or you will regret it… too.
Wake up already!"

Still none.

"If you don't wake up,
I might do something stupid.
Like… uhh—burn down Mcdo?"

There were sounds of pages being ruffled.

"Nico, wake up now,
Or I'll curse you to speak rhymes,
And make you wear pink!"

A moment of silence and suddenly someone shouted from one of the beds,

"Oh my gods! Please shut up or I swear I'm going to kill myself!"

"WILL! What in Apollo's name are you doing?!"

Will had an arrow notched and pointed at the son of Hades. His one eye was closed as he tried to focus the arrow towards the side of Nico's face.

"Don't worry! I know what I'm doing! I've seen these in movies before!" Will said to his sibling, "I just have to make sure I don't hit his face—"

"Help! Someone HELP!" Then there were some shuffling sounds and a lot of thuds.

"No, wait—! Trust me—OW!"

Will pulled a small table in front of the sleeping demigod and huffed as he finally stopped by his bed. He covered it with a red table cloth and put some china and a wine glass on top.

"Alright Nico," The blonde looked over him in excitement, "Prepare to be surprised!"

He grabbed the table cloth, "I've seen this in youtube loads of time and I think I have enough information to actually do it properly! So—!"

.

.

"We could try and make the fireworks come to life!" Lou Ellen suggested in excitement as she looked at Annabeth who was busy scanning her tab.

"It is possible, depending on the amount of chemical elements we are to produce here—we're going to have to make this by scratch—"

"Uhm, hello? We've got magic! We don't need to worry about all that… science-y stuff."

"Of course we do! We need a plan—everything needs a plan! Fireworks are very complex –"

CRASH!

Both demigods looked up in surprise, and they automatically turned their heads to the source of the noise.

"WILL SOLACE! STOP DISTURBING THE PATIENTS!"

More noises erupted and it went on for a few minutes before silence finally fell.

Lou Ellen turned to Annabeth, "What was that all about?"

By the end of the day, Will was chasing some of his siblings who had stolen the guitar he was about to use. They had actually reached the beach and Will had to stop as he saw the sun setting from afar. Hopelessness suddenly settled as he realized that within a couple of hours, Christmas will arrive.

And Nico was still trapped in his deep slumber.

He fell on his bottom, not really caring about the cold snow and looked up at the darkening sky. What did he do to deserve this?

Why does the life of a demigod have to be so messed up?

"Mind telling me why you're freezing your butt off out here?"

He looked up to see Leo grinning at him in amusement.

"Leo!" He exclaimed in surprise.

The demigod in front of him, who was dubbed "a miracle" by the campers, had actually arrived about a month later after the Gaea war. Piper actually tackled him to the ground after his grand entrance (which involved crashing down the camp's forest before face planting on the ground as his girlfriend landed on top of him). There were tears, anger and a lot of emotional moments at that time.

But all in all, everyone was glad—and things became lighter and more cheerful thanks to the other's return.

Unfortunately though, Leo didn't stay long as he told them he only came by to see them and fix Festus. He had after all promised his girlfriend—Calypso—that he would give her a tour around the world, which may take a really long while. But he also promised to drop by once in a while.

A promise which he apparently kept.

"You're back!" Will said with wide eyes. He then stood up and tried to dust the snow off his pants. It was a little uncomfortable talking to someone he never really was close to—which is why he found it a little suspicious that Leo was talking to him, of all people.

"Yeah, I just arrived during this lunch!" Leo gave him a sly look, "But I guess you were a little too busy at that time, huh?"

"I –uhh… yeah." Will shifted his feet self-consciously, "I've been trying to wake someone up."

"Oh yeah! Nico—I came by to ask you about him. I just heard the news from Jason and Pipes!" Then he gave him a curious look, but the smirk was apparent behind the façade, "And from what I heard he'll be waking up two days from now, right? So what's up man?"

Then Will knew there was no point in hiding it anymore as he embarrassingly shared to him his true purpose.

"I just want to spend Christmas with Nico, okay?!" His face heated up as he forced his gaze on the ground, "And sure I can wait three days for him to wake up, but… it just isn't the same!"

Leo's expression softened, "Man, you are one strange dude."

"Huh?"

The other shrugged, "I always found Nico the scary-type, you know? And I think most people in this camp do as well. But you on the other hand…" He grinned, "You've got enough fire to melt that ice."

"Thanks…? I guess…?"

"I'm not really close to that guy…" Leo admitted with a shrug, "But I can tell that Nico had been through a lot of messed up stuff, and as his friend… I appreciate what you're doing for him."

Will smiled and gave him a small nod. Though he really wanted to tell the fire-wielder that there really was no need for thanks, since technically everything he had done so far was mostly out of his own selfishness to spend the holidays with Nico.

Then the smile vanished as he remembered his predicament.

Leo unconsciously lit a flame on the tip of his finger, surprising the other, "You can still make it, you know? Christmas isn't 'til tomorrow."

"I know. But… you see—I was planning this—" Then his pale blue eyes widened and Leo had to look at him curiously. Before the demigod could react, the blonde suddenly trapped him in a hug.

"Oh gods! Thanks for reminding me!" Then he let go and started running off, "I gotta go!"

"Uh… okay?" Leo waved back hesitantly, "You're welcome?"

End of Chapter

So what do you think does Will have in mind in waking up our dark prince? Do you think he'll succeed or… not?

This was supposed to be a one-shot… but I ended up making it longer xD Reviews please? OuO Next chapter will be updated on Christmas day.. with a special bonus ;)