Christmas Day

Nico leaned against the doorway as he watched Percy wrap the box of items he had finally thrown together. It was late into the night, maybe even Christmas morning. Nico had finished with his gift, sure, but he'd never be able to wrap anything to save his life.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Nico asked.

Percy looked up at Nico, a couple pieces of tape stuck to his chin. "From watching mom. Are you going to tell me what's in this box?"

Nico shook his head. "Just wrap it. I'm paying you with money, not information."

Percy rolled his eyes as he continued on. "You don't need to pay me. It's no problem. I already did all of Annabeth's gifts."

"All? How many did you get her?"

Percy sighed. "Now who's nosy?"

"Fine, fine." Nico looked away for a minute, the small apartment seeming cozy instead of claustrophobic. When did he start feeling that way? His feet were cold, his combat boots having been replaced with some sneakers that made training easier. "Do you have any socks?"

"What? Oh, um, I guess." Percy started to dig through a pile of bows. "In my dresser. Just don't wake Annie."

Nico stalked off to Percy's bedroom to find Annabeth already awake, a detailed blueprint spread out on the bed before her. When she heard Nico come in, she didn't even glance up to see who it was. "What do you want?"

"Getting socks." Nico moved to the dresser and started to look through it. "Percy thinks you're asleep, you know."

Annabeth sighed. "Yes, I know. But I didn't just make coffee for no reason. You're looking in the wrong drawer. Try one to the right."

Nico closed the drawer and moved on to the next. "Has he had a mental breakdown about the kid yet?"

"You ask as many questions as you did when you were ten." Annabeth looked up at him. "No, he hasn't had a breakdown. Will he? Probably when I go into labor. He's the kind of guy that really wants to be a good dad."

Nico stared at the pile of socks. "Yeah, he is."

"What'd you get Will that needs to be wrapped?" Annabeth asked. "You wanna tell me?"

"Never." Nico grabbed the socks before heading out of the room. "Bye, Annabeth."

"Bye, Nico."

"Merry Christmas, Neeks!" Will burst into the Hades cabin with his present in hand, causing the son of Hades to groan from his bed. "Come on, wake up. Present time."

Nico rolled off the bed and landed with a thump. "It's too early."

"It's ten in the morning."

"Fine!" Nico sat up, his hair a mess and his eyes dark. "Help untangle me from these stupid blankets."

Will smiled as he went over to his boyfriend, helping him get out of the cocoon he made for himself. "There. Now, it's present time."

"Yeah, yeah." Nico dragged a box from under his bed. "This one's yours. But you can't open it yet."

Will pouted. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not fully awake yet." Nico stood up and stretched, letting out a soft groan. "I want sleep..."

"You'll get some later." Will sat on the floor. "Come sit."

Nico sat by Will, shirtless from his night of sleep. His scars had begun to heal, but they still rippled and bent at each movement. "Can I open yours first?"

Will looked down at the present in his lap. "Um...yeah, I guess. I just hope you like it."

"I will." Nico snatched it and looked down at the wrapping paper. "Did you wrap this?"

Will nodded. "Why-"

"How do people wrap so well?" Nico groaned. "I had to go to Percy to wrap mine!"

Will felt himself smile. "Really?"

Nico nodded. "I tried like five times but it looked like crap each time."

"I'll teach you." Will pointed to the gift. "Now, open it."

Nico tore the paper off quickly, his eyes widening when he saw the expansion deck of Mythomagic in his hands. "Oh..."

"Do you like it?" Will fingered an ace bandage he had on his wrist for when he got bored. "I...I thought you would, but I don't know...I can get you something else if you want-... Nico? What are you doing?"

Nico had gotten up and walked over to a table, the box in hand. He didn't answer but Will soon saw that he had begun to cut the box open, his finger flying over it excitedly.

"Um..." Will got up. "Nico?"

Nico stopped what he was doing, finally having heard Will's voice. He turned to look at his boyfriend with a faint blush over his pale cheeks, his dark eyes alight with childhood innocence. "Oh...um..."

Will smiled. "You like it?"

Nico nodded. "Can I finish opening it?"

Will chuckled softly to himself. "Yeah, go ahead."

Nico sat on his bed and tore through the packaging, soon getting it all out. "This must have been a fortune. Thank you, Will."

Will looked down at his feet. "Yeah, no problem. I'm just glad you like it." He smiled after a minute. "I'm really glad you like it."

"Of course I do." Nico flicked through the deck for some time before slowly looking up at Will. "Oh...you still have to open what I got you."

Will scratched the back of his neck. "It's okay if you want to keep-"

"No!" Nico ran to get the box Percy had wrapped. "I worked hard on this. And you're going to open it and you're going to enjoy it. That's an order."

Will watched Nico closely, able to see that the wars had finally started to drain away from the young boy. It made him happy, happier than he had ever been. Seeing Nico truly happy...it was a sight worth anything.

"Here." Nico set the box on Will's lap. "Open. And...and don't laugh at it, okay? Don't make fun of it."

"Why would I make fun of it?" Will started to unwrap it. "I'm sure I'll love it. If you think I will, then I will."

The first thing he saw when he opened the box was an envelope sitting on top, his name written in cursive writing that could only belong to Nico. Underneath it, a box that looked like it was worth more than Will himself sat, lined with gold that looked all too real. Will glanced at Nico before taking the envelope first, opening it to find a letter in the same handwriting.

"What's this?"

"Just read it," Nico commanded. "Not out loud. Just to yourself. And promise not to tell anyone about it."

Will did as he was told, and to say he almost cried would be an understatement. I don't show my feelings well, and when I do I'm not sure if they're understood, it started. So I wanted to make sure you know. I do love you, William Solace. I always have.

When he was finally finished, he could do no more than pull Nico into a hug. What could he say? It was something he had never expected from Nico, the son of Hades. But it was something he could believe came from the boy's mind.

He saw a different side to Nico than anyone else had. Some saw him as a friend, most just saw him as the son of death. Will, however, saw him as the boy he really was. He saw him as lover, best friend, as soulmate.

"My gift looks stupid compared to this." he finally muttered into Nico's chest. "It was a material thing when you got me something so nice."

"You haven't even finished opening," Nico replied. "And it was just a letter. I tried to find you something else but I couldn't think of what you'd want." He stopped for a minute before speaking again. "Don't mention the letter ever, okay?"

"You're embarrassed?"

Nico looked away. "Let's open your next gift."

Will kept Nico close for another minute or so before pulling back, his eyes moving to the box. "What is it?"

Nico took the wooden box out of the gift and set it on Will's lap. "Open it when you lose a patient. There are slips of paper inside. Read one when you lose someone. It'll help."

Will held the box close. "Thank you, Nico..."

"Your welcome." his eyes landed back onto the cards he had received. "Can I teach you how to play?"

"Huh?" Will looked to what had taken Nico's attention. "Oh..do you have enough to teach me?"

Nico smirked. "Let's play, Solace. You're going down."

Will set his box aside as he turned to face the cards, his emotions settling as a new Christmas tradition was born.