Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Look! I updated! Aren't you proud of me? 3

T_T i'm such a bad author i'm sowwy

Nothing much to say, just thank you to everyone for the continued support through my writers' block!

See you in... uh... whenever i can think of writing!
-Aleavon

Geez, I'm glad I'm out of there. Sometimes just the two of them can drive me insane. Nico rushed out of the living room, leaving Piper and Jason with a huff as Nico erratically tugged up the zipper on his jacket. After all the commotion with the sweatshirt and Percy's new guinea pig, Nico was glad for a moment to relax and breathe.

Well... maybe just relax. Breathing was a little difficult with the two outer layers on his torso. The extra layer was keeping more heat than Nico wanted inside his shirt, but he was definitely not going to pull out that sweatshirt in front of Will. He could probably withstand it till he went home, and after all, his dad wouldn't be one to ask. Wouldn't it be a little... weird to wear that while Will was there? The awkwardness Nico felt was not unlike the feeling when one gets caught with their fly down... Not something you'd want to be experiencing.

Nico shuffled on his socks through the waxed wooden hallway, looking forwards to the time he planned to spend with Will, who Nico knew would be sitting in the spot where Nico last saw him. Nico stepped through the large door frame that led to the secluded room in the mansion and finally returned to his spot on the small, soft leather couch next to Will.

Nico had been in deep thought as he walked, but once Will locked eyes with Nico, all of Nico's thoughts were shaken out of his mind. The sheer feeling of being here with Will completely overwhelmed Nico, making him draw in Will's presence like it was a long breath of fresh air after years of captivity.

Will welcomed Nico with one of his signature smiles and a quietly whispered "Hey", as Nico slowly sat down with all the bulky layers of clothing. Nico clunkily shuffled to a more comfortable settle in next to Will, who smiled and put an arm around Nico as he snuggled into Will's chest. With Nico's hip pressed against Will's hip, and his shoulders covered by Will's right arm, Nico felt like he was in a completely safe ball of warmth. He relaxed into Will's arms and chest and closed his eyes, enjoying the relative silence of the room.

Resting his head in the curve of Will's shoulder blade, Nico could feel the pattern of Will's breathing through the right side of his chest; In, and out, in, and out. Nico's mind drifted off into that pattern, eyelids drooping as he fell into the steady rhythm of Will's inhalations. After what felt like a blissful eternity, Nico felt a low rumble as Will cleared his throat to say something to the curly-haired Italian in his arms.

"You know... before you came back... I was thinking... about us." Will began taking in a sharp breath as he gathered his thoughts. He nuzzled Nico's still-tousled waves with his nose and inhaled the scent of his shampoo. It was an almost feminine smell, like flowers and vanilla, and definitely not what Will was expecting. It was nice though. Nico shook his head from the tickling sensation, causing Will to jump a bit from the unexpected movement. Will was quiet for a moment, and then suddenly let out a small sneeze, covering his nose with his left elbow so as to not jostle Nico. Will blinked in surprise in response, and then laughed, returning to his previous point.

"As I was saying... I was thinking about us. Today's Christmas, and we've got a while before we go back to school... Why don't we go out somewhere for New Year's Eve?" Will suggested hopefully, waiting for Nico's affirmation as Nico remained silent. Even though they had the past two months together since that first fateful project that had brought them together, Will still felt like he didn't see enough of Nico

"Like, out to the Jumbotron to watch the Ball Drop or somewhere fancy like a restaurant?" Nico wondered half-heartedly, still masking his joy at being able to go anywhere with his boyfriend. Nico realized that he would go anywhere as long as Will was by his side.

"Doesn't really matter. You can decide. I just want to be somewhere with you to start the New Year... and it's a tradition among couples to kiss at midnight then. I think we should go." Will smiled down at Nico again, and Nico felt his heart melt once again. "But the big crowd in Times Square doesn't sound too bad to me... We could go there if you want."

"I just want to share New Year's Eve with you." Nico replied. "It doesn't matter where we go, as long as I go with you by my side."

The lights from the nearby Christmas tree gleamed in the half-light room as Nico looked at Will, the little crystal lights shining with all their might as they sat in silence.

However, as Nico sat there in the close proximity, he felt waves of heat coursing through his body as his head started to spin. The discomfort was bordering on unbearable, but Nico knew there was only a little time left before he had to leave... and he could pull it off.

Nico scrunched up his forehead to try to clear the dizziness from his head without Will noticing, but it was too late. Will's eyes snapped to Nico's glazed-over ones and saw the rosier-than-normal complexion of Nico's face, and knew something was wrong. Will eyed the thick layers Nico had on, and then reached over to put the cool back of his hand to Nico's forehead.

"Nico, you're overheating," Will insisted in a worried tone, reaching for Nico's jacket zipper. "You've got to take off some of your layers or you'll fry to death in there! Well, maybe not actually fry to death, but more like..."

Will pulled down the zipper and immediately stopped talking as he saw what Nico was wearing underneath. He gaped in shock for a moment, and then started giggling uncontrollably.

"Ahahaha... Jason got you too?" Will laughed as he pulled an identical sweatshirt out of his gift bag. Just looking at it made Nico feel stupid for even trying to hide the shirt in the first place. Of course Jason would get the two of them matching sweaters! After all, Nico was only one half of the relationship. "I had a hunch that he would have gotten you one too... but now I know for sure!"

Nico managed to blush even through his feverish face covered up most of it.

Will shook his head amusedly, letting a small smile grace his lips as he pulled the heavy coat off of Nico's shoulders. As the extra layer was removed, Nico inhaled needily as a gust of cool air washed over his upper body as he was freed from the confines. Free at last, free at last... Thank Zeus almighty... Nico thought, chuckling to himself. He stayed in that position for a few seconds before he felt Will's fingers tugging at the hem of the Christmas sweater. Nico grabbed Will's hands and pushed them away lightly, replacing them with his own.

"I think I can manage this on my own now." Nico smiled as he pulled off the sweater, revealing the black Imagine Dragons t-shirt underneath. He neatly folded up the piece of clothing and grabbed his present bag to shove the sweater in. As he took out the gifts that he was given to make room for the sweater, he noticed a wrapped present at the very bottom that hadn't been opened yet.

"Hmm...? What's this?" Nico wondered out loud, dropping the sweater into the pile of gifts and pulling out the small, gift-wrapped box the size of Nico's hand. He peered closely at the tag and slowly deciphered the artistic loops and swirls of the handwriting on the piece of stationary.

"Huh... Will, this is for you... I found it in my bag but it doesn't say who sent it." Nico handed the box off to Will, and Will took it with a curious and hopeful expression in his eyes.

"To Will: Sorry that I haven't been around lately, but maybe we'll be able to stay in touch more with this! 3" The strokes of the pen ink seemed familiar to Will, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it. It wasn't Nico's... he had already given Will a gift. He hadn't seen the handwriting of any of the other teens, so it couldn't have been them. Then... who?

The golden glitter-covered gift wrap shed little bits of the sparkles onto Will's lap as he carefully undid the ribbon and the tape keeping the present so nicely wrapped. The ribbon fell to the floor as Will stared in amazement at the gift he was holding in his hands.

"This is..." Will whispered.

In Will's fingers was a box holding a brand new cell phone: The exact same one he had been asking his dad for the past few months. Will immediately knew that no matter what, it was his dad that had given him the gift.

"I- I can't believe it... I've been asking for a phone for so long... and now I finally have one!" Will cried, jumping into the air in ecstasy. He grinned as he lunged towards Nico, placing his hands on either side of Nico's head.

"Nico..." Will demanded, wide-eyed. "Give me your phone number!"

As they walked to where the rest of the teens were saying their farewells and "See you in two weeks!", Will suddenly stopped and turned to Nico with a devilish smile on his face.

"Hey Nico, you know what time it is?" He cheekily asked, no doubt up to something. But Nico let it slide and tossed back a retort, almost shutting Will down.

"You have a watch, dumbass."

"Ouch..." Will mockingly said. He reached over to his left arm and twisted his watch subconsciously as he remembered that it was there, and continued. "Well... look up, dumbass."

Nico looked up and saw Will reach up, snag something off the top of the doorway, and drop it on top of Nico's head. Will then proceeded to bend down and plant a peck on Nico's lips.

After a second of surprise, Will picked up the piece of... whatever it was that he had thrown onto Nico's head.

"What was that for?" Nico indignantly glared at Will as Will smirked, looking at what he now held in his hand.

"Give me that," Nico demanded, snatching it from Will's hand, leaving a startled expression on Will's face.

After a confused moment of trying to figure out what Will had done, Nico sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out the piece of greenery in front of Will's face.

"Mistletoe? Really?" Nico grumbled. He shook his head bemusedly and rose to his tiptoes and held the sprig over Will's head.

"This is how you do it, idiot," Nico said, putting his left hand on Will's chest and leaned in to kiss Will once more. As their lips connected again, Nico could feel the vibrations of Will's chuckling through the hand on his chest, and couldn't help but smile as they drew apart.

"Merry Christmas," Will whispered as he wrapped Nico in his arms.

Nico sighed contentedly and rested his head on Will's chest, not finding a need to say anything.

I'd be happy staying like this forever.