Day 2: Tuesday, 2nd of December

The next morning, Nico woke up early because he needed a toilet.

Though when he sat down on his bed again, all thoughts of going back to sleep vanished as he noticed the small bag of sweets on his bedside table.

Since when was that there?

He took it gently and inspected it.

It was normal cellophane with a pretty ribbon around it, the same color as the ribbon used for the gift he had received yesterday.

But what really got to him was the content.

He wasn't really a sweets person, but these were a wide assortment of candy he hadn't seen in years.

There was Barley Sugar, Pear Drops, Sugared Almonds, Aniseed Rocks, Sour Apple Cubes, Fruit Rocks, Rosy Apples and some he didn't even recognize, though he thought he had seen them in stores back in his younger years at some point too.

That was candy they used to sell in his time, back in the 1930's, when he was born!

He couldn't believe it.

Who would actually bother looking for these?

Then he noticed a card that must have been beneath the bag.

He picked it up gingerly.

[Dear Nico,

I love your sleeping face. You look so at peace.

I have never seen anything more beautiful.

I'm sorry if I creep you out by coming into your cabin without your permission or knowledge.

I didn't want the sweets to get trampled or smashed, else I would have placed them outside.

I hope you like them.

I'm also glad to find you wearing the earrings. I hope they weren't too hard to find.

They really suit you.

Have a nice 2nd day of December.

I love you,
Your Secret Admirer]

Nico looked at the clock on his bedside table.

It was barely 6am in the morning, who would be up at this time to sneak into his cabin to bring him sweets?!

And what was that about him being…beautiful?

He blushed and looked at the bag once more.

This really was cute, though.

Nico found himself smiling fondly.

Then he scolded himself.

Really? He didn't even know the person who gave this to him!

His hand went to his ear absent-mindedly, touching the skull earring gently.

He smiled and flopped back down on the bed, taking the bag of sweets with him.

He didn't want to open them just yet. But he did however admire the wide assortment.

Where could people get these nowadays anymore anyways?

How much trouble did that person go through to get to them?

Maybe there was a store in the nearby city and Nico had simply never noticed.

He inspected the goodies inside through the cellophane.

It all looked so beautiful.

He sighed and put it inside his bedside table, where the first letter was safely kept as well.

Then he took the card once more and read it, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.

Was there really somebody at Camp who loved him?

The thought made him nervous, though in a good or bad way, he couldn't say.

He felt the anticipation rising in his chest, but pushed it down.

He wanted to know who it was that actually went through all this trouble.

But at the same time, he was worried of who it might be.

He put the note in his bedside table as well, then put his arm over his eyes.

He should probably turn off the lights and go back to bed. But he couldn't be bothered getting up.

He didn't like the darkness much in the first place.

The irony of it.

He, as the Ghost King, not liking darkness much.

He chuckled, thinking he truly was pathetic.

Then, he fell back asleep, a stupid grin on his face.

...

"So, what was your gift today? Or do we have to search for it again?" Will asked as he rushed past Nico into his cabin.

"I love how you don't even ask whether you can come in and just storm into my cabin whenever you come over." Nico said drily and Will winced.

"Aww, sorry, Neeks. May I come in?" He asked, his demeanor instantly innocent and rather adorable, grabbing Nico's hands and looking at him with puppy eyes.

Nico blinked and pulled his hands away.

"W-Whatever." He muttered and was surprised how warm Will's hands had been, considering the cold outside.

Will grinned and ruffled through his hair.

"You know you like it!" He said and then pulled out a black rubber band.

"You want me to make you another ponytail?"

Nico hesitated. Then he shrugged.

"Sure, why not. It did feel nice having the hair out of my face."

Will chuckled. "Why don't you just get it cut then?"

"Nah."

Will rolled his eyes and they went into the bathroom, where Will began working on Nico's hair.

Of course, Nico noticed how Will didn't just simply take his hair as Jason had done and pulled it back to a ponytail.

Instead, he made a show of first brushing through them over and over with Nico's hairbrush and massaged his head while he was at it.

Since it felt good, Nico let him do it.

Will smiled at him affectionately, finally finishing his ponytail.

Nico was just beginning to be proud of himself, thinking that, at least once, things didn't get awkward between them.

But right then Will leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Nico, resting his head on Nico's shoulder, his lips inches away from his neck.

"What…" Nico muttered, flustered, watching their reflections in the mirror with wide eyes.

"You're so adorable." Will said, smiling fondly.

Nico squirmed.

"Oh, come on. Why are you always running away? Don't you like it?" Will called after him and followed as Nico rushed out of the bathroom.

"It's not like that. But seriously…"

"But if you like it, what's wrong with it, then?"

"Will, I'm…I'm…"

"What? From the 1930's? I know that."

"No, I'm gay!"

There was silence for a moment.

Nico's face was burning. He had never actually said it out loud like that.

Will stared at him.

Nico had no idea what the expression on his face meant.

He sighed, searching for the right words to not get across wrong.

He didn't want Will thinking he was getting any 'hard feelings' or the like, as Jason had put it yesterday.

But before he could find those words, it knocked on the door.

Will and Nico looked around.

Another knock.

"Hello?" Percy's voice called from the outside.

Nico sighed and walked towards the door, not looking at Will.

"Hey, Nico. I know I'm pretty early but can I come insi-…hey, that ponytail really does suit you. Oh…hi Will. Am I…interrupting something?" He asked, looking from Nico to Will and back.

Nico glanced towards Will for a moment.

"Nah, we're cool. I was just asking Neeks what he got as a gift today." Will explained, shrugging and nodding towards Nico.

Nico looked down at his feet.

"Cool, so, what was it? Another set of earrings?"

Before Nico could reply, there was a noise outside the door Nico was about to close. He pulled it open again, looking at a grinning Jason.

"Morning! I want to know what it is, as well!" He said and stepped inside hurriedly.

Nico rolled his eyes and pointedly looked outside for a moment to check whether anybody else wanted to come in.

Of course, there was nobody else, so he closed the door and looked around to three sets of curious eyes staring at him.

He sighed and walked over to his bedside table, pulling out the bag of sweets.

"Aw, that's sweet." Percy exclaimed and took the bag, inspecting it.

"I don't even know some of them. What are they?" Jason asked, looking closely at the content.

Will came closer, but kept his distance from Nico.

Nico's heart stung.

Great, now Will probably thought him weird or something.

He wouldn't be surprised if Will avoided him now, worried Nico might jump him or bother him in any other way.

Just great.

But Will grinned at him. "I bet they are back from your time, aren't they?"

Nico nodded quietly and tentatively got closer to him and the bag of candy.

"Yeah, they got sold around the 1930's and 1940's. I practically grew up with these. I really wonder where they found them." He explained, shaking his head and taking the bag again.

"My mother used to work in a candy store, but to be honest I have no idea whether they sell these." Percy muttered.

Jason whistled. "Your admirer must have gone through quite some work then to get these."

Nico felt his ears getting hot and nodded.

"Probably."

"Can I…can I try one of those green cubes?" Will asked tentatively, staring one of the Sour Apple Cubes to death.

Nico chuckled and carefully opened the green ribbon. "Sure, you can all have some."

"What? But they're yours." Percy said, surprised.

"I don't mind sharing, you know."

"Well, in that case, can you tell me what those red and white little bricks are?" Jason asked, pointing at the small candies.

Nico grinned and held the bag open to them. "Those are Aniseed Rocks, if I remember correctly. They're actually quite good."

And thus, each one of them took out a few sweets.

Jason did try the Aniseed Rock, as did Percy, who was also eyeing a piece of Fruit Rock and a Sour Apple Cube in his hand.

Will had the Sour Apple Cube (which he actually liked, claiming 'sour stuff makes you happy and is good for your health'), a piece of Rosy Apple, and Barley Sugar.

Nico picked an Aniseed Rock for himself and grinned at the others.

It was quite fun to actually know something they didn't.

Then again, it was also great to taste these again.

They spend most of the day in Nico's cabin, either chatting, eating sweets (by evening, he barely had any left, but it had been worth it) or playing an upgraded version of Mario Kart where everyone fought against everyone with their own little characters.

Another brilliant idea from Leo, who had taken it upon himself to somehow edit in each and every person at Camp Half-Blood next to the normal characters, so each person could play as themselves in almost any game at Camp.

How he had pulled it off, Nico had no idea. He raced around in a black car with skulls on the sides, inside a scrawny pale character dressed all in black. Very authentic.

He kicked Jason off the road and into abyss shamelessly.

"Aww, not again." The blonde complained and adjusted his glasses, waiting impatiently to get back into the game.

Will was hot on Nico's trail, both trying to catch up with Percy, who happily fired shells at them and zoomed off with his blue kart that looked a lot like a dolphin.

Nico evaded Will's bright red kart by inches and chuckled as the blonde ran into an obstacle.

"Almost! I almost had you!" He whined, but laughed at the same time and raced after him.

Nico slowly inched closer to Percy.

"Oh no, you won't." Percy muttered, trying to block his way as to keep him from passing him up.

Nico could feel Percy next to him getting closer ever so slightly and pressed his lips together, trying to focus on the game.

Then Percy hit a fake item box and Nico zoomed past him over the finishing line.

"Noooooooooo~!" Percy wailed next to him, finishing as second, closely followed by Will.

Jason came around a minute later as the last (again).

"Almost!" Percy cried and threw his arms playfully around Nico, putting his head at his shoulder.

Nico chuckled and let him, though he could feel his heartbeat quickening.

He noticed Will looking at them out of the corner of his eyes and wondered faintly if he thought bad of him ever since their conversation this morning.

Maybe he now thought it was just Will Nico had a problem with.

Guilt gnawed at him.

Maybe he really shouldn't have reacted like that.

Though there was a difference between throwing your arms around somebody and wailing about losing a game loudly and wrapping your arms around somebody from behind, getting way too close to their neck.

Or maybe it wasn't, and Nico was simply overthinking things.

He patted Percy's head quietly and noticed Jason inching closer from the other side, dropping his face on Nico's still free shoulder.

"Why am I always last…" He complained and Nico put his controlled down, patting his head as well.

Both boys looked up at him with their sea-green and sky-blue eyes.

Nico felt his insides churning and pushed them both away unceremoniously.

"Crybabies."

They both laughed and sat upright again while Will zapped through the settings.

"Want to team up and play in teams of two?" He asked them.

"I want to play with Nico!" both Jason and Percy immediately exclaimed and Nico felt his face getting hot.

Seriously, those guys.

Will chuckled and watched as Jason and Percy glared daggers at each other over Nico's head.

"That's it, I'll team up with Will, then." Nico said and saw Will practically beam at him.

"What?" "No~!"

"We can switch later. Seriously, it's not like I'm that great of a driver." Nico muttered exasperated, though he was somehow happy that his friends made a fuzz about being in a team with him.

Of course, it was stupid and he shouldn't be happy about that, but he simply relished in the fact that his friends actually saw him as somebody worth teaming up with.

There had been enough situations in his life where he had always been the odd one out.

It simply felt good…belonging.

He took another Aniseed Rock and popped it into his mouth as they started up the next race.

Jason and Percy still scowled at Will, who grinned victoriously at them and then smiled at Nico, winking.

Nico smiled back.

Maybe Will wouldn't take their conversation the wrong way, after all.

...

"That was one hell of a day." Percy huffed and put his arm over his eyes, already lying in Nico's bed as if it was his own.

Nico refused to think much about it.

"Yeah…though we weren't outside, at all." Will muttered and looked towards the window.

It was snowing again.

At this rate, there'd be even more snow on the ground tomorrow.

And it would get even colder.

Nico shivered at the thought, just to feel Jason's arm wrap around him and pull him closer.

Nico grinned at him.

Jason grinned back.

He really looked adorable with those glasses.

Even though they kept sliding lower on his nose.

Nico pushed them back up without thinking, causing Jason to blink.

Then he grinned even broader, practically dazzling Nico.

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Nico asked, looking away to the other two.

"Hm, I don't know. At this rate, there'll be so much snow outside, it would be a waste not to at least build one snowman." Will muttered.

"Really? Snowmen?" Percy asked while he turned over the card of Nico's admirer once more.

Nico still couldn't believe this whole thing.

Seriously, who would just pop up and write you letters and notes and give you gifts?

He loved the earrings (he was also still wearing them) and the candy had been awesome.

So, he wasn't really complaining.

But still, he couldn't help but wonder who that mysterious person might be.

It could be anybody.

Yet, for some reason, it felt to Nico as if it must be someone who actually knew him. And who would know him without Nico knowing them?

It just all seemed so weird.

"So…how's it going with Annabeth, anyways?" He asked casually, tearing himself out of his thoughts.

Percy dropped the card. Jason stiffened. Will took a startled breath.

"Huh? Did I miss something?" Nico asked, blinking, looking around at his three friends.

Percy made a face, putting the card down on Nico's bedside table and started fidgeting with his hands, seemingly thinking of words.

Jason next to him scratched the side of his neck awkwardly and looked at a spot far away.

"Dude, how could you even miss that? Everybody talked about it." Will laughed, looking at Nico unbelieving.

"About what? Did something happen?"

"Annabeth and I…we aren't dating anymore." Percy explained.

Nico's heart stopped for a moment.

What?! Why?! How?! When?! Where had he been?!

All the time, whenever he had been around the camp, everybody had always talked about Percy and Annabeth and what an amazing and great couple they were.

How could he have missed something like this?

"How…? Why…?" He asked weakly.

Jason intently stared at his hands.

"Piper and her…they got along better than we expected…" He muttered quietly.

Nico blinked.

"Wait…what?" He jumped up, looking at his two friends.

They both showed unbelievable interest in their socks.

Emphasis on the 'unbelievable'.

"So, you're telling me your girlfriends hooked up with each other and you're both single now?"

Both nodded quietly.

"Oh gods…" He muttered, at a loss for words.

And here he was, worrying about a secret admirer.

So, that was why Jason had acted so oddly at his remark about Piper.

They hadn't even been together anymore by then.

How selfish had Nico been not to notice that?

Why hadn't he actually paid more attention to them?

Here he was, always only thinking of himself, while his friends had to deal with their girlfriends suddenly dating each other and leaving them.

Oh gods.

Nico did something very un-Nico-like.

He went up to both of them and hugged them.

"I'm sorry to hear it. I'm really sorry. I wish I had known." He muttered.

The two boys, taken aback by Nico actually permitting physical contact, slowly inched closer and wrapped their arms around him awkwardly.

"It's…really not a big deal…" Jason muttered.

"Yeah, we're completely cool with it…" Percy insisted.

"Shush." Nico ordered and felt Will closing in behind him, looking at him with puppy eyes.

He permitted him into the hug as well.

Hugs were something really strange.

Hugging one person was already pretty awkward and intimate.

But hugging three people at once was actually even worse.

They all had their arms wrapped around each other, feeling each other's body heat and refusing to look each other in the eye.

Percy and Jason still had their faces cast downwards, while Will only patted Jason's shoulder as Nico patted Percy's.

His heart was racing in his chest, but he tried to ignore it, inwardly hoping that Percy, whose head was pressed against his chest, didn't notice.

They stayed like this for what seemed like forever.

When they finally did part, the two boys looked up at him rather surprised.

"Who'd have thought the Ghost King would initiate a hug?" wondered Percy and got a glare from Nico as reply.

"We're really okay, though, Nico. To be completely honest, Piper and I didn't work out that great lately anyways. So, it was really only a matter of time." Jason explained quietly.

Nico's expression softened.

"Why didn't either of you tell me? Jason, you have an excuse for not telling me while you were travelling, but seriously, you could have talked to me about this…and same for you, Percy. Just that you don't have any excuse whatsoever. When did this happen?"

Both shuffled awkwardly.

"Around two month ago was the official break-up." Percy then admitted quietly.

"Official?"

He fidgeted.

"Actually, things weren't running that smoothly with Annabeth anymore, either. Lots of arguments and all. It wasn't all one-sided either, mind you. She demanded me to spend more time with her, but all she wanted to do was research architecture stuff and what not or get my opinion on things I have never heard of before. Well, anyways, it seems like we only work well together when there's an impending war or something. When we have too many other things to worry about to actually spend time together like a normal couple."

Jason nodded in agreement.

Nico sighed.

"But we're good. I mean…Pipes and I are still talking, though it was kind of awkward in the beginning. We're pretty much friends now. It's really not that bad." Jason shrugged.

Percy did, too.

"Same here. Actually, now that I think about it, I think it's even better this way."

Nico sighed deeply.

Could anybody believe these guys?

...

It was way past curfew when they finally parted ways at Nico's cabin door.

"Tomorrow, we'll definitely try find out who your admirer is, Neeks." Jason whispered and grinned broadly, but Nico only adjusted his glasses for him and made a hand gesture to shoo.

Percy chuckled quietly, ruffling through Nico's hair affectionately.

"Yeah, definitely. And then we look if he's good enough for you, Nico."

Nico blushed. Good enough for him?

It was more about whether he was good enough for that person.

Percy seemed to read his thoughts, because he gave him a stern look.

"You're a really great guy, Nico. Never doubt that. Get a bit of self-confidence, man."

Nico only smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Off to your cabin before you get caught, Percy."

Percy made a face. "As if they could ever get me." He bragged and waved, sprinting off towards his cabin.

Nico chuckled and turned to Will, who was the last to leave.

He was surprisingly close, standing right next to him with a small smile on his face.

"Well…goodnight, then." He said and Nico swallowed.

"Yeah, goodnight. And Will…"

"Hm?"

"Sorry about this morning. I didn't mean it like that…"

But Will waved off. "It's okay. I get it. But, Nico?"

"Yes?"

"I know you're gay. Don't beat yourself up about it. We're friends. If I do something you like, don't think of what other people might think. Just go with it. And if you don't like something, then just tell me. But don't force yourself to do or not do things just because of others. Okay?"

Nico looked down to his feet.

"Come on, this isn't a lecture. I just want you to enjoy yourself. You're always thinking of everybody around you. Try to have some fun for once." Will said and put his arm around him, pulling him close to his body and ruffling through his hair.

Nico couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"No, not my ponytail!" He complained, but didn't stop Will either.

"Yes!" Will exclaimed, grabbing hold of the ribbon band in Nico's hair and pulling it out.

As Nico's hair flew back in his face, he felt himself getting pulled closer to Will.

Next moment, Will kissed him on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Nico." He muttered and let go of him before Nico even had the time to think about whether he should push him away, freeze, squirm or just do nothing at all.

"G-Goodnight…" He whispered as he watched Will hurrying off towards the Apollo cabin, waving back at him.

He shook his head.

There was nothing wrong with a kiss on the forehead. He had given one to Hazel, as well, after all.

He still felt his face being annoyingly hot.

He walked back inside and changed into his pajama pants, dropping into bed.

As he turned his head sideways, he noticed the card still lying on his bedside table.

A smile hushed over his face and he took it carefully, putting it inside to the envelope with the letter.

As he drifted off into sleep, he wondered how it would be if one of his friends was his admirer.

Of course, he knew it was utterly stupid and there was no way whatsoever, but he was tired and simply couldn't resist.

Sighing happily, he fell asleep.