Day 3: Wednesday, 3rd of December
Thud. Thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
Nico turned around, away from the loud noise.
"Nico! Open the door!" Came an urgent voice from the door.
Nico groaned and sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes.
What the hell?
He fought himself out of bed disgruntled and checked the time on the little clock on his bedside table.
It was barely 3am in the morning.
Seriously?!
He heard another series of knocks on the door and groaned again, fighting himself to the door and opening it.
It was Percy.
"Percy, what the hell? I was sleeping." He asked, his eyes already half closed again.
Percy looked sheepishly for a moment, but then simply pushed past him.
"Nico, I have decided. I'm going to keep watch for your admirer."
"You…do that…can I go back to bed, then?" Nico muttered, not really listening, already letting the door fall closed behind him and trudging back to his bed.
"What? Yeah, okay, if you want to. Nice pyjama pants, by the way."
Nico looked down on himself for a moment, glad he was wearing more than his boxer shorts.
That would have made for one interesting conversation.
He waved off and flopped down on his bed face down.
Percy chuckled and sat down on the side of his bed.
Nico was just dozing off, when something occurred to him.
"Wait, why are you here again?" He asked, moving his head sideways and looking at Percy with one half-open eye.
Percy laughed.
"I'm waiting for your admirer. He's bound to show up in your cabin again, isn't he?"
Nico sighed and yawned.
"Shouldn't you hide, then?"
Percy blinked.
Then he jumped up.
"You're absolutely right. I'll look for a good hiding place. You can count on me."
"Mhm…whatever…goodnight…" Nico muttered, already falling back asleep.
He heard a chuckle and felt the blanket being pulled out beneath him and somebody tucking him in.
But he was too tired to really care, so he only snuggled into the warmth and sighed contently.
...
"Nico, are you there?" Came a voice outside the door.
Nico shot up, instantly awake. "What…?"
The first thing he noticed was an oddly shaped package right next to him.
The second thing he noticed was a small piece of paper laying on his bedside table.
The third thing he noticed was Percy's snoring from…beneath his bed?
He frowned and leaned over the bed, looking beneath it.
Surely enough, there was Percy, sleeping and snoring happily away on the floor, a trickle of drool running down the side of his mouth.
It was so bizarre Nico couldn't suppress a laugh.
A loud knocking on the door shook him out of his thoughts.
Ah, yes. There was somebody at the door (again).
He hastily got up and walked over to the door, opening it quickly.
It was Jason.
"Morning. Were you still sleeping?" Jason asked and Nico sighed, letting him inside and closing the door again.
"Kind of. If you also want to catch the admirer, you're too late."
"What? What do you mean?" the blonde asked, frowning.
Nico gestured towards his bed. "Well, first of all, he seemed to already have been here and second…" A loud snoring from Percy alerted Jason to his presence and thus took away any reason for Nico to continue.
Jason blinked and looked around, seemingly trying to discern where the noise was coming from.
Nico flopped down on his bed and pointed downwards.
Jason frowned and tilted his head.
"Seriously? Percy? What is he doing in your cabin?"
"If I remember correctly, he wanted to catch the admirer. Showed up at, like, 3am in the morning and was completely euphoric about it. Come to think of it, what time is it?"
"It's already past 9am. You both missed breakfast."
"Damn. Oh well, he must have fallen asleep before meeting the admirer then. Seriously, that got to be the worst hiding place ever." Nico muttered quietly and looked down to Percy once more.
"Think we should wake him? Or at least give him a blanket?" He asked, but Jason waved him off.
"Nah, let him sleep. By the way, I got you some breakfast." The blonde told him with a grin and put down a neatly folded napkin filled with a bun with jam, some grapes and a brownie.
Nico chuckled. "A brownie? Really? Thanks, though."
They both grinned at each other and Nico began eating.
It was really nice of Jason to take care of him like this.
He nibbled on his bun, letting his eyes travel over to his bedside table, where the card was. Then, his gaze hushed over to the oddly shaped package next to him.
Jason followed his gaze and grinned.
"Looking forward to your third gift?"
Nico shrugged. "I suppose I can't deny I'm quite curious."
Jason chuckled. Nico knew he'd love to take the card and read it.
Which was why he found it so kind of Jason to actually wait for him to do it first.
He didn't know why, but it only felt right that he got around to read whatever his admirer wrote to him, first.
He hurriedly finished eating, keeping the brownie untouched until the very end, just to then break it in half and share it with Jason. The blonde grinned at that.
Then they both were too curious to wait any longer. Nico went for the card first, instead of the package.
Somehow, he first wanted to read whatever the mysterious person had written.
[Dear Nico,
I hope you liked the candy.
Today, I've decided I'd at least let you know that we know each other.
I don't want you worrying some stranger you never met suddenly stalks you like this.
I love you, so I don't want you to feel uncomfortable.
You're an amazing person and I wish you could see that, as well.
I hope you enjoy your gift.
Sleep well, my angel.
Have a nice 3rd day of December.
I love you,
Your secret Admirer
P.s.: You look really hot shirtless]
Nico blushed as he read the last sentence and looked down on himself.
Maybe he should consider putting on a shirt? But then again, that had been a compliment. It shouldn't make him self-conscious.
He turned the note over, but there was nothing on the back.
As he felt Jason's gaze linger on him, he tried to compose himself and passed the paper on to him, seemingly indifferent.
Then he turned to grab the oddly wrapped package.
It was completely deformed and felt rather squishy, in red paper with a green bow again.
He turned it around in his hands.
What was that?
Jason still fought with the note.
Nico wondered vaguely what the mysterious person might think when he found out that Nico let others read what he wrote.
Then again, he was surprised that his secret admirer didn't say anything about Percy lying beneath his bed, snoring.
Maybe the person didn't care?
Nico certainly would, if he did this for somebody he liked and suddenly there was another guy in the cabin that didn't belong there.
He highly doubted somebody could not notice Percy, what with him snoring so loud. But maybe the notes were already prepared and what not?
It wasn't that farfetched. After all, this whole thing must have already taken some time to prepare.
What if all the cards were prepared already as well, just waiting to be dropped off at the appropriate day?
But how could he have known to see Nico shirtless?
Had he added that 'P.s.' when he had been in Nico's cabin, or had that been from yesterday, still? He kind of always slept shirtless, after all.
Nico noticed how he absentmindedly fumbled with the tape on the wrapping paper.
Should he really open it, already?
He looked around to Jason, who was just raising an eyebrow at the last line on the paper and looked around at Nico, eying him from top to bottom.
Nico flushed.
"Well…I gotta admit, he's right. You certainly look good shirtless, Neeks."
Nico made a face and took the paper from him.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He muttered, clearly flustered, but he tried to make up for it with an air of annoyance.
Judging by Jason's amused chuckle, he hadn't fooled the blonde.
"Aren't you going to open your gift, then?"
Nico sighed and made a show of slowly peeling off the rest of the tape and taking off the ribbon.
Jason laughed. "Don't even act like that. I can see it in your eyes that you're dying to find out what's inside."
"Shush. I am the Ghost King." Nico exclaimed, which only made Jason laugh harder.
Then he put aside the wrapping paper and blinked at what he was holding. Jason's laugh turned into some sort of cough-giggle (which sounded really weird).
Nico blinked even more.
It was…
"Is that a plush-dog?" Jason asked, frowning and seemingly wanting to take it from Nico.
But Nico found himself hugging it tightly.
"It…it looks exactly like Mrs. O'Leary…" He muttered, surprised.
Jason looked at him, equally surprised. "The hellhound?"
Nico nodded quietly, his mind racing.
He hadn't seen Mrs. O'Leary in ages. Barely anyone knew he had gotten along with her quite well.
She was one of the only few animals that didn't freak out around Nico.
He looked at the stuffed animal once more.
It really did look exactly like her.
"Are you okay?" Jason asked.
He nodded, pressing the plush dog against him again.
Then he dropped sideways onto the bed, Mrs. O'Leary Jr. tightly wrapped in his arms.
Jason chuckled. "Really?"
"Not a word." Nico threatened.
"Fine." Jason said, though Nico could practically feel him grin.
For a few minutes, there was utter silence.
"Aw, man, I must have fallen asleep!" Percy wailed beneath Nico's bed, and they both looked down.
"Morning, Perce. Guess you missed the admirer." Jason greeted with a broad grin.
Nico pulled his head back as Percy scrambled out from beneath the bed, not wanting to knock their heads together by accident.
"What?! Damn it! What did you get, Neeks?"
Nico blushed. Having Will and Jason call him 'Neeks' was already bad enough.
But having Percy say it, too…he shook his head inwardly.
"Erm…this." He muttered, trying to clear his mind as he held up the stuffed animal.
Percy looked genuinely surprised.
"That looks like Mrs. O'Leary." He said and Nico nodded.
"I know right?" He subconsciously pulled the dog closer to him, again.
Percy grinned. "May I hold it for a moment?"
Jason looked up as well.
Nico didn't really want to give her out of his hands. But he couldn't really say that, so he sighed and held the dog out to Percy, who grinned and took it with over-exaggerated care, making Nico roll his eyes.
"Aw, this is really sweet!" The green-eyed hero exclaimed and, next moment, he snuggled with the toy, himself.
Nico couldn't help but smile. Jason chuckling next to him. Percy grinned at both of them, the plush animal pressed against his chest.
"You don't reckon we can share her, do you?" He asked, looking almost pleading.
Nico blushed. Jason took the cuddle toy from Percy and inspected it.
"If Nico shares her with anybody, it's got to be me. I'm his best friend, after all." He then stated seriously, making Nico's insides tingle.
"What?! But I know him longer than you do!"
"Not really. You were gone most of the time and the rest you were too busy looking at-…"
"Seriously? Both of you, shut up. Mrs. O'Leary Jr. stays with me and me alone." Nico interrupted whatever Jason might have said and got his gift back, pressing her against his chest, arms around it protectively.
Both boys looked around at him.
"But she's so cute!" Percy complained.
"Get yourself an admirer then, Percy." Jason said nonchalantly and Percy crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"Blah. Nah, I'd be more the admirer than the admired."
That statement made Nico's heart race.
He couldn't suppress his thoughts wandering off to the distant image of Percy being his admirer.
For a moment, he thought he was going to die.
Then he scolded himself, hiding his face in the stuffed dog and whirling around in bed, facing away from the two bickering demigods.
"You're unbelievable." He muttered, but the other two only laugh.
"You look so cute with that plushie, Neeks." Percy commented, making Nico glad his back was facing him, because he could totally feel his face getting unnaturally hot.
"You should have seen how he looked after he read the note. The most adorable blush on his cheeks, I'm just saying." Jason chimed in.
"Jason!" Nico complained, now grabbing the pillow and pushing it over his head to hide his face completely.
The guys chuckled.
"Really? That bad? Lemme see!" Percy insisted.
Nico turned around, the plushie still close to his chest, the pillow still on his head, though he peeked out from beneath it tentatively, watching Percy trying to read the note.
His face was scrunched up and he was pretty close to the paper, trying to discern the words. Nico kind of felt bad for him, but he wasn't going to read it out loud.
Never that.
Just the thought made him all embarrassed and squeamish inside.
Though he had to admit he was surprised Percy actually read the notes.
He would have thought Percy would be one of those to complain for hours about having to read something and then let somebody else read it out for him.
Especially with so much text.
And handwritten, to boot.
Though Nico admitted it was nice handwriting.
Not scribbled in a hurry, yet also not that neat and tidy to indicate hours of work.
Percy's eyebrows raised at the last line on the note and his lips quirked up.
Nico felt his face getting hot and hid beneath the pillow again.
"Well, well. He's got good taste, that's for sure." Percy commented grinning and put the note down on Nico's bedside table.
Nico could practically feel his friends look him up and down.
Okay, that was it.
"I'm getting dressed." He said and jumped out of the bed.
"Aww, come on, Neeks, no need to be embarrassed." Percy called after him, but Nico was too flustered to reply.
Indirectly, Percy had just said he looked good, right?
His heart was beating way too fast in his chest and he hurried off to the bathroom, only now noticing he was still holding Mrs. O'Leary Jr.
He looked around to the two boys chuckling next to his bed.
He supposed he could throw her to one of the two.
Then again, he didn't really want to throw her, at all.
He hesitated for a moment, then sighed defeated.
"Jason, catch!" He called, and – though it was difficult – threw him the plush dog.
Jason looked around, catching it with ease.
"No comment." Nico dared him and shut the bathroom door, practically feeling Jason's broad grin.
...
Taking a shower without a spare set of clothes and two guys in his cabin might not have been Nico's smartest idea.
So now, here he was, standing in front of his bathroom door with nothing but a towel around his waist and his hair dripping wet, unsure what to do.
They were all guys.
He could seriously just walk out there like this as if nothing was amiss whatsoever and grab himself some clothes.
He checked his reflection in the mirror. His face was flushed, his ears dark red.
Okay, so much for the 'acting as if nothing was amiss' part.
Couldn't it have been Reyna, Annabeth and Piper? He couldn't care less about running around like this in front of them.
With Hazel he would care, because he knew it would freak her out seeing him half naked. She came from a different time as well after all.
But the others, he completely wouldn't mind.
Why was he like this? Jason and Percy were his friends.
Okay, he admitted he still had some feelings left for Percy.
And, maybe, just maybe, he also had a tiiiiiny bit of a crush on Jason.
Minor, though.
It wasn't as if Nico fancied any guy just for being a guy – but Jason was a great guy. He had looks, as well as personality…
Nico sighed. Not very helpful.
He should just stop thinking so much and get this whole mess over with.
For a moment, he considered calling for Jason to bring him some clothes.
That would be an option, as well, after all. An embarrassing as hell one, but possible, nevertheless.
He shook his head.
Then he took a deep breath and opened the door.
He tried to walk casually through the room – and failed miserably. The closer he got to the others, the more he started fidgeting and looking away.
Percy and Jason looked up, blinking, then both grinned broadly.
"He certainly has good taste." Percy commented.
Jason whistled, winking at Nico.
Nico felt his face getting hotter.
Then another head popped up. On his bed sat Will, Mrs. O'Leary Jr. in his arms.
He looked Nico up and down with a rather curious expression.
Nico looked away.
"Really, guys…" He muttered, moving over to his closet and noticed how he was walking way too fast for it to be considered 'casual'.
He also kind of ripped open his closet instead of opening it normally.
Hurriedly, he pulled out his clothes, feeling somebody coming up behind him.
Seriously?
He felt Will's arms around him before he could even think of something to say that would indicate 'Go away!', without actually sounding so rude.
Not now…
"I got to admit, I'm impressed. You certainly look a lot healthier than back in the infirmary." Will said with a grin and placed his chin on Nico's shoulder.
Nico felt himself stiffen (no, not his lower body, but his body in general, mind you) and turned his head slightly.
He forced himself to focus. "Well, of course. You helped me get back on my feet after all. And I do eat more nowadays, as well."
Will turned his head, his lips inches from Nico's neck. Nico concentrated hard on not showing any form of pretty much any emotion.
He began unfolding and refolding his clothes in his arms and shifted uneasily, wondering whether he should just walk back to the bathroom or if there was something he was supposed to do.
Will nuzzled against his neck affectionately, grinning at him.
Then, suddenly, Jason had him by the scruff of the neck, pulling him off Nico.
"No." He said, sternly.
Will pouted.
Nico wasn't sure whether he was happy or upset at the interruption.
He looked around and saw Percy standing next to him, looking at him with an expression of…what?
Was that worry? Uncertainty?
He didn't really know.
Nico blinked and, not knowing what else to do, hurried off in the direction of the bathroom to get dressed.
When he came out again, Jason offered to make him another ponytail, holding up a box of rubber bands.
"I can do that, too!" Will complained, but Jason shot him a glare and he was quiet.
Nico didn't really know what to make of it. It wasn't as if he…hadn't liked it…
Though it certainly had felt weird.
He wondered vaguely if Will was like that with everybody.
He had spent a lot of time with the blonde in the infirmary, and he still helped him out every here and there, but Will had never really seemed that…affectionate with others.
At the thought of Will being like this only with him, his heart doubled its speed.
But he pushed it out of his mind.
This was stupid. Will probably wasn't even gay. He just wanted to be friends with Nico.
Though maybe Nico should then say something about the closeness.
Not that it affected him…okay, maybe it did…but he didn't want rumors spreading through camp, eventually ruining Will's reputation or something.
As Jason worked on his still damp hair, Percy popped up next to him again.
"May I?" He asked, though Nico wasn't sure whether he asked Jason or him, nor about what.
Jason seemed to wonder the same thing, for both of them shrugged. Percy chuckled and gently placed his hand on Nico's head.
He didn't ruffle through his hair or pat him or anything like that, yet Nico could feel the warmth of the touch and somehow, that was all it needed to make him all warm and fuzzy inside.
Next moment, he felt his hair drying.
Then, Percy softly stroked through it, smiling down at Nico affectionately.
Nico knew he must look pathetic, looking up at him with big eyes and mouth slightly open.
But he couldn't even form a clear thought in his mind.
Damn it, he was supposed to be over Percy already!
He felt Jason's hands in his hair, pulling it together in the back and Percy looked towards the blonde, breaking eye contact with Nico.
Then he felt the hand remove itself.
Pity.
He had actually liked that.
Nico scolded himself.
He noticed how Jason put the rubber band on him, carefully wrapping it around his hair and trying not to tear out any strands or tug too hard.
Jason was always so kind and considerate.
He felt the hands retreating from his head and place themselves on the left and right of Nico's neck gently as Jason took in the outcome quietly.
"Yeah, that works." He then said and Nico could feel the hands applying some pressure to his skin, massaging. He leaned back against the touch.
Jason didn't chuckle or anything, instead keeping his hands there, continuing.
The other two didn't really seem to notice, eyeing Nico's hairstyle critically for a moment before nodding their approval with matching grins.
Jason pulled his hands back, much to Nico's dismay, though he didn't say anything.
He looked around him for a moment, noticing him flashing him one of his dazzling smiles.
Nico smiled back.
While Will always seemed the pushiest, ignoring borders and what not, and Percy the one that made Nico's heart flutter the most, Jason was the one who always managed to calm him down and relax him with his gentle nature.
Nico really liked that about him.
...
Since Will insisted on it, they spent most of their day outside, throwing snowballs at each other and building a whole snowman-family behind Percy's cabin.
While Jason and Percy kept bickering about the 'Father'-snowman, seemingly trying to perfect him in their own way, Will worked hard on the 'Mother', sculpting the snow as if it was clay. Nico had never seen anything like it.
He had worked hard to just make three big round balls of snow, placing them on top of each other and just making a traditional snow-man.
He kind of felt bad not having much skill.
He looked around to Percy and Jason, whose snowman looked like a freaking statue of a Greek god, though they kind of ruined it over and over because Jason wanted to make him more like Zeus (muscled and buff), while Percy wanted to make him look more like Poseidon (lean and cool).
Nico could only shake his head and put pebbles into his failed snowman, giving him eyes and a mouth.
Will looked over to him, laughing.
"That looks so cute!" He said, coming over to him and grinning at his work.
"Not really…but yours looks really cool." Nico muttered, nodding over to the now finished sculpture of a rather pretty female.
Will grinned sheepishly.
"I made it, thinking of my mother."
Nico hesitated for a moment.
Then he looked back to the snow-woman. "Must have been a real beauty."
Will beamed at him. "Yeah, she was."
They grinned at each other, then Jason and Percy appeared, still bickering.
"Oh my, Nico, this is adorable!" Jason exclaimed, looking at the failed snowman affectionately.
Percy blinked and looked around, too.
"Aww, that's cute. We should go find a carrot or something to use as a nose." He agreed.
Nico was visibly flustered. Here they were, building really awesome snowmen, and they still praised his fail?
He shuffled.
"It's really not that great. Yours are all much better, anyways…" He muttered sheepishly.
His friends only laughed and Will wrapped his arms around him, pulling him closer.
"Nico, don't always put yourself down like that. Your snowman is perfect. Just look at what the other campers made. Yours looks like it jumped out of a picture book. All that's missing now is the nose."
"Yeah, and I mean we all cheated. Jason and I used our powers to form the snow and Will…"
"I melted it, thus forming it the way I wanted, Neeks. But you…"
"You made it all by yourself and it's perfect. It's perfect because you made it."
Now Nico seriously blushed and pushed his hands into his pockets. How could he possibly react to that? And since when did those three ever agree on anything?
He looked up at them and found all three of them beaming at him. Then a series of snowballs hit all three at the side of their heads.
Nico couldn't suppress a chuckle and looked around, spotting Clarisse and some other kids from the Ares cabin laughing maliciously and aiming another round of snowballs at them all.
"No! This means war!" yelled Percy and launched himself into the snow.
Jason laughed loudly and joined him, both building snowballs at top speed.
Will grabbed Nico and they both ran for cover behind Percy's and Jason's snowman.
Clarisse and the others launched at them.
"What's the plan?" Will yelled and Nico dodged a snowball, looking over to him.
"Not get hit and hit them lots, ourselves?"
"We're hopelessly outnumbered!" Will wailed.
"Guys, get over here!" Percy called and they both looked around.
Somehow, Jason and Percy had built a wall of snow that they hid behind right now, grabbing some snowballs and throwing them at the oncoming Ares kids, knocking them back.
Will and Nico exchanged glances.
Then they sprinted towards the snow wall.
Will got a snowball straight in the face and tripped, grabbing hold of Nico's waist and they both plummeted into the snow.
Nico fell facedown into the coldness, feeling Will's weight pressing onto him from above. Even with the snowball fight and everything else going on, he found himself blushing at Will's hands on his waist and the way his chest was pressed onto Nico's lower back.
"Get a room, you two!" Clarisse yelled at them and showered them in a load of snow. Will scrambled off him, laughing loudly and helping him up, partly shielding him from oncoming snowballs.
Nico was flustered, to say the least.
Yet he took his hand and let him pull him with him towards Jason and Percy, who had started their own onslaught, throwing unbelievable amounts of snowballs at the opposition (though mostly at Clarisse, who by now resembled a snowman, herself).
As they hid behind the wall of snow, Percy and Jason looked around at them, laughing.
"Here, grab some snowballs. Let's show them what we're made of!" Percy called, shoving several perfectly shaped snowballs at Nico, who blinked and huffed out a small laugh, instantly throwing them at oncoming Ares kids.
His hands were freezing cold, but he didn't mind. He hadn't had this much fun in like forever.
He looked around at Jason who beamed back at him – thus instantly getting a snowball in the face.
Nico laughed. All three grinned at him. Then they all got showered in snow.
Nico shook his head, openly laughing as he pushed them aside.
"Get down, kids and let the master take care of this." He said, grinning broadly and taking the frontline.
They let him.
He shot down the oncoming kids precisely at the right moments while evading snowballs being thrown in his direction.
Percy and Jason kept providing him with ammunition while Will began working on the wall a bit to make it sturdier.
Still, there were way too many kids to take down.
"Seriously, we are kids of the Big Three – and Apollo is awesome at stuff like this. Are you telling me we can't take down some Ares kids?" Nico turned to his friends.
They all had looks of determination on their faces.
"Let's turn this game around!" Percy called and rushed out, dodging attacks and showering people in snowballs.
"We can do this!" Jason yelled and took off into the air, controlling the winds to have all snowballs rebound that came his way and hit the people in the face that originally threw them.
Will laughed loudly and began shooting people down with skill that simply had to come from Apollo.
So much about 'only having healing powers'.
Nico kept his place behind the wall of snow, shooting down people and keeping an overview of the situation, regularly checking on his friends.
Will joined Percy's side at some point and even Jason came down to join in at the frontline, slowly pushing back the Ares kids.
That's when other campers decided to join in as well, laughing and putting snow into each other's clothes and whatnot.
Nico shared the space behind the wall with two Demeter girls and a Hecate boy, who bewitched some snowballs to keep hitting Clarisse in the face after she stuck one of the newbie Hermes kids into a pile of snow headfirst.
It was pretty funny actually.
Of course, they were all drenched and frozen to the bone, but the exercise kept them warm for now.
Somewhere in between, even Leo joined in with Calypso, with him setting himself on fire and letting all the snow melt that came his way while challenging them all to take him down.
Since he was on neither side, both sides then tried to shower him in enough snow to drown him.
In the end, Jason and Percy somehow managed to create a giant snow-wave that drenched his flames and then had to run away from Calypso, who rushed after them at top speed with snowballs randomly shooting out of nowhere at the two demigods.
Nico laughed and motioned to Will and they both went to their aid and showered Calypso, which then led to Leo trying to get at them through melting their awesome hideout.
So they had to run for it, as well.
Nico never had had more fun.
...
Hours later, they dragged themselves into Percy's cabin, where he insta-dried them again, though they still felt rather cold.
"Why is it so cold?" Nico muttered while Percy worked on the open fireplace.
Good thing every cabin had gotten one of those when it had been decided there should be winter at camp.
"I'm still up for cuddling. It's actually really healthy." Will pointed out and winked at Nico, who fixed his gaze on the water fountain in the corner, his ears turning red.
"Group cuddling? Sure, I'm in. Nico, get over here." Percy announced and Nico's head shot around.
"What?"
"Yeah, I agree. We're all guys, after all, so no harm there." Jason agreed.
Nico blushed.
"Dude, I'm freezing. I don't care whether you're a girl or guy, I just want to get warm." Percy said and, seriously, as weird as it was, all three of them threw themselves into Percy's bed, looking expectantly at Nico.
"Erm…no." He said, turning away and trying to run for it.
A moment later, three sets of hands grabbed him and he was pulled into the bed.
"You can't be serious!" He complained, trying to fight his way free.
What the hell?!
"Gods, Neeks, you're even colder than me! Off in the middle with you." Jason said and pushed Nico over him towards Percy.
Percy's arms wrapped around him, his face dangerously close. "Dude, he's right. You're freezing." He said and snuggled closer.
Then there was another set of hands on him. "Percy, give him to me, I'm the hottest of us all." Will claimed and tugged on Nico's shirt.
"Guys…" Nico complained, but they ignored him.
"Really? The hottest? Just because you're a kid of Apollo…" Percy started arguing, but still grabbed Nico around the waist, pulling him over him to get him between himself and Will.
"Yeah, don't you be acting like that. Everybody knows I'm the hottest here." Jason insisted, and Percy turned his head while wrapping his arms tightly around Nico, pulling his back against his chest.
Nico thought he was going to die.
Will started wrapping his arms around him, too, grinning at him broadly and coming so close Nico's nose was pretty much touching his. He could feel the warmth from both Percy behind him and Will in front of him.
"Really, Jason? I'm the hottest here. Who likes blondes, anyways?"
"But I can fly."
"I can control water."
"How's that hot? That might be 'cool'."
"How's either hot? I'm the son of the sun god. If anyone's hot, I am." Will chimed him.
"Shush, you don't count." Both said and Will stuck out his bottom lip.
Nico stared at him. He was still too shocked to even blush.
His insides seemed on fire. He wasn't feeling cold at all. He was feeling way too hot.
His heart was beating hundred times too fast and he thought he was going to explode.
"Nico, seriously, back me up here. Water powers are awesome, right?" He heard Percy's voice against his ear and shivered.
That voice. He loved that voice.
He stared into Will's bright blue eyes, watching him intently. He blushed and looked down to the smirk that was now building on Will's lips.
"No, air powers are way more awesome! Right, Nico?"
Nico's mind was too dazed to build a decent thought. Truth be told, it was full of indecency, really.
Which was horrible. Really horrible.
He turned a dark shade of red and brought his hands to his face to hide it.
"Would you just shut up? This is, like…so close…" He muttered, embarrassed.
There was a chuckle at his ear and he felt Percy snuggling up against him from behind.
At the same time, there was Will snuggling closer from the front, moving up a bit so his mouth was level with Nico's forehead.
"Aw, you like it, Neeks." The blonde claimed.
He wasn't wrong.
Nico muttered something indistinguishable even he didn't know what it meant and still hid his face.
He heard Jason chuckle. "Don't tease him, Solace, I bet you love this ten times more."
"Probably. But as I said, cuddles are healthy." Will replied, shrugging.
Nico however was more concentrating on the way Percy started nuzzling his face into Nico's hair, his arms now protectively pushing Will's in place, since he had begun moving them way too low on Nico's lower back.
Percy had nice, strong arms.
Nico had always wondered what it would be like to wake up in them. Now he guessed he knew.
It felt pretty damn good.
Just that it hurt him on the inside, because he knew Percy didn't think like that.
None of them did.
'We're all guys', they had said. They weren't gay, after all.
And Nico had told Percy he was over him. So yeah, there was no reason for them to think this wasn't okay.
Nico still had his face hidden behind his hands, unwilling to look at how close Will was to him and even more unwilling to show him his flushed face.
His heart was still beating way too fast.
"Dude, relax. It's just us." Percy whispered against the back of his neck.
Nico swallowed. Hard.
He still felt the warmth of their bodies spreading through him.
He had to admit, it did feel good.
He took a deep breath and tried to relax, but right then Will inched closer and placed a kiss on Nico's forehead between his fingers.
Nico squirmed.
"Solace! Stop molesting him!" Percy complained and next moment, Will had Percy's hand in his face, pushing him backwards.
Nico felt himself being pulled over Percy again.
No, not now.
Not with him being like…this. Nico had tried. He really had.
But being between his two friends like that, it wasn't really simple to keep a cool head.
And, well, maybe he did have some…'hard' feelings after all.
But Percy either didn't notice or didn't care, for next moment Nico was between him and Jason, who instantly wrapped his arms around Nico and looked at him reassuringly.
"No fair!" Will complained, but Percy glared at him and wrapped his arms tightly around Nico, putting his face back into his hair.
"No molesting Nico." He said in a low voice and Nico felt his ears getting even hotter. Of course, Percy didn't mean it like that.
But it sure sounded so…protective. Almost jealous.
He loved it. Though he knew he shouldn't.
Jason came closer and chuckled, moving his hands.
"No need to hide your face, Nico. Just enjoy it." He muttered quietly so only Nico could hear.
Somehow, having Jason say it like that did calm him somehow.
He tried to relax, but with Percy so close behind him he wasn't sure whether he really could.
Percy's arms were still around him, his hands around his chest and midriff. How could he not feel Nico's heartbeat? Or did he feel it but didn't mind? Or did he simple not care?
Nico didn't know.
Jason's hands began softly stroking up and down his back, their faces close to each other. Nico looked up at those sky-blue eyes gazing down at him reassuringly.
He noticed how Jason was still wearing his glasses. Tentatively, he took them off and inched closer in order to put them down on the nightstand behind Jason.
Percy moved with him, pressing his chest against Nico's back, his arms tightly wrapped around him.
Jason inched closer, as well, letting go of Nico's back and putting them around Percy now, reducing the space between Nico and him to a minimum.
Nico blushed hard.
He could only pray to all the gods he knew (which were quite a few, thanks to his Mythomagic game and natural curiosity) that Jason didn't get close enough to notice Nico's…problem.
He tried to concentrate hard on cooling himself down.
Percy rubbed against his back and he squeezed his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around Jason and hiding his face at his chest.
Jason was nice and cool, but not in a freezing type of way.
He simply was that way.
He heard a chuckle behind him.
"I swear, this is the nicest cuddle I've ever had." Percy muttered into Nico's hair.
"Mean, I wanted to spoon Nico." Will still complained.
"No." Both Percy and Jason said, tightening their grip on Nico.
Nico didn't know what to make of this whole thing.
His heart was still beating way too fast, but somehow, he began to relax.
This really felt good. Way too good.
He moved his head slightly sideways to look back at Percy, just to find him gazing at him intently, his sea-green eyes ablaze.
Nico flushed once more and turned his head away again, hiding it at Jason's chest.
He could feel both of them getting even closer and closed his eyes.
Which was probably a mistake, because he soon found himself dozing off.
...
When he woke up again in the early evening hours, Percy was still behind him with his arms tightly around him, sound asleep. Jason sat at the side of the bed, grinning at Nico.
"Uh…what time is it?" Nico asked, trying to get up but Percy's grip on him only tightened and he found himself being pressed back against Percy's front.
He flushed but tried to not let anything show. Jason chuckled.
"It's 7pm, Neeks. We've all been asleep for roughly three and a half hours."
"Really?"
"Yup. I guess it was simply too comfortable. The first to wake up was Solace. He left around half an hour ago."
"Was he very upset?"
"Nah, he knew he shouldn't keep crossing the line."
"It's not like you two were any better." Nico scowled and tried to get out of Percy's death grip.
Jason laughed.
"Oh, that's mean, Nico. We took special care that you weren't too uncomfortable. And since you fell asleep first, I don't think we were that bad."
Nico blushed.
Then he started fighting against Percy again.
"Just give up. He won't let you go, I guarantee you that. Will tried to get to you in the middle. Man, you should have heard the growl coming from Percy. Lethal, I'm just saying. He's quite protective, isn't he?"
Nico turned his head slightly, looking back into Percy's sleeping face.
He looked so peaceful. And adorable.
Nico scolded himself and looked to Jason again.
Jason grinned at him and ruffled through his hair.
Nico squirmed.
Percy growled and tightened his grip on him.
Nico's eyes widened, surprised, while Jason laughed loudly.
"This is what I meant. He's been like that ever since he fell asleep right after you."
"He…he did?"
"Yup. Noticed you were sleeping and grinned like an idiot, pushing Solace's hands away and trying to keep you all to himself."
Jason's choice of words made Nico flush a deep shade of red.
But Jason only chuckled and got up.
"Do you want me to stay until he wakes up or should I leave you two to it…?"
"Jason!" Nico complained, fighting against the death grip around him again.
Jason laughed. "Just joking, man."
Nico looked at him exasperated.
Jason winked.
Nico scowled.
They waited together for Percy to finally wake up again, which he actually did just in time for dinner (it seemed Percy had an additional sense for when it was dinner time).
He didn't seem flustered whatsoever to wake up with his nose buried in Nico's hair and his arms wrapped around him as if he was his teddy bear.
Instead, he had only flashed him a broad grin and said: "You really do have a cute sleeping face."
Nico had only scowled at him, though he knew his ears had turned a dark shade of red.
Then they had left for dinner.
So now, here he was, sitting at the Hades table by himself and staring at his plate, wondering what he should have.
Before he could decide, however, he heard some shuffling behind him and the next moment, Jason sat down next to him.
"You okay?" He asked, looking at him worriedly.
Nico shrugged.
"Just thinking about this whole…admirer thing, really…" He muttered, deciding on some simple toast.
Jason looked at him with his usual understanding expression.
"Must be pretty weird to suddenly have somebody who loves you so much just randomly pop up out of nowhere."
Nico nodded. "It certainly feels…different. I keep wondering who it could be, even though I don't really…I don't really want to know…"
Jason sighed. "I think you do want to know. I think you just don't really know what to make of the situation. You've been by yourself for a pretty long time, thinking nobody liked you, when suddenly, there's a person who simply loves you."
Nico nodded. "I still can't believe there'd be a person like that. I mean, seriously, who could love somebody…somebody like me?"
Jason scowled at him. "You really aren't that bad, Nico. I can picture a lot of people would actually like you if you showed them more of yourself."
Nico looked away. Jason sighed and took his chin, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "You're a great person, Nico. Really. I'm dead serious. I don't know why you always think so lowly of yourself. You've done great things. Yet, instead of wanting glory or bragging to others, you always stick to the background, letting other people be admired for things you did, Nico."
Nico cut off a piece of his toast, getting up to give it to his dad and Hestia as a food offering. Jason followed him, still talking.
"And I mean, look at you. You are one of those few people on this world that can pull of both adorable and sexy."
Nico blushed, hastily looking around if anybody else heard them, but luckily, everyone seemed too busy eating.
"You have both looks and personality. Seriously, I wonder what you see when you look in the mirror, because it can't be what I see. You are caring and emotional, Nico. You tell me I'm always considerate of everybody, but I'm selfish compared to you. You always put everybody else before you and you'd always come to the aid of whatever person requires it."
He pushed his food into the fire, trying to hide how flustered he was. Seriously, Jason was over exaggerating.
He did help a bit with the wars and such, but that didn't turn him into that type of awesome person Jason made him sound like.
He was just Nico, after all. All he had done was trying to keep Percy alive and keeping his promise to Percy.
He turned around, just to almost walk into Percy, who shot him a smile before stepping aside.
"You can fight better than me, even better than Percy and you can control your powers better than anybody I have ever met." Jason continued, completely ignoring Percy, who frowned and looked around at the sound of his name.
Nico hurried off back to his table and flopped down. Jason sat down next to him, telling him on and on how amazing he seemingly was.
"Jason…it's really not like that…" He muttered, but the blonde didn't stop.
Then, to his horror, Percy sat down on the other side of him.
"Jason's right, Nico. I remember clearly how you persuaded your dad to help us in the battle against Kronos. If it hadn't been for you, I don't think we would have made it. Plus, you were the one getting me to do the thing with the Styx, weren't you? Without you, I would have been dead a hundred times already." He instantly chimed in.
Nico blushed. "I…I only did that because…"
"Because you are awesome." Will said, sitting down opposite him.
Nico looked exasperated at the three of them. "I…really…you make me sound so great and all, but I'm really not like that. I know I convinced my dad and I know I helped with some pretty cool stuff and such, but anybody would have done that."
There was silence for a moment.
"I mean, I really don't want to sound rude or call you liars or something, but I'm just…I'm just Nico. Most of the time, I didn't even know what I was doing, and the rest of the time, I was trying to save Percy from certain death."
Percy wanted to say something, but Nico stopped him.
"No, I'm dead serious. I hated you, but at the same time, I…kind of didn't hate you. During the fight against Kronos, I panicked, so I wouldn't let the topic drop until my dad decided to just give in and go along with it – which surprisingly turned out awesome."
"Don't miss out on the fact that you joined the fight and fought of hell lots of monsters pretty much unscathed, without needing to bathe in the Styx." Percy added.
Nico waved him off.
"Not to mention you went through Tartarus completely by yourself while looking for the Doors of Death." Will mentioned.
Nico made a frustrated sound.
"Yeah, I mean, that place was horrible. I barely kept my sanity, and that was while I had Annabeth with me. I don't think I could have made it out of there by myself…" Percy muttered and Nico hesitated.
"Nico didn't doubt you for one second." Jason said and Nico blushed.
"Jason." He said, warningly.
But Percy waved him off, anyways.
"I wouldn't have made it. Even with Annabeth, we probably would have died if it hadn't been for Nico telling Bob I'm a good guy."
At the mention of Bob, Nico flinched.
He had liked Bob. He had been a really good friend in the Underworld, somebody he had loved talking to whenever he had had the time.
Thinking about it, he had talked a lot about Percy and the other people at Camp, telling him of all the stories he knew and how he wished he could be friends with them, being accepted there.
"And the way he managed to shadow travel Reyna, Coach Hedge and the Athena Parthenos was damn awesome as well." Will said, changing the topic.
The other two instantly went with it.
Nico sighed, defeated.
"We just want you to know you're actually really cool, Nico. I, for one, am proud to be your friend." Jason said, putting his hand on Nico's shoulder.
Nico sighed. "I just…thanks, guys." He muttered, feeling his ears turning red.
They beamed at him.
Then Clarisse showed up.
"And what are you all doing here? Having a little foursome?"
Nico flushed instantly. But Will only turned his head and mustered Clarisse from head to toe.
"Yeah, I'd ask whether you'd like to join, but we don't do girls. Your boyfriend is invited, though."
Percy and Jason snorted with laughter at Clarisse's dumbstruck face. Even Nico had to laugh, though it was a bit high-pitched.
Will only grinned at him broadly and they jumped up, rushing out of the dining pavilion and shooting off into different directions to escape Clarisse, who ran after them cussing so much that Chiron called her over for a serious talk – which made the four laugh even harder.
...
In the end, they began their usual routine of dropping each other off at their cabins, this time starting at the Apollo cabin.
"Goodnight, Will." Nico said and Will waved, flashing him a last dashing smile.
The other two grinned and waved as well.
The next one to be dropped off was Jason.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow." He said to Nico, and Percy coughed.
"And you too, of course, Seaweed Brain." Jason added, looking over at Percy with a sigh.
Percy scowled. "Don't even go there, Sparky."
Nico chuckled. "Yeah, see you tomorrow. Don't let that statue of your dad freak you out too much."
Jason laughed. "Nah, it's not that bad anymore. But I got to show you that hidden passage at some point."
"We could go check it out tomorrow." Percy put in.
Jason looked exasperated. "Maybe I wanted to show it to Nico alone?" He pointed out.
Nico's ears turned red.
Percy looked dumfounded for a moment. Then he made a face.
Jason chuckled. "Just joking. Sure, we can go up there tomorrow. But I don't know how it's going to be, what with all the snow around."
"We could also go ice skating." Percy said enthusiastically.
"Eww…I can't ice skate for the life of me…" Jason muttered and held up his hands.
Percy looked crestfallen and turned to Nico, who only kicked at imaginary dirt, avoiding his gaze.
"Nico? Please tell me you at least like ice skating…"
Damn him and his baby-seal-eyes.
Nico shrugged.
"I…I never really tried…" He admitted, playing with a strand of hair.
Jason groaned defeated.
"I can show you! It's really simple!"
"Or we simply spend the day in one of our cabins watching film or playing games." Jason suggested hopefully.
Nico chuckled.
"We can decide on that tomorrow. Let's first get to bed."
Both boys looked around at him, grinning. He grinned back.
Then Jason waved and walked into his cabin.
"Goodnight, you two." He called and closed the door behind him.
Nico looked to Percy and their eyes met.
"So…only the two of us left, huh?" Percy awkwardly pointed out and they began walking.
Nico instinctively walked towards Percy's cabin, but Percy seemed to have other plans, since he walked into the direction of Nico's cabin. Nico blinked and went with it.
"Please don't tell me you're going to show up at 3 am again." He muttered and glanced at Percy's dark silhouette.
When had it become so dark? Then again, it was winter. Of course it was getting really dark really fast these days.
Nico didn't like the dark that much.
Though it really wasn't an excuse to get closer to Percy (which he certainly was).
Percy looked around at him. They were walking quite close next to each other now.
"Nah, unless you want me to, of course. Do you really not want to know who gives you all this stuff?" He asked, gesturing to Nico's earrings.
"I…I don't know."
"What are you worried about? That the guy will be a creep?"
"No. Not really. It's just…I can't picture anybody doing that for me. It's really sweet and all, but I can't help but wonder what that person thinks of me. How they think of me. What if they picture me completely different from how I am? What if they go through all of this, just to then notice I'm not really that great, after all?"
Percy stared at him. "That's what you're worried about? That the guy will be disappointed? Seriously?" He asked, unbelieving.
Nico fidgeted. They had arrived at his door.
Percy hesitated, then he put his hand on Nico's shoulder.
"Nico…I don't think you could disappoint anybody. No matter how amazing that person thinks you are, I bet it's not even close to how amazing you truly are."
Nico blushed.
"And, seriously, that's what you're worried about? I can't believe it. Anybody else would be creeped out, thinking of stalkers or wondering who it was 24/7, worrying that they'll be disappointed when they find out."
Nico sighed. "I try not to think about who it is, because I don't know that many people and I know the ones I know aren't…you know…"
Percy looked at him quietly for a moment.
Then he sighed and put his hand on Nico's chin, pushing his face slightly upwards so he could look into his eyes properly.
"There is nothing wrong whatsoever with being gay, Nico. And also, sexual preferences can change, you know. For all you know, it could be one of your friends. Not many people know you get along with Mrs. O'Leary after all."
Nico stared into those beautiful sea-green eyes, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.
"I…" He had no idea what to say.
He pulled back, away from Percy's touch and put his hand on the door.
"Erm…thanks, Percy. I…I suppose we'll see each other tomorrow, then."
Percy nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I so hope the weather is good enough for ice skating. Can't wait to show off to Jason that I'm better than him."
Nico found himself chuckling, though everything inside him still was fuzzy and weird.
"You're horrible." He scolded jokingly.
Percy grinned at him broadly.
"Goodnight, Nico. Let's see what that admirer of yours thinks of next."
Nico looked away. "Well…we'll see…night, Percy."
Percy patted him on the shoulder and walked backwards.
Nico had to chuckle at how stupid it looked. As if Percy didn't want to be the first to break eye contact.
His heart thumped loudly at the thought and he hastily turned away, opening his door.
As he closed it, he looked over to Percy again, who still walked backwards, waving and smiling at him.
Nico closed the door, flustered. He didn't dare look out the window.
Instead, he walked over to his bed and flopped facedown onto it.
What a day.
He noticed the Mrs. O'Leary plushie lying next to him and grabbed it, holding it close.
As he couldn't be bothered getting up again, he started taking off his clothes, deciding to simply sleep in boxer shorts tonight as he crawled beneath his blanket, pressing the plushie against his chest.
Whoever the person was that gave this to him, it had to be a really nice, caring type of person.
Just for that, Nico decided that whoever it would be, he'd give them a chance.
And thus, he fell asleep, a stupid grin on his face, Mrs. O'Leary Jr. tightly wrapped in his arms.