I have literally no excuse for slacking off so badly. Apart from Writer's Block, possibly. Anyway, here's an update that I consider to be one of my favorite parts of the arc so far.

Note - This 'fic takes place a few days (a week at most) before The Perfect Christmas Present.

Review responses:

Guest - Thanks!

For Tori/tediousAffections. Happy late Birthday, Tori. Hope this was worth the wait.

Disclaimer - Percy Jackson, the Olympians, and all related works are property of Rick Riordan. I am merely borrowing them to tell a story of my own.


"Percy, Annabeth, do you guys have a moment? There's something I need to talk to the two of you about".

I looked up from where we were sitting by the lake at the sound of Nico's voice, taking a second to cast my eyes over my younger cousin. He looked happier than I'd seen him for a long time, possibly since I had told him about Bianca's death. He was slightly more tanned than usual, and there was a smile on his face. "Sure, Nico, what's up?"

He sank down onto the grass beside us. "Will and I are officially making the announcement at the campfire tonight, but I wanted the two of you to be the first to know. We're engaged".

Annabeth smiled, giving Nico a quick high-five, and I pulled my younger cousin into a brief hug, noting that he didn't flinch away as he would have done previously. Wow, that's an improvement. He used to hate being touched. "Congratulations. Seriously, I'm really happy for you, Nico. We both are".

He pulled away, and then looked at me, smiling. "Good. Because there's something else. Something important that I really need to ask you, Percy".

"Of course. Anything you need".

"Well, obviously we haven't started planning a wedding or anything yet, but, when we do… I was wondering if you'd do me the honour of being my best man".

"Seriously?"

He met my gaze without blinking, and nodded. "Seriously, yes. You asked me to be your best man when you two got married, I felt it was only right that I returned the request. In all honesty, Percy, you've become like a brother to me over the last couple of years since the Giant War ended, and you honoured my sister by taking her name for your daughter's middle name. There is no-one else I'd rather have up there with me" he replied.

My eyes filled with tears, and a quiet gasp from next to me told me that Annabeth was her trying to fight back tears of her own. "If you'd rather not do this, I could always ask Jason… I was hoping he wouldn't have to find out about the engagement until the campfire tonight, but I'm happy to tell him if he's going to be my best man instead" Nico said quietly, hurriedly, moving to get to his feet.

I reached out and grabbed his arm, making sure that my grip wasn't so tight that it hurt him, nor was it so loose that he could slip away. "Wait. We were just… taken aback by your request, that's all. I'd be honoured to be your best man, Nico. I really would be".

"And I can help with the planning, if you and Will want me to. I still have all of the notes Percy and I made while we were planning our own wedding, maybe some of those will prove useful to you and Will" my wife offered softly.

Of course she does. Annabeth would never throw away something that she… we… put so much time into coming up with. Not if she could help it, anyway. Nico smiled warmly and then, in a move I had not expected at all, reached out and pulled us both into a hug. "Thank you, both of you. You have no idea how much that means to me".

"All you have to do is ask" I replied softly.

He nodded, pulling away and getting to his feet. "I'll keep that in mind. I'd better go find Will, I suppose. He's probably wondering what's taking his fiancé so long to ask one simple question. Wouldn't want him to get worried, now would we?".

Both Annabeth and I laughed. It's true, Will does tend to get rather annoyed when he's worried about Nico. His temper never seems to last all that long though, and they're good for each other. I definitely haven't seen Nico this happy for a long time. "Alright. We'll see you at the campfire tonight then?"

Nico nodded. "See you there".

As he ran off in the direction of the pavilion, my blonde-haired wife stood, stretching. "Come on, we'd better go and get our daughter from Grover and Juniper before they convert her to vegetarianism".

-Later that night, at the campfire-

"Where are Nico and Will? It's not like Will to miss campfire, and Nico's not missed one since they got together. Especially not when there's s'mores on offer" Jason whispered from where he and Piper were sitting just to our right.

I glanced over, catching Piper's eye as I did so. She winked, her kaleidoscope eyes sparkling mischievously, and I got the sudden feeling that she knew, or had already guessed, exactly why the two were missing. "I'm sure they can't be too far away" I replied, shrugging.

As if almost on cue, a movement by Chiron's side caught my eye, and I nudged Annabeth gently, pointing it out to her. "I think that's them now, in fact".

Her arms shifting around Zoë in her lap so that our daughter was at no risk of being hurt, Annabeth leaned forward so that she was looking at the figures next to Chiron from the same angle that I was. She nodded, smiling warmly. "Looks like you're right, Seaweed Brain".

One of the figures muttered something to Chiron, and the old centaur nodded. "Another marvellous night! Now, I promise we'll get to the s'mores soon enough, but first! Nico di Angelo and Will Solace have some news that they would like to share with everyone!"

Annabeth and I shared a quick, knowing, grin before turning our attention back to where the son of Hades and his fiancé stood next to Chiron. Will stepped forward first, his golden blonde hair gleaming in the firelight, and he gave Nico's hand a gentle squeeze before speaking. His voice seemed almost magically amplified (a power inherited from his father, no doubt) as he spoke, allowing everyone to hear what he was saying without straining to hear. "Before I get to the point, I'd first like to say how truly grateful I am to all of you for proving me right and showing Nico that he doesn't have to hide who he really is".

Nico gave the son of Apollo a playful glare, giving him a gentle punch on the shoulder, and the blonde laughed, placing a quick kiss to the younger man's forehead. "Nico and I would just like to announce that, as of three hours ago (give or take 20 minutes), the two of us are officially engaged!"

The crowd's reaction was immediate. As soon as Will had finished speaking and stepped backwards, the campers around us burst into spontaneous cheers and applause. The flames of the campfire flared instantly from the warm reddish-orange they had been previously to a much hotter gold, matching the excitement coming from the demigods around us. Nico glanced up and in our direction, his eyes sparkling in happiness and his smile wide, and Annabeth and I couldn't help but grin back, our own smiles just as wide as his. "I'm glad they have each other, honestly. Nico's been through so much, the kid deserves every bit of the happiness he's earned" I said softly.

Annabeth smiled back at me, squeezing my hand gently before glancing down at Zoë, who was snuggled into her mother's chest, her grey eyes struggling to stay open. When my wife next spoke, her voice was the softest whisper. "I couldn't agree more".


Thoughts?

This week's songs:

Hit or Miss - Jacob Sartorius
Fountain - Sara Lov