The sun tickled his nose. The sky a hazy blue. Gently a breeze rustled through the birch leaves high above, making the shadows dance in a silent invitation to close his eyes. Nico accepted the offer without much fuss. It would have been only a matter of time before the warmth of the body by his side pulled him under anyway. Slowly it seeped into his bones and deeper. He was a goner for sure.
Jason's leg shifted and the son of Hades emitted an unhappy little noise, unwilling to let go of his personal heater just yet. After another stern speech from Will Nico had decided to have mercy on the petty doctor and for once be a good patient. No underworld stuff. No quests. No being an idiot. The last three days he was as docile as the grass beneath him was green.
Jason yawned and the younger demigod squinted his eyes against the light. That was number 5. The crunching of crumpled paper followed before it was unceremoniously added to the growing pile of broken hopes and dreams. Jason's forehead wrinkled in frustration as he started over again and Nico raised a questioning brow.
"I just don't know what they want," the titan slayer muttered while running his fingers through his hair. "What if they don't like my design?"
So that's what this was about. The temples.
Curious Nico's dark eyes hushed past Jason's board shoulders, catching a glimpse of his latest work and winced. "The gods can be difficult to please," Nico admitted. He watched his friend continue to doodle. The colors he chose were bold but the lines had hesitation in them.
Jason pouted at the cryptic answer and Nico had to stifle a laugh. Sometimes he was just way too dramatic.
"Perhaps, you should ask them then," he carried on, reminding Jason that yes he was talking in fact to an actual ambassador.
"Hmmm…," Jason wavered as he added more and more lines, creating new shapes and filling his structures with shadows to give them depth. Encounters with gods were like playing with fire. "What if I am not welcome?" He asked.
"I am sure son of Jupiter they at least consider hearing you out, pretty face and all."
"Oi!"
Nico shrugged unapologetically. He wasn't blind. For a split second there his hair moved with the gesture, revealing milky skin or that was what it should have been. Instead, Jason's eyes caught on to an angry black, spreading over the entire back of the boy's neck. His throat tightened. He… He stayed quiet so Nico spoke up again.
"And by all means, stop putting every single one of Apollo's dead lovers on his temple." The son of Hades elbowed him. "It's rude."
"I didn't -" Jason looked down. "Oops."