*So, I had a request for a sleepover with the Seven, plus Nico and Will, hanging out and maybe having a movie night in my messages from ani2004. Here's the response! This is post-HoO, but pre-ToA*
Early October found six of the seven demigods of the completed prophecy in the Big House rec room, watching a movie. They had gathered so that everyone could hear Jason and Piper's report on their search for Leo. They'd been traveling around looking for him through most of September and only recently returned. After the weekend, they would be heading to LA to spend the rest of the semester at school. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to report. They'd seen some possible signs of Leo, Calypso, and Festus having been places in the Sea of Monsters, but nothing concrete or certain. So it had been somewhat discouraging. But Piper and Jason were remaining hopeful, as were the others. After all, Leo had sent the holographic scroll. He was alive out there. Somewhere.
After Jason and Piper's report, the evening had turned into an Argo II reunion party. Reyna had remained in Camp Jupiter to cover duties so that Frank could come here with Hazel. Nico and Will were joining them, too. Nico had come to see his sister and Frank and, as Jason said, Nico had been a part of the Argo II crew as well.
So the evening had been a nice time for everyone to catch up—they'd talked, caught up, and eaten pizza that Percy and Jason had driven the camp SUV to go get. Chiron had agreed they could all hang out in the Big House rec room, especially since it was the off-season at camp, so there weren't many other campers here anyway. They'd hooked up Chiron's old video game console and played idiot mode games for a while, in honor of Leo. Then, they decided to watch a movie; Frank and Will were both in the process of trying to catch Hazel and Nico up on modern movies.
"And Annabeth," Percy said. "She was very sheltered as a child."
Annabeth punched him lightly on the arm as the others laughed.
After the first movie, they put in a second, and slowly, everyone began to fall asleep. The last awake were Hazel and Nico, still enjoying the magic of the modern movies, as incredible as anything in their world of gods and monsters.
Hazel was curled up in a blanket on the floor beside Frank, in front of Piper, who was asleep on the couch, her head in Jason's lap. Jason's head was leaning against the back of the couch, his mouth open, half snoring. Percy and Annabeth were curled up on the other couch, both also asleep, Percy's arm dangling over Annabeth's waist. Sitting near Hazel, on the floor between the couches, and sharing their own blanket, were Nico and Will. Will had fallen asleep with his head on Nico's shoulder. Hazel caught the look of nervous happiness on her brother's face when he glanced down at Will.
Beside her, Frank was still awake, but mostly quiet. His arm was snug around her shoulders, making her feel cozily comfortable, even though the New York fall air was chilly and the Big House was a bit drafty. Hazel cuddled closer to Frank's side as her eyes flicked again to Nico with Will's head on his shoulder. Her brother looked relaxed in a way she'd never seen before.
Maybe Nico felt her eyes on him, because he looked over. A look of trepidation crept across his face. After a moment, he asked her, "Are you okay with this?"
Maybe Nico shouldn't have said anything. The moment the words left his mouth, he wished he'd bit them back. Especially as Hazel studied him contemplatively for a long moment, her golden eyes inscrutable. Nico's stomach tightened. He didn't want to hide himself anymore, but he also didn't want to lose his remaining sister. And Hazel was like him, a child from the forties, when a boy dating another boy simply wasn't accepted.
Finally, though, she said quietly, "I just want you to be happy. Are you?"
Relief rushed through Nico. His throat was tight as he nodded.
Hazel smiled. "Good. There are benefits to this time, over the forties." Her eyes flashed, and Nico remembered some of the terrible things she'd told him about segregation. "And if you get to be yourself now, Nico, then I'm happy for you."
Hazel reached over and squeezed his hand. Nico returned the pressure, more appreciative than he could say.
"Love is love," Piper muttered from the couch.
Hazel twisted to look at her friend. "I thought you were asleep."
"I am," Piper said, not even opening her eyes. "But my Aphrodite senses were tingling."
They all laughed before settling back in for the end of the movie. Nico felt lighter than before, grateful for his sister's acceptance and support. Shifting just slightly to a more comfortable position, he let himself enjoy the new feeling, strange in a good way, of Will's warm weight against him.
Percy waited to open his eyes. He didn't want to interrupt. His friends didn't need him for this conversation. But once they were all back to watching the movie, he cracked one eye open to look at Nico. There was a light happiness on his face that Percy hadn't seen in years, a hint of the kid who had once stood in the snow and enthusiastically told him about Mythomagic cards. Percy closed his eyes again, a slight smile on his own face as he snuggled down a little farther, breathing in the lemon scent of Annabeth's shampoo, tightening his arm around her waist, grateful that his friends were also happy.
