#okay i shut up now. apollo rambles of tonight: done and over!

[astrxealis]

dear gods i adore horror tbh but i am way too sensitive to it

[solangelover]

12 Days of Gifts: Day 12

A/N: IT’S LATE SORRY but I hope you like it cuz it turned out just how I wanted :) and it’s looooong

Read on AO3 or FF.Net

Prev | --

Nico got up early on Christmas morning. Today was the day. He actually had a planned gift for Will, not all these impromptu ones he and Will had been exchanging for the past week. Well, Will’s may have been planned, but Nico’s surely weren’t.

But he did plan his present for Christmas Day. Now that he thought about it, he briefly wondered if it was too much. After all, he’d been working out the details for months. But then he pictured the smile on Will’s face, and he knew it was the right decision.

—

“Will, get up!” Someone threw a pillow at the son of Apollo’s face, effectively jolting him out of his blissful sleep.

“Huh?” he asked as he sat up groggily.

“It’s CHRISTMAS!” Two of his youngest siblings jumped onto his bed and slammed him back into the mattress. He laughed and ruffled their hair, a pleased sensation washing over him. It was Christmas! His favorite holiday. And he had all his siblings around him, their random Christmas decorations about ready to fall off the walls and doorways.

It still felt like he was missing something, though.

Kayla trudged over to Will’s bed, picking up the youngest kid. “Get up and get dressed, dummy. Your surprise is waiting.”

Will looked up at her in question as he swung his legs over the side of his bed, the other kid crawling off to get ready. “My what?”

Austin popped up next to his sister. “You heard. Now get dressed and get out the door. We’ll take care of everything here.”

With one last confused glance, Will began getting ready for the day. He pulled on his favorite Christmas sweater—light blue with a melting snowman that said, “I’ll be back!”—and dark wash jeans. As he wrapped a scarf around his neck, Austin pulled him away from the closet and towards the door. “Okay, lover boy, that’s enough.”

“Wha—Austin!” Will sputtered. “It’s cold outside!”

“Not for long.” Nothing he said made any sense to Will. He was practically thrown out the door, sending him stumbling down the steps and straight into one Nico di Angelo.

“Nico!” Will turned red immediately, straightening up and trying to figure out what was going on.

“Geez, Solace, what are you doing?”

“I—I don’t know! My siblings just kicked me out, I think.” He frowned as he looked back at the now shut door to Cabin 7. “They said something about a surprise?”

He turned back to see Nico nervously fiddling with his skull ring. He stopped then, taking a deep breath and looking up at Will. “Um, I have a surprise for you. And, I really hope you like it...”

Before Will could even respond, Nico took his hand and, with a glance as his only warning, Will found himself pulled into darkness.

—

Shadow-travel was really weird. It felt like wind rushing past you as you run and tumbling through dark waters. It was also somehow nearly instantaneous. None of it made sense to Will. He found himself stumbling and nearly falling to the ground if not for Nico’s hands clamped around his arms. Will had to take deep breaths and instinctively latched onto Nico’s arms to steady himself.

“Sorry, you okay?” Nico asked.

“Yeah,” Will panted. “Just give me a sec.” Few more deep breaths. “Shadow travel?”

Nico nodded. “Yeah, I forgot that it’s kind of disorienting at first.”

Will had gathered himself enough to step back out of Nico’s grasp. “A little bit. Are you okay? Where are we?”

Nico smiled slightly. “I’m good. Compared to the Athena Parthenos, traveling with you is nothing.” He looked around, causing Will to do the same. “Um, surprise?”

Will could only gape as he took in his familiar surroundings. The wide road, neat houses, green trees, shining sun. Even in the winter, Austin, Texas still looked good, unlike the cold and dreary New York he had been accustomed to. The boys stood in the shade of a medium-sized, faded yellow house with Christmas lights strung around the windowsills. Purple and yellow flowers filled the bed of soil near them.

Will still hadn’t responded when they heard faint Christmas music coming from within the house. Will froze, but Nico grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the front of the house. He seemed very comfortable with the situation, which surprised Will a tiny bit. It was clear that the son of Hades had planned this, but Will still didn’t have enough time to process his thoughts before he was pulled up the front steps to the door. With only a second of hesitation, Nico knocked. They heard movement inside and a second later, the door swung open to reveal a beautiful blonde woman. Her hair was done up in a messy but stylish bun and she donned a soft Christmas sweater pulled down over faded jeans.

They stared at each other, and, again, Will was too stunned to speak. Luckily, she recovered before him. “Will?”

“Mom,” he choked out, and before he knew it, she had flung the screen door back and had him in a bear hug, which he immediately returned.

“Oh, honey. I’ve missed you so much,” she drawled, her Southern accent comforting Will to his core. He hadn’t heard it in so long.

“Missed you, too.” Will found himself rapidly blinking to keep his tears from falling, even though he could already feel his shirt dampening where his mom pressed her face into his shoulder. “Sorry I haven’t visited in a while—”

“Hush, none of that. I know you have important duties at camp.” She pulled back to look in her son’s face. “I’m a busy girl, too, you know.”

Will couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I thought you were on tour?” No matter how long it’s been, Naomi Solace was still a talented alt-country singer with loyal fans. It’s not surprising that Apollo fell for her.

She glanced to Will’s left and Will suddenly remembered that Nico was right there, fiddling with his skull ring awkwardly. “Your friend here made sure I’d be home a couple months ago.”

Will turned to in amazement to Nico, who smiled shyly in response. “You… you planned this that long ago?”

Nico looked away and nodded. “I know you haven’t been home in a long time, and you love Christmas, so…” he trailed off.

Will shook his head in wonder. The next thing he knew, his arms were thrown around the smaller boy’s shoulders, his face buried in his hair. He couldn’t believe how incredibly thoughtful Nico was. “Nico, I… thank you. So much.” Small but strong arms wrapped around his torso and squeezed in response before letting go. Will probably could have stayed there forever, but Nico probably felt awkward with his mom standing right there.

Will looked back to his mom expectantly and found she had been watching them fondly. He cocked his eyebrow as the silence stretched on. “Oh!” she suddenly moved. “Come in, come in! It’s not as cold as New York, I’m sure, but I’m absolutely freezing! I’ve got some food in the oven, but I can make some hot cocoa for you boys as we wait…” Naomi rambled on, her Southern hospitality kicking in full force.

Will followed her into the house, pausing to grip Nico’s wrist and pull him along when he hesitated in the doorway. “Let’s go, Death Boy. Don’t you dare think about disappearing on me when you planned this whole thing.”

Nico huffed out a breath. “Well, I don’t—”

“You’re not intruding,” Will interrupted. “My mom probably made way too much food anyway.” He smiled when he felt Nico relax a little in his grip, shifting to squeeze his hand for reassurance.

—

After their brunch, Naomi was chatting happily with Nico, who nodded along and answered her random questions as best he could.

“Hey, Nico?” The boy looked up in question. “Do you have your prism? I should check in on my siblings at camp.”

Nico felt his pockets and pulled out the small prism Will had given him last week. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

“You don’t know my siblings,” Will laughed as he politely excused himself from the table.

He went out into the backyard, holding up the prism to catch some of the sunlight that peeked between the clouds. Shining the light on the wall of his house, he dug out a drachma from his pocket and threw it in. “Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering and show me Kayla Knowles at camp.”

The light shimmered to show Kayla trying to wrangle her younger siblings in their cabin. A few new toys, and some weapons, could be seen in their little hands. “Kayla?”

She whipped around, relieved at the sight of her older brother even if he wasn’t physically there. “Will! How’s home?”

“It’s great,” he said with a soft smile. “Thanks for doing this, Kayla.”

“Oh, it wasn’t me,” she shook her head. “It was all Nico’s idea. We just had to make sure you were okay to leave.” A pillow flew across the room behind her; she just sighed.

“Still, thanks. I really missed my mom.”

Kayla’s eyes softened. “I know. That’s why we all agreed to do this.”

A beat of silence, and then Will remembered why he really called. “Oh, wait! So, what about tonight? Did Nico plan this before I planned my thing?? Has anyone come yet???”

“Will, calm down. Honestly, we’re lucky both you and Nico coordinated things with us. I told him that you guys should be back for dinner. Austin is manning the infirmary and we told people to meet him there.”

Will sagged in relief. He really had the best siblings. “What would I do without you?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “You’d never get your man, that’s for sure.”

“Kayla!” he screeched, his cheeks heating up instantly.

“Just enjoy yourself, Will. It’ll be fine.” She smirked and waved her hand through the message. Will sighed, sending up a quick prayer of thanks to Apollo for his family, and went back inside.

—

It was around 4 PM when Nico said something.

“Um, I promised your siblings that you’d be back before dinnertime,” he said to Will. He looked uncertain, and probably uncomfortable with pulling Will away from time with his mom.

“Oh, of course, darlin’! You’ve got other family to be with on Christmas.” Will remembered his mother’s reluctance when she first let him stay at camp year-round. To see her so willing to let him go meant she truly understood the importance of his role at camp with his younger siblings. “Even if you’re still my baby, I hope you’re taking care of all your brothers and sisters.”

Will stood and hugged his mom. “Yeah, I am.”

After they broke apart, she turned towards Nico, who bowed slightly. “Thank you for having me, Mrs. Solace.”

“Oh, sweetie, we hug ‘round here.” She pulled him in and kissed his head. It was so quick, Nico didn’t even have time to hug back before she held him at arm’s length. “Thank you, hon. I couldn’t have seen my baby without you. Come visit again soon! You’re always welcome here. Oh, Will!” She spun around and grabbed a CD case off the counter. “This is my newest album. Someone in your cabin liked my music, right?”

Will laughed as he accepted the gift from him mom. “Yeah, I think all of them.” They shared another hug, and Will wished he could stay in his mother’s arms not for the first time today. But he had people who depended on him. “I love you, mom. I miss you so much.”

“I know, baby. I love you, too. Visit when you can.” They both knew they couldn’t make any promises, their lives were too unpredictable for that. But it was enough.

Will didn’t want to freak out his mom, but she said that she knew Nico had some teleportation power considering how far they had come and Will hadn’t done it before. So, Will gripped Nico’s hand tightly as they fell into the shadows. He smiled at his mom before she disappeared from sight.

—

Nico stumbled out of the shadows and would have fallen to his knees had he not been holding Will’s hand. Even disoriented, Will could feel the darkness clinging to Nico.

“Nico!” Will gasped.

“I’m good, I’m good,” Nico reassured Will, his eyes closed against the sudden light. “Just dizzy.”

“Let’s go to the infirmary and get you some ambrosia.” They took another second to gather themselves before Will led the way to the Big House, still hand-in-hand.

Nico didn’t notice anything as they walked, too busy concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. After downing a piece of ambrosia, he felt much better. Then, he finally took in his surroundings. “Where is everyone?” The infirmary was oddly empty, and he didn’t really remember passing anyone in the camp.

Will shrugged, looking out the open door. “Maybe people are at the pavilion for dinner already. Since it’s Christmas, dinner might be early so the campfire can be longer, or something.”

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot it’s still Christmas.”

Will gazed at him fondly. “Yeah,” he said before bridging the distance between them and pulling Nico into a fierce hug. “Thank you so so so much, Nico. I can’t believe I got to see my mom today.”

Nico paused only for a second before gently laying his arms on the son of Apollo’s back in return. “You both seemed really happy.”

Will scoffed in Nico’s ear. “Happy doesn’t even cover it.”

They broke apart and looked at each other. Their eyes told of things unsaid: gratefulness, kindness, care. Love is the only word that could encompass everything. But neither boy was ready to unpack that yet.

The moment ended when someone noisily came into the infirmary. “Oh, you guys are back!” Austin exclaimed.

Will immediately went over and gave his brother a hug. “Thanks for today.”

Austin laughed and hugged back. “No problem, bro. I hope seeing your mom was nice.”

“Even better.” Will stepped back and pulled the album out from his satchel. “My mom sends her love.”

“Oh, dude,” Austin breathed as he grabbed for the disc. “Everyone is gonna freak.”

Nico watched the brothers interact. He couldn’t help the persistent feeling of loneliness he felt from time to time when he hung out with the Apollo kids. He wished he could see Hazel, or not think about Bianca, or something along those lines. Sticking close to Will, who always made him feel welcomed, could only go so far (pretty damn far, but still).

Austin cleared his throat loudly, catching Nico’s attention. “Well,” he said a little too loudly. “I think everyone is going to dinner already, so you guys better hurry up!” He gave Will a pointed look. “Kayla has the others there, don’t worry.”

Nico didn’t think the Apollo cabin was too difficult to organize and get to dinner, but maybe the holiday just made everyone a little more hyperactive than normal. Will nodded seriously, clapping his brother on the shoulder with a sincere “thank you.”

Austin left ahead of them, leaving Nico and Will alone once again. “Feel okay, Death Boy?”

Nico nodded and got up to join Will by the door. “Yeah, all good. I just realized I probably should’ve called Hazel earlier.”

Will cocked his head in sympathy. “We’ll make sure you see her later, then. Gotta get some food in you!”

They smiled at each other and headed toward the pavilion, which was a lot louder than normal. It was glowing warmly, the light of the day fading much earlier now that they were well into winter.

Nico was used to blocking out the noise of camp, but he couldn’t help but perk up at the sound of familiar laughter. He looked intently at the pavilion, still a little too far to make out any faces. As they got closer, one face popped out and shrieked, “Nico!”

The next thing he knew, brown curls filled his vision as he was tackled to the ground in a bear hug. Nico hit the ground and could barely catch his breath as he gazed up at the girl perched above him. “Hazel?” he wheezed.

“Surprise! Merry Christmas!” She beamed down at him, her expression full of joy and love that had Nico feeling winded from more than the hug.

“You—how—”

“Hazel!” An indignant voice Nico instantly recognized as Percy’s floated down from the pavilion. “We were supposed to surprise him together!”

She giggled as she helped her brother up, who still hadn’t gotten a full sentence out. “Sorry! Couldn’t help it,” she called back.

“What are you doing here?” Nico finally choked out, still staring at his sister in awe, though he distantly recognized that all his friends were present at camp.

Hazel smiled impossibly wider as she tugged her brother along. “It’s Christmas, silly! We wanted to surprise you and see each other.” Her eyes slid to the left, and Nico felt a weird sense of almost déjà vu when he realized Will was still walking along next to them, practically glowing with happiness. Didn’t he surprise Will just earlier today in a similar manner?

“You…?” Nico gaped at Will, unable to process words at the moment.

Will smiled at him as he always did. “I just asked if everyone wanted to come back for a Camp Half Blood Christmas party,” he shrugged. “I know you missed Hazel, and I figured, why not get everyone?”

“Aww, you missed me?” Hazel teased, and Nico turned red. “Will is downplaying it, though. He practically begged us all to come, even offering to pay for travel stuff. He went on and on about how it would mean so much to you, and to the rest of the camp, how it was good for your health, blah, blah, blah.” Now Will was coloring, though out of embarrassment or indignation, Nico wasn’t sure.

“So, you… did this for me?”

“I mean,” Will glanced away nervously. “Yeah. I-I did.”

Nico basically stopped walking, trying in vain to process his overwhelming emotions. Luckily, Hazel has always had a knack for knowing how to help him. She used her hold on Nico to spin him towards Will and nudged him forward. It was enough to spring him into action, instinctively raising his arms and wrapping them around the son of Apollo. He had been doing that a lot, lately, and he couldn’t say he minded that much. The hug was brief, but sincere, communicating to Will all the gratitude Nico could muster in the moment. He didn’t even know that his loneliness was obvious, and perhaps it wasn’t to anyone but Will.

Nico didn’t get any more time to think on it as more people approached him in front of the entrance to the pavilion. “Little bro!” was all the warning he got before he was swept into another bear hug, this time from both Percy and Jason. Nico grumbled and writhed on instinct, making everyone in the vicinity chuckle.

“Dude, I’ve missed you! I almost forgot how boring the mortal world was,” Percy said.

Annabeth appeared next to him to elbow him in the side. “I’d say your life could use a little boring, don’t you?” She smiled at Nico. “Merry Christmas, Nico.”

“How have you been?” He turned toward Jason, who had been between camps so often that Nico barely saw him in the past few months.

“Good,” he simply said.

“No fading into shadows, I presume?” The regal tone caught Nico off guard, and he spun around to see Reyna striding over from one of the tables. She wore a purple Camp Jupiter sweater and black jeans, a shocking change from her usual praetor uniform that Nico always pictured her in.

“Reyna!” They shared a quick hug that reminded Nico of the big sister figure and friend he found in the praetor. He really missed seeing her around.

Nico fell into easy conversation with everyone after greetings were finished with a small wave from Frank and nods to Piper and Leo, whom he always saw around camp anyway. It was almost surreal being with everyone in such a casual setting. No impending war, no godly interference, no fear of an attack; just teens hanging out and celebrating together.

They all ended up at the Hades table, and it was then that Nico noticed everything else going on in the pavilion. People milled about at every table, regardless of where they should have been sitting. Various Christmas decorations brightened the entire place, and laughter filled the air. It was the cheeriest Nico had ever seen the camp.

His eyes were drawn to a certain blonde healer laughing with his siblings. Will looked up and met Nico’s gaze with a bright and sincere smile, which Nico returned as best he could.

“He did all this for you, you know.” Nico turned to Jason, who gave him a knowing look.

“Well, it was kind of for everyone, right?” Nico looked around, but no one seemed entirely convinced.

“Nah, man. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad we got to do this. But when Will contacted me and Annabeth, it was really about making you happy.” Annabeth nodded along with Percy’s words, as did everyone else.

Nico felt his cheeks heat up and he looked down, unsure of what to say. He missed the shared glances above his head as everyone tried to decide how much they should say about this.

Hazel took the lead and reach over to squeeze Nico’s hand. “I’m glad you have someone like Will around.”

Nico glanced up and smiled at his sister before turning his head to peek at the boy with sunlit hair and sky-blue eyes. “Yeah, me too.”

—

“Will!” Nico called as everyone was headed to their cabins for lights out. The Seven and Reyna were all staying for at least one night and agreed to hang out tomorrow since many were tired from travel.

The son of Apollo glanced back and grinned when he saw Nico jogging toward him. He told his sister to make sure everyone got to bed and shooed her off before turning back to the son of Hades. “What’s up?”

“I just…” Nico trailed off. “Sorry we didn’t get to talk too much at dinner and stuff.”

“Oh!” Will looked a little surprised. “No worries, Neeks! The whole point was for you to spend time with your friends. I’m just glad you got to see them. You seemed really happy.”

“Yeah,” Nico rubbed his arm bashfully. “Um, thank you. For tonight. I had no idea you were planning this.”

Will smiled—he probably hadn’t stopped smiling for the past 12 days—and shook his head. “I could say the same about your surprise for me today.” He reached out and took Nico’s hand, pleased when he didn’t pull away. “I can’t thank you enough for taking me to see my mom.”

“Guess we both had big plans for today, huh?”

“Yeah, luckily my siblings made sure it all ran smoothly,” he laughed.

They were standing pretty close together now, gazing into each other’s eyes and trying to convey everything they were feeling. It was impossible to put into words their gratitude, not only for today, but for everything that came with their friendship. There was more there, way more, but neither knew how to touch on that just yet. They were on the edge of something big, yet it felt like the next step.

“Hey, Nico?”

“Yeah?”

“I really love spending time with you.”

A beat.

“Yeah. I love it, too.”

 A/N: Ah guys I did it again, I failed to begin their relationship. Slow burn or do I just love friendship that much? Hard to say. But really, I am so impressed with how this 12 days turned out, I enjoyed writing it a lot and am actually proud of what I wrote! Thanks for reading and tracking along with me! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!