Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

After he found out about Nico's… infatuation with Percy, Jason became overprotective. He couldn't help it, now that he knew he was hyper aware of the things the couple did so offhandedly that probably hurt the son of Hades.

Nico didn't exactly start sobbing his little heart out at every single occurrence, though. The signs of his distress were quite subtle. Jason had learned them all throughout the war: avoiding eye contact, the tensing of his shoulders, the tone of his voice (strained, like it hurt to speak), the way his lips tilted downwards and the way his eyes dulled. It made his heart ache, seeing the younger demigod like that, so slowly but surely he managed to get the heartbroken demigod to see him as a friend and a source of comfort.

After the war was over most of them decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth wanted to design a town for grown demigods to live in, just like they had at Camp Jupiter. Percy and Jason liked teaching the new kids, helping them get ready for what awaited them outside. Leo was content exploring the depths of Bunker 9. Piper, Hazel, Frank and Reyna had gone to California. The son of Jupiter and the daughter of Aphrodite reached the mutual decision that it wasn't really working. So they called it quits and Piper decided to go to New Rome to get some time to herself. Nico had also stayed at camp, after Jason asked him to (repeatedly).

The war had been a couple of years back. During that time Leo managed to rescue Calypso (they opened a repair shop somewhere, and it was now a nationwide chain) and Piper had moved to California for good while the rest of them remained pretty much the same. Frank had proposed to Hazel a few weeks back, though, and even Nico seemed happy at the news.

Percy was as oblivious as ever, and he was definitely a fan of public displays of affection. He would hug and kiss Annabeth all the time, and they were pretty much glued at the hip. The son of Jupiter would helplessly watch as Nico bit his lip and looked away, his dark eyes empty and his posture hunched forward, as if he wanted to curl on himself. If they were at the campfire of at the dining pavilion, the son of Hades would mumble an excuse and leave. Jason frequently followed him, and they would curl together on Nico's bed. Sometimes Nico wouldn't say anything, just taking comfort in Jason's presence; sometimes they would talk in soft voices about anything and everything; and sometimes, rarer times, Jason would hug the other boy tightly while he cried, whispering reassurances in his ear.

The son of Hades wasn't the only one in need of comfort, though. Then war had been traumatic for them all, and Jason still had nightmares. On the particularly bad nights, Jason would walk to Cabin 13 and spend the night there. Nico never complained, and always stroked his hair until he fell asleep. The Ghost King was also the one to help him through his breakup, watching movies and eating ice-cream like teenagers from a cheesy romance movie.

They had a good relationship, Jason thought. But there were still a few subjects that could not be discussed, Nico's sexuality included. The younger boy couldn't wrap his head around the fact that no one would really care. Well, they couldn't be discussed directly, that is. The son of Jupiter never gave up, alluding to The-Secret-That-Must-Not-Be-Mentioned, slowly helping Nico untangle the knot of his emotions, a mix of fears, insecurities and heartbreak.

And the son of Hades really was in a better place emotionally. He'd even plucked up the courage to tell Hazel, who'd hugged the life out of him then scolded him for keeping it from her. Now she too was acutely aware of the everyday struggles her brother went through.

Today was a regular day, nothing out of the ordinary. But then again, when the weather is controlled by a magic barrier, the days tend to look the same. They were all sitting at the Poseidon table, having lunch. Nico was particularly ravenous because of a tough sparring session with Jason, and his plate was full enough to feed at least two people.

"Careful there, Nico, or you're going to get fat!" the son of Jupiter teased.

Nico flipped him off and continued devouring his meal.

Jason chuckled good-naturedly and turned his attention to his own plate.

When everybody was done eating and was simply chatting idly, Percy cleared his throat, getting their attention. He took Annabeth's hand and slid off his seat, kneeling. He began his speech, clearly proposing to the daughter of Athena, but the son of Jupiter's focus was elsewhere. He was looking at the son of Hades. What he saw did not surprise him, though it made his chest hurt: Nico had his mouth slightly open in shock, while his eyes showed so much pain and sorrow Jason almost winced in sympathy; he was grabbing the edge of the table so hard his knuckles were white, and his lower lip was quivering ever so slightly.

The son of Poseidon finished his proposal, and Annabeth predictably said yes, squealing in joy. Jason might've smiled, if he wasn't so aware of somebody else's misery.

"I think Jason was right, and I did eat too much. I feel a bit sick. I'll go lay down." Nico said, voice strained in a way Jason unfortunately knew too well "Congratulations!" he added with a huge smile that didn't reach his eyes.

The newly affianced couple smiled at him, blinded by their happiness. The son of Jupiter congratulated them and then excused himself saying he would go check on Nico.

He knocked – more of a warning then a request – and stepped inside the dark room. Nico was curled on the bed, unfocused gaze trained straight ahead.

"How bad is it?" Jason asked.

Over the years they had both learned that asking 'Are you ok' was a stupid and useless question. They were not ok. They had just woken up from a nightmare or been reminded that their love was still, in fact, unrequited. So instead of wasting their breath they just asked how bad it was.

"I don't know." The answer was whispered, as if loud voices could chase his sanity away.

The blonde frowned. Nico always gave him a number, from a scale from 1 to 10 they had agreed on. Yes, like the one they have at emergency rooms.

"What do you mean?" he asked gently.

"I mean I don't know. I expected it to hurt, but it didn't, not really. I'm feeling…anxiety. Yes. I'm feeling the crushing anxiety of wondering what could've been. I never told him, and now I can't. Not in good conscience anyway. He is officially taken. I'm freaking out, but not for the reasons I thought I would. I saw this day coming, and I dreaded it. But now that it is here… I expected more. And it still is too much. Does that make sense?"

Another thing they had managed to work on was speaking out your thoughts and feelings. It was hard on the beginning, because there was still distrust between them, but they had carefully built a bond. They told each other everything, and sometimes simply speaking to someone else about it helped straighten out their thoughts.

"A little bit. Do you still love him?"

"Yes. But it feels different. Before it was intense, it actually hurt. Now it's just a faint throbbing. I think you never really forget your first love. Maybe my reaction was more habit than fact."

The blond nodded again, and realized with relief that the tension was draining out of the boy on the bed. The son of Jupiter thought it would be safe to lay down with him. He had learned (through a lot of trial and error) when Nico was comfortable with someone touching him. When he was as taut as a bowstring, it was best to stay away. Now, however, it seemed like contact would be welcome.

He curled around the smaller boy, who turned to face him.

"What am I going to do, Jason?" he asked softly.

"Move on, find someone else. Get through your thick skull that you aren't nearly as unattractive as you think you are."

Nico blushed at the sort of compliment, and said:

"But what if I fall for someone else and they don't like me back? How can I keep going through the same torture over and over again? It's not fair!" he sounded severely upset, but did not seek comfort in Jason's arms, rather he was inching away from him.

The son of Jupiter frowned and tried to get closer to the other boy. Which was useless, because Nico kept moving away. Jason decided to say something before one of them ended up on the carpet.

"What's wrong? Why won't you let me touch you?"

The son of Hades seemed to panic, and stuttered:

"W-what? Where did you get this idea from?"

The blonde sighed.

"I thought we told each other everything, Nico. What's going on?"

"I can't tell you!" tears filled his eyes, but they did not fall "I can't… I won't!" he got up and shrugged on his jacket.

"I'm sorry…." He was backing into a shadowed corner. Jason jumped out of bed, trying to reach him.

"Wait, what are you…Nico!"

But he was already gone.

Today was the wedding. It seemed it would be a grand affair. He would expect no less from Annabeth. And of course, receiving help/funding from your godly parents did not hurt. Jason sat down at his assigned seat (a very well groomed satyr led him to his table) and tried to cheer himself up. It completed four months now. Four months since the day Nico di Angelo vanished. Oh, he'd tried to find him. He searched high and low, looking desperately for the pale son of Hades. He wasn't successful.

In fact, the only thing he'd succeeded on was to be almost as pale and have dark circles under his eyes that matched the very boy he was trying to find. He tried Iris Messaging him too, but no one ever picked up.

So there he was on his sharpest (and only) suit, which was honestly a bit big on him since all that stress had made him lose weight. He missed Nico terribly, and it showed.

He heard hooves clip clopping on the marble floors, and turned to see who the satyr was bringing to join him. His jaw dropped. The son of Hades wore a similar expression of shock, and Jason was divided between hugging him and punching him in the face. In the end he did neither, since it was a very formal party and he didn't want to be viciously murdered by the bride for causing a scene.

"Hello, Jason" Nico said in a perfectly calm and collected tone. The tone he used when he was controlling himself.

"Hello? That's all you have to say to me after disappearing for four months?" he whisper yelled.

Nico pursed his lips and the son of Jupiter could tell he was fidgeting with his fingers underneath the table. His expression softened.

"I'm sorry, I was just really worried about you. And…" he hesitated "I really missed you." He could feel his cheeks heating up, and there was no tan there to help hide it.

The son of Hades had his own blush on his cheeks, and was about to say something when Leo sat down in between them, being loud and cheery as always.

"Hey guys! Fancy, isn't it? I wonder how they made the roses blue." He chattered on about a million different things, but Jason wasn't listening. He was paying attention to Nico, who looked away every time their eyes met. But he knew better than to try and talk to him with other people around. So he sighed and waited.

When people began to dance, the son of Hades tried to slip away unnoticed. But since Jason was watching his every move like a stalker, he noticed. He went after him and nudged his arm.

"Hey." He said lamely.

"Um, hey. I was just about to leave, but I didn't want to risk making any of the flowers wilt…" he sounded nervous.

"Yeah, I understand. Could we talk for a minute?" he asked.

"Actually, I have to…" he began, but his shoulders slumped and he sighed in defeat "I can't even think up an excuse. Everyone I know is in there, even my father. Let's get this over with." He led them to a balcony, which had a pretty view of the gardens (enhanced by Lady Persephone herself) below.

"So…" the son of Hades prompted.

"You know what I want to talk about Nico. Don't play dumb. Why did you run away? What happened? Talk to me!" he pleaded.

Nico sighed again and ran his hands through his hair.

"Do you really want to know, Jason?"

"Obviously."

"Fine. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. The day Percy proposed to Annabeth was the day I realized I wasn't in love with him anymore." He paused.

"Isn't that what you wanted? Shouldn't you be happy about it?"

"Oh, I was happy about that. I left because the reason I got over Percy…" he stopped again and Jason almost growled in frustration.

"Was…?" he prompted gently. He was frustrated, sure, but yelling at Nico would only make him run again.

"Was because I realized I was in love with someone else." His tone was low, but the son of Jupiter felt like he'd been screamed at. Nico loved someone else?

"Oh. Who's the lucky guy?" he asked in a hollow voice. He wished he had better control over his emotions, but it was not so.

"The unlucky bastard is you, Grace. It's funny, isn't it? I got over an unattainable straight hero only to dive headfirst into another hopeless crush." He laughed but there was no humor in it. He turned to leave, certain he ruined his only friendship, when he was pulled into a hug.

"You idiot." Jason mumbled into his hair.

"What?" Nico was genuinely confused, and was struck dumb for a moment.

"You idiot." Jason repeated, like it explained everything "This isn't pity, mockery or anything you are trying to make up in that head of yours, so don't even try." He leaned back to look at the son of Hades, who was a shade of pink so lovely even the roses below them would be jealous.

"We were pretty much living as a couple, you know. We slept over each other's cabins, talked about everything, comforted each other about our nightmares and watched movies. I never said anything because I thought you liked Percy, but when I said you weren't nearly as unattractive as you seem to think you are, I meant from my point of view." He smiled.

"What are you saying?" Nico asked hesitantly.

"I'm saying I fell for you. Quite some time ago. I was fully prepared to watch you pine for him for a while longer, but as long as I could keep you company and make you a little less miserable I was happy. And having you help me through my breakup, my nightmares…. That wasn't too bad either. I never tried anything, though. I know how you are about these things, so I didn't say anything. But when you left… Gods, when you left. It was awful, you know. I threw myself into quest after quest, trying to find you. I went to all the places you said you liked, but you were never there. I ran myself ragged, so much that Chiron put me under house arrest for one week so I could heal."

"Oh. Is that why you are so skinny?" Nico said, encircling his arms around the significantly smaller waist.

"Yup. I'm also wearing freaking make-up to hide the circles under my eyes." He laughed a little, then his tone dropped to barely a whisper "I had nightmares about you getting hurt, on top of everything else. I didn't want to sleep, because I knew what was coming."

Nico hugged him tighter.

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be. You're here now. You are staying, aren't you?"

The son of Hades looked up at him and smiled. A real, happy, gorgeous smile. Jason leaned down and joined their lips, bringing the smaller boy closer to his body.

Nico put his arms around Jason's neck, sinking into his embrace. He didn't really know what to do, but the son of Jupiter was nothing if not an enthusiastic teacher. He picked the son of Hades up and put him on the edge of the balcony, so they'd be more or less level. Nico wrapped his legs wound his torso, making them as close as their clothes would allow. Jason moved to nibble on the other's neck, and the Ghost King made a low sound on the back of his throat. The blonde chuckled and bit down, making him gasp.

The blonde slipped his hands under Nico's shirt, tracing circles on the soft skin. The son of Hades tugged on his hair, bringing him up for another passionate kiss, one that left them breathing heavily when they parted. Jason went back to tasting his neck, and when Nico moaned that just made the blonde double his efforts, greedy for more of the delectable sounds.

"Jason…" it was not quite a plea, not quite a protest.

"Yeah?" he asked innocently before trailing kisses down his neck.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this in such a public place" he said in a breathy tone.

"I agree!" said a different voice.

Both boys turned to see who it was, only to see a small crowd gathered by the door.

Nico blushed so hard he was sure he'd pass out from embarrassment, and buried his face in Jason's chest.

The blonde sighed and said conversationally:

"Percy, Annabeth! What brings you here?"

"We wanted a picture by the gardens, with the whole wedding party, you know" Leo answered.

"We almost gave up on finding you two, we actually asked Lord Hermes to help out." Reyna interjected.

"Now I know why he only gave that smirk instead of actually helping." Annabeth muttered.

"We wanted a pretty picture with everyone in it, and here we find you trying to defile my brother!" Hazel protested, blushing furiously at her own words.

"Defiling? We didn't get that far…" Jason tried to joke.

"Agh! Not listening! I've known him since he was ten, can we please not talk about deflowering him?" Percy complained, shielding his ears.

"Ok, then let's stop with the lewd talk. You two" Annabeth pointed at them "go to the bathroom and compose yourselves. I want everybody looking good and pampered, not wrecked. Use the girl's bathroom, there's some powder there to hide the hickies. Now off you go!"

Nico made the shadows envelop them and transported them to the bathroom.

"I'm pretty sure that if Thanatos hadn't crashed this party I'd be dead by now." The son of Hades complained.

"It wasn't that bad." Jason argued, straightening out their clothes.

"Not that bad? My baby sister saw me with my tongue halfway down your throat!" He said in a mortified whisper.

"Do you regret it?" Jason asked in a low voice, sounding vulnerable. Nico's expression softened at once, and he answered without hesitation:

"No. But we could've kept it a little bit more innocent."

The son of Jupiter grinned and teased:

"You know, think on the bright side: You getting embarrassed that bad made sure a certain problem went away." He gave a sly smirk, laughing when Nico flushed all the way to his ears.

"Jason!" he protested "You can't just say things like that!"

"Oh, but I can. Especially if it makes you look that adorable." He leaned in and kissed him, just a brush of the lips. When Nico blushed harder he laughed again and said "You should get used to that, I plan on doing it a lot."

They finished rearranging themselves and went back to the balcony.

"Took you long enough." Percy complained.

"Did you do it in the bathroom?" Leo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What? No!" Nico almost yelled at him.

"Leo, quit pestering Jason's boyfriend." Reyna said.

They both froze, and she looked apologetic.

"Sorry, if you guys aren't…" she began, but Jason interrupted her.

"No, Rey, it's fine. Nico is my boyfriend" then, in a much less confident tone, he said, facing him "if he wants to be."

Nico beamed at him "I thought you'd never ask" and pulled him down for a brief kiss, taking care to not wrinkle their dress shirts. A flash went off and Hazel peered from behind a camera, smiling and saying:

"What? It was too adorable to not take a picture!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now stop stealing my thunder and let's take the picture!" Annabeth said playfully.

They were lying on Nico's bed, holding each other close. After the party ended he'd shadow traveled them to his cabin. They'd showered and changed into more comfortable clothes, then fell into bed holding each other closer than they used to.

They couldn't stop smiling at each other, so much that if they were in public someone would have already punched them for acting in such a sickly new couple manner. But as they were in private they didn't care much.

They exchanged sweet kisses and even sweeter promises, trailing hesitant hands and lips over each other's bodies. It didn't progress much farther than that. They were tired from the sleepless nights, and just weren't ready, no matter how loud their hormones screamed at them.

They fell asleep like that, with Jason cradling Nico in his arms, their legs entwined. For once they had a peaceful night of dreamless slumber.

Hello!

Well, I hope you liked it!

I recently moved, so I couldn't really post anything. Actually, I have four other fics that are half-finished... I'm working on them, so they should be out soon enough!

Reviews are awesome, and constructive criticism is more than welcome! But just a reminder, if it is about my grammar, be warned that English is sadly not my native language and therefore I may have committed a few mistakes. Point them out and I'll fix them!

Ok, I'm done. Have a great day, and thank you for reading!