An Unexpected Christmas

Nico should have seen it coming.

He had spotted the three ghosts in the middle of Manhattan late in the evening, causing trouble for mortals. They would knock over tables outside of cafes or push people in a large crowd. Nico even watched one of them squirt ketchup from a hot dog stand onto not only the customer, but the stand worker as well. They were really like tame poltergeists, which was just as annoying as full-fledged poltergeists.

Besides being dicks, they were also acting suspiciously. Whenever Nico would try to subtly open a fissure to send them back to the Underworld, they would float away, heading farther out of town, like they knew he was following them.

It was rather fishy.

By the time he caught them outside of the city in a deserted field—which should have been his second clue—it was already dark out and the temperature had dropped significantly. Nico was shivering slightly, his body trying to conserve its warmth. When he caught up to the ghosts, he was freezing and completely irritated. He really just wanted to head back to camp and snuggle up with Will—er, in his bed.

They appeared to be arguing about something, but when Nico approached them, they immediately clammed up and turned to him, glaring daggers at him.

"Di Angelo…" one of them hissed. "Son of Hades. You've been following us."

Nico scoffed. "Yeah, and I saw everything you did. You guys are total jerks."

"That was nothing. We'll be doing worse things as soon as we get rid of you."

He raised a brow. "Oh really? I don't think so. You three are going back where you belong."

Nico concentrated on the Underworld, picturing a door there and a hand reaching through to grab the ghosts. However, just as he felt the earth start to tremble, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. Before he could react, he felt a searing pain in his lower back. He leapt away and turned towards his assailant, stumbling as he landed and pain rippled through his body.

Nico faced the culprit, a demigod who appeared to be one or two years older than him, with dark hair and dark eyes. The kid was holding a long sword, a tinge of red marring the end of the blade. Nico hesitantly reached back and winced as he gingerly touched the wound. Blood covered his fingers. The cut didn't feel too deep, so he figured he could make it through this battle.

The ghosts were chuckling, though it was more of a weird clattering sound since their skeletons were apparent. It clicked in Nico's head, then, what was going on. This demigod, whoever he was, was working with these ghosts—perhaps he was even the mastermind behind the breach in the Underworld. The question was—

"Why are you doing this?" Nico called. He suddenly blinked hard, fighting away the fuzziness drifting into his vision. That wasn't a good sign.

"Nico di Angelo…" the kid replied, wiping his blade clean. "You may be a son of Hades, but there are things that even you don't understand. Just know that there are things bigger than yourself—bigger than all of us—about to happen. Unfortunately for you, you won't be around to experience them."

The kid lunged forward, his sword poised to strike. At the last second, Nico pulled his Stygian sword from his side and blocked the strike, gritting his teeth against his back wound. As he stepped back, he swayed on his feet, stumbling to the side a couple feet.

The stranger chuckled. "Good. The poison is working."

Nico's eyes widened. What the hell was going on? Who was this kid? And what was he talking about? His father had been wrong—this was more than just a simple retrieval.

Unless…

Nico felt woozy as black spots began appearing in his vision. He needed to get out of here. The ghosts were grinning maliciously and he could feel a dark, murderous vibe coming from them. His attacker was slowly closing in, circling Nico with his sword raised apprehensively.

Nico shook his head, trying to keep it clear. If he passed out here, he would be dead within minutes. But he couldn't just let them go either.

He had an idea of what to do, but he knew that he would pass out for sure, and there was no telling if he'd actually make it to camp. But he had to try.

His course of action decided, Nico gathered his remaining strength and engaged in combat with the unknown demigod. He stumbled quite a bit and as a result, he received many cuts and almost got a sword run through his stomach (thankfully he'd had enough sense to throw himself to the side). His energy was depleting quickly. The edges of his vision were black and he was feeling woozy from blood loss. He could barely stand on his feet and his breaths were coming in shallow as the poison began taking full affect.

Some luck remained on Nico's side, though. He swung towards his assailant's shoulder. As predicted, he blocked it with his sword, but as he did this, Nico simultaneously grabbed hold of the kid's arm and summoned all of his remaining strength. He felt a tug in his gut as he attempted to shadow-travel back to camp.

As he and his attacker were swallowed by darkness, Nico felt his legs give out and his grip loosen as he fell unconscious.

It's a good thing the patrol guards were on alert, otherwise Nico probably would have died that night of hypothermia.

They found him half-buried in a pile of snow at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill, his sword lying about ten feet away from him. The snow around his lower back was stained red and ice was already forming in his hair.

There were two patrolmen tonight, both from Hephaestus cabin. Using some night-vision binoculars—created by themselves, of course—they were just able to catch Nico's body, hidden in the winter night.

Cursing, they rushed to his side. Of course, they immediately saw that he was injured.

"Go get Will—now!" one of them commanded. The second nodded and took off towards the Apollo cabin. The remaining kid brushed off as much snow as possible. He reached two fingers out to Nico's neck, feeling for a pulse.

"Shit," he cursed. It was there, but it was faint and sporadic. He shed off his coat and took of his jacket. He wrapped his jacket around the wound, tying it tight to stem the flow of blood. He then laid his heavy jacket over the di Angelo boy, shivering slightly at the rush of cool air against his skin.

Within minutes, the Hephaestus kid could hear footsteps approaching quickly. He looked up and saw Will Solace sprinting down the hill, dressed in plaid pajama pants and his winter coat.

"Nico!" Will called, slowing to halt as he approached the two. He fell to his knees and leaned over his friend, praying to his father in the back of his mind for help. As soon as he had heard the frantic knocking on his cabin door, his gut had dropped and his mind had gone into a frenzy. Now that his fears had been confirmed, he had to force himself into medic-mode to keep from totally losing it.

His hands shook as he did a quick scan of Nico's body, noting the back wound. He looked for his pulse, and, finding the same thing as the Hephaestus kid, he cursed.

"You idiot," Will mumbled. He felt his throat close up as tears clouded his vision. He quickly rubbed them away before turning to instruct the patrolmen. His voice shaking, he said, "We need to get him to the Big House right away."

Losing no time, one of the Hephaestus kids carefully loaded Nico onto his back, mindful of the injury. It was a good thing Nico was a lightweight, otherwise they would've had a hard time getting up the hill. The whole way up Will had his hand on Nico's shoulder, his mental prayer still running through his head.

Of course, when they entered the Big House, Chiron was there to meet them. But Will didn't pay him any attention. He let the patrolmen take care of that. Right now, his main concern was Nico.

Once Nico was placed on the bed and the patrolmen had left the room with a nod of support to Will, the medic wasted no time in gathering supplies to help his dear friend. Will couldn't allow himself to waste precious time that could be used to treat Nico, but even more, if Will were to stop now, he'd break down into a nervous, sobbing heap.

He should have gone with Nico. Ever since the di Angelo boy had informed him of his father's request, Will had had this sickening feeling in his stomach. He felt Nico had been too nonchalant about the whole thing, that he'd brushed it off too quickly. Will could have been there to help him, or at the very least, to cure him if he were to get injured.

Will could only guess that Nico had used his last bit of strength to shadow travel back to camp, which only made Will worry even more. Shadow travelling sucked a lot of energy from Nico—Will couldn't even fathom how he had had enough energy to return to camp with his injury and blood loss.

It just proved how strong Nico was and how little credit he was given.

All of this ran through Will's head as he gingerly turned Nico onto his right side in order to examine the back wound. Will silently apologized to Nico as he took a pair of scissors and cut open his shirt, revealing pale skin marred with streaks of dark red.

He was about to start his work on the wound, but something about it made him stop. The edges were unusually colored and the skin surrounding the wound was tinged yellow. Recognition dawned on him.

"Shit," he cursed. He felt his heart drop to his stomach as he switched gears, turning his efforts to cure the poison.

He needed to work quickly. He didn't know yet what kind of poison it was, and so he couldn't be sure if Nico…

He promptly shook his head, chasing those morbid thoughts from his mind. A thickness appeared in his throat and his eyes stung. He blinked to keep the tears at bay, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.

I will save him, he thought determinedly. I will not let him die.

The last thing Nico remembered was grabbing his attacker's arm and trying to shadow travel. He wasn't sure if he had made it. Heck, he wasn't exactly sure if he was alive right now. But if he were dead, he was sure his father would be here…

Nico found himself on the beach shore at camp, the water frozen over. Only, he was pretty sure this was a dream. Or some weird between-life-and-death phase.

Suddenly, a man was standing beside him. Nico turned to fully look at him and felt his stomach drop.

His father.

"Oh crap," Nico muttered. "I am dead, aren't I? Will's going to be so mad."

Hades raised a brow at his son. "No, Nico, you are not dead. And if that is Will Solace you are talking about, he actually just saved your life."

Nico's eyes widened. "What?"

Hades relayed what he knew to Nico. "You passed out halfway through shadow travelling with your attacker. Unfortunately, you lost grip with the kid and he was able to slip away, though I'm unsure of where he landed. To be honest, I'm surprised you made it back to camp. You must have really focused hard on it before passing out."

Nico was pretty sure he knew exactly what—or who—he'd been thinking of before going unconscious, but he wasn't about to tell his father that.

However, it was a bit suspicious how calmly he was discussing these events…And then it dawned on him.

"You knew about the rogue demigod, didn't you?" Nico accused, brow furrowing.

Hades sighed. "I…had my suspicions. There have been rumors of a demigod assisting in an overthrow in the Underworld, but I had to be sure."

Anger grew threw Nico. Without thinking, he lashed out. "And why didn't you tell me this? After all this time, do you really not trust me?!"

The lord of the Underworld didn't look pleased with this accusation. "More like I trust you too much," he grimaced. "If your attacker had caught wind that you knew, that you were on to him, he would have fled with those ghosts and we wouldn't have seen him again. I knew you would be able to handle whatever he had."

"Apparently only barely."

Hades nodded. "I did not anticipate he would poison you. Thankfully that medic of yours is truly gifted. He seemed awfully worried."

Nico blushed. "He's not my medic!" he blurted. "I mean, h-he's really the head of the hospital. Of course they would go to him for help…" He pressed his lips together to stop himself from rambling on like a love struck idiot.

Hades blinked. "Yes. Well, I will offer him my personal thanks." He turned to Nico, a serious look on his face. "I truly am sorry that I didn't tell you. I'm glad you are okay, and I give you my word that this won't happen again."

Nico's irritation was only building with each word that Hades spoke. He wanted to believe his father, but he also couldn't easily forgive him for this, especially since they were dealing with something that sounded so serious.

Hades grasped Nico's shoulder. "Take care son. I'm sure we'll talk again soon."

Nico watched as his father turned and began walking down the beach. Just as he disappeared within the night sky, Nico blinked hard.

When he opened his eyes, he felt an immense ache throughout his body. The lights in the "hospital" were way too bright and he had serious cottonmouth. He turned his head to the side—ouch…talk about horrible headaches—to try and spot some water. That was when he noticed the blonde leaning over the side of his bed.

Will was sitting in a chair, his torso inclined on the bed. He had Nico's left hand grasped in both of his as he leaned his head on his arms. He was fast asleep, but his brows were furrowed down in worry.

Nico swallowed thickly, trying to clear his throat, but it was too dry and he winced against the uncomfortable, painful sensation.

"Will," he croaked out, wiggling his fingers of his left hand.

Almost instantly, Will's eyes snapped open and he sat up, blinking multiple times as his eyes focused and his mind caught up to speed.

His eyes widened. "Nico!" he exclaimed. He stood up and moved closer to the dark-haired boy, keeping his left hand clutched onto Nico's. He immediately reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the glass of water sitting there.

Nico reached over with his right hand to take the glass but had to stop when he felt a tug on his hand. He glanced down and noted the needle sticking out of the top of his hand. He followed the tube with his eyes, slowly turning his head up to glance at the IV he was currently hooked up to.

"Be careful not to pull that out," Will advised quietly, drawing Nico's gaze again. "It will be a bitch to put back in."

Nico reached for the glass again, mindful of the IV needle, and gulped down the stagnant water. He sighed in relief, a soothing sensation in his throat.

As Will took the glass, Nico finally got a proper look at him. His blonde hair was in disarray, as if he'd been yanking at it and continuously running a hand through it. A worried expression graced his features and his posture was slouched, exhausted. His sky blue eyes were rimmed red.

"You've been crying," Nico noted with surprise, his voice rough and dry.

Will glared at him. "Yeah, well. You about gave me a heart attack."

Nico's brow furrowed. "What happened?"

Will frowned. "I'm not exactly sure about how you got here, but the patrol guards found you passed out at the bottom of the hill. You had a sword injury on your back but there was also poison in your system. Thankfully I was able to cure it."

He blinked at Will's explanation, but something he'd said must have triggered Nico's memory. He remembered leaving to the cities, following the ghosts, and…and getting attacked. By some demigod. The memory of his dream and his conversation with his father flooded his mind.

Nico frowned. "My father…he knew about the demigod. He knew about everything."

Confusion clouded Will's face. "What are you talking about?"

Nico then began to explain his dream and what had happened during his time trailing the ghosts, ending with his meeting with the rogue demigod and his plan to shadow travel back to camp with him.

"My father said he escaped…" Nico finished, brow still deep in consternation. "I don't know what's going on, but I have a feeling this won't be the last I'll hear of it."

Will bit his lip. He gave Nico's hand a reassuring squeeze. "You shouldn't worry about it right now. You just need to focus on getting better."

Nico felt his neck heat up at Will's affection. "How long have I been out?"

"Since you got here? About thirteen hours, give or take."

Nico blinked. "Oh. So…it's Christmas then."

Will smiled. "It is. But this does not count as our Christmas celebration."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Of course not." He sighed, slowly sitting up. He winced at the tightness in his back. "You don't have to stay here with me, you know. You can go celebrate with everyone else."

Will immediately shook his head. "Not a chance. Nobody should be alone on Christmas. And besides…" He looked down at the bed, picking at some fuzz. "You really scared me. I-I thought…I didn't know if…"

Will couldn't even get the words out. His throat closed up whenever he thought about how close Nico had been to dying.

"I should have gone with you. I…I would have never forgiven myself if…if you…"

Nico's heart lurched out for Will. He felt an anguish build in him as he choked back the intense emotion he suddenly felt. He shook his head lightly. "You shouldn't worry about me so much. I'm not worth the trouble."

Will frowned. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, a hard, almost sarcastic edge to his voice.

Nico sighed, closing his eyes. It was easier if he didn't have to look at him. "I've been alone and on my own for most of my life. Whenever I start to care about someone, or someone gets close to me, they usually end up getting hurt. And besides that, people are always disgusted with me and my family," Nico continued bitterly. "We reek of death. People are supposed to avoid us. For gods' sake, I can summon skeletons! All this pain…It's always been a problem for children of Hades—they live a life of loneliness."

Nico shook his head in disgust for himself. Will remained silent, watching him closely as he finished getting these feelings off his chest.

"I am worthless," Nico said in a low, heart-crushing tone. "I've done some horrible things in the past. People always get hurt around me, and I've seen too many people get hurt to let it continue. That's why I'm saying, Will Solace, that I am not worth the trouble." Nico's desperate gaze met Will's wide, blue eyes. "You should leave while you still can, because I'll never forgive myself if you get hurt because of me."

Silence stretched between the pair as Nico finished his rant. He felt a heavy pressure settle on his chest as his words sunk in around them. This was where Will would come to his senses and leave Nico, and Nico would try to live his life the best he could, keeping people at arms length. Like how it was suppose to be.

Finally, after a minute, Will sucked in a breath.

"Do you honestly believe that bullshit? I thought you were above that."

Nico's eyes widened. He snapped his gaze up sharply to Will, who looked angry, his face flushed red and his eyes light with fury.

"Wha—"

Will cut him off. "Don't you dare try to use that as an excuse. I know all about what people say—that Hades' children are cursed, that they're avoided because of their strange and unusual powers. Nico di Angelo, I don't care that you can summon skeletons. I'm willing to bet you've done that to save your friends' lives, right?"

Nico was too speechless. He couldn't respond. He could only stare at the blonde before him, the blonde that was currently pulling down all the walls Nico had carefully placed around himself. They were crumbling before his eyes, all because of Will.

"You are not worthless. You are one of the strongest demigods I know. You're selfless and brave and trustworthy. I don't care what 'horrible things' you've done. I know who you are now, and I'm proud to call you my friend. And for the record," Will continued, "you're not alone. You have camp. You have Percy, and Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank, Reyna. Your half-sister. And now you have me, so get used to it, buddy. It's going to take a lot more than this to get rid of me."

With those words, the last wall crumbled away, and within a heartbeat, Nico grabbed Will and pulled him into a fierce hug. He held him as tight as he could, burying his face into Will's neck, pressing his lips against the side of his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut as years of pent up emotion came to the surface all at once. Tears leaked down his cheeks, falling onto Will's neck. Silent sobs wracked his body.

Will held him back just as tightly, wrapping his arms around Nico's small frame while remaining mindful of his injury. He swallowed thickly as he felt Nico's tears hit his skin.

He couldn't believe how much pain and sorrow Nico carried on his shoulders. It was unbelievable, and he wasn't about to let Nico continue this way. Will wanted Nico to trust him to carry some of that burden, to come to Will when he was feeling low. He wanted to be Nico's best friend, the person he could turn to for anything, anytime.

He wasn't just attracted to Nico, and he didn't just feel bad for him. He felt an honest connection between them. He understood how it felt to be lonely, to feel like the world was against you. Surely not to the same extent, but he'd had experiences of his own, and he remembered how awful they had made him felt. He didn't want Nico to ever feel like that again.

Will sighed. He pressed his face into Nico's hair, reveling in the feeling of his embrace. Nico's body was still shaking, but Will was content to just hold him. Nico would get this out of his system, and Will would stay by his side, where he was meant to be, no matter what.

Will made Nico remain in the hospital for the next three days to ensure that his injury was healing properly. Nico groaned and griped that he'd rather be in his own cabin, but when Will threatened him with a week's stay—as he'd originally wanted—he immediately clammed up.

For the most part, Will spent his time with Nico when he wasn't tending to his cabin and Nico wasn't sleeping (and gods did that kid sleep a lot). They would chat about anything and everything or play old board games Will found lying around the Big House (anything to help pass the time).

They didn't really discuss what had happened earlier, but there was an air of clarity between them that hadn't been there before. It felt lighter—happier. Will could sense that Nico was more relaxed around him than he'd been before. He smiled a little more, though mostly just to humor Will's silly antics and cheesy jokes. His eyes were lighter and he didn't flinch back or tense up whenever Will grabbed his hand or brushed the hair out of his eyes. In fact, he seemed to welcome it.

Seeing Nico happier…that made Will happier. There was still so much more Will wanted to learn about the di Angelo boy, but he relished in the fact that Nico was more open with him and wouldn't hold back so much.

As for Nico…well, he definitely felt a significant change in his emotions. He felt as if a house had been lifted from his shoulders. He could feel himself putting more and more trust in Will each day. A part of him was still scared that this would blow up in his face—it always had before—but something about Will's earlier words calmed him and kept him from doubting himself. He wanted Will by his side. He wanted to trust him implicitly. It would take some time, but he was more than willing to work at it.

He could feel himself being pulled towards Will, as if the blonde were his own personal sun. With Will, he felt warmer, happier—he felt alive. He felt himself smiling more, and though he was still too scared and embarrassed to initiate any contact, he wasn't afraid to hold Will's hand when he offered it.

As the last day of Nico's incarceration—er, hospital stay…came to a close, Nico found himself lying on his side on the bed. Will was behind him, inspecting the injury that was already scarring over thanks to constant treatment and nectar and ambrosia.

Will poked around the scar. "Does that hurt?"

Nico winced. "When you jab your thumb in the center of it? Yeah, a little bit," he answered sarcastically.

"Cry baby," Will muttered. He ignored the glare Nico threw over his shoulder, his lips twitching as he fought off a smile.

He examined the injury a little more and poked and prodded for another minute before he finally sighed. "It's healing perfectly. You should still take it easy though," he tagged on, giving the back of Nico's head a sharp look.

As Will grabbed the bottom hem of Nico's shirt to pull it down, his warm fingers brushed against Nico's cool back, causing a shiver to run down the boy's back. Nico felt his face heat up as a warm feeling filled his chest.

Will blushed faintly. "S-sorry," he mumbled. He stumbled over to the coat hook by the front door and grabbed Nico's coat. As Nico stood up, hesitantly testing his limits, Will faced him fully, standing no less than two feet apart.

"Here," Will said, holding out the dark coat. "I wasn't able to salvage your shirt, but I took your coat to the Aphrodite cabin and they stitched it and cleaned it up. Free of charge," Will added on, grinning.

Nico blinked. "Thanks, Will," he said, genuinely touched. He hadn't expected Will to do that for him, so he was honestly and pleasantly surprised. He inspected the back of it and saw a faint, nearly imperceptible line of black stitching. Impressed, he hummed in acceptance and slid his arms through the sleeves.

"Now come on," Will smiled, grabbing Nico's hand to pull him gently through the door. "We have a Christmas to celebrate."

Will dragged Nico down the pathway leading through the cabins. Nico knew this particular path well, seeing as it led to his own cabin.

"Will, what are we doing?" Nico asked suspiciously. As they neared the darkly painted cabin, Nico glared at the offending Christmas lights still hanging from the roof. They glowed brightly in the evening sky along with all the other cabins' lights.

As they got closer, Nico could see through the dark curtains that the cabin lights were already on. He frowned. "Okay, what's going on?"

Will smiled knowingly. "I guess you'll just have to go in and see."

He stood back as Nico stepped up to the door, shooting Will a grimaced look. As he began opening the door, he could hear voices coming from inside. Thoroughly intrigued—and also every bit weary of who could be in his cabin—he pushed the door open and stared at the scene before him.

Red and gold garland had been strung up around the cabin and a fake Christmas tree of average height had been placed in the center of the room. Sitting on the beds and on the floor were his friends: Percy and Annabeth, Jason and Piper, Reyna, Hazel and Frank. Even Coach Hedge was there, who was recalling his tail of defeating a monster to Frank while also eyeing the wrapping paper of some presents under the fake tree.

Everyone turned as Nico and Will stepped into the room. "Nico!"

Eyes wide and jaw dropped in surprise, the dark-haired boy could only blink and stutter out, "W-what—How did—"

Jason stepped forward, grasping Nico's shoulder. "Will Iris-messaged each of us and told us what happened and how you had missed celebrating Christmas with the rest of camp."

"We didn't want you to feel left out," Piper stepped up, smiling. "So we rushed home."

Nico was speechless. He glanced back at Will, who was giving him an innocent smile.

"Since we were already out west," Annabeth piped up, "we decided to pay the Romans a visit—"

"And we decided to come along," Hazel finished, smiling warmly at her brother. "And we wanted to make sure you were okay."

Nico glanced at all his friends, from Reyna who gave him a dry smile to Frank who looked thoroughly unimpressed with Coach Hedge's exaggerated story. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't describe the warm feeling that suddenly filled his body at seeing all of his friends who had literally dropped everything to make sure he was okay.

"I-I don't know what to say…" Nico stuttered. "I guess…Thanks guys. You didn't have to."

Annabeth smiled. "You're our friend, Nico. Of course we had to. We wanted to."

Nico gave her a small smile. He was glad their friendship had remained after he had confessed his feelings for her boyfriend. In fact, it seemed as if they were closer now, a sort of understanding between them.

Suddenly, Percy clapped his hands. "Well all right then!" he exclaimed, grinning like dork. "Let's get this Christmas party going!"

And with that, chatter broke out among them as they passed around desserts and drinks. Music played lightly in the background. Jason gave Nico's shoulder another squeeze and offered him a warm smile before joining his girlfriend among the group.

Nico smiled at this friend, who seemed more relaxed now that he had gotten through meeting Piper's dad.

He then turned to face the culprit of this whole operation.

"So is this what you were doing whenever you left?" Nico asked, raising a brow and giving a wry smile. "Organizing a Christmas with our friends?"

Will grinned. "Pretty much." His smile became more serious, as did his tone, as he asked, "So, do you like it?"

Nico glanced at his laughing friends. He relished the warm feeling in his cabin. It felt right, being with all the people he cared about.

"I love it."

At his response, Will smiled brightly, the type of smile that lifted Nico's spirits and made him feel warm. Feeling bold, Nico slipped his hand into Will's warm, tan one. His heart thundered loudly in his chest and his face flushed, but he didn't let go. As Will grinned at him, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze, Nico knew didn't want to let go. Ever.

So maybe things this year had turned out differently than he planned. He certainly didn't think he'd land himself in the middle of an attempt to overthrow the Underworld, and he was weary that the situation would only get worse. But he tried not to think too deeply on that.

All that mattered was that Nico had finally found some acceptance. He finally let someone through his carefully built walls and exposed himself for what he was. He'd never felt such strong emotion from someone. He never expected that he would feel so strongly for another person and to have his feelings reciprocated. Normally, he'd spend Christmas by himself, moping around in his misery while everyone enjoyed themselves. It was what he was used to. But, looking at his friends, and looking at the boy beside him, pressed against his side, he was glad to spend his Christmas this way. In fact…

It was better.

And that's it! Merry belated Christmas!

Notes:

1. First off, I love love LOVE Solangelo. They are seriously up there with Percabeth and ApolloThalia. They give me so much inspiration to write!

2. On that note, I've decided I will write a collection of Solangelo one-shots that sort of tie together. I already have a couple in mind, so we'll see how they turn out ;)

3. I purposely left the whole "Underworld overthrow" plot open because I may or may not write a story about that (with Solangelo of course). It's definitely crossed my mind, but for now I'm not going to worry about it.

So yeah! I had a lot of fun writing this. My favorite part was definitely when Nico and Will have their moment in the "hospital." I choked myself up writing it.

Thanks for reading and remember to review!

-Akatsuki Child