So there's a lot of things I need to notify you guys of before we get started here. If you don't wanna read all this bold text, that's okay, but before you write a review full of criticism, take the time to see if I mentioned anything here. I've got a lot to say.

This story is a Christmas present to my friend Jessica. She is a huge Lico/Valdangelo shipper and basically this is for her. I thought I'd share this with the Internet, though, so I hope you all will enjoy this!

However, here's a few things to keep in mind as you're reading: 1.) I started the story before I finished HoH. I tried to fix some things that may have gone against whatever HoH made canon, but I'm not perfect. 2.) I'm writing this story before Blood of Olympus, meaning if you're a person from the future who is reading this after October of 2014, I'm sorry for all the things I made up that probably didn't/won't happen in BoO. Especially throughout this first chapter, I found myself tying up some loose ends after the war with Gaea (as this story takes place in the December after). So yeah, quite a lot are either headcanons or just non-canon. Whatever guys, just read along and enjoy!

Oh, and one more thing: Leo and Nico might (at parts) sound a little OOC. I actually tried to keep them as in-character as I could. But you see, they're falling in love in this story. Love does crazy things. They're not gonna sound like themselves. They're even going to notice that here. So you know, just go along with it. Take it or leave it. Love it or hate it. I don't know.

By the way, I am quite aware that I am posting this after Christmas. It's December 30th and I still haven't written all the chapters yet. So it's a late gift to my friend Jessica and to all of you guys at the same time. Oops. Like I said before, I'm not perfect. (But hey, I once read a Christmas fic in August, so I'm sure you guys can read this Christmas fic a few days late.)

ONE FINAL VERY IMPORTANT THING: Leo and Nico will be going to a LOT of different places throughout this story. About 75% of my time writing this fic was spent researching weather, locations, holiday traditions, etc etc of different places. If I screwed something up, I'm sorry and that'll probably break my heart, as it took FOREVER to Google everything I needed to know in order to write each chapter (the exception being chapter one). So again, if there are inaccuracies, I apologize greatly. This fic is not meant to promote stereotypes, insult, or hurt anyone. It is for the mere enjoyment of Leo and Nico. (I hope to the gods I got most of this information right anyway).

Enough of me rambling. I'll post chapters when I feel like it. ~Happy Holidays!~

CHAPTER 1

The Vacation of a Lifetime

Day: 1

Leo stood at the helm of his warship, the Argo II, and gazed at Camp Half-Blood far below. Demigods—many Greek, some Roman—frantically bustled about the camp. They sprinted from one cabin to another, hurriedly collecting last-minute belongings before they caught their ride to the nearest airport. It was less than two weeks before Christmas, and most demigods were leaving for the holiday season. Those were the demigods with places to be and people to visit. Unlike those half-bloods, Leo didn't have any mortal parent to spend time with. He didn't have a home to go back to. His home was here at camp, and more importantly, the Argo II.

And he wouldn't have it any other way. After the events of the summer, Leo couldn't envision another place he would call home. His warship was his home. He also couldn't imagine any other family. His friends were his family. While many of his distant cousins were finishing their much-procrastinated packing, Leo calmly rested his head on the controls of the ship, glad he didn't have to deal with the extra stress of the holidays. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes at the scent of pine needles—the smell he associated so much with home.

He was so lost in thought he didn't hear the footsteps approaching the helm. He whirled around at the sound of his name. His eyes lit up when he saw his best friend Piper standing behind him.

"Hey, Beauty Queen," Leo said with a mischievous smirk. Piper rolled her eyes, but Leo knew she was secretly in love with the nickname.

"Repair Boy," Piper said, giving Leo a light punch on the shoulder. "What are you doing up here?"

Leo shrugged and stole a glance of camp from behind him. Gods, the sight from the ship was stunning.

"You know I have attachment issues," Leo said. He stroked the controls of the ship as if they were his pet. "I can't leave my ship. Isn't that right, Baby?"

Piper pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see that."

Leo gave his friend a questioning look. "Aren't you going to your dad's for the holidays?"

"I am, actually," remarked Piper. "I came up here to say goodbye."

If Leo were a dog, his ears would be drooping. Piper was practically his sister, and the fact that he wasn't going to spend the holidays with his surrogate sibling made his gut twist with sadness. "Oh."

Piper noted Leo's sudden change in emotion quickly. He couldn't tell if it was because she was the daughter of Love or simply because she knew him so well. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, forcing him to make eye contact with her.

"Hey, it's only until a little after New Year's," she said softly. "We'll all be back before you know it."

Piper wasn't the only one leaving. Percy and Annabeth were heading to San Francisco where Annabeth's dad lived. Percy's mom was to meet them there and they were going to have a conjoined family Christmas. Jason and Piper were doing something similar—Piper's famous dad Tristan McLean had invited Piper as well as her boyfriend over for the holidays. Jason didn't have any mortal family like Leo, but he was sure Piper and her dad would be just what he needed. And Hazel and Frank were back at Camp Jupiter, helping Reyna out with the Legion kids.

All of his friends insisted that Leo come with them. Annabeth had said that her father was always happy to make room for one more. Piper had threatened to punch him senseless until he agreed to tag along with her and Jason. Hazel had offered for Leo to join in on a festive New Rome Christmas. Countless times they had asked for his company, and countless times Leo politely declined. It was not that he didn't enjoy their invitations. He actually was very touched that they all were so keen on giving him the perfect Christmas. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was truly wanted. But that wasn't enough for him to leave. He had other plans in mind.

As his thoughts drifted to a certain son of Hades, Piper's wide kaleidoscope eyes poured into her friend. She was worried about him, no doubt, but she had a sneaky feeling his motives for staying behind during the holidays had nothing to do with her or the rest of the Seven. Her wonderful Aphrodite senses were tingling, and Leo was radiating some interesting emotions: excitement, impatience, and…was that love?

But this love was different. It wasn't quite like the love of a sibling or family member, yet it wasn't as protruding or prominent as the love of a spouse or partner. It was something else, something with an undefined name that maybe only Leo was capable of feeling.

Piper was beginning to get a headache from all the contradicting emotions Leo emitted. She concentrated and pushed them out of her head like she was shoving an intruder out the door. She took her hand off Leo's shoulder and let it fall limply to her side.

"What do you plan on doing while we're away?"

Leo shrugged and flashed her a half-hearted smile. He was clearly distracted by his own thoughts.

"Oh, you know, the usual," he said casually. "Fighting off monsters, setting a couple dummies aflame in the arena, maybe sprucing the ol' war machine up." He patted the Argo II affectionately.

Piper could tell he was lying. He wasn't planning on doing any of those things. She wondered what he was hiding.

"What are you and Sparky gonna do at your dad's?"

Piper tugged at her uneven braids. It made her worried and upset whenever Leo was keeping something to himself. But she didn't want to start a scene, so she decided to go along with his sudden change in conversation, which was now putting the spotlight on her.

"I'm hoping to just relax," she admitted. "This whole diplomacy thing between the Greeks and Romans is wearing me out."

Ever since both groups of demigods were able to unite under the Athena Parthenos's power (kudos to Reyna and Annabeth for figuring that monster of a problem out) and defeat Gaea and her forces, the two camps had been genuinely working together. Most of the ancient tension between the demigods had eased and things had been moving smoothly. Of course, there were a few spats here and there, but nothing compared to atrocities like the American Civil War—which was, naturally, caused by Roman and Greek feuds. But in order to make sure things didn't get too out of hand, Piper and her sister Drew were constantly traveling from one camp to another. Their power of charmspeak made them the perfect candidates to assist in diplomatic meetings and other various jobs, including breaking up small brawls and arguments. To say the least, Piper had been working overtime, and she of all people needed a break.

"And how is your dad adjusting to his new—ah—view of the world?"

"Surprisingly well," Piper said. "Ever since Aphrodite gave him the ability to hold the knowledge about the gods, he's been constantly researching Greek myths. I'm sure he and Jason will get along famously."

Leo smiled—a real smile this time. "That's great, Pipes."

Piper returned the smile, but it was quickly replaced by a frown. "Are you sure—"

"Piper, I am sure."

The daughter of Aphrodite bit her bottom lip. "Okay. If you're so certain you want to stay here…"

"I am," Leo said definitely. And before he knew it, Piper was pulling him into a tight hug. Leo hugged her back, not really wanting to let go. After the battle with Gaea, Leo began to enjoy the little moments like these. He would take mental snapshots of the moment and put them into a little filing cabinet inside his head. Like the time Percy laughed so hard water came out of his nose (and he wasn't drinking anything, for the record); or the time Leo caught Frank and Hazel dancing to music from the 40s on the deck of the Argo II; or when Jason had to fly Piper high above harm's way when Annabeth woke to a baby spider in her bed, courtesy of Beauty Queen herself. Or the first time Nico actually laughed at one of Leo's jokes—especially that time. All those little, almost meaningless memories meant something to Leo, and he never ever wanted to forget them. He silently filed "Leo and Piper's Holiday Farewell Hug" inside his brain.

Leo escorted Piper out of his ship and to the taxi just outside Half-Blood Hill, where Jason and Coach Hedge awaited her. Leo raised his eyebrow at the coach, but he figured he was only going to see his wife, who was also Tristan McLean's assistant. After a friendly goodbye hug with Jason and a bone-crunching slap on the back from the coach, Leo walked back down the hill and entered the main boarders of camp once again.

Leo found him in Cabin 3—Percy's cabin. He was staying with the son of Poseidon while his own cabin was under construction. Annabeth insisted on making sure everything about the Hades Cabin was perfect, and that meant she would be working on it for a while. Being the Official Architect of Olympus and the Unofficial Architect of Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth had such a position that Leo knew he was in no place to criticize. Judging by the work so far, the Hades Cabin would be the total opposite of sucktastic. In other words: it was pretty darn good.

Leo knocked once and let himself in, too impatient to wait for an answer. He found the son of Hades lying on a bunk inside the cabin, staring at the shadows on the ceiling, an arm behind his head. His long bangs were swept to one side, just barely out of his eyes. His pale, sunken skin was starting to regain some color and shape, but he still resembled a lifeless corpse. For some reason, that was the part of Nico di Angelo that Leo found most endearing.

Nico sat up violently when he heard the cabin door creak open, his head almost smashing into the ceiling. He scowled at the person who rudely made his way inside. Though when he saw who it was his expression softened.

"What are you doing here, Valdez?"

The son of Hephaestus seemed to light up like a million florescent light bulbs. His caramel brown eyes twinkled with excitement. He wasted no time with small talk.

"Will you run away with me?" he blurted, clasping his hands together in pure joy.

Nico di Angelo had fought monsters, demigods, and immortal beings. He could summon the dead with Happy Meals as well as skeletal creatures in the blink of an eye. He could shadow travel to any place on earth and withstand the harsh conditions of the Underworld. Nico di Angelo had been through so much in his short fourteen years. However, he could honestly admit that he had never found himself at such a loss for words than in that very moment.

"What?" he stammered.

Leo, realizing his interesting word choice, felt heat creep up to his cheeks. He began stumbling over his words while fiddling with his hands anxiously.

"I, uh, did not mean…uh…that. I—um…" He cleared his throat, wanting more than ever to obtain a restart button and redo the whole entry scene again. "I actually—um—meant—"

Nico hopped down from the top bunk, his black shoes clunking to the ground. The sound echoed throughout the cabin. Leo felt himself grow more nervous as the son of Hades stepped closer to him. His heart rate increased and he was sure his curly brown hair was beginning to drip with perspiration.

It was now or never. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily.

"Would you like to go on a vacation with me?" Leo tried again, feeling a little more pleased with these words.

Nico raised an eyebrow. Leo knew it wouldn't be an easy task to get the son of Hades to agree with his plan, but there was still a small spark of hope in his mind that he was wrong. He prayed to any god out there that Nico would say yes.

"Look," Leo started, "you and I—we don't have any place to go. Besides camp, we don't have a home to return to for the holidays…"

"As I recall," Nico began dryly, "you were invited to many places for Christmas."

"So were you," Leo retorted. "But you also declined."

Nico's face was expressionless, and Leo took that as his cue to continue.

"I was thinking—instead of staying here at camp with the few demigods who are normally left behind…"

Nico flinched at Leo's words, and Leo instantly regretted using the phrase "left behind." But it was too late to take those words back, and Leo decided to trudge through what he was trying to say. He realized that he must not have been as smooth as previously thought.

Leo sighed and tried to form his jumbled thoughts into viable sentences.

"I have this plan," he started, "where we can have the best Christmas vacation ever. Just you and me, on the Argo II, traveling to different places all over the world—one place per day for twelve days total. It will all lead up to December 25th—Christmas Day. What do you think?"

Leo was afraid he was noticeably shaking. He didn't know what Nico would say. Would the son of Hades laugh in his face? Would he summon skeletal warriors to chase Leo out of the cabin? Would he tell Chiron that Leo was harassing him?

Nico di Angelo was a mystery. No one knew what he was going to say or do next. He was unpredictable and quiet, albeit very opinionated. But once Leo got passed those things, he started to see other things within the ghostly demigod. He was brave—that was for sure. He was also extremely powerful, not only because he was the son of one of the Big Three, but because he radiated this godly confidence within him—something he didn't have until after the war with Gaea. And contrary to popular belief, Nico di Angelo had a big heart. Leo had seen him in action when his sister or his best friends were in trouble. Nico was quick to save anyone, being the selfless person he was.

Sure, Nico was still introverted, withdrawn, and completely misunderstood by most, but Leo managed to see so much more underneath Nico's tough exterior. And Leo loved everything about him.

Nico seemed to ponder Leo's proposition. He raised a ghostly eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. Leo couldn't help but compare Nico's current expression with an innocent little puppy.

"You and me," Nico said finally, "on a giant warship, traveling the world for twelve days straight." It wasn't a question; Nico was merely trying to understand what Leo was suggesting here.

Leo glanced down at his feet. The son of Hephaestus was anxious.

"Yeah," he said sheepishly. "Ever since the war, I've kind of meant to take a vacation. But you know—demigod duty calls."

Leo was right—all demigods thought that after the war was fought and won, they would be able to take a break and relax. Maybe they would spend their time by the shores of Camp Half-Blood or take a class at the university in New Rome. Leo was looking forward to that off-time—Hades, all the demigods were! But alas, no such time came. The Hephaestus cabin and Athena cabin were hard at work rebuilding both camps, with both Leo and Annabeth in the command. All camp counselors were constantly going back and forth between both camps, having diplomatic meetings and sorting out any issues—meaning Jason, Percy, Piper and all the other counselors were busy 24/7. Nico was always heading to the Underworld to check and double check that the Doors of Death were secured and that Hades was okay with the extra security arrangements surrounding the many entrances to Tartarus. Hazel and Frank also helped out wherever they could, being great model demigods of both camps.

All demigods were constantly on the move like never before. No one had the chance to relax.

Leo continued: "But now that it's the holidays, I feel like this would be a perfect time to get our vacay on!"

Nico fumbled for the right words. He didn't want to crush Leo's feelings.

"But with most campers gone," Nico pointed out, "who's going to take care of camp? There needs to be someone here to protect the borders from monsters and answer to any calls from the gods. What if camp needs us?"

Leo managed a grin. "I'm one step ahead of you, bro. I talked to Chiron about it, and he said there are plenty of demigods not leaving for the holidays. And the magic around camp has been increased in strength, thanks to a certain leader of the Hephaestus cabin. The borders are impenetrable."

Before Nico could protest, Leo quickly added, "Besides, isn't there some rule for monsters about not attacking demigods during the Christmas season?"

"No."

"Whatever." Leo blew the comment off. "I'm sure the monsters are busy having their own celebration down in Tartarus anyway." Nico narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying the argument, but how could he resist Leo's pleading brown eyes? They were so big and wide and hopeful that Nico could barely stand under their gaze. In his heart, he knew he would not win this argument.

"All right," said Nico uneasily. His voice was barely above a whisper, but Leo heard him plenty. He threw his fist into the air and let out a loud whoop.

"Yes!" He draped an arm around Nico's shoulders, much to the latter's dismay. "We are going to have so much fun! There are still a lot of places around the world I want to see! I rigged up the Archimedes' sphere to boost up the Argo II's speed by nearly 300 percent, so we'll be able to go to a new place every single day. We will be going faster than ever!"

Nico ducked under Leo's arm, which his friend shrugged off. He stopped in the middle of the cabin.

"Are you sure this will be okay?" Nico asked. "The last time we were on that warship, we were trying to stop Gaea from rising. A lot of bloody battles happened on those decks. I'm afraid…" Nico stopped. It was not often he admitted he was scared of something. Yet, being here alone with Leo, he felt like he could open up a lot more. He caught himself before he could go any further.

Leo sensed Nico's discomfort and replied to his unspoken fear. "Don't worry. Gaea is gone and there should be no threat to us—the Fates aren't that cruel."

Nico thought of Percy and Annabeth. Those two were clear examples of the Fates being that cruel. The two had fought in the bloody Battle of Manhattan, barely escaped with their lives, and finally had the chance to settle down. And only a few months later, bam! They were thrown back into a conflict with Olympus and some outside source—this time being Mother Earth herself—and found themselves in the middle of another war. If the Fates couldn't give those two a break, why should they ever be nice to Nico di Angelo and his scrawny friend?

But Nico did not voice his opinion. Instead, he went along with Leo. Surely the son of Hephaestus was right. Nico was only being paranoid.

"So…when are we leaving?"

Leo broke out into a huge smile. "Let's go right now."

"Right now?" Nico looked around incredulously. "But…I haven't even started packing."

"Just grab what you think you need. It's not that hard."

"Okay…" He disappeared into the bathroom he shared with Percy and returned a second later with a single toothbrush in his hand. "Ready."

Leo rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…Just a toothbrush? Don't you want, um, clothes or something?"

Nico looked down at his typical outfit—aviator jacket, skull T-shirt, ripped skinny jeans. "I'm sure I can wash these here and there."

Leo smirked. Even when Nico didn't mean to be, the kid was funny.

They notified Chiron of their departure and the old centaur hugged them both goodbye, which surprised the two demigods. Then they climbed the decks of the Argo II and got settled near the helm. Leo flipped a couple switches and rattled a pair of Wii remotes. The ship lurched as it ascended to the sky above them, far above Camp Half-Blood.

Leo tinkered with the Archimedes' sphere to make sure it was working properly. He watched Nico out of the corner of his eye. The son of Hades was staring off into the distance, clearly lost in thought. Leo couldn't tell what he was thinking of, but it may have been something to do with the war with Gaea.

And he was right. "It's a little lonely, being the only two people on the ship."

Leo looked up from the sphere. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Crap. That was the total opposite of what he wanted to say. He didn't want Nico to feel lonely—he wanted him to be happy! Leo wanted nothing more than to make his friend have the best Christmas vacation ever. He didn't know that the warship would end up feeling this empty without the rest of the Seven. Leo bit the inside of his cheek.

"But, hey…" He stepped closer to Nico. "We're going to have a lot of fun. We'll go sightseeing, we'll decorate the ship, we'll drink hot cocoa—all the normal Christmas stuff, we will do."

Nico managed what Leo suspected was the hint of a smile. "Okay. So, where to first?"

Leo's eyes twinkled. "That's for me to know, and you to find out." He looked at the sky above him. The sun was beginning to set. "You go below deck and get some sleep. We should be at our Day 2 destination by the time you wake up."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me." He flashed one of his signature grins. "I don't need sleep."

Nico took Leo's suggestion in account (he was feeling rather tired) and descended down the stairs. He didn't know where to go from there. If Nico had a cabin on the ship, he would have slept there for the night. However, the ship was made for the Seven of the Great Prophecy, which Nico was not a part of. Sure, he helped out at times, but he wasn't one of the Seven. He was an outsider.

He paced the hallway of the cabins, pondering the chances of getting yelled at if he were to temporarily use one. Percy was allowing him to bunk in Cabin 3 at camp—maybe he wouldn't mind Nico borrowing this cabin too. Nico began to head to Percy's cabin when something caught his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Next to Frank's room, at the end of the hallway, there was a new door. Nico couldn't remember there being this many doors. But what caught his attention the most was the inscribed name upon the door. The letters and style of handwriting matched all the other demigods' doors.

Nico di Angelo

Nico's heart raced at an unhealthy speed. His thin hand turned the cool doorknob. He slowly pushed the door open and made his way inside. He caught his breath.

The cabin wasn't big. He knew Leo had to make some dimension changes in order to squeeze the extra room into the hallway. But being slightly smaller than the others didn't even faze him. The cabin was beautiful.

The walls were coated in dark purple paint, which was calming in a weird sense. A curtain matching the walls was pulled back by the small porthole window. The bed had gray, fluffy covers, and the floor had equally fluffy carpeting. Gray spires jutted out of the headboard of the bed, which was also littered with purple pillows. Next to the bed was a small wooden dresser and across from the bed was a desk made of the same material. Everything was simple, but that wasn't what made it so stunning.

Pictures were all over the walls. Nico and his friends were displayed in the pictures, all captured moments that Nico hadn't dwindled over much. There was the picture of the time Percy and Jason convinced Nico to join in on a volleyball game. There was a snapshot of Nico and Hazel sitting at the beach, Hazel smiling brilliantly and Nico having the faintest hint of one played out on his lips. There was the picture of Nico smashed between Piper and Annabeth, who had quickly taken what they called a "selfie" with him. And there was that photo of Leo, Nico, and Frank all dressed up in demigod armor, ready to take part in a game of capture the flag.

So many pictures were framed, tacked, taped, and even stapled to the walls. Nico could barely see the purple paint underneath the litter of photos, which now acted like a wallpaper of memories. There were more pictures on the desk and the dresser. Nico's heart surged with pride and happiness—Leo had truly gone all out to make him feel like home. Nico didn't even know he had taken this many pictures with people.

On the bed, there was a folded up note. With shaking hands, Nico smoothed the lined paper out. Messy handwriting was scrawled out on the note, and Nico automatically knew who it was from. His heart thumped against his chest as he read it to himself.

Nico,

Welcome aboard the Argo II. I'm super excited that you came along. We're going to have a blast! I was gonna do this "Secret Santa" thing with you, but then I realized we were the only two people on the ship and you would know who this was from. Anyway, while we're traveling the world—one place each day for twelve full days—I'm also going to do something extra. I am going to give you one gift for each day. It's like that Twelve Days of Christmas song! This is Day 1, and our first location is Camp Half-Blood. Your first gift is the room. I hope you like it. I felt like you needed a place to stay while we're venturing around the world.

From,

You're Not-So-Secret-Santa

(ps: it's Leo Valdez if you didn't figure it out already)

Nico read and re-read the letter, his dyslexia messing up some of the words, but he was still able to get the main gist of it. Leo was serious when he said he was going to give him the best Christmas vacation ever. Not only were they going to one place in the world each day, but Nico was receiving one gift per day. Nico shook his head. He had never really received many gifts for the holidays, except from his sister Bianca—but that was in the past. What was Leo up to now? Why did he want to do all this for Nico? And what was Nico supposed to do to return the favor?

Nico took another look around the room. He was going to have to get Leo the most perfect Christmas gift ever. Maybe he couldn't do the Twelve Days of Christmas thing, but he could try to find an amazing gift. He hadn't been really planning on getting anyone a Christmas present, and now he found his mind scrambling for the things Leo liked. Tools, girls, tacos, pranks…

Maybe this would be the best Christmas vacation ever.

Thanks for taking the time to read Chapter 1 of my first lengthy fic. I hope you enjoyed :) Watch out for updates! They'll be coming in soon.

~Serena