It was Christmas.
Of course most of the campers weren't there but, Nico Di Angelo was. Nico wasn't the Christmas type, he hated the loud carols and the unusual food but most importantly, it was a reminder that he didn't have a family to go home to anymore, there were no presents under the tree. There was no TREE.
Well there was, but Thalia was human now.
Chiron had suggested decorating the Hades cabin to get into the spirit of things and keep busy, Nico could hardly protest, what else was there to do anyways? So he spent the day watching his skeleton men put up lights and bring in a small pine tree.
What he didn't see was that they also put up mistletoe.
After a long few hours the son of Hades sent his skeletons back down and went inside of his cabin, hoping to just forget about things for a while and sleep. Of course someone else had other plans. A certain child of Apollo just so happened to be passing by Nico's cabin with a present in hand when he saw they young boy go in looking way more tired than usual. So, being a doctor - and a bit nosy - he decided to check up on him.
As soon as Will Solace entered the Hades cabin 3 things went through his mind:
1) There's mistletoe hanging from the door frame.
2) He should've knocked, (that way Nico would've had to have opened).
3) There was actual brightness in the Hades Cabin.
Nico, startled, looked up from his current place of residence - face down in his mattress. Upon seeing Will, he quickly stood up and flushed, feeling obviously flustered. "Did you, um, need anything?"
Will grinned at him, "Nah, I just wanted to say hello. See how you were doing... you know -- the works."
"Also, this." Will handed a small box to Nico and went behind him to check out the sketches on the wall. No, these were not sketches, these were terrible memories of Tartarus printed on a paper with pencil. These were the horrifying experiences Nico had faced alone conveyed through lead and paper.
Will's heart wrenched, how long had it been since Nico had been to Tartarus? Was he still suffering? Would it ever stop?
Nico was aware that Will was probably staring at his sketches but he didn't care, he was focused on the gift in his hand. He swiftly unwrapped it and inside he saw a small locket, when he opened it there was a small mirror on one side and words on the other, it read:
For my favorite demigod, to remind you that you look good when you smile. You should do it more often.
The corners of Nico's mouth tilted up ever so slightly.
"Like it?" he heard Will's voice say, closer than he was expecting. He jumped and in the mirror saw Will's face, right above Nico's shoulder. Nico took a step forward and turned around, close to the door.
"Yes, I - thank you," Nico was going to say ''I love it'' but refrained himself. Will took a step closer to him and Nico stepped back again, he noticed how the boy wore an easy smile. "I'm glad." Will said, a hint of respect in his voice. Respect for the boy who had survived the very depths of Tartarus alone, respect for the boy who stayed alone well after that too.
Nico flushed, not knowing what to say. He unconsciously took one more step back, finding his back touching the door. Will was grinning at something above his head, Nico followed his gaze to find mistletoe. Nico rolled his eyes in a desperate manner, suddenly finding himself full of words, "Oh for Hades sake! Well, the stupid skeletons, we don't have to.. um I'm sorry - really I - "
Nico was cut off by noticing how close Will's face was to him, Will towered over the black haired boy and whispered softly, "Rules are rules," before proceeding to gently kiss Nico. Will stuffed his hands in his pocket for fear that they would start going places where he did not want them to go yet. Nico sighed into the kiss and stared at Will when he pulled back.
"Merry Christmas, Nico."