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Christmas has never been Jason’s favorite holiday. It’s not that he doesn’t like it- it’s just not really his thing. Christmas is a time for family, and up until three years ago he never had a family. Which isn’t to say that the people at Camp Jupiter weren’t amazing- and it was certainly something to see when all their military discipline cut loose at the Christmas celebrations, but he had always felt apart from them. Distant.
But this is the third year that he’s spent Christmas at Camp Half-blood, and it’s like everything he had always wanted Christmas to be. Thalia brings all of the Artemis girls to the Camp so she can “check in on her favorite little brother.”
That first year, Jason had had Piper on one arm and had been deliriously happy. Leo had spiked the eggnog something hard, and everything had been brightly lit and he had been dizzy with the feelings he could hardly put words to. And probably the alcohol. At least a little bit.
He’d even managed to persuade Nico to come to each of their Christmas parties, which was always a hard fought battle. Jason figured that, of all of them, he probably saw Nico the most. He liked Nico, probably more than he should, if he were honest.
The party is already in full swing by the time that Nico actually arrives this year. Jason is staying far away from the eggnog, and the dance floor. Percy is swinging Annabeth around enthusiastically, more wildly than the song requires. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Hazel has cornered Frank by the mistletoe and he hides a grin.
Piper is dancing with both of the Stoll brothers, laughing as they spin her back and forth between them.
“Does it bother you?” Nico asks from Jason's side. Jason doesn't jump, but mostly because he's used to Nico appearing by his side, without warning or explanation. Secretly, he's pleased that it's him that Nico always appears near, despite the other boy's feelings for, well, other demigods.
“Does what bother me?” he asks, passing Nico the extra glass of (un-spiked) apple cider that he'd been holding onto. Nico takes it with a small, pleased little smile, and nods at Piper, who is now kissing Connor playfully.
“Nah,” Jason replies, and it's not as much of a lie as he expects. It still gives him a pang to see Piper kiss someone else so casually. He figures some part of him would always be in love with her, even if he didn't want to be with her forever. “Does it bother you?” he doesn't look at where Percy is dipping Annabeth extravagantly, and Nico doesn't either.
“No.”
Jason doesn't believe him. Nico had been telling him the same thing for three years now, and Jason still remembers how his face would tighten when Percy kissed Annabeth, when they went by holding hands.
But this year, Jason has a plan.
Well, sort of a plan. A little bit of a plan. It mostly involves getting Percy and Nico to kiss under the mistletoe. And by mostly, he means entirely. That's the whole plan.
It's a pretty solid plan, he figured, despite the lack of complexity. One kiss, and it will be clear to Percy that Nico had been in love with him for almost five years now. And well- who wouldn't want Nico?
Jason takes a big gulp of his cider and suddenly wishes he had grabbed the eggnog instead. When he lowers his glass, Nico is watching him in speculation. Jason holds his gaze, because he doesn't know what Nico is looking for, and he doesn't want Nico to think that he makes Jason uncomfortable.
It's important, to Jason, that Nico know how much Jason trusts him, how much he values him. How much he lov- enjoys having Nico in his life.
Then Nico sighs and looks away, “I should go say hi to Hazel.”
Jason coughs. “She might be busy.”
Nico looks back at him, dark eyes curious.
“With Frank,” Jason clarifies.
Nico rolls his eyes. “That punk.”
Jason laughs. He can't help it. It's so easy, most of the time, to forget what decade Nico is actually from, until he slips and uses language that no one, except maybe Hazel, has heard in years.
“Yeah, he's a punk alright.”
Nico's eyes cut over to Jason. “Are you mocking me?”
Jason raises his hand in mock surrender. “Never!”
Nico's expression is suspicious. He opens his mouth he's going to reply, but before he can say anything, Percy interrupts, bounding over to where the two of them are standing.
“Nico!” He says, throwing one arm over Nico's shoulder. “When did you get here?”
Nico stiffens instantly, and Jason misses the loose, comfortable Nico. He wants Percy to go away. Which is stupid, of course, because Percy needs to be around for his plan to work.
“I just arrived,” Nico replies, ducking out from Percy's arm and moving to Jason's side.
“Sweet! You're staying the entire time, right? Because you ditched out last year- don't think I didn’t notice.”
Jason glances over at Nico, trying to give him a meaningful look, but Nico is still looking at Percy. Jason tries to pretend he doesn't care.
“I'm staying,” Nico replies.
“Great! Annabeth and I got you the best present, you'll love it.”
Nico's mouth quirks up. “You mean, Annabeth got me a great present and you fronted half the money and put your name on the card when you realized you forgot to buy presents again.”
Percy coughs. “Well.”
Nico chuckles. “Get out of here, Jackson, your lady awaits.” He nods over to Annabeth, who's holding two cups of eggnog over by the drinks table.
“Great to see you,” Percy says, and runs off. Jason shakes his head.
Nico sees him doing it, and raises an eyebrow.
“You'd think that, at 21, he would have calmed down a bit,” Jason says.
Nico laughs and shakes his head. “Not Percy.”
“Apparently not.”
Age hadn't changed Percy much, he still made stupid jokes and spoke at the wrong times and pulled ridiculous last minute solutions out of a hat by sheer luck.
Nico had aged well though- with an extra three inches, he came to just below Jason's chin. He still wore his hair to messy, but his bomber jacket almost fit him by now. He looked amazing. Percy was an idiot.
But, well, maybe Percy just needed some help. Jason's help. The real question was how to get two unknowing people under the mistletoe.
Jason glances around the room, trying to find all the places where mistletoe would have been hidden. They're in Leo's garage, since he was the only one with a place big enough to hold them all, and the lack of proper doorways meant that the mistletoe was hung somewhat sporadically around the room.
After that, the night gets a little crazy. Jason will manage to get one of them under the mistletoe, but when he tries to get the other one, something will happen. Annabeth had wandered up to Percy the first time and dipped him back like an old fashioned film, until the both started laughing too hard to keep kissing.
Hazel had wandered up to talk to Nico the second time, and the two of them had exchanged polite cheek kisses.
The thing with Calypso and Percy had been a complete accident and Jason accepted no responsibility for that.
The fourth time, Leo had been standing under the mistletoe before Jason had seen him, and in Jason efforts to get Nico over there, he has ended up with Leo.
And, well, there was no way that Nico and Percy would kiss if Jason didn't set a precedent of same-sex kisses, so he awkwardly grabs Leo by the ears and plants one on him.
Leo makes a startled, indignant noise and flails his arms, but Jason resolutely counts to ten in his head, unmoving lips pressed to Leo's.
Finally, he lets go, and walks away while Leo splutters at him. Jason walks straight over to the drinks table and he sees Nico, laughing his ass off but holding two glasses of eggnog.
“Shut up,” Jason says, and takes the glass from him. He gulps it back in one go, and Nico's laugh is fading away by the time he finishes.
“I didn't know that Leo was your type,” Nico says, and Jason makes a face.
“Well, he is pretty hot,” he jokes. It belatedly occurs to him that he was lucky that Leo hadn't burst into flames at the shock, and he pours himself another glass of eggnog.
“I'm cutting you off,” Nico says when he finishes, taking Jason's glass from him.
“You can't even drink that- you're 17.”
“Almost 18,” Nico corrects, and takes a defiant sip of eggnog. Jason ignores him, and goes back to planning out lines of sight and possible routes to the best mistletoe spots.
The fifth time is, apparently the charm. Percy laughs awkwardly when he looks up and sees it, and Nico turns his head to give Jason a look that could probably kill a lesser man. Jason gives him a thumbs up.
Nico rolls his eyes, and turns to say something to Percy. Percy nods, and Jason is pretty sure that he sees Percy giving him a look.
But then all thoughts about that go out of Jason's head because Percy is bending the few inches that separate him and Nico, and his hands are on Nico's waist.
Nico leans into the kiss, pressing up on his toes and Jason thought he could handle this but he can't he really can't.
He turns away, because he's glad that his plan worked, glad that Nico will be happy, but right now he really wants to be somewhere else.
Then Jason hears someone wolf whistling, and apparently he's a masochist, because he turns back.
To his surprise, Annabeth is with Percy instead, and they're kissing passionately enough to make Jason blush.
“What the hell was that?” Nico asks, suddenly at Jason's side. For the first time in over a year, Jason startles at his voice.
“Um, mistletoe?”
“Yeah, no shit,” Nico snaps. “Why were you trying to get me under it all night?”
Jason glances away, because he'd thought he'd been more subtle than that. “I thought- you and Percy.”
“Percy has had a steady girlfriend for almost five years, I don't think he'll leave her for a drunken mistletoe kiss,” Nico says scathingly.
“You're not-”
“No, I'm not. But Percy is at least tipsy, in case you hadn't noticed.”
Jason glances over, and it occurs to him that the flush on Percy's face was from more than the dancing.
“I thought-”
Nico raises a hand, and Jason stops talking.
“I know, what you thought, Jason. But don't you listen when I tell you that I am over him?”
“I thought that was just manly posturing. Stiff upper lip.”
Nico rolls his eyes. “You're an idiot, Jason.”
Jason bristles. “I was trying-”
He stops abruptly when Nico wraps one hand around his wrist and starts walking. Confused, Jason follows. He almost runs into Nico when he stops abruptly.
“Oh, wow, mistletoe!” Nico says in mock surprise. “Where did that come from?” He looks up at Jason, and his lips are quirked up and his eyes are dark. “You've been trying all night to get me under the mistletoe, why don’t you let me kiss someone I'm actually interested in?”
And then Nico, brave, strong Nico, leans up and kisses him. It is, thank the gods, nothing like his kiss with Leo.
Jason's hands fall to Nico's hips, and his mouth opens automatically. He can feel Nico smile against his lips, and it makes him warm all over, just like it always had. He likes, no, loves, being the one to make Nico smile.
He feels Nico's hands on his shoulders, and Jason reaches to pull Nico closer, deepening the kiss. He can feel it down to his toes, warm and bright. He wants, needs it to be good for Nico. He kisses him gently, pulling lightly at one lip, than the other. Nico is solid against him, leaning all the way into Jason's body. Jason wants to keep him there forever. He sucks at Nico's lower lip util Nico gasps, then returns to slowly stroking Nico's tongue with his own. He never wants to stop.
Except, of course, the need to breathe thing. Passing out during his first kiss with Nico is really not the cool, suave look that he wants.
Jason pulls back. He thinks that his ears are ringing, but it's actually just all of his awful friends, clapping like it's the best show they've ever seen. Jason ducks his head to rest it on Nico's shoulder, and he can feel it when Nico starts to laugh.
Christmas is a holiday that Jason could really get used to.