Chapter Text
It, like most things in his life, started as a joke.
And it, like most problems in his life, was completely Jason’s fault.
“It’s...an ad.” Nico declared, handing back the other boy’s phone. “Is that what you were all excited about? Showing me some weird Craigslist showing?”
Jason nodded, still excited despite Nico’s dull voice. “It’s an ad for a date!”
Nico paused, his arm hanging in the air. He finished shelving the book before turning on the other boy. “Jason, are you attempting to find me an escort?”
Jason choked, now clenching onto the plastic and metal of his phone. “No! No, it’s not bad or anything.” He brought up the ad again, shoving it in Nico’s face. “Listen, you’ve been telling Hazel you have a boyfriend right? To get her off your back about not dating?”
Nico took the phone once again, “Yes?” He agreed, because yeah, yeah he had, but his voice was unsure.
Jason nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Well, listen - this guy’s entire job is to come to your holiday event and pretend to be your date. So like, you could bring him home and introduce him to your family as the boyfriend you’ve been dating for a few months. It’s perfect to go along with what you’ve been telling Hazel!”
Nico was already shaking his head, handing the phone back a second time. “I’m just going to tell her we broke up or something. It’s less messy that way.”
Jason nodded once again, and he was nodding so much that Nico feared he would get a crick in his neck and, an even bigger fear, that Nico would have to hear about it all night.
He continued speaking, his hands coming up to gesture excitedly.“No, but listen – Hazel will only get worse if you tell her that. Remember The Percy Thing?”
They both winced at that. It wasn’t a topic of casual conversation. But Nico nodded because he did, in fact, remember The Percy Thing. Clearly. Vividly. Usually, before bed when he was reflecting upon the most cringe-worthy moments of his life.
"Or when you and that guy from the book store broke up?" Jason continued nodding, “She went totally overboard trying to set you up and get you back out into the dating scene, didn’t she?”
Nico nodded again, now unsure. Hazel went completely overboard, with half the time strange men showing up at his and Jason’s apartment, expecting dinner and a date. It got so bad, he and Jason had simply lamented a polite note for the door and called it a day.
Jason continued, “Okay, so instead of just making up this sob story that’ll get Hazel all teary for the sake of this nonexistent relationship that ended just before the holidays, you –“ Jason held up the phone in excitement, the ad still glowing brightly on his phone. “Hire a date for the holidays! It’s perfect. You guys can ‘break up’ –“ He did this with finger air quotes, “after Christmas on the down low, and Hazel won’t be nearly as broken up about it.” He shrugged, “She was just telling Piper and me how excited she was to meet this dream guy.”
Nico bit his lip, thinking it over. He never wanted to disappoint his sister, especially right before Christmas.
It wasn’t the worst of Jason’s plans, and Nico had gone along with far less.
“It’s not his worst plan.” The bundle of blankets on the couch declared his exact thought, causing Nico to jump and probably lose a few years off his life.
Piper stuck her head out of the bottom of the bundle, her messy braid falling to the ground. “It could actually kind of work.”
“What could work?” Asked the other side of the bundle, and it only took another moment before Leo’s head was poking out of the top, shaking his curls out.
“How many people are in there?” Nico demanded.
“Three if you count Leo’s left hand as a person. He does most nights.” Piper declared, crackling in glee as Leo attempted to push her off the couch. But, as the dumbass didn’t consider, they were both still incredibly entwined in the blanket burrito, and they both fell to the ground in a cursing, messy heap.
Nico rolled his eyes as Jason cracked a smile and went over to help untangle them.
“You should do it,” Piper told him, finally free from the tangle of blankets as she pulled him down on the couch with her. She picked up Jason’s phone where he had tossed it when he went to help them and unlocked it. “Anyways, he’s hot like burning. You should go for it.” She told him this as she turned the phone around to show him the attached picture.
Sure, the guy was attractive. Grinning at the camera, blond with a wicked grin and golden curls. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt, his tan arms shining in the sun.
Nico has always had a horrible weakness for a good pair of arms, and the smirk on this guy's face seemed to know that.
“He is hot.” Leo’s voice told him, much much too close to his ear. Nico jumped, pushing the other boy away from over his shoulder where he had been examining the photo. Leo grinned and continued, bouncing out of the way of Nico’s flailing hands.
“I’m an arsonist and I have experience with hot things and I can tell you. That guy?” Leo snapped his fingers, shooting finger guns at Nico. “He’s scalding.”
“Where did you even find this?” Piper asked, scrolling up on Jason’s phone. Jason choked out and tried to grab back his phone, unsuccessful against her attempts as she held it out of his reach.
“Craigslist? Really?” Piper shot Jason a look as Leo popped his head over the side of the couch, his eyes dancing. She rolled her eyes, more affectionate than anything else. “I thought we agreed he wasn’t allowed on Craigslist anymore after he found the ‘free pets’ section.”
“It’s just, it’s just so sad they don’t have homes!” Jason choked out, holding his phone to his chest.
“Yeah, and we’ve adopted seven of them.” Nico gave him a dull look, gesturing to their apartment. It was three fish, two cats, a hamster, and a stray dog seven pets worth, but Jason was always looking to up that number.
“Back to the subject at hand.” Leo pointed towards Jason’s phone. “Are you gonna hire an escort for Christmas?”
Jason sighed, “It’s not an escort! It’s a date for hire!”
As Leo loudly whispered to Piper does he know what an escort is? Nico’s head fell onto the back of the couch, actually considering it.
“Fine,” Nico sighed, pulling out his phone. “I’ll contact him.”
“That’s good because I’ve already emailed him as you.” Jason informed him with a small grin, ruffling his hair, “Your interview is tomorrow.”
Nico cracked a smile at that, “And if I’d said no?”
Jason shrugged, “I would have canceled it. No problem.” Jason tapped away at his phone and only a second later, Nico’s phone dinged. “That’s the info. You’re meeting him at noon. Apparently, he has meetings all day so, like, make a good impression.”
“What’s his name?” Nico asked, opening the text. Leo, at their feet, was leaning against Jason’s legs, looking up at them with a grin.
“Will Solace,” Piper read off the glowing screen of Jason’s phone, now curled around Jason like an octopus that he was only too content to let her do.
Jason flashed him a grin, “I think you’ll like him.”
Nico rolled his eyes, fond despite everything. “Whatever you say.”
Getting ready to meet your hopefully fake date for hire was harder than he thought.
But that might have had more to do with his audience.
“Turn,” Piper demanded, spinning her finger in the air. Nico did as told, sighing.
She nodded, “The jeans are good. I don’t really like the shirt – Leo?”
“Wear that jacket you wore to Reyna’s birthday party over the summer.” He advised, balancing a large bowl on his knees, talking through the food in his mouth. There were a few shiny popcorn kernels in his curls, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Nico didn’t bother to inform him.
“What are you even doing here? You don’t even live here.” Nico paused, cocking his head to the side. “Wait. Do you live here?”
“You wish,” Leo stuffed a handful of popcorn in his mouth, most of it missing his face entirely and landing in his lap.
“Jason, what do you think?” Piper asked, still eyeing his outfit.
Jason, his face buried in Nico’s comforter, lifted his head to sleepily eye Nico. “Nice pants. Different shirt.”
Piper threw her hands in the air, “That’s what I said!” She pointed towards his closet. “Go. Pick out something new.”
Nico sighed, turning back to pick out something new. He found the jacket Leo recommended and a dark maroon shirt, one of the only few instances of color in his closet. He stripped, knowing full well Leo and Piper were both eyeing him with interest, and dressed quickly.
“That’s it,” Piper declared with glee. “That’s the outfit. There’s no way he can say no when you’re wearing those painted-on jeans and that leather jacket. It would be just –“
“Impossible,” Leo agreed. “Now, what are you doing with your hair?”
Nico shrugged and began to throw back all the discarded clothes into his closet. “Probably this? Whatever?”
“Put it up.” Leo, Piper, and, surprisingly, Jason ordered him at once. Piper flicked a hairband off her wrist towards him, her eyes a glare.
Nico blinked. “Um. Okay?" He did as told, as most the time it was earlier than arguing with them, and glanced at his watch. “I’ve got to get going – I’m almost late.”
Jason had texted him the address of a local coffee shop they both frequented often where Will was holding the interviews, and Nico was relieved that it was so close to their shared apartment.
They all wished him good luck – Leo’s wishes in the form of several loud kisses and a piercing wolf whistle – but Nico managed to escape quickly.
The weather was nice for December – the heavy snow new enough that it was mostly white, not yet gray sidewalk sludge, and was also happy to note the low number of occupants in the shop. Usually, especially on a weekend, the shop was overflowing with peppermint-mocha-deprived customers, each seemingly needing to bump and crowd into Nico’s space.
He grabbed a quick cup of coffee – black, two creams, five sugars – and glanced around the nearly deserted shop.
The head of golden curls was a familiar sight, and the online photo seemed only to dull the true shine of them. Nico swallowed, pulling on the end of his scarf – stolen from Jason - and beelined towards the other boy. Should he sit down, or talk to him first? Make sure – even though Nico had basically memorized the photo of the other boy already – that he was even the guy Nico was looking for?
“You’re late,” The boy declared, deciding for Nico, not yet looking up at Nico as he arrived at the table.
Nico almost raised an eyebrow at his hostile tone. “By two minutes,” He raised his cup up, even though he hadn’t yet looked up from his notebook. “Got coffee.”
The guy shrugged, still focusing on writing in his notebook, and Nico slowly took a seat.
“There’s a contract, application, and a down payment that has to go through before I notify you if you’ve been chosen.” The boy told him, sliding a folder across the table. Nico picked it up, leafing through it. “If I choose not to accompany you for your holiday event, a full refund will be issued within one to three business days.”
“There’s an application process?” Nico questioned. The boy - Will – finally looked up to him, and the pause in his actions and the hitch in his breath was only noticeable to the boy himself. Nico blinked a few times, meeting Will’s eyes, and was a bit startled by the blue blue blue that stared back at him.
Will shook his head, just a bit to shake himself back to reality, and continued on. “Of course. I have to make sure you’re not completely crazy. It’s mostly necessary information about family members I’d need to know, along with a few pages of personal. I’ll need a few references as well.”
“Completely crazy?” Nico raised his eyebrows.
He rolled his eyes, “You are attempting to hire someone as a date to convince your family you’re well adjusted. So. A certain amount of crazy.”
Nico nodded slowly, already accepting that yeah, this wasn’t a normal situation. He took a slow sip of his coffee, peeling off his jacket, and laid out the paper in front of him.
“Do...you get a lot of business?” Nico read the first few lines of the contract, a bit surprised at its formality. He’d have Reyna read it over later, get some use out of her pre-law major.
He nodded, “Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest, but I’ve also done weddings and a few birthdays. It’s not that uncommon.”
“Have you been doing it long?”
“Since I was 19,” Will nodded, taking a bite of a muffin and talking through it. Nico hoped he would have better manners in front of his family. “Four, five years now. Now. Enough questions about me.” He flipped a page in his notebook. “Some questions about you. Name?”
“Nico di Angelo.” Nico, almost without noticing, let his faint accent wrap around his words, a habit he only fell into when he rarely flirted. He bit his lip, hoping the slight dusting of color on his cheeks could be blamed on his steaming drink.
Will seemed to take no notice of it, “How old are you?”
“Twenty-two,” Nico answered, playing with the ring on his finger as Will wrote it all down in his notebook
“What is the date of the holiday event?” Will sucked the syrup off the tips of his fingers before grabbing a pen to scrawl down some words. Nico had to glance away.
Nico took a deep breath. “I would need a date from the 21st to the 2nd.”
Will hummed, “The 21st and the 2nd? What times?”
“No...uh, the 21st through the 2nd.” Nico rubbed the back of his head at Will’s surprised look. “Uh, my family kind of goes all out for Christmas. We, um, usually go back to our childhood home and stay there. We're going to a different one this year, but yeah.”
“That’s...almost two weeks,” Will told him as if Nico didn’t know that very fact.
Nico nodded, “Yeah. I know.”
Will blinked a few times, considering, and apparently just decided to go back to the interview. He asked a few more questions before jumping into the rules, handing Nico his own handout.
“You get three instances of PDA, more specifically, kisses in front of your family. No tongue unless the moment heavily calls for it, no longer than five seconds.”
Nico nodded in agreement, looking over the paper. It all seemed extremely professional - from the thick cardstock paper to the dark minimalist text covering the documents, outlining and explaining the rules in detail. Nico nodded through a few questions, absorbing mostly general information he didn't give much thought to.
“Last question,” Will glanced up at him for this one. “Why do you need to hire a date?”
Nico had prepared for this one. He sighed, his hand falling down to peel at the cardboard heat protector around his cup. “I kind of told my sister I’ve had a boyfriend for the past few months. She…worries.” A fond smile crossed his face in an instance. “She’s the best, but she feels better knowing I’m not alone. I’d tell her me and this ‘boyfriend’ just broke up but I don’t want to, I don’t know, upset her right before the holidays. So yeah.”
Will was still observing him, his face neutral. “Seems like you screwed up.” He finally offered.
Nico nodded, hanging his head a bit. “I’d need you to come stay at my family’s manor for the time and, uh, interact with my family I guess.”
Will nodded, making a note of something, before meeting Nico’s eyes, narrowing a bit. “This is what I usually charge for a one-night event.” He scrawled a pair of numbers down on a napkin, sliding it over. He pointed to the number next to it. “This is what it would be for a two-week job.”
Nico barely glanced at the number, “Money will be no problem. I’d pay for your traveling fees as well.”
Will’s eyebrows furred together, “Traveling fees? It’s not in New York? Where even is this event?”
Nico bit his lip, “My family’s manor.”
“Your family has a manor?” Will looked truly at loss with this. “Like, a mansion?”
"Um, a few actually. We’re visiting the Chicago one this year."
Will blinked a few times, “A few?”
“In California, mostly.” Nico finally told him, chewing on his lip. “I grew up near Los Angles.”
Will’s eyebrows shot up, “Really? You’re a California boy? With that pale skin?”
Nico took offense at that, a flare of irritation flaming up – not only at the other boy’s dismissive, patronizing tone, but also the slight insult in the words. “Not all of us can be the embodiment of a surfer dude.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes. “And I’m guessing you have the brains of one too?”
“I’m actually pre-med.” Will sneered, breaking his neutral face for the first time since Nico sat down, “What are you studying, the history of My Chemical Romance? The evolution of Hot Topic?”
Nico almost gasped in offense. “I’m a literature major.”
He seemed almost amused by this. “What, did Edgar Allen Poe totally speak to your soul or something?”
Nico rolled his eyes at that, completely aware of how quickly downhill this interview was going. “Better than a Grey’s Anatomy wanna-be.”
Will’s jaw dropped, “First off, Grey’s Anatomy is a totally inaccurate portrayal of the medical field and –“ His jaw snapped close, his eyes narrowing. He flipped his notebook closed and gathered his notebooks. He sneered again, “Email me your application by the end of tomorrow. We’ll be in contact if I’m interested.”
He stormed off leaving Nico bitterly, a bit angrily, noting how nice the other boy’s ass looked in a pair of jeans.
Nico tore his gaze away, wondering if he should just call Hazel right now and lament about his break up.
Well…that didn’t go great.
The email was short, direct, and precisely to the point.
“He...agreed to do it.” Nico stared at the screen in surprise. He blinked a few times, making sure he just wasn’t seeing things. “He said he’d actually do it.”
“That’s good, right?” Piper took a bite of her leftover noodles, giving him a look. “That’s what you wanted?”
“I mean…” Nico licked his lips, shaking his head. “He said that Christmas is one of his busiest seasons, and he can usually only take on two or three clients and I’d need him for such a long time…” Nico blinked. “All we did was fight at the end of the interview, like, what?”
Piper shrugged, stuffing her chopsticks in her mouth and turning back to her 3DS. “Stranger things have happened. Maybe he’s into that. He probably took one look at your hot ass and checked the fuck out of that ‘yes’ box. He’s gay, right?”
“Bisexual,” Nico corrected her, “But yeah, no, it’s definitely not that.”
She looked at him systematically, “If it’s not that then it’s probably the fat ass check you agreed to write for him.”
Nico blinked a few times, still staring at his glowing phone. “Yeah. I guess.”
She shot him an amused look, “Looks like you’ve got packing to do, di Angelo. Don’t forget protection!”
He flipped her off, not really paying attention to her crackling laughter in response, and focused back on his phone.
Nico carefully tapped out a reply, a confirmation that he was still interested in Will’s services, and pulled out his rugged suitcase.
It seemed like he had packing to do.
“When are you meeting Will?”
Nico zipped his suitcase close with a sound of triumph, Leo echoing the sound in response from where he was laying across Nico’s bag, successfully pushing down the contents.
“I’m meeting him at the airport.” Nico pulled out his phone to click out yet another passive-aggressive text to the number Will had sent him, aggravated at the lack of response. And, when Will actually bothered to respond, it was always littered with multiple grammar errors and half spelled words, always an indecipherable jumble. Nico vaguely wondered if he was doing it on purpose.
Jason was grinning from the kitchen, a few sandwiches in process of being assembled in front of him. Piper’s disgusting tofu-lunch meat was on display, and Nico had to wrinkle his nose in response to the sight.
“Gross,” He only said, ducking around Jason in their small kitchen to grab a water bottle from the fridge. Gods, he hoped Jason would actually remember to clean the apartment before he left. It was a long shot, definitely, but that didn’t stop the heavy persistence of Nico’s prayers. He slipped the bottle into his bag.
He swung his backpack over his shoulder, making sure he had the last of his items. Wallet, charged phone, headphones, plane ticket, a pack of pills in case the airplane got too much for him, a favored book – the essentials – and wandered back into the living room to stare at his somehow-zipped bag. If Nico's life was a poorly written cartoon, the suitcase would have blown open into a mess by now.
Piper was laying on the couch, a Playstation controller in her hands, today apparently not the day for a shirt. Nico glanced at the screen just in time to watch several zombies blow up on the screen, a mess of gore and blood and screaming. He glanced back to Piper, and her bored face showed no emotion. There was a stain of mustard on the front of her sports bra, no concern in the world except for the wave of zombies attacking on screen.
He sighed, shaking his head. “See ya later, Pipes.”
She saluted him, still focused on her game, and honestly, Nico could respect that.
Leo and Jason both grinned at him from the kitchen as he gathered his bags, Piper throwing him a thumbs-up from her spot on the couch.
“See you guys later.” He told them, rolling his eyes. Honestly, ever since Nico woke up his morning it had all been smug grins and low laughs, and the convenient ‘lingering’ the common area. They weren't anywhere near the subtleness they probably thought they were at.
“See you for New Year's!” Their unison voices would have been creepy had Nico not known they probably rehearsed it the night before. They were all a bunch of co-dependent dorks. Nico would miss them.
His phone finally – Jesus Christ finally – buzzed with Will’s response just as Nico shut the door behind him. He glanced at the message, groaned loudly, and called an Uber.
He wasn’t even on the plane yet and he could only tell how long of a ride it was going to be.
“I hate planes.”
Will didn’t bother looking up from his notebook. “Planes are perfectly safe.”
“I feel like toothpaste. Toothpaste that is about to die.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“The concept of planes is ridiculous. Who thought of this? ‘Let’s put people in metal tubes, launch them through the air without wi-fi, and charge them hundreds of dollars'. It’s horrific and ridiculous and we’re going to die.”
Will huffed out a sound of irritation. “You’re being absolutely ridiculous. Just – try and focus on something else or something. Put in your headphones and take a nap.”
“I can’t,” Nico clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. “My ears are popping and I forgot my gum.”
Will sighed again, tucking his magazine for a second to ruffle through his backpack. He flipped a pack of gum towards him, turning back to his entertainment like it was his lifeline.
“It’s grape," Nico wrinkled his nose, “I hate flavored gum.”
Will rolled his eyes so hard, Nico feared he would get stuck that way. Nico was not showing up with him in tow if that happened.
“Then don’t chew it and let your ears pop to death. I honestly don't care.”
Nico studied the horrifically purple pack of gum and how the memory of it always tasted gross and rusty--but also took a moment to focus on the painful bursts happening in his ears.
He popped the piece in his mouth, making a face, and threw the pack back to the other boy without a thank you. Hazel would be ashamed at his lack of manners.
Nico glanced around the plane for a moment, already bored and looking everywhere but the few open windows around him, before turning back to his annoyed companion.
“So, how did we meet?”
“Through mutual friends,” Will told him, not looking up.
Nico was already shaking his head, “That won’t work – Hazel and I share the same friend group, she’d want details.”
“Hazel’s your sister? Dating Frank?” Will clarified, glancing up. Nico nodded, and he continued, “Okay, then we met through a study group, that’s easy.”
“I don’t do study groups. Anyways, you’re pre-med and I’m English lit, we wouldn’t have any overlapping classes.”
Will rolled his eyes, “It can be a Gen-Ed, I don’t know. We don’t need to figure out every single little thing, Nico. Some details can be glossed over.”
“Hazel will want all the details.” Nico shook his head, “We have to clear the story up now or she’ll get suspicious.”
“Fine.” Will blew a breath of hair up into his frizzy bangs, and Nico kind of hated how cute that was. “Um, we met in the library. We were both studying after lunch and I offered to buy you coffee and it’s been magic ever since.
Nico wrinkled his nose. “Magic? Really?”
“Pure, perfect magic,” Will repeated, his voice still a breeze.
It was Nico’s turn to roll his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Yeah, well, you’re paying this ridiculous to be your company for the next 11 days.” Will gave him a smug grin, “So this is all on you.”
Nico leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. “I should have just bribed Leo along. Hazel wouldn’t have bought it but I bet we could make it convincing for everyone else. He likes to drunk-make out with everyone, he would have sucked it up for me. Jason would have rolled his eyes about it but we totally could have done it.”
“Shoulda did that then.” Will flipped his magazine page. Jerk. He got the window seat and wasn’t even bothering to use it. Even though Nico wouldn’t have taken the window seat if it was literally the last seat available in the world, Will could be bothered to glance out every once in a while. Jerk.
“We should go over the details again.” Nico bit his lip, still a bit nervous. Hazel would flip out if she found out the truth, and that wasn’t a Christmas present Nico wanted to receive.
Will huffed out a sigh. “We know enough for the first day, it’s fine. I know everything important.”
“What’s my favorite color?” Nico challenged.
“Black,” Will answered promptly, not even looking up from his magazine.
Nico blinked in surprise, “How’d you know? We haven’t gone over personal info yet.”
Will did look up at that, rolling his head to the side to give Nico such a dry look, he was feeling a bit thirsty. He lowered his eyes down obviously to Nico’s outfit before speaking, “Nico, you’re literally wearing the entire Matrix crew ensemble at once. I’d be surprised to hear that whatever Hot Topic you walked out of to buy that outfit was still open from the amount of stock you bought out of it.”
Nico stared at him, his mouth a bit open. “You’re gonna come after me for my outfit?” Nico scoffed, “Okay Hollister. Did you just see a hipster on the street and decided that’s how you were gonna live your life?”
“I’m not a hipster!” Will protested.
Nico rolled his eyes, “Says the guy wearing a beanie and flannel.”
“It’s cold!” Will bit the side of his cheek, seemingly in annoyance. “It’s better than you Mr. Fingerless gloves. Who does that even benefit? Gloves are meant to warm your hands and you’re literally choosing to not follow that simple task.”
“It’s so I can use my smartphone, dumbass.” Nico bit out, despite his full knowledge of how ridiculous his gloves actually were. Sure, they looked pretty cool but that didn’t change the fact that 90% of the time his fingers were freezing. The things Nico did The Aesthetic (TM)
Will huffed out an annoyed breath, “They literally mass-produce gloves with that exact purpose. They’re sold everywhere. Gas stations. Convenience store lines. Amazon. Everywhere.”
“I’m not going to buy gloves when I already own a perfectly able pair.” Nico rolled his eyes instead.
Will rolled his eyes in return but didn’t respond, instead pulling out a pair of headphones to completely ignore Nico even further. Good. Maybe Nico could save some brain cells from talking to the other boy.
That’s how the rest of the ride was - Will ignoring him while Nico flipped through the personal files on both of them. Nico was almost used to the routine hell he went through every holiday season – the two hours or so ride that he could blur out with the help of an old audiobook or paperback. The turbulence was – thankfully – at the minimum, save for the quick instance of bumpy panic Nico had at their landing, a jump that had Will loudly snickering into his sleeve, not bothering to hide it.
After getting off the plane, Will apparently decided he was done ignoring Nico. They grabbed their bags, each rolling their eyes at the other's bags – Will’s an ugly bright yellow and orange plaid, Nico’s black leather with gold – when Will turned to him as if something just occurred to him.
“How are we even getting to your mansion in the middle of nowhere?”
“It’s a manor,” Nico corrected, “And my chauffeur is picking us up.”
Will’s eyes widened. “Your family has a chauffeur? What the hell? How rich are you guys?”
“Jules-Albert isn’t our chauffeur, he’s my chauffeur. We have a different one for the family.”
“You have multiple chauffeurs?”
Nico rolled his eyes. “Yes, Will. Keep up.” He scanned the crowd, knowing Jules-Albert would never be late, and grinned when he spotted the deadly pale man leaning tall over most of the crowd.
“There he is,” Nico declared, fully for Will’s benefit as he headed towards the other man.
Jules-Albert was as straight-faced as ever, his face blank, but Nico barked out a laugh at the whiteboard held up in his hands as Nico got closer.
“A skull? Really?” Nico grinned,
“I thought it to be a proper distinction to draw your attention,” Jules told him, his French accent thick, and took Nico’s luggage with a practiced air. He spotted Will at Nico’s shoulder and gave Nico the dullest look Nico had ever seen.
“You’ve brought a guest?” Jules stated the obvious as a question, “And you hadn’t thought to warn me? Or even introduce him?”
“He’s my hired date for the holiday.” Nico shrugged, ignoring Will’s surprised expression at their secret being spilled. He began following Jules towards the parking area, enjoying the familiarity of the older man’s presence.
“Nico!” Will hissed, annoyance passing over his face, “Are you literally unable to keep a secret?”
“I am able to be discreet, don’t worry,” Jules reassured him, pausing a moment to shift Nico’s luggage over to expose a hand. “I am Jules-Albert, Master Nico’s personal chauffeur. I imagine if you two will be venturing out of the household for any period of time this holiday, I will be the one to guide you.” He shook Will’s hand quickly, nodding, before continuing.
“Jules won’t tell anyone.” Nico shot the older man a fond look, “He’s kept secrets before.”
“If you are referencing your Prom event of Senior Year, I assure you that I have remained most careful on the subject.”
“See?” Nico grinned, already feeling more confident, calmer, in the familiar man’s presence. He and Jules had gotten close during his high school years. The older man was always a willing and able confident.
They approached the limo, and Nico was half-tempted to slide in the front seat – like old times – to force Will to sit the long back by himself. Jules glanced at him, his gaze hard as if he was already guessing Nico’s thoughts, and opened the back door for both of them.
Nico sighed, doing as he was told, and slid across the leather seats as Jules threw their luggage in the back, Will climbing in after him. Jules started up the limo shortly after, pulling into the city traffic with easy practice.
Will was still staring at the interior of the limo, his backpack clenched in his arms, and gave Nico a surprised look.
Nico was never one to flaunt his wealth – too many years as a kid without anything near it – but hell, there were exceptions for everything.
“Maybe we should have gone over the personal info.” Nico gave him a smug smile, enjoying how wide Will’s eyes were, “Maybe then you’d know about Jules and Beatrice here.”
Will rolled his eyes, probably not catching how Jules was mumbling about how his vehicle was most certainly not named Beatrice, and returned back to his earlier mood.
“I should have guessed it – what, with your multiple manors and such. What, are we going to be taking the horses out for a race while we’re here? That’s what rich people do, right?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Will.” He paused, willing the emerging grin off. “Horse racing season doesn’t start until April.”
Will sputtered, probably about to start another round of one-liners and sneers when Jules-Albert spoke up.
“There are refreshments in the backseat, please do feel free to help yourselves.”
Nico grinned in victory, turning to dig through the small cooler build into the side. Jules-Albert continued, his voice pitched a bit higher so Will could hear. “I do hope your chemistry will improve before Sir Hades is introduced to the both of you.”
“I’m not worried about Hades.” Nico popped the tab of the soda, enjoying the fact that Jules had picked up his favorite kind. He was Jules-Albert's favorite.
He saw Jules glance at him through the rearview mirror, his gaze knowing. “Lady Hazel, I’m assuming?”
Nico groaned, “Yes.” He rubbed his eyes, his smug grin sliding off easily at the mention of her name. “If anyone’s gonna see through this, it’s going to be her.”
Jules hummed, clearly in agreement, and that nearly sealed the deal.
“I’m regretting this already.” Nico groaned into his folded arms. “Jules, take us back. We’ll tell Hazel the plane crashed or something. She'll be too heartbroken to even remember the whole thing.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Will repeated for the second time that day. Jules, the traitor, smirked.
“You’re ridiculous,” Nico shot back. Ugh, three hours in and he was already losing his wit.
Will buried his hand in his hands. “I just – 11 days. I’m going to be doing this for 11 days.”
Nico tilted his head against the window. He’d always enjoyed the short ride home with Jules from the airport. This, again, was proving itself to be an exception. A few low songs played out – definitely Jules’s personal picks – and wondered how long it would take for Will to break the silence.
Not long apparently – barely ten minutes it seems.
“You know, I take pride in my ability to get along with my clients and their families. I’m easygoing and charming. I don’t get in fights, it’s like a thing.” Will seemed to be evaluating his entire existence from Beatrice’s backseat, his backpack still clenched to his chest. “It’s my thing.”
Nico hummed, “Apparently not.”
Jules-Albert pulled up to the front of the manor, and Nico wasn’t surprised to see how well done the yard was tended, even with the thick layer of snow. Persephone always had a knack for those kinds of things. Will leaned forward beside him to see through the window better and went still again, probably at the extravagance Hades liked to throw together during the holidays.
Even Nico, who had been forced to become mostly immune to it, could admit Hades had gone a bit overboard.
“Thanks, Jules!” He called out, rushing out before the car had even fully stopped, mostly just so he could have a moment of peace. No such luck.
“Be careful!” Will scowled from the open door, following him after a moment. “If you twist an ankle, I’m not getting paid to nurse you back to health.”
Nico huffed out a frustrated breath, “Don’t worry sweetheart, I wouldn’t trust your pre-med knowledge with anything more complex than a paper cut.”
Jules-Albert, coming out to help with their luggage, was laughing lowly into his sleeve. Nico cut a glare towards him, close to actually calling him out on the fact but decided that, actually, he liked living more. Jules waved them off, letting Nico and Will start the walk down the winding driveway towards the entrance. They walked in tense silence.
Nico turned to Will as they stood on the doorstep, eyeing the other boy with barely hidden distaste. “We can’t bicker in front of my family.”
“We won’t have to bicker in front of anyone if you’d just act mature.”
“Oh my god,” Nico hissed, pounding on the front door, probably with too much force.
The door swung open so quickly that the opener must have been waiting since they hit the driveway. Which, knowing his dad, he totally was.
“My son," Hades greeted joyfully, beaming and sweeping him up in for a too-tight hug. Mid-squeeze, Hades paused, apparently looking over Nico’s shoulder. “And my…other son?” Hades questioned, pulling away from him. Thank the gods.
Nico huffed, suddenly a bit nervous because, um, the situation was happening and one-too-many annoyed remarks would blow it all. “Hades, he’s not your son. That’s my, um, boyfriend. He’s my boyfriend. Um, Will Solace.”
Hades beamed suddenly at that, an over-ecstatic grin overtaking his face. Strangely, his eyes went nearly watery. “You have a boyfriend? And we haven’t spoken of this earlier?”
Nico raised an eyebrow. “You thought you might have had another son that would show up on your doorstep without prompt?”
Hades shrugged, still blissfully happy as he drank in the sight of Will. “The eighties were an odd time, my son. And my other-not related son!” Hades pulled Will in for that same-too tight hug that Hades was infamous for. Will’s arms, pinned to his side, were unable to return the gesture, but he immediately put on a face of charm as Hades pulled away.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. di Angelo. I’ve heard so much about your family from Nico here.” Will gave him such a genuine smile, such a change from the expression he'd worn moments before, that Nico paused for a second. He…hadn’t considered how good Will might be at this.
Hades held the other boy at arms-length, his hands still around Will’s shoulders. His slightly watery eyes were turning to full-on tears. “Oh, Persephone will be ecstatic. Oh, and your sister!” He nodded, “Hazel, he’s here!” He yelled over his shoulder, causing Nico to wince. He turned back to them both, “You know sometimes I feel like we’re in a little club, Persephone and I. All we do is sit around with tea and worry about you children.”
Nico sighed, not really that annoyed. “I’m fine. We’re fine.”
“Perhaps we’d know that if you bothered to call or visit at all. Jason's the only one who will call us reliably, these days, and that's to talk about our stories.” Hades told him, still holding Will like a teddy bear, now under his arm. Will, the perfect actor, seemed to find nothing out of the ordinary about this. Hades leaned in closer to Nico, amusement twinkling in his eyes, "You know how we love our stories."
Nico sighed, but his mood immediately shot up at the sound of pounding steps down the staircase, and Nico turned just in time to find himself with a face-full of wild curls.
Hazel squealed his name as he pulled her in, his arms tight around his sister as he buried his face into her neck. Her perfume was familiar, some vanilla sugar spray Persephone always bought her, but Nico had missed it.
“You act as if we haven’t seen each other in months rather than days,” Hazel mumbled into his jacket, despite hugging him just as hard. “We see each other almost once a week.”
“It’s been almost two weeks,” Nico told her, not even embarrassed. He caught Frank’s eye from his place over Hazel’s shoulder and gave him a small grin. He waved back, looking amused at Hazel’s octopus imitation. “I had to cancel lunch on Sunday because of finals, remember?”
She hummed, tightening her arms around his waist, “That makes this a bit more acceptable then.”
Will laughed then – either at Hazel’s mumbled comment or whatever Hades was dramatically lamenting on about – and that had Hazel freezing and pulling away from his arms.
Hazel’s face lit up, more than it had when she saw Nico, he noted a bit in jealousy. Not very jealous, just a little. She was his sister anyway.
“You must be Nico’s boyfriend,” her voice was filled with glee as she turned on him. “I’d say I’ve heard a lot about you but Nico here has been surprisingly tight-lipped.”
Will laughed at that, “You know Nico," He told her, his voice sickeningly fond as if he actually did know Nico. “Anyways, the treatment hasn’t been the same on my end – I’ve heard so much about you all! Nico can’t stop talking about you.”
Hazel beamed up at him at that, and a seed of guilt began to bloom in his chest at her expression. She looked so happy at this lie. She leaned in close to him, her voice only loud enough for him to hear.
“He’s cute,” Hazel looked overjoyed at this fact. “Like, he’s really cute.”
“I agree,” Hades grinned, whispering back, apparently close enough to hear as well. “He’s hot.”
Nico groaned at that, loudly and completely embarrassed. He shoved his face into his hands, turning away from both of them. Hazel – the traitor – was giggling into Frank’s shoulder.
“What?” Hades' voice was a barely hidden laugh, “Is that not what the kids are saying?”
“Leave the children alone, Hades,” Persephone said as she entered the room, a poinsettia under her arm. She beamed at the sight of them – all still gathered in the entrance. “Nico, it’s so good to have you home.” She said, kissing him on both cheeks quickly. She frowned as she pulled away, grabbing onto his elbow with her free hand. “I’d say it’s nice to see you.” She declared coolly, “Except you’re absolutely bone-thin. Have you not been eating? I’ve been sending fudge once a week, is Jason eating all of it?”
Nico smiled, soft and true. “I’ve gotten all of it, yes. And Jason’s only eating the separate container you care to send for him. So thanks for that.”
She nodded, looking a bit more satisfied. “You’re going to be eating nearly everything while you’re home.” She informed him.
“He will be eating something delicious, that is guaranteed.” Hades butted in with his own laugh, thankfully drawing the attention away from Nico. Hades nodded towards a slightly-blushing Will, speaking and grinning along with Hazel, and winked at his wife.
Persephone immediately passed off the wildly grown poinsettia to Nico, turning on Will with such intensity, he stopped mid-sentence to stare back at her.
“You must be Nico’s boyfriend.” She declared, staring at him.
Will nodded, trying for a kind smile. It came out more nervous, despite his best efforts. Will was a good actor, but Persephone could be slightly terrifying at moments. Nico knew.
“I am, yes. Will Solace.” His eyes flickered over to Nico’s, and his smile took on a more gooey aspect that must have been practiced, “Four months now.”
He could almost feel Hades beside him, holding in the ‘awwww’ that was definitely passing through his mind.
Persephone cocked her head to the side, coming up closer to Will to study him. “Wouldn’t you rather spend the holidays with your family?”
Nico knew what this question was – Persephone was never one for being subtle. Her eyes were sharp, catching on the worn areas of his jeans, and the loose button on his flannel, the thinness of his cheeks.
She was always looking for more children to in-everything-but-name adopt, and Nico could already see the mountain of sweaters and food that would be pushed onto the other boy. Good. With Jason and Leo visiting Piper's for the holidays, it was better for him to have that attention than Nico.
“My sisters don’t get back into town until the fifth so we’re putting off Christmas,” Will shrugged, still a soft smile in place. “They’re always traveling during the holidays.”
“And they do not invite you along?” She frowned, leaning forward to smooth down Will’s collar.
Will let out a small laugh, probably used to the mother-henning after all the families he’s met. “They do,” He was quick to reassure her, “and I usually go, but after hearing about how wonderful Nico’s family was –“ He shot a warm smile to everyone in the room, and there was almost a literal sigh that passed through the air, “I just had to meet you all.”
Persephone melted at that, her shoulders dipping down in happy surrender as she pulled him into a hug. “Well, we’re just so happy that you could join us.”
“I’m so happy I could be here with you guys.” Will’s voice was strong and genuine, so much so, that Nico shot him a curious look. Had Nico not spent the entire trip here bickering with the other boy, Nico might have believed it himself.
Persephone clapped her hands over her face in joy, shooting Hades a gleeful look that he only returned with a ‘yes I know!’ nod. She took her overgrown plant back from Nico, calling Hades out into the greenhouse to help her with it, probably just so they could gossip about them in peace.
“We have to decorate the Christmas tree now that you’re finally home!” Hazel jumped up, grinning as they left. “Frank and I already carried all the boxes down from the attic but we were waiting for you guys to start. Hades and Persephone totally won’t mind if we get started with getting everything out.”
“That sounds fun,” Will grinned, looking totally excited at the prospect of helping a bunch of strangers with their Christmas decorations.
Hazel turned to him, beaming. “You can help me organize the ornaments,” She decided, taking his arm. “It’s a lot of fun, I promise.” She turned to give him and Frank a look, amusement across her features. “Will and I will be requiring sustenance for our task. The hot chocolate and eggnog are in the kitchen.”
She led them both of out the room, Will’s ringing laugh trailing them.
Frank and Nico were quiet for a moment.
“Did we just get ditched in favor of your boyfriend?” Frank asked a little blank. He blinked a few times, clearing the confusion off his face.
Nico nodded sympathetically, already turning to the kitchen. “Sorry to break it to you Frank, but that’s totally what happened.” He smiled, just slightly, at the twin bells of laughter drifting from the living room. “Now c’mon, they’re expecting famous di Angelo hot chocolate and it’s best to not keep them waiting.”
The tree, of course, was ridiculous.
Much, much too tall – although he wasn’t sure if it was to blame more on Hades or Persephone. Both, probably. They both had such a draw to the extravagance, it was a wonder there was even enough space in the over-decorated parlor for them to sit.
Nico set down the steaming mugs, Frank behind him with a handful of peppermint sticks and a plate of cookies, one of which was immediately swiped by Hazel herself.
She stuffed the cookie whole in her mouth, grinning around the treat, as she began unloading the surprisingly dust-less boxes.
“Awwww,” Hazel cooed as she pulled out a worn box, a few crumbs flying out with the noise.
Nico recognized it immediately and groaned, “I thought we agreed not to do the embarrassing elementary school photos this year.”
“I’d never make that promise and you know that.” She told him, pulling out a particularly bad school photo – freshmen year. Nico cringed, wanting nothing more to grab the entire set of photos and dump them into the active fireplace.
“Nico was very into hair dye that year,” She told Will, a satisfied grin on her face. “Although I personally think that green is just not his color.”
“I hate you.” Nico declared instead, taking a smooth sip of his drink, attempting nonchalance.
Will was staring at the photo in pure glee, his grin wide and real as he laughed. Nico filed away the warm feeling in his chest for later, not really willing to examine it in at the moment.
Nico gestured for him to hang the horribly made construction paper piece, rolling his eyes in fond amusement. He caught Hazel's eye, a happy expression content on her face as she watched them interact.
Hades and Persephone joined them shortly after, bringing along a plate of cookies. Persephone gave him a stern look, dropping a few cookies into his lap, apparently already making good on her promise. Hades boomed out a laugh as he pulled out the few ones from Hazel's childhood, her beaming, young face giving them all a crooked smile.
Will seemed to actually be enjoying himself, sipping on a cup of eggnog Hades had shoved in his hands. Someone had put on holiday music - Frank, probably - and the air was still warm with the heat and scent of fresh cookies.
They put up the rest of the ornaments - Nico glancing over at Will every so often, a bit impressed with the other boy's acting. Hazel was just putting up an old family photo piece - glitter and glue galore - when she glanced at Nico, a bit unsure, her gaze darting back to the box.
And Nico knew that look. He stood, his movements easy, and took a small breath.
They were quiet as Nico lifted the last shoebox from the ornament box. It was plain, worn, with a small hole in the side. He set it on the table, the mood shifting a bit, and edged off the lid slowly. If he turned, he would see Will shifting in confusion at the mood change, not understanding and unwilling to be the one to break the silence.
Nico smiled slightly as he pulled the first item out. “Do you remember this one?” He asked his father, not looking away from the item. “She was so upset when it broke.”
“And you spent the rest of the night gluing it back together to surprise her the next morning? Of course. She was so happy.” Hades added on, taking another delicate ornament out of the box. He tsked, “I remember this one. Dreadfully ugly. I am completely sure that she picked it out on that sole fact.”
It was truly ugly – Hades wasn’t exaggerating for once. A mess of neon green and pink, with dashes of yellow feathers on a grinning bird ornament.
“She totally did.” Nico laughed, “I was there. She wanted to see if you’d actually hang it up.”
Hades sighed, the sound showing laughter. “On my professionally decorated tree, no less.”
“You did.” Nico pointed out with a small smile.
Hades, now standing next to Nico, grinned slightly at that, ruffling his hair. “What we do for our kids, yes?”
Persephone, her shirt flowing color across the pale carpet, held up a paper ornament with a faint smile. It was one of her school made projects, her picture messily glued to a construction paper snowman, the standard school photo small and neat despite the glitter and sequins attached. Nico grinned, setting it carefully on one of the higher branches.
“Oh!” Nico smiled, picking up a cloth wrapped piece, “This one was from mom!”
Hades peeked over his shoulder, his grin widening. “Oh yes, she bought that the Christmas after we were married.”
It was a simple piece – clear, perfect glass making up the shape of an angel, wings extended. Along the bottom, neatly engraved, read famiglia di Angelo.
He let Hades hang that one, his gaze heavy with the memories Nico only had brief flashes of – soft hands smoothing Nico’s hair back, dark eyes the same as his edged with humor, pale cheeks filled with rosy color – and let Hades have a moment then, his fingers tracing over the glass slowly as he hung it.
They pulled the rest of the ornaments out slowly, exchanging familiar stories and remarks as tradition. Hazel and Persephone – along with Frank, and oh, yeah, Will this year – always kept back for this part, satisfied with watching them. Observing.
There was a moment of silence after Nico hung the last one, the low crackle of the fireplace being the only placeholder of sound.
He turned back, their eyes on him, and began collecting empty mugs, mostly for just something to do.
“I’ll get refills,” Nico gave them a weak smile, already knowing about the thin layer of worry they felt for him around the holidays. “Any requests?”
There were none specific – all for hot chocolate – but it did surprise him when Will jumped up, volunteering his help. He was committed to the job, Nico guessed, as Will followed him in the kitchen.
Nico set the tray on the counter, the collected mugs clacking together as Nico took a moment, a quick, brief moment, to take a breath.
Will’s eyes were heavy on his back, and Nico wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole situation. Barely two hours ago, they were counting down the days till it was over and rolling eyes and sneering with snapping words and now…Nico was taking a deep breath, his mind still stubbornly lingering on the young sharp photographed grin and the vague memory of his mother’s dark eyes.
“Your sister…” Will seemed to be struggling with it.
“Dead. 17, car accident.” Nico shrugged, carefully hiding all the familiar tension that came with the subject. His voice was quiet, with no chance of being overheard.
Will ducked his head, “I….I didn’t know.”
“We should have gone over personal information.” Nico shrugged again, making the stiffness out of his limbs to start pouring the drinks.
Will was quiet. His eyes were on the title, his hands shoved in his pockets, and when he finally did speak, his eyes flickered up.
“Need any help?” He asked.
Nico observed him for a moment, deciding. “Sure,” He finally said. “Grab the whipped cream. Hazel likes it sweet.”
“And you, what, like it bitter and steaming?” Will was grinning slightly, nothing like the mean sneers they had been tossing around earlier. Teasing, that's what it was. “Don’t think I didn’t notice your plain black roast coffee in the shop. What, does frilly coffee ruin your punk vibe?”
“Whatever you say, Hollister.” Nico rolled his eyes, his voice somehow not as mean as it was this morning. He'd...have to work on that.
Nico paused, his eyes too-easily catching on the strong lines of Will's shoulders, lingering on the thin bit of skin that was exposed as Will reached to grab the milk carton.
He swallowed.
Well.
Fuck.