Chapter Text
Nico woke up in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room.
Oh, he thought. I passed out after the jump.
He sat up just in time to see the door opening across the room, and Will stepped inside. He smiled brightly at Nico when he saw him, and came to sit by Nico’s side. “Oh, good! You’re up! How are you feeling?” He set a hand on Nico’s forehead, then pressed two fingers to the inside of Nico’s wrist.
“I’m fine,” Nico told him. “A little groggy, but better than usual.”
“That’s good,” Will said as he started to pinch the tips of Nico’s fingers to check for fading. “You gave my mom quite the scare, you know. I mean, I scared her too, since she wasn’t expecting me to be here today, but you passing out on the front law didn’t help either.”
Nico winced. “Sorry. She’s not upset that we showed up unannounced, right?”
“Nah, she’s just happy to see me. And she’s excited to meet you. You know, since you’re conscious now.” Will held out a small glass for Nico to take. “Drink up so you can come downstairs with me.”
Nico took the glass and drank the nectar inside - something that used to taste like a McDonald’s milkshake, but now reminded him of the cookies he’d gotten from Will a few weeks ago. As soon as he’d downed the last drop, he felt more awake than he had all day, and handed the glass back to Will. Will held his free hand out to Nico to help him up, and brought their joined hands up to his lips, pressing a kiss to Nico’s knuckles.
Nico turned his head in an attempt to hide his blush. “What was that for?”
“I’m just happy,” Will told him, squeezing Nico’s hand and leading him out into the hallways. “Really happy. This might be the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
Nico bumped him with his shoulder. “You don’t know that.” He squeezed Will’s hand back as they made their way down the stairs.
“Will?” a woman’s voice called through the house. “Is that you I hear? Do me a favor and grab the nice plates from the hall closet, please.”
“Yes, Mama,” Will called back, and pulled Nico off course for a moment toward the closet. He brought out a cloth-wrapped stack of plates before leading Nico back on their original path. As they stepped into the kitchen, Will set the plates on the counter and wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist. “Mama, this is Nico.”
The woman turned to face them - she was about Nico’s height with long brown curly hair - and smiled the same bright smile that Nico saw on Will’s face every day. Nico always assumed that Will had gotten that smile from Apollo, but now he saw that he was wrong. “Nico!” she said, and stepped over to wrap him up in a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you! I’m glad you’re finally awake, and just in time, too! My husband just called to tell me that he’s on his way back from the airport with my parents, and I’m so happy to have the whole family together for Christmas!”
“Um. Thank you for having me,” Nico said awkwardly.
“You two go watch some Christmas specials in the living room, and I’ll call for you when it’s time for dinner,” Naomi told them. “It shouldn’t be more than an hour.”
“Thanks, Mama,” Will said, and led Nico into the living room by the hand.
The two were snuggled up on the couch when Will’s step-father returned home with Naomi’s parents in tow. Nico sort of wanted to pretend to pass out again, but before he could, Will was jumping to his feet and hugging his family. A second later, he was turning and introducing them to Nico, who waved shyly from the couch.
Will returned to Nico’s side as the rest of his family headed toward the kitchen, and Will’s step-father called, “Honey, I’m home!” Naomi caught him before he could step into the dining room, and pulled him in for a kiss. Then, Will’s step-father glanced toward the ceiling and said, “Ah! You got me again!”
They continued on to the dining room, moving into the kitchen, and Nico saw Will’s grandparents share a kiss as well before continuing on. Nico frowned in confusion, but settled back against Will’s side to watch the show.
Another few moments later, Naomi’s voice rang from the kitchen: “Will, could you come here for a second?”
Will rose from the couch, careful not to disturb Nico in any way, and met his mom at the entrance to the dining room. She wrapped him up in a hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek, causing Will flinch away, exclaiming, “Mama, stop it!”
“It’s tradition,” Naomi argued. “You can’t stop tradition!”
“Did you need something, or are you just trying to bother me?” Will demanded.
“Alright, alright,” Naomi said, finally releasing her son, “I’ll let you go, but only so you and Nico can set the table for me.”
Nico stood at the mention of his name, and started to follow Will toward the kitchen, but Naomi stopped him as well and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. “Now, don’t you start arguing the mistletoe, too.”
“Uh, no, ma’am,” Nico stuttered, and continued after Will.
Naomi returned to her cooking and Nico accepted a stack of plates from Will as they stepped back toward the dining room table. They started off in silence, but once Nico had placed all of the plates and was left watching Will set silverware, he asked, “Will, what’s mistletoe?”
“It’s some Christmas tradition,” Will explained. “If you and someone else get caught under it, you have to kiss. My mom likes to hide it so only she knows where it is, but she didn’t do a very good job this year.” He gestured with a fork to the doorframe leading back to the living room, and Nico turned to see a tiny sprig of green leaves taped to the wall.
“Oh.” Nico’s gaze flickered back and forth between Will and the mistletoe, trying to think of how he would catch Will underneath it, but he got too caught up in his thoughts and missed seeing Will head back to the living room.
“Just gonna stand there until dinner’s ready?” Will called over to him. “C’mon, you’re gonna miss the best part.”
With a huff, Nico made his way back to the couch.
They watched the last twenty or so minutes of their Christmas special before Naomi called them for dinner. Nico tried to be quick as he followed Will to the table, though Will didn’t even hesitate underneath the mistletoe, so Nico slumped into his seat beside Will at the table.
Will reached over for one of Nico’s hands and squeezed it. “Hey, are you alright?”
Nico ducked his head in embarrassment, and whispered, “I just wanted to...be under the mistletoe with you.”
If Nico looked up, he would have seen the bright smile and glowing freckles on Will’s face. “If you wanted a kiss, all you had to do was say so,” Will said softly, and leaned over to press a kiss to Nico’s cheek.