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“You didn’t steal whatever it is, did you?” Percy asked cautiously, running his fingers through his hair to rinse out the shampoo.
The door of Percy’s bathroom was half-way open, giving the steam an exit and providing Percy a means of berating Luke even while getting ready for Annabeth’s Christmas party. He was running late, swim practice having gone longer than he’d expected.
Luke stretched out on Percy’s bed, flipping casually through the sailing guidebook on Percy’s nightstand. Ms. Jackson was baking sugar cookies in the kitchen in preparation for the holiday, only three days away.
“I’m offended that you would even suggest such a thing, Perce,” Luke answered back, his voice slightly louder than usual to reach over the sound of water. As Percy got out of the shower, he leaned over awkwardly to shut the door before grabbing a towel and drying off.
“Sorry, but I have to ask. I wouldn’t have to if you would stop stealing shit. Ever think of that?” Percy suggested through the door, pulling on a pair of green and red striped boxers and jeans with a heavy sigh. Luke insisted that Percy purchase said boxers, commenting on Percy’s lack of holiday cheer. If he refused to show it outwardly, there should at least be some Christmas spirit in Percy’s life. As Percy pulled the boxers on, he couldn’t help the begrudging affection that simmered within him at the memory of Luke tossing the boxers at Percy’s head in the store.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you should just have a bit more faith in your best friend,” Luke commented, closing the magazine and tossing it next to him casually on the bed. Only a few seconds later, the bathroom door opened, and Percy gave Luke a look with raised eyebrows.
“Shut up and just open your present already,” Luke said, turning away from Percy’s disapproving look.
“I didn’t say anything,” Percy reminded Luke, his voice muffled as he bent his body at the waist, drying his shaggy hair with a towel.
“Your face expressed all the sass and judgment that your words would’ve,” Luke assured him, sitting up and scooting to the edge of Percy’s bed, tugging at the towel to pull Percy forward. “Just open it.”
With a hesitant look, Percy’s gaze shifted to the neatly wrapped present on the end of his bed—green paper with red ribbon. Percy wasn’t really surprised that Luke bought him a gift, even though they’d only been technically friends since the end of September and not the beginning of September (like Luke liked to tell people) since that was when Luke was just a little stalker. Percy wasn’t accustomed to buying gifts for his friends at Christmas; he assumed guys never really did that. Sure, Annabeth typically bought him something small, but there were never any gift exchanges between himself, Nico, or Grover.
For some reason, however, Percy had also bought Luke a gift, feeling oddly compelled that he really ought to do so at one point during the holiday season. And okay, he’d asked Annabeth’s advice on what to buy Luke, pointedly ignoring her slightly shocked and confused expression. Of course, she didn’t press the subject which Percy was all-too-thankful for.
“Okay,” Percy finally conceded, picking up a similarly wrapped box from beside his desk and dropping it on Luke’s lap—red wrapping paper and green ribbon. When Luke looked up at Percy, confused, Percy said, “It’s for you, silly.”
Luke murmured a soft, “Oh,” breathless. He hadn’t actually been expecting a gift in return, and when he looked back up at Percy with a soft smile, his stomach violently flipped at Percy’s blush, ducking his head with a smile.
They opened their gifts at the same time, shaking lids off of the boxes. Percy held up a teal cable knit sweater, unsurprisingly the right size while Luke unfolded a maroon scarf. Percy chuckled a bit, inciting a sudden nervousness in Luke.
“What?” Luke asked, his eyebrows scrunching together.
“Nothing,” Percy said softly, “it’s just that we both bought each other gifts. And they’re both clothing items? It’s just a bit…gay, that’s all.”
Luke smirked, “That’s probably because Thalia helped me pick out your gift, something about how the teal brings out your eyes.” He couldn’t help but laugh when Percy made a face of concentration, considering that statement and then nodding his head mock seriously.
“Yeah, well, Annabeth was rambling on about your complexion, and I’m pretty sure she spent a good twenty minutes debating navy or maroon, considering your hair color, eye color, skin tone, and current wardrobe,” Percy said. “I figure at least now I don’t have to ask your opinion on what shirt to wear.”
Luke paused for a moment, watching as Percy stood up, the box dropping onto the floor from his lap, and tugged on the sweater. “Now that would’ve been a bit gay. Would modeling have been involved?”
“If need be,” Percy said. He took a step forward, his bare feet bumping against Luke’s shoes, a silent question for Luke to take the tag off.
“What a sight that would’ve been,” Luke responded dryly, one hand pressing the sweater to Percy’s body while the other yanked at the tag. He felt Percy’s body surge with the pull and the counteracting press of his hand.
“I will have you know I am probably fantastic on the runway,” Percy insisted, feeling a swell of pride for no reason and playing along. He reached out to take the tag from Luke’s hands, his fingers brushing with Luke’s.
“I don’t doubt it.” Luke stood up, grabbing his coat off of the bed as well. “Now, come on, are you ready? We’re already late, and I’m gonna have to explain to everyone that I had to wait for your pansy ass to get ready.”
Percy laughed, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me,” Luke said, knowing he probably wouldn’t say anything at the party even if Thalia made a bold, suggestive comment on the reason Luke and Percy showed up together, late.
As they left the apartment, Percy kissing his mother on the cheek and insisting that they’d be back before it got too late, he watched Luke loop his new scarf around his neck. So Annabeth’s time was well spent; the maroon was a good choice.
At the same time, Percy felt some sadness swell up inside him; Luke wouldn’t be spending Christmas in New York. Sure, Luke would be back from the trip to Europe with his father before New Year’s, but Percy felt some dismay at the thought that it wouldn’t really feel like Christmas without Luke around.
For the two-minute walk to the nearest subway station, Percy acknowledged the same unsettling feeling behind his dismay—it was the same feeling he had back in September when he first realized that Luke really was more of a friend than he would admit. The same scary feeling that rushed through Percy when he got home from Christmas shopping, dropping bags of presents for his mother and father on the floor of his room, Luke’s scarf included.
Suddenly, Percy felt a hand on his wrist, dragging him back a few steps. “You okay, Perce?” Luke asked, slight concern on his face.
“What, yeah, why?” Percy asked, slightly disoriented.
“It’s nothing, you just almost kept walking,” Luke said, nodding toward the stairs leading down to the subway platform.
“Right, sorry, I was just thinking,” Percy said as casually as possible, ignoring the shiver he felt when Luke’s face broke out into a smile. Damn Annabeth and her sound decision-making.
-
Later that night, once Percy and Luke had effectively made it to the party half an hour late and suffered through another half-hour of suggestive comments, Annabeth and Thalia shared a look in silence, watching as Percy’s shoulder pressed against Luke’s.
Thalia smirked devilishly while Annabeth could only smile a bit, wondering to herself how many more Christmases Thalia and she would have to shop for the boys. She couldn’t help but figure that it would be many more, but as she watched the large smile break out on Percy’s face as Luke elbowed him in the ribs, the two of them sharing a joke, she couldn’t feel any bitterness.
They were too damn cute for that, even if she sometimes wished that Percy would ever get her more than a kiss on the cheek for Christmas.
-
Sometime after two in the morning, the boys finally made their way home, Percy leaning heavily into Luke with exhaustion. Those holiday swim practices were more like punishments than presents, Luke thought.
As he helped Percy out of his clothes because the boy whined too damn much, Luke took a moment to appreciate how Percy looked in the sweater. The air felt suffocating and heavy when Luke helped Percy with his jeans, letting Percy’s hand grip his shoulder for balance as he untangled the jeans from Percy’s feet.
Even though Percy’s eyes were already half-way shut, Luke couldn’t help but think how good Percy looked in the sweater, silently thanking Thalia for her help. The shirt did, in fact, bring out Percy’s eyes. Unfortunately.
And the sweater really was worth every cent that Luke actually spent on it, thank you very much. A smart investment if he said so himself.
Luke helped Percy get into bed, eventually lying down on the other side after a few minutes. With a sigh, Luke looked over to see Percy already fast asleep, and slight sadness took hold of Luke, knowing that he’d have to be gone before Percy would wake. He had a flight to catch, despite how much he thought Christmas in Europe with his distant father wouldn’t be the same as a Christmas in New York with Percy.