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It started with a Christmas card.
Well, it started with Hazel and Nico's Christmas Card.
It went like this: The first year after Hazel retired as praetor and enrolled in a university, she was in a photography club and created Christmas cards of her and Nico. They sent it out to the rest of their friends, captioning it "From the family of Di Angelo Levesques to yours, Merry Christmas!"
That went on for three years until someone proposed (they proposed simultaneously), and Nico's tears ran down his cheeks with no abandon as he walked Hazel down the aisle and off into the arms of Frank. As Frank's best man, Jason had to fight the urge to gather him up in a hug and hold him until Nico stopped crying.
He did just that later in their hotel room (someone had booked a single room for the both of them, how strange).
Now, two months until Christmas, Hazel was planning a bigger Christmas card. Her, Nico, and Frank.
But maybe. Also Jason?
"So." Frank pulled up a book on how to talk smoothly. "I think you casually go up to Nico."
"Yes?"
"And say. Hey, since we're adding Frank to the Christmas card this year, should we do a thing where Frank and Jason wear matching outfits?" Frank suggested. "Just slide it in, assume that Jason's going to be in the card."
"Would that work?" Hazel asked. "What if he asks me why Jason would be in the card? Frank, they gave us separate wedding presents! Not a joint present!"
"But I don't want to hurt Jason's feelings by having a card with just us and Nico!"
"But they gave us separate presents!"
"Jason's feeling!"
"It's not like I haven't talked to him about this," Hazel said. "He tells me he's not ready for it."
"Which is unfair to Jason," said Frank. He doesn't understand why Nico was dragging his feet. "This is why Jason's being obtuse about it as well."
"Well hold on. Maybe Nico says he's not ready because Jason is oblivious. He wasn't exactly Mr. Romantic with Piper."
The two of them agreed to disagree on their first major argument since the honeymoon, and tabled the discussion for later.
Frank found himself the victor though, as three days later he saw a text (from your Hephaphone to theirs! Ready for the internet? Want to send silly images? The latest Hephaphone is monster proof!) from Hazel to Nico that read <So when are you and Jason going to come over for the Christmas card shoot?>
Nico hasn't sent a response yet.
Unbeknownst to Frank, Nico is off having his third existential crisis in a year.
A few years ago, exactly a year after he and Jason decided to move in together to save on rent, Jason invented the idea of a friend cuddle.
The reason? Heating is expensive, and so why not share a blanket on the couch, and also share body heat in the meantime.
Nico, as the son of the literal god of wealth, said yes of course that makes perfect sense, we can't afford to spend that much on heating! We can friend cuddle while we play wii sports together in the winter. Sometimes Jason would wrap him up in his arms and cuddle against the warm, designer sofa while they watch Milf Manor. Sometimes they switch and Jason is the little spoon and they take a nap listening to the D.C. traffic.
Most of the time, Jason travelled across the country, and Nico travelled across the world. Half the time they're not even in their "bachelor pad", its residents flitting across the world performing feats of heroism (or other more mundane tasks nowadays, thankfully). It functioned as a safehouse for other demigods, the guest bedroom permanently in a state of welcoming for wandering teenagers in need of a break.
That was the only reason why, when the two of them were in D.C together, they share a room. Because of course they can't afford a three bedroom apartment in D.C.! And of course, they have separate beds, because bros room together all the time.
Okay, fuck that. Yes, they were more than bros and maybe Nico and Jason both enjoyed cuddling each other in a more than platonic but less than Romantic way and if Nico could spend the rest of eternity not having to Deal with trying to come to grips with trying to define this relationship and possibly breaking the great balance they have. That would be great, thank you.
His father in the Underworld seemed to want to do just that, like every other time he changed Nico's world.
"So. My dad just bought me a house," There it was, the dream. Nico di Angelo was a homeowner now. "It's near the weed dispensary, the neighborhood that always smell like Amsterdam, we looked at it once, remember?" Back when they had first decided to rent a place together, because adulthood meant stepping out and getting a place on your own, meant stepping outside the box where you never felt like you belonged and finding someplace you did.
It was a choice between a large place in a tough neighborhood (with lots of room, a lot of space!), or a small place in a nice neighborhood (tight quarters, not much space to move around). And well. Of course a nice neighborhood is better, right? Because of....safety issues.
"Oh," Jason absorbed the knowledge, he looked at Nico and could almost see the frenzy of thoughts that were chasing around in his head. He could almost see the sentence You can have your own room again, before he wrapped his arms around Nico from behind. "That would be a good place to bring demigods on the run, or on quests. Teenagers need a lot of space, and it's in a neighborhood with a lot of mortal smell. Much better than this place, we should thank your dad."
"....Right." Nico calmed down. "I mean, we can't deprive the teens of a really great safehouse."
"No, of course not," Jason rested his chin on Nico's shoulders and blew a puff of air into his ears. "Can't do that at all, that would be too selfish."
"I love-" Nico stopped, "how great, this situation turned out to be. For the kids."
It was the third time this year Nico almost said I love you, and Jason counted that as a win.
"I love that, too."
Nico looked at Jason, so comfortable in the moment. So soft, sometimes he was so sure that Jason would kiss back. Most of the time he was scared of what would happen if Jason didn't. Either way, there was no way the two of them are moving into a new, more spacious place.
No changes needed.
His Hephaphone beeped again, with Hazel's message.
.....Some changes were apparently can't be stopped.
Nico and Hazel were family, and they appear on Christmas cards together. Well, now Frank was family, with Hazel. And by all rules of convention he and Hazel should send their own Christmas card. Except Hazel wants Nico in there.
Which would leave Jason out of the picture, officially. That didn't sit right with Nico.
Frank, Hazel's husband, matching together on a Christmas card with his brother in law's......best friend. Roommate.
nico.di.angelo.exe stopped working for the fourth time that year, then started working up again. It's a very normal thing. Jason is just like family, so of course he'd fit in the Christmas card. In fact, he should've been in Nico and Hazel's Christmas card from the beginning. Technically they were cousins! Immediately Nico recoiled from the cousin thought and gagged inside. No, not cousins. Just found family, best friends, something more something less. And that works perfectly fine.
That was how Jason and Frank found themselves cosplaying as Santa's reindeer with a grumpy Nico and ecstatic Hazel dressed up as two different Santas.
First, a photo of Frank of Jason sitting in front of a sleigh, with Hazel and Nico holding the reins of the sleigh. Then, the photographer wanted "the two couples" to have one person piggyback the other. The last time Jason carried Nico on his back was a couple of months ago that year, when Nico twisted his ankle and just had to be carried everywhere for an entire week. Jason couldn't let his best friend just limp around like a sad sack!
Nico nestled against Jason's neck and ghastly smiled at the camera, just like all of his cute ghoulish smiles in the other pictures. Jason couldn't wait to see the pictures. Is it normal to be dazzled by the cuteness of something that looked creepy? Because he felt that everyday. His roommate looks creepy and it is incredibly cute.
After the photoshoot, as Hazel and Jason poured over the photographs, Jason picked out his personal favorites as Hazel picked hers.
"I'd like that one printed and framed," He said, pointing to one where he and Frank were holding Hazel and Nico in their arms in princess carries. "This one is nice, too." It was a piggyback carry, and he'd adjusted Nico without warning, surprising him into grabbing onto the antlers he was wearing on his head. "Actually, how much would cost for you to send me the rest of the photos digitally?"
"Nico!" Jason called out, "We should hang this next to the T.V."
Nico came by to look at the photos that Jason picked out. He looked really happy, he was used to looking and being happy recently, for the past few years. There he was, and there Jason was, next to his sister and her husband. A family.
"Yeah," he said softly. "It'd look great."
"We should pick some out for the new house, too," Jason said. "I'd ask Leo and the other Hephaestus kids for some defense mechanisms to put there. We can finally call in our favors, have a housewarming registry."
Frank not so subtly pulled Hazel away from the warm and bubbling atmosphere forming around Jason and Nico.
He mouthed to her Just like our wedding gift registry!!!!!!
Hazel screamed silently and mouthed back It's finally happening!!!!!!!
"It'd be a great thing," Jason said, "For the kids and teens, of course."
Nico jolted. "Yeah, for the kids, and the teens."
But even more than usual, he felt the urge to lean up against Jason, so he did.