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Jasico Week 2024 - Day 6

Words: 2,396 Rating: General Audiences Type: Oneshot

Description: Nico “needs” a date for his work party. His best friend, Jason, agrees to tag along. Little do they know, they’ll be forced to face the feelings they’ve been avoiding for one another since high school.

Sidenote: This fic was written for @jasico-challenges Jasico week 2024 event!

Full fic under the cut! Small warning, the formatting is a bit weird here and I do prefer AO3 lol

Nico was successful. More so than he really liked being. 

He liked his job plenty. Being a lead programmer for a major video game company not only paid well but was also his dream. He got to sit at a desk in front of a computer alone all day. Heaven. 

Hell, in his best friend Jason Grace’s opinion. He always did nag Nico about things, from needing a more ergonomic desk chair to needing to invest in blue light glasses. Jason was somehow his biggest supporter and his number-one hater. 

They went out for coffee every Friday that their schedules would allow. It definitely wasn’t a date—although, they took turns paying and more often than not made some more than friendly comments. Nico was choosing to ignore that for now, though. 

He had a ginormous crush on Jason and had since they met in high school. Right now, though, his job left no room for commitment and his own personal struggles certainly couldn’t handle that kind of stress. So, his feelings were put on the back burner. 

Nico sat in the coffeehouse, currently thinking about that very problem like he always did before seeing Jason. He looked up as the bell on the door rang, and he locked eyes with the man himself. Somehow, he managed to pack his feelings away like neatly folded origami deep into the corners of his mind. That didn’t make it go away, though. 

Jason clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey,” he said, sitting down in the seat beside Nico rather than the one across from him. He always did that. Nico never knew why. 

Nico sipped his coffee. He didn’t actually like coffee in the slightest, but Jason did. “Hello,” he said back, eyes flicking to look at him. 

Jason wore a pretty regular outfit for him, blue jeans and a light purple hoodie. He had a hat with some sports logo on it Nico couldn’t bother to recognize. Somehow, he made basic clothing look like an angel’s robes. At least in Nico’s opinion. 

“How was work so far?” Nico asked, knowing Jason was on his lunch break currently. 

Jason groaned, sitting back. “No one told me I had to be good at math to be an architect,” he smiled. 

Nico snickered. “I remember telling you that.”

“You’re crazy. That didn’t happen.”

Jason ordered his drink before coming back. Nico tried not to watch. 

“How has work been for you lately?” Jason asked, settling back down. 

Nico practically winced. “Fine.”

“You sure?”

Jason could read him like a book, and Nico was not fond of it. 

Nico put his hands up dramatically. “Fine. Ya got me.” He sighed, starting a rant that had been bubbling inside him for quite a while. “There’s this work party coming up, and I have to go because, y’know.”

Jason nodded. He did know because he always knew when it came to Nico. 

“And I’d usually just have Hazel come as my plus one, but this is a Valentine’s Day-themed thing, and it was kinda implied that it was a couple plus ones only. And since I don’t want people to think I’m ’Sweet Home Alabama’-ing my sister, I just have to go alone. Which is gonna suck.”

Jason sipped his drink and nodded as Nico talked. He knew about Nico’s aversion to attending events alone, mostly because he had always been that way. Jason couldn’t think of a single time that Nico had willingly gone anywhere that included other people without begging someone to come along. Nico referred to it as the buddy system. Jason and Nico’s therapist referred to it as social anxiety. 

“I could go with you,” Jason proposed. 

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Jason. We’re not…together,” he said, half a statement and half a question. 

They had a pretty questionable past. A kiss in high school that they both brushed off as nothing and some here and there tipsy flirting were huge roadblocks in their ‘totally normal friendship’. They never bothered to address their own concerns, seeing as they didn’t think the other person minded. They both most definitely minded. 

“I’m aware,” Jason smiled. “Your coworkers don’t have to know that, though.”

Nico couldn’t help but smile back. “How rebellious.”

They went on about their conversation like nothing had happened, even though both their cheeks were a little redder than how that had started. 

A day later, Jason called to confirm their heist. Nico sent him the times, day, and dress code. 

Their stunt was working wonderfully. 

Nico picked him up thirty minutes before they had to be at the venue, very pointedly ignored how good his neat blue button-up looked on him, and parked his car right outside the front doors. 

“This will be hell. I won’t think any less of you if you jump ship now,” Nico said, putting his car in park. 

“I’m sure it can’t be that bad,” Jason laughed. 

Nico shrugged, getting out of the car and leading him inside. Almost immediately, it was hell. 

The music was too loud for Nico’s taste, even though it truly wasn’t all that loud. The food was questionable at best. Worst of all, everyone seemed very interested in who Jason was. 

Nico stood beside him in a corner, currently getting mobbed by two of his nosiest coworkers. By mobbed, they were just standing near them and whispering. However, Nico felt berated. 

Jason, out of habit, draped his arm over Nico’s shoulder. While it was definitely selling their clever lie, it was also only worsening Nico’s embarrassment. 

Nico leaned up to talk to him in an attempt to end his screaming thoughts. “Is this everything you dreamed of?” 

Jason snickered. “You weren’t lying. I see why you always bring a plus one.”

Nico’s attention was evaded as the cork of a bottle of wine was popped. The two turned their heads, ears assaulted by the cheering of a few coworkers. They watched as wine was poured into a few glasses, then another bottle was popped and more was poured. 

They looked at each other, grinned, then proceeded to make their way over. 

The second they reached the table, Nico’s boss clapped him on the shoulder. Jason’s face flashed with something Nico couldn’t quite pin. 

“Di Angelo,” he grinned. “Good to see you. Spouse?” he asked, pointing to Jason. 

Nico wasn’t sure why, but he nodded. “Boyfriend,” he said with enough ease to convince anyone it was true, including himself. 

He knew deep down he didn’t have to say that. This wasn’t truly a couple’s exclusive event, and no one would’ve cared if he just brought a friend. However, maybe he wanted to pretend, if only for a few hours, that Jason was more than that. Maybe Jason was ok with that too. 

Jason outstretched a hand to greet his boss, smiling a corporate smile. “Nice to meet you.”

The man smiled back, clapping his shoulder. “You too, sir.”

He said something Nico wasn’t fully listening to and wandered off to talk with more people. 

Nico practically chugged a glass of wine, using Jason for cover from watching eyes. Jason laughed, sipping his own like a normal person. 

“This does not taste good,” Nico said, putting the glass down. 

Jason nodded in agreement, putting his glass down still half-full. “Not as good as your fancy pants Italian ones.”

Nico rolled his eyes playfully, looking out at the sea of coworkers. Jason’s arm stayed around his shoulders as they talked, occasionally interrupted by people interacting with them. Almost like that’s what you’re meant to do at a party. 

One gross glass of wine later, and Nico was pretty sure he was dead and in hell. The conversations droned on, the people somehow got annoyingly louder, and worst of all, this was seriously cutting into the time Nico had set aside to nap on his couch and watch horrible reality TV. They had to get out of here. 

Then, one of their social media managers walked over, grinning like she always was. 

“Nico,” she smiled, “great to see you!”

Nico nodded back, less enthusiastic. “You too, Olivia.”

She addressed Jason, who had partially forgotten his arm was still around Nico. “And you are?”

He held his hand out. “Jason. Nico’s boyfriend,” he smiled back. 

She clapped her hands together before shaking his. “Oh, that’s lovely!”

Nico wasn’t sure where she got the energy to be so bubbly, and he was jealous. 

“Nico, I didn’t know you had a partner,” she said, turning back to him so fast the ruffles on her dress swished around. This was a nice way of saying “Nico, I thought all you did was work.” At least, that’s what Nico was pretty sure she meant. 

He nodded. “Recent development,” he smiled, leaning into Jason unintentionally. Jason put two hands on his shoulders to steady him, and hopefully hide how much wine he’d had tonight. 

Olivia nodded, grinning still. “Can I ask how you two met?” she asked, as always looking for a scoop. 

Nico faltered, but Jason spoke quickly. “Childhood friends,” he said, “I’ve had a crush on him since college, but he’s truly oblivious.”

Nico could feel his face getting red. He decided that the last part was unnecessary, and Jason just tossed it in to mess with him. Totally not a confession. Definitely not. He was just overthinking it. 

Olivia smiled so wide Nico thought her face would rip in half. “Well isn’t that sweet!” she looked over her shoulder at some commotion behind her. “I’ll get outta your hair now. Enjoy the party, you two,” she called, already walking away. 

As soon as she was out of earshot, Nico leaned up to Jason to whisper to him, “Let’s get out of here before my brain melts out of my ears.”

Jason laughed, significantly less tipsy and significantly less bothered by social interaction. “How could you say that, they just opened up the mic for your beloved coworkers to try their comedy skills out.”

Nico groaned, accidentally grabbing the attention of an intern he didn’t know the name of. “I need you to throw me out that window and into the highway, Jason.”

Jason laughed again, a little more sincere. “I can’t do that, then I’d have to actually buy a suit for your funeral.”

The seconds Micheal from art picked up the microphone, Nico decided that was enough for him and started shuffling towards the door. 

He waved bye to anyone who he knew would be texting him pictures from the party the next day and practically shoved Jason out the door. 

As soon as they were outside, they both sighed into the cool night air. 

“Give me your keys,” Jason said, holding out his hand. 

Nico raised an eyebrow, already starting to walk to the driver's side. “Why?”

“Because you’re tripping over your feet and I’d rather not get arrested tonight.”

He rolled his eyes but tossed him the keys and resigned himself to the passenger's side. 

Jason let the drive go by in silence, knowing that was how Nico liked it. Nico, meanwhile, was having a crisis. 

He just couldn’t wrap his mind around how they had done that so easily. It hardly even felt awkward. They didn’t even tweak how they acted with each other, they just said they were dating and everyone believed them just like that. 

Maybe it was the wine in his system, but Nico felt something nagging at him he just couldn’t ignore. 

“Hey,” he said, looking over at Jason.

His face was illuminated by street lights and whatever shone in from the city into the highway. “Hey,” he said back, smiling. His voice was soft, which wasn’t helping Nico’s dilemma. 

Nico shifted in his seat to see him better. “What was up with the college thing?” He asked, trying to sound nonchalant despite the screaming inside him. 

Jason stared straight ahead at the road. “Just telling the truth, Nico.” 

Nico tensed slightly. He couldn’t tell if Jason was joking or not. 

“What?” He asked, not thinking straight enough to see the glimmer of resignation in Jason’s eyes. 

“I wasn’t lying,” Jason repeated. 

“Oh.”

Jason looked at him, a quick panicked look with the closest thing to fear Nico had ever seen on him. 

Jason opened his mouth to speak, no doubt to backtrack. Nico put his hand over his mouth, face reddening by the second. 

“No, shut up,” Nico said, but there was no bite to his tone. “I’ve had a crush on you since high school.” 

Jason looked back to the road briefly. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They sat in silence while Jason pulled into Nico’s driveway, faces red as they tried to think of what to say next.

Jason looked over at Nico quickly, trying to decipher his emotions. “For the record,” Jason started, “I’m not trying to guilt you into a relationship right now.”

“I know,” Nico nodded. 

He leaned back. “Cool.”

“Cool.”

Nico paused. Their situation was almost comical but in an awful kind of way. 

“And, also for the record,” Nico said softly, “the only reason I never confessed was because I didn’t think it was the right time…for either of us.”

Jason nodded. They both avoided each other's gaze. 

“So, what now?” Jason asked. 

Nico thought for a second. “I don’t think I’m ready, I don’t have the time to date. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Jason hummed, though he looked disappointed. “Right. Me neither.”

Silence. The silence was painful, only the sound of the car running and Nico’s dog barking in his backyard bounced between them. 

Either the alcohol was getting to him, or Nico was losing his mind. “Hey, Jason?” Jason looked up, a glimmer of hope behind his usually confident eyes. “Can we just pretend? For tonight?”

Jason smiled. “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

They stumbled inside, and for the rest of the night, they were lovers. It didn’t matter that they had work the next morning, and it didn’t matter that they had responsibilities to get home to. What mattered was they fell asleep beside each other, content for once. 

The next morning, when Nico woke up tangled in bedsheets, Jason was gone. They met up for their regular coffee day later that week and acted like nothing had happened. 

Maybe it wasn’t the right time just yet, but if they waited, maybe it would be.

an angel! :D

Jasico Week 2024 - Day 5

Words: 1,913 Rating: General Audiences Type: Oneshot

Description: Jason Grace, college-bound, is the most nervous he's ever been. His boyfriend, Nico, helps him relax.

Sidenote: This fic was written for @jasico-challenges Jasico week 2024 event!

Full fic under the cut! The formatting is a little weird here on Tumblr, so I recommend reading it on AO3 if you're going to. But, if you can put up with the weird dialogue spacing, good on you, go for it

Jason was excited to go to college. He wasn’t so excited to leave Nico back at camp, though. 

He remembered when he had first started looking at colleges after graduating from Edgarton. He sat in the Zeus cabin at Camp Half-blood. While its high ceilings and fancy architecture had never been particularly welcoming, he found himself returning to it more often than not. 

Nico stretched out beside him on his bed. A laptop Leo had fixed up sat in Jason’s lap, likely overheating. He chewed his lip, staring rather intently at the New Rome University pamphlet beside him, and their webpage on the screen. 

He looked up ‘Colleges in California,’ and an abundance popped up, each one looking more appealing than the last. Nico stirred. He closed the tab, guilty for no reason. 

Nico must’ve felt his body tense or just had some keen sense of knowing when his boyfriend was upset because he eyed him curiously for a second before giving up and burring his face back in the pillows. Jason resumed his search. 

“You know you don’t have to go to New Rome, right?” Nico said, slightly muffled from the pillows. 

“What?” Jason asked, half because he couldn’t quite hear him and half because he thought that was a crazy thing to say. 

Everyone in the world had been asking Jason if he was planning on going to NRU. That was an exaggeration, but that was what it felt like to him. After Percy graduated and was proving successful, everyone just assumed Jason would follow in his footsteps. In fact, not following in them would be crazy. 

Nico lifted his head from the pillows. “You can go to a normal college.”

Jason stared at him blankly. “I…know.”

“You sure?” Nico smiled, raising an eyebrow. 

Jason huffed. Nico sat up, putting a hand over Jason’s. 

“You don’t have to be a demigod all the time. It’s fine to just be a person, Jason.”

Jason wasn’t sure when Nico got so profound, but over the years he was noticing that he suddenly had a lot more to say. He managed to read the son of Zeus like a book, constantly reminding him that he should do what he wants, and not what he thinks others would want. 

Nico rubbed Jason’s hand with his thumb. “I know everyone’s telling you to go to NRU, but you don’t have to do that if it’s not what you want.”

Jason intertwined their fingers. “We’d get to see each other more. You’d be at Camp Jupiter anyway.”

“I can teleport,” Nico reminded, leaning his head on his shoulder. 

Jason tangled a hand in his hair. “You shouldn’t. It’s bad for you.”

“We can Iris message.”

“It’s not the same.”

Nico let the silence pool around them for a second. Jason wished he didn’t. 

“I want you to be happy,” Nico said quietly, moving his other hand so Jason’s was sandwiched between his. 

“I know you do.”

“Then why won’t you let yourself?”

Jason looked down at him. He paused, letting the words sink in so deep they started echoing in his head. 

“I don’t know.”

Nico moved his head so he could see the computer screen. “Open the tab you closed,” he said. Jason groaned. “Yeah, you thought you were slick with that, huh?” Nico laughed, watching him open his history and click on the most recent search. Jason rolled his eyes, grinning. 

They spent the rest of the night looking at colleges, wrapped up in each other’s touch. 

A few months later, the two had just finished making their rounds at Camp Jupiter, informing everyone Jason was off to college. They settled into Jason’s brand new car, testing the capabilities of his equally new driving skills, and began the too-long trip to a nice little university on the coast. 

Nico sat in the passenger’s seat, legs crossed as he watched the hills roll by. Jason would’ve taken time to admire him if he wasn’t so busy trying not to crash. 

Once traffic had cleared and they were on a smaller, less stressful road, Nico spoke up. 

“Are you excited?” He asked if only to fill the silence. 

Jason nodded. “Yeah,” he smiled, watching Nico move so he was leaning on the armrest. 

“Nervous?”

“Very much so.”

Nico smiled. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. However, if you join a fraternity, I am legally obliged to break up with you. Sorry.”

Jason rolled his eyes, hands relaxing on the steering wheel. “Darn. There go my plans.”

Jason looked Nico over, now given the chance without the stress of other drivers. He looked so casual, feet perched up on the seat, smiling as they talked. 

“How’s school for you?” Jason asked. Nico had recently started using a homeschooling program with Sally Jackson as his non-legal guardian—the school didn’t have to know that they were of no relation. 

“Good. I like it,” Nico said simply. 

Jason didn’t know how Nico was so casual about things like that. He never shied away from a challenge, even if he was nervous deep down. Jason wished he could do that. 

“What if I don’t like my professors?” Jason said suddenly, vocalizing his fears for no real reason other than knowing Nico would soothe them. 

“Switch classes,” Nico said. “Or, complain about them on Rate My Professors.”

Jason hummed. He’d had bad teachers in school before, how much worse could a professor be? He leaned back in his seat before deciding something else was nagging at him. 

“Do you think I’ll make friends?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Jason hummed again, trying to focus back on the road. His mind wandered yet again. 

“I don’t even really have a major picked out…”

Nico put his hand over Jason’s arm. “Jason.”

“What?”

“You’re freaking yourself out. It’ll be ok.”

He sighed, leaning back into the seat. “Yeah. I know.”

Nico rubbed slow circles into his forearm, watching the road for him. “Let yourself have fun with this.”

Silence filled the car again. Nico used his passenger princess privileges to take hold of the aux chord, subjecting Jason to the depths of his playlist. Jason didn’t actually mind as much as he pretended to, mostly because he got to watch Nico’s eyes light up as he explained in painful detail the backgrounds and facts of his favorite bands. 

They finally found themselves parked just outside the dorm building. Orientation was a few days ago, and Jason had attended and visited the dorm hall, so he had the key to his dorm practically burning a hole in his pocket. Nico carried a box with nearly all of Jason’s earthly belongings in it, while Jason had a clothes hamper full of everything he wore balanced on his hip. 

He finally managed to unlock his dorm, then turned to Nico before he opened it. 

“Oh my gods,” he said quietly. “What if I hate my roommate?”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “What?” he said back, not whispering. 

“You heard me!” he hissed. 

Nico chuckled before reaching over and opening the door himself. “You, Jason Grace, are not capable of hate. Besides, it’ll be fine.”

The door swung open, revealing a plain room with one desk and…one bed. It was a single room. 

Nico punched his arm playfully. “Boom. Just like I said. No problem.” He sat the box down on the floor, looking around. He tugged open the blinds, looking out at a bunch of concrete and the brick on the other side of the building. “And what a great view,” he joked. 

Jason rolled his eyes for the millionth time and walked over to wrap his arms around his boyfriend. 

“Are you going to be pessimistic all day?”

Nico feigned offensive. “I’ve been the picture of optimism all week, Jason. I’m wounded.”

Jason looked over at the slightly pathetic twin XL. An idea sprung to mind. 

“You should stay the night with me tonight.”

Nico laughed. “I don’t think that’s allowed.”

“When have you ever cared for rules?”

Nico laughed, letting Jason pull him into the middle of the room. He pulled Nico flush against his chest, wrapping his arms around him. 

“I don’t think we can both fit on that bed,” Nico said, a smile evident in his voice. 

“You can sleep on the floor.”

“I regret offering to help you move in.”

Jason laughed, and they got to work decorating his dorm with the few things he’d brought with him.

Once they were done, the sun had long set and it was far past visiting hours. Somehow, they hadn’t gotten caught yet. 

They both sat on the edge of the bed, talking absently about nothing and everything at the same time. Jason looked at the clock now on his nightstand and decided it was late enough to justify wrapping his arms around Nico and tugging him to lie down. 

Nico laughed as he was dragged, letting Jason put his head on his heart. Jason felt the laugh reverberate in his chest and decided it was his favorite sound. 

The bed was mildly uncomfortable, and they were practically on top of each other to fit. Although, they probably would’ve ended up like that anyway, so it didn’t matter all too much. 

“Do you remember, on the Argo, the night after the…” Jason trailed off. 

“Cupid incident?” Nico offered. 

“Yeah. When we stayed together in my room because I didn’t want you to take the couch again, but it was super awkward because we both had to fit on my bed.”

“I’m well aware. I was so embarrassed I thought I was going to die.”

Jason laughed. He was also pretty mortified at the time but was at least glad that Nico was getting some sleep. 

“That was when I realized I liked you,” Jason said. 

Nico looked down at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. You looked cute sleeping.”

Nico rolled his eyes, shoving him playfully. Jason pushed him back, starting a war. They had to stop pretty soon into their roughhousing, though, as they realized they were probably going to get caught if they kept being loud. 

“When did you realize you liked me?” Jason asked, moving to see Nico’s face. 

His cheeks twinged red. “It’s super dumb and embarrassing.”

Jason laughed, “I don’t care.”

Nico pushed him again, a little softer. “It was also on the Argo, near the end of the quest. I was sitting up in the crow’s nest, watching you and Leo talk on the deck. I was running on, like, ten minutes of sleep and it was late, so you were just in pajama pants, no shirt.”

Jason laughed, holding him tighter. “All it took was me being shirtless.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I was just sitting there and thinking, mostly about you, then I looked down and you were just standing there. I had an ‘ah shit’ moment where I just kinda short-circuited.”

Jason laughed again, leaning against him. Nico huffed. “It’s not that funny,” he chuckled. 

Jason pulled him impossibly closer. “This really is just like old times.”

“The mattress is just as uncomfortable as the ones on the Argo.”

They continued their reminiscing late into the night, and mentally kicked themselves when Nico had to wake up early to catch the bus back to Camp Jupiter. 

Somehow, in the darkness of his dorm that night, Jason found all his worries melting away. He was starting something new, but, for once, he was excited about it.

Jasico Week 2024 - Day 1

Words: 3,058 Rating: General Audiences Type: Oneshot

Description: Nico, Camp Half-Bloods demigod with the largest contraband collection, helps Jason have a quiet birthday devoid of all Stoll pranks. Birthday cake and Mario Kart included.

Sidenote: This fic was written for @jasico-challenges Jasico week 2024 event!

Full fic under the cut! However, the formatting is a bit better on AO3 since I’m posting this from mobile lol.

Alone time at camp was hard to get. It was even harder if you happened to go to camp at a time that aligned with when the Stoll brothers went to camp. Unfortunately for Jason, he fell into that bracket of poor souls.

Not only did the Stolls insist on knowing everyone’s birthday, they also insisted on making a personalized prank on that very day. Beyond that sphere of horrible intent, they also told everyone they knew that it was your birthday—they knew everyone at camp.

Jason was still shuddering in remembrance of the last camper who the two of them had gotten their hands on. The prank wasn’t pretty, nor was the aftermath. Said camper still walked a wide circle around those two.

Nico had somehow managed to scrape away with never enduring one of their birthday pranks. Wether he paid them off or if they just respected him enough to leave him alone was up for debate. They were his first two real friends at camp, and was known for aiding their pranks when needed, so maybe they just couldn’t do as good of a prank without him that they didn’t bother.

However it happened didn’t matter to Jason. All that he cared about was Nico never got pranked, and he was determined not to either.

Jason slammed his breakfast tray down on the Hades table with enough conviction to conjure several glares from other campers. He didn’t care enough to look back, but he’d certainly gotten Nico’s attention.

Nico pulled off his headphones, hardly taking the time to set down his fork. “Good gods, what?” Nico said, pausing his iPod. It was the closest thing to updated technology that all of camp had, and Nico clung to the thing rather strong.

Jason sat down, ignoring the rules saying he should be at his own table. “I need a favor,” he said.

“Great?” Nico said, picking his fork back up.

Jason groaned. “Come on!”

“I didn’t say no.”

Jason took a breath, hope singing his name on the horizon. Maybe he was being dramatic, but he hadn’t had a birthday to himself in years, and he would’ve killed a titan by himself for one right now.

“My birthday is tomorrow,” Jason said leaning forward like it was a huge secret.

Nico picked at his oatmeal. “I’m aware.”

Of course, Nico was the only person other than Piper and Leo who knew his birthday at camp. He’d told him on the Argo II one night when they were both not tired enough to sleep but too tired to go to their own rooms. Nico had also told him his birthday, and they made a pact to not tell anyone and have secret birthdays.

Jason picked up his one apple. “I need you to keep Connor and Travis at bay.”

Nico raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want camp to know?”

Jason shook his head. “I just…want some alone time.”

Nico nodded, thick black hair falling into his eyes only to be pushed back into place. Jason watched a ringed hand settle back comfortably with his plastic fork a little too closely and happened to notice that he held it like it was the finest silverware in the world. Jason pried his eyes away.

“Ok,” Nico said, taking another bite.

“Really?”

“Yup.”

Jason felt mildly silly for all his forcefulness earlier. He really didn’t expect this to be so easy. However, knowing Nico, he should’ve known he caved easy when it came to asking favors—at least ones from Jason.

Jason nodded. He took a bite of his apple to punctuate the conversation. He stayed in his spot, deciding he’d just eat breakfast with Nico.

“Thanks. By the way,” Jason tacked on.

Nico shrugged, reaching for his iPod. “No problem.”

He put on his headphones again, defending his ears from the chatter of the rest of the camp currently eating breakfast. The two ate in silence, something Jason wasn’t particularly used to but couldn’t say he minded.

The next day, Jason woke up late and decided to just skip breakfast. He stretched, realizing like a kid on Christmas that it was his birthday. His birthday, and he had the whole day to himself.

He stayed in his pajamas, stretched out on his bed with the Nintendo DS Nico had leant him and played Pokemon White for an absurd amount of time.

Just as his beloved Pikachu was about to faint, he felt this sudden naggin in the back of his head. Something ebbed at his mind. He glanced towards the clock and realized that it was well into the afternoon. Secondly, he was bored.

Very bored.

He wasn’t sure when the boredom became so apparent, but it was there now. He chewed his lip, too distracted in his thoughts for pokemon, and willingly lost his currently battle before saving and tucking the DS away in his nightstand.

Jason laid back, listening to campers outside. He had assumed a day alone would be the best day of his life. After spending his whole life around everyone every day all the time, he figured some much needed alone time was in order. However, this was downright miserable.

Jason’s mind wandered to Nico, which it seemed to be doing very often as of late. He wondered how the Ghost King spent his time alone so frequently. Did he get lonely too? Was he ever bored cooped up in that cabin?

Jason glanced at the clock again, hoping some substantial time had passed. It hadn’t.

He groaned and pulled himself from his bed, lazily walking to his door and starting the trek to the Hades cabin. He walked around the back of the cabins, praying that training was keeping everyone distracted enough for them not to be crowding the back path made by sneaky teens looking for some alone time of their own.

He was lucky, as everyone was too distracted by whatever atrocity was happening on the rock climbing wall to notice him slinking around.

He walked around the front of Nico’s door, banging with enough urgency to get the point across. Nico called a “What?” mildly exasperatedly.

Jason tugged open the door before darting to hide behind it and slam it closed.

“Great Hades, Jason,” Nico said, setting down his controller and looking up from Mario Kart.

Jason let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Hello to you too.”

Nico rolled his eyes before raking them over Jason. “Nice pajamas.”

Jason looked down at his purple plaid pants and white shirt with a few too many holes in it to be written off as well loved. “Thanks. And to you as well.”

Nico’s hair was pulled off his neck with a hairband, and he wore a black camp hoodie, shorts, and fuzzy socks. It wasn’t the most practical summer wear, but Nico’s cabin was cold as ice.

“Happy birthday,” Nico said. “I assumed you would stay in your cabin all day and enjoy your day off.”

Jason shrugged. “Thanks. I got bored.”

Nico scooted over in the floor, letting Jason see into the bottom of his closet where all his contraband was hidden. A TV and a Wii U sat, accompanied by several video games.

“Wanna join?” he asked, patting the spot beside him and digging for a second controller. “I’ve been trying to beat Connor’s high score for an hour.”

Jason sat beside him, taking the controller. Nico had taught him how to play the Wii, but it still felt foreign in his hands.

Nico flipped back to the menu screen, letting Jason pick a character. Nico was playing as Rosalina. When no one was around, he was always Rosalina. Otherwise, he was Shy Guy. Jason was slightly embarrassed that he knew this and had committed it to memory, but decided it just meant Nico trusted him. Even with something as small as Mario Kart, Nico trusted him.

Jason picked Yoshi. Unlike Nico, he didn’t have much preference.

They began the game, Nico effortlessly in first place. Jason was dead last, but he couldn’t care less about that. It was probably because he couldn’t get his eyes off Nico’s screen, and to make matters worse, couldn’t get his eyes off Nico in general.

Jason hadn’t quite come to terms with his crush yet, if you couldn’t tell.

Nico knew every secret of every track. He knew how to cheat the game, to go backwards and still somehow win. It was almost as if he had the coding in his mind, mouse hovering and fingers clacking to will the game in his favor.

Some may think this made playing with him boring, seeing as no one but Connor could ever manage to beat him. Jason disagreed. This was something akin to Elysium.

Watching the way Nico’s hands worked against the controller, the way he scrunched his eyebrows just slightly in concentration, and most importantly, the glimmer of youth in his eyes that was so rare now. It was fun to lose. It was fun because Nico got to win.

Nico passed the final lap, throwing his arms up in celebration. “Finally!” he grinned. Jason watched as Nico wrote something down on a notebook beside him, stopping a stopwatch that looked older than both of them. He leaned over to see a list of names, each scratched one and replaced by one beneath it. Most of the names were either Nico, Connor, Travis, or Clovis, but a few other campers had weaseled their way into the leaderboard.

Nico scratched out an all-caps Connor and wrote Nico in his neat handwriting, accompanied by his winning time.

Jason struggled for a moment, but eventually passed the finish line in last place, also grinning.

“You did better this time,” Nico said, smiling at him.

“Still got last.”

“At least you didn’t go backwards the whole time this round.”

Jason watched the excited youth fade off Nico’s face, leaving just a mildly happy boy in its wake. He wanted more than anything to see the pure joy on Nico’s face again.

“Quite the improvement,” Jason said, matching his lopsided smile. “How’d you get so good at video games anyways?”

Nico shrugged. “Lotus Casino,” he replied, as if it cleared up anything. “Wanna go again?”

Jason nodded, letting him queue up another map. Nico eventually passed him controller 1, a sign of great respect.

“You pick.” He said. Nico had a very firm ‘you win, you choose,’ rule because he was very particular about his maps.

Jason threw up his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Yeah. Birthday boy picks. Just don’t pick Moo Moo Meadows.”

Jason picked Moo Moo Meadows. Nico groaned, but took controller 1 back and accepted his fate.

About halfway through the game, Nico was in first and Jason was, yet again, dead last.

Nico’s eyes flicked over to Jason’s hands. He sat down his own controller, putting his hands over Jason’s.

“If you just…” he started, guiding Jason’s hands over the controller.

Jason was a bit too flustered to fully take in what Nico was saying, but the slight burning sensation in his hands and face was enough for him to partially remember the hand movements.

This time, Nico finished in eighth, and Jason in fifth. Not Nico’s personal best, but definitely Jason’s.

Nico grinned. “You got top five.” Jason cheered. “Another?” Nico asked, dutifully writing down Jason’s place in the page of the notebook titled “Jason Grace’s Personal Bests”

Jason nodded, and they continued their game until light no longer poured in the windows, and the only thing illuminating them was the TV screen.

They finally tired themselves out on the game. Nico won every round after that, but Jason slowly climbed the leaderboard. Nico wrote down each small victory until one round, where Jason was second and Nico was first.

Wether it was on purpose or not, Nico’s Rosalina slipped on a banana peel at the last second, letting Jason win.

Jason cheered. While it didn’t earn him a spot on the notebooks leaderboard, considering his time still wasn’t all that good, Nico wrote down “Beat reigning champ, Nico Di Angelo” in the notebook with his pretty handwriting, only making the victory sweeter.

They both smiled and laughed together about the whole thing before realizing with sudden horror that they’d both missed dinner, and were starving.

“Guess we lost track of time,” Jason smiled. “I’m sure I have some snacks in my cabin somewhere.”

Nico held up a hand, stopping him. “I’ve got something better.”

Jason raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Better than trail mix?”

“Way better.”

Nico stuck his hand in the back of his contraband pile, digging around video games and other technology before his hands landed on what he was searching for.

He pulled out a box. Not just any box, a box of vanilla cake mix. Soon after, it was accompanied by a bottle of sprinkles and some questionable icing.

“Not even the Stolls know I have this,” Nico smiled, letting Jason gaze upon his treasure.

Jason looked at him quizzically. “How do you intend on cooking it?”

“I’ve got some arrangements with the harpies,” Nico smiled. “Kitchen’s all ours tonight.”

Nico pulled himself to his feet, watching Jason stand beside him.

“Just tonight?” Jason asked.

Nico shuffled his feet. “Yeah, I’ve been planning this for a while,” he said, slightly more bashful than usual. “Why do you think I got vanilla instead of an obviously better flavor?”

It was true, vanilla was Jason’s favorite. While he didn’t appreciate the slight roast from Nico, he did enjoy knowing that not only was he planning for his birthday, but he remembered his favorite flavor.

“Vanilla solos,” Jason corrected.

Nico rolled his eyes, stepping towards the door and slipping on some sandals. Socks and sandals, bold. “You just love being wrong.”

He silently led Jason through winding paths in the dark, secret pathways carved by hungry campers years before them. Why Nico knew of them was anyone’s guess, but Jason could appreciate it.

Once inside the kitchen, Nico flipped on a light, laid out their ingredients, and crossed his arms.

“I’ve never made a box cake before,” Nico said.

“Me neither,” Jason agreed, putting on his glasses to read the back of the box.

The two were oddly connected in that way. They were both so utterly separated from the teenage experience that they got to experience it themselves, together. Jason couldn’t ask for anything better.

Nico hunted down everything they needed and got to work, letting Jason hover over his shoulder.

“This was very nice of you, by the way,” Jason said, attempting very desperately not to blush all too hard as Nico pulled the cake from the oven.

Nico smiled. “It’s the least I could do. You’ve always been a good friend to me.”

Jason was ready to get on his knees and inform Aphrodite that love was, in fact, real. He held off for now, though, and settled on a soft smile.

He watched Nico do his best at icing the cake. He passed the sprinkles to Jason letting him pick his amount of sprinklage as he licked icing from his hands. Jason switched the top to the largest possible opening for the sprinkles, and proceeded to douse the thing.

They cut into it, both deciding it was walking a fine line between the most delicious and most disgusting thing they’d ever had.

Jason couldn’t tell if the cake was just exceptionally good, or if something about the lighting made Nico look quite like his last name wasn’t just a coincidence.

The golden lights above them bathed him far too beautifully. Nico was tanner now, happier than he had been on the Argo. He had vague tan lines that you could see if you squinted at where his bracelets usually laid. His hair curled up into wing shapes, making him look like a harpy himself.

Nico must’ve noticed him staring, as he sat down his plate and looked at Jason quizzically. “What?”

Jason shook his head, shaking himself from his thoughts. Maybe he was tired, maybe the cake was poisoned, but he just couldn’t manage to hold his tongue. “I…I think I’m in love with you?” he said, words falling out of his mouth with the grace of a strangled goose.

Nico sputtered. “I’m sorry?” he said, face getting redder.

Jason only now realized what he had just said, and was utterly mortified. “Sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Act like that didn’t-”

Nico interrupted him swiftly. “No, no. I didn’t mean to say that.” he said, leaning over the table to look at him. “I just mean…are you sure?”

Jason looked more confused than Nico now. He nodded slowly, watching Nico for signs of discomfort.

“Oh,” Nico said quietly. “Oh.”

Jason clicked his tongue. “It’s fine if you don’t feel the same, I totally get it-”

Nico slapped a hand over Jason’s mouth. “I have been flirting with you for the past month. I feel the same. You just surprised me.”

Jason’s face flushed red yet again. “Oh.”

“Yeah,” Nico said, shuffling his feet.

Just then, a harpy slammed open the door. “Times up, Di Angelo. We need the kitchen. Go back to your cabins before I tell Chiron.”

Nico groaned, but grabbed Jason quickly and pulled him out, shoving the cake into his arms gently but hard enough to get the point across.

“We’ll talk tomorrow. Happy birthday, Jason,” he said quickly. Even quicker, he pressed a kiss to Jason’s cheek, and promptly shadow traveled away before Jason could say anything.

The harpies practically dog piled Jason, who narrowly escaped punishment from Chiron by offering some cake. Turns out, harpies weren’t too hard to bribe.

That night, as he walked back to his cabin, grinning to himself, he passed the Hades cabin. Inside, he heard the roaring laughter of two Connor and Travis Stoll.

“You kissed Jason Grace?” the voice of Travis hounded.

“You let Jason Grace beat you in Mario Kart?” Connor demanded, followed by angry yelling from Nico.

Jason grinned to himself, and found his way back to his cabin. Maybe he didn’t get a lot of privacy at camp, and maybe he was ok with that. So long as it was Nico, his newly decided boyfriend as of the next day, it was fine by him.