Christmas with Heroes of Olympus

Reyna
“Hey.”
I knew that voice. I turned around, snapping out of my thoughts.
“Oh. Hazel.” My own voice was a little cracked, and dry, and sore. I cleared it and started again. “Hello. I didn’t know you were looking for me.”
“Luckily I knew where to find you. Why are you hanging out here, in the dark?”
I smiled tiredly. The Bellona temple was very beautiful and regal- in the daytime. At night, it became a little unnerving. But I’d been coming here ever since I first arrived at camp, and nothing about it was scary to me. “Just a place that can… unravel my thoughts.”
“Why didn’t you join everyone in the hall? We all missed you.”
My smile was genuine at that. “Thank you. But I’m a little…”
“Exhausted?”
“You can put it that way.”
“You need some sleep,” the daughter of Pluto insisted. “And rest. Can’t you take Christmas off?”
“The ceremon-”
“Have someone else do the ceremonies! Reyna- you and Frank are dying out there. Take a break for once. Don’t you want to enjoy Christmas?”
“Someone has to do it.”
“Can’t we at least shorten it down? Or… maybe I can take over-”
“In Rome, tradition is everything. You know that. And as much as I appreciate you offering, I’m afraid you can’t. Someone needs to already know the knowledge of going through the practices and offerings and prayers… I’m afraid you can’t learn it all in one night. Frank doesn’t know it, but I’ll be leading, so he can simply be present and learn has he goes along. Also- I wouldn’t do that to you. You should enjoy Christmas.”
“You should enjoy Christmas.”
“I wish.” The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I mean, it’s my duty and an honor. I’ll be enjoying myself.”
“You sound like you’re going to pass out.”
“You know what?” I said, laughing a little as I took some steps towards the door, my eyelids weighing themselves down. “Sleep doesn’t sound too bad after all…”
“Sometimes tradition should change, you know,” Hazel rushed to help me, letting me lean on her shoulder as we walked out of the temple. “Alliance with the Greeks reminds us of that.”
I waved my hand and closed my eyes. I was too tired to argue.
She talked a little bit more, and I tried to focus on the words, but sleep pulled me under. I only managed to lean myself onto some surface before drowning in dreams.

Will
Completely honest with him. Completely honest with him. Completely honest with him.

Nico
My mouth is dry. I’m glad it’s dark, because heat’s flushing to my face. I don’t like myself like this.
But I kind of love it at the same time.
“Nico,” he was barreling towards me. I folded my arms.
“Will-”
“Completely honest with you.”
“I- What?”
“I’m going to be completely honest with you,” his face was dreamy, a little determined… I was a little scared, actually. I wasn’t really sure what was going on.
I didn’t really like honesty, sometimes. Or throwing the truth out there. It hurt sometimes.
“I know you don’t like honesty,” he started out. I stood, in shock. It was like the words were being pulled right out of my brain. His hair glinted little flashes of gold, if it caught the holiday Christmas lights in the sky and in the woods that everyone put up. “But I think it’s good for you. Even if you don’t think so. I can kind of tell by the way you’re scowling right now that you don’t like where this is going. You’re really cute when you scowl.”
His cheeks were getting a little darker, I think, but not nearly as dark as mine were getting. “Will, what are you-”
The guy couldn’t stop. “And you’re really infuriating sometimes. Really, really infuriating. Like today, when you’d look at me, and drive me crazy, and I think we’re getting somewhere, but then you don’t talk to me? And when you try to go off on your own whenever you’re upset, and you think that sitting and wallowing in your feelings will make it any better. Especially when I’m right here, actually wanting to listen to every one of your little thoughts, and it’d actually make you feel loads better, and you refuse to.”
“Dude,” my mouth kept on talking, but my brain wasn’t connected. Something was happening to me- this golden feeling that burst in my chest and lightened my brain and kind of hurt all over- ”It’s not your burden-”
“What if I want it to be my burden? What if I didn’t care what kind of crazy thoughts you have in your brain? What if I actually want to hear them? You’re really stupid, sometimes, but it’s cute, so I put up with it. You’re really cute. And I really like you. I’ve liked you for a while now, and you don’t seem to get it, and you’re so stupid-”
I can’t speak. I can’t form words. It’s- Honestly? Pathetically?- probably the best feeling I’ve had in my life since Bianca died. I close my eyes.
“I wish you would just see-”
Something in my brain clicked. Just one thing. Everything else was fizzing out, short-circuiting, buzzing, doing things on their own, but Jason’s words-
You have to take a step forward.
“Your face right now-”
My feet were already moving. It seemed like they already knew what to do.
“So you could understand what a little-”
My hand found his hand, and we were holding them together. He was still talking, calling me a long list of profanities and repeatedly telling me that I was cute, but he was slowing down.
His hand was really warm. Mine were really cold, but they were heating up. That effect was kind of already happening to my whole body.
“Shut up,” I said, not really sure where my own words were coming from. I pulled his shirt down. “Shut up, shut up, shut up-”
He was still talking when our mouths connected, but it instantly stopped. I’m not going to lie- the first part was awkward, and a little clumsy, but there was this one point where everything clicked together, and I saw stars and thought, “Yes.”
I had both hands around his cheeks, and he brought up his own hands to cover mine. He was smiling. Of course the idiot was smiling. Absolutely grinning. I could feel the sunshine on his lips.
It was the best feeling I’ve ever had.
I think I was dizzy, when we finally let go. I was spinning, and dizzy, and on gold.
I scowled, and I could hear him laugh, and just that noise sent me walking on sunshine again.
I am so far gone.

Will
I am so far gone.

****Christmas Day***
Frank
I woke up drowsily. Everyone else had cleared out, while Hazel was already excitedly telling me about what she heard.
Jason Iris-Messaged her to tell her the update of what he was doing today.
She seemed really excited about this part, and I blinked my eyes a bunch of times, wondering where she was going with this. A wave of nausea hit me. The celebrations. Ceremonies. I need to figure that all out right now. And I was just about to, but she cut me off. “No, wait. That was important. Just listen. But I’ll tell you more about it later, because right now, I just need to say this-”
Apparently, Will and Nico were spotted holding hands, laughing, at the end of the night. Piper and Jason had something to do with it, and when Will and Nico finally went off to their own cabins, Will told Piper,
“I know what you did. You’re lucky it worked out. If I wasn’t so happy tonight, I would’ve cursed you into rhyming couplets for the next few weeks, charmspeak girl. But as it is…,” here, Jason told me, he actually hummed a little tune, his face grinning the whole time. “Thanks. And don’t even think about doing that again.”

Percy
I'd almost wished Annabeth'd gotten me something terrible, so it made up for what I'd given her.
No luck.
It was a cell phone.
I looked up at her, and before I could even open my mouth, she listed off-
"Has a masking case, so it doesn't really give off an electronic signal to monsters unless you use it excessively. Uses its own wifi. Can Iris-Message, too, if you deposit drachma into it. No charge necessary- at least not until Hermes or Hephaestus catches us, and I don't think they care enough. Plus, all the gods still owe us for saving their butts in the war."
But how-
"Daedalus computer," she tapped her bag next to her, beaming. She kissed my awed cheek. "It can do anything."
But there was more.
Pictures. A whole bunch of them. Ones I hadn't even known we'd taken together. Ones of my mom, our friends, Grover and Juniper and me laughing... Loads and loads that I wanted to go through one by one later.
"Just in case you forget again." She'd whispered to me, or maybe herself, barely. Her fingers twitched. My mom hadn't heard.
I wanted to hold her and curse Hera to the ground right there, but by then I'd already told her I loved both of them and she was moving on to her presents.
Owl sweaters, SAT books, earrings, and a new Celestial bronze dagger that wasn't nearly as good enough as her old one. They were okay, yeah. She'd laughed and hugged me and kissed my cheek.
But they weren't perfect.

Jason
“Merry Christmas, guys.” I’d told them. Nico had scowled and rolled his eyes at me, embarrassed, but Will was perfectly content with holding Nico’s hand- his thumb rubbing the side of it- and displaying it to everyone and anyone who’d walk by.
“Actually,” Will said, “I’m Jewish. But thanks.”
Piper’d been waiting for me, as Mellie and Coach Hedge watched their goat baby fondly kick behind her.
She’d been thumbing her gift- a Cherokee necklace with a feather on it. I also had some of the Athena kids make her a blanket with one side Cherokee, the other side Greek.
She, in turn, had given me a coin- Greek drachma on one side, Imperial gold on the other, exactly like my old one.
“Can’t turn into a sword like your old one did,” she said, getting a little shy. It was adorable. “But, you know… So you don’t forget your Roman roots…”
“I love it.”
“Shhh,” she beamed, putting her fingers up. “There’s more.”
Then she told me to throw my glasses on the floor.
I hesitantly did. She told me to step on them. I even more hesitantly did.
Unbreakable glasses. She’d made my glasses unbreakable.
“I was wondering why these disappeared for a week,” my eyes crinkled as I put them on and blinked.
“And we can get them to never fall off your face again when you come back. The Hephaestus cabin didn’t have enough time-”
“You’re perfect.”
“Cheesy,” she’d laughed, straightening my crooked glasses again. “But I love it.”
Now, we stood face-to-face, me giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. She pulled me in for a deep hug.
“Cupcakes,” Coach Hedge warned, but his little baby’s screaming distracted him, and we ignored him.
“Merry Christmas,” she said.
“Merry-”
“Hey, Beauty Queen! Merry Christmas!”
And suddenly there was another head resting on our shoulders, and a strong smell of peppermint gum and sweat settled into our hug. Piper laughed and pulled him in. Coach Hedge was shouting at us, but we were too busy shouting and screaming and kicking up the snow before Piper realized there was one more person standing to the side.
She pulled Calypso in, ignoring her protests, and we all jumped around together, screaming, before Coach Hedge got himself involved.
“All right, cupcakes, break it up. You wanna wake the whole state? Mellie’s gotta get moving so she can get back as soon as she can.”
Piper nodded, stepping back, holding her red nose to warm it up. She gathered her bags altogether. “All right. All right, guys. See you in two days?”
“And…” Calypso put in hesitantly, “In summers.”
It took a little bit to let this news settle in.
“You guys are coming here in summers? Like actually staying?”
Leo beamed. “Yeah, baby!”
“That’s… Holy-”
“That’s amazing!”
“It’s fabulous,” Coach Hedge butted in, “But some people need to get a move on.”
Piper gave a good glare at Coach, but before she could say anything, Leo laughed. “No, no, it’s all good. We can talk when you get back. We have all week.”
She nodded, and smiled. “Merry Christmas, guys.”
She gave each one of them a hug, and then gave me a kiss- a long one- before grabbing onto Mellie’s hand.
Coach Hedge grunted. “Come on, kid, you too.”
I grinned and grabbed onto Mellie’s other hand.
There was a beat.
“Wait,” Piper realized. “Wait, Jason-”
“Here we go!” Mellie cried happily.And we whirled over to Los Angeles.


Piper
Oh my gods.
“It’s just for breakfast,” he was telling me, totally pleased with himself. “I asked Mellie if I could tag along just for the transportation ride, and she mentioned me coming to LA to your dad, and he apparently was fine with meeting me. But I actually came for Camp Jupiter, to catch up on Pontifex stuff, you know, and I’m going to have you all day to myself on the 27th anyways, so I wanted you and him to spend your two days together.”
I couldn’t speak. I laced my hand through his. He laughed, blue eyes twinkling, understanding what I meant.
“Merry Christmas. For I think the millionth time now.”

Annabeth
He was stiff, and still.
My heart went into overdrive.
Was he having second thoughts? Did he even want to come? Or did he come because I pushed him to, or he felt bad about the tickets? Oh, gods, what if he doesn't really want to come?
"Is everything okay?" I asked, nervously. He gave the tightest nod ever in return. That was not particularly reassuring.
"The... Air," he gasped, shaking his head, as the plane hit turbulence. He was closing his eyes, looking ready to just about die.
My heart picked up and plummetted at the same time. So it was the air. Not my family. Oh, my gods. I made him air travel. I made my boyfriend take the risk of dying-
He gripped my hand and closed his eyes. "Should be fine," he reassured me (me, as if I was the one looking ready to die). "Zeus can't blast me, right? At least not without a warning. At least not right after the war. At least not with my dad still around."
But he looked like he was ready to throw up. Or pass out. Or throw himself out the window.
I clutched his hand tighter and talked to him for three hours about war strategy, Christmas, and college.

Frank
We just finished up breakfast speeches. I rubbed my eyes and ate as much food as I could wolf down. One down, nine more to go.
I still didn’t really understand what Hazel was trying to talk to me about this morning. So Jason was coming by. She said something about me wanting a relaxed Christmas, and how I was going to get one, and I nodded, but I was kind of sleepy, and I didn’t put the pieces together.
Until later, when she bound up to me and Reyna with Jason in tow.
“Guys,” she announced. “Guys.”
Jason’s eyes were sparkling, his mouth up in a smile. “I missed this place.”
He was wearing a coin- an Imperial Gold one. I looked closer and saw a flash of Greek writing on the other side. I swallowed my eggs and smiled as wide as an exhausted guy could. “Welcome back.”
We hugged it out, and he went over to hug Reyna, and we talked a little bit before Hazel started beaming.
“He knows the rituals. No practice necessary.”
For a beat, even Reyna looked confused. And then her eyebrows raised.
“Respected position on the Senate board. Pontifex.”
“Hazel-”
“Former praetor. And he’s willing.”
I was still confused, but I turned along with Reyna and matched the quizzical look on her face. Jason shrugged back, shifting from foot to foot excitedly. “I’m totally fine with it, if you guys are. I mean, I know Greeks shouldn’t really be doing Roman ceremonies-”
“You’re not full Greek,” Hazel reminded him, looking over his clothes. Double sided coin. Purple t-shirt, tattoos, Camp Half-Blood necklace, Roman-Greek toga.
Something clicked in my brain. “Wait. Are you going to take over from here?”
“If you’ll let me.”
“Terminus could stand behind him to make sure he doesn’t mess up,” Hazel pointed out. “He’d love doing that.”
Reyna’s eyes were full of longing. She looked back and forth from Hazel, to Frank, to the podium.
“It is tradition…”
“Traditions were made to be broken.”
“We’d still have to do the ending ceremonies…”
“Then do them.”
“Terminus agreed to this?”
In a flash, Terminus was already there.
In another flash, he vanished, excitedly preparing.
“Are you sure you want to?”
“Reyna. Please. Of course I do.”
She slumped back, and I leaned forward, watching her, her eyes flitted back and forth warily. She let a smile stretch across her face. “Then take it away.”
I sighed in huge relief, and Hazel took my hand excitedly. As we got up and made our way towards the rec area, where “We’re going to watch Christmas movies all day-” Hazel planned out, we noticed that it was just the two of us.
We turned back. Reyna was looking after us, distantly, before accidentally catching our eyes.
“Aren’t you coming?” Hazel called out. I waved her over.
She blinked once.
“We have your presents,” Hazel laughed. I wiggled my eyebrows. “And we’re watching Christmas movies.”
A wide grin rested over her face, and Reyna excused herself from the table with Jason. Immediately, old friends flocked around him, catching up.
“And I have yours,” she told us, and we all ran to the rec hall together.

Annabeth
He seemed bummed.
Ever since we landed, and the queasiness faded, he still seemed a little quiet. If he hadn't even really wanted to come, this would've been the most awful Christmas for him...
I asked him if everything was okay, and he smiled sadly and said it was just the plane. And he leaned his head on my shoulder.
"Don't throw up on me," I told him jokingly as I ran my fingers through his hair. He smiled, at that.
We were quiet for a while.
"I'm sorry," I told him. He raised his eyebrows. "What are you sorry for?"
"For all of this. The plane. Forcing you to come meet my parents. All this traveling and family stuff. I'm sorry if you're not looking forward to it-"
He propped himself up onto his elbows, put put his chin in his hands, and looked up at me in complete surprise.
"Are we actually having the meet the parents talk right now? We do not need a meet the parents talk. Wise Girl, I've met your parents. They seem fine. Better than fine. I wanted to come. More than anything."
Why was I so nervous still?

Reyna
I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

Frank
All three of us, curled up on the couch. Not doing anything special- just talking and making fun of Santa’s laugh and drinking hot cocoa.
I don't think there could've been a better Christmas.

Annabeth
He was great. For the rest of the taxi ride, Percy wouldn't stop talking. My dad remembered him, and Percy high-fived him for the "Sweet Sopwith riding", and my dad beamed. My stepmom winked at me as we came in, and just as I was about to be horrified, she swiftly started talking to Percy about school and the future. He played Legos and Space Attack with my brothers. And he was laughing the whole time.
When we were opening presents, though, and I gave them all their presents, and opened all of my presents, he seemed drained. He leaned back on the couch and seemed exhausted.
My dad noticed. "You guys get some rest," he said. "Annabeth can show you the room."
I waited until the door shut.
"Are you okay?"
Percy smiled at me tiredly. "Just tired-"
"You seem more than just tired."
He sighed, frustratedly, and fell back onto my bed, hands behind neck. His eyes focused on my ceiling. "Clouds?"
"Stop trying to change the subject."
He grinned, but it faded. "Your gifts."
"My- what?"
"Your gifts," he said. "You got me this awesome cell phone, and all those photos of us, and it was perfect, like all the gifts you give me, and I gave you-"
"About a million great presents," I stared at him. "I don't understand-"
"Great presents. Not great enough."
"Is this what you were worrying about this whole entire time?"
This whole mood and mess... because of that. It was so stupid. This is such a… Percy thing to think about.
I started laughing. And he frowned, getting up.
I curled up next to him, pushing him down again. "You," I kissed his cheek, "Are so stupid."
He looked bewildered, blinking. I laughed again and tucked my face into the crook of his arm.
"Your presents were great," I told him. "The bronze dagger? The sea earrings? They were great, Percy."
He was still frowning. "I just wanted to them to be… like, something you gasped at. Or something that made you speechless."
"You make me speechless."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
"You came with me to Los Angeles on a plane to hang out with my family. That makes me speechless. That's the best gift you could've given me. Percy-" I held my breath and released it. "You have no idea…"
He was quiet. "This really means a lot to you, huh?"
It didn't seem like a question, but I answered it anyways.
I breathed him in. "More than you even know."
An image of Percy leaning across the counter in the living room, laughing and joking with my dad, was something I couldn't get out of my head.
"But… of course I'd come. I don't understand why you'd think I wouldn't," he sounded perplexed. "I don't know why-"
The plane. My family. The possibility of them all not getting along. My brothers being annoying, everything being awkward, my dad acting oddly, my stepmother being uncomfortable-
None of that happened. They all loved him.
I loved him.
I wrapped my arms around his stomach and he stopped mid sentence. I could feel his smile in my hair.
"Best Christmas ever," I told him, and he hugged me tighter.
"Then it's mine, too."
We're still here now.
This moment, this present moment, is the best present for me.

Reyna
Nico called me later, that night, shortly after Hylla did. Her and the Amazons’ present for me (well. For “Camp Jupiter”) will be arriving by air shortly. I teared up and couldn’t speak when she showed me him- a small thing with a butterscotch coat and wings dusted in certain spots with a charcoal shade.
“He’s small now,” she said, “But they grow up so fast.”
Still speechless. I had to give myself a couple seconds before I could manage to say, “I don’t know how-”
“Oh, please. Nobody wants this one because he’s so riled. But that’s just because he hasn’t met you. And if all goes wrong, Hazel Levesque could always try to speak to him. She tamed Arion, after all.”
I rarely cried in front of people. I forced myself to stop the water in my eyes at once and nod at my sister. She was laughing at me. “Thank you,” I said, my throat closing up. “Thank you so much.”
“He’s not here to replace Scipio, of course. Because nothing could ever be able to do that,” she said, as the pegasus attempted to bite through its chain that kept it tethered to the ground. “But what he will be is another great friend for you to have.”
“I love you, Hylla.”
“Love you too. Merry Christmas.”
“Hey,” I said, as Nico’s Arcus-Message popped up. Ending ceremonies went well. Jason departed for Camp Half-Blood again, Hazel and Frank took off for some alone alone time, and I was… happy. Much happier than I was yesterday.
“Hey,” Nico grinned back. Speaking of people who looked happier than they did yesterday- his cheeks were flushed, and this crazy smile couldn’t seem to slip off his face…
“Am I interrupting something?”
He probably could hear the bangs and cheers in the background.
I laughed. “No. What’s up with you? You seem… over the moon.”
He blushed. It was a very obvious blush. He attempted a scowl, but let it go after just a moment.
“Yeah, I guess I am. You too, though! What’s happening over there?”
I raised my eyebrows. “You answer my question first.”
I got my answer without Nico even needing to speak. Off to the side, someone yelled, “Nico! Mistletoe! Now!”
It sounded distinctly like the boy I’d seen trying to hold Nico’s hand yesterday.
He blushed deeper, and smiled wider, rolling his eyes. “He’s so needy,” Nico complained happily. “Sorry about that.”
“Hm.” I was teasing him, gently. I’d already heard what’d happened from Hazel. “I thought you said yesterday that there was nothing going on with 'that'?”
I could see him start to protest, with his face. But he shook it off.
“Well, I lied. Because there is. And it’s amazing. So there’s your answer. But what about you- what about the answer I want?”
“We got a break today, and I hung out with Frank and Hazel all day, watching movies. And... it was great. It doesn’t really sound like much, but it was great.”
“That’s awesome.”
“I know.”
“It feels like… I don’t know. I feel like Christmas was especially Christmas-y this year, you know?”
“I understand.”
“It didn’t suck so much.”
“I understand.”
“If it’s like this every year…” He looked off to the side and stuck his tongue out. At Will, no doubt. “I think I understand why everyone loves Christmas so much.”
“Same over here. Everything is just so… great.”
“Not lonely anymore?”
“No. Your advice was good. It was all right in front of me.”
“Your advice was pretty great, too.”
We both sighed, basking in comfortable silence for a beat or two. “Merry Christmas, Nico.”
“Merry Christmas, Reyna.”
“Iris-Message you at New Years?”
“Well, of course.”
"See you then."
"See you then."

Notes

this was sooooo much longer than I intended it to be but I'm super pleased with the results. To all the amazing lovelies commenting fabulous things your comments were the best Christmas gift ever (cheesy, cheesy, cheesy). So thank you.

<3