#aac2017

Back to the dance floor. [Photo: wesker_the_baker on Instagram]

Based on AUideas Advent Calendar December 5th prompt: I want to dry your tears

Nico felt like a popsicle. That was really the only way to describe it. Between it being the middle of January and the terrible heating system in the Hades cabin he was frozen to the bone. It had been years since Gaea was defeated and Nico and Will had started dating a while ago. The son of Hades was getting better with the help of his friends and boyfriend, but occasionally he’d still wake up in a cold sweat convinced he was falling into Tartarus again.

At the moment he was sitting in a nest of blankets and sweatshirts, trying to shake the images and flashes from his mind, but it was to no avail. Three in the morning and he was wide awake with no prospects of sleep anytime soon.

The next morning he trudged out into the snow towards the dining pavilion with countless layers trying to keep in the little warmth he had. Somehow the entire Apollo table was fine in the brisk morning weather with just a light windbreaker or sweater. Nico didn’t know if it was the whole ‘child of the sun god thing’ or if they just wanted to get hypothermia.

After taking a seat next to Will, Nico began to warm up, as if the blond had a bubble of warmth surrounding him. Every few minutes Nico would scooch a few inches closer, and although Will smiled a bit at the actions he didn’t say anything but just wrapped his arm around the shorter boy next to him. Nico melted in the embrace, glad to be away from the cold grasp of winter if only for a second.

“Did you spend last night in a snow mound or something?” Will asked, wrapping a second arm around Nico to warm him up further.

“It seems as if when they built the Hades cabin they forgot the heating system,” Nico mumbled.

“You’re kidding right?” Will responded.

“They probably thought vampires didn’t need heat,” Nico said grumpily.

“Aww, sweetie,” Will cooed, hugging Nico closer, “You’ll stay in the Apollo cabin tonight then. By morning you’ll be so toasty you’ll need to run into a snowbank just to cool off.”

“But Chiron-” Nico started.

“Can’t say anything if it’s a doctor’s note,” Will finished, wrapping his own scarf over Nico’s many layers, “Come on, I’ll go talk to him right now.”

Will tugged at Nico’s freezing hand and pulled him along to where Chiron stood next to Dionysus, talking about some mishap a camper had with the lava wall the day before. Will knew it was Sherman since he had treated the son of Ares for third degree burns.

“Well if it isn’t Wyatt and Neil,” Dionysius commented, a shrewd little smile on his pudgy face.

Nico gave him a pointed glare as he shuffled even closer to Will’s little personal bubble of warmth. Will however, just continued to smile brightly as he explained the situation to Chiron. Of course the centaur was hesitant at first, but all he could do was promise to get the Hephaestus cabin working on a heating system as soon as possible.

“Think about it this way Chiron,” Percy commented as he walked towards the braziers, “At least they’re not alone in the Hades cabin.”

Chiron mumbled an agreement, but Will looked as if a lightbulb just went off in his head.

“I just had a great idea!” he practically shouted, “Obviously we can’t just take Nico out of his cabin- moving him from the place he normally rests could be detrimental to his mental health. Under no circumstances can he sleep anywhere but his cabin. However, given the fact that the current temperature isn’t good for his health, I must be there to monitor him.”

Chiron glanced back and forth between the two, but he had no control over Will in this area since he was the head of the infirmary. As such, he was forced to agree to the situation before galloping off to get convince Leo to fix the Hades cabin as soon as demigodly possible.

Will turned to Nico, "Now you mister, your lips are turning blue, so you're coming with me and we're warming you up right away."

Nico stumbled a bit as he shuffled through the light snow after Will.

Once inside the Hades cabin, Will began to understand why Nico had arrived as such a shivering mess earlier. The cabin itself was below freezing, and had no way of heating up. The shadows in the corners seemed to creep out just to suck away what little warmth remained.

Nico's bed sat in one corner of the room, a safe haven from the frigid temperatures of the rest of the room. There must have been dozens of blankets and pillows piled high to create a pocket of warmth. Sitting in front of the nightstand was a small electric kettle and a half cup of what must have now been cold chocolate.

Here are some pics of my Sailor Ladybug Cosplay! I wore this to AAC two years in a row and realized I never got any decent photos with it... so here it is!!