gives them kickass fucking prosthetics cuz im an artist and i can do whatever i want with my blorbos >:))))))) this is what lack of sleep does to a man
Ships: Mentioned Nico/Will, Inferred Jason/Leo (can be read platonically), Nico & the 7, Nico & Jason
Things to note: Spoilers for Kpop Demon Hunters, Sappiness, Mentions of coming out/Nico's outing
Words: 2,275
You can also read it here under the cut!
Nico was sulking (as usual) over Will leaving to go for a supply run when he heard a knock at his door. He strolled over to it, somehow hoping it’d be his boyfriend, even though he knew he was busy doing “Head Healer duties” or whatever. Instead, to the surprise of no one, Hazel was outside. As if anyone else would ever go to see him, other than his own sister, visiting from the other camp.
“Hey, Nico!” She smiled warmly, and Nico found himself doing the same. “Want to hang out?” He probably needed it, so he nodded and invited her in. Hazel chuckled, and instead of following him into their room, she gripped his hand and dragged him out towards the Zeus cabin.
“What, are we hanging out with Jason?” Nico asked, confused as to why she needed to drag him. “I can walk on my own, you know.”
Hazel giggled, glancing back at him as they got closer to cabin 1, “I know that! Just wanted to make sure you wouldn’t back out. Also, kind of.”
What does any of that even mean? “Why would I back out?” He asked, though his question fell on deaf ears as they walked up the cabin stairs. Until she opened the door, he was puzzled as to why his Hazel had rushed him there.
“Ta-da!” She held out her hands. Spread across the couch and beanbags were Jason, Leo, Piper, Frank, Annabeth, and Percy, all sprawled on top of each other. The first three (dubbed ‘The Lost trio’ because of the time they got lost in an Ikea after they switched around all the arrows) were in a large cuddle pile, Piper leaning on Jason’s shoulder and Leo lying in his lap, while on the other side of the couch, Percy’s head laid on the arm rest and Annabeth was flush against his chest, accompanied by a variety of pillows. Frank sat on one of the beanbags in front of the couch, patting beside him like an invitation. All of them were in fuzzy, matching pink pajama pants (sporting a white, cartoon cat that had a bow on its head) along with an array of different shirts. Now that Nico noticed it, Hazel was wearing them too.
The statue of Zeus behind them was as brooding and creepy as ever, but the warm, smiley faces below him made up for it. On the pedestal of the statue sat a contraption of some sort, looking like a cylinder with a circular lens. Before Nico could ponder as to what it was, their chattering stopped, and Leo called out. “Family movie night!”
Hazel laughed and ushered him into the room, closing the door behind them as people greeted Nico.
“Hey Neeks!” Jason welcomed him, lifting his arm off Piper’s back, who waved with a smile. Leo held up a black brick, maybe a remote, and grinned like a mad scientist whose plan was falling right into place.
Frank simply waved with his usual kind demeanor as Hazel made her way towards his beanbag.
Annabeth chuckled a “Hi,” and explained what was happening. “We thought you’d be missing Will right now, and it’s been way too long since we’ve all hung out!”
Percy chimed in, reaching behind his back, “We know he’s only gone two days, but still,” He pulled out a pair of the matching pants, except in black, “We even got you some Hello Kitty pants to match your aesthetic!”
“Oh my gods, you people are crazy.” Nico stated, though he knew his friends understood he didn’t mean it. Percy threw him the pants and started up a chant that sounded sort of like “Put them on!” Though it morphed into “Emo boy!” once Leo joined in.
Nico chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief as he held up the pajama pants. “Okay, fine.” A chorus of cheers sounded as he made his way to the bathroom.
He didn’t even realise that people could care about him enough to invite him to a hangout, let alone one created to up his spirits, AND get him matching (‘hi cat’?) pants that were black because his friends knew him so well. A small bubble of something he could only describe as belonging popped in his chest, leaving a warm aftertaste in his mouth. He quickly changed his pants and exited the bathroom to be greeted by Leo holding a Leo-oid camera (as he named it when he created it a few weeks ago), which flashed in Nico’s eyes, spitting out a white piece of paper.
“This is the best day of my life!” Leo cackled, pulling Nico into a hug as he turned the camera around to take a selfie with everyone in the frame. “Say cheese!”
——————
After they were all settled and Nico was cozy on the beanbag, leaning against Jason’s legs, Leo turned on the cylinder that Nico saw before, using the remote he was holding, and a large projection of a red “N” appeared on the adjacent wall.
Leo approached Nico after turning off the lights. “Ever seen a projector, Grandpa?” He twirled the remote
Nico scoffed, “I was born in the 1930s, not the 1800s, Valdez. I just remember it looking a little less… compact.”
“Sure, sure.” Leo said sarcastically, but his face suddenly got deathly serious. “The honour I am about to bestow upon you is not to be taken lightly, di Angelo.”
Nico looked back at the rest of the group, who were trying not to laugh, especially Percy. He looked to Hazel, concerned, for her to bat her hand through the air like it was no big deal, which just confused him more. He silently questioned Jason, who simply replied with a nod of his head back towards Leo.
“Um, okay.” Nico said, questioning, “What is it?” He was starting to question the traditions of these ‘Family Movie nights’. What sort of cultish thing did he get himself into?
Without warning, Leo dropped to a kneeling position, holding the TV remote up like he was giving an offering to a god. “Here, Sire. Make The Decision .”
Nico, bewildered, took the remote reluctantly to see the rest of the group cackling at his confusion. He knew some other people might be upset that his friends laughed at him like that, but the fact that they weren’t too scared of Nico was shocking. The fact that they were comfortable enough around him to joke about him said everything Nico needed to hear.
Leo wiped a tear from his eye. “Oh man, you looked so scared.” He settled back into his spot on Jason’s lap (still laughing, mind you), who started playing with his hair, which Leo melted at almost immediately.
Hazel chimed in from her beanbag, where she was leaning against Frank. “Don’t worry, Nico. He just means you get to decide the movie we’re watching.”
“Oh,” Nico said, nodding and looking down at the remote. “Well, what movie do you guys want to watch?” He held the ‘down’ button on the remote, letting it scroll through all the options.
“Noo, you get to decide!” Percy called out, muffled by Annabeth’s hair. A chain of ‘Booos’ followed after, and Nico just rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know any movies though,” His shoulders slumped, and his head flopped back onto Jason’s knee. “You want to decide, Jace?” The screen was still scrolling in the background when-
Out of the corner of his eye, Piper gasped, “Wait, scroll back up!”
“Huh? Okay.” Nico obliged, going back up until Piper confirmed.
“There! Oh my gods, they’re twinks.” She pointed towards a title on the screen, and Nico could confirm; there was a whole group of twinks with multi-coloured hair.
“Huh..” Nico said with a different tone from before. The one with black hair was kind of… Nevermind.
Leo raised his arm from where he was lying. “We have to watch it now! I think Nico has a cru-ush!!” He almost sung and Nico turned to glare at him.
“What gives you that idea?”
Leo looked smug, his eyebrows raised and his mouth in a tight smirk. “The blush on your face and the back of your neck, Neeks.”
“Why-” Nico started, though he was interrupted by Jason.
“Hey! Only I can call Nico that!!”
“And Will Solace!” Percy added to the conversation. Wow, thanks Percy .
“Not helping!” Nico replied, covering his cheeks to hide his blush.
“Okay, let’s just start the movie.” Annabeth called, waving her hands in the air like a referee.
“Isn’t the name a little odd, though? I’ve never heard of it before.” Frank spoke up for the first time that night. “Kpop Demon Hunters?”
Hazel’s mouth stayed open for a few seconds before she spoke. “Wait, what’s K-pop?”
——————
For the first 10 minutes of the movie Nico wasn’t too interested. It was a cool enough movie, sure, but like Hazel, he’d never heard of K-pop, and the music sounded mediocre at best. He wasn’t that big of a fan. Well, until about a minute later when Jinu popped onto the screen.
“Gods have mercy.” He whispered to himself, though it wasn’t quiet enough, apparently.
“I KNEW IT!” Cackled Leo an the rest of the group at Nico’s newfound love.
“Hey, he’s hot, okay!”
Frank giggled a bit, “I guess he doesn’t miss Will anymore.”
“Frank!! I expected it from Leo, not you!” Nico gasped aggressively, acting shook. “And just putting this out there, nobody can judge my taste in men when Leo unironically likes Zarkon from Voltron.”
A choir of ‘Ewws’ and ‘Boos’ echoed throughout the room and Leo tsked in betrayal.
“I never should have confided in you or shown you VLD, you traitor!” Leo smothered his face further into Jason’s thigh who patted his head.
“At least you don’t like Darth Vader.” He comforted him
“HEY!” Nico’s head snapped back faster than the speed of light.
——————
For the rest of the movie, Nico was absolutely enthralled. The moment Jinu started singing, he changed his mind on K-pop. It was the best thing he’d ever heard. And every song after that, especially during ‘Soda Pop’, he bopped along to the beat. It was safe to say he loved the Saja Boys.
When the cheshire cat and the crow (raven?) appeared, he might have swooned. Whatever type of bird it was, it fit his aesthetic perfectly. And when Frank chirped from across the room, he might have cackled or screamed. He forgot Frank was a shapeshifter sometimes, and the double take he took was insane. All he needed was a little hat and and an extra pair of eyes and he was set.
The more he watched the movie, the more he was immersed.
Ever since he was younger, Nico hadn’t understood the appeal of straight ships, but the chemistry between himself Rumi and Jinu was incredible! For the first time, he was rooting for a straight couple, and it was bliss (if he ignored the snickering from behind him).
And oh if the symbolism didn’t remind him of him and Will. The way Jinu seemed to love Rumi, even with her scars which she was ashamed of (and Jinu had some too).
Even though Nico was so happy and grateful to be hanging out with his friends, it made him miss Will, watching something that reminded him of them. The way they bickered and bantered, and the way they cared about and accepted eachother.
And wow did he relate to Rumi in the ending scenes. Suddenly, the patterns she had were no longer about her being a demon, they were about Nico being gay. She acted exactly the same as he did, concealing and praying that nobody would notice. Hating who she was underneath. Yet when someone inevitably found out, instead of not trusting him and feeling betrayed like they did in the movie, Jason did the exact opposite. He immediately accepted him and supported him, no hesitation.
Nico looked back at Jason, tears in his eyes during the scene and Jason smiled softly in understanding. “It’s who you are, Neeks.” He whispered, removing his hand from Leo’s asleep head to ruffle Nico’s hair.
“Thanks Jace.” If a few tears fell, that was no one’s business.
——————
The ending absolutely wrecked Nico. Not only was Rumi finally accepting her scars as part of her – as Nico learnt slowly through his friends and Will – then Jinu went off and died, sacrificing himself for her. If Nico wasn’t crying before when he spoke to Jason, he was bawling when the credits scene played. He couldn’t even focus on the new generation of Demon Hunters being hinted at through the little trio of girls, all he could think about were Jinu’s last words.
“You gave me my soul back. And now? I give it to you. ” He knew he was selfish for seeing the whole movie to only correspond with his own life, but he couldn’t help it. It reminded him too much of Bianca. He could feel the hurt in Rumi’s chest; the pain of losing someone you loved so much. His sister sacrificed her life for a mission, and when she passed he felt it. Felt her soul passing on. Into the underworld, and now as he was realising, into him. Every where he went he spread her legacy, her smile. Their mother always said they looked alike. She lived on through him.
Nico’s hands gripped onto his fuzzy cat pajama pants that he still didn’t get the reference to and he looked back at his friends, sleeping soundly as the credits rolled on the screen. Bianca would love them. Bianca would be proud.
Try not to be sappy: hard edition
I really enjoyed writing this, and I wanted to thank everyone who helped me decide what movie they should watch in the PJO community here on Tumblr - I'm really happy with how it turned out!!
Click here to see a really badly pic i edited of Nico wearing the pajama pants!!
Oh and let me know if there's anything else I should have warned in this fic, I don't think there is but yeah :)
