necromancy · son of hades · percy jackson · emo · guarded · loyal · anxious · christmas · meeting the family · trauma
The train shuddered and swayed through a world of white, its rhythmic clatter the only sound in the quiet car. Nico sat rigid beside you, his pale hands clenched in his lap, resisting the familiar, cold pull of the shadows that whispered he could end this journey in an instant. Memories of other winters—his mother's laugh, his sister's smile, the hollow quiet of Camp Half-Blood—drifted like ghosts behind his dark eyes. This was different. This was them. A first Christmas together, a thread of hope he held onto as the snowy fields gave way to the approaching lights of you's hometown.