Chapter Text
Nico Di Angelo had long gotten used to the periods of time he spent lounging around the Underworld’s obsidian mansion. It was a break from the hustle and bustle of Camp Half-Blood. While that was mostly a good thing, he didn’t much enjoy the company of some of the other campers, he did miss his boyfriend a lot.
And most times his dad barely acknowledged him.
Which is why it was weird to the teen whenever his father was just standing there at the door waiting to meet him.
“Nico my boy!” Hades greeted, hugging his son.
Okay…
This is weird.
“Oh- hi dad.” Nico replied as his eyes traced around everything in the room. No cameras that he could see, nor was anyone else even around.
Persephone wasn’t there, which was arguably weirder than what Hades was doing, since the woman loved her step-child.
“How are you doing, buddy?” The way Hades slurred the d’s in buddy made it clear he wasn’t super used to saying the word.
Are we sure there aren’t cameras somewhere???
The teen’s eyes yet again darted over the whole room, unless they were planted in the pot of a dead spider plant, he was probably just anxious over nothing.
“I-I’m feene I guess.” Nico flinched a bit, though he barely noticed his Italian accent with how he had learned to shove it down at camp, it always became way worse in the Underworld. He could barely say Will’s name without it sounding like he was calling him a car part.
“That’s great to hear, champion.” Hades smiled as warmly as he could, and held Nico’s face, as if he was inspecting the dark eyes, skin the color of bone, and raven hair his son had in common with him.
Then, as if suddenly getting struck by his brother’s thunderbolt right in the backside, Hades stood up straight to his full godly height and let go of the youngster’s chin.
“Persephone and I have cooked you something—“ The god was interrupted by his son.
“Why are you behaving like this all of a sudden, Dad?” Nico asked point blank, “Why are you acting like an actual parent now?” Nico didn’t mean for his voice to shake, didn’t mean to show how weirded out he was by going from being barely acknowledged as he moved through this “home” like an unwanted shadow, to now being showered with love.
“Because…I realized how I wasn’t that good of a parent to you, or Bianca to be fair. Absent…I’m not any better than the mortal dads who use money to pay for their absence…And I didn’t want to be that.”
“So you think being a good dad now will make up for missing everything before then?” Nico asked, his voice rising a smidge with anger.
“Nico—“
“Bianca died! A-And you weren’t even there! I-I cried alone in the cabin f-for days! You didn’t even care!” The half-blood was full on yelling now, his chest rising and falling in ragged breaths.
“And I’m sorry. Nico, I’m sorry for a lot of things…I want to make it better.” Hades refrained from yelling back at him. He read teenagers can have intense mood swings because of her-moans? Hermines? Hormones?
Hades didn’t know. English is a weird language.
“I don’t know how you can make it better, Dad…” Nico replied as his anger faded. What was left was a few stray tears streaming down the kid’s pale face.
“Can you let me try, Niccolo?” The kid tensed at the use of his full name, but relaxed and nodded.
“I-I don’t need you though…” Nico straightened his spine.
“Okay.” Hades wasn’t gonna argue with him over this. After all he didn’t want the meal to get cold.
“Y-You said Persephone and you cooked?” Nico asked, his arms wrapped around himself in a defensive position, as if monsters were about to rise up from the ground and he needed to be on guard.
“Well not so much cooked as…well…we talked to some of your friends and, well let me just show you.”
Nico walked into the kitchen—which he’s certain hadn’t been used in a millennia—and saw a spread of McDonald’s, taking up one whole large counter space.
An accidental wide grin crossed the kid’s face for a moment, before he looked back up at the god and his wife—which Persephone had finally made an appearance. She looked regal as could be in a dark purple and black gown.
“How much is for you guys because I don’t want to eat your guys’s portions—“
“All of it is for you, Bambino.” Persephone replied, a hand gently carding through his ebony hair.
Nico grabbed a single happy meal and sat down on the ground, chowing down on it as if he hadn’t eaten in days.
Which to be fair, the kid had a habit of forgetting to eat. While him and Will were working on it, progress is not linear.
The Underworld’s ruler plopped himself down on the ground across from his son, who was currently eating the fries like they’d be taken away soon.
“So uhh…is this the toy?” Hades asked, flipping the sauce packet in his hands.
“No, that’s the sauce, Dad. This is the toy.” Nico held up a plastic launcher that launched thin cardboard disks.
“Oh.” Hades replied, his hands messing with the chiton he wore
Persephone was standing by the food.
“Can I have some Diet Coke, Nico?”
“Yeah. I don’t even like Diet Coke that much.” The teen replied, before firing a disk from the launcher at his own hand. He didn’t even notice he was starting to giggle until he looked up and saw how his dad’s face had melted into goo.
“What’sup dada- I m-mean- Dad?” The kiddo asked, his big eyes widening slightly. He had never regressed without Will around, was he even sure it would be safe without him? Will always gives the best hugs and gives him compromises that don’t make any sense to big Nico but do console the little man.
“You’re just so cute when you giggle.” Hades replied, offering a hug.
“I’m not small.”
“Okay. You don’t have to be small for me to hug you.” Hades refrained from saying Nico, you’re always small. Because that wouldn’t help anything.
“Feene…” The teen scooted over to Hades on his butt and wrapped his arms around the god’s shoulders.
Hades noticed that Nico was leaning very deeply into his chest, which the kid normally wasn’t affectionate towards his dad.
“Your little accent is so cute, buddy.”
Persephone reached her hand out yet again and ruffled the kid’s dark hair, and stroked a hand through Hades’s long raven colored hair.
“I want Papa Weell! I want Papa.” Nico pouted, his pinkened cheeks puffing up.
“You want Will?” The god of the underworld asked as his hands reached up to gently circle his temples
The kid nodded, his dark eyes full of tears.
“Okay buddy. I’ll see what I can do.” Hades responded, his hands stroking up and down his son’s back.
“Fank you dada…” The kid mumbled, fully accepting that he was gonna be small. Hades didn’t even seem that annoyed with him being teeny tiny.
The underworld’s king stood up and transferred the prince to the queen’s arms.
“Pewsephome…” Nico mumbled, trying to pronounce her name but failing. His tongue was always so heavy when he was this small.
“Yes bambino?”
“I want my paci…I-It back at camp.” The kiddo looked up at his stepmom, eyes watering.
“Oh okay buddy. I’ll let your dad know…” Persephone kissed his cheeks until he melted inside and out.
“Okay Pewsey.” Nico slurred.
The queen of the underworld could tell that Nico was falling asleep, so she made a mental note to get a pacifier for the baby in her grasp before he woke up without one, and lifted him up into the air.
“Let’s get to the couch, baby.”
“Okay…” Nico slurred.
And if while they were laying on the couch, Cerberus jumped up and started licking Nico’s cheek, well that’s between the dog and Persephone.