What's this? Hermie finally found the motivation to write a chapter she told herself would be super easy to write?! While reading the newest adventures of Apollo?! Right before going to study in a different province for a month?! ZEUS HAVE MERCY!

Welp.

Between my horribly inconsistent updates, terrible lack of motivation despite the desire to write these, and finishing my first year of university, this small chapter was born! Yay! This is also the second last Hades family chapter, and the bedtime one comes up next! The start of this chapter was originally Thennie's idea, and it thus exploded into half the chapter, but half a chapter that I love!

BTW I'm totally down for playing Mythology Hedbanz with anyone! (Except Nico. His skills kinda suck.)

DISCLAIMER:

Riordan will never ask Zeus for mercy; I feel like Apollo is more of a threat at this point.

"Am I a monster?"

"No."

"Am I a demigod?"

"No."

"Am I a sacred item?" Hades tapped his finger impatiently against his leg.

"No."

"Am I a god?" Nico asked, adjusting the plastic band wrapped around his forehead. The other three nodded.

"Yes." It was the first time Hades spoke that Nico felt his stress decrease a little.

"Am I an Olympian?" Hades' eyes darkened.

"No."

"Do people like me?" Persephone giggled and tried to contain it, trying to compress her obvious smile as her eyes darted to Hades, who didn't have the heart to glare at her or Hazel, who's poker face was a little better than her step mother's.

"Probably not… no." Hades answered. Nico cocked his brow and stared at his odd family, each of which, like himself, were wearing identical plastic head pieces with cards depicting a mythological-something resting in a slot. At least now he knew what Hades and Persephone did when they were bored; the Greek mythology edition of Headbanz was a lot more pleasant than torturing the souls of the dead with their own two hands.

"Am I married?" Persephone giggled again. Since that afternoon, her nap had helped her cheer up and feel a little better, though she still had a cold pack resting on her forehead and would occasionally close her eyes for a few minutes. Hazel and Nico had both taken doses of cold medicine and could now breathe a little better. They had also discovered Hades was a surprisingly good cook.

Hazel spared Hades the hassle to answer.

"Yes."

"Have I had any affairs?" This earned him a scowl from Persephone, who lifted her look to her husband. Hades nodded slowly.

"Do I live in any specific domain?"

"Yes."

"Olympus?"

"No."

"The ocean?"

"No."

"The forests?"

"No." Nico bit his lip. His headache hadn't passed since their walk in the afternoon, and the game really wasn't helping. But, for the sake of Persephone and Hazel having a good time, as this was both her and his first time playing a modern board game in peace, he opted to keep his mouth shut until the game was over and stick to drinking some water to suppress the pain.

"Gods, what else is there..?" His father let out a sigh and looked him in the eye, as if he were about to scold him for something extremely obvious.

"You are me." He hissed, quietly.

"Oh." Nico felt his soul sink deeper into his stomach, like it was trying to hide from the disappointment in Hades' face. Persephone burst out laughing, earning a startled look from Hazel, who took it as permission to giggle a little herself.

"Hades, it's not your fault you aren't social and got stuck with the Underworld!" Persephone said, hugging him. Hades promptly wiggled out uncomfortably. "You just need to get out a little more with me around Olympus!"

"I don't feel like torturing your ears with the sound of my lovely younger sisters nagging me, thank you." He replied. "I've been the evil god of the Underworld for many eras and many children's movies. It makes me wonder if I should bother at all."

"Don't make me put happy pills in your nectar again!" Persephone giggled, poking him on the cheek. The Advil and nap had definitely worked.

"Lady Persephone, it's your turn." Hazel said, ending the somewhat awkward family conversation transpiring before her. Persephone's eyes lit up as she began giggling at the new card Hades had placed on his head.

"Am I a god of the Underworld who I love very much?" Hades rolled his eyes.

They continued with the game for the next half an hour, followed by a Hungry Hungry Hippos tournament with Persephone dominating the competition, though Hades insisted he only let her win because she wasn't feeling well.

Nico only felt his headache getting worse, pounding on all sides of his skull like a rock-hard balloon was being inflated slowly inside his brain and pushing the sides of his head close to explosion. Rubbing his temples and forehead didn't seem to help any; it felt like his fingers were close to falling off whenever he touched his head. Luckily, they soon called it a night. Nico stumbled back to his room, his vision blurring and stars dancing before his eyes every ten or so paces. What was happening to him? Maybe it was something in the medicine Persephone had just given him? He stared down at his feet, which seemed to be miles away from the rest of him, the black marble floors of Hades' palace moving slowly like waves. Waves; Nico envied Percy, who got to spend his time with the Sniffles in a domain that was proven to help heal his body. Nico was stuck in one that made his stress climb without his consent.

At what Hades guessed to be around midnight, Persephone shook him awake.

"I swear this isn't about my menstrual pains but if you don't wake up I'll unleash my hormonal rage upon you!" she hissed, shaking his shoulder until Hades swatted her off.

"What is it?" he groaned, sitting up beside her. He didn't mean to glare at her, since it was just his exhaustion taking over, but he was whacked in the face with a pillow before Persephone continued talking.

"Did we give Nico and Hazel all their medication?" she asked, her voice low. Hades nodded.

"Yes. I did it myself. Good night." Persephone punched him in the small of his back when he flopped back down onto his pillows.

"What do you mean you did it yourself?" she asked.

"What I mean, rosebud, is I gave Nico and Hazel their medication before they went to bed-"

"I thought you only gave Hazel hers." Hades sat up and flicked on the light.

"Are you telling me you gave Nico more medicine after I did." He snapped, staring intensely at his wife. Persephone nodded and paled further.

"Hazel told me you'd already given her hers when I asked, but Nico came anyway…" Hades grabbed Persephone's shoulders.

"Call Apollo. I'm going to check on him. Don't you dare wake Hazel."

Nico never had and didn't have any plans to be on fire. Luckily, he was spared the imagery and disfiguration, but was gifted with all the internal physical and emotional pleasantries that came with it. The pain stung his limbs and froze them in place; as hard as he tried, he couldn't tell if they were even twitching since his efforts only made his vision blurry and spin without moving his head. It felt like blood was pouring from his ears, but was clogged and couldn't get out of his head, which acted like a dam. Random words, memories and images floated through his head; they were the only source of relief from his pain.

Nico felt his lungs growing more and more pained with each breath as hot knives seemed to run up small roots in his chest on each side. He could barely hear himself breathing heavily and inconsistently over the sound of his head pounding to the words of a children's song he and Bianca used to sing…

Remember that time Bianca told you that you couldn't have any more eggs for breakfast? The sound of eggs cooking in a pan sounded wonderful and filled his chest, like he felt when he was with Will. Will didn't look at him one time and it made him sad so Nico looked away too but he didn't know what to do because what if looking away made Will sad, too..?

Hades switched on the lights and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Nico. There was so much sweat on his face that he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower. His face had been drained of any color and his lips were dry from panting, gasping for air as his chest struggled to rise and crashed down as he exhaled. Hades pulled the blankets off his son; his chest was also soaked in sweat.

"Nico! Can you hear me?" he said, sternly. He hadn't meant to; he knew it was something that happened when he had to hide his fear. Nico's eyes were closed, but Hades knew he was awake. He grabbed under his arms and lifted him quickly upright against the headrest and pillows. He felt his forehead; it was dangerously hot. "I need you to open your eyes." He said, reaching to the nightstand beside Nico's bed for a glass of water with one hand as he supported his head in the other. The back of his hand sent the water falling to the floor. Hades cursed and patted Nico's face with his sleeve. "Answer me, please!"

"Hades! Is he awake?" Persephone asked, running into the room with her cell phone held to her ear. Hades nodded. "Yes, he is." Persephone said, turning her head into the phone. Only Nico's panting broke the silence that followed. "Yes, he's sweating… It looks like he's sweating a lot, and he's having a hard time breathing… What? No, there has to be something! Yes… yes… No, he hasn't eaten much, I don't think he'll throw up… We'll do what we can." Persephone hung up with tears in her eyes.

"There's not much we can do." Hades answered for her. His wife shook her head.

"Apollo said he'll be fine, but the pain… I'll get some cold water and face cloths. Try calming him down, get him breathing normally. He's probably scared-"

"I know that-"

"Talk to him like you did to me this afternoon."

"Persephone, please, I need you to calm him down." Hades urged, stopping his wife from leaving the room. "I can't talk to him like you can. You know how to… to do that… that thing where you know what to say." Persephone spun around and grabbed her husband by the arm. She pulled him into the bathroom of Nico's room.

"Listen." She began, shutting the door behind her. The panic in her eyes only lit the concern and seriousness that came out in her voice. "Have you ever thought that maybe you've been a terrible parent? That all the gods are terrible parents? Maybe it's time for us to fix that. Maybe it's time for you to look your son in the eye and actually connect with him. He's lying out there in a moment when he is the most vulnerable, and right now he doesn't need you, he needs his father. He needs the Hades that knows him and isn't held back by formalities or… or fear of talking to him like you would an actual son. Neither of you had a father, I get that, but he's so much like you are when you're around me, Hades; the words are there, but you aren't always sure how to let them out." They stared at one another. Persephone lowered her eyes. "If I go out there instead of you, what am I doing? Helping him, or pushing him further away from you?" Hades wasn't sure if he should be feeling angry or relieved. He rested his hand on Persephone's shoulder.

"I don't deserve a wonderful wife like you." He said, softly. "I'm afraid, but you're right. If I could somehow get you to marry me, I can keep Nico in one piece." Persephone smiled.

"I'll get some cold water and cloths; let's try and stay calm. Sorry I spoke to you like that earlier, I-"

"Don't apologize; no one can get through to me like you can."

Twelve hours later, Nico rolled his head slowly across his pillow, trying to find a cold spot to rest his face. He slowly opened his eyes, which felt extremely puffy and sore, and saw Hades sitting in a chair beside his bed, asleep with his head down.

"Father?" he asked, trying to sit up. His bones felt weak, but weren't in any pain. When he spoke, his whole face felt dry and unwilling to move. What had happened last night while he was asleep? Then he realized he wasn't in his old room; he was in a new bed with a wider bedside table, which was covered in face cloths, towels, a bowl, a cup, and a basin of water. Nico examined his new pyjamas as he tried to remember what had happened the previous night after he had gone to bed with a pounding headache so bad, he had wondered for a second if there might be a goddess inside him, too.

"Hades?" Nico asked again, louder this time. That's when he realized that his sinuses had completely cleared, just like that had last night… He remembered something about telling someone that he was sad Percy was contagious, of all things. And that Athena had stolen the recipe for Hades' helm of darkness to create Annabeth's Yankee's cap and Nico was very distraught about it at the time.

"You're awake." Hades said, softly, stretching his arms out in front of him. "How are you feeling?" He looked like hell; his eyes were dark with exhaustion and his face had been rid of any color.

"I'm feeling alright. Not bad, though. I can breathe." Hades ran his hand through his now messy black hair. "How is Hazel?"

"She's fine; she says her sinuses are mostly cleared now, but she's still feeling lightheaded. She and Persephone are having lunch now."

"My headaches are gone." Nico added.

"That's good. You'll be able to go back soon, then." He didn't say it like a question. Nico was glad for that. "Will must be worried about you." Nico felt his chest tighten and his blood freeze as every hair on his body seemed to stand on end.

"How do you know about Will?" he asked, slowly. The only explanation he could come up with was that Hazel let it slip while he was asleep or panicking during the incident of the previous night. Hades blinked at his son.

"You don't remember, do you?" he asked, softly. Nico shook his head. He barely remembered anything outside of feeling in a lot of pain and relief at once.

"Did Will try to contact me?" Hades shook his head.

"You were begging me to contact him." Nico felt his warmth slip away under the covers. "I know you're in love with him." Hades spared Nico the energy to ask questions. "We gave you too much medicine last night and you went into a fit; we needed to calm you down." He began, not looking away from Nico's eyes even when they rarely darted nervously around the room. "Persephone looked after you physically while I tried talking to you about anything I could; Bianca, Hazel, myself, Persephone, Camp Half-Blood, anything. You told me about the different people at camp you considered your friends in rather… curious ways." Nico nodded.

"Athena stole your helm?"

"I know she stole my helm. You rambled on for a while about the seven until you started crying." Nico felt his ears heat up. Hades took a deep sigh. This was going to be awkward. "You told me you missed Will and one thing led to another until you told me you loved each other." Hades paused. "You weren't too upfront about it, really. I figured that out for myself after you told me you loved him more than anyone else and he chases you around with sunscreen on hot days."

"Oh, gods…" Nico's warmth had flooded his face and made his stomach do backflips. How could he have said all that? He had no idea how to respond, but it was true; he hated sunscreen and Will was the most important person in his life. "And I tried to contact him?"

"You fell into my arms and began bawling. It was rather awkward."

"Please, tell me I fell asleep soon after."

"Persephone took over and got you to calm down and have some nectar mixed with something to help you sleep once we made sure your fever was cooling down." The deeper they got into this conversation, the more fear Nico felt. Hades hadn't once reacted to his relationship with Will; that couldn't be a good sign. He'd fallen another step farther from his father's acceptance again, and this time, he wouldn't have anyone around to help pull him out of it. "Nico." Hades took a deep breath. "Don't be scared of what I think." Nico felt his stomach bubble as he lifted his eyes to his father's.

"What?"

"Last night, you told Persephone how scared you were about what I would think of your relationship. You were scared you'd never face Will the same way or I'd abandon you completely."

"I'm still afraid; tell me."

"Tell me why I shouldn't accept it." Nico froze.

"What?"

"Of course I accept you; both of you." Hades replied. "There's no reason I shouldn't, is there?" Nico shook his head and breathed nervously.

"Do you really mean that?"

"I swear on the Styx that I do. Isn't this how you wanted me to feel?" Nico nodded.

"I expected you to be distant and… refuse to accept it. I didn't want it, but I was so fixed on what I thought might happen that I gave up thinking you'd be okay with this."

"Nico, I've been a real shit father. Persephone told me something last night about making up for the mistakes of generations of godly parenting and absence, and when I looked at my relationship with you, it was full of mistakes and horrible choices, all on my part. The only thing I can give you now is the truth in return of your own, and it is one of acceptance, something us gods and our pride rarely show. All I knew was being pushed away, but I no longer want it to be what you know, especially when you've found someone that brings you back in." Hades paused. "And, I suppose you could have chosen worse; Jackson, Grace, a daughter of Aphrodite, or Demeter-"

Persephone coughed from the doorway.

"I suppose you won't mind it if I don't come this winter, then?" she asked, darkly. Hades sighed.

"Rosebud-"

"Don't Rosebud me. Lunch is ready, finish your bonding time together. I hope I broke the awkward." With that, she shut the door behind her. Nico and Hades sat in silence, staring at the door.

"I'm hungry." Nico finally said, slowly rising from the bed.

"You and me both, Nico." And father-son awkwardness led them out the door.

Gods, I love Hades. He never does anything wrong in the myths, and BAM! Children's move villain! I couldn't resist the joke; I'm sorry universe, I have failed you.

(And has anyone noticed the Citizen Kane nudge Hades is making? Apparently, not only does he read a lot, but he loves classic movies!)

So... let's talk about the bedtime chapter! The way the bedtime chapters go is pretty simple; god talks to demigod about how said god met said demigods mortal parent and how the god feels about them/their relationship with their kids. It was easier last time because Jason and Thalia shared a mother, but Hazel and Nico are different. I'm going to try to get a good mix in there, but I'm debating on something as well.

Should Hades chitchat with one while Persephone chitchats with the other? I think it would be interesting to hear her point of view on Hades' other relationships, given that he never had many affairs, and she's a pretty fun character for me. Let me know what you think, and feel free to throw around ideas!

Since I actually haven't started this chapter, (yet) here's a special preview for the next block of chapters!

There's a spider in the bathroom, and literally only one Olympian goddess is chill with them. Send in Olympus' favorite helicopter-mom.