A/N: Let the uncomfortableness begin! In this chapter, Hades blows them all away.

Also... I uploaded this to AO3 and Tumblr before uploading it here (By, like, about eight hours). This is because had a bug. I hope it won't happen again!

'Is there anything specific you want to talk about today?' Dionysus asked.

I slowly scratched a ketchup stain of the table. 'Hm…'

'Eh, Yes, there is.' We both looked around. My mouth fell open. None other than my father was standing in the middle of the Denny's, with three cans in his hands.

I shot a glance at Mary, who was looking at Hades with her mouth open and her arms protectively wrapped around her baby bump. I could not blame her. I would be freaked out too if the lord of the dead was suddenly in my restaurant and I did not know him personally.

I turned back to Dionysus. He looked more surprised than angry (For now at least).

Hades strided over to our table (it wasn't walking, one couldn't call it walking. He was striding). When he was close, he slowed down for a second, before choosing to sit on the chair that was close to mine and far from Dionysus's. He put the cans in the middle of our table. 'There is… I have a few things we can talk about.'

Dionysus and I glanced at each other. Silently, we agreed to let him speak his mind. From behind the counter, Mary signed something at us that probably meant 'is everything okay?' I nodded, as a sign that it was okay. I had no idea what she would have done if it wasn't, but that didn't matter right now.

Hades snapped his fingers. In a moment, the front doors locked themselves and all the lamps, except for the one above our heads, shut off. I heard Mary gasp and scoff.

Dionysus sighed. 'Hades, Mary is standing in the dark.

Hades rolled his eyes. The light above the counter flicked on again. Mary took a deep breath, before giving Hades a cool look.

Dionysus mimed something that might have meant 'I'll make up the difference for the customers that can't come in.' I wasn't sure, but it seemed like a logical thing to mime at that moment.

Hades stared at us for a few seconds. Now that I could see him up-close, he seemed nervous 'Eh… do I just… begin?'

Dionysus narrowed his eyes. 'Yes, that might be productive,' he answered. I looked at the cans. Gray Ginger Soda. Whatever it was.

'Uh, I wanted to say something about… Nico coming to my place, and how I think he is... progressing.' He was silent for a few seconds. 'And I believe you are the one he usually speaks to, so it might be good if… you hear it as well. And, eh, I want to know what Nico thinks about it.' Now he wasn't just nervous, he seemed to be in a panic and a half.

Dionysus eyed the cans. 'Thanks for the drinks, although…'

'As if I would drink anything made by you.' Oh, now the old man was his stern self again.

Dionysus rolled his eyes and leaned back in the chair. 'Well, tell us your thoughts.'

'My thoughts?' He shifted uncomfortably. 'Erm… I think…' he stared at Dionysus. An expression of pure unwillingness rolled over his face.

Dionysus did not say anything. Usually, when I was having therapy, he would try to comfort me if it became too much to handle. But Hades was given no such treatment.

'It's okay, dad. He can't tell this to anyone else.' I gave Dionysus a look. He did not confirm nor deny my statement, which I took to mean that he would not blab it further, even though he totally could.

It was clear that dad did not believe me at all. But he swallowed, and went on: 'I like that you come to the Underworld every once in a while.'

I nodded, while reaching for one of the cans. If nobody was going to drink it, I would. 'I like that too. That's why I keep coming.'

'Oh.' He shot a glance at Dionysus.

'It is not like I force the kid to go,' the wine god said.

Hades' gaze got harder. 'Of course not. But anyway, so, I like it.' He gave another look to Dionysus. 'And actually I don't care if you tell the other gods about that.' Dionysus rolled his eyes.

'Hades, I won't tell anybody anything about this, I promise,' he sighed. Hades just stared at the cans, before continuing.

'And also…' he paused for a second, 'I think that it has been going better with us. I… I helped you with those greek sentences.' He swallowed the sentence 'Even though they were ridiculously easy.'

I nodded, with a small smile. 'Well, yes dad, I think it has been going better as well. And that is what I have been telling Dionysus.' I nodded in his direction.

'He keeps defending you and saying everything will be better,' the wine god piped in. 'Basically all the time.' He raised his eyebrows. I looked at my can. Well, yes, maybe I defended my dad a lot. But he really was trying to be better.

Dionysus shrugged. 'And I guess there is some truth in that. After all, you came here, prepared to say something, because you want to talk with not just him, but with his therapist as well.' I looked up. Was that Dionysus defending Hades? Unbelievable.

'Eh… yes.' Hades shifted on the chair. I took a sip of the weird drink. It tasted like someone slamming me against the side of my head.

Hades took a deep breath. He looked like he was about to say something he revised for ages. 'I…'

Dionysus stared out the window for some time, clearly trying to force himself to not be sarcastic. 'It's okay, go on,' he said, so softly that it was almost unhearable.

'I… is there any more I can do for him?'

Dad shut off. He looked at the cans. His shoulders were hanging down, as if this question defeated him for real. No, it wasn't the question. It was the fact that he was asking it to Dionysus.

Dionysus couldn't even say anything at first. 'You… are asking me for advice about what more you two can do?'

Hades seemed to melt to a pile of misery on his chair.

'Dionysus…' I muttered.

'No, no, I think that is… that is amazing, Hades. Eh…'

I took another sip. This was surely something.

Dionysus took a deep breath. 'You should try to do what you are comfortable with and what you want to do. If… eh… you feel like giving him a hug, you should do that. But knowing you, it might be better to… I don't know, walk the dog together or something.' He shook his head and took a deep breath. 'It is probably the best to work on communication and respect, like it always is,' he said after a moment of reflection. 'From what I have heard, you... still have some work to do there.'

'Eh, yes,' I cut in. 'Well, dad, I would like it if we... talked more. And get better at seeing what the other is actually meaning with what he says. Or, eh, you could help me with more... life-y stuff. Other than Greek verbs.'

Hades stared at the table. I wondered what of what we said he had actually heard. 'This is difficult.'

'But you are doing it,' Dionysus and I said at the same time.

He even managed to conjure up a laugh, even though it was laced with nerves. 'Nico… what could I possibly help you with that is more... life-y? I…' He shrugged. 'I am the lord of the dead. What do I know of anything that concerns you? Then you could better…' he waved in Dionysus' direction.

'Yes, but you are my dad.'

His expression went completely blank. 'Eh… yes.' He shook his head. Two of the cans disappeared. Just mine stayed behind. Hades slowly got up.

In a last stretch of energy, he forced himself to look Dionysus right in the eye. 'I…I… think I have to thank you for what you do,' he whispered.

'I should thank you for giving it a chance,' Dionysus muttered back.

Hades shook his head. 'You shouldn't.'

It was quiet for a few seconds. 'Thanks for the advice,' Hades whispered. Then he disappeared.

Dionysus was completely knocked out of the park for a few seconds. Then, he took a very, very deep breath, while the lights flicked back on and the doors unlocked. Mary turned her head towards us. 'Was that… planned?'

Dionysus shook his head, slowly. 'No, Mary. I promise on the river Styx that if something like that is ever planned to happen in this Denny's, I'll tell you.'

I moved my head around, trying to comprehend it all. 'That was... unexpected.'

'It was. But… I think you might be right. He might… truly be willing to turn over a new leave.'

'Yeah I… think so.' I shrugged. 'It's… alright. I am going back on the 19th of september.'

'Hm. The day after summer has ended.'

'Yes.'

'You know what that means, right?'

'Yes.'

He shrugged. 'Watch out, Nico.'

When we stood up, Mary waddled towards us. 'Good luck with that man, Nico.'

I picked my can of table. 'Yes, thanks.'

Dionysus put a few banknotes on the table. 'I'll have to pay for all the money you could have made…'

'That's… it is never a lot.'

'This is the evening shift, it is busier than during the night.'

Mary shrugged. 'Still.'

'Please take it. You need to buy stuff for the baby.'

'We already have a lot of…'

'No, believe me, you'll need to buy more baby stuff.'

Mary put a hand on her stomach. 'Okay. But next time I'll give you double the drinks and you can't say no.'

'Deal,' I said. Dionysus put his hand on my shoulder. 'Goodbye, Mary,' I said, before we disappeared.

When I walked past the Demeter cabin, I noticed that the flowers were already beginning to whiter. And summer wasn't even here yet. I took a deep breath, as if to already mentally prepare myself for september, nineteen.

A/N: Persephone will be next and then I'll finally get to Maria, like I promised an eon ago. (Okay, I'll bite: How many years is an Eon? We don't use this word a lot in the Dutch language).

Now go get yourself a glass of water. Or a can of Gray Ginger Soda, if you somehow have an entrance to the Underworld somewhere.