This is basically the opposite of my last Nico fic where Hades was a bad father (if ur up for a lot of angst and sadness, go read that). This fic features what I would consider a cannon Hades to be like.
This is unedited and might get changed in the future.
Nico went to visit the Underworld with his father after a month or so of being mother-henned by a certain son of Apollo. . He hadn't spoken with his father since the war had come to close, and deemed it a due visit. He himself knew how the Olympians were behaving after the disappearance of Apollo for seemingly interacting with his mortal descendants, but Nico knew that Hades was a god of his own rules, not those of Zeus. His own existence as a son of Hades in this century was proof of that.
He had chosen to go easy on shadow travel specifically for this trip, after the whole fading thing with Coach Hedge and Reyna. So, he decided to visit New York the normal way, and enter the Underworld in central park. He had run in to Percy's mom and step-father on the walk there, and couldn't help the warm smile that spread from the mortals as she embraced him like her own son.
"I'm glad you're okay, Nico. Percy told me everything that's happened. Thank you," She beamed. He remembered chuckling to himself at the memory of the blue birthday cake, then at her soft baby blue clothing she was now wearing. At the mention of it, when Paul Blofis wrapped an arm around the small of her back and sent a confused look to his wife, Nico felt it. As Sally opened her mouth to remind Paul of who the son of Hades was, Nico's grin grew wider. He bounced on his heels a bit before preparing to turn away.
"Congratulations on the baby, Mrs. Sally." He didn't know how they reacted after that, as he had already made his way across the street by the time he saw the blue blurs continue on their path in his peripheral vision, but he guessed that they were surprised. The sound of a soft laugh proved his point from a distance.
As he continued down the streets of New York in a perfect summer day, he allowed himself to savour the sunshine he had grown so accustomed to. Chuckling, he thought back to the frequent subject that was recently lingering in his mind: Will Solace. The stubborn son of Apollo had prescribed him with 'frequent Vitamin D' as an excuse to either spend more time with him, or to get outside. Both happened either way. Being a son of the Underworld, he was naturally more accustomed to darker spaces, but a little bit of sunshine was nice once in a while. Now, though, he could do with a break from the blazing heat.
As he entered the Underworld, he smiled. Charon greeted him at the Ferry with a stunning smile of pearly whites and a slight tug on his Italian suit. "Long time no see, Nico. The fallen demigods of the war against Gaea were all expertly prepared when I reached them. No doubt the work of my favourite Ghost King?" As he slipped a sack of drachmas to him, Nico smiled sadly.
"What good would I be as the only half-blood of death if I didn't help with burial rites?" He refrained from mentioning that the only other Ghost King was Minos, and simply looked on to his father's palace in the distance. The shadows of the Underworld clung to him like magnets, smoking from the surface of his skin slightly as his aura darkened the surrounding ones. As he made his way across the Underworld, he couldn't help but notice the more streamlined flow of souls ready to be judged. His father must have changed things up a bit after the scurry with Thanatos' capture and the Doors of Death being opened.
Upon arriving to the throne room, he quickly scanned the room before bowing on one knee. Persephone's throne was barren, and Hades sat on his mound of bones, leaning on one arm. He had noticed the guards at Hades' sides bow as he walked in, but with his head down, he didn't see Hades own expression. Upon hearing a shuffle in the throne, he let a small smile creep its way through his lips at the sound of Hades' smirk.
"Rise, Nico," his father commanded. As he stood tall to meet Hades' eyes, he couldn't help but relish the feeling. After months spent in the air, at sea, or stuck in the Sun, it felt relieving to be back in his home turf. He could feel the power gripping his core and welcomed it. His own smile prompted the smirk to enhance on Hades' face, almost to a smile.
"You have brought much honour to the House of Hades, son. You have proven me right to trust you to do what is right, even when I cannot. I formally thank you, Ghost King, on behalf of myself, and my realm." Hades voice showed nothing but pride, and Nico smiled at the tone. After Bianca, Nico wanted nothing more than to protect those who he loved. Hades, being the only family he had left (before Hazel), was included; the thought that he had made him proud caused emotions he couldn't even verbalize.
"Thank you, Father." Surprising him, Hades stood from his throne and motioned for him to follow down the hallway. Obliging, he noticed how the smirk on his father's face never faded, and wondered why that was. As his mind spaced out briefly with wonder, he blinked and was suddenly in Hades' room. Sitting on the desk was a shinning metal box, and Hades began to fiddle with it in his hands as he looked to Nico.
"So you've found someone better than the sea-spawn, I see." Had Nico been drinking anything, he would have just spit out a lung. With his eyebrows reaching for the ceiling, he clenched his jaw to stop it from falling as everything about his figure tensed.
"I... I don't under stand what-" As Nico tried to sputter some nonsense excuse, he grew even more confused when his father laughed. As the panic, surprise, and laughter died down, Hades met his son's eyes dead on.
"You should know that us Greeks aren't like the mortals. You are aware that Ganymede is still around? Not like what the mortal stories tell." Nico recalled his mythomagic knowledge, and remembered the tale of Ganymede. He was a prince of Troy that became the cup bearer for Olympus and lover of Zeus. "He's the god of homosexual love, now." Oh. OH.
After sighing dreamily, Hades let out a quick, "He sure is a beautiful boy." Nico's face must have been beat red because Hades smirked at him again. "So, son of Apollo?"
"Um, wait! No- I mean..."
"It was surprising to find out about your crush on the Jackson boy, not that I would have approved of it, of course. Poseidon does not need another reason to bother me at the Winter Solstices." Nico's mind was a tornado of scattered thoughts. It simply wouldn't stop, and he remained frozen in place as Hades casually opened the box towards Nico.
"That Apollo boy seems fine enough. If you intend on making the first move, you may use these." Curiously, he peered inside the metal cube to see needles with plastic covers over the points. They appeared dirty, and were filled with an inky dark solution that changed colour in the light. Somehow, Nico managed to find his words again.
"Father... I'm over Percy. It... it was a childish crush, and I'm not like that anymore. I... thank you?" Hades rolled his eyes at his son's embarrassment, and picked up one of the needles.
"You are very brave to have faced Cupid considering your time. I assure you that the Son of Apollo would be much more bearable than his godly father." With a huff of amusement, Nico took a closer look at what was inside the needle before finally realizing it.
"Is that... liquid fear essence?" During his time with Minos, he had learnt about the essence of fear and how to use it. Of course, against monsters it did little good for him, but against other demigods it worked wonders. He could channel it through the stygian iron in his sword to literally strike fear into opponents. Bryce had felt it in an outburst, and this only reminded him to use it on Jason or Percy the next time they sparred.
"Not quite, I can't have just any of your demigod friends using fear. This box is near indestructible, and holds 40 unbreakable needles each filled with a fear extracting solution. Once used and placed back into the box, the needle will clean itself and refill." Nico was impressed. He never would have thought of something so genius to give to Will. Extracting fear would work to calm any nervous patients, and a supply of needles was a big boost to give the Apollo cabin some breaks from constant singing.
"Thank you, Father. I... I really like him, I just don't know if he likes me that way. I don't even know if he's... gay." The words still felt dirty on his tongue as he opened up to Hades. Most wouldn't think so, based on how he kidnapped Persephone until she loved him, but Hades was a gentleman when it came to his lovers. In the fragmented memories he had gained back from before his dip in the Lethe, his mother saw a gentle man in Hades and a caring father.
"Tell me more about him." Surprisingly, opening up about his love life to Hades came at a more comfortable place than he expected. It was almost like normal mortal families, just in the Underworld. Surrounded by skeleton servants. With shadows leaking from both of them. So basically as close to normal as they could get.
"He's stubborn, and he doesn't know when to stop himself. He always tries to make sure that everyone who's hurt or sick is tended to, even if it's a minor injury. He carries out his duties as a healer even when he's not on a shift, so he always has that medicine bag with him."
Hades huffed to himself before Nico could continue. "Doesn't sound like his father."
"But he somehow just... doesn't hide how much he cares. He knows how to express it in some way and he doesn't try to stop it. He always insists on being there for everyone, no matter what I say. He's a good listener, too. Once, his youngest cabin-mate was crying over something about her mortal parent, and when he started crying for her, he still listened to her. When... when I was going to leave for good, he told me I was being an idiot, and told me that he wanted me to stay." As Nico's attention receded into his mind, thinking about how attractive Will was in every aspect, Hades showed a knowing look that could be a shadow of a grin.
"His blonde hair is like Apollo's, but more curly and soft. His eyes are like Jason and Thalia's, as blue as the sky on a sunny day. His face just looks so soft at times, and-" he realized what he was saying to Hades before going on about Will's perfect surfer body. With a blush rushing to his whitely pale cheeks, he refocused on Hades to see an eyebrow raised.
"You clearly love him. If he's as you describe, this gift will serve well as a test."
Curiously, Nico began to peer at the needles again. A good test?
"The needles are extras from the Fields of Punishment that I used against drug dealers and addicts." The father and son both laughed. They had an equally dark sense of humour.
"Will, I know that we've only been... a thing... for a week now, but I just... I want to give you something to show how much I care about you, since I'm not good at really... saying it." He was more nervous than he had ever imagined was possible, but the encouraging smile on his ray of sunshine made it just a bit better. Not as much as the gift itself could take his fear away, but that didn't count.
As he handed Will the metal box which had a fabric ribbon taped to the top, courtesy of Hazel's assistance, the smile wouldn't wipe itself from his face. Will smiled at the bow, then proceeded to try and lift the top off of the solid metal box.
"Wow... that's really heavy, huh?" As Nico's smirk grew wider, the son of Apollo's anticipation grew. He hastily lifted the lid to reveal the sight.
"Are these... used needles?" Right. Only beings of the Underworld can see the essence of fear.
"They're indestructible needles from the Fields of Punishment used against sinners who took advantage of drugs. They'll clean themselves once you use them and put it back in the box. You can't see it, but they have liquified fear extractor inside each, and will refill automatically, too." He smiled brightly, proud of his gift and found it humorous that the needles were from the fields of punishment.
Will seemed speechless, but from what, he didn't know. "Ugh... thank you, Nico, but... these are from the Fields of Punishment?!" Will was frozen in place except for his mouth, as the hands holding the box looked close to shaking.
Nico giggled at what he believed to be thoughtfulness from his significant annoyance. "Don't worry, they're spares. The Underworld has plenty more for torturing souls." He smiled happily, unaware of the horror coming from the sunny healer. At that moment, Clovis walked up with Lou Ellen to deliver the scheduled sleeping droughts to the infirmary.
"Hey Solace, cat got your tongue?" The daughter of magic joked as she passed him with a tray of potions. Will's tongue was indeed hanging out with his dropped jaw. Clovis yawned as he walked up to Nico, waving a friendly gesture to him. As Lou began to unload the tray, Clovis got a glance at the needles inside Will's box.
"Wow, is that fear essence? How did you even get that?" He looked to Will before reaching and taking one of the needles in his hands to look at. Will just stared at Clovis in confusion before Lou Ellen rushed over to see for herself.
"No.. what?! That's fear extraction! And in a liquified form? Do you know how rare this is, Sun boy? I don't know how you managed to get it; the only way to make it is to feed Underworld plants with water from the River Cocytus." Nico's smile grew brighter as he pushed the box closer into Will's chest. Will, who was still trying to believe that what looked like used heroin needles was such a valued material. As the two fellow demigods of the Underworld continued on about how rare and useful liquified fear extractor was, Nico leaned back and considered his mission accomplished.
That night, Nico gave a generous offering to his father at dinner, and remained oblivious to the dark sense of humour he shared with his father. Will went through the next week confused and terrified of how dark his boyfriend's sense of humour was to laugh and smile at giving him a repurposed torture device as a gift.
Despite the healer's feelings for the gift, he had to admit that it made his job a lot easier once his patients got past the fact that it looked like he was using a dirty heroin needle on them.
I found it funny that in TOA Apollo says that Hades would sneak up on him when he was aiming where to cause a plague because he thought it was funny. Hades having disturbingly dark humour is cannon, and it's only safe to assume that Nico inherits a bit of it from his father. So yeah. Hades and Nico find it a little funny or just not disturbing in the slightest to repurpose a torture device as a gift for his boyfriend. Will, much like Apollo, is disturbed by it.
The essence of fear isn't really touched on with Nico's powers, but the Helm of darkness emphasizes that Hades has control over fear, as if it was an energy or a force like electricity since the Helm radiates it. So Hades, being a good dad, helps Nico out with his love life.