Hide and Seek

Nico was tired. Work had been pretty rough today, which had resulted in him having a head ache and a harsh back pain. He had expected to come home to take a hot shower, eat dinner and sleep like he was in a coma, but of course nothing even close to that happened.

He fumbled with his keys and opened the door, quickly shutting it and leaning back against the wood. The relief of being home overwhelmed Nico, and he felt a smile tug on his lips by the sight of his blonde husband.

Will seemed to be looking for something, turning his head left and right to try and find it. He then settled his eyes on Nico, who smirked at him.

"Lost something?"

Will relaxed from his careful position and casually walked towards Nico, taking him by his tie, pulling him closer to give him a kiss on the lips.

"Someone, actually."

Nico sighed and blushed a bit by Will's proximity while the older man untied his tie. You'd figure he would have gotten used to it by now, I mean, they were freaking married and had a daughter, they couldn't actually get closer than that.

"You and Elisa are playing hide and seek again?"

"Yep, and I can't seem to find the little one."

"Don't actually loose our daughter, Will."

"I haven't! She just happens to be out of my sight, and I don't know her whereabouts, but I didn't miss her. I just haven't been able to get too much away from the kitchen, otherwise dinner would burn. I'm pretty sure she's in one of the rooms of the second floor."

Nico breathed in and out, happy when Will got his tie off of his neck, feeling glad to get rid of the piece of fabric.

"How about you go take care of dinner and I go find her?", Nico proposed.

"Sounds good to me. But first…"

"What?"

"Come here" Will said, his arms opening up to receive Nico in a hug, or so he thought.

Will actually pressed Nico against his chest, running a hand down his spine, the other tangling itself with Nico's dark locks.

Nico instantly sighed, feeling the pain subside and fade into nonexistence. A couple minutes passed with them staying in their embrace, Will healing Nico. Of course he noticed, damn son of Apollo, Nico thought.

After Will was sure he had taken care of every bit of pain that was once consuming Nico's energy, he stepped a bit away, looking down at Nico. "Better?"

"Much better. Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Just go upstairs and bring Eli down here so we can eat. Dinner is nearly ready."

Nico just nodded, stood on the tip of his toes and pecked Will on the cheek, before heading upstairs.

After getting dressed into more comfortable clothes quickly, Nico went out to find his daughter. He knew her well enough to know she was probably hiding in her room, so he went there first.

Sure enough, the minute he got there and saw a pair of white shoes poking out from under the curtains, he held back a chuckle, pretending not to notice.

"Now, now, where is my daughter Elisa? I could swear she was around here somewhere."

The faint giggle that came from behind the curtain after he muttered his words made him smile big, walking slowly towards the giggling form, his hand grabbing the fabric.

"Let's see… Maybe… Here!" he said and tugged at the curtains, revealing his daughter.

The little girl squealed and ran to him, hugging his legs. "You found me, papá!"

Nico smiled even bigger as he scooped her up on his arms. "I always do. I'm way better than your father in hide and seek, you know that."

Eli laughed and nodded her head quickly.

"Now, c'mon. He's downstairs and dinner is almost ready."

Eli clapped her hands and jumped up and down excitedly, making it slightly harder for Nico to hold her.

Nico laughed. "You sure get excited over food."

They both went down the stairs and reached the kitchen, Will greeting them there.

"Well, if it isn't the little girl who loves playing hide and seek and her papá, who is "better at it" than her father."

Nico and Eli looked at each other, both with wide eyes. They both couldn't hold back and started giggling, Nico putting her down on her chair and making his way to his husband, who was maturely pouting at that moment.

The younger man put his arms around the older one, looking up at him and pecking his cheek. "You know we love you anyway."

Will couldn't help but smile at the comment. He's such a dork, Nico thought fondly.

They all left the matter aside and sat down to eat the delicious pasta Will had prepared. Living with an Italian husband sure had taught him how to cook those kinds of stuff.

They all digged in, and the only sound that could be heard were Nico's and Eli's groans of appreciation. Will couldn't help but laugh. "Sometimes I forget how much you two are passionate about pasta."

And so the night went.

After that, they had ate and done the dishes together, with Eli sitting on top of the kitchen island, telling her papá and her daddy how her day had been.

"We had art, and the teacher told us to draw our families, so I drew you guys. It's on my backpack… I'll go get it to show you!" Eli said, trying to get down from the island, and almost falling, but being caught last second by Nico.

"Be more careful, filglia! You could've hurt yourself."

"Sorry, papá."

"Here, let's go upstairs and get your drawing, okay?"

Eli just nodded.

Just a few minutes later, when Will was putting the last glass back into its place inside the cupboard, he heard a yawn and turned around to see a sleepy Elisa being held by his husband, her little head resting on Nico's shoulders.

She held a piece of paper in front of Nico's face, and he looked at it with a fond smile on his face, making Will smile because of the man. "Can I see it?"

Eli then turned the sheet of paper so Will could see it, and the sight made Will's chest fill with pride.

The drawing was of Nico, Will himself and Eli in the middle of them, holding their hands. He also noticed how she had drawn their house and a little pet cat that she always asked for in the background. It was actually a really good drawing for someone of her age as well. Both her parents knew how well Eli could draw.

Will smiled and cupped his daughter's cheek as he gave her forehead a kiss. "I loved it, sweetheart."

Eli gave him a tired smile before wrapping her tiny arms around Nico's neck, whispering on his ear. Nico listened and then smiled, signaling to Will that he was going to take her upstairs to tuck her in her bed so she could sleep.

As his husband headed for their daughter's room, Will threw himself on their couch, putting his arm over his eyes to block the light of the living room that he had forgotten to turn off before laying down.

He was in the process of taking a nap when he heard the light switch's click and Nico's weight on him. As Will removed the arm on his face to put it around Nico's waist, he felt the black haired boy's lips touch his own for a quick peck, making him open his eyes slowly.

"You should get to bed, Will. Laying down on the sofa is probably not good for your back."

"Yeah, I know. I'm a healer, it's kind of impossible to forget that."

"Yeah, but you tend to forget of those things when it comes to your own health. Gods help us if it's someone else, though. You'd be jumping at them with a pillow or something."

"You're hilarious."

"Not really. You're probably just tired."

"I'm exhausted."

"Then come to bed."

"Fine, Doctor Di Angelo."

"Don't call me that."

*Yells into a pillow* I CAN'T DO ENDINGS.

ALSO THIS IS A SHOUT OUT FOR BY BABY ELISA WHO IS THE CUTEST DORKIEST FRIEND I'VE EVER HAD, I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU.

Thanks for the help with the Italian parts between ;)