"Come on Nico, I don't think there is any kind of problem."

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the conversation wasn't going in the direction he wanted.

"I don't think he's... ready for that."

"He's already been to the Palace before, I don't know why it worries you so much," Jason insisted.

They were sitting in the Dining Pavilion, both of them with their plates almost completely full and three elegant cards lying in the middle of the table.

That same morning an invitation had arrived directly on his nightstand. Nico had woken up from his dream peacefully, thinking that that was going to be a peaceful day, when the monstrosity appeared in his cabin.

Hades had a habit of having 'family' dinners every few months. Those were important days for each of the guests, and extensive preparations were made weeks before. His father asked permission to bring Persephone to the underworld for the hours that the meeting would last, Demeter was never happy about it. The palace was decorated with the dusted luxuries of the attic and the dead servants put on the least suits. Despite all the preparations that were made, the number of people who attended could be counted on one's fingers - sometimes even on just one hand.

This tradition had begun when Nico started getting along better with his stepmother —after the Battle of the Labyrinth — and it hadn't stopped until now. At first, it was just the three of them, with his father trying to find out more about his preferences and giving his all so that he and Persephone could talk; despite Nico's efforts to contradict him, Hades ended up winning. At the end, Nico and his stepmother found common ground by criticizing some of the King of the Underworld's behaviors — throwing a huge tantrum when one of the judges was wrong in their verdict — and neither of them stopped themselves from laughing at the god's offended face.

Then came Thanatos. The god of Death had been dragged to one of the dinners when he accidentally appeared in the middle of the Great Hall, and Persephone did not let him leave. Uncomfortably—and very stiffly—the God had to show his best manners and eat Risotto for three hours. His father ended up inviting him to his next dinner party.

These dinners became an event Nico almost looked forward to when the son of Jupiter and Poseidon were brought into the equation. After the events with Gaea, his father began to put his nose more into his affairs, and this included his cousins. His relationship with Jason had strengthened since the pathetic episode at Cupid's Shrine and they were now best friends. — You are like my little brother, Nico — With Percy, things had calmed down, and now it seemed that the son of Poseidon had interpreted the confession like a free pass to be attached to him whenever he could.

Weeks after Jason had appeared at the door of the Palace in the Underworld, his father had personally gone to see Nico and give him an invitation card with Jason's name.

Who was Nico to disobey the God of Underworld?

So he marched towards Zeus' cabin and handed the card to a sleepy Jason. His cousin had widened his eyes when he read the contents.

Jason spent weeks jumping out of his skin to get ready and be perfect for the occasion. Piper had to use her CharmSpeak to calm him down.

With Percy it had been different. His invitation had arrived next to his dinner plate a few months after the dinner Jason had attended alone. The hero of Olympus had almost mocked the event and had threatened to wear sandals and shorts to represent Poseidon. He ended up changing his mind when an army of the dead chased him all over the strawberry field.

The evening had been calm - surprisingly - and each of them had been entertained by any of conversation that took place at the table. Nico and Thanatos were talking about the children of Nyx who seemed to be taking territory near the Door of Orpheus; to his side, he could hear how Jason and Persephone were talking about the wind in who knows where; and finally, Percy and Hades were furiously debating about the city people — I don't care about homeless people! someone shouted out— Percy had not yet been turned into some kind of animal so Nico knew that his father was entertained.

Months passed, and the three of them looked forward to when a card appeared next to their meals.

This was the day.

But... there was something different.

"It's different, Jason. Will- he's always scared when it comes to my dad." Nico sighed, trying not to tear his hair out. "I don't even know what my dad's planning with this!"

"Maybe it's his way of telling you that he's already part of the family."

"Or..." Nico stared at a spot behind Jason's head, as if he could make his father appear to question him. "It's one way to scare him and never come back."

"You're being dramatic now."

Nico didn't respond, preferring to enclose himself in his bubble of regret and self-pity. Jason ignored him and began to talk enthusiastically about what he was going to buy this time to go to the Big Dinner.

•

The infirmary was empty, as it almost always was these last few days, when most of the campers were away at their mortal schools or visiting some relatives.

Nico was sitting on a gurney, shuffling some of his old Mythomagic cards — Poseidon's and Zeus' were almost torn but still standing with a bit of tape in the middle — His pocket, right where the invitation was, felt heavier with every passing second.

His boyfriend — Gods! how he loved saying that — was at his desk doing what was supposed to be filling out a few forms —Nico could see scribbles in the corners of the page — The day had been particularly boring and fucking hot, it didn't help his emocional discomfort at all.

"Will"

"Yeah?" His boyfriend turned his chair to see him, still holding the pencil.

"There's something I have to tell you." He couldn't take it anymore keeping the situation to himself.

"I expected it, I was waiting for you to dare to say something" Will said "You've been a little different today"

Nico blushed. He loved that Will was so aware of him that he even realized those little things; the skeleton butterflies began to flutter in his stomach.

"Yes... you see, I contacted my dad today"

Nico saw how his boyfriend tensed up at the mere mention of the God of the Underworld.

Will had learned to accept the dark part of Nico, the part that was never going to go away despite all the time he spent in the sun, and had even come to love it — or so he had told him — However, when it came to his father, the son of Apollo never felt comfortable with anything that had to do with him.

"He sent you on another mission?" Will asked, trying to sound normal.

"It's not that" he forced himself to take a breath before continuing "He gave me the dinner invitations, is going to be in two weeks-"

"It doesn't fall on our anniversary, does it?" Will turned his head to see the calendar taped to one of the walls of the infirmary. "That's still a long way off."

Nico rolled his eyes in annoyance, he has never liked to be interrupted, especially when it was difficult to say it.

"No. He gave me one more invitation." He handed the card to Will who received it with shaking hands. "It's in your name"

William Andrew Solace

You have been invited to attend the Twentieth Big Dinner at the Underworld Palace for a peaceful evening.
The etiquette is formal, it is expected of you to have good behavior and impeccable manners.

Your assistance would be very welcome.

-Hades, God of the Dead and King of the Underworld.

Nico had already memorized every word by the time he and Jason finished eating breakfast, he was just waiting for Will to process what was written. It took him a long time to be the same person that knows each of the muscles in the human body.

"I-I thought this was something just for the family." Will's voice sounded unsteady and almost choked.

"Me too"

"I knew that one day this moment would come" he took his eyes off the card only to close them and lean back in his chair releasing a shaky sigh "But I had faith that it would be until after we got married"

The skeleton butterflies were doing some kind of synchronized swimming in the acids in his stomach. Nico's entire face turned red, just imagining the situation happening. Will kneeling in front of him at sunset with a box in his hand, and when he opened it a ring-

"Saying no isn't an option, is it?"