Will was shaking. Nico was in front of him, still blushing, and taking out the cards again to distract himself; Will should do the same before he dies of nerves.

He held the elegant card in his hands, feeling like he was going to tear it if he kept shaking like he was; Will doubted Hades would be happy about that, so he opted to leave it on his desk, placing it next to the empty recipe books.

As he had told Nico before, he knew that one day he was going to have to attend this dinner, breaking up with Nico was not in his plans. Lou Ellen always told him that he was being intense when talking about moving together, weddings or children, but once again, she didn't understand him.

Nico was everything Will ever wanted — he firmly believed that from the beginning of his childhood he was attracted to mysterious boys — and this only increased when he saw the child of Hades for the first time, more than five years ago.

He remembers a ten-year-old Nico speaking like no one Will had heard before, even though he had his leg cut off by a bad move with the sword. The kid had black hair with wild curls, a bright smile and curiosity in his eyes, nerdy cards in his hands, but something about the boy made him look mysterious and get chills when you looked into his eyes, Will loved that feeling.

Will knew that that kid was going to be important in his life later, a hunch or something from Apollo, whatever it was, he was right.

So that's why he did everything he could to stay calm and not lose his mind until after the Big Dinner with Nico's parents — after that it didn't matter if his head was rolling all over the Camp, one of his brothers was going to have to stick it to his body at some point — Will adjusted the robe that was wearing and put aside the form he was filling out.

"There are no more campers coming. Should we go to lunch, Sunshine?"

Will held out his hand to his boyfriend, who grabbed it firmly and the two left for the Dining Pavilion.

He would worry about the invitation later.

•

"Lou! Stop laughing!"

It hadn't been a great idea to communicate his concerns to Hecate's daughter, but he had no one else to talk to, Cecil had stopped listening to him after the second complaint.

"Just-" Lou Ellen took a deep breath between laughs. "This is all stupid. I don't think Hades cares what underpants you wear."

"I can't believe that's the only thing you get" Will complained.

"That's the only remotely interesting thing you said." Lou looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Will let out an exasperated sigh, none of this was helping.

"Look, why don't you call Hazel?" Her friend suggested with a look of pity. "She is part of his children, and she is not going to humiliate you when she hears your questions."

Will resumed his usual upright posture upon hearing that, it was a small hope in the midst of the chaos.

"Just don't make that face" Hecate's daughter pointed out with disgust. "No one is going to want to help you like that."

Will rolled his eyes — Nico was to blame— before getting up and walking away from the place, leaving his friend behind reading her magic book.

"Hello, Will!" Hazel greeted effusively from the iris message "Is everything okay there?"

The Praetor's expression became more serious and tinged with concern. She was in an office and he could hear Frank's voice in the distance, Hazel was wearing her sports shirt, and loose shorts were visible in the margin of the image.

"Yes, yes," he hastened to clarify.

"Oh, okey." She said smiling, "it's just rare to receive a call when you all are not in danger."

"Yeah... I-I should call more often" he said embarrassed. It felt wrong to only talk to her when he wanted something.

"Don't worry, Nico keeps me informed of everything that happens there" Hazel smiled "Do you need anything?"

"Emm..." Now he felt more embarrassed, but it is better to told the whole truth "I wanted some advices"

"Ah!" The Roman said happily, "With pleasure. Is it about Nico?"

An amused gleam shone in her gaze, suddenly her golden eyes looked much brighter.

"In fact, you could say so."

Hazel smiled wider and took a few steps back, gesturing for him to wait.

"Frank, get out of here! It's private" Will heard Hazel say as she made a shoo gesture with her hand. He didn't hear her boyfriend's response but did hear a door slam.

"Now, tell what you want with confidence"

"Just... it's not out of this world, and Lou says I'm exaggerating."

"It's not an exaggeration if it worries you," Hazel said.

"Thank you, it's about Hades' Dinner," he commented, taking a weight off his shoulders. "I-I don't know what to do when we get there, or what to bring, or how to talk. I don't know anything!"

"Well..." Hazel hesitated with a grimace of thought. "Father has sent me invitations every time he has one of those parties, but I'm not comfortable going to the Underworld, and I doubt I will ever be."

Will deflated dramatically in his seat. He had no one to help him.

"He keeps sending me the invitations out of respect" Hazel commented. "But I can help you, I've dealt with my father and Persephone before, when they go up to the surface in the legion"

"Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Hazel said happily.

"W-what can I wear?"

"My Father has always liked to dress formally, even though Nico is the complete opposite, go with a suit" the praetor evaluated him with her gaze "With a suit but not so formal, if it's going to look like you don't fit in. You can tell Piper to help you perfect that!"

A new thing to add to the to-do list.

"And as for what to do..." Hazel stopped to think about what to say next. "Keep quiet if they don't ask you something, and make sounds of interest when they're telling a story. If they insult you, although I don't think so, Nico will take care of that; but that's not going to happen."

Will tensed, and shifted uncomfortably on the bench he was sitting on. He did believe that the God of the Underworld would insult  or try to humiliate him, something in him told him that the God didn't like him very much.

"I do see him very capable of doing it" he said with a grimace.

"I think you're the first almost son-in-law he's had, that's why he acts like that" Hazel continued talking "Frank... well, my father and I are better off the further away we are, not that Frank counts for him as future son-in-law."

Will blushed furiously.

Almost son-in-law

Is it creepy to think about what engagement ring to buy for Nico?

"Thank you so much for everything, Hazel."

"It's nothing," she declined with a wave of her hand. "I'm here for whatever you need."

The Iris message ended as the Praetor passed her hand through the rainbow.