Chapter Text
September was coming to an end, three months after Kronos’ defeat and Olympus victory. Persephone was back to the Underworld, triggering a drop in temperature upstairs after a very warm month. Unlike the Living world, the Underworld was livelier than ever.
“By Hestia, how have you gotten so gaunt?” the Spring Goddess fawned over him. “I saw you not so long ago, is your father not feeding you well?!”
“I feed him at least three times a day,” Hades protested, from right behind her, his arms crossed over his chest in vexation. “He isn’t even that thin, you’re overreacting.”
“Don’t worry, Sweetheart,” Persephone ignored him. “I’m here now, I will take care of you properly.”
She was so serious about it, Nico wondered if he should be worried.
“I eat well,” he promised. “It’s just that I exercise a lot too!”
Running between Pantheons, ensuring Hazel’s well being at Camp Jupiter, playing Ambassador of Pluto, juggling between helping with Thanatos’ abandoned work and Melinoë’s Domain- Plus the training at Elysium. He wouldn’t admit it, but he rarely ate his three meals a day for sheer lack of time. He was also sleeping once every two days, but he wasn’t going to say that…
“Did you grow since last time too?” the Goddess wondered, putting a hand on his head as if to measure him. “Sweet Circe, mortals grow so fast… Puberty, was it?”
She glanced at her husband questioningly, which was amusing because did she really expect him to be concerned by such a thing?
“I read it is supposed to start later,” the God frowned, taking Nico by surprise. “Around fifteen for boys… But apparently it can vary a lot depending on the child. Who knows how it goes for demigods?”
“How confusing,” Persephone sighed worriedly, focusing back on Nico.
She patted his head.
“It’s alright Nico,” she assured with a gentle smile. “I heard puberty can frighten mortals when they go through it, but worry not: we will assist you as best as we can!”
Nico blinked, wondering what he was supposed to say. Puberty was frankly the least of his worries (if it was one), but the fact that both his godly parents were so involved-
Gods, he had two parents.
“Uh, thank you,” he stammered, a little overwhelmed by the realization. “I don’t think I’ve reached puberty yet though?”
Would he even be alive for it?
“Really? But I heard growth spurts are a sign- Are you feeling rebellious?” Persephone inquired, crouching to his level.
Nico contained an incredulous snort. His father didn’t.
Could breaking the biggest taboo of the Greek Realm by interacting heavily with Romans be considered rebellious? Or threatening the Fates? Or taunting Zeus at every opportunity?
“I mean… No more than usual?” he coughed as his dad stared at the opposite wall with far too much concentration.
Persephone nodded seriously and stood up.
“Alright, I guess I’m just unused to seeing people aging. I’m relieved you’re not there yet: the description sounded awful.”
Surely not as awful as a war against a primordial Goddess?
“How was your trip north?” the Goddess went on, pushing him toward the throne room where an audience was waiting for them. “Were you warm enough? I regretted not taking you directly to an immortal shop: the quality is so much better!”
Oh, if she knew…
“It was a… very informative trip,” Nico mumbled, stealing glances at his father who was of no assistance whatsoever, looking away cowardly. “The scenery was stunning, and the locals mostly welcoming. I didn’t freeze to death, don’t worry.”
“I would hope so! But still, we should get you a coat with Pegasus duvet-”
“Darling, Nico isn’t about to attempt an ascent upon the Himalaya,” Hades finally intervened.
It earned him a glare from his wife.
“What are you saying? Do you know how sensitive humans are to temperature?! Have you never heard about hypothermia?!?”
As she ranted about how a gust of wind could break Nico in half (basically) while walking down the hallway, she still had her arm protectively wrapped around his shoulders, and that alone could keep Nico warm no matter the weather. That and the fact that his father himself was protesting by throwing ‘human facts’ he had learned at Persephone, meaning he had looked those up for Nico. Because he cared.
The demigod felt so happy at the moment, he could understand why a war was coming: so much happiness couldn’t last too long, there had to be a counter-event to balance it. It made sense.
“All stand for their Majesties, the King and the Queen,” a herald declaimed as they entered the Throne Room. “And his Royal Highness, the Prince!”
The guards standing along the walls saluted and the dozens of souls who were waiting for their judgment prostrate themselves. They were complicated cases that required more attention than the quick trial with the Judges.
“I always say this Palace is too cold,” Persephone scoffed, still on the previous topic and completely ignoring their surroundings. “We should install a heating system!”
“You never said-”
Hades stopped himself when she glared at him, and changed strategies.
“We have a heating system; fireplaces.”
“Are you serious? Why not candles while we are at it?!”
The Palace had no electricity: only torches, old chandeliers, and fireplaces. And candles, yes.
“I will give Hephaestus a call,” Hades gave up (wisely).
Persephone nodded with a satisfied smile and they sat on their Thrones. Nico too, had one: a sad reminder of a lost battle from the past. It was a small throne on the right of his father’s, made of smooth black stone, skulls adorning the handles and the top of the back rest. A plush blood red cushion appeared on it before Nico could sit; without a doubt a gift from the Queen.
Below them, two guards were standing on each side of the stairs to the thrones, certainly supposed to guard them, even if Nico wasn’t sure from whom or against what. They were probably only there for show, or decoration. A small crowd of Shades was waiting near the door, with several guards around them.
A ghost was standing in front of the thrones with a stack of papers in their arms, and a few more guards were lined against the walls, under the torches lighting the room in a greenish hue.
“Let’s be efficient,” Hades ordered, waving at the ghost to begin.
It bowed, and read the first case. A mother had killed her husband to protect her son. And she had gotten away with it, cleverly hiding the proof, never found by the authorities, and Nico was mildly impressed.
The ghost quickly went over all the files: ages, situation, context, and even had a video of the murder, taken from memories of both the wife and husband. They saw the man trying to hit a small child, no older than six, and the woman pouncing on him. The fight was messy, and if her husband hadn’t been so stunned by her attack, she would have probably lost. She clawed at him, punched him with all her strength, and tried to strangle him before bashing his skull with a nearby vase. Her eyes were bulging, her face red, out of breath, she had looked like a mad woman, with no regrets as she gazed at her husband’s corpse with bloodied hands.
“Her act was heroic,” Persephone decided. “She put herself in danger to protect her child. She fought bravely, and won. Elysium will be fitting, or reincarnation.”
The Shade was brought away, and the next came forward. It went like that for two hours, and Nico tuned out for the most of it. He could technically offer his own Judgment, but he rarely disagreed with his parents’ decisions, or not so strongly that he was motivated to argue with them about it.
Two hours later, the audience concluded without much drama, and he was free to go.
“Say, Mom? I was talking a few days ago with Dad- What would you say about a family outing?” Nico shyly asked during dinner.
He had spent the last hour gathering courage, and here he was; he had done it.
“A family outing?” Persephone repeated, surprised. “What do you mean?”
Was that not a thing for Gods? Well, their family was a mess, so maybe he shouldn’t be surprised.
“A small vacation, maybe just a weekend, just the three of us?” he explained awkwardly, feeling his cheeks heat. “Somewhere nice, Upstairs…”
The Goddess’ eyes sparkled, her mouth making a quiet ‘oh’ before smiling brightly.
“What a lovely idea!” she exclaimed excitedly, quickly turning toward her husband. “What do you think, Honey?”
Nico had to bite the inside of his cheek to not laugh when his father blushed at the pet name.
“Uhm- Well, if you like it so much, of course-” he muttered, trying to hide his embarrassment behind his glass of ambrosia.
“How joyful!” She applauded. “Where should we go? It’s been so long since we traveled!”
Nico hadn’t thought about that. He might have thrown the idea on the table, but he hadn’t really expected it to be received with such excitement.
“What about Europe?” he offered. “You have a Palace in Monaco, don’t you?”
The daimones would be overjoyed if they went there.
“We have Palaces in a lot of places,” Persephone chuckled offhandedly. “But Monaco- It’s been a while! Do you remember back in the old days, Honey? Monaikos was all the rage! I wonder how it has changed…”
If ‘back in the old days’ meant the Antiquity, the changes would be huge, that was for sure!
“If we are going on a vacation, we should do it properly,” Hades decided. “One place is not enough; Nico has never been to Greece.”
Persephone gasped, going as far as to cover her mouth with her hands from shock.
“Truly?!” she turned to the demigod. “That’s- awful!!!”
Before Nico could say a thing, a heated debate started to choose cities in Greece. The two Gods only had references from centuries ago, so he wasn’t sure how it would go. But family banter during a meal, organizing a trip like that, it was… incredible. He wanted more of that, more peaceful meals, more trips, more family time! He truly hoped the future would be like that.
And if he had to kill Gaea for that, so be it.