Will's POV

I tugged nervously at my tight shirt collar, trying to make the tie loosen up a bit. 

"Are you sure we have to do this?" I whined. 

"Sorry, Will, but my dad said he wants to meet you. And if you want to meet my dad, than you're going to have to wear nice clothes. He'll probably blast you to bits if you don't make a good first impression." Nico looked relaxed, much more relaxed than me. His sword, as usual, was hanging loosely at his waist, and he had on his black aviator jacket over a white button down and some black jeans. He didn't have any reason to be nervous. He wasn't about to meet his boyfriend's dad, who just happened to be the God of Death, for the first time. 

"Thanks for making me feel better," I muttered, attempting to loosen my red and yellow striped tie, but only managing to pull it tighter around the collar of my white button down. Nico shrugged. 

"That's what I'm here for." 

"You're insufferable," I sighed. 

"You'd better not let my dad hear you say that, or you might have to stay down in the underworld with him forever." He stood up on tip toes, giving me a small kiss on the cheek. "But don't worry, I'll still visit you on holidays." He laughed when he spotted my fearful expression. 

"Oh, don't worry. It'll be fine, I promise." 

"Can we just go?" I pleaded. I just wanted to get this dinner over with. I had heard a rumor that Hades got moodier as the night went on. 

"Hold on tight," Nico instructed. He grabbed my hand and together, we melted into the shadows. 

After the few seconds we were in the shadows, we were spit out in a simple, white room with a receptionist in a fancy suit standing behind a desk. Chairs lined the room, and each one was filled with a different person. Except, they weren't people. At least, not anymore. They were paler than anyone I'd ever seen, even paler than Nico. And their skin was translucent, turning invisible when you looked at them in the right light. 

"Nico," I said cautiously, turning around to get a full view of the room. "Where are we?" 

"Lad, you are in the space between life and death," said the receptionist behind the desk. His name tag read Charon. 

"The space between life and death is a recording studio waiting room?" I asked suspiciously. 

"It's one of the entrances to the underworld," Nico explained. "Souls board the elevator, and from there they travel to the underworld." 

"Very good, Mr. Di Angelo," said Charon. "Here to see your father, I presume? And is this your boyfriend? Perfect. Lord Hades has been expecting you two. Would you like a ride?" 

"Yes, thank you." Nico said. I was to nervous to say anything. Usually when the God of Death is expecting you, it doesn't end well. 

"Why couldn't we have just shadow traveled to the underworld?" I asked as we rode down, down, down. As we went farther, I could hear my heart beating. 

"If I did that, you wouldn't get the whole experience," Nico said. "Besides, we would have missed the view. And the sounds are always lovely this time of year." He pointed off to the distance, where we could just see a tortured soul in the Fields of Punishments being ripped apart by hellhounds. I shuddered. 

"Charming," I muttered. "Are we almost there?" 

"Just arrived," Charon said. Over the course of the ride, his clothes had transformed from a sleek suit to a hooded reaper's cloak. He was carrying a scythe, who's sharp tip glinted in the fiery glow of the river Styks. "Well, I've got to go. You kids have fun now." He gave one last nod to Nico. "And give your dad my best. I haven't seen him in a millennium." 

"Of couse. Bye, Charon." With one last wave, Charon started to ascend, leaving us alone. "Come on," Nico called, starting to walk. "The castle's this way." 

We edged our way through the line of ghosts waiting for judgement. A few grumbled, angry at being pushed out of the way by a Son of Hades with ten times more authority than they'd had in their entire lives, and deaths, but they backed off once they saw the Stygian Iron sword glinting at Nico's belt. Finally, we made it to the front of the line. I flinched when I saw Cerberus, the huge, three- headed mastiff that guarded the entrance to the underworld. I was sure that he would bite our heads off the first chance he got but when Nico came close, he wagged his tail and barked playfully. Out of the backpack that he had been carrying, Nico picked out a large red, rubber ball and tossed it in the general direction of one of Cerberus's heads. He snatched it up in his left mouth and bit down hard, and we heard a faint squeak of air as the toy was destroyed. 

"Cerberus likes red rubber balls," Nico told me. While Cerberus was still occupied with the deflated dog toy Nico and I slipped past him, along with a dozen other ghosts until Cerberus came to his senses and sat on a dozen more. 

We stood in front of a huge black castle, modeled almost identical to Mount Olympus's castle for the Gods. Two skeletal guards stood in front of the doors, both wearing English military uniforms and holding antique muskets upright, covered in dust. 

"I'm here to see my father," Nico said with an air of importance. I got the feeling that he had done this before which, of course, he had. With a quick salute, the skeletons jumped out of the way as the doors swung open. I followed Nico into the large foyer furnished in black. It was clean and shiny, and black roses sat in a tall vase filled with cold, crystal water. On the stairs leading up to the dining room stood a tall, still man dressed in a black suit and a black tie. Wing tipped shoes shined on his feet. Lord Hades, I thought with a shudder. Even in human form, he had an air of importance that said he could kill me with the flick of a finger. An evil gleam glinted in his eyes. I shuddered to think what he looked like twenty feet tall in robes made of death. Nico took a deep bow and I did the same, trying to ignore the fact that my entire body seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. 

"Father," Nico murmured respectfully, with his eyes trained on the ground. 

"Lord Hades," I murmured, trying to keep my voice from quivering. I heard shoes walking on polished marble, and found Hades standing over us. 

"Well, Nico, is this your boyfriend?" Hades asked. 

"Yes, father," Nico said. I could feel Hades's eyes moving all around me. I glanced up, and our eyes met. 

"Well, he's not Jackson or Grace, so there's a good sign. Come on in, boys." He started to walk toward the open dining room doors. Nico and I hopped up and started to follow. I felt Nico give my hand a reassuring squeeze. At least I knew my boyfriend loved me before I was killed by his father. 

Hades sat at the end of the table, and Nico and I sat on the left together, Nico sitting directly next to his father and I sitting next to Nico. Next to me, the rest of the table stretched on. Skeletons in frilly white aprons rushed out of the surrounding doors, carrying food of all sort, a feast to rival the one we had after we defeated the giants. Turkeys and chickens, mashed potatoes and vegetables. Desserts of all kind. It was probably delicious, but I was to nervous to eat anything. Hades took out a large white napkin, laid it across his lap, and loaded his shiny black plate with everything on the table. He started to eat. Nico, who was picking at an apple, was quiet as his father ate. I wasn't eating anything. Finally, Hades spoke. 

"So, Nico, how is Will treating you? Is he a good boyfriend?" I blushed, and Nico suddenly became very interested in his apple. 

"Dad," he muttered. "Of course. I love him." I felt myself blush even harder. 

"Well, that's good," Hades grunted. "As long as he makes you happy, I suppose." He turned to me. "So, Will Solace, is that right?" I nodded fervently. "So, what do you like to do?" 

"Well, I'm a healer," I stammered. "I stitch them up and make sure they don't die. So they don't come down here, I guess." Hades considered me. I wondered if he was happy I was a healer, or if he just wanted to grow his kingdom. 

"And you're good at it, correct?" 

"I- I guess." 

"Stop being modest. I've seen you bring my son back from the brink of death. I suppose I should thank you for that. I have no interest in seeing my son die an early death." I felt my nerves begin to cool. 

"Any time, Lord Hades," I said. I glanced at Nico, who gave me a nod of approval. Hades wiped his mouth with his napkin. 

"Well, Nico, I suppose I won't have to kill your boyfriend. Not yet anyway." He turned to face me directly, and I saw the gleam of evil in his eyes, more prominent than ever before. "But just know, Solace, if you ever hurt my son, I will unleash every angry spirit that has ever lived or died on you. Do you understand?" Again, I nodded fervently. Hades waved his hand. "Well then, i suppose if neither of you will eat anything, you are dismissed." We got up, our chairs scraping against the polished marble. I could guess that some zombie would have a hard time cleaning those scuff marks up. We were almost out the door when Hades called out to me. 

"Will?" I turned around. 

"Yes, Lord Hades?" 

"Take care of my boy for me, will you?" I nodded. 

"Of course." Then, in a shimmering mirage, Hades disappeared and Nico pulled us both into the shadows. 

We popped up in an empty McDonalds parking lot. Through the window, I could see a single worker standing at the counter. Judging on how dark it was, and how tired the worker seemed to be, I could guess that it was somewhere around midnight. 

"Are you hungry?" Nico asked. I shrugged. 

"I could eat." 

"Good, because I'm starving. Lets go." He marched purposefully through the front door, a small bell over the door jingling as we walked in. 

The worker had said nothing as Nico ordered a half pound big mac and a large fry and I a six piece chicken nugget, only handing us our food and telling us to have a good night. I had a feeling she was too tired to wonder, or care, why two teenage boys were ordering McDonalds at one thirty a. m. which is when I found out it was. Nico and I were sitting in cushioned red seats, Nico digging his teeth into a burger the size of his head, grease dripping down his chin. 

"That was the most nerve- wracking thing I've ever done," I sighed, taking a small bite out of the nugget. 

"I think he liked you," Nico said, setting down his burger. 

"Great," I muttered dryly. "The God of Death likes me." 

"Hey, at least he didn't kill you," Nico said. 

"True," I said. "But one thing is for sure- on Thanksgiving, we're going to my house!" 

Hey guys! So, so sorry for the late update, but I tried to make up for it by making this one nearly two thousand words. Anyway, we're at 7k, so thank you so much for that! Once we reach 10k, I have a special surprise that'll be super long, so as soon as we each 10k I'll get started on that right away. Hope you liked this one!

Nina