This is a cute little one-shot I decided to write because I was rereading The Last Olympian and started thinking, "I wonder what life was like for Nico and Bianca, having Hades around so often?" And then I started wondering about how Nico got into Mythomagic, and how Bianca got her green hat she loves so much, and then... this happened.

I don't know anything about Mythomagic, and I only speak English. All Italian came from Google Translate.

Enjoy!

"Nico! Bianca! Come here, bambini," Maria called. She smiled at the dark man on the couch. "They'll be thrilled you are here, il mio amore."

He smiled back at her. "I hope so."

Pounding footsteps rang through the small apartment, growing louder and louder until two small bodies tumbled into the room.

"Papa!" they both exclaimed when they saw the man.

The God of Death chuckled and wrapped his two demigod children in his arms, holding them closely. "My bambini," he said warmly, slipping into his habit of using Italian endearments. "It's good to see you again."

His son, Nico, looked up at him eagerly. "Did you bring anything?" he asked in his little voice.

Bianca glared at him. "Nico! That's rude." She smiled at her father. "You don't have to bring us things, Papa. We're just happy you're here."

Hades chuckled again. "It's quite alright, Bia. I did promise you something last fall, did I not?" He hated having to leave his children and his lover during the winter, but it just wasn't possible to slip away while Persephone was with him. He couldn't have her being suspicious of him. Sure, she knew of his children that were fighting in the war, but he wasn't sure she'd be happy to know he had two kids with the same woman, and that he was constantly visiting them.

Hades reached into the shadows and drew out two wrapped boxes. The larger one, he handed to Bianca. Despite claiming that he didn't have to bring anything, she eagerly ripped the wrapping paper – a rare commodity during war time – and lifted the lid off the white cardboard box. Maria smiled and sat beside him as Bianca's eyes widened. She pulled the green hat out of its tissue paper nest. She stared at it, brown eyes shining.

"Do you like it?" Hades asked.

She looked at his face, dazed for a moment, and then launched herself at him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it, Papa!" She placed the hat on her head and ran off to check her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Hades felt a tug on his pants. He looked down into Nico's unusual black irises. "Papa?" He didn't say any more, but his eyes flicked to the second box, this one also wrapped.

Hades suppressed a laugh. "Yes, Nico?"

"What about me?"

The Greek god smiled, ruffling his son's hair. "Do you really think I'd forget about you?" He picked up the box and gave it to the half-Italian boy.

Nico squealed in delight and ripped away the paper in two seconds flat. He stared at the square box in his hands. "Cards?" he asked in confusion.

Hades chuckled. "Not just any cards. These are for a game called Mythomagic. It's a game that uses cards and figurines of gods and monsters and is based off of Greek mythology."

Nico frowned. "But you said that gods and monsters aren't mythology."

"I know, but we still call it that."

"Oh." The eight-year-old nodded seriously. "Are there figurines in here?" he asked, shaking the box a bit.

Hades nodded. "This is just a starter pack, but you should have a manticore, a hydra, a telekhine, Medusa, and the Minotaur for monsters, and you should have the gods Dionysus, Zeus, Athena, Poseidon, and Kronos. You can get more packs as they come out."

"What kind of defenses do they have?" Nico wondered.

Hades smiled at his boy. "Why don't you open the package and see?"

The small boy nodded eagerly and sat at the coffee table, tearing the package open. When Bianca came back into the room, she sat with him and helped him sort through his new game.

Maria smiled at her immortal lover. "You know you do not have to give the children anything."

Hades smiled softly. "But I am their father. Of course I must give them gifts. Besides, I missed Christmas. It's the least I could do. And now…." He reached into the shadows again and pulled out a slim box. "For you, my love."

Maria took the box gently and lifted the lid. Nestled in a bed of black velvet was a necklace. Three chains composed of silver squares swirled down into a sort of loop, which surrounded a black onyx stone.

Maria looked up at her lover. "Oh, Ade. It is beautiful. But you didn't have to."

Hades smiled. "Only the best and the most beautiful for you, my darling. I promise you, nothing will break us apart." He dropped a sweet kiss onto her lips.

"Oh, sweet! Zeus' lightning bolts do 600 damage!"

"Nico, that's only if attacked by a Titan."

"Oh. Well... Kronos has infinite attack and defense power!"

The god and the Italian looked at their children happily, unaware that in only two years' time, their happy little family would be blown apart.

Italian-to-English translations (courtesy of Google Translate):

bambini - children

il mio amore - my love

Ade - the Italian word for Hades

I know the ending is a bit lame, maybe slightly depressing, but it's true!

Please review! Soon to come: a one-shot crossover of PJO and Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman. (It's the story of Hades and Persephone - from Persephone's view.)