A/N: This is not necessarily a sequel to my other story, Nico di Angelo: Lover of Pillow Fights. It's connected only by the quote, and timeline. Obviously you don't have to view that story to read this one. Oh, and Will makes a rash decision—I know, ANOTHER one? I don't know, that's just what I do. Doesn't follow up to ToA, because Leo wasn't … he's not supposed to be here yet. AU-ish.

fanfiction birthday for silverstreaksofstardust: Yeah, so I've been on this website officially for one year, which doesn't seem like much, but is pretty cool. Time flies so fast from my view. And I'm pretty sure it's someone's birthday on this website, so Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer: With the exception of my own plots/OC's, etc.; Rick Riordan owns the rest (quotes, characters, etc.).

.: Nico di Angelo: Hide-and-Go-Seek :.

"'Next time we should go and play hide-and-go-seek,' Will continued, ignoring the incredulous look given to him."

— Nico di Angelo: Lover of Pillow Fights

Chapter One | Jason Takes His Games Very Seriously

There were early-risers who already were at the Dining Pavilion, but Nico wasn't one of them. Instead, he lay in bed, until a horrendous sound blared into the room.

There was a crackle, the sound of a megaphone, as a voice said, "Nico di Angelo, please wake up, get out of the bed, and stand up where we can see you. I repeat: Out of the bed."

"Erm—huh?" Nico groggily rolled out of his comfy state, crashing to the floor. That woke him up completely, so he glared at the speaker. "Leo Valdez! What do you think you're doing?"

"Waking you up, 'cause you sleep like the dead. Nice underwear, by the way." The Latino was grinning at the doorstep, looking innocently to the fuming son of Hades (who was wearing his skull and crossbones briefs).

"Get out of my cabin! It's only eight A.M."

"Au contraire, Mon Chéri. It's eight forty-five A.M. And you won't put your wrath on me, because I brought a guest." Leo side-stepped, as Will appeared behind him.

"Hi, Nico—oh my gods, I'm so sorry." Will discreetly looked away, his face as red as the Italian's.

Nico grabbed his t-shirt and jeans, hastily putting them on, silently making an oath to never let the son of Hephaestus see daylight again.

"So, hope you two have fun," Leo winked. "Percy, Jason, Frank and I will be waiting outside." He walked away, leaving the two other demigods in an awkward silence.

"So, Frank and Hazel are here from Camp Jupiter?" Nico ended the silence.

"No, it's just Frank. We're all having a 'guy's day' out, and wanted you to come."

"Um . . ." Nico had never spent a whole day with just boys. He was sort of excited at the idea, but also the discomfort of it. He was stuck in that 'in love with two people' phase, never fully getting over his infatuation with Percy Jackson.

"It'll be fun," Will urged. "You know, eating junk food, watching TV, playing hide-and-go-seek, talking about our—"

"Hide-and-go-seek?" Nico demanded. He knew the Healer was trying to sneak that one in.

"You know, people hide and the person who is It finds them."

"I'm aware of the rules, Solace, but we're too old for that game."

A loud gasp escaped, but it came from neither half-blood in the room.

Nico exchanged a look with Will, before opening his cabin door. "Freeze!" he ordered.

And there stood Frank, Percy, and Leo, who appeared to have eavesdropped. Leo was the only one who didn't look guilty. "You're never too old for hide-and-go-seek!" he declared. "Seriously, I'm the Game of Kings! Uh, I mean King of Games! In fact, Monopoly is my number one—"

Nico slammed the door closed, cutting off the fire-bender's words.

"Come on, Death Boy, we just did a pillow fight three days ago," the blond pointed out.

The door opened once more, as Leo stuck his head in. "Aw, a pillow fight! Why wasn't I invited?"

Nico face palmed. "First of all, do not call me Death Boy, and second—this is for you, Leo—it was not a pillow fight."

Will smiled. "Interesting. What would you call hitting each other with pillows?"

"Dude, did you guys persuade him yet?" Percy stepped inside the cabin, with Frank following.

"Not yet," Leo admitted reluctantly. "But this will do the trick!" He hugged the startled son of Hades. "I'm not going to let go until you join in our 'Boy's Day Out'."

"Leo, let go of him," Jason ordered. He just stepped into the room, after seeing his friends walk in.

Nico gave the blond a grateful look.

"Okay, here are options for you, Nico. You join in our day, or . . . you get hugged all day. It's you choice." The son of Jupiter crossed his arms across his chest, with complete seriousness.

Percy whistled. "Man, you're good at negotiating!"

Nico gave in, not wanting anymore physical contact. "Fine—I'll join you guys." With five against one, the odds definitely weren't fair. "But we can't do a sleepover."

"Ooh, great idea!" Will clapped. "Thanks for that suggestion. We can also tell each other scary stories while eating s'mores. Wait, is that more of a camp thing? I've never been at a sleepover before . . ."

After watching movies—most of them Marvel, to bring back childhood memories, and because there was an argument between The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman—Jason suggested, "Let's go play hide-and-go-seek!"

"But I'm claustrophobic," Frank protested.

"What does that have to do with it?" Will wondered.

"Everyone knows you should hide in small spaces," the son of Mars explained. "That way they can't see you."

"I hide in high places," Jason offered. "Uh . . . but that may not work for you guys."

"Wait, are you allowed to change form?" the Chinese-Canadian asked excitedly, for a previous moment forgetting his will to shape-shift.

"No, that's called cheating, Frank," Leo said slowly, as if talking to a three-year old.

Frank just scowled.

Jason looked crestfallen, his previous reaction to the game now the opposite. "Can I still fly?"

"Wait," Percy protested. "What if you're not good at hiding? Even though I try to hide from Annabeth, she always finds me. Like the time I forgot about our anniversary . . . she found me two seconds flat."

"Come on, I have some things against the game, too," Leo said, "but that never stopped me!"

"What do you have against the game?" Nico asked.

"When I was at this orphanage, my roommate said we should play. I'll hide, and he finds me. While I hid, he never even went to find me, and instead stayed in our room watching on our TV." Leo teared-up, as Jason looked in disbelief.

"The same thing happened to me," the older demigod said, "except the Stolls raided my room. Added with technicalities, like we weren't in an orphanage or stayed watching TV."

Percy laughed at that. "Man, you actually fell for that one?"

"Guys!" Will protested. "This will be fun. In fact, I'll be It, and the person who I find last, wins."

"Alright. Here are the rules," Jason said, showing his former-praetor side through. He took games seriously, as if each needed to be carefully strategized and planned.

"Man, you need to loosen up," Percy muttered.

The son of Jupiter ignored the sea green-eyed boy. "No using your demigod powers. That includes shadow-travelling/death, shape-shifting, water, fire/machinery—although I don't know how the last two even help—and flying." He sighed at that. "The person who is It—Will, counts to sixty seconds. He can't use his Healing powers or whatever, because that counts as cheating. Well, it doesn't, but it seems fair to the rest of us. No hiding outside of the camp borders, but of course you won't want to anger Bacchus—um, I mean Dionysus—and don't use other half-bloods for your exploit. Also, when you find your hiding spot, you can't move away from it and hide somewhere else."

A moment of silence came, for each demigod to mull over the rules.

"What's the prize?" Leo said at least. That was most important to him.

"Winner gets me to do something for them," Will said. "Anything. Now, let's begin the game."

Sometimes Nico wanted to hit the son of Apollo over the head. This was one of those times. What he just said may result horribly, especially if Leo won. In fact, the Latino was already plotting ahead. . .