The Angel of Death

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

"I...had a change of heart."

Dick raised a single eyebrow. "You. Jason Todd. Red Hood. Had a change of heart? You've had the same grudge on that crab apple tree in the backyard since you were twelve, Jason. I don't believe you."

"Well it's true, okay!" Jason threw up his hands. "Look. I don't know what his deal is, and I don't care anymore. Don't you think he's entitled to his secrets? I mean, he's already lost so much, Dick, can we really take away his personal identity too?" Jason sighed, leaning back on the railing he was propped on. "What he said today, about not knowing what it's like to have a real family, I just- it's hard to-" Jason broke off, not able to find the right words.

"It reminds you of yourself." Dick prompted. "You didn't know what it was like, either. You struggled, and you lashed out. You see yourself in him, in the way that he's trying his hardest right now to be a part of a family that probably feels really distant to him." Dick knew what that feeling was like. Hell, if he didn't see himself in Nico a little bit too...

"The night of the party, when the Joker took us, he told me the same thing." Jason continued. He felt bare, and he hated feeling like this. It felt like he was sharing a too-personal moment with Dick, something that he should keep to himself, but he was trying too. Trying to be a better brother. "He told me that he knew I didn't trust him, and that it was okay because he still got to be a part of a family. He's never had anything like this, and I'll be damned before I take that away from him, Dick."

Dick studied his younger brother. He was a detective, he knew when people were lying, and Jason...wasn't lying. He really did connect with Nico, on a level that Dick knew no one else in the house had reached him on. Dick also knew that as much as Jason hid himself away behind mask after mask, especially after his return from the Pit, that he was trying too. Dick had noticed the small moments of the real Jason that slipped through and he was so proud of his brother for trying. For coming back to them, for having the strength it took to go through what he had.

And maybe that's why he was so protective of Nico. Whatever Nico had gone through had left him just as broken and hidden away behind his own layers of protection as Jason. And Dick wanted nothing more than to be able to take that hurt away from all his brothers, but he couldn't. So he supposed he could let Jason have this one, because the both of them needed someone to be able to hold onto the hurt that was too heavy to bear alone.

Even if Jason was a terrible liar and Dick knew that Jason knew exactly what Nico was hiding, he would let it go. Hopefully, one day would come where Nico felt he trusted them enough to let them in on his secret without prompting.

"Alright. I believe you, Jason. And I'm not going to take this family away. From either of you." He looked Jason in the eyes, making sure he was paying attention. "I will always be your big brother, Jason. That's never going to change." Jason smiled, relieved. "But I'll tell you what does need to change- you. Go have a shower, you smell like gunpowder and burnt cheese."

Jason scoffed. "At least I actually do exciting stuff, Dickless."

Dick lunged at Jason, who danced away, both laughing. Jason accidentally ran into Tim coming out of the elevator, and he threw the smaller boy at Dick to buy him time to get in the elevator and shut the door, flashing Dick an evil grin and the middle finger through the closing gap.

-

I met Damian in the kitchen. Which wouldn't have been weird if it wasn't currently three o'clock in the morning. Damian and Bruce had returned from patrol a few hours ago, so he should have been in bed.

"Uh, hi." I said, eyes squinting against the harsh lights and voice rough with sleep. "What are you doing here?"

"Good morning." Damian answered cordially. "I'm having a snack." I noticed the bowl of Lucky Charms in front of the boy. "I might ask you the same question, however."