When Worlds Collide

7) May the Record Show that...

A/N: this one is pretty short, but I decided to give you the leg design reveal tomorrow instead of next week, so you can't be mad.

Nico loved his family. He wanted that to be known. He loved them dearly. However, in that moment, he wanted to beat the shit out of the lot of them.

"I just said that I'm fine!" Nico said as he began storming off. He cursed himself for not being able to storm off faster, but that was neither here nor there.

"We're just trying to help," Dick said as he followed after him.

Nico stopped and turned to look at Dick, very tempted to whack him with his cane. "I don't need help!"

"Dude, take a breath," Jason said as he came up beside Dick.

That only made him angrier as he glared at his brothers. "If I wasn't under strict orders that I have to use this cane when I stand, I would beat you with it."

Jason put his hands up in surrender as he chuckled. "Or don't. Live your life."

"Well, your second life," Damian said before receiving a high five from Jason and Nico, though the latter gave his begrudgingly.

Nico groaned. "Look, I get that you want to help, but I don't need it. I can walk down some damn stairs, it just takes me longer."

"But if you let us put in a chair lift-"

Nico cut Dick off. "I am not using a chair lift. I'll walk up and down the stairs like I've always done. I don't need a ramp, or an elevator, or a stupid chair lift."

Dick sighed. "Fine, no chair lift."

"Thank you," Nico said exasperatedly before continuing his way to the library.

"Hey Neeks, want me to grab a book for you?" Tim asked from his spot in a chair.

Nico threw his cane down and stomped off into the shelves of books. He heard Tim following after him, though he did stop to pick up the cane first.

"You could have just said no," the teen grumbled, forcing the cane back into Nico's hand.

Nico just grit his teeth as he grabbed a book from the Italian section and made his way back to one of the couches. He sat down with a huff and began to read, but only for a few minutes before he snapped.

"I can feel you all starring at me so just spit it out already."

The brothers all shared looks until they silently voted Dick to speak. The eldest cleared his throat before cautiously saying, "it's just... you're very... angry..."

Nico glared at him.

"He means that you are simply more irritable than usual," Damian tried, but Nico just glared at him.

Tim cleared his throat. "That came out wrong. You're just... not in a good mood today and we were wondering-" he stopped talking when Nico glared at him.

Jason, ever with his poetic nature, just said, "you're being an ass right now," returning the glare he got in response.

Nico took a breath, forcing himself to calm down. "Look, I already have a doctor and I am also dating a doctor. I get that this is you trying to be helpful and supportive, but that's not what I need."

"We're just trying to be nice," Dick said, sounding sad.

Nico rolled his eyes. "I don't need nice. If I want nice, then I'll call Hazel or Jason Grace. What I need is normal." Nico closed his book, realizing that he wasn't gonna get to actually read it any time soon. "Everyone keeps treating me like I'm dying, but I already did that. Then I spent months getting better and now I'm fine."

"But-"

Nico wasn't finished yet. "Yes, I lost a leg. I am legless now, but I'm still me. This was why I stayed gone for so long. I wanted to come back and be like nothing is different."

They were quiet for a moment before Dick spoke up. "Okay, we'll try to cut back on the doting and staring, but we are still gonna try to help. I know you want it to be the same as before, but it's not. We almost lost you forever, so we're gonna be annoying for a while."

Tim nodded. "It's annoying, but we've all been through it. When I almost died, Bruce slept in a chair by my bed for two weeks."

"After everyone found out that I came back, Dick called me twice a day to check in. It was infuriating," Jason said.

"Todd and Drake used to peak into my door every hour after I nearly died."

Nico sighed. "Fine. You can be annoying for a while, but I swear if you guys hold back during training, I'll kick your asses."

Dick raised an eyebrow. "You're training already?"

Nico nodded, a proud smirk replacing his glare. "I stared sparring at the end of December. I may walk with a cane, but when demigod instincts kick in, I'm pretty good."

Damian smirked. "We'll have to test that later."

A/N: just see cute little batboys filler lol

A/N2: hi, I'm writing this a few hours before this comes out because I wanna know your Jason Todd ships. I have an idea rn, but idk how I feel about it.

Vote. Comment. Tell me what you think this book will be about (I just nailed down my plot, so I wanna hear theories).