A Part of The Family (Nico Di Angelo meets the batfam)

9

Nico was beyond frustrated now. He was still no closer to figuring out what the fuck was happening, he kept getting strange nightmares (or stranger than normal and creepier too), and on top of that he had a wound that just wouldn't heal. 

He had used so many bandages trying to stop the bleeding, but it still bled a little, just enough to be annoying. Nico still had that small bit of nectar left of course but he didn't want to waste it on something that was minor. He scowled as he threw away the old bandages. 

There was a knock on the bathroom door. "Nico are you ok? You've been in there for a while," that was Bruce. Nico had started to learn that Bruce could be paranoid. It was different than what he was used to. Instead of not paying attention to Nico like so many other people did he often times noticed a bit too much. "I'm fine," Nico said wrapping the wound with new bandages.

He opened the door and walked out a second later. He tried to act casual as if there was nothing wrong and he totally wasn't hiding a bleeding wound from them. Bruce narrowed his eyes at Nico's retreating back. If he weren't Batman, he wouldn't be able to tell that something was wrong. Nico was very good at hiding things when he wanted to and if Nico hadn't gone in the bathroom with bandages, he might not have realized something was wrong. 

Bruce walked into the bathroom and just like he had thought there were bloody bandages in the trash. Nico had hidden them beneath the trash that was already there, but Bruce could see a bloody corner of one of the bandages that wasn't quite hidden. 

Bruce hurried out of the bathroom, trying to get to Nico before he disappeared to who knows where. "Nico," he called. Nico briefly faltered before he continued to walk away slightly faster than before. He was naively hoping that if he acted like he couldn't hear Bruce then he would be able to get away. Bruce knew he had heard him though. "Nico, I know you can hear me," Bruce said also speeding up.

 Alfred had made it clear that running was not allowed in the manor and thought this rule was often forgotten in the chaos, Nico and Bruce had always tried to obey Alfred. This meant that Bruce was walking as fast as possible after Nico who was also trying to get away without running. It was very entertaining for the boys who had just been kicked out of the kitchen by Alfred after trying to get a snack and covering the kitchen floor in sugar instead. 

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Dick said amused. He blocked Nico's path thinking that this was just one of Nico's many attempts of trying to get out of doing more testing for school. They were trying to get an IEP for Nico and Nico, unfortunately, didn't enjoy the tests. Nico glared at Dick and, to Dick's surprise and endless amusement, actually hissed at him. It didn't seem to be a conscious act. 

Bruce caught up to them and made a movement like he was going to grab Nico's arm to make sure he wouldn't try to leave again before thinking better of it. He didn't want to accidentally scare Nico or make him uncomfortable. "Nico, would you mind explaining why there were bloody bandages in the trash?" Nico raised an eyebrow, "You went through the trash?" Bruce was used to these kinds of responses by now, "I glanced at it, and you didn't answer my question."

Nico knew that he didn't just "glance" at the trash because the only way Bruce could know about the bandages is by looking for them, but he wouldn't say anything because that would mean admitting that they existed, and he would put off admitting that as long as possible. "Well, I don't know what to tell you. Why would I know about bloody bandages in the trash? There's no reason for me to need bandages." 

Bruce glanced at the other boys who all shook their head. They hadn't thrown away any used bandages in the bathroom trash. "Nico, I just want to help. I don't want you to be hurt and not get the treatment you need." Nico scowled, "I don't need any help. I'm fine." Dick jumped in to Bruce's relief. Dick was much better at this kind of stuff then he ever would be. "Everyone needs help at some point. Getting help isn't an admission of weakness." Nico wasn't convinced. "If you won't let us help you for your sake, can you do it for ours?  We won't be able to stop worrying about you if you won't let us help you, but we also don't want to force you."