When Worlds Collide

86) Damian Slays

A/N: this one is short, but im trying to give myself room as I keep writing, so you'll have to cope

-Damian POV-

Damian was muttering curses in Arabic as he ran through the C wing hallway, checking every closet he found. He heard Nico hyperventilating through the phone and tried his best to get him to take deep breaths, but it wasn't working.

He had already texted Bruce to come pick them up since Alfred had the day off after dropping them off, but he really just needed to find Nico. Finally, he stopped his running when he noticed Nico's backpack on the floor in the hallway. He immediately grabbed it and went to the janitor's closet that was a few feet away.

As he cracked open the door and stuck his head in, his eyes instantly landed on Nico who was in a ball on the floor. Damian stepped into the room, placing Nico's and his backpacks by the door, before slowly lowering himself onto the floor.

"Nico?" Damian said quietly, hanging up the phone call now that they were together. "Nico, can you hear me?"

The demigod didn't move. His face was pressed into the concrete floor as his eyes stared off at nothing.

Damian hesitated momentarily before getting in front of Nico and lying down on the floor across from him, ignoring how disgusting the ground undoubtedly was. Nico's eyes stared through him.

"Nico, can you tell me where you are?"

The demigod flinched slightly, eyes shifting to actually look at  Damian. "Sono solo," he whispered quietly. "ma tornerà presto." (I am alone... but he will be back soon.)

Damian instantly knew who he was talking about. "no, non lo farà. sei al sicuro. Mi assicurerò che non ritorni." (No, he won't. You're safe. I'll make sure he doesn't come back.)

Nico shook his head slightly, pulling his knees tighter to his chest and tucking his chin in so that he could no longer look at Damian. "ritornano sempre." (They always come back.)

Damian reached forward and grabbed one of Nico's hands tightly. "Non questa volta. Io sono qui. nessuno può farti del male. siamo solo noi qui." (Not this time. I am here. no one can hurt you. it's just us here.)

Nico finally looked at Damian again, but he didn't say a thing. He just stared at him as he continued his rapid breathing.

Damian stayed where he was, face pressed on the dirty floor, as he took exaggerated deep breaths, slowly getting Nico to breathe to match his.

He didn't know how long had passed before the door opened, but he never broke eye contact with his brother.

"Nico, Damian, are you okay?" Bruce's voice said quietly.

Nico's breath picked up again, but Damian just squeezed his hand, temporarily calming him.

Neither said anything for a while before Damian squeeze his hand again and quietly said, "okay, we're gonna sit up now."

Nico hesitated for a moment before nodding. Damian slowly sat up, pulling Nico along with him as he coutinued taking deep breaths. They both ignored Bruce's presents as the younger waited for Nico to be stable enough.

"Do you think you can walk to the car?" Damian asked quietly.

Nico hesitated, as if needing a minute to process, before numbly nodding, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Neither said anything for a while as Damian waited for Nico to steady. He pulled Nico's arm over his shoulder to give him more stability before looking to their father.

"Tell the office ladies that both of us have the flu and will be going home," Damian said as he grabbed both of their bags from the floor and began leading Nico out of the room. "I will get him to the car."

Bruce nodded and immediately walked off to towards the office, while Damian continued moving slowly with his brother. The demigod seemed out of it. His eyes were unfocused, shifting from side to side as all his focus seemed to just be on breathing normally.

Once they had finally gotten to the car, Bruce was already there waiting for him. The youngest helped Nico into the front seat before closing the door and looking to Bruce who was standing behind him.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked.

Damian shook his head. "No, but I think it had to do with Sionis. Nico said he was coming back."

Bruce stared at Nico through the window of the car before running a hand through his hair and nodding for Damian to get in the car. The man crossed to the other side and got in, glancing at Nico again before he pulled out of the spot and drove them away from the school. 

A/N: I am slowly getting better, though I still feel like death. 

Vote. Comment. Tell me your favorite Wayne atm (honestly, Jason is kinda my favorite rn).