Don't Fear the Reaper

15) That's Right, I Alluded to Damocles

Nico sat in the batcave watching the others train. It was weirdly familiar, the way they worked in unison yet all had such differing styles, but he ignored that feeling. This place was nothing like camp. There was no spirit of the gods here, only mortals and their sense of justice.

"Hey, you sure you don't want to join?" Tim called as he finished sparing with Jason.

Nico reached over and knocked twice on the table next to him.

"Yes you're sure, or yes you want to join?" Steph said, turning to look at him despite being mid fight with Duke.

Nico let out a breath of annoyance. "I am sure."

Dick, who had just lost to Cass, came and sat across from him at the table, chugging his water. The others kept on going, moving on to the next part of training without the eldest.

"I think she bruised my spleen," Dick said, finishing his water and slouching in his chair.

"And your pride," Nico mutter, not able to help himself.

Dick just chuckled and shrugged. "Oh, I've known Cass was better than be for a long time— at least in hand to hand. If it was a fight where I could used my environment to my advantage, then I'd have a decent chance, but she's always been more skilled than me in spars."

Nico nodded, eyes tracking Cass as she stepped up to the holo-training platform they had. "She was born for it."

Dick shrugged. "Well... It's more like she was raised for it. I don't think anyone is born for fighting."

"I was," Nico said without thinking.

Dick looked to him, poorly masked surprise in his eyes. "You were?"

Nico, still not really paying attention to the conversation as he watched the moments of the former assassin and the way she quickly dispelled the holographic assailants, replied without his normal filer. "My kind were born for battle— tools to be used and then buried whenever the fates see it fit."

Dick looked at him in concern. "You're more than just a tool."

Nico looked away from Cass and to the man across from him. "Am I?"

"Of course you are," Dick said defensively.

Nico raised an eyebrow at him. "Then why did you call for me?"

"What?"

Nico didn't look away from Dick. "You needed to see if your father was alive, so you called me in. I was a means to an end— a tool to use and then quickly discard of."

"That's not-" Dick tried to say, but he was cut off.

"A tool is something that carries out a particular function," Nico said, his eyes shifting to send the man a challenging look. "Did you not want me here to carry out a particular function?"

Dick's eyebrows were furrowed as he said, "I mean, yes— but-"

"Then I was a tool to you," Nico said simply, once again looking away from Dick and instead watching Damian as he stepped up to the holo-pad as he continued. "It's all I've ever been, and I've accepted that it's all I will be. I've been the person that no body wants or needs before, and I learned that it's better to be used than to be worthless."

"That's just what Talia told-"

"The only reason I am here is because Talia found it fit for me to serve a different function. Once my job is complete, I will be gone."

"You don't have to," Dick said, voice quieter then it was before— as if he was almost scared to say what he wanted. "Leave or be a tool, I mean. You could stay and... well, be more."

Nico kept watching Damian, but he could feel his throat tightening slightly at the uncomfortable emotions being brought to the surface. "I used to think I could be more."

"And?"

Nico looked at Dick, the hollow feeling in his chest feeling like it was reverberating with the echos of screams that he had long ago begged to silence. "And I ended up alone."

~~~~~~~~~~

Dick watched as Nico stood up and left the cave, his last statement feeling like a sword hanging over his head. Dick was truck, once again, with deja vu.

His brain supplied flashes of a dark night in Blüdhaven, a rooftop, and a kid with a mop of black hair and tears of pain running down his face.

Dick tried to press the memories more, but they evaded his grip, leaving him with even more questions than before.

"You good?" Duke said as he took Nico's empty seat.

Dick looked at him, sure that his inner confusion was very apparent on his face, as he straight up lied. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"When I joined this family, I really should have been given a warning that none of you are capable of being upfront with your emotions," Duke said, sounding exhausted.

Dick chuckled slightly, but his mind was still distracted. "A side effect of the trade we're in."

Duke just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I... I met him in Blüdhaven. We were on a roof," he said, staring at the shadow Nico had disappeared into. "His hair wasn't as long and... he was younger I think— not by a lot though. Maybe just a few years."

Duke nodded. "Okay, so you probably met him on patrol, somewhere between 2-4 years ago? You keep records of your patrols, right?"

Duck nodded. "Yeah, but I don't think I learned his name when we met. I can't go through 2 years worth of patrol logs looking for a mention of a kid with black hair."

Duke shrugged. "Then maybe wait until more comes back to you?"

Dick let out a sigh. "I guess. I just... I just wish I could remember."

A/N: hehe I wonder when/how they met

Vote. Comment. Tell me congratulations because I am finally onto editing my second document for this story (I have written 3 docs so far lmao).