Don't Fear the Reaper

47) Alfred is Better Every Other Person in the World

Nico stat motionless as he held out his arm to Alfred. The man worked in silence, efficiently putting in the IV and attaching the drip. He taped down the injection port and began putting away his materials.

Nico lowered his arm, though he still kept his arm stiff as a plank, not trusting the allegedly bendy needle in his elbow.

Alfred seeming to read his mind despite the fact that he was currently facing way from the demigod, said, "The thing in your arm isn't a needle. It is a very thin tube that is completely flexible and will not harm you if you move your arm as normal."

Nico didn't change how he was sitting. He kept his arm straight, laying it over the railing of the hospital bed, while his head was turned in the opposite direction, making sure he couldn't even see it in his peripheral vison.

Alfred finish packing up his medical supplies before grabbing a tray off of a table to the side and placing it in front of the demigod, forcing him to shift his head slightly to actually see what was in front of him.

It had been nearly a week since he ate for the first time in a while and they had continued serving him predominately liquids. The broth had slowly gained things like rice, vegetables, and small pieces of chicken, but it was always in a liquid. It was always something that could be eaten with a spoon.

"You gave me a knife," Nico said dumbly, the piece of cutlery surprising him more than he anticipated.

"An astute observation, Mr. DiAngelo," Alfred said, moving to sit in the chair that was just out of his reach next to the bed. "As you can see, we have advanced your eating regimen to involve more solid foods. I have been in communication with a few specialists and they advised that something like risotto and minimally seasoned chicken would be a good first solid meal considering it is high in calories and will help to reintroduce your stomach to solids, hopefully without making you sick."

Nico heard him, but his eyes just remained on the knife.

Is this some kind of test? Nico thought to himself, his jaw clenching slightly. Are they trying to see if I'll try something? Do they want me to refuse it? Or is this to see if I can follow directions without questioning what they tell me to do?

"If you are uncomfortable with using the utensil, I can cut the chicken into smaller pieces so that you may eat without it," Alfred offered, his voice the same even tone it always was, but his eyes were analytical.

"I'm not going to attack you," Nico said, his voice quiet, but he knew there was an edge to it that he didn't intend.

Alfred raised his eyebrows at that slightly, apparently not expecting that response. "Well I should hope not. It is not proper to attack those you are providing you with food."

Nico's face hardened to a glare as he looked at the man. "Just because English isn't my first language, it doesn't mean that I don't understand what the phrase 'don't bite the hand that feeds you' actually means."

Alfred leveled a look at him that could only be described as 'done'. "Oh, please, do enlighten me."

Nico was not having any of his 'I am above you' energy as he felt the radioactive green rage bubble beneath his skin. "It's a metaphor for a dog biting its master," Nico bit out. "You think you're better than me and that I am just some fucked up thing  that Bruce bought here to keep like a dog."

Alfred frowned at him, but it was hard to place what it meant. It wasn't angry or sad. It wasn't full of pity or malice or anything in between. It was like a mix of confusion and complete understanding.

"I would like to clarify that I was not trying to compare you to a dog. I was merely stating that it would be rude to attack me," Alfred said, moving the chair closer to the bed. To most people, it would seem like nothing, but Nico saw it for what it was: a gesture of peace. He moved himself so that he was within reaching distant of Nico— as if saying that he trusted that the kid wouldn't attack him. "That being said, I am well aware that you will not harm me. Ignoring that the knife is not sharp enough to cause major damage and the fact that I was once an MI6 agent who is more than capable of defending myself against someone who is handcuffed to a hospital bed, I am quite confident that you have no intention to harm me."

Nico scoffed, but he could feel his anger dying away. Alfred was many things, but a liar was very rarely one of them.

"You have not been physically aggressive in a little over a week and your verbal attacks have become more irregular as well," Alfred said, grabbing the tray off of Nico's lap and beginning to cut the larger pieces of chicken into smaller chucks. "I may not enter this room often, but I know everything that goes on in this household. You have been offered the opportunity to lose your restrains multiple times by both Master Bruce and Master Dick, and yet each time, you have refused to respond."

Nico frowned, narrowing his eyes at the butler.

"You are still angry about being here and I do not doubt that you would hop into the shadows the first chance you got if you were able; however you do not wish to hurt anyone. I believe you have chosen to keep the restraints because you do not trust yourself," Alfred said, finishing cutting the last piece and returning the tray to the demigod's lap, the knife still laying next to the plate. "I did not give you the knife as some sort of experiment. It was not to see what you would do with it or to test how you would respond. I gave it to you because I wanted you to trust yourself."

The teenager just furrowed his brows, still not understanding. Why should it matter to the man if he trusted himself? Nico had good reason to not trust his own actions. It had been nearly 2 weeks since his last exposure to the Lazarus Water and the familiar rage and recklessness was still fighting to come to the surface at every moment. He rarely interacted with the Waynes except when they brought him food and it was still a 50/50 chance on if he would end up, very vocally, wishing them dead by the time they left.

Alfred seemed to understand that he wasn't going to get a response, and so instead he just reached behind him and grabbed the newspaper he had brought in with him. "Master Dick has informed us that it is sometimes easier for you to eat when you have a distraction, so would you like me to read the editorials, sports, or current events?"

"You don't have to-"

"I advise you choose, otherwise I will read the business section and instead of distracting you, I will bore you to death," Alfred said, glancing at him over the newspaper with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

Nico swallowed, despite how dry his mouth felt, and forced himself to grab the fork with the arm that didn't have the IV in it. He quietly said, "current events," before he took his first bite of the food.

Alfred smiled lightly, flicking the newspaper a bit so it was more upright. "Good choice. It seems the illusive Dark Knight is 'at it again' as the you young folk say."

Nico thought about telling the man that he was from the 1930s and actually had no clue what the 'young folk' say, but he just swallowed the bite and listened as the man began to read. 

A/N: woop woop! I am so excited to sleep in tomorrow

Vote. Comment. Tell me your favorite Pokemon (I like Fennekin)