Don't Fear the Reaper

82) Putting the Sass in Assassin

A/N: im not gonna lie to you... I came up with this chapter title before I had even come up with the plot of this book. I've just been waiting to use it. Also, tis long, and only half edited so... slay queen

Steph knocked insistently at Nico's door until it was ripped open and she was met with the face of a very annoyed Italian.

"Buenos días, Nico," she said with a smile, stepping past him to walk into his room and plopping down on his desk chair. It'd been a week since his outing with Duke and while he was still mostly sticking to his room, he had a bit more of his old Nico sparkle back. 

Nico looked at her with true loathing. "First of all, that's Spanish and I'm Italian. And secondly, it's 6 in the morning."

"Firstly," Steph said in a terrible Italian accent. "Are you saying you don't speak Spanish?"

"Che palle," Nico muttered under her breath, slamming his door slightly before storming back to his bed, flopping back on it with a huff. (it technically translates to "what balls" but it is an expression of annoyance)

"Exactly, you speak every language, so I can say whatever I want in whatever language I want," Steph said triumphantly, covering up her fond smile with a mocking smirk. She liked interacting with Nico like this because it was the only time he actually acted like a teenager. "I could say 'je ne comprends pas' and you could tell me what it means."

Nico rolled his eyes as he stared at the ceiling. "It means 'I don't understand' and, trust me, you didn't have to disclose that considering your terrible pronunciation."

"Oooo, feisty today, are ya?" Steph couldn't help but laugh—casually pissing him off was too fun. "In my defense, I only took 2 years of French and that second year was a bit interrupted due to my 'death'."

"What do you want, Brown," Nico muttered, pulling a pillow over his face. "No one in this household wakes up before 7 except Alfred."

"Okay, don't act like I woke you up. We both know you haven't slept in days," Steph said, reaching over to grab the pillow off his face and tossing it to the other side of his bed. "The eyebags speak volumes."

"Fuck off."

"Anyways, I didn't wake up this early—I didn't sleep either—and I need you to do me a favor."

"Why? There are a million people in this house, why not ask one of them?"

Steph rolled her eyes. "Well none of them are awake at 6am to begin with, and they also can't help me. It's gotta be you."

Nico sat up, staring at her with an annoying frown. "While I would absolutely love to summon your grandma's ghost or kill someone for you, these lovely little bracelets you all gave me are kinda stopping me from helping you out," Nico sasses as he held up his wrists.

"Okay, I'll give you the summoning ghosts things, but be both know you could take someone out for me in as is condition," Steph said, completely unbothered. "Either way though, that's not what I'm asking."

"Just get on with it."

"Okay, so Bruce has been hinting at it every once in a while for the last couple of weeks, but then he started doing it a lot more yesterday and while on patrol, so I don't think I can get out of it any longer, and I need you there to be a buffer so he doesn't talk to me about it-"

"Talk about what?" Nico cut in, still annoyed, but at least a little interested now.

"I legally became a Wayne, and every time someone has become a Wayne, there's been a gala."