Demigod in Gotham

12) TO THE GODS

Nico woke up the next morning to a knock on the door. As he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he called for them to come in. An older man in a suit stepped intro the room. "Good morning Mr. DiAngelo. I'm Alfred Pennyworth, the Butler of Wayne Manor. Master Bruce asked me to come retrieve you for breakfast. He and the young masters are already there."

Nico nodded dumbly, unsure of what to say, and got out of bed to follow him. Bruce had given him some of the boy's clothes to sleep in including Batman themed pajama pants from Tim that were too long and a plain black shirt from Damian that was thankfully long sleeved. As he followed the elderly man his eyes skimmed every inch of the halls they walked through. He expected 'Wayne Manor' to be sterile and bland but every inch of the place seemed to hold history: a dent in the wood that looked like it came from a knife, pictures of the boys during different life events, a random sticky note tucked on a random item that said what the object what called in English and another language he didn't quite recognize. The manor was full of little signs that told him it was a home.

Alfred led him into a dining room with a grand looking table where the residents of the manor were already seated. The boy froze for a second, unsure of where to sit but Dick quickly noticed him and gave him a smile while gesturing to the seat between him and Jason.

As Nico sat down Bruce smiled and asked, "how did you sleep Nico?"

The boy gave a small and unsure smile back. "I slept fine, thank you for letting me stay the night. You didn't have to."

Bruce chuckled lightly. "Well considering it was my kids' fault you got a concussion, it was the least I could do. Plus, we have more than enough rooms."

Nico nodded as Alfred re-entered the room. "Mr. DiAngelo, are there any dietary restrictions I should know about? I already have vegetarian and non-vegetarian options prepared, but if you have a different need or desire I can whip up anything you'd like."

Nico shook his head. "I don't have any restrictions that I know of sir. Thank you for offering, but I don't need anything special."

The butler nodded before leaving, coming back a few moments later with a cart. He set plates in front of each of them before leaving again.

Nico was about to begin eating when Dick spoke up. "Oh Nico, I forgot. We went through the attic this morning and found something for you." The oldest rushed into the hall and came back with what looked like a metal plate. He set it in the middle of the table, clicked a button on the side, and a flame appeared in the center of the dish. "We didn't want you to be forced to wait until later for your religious practices."

Nico looks at the others at the table, all smiling with excitement over what they found and he blushed slightly. "You didn't have to, I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything. I mean it's your house-"

Bruce cut him off. "We know we didn't have to. We wanted to. The boys approached me about it this morning and I thought it was a great idea. We want you to be comfortable here. You in no way have to use it if you don't want to, we just wanted you to have the option."

Nico's eyes welled up against his will, but he quickly blinked them away. He leaned forward and brushed the best part of his breakfast into the fire muttering "θεέ του κάτω κόσμου και θεά της εστίας, ευλόγησέ με με την εύνοιά σου. επιτρέψτε μου να προστατεύσω αυτούς που νοιάζομαι." The fire ate consuming the food and released the strangely comforting sent of coal and firewood he had come to expect.

(God of the Underworld and Goddess of the Hearth, bless me with your favor. Let me protect those I care about.)

"What language was that?" Tim asked, genuine interest showing in his eyes. "It sounded kind of like Greek but I didn't understand what you were saying."

"It's Ancient Greek. My father came from a long line of Greek nobility spanning back to the ancient days." Nico said, a little embarrassed, but glad he studied his cover story that was given to him by his father. "My relatives and a few other descendants from that time are the only ones able to speak it fluently."

"I thought it was a lost language. They teach it at universities, but there is still a lot unknown, why didn't your ancestors share what they knew?" Bruce asked, definitely confused over the new information he learned.

Nico finished chewing his bite of food before answering, partly to be polite but also to buy himself time. "My father treated the knowledge as if it had to be kept secret. He died before he could explain why it was a secret. My cousin on my father's side had to explain it to me. I had to swear an oath to keep it secret because it is tied into a lot of family history and other generational secrets."

All of their faces seemed to turn to one of contemplation, seemingly fully focused on his words. To be honest, it was a little uncomfortable.

"What do you mean oath?" Bruce asked, leaning forward in focus.

Nico was running out of pre-practiced martial and getting a bit nervous. "It's an oath of silence. I'm not allowed to speak of it unless it is common knowledge among those present."

While Damian was about to ask a follow up question, Dick seemed to sense that he was uncomfortable and saved him. "Bruce, don't you need to head to work soon?"

Bruce looked at Dick and they seemed to have a silent conversation before Bruce nodded. The man stood from his seat and turned to their guest. "Nico, can you walk with me for a moment?"

Nico nervously stood from his chair and followed the man out of the dining hall. Dread filled Nico with every step they took in silence. He knew what the man was going to say. Bruce was going to tell him he couldn't see the boys again because he was a risk. Or he was going to yell at him for not disclosing his weird family history sooner. Or maybe he was going to just call CPS to come and take Nico away and then he'd fail at his one job and be hated at camp again. As Nico began to spiral he didn't even notice Bruce had stopped walking and accidentally walked straight into his back before tumbling to the ground. Bruce turned and offered his hand to help Nico up but the boy instinctively moved his arm to block his face, expecting a hit to come. 

A/N: This one was shorter but I think the next one is longer. TBH I don't remember. 

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