Demigod in Gotham

19) How Does Bruce Keep Finding Traumatized Kids?!

A/N: It is now the next day and I'm doing a few before I go to the restaurant for my shift. #livinglavidaloca. Also, I decided all the boys live in the manor because I want them to... so Damian and Dick are next to each other and Jason and Tim are across the hall.
A/N 2: this is right before the post, but I realize that I forgot to say that updates are based off EST. When it's 12:15 on the east coast, that's when it comes out lmao.

-Dick POV-

Dick couldn't stop smiling, he was so happy. After breakfast, Bruce and Nico left to talk in the library for a bit to discuss what he was comfortable with and stuff they should know before he moved in. The boys had traveled up to the hallway where all of their rooms were to discuss which one should be Nico's.

"Obviously he should be in the room next to me since I am his favorite and it was me who technically introduced him to the family." Jason crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Tt- you are definitely not his favorite Todd. You shoved him in a tree, that he then fell out of five minutes later," Damian said as he rolled his eyes. "He should be next to me since I can protect him best in the case of a break in."

"We could all protect him Damian, and in the case of a break in, we're supposed to get caught to keep up appearances." Tim gestured to the room next to his. "This room has the best view of the garden."

"We could just let Nico choose," Dick tried to pitch but was immediately shot down. "Fine, then I think he should be in the room next to mine since he seems to have panic attacks often and I am the best at calming people down."

At that, the boys all seemed to think before begrudgingly agreeing that it was the smartest plan. They all entered the mostly empty room and flicked on the lights.

Tim motioned for Jason to help him move the bed into the corner of the room. "I don't think he'd want his bed to be in front of the window."

Damian looked at the empty bookcase in thought. "After DiAngelo and Father leave the library I will see what books we have in Italian and ask father to order more for him."

Dick watched his brothers work together to try to make the room better for their new brother. He had never seen them work together so quickly except for on patrol or missions. They were discussing things to get when they inevitably went shopping with the boy, or things to make him get that they knew he would like but would never get on his own.

They had been in there for a while when their chatter was silenced as Bruce walked into the room. "Nico left with Alfred a little bit ago to grab some of his stuff to bring here, so I thought now would be a good time to share what I've learned."

"About the secret," Damian asked, excitement at the challenge evident in his voice.

"No." Bruce said, his voice serious. "Let's go to the library before we start."

The boys followed him silently, not quite sure what this conversation would be. They all spread out in the seating area when they arrived, waiting for Bruce to speak when he pulled out a folder.

"Nico gave me this. It's a complete medical history along with information we should know before he moves in. I asked and he said I could share whatever I thought you needed to know. Originally, I was going to keep it mostly to myself but there is a lot you should know. I do want to be clear that only Alfred and I are allowed to look at this file unless given express permission from Nico." The boys nodded, their faces the same as when they get prepped for a mission. "Now, let's get started."

~~~~~~~~~

-Tim POV-

Bruce had left the room after going over everything to see if Nico and Alfred had returned yet. The boys were silent, thinking about what they had learned. Tim's mind spun, trying to make sense of everything. Bruce had given them copies of a few of the pages so that they could study them, but every word they read just made them angry. How could someone let a kid get this traumatized? The list reminded Tim of a war veteran who had seen too much, but this was a 14 year old kid they were talking about.

"I think we should talk his PTSD." Jason sounded broken as he spoke for the first time since entering the library. His brothers could see it in his face that this made him sick. It left their brains imaging worst case scenarios for how these things became triggers. "PTSD is the issue that it says he had the biggest problem with. We all have had our own experiences surrounding that, but I think we need to remember that it's different for everyone. When I have an episode, I get angry and go on a rampage or I shut down completely, but Nico might not be the same. We need to keep an eye out for sudden changes in his personality and behavior. He's been on his own for a long time and surviving by any means. He might cope in weird or concerning ways, but unless it's harmful, I think we should let him."

"What do you mean by weird?" Tim's voice was quiet. It was rare for Jason to talk about his issues, especially in a serious manor.

Jason leaned back in his seat, staring at the ceiling. "When I was a kid, some bad stuff happened to me because of my mom. I don't talk about it, but it still affects me despite it being like ten years ago. Sometimes, when I get nightmares or flashbacks about it, I have to stand fully clothed in a cold shower and just repeat 'that never happened' out loud until I'm too cold to feel anything anymore. It was something I did when I was little, and it's not a great coping mechanism, but it's not harmful so I don't think it's a problem."

Dick nodded. "I agree, so long as they aren't harmful, let him cope however he needs." Jace and him shared a look, the former giving him a nod of thanks for not letting the conversation remain on him. "I think it's important that we don't let what we just learned change how we act around Nico. Obviously if we realize something that we do is causing problems, change it, but in general, act the same."

"We don't want him to think we are pitying him," Tim said with a nod. "Now, I say we all go see if Nico is back. He will probably have a lot so set up."

The boys nodded and all stood from their seat. I'm glad he's here now, I just wish we found him sooner, Tim thought with a sad sigh before following his brothers out of the room.

A/N: This chapter was pretty short and I considered cutting it since it doesn't advance the plot a whole lot, but I just really liked Jason opening up a little. It also comes up later so I didn't want to have to rework the future scene or deal with trying to justify it in other ways. Also, I read an article about how it is referenced multiple times throughout comics that Jason is a SA victim and even though I didn't want to like straight up say that (I feel like it would be very out of character for Jason), I still wanted a little reference to it since it's never included in fan works and barely talked about in the comics.

Vote. Comment. Tell me what you think of the story because I crave validation (I don't remember where the plot is going so we are currently figuring that out together).