Demigod in Gotham

42) *Normalize by Mother Mother plays in background*

-Dick POV-

Dick walked into Bruce's office, expecting to just find him doing some random paperwork for WE, but instead found the man and his newest brother in the middle of a conversation.

"Oh shoot, sorry. I didn't know you where home yet, I can come back later-"

Nico turned to look at him, a soft smile on his face. "You're okay, you can stay. I was just talking to Bruce about having some friends over."

Dick sat in the chair next to Nico, across the desk from Bruce. "Wait, like from the Camps?"

The demigod gave a small nod before looking away embarrassed. "They've been hounding me about meeting you since I moved in. Especially Annabeth and Jason, they wanna make sure you're the 'good type of mortals'. And I know Hazel has been dying to meet you, she just doesn't wanna over step."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at the statement. "I said they are welcome anytime— though why would Hazel feel like she's over stepping? Is she worried they we won't like her or something?"

"Oh no, it's not you," Nico said as he began to twist his ring. "Hazel is Pluto's daughter, and I'm Hades son, so our literal relation is a bit messy. When we first met it was a little strained between us because she thought I was just replacing Bianca with her— which was fair considering I only found her because I was looking for B."

"That makes sense, but you've known her for over a year now." Dick leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Hasn't she realized it's more than that?"

Nico shrugged. "After... the jar, we became pretty close, but when everything settled and she went back with the Roman's... It's been a little strained again. I'm not great at reaching out, and she doesn't want to come across as smothering so..."

The boy's voice trailed off. There was definitely something else that he wasn't saying, but Dick didn't want to push him. However Bruce apparently had no problem doing so.

"You're leaving something out. I don't know what, but something definitely happened." Bruce stood from his spot and moved to the other side of his desk to lean back on it. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I want you to know that you can tell us anything."

Nico seemed to ponder the idea for a moment, eyes locked on his ring, before he let out a sigh. "Before I left with the statue, while I was traveling on the Argo II with the others, something happened. Hazel and the others don't know about it, and I don't want them to. Jason is the only one who does and that's just because he was there. It took me a while to come to terms with it, but once I did, it made me distance myself from her."

"Do you wanna tell us what happened?" Dick asked quietly.

Nico shook his head, eyes a little distanced as he continued. "Being born in a different time is hard. Hazel and I bonded over that because we were the only ones who could fully understand each other's pain, but it was different for me. She belonged in her time; she missed the simplicity. Obviously there were a bunch of things she didn't miss too, but she remembered the good along with the bad."

"And you don't?"

Nico looked up and glanced at both of them. "I miss my mamma and grandparents. I understand the idea of missing my time, I just can't find it in me to actually miss it." The boy ran a hand through his hair. "My childhood, the parts I can remember at least, wasn't great. I was in Fascist Italy, right before Nazi Occupation. I was half Greek which meant I was too Italian to relate to foreigners, but not Italian enough for the Venetians. My sister and I were bastards so the Catholics hated us. And that's not even counting—" he cut himself off and released a sigh. "I don't miss it... but I don't fit in here. She misses it, and she already found her place in this world. She's a centurion of the Legion, dating one of the praetors. She was accepted so fast, even though we have basically the same father."

"You resent her," Bruce asked, not accusatorially, but curious.

Nico slumped in his chair. "No, not resent. I guess I'm just a little jealous. She is a great warrior and an amazing person. She makes friends easily and can take command of the situation without people getting upset or finding her rude. I've never been like that. I've always been the creepy one or the one that only got spoken to when people needed stuff. I just wish I was like her. I wish I was normal."

Dick and Bruce shared a look. They understood the jealousy, but the last part threw them a little. "Normal? You are both demigods who are like 80+ years old."

Nico was silent for a long moment, his eyes on the ceiling tile of the office. "Yeah, neither of us are normal, not in mortal terms at least. But she's normal enough. She's got a military boyfriend, a leadership position, plus, she got over her aversion to shorts and tank tops. She's the poster child for a normal demigod now. And I'm here. No girlfriend, avoiding leadership positions, and hating myself for not being able to be like her; for not being able to just be normal."

Dick was definitely missing something, but a look of understanding crossed over Bruce's face as he nodded a little bit. "I understand," their father said simply. "Not fully, obviously, but I understand what you're saying."

Nico's eyes snapped to Bruce instantly, anxiety radiating off him. "I shouldn't have-"

Bruce knelt in front of him and put a hand up to tell him to wait. "Nico, you're a part of the family. You can tell us anything, but in your own time. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want, but I want you to know something; we don't want you to be 'normal'. I guarantee that everyone in this family will agree with me when I say that we will love you no matter what. Okay?"

Nico slowly nodded. "I understand, but I don't wanna talk about it right now."

Bruce smiled, standing back up. "Another time then. Now, Alfred has the night off so we're on our own for dinner. I say we order in and then discuss today's meeting and the plans for when your friends come."

Bruce nodded for both boys to follow him as he walked to the door. Dick, despite fully missing the topic of the two's conversation, was immediately giddy. "I can't believe we finally get to meet your family. Who's coming?"

Nico kept pace with his brother, a soft smile on his lips as he spoke. "Well I was thinking that I would invite the Seven, Will, Rayna, and possibly Rachel if she's free. The Roman's are visiting next week so they'll be in Long Island anyway. It's a lot easier to get them together when they're only one state away, rather than across the country."

Dick nodded, already scheming. "Do you want them to meet just us, or Cass, Barb, Steph, and Duke too?"

Nico shrugged. "It'd be cool if they could meet all of you, but if the others are busy it's okay. I think Annabeth would love Barb, and Piper and Steph together would be amazingly chaotic."

Dick smiled as the boy rambled on about his family, both sides, and how he thought it would go. It was rare to see that side of him: the part that showed he really was just a teenager. He had come a long way since the monotoned, mysterious boy he had met a few months ago. 

A/N: Can you guess why Nico doesn't think he's normal? if you can't, that's a little embarrassing tbh. 

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