The Angel of Death

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Nico? Are you in here? I need a word." Bruce knocked gently on his newest charge's door, receiving no answer. He didn't really expect one. Everyone grieved in their own ways, and Bruce wanted to give them all space to come to terms with what had happened, but he also needed to make sure they all knew what they could and couldn't say in front of the press. He hated that he had to falsify Tim's death to the entire world, but he also had to protect the rest of his family.

He knocked again. "Nico? I know you're upset, we all are, but you shouldn't spend this time alone. I've already spoken to Damian and Dick, and we should all be together right now." Still no answer. No sound, even. Shuffling, crying, Bruce couldn't hear anything. "Nico?"

He knew Nico had a tendency to run away when things became overwhelming, at the last thing he wanted was to have the poor kid back on the streets, considering the last time hadn't gone so well. "Nico, I'm coming in, alright?" Bruce gave a minute in case there was any kind of protest, but the silence remained. Bruce deftly picked the lock and pushed the door open.

The room was empty. The bathroom light was off, and Nico's bag- which he'd kept handy and half-packed by his desk- was also gone. But there was a piece of paper on the desk. And as much as Bruce prided himself on knowing a lot of languages, ancient Greek wasn't one. It was addressed to Bruce, and Nico had signed his name on the bottom.

Not wanting to bother his other sons- who were both holed up together in the infirmary while Alfred was holding Dick hostage there- Bruce headed to his office to translate the note. He'd share it with the others once he was done, he told himself. Although he knew full well that depending what was written on it, it might make the situation worse. The family had been through so much in such a small amount of time that Bruce didn't want to pile anything else on them.

Bruce,

I'm writing a letter because I've already left, and it's probably been some time since. Don't come after me. You won't be able to find me where I'm headed, but I wanted you to know that I do plan on coming back.

Against all odds, and contradictory to what I've known most of my life, I know that you do care about me, and that you don't want me to leave, despite knowing what I am and most of what I can do. I don't have enough words or paper to express how much it meant that you didn't try to get rid of me, which is why I don't want to leave either.

I like it here, and you guys feel like a family I never really got to have, even if I'm not officially a Wayne. Which is why I have to do this. You've all done so much for me already, and I wanted to pay it back somehow.

I don't know when I'll be back, but if everything works out, then it won't just be me coming home. If you can, please hold out on announcing Tim's death to anyone until I get back. I'll explain things better then, I promise.

Nico.

Bruce had to read the note over twice to finally grasp what it was saying. Nico had left. He wanted to come back though, and Bruce knew that that was a big win for both of them. That Nico had admitted to feeling like he belonged made Bruce want nothing more than to hug the kid. And Bruce was the world's greatest detective, he could read between the lines and see what Nico was implying. He had a way to bring Tim back, or at least he believed he did. And Bruce was no stranger to dead people coming back to life, he knew there were ways. And he supposed, with Nico apparently being the son of a literal god of everything to do with death, he probably knew a few ways himself.

But Bruce would hate to get everyone's hopes up only to have Nico's plan (God, Bruce hoped there was a plan involved- somehow, Nico seemed like he rushed into things headfirst and planned later) backfire or fail, and put everyone through that feeling of loss again.