Demigod in Gotham

24) Slay Inclusivity

After a few minutes of catching up with the others, he watched Barb turn her wheelchair towards Nico more and make an introduction. "Hi, you must be Nico, I'm Barbra or Oracle. I have to say that it's a bit of a relief that you already know about the vigilante stuff because with all of us together, something would have been bound to slip."

Nico gave her a small smile before quietly muttering, "it's nice to meet you."

Barbra smiled at his polite response and looked at Bruce. "I can tell why you liked him, his accent is adorable."

Bruce let out a light chuckle at her words, and Nico's subsequent blush, as Dick responded to her. "Sadly it comes and goes. Sometimes he sounds completely Americanized and others it's like he's still in Italy."

"I prefer the term fresh off the boat," Nico muttered with a small smirk as he continued with his drawing. The others laughed at his joke until Alfred came in with Cass.

"I found Miss Cassandra in the kitchen sneaking a taste of tonight's dinner, I believe she can attest the it will be delicious as always," the elderly man said with a slight smile.

They all said hello to which the girl just smiled and nodded in response to before she stood next to Bruce's chair. Cass set a hand on Bruce's shoulder and nodded to Nico.

"Yes, that's Nico."

"Broken." Her voice was quiet, only really being heard by Bruce. "Sad picture."

Bruce was a little shocked at her words. He had always known about her skill with reading people, but he didn't know how she could instantly tell what the drawing's nature was without seeing it. He was about to respond when she left his side and approached the boy.

~~~~~~~~~

Nico had a bad night. It wasn't as bad at the nights he dreamed of Tartarus or the jar, but still not good. He'd been brought back to the last good day he could remember before the Lotus Hotel; when it was just Bianca and him exploring DC together. It was one of the best days he could remember, which made it worse somehow. He'd spent the day drawing every detail of it. The way they looked at each other, the way the buildings looked, even the street signs around them that he somehow still remembered.

When Barbra came in, he had tried his best to interact at least a little since he wanted the first impression to be more than just silent nods, but then Cassandra came in. He immediately took notice that she hadn't even made an attempt to respond out loud to everyone saying hello; he found it strangely comforting. When he saw her stand next to Bruce, he turned back to his work, thinking she would stay by him, but only a few seconds later she had appeared in front of him.

He watched as she gave him a bright smile before nodding to the space on the window seat next to him. He nodded in return and scooted over a bit to make more room. For a while they just sat quietly together while he drew, everyone else chatting.

"Sister," she said, her voice rough from the lack of use, as she motioned to his drawing. "Gone?"

"Four years ago," he responded simply with a sad smile. "Bianca."

Cass nodded, staring at the paper for a few minutes before silently asking to hold the sketchbook. Nico hesitated but handed it to her, expecting her to just want to look at the picture, but instead she turned to a blank page and handed it back. "New family. Happy day."

Nico looked between her and the empty page for a moment before realizing what she meant. He simply nodded before looking back to the room and began his new drawing. For some reason, her bluntness struck his brain. He couldn't have explained it if he wanted to, but she seemed like she understood; so he took her word for it, that it was a happy day.