[ a long pause as he stares at dick. several things are going through his mind including the fact that dick doesn't seem at all to remember anything about his relationship with loki. which... is a bit awkward and sad. ]
You don't know who I am, do you? Especially if you're calling me a kid.
( he stresses his eyebrows together momentarily, lips stuck in a pucker. )
Bruce Wayne's latest adoptee? Welcome to the fam.
( just kidding. bruce wayne is dead and dick -- dick deals with that through humor, apparently. this whole situation sucks. there's a tight coil in his belly, built on the notion of people knowing him but him being unaware -- and people expecting something, either greatness or sexual prowess, that dick can't provide.
dick's just dick. orphan mourning the loss of his adoptive father, brother trying to get jason todd locked behind bars. ( brother mourning tim drake, he doesn't allow himself to think. ) he's not -- whoever all these people think he is. and he's honestly sick of it. )
Just kidding. No, I don't know you. That's kind of becoming the norm here.
[ opens and closes his mouth a few times before shaking his head. he doesn't know who bruce wayne is and nothing about what dick is referring to, but nico can guess it's probably related to his secret personality as nightwing. ]
My name is Nico di Angelo, and only once, really. I was... kinda more involved with your fiance. Who... you probably don't remember either.
[ it's probably not what he wants to hear, but nico has never been the type to hold back information to save someone's feelings. ]
( it's almost insulting, hearing that word. dick grayson -- this dick grayson, with a word that means a future, and a life, dangling right in front of him and he ... he can't reach out and take it. that isn't him. he's a vigilante, and his entire family is dead or estranged -- the whole world might very well be dead on top of that, and
and nico says fiance, and dick has the gall to think, i want that.
bruce always taught him to be selfless. it's the mission, the people, justice that comes first, and the rest is all white noise. he'd be profoundly disappointed, dick thinks, to see his eldest son with a secret, dirty, domestic desire. )
N-no, I, uh. ( he shakes his head, knitting his eyebrows like that might shake memories back into his head. ) That's definitely not me, sorry. For what it's worth, this is the third time this has happened, now and, I'm, um. ( fuck. fuck. ) Sorry, again. I'm not who you expected. Dick freaking Grayson, huh? What a Casanova. Haha.
( not only did that dick have someone, he had someones. he had so man someones, his someones had someones. how can one version have at least four people, and this version have absolutely fucking no one? dick would like a refund on his shitty life, thanks. )
[ lifting his hands in what he hopes is a placating manner, nico quickly shakes his head. in a way, he gets it. if their places were switched, if dick was telling him about loki, about vex, about will, about percy... would he want to know? or would ignorance be kinder. he wants to be kind to dick; the older ( younger ) man had always been kind, even when he'd been jealous of nico. he doesn't want that kindness to go to waste on him. ]
It's okay. I get it. It must be really weird having all these people tell you who you are when you're not that person. I'm sorry I mistook you for him. It's just...
Whatever the case is with you, I want you to be happy. So if you need help settling in, I'm just a call away. And- There's one other thing...
[ and here is when the feed switches because beyond loki, nico isn't sure who might've known about dick's secret identity. out of respect of the vigilante and his duty, nico figures it's safer to keep it under wraps. ]
The others probably don't know, but I do. It's dangerous to be out at night, even as skilled as you are, and there isn't much in the way of crime. So... Nightwing might not need to make much of an appearance, if you know what I mean. But if he does, I hope he's very careful. There's monsters in the forest and more than that to go bump in the night.
( no. he can't let himself be emotional right now, it -- it hurts too much to. he doesn't want to talk about it, and certainly can't unleash at least twenty years of inferiority issues on a kid who seems like a stranger, looks like a stranger, but happens to know dick's
dick's secret.
the one thing that he's never supposed to tell anyone, ever, with the fear of god etched into him under the pretense of ruining every semblance of stability he's had in his life. the mansion would get taken away ( it burned to a crisp ) and bruce would be thrown in prison ( dead with the house ) and every bat who ever walked this earth would be tied to the widespread webbing of their vigilante family. tim, barbie, jason, kate -- clark kent even, maybe. all of them.
and this guy knows it.
it's a big deal, and dick exhales roughly, rubbing a hand over his eyes. )
You know that, huh? Why wouldn't you. ( sifting a hand through his hair, ) Your Dick wasn't an idiot by any chance, was he?
You're a good guy, Nico. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be careful.
No, he wasn't an idiot at all. It's just... [ he licks his lips, trying to decide a way to put this that would make the most sense to someone who's never been exposed to other worlds or other realities. ]
I'm a demigod. Specifically speaking, my dad is Hades, and I can sense people's life auras. I ran into you one time when you were Nightwing and because I knew your aura already from being friends... It was the same. I didn't outright ask, and you didn't deny it. And I always kept it a secret, even from my boyfriend. Or my best friend. I never told anyone.
[ as he speaks his hands move, never stopping as he gestures nervously. maybe he should've kept his knowledge to himself, but it didn't seem right to hold someone else's secret without them knowing. he thinks of jason keeping his secret, being supportive, and decides he wants to be that for dick. after all, loki isn't here for them to end up hedging around each other. ]
I intend to keep it that way, of course. It's not my secret to tell, after all. And... if anything, I admire what you do. I can understand wanting to protect people but having to keep to the shadows.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
You don't know who I am, do you? Especially if you're calling me a kid.
no subject
Bruce Wayne's latest adoptee? Welcome to the fam.
( just kidding. bruce wayne is dead and dick -- dick deals with that through humor, apparently. this whole situation sucks. there's a tight coil in his belly, built on the notion of people knowing him but him being unaware -- and people expecting something, either greatness or sexual prowess, that dick can't provide.
dick's just dick. orphan mourning the loss of his adoptive father, brother trying to get jason todd locked behind bars. ( brother mourning tim drake, he doesn't allow himself to think. ) he's not -- whoever all these people think he is. and he's honestly sick of it. )
Just kidding. No, I don't know you. That's kind of becoming the norm here.
Please don't tell me I slept with you, too.
no subject
My name is Nico di Angelo, and only once, really. I was... kinda more involved with your fiance. Who... you probably don't remember either.
[ it's probably not what he wants to hear, but nico has never been the type to hold back information to save someone's feelings. ]
no subject
( it's almost insulting, hearing that word. dick grayson -- this dick grayson, with a word that means a future, and a life, dangling right in front of him and he ... he can't reach out and take it. that isn't him. he's a vigilante, and his entire family is dead or estranged -- the whole world might very well be dead on top of that, and
and nico says fiance, and dick has the gall to think, i want that.
bruce always taught him to be selfless. it's the mission, the people, justice that comes first, and the rest is all white noise. he'd be profoundly disappointed, dick thinks, to see his eldest son with a secret, dirty, domestic desire. )
N-no, I, uh. ( he shakes his head, knitting his eyebrows like that might shake memories back into his head. ) That's definitely not me, sorry. For what it's worth, this is the third time this has happened, now and, I'm, um. ( fuck. fuck. ) Sorry, again. I'm not who you expected. Dick freaking Grayson, huh? What a Casanova. Haha.
( not only did that dick have someone, he had someones. he had so man someones, his someones had someones. how can one version have at least four people, and this version have absolutely fucking no one? dick would like a refund on his shitty life, thanks. )
1/2
It's okay. I get it. It must be really weird having all these people tell you who you are when you're not that person. I'm sorry I mistook you for him. It's just...
Whatever the case is with you, I want you to be happy. So if you need help settling in, I'm just a call away. And- There's one other thing...
private;
The others probably don't know, but I do. It's dangerous to be out at night, even as skilled as you are, and there isn't much in the way of crime. So... Nightwing might not need to make much of an appearance, if you know what I mean. But if he does, I hope he's very careful. There's monsters in the forest and more than that to go bump in the night.
private;
( no. he can't let himself be emotional right now, it -- it hurts too much to. he doesn't want to talk about it, and certainly can't unleash at least twenty years of inferiority issues on a kid who seems like a stranger, looks like a stranger, but happens to know dick's
dick's secret.
the one thing that he's never supposed to tell anyone, ever, with the fear of god etched into him under the pretense of ruining every semblance of stability he's had in his life. the mansion would get taken away ( it burned to a crisp ) and bruce would be thrown in prison ( dead with the house ) and every bat who ever walked this earth would be tied to the widespread webbing of their vigilante family. tim, barbie, jason, kate -- clark kent even, maybe. all of them.
and this guy knows it.
it's a big deal, and dick exhales roughly, rubbing a hand over his eyes. )
You know that, huh? Why wouldn't you. ( sifting a hand through his hair, ) Your Dick wasn't an idiot by any chance, was he?
You're a good guy, Nico. Thanks for the heads up. I'll be careful.
private;
I'm a demigod. Specifically speaking, my dad is Hades, and I can sense people's life auras. I ran into you one time when you were Nightwing and because I knew your aura already from being friends... It was the same. I didn't outright ask, and you didn't deny it. And I always kept it a secret, even from my boyfriend. Or my best friend. I never told anyone.
[ as he speaks his hands move, never stopping as he gestures nervously. maybe he should've kept his knowledge to himself, but it didn't seem right to hold someone else's secret without them knowing. he thinks of jason keeping his secret, being supportive, and decides he wants to be that for dick. after all, loki isn't here for them to end up hedging around each other. ]
I intend to keep it that way, of course. It's not my secret to tell, after all. And... if anything, I admire what you do. I can understand wanting to protect people but having to keep to the shadows.