He didn't go back to the mansion after.

He couldn't face Bruce or Alfred, not with the fake eyes and his hands covered in phantom dust even though the actual dust had long fallen.

He couldn't smile at them like everything was alright. It wasn't.

He could never come back from this. Not this.

There was only one thing he couldn't stop himself from doing.

Batman would think he'd been kidnapped. He'd search for years. Robin couldn't do that to him.

When he was done, he hesitated, his Robin costume in hand. He had to let this go, this fake life he'd enjoyed until he couldn't escape from who he'd become.

He was meant to leave this behind like it never was.

He took it back with him.

The blank note he'd left would say it all. It was an old batcode, one used many times over the years, for different reasons. It always meant the same general thing.

I'm away. Don't search for me.

In the past, it had been 'Hey Bruce, I'm hanging out with friends or flying right now, don't worry about me.' Or it had been 'I need some alone time. I'm okay.'

This time Bruce would find it and he'd stare at it for days, trying to find something that would help him understand what he did wrong. Where he'd messed up so bad to scare his son away.

But the note remained as blank as it had always been.

"Nico."

He didn't have the energy to startle when his name was called. His raised his head to the door of his room. His father was standing in the door opening.

"You've been spending time on earth more and more the last few months. I was thinking you'd finally made friends in that demigod camp." Hades' expression of slight curiosity changed into worry when he saw Nico's face.

It was sullen and tired. Lifeless.

"Son, what-" Hades stopped as Nico mutely shook his head. The Lord of the Dead nodded back and turned to let Nico be.

Hades knew the value of silence and time. If his son wanted to talk, he would talk.

Nobody talked that night.

A/N Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nico, what the Hades are you doing! This is not what I had planned for you at all! Why the hell are you straying off the vague plot I had in mind?!

Seriously, this was not how I expected things to go. I just wanted to have a nice normal reveal fic. Then the Minotaur comes and Nico blames him for Bianca's death because he's got nobody else to blame it on and it all goes to Hades.

Okay, I can work with this. Deep breaths. The plot can still be saved.