Nico jolted awake, scratching at his throat and screaming inaudible screeches. He calmed down, bringing his arms to his sides and gasping for air.
"Just a nightmare. I'm no longer there. I'm safe. I'm fine." he reminded himself.
Nico climbed out of his bed and left the room he was staying in, still wearing the black shorts and oversized My Chemical Romance shirt he went to sleep in. He was on the same floor as Steve, which he was more than thankful for after figuring out about Thor's loud snoring. He entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, grabbing the jug of chocolate milk. He put it on the counter and grabbed a glass and set that on the counter as well. He sat down for a minute to muse over what he saw, though that minute stretched without him realizing it.
After who knows how long, Nico was jolted out of his thoughts by a heavy hand on his shoulder. On instinct, Nico punched the monster that grabbed his shoulder in the chest. The creature fell with a very human like 'oof' and Nico took another glance at it. It turned out that there was no monster. It was actually Steve.
"Sorry, I just acted on impulse." Nico apologized, watching as Steve got up.
"It's fine. It takes a lot to get me actually hurt, though I have to say you have a mean left hook." Steve waved him off, rubbing his chest.
"What are you doing up in the middle of the night for?" Nico asked in pure curiosity.
"Same as you, I bet. Nightmares." Steve replied.
"Oh," was the only response he got.
"Wanna talk about it?" Steve asked, pouring Nico's glass of chocolate milk before setting to pour himself his own.
"Not really. Talking about it makes it worse." Nico said, bringing his knees up to his chest.
"Alright. Then do you want to help me make chocolate chip pancakes?" Steve asked, pulling down all the necessary ingredients the pancakes.
"Sure, why not?" Nico said with a small smile.
The two worked together to make them, Steve even letting him having a few chocolate chips. Nico found that he liked Steve. When he first ever saw him, he thought that the man had a stick so far stuck up his ass that there was no hope for humankind, but now that he'd actually met the guy, he figured out how wrong he was. He was an honest guy who did what he thought was right. He was also very funny and knew how cook, which was a big plus about being friends with him. Nico partly blamed that thought on the ever present eight year old personality, but he also knew that he could easily be won over by actual food even when he was fourteen…
Steve hadn't known what to exactly think about the dark child at first. He had honestly expected him to be a mini Hitler after Nico said that the lunatic was his half brother. So imagine his surprise when he walks into the kitchen and sees the kid staring off into space with an empty glass and the chocolate milk jug on the counter.
"Nico?" Steve called, but he got no reply.
He reached out to shake him awake, but realized his mistake too soon. As soon as he touched him, Nico acted and punched him in the chest. Hard. Steve fell to the ground with an 'oof'.
"Sorry, I just acted on impulse." Nico apologized, his voice slightly worried.
Steve got up and looked at him, really looked at him. Nico was in black pajama shorts and an oversized band t-shirt. He didn't look at all threatening, just worried. He wasn't confident like he ha been earlier that day. Instead, he looked as though he had just gotten out of a war and everything like the broken child soldier he was.
"It's fine. It takes a lot to get me actually hurt, though I have to say you have a mean left hook." Steve told him.
"What are you doing up in the middle of the night for?" Nico asked, pure curiousness evident in his voice.
"Same as you, I bet. Nightmares." Steve replied.
He was guessing that was why Nico was up so early. Any person in their right mind would only be up because of their inner demons. The small "Oh" was what told him he was correct.
"Wanna talk about it?" he offered while pouring Nico the chocolate milk he most likely forgot about and helping himself to some.
"Not really. Talking about it makes it worse." Nico admitted.
Steve watched as he pulled his knees up to his chest, making him look even smaller than he had been.
"Alright. Then do you want to help me make chocolate chip pancakes?" Steve asked, pulling down all the necessary ingredients the pancakes.
"Sure, why not?" Nico said with a small smile.
Steve returned the smile with his own and the two got to work. It turned out Nico was a very sweet kid behind the mean, badass, Son of Hades exterior. He didn't like loud noises, of which he figured out when an explosion came from Tony's lab. He lived on the streets for awhile before going to live with his father. He wanted to help people, though they'd usually shy away from him. He loved animals very much, but most were either scared of him or they'd try to kill him. Nico then explained that he gave off a death-like aura as a son of Hades. The best thing about him in Steve's opinion, though, was the fact he'd been through so much, yet he kept that childish innocent mindset throughout everything. Most people lose that kind of innocence after all that he'd gone through.
So, as he watched him out of the corner of his eye (he couldn't help but laugh as he watched Nico sneak a couple chocolate chips), Steve found himself warming up to the strange boy.
By the time the others were awake, the two were thick as thieves.
"So, what's the occasion?" Tony asked.
"Nothing. Nico and I were just up early and we decided to make breakfast. Right, Nico?" Steve said.
"Yep." Nico replied, drowning his pancakes.
Steve took the syrup away and laughed at the scandalized look Nico sent him.
"You're supposed to eat pancakes with syrup, not syrup with a little bit of pancake." Steve admonished, setting it next to Natasha.
"Maybe I'm diabetic and need a lot of sugary substances?" Nico retorted.
"For one, orange juice would suit you just fine, and two, no insulin." Steve shot back.
"High metabolism?" he offered.
"If that were the case, you shouldn't get any at all!" Steve snorted.
"What about ADHD or dyslexia?" Nico questioned.
"If it's ADHD, then I've doomed us all. Dyslexia has nothing to do with your sugar intake." Steve said.
Nico took a big bite out of his pancakes while Thor looked at Steve with a look of horror.
"What is it, big guy?" Tony asked.
"I just remembered that on Midgard, people assume that demigods have this 'ADHD' that the captain speaks of." Thor answered.
"Nico, do you have ADHD?" Steve asked.
"Yep!" Nico replied through a mouthful of syrup coated pancakes.
"Oh dear Lord, we are all dead." Bruce said.
"I'm not that bad! It wears off! I think…" Nico assured them, his hands shaking from all the sugar.
"Take him to the park. Or a cemetery. Or whatever little Hades children do to run off some steam!" Tony ordered.
"I still want to actually explore the world. What better way than exploring the parks and all of New York with a kid who can probably help me blend in more?" Steve said.
"Great! After breakfast, you take the kid!" Tony exclaimed.