The machines beeped methodically in the tiny room. Thanks to the advanced technology at the DEO, the surgery had only taken a few hours, but it had felt like an eternity. Hazel was stable for now. The doctors were confident she would make a full recovery, but they still wanted to keep an eye on her, at least until she woke up.

She was incredibly lucky, they had said; just a centimeter over and it would have hit her heart, how lucky that the bullet hadn't shattered in the impact and hit anything other than her lung.

How lucky.

Lucky would have been the bullet missing her all together. Lucky would have been Jason noticing in time to block it. Jason knew he could have done more. He could have been more vigilant, he could have stopped Hazel from confronting the attackers in the first place. If he had just been selfish enough to have lunch with Nico alone then the article wouldn't even exist.

Jason shook his head, trying to drive the thoughts away. He had learned a long time ago that dwelling on what he could have done doesn't help anything, the only thing you can do is learn from it.

But still he kept running through what had happened. He couldn't stop seeing Hazel get shot, Nico kneeling over her desperately trying to save her, or Nico begging him to help and-

Jason froze.

Nico knew.

Nico knew he was Superman.

In all of the commotion he had missed it at the time, but Nico had called him by his name, not Superman.

A hand touched his shoulder and Jason flinched away, turning to see Thalia.

"Are you okay?"

He just gave her a brief glance. "I'm fine. I have to go. Keep me updated on Hazel."

Without even waiting for a reply he was already out the door and in the air.

Naturally he wanted to confront Nico immediately, but if by some small chance he was wrong he couldn't afford any rash decisions. So instead he flew around the city for a bit, staying out of sight, to try and clear his head.

He couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. Jason had constantly gone to bat for Nico, no matter what everyone else had said about him. Now he couldn't stop those nagging little voices telling him that this was the perfect thing Nico could use against him, it had been a trap all along and Jason had fallen for it like the kind hearted fool he was. How long had Nico known? How did he even find out in the first place? But most of all, why hadn't he told Jason that he knew?

The sun hung low in the sky, not quite dipping into the horizon just yet. Jason sighed and turned on his comm, changing it to the frequency that him and Thalia used when they didn't want anyone else listening. Thalia was usually the more logical of the two, perhaps she could offer some insight on Jason's dilemma. With the way he'd run off there was a high probability that she would be tuned into it.

"Hey."

"Jason?" She said after a moment. "What's going on?"

"How's Hazel?" He asked instead.

"...She's okay, her vitals are good, but she hasn't woken up yet, which is to be expected." She was quite for a moment, waiting for him to respond, when it was clear that he wasn't going to she said, "Jason what's going on? Why did you run off like that?"

He took a breath. "He knows."

"Who knows what?"

"Nico. He knows."

He heard her swear. "Okay, okay, we can fix this. Are you sure he knows?"

"Fairly certain."

"We've dealt with a problem like this before with Ms. Grant, we can do the same thing."

Jason remembered it well, Ms. Grant the previous CEO of CatCo, became suspicious of Jason's identity and eventually she put two and two together. The only way they threw her off the trail was for Chiron to shapeshift to look like Superman and for him and Jason to be in the same room at the same time, it was a foolproof plan.

"I can go get Chiron now, and explain-"

"No." The word was out of his mouth before he could stop it. "I mean, it's a good back up plan but…I think I need to do this on my own first. I just-I need to know how...why."

She seemed to take a moment to process what he'd said. "Are you sure this is a good idea? If this goes bad-"

"I know. I mean I've trusted him this far right?" He could practically hear everything she wasn't letting herself say, Jason appreciated the gesture. "Go ahead and tell Chiron, just in case. I'll call to let you know how it goes."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I will."

Jason had never been to Nico's apartment before. Nico had only mentioned it once in all the time they'd spoken, if Jason hadn't known any better he would think that Nico lived in his office. But now Jason was here, hovering outside his very real apartment.

Quaint, was a word that came to mind when he saw it. It was a modest place for someone of Nico's financial standings. He lived on the sixth floor, the brick had been weathered to a dull grey and the railing on the balcony had small specks of rust. This high up, with no other buildings at the same height, afforded a certain level of privacy; you didn't always have to worry about closing your curtains when it got dark out.

The sun had gone only a few minutes ago, leaving stars and a streak of orange in the sky.

Nico sat at his dining table, a coffee mug and his phone lay neatly in front of him while he balanced his elbows on the surface; he wrung his hands together where they were clasped and mostly stared at the clean wooden surface of the table, only taking small glances down at his phone.

He looked like he hadn't moved in hours, judging by the fact that the lights were all off. He must have come home from the hospital-at least Jason hoped he had gone to the hospital, after all he had been hit too-fixed a drink and waited. There was nothing else he really could have done other than wait. Jason hadn't told him where he was taking Hazel, and most likely he hadn't heard anything since then. Jason couldn't even imagine what Nico must be feeling, after having lost one sister in a tragic accident, and then to see another one, one who he'd only met a few months ago, get shot right in front of him and then taken away and hear nothing for hours on end? Jason didn't know how he managed to cope.

Jason landed fully on the balcony and knocked gently on the window.

Nico startled slightly out of his daze and turned to look at the noise. When he saw Jason he stood quickly and made his way over to unlock the sliding glass door and let him in.

"How is she?" Nico asked before Jason could even get fully inside.

Jason pulled the door closed behind him. "She's stable. They say she should make a full recovery."

Nico sagged in relief, it was like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders.

"She's going to be fine." Jason assured.

Nico made his way back over to the table, gripping the chair for balance before sitting down.

"Thank you," Nico gasped. "Thank you."

Jason searched around for the light switch before flicking them on. Now that he could see better he made is way over to Nico, not quite sure if he should take a seat as well, so he stood a respectable distance away.

"It'll still be a few days before you can see her."

"What? Why?"

"Technically where I took her outsiders aren't allowed, and it's too risky to try and move her to a regular hospital."

Nico opened his mouth to protest.

"I'll keep you updated on any changes." Jason said before he could. "And when she wakes up we'll find a way for you to talk to her."

Nico sat back in his chair with a nod. He looked down at his hands in his lap, gripping them together.

"How bad was it?"

"It could have been worse."

Nico's head snapped up to him. "Don't lie to me."

Jason sighed. "You were right. She wouldn't have made it if we had to wait for the paramedics." Nico already looked rattled enough, so Jason decided to spare him all the details for the moment. "Speaking of paramedics, did you get treated for your injuries?"

Nico reached to touch his injured arm. "I took care of it."

"You didn't go to a doctor."

Nico sneered slightly. "I think I've had enough press about me lately, without adding this to the mix. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before. Certainly nothing compared to-" He couldn't bring himself to finish.

Nico let out a shaky breath and ran his hand through his hair. He glanced back over at Jason before looking away again.

"I'm sorry." Nico said. "If it wasn't for you then...I don't know." He shook his head. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"You don't need to."

Though, Jason thought, if he really wanted to then maybe he could answer some questions. But now after everything Jason wasn't sure how to bring it up without sounding insensitive.

Jason sighed.

"What?"

"Nothing, well not nothing, it just feels kind of inappropriate to bring it up now."

"After the day I've had, I doubt it compares."

Jason thought for a moment how exactly he wanted to approach this.

"Before, when you were asking me to help Hazel, you called me Jason."

Until now Nico had been avoided looking him in the eyes. They only held contact for a couple seconds before Nico looked away again.

"So you did hear it."

He took a small step forward. "Why do you think I'm Jason?"

Nico gave him a withering look. "The cat is already out of several bags, you don't have to pretend. I know, and now you know that I know."

Jason had a choice to make. He could do everything in his power to convince Nico that Jason wasn't Superman; after all Thalia had already informed Chiron on the matter and he was only a call away, he could be here in a matter of minutes. Or he could trust Nico, and given his previous track record, the answer was obvious.

"How long have you known?"

"Since the gala."

"What? But that was months ago!"

"I know."

Nico stood, grabbing the mug from the table and made his way to the kitchen, Jason trailing behind him. He was at a loss for words as he watched Nico rinse the mug out and leave it in the sink.

"You've known for months….and never said anything?"

"I didn't figure it all out right away." Nico said as he opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "The gala is just when I first started suspecting that you might be."

"But you still never said anything." Jason said helplessly.

"Back then we were just starting to consider each other friends. You might not want to admit it but I could tell you were still a bit skeptical of me, albeit for good reason. How was I supposed to just bring that up without it sounding like I had blackmail on you? Should I have just said 'Hey by the way, I know that you, Jason Grace, are Superman, but don't worry that I know!'"

Jason rolled his eyes at Nico's hypothetical reveal. "Obviously that's not how you should have phrased it, but...were you ever going to tell me at all?"

"Of course I was, I was just trying to find the right time."

Jason leaned back onto the counter behind him. "Well I guess if you were going to blackmail me you would have done it by now."

Nico's eyes went soft. "You're my friend, Jason. You have to know that I would never use your identity against you, right? I know a thing or two about having your secrets revealed, it's a really shitty thing to do to someone."

The article, Jason immediately thought, but something told him Nico meant more than just that.

"You know," Jason said, "sometimes I feel like you know all this stuff about me and I still don't know that much about you."

Nico looked off to the side. "You're probably right, I'm not exactly forthcoming with personal details."

"True. But I imagine it can't be easy."

Nico looked down and then back up at Jason. "I know I should have told you sooner, but I just didn't….know how. Are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good." Jason glanced at the clock on the microwave beside Nico's head, and then down at Nico himself. He looked haggard, to put it lightly, like we was going to drop any minute. "It's getting late, you should get some rest."

"It's been a hell of a day."

Jason started making his way back to the balcony door.

"I'll keep you updated on Hazel's condition, and as soon as she's cleared to leave I'll bring her here."

Nico nodded in agreement. "I'll have to get her stuff from her hotel room."

Jason moved to open the door but stopped. There was still one question he hadn't asked yet and he knew it would bug him until he knew the answer.

"How did you figure it out?"

Nico was briefly taken back by the question before regaining his composure and shrugged.

"The scar on your lip. Jason has one but Superman doesn't. At some point during the gala you must have forgotten to uncover it when you switched back. Even if that had been just a weird coincidence there's a bunch of other little things. Separately they don't really mean much, but together, it's kind of hard not to draw your conclusions. It's not super obvious if that's what you're worried about."

Jason hadn't been, but maybe he should be.

"Well you're a part of an exclusive club now of people that know."

"And who all is that?"

"You remember everyone from game night?"

"Yeah. Wait, even Officer Reyna?"

"She figured it out after her and Thalia started dating. Then there's everyone where I work."

"At CatCo?" Nico asked incredulously.

"Where….Superman works," Jason clarified. "Where Hazel is."

Perhaps it would relieve some of the remaining tension knowing that Jason worked where Hazel was currently being kept.

Jason slid open the door. "For what it's worth, I'm actually kind of relieved that you know now. I know I can trust you. You're a good person Nico."

He looked like he wanted to disagree.

"It's getting late." He said instead, echoing Jason's earlier statement.

Jason wanted to push the issue, but it wasn't the time for it, so he let it drop. Just by looking at him Jason could see that Nico desperately needed some rest.

"I'll keep you updated." With that he was out the door.