Work Text:
Zatanna’s always told Artemis to remember the door stop when she goes into the storage room. Artemis has never listened of course, and it was only a matter of time before she ended up locked in there. Zatanna just never thought she’d be locked in there with her.
“How many times do I have to say I’m sorry?” Artemis asks, sitting across from Zatanna. She’s taken off her apron, and is flexing her fingers, a nervous habit.
“As many times as I’ve told you to remember the door stop,” Zatanna replies.
“We’d be here all week then,” Artemis grumbles under her breath.
Zatanna shoves her then, half an act of frustration, half serious.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know,” she finally accepts, smoothing the wrinkles on her apron.
They fall into silence as she anxiously locks and unlocks her phone, hoping that maybe someone has responded to her text in the group chat.
It’s Friday night, and the two of them were supposed to be getting ready for a party at Dick’s, but they’d spent the whole day together baking from recipes Zatanna had found online. Initially, it was supposed to be a quick trip into the storage area to put away the cookie cutters and mixing bowls, but one forgotten doorstop, one sudden draught, and one badly designed door later they were stuck in Zatanna’s uncle’s spare room, and they’d been stuck there for two hours with no hope of getting out. Artemis begins pacing then, running her hand through her hair, cagey at being trapped for so long.
“What the fuck is taking them so long?” she half shouts, nudging a box of long forgotten 80s magazines out of her way.
“I’m sure they just got caught up. You know how into it Gar gets when Dick gives him total party planning control,” Zatanna chuckles.
“I know. I’m just sick of being cooped up in her you know, like there’s just so much stuff and-” Artemis is cut off by Zatanna’s hand over her mouth.
“Do you hear that?”
She’s answered with a muffled “hear what?” and the shake of Artemis’s head.
“Listen,” she says again, this time removing her hand.
“I don’t hear shit. Too much time in this room is giving you auditory hallucinations,” Artemis retorts.
“Listen. No, really listen,” she says again.
Artemis is silent, cocking her head to the side while she tries to hear what Zatanna is hearing.
She’s ready to stop listening when she hears it, faint footsteps, and then a distant: “Yo Z?”
The two of them rush to the door, knocking and shouting and before long they hear the clicking of the latch before it opens to reveal Garfield and Wally, both looking slightly puzzled.
“Your uncle’s house is huge dude. We couldn’t quite get the right room.”
They look sheepish, but there’s a hint of awe in their expression.
“It’s cool. You found us anyway and thank God. I was gonna lose my mind if I had to keep looking at the fucking Rolling Stones poster her uncle has up,” Artemis says, dashing out of the room.
“It’s a nice poster,” Zatanna defends, but Artemis is already halfway down the hall.
“So,” Garfield starts, but Zatanna cuts him off before he can finish.
“We were putting away baking stuff, she forgot the door stop and we were trapped. That is all.”
“So you guys just sat in a room. For two hours?” Wally looks equal parts confused and amused.
“Yes. Sometimes people can be dating and just talk when they’re in a room together.”
Wally and Garfield just throw each other a skeptical look. Zatanna narrows her eyes, but decides not to comment. Let the boys think what they wanted, she had a party to get ready for.