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Today, Zatanna was tired.
She was up late the night before. There had been no particular reason; she just couldn’t sleep. When her alarm went off at 6:45am she forced herself out of bed to start the day of her usual League duties. After a long shift at the Watchtower, she was running on sheer willpower, a large iced coffee with way too much creamer, and a few chewy granola bars. Her feet hurt from the black heeled boots she wore with her uniform and her eyes felt droopy.
Everything seemed distant.
She was so out of it, she had forgotten about the plans she made with the usual crew to get some drinks after everyone had finished their regular day. She headed home from the Watchtower, changed out of the magician’s uniform into something much more casual, freshened up her makeup, and headed out to the nearest Zeta Tube to get to Gotham. None of it felt like it happened. She was somewhat of a phantom just going through motions and she couldn’t figure out why.
Now, Zatanna was sitting at a high top bar table with a glass of some alcoholic drink Artemis ordered for her. Her fingers were holding the thin black straw in the drink, which she used to stir the ice keeping it cold. Her eyes were focused on the crowd around the room. All of her hero friends mingling with civilians. It amazed her that they could even be adults and have some sense of normalcy on a Thursday night. Nobody knew that Miss Martian and Superboy, who were happily engaged, were dancing along to the music (much to Conner’s dismay). Nobody knew Tigress, Nightwing, and Aqualad were laughing with each other at the other end of the bar, telling jokes and stories about their own chaotic weeks. Nobody knew Zatanna, the Mistress of Magic, was sitting there absentmindedly drinking a cocktail and people watching. She felt immune to the world around her, and today, she needed it.
She smiled, her eyes resting on Dick. He looked better than ever. She felt a tight squeeze in her chest as her eyes traced the familiar features of his face without the ridiculous sunglasses hiding it from her. They hadn’t talked in quite a while. She was so busy, and he was so busy, and their lives didn’t intersect anymore. He was recently a single man from what Artemis had told her, and somehow, it made him look lighter. It made her happy, but she missed him. That may have been a reason she forced herself to not fall asleep as soon as she walked in the door of her apartment. Maybe she subconsciously needed to see him.
Or maybe she really needed the drink.
She raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip. The sweetness of the soda mixed nicely with the Jack Daniels in her drink, despite the natural burn the alcohol left on her throat. She let out a sigh as she carefully placed it back on the table.
“Maybe I’m having a mid-life crisis...” Zatanna mumbled to herself, looking for her group of friends who were no longer found where they once stood.
“You’re 22, I’m pretty sure you’re not having a mid-life crisis, Zee.”
Zatanna jumped in her seat, turning around to see none other than Dick Grayson standing there, a drink in his hand and a smirk on his face. Her eyes softened slightly at his gaze but she quickly recomposed herself. She crossed her arms over her chest, a gesture to show her pretend annoyance.
“And how do you know?” She huffed.
“Well, I just know you, and you aren’t like that,” was his retort. She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t need anyone to tell me if I’m one way or another,” she said, very matter-of-fact. His chuckle made her heart skip a beat. It skipped a second one when he took the empty bar stool beside her.
“But you need someone to listen to you if you’re having a bad day.”
“If I’m having a breakdown, I can handle it,” she shrugged, taking another drink from her glass. This time, it was a longer sip. She hoped it would numb the conversation.
“And what if you’re having a blackout?” Dick asked, gesturing to the now half empty glass on the table. Again, Zatanna shrugged, taking a drink. Only a few sips remained.
“Depends, what would you do?” It was her turn to be playful now. To this, now Dick nonchalantly shrugged.
“Depends, what would you want me to do?”
Damn, he was good.
If Zatanna were honest, a kiss would do her some justice. Some kind of physical affection to make her skin warm up instantly. Or maybe more than a kiss. A good old fashioned makeout with her former boyfriend sounded like heaven right now. It was the best distraction during their teenage years, she bet it’d still work. Thinking about it, her cheeks were starting to feel warm. Then again, maybe it was the alcohol hitting her. Maybe she should have eaten a real meal before drinking, she knew better.
“I don’t need you to do anything, nor do I need anyone,” was her final answer. With it, she took the last long drink from the glass, placing it back down on the table with a thud noise that almost scared her. Dick laughed, taking a drink from his own bottle of beer before putting it on the table much gentler than she did.
“What if you need someone more than you think you do?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“What I need is another drink.” Dodging his question was like dodging a counterspell; easy when given the right chance. She quickly stood up, her heels hitting the ground. It took her a second to regain her balance before she looked over her shoulder at him, shot him her trademark smile, and made her way to the bar.
It was going to be a long night.
From an early age, many children wondered what it would be like to see themselves from somebody else’s perspective. Zatanna, though, had always wondered what it was like to really understand herself from the inside out. She might have had a better idea as to why she reacted in certain ways, or how she could analyze something from one angle when Artemis saw it from another. What was the wiring of her brain that made her act and behave the way she did? Most of all, why did Dick Grayson’s hand resting on top of hers make butterflies slice holes in her gut?
Her fingertips felt like they could shoot lightning when she had first felt his hand graze her own. They had spent the majority of the night talking, catching up on each other’s lives. He asked about the stage shows, she asked about Bruce and Tim. It felt good to have a normal conversation with him. Eventually, their hands made their way to each other resting on top of the table. Zatanna hadn’t even remembered when everyone else headed home. She was mesmerized by Dick.
In the middle of their conversation, Zatanna had let out a yawn. She glanced at the clock on her phone and her eyes widened at the time. Dick raised an eyebrow.
“Is it your witching hour already?” He teased her. Zatanna laughed, playfully elbowing him.
“Well, no, but I didn’t get tons of sleep last night,” she admitted with a light laugh. Her cheeks were rosy from the few more drinks she had. She lost count after drink number three. She ran her fingers haphazardly through her hair as an attempt to push it away from her face.
“Want me to walk you back to the Zeta?”
“I would love that.”
Both Dick and Zatanna stood up from their uncomfortable bar seats, paid their tabs, and made their way out the door with Zatanna’s arm wrapped around Dick’s as they walked.
They strolled down the empty Gotham streets, arm in arm, enjoying a comfortable silence. The only noise came from Zatanna’s heels clicking against the ground. As they walked, she felt herself get lost in her thoughts. Her arm around Dick’s was so comforting. She didn’t have a care in the world. Everything felt as it should.
While they walked, she wondered if he had the same electric feeling she had from her fingertips to her spine down to the tips of her toes. Physical contact was her love language and nobody had spoken it to her in months. The thin hairs on her arms stood up straight when she felt Dick’s arm tense up to hold her closer. It was as if they were only doing it for him. As they continued down the street to the alley they were both so familiar with, Zatanna stole a glance up at him. His eyes were trained on the area around them, almost as if he were on alert in case someone were to come and disrupt their bliss.
Dick’s eyes met Zatanna in that moment and she saw a light flush of pink settle in on his cheeks. She assumed hers looked the same. ‘It’s from the alcohol,’ she told herself. But what if it wasn’t? What if his cheeks were that rosy shade because he was so close to her? What if it was because he still had the feelings she desperately hid from him?
Being so lost in thought, she hadn’t seen the crack in the sidewalk. Her heel landed in it and the next thing she knew, she was on her knees on the ground in front of her. She somehow let go of Dick’s warm embrace. Her ankle hurt like hell, and looking behind her she saw her heel was cracked in half.
“Dammit,” she sighed, but also laughed. “Leave it to me,” she said sarcastically as she moved to sit on the ground with her legs crossed underneath her. She rubbed her ankle to try and soothe it but it wasn’t helping. The ground was cold underneath her, but it felt nice against her warmed skin. Dick crouched down next to her, glancing at her broken shoe and scraped knees.
“That doesn’t look so hot,” he frowned before looking up to meet her gaze. He slowly reached out to touch it, to which Zatanna immediately winced. He furrowed his brows together at the sound. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” she reassured him, looking down again at the now heel-less shoe, deciding it was best to just get rid of it. She unbuckled the top strap of the one, tossing it next to her. Dick looked at her, raising his right brow. She did the same with the good one, too. “No sense in keeping these anymore,” she laughed, a sweet bubbly laugh that she didn’t realize made Dick chuckle.
“Come on,” he said, standing back up straight and offering her a hand. She took it, feeling that electricity shoot back up her arm again. It almost made her gasp, but she tried her best to hide it. Luckily, her ankle was a good cover as it hurt to put pressure on. She let out a soft wince in pain. Dick immediately noticed and without a second thought, scooped her up with one arm supporting her back and the other holding up her legs. Zatanna would be lying if she said she didn’t feel like a princess.
“Dick!” Zatanna laughed, half protesting, half enjoying the attention. This was so not her normal personality, but between it and the alcohol, she just couldn’t help it. He continued down the street, keeping her close to his chest as they walked. Neither one of them cared about her broken shoes or swollen ankle.
“Hey, I’m a hero, it’s what we do,” he said nonchalantly as he looked down at her, giving her his signature Grayson grin and wink to follow. Zatanna let out an over exasperated sigh for dramatic effect, leaning her head into his chest as he carried her.
“I can’t argue with that,” she mumbled, happy and buzzed, listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat that continued to electrify her entire existence.
“Well, here we are.”
Dick had carried Zatanna those extra blocks and down the alleyway to the janky old phone booth they were all too familiar with. Gently, he set her down from his arms, making sure to help her stabilize with the pressure of her body weight on her good ankle. She was still barefoot. Her bad ankle was already dark shades of blue and purple.
Zatanna leaned her back against the unopened door.
“Thank you,” she breathed, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes locked with his and she felt that warm flush creep back up her cheeks. “Leave it to me to make a fool of myself in front of the Dick Grayson,” she laughed, trying to distract from the situation.
“Oh, so now I’m the Dick Grayson, huh?” He teased, taking a step closer to her. Her eyes flickered from his eyes down to his lips a few times. She saw him do the same. She hadn’t been able to remember her last kiss with someone. Maybe it was on New Year's Eve with that guy M’gann tried setting her up with, so that was at least six months ago. She practically had cobwebs on her mouth. She realized she had been quiet for too long and snapped herself out of it to respond.
“You always have been, and always will be, boy wonder.”
Next thing Zatanna knew, she felt Dick’s familiar lips press against her own and his hands cupped her cheeks, keeping her face close. Instantly, her arms went around his neck to pull herself closer. This was the moment she’d been begging for all night long. The kiss. Her kiss. When she felt Dick try to pull away to catch his breath, she pulled him back in for a second round to which he didn’t protest.
Zatanna didn’t want this moment to end. She felt like someone needed to pinch her because she was dreaming. Carefully, she opened up one eye to make sure it was real and when she saw how close Dick was to her, it shut instantly.
The two only pulled apart to breathe. Zatanna took in a deep breath, getting the slightest scent of Dick’s cologne. She didn’t drop her hands from around his neck and his hands didn’t fall away from her face. Neither one of them said anything for a moment. They were just taking in each other.
“I...” They both started to speak at the same time.
“I uh-”
“Well um-”
Without another attempt made, both Dick and Zatanna erupted in laughter. How typical of them. They have one deep, intimate moment finally come to fruition after a night of tension building up to it and now neither one of them could speak to the other without babbling like an idiot.
“What are we doing?” Zatanna asked through her chuckle.
“Well, I think we were just in the middle of starting up a steamy make-out session,” Dick said suggestively, adding a wink to the end. That made Zatanna laugh even harder.
“To be honest, I’d been daydreaming about that since we started talking.” She didn’t know why she admitted it, but it felt good to get her feelings out in the open. For once, she wasn’t shoving her baggage to the back of her mind.
“That’d make two of us, and I suppose it takes two to tango. However, I don’t foresee any dancing in your distant future,” he teased, glancing down at her ankle. “Unless you have some crazy backwards saying to heal that,” he gestured to her ankle, “quickly.”
“I don’t, healing magic is the next step in my program,” she joked, “but once it’s healed, you now owe me one dance, since you of course brought it up.”
“Deal.”
They fell into a comfortable silence again. Zatanna’s fingers slid up Dick’s neck into his hair, twisting and twirling her fingers through it. Dick’s hands fell to Zatanna’s waist, his hands tracing small circles on either side. It sent chills up Zatanna’s spine for what felt like the hundredth time tonight. If she could feel that everyday for the rest of her life, she’d never complain again. She didn’t even care that they were in the alley in the middle of the night. All that mattered was that they were together at that moment. She was present right here, right now, not feeling the slightest bit invisible.
This was Zatanna’s chance to make her move, and she decided to go for it.
“So,” she cleared her throat, snapping Dick out of whatever daze he had fallen into. “I uh, I think this is the part when I invite you back to my apartment for the night.”
“Is that so? Are you inviting me to stay the night?” Dick raised an eyebrow with a smirk on his face.
“That depends, are you accepting?”
“That depends, are you still insistent on not needing anyone?”
“I don’t need anyone, I need everyone,” she laughed. “That makes no sense, right? It did in my head.” This made Dick laugh along with her.
“Well then, guess I must be everyone, and I most certainly can’t argue with that,” he grinned, picking her up once again. It caused her to squeal out of excitement.
As Dick stepped into the Zeta Tube to head back to New York City, Zatanna had a goofy grin on her face. No longer was she absent from her day. She was fully present in the moment, her moment. It was no longer a daze or a daydream. She had her everyone, and she was content with that.