"Zatanna. B-0-8." The computers voice sounded over.
The first thing Zatanna heard when she stepped into the cave was a loud munching sound. She rolled her eyes, knowing that only one person could eat like that. She pushed her backpack off and threw it on the closest chair before making her way to the kitchen.
"Seems like you're cleaning out the whole place." Zatanna called out to the redhead, he was sitting at the kitchen's island and was eating at a pile of sandwiches. The counter was full of many things; condiment bottles, piles of cut meat, cheeses, and about every other thing you want to put in a sandwich.
He gulped down the food in his mouth and turned around to Zatanna, who was leaning against the doorway with arms crossed. "Hey Zatanna."
"Hi, Wally." She made her way to stand across from him. "What's up? You're usually never here this early."
Wally took another bite, slowing down a bit to talk to the raven-haired girl. "Yeah, I had this half-day at school so I came here to hang out."
"Cool. But you do know that every one else has a full day of school?"
"Yeah, I know. I thought that Kaldur would be here but it turns out he left to visit Atlantis or something." He shrugged.
"Oh yeah, he told me about it a couple of days ago." Zatanna leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm. She watched Wally loudly eat, she was still not used to him being able to eat about ten sandwiches within two minutes. "You have this high metabolism, right?" He nodded. "How many calories do you have to eat in a day?"
"Last time I checked about seven thousand." Wally paused to think before nodding. "Yeah, seems about right. Might even be eight thousand now but around there." He finished his last bite, chewing quickly, he got up and started to put away the objects. "Mind helping? I'll be killed if the others find the kitchen a mess."
Zatanna grinned and nodded. "Sure. No problem." She grabbed the ketchup and mustard bottles and put them in the fridge.
"So how's living in the cave? You still go to school in New York, right?" Wally asked, trying to keep the conversation going. He, of course, thought that Zatanna was pretty, no one sees a fair skinned, blue eyed, black haired girl everyday, but he saw how much Robin stumbled over himself whenever he was around her and plus he didn't really see Zatanna as a potential girl for the Wall-man so he just went and counted her as just a friend. Besides the only girl on his mind those days was a certain blonde archer.
"Pretty cool and yeah, but Batman and Red Tornado are thinking of making plans to transfer me to M'gann's and Conner's school.." She nodded, pausing for a second to look at the floor. "Kind of miss being back in the city though, even though the humidity is pretty terrible."
"Must be bad to be away from home." Wally said, patting her shoulder before closing the small container of cheese. "But, listen, as least you have everyone coming in and out to keep you company." He placed the container in the fridge before going to sit at the table. "Did you get the chance to look around the cave and the harbour?"
"Not really, I mean, I did get a tour of the cave but not the outside. Finals are coming up so I just usually study or just hang out with Conner and M'gann." Zatanna answered.
"You didn't even get to go to the beach, did you?"
"Not really. Don't go to many beaches."
"What?"
"Well, I live... lived... in New York City. Not that many beaches to begin with. I'd have to go to the other boroughs to get a sunny day near the water." She shrugged. "They don't call it a concrete jungle for nothing." She joked.
"Nope." Wally waved his hand. "We can't have that."
"Hmm?"
"How about I finally start a little bit of the tour of Happy Harbour." Wally grinned. "Let's go to the beach!"
Zatanna stared, an eyebrow raised. 'You're kidding? Now?" She shrugged. "Maybe we should wait for the others?"
"I never kid." The redhead replied, Zatanna snorted a bit. " And of course now. The weather's beautiful, it's a perfect day for a swim in the water. Come on. It'll be fun. Besides, I'm not waiting for another two hours for the others to arrive and we can't have you not accustomed to the beach here. Almost blasphemy."
"Hey. I go to a Catholic school." She pointed in good nature.
Wally gave a chuckle, staring at her for her answer. "Well...?"
Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's go to the beach." She patted her skirt down. "So...?" She started off awkwardly.
"Go get ready. I have to go change anyways." Wally finished for her, he jumped off the chair and stretched. "We'll meet up in like fifteen minutes."
Zatanna nodded and began to walk to her room, she knew she had to have some bathing suit under her piles of clothes.
Wally whistled, waiting for Zatanna near one of the entrances out of the cave. He carried two surfboards under one arm and was holding a large picnic basket with the other, two towel and a beach ball were placed on top of it.
"Are you trying to only cover your nose with sun block?"
Wally looked up at the blackette, wearing a black and blue bathing suit and had put her hair in a low pony tail, he shook his head in confusion. "What?"
"You got like a huge blot of sunblock on your nose." She pointed to her own and nodded. "Looks like you're a lifeguard."
Wally scowled in good humour. "I look like freaking Rudolph whenever my nose gets sunburned."
"The red nosed reindeer?" She teased.
"Yeah yeah." Wally threw one of the towel to Zatanna who caught it easily and wrapped it around her neck.
"Why do you have all this stuff?" Zatanna look at the stuff the redhead had. "Where do you even keep it?"
"I have my own designated room here, you know, whenever I need to stay over or something. I just keep all this type of stuff here since it's easier than dragging it from my house to the nearest zeta." Wally set down the basket and went to a lock on the wall and opened the entrance.
A large part of the wall moved forward and then sideways, inside the cave it looks part of the mountain but outside it just seemed like a huge rock to any on going passengers. Wally grabbed the basket and started to walk out, in Zatanna's point of view it seemed as if he was power walking.
"Come on!" She heard him call.
Zatanna watched her stepped, the small pathway to the beach was rough and didn't seemed like it was trailed for a long time. She followed Wally at a close distance knowing full well that it would be easy to be lost in the surrounding forest area.
"So why'd you bring two boards?"
"Well, one for me and one for you."
"Uh, I don't know how to surf..." Zatanna turned to look at Wally gave an exasperated sigh. "I mean I know what you gotta do but I've never tried it out."
"Fine, I'll teach you."
"You don't have to do that." Zatanna waved her hand to dismiss him.
"It's alright. I think I got some patience while teaching Conner to surf." He rolled his eyes, but his chest shout out in pride. As if teaching the clone was an accomplishment no one could conquer. "You should have been there it was horrible."
Zatanna rolled her eyes. "He couldn't have been that bad."
"Oh yes, it was. He hulked out like every five seconds and broke every board. We had gone through about seven board, Robin paid for the ones we had to buy and he like whined like a kid he is-"
"Excuse me, Kid Flash."
"Hush" Wally said shaking his head before continuing. "Anyways, on the eighth board he finally was able to like actually stand on it and he was getting the hang of it but then his his freaking boulder feet like broke it in half."
Zatanna tried to keep a straight face but failed after glancing at Wally's blank expression. She laughed out loud, doubling over and holding her stomach. "You can't be serious. Boulder feet!" She straightened and walked on, wiping at her eyes with her towel.
Wally chuckled and nodded at her. "Yeah, pretty ridiculous but true."
She grinned and walked along, growing more comfortable as time went on. She was of course friends with the speedster but they never hanged out alone or at least had a conversation together without the others in it. Zatanna had to rely on Artemis' definition of who Wally was and went on each day smiling at his small corny jokes. She couldn't help but feel closer with him now; she always admired his funny attitude, they always fought in synch when they were teamed up in a mission, and he had been very welcoming when she joined the team. He even had saved a plate of M'gann's cookies for her after she moved in for the cave. It was good to be hang out with Wally. She grinned at the thought of days like this from that day on, joking around and not having to deal with things such as missions.
Only a couple of months after the whole New Years fiasco and the team still hasn't gotten rid of the memories of those days. They were able to move on but things were more of a risk those days. Missions were given out less and when they did receive one they were to be do the best they could. They weren't to mess up anymore. Things became a little sober in the months of January and Febraury, Roy always came back with leads to Speedy and everything ended in failure. On top of all that the Justice League still weren't able to learn what had happened during those sixteen hours and they weren't able to learn any more of the Light. While all this failure saddened the team they were able to pull through, going on with life. Zatanna was managing through the change and was glad that Robin payed small visits whenever he could. Artemis and Wally bickered only a little less and actually hung out without ripping each others throats out. Conner and M'gann were happy, being the lovey dovey couple they were. Raquel spent more time in the cave and even was able to sleep over some nights. And Aqualad was Aqualad.
They walked in silence, both not bothered by it. She kept up with little difficulty, only slowing down when she had to step over a log or a big rock. Wally only the other hand walked with ease, not minding the fact that he was carrying heavy things.
"Mind telling me why you picked this trail."
"Fastest way to get to the beach from the kitchen of the cave." Wally answered, he looked to the side seeing that Zatanna was about to reply and noticed that she wasn't looking up. He nudged her, pointing forward and grinned.
Zatanna looked up at the nudge, expecting something large to be in her way. She blew a strand of hair that had gotten loose out of her face and looked over at the clear water.
Her jaw dropped, closing after another nudge and a snort from Wally, Zatanna then grinned at the view. "Oh, this is beautiful." She ran forward, her flip flops slapping on the sand, glad to be off the beaten trail. She stopped when she reached the damp sand, the waves coming in and reaching her toes. She looked at some of the foam that stayed on the sand before taking a view of the water. It was clear, much more clear then the green river water that flowed all around NYC, the blue matched the sky's colour taking a tint a little darker. She looked to the sides and saw the mountains that made up the harbour, it covered them from outsiders as if it was safety. Zatanna, at that moment, finally understood why the team was so obsessed with going to the beach. It was sight to hold and she counted herself lucky to be one of the few who were able to see it anytime they wanted.
"How is it?" Zatanna heard from behind and turned. She took a glance at the sand once more and grinned, even the sand looked better than sand at Coney Island or Rockaway, no sticks were pointed out and it didn't even look like rocks and broken shells existed there.
"Pretty awesome." She took of her flip flops and walked in the warm sand to Wally. She threw them close to his towel, which stayed bunched up on the picnic basket, before taking her towel and setting it down on the sand.
"So time to try out your surfer skills?" Wally moved in front of her, holding one surfboard in each hand.
Zatanna's lips twisted to the side as she thought, she crossed her arms and shrugged lightly. "Uh, I don't know. 'M basically a beginner, can't even stand on it properly." Wally seemed about to retort something, probably to say what he had promised her before. Free surf lessons. She shook her head to not let him start. "I do have an idea though." His eyes furrowed in confusion and curiosity. "You got any long rope? Or at least something as strong."
"Wonder where they are." M'gann said outloud. The first one out of the group to say something about the missing members.
"Who?" Conner asked, oblivious as always, from the couch. The team was on the couches in the living room watching a movie that Robin had managed to get.
"Zatanna and Wally, of course." M'gann answered, she was sitting on a stool near the kitchen's counter and had been watching her timer closely.
"Zatanna is usually here before us and Wally is always here by now."
"Maybe they're making out." Raquel suggested jokingly from the armchair. M'gann shook her head and smiled in good humour and Conner's lips twitched upwards.
"Don't joke." Robin scowled over at her, eyes hidden behind the infuriating glasses.
Artemis snorted and leaned her head against her hand, turning her attention back to the movie. She didn't want that to happen at all either, she was used to Wally's advances at the time and actually enjoyed them, but there was no point in worrying. Baywatch was always been able to care for himself and she'd be damned if all of a sudden he came into the cave bleeding and breathless.
A loud mechanical noise went through the cave, the team looked up and to the side as they saw two figures walk through.
Wally and Zatanna, deep in conversation, surprised the others with their beach outfits and wet hair. They all sat up and looked in confusion at the two who stopped in the middle of the kitchen and the living room. Robin paused the movie, an eyebrow raised as he watched the two.
"Worst game of Marco Polo. Ever. Period." Wally waved his hand through the air to emphasize. Under the other he carried two surfboards, one cracked right through the middle.
"Hey, you're the one who convinced me to make duplicates of you." Zatanna pointed at him with her free hand, her right hand holding a large basket with two wet towel on top.
"Yeah, that was a pretty bad idea. I actually got confused at one point and just went 'which one of them is me?'." Both laughed, Zatanna doubling over as she let out a soft snort. Wally pointed at her in a tease and continued.
Robin cleared his throat. "Guys?"
Both stopped and looked at the Boy Wonder. "Oh hey, what's up guys?" Wally threw a hand up, before sniffing the air. "Is that cookies I smell?" He turned to M'gann's way who nodded and grinned.
"They're almost done."
"Perfect way to end an awesome day." He said with a grin to Zatanna.
Conner, surprisingly, spoke up. "Mind telling us where you two were?"
"And what the hell is with that?" Artemis said, pointing to the two inch thick white line that seemed to run around Wally's stomache. His whole body was a much more redder colour.
Wally looked down, shoulders slumped when he saw the line. "Aw god. Dammit!" He then turned to Zatanna. "Never again!" He set down the boards against the counter and made his way to the fridge.
Zatanna grinned cheekily and nodded. "Whatever you say." She went to sit on the couches arm and smiled at the others. "Wally took me to the beach today, he said that I needed a proper introduction to the beach and all that."
"That explains the where."
"And what's with the line thing?"
Wally came back and shook his head. "She wanted to water ski but we had no jet-ski."
"So I got a rope, tied it around Wally and he ran on the water while I held onto the rope and stayed on the surfboard." Zatanna finished up. "It was pretty fun." Wally scowled at her.
"How did you even get him to do it?" Artemis asked, astonished at obedience the red head showed. "And I didn't know you could run on the water."
"She told me she'd get me five authentic subway sandwiches from New York." Wally answered.
"Ah, I see. Bribing with food." Artemis smiled at Zatanna and then looked up at the redhead, who appeared behind within a second. "Maybe I should bribe you with food whenever I want you to do something."
"And my uncle taught me that trick two years ago." Wally paused to think. "Yeah, that should be right, but I never got around to actually running on water. Things always stopped me." He grinned down at her, his hand resting on her shoulder. "You should have started to do that a long time ago." Artemis let out a laugh and nodded.
Zatanna stood with the basket and Robin got up, shoving his hands in his pockets and walked to her. "Had fun?"
"Yeah." She nodded, swinging the picnic basket. "Hanging out with Wally was really fun." She smiled and Robin nodded, his lips twitched down. "Maybe we can go to the beach together next time?" She asked.
Robin's mouth widened as he stared in horror. "Y-yeah. Of course."
Zatanna grinned. "Awesome. It's a plan then." She set the basket down and then ran her finger through her tangled hair. "Gonna go take a shower, I smell like fish." She nodded to the others and walked away to her room.
"How about you go follow Zee's choice and take a shower yourself?" Artemis asked, pushing Wally's hand away. "You stink too."
"Hey. It's a beautiful stink." Wally scoffed teasingly. "But yeah, I think I got sand in places where sand should not be."
"Ohgod. Don't." Artemis moved away from the now laughing Wally
Raquel's nose twisted in disgust. "Please. Go."
Wally waved them away, walking close to the still gaping Robin. He nudged him. "You were pretty smooth, eh?"
Robin looked up at the redhead. "Did the rope burn?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Whatever, dude. She's funnier than you" Wally teased. "And you should know that she knows how to tie rope. Like really well." He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Robin shook his head at him glaring, he pushed him. Wally laughed and walked away.
Robin rolled his eyes at the walking figure and turned to see Artemis standing next to him. "Seems like you got some competition." She smirked down at him for a second before walking away, in the direction of the way Wally went.
"What!" The Boy Wonder called out. "You shouldn't even be talking!" He turned around to see a giggling M'gann, a smirking Conner, and a snorting Raquel. He jumped back onto the couch and grabbed the remote. "I'll end you all."
"Whatever you say, little man." Raquel replied.
((A/N: Mostly a Wally/Zatanna friendship fic, I just really wanted to see a dynamic from them in the show and plus they're two of my favourite characters. If you ship them then you can just ignore the hints at Spitfire and Chalant.))
((Image used: Excalibuur on DeviantArt - "Wally and Zatanna"))