Okay so here's a new story. I know im working on other stories, but i promise ill finish them all. Now that we got the serious talk out of the way enjoy this story!

Zatanna's POV

I've had many friends in my life, but none like him.

I know his name, but I don't need to.

I trust him with my life, and he's done nothing to show me otherwise.

I asked indirectly for him to put his entire life at stake to help me, and he did without question, and without hesitation.

Nightwing.

Even his name is intimitadating to say.

He told me once it was the name of a hero from Superman's home planet krypton.

It certainly sounded more mysterious then Robin.

We always had a...unique relationship, even before I joined the team.

When my dad...disappeared he always tried to be their for me.

I thought originally it was because Batman ordered him to, but i found out later it wasn't like that. Not at all. He's out of Batman's shadow now, and even protects his own city Bludhaven.

While Batman, and NIghtwing have had their differences I look in Batman's eyes when he hears Nightwing taking charge, or seeing him apprehend a criminal all I see is one thing.

Pride.

Pride in seeing what a success he became.

The leader of a team.

The guardian of a city.

The reserve leader of the JLA.

Most heroes do look at him. The team looks to him For leadership, The Justice league see' s him as "The Hero that got away", Robin see's him as an older brother, and Batman looks at him Like a father who looks at his son after he succeeds.

What do I se when I look at him? I see a hero, a friend but at the same time I see a normal person who's been pushed to his limits,

and instead of complaining about it, he chooses to ignore them. He's like Batman in that way.

In my opinion I believe he's better than Batman.

He's more graceful and more honest with himself than Batman. But this story isn't about his problems. Their about mine.

My teammates turned against me but he didn't. Nightwing believed in me enough to stand beside me as a leader instead of following what others said.

After what happen these last few days I look at him different now.

Someday others will see what I see. That he's not just Nightwing. That he's exactly what I saw these last few days. And thats why I think I know Dick better than anyone

Dicks POV

Bludhaven [ February 4, 17:43]

I' m late. I'm always late.

Espcially for important things like this.

Though in my fairness I didn't mean to get sidetracked this time.

How was I supposed to know Stallion,Brutale and Electrocutioner were going to rob an armored truck? It's not like I want to be here.

I would rather be where I'm supposed to be.

I shut that out of my mind and focused on the matter at hand.

I got them off th

e truck which was step one. I can't say I thought through step two, but generally I choose to Wing it anyway. Stallion came at me with his nunchakus swinging wildly. He's not that hard too defeat. Just take his weapon away. I threw a wing-ding (My batarang) at the chain connecting the nunchakus breaking them.

I jumped up and slammed my fists into his ears knocking him out. Okay, Moe is down.

Now I just have to take care Larry and Curly. I dodged Brutale's throwing knives, and electrocutioners lightning. I got an idea. All they want is a shot at me , so I'll give it to them.

I forgot to introduce the two nimrods I'm fighting Brutale is a guy with a fetish for knives, and thats not even an exageration. Its his only weapon he uses. Electrocutioner is a little tougher to handle.

He can shoot electricity from his palms.

There is a lot of lightning in his palms, and I do mean its alot.

I dogded the bolts of lightning, but I was hit with two knives. Im so stupid and careless.

I crashed to the ground.

The next thing I knew I was being bombarded with lightning.

The heavy insulation in my suit was the only thing that kept me from dying , but it wasn't going to be like that forever.

I pulled out a flash bang and sighed in relief. I guess I shouldn't be too celebrative. They were wildly throwing knifes and firing off electrical blasts everywhere.

I would be blind to if the lenses in my mask werent polarized.

Apparently these idiots didnt get that upgrade.

I launched my self at Brutale and punched him in the neck. I didn't break his neck but it knocked him out. I dodged the blind electric shots electricutioner

He fired at me, but it was hopeless for him.

He covered his eyes because his vision was incredibly poor. I decided to take him out before he got his eyesight back.I threw a batarang at a fire hydrant and it sprayed money on all over Electrocutioner, and he fried himself. I looked at the mess I made.

Bludhavens not so finest can clean up this mess.

I got a date with a pretty upset master magician.

I was supposed to be There ten minutes ago.

I flipped into an alley and changed into my civilian clothes.

This included a black shirt and snow pants with a black parka.

It might sound like im over dressed but it actually gets freakishly cold down in the Haven.I finally made it to the diner we were going to meet at. I pulled out the present.

I missed her birthday last year, and I guess you could say I really regret it.

Last year I missed it helping Batman defeat owl man in a parallel dimension.

Ever since than I've been working up the courage to give her this small little envelope.

I'm weird that way I guess. I can live in a hellhole of a city, Fight crazy pyschos every night before bedtime,but I can't give someone I care about deeply a present. Funny right? I was still a few feet away from the entrance when I saw Zatanna. She was dressed the way she usually was dressed for winter.

A purple jacket and a purple hat. She was looking at her watch and looking around in slight disappointment. I felt bad. Grayson your an idiot. Your late and she"s wondering where you are.

I walked over to her and touched her shoulder.

"Hey"

She turned around, smiled at me , and Hugged me fiercely. "Hey Dick."

I know what your thinking.

Why is she calling me that? Does she know who Bruce Wayne is? What is going on here? Awhile back I made the decision to be honest wi

th her about my first name.

Not my last but my first uname.

It was definitely easier on my conscious telling her the truth about who I am, and how the great Nightwing is a person just like everyone else.

We went in and sat down in our usual seats, ordered our usual things and I looked around. The atmosphere was usual, and the same people were here.

"I guess we've been coming here a lot huh?" She nodded. We sat in silence for a few moments until she broke the silnece.

"How's the team?" She asked.

"Their fine. I replied. Conner and M'gann are still on rocky terms, but otherwise everything is fine." She nodded aqain and looked outside admiring the view from the window. She was studying the snowflakes viewing their beauty.

I was too. I guess we have that in common. Noticing the little things and tryng not to take them for granted.

"Dick? She asked. Can I ask you something?"

I nodded my head yes.

" Why did you refuse to join the justice league? Your more prepared than any of us."

The question took me back a little. I tried to come up with the best answer. "

I still think the team needs me. Conner and M'gann feel the same way.

We have no Talent for a new leader in the team. I need to be here for them. I have responsibilities to my team and-. She touched the top of my hand.

"We both know thats not the whole truth" She looked at me with her blue eyes.

I guess thats one thing Bruce never taught me. How not to be a softie. Of course batman and I had talks about this. I thought about a conversation I had with Bruce ...

Flashback

Hall of Justice [December 30, 2015 17:50]

I watched Zatanna receive her member ship card from Superman from a nearby tree. I saw Zatanna beam with pride with my binoculars.

Why was I watching the ceremony from a tree you ask?

I didn't want any of the other heroes to try to persuade me to join the league. I felt bad I wasn't there for Rocket and Zatanna.

Espcially Z. Its true, I was invited to join the league.

The truth is I don't want too at all.

I was running my own team, and their were other things.

It's true Conner and M'gann insisted that I join the league and they could run things.

I decided that wasn't really fair to leave them with that much responsibility.

I guess in a way thats not the whole reason why I was sitting in a tree. Was I just not man enough to face Z? I couldn't stand seeing her try convince me, because there was no way I would refuse her. I watched as Z waved to Conner and Tim (Robin) .

She gave Tim a quizzical look, but he shook his head like he was delivering bad news.

Her face turned from excitement to disappointment. What was wrong with her? Why was she so upset. This was supposed to be the greatest day of her life.

Why was she did she suddenly look like the most depressing person in the world? "She's looking for you." a dark familiar voice said. I was so shocked I nearly fell out of the tree.

I flipped down from the tree and saw my former mentor Batman.

He looked the way he usually did. The same brooding expression, and depressing aura.

Well, at least some things never change.

"What are you doing here? I asked. You should be at the ceremony Bruce."

He looked at me for a second. "Funny. He said. I could say the same thing to you."

I thought originally he was making me feel guilty for not joining the league. He's been kinda cross with me ever since I turned down his nomination.

Then I realize he wasn't talking about that.

I looked through the binoculars and Zatanna's face was still depressed.

She looked like she was searching for someone in the crowd. Was she looking for me?

Why?

"She was asking where you were the whole ceremony. Batman continued.

I spotted you in the woods from the beginning but I didn't want to blow your cover."

I put my head down feeling kind of ashamed of myself.

I only thought about what I wanted, and not if anyone really wanted to see me.

"Dick if you don't want to go to the ceremony for your sake… He said walking away. Go for your friends sake. Don't become like me . I have associates. You have friends"

He was right. I should….whoa,whoa WHOA! Wait a damn minute!

Batman giving me woman advice? What the hell is this world coming to?

I put it out of my mind and decided to just take his advice.

I ran to the ceremony hoping I could catch it before it was over. I ran harder than I ever had in my life flipping off things, and swinging off others. I made it as they were giving out the last membership card.

"Conner! Robin!" I called. They both grinned when they saw me, and ran over to me. "Where have you been man? Robin asked. We've been looking for you!"

I was about to answer him when I saw Zatanna.

She looked at and smile widely I smiled back.

We smiled at each other until the entire leagueleft the press and went to the hall of justice.

I gave one last wave as she disappeared into the Hall.

I felt better being here even though it was only the last five minutes.

Tommorrow the induction party would happen, and everything would be right in the world.

And Me? I'll be in Bludhaven, and everything will go back to normal.

We'll m all do what we do best. Continue to dress up,fight the good fight and, most of all protecting the innocent.

End Of Flashback

Bludhaven [February 4 17:55]

"Dick?" I heard Z say as I was coming out of my daze.

"Yeah im fine." I replied. "You never answered my question. She said Why didn't you join the league?" It was a question that I wanted to avoid.

I mean who refuses to join the justice league? "I didn't join because of Robin. I said.

He's still new at this, and he didn't have as much time as I did to prepare to be on a team.

And…" I paused. "Im supposed to be his teacher, im supposed to show him the ropes of how to be Robin."

I looked at the snow outside searching for the right words to continue.

"But sometimes I feel like I just want to get out of his way Z. I feel like I just remind him of what he isn't. Maybe I'm putting too much pressure on him .

Last month I forced him to be a squad leader.

I knew he could handle it, but he didn't and I made him uncomfortable. I feel like I'm forcing leadership on him."

I paused again resting my head on my right head.

"I'm a terrible teacher that way." We were silent for what seemed like a few hours Zatanna rested her hand on mine and squeezed it affectionately.

"Your not a terrible teacher Dick. She said reassuringly.

You may not know this, but Robin looks up to you in a lot of ways. When I was on the team all I ever heard him talk about to the other members was you. All I heard was "Nightwing taught me this" or "Nightwing showed me that". He idolizes you. Maybe more so than batman."

I looked up surprised.

There was no way he looked up to me more than Batman.

"Its true. She grinned. He told me so." That surprised me even more.

"Did he?" I asked. She nodded,and looked straight into my eyes.

"Batman's…doesn't seem easy to get close to, and Robin doesn't have any one to talk to besides you and Batgirl. Dick I promise you he trusts you and sees you as his teacher more than anyone." I looked up at her hoping she wasn't just saying it.

I hope That was right, and Tim really did look up to me.

He's a great kid, and destined to be a better Robin than I ever was. That's what I saw for Tim. I knew he would make both me and Batman. Things seemed blurry and fast-paced after that .

We talked about the league, Wally,Raquel,Dr. Fate, Batman, how she felt about being in the league and how I felt being the leader of the team. A lot of things.

It was…refreshing to talk to a friendly face.

Even Wally was unhappy with me right now.

We ate, I paid, and everything slowed down after that.

We saw police cars speeding their way down the icy street as we left the diner. She looked at me and Smiled. "After Dinner work? She asked.

I smirked, and closed my eyes as Zatanna chanted the spell that changed us from our clothes into our uniforms. Things happened pretty quickly after that.

We found out the sirens were from a couple of guys robbing a bank.

Wecaught them, tied them up and left them for the cops. As we sat on top of the building watching them drag the robbers away Zatanna looked at me and asked me something. "What happened Dick? When we were kids you were so playful and carefree. Now your serious and commanding." The way she said it, it was as if I had become a completely different person.

"What happened to that impulsive, confident 13 year old I used to know?" She asked.

I went closer to her and squeezed her shoulder. "He's still here. I said. He's just not around as often." She looked and smiled half-heartedly.

It wasn't complete comfort, but it was enough for now.

We stood their watching people walking when i heard the flapping of wings.

I turned and saw Batman,Wonder Woman, Supeman,Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern and Hawk Girl looking at us , specifically Zatanna. Despite their grim Appearance I was happy to see them.

"Hey! I said. Excitedly. Did the trial go okay?"

These Leaguers have been on trial for a crime they commit on the planet Rann while being possed by Vandall Savage. Batman looked grim as usual. The trial isn't finished yet , but we were called back to deal with and emergency. My expression changed from happy to distressed.

"Whats the emergency?" I asked ready to offer my help. Batman came closer to us. "To take Zatanna in league custody for the murder of Dr. Fate." That's when I knew hings were going to get ugly.

Well thats it! Let me know if you like it. Thanks