Chapter Thirty-Seven

When Conner said his dad's house, it took Zatanna a moment to realize Conner had grown up here. The place was two stories, white and pristine with clean windows and gardens in the front. It looked like one of those upper class, suburban houses. What else had she been expecting?

"You grew up here?" She asked, as he opened the door and let her walk in first with her two small bags.

Conner chuckled. "Yeah, never would have guessed, huh?" The inside was magnificent, with expensive features and glossy wooden floors and chrome features in the kitchen.

"Nope, never," she said, adjusted the strap of her over the shoulder bag. She glanced around, and when she heard Conner drop his bags in the hallway, she did so as well and went to explore.

"Are you hungry?"

"Nah," she called back, taking an interest in the photographs above the fireplace in their living room. They were impersonal, only landscapes and vintage photographs of what was probably Metropolis when the camera was first invented, by the look of it. "What does your dad do, exactly?" She asked, voice loud to carry through the house.

"He owns a big business in the city, some newspaper company he used to work for when he was younger gave him a partnership," he answered, suddenly right next to her. Zatanna jumped, but he only grinned.

"Wow," Zatanna said lamely, feeling like a fish out of water. Her family had never had as much money as Conner's apparently did.

"Relax," he said gently, dragging her away from the photographs, and she did as commanded. "We have enough to get through life, but we're not swimming in wealth like Robin is."

"Oh," she said, feeling dumb still. But the feeling was washed away when Conner took her hand, squeezed it, and led her upstairs so they could put their bags in their rooms.

"You can take the guest bedroom next to mine. My dad's bedroom is right across the hall. Avoid that," he joked, also pointing out the bathroom at the end of the hall for them to use.

After he showed her the rest of the house, they crashed in the living room. Zatanna's eyes once again latched onto the photographs above the fireplace. Something was bugging her about all the rooms in his house, but she couldn't place it.

Instead of worrying about it, she leaned back against his side and laid over his lap. Conner stared down at her, curious but not objecting to it. "Why don't you like it here," she asked, meeting his eyes. His short bangs threatened to cover his eyes from view so she reached up and brushed them away, her hand lingering on his face.

"It… it's felt empty since my mom died."

Just like that Zatanna realized what was missing in this expensive home of his: there were no intimate details about the place. The only individuality she had found in the whole house was the toothpaste by the sink and the clothes in Conner's closet. Other than that, it felt like a house straight out of a Bed and Bath catalogue.

"Why are there no pictures of her?"

Conner shrugged slightly, but she saw the hurt in his eyes. "I guess by the time Lois, my step mom, started dating my dad, he was ready to move on. That meant getting rid of all the remnants of my mom."

"You don't have anything left of her?" She sounded somewhat terrified, as if it pained her as it pained him.

Conner smiled sadly and carded his fingers through her hair slowly. "I have a few things, but they're all tucked away in my room… I'll show you them later, if you'd like?"

Zatanna smiled sadly, a look to mirror his own. "I'd love to meet your mom," she said softly. Conner let out a breathy chuckle, fighting back his renegade emotions.

Zatanna cooed to him, petting his drooping head to comfort him. "Hey, hey big guy, don't be sad. I know, I know," and somehow she ended up sitting on his lap and cradling his head against her chest, petting the back of his neck and his shoulders. "Don't worry, I know," she whispered, kissing the back of his head before resting her own head there. "I lost my mom too… don't be ashamed of it."

"I forgot about…" He trailed off, well aware she might be upset he had forgotten. He felt even worse with that realization.

Zatanna smiled sadly, but he couldn't see it. She chuckled, "it's fine, really. I've never met my mom, so in that we're different… I don't know the loss of someone you've grown to love, but I do know how it feels to have an empty space in your heart."

"Man, we're messed up together," he joked, lifting his head so he was no longer talking against her cleavage, as comfort as it was.

Zatanna grinned, "We have quite a bit in common, don't we?" Except her father was wonderful, and she had a feeling Conner had deep rooted trouble with his own.

Conner laughed and shook his head before nudging her off his lap and standing. "Come on, we should unpack."

Three more chapters, I think XD

Next Chapter: Soon?