Dick actually slept in for once. Breakfast was normally at eight on weekends, but he slept right through it. He was actually still asleep by ten, but he didn't make it past that. He woke up to Selina's weight settling next to him. It was enough to rouse him slightly but when she lightly shook his shoulder he was really up.
"Good morning, Kitten." She said softly and leaned down to brush a kiss on his forehead.
"Morning, Selina." He answered her while he stretched his legs and arms out. He had forgotten about his side and it twinged painfully when he did it.
She must have seen him wince because she put a hand on his chest, "How are you feeling?"
"It's really not that bad." He replied quickly, and it really wasn't. He had been subjected to much, much worse than this.
"I think you gave our resident magician a scare." She informed him.
Dick nodded, "Yeah I saw her leave. I kind of wosh she hadn't been in there for that though."
"Yes, well that's why I took her upstairs" Selina pushed his hair back and off of his face. "Did you talk to her at all?"
He yawned, "Yeah, just a little last night. But she will probably want to talk more about it today."
They were quiet for a minute.
"Do you think Gotham is the best place for her?" Dick asked her genuinely.
"I don't know. But right now, we're all she has. Well us and your team." She answered.
Dick nodded, "I know, I just hope that this place and what we do don't scare her much."
"I'm sure she's stronger than you think, Dick." Selina pointed out.
The teen nodded, "You're right, I know. But…" He sighed, "Still, Gotam is Gotham."
"She'll learn." Selina said it with certainty and Dick felt a little better because of it.
"Where is everyone? I'm surprised I got to sleep in so late." Dick asked, turning to look at the clock and frowning.
"Alfred is running some errands in town. Bruce is in his study. Zatanna and I just got through with another lesson. I think she stayed to practice a bit more."
Dick nodded and Selina gave him a little push. "You need to go do your morning workout too. C'mon get up." Selina stood as she talked.
Dick sighed and rolled until his feet fell off of the bed. He planted them and stood. "Okay, let me get ready."
Selina nodded and left, closing his door behind her.
Dick hurriedly brushed his teeth, changed, and wet his hair a bit so he could comb it. His hair never really wanted to do what he told it, unless gel was involved. Although he didn't really like gelling his hair. Bruce and Alfred always insisted. He knew it didn't look bad either, but it was really annoying. Luckily he could go without it today.
When he finished he headed downstairs to the kitchen. He stopped short when he saw Bruce in there pouring himself another cup of coffee. Dick made his way over to the pantry to grab a protein bar or something before his workout. Things were always a bit tense after Robin got in trouble, especially after something so avoidable. And Dick guessed his guardian wouldn't be any happier considering he had slept through the original time for his workout.
When Dick found what he was looking for he exited the spacious pantry and came face to face with his guardian.
"Um, morning." Dick said cautiously.
"I suppose it's still early enough for you to say that." Bruce said pointedly.
Dick shrugged and moved past him to get a water bottle out of the fridge. He turned and Bruce was still watching him intently.
"What?" DIck asked, immediately defensive.
"How are those scratches?" Bruce asked neutrally.
"Fine." Dick answered him and made to leave the kitchen.
Bruce's hand wrapped around his arm as he passed. "Let me see, Dick. Then you can go."
The teen sighed and set down his things on the counter. He pulled out a stool and sat. He lifted his shirt so that Bruce could get a look at the scratches.
Bruce peeled back the edges of the bandages on each one and nodded. "Alright, they look fine. Come see me when you're done, I want to redress them."
Dick nodded, "Yes, Sir."
Bruce pushed a hand through Dick's hair. "I'm not mad, Dick. You were tired."
Dick glanced up, a mild surprise showing on his face. " You're not?"
Bruce shook his head then stepped back. "Alright, get to it."
Dick nodded and grabbed his things from the counter before heading off. When he got to the gym he saw Zatanna. She was working out, following the plan Selina had mapped out for her.
Dick set to work following his own plan, it was about two hours of work but it felt good. Everything from sprints, to pull ups, push ups, and arial things. Bruce had been making him do more with weights lately but he mostly did bodyweight exercises. After all, if he got too bulky he wouldn't be able to fly anymore. And that was a skill that Robin relied heavily upon.
Zatanna left when he was about halfway done, but he didn't mind being alone.
When he finished he took a quick shower and headed back out of his room. Zatanna was walking out at the same time and they smiled at each other.
"Do you wanna go to the cave?" She asked him.
Dick nodded, "Yeah, sure. Bruce has to change my bandages real quick but I can meet you there, if you want."
Zatanna's face scrunched up a bit. He couldn't help but smile a little more, it was cute.
"Do you mind if I stay with you?" She asked hesitantly.
He raised an eyebrow curiously, "Yeah, that's fine, if that's what you want."
He turned to head down and she grabbed his wrist, "Could I ask you something?"
He glanced down at her hand holding him in place, then back up to her eyes. "Yes."
"What happened last night? Why was Bruce mad at you?" She hesitated with the last question, not sure how he would react.
He cleared his throat and she let her hand drop. "Well...I just- I made a dumb mistake. It got me hurt, but sometimes dumb mistakes get you more than hurt."
Zatanna flinched a little. Dick wondered what she might be thinking about. He also hoped that she wouldn't think less of him for this. On the team, Robin didn't make mistakes. Zatanna and Wally were the only ones who had seen it happen before now.
Zatanna still looked curious, so he elaborated. " I got Poison Ivy down but I didn't tie her up immediately. She woke up and started sending her vines after us. Batman took care of it, but not before this happened." He gestured to his side.
Zatanna nodded slowly and then reached out to his side. Her hand hovered for a second and then she looked up at him, "Can I see?"
He cleared his throat and nodded. He took her wrist and pulled her into his room. They stood near his bed and Zatanna reached over again. She took the hem of his shirt and slowly pulled it up.
He wasn't sure how to feel about this, but he had agreed so that maybe she could have some peace of mind. He was pretty sure this was the first time she was having to deal with someone close to her being hurt while out doing hero things. Her father didn't patrol, he did monitor duty at the watchtower and he had gone on a few league missions, but he mostly hovered above the fighting. He would cast spells from afar.
He watched her eyes widen at the scratches and she gently brushed her fingers over the one in the center. She glanced up at him, clearly worried that it hurt him.
"It's alright." Dick reassured her.
"Why don't you have them wrapped up?" She asked quietly.
"Bruce is about to do that for me." He smiled at her gently and she nodded. She looked back down at the scratches before pulling his shirt back down.
"Does this happen a lot?" She met his eyes.
"No, not really." He answered, "But it can, if we're not careful."
Dick watched her nod and he stepped around her. They made their way down the stairs and to the study. The door was open and Bruce was leaning on his desk looking something over. He looked up as they entered. "We're planning on going to the cave after you bandage me up."
"Zatanna, you can go if you want. The team is training and it would be good for you to watch. However, Selina hasn't given Canary the okay to start training with you yet." He turned his eyes to Dick, "I informed Canary that you won't be going to training today. You'll stay here with me and we will do some procedure training."
Dick narrowed his eyes, that was frustrating, plus he hadn't seen his friends in a while. He had been busy with helping Batman with the Joker.
"Fine." Dick said, careful to keep heat out of his voice. He turned to Zatanna, "Do you want to go to the cave?"
"Um, that depends. Is Selina around?" She asked Bruce.
Dick's guardian shook his head, "She'll be back tonight."
"Well, then I guess I'll go to the cave." She turned and started to head that way. Before she disappeared from view she turned, "Have fun." She smiled at him and he returned it.
Dick turned back to Bruce who was looking over his file again. Dick crossed his arms and waited. He sighed when it seemed Bruce was going to take his time.
After about ten minutes of silence Bruce turned around, signed something and then walked towards the entrance to the cave.
"Finally." Dick muttered as they descended the stairs. Bruce could be really frustrating when he wanted to be.
Bruce pointed to the metal table by the computer and Dick hopped up. The cave had an actual medical area but for small stuff they were usually patched up here. Bruce disappeared into the area and came back with rubbing alcohol and fresh bandages.
"Shirt."
Dick complied, removing his shirt only hurt a little bit. His guardian set the supplies on the table and used a pen light to get a closer look. He then took the rubbing alcohol and poured some onto a cleaning pad. Dick tensed, bracing himself for the sting. It wasn't too bad since most of the cuts weren't deep, but it was still unpleasant.
"Did you talk to Zatanna about last night?" Bruce asked as he continued to clean the cuts, "Selina said she seemed a little shaken."
Dick nodded and winced at the burning sensation momentarily. "She just isn't used to people getting hurt for hero stuff yet. She knew it was a possibility, but I don't think her dad got hurt much."
Bruce shook his head, "He didn't." There was a pause as he got the bandages ready, "Is she feeling any better?"
Dick shrugged, "I don't think so. I don't think she's worried about last night anymore though."
"Ah." Bruce pushed the bandages in place. "Alfred told me he thinks she's trying to avoid talking and thinking about what happened to her father."
"Yeah, she definitely is." Dick said sadly.
Bruce was done and Dick pulled his shirt on. Before he hopped off the counter though, Bruce dropped a hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't you see if you can get her to open up to you?"
Dick raised an eyebrow, "Why not have Selina do it?"
Bruce nodded, "That's an option, but she likes you Dick. She might talk to you about it."
Dick just nodded and followed Bruce to the training mats. This was going to be a long day.
Zatanna arrived at the cave just in time to see Artemis throw Wally out of the holographic ring. She couldn't help but laugh out loud. The team turned and smiled at her.
Wally got up and stalked back over to the rest of the team. "Where's Robin?" he asked when she joined them.
"With Batman." She said, she wasn't sure what else to tell them so she didn't say anything else.
Wally sighed.
"Robin won't be training with us today." Black Canary provided. "Conner, Aqualad, your turn."
Zatanna watched as they spared, trying to pick up a few things. All of the moves they used were more advanced than hers, but she had started a little over two weeks ago. Her father hadn't ever really wanted her to grow up to fight crime. He hardly liked taking her to the cave, that's why she had only been there once before. And after everything that happened when they tried to go after Red Tornado, he didn't like her going there much at all. But Zatanna set that aside, she wanted to do this. She had already decided that. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but it would be rewarding.
The team trained for another hour and a half while she was there. She paid close attention and tried to memorize some of the combinations they were throwing. When they were done they started filing out and Aqualad walked up to her.
"How are you, Zatanna? Are you settling in alright?" He asked kindly.
"Yes, I really like it there." She answered genuinely.
" I've been meaning to ask you, but would you like to practice some of your magic with me?" He smiled.
Zatanna perked up, "Yes! I've been looking for a place to practice but I'm not really sure what to do."
The atlantean beckoned her with a hand. He brought her to a training room that was full of dummies.
"I like to practice here." He informed her.
Zatanna nodded and looked around. She saw some rope in the corner and smiled, "epor eit dnuora ymmud." she said and raised her hand.
The rope flew forward and wrapped around the dummy she had indicated. Aqualad smiled at her. He brought out his water bearers and made them whips. He swung them and they wrapped around a dummy too.
They continued like this for a while. Zatanna practiced knocking dummies back, picking them up, spinning them around, and tieing them up. There were still so many things she had to learn. She had her father's spell books at the Manor, but she hadn't unpacked them. She didn't want to think about him. Plus, without a teacher, magic could be dangerous.
"Kalder, I know the magic you use is different from mine, but who taught you?" She asked him.
Kalder put up his weapons and faced her, "Queen Mira of Atlantis taught me all I know about magic.
Zatanna sighed, "My father taught me."
Kalder nodded, "I assumed as much. If you want to do this again, you only have to ask. I can help supervise you if you wish to try new spells."
Zatanna offered him a small smile, "Thank you."
He nodded and turned to leave. She followed him out. Having nothing left to do, and feeling drained from her use of magic, Zatanna decided she should head back to the Manor. It was nearly four, surly Robin and Batman were finished training by now.
Thinking about Robin made Andrew seem wildly insignificant. Maybe it was because Robin knew what was going on in her life. He was always around now. Definitely not because of how toned he was. Last night and earlier she hadn't missed the fact that he was muscular, sure he was small but that was incredibly deceiving. He really was attractive.
She shook her head, she had only seen that because he had been hurt! She needed to chill out, she lived with him for God's sake!
But she did really care about him, that was easy to determine. She also knew that he cared about her. He was just that kind of person.
She made it to the zeta tube and punched in the batcave's coordinates. She shook her head when she stepped out of the light and onto the floor. She heard what sounded like a fight going on and tensed. She walked forward carefully and saw both Alfred and Selina standing and watching something. She joined them which earned her a smile from Selina and a nod from Alfred.
Right in front of them Dick and Bruce were sparring. They were both sweating and panting, but they kept at it. She had to wonder how long they had been doing this. She stood and watched for a few more minutes before Dick was thrown sideways and quickly pinned to the mat before he could get back up. He was panting when he turned onto his back, Bruce had only pinned him for a few seconds. He just laid there for a second and his mentor seemed content to let him. Then she watched him lift his head and stick out his tongue at Bruce. The latter simply rolled his eyes and backed up a few paces.
"Again." Bruce commanded, Zatanna whipped her head over to him.
Really? He was really going to make him do that again?
"Master Bruce, I think that's quite enough." Alfred chided.
"No, one more time. Then he can go." Bruce crossed his arms as he watched Dick. The boy let his head drop onto the mat again before swinging his legs up and pushing up with his arms. He went straight from laying to standing.
Zatanna was impressed that he was able to do that. He looked wiped out. She glanced up at Selina who was watching Dick intently, then Zatanna moved her eyes to Alfred who looked on with concern. Selina seemed to be calm about the situation though, and that made her feel better. She knew that Bruce wouldn't ever do anything to hurt Dick, but he seemed to be pretty intense when it came to training.
Dick rushed toward Bruce and another spar had started. It lasted less than five minutes before Dick was in a choke-hold. Just like last time Bruce only held him there for a few seconds before letting him go.
"Not bad, Dick." The billionaire crossed his arms again, "But we're going to be kicking up the endurance training."
Zatanna watched Dick nod before sitting heavily on a bench. Selina moved forward on the mat and Zatanna watched in amazement as she started to spar with Bruce. Alfred moved to join Dick and gave him a cold bottle of water. He drained it in a few seconds and Alfred handed him another one. Zatanna watched him crack it open but he only sipped this one.
She skirted the mat to get to his bench and sat next to him. Alfred offered her a bottle which she took, she hadn't had any after training this afternoon. She took a few gulps before capping it and she watched Alfred move away.
She looked at Dick who was leaning back with his eyes closed, "Hey."
He peeked at her through his lashes, "Hey." He sounded tired
"You gonna go upstairs?" She asked.
He closed his eyes all the way and nodded. Zatanna stood and grabbed his hand and tugged a little bit. He looked up at her curiously and she tugged again. "C'mon I'll help you up."
Dick laughed a little bit and let her pull him up. They walked to the stairs of the cave together and ascended them. Zatanna kept glancing at him, he looked so tired. His eyes were drooping and he was walking slowly. He was wearing a dark shirt made of athletic material and black athletic sweatpants, and he was covered in sweat.
"So is training always that intense for you?" She was learning a lot about him. There was a reason the bats were so highly respected, and they had thoroughly earned their reputation.
"Pretty much." Dick didn't seem upset, "It seems like a lot but it's the reason I'm able to do what I do."
Zatanna understood, she really did. They had to train hard so that they could handle whatever was thrown at them. She was also beginning to understand just how easy she was getting it from Bruce and Selina.
"I understand" Zatanna said, "They're going pretty easy on me then, aren't they." She laughed a bit.
They walked through the clock and continued through the manor.
"Do you want them to be harder on you?" Dick asked her, he sounded surprised.
Zatanna wondered if she should be offended, "I want to get better."
Dick stopped as they got to their doors, "So you want to do this? Hero stuff I mean, you're all in?"
Did she want to be all in? Her father had been a hero and look where that had gotten him. But then she thought about Dick and how he obviously loved helping people. He didn't have powers or magic, he just had himself and his gadgets. But she had magic and she had the ability to learn, it almost felt like it would be silly not to.
"I do, I just don't know if I can." She answered a little bit shakily.
He smiled at her again, "You can, you'll see. You should talk to Selina about it, and then maybe Bruce. He'll want to know if you're planning on doing this more seriously."
Zatanna blew out a breath and nodded, "Thanks Dick." She turned towards her room and he caught her hand.
"Zatanna," He looked at her intently, "Just...be sure okay. It's a lot, but it's worth it."
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, "I will."
He let go and she turned away again. She needed a shower and maybe a nap. And she knew she had some things to consider.
