Giovanni and Paula were laying on the couch at Giovanni's house, with her laying on top of him, occasionally giving each other lazy kisses as fireworks were still going off in the New York night during the New Year.

Paula reached up to caress his cheek, pulling back to look at his face. "I missed you."

"No need to miss me now." Giovanni smiled softly at her face. "I love to see your smile. It fills me with happiness and lets me know everything is going to be okay."

A blush crept up her face, smiling as she looked away. "Your just saying that. You don't mean that."

"I am saying that, because I mean it." He moved one of his hands up to cup her cheek and gently turning her face to him. "I. Love. You." He said between gentle kisses as his other arm held her close.

Paula laughed against his lips between the kisses, trying to playfully push him away. "Giovanni! Stop!"

Giovanni smiled, feeling Paula's fingers covering his lips. "Okay, fine. You win, carissima*." He glanced over at his phone before remembering that the team was still celebrating New Years at Mount Justice. They were fine.

Paula smiled, tracing the thin line between his upper lip and moustache, "good, that's what I like to hear, tình yêu của tôi**."

Giovanni's lip twitched slightly at the feeling of her tracing his lip, giving her finger very gentle kisses as he began to fall asleep.

"What in the world?!"

Giovanni's eyes shot open and sitting up with an arm around Paula to hold her close, he ignored Paula's cute snort when she was moved, his eyes wide from seeing Zatanna standing in the doorway. With a shocked look on her face.

A pregnant pause hung in the air, the man trying not to look at Paula and smile when he felt her curl against him while Zatanna looked at the two.

"Dear, if I may.." Giovanni tried to explain, when Paula gave a godawful snort that drew a smile from the man that interrupted him.

Zatanna looked from the two directly to her father. "Oh, so is this the reason you've been leaving me with smoke clones and letting me get away with increasingly crazy shit?" She was smirking.

Giovanni, unable to say anything because he was caught and there was nothing he could do about it, simply nodded.

Zatanna looked at her father's guilt-stricken face, and felt bad. "I'm not mad, I promise. Just surprised. Maybe Artemis should know too? If she doesn't already." She gave the two another smile. "She makes you happy. That's all I care about."

Paula looked at Giovanni as she opened her eyes, "you were right." She smiled at his surprised face. "I woke up when she opened the door. Old habits, love."

As Paula looked at Zatanna, who looked up from her phone, she smiled. "Hi Zatanna. How are you?"

Zatanna smiled at her in return, "hi Paula. I'm fine. Feeling a lot better now that I know why dad's been leaving smoke clones with me after curfew."

The front door slammed open. "Mom! You've been doing what!?" They looked to see Artemis standing in the doorway.

Giovanni looked at Paula, raising an eyebrow with a smile.

"Talk and I'm using your moustache as a thread to sew your mouth shut." Paula said to him, not looking at him. She then addressed Artemis, "Artemis. Look, we were planning on telling you about this, but we didn't know when the right time would be."

Artemis looked at her mother and then to Giovanni, reaching into her arrow case. She pulled out an arrow that was a putty arrow. "Hurt her and this arrow will be shoved down your throat, while this one-" she pulled out one with an inactivated explosive tip- "will be shoved up your-"

"Okaaay!" Zatanna grabbed Artemis' arms, glaring at her. "How about we all just calm down." She smiled at Artemis when her friend looked at each other, although she looked more annoyed than angry. "How about your mom and I make some tea." She looked over to Paula as Giovanni helped her gently into her chair. "Is that alright with you, Paula?"

Giovanni stood back up, smiling as he moved so Zatanna could help Paula into the kitchen. He looked over to Artemis when the other two disappeared. "So.."

Artemis sighed. "Look.. I trust you because you're a hero and Zatanna's dad, and I've seen what your romance with Mom has done for her health. She's happy, more lively. So, thank you for that." She was still standoffish, because she wasn't expecting this.

Giovanni nodded. "You are welcome." He looked curious. "So, the arrows?"

Artemis nodded once. "Yeah. You get those if she's hurt."

The man chuckled with a nod. "I believe it."

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Zatanna was talking with Paula.

"I know this is a scary and confusing thing." Paula said, setting the tea pot on the stove.

"No, it isn't." Zatanna said firmly, putting away the canister of tea. "I told Dad I'd always love mom, but that I wanted him to move on, find his own happiness. And, with you, he's found it."

She closed the cabinet and grabbed Paula's hands with a sincere look in her eyes, "thank you, so much for giving him the chance. You've made him so happy, he's the happiest I've ever seen him."

Paula gripped her hands, "I won't let him, or you or Artemis down." She was determined to keep this, her and Giovanni, to give both Artemis and Zatanna a loving family - even if it took Artemis a while to see that.

As Giovanni and Artemis made awkward small talk, a thought occured to Artemis.

"So, how did you two meet?" She asked, wanting to hear the story.

Giovanni chuckled, "well. It started like this.."

Paula and Zatanna came in towards the end of the story, having the tea as well as small sandwiches and cookies with them.

"Hey you two." Paula said, stopping her chair next to Giovanni with a smile. "Everything okay in here?"

Giovanni nodded, "yeah. I think so." He looked to Artemis.

The blond nodded with a smile as Zatanna sat next to her, placing the tray down on the table. "We're good."

"What about you?" Giovanni asked, looking at Zatanna and Paula.

"I think we're okay." Paula said with a smile.

Zatanna nodded. "We're okay."

It was a happy New Year indeed, the four just spending the rest of the night and wee hours of the morning talking and laughing and watching movies.

according to google

carissima* dearest - (in italian)

tình yêu của tôi** - my love (in vietnamese)