Summary: Suggestion from SunkissAngel, and I have to say, this is a pretty great idea. I was gonna reveal Dick's scars a few chapters from now, but this is way better than my original plan. Takes place in November, a few days after the prev chapter and a few days before Wally's birthday
Disclaimer: I don't own DC
The team was lounging around one day when M'gann suggested they go to the beach. Raquel agreed and Wally was enthusiastic about it (though that was probably just to see Artemis in minimal clothing. Then again, it's not like he didn't see that every other night). And so, they were going to have a beach day...in November. Thanks to the power of Zeta tubes, they were able to go somewhere nice and warm. While Dick wanted to spend time with his friends, he was hesitant about going to the beach with them. I don't want them to see my scars. Not yet...
Zatanna would be lying if she said she wasn't excited for the beach. Most of her excitement stemmed from the fact that she was very eager to see her boyfriend with minimal clothing, though she would never admit it. They had almost gotten intimate with one another only once before, in a closet towards the end of his prom in Gotham Academy, but they were interrupted by Babs calling Dick and Arty calling Zee once their friends noticed they were missing, and neither had discarded any clothing that time apart from Dick's blazer. Needless to say, she was expecting to have a great experience with the Boy Wonder today. However, what she was not expecting was to overhear her boyfriend backing out of the trip when Wally talked with him about it. Zee was confused as to why he was so hesitant. D-does the beach remind him of his parents or something? She followed him to his room, where he plopped down onto the bed and looked to be deep in thought. "Dick?" Dick turned to her.
"Oh, hey." She sat next to him.
"Why don't you wanna go to the beach?" Dick stayed silent for a bit before sighing and sitting up, thinking a bit before responding. Well, 's not like she was never gonna see this...
"I...I don't wanna...I don't wanna show my scars..." Zatanna raised an eyebrow.
"Your scars?" Dick sighed again and slowly took off his shirt. Zee first blushed at the sight of his bare chest, but her eyes widened as she noticed the sheer number of marks riddling his body. Holy...h-how...Dick turned red at her shock, worried to see her reaction. Man, please don't be weirded out...Zatanna walked closer to him and ran her fingers along some of the larger marks, such as the sword wound near his heart or the heat vision burn by his hip. She spent a fair amount of time just staring at the wounds, imagining what horror he must have undergone to gain those. Zee had seen some of these scars when she entered his mind with the team, such as the sword mark from Talia or the gunshot wound on his shoulder from Hush, but she never knew there were so many. Zatanna finally spoke. "H-how did you s-survive this?" Dick rubbed the back of his head, looking down.
"I...I don't know. Guess it's just part of the job." He let out a dry chuckle. "Gotham's not the safest place. I-I-I was gonna tell you, eventually, it's just...I didn't want you to see me differently." Zatanna tore her gaze from his chest to his face, placing a hand on his cheek and bringing her lips to meet his. She wanted so badly to prohibit him from going out in Gotham, knowing this is what he had to show for it, but she knew she couldn't. Just like he couldn't stop her from being a hero. They broke apart after some time and Zee hugged him close, burying her head in the crook of his neck.
"I love you, no matter what. Don't forget that. I don't care how many scars you have, you'll always be my Boy Wonder." Dick smiled as he hugged her even tighter. "Are you...are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. I am. I mean, it still hurts, but...it's not as bad as it looks. The worst part is when other people find out." Zee pulled away and looked at him, confused. "I...I don't want anyone to see...this. I don't want them to see me like this." Zatanna pecked him on the lips before responding.
"I get it. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." Dick smiled and brought her back into another hug. He had never shown anyone his scars outside of Alfred and Bruce. Wally saw once, but he only saw because Dick was unconscious and his suit had been torn up. Zatanna was the first person Dick willingly showed his scars to. He never thought anyone would get past the walls he had built up around himself, but somehow this beautiful magician found her way through them. And he loved her so much for it.
"Sorry I can't go to the beach. I know it's stupid, I just-"
"Actually, I think I know a way you could still go to the beach." Dick looked curiously as she smirked at him. God, I love that smirk.
The next day, everyone lounged around on the beach watching Kaldur use his powers to mess with the water in crazy ways and M'gann use her telekinesis to make stunning sand-castles. Luckily, the beach was pretty much empty other than the team, so they could do whatever they wanted. Dick caught himself staring at Zatanna's lean figure as she talked to Artemis and he blushed furiously. She was wearing something he had to say he enjoyed far more than her usual outfit, and that was really saying something since he had a hard enough time not staring at her when she wasn't in something so...revealing. God, stop looking! I thought I got past this! As if she heard his thoughts, Zee left Arty and walked over to him, smiling as she sat down and snuggled next to him. Dick wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him. She picked up the necklace dangling from him and twirled it a bit before dropping it. "How is it?" Dick smiled as he looked at the glamor charm that prevented anyone other than himself and Zee from seeing his battle-damaged chest.
"Charm works...like a charm, I guess." They both laughed together. "Nobody's given me weird looks. Well, except Wally cuz he knows about the scars, but I told him about the charm." Zee grinned as her head laid on his torso and he played with her hair, something he realized he did very often, especially whenever he woke up before her in the mornings, which was almost every day.
"Good. And just so you know, your scars aren't weird. I kinda like them. Adds...character." Dick couldn't help the massive smile that made its way to his face when he heard that. He brought her up to his lips and slid his tongue into her mouth as she moaned into the kiss. They stayed like this for a while, both more than willing to remain in this position for the whole day. Dick shifted them so that she was laying on top of him and Zee ran her hands over his torso. He did his best to not let his extremely hormonal thoughts take him over as they continued the exchange, which was easier said than done. He may have been finally dating her, but that did little to prevent his teenage mind from thinking about her in ways that Giovanni would kill him for if he knew. They were interrupted by Wally speeding around them, enveloping the duo in sand and dirt. Dick glared at the speedster as he ran back to Arty, and Zatanna laughed. Dick smirked at her before picking her up and carrying her into the water, joining the others as they all laughed. The boys messed around with each other while the girls gossiped and talked. Even Kaldur and Connor joined the other two in their shenanigans. Eventually, they came back for a volleyball game, splitting up into teams and deciding against any powers.
Following that, they came together for lunch and spent some more time just hanging out with one another. Dick and Zee cuddled up on a blanket as they watched the others, perfectly content to stay like this for an eternity. Unfortunately, it started to get cold and so the team Zeta'd back to the cave for game night. Zatanna changed out of her beachwear, much to Dick's annoyance, and he did the same, which may have bothered her just as much. He discarded his glamor charm, making a mental note to pay her back somehow, and the team all came together for game night. Dick and Zee ended the day huddled together as everyone had fallen asleep watching a movie. The Boy Wonder watched his girlfriend sleep while resting next to him and he grinned as he thought to himself. How did I get so lucky?
I hope this is what you were looking for. Sorry there wasn't much of the rest of the team, but I'll try to make another team bonding chapter where everyone actually does stuff. Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for chapters you wanna see. Next chapter up soon.