Summary: Suggestion from Exatal. Takes place in a future setting from now, December of 2020, mostly to work in a Christmas chapter somehow. It's odd timing story-wise, I know, but the suggestion was there and since it's New Year's soon, I thought why not do it now.
Disclaimer: I don't own DC
He still couldn't believe it had almost been a year. Neither of them could.
It felt like yesterday when Dick had gotten back from his sabbatical and asked Zatanna out to dinner, and yet it was already the holiday season. Time really did fly when they were together, and a part of him hoped it would slow down. He wanted to be with her for as long as he could.
This was the first Christmas in a while Dick really felt like celebrating. Maybe it was because his girlfriend was finally back by his side, maybe it was because things were relatively peaceful and their world was feeling more normal again, or maybe it was because his family felt a little more whole ever since the Red Hood had returned to their ranks and Damian flipping Wayne showed up. Still can't believe Bruce and Talia…ugh. And after all those talks about using protection with Zee, too. Regardless, Dick got gifts for all his friends and family. Back when he was Robin, ward of Bruce Wayne, he went bananas with gifts for the team, getting them all incredibly lavish or expensive things. Since he had become independent, he dialed it back a bit. Detectives didn't get paid all that much compared to billionaires. And it didn't help that the team had exploded in member count, to the point of being split into the Titans, Teen Titans, and Young Justice division, and he didn't like leaving anyone out. Despite their gruff exteriors, none of the bats did. Bruce always bought something for each member of the League, and Tim and Barb tried to do the same for the team.
Zatanna had a much easier time with this aspect of the holidays. She didn't know most of the team members that well, save for the originals, so she had a much simpler time with gifts. As for the League, she hardly really connected with any of them aside from Batman, Rocket, Shazam, and surprisingly enough, Black Canary. She and Dinah spent a lot of time in therapy, and grew rather close as a result. She also felt like getting something for Diana, and the rest of the Bats for that matter, since she was part of the Wayne family to an extent again. And, funny enough, she was wealthier than Dick at this point in their lives. Turns out the stage magician gig really did pay well. And Dick didn't like to ask his girlfriend for money issues, so he opted to buy everyone gifts himself, maybe asking the smallest of loans from Bruce if need be. But he really didn't want to. Not because of any beef with Bruce, just out of a need to be more independent and less reliant on him.
Regardless, Dick found picking out gifts to be rather easy for the most part. For Conner he got a black biker jacket with the Superman emblem on the back of it that he knew he'd wanted for some time, for Megan a whole set of novels in a series she was thinking of reading soon, for Artemis a framed photo of the originals back on her 18th birthday, for Kaldur a new yoga mat, for Raquel a heist movie (she was really into those), and smaller things for the rest. He planned to get Gar a framed photo of himself, his mom, Megan, and Conner from way back during that first mission to Qurac, and for Bart a photo of the four Flashes all together.
But the biggest challenge for the two was what to get each other. In the past, Dick would have showered Zee with jewelry, but at this point even he felt like it was going overboard. Not that she didn't love it, she did. In fact, she still wore the pedant he got her for their first Valentine's day together. But there's only so many earrings or bracelets he could realistically get for her, and so he opted for something smaller but equally as touching. A keychain for their apartment that could open up to reveal a photo of the two of them on their first date together. It was one of her favorite pictures of them, so he thought she might like it. As for Zatanna, she was in the unique position of being able to get him something expensive rather than the other way around. She initially opted for a new watch or jacket, but thought maybe she should go more personal. And so here she was, staying up late to use her magic to enchant a charm she had designed to attach to his admittedly very high-end, bat-tech enhanced watch. When Dick asked her to come back to bed, she rubbed it off, telling him she had work for her upcoming show to do. He knew she didn't like to be disturbed for that sorta stuff, so he simply nodded and went to sleep. The spell for the charm was surprisingly advanced considering what she wanted it to do, and it took a lot of energy out of her. By the time she was done, she could barely keep her eyes open.
Dick woke up the next day with a very peaceful Zatanna snuggled up next to him. Despite it being nearly 9:00, she was sleeping like a baby. He smiled and chose to stay with her for a few more minutes before making breakfast. Zatanna woke up nearly an hour later, annoyed at the lack of her boyfriend in her bed, but smiled once she saw he had finished breakfast. The amount of food he cooked would have brought Wally a smile, but she gulped it down thoughtlessly. Magic always took a lot out of her: replenishing her energy was a necessary component of her usual life. It was pretty funny seeing the usually exquisite and composed sorceress eat like a speedster, though with far more regard for her table etiquette than one, but Dick was used to it at this point. He just smiled and ate his own breakfast next to her.
Towards the end of the day, the lovebirds got dressed for a Christmas party at Wayne Manor, yet another yearly tradition. Everyone was set to show up: the League, the Titans, the Teen Titans, and the Young Justice division. It was a miracle that the Manor even managed to fit them all, though the party did extend down into the Batcave. Towards the end of the night, Zatanna tapped Dick on the shoulder and he turned to look at her. She had her traditional smirk on her face as she pointed up to the ceiling, where M'gann had hung a mistletoe. Dick smiled before being yanked into a passionate kiss by the magician. They broke off for air after nearly a minute, and Zee dragged him to his old room, ignoring Artemis and Barbara's smirks as she shooed them out and locked the door. No, she wasn't intending to do anything dirty, she just didn't want any interruptions for this next part. Dick pulled out a small box with black wrapping paper and magic wands all over it, and she pulled out her own small box with blue wrapping paper.
"You first." They both spoke at the same time before bursting into laughter. "Okay, you first, Dick."
"Alright." Dick took the wrapping paper from Zatanna and opened it to find a small charm in the shape of a bird. He smiled at the gesture.
"It connects to your watch, I made it so it could be integrated in." Wow, that's impre-
"You made this?" Somehow that made him love the little charm so much more. Zee smiled, bashfully tucking hair behind her ear and trying to ignore the blush rising to her cheeks. "Is this why you were up all night?" Zee nodded, her smile growing as Dick admired the charm. Something about it reminded him of his family back at Haly's Circus. He remembered his mother had a charm similar to this hang from her neck, and while Zee didn't know it, that made the gift even more important to him. He gently pecked her on the lips before connecting it to his watch. Wow. Fits…perfectly. How did she manage this?
"There's, uh, there's more to it. Press your thumb to the bird." Dick did as he was told, and the charm lit up, illuminating his surroundings. The magic in the charm pulsated for a bit, as if it was scanning Dick's emotions or thoughts. It took a while to form any image, but once it did, he gasped. The room they were in was covered in projections of the circus. It was as if he was back there, it was so perfectly recreated from his memory that there was no way even Zatanna could have done it. He smelled the fresh popcorn in the air, he heard Haly's voice boom from above, and he even saw illusions of his old family. His friends and parents, performing just as gracefully as he remembered them to. It was as if he was in the audience for once, rather than on the stage.
The illusion ended a few minutes later, and Dick's tears started to water. He didn't even realize he was crying until a single tear made it's way down to his shirt. Out of all the tricks he had seen his girlfriend perform, this one had to take the cake. Zee smiled and started to stutter out more explanations. "Th-the charm c-can sense your h-heart's wish a-and create an illusion b-based on that. I-it all comes down to what you're w-wishing for in th-the moment, a-and you c-can activate it at anyt-time, just has a 24 h-hour recharge period. I th-thought y-you might li-" Dick practically crushed Zee in a hug, which she graciously returned. He knew now, in this moment, just how incredibly lucky he was to have her in his life, and he wanted to make sure she knew how he felt.
"I love you, so much. S-seriously, this is...wow." He kissed her neck gently before pulling back, wiping his eyes and rubbing the back of his neck, stuttering. "Uh, y-yeah, my gift's k-kinda pathetic compared to th-this." Zee brushed it off and opened the packaging with a smile on her face, and her smile only grew as she saw the keychain trinket, the letters 'D' and 'Z' embroidered into it. She looked to Dick, who was blushing furiously while rubbing his neck, and thought it was cute how awkward he was being over this.
"I-it's, uh, it o-opens up." Zee looked at the heart-shaped trinket, made of actual wood, and flipped it open, her eyes widening a smidge at the photo inside. I forgot how much I loved this one. Wow…She looked back at her boyfriend, and he shrunk a bit in her view. He felt almost ashamed of his gift after what she had made him, but she thought it was one of the sweetest gifts he had ever given her. She loved that photo more than anything in the world, for a long while she had it as her phone wallpaper. "S-sorry, I kn-know it's kinda lame and all, I-I can get y-you something else i-if y-" She cut him off by smashing her lips to his, sending the both of them toppling down onto the bed.
"It's perfect. I love it, and don't you dare get anything else." He grinned, laughing a bit before kissing her again. They stayed in this position for a while before Artemis knocked on the door asking for them to make out after the party and come downstairs for the cake. They both laughed before getting up and walking out of the room, fingers intertwined and massive smiles on their faces.
The rest of the party went about as one would expect, and Dick and Zee ended up cuddling with one another next to the fireplace, laughing at one of Steph's dumb stories and watching M'gann and Rocket have a lighthearted debate over clothing apparel. Zatanna looked up to Dick, who looked livelier than ever, and placed a kiss to the side of his mouth. He smiled and pulled her closer.
"Merry Christmas, Zee."
"Yrrem Samtsirhc, Yob Rednow."
Happy New Year to you all! Feel free to leave comments or suggestions for chapters you wanna see. Next chapter up soon.