Disclaimer: I do not own the Justice League, only my OC's that appear in this story.

Not a Date?

By: Patattack

It had been a couple days after going to Zatanna's show, and Hector was currently making his way back to his apartment following a long day's work. Having made a stop in order to pick up some groceries, he was walking on the sidewalk carrying a bag when his cellphone rang, and pulled it out of his pocket to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Hector, it's Zatanna," the magician's smooth voice was heard.

"Oh, hi Zatanna," he answered. "How're you doing?"

"Pretty good, actually, thanks for asking."

"That's good to know. So, what's going on?"

"Well, you know how your sister invited me over for dinner at your place?"

"Yeah, how could I forget," Hector said in a bit of a joking tone. "She practically insisted that you come.

"No kidding," Zatanna replied with a chuckle. "Anyway, I was just wondering, would tomorrow at seven be alright for you?"

"No, I'm afraid I work Monday and Wednesday evenings, and Saturday during the day as well."

"Okay, then what about same time on Thursday?"

"There shouldn't be any problem with that. Just to be sure, do you have any allergies, or food you don't eat for whatever reason?"

"I'll admit that I'm not too fond of radishes and Swiss cheese, but I'm not vegetarian and I don't have allergies or anything."

"Great. How about steak, then? Would that agree with you?"

"Yeah, I could really go for a nice steak. I only hope you're as good a cook as your sister made you out to be."

"Well, Cassandra's usually the one bragging for me…" Hector said modestly. "But I do have a fair bit of experience in the matter, and I am pretty good at making steak."

"I'm sure it'll be as good as I imagine. So how do I find your apartment anyway?" Hector then gave her the address to the apartment, along with the directions to get there. "Thanks, I'll be looking forward to dinner."

"You're welcome, and so will I."

The next day, after his usual shift at the meat plant, Hector took a bus to the outskirts of the city, then walked for short while to get to a small farm where he helped out the owner, a German immigrant named Adolf Kaufmann, with whatever work needed to be done. Although, given his impressive fitness and stature, he often ended up doing the more physical labor and such, not that it bothered him, as he found it quite easy and had been doing this since before being forced to leave high school. This time, one of Adolf's sons drove through a field in a pick-up truck, while Hector and Adolf himself threw square bales of hay into a trailer hitched to the back.

"It sure was a good thing we had you here with us," Adolf said when they were finished late in the evening.

"It wasn't a problem, Adolf," Hector replied, wiping off his sweaty forehead with a rag.

"No really, it would have taken much longer without you," Adolf insisted. "You're worth a gold mine all by yourself. Tell me something though, when are you going to try to find a nice girl to go out with? Didn't you have a thing going with a girl named Alice Anders back in high school? She seemed like she was always happy, and a lot stronger than she looked too, though I swear there was something funny about those green eyes of hers."

"Yeah, but she's been gone for years now. Look, if it makes you happy, there's a woman coming over to my apartment to have dinner with my sister and me."

"Really? Good for you. What's she like? What's her name? Come on, man, spill."

"I swear, you're almost as bad as Cassandra," Hector muttered under his breath. "Well, she's really good looking, she seems pretty nice, and her name's Zatanna."

"Wait, hold on a second. You mean the Zatanna, the famous magician?" Hector merely nodded at this, at which Adolf clapped him on the back in congratulations. "You are one lucky man, landing a catch like her. How'd you do it?"

"My sister and I went to see her show last Sunday and we had passes to meet her backstage. Surprisingly, Cassandra came up with the idea, and managed to convince her by playing cute. And for the record, it's only dinner, not a hot date or anything."

"With a woman like that, you'll definitely want to serve up something good," Adolf said, ignoring Hector's protests about it being only dinner. "We've got some top quality steaks lying in the freezer, and you should pick a few apples so you can make your famous pie, and we may have a bottle of red white in the fridge. If you still cook as well as you do, she's sure to be impressed. And being the good looking, charming kind of guy that you are, I'm sure that after dinner she wouldn't be averse to a little-"

"Whoa! I do not need to know where this is going!" Hector protested loudly, much to Adolf's amusement. "And besides, Cassandra's going to be there too."

"Ist das richtig?" (Is that right?) the older man asked in German.

"Ja, ist es," (Yes, it is.) Hector replied.

"If you say so. Now come on, we'll get you those steaks," Adolf said, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

Up in space, in the orbiting Watchtower, Zatanna was sitting at a table in the cafeteria with Wally, Mari and Dinah, chatting, sharing bits of gossip, and so on and so forth. "Hey, Wally, I heard you were on a big date recently," Mari spoke up.

"Really?" Dinah asked. "I hope you weren't your usual perverted self and treated her well."

"Hey!" Wally exclaimed indignantly. "I'll have you know I was a perfect gentleman, all along. She even complimented on how much fun I was at the end of the date."

"That sounds like it's stretching the truth a little far if you ask me," Zatanna commented. "Are you sure you didn't put any of your moves on her?"

"Well… I might have… a little," he admitted. "But she still laughed and said it was kind of funny how I tried."

"That sounds more like it," Mari said, rolling her eyes. "So does this lady have a name?"

"Linda Park. She's a TV reporter in Keystone City."

"That's all?" Zatanna complained. "Come on, tell us more about her. What's she like?"

"Yeah, do tell," Dinah piped up, sounding interested. "Give us more details."

"It hasn't been that many dates."

"So you're been out with her more than once?" Mari asked.

"Maybe," Wally muttered, feeling a little uncomfortable at the way the three women were looking at him, eagerly wanting to know more. "And what about you?" he said, turning towards Zatanna. "Are you seeing anyone, Zee?"

"No, I'm not."

"You know, if you really aren't seeing anyone, that'd make you the only one of us that's still single," Dinah realized. "I mean, I'm with Ollie, Mari's got John, and now Wally's going out with this Linda, which leaves just you alone."

"For your information, I'm having dinner with a nice guy tomorrow evening." As soon as the words left Zatanna's mouth, she immediately regretted saying them. Her three companions looked at her in silence for a second, surprised by what she'd said.

"Spill, now," Mari insisted.

"Umm… well…"

Not too long before the agreed time of the date, which both parties had insisted to their respective companions was not an actual date, Hector was almost finished cooking the steaks to perfection. Accompanying this were potatoes, carrots, peas, beans and turnips, all close to ready and waiting to be devoured, while an apple pie was sitting in the oven. "My, my, you sure went all out for your date," Cassandra said grinning widely.

Hector sighed as he turned around to look at his sister. "You know, it's not a real date with a third wheel like you hanging around, so why do you keep insisting it is?"

"Did I forget to mention that I wasn't actually staying for dinner?"

"Wait, what?"

The sound of someone knocking at their door was then heard, at which Cassandra went to answer. Upon the door being opened, Hector recognized the tall blond girl as one of his sister's girl friends from school. "Hey Cass, ready to go?"

"You bet, Sal," she replied, before going to grab a jacket.

"Hold on a minute," Hector interrupted. "Not to be rude, Sally, but what are you doing here? And why are you talking about going somewhere with Cassandra?"

"She said she wanted to go to the movies tonight so you could have dinner alone with your date. Did she forget to mention this?"

"She most certainly did not mention this to me," Hector said, frowning as he looked at his sister, who smiled innocently in return.

"To be perfectly honest, this was partly Adolf's idea," Cassandra said. "Well, we've gotta run now. Have fun on your date. But don't have too much fun," she added suggestively as she and Sally ran laughing out the door.

"Sneaky little brat," Hector muttered under his breath, turning back to the food, which was done a short while later. He then put two sets of dishes on the table, and just finished with the steak and vegetables when someone was knocking at the door again. "Just a minute," he called out, before going to open the door. Standing just outside was Zatanna, dressed in skinny blue jeans a simple, if slightly low cut red blouse, and a light coat overtop. "Hey, you're looking good," Hector blurted out before he could stop himself, his face turning an interesting shade of red. "I- I mean… why don't you just come in?"

"S-Sure," Zatanna said, blushing a little herself. "Say, where's Cassandra anyway?" Hector turned his head a little muttering a few choice words which she couldn't make out. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"She… kind of ran off at the last minute with one of her friends to go see a movie."

"That's kind of strange, since she was the one who came up with the whole idea."

"Yes… it is," Hector said awkwardly, embarrassed by the motivation for his sister's actions. "Can I have your coat? Why don't you have a seat? I've just finished making dinner."

"It absolutely smells delicious," Zatanna commented as she took off and passed him her coat before sitting down.

"That's good. So, do you want anything to drink? There's milk, water, juice, or wine, but I only have one bottle of red."

"The wine sounds, nice if you don't mind."

"Alright, red wine it is." Hector then grabbed the bottle out of the fridge and poured a glass for each of them, after which he served the steak and vegetables. "Bon apétit."

Zatanna took her fork and knife, cutting a piece of steak and popping it into her mouth, her eyes widening a little as she chewed. After she'd swallowed, she turned her attention towards Hector, who had a bit of an expectant look on his face. "I was wrong, this isn't as good as I'd imagined, it's even better. Seriously, this is the greatest steak I've ever had. Your sister sure wasn't lying when she claimed you were a world class chef."

"Heh, thanks," Hector said sheepishly.

Though it started out as a bit awkward, eventually they both opened up to each other and were making conversation like they were good friends. "If you don't mind me asking, are you and your sister blood relatives?"

"Family is not whose blood you share, but who you love, and who loves you," Hector replied. "And the answer to your question is no. I lived on the streets up until I was nine, when Cassandra's parents took me in and gave me a name."

"What do you mean, they gave you a name?"

"I have next no knowledge of anything about my birth parents, and I like I said, I lived on the streets until I was nine. The only name I had before then was 'Kid', 'Brat', or whatever else people felt like calling me."

"That must have been hard on you," Zatanna said softly. "How did you get adopted?"

"One day this police officer saw me fighting to stop a bunch of older kids from stealing a medal I owned. After chasing them off, he asked me why I'd fight so hard over something apparently worth so little, and I told him 'This may not look like much, but it's the only thing I have from my mother, and it's worth a lot to me.' After that, he brought me home, where his wife took care of me. They told me the story of the hero of Troy, Hector, and said I reminded them of him. Then they decided that that was going to be my new name, and eventually adopted me. On the day that happened, I promised I'd do whatever it took to repay them. And when Cassandra was born, I swore to always protect her, no matter the cost."

"Wow… that's very noble of you," Zatanna said with a heartfelt smile, gently reaching out to grab his hand. "I can see why they named you after a hero."

"Thank you, Zatanna."

"You know, you can call me Zee, if you like."

"Okay, would you care for pie, Zee?" Hector asked.

"I don't know about that. The food was just so good, I'm not sure I've got room left for more." Hector gave her a smile, letting go of her hand, incidentally missing the warmth of her touch, and went to the oven where he pulled out the apple pie, the wondrous smell making Zatanna's mouth almost water in anticipation. "Well… I guess I might not be quite as full as I thought."

Hector then cut her a small slice, refilling her glass of wine while he was at it, and did the same for himself. He then watched with amusement, and a touch of pride as Zatanna's face lit up in delight. "So, is it good?"

"I thought the food before was good, but this is awesome!"

After finishing dessert, Zatanna offered to help with the dishes, but Hector politely refused. "Just leave it be, I'll take care of everything myself."

"Okay then, if you're sure. Well, I guess I should probably think about getting back to my hotel soon."

"You know, it's a pretty nice night out," Hector began, feeling a little nervous at the idea that had just come to him. "And I was just wondering… would you like me to walk you back to your hotel?"

"Yes, I think I'd like that very much."

Hector then grabbed Zatanna's coat, holding it out for her to slip into it, then put on a simple jacket and walked out the door with her. As they walked along through the starry night, they continued their friendly conversation, ranging from one subject to another, Hector surprising her with his knowledge of different stars and constellations, among other things. "Just curious, but do you still have that medal you said belonged to your mother?"

"Yeah, I always carry it with me," he answered, reaching into one of his pockets and taking out a bronze medal that hardly looked expensive, yet was still clearly well taken care of. On one side, it was engraved with the planet earth, whereas on the other, there was a series of words that Zatanna could not understand.

"I can't figure out what the words mean. It all looks like Chinese to me."

"Actually, it's Greek," Hector informed her. "Against fear, be brave. Against despair, have courage. When hope seems lost, remember you are strong. Now go, live, love, and be loved."

"You understand Greek? No doubt it's just one in a long list of skills. How many languages do you know?"

"Well… I wouldn't want to sound like a braggart or anything…"

"Hey, you're a very intelligent guy, but 'braggart' isn't a word I'd use to describe you. You seem too humble and honest for that. So tell me, I'd like to know."

"Okay. I know French, English, Spanish, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Japanese, and to a certain extent, Latin."

"… Whoa."

"Umm… I kind of have a talent for picking up new languages, and I really studied a whole lot back in high school."

"Super-human cooking and language skills, along with high level intellect, physical prowess and martial arts skills… You have any other super powers you'd like to tell me about?" she asked teasingly.

"As far as I know, I'm just your average human." Zatanna looked at him with an eyebrow raised in question. "Okay, maybe not quite average, but I'm pretty sure I'm still human."

"Alright, but I still say the fact that you can cook so well and speak that many languages counts as having super powers."

"If you insist, although I'd hardly imagine going out to fight super villains," Hector said in a joking tone. "I mean, what would I do? Throw a pie in their face, or shout words at them they can't understand?"

"You could always tantalize them with some of your awesome food and then force them to surrender if they want to have any of it." The two of them looked at each other for a second then burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the idea. Eventually they arrived before the hotel Zatanna was staying at. "You know, I really enjoyed myself this evening."

"Thanks. It was fun spending time with you."

"… Want to do this again sometime?" Zatanna asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

"Great. My last show on Saturday finishes at three, so if you wanted, we could meet up at the theater at three thirty or so."

"I'll have to check to be sure I can make it for that time, but somehow I doubt there'll be any problems." The two of them stood there for a moment, feeling a little awkward, until Hector spontaneously, albeit gently, took Zatanna's hand and kissed the back of her hand. "Well, good night Zee."

"Yeah, good night," Zatanna replied, blushing a little as she turned around to walk into the hotel lobby. Making her way back to her room, she couldn't help the bright smile that broke out across her face.

"Well, how was the date? Was she dressed hot? Did she like the food? Did you guys talk much? What did you guys talk about? How did it go in general?" Cassandra demanded impatiently the moment he walked back into the apartment, rattling off one question after another like there was no tomorrow.

"It was fun, and things seemed to go pretty well."

"That's not nearly enough information, give me something better. Like how well did it go? Did you give her a kiss good night?"

Hector merely smirked at this. "Sorry, but it's already late, so you'd best be off to bed, young lady."

"Come on, you've gotta tell me more, pleeeeeeease?" Cassandra pleaded, giving him her best smile and puppy dog eyes.

"Not a chance. Now go to sleep."

"Aww, you stink."

"Tough cookies, little sister." Hector chuckled to himself at his sister's grumbling, smiling widely as he thought about the time spent with Zatanna, and how he looked forward to seeing her again, the smile lasting even up until he lay down on the couch and eventually fell asleep.

So, I hope you all liked this, and if you don't mind dropping off a review with your opinion, then that'd be much appreciated.

By the way, I left a few (somewhat subtle) hints about some interesting superhuman stuff in the first half of this chapter. Can any of you figure out what they are and what they mean?

There's also stuff about Hector himself that I also hinted at in the first chapter. I'll give one clue, it has to do with the medal he showed Zatanna, and somewhat involves the story he told her. *If you think you've got it figured out, I'd ask that you tell me your thoughts on the matter in a PM and not a review.*

Till next time!