When you meet your soulmate, the universe makes sure you know.
The air around you gets warmer. So warm that it feels like someone's hugging you at all times. The shadow of your heart's other half that's ensuring you'll never be alone in the cold again.
Colors start to pop more. It's not that you couldn't see them before, but now they're like flashing neon lights that illuminate the darkness all around you. They make sure your world remains lively and bright, even when you feel like a bleak, grey mess.
The stars become more noticeable. Like the colors, they were always there. But you'd never seen them twinkle the way they do now. It's like they're calling to you, reflections of the light in your love's brilliantly bright eyes. If your soulmate and you have a particularly strong connection, the stars will even change colors.
When you're a kid you assume your parents are soulmates. For Zatanna, it's all she's ever known. Her parents were made for each other, two halves of the same whole. It was like a Disney fairytale come to life. At least until cancer ripped a hole through her perfect life.
Her mother always told her that when the right boy came along, she'd know. Because if they're truly meant to be together, then fate will bring her falling into his arms.
Zatanna can't remember the last time fate did something nice for her.
When Artemis meets her soulmate, she tells Zatanna almost immediately.
It's only been two weeks since they moved into the university, and they've hardly spoken to anyone else on campus. Zatanna knows the guy in question; apart from being in her and Artemis's Ancient Literature class, he lives in the dorm right across from the girls. He's cute enough, she thinks. Not really her type but not half bad, either. Her roommate, now he's totally her type. Not that she's looking.
Zatanna asks her what being in love's like, and she doesn't think she's ever seen Artemis more excited about something. The archer describes it as seeing the world through a filter - you can only seem to focus on the nice stuff. Like the shining of a rainbow after the rain is gone or the chirping of a pair of red-bellied robins on a sunny morning.
Zatanna likes robins.
The first time Zatanna meets Dick Grayson, it's by complete accident.
She's walking out of the library with Artemis, arguing about who's gonna make the supermarket run this week (it's totally her turn, but if Artemis asks, it's not) when she absentmindedly bumps into what she could swear was a brick wall. He catches her before she can fall, gently depositing her back onto her feet before leaning down to pick up a couple books for her with an innocent if not awkward smile. She blushes when he gives her back her stuff. "S-sorry, I…"
"It's alright," he says before extending a hand. "I'm Dick. Dick Grayson."
Oh, she knows exactly who he is.
Besides living in the dorm just across from him and Artemis's boyfriend, Zatanna shares three out of her four classes with Dick. But she doesn't really know much about him other than the fact that his full name's Richard John Grayson, his parents aren't around anymore, his favorite color's blue, he loves caramel, he's got like three younger brothers, he secretly really hates chocolate, and he lets people call him Dick. Which in itself is a lot more than she even realized she knew about him until just now.
She knows he's a nerd. A sexy nerd, but still a nerd. She doesn't really like nerds, other than Artemis at least (though the archer would no doubt put an arrow between her eyes if she ever dared call her that). Maybe it's 'cause nerds make her feel worse about herself, and only Artemis is allowed to do that.
He's certainly cute, though. Really cute. Messy black hair, shoulders so firm she'd swear they were carved from marble, muscles she can practically see through the stretched fabric of his shirt…
Artemis clears her throat, which seems to snap her right out of her trance because the next thing she knows she's shaking his warm hand and smiling right back to him. "I know. Zatanna Zatara." He smirks back, a twinkle of mischief in his irises and a hint of playfulness in his voice.
"I know."
His eyes are like the ocean; it takes all her willpower not to get lost in their beautiful blue shine. Zatanna doesn't know how long she's been staring into them for. All she does know is that Artemis is a lifesaver, because the archer clears her throat yet again and gently grabs her by the wrist.
"We've really gotta get going. Nice seeing you, though. Say hi to Wally for me." Dick just winks at the archer before she drags Zatanna away, and once he's safely out of earshot she turns to the magician with a coy grin. "He's cute, huh?" Zatanna blinks twice and just shrugs, trying to play it off despite knowing full well that Artemis was watching her drool the whole time.
"I guess…"
"You should ask him out," she says. The magician rolls her eyes, hoping the blush isn't too obvious.
"Artemis, I hardly know the guy."
"Grow a spine already. He's cute. And totally into you," Artemis gently nudges her arm, but Zatanna just scoffs.
"How so?"
"Did you see the look in his eyes? Guys only stare at girls like that when they're turned on."
The magician blushes, elbowing her best friend in the gut. "Fine. I'll ask him out if you take the grocery run this week."
"You'll ask him out regardless because if you don't I'll put an arrow in your left kneecap," the archer shoots back. "Besides, you owe me for doing half your essay the other day."
"Okay, you didn't do half."
Artemis smirks. "You're right. More like all of it." The two girls laugh joyously and leave for their dorm as if nothing ever happened.
If there's one thing Zatanna hates, it's boredom. If there's anything she hates more, it's the cold. And just her luck, patrol today's a bit of both.
She sneezes into her white glove and shudders weakly. The frigid winds bite into her side like ravenous wolves eating their prey, wholly merciless and entirely starved. To her side, Tigress is leaning on a railing, not even flinching as a particularly strong gust blows past the girls. It's honestly kinda freaky how she manages to stay so warm. Or at least act it.
"Let's go home," the archer finally says. "Doubt anything's gonna happen."
Zatanna's about to agree when something in the distance catches her eye. She nudges Artemis and points to where two spandex-clad individuals, one black with blue highlights and the other muted yellow and red, are sneaking out of a circular hole cut out of the window of a museum. The archer snorts.
"What kind of cat burglar dresses in yellow and red?"
"Maybe you should ask him," Zatanna replies, and in a puff of white smoke and a burst of ice-cold wind, the two of them materialize right in front of the thieves. Artemis shudders before drawing her bow and glaring at Zatanna.
"I told you I hate it when you do that!"
"Stop being so dramatic," she replies with a grin, though she does agree; it's way too fucking cold to be bamfing around like a speedster on crack.
The black-suited thief is the first to notice the two because he immediately takes a step back, eyes widening in modest surprise. Zatanna gives him a quick one over, and she has to say, for a criminal he's not half-bad. Messy black hair, but messy in that cute way where she wouldn't mind tangling her fingers in it like it was a nest. Form-fitting spandex, contorting in all the right places to show just enough to make her mouth water. A domino mask with white lenses to cover his eyes. Cheekbones so sharp she'd swear you could cut metal on th-god, stop swooning over the evil thief!
"Hands up, boys," the archer states simply. She aims an arrow at the yellow one, who just raises his hands jokingly.
"Relax, beautiful. We were just on our way," he says.
"Uh huh. What's in the bag?"
"Groceries," he replies with a cheeky grin.
Funny, thinks Zatanna.
"Who are you?" Artemis asks.
The yellow one puffs out his chest flamboyantly. "Name's Flash. This is Nightwing." This earns him a swat on the head from the other thief.
"You really don't have to advertise that." He rubs the back of his red hair.
"Don't mind him. But he does have a point; we really gotta get going now." Tigress primess her arrow as a warning.
"Only place you two're going is prison."
Nightwing makes a motion with his fingers, somewhere between showing them the finger and pointing his thumb to the side. Zatanna struggles to figure out what it means, but Flash seems to understand it just fine because in a minute he's off running. And the girls can't even begin to stop him before his partner makes a break for the opposite direction. Artemis growls.
"I got him! You get the other one!" The magician doesn't get a chance to protest because her best friend's already sprinting after the redhead, so instead she just rolls her eyes and follows the cute one. And she suddenly feels really irritated with herself for describing him as the cute one, but now's not the time for that.
He's quick, nimble. Agile as a cat and three times as fast. She's got to admit: it's kind of impressive. Rooftops, walkways, and scalings that take her utmost concentration to traverse he somehow manages to slide past without breaking a sweat.
And what annoys her most of all is how good he looks while doing it.
She watches Nightwing leap clean off a roof, somersaulting with the grace of a Russian gymnast before landing on his feet with not so much as a grunt of exertion. She takes the same jump but almost immediately regrets it because her ankle makes a noise that no ankle should ever make and she suddenly feels really awful trying to run after him.
She throws a hand out and narrows her eyes. "Dnib mih!"
Nightwing gasps when a thick rope materializes around him, wrapping him up in a neat bow and causing him to fall to his knees. He struggles against the bindings while the magician somewhat unceremoniously limps towards him, a triumphant smirk stretching across her face.
But instead of frowning, Nightwing just grins back. The ropes fall off as he brandishes his claws, and before she can react he's already swept her legs out from under and has her pinned to the floor by her wrists. A sly smirk crosses his lips, and she suddenly gets the unbearable urge to slap it right off.
"You're cute," he says.
"And you're a jerk," she spits back. He just shrugs.
"More of a dick, really. I didn't get your name, though."
Zatanna bucks her hips forward to knock him off balance and rolls around so she's reversed their positions. He struggles to retaliate, but it's to no avail because she's already comfortably straddling his lap while her arms keep him pinned to the floor by the wrists.
"Zatanna." Despite their positions, his smirk only grows.
"Charmed."
"What's in the bag?" She motions for his knapsack.
"Oh, nothing. Just a couple diamonds, maybe an emerald or two."
"I'll be taking those back," she says.
"I can think of a better idea," he replies, and before she can stop him, he tears an arm out of her grasp and loops his wrist around the back of her neck, tugging her down to his level and pressing their lips together in one swift motion. She lets out a squeak of discontent and immediately tries to pull away, but that only makes him try harder.
Zatanna tries to stop, she really does. But Nightwing's grip is surprisingly strong and holy hell is he an amazing kisser. She doesn't know if she's still kissing him because she can't pull away or she just doesn't want to, but their lips remain connected for far longer than she knows they should be.
She feels her grip start to give out. She can't help herself; it feels kinda great. But that's probably what he was going for all along, because as soon as she loosens up he grabs her wrists and reverses their position yet again, this time slickly tying her hands together and planting a piece of tape over her lips.
"Nothing personal, gorgeous. But as much as I'd love to keep this up, I've got places to be," Nightwing says. Zatanna struggles into her bindings, but all she can do is growl angrily while he nonchalantly flips off the side of the building with a swagger she knows is solely there to piss her off as much as possible.
Eventually she manages to slip out of her shackles and tears the tape off her lips with a yelp of pain.
"What the fuck was that?!" she screams into the dark. But he's already gone so she just growls before stomping the ground and crossing her arms angrily.
She doesn't know who she's more mad at; herself or that little weasel she just kissed. Either way she swears she's never been more humiliated in her life. Artemis is probably gonna have a field day with this, and thinking about all the jokes she's no doubt about to bombard the magician with is probably what scares her most of all.
Zatanna turns to leave with a mighty huff, her breath tearing through the chilly atmosphere like a dragon's fire. But the air doesn't bother her like it did before. It's not really cold anymore.
It's warm. She doesn't know when it got so warm.
"I can't believe I let that little rat get away!" Zatanna frustratedly plops onto the bed, muttering a spell to change out of her suit and into a pair of pajamas while Artemis somewhat unceremoniously wiggles her sweat-riddled body out of her own uniform. The brunette has to look away because the orange of her costume is so bright it's starting to hurt her eyes. Was it always that bright? She's never noticed before.
"Don't beat yourself up. I didn't get mine either," the archer says while motioning for Zatanna to toss her the pair of pajamas lying on the bed.
"Yeah, but your guy had superspeed. Mine was just a freak."
"So what happened? How'd he give you the slip?" Artemis raises an eyebrow while Zatanna looks away and scratches her arm.
So maybe she left a couple details out. Excuse her for not wanting to tell her best friend about how some dude in a catsuit with no powers absolutely humiliated her and got away with a truckload of diamonds. And no, she definitely isn't telling her about the kiss because she doesn't even want to think about all the jokes the blonde would make if she found out Zatanna's first kiss since Junior Prom was with a sexy cat burglar in skintight black spandex.
"Nothing," she huffs out. "Just…nothing."
The archer just shrugs, and nothing more is said for a few minutes, and then she bites her bottom lip and plops down on her bed. "The speedster was kinda cute."
"Artemis," Zatanna chastises. "You have a boyfriend, and he's a good-for-nothing thief."
"Relax, mom. I'm not gonna ask him out or anything. Just saying." There's another long moment of silence. "Nightwing was kinda cute, too."
Zatanna rolls her eyes. "He was an ass."
"The two aren't mutually exclusive."
"Trust me, the only thing cute about him was how he looked when I had him square on his back."
Artemis shrugs again, clearly too tired to keep this up. "Whatever. I have an 8 A.M. tomorrow, so please try to go to sleep for my sake."
She reaches over to shut off the light, leaving Zatanna to grumble incoherently and angrily yank the blanket over her shoulders. Today was a complete bust, and all she wanted to do now was get that smirking bastard's face out of her mind and drown in a pool of dreams.
If she bothered to look outside, she'd notice the stars in the sky glistening with a distinctly bright blue shine.
Blue was always her favorite color.
As it turns out, Dick Grayson likes to frequent the same library as them. On a completely unrelated note, Artemis never knew how annoying it was to have your study partner spend the vast majority of what was supposed to be a group study period staring at Dick Grayson's inexplicably stonelike forearms.
"Could you at least pretend to study? It's getting kinda annoying," the archer finally spits out.
"Huh?" the magician halfheartedly responds before shaking her head and turning back to her book, a bright flame percolating through her cheeks.
"You were fawning."
"I wasn't fawning."
"You're utterly pathetic, you know that?"
"Shut up," the sorceress breathes out grumpily.
Artemis rolls her eyes before turning back to her textbook, and then they're silent for a couple more minutes as the archer reads through her notes, and then she snaps her fingers to ask Zatanna something. "Hey do you know when the-"
When she looks up from her book she sees the magician's eyes not on her or a book, but tracing a path across the room to the table directly across from them. The blonde grits her teeth and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Oh, for the love of…just ask him out, please," she says. Zatanna turns a beet red and glares at her.
"How am I supposed to ask him out? I barely even know the guy."
"That hasn't stopped you from drooling over him."
"Artemis, drop it." The archer shuts her textbook closed rather violently.
"Fine. Just remember that I'm doing this for you." She gets out of her seat and walks over to Dick Grayson, all the while Zatanna silently demands her to stop and come back.
Dick perks up when he feels the blonde tap him on the shoulder. Artemis rolls her eyes and directs a finger over her shoulder to where Zatanna's standing, or rather trying to hide. "My friend would like to ask you out."
From behind her back, Zatanna silently beats her fist into the archer's back, face turning an unhealthily bright shade of red.
Dick raises an eyebrow. "Your friend?" Artemis just steps to the side, exposing the magician in all her less-than-composed glory. Dick's own cheeks turn a faint pink when he sees her.
"You're welcome," is all the archer says before walking back to their table and leaving Zatanna to awkwardly rub her forearm.
"I'm so sorry about her," she says.
Dick just smirks. "Why're you sorry? I'm down."
Zatanna bites her bottom lip to hold back her smile. "Really?"
"Yeah. When're you free, I can pick you up from your dorm."
"Tomorrow night?" The tinge of hopefulness in her voice almost makes Dick smile.
"Sure. Tomorrow night." He winks coyly while she scratches the back of her neck and smiles at him.
When she gets back to their table Artemis already has her face buried in a textbook, but that doesn't stop the archer from asking if she chickened out.
"No," she replies. "He's picking me up from home tomorrow."
The blonde just smirks triumphantly.
Artemis knows firsthand how awkward Zatanna can get around important people, and for a reason that's glaringly obvious to the archer but absolutely lost on the magician, Dick Grayson seems to dial that awkwardness up to 11. To alleviate a bit of the pressure, she and Wally decided to tag along for their first date.
Zatanna doesn't know what she'd do without that grumpy little angel.
Right now they're all huddled around a shopping cart (okay, so maybe Artemis was also using this as an excuse to finally go pick up their stuff) with Wally nudging it across the grocery aisle. He and Artemis finally come to a stop at the ice cream section to argue over what flavor to get, and Zatanna and Dick use the opportunity to sneak off together and grab the rest of their stuff.
Dick smirks gently when he sees her pick up a jar of pickled eggs. "You eat those?"
Zatanna rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Everyone's a critic. Hey, could you grab me a pack of Pringles?" She points to the top shelf, just out of her reach, and he snorts before grabbing a large tube and tossing it to her.
"You're weird," he simply remarks. She laughs lightly.
"Believe me, you have no idea." Dick smiles before grabbing two bottles of grape juice.
"I like weird." Zatanna grins up at him with a faint blush but can't say anything back before the others come wheeling in with an unhealthy amount of ice cream tubs. Zatanna raises an eyebrow, but one glance at Dick tells her to just go with it.
The two of them drag behind Wally and Artemis for a good little while. Partly to get more of each other's company and partly just to avoid having to deal with their friends' constant arguing. When they pass the maintenance section Dick quickly grabs something from the shelf, and Zatanna's lips curve upwards when she sees what it is.
"You use fabric softener?" Dick blushes when she pinches her lips together in an attempt to not giggle.
"Yeah, you don't?"
"No, I do." The tone of her voice only makes his blush worse.
"What's wrong with fabric softener?" Zatanna has to look away so as to not embarrass him with her teasing smile.
"Nothing." She loops her arm around his and gently squeezes his wrist, grinning eagerly as her fingers fit perfectly in the crevices between his own.
Now that the girls' milk run was finally taken care of, they're all back in the boys' room watching something on Dick's projector. Yes, Dick Grayson has a projector.
Artemis and Wally are snuggled up on the redhead's bed together, so it's really just Dick and Zatanna sharing the small couch. Not that they can hear anything over the sound of Wally's snoring.
Dick glances over at them and rolls his eyes. "It's a miracle she can even keep her eyes closed that close to him. Took me almost a whole month to get used to it." Zatanna snorts.
"She's surprisingly tolerant when she wants to be."
"You know they're soulmates, right?" The magician hums in response.
"Obviously. I'd never seen her happier than the day she met him."
"Yeah, same with Wall," he replies. "Guess the universe owed them both a couple favors."
Zatanna smiles. "What about you? Does the universe owe you any favors?" He runs a hand through his hair and smiles sheepishly.
"I feel like I'm overdue for one or two." She breathes out a light laugh and he bites his inner lip. "Haven't really had the best luck, though. Dating me's not a great life choice." He finally manages to lock eyes with Zatanna, the space between them feeling almost nonexistent in the heat of the moment. She wonders if she's ever seen anything bluer than the deep glistening glow of his irises.
"I like taking risks." She feels her heartbeat speed up as he starts to lean in. She can taste his warm breath splashing over her cheeks like a wildfire, and almost without thinking she mimics his movements and inches herself ever so slightly closer to him. "Do you?"
"I live for risks," he whispers, now close enough that she can feel his lips hovering over her own.
And then she's kissing him, and everything around her seems so insignificantly small in comparison to the taste of his mouth on hers.
When they break apart they're both smiling like dorks, and it's all she can do to scratch her arm and breathe out a small laugh. "I was waiting for you to do that."
"I didn't know whether you wanted me to," he says.
Zatanna bites her bottom lip. "Here's your answer." She kisses him again, and this time they don't stop until they're blue in the face and completely out of breath. She realizes she's now lying completely on top of him, but he doesn't seem to mind. She closes her eyes and tucks her head into the crook of his neck.
His arms feel so warm. She doesn't ever want to leave them.
"So you're from Gotham," Dick says a little suddenly in the middle of a study session he invited her to. It comes out more as a comment than a question, so Zatanna just hums.
"And you?"
"Same. South side, though." She bites her bottom lip, probably a bit too excited about learning he's from that hellhole, too.
"I'm from north."
"Figured." She sends him a questioning stare, to which he just shrugs. "You're too sunshiney to be from south side."
She tosses a pencil at him jokingly and he smirks before just barely dodging it. "You're not exactly all gloom and doom either."
"Touché." He smiles weakly and shakes his head. "Parents were buried there and I didn't really have anywhere else to go. As much of a dump as that place is, it's home, y'know?"
Zatanna snorts with an understanding nod. "I can't tell you how many times I tried to get my dad to leave, but he never would. Always used to say that mom wouldn't want us to."
"And yet here you are, almost a hundred miles from home in New York City. What would your mom say to that?" She grins softly, an amused expression trickling into her eyes.
"Mom would probably just tell me to stay good, do my studies, and maybe join the dance team or something." Zatanna chuckles. "She always did like to dance."
"So why haven't you?" He asks it so casually, like it's the simplest thing in the world, and it takes Zatanna a second to come up with an excuse.
"I don't exactly have all that much time on my hands. Besides, I don't think I'm really ballerina material."
"I don't know. You look pretty hot in fishnets."
"You've never seen me in fishnets before," Zatanna responds with a confused frown.
Dick blinks twice and shakes his head, like he's trying to process something she doesn't get, and then he stumbles over his words for a couple seconds before giving an awkward smile and scratching the back of his neck. "I-I-I mean, I haven't seen you in fishnets before, but I'm guessing you'd look pretty hot in them."
Zatanna eventually rolls her eyes and chuckles, and all of a sudden Dick feels an indescribable sense of relief wash over him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Grayson."
"Sorry," he says sheepishly, even though they both know full well how right he is.
They get back to their books and study integrals together for a couple minutes before Zatanna's phone goes off and she's forced to toss her stuff in her backpack and get up. "Artemis wanted my help with something," she explains coolly. Dick smiles and winks understandingly.
"See you later then?" She answers him by planting a chaste kiss to his lips, feeling a strange sense of pride at herself for not chickening out like she thought she might.
"Bet on it."
A couple nights later, she and Artemis are back on patrol, leaning over a balcony and doing their best to ignore the wind. Tigress has her eyes to the streets, but Zatanna's got hers to the stars. They look so beautiful tonight.
So blue.
Artemis just shrugs. "Stars are stars."
"I've never seen them glow like that before."
"I think that's what happens when you meet your soulmate," the archer casually remarks. Zatanna tears her gaze away from the sky to glance over at her.
"You think Dick's my soulmate?" Artemis shrugs.
"I think I've never seen you happier than you are now."
"It'd be nice," Zatanna responds, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. "Imagine the odds, though. Our boyfriends are best friends and roommates literally across the hall from us. Maybe we should have an orgy."
Artemis lets out a noise of disgust and Zatanna covers her mouth to giggle. "I hate you, you know that?"
"Somehow I don't think Wally would mind." Artemis is about to respond when she notices a familiar pair of hoodlums running past.
"Guess who's back." Zatanna growls lowly when she sees Nightwing, and before Artemis can ask what's on her mind she's blasted a couple rooftops forward and standing in front of the speedster. She can't even scold the magician for it because she's already sprinting after Nightwing with a determination Artemis doesn't think she's ever seen from her before.
Nightwing's fast, but this time Zatanna's not playing any games. "Dloc dniw tsalb mih!" A strong gust of wind slams into the cat burglar's side, sending him flying into a brick wall and landing on his ass with a groan. He tries to stand up but it's already too late because he can feel his wrists grow numb as the floor around him morphs itself to keep him in place.
"Ow," he remarks, voice full of annoyance. Zatanna gets down on one knee to look him in the eyes and cocks her head to the side. Before he can ask what's on her mind, he feels a cold, gloved palm connect with the flesh of his right cheek. "OW!"
"You deserved that," she huffs out. He shrugs awkwardly.
"Fair enough." She reaches for his mask and he tries to move away. "Whoa, hold up. I gave you that one for free, but this is a little personal." Zatanna scoffs at his protests before tearing the fabric off his face with a mighty tug.
Needless to say she wasn't expecting to see the face she saw underneath.
The bondage spell dissipates with her loss of concentration, and in an instant he's back to his feet trying to approach her. "I-I can explain-" She takes a step back and stares at him like she'd just caught him naked.
"What the fuck?!" Dick actually winces, like he somehow didn't expect that type of reaction from her, and she can't decide whether she wants to let him explain before beating him up or just beat him up now.
"Zee, I-" he starts but she takes another step back and raises her palm defensively.
"Don't. Just…don't." He frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything he's whizzed away by a yellow and red blur, leaving nothing but his mask and a gust of wind in his wake. A couple seconds later Tigress comes running, probably after the speedster, but Zatanna can't seem to hear her call her name over the trillion different thoughts running through her head.
She doesn't see Dick for a couple days after that, and that's probably for the best if she's being honest - she doesn't know what she'd do if she saw him right now. He does leave a couple messages on her phone asking if she could meet at a coffee shop, probably so he could whip up some fabulous explanation for why he's secretly a criminal who kissed her a couple nights before actually kissing her, but she doesn't respond. She doesn't know what she'd even say.
Probably something along the lines of 'fuck off'. Not like he doesn't deserve it. He's a thief, a criminal, the exact thing she's supposed to stop. And he knew exactly who she was when he said yes to a date, and he knew all about their last run-in when he kissed her in his dorm and stole her heart.
When did he plan on telling her? Did he even plan on telling her?
Zatanna doesn't know. All she knows is that she doesn't particularly want to ask him right now.
But she supposed she couldn't avoid him forever. She just kind of wishes she hadn't bumped into him on the way back to her dorm like this. Like, literally bumped into. It's kind of starting to become a problem with her.
He catches her before she can fall, of course he does. All part of the nice guy act, she's sure. Zatanna doesn't push him off her - she's not that bitchy - but she sends him one of those glares that makes him wish she had.
His arms don't feel all that warm anymore.
Dick clears his throat and scratches the back of his neck. "Can I…" He motions towards her with his hands and she sighs exhaustedly before nodding. Might as well give him a chance.
"Five minutes. Make it good."
"I-I know you think I'm a bad guy-"
"You're a criminal who steals from others. Not to mention you manipulated me. So yeah."
"-but I…I'm not what you think I am. That museum you caught us at last week? Run by a businessman who put over two hundred people out of jobs a couple months ago, all to save a little tax money. The other night? We were staking out a corrupt lawyer's place. He's taking bribes from a gang that smuggles drugs through the Westside port."
"So what? Them being bad guys suddenly makes you some kind of Robin Hood?" Zatanna crosses her arms and Dick rubs his face frustratedly.
"No, it just - I just - I don't steal from people who don't deserve it, okay? I'm doing the same thing you are, just in a different way."
"You're a criminal! You're literally everything I'm supposed to stand against! And you expect me to believe you're somehow doing the same thing as me?!"
"You know my parents aren't around! This is the only way I can keep the lights running on my own!" Zatanna glares at him with the force of a thousand suns.
"Yeah, well mine aren't exactly in any position to help, either, but I don't use that as an excuse." Her words carry more venom than she honestly wishes they would, but she's too hopped up on adrenaline to care. Dick just stares at her weakly, entirely lost for what to say.
"I don't have anyone to lean on. I have to do this, right or not. It's the only way I can get by." His voice is suddenly deathly quiet, and if she weren't so mad at him, she might actually feel sorry. But she is mad, so she doesn't.
Moments pass by in unsettling silence, the air around them uncomfortably cold. Eventually, though, Zatanna has to ask the inevitable question. Because she can forget everything else, really, she can. But what stings her the most she doesn't know if she'd ever be able to let go.
"Just…tell me one thing. If I'd never found out that night…would you have told me?"
He doesn't respond, but his silence tells her all she needs to know.
"Yeah. I didn't think so."
All he can do is stare at the ground in front of him in defeat. She walks past him, trying her hardest to ignore the tear she couldn't stop from sliding down her left cheek.
She can't really blame Artemis when the archer's best advice is to "just talk to him". After all, Zatanna still hasn't really told her everything. She doesn't really know how to break it to her.
"Listen, I don't know what he did, but Dick's a good guy," she reassures her. "Maybe you should give him a chance to make up for it."
"Does Wally keep things from you?" The question is abrupt, and it catches Artemis off guard but she decides to roll with it.
"Of course. Just like I keep things from him. But we don't let it get in the way of anything important because we don't care. We love each other regardless, and I know you don't think that you do, but I've known you long enough to know you love Dick. And I know fate hasn't been the nicest to you, Zee, but you deserve some happiness."
Artemis is right. Zatanna does deserve some happiness.
She just doesn't know where that happiness is supposed to come from anymore.
Today's Wally's birthday. Zatanna still doesn't really know him all that well, but he's Artemis's soulmate. And the more she thinks about it, the more certain she is that he's the Flash. But she doesn't say anything to Artemis, even if she realistically should.
Excuse her for not wanting to break her best friends' heart.
It's a respectable party. Apparently Wally's somewhat liked around campus. Artemis is basically connected to his hip through it all, so Zatanna doesn't have anyone to talk to.
She watches Wally and Artemis kiss after he blows out his candles and she feels so inexplicably incomplete.
It's at the cake-cutting where Zatanna spots Dick staring at her. The look on his face makes her heart ache. He takes a small step towards her but she scowls and leaves before he gets any closer.
She wonders if maybe she's being a bit harsh. N-no. No, she's not. He's a criminal. And she's a superhero. Those are two things that don't go together.
And now, neither are they.
When she gets home she checks her phone to see about a hundred apologetic texts from Dick and all of a sudden her heart feels really heavy.
She shuts off her phone and doesn't respond.
After almost two more days of moping, Zatanna's finally dragged out of the dorm and onto the streets for a night of patrol by Artemis. It was a pretty explosive conversation that brought them to the balcony of a vacant penthouse in their costumes on a snowy November night, but Artemis doesn't plan on apologizing anytime soon. The archer figured that if Zatanna didn't want to talk, then she'd certainly be down for beating up a couple goons in skintight leather.
When Artemis asks how Zatanna knew about a drug rink being run out of the Westside port, all the magician says is a lucky guess. She's grateful that the archer doesn't press further on it. But she kind of wishes she did after they find themselves surrounded and very outnumbered.
"Why is it that every time I let you take the lead we end up with our backs against a wall?" Tigress asks rather pointedly while desperately attempting to cartwheel out of the way of gunfire.
"This was your idea," Zatanna's quick to remind her. "Dleihs!" A pale blue force bubble sets itself up around the two girls, and Tigress reloads her crossbow while Zatanna grits her teeth in an attempt to maintain it.
A silver dagger pierces through the air, pinning a thug to a wooden crate before a red and yellow blur flies through the crowd and knocks down a large handful of crooks like a bowling ball. Zatanna blinks in surprise, but when she turns to her side she sees Dick standing next to her in costume with an awkward smile on his face.
"We thought you could use some help," is all he says. She doesn't really know how to respond to that.
A large chunk of thugs split off to make a break for it, but Flash picks up Artemis bridal style before speeding after them, leaving Dick and Zatanna standing back to back as hordes of goons to face the literal army of thugs preparing to attack. The next thing she knows he's grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her out of the way of a shotgun blast before throwing a handful of daggers to retaliate. She barely manages to breathe out a gracious 'thanks' before she's back on her feet and shielding him from a punch from behind using her magic.
There's a beautiful rhythm rhythm in her and Dick's shared movements. He attacks and she defends, and then she attacks while he defends. Every flip, every spell is executed with impeccable grace and fluidity. His acrobatics compliment her magic in a way even Artemis never could.
They move together in perfect synchrony, like two halves of one hole. It doesn't feel like a fight. It feels like a dance.
Zatanna always liked dancing.
It goes by in a bit of a blur, but when everyone's out cold on the grounds surrounding them, Zatanna finds herself very awkwardly face to face with Dick.
"Why are you here?" she asks. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, eyes creasing underneath the slimline domino mask.
"Flash and I were profiling the thugs, trying to get enough intel to send to the cops when we saw you guys here." She blinks twice and crosses her arms confusedly, and he cracks a weak smile before scratching his forearm. "Told you I'm not a complete asshole."
"I didn't expect you to care about any of this."
"Yeah, well…", he clears his throat, and in an instant she sees a flicker of reticence streak across his cheeks, "figured it was time for a change."
She takes a step closer to him. "Why?"
"Honestly? I don't even know. But ever since we had that…that talk, or whatever, I haven't really been able to bring myself to put the suit on. I returned everything from the museum yesterday, so…I don't know..."
She takes another step closer, now practically shoving herself into him. He scratches his neck once again and she looks up at him undecidedly.
Slapping him would feel good. It would feel really good. But she can't seem to bring herself to. She's not really sure why. So instead she just throws her arms around his neck and yanks him into a tight hug, burying her face in his body armor while he stiffens up and gulps.
"I'm sorry," she whispers into his chest. He awkwardly hugs her back and frowns.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"I know I didn't. I'm still sorry."
Dick smiles before kissing the top of her head. "I'm sorry, too. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted to do."
Zatanna closes her eyes and hums into him with a smile on her face. His arms feel warm again.
So beautifully, perfectly warm.
A few moments later he's holding her up to the wall outside her dorm room with his lips planted securely on her neckline, and she's moaning into his ears which somehow makes it all the more rewarding for him to continue.
She reaches to open the door with her ID card, careful not to interrupt his delightful oral assault on her skin, but when the electronic lock clicks open she gently pushes him away and grabs him by the hand, giggling softly at the groans of annoyance he gives in return.
He's then dragged into her place, lights completely off and windows barred shut. They hear a gasp in the dark and stop dead in their tracks when they see Artemis and Wally on the bed, the archer entirely naked with her legs thrown around the redhead's bare ass. Zatanna notices Wally's wearing the same yellow top as Flash, but to be honest that's not really all that surprising.
Artemis struggles to cover her chest with a pillow while Wally whines out a protest, and the magician just throws her head back cackling before being dragged in the direction of the boys' dorm by Dick.
When the morning comes, Zatanna's eyes flutter open to the sound of robins chirping outside a snowfallen window she doesn't recognize as her own. She groans lightly, rolling over in her bed to escape the light streaking through the blinds only to find herself face to face with a very exhausted and very naked Dick Grayson.
Despite the deep purple bags resting under his eyes, Dick smiles when he sees her. "Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." He chuckles when she punches his arm in response.
"Shut up." It becomes evidently clear to Zatanna that she's just as exposed as he is under the sheets, but she doesn't seem to mind when his hand gently trails up the skin of her side to cup her breast and softly squeeze.
"What time is it?"
"Half past 9. You were tired." She smirks, reaching under the cover to feel him.
"You didn't leave." Zatanna bites down on her bottom lip for a second, almost as if she's unsure of what to say, but Dick's warm smile eventually gets her to just come out and say it. "I'm…sorry if I was a jerk to you earlier. I wouldn't blame you if you hated me for it."
He rubs the back of his neck, a thing she's noticed he does pretty often when he's confronted, and he clears his throat awkwardly before responding. "I don't hate you. I couldn't hate you even if I tried." She blushes when his fingers trace over the delicate contours of her beautiful cheekbones, taking in the delicious sensation that rushes down her spine and into her toes like a surge of electricity. "Truth is, I think I kinda deserved it."
"I-it's just…I've never had a real connection with someone before, so when I found out you lied to me, it hurt. It's my job to stop people like you, but for the first time ever I honestly didn't really know if I wanted to stop you." Zatanna feels his lips connect with the sweaty skin of her forehead, and her blush only deepens when he pulls away smiling.
"I think you might be my soulmate."
"I know. I think deep down I've known since I first met you." Dick gently squeezes her palm with a weak smile on his face.
"I didn't believe in all that soulmate crap before, y'know? But being around you makes me feel this way I've never really felt around anyone else. Being a criminal's all I've ever known, but if being a criminal means I have to give that feeling up, then I don't want to be one anymore. And I don't think I'd be willing to do this if it were anyone else, but it's you who's asking and I can't really get myself to say no. No more Robin Hood. I promise."
She hums, gently stretching herself out under the covers like a cat before letting her arms trace the carvings of his muscular torso. "I'll be holding you to that. Can't have my boyfriend wanted for larceny."
"Does this mean you don't hate me anymore?" He asks it with a tinge of hope lingering on his tongue, and it's all she can do to cup his cheek and let the tiniest smile grace her lips.
"I think it means…I might actually be in love with you, Dick Grayson."
And then she kisses him, and all of a sudden all the anger she held towards him feels so hilariously insignificant. Because in that single moment the only thing she can be bothered to care about is the hole in her heart that he so perfectly manages to fill like no other ever has.
She pulls away with a smile on her face, a smile that only grows when she realizes he's smiling back. But before he can say anything she jabs a finger into his bare torso, smile immediately vanishing and eyes abruptly narrowing. "But don't ever keep something like that from me again. Got it?" He nods quickly, and she nuzzles her head neatly into his chest while he breathes out a sigh of relief and kisses her exposed neck, disheveled strands of sweaty black hair getting caught in the saliva on his lips. His arms encircle her waist and she smiles in the warmth of his embrace.
Eventually her phone goes off, and when she leans over to see who it is she smiles and awkwardly motions for Dick to leave. "I'll make breakfast," he offers with one final kiss to her lips, and she just bites her bottom lip and smiles back, watching him leave the room before answering Artemis's call.
"Good night's sleep?" Zatanna snickers when she hears an incoherent growl through the line.
"Guessing it was about as good as yours," she fires back.
"Touché."
"So you two worked things out?" She twirls a strand of beautiful black hair around her finger before smiling coyly.
"You could say that."
"Come on, spill. What was he like?"
She bites her bottom lip. "Flexible. Handsy."
"How long did he go for?"
"Artemis," Zatanna whines into the call. Her best friend just chuckles.
"Okay, fine." She bites her bottom lip, and Zatanna can practically feel the awkwardness through the line. "Sorry I didn't tell you about Wally."
"I didn't exactly tell you about Dick, did I?"
"Fair enough. So is this why you were mad at him?"
She rubs the back of her neck, humming tiredly as her legs stretch out to awaken her still-dormant thigh muscles. "Yeah, it was. But I think we've worked past it."
"You think this one's a keeper?"
Zatanna smiles, thinking to herself how wrong this is. She's a superhero. She's not supposed to fall for someone like him.
But dammit to hell, he's making it so hard for her not to.
"Honestly? I know this sounds kinda weird, but it feels like I've been waiting for him to show up my whole life."
If that's not a soulmate, Zatanna doesn't know what is.