Meaning: Unconventionality, support


He likes telling her things. Things he can't talk to anyone else about.

When he wanted to quit being Robin, she was the first person he told. When he decided to look for an apartment outside of Gotham, she helped him find one. And when he needed her advice on what to do with Kaldur's undercover plot, she sat with him the whole night and helped brainstorm ideas.

He's probably spent more nights at her place than his own at this point. It's nice. Her couch is basically his second bed at this point.

That is, on the odd nights when she doesn't let him into her own.

When he told Artemis they had a history, nobody knew just how right he was. They've been partners, best friends, lovers, friends with benefits, and, most importantly of all, confidantes. He doesn't trust anyone as much as he trusts her.

So she's not surprised in the slightest when she opens the door to her posh New York City apartment and finds him slouching on her couch in his civvies, eating a bowl of her favorite cereal while G. Gordon Godfrey's talk show plays on the TV.

She immediately notices the tension in his muscular arms and the growing wrinkle of his forehead, and he hums as she walks behind him and starts to massage his tired shoulders. "Hi."

Her touch is like a drug to him. The moment her cool hands make contact with his shoulders, they start to decompress. "Hi. How was it today?" He groans and rubs his eyes.

"Kinda horrible. I walked in on Gar crying in his room. And Mal and Conner were having an argument I had to step into." Zatanna bites her bottom lip.

"Sorry."

"It's fine. It's what I signed up for." She plops down next to him, kicking off her socks and stretching her legs, and he gently pats her thigh while she throws an arm around his shoulders. "So how was your day?" The magician lets out an exhausted sigh, and he chuckles. "That bad, huh?"

"No, it was fine. Just winded." Upon noticing his gaze still lingering on her, she shrugs. "They sent me on like 3 missions back to back, and Dinah forced me into some dumb grief counseling over Artemis."

"You didn't tell her the truth, right?"

Zatanna rolls her eyes and deadpans him, and he can almost smell the sass radiating off her in waves. "You really need to ask?"

"You know I trust you."

"I know." He scratches the back of his neck and slouches forwards, clearly troubled. She rubs his back, her eyes tracing over his tense facial features as she tries to read him. "You look awful."

He snorts, and she drags him into her lap and starts massaging his shoulders, slowly moving her hands up to his hair to gently scratch his scalp and play with his messy locks. "I'll try not to take that personally."

"When's the last time you slept?" He makes a thinking face, causing her to giggle.

"Probably three…maybe four nights ago?" He sighs again, sitting up to get out of her lap. "It's been a while."

"You look like you could use some rest." He rolls his eyes, running a hand through his messy hair and staring at her with a look that she thinks is just so fucking hot.

"Relax, princess. I got plenty of fight left in me."

Zatanna smirks, gently sliding her hand down his shoulder to his thigh, going out of her way to gently massage his Flying Grayson as he shudders. The denim of his jeans does a bad job of concealing his weapon as she brings it to life, and she leans in to whisper into his ear in just the way he loves it. "That's good to know. Now show me just how much."

This is how almost every other night used to go for them, and he didn't realize how much he missed it until now. Between the two of their hectic schedules, there just hasn't been any time to take advantage of the benefits of their friendship in weeks, but the more he feels her lithe hand rub against what was once her property, the more he's reminded of why she's the only one he keeps coming back to.

He smiles and leans forward to kiss her as her fingers start to unzip the crotch of his jeans, and as she pulls it out, he picks her up from her rear and stands up, using his impressive strength to carry them both to her bedroom as she pulls off her shirt and unclips her bra. Her cat leaps off the bed just in time for him to not-so-gently drop her onto it and climb on after her, tearing his own shirt off as she slides her pants down her legs and smirks up at him, almost pleading him to remove the rest of his clothes so they can begin.


Zatanna chuckles as the sweat from her forehead drops down onto his torso, blending in with his own perspiration. Her head rises and falls with every exhausted pant he takes, and she tucks a bit of her incredibly disheveled hair out of her face while he breathes out a small laugh. She begins tracing shapes onto his abs, starting with circles and slowly shifting into hearts.

"That was fantastic even by your standards. Guess you've been holding that in for a while."

"I told you. Not much time for Dick Grayson stuff nowadays." She grins, leaning up to kiss him.

"Well, I'm honored to be the exception." His arm's looped around her shoulder lovingly, and she feels his hand lower itself and his fingers drum away at her side. "Okay, but be real with me. When was the last time you actually made out with anyone?" He starts to think before finally coming up with his answer.

"When was the last time we did it?" She stares up at him in bewilderment, taking note of his shy smile.

"You're telling me billionaire playboy and heir to the Gotham City Stud himself Dick Grayson hasn't had sex in three whole weeks?"

"You make that sound like it's a long time."

"By your standards, it is." He shrugs, and she bites down on her inner cheek. "What happened to Barbara? I thought you and her were gonna try something." Dick shook his head.

"That's what she wanted at first, but we kinda…we decided to stay friends. I haven't had an actual girlfriend since…well…" His voice trails off into silence, and she blushes as the implication sets in. A small smirk tugs at his lips. "Why, you jealous?"

Zatanna snorts, pinching one of his abs and scratching him with her nails while he snickers. "In your dreams, birdy."

"Just saying. Why the sudden interest in my lack of a love life?"

She makes a face, not that he can see it, and releases something between a sigh and a whimper. "I'm just worried about you. You should have someone to go home to everyday, to take care of you since you so obviously can't. You could really use someone to talk to." He stares down at her and smiles softly.

"I thought that was you." She looks up at him with surprise, and he's left wondering what she has to be confused about. It's not like she didn't just let him fuck her.

The magician puts up a weak smile as a form of defense and breathes out a laugh, one far too forced for either of their liking. "Oh, I'm not girlfriend material, Grayson. I think I've proven that several times now."

"Why not?" Dick shifts them both so they can prop themselves up by the elbow and stare at one another. "Why're we doing this dumb…whatever this is? We've been beating around the bush for, like, three years now."

"We agreed it wasn't time."

"Yeah, that was then. This is now. And, " he reaches out to grasp her bare hand and smiles, completely aware of what he's asking of her, "I'm ready. I know I am. Truth is, you're pretty much the only thing keeping me on my feet at this point, and I just…I don't wanna underplay that. I want this to be official, cuz at this point it pretty much is."

She cracks a soft smile, a real one this time. "You're asking me to be the girl that kept Dick Grayson down. You sure you want every girl from here to Pennsylvania gunning for me?" He snorts.

"Since when have they mattered?"

Zatanna licks her lips and hums, reaching out to press a hand to his chest. She pushes him down so he's lying on his back and crawls on top of him, trapping him in between her legs as she feels his tired wingding start to perk back up. "I'll think about it. I don't know if I'm ready yet, but…if you're willing to hold out for me then I promise I will be one day."

Dick smiles up at her and loops his arm around to her back, and she reaches behind to feel him, leaning down to ghost his lips. "Well, I'm not going anywhere. It's comfortable right where I am."

She kisses him, and he groans as she takes the opportunity to continue their dance under the moonlight of Manhattan.

It's an unconventional relationship, but it's worked for both of them. And maybe someday, he'll finally be able to convince her to make it something more.