Meaning: Vitality, home
As the cold winds of winter bit into her frail skin, Zatanna closed her eyes and huffed, the air getting stuck in her throat as her bottom lip quivered and her eyes threatened to pour out a fresh wave of tears.
Through her angry sniffles and hitched breaths, she could just barely hear what sounded like Artemis and Tim on the karaoke machine indoors. Normally her best friend's drunken falsetto would've brought a smile to her face, but breakups have a tendency to remove the fun from most situations.
She wasted almost 6 months on that asshole. She thought they had something. And then less than a week before her 20th birthday, he decided he was too good for her. He at least had the decency to break her heart without drawing a crowd, so she was able to sneak outside to get some air without drawing much attention.
She didn't really feel like she'd miss him. No, he wasn't a very good boyfriend. Truth be told, this was probably better for her.
But it didn't feel better. It felt like she was falling to pieces, helplessly and hopelessly alone.
The door behind her opened, and she didn't even need to turn to sense who it was. He was the only one who would've even noticed she was gone. She hugged herself tighter, almost to ask him to leave, but he didn't. So she turned around, immediately drawn to the light of his warm eyes. In those eyes she saw a familiar sense of protection, warmth. She saw assurance that he would make her feel loved, because he always did.
"I saw him leave." It didn't take much more than a second for her to fall into his arms when he opened them for a hug. His chest felt like a perfect fit for her, and in his sweet embrace she felt more alive than she ever had with him.
"Is there something wrong with me?" Dick raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
She pulled away to stare back into his eyes. "I thought I was supposed to love him ", she pointed to her heart, "but I never felt anything in here."
"Hey." He tugged her back into his arms, gently kissing the top of her head. "He never deserved you. Deep down you always knew it."
She bit her bottom lip, a weak smile gracing her lips. Sometimes it felt like he could read her like a book. "How do you always know exactly what to say?"
"I'm a really good detective."
She took hold of his hands and leaned up to peck his cheek. It was like she was seeing him for the first time all over again, completely lost in the welcoming beauty of his smile, his eyes, as they called to her in a way nothing else did.
Maybe she was with the wrong person, she thought. Maybe the right person was in front of her all along.
"Take me home?" He smiled, gently squeezing her wrists before she led him out of the alley and into the bustling streets of the night.
They didn't go straight to her apartment, instead to a nearby diner then a walk around the park. But so long as he was by her side, she knew she'd feel at home regardless.
