I Really Wanna Stay at Your House

"Mmm…"

Zatanna purred as she nestled into Dick's chest. There was something sturdy but relaxing about being able to rest by his side. Ever the lover, Dick wrapped her tightly in his arms hoping to convey warmth and security.

"You glisten in the moonlight," he whispered into her hair.

"Heh you sure it isn't the sweat?"

"Could be. But you still look beautiful," he kissed her cheek letting the pads of his fingers tap on her hip.

"We just had sex, Dick. You don't have to charm me…..but keep going," she teased.

Rolling over on his side to now face her, Dick leaned forward to kiss her properly on the lips. Zatanna smiled and welcomed his loving embrace. His arm hooked under her thigh and pulled her leg up so that she wrapped around his hip. Her arms held his neck closely never wanting to break their kiss. The pair had been in bed for who knew how long, but neither really cared. They were just living in the moment, happy to have this moment of peace and tranquility.

"I like your place," she whispered when they finally broke for air, "Was the skylight your idea?"

"Sorta. I knew I wanted a loft of sorts, but being able to look into the night sky and see the moon calms me down at night."

"Why?"

"The stars remind me of you."

"Again, we just had sex and we're going to keep having sex…..but keep going."

"When the stars shine," he kissed her hand, "they remind me of when your eyes twinkle when you're happy, or when you see something so beautiful, or when you look at me. Your smile melts my heart. When I'm with you I feel at peace, relaxed. As if there's nothing to worry about."

"Hehe so you bought this place because it reminds you of me?"

"I bought this place so we could look at the moon together…..and maybe wake up to each other's faces every morning."

"Oh my God you're so cheesy," she kissed him, "I love it. Great sex and a great view? You really know how to incentivize a girl to keep coming over."

"I-I was hoping that maybe you didn't have to come over."

"Huh?"

"I thought well…I mean only if you'd want to….y'know uhh if you'd like to-"

"Are you asking me to move in with you?"

"Y-yes," he looked away blushing.

Dick couldn't see it, but Zatanna was absolutely beaming. She bit her lip trying to stifle a giddy giggle, but she could not help it any longer. Swiftly, Zatanna pushed him on his back and straddled him. She wasted no time pecking kisses all over his face from his cheek to his ear to his forehead and his lips. When she finished, she caressed his face between her hands and pressed her forehead to his.

"I've been for you to ask me that for so long," she whispered.

"So that's a yes?"

"Baby, I already have my toothbrush packed."


"Move! We have to move now!"

"It's too strong. We can't fight it head on!"

"That kryptonite is killing Conner. We have to leave NOW!"

No one knew where exactly the mission went wrong. Weeks ago, the Court of Owls had abducted Dick out of the blue. No warning. No nonsense. Zatanna was powerless. She blinked and he was gone. Batman nearly burned the Gotham underworld to the ground looking for any clues that could lead him to Dick. They finally got a lead on an Owl nest underneath an old steel mill. Desperate, the whole Batfamily consisting of Batman, Batgirl, Red Hood, and Robin closed in on the location. The original team with Kaldur, Artemis, Superboy, and Miss Martian joined as well. They had tried to talk Zatanna out of it seeing as there was no concrete evidence that Dick would actually be at the hideout. But she was determined to see her beloved again.

"RAWRRRRR"

"Watch out!"

Quickly, Artemis dove pushing Batgirl out of the way. A large fist came crashing down shattering the ground underneath. Hoping to at least buy some time, Artemis fired a few sparkler arrows at the creature's face. Though staggered, it simply shook its head and wiped its face before quickly getting back into action. Everyone was caught off guard when they had arrived. Swarms of Court Talons were lurking ready to pounce upon the unsuspecting heroes. Conner was quickly subdued as a kryptonite spear pierced his abdomen. Tear gas pellets exploded in Zatanna's face essentially preventing her from casting any spells. Though the insane number of Talons was daunting, the biggest issue was the hulk like creature they had kept in chains. His skin was grey and his eyes glowed. He stood nearly eight feet tall with muscles and veins bulging every which way. No one stood a chance as he had near unyielding strength and stamina.

"Eat lead you bastard!" Hood yelled furiously firing his pistols at the creature.

Letting the bullets bounce right off him, the creature sprinted towards Hood causing the ground to rumble under his feet. Robin tried to swoop in and swing his staff at its face only to see his weapon shatter. Angered, it swung its mighty fist catching both Robin and Red Hood. From above, Batman landed on the monster's shoulder and wrapped a wire around its neck. But the Dark Knight was no match as two massive arms grabbed his shoulder and flung him through a wall. The creature let out a loud bellowing roar. Even the Talons shivered in fear. Their great weapon was now uncontrollable and on a rampage. Not one to back down from fear, Batgirl ran right towards the monster throwing flashbangs at its eyes. Thinking its was blinded, she jumped over him to get stick a grenade on its back. Unfortunately, it was not as blinded as she had hoped. It grabbed her leg and immediately slammed her to the ground. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the fists rise ready to beat her to a pulp. But a puff of smoke seemed to get in between them.

"Dleihs!" (Shield).

Zatanna had poofed in ready to block the attack and buy Batgirl some time. She had closed her eyes and readied her stance bracing herself for the attack…but it never came. Opening her eyes, she looked past her shield to see the monster just awkwardly stand there with its fists in the air. She couldn't believe it. It clenched its teeth and was straining to keep its arms up in the air. Everyone around them just froze. M'gann was off to the side trying to pull the kryptonite out of Conner. Artemis and Kaldur leaned against the wall catching their breath. Robin and Hood even sat and watched trying to understand the whole thing.

"Zgrrrrr…" the monster grumbled.

"What?" Zatanna asked.

"Zggrrrr…"

"A-are you trying to talk?"

"Zggrrr…Zrrrr…..Zeeee…"

"Oh my God…"

Letting her shield down, Zatanna slowly stepped towards the creature. It tried to step back but its whole body looked like it was straining to keep together. After a few tense moments, Zatanna finally made her way close to the monster. She cupped its left cheek with her hand and gently rubbed the rough skin with her thumb. Suddenly, every muscle and vein in the monster relaxed. It let its arms down and crouched down to be eye level with Zatanna.

"….Dick?"

"Zeee…" he huffed.

Slowly his green glowing eyes dimmed. They returned to their normal white with blue irises. Tears began flowing down Zatanna's cheek as she embraced her beloved. Despite his ugly big hands, he hugged her back.

"D-Dick…we looked for so long. We almost believed you were dead," she tearfully confessed to him.

"I'm sorry, Zee. I'm so so sorry."

"What have they done to you?"

"I-I can't even remember."

"Shh Baby it's ok. It's ok. Come with us. We can fix you."

"No…"

"Dick?"

"It's too late for me."

"Don't you say that. Don't you dare say that. I just got you back. I will not lose you!"

"Zatanna please! I can't hold back much longer."

"Dick, you are strong! You can do this."

"No! You don't understand. Below. Deeper. There are hundreds more creatures just like me. I-I have to stop them."

"There's got to be another way. Let's just get out of here."

"N-no time…"

They were indeed running out of options. Realizing the beast was no longer indiscriminately rampaging, the Talons slowly began creeping back. The heroes had slowly moved closer to Dick and Zatanna, but now they were completely surrounded.

"Dick please…" Zatanna whimpered.

"Zee, the others are wounded. They will die if we have to fight here."

"I won't leave you. You can't make me leave you. I will die here with you…"

"I know. And I will always love you. Believe me."

"Dick, I do. But please. There has to be another way."

"…I would've loved to have spent the rest of my life with you. I would have loved to open the cupboards every morning so we could share a pot of coffee together. I love you more than life itself, Zee. That's why I need you to live on…..for me."

"Dick…AHHHH."

Unbeknownst to the magician, Red Hood had snuck up behind her and stuck a taser to her neck effectively knocking her unconscious.

"You're crazy y'know that?" Jason glared at his disfigured brother.

"Only the crazy people have fun. You ever consider that?"

"Pft."

"Thanks. I know she's probably going to hate you for the rest of your life."

"Motherfucker I'm gonna hate YOU for the rest of your life."

"Good thing mine isn't going to last much longer."

"Hmm. What's the play?"

"I'm going to clear you a path. Take it and run."

"But Dick?!" Tim asked, "What about you?"

"I need to stay behind. There are hundreds of hulk-like creatures in stasis. I need to destroy them."

"This cannot be the end, my friend. There must be an option to bring you with us."

"Kaldur, I'm not arguing with you. There are too many Talons closing in and we don't have the time."

"…I'm am sorry, Dick."

"Me too. All of you. DUCK!"

Grabbing an enormous boulder from behind, Dick flung the rock in front of him smashing a multitude of undead Talons. Wasting no time, M'gann did the same creating a decent opening for the crew to escape. Red Hood and Robin grabbed a still unconscious Batman and dragged him out. M'gann used her telekinesis to fly both Conner and Zatanna out as well.

"Artemis. Babs. Do you still have the quantum bombs?" Dick asked.

"Wait….you're not gonna?"

"Please…"

Reluctantly, Artemis and Batgirl handed Dick an arrow and a disc. Crying, Barbara hugged her best friend.

"You are the bravest person I have ever met. You ate my rocky-road ice cream and never paid me back…"

"I think you're gonna have to let that one go."

"No! You're going to come back, ice cream pint in hand."

"…I"ll do my best."

"I just want you to know Bird-Brains: you're an idiot…but I am going to miss you. Tell Wally I said hi," Artemis grumbled wiping her tears.

"I'll send him your love."

Tearfully, the last two heroes ran past the boulders leaving Dick with the swarming Talons. With a massive roar, he began smashing his fists into the ground. Talon after Talon jumped him trying to claw and slash his skin. His wounds started to bleed, but Dick didn't care. He just shook them off with ease. But they just kept on coming. Finally, he broke through the ground and smashed his way into the subterranean base. While falling, he and the Talons crashed into one of the biopods containing another hulk-like creature. Dick shook his head and wiped off some of the preservative fluid. He looked around to see lines and lines of other pods holding more monsters. On the ground, he noticed the newly freed monster groaning and slowly waking up. With a smirk and more Talons jumping down to stop him, Dick pressed a button on the two quantum weapons he had been given.

"Heh. Traught."

Closing his eyes, he pushed the two bombs close together to complete the circuit. There was no pain. There was no delay. It was instant. As the blue burning light took him, all he could think about was the life he could have had with his beautiful magician…


When Zatanna opened to their…..now her apartment, only silence permeated throughout the empty abode. She had let out all her tears and shouting at the Watchtower. She had said angry and cruel things to her friends. She was hysterical. She had slapped Jason so hard that the red handprint might last for days. But he didn't care. If anything, he might've leaned into her attack. Zatanna could barely take two steps before collapsing on the ground. Her face scrunched up trying to push forward more tears but her eyes were too dry. Instead, all she could do was let out a gut-wrenching scream. She pounded the ground twice before the stinging bruises from her fight on the Watchtower made their presence known. Not wanting to get up, she leaned against the door clutching her chest that now throbbed with pain. In moments like this, all she ever wanted to do was curl up in bed with Dick and have his arms hold her, his lips kiss her head, and his words soothe her. But that was never going to happen anymore. Dick was no longer here.

She was unconscious when it happened, but from how Artemis and Barbara described it, the explosion was massive. The blue light was blinding and could have been seen for miles. In the end, all that was left was dirt and ash. She tried to remember his last moments. Though when she looked back, she didn't see the disfigured ugly face the Court had sculpted. She saw his strong jawline, his boyish grin, and his messy hair. She saw his deep blue eyes. She saw her Dick, her love. For weeks that was the face she held onto. The face that made her certain that he was still alive. She didn't want to remember the abomination the Court had created. All she wanted was to remember the man she loved. She wanted to hold onto the last words he would ever say to her.

"I would've loved to have spent the rest of my life with you. I would have loved to open the cupboards every morning so we could share a pot of coffee together…"

Wait. Dick didn't drink coffee. He preferred tea or juice. Gears started turning in Zatanna's head. With newfound strength she got up and almost sprinted to the kitchen. Opening the cupboards, at first all she saw were their random shared mugs. Taking the cups out, she began inspecting every little inch of the cupboard…only to find a little button. Pressing it gently, a secret compartment opened up revealing a small velvet box. She froze. Zatanna wasn't sure if she really wanted to know what was in this little box. She knew that sadness and immense pain awaited her inside the little package. But if Dick told her about this in his last breath, then she owed it to him to open his final gift. Carefully she removed the velvet box and walked towards their bedroom. The moonlight from above illuminated the box perfectly. Slowly, she opened the lid to find a beautiful silver ring. There was a single diamond sitting on top glistening in the moonlight. Under the box's lid were some embroidered words. Newfound tears blurred her vision slightly, but she was still able to read them.

"Will you be Chalant with me for the rest of my life?"

Tearfully, she put the ring on her left hand and sat down to admire it. It was a perfect fit. They didn't even go ring shopping, but of course Dick found a way to give her something perfect. She pressed her hands close to her heart. Quietly sobbing, Zatanna looked up to the night sky. The moon was full, and the stars shined brightly on this somber night. But all she could envision was his goofy smile.

"Dick….I would've said yes."

AN: I Really Wanna Stay at Your House - Hallie Coggins and Rosa Walton

Hey lookie lookie! Not a Jonas Brothers song! Hahah. Also Hi! I'm still here I promise! I'm terribly sorry HTBC has been taking FOREVER to update (especially on the somber note I left it in). I promise I'm still in the fanfic game with HTBC and Everyday is an Adventure with You! I still love Chalant and Spidey/MJ, I've just been kinda busy with grad school work. I've also been through a lot emotionally so coming back to the superhero genre has taken some time for me. And admittedly my current obsession is Gundam Seed. (which btw if you're interested in my Gundam Seed fic, check out The Pink Princess and her Prince!

Anyway, I'm sorry this chapter is also really really tragic. I had this idea after finishing the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime. Errr I won't spoil but oof did I cry, especially when this song came on. It's honestly so beautiful and I really really enjoyed the anime, which is surprising cuz the game itself had soooo many issues.

Well, I apologize but I promise more chapters to come for all three of my fics! HTBC is taking a while cuz it takes some planning, but I promise it will be updated. Same with my Spidey fic. That one's a bit more casual with a very loose direction haha. I hope you all are well.