Chalant Candlelight

Chapter 42

(Robin's POV)

Zatanna and I sat in the study, my arm over her shoulder while she snuggled into my side catching up on the sleep I deprived her from last night when she had to calm me down. I was a shoulder for her head to rest on and a content one at that. Thirty minutes or so had passed since we made up,

"Dick?" I heard Bruce's voice calling down the hall, not yet reaching the study, He was looking for me, "Where are you?" Zatanna stirred, feeling my muscles unconsciously tense up,

"Robin?" She put her hand on my rigid arm,

"Dick?" Bruce's voice got closer to the room, "I need to talk to you,"

"I-I can't face him, Z," I say in a small panic, my eyes darting everywhere. In the past, I wouldn't have told her that, I would have just stepped out to talk to Bruce and dealt with the aftermath when I was alone again, "What am I going to do?" I already prepared myself for the worst in my head, but Zatanna had different plans,

"It's okay." Zatanna's hands reached mine as she grasped the sense of urgency. She looked around behind me for a second, "Follow me," She stood up pulling me along. She led me behind the desk, "Get under there," She pointed to a space that I would barely fit into,

"Zatanna," I breathe, closing my eyes at the stupidest idea I had ever heard,

"Just do it," she commanded shoving me. I quickly bawled myself up under the desk, when I heard Bruce's footsteps getting closer and closer to the study door,

"Move," She makes me rearrange myself so I'm scrunched between the sides of the desk my back on the ground and my knees up. My shoulders and shins were up against the sides where the drawers of the desk cramped the space, she laced herself around me to occupy the space above me, I folded my arms, with an unenthused face, pissed off that the position we were in was the same one I woke up too, but this time much more condensed, Zatanna had to hold herself up by her hands that sat on my chest, her back pressed against the table part. Her hips were nestled between my knees and her legs were folded around my hips, if that makes any sense whatsoever,

My breath stopped at I heard the study door open, Bruce stepping in for a moment, "Not here," He grumbled, leaving after a while and closing the door behind him. I release the breath that had been locked inside me,

"Close one," Zatanna whispered, still on a mission, the determination all over her face, cute. She clumsily crawled off of me pulling me out with both hands, "Come on," She dragged me to the door opening it quietly, looking both ways before dragging me the opposite way of Bruce while his back was turned. It was the opposite of the way we came. We rushed to the door to the right at the end of the hall when she stopped and turned. I almost slid into the back wall causing Bruce to turn his head seeing me for a second before Zatanna pulled me through the door,

"Where are you going?" I heard Bruce yell angrily hearing him jogging towards us. I take the lead knowing the house better than her as I guide her down the staircase into another hall,

"Keep running," I said to Zatanna who was slowing down, I heard Bruce going down the stairs, I slid around the next corner Zatanna slamming into me before we both scurried off through the Manor, dodging and weaving to avoid the angry man chasing us.

We didn't stop until we lost him in the grandness of the Manor and slipped into the Batcave. Zatanna marveled at the Batcave while I quickly got to the zeta tube putting in coordinates to the mountain,

"Wait!" She grabbed one of my many masks from a table and a large black hoodie, securing the mask over my eyes and helping me into the zip-up hoodie, "Okay," She smiled as we zeta-ed. Reappearing breathlessly in the mountain,