Chalant Kisses

Forehead Kiss

“I love you for who you are. Please, don’t change.”

- Unknown

“Robin?” Her voice was muffled through the door but it didn’t make it any less angelic. But he wasn’t in the mood for any company, not even hers. “Go away, Zee.”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”  Robin groaned into his pillow. He knew she wouldn’t go just from him asking. The bright screen of his wrist computer disturbed the darkness of the room. He typed a few numbers into his mini keyboard and his door unlocked with a click. “It’s open.”

She slowly opened the door and tried to tip-toe to his bed without bumping into anything in the darkness of his room. His eyes adjusted easily thanks to Batman’s training and could see in the dark just as good as if the light was on.  He thought she looked cute trying to creep around his room wearing a black tank top, magical wand pajama bottoms, and bunny slippers.

When she found the edge of the bed she dropped down and made the bed into a trampoline, making Robin bounce with the bed.

She smiled, “Made ya bounce.”

He couldn’t hold back a snort from the laughter in her voice and the embarrassment of being bounced on the bed by his crush.

Zatanna laid back and sprawled out on the bed beside him with her hands behind her head. “The team is worried.”

“Sorry. Tell them I’ll be at training.”

“Okay.”  But he didn’t feel the dip in the bed or hear squeaking that would have happened if she had gotten out of bed. Lifting his head from being smothered in his pillows and turning towards her, she was staring at him, trying to access what was wrong with him.
“I can’t tell what you’re feeling.”

“That's the point of the shades, Zee.” He tried to laugh but it ended up as a weak chuckle.

She rolled onto her side towards him and rested her head on her hand. “You two got into another argument,” she guessed.

“It’s always an argument with him.  I pull my grapple out too late. I don’t bring enough weapons with me on missions. I’m not taking this seriously. Everything he finds me lacking in he makes an argument of.”

Robin sighed again. “He’s still insisting on me taking up his mantle.”

“Do you want to?”

“No, and that’s just it Zee.” He flopped over onto his back and folded his arms over his eyes. “Ever since Bats took me in when I was 8, being The Batman was my number one goal in life. But ever since that training simulation, I don’t want that anymore. I can’t be Robin for the rest of my life, and I can’t be Batman. Who can I be?”

Zatanna didn’t answer for awhile and he didn’t expect her to. He was about to climb out of the bed but then gasped.

Her lips were soft and a cool relief against his sweaty forehead. Her hand cradled his cheek and he could feel her nails lightly scratching the skin just before his ear. She pulled away and smiled so sweetly that he could help but smile back.

“You can be you. That’s the best who you can be, because nobody else can.”

He smiled, actually smiled and pulled her into a hug. She was right, and it was scary how she always knew just what to say to cheer him up. She’ s been a constant in his life since she joined the team on the Red Tornado fiasco mission. He was able to talk to her about things that he couldn’t tell Wally. He doesn’t know where he’d be right now if she wasn’t here. “Thank you.”