she had only been more then happy to help them both out with the aspects of gotham in aiding with the case. of course, that hadn’t been the only reason why she had stuck around but it wasn’t like she was being pestered to reveal those secret other reasons. however, zatanna knew that bruce was curious as to why she hadn’t been back at GOTHAM fully and while he had asked her about it, she was glad to know that he wasn’t using those detective skills of his to dig deeper. he was someone that she had known since they were just children and she knew him well enough to know that being a millionaire/billionaire ( or a mask wearing hero ) wouldn’t have turned him into an asshole. he just tended to be a bit stoic more than a couple of times, if you asked her.
she wonders if it’s her past relationships that makes her so hesitant in moving beyond whatever they were. usually, such a thing wouldn’t make her nervous, but she slept with more people then she did in entering actual relationships. she knew that her past relationships wouldn’t define what her romantic life would be in the future and nor should it, but she can’t help but THINK BACK on it. zatanna had only been in a few relationships, despite her remarkable talent to flirt to an huge extent. although, the only relationship that’s shaped her life was with none other but john constantine. she knows that the turmoil of their relationship shouldn’t be blamed on her ( or him, really ); it was just while they loved each other, it was never going to work out. not in the way she wanted. john wasn’t ever going to settle down with her or live a domestic life.
so, maybe she should stop being so scared of the possibility of being alone again.
❛ should i be flattered? ❜ she teases him, a smile curling at the corners of her lips. tilting her head upwards, the sight of green and red flashes at her. she admits, it does look a bit silly —- this piece of mistletoe floating above her head. though, it would only look ridiculous to those that weren’t aware of the magic running through her veins. and matt was most certainly aware that she could do actual magic, instead of the fakery that many magicians do these days. it hadn’t taken him long to find out, as she had done it accidentally in front of him one night and had to explain it. she was just glad that he hadn’t blown a fuse or insisted that she must be a WITCH ( oh yeah, someone did that once. she had to fight the urge to laugh in their face, true story ). ❛ you know, i should be offended that you think using magic is cheating. but since i like you so much, i’ll save you from having to apologize to me. ❜ she gives him a sunny smile.
that sunny smile slowly slips from her mouth as he moves closer to her, and she swears she’s lost any saliva in her mouth. if she thinks about it, this was a long time coming. the MISTLETOE might as well have been the final piece in them getting to this point. zatanna doesn’t step away as he gets closer to her smaller frame, though a flush appears high across her cheekbones. it might just be her, but she swears the air gets thicker and she can’t tear her gaze away from him, drinking in the sight before her. really, she can’t say that she hasn’t thought about this on multiple accounts, but as the fantasy slowly becomes reality, any lighthearted joke dies on her lips right there and then. her lip’s part silently as his thumb brushes along her skin, her gaze quickly darting to his lips as he inched closer. it’s only a moments pause before his lips meet hers and it’s like a SPARK was re-ignited in her as she leans up and kisses him back, arms moving to wrap around his neck.
The minute their lips touched, the fire that had only smoldered between them suddenly burst into full flame. It was like the electricity he’d only felt sparks of before was now coursing fully through both of them, the circuit completed - sensory overload didn’t even begin to describe it. He couldn’t focus on anything, he couldn’t hear the subtle sounds he normally heard; she’d rendered him, in that moment, completely and utterly dead to the outside world. The fine-tuned senses of taste, smell, touch, and sound were all tuned in to radio Zee - and he wasn’t going to move the dial any time soon.
The notion of being in a constant relationship is something that hadn’t crossed his mind for some time. Commitment had been something he’d been unwilling to offer lately; particularly with his late-night endeavors creeping in to the times when a couple would normally spend time gallivanting or just spending time together. It wasn’t that Matt was particularly eager to settle down either, but some consistency in his life outside of work wouldn’t be unwelcome by any means. Zatanna’s company had been a breath of fresh air, and now that they had let go of inhibition and just gone for it, things would hopefully improve.
As they kiss, her heart beat drowns out any and all other sounds he can hear. Matt’s raced to match hers, the dueling rhythms like a battle of wills. He pulled her close, her arms already around his neck, the swell of her breasts pressing into his chest and causing another hitch in his breathing. Damn - she was going to kill him at this rate, and they were only just kissing. His free hand slowly trailed down her side, caressing her hip, pulling their torsos even closer in a feeble attempt to merge into one. He hadn’t felt this hungry for someone in so long. His kisses deepened, a small moan escaping his lips as he parts them and disconnects from hers briefly, before tilting his head to kiss her again.
Within his mind there is so much he wanted to say to her - including thanking her for putting up with him this long, and for spending a portion of her holidays with him - but he knew that this was a much better way than words.
honestly, zatanna was too much of a good person and there was no way she wouldn’t at least try to convince him in letting her decorate his apartment, especially after her revelation that he didn’t seem to have anyone else to spend the holiday with. sure, she had to decorate her own place ( as if she couldn’t do that in three seconds with one spell ), and there was bruce’s christmas party he always held at WAYNE MANOR that she attended every year ( she would still attend it; after all it was just one night ); but those two little things were just that. little. besides, she didn’t intend on spending every waking moment with matt. just like … seventy five percent of those waking moments. she didn’t want him to get too annoyed with her presence, after all.
she was still surprised that he wanted to spend this much time with her, in the first place. of course, she spent a lot of time with her friends back in GOTHAM anyways, but those were the type of friends she had known for years. but then again, those long known friends of hers didn’t have as much underlying sexual tension that matt and her had. zatanna had been quite aware of said sexual tension since it was first obvious that it was happening. she’s not daft —— she knows when there’s something between two people, even if it is unspoken. and while she is rather forward and very much one to ‘ get on that ‘ … she hasn’t. not yet. but she’d be a fool not to think that soon, something was going to happen.
she stares at his lips for far too long before the magician shakes her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. during the few past weeks, it was fair to say that any wall of nervousness that she might have had when she had first met him was non-existent. there was a lot of teasing and deadpanning on her end, and she was pretty sure that he didn’t mind one bit.
zatanna stares at the dangling mistletoe above her head, swinging it back and forth gently. she admits —– she has a long running joke where she’ll just float a piece of mistletoe about her head and try to get ANYONE to kiss her. it’s just the type of thing she’ll do and it is quite funny; especially when she tries to get someone as stoic as batman to kiss her. ( it almost worked once; she’s still upset that it didn’t. ) her attention finally flickers back to matt and she fervently shakes her head. ❛ oh no. OH NO. you are so not getting yourself out of this one, matt murdock. mistletoe is very christmas, therefore it’s staying. ❜ her free hand moves to boop his nose before she’s looking at the mistletoe again. actually ….. ❛ taolf eht eoteltsim evoba s'annataz daeh. ❜ oh yeah, this is much better. and she’s far too smug about it.
Part of him felt incredibly bad that she’d made the decision to spend more time with him; Zatanna easily had other things to be doing back in Gotham, and friends and family of her own to be sharing the holidays with. He found her company particularly enjoyable regardless, though, and time and time again he was glad she’d walked into his office on behalf of Bruce Wayne. The latter had only just managed to get in touch about his case, and both Foggy and Matt had been going over the details of his statement in order to best prepare a defense. It had been complicated, particularly since Gotham was not a place either was familiar with, but with the help of Zee and her experience with the city and its politics things had gone rather smoothly. Matt enjoyed spending the time with her, whether it was in the office or out afterwards, and even though they didn’t spend 100% of their time together (thankfully neither of them thrived on that sort of thing), they had grown to know enough about each other fairly quickly.
He didn’t know why he was so content with allowing things to smolder and burn slowly between the two of them. Perhaps it was a mixture of trying something new, or just testing the waters - maybe, even, it was just the joy of the chase that thrilled him so much. Regardless, it was the little things - the small brushes of skin on skin that sent an electricity through his body that he had come to learn originated in her extraordinary ability to work actual magic, or the way her body subconsciously changed when she was around him; a racing heart, a flushed exterior, an entire change in the presence of the room that she commanded the minute she walked in. Something had to give to break this tension soon, and it seemed like neither of them was going to make the first move.
And so, Matt decided, it was time to take action.
“Oh no, I wouldn’t even think of avoiding it,” He grinned, shaking his head. She then muttered an incantation, floating the mistletoe above her head. Every time she used magic he was fascinated; it through his senses for a real loop, changing the ambient pressure and causing a metallic, electrical taste to tinge the air, in addition to an odd electric buzz that emanated from the object being manipulated. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and caused his heart to momentarily hesitate in its steady beating, as if the energy required to perform the magic was being drawn out of it. He took a moment to take it in, biting his lower lip as he did so. “Magic. That’s cheating, Zee,” he lowers his sightless gaze towards the sound of her voice, his eyes aiming between her lips and her eyes.
Its then he decides he’s had enough waiting - if there was any obvious moment to make his move, this was it. He steps closer to her, beneath the humming sound of the now magicked mistletoe, feeling the warmth from her body start to intermingle with his. The smell of Zee’s perfume is mixed more and more with the pine, cinnamon, and nutmeg the decorations have all been inundated with, and as he draws closer the combination is both intoxicating and overwhelming. The grin that had been painted across his face softens, eyes like embers, breath hitching in his throat as he brings his face closer to hers. He bites his lower lip, bringing one hand up to caress her face, thumb sliding softly across her cheekbone as if to memorize the shape and structure. With only a fraction of hesitation Matt’s lips touch hers, what normally would be intended as a mere peck resulting in an open-mouthed endearment.
