Chapter Text
***[Evil/Villain Couple Chalant! Absolute Universe AU!]***
***(Part 15)***
Zatanna woke up that morning to find Dick already awake, sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at nothing.
She didn't need to ask. She knew what day it was.
She'd known for years.
Every year, the same date. The same silence. The same weight that settled over him like a shroud.
*The anniversary of his parents' death.*
Zatanna (softly, not moving yet): "Hey."
Dick didn't respond immediately. Just kept staring at the wall, his shoulders tense.
Dick (finally, voice quiet): "Hey."
Zatanna sat up slowly, moving to sit beside him. She didn't touch him yet, just sat close enough that he could feel her presence.
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Dick (eventually): "I had the dream again."
Zatanna (gently): "The fall?"
Dick (nodding): "Yeah. This time, I was in the crowd watching. I can see the rope fraying. I'm *screaming*, trying to warn them, but no sound comes out. And then..."
He trailed off.
Zatanna (quietly): "I know."
She'd heard about the dream before. Every year around this time, it came back.
Dick (voice thick): "They were so *happy* that day. So *alive*. And then, just... *gone*."
Zatanna reached out slowly, taking his hand. He squeezed it like a lifeline.
Zatanna: "What do you need today?"
Dick (taking a shaky breath): "I'll see them."
Zatanna (without hesitation): "Of course."
-----
Dick was quiet all morning. He went through the motions—showered, dressed, made coffee—but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
Zatanna didn't push. Didn't try to fill the silence with meaningless chatter. She just *was*. Present. There.
She made him breakfast—nothing fancy, just scrambled eggs and toast—and sat across from him while he picked at it.
Dick ate about half, then pushed the plate away.
Dick: "I'm sorry. I'm just not—"
Zatanna (reaching across the table to take his hand): "Don't apologize. You don't have to eat if you're not hungry."
Dick (looking at her, something softening in his eyes): "Thank you."
Zatanna: "Always."
Around noon, Dick stood from the couch where he'd been sitting, staring at nothing.
Dick: "I get the flowers."
Zatanna (standing): "I'll come with you."
Dick (shaking his head): "You don't have to—"
Zatanna (firm but gentle): "*I'm coming with you.*"
Dick looked at her for a long moment, then nodded.
Dick: "Okay."
-----
*[Gotham Cemetery - Afternoon]*
The florist near the cemetery knew them by now. Every year, same day, same man buying the same flowers.
White lilies for his mother. Blue carnations for his father.
The woman at the counter didn't ask questions. Just wrapped the flowers carefully, offered a sad smile, and sent them on their way.
Dick carried the flowers in one hand, Zatanna's hand in his other, as they walked through the cemetery gates.
Gotham Cemetery was old. Weathered. Headstones dating back over a century, some so worn the names were barely legible. It was quiet here. Peaceful, in a way the rest of Gotham never was.
They walked in silence, following the familiar path. Past rows of graves, under old oak trees, until they reached a section near the back.
Two headstones, side by side.
***John Grayson***
***Beloved Husband, Father, Son***
***"The sky was his stage, love was his legacy"***
***Mary Grayson***
***Beloved Wife, Mother, Daughter***
***"She flew with grace, she loved with fire"***
Dick stopped in front of them, staring down at the stones.
For a moment, he didn't move. Just stood there, flowers in his hand, shoulders tense.
Then, slowly, he knelt.
Zatanna stayed standing just behind him, close enough to be felt but not intruding. Watching. Waiting.
Dick carefully placed the lilies in front of Mary's headstone, the carnations in front of John's. From his jacket pocket, he pulled out two small candles and a lighter.
He lit them carefully, setting them on the flat tops of the headstones.
The flames flickered in the autumn breeze.
Dick (voice quiet, rough): "Hey, Mom. Dad."
Zatanna's chest tightened. She'd heard him do this before, talk to them, like they could hear him. And maybe they could. She believed in enough strange things to think it was possible.
Dick (continuing): "Sorry it's been a year. I know I don't come around as much as I should. I just..."
He paused, collecting himself.
Dick: "It's been a rough year. But also a good one. I guess that's life, right? Rough and good all mixed together."
He reached out, tracing his fingers over his mother's name carved in the stone.
Dick: "I got hurt pretty bad a few months ago. Some guys from a job I did. They came after me. *Kidnapped* me. *Tortured* me. It was... it was *bad*, Mom."
His voice cracked slightly.
Dick: "But Zee found me. She always finds me. She came for me and she... She made them *pay*. Made sure no one would ever come after me like that again."
He glanced back at Zatanna. She gave him a small, sad smile.
Dick (turning back to the graves): "I know what you'd say, Dad. *'That's not the life we wanted for you.'* And you're right. You wanted better for me. Wanted me to stay in the circus, to be *happy*, to be *safe*."
He took a shaky breath.
Dick: "I still visit old Haly every once in a while, the geezer's happy whenever I bring him stuff. He always tries to turn down my *'donations'* to the circuc whenever I try to donate cash, but I always make him take it, and I know it helps him a lot whether he admits it or not."
Dick (sighing but continuing): "This is who I am now. This is the life I've built. And I'm... I'm okay with it. *Most days*."
Silence.
Dick (voice softer): "Bruce and I had a fight. He's... he's *struggling* with who I've become. He wants me to be *different*. *Better*. But I can't be what he wants, Mom. I can't be the hero he is. That's not me."
He wiped at his eyes roughly.
Dick: "I wish you were here. Both of you. I wish I could ask you what to do. How to balance everything. How to be good when the world made me into something else."
Zatanna's own eyes were stinging now. She blinked quickly, keeping the tears at bay.
Dick (continuing): "But I think... I think you'd understand. You always told me to follow my heart, *right?* To do what felt *true*. And this? Zee, Slade, Giovanni, this life? It *feels* true to me. It feels like *mine.*"
He placed his hand flat on the ground between the two headstones.
Dick: "I love you both. Every day. Every single fucking day you're not here, I carry you with me. Your strength. Your love. Your grace."
His voice broke completely.
Dick: *"I miss you. God, I miss you so much."*
He bent forward, forehead nearly touching the grass, and just breathed.
Zatanna couldn't stand it anymore. She knelt beside him, placing her hand on his back. Not saying anything. Just there.
Dick (after a long moment, sitting up): "I'm okay. I'm okay."
But his eyes were red, wet.
Zatanna (softly): "You don't have to be okay right now."
Dick (looking at her): "I know. But I want to finish."
She nodded, keeping her hand on his back.
Dick (turning back to the graves): "I wanted you to meet someone properly. I mean, I've brought Zee here before but she always kept her distance. But now? It's... *Different*."
He took Zatanna's hand, pulling her slightly forward so she was beside him, not behind.
Dick: "Mom, Dad, this is Zatanna. I know I've told you about her before. We knew each other as kids. We were going to run away together, remember? Before the fire."
Zatanna's breath hitched. She'd known he talked to them, but she hadn't expected this.
Dick (squeezing her hand): "Life took us apart for a long time. But we found each other again. And she's... she's *everything*, you guys. She's *strong*, and *brilliant*, and *terrifying* in the best way possible."
He looked at Zatanna, and despite the tears, he was smiling.
Dick: "She loves me. *All* of me. The broken parts, the dark parts, the parts that aren't good or heroic. And I love her the same way."
Zatanna (voice barely a whisper): "Dick..."
Dick (still looking at her): "We're getting married. Soon, *probably*. I haven't officially asked yet. Don't give me that look, Zee, I'm getting there, but we will. And I wish you could be there. I wish you could help with Zee's dress since her mom's gone too. I wish Dad could stand with me."
He turned back to the graves.
Dick: "But I know you'll be there anyway. Watching. Making sure I don't trip over my own feet during the vows."
Zatanna laughed despite herself, a wet, choked sound.
Dick (smiling sadly): "I'm going to make it good, you guys. This life. Even if it's messy and complicated and sometimes really dark. I'm going to make it good. For *her*. For *me*. For the *memory of you two*."
He stood slowly, pulling Zatanna up with him.
Dick: "I love you. Always. Until I see you again."
He pressed his fingers to his lips, then touched each headstone gently.
They stood there for a moment longer, watching the candles flicker.
Then Zatanna (quietly): "They'd be proud of you."
Dick (looking at her, then snickered): "You don't have to cheer me up, Zee. I know they'd flip if they see the man I am now."
Zatanna (meeting his eyes): "I'm *serious*. You *survived*, Dick. Against everything. You survived and you built a *life*, you found *love*. That's... that's everything a parent wants for their child."
Dick (voice thick): "Even if it's not the life they'd have chosen?"
Zatanna: "It's *yours*. Not *theirs*, not *Bruce's*, not *Slade's*. *Yours*."
Dick pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair.
Dick (muffled): "I love you."
Zatanna (holding him tight): "I love you too."
They stood like that for a long time, the autumn wind rustling through the trees, the candles burning steadily on the graves.
Finally, Dick pulled back.
Dick: "We should go."
Zatanna: "You sure?"
Dick (nodding): "Yeah. They know we were here. That's enough."
They started walking back toward the cemetery gates, hand in hand.
Halfway there, Dick stopped.
Dick: "Zee?"
Zatanna: "Yeah?"
Dick (turning to face her): "Will you marry me?"
Zatanna blinked.
Zatanna: "What?"
Dick (smiling, despite the tear tracks still visible on his face): "I know I said I'd do it properly. Fancy dinner, ring, all that shit. But standing there? Talking to them, I realized... I don't want to wait. I don't need the perfect moment. This is already perfect as it is. You're perfect."
Zatanna (voice shaking): "Dick..."
Dick: "We've been talking about it. Planning it. But I want to make it *real*. *Right now*. So I'm asking you, *Zatanna Giovanna Zatara*, *will you marry me?*"
A pause, the tension building up between them.
Zatanna's eyes filled with tears, happy ones this time.
Zatanna (voice barely above a whisper): *"Yes."*
Dick: "Yeah?"
Zatanna (laughing through tears): "*Yes*, you dumbass. *Of course yes.*"
Dick swept her up, spinning her around, and when he set her down, he kissed her like his life depended on it.
When they pulled apart, both were crying and laughing at the same time.
Zatanna: "You proposed in a cemetery."
Dick (grinning): "I proposed with my parents as witnesses. That's romantic."
Zatanna (shaking her head, but smiling): "You're ridiculous."
Dick: "But you said *yes.*"
Zatanna (cupping his face): "I said *yes.*"
They kissed again, slower this time, the weight of the day transforming into something lighter. Something hopeful.
When they finally pulled apart, Dick took her hand again.
Dick: "Come on. Let's go home*."
Zatanna: "Home sounds *perfect."
-----
**[Their Apartment - Evening]**
They ordered takeout, Thai food this time, and curled up on the couch together.
Dick was quiet, but it was a different kind of quiet now. Not the heavy, painful silence of the morning. Something softer. Contemplative.
Zatanna (running her fingers through his hair): "How are you feeling?"
Dick (leaning into her touch): "Better. Lighter, somehow."
Zatanna: "Good."
Dick: "Thank you. For today. For being there."
Zatanna (kissing the top of his head): "*Always*, Dick. Always."
Dick (after a moment): "We should start planning."
Zatanna: "Planning?"
Dick: "*The wedding*. I proposed. Now we have to actually do it."
Zatanna (laughing): "We don't have to rush."
Dick: "I'm not rushing. I'm just... *excited*. I want to marry you, Zee. Make it official. Tell the whole world you're mine and I'm yours."
Zatanna (smiling): "The whole world already knows. I think you made it clear with *Faust* and I made it pretty clear at *Pier 13*."
Dick (grinning): "Fair point. But still. I want the ceremony. The vows. Your dad walking you down the aisle. Slade standing with me looking uncomfortable in a suit."
Zatanna (laughing harder): "That last part I *need* to see."
Dick: "Right? It'll be amazing."
They sat in comfortable silence for a moment.
Zatanna (softly): "Your parents would have loved it."
Dick (voice thick): "Yeah. They would have."
Zatanna: "We'll make sure they're there. Pictures, candles, something to honor them."
Dick (looking at her): "You'd do that?"
Zatanna: "Of course. They're part of you. That makes them part of us."
Dick pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Dick: "Have I mentioned lately that you're perfect?"
Zatanna: "Not since this morning."
Dick: "You're perfect."
Zatanna (snuggling into him): "Keep talking."
Dick (grinning): "Beautiful. Brilliant. Deadly. *Mine*."
Zatanna: "Better."
They stayed like that, wrapped in each other, the TV playing quietly in the background.
The Faust skull candle flickered on the coffee table, a reminder of their darkness.
But Dick's parents' love; their grace, their strength lived on too.
In him. In them. In the life they were building together.
Dark and light.
Pain and joy.
Death and love.
All of it, tangled together, making them who they were.