Fic: Orange Tic Tacs; Tim Drake/Zachary Zatara; R
Title: Orange Tic Tacs
Author: Aravis Tarkheena
Pairing: Tim/Zat
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Not Mine, everyone's legal
Word Count: 1,000ish
Author's Note: Written for Justine's Prompt at the Party Post. It got way too big and wouldn't split right. >:(
Orange Tic Tacs
Tim reached up to open a cupboard over the counter tops and the muscle in his shoulder pulled painfully. He winced and bit back a gasp of pain. He dropped his right arm to his side and reached up to rub at his shoulder.
He paused in surprise when he realized how tight and hard the muscles of his trapeziums were.
The muscle tension in his shoulder was so intense that ran down his spine and all the way up his neck. A tension headache had been gnawing at him for hours and Tim just wanted to curl up in a ball until all the tension eased and he could move without his muscles making it painful for him.
Unfortunately, he had duties to perform and things to do and that thought just made him tense up even more.
“What happened to your shoulder?” Zatara’s voice asked him from behind. “You dislocate it in another feat of daring do?”
Tim hadn’t even heard Zat come in and it wasn’t like Zat’s spats were terribly quiet on the tile floor of the kitchen in the Titan’s Tower. He really was in bad shape if Zachary Zatara, Teenaged Magician and Mouth Breather Extraordinaire could sneak up on him.
Tim schooled his expression and turned to face Zatara.
“Nothing like that,” Tim said and let his cape fall around him masking the stiff way he was holding his right arm.
Zatara’s eyes got sharp for a split second before he allowed his features to slip back into an expression of bored indolence.
“What’s it like, then?” Zatara asked conversationally as he walked over to Tim and hopped up to sit on the counter in front of him.
“Just… tense, is all,” Tim informed him reluctantly trying to figure out the best way to exit the room without Zatara bothering him. He liked Zatara, he really did, it was just that right now he didn’t want to deal with anyone.
Zat had a way of making Tim even more tense than he already was. It wasn’t just his smart mouth and frightening perceptiveness, either. Though he refused to conscious the idea that it was the smart tux and mischievous eyes that made Tim’s muscles tighten.
“Batman didn’t give you a nice rubdown before you left?” Zat asked with exaggerated lasciviousness.
Tim resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“He did not,” he answered and, in an attempt to prove to Zatara that he was just fine, reached for the cupboard again.
That was a monumentally bad idea. This time he had moved faster and from a sharper angle, the pull in his muscle was worse. The pain shot down his arm and back and he cried out, clutching at his arm.
When the pain faded Tim blinked his eyes open to find Zatara’s concerned face close to his own. Zat’s hand had slipped under his cape and was running over his arm. When it got to his traps, Zat paused.
“Wow, I’m guessing that’s not all body armor,” Zatara said in a low voice.
“No,” Tim gritted out.
“Your shoulder feels like a rock, Boy Wonder,” Zatara informed him pointedly. “What’s got you so wound up?” Tim gave him an incredulous look and Zatara nodded wryly. “Yeah right, stupid question.”
“I just need… a hot shower… or something,” Tim told him lamely and straightened up, making as if to leave.
“Wait,” Zat said and grabbed his arm.
Tim glared at him. “What-“ He was cut off as Zatara began to speak.
“Xaler selcsum!” Zatara said in a commanding tone of voice.
Tim’s knees buckled and he nearly went down to the floor when the spell hit him. Zatara caught him abruptly and Tim slumped into his arms.
The pain in his back and shoulders was completely gone. His head ache had vanished and Tim was feeling deliciously mellow for the first time in months.
“Oh god,” he groaned, pressing his face into Zat’s neck to hide his expression. “What was that?”
“Um, magic?” Zat answered, sounding more than a little breathless.
“God that’s amazing. My shoulder hasn’t felt this good in… ever,” Tim admitted and nuzzled at Zat’s neck in what he hoped was interpreted as a gesture of thanks.
“Child’s play for the World’s Greatest Teenage Magician,” Zatara scoffed but his bravado rang a bit false. There was a high sort of tension in his voice that made Tim look up.
Zat’s eyes were wide and his pupils were a bit blown. There was a flush running down his face and neck and he was breathing hard through his mouth.
Suddenly, that didn’t seem like such an annoying trait anymore. His lips were wet and wide. His breath was ghosting across Tim’s face and he smelled like orange tic tacs. He always smelled like orange tic tacs. They had come off a four hour fight with a giant Lizard Man a few months ago and while Tim had reeked of sweat and spit and mud while Zachary Zatara, the World’s Greatest Teenage Magician, had still smelled like orange tic tacs.
It was rather monumentally unfair.
In retrospect, Tim wasn’t sure if it was left over euphoria from the spell or just a feeling of profound gratefulness that prompted him to act but in the end it didn’t really matter. He kissed Zachary Zatara then. He pressed their mouths together and Zat made a high, hurt sound in the back of his throat.
Then he kissed Tim back. Warm and wet and soft and perfect. It made Tim feel like his muscles were melting even further. His arms tightened around Tim and his body seemed to sort of meld to Tim’s own. He was warm and he was firm and he was everything that Tim needed right there in that moment.
“Thank you,” he whispered against Zatara’s mouth and Zat just nodded in response. Tim smiled at him, reached for his granola bar, without pain, and left the room smiling to himself.
Zatara has tasted like orange tic tacs, too. Tim wondered if that was another bit of magic, or if he was just lucky.
A/N: Zat always tasting like Orange Tic Tacs is, incidentally, my personal canon
Author: Aravis Tarkheena
Pairing: Tim/Zat
Rating: R
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Not Mine, everyone's legal
Word Count: 1,000ish
Author's Note: Written for Justine's Prompt at the Party Post. It got way too big and wouldn't split right. >:(
Orange Tic Tacs
Tim reached up to open a cupboard over the counter tops and the muscle in his shoulder pulled painfully. He winced and bit back a gasp of pain. He dropped his right arm to his side and reached up to rub at his shoulder.
He paused in surprise when he realized how tight and hard the muscles of his trapeziums were.
The muscle tension in his shoulder was so intense that ran down his spine and all the way up his neck. A tension headache had been gnawing at him for hours and Tim just wanted to curl up in a ball until all the tension eased and he could move without his muscles making it painful for him.
Unfortunately, he had duties to perform and things to do and that thought just made him tense up even more.
“What happened to your shoulder?” Zatara’s voice asked him from behind. “You dislocate it in another feat of daring do?”
Tim hadn’t even heard Zat come in and it wasn’t like Zat’s spats were terribly quiet on the tile floor of the kitchen in the Titan’s Tower. He really was in bad shape if Zachary Zatara, Teenaged Magician and Mouth Breather Extraordinaire could sneak up on him.
Tim schooled his expression and turned to face Zatara.
“Nothing like that,” Tim said and let his cape fall around him masking the stiff way he was holding his right arm.
Zatara’s eyes got sharp for a split second before he allowed his features to slip back into an expression of bored indolence.
“What’s it like, then?” Zatara asked conversationally as he walked over to Tim and hopped up to sit on the counter in front of him.
“Just… tense, is all,” Tim informed him reluctantly trying to figure out the best way to exit the room without Zatara bothering him. He liked Zatara, he really did, it was just that right now he didn’t want to deal with anyone.
Zat had a way of making Tim even more tense than he already was. It wasn’t just his smart mouth and frightening perceptiveness, either. Though he refused to conscious the idea that it was the smart tux and mischievous eyes that made Tim’s muscles tighten.
“Batman didn’t give you a nice rubdown before you left?” Zat asked with exaggerated lasciviousness.
Tim resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
“He did not,” he answered and, in an attempt to prove to Zatara that he was just fine, reached for the cupboard again.
That was a monumentally bad idea. This time he had moved faster and from a sharper angle, the pull in his muscle was worse. The pain shot down his arm and back and he cried out, clutching at his arm.
When the pain faded Tim blinked his eyes open to find Zatara’s concerned face close to his own. Zat’s hand had slipped under his cape and was running over his arm. When it got to his traps, Zat paused.
“Wow, I’m guessing that’s not all body armor,” Zatara said in a low voice.
“No,” Tim gritted out.
“Your shoulder feels like a rock, Boy Wonder,” Zatara informed him pointedly. “What’s got you so wound up?” Tim gave him an incredulous look and Zatara nodded wryly. “Yeah right, stupid question.”
“I just need… a hot shower… or something,” Tim told him lamely and straightened up, making as if to leave.
“Wait,” Zat said and grabbed his arm.
Tim glared at him. “What-“ He was cut off as Zatara began to speak.
“Xaler selcsum!” Zatara said in a commanding tone of voice.
Tim’s knees buckled and he nearly went down to the floor when the spell hit him. Zatara caught him abruptly and Tim slumped into his arms.
The pain in his back and shoulders was completely gone. His head ache had vanished and Tim was feeling deliciously mellow for the first time in months.
“Oh god,” he groaned, pressing his face into Zat’s neck to hide his expression. “What was that?”
“Um, magic?” Zat answered, sounding more than a little breathless.
“God that’s amazing. My shoulder hasn’t felt this good in… ever,” Tim admitted and nuzzled at Zat’s neck in what he hoped was interpreted as a gesture of thanks.
“Child’s play for the World’s Greatest Teenage Magician,” Zatara scoffed but his bravado rang a bit false. There was a high sort of tension in his voice that made Tim look up.
Zat’s eyes were wide and his pupils were a bit blown. There was a flush running down his face and neck and he was breathing hard through his mouth.
Suddenly, that didn’t seem like such an annoying trait anymore. His lips were wet and wide. His breath was ghosting across Tim’s face and he smelled like orange tic tacs. He always smelled like orange tic tacs. They had come off a four hour fight with a giant Lizard Man a few months ago and while Tim had reeked of sweat and spit and mud while Zachary Zatara, the World’s Greatest Teenage Magician, had still smelled like orange tic tacs.
It was rather monumentally unfair.
In retrospect, Tim wasn’t sure if it was left over euphoria from the spell or just a feeling of profound gratefulness that prompted him to act but in the end it didn’t really matter. He kissed Zachary Zatara then. He pressed their mouths together and Zat made a high, hurt sound in the back of his throat.
Then he kissed Tim back. Warm and wet and soft and perfect. It made Tim feel like his muscles were melting even further. His arms tightened around Tim and his body seemed to sort of meld to Tim’s own. He was warm and he was firm and he was everything that Tim needed right there in that moment.
“Thank you,” he whispered against Zatara’s mouth and Zat just nodded in response. Tim smiled at him, reached for his granola bar, without pain, and left the room smiling to himself.
Zatara has tasted like orange tic tacs, too. Tim wondered if that was another bit of magic, or if he was just lucky.
A/N: Zat always tasting like Orange Tic Tacs is, incidentally, my personal canon