HEY

NO

STOP THAT

YOU LOSERS

Zander + Janet (with bonus Jake) - Mistletoe Dreams

A golden smoke took them from the Tower back to the Gotham subburb in a quiet neighborhood already sleeping. Only a light dust of snow held but the chill still felt right to Janet. It was that time of year she wouldn’t question the magic.

Zander lingered under the lights with Janet. She was grateful for the extra light and loved the colored reflections in the snow, painting the neighborhood like the city, never truly dark. She shivered from the sudden exposure to cold from the warmth of the Californian tower. Zander wrapped his arms around her, steadying her shakes.

“That was a lot of fun,” she whispered, too close to him to control the pounding of her heart. “Th-thanks for the trip back.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said in the same low voice he had invited to take her home with. The colors cut his face sharper than normal, lighting his golden eyes with new shades. “You are always a pleasure.”

Janet laughed, feeling her face warm slightly, She didn’t know what they were. She didn’t know anything about what they were doing or what it was called or how she should continue. He was a boy that made her blush, fascinated her with unexplainable tricks and appeared to enjoy her company while he held her for warmth outside her front door. What was this called? There had to be a name for this.

“Mistletoe,” he said, pulling her train of thoughts back into station. She furrowed her brows, wondering if he could read minds or if he had set out on a different venture in his own head. “I wouldn’t peg your mother for a traditionalist,” he said.

She saw it now, hanging above the door, the tiny red berries surrounded by green leaves.

“She’s a romantic,” Janet said, trying to cover the embarrassment. The last thing she needed was him to feel pressured into anything, for this to freak him out, that maybe they were awesome at being close but not that close just yet? “And a prankster. She must’ve hung it for my dad or something gross.”

“It’s real,” Zander said as he peered closer at it. He turned his eyes back to her, but they lingered at her lips for a moment. 

“There’s really no reason why people have to kiss under it,” Janet began, the words tumbling from her mouth as a defensive barrier against unknown feelings. “Honestly, besides a slight resemblance to certain male anatomy and rumors to help fertility in animals, there’s no record as to why people began kissing under it.” 

Zanders lips turned up at her words as she spewed them out without much thought.

“Did you know mistletoe is in Norse mythology? Frigg couldn’t get an oath from it not to hurt Balder because she thought it was too young to oath or something and Loki through it at him.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in myths,” Zander mused, watching the expression on her face change from timid to curious.

“Only because it’s impossible to figure out where they came from. Actually myths are kinda the first forms of science if you think about it, attempting to explain the unexplainable-” she cut off as Zander’s arms wrapped around her once more and her eyes stared at his wider. She was so small in his hold and so wonderfully cute.

“You called me that once, do you remember?”

Janet nodded. “You are. The Unexplainable Zander Zatara. I don’t understand anything about you.”

“I’ll keep you guessing, then.” He lowered his head, kissing her softly. She eagerly returned the gesture, her hands finding his coat just as the lights went completely out. She blinked int he sudden darkness, looking over Zander’s shoulder to see the movement of the curtain falling back into place.

Jake. Brothers were so worthless sometimes!

“Until next time,” Zander said with a slight bow and a tip of his hat. She wanted to ask him to stay, don’t go, but the magician hated being surprised, she knew that much. So she nodded, unable to think of anything else and watched him vanish back into the air leaving nothing but his warmth on his lips and mistletoe dreams for the winter night.