Clean Sweep Ch. 31 (DC Comics) (Patreon)

(Every character depicted in the story below is a consenting legal adult over the age of 18)

A/N: You guys think so little of me… heh

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The temptation to tell on Raven is strong for a moment, but none of them are children. Zatanna isn’t just going to tattle on the half-demon simply because she propositioned her.

Of course, the second most tempting thing to do is to make some excuse and flee the meal altogether. Her heart was pounding, her face was flushed, and her thoughts were swimming. She could leave and Cole probably wouldn’t think much of it. Maybe back in her own ancestral home, Zatanna would have a better chance of getting her damn head on straight.

… But that felt much too cowardly. She’s not even sure why truth be told, only that running away now felt like she was retreating. And she didn’t want to retreat.

She was Zatanna Zatara, daughter of Giovanni Zatara. She was not… not some mewling woman to be ran off by some mild discomfort! Steeling herself, she forces a smile onto her face, directing it in Cole’s direction.

“I’m fine Cole. Thank you for asking.”

She can tell immediately that her words are convincing no one. Raven is watching her with glittering eyes and Mystery has the biggest grin on her face. Cole is so concerned for her that he doesn’t even notice the other two women or their reactions. Still, in the face of such a blunt response, all he can do is slowly nod.

“… Alright then.”

His worry doesn’t abate though, his brow furrowed as he continues to sneak glances at her while going back to his food. Zatanna forces herself to begin actually eating in response, trying to assuage his concern as she consumes what Mystery has cooked.

The oysters are particularly delicious… and a natural aphrodisiac, damn it! Zatanna’s eyes widen as she looks over at Mystery after her third, only for her to wink at her. In fact, looking at the meal… most of it’s a natural aphrodisiac. Including the dark chocolate covered strawberries that Mystery eventually uncovers when it’s time for dessert.

… She still eats one of course. She doesn’t want to be a bad guest. Besides, natural aphrodisiacs aren’t going to suddenly have her hopping into Cole’s bed or anything like that. No matter what Raven may think of her, Zatanna has far more self-control than that.

At the same time, Zatanna does find herself considering Raven’s words a bit more. Not all of the lurid, debauched suggestions that the half-demon had thrown in her face without a hint of embarrassment. No, rather, she considers what Raven had said about her focus not being on Cole.

… It wasn’t a true apprenticeship. That was the rub of it. If Zatanna and Cole were to start a formal apprenticeship, she could certainly begin dialing down some of her other responsibilities. Hell, she could even take a sabbatical from the Justice League in order to focus on his training.

But they weren’t Mistress and Apprentice anymore than they were pillow friends! Zatanna was more like Cole’s magical tutor, with lessons planned haphazardly and Cole going off to do his own thing after they were done for the day.

Only, Cole ‘going off to do his own thing’ had led to him and Raven being attacked today. And also them taking down Jinx and stopping a robbery in progress. So was it really a good thing to have Cole out there unsupervised? The problem was, Zatanna couldn’t justify spending more time with him if they weren’t in a proper apprenticeship. Not even if they were to enter a sexual relationship…

She-!

“Zatanna… would you like to stay the night?”

Jolting out of her thoughts, Zatanna stares at Cole with wide eyes.

“E-Excuse me?”

Was he propositioning her now too?! But… no. He has no lust or lecherous intent in his gaze. He’s not grinning at her lasciviously or anything like that. Rather, he still looks concerned for her.

“It’s just… you’ve been off all meal. And spacing out a lot. I’m worried that today took a lot out of you. If you wanted to stay the night, Mystery has plenty of rooms she can make up for you. Just say the word, right Mystery?”

Smiling knowingly, the blonde bats her eyes at Zatanna.

“Mm, of course. It’ll be just like old times.”

The reminder that the damn House had watched her and Constantine have sex is like a nice splash of cold water down Zatanna’s back. She jerks in her chair and rises to her feet… only to stumble, feeling surprisingly faint. Cole is at her side in what feels like a moment, helping hold her up while being a perfect gentleman the entire time.

“Alright, let’s get you to a bed so you can hopefully sleep off whatever this is. Mystery?”

Zatanna knows she shouldn’t. She’s not sick or anything like that, she’s just… overwhelmed. Raven really caught her off guard with that ambush of hers and Mystery hasn’t been helping very much either.

She should make her excuses and leave… but her lips stay shut. The window on that possibility feels like it’s closed on her. Before she knows it she’s been escorted to a guest bedroom and finds herself tucked in by the young man she’s supposed to be helping.

“Get some rest, Zatanna.”

He graces her with a bright smile and then leaves her there all alone. Zatanna half-expects Mystery to stick around and continue what Raven had started… but instead, she departs with him and Zatanna finds herself staring at the ceiling, knowing that the House is watching anyways.

Ugh… irritating as it is, she actually does fall asleep after only a little bit. When you had a life as active as hers, you learned to rest where you could and catch what sleep you could find. You never knew when you might get woken up for an emergency, after all.

And so Zatanna closes her eyes… and falls asleep.

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When she next wakes up, its become quite dark. And yet… Zatanna actually feels pretty good. Well rested, even. Hm, had she been burning the candle at both ends recently? Actually… yes. She had, hadn’t she? Between hunting down the mysterious Lord of Order, who turned out not to be real, and investigating the demonic deaths, which turned out to be tied to Cole, and more recently developing a lesson plan… haaah, Zatanna had gone overboard.

To be fair, the life of a member of the Justice League was never easy by any stretch of the word. You made do with what you had and gave of yourself what you could afford to give. Otherwise… people died. But as the Justice League’s foremost magic expert, Zatanna had clearly been too laser-focused on solving the Chemo mystery to the detriment of her own health.

Now though… now she’s thinking a bit more clearly. And as she lays there staring up at the ceiling, she can’t help but hear… noises. Furrowing her brow, Zatanna rises from the bed and pads across the floor to the door. Peeking out it, she peers down the hall… where another bedroom door is ajar.

The sounds of flesh slapping against flesh might have made one think someone was being attacked for a moment, but the wanton moans alongside certain telltale squelching noises make it clear that someone is actually having fun. Multiple someones in fact… Zatanna is pretty sure she hears three people going at it.

Rolling her eyes, Zatanna opens the door to her room and carefully makes her way down the hall to the open bedroom door. And then she promptly takes ahold of the handle without looking inside and eases it shut as quietly as she can.

Almost immediately the noises of Cole, Raven, and Mystery going at it like rabbits diminishes dramatically. And when Zatanna makes her way back down the hallway to her own guest bedroom, the sounds go away entirely as she steps inside and turns to close the door behind her.

… She does nearly jump out of her skin when she turns back from closing the door and finds Mystery sitting cross-legged on her unmade bed, however.

“Jesus!”

Mystery just smirks at her, even as Zatanna places a hand over her chest to calm her racing heart.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

Scowling, because that’s obviously what the blonde meant to do, Zatanna just huffs.

“Isn’t Cole going to notice you missing any second now?”

Mystery giggles.

“You think I can’t be in two places at the same time when we’re literally inside of me? Honestly Zatara, you keep underestimating me.”

… You know what, fair. She did keep doing that. Letting out an explosive breath, Zatanna fixes Mystery with a narrowed eye stare.

“I suppose I have you to thank for the open bedroom door then, don’t I?”

Mystery’s smile drops into a playful little pout.

“Honestly, I thought you were going to at least take a peek. Raven and I were both counting on it, even! You were so primed and ready for it earlier~”

Zatanna fights back her first reaction and instead takes a deep, calming breath.

“… I understand that the both of you are deeply infatuated and enamored with Cole. I understand that you’re hoping to seduce me into his bed as a sort of pet or plaything that he can then use for pilfering my magical knowledge and growing in power.”

Mystery has gone a little still at Zatanna’s words, watching her almost like a predator might, her eyes growing lidded. But Zatanna isn’t afraid even knowing she’s in the belly of this particular beast. After all, she has a secret weapon.

“I just have one question for you, Mystery. Would Cole approve?”

Startling, Mystery blinks her big blue eyes.

“What?”

Zatanna plants her hands on her hips and smirks.

“You and Raven seem to have your own desires figured out… but what about what Cole wants? Is he going to be happy if he finds out that you two are working so diligently for him? Or will he be disappointed that you were going behind his back?”

Mystery growls and the room itself shakes a little around them. Zatanna still doesn’t show an ounce of fear, lifting a hand up and holding a palm out instead.

“We don’t have to be enemies, Mystery. I want what’s best for Cole the same as you and Raven. But I’m also not going to give up my agency for him. And I’m certainly not going to kneel at his feet with a collar around my neck because the two of you said so.”

She might do it of her own volition under the right circumstances, but she definitely wasn’t going to let herself be pushed into it while she was addled and not fully cognizant. Fortunately, Mystery had great guest accommodations. That sleep she’d just had was the best sleep Zatanna had had in weeks.

“Hmph. You would look really, really good if you did though.”

At Mystery’s petulant response, Zatanna just laughs.

“Of course I would, Mystery. I look good in anything, including my birthday suit.”

A huff of amusement escapes Mystery’s lips against her will and Zatanna can tell she’s somewhat defused the situation. Though… not entirely. And despite the games Mystery and Raven have been playing with her today, Zatanna decides she might as well confide in the other woman. It wasn’t like she would be keeping secrets from the House… not while inside of its walls.

“I would not be opposed to entering that sort of relationship with Cole, just so you know.”

Mystery immediately perks up, prompting Zatanna to clarify.

“A sexual one, not a submissive one just to be clear. I will leave calling him Master and kneeling at his feet to you and Raven. However, at the same time… it would be inappropriate to engage in intercourse with him when I’m supposed to be his tutor.”

Mystery frowns but stays quiet, allowing Zatanna to finish her explanation.

“Ergo… it stands to reason that I should focus on getting his basic magical education completed as soon as possible. So that we might be as close to equals as we possibly can be. At which point, any impropriety would… disappear.”

Blinking, Mystery tilts her head to the side consideringly.

“… So you’re saying you’ll focus more on Cole’s training going forward?”

Zatanna nods decisively.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. That is, if you think it’s a good idea to… go all out. Perhaps I’m rushing it. And perhaps asking you if I’m rushing it is like asking the horse if it wants to gallop. Still… what do you think?”

To her credit, Mystery doesn’t immediately answer. She actually does give Zatanna’s words the consideration they deserve. Impressive considering it seems as though another iteration of her avatar is being fucked silly by Cole at the exact same time.

… That probably won’t influence her decision. Much.

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A/N: Remember to Vote, leave a Like, and let me know what you think!

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Google Doc Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19lRkYElO1Z0DfGzzfMC6osPRgFPGmQ0Ijgov4YeQiP8/edit?tab=t.0