YJ: 25 Sweet Christmas Day 1-5
A/N: This is from a challenge on yj_anon_meme to write a short a day counting down to Christmas with a theme of candy. I will be trying to post 1 every day on the meme [.?view=14883541#t14883541] if you want to check it out there or every 5 days I will update one here! Wish me luck!
::Red Hots::
One of Batman's first and foremost rules when it came to taking care of Robin was that at under no circumstances should the boy ever have candy. However Batman's rules be damned it was nearly Christmas and he was a nine-year-old boy it just seemed cruel. The Watchtower was decorated for Christmas despite the fact that it was only December first. There were bowls and piles of candy everywhere.
"Hey buddy what are you staring at?" Superman walked up to the little boy who was staring intently at the glistening sugared confectioneries.
"Nothing." Robin said innocently still staring at the candies.
"Hey little guy. I bet you want some candy?" Flash smiled joining in the conversation. "Go ahead. I am sure Batman won't mind."
"Oh he will." Robin insisted. "I am not supposed to have any candy."
"Well if I don't tell and Sups don't tell… then how is the Bat going to know?" Flash smirked taking a bowel of round red candies and bringing it closer to the boy.
"I don't know…"
"Come on you know you want some." Flash held the bowl closer still.
"Now Robin I…" Superman opened his mouth to stop the boy realizing what the bowel contained but it was too late. The little boy took a huge hand full and stuffed it straight into his mouth. In that instant both men paled. The spicy cinnamon candies were not something children could handle much less a handful of it so suddenly. What if the boy choked on it? What if he cried?
"Ro…Robin are… are you okay?" Flash managed to stammer out when the boy didn't react his mouth full of the spicy candies.
"Uhhmmm." Robin nodded mouth too full of candy to respond.
"It's not hot?" Superman asked watching the boy chew on the candies without even flinching.
"Nuuh." Robin shook his head.
"But that was a lot of Red Hots that you just stuffed in your mouth." Flash said in disbelief. He had every intention to trick the kid. Most kids take one and promptly spits it out after tasting it, he certainly wasn't expecting the boy to take a handful and enjoy it. Perhaps he got the wrong bowl. Flash took a hand full himself and put it in his own mouth. Instantly he felt the heat, the overwhelming cinnamon made his eyes tear up.
"What is going on here?" Batman's voice made Flash and Superman jump.
"Nothing. Are we ready to go?" Robin said hopping up to join the stoic man. The two left a Flash that was going to explode and a bewildered Superman.
~Later at the Batcave~
"You should have seen their faces." Dick giggled. "Uncle Flash even stuffed a handful in his mouth. Sleight of hand does come in handy." Robin revealed the hidden handful of red cinnamon candies in his utility belt. Bruce smirked but said nothing but he was secretly proud of his little boy. Robin held out a handful of sticky half melted Red Hots in his palm offering it to Bruce.
"Candy?"
::Peppermint Patty::
"Hey Superboy what are you looking at?" Robin asked walking in on the Kryptonian clone staring intently at the computer screen.
"Nothing." Conner turned around quickly closing the file he was looking at but not before Robin caught sight of what the older boy was looking at.
"Reading up on Superman?" Robin asked sitting down on the table next to Conner.
"Just checking out what he could do. What I should be able to do." Conner looked longingly out the window at the snow drifting down outside.
"Hey it's not like Superman got all his powers at once." Robin said putting a hand on Conner's shoulder. "When he was your age he didn't have all his powers yet."
"Even freeze breath?" Conner asked.
"Even freeze breath." Robin smiled.
"I just wish that someone could tell me what it is like…" Conner still seemed down. Suddenly the younger boy's smile widened.
"Wait here. Count it as an early Christmas present." Robin disappeared returned a few moments later his hands behind his back. "Okay, close your eyes." Conner raised his eye brow questioningly. "Just do it. Trust me." Conner closed his eyes. "Okay, now open your mouth." Conner opened his mouth hesitantly and Robin put something in his mouth. At first it was the taste of chocolate, as it melted away his mouth was filled with cool peppermint. Conner opened his eyes to see Robin's smile. "Okay now breathe in through your mouth." Conner did as he was told and instantly his breath was cold.
"Whoa." Conner gasped at the sensation.
"Neat right?" Robin giggled showing the older boy the package. "Peppermint patties. It's not going to let you freeze anything, but it's cool still no pun intended." Conner smiled.
"Thanks."
::Lollipops::
It was the traditional style lollipop a giant multi-colored swirl of candy rolled up and stuck on a stick. It was a delicious rainbow of sugar wrapped in clear cellophane. The patterns were almost hypnotic to look at. A little boy stared longingly through the window into the candy shop at this beautiful treat.
The boy had jet black hair and beautiful blue eyes that was barely able to peer over the edge into the window. The snow fell all around him and he can see his own breath. People were busily walking behind him trying to rush home with their arm loads of presents.
"Bruce! There you are!" A woman and a man came up to either side of the little boy.
"What are you looking at Brucie?" The woman asked as the man picked the boy up.
"Lollipop!" The little boy gasped happily pointing through the window at the colorful treat.
"You've got good taste my son." The man smiled and the happy family went into the shop.
~21 Year Later~
"Bruce did you get everything you needed?" Dick asked as the two walked down the snow covered streets of Gotham. The boy was balancing a stack of packages precariously while each arms full of shopping bags.
"We have one more stop." Bruce smiled at the little boy, the boy groaned.
"Master Bruce, Master Dick are you ready?" Alfred came to the boy's rescue pulling up to the side walk next to them.
"Apparently there is something else we have to pick up." Dick rolled his eyes as the boy let Alfred take his packages from him.
"It's a little bit of a family tradition." Alfred smiled knowingly as he looked up at the sign at the store front it read: Williams and Son's Traditional Candy Shop. "Go on, he is waiting for you." By the time Dick got into the store the man behind the counter had come out with a wrapped box and was handing it over to Bruce.
"Thank you so much Mr. Wayne for your patronage every year." The shop owner smiled.
"Give my regards to your father. Let him know he is still the only man in town that can make smiles come on a stick." Bruce shook the man's hand and that was when the men noticed Dick's presence.
"Is he yours?" The shop owner asked coming around with a beautifully crafted lollipop.
"No he is my ward Dick Grayson. Dick this is Mr. Williams, he owns this shop." Dick's face fell a little. It was the second Christmas without his family but it was still hard.
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Williams." Dick said trying to remember his manners but he was too distracted by the treat in the man's hand. "So this is where you get the lollipops we handed out at the orphanage last year."
"Mr. Wayne is a very kind man." The candy maker knelt down and handed the lollipop to Dick. "My dad gave him one of these over twenty years ago and it made him smile and look how he turned out. I can only hope that the magic is still here." As Dick took the candy from the man he couldn't help but smile as a warm feeling spread through him holding the lollipop.
"Thank you Mr. Williams."
::Lemonheads::
"I want the purple one!" Robin piped up and Wally flicked the small candy across the room the younger boy caught it in his mouth.
"Why are these called Lemonheads if they are not all lemon flavored?" Conner wondered looking at the box of colorful candies.
"Before you kids were old enough to eat candies it only came in lemon flavor." Roy's voice announced the young man's arrival. All the boys had been invited over to Wally's house for a sleep over now that school was out and with Christmas coming up Batman gave them a few nights of R&R.
"Roy! You showed up!" Robin leapt up happily.
"I thought you weren't coming." Wally greeted his old friend less enthusiastic than Robin.
"I am only here to babysit you kids since your uncle all but blackmailed me into it." Roy scowled.
"We don't need babysitting." Conner scowled back.
"Hey this sleep over thing is supposed to be fun and team building." Robin said trying to calm the teens down they opened their mouths to argue and Robin took this opportunity to pop two Lemonhead into their mouths. The two boys' faces puckered up at the sour taste.
"You brat." Roy ruffled the boy's hair once he swallowed the candy.
"It's nice you can join us." Robin smiled hugging the older boy. "We were just about to start a new Christmas tradition of an all-nighter Star Wars marathon while debating which flavor of Lemonhead is the best."
"How is a Star Wars marathon and Lemonheads supposed to be Christmas related?" Roy asked settling down on the ground leaning on the edge of the couch Robin curled up next to him.
"Green?" The boy offered and Roy accepted the candy.
Most of the way through the third of the new trilogy half of the boys were asleep Robin included.
"The kid is supposed to be gallivanting around Gotham at this hour and already sleeping like a baby." Wally said emptying another box of Lemonheads in his mouth.
"Give the poor kid a break, he works nearly round the clock Batman is not an easy man to answer to." Roy said looking at the boy leaning on his shoulder.
"He misses you. You know that right?" Kaldur said helping Roy drape a blanket over Robin. "You knew him the longest. Even though he was the first side kick he looked up to you."
"You could just show up every once in a while. He got these hoping you would come." Wally said tossing Roy a fresh box of Lemonheads. Roy looked down at the sleeping boy with a small smile wondering if the boy remembered. Wally smiled. "He said they were your favorite."
:: Twizzlers::
"Dude how can you have a Christmas tree and leave it un-decorated?" Wally cried as he pushed past Roy into the older boy's apartment. Dick smiled and followed Wally in.
"By all means guy come on in." Roy rolled his eyes as the teens already made themselves comfortable on his couch. "What the hell are you two doing here anyways?"
"I am escaping the West family reunion I have way too many cousins." Wally said opening a bag of chips.
"I am hiding from a Christmas fundraiser, the same one you are currently hiding from." Dick said with a smirk. Roy scowled but that explained the suite the younger boy was wearing.
"All other topics aside, the most pressing issue right now is the clear lack of decorations on that tree." Wally said looking at the Christmas tree taking up a large corner of Roy's living room.
"Do you have any decorations?" Dick asked looking at the empty tree, it looked somehow sad.
"Why would I have decorations?" Roy sighed running his hand through his hair. "Ollie was in one of his ridiculous moods forced his way in with the tree saying something about bonding time. He left the tree before I kicked him out."
"Well we will just have to improvise." Wally said as he began digging through one of the many plastic bags of snacks he brought with him. Dick joined him pulling things out of the bags and placing them on Roy's coffee table.
"Twizzlers!" Dick said with a gleeful smile. "We can tie them into bows on the end of the branches." Dick tore open the package and began demonstrating with the candy.
"That's brilliant!" Wally said folding up the white plastic bags and cutting snowflakes out of the plastic. Roy sat and watched feigning disinterest as the younger boys decorated his tree. Suddenly out of nowhere a Twizzler came sailing through the air and hit the disgruntled teen square in the face.
"Hey Roy McScooge!" Wally called as the younger boy giggled. "Help us! This is YOUR tree!"
"Which one of you threw it?" Roy demanded.
"He did it!" Both boys called out at the same time, both with the same mischievous grin on their faces. Roy smirked as he grabbed a handful of Twizzlers he will have his revenge. The Twizzler aimed at Wally hit right on a mark Roy was a good marksmen after all. Dick managed to dodge the Twizzler coming at him with all his years of Bat training.
"Twizzler fight!" Just like that licorice candy flew through the air and the great Twizzler of Christmas 2011 began in Roy's living room. After thirty minutes all the boys sat on the floor behind their various forms of cover. Twizzlers littered the floor. Roy knew that he would probably still be finding licorice in his apartment next Christmas but he didn't care. Roy hasn't had so much fun in a long time. It was good to be with his friends again, it was just like old times, before everything changed.
"Got any Twizzlers left for eating?" Wally asked peering out from behind the coffee table.
"This one is only on the couch I think it's okay to eat." Dick said tossing the Twizzler at Wally who caught it with his mouth. "Don't worry dude we'll help you clean this up."
"You better." Roy said ruffling Dick's hair.
"At least we got the tree decorated before the Twizzler war broke out." Dick smiled and Wally joined the other two on the couch to admire their handy work. The tree was decorated with little candy bows and plastic bag snowflakes. Dick even took some lights out of this bird-a-rang to light up the tree.
"Merry Christmas Roy." Wally smiled and at that moment Roy knew why his friends where there. It was a Merry Christmas indeed.
Well here is the first instalment. Hope you all liked it! Review and cheer me on and I will love you forever! :)