Disclaimer: Do not own so do not sue
Written for my lovely Wally West as a special Christmas gift to him - love Kitty
Bright blue eyes gazed across the room at the resident magician. The closer it got to Christmas, the more depressed Zatanna seemed to become. It was going to be the young girl's first Christmas without her Father and she seemed beyond consolable. Kitty didn't know how to help her and no amount of lip-chewing seemed to fix the problem. Planting a small smile on her face she turned to her boyfriend, munching away on gingerbread men while humming carols. "Speed Racer, you're a genius!" Kitty cried, kissing him mid-bite, "That's the perfect solution!" The mutant girl raced off to find Artemis and M'gann, the taste of gingerbread still lingering on her lips as she left a bewildered Wally behind.
It had taken a week of planning, surreptitiously gaining all the information they needed before carefully planning out their little escapade. Everything was set, their scheming was fool-proof. All the needed now was a diversion to keep the boys out of their hair. Grinning, Kitty whispered her big idea to her co-conspirators.
Christmas Eve dawned cold and bright, a crisp layer of new snow coating the land. Kitty grinned, her body literally humming with excitement as she glanced at the boy beside her. His Aunt and Uncle adored Kitty and knowing she had no family of her own, were more then happy for Wally to spend half his nights sleeping beside her. Lifting a hand, she gently tucked a few stray hairs out of his face, it was rare for her to wake up before him so she enjoyed the moment. Deciding they'd slept long enough she pressed her lips to his. "Good morning my Speed Racer," Kitty greeted, burrowing back into his arms.
Green eyes blinked blearily at her for a moment before a sleepy smile covered his face. "Morning Kit-Kat," Wally replied, pulling her in close for a proper good morning kiss. He had the most understanding family ever. Since they learned about her parents kicking her out just because she had powers, they'd treated her like their daughter. They were always asking about her, inviting her to stay with them and insisting she spent all the Family Holidays with them. His Aunt and Uncle had been practically heart-broken when Wally didn't bring her home for Thanksgiving, but she'd insisted on spending that with her adopted family, Peter Parker and his Aunt May. They were doing things slightly different for Christmas. Christmas Eve was to be spent with the Young Justice team, Christmas would be a family affair at his place but Boxing day they'd be joining Artemis at Aunt May's house. Kitty kissed him back, enjoying their time together. "As much as I'd love to do this all day, I need you to do something for me," She told him, giving him a dose of her big blue eyes. It took less then a heartbeat for Wally to agree, nodding without realizing what he was agreeing to.
Wally stared forlornly as the girls waved a goodbye before dashing down the Zeta Tube to an unknown location. "How did we get roped into this?" he asked, staring down at the list in his hands. Dick snickered, rolling his eyes at his friend before snatching the paper out of his hands and reading the contents. "Because Kitty batted her lashes," the younger boy replied, "Right well, everything on this list could be bought from Happy Harbor, but Gotham's Department Stores have better quality." In truth, the boys all knew the real reason behind Kitty's impromptu list, she wanted to make the cave seem cheerier to lift Zatanna's spirits and that was something they could all get behind, but did she really have to send them on a shopping trip?
The girls bustled down the street, racing to get far away from the portal and reach their destination. "Are they in position?" Artemis asked as they ran, her blonde ponytail bouncing as she glanced at the brunette beside her. Kitty jumped over a box, not halting her stride once. "Of course," was her reply, the girl tossing her hair over her shoulder. Zatanna gave them all a worried look as they finally stopped, Kitty reaching in to a locker to pull out four bags, tossing one to each of them. "You have got to be kidding me," the magician told then, peering into the bag.
The four boys had already been to Happy Harbor, preferring to collect the tree from there. They didn't know what effect the Zeta Tubes would have on a live Fur Tree, but it was better to be safe then sorry. Of course, Wally had insisted on picking one with full foliage and taller then himself meaning Conner had been the one to carry it back to the cave. From there they headed to Gotham letting Robin lead them through the city to the best places to find the rest of the items on their list.
Deciding Kitty meant for them to decorate the whole cave, the four heroes loaded trolleys with items. There were buckets of lights, containers full of ornaments and truckloads of tinsel. Wally had even managed to grab a whole crate of mistletoe which the team could tell would be plastered all over Headquarters just as an excuse to kiss Kitty as many times as possible. Robin snickered, pulling out Batman's credit card to cover all the costs. He knew his mentor would probably flip at the expense until he actually saw the cave, but if it helped Zatanna that was a scolding he'd bare willingly.
Once they'd ferried all the decorations to the Cave, they returned to Gotham to collect all the ingredients on the reversed side of the page. This trip was a little more to the boys' speed, especially Wally's, since they usually did the grocery shopping. Since Kitty, M'gann and now Zatanna were their appointed cooks, they found it only fair the boys helped out by re-stocking the kitchen, especially since they ate far more then the girls did.
Robin divvied up the list, giving each of them an equal portion before they all sped off towards their respective aisles. Wally was in charge of the snacks and condiments. Kaldur took drinks and fresh produce. Conner would be grabbing the main supplied while Robin picked up the meats and anything else they needed. Completing their tasks with almost military precision, they headed back to the check outs before once more ferrying their goods back to the Cave.
The four Heroes had just finished storing the supplies with Wally smacked his forehead. "I forgot to get Kitty's present," he told them, suddenly stressing because he wouldn't have anything when they exchanged gifts. Dick led them all back towards the Zeta Tubes, all of them having forgotten at least one present, fortunately they still had a few hours before the girls were due to return.
They raced through the streets, searching for what they needed to round off their pile of presents. The boys shook their heads as their search led them further and further away from the big department stores and further into the poorer areas. It was just a few blocks away from their final purchase that Robin halted in his footsteps, face turned to an old brick building.
Seeing his friend stop, Wally slid to stand beside him, face turned to the orphanage. "Is there he found you?" the Speedster asked, knowing that his friend had spent a couple of years in an orphanage after his parents died before Batman had found him. Robin nodded silently, numbly walking up to the building so he could peer in through the window. He could remember the long nights spent there, wishing for some warmth or for someone to get him out of there. For the children there Christmas wasn't a time of joy, there were no presents and there was no Santa, it was merely another reminder of everything they'd lost. Peering through the window it wasn't sadness he saw, the children were smiling and laughing.
Wally gazed through the window beside him, his eyes fixed on the taller figures in the crowd. Well, two were taller, two were barely higher then the children surrounding them. Turning his back to the wall, he slid to the ground holding his stomach while he tried not to laugh. Robin sat beside him, giggling softly at what he'd seen. Looking at each other, collapsed into fits of laughter, unable to contain it any longer.
Inside the orphanage surrounded by the children were the girls, all wearing the same outfits. Red blouses with high necks and pirate sleeves contrasted with green under-bust vests and green and white striped bow-ties. The vests were embroidered with intricate leafy vines in a bright golden thread while little golden buttons held the vests closed. Red shorts that barely covered their backsides sat over green tights. Little golden bells hung on the tips of the curled toes of red leather boots. Green hats with embroidery matching the vests rested on each head while the points of delicate elven ears extended their own seamlessly. Red and green dusted their eyelids, glitter glistening on their faces as a vibrant, shimmery red crested their lips and formed little circles on their cheeks. The only differences were in their hairstyles. Kitty had her twin piggytails sitting prominently just below the brim of her hat, Zatanna had a braid resting over one shoulder, while Artemis had opted to leave her hair free save for one small braid that wrapped around the base of her hat and M'gann had shortened her hair to shoulder height, choosing to weave tinsel through the red locks.
Kaldur and Conner walked over, peeking through the windows to see what had Waly and Robin laughing so hard only to join them moments later. Robin glanced over his shoulder at the orphanage's wall. Did they somehow know this was the one he'd come from, did they realize he'd once been amongst those children, or had the choice of venue been merely coincidental. Smiling softly to himself, he suddenly realized it didn't matter because for once the children inside were smiling and laughing, for once a little bit of Christmas cheer had chased the grey away. Glancing at the others they nodded back determinedly, they could make this better.
A knock on the door startled the girls, but not as much as the appearance of the boys. Wally, Kaldur and Robin were suited up in what could only be considered 'Reindeer Onesies'. The brown fur covering their entire bodies save for the white fur on their stomach. Black boots and gloves designed to look like hooves had the girls giggling slightly, but the sight of the antlers strapped to their heads and little wiggling tails when they turned around had them almost snorting with glee. Of course Wally's antlers were almost too big for him and kept hooking Kaldur's when he turned his head, but Dick, still sporting his shades, had a luminescent red nose that shone brighter then the orphanage's own lighting. Of course, the real chortles began when Conner entered dressed up to look like Santa complete with a pillow-stuffed stomach, fake beard and hair and a full sack over one shoulder.
The cheers that arose at Conner's arrival were almost deafening. Most of the children had been there longer then they could remember and not once had Santa come to visit. The Sisters quickly bustled the children into finding milk and cookies for 'Santa' and carrots for his Reindeer as the 'elves' quickly set up a chair for Conner. One by one, the children got to sit on Conner's lap all of them too excited to see Santa to ask for anything for themselves. Instead Conner passed each and every child a gift from his sack, red wrapping for girls, green for boys while dutifully munching on the cookies each child passed him. Kaldur and Dick nibbled politely on carrots while Wally happily ate the rest. Once the sack was empty, each child saving their present to open the next day, the girls decided it was time for one last carol. Standing up they took their places, dancing and singing away as the refrains of 'We need a little Christmas' filled the room.
Thinking back on that Christmas, they wouldn't remember the girls cooking a massive feast. They wouldn't remember decorating the tree nor the rest of the Justice League feasting with them that night, although the image of Batman in a Santa hat was definitely etched into their minds. The presents the next day had been a bit of a blur as well, although touching the golden heart-shaped locket Wally had given her made Kitty smile brighter then Robin's Reindeer nose, especially when she remembered how he'd swept her into his arms and told her she was the cutest elf he'd ever seen. All they could remember was the children's adoring faces as they'd walked out to the front of the Orphanage, Conner's Sphere resting in its bike form. Chuckling, the girls had 'harnessed' the Reindeer into the straps leading out in front of the bike before hopping into the bench-like back seat as Conner drove, Mg'ann levitating the boys telekinetically as the bike hovered and flew away. Looking at each other the moment they'd returned to Headquarters, they all silently agreed they'd be doing it again the next year.
Glancing around at the group Zatanna and Dick's fingers threaded together. They may both be a little lost and a touch broken, but they finally saw the family surrounding them. They'd been blind to miss what had been staring them in the face all along.
Have a very Merry Christmas
May your thoughts and creativity flow,
Lady Ami DragonHeart