Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places depicted within, they all belong to DC Comics.

A/N: Holy crap, a new story! Yep, this one is gonna be a bit shorter than stuff I normally write, because I'm hoping to have this one done by Christmas. If not, then it'll be done shortly after. Either way, I hope you all enjoy and have a great Christmas!

December 24th.

A day that would normally be filled with joy and merriment, were this any other city. However, most of the citizens of Gotham celebrated with a sort of cautious joy, knowing that at any moment some huge disaster could strike the city or its inhabitants. Still, there were always people who found a way to keep positive during the season.

Bruce Wayne was not one of those people.

Sure he enjoyed the holiday for what it was and what it represented, but he could never appreciate it the same way others could. Mostly because to him, it was just another work-day.

Today had been mostly average in terms of crime, just your average purse-snatchers and shoplifters with no major criminals in sight. It would almost be a relief, if it wasn't so strange.

He patrolled high and low throughout the city's many streets and avenues, looking for any sign of a costume where it shouldn't be.

He considered whether the cold and snow that was currently beating down on the city could be deterring any possible criminals, but since it had never stopped any of them before, he doubted that it would start to now.

After a couple hours, he decided that either he and his team had been doing a better job of cleaning up the streets than he'd thought or that something, "Christmas Spirit" or otherwise, was keeping all of his rogues away.

Unless something were to suddenly come up, which it almost always did, he was going to head back to the manor and start helping Alfred with the Christmas Eve dinner preparations. He could only hope that the other members of his extended family wouldn't be too hard on Alfred... or the furniture.

A familiar flash of black fabric inside of a nearby jewelry store meant that his plans were going to be momentarily interrupted.

~ooo~

You'd think that after a while, people would stop advertising expensive exhibits in Gotham.

But, to the delight of the woman now holding a sparkling blue diamond necklace, they still continued to let lovely and expensive jewelry fall into the hands of the World's Greatest Thief herself.

This piece was one she'd had her eye on for some time now. The Larme de Noel, or "Christmas Teardrop" necklace. It was said that whoever wished upon the necklace on Christmas Eve would have their wish granted the next day through some sort of "Christmas Miracle" crap. She just liked the cut of the gem within.

Of course, all good revelries have to come to an end, and that cowled crimefighter up in the rafters signaled that hers had just ended. Now came the fun part.

"Selina."

The way Batman said it was almost ridiculous, like she was some sort of child with their hand caught in a cookie jar. Well, she wasn't going to let him off easy now.

"Bruce." she said in a way that she hoped matched his scolding tone.

"I expected someone like Calender Man or even Mr. Freeze, but Catwoman was pretty low on my list of possible criminals-at-large."

"Well, then I think the list needs updating," Selina replied with a smirk, "Don't you remember how unpredictable I am?"

Bruce wasn't amused by her current repartee, if that death-stare behind his cowl was any indication.

"Besides," she continued while trailing her fingers around the necklace's jeweled center, "I was just grabbing myself the perfect Christmas present, since I doubt you were planning on getting it for me... I've been a pretty good girl this year, wouldn't you say?" She winked at the still very much unamused Dark Knight.

"I would think that you would be spending Christmas Eve with Holly." Bruce said, sounding almost concerned.

"Holly's already been given her present," Catwoman responded idly, "and so have my two "best girlfriends" in Arkham."

"Harley and Ivy?"

"Yep," she began to twirl the gemstone in her hands, "Don't worry, nothing they can use to break out." Unless they were really creative... she mentally noted.

Somehow, she figured that Bruce was beginning to tire of just talking, so she decided to wrap things up.

"Well Bruce, while I'd absolutely love to stay here and shoot the breeze for a bit longer, I have to be getting home to enjoy my rightfully-earned gift. Don't want buyers remorse, you know?"

But, to her surprise, it was Bruce who asked the final question.

"What makes you so sure that you've earned it?"

She stopped mid-run to ponder a way to respond to that.

Did she really deserve something like this? She'd been helping out Batman and his crew more than she cared to admit lately, the last thing she wanted was for people to think that Catwoman had turned to the side of "good" completely. Because when people started thinking things like that, they started taking advantage.

And if there's one thing Selina hated, it was people thinking they could take advantage of her.

But at the same time, she didn't want to fully lose the small sliver of trust she'd managed to gain from Bruce.

What was a girl supposed to say at a time like this?

"Aren't you supposed to be going to a party or something?"

Well, she tried.

"Not until you return what you've stolen."

Great, he was just not going to make this easy, was he? Well, if he wasn't, then she wasn't either.

"Only if you can catch me first."

And with that, she was off at a brisk run, climbing up the rafters as fast as she could.

That ought to teach him.

As she heard the familiar sound of a grappling hook being fired behind her, she knew that her Christmas Eve was just getting started.