Conner & M'gann
Dec. 24 – 9:16pm
He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to feel out of place among his friends. All he wanted to do was stay in a quiet place and be alone with his thoughts, but that wasn't the case tonight. Instead, members from the team, old and new, were together under the roof of the Hall of Justice having their annual Christmas party.
Everyone was busy having a good time. Garfield and Bart were busy chugging eggnog while Jamie was ambushed for the third time under the mistletoe by Cassie. Batgirl and Zatanna apparently took the tradition seriously and seemed to be having a contest to see which one could get Nightwing under the little plant first. They have been trying since the party began around seven but he was always one step ahead of them. Mal was making himself another mini sub sandwich and Robin was getting another soda from the ice chest as Karen and Raquel were laughing beside the Christmas tree. And then there was M'gann. For some reason Connor couldn't figure, she was keeping away from L'gaan throughout the party and not saying a word to Nightwing at all.
For the last few minutes, Connor stared at the white stream of lights wrapped around the green garland bordering the ceiling. Part of him wished they would put him in a coma for the rest of the night just so he could have some quiet time. The continuous play of Christmas music was giving him a headache and it felt increasingly warm inside, which was why he had to roll up the sleeves on his usual long sleeve shirt. He was the only one not wearing "traditional" holiday clothing, which was why he had staked out a spot for himself in the kitchen instead of the party room.
"Hey, Con," Bart said as he zipped up to the dark-haired wallflower. "There any more pigs in blankets around here?"
Connor gestured to his right, indicating a foil covered tray with a nod of his head but didn't say anything.
"Sweet, can't get enough of 'em. Thanks." The futuristic speedster grabbed the tray of piggies then rushed out just as Garfield entered the kitchen suddenly. Neither the speedster nor Connor saw him as he entered.
"Hey, Connor," the 13-year-old said. "Enjoying the party?"
Connor only grunted as he took a drink of his green colored sprite. Why the girls thought dying the sprites green and red and think it was cute was beyond him.
"Oh, loosen up. You've been in the kitchen the entire time. Get out and mingle. Have fun. Cut loose and go footloose."
"Gar, is the eggnog spiked?" Connor asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Nope. It's just, I love Christmas." The young boy leaned next to his older-looking teammate and looked up at him with a grin.
"What?" Connor asked.
"Nothing," Garfield said as if teasing. "Nothing at all."
Connor went back to drinking his sprite when he heard M'gann's voice. "What did you want talk about, Gar-" She stopped at the sight of her ex standing alone beside the refrigerator and leaning against the counter. "Oh, um, Connor," her voice grew softer at the saying of his name. "Have, have you seen Garfield?"
Looking from her to where the green youth once stood, Connor replied, "He was just here. Literally." She looked good in an all red sweater and blue jeans.
An awkward silence formed between them for a moment. "Well, I'll just go and see where he ran off to." As M'gann left, she couldn't help but feel as if he were staring at her from behind. "Have you been back here the entire time?" She asked from the kitchen entrance. She caught him shifting his gaze to the floor as she did so.
"Mostly."
"Why won't you join us? We've noticed you're not there."
He finished what was left of his drink and set the plastic cup down. "I just don't feel very festive like the rest of you. Besides, L'gaan's been trying to catch you under the mistletoe and I'm this close to stuffing his stocking with my boot when he sees us under it by mistake and gets mad."
"Yeah," she said with a slight blush as she leaned on the counter next to him. It was sweet knowing Connor still felt that way about her. "I don't remember there being so much mistletoe around."
"You mean you didn't put the stuff everywhere?"
"No. I just hung some by the bookcase for pictures."
"So you didn't hang any the doorways?"
"No. I didn't hang any in the corner of the room behind the tree or in the entrance to the training area. And I especially didn't hang any above your door when I came to get you to help bring in the tree. Or over the cargo hatch of the bioship.
"Maybe it was Zatanna or Karen." Picking up his empty cup, Connor dumped a piece of ice in his mouth and crunched it.
"Or maybe a certain little spider," M'gann said as her eyes flashed green.
Using her telekinesis, she discovered her blood brother hiding above them and lowered a green tarantula from the ceiling where he webbed a batch of mistletoe above them. Once his eight feet touched the ground, the spider morphed into her blood brother.
"Now before you say anything," Garfield said while backing up, "just remember, it's Christmas, the season of peace and tranquility, love and forgiveness. So with that said…it's time for secret Santa and-" he never finished his sentence as he dashed off back to the party.
"Well…that was embarrassing," M'gann muttered as he left, blushing slightly about what Garfield was hinting at.
"Little troll's adamant," Connor said. "Got to give him that."
"Yeah, he's stubborn like that."
The two stood in silence before glancing above them to see the suspended plant. They quickly looked back down and away from each other. Christmas memories of the last five years came back to them with all the good times they had together. They remembered their first Christmas when they awkwardly celebrated the holiday by trying to copy what they saw on TV or read in books as with the team parties where they would have fun being with their friends during the get-togethers and enjoying each other in private afterwards.
"I, uh, guess we should go back into the party," Connor said. "No since in you missing out on the fun. And I bet L'gaan's looking for you."
As he left the counter, M'gann couldn't help but stare at him and bite her lower lip as he and headed for the exit. "Connor," she left her spot and went up to him before he got too far. "Maybe a peck on the cheek wouldn't be so bad. It's Christmas tradition after all."
He didn't look back or seemed to want to. He just swallowed hard. "That would be a mistake."
"Why? It would be a show of friendship. And maybe Garfield would get off our backs."
Taking a deep breath, Connor closed his eyes and exhaled. "It would be a mistake, M'gann. If you kiss me, then I'll want to kiss you. Then I'll want to hold you…and I'll never want to let go." He left with his head down and rounded the corner. "It was my mistake to give you up."
As he walked out, M'gann held back her next words. It was only until she was certain he was in the party room when she finally said them. "It may have been your mistake to give me up, but it was my mistake to give you a reason to."
After the grand finale secret Santa gift exchange was over, people started to head home. Everyone had either a gag gift or a sentimental gift, except for Connor. The one who drew his name was L'gaan and he wasn't inclined in the slightest to give him one. Not that the Kryptonian minded. He just wanted the day over with.
Lying in bed for the past hour in just a pair of jeans, Connor tossed and turned in an attempt to get comfortable enough to sleep. Unlike his other room, this one didn't have rock walls to soften the noise. So for the time being he had to put up with the noise of everyone leaving and even a quiet argument from what sounded like the kitchen. It was times like this that he wished he didn't have super hearing.
His attempt to drift asleep was interrupted by a gentle knock on his door. Seeing as there was no way he was getting any sleep soon, he tossed the blankets off and went to open the door. There on the other side was M'gann.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.
"What?" Connor had a confused look on his face.
"Why didn't you tell me you didn't get anything?"
"What? The secret Santa thing?"
"Yes, Connor. The secret Santa thing. Why didn't you say you didn't get anything?"
"Because it's no big deal." There was in the edge of annoyance in his words. "It's just some stupid game that doesn't mean anything."
"I know you don't feel that way. Because the times we did this, you actually enjoyed playing that so-called stupid game."
"M'gann, Gar got a bunch of bananas from Karen. She got a bug zapper. Mal got phony lotto tickets in a wallet that had him thinking he won the jackpot."
"And Zatanna got a locket with a picture of her and her father it. Jamie got a gorgeous dream catcher, and Cassie got that new CD she's been wanting. You know it's not just for fun. It's a way we show each other we care."
Connor let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is this all you came for? To give me a lecture about not getting anything?"
She looked at him with angry eyes for a moment before shoving a white envelope in his chest. "Merry Christmas," she muttered as she stomped down the Hall.
Looking at the envelope she had shoved in his chest, he flipped it over saw his name scribbled next to a poinsettia on the back. What he pulled from it was a Christmas card with a picture of him and her together during one of the past Christmas parties. Someone had caught them under the mistletoe when the two were engaged in a light kiss. On the back was a quick note written out to him.
'Conner, I know things haven't been too good between us.
Again, I'm sorry for what I did to you and hope you can forgive me so we can at least be friends.
I hope you had fun at the party tonight, more than I did. I've been thinking a lot about us, what we've been through and…'
Connor's eyes grew wide at the end of the note.
Inside the room where the party was, M'gann was sitting alone on the couch as a taping of a burning log and soft instrumental Christmas music played on a flat screen TV. She took a position similar to Connor when he would watch his static channel. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice her ex was standing behind her.
"You're…you're not singing," he said hesitantly.
"Don't have a reason to." The Carol he was referring to was 'Oh Come All Ye Faithful' and was her favorite.
"It doesn't feel like Christmas without you singing."
She didn't say anything.
"Do you mean it? What you wrote on the picture?"
"Yeah. Every word."
"What about-"
"We broke up. He showed his true colors. I didn't want to be anywhere near him." She turned to look at Connor who stayed in his spot. "He blamed you, he blamed Garfield, everyone but himself."
"What did he do?" Connor sat beside her and watched her closely.
"He made it perfectly clear I was an object and not person to him." She looked down at his hand and wanted to take it but thought twice about it. "Do you want to…you know, start over? As friends?"
"Clean Slate," he said softly while looking down at her. "Yeah."
The two sat in silence as the music continued to play. At first, they took small glances at each other before really looking the other in the eye. Eventually their hands met and they spent the rest of the night silence.
