Disclaimer: The Characters from "The Batman" are owned by DC Comics, Warner Bros., Bob Kane and God knows how many other people by now. This is a story done purely for fun and not to make profit whatsoever. Any original characters that may appear belong to the writer and can be used with permission.
Holiday Knights
Chapter 4: Bruce & Dick
Christmas had not been truly celebrated in the halls of Wayne Manor for many years. Not since a certain life-changing event. Although a lone, highly dedicated butler did try to keep the spirit of the holiday alive, his efforts were met with forced merriment most of the time. But all that changed recently with a much more lively addition to the mansion that, despite his own personal tragedy, still embraced Christmas with all the enthusiasm that most young people did. Despite being far from young himself, Alfred felt his own excitement for the holiday return when he saw how excited Dick became as Christmas Day drew closer and closer. He noticed that even Bruce seemed a little more upbeat when around his surrogate son and smiled a bit more often.
Of course these attitudes were the more prevalent on Christmas Day itself when the halls of the mansion were once again filled with the sounds of tearing paper and excited cheering. Not surprisingly most of those cheers came from the teenager on the floor surrounded by gifts and the remnants of wrapping paper. With his usual boundless enthusiasm increased ten fold he seemed to be much younger than he actually was, which made even the two adults feel young again. Or in the case of Bruce, young and happy as he just couldn't help but smile as he watched his young ward rifle through all his gifts.
"So did you get everything you wanted, Master Dick?" Alfred asked with a wry smirk.
"Oh yeah! It's been a great Christmas," Dick replied with a wide grin.
"Well, then here's a little bonus," Bruce spoked up as he pulled another present out from behind his chair.
"Score!" the young teenager cheered then bounded up and snatched the present from his hands.
Dick landed back on the couch with a slight bounce then ripped off the brightly colored paper in one quick motion. What lay underneath was a thick DVD box set featuring a figure wrapped in a grey cloak predominately on the cover right under the title: The Grey Ghost: The Complete Animated Series. Dick looked at it questioningly for a few seconds before his turned his quizzical gaze on his mentor.
"What's They Grey Ghost?" he asked.
"It's something of a Wayne family tradition actually," Bruce started with a small, wistful smile. "My grandfather started it by listening to the old radio broadcasts. Then my father watched the old campy 60's show that...well from what I remember in the reruns wasn't that good. I mean, it was fun but it got the character completely wrong and ruined his image for a few decades actually."
"So, then what's this?" the teen asked, holding up the box set.
"That is what I used to watch," he returned. "Like I said, it took a few years before people were ready to take The Grey Ghost seriously again, but when they cartoon came out it completely changed people's opinion on the character. Didn't hurt that it was a really well done show that paid tribute to everything that came before it. In fact Simon Trent, the star of the 60's show, appears in an episode as a washed up actor. It was really well and one of the best episodes of the series."
"So wait, you used to watch this when you were a kid? But I thought..."
A heavy silence filled the room at the implications of the unfinished sentence. Bruce's expression quickly fell to a much more somber one as the memory that had haunted most of his life came rushing back. Normally he embraced it and let it strengthen his resolve to prevent that from happening to anyone ever again. But he didn't want to dwell on it today. Not today. Today was a day to reflect on the good in the world and not the bad. He forced another smile, this one smaller and more sorrowful, before he continued.
"I at least started watching it," he clarified. "It came out a year before my parents' deaths and in fact my dad used to watch it with me. It was a way to keep the tradition alive and one of the things we really bonded over."
"Whoa," Dick mumbled and looked down at the set again, taking in the full implications of this present.
They were quite heavy and nothing that either of them would ever state fully outright, or at least not Bruce, but as he thought about it, Dick felt a strange comfort in the idea. Like Bruce he had lost his family in a tragedy and like him he had taken up the mantle of a crime fighter to help prevent that tragedy from happening to other people. It made them a surrogate family, and with this one gift Bruce was saying he was ready to think of them as actual family. One of the biggest, and best, Christmas presents ever.
But before he could get too sentimental about it though, something else popped into his head as he stared at the set a bit more.
"Wait, isn't there a new version of this series out there?" he asked.
Bruce frowned a bit then let out a sigh as he leaned back in the chair.
"Well, yes but it's just not as good at that version from what I've seen," he remarked. "Plus the art style's just a bit odd for my taste."
"I dunno, I've heard some good things," Dick shrugged.
"Maybe I'll get that one for your next year. For now I was hoping you'd help me finish up the series. I never got to because of...well you know."
"The whole 'I am vengeance' thing, right?" the teen retorted with a smirk.
"To put it bluntly," Bruce nodded with a slight scowl.
Dick continued to smile a bit longer then went about peeling off the shrink wrap around the set.
"I think watching this all day sounds pretty cool," he said. "Kinda wondering just what kinda shows young Brucie was into. So do we get popcorn with this?"
"Only if you don't call me 'young Brucie' again," Bruce remarked.
"Okay, okay," Dick muttered then looked up at the other man standing near the couch. "So Alfred, popcorn in the microwave already?"
"Heavens no!" Alfred responded in complete horror. "I assure you Master Dick, I will not sully such an occasion with mere packaged popcorn. What I plan to prepare is an old Pennyworth recipe handed down to me from my grandparents."
The teen looked rather confused. "Um...isn't it all just popped corn?"
"Not at all. It's all depends on the spices and oils you use. Trust me, once you've had this popcorn you'll never want to go back to the mircowaved mess. I state my reputation on it."
"It is the best popcorn I've ever had," Bruce verified. "And I think a bowl of is just the thing we need for a viewing of The Grey Ghost. Thank you, Alfred."
"It's my honor, Master Bruce," the Englishmen said with a slight bow. "And might I add it's nice to see you in good spirits during this time of the year again."
"It feels rather nice too," he said with a genuine smile.
"Okay, I hope no one's expecting me to say, 'God bless everyone' because I don't think I'd make it through the first word without barfing," Dick quipped.
"I think just 'Merry Christmas' will do," Bruce said.
"Tis the season," Alfred retorted.
"Merry Christmas it is then," Dick nodded then held up the set. "So how's about we get this show started?"
Bruce nodded then took the first disk of the set from Dick and quickly slipped it into the DVD player. He sat back down on the couch next to the boy and after the quite impressive menu screen popped up, they switched on the first episode and settled in for a long day of viewing. Alfred smiled brightly before he turned to walk towards the kitchen to start his family's famous popcorn. He cast one last look at the two over his shoulder and was reminded of simplier, happier times.
"Merry Christmas indeed," he said under his breath.
To Be Concluded...
Author's Notes: Well apparently going without writing for a week made me slightly rusty but once I got over a slight block this scene came out quite nicely. Not as long as some of the others but it's really hard to get Bruce Wayne of all people into the holiday spirit. Still I like to think I succeeded quite nicely, but what do you guys think?
Also this chapter was a lot of fun when I got to the Grey Ghost stuff as I was able to put in a lot of Mythology Gags, Fourth Wall Breaking and a bit of Take That. See if you can point them all out!
This chapter also marks the end of the Christmas chapters for this fic and next week I'll be back for something for New Years Day. Until then I hope you guys all have a Merry Christmas and get plenty of goodies this year.
See ya next year!