A/N: Ok, a couple of notes here.

1. I'm not Buddhist, so all the information presented here is from my own research. I apologize in advance if I got anything egregiously wrong.

2. There are some implied sexual activities/themes at the end of the chapter.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

[December 2013]

The first thing Connor noticed when he walked into the apartment after school was the tree in the corner of the living room. 'Right. It's December.' With his training and trying to avoid the awkward silences with Roy, he hadn't been paying close attention to the date. Out of curiosity, he looked at the calendar. It was December 7th. Something inside of him suddenly longed to be back in the monastery. 'I bet they've been handing out bread to the homeless all week. And meditations have increased. They don't have school either.' It didn't seem fair the only place he'd been afforded a week off of school for the holiday week had been at the monastery. 'But this school will give us two weeks for a holiday I haven't celebrated in years. Figures.' It may have been the holiday season, but Connor felt as lonely and dressed as ever.

"You're home," Roy said in surprise when he poked his head out of the kitchen. "Come here, I have something to show you."

'I hope this is quick. I want to go meditate before we train tonight.' Connor walked into the kitchen and stopped suddenly in the doorway. There was a small potted fig tree on the table, as well as a small string of multi-colored lights; as well as what looked like ingredients for cookies, tea, and rice. "What's going on?"

"Well… I was looking at the calendar and it said that tomorrow was Bodhi Day," Roy explained. "It kind of sounded like a…Buddhist thing, so I looked into it and…it's a Buddhist holiday." His voice trailed off, but Connor just kept staring silently at him. "I thought since you're Buddhist you'd probably want to celebrate it."

"I- I do."

"I did some research on how to celebrate it. I got a fig tree and lights to decorate it. Some ingredients to make cookies and tea. I wasn't sure which of the traditions you observed, so I just…got everything."

"You really want to celebrate it with me?"

"Of course. It's an important holiday for you, so I want to celebrate with you."

Connor set his backpack down, then studied the items on the table for a little bit. He eventually nodded. "Rōhatsu."

"What?"

"Rōhatsu. It's what we call Bodhi Day in the Zen sect of Buddhism."

"Rōhatsu. What is it for?"

"It's a celebration of when the Buddha became Enlightened."

"I see. So, how do we celebrate? You lead the way."

"Ok." Connor approached the table, then smiled a little as he gently stroked a leaf on the fig tree. "First we should decorate the tree with the lights, then we can make leaf-shaped cookies. Typically, I would meditate all through the night from the 7th into the 8th. And on the 8th have a traditional meal of rice and milk."

"Why rice and milk?"

"It was the first meal the Buddha had after he became Enlightened."

"I see. Well if you're planning on meditating all night, then I should probably call you out of school tomorrow."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. You can't go to school on no sleep. Plus, other kids celebrating Christmas get to have their holiday off, you deserve to have yours off too."

"…Thanks." Connor picked up the fig tree and carried it to the living room. Behind him, Roy carried the string of lights for them to decorate the small tree with.

"Did you do this at the monastery?"

"Sometimes. We didn't do it every year, but it was always a nice surprise when we did." Once Connor set the tree down, he took the lights and started wrapping them around it. "Cookies after this?"

"Absolutely."

Connor stopped as something occurred to him. "Is my…meditating going to interfere with training tonight?" He'd come so far in the last few weeks, especially in his archery. As important as Rōhatsu was, part of him didn't want to risk a setback in his training.

"I think we can take a break tonight. It's a holiday after all."

"Ok. Cool." Connor finished wrapping the lights around the tree, then turned them on. "Now that we finished, let's go make cookies." He smiled as he led Roy back to the kitchen. "We'd spend all week making fig leaf cookies at the monastery. We'd go into town with the monks and pass them out with small loaves of bread to the homeless."

"That sounds really nice."

"Giving to others and being generous are important tenements of Buddhism. Especially this time of year."

'This is the most he's ever told me about his time at the monastery,' Roy thought as he followed the teen. 'I should probably tread carefully. I don't want to scare him off.'

"Can we have tea and the cookies tonight after dinner?"

"I'd enjoy that. Do you know the recipe for these cookies?"

"I do. Can you start mixing the wet ingredients and I'll do the dry ones?" Connor froze for a minute. "I mean— If that's ok with you."

"Of course. You're the expert here, I'll follow your lead."

"Ok." Connor started mixing the dry ingredients together in a bowl. 'It's not really the same as it was at the monastery, but it's ok.'

It was silent between the two of them as they baked. However, this silence was different from the other silences that had descended on the apartment in recent weeks. It wasn't strained or awkward. Neither Roy or Connor felt the need to fill it. They didn't talk until the cookies had been mixed, shaped, and placed in the oven to bake.

"Ok," Roy nodded. "That was fun. So, what do we do next?"

"Uh…there's not a lot of we can do until the cookies are done. I'm going to work on my homework so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow."

"Go for it. I'll clean this up and probably start dinner in a bit. I was thinking we can have vegetarian tacos."

"Sounds good. And rice and milk tomorrow?"

"Of course." Roy turned around and started cleaning up the cookies. He figured Connor would retreat to his bedroom to do his homework, like usual, so he was shocked when he turned around and the teen was still there. Connor was sitting at the kitchen table, his English workbook open in front of him. For a moment Roy watched him, then quickly went back to his cleaning. The timer for the cookies went off just as he finished wiping down the counters. Roy pulled them out of the oven and was hit with the soft, warm smell of fresh cookies. It gave him the same thrill that the smell of sweets always did. 'I'll always love having free access to sweets.' He glanced back at Connor. "How's the homework coming?"

"It's good." Connor put his workbook away, then pulled out his history homework. "I- I got an A on my science test on Monday."

"You did? That's awesome! Great job!"

"Thanks."

Roy smiled a little as he turned away. 'Wow, an A. He's a bright kid.' Not that Roy'd had any doubts about Connor's intelligence. "I'm going to start dinner."

"Ok."

The comfortable silence continued between the two as Roy made dinner. Something inside of Roy was lighter as he cooked. The heaviness that had been pulling on him for the past few weeks was dissipated. 'This is nice. I like it.' He kept glancing back at Connor while he cooked, but the teen didn't leave the kitchen. He stayed at the table and completed his homework. He was putting his finished pairs back in his backpack when Roy was putting the plates on the table.

"It looks good," Connor said as Roy sat with him.

"Thanks. It's a new recipe."

It was quiet for a few minutes as they ate before Connor spoke again. "I really appreciate all this. You know, celebrating Rōhatsu. It- It means a lot to me. Buddhism got me through a lot of rough stuff and helped me work through a lot." He took a bite of a taco. "I really miss the monastery."

"I'm sure. I know how you feel though. I felt the same way when I have to leave the Navajo reservation when I was 12."

'He does get it,' Connor realized as he ate a taco. 'Roy understands how hard it is to be away from a place that feels like home.' He was quiet for a moment. "What do you do to…you know…not feel so sad about it?"

"Well…I guess felt less sad when- I was in Gotham."

"Oh…"

It was silent again as they finished eating. When he was done, Connor put his plate in the sink and started to wash it, but Roy stopped him. "Go ahead and start your meditation."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. Go ahead."

"Ok. Thanks."

"Would you mind if I joined you?"

"You want to meditate with me?"

"I don't know if I could do it all night like you, but I'd like to join you for a little while."

"And you know how to meditate?"

"I do. It's one of the relaxation techniques I learned to help me cope with my PTSD."

"Oh. Well, sure. I think it'd be great you wanted to meditate with me."

"Great. I'll join you in a few minutes."

"Ok." Connor went to his bedroom and grabbed his pillow from by the window. He moved it to a spot by the wall, then grabbed another pillow for Roy. 'This will be fun. It's nice to meditate with others and I haven't been able to do that since I left the monastery.' He glanced out the window. The sun had just about set, with just a glimmer of pink on the horizon. 'I don't know if I'll be able to meditate all night, but I at least want to make it until 2 am.' After all, it had been the time he'd been shooting for the previous year the monastery. 'And Roy said I didn't have to go to school tomorrow. So I don't have to get up early either.' Connor settled on the pillow in a meditative position and took a deep, steadying breath. As he exhaled, he closed his eyes and continued breathing.

Easing into a meditative state of mind, a place where everything melted away except for his breathing, came to Connor without issue. The calm that settled over him, relaxing his muscles and clearing his mind, was familiar. It almost felt like becoming another person; like stepping into another world. A world where all the answers were easy and no difficult emotions to process. No anger, grief, or disgust. No horrific, parental legacies to grapple with. When he meditated, there was nothing but him. Just him. When it was just him alone, Connor felt like he was at his most authentic. No expectations or judgments. Just Connor as he was. Connor was so into his meditation, that he hardly registered Roy entering the room and joining him.

The two meditated side-by-side for several hours. Around 10 pm, after a little over three hours, Roy had to give up. He couldn't keep up the concentration required and was ready for a good night's sleep. When he stood and looked back at Connor, the sight of the teen caused him to pause. Connor was silent and still— not even his chest moved with his inhaling and exhaling. There was something so…serene and peaceful about it. For someone who'd been so guarded around him lately, Roy was suddenly faced with what seemed like a different Connor. There was something almost vulnerable about it. It gave Roy the distinct feeling this was the Connor hidden behind the teen's walls. The apparent sincerity of the moment pushed Roy to exit as silently as possible, not wanting to disturb the teen. 'I really should try meditating with him more often.'

— —

When Roy woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was check on Connor. The teen was fast sleep, despite it being almost 9:30 AM. 'It makes sense he'd be sleeping in since he was up so late meditating last night,' Roy thought as he entered the bedroom. As careful as possible, he fixed the blanket that had slipped from Connor's frame. 'He can sleep as late as he wants. It is a holiday after all.' As soon as Roy left, he called Connor out of school for the day, then made breakfast. Cooking the rice was simple enough, and Roy considered making a rice pudding for later in the day to eat with their cookies. By the time breakfast was ready, Connor was awake and made his way into the kitchen.

"Blessed Rōhatsu," Connor greeted as he sat at the table.

"Blessed Rōhatsu," Roy replied as he placed a bowl of white rice in front of him. "How was your meditation?"

"It was good. Peaceful."

"I'm glad."

"I really wish I could go the whole night. I just don't have the stamina for it. The monks were able to meditate for the entire night and go on to the celebrations the next day."

"What're your celebrations for today?"

"More meditation. There are some sutras I'm going to read, but this afternoon I want to have cookies and tea. Do- Do you want to join me for that?"

"Sure. I'd love to. I'll be in the living room going over some cases if you need me."

"Ok."

Once they finished breakfast, Roy took care of the dishes and grabbed some files to work on. In the past week, he'd been hired to track down a missing brother and was still in the thick of his investigation into the bank robbers. They'd continued to hit banks all over the city, however, they seemed to have slowed down. He'd narrowed down their location to a couple of seaside towns just north and south of Star City. Unfortunately, even with the DNA, he'd collected, there was still no identification for his robbers. Roy leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. 'They've already put five police officers in the hospital and given me second-degree burns. I can't let this continue. There has to be something I missed.'

Roy spent the entire morning going through the file. He scanned every piece of evidence with a fine-tooth comb, but nothing stood out. There were no new conclusions eh could draw, except that the robbers were clearly out-of-their-minds-intelligent. 'Which is always the most annoying combination,' he thought around noon as he stood and stretched. 'I'll check on Connor and see if he's hungry.'

There was no reply when he knocked on Connor's bedroom door, but got no reply. "Connor?" he asked after a moment. There was no reply again, so he opened the door as silently as possible. Inside, Connor was sitting on the floor meditating. "Sorry…" Roy whispered as he shut the door even more silently than he had opened it. 'If he's hungry he'll come to find food.' With that thought in mind, Roy made himself a sandwich, then returned to his files. He went through all the evidence for a second time that day, looking for something, anything— a pattern to point him in the direction he needed. 'If only I could ask Bruce or Dick for help.' His eyes flickered toward his phone, but he didn't move toward it. With Christmas fast approaching, the ache of being separated from his family had slowly been cursing him; like a stone sitting on his chest that grew day by day as the calendar inched closer to another major holiday. 'It's not like I could really go to Gotham anyway. I can't leave Connor in Star by himself.

'But it's not that I need to be in the city. Just…the option would be nice. For Dick to constantly be texting me the "improvements" he's making to the English language and Bruce to check in once in a while.' Part of him was surprised the only ones to check in with him were Kal and Barbara with how publicized the bank robberies had been. Then again, the last time he'd seen Dick, the younger man had taken a swing at him and screamed at him; and Bruce had simply watched with an impassive glare, so in that context, it wasn't all that surprising. 'I need them though. Dinah would always say that having a loving support system was an important part of overcoming my trauma. What if I start to regress and my symptoms start coming back?' His hands started to shake and Roy had to put his elbows on his knees and hold his head to steady them. 'I'm already having more anxiety and panic attacks in the last two months than I had int he last year.' He shook his head. 'I can't do this without them. I've never done this without them. I don't think I can. I can't. I just can't-'

"Roy?" A hand settled on Roy's shoulder and he jumped.

In an instant, he was on his feet and he spun around, with his hands half-formed into fists, ready to defend himself, to find Connor standing behind the couch, a concerned look on his face.

"Are you ok?" Connor asked. "I didn't mean to scare you but you were breathing really fast and it kind of looked like you were going to pull your hair out."

Roy swallowed and pulled his arms closer to his body. He forced a slow and deep breath into his lungs, which did little to calm the frayed edges to every nerve in his body.

He couldn't do this without Dick and Bruce.

But he had to.

There wasn't another option. Bruce was too cold and harsh with criminals for Roy to be around and Dick was unfairly blaming Roy for Jason's death, and neither of them even made an attempt to talk to him. Under the uncertainty of feeling like he couldn't do this alone, Roy understood that he had to get through it. 'I have Connor now.' Regardless of who his father was, regardless of how the teen had forced Roy to let him stay…he was there. Roy was training Connor to be his sidekick. Preparing to have a partner for the first time in his career as a full-fledged, solo hero. Maybe he couldn't do this alone, but he didn't have a choice. He needed to find a way to make it work.

"I'm fine," Roy replied, his voice a little shaky. "Did I disrupt your meditating?"

Connor shook his head. "I've already been meditating for most of the day, so I thought maybe it'd be a good time for us to have tea and the cookies?"

'Most of the day…?' Roy glanced at the clock and blinked in surprise. 'Oh wow, it's almost 3:30.' He'd been going through the files the whole day. "Yeah, I could use some cookies."

"Alright. I'll make the tea."

"I can do it-"

"No! Let me do it. U-Usually…at the monastery, the other novices and I would make tea for the monks on Rōhatsu."

"Ok. Go for it then." When Connor left to make the tea, Roy sat back down on the couch and cleaned up his file. 'I should probably put it away for the rest of the day.' While he was putting it in the hidden compartment of his work bag though, another file caught his eye. It wasn't a normal work file, it didn't have one of the rainbow tabs he used to organize them, it was plain and unmarked. Roy took the file from the bag and opened it. As it did every time, the picture of him from his social services file, age 12, caused his breath to catch in his throat. It'd been three months, but he still had no answers about the detective's file. With the truth out, there weren't a lot of options left for him. 'I don't know what to do. Detective Rodgerson seems like a nice enough guy. I really should give him some kind of response on this.' It kind of surprised him the detective hadn't come looking for an answer…but then again he'd been pretty busy with the bank robberies.

Connor returned with two cups of tea and a plate of cookies balanced in his arms. "Did you want milk or sugar in your tea? I like mine black."

"Black is fine." Roy put the file away, then stowed his bag on the end of the couch. He accepted the cup and took a sip. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Connor sat down on the other end of the couch.

'He's not sitting in the armchair?' Roy wondered as he reached for a fig leaf cookie. He didn't say anything in case it caused the teen to move, but the gesture was nice. "Did you have a…good meditation session?"

"I did. It was calming."

"Are you used to meditating for most of the day?"

"Kind of. We were always trying to improve our focus and stamina for meditation, but we always had a lot of chores to do too."

"Chores?"

"Yeah. We had to work the garden where our food was grown, do laundry, clean the monastery, cook. And that was on top of schoolwork, Buddhist studies, and learning Aikido."

"Wow. I never expected the life of a mink to be so…busy."

"It was busy, but not the mindless busy you'd find in the world at large. Everything we did had a purpose. We worked in the garden because we needed food to eat and sell for the food we didn't have. We cooked because we needed to eat. We cleaned and did the laundry because it was necessary. Same with schoolwork. We were required to have some kind of basic education. Everything we did had a purpose. Nothing was spent on something that didn't matter."

"Even Aikido?"

"Aikido was part of our turning as monks. Learning it was a way for us to learn about our bodies and connect spiritually."

"I see." Roy took another sip of his tea. 'This is the most he's ever shared with me.' It was nice to see Connor so open and relaxed for a little while. "Are you going to meditate again tonight?"

"Yes, but before I do, I'm going to read Sutras."

"Sutras?"

"Writings of the Buddha."

"Ah, I see. Well, would it be ok if I joined you again tonight for meditation?"

Connor shook his head. "I don't mind it. It's nice to meditate with someone else; even if you're not Buddhist."

"I'm glad."

There was a moment of silence where Connor stared at his tea before he spoke again. "Um…since you celebrated Rōhatsu with me, I want to celebrate Christmas with you."

Roy looked up as he reached for another cookie. "What?"

"I thought it'd be fair."

"Connor…you don't have to celebrate Christmas if you don't want to. I won't force you to."

"I know but…it's an important holiday to you, right?"

"I mean…yeah. It's always been a time to be with family and friends." When he was growing up on the reservation, it'd meant a large dinner with Brave Bow and his many friends and extended family. In Gotham, it had been a day of relaxing and movies with his newer family. Even with Oliver, Christmas had been one of the good days where Roy had been all to convict himself the man's charisma and gifts made up for the constant abuse and neglect. The holiday held a special place in his heart.

Connor nodded. "And Rōhatsu is important to me. We celebrated my important holiday, so next, we'll celebrate yours. I want to, Roy."

"Why?"

"Because…you gave me a chance. Most- Most people probably wouldn't have given me a second glance after finding out who my dad was. But you took me in, despite all he did to you."

Roy resisted the urge to sigh. "Connor, I've told you, nothing that Oliver did is on you. You shouldn't worry about it. And you don't owe me for giving you chance. It's what any reasonable person would've done."

"It's in the spirit of Buddhism and Rōhatsu to do good things for others." Especially for those, you cared about, but Connor couldn't bring himself to add that part. "I really want to celebrate Christmas with you, Roy. However, you celebrate it."

"Well…I guess I'll have to find a meatless alternative to a Christmas ham. Maybe a nice eggplant."

"I like eggplant."

"Good. I guess you'll need a stocking too."

"What do you usually do on Christmas?"

"Normal stuff. Open presents and watch Christmas movies."

Connor glanced down. "Do- Do you think we could watch Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause? It- It was my mom's favorite movie. She'd make me watch it every year."

Roy smiled a small, sad smile. "Of course."

"Good. I- I think she'd like it if we did. You know…in her memory."

"I could never so no to a proposal like that."

"Thanks." Connor quickly wiped his eyes with the edge of his sleeve and Roy pretended not to notice while he grabbed another cookie.

They lasted back into silence as they finished their tea and cookies, but it was a comfortable silence. When Connor finished his tea, he silently retreated to his room to read his Sutras. He sat on the floor near his window, seeking the warm light of the late afternoon sun. 'It's kind of weird sharing so much with Roy,' he thought as he opened the book in his lap. 'But it was…nice. He's a nice person and…it'd be great not to feel so sad and lonely all the time.' Even meditation could only do so much to calm him down and stabilize his mood. 'He even went to the trouble of trying to make sure we could celebrate Rōhatsu, even if he didn't completely understand how.' The gesture still gave him a warm and fuzzy feeling in his chest. 'Maybe I can get used to living here.'

While Connor was in his room, Roy cleaned the apartment, then policed the wooden bow Bruce had given him. As he cleaned, he thought about what kinds of things he wanted to do with Connor at Christmas. 'Movies are a must. Stockings too. I even have the perfect gift to give him.' By the time he was finished, most of his yuletide festivities had been planned and he was thoroughly more excited about the approaching holiday than he had 10 hours prior. Connor emerged from his bedroom again, so the two of them enjoyed another meal of rice and milk. Throughout the meal, Connor talked intermittently about living at the monastery and the various chores he'd done there.

'I think I need to give him more responsibility,' Roy thought when the meal was finished and Connor had finished talking about summers spent weeding the vegetable garden they'd had at the monastery. 'I thought I was being nice by going him so much free time, but I think he'd feel more at home with things to do. He's clearly not used to being idle.' Chores mixed with vigilante training and homework might given Connor the sense of purpose he clearly craved in his life. 'Anything to make him as relaxed as he's been today.'

After dinner, the two meditated again until midnight. This time, however, they did in the living room after pushing the coffee table out of the way. It was calm and silent between them; with neither of the two feeling, they needed to justify being near each other. By the time it was midnight, it was the calmest and least tense as it had been since Connor had come to live with Roy; and neither of them minded.

— —

Unfortunately, Roy and Connor had to leave their small bubble of peace for the real world. While they'd had to go back to their usual lives, there was a noticeable change in their relationship. Connor stopped immediately retreating to his bedroom when he came home from school, and instead worked on it in the living room. He even stayed after Roy returned from work. Roy also started giving Connor more chores by asking him to do the dishes every other night and getting the teen to help him cook. The cooking chore was proving to be extremely useful, as Connor was relaxed and more willing to talk about his school day when he was cooking. It wasn't a huge leap forward, but even the small improvement was a nice change of pace.

It put Roy in a great mood as Christmas got closer. Eventually, he erected a small Christmas tree in the living room next to the Rōhatsu fig tree. It was a nice display in his opinion. Preparing for the holiday and finishing Connor's present on top of his normal responsibilities were tiring, but also kind of invigorating. At the very least it distracted Roy from the fact that he still hadn't heard from Bruce or Dick.

By Christmas Eve, Roy had everything set and couldn't wait to give Connor his present. They spent the night making gingerbread houses and Roy presented Connor with a stocking to hang.

"Are you excited for tomorrow?" Roy asked.

"I am," Connor nodded as he hung up his stocking. "It's been years since I celebrated Christmas. Plus I don't have school for two and a half weeks, so that's also something to look forward to."

Roy smiled at him. "Tomorrow will be great. I promise."

— —

On Christmas morning, Roy found Connor mediating in his bedroom. He retreated to the living room to wait for the teen to venture out. When he did, Roy smiled from the couch. "Merry Christmas," he said.

"Merry Christmas," Connor replied. He sat on the other end of the couch and glanced at the tree.

"The presents under there are for you. It's just a couple of things because I have a…big present but you won't get it unit later."

"A big present?"

"Mhm. Not until tonight though. You'll just have to open the small ones for now."

"That's fine." Connor retrieved the five gifts from under the tree, as well as a smaller present wrapped in cheap, shiny paper from the back of the tree. "This one is for you."

"Aww, thanks."

Connor opened his presents to find a couple of books and some new clothes. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Roy opened the present Connor had given him. It was a small, wooden bow (about six inches in length) and three arrows in a small box with a glass lid. Like a shadow box.

"We had to make something in woodshop class. These were the only stencils I liked and… I didn't know what else to do with them. I even made the box and super-glued the glass to the lid."

"It's great. I love it."

"Really?"

"Yes. Do you like your presents?"

"I do. I needed a new sweater."

"I noticed." Roy glanced at the clock. "Ok. I'll make us some breakfast, then we can start in on some movies."

"I'm gonna go get dressed." Connor retreated to his bedroom to put on the new outfit Roy had gotten him. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror in the bedroom. The dark blue jeans, a dark green collared, short-sleeve shirt, and a matching sweater. 'I'm glad Roy's gotten over my favorite color being green.' He returned to the living room to find Roy had made them eggs, toast, and some kind of thin meat?

"It's tofu bacon," Roy said to the confused look Connor gave him. "Sort of. I sliced up the tofu into thin strips like bacon and then fried it. Go ahead, give it a try."

Connor sat down and picked up a piece of the tofu bacon. He took a cautious bite and immediately schooled his face to keep his disgust from showing. 'I had no idea you could do something this gross to tofu.' And judging by the look on Roy's face, the man was actually enjoying it. "Mmm…"

"You like it?"

"It's…different."

Roy took another bite. "Very…different."

Connor raised his eyebrows at the tone. "Different?"

"You know, it doesn't have the same texture or…taste as regular bacon."

"That taste being good?"

Roy snorted, just barely able to keep himself from laughing. "Yeah, like being good. You don't have to eat it."

"Best present so far today." Connor took a sip of his hot chocolate. "So, movies?"

"Absolutely."

Christmas morning passed quickly with Roy and Connor watching movies. By noon, Roy was making a small snack to hold them over until dinner when his phone started ringing.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Good afternoon, Master Roy," Alfred replied.

"Hey, Alfred. Merry Christmas."

"And to you. How are you faring today?"

"I'm doing alright. How're Bruce and Dick?"

"Master Bruce has barely come upstairs all day and Master Dick insisted he was too busy in Blüdhaven to come home. I assume the same is true for you in Star?"

"Uh…" Roy glanced back toward the living room. "Yeah. You can say that."

"I see. Well, I thought it a good idea to at least call."

"I'm glad you did. I miss you."

"And I miss you, sir. Perhaps you shall come and visit soon?"

"I want to but…it'd be nice if Dick or Bruce would talk to me."

"Believe me, sir, I have brought it up once or twice."

"Just one or twice?"

"A day, sir."

"That's more like it. Uh…I have to go, Alfred. Thanks for calling."

"Of course, sir. Please call in return."

"I'll do my best."

"Thank you, Master Roy. I know Master Bruce and your brother have been…difficult, but they both love you very much and we are all here for you."

"…Thanks, Alf. Bye."

"Happy Holidays, sir."

Roy put his phone away and carried the plate of cheese and crackers into the living room. His chest ached a little as he re-joined Connor. "Ready for the next movie?" he asked, eager to expel the feeling.

"Absolutely," Connor replied. He noticed the slightly upset look on Roy's face and decided not to say anything. 'If Roy's upset he'd probably tell me. I don't want to pry.'

Around mid-afternoon, Roy started their Christmas dinner, complete with a non-meat turkey and plenty of vegetables. He let Connor help and the teen enthusiastically cut up the vegetables and suggested ways to cook them. In the end, Roy let him try out a few of his own recipes and they ended up with a reasonable, vegetarian Christmas dinner. They ate in happy silence, with Roy occasionally getting texts from his friends and Barbara. By the time the sun went down, he and Connor had just finished eating.

"Are you ready for your big present?" Roy asked as he stood and gathered the dishes.

"I am."

"Let's go, just leave the dishes in the sink for now. Put your shoes on. Come on."

"…Ok." Connor put on his shoes and followed Roy out of the apartment. 'Where are we going? What could this big present possibly be?'

— —

The fact that Roy lead Connor to the Arrow Cave didn't clear things up for him. "What're we doing here?" he asked as he tried not to stumble in the dark.

"Your present." Roy guided him to stand somewhere, then let go. "Ok, stay here. Don't move."

"Got it." Connor waited for a few moments and the lights turned on. He blinked and frowned for a moment as his eyes adjusted before he processed what was in front of him. There was now a second display containing a new suit. It had a dark green and red, long-sleeve top with green pants. The arms had yellow gauntlets, red boots with yellow tops, and a utility belt. On the back was a dark red hood and dark green mask with white lenses. "Whoa…"

"You like it?"

"How did you-"

"You left the drawing in the living room a few weeks ago."

"It's just like I imagined." Connor reached out and touched the sleeve. "The long sleeves won't get in the way?"

"No. Do you like it?"

"I love it." He turned to Roy with the biggest smile on his face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like it. Your training has been going so well, I thought it was time for you to get some practical training in the city."

"Really? So I can patrol with you?!"

"Kind of. You're going to shadow me and help with following people. Plus I need to teach you how to zip-line with your bow."

"But I can start going out with you, I don't have to stay in the cave and man the comms anymore?"

"No."

Connor smiled even more and rubbed his hands together. 'Finally!'

Roy smiled as he watched the teen examine his suit; the excitement evident in his body. He got a text and Roy looked at it.

Kal: 11:30?

Roy: I'll leave the window unlocked

Roy put his phone away and gave Connor a semi-sad smile. "Time to go home."

"Really?"

"Yes, but you can try it out this weekend."

"And all during my winter break?"

"And all during your winter break."

"Yes!"

'This is the most outwardly excited I've seen him,' Roy thought as they climbed the stairs. 'It's nice.' He put his arm around Connor's shoulders. "Have you thought about a name yet?"

"Uh…" Connor stalled. 'I don't want to tell him. Not yet. He'll freak out and he's given me such a great present.' Plus it'd been such a nice day, he didn't want to ruin it. "Not yet."

"Well, you have plenty of time."

"What're you going to call me when we're out in the field?"

"How about Little Arrow?"

Connor's cheeks warmed up. "Uh…" He cleared his throat. "Thank you for my present, Roy."

"You're welcome, Connor. I'm glad you like it."

— —

After Connor went to bed, Roy stayed up and paced around his bedroom after locking the door. At exactly 11:30 he heard his window open and turned around. "On time, as always," Roy smiled.

"I would never want to be late when coming to see you, my love," Kaldur replied. He stepped closer and kissed Roy. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

"I got you something."

"Did you?"

"Mhm." Kaldur smiled and leaned in to start kissing Roy's neck.

"Would this be the same thing you got me last year?"

"Maybe…."

Roy laughed and let Kaldur push him onto the bed. "I'm not opposed, but I do have a 13-year-old sleeping down the hall."

"If we did not wake up Batman sleeping down the hall from you last year, I doubt we will wake Connor."

"True." Roy wrapped his arms around Kaldur's neck to pull him down closer. A second later Kaldur was nibbling at his neck. "And I suppose we'll just pretend like he won't see a hickey?"

"From what you have told me about him, I doubt he will bring it up."

"But he could."

Kaldur pulled away. "It isn't my fault your teeth aren't sharp enough to bruise my skin."

"It's not my fault you have freakishly thick Atlantean skin. You'd think being half-human would make it easier."

"You would imagine. Besides, no reaction can be worse than Batman's."

"It wasn't that bad."

"Says the person who didn't have to spar Batman for an hour and a half without stopping."

Roy laughed. "Yeah…"

"Every time he knew I would be going to spend the night with you."

"You can't keep using Batman's reactions to our relationship progressing to win."

"So stop me."

Roy rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just give me my present and then I can give you yours?"

Kaldur leaned in so close that he could whisper in Roy's ear as he slipped his hands under the other man's shirt. "If you insist, my love."