Christmas in Blüdhaven: Checking It Twice
by Smitty
"He looks terrible," Kon said, stirring the warming milk with a slotted spoon. It sloshed in the pan, rippling in a figure eight pattern.
The glare Cass directed at him translated to something between 'the guy just lost his father, his girlfriend, and his home and you think he looks terrible?' and 'duh'.
"Yeah, I just--" Kon shrugged. "He told me to get lost. I thought he'd want...people around." He watched steam rise of the milk and reached out to turn off the burner.
Cass leaned one shoulder against the cold-paned window and turned her head to watch the streets below.
"The city," she said. "It's mean."
"It's mean?" Kon asked, pouring the milk into two mugs. He dropped in heaping spoonfuls of cocoa powder and stirred vigorously. "Is it worse than Gotham? I didn't think anyplace was worse than Gotham." He handed her one of the mugs, which she took in both hands.
"The people. They have no hope."
Her eyes looked hollow and pleading over her hot chocolate cup. She raised it to her mouth and blew across the rim.
"Then why are you here?" Kon asked.
Cass looked back out over the city.
"Neither does he."
Author's Note: Christmas in Blüdhaven is written in the same general style as Jingle Bells, my attempt to write 24 200-word ficlets--one per day until Christmas, sort of like an Advent calendar--with characters from around the DCU. Christmas in Blüdhaven differs, however, by each of the ficlets being loosely linked and progressing toward a greater conclusion. The title was derived from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Christmas in Sarajevo" because everything and everyone in Blüdhaven is currently something of a wreck.