Disclaimer: I don't own the Justice League or the episode Comfort and Joy and the characters therein.

It's Christmas time and the Justice League members have all gone off their separate ways to celebrate the holidays, except for Batman and Wonder Woman who decided to spend the few days for everyone else on Monitor Duty. Bruce has finally conceded and decided to help Diana understand exactly what the Christmas season consists of. Why did he make this concession in the wake of his revelation that Christmas was a time of pain and sad memories for him?

So you might be wondering why this isn't Rockin' Around the Clock - well, I got sidetracked wondering why Bruce would change his mind and ta-da! But I promise that chapter will be next...

Chapter 5, Don't Save it All For Christmas

"How many people are crying
People are dying...
How many people are asking for love
Don't save it all for Christmas Day"

Bruce's perspective-

After Diana left, I had immersed myself in work, focusing utterly and completely on the work that lay in front of me, refusing to think about either her words or the woman herself. It had taken me up until this point in our on-going relationship to realize that perhaps she and I were unsuited, that relationships in general were simply unsuitable to me and my lifestyle.

I had thought for so long that this relationship would be different, that perhaps with this woman, this time, I would be able to find true happiness. But I had only been fooling myself, the hope in my heart overriding the cynicism in my brain. Perhaps it was best that we had figured this out at this point; that we had yet to reveal to the team the status of our relationship. It would have only led to more confusion and chaos, the inevitable discomfort at meetings and on missions. I was more than willing to shoulder that burden along, but the others on the team didn't need that kind of tension surrounding them, that kind of distraction that would inevitably lead to discord and problems of all sorts.

And so, I threw myself into my work, into pushing all thoughts of Diana, all thoughts of Christmas out of my brain in hopes of getting my life back on track. I wasn't fit for relationships – purely for vengeance, a Dark Knight who didn't need a princess to save, just a dragon to slay.

Work consumed me for the next hour or so as I diligently focused on the screen in front of me rather than the occasion flit of worry and guilt that rode through my brain. It was true, I had been cruel, but it had been necessary for my survival – emotionally and for the nighttime activities as the Bat to continue. I wasn't about to let anyone interfere with the importance of defending and protecting Gotham.

A small part of me realized that Diana has done nothing to deserve that criticism – that she hadn't done anything in our relationship that would make me think that she would ultimately tell me to choose between her and Gotham. If anything, Diana would understand better than anyone what it meant to defend your home, to sacrifice yourself at all costs in order to save the land or, in this case, town that you considered to be home above all others.

Batman wouldn't be Batman without Gotham but neither would Diana be Wonder Woman without Themyscira, without the strength and the legend of the Amazons behind her.

And as I sat there, musing over my thoughts, a voice emerged from the darkness.

"Good afternoon, Master Bruce."

Great, I thought to myself, uncertain if I was ready to talk to Alfred about what I had done, if I was prepared to confess that I had sent the princess packing with cruel words and harsh actions. Somehow, I had a feeling that Alfred already knew what had happened – there was little that managed to escape his attention, particularly when it involved anything that I had done to stunt my inactive love life and to push away someone who had so clearly brought the winds of change, the winds of happiness into my life.

"Alfred," I replied brusquely, hoping that he would take the hint and return back to the Manor, to leave me mired in depression and uncertainty over my earlier actions with Diana. Was she asking for so much?

Thinking for a moment, I realized that no, she had actually asked very little of me over the entire course of this relationship, happy for the scraps of time that I managed to produce in between my lives as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. It was true, I was uncomfortable over the concept of Christmas, that it dredged up a lot of memories that I preferred to keep locked tight away in the depths of my mind, but it was a holiday that I could choose to make of it what I wanted. And it would be different this year, to be sharing with someone who loved me, and also to share it in the halls of the Watchtower, alone and intimate, a little privacy for a couple in desperate need of time to themselves.

I guess it wasn't too much for her to ask of me. It just seemed too much for me to give.

"Where is the princess, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked with a stiff smile, obvious disapproval written all over his wrinkled and lined face.

"Watchtower," I answered, lost in my thoughts, unable to get a clear picture of what I wanted to do. Did I want to spend the holidays alone as always, miserable and depressed, lost in a wealth of memories and using work as a cover to hide my melancholy? Or did I want to spend the holidays in the arms of a beautiful princess, a woman who loved me and cared for every facet of me and understood my obligations?

The answer seemed apparent, but I couldn't make myself rise from my seat, to actually go and offer both explanation and apology for my earlier actions.

"The holiday season is fast approaching, sir. I was wondering if perhaps you and Princess Diana were considered spending the holidays together this year."

The man certainly knew me too well, understood exactly where my thoughts were focused on, regardless of my original intentions.

"I'm not sure I can, Alfred," I mumbled hesitantly, but knowing that he would understand why I was so concerned about the change in plans for this year's Christmas, including a lovely woman whom I cared for so deeply.

"Master Bruce, if I might interject?" He paused for a moment, trying to get his words in proper order, in the most logical argument to convince me that Christmas with Diana was the right move in this instance. "Your parents would want you to be happy with your life, to find a woman to share the holidays with, perhaps even start a family and begin your own memories of Christmas mornings, of presents, of caroling and fights in the snow."

"It is not a weakness, Master Bruce, to be happy – it is a joy."

And with those words echoing around in my brain, he turned and walked steadily back up the stairs into the Manor, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Later I realized that although I often considered Diana to be a sweet naive woman, she was still a woman of amazing strength and resourcefulness, something that I would have to remember carefully in the future.

Coming up to the Watchtower after I had spent long minutes pondering Alfred's words, I had discovered that Diana had taken solace in the training room. Or rather, that she had decided to take out her aggression and anger at me in combative fashion, her warrior self rising to the forefront as she took out droid after droid. Sweat poured down her brow, her eyes flashed in anger, and her face was set in solid lines of frustration and determination, an expression that I typically only saw on her in the throes of combat.

Today, however, I supposed that she was combating me, that she was imagining my face on every one of the machines that she sent careening to the floor in a pile of bolts and scraps never to rise again.

Perhaps it wasn't the wisest move on my part, but after several minutes of watching her annihilate every one of the droids with nary a scratch on herself, I snuck quietly into the training room and, noticing that Diana was otherwise occupied, turned off the program that she had been employing.

Immediately, the droids stopped, falling to the floor, ineffectual and utterly useless, and I was faced with an anger-filled Amazon, something that I had possibly not considered the ramifications of in full.

Without a word, she strode over to the programming console that I was currently standing in front of, pressing the button to restart the program, and never even looking at me. Her rage was palpable, rolling off of her in a cloud of sweat and fury that I could practically reach out and feel. But I knew that the only way to get her attention in her current state was to have her focus on me, to ignore the droids and allow me to utter whatever apology I could manage to unearth.

And so, I turned off the program again, hopefully prepared to deal with the wrath of the lovely Amazon currently intent on bodily removing my head from the remnants of my body.

She marched over to me, clenching a piece of my uniform in her fists and forcibly lifting me off my head, smashing me into the wall behind me, my head thudding dully and an ache immediately rising to fog my brain.

"Diana…" I choked out, gasping and praying that I would live through this encounter wholly and fully, "I apologize."

Straight away, I could see her anger fading as confusion replaced it and I knew that my words had, at least for the moment, saved my life and possibly my costume. She knew as well as I that I was not one for apologies, that I usually preferred silence in all capacities. But I had been willing to make this concession, to let Diana know the importance of our relationship and where it fit into my life.

I wheezed, coughing a bit, looking down at the ground and hoping that this apologetic moment never repeated itself. Although, I knew that with my track record, I was encouraging the impossible. But I wasn't done just yet and I remembered what Alfred had told me.

"I will teach you about Christmas. But I want you to teach me about joy."

Next chapter: Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree – the dawning of Christmas Eve for the couple…

To all of you who have reviewed – I appreciate it! Writing this one is a little nerve-wracking as it's rather challenging but still really enjoyable! I just wish it were closer to Christmas – it's putting me in the spirit too early!

Thanks for all the reviews! Next chapter tomorrow, I promise. And it will be Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree...

To reviewer SarahC4321 - Thanks for the long review! I do worry that one or the other is a little out of character, so it's nice to hear some feedback on that. I appreciate it and thanks for all the compliments!