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. Christmas Eve has arrived and the two lovebirds are ensconced in the Watchtower, dutifully watching the world but also sharing the magic of the season together – she learning about Christmas; he rediscovering the joys of the holiday.
Chapter 6, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
"You will get a sentimental feeling where you hear voices singing let's be jolly, deck the halls with boughs of holiday, Rockin' around the Christmas Tree…"
Diana's perspective-
Days had passed since that memorable moment in the Watchtower training room, when Bruce had finally allowed himself to get beyond the fears of his past and remember a little bit about why the holidays were considered to be joyful by so many. The past few days had gone by rather quietly, but a quiet contentment filled the hallways of the Watchtower, every member considering what lay before them, what memories they would make this year in their homes, with their families, or together in whatever capacity of relationship they held.
J'onn had indeed accompanied Superman back to his home, assured of a warm welcome by the man in blue. The Martian still seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the festivities, but he was admirably overcoming his discomfort in favor of learning more about the traditions of Earth. He hadn't even begged once to be allowed to stay in the Watchtower, to take on Monitor duties rather than engage himself with the outside world.
Although I had a distinct feeling that he would have been uncomfortable spending his few days off in the Watchtower with Batman and I, the happy couple sharing and rejoicing in our togetherness. It simply would have served to make J'onn more ill at ease, more aloof than his usual persona. He needed to be reminded about the small little things that made up a family and I had a feeling that Superman was the right man for that job. He often was, as Flash would say, as American as apple pie; lately, he had been walking around humming under his breath, a sappy grin lighting up his face as every once in awhile he would yell, "Hey!" in the pause of the tune.
The romance between Shayera and John had obviously grown during the past few days as well – John looked happier, less stiff and stark than I had ever seen him and Shayera had taken to actually leaving her mace in her room when she joined the rest of us out in the main rooms of the Watchtower. I took the last as a sign of her mellowing, her relaxing enough to not be on guard so often, with her body and with her heart. It seemed clear to me that those two would be spending their days off together and I wished them joy in that endeavor.
Joy. Just the word now brought a happy smile to my face, thinking about the joy that had been created in my life since that memorable day on the Watchtower. We had retreated soon after Bruce had uttered those fateful words, heading to my quarters on the tower for a little bit of privacy so that we could discuss what exactly those words meant. I only knew that I was happy that he had taken the first step, that he had pushed himself out of the darkness of the cave and into the light, into the spirit of the season, into helping me learn to celebrate the upcoming celebration.
Sitting down next to one another on the bed, hands clasped, we had tried to figure out exactly what we wanted this holiday to be, exactly what we wanted to do with our Christmas. Neither of us was particularly religious – I had no real desire to attend any manner of church service knowing that my pantheon of gods was what I believed in. And Bruce was practically an atheist, having trouble believing since the death of his parents and foregoing traditional religion in favor of his own form of beliefs.
But each of us believed that this was a time of joy and a time to celebrate the things that brought warmth and love into our lives – even if it was a first for us together, this celebration of Christmas. We had decided that rather than the obnoxious overflow of gifts to any another, we would give each other two gifts – fun and for real. The fun gift was whatever we could come up with for the other that was unusual and unique – nothing store bought or traditional in the gift-giving sense. The for real gift was something that we truly wanted to give the other, a gift from the heart and the mind.
I had no idea what I was doing for either gift, but I hoped that something would come to me soon – Christmas Eve was this evening and we were supposed to exchange our fun gifts this evening in pre-anticipation of the holiday. The real gifts would wait until tomorrow, on the actual holiday itself. I had a feeling that Bruce was a little nervous about actually buying me a gift, but I too had little experience with the gift and receipt of presents. We were both trying to figure this whole thing out in our own way, hopefully a way that would echo into the future, if the gods so deigned it.
The rest of the team had departed that morning, first for a small mission followed by the segue into their vacations and Bruce and I had taken up residence in the Watchtower, preparing for our time together with the stack of boxes that he had brought from the vaults of the Manor provided by Alfred – boxes stacked to the brim with miscellaneous holiday decorations, cheerful knickknacks, even a miniature Christmas tree. Bruce had obviously informed Alfred that this year Christmas would actually be celebrated, even if it weren't on the Manor grounds. I somehow felt that for Alfred, it was more about the fact that Bruce was actually joining in on the revelry and gaiety this year and not watching from the sidelines, brooding and moody, that pleased him.
Bruce had even arrived with containers of food exquisitely prepared by Alfred for our consumption that evening, clearly recognizing that neither of us were the chef that he was. I had a little experience in the culinary arts, and I was currently trying to learn more about cooking, but I was surprised that Bruce didn't have more expertise in this field.
"Bruce," I asked him in a curious tone, "Why didn't you cook for us today?"
He grimaced and I could almost detect a tinge of red staining his cheeks. He had foregone the cowl for the day, disabling the security cameras in the Watchtower so that he could come and go sans mask without any problems or fears of his identity being revealed.
"I can't cook," he mumbled under his breath, so I could just barely hear the revelation that sent me into a fit of laughter.
"Not at all?" I questioned him, unable to stem my laughter in the face of his obvious embarrassment. It was so rare for him to admit that he had a fault, that he wasn't perfect in every way that this seemed too good an opportunity to pass up. And laughter today felt good, especially when he let out a breath that sounded remarkably similar to a laugh, almost as if he too were amused at his shortcoming.
"That's why I have Alfred," he replied, setting our dinner in the refrigerator for later. "I tend to…burn things."
I suddenly had a picture float through my head of Bruce in his Batman regalia, standing over a stove with high reaching flames; juggling pots, pans, and a fire extinguisher as Alfred looked on in obvious mortification at his charge's lack of culinary skills.
Stifling my laughter, I reached into one of Alfred's boxes, pulling out the miniature Christmas tree and arranging it neatly in the middle of the kitchen table, placing the tiny bulbs about the branches of the tree before stepping back to admire my handiwork. Pleased with the outcome, I turned to Bruce, placing a smacking kiss on his lips before giving him an affectionate hug.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent in a blur of love and laughter. We further decorated the tree – I was finally informed of the tradition of strung popcorn to embellish the tiny fir and I proceeded to munch on the popcorn while stringing piece after piece.
Bruce seemed to enjoy the light-heartedness of the day, even adding his own ornaments to the tree – tiny little bulbs, one reading Bruce and one stating Diana. Alfred had also taken the liberty of creating ornaments gilded with our superhero emblems: a little "WW" and a little bat. They were funny yet adorable and I enjoyed the sight of them, the sights and sounds of our first holiday spent together.
The scent of butter lingered in the air throughout the afternoon and I knew that from now on, my mind would associate the smell with this day, the easy camaraderie and fun between Bruce and myself. It wasn't often that I associated Bruce with fun, but it was as if he was really putting himself out there today, forgetting about the darkness of his past in his enjoyment of the present. And I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas gift for myself. I counted every smile that day and locked them inside my heart, knowing that I might need to remember them later, when he wasn't so cheerful and content.
As the time to prepare dinner came around, I put myself in charge of reheating our food, now knowing that Bruce was kitchen deficient. He removed candles and wine from the boxes Alfred had sent, lighting the tiny candles before placing them in various locations around the room. He turned off the overhead light and the soft glow of the candles bathed us in romance. I shivered a little, smiling to myself, finally realizing what it was that my fun gift would consist of – a little fun for the both of us.
Hiding my grin, I reached into the oven and pulled out our scrumptious dinner of roasted chicken, small red potatoes, green beans with hazelnuts, and carrots soaked in a maple glaze. The scent soared into my nostrils and I breathed it in, enjoying the pungent aroma and knowing that dinner would be absolutely delicious, especially since it was prepared by Alfred. Pulling down two plates, I watched Bruce disperse the silverware, laughing to myself a little as I realized that perhaps he wasn't totally useless in the kitchen. Every cook needed a fetcher and carrier and Bruce seemed to fit the bill admirably.
We sat down to dinner and light conversation, the fabulous meal only adding to the aphrodisiac provided by my companion and the wax from the candles began to drip and pool as time went on and we sat quickly. We had decided to take an early dinner in order to have time for all our plans for the evening, particularly since neither of us knew what the other had in mind for our gifts of today.
I smiled to myself, knowing that there was no way that he could ever guess my gift, even with his brilliant powers of deduction. It was a surprise designed to tempt and to seduce and, clearing the empty plates from in front of us, I asked Bruce if he minded waiting a few minutes before coming to my room for his gift. After all, it wasn't all wrapped up quite yet…
Next chapter: Santa (Batman) Baby (thanks to Leslie/ljkingoh for the idea) – On with the first fun gift!
Thanks for the reviews, everyone! So far I've gotten a lot of new reviewers for this story and I appreciate you all coming forward and letting me know what you think.
Who's looking forward to the next chapter?? Hehe. Rating will go up to Mature. Anyone care to guess what his gift to her will be?? (And no, it's not dirty or particularly sexy…)