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 is here and Bruce and Diana are exchanging gifts in the Watchtower.

Enjoy!

Chapter 10, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

"Have yourself a merry little Christmas

Let your heart be light

Next year all our troubles will be out of sight…"

Diana's perspective-

Looking at Bruce's happy face wreathed in laughter and smile, I couldn't help but be pleased at his reaction to my gifts. He seemed to have truly appreciated the effort and thought that I had put into getting his gifts. The board game had been a last second idea inspired by Bruce's detective skills. Flash had mentioned the game in passing the day before they had all vacated the Watchtower for the holidays and it had stuck in my mind until finally, I had go out and buy it, hoping that Bruce would appreciate the joke. Apparently he had and I was grateful for it.

The sword had been a decision that I had been weighing for some time, knowing that he would truly treasure it and treat it as a rare and special gift. Amazonian items were rarely allowed off the shores, but my mother had made an exception knowing of its importance to me. I felt justified in giving the sword to Bruce, passing on the tradition of strength and excellence embodied in that sword, the years of practice and determination that I had forged into the blade over time. He deserved something truly special, truly unique, a gift from one warrior spirit to another.

The batarang too had been a gift that I had put a little thought into, a sort of funny but useful gift that combined the two of us into one item. He had always loved his batarangs and now, he was in love with me as well. The batarang symbolized that, that combining of our two forces and I hoped that it would prove invincible, standing the test of time. I wasn't sure that he would actually use it, per se, but I did hope that he enjoyed the amalgamation of us, our two symbols together in action.

Still, watching him bent over in laughter, I couldn't help but laugh in return. It was an odd gift and the preparation of it, the implementation had taken some thought and consideration. I had ended up broaching the idea to Alfred, hoping that he could be of help with it and he had been more than pleased to not only assist me in the design, but in finding someone to make it as well. It wasn't exactly something you could find in an ordinary department store or shopping complex.

And that's what I loved about it, what had finally convinced me to go for it. Still, it was a little bit funny – a Wonder Woman batarang, a very untraditional gift. Perhaps not by our standards, but by other's, it was not only unusual – it was downright weird as Flash would say.

A huge smile lighting my face, I looked over at the present sitting beside Bruce, wrapped in that lovely paper and just waiting for me to open it. Suddenly breathless in anticipation, I tried to imagine what Bruce could have gotten for me. Somehow, I didn't really picture Bruce as the thoughtful gift-giver, worrying if the other party would truly enjoy and take pleasure in the gift that he'd purchased.

He seemed like one of those people who gave cash only or, I thought with a laugh, had made Alfred do all of his Christmas shopping. Luckily, Alfred seemed like the type of prepared man who had his Christmas shopping done before the change of the seasons into autumn, whereas I could picture Bruce waking up on Christmas Eve and rushing about the stores in the hope that he could actually find something to give, something left on the deserted shelves. Hence, the cash.

The package was wrapped in metallic red and I could tell that he had tried to wrap it himself but hadn't quite mastered the task as of yet. My presents had been perfectly wrapped. Of course, I had asked Alfred for his expertise and his advice had proved invaluable. I would have to be sure and thank him again when I next saw him, hoping to myself that that would prove to be soon.

I enjoyed my time at the Wayne Manor, whether in the Batcave looking over Bruce's shoulder or up in the kitchen enjoying a little nosh as Alfred revealed some of Bruce's exploits when he was younger, when he was still that carefree little boy running rampant around the grounds.

Staring at the box, I imagined a change in costume, a large donation of cash to a charity, everything that could come to mind. Half of the joy of Christmas, I had quickly learned, was in selecting the gifts for others and the anticipation of the gifts that you might receive. It could be absolutely anything – an ancient Greek anthology, a book of poetry, or a deed to a house. One could never quite tell in which direction Bruce's mind was racing.

Looking over at his face, I could see nervousness growing in his expression and I wondered to myself if he was nervous because this was probably one of the first gifts that he had hand-selected in quite some time, or because he was unsure of how his present to me would come across. It was unusual to see Bruce looking so hesitant and uncertain that I leaned over, placing my hand over his on the floor and brushing my lips over his cheek.

He smiled a little and extracting his hand from mine, handed over the gift, setting it on the floor in front of me. Pulling apart the wrapping paper, I then pried apart the cardboard underneath a little pull of my hands, the masking tape shredding into little pieces and falling to the floor.

"Whoops," I said, blushing a little. "Forgot my own strength."

Opening it, I looked inside and found a series of smaller boxes concealed within it.

"The flat one on top first," Bruce told me softly. I slowly pulled it out of the box, judging the weight much as I had watched Bruce do to my presents earlier. It was incredibly light and I had no earthly clue what it could contain, so I appeased my curiosity, ripping into the package to see papers staring back at me. Pulling them out of the box, I leafed through them, noticing that some had my picture on them, a few others had the name Diana on them, and all of them looked incredibly official.

"Bruce?" I asked, dawning hope rising in my voice.

He scooted closer to me and shuffled through the paper until he came to a specific one. Pulling it out of the pile, he handed it to me.

"It's a birth certificate," he told me, "for Diana Stephanos."

"Meaning crown," I answered, looking down at the papers in my hand with a sheen of tears in my eyes, hoping that Bruce would affirm the hope that was filling my soul, mounting with every second to overwhelm me.

"It's for you," he said, putting his arm around my shoulder and drawing me in closely as I snuggled under his arm and into the side of his body. "Everything in here is a different form of identification that you might need as Diana Stephanos."

"Diana Stephanos," I repeated, enjoying the sound of it on my tongue. It sounded good, sounded right, and it paid homage to my Greek heritage.

"Thank you," I murmured, the tears coursing down my face before dropping to the floor. Noticing that one of them had landed on the birth certificate, I quickly put the papers back in the box before turning to Bruce. "Thank you."

It was as if I had been vindicated in beginning this relationship. Now I knew that Bruce wanted me by his side, not as Wonder Woman, but as Diana. Bruce wanted me, Diana. I couldn't help but feel pride in that, that this amazing man wanted to have me in public by his side, even if it was by a name that was not my own. That was simply not to be.

I pulled out the next box from within the present and uncovered a small book that resembled a diary. Opening it, I noticed that all my vital statistics were listed inside, followed by something that read like a story but talked all about Diana Stephanos.

"It's a back story," Bruce explained, "a cover for you and it details what you've been up to since your birth."

Noticing something in the text, I asked, "Bruce, a model?"

Looking up at him, I could see the redness of his cheeks as he rationalized his choice of occupations for me. "It fits, especially with your, uh, assets."

"You mean my boobs," I told him, smirking a little at the uncomfortable expression on his face.

"I prefer well-endowed," he said with a stiff air that somehow reminded me of Alfred just a little bit. I laughed, hugging him, the tears still trickling down my cheeks.

"I'll have to look it over very thoroughly and see what else you've decided for me," I informed him with a smile. Noticing that he looked decidedly nervous and a little scared at that phrase, I then laughed and, leaning against him, pulling his face around to meet mine, I whispered, "Thank you," and I knew that he couldn't mistake the look of gratitude in my eyes.

Bruce was finally inviting me to share his life, share in the public aspects of it and not just the private life. And I was content with that – it was a huge step from the reticent man lurking behind the handsome facade. I simply couldn't believe that he was prepared to take this step, but he had obviously put a lot of work and preparation into putting together the guise of Diana Stephanos: the documents, the back story, and I hadn't even finished opening the gifts inside the box yet.

I pulled out the last box that was part of my present – it was rather large, and once I opened it, I realized it. It was filled with clothes, civilian in nature, ranging from the elegant to the extremely casual and I realized that these outfits were part of my new alter ego as well, for the parties on the town with Bruce and the nights at home in front of the fire. Wrapped in tissue paper were various pieces of jewelry, including a thin silver bracelet among the glitter and extravagant baubles contained in the paper.

Gently removing the bracelet from the tissue paper, I immediately slid it on my wrist, tucking it just underneath my wide metal gauntlets. Now I would have a reminder of Bruce on my person at all times and I could feel its warmth against my skin.

Also enclosed in the package was a pair of cats eye glasses that I fell in love with on sight, enjoying the fashion statement of them, the sexiness I felt that they lent to me. Sorting through the clothes, I realized that they were all in my size as well and I narrowed my eyes at Bruce.

"Alfred," he said blandly, laying it on the doorstep of his butler/father figure.

Placing it all gently back in the box Bruce had wrapped it in, I couldn't help by run my fingers over the birth certificate, the proof that I would be entering into Bruce's Wayne's public life, whether I was ready to face the hordes of Gotham socialites or not. But I had a feeling that on Bruce's arm, I would be able to conquer the world. I was still Diana, still Wonder Woman, no matter what name I was going by and nothing could shake my confidence in myself and in our relationship.

"I don't have to act like an idiot, do I?" I asked him with a budding look of horror on my face.

"Just act like yourself," he said, "and they'll understand why I've suddenly matured, why the mighty playboy Bruce Wayne has fallen so hard."

I blinked at him, trying to stop the tears from falling and I could see him searching for something to lighten the moment. "Plus with your assets…"

"Bruce!" I exclaimed, hitting him softly on the shoulder. He still winced before smiling widely at me.

"Happy with your present, Diana?" He asked, leaning down to press his forehead against mine, our lips just centimeters apart.

"Ecstatic," I replied, trying to keep the mood light when my heart was filled with an overwhelming pleasure, as if it had truly cracked open and the love inside was spilling out into my entire body, my entire life. Taking his hand, I drew him to his feet and led him down to the hall to my quarters to thank him in private.

Possible next chapter: Home for the Holidays – Diana is invited to dinner at Wayne Mansion

or

Possible next chapter: All I Want is You – BMWW finish what they just started…

Which would you prefer? Both?

Does anyone know if Diana can take her gauntlets/bracelets off?

To reviewer Anya – Thanks for making my story the first you ever submitted a review to! I love reading them and seeing what people are thinking about my story. Especially since I put a lot of time and thought into the chapters. Much as I'd love to say that I'd write them no matter what, without the reviewer support, it's a little harder to keep writing, so thank you! You're right, Starcrossed is the storm and this is an easy little story before it, the rain before the deluge I guess. Thank goodness. I will be writing some of the episodes from JLU as well, provided that interest in my stories doesn't wane and that I have the time and the want to do it. For now, yes!

There's nothing I like more than hearing that people enjoy coming home after a stressful day and reading my stories.

As for the Christmas spirit, I guess Christmas shopping time is just about started. Luckily, I'm already about halfway done, so that particular stress is off of my shoulders. Yay!

To reviewer SarahC – I loved your idea for the Claddagh ring and I came about a second away from using it, but then I thought about the fact that Diana doesn't wear anything like it in the show and decided to stick with that, so the ring kinda morphed into the bracelet that she can wear all the time. But I really liked the idea, thanks for doing all that work for me and sorry I didn't use it!

To reviewer ariana – Thanks for the review! I appreciate you letting me know that you like the story.