Author's Note: And while everyone enjoys their Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanza/Festivus, I wrote a chapter on Thanksgiving. Can't wait for a Christmas chapter in February : ) Anyway, please enjoy a Young Justice Thanksgiving!

Disclaimer: I own neither Young Justice nor the holiday of Thanksgiving. I don't know what I'd even DO with a holiday…

Chapter Twenty Five

Thanksgiving

Desmond awoke on Thanksgiving to the smell of Turkey in the oven. M'gann had been cooking for the past three days, almost non-stop. It was ridiculous, but also nice to know they would have all this amazing food for tonight. He got up out of his bed, and pulled on a shirt and pants. He walked out, and into the kitchen. He found M'gann stirring something in a pot. He waved to her, and she smiled back. He moved to the pantry, and pulled out some Cheerios. Pouring himself a bowl, he sat at the table and began chowing down. In stumbled Superboy. M'gann lost control of her stirring for a second, due to Conner's lack of a shirt. Desmond chuckled with a mouthful of cereal.

"Dude," he said. "There's ladies in this cave, too. Put a shirt on." He didn't smile back, and Desmond could see the sleep covering his face like a mask. Conner held out a hand.

"Cereal," was all he said. Des picked up the box of Cheerios and tossed it to Superboy, who caught it in one hand while he procured a bowl for himself with the other. He poured a bowl for himself, and plopped down next to Des.

"Long night?" asked M'gann.

"Why do you say that?" asked the Kryptonian, taking a mouthful of cereal.

"Well," said Desmond. "For one thing, you're eating that with your hands." Conner suddenly widened his eyes, realizing he was, in fact, eating out of the bowl with his bare hands. He mumbled something rude about cereal in general as he went to grab a spoon.

In walked Zatana, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She plopped herself down next to Conner, and reached her hand out, eyes closed. Desmond dribbled some Cheerios into her hand, and she threw them in her mouth shamelessly.

"Well happy Thanksgiving, you guys!" chirped M'gann, the only one of them who really seemed to be awake. Half-hearted replies of "yeah" or "Thanksgiving…" were given. M'gann frowned, and took the last chair at the table. "Why's no one excited?" The three others exchanged some looks.

"M'gann," said Zatana. "I know this is your first Thanksgiving, but it's not that big a deal. I've had tons of them." M'gann nodded, and then looked to Conner and Des.

"But what about you guys?" she asked. "Why aren't you excited? This is your first Thanksgiving, Conner, like me." The boys exchanged looks again.

"I've never really been into Thanksgiving," said Desmond. He didn't add why, but Zatana and Conner both knew it was because of Ra's. Even though those two and Artemis already knew about his family, Des was still trying to keep it a secret from the other members of Young Justice for as long as possible.

"Yeah," said Conner. "And I'm just not that excited. I don't know… food is food, you know?" M'gann made a pouty face, and floated away to continue stirring. Conner turned to Zatana and Desmond. "What's with her?" Desmond and Zatana smirked.

"How're we supposed to know?" asked Des.

"She's your girlfriend," finished Zatana. Desmond nodded in agreement. "Go talk to her." Prompted Zatana. Conner sighed, rubbed his face of sleep again, and got up from the table. Zatana turned to Des, who was taking another spoonful of cereal. "Speaking of girlfriends, you going to wish Artemis a happy Thanksgiving?" Desmond nearly choked on his cereal. He coughed, swallowing it down. What was Zatana implying? Geez…

"What about you?" he asked her, somewhat defensively.

"What about me?" asked the magician.

"Oh come on," said Desmond. "You're not an idiot, Z. Robin's obviously got the hots for you, and you like him back." Zatana blushed heavily, and looked away. Desmond nodded.

"That's what I thought," he said. "The others are dropping by the cave later. We'll both tell them happy Thanksgiving." Zatana shrugged, then smiled almost wickedly.

"Kissed her yet?" asked Zatana.

"What?"

"You heard me," she said. "Have you kissed Artemis yet?" Now it was Desmond's turn to look away, and blush slightly. Zatana sat back in her chair, looking smug.

"That's what I thought," she said, matter-of-factly. "So shove it, Shift-head." That name never got old.

XxXxX

Some time passed, and it was now the afternoon. M'gann had pretty much wrapped up all the cooking, and was going back to the kitchen periodically just to check on a few things. Conner, Des and Zatana were relaxing in the living room, watching some Thanksgiving specials. Then they heard the Zeta-tube kick up, and quickly went to the Mission Room. M'gann joined them, and the four heroes found Kaldur, Artemis, Wally, and Robin. They were joined by Captain Marvel, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Aquaman, Flash and even Batman. The four residents of Mount Justice instantly invited the heroes and their teammates inside, and they all met in the living room.

"Whatever you are cooking smells delicious, M'gann," Martian Manhunter praised his niece. "You are an excellent chef of earth cuisine." M'gann beamed.

"Thank you, uncle J'onn," she said.

"Yeah, smells great in here," said Kid Flash. He looked at his uncle, who nodded. Then, in a flurry of red (from Flash) and blue (Wally's jacket) there was suddenly a substantial amount of side dish missing from the counter, as it was now in the speedsters' arms. They quickly munched away, as the teens chuckled, and Batman groaned.

"Are you guys going to have Thanksgiving in the Watchtower?" Desmond asked, mostly directing it to Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, the heroes who didn't have other people like them to celebrate.

"I will be staying with a friend of mine this evening," said Martian Manhunter. Desmond looked to M'gann, but she seemed equally confused.

"And my king and I will be spending the night in Atlantis," answered Aqualad for his mentor. "We have a holiday very similar to your Thanksgiving. Just without the turkey, of course." This got a laugh from a few heroes. Kaldur's jokes were rare, so people often laughed more than natural for them.

"In fact," said Batman, glancing at his holographic watch. "The League members and I should be leaving. We just dropped by to wish you all a happy holiday. And now that that's done…" he turned to leave.

"Wait!" called Conner unexpectedly. Batman turned back to him, eyebrow raised. "Uh… Superman?" asked the Kryptonian hopefully. All eyes went to the floor. Batman sadly shook his head, then left with the rest of the Leaguers.

XxXxX

The full team had been just relaxing for a while now, watching television or getting whatever delicious food Megan could spare. Robin and Zatana sat on a couch, and Desmond sat with Artemis. Wally, persistent as always, was in the kitchen with M'gann. Even her relationship with Conner wouldn't keep him away. Kaldur and Conner each had their own chair. The time they spent together was filled with talking, laughter, and TV watching, like a holiday should.

Slowly, team members began leaving. First was Wally, hoping to get home in time to have some pre-meal food. The team wished him a good Thanksgiving, and he was gone. Next went Kaldur, eager to return to see his king once again. They bid him a well holiday, and he departed. Robin got up to go, saying if he wasn't at the Batcave in twenty minutes, Batman would wring his neck. Zatana walked hi m out. When she returned and sat down, both Artemis and Desmond raised their eyebrows at her expectantly.

"Well…?" asked Artemis. Zatana, in response, threw a couch cushion at the two other heroes, who laughed it off.

Eventually it became time for Artemis to leave as well, saying she would be with Green Arrow (though Zatana and Conner knew the truth; that she would be with her mom, the retired villain Huntress.)

"I'll walk you out," offered Desmond. The two got up, and moved to go to the mission room. Zatana elbowed Desmond in the side as he passed her, and she gave him a thumbs up. He gave her a less polite gesture, but meant it jokingly, of course. The two teens walked into the mission room, and Artemis went to activate the Zeta-tube. Then she turned to Desmond.

"You know what I'm thankful for?" she asked, sounding kind of festive for the holiday. Desmond shook his head no. "You, Des. I'm thankful for you." Desmond's eyebrows raised.

"Uh, I'm thankful for you too, Artemis," he said. That was sweet of her, but kind of weird, and really out of character. She rolled her eyes, and pushed him gently.

"Not because we're a thing," she explained. "Do you remember our first mission together?" Desmond thought for a second, and then recalled it.

"Killer Croc," he said, and she nodded. "We both came out of that one smelling like crap, huh?" she smiled, but continued with the topic of conversation.

"You saved my life in there," she reminded him. He remembered; her almost drowning, and him giving her CPR. "I'm thankful you joined this team, Desmond. Or else I might not be here." Desmond didn't know what to say. So instead he leaned in, kissed her forehead, and muttered;

"Happy Thanksgiving, Artemis." She smiled, then turned and Zeta-beamed away.

XxXxX

It was some time later now, getting close to dinner. Zatana and M'gann were putting the finishing touches on the turkey, and then they would eat. Conner and Desmond were relaxing in the living room after a quick sparring session. Sitting around watching TV all day got boring, you know?

Yet another Thanksgiving special was on, and the two boys were practically asleep with boredom. Then Superboy sat up suddenly in his chair, gripping the sides of his head.

"Conner?" asked Desmond, suddenly alert to his friends discomfort. "You alright, buddy?" The Kryptonian grit his teeth as he clutched his hands to his ears. Then, just as suddenly as this strange behavior had started, it stopped. Then Conner stood up, and began to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" M'gann asked, noticing the teenager making an exit.

"Just for a walk," he said, not turning back. M'gann tried to protest, but Conner wouldn't hear it. "I'll be back soon. No big deal." He was out of their view now. The three teens exchanged some looks, and then Desmond got up and followed Conner.

"Hey man, what's up?" he asked, catching up to his friend in the hallway to the Mission Room. He grabbed Conner on the shoulder. "Something's going on. Don't try to hide it. I saw you in there; you looked like you were in pain." Conner turned to Desmond, with a mixture of anger, fear and sadness.

"I…" the Kryptonian started, but then looked away. "I can't tell you. Sorry, Des. It's… a touchy subject." Desmond knew what Conner was like when a subject was 'touchy.' He decided to let the Kryptonian go, and sort out his own problems.

"Just… be careful out there," Desmond said. He had no idea why; any member of Young Justice could hold their own with almost any threat. But something about this whole situation seemed off somehow, like something really important was going to happen. Conner nodded grimly, then Zeta-beamed away.

Desmond returned to the kitchen, where Zatana and M'gann were finishing setting the table. M'gann looked at Desmond hopefully.

"He has some things to sort out," he told her. She looked crestfallen. "But he should be home for desert." Des offered. M'gann smiled ever so slightly.

"Well…" said Zatana after a moment. "This food isn't going to eat itself, you know." Desmond and M'gann nodded, and the three heroes sat down to begin what would be a delicious Thanksgiving meal.

XxXxX

About three fourths of the way through dinner, the three teens heard a sound they didn't expect. The Zeta-tube. They all exchanged looks, all thinking that Conner was back.

"Superboy?" called M'gann. They waited, hearing the footsteps get closer and closer. Then, from around the corner, came a voice.

"Close," it said. It sounded very familiar to Desmond, but he couldn't place it. Then the owner of that voice walked around the corner, and Desmond immediately knew why he recognized it. It was the voice of Superman.

"Superman!" exclaimed Desmond, standing to attention for some unknown reason. He moved over to the man of steel, and eagerly shook his outstretched hand. "Happy Thanksgiving, Superman," he said. The Kryptonian smiled.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Shifter," he said. Desmond realized he only knew him by his code name. Superman looked past Desmond to the girls, who were watching expectantly. "Happy Thanksgiving, girls," the hero called. They smiled in response.

"What're you doing here?" asked Desmond, then realized how that sounded. "I mean… shouldn't you be off having your own Thanksgiving? Hardly anyone's at this one." Superman nodded slowly, looking around the room.

"So… Superboy is out, I see?" he asked. Desmond nodded. The Kryptonian looked around again, then turned around. "Can you come with me, Shifter?"

"Uh, sure," said Des. "And, um, if it's not to forward, you can call me Desmond." The man of steel smiled.

"That's fine, Desmond," he said. Des gave sign to the girls, and then followed Superman into the Mission Room. This was a very daunting experience. Not only was he talking one on one with a Leaguer, he was one on one with one of the Big Three Leaguers.

"What exactly is it you want to talk about, Superman?" Desmond asked expectantly. Superman turned back to the teenager, and sighed heavily.

"It's… it's about Superboy," he said. Desmond didn't know how to feel. Could he talk on behalf of his friend? And to Superman, no less? "Has he… been talking about me?" That was a weird question. Does Conner talk about Superman? No, hardly ever if he can avoid it. Well, actually…

"Not usually," admitted Desmond. "Except after that whole episode with the Ice Fortresses. For a few days you were all that was on his mind…" Desmond chuckled suddenly, remembering something. "He got a paper handed back in school, and I saw that he'd drawn tons of your S shields all over it." Superman smiled warmly, as if he was being praised.

"So," said Superman. "The anger he used to feel towards me…?"

"I'd say it's pretty much gone," Desmond confirmed. "In fact, he was only angry because you weren't taking an interest in him. But now…"

"I'm not sure about now," said Superman, cutting the teenager off. "About right now, I mean. But, Desmond, I do want to have a bigger presence in his life. It's just… strange." They shared a silent moment together. Then, Superman turned to leave, saying he should be getting back to his other arrangements. "And Desmond," he said over his shoulder. "Thank you for being such a good friend to him." Desmond smiled.

"Should I tell him you stopped by?" he asked the superhero. Superman could was visibly debating it in his head.

"It would be best not to," he decided at last. "In fact, let's not tell anyone about this little meeting. But thank you again, Desmond. You're a good kid." And with that, Superman departed, and Desmond returned to the table in time for the first slice of pie.

So that chapter was full of nice feelings all around, yeah? Desmond and Artemis, Zatana and Robin, and Superman's parental feelings finally emerging. I don't want to ruin anything, but I do have plans for the Kryptonians to become a lot closer than they were in the TV show (or at least closer before season 2.) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, had very happy holidays, and I'll see you in 2013!