Warning: Some Language . . .

Christmas shopping in Metropolis . . . Dick led Elle through the jam-packed streets and carried her bags for her. He supposed this was his job in this relationship. He met the understanding gazes of several other men who were well-versed in what responsibilities the man was to hold in a normal relationship when it came to shopping. Empathy for their fellow husbands and boyfriends was abundant this holiday season.

"I don't understand why we couldn't do this in Bludhaven or Gotham," he asked for the fifth time. "Most of these stores are chains. They carry the same items."

Elle gave him a look that he preferred not to interpret. "We aren't going to just those stores though. There are a couple of smaller family-owned businesses near here that I want to go to," she told him. "Besides there is a sub shop that has the best Philly-cheese steaks outside of Philly just around the corner."

"I'm surprised you didn't want to run to Philly to get one that was authentic," Dick commented.

"I would have, had we the time," she came back with a grin.

"So, have you been here often?" Dick asked.

"No, not often," Elle said. "I came a few times with a friend and her family. And the swim meet that I had my first allergic reaction was held here." She glanced up at him. "I'm way too familiar with Metropolis General Hospital. Edward and Hugh brought me a couple of times when I asked."

They rounded the corner and Elle stopped by a little jewelry store. The bell tinkled as they walked in. Dick glanced around with him with a growing sense of wonder. This wasn't your normal, run-of-the-mill jewelers. Its shelves were laden with beautiful and unique items.

Elle stopped by a shelving unit that had small telescopes on display. She picked up a wonderfully crafted brass one and held it up toward the late morning sun that shone through the large display windows. She twisted it as if focusing it on something. Dick looked out to see what had caught her interest, but couldn't pinpoint anything in particular.

"What are you looking at," he asked finally.

She handed it to him without a word. Curiously, Dick turned toward the window and held the device up to his eye, and gasped with surprise.

"This isn't a telescope," he announced. He continued to look through its lens' piece with fascination.

"No," Elle confirmed. "It is a kaleidoscope. The owner here designs them himself. Each is totally unique. I have yet to find one that exists anywhere in the world that compare with his."

"It's beautiful," Dick smiled as the glorious patterns and colors shifted with every movement.

"He has several kinds. My favorite are the stained glass kaleidoscopes," she said as she made her way around the store.

A small, elderly man of Japanese descent made his way out of the back and entered the showroom. His eyes almost disappeared when he spotted Elle and grinned in absolute delight.

"Miss Arabella, you have come to grace my humble shop once again," he greeted her enthusiastically. "Are you ready to purchase another of my kaleidoscopes? I have several new ones that are quite beautiful. I think you will like very much."

"Mr. Nagata, you get more handsome each time I see you," Elle flattered him, teasingly. "And yes, I have come for another kaleidoscope, but not for me this time. It is to be a gift."

"Oh yes, 'tis the season," Mr. Nagata agreed. "Have you seen the ones on display?"

"I have, and they are lovely." Elle assured him, as they returned to the display. She waved at Dick, who was still enjoying the original kaleidoscope Elle had handed him. "Mr. Nagata, I want you to meet someone very important to me."

Dick lowered the scope reluctantly, and turned with a smile to the shop's owner. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Nagata. Your work is stunning. Absolutely beautiful."

Nagata bowed deeply to Dick. "Ah, you have found a man of wisdom and an appreciation of the finer things in life."

Elle laughed. "This is Dick Grayson-Wayne . . ."

Nagata's eyes widened. "Ooh, the young man from the newspaper article! Oh, now I see," he nodded sagely. "I understand."

Elle looked a little startled at his recognition, but smiled in spite of her blush. "Ah, yes. That's the one."

Although they had been expecting some kind of write-up in the society section of the newspaper, neither had been expecting the kind of press that they had been getting. It appeared that the pictures and speculations were going national. Neither Elle nor Dick had ever experienced that level of notoriety before. When they were recognized, which had been happening more and more often over the last couple of days, it still surprised them.

Elle attempted to get back to the matter at hand. "Mr. Nagata, I was also interested in something else I had seen here on occasion."

"And what is that, my dear," Nagata asked her. "Do you see it here? If not, I still have many things of interest in the back."

"Really? Well, let me explain to you what exactly I am looking for," she said, leading him away toward a different area.

Dick replaced the kaleidoscope and picked up another and proceeded to entertain himself while Elle finished up her shopping.

"So, did you find what you were looking for," Dick asked her as they stepped back out onto the busy sidewalk.

"I did," she smiled, holding up a package. "I purchased something else, but some adjustments needed to be done to it. He will be shipping it to Bludhaven in a couple of days."

He had noticed Elle slipping into the back to look at Mr. Nagata's other things of interest, but had been content to remain where he was. The showroom had many cases of jewelry, but, like Elle, he had been fascinated by the kaleidoscopes, hand-carved wooden statues, unusual and yet beautiful items from around the world. All were hand-crafted and unique; all were made of quality material.

"Where would you like to go next," he asked.

"Food," Elle declared. She took the lead at that point, heading off into the direction of the sub shop she had mentioned earlier.

They were only halfway to the corner when a clamor went up across the street. Alarms went off and pedestrians scattered in all directions.

"What's happening," Elle gasped, wide-eyed.

Dick moved in between Elle and the disturbance; pushing her farther from it. "Bank Robbery," he told her.

Her head whipped around. "Are you going to . . .?"

"No," he answered, a bit harshly. "You're my priority right now."

Elle frowned at him. "But . . ."

"And this is Metropolis, after all," he finished with a quirk of his lips. "I wouldn't even get the chance to find a place to change."

"What? I don't understand."

At that moment, several men came running out of the building, shooting into the crowds. Screams went up and suddenly Elle and Dick were being pushed and pummeled as Christmas shoppers ran for their lives. Dick grabbed Elle and shoved her down behind a sidewalk newspaper kiosk and threw himself over top of her. Bullets thumped into the wooden sides of the kiosk and several piles of newspapers seemed to explode into confetti that rained down over them.

"Dick!" She gasped, terror on her face. "Are you . . .?"

"I'm fine," he answered. "Stay down!"

Dick pushed himself up and peeked around the edge of the kiosk. "Where the hell is he? If he went off-planet, I'm going to be pissed," Dick grumbled.

Elle squeaked, when a man fell down near them, obviously struck by a stray bullet.

Dick was preparing to run into the building beside them and change into his costume when a familiar red and blue blur slammed down into the hood of the crooks getaway car.

"About time," he muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. He turned to reassure Elle, but didn't see her.

Panic slammed into him as he spun around looking for her. He spotted her almost immediately. She had crawled out to the fallen man and was tugging at his coat to better see his injury. There was still bullets flying about, however, and Dick scrambled out to her; dragging her back to the relative safety of the kiosk. When she would have protested, he cut her off.

"Stay put this time," he barked at her. "I'll get him."

Dick ran back to the man. Grasping his coat, Dick pulled him back to their hiding place. Elle moved beside him and began assessing the man's injury. She whipped off her scarf. Folding it, she used it to stem the flow of blood from the hole in the fellow's shoulder. Dick moved over; darting a look around a pile of newspapers. The men had been apprehended and the danger appeared to be over.

He moved back over to her; glancing down at the man she had risked her life to save. "How is he?"

She raised hopeful eyes. "He should be okay once he gets proper treatment."

Dick ran a hand through his hair, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Don't ever do that again!"

"What do you mean," she asked. She leaned over the man in order to increase the applied pressure.

"Look at me," he snapped. When her startled brown eyes met his angry blue ones, he growled. "You exposed yourself to a hail of bullets by rushing out there after him."

"But he was just right there and he was hurt," Elle stammered. "How could I simply leave him lying there like that?"

Sirens from police and ambulances alike roared into the area, forcing Dick to raise his voice.

"Endangering yourself isn't the way to do it! If you'd have been shot, then who would have been there to help him?"

Elle bit her lip. "Um . . . You?"

Dick glared at her. "I wouldn't have stepped over you to help him. You do no one any good by becoming a victim yourself."

He felt like an asshole when her eyes filled with tears. Elle ducked her head, attempting to return her attention to the man beneath her, but Dick saw the tears that dripped onto the man's coat. The material soaked up the drops immediately. He sighed. This wasn't the way this trip was supposed to go.

Dick jumped up and waved down a paramedic. He glanced around and discovered that only two other people had been struck by the hail of bullets earlier. Miraculous when one thought about it. There had been a damned lot of flying metal out there a few minutes ago.

Elle moved out of the way when the paramedics moved in to take over the man's care. Dick was there to help her to her feet. He looked her over, but despite being thrown to the ground by him, she was physically none the worse for wear. Emotionally . . . Yeah, well, that was probably more his fault.

He tugged her around the back side of the kiosk and pointed. Elle's eyes widened in shock. The kiosk had been hit by . . . She tried to count the holes, but there were just too many. He waved an arm at the buildings behind them. Broken glass littered the sidewalk and the bricks had new chips and more than a few holes in them.

"Oh," the word leaked out from between her lips weakly.

"Yes," he agreed. "Oh."

Dick pulled her to him and wrapped her in his arms. "I'm not mad," he reassured her. "You just scared me . . . Again." He pulled back enough to look at her. "You've got to quit doing that. You will be the death of me long before one of these bozos have the chance to do the job."

"Okay," she whispered.

Elle turned to look at the action happening across the street from them. Her breath caught and she boggled.

"Is – Is that . . ." her voice trailed off.

Dick grinned. "Yup! The big red and blue himself. Bruce calls him the Boy Scout."

People were coming out of the buildings and stores around them to watch the proceedings. Several clapped and cheered. Superman turned and waved to the crowd. Elle's eyes widened, and she turned to Dick, excitement emanating from every pore and her earlier upset completely forgotten.

"I want a picture!"

"What?" Dick frowned at her.

She ran back to their packages and rummaged for her handbag. She dug into it and pulled out her cellphone. Dick followed at a more sedate pace and began to gather the bags as his girlfriend rushed back to the street in order to take pictures of his 'Uncle Clark'. He tried not to grin as he thought what her expression would be upon learning his honorary relationship with Superman.

As he made his way to her side in the midst of the growing crowd, Elle was happily snapping pictures of the powerful alien. She turned to show him some of the pictures.

"Look! Awesome, right?" She was completely delighted.

They weren't bad, he thought.

"Wait," she gasped and stared at him.

Dick blinked. "What is it?"

"Y-You know him, don't you," she asked in a whisper.

Dick didn't answer her, but he smiled as he raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

She gasped again, reading him correctly.

"I want a picture with him," she said suddenly.

"You just got some," he reminded her, tapping the edge of her phone.

"Not like these," she grinned.

Her mind was working. He could see it working. What was she thinking and why was he getting nervous?

Superman was apparently just finishing up with the police. He was turning to leave when Elle raised her arm and yelled. She didn't have to yell, of course, but it was all apart of the act.

"Superman! Superman! Yoo-hoo! Superman," she hollered over the low roar of the still-growing crowd around them.

Dick grabbed her arm and hissed in her ear. "What are you doing? You're going to give it away that I know him!"

She looked at him incredulously. "How the heck would asking him for a photo op do that?"

"I can't be seen being chummy with the man while I'm a civilian," he explained. "People might wonder; put two and two together."

Elle laughed. "Of course they won't. People don't go around thinking 'I wonder if that guy is Nightwing because he's getting his picture taken with Superman'." She whispered back at him. "Most people are too caught up in their own lives to give it a second thought. It's all in how you present it, anyway. Watch," she challenged. "People will only believe I am some ditzy tourist."

Clark recognized Dick immediately. He recognized the woman he was whispering to emphatically a second later from the newspaper photos from a couple of days ago. He was curious. Dick was usually too cautious to draw attention to himself by acknowledging another superhero while dressed as a civilian.

"Superman!" The woman, he remembered her name to be Arabella Hamilton, waved at him.

He wished he was here as Clark Kent. He would love to know more about the young couple. Bruce hadn't told him much of anything; claiming that while yes, Dick was dating again, if he wanted Clark to know about it, Dick would call him up and tell him personally. So, other than confirming that the couple were indeed dating, he was still just as in the dark as the society reporters at the Planet.

He walked over to the crowd and approached the couple.

"May I help you?" Superman asked innocently.

He was a little surprised to see Arabella bounce up and down on her toes. He had gotten the impression that she was an elegant and intelligent young woman from the article, but the woman in front of him seemed almost like one of those superhero groupies.

Dick was gaping at the two of them. It was, Clark had to admit, rather amusing to see.

"I was wondering if we . . ." She indicated the two of them; waving her hand around excitedly. "could get a picture with you. Please? I mean, if you aren't in too big of a hurry?"

Clark glanced over at Dick to see his reaction to the request. The young man was blushing to the roots of his hair. Clark bit down on the sudden urge to laugh.

Acting on impulse, Superman agreed. "I don't see why not. I think I might be able to spare a few minutes."

Dick groaned. Arabella was grinning like a loon. Clark had to bite the inside of his jaw. The woman's happiness was contagious and honestly, he was enjoying Dick's discomfort way too much.

Arabella turned to the woman next to her that was goggling at him in awe, and spun her around. She shoved her cellphone into the other woman's hands.

"Here," she told her. "Take our picture, please?"

The second woman nodded numbly. Arabella grabbed Dick's jacket and pulled him to one side of Clark. She leapt to his other side.

"Okay," she grinned at the camera. But before the woman could snap the picture, Arabella held up a hand and yelled. "Stop! Wait! Don't take it yet!"

Dick leaned forward to frown at her from around him. "What are you doing? Just let the woman take our picture already! I'm sure that Superman has more important things to do than take a dozen pictures with the tourists."

Arabella leaned forward to scold him in return. "I hope you plan to smile for this," she hissed. "It's not like we're going to get another opportunity to get a picture with the real-life Man of Steel."

Dick opened his mouth and then closed it again without saying a word.

"What seems to be the problem," Superman asked politely.

Arabella caught her lip in her teeth as she grinned madly at him. "You are, like, super strong, right? Hence the name Superman . . ."

He smiled. "That's correct."

Elle glanced over at Dick and Clark could practically see him begging her to not do whatever she was thinking of, but even if her boyfriend was Superman's friend, she couldn't pass up the chance to get the ultimate photo shot. Dick loved her. He would forgive her for this and laugh about it later when they could enjoy the photo at their leisure.

She looked back up at Superman. "Then it would be nothing at all to you to let me sit on your bicep for the picture, would it," she asked almost shyly.

He blinked at her. "Uh . . ." He glanced at Dick again. Dick was looking up at the sky as if beseeching the heavens to take pity on him, but Elle could see amusement in Superman's eyes at Dick's predicament. "I don't think that would be a problem," he said, cautiously.

She clapped her hands together, delighted.

When Superman kneeled down, Elle stepped on his thigh and hopped on his extended arm; grasping his forearm and head to get her balance. She, then, removed her hand from his head and even patted his hair into place again where she had messed it up.

"Sorry," she giggled nervously.

When he started to stand up again, she stopped him.

"Wait!"

Dick facepalmed.

Elle ignored him, determined to get the picture she wanted.

"Superman, would you mind terribly if my boyfriend climbed onto your other arm?"

"Elle," Dick hissed at her.

Superman glanced between the two of them again; the grin was slowly creeping onto his face involuntarily.

"Since you asked so sweetly, how could I say no," he said. "It's perfectly okay by me," he told Dick.

"I . . . Uh, would just as soon stay down here," Dick stammered.

"Oh, come on, Dick. Please," she begged. "Don't be a party-pooper! He said it was fine. And seriously, it isn't exactly like he would be overwhelmed by the two of us. He is Superman!"

"Elle . . ." he began.

"Oh, for God's sake, Dick, just loosen up and climb on board," she snapped at him.

Superman swallowed his laughter and tried to smile reassuringly at Dick. He switched his stance so that Dick could also use his thigh to climb up. "I don't mind," he told him.

Dick glared at the two of them, but then after a moment he realized he was holding the whole thing up and making a bigger spectacle in refusing than Elle did with her ridiculous requests. Huffing in exasperation, Dick stopped protesting and clambered up; positioning himself on the Man of Steel's left arm. As soon as he was settled, Superman stood up carefully so as not to dislodge the two people perched on his arms like a couple of freaking pigeons.

The woman holding Elle's phone boggled at the sight. So, apparently were several others, although many were laughing and enjoying the show. The woman lifted the phone in preparation of taking the picture.

"Wait!"

Dick looked at Elle from over Clark's head, incredulously.

"What now?" He didn't mean to raise his voice. He cleared his throat. "Sorry," he apologized, lowering his voice. "What is it, now?"

Elle tipped her head down a bit so she could look Clark in the eye. "Um, would it be a horrible imposition if you, you know, like hovered above the ground a bit?" She grinned sweetly at the hero.

Dick didn't have to see at Clark's face to know he was just seconds from laughing outright, and that, more than anything, made Dick relax. The hero was actually enjoying himself as Elle somehow charmed the red underpants off of the man with her outrageous requests and absurdly perky demeanor.

He didn't even feel them rising; only noticed that the ground beneath them was retreating. Clark rose up about ten feet above the ground.

"Is this all right," he asked her so politely, but Dick knew by the strain in his voice that the Man of Steel was struggling now.

"This is absolutely . . ." she pause for effect, "super! Take the picture now, please," she called down.

SNAP! SNAP!

The pictures were taken, and Dick would see later that while both he and Elle had been grinning madly, Superman had been caught with his head back, laughing at Elle's terrible pun.

Dick gathered up their purchases from the pavement; no one having the nerve to swipe them right from under Superman's red boots while Elle retrieved her phone from the woman she had enlisted to help. Seeing everyone's attention was elsewhere for a moment, Dick whispered to Superman, knowing he would hear him.

"Thank you for indulging her," Dick said softly under his breath. "If you and Lois aren't busy this coming Friday, how about coming to Bludhaven for dinner and a show? Nearly everyone will be there. Show up at eight, and dinner's on me. And plan to stay for the show later. It's going to be a big hit, I think."

He looked over his shoulder as Superman rose up into the sky, on his way either back to the Daily Planet or perhaps to some catastrophe or other. Clark gave him a nod and a salute that could have been meant for everyone present, but Dick knew was for him personally.

"I'll call you with the details later," he said, turning back to the business at hand. He smiled. His plans were moving along nicely.

Dick watched Elle and the woman laughing at the pictures she had gotten. He couldn't wait to see them as well, shaking his head in disbelief. Apparently, even Superman wasn't immune to Elle's charm.

Clark flew over the city, back towards the Daily Planet. He wanted to check with Lois about their plans. Dick invited him and Lois to a dinner. That didn't happen every day. In fact, this was the first time the young man had invited him someplace other than Wayne Manor.

If they had something else planned, Clark determined to cancel it in favor of Dick's dinner and show. His reporter's instinct telling him that this was something special that he wouldn't want to miss.

His initial reaction was that Arabella Hamilton, or Elle as Dick had called her, was a bit airheaded, but now he wasn't so sure. He had the idea that there had been a secret conversation going on between the couple, and everything he knew of Dick told him he wouldn't have the patience for a long-term relationship with someone without a clue. If nothing else, he decided, Arabella Hamilton was intriguing contradiction.

He made a mental note to ask Dick to see those pictures next Friday night. As he remembered the spectacle they had all made, Clark began laughing out loud again.

People looked up at the sound of laughter passing above their heads. They smiled at the Man of Steel's excellent mood.

It was a good omen, the superstitious among them thought. This year would have to be the very Merriest Christmas that Metropolis had had in a while. So, if the citizens of Metropolis seemed a little happier, a little more relaxed; had a bit more of the holiday spirit than usual, no one would have credited it to the visit of a woman, with just a hint of Siren in her blood, to their city.

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Elle acting like the ditzy tourist . . .