Be Merry

"It's getting kinda late, are we sure they're ok?"

"I'm sure they're fine, Zatanna. This is Batman and Robin we're talking about. I have faith they'll return to us…..if they don't want to sleep on the couches that is."

"I must concur with Miss Diana. Master Bruce and Master Dick arriving late for Christmas dinner is nothing unusual. If anything, I'd be surprised to find them early for this event."

"Well yeah, but at the same time, it'd be nice to have dinner together as a family."

"Oh? Part of the family? Has Dick proposed or something behind our backs?"

Zatanna blushed and looked away remembering their magical promise that bound them together a few months ago. She looked at her left hand as the ring mark still remained on her left hand.

"Well no….but I mean…..you've all accepted me for the past few years. I'd like to think that we're family…..besides, I could ask the same about you…Miss Prince. Or have you changed it to Wayne already?"

"Touché, Zatanna."

"Now now, I should like to think that you ladies are welcomed additions to our little family. You both have brought the men in this vast house a lot of comfort and joy."

"What about you, Alfred? Is there not someone special in your life?" inquired Diana.

"Yea Alfred! There had to have been a Mrs. Pennyworth at some point, right?"

"Oh that was a long time ago. I've lived a full life and am content with simply having you four wonderful people."

"C'mon Al, you can't tell me there isn't ANYONE out there who's piqued your interest."

"May I remind you, Miss Zatanna, that my life revolves around caring for one of the richest and most powerful men in all of Gotham as he spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands. That doesn't lend a lot of time to…..as one says, scouring the market as it were."

"Oh hush, Alfred. You deserve as much happiness as anyone around here. Perhaps more for how you care for us. A man with your exquisite taste and skills is sure to reel someone in very quickly, maybe even more so than Bruce."

"You flatter me, Miss Diana. But I appreciate the concern. Now then, the prime rib roast should be ready to come out of the oven soon."

As Alfred retreated to the kitchen, Zatanna moved closer to Diana and quietly whispered.

"So, our beaus are alright….right?"

"Calm down, Zatanna. I'm sure they're fine. They are both some of the smartest people on the planet. It's not like they got captured on a criminal's lucky break…."

"Well, this must be my lucky break. I can't believe I got yous two bozos this easily."

"How could this have happened, Batman?! We're smarter than this!

"Hmmm"

"Anywho, you both better make yourselves comfortable. Once we ship out this last cache of weapons, we're blowing this place to kingdom come. Merry Christmas ya losers."

Unfortunately, our dynamic duo was indeed trapped underneath a kinetic force field similar to Rocket's. Earlier in the day, Gordon fed Bruce a lead on a new weapons cache and possible hideout for Bruno Mannheim and his Intergang. Word on the street was Bruno had acquired some new tech from Apokolips and New Genesis. Despite Christmas Eve, Bruce was determined to arrest Bruno and find out who the supplier was. Alien tech going in and out of Earth was not something to take lightly. Dick offered to come along and speed up the process so they could both come home for Christmas dinner. However, in their haste, they got sloppy and missed the proximity sensor at the warehouse. The second they landed on the warehouse floor, the kinetic force field was placed around them and jammed their communications. For all intents and purposes, Batman and Robin were stuck.

Batman and Robin sat down on the ground contemplating their next move.

"I can see the force field projector up there in the rafters. But nothing gets in or out of this bubble."

"Hmmm."

"We can't punch or blast our way out. Our kinetic weapons will only strengthen the field."

"Hmmm."

"No calling in for help either. He's got a signal jammer hidden around here somewhere."

"Hmmm."

"We can't dig our way out. This concrete is too thick and any explosives we use will just kill us."

"Hmmm."

"That really all you got, Batman? Just Hmms?"

"Patience, Robin. We'll figure something out."

"Sigh…I guess."

They sat in a comfortable silence, watching Intergang move crate after crate into the various shipping trucks. After a few moments, Robin's stomach began to growl.

"Oh man. I can't believe we're gonna miss Christmas dinner back at home."

"Hmmm."

"This is about to be the worst Christmas ever."

"Then I'm glad to share it with you, Robin."

"Yea…..but look at us. All hungry and tired. Our family sitting around the dining table. Big crispy roasted turkey. Four different kinds of stuffing. Thick juicy prime rib with apple sauce. Candied yams. Mac and cheese. Mashed potatoes…."

Suddenly, Batman's eyes widened and gripped Robin's arms tightly.

"And…little…. tiny onions…swimming in a sea of cream sauce…"

Robin could only look in confusion as Batman finally reached his epiphany and regained his motivation. Batman abruptly stood up and screamed for his captors.

"BRUNOOOOOO!"

Shaken up by Batman's call, Bruno actually ran back towards the duo.

"Listen Bats, if it's a sandwich you're after, we're fresh out."

"First of all, it's not Bats. It's Vengeance. Secondly, you're going to take your sorry pathetic self over to the console, release us, and surrender peacefully."

"Now why da hell would I do that?"

"Because if you don't, an upset Amazon will crash down on this warehouse and tear you limb from limb."

Catching on, Robin crossed his arms and smirked.

"She doesn't have a strict code like I do," he continued

"Yea!"

"She won't hesitate to break every weapon in here with her bare hands."

"You tell him Vengeance!"

"She will bash every single skull in here."

"Every single one of ya."

"And when she's done, you're gonna wish your biggest problem was simply Robin and me. Because quite frankly, Bruno…..we're the nice ones. So, you're gonna open this force field. And you're gonna surrender right here and now so you can be placed safely behind bars in Iron Heights. No one has to know that you kept us here on Christmas Eve with no food or water, especially not Wonder Woman. So go over there and let us out right now."

"YEA! AND WE WANT TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS IN UNMARKED BILLS ALONG WITH A HELICOPTER GASSED UP AND READY TO TAKE US TO TAHITI!"

Batman turned and glared at his partner for his outburst.

"Oh sorry. I uh….kinda got caught up in the moment."

"Yous two are bluffing. We're jamming the signal. Ain't no way you're gonna call Wonder Woman down here to kick our asses."

"That's right…..you are jamming the signal. My suit has a biometric monitor that connects to the computer in the Batcave. Your signal jammer is preventing data from being sent to my computer. After fifteen minutes of unresponsiveness, the computer will send an alert along with my last known location. How long have we been here, Robin?"

"Thirteen minutes and twenty seconds."

"…..You're bluffing."

"Thirteen minutes, forty seconds."

"….Ah shit."

"Better hurry up, Bruno."

Terrified, Bruno instructed one of his goons to deactivate the force field. Once released, Batman and Robin stepped forward cracking their knuckles.

"So uh….no hard feelings?"

"…..No chance."

"Now, about that helicopter to Tahiti….."

Hours later, Bruce and Dick finally returned to the manor. They were slightly late for Christmas, but everyone was just happy to be together for the holidays. The food was fabulous, and Bruce got his tiny onions. Afterwards, the family sat by the fire each with a cup of eggnog. Diana leaned on Bruce's shoulder on the couch while Zatanna sat between Dick's legs on the floor. Alfred sat happily on the armchair with Ace curled up beside him. He had a half a mind to snap a quick picture. He almost couldn't believe the picturesque sight before him. For a while, he'd almost given up on seeing a happy Bruce Wayne settled down with a beautiful woman to call his own.

"So…..what exactly happened to you two?" Diana asked.

"Yea, Dick. I assume everything turned out ok?" Zatanna added.

Dick and Bruce shared a quick knowing glance, acknowledging their unspoken pact.

"Oh y'know. Same old same old. Batman and Robin raided warehouse. Intergang was scared to death. The dynamic duo cleaned everything up. Criminals went to jail, and we came home to our beautiful girlfriends."

"Ahem!"

"And our fantastic caretaking friend whom we are forever grateful for!"

"Nice save, Dick."

"Well. It is getting late. Unlike you heroes, we normal gentlemen need a proper amount of rest. I shall turn in. Good night to you all and Merry Christmas," Alfred bid farewell.

Alfred and soon after Bruce and Diana retreated to their respective bedrooms. Dick and Zatanna still sat comfortably in front of the fireplace basking in its warmth while Ace moved his napping spot closer to the couple hoping for a little affection.

"Hey, Dick."

"Hmm?"

"I got something for ya."

"But it's still Christmas Eve!"

"Eh details details. It's midnight!"

"Ok fine. Close enough."

Zatanna crawled over to the tree and pulled out a square box wrapped in Robin wrapping paper. She handed it over to him as he delicately unwrapped his present. Inside, he found a gold ancient Roman coin attached to a gold chain.

"Zee…..is this?"

"Yes. It's my father's lucky coin. He passed it onto me saying that it's been imbued with a high-level protection spell. I want you to have it."

"…..but Zee. I can't take this."

"Yes…..yes you can. You're my love, my light. I want to keep you safe. Now admittedly, there are limits to his protection spell, but it will give me a little peace of mind. Dick, all I ever want for Christmas, or my birthday, or Valentine's Day, or just any random Tuesday, is for you to come home to me."

"Thank you, Zee. I'm….really honored. I'll keep this safe, always."

As he put the coin necklace on, Dick also reached around the tree to fish out his present for Zee.

"I…got something for you too."

"Dick! You didn't have to….buuuuut GIMME GIMME!"

She reached over trying to swipe her present, but Dick playfully kept it out of her reach. Finally, she tackled him to the ground and decided to be a little mischievous. She began rolling up his shirt and left a trail of kisses down his abs. She reached the waist of his pants and unbuckled his belt and pulled down his zipper.

"Zee? Uhh hehe what are you doing?"

"Opening my present silly. I can tell it's such a BIG package."

Dick turned a bright shade of red and could only stare at his lovely girlfriend. Seeing that she had won the teasing game, Zatanna climbed back up and rubbed her nose on his.

"Hehe, you're so easy sometimes."

With a peck on his lips, Zatanna finally got her present. Quickly, she ripped the wrapping paper off and opened the tiny little box. She started crying and through her tears she looked up at her boyfriend.

"Dick….what…what are these?"

Inside the velvet box were a pair of silver rings. One was slightly bigger than the other. Engraved in cursive on the inside was their affirmation of love, the words they always told each other when they needed to express themselves from the bottom of their heart. Engraved on the inside of each band was, "Because You Live, There Are Twice as Many Stars in the Sky."

"They're….well….promise rings. I know that we made that magical bond a while back, but…..I feel like these are more…..well I guess they're more real? I know it's not a real proposal, but I still wanted something to share with you."

Zatanna could not stop crying. She was blown away at how much commitment Dick was really showing to her. Sure, it wasn't a full-on marriage proposal, but this was still huge to her.

"May I?" he asked.

"…Always."

Dick took her smaller ring and slide in into her left hand. It fit so perfectly that she wondered when Dick even had the chance to measure her ring size. Wiping away her tears, she picked up Dick's ring and asked for his hand.

"Come here."

Dick lent her his left hand and she slide his ring onto his finger.

"Dick this is…..I mean…..this is so…"

"Chalant?"

"Haha. Yes. This is absolutely Chalant. They're so beautiful. I love them…I love you."

"I love you, Zee."

Just as they were about to kiss, they heard a little whine come out from the furball beside them. They looked over to see Ace sitting up almost smiling at the young couple. He trotted over and nuzzled his head on Zatanna's arm hoping for a head pat.

"Haha, come here, Ace. You're part of the family too!"

As Zatanna kissed Ace's forehead, Dick reached over and opened Ace's present.

*SQUEEK*

Ace whipped his head around to see Dick holding a little Batman chew toy. Happily, Ace got up and panted hoping Dick would reward him with his new toy.

"Ok ok! Go on boy! Go have fun!"

Dick chucked the Batman squeeky toy across the room and Ace zoomed after it.

"Hehe, that's one way to get some alone time."

"Haha. He's so adorable. Speaking of privacy. Dick, why don't we go up to our room. I want to open that….BIG package for real this time."

"….YES MA'AM!"

Dick scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs back to their room. As he entered and closed the door with his feet, Zatanna leaned up and kissed him.

"Merry Christmas, Zee."

"Yrrem Samtsirhc, Kcid." (Merry Christmas, Dick)