Hunter's Christmas

By Serena

A/N: Hunter's Moon Christmas oneshot. Had to do it. Plus... needed to write some serious fluff. I think our poor heroes deserve a rest before I update Hunter's Moon again. So this is a much lighter fic.

Takes place before the Gotham War.

Warning: Extreme fluff.

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"I don't think this is a good idea, Di," Bruce warned.

"I don't care," I retorted stubbornly.

"Well, I care."

"I don't care."

"This isn't the foyer, this is the Batcave."

"Yeah, exactly. It's dark, dirty, depressing, and musky. Needs a little light." I finished plugging in the strand and beamed, flying down to the ground to admire my handiwork. The Cave was now alit with dozens of strands of colored lights; and hanging on one of the stalactites was a sprig of mistletoe. But when I looked over to Bruce, he was glaring at me.

"This is the cave."

I nodded. "Yes, I'm aware of that."

"This is not a family room or dining room."

"Well... We do eat down here sometimes, and since Mom and Alfred have been spending more time down here -"

"Diana!" he cut me off. "Not that I don't like your spirit, but this isn't the place to hang up lights. It's not exactly supposed to be a happy place. We're tracking crime down here, not singing Christmas carols." And when I opened my mouth to belt out "White Christmas," he covered my mouth with his hand. "Quiet, you," he ordered. "No criminal in Gotham will ever fear you again if you go around belting out 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.'"

I stuck my tongue out and licked his hand; he jerked it back and shot me a withering glare.

"Thanks," he said irritably, wiping his hand on his pants.

I sighed. "Bruce, things in Gotham get worse every day. But I'm not going to let that ruin my Christmas. Nobody messes with our Christmas. Especially since it's our first Christmas with Cass, and our first Christmas with Mom and Alfred in years, so this is going to happen whether you or any of Gotham's lowlives want it to or not."

Bruce shook his head, but his stance was defeated. "Fine."

"Besides..." I stepped back and curled my arm through his. "You have to admit it's beautiful." I smiled up at the lights.

"You're beautiful."

I shot him a look. "That was the cheesiest thing I've ever heard from you, Bruce."

He shrugged. "Christmas spirit?"

I laughed, squeezing his arm. "Works for me, baby." And I pressed a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head and pressed a warm kiss to my lips in return.

These moments were few and far between, but I savored each one.

"Oh," I said in between kisses, "I promised Cass we'd go tree-hunting today. I saw a few pines out... mmm... in the trees outside..."

"Let me... get changed," said Bruce, "and we'll... go."

I gave him one last quick kiss and pulled away. "Better hurry. She's been up since six. She's practically bouncing off the walls."

"Oh, dear," he muttered.

The tree was enormous. The entire family trekked out through the fields until we came to the edge of the forest. Cass was sitting on Bruce's shoulders, bouncing up and down with excitement, pointing at every tree she could see. She'd never had a Christmas before, so everything was new and thrilling for her. As we walked through the woods, with Mom and Alfred walking at a more leisurely pace behind us, I tucked my hand in Bruce's arm and pointed at a nice fir to our right.

"How about that one?"

"It's got to be tall," said Bruce. "Tall and wide. Pretty much anything will fit in the great room."

"But will it fit through the door?" I said with a grin.

Cass tugged on Bruce's collar and nodded to the tree. We made our way over to the tree, walked around it.

"It's a little bare on this side," I said, "But we can put that up against the wall."

"It's thick," said Bruce, pushing the branches away, "and wide enough." He stepped back to appraise it. "Well?"

I nodded. "I like it. Cass?" I glanced up at her. "Yes?"

Her brow furrowed for a moment, and then she nodded decisively.

"It's a done deal!" I said, thrilled. "Mom! Alfred! We found it!" I glanced back at them as they approached.

Bruce set Cass down and took his saw, kneeling down by the tree. "All right, Di, help me out, here." He started to cut it down; I held it and tilted it back so he could make a clean cut through. Once he finished, I let it drop to the ground. Bruce cut off the few bottom branches and stepped back to admire his work. "All right... Now to carry it back."

I gave him a look and easily hefted the tree over my shoulders. "There."

He frowned. "That's pretty big and awkward. You sure you're good to carry that all the way back?"

"Bruce, I can lift a tractor trailer and throw it across Gotham City without a problem. This is light, trust me. Besides, you have to carry Cass." I smiled down at her.

Cass grinned and climbed back on his shoulders.

"Oh, all right," Bruce said, patting her legs. "Let's go, then. Let's just hope the tree fits through the doorway."

Mom looked at the tree wistfully. "That tree wouldn't even fit in our old house," she said with a rueful grin.

"Good thing we live in a mansion now, Mom," I said with a grin.

"Good thing," she said, amused.

Thankfully, Alfred had kept every ornament and tree decoration from the past years with the Wayne family, and he and Mom had also bought some new ornaments to liven up the tree a bit. I flew around and helped Bruce string the lights up on the tree, as it was over twelve feet tall, and then carried Cass up to put the star on the top, as well as the higher ornaments. It took us a few hours, but with Christmas music playing, and Mom and Alfred laughing together in the background, it was perfect.

When Alfred and Mom, Cass went to make Christmas Eve dinner, Bruce and I were left alone in the great room, the only light coming from the candles, the fire, and the giant glowing tree.

I grasped Bruce's hand, staring up at the tree. "I love Christmas," I said wistfully. "Remember that time you gave me those duckie flannel footie PJS? I thought I was going to fall over from laughing so hard."

"Yeah," Bruce muttered. I glanced over and saw him staring at his parents' portrait, and a sharp pain dug through my heart.

I rested my head on his shoulder, looked at the tree again. "Before I met you, it was just me and Mom. She was so happy to celebrate Christmas with you guys."

But Bruce's jaw was still clenched. "I've never been a huge fan of the holidays," he muttered.

"I know," I said quietly. "But there are good things that happen in life, Bruce. And I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason."

Bruce's eyes narrowed. "And my parents' death? Was their death for a reason?"

I sighed. "I don't know, Bruce. I don't know. But I do know this: I came here for a reason. Mom could've easily killed me that night. Hippolyta could've woken up and killed her instead, and I could've stayed on Themyscira forever." His hand tightened on mine at that. "And I could've ended up anywhere else - but Mom came here. And then we ended up right next to you. And I do know this." And I turned, placed my hands on his face. "That your parents would be proud of the man you've become. Just like I am."

Bruce's jaw clenched, and his forehead touched mine. "I'm sorry," he muttered after a long pause.

"Don't be," I replied quietly. "I just want you to be as happy as I am."

"I am," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I just wish they could've known you."

"Me, too, Bruce. But they would've wanted you to be happy. To enjoy your life. You have a family, Bruce. Me, Mom, Alfred, Cass. Enjoy life when you have moments like these."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I know. I'll try. I've just never had much Christmas spirit."

I pulled back, smiled. "Then I'll help you get into it. I just bought you a Santa outfit - you can stuff a pillow into your shirt and wear the fake beard."

Bruce's eyes widened in horror. "You didn't."

I blinked innocently, then grinned. "No, of course I didn't," I said, laughing. "But I did get Santa hats - which I will be wearing for the next week or so."

"Well," he said, his eyes taking on a devilish gleam, wrapping his hands around my waist, "If you feel the need to dress up like one of Santa's sexy elves -"

And I slapped him upside his head.

He grinned. "Love you," he murmured, kissing me softly.

"Love you, too, Bruce. Merry Christmas."

"Yeah," he said. "This year, it is."

Thoughts?

Yes, it was incredibly fluffy and cheesy. It's supposed to be.

Merry Christmas, everyone! :) Love you all!

- Serena