<-- back to main or review this story

One of the unexpected downsides of being a hero, Roy thinks, was the fact that you generally end up being pretty famous. Some people work their asses off to become celebrities, but at this point, he's looking forward to taking off the mask and costume, going to Ollie's place and just being Roy Harper for a while. Unfortunately, he's stuck at this party for the next hour and a half, and it's for charity, so he can't even sneak out the back without feeling guilty.

Next time, he's reading the invitation more closely. A bunch of heroes, including most of the various Titans, had been asked to attend a Christmas party that was trying to raise money to fight cancer. It was pretty standard stuff, actually, and none of them really mind trading in their fame for a good deed as long as there are enough people still out patrolling.

In fact, Roy would actually be having fun, except for one thing—it's Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve is supposed to be him and Lian over at Ollie's place, where there's a tree and dinner waiting for them. It's not supposed to be Roy at a party and Lian at Ollie's.

Dick appears next to his shoulder, dressed in a tux and not his outfit. He's here representing Bruce Wayne, who is officially "in Aspen for the holidays", and unofficially fighting crime, even on Christmas Eve. Roy kind of wants to ask what their Christmas rituals are, but he's not sure he wants to know.

"Egg nog?" Dick asks, holding up a cup. "I'd have brought you cider, but I think someone spiked it."

"Thanks," Roy says, taking the cup gratefully. He'd been stuck talking to some sort of politician, who seemed to think that Roy had some influence on young voters, and hasn't had a chance to make it near the buffet yet. "Don't suppose you managed to grab some of those—"

Dick's already holding out a napkin full of cookies.

"I could kiss you," Roy says, taking one and stuffing it in his mouth before relieving Dick of the napkin. He's aware that he probably looks a bit ridiculous, but the invitation promised food, and he's hungry.

Dick raises an eyebrow. "That would certainly make this a front-page event," he says.

Roy laughs. When Dick smiles, he figures out that Dick was checking up on him and barely resists the urge to roll his eyes.

"Go on, schmooze," he tells his friend. "I'll be fine. There's only—" he checks the clock—"an hour to go."

"I'll catch up with you afterwards, okay?" Dick says. Roy nods, his mouth too full of cookie and egg nog to attempt a reply, and Dick heads off, already slipping back into socialite mode.

Roy watches him for a few minutes, a bit bemused as always to see Dick chatting casually with the rich and the famous. He should be used to it himself, but he's nowhere near as good as Dick.

"No time like the present to practice," he says to himself as he spots a newspaper reporter heading his way.

The rest of the evening goes fairly quickly. He's done enough of these to have stock answers to most of the questions, and there are even a few people who seem honestly interested in his stories rather than just a photo op, which is a nice surprise. He catches Dick looking at him a few times and makes sure to smile at him when he can. Dick worries too much sometimes.

The party ends right on time, which is a Christmas miracle in itself and, after spending a couple of minutes talking to the organizers, Roy is free. He heads out to his car and isn't surprised in the least to find Dick leaning against it, despite Roy not having told him where he parked.

"So how about that kiss?" Dick asks, grinning. Roy laughs and kisses him quickly, really hoping that none of the paparazzi followed him out here. No cameras flash in the darkness, so he figures they're safe.

"What are you doing for the rest of the evening?" Roy asks once they're in the car. "Going back to Gotham?"

Dick shakes his head. "Not ‘til later. Tim's here, too," he says, surprising Roy. "He wanted to see a California Christmas for some reason. I figured we'd hang out for a bit, maybe go out for dinner, fly back around one. We don't really do much for Christmas Eve."

"You could always come to Ollie's," Roy offers, "if you think you can survive the chilli."

"He makes it at Christmas, too?" Dick asks, sounding a bit horrified.

"Just for Lian," Roy says, laughing. "The rest of us get normal food. Last I heard, Lian was helping Dinah make pie."

"Are you sure we'd be welcome?"

"Of course. We always end up with way more food than we can eat, anyway," Roy says. "I can call and ask if you're really worried, though."

Dick shrugs, looking a bit sheepish. "I feel weird just showing up," he says.

Roy laughs at him and pulls out his cell, tossing it to Dick. "Call Tim, tell him we'll pick him up, and then call Ollie or Dinah if you want."

A short time later, they arrive at Ollie's place. Tim's sitting in the back, holding the bottle of wine Dick insisted on bringing with him. Roy suspects that's Alfred's influence more than Bruce's.

As Roy had promised, Ollie is happy to have more people for dinner.

"The more the merrier," he says when he sees Dick and Tim standing on his step behind Roy. "Come on in. Shoes and coats go wherever there's space."

Behind him, Connor sighs. "Here, I'll take your coats," he offers, smiling at the newcomers. "There's a boot rack on your left."

Roy's already kicked off his boots. He tosses his coat over the banister as he passes it, heading for the kitchen, where he can hear Lian talking to Dinah.

"Daddy!" Lian says, running over to him as he enters the room. He scoops her up and puts her on his shoulders.

"Hey, pumpkin," he says. "Did you have a nice evening?"

"We made pie," she replies. "With blueberries!"

"That sounds delicious," Roy says. "Want to know who I brought with me?"

"Uncle Dick!" she squeals. Roy blinks, then turns around to see Dick and Tim standing in the doorway.

"Sorry for ruining the surprise," Dick says, but he's smiling. Roy sticks his tongue out, which makes both Lian and Tim laugh.

"Lian, how about you tell me and Tim all about your pie while your dad gets changed, okay?" Dick says.

"OK," she replies happily.

Tim holds up the bottle of wine. "Where should I put this? Ollie just sort of waved at the kitchen."

"Here," Dinah says, walking out of the dining room. "I'll take that. Thank you for bringing it, by the way. We completely forgot about drinks."

People are starting to settle around the table when Roy comes back downstairs. The table's set with the nice china, even at Lian's place, and everyone looks happy. Roy's glad to see that Tim and Connor seem to be deep in conversation, even if it is likely to be about martial arts or weapons.

In fact, the whole dinner goes well. No one breaks anything, no one argues about anything, and the food is delicious. Roy makes a mental note to thank Dinah and Connor for taking over cooking duty from Ollie this year.

By the time Lian and Dinah's pie makes its appearance, Roy is pleasantly stuffed and feeling generally affectionate towards the world. The pie is amazing, and he's happy to note that everyone thanks Lian for making it. She's beaming by the time they finish dinner.

Roy lets her stay up a bit longer, but even though she insists she's not sleepy, she starts dozing off in his arms when he picks her up to put her to bed. When he's sure she's asleep, he grabs an armful of presents from the linen closet, a bunch of wrapping paper from the stash of it sitting in the library, and heads down to finish wrapping the presents "from Santa".

After watching Roy wrestle with the tape, an awkwardly shaped box, and some unruly paper for a minute, Dick walks over to lend a hand.

"I would have thought you'd learned how to wrap presents by now," Dick says, laughing.

"I have, mostly," Roy retorts, pointing at some decently wrapped ones under the tree. "And you have to admit, this is way better than I would have managed a few years ago."

"It is that," Dick agrees, wrapping another box with efficiency that Roy envies. He wonders if Dick offers lessons. "Remember that time we tried Secret Santa, and it completely failed because everyone could tell who had wrapped their presents?"

Roy smiles at the memory. "I got stuck with Garth. I still don't know what to get him for Christmas," he says. "I chickened out and gave him a gift certificate this year."

"He's easier to buy for than Bruce," Dick comments.

"I can imagine," Roy says. He's glad he's never had to buy presents for Batman. Ollie's difficult enough to buy for, and he doesn't have half the stuff Bruce does.

By the time they finish wrapping the presents and getting them under the tree, it's just after midnight. Dick looks at the clock and then at Tim, who's listening to Ollie and Dinah tell stories about old Justice League adventures. Roy suspects he's storing up blackmail material.

"We should probably head out soon," Dick says. Roy sighs and slumps against him.

"I'll see you at the Titans party, right?" he asks. Dick nods, then leans down and kisses Roy briefly. Roy smiles up at him.

It's a pretty nice way to start Christmas, he decides.

<-- back to main or review this story