#GothamsProtector

[freshthoughts2020]

KEVIN CONROY'S BATMAN - original

6' x 9'

#ripkevinconroy, based on batman the animated series 

colored pencil  colored marker

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Leftovers and S'mores [A flashback]

Bruce Wayne: -sitting with my papers set in neat piles across the dining room table, poring over old expense reports-

Diana Prince: -standing outside Wayne Manor, rings the doorbell and waits patiently-

Bruce Wayne: -gets up to answer the door, to let Alfred continue sleeping, picking up my jacket off the back of the chair and pulling it on-

Bruce Wayne: -opens the door- Diana. Good to see you.

Bruce Wayne: -raises eyebrows slightly- Ah. Yes, I thought the second Thanksgiving would be a good team-building exercise for them. -pulls door open further- Please, come in.

Diana Prince: It was working well, from what I could tell. Thank you. -steps into the warm foyer, slipping off my coat-

Bruce Wayne: -clears my throat, walking down towards the dining room- Would you like something to drink?

Diana Prince: -following you to the dining room, I lay my coat over an empty chair- Some coffee would be great.

Bruce Wayne: -nods, disappearing into the kitchen for a moment, then walking back with a cup of coffee, creamer, and 2 sugar packets-

Diana Prince: -sits down next to the seat in front of your jumble of papers, smiling when you walk out- You know me so well, Bruce.

Bruce Wayne: -hands you the cup, then sits down- It would be a shame to say I didn't after all these years.

Diana Prince: With all the coffee we drink, I'd say so. -stirs in the cream and sugar, chuckling and peering over at the mess- So what are we working on tonight?

Bruce Wayne: -points out various areas of papers while flipping through a booklet- WayneTech blueprint analyses towards that corner, expense reports here by me, League crime statistics and reports on the far left. -looks up- But I really don't need any assistance.

Diana Prince: Probably not, but what you do need is a break. -starts pulling the piles away from you, trying to maintain the organized chaos-

Bruce Wayne: -begins to protest- Diana, I took a day off just yesterday at Dick's insistence. I can't afford another lost workday.

Diana Prince: Bruce, if I know you at all, I know you've been working for at least 11 hours already. You can put it on hold for a bit.

Bruce Wayne: -opens my mouth, then closes it, then checks my watch- Fine. It's 7. I will take...4 hours. Acceptable?

Diana Prince: -sips coffee, smirking victoriously- Absolutely. I'll go out on a limb here and say you haven't eaten dinner?

Bruce Wayne: -raises an eyebrow, muttering- Quite a reach to believe, I'm sure.

Diana Prince: Hm. -sets down coffee and slides it away- What should we have, then?

Bruce Wayne: -pauses a moment, then answers bluntly- Leftovers?

Diana Prince: Sounds great to me. -pulls you up from your chair, toward the kitchen-

Bruce Wayne: -half-dragged into the kitchen, listing off items that Alfred packed away in the fridge from yesterday's meal-

Diana Prince: -pulling various covered dishes out of the fridge and laying them out across the counter- Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, hmm...

Bruce Wayne: -pulls out a couple more dishes- Green bean casserole and the pumpkin pie. -looks a bit skeptical- We cannot finish all of this.

Diana Prince: -pulling plates and glasses from a cabinet- Then tomorrow you'll have leftover leftovers for dinner.

Bruce Wayne: -raises an eyebrow- Excellent. -takes a plate and puts a few slices of turkey and a scoop of green bean casserole on it-

Diana Prince: -dishes out a bit of each dish on my plate, skipping the cranberries- Can I get you a drink?

Bruce Wayne: -pauses for a moment, then relents- There is red wine in the cabinet in the drawing room.

Diana Prince: -smiles- Oh, perfect! -exits the kitchen eagerly-

Bruce Wayne: -takes both our plates out to the dining room, stopping short when I see the stacks of papers, sighing quietly and beginning to try and organize them out of the way-

Diana Prince: -closing the drawing room door, I set the wine down on the table and move the stacks of papers into the study-

Bruce Wayne: -sets the plates down on the finally clear table-

Diana Prince: -retreives wine glasses and corkscrew from the kithen- Would you like to do the honors?

Bruce Wayne: -takes the bottle and corkscrew and smoothly pops the cork out, swirling the wine a bit to let it air out-

Diana Prince: -sits down, watching your pour us each a glass-

Bruce Wayne: -hands you one, raising it slightly in a toast- To leftovers for dinner.

Diana Prince: -raising my glass- To leftovers! -takes a sip, glancing at you over the rim-

Bruce Wayne: -takes a small sip, catching your eyes, allowing a brief bit of warmth to shine through the gaze-

Diana Prince: -my eyes linger a moment before I set down the glass and try the green bean casserole- Mmh. Alfred's a genius!

Bruce Wayne: -nods- It's become a Thanksgiving tradition that he cooks a traditional meal.

Bruce Wayne: -raises an eyebrow- Granted, he cooks most of the year anyway.

Diana Prince: -chuckles- Well I'm glad. It's just not Thanksgiving without the big dinner. And this way you can enjoy it for more than just one day. -sips wine-

Bruce Wayne: -half a smile crosses my face- Four years ago, it was Dick's first Thanksgiving at the Manor. Alfred /greatly/ overestimated the amount of food we would eat. -takes a sip of wine- We were living off leftovers for a week.

Diana Prince: -snorts- You're kidding! A week? How does one man cook that much for one meal?

Bruce Wayne: -shrugs lightly- He was...rather excited to have a new face at dinner.

Diana Prince: I can imagine. After so many years with just two people, It had to be a big deal for the both of you. -pokes at food absentmindedly-

Bruce Wayne: -nods, cutting a piece of turkey- It's always nice to have guests in the Manor. It's always so empty.

Diana Prince: Maybe it wouldn't be so empty if you were more openly accepting of visitors, Bruce. -smiles and cocks an eyebrow mockingly-

Bruce Wayne: -eats the turkey- I never said I didn't prefer it empty. -looks up- But some company on occasion is nice too.

Diana Prince: -swallows a mouthful of mashed potatoes- I'll be sure to stop by more often, then. -gives you a half-smile-

Bruce Wayne: -the corners of my lips turn up, then I look down at my plate and continue eating-

Diana Prince: -smile widens slightly as I pour myself some more wine. Finishing the last of my turkey, I stand and pick up my plate, glancing over to see if you're done-

Bruce Wayne: -takes a sip of wine and finishes up my meal, standing as well, holding out my hand to take your plate-

Diana Prince: -hands you the plate, picking up our glasses- That was wonderful, my compliments to the chef!

Bruce Wayne: -nods- I'll let Alfred know. -walks into the kitchen, puts the dishes in the sink and walks back out, picking up my glass of wine- What would you like for dessert?

Diana Prince: Hm... -pondering for a moment-  Could you show me how to make smores?

Bruce Wayne: -blinks- Excuse me?

Diana Prince: Those are good winter desserts, aren't they?

Bruce Wayne: -slight hint of a smile- Diana, do you know what a smore is?

Diana Prince: Well, no. -smirks slightly- But that's why I want you to show me.

Bruce Wayne: -raises an eyebrow- I suspect it's a bit different from what you think. -walks into the kitchen-

Diana Prince: -follows you, leaving my glass on the table- It'll be a surprise, then. What do we need?

Bruce Wayne: -pulls the items from the pantry as I list them off- Marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

Diana Prince: -eyeing the ingredients skeptically- That's it?

Bruce Wayne: -nods, placing them all on the counter, then turning the stove on- The process is fairly complicated, so I hope you can keep up.

Diana Prince: Oh please, it can't be that hard. -tears open the bag of marshmallows, spilling several on the counter-

Bruce Wayne: -opens the chocolate more carefully- Evidently, harder than originally thought.

Diana Prince: -picking up the marshmallows- Very funny, now where do we start?

Bruce Wayne: -pulls some skewers from a drawer, showing you how to put a marshmallow on one-

Diana Prince: -mimics your actions, extending the skewer over the heat as you do-

Bruce Wayne: -hands my skewer to you while I break the chocolate and graham crackers-

Diana Prince: So when does the hard part come in, again? -glances back, smiling-

Bruce Wayne: -takes mine back, the marshmallow now a nice golden brown- Watch carefully. -puts a piece of chocolate onto one piece of graham cracker, then sandwiches the marshmallow, watching it all melt together between two crackers-

Diana Prince: -attempting to do the same, I squish it together a bit too much. Smiling victoriously as marshmallow oozes onto my hand- See? Simple.

Bruce Wayne: -half a grin crosses my face- Generally, one tries to keep it all within the sandwich.

Diana Prince: What's cooking without a little mess? -touches your arm, leaving some of the marshmallow behind-

Bruce Wayne: -raises an eyebrow, not reacting, simply skewering another marshmallow-

Diana Prince: -takes a bite of my smore, making a huge mess- I definitely underestimated these things.

Bruce Wayne: I warned you. -makes another, taking a bite, getting some chocolate on my finger-

Diana Prince: Save your told-you-so's, Bruce. You said making them would be complicated, not eating them.

Bruce Wayne: Fair enough. Though you complicated it by attacking me.

Diana Prince: -scoffs- Attacking you? You spend your nights beating down thugs and that's what you call an attack? -smirks mockingly-

Bruce Wayne: -shrugs- It was a vicious attack, and I feel that I'm obligated to retaliate.

Diana Prince: What do you plan to do? Toss a Batarang? -cocks an eyebrow-

Bruce Wayne: That seems a bit violent for the occasion. I'm willing to settle. -reaches over and puts a bit of chocolate on your hand-

Diana Prince: 'Willing to settle', are you? -wipes both hands down the arms of your shirt, leaving a trail of marshmallow goo and chocolate-

Bruce Wayne: -barely suppresses a cringe- You're lucky I can spare one of these shirts. -reaches out and paints a stripe of chocolate on your cheek, like war paint- The fearsome Amazon.

Diana Prince: It'll wash out -wipes some of the chocolate from my face with two fingers and paints two vertical stripes under your mouth to look like fangs- And the fearless bat.

Bruce Wayne: -bares my teeth for a moment, then laughs quietly, turning back to my marshmallow that just caught on fire-

Diana Prince: Shades of Pluto! -reaches over to turn off the stove before blowing out the flame, then turns to you, chuckling-

Bruce Wayne: -shrugs lightly, picking up a piece of graham cracker, grinning slightly- I had it under control.

Diana Prince: -gives a half shrug- Why take the chance?

Bruce Wayne: -makes a smore then splits it in half, handing half to you- Seeing as you contributed to its creation.

Diana Prince: -my nose crinkles up as I take a bite- I think we overcooked it just a bit.

Bruce Wayne: -grimaces, taking a bite in turn, then setting the rest down, nodding once-

Diana Prince: -washes the dry burnt mess down with a bit more wine and throws the rest away before glancing at the clock and frowning- Bruce, I hate to say it but I do have to get an early start tomorrow.

Bruce Wayne: -glances at the clock, quickly masking the regret that flashed across my face- Naturally. I do have work to get back to.

Diana Prince: -exits the kitchen and heads for the front door, donning my coat as I go- Thank you for dinner. Everything was wonderful. -smiles warmly-

Bruce Wayne: -nods, setting down the ruined smore and walking out with you- I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I'll pass the compliments onto the chef.

Diana Prince: -chuckles, opening the door slowly to bask in the final moments of warmth- I appreciate it.

Bruce Wayne: -stands just inside the door frame- Happy Second Thanksgiving, Diana.

Diana Prince: Happy Second Thanksgiving, Bruce. -begins to walk down the path-

Bruce Wayne: -waves silently-

Diana Prince: -pauses for a moment and turns back slightly to blow a kiss before disappearing into the night-

Bruce Wayne: -pauses for a moment, taken slightly aback, then continues waving, a slight hint of a smile on my face, before returning into the house-

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

I bet you have a special smile for Bruce, don't you?

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

hi now i only habve two questions have you ever babysat robin 2 are you dating bats

Unless you count the occasional supervision of The Team, then no, I’ve never been Robin’s babysitter.

And no, Batman and I are not dating… 

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Here when you're ready.

I'm so sorry. I understand you need time to be alone, but when you think you're ready, please talk to someone. The League is your family and we want to be there, you just need to tell us when. I know you think you can get through everything by keeping it to yourself; that's how you cope, but you have to let us in. Let me in. Losing Robin is a shock for all of us. He was a wonderful kid, and it's hard but you need to know you're not to blame. Let us be here for you, Bruce.

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

How much do you love Bats?

I won’t say that I “love” Batman, but we are close friends. Though I will say that if he were ever to leave the League, I don’t know what I’d do.

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Do you guys go on ice-cream dates?

Absolutely! I love having ice cream with Batman!

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Do you think his cape is cute?

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s “cute”, but it really completes the Batman look. He wouldn’t really look the same without it.

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Diana, I have seen you and Batman have quite a thing for each other ;) Do explain...

While I won’t deny that I don’t see our relation as “Strictly teammates”, like he does, there’s really not much between us. He focuses on what’s important: His work, the League, and the kids; that’s what’s best.

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Do you like Batman?

Batman is a valued member of the team and a great person to be around once you get to know him. He’s a good friend of mine :)

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Thoughts on Mr. Tall Dark and Gotham Knight?

Batman is a valuable League member, and one of my closest friends. His intelligence and intuition make him a great asset, as well as a wonderful team mate.

[princessdiana-themyscira-blog]

Pft, like you could get him to eat it. We all know our ice cream dates are much, much better!

He always eats it when we go. And I won’t say anyone’s ice cream is better than anyone elses. We don’t need another Bat/Flash war.