Skin glistening in light of the morning sun, which entered the dining room through arched windows facing the back garden, Damian and Raven walked through the open doorway. It wasn't the usual family kitchen/dining room where they ordinarily took their breakfast, but the rather ceremonial dining room, with extravagantly carved chairs and a table capable of fitting dozens. A taking the seats around the table was everyone that Bruce had invited to the Manor for Christmas- bar Barry and Bart, who would be there in a second, literally.

Noticing there presence first, Clark returned his fork to the plate in front of him, calling out, "Oh, there you kids are!"

Ignoring the term 'kids' -even though he would have made the speaker eat a knuckle sandwich a few years ago- Damian pulled out one of the free seats: sitting opposite Vic and besides Johnathan with the chair in his left vacant. Raven assume her place in the empty chair, surprisingly comforted by the informality of the setting.

Across the table, assorted heroes and their family were, for want of better term, enjoying themselves: talking about mundane, regular things like the food, weather, presents etc. With surprising ease, Raven found herself in a conversation with Damian, Diana and Tim about the current political state of the US, which was added too ,not long after, by Mr and Mrs Kent (the resident journalists) and Hal Jordan of all people.

"Then again, if you look at the tone right-wingers have taken regarding suggestions such as the implementation of democratic socialism or-", Damian commented, only to have Jaime -after taking a swig of mango juice- moan at them.

"Are you kidding me? It's Christmas! Not CNN tonight with Don Lemon!", the exasperation in his voice gave away to mirth as Jaime shook his head, "Whatever man, I don't understand you guys. I mean you two", he waved him hand in Damian and Raven's direction, "decide to go train on Christmas morning so I don't know what to think."

"Oh, so that's what you two were doing.", John, donning an obnoxiously red jumper, smirked, a little too Damian-like for anyone to feel comfortable.

Raising his fork as though to Jan at the younger boy, Damian's eyes thinned to slits, "What exactly are you insinuating?"

Raven folded her arms, pushing her chair out to be able to see the boy on Damian's other side, "I could ask the same thing."

Observing the affair, Clark snickered, knowing that this was going one way or another, only to get a stinging smack from Lois: Superman could take a building to the chest and still beat the shit out of a super villain, but Lois (like many of the other women in the room) held an unprecedented power that no bad guy could ever match. No man, not even Superman, could complete with that.

Sipping his orange juice as though it were tea with a hint of gossip, Jonathan stared at the two part-demons from the corner of his eye, unblinking. Downing the entire glass, Jon smacked his lips then set the cup down with a clink.

A pause.

.

Then.

"UNHOLY ACTIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE IN- aaaaaaah!"

"JOHNATHAN!"

Subsequently, and to the astonishment of several breakfast-takers, Damian and Raven proceeded to hunt Johnathan all over the Manor, with many cries of 'JONATHAN SAMUEL KENT GET YOUR RUNT, UNCOUTH SELF HERE THIS INSTANT!'

After trials and tribulations (of which I shan't detail) the boy was dragged back to the spacious dining room, caught between pleading for assistance and almost pissing himself with laughter.

Several incidents later- two of which included Damian and Raven quarrelling over who was Titus' real 'mummy' and Belladonna accidentally chucking milk all over J'onn J'onzz and breakfast was pretty much over: well, it was declared as such by Barry (who'd arrived as soon as the part demons began their first pursuit of Superboy.

"Look how much it's snowing! It's practically a blizzard!", the Flash enthused.

Before Damian could snidely remark that a blizzard was an entirely separate phenomenon, Jason popped up, helpfully stabbing Damian in the rib with his elbow.

"يا حمار!"
(Ya hemar!)

With that battle cry, the green-eyed demon flung himself at Jason, reigniting the violent yet humorous atmosphere.

Eventually, with the combined efforts of Clark, Bruce and Dick (everyone else, Raven included, much preferred to watch) the fight broke up: one could almost hear the disappointed sighs from the others that it hadn't escalated. And after much struggling and treasure hunting for matching gloves, fluffier socks and padded coats, the majority of them were standing in snow.

"A Christmas so snowy, how wonderful!", Kori, stuffed in to a suffocatingly thick coat by Dick's concerned orders, giggled, catching one of the paper-thin shards on her tongue.

Nightwing bit his lip, "Careful!"

"She won't die from a snowflake. Stop being dramatic.", Raven shut him up, pulling her knitted scarf over her nose, relishing in the warmth it brought.

It was hardly a surprise that the demoness wasn't all too fond of being cold (not that anyone ever was) however Adyn, who was still marvelling at the 'weird white things' appeared to be faring worse: he needed three pairs of socks, two wooly jumpers, a coat, ski gloves, two scarves, earmuffs and heat conservation incantations before he dared leave the mansion. Hence, the pinkish demon represented a giant sphere with legs rather than a person.

Damian smirked at the scene, finding satisfaction in the crunching beneath his boots, the stinging cold of each inhale, the scent on the wind that sung of slumber and the promise of hope after a prolonged rest. The lull of winter was tempting: just give in to the urge and slip away to the land of dreams till the cold ebbed away.

Serene.

Simply serene. White whiter than paper coated every visible inch of the outside, frosting the shrubbery like cakes in a bakery sitting lonely on display, serving no other purpose than to create a picturesque setting. Guarding the wintery patisserie, the manor's outer walls steadied themselves, somehow managing to fit in to the placid, sweet scenery. They took the image of guards, on the precipice of submitting to the seduction of sleep. 

Beyond the reach of the sugar dusted bushes and seemingly useless walls, towered the living and the dead: the living, great beasts of Sacramento green and spiked limbs; the dead, blackened claws reaching heavenward, their many fingers thinning at their ends, which had housed all manner of creature and blossom only months ago. The tress, coniferous and deciduous formed a dark mass, lit only by the light on a sun in hiding, seeking refuge behind the clouds.

Marring the blank sheet as though they were pens tainting paper, the group before Damian traipsed through the snow, feet sinking with each step.

The Kents and Amazons stayed together, John and Donna trailing ahead of them with both stuck at a loss for words. On the other side of one of Alfred's immaculately trimmed bushes, Damian spied Jaime and Bart.

Strolling side by side, hand in hand (or glove in glove), the lovebirds -who hadn't met up in more than a week- took a moment to appreciate the scenery, and one another.

"Aw, bless.", Raven's mirthful, quiet voice found Damian's ears, as low and smooth as it had been last night.

Pushing that gloriously pleasant thought to his back mental walls -which lay besides the gate closing away something far deadlier- Damian posed, "Will it last?"

Falling in to step with the Boy Wonder, Raven waved away the snowflakes in her hair, retracting her hand instantaneously to the safety of her pocket. Sparing him a look out of the corner of her eye, Raven couldn't help but allow the thought to cross her mind that Damian's expression (eyes marginally narrowed, to avoid snowflakes spiking him in the eye, lions pinker and cheeks slightly flushed due to the clod and hair ruffled by the blistering wind) was incredibly... hot. Quite the juxtaposition considering the weather.

"Who knows.", she sighed, mist swirling from her mouth, a steamy cloud.

Shrugging, Damian cast his sights towards the other pair with a budding romance -John and Donna, aka Jonna-, "Is it likely that they will figure out their emotions, or will this...indecision persist?"

"I believe they are close, just finding the words to express their feelings,", Raven smiled behind her thick scarf.

In her mind, the demoness finished 'just like we were'.
She didn't need to say it, the message hung like a drifting snowflake the wintery air. Gliding also with that thought, was the memory of the events of last night. Truthfully, neither had any clue about of how to progress from that glorious...conflicting night, where they'd thrown caution to the wind, letting is soar away along with all former ideals of what was right and what was wrong.

Damian and Raven should not have been walking, side by side, through the snow-coated Wayne Manor gardens; shouldn't have done...last night; by the gods, they shouldn't have even kissed! But they did.
Against all odds, the seemingly nonchalant, unaffected vigilantes had found themselves in that garden, embracing winter as they'd embraced one another.

And that unanticipated connection, which they'd already tested physically, would blossom with time, like with all beautiful flowers.

One only had to make sure that this flower wouldn't wilt.

A.N:

Hello my lovelies!
Hope you enjoyed that chapter-yeah, shit, it was a hell of a lot shorter than last update, but I think a nice, lighthearted chapter was necessary after the scandal of the update prior.

And just out of sheer curiosity, are there any new Damirae fics you enjoy? I'm just waiting for the ones I'm reading to update and the anticipation is dreadful, so I need further occupation!

Thanks so much for this many reads, votes and comments! This is literally just a regular part of AN's cause you lot are just that lovely! xxx