#gothamsprotector

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-