Working With Red

Snowfalls and Wrapping Paper (Christmas Special)

Updated: 2021.09.02 

"Wake up, (Y/N)! It's Christmas!" 

You groaned and pulled your pillow over your head, attempting to block out Dinah's childish yelling. 

"It's too early for this," you mumbled, glancing over at your phone on the nightstand. "Dinah, seriously? It's 6 AM!" 

"Oh no, you are not going back to sleep!" Dinah exclaimed, stepping out of the doorway and into your room. "We are going downstairs to have a nice breakfast together and open presents." 

"Not hungry," you muttered with a yawn. "Wake me up when we get to the presents." Dinah rolled her eyes as she walked over to your bed, where she paused and stared down at you. 

"Up," she ordered, poking at the blankets wrapped around you. "Now. The guys are waiting downstairs for us." You hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering the pillow from your face to look up at the grinning blonde. 

"Do I have to?" you mumbled. Dinah nodded, folding her arms over her chest. 

"Yep. Come on, it's your first Christmas with us. Spend some time with your make-shift family!" Finally feeling the guilt Dinah was laying down, you sighed and pushed back the covers, rolling out of bed and onto the floor. Dinah rolled her eyes and grabbed you by the arm, pulling you to your feet and over to the bedroom door. 

"So, how did you sleep?" Dinah asked as the two of you headed into the hall. "No bad dreams or anything?" You hesitated for a moment before shaking your head. 

"Not that I can recall." 

"That's good," Dinah replied. "I know it's been a month or so since your last episode, but I just wanted to make sure." 

"I'm fine, Dinah," you said, offering a reassuring smile. "I'm not afraid to go on missions anymore, so that helps a bit. I think training with Roy has a kind of calming effect on my mind; like, it's making me mentally stronger." 

"Training tends to do that," Dinah replied. "Exercise is a great way to relieve stress and it hones concentration and focus. It's good you're finding your own way to battle your inner demons." 

"Too bad a few of them are real," you mumbled, though it wasn't loud enough for Dinah to hear. You made your way downstairs and into the living room, where Roy and Oliver were lounging around on the couch drinking hot chocolate and murmuring quietly to each other. 

"Alright, who's ready for presents?" Dinah announced as you joined the boys in the living room. "Or should we do breakfast first?" 

"Already ate," Roy murmured, taking another sip of his hot chocolate, "but we left you guys some cinnamon rolls, and there's bacon on the counter." Dinah absentmindedly nodded as she made her way over to Oliver, taking a seat on the armrest beside him. The blondes smiled at each other before sharing a kiss, one that made you look away uncomfortably as Roy rolled his eyes. 

"Gross," he muttered, earning a chuckle from Oliver. 

"Oh, come on," Oliver replied, grinning. "It's not like you haven't--" 

"Can we just get to the presents?" Roy interrupted, shaking his head. "I'm getting bored." 

"Fine, fine," Dinah replied, rolling her eyes. "Go ahead and dig them out from under the tree." The tree, which sat in the corner of the living room, was wrapped in bright color-changing lights and tinsel, and dotted with multi-colored ornaments. It was something you found quite beautiful; your father had never been one for decorating during the holdiays, so the Christmas tree was usually a chore you gave yourself. However, you felt you were never really able to make it seem right. Now, seeing the tree before you, it made you happy. This is what a Christmas tree should look like.