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"If I hear one more thing about vigilantes, I swear, Quen."Quentin laughed at his ex-wife. “What, you’ll come out of retirement?”Dinah glared at the back of his head. Insufferable man.”I’m being serious, Captain.”"I know, Dinah. I know.""There’s a boy in Central City now. You’ve got you know here. You’ve got The Canary, and everyone I used to know is either still in the game or has groomed some one to take over.” Dinah bit her lip as she ran a hand through her curls. “What if one of them gets killed? What if…” She wrapped her sweater tighter around her.Quentin turned towards her, abandoning the beginnings of the setup for a fire. He sat next to her on the couch and took her hand. “Anyone with your blood in them is gonna survive.”Dinah scoffed, paying no attention to the sweater sliding off her right shoulder."She’s half you and me," Quentin whispered, knowing that should get her spirits up.Dinah gave her husband a half smile as she snorted. “I saved your ass.”"Exactly." Quentin chuckled. His wife had always been straightforward when it came to vigilante and cop work. "We taught each other, and she has both sets of skills."Dinah sighed. “Alright.” Realizing his work there was done, he moved further down the couch to give Di space to spread out. She relaxed onto the couch and put her feet up. Arching a brow, she lightly kicked a foot near her husband’s lap.Quentin put his hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’m making your fire.” He went back to the fireplace. If Dinah admired his ass, well, it wasn’t as if he’d never done the same.Quentin grumbled as he tried to light the fire. Everything was in place, but the damn lighter wouldn’t work.Dinah cackled as she saw her technically ex-husband having difficulty. She was trying to keep her sweater wrapped around her, but it wasn’t cooperating very well."Shut up, Canary," Quentin shot back, still trying to get the stupid lighter to work.Dinah swung her feet off the couch and wrapped her sweater tighter around her. “Need some help, Captain?”"No." She made her way over to him. “You sure?”"Yes." He clicked the lighter again. Close but no cigar. "Fine, Dinah, have a good at it."She crouched down next to him and took the lighter with a smile plastered on her lips. “Thank you, Quentin.”"You’re not welcome." She pecked his lips.He reluctantly smiled a bit. "I was supposed to do this for you.""It’s okay." Her fingers went to try the lighter.Quentin stopped her. "Sweater."With a shake of the head, she slipped it off. It wasn’t going to stay on its own, and he was mostly right. It wasn’t the best thing to wear while doing these sorts of tasks. She tried the lighter herself. Nothing. Her hair fell in front of her eyes as she went to inspect the tool. He brushed the curls away and held her hair back for her.“Thanks,” She whispered softly.He smiled before leaning back a bit and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “No worries.” She pursed her lips as she was finally able to inspect the lighter. “I think I found our problem.”Quentin still held Dinah’s hair back as he looked at what she found. “You’ve got to be kidding.”Dinah laughed. “I’m not.”Quentin cursed under his breath once more. The stupid lighter had run out of fluid. She giggled at his cursing. He gave her a knock it off look. “Not funny, Di.”She kept laughing. “A little bit.” He shut her up with a quick and light kiss. She returned it more than he expected her to, way more than he expected her to.
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The steady rhythm of dishes being plunked into soapy water was the only noise that Quentin heard as he made his way downstairs. He hadn’t yet heard the sounds of White Christmas coming from the old fashioned radio on the windowsill or the gentle hums that accompanied it.A plate was plunked out of the water and gingerly wiped dry with a dishrag. Setting it aside, the woman hummed along and occasionally swayed. He really hadn’t needed to make her dinner, but he had. He’d also insisted on leaving the dishes in the sink claiming, “I’ll take care of them tomorrow.” She’d chuckled at that and gave a little nod before once again urging the captain to his bed. He’d seemed worn out when he got home. The attempt at a fire and the activities that had followed hadn’t helped much either. They’d both slept, but cooking afterwards took more out of him than he cared to admit. She knew him too well to believe his protests. A midnight dinner hadn’t been their best idea either, especially when Quentin had work later on in the morning. They could have just had cereal. The blonde smiled thinking of how Quen had tried to impress her. It really hadn’t been necessary. Biting her lip, she stopped the smile from becoming a full out grin.Knowing Quen had listened to her words because he knew how much she cared about him, she’d gone against his request and started the dishes herself. Honestly, the silly man should have known her better. Plunking another plate into the water, she used her other hand to turn the volume up a bit. It wasn’t terribly loud, and he was a deep sleeper. There was no way for it to wake him up. She finished the plate and drained the water. She’d have to fill the sink again.Wiping her arms off, she deemed her hands clean and dry enough to tuck a few stray curls behind her ears. Her ponytail never could contain it all. She bit the inside of her cheek as she turned the tap back on. It felt good to be back here. She’d dressed a bit nicely for him, and he’d obviously changed at the precinct because he’d arrived home in clothes that definitely weren’t precinctesque. It was silly, but he was him and she was her. She’d noticed but hadn’t commented. He’d done the same. Commenting had been the last thing on their minds when they were busy warming up. The house was chilly when one was all alone, not that they were alone. She’d have to come up with a different excuse. Before doing the dishes, knowing Quentin’d gone upstairs to bed, she’d changed into her favourite penguin pyjama bottoms and a simple black tank top. Him seeing her in this particular outfit definitely wouldn’t have been a good idea, not now, not after… Besides, wearing just his shirt to keep warm wasn't an option when he wasn't in the kitchen with her. She bit her lip once more. Thank goodness, she’d learnt how to hide a blush years ago. Now, if only she could stop with the lip biting.Getting the penguin shirt wet was not on her top list of things to do. It was the main reason she’d put on a tank top. She was fond of that set of pjs. The girls had bought them for her when they were little. He’d paid of course, but it had been their idea. . With a fond smile, she continued her task and once again began humming and swaying. That had been a really nice Christmas. The traditions that had followed had also been pretty swell.Dinah’s hums got a bit louder. Her swaying involved wider movements as she thought of all the Christmas cards with a snowy cover she’d sent. Her days were merry and bright. White Christmases, well, supposedly this was the year for one. Suds filled the inside of a cup as the line about sleigh bells crackled through the radio. Blowing the top suds off, Di laughed as they hit the tap. Sleigh bells and children meant a vigilante on the rooftop with a set of sleigh bells. It was worth it for her daughters’ excitement. It had always been worth it. Rinsing the cup out, she narrowly avoided the white tap. A sud landed on her hand. She observed it and brushed the other suds off the tap and onto her hand. They could be her fake snow for a few minutes.Quentin crept silently to the archway. She was wearing her traditional holiday pyjama bottoms but not the top. She had probably worried she’d get the shirt wet. Her loyalty to the pyjamas after all these years warmed his heart and made him smile softly. Family was still family to her. That’s how it would always be for the both of them. He’d always kept that in mind in the years following their divorce. Cards were always something he’d send whenever there was a reason for one. As Dinah began to sing, Quentin broke out of his reverie and his smile grew. He hummed along.Dinah finished her task peacefully. Perhaps, she hadn’t heard her husband’s humming yet. The tank top had nothing to do with her hoping Quen would show up, of course not. He knew she was in the house, it wasn’t like they had used to wait up for one another. The blonde turned off the tap water. Her hypothetical hope had paid off. Grabbing a dry rag, she rid her arms of the water droplets and suds. He’d realized the song had changed to Silver Bells, but she obviously hadn’t. She was still swaying as she double-checked everything was clean. Using her distraction to his advantage, Quentin came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She dropped one of the rags she had picked up and leant a little bit into him.“It’s Christmastime in the city,” Quentin sang into her left ear. She chuckled and disposed of the formerly dropped rag.Once she settled back into him, Quentin’s right hand gingerly worked on removing her ponytail. “Ting a ling,” She purred out contently, not wanting to miss this particular line. He pressed a few kisses to her neck. She was such a tease but such an adorable person at the same time. The ends of her curls tickled his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Her hair still smelt the same. She still smelt the same.Pulling back, he shook his head at her tactics. Now wasn’t the time to remember how besotted he was. She gave a shrug and rested her head on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her curls as he navigated Dinah and himself towards the middle of the room, in between the sink and the opposing counter. “In the air, there’s a feeling of Christmas,” He managed to softly sing.“Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after smile,” She cut in. They both smiled at each other. Ignoring the next few lines, they quietly swayed in place. Only the second set of Silver Bells mattered to them.“Silver Bells,” He whispered.“Silver Bells,” She replied.“It’s Christmastime…” Her head perked up as he sung.“In the city,” She warmly finished, her head beginning to face his.“Ring a ling,” He breathed out.“Ring a ling,” She echoed, sounding a bit stronger than him.As their faces grew nearer, he slid his hands around to make it easier for them to sway face to face.“Soon it will be Christmas day,” They both realized with warm tones and tender gazes. A curl fell in front of one of Dinah’s eyes. Quentin was quick to tuck it under her ear.Her lips quirked into a thankful smile as she felt a faint blush brighten her cheeks. Of course, her trick wouldn’t work around him. It never really had. ”Thank you, Captain.”He nodded and returned her smile with a sheepish one of his own. “Anything for my Canary.”Her arms wrapped around his neck. “Of course,” She whispered, a faint smirk replacing her smile.His arms tightened around her waist as he brought her even closer. Their noses nuzzled innocently against one another, their breaths mingling as their foreheads stayed together. They took the leap at the same time, their eyes simultaneously closing as their foreheads lost contact in order for their lips to brush. It started as a simple kiss. Neither one deepened it for a few minutes. Dinah’s left hand slid to cup Quentin’s arse through his set of reindeer holiday pajamas as his left hand slid under her tank top to let his fingers skim along her barely warm back. They were both at fault for the kiss lasting several more, heated minutes. Quentin couldn’t let Dinah freeze, and Dinah had to make sure he wasted his energy on something good. The formerly married couple should have realized they’d always jump together. There was no other possibility for the two of them.Pulling away to breathe, the pair laughed as they heard Santa Baby playing. It brought back incredibly good memories that were not to be thought about in the current moment. “I’m not singing,” Di breathed out.Laughing some more, Quentin’s hand slid out from under Di’s tank top and began brushing out her curls. “I wasn’t expecting you to.”“Good.” She pecked his lips one last time, enjoying her brief moment of selfishness. If they pecked each other’s lips anymore, they both knew they wouldn’t stop anytime soon.Quentin pressed one last kiss to her curls before smiling at her. “Want me to make hot chocolate?”Dinah shook her head, her curls hitting him a few times by mistake.Quentin pouted, his hands falling to his sides as he let Dinah go. He was wide awake now. “It’s tradition.”Dinah arched a brow, her hands falling to her hips.“Alright,” Quentin conceded, doing his best not to grin widely at Dinah’s sense of tradition. “We’ll go tomorrow.”Dinah’s brows furrowed. “It’s a work day for you.” It would be nice, but he held a higher position now. Her captain, how far they’d come. Quentin shrugged his shoulders.The gesture, in combination with his fluffy reindeer pjs. caused Di to snort. Her eyes widened. “Quen, you took off for me?”He sheepishly nodded. “Course I did. You’re my partner, Canary, and the woman I love. You’ll always be my Di.”She bit her lip and swiped at one of her eyes. “You’re my partner too, Detective, and of course, you’ll always be my Quen.”He hugged her to him, knowing neither one of them currently trusted themselves with kisses. They’d only end up intertwined again. “Look at us, getting all sappy,” He murmured. Sappiness was a safe subject.“We’re getting old,” Di commented.Quentin pulled back and rolled his eyes. “I’m getting old.”Di rolled her eyes this time. “We’re the same age.”“Dinah.”“Alright.” A smirk fell over her lips. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”He returned her smirk. “Shouldn’t you?”Dinah gave a one shoulder shrug. “I'm not entirely sure yet. Is a certain Captain going to be there?”“I’m pretty sure he might be,” Quentin joked.“Pretty sure he might?” Dinah teased as she arched an eyebrow. Continued kisses wouldn’t cause a problem anymore. Quentin shrugged his shoulders. “How about we make this easier?” He softly suggested.Dinah shook her head. She knew what he was suggesting. “Like you said, we’re not young anymore.”Quentin approached her at a slow pace.She laughed. Biting her lip, she worried for a few seconds. “Promise you’ll be careful.”“I promise,” Quentin swore.“Good.” Shrieking with laughter, she clung onto him as he carried her to their bedroom. Gods, she’d missed being home.Not so secretly, he’d missed her being home too. Things were always better with both of them together. Affectionate. Canary. Detective. In Love.