Chapter Text
A warm golden glow filled the Waverider- a step away from the usual, bright lights that lit the time ship. Strands of twinkling fairy lights were also strung around the room, and a mini tree sat on the center console. All around the ship, garlands lined the walls and festive plant arrangements could be found on every spare table. Charlie had to admit- she was impressed with whoever decorated the ship.
"Alright, Legends, we have approximately two minutes until the party starts!" Sara exclaimed to the gathered group. "Has everyone finished their assigned duties? Mick, has all the food been fabricated?"
Mick grunted in response, slugging back a sip of eggnog as he did so.
"I'll take that as a yes. What about you, Ray? Have you set up all the seating in the library, for later?" Sara turned to Ray.
"Yes, but I wasn't sure if we also needed the fleece blankets from the storage closet..."
"If that's all you have to do, go for it. You're dismissed, Ray. And you too, Mick. John, are the games all ready to go?"
John nodded. "There will be plenty of games to have, rest assured. I've set up a wide assortment, depending on the mood of the group. I stacked them in the corner."
"Excellent," Sara turned to Charlie. "Most of your responsibilities were for the invitations and such, so I'm just going to say this before everything gets too crazy... I'm glad you're on this team. I know sometimes I don't show it, and you're not always the one I'm focused on, but you've been a great addition. So I really hope you feel at home tonight. You're a Legend now, this party's for you, too."
"Well, don't get all sappy on me," Charlie said with a lopsided grin.
"And Zari-"
Sara froze, then scanned the bridge again.
"Where's Zari?" Sara frowned. "I thought I called everyone to the bridge."
"Maybe she didn't hear. She's always playing loud, shitty music," Charlie said quickly.
"Well, see if you can find her. I need to check in with her for the movie, and make sure that everything all set up."
Charlie thought she had a good idea of where Zari was.
She stepped into Zari's room a little hesitantly, unsure of how she was going to be received. While she and Zari weren't the best of friends, necessarily, they'd been certainly more civil toward each other since the cat-Constantine-timeline incident. But Charlie had never, funnily enough, been in Zari's room. There were certain unspoken rules about privacy on board the Waverider- no one came into another person's room unless they were invited.
Zari's room wasn't the most elaborately decorated of the bedrooms that Charlie had seen (Ray's was significantly more outfitted with space nerd posters). But it was so, so obviously Zari. There was a stack of programming books on the bedside table, several old novels and a silver picture frame. A colorful fabric print hung on the wall above the blanket-covered bed. A pile of Zari's clothes sat in a corner of the room, while even more books were stacked neatly in another corner.
"Do they need me to fix the ship?"
Charlie jumped a little. Zari was sitting on the small couch, her eyes fixed on the TV screen, controller in one hand. A glass of water and a box of tissues (decorated with Despicable Me characters, not that Charlie was noticing) sat on the table next to her. Unlike the others, there wasn't a speck of red or green on her clothes. Instead, she wore a loose, off-white sweater, black jeans, and fuzzy llama socks. Charlie opened her mouth to speak, but then changed her mind and flopped down beside Zari.
"Nah, the party's about to start. I've been looking for you."
"Is that so?" Zari asked dryly, concentrating hard as she reached the third lap of Rainbow Road.
"Sara wants to know if you've set up the movie for tonight."
"It's in and ready, all she has to do is press play on the remote." Zari didn't take her eyes off the screen as she spoke. "You didn't need to haul yourself all the way down to my room to ask me that. You could have called."
"Well, I wanted to get away from Sara. She's really starting to get to me, what with all of her 'perfect hostess' talk. We all know it has to be perfect for Ava, but does she really need to rub in her amazing relationship in my face?"
Zari scrunched up her nose. "She's being like that again, huh?"
"It's exhausting. So, Mario Kart, huh? "I like it, but I'm not very good. Something about it doesn't click."
Zari didn't answer, just continued winding her way through the track. She was in second place, but closing quickly on the first place racer. Charlie couldn't help but root silently for Zari to win. She did- passing Mario in the nick of time, just at the finish line.
Charlie offered Zari a high-five. To her surprise, Zari took it.
They were awkwardly silent, as the victory music played in the background. Then, Zari held out the other controller. "Do you wanna play?" she asked.
"I told you, I'm not good. You don't want me playing with you."
"Well, you have to be bad before you're good," Zari reminded her. "And who said that you're playing with me? We're on opposite teams. Besides, it beats a boring party anyway. I'd much rather beat your ass in Mario Kart than sit around and chit chat with Mr. Heywood, bureaucrat extraordinaire."
"Well, when you put it like that..." Charlie took the controller. "But only if I can be Yoshi."
"You're walking a thin line," Zari warned. "Yoshi is mine, all-" The threat was lessened slightly when she was cut off by a sneeze- one of the most adorable sounds on the planet. She sounded, ironically, like a kitten. Despite her threats, when they reached the character selection menu, Zari picked Bowser Jr. instead of Yoshi.
They played Mario Kart for a long time, race after race. Slowly, Charlie stopped sucking quite so much and started getting in the top five or so every race. And, shockingly, Zari didn't make fun of her too much. Only when she turned the wrong direction and went sailing off a tree branch in Maple Treeway.
Even though Charlie's blue team lost every tournament they raced, she had to admit, playing Mario Kart with Zari was fun. She admittedly hadn't been looking forward to socializing with people she barely knew, making awkward conversation and chatting about the weather. Despite all the time she'd spent on the Waverider, she still felt a little on the outs.
After their fifth round of races, Charlie stood up.
"Where are you going?" Zari asked. Charlie thought she could sense a hint of sadness in Zari's deep brown eyes.
"I'm getting snacks, you idiot. Gotta take advantage of that party food while it lasts, ya know? Plus, I need a break. My eyes are getting tired."
"Wimp," Zari teased as Charlie walked out the door.
Sara gave her a weird look when she walked onto the bridge. The party was in full swing- Ava was there, and so was Mr. Heywood, Nora, Mona, and... Gary. Ugh. Most of them were seated at a table laden with food, including a ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and the works. "Where've you been?" she asked. "I was starting to wonder if you'd taken off in the jumpship or something."
"Nah, I'm just not feeling it," Charlie said, as she grabbed a plate of colorful doughnuts and two mugs of steaming hot chocolate. "I'm gonna hang out in my room for a little."
Sara didn't seemed convinced, but thankfully, Nate distracted her before she could say much of anything else. "Well, if you want to join us, I think we're starting games soon."
A few seconds later, Charlie ducked back into Zari's room. Zari had grabbed a blanket from the bed. Her face lit up when she saw the doughnuts in Charlie's hands.
That's cute, Charlie thought. And it was. Zari's obsession with food in general was endearing- and Charlie couldn't even blame her. She knew what it felt like, to not have enough food all the time. But here on the Waverider, they could eat whatever they wanted.
"You're my favorite," Zari mumbled through a mouthful of powdered doughnut. Charlie laughed and took one for herself, too. They chewed in contented silence for a few minutes, just watching the animations dance across the TV screen.
Once they'd eaten most of the doughnuts on the plate, they resumed their Mario Kart fest. Charlie was definitely getting better now- sometimes, she even found herself ahead of Zari. But only for a little bit, because Zari messed up a lot less than she did. And Zari was a tad bit more familiar with the tracks, since she'd been playing it for a few months before Charlie did.
"So, is there a reason why you're not in the partying mood?" Charlie asked casually halfway through a race. "Most people get excited about stuff like this."
"I'm just not the Christmas type. It's not my thing, never has been. I guess I just don't like it getting rubbed in my face... not that I hate Christmas. I like that it makes people happy, but I guess I'm just not in the mood," Zari shrugged. She sneezed, sending her car spiraling off the edge. "And maybe I'm getting sick. Just maybe."
Charlie snorted.
"I should have told you before you spent all this time with me. You can leave, I wouldn't blame you."
If Zari hadn't looked so pitiful in that moment, Charlie would have laughed. "If I'm being honest? Never been sick. Shapeshifting kills all the harmful bacteria when I switch forms. When I had my powers, at least, I couldn't die, I couldn't get sick."
"You should definitely leave, then," Zari tilted her head to the side, a strand of dark hair falling into her eyes. "Your cells probably haven't built up any immunity to sicknesses. And trust me, getting sick sucks."
"I've lived for a long time, my cells have had plenty of time to build up immunity. Longer than yours. Just because I haven't gotten sick doesn't mean that I haven't encountered it before... it's called long-term exposure."
"Pretty sure that's not how science works, Char-" Zari turned away, sneezing into her elbow. "It's not how it works. I'm no scientist, but-"
"Clearly," Charlie said, motioning toward the doughnuts on the table. "Doughnuts aren't the best 'get well' food."
Zari snorted. "You're the one who brought them, you idiot."
"Well, now that I know, I'm going to be the responsible adult, and I'm going to take these from you," Charlie whisked the plate of doughnuts off the table and set them down on the floor near her feet. "No more doughnuts for you, until you feel better."
"I'm being a responsible adult!"
"You've literally been playing Mario Kart for, like, three hours with me. I don't think that exactly qualifies as adulting. Avoiding your problems, more like," Charlie teased, nudging Zari's shoulder.
"I swear, if you mess me up, I'm gonna kill you, cold or no cold."
"Sorry."
Again, they fell into a comfortable silence, punctured only by Zari occasionally blowing her nose or a curse here and then from Charlie.
A few rounds later, and Charlie could tell Zari was getting tired. She kept making more and more mistakes, to the point where Charlie was beating her in every race. And it wasn't that Charlie was extraordinarily good now. She wasn't. She fell off almost every race, and still managed to beat Zari. That was admittedly a little concerning.
"Let's take a break," Charlie said, gently removing the controller from Zari's hands. "Sorry to say this, Z, but you're not looking so great."
"I'm fine."
"We should at least make an appearance at the party. Just to say hi, grab some more snacks. Five minutes, just to keep Sara happy. We don't even have to stay there if you don't want to. Then we can come back, and decide what we're doing, then."
Zari rolled her eyes. "Fine."
Together, they walked to the bridge, which was oddly empty. The lights were still on, but the table was vacant. The board games had clearly already been played- from the looks of it, whoever had been the yellow pieces in Sorry had destroyed everyone else.
"Gideon, where are the others?" Charlie asked, tilting her head.
"Captain Lance and the others are in the library. I believe they are watching The Polar Express."
"The Polar Express? Is that some sort of euphemism?" Zari asked, her forehead crinkled.
Charlie laughed. "You mean you've never seen The Polar Express? We've gotta go down there, then. It's time for you to get some education." Before she could even process what she was doing, she grabbed Zari's hand and pulled her down the hallway.
The others looked up when Charlie and Zari walked in (no longer holding hands).
"There you are," Sara said, a smile on her face. She was sitting next to Ava, her legs thrown over her girlfriend's lap. "There's not much room, but there's a whole ton of blankets and pillows and stuff if you don't mind sitting on the floor."
Charlie quickly gathered a few of the fluffiest blankets she could find, and a few pillows, too. She sat in front of Nora, who had her legs tucked up on the couch, and patted the spot beside her. Zari, after a brief second of hesitation, sat down next to Charlie and burrowed herself underneath a thick, blue blanket.
The entire movie, Charlie couldn't ignore how close Zari was sitting, or how Zari's eyes kept closing, or how warm she felt. But it was nice to just sit, and not have to say anything, and just enjoy being next to Zari, and in the same room as the others. Occasionally, Mick commented on how stupid the character's decisions were, or Ray praised the 'excellent reindeer physics'.
She didn't know how it happened, but halfway through, she looked down and realized, with a jolt, that over the course of the past forty minutes or so, Zari had fallen asleep.
She looked so peaceful, nestled between the blankets, her head almost completely in Charlie's lap. Her ponytail was beginning to unravel, and dark, chocolate brown strands of hair were falling across her face. Charlie slowly moved her arm, wrapping the blanket more tightly around Zari's shoulders. She gave her one last glance before returning her gaze to the screen.
With about twenty minutes left in the movie, Zari flinched in Charlie's lap, crying out a little in her sleep. Sara's gaze instantly snapped over to the two of them, frowning.
Is she okay? Sara mouthed at Charlie, who shrugged. Zari had been sleeping peacefully, but now, she seemed restless, moving about every few seconds. Cautiously, Charlie put a cool hand on Zari's forehead, only to find that the brunette was burning up. Even though she wasn't that experienced in sicknesses, she did know enough to know that this was most certainly a fever.
For the rest of the film, Charlie constantly checked Zari's temperature and adjusted the blankets, hoping that in the two minutes since the last time, that Zari's fever had started to wane.
When The Polar Express was over, the lights automatically rose a little bit, and the spell that was usually cast during movies faded. Sara removed herself from Ava's arms and stood up.
"Alright, guys, it's Secret Santa time," she announced in a loud whisper. "You can get your gifts now, and we'll start the reveal."
Charlie gently shook Zari's shoulders. "I have to get up, Z, I'm sorry."
As Zari stirred, Nora climbed over Charlie, apologizing quietly as she did so. "I left my gift on the bridge, sorry."
Gary whipped out a large, messily wrapped bag from under his chair. "I've been waiting for this my whole life," he exclaimed.
"SHHH!"
"Guys, I'm awake," Zari said, rubbing her eyes. "No need to worry."
"You really should go to sleep," Charlie whispered. "Your forehead is burning up. I can get your gift and give it for you, if you want to go back to your room."
Zari waved Charlie off. "M'fine, I just needed a nap, that's all. I'll go get my gift now." With that, she stood up and walked out of the room, a little more unsteady on her feet than normal.
Charlie hurried back to her room to find her Secret Santa gift, returning just as Nora and Zari were coming back with theirs.
Two minutes later, everyone had gathered back in the library, arranged in a circle, this time. Charlie was sitting between Nora and Sara.
It was interesting to look around the circle and see the varying sizes and styles of the gifts that people had brought. While Gary and Mona had brought large, colorfully wrapped presents, Zari and Sara both had packages that were more toned down. It looked like Zari had wrapped hers in old book pages and tied it with twine. Ray had an obnoxious reindeer-and-Santa themed wrapping paper, while Nora's was a dark navy with a white ribbon.
"Who wants to start?" Sara asked, surveying the circle. "No one? I'll begin, then."
She held out her bag to Nora. "You mentioned to me once that you really liked to travel... and since you'll probably be hanging around with us a lot, well," she said as Nora pulled a long poster from the tube.
It was a scratchable map of the world, with all the places Sara knew Nora had already gone already scratched off. And there was also candle with the scent of 'Star City."
"Thank you, Sara, this is wonderful."
"Just something to remind you of where you're going, and where it all began. I customized the candle with what I thought Star City smelled like, so I hope you like it. People can be weird about smells... if you don't like it, I still have the information."
Nora cautiously opened the candle and sniffed it. "It's perfect, actually, so don't worry about it." She then put her map and candle away and stood up, handing the navy blue box to Ava.
Inside was a bookmark, with a clock charm. "Since you're the Director of the Time Bureau, and everything, you should probably keep in mind the time that counts. You can set it to whatever zone you want, but... with all that time travel, you've got to keep track of reality somehow. And I know you like to read."
"It's beautiful," Ava said, unable to keep the slight tone of surprise that colored her voice.
The circle went on- Ava gave Nate figurines of his favorite shows to put on his desk, Nate gave Mona a guide to magical creatures, and Mona gave Gary a bunch of quirky household utensils, until only Zari and Charlie hadn't exchanged gifts.
"Well, I guess we had each other," Charlie said, and held out the bag to Zari. "I didn't know what to get you, but..."
Inside, there were little bags and containers of baking ingredients, like eggs, flour, and vanilla, along with a dessert cookbook.
"It's stupid, especially since we have a food fabricator, but I just thought-"
Zari shook her head. "No, it's a good idea. I'd love to bake with you sometime, but I'm warning you, I'm not great at it."
"Neither am I."
Then, Zari gave Charlie a bonsai tree, and a book on meditation.
"I know it's hard, to be the new team member sometimes, so I thought you might wand something to relax with, and center yourself. It's helped me a lot. It might not help you, but sometimes it's good to slow down. Not that you need it, but. I don't know. Being out of place, I know what that feels like, and nature just, it's different."
It wasn't something Charlie would have picked, but at the same time, it was hard to say no to the sleepy, hopeful look in Zari's eyes. Who knew? Maybe it would help Charlie work out some of her problems, after all.