Title: Watchtower Guardians I: All-American Hamburger With Extra Pickles (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl_12
Pairings/Characters: Jan O’Reilly, Steve/Diana, Sally Jenkins
Genres: Fluff, Romance, Slice-Of-Life
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: Pastry chef Jan O’Reilly observes Steve and Diana together on the Watchtower.
Date Of Completion: April 22, 2015
Date Of Posting: August 26, 2015
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1383
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Note: The entire series can be found
here. "Surrounded by stars,
Metal gleams,
Reflecting polished floors
While the smell of food
Cooking
Wafts down the halls.
We take care
Of the heroes
Every day,
And we are proud
To make them happy."
"We Take Care Of The Heroes"
Song Of The Watchtower Guardians
2015 C.E.
There aren’t many of us as support staff here on the Watchtower, but someone’s got to serve meals and clean the quarters, and superheroes busy training and saving the world don’t always have time for such mundane chores. We call ourselves the Watchtower Guardians, because somebody’s got to look after these special people!
My name is Jan, and I work in the cafeteria. I’m real good with pastries, and my apple pie is a particular favorite with Superman. Talk about a recommendation!
My friend Elsa is one of the housekeepers. She says that he keeps his room always immaculate. He cleans up after himself as much as he can, barring any emergencies. She says that Batman and Green Arrow are sloppier, as if they’re accustomed to having maid service. Considering how we don’t know their real identities, they could be spoiled rich kids for all we know. She also says that Wonder Woman is an angel. Even though she’s a fancy Princess, she always keeps her quarters neat and tidy. I guess some royalty thinks of the little people sometimes!
It’s fun to observe the heroes. They feel safe and relaxed here, so they let down their hair, so to speak. You can learn a lot about them as long as you go about your business.
Batman likes to be the Dark Knight (sloppy or not), all grim and gruff, but I’ve seen the way he does little things like ask me for extra apple pie for Superman or my homemade raspberry sugar cookies to bring home to his family, though he never says that word. I just figure unless he has an enormous sweet tooth all his own, he’s sharing the goodies with Robin, who is a real fine young man. He and the Teen Titans sometimes come aboard for training and special meetings. He’s always got a smile and good word for everyone, and the Bat is proud as can be of him. He thinks we don’t know, but it’s written all over his face.
Green Arrow can be loud and interested in special things like a macrobiotic diet but he’s always concerned about our wages and working conditions. You can tell it’s sincere, unlike so many phonies who pretend to be for the working man and woman.
The Martian Manhunter is the sweetest of the bunch. He’s quiet and courteous and we all love him. I make sure there are always plenty of Chocos in stock for him.
Black Canary is a dear. She can kick ass but is unfailingly kind and gracious, as if she’s as much of a Princess as Wonder Woman.
Superman is always unfailingly polite and kind, and always thinks of others. If the JLA meetings run long during a crisis, he always asks to make sure we are getting time to eat and sleep, too. Some people don’t believe that he has a secret identity but I do. Someone raised him right.
I could go on and on. Wonder Woman, for example, is a warm, beautiful woman. She’s amazing, tall and statuesque and Superman’s equal in strength, yet she’s the gentlest person I’ve ever met.
It’s not hard to believe she’s a Princess. She’s regal and I half-expect her to show up wearing a crown. Other times she’s just like one of us, requesting hot dogs and hamburgers and delighting in simple things.
I find it especially fascinating to watch her with her boyfriend, Major Steve Trevor. He’s super handsome, looking mighty fine in his dress blues. They’re mostly a low-key couple, but you can see the love in their eyes when they look at each other.
One time I was close to what I call the transporter room (yes, Trekker here), and I saw Wonder Woman waiting. I pretended to be checking for messages on my phone and saw a flash of light in the teleport tube, and Steve Trevor was standing there, the sparkles of the transporter still in his hair. Fitting, sparkles in that blond hair.
Wonder Woman smiled at him. Holding out her hand, she took his and gently kissed his fingers. He leaned forward and kissed her, and they talked quietly before they left the teleportation chamber.
They looked good together. He was slightly taller than her, and seemed unfazed by the fact that she could lift him with one hand if she chose. He was the typical handsome fighter jock who would have been accustomed to being the center of attention, but being the boyfriend of an Amazon made him…well, not exactly secondary…but Wonder Woman is quite the attention-getter. It didn’t seem to bother him.
A lot of people have speculated about them. I’ve read a lot of comments on-line about either the major being the luckiest man alive or a wimp for going out with a woman far stronger than him. Well, it seems to work for them. Sometimes Internet potshots are taken at them, but I chalk that up to envy, like they’re the superhero version of Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen. Some people need to get a life!
Today the menu is the usual variety of soups, sandwiches and specialties like chicken, turkey, and steamed vegetables. Oh, yes, the ubiquitous hot dogs and hamburgers: build-your-own, plenty of fresh fruit, and then my purview: pastries and pies, cakes and cookies and Chocos! Ice cream, too. We rotate choices and offer the healthiest versions of the food that we can. When we have pasta, sometimes it’s the semolina-based stuff, and sometimes it’s spaghetti squash turned into noodles. We offer lettuce-wrapped sandwiches instead of bread if you prefer. Even superheroes have to eat right! Though we guess that guys like Superman and the Manhunter just burn up calories like crazy and don’t have to watch their diet as closely as the others.
So I make sure there’s plenty of apple pie (that’s a daily offering) and work on today’s special: pineapple upside-down cake.
As I was working, I saw Wonder Woman come into the cafeteria. She picked up a tray and utensils and began perusing the day’s offerings.
“Hello, Jan.”
“Hello, Wonder Woman.” I pointed to the fruit section. “Fresh pineapple and mangoes today.”
“Ah, thank you.” She took generous helpings of both. This Amazon had a healthy appetite and burned off the calories by rigorous training. I've seen even Batman come out of the gym wrung out after a session with her. “I think I will go with the All-American hamburger today.”
I grinned. I knew where she had picked up that particular preference from, or from whom. “Certainly.” I dished up a hamburger patty onto a large, fluffy bun. “Condiments and other goodies?” She rattled off tomatoes, red onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. I put everything on it, added hand-cut French fries, and presented it to her on a white china plate.
“Thank you, Jan.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Ah, now that’s an All-American feast!”
“Steve!” Wonder Woman said warmly. “When did you arrive?”
“Just a few minutes ago. I thought I’d have lunch with my best gal.” He gently kissed her. “Jan, I’ll have the same as Wonder Woman with extra pickles.”
“Coming right up, Major.”
He chose pineapple and kiwi fruit on the side with French fries and they chose Coke to drink. They went to their favorite table by the window. They were like any young couple in love, just like any other Amazon Princess and famous fighter jock.
“The lovebirds at it again?”
I turned to grin at Sally, one of my co-workers. “Looks like.”
“Oh, well.” Sally snapped her gum as she adjusted her hair net with chubby fingers. “Guess they deserve some down time. The Martian Manhunter’s got monitor duty. How’s the Chocos situation?”
“Fully stocked.”
“You’re a peach! I’ll take him his buttermilk and Chocos.”
Yes, it was just a typical day here in the Watchtower cafeteria. Wonder Woman was laughing at something Major Trevor had said. His eyes sparkled with joy as the stars framed them both as they ate their All-American burgers.
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