Title: Brand New Day (1/1)
Author: BradyGirl
Pairings/Characters: Steve/Diana, Ollie/Dinah, Dick/Roy, Clark/Bruce, mention of Linda/Barbara
Genres: Challenge, Drama
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Spoilers: None
Summary: The Princess of Themyscira approves of America’s new direction as she attends Inauguration Day festivities.
Date Of Completion: January 21, 2009
Date Of Posting: January 22, 2009
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em, DC does, more’s the pity.
Word Count: 1258
Feedback welcome and appreciated.
Author’s Notes: Written in honor of Inauguration Day! :)
This also fits my
2009 DCU Fic/Art Cast Of Thousands!!! Challenge.
Diana glided through the glittering crowd, her white satin gown whispering along the floor. As Princess of Themyscira, she wore a diamond necklace thousands of years old, and her tiara was gold with a rainbow of jewels. Admiring glances were thrown her way by both sexes.
Excitement filled the ballroom, one of many balls scattered throughout the city. She smiled at Ollie and Dinah, the Queen influence easily securing tickets to an Inaugural Ball, as the Wayne influence had worked to secure Bruce and Dick invitations. Her invitation had been sent to the Themysciran Embassy.
“Hola, Princess!” Dinah said with a smile, looking ravishing in a dark-green gown, an emerald necklace sparkling around her throat.
“It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it?” Diana smoothed her long white formal glove, a diamond bracelet glittering on her wrist.
“Amazing.”
“Hey, Diana!”
“Hi, Ollie.”
He handed a glass of champagne to Dinah, looking resplendent in his tux with a green cummerbund. A tiny emerald twinkled from his lapel.
“You must be in heaven.” Diana smiled.
“Liberalism is in again! Praise be!”
Dinah laughed. “Ollie’s been campaigning for Barack like crazy.”
“Hey, he’s light-years better than his predecessor.”
“No argument there.” Dinah sipped her champagne.
“Well, I see we’re graced with a gorgeous duo,” Diana said as Dick and Roy walked up. The description of ‘gorgeous’ was apt, both young men beautiful in their tuxedos, Dick sporting a red silk waistcoat and Roy wearing an emerald in his lapel like Ollie.
“Enjoying yourselves?” Dinah asked.
“Absolutely.” Roy’s eyes were shining. He had joined Ollie in the campaign, Dick helping when he could.
“The President and First Lady should be here soon.” Ollie glanced at his Rolex.
As a new song was struck up by the band, Dinah asked, “Care to dance, Mr. Queen?”
“Absolutely, Ms. Lance.”
Diana smiled as her friends moved to the dance floor.
Dick looked wistfully at the happy couple. Diana hoped that couples like him and Roy would find greater freedoms in this new era.
Diana touched both young men’s shoulders in farewell, moving on through the crowd, waving at Linda and Barbara, who were glittering in their gowns and jewels.
The day had been brilliant, the January cold making everything crystal-clear in that way of winter days. She had stood with Steve and her friends, immersing herself in the history of the occasion. Faces of every color were in the crowd, thousands of American flags waved by ecstatic citizens.
The impact of the day was not lost on Diana as she dodged celebrants. An African-American President was historic. She understood a people’s suffering from a legacy of slavery, her mother and sisters having been enslaved centuries ago. The sting never quite went away.
Diana had studied the history of American treatment of blacks, not a proud history by any means, but Diana had learned there were people in this country wanting to live up to its ideals. It was why she wore her star-spangled costume so proudly.
“You seem contemplative, Princess.”
Diana smiled. She turned and saw her beautiful blond, garbed in his dress blues. Silver wings glinted on his breast pocket.
“Dance, Princess?” Steve asked with a little bow.
She curtsied slightly. “Yes, Major.”
He smiled as he led her out to the dance floor.
They whirled and danced in unison, matching step-for-step. They were in sync in so many things, and dancing was one of them.
“Quite the day, eh?” he asked.
“Very.” The hem of her gown fanned out as she whirled. “Such passion!”
He grinned. “Passion is good.”
She smiled saucily and he twirled her, her movement elegant.
She was very proud of her escort, receiving his share of admiring glances. During the Inauguration, she had been struck by how crisp and military he had looked, blue eyes sparkling in the cold air.
“They say Washington hasn’t seen excitement like this on Inauguration Day since JFK.”
Diana nodded. “It’s a wonderful way to start off a new Administration.”
After the dance ended, Steve plucked two flutes of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and handed one to Diana. Tiny bubbles tickled her nose and she laughed.
“Would you like some fresh air, Angel?”
“Lead on, my love.”
Diana took Steve’s arm and he escorted her to a small balcony.
“Oh, sorry to disturb you,” Steve said.
Bruce and Clark turned, Bruce looking magnificent in his tuxedo, his father’s cufflinks glinting in the moonlight, and Clark slightly rumpled. Diana noted with amusement that Clark’s tie was red.
“No, don’t leave,” Clark said.
“It is beautiful out here.” Diana gazed up at the stars.
“Is our Destiny written in the stars?” Bruce asked with a slightly-sardonic smile. He picked up his champagne glass from the wide railing.
“There is a destiny in this city today. The crowd was electrifying this morning. So much excitement! There was a real sense of…belonging.”
“Yes!” Clark’s eyes lit up. “That’s exactly it, Diana.” His words spilled over in his excitement. “The past came together with the future today! That line in the President’s speech about his father not being able to expect service in a D.C. restaurant just sixty years ago resonated with so many people!”
“Yes! The injustices were acknowledged, but the great strides your people have made were realized, especially today!”
Clark nodded eagerly.
Steve and Bruce smiled at their respective mates, amusement flowing between them.
“So what did you think of the day, Prince?” asked Diana.
“Well, Princess, I’d say we might finally be coming of age.”
“My, someone’s idealism is showing,” Clark teased.
“Perish the thought,” Bruce drawled, taking a long draught from his champagne flute and looking slightly debauched, but no one was fooled.
Diana’s eyes sparkled. “You were just as excited as all of us today.”
“Maybe.” Bruce looked every inch the Bat all of a sudden. “The real test comes tomorrow, when our new President has to take all that good will and implement practical measures.”
Diana waved her hand. “Of course! But it will help him to have this support of the people, because as my mother has taught me, one cannot rule in direct opposition to your subjects.”
“And are we unruly subjects, Princess?” asked Steve with an indulgent smile.
“Oh, quite so, quite so. Americans seem to delight in ‘rocking the boat’, as the saying goes.”
Clark laughed. “I agree. Even in Kansas, as conservative as Smallville can be at times, there are people who simply refuse to fall in line. Questioning, poking, prodding…hmm, come to think of it, sounds like Bruce.”
“Must we have a description of your private life, Clark?” Steve asked.
Clark was startled for a moment, then laughed along with Diana. A glint in Bruce’s eyes showed his appreciation of the joke.
“You spoke about Destiny, Bruce,” Diana said, looking back up at the stars. “My people believe in reading the signs of the stars, and letting the light from the heavens bathe us in its celestial light.” Moonlight streamed down, highlighting her face and hair, her necklace and tiara sparkling. “Sometimes one must just look at the stars, and know that our Destiny is writ there.”
“And what do you see, Angel?” Steve asked softly.
She took his hand and held on tightly.
“I see a brand new day.”
Bruce held out his champagne flute. “A toast.”
The four of them formed a circle, and Bruce said, “To a brand new day.”
“To a brand new day,” echoed Clark, Diana, and Steve, clinking glasses.
Inside, the band began to play ‘Hail To The Chief’.
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