A/N: I wrote Spitfire ._. I was listening to some music on youtube and I came across "Evil" by Phox (wood room version) and well... there was a moment that just wouldn't let go and now we have this fic. Spitfire. Ahahaha, damn XD this rubs my Birdflash feels in all sorts of wrong ways.

Moving on, alternate universe wherein everyone's not in the superhero business. So in this fic, they're all college students. How did they meet and manage to stay within the same vicinity? Uhhh... through various means. Oh! and the songs here aren't by Phox, they're titled "Queen of Hearts" and "New Letters", both by Company of Thieves. Why that is? Because of reasons XDD I'll try to link to the songs at my profile.

Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.

Now, this may not be a ship I'm used to sailing (or even want to, for that matter 8D) but I do hope you guys still enjoy. Oh! and this is a oneshot.


Spotlight

The clock read six thirty and Wally begrudgingly stomped over to his dresser. With a huff, he slid a drawer open and listlessly began rummaging for something to wear. This was so not how he planned to spend his precious Friday night. He was hoping to sleep in, pig out, and generally just laze about. But of course, his friends, the sadistic bunch that they were, made plans. He sighed loudly.

There was a knock on his door that he didn't bother answering. Besides, there was only one other person renting the apartment with him.

"Hey Wallman, ready to go?" Dick asked as he entered the speedster's room. The nineteen year old was fashionably dressed with a light blue shirt and a dark grey cardigan. His jeans looked tailor-made and his shoes looked clean enough to eat from. Leave it to his best friend to dress up like he was going to some art gala instead of a café a few blocks away.

"Nope" Wally answered petulantly.

Dick rolled his eyes at his friend; the redhead could be stubborn in the most inconvenient of times.

"C'mon Wally, you're taking way too long to get dressed" With a smirk and a challenging look, Dick added, "Quit acting like such a girl dude"

Wally narrowed his eyes at that but instead of replying, the older male sat back down on his bed. He tried giving Dick his best kicked dog expression.

"Do we have to go?" Yes, he knew he was being childish. No, he did not particularly care. Usually, Wally had no qualms against going out and mingling but tonight, the gang had plans to head over to the local café in support of one Artemis Crock, snarky McBlondie herself.

Wally didn't want to go. He and the girl couldn't stand each other. It was because she was evil, he'd say and she'd reply, "It's because you're so easy to get a rise out of Freckles."

Ugh. He hated her. The biology and comparative literature student just grated on his nerves. Besides, what was that about? Was that some sort of brag that she could do both courses simultaneously or something? Ok, maybe that was pretty impressive but…

That. Wasn't. .

Point was, Artemis and him just didn't get along. Whenever they were in the same room, one could be sure of inevitable shit-storm, complete with scorching, all-consuming, destructive flames. The additional methane would guarantee no survivors via suffocation and—he was going way too far with this description.

Honestly, he'd blame Megan for befriending the harpy, but Megs was too sweet to deserve any of his ire. So instead, he blamed Artemis for somehow shoving her skinny butt into their group and for bewitching the rest of his friends. Connor didn't particularly care; all that seemed to matter was that his girlfriend had a new friend that didn't play mind games with her. Kaldur had accepted her with a respectful and friendly smile, while she and Zee soon founded some sort of sisterhood based off feminism or something—he wasn't sure.

Even she and Dick hit it off pretty well, which was irritating. Dick was his best friend, why couldn't she get her own damn friends?

"Yes, c'mon dude" the younger teen said as he shook his head at Wally's antics. Noticing that the redhead wasn't getting up—in fact, Wally was lying back down—Dick sighed and began looking for acceptable clothes for his friend.

"But DIiiiiiiiiiick, she's gonna be there"

Richard responded by throwing a maroon turtleneck at his friend as well as some straight-cut jeans. The items hit Wally directly on his face and Dick snorted with a "three point shot" murmured under his breath.

"Quit sulking Wals" Dick said as he sat beside his best friend and began to pull him up. Instead of rising, the older—but really not mature—redhead leaned heavily into his arms. Dick was grateful that Wally had a hyper-metabolism; else, he might've been crushed.

"C'mon you weirdo" Dick said as he ruffled the red locks of hair, Wally grumbled at the touch and sunk even further down the acrobat. "Think of it this way, the faster we get there, the faster we can get this over with. Besides, do you really want to piss off Miss M.?"

Wally shivered at the question. If there was one thing one did not do, it was piss off sweet and kind Megan Morse. Primarily because she would drill into your brain with her natural and well refined psycho-analytical skills of and make you wonder why you were not hugged enough as a child. Nope, Wally didn't want to make Megan angry, he was certain of that much.

"Fine, but you're buying me ice cream after"

ooOoo

The café was a quaint little shop by the corner. It wasn't particularly popular but it was familiar and cozy. Whenever the team wanted to just hang out without the blaring music of a club or the scent of alcohol, smoke and vomit from a bar, they went here, to Mister Tornado (M.T.) Juice-Teas. Apparently the name was supposed to be some sort of pun; Wally didn't really get it, although his cousin did. Then again, Bart had an alien kind of humor.

Aside from unique ambience, delicious drinks and a few snacks, the café had live shows every Friday and Saturday with decent musicians playing. He remembered Roy performing here once—it was how they found the shop in the first place. During his rebellious teen phase, the taller male performed under the stage name 'Speedy and Red Arrow'. Speedy referred to how quickly he played and Red Arrow to his red guitar. It was a groan worthy name that Wally and Dick had taken full advantage of; that is until Roy had dragged them both on stage to sing. Dick had managed well enough, the damn songbird that he was, while Wally ended up being paid to stop singing. It was embarrassing.

But at least he had money to buy comfort food.

They met their friends inside at their usual spot. Kaldur was busy looking over some sheet music—he was part of the band under Artemis' request, for the night at least—while Megan, Connor and the she-wolf were talking.

Gray eyes eventually looked over, and with a slight smirk, Artemis nodded her head in their direction.

"Wally, Robin, you're here!" Megan squealed as she rushed over to engulf them both in a hug. The team had taken to calling Dick, 'Robin' once they found out about his asterous—seriously Dick?—singing skills.

"Sorry we're late Miss M. Somebody was too busy fussing over his clothes" Dick said as he playfully elbowed his best friend. Wally's face flushed as Megan giggled daintily, even Con managed a snort at that.

"Dude!"

"What for? He looks the same as always"

Oh great

Ladies and gentlemen, in one corner, weighing in at about so-and-so number of pounds, your undefeated lightweight champion…the awesome, the quick, the suave, the handsome Wally West! Cue applause. And in the other corner, weighing in at whatever-irritable-girls-weigh-at… we have the snarkiest, perpetually-PMS-ing girl on the planet, Queen Bitches-a-lot!

Wally growled and turned his head toward his arch-enemy. He opened his mouth to speak, "Yeah, well you—" And the words stopped coming.

Artemis was wearing a dress, a really red dress that hugged her figure. The straps on her shoulder were so thin that Wally wondered what purpose it served other than attracting the eye to her smooth bronzed skin. The front portions of her hair were curled, making the tendrils of blonde look shorter than they were. The rest of her hair was tied in some sort of knot that probably involved sixteen bobby pins, two safety pins and a paperclip. Her lips were as red as her dress and her dark gray eyes were emphasized through the skillful work of bronze eye shadow and black eyeliner.

Artemis looked gorgeo—nono! Don't go there!

Wally hurriedly tried to think of something—anything—offensive to say—which was a bad thing, but it was Artemis so it was ok. Kind of.

He opened his mouth, and then subsequently closed it.

Open. Close.

Open.

Close.

Finally, "Hrrnggghfffffffff"

Wally slapped himself on the head.

Dick was laughing his ass off while Megan was giggling in that girly way of hers. Even Connor was chuckling.

Artemis had a victorious grin on her rouge red lips and an eyebrow haughtily raised. Her arms were crossed over her chest and somehow, the gesture only made Wally focus on her chest.

Woah. Boobs.

Awww! NO! What was that? What the hell was that!? This was Artemis! ARTEMIS.

"I didn't catch what you said Baywatch, mind repeating?"

Artemis schooled her features into a look of innocence but Wally could easily tell with the constant twitching of her lip that she was being mean. Really, really mean.

"I hate you all" he groaned as he ran a hand down his face. The rest of his friends laughed at his expense until Dick finally took pity on his best friend.

"Now, now children, let's settle down" the youngest teen said as he began to push his friends to their booth.

Wally looked behind him with a pout, "Traitor"

Dick responded with a cheeky grin as they all began to sit down.

Soon Zatanna came over with the menu. She worked part-time at the shop, often taking the shifts with the live performances; which often coincided with the times the team was over. Another quirky thing about M.T. Juice-Teas was its strange names for the drinks and food; it was almost as if it were in a magical foreign language. The first time Wally tried ordering anything, he got tongue tied and stuck at the 'Hciwdnas. Dick wasn't any better and Roy sucked the most out of them all. Zatanna, on the other hand, breezed through the tongue twisters without batting an eye.

"So I take it you guys want your regular? A Gnoloo Aet for Kaldur, Onacirema for Connor, Lemarac Otaihccam for Megan, a Onicuppac for Artemis, Chnerf Allinav for Robin, and a Achom Onicupparf and Yrrebwarts ekactrohs for Wally. Did you guys want anything else?"

"Nope, you've got it gorgeous" Dick said with a playful smile and Zee laughed good-naturedly.

"Well alright, call me over if you want anything else."

As Zatanna left, the table erupted in conversation. Kaldur leaned over the table to discuss some new arrangements with Artemis, something about the chorus and the bridge and a D-minor. Meanwhile, Megan engaged Robin and Wally in a conversation about her psychology instructor, a Miss. Lance. Apparently, Miss Lance was happily kicking all their asses into next semester with hard-hitting reaction papers and bruising research work.

It was strange to imagine Aunt Dinah being anything other than the overprotective mom, who'd occasionally embarrassed her adopted son with stories about his tumultuous childhood to certain red-haired and ebony-haired boys. She even brought over pictures once.

Despite how interesting the conversation was, Wally still had to make the conscious effort to ignore Artemis.

A few minutes after, there was applause and Wally looked around to belatedly realize that the first set was over. He barely even noticed them over Arte—nope, no, not going there. Zee stepped onto the stage and gratefully took the microphone.

"Thanks so much to our first set. Let's give another hand to the 'Teen Titans'"

There were hoots and cheers at the announcement and Wally watched Artemis and Kaldur gather their belongings from the corner of his eye.

"Now I'd like to introduce our second set. A fresh band right off their basements with Artemis as lead singer, Cameron as back-up vocals and lead guitarist, Kaldur on keyboard, Tuppence on bass and Tommy on the drums. Everyone, let's give a warm welcome to 'Undercover'"

The clapping reverberated in the café and Wally's group cheered. While he may not like Artemis, he would at least support Kaldur. And… maybe he did add a few cheers for her too. So what? It didn't mean anything.

It didn't.

As the band got ready, Wally felt an itching sensation at his back. He looked at his friends to find them looking at him, one was hopeful, one was mischievous and another was amused.

"What?"

"Oh nothing" Dick sing-songed. Sometimes, he really just wanted to strangle his best friend. Not to mention, the extra two staring was starting to make him uncomfortable. So he did the only thing he could think of.

"Gotta go to the bathroom" He said as he stood up

"Oh but Wally you're going to miss it" Megan exclaimed, while she did so, her boyfriend and his best friend were both giving him knowing looks.

His friends were awful bastards—well, except for Miss M.

"Don't you want to see Artemis up on the stage with her pretty red dress and her pretty blonde hair?"

Wally noticed the impish crookedness of the other redhead's smile.

Ok, so maybe Megan was also an awful bastard—granted, on a completely different level than Dick and Con though.

"I'll be back in a flash Megs" He said quickly as he rushed out of their booth.

ooOoo

Wally was taking his sweet time in the bathroom. In the twelve minutes he was in there, he managed to do his business, read all the vandalisms on the bathroom door twice and appreciate the three-ply toilet paper offered. He knew his evasive maneuvers were pathetic and that it was time to face the music, literally in this case.

Once he returned, Wally was surprised to note that the club was noisy with chatter. There was an implied rule to refrain from making too much noise in respect to the band. He looked over at his friends and found them giving Artemis encouraging looks.

On the stage Artemis looked nervous. He watched her for a few seconds and realized that there was a shakiness to her voice. The harmonies were all over the place as well. The drums were too loud, the bass out of rhythm and the guitar jarring. It was normal for nerves to be part of the show at the beginning. Typically the audience let the band settle in but this crowd wasn't helping.

It was strange because this was Artemis and she was never quiet. She was always loud and confident.

They may not have been the closest of friends or even acquaintances but Wally was annoyed at the lack of support.

The song ended and only a few claps were shared, predominantly by his friends. As he recalled, each set consisted of ten songs. The band was probably at their fourth of fifth song. For the next track, the band switched to the other vocalist, Cameron Mahkent. The pasty tall teen gave her sympathetic look and took the microphone. His voice was chill and smooth.

Artemis headed on backstage for a glass of water. Wally watched her open and close her hands. They looked stiff.

There was a group of guys who looked out of place in the corner. He noticed them writing something on a piece of paper. It wasn't unusual for the audience to request some songs but there was something about the way they were snickering that had him narrowing his eyes. One of them stood and went over to the blonde and Wally followed out of suspicion.

Upon handing over the piece of paper, the guy returned back to his seat with high fives to his friends. Artemis took it with a tentative smile. That was another thing, Artemis was anything but tentative. Her shoulders were hunched over and she was gripping the paper tightly. As she remained frozen to her spot, he loomed over her back to take a peek.

Wally narrowed his eyes at the slip of paper then back at the group. They seemed to take notice of him and some quieted down except for one.

Yes, him with the long blond hair. He knew an asshole when he saw one.

He turned back to the gray-eyed woman and quickly grabbed the piece of paper. Artemis was startled at the sudden move and looked at him in surprise. Upon realizing what Wally had in his hands, she opened her mouth. The redhead was probably going to tease her about it instead, she watched as he viciously tore it apart and carelessly threw it behind him.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked with a furrow of his eyebrows.

At the familiar sight, Artemis finally found her voice, "Excuse me?"

"You heard me" He said as he leaned closer to her. Artemis backed away instinctively as he continued, "What are you doing Artemis? You're not acting like yourself"

She opened her mouth to respond but Wally didn't give her a chance. "I don't know why you're acting all shy for, we both know you're shameless"

Ohhh…he did not just say that!

"Oh screw you King Doofus! What's that even supposed to mean?" she exclaimed as she leaned against him. Wally was tall but her heels allowed her to look at him straight in the eye.

"I just don't think you should be letting those punks get to you."

Artemis looked at him like he lost his mind and he went on. "And that singing… Dick didn't drag me all the way here just so that I could stay underwhelmed. I thought you were supposed to blow me away or something? Well, I'm waiting Missy and I don't intend to leave until you do"

And just like that, something clicked. She looked surprised and also uncertain.

"Well…?"

Finally she narrowed her eyes but there was an almost upward twitch to her lips.

"Got it Wally. Just you wait, I don't intend to disappoint"

They were eye to eye. Green eyes looked at her in challenge and gray responded with determination. Eventually, Wally gave her a small smile. Who knew the dork could look so handsome—errrnormal—that he could look normal.

"Good, I'll be expecting it then"

Cameron's song was reaching its end and Artemis got ready to go back on stage. She took a few deep breaths and was about to take a step forward until she felt Wally's hand in hers. The redhead's hand was callused and warm.

"Break a leg Arty" he said softly and the sound sent an unnatural thump through her heart.

ooOoo

Wally made his way back to the group. As he sat back down, he caught Dick's eyes. The acrobat was grinning at him as he tilted his head to the corner where the refreshments were. Wally blushed before shoving the now cackling Robin. He shook his head in exasperation. Darn Dick and his detective skills.

The way Artemis walked back onto the stage was different now. She looked at ease but also alert. She calmly took back the microphone and adjusted it on the stand. For a while, she discussed the song and the arrangement with the band. While she did so, Wally noticed that she was rubbing her hands together. Unconsciously, he closed his hand.

Artemis nodded in Tommy Terror's direction and the song started. The trickle of cymbals followed by the rhythmic plucks from a guitar echoed out. She sang.

"Meet me in the middle of my mind, and no one else…"

Artemis' voice wasn't dainty or sweet. It was slightly hoarse but this time, there was a strength to it. It was a subtle change that had a huge impact. Fueled by their vocalist's confidence, the band came together. Everything was at the right volume, at the right tempo and at the right energy.

The crowd quieted down. The atmosphere shifted.

Artemis was a reserved person. Even though she was prone to outbursts, the blonde never really let her insecurities show. But right now, the way she moved, as if she wasn't in full control of her body, was entrancing. Wally felt trapped as he watched and he was certain that he wasn't the only one having difficulties tearing his eyes away.

And there was a moment, a miniscule slip of time where his breath caught and he wished that he could view time differently. He wished he had the ability to pause or at least slow down everything else to take in every detail of her. For an instant, it felt like she wasn't up there on the stage at some small-time café. Instead, she was far away in greener pastures and bright blue skies. Gray eyes looked towards the horizon and beyond. Wally didn't know what she saw exactly, but he imagined a clear view of tomorrow. The way she glowed with the spotlight on her skin, her hair cascading down in soft curls and her eyes gleaming optimistically made him think her beautiful.

Her voice eventually trailed off into silence.

Wally didn't think as he stood and clapped enthusiastically.

It took seconds, five to be precise, to realize that he was the only one giving a standing ovation. Everyone else was giving him a surprised look, even Artemis' face was set in wide-eyed disbelief. Dick was the only one making a sound with his cackling.

Well… this was embarrassing.

Before he could spontaneously combust into smithereens of shame, his best friend shook his head and stood up to clap as well. Just like that, the slow claps turned into lively applause. Artemis was grinning wide at the reaction and Wally realizes it was the first time he has ever seen it. Her smile does something strange to his heart.

As the band soaked up the affection, Wally felt a hand on his shoulder. The redhead looked to his best friend to find him smirking. "Real smooth Wallman"

Wally blushed once again before sitting back down. Once the crowd settled, Undercover began a new song. As Artemis opened her mouth, she and Wally shared a look.

"I fell in love when you were brushing your teeth over my kitchen sink"

Somehow the line felt like it was directed towards him.

The thought sent his heart racing.

ooOoo

He was taking a breath of fresh air outside when she walked over. After the band finished playing, his friends decided to stay until the last set. Despite the fact that they had been seated at the same table, Wally and Artemis didn't really get to talk. Not that he was expecting to talk to her or anything like that.

It was starting to get cold but he didn't particularly mind. He was a walking heater according to Dick. That said, he was still grateful that his best friend had the foresight to hand him a turtleneck. Artemis on the other hand, was rubbing her hands on her arms for warmth.

"Hey" She said

"Hey"

And silence.

Well this was… new.

Usually they couldn't shut up around each other. They always had some unkind remark; hers primarily revolved around his occasional stupidity and his around her nagging. He wasn't sure if this was an improvement but it did feel less hostile but slightly tense.

Thinking as deeply as he was, Wally didn't notice Artemis take a step closer until she knocked her elbow against his. He looked down to find her face close to his. She muttered something, but he was too focused on studying emerald arrow earring she was so fond of wearing.

"Uhhh… sorry, what was that?" he asked.

Suddenly, she narrowed her eyes at him. He gulped at the change of expression and took a cautious step back.

"Never mind dork" she said as she rolled her eyes

"Wait, I really didn't—"

He was interrupted by the sudden opening of the café door. The guy from before swaggered their way and Wally found himself bristling at the added company. He stopped right in front of Artemis before eyeing her up and down.

Wait a minute, he wasn't thinking of…

"Hey baby"

Ohhhh, he was… What an idiot.

"What are you doing out here in the cold?"

Seriously? Sure the guy had balls of steel considering that he still had the guts to proposition Arty after that stunt back at the café, but even then, didn't he notice the sharp gray-eyed glare sent his way? Maybe it would be best if Wally sent him off.

"Dude, you really shouldn't" Wally warned and Mr. I-don't-know-how-to-use-a-belt looked at him.

He snorted, the twerp actually snorted.

"This your boyfriend?"

Wally felt his cheeks heat at the question.

"Pfft, you could do better…"

The redhead never felt the urge to strangle someone so strongly until now. Then the blond wrapped his arm around Artemis' shoulder and Wally was corrected; now he just wanted to beat the guy senseless—preferably with his own belt.

"Tell you what sweet cheeks, how about you dump the ginger and go out with me and my friends. We'll be sure to show you a good time" He said with a leer that would have even Connor flinching.

Artemis gave him a sweet smile and daintily placed her hand on his. The other blond smirked victoriously at Wally's direction. He didn't seem to notice the fire in Artemis' eyes or the tightness to her shoulders.

Mr. Blondie was screwed.

His tombstone would read: Here lies the biggest douche in the world. May all fear the wrath of Artemis Crock, her words are sharp and exact, like arrows shooting down from Cupid's bow—only without the love but all the sarcasm and pain instead.

Artemis opened her mouth and Wally wished he had popcorn.

After a good ten minutes of Artemis weaving poetry out of insults, the blond imbecile finally fled with his tail between his legs. Wally chuckled as he stumbled back inside. Artemis huffed out before turning to the redhead. She had a sour expression on her face.

"Ugh! What an idiot! And thanks for the help there Wallman" She said as poked him hard on the chest.

"Hey! It's not like you needed me to derail your vivid and well-worded death threats Miss Comparative Lit Major" he defended.

It was strange, he couldn't seem to keep the smile off his face. The blonde looked him over and flicked his forehead playfully. "Fair enough kid"

"Ow!" Wally rubbed at the spot overdramatically before adding, "I especially liked that whole tirade with the rabbit hole…I don't think he got it though"

With a mischievous smirk, Artemis replied, "Of course he didn't"

Once again there was silence but this time, it was comfortable. Wally just grinned and oddly enough, she smiled back.

Artemis suddenly shivered and Wally remembered that she was probably cold. As another impulsive action for the night, he slowly inched his hand towards hers. She glanced down at the action but didn't pull away.

Only a few more inches.

"Hey Wally!"

Both jumped apart at the sound and looked at the entrance. Dick was popping his head out of one side. His face was sporting a shit-eating grin. Wally was pretty sure his face was stuck in a permanent blush. On the plus side, even Artemis looked flushed.

"Wh-what Dick?"

"Are you going to make a move or not? We don't have all night you know?" At that statement, Megan's, Conner's, Kaldur's and Zatanna's heads popped out as well.

He really hated his friends sometimes.

"I was going to" at the surprised looks, he corrected, "I mean—I, you…I hate you guys."

They chuckled at that and Artemis eventually got back her bearings.

"Ok, you trolls, back inside" She commanded easily and was answered with 'awws'. They did shuffle back inside and Wally wondered how she managed to do that.

He rubbed his neck anxiously and turned back towards the blonde. Artemis had her lips pursed at the direction of their friends and he snickered at her expression. She turned back to him questioningly and he waved a hand saying it was nothing.

"I guess that means we should head back as well" Wally said with a tilt of his head. Artemis nodded absently and he began to walk forward. "You think Dick ate all my strawbe-mphfff"

Suddenly there were lips on his, but as soon as they were there, they were gone. Wally stared dumbly at the singer.

Artemis face was red. Like her dress. Like her lips.

Artemis' lips…

"What…?"

"That was for a while ago"

"Heh?"

"You know…" She made a noncommittal gesture. At Wally's confused expression, she sighed loudly. "Oh for crying out loud! It was a thank you kiss ya moron, got it?"

.

"Ohhh… Uhh… Ok"

Artemis narrowed her eyes at that. It was as if she was asking if that was all he had to say. To be honest, it wasn't.

He swiftly leaned down and kissed her softly. Her lips were slightly sticky from the lipstick, but that was ok. He didn't really mind. Besides, they kinda tasted like cherries.

Once he moved away, it was Artemis' turn to be shocked.

"Wally…?" she asked

"Err… a 'You're welcome' kiss" he replied lamely as he began to walk back.

Wally expected her to have a reaction, as was natural, but instead, she just trudged after him. For the first time, since he met her, he had rendered her speechless. He opened the door to her and tried not to say anything but he couldn't stop himself.

Wally had to brag, he just had to, "Was I that good?"

Artemis glared at him but still said nothing. When he opened his mouth, she elbowed him hard on his side. Well that was one way to shut him up—although a method involving cherry-flavored lipstick would've been more effective. Wally told her as much as they went back inside.

So Artemis shut him up once again.


This actually turned out really fun to write. Especially when I started trying to cram in as many references as I could. :D