This is dedicated to Artemis' hair. For absolutely no reason other than because I damn-well felt like it. I don't own Young Justice. If I did, it would have never ended like it did, Chalant & Supermartian would still be going strong, and most of my ideas wouldn't be considered kid-friendly. Little thread of Seaarrow.
Hair. Artemis has never really given much thought to it in general, especially hers, other than the usual acts of brushing, washing, and pulling it back from her face in her usual ponytail. As she got older, she sometimes gave herself a trim over the kitchen sink.
The main reason that it's so long is because, after Jade left, her dad never gave her grooming habits much attention, other than occasionally barking at her to shower off after a grueling training session.
And then her mother got out and her dad left. Paula, hoping to make up for the gross amount of time lost between herself and Artemis, would sometimes wheel herself to Artemis' room before she went to bed and make her sit down in front of her while Paula ran a brush through her hair, one hundred strokes even, just like she had been taught by her mother, sometimes commenting on Artemis' luck of having inherited such beauty.
Some days, Paula would wake her earlier than normal before school just so she could have enough time to do something different to it, sometimes some braided style, sometimes some soft up do.
And Artemis lets her, though she doesn't really see what the big deal is about it. Sometimes, with the way it blew into her face, or the amount of time it took in the morning and the shower to maintain, it makes her think about shaving her head and starting all over.
And since she doesn't really give her hair much thought, she never really expected anyone else to. She vaguely registered the compliments she got from strangers on the streets or classmates in the halls with a polite "thank you". So her surprise when her teammates took their own notice of her lovely locks is understandable.
Of course they noticed it when they first met her. A person would have to be blind not to. A golden blonde color most girls pay dearly for for chemical treatments to get similar results. The same for the unrealistic length of it.
Wally showed his notice in his jokes, calling Artemis Rapunzel, using a lock to make himself a hair-mustache, zipping through the room Artemis was in to tug on a random strand. Not enough to hurt, just enough to get her attention.
At first, when their relationship was more combative than it now was, Artemis was deeply annoyed with his antics, and took revenge in small ways (I.E. hiding all of his snacks, tripping him if came running in at great speeds). Now though, now she just took it in stride. If Wally so determined to act far younger than he really was, who was she to stop him? And no, it wasn't because he was growing on her.
Conner's attention to it was much more subtle, barely even noticable. It really only caught his attention because of this thought. He was a near exact copy of Superman. A copy.
That made him think about his teammates. About the likelihood of them finding someone almost exactly physically like them.
For M'Gann and Kaldur, that likelihood was pretty strong, given their races. For Robin and Wally, maybe not as likely, but still very possible. But Artemis, Artemis just... stood out in his mind. He wasn't sure why. He knew that there were other half-Asian girls in the world. He wasn't that naïve.
But of course, none of these girls had hair like Artemis. Not naturally at least. Maybe that's why he thought that if they ever came across someone like Artemis, he would think this person a clone until proven otherwise.
M'Gann and Zatanna showed their attention by dedicating a whole night to it.
You see, one night Wally insisted on a boys night out with the boys of the team, calling it "training" if any of the various older heroes asked.
Since she and Zatanna were left alone in the cave, M'Gann called Artemis, having thought it would be a fun idea to have a girls night in. Artemis, bored out her mind with homework, and unable to leave her apartment because Paula didn't want her out in the rainstorm that had hit Gotham for the last three days, agreed.
She zeta tubed to the Cave, and was quickly met by an enthusiastic M'Gann, who ordered her to change into pajamas and meet herself and Zatanna in the lounge.
If it had been anyone else, Artemis probably would have made some witty remark before leaving. But since it was M'gann, she was more amused than annoyed, and did as she asked.
When she joined them, they promptly made her sit in front of them and put their hands in her hair, brushing it and pulling some strands up to the light and admiring how it shimmered, ignoring Artemis' requests that they stop. They did every imaginable hairstyle, and some unimaginable ones, to it. And while every now and then, Artemis got one of them to trade places with her, somehow they always came back to her.
Robin notices because his mother was a blonde. 'Nough said.
Kaldur notices it of course. Especially one day when Paula fixes it up in this curly side ponytail. But later on, after Tula breaks up with him, he starts to notice other things about her.
Like how one day when the whole team is on the beach, and he sees Artemis is wearing this blue sporty bikini that inexplicably makes his mouth go dry, she has several scars along her shoulders, back, and legs.
Of course in this line of work, scars are not an uncommon thing.
It's just that Artemis' scars are really only random lines just a shade darker than her skin tone, just noticable in the light. Wally notices too and when he asks her about them, she seems a little nervous and gives a random excuse.
A month after that, their in the lounge room, making small talk. And then Kaldur notices her eyes. How close to black they seem, her pupils almost invisible against her iris'. How in other light they appeared a cool silver or an icy blue.
And her body. Strong and taught, but still very very feminine.
It's about a week after they start dating that Kaldur really shows his appreciation.
It could be that their making out, and Kaldur tugs on random locks. And Artemis can't help but get turned on by it.
Or their lying in bed, and Kaldur runs a hand over it or through it, to the best of his ability with his webbed hands. Sometimes Artemis falls asleep to his strokes.
So maybe it's all this hair appreciation that makes Artemis start to pay a little more attention to hers.
She practices the styles Paula and M'Gann try on her. She buys shampoo and conditioner that swears to protect and maintain her long hair.
She still doesn't get the big deal about it though.
By the by, I'm not to sure if Mary Grayson is blonde. You know the comics, I've seen her brunette, she's blonde in her animated appearances, it's just a headache. I enjoy reviews:)
