He's sitting in the study, alone, as always. He distances himself from everyone else, afraid of what he'll hear, afraid because he knows he's insane and he's driving them down in a pit further than he'd ever expected, further than what he'd intended. He knows he's lost control of the situation. It's just a matter of accepting it or not.
The quiet makes him feel almost like everything is okay. Almost like nothing had ever happened, not yet, not ever. The cave's still standing next to the still ocean, the sun's still beating down on the kids who go out to play on the sand, giving them fresh bright red burns that hurt every time they sparred.
Quiet meant peace.
Isolation meant quiet.
He hears a noise as his phone vibrates on his desktop. He picks it up and sees it's a blocked call. He knows who that must be. He sighs, remembering his fight with Wally only hours ago. "I don't care about that junk! I'm worried about Artemis! Terrified for her! You put her right in his hands."
"Hello?" he answers the phone, putting it up to his ear.
"Sorry about the cave I-"
"It's fine. Necessary loss."
His voice is formal, curt. She's not used to him talking to her like this. He always has a smile and a laugh for her when she needs it, and right now is one of those times when she needs it.
She stares in the mirror at herself, her reflection looking back at her with the same defeated expression she's wearing on her face. She sees herself, yet she doesn't. The blonde hair is there, the tan skin tone, but she's not herself. This is what she was trying to leave, the path she had left, now the one she's walking again. And she's scared, she hates what she has to do, she hates lying to all her friends because she knows they must hurt thinking she's dead. Lying to M'gann. To Zatanna. To everyone.
"How's Wally?" she asks quietly. He hasn't allowed her to leave his side for the five years they've been together, because he's afraid of losing her, and she knows. She's afraid of losing him too. She loves him too much to suffer that.
"He's… Mad at me right now I… I don't know what to do Artemis. I think he's right, I'm doing everything wrong, oh God I shouldn't have put you in danger I-"
"Shut up Dick you sound like you forgot to do your math homework or something. I can do this okay? You wouldn't have asked me to if I couldn't handle it." She realizes she has to be the strong one now, even though she knows she's so weak. Because she's never heard him this concerned, this anxious… This… Distraught.
"And Dick? Get traught okay? For me."
He hears the familiar phrase over the phone, Artemis saying it to him now. And through all the pain, all the worry, he can't help but smile.
"Okay Arty. I'll do my best."
A/N: Hey guys! I realize I haven't been on FF lately, mostly cuz I've been busy at school and speaking of which, I took the PSAT today! To celebrate that the test is over I am going to publish this fic which I've already published on tumblr and see if I can update Gotham Academy :D Anyway this wasn't really a pairing centric piece, some mentioned Spitfire, Traught if you look for it :P Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Love, Safire