I just love how I will disappear for months, come back, whip something up, then disappear again. I have left the cave this time for a Valentine's ficlet starring Traught. I am very disappointed by how little Dick/Artemis fics there are, so here is my contribution.
"You want me to what?" The question fell past Artemis' lips in slight confusion as she worked on one of her arrows.
"I want you to teach me archery," Robin repeated his request, bouncing from one foot to the other. She looked up at him, eyebrows scrunching together.
"Why?" She asked. Simple question, really. Why does the boy wonder want her skill?
"It is a skill I don't have and I want to correct that." She almost believed him, if it weren't for the fact that she knew this kid. Robin was her best friend after all, and she could just tell that wasn't the truth. Not the full truth, anyways.
"Mhm." She looked at him pointedly, raising an eyebrow. The boy's shoulders slumped down as he turned his head to the side.
"Fine. I want to impress this girl who goes to my school," Robin admitted almost shyly causing Artemis to squeal in delight.
"Oooh! You have a crush! That's adorable, but learning archery just to impress her? Why don't you just tell her that you like her?" Placing her arrow on the ground next to her, Artemis stood up. Her friend liked someone, she couldn't help but think that was adorable.
"Trust me, I have tried everything. She just sees me as a little kid." Eyes downcast as he sighed, upset with the revelation.
"Well, you kinda are, dork." Artemis gave a smile, ruffling his hair like she always does.
"I am going to be 15 next month!" He snapped, swatting her hand away from his head.
"Wait, seriously? When did you start growing up?" Robin groaned, clearly annoyed and used to those words. Artemis stared at the boy in front of her in shock. How had she not noticed how much he was growing? Hell, he was an inch taller than her. When had that happened?
"Well, it has been slowly happening since the day I was born. That's how life works, Mis." She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not with his snippy response, but she assumes he is pretty exasperated with people treating him like a child.
"Right, sorry. Rob, just tell the girl how you feel. Tomorrow is Valentine's day, you might be surprised." Her apology was a bit half-hearted as she focused back on the matter of Robin's crush. Today was the 13th of February, which meant he could confess his affections just in time for Valentine's. That would be super cute and romantic.
"I don't know." The kid was hesitant, poor guy was so nervous. He must really like this girl, Artemis surmised. A metaphorical light bulb lit up in her head, giving her an idea.
"Why don't you practise on me? Say to me what you would say to her." It was a good plan, she had seen it work before. It gave Wally the courage to finally ask Zatanna out, and get a yes in return. It worked with Megan back when she had a crush on Conner. It will definitely work for Robin, the kid was braver than anyone else she knew.
"Alright," he agreed, looking up to meet her eyes. She couldn't see his baby blues from behind his mask, but she knew they were there. He reached up, placing a hand on her shoulder and took a deep breath. "I really like you. A lot, actually, and I was wondering if you'd want to go out with me." His entire face flushed red, even the tips of his ears, as he spoke. So cute, so nervous.
"See how easy that was? Now just go tell her." Artemis didn't catch the way Robin's face fell in defeat. She did, however, see how disappointed he looked. Briefly, she wondered why.
"No, that won't work. Can we do it my way?" The black haired boy set a look of determination to cover up how upset he was. Artemis gave a nod.
"Alright, fine. I'll teach you archery. It is just for tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah. A Valentine's gift of sorts." Scratching the back of his neck, Robin nodded. Artemis became curious as to what kind of Valentine's gift/confession the boy was planning. She'd find out later, though, after hounding the teenage vigilante for every little detail of what happened.
"Let's go then." Artemis motioned the boy to follow as she lead them to a practise area before walking away. He stood awkwardly where she left him, several feet from the targets, waiting. She came back with a spare bow(she wasn't just going to let him borrow hers) and regular old arrows. Perfect for learning.
Robin took the bow from Artemis' offering hand and balanced it lightly in his left hand. He was ambidextrous, so it didn't matter which hand her shot with. Both were his dominant hand. Artemis watched the teen get used to the feel of the new tool. He drew the string back a couple times, trying to not look so uncomfortable.
"I think I'm ready." He announced after several minutes of testing. Artemis handed him an arrow and stepped up behind him.
"Grip the bow here," guiding his left hand to the proper placement, her right hand helped him load the arrow. "Like that. Once have the arrow in place, your right hand will go here."
Still helping him hold the bow with one hand, her other grabbed his right hand. She maneuvered his fingers around the string and the end of the arrow. Once in the right place, the two drew back in perfect harmony. As though they were one person, they released the arrow and let it fly towards the target. It missed the bullseye by a couple inches.
"That was a good first try. Let's fix your posture before we go again, though." Artemis grabbed his waist, gently twisting it, ignoring the small squeak that emitted from her partner. She adjusted his stance, moving one leg back. Facing the other leg towards the target. Rotating his back and shoulders. As soon as she positioned him properly, she resumed her place behind him.
"Try to relax, Robin. You are way too tense." Her lips whispered into his ear softly. Her left hand was no longer needed to help him hold the bow, so she rested it on his bicep. The muscles underneath her fingers were so stiff. In fact, his entire body was. His back, which pressed up against her front, was so rigid she couldn't believe he was an acrobat. Aren't they supposed to be looser? "It's like you are a rock. Just let go."
His body relaxed against hers, at her words. She released his bicep, settling for resting her hand on his hip as the tips of his ears flushed a bright red. Once again, she helped him draw back the bow and release the arrow. This time, it hit the center of the target. Together, they shot a few more arrows, moving together in complete sync.
"You are doing great. Why don't I go get those arrows, and you try it by yourself?" As soon as she stepped away from him, she found herself missing the heat. That, and the way his body felt against her own. Pausing in her walk to the target, Artemis blinked a couple times and shook her head, trying to remove the thought. She grabbed the arrows and returned them to Robin.
Her eyes traced over his form, for posture obviously. No other reason. She certainly wasn't ogling the way his muscles flexed as he pulled back the string. That was not the case at all, she was just making sure he was doing it properly without her guiding him through it. And, maybe, the way his nose scrunched up in concentration was cute. Okay, it was totally adorable how focused he was. Who was she kidding? She was definitely checking him out. The way he moved, how absorbed he was in what he was doing, it was all so beautiful. She was almost jealous of whoever he was learning her craft for.
Wait, no. Bad Artemis. Shaking her head once again to clear her mind of those thoughts. Sure she always admired Robin. Who didn't? The kid was younger than everyone else(spare Captain Marvel) and was easily one of the most talented people to exist. But she was not jealous of his crush. That would mean that she liked him in a less than platonic way and that was not okay. Not okay at all.
She watched him for hours, even though it only felt like several minutes. She gave a comment here and a correction there. She was his teacher, after all, she couldn't just stare at him. Which she wasn't, to begin with. That would be ridiculous. Eventually, he decided he was good enough for whatever he had planned and thanked her for the lessons. She really didn't feel like she did any work, but she took it anyways. It felt like the polite thing to do, and she wasn't entirely paying attention. In fact, she probably couldn't have left the room faster once he said he was done.
xXx
The next day at school, Artemis made it all the way to lunch without running into Dick and whoever his valentine was. She wasn't jealous or anything. She really wasn't. In fact, she was more than a little curious as to who in their school had caught her friend's attention. He never seemed interested in pursuing a romantic relationship.
She sat outside under her favourite tree, enjoying the chill February air of Gotham while everyone else was inside. Artemis found that she could be outside no matter the weather. Rain, snow, hot, cold. As long as it wasn't a life-threatening storm, she spent her lunch period beneath the tree.
Her phone buzzed with various valentine's texts from her friends as she unwrapped her sandwich. Everyone inside the school was probably comparing gifts and bragging about all the expensive things they received. It was the same every year, and every year she avoided all of it. Except for the candy grams. She couldn't hide from those, they came right into the classroom and handed them out. She always got one from Barbara and one from Dick. No more, no less. This holiday was predictable as always.
Picking apart her sandwich, instead of actually eating it, Artemis sighed. The temperature outside was just cold enough to allow her to see her own breath. She placed her lunch on top of the wrapper and leaned her head against the tree. She closed her eyes for a second, just relaxing. A stream of air passed her cheek and a dull thud snapped her attention back from the peaceful place her mind was headed. She turned her head to the side to see what made the noise.
A couple inches from her nose, an arrow was lodged in the tree. She blinked twice, staring at the object before reaching forward and yanking it out of the bark. Wrapped around the shaft was a piece of paper and a single red rose. A white ribbon was tied around both, holding the note and flower in place. Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, Artemis tugged on the ribbon, releasing the flower. She placed it on her lap and unrolled the piece of paper and began to read.
Artemis,
I have thought long and hard about what I want to write in this letter. For everything I've come up with, nothing was right. You are my best friend and I am terrified that what I feel for you will be the end of this amazing relationship we share. If I am lucky, you care for me the way I care for you. If I am not . . . well, sometimes you just have to take the jump without thinking of the fall. You know I am quite good at that.
I have tried many times to get you to become aware of these feelings I cater for you, though I have been unsuccessful every time. I hope that by telling you outright how I feel, there will be no confusion.
I am aware that you will find it difficult to believe me, but I am in love with you. That is right. I, Dick Grayson, am in love with you, Artemis Crock. You make me feel like an ordinary person despite the world telling me that I am not. You keep me grounded while allowing me to fly. You are my best friend and I am glad that you are in my life.
I have never felt like this before. You know me, I am not good at letting people in. I don't know how to just pour my feelings out for you. I want to tell you exactly how I feel; how you make me feel. I want to find the perfect words to make you realise how important you are and how much I need you. Words that are heartfelt and amazing. When I look at you, the only words that come to mind are the same; I love you.
Dick
Artemis stared in shock at the letter in her hands as tears pooled in her eyes. She was his crush! He was in love with her! She couldn't believe it. How had she missed the signs? She twirled the rose stem between two fingers as she looked up to see Dick walking up to her. She pulled herself to her feet and met him halfway.
"I shot the arrow from the roof. I may have been learning archery for a little longer than one day." He pointed to the area of the school where he had come from. He smiled shyly as he pulled out a gift bag with his spare hand.
"I'm the girl you wanted to impress?" She whispered, taking the bag from him and placing it to the side on the ground.
"Yeah. I thought I was being obvious, but. . ." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. "I ran out of ideas on how to tell you and I didn't know how you were going to respond. I still don't know how you are going to respond. It's totally cool if you don't feel the same, I wou-"
Artemis cut his rambling off, grabbing each side of his school blazer and pulling him into a kiss. He froze for a second before kissing back. His arms snaked around her waist, pulling her body closer as her arms wrapped around his neck. They stayed in each other's embrace though their lips parted. He gently rested his forehead against hers and smiled, going in for another kiss.
"Does this mean you like me back?" He murmured against her lips.
"I like you back, dork." She responded, capturing his mouth a third time.
So maybe she was in love with her best friend. It was by far the greatest thing she had ever decided on. He loved her back and she could taste it in the smile on his lips.