hello everyone! i'm aware I haven't posted on here in a while, but I've been very caught up with my tumblr. Follow me (iartemisswally) for way more writing, thoughts, pictures, and feelings than you will get here! When I write something new, it will be there first.

Anyway, this is a tiny little thing, something I wrote a while ago and didn't think was very good until it recently made me laugh. here you go!

Of all the expressions Artemis was expecting to wake up to, utter, complete glee was not one of them.

When she comes to, she is shivering and drenched, her hair heavier than herself, her lips coated with the taste of salt and trash. She opens her eyes, blearily, and almost yelps, because what she sees is almost nightmarishly ridiculous; Wally is leaning over her and his green eyes are burning and he is grinning, all teeth. His goggles dangle loosely around his neck. He vaguely resembles a twelve year old on drugs.

He's also far too near to her. His nose is almost brushing hers.

"God, Wally," she mutters, pushing herself up with her elbows. He moves back as she moves forward, perfectly in sync. The distance between them does not grow greater nor lesser. She grits her teeth. "I didn't realize we were so goddamn chummy."

"How're you feeling?" he asks her congenially. She arches her eyebrow. "Do you feel any different? Improved, perhaps? Do you feel vastly, incredibly, better?"

"I feel nauseated," she informs him. She shoves her palm into his face and pushes him away, glancing around for her bow. He rolls back but doesn't fall, sitting on his haunches. They're in Blüdhaven, and more importantly, Blüdhaven at night. The city flickers in and out of light and the buildings have been drawn expertly in shadow. They're here for a mission, she suddenly remembers. Batman sent them on a stakeout; Count Vertigo was making a "diplomatic" visit to the United States, but the word on the crime-riddled, dirty back street suggested that his intentions were in the et cetera category.

"Where's the Te –"

"Team? They're wrapping things up in there. The Count is gone, of course, but there's some people to arrest. He was trying to buy some illegal chemical weapons, probably for a hostile takeover of Vlatava. The scumbag's getting desperate. Anyway, that is not the point. Guess what happened to you?"

"I fell into the harbor," she deadpans. "Where's my bow?"

He deflates a little bit, and she almost laughs (but she doesn't because her bow), because he is so just like a kid trying to pull a surprise party off and failing to keep the surprise part in tact. Glumly, he hands her the bow, as well as her arrow case. "I couldn't get all the arrows," he says. "Unless I wanted to end up looking, like you know, you."

"Thanks for your generous contribution." She brushes past him, heading the most nondescript of the nondescript warehouses. Loud noises and knuckles against noses are now rushing back to her in spurts and stops, and she is shivering because its one of those barely summer nights, and she wants a towel and a bed.

But Wally is incorrigible. He jogs alongside her, backwards of all things, still talking. "You were wrong, anyway. You didn't just fall in. Count Vertigo hit you with a huge amount of psychic force. You practically passed out."

She shakes her head grimly. "No, that was definitely your odor. It's starting to affect the health of your Teammates, Wally. I suggest an immediate bath. Right now." She gestures to the harbor. "It smells, but better than you."

But the idiot – he actually laughs, with actual mirth. His exuberance makes her feel on edge. He looks like the goddamn Joker. "Oh, Artemis, you mock me now, but wait until you find out who gave you mouth to mouth."

What.

What.

WHAT!

She must've said that last one out loud, but she doesn't remember doing it. She also doesn't remember nocking an arrow and whirling around to point it at his throat, but the next thing she knows, Kaldur is gently (but firmly at the same time) ripping her bow out of her hands and M'gann has her hands on Artemis' shoulders and demanding what was she thinking and what happened –

"Nothing," snarls Artemis, ripping herself away from M'gann. "Absolutely nothing happened. Nope, all boring here." Only Robin seems to understand (oh, God, was the mind link up when he – when he did the thing with the lips maybe touching), and cackles to himself. Wally raises an eyebrow at her and all but waggles it.

"O deluded one," he says mournfully, "the Nile is –"

"Murder!" she screeches at him, lunging forward before anyone can stop her and punching him square in the jaw.