The cold September wind whipped Artemis' long blonde ponytail back and forth. She sighed and brushed the stray strands from her face angrily. She and Wally were perched on a small building in a tiny town in Oklahoma. Batman had sent a pair of two team members to different cities all over the US following a lead that somewhere the League of Shadows would be meeting. Megan and Connor had gone to Washington, Zatanna and Robin to Illinois and Raquel and Kaldur to Pennsylvania. Artemis was beginning to wonder if Batman was playing matchmaker. She glanced over at Wally and grimaced.

If so, why on earth did he pair Artemis and Wally together, of all people? Wally held a pair of binoculars to his eyes looking out over the small town. He hadn't spoken much to her, much less teased her. Ever since the training mission from a few weeks ago in which Artemis 'died' he had become more cautious around her and though she hated to admit it, more gentlemanly and… sweet. Artemis shuddered, causing Wally to turn to her with a look of concern.

Upon seeing his normally handsome green eyes, Artemis began cracking up. He frowned at her which only made her laugh harder.

"What?" he whined.

Between laughs, Artemis gasped out, "It seems a certain… Boy Wonder has gotten payback for your little prank on him a few weeks ago."

Artemis pulled out her compact and held it for him to see, reflecting back the black rings he now had around his eyes. A couple weeks ago, just after the failed mission and to lighten the mood, Wally had stolen Robin's mask and sunglasses while he was taking a shower along with his clothes, forcing the thirteen-year-old to venture nude into the Cave looking for his clothes. Artemis never realized how blue his eyes were. She couldn't decide what he was madder about, loosing his clothes or his mask and sunglasses. Even with clothes on, the Boy Wonder felt naked without his disguise.

"Wow, Rob. Cliché much?" Wally interrupted Artemis' memory. He was holding the compact, but it was still in her hands, meaning the speedster was cupping her hand that held the compact and looking in it. Artemis blushed a bit and cleared her throat, gently pulling her hand from his. Wally, seeming to just realize what he had been doing, blushed red and looked at his feet.
Artemis put her compact away and with another look at Wally burst into giggles. Wally groaned and rubbed his face, trying vainly to remove the ink. Artemis laughed harder when she saw that he had only managed to smear the ink around his face more, making him look like a redheaded raccoon.

When Artemis was finally able to stop laughing, she picked up a stray napkin from the lunch they had shared and dipped it in some water.

"Calm down, Baywatch." She said as he frantically rubbed his face even harder. "I'll get it."

He stopped flailing and let her rub the area around his eyes with the wet napkin. Thankfully, the ink came off easily and in no time she had his right eye normal.
When his green eyes weren't closed, they bore in hers as she washed him off. Again she laughed at how ridiculous he looked; now even more with one eye normal and the other smudged and blackened.

"You look like you got in a fight with Superboy, Baywatch."

Wally shrugged slightly. "We never speak of this again."

Artemis chuckled. "As you wish."

She finished cleaning his other eye and threw the black napkin to the ground, next to their pile of trash. When she looked at him again, the yellow and red speedster was smiling at her.

"Ya know…" he started off. Oh boy. "In The Princess Bride, as you wish means 'I love you'."

Artemis shoved him backwards. "You wish, Baywatch. We hate each others guts remember?" Artemis said with a smile. She didn't really hate his guts, per say, but she in no way loved him.

But, as his entrancing green eyes sparkled and the freckles on his face moved with his frown, Artemis' smile left her and she looked at him for the first time in a different way, a prospective way.

"As you wish, Artemis." Wally whispered, a small smile on his face. All she could do was stare at him. His muscular features and red hair registered for the first time as actually cute. She didn't have to look down to imagine his fit abs and chest. Working together for a few months and you tend to remember what your teammates look like. But now, as he leaned closer to her, she saw him in a new light.

Her eyes were fixed with his as he leaned closer and closer. His lips looked full and warm. Her eyes fluttered and she almost closed them but a gust of wind hit her from the front and she snapped them open. She jerked a hand up and pressed it to his lips, which were mere inches from hers. Her chest rose and fell with her shocked breaths matching his, though the anticipation in his eyes told her he wasn't shocked. She felt his mouth curve into a smile against her hand as she gently pushed him back.

"Um, what are you doing?" she whispered quietly.

Wally's face shifted and he backed up further, his mouth leaving her hand. He coughed and looked away. "I—um-, I just got caught up in the moment and I—uh—caved."

"Caved?"

He shrugged. "You just looked really pretty standing there with your hair whipping in the wind and you said 'I love you'—"

"Did not!" Artemis interjected, her face beat red.

"In nerd terms you technically did."

"I—uh—no I didn't!" Wally turned to look at her and gave her his customary smirk, that cute little smirk he gave to girls he was flirting with. The cute smile Artemis never dreamed would be directed at her.
She shook her head and turned forward, leaning on the building's railing. "Whatever, Baywatch. You're the one who tried to kiss me."

Now it was Wally's turn to get defensive and Artemis smirked at him from the side of her gray eyes.

"I did not! You just—your mask was shifting and I—I was going to fix it so you didn't—ya know—get exposed and—"

She tuned out his rambling until finally she heard silence. She raised her eyebrows at him and turned. "Did I finally silence Kid Mouth?" she smirked. But Wally wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were directed upward, to the boiling clouds above them that hadn't been there ten minutes ago.

"We need to get inside…" Wally said. A strong wind began to pick up. "Now." He added, looking at her.
"Wally, I don't see why—" then a gust of strong wind hit her so hard that she was knocked off her feet and stumbled right into KF's arms. Wally caught her with a shocked expression and was then hit by the gust himself, almost falling over with her. Wally picked up her legs and shifted her in his arms so he carried her bridal style, the way he always did. Before she could even object he had started moving and running with the wind, going 70mph in seconds. On instinct Artemis tucked her head into the crook of his neck and held onto him tighter.
Wally's eyes watered as he ran. He hadn't had time to put his goggles on and the dry Oklahoma wind was certainly not helping his case. He gritted his teeth and tucked his head, forcing his eyes open.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, but he had to get them inside. A few miles down the road a tornado had touched down.
"Artemis," he coughed out. Artemis, who had her head tucked under his chin, pried her head up and looked at him. "My goggles, I can't see." Wally breathed.
Artemis got the message and he tightened his grip on her as her arms left his neck. Her hands were warm as she pulled his goggles on over his eyes. He blinked a few times and sighed in relief as his eyes watered. Finally. He picked up the speed and soon had gotten them to the hotel they were staying at for the weekend.

Not even putting her down, he sprinted inside and dashed past the reception desk, vaguely remembering the embarrassment from earlier when the receptionist had asked if they were dating and if they wanted the sweetheart suite.

He face heated up but he kept running, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach from having Artemis pressed so close to him. Wally kicked open the door to the stairs and ran down them, taking each flight in a little under a second each.

Mere seconds later, he sat Artemis down and looked around. They were down in the basement, which was about thirty feet underground and solid concrete.

A few guests and staff members were there as well and they calmed down from the arrival of the two teenagers when they recognized their costumes.

Wally watched as Artemis brushed herself off and walked to the wall facing the people. She leaned against it and slid to the ground. With another glance around, Wally walked over and joined her. Her eyes were closed and her head leaning back against the wall. The corner of Wally's mouth tipped upward. She really was beautiful.

"Thanks, Baywatch," she said suddenly. One of her gray eyes cracked open and she peered at him. "Your quick thinking saved us."

He brushed it off, ignoring the opportunity to goad her on it. He'd do that later.

"No problem." He said.

Artemis' eyebrows rose. No doubt she had been waiting for a witty comeback.

The receptionist from earlier walked over carrying a blanket.

"Here," she said. "It gets a bit drafty in here." She handed it to Wally and walked back over to the other hotel guests and staff. Wally eyed the blanket and peaked at Artemis. It was plenty big for two people, if said two people huddled together. A chill still hung over the two of them from the colder September morning. Artemis' eyes were on it as well and suddenly she shivered. Wally couldn't blame her. At least his suit covered him all the way. Artemis had no sleeves and nothing on her stomach.

Before he could change his mind, he opened the blanket and wrapped a side around himself. Artemis watched him as he slowly wrapped the other side around her shoulders and gently pulled her to him.
They both were tense for a moment until Artemis let out a disgruntled sigh and snuggled closer to him. Wally's shoulders relaxed and he tightened the blanket around them. Her head was on his chest and on instinct Wally set his on top of hers.

They were silent for a moment as they warmed up.

"This means nothing," Artemis whispered quietly. Wally nodded his head but closed his eyes. Regardless of what it meant, he couldn't ignore the fact he was having some strange enjoyment out of this, not in a humorous way.

"As you wish," he whispered barely audibly. Artemis finally resigned herself to being in his arms and slowly let her eyes drift close. The last sound she heard was the steady breathing of Wally as he drifted off to sleep as well.