A/N Four-thousand-word one-shot. Officially the longest one-shot I have ever written. And probably the saddest. So, novelette? I filled this with sadness... Consider yourself warned.
Okay, um, Spitfire one-shot with SuperMartian and Chalant (first time writing real Chalant, guys, so be nice), but Spitfire is the main pairing. Rated T for a whole lot of character death. Also, a very vague mention of child abuse, but it's ignorable.
This is slightly AU in that Wally and Artemis didn't kiss on New Year's, but they did start dating. They haven't kissed yet in this story.
Disclaimer: Don't own. Be grateful. The things I put this pairing through...
"Come on. Say something."
"Like what? I'm pretty sure we've covered every subject known to mankind," Wally laughed. He shifted position from his spot on the grassy hill.
"I'm pretty sure we haven't," Artemis retorted playfully. She lay down so that her head was next to his, her feet pointing in the opposite direction."Wait. I've got one. Tell me the story of how you got your powers."
"Arty! I've told you that a million times already!"
Artemis didn't bother to correct the nickname and just shrugged, glancing over at the redhead with a soft smile. "Tell me again."
Wally chuckled. "I liked Flash, I blew up Uncle Barry's garage, and here I am."
"Wallace Rudolph West! Tell me for real!"
"Okay! Well, when I was a kid, the Flash was my hero, and so was my uncle. I mean, Flash saved people on a day-to-day basis, and my uncle saved me from..." Wally's voice trailed off as horrifying memories flooded into his thoughts.
Artemis knew. "From your dad," she finished for him, as she reached up and smoothed back his hair from his forehead.
"From my dad," Wally agreed softly. He winced slightly before his face visibly brightened as he pushed the thoughts away. "So, Barry was my hero, and Flash was my hero. One night, when I was about ten, I couldn't sleep. So when I heard a noise downstairs, I decided to go check it out. I grabbed a pillow and snuck downstairs—hey, don't laugh! I didn't exactly have a weapon, mind you!"
Artemis choked back her giggles and smirked at him. Wally sighed and continued.
"So I snuck downstairs—"
"With a pillow."
"Yes, with a pillow. Now stop interrupting. I turned the corner, and standing in the middle of the living room was Uncle Barry, wearing his Flash suit with the mask off. And he saw me standing in the doorway, and then he was like, I can explain."
"And then you fanboyed."
"Yes. I fanboyed. Why does everybody get such a kick out of that? Then again, I didn't exactly see you turning down the opportunity to be Green Arrow's sidekick, did I?"
"Partner. And, well... no."
"Good. Now shut up. So then I 'fanboyed'," Wally made air quotes with his fingers, "and tried to get Barry to let me be his sidekick. And don't say partner. We were sidekicks then because it wasn't insulting at the time. Big surprise, Barry said no. We had a bit of an argument then, but it was mostly back and forth with me saying please and him saying no. Then Aunt Iris came down, kind of took it all in, and just said no. At the Allens', the words of Iris are law. Burst my bubble, that's for sure.
"But I was pretty stubborn. Still am. Blew up Barry's garage, made myself a superhero, and now here I am."
Artemis clapped mockingly, earning a scowl from Wally. Then he sneezed.
"Aw, man, it's one of those little wish-flower things. They never fail to get up my nose."
"Wish-flower?"
"You know, the white dandelion seeds."
"Oh, I remember. Didn't we do some of those the day—"
"Yeah," Wally cut in quickly. Artemis winced; she had forgotten that the subject was far more sensitive to him than it was to herself.
"Do you, y'know... want to talk about it?" she asked, seeing that his expression was suddenly blank and uncaring, as compared to the gentle grin from moments ago.
"No." The answer was short and terse. Artemis inwardly cringed. This wasn't the Wally she came to see. She wanted the real Wally.
"It's been a year," she whispered, staring at the sky. "You have to accept it."
"I don't have to accept anything. Look," he sat up and smiled at her, but the expression was forced and anything but happy. "It's a beautiful day. Let's not ruin it."
Artemis felt some of her old stubbornness coming back to her in waves. She sat up quickly, glaring at the redheaded teen with a fire to make up for every lost moment. "No, Wally. We're going to talk about this. Do you understand me? You've got to get your head out of the ground. You're wasting your life! I don't want that for you! You're in denial."
Wally looked surprised at the sudden outburst, but recovered his cool just as fast. "I don't care anymore."
With speed that would rival the Flash, Artemis's hand shot out and grabbed Wally's chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Tell me. Now."
He wrested away from her grip, but the anger was gone. Artemis could see the brokenness in his eyes. I don't care anymore. His words echoed through her head.
"Where do I start?" he asked, uncertainty tingeing his voice.
"Start with the wish-flowers."
Several feet away, Megan and Conner sat at a park bench. Conner was watching Wally intently, probably using his super-hearing to listen to the redhead speak. Megan noticed.
"Conner, privacy," she scolded softly.
"I'm worried for him. I'm younger than he is, technically speaking, but I'm mentally and emotionally older. I'm like his older brother. I just want to protect him."
"We're both right here, Conner. If anything happens, we'll be there in an instant to help."
"It's tough for him."
"Wally is tough, too. He'll be okay. He just... he needs this, Conner. More than you and I will ever know."
"Megan, you and I both know that Artemis—"
"Don't, Conner," Megan replied shortly. "Don't take this away from him."
Wally began to recount that day's happenings.
"Here, Arty. Blow."
"What is it?" Artemis asked, pushing her hair back into the headband Megan had lent her for her date with Wally. They had been dating for five months, so he, Artemis, Robin, and Zatanna had gone out on a double date. They had gone to the movies and then to dinner at a simple, but pleasant diner, after which they went for a walk in the nearby park. Dick and Zatanna had the car, and had opted to walk in a different part of the park. One without so many fluffy white particles floating through the air.
"It's a wish-flower," Wally replied, looking surprised. "Don't you know what a wish-flower is?"
"I didn't exactly have the best of childhoods, you know."
"Oh. Right." Wally grinned sheepishly, and then shrugged. "It's okay. I'll teach you. You see, you take the flower, and you make a wish. Then you blow away the seeds, and they float away with your wish to some old magic wish-guy that grants your wish."
"You don't believe in magic."
Wally's grin went from sheepish to goofy as he replied, "I don't have another explanation as to how I lucked out with you."
She punched him in the arm for stupid flirting, but took the flower. "What should I wish for?"
Wally lifted a second flower close to his mouth. "I know what I'm going to wish for," he said impishly before blowing. The white fuzzies flew into the sky, but not before several landed in Artemis's hair. Wally laughed before he began to pluck them out, destroying Artemis's hairstyle in the process.
Artemis smoothed back her hair somewhat before asking, "What did you wish for?"
Wally hesitated before replying. "I wished you'd hurry up and kiss me already," he answered before dodging the predictable slap to the head. Artemis shook her head and sighed. He was Wally. It wasn't like he would ever learn.
"Now you blow," Wally prompted, sticking his hands into his pockets and watching her attentively.
Artemis raised the flower to her lips, breathed deeply, and blew. Wally tried to duck the flying particles and failed when he inhaled a few. Instantly, he started sneezing several times in quick succession. Artemis laughed.
"It's not—" sneeze "—funny! You did that on purpose!"
"Yep."
Wally let out a longsuffering sigh. "So what'd you wish for?"
She shrugged. "I didn't have to wish for anything. I already have everything I could ever want. Including you."
Wally stopped walking and blushed deeply. Artemis noticed that his jacket was unzipped, and took advantage of his surprise. She grabbed the edges of the jacket, pressed her back against his chest, and wrapped herself in the jacket. Wally blushed even more. Artemis could feel his neck growing warmer where her head pressed against it. His heartbeat was audible, and when she turned her head so that her ear was against his collarbone, she could feel it, too, a rhythmic thumping that was a little faster than her own—the perfect beat for a teen who could run at the speed of sound.
Wally's forehead dropped against her scalp. Artemis could smell him in his jacket. It was so him—the smell of wind, sun, and salty skin, with a hint of dark earth. The faint scent of pizza made her giggle to herself. Also, when did he start wearing aftershave? She thought she would have remembered that. Then she realized that he must have put some on just for that night.
Wally broke the silence. "Wish-flowers are my new favorite."
Wally stared into the sky despondently. Pinched between two fingers was a tiny wish-flower seed that he didn't know was there. It seemed like mere seconds ago he had been walking through the park with the angelic archer, holding her close to him and smelling her hair.
He sniffed the air again, hoping to catch a faint whiff of her scent. But even though she lay beside him in the grass, he couldn't smell her beautiful scent at all. It just wasn't the same.
Her voice called him out of his thoughts and his silence. "What happened next?"
Dick could hear Artemis's voice as she spoke to Wally in low tones. His hands curled and uncurled in and out of fists as nervousness washed over him in nauseating waves.
Zatanna appeared by his side and took his hand, effectively wiping away most of his terror. But even she could not erase it all.
"He's strong, Dickie," she said suddenly. "Stronger than you give him credit for."
"I know. Every day that's gone by, I realize he's stronger than I could have ever imagined. But it's just... right now, he's in such a fragile mental state. I can't help him. I just can't do anything. It sickens me. I'm supposed to be his best friend."
"You can't help what happened. No one can. The only one who can help Wally right now is Artemis. And believe me, no one is going to try harder than she will."
"Then Dick and Zee showed up."
Robin, Boy Wonder, grinned at his two friends when they suddenly appeared, with Artemis's hair tangled and snarled, and Wally with a big grin and a faint blush.
"If Green Arrow finds out, you're both dead," he informed them mockingly as he unlocked the back door of the car.
Wally's face burned. "No, no! I swear, I pulled lint and stuff out of her hair! I didn't—"
"We know, we know," Zatanna interrupted tiredly, forcing a smile. "He's kidding. Right, Dickie?"
"Dickie?" Wally quizzed.
"Are you alright, Zatanna?" Artemis asked. "You look kind of pale."
"I'm fine. Boy Wonder here got pulled over by a cop for underage driving with a minor."
Wally laughed as Robin's ears turned red. "Yeah, well, we're lucky I had some fake papers that said I was a licensed driver. Glad I finally had a growth spurt or we'd be screwed."
"No kidding," Wally replied, still snickering as he climbed into the backseat with Artemis. "Did you tell them Bats lets you drive the Bat-mobile?"
"Shut up. I can drive anything well."
"We know," Artemis interrupted. "Let's get back before people start thinking we rented rooms."
Dick started the engine and pulled away from the park, taking a quick glance into his rear-view mirror at the older couple and snickering.
"Did you kids have a nice time?" he asked mockingly, seeing that Artemis was, in fact, leaning her head against Wally's shoulder with her eyes closed, smiling softly.
"Hrmph," Artemis grunted, her head moving back and forth slightly with the movement of the vehicle.
"Wally?" Zatanna asked, smiling.
"It was nice."
"Save us any leftovers from the diner?" Dick asked.
"Tell me that that wasn't a serious question," Artemis muttered.
Zatanna politely pretended not to notice when Wally buried his nose in Artemis's hair and breathed deeply, nor did she pay attention when a grin appeared on Artemis's face as she reached up and gently nipped Wally's bottom lip with her teeth. Instead, the magician glanced over at Dick, who was watching the two in the mirror, an enormous smile practically splitting his face in two.
"You think they're cute together," she accused in a whisper.
Dick snorted. "Why else do you think I use all my blackmail material trying to get them to make up after fights? It's not because I don't have anything better to do."
Zatanna giggled. "You're a good boyfriend."
Dick smiled and kept his eyes on the road. "Not to mention a good best friend."
"That, too." Zatanna leaned against his shoulder with a contented sigh.
Then Artemis yelled. "Look out!"
A shrill scream pierced the night before shattering glass and twisting metal left it forever silent.
"I can't do this anymore." Wally squeezed his eyes shut to try and block out the tears that he knew were coming. "I can't keep talking about it. It... it hurts so much."
"Wally, you have to." Artemis wiped away a wet streak on his lightly freckled cheekbone, though she was inwardly weeping with him.
"Arty, I can't. Not, I won't. I can't."
"You're strong, Baywatch. Keep going. Now." Her words were angry, but her voice was not. More than anything, she wanted to stop him from hurting. She wanted to ease his pain. She loved him so much, but she was only one person.
She could help him, but the road to healing is hard.
Conner frowned as glanced into the sky. "It's getting late," he observed quietly. "We'll have to leave soon."
Megan watched Wally lying in the grass, speaking toward the sky. "He's almost done," the Martian promised. "Give him a few more minutes."
Conner glanced at his watch and sighed. "Just a few more."
"Thank you."
"There was an accident, Arty. I... I never saw it coming."
Wally woke up to a mind-numbing ache in his leg. Glancing around, he could see that he was in a forest. The road wasn't far away, maybe a few hundred feet.
The twisted remains of Dick's car lay shattered at the side.
The frame was bent nearly beyond recognition. Glass littered the road beside it, and the dark blue paint was scratched and scraped away.
Wally stood, and instantly, white-hot fire shot through his left leg, spotting his vision as he gasped for air. He looked down to see his knee curved backward and his shin actually bent to the left. He nearly threw up, but then remembered.
Dick. Zatanna.
Artemis.
Gritting his teeth, he painstakingly pulled himself to the remains of the vehicle, ignoring the tiny droplets of red that speckled the pavement. Zatanna was still seated in the passenger's seat, her neck at an odd angle, and her pale blue eyes frozen open. She no longer drew breath.
Dick was no longer in the car, but thrown across the road. Wally stumbled up to him, and collapsed to his knees long enough for his best friend to smile at him through bloodstained teeth.
"I'll be okay," he whispered, weakly clasping Wally's hand before he coughed; dark red flew from between his lips before he slumped over. The speedster didn't even need to check for a pulse.
He closed his eyes, grimacing as tears flooded his eyelids.
"Wally..."
Artemis.
Artemis.
He scrambled to his feet, choking back his scream of agony as he moved his broken leg.
Artemis.
She was leaning against a tree nearby. At first, Wally thought she was unharmed, and he allowed himself slight relief for her sake.
But there was red on her chest.
Red.
So much...
He landed heavily next to her, cursing his lack of gracefulness as he jostled the archer slightly. She grimaced before weakly placing one hand against her chest.
"Glass," she hissed. "In my chest...'"
"Oh, dear God, help me, Artemis!"
She shook her head; blood spurted from between her fingertips. "Wally, you... made a wish..."
"Artemis, that doesn't matter right now. Just stay awake, okay?" He reached up and fumbled with the communicator in his ear, the one he had to wear all the time. "K-Kid Flash to Watchtower, or Mount Justice, someone, anyone, come in! We have an emergency! Kid Flash to Watchtower, come in Watchtower!"
"Wally..."
"Kid Flash to Watchtower! Hold on, Artemis, I'm calling for help. Come in, Watchtower! Hello, Watchtower? Someone answer me!"
"Wally, listen. Please?"
"Artemis..."
"You... made a wish today."
"I—"
"You wished... that I'd... kiss you already..."
"Yes, but Artemis—"
"I want to... make your wish come true before... it's too late."
"Artemis, don't you dare talk like that, okay? I'm going to get help. I—I'll run you to the hospital. We can still make it. We can make it. I'll run you there, okay, just hold on!"
"You can't walk two feet," came her gasping reply. It was sharp and blunt as always, and so much like her.
"I don't care, we can—"
"Wally. Do something for me."
The redhead stared at her, his emerald eyes brimming with unshed tears. "Anything. Anything."
"Kiss me, Wally."
Slowly, he reached out and cupped one hand around the back of her neck. She leaned forward, one hand still pressed tightly to her chest, just as Wally moved his head forward. In a split second of fiery passion, their lips brushed against each other, as Artemis's voice came out in barely a whisper.
"The magic man made your wish come true," she breathed. "Now do you... believe in magic?"
"I... I don't have another explanation for how I... lucked out... with you," he stammered. "Artemis, don't leave me. Don't die, please, don't die!"
"Wally, I love you... okay?"
"A-Arty..."
"Sh. I'll... be back... in a flash."
Her eyelids slipped closed as she exhaled softly. Wally's tears fell unhindered, dropping onto the archer's face and neck.
Her pulse slowed to a stop.
"I'll... be waiting..."
"The League, they sent help and all, but... I was kind of the sole survivor, if get me."
"Yeah," Artemis whispered. "Do you ever regret it?"
"Regret that I was the sole survivor? Yes. I wish sometimes that I had died with you. And Dick and Zee. I mean, survivor's guilt, and all."
"That's not what I mean, Baywatch."
The redhead glanced over at the girl lying beside him. Her face seemed darker and more shadowed than it had a few moments ago. He knew she would have to leave soon.
"I mean, do you ever regret that kiss?"
"The kiss?" Wally's thoughts began to form a coherent train again. "Why would I regret that?"
"Because you gave away your first kiss to a girl who was literally dying in your arms."
"...No. I don't regret it."
"Did she ask him?" Zatanna quizzed.
"Yeah. And I think he said no." Dick ran his hands through his hair, pushing it out of his face. It was getting harder to see now that the sun was beginning to set, and he could tell that Artemis, also, was starting to fade from the physical plane. "We have to leave soon. No, scratch that. We will be leaving soon."
"I know," Zatanna replied, nodding. "Should we—"
"No," Dick interrupted quickly. "She'll come to us when she's ready to go."
"We might leave without her."
"She can find her way. Did you forget it's Artemis we're talking about here?"
Zatanna laughed softly. "Apparently so. It's... hard, like this."
"The two of them being separated?" Dick nodded. "I know. M'gann and Conner have each other in real life, and you and I are together here, but Wally and Artemis..."
"They don't deserve this."
"I know."
"If you don't regret it, then tell me something, okay?"
"What?"
Artemis waved her partially transparent hand in front of her face. She didn't have much longer. "Do you ever wish I came back?"
"Yeah."
"Conner?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever feel like Wally's talking to her?"
"Yes. I can hear him. He's talking to Artemis."
"Does he really think she can hear him?"
A long silence followed before the half-Kryptonian answered. "Yes, he does. And she can."
"It gets easier every day, I guess. I don't know that I want it to, but it does. Seems like, as it gets easier, I start forgetting you, and Dick, and Zee. I don't want to forget you."
"I know. I don't want to forget anything here, either, but it's hard to remember sometimes."
Wally followed a wish-flower seed through the air with his eyes, reaching up with one hand and closing his fist around it. "We still have wish-flowers."
"I thought you hated the seeds."
"I do." Wally sat up and plucked the nearest wish-flower, holding it up in front of his face with a miniscule smile. "But I don't hate the memories." He held out the flower to Artemis.
Her shadowy form sat up and stared at it. "What's that for?"
"You take the flower, and you make a wish. Then you blow away the seeds, and they float away with your wish to some old magic wish-guy that grants your wish."
"Uh... you don't believe in magic."
"Artemis, I'm going to say this one more time. I don't have any other explanation for how I lucked out with you."
Artemis glanced down at the flower, and then leaned forward. Using the last of her energy to make physical contact, she blew away the seeds.
Wally picked another flower, and blew the seeds himself. "I wish you were here with me right now, really here."
"Someday, Wally. I wish that you and I will be together again someday."
Wally reached out and brushed his knuckles lightly against her cheek; they partially passed through her gray skin. "I know we will."
"She's fading," Zatanna whispered.
Dick clasped her hand. "I know."
"It's getting dark, M'gann."
"He's coming, Conner."
"Bye, Wally."
"Bye, Artemis. I love you."
"I love you, too."
Zatanna perked up as Artemis floated toward them, the wish-flower seeds phasing through her form as though she wasn't there. "How did it go?" the former magician asked haltingly.
"You're so chalant," Dick remarked, though it was obvious that he was just as concerned as she was. "Really, though, how did it go?"
"Well," Artemis answered, smiling. "I think he'll be okay."
"Will YOU be okay?" Zatanna quizzed. It still amazed Dick that she was so observant, even as a ghost. He had long ago forgotten his detective skills.
"I miss him," Artemis said simply, shrugging. "And I'll keep missing him until we're together again. But every time I come, he makes a promise, and it's something I keep close to my heart."
"What's the promise?"
Wally stood up and started walking up the hill toward Conner and M'gann. A few wish-flower seeds still floated on the wind; he stared at them with a faint smile.
"I'm ready," the redhead told the alien couple when he was within hearing range. Conner winced at his painful limp. Wally may have survived that accident, but not without injury to himself. His left leg had been broken beyond repair, and he could no longer run. It was the whole reason why Kid Flash was never on the news anymore.
No one really knew why Green Arrow's partner, Artemis, was never around anymore.
"You were talking to her," M'gann faltered. "Um, you know..."
"Why?" Wally finished for her. He shrugged as he glanced back to the place he had been laying. "I don't know. I think, sometimes, she's there with me. Like, she's talking to me. It only happens when I'm right here, and you know I don't believe in ghosts. But... it makes it easier sometimes... to think that we're together again, if only for a few hours."
"You're never going to stop missing her." Conner turned his soft gaze to the former speedster. "I don't understand exactly what you're feeling, and I'm not going to pretend that I do. But I know you'll never stop missing her."
"I know that, too," Wally admitted. "But there are some things that make it easier, if you know what I mean."
"Like what?"
"We still have wish-flowers."
And we always will.
A/N I'm not going to ruin this by jabbering.
Review if you love Spitfire.