This is in response to Endgame where Wally doesn't come back (which he does, he's not gone! So WHEN YJ makes a 3rd season (because they are NOT stopping it here) he will come back) Anyway I hope you all enjoy…
Also cover art was made by LunerFireFox on deviantart! So thanks a bunch to them!
Disclaimer~ If YJ was mine it would still be on AND Wally would be fine for surez
What You Mean To Me
Nightwing's POV
"God Damn it Wally! Why?!" I yell slamming my arms down on the sink and looking at myself in the mirror. I couldn't take it, Mom, Dad, Aunt Karla, Uncle Rick, John, Jason, and now Wally. All got close to me, all gone now. I glare at myself in the mirror seeing my dark blue eyes full of the pain. Maybe it was me, maybe I was bad luck. I should have done something, anything! My fist comes forward, accompanied with a scream of anguish and fury, and I smash my reflection, ignoring the ribbons of blood that came forth from my unprotected hand. I had left the Team two weeks ago and now I finally lost it. I let out another scream and smash the mirror again, this time successfully shattering the mirror completely, the shards of glass clattering forward from the wall. Tears run in a river down my face and I fall to the ground, leaning up against the wall of my small bathroom, watching as blood dripped steadily from my wrist and hand. I knew I should stop the flow, a small scarlet pool already forming, but I couldn't bring myself to care, maybe it was better this way, I would finally be reunited with those lost. My head flops to the side and my eyes slid shut when suddenly I hear a panicked scream from the doorway. I hear rushed footsteps and suddenly someone kneels beside me, shaking my shoulders.
"Dick you better get traught. If you die I swear I will bring you back to life just to kill you again!" says the familiar voice of Artemis. I groan and open my eyes, already feeling her tearing my shirt and wrapping it around my wrist.
"Getting a little excited are we?" I tease weakly, a slight smile on my face for the first time since the 'incident', as she reveals my stomach, already covered in bandages from my increased mishaps as Nightwing in Bludhaven.
"You wish Wonder Boy I'm merely fixing up your wound from where you took on a mirror and lost" she teases back, a note of relief in her voice, the small teasing smile on her own lips. "Speaking of which what possessed you to take on a mirror in the first place?" she asks. The smile on my face immediately disappears and I look away.
"Didn't like what I saw….." I whisper faintly. I feel her gently touch the wound on my stomach with one hand, using the other to turn my face back towards hers. She now had a worried frown on her face and her ash eyes stared into my blue.
"Dick what happened…. It wasn't your fault. Wally knew the risks and he was willing to sacrifice himself for the world." She says gently, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
"But it was my fault! I shouldn't have brought either of you back into the life, I knew he wanted out! If we had left you alone I'm sure Barry and Bart would have managed but since I brought you guys out of retirement Wally felt obligated to suit up for the last mission and get himself killed" I say my voice rising to a yell and hands flying up for emphasis. I force myself to unsteady feet and stumble away from her, using the wall for support in my nausea from blood loss. Before I can get very far however I mis-step and if not for Artemis I would have fallen face first on to the ground. She drags me to my bed room and plops me onto the bed before giving me a hard glare.
"You Richard John Grayson are not responsible for his death and I refuse to lose someone else I care about just because you blame yourself" she says waggling her finger in my face.
"Artemis…" I go to respond but she cuts me off.
"Don't you dare 'Artemis 'me Dick! Can't you see how much damage it would do?! To Tim, Barbra, Bats, Me?! We can't lose you too! It would shatter the Team, destroy Tim and Barbra! Bats would go insane, especially after Jason! And can't you see it would kill me Dick?! After losing Wally I can't lose you too!" Artemis says growing hysterical, her hands waving around and tears spilling over and streaming down her face. I catch her hands and hold them still, staring into her eyes, the roles now reversed.
"Artemis you're right, I'm sorry" I tell her, trying to calm her. Her lip trembles and suddenly she lurches forward and presses her lips to mine. I can't help my eyes from widening in shock but I don't resist, almost enjoying the feel, and she soon pulls away, sobbing more. I wrap my arms around her and she buries her face in my chest sobbing away. Eventually her sobs turn to hiccups and then cease altogether but I don't let go until she pulls away. "So um not to be mean…but why are you here?" I ask, skirting around the 'elephant in the room', my mind reeling.
"Well we haven't heard from you recently and Barbra, Zee, everyone was starting to worry so I decided to check up on you. And it's a good thing I did" she says eying my wrist but refusing to meet my eyes, her cheeks flushed.
"What about you? Were you worried?" I ask trying to make sense of her behavior, she seemed so nervous and unsure of herself, so unlike the strong, confident girl I'd come to know.
"Of course I was worried! If I wasn't why would I come! Dick I can't lose anyone else I love, not after Wally!" She says before covering her mouth, realizing what she had said. I'm taken aback but I try to play it off as a mistake.
"Well 'Mis I don't know you felt that way about me" I tease lightly expecting her to laugh, showing she meant she loved me as just a friend, that the kiss was a fluke, even though I wasn't sure that was what I wanted. But instead so looks away, looking like she was about to cry again. Girls are so hard to understand sometimes. "'Mis?" I ask reaching out my hand and lightly touching her arm, "You okay?"
"No I'm not okay! What would Wally say?! So soon after he dies I begin to develop feeling for his best friend?! How could I even betray him like that?! What is wrong with me…" Artemis shouts angrily, jumping up from the bed.
"Artemis…." I say softly rising with her. "Wally loved you with all his heart; all he would want would be for you to be happy no matter what." I say trying to comfort her. She turns to look at me again, her eyes filled with tears once more.
"Dick I miss him so damn much every day! All I want is for him to come back, I would give anything, I thought the only for me was him, but when you tried so hard to comfort me even though you were in pain it all hurt less, I missed him less. When you left the Team it all came back, except the longing seemed worse, I played it off as you had helped me and that's what I missed but it was hard to believe it when no matter what anyone else tried it didn't work, it made the pain and longing worse if anything. When Barbra suggested sending someone to Bludhaven to check on you I jumped at the chance, much to my own surprise, and when I say you in the bathroom, half dead and in a pool of blood, it felt as if my heart had been ripped out all over again. When you opened your eyes I was able to breathe again and I felt truly happy for the first time in weeks." Artemis says staring at me. "When I kissed you it wasn't like when I kissed Wally, his kisses were fast, desperate, like the world was going to fade away at any moment, but when I kissed you it was strong and steady, like you would always be there for me, my rock, not to disappear in the wind…" she says softly, the tears falling from her eyes.
"'Mis…." I say uncertainly, I had no idea about these feelings she had for me. I step forward and whip away the tears, and her hand reaches up to rest on my uninjured one, holding it to her face.
"Dick I need someone, I need a rock, someone who won't disappear in an instant…" she says staring up at me, and I realize maybe that's what we both needed. Sure Wally was her boyfriend, but he was my best friend, brother, and it hurt us both a lot to lose him. Maybe we both needed a rock, someone who understood the pain, to lean on. Besides I felt the same feelings, she did.
"'Mis I can't promise anything, our work is dangerous, but I can promise to always try to be there for you no matter what" I whisper and she reaches up with her hand, to brush my overgrown bangs from my eyes. I hadn't cut my hair since taking a leave of absence from the Team and it was getting unruly.
"Are you sure about this Dick? I don't want you to feel like my rebound guy, I really do want something real" she whispers. I lean forward, kissing her gently for a few seconds before pulling away resting my forehead against hers.
"I do to 'Mis" I whisper my hand still on her cheek. She reaches up again and places her hand on my cheek, mirroring me, and my raven locks touch her fingers lightly.
"Just one thing Dick if this is gonna work…." She whispers, so quiet I nearly had to strain to hear her.
"Mmm?" I hum not moving.
"You're going to need a haircut"
Well I hoped you all enjoyed my Traught fic… I do fully support Spitfire and I like Chalant, DickXBabs, and Longshot but this pairing still intrigues me (I don't know why my favorite female and male characters both have 3 ships each….) Also sorry if this seemed a bit rushed, I know it's not my best work... Anyway please leave me a
REVIEW
~Lakeshine