Title: Two Places to Call Home
Rating: T?
Word Count: 4,900+
Characters: Artemis, Ollie (family/bonding) with sprinkles of Wally/Artemis and Ollie/Dinah
Summary: "I'm not going to let you stay home alone for Spring Break when there's a perfectly comfortable guest bedroom at my house. You're spending the week."
Prompt: #86: paternal
Other Inspirations: I read a prompt on the yj_anon_meme a while ago that I wanted to fill and therefore wrote this, but my stupid self forgot to save the thread so now I've lost it. If anyone knows what post I'm talking about, I'd love to be able to tell that person I attempted to fill their prompt.
Notes: This is meant to be as fluffy as cotton candy, with no real plot; just bonding.
Two Places to Call Home
Artemis really wished they'd quit making such a big deal out of this.
Honestly, people twist their ankles like, every day. The fact she twisted hers by landing on her foot the wrong way while running out of a structurally-failing building didn't make it any more life-threatening than if she had tripped during P.E. class. It still hurt the same. The only difference was that Wally picked her up and sped her away when she'd fallen, so.
"Oh, my gosh," she groans, "Just set me down on the couch and give me an icepack and a towel. I'm not going to die."
Wally gives her a glare (which she happily returns). "Excuse us for being worried about you!"
She rolls her eyes and tugs his stupid goggles down his face. Seriously, her boyfriend is so melodramatic. "Cut that out. Of course I'm grateful, but it's just a twisted ankle!"
"When I twist an ankle, it's kind of a big deal."
"Well I'm not a speedster," she retorts. "So I don't see why I need to be put in the infirmary over this."
When Wally attempts to argue his point again, she silences him by pressing their lips together. He knows how stubborn she is anyway, so why waste energy arguing when they can just do this? Plus, he makes this little sound whenever she kisses him unexpectedly (it's like, the only fool-proof way to shut him up) and then slips some tongue. Obviously he's not complaining that she just cut him off.
Someone clears her throat and she blushes and shoves him away too hard. There's probably nothing more awkward than Batman walking in on you whilst making out. She knows. Robin told her all about the time with Barbara in the Batcave.
But instead, it's Ollie interrupting them. Somehow this makes it that much more awkward.
Wally's cheeks are almost as red as his hair as he scrambles to create distance, nearly falling off of the infirmary bed. The thing is he still believes that Ollie's really her uncle. The whole Team does, actually, except for Robin and Batgirl and possibly Kaldur. So she understands how her "uncle" walking in on them would potentially be worse than Batman doing it.
Anyway, Ollie has his lips pressed together in this line and gives Wally this look that's disapproving and slightly intimidating all at once. Clearly he's living up to his role of overprotecting his niece.
"I'll call you later, Arty," Wally says, and then struggles to keep a human pace as he walks out of the room. Usually, he'll leave her with a kiss, even if it's one to her forehead (which she secretly likes), but Ollie must have him too shaken to be near her. It'd be hilarious if it wasn't slightly annoying.
"What was that about?"
"Beats me," Ollie shrugs. "Has the kid always been that jittery?"
She rolls her eyes. "I was talking about you." Ollie just looks at her. "People can tell when you shoot daggers at them, even when it's behind a mask!"
He just chuckles. Jerk. "Well, I walked on him making out with my niece," he says simply, and she can't help the laugh that follows. "So, what excuse am I telling your mother?"
"Oh, don't bother," she tells him. "She's not going to be home for the week so I think we can get away with this one."
"Where is she?"
"At this physical therapy retreat," Artemis shrugs. "I'm off this week, anyway, because it's Spring Break, so I can still sit and rest my poor ankle."
Ollie, however, seems less amused. "Your mother's leaving you in Gotham for a week?"
Artemis narrows her eyes a little. "I think I can survive on my own for a few days," she informs. "I've done it plenty of times before."
"Kiddo, come on," he says, and she thinks this is the first time he's—or anyone else, ever—called her by that. It's strange. "I'm not going to let you stay home alone for Spring Break when there's a perfectly comfortable guest bedroom at my house. You're spending the week."
She scoffs and rolls her eyes but doesn't bother with further protest. Obviously where she'll be crashing next week is no longer up for negotiation.
... ...
It's kind of annoying that he transported back home with her to get her things, like he doesn't trust her to just bail on him and not show up at his house once she's packed.
He must obviously sense this, too, because he gives this cheeky smile that shouldn't make her want to hit him like he really is her dorky uncle, and tells her he just wants to make sure she doesn't mess up her ankle even more by lifting things. Then he adds that he'll have to have put in the new coordinates and have her authorized, anyway, so going with her and doing it himself will just be easier.
Whatever. He's doing all the work and she barely has to lift a finger. She's not about to argue with that.
She has to call her mom, of course, but she doesn't see the woman arguing with this arrangement. She trusts Ollie ever since he and Batman showed up at the apartment to offer her a spot on the Team, and it'll put her mind at ease knowing her daughter won't be home alone in a crime-happy city.
"No, nothing's happened," Ollie reassures after Paula asked to speak with him. "I just thought it'd be better to have her stay with me instead of—yeah, exactly. I don't trust this city, either."
Artemis rolls her eyes.
"Star City," Ollie answers. "Yeah, it's definitely got enough room for the both of us. No, of course she's not a bother."
Artemis sets the last mug on the shelf and shuts the dishwasher, wiping her hands absently with a kitchen towel. The place is finally clean, and she years Ollie and her mother wrapping up their phone conversation at the mouth of the hallway. Artemis goes down the checklist of chores her mom left on the fridge to make sure she covered everything, and nods at Ollie when she's finished.
"Well, we're just leaving now. I'll have her call you once she's settled in. Have a nice trip, Paula," Ollie finishes, hanging up and slipping his phone into his back pocket. "Ready to go?"
"If I must."
He chuckles. "Don't act as if you're not the least bit curious about my civilian life."
... ...
She did not expect him to be loaded, and she'll tell him as much if he asks.
His place is huge and spacious and bright and unlike their little apartment in Gotham. It has an amazing view of the ocean from almost every window, and she thinks if she had to, she could get used to living in a place like this. It's well-furnished, too, in a picturesque yet comfortable way that convinces Artemis someone else was definitely involved in decorating.
He puts her in a guest bedroom that's right down the hall from his master bedroom, and she likes that it has an adjoining bathroom. It's not that she doesn't trust Ollie or anything, but she's kind of hell when it comes to mornings and as casual as their relationship may be, she's not sure they're close enough where they can be in the same bathroom and not feel weird about it.
"You'll be fine with your ankle, right?" he asks as he's walking in with a stack of fresh towels in hand.
"I'm taking a bath so I won't be standing on it much, anyway," she reminds, and then smirks. "Unless you want to help me with my shower."
The thing that's great about Ollie is that he can take a joke. Even her own mother can't see to tell much difference between being sarcastic and actually meaning it, and if she does, she scolds Artemis anyway. So Ollie just rolls his eyes and says, "No. But if you really needed the help, I'd get Dinah over here to help you."
Artemis smiles wickedly. "If you wanted an excuse to invite Black Canary over, you should've told me. I'll play along."
He glares at her and shoves the towels into her hands and nearly knocks her over. "Just take your bath."
She laughs at him.
... ...
When she gets herself down to the kitchen, she's mildly surprised to find Ollie cooking. He had said that they'd be having dinner whenever she was done, but she figured he'd have someone else cook it for them. It kind of smells like the Gotham Academy dining hall in here, which is actually a pretty big compliment, if you've ever had a bite of anything from there.
"Wow, you made your own pizza instead of ordering," Artemis muses as she turns on the oven light and peers in. "If it tastes good, then consider myself impressed."
"I'd like to consider it my specialty," Ollie laughs. "Once you eat a slice, you'll never want any other pizza."
She smiles, her pearly-white teeth shining. "Can't wait."
And, while he may have been exaggerating about the part of never wanting to eat another kind of pizza, it actually tastes pretty good. They sit on barstools at the kitchen island instead of moving into the dining room, and she doesn't realize how starved she is until she's finishing her third slice and second glass of soda and is still wanting more.
"By all means, go for it," Ollie says when she tells him this, pushing the remaining slices of the pizza towards her.
"I was thinking something on the sweet side."
Ollie grins. "Good thinking. I have a few different flavors of ice-cream, and some cookies, and—"
"Want to try something?"
He blinks and looks at her skeptically. "Like what?"
"It's called an 'everything but the kitchen sink,' sundae" she tells him. When he still looks suspicious, she rolls her eyes, "Okay, you're trying it."
She makes him bring down two large bowls as she pulls out every sugary substance she can find around his kitchen (which, considering the size of his fridge and pantries, is a lot) and spreads everything out on the counter. Then she laughs in amusement at the look on his face when she starts dumping a scoop of every ice-cream flavor into each bowl and then showers nuts, crushed cookies and chocolate bar pieces, sprinkles, M&Ms, and gummy bears, and drizzles hot fudge and caramel and tops it off with whipped cream. When she's done, she sets both bowls onto the kitchen island and grabs two spoons, plopping back into her seat.
"This can't be good for us," he says, eyes wide as he takes in the dessert before him.
"We're kickass crime-fighters," Artemis reminds, shoving a spoon into his hand, "It's not like we go without a hard workout."
He laughs and shakes his head, but digs his spoon into the sundae anyway, trying to get as much as he can onto it. She does the same with hers, and they clink their spoons together before shoving them into their mouths. If there wasn't so much food in her mouth, she'd laugh at the face Ollie makes after his first bite and the way he digs in for more.
"Why do I have a feeling you got this from Wally?" Ollie asks once he's swallowed down his second bite.
She laughs. "We do eat these," she admits, "but the first time I've ever made one was with… with my sister."
It gets a little quiet and she shoves another spoonful into her mouth, then Ollie smiles a little at her and squeezes her shoulder with his free hand. He doesn't say anything, but it's an oddly comforting gesture that she didn't know she wanted or needed.
She'd tell him, "thank you," but her mouth is stuffed with ice-cream, so.
... ...
It's almost 10:00 in the morning when she finally wakes up, and she loves sleeping in because she rarely does it. Her mom almost always wakes her up (and if not her, then the alarm clock) for school or chores or whatever else. She gets not wanting to be late for school, and if her mom really needs the help then Artemis will help her, but she also enjoys a good night's sleep and feels happier than she should be that Ollie let her have that.
There's a note on the kitchen island written in Ollie's scribbles when she walks in, telling her that he went out for a run and how long to heat the leftover pizza in the oven.
She hardly uses the word 'sweet' to describe things, but this little note? Very sweet.
... ...
They're in his study, him at his desk with paperwork in front of him and her on the couch with her bad ankle propped up on the ottoman and a laptop balanced on her knee, and it's oddly quiet. Sure, she's used to her and her mom having their own thing at home, but lately she's been spending more time at the Cave and it's always chaotic there.
As nice as the quiet is, she's kind of itching to do something.
And Ollie must sense this, or just has really good timing, because he heaves a sigh and pushes his chair away from the desk. "I need to run a couple of errands," he supplies when she gives him this look. "You don't mind being here by yourself for a little, right?"
She shrugs. "I don't know. Mind if I come along?"
"You want to run errands with me?"
If he continues to say stuff like that, she'll roll her eyeballs right out of their sockets. "Try not to sound so surprised," she mumbles.
He laughs. "If you want to tag along, be my guest." He walks over and helps her up even though the swelling is almost entirely gone. "Are you sure you're going to be alright walking on it, kiddo?"
She blinks at the nickname, and doesn't really know where the grin comes from when she says, "I'll be fine."
... ...
They go grocery shopping first, which she thinks is ridiculous because his kitchen seemed stocked enough to keep Wally fed for at least week when she'd been rummaging through it. But he pushes the cart as she goes down his list and checks things off as she dumps them into the basket, and sneaks stuff in when she thinks he doesn't notice. (She knows that he does, though, and is just letting her get away with it.) Ollie smirks when he has to reach for stuff over her head and then she's the one smirking when he nearly runs into a soup can pyramid. She was the one that pushed the cart off track, but whatever, it's still funny.
"Your daughter's beautiful," the cashier woman compliments as she's handing Ollie back his debit card.
Artemis looks at him and doesn't miss the way he smiles and says, "I know," as he's signing.
... ...
She has a ridiculous amount of homework considering they're on break, but she supposes it's what one could expect from the best when you attend one of the top five schools in the country. And even though the air is so thick with wealth and social status that it can choke a lesser person, she doesn't hate Gotham Academy as much as she thought she would.
Anyway, she has her books and papers all spread out on the carpet of the study with her shoulder cradling a phone against her ear and a hand propping open this paperback novel they're supposed to be annotating. "What are we supposed to be looking for anyway?"
"I don't know," Barbara says over the line, "I just put a post-it on every page and take notes. She's not going to check every one of them."
"God, I hope not. This is ridiculous."
"It's all about time management, Scholarship," Barbara laughs. Artemis rolls her eyes. Sure, she can make it sound easy, because she's never gotten below an 86% on anything. "You busy tomorrow?"
"I'm in Star City visiting family all week while my mom's on her physical therapy retreat," Artemis reminds.
Barbara sighs. "Seriously? Bette and I wanted you to come with us to the mall tomorrow. We were going to movie-hop and make fun of all the girls that cry during tear-jerkers."
"I'll come next time," Artemis promises, "but I couldn't get out of staying with my uncle."
"If your mom didn't want to leave you home alone, you should've told me," Barbara says. "My dad could've convinced her to let you stay with us so you wouldn't have to be stuck with your uncle."
Artemis opens her mouth when something is knocking her book out of her hand. When she and Ollie went to the store yesterday, she'd accidentally slipped out how eating Twix bars and drinking chocolate milk with Jade while watching black and white Vietnamese movies in the middle of the night was one of her best memories of her sister. She's sure there's more that she just can't think of, but those nights were her favorite and the last time she remembered getting along before her mom got put in a wheelchair and in prison.
But there's a family pack of Kit-Kats in her lap and Ollie is settling onto the floor beside her mess with two mugs of hot chocolate that she knows he was a weakness for.
She just smiles and shoves her books aside to sit closer to Ollie and the coffee table as he switches on the TV, handing him the bag of Kit-Kats to open as she tells Barbara, "I don't know, Barbie. This place is starting to grow on me."
... ...
She's stepping out of the shower when she hears voices down the hallway in the living room, and she recognizes them. Yesterday, they pretty much sat around and ate and watched TV and that was about it, but it was nice to have that lazy luxury. She was kind of looking forward to doing that today, too, but whatever, they can't be bums all week.
So she slips into leggings and pulls this dark brown top that M'gann got her over her white tank. Her hair is still damp, so she tugs a comb through it and pulls it into a braid over her shoulder before leaving the bathroom.
Dinah is standing in the kitchen across the island from Ollie, and she smiles at Artemis and pulls her into a hug as soon as she's over the threshold. "I'm glad your ankle is feeling better," she tells her.
Artemis rolls her eyes but smiles. "I was never that hurt to begin with. Everyone was just making a big deal over it."
"Trust me, I know the feeling," Dinah chuckles. "Considering our… profession, though, it's understandable. But everyone did miss you. We'll be glad to have you back at the Cave." She smiles, tucks some hair behind her ear and shoots a look at Ollie. "Looks like Clark can stop covering all of your shifts now."
Ollie rolls his eyes. "Are we just going to spend the day making fun of me or are we actually going to go through with the plans we made?"
"I don't see why we can't do both."
Artemis chuckles. "Well, have fun doing whatever it is you two do," she says, walking towards the fridge, but Ollie grabs her arm before she can pass him.
"I think we forgot to tell you the part of the plans where you're coming with us," he tells her.
She tosses an eyebrow up, looks at Dinah. "Really?"
"Of course," the woman says. "You didn't think we were going to leave you alone, did you?"
Ollie lets go of her arm and scoops his keys off of the counter. "Meet us at the car when you've put on your shoes. Don't take too long, kiddo."
... ...
They go to this museum, which Artemis thinks is a little odd for Ollie to take them to. Then when she sees how talkative he gets about the new Native American tribe exhibits and how his eyes get all wide as he drops these different facts like he'd just spent last night talking with some Indians himself, she gets why they're here.
He's talking a mile a minute as they're standing in front of this painting that's supposed to be mimicking cave art, and Dinah winks at her like she knows just how goofy the man is being right now. But it's an endearing kind of goofy that has them both smiling and laughing when he's cracking jokes and actually getting into the whole thing. Artemis even finds herself asking questions and really wanting to know more, and she knows exactly what this looks like, Dinah tucked under Ollie's arm and his other hand squeezing Artemis's shoulder as he talks away.
She doesn't hate the idea of everyone thinking they're their own little family, if only for a few hours.
When they're entering the gift shop, this girl with golden blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail walks over to her. Artemis noticed she'd been following them around the entire time, but she's dressed in a white blouse and black pencil skirt and has this nametag that reads, "Hi, I'm MIA" pinned to her shirt a little below her collar, so it's safe to assume that she's an employee.
Anyway, after Mia tells her a little about their merchandise, she looks over to where Dinah and Ollie are looking at these stone arrowheads behind a glass case and smiles. "He really seemed to like the new additions to the Native American wing," she says. Artemis laughs. Yeah, it was pretty obvious. "Your dad's pretty cool."
Artemis grins, and the, "I know," she was thinking leaves her mouth before she can stop herself. But whatever, Mia doesn't seem to find it lame and she slips Artemis four free passes for their next visit, so.
... ...
After they leave the museum, they have dinner at this Greek restaurant since none of them have ever tried Greek food before and it just opened last week. It wasn't as bad as Artemis thought it'd be, but rather than sticking around for dessert there, they drive to this ice-cream place that has the best waffle cones ever and eat more than they probably should. There's a beach across the street, too, and since it's still a little light and a bit warm out, they walk over there and Artemis tells them stories about the Team as they walk along the shore.
Once they get home, they sit in the den and Dinah braids Artemis's hair just for the hell of it while Ollie is dealing out a deck of cards for a game of deuces. Artemis is in the middle of winning when she gets a call from Paula, and Dinah and Ollie tell her they'll be in the kitchen when she steps out of the den to answer it.
"Are you having fun?" Paula asks, once she's done asking about her homework.
"Yeah, actually, I am," Artemis says. "Crazy, huh?"
Paula laughs. "Well, I'm just relieved."
"Relieved about what?"
"Relieved that you haven't abandoned the idea of a father," Paula says, and it kind of takes Artemis by surprise. Her breath catches and her eyes feel a bit watery and she really wasn't expecting those words coming from her mother, let alone how weird it felt to hear them. And Paula either realizes this and wants to leave her with her thoughts or really does have to leave when she adds, quickly, "Well, I'll have to call you back, sweetheart," and hangs up after Artemis gets out a feeble, "alright. Love you."
... ...
They're in his study with the coffee table pushed aside and their arrows spread out between them. Ollie said he'd been experimenting with a few new trick arrows that turned out pretty successful and wanted her to be able to test them out and add it to her arsenal, so he's tinkering with those as she's restringing her bow, and the TV is one even though none of them are watching.
It's Saturday night. Her mom comes back Sunday at noon.
Her clothes are all packed, aside from the pajamas she's wearing now and the outfit she'll change into in the morning, and she's going to kind of miss his house. She had a better time this week than she thought, and it was honestly way better than being in the apartment alone for spring break.
"You know," Ollie says, twirling the shaft of an arrow between his thumb and index finger, "these will probably be easier for you to use than me."
"Yeah?"
"You're a natural marksman," he tells her, "even more so than I am. I'm kind of jealous."
Artemis chuckles. "I've been told it's one of my only redeeming qualities."
She'd meant it mostly jokingly, of course, even if her dad used to say it to her a few times growing up.
But when she looks at Ollie, he's frowning at her and shaking his head and saying, "You are full of amazing qualities, Artemis. You shouldn't degrade yourself because your— …because people have told you otherwise in the past."
"You can talk about my dad." She lays her bow down on the carpet, sighing. "I always thought I was everything my dad never wanted. I was too much like my mom, I think. He said the only thing that made me better than her was my accuracy, and even then, it wasn't flawless and he didn't let me forget that."
Ollie doesn't say anything for a while, and then says, "Artemis," mostly to get her attention. She looks at him. "Roy is pretty much my son. He's everything I imagined a son of mine would be, even if he's not flesh and blood." She bites her lower lip and doesn't say anything. "And, if we're being completely honest here, then every single time I pictured having a daughter, she'd be exactly like you."
Artemis doesn't even bother fighting her smile, even though she has no idea how to respond to that. Ollie seems to get this, though, because he just smiles right back at her and asks, "Want some hot chocolate?"
"As long as we have Kit-Kats."
... ...
Coming back from Star City was a lot like leaving a really good vacation, but even if there wasn't much to miss about their cold, little apartment, Artemis did miss her room with the rest of her stuff, and her mom, and both things are waiting for her beyond the door.
So she shoves it open and finds herself hugging Paula a few seconds later, squeezing. "How was your trip?"
"It was just what I needed," Paula laughs as they're pulling away. "And you look rested, too." She says this with obvious surprise, but whether or not it's genuine or teasing is unsure to Artemis, and she just laughs when her mother turns to Ollie and asks, "So, how was she, Oliver?" because it's totally like her mom to think she would be difficult all week long. She knows her so well.
"She was great company, Paula," Ollie says, placing a hand on Artemis's shoulder. "It was definitely nice having someone else in the house."
"That's wonderful to here," she says, and then wheels herself towards the kitchen. "Come on, I bet you're starving!"
Artemis chuckles and sets her bag aside so she can bring it to her room later. She turns to look at Ollie, and she's really not sure what they're supposed to be doing. M'gann usually hugs J'onn and Zatanna gives Zatara a kiss to his cheek, but she's not exactly as affectionate as M'gann and kissing his cheek may be pushing it since they're not actually blood-related, so.
But before she has to choose, Ollie pulls her hand out and drops a red cloth in it. Except, the red cloth has more weight to it than she would expect, and she pinches a string she feels and finds herself dangling a necklace: a black choker with a stone arrowhead like those she saw at the museum gift shop.
"Wow," Artemis says, and she's grinning so wide she knows her cheeks are going to start hurting. "I… don't know what to say…"
Ollie shrugs. "You don't have to. But I figured, as my niece, a present was long overdue."
Artemis chuckles and shoves the cloth into her pocket before clipping the choker around her neck. Grinning, she digs into her other pocket and places an envelope in his hand, and she knows he recognizes the name and symbol of the museum in the middle because his eyes get kind of wide and that goofy smile is on his face again.
When he looks at her, she shrugs. "Because you're my uncle, you're taking me back to that place."
He laughs. "Deal."
"And, well," she hesitates, looking over her shoulder towards her mom in the kitchen then back at Ollie, "Would you stay? For lunch, I mean," she adds, and she could be wrong, but the, "I thought you'd never ask," he replies seems to have more weight to it than replying to a lunch invitation.
Her mother is piles food on their plates and as she's laughing really hard at the (modified) stories about Artemis and the Team that Ollie is telling her, and Artemis thinks there are some people in this world who are just suited to be amazing fathers.
Oliver Queen is definitely one of them.