Author's Note:
Hello... ok I'm still awkward at these and don't know what to say.. or if anything should be said at all.
I decided to write a series of oneshots of various lengths to practice writing different tones/scenes/sequences etc. soooo.. this is the first one that came up.
I hope you enjoy it and I would love some feedback on my writing, I wanted to polish the old writing skills before I dove into big projects, so whether it's about formatting, spelling, plotting, word use I would love to hear about what is working and what isn't working.
Wow you made it this far down the Author's note, thank you now the story awaits -
Disclaimer: Nothing you recognise is mine
Empty.
That is how Artemis found her previously packed suitcase when she woke up this morning.
Which is why Artemis was tearing through the dark crevices of the bedroom looking for the missing garments. The sparse sunlight that had managed to creep past the heavy curtains was the only thing aiding her search. She stopped for a moment, sitting down on the floor in defeat when her search yielded only two t-shirts and a pair of washed out shorts.
Artemis avoided looking at the clock perched on her dresser. Each twitch of the second hand only teased the terrors awaiting her if she missed the trip M'Gann and Zatanna had planned. She would rather avoid the wrath of a disappointed Martian and a peeved sorceress who knew exactly where she lived.
She released a strangled sigh as she glared at the sleeping form bundled up in the warm covers on the bed. She recognized the culprit's handiwork from past experience. In the back of her mind, she felt a tingle of warmth spread, knowing what he was trying to do by hiding her things but that warmth was rapidly engulfed by the flames of her irritation.
"Artemis…"
Artemis' steel eyes snapped to focus, turning to the voice coming from somewhere beneath the tangle of sheets and blankets.
She did her best to employ the anger management techniques Conner was telling her about the other week,
Inhale…
She stalked towards the bed, biting back any unruly comments struggling to erupt from her.
Exhale…
She sat herself next to him.
Inhale…
She could make out the faint shadow of freckles dusted over his face in the dim lighting. His eyes were hidden under the tangled mess of red hair but she could see from the steady rise and fall of his chest that he had likely fallen back asleep.
Exhale…
Without missing a beat, she had grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked him with it, a loud thud echoing in the room, followed by a string of muffled complaints.
"Well, good morning to you too?" he mumbled, forcing himself to sit up. Artemis' attack left him rubbing the back of his head with one hand and his eyes with the other.
"Wally, where are the rest of my clothes?" she said, before he had time to crack any jokes.
Wally froze, cautiously taking note of the lack of humor in her voice.
Her hands rested in her lap but her eyes glinted in a way that promised another attack was imminent unless he could muster up enough brain power this early in the morning to understand what on earth she was talking about.
He stared at her blankly until the realization broke across his features. Artemis maintained her glare while a wide grin broke across his face.
"I've hidden them… somewhere you'll never find them, muahahaha" he said, laughing in an overly dramatic fashion simultaneously removing the rest of the pillows from her reach before she noticed.
"They're not in the flower pots" she said, nose scrunching up at his habitually strange behavior "or the fridge, so where are they?"
"I still can't believe you found them in the fridge last time" he laughed mostly to himself, recalling his ingenious hiding spots.
"Wally, I don't need the pillows to make you tell me" she said, eyeing the pillows he was trying to take away from her.
"Just let me get changed first and-"
"No" she said, clamping a hand around his forearm thwarting his escape, "Absolutely not! Don't even think about taking your shirt off and distracting me while I'm mad at you"
"Well, I was going to change in private but" he said, leaning in closer, a smirk forming on his face, "distracting you sounds far better than whatever I was going to do"
"I don't have time for distractions" she said, fighting to keep a smirk off her face by recalling whose neck would be on the chopping block if M'Gann and Zatanna seek retribution for ruining their plans.
"You have three days off from work" he said, his eyes growing dark and his nose almost brushing her own.
"Three days that I'll be spending with M'Gann and Zatanna" she reminded him. She shoved him backwards to repossess her lost breathing room, "So tell me where my stuff is already"
"No can do, babe, I'm keeping your stuff hostage for the foreseeable future" he said, nursing the shoulder she had hit, grinning at her wholeheartedly.
Artemis refused to return his grin, eyeing the pillows beyond her reach, calculating if she could beat his super-speed and grab one. Before she could decide, a gush of wind passed by and all of the pillows were now missing from the bed. She blinked and found Wally had returned to the same position as before, grin still cemented in place.
"Just in case you got any ideas" he said triumphantly.
Artemis swung her left arm at him anyway but he caught her mid swing. Artemis cursed his super speed under her breath. Wally ignored her attempts to free her captured limb instead he ran his hand along its length to play with the silver band adorning her hand. She huffed in irritation and pulled her hand out of his for good measure.
"Babe, violence is never the answer in hostage situations" he said, as if teaching a vital life lesson, "the only way your stuff will make it out of this is if you comply to my demands"
"…No" Artemis said flatly, refusing to play heroes and villains with her husband while her life was potentially on the line. She stared at him with her arms firmly crossed over her front, an eyebrow raised at his antics.
"C'mon Artemis, you're leaving me alone for a whole weekend and a half, so the least you could do is play along" he whined, grabbing hold of her arms and pulling her closer towards him.
Artemis' eyes narrowed at his attempts to guilt her into playing along. She could feel her irritation brewing as the guilt started to niggle at her conscience.
"No" she persisted, pushing down whatever guilt was starting to eat away at her. Unhappy Martians and troll-like Magicians trumped her sulky husband.
"Alright, alright" he said, raising his hands up in defeat, "you drive a hard bargain. Soooo... I'll lessen it to only one demand"
"Wallace Rudolph West" she seethed, "I will start using my arrows on you if you don't-"
Whatever she wanted to say died on her tongue once Wally pressed his lips firmly onto hers. Suddenly, she felt her head start to spin.
His hands ran up her arms, steadying her before she fell against their headboard. She briefly felt him smirk against her lips before his mouth began to move fervently against hers.
She was still dazed before the lack of oxygen forced her to break off their kiss. She peeked at her husband to find green eyes filled with a swirl of mirth and something she couldn't place at the moment. His eyes seemed to turn darker before he lunged forward to capture her mouth with his.
Her reflexes kicked in and she began matching his rhythm with her own. Her hands had snaked their way around his shoulders drawing him closer. She felt one of his hands sneak their way down to the crook of her knee in response.
With her attention occupied, he managed to pull her down by the knee, laying her flat against their bed before following her down. Artemis gasped as he pressed his body flush against hers, refusing to break their kiss.
He used her surprise to his advantage, gaining access to her mouth, and sending her mind back into a daze. Artemis absentmindedly ran her hands down the length of his back, subconsciously fiddling with the fabric of his worn out t-shirt. She was disappointed upon realizing that there were far too many layers between them-
A series of loud beeps burst throughout the room.
Artemis was snapped out of her daze. She struggled against his grip to reach her phone, ignoring his protests. She hit the 'answer' button and was suddenly bombarded with several voices demanding to know where she was.
She released a sigh before running a hand over her burning face. Artemis was hit with hazy memories of an empty suitcase and her impending doom while the voices continued to rage from her phone.
She peered at the clothes she was wearing to find them covered in wrinkles; She ran a hand through her locks realizing that they were irreversibly tangled together. She glared at her husband who was smirking lazily at her misfortune. His fiery hair was completely disheveled and his freckled face was flushed red. She tried to ignore the heat creeping up her neck while he brazenly gazed at her.
After what seemed like an eternity of stifling tension, she submitted to the warmth curling in her abdomen while her gaze roamed over him.
Her steel eyes locked onto his and she finally recognized the feeling mixed up with his mirth.
It wasn't lust to which she was no stranger to.
It was something else, something that was intoxicating enough to leave her breathless.
It was longing.
"Artemis?" a voice said from her phone, cutting off her train of thought.
"Yes," she said, keeping her gaze on her husband, a smirk still plastered onto his face, "I'm here"
"Where are you?" a voice, she vaguely recognized as M'Gann's called out.
"I'm…. on my way" she said, trying to steady her dissonant heart beat, "I'm just going to be… very very late"
Thank you for reading, hope to see you for the next one.
Author.