Artemis' family never really acknowledged the holidays. While the rest of the world was head-over-heels because of some fat man in a red suit, her family carried on with their usual business as if it were any other time of the year. At first, she didn't really care that she didn't have Christmas, mainly because she didn't know what she was missing.
Yet as each year passed, she began to wonder about the catchy music that seemed to fill every nook and cranny in the city. Well, except for her family's small apartment, of course. She wondered about the endless stream of people that were always in a rush to get to the nearest store, which always advertised huge sales. Well, everyone else seemed to do that anyway. Everyone except her family. She wondered about the glowing lights and plastic greenery that adorned every surface. Well, every surface except the ones in the Crock household.
Her curiosity grew until she was practically itching with questions. Why didn't her family celebrate Christmas? Why didn't her family have a feast? Why didn't her family give gifts to one another? Why didn't her family actually act like a family at least during the holidays?
But she never dared to ask these questions out loud. She would probably be scolded and told to, "never mind what those other people were doing; they were all idiots anyways." So these questions stayed bottled up inside of her, never to reach the surface. Until one night, her curiosity got the best of her.
Seven-year-old Artemis Crock could not sleep. She tossed and turned, but no matter what she tried, she couldn't get comfortable. She turned over once more and looked at her sister's bed. Jade slept soundly and Artemis could not only hear, but also see, her steady breathing. Artemis quietly slipped from her stuffy blankets. Before she reached Jade's bed, she leaned over their shared night stand and pulled back the curtain to the window. Outside, the tall street light washed the world in its orangey glow. Snow had made a make-shift bed out of the city. It drifted lazily, settling down for a deep, heavy sleep.
At least one of us can sleep. Artemis thought spitefully. She then heard a small rustle of sheets to her right. Make that two. But not for much longer.
She shortened the distance between her and Jade's bed and gently nudged her older sister. "Jade. Hey, Jade," Artemis whispered. Her sibling let out a gravelly purr before cracking open a sleepy eye.
"What is it?" But Artemis knew that Jade knew exactly "what it was." These nightly visits weren't anything new. Whenever Artemis couldn't sleep, she would crawl into the bed of her sister. It was one of the few things that calmed her mind and allowed her to drift into slumber.
"I can't sleep," Artemis stated, only because Jade had asked. Without another word, Jade moved over and lifted her blankets welcomingly; well, as welcomingly as a half-asleep teenager can be. Artemis wasted no time in gliding between the sheets and next to her older sister. She tucked the edge of the blanket under her side and settled down. Almost immediately, the warmth curled around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back. It always amazed her how, just moments ago, her bed had seemed too hot, the sheets to scratchy, the blankets confining. But Jade's bed was always warm and soft and gentle.
Moments passed, but she still could not find sleep. She was almost sure that Jade had gone back to sleep, and she didn't want to disturb her again, but it seemed that she could not be put to rest until she put her questions to rest.
"Hey, Jade?" Artemis whispered. Perhaps Jade hadn't been fully asleep yet, because she answered back almost immediately. The only thing that delayed her response was a heavy sigh, which made Artemis feel a bit guilty, but she pressed on anyway.
"Yes?" Jade replied with her eyes still closed.
"Are we Jewish?"
This time, Jade cracked both eyes open, and a confused smile and furrowed eyebrows eased their way onto her face. "What? No! Why do you ask?" she chuckled.
"Well, at recess today, we were talking about Christmas trees, and I was quiet because we don't have a Christmas tree, but then Ben Rosenburg told us about how he doesn't have a Christmas tree, and we asked, 'Why not?' and he said, 'Cuz we're Jewish,' and I didn't really know what that meant, but then I said, 'We don't have a Christmas tree either,' and Ben asked if I was Jewish too, but I just said, 'I don't know,' but I guess, now I know that we're not..."
She waited a few moments, but Jade didn't say anything back. Artemis didn't dare to look up at her older sister. She could feel her blush glowing in the dark of their bedroom. Would Jade be angry? Artemis bit at some dead skin on her lip. More often than not, she found herself being scolded by at least one member of her family. It was always, "Don't buy into that bullshit that your teachers are feeding you, baby girl!" or, "Artemis, I know you like to watch the heroes on TV, but you know how it gets your father all stirred up. Do not bring it up again. Now go help Jade set the table." or, "Come one, squirt, if you can't keep up, you're gonna get left behind." She began to wonder if this Christmas ordeal would just turn out to be another lecture in which she got in trouble for reasons she didn't understand and she left with questions that were never answered.
The silence was too much for her and she hesitantly looked up at Jade, half wondering if her older sister had fallen back asleep during her story. However, Jade was certainly wide awake. Any traces of amusement had been drained from her face. Her eyes were fully open now and they held something that Artemis couldn't quite read.
"So, if we aren't Jewish, why don't we have a Christmas tree?" She knew she should stop asking questions, but Jade didn't look very angry, so the words just kept tumbling out of her mouth.
Jade blinked a few times and then whispered heavily, "You know, Arty, I'm not really sure myself."
This surprised Artemis. Jade had never wasted a chance to show off her intelligence or skills, but now seemed to be one of those rare, vulnerable moments when her sister admitted defeat. Pushing her shock aside, Artemis coaxed herself out of her silence to ask yet another question: "Is that why we don't have presents either? I mean, where's Santa s'posed to put our presents? He probably doesn't even know to stop here..."
The troubled look remained on Jade's face until she suddenly sat up. She crawled off the bed and turned on the light in their room. She began digging through the drawers of their dressers and night stand until she found what she was looking for. Sitting down in the middle of the room, she set an old notebook and a box of overly used Rose Art markers in front of her.
Artemis had sat up as well at this point, although she remained on the bed. "Jade?" she asked cautiously. She watched as Jade took the green marker and began drawing jagged zig-zags all the way up and down the paper. Once she was done with that, she took the brown marker and made a small rectangle at the larger end of the zig-zags. Then, she looked up at Artemis, almost impatiently, as if Artemis knew exactly what was going on.
"Aren't you going to decorate it?" She asked, as she held up the box that held the rest of the markers.
Slowly, but surely, Artemis began to understand what Jade was doing. She nodded her head slowly as the pieces fell into place, but only spoke when the puzzle was complete. "Sure," she said. Making her way to the floor next to Jade, she grabbed the markers and the notebook which held the crude outline of an evergreen tree. She dressed the tree up just like she imagined a Christmas tree should look like. She drew ornaments and tinsel and garland, and to finish it off, she put a bright, shining star at the top of the tree. Once she was done, she held the notebook up rather proudly, observing her work from a distance.
Jade took the notebook from her hands and tore out the page. Without removing the fringe, she moved their curtain aside and taped the picture to the window.
"There," Jade announced proudly. "Now Santa will know to stop at our house and he knows where to leave the presents." Artemis beamed. They didn't have a Christmas tree, so Jade had decided they would make their own. Artemis was pretty sure she had the best sister in the world right now. The joy she felt dulled just a bit as she finally realized how tired she was. Jade made her way back to her bad after shutting off the light. She looked at Artemis expectedly, silently asking a question. Are you still sleeping with me or not?
Artemis was sure that she could fall onto her own bed and be snoring in a matter of minutes, but Jade's bed was still just better, so she returned to her spot, faithfully beside her sister and relished in the softness of the bedding.
The days until Christmas couldn't go fast enough. Artemis desperately wanted to know what Santa was going to give her - if he gave her anything at all! What if their make-shift Christmas tree didn't count? What if Santa didn't even see it? Would Santa deny her a gift since she hadn't been a member of the "Christmas Club" for the last seven years? Or, worst of all, what if her name had been placed on the Naughty List for some reason or another?
She even thought about sending Santa a letter to let him know that she hadn't been expecting an actual Christmas all year, otherwise she would have paid more attention to being good, and that, if he could give her a break, she would really appreciate it. She would even make up for all the naughty things she had done, if he would only give her some sort of present this year.
But apparently Artemis didn't have much to worry about. On Christmas morning, bright sunlight shone through the window causing Artemis to wake up. She opened her eyes slowly at first, but upon realizing what day it was, she sat bolt up right. They had left the curtains drawn back from the window all night so that maybe they could catch a glimpse of The Man in Red himself. When she woke up, there was no Santa Claus, but there was a gift on the nightstand. It leaned up against the wall, just below the tree.
Squealing with delight, Artemis quickly awoke Jade and showed her the gift. Jade smile broadly before urging Artemis to open the present. Artemis suddenly stopped her celebration. This was her first Christmas present ever. Obviously, it was a very special occasion. She had to take this seriously. Sitting down on the floor, she carefully began peeling away the wrapping paper. Once that was gone, she glanced at Jade one last time before she opened the box. Jade smiled down at her from her perch on the bed.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Open it already!" She urged. Another smile broke out on Artemis' face and she tore the box open. Then, she gasped. Inside was a large, rolled up paper. Artemis carefully took it from the box and unrolled it. It was a poster! A poster of Artemis' favorite story, Alice in Wonderland! Artemis couldn't have been happier! She jumped up and down, thanking God and Santa and whoever else could have been listening that day.
Jade helped her hang up the poster. She was sure that Artemis would want it hanging over her own bed, but her little sister insisted that it was hung over Jade's. Something about being able to see it better. Just as Jade climbed down from her bed from hanging the poster up, there was a knock on their bedroom door. Both girls stiffened when their father's head peaked inside the room.
"You girls ready for practice?" he asked with his gruff voice.
"Yes, Dad," they said evenly in unison.
"Alright, suit up, then," he ordered mildly as he closed the door once again. A nasty glare made itself at home on Jade's face the moment the door clicked shut. Jade and Dad didn't get along very well. Actually, it seemed like Dad didn't get along with most people most of the time, but it seemed that him and Jade didn't get along any of the time. Artemis thought it was because that were too different. They got dressed in silence, steeling up for a training session, but something was still bothering Artemis.
"Hey, Jade?" Her sister grunted in response as she laced up her combat boots. "Where is your Christmas present?" Jade froze in the middle of lacing up her shoe, stopping the rabbit just as he was about to run around the tree and down his rabbit hole.
"I didn't ask Santa for anything," she answered smoothly and began tying her shoe again. Except she had hesitated before she answered. Artemis' question had caught her off guard. Artemis thought for a minute. Jade deserve a present too. After all, Jade was the only reason that Artemis had gotten anything this year.
"Hang on," Artemis said as she made her way to her school backpack at the end of her bed. Jade watched curiously as she dug around for a few seconds, then produced a small item. She delicately handed it to Jade, who now recognized it as a small angel made of yarn. There was a long loop of yarn the sprouted from its head so that it could be hung from something. Something like a Christmas tree.
"I made it in class the other day. My teacher helped a lot. I was gonna save it for next year... Maybe when we could get a real Christmas tree... But now I want you to have it." Jade peered down at the tiny angel. Then a smile slipped onto her face. She took the ornament and put it securely in her pocket before zipping it up.
Although Artemis couldn't see it, Jade knew that she needed Artemis just as much as Artemis needed her. She kept her little sister safe and Artemis kept her sane. If it wasn't for Artemis and their mother, Jade would have probably left a long time ago.
They grabbed the rest of the things they would need for the training session. Artemis automatically went for her bow and quiver. Dad had introduced her to them not too long ago, but Artemis was a natural, and she got better and better every day. They walked out of their shared room.
"Merry Christmas, Jade."
"Merry Christmas, Arty."
Unfortunately, they didn't get a real Christmas tree the next year. Jade was short on cash, and it was either a real tree, or Artemis' gift from Santa. (Artemis didn't mind the paper tree; who could complain when you had a new teddy bear to play with?) Jade still held onto her angel though.
Less than a year later, Jade was gone. The night that she left, Artemis couldn't sleep, so she climbed into Jade's bed to calm herself. But it didn't work. Even though their beds were the exact same size, Jades bed was too big and too empty. It finally hit her that Jade's bed wasn't just magically better. It only seemed better because Jade was in it. Artemis never tried to sleep in it again. When insomnia attacked, she just lay awake for hours in her own bed, alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that maybe Jade and her father were more alike than she had realized.
The tradition of the paper tree was pointless without Jade. She didn't hang the tree up. Santa didn't come that year, or the year after that. Living with only her father, Artemis began to ignore Christmas like the rest of her family had. That is, until her mom came back and her dad left and she joined team.
Since it was Megan's, Connor's, and Kaldur's first Christmas, they decided to have their own team celebration. Megan was maxing out on Christmas. Artemis had never seen so much tinsel and garland and lights in her life. It hung on every wall of the Cave. She was sure the mountain would reek of gingerbread until the next holiday season. Christmas music played 24/7. But the part that had really taken her breath away happened one day, just a day or two after Thanksgiving. She had walked into the Cave fresh from the zeta beam when she saw it.
A tremendous Christmas tree towered there with robust branches that reached out with vibrant needles. She gaped at how it almost reached the ceiling. It seemed so real, like it belonged there, as if it had been growing in that very spot for years, and Artemis had only just noticed it. Then she felt a small gust of wind.
"It sure is something, huh, Arty?" A certain speedster had broken away the group to come greet her.
"Yeah," she sighed in awe. "And don't call me Arty," she scolded him. However, her words held no impact. Over the past few months, Artemis and Wally had learned to get along. They even learned to have a good time around each other, and now they were... Well, Artemis didn't really know what they were. Acquaintances? Friends? Actual teammates that weren't trying to kill each other? Maybe they were a little bit of all three. Whatever they were, Artemis liked it and she could tell that Wally liked it too.
She could say that what she used to see as obnoxious had now melted away into funny and charming. What he had seen as bossy was now ambitious. What she had previously known as his know-it-all attitude, was now intelligence and what he had deemed inappropriate was now, dare he say, sexy (not that either of them would ever admit that).
They both turned and made their way to the small kitchen where the rest of the team plus Zatanna were sitting. Megan, Kaldur, and Connor were making Christmas ornaments. Connor didn't seem like he was having all that much fun, but he still participated for the sake of his girlfriend's happiness.
"Nice reindeer," Artemis purred with smug amusement as she watched the clone glue little googly eyes onto a popsicle stick reindeer face. Connor grunted his thanks and continued by gluing a small red puffball for the reindeer's nose.
"Hey, Artemis!" Megan beamed. "Do you want to make a Christmas ornament?"
"No, thanks. I think I'll pass." Even though she was warming up to the idea of Christmas again, it still wasn't really Artemis' thing.
"Well, could you bring at least one ornament from your own tree then? I don't mean to take anything personal of yours, but I do want each of us to have something to put on the tree. I mean, this is technically our cave and it's our tree, so I think it would be nice to make it our own, ya know?" Megan bashfully kept her eyes downcast for the majority of the speech, but now she looked up at Artemis, and what she saw worried her.
Artemis' eyebrows were raised high and her mouth slightly ajar. Megan could only describe the expression as fright. Not terror - this expression wasn't extreme enough to be considered terror - but Artemis definitely appeared frightened.
"Artemis?" Megan inquired. Her words were soaked with concern, which caused the rest of the teenagers to turn toward the archer with their own levels of worry. Seeing this, Artemis quickly regained her composure.
"Yeah, no problem!" Artemis said in her best lying voice, but she was sure that they could see right through it.
"Oh, okay," Megan said meekly, hoping she hadn't embarrassed Artemis. Megan knew that the blonde was touchy about certain things, and she was afraid that she had just hit one of those tender nerves. She hoped she hadn't upset the girl too much. She quickly returned to her ornament making. No one pressed the subject, and the awkwardness was soon replaced with small talk, which eventually evolved into the comfortable conversation that the team usually had when they weren't on a mission. Everyone politely ignored her small episode.
Well, everyone except Wally. While Robin told a story about how someone at his school had filled the entire dean's office with little Styrofoam cups that were only half-filled with eggnog, she could see the speedster giving her questioning looks from the corner of her eye, but she chose to ignore him. The Boy Wonder continued his story, stating how strange it was that the surveillance cameras had malfunctioned and had been offline on that particular night. Still focused on her little slip-up and the fact that Wally wasn't about to let it go, it never even occurred to Artemis that Robin went to the same school as her.
She only half listened to the conversation as she mentally scolded herself. No one on the team knew extensive information about her past and she intended to keep it that way. Her pathetic holiday memories were a part of that past. Sometimes she wondered if she would ever be able to tell them her secrets. Why did she have to freak out in front of everyone? Why hadn't she just accepted the offer to make an ornament? She could have said that she changed her mind and wanted to make one after all, but that would have roused suspicion. Pfft, like losing your cool in front of everyone didn't make anyone suspicious... What could she possibly bring to put on that ridiculous tree? Then she mentally face-palmed. She could just buy some random ornament from the store! There had been no reason to worry over anything! She had appeared mentally unstable in front of her team for nothing.
Then, someone nudged her. She turned to see Wally beside her, looking at her expectantly.
"What?" Artemis said dumbly.
"Megan asked you if you wanted a gingerbread cookie. Come on, Arty. Save the visions of sugarplums until Christmas Eve," he teased. But Artemis could see a sort of tenseness in his smirk, in his eyes. Artemis decided to, again, ignore the part of him that kept prying at her feelings.
"Why don't you save your breath?" She smirked at him good-naturedly before taking a cookie from Megan's tray and nodding her thanks. Most of Artemis' and Wally's teasing held no malice these days. Almost all of it was light-hearted, and left both of them with stupid smiles on their faces, which certainly didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the team. "And don't call me Arty!" The others shared smirks.
After an evening full of team bonding, everyone was tired and ready to head home (or to their rooms since some of them were home). Besides, Artemis knew a heavy snow was coming to Gotham and she wanted to get home before the weather got too bad. The flakes were already falling, and Artemis had just exited the broken telephone booth when a bright light and a gust of warm air materialized behind her. She expected it to be Robin, but then she remembered that he had left a few minutes before her and was long gone by the time she made it to Gotham. Turning around, she saw Central City's favorite junior speedster.
Artemis glared at him as he too exited the telephone booth. But Wally held his ground. While facing the wrath of one of Artemis' infamous glares, he held her gaze with a calm and steady one.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Artemis said through tight lips. She didn't exactly appreciate him following her here. She had already had to deal with the hassle of Robin prying into her personal life that one time he had caught her in Gotham. Plus, Artemis knew why he was here, and she was not looking forward to this conversation.
"Yeah, maybe you could tell me what was going on back there?" Wally raised an eyebrow challengingly. The archer mentally groaned. He knew her well enough now, so he wasn't afraid of her. She knew him well enough now, so she knew that she wouldn't be able to just scare him away.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she deadpanned as she turned to walk away.
"Oh, come on, Artemis! Don't give me that bull!" Slightly shocked, Artemis whipped around to see how Wally's front of calm and cool and collected had been roughly shoved away by anger. Now Artemis had seen Wally agitated. She had seen him impatient. She had seen him anxious and exasperated and annoyed, but very few times had she seen him truly angry. It never ceased to amaze her: how his green eyes were electrified with passion, how his jaw would set firmly.
But she had already known a much more brutal anger in her young life, so, while seeing Wally like that was surprising, it didn't scare her either.
"Um, in case you haven't noticed, Wally, there's this thing called My Business, and I would appreciate it if everyone, especially you, would stay out of it!" Thinking that this was the end of their conversation, she turned once again, but his voice, or rather, the small traces of hurt she heard in his voice, made her stop.
"But, I thought that... that I..." His words stopped and Artemis didn't need him to continue in order to figure out what he was saying. But I thought that I was different. Those half-spoken words stopped her in her tracks, because she realized that he was right. Over the past few months, Artemis and Wally hadn't just learned how to be civil with one another. They had learned to laugh with one another, to speak with one another, and most importantly, to trust one another.
They had definitely become friends. Maybe even a bit more than friends, but that was something that neither of them were truly willing to acknowledge yet. But they still had their gray areas, which were mostly due to Artemis' secrecy, and they both knew it. Her shoulders sagged heavily before she turned around to face him. Maybe it was about time to start letting someone in, and this was probably a good place to start. Baby steps.
"Look, I didn't exactly have your typical childhood, especially when it came to Christmas. My parents were never really into that stuff. I... I guess I kinda panicked because I don't have anything to bring for the dumb tree..." She hoped that that would be enough information to satisfy the speedster, but when she finally looked up at his eyes she could see not only concern, but confusion. The raw emotion in his eyes stunned her. She hoped that he wouldn't press the matter, but, of course, he did.
"Artemis, did you really think we would care about something like that? Why was that so hard to admit?" Wally knew that she was trying and that for her to admit this much was an improvement. He knew that he should really stop there, because going any further would most likely set the archer off and cause her to put the walls back up, but he was Wally West. He didn't stop until the puzzle was solved. How do you think he became Kid Flash in the first place?
"Oh my God, Wally! You just have to keep pushing don't you?" His anger flared again as well.
"What, you're mad because I actually care about you? Why do you do this to yourself, Artemis? Why can't you just open up? What is so wrong with letting people know who you are?" He shouted back at her. Because you would never forgive me if I did. She thought. But she didn't dare to say it out loud. That would only frustrate him more. He sighed heavily. "Look, Artemis, in case you haven't realized, there are a lot of people who care about you. We want to help you, if you would only let us-"
The blonde rounded on him, getting in his face. They were so close, and if Artemis hadn't been so angry with him, she would have probably felt the sudden urge to kiss him (and repress that urge and scold herself for having that urge).
"For your information, I don't need you to come flying in to play superhero with my emotions! I'm fine! I don't need your help, and I don't. Need. You!"
She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, but that couldn't bring them back. For once in his life, Wally seemed to move in slow motion. She saw every aspect of pain on his face. He jerked back, as if slapped. His eyes filled with shock and sadness. His mouth, slightly ajar, fell into a frown. "Wait, Wally..." But she didn't get a chance to finish her words.
"Ya know, Artemis, you may not know, since you're new to this whole "Christmas thing," but Christmas is about being close to the people that you trust, people that you love. If you want to have a good Christmas, maybe you should try that instead of pushing everyone away." Now he was scowling bitterly, but it was cracking and peeling, and she could see the hurt underneath. Without another word, Wally took off, not even bothering to use the zeta tubes. Artemis knew he liked to run whenever he needed to think. He left her there alone, as the snow kept falling down.
Artemis climbed into her bed that night, much more exhausted than she should be since they hadn't even had a mission that day. She thought about her spat with Wally, and she wanted to do nothing more than cry. But she was Artemis Crock, and Crocks don't cry (a lesson from her father that she couldn't shake, even to this day). She hated this. She hated that she had hurt Wally, and she hated that she so willingly kept secrets from her team, and she hated the fear that settled in her mind every time she thought about anyone knowing who she really was. Something had to change, and Artemis soon realized that she was going to have to be the one to do it.
She had no idea how she was ever going to fix this mess, because it was actually about something much bigger than Christmas, but Christmas seemed to be a good place to start. 'Baby steps,' she reminded herself.
She sat up and turned the bedroom light on. Hesitantly, as if she couldn't believe what she was actually doing, she opened the drawer of her night stand. She reached inside and carefully unfolded a crinkled piece of notebook paper. The Christmas after Jade had left, she had crumpled up the paper tree out of spite, but still couldn't bear the thought of throwing it away.
She took her Christmas tree and gingerly hung it on the window. All of her movements seemed cautious, as if the paper would turn to dust; or, perhaps, Artemis, herself, would turn to dust. After that, she looked out the window, just like she had so many years ago. The snow had stopped falling, and a heavy blanket of it sat in the streets. The same street light stood guard over the fresh flakes, turning the world outside of her window a cozy shade of orange, even though she knew it was freezing out there.
She pulled back the curtain and returned to one of the two empty beds in the room.
The next two days went by uneventful. There were no missions and no team gatherings, which Artemis was almost thankful for, because she still felt bad about her fight with Wally. Then, on the third morning since she had put up the tree, she awoke to the sunlight streaming through the window. The only problem was that she never left the curtain open during the night.
Artemis quickly sat up and gave the room a once over, searching for an intruder or anything out of the ordinary. She found no intruder, but sitting on her nightstand, just below her window, was a small yarn angel. The yarn was old and worn and even tattered and frayed in a few places, but surprisingly, it wasn't falling apart. A note was left beside it. Artemis snatched it from the nightstand.
"Consider it an early Christmas present. - Santa"
There was no doubt about who it was from. And to be completely honest, Artemis didn't know what to feel. For years, Artemis had been angry with her family. Angry at her mother for getting hurt and being in jail. Angry at her father for, well, just for being the way he was. And especially angry at Jade, because through all of this anger and grief and confusion and fear, when Artemis had needed Jade the most, Jade had left. Everyone who had ever meant something to her had betrayed her in some way or another, and she put up a wall shutting everyone out. For a long time, Artemis had really believed that she was all alone. The bitterness stuck with her for years and only began to ebb away when her mother was released and her father left as well.
Given, it was a slow going process. Oftentimes, Artemis still felt awkward or disconnected from her mother. She would never stop hating her father. But when it came to Jade, Artemis had never really considered the possibility of forgiveness until now. Now she felt differently. Wally was right. She wasn't alone. There were people who loved her and yet, she was still hiding from them. It was time for a change.
The next day, Artemis entered the cave nervously. It was another team bonding day, and Megan had insisted that the team participate in a Secret Santa gift exchange. Today, they would be drawing the names. She spotted the rest of the team seated in the living area. For once, the TV wasn't set to static, as Connor would have preferred, but instead it showed a toasty-looking fire place with crackles and Christmas carols playing in the backroad. This time, no speedster raced to greet her, so she made her way towards them alone.
"Hey, Artemis! Good, now everyone's here," Megan exclaimed. Artemis dared to glance at Wally. He was staring at Megan as she explained the gift exchange for those who weren't human, and Artemis couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not. On one hand, Wally hadn't made eye contact with her, which was a big relief, because Artemis wasn't completely sure she could stand looking into his eyes right now. On the other hand, that meant he was still mad at her. Also, Artemis couldn't stop the tingle of uneasiness she felt when Wally stared at Megan, but this time, his stare seemed to lack the usual interest it used to have, so she relaxed a bit.
"Uh, Megan, here." Artemis stepped forward and handed Megan something she had been clenching tightly in her hand. Megan held it gently. In her hands had been the dingy yarn angel that Artemis had made so many years ago. She was sure that it was a little soggy, because her hands were somewhat sweaty. "For the tree," finished Artemis lamely.
Apparently, Megan didn't mind the sweatiness, because she beamed at Artemis. "It's perfect!" She gushed, and flew up to place it on the massive tree. Artemis felt a certain nervousness evaporate and she smiled back at Megan. Soon, a Santa hat was passed around, and people randomly pulled out little strips of paper with team members' names on them. After they had determined who was a Secret Santa to whom, the team was free to mingle and hang out as they pleased.
"Man, I'm starving!" Wally groaned, and he zipped to the kitchen to rummage through the fridge.
"Yeah, I think I'll get something to drink." Artemis also crossed the room to make her way to the kitchen. He was at the counter, squirting mustard onto a slice of bread. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard and a carton of eggnog from the fridge. She knew that he heard her, that he could feel her presence only feet away from him, but he refused to look at her, refused to acknowledge her.
Now was her chance.
She moved toward the counter to pour her drink. Now for a bold move. The counter space that she chose to work with was right next to Wally. Their shoulders were centimeters away from touching, and she could practically feel the heat that always seemed to radiate from the speedster.
Her senses kicked in, and she began analyzing him, even though she wasn't looking directly at him (a skill she had picked up from her father; always know what your enemy is saying, even when they aren't saying anything at all). She noticed a tiny sigh through his nose, something that someone wouldn't have caught in passing. She also heard him gulp audibly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him hesitate with his sandwich making one, two, three times, as if he wanted to say something, but in a split second, would change his mind.
If she hadn't been so tuned into Wally, she probably would have noticed that the team had gotten rather quiet in the living area. The sudden iciness between the duo hadn't gone unnoticed, and if the rest of them were being honest, it worried them a little. In all honestly, the two spoke so lowly, that Superboy was the only one who could have heard them, but he claimed the Christmas carols from the TV were too loud. Watching patiently (or perhaps they were even having a telepathic conversation about it), they waited to see what would unfold.
Oh so slowly, Artemis unscrewed the cap for the eggnog. Once it became clear that Wally wasn't going to do anything, Artemis knew that she would have to take matters into her own hands.
"Wally," she breathed, barely even a whisper. Neither of them looked at each other.
"Artemis..." Wally whispered back, trying to find the words. Before he could say anything else, words poured from her mouth, much like the eggnog that she was now pouring into her glass.
"I suck at whistling, my favorite book is Alice in Wonderland, and I live with my paraplegic mother in a small apartment."
"Artemis, you... I-" Once again she spoke.
"I know that you're just trying to help. I get that. You want to get to know me more and that's fine, I just... I know that I can be kinda closed off, and I know that I can start being a dick, but in my defense, you... Ugh, you just caught me off guard and... Look! What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for... for everything. Just, please, know that I'm trying." Her eggnog was now poured. Now they both were just standing there, staring at the counter before them.
Artemis was about to walk away when he finally said something.
"It's ok... I... I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have pushed you so much. I just... You drive me crazy sometimes, you know that? In more ways than one, and I... I'm a scientist, ya know. Always gotta be asking questions..." At this he laughed weakly and Artemis couldn't help but smirk. What a dork. He cleared his throat, realizing how lame that sounded. "The point is, I'll try to quit badgering you so much."
"So... We're good then?" She asked.
"Yeah... We're good." At his moment, Wally swing his hips over and bumped her playfully, looking at her for the first time since the conversation had started. She looked back at him and smiled.
And just like that, they resumed their actions. Artemis recapped the eggnog, put it back in the fridge, and returned to the living area, while Wally finished making his sandwich. Just like that, they were on speaking terms again. Both had goofy little smiles on their faces, and both failed to notice the team was still uncharacteristically quiet as they all tried to reestablish the conversation that was supposed to be happening while the two were in the kitchen.
Artemis sat down on the couch, and when Wally made his way to the living area, he plopped himself down right next to her. Conversation sparked, and everything was back to normal. In the back of her mind, Artemis knew that what she had told Wally was not enough. It would never be enough. But her small confessions had bought her some time, and that was all she really needed right now. They were good. Maybe one day she would tell the secrets that actually mattered, but for now, she just wanted to live in this moment. She wanted to be a normal family celebrating a normal Christmas (well, as normal as a group of super teens could be). So she pushed those intruding thoughts away and enjoyed the company of her friends.
They were good.
All was good.
Hey guys, so I actually started this story over a year ago, and decided to finish it for this Christmas, especially since YJ got renewed for Season 3 this year! So excited, literally can't wait.
Like I said, I started this over a year ago, so I had a lot of time to edit and revise the earlier parts of the story, so the ending might seem super rushed (oops I thought it was, but I'm not waiting another year to post this). This takes place during season 1, of course. Sorry if my timeline doesn't exactly line up with the show, or if my setting are kinda wonky, or if I wrote the characters OOC. TBH, I just really wanted to post this before Christmas passed!
Also, I'm thinking of writing a full length story, featuring memories from Artemis' past. I just really love her, and would love to give an insight of what some of my head cannons were for her childhood. What do y'all think?
Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed it! Hooray for the Great Revival of Young Justice! Have a Merry Christmas!