It had all started with a look, a sideways smile and tension, all three of these earned when Wallace West crashed ungracefully into the headquarters in a heap of ginger and beach necessities. Of course, his interruption had earned him stares, but he seemed the type to be used to the looks his antics attracted. This might have been why he felt no need to analyze the stare she had given him and partially concealed by the form of her guardian, he might not have even noticed it.
In her line of work, Artemis was no stranger to boys with bodies worth flaunting - if the myriad of spandex costumes were any clue - and the redhead was no exception, though at the time, he lacked the spandex. Her first thought was that for a hero, he was scrawny. Not Robin scrawny – no, the boy wonder was forgiven for his build, considering his acrobatic prowess and his youth – but the ginger lacked the broad-chested build of Aqualad and was not even worth comparing to Superboy. He was lithe, toned just enough to flaunt muscles without looking like he was made of stone. This ruled out any form of physical power.
Or did it?
"Wal-man, huh?" Artemis echoed, her words a challenge. She had to assert dominance within the team as soon as possible, lest she be exploited for being "the newbie" any more than what was necessary. The aforementioned "Wal-man" had just made himself a prime target. She could prove herself a girl to be reckoned with and simultaneously learn more about this latest curiosity. "I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?"
With that, a deadly exchange had begun.
Kid Flash, despite her initial beliefs, was indeed a hero with a physical power, only not one of physical strength – but speed. The boy's impressive agility and limitless potential was capped only by his impossibly short attention span and his tendency to act dumber than he was. While his first impression and common shenanigans so often suggested otherwise, Wally was a genius.
Which is what helped to make him so infuriating. Artemis could only insult him for so long before he either lost interest or countered with annoyingly indisputable logic. His easygoing, flirtatious and clumsy attitude was only the surface, only part of the puzzle. Beneath it lay a boy who possessed the scientific mind to give himself his powers through experiment, build an EMP device over a short-wave radio while under the threat of drowning and somehow manage to maintain honor student standings while moonlighting as a superhero, training or otherwise being a nuisance.
Somehow, all this blended to make a perfect verbal sparring partner for Artemis. She enjoyed putting him down almost as much as she enjoyed the challenge he presented when he decided to bite back. He made it too easy, and sometimes it seemed like he was doing so intentionally – goading her into insulting him simply as an excuse to talk back to her. Sometimes he gave the illusion of being perceptive, turning on the charm and twisting her words against her, making her fear that her sessions with Canary had not been as confidential as she would've liked. Then he would laugh and instantly turn the charm elsewhere, or turn it off in favour of being an idiot.
Over the months and with their deeper, unsaid opinions of one another kept hidden under layers of insults and banter, the tension that had been established during their first meeting only grew, thickened with everything Artemis did to hide the feelings she did not deem worth sharing with him. The mental failsafe simulation incident seemed to turn the tension into a solid wall, at least to Artemis. His grins and insults were guarded and unusually careful, as if he were putting his scientific brain to use and thinking before speaking – but only with her. She noticed that despite his attempts to hide it, he was always careful around her – watching his words and instantly changing the subject should the topic of their conversations fly too close to what had traumatized them all.
But only with her.
She noticed it when he thought she wasn't around, wasn't listening. With everyone else, the subject was not a problem. It was all a "big joke" to him. He admitted the punchline was a little painful for the lot of them, but they'd gotten through it and it was only a dream.
A dream that apparently, wasn't worth discussing at all with her, for the subject was taboo whenever she'd bring it up to him alone, but that didn't stop her from trying. She had been told that he was angry at her death, but no one seemed comfortable enough to explain much more. They didn't say – or didn't know – what he'd been angry at. The fact that she'd died or the people who'd done it. And was he not just as angry as everyone else had been? She didn't know. She didn't know, and no one would tell her. They all kept their secrets to themselves.
Karma was a bitch sometimes.
When the tension was so obnoxious to her that it seemed like to a thick, dark cloud of energy surrounding him – separating them, she set about breaking it. At every possible moment she could, she confronted him about what had happened. She could tell his patience was wearing thin after a week, and considering the amount of patience he had to begin with, that was fairly impressive of Wally to hold out for that long. But his stubborn refusal to share only made her more eager to know. With every day she brought it up, she could feel his annoyance grow, for his words became curt and dismissive, and in a flash like to the ones he and his mentor were named for, he would escape her. When she found him later, he would "mysteriously" have "no idea" what she was talking about when she challenged his cowardice.
But she was stubborn and curious and unsatisfied with being brushed off by Kid Flash. And some part of her – a part she scolded whenever its tiny voice whispered in the back of her mind – hoped that maybe they were alike in how they fed the tension with lies to hide their true feelings. But that tiny part was foolish: a girlish, childish part that was fed by juvenile fantasies and silly dreams.
Artemis had intended for this day to be like any other. Wally would show up at the mountain after school let out, the last one to arrive as usual. He would hang around to check if there was a mission he should be helping with, then set about finding Robin, whether to train or simply talk about stupid things with an enthusiasm matched by the youngest member of their team. Sometime between Kid Flash checking for missions and finding Robin, Artemis planned to intercept him, hanging around the briefing room and waiting for that familiar robotic voice to spit out the numbers that would announce his arrival.
Hours passed before it did. Wally was perpetually running late, despite his incredible speed, but even this was unusual. The sun had set four hours prior to his arrival and most of the Young Justice squad had retired for the night. Robin had returned home, Aqualad had business of his own to attend to while Megan and Conner had both turned in early, worn out by an eventful school trip. Artemis was waiting up, patient and alone.
That tiny voice insisted she was worried.
She scolded it, banishing it back into the darker corners of her mind where it belonged.
"...Wally?"
The red head stormed into the kitchen, the exact place Artemis had correctly predicted the boy would go upon arriving. His green eyes fixed upon her, flashing with anger that had been there even before she'd spoken. They stared at one another for a few moments, one still caught up in anger while the other began to wonder why it was there. Without a word, the boy turned on his heel and marched out.
"Hey!" she called out after him, releasing only in the moments following that her voice had been harsher than she'd intended it to be. She hopped off the barstool she'd been perched on and moved to follow, "all the speed in the world and you still manage to take hours to get here?"
Wally stopped, his shoulders sloping as if in a sigh before he turned, directing a tired smile down to the blonde.
"What can I say?" he said, unapologetic, "It's a gift. Don't tell me you were waiting up for me?"
"Of course not," Artemis waved a hand in dismissal. "I had some homework I had to do. I only finished it a few minutes ago."
She left herself open to an insult. A quirp about her intelligence, a flirtatious comment on how she was lonely and waiting for him, a mocking remark on her grades – anything.
Instead, he simply grinned at her, gave a laugh that seemed a little out of place, muttered a quiet "Cool" and turned to leave again, forgoing the food in the kitchen behind her, her open invitation to bicker and the concern she'd let show in her expression for naught more than a heartbeat. Artemis was still for the moment it took her to swallow her surprise, then spoke clearly and calmly to his back.
"What's wrong?"
His reply was quick.
"Nothing."
Artemis gave a sceptical stare into the speedster's back, but said nothing more as the boy continued down the hall, taking the turn that cut him off from her line of sight and likely took him to his quarters. She stood for a few moments longer, lost in her thoughts before she turned and re-entered the kitchen, this time going for the couch. As if in shock, she sat down slowly, completely still for a few seconds before she lowered herself to her side and let her eyelids droop, staring absently ahead. She let the buzz of her thoughts die down into a dull whisper as she lay still and waited.
She was not kept long.
Her instincts had been correct a second time, for Wally soon drifted back into the kitchen, no doubt guided by his stomach. She waited until she heard the fridge door open, then quietly rose from her prone position. Artemis silently circled the couch and situated herself on the barstool, staring at the ginger's back with a smirk.
"How did I know you'd be back?" the question was rhetorical, but that didn't stop the boy from straightening out, turning back to look at her and answering with a level tone:
"Because I am forever hungry."
"Probably has something to do with that metabolism of yours."
"Probably has everything to do with that metabolism of mine, yeah."
He set a large container of Jell-o on the counter, pulled a spoon from a nearby drawer and set about depleting their Jell-O reserve.
"Why are you still up?" he said around a mouthful of cherry flavour.
"Same reason you are," she returned.
"You're also forever hungry?"
"Not that reason."
He stared at her for a while, somehow managing to look thoughtful while childishly spooning jello into his mouth. Artemis, for all she was worth, stared back.
She wasn't stupid. He needed release. Something was bothering him. That something had made him late and hesitant to insult her and even more against sharing his thoughts with her. She wanted to know, but she was never that good at heart-to-hearts. Her forte was with arrows and acrobatics, not kind words and feelings.
But maybe she could help him another way. The only way she knew how. The only way she knew release.
She heaved a frustrated sigh, propped her elbow on the counter and leaned onto her fist.
"Why do you have to be so difficult?" she huffed.
"More gifts, I suppose," Wally stood and shrugged half-heartedly.
"I'm not kidding," snapped the blonde, "do you think I haven't noticed? Something's been bothering you for a long time now. I'm not stupid."
Another opening. More bait. This time, he took it, though the grin that accompanied his bite was another half-hearted motion.
"You sure about that? Cause I seem to remember you-"
"Don't even start, Baywatch," she hissed, "I'm through putting up with insults from you, of all people."
Wally blinked in surprise, seeming to withdraw a little, the spoon clamped between his lips and when he spoke, his words were partially obscured by it.
"What do you mean, me of all people?"
"You're useless, Wally!"
The ginger jerked as if he'd been struck, that surprise changing to offence like lightning.
"Excuse me?"
"In combat, as a friend, as a hero, you're useless!" Those green eyes narrowed dangerously, but that didn't stop the blonde from continuing. "You can't do shit without tripping over something, hurting yourself somehow, and not to mention most of the attacks you throw at bad guys are brushed aside like nothing. Isn't the Flash supposed to be one of the greatest heroes in the league? If so, his sidekick sure isn't. Some protege you are."
Wally slammed his fists onto the counter between them, the spoon clattering as it hit the floor.
"Take that back."
"No, I won't! Do you know why?" At some point during Artemis's rant, she once again felt the tension around them – or rather, around him. She felt loose, free and light, but looking at him and the anger in his eyes, she could feel waves of suppressed rage practically radiating from him. She'd been saying things like this to him from day one, but never so bluntly, never when he was in such a state. "Because it's true! Every bit of it is true! You're a pathetic excuse for a hero and a lousy friend. You think I haven't noticed you holding things back from me? You have to have sunk pretty low if you're too much of a wuss to even stand up for yourself properly anymore."
The air suddenly felt heavy, as if supercharged with static. Wally became slightly blurred in front of her, and it took all her willpower not to blink and rub her eyes. If she had, she surely would've missed the instant where Wally had simply appeared in front of her, whether having run around the counter too fast for her eyes to track or moved through the counter between them – his presence forced her off the stool and stumbling back, maintaining her balance only because she'd been expecting a reaction like this.
"That so, Arty? What about you? Little miss secrets? Who's the lousy friend and hero?"
This, she wasn't expecting. It must've showed in her expression, because suddenly he was smirking and advancing on her. She refused to budge, staring angrily up at him even as he stopped barely an inch away from her.
"Yeah, I'm not stupid either, Artemis. Quite the opposite. I know you're hiding something from us. I respected you enough not to pry and find out for myself – I'm sure I could if I felt I had to. I figured you'd come around and tell your friends eventually. Thus far, I've been quite wrong. I'm getting real sick of being wrong about you, Artemis."
"You don't know anything about me," Artemis hissed, certain she could feel the weight of his emotions pressing down on her, filling her lungs and making it difficult to breathe. He didn't seem affected at all, his outer visage appearing calm and collected while his eyes burned with an uninhibited fury.
"You're right," said Wally. "I don't. Which is odd, because most of my friends, I'm quite familiar with. What does that make you? A teammate? I don't think you're much of that either, considering everything you just said."
Artemis's heart suddenly fluttered in her chest, going impossibly faster as Wally huffed, the short breath ghosting over her face and smelling sweet, despite the weight of the atmosphere around them.
"What's wrong with you?" The girl whispered, though in an entirely different tone than what she'd been using previously. She sounded frustrated and confused, just as much so with herself and the sudden ache in her chest as she was with the red-headed speedster before her. As if in unison with her, his tone changed, never missing a beat and understanding that the subject of this conversation had suddenly changed into something far more serious than the last had ever been.
"When I figure you out," he breathed, "I'll be sure to tell you."
At some point in their arguing, the anger had blurred into that tension she'd been feeling since their very first mission, which had blurred further until it snapped and the resulting feeling gripped Artemis with a sudden instinct that compelled her to lift upward, grabbing his wrists tightly as leverage and slamming her lips against his.
He hesitated for only a moment, as if coming to terms with the reality of what was happening. Then, he rotated his wrists to break free of her hold, only to snatch hers before she could comprehend that their grips had reversed. The speedster returned the kiss with just as much passion, advancing on her again, this time only stopping when her back connected with a wall, something solid he could brace her against as he continued to kiss her with a fervour. She responded, only remembering to breathe when a darkness began to creep around the edges of her vision.
As she took a breath, she felt her arms move up, pinned by the wrists at either side of her head. Both teens came together again for more, this time less angry and more eager. Their tongues fought for dominance between them, and in that moment, Artemis allowed herself to focus on the boy's face, finding his bright eyes alive with something other than anger.
Pain?
Artemis stopped fighting, allowing her fleet footed partner to take control, exploring her mouth with his as she tried to think through the new haze that had settled over them. This was what the tension between them had been building up to, wasn't it? It amounted to something more than friendship, and when she had 'died' in that exercise, Wally must have felt that tension break, replaced not with this new feeling, but emptiness and loss. Loss of a friend that could have been something more. The loss of a chance to admit his true feelings and his inability to protect that chance...So much emotion, being broken and stolen away by that one shot from a ship that had never existed...
A nibble on her lips brought her back to the present moment. Her hands had at some point, settled against his shoulders, for his were at her waist, bunching up the fabric there and pressing a warm palm against her bare skin. Her lips were numb, but pleasantly so, and were soon freed to allow the girl to tilt her head back and breathe, however evenly she could manage as his lips worked their down from her jaw to her collarbone, his kisses featherlight and delicate. That gentleness was a stark contrast to the harsh and heavy events that had set them both ablaze.
Almost subconsciously, her hands pulled eagerly at his collar, bringing his lips up to meet hers again, nearly laughing at the sweet taste on her tongue that had certainly not been there minutes before. Cherry flavour. Her hands deftly loosened the first few of the buttons by his collar, sliding under the flannel shirt to grip his shoulders, feeling the muscles move beneath her palms as he lifted her. She hooked her legs around his hips, his warm hands sliding further up her shirt as she explored with her own under his.
Her next break for air – he seemed to require far less, probably due to his ridiculous endurance – succeeded in lifting some of the haze and making things clearer. Wallace was warm and a welcome weight against her, that tension was gone and replaced with a feeling of longing and relief. The speedster worked gently at her neck again as her hands buried themselves in his hair.
"Wally..." she breathed, aware that they'd been so in tune with one another that she really didn't need to speak. She did anyways, if only to fill his silence. "We should...slow down...a lot..."
"I know," he mumbled, slowing his kisses until he rested his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Artemis laughed, though she wasn't sure why.
"What for?"
"I don't know...being a jerk?"
"Sure, I'll take that. I am too, though. Sorry for...everything."
"Let's not be."
"Be what?"
"Sorry. We'll put it all behind us. Start again."
Artemis laughed again, though it was a quiet and gentle sound, one she hadn't made in quite a while. She unhooked her legs from around him and he eased the pressure he was putting on her, helping to set her on the ground. She was wired, ready to take off and fly. She felt like she could run a marathon, but her knees were weak.
"Now where's the fun in that?"
Wally held her face with both hands and rested his forehead against her own, smiling.
"Then do we tell the others?" he asked.
"Well, have you figured me out yet?"
"Not at all."
"Then we'll wait."
With that, she let her hands fall from his hair to his forearms, then gently pulled his hands away from her face. He compromised, moving to hold her hands within his own as he stepped back, giving her more room to get away from that wall. Artemis kissed him chastely one final time, the jolt of resulting energy in her chest almost willing her to go further. She dismissed the desire before letting go of him entirely, crossing the room to the counter, aware that Wally followed her like a puppy, cementing this comparison when he whined as she lifted the bowl of Jell-O.
"What?"
"Don't put that away. I'm still hungry."
"Still?"
"Forever hungry, remember? You try having a hyperspeed metabolism, then I'll take your Jell-O away and see how you like it."
With a sigh and a shake of her head, she set the bowl back on the counter as Wally went to clean off the spoon he'd dropped. With a yawn, Artemis began to think about heading for her quarters, finding that her feet began to take her in that direction with the thought. She hesitated at the door, aware that Wally was watching her go. She turned to see that spoon hanging from his mouth, his expression thoughtful once again.
"Hey Wally," she said slowly,
"Hmm?"
"When you're ready to talk, I'm ready to listen, okay?"
The ginger broke out into a grin. A genuine, cheeky grin that Artemis couldn't decide if she'd missed or not.
"Same goes for you."
"It's a date, then."
The speedster seemed to perk up.
"When?"
Artemis only smirked, turning away and giving the boy a sideways smile. His expression fell into one of confusion, then one of exasperation as the girl spoke, then left him alone in the kitchen, listening to her soft footsteps as they progressed down the hall.
"When you figure me out."
Yeap. Gonna be writing one shots for this show for the next little while. I can feel it B)
Let me know what you think, I definitely want to hear it! Please press the little button over yonder. Would love to hear from you!
Thanks so much for reading!
Shmee~