This is set in the around a month before they would have kissed in the show, and before Wally knows about Artemis' family.
"As you know, we have been tracking the drug cartel for a little while now," Batman's steely monotone voice said as he briefed the team on their upcoming mission. "We have found that a son of one of the heads of the cartel attends Gotham High, and we have reason to believe that he is one of the distributors of various drugs. As it would be hard to break in during a regular school day, we have decided that on the upcoming prom, we will make our move. Your team will be sent to infiltrate, and to then take the suspect back to the league. However, we have just learned that the cartel has connections to the League of Shadows, so it is vital to be alert. Due to Robin's younger age, he will be outside on perimeter and surveillance, Kaldur will be along with Robin, for protection and as an additional lookout. As M'gann and Connor are already together, you will attend prom together as a couple." M'gann smiled at Connor who flashed back a small grin. "This means that Kid Flash and Artemis will go as a couple as well."
"What?!" the two suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
"Will this be a problem?" Batman asked in a tone that made it known that it better not.
"No…but," Wally and Artemis started, glancing at each other and blushing.
"The rest of your mission briefing is in this folder." Batman interrupted, before flashing the Wally and Artemis a look. "I expect there to be no disobeyment or disagreement. Good Luck." Batman finished, before walking off.
"Why do I have to be stuck with her!?" Wally exclaimed aloud once Batman was too far to hear.
"You? Stuck with me? I'm the one stuck with you!" Artemis yelled out in retaliation.
"Come on guys!" M'gann's cheerful voice interjected. "You two will be so fun and cute!" she exclaimed, warranting a large snicker from Robin.
"Look Artemis, all we need to do if fake it and focus on the mission," Wally began, "but I mean, after that, I would understand if you wanted a few more dates," he said cheekily.
"One night Baywatch!" she exclaimed. "We pose as a couple just for one night!" She stormed off, but only after shoving a sharp elbow into the ribs of the Kid Flash
One Hour Before Prom
"You sure you don't really like her?" Robin asked, smirking at Wally slyly as he attempted for the twelth time to tie his tie.
Wally's cheeks flushed. "What!?" Wally exclaimed, "Never!"
"I don't know," Robin continued, always happy to tease the speedster. "You know what they say, there's a fine line between love and hate," he finished, cackling.
As Wally suddenly made a move to hit the Boy Wonder on the back of his head, Robin throw down a smoke bomb to disappear, which Wally jumped right into. Once Wally ended up on the other side of the mist he collided with a different figure. "Careful there Wall-man!" a familiar Archer's voice suddenly snapped, but only in a teasing way.
Wally took a second to collect himself and admire his date. She was wearing a nice red dress, with a thigh gap that showed off her nice legs. Her ample amount of makeup brought out her best features, and her blond hair was let down and looked stunning. "Wow, Artemis you um, look beautiful," he said, his facing turning a shade similar to that of his hair.
Artemis smiled, happy about the speedster's genuinely appreciating compliment. "You don't look too bad yourself Baywatch," she said, smiling. She wasn't lying, his red tie matched her dress nicely, his suit fit him well, and he had clearly made an effort to make himself very presentable. "But were you planning on getting that tied?" she asked, pointing at his messy tie.
"Oh, yeah," Wally said, a bit flustered, "I've just been struggling a bit with the tying part of it," he said, shooting her an embarrassed grin.
"Here, let me," Artemis said, not waiting for a response as she pressed her hands against Wally's chest before expertly tying it nice and snug.
"Wow, um thanks Artemis," Wally said, clearly surprised at Artemis' ability.
"No problem, but forgetting something?" Artemis asked, gesturing at the rose-filled corsage Wally held loosely in his hand.
"Oh, right," Wally apologized, as he began to attach the flower bracelet to her wrist. After it was attached, Artemis took a second to admire it on her wrist, and actually smiled.
She then pulled out Wally's boutonniere, a red rose flower piece similar to her corsage. "Souvenir," Wally said, grinning at Artemis. Artemis just rolled her eyes and purposely poked him with the needles in the flower piece as she attached it.
"Ready to go?" she asked, crooking her elbow in his.
"Sure babe, but we're not even at the dance yet and you already can't keep your hands off of me," Wally said with a large grin.
"Only so my elbow is already closer to hit you when you do something stupid," Artemis countered, shooting a smirk right back at him.
"Whatever you say, beautiful," Wally said, knowing it would make Artemis blush.
"Let's just go Baywatch," Artemis replied as they began to walk to the bioship. However, when they reached the garage, the bioship was nowhere to be seen.
"They left without us?" Wally asked, baffled.
Artemis groaned, knowing M'gann thought she was funny. "They did it on purpose," Artemis said flatly.
"What?" Wally asked shooting her a quizzical look.
"They know the only way that we would make it on time now is if you, ya know…" Artemis said shyly, not stating exactly what it was.
Wally smiled, with an idea of what she was saying, but he wanted to hear her say it. "If I what Arty?"
"If you carry me!" Artemis exclaimed, not happy the speedster mader her say it aloud.
"If you say so beautiful," Wally said, grinning as he fluidly scooped her up into his arms, and before she knew it, they were going. The sudden move caused Artemis to blush, but luckily their movement and the evening night shielded it from Wally's gaze. She started to almost relax into his arms, which were quite warm, strong, lean, and-not the point Artemis! She suddenly got flustered with herself, somehow getting distracted by Wally instead of focusing on the upcoming mission. And they weren't escaping from tanks in Bialya, so why was Artemis' heart racing just as much as the first time he carried her?
Wally made sure to stop a decent distance away to avoid being seen speeding. In the distance, they could hear the roar of music and see shimmering lights. "How was the ride?" a snickering telepathic voice that could only belong to Robin came in, followed by a few soft giggles from M'gann.
"Very funny guys," Artemis said seriously as Wally set her down. Wally took a moment to think, before grabbing Artemis' hand, surprised when she didn't shake him off. They eventually found a long line heading into the school and got too the end of it, just looking around at everyone else.
"They have no idea who we are," Wally said at a tone only Artemis could hear.
"Yea," Artemis said, taking a moment to think about it. "We're just normal people to them," she said.
"It's kinda exciting."
"What is?"
"We're famous superheroes, posing together as a couple at a prom and no one else knows but us," Wally said, just waiting for her to elbow him or scold him for saying that.
"Huh, I suppose so," Artemis said, smiling about it. They were literally teenage superheroes together at a high school prom dance and no one but them knew. Wally was right, it was a bit exciting.
As they finally reached the photo booth, they awkwardly began to get into a few typical prom couple poses, with some awkward touches and smiles. A young girl clearly in charge of setting up the dance smiled as she snapped some photos. After they finished, Artemis crooked her elbow back into Wally's, happy they were finally out of the line.
"By the way, you two are very cute together," the girl suddenly said nicely from behind them, smiling.
Artemis cheeks flushed but Wally wasted no time in responding. "Thanks! We get that a lot, don't we babe?" he asked, flashing a large smile at Artemis, whose face was still red as she pulled him to the main area inside the gym.
Once inside, they walked around the outskirts of the gym, simply observing for the time being. "Alright, we're all in," Connor said telepathically, letting Robin and Kaldur know the two couples had met up.
"Just remember to stroll around for now, we can't take him out randomly in the middle of the dance, but once he leaves, Robin or I will tell you telepathically where we should meet, just stay patient but alert. In the meantime, just lay low, get some refreshments, and dance a bit," Kaldur said, giving them a last quick briefing.
"Got it," Wally said briskly, acknowledging the message as Artemis and him made their way to a table, grabbing some punch before sitting down. "Do you go to your school dances?" Wally asked Artemis, trying to spark some conversation.
"Nah," Artemis replied, "never really been into that aspect of highschool. What about you?"
"I've been to a few," Wally started, thinking, "They can be pretty fun you know, especially when you dance."
Artemis snorted, "Like you can dance."
"Just wait until you see the Wall-man bust out the moves, you won't be able to look away," Wally responded, grinning confidently. "What about you archer girl? Can you dance?"
"I'm not bad," Artemis said with a small smile, before she began to stand up.
"Where are you going?" Wally asked as Artemis stood up.
"Enough talk, I'm ready to see 'the Wall-man bust out the moves'" Artemis said, offering a hand to the sitting Wally. Wally smiled, accepting her hand as the walked to the dance floor. Artemis started first, slowly beginning to dance. Wally could immediately tell that she was pretty good, her motions were fluid and smooth. He could also see a small smile on her lips, she seemingly looked satisfied and happy to show this side of her. As she wound down, she pointed at Wally, signaling that it was his turn.
Wally grinned as he began dancing next to her. His movements were energetic and confident, and he was clearly enjoying himself. Perhaps he wasn't as coordinated as Artemis, but he was still pretty good. Artemis joined in, dancing with him to the beat of the music.
"Wow Wally, you can actually dance," Artemis said, smiling right into his eyes.
"Impressed?" he asked, grinning slyly back at her.
"Nah," Artemis started, smirking. "Just surprised you didn't trip over your own feet." Wally stuck his tongue out in retaliation but smiled as the two danced together with the fast song. Wally had to admit, he hadn't imagine this actually being fun, dancing with Artemis at prom. Then again that's how he thought about most things they did together. They never seemed to be fun before, but when they actually would interact it was always truly engaging and enjoyable. And when Wally would think about the team when he was bored, his mind would somehow always drift to Artemis, whether it be her long blond hair, the teasing comments she would always produce, or even missing the feel of her sharp elbow crashing into his ribs after he would do something particularly dumb.
They continued to dance, laughing and smiling as they began to forget about the mission, forget how they were supposed to feel, supposed to act, and just focused on each other and dancing. They weaved through various couples and groups, stopping only to talk to each other every once in a while.
As a slow song suddenly began to play, Artemis looked over to Wally who now had his hand extended. "May I have this dance beautiful?" he asked, smiling at her tenderly.
Artemis tried to suppress her grin about how cheesily he phrased the question but was unable to. "I suppose so," she said, trying to make it seem as though it was a nonchalant choice despite her beating heart. She took his and before wrapping hers around his shoulders while he put his on her hips. As he grasped her, tingles traveled from her hips to her chest, and they slowly started to sway with one another. Perhaps the word to describe their dance wasn't awkward, but just cautious. Wally clearly wasn't holding Artemis tightly, and Artemis had her arms extended, somewhat far away from the speedster. Wally began to hold onto her more firmly as Artemis slowly pulled him closer and closer, to the point where she could feel his soft warm breath against the tip of her nose. They looked into each other's eyes, and despite not saying a word, were able to see many emotions-nervousness, excitement, unsureness. Artemis began to relax into Wally's embrace, as his posture softened.
Artemis began to realize this feeling, in Wally's arms, one of true peace and safety, as if nothing could touch or hurt her at the moment. And as they continued to sway together, she suddenly realized all of the emotions flowing through her. For one of the first times in her life, Artemis felt truly content. This new experience, this feeling of being somewhere and being perfectly happy where you are, perfectly fine if this moment continued for a day, a week, a month, was one that made her incredibly terrified. The fact that she was fine to just stay in this boy's embrace for an indefinitely long time frightened her. And she tried to focus on anything else-the mission, her family, school-yet her thoughts would always drift back to how vibrant the green was in his shining eyes, or how warm and good she felt in Wally's arms.
Wally as well felt various feelings throughout his body. For once, he didn't have the urge to run, for once he wanted to take this moment slow. All he wanted to do was continue to dance, no matter how slow with this girl in front of him. And it was with Artemis, the one girl who would go head to head with in a teasing battle, the girl that didn't let him get away with anything. Dancing with her in his arms shouldn't have been a such a pleasant feeling. So why did it feel so natural, so right, so...good?
"Artemis! Kid-Flash! Sportsmaster and Cheshire are here to extract the target. We need you to change and then get to the main hall immediately!" Kaldur's telepathic voice suddenly interrupted.
Wally and Artemis locked eyes for a second, each of them recognizing that the other didn't want to leave this moment behind. They paused, their eyes silently conveying a shared of message of longing-longing to have that moment again, yet they reluctantly let go of each other. "We'll be there soon," Artemis telepathically communicated, grabbing Wally's hand as they speedily walked to the hall. They each changed quickly in the bathrooms before getting to the team. "They took the target into the the East Classroom Wing," Kaldur said, pointing to their location as no one on the team actually knew where East was. "We go in, get the target, and get out with as little fighting as possible." Kaldur finished, receiving a nod from everyone in the team in recognition.
They slowly entered the classroom wing, looking and listening for any signs of the villains. There was a cold, almost crisp cool mist inside the dark, unlit room. "Hey there," the coy voice of Cheshire said slyly. The team got back to back. "Come for the druggie?" she asked, casually stepping out of the dark from the far end of the hall into visibility.
"We're not scared of you Cheshire!" an angry Connor yelled.
"What about me?" Sportsmaster said as he suddenly smashed through one of the windows of the side classroom into the middle of the group. As he ambushed them, Cheshire leapt forward and started to fight Kaldur and Robin, as Black Spider came out of nowhere, kicking M'gann hard in the head, prompting Connor to immediately chase after him. This left Wally and Artemis to fend off Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster charged directly at them, throwing a barrage of punches and kicks, forcing the two back outside into a school courtyard. Wally and Artemis tried to gather some ground and time to fight back, but he was too fast. Wally attempted a speedy punch but Sportsmaster saw it coming, blocking it before sending a kick his way that left the Kid Flash skidding across the ground. However, that left Artemis with an opening, and she delivered a hard punch to her father's jaw. Sportsmaster stepped back for a moment, rubbing his jaw yet smiling.
"Nice hit baby girl," he said, more than loud of enough for Wally to hear. Artemis stared fiercely back at him in defiance as the two sized each other up.
Wally suddenly sped back to Artemis' side. "You know, should have asked me for permission before going to a dance with this one," Sportsmaster said cruelly, gesturing at Wally.
"What is he talking about Artemis?" Wally asked, his tone fierce and confused.
"I don't know," Artemis replied through gritted teeth.
"Don't be a liar now," Sportsmaster sneered. "I've had enough of you ignoring your destiny. You were supposed to be my greatest success, yet you seemingly strive to be my greatest failure. It's time you learn a lesson," he said, charging at a worried Artemis, and a confused yet ready to fight Wally. He immediately went right for his daughter. He barely bothered to attack Wally, mainly just blocking his attacks. Artemis and Wally tried their best to fend him off, they truly did, but he was simply too strong. As Wally launched a poorly timed kick, Sportsmaster grabbed his leg before spinning him and throwing him into a wall. With Wally out of the way, Artemis was alone in fighting her father. He unleashed a combination of punches and kicks on her. While Artemis was initially able to hold him off, it didn't last long. He landed a punch to her head, sending her sprawling as he stuck out a leg, tripping her. Despite that she was defeated on the ground, he didn't stop, kicking her stomach and punching her when she attempted to get up.
As Wally started to get up, he noticed Sportsmaster aggressively pummeling a fallen and bruised Artemis. Rage engulfed him as he got up and body slammed Sportsmaster-hard. Despite Sportsmaster's large frame and heavy weight, Wally still managed to knock him off his feet and send him multiple meters away.
"Leave her alone!" Wally shouted, noticing Artemis was breathing heavily with her eyes barely open. He made sure to stand directly between Sportsmaster and his prom date.
"Nng, Wally," Artemis said groggily, barely able to make out the image of the Kid Flash protecting her.
"Don't worry Artemis," Wally said fiercely. "He's not getting anywhere near you."
"So supportive, so caring for her, wow," Sportsmaster's voice taunted. "If only he knew your little secret," he laughed to the injured Artemis as Wally stood protectively over her.
"Don't ever touch her again!" Wally just yelled in retaliation, suddenly launching himself at the villian, who sidestepped his attack.
"How protective of you," Sportsmaster sneered. "Maybe I should be grateful of that, considering she is my daughter," he said, emphasizing the last word as though it would shatter reality.
Artemis grimaced as soon as she heard the words escape Sportsmaster's mouth. Her biggest fear, finally coming true. And of all people to find out it was Wally, someone who she had seen grow to trust her, become friends with her, and she had thought that just maybe they were slowly becoming even more than just friends. But none of that would matter now. She looked over at Wally, who for once was speechless. His eyes suddenly looked beyong Sportsmasters' to Artemis scared gray orbs. "Artemis?" he asked cautiously, although his tone was neither afraid or accusatory. "Is this true?"
Artemis could only nod her head, not trusting herself to speak. Sportsmaster looked on smugly at Wally, who was clearly in shock. Wally took a deep breath before finally speaking again. "I don't care," He said, almost calmly.
"What!?" Sportsmaster bellowed.
"I. Don't. Care." Wally said through gritted teeth. "Artemis does not have to be not her family, and she is definitely not you. She is caring, fierce, passionate, and a truly good person, which I can't say about you. I know her, and I know that she would never be anything like you," he said fiercely, standing up tall in defiance.
This time it was Sportsmaster's turn to be shocked, as he forgot about his daughter behind him and now focused on the Kid Flash's reaction to what should have been shattering news. Wally in turn, noticed Artemis creeping up slowly behind Sportsmaster, preparing to strike.
"You think that would ever get in the way of my feelings towards her?" Wally growled, trying to hold Sportsmasters gaze as Artemis slowly got closer. "I've discovered who she is and what I think of her, and this could never change that," Wally snarled fiercely.
"Because unlike you," Artemis said as she surprised Sportsmaster with a sweep of his leg from behind. "He would never let that get in the way of our relationship." She continued, delivering a series of punches and kicks to her father. Wally sped over, tripping Sportsmaster as he got up before assisting Artemis in their assault on the villain. "Because unlike you, he is kind, caring, and would never hurt me," she finished, kicking off the mask of a now weary and defeated-looking Sportsmaster.
Wally sped over to catch Artemis as she almost fell over from exhaustion. As he pulled her up, he gave her hand a small squeeze, a simple yet effective way to acknowledge his feelings towards everything that just transpired. Artemis happily returned the squeeze as they both looked down at their knocked out enemy. "We got him," an out of breath Wally relayed telepathically to the team.
"Well done," Kaldur's compliment came in, "we were able to secure the target, but Cheshire and Black Spider unfortunately escaped," he said, clearly also tired from the recent fights.
Smoke suddenly flooded throughout the courtyard and they heard two set of feet hit the ground. Wally grabbed Artemis tightly and they got into a back to back fighting position. However, as the smoke cleared, they realized that they were now alone. Sportsmaster had disappeared. "Cheshire and Spider just took Sportsmaster away," Artemis said in a disappointed tone, looking around for any signs of her father.
"Don't pursue, we have done good work today and we have got the target, which is what we came for." Kaldur said, as though he predicted that Cheshire and Spider would rescue their leader.
Artemis suddenly turned to Wally, rubbing the nape of her neck nervously. "Uh Wally?" she started, catching the speedsters attention. "Thank you, for just being so accepting and kind about my secret. I should have told you earlier, and I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to thank me for Artemis, you aren't your family, and that would never change how I see or feel about you," Wally said honestly, before pulling her into a small hug. "You don't need to apologize either, I'm sure it was tough, hiding a secret like that, and I don't know what it's like to have to be so strong in that way."
"And also, thank you, for, you know, protecting me back there," she said quietly after they separated, her fragile state preventing her from meeting Wally's searching eyes.
Wally's expression turned soft as he spoke quietly. "I'll always protect you Artemis," he said softly, cupping her face with his hands as Artemis finally looked up and into Wally's vibrant emerald eyes.
"I know you will," Artemis said at almost a whisper, before slowly pressing her lips into Wally's. Wally returned the soft kiss immediately. As they separated, Artemis again took a moment to search the emerald eyes of Wally, but was unable to find the typical smugness and cockiness in them. Instead she saw eyes pierced with all the emotions that she was experiencing: nervousness, excitement, and wonder. Wally leaned in to snatch another kiss, this one perhaps more passionate and almost fire-filled. They continued to kiss for a couple minutes before holding hands as they walked out of the courtyard and into the now deserted dance floor.
"Hey guys," Wally's telepathic voice rang in. "You can leave without us, I can get us home," he said, Artemis noticing a glint of light in the mischievous eyes of the speedster.
"What are you talking about Wally?" M'gann's confused voice came in.
"Just go, I still have some business to finish," he replied, Artemis baffled by his words.
"Um, alright Wally," M'gann said, still clearly confused. Robin of course, had managed to figure it out and could be heard snickering telepathically.
Artemis turned to Wally, flashing him a small grin despite her confusion. "What was that about?" she asked, noting how Wally was clearly trying to suppress a grin.
"Well Artemis," Wally said, finally smiling at the girl in front of him. "We never did get to finish that dance." He finished, pulling his out his phone to play some music.
Artemis opened her mouth as if to say something, before just smiling and grabbing his hand. "You're right," she said coyly, smiling as her confidence was restored after their recent lip locks. "I'm not done with you yet, Wally West." Artemis stood up on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on Wally's lips before starting to assume a dancing position. She put her hands to his chest as Wally put his to her hips and they began to sway. By no means was it a typical dance that Artemis might imagine. They were both tired, sweaty, and weren't even in their prom clothes as they were still in superhero costumes. But Artemis liked it better that way, it suited their relationship far better than any formal attire ever could. She smiled, finally falling back into that sense of contentment as they began to sway into the night.