9 Crimes
season two – pre-undercover mission

not smut

EDITED: 2/17/2017

give my gun away when it's loaded
if you don't shoot it, how am I supposed to hold it?
is that alright?
no.

Commandment Nine:
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Wife.

He kisses her. His lips trail down the curve of her neck, down to the sharp lines of her collarbone.

His body melts into hers as his hands pull at her hips. He smirks at the goosebumps he gives her. He loves the way she reacts to him. He listens to her quickened heart deep and shallow breath.

Every time he touches her it's like the first time. He's committing her to memory. Every curve, every dip, every scar. He runs his thumb over her lips, memorizing every indent from her constant gnawing. He kisses her temple and smooths her hair out of the way, weighed down by the sweat on her skin that allows him to slid effortlessly over her body. Nothing is overlooked. She arches her back, her breasts press up to meet his chest and he groans. God, he loves her.

The dim lighting silhouettes the pair on a lush sofa. They are all hands, tangled blankets and sweet nothings. The television is on and silently displays an old rerun – but neither pay it any attention. He catches her lower lip in his teeth as her hips buck up to dig into his. A soft sigh escapes her and she freezes.

Fire red and emerald green rushed to the forefront of her mind and the image burns itself into her back of her eyelids. Wally.

Dicks places his hands on either side of her face. She moans at the loss of contact on her hips and she feels guilty. She is guilty. "Artemis? Baby, are you alright?" His baby blues search her steel grays before sweeping over the rest of her body, looking desperately for whatever caused her to hesitate.

She hates the warmth in her gut caused by his concerned expression and the love in his eyes. She hates the heat between her legs that is mercilessly, impatiently telling her to forget it and keep going. She hates herself for feeling this way and doing this to him.

She doesn't answer. Her eyes scan his face, squinting in the dark room. The dim light from the television dances on his face, but he's close enough for her to see every detail on his sharp face. High, sharp cheekbones, clenched jaw, furrowed brow, black hair that hung near honest eyes. Caring eyes.

They were the purest blue she has ever seen. Calm, safe and light. She thinks of green and she wants to throw up. She's disgusting. She's vile. She's a cheater.

Artemis swallows and nods. She has always been a lousy liar, but sometimes she can't sure if she is lying anymore. Before Dick can call her out on it she pushes herself forward and kisses him - consequences be damned. She claws at his scalp and wraps his dark hard around her fingers as she pulls him flush against her.

She holds in a growl at the loss of his touch when Dick pulls back from her. She pushes herself onto her elbows to reach him, catching his mouth onto hers again. She knows what he's going to say. He's thinking what she is. This is a mistake. What about Wally? How could you do this?

With a sigh, he pulls away again. She doesn't follow him this time. "Wait - Artemis. I'm sending Kaldur in undercover." What? When she doesn't reply he continues, "I want to send you in, too."

Artemis stares at him, looking for a joking glint in his eyes or a smirk playing on his swollen lips but finds none. "Send me in?" She furrows her brow. "Undercover?"

Dick gives her a small smile, "You're ready." She snorts but he ignored it. "And Kaldur will be more successful with someone with your experience. Someone he knows. We can fake your death and you can take up another alias. Nobody but us and Batman will know! And then after the mission you can start over. We can start over, just like you said-" he's getting excited, almost giddy. She can't help but smile at his enthusiasm but she can't get it to reach her eyes.

Fake her own death? What about her mother? And Lian?

Wally?

"Dick." She stops him, her mouth forming the words before she can fully comprehend what she's saying - what she's sacrificing, "I can't." She stands up from the sofa and runs a hand through her matted hair, flinching when her hand gets stuck at a knot. Fake her own death? No matter what way she says it, the idea doesn't become any easier. There is no going back from that.

Dick stands and wraps his arms around her waist from behind. He rests his chin on her shoulder.

She doesn't even know she's crying until Dick tightens his arms around her. "Baby," he murmurs into her hair, "please don't cry." She can hear the raw emotion in his voice and her stomach clenches. This was not the answer that he was expecting. He is hurting; it's her fault.

She turns herself around to face him but she can't look at him. If she looks at him she knows what she'll do. "Dick," she whispers. She's never been able to say no to him.

"We can be together." Artemis feels her heart flutter. They only ever discussed their future once. Or rather, she did. She insisted on running away - she begged him.

"Let's leave. Tonight." She grabbed his hand and pulled him off the hood of the car so he was standing next to her. "We can disappear, just me and you." She smiled at him - really smiled.

And he smiled back, but not in the way she wished and her stomach dropped to her feet. His smile was small, sad. "And where would we go?"

"Anywhere."

"Artemis," he sighed. "We can just leave everyone." We can't just leave Wally. I can't leave Zatanna. He didn't say it. He didn't have to.

Their relationship was an accident. It wasn't supposed to be - it shouldn't be. But it is. And now they're here, hearts tangled. They're in too deep. There's no going back.

He grabs her hands and holds them to his heart. She can feel it beating underneath her fingertips. Erratic, scared. "We can be together, Artemis. Me and You against the world." The archer is now completely aware of the tears that track down her cheeks. She curls her fingers curls around his hands. He's scared. He's scared she's going to leave him. He's just as afraid she'll leave him for Wally as she is he'll leave her for Zatanna. "I love you," his voice cracks and her heart stops. "To the moon and back." His eyes burn into hers expectantly and she knows what he wants.

Her mouth falls open into a small 'o' but she says nothing. She can't say anything. She knows if she opens her mouth she'll mess it up - she always does. Slowly Dick nods and gently brushes his lips against her knuckles before letting go of her hands. He swallows and she hates herself; what she's doing to him. He turns away from her and Artemis' heart bleeds through her chest.

"To the sun and above," she whispered. Artemis can't help the small smile on her face. They passed the point of no return long ago.

is that alright, yea?

"I'm not happy about this," Wally sighs. He sits on their faded yellow couch. Artemis hates that couch. She has threatened to burn it on numerous occasions but he has managed to keep it out of her grasp.

"As I recall, you were wearing the yellow-and-red just a few weeks ago," Artemis points out, her arms cross in front of her chest.

"That was an emergency," Wally frowns. "I was needed."

"Well," Artemis tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. "I'm needed now." She grabs her black dufflebag and slings it over her shoulder. She's tired of fighting. She takes a look around the modest Palo Alto apartment.

She almost feels guilty when no feeling of sorrow flooded her heart like she had expected. She was just numb; but she can't figure out if it was a bad thing or not.

Wally stands next to her but he can't meet her eyes; or maybe he won't. A million thoughts race in his mind at a million miles an hour and he isn't seeing clearly anymore. There is a voice in his head that whispers to him. 'Stop holding on to something that isn't there.' but the voice is so clear he could have sworn it was Artemis herself saying it to him.

He can't. Wally isn't ready to cut the line - the line that, as far as Artemis is concerned, has already been severed. He doesn't know how to feel, so he resorts to the emotion that screams the loudest. Anger. "He shouldn't need you. He's my best friend. He knows we're trying to leave the life behind."

The archer sighs. "Don't blame Di-Nightwing. The decision was mine." She is tempted to drop her bag and run her hands through his cropped red hair but the thought of Dick's shaggy black locks keep her from doing so. Touching Wally almost felt disloyal. It was ironic. It was sick. In a lame attempt at a joke she tries to smile, "you're freaking out over nothing. What could go wrong?"

Wally sighs and clenches his jaw. His eyes glare into her gray ones. The usual glow was gone - they were distant and dull. Wally can't help but think that his eyes look the same. Detached. But still he holds her gaze looking for a spark of life. Something that can give him the hope that she still loves him. He is met with a far away gaze and it hurt to admit that he has seen it before. He is used to that by now.

He wants to yell at her; to scream, get up in her face and make her listen to him. 'I know! I know you love him!' He wants her to feel guilty. He wants her to feel the pain he feels. He's known for a while and he wants to fight with her, if only to hold onto her a little longer. But it would be a lie. He just whispers: "When does Dick need you there?"

"Five minutes ago," Artemis frowns slowly; hesitantly. He nodded but remained silent. He sat back down on the couch and rested his head in his hands; not offering her a farewell. The blonde nods her head to herself and turns to the front door. She pulls it open and, without a glance back or a single goodbye, she shuts it behind her. Leaving behind Wally, her retirement, her life.

Although she left physically, Wally was already gone to her a long time ago.

is that alright?

She kisses him. Her lips trail down the sharp line of his jaw, down to the curve of his neck.

He almost feels guilty.

He lays on his back on the bed he once shared with Artemis; Zatanna hovers above him, legs on either side of his waist. She peppers small, sweet kisses over his face, as if she was trying to count every one of his freckles with her lips. She tickles his ears with sweet nothings and short promises. His arms grip her hips, steadying her.

Wally's mind wanders for a moment, trying to remember how he got here. What excuse he had – but the speedster couldn't think of anything. Even before Artemis was called away to the mission, he and Zatanna had grown closer. He hadn't meant for it to happen, it just - happened; it seemed to him like that's how it always seemed to happen. By accident.

The two worked together day in and day out when looking for the Original Roy. They were friends.

Friends. Were they friends? She nibbles at his ear and he moans into her throat.

He may not have believed in magic before, but – although he would never admit it to her – he was starting to warm up to the idea.

"What's wrong?" Wally shakes his head and is snapped back to reality by a soft, sweet voice. He can't help but compare the voice to Artemis' husky one. He focuses on Zatanna. His eyes trail over her disheveled black hair, to the upwards curve of her smooth lips. He finds himself lost in her bright eyes. She's always looks at him like he held the world in his hands. She's beautiful.

She smils down at him, but she looks nervous. Her heart is on her sleeve and she knows it.

He throqa her a lop-sided grin, "Nothing, babe. I was just thinking."

She frowns and sits up, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. "About Artemis?"

"What?" Wally pushes himself up quickly, nearly knocking the magician off balance. He chuckles as she rights herself, still perched in his lap. Her thighs rest on either side of him and he reveled in her proximity. His hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him but she leans back - just out of reach. He sighs. "No, why would you ask that?"

"Llet em eht hturt," she whispers abruptly, her eyes brimming with tears.

Wally frowns, "I love you." His eyes grow wide. Did he just say that? The words tasted foreign on his tongue. "I love you," he says again, testing them out. Wally smiles and his heart hammers in his chest. He kisses her cheek. "I love you." Zatanna lets out a squeal. "I love you," he places a sloppy kiss on her chin. "I love you!" He grins and crushes her into his chest, savoring the vibration of her laugh.

Wally can't help the small smile that found itself on his face.

is that alright with you?

no.

lyric explanation: when a couple is together for a long time but not married/engaged people tend to tell them to "pull the trigger" like just do it. But their relationship isn't going anywhere and neither are committing to the other. "If you won't marry me how am I supposed to stay in this relationship?" They have a loaded gun but neither will pull the trigger.

loving him was her ninth crime

A/N

originally written: 4/2014 - edited 2/2017 (because this is probably my favorite story I have written and I will never be completely happy with it)

I had a really hard time writing this piece. I love all of the characters so much and I hate to think of any of them as cheaters but during the second season with Artemis going onto the ship there were so many subtle hints. Her and Kaldur were a possibility (Black Manta even pointed out that Kaldur seemed to like her a lot) or maybe Dick sent her on the mission because he loved her - there are so many conspiracy theories out there. Spitfire will forever be my number one ship, but I can't deny the little things here and there.

Traught is my guilty pleasure

Natalie
the speed force