Day 1 of Traught Takeover: Revelations.

Pairing: Dick/Artemis

Rating: T

Summary: Dick's inner thoughts during the last scene of Revelations.

Dick leaned against the crates in the warehouse, the tension built up in his shoulders, causing him to curve in on himself. His breaths came in shallow, cloudy wisps. He felt himself reach for his wrist and vainly tried to resist. He felt guilty for using the picture as a crutch, for indulging himself in something that inherently was not his. But the promise of relief was too much for him to hold off.

He scanned all around him; knowing he was alone but unable to shake his guilt, before he pressed one pre programmed button, the picture instantly appearing on his holographic screen. The quality was bad and her face was washed out by his phones flash, her mouth was gaping ever so slightly and her eyebrows arched high; her hair smoothed back in her constant long ponytail, the length of which you couldn't tell from the picture; her uniform tie was loose and her shirt was partially wrinkled.

He had studied every nuance of her features in that picture and still he could feel his shoulders melt with the small satisfaction he got from seeing her face, even if she no longer looked exactly like that girl anymore. She had grown taller and stronger; cut off her hair, went to college to become a lawyer and moved in with his best friend; she never faltered now, sure of her actions even when no one else was.

But this girl with slight annoyance written into her features was his Artemis; the girl with doubts and secrets; with a voice that would crack with excitement and hair past her waist that swung behind her like a beacon; the girl that didn't know where to sit at lunch, hung out with Bette and the girl who excelled at English and History. Even with uneasiness settling into his stomach, looking at this Artemis made him feel a little better.

"We'll laugh about this someday" he spoke reassuring both himself and the Artemis he once knew. One day he promised her they would laugh about all of this.

A soft sound shook him from his reprieve and his hand flew off the button he had been pressing so hard his fingers were probably white under his gloves.

"Wally" he whispered into the cold air, hoping against hope that no one had seen him. Instead of Wally, Kaldur responded and appeared from the shadows. Wally walked out from behind one of the large crates littering the damp warehouse; behind him a shorter hooded figure revealed herself.

He knew before seeing her face, but seeing her face still reassured him that everything, had in fact, been an act and nothing more. Holding her steady while her breath shallowed wasn't real, failing to save her life wasn't real, holding her still body in his arms wasn't real, he tried to reminded himself as they went through mission specs, business as usual, and he tried to avoid looking at her directly.

Dick pulled from his pocket the most important piece of their plan, the yellow gemstone he had asked Zatanna for. He moved to place it around Artemis' neck and reveled only momentarily in the heat that gathered at the back of her neck as he grazed her with his gloved hands. Artemis' eyes met his as tied it in place and he held her gaze without letting any of his thoughts show; he had many years of practice.

"Uh, dude, why are you giving bling to my dead girlfriend?" Wally quipped and Dick proceeded to explain the magic involved, anything to keep his eyes off her. It was Artemis' question that produced the reminder of his and Zatanna relationship.

Wally joked, but the end of that relationship still left a bitter taste in his mouth. Zatanna had yelled and thrown in his face that he had cared so much more when Artemis' had quit than when she was inducted into the Justice League. He rationalized; Artemis was leaving the business, Zatanna was just moving up, but truthfully neither of them bought it, it had been a long time coming.

Suddenly it was like the air had changed and the mood had shifted; Dick felt the moment he had been dreading. With his back to Dick, Wally took Artemis' face in his hands and they spoke in the hushed tones reserved for lovers, Artemis' face lit up with that smile Dick never recieved from her. Wally leaned in to kiss her goodbye, and Dick thought he saw Artemis' eyes flash momentarily to him before they closed, but it was probably just a trick of the dim light and he turned away from them instead of pondering her unyielding stare.

He glanced at his watch and knew that it was time to go. He touched Wally's shoulder, while he and Artemis were still locked in their embrace. He felt the rush of envy, to just hold her and say goodbye before she left for God knows how long. All he could do was watch with all the indifference of a leader as she walked away from him, in more ways than one.

Later that night, while on his couch trying to eat his cereal in peace, all he could see were her unwavering gray eyes over Wally's shoulder. He put down his bowl and reached for his phone, finding the picture quickly, but not even Artemis' surprised face could comfort him tonight.

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