A/N: This story was originally posted on March 20. For those of you who are already familiar with this fic, you know that I took it off awhile back. I am very sorry for that. The reason I took it off was because I was almost sure I wasn't going to finish it because I found that I had no time at all to do any writing. Lately, summer has offered me loads of time I didn't think I would have. So, I've decided to finish it. But I warn you; it might take awhile. I do have to thank a friend of mine (Lunnna) because she was the one that convinced me to continue and put this back up.
Anywho, I hope you enjoy the story.
The Ingenious Plan
It was deafening. Their nonstop screaming the whole flight back had left his ears throbbing. Now that Robin was all alone in the dead silence he could hear his heart beat against his sore ear drums. Unfortunately, he knew this rare silence wouldn't last long. The rest of the team would soon walk through the doors followed by them. There was no stopping them. Aqualad had been trying to shut them up for the whole ten minute flight back to the mountain but every time he tried, they both ganged up on him and once he was silenced, they turned back on each other. Every attempt to silence them ended in failure. They had never gotten this bad before and they were really going at it tonight.
Wally and Artemis.
Two polar opposite teens whose favorite sport was pissing the other off. They would call each other out on everything then overanalyze it then tell the other how it really should be done then get worried about the small stuff then have a fight about that till they forgot what they were fighting about in the first place. They weren't always verbally arguing (thank goodness) they usually attempted to maintain a professional manor when around the team, but the good will usually didn't last. They were always butting heads in one form or another whether it'd be the big outbursts or the small three second glares. Robin usually enjoyed watching them; it was hugely amusing to see them act like fools in attempts to prove the other wrong.
Tonight was especially entertaining. They were blowing up over the dumbest things. And it was funny. Once one would end a topic to fight about, the other couldn't handle that so they retorted to finding something else to quarrel about.
Everyone, including himself, had given up trying to control their arguments. Even in the rare silent intervals they had before they proceeded to the next round of yelling, the atmosphere was thick with their angry tension. It was nonstop tonight. Ever since that ill-sounded snap was heard on the mission, the only noise that followed it was the sound of their angry voices. He was sorely tempted to whack them both right in the throat, rendering their motor mouths useless. Actually that wasn't a bad idea but then again, Batman would be arriving in a few hours. He considered himself a pretty good liar and he knew he could come up with some excuse as to how they both 'conveniently' damaged their vocal cords. Though, it would be in vain; Batman always saw right through him.
He had purposely run ahead of the team to get a moment of complete silence. Yes, he was going that crazy from hearing them. It was funny listening to their fighting, but a guy's got to have some peace and quiet every once in a while.
He knew his moment of solitude was ending when he heard footsteps behind the door he had come through earlier. Superboy was the first to come through, M'gann and Kaldur walked in a moment after. The annoyance mixed with amusement was apparent on their faces. Right that moment, seeing their eyes click with one another, Robin knew he wasn't the only one intrigued with the ever growing fight.
For a moment all four locked eyes. They didn't need to be linked to know what each other were thinking.
'The two were made for each other and tonight just proves it' was what they were all thinking. Or at least, those were the translated vibes he was receiving from his teammates. Perhaps it was just Robin that thought that. If there was one way and one thing that really got under Wally's skin, it was joking about him and Artemis.
Robin never seriously considered that they would end up becoming an item. They would soon rather kill one another than attempt to ponder that thought. But it sure was funny to tease Wally about it. Though, he never teased Artemis on the topic. She was too scary. Plus, he was technically, in a sense, her subordinate. The hierarchy of the group wasn't quite as exaggerated as one might think but it was still there and messing with the female boss was a bad idea. Yes, she was the female boss. The position was practically hers for the taking when she joined the team. M'gann was a natural peacemaker and she does not fare well with confrontation so there was no competition there. M'gann didn't seem to mind in the least bit though.
When the sound of muffled yelling escaped through the closed door, Kaldur, Superboy, and M'gann walked closer to Robin, leaving plenty of space for the approaching hot heads.
"We will all put in our reports separately tonight and then reconvene to review the information tomorrow," Kaldur said in a collective tone as he walked over to the computer.
"Alright," Robin said as he followed Kaldur to the computer. The voices behind the door on the other side of the room were getting louder.
"I will be leaving as soon as I am done. I am needed in Atlantis."
Lucky Robin thought to himself as he nodded his understanding. He didn't bother to ask why he had to go because at that moment, he truly didn't care to know.
"Superboy and I are going to go to a movie premiere tonight. Would you like to come with us Robin?" M'gann asked with a small smile. It had originally been Robin's idea to get everyone to go to the movie premier but he had to cancel a week ago. Though, he miraculously found a way to clear his midnight schedule. Hopefully Batman left before then.
"Sure I'll tag along," Robin said casually. He took note that she did not mention Wally and Artemis. They were probably just going to end up fighting about their opinions about the movie if they came. He cleverly devised a plan to leave the two here by themselves without them knowing. They would be left alone to duke it out. Hehe. This was going to be fun.
Three loud stomps were heard and he and the team looked over at the door in time to see an angry Wally burst through.
"Give it back!" Artemis yelled as she trailed Wally not two feet behind him.
"Look! Right here! It's fixable and it doesn't take a genius to see it!"
Artemis grabbed her broken bow from Wally's hands, "This tip is bent! I can't use it if it looks like this!"
"I can't believe you are so worried about that little dent! You've got like three bows and I'm sure GA can fix this one that so happens to be the most precious of them all!" he emphasized the last words in a mocking tone.
"Don't act like this is just some toy! I was left completely vulnerable because of you!"
Artemis was heading straight for a door leading to another hall. Clearly, she was not going to stick around for the team debrief. This gave Robin both the need for concern and another reason to laugh about. He tried hard to keep himself composed but an amused smile was starting to make its way onto his face. Wally spotted his leaving offender and not a second later, was hot on her heels as they continued to argue.
"What! You're pulling that on me AGAIN? I saved your life! You should be thanking me not screaming at me just because I forgot to grab your stupid bow before the beam crushed it!"
"This bow is my ticket to survival out there and without it, I would have been good as dead anyways! And I didn't need your help! I could have gotten myself out of that situation by myself and with my bow!"
"What is your problem tonight? It's like you are criticizing every breath I take!"
"Ugh! I can't believe you have the nerve to ask me that! You are so blinde if you can't see how much you irritate me!"
"Oh boohoo for you Miss Princess and I am nothing but nice to you all the time! And FYI I can't read your mind, so don't expect me to pick up all these 'stay away from Artemis' vibes! I can't make heads or tails of these little mixed signals you are sending me! One minute your fine and the next, your angry!"
"Open your eyes Wally and get it through that thick skull of yours that being constantly nagged by you is pissing me off!"
Her last words were followed by her slamming the door nearly hitting Wally in the face. Silence filled the room. When he turned to look at the team, he was nearly steaming from his ears.
Yup, they were made for each other. Fighting like an old married couple. You'd think one of them would get a clue.
But no, just more fighting.
That's exactly what he had been hearing all night repeatedly. Though, their last little encounter that he just witnessed didn't make much sense, then again, none of their fights made sense. Sometimes he suspected they just came up with odd things so that they could argue about them. Did they know they were just repeating that pointless conversation over and over and over again? Probably not. Artemis's pride wouldn't let her thank Wally for saving her from the steel beam that nearly killed her. Robin could understand why she would be so upset and would understand a few harsh words from her to Wally about her favorite bow now broken in three with a dent before she stomped off and cooled down.
But Wally's ego wouldn't let her go. He was so driven to prove his points and by the need to have the last word that he had been pressing the matter to death. Once the challenge was clear, neither of them would let it go because that would show submission to the other. Which to them was a big no no. It was an ever pressing battle to see who held superiority between them.
"Remind me again why we even allowed her to be on this team?" He yelled with his arms raised in the air.
Robin turned and looked at the rest of his team behind him. No one appeared to be willing to answer his question. Wally knew full well why she became part of this team. He'd asked numerous times and gotten the same answer on each occasion. He just wanted to see if anyone would take his side with this dispute. But there were no sides he, Superboy, M'gann or Kaldur would take. Simply because it was just Artemis and Wally. Nothing to worry or throw a fit about. He was surprised to find Superboy lightly smiling. Seeing Superboy smile was rare.
"What?" Though he couldn't see Wally, he was that it was pointed at Superboy.
Without a word and still smiling, Superboy turned and began to head down the hall. M'gann was trying to hide her own smile as she took flight and followed him. At this rate, no one was going to take Wally and Artemis seriously anymore. They were just too darn funny. Suddenly M'gann stopped midair and turned to Wally.
"Oh, Wally I forgot to tell you tonight-"
"Batman is coming to debrief us in two hours so don't go anywhere," Robin cut in as he took a few steps closer into the room.
M'gann looked at him quizzically. Robin just twitched the corner of his lip at her and, positioned so Wally couldn't see it, briefly held up his hand with one finger up signaling to wait a minute. Hopefully she knew what the gesture meant. Wally didn't answer back, for reasons unknown, and just folded his arms while the annoyed look on his face was still present as he glared at the door his personal fiend had disappeared through.
I was going to tell him about the movie tonight.
I know but I think we should just leave him and Artemis here. They need to work out some issues on their own.
Oh, uh, okay.
Truth was, they would never work out their issues. They enjoyed each other's company too much; wink wink. Like he said before, it was just entertaining knowing that he was going to leave Wally with his archenemy. And that it was his idea.
When he looked back over at his teammates he was surprised to find that Kaldur had already left. M'gann caught up to Superboy who was about to turn the corner. Once they were gone, Wally and Robin were the only ones in the room. He was surprised that Wally didn't make some sort of flirty comment before M'gann disappeared. He was usually right on top of that, no pun intended. He concluded that there was nothing more to be said and began to head for a hall, unsure of where he was headed exactly. Showers. Yeah, that would be a good idea. A sudden gust of air rushed past him from behind.
"How can you stand her?"
Robin stopped and turned around to face Wally, who was now only four feet from him. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "I'm not on her bad side, I think. Besides, I'm not always challenging her. She doesn't have a reason to be mad at me and neither do I."
"I'm not always challenging her! She's just plain rude to me! Especially tonight! Was there something I said or did to her that pissed her off so much?"
Robin smirked.
"I think you two just need to kiss and make up."
"Don't even joke like that man!" he said with a raised voice.
Robin raised his hands up in a surrendering position to calm him down. Though, his gesture was not genuine, just an act to make his friend feel better.
"Okay, but don't expect me to take sides."
Wally was silent for a moment as he scrunched the corner of his mouth, "And for a minute there I thought you were my friend."
Robin laughed at his crude solemn tone, "I think you guys should just meet in the middle since neither of you can agree on anything."
"Huh?"
Clueless as expected.
"You're stubborn. She's a spitfire. Your guy's personalities need to find a middle ground and learn to get along. Then again, you could always keep up this, entertaining, game of tug-of-war. I know I'd never get tired of it."
Wally's features suddenly changed as he fell silent again. He seemed somewhat awestruck. That was weird. Wally usually had some sort of come back to throw at him. Wait a second, his smile widened as realization hit him. Yeah, that's right; Robin's advice usually had that effect on people. While still maintaining the smirk on his face, he turned and headed down the hall leaving a dumbfounded Wally in the room.
A/N: I'll be updating till it's back up to chapter five. The new chapter six won't be far behind that.
Once again, I am sorry for those of you who were following the story to suddenly find it gone.
So, are you mad? Do you hate me? Do you hate the fic? Do you love it? Tell me everything! I gotta know...
-SerinaAce
