A.N/ I don't even know, guys xD This is just me derping around on Word. The idea was stuck in my head, okay?
Disclaimer: I don't own YJ.
Artemis hissed as she stepped into the bathtub, her skin already flushing red from the heat. The archer ignored the burning and slid in, letting out a sigh of relief as she adjusted to the temperature. The idea of taking a bath at Mount Justice wasn't really appealing to her – especially since Wally tended to hang around after missions, ugh – but her dingy little shower just wasn't cutting it.
She chuckled briefly as her hair floated out on the surface of the water, practically filling the basin. When she was little, Jade would help her wash it, and put it up for her afterwards. Then her sister left, leaving her alone with her father. And while Sportsmaster did have his moments – rare and with years between – hair care had never really been his thing. Once, Artemis had woken to him trying to cut her hair short during the night. Didn't want it to get in the way of her training and the like.
Perhaps that was why she kept it so long, the girl mused, thinking back on it all. Did she keep it long as a kind of rebellion against her father? A reminder of times when she and Jade were close? A childish wish to be a fairytale princess?
Wow. She certainly hoped it wasn't that last one. Goodbye, seriousness.
After half an hour, she gave up on trying to dry it and resigned herself to trying to wrestle it into a braid, to no avail – each time it kept on ending up on the side, which got in the way. Maybe her dad was right. In that moment, the teenager wanted nothing more than to just hack it all off with a kitchen knife. A gentle rap at her door roused her from her murderous thoughts.
"Come in!" she called out, hastily straightening her shirt, noticing at the last minute that her hair had drenched it, making it pretty much see through. The archer had a millisecond to pray that Wally wouldn't be the one to open the door.
"Whoa. You planning on entering a wet t-shirt contest?" Artemis was greeted with the now familiar sound of Zatanna's voice
"Nah, just having a bit of hair trouble." The Vietnamese girl blew a strand that had escaped the half-assed plait out of her face.
"…Want some help with that?" Zatanna finally asked, voice softer this time.
"Please and thank you!"
So that was how the two girls ended up sitting on Artemis' bed, a bowl of popcorn between them as they watched some lame superhero movie on the lame TV that graced all of their rooms (Except Robin's – the Boy Wonder had practically installed a home cinema in there!) while Zatanna braided Artemis' hair.
"So why do you keep it so long? I mean, it looks great and stuff, but doesn't it get annoying?"
"All the time," the archer confessed. "Half the time I just want to chop it off. But… I don't know. I'm just attached to it, I guess."
"Guys dig chicks with long hair," Zatanna said mischievously, winking. "Sure it isn't a flirting tactic?"
"Yeah, right!" Artemis snorted.
The black-haired magician continued with her joke, imitating Wally's voice. "Hey, Blondie, your hair smells nice." She then stuck her face into it in a stalker like way.
"Oh my God, eew!" Artemis laughed, jerking away. "That is so weird!"
"Yeah," Zatanna admitted. "Knowing Wally, he'd probably try to eat it."
The girls collapsed into giggles again, hiding their mouths behind their hands.
The next day, when the Team presented themselves to Batman to prepare for a mission, Wally couldn't help but fidget, feeling as if he was being watched. He spotted Zatanna and Artemis looking at him and smiling; Zee repeatedly touching Artemis' hair, which set the archer off into giggles.
"What did I do?" he hissed to Robin.
The boy wonder merely shrugged. "Girls," he said wisely.
Review?
