Chapter 2.
Though not appearing very large from the outside, the house looked intimate and cozy. It was two stories high, with occasional rectangular windows in the stone walls. Wally glanced around drowsily.

"You sure this is the place?"

Artemis nodded. "Unless I've lost the ability to read properly, yes."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Wally yawned loudly.

Before Artemis could shoot back a rebuttal, the door opened, and an elderly woman, who later introduced herself as Karen, the cook, greeted them with a smile and welcomed them in warmly. She continued to express her delight at having them, for it was a great help to her as, "The other youth workers and the kind manager are taking a leave of absence for a week."

She took them through a quick tour of the house. It was equipped with one kitchen, several bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a huge living room, where sat a good amount of chattering little children, who were then also introduced, though half of them, being in a hurry to get breakfast, were slightly impatient.

"Our baby, Jade, is still asleep," Karen said after going through everyone's names (Wally had made a silent note to write all of them down later).

At the mention of the name, Artemis winced. "The baby?"

"Ah yes, she's two," Karen confirmed, smiling. "That, over there, is Luca." She pointed at the large couch in the corner of the room, where a boy around ten sat. His rust-colored hair fell messily over his forehead, covering half of his face. He had a very small frame, leaning more on the skinnier side than the other kids. "He's.. a little different from the others, which may be due to the difference in age. Slightly.. difficult to get through, but still a good kid. Might want to be gentle with that one."

With that, Karen rushed off to feed her army of hungry lambs, as she called them.

"Look at that, Harpy," Wally laughed through gritted teeth. "Nine toddlers."

Artemis swallowed. "Yay, we're gonna be parents." Then, realizing what it might have sounded like to Wally, added hastily, "As in, because we're taking care of them! The kids!"

Wally colored and nodded vigorously. "Y-yeah, separate - separate? - parents!"

"Wow. You guys are just.."

The two whipped around to see Luca standing in front of them, shaking his head wearily.

"Sad." He concluded, before stepping around them and leaving the room.

Wally rubbed the back of his neck and sighed, "And a very bothersome ten-year-old."

. . .

"I thought you said kids liked you!" Artemis screeched, hoping vainly that her voice could be heard over the loud screams of the aforementioned kids.

Wally tried to glare at her, but could only fix a pair of bewildered eyes on his teammate. "Which would have been completely true if these - these demons were kids!" He hollered back. "Who gave them sugar?"

"Sugar!" Artemis smacked her forehead. "Of course."

Wally watched with raised eyebrows as she powerwalked into the kitchen and soon powerwalked back. "Uh.. what're you.."

She lifted up a packet of Hershey's Kisses.

"Sure that's a good idea?" Wally tried again. Artemis paid no heed to him.

"WHO WANTS KISSES!"

Immediately, the room went silent. Eight pairs of bright eyes turned to her and winning smiles rose to all lips.

"Some pair of lungs," Wally whistled. "Me!"

Kenny, four, tilted his head at Wally. "You wan her to kiss you?" He asked curiously. The other kids burst into infectious peels of laughter.

"What! No!" Wally protested. Artemis blushed.

"You like her, you like her!" Kenny began chanting, promptly followed by the others. "You really, really like her!"

"Das gross," a girl named Nora added, scrunching up her face in disgust.

"No!" Wally repeated again, growing more flustered by the second. "I just want a Hershey's kiss, okay?"

Luca pursed his lips. "No Artemis kiss?"

Wally glared at him.

Artemis, clearing her throat, quickly changed the subject and began distributing the chocolates amongst them, on the condition that they would stay quiet the rest of the afternoon, which they fiercely did, but not without the occasional snigger at Wally.

. . .

"You - you need to potty?" Artemis' voice was shaky as she asked Kenny the question both babysitters had been dreading all morning. He nodded solemnly. "Do you know how-"

"Jeez, Artemis, you don't ask a man if he knows how to potty." Wally shook his head and tried to keep his lips from twitching when Artemis glowered back at him.

"You need to help!" Kenny declared after a moment of thought, and with that, marched into the bathroom. Wally and Artemis exchanged nervous glances.

"Don't you want Wally to?" Artemis urged, hoping with all her might that he would agree. Handling children was not her area of expertise, and certainly not this part of handling them. Wally shook his head profusely.

"No, no. Hurry along, Artemis, he chose you!"

Kenny showed no sign of disagreement, to which Artemis groaned loudly, then, rolling up her sleeves, shot another threatening look at Wally before following the kid in.

Wally appreciated Kenny taking towards Artemis, for he was now free to listen and cackle with joy at her pain.

"Ew, ew, ew," Artemis kept repeating, as the act of cleaning Kenny's mess was being done. And at the end of it all, she stomped out of the bathroom, hissed, "I hate children!" and then strode down the hallway, leaving behind a highly amused speedster.

. . .

Later that day, Wally was strolling down the hallway when his eyes caught a sight that both amused and concerned him. There, bent over the crib was Artemis, cooing at the laughing baby in her arms. What made him pause and watch, however, was the genuine delight in her eyes, and the delicacy with which she handled Jade. And the smile.

For the first time, he saw it, and the realness of it almost made him want mo-

'What the heck am I thinking,' He caught himself and cleared his throat.

Artemis jumped slightly.

Wally smirked. "Hate children, huh?"

"Yes," Artemis grumbled.

"You know, with the face you made when Karen mentioned Jade, I was afraid you might have something against babies entirely."

"I didn't make a face."

"Pssh, yeah, you did."

"Just drop it, Wally." Artemis' voice rose slightly. "Wait.. ugh, sorry."

Wally rose an eyebrow at her.

"Anyway, I have nothing against.. Jade. And I was just going," Artemis added, placing the baby down gently, and with one swift movement passed Wally, leaving him somewhat confused. If he wasn't mistaken, her eyes flashed with … What was it? Sadness?

. . .

After seeing to it that the kids were satisfied and happy, Artemis retired to her room.

Even with the noise surrounding him, as the kids first pretended to be cooks and then knights, he could not stop thinking about what had happened earlier. They argued all the time, so why was it different this time, he kept asking himself.

'The Artemis I know would bite back something repulsive, undoubtedly,' He thought, smiling slightly. Then realization dawned upon him. He didn't actually know Artemis. Out of all of his teammates, she was the only one who he knew close to nothing about. 'Does anyone know anything about her?'

He frowned. 'Why do I even care..'

He never got to figure out the answer to that and his thoughts were put to an abrupt end when Nora and Kenny yanked his hands violently, declaring, "You're our maid in the game! You can clean things!"

"I mess things," Wally grumbled but obliged.

And so the game began. In the middle, Wally was promoted from 'maid' to 'maiden' and was rescued by Nora the knight, fed cookies by Kenny and Dennis the cooks, pushed around by the younger kids, and snickered at by Luca, who could not hold back a smile at Wally's attempts to blend in.

They played for hours and hours, and by the end of it all, Wally was quite exhausted, though glowing with merriment. Their energy remained unmatched. Much to Wally's relief, Karen ended the game by announcing that it was time for dinner.

As everyone dug into their pasta, Karen talked to Luca in a lowered voice on the other side of the table. Wally frowned.

"You haven't taken enough," Karen urged.

"Don't bother yourself," Luca only shook her off. "I think it's enou-"

"Won't hurt you take help, you know."

Whipping around, Wally saw Artemis leaning against the doorway, her eyes fixed on Luca, her face inexpressive. For the first time, Luca looked hesitant. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Artemis sighed, "Seriously, it's alright, she's only looking after you. It's okay if you accept that help."

Luca gave her a stiff nod and then forced a little smile at Karen, who, beaming, placed another spoonful onto Luca's plate.

Surprised at how easily Artemis' words got to Luca, Wally tilted his head at the archer. She didn't look at him, however, and silently took a seat. A smile tugged on Wally's lips.

'So she does care.'

Whhhat do you think about it so far?