Thank you so much to everyone who read or reviewed the last chapter! I would love it if you guys had any suggestions of what other West Traditions there could be. I have a rough outline of each chapter, but if there were any really good suggestions I would try my best to include them! Anyway, read on!


Number 2: On the eve of one's birthday, it is compulsory for the birthday person to stay up until midnight and have a celebratory piece of cake.


Artemis and Wally may have retired from the hero gig, but that didn't mean they wouldn't suit up and help if they were needed. Especially when Barry and a couple of other Leaguers were stuck inside an alternate dimension; then they were more than willing to take watch over Central City.

Artemis moved stealthily across the rooftops, keeping low and staying in the shadows. It was a simple scouting mission; they were just looking around and making sure Central was safe. Artemis was keeping as quiet as possible, trying to keep a low profile.

Which would have been a lot easier if the ever talkative Kid Flash wasn't present.

Seriously, what was his deal? This was the first time Artemis was at Central, and truthfully, she had never seen Wally in action in his home town. Sure, she expected him to be comfortable and be more at home, but this was just ridiculous.

Wally zoomed around the town, calling out to random people and having a little chat with them. So far, he had eaten a plate of cookies from an old lady after he had painted her fence, played darts with a group of kids, ate a whole serving of French fries while talking to the owner of a café, and blown Artemis's cover at least 3 times.

"Yo Arty, have you tried this black forest cake? Mrs Bunn makes the best in town!" Kid Flash called up to her from the bakery he was standing at.

Artemis cursed as the people around him looked up to stare at her. She zip-lined down from the roof and came to a stop in front of Wally. He shoved the cake into her face.

"Seriously, it's the best," he said.

The old woman, presumably Mrs Bunn, glowed with pride. Artemis snatched the cake out of Wally's hand and stuffed the rest into his mouth.

"Do you have to keep talking to everyone?" Artemis growled.

"Aw, c'mon babe. I haven't seen these guys in ages! Talking isn't going to hurt anyone. Oh, hey Bill! How's the home renovation going?" Wally called out to a man passing by.

The guy gave him the thumbs up sign and yelled back, "Great! Nice to see you again, Kid Flash!"

Artemis resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hey, Kid Flash, is that your girlfriend?" a small child asked.

Wally smiled widely, while Artemis gave her bet death glare to the crowd.

"C'mon Kid Idiot. We need to move, and this time, could you try to keep a low profile?" Artemis asked.

Wally was about to reply when his pager beeped, indicating that some kind of crime was going on.

"Let's go, Artemis," he said, and quickly scooped Artemis in his arms before speeding off to the City Bank.

"What's happening?" Wally asked one of the police officers who was stationed in the front, dropping Artemis to her feet.

"It's the Trickster and Captain Cold. They're robbing the bank, you need to stop them!" the police officer cried out.

"Oh, no. We just ran all the way over here to watch the robbery take place. It's not like we're spandex wearing heroes who are going to stop it or anything," Artemis yelled back sarcastically.

The police looked strangely at her, and Wally shrugged his shoulders.

"It's that time of the month," he said as a way of explanation, and then he sped inside before Artemis could throw anything at him.

Artemis followed him inside, keeping her bow ready.

She saw Kid Flash running circles around Captain Cold, calling out insults at him, but the Trickster was nowhere to be found. Artemis shot an arrow at Captain Cold, knowing Wally would run out of the way. The arrow hit the Captain's freeze ray gun, and then Wally quickly ran in and sucker punched him.

"We need to find the Trickster," Artemis called out.

Wally zoomed away, and then quickly returned.

"He's not in the bank vault."

"Maybe he left?"

"The Trickster? No way, babe. He's around here somewhere," Wally told her.

Right on cue, they heard an odd wheezing noise. Artemis ran to the source, doing a neat flip over an upturned table and landing right in front of the Trickster. She had her bow ready, an arrow aiming right for his heart.

"Where's the stolen bank money?" she growled.

The Trickster kept doing his wheezy cough/laugh thing, so Artemis pressed the tip of her arrow to his chest.

"I asked a question!" she yelled more forcefully.

Artemis saw the Trickster reach for his weird looking gun, and she quickly dodged its ray. She brought her bow across his face and avoided the punch he aimed for her gut. She blocked his punches and tried to trip him, but he avoided that and managed to throw her to the ground. Artemis jumped back to her feet, ready to fight again, but Wally quickly sped between them.

"Whoa, guys, we really don't need to do this!" he said.

"Kid Flash, get out of the way!" Artemis ordered.

"Babe, let me handle this," Wally told her, and then returned his attention to the Trickster, "Hey, how's it going? I haven't seen you in a while."

"You're never here with the Flash anymore! But that's okay, because he'll be easier to kill!" the Trickster laughed manically.

"Are you off your meds again?" Wally asked him.

Artemis rolled her eyes, how thick could Wally get? You didn't talk to a villain like that! You just knock them out and haul them to jail, not talk to them like they're a naughty kid.

To her surprise, the Trickster nodded sadly.

"You know that the medicine is good for you! Tell you what, here's what you do. Go turn yourself in, okay? And then I promise I'll visit you in the hospital," Wally promised.

The Trickster seemed to perk up at that idea, and he nodded happily, and then walked away.

"See, I told you I could handle it!" Wally told her.

Artemis didn't respond, she was still trying to get her head around what had just happened.

"Hey! Captain Cold is ready to be put in the freezer!" Wally called out to the police officers, and Artemis couldn't help but grimace at the lame pun.

"Just take me home, Kid Flash."


It was nearly midnight by the time Wally and Artemis finally got home to their apartment in Palo Alto. Artemis yawned tiredly, and gave Wally a sleepy kiss on the cheek.

"I still can't get over how you defeated those villains," she told him.

"That cool, huh?" Wally asked smugly.

Artemis shook her head, laughing, "More like that lame. Those had to be the saddest excuses for a villain I have ever seen. And what the hell is up with you and talking to everyone you meet? For a hero, you sure are very chatty."

"Hey, it might have been different in Gotham, where everyone is a crazy psychopath, including the Bat, but in Central, everyone's cool. And the villains, well, poor Trickster. He tries," Wally said.

"Right. I think Central is way more messed up than Gotham could ever be. Anyway, goodnight Wally. I've got a lit. exam tomorrow and I do not want to be late," she said.

"Wait, its midnight!" Wally called out, grabbing Artemis by the hand and spinning her so she faced him.

"Yeah?"

"It's your birthday!" Wally told her excitedly.

"Babe, you remembered! That's so sweet. Where are my presents?" Artemis asked him.

"Patience, grasshopper. You'll get your present tomorrow. But there is something else we need to do. A sort of tradition."

"What is it?" Artemis said warily.

Wally steered her into the kitchen and pulled out a chair for her. He started rummaging in the fridge.

"Of course, with you, it's going to have to be about food, isn't it?" Artemis asked jokingly.

"Very funny. Here it is," Wally exclaimed proudly, pulling out a huge cake box.

He opened it and revealed the massive cake sitting inside. There was one candle on the top, and the writing scribbled in the middle read, 'Happy Birthday, Spitfire."

"Black Forest Cake. Mrs Bunn's specialty and your favourite," he told her proudly.

Artemis beamed at him, and he cut the cake for her. He gave her a normal sized piece, and then cut an enormous slice for himself.

"Thank you Wally," Artemis said softly.

"Anything for you, babe," he replied.

Artemis finished her slice of cake, and then put both dishes in the sink.

"We should probably go to bed now," Wally said.

Artemis tilted her head thoughtfully, and a smile played upon her lips.

"You know, I think I want more cake," she said in a soft, low voice.

Wally made towards the cake box, but Artemis grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her.

"Not that kind," she said, and then brought his lips over hers.


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