A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I think this was something like 13 pages in Word, so I hope that makes up for it. Also, I do try to reply to reviewers, but if you have the private messaging disabled, then I'm sad to say I can't :( I usually don't do this, but I would like to give a shout out to Endermoon, who has been faithfully reviewing these stories and always leaving constructive feedback. But Endermoon, for the love of chocolate, TURN ON YOUR PM! :)
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Young Justice. Because then I'd actually get to watch new episodes.
I Can Still Feel Your Heart Beat Fast when You Dance with Me
She wasn't sure how this relationship was going to affect the team dynamic. She wasn't even sure how they were going to tell the team that they were now "official." Artemis really shouldn't have been worried; he had it all figured out.
Kid Flash marched into Mount Justice that next weekend in the evening, saw Artemis and Megan cutting out large stars from shinny, metallic paper on the common room floor, and purposely made a comment he knew Artemis would find irritating. Artemis couldn't even remember what he said. All she remembered was the heated argument that followed which culminated in Wally kissing her soundly in the middle of her rant.
"You're right, of course," he mumbled to her, tucking a stray blonde hair behind her ear and smirking as he walked to the kitchen.
Robin, who was sitting on a barstool by the kitchen, covered up his laughing with a sudden coughing fit. Aqualad spit out the water he had just finished drinking and nearly dropped the glass in his hand. Superboy, having just walked in from his training session with Black Canary, let go of the dumbbell he was carrying, his eyes wide in shock. Megan shot her a sly smile, causing Artemis to blush.
"Shut up," she hissed at the martian, then glared at the other boys, daring them to make a comment. Wally's head was in the fridge; he acted like planting one on Artemis in front of everyone was a perfectly normal occurrence.
Artemis sat back down on the floor, idly wondering if Batman would care if they were short a speedster because he had accidentally been tossed off Mt. Justice. She began violently cutting out more decorations next to Megan, trying to ignore the knowing grin on the green girl's face. If their teammates weren't sure before, they definitely knew about her and Wally now. Belatedly, Artemis realized this was Wally's goal, and she had to give the speedster props. Rather than call a team meeting and make an awkward announcement in front of everyone, he simply showed the others where he and the archer stood. She let the genius of the plan sink in, realizing that he hadn't given their teammates any openings to ask embarrassing questions, though Artemis was pretty certain she would be grilled with inquiries by Megan later. She mentally cringed as this would probably involve hair braiding, nail painting, and possibly even an appearance by Black Canary. Speaking of which…
"Artemis, you're up," Black Canary told her from the doorway to the training room.
Artemis stood up and walked toward the blonde mentor, trying to ignore the knowing smirk gracing Black Canary's features. She was totally going to wipe the floor with her mentor's smile.
Kid Flash pulled his head out of the fridge after grabbing the milk, turning around only to be met by Robin's knowing grin.
"So…you and Artemis?" Kid Flash knew it wasn't really a question. More like a smug declaration.
"Yep," came the redhead's response before he took a long swig straight from the carton.
"How long?" Robin persisted, his smile growing wider. Superboy, Aqualad, and Miss Martin's heads all turned, intently focused on Kid Flash. Wally took in the stares of his friends and rolled his eyes. No doubt they had some sort of bet going and wanted to know who won.
"Five months," Kid Flash replied, putting the milk away, gratified by their crestfallen faces. Apparently no one had correctly predicted the timeframe. Well, Kid Flash was all about unpredictability and disproving non-scientific conjectures.
Unfortunately, Robin rapidly recovered from his disappointment and refused to drop the subject. "So…you've been official since…?" he inquired innocently. Kid Flash could have punched the bird boy in the face. He knew Wally too well.
"Last week," Kid Flash grumbled almost inaudibly. Robin began to cackle. Superboy and Aqualad looked amused. Megan's expression was ecstatic bordering indecently happy.
Kid Flash almost pitied Artemis. Almost. But Megan's torture would definitely make up for the fact that his girlfriend had stuck his favorite pair of sneakers to the roof of the cave two days ago with one of her new exploding sticky-gunk arrows. At least that was what Wally was calling them. It had taken him hours to remove the gum-like substance from the laces and fabric. Just thinking about that incident put his mind at ease.
Wally continued to paddle down the stream of his guilt-free conscience until Artemis plopped on the couch next to him that night, huffing out loud, arms crossed. Then, in a startling transformation of character, she languidly reached across the speedster, snagging the television remote from his hand. The channel surfing commenced with no real anger.
Wally took in Artemis's appearance. She was in her customary tank top and baggy shorts that she slept in, but her pony tail had dozens of little braids, each culminating in a pink hair tie. Her nails looked oddly sparkly, and Kid Flash could have sworn he saw the same shade of red nail polish on Black Canary's fingernails last week. Things looked grim, but Wally realized if Artemis was truly angry with him she wouldn't be halfway into his lap, resting her head on his arm.
"So," he began, "they tag team you?"
"Yep. Right after my shower."
"They ambushed you outside the locker room?"
Artemis snorted, pausing to look at the program on the History channel. "I barely left the shower stall! I didn't even have time to change! Megan stuffed me into one of those ridiculous nightgowns of hers that she bought at the mall, and Black Canary manhandled me into Megan's room. I've only just escaped."
"The braids are a nice touch," Wally informed her, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "And I love the nails. She do your toes too?"
Artemis stretched her legs in front of the speedster, flashing her new pedicure. "The red was okay, but Megan insisted on covering it with that sparkly crap. It's going to take weeks to wear off."
Wally tried to keep his eyes directed just towards his girlfriend's toes. Wally failed, and Artemis shot a knowing smirk back at him. Seeing that he had been caught in the act of ogling the part of her legs not covered, Wally mentally grasped for a different line of conversation. A thought struck him.
"You know, if you wanted to clear your nails you could just use acetone," Wally told her, his hand slowly wandering to the mess of plaits in Artemis's hair.
"Is that like nail polish remover?" she asked idly, pausing again on the comedy channel.
"Yeah, but it's stronger and works better. I'm sure one of the bathroom mirror cabinets here has a bottle. Want me to check?" he glanced down at her.
"Mmmm…maybe some other time," she yawned, bunkering down closer to Wally, sighing happily as he ran his fingers through the tied strands of her hair.
She flipped the channel again, landing on an old musical and setting down the remote. "For worlds I'd not replace your sunny, funny face…" the man sang from the television.
Wally was only slightly surprised at her viewing choice; it suited her somehow. By the time the movie ended, Kid Flash had unraveled all of Megan's hard work on Artemis's mane, and Artemis was half asleep against the speedster.
"Hey, Beautiful, you asleep?" he asked, shutting off the TV.
"Mmmm…maybe," came her drowsy reply.
"Do you usually talk in your sleep?" He scooted forward.
Artemis's arms shot around his neck at a speed that surprised Kid Flash considering her current state. "Nope." She yawned again. Kid Flash took the hint and gave her piggy-back ride to her room. Gently depositing her on the bed, Wally tucked his girlfriend in, surprised that she was actually allowing him to do so without complaint.
"'Night, Artemis," he kissed her forehead.
Artemis shuddered. "S'cold in here."
"Want me to stay and keep you warm?" came the typical teenage boy inquiry.
"Goodnight, Wally," came Artemis's firm reply as she turned away from the door.
"You sure? Because-"
"Baywatch, you have one second to get out before I taser you."
Unexpectedly, Artemis found herself being soundly kissed by Wally. "One," he whispered in her ear before vanishing, her metal door hissing shut.
It took a few moments for Artemis to process the sheer audacity of what Wally had just pulled. He'd definitely be paying for it tomorrow. But until then…Artemis pressed her face into her pillow, giggling like a silly girl with a crush at a slumber party.
Somewhere down the hall, Superboy heard the noise and awoke in mild confusion.
And so their relationship continued on for the next few weeks. Kid Flash would do something to Artemis, Artemis would retaliate, vice-versa, and they'd come together at the end of the day, no words necessary. Sometimes they were together with the team in Mt. Justice hanging out. Sometimes they were alone after a mission or a long day of school, watching a movie or working on homework. They still had the occasional "random outing" as Artemis liked to tease Wally when referring to their actual dates.
One night, a blip occurred in the fragile routine of their established relationship: Artemis didn't come down to the common room to spend time with him. Wally would have normally brushed this off as her wanting to go to bed early, but he had hardly seen her at all that afternoon, and Megan had been suspiciously absent as well.
Determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, Wally marched upstairs to the bedrooms, pausing in front of Artemis's. He heard muffled voices coming within, and opted to knock before opening the door anyway.
"Artemis?" came his innocent inquiry.
He had to dodge two pairs of shoes and a stapler as his girlfriend shouted, "OUT! I'M BUSY!"
Megan, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire of their violent flirting, stood up from her position on the rug and said, "I'm going to go get…more staples?" It came out more like a question than a statement, but the martian was gone before Artemis could protest.
Wally took half a millisecond to glance around and wondered what his mother would say about the state of his room if she could see what Artemis's looked like at the moment. The closet appeared to have thrown up the archer's wardrobe: clothes were strewn all over the futon, the dresser, the desk chair, the floor, and the bed. The part of the bed that wasn't covered was unmade. Then there were the scraps of metallic paper, streamers, fishing line, scissors, glitter, and glue all over the floor and coffee table. A small, neat stack of stars sat precariously at one end of the desk chair.
"Art project?" He asked, watching the blonde look for more projectiles that she didn't require at the moment. She was seriously considering throwing her scissors, but she needed them if she wanted to finish cutting stars out of the shiny paper.
"Go away, Wally. I have a shitload to do and not enough time to do it," she huffed, brushing away a stray hair from her eyes. Her state wasn't much better than her room's. Glitter stuck to her hair, clothes, and nose. Dried glue and confetti covered her fingers. Wally could make out dark circles under her eyes, and she hadn't bothered changing out of her school uniform.
It was really the uniform that sent red flags up for Wally. She hated wearing that uniform. Constantly complained and bitched about it. It was too itchy. It was too hot. It didn't cover enough in the winter. The dry cleaners had used too much starch in the skirt. Wally knew for a fact that the first thing Artemis did when she got home or arrived at the cave was change out of the uniform.
"Uh…do you need help?" he tentatively asked, wondering if she was going to start throwing things again.
"I DIDN'T UNTIL OUR TEAM LEADER DECIDED TO FLOOD THE LIVING ROOM!" Artemis exploded. Kid Flash knew better than to interrupt her on a rant, so he let the archer continue. "ALL MY DECORATIONS RUINED BECAUSE BIRD BOY HAD TO START A SUPER SOAKER FIGHT! LIVING ROOM FLOODED! AND I NEEDED THOSE FOR THE DANCE FRIDAY! NOW I HAVE TO MAKE ALL NEW ONES!"
She paused to take several deep breaths. Wally thought she looked ready to cry, but he knew she never would over something so trivial. He was about to ask her why she hadn't asked him to help her when something she said suddenly clicked.
"Wait-you're going to a dance on Friday and you didn't ask me to go with you?" he demanded indignantly.
"Wally, I'm being forced to go as it is. Why would I put you through that same torture?" She demanded, miffed that he was acting offended when she was the one that had been wronged.
"Have you ever been to a dance, Artemis?" the speedster asked, hands on hips.
"No, and I wouldn't of had to go to this one if I hadn't been tossed out of that game last month," she responded, angrily brushing glitter off her hands.
"You mean the one where you argued with the umpire about a bad strike called and he ejected you?" Wally asked. "What does that have to do with making decorations and going to a dance?"
"The Academy's counselor stuck me on the decoration committee for the Spring Fling Dance instead of giving me detention. She said my anger issues could be resolved if I channeled my energy and participated in more school activities," came her sullen reply. "And I had everything ready to go in a box by the couch so I wouldn't forget it tomorrow. But…"
"It was a causality of the water war," Kid Flash finished for her. "So what do you still need to do?"
Artemis gestured to a stack of silver paper. "I need to cut stars out of all those and tie them to different lengths of fishing line." She pointed to different colored streamers in the corner, "And those need to be twisted together. Megan already helped me finish making the signs."
Wally sat down, picked up a marker and grabbed the stack of silver paper. Before Artemis could protest, her boyfriend had traced a star pattern on every sheet in ten seconds.
"Pass me the scissors," he told her. Mouth agape, Artemis complied, mentally smacking herself for not asking him to help earlier. Not a minute later, Wally had a stack of stars and a pile of scrap paper.
He grinned up at her. "Why don't you show me how long you want the fishing line and I'll tie them to the stars? That way you can change out of that."
Artemis felt as though a huge weight had been lifted. She was so happy she could have kissed the redhead. So she did. Repeatedly.
Wally caught words like "the best," "amazing," "sweet," and "thank you" in between kisses until she finally picked up her pajamas and walked to the bathroom. Kid Flash was still mentally congratulating himself when she walked back into the room ten minutes later, hair dripping from her shower. He had just finished packing away the last few strands of streamers and set them in the box next to the stars.
Artemis picked her way across the floor to her desk and began putting away clothes.
"Couldn't find anything to wear?" Wally asked, attempting nonchalance as he sat back on the floor.
"Megan couldn't find anything for me to wear. Then she blackmailed me into going dress shopping with her and Dinah," Artemis bit out scathingly, stuffing some shirts into her dresser rather angrily. "So I ended up getting that." She pointed to the one item still on a hanger. A bag covered it, but Wally thought he could make out a black and white dress.
"How did she manage that?" he inquired, picking up all the scrap paper, glitter, glue, and other decorating utensils.
"She had that photo strip from when we went to that state fair," Artemis told him. "You know, the one from the photo booth you dragged me into?" her tone was slightly accusatory. "Anyhow, she threatened to get Robin to post it all over the Academy's newsletter, so I had to go."
"Really?" KF asked, outraged. "She told me she wanted it to make some sort of scrapbook thing for you. She said it was going to be a surprise!"
"You actually gave it to her?" Artemis screeched, ready to exchange blows with her idiot boyfriend.
Wally stood up. "Hey! How was I supposed to know she was lying? I didn't think Megan was capable of doing something that…devious."
Before Artemis could reply, her door slid open again to reveal Miss Martian, box of staples in hand. "Umm…do you still need help? Or-" the martian paused, taking in Wally's shocked face and Artemis's murderous one. "I could come back later?" The door slid shut again.
Artemis ran over to unlock it and pursue her green teammate, snagging her bow and some new sticky-gunk arrows along the way. Unfortunately for her, the martian knew what was coming and was mentally keeping the door shut tight. Artemis tossed the arrows down in frustration and went back to putting away clothes. Wally opted to help, seeing how he couldn't vibrate his way out and Megan was currently blocking the exit.
"So," Wally began after a few moments of silence. "Are you going with anyone to the dance? Like a group of friends, I mean," he hurriedly covered, trying not to sound upset.
Artemis still picked up the distress. Sighing, she asked, "Wally, do you want to go to the dance with me?"
"Really?" he couldn't keep the hopeful inflection out of his voice. "You mean it? I mean-"
"Just answer the question, Baywatch," she told him exasperatedly.
Wally grinned. "Yeah, I'd like that. What time does it start?"
"Seven," came her muffled reply.
"So, pick you up at 8?"
"Why so late?" she asked, head poking out of the closet.
"It's fashionably late," he informed her. "Besides, you still get three good hours of dancing."
"Fine, West. But you'd better be on time to get me."
Not only was Wally on time, but he did Artemis one better. He was ten minutes early, corsage at the ready; he wanted Artemis's first dance to be awesome. Paula Crock opened the door at his second knock, smiled, and welcomed the speedster in, offering him his customary sandwich that she always had at the ready whenever her daughter let it slip that he'd be dropping by.
"My, but don't you look nice, Wally," Paula complemented him, rolling out of the kitchen into the living room.
"Thanks," Wally said, swallowing a mouthful of ham and cheese. "My Aunt helped me pick this out yesterday," he told her, gesturing to the black dress shirt, black slacks, and white tie.
"Well, you look very handsome. Don't you think so, Artemis?" Mrs. Crock turned toward the doorway that led to the bedrooms.
Wally followed the older woman's line of sight only to find all the air suddenly depleted from his lungs, no doubt used up by the rapidly ticking bomb in his chest.
The dress was a simple black thing with a scoop neck, wide straps, and a bit of chiffon sticking out just above her knees. A broad white sash added contrast just below the bust line. Black flats adorned her feet, simple hoops her ears.
But what really caught Wally's attention was her hair. Strands of spun gold in dozens and dozens of curls were held back by a simple black headband.
Artemis, aware of her boyfriend's awestruck expression and her mother's knowing smile, sought to bring back some semblance of sanity and replied, "Yeah, I guess," to her mother's inquiry. Wally continued to gape until Artemis cleared her throat and asked, "What's that for?"
Wally blinked back into reality, still wondering if the apparition in front of him was real and followed her finger pointing at the clear box he was carrying.
"Oh, this is for you," he unfastened the plastic lid and pulled out the small bunch of white roses and black ribbon. "It's a corsage. It goes around your wrist-" he slid the elastic band over the archer's hand, "-like that."
There was a flash of light, and both teens looked over to Paula Crock, camera in hand. "I couldn't help it," she told them, ignoring Artemis's look of indignation. "And you're not allowed to leave until I get a good shot of the two of you together."
"Mom," Artemis hissed.
"I mean it. And Artemis, smile," her mother told her, raising the camera to her eye as Wally hugged Artemis to his side.
Several flashes later, Mrs. Crock put the camera down, a stern look on her face. "Artemis, you look like you're about to serve a jail sentence. Wally, be a dear and see if you can't convince my daughter to smile."
Wally grinned a mischievous grin that Artemis was all too familiar with. "C'mon, Blondie. Our ride's waiting downstairs. Just one smile," he whispered in her ear.
Artemis obliged, but her mother tsked. "I want a real smile, Artemis."
Before Artemis could reply, Wally had spun her around and dipped her back, looking for all the world like some poster advertising dance classes.
Wally looked down at her smirking, and Artemis, breathless from the sudden movement, momentarily forgot to be angry. Her eyes crinkled as her lips slightly turned upwards.
CLICK. FLASH. Wally pulled the archer up, and Mrs. Crock, having gotten everything she wanted, told them to have fun and for Wally to bring her little girl back safe.
When the teens emerged outside, Artemis was surprised to find a Rolls Royce parked in front of the sidewalk. "Don't tell me this is our ride?" Artemis looked dubiously at the speedster.
Wally walked over and opened the door for her. "Yep. Slide on in, Beautiful."
"How did you swing this?" Artemis questioned when they were buckled inside.
"Well, I know someone who knows someone," Wally replied vaguely. "But I figured a motorcycle ride would mess up your hair, so I called in a favor. It's just a one way trip though. We'll take the quick way back." Wally winked at her. "Right, Alfred?"
"Right you are, Master West," came the reply from the driver.
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Robin?" she deadpanned.
"Robin," Kid Flash agreed, entwining his fingers with hers.
Driving to Gotham Academy hardly took any time. The two teens bid goodnight to Alfred before walking up to the gates and following the throbbing bass coming from the gym.
"Wow, did you decorate this whole thing?" Wally asked his girlfriend, looking at the dozens of stars suspended from the ceiling, the balloons strapped to the tables, and the delicate streamers floating around the edges.
"Not entirely. Me, and the other girl on the decoration committee, Barbara, decorated the whole thing yesterday. Took us three hours after school," Artemis grumbled. Wally just smiled, and Artemis allowed him to lead her to the punch bowl, ignoring the looks of her classmates as she passed. She may have been a superb athlete about to lead their softball team to state for the first time in a decade, but she was still just a scholarship kid. A very, very attractive scholarship kid.
Wally poured them each a cup of the red liquid, but he nearly dropped his glass when he felt his pocket vibrate.
"What?" Artemis demanded, seeing the sudden look of dismay on her boyfriend's face.
"Communicator," he told her in a low voice, his eyes darting around the room trying to find somewhere private he could answer the call.
"Over here," Artemis whispered, putting her hand in the crook of his elbow and leading him off to the side behind a large sign advertising the dance.
She kept a lookout while Wally flipped open the communicator. "KF here."
"Kid Flash, we need you and Artemis to meet us in Boston as soon as possible," came Robin's voice. "It was supposed to be a simple recon mission, but we hit some complications, didn't know the full involvement of all parties, and," the Boy Wonder paused, "Clayface is here."
Robin didn't need to say any more. Kid Flash knew all too well the disastrous outcome with Clayface last time; they would need all members for this one.
"Sending coordinates now," Robin told the speedster. Wally looked down at his phone-like com which lit up with the map and tracking system.
"Got it. We're on our way," Kid Flash told Robin before snapping the communicator shut.
Artemis turned to the redhead, trying to keep the disappointment from her eyes. "What happened?" she asked, keeping her voice level.
"Clayface," Wally told her, watching the understanding wash over her features. "We need to get out of here without attracting suspicion."
Artemis looked around the dance floor, grabbed Wally's hand, and led him to the other side of the gym. They left through a side door, walking down a hallway full of other couples looking for a more secluded location, and made a right down another hallway before taking a maintenance exit.
They ran for the nearest cover, which happened to be a clump of bushes. Kid Flash surveyed the grounds before turning to the archer. "Coast is clear," he informed her, watching as she assembled her crossbow- from where he wasn't sure.
"Okay, I'm ready," she said, allowing him to scoop her up before taking off at sonic speeds.
As far as missions went, it was one of the team's better albeit longer ones. They were more prepared to fight Clayface as a unit, but in the end it was Artemis that really made the difference. She had modified several sticky-gunk arrows to fit her crossbow, and when combined with the mud and sludge that composed Clayface, the villain began to slow down, his mass sticking to every surface that he covered. With Kid Flash and Superboy providing excellent distractions, Miss Martian was able to contain the monster long enough for Aqualad to spray water and Robin's batarangs to freeze the moisture.
It didn't take long for the league to arrive after the capture. Aqualad was conversing with Batman while Miss Martian was moving Clayface into a newer, more improved containment tube when Kid Flash glanced at his watch. It read 11:23 PM.
"SNAP!" he exclaimed, causing everyone's heads to turn in his direction. Kid Flash looked at Artemis. "If we hurry, we might make the last song."
Then without any explanation to his teammates or waiting for Batman's debriefing, Kid Flash vanished with Artemis. The team stood there, mouths agape, not believing that Kid Flash had simply taken off without Batman's dismissal. Even Robin wasn't cackling inappropriately as usual.
Four pairs of eyes turned to the Dark Knight who simply sighed and shook his head, muttering, "Teenagers," before turning back to supervise Clayface's arrest.
Kid Flash slid to a halt outside the bushes next to the gym, gently depositing Artemis and preparing for the punch that usually accompanied whisking the archer away without her permission. He was not disappointed.
"Wally! What the hell are you thinking!" Artemis whisper yelled, socking the speedster multiple times in the arm. "Batman is going to have our heads for bailing before the debriefing!"
"Hey! I was trying to make it back so you'd at least catch the end of the dance!" Wally whispered back defensively, grabbing the archers wrists to stop the brutal onslaught.
"Wally, have you looked in a mirror recently? Because I'm pretty sure us barging in there looking like we had a mud slinging contest with a bunch of five year olds is going to raise some odd questions!" she hissed
Wally looked down at his now-ruined attire. One sleeve was barely still attached at the shoulder, the other torn off at the elbow. His pant legs were both ripped at the knees, the right leg having an additional rip that went from mid-thigh down to his calve. He glanced over to Artemis, hands on her hips. She hadn't fared much better. One strap had ripped completely off her shoulder, and a tear ran down her left side below the sash to the end of the skirt, showing the chiffon underneath. The hem around the bottom was jagged from being snagged. Both teens were covered from hair to shoe in ridiculous amounts of dried mud.
Wally was about to reply, but noticed something suspiciously absent. "Do you hear that?" he questioned.
"Hear what?" Artemis whispered back, glancing around the grounds and picking up her crossbow.
"Exactly," Wally looked at her. "There's no music. Everyone must've already left."
"Oh no!" Artemis smacked her forehead, suddenly remembering. "I was supposed to help take down decorations!"
"We can go inside and check if they're still up," Wally told her, leading her to the entrance.
The two fifteen year olds walked inside the now vacant gym. Artemis looked around, surprised to find everything taken down save for the disco ball and the signs propped up on easels. The archer walked over to the nearest sign which had a note attached.
Hey Artemis,
I saw you leave with that cute redhead and figured you'd be back later. I took down everything but the posters. Would you mind taking them out?
Thanks,
Babs
Wally took one look at the note and grinned. "She thinks I'm cute, huh?"
Before Artemis could make a witty response, he was gone in a gust of wind, taking all the posters with him. She walked to the center of the empty dance floor, glancing at the nearby speakers. Student Council was supposed to take them back to the storage room.
The archer glanced up at the disco ball, feeling the familiar rush of wind that announced Wally's return.
"Hey! They left the speakers!" he said excitedly, fumbling for something in his back pocket.
"Yeah, they'll probably put them up Monday," Artemis informed him, walking toward her boyfriend.
"But that means the dance isn't over!" Wally said, ducking down behind one of the black boxes.
"Wally, I'm pretty sure everyone leaving means the dance ended."
He stood up behind the speaker and walked toward her, a mischievous grin on his face. "C'mon Artemis. Why don't you stay…just a little bit longer?"
Right on cue, the speaker began blaring music. "Why don't you staaaaaaaaay… just a little bit longer?. Please say you'll staaaaaaaaay…."
"What did you do?" she whispered as Wally stood in front of her.
"I hooked up my mp3 player to the speaker," he smirked and took her hands. "Dance with me."
Artemis shook her head.
"Please, Artemis? I don't want you to miss out. It is your first dance after all."
"Fine. One dance," she told him.
Artemis learned several things about Wally that night. She learned that the speedster could be persistent without simultaneously being annoying. She also learned that he could hit high notes she'd never be able to top, even in the privacy of her shower karaoke time. And she learned that her boyfriend could dance. Holy cow could the boy dance! Even if he did make up all the moves as he went.
To her never ending surprise, she continued to allow him to lead her in song after song. Music from the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s blared through the tampered speaker in a kaleidoscope of electric guitars, tambourines, and synth machines. Occasionally a newer song would sneak its way into the playlist, like the one currently blaring out.
"We can dance until we die. You and I…will be young foreeeeeeeeeeeevaaah!" Wally sang along, twirling Artemis out.
She was very certain Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" had never been intended for swing dancing, yet here they were, against the odds, laughing, twirling, and behaving like two fifteen year olds. It was a rush for Artemis, but not like the ones coming from too much adrenaline circulating through her system on missions. Here with Wally, she wasn't a double agent, the spawn of a wanted criminal, the daughter of an invalid, the Academy's starting first baseman on the girl's softball team, or the Young Justice's premier archer. She was Artemis. Just Artemis.
It dawned on her that it was freedom she was experiencing. Artemis had never been as free as she was now, in this moment, with Wally. She watched her boyfriend sing and dance like a fool, and she knew he was doing it for her, to let her know it was okay to just let loose, have fun, and be herself. No one else was here to see them.
He was close to breaking down all her walls, and Artemis knew that she'd have to be careful or she'd find herself falling too fast. And if that happened, Artemis was certain the consequences would be severe.
But maybe for tonight, if only tonight, she could let him jump over the walls she'd built. She'd let him see a side of her few had seen before.
He twirled her back in to him, dancing in close quarters as the chorus cycled back through. "Do I get your heart racing in my skin tight jeans? Be your teenage dream tonight…" she sang along in his ear.
Wally grinned and spun her back out, laughing. They sang along to the last little bit, ending when Wally dipped Artemis backwards on the last note. He learned fairly fast that Artemis enjoyed being dipped almost as much as she enjoyed twirling.
She let out a small yawn when he pulled her back up, but the speedster still spotted it. "Tired?" He asked her.
She shrugged. "A little. It's almost one in the morning."
"That late?" Wally exclaimed, glancing down at his watch. "Your mother's going to shoot me."
Artemis laughed. "I highly doubt that, but we should probably head out."
Wally glanced at his music player. Making up his mind, he looked back at the blonde. "Do you have time for one more?"
Artemis raised her eyebrow, hand on hip. "Are you seriously asking me that?"
He had changed the music and was back in front of her before she could blink, a slow song wafting through the speaker. Wally gently moved one hand to her waist, the other holding her hand up as he slowly revolved them in a circle under the lone disco ball.
"I can't believe you actually have slow music," Artemis remarked, looking into his green eyes.
"Technically, I didn't put it on my player," Wally informed her.
"Oh!" her eyes widened in sudden comprehension. "Is this from the 'Wally Is a Girly-Man' playlist?"
"Hey!" his cheeks reddened. "Robin hacked my mp3 and stuck that on! And how did you even know about that?"
"Robin hacked into Superboy's music player a few weeks ago and stuck that playlist in without changing the name. But I guess the plan backfired because Superboy ended up really liking the music," Artemis replied, smiling as Wally spun her out and back.
"Well, I guess that explains Conner telling me I had good taste in music," Wally smiled, pulling the archer even closer.
They stayed silent for several moments. Artemis lay her head on his shoulder, wondering what the speedster was thinking when she heard his voice softly singing along by her ear.
"Circle me and the needle moves gracefully back and forth…If my heart was a compass, you'd be north."
"So…Is this our song?" Artemis whispered, blue-gray eyes meeting his forest green ones.
Kid Flash gazed at her, tiny lights reflecting off the mirror ball into her mud-streaked hair. A line of brown and dark red went from her temple down her neck to the shoulder with the torn strap. He knew his state of dress didn't fare much better, but Wally didn't really give a damn at the moment. She was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, and Wally wondered how on earth he managed to snag something so ethereal.
"Yeah," he murmured, leaning down. "It's definitely our song." His lips met hers in a cosmic thunderclap in a moment that liberated them both.
The trip back to Artemis's apartment took less time than the speedster would've liked, but he knew all good things must end, including the festivities for that evening—er, morning.
"You sure your mom won't mind?" Wally asked, walking his girlfriend to her front door. "I could explain what happened-"
"It's fine, really. I've come home later than this looking worse than I do now," the archer told him unlocking the door. She turned to face him. "Thanks for tonight, Wally. I had fun." She kissed him once more. "Goodnight." Her forehead touched his.
"Goodnight. I love yo-gurt!" Dammit! DAMMIT!
"What?"
"Seeyoutomorrow!" he blurted, and in a flash, Wally was gone. Artemis blinked once at the empty space in front of her the speedster had occupied a moment before. Then it dawned on her what had happed. A slow, evil smile spread across her face. Oh, she was so not letting him live this down.
A doorbell woke Wally up later that morning. Flinging himself groggily down the stairs at unsafe speeds for his level of awakeness, the fastest boy alive was surprised to find a local grocery store delivery guy on his porch.
"I'm looking for a…Wally West," the man said, glancing at his clipboard.
"I didn't order anything!" Wally blurted out, acutely aware of his growling stomach at the sight of the truckload of food.
"Then someone must've ordered it for you. Sign here."
Wally signed the form only to have a box promptly shoved in his hands.
"You might want to refrigerate that!" the man called over his shoulder as he walked away.
Taking the box inside, Wally set it down on the kitchen counter and ripped open the top. Inside were two cases of yogurt. A faint, pink tinge dusted his cheeks when he finally put two and two together. Curse Red Arrow for bringing up the "L" word last time they met for coffee! Clearly, he had been thinking about it too much. And now he almost said it to Artemis! Surely it didn't mean he really loved her… But then why had the phrase tumbled unbidden out of his mouth? Was it just his subconscious ruminating on Roy's words? The speedster wasn't sure.
Well, one thing was for certain. "She's never going to let me forget," Wally whispered to himself.
A/N: In case you're wondering, the movie referenced is "Funny Face," and the music is "Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer)" by Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs, "Teenage Dream" by Katy Perry, and "If My Heart Was a House" by Owl City. Most of you probably figured out that's where the title of the story came from. At this point I'm assuming Artemis already knows Robin's civilian identity (hence the "Robin?" comment after seeing Alfred. I'm fairly certain this is the longest chapter to date. Again, I had the beginning and the end done, but had a little trouble with the middle. I apologize if you get cavities from all the fluff. This may be the sappiest thing I've ever written.