So hopefully this is happier than the last few. I tend to make angsty stuff. The next one is definitely happy, though. Wally and Artemis are older in this, college age. And the ages keep going up throughout this.
Fandom: Young Justice
Prompt: Fate
Pairings: Wally/Artemis, Roy/Dick
Rating: T
For him, it's not a matter of faith, or fate. It's a matter of him asking and her saying yes. For her…well she doesn't know what to think. Maybe its fate, which made her choose him, out of everyone. Or maybe, it's freewill. That's what Wally wants her to think, anyway.
But nevertheless, they're together.
i.
"Well look at that," Artemis remarks coolly, fingers tapping against the cupboards. Wally looks up from his textbook, eyes narrowed. "Would you like Mac and Cheese for dinner, or maybe a little bit of Mac and Cheese? You know what I could go for? Not some Mac and Cheese."
Wally wants to snap at her, but holds back. "Well, next time you can go shopping."
Her can practically hear her gritting her teeth and he can almost see the wheels turning in her head for a good come back and—
"Well if you'd get a job—"
"'scuse me but I've got being The Goddamn Flash to worry about, along with school. But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" He knows it's the wrong thing to say as soon as it comes tumbling from his mouth. Artemis stiffens, her eyes narrow, and she whips around. Her long pony tail flies out behind her, whipping the counter top. He's surprised she doesn't have whiplash or something…
"No," she scowls at him, grey eyes hard. "I wouldn't. Because I gave up my entire life so I could move here and live with you. I'm working and supporting us. And you go off gallivanting and having a gay old time with your chums!"
"Well I don't recall asking you to come with me, anyhow!" He snaps back, textbook forgotten. And again, this word vomit thing that Bart has a problem with? Wally seems to have it too.
The archer stares at him, long and hard, before her shoulders tense and she walks around the counter. "You're right. You didn't. And it was stupid of me to think this would work." She's shaking her head. He hates when she shakes her head.
Artemis moves towards the bedroom they share. It's small, but it's big enough for the two of them. Wally follows her, trying to speak, but not finding the right words. It's not like he can tell her he didn't mean it. Because well, he kinda did mean some of it.
But when she grabs her suitcase, probably the only name brand thing she has, and begins throwing clothing and panties—oh not the green ones!—Wally begins panicking. "C'mon Arty—"
"Shut up."
"What? No! You can't just leave because we had a fight—"
"A fight? Wally you basically told me you didn't want me here. I think that's a little more than a fight."
She's almost done with packing, basically thrown every item she owns into the suitcase, and now she's moving towards the bathroom. Wally tries to block her way, but she shoves him aside, anger flaring in her eyes.
Its five minutes later when Wally realizes she's really leaving. He speeds in front of the door, locking it behind him. "You aren't leaving."
Artemis exhales slowly, not meeting his eyes. "We were dumb to think we'd stay together, okay? We can't…I can't—I won't live like this. I've watched unhealthy relationships my entire life. I don't want to be a part of one."
He watches her mouth tighten and her eyes water, but he doesn't stop her when she pushes him to the side, opens the door, and leaves.
ii.
"How is she?" Wally asks casually, not meeting Ollie's eyes. The older man gives Wally a look, before glancing back at the monitors.
"You should ask her yourself."
"I don't think she wants to see me," Wally replies, watching Ollie prop his feet up on a spare chair. Shayera stares at Wally. "You're still worrying over that Artemis girl? Wally…"
"I'm not worrying over her. I was asking how she is," he snaps, ignoring Ollie's knowing look and Shayera's pity.
iii.
"Just how stupid—" kick, "—do you think—" punch, "—we are?" Lawrence Crock's foot presses down on his daughter's chest. He adds more pressure and watches the girl squirm and tug at his booted foot.
When he releases the pressure, two goons grip her armpits and pull her back towards the cage. She's far too tired to fight back anymore. She doesn't know when she started crying, but the dampness on her cheeks and chest tells her it's been a while.
Lawrence comes close to the cage, squatting down in front of it. "You can't run from me." He murmurs, fingers slipping through the bars and touching her face. She backs away, but his hand fists in her ponytail, pulling her towards him.
A scream works its way up her throat, and she doesn't even recognize her own voice anymore. She can hear herself pleading, begging, crying, screaming, but she can't stop it.
The scissors he uses are rusty and disgusting, but it gets the job done. Her hair is uneven, choppy, and barely passes her shoulders.
iv.
He doesn't move from the doorway. He can see all that he needs to. M'gann had brought him food earlier, which he'd eaten. She'd tried to talk to him, but he wasn't really in the mood.
Dick had told him what happened. When they'd found her, she was severely dehydrated, had two broken ribs, was almost beaten to death, and hysterical. She wouldn't let anyone come near her until Megan had gone into her mind and reminded the archer that they were friends. Dick had also mentioned her hair.
He couldn't see much of her hair from his position, only her bruised face was visible, the rest of her body hidden under blankets. But he could tell her hair was loose, and he knew what it looked like then. It was overwhelming. He used to wake up and sneeze, because it would tickle his upper lip. But her hair wasn't there anymore.
The machines beep around her, the only lights aside from a small one on over the sink. Wally wants to walk over there and sit next to her. Diana had given him the night off; told him to go see her. But he couldn't stay.
He passes Bart on his way out, and nearly skids into a wall when Bart grabs his arm. Sighing, Wally stills, watching the younger speedster. "Yeah?"
"She'll be okay, right? They won't tell me or Kon or Tim anything. I think Cassie knows but I'm not sure she hasn't spoken—"
"She'll be fine," Wally assures him, running a hand through his hair. "I uh—I gotta get going. See ya around, Bart."
"Bye Wally."
v.
"Happy Birthday dear Lian, Happy Birthday to you~!"
Artemis grins as the little girl blows out her candles, cheeks puffing out, eyes squinting shut. Roy's behind her, prepared to blow out any remaining candles. Megan laughs next to her when Roy sticks a finger in the cake, wiping it on Lian's nose. More laughs echo throughout the room. Artemis looks around, drink clasped tightly in hand. He hasn't shown up yet, and she isn't sure if he would.
When she'd asked Dick, he told her he wasn't sure and hadn't asked Wally, but Roy might know. But Artemis never got the chance to ask him before the party, and besides, she didn't want to make it seem like she was avoiding him. Because she wasn't.
While cake is being dished out, Megan leaves Artemis' side with Donna, both women moving towards the table to get a slice. Artemis sighs and takes a drink from her glass, eyes surveying the guests. She doesn't see anyone new, and she still doesn't spot Wally.
Lian skips towards Artemis then, Dick following closely behind. He hands Artemis a plate and fork, prompting her to take a bite. Lian tugs at Artemis' pant leg and the blonde squats down to meet her eight year old niece's eyes. "You havin' a good party, kid?"
Lian grins, red and blue icing staining her teeth, and nods. "Yeah! Didja see what Uncle Dick got me? It's so cool!"
Artemis glances up at Dick, eyes softening. "I bet. Probably cooler than anything I would have gotten ya." Artemis retrieves a card from her jacket pocket then, handing it over to the little girl. Lian immediately shoves her cake at Dick, ripping open the card the second she grabs it. Her eyes scan over the front, nothing too special, just a Happy Birthday!—with a dog on it. When she opens the inside, money falls to her feet, and she squeals.
"But you gotta promise me something," Artemis tells her, drawing the eight-year-olds attention back to her. "You gotta get what you want with that. Don't let daddy say no. Got it?"
Lian nods and throws her arms around Artemis. The archer barely has time to move her cake before she's got an armful of Lian.
"Thanks Aunt Arty," she murmurs.
Dick grabs Lian's hand then, giving her back her cake. "C'mon sweetheart, you gotta go give that to your pops to hold."
Lian nods, waves at Artemis, and runs over to her dad.
When Artemis stands back up, she spots Wally. And he must spot her too, because he smiles slightly, and pats Gar on the shoulder, before walking over. He's got a bit of ash on his cheek, so she understands why he's late.
"Hey," he greets her when he walks up. He looks like he wants to hug her, but he refrains. She doesn't know whether she's happy or annoyed.
"Hey Wally," she returns the greeting, looking past him. He follows her gaze, but quickly looks back at her. "You changed your hair. I almost didn't recognize you."
She wants to snap at him with a you saw it last time you came to the Tower, but she realizes that she's dyed it now too, and he hasn't been to the Tower in a few months. She raises a hand, fingers twisting in her short hair. "Yeah, black now," she laughs quietly, handing him her cake. "Hungry?"
"Starving." He takes the cake, finishes it in almost five seconds.
vi.
She isn't sure how it happened.
Wally's got an arm draped across her stomach, fingers drawing circles around her belly button, dipping into it occasionally. The blankets had fallen down to their waists earlier, but neither of them had felt the need to pull it back up.
She swallows when he looks at her, wondering how she got into this mess. She was finally doing well—doing something with her life besides sitting around an apartment. Why did he have to come and—and fuck it back up?
He leans down, presses his lips against hers. Somehow they'd ended up back at his place, kissing and practically stripping in the hallway. When Wally had finally managed to unlock the door, they'd tumbled into his apartment (a new, cleaner one, she'd noted) and made their way to his bed.
Now, when she doesn't kiss him back, Wally pulls away, green eyes worried. "Are you all right?"
She doesn't know.
vii.
"Sex is big." Megan bites down on an Oreo, munching it happily. "Not that I would know." She sighs, pulling the box of cookies closer to her. Artemis already knows not to take one.
She towels off her hair, looking at the dark, wet strands. She can still feel some of the dye in her hair. "Yeah, well. It's not like it's the first time." Turning slightly, Artemis pats down her stomach. "Do you think I'm getting fat?"
"Maybe your pregnant," Kara laughs. She hit's Megan's arm then, drawing the Martian's attention to her. But not after a pillow is chucked at her head and an "I'm not pregnant!" is yelled out. "Wanna see my tattoo? I totally got it to piss of Clark."
Megan peeks over as Kara pulls down her skirt slightly, showing the Batman tattoo on her hip. "Cute, huh?"
"Adorable," Donna scowls from where she's sitting on Megan's bed, stealing a cookie and dodging another thrown pillow, this time from Megan. "Now," she turns back to Artemis, eyes narrowing. "Are you sure you and Wally used protection?"
"Yes," Artemis snaps, pressing a hand to her belly. Artemis feels funny for a second, before realizing that Kara's using her X-ray vision. "Hey!"
"There is no bun in that oven," Kara reports, saluting Artemis.
"You still haven't told me what happened after you two had sex," Megan waves a cookie around in the air, "I wanna know what he did!"
"He didn't really do anything. He asked me if I was okay, I nodded—"
"—you lied."
"—and he went to take a shower, of course not before asking me to join him. I said no, so he went in, and I got dressed, used his zeta-beam thingy and came back here. Then Conner mocked me for doing the Walk of Shame."
"Atta boy!" Kara throws a fist in the air. "He's so experienced in doing it himself."
Everyone snickers except Donna, who glares at Kara. "I hope you aren't talking about Cassie."
viii.
"Sex is big." Roy's busy trying to braid Lian's hair, who continues squirming. She frowns at the word sex, but doesn't question it. Wally groans, dropping his chin into his hand. Dick knocks Roy's hands away with a sigh. He pulls Lian closer to him by her shoulders, and easily braids the girl's hair.
"I'm not sure whether that's sexy or really gay." Roy tells him, grinning. "I'll go with sexy, because you're already gay."
Dick kicks him.
"Oh don't mind me over here," Wally nearly shouts, eyes narrowing. "Just, y'know, getting ditched after getting laid. No big deal."
"Don't worry about it," Roy tells him, propping feet up on the table. The doorbell rings though, but Lian's throwing it open before Roy or Dick can move, and four girls giggle and run to Lian's room. "I mean. Uh. Dick, I think you should answer this."
Roy stands up, arches his back, and walks to the kitchen. "Gosh I'm starving."
Dick frowns, but turns to Wally anyway. "She's probably worried the same things going to happen before. And from what you told me, it sounded pretty bad."
Groaning, Wally leans back against the chair. "It was."
ix.
"Come on," Wally says, speeding in front of her. His hands grip to tops of her arms, stopping her. The arrow on her chest is moving erratically, and he knows it's not from her running. "You can't keep running away."
"Why not?" She counters, shrugging out of his grasp. "It didn't stop you."
"You left me remember? Twice, actually." He tells her, crossing his arms.
She backs away from him, getting ready to leave. "You don't get it. You never did, Wally."
"Get what!" He shouts, not caring who hears him. He'd spent a good ten minutes trying to track her down, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to talk to her. "What would you like me to get? There's nothing to get!"
"You didn't stop me. I left, yeah but you could have easily stopped me. But you clearly didn't want to, or didn't care, or something because you let me go. And it took be almost getting beaten to death for you to actually come around!" She's shaking. Her bow drops to the ground, and she turns away from him. "Just get out of here."
"No—"
"Get out of here!" She shrieks, throwing her arms up. When they come back down, it's only to beat against his chest. "Leave me alone!"
"Shut up!" He yells back, hands closing around her wrists. He pulls them away from his chest and frowns. "God Artemis," he mutters, watching her eyes water behind her cowl. "I'm sorry. Okay? Is that what you want? Is that what will make you forgive me?"
"You didn't want me," she murmurs, face crumpling. "You didn't want me there, and you didn't stop me from leaving. So why would you want me now?" She tries pulling her arms out of Wally's grasp, but he holds on.
"I was a kid," he says, holding her arms to his chest. "I was stupid. I didn't know what I wanted. And I'm sorry, all right? I'm so, so, sorry that I didn't come around. That I didn't come after you." He takes a deep breath, letting go of her arms. She doesn't pull them away though. His hand comes up, touching her cheek. He can see the tears in her eyes. "It won't happen again. I promise you that."
"Good," she whispers. "'Cause you really hurt me before." She leans forward, pressing her face to Wally's chest.
x.
"Wow," Megan breathes, amber eyes trailing over her friend. "You look gorgeous…"
Artemis smiles at her friend, grey eyes bright. "Thanks Megan."
The Martian nods, but before she gets a chance to cry, Donna's standing and marching towards them. "Oh no, we are not crying today! There will be no crying! That make-up is professional dammit!"
Artemis laughs at her friends, and Kara walks in then, Ollie and Lian trailing behind. Ollie stops when he spots Artemis, and Lian grins.
"You're beautiful," He tells her with a smile, and Artemis blushes.
"All right," Kara says, hands on her hips. "We gotta get out there. It's starting. Lian, you know what you gotta do?"
The ten-year-old nods, holding up a basket. Kara nods. She gives everyone a quick once over, eyes narrowing at M'gann hand, which is straying towards the Oreo bag. M'gann seems to notice that she's being watched, and stops.
"All right people. Operation Get Wally and Artemis Married with As Little Casualties as Possible Is Go!"
Kara leaves the room, Lian and Donna follow. M'gann is the last to leave, hand drifting across Artemis' back on the way out. When all the girls are gone, Ollie comes up behind her, grin making his eyes bright. "You ready for this, kid?"
"Yeah," she murmurs, touching the necklace that belonged to her mother that hangs around her neck. "Yeah I think I am."
When Wally spots her, he's speechless.
The dress fits her so beautifully and her hair is straight but pulled back at the sides, and she looks so different from when she was fifteen, but Wally doesn't care. She looks stunning. She is stunning.
She smirks when she sees him staring, but the smirk quickly melts into a smile when he mouths you're hot to her. Dick elbows him, and Roy gives him a look, before glaring at Lian for making a face at Damian, whose sitting a few rows back.
Wally immediately grabs her hands when she holds them out, and they're so warm. And although he doesn't want to believe that it is Fate, everything inside him tells him that it is.
A few end notes. In my headcannon, Artemis somehow ends up cutting her hair in the future. Also, Megan sort of matures and grows out of the stage she's in now, and that basically how I imagine her. Sorry if some things aren't correct.
Also Lian never dies because she's Lian.
