So, we're just gonna pretend this was on time okay? Heh, heh, anyways, I love you guys so much! Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites! :D I'll try to do better with consistent updating!

The Cave
Central Park, New York
July 17th

"It's not that hard! Just man up and do it!"

"How exactly do you suggest I 'man up?'"

"Okay, woman up!" Artemis rolled her eyes and propped her feet up on the table.

"Easy for you to say! I don't see you going up to your boss and asking for a raise!" Wally shrugged.

"Hey, I'm perfectly happy with the money I make!" Artemis groaned. Conner patted her shoulder.

"Why don't you just walk into his office and ask for a pay raise?" He suggested.

"Because that will probably end in me getting fired, which is the opposite of what I'm going for!" She pointed out.

"Why do you need a raise anyways?" Dick asked, leaning over the sofa.

"Well, even with Megs paying half the rent, I can't save any of my money, because I'm feeding an entire herd of leaches!" She snarled sending a pointed look over to Dick and Wally, who both looked away and started humming.

"What do you want to save for?" Megan asked, ignoring the pleas for coffee to talk to her friends- as usual. Artemis blushed and looked at the crumbs that had landed on the floor after Wally's massacre of the Cave's muffin population.

"She wants to buy a motorcycle." Kaldur informed her. "She thinks the idea is silly." Artemis sighed.

"It is silly. What use is a bike in the city? Besides, it's too cliché!" Megan shook her head.

"I think it's cute!" She giggled. Artemis groaned and wished for the power of invisibility.

Dick and Wally's Apartment
Central Park, New York
July 17th

"Okay, would you rather, eat Conner's sweaty gym shorts, or switch all of Artemis' clothes with pink frilly dresses?" Dick pondered his roommate's question. The red head was sitting on the counter in the kitchen while Dick sat on the kitchen table.

"Conner's shorts. They'd be gross, and they might make me sick for months at a time, but that's not assured death. I don't think I'd last the week once Artemis found out it was me."

"Agreed!" Both boys shuddered and laughed. Wally threw the younger boy a sandwich, but it was just slightly too far to the left. The black haired boy leaned to retrieve it, but the unstable table he was sitting on, went crashing into the floor. Dick groaned as Wally jumped off the counter to make sure he was okay.

"Are you okay?" Dick groaned again but gave him a thumbs up. "In that case, allow me to mock you." Wally burst out into laughter while Dick picked himself up off the floor and sent him a dirty look.

"Asshole. When you tripped over the sofa last month, did I laugh at you?"

"Yeah, and you took a video and posted it on YouTube. I think I have a right here!" Dick grumbled and started picking up the table. The legs had snapped off with the impact and the top was dented inwards.

"Uh dude, I think this table is on its last leg." Wally commented watching him work.

"Oh, hardy har har." Dick tried to set the table on its feet, but it seemed to prefer the floor. "Okay, so now what?"

"Well whose table was it?" Both boys tried to remember who had brought the table when they had both moved into the apartment. They wore confused faces for almost a minute before they gave up.

"No clue."

"I'm lost." They said at the same time. There was a silence.

"Well, do you want to… you know… go shopping?"

"What? You mean like together?" Wally asked, slightly aghast.

"Well, yeah, we've been living together since, like ever! I think we're ready for the next step."

"If you say so."

"Okay, do you want to go this afternoon?" Wally nodded.

"What do we do until then?"

"You want to make a bonfire?" Wally ran to the cupboard and pulled out their emergency lighter fluid.

"Let's do it!"

Tornado Gym and Fitness Center
Downtown New York
July 17th

"Alright, that's all for today. Nice work today class!" Dinah dismissed them and lingered by the door, saying goodbye to everyone as they left. The only two who were still mulling around were Conner and Megan, who had gotten into the habit of helping the two employees clean up after a lesson. Both appreciated the help and Conner didn't mind admitting he like spending a little extra time with the new girl. She was softer then the boys and Artemis and showed her caring side far more than the others. She was new and refreshing to talk to, and everyone was noticing the positive change in Conner.

"So who's your next client?" She asked as they packed away the extra pads.

"What day is it?" He asked. Megan sighed and handed him another set of punching bags.

"Thursday." She said dryly.

"Uh, some, girl. Blonde, I think." Megan shook her head, but chuckled a little.

"You're not forgetting Artemis' name are you?" Conner scowled, though it was softer than his normal glare.

"Artemis comes in on Monday nights at six thirty, and Saturday mornings at six. I would never forget one of my friends. And I would especially never forget Artemis." The steadfast way in which he said it, made Megan's heart crack a little. She looked at the ground as she spoke again.

"So, is there anything going on between you and Artemis?" She asked sadly.

"What do you mean? I spar with her whenever she's here and we go for breakfast or supper afterwards." He answered, not really understanding what she was talking about.

"No. I mean are you two, like romantically linked or something?" She asked a blush creeping onto her pale cheeks. Conner raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What? Me and Artemis? You do realize I don't have red hair and freckles right?" He asked. Megan felt the cracks in her heart repair a little.

"So you don't like her?" She asked just a little too happily.

"Of course I do. I love her." He said with very little tack. Megan deflated.

"Oh." She said sadly. Conner watched her face change and gently turned her so that she was facing him.

"Sit." He motioned that they should both sit on the mats. She obeyed and looked at him expectantly. "Listen, when I first got to University, I had no one. No dad to help me move in, no mom to kiss me goodbye and barely any belongings to call my own. I was moving in by myself, when this red headed kid comes in with his whole family around him; his dad, mom, aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma and grandpa. He had all these people who loved him coming to wish him goodbye, and I had no one. I couldn't really take it, so I just left. I was wondering around campus when I meet Artemis. Well met isn't the right word. Crashed into would be more accurate." Megan giggled quietly at this, and Conner too grinned at the memory. "I was glaring at the ground and Artemis' vision was blocked by her boxes. She wasn't very happy with me. We got into a screaming match pretty quickly and after she had managed to gather up her stuff, she stormed off like some scorned queen or something like that."

"I'm not really seeing the love here." Megan commented with a smile.

"I'm getting to that. I noticed that she had forgotten this picture frame, so I went to the housing offices to ask them to put it in her mail slot. I was going to just leave it there, but the guy at the desk looked like he was going to peddle the frame so I asked for her dorm number instead. It wasn't too far away so I took it up there and knocked on her door. She was really grateful that I'd brought it back since it was the only picture she had of her family. She was moving in by herself too, so I helped out a bit and we went for a drink. We were at the bar drinking for maybe an hour when this guy named Tommy Terrosu shows up. He started flirting with Artemis and being really rude and obnoxious to the waitress and Artemis told him repeatedly to back off. He didn't take the hint and started getting pushy. I was a bit tipsy and my hero complex kicked in so I told Terrosu to back off myself." All the friends had some sort of a hero complex. Conner didn't like it when people picked on those smaller then themselves, Wally hated abusive parents, Dick had a soft spot for those who couldn't protect themselves for whatever reason, Kaldur thought the innocent need protecting, Megan was all for female empowerment, and Artemis was a sucker for kids. "So he and I get into a fight, and the people around us just sort of back away. I started losing on account of being drunk, and he started wailing on me. Probably would have beat me pretty badly if Artemis hadn't intervened. She just stepped in, round house kicked him in the face and pulled me to my feet." Megan's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"Wow. Then what happened?" She asked, more involved with the story then with finding out if Conner liked Artemis as more than just a friend.

"Well, the bartender gave us the rest of our drinks on the house for putting that creep in his place, and after I had gotten properly drunk, she took me back to my dorm. We were just walking in silence, then all of a sudden she started praising me for trying to stand up to him. I hadn't gotten any of that sort of praise in such a long time, and I couldn't believe that she was actually complimenting me. When we got to my place, she knew my roommate and introduced us. He an acquaintance of hers by the name of Wally West. Apparently he was just on his way out to go to some party so we were on our own. Then we just sat around and talked. We just kind of connected. We made the whole sitting around drinking beers and talking thing a regular Saturday night thing. Eventually we had told each other everything and it was like we were siblings. A few people actually thought we were for a while. But that's all we'll ever be to each other." He finished looking at her seriously. Megan smiled that happy smile of hers and nodded.

"Okay. I was just wondering." Conner smiled too and then looked at the clock.

"Oh, shit! The blonde!" Megan couldn't help it. The fact that Conner referred to his clients by their hair colour was just too funny. She burst out laughing as he scowled. "I have to go find Dinah!" He grumbled. Megan nodded again, but kept laughing to herself. Conner dashed up to the service desk where Dinah was working. "I was supposed to train someone, like a half hour ago!" He panted. The blonde smiled and shook her head.

"I had someone cover for you. You and Megan were looking pretty serious so I thought I'd let you have a moment. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? I'm sure you're both hungry." She said with a wink. Conner was flustered, but agreed none the less and invited the ecstatic red head out to lunch. Maybe Dinah wasn't so bad after all.

Kaldur's Apartment
Central Park, New York
July 17th

"Are you almost ready Kal?" Artemis called from Kaldur's living room. Kal poked his head out of his room and nodded.

"Just give me two minutes and we can go!" He went back into his room and gave the photo that sat on his desk one final glance before grabbing his wallet and going out to meet Artemis. The blonde was flipping through the photo album he had on his coffee table and grinning to herself. Every time she was over, she never missed an opportunity to riffle through the memories that the pictures stored.

"I'd almost forgotten that we used to steal Roy's hat and hide it in the Cave somewhere weird. I wonder if that's why he won't wear one now." Artemis murmured as she looked a picture of the five friends smiling like a band of thieves as they crowed around a yellow hat with a red feather sticking up from it. Kaldur leaned over her shoulder and chuckled at the picture as well.

"Actually, I think it was the fact that the hat was a present from Oliver. But our actions probably didn't encourage him any." She put away the picture and jumped to her feet. She was casually dressed, in a simple pair of jeans and a white blouse. The blonde was defiantly not someone who you would peg as a person who enjoyed shopping, but Kaldur was glad to have her along. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ja. Come on! I'll drive." She grinned as she raced him down the stairs.

Home Outfitters
Downtown New York
July 17th

"What about this one?" Wally asked grumpily, gesturing to the table set next to him. The pair had been there for an hour and must have looked at sixteen pieces of furniture already. None of them however had pleased Dick. The store was fairly empty, but that seemed to apply to the sales personal as well since no one had come to help the feuding couple.

"Are you serious? It has robins all over it!" Wally groaned loudly and started making gestures with his hands.

"What's wrong with robins?" He cried waving his arms around his head.

"Do I seriously have to explain it to you? Do I look like I'm nine still?" Dick sneered.

"Well, you didn't like the lightning bolts, or the little arrows or the X's, so why don't you pick something!"

"Because we decided that we were going to do this as a couple!"

"Well I've been trying to, but it's kinda hard when your partner doesn't like anything!"

"That's because you've been picking terrible things!"

"Well maybe if you suggested something I wouldn't pick such terrible things!"

"Did I insult you with what I said or something?" Wally scoffed and looked upwards.

"Well it's not what you said, it's how you said it." Dick looked horrified at his best friend.

"Okay, number one, don't start another sentence with 'well!' And number two, you're turning into a woman!" Wally's eyes widened comically and he gasped out loud.

"No!" He said scandalized. Dick nodded solemnly. A sales lady, finally drawn by the boy's squabble came over.

"Is there something I can help you boys with?" She asked with a strained politeness.

"How do you stop behaving like a woman?" Wally demanded dead seriously. The lady looked extremely offended.

"Excuse me?"

"Never mind him, he's just tired. We're looking for a new table." Dick explained.

"Oh? And what type of table are you looking for?"

"A dinner table." Wally clarified.

"But one that's classy," Dick added.

"But without being a six foot long solid oak table like in Beauty and the Beast."

"And it needs to be unique"

"But still match everything."

"And we do mean everything."

"And it has to be versatile."

"We do a lot more then eat on that thing!"

"What else? Oh, it needs to be kid friendly, in case Timmy comes over! As well as spitfire retardant."

"I'm sorry, spitfire?" The sales lady had a look of bewilderment on her face, which was slowly turning into annoyance.

"Oh well, you see out friend Artemis does this trick, where she takes a shot of alcohol and then puts a match or a lighter close to her mouth so when she spits, the booze catches on fire and you get flaming spitballs!" Wally explained with relish. The lady rolled her eyes.

"Anything else?" She asked sarcastically. Wally and Dick exchanged a look.

"No robins." They said together.

The Conservatory For Aquatic Life
Upstate New York
July 17th

"You sure you don't want a water python? They'll keep you company for many years!" The sales man asked. Artemis raised an eyebrow while Kaldur shook his head politely.

"No, thank you. We are just browsing." The man, Artemis thought his name was Larry, looked a bit put out.

"Well, let me know if you need anything, chums." He said before leaving the pair in peace.

"I've always hated salespeople." Artemis grumbled, looking at a tank. Kaldur looked bemused.

"Is there anyone you do not hate with a passion?" He asked chuckling.

"Well, waiters are rude, athletes stuck up, dentists, doctors and nurses are evil and the people we hang out with are just generally annoying. Looks like you're the list." She smirked, looping her arm with his.

"And I feel truly blessed." He smiled sarcastically. Artemis grinned even wider and gently smacked his arm.

"You'd better fish boy. Others wise you're going to find yourself without any help to deal with Conner Control!" She joked. They walked down the aisles, looking for Kaldur's new pet. They had decided that they best way to get over a broken heart was to buy a pet. Since Kal didn't like four legged animals and birds, they decided that an aquatic animal would be best. "So what do you think? Anything jump out at you?" She asked gently. Kaldur scanned over the shelves of various pets. To be honest, there was one creature that seemed to call to the boy… then again, all species of underwater life seemed to call to him.

"I think so… But, I feel as though my choice won't please the others." Artemis scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You need to stop being such a people pleaser. Contrary to what Wally and Dick believe, this pet is not a communal thing. This little guy or girl, is something for you to indulge in. He's going to be yours and yours alone, so who gives a damn what those idiots think? Get whatever you think will make you happy." She told him firmly. He smiled gratefully at her.

"Then I believe I have made a decision."

Home Outfitters
Down Town, New York
July 17th

"It's perfect." Wally gushed, sliding his hands all over the smooth surface.

"Never have I seen such a more beautiful thing… which includes every girl I have ever slept with." Dick cooed. The sales lady tapped her foot incessantly behind them.

"That fits none of your previous demands." She growled. They had spent nearly two hours looking at every dining table in the entire store, and had passed by this particular table several times. "Can we please, move on?" She demanded.

"But, she's perfect!" Dick reiterated. Wally nodded.

"We'll take her!" The sales lady through up her arms angrily and stormed away, muttering about stupid boys who shouldn't be allowed to live together. "Tsk, tsk. So hard to find good help these days." Wally murmured shaking his head. "So how do you think the others will react to our new foosball table?" Dick smirked proudly as he took a turn caressing the table.

"I can already see their faces."

Dick and Wally's Apartment
Central Park, New York
July 17th

"What on God's earth is that thing?" Conner demanded, starring at the foosball table sitting proudly in the center of Wally and Dick's kitchen. Megan grinned idly spun the blue goalie around.

"I like it." She said happily. "Will you teach me how to play?" She asked hopefully looking at Conner. Unfortunately, before Conner could answer, Wally stepped in.

"Why of course Megalious. I give fabulous private lessons." Megan was sparred giving a response by Artemis and Kaldur's timely arrival.

"Yeah, it's a skill of his that allows him to repel women." Artemis said smoothly sliding into the apartment and next to Dick. Kaldur walked in with a bit more tack and sat down on the couch next to Conner.

"So how'd the pet shopping go?" Dick asked as he and Wally started a game.

"It was… successful." He said with a smile. Conner gave him a smile of his own and raised an eyebrow.

"So, what did you get?" He asked. Kaldur smiled softly, and produced a small bowl. Inside a copper coloured sea horse drifted around peacefully.

"This, is Tula." He grinned. Conner nodded in approval and Megan came over to coo at the creature. Dick and Wally paused their game and came over to look as well. Artemis smirked and grabbed a drink from the fridge. Wally clapped Kaldur on the shoulder.

"I like her." Dick looked back and forth between the sea horse and his friends.

"But that's not a puppy."

:D Hope you enjoyed! :D