Roy's problem was simple: He could never show enough respect to gain any. Artemis knew this better than anyone. She always viewed him as the rebel; the bad ass. The one no one wanted to mess with, but also the one everyone wanted to befriend.
Artemis knew he would understand her more than her mentor/lover, but she had to find a way to get through to him.
"You know what would be great?" Dinah said to her one time the two had lunch together with Oliver. "If Ollie proposed."
Oliver had gone to the bathroom that day. That was the day that Artemis found out about the relationship between Ollie and Dinah. She remembered it as if it were yesterday.
"Aren't you already dating Dinah?" she remembered asking him the night he first kissed her.
Oliver was a little drunk that day, but she didn't care. Artemis never loved anyone as much as she did Oliver. She'd never been so broken by anyone either. That was why she needed Roy. She didn't know how to live without Oliver. She didn't know how to cope with leaving him.
...The thing is, she continued writing, were partners. Hero-and-sidekick. And I'm not even legal yet. Think of what
that would do to your reputation. It would ruin you if this gets out. We have to start thinking about the future for
once and take some time to stop living in the moment. You know just as much as i do the consequences for carrying
on a relationship like this. So for now on, let's just forget that any of this ever happened between us. Forget about
our 'relationship' as lovers and start thinking about our relationship as mentor-and-student. It's the only way for us
to live on without any regrets. This could hurt us, Ollie and you know it.
Artemis wiped away the tears from her eyes as she continued to write.
...You need someone that can give you everything you want. You deserve someone like Dinah to be there for you
when you need her. I could never give you what you want. You belong with her now, not me. Think about that...
~A.C
With a small sigh, Artemis left the card tucked under the alarm clock laying on Oliver's nightstand. She traced out every detail on his naked body, knowing she'd never get to see him like this again. She kissed him on the forehead lightly and bit her lip as she walked away, leaving her sleeping Queen alone in his room. Eyes stinging with tears, Artemis took a moment to cry out all of her frustrations before going to find Roy.
"I'm sorry Ollie," she whispered to herself, her head throbbing painfully due to how hard she was crying. "I'm sorry putting you through this."