Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice or any of it's characters.
Hmmmm, been awhile since I updated, no? How about that new episode? Boy were Conner, Artemis and Wally ADORBS with those little kids! :3
I'm sorry but I come back to you with angst!
Title: Numb
Characters/pairings: Artemis Crock, Wally/Artemis
Genre: Angst/Tragedy
Rating: T
Promptee: Myself. I don't know, I decided to take a shower because I was cold and then this randomly happened!
o.o.o.o
Her whole body is frozen.
Her numb fingers take ages to work around the clasps of her quiver and belt and even longer to maneuver the rest of her uniform off. She stares blankly at the dull tile the entire time, eyes half lidded and plump lips pressed tightly together, blue with prolonged exposure to the frigid elements.
The frost from her lashes has long since dissolved, making it look as though she'd recently been crying. That wasn't far from the truth.
Artemis tried and tried to remove the knotted elastic from her ponytail, but her frail fingers would not cooperate and with a strangled sigh she gave up, stepping into the shower. The old taps squealed in protest as she turned them, cranking the hot up significantly more than the cold.
The brief spout of cold water that cascaded down her bare back, the one that, if her body had been at a normal temperature would've caused her to gasp and curse the slow hot water heater, didn't phase her in the slightest when it reached her.
The archer didn't even bother to close the curtain, nor had she bothered to close the bathroom door upon her entry. She didn't care that someone might see her naked, didn't care that she was splashing water into the floor, didn't care that the water was becoming painfully hot to her sensitive skin and that it was running crimson down the drain from the blood that had caked her hair and dried beneath her fingernails.
For a long, long time she stood in that stream of dangerously hot water, not moving, not bothering to clean her self, just letting it pour over her head and drip from her eyes and cracked lips and quivering chin.
Then at last, when the steam stopped rising and the temperature wasn't quite so scalding anymore, Artemis gave a great, shuddering gasp and with a thunk pressed her head against the shower wall in front of her.
The pain of what had transpired that night, the horrors of what she had witnessed and the life she had lost finally came crashing down on her thawed body. Tears began mixing with the water, dripping off her tired face and joining everything else washing into the drain. She tried to remain strong, made no sound at first, but soon pained wails cracked through the silence and all those on the floors below and above could feel her anguish.
She didn't notice him watching her from the hallway.
Didn't notice him walk in quietly and shut the door, nor notice him step into the shower, boots and sweater and all.
Only when Wally wrapped his arms around her from behind did she register his presence. She didn't even need to open her eyes or hear his voice to know it was him, for who else would be so bold as to grab her like this at this moment?
"Artemis..."
Her name came from concerned, dry lips, and she decided that maybe it was okay to completely break down in front of him... just this once.
"Wally," she sobbed, fingers clutching tightly to the damp, woolen sleeves of his red sweatshirt. "She's gone... she's gone and I... I couldn't..."
Her head fills with flashes of blinding snow and blood and the scream...
"I'm so sorry..." Wally murmurs, gripping her closer, and he's said this same phrase a hundred times tonight.
But it's not enough.
The memory of Paula Crock's death will haunt her forever.