Chapter 13

Wally had never been so irritated about a Fall Break in his life. Usually, he'd be spending the time off between his parents' house and the Cave, eating and chilling out with the team. But now, he didn't know what to do. He was afraid to go to the Cave and encroach on Artemis' space.
So Wally spent most of his time in his bedroom at his parents' house instead, pacing, going over the events that led him here over and over.

Artemis had flinched when they were arguing. She was afraid of him. The toughest girl he'd ever known was scared of him. Why? What had he done? All he knew was that he never wanted that to happen again. He didn't want her to ever feel that way because of anyone, and the fact that he was the one that made her feel that way was more than he could take. And he didn't know what to do. If she was afraid- god, he'd made Artemis afraid-the worst thing he could do was like text or call. She'd probably think he was stalking her. But of course, she wasn't going to reach out to him.

And Wally hadn't even seen her in class or at the Cave. No missions, no classes, nothing. He knew she hated when he talked about their...whatever she wanted to call it, but he needed to talk to someone. His mom could tell something was wrong, but Wally couldn't bring himself to explain. Finally, after three days, he gave up and went home to the apartment he shared with Dick. Walking in, he was half-relieved, half- frustrated to find Dick in the living room.

Dick looked up from his computer. "Hey man, long time no see."

"Hey," Wally answered dully.

Wally hadn't spent much time with Dick since the stimulation, Wally realized suddenly. Dick had been with Zatanna mainly, and Wally had been spending a lot of time at his parents'. He'd mostly seen Dick at the Cave, in fact.

Wally looked him over carefully. Dick was relaxed, but he held still some tension. "Hey, are you doing okay? We haven't had a chance to talk, you know, since..."

Dick smiled thinly. "Yeah, I know. I wasn't doing great at first," he admitted, "but I'm working on it."

"Yeah? Anything I can help with?" Wally sat next to him on the couch. Dick closed his computer.

"I just...I let you think we could save Artemis," Wally's heart clenched at her name, but he stayed focused on Dick. "And I used you and your feelings for her to convince you to sacrifice yourself. I was so focused on the mission that I didn't let myself feel."

Wally nodded slowly. He should have predicted this. Of course, Dick would blame himself. He furrowed his brow.

"But that's what needed to happen," Wally reminded Dick. "We needed to blow up the ship. And I agreed with you when I knew we needed to sacrifice ourselves."

"Yeah, but I mean…." Dick struggled for a moment. "I just don't want to be that person who doesn't feel, who only focuses on the mission. That's Batman. And I don't want to be Batman."

Wally knew Dick and Bruce had been going through this for a while, taking time apart, and that's why Dick had donned the Nightwing mantles instead. "Hey," he spoke to his friend gently. "You're not Batman. And you feel. Clearly."

Dick nodded and closed his eyes, letting his head lay back against the couch for a moment. He laughed shakily, his eyes still closed. "Sorry for going all therapy time on you. Dinah and I have been talking, but I know you have your own baggage to deal with too."

"Are you kidding? I'm always fine," Wally flashed him a grin. Dick opened his eyes finally and stared at him. Wally raised his eyebrows, "What?"

"C'mon, man; I was there. I saw how you acted in the simulation. And I saw how you were afterward."

Wally was silent. "I mean, I don't know…" he blew out a breath. "I guess it was hard."

"Hard?" Dick shook his head. "Man, you're so in denial." Why does everyone keep saying that?

"I'm not in denial," Wally argued. "It sucked. But what does everyone expect? Everyone died, and then I died."

"That's not what this is about. You … what about Artemis?" Dick pushed.

"What about Artemis?" Wally shifted uncomfortably.

"I know she came to see you that night. Did you guys talk?" He narrowed his eyes. "Oh my god, you had sex, didn't you? Didn't even try to have a conversation!" He threw his hands in the air.

"We did not," Wally pouted. "I'll have you know, we just cuddled and slept."

"Artemis cuddled?" Wally rarely saw Dick truly surprised, but he was surprised by that.

Wally grinned in response. "And she met my mom! She got roped into breakfast with my parents and Iris and Barry."

Dick hooted. "Oh my god, I would've paid to see that! She must have been so uncomfortable."

Wally laughed alongside him, but his smile faded as he realized that Dick knew Artemis so much better than he did. He knew that Artemis would be uncomfortable, and Wally was just learning. Another pang of jealousy struck him. Not because he thought Dick was interested in Artemis or anything, but because he knew Artemis.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Wally asked, a little more thoughtful.

"Yeah, what's up?"

Wally fiddled with the frayed edge of his hoodie.

"Hey." Dick was serious suddenly. "You can ask me anything, man."

Suddenly, the floodgates broke open, and Wally was telling Dick everything. He started pacing, and it all came out. About how she showed up in the middle of the night, about how she acted weird around his family but eventually looked almost like she belonged, about Black Canary pushing him (and he assumed her) about their relationship and their fight in the training room (which he knew Dick had seen the start of), about everything.

"And I don't know what I did! Did I push her too hard? Did I ask for too much? She made it very clear that we are not in a relationship, and that's fine, we're friends, but as her friend… I don't know what to do. She's scared of me, Dick." His voice broke. "I made her flinch. Artemis thought I was going to hit her."

Dick stood in front of Wally and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Wally. WALLY." Wally looked at him wildly, and Dick continued. "What did Artemis say?"

"Nothing! She ran out, and I don't know if I should call or...I haven't seen her since." He explained.

"Wally, there's no way Artemis thinks you would hit her." Dick still held onto his shoulders. Wally opened his mouth to argue, but apparently, Dick wasn't done. "No, I know what you saw, and I believe you. But she knows you would never do that."

"Then why?" Wally demanded.

Dick hesitated. "That's for Artemis to tell you, not me. But I promise it has nothing to do with you."

Wally frowned. He trusted Dick, but he just wanted some straightforward answers. "So, what? I go over there and demand that she explain herself? That feels aggressive."

Dick laughed, dropping his hands from Wally's shoulders. "Yeah, with your tact and subtlety? I think she'd shoot you before she'd tell you."

"Well, that's true anyway." Wally grinned again.

"So, chill. We'll see her soon anyway, right? She's probably coming to the Halloween party later this week, and you can talk to her then. You gotta be careful with her, or you'll spook her." Wally nodded. He'd seen that for himself. She was like a scared cat, as likely to scratch or run as purr and cuddle. Maybe more. I guess she didn't choose the name Tigress for nothing, he thought.

Still, he grabbed his shoes from his bedroom anyway. Wally needed to go for a run.

Artemis had never been so grateful for Fall Break in her life. She spent the whole week at her mom's, eating her mom's food and chilling. Eventually, the tension she'd been feeling was eking out of her. She'd been afraid to talk to Wally, but apparently, she'd finally scared him off because no texts or calls came in. Luckily, she'd had a ton of pho and bad reality TV to watch to avoid thinking about that, so she felt she was in a pretty good place.

Her mother seemed to disagree. She rolled in on the day before Halloween and switched off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that!" Artemis protested.

Paula rolled, so she was facing Artemis on the couch. "Artemis, what are you doing here?"

"It's Fall Break, so I thought we could hang out." Usually, her mother loved having her around. What's her problem?

"No, this," her mother gestured towards Artemis laying on the couch in old and dirty sweats, surrounded by chip bags, "is not hanging out. This is moping."

"I'm not moping," Artemis disagreed, sitting up. "I'm relaxing. It's been a hard month. I don't know if you heard, but I died."

Artemis expected her mother to reply with a sarcastic comment about how she hadn't really died, but Paula's face softened. "I do know. I understand how scary and weird that was. Do you want to talk about it?"

Artemis rankled against pity, but if someone knew what she was going through, it was her mom. She sighed. "I don't. I don't know what there is to say. I was in a coma, and everyone died. And now everyone is acting weird. I just...don't want to deal with them."

"But you can't shut them out," her mother reminded her. Artemis knew she was right, but that didn't mean she would follow her advice.

"If I had shut them out to begin with, then maybe this wouldn't have happened," Artemis argued.

Her mother was quiet for a moment. "Do you believe that?"

Artemis shrugged.

Her mother took her by the hand. "Artemis, you can't think that way. Things happen. You have a very dangerous job, and you were set up to fail."

"But if they weren't my…." Artemis struggled for a moment, "friends, then we wouldn't have got thrown into the hyper-reality where we all almost died for real."

"Artemis, that's not true," her mother responded. "All sorts of things went wrong, and your feelings for each other will get you through this."

Again, Artemis shrugged.

"Do you hear me?"

"Okay, okay." Artemis agreed, hoping to appease her mother. She did understand what her mother was saying, but she wasn't sure how much she could take it to heart. Not yet, at least. Still, she had to admit, it was easier to breathe after talking to Dick and Wally the other night and that her old stand-bys of Real Housewives and junk food weren't giving her the escape she'd been hoping for.

Paula's eyes narrowed. "Okay, what?"

Artemis threw her hands in the air, "Okay, I'll call Zatanna! Happy now?"

"We'll see after you call her."

Are you serious? Artemis just stared at her mother in shock for a second.

But Artemis knew that when her mother got an idea in her head, it was best just to give in. Still, this was extreme, even for Paula. I'm not a kid anymore. Artemis stared at her mother, but her mother just stared back, lifting a single eyebrow.

Finally, Artemis sighed then dug her phone out of her sweats, grumbling about overbearing mothers, which Paula pointedly ignored. Artemis dialed Zatanna, hoping that maybe it would go to voicemail, but that hope was cut short after just two rings.

"Hello, my long-lost roommate!" Zatanna chirped into the phone.

"Hey, Zee," Artemis answered. She shooed her mom, but Paula shook her head and watched her. Artemis wanted to be irritated with her mom, but to be honest, she probably wouldn't follow through with making plans if Paula wasn't still sitting there.

"What's up? Planning on coming home anytime soon?"

"Yeah, probably before classes start again. But um, I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out?" Artemis made a face at her mom, gesturing towards the phone. See, mom, I did it. You can leave me alone now. But Paula just crossed her arms and continued to monitor the conversation.

"Oh, I'm training today, but did you want to go to the party with the team tomorrow?"

Artemis grimaced. The whole team? "Um, yeah, I'm not sure. I'm not really into Halloween parties."

"Getting slutty and drunk and dressed up? That seems up your alley." Zatanna teased.

Artemis laughed. Zatanna knew her so well already. "That is my scene normally. But guys are so gross on Halloween, and I don't want to deal with worrying about my drink being roofied all night. Plus," she added, "I don't have a costume."

Zatanna murmured her agreement, "I feel you. I think I have a plan."

"Yeah?" Artemis asked warily.

"Oh, ye of little faith," Zatanna chided her.

"Well, I just don't want to end up in some European nightclub for wanna-be werewolves at 3 am or something."

"Hmmm...not that doesn't sound appealing," Zatanna mused, "but I was thinking we ditch all Halloween festivities altogether and do a different kind of dress-up."

"Yeah?" Artemis asked again, excitedly this time. She could use the workout to shake the bad mood. Plus, she always felt her head was clearer after knocking back some bad guys. "I don't want to pull you away if you want to go."

"Nah, it's no biggie. I'd love some roomie-bonding time. Maybe kicking some butt?"

Artemis pumped the air. "Yes, god, this is why we're friends. It's a date."

They quickly made plans to meet at the apartment the next day and hung up. Paula sat in front of Artemis with a smug smile on her face.

"Okay, mom, you were right," Artemis admitted, rolling her eyes.

Paula rolled away, calling over her shoulder. "Just wanted to hear you say it! And pick up this trash while you're at it."

Wally had been buzzing all day. He had a werewolf thing going on, and he was ready to meet up with the rest of the team before going to the party. He didn't know what he would say to Artemis, but he would take Dick's advice. He was going to be chill and take her cues. Wally knew they needed to talk, but that could wait until later tonight or maybe tomorrow when she saw that he would be cool. His only goal was not to scare her.

Artemis wasn't there yet when he got to the cave, which seemed promising because there was less chance she'd be startled and run away. However, as they got ready to leave, Wally started to get nervous. He chatted with Connor and Megan, waiting for her to show up. Dick and Zatanna weren't there yet either, though, so he figured that maybe she was with them. Finally, Dick showed up, but he was alone. Before Dick could get too comfortable, Wally sped over to intercept him.

"Hey," he hissed.

"Hey, Wally." Dick wasn't meeting his eyes.

"Where are Artemis and Zatanna? I thought they were with you?"

"Uh, yeah, that's the thing…." Wally watched Dick expectedly. "They're not coming, man."

"What?" Wally yelped, following Dick to the living room.

"Artemis wasn't feeling it, so she and Zatanna are going out instead," Dick told him sheepishly.

"So what am I supposed to do now? I don't even know when I'll see her next." Wally groaned, sinking into the couch.

"Dude, you'll see her in class on Tuesday. Don't be so dramatic," Dick replied.

"Dude, she's a literal ninja; she's an expert at avoiding me. In class, she won't talk to me, and then what? I'm supposed to try to jump her between classes?"

Dick shrugged. "You'll find a way."

Wally scowled in response.

A few hours later, Wally wasn't feeling any better. He couldn't easily get drunk with his speedster metabolism, and everyone around him was just bugging him. Dick seemed to be dropping many hints that his foul mood had to do with a certain blonde, which he wasn't denying, so why did Dick feel the need to keep harping on it?

Wally nursed a beer in the corner, more out of custom than any desire, watching as people danced and joked. He ate candy prefunctionally, not tasting it. The team had elected to go to a college party in Happy Harbor, and it was good to see some familiar faces, but Wally wondered how long he needed to stay there. Plus, some people were in costume, and others weren't (Dick, for example), and he was feeling a little stupid, to be honest. He was stupid to dress up; he was stupid to come to this party, he was stupid to even start this thing with Artemis, he was stupid to—he couldn't even think of all the things he felt stupid about. He blew a breath and leaned his head against the booth behind him, eyes closed.

Wally felt someone slide into the seat next to him at the booth, but he didn't open his eyes, assuming it was Dick or maybe Megan checking on him. Just then, he felt his drink plucked from his hand. I am not in the mood for this. He turned to snap at the offending party but found himself face to face with the last person he expected, Artemis. She was in black pants and army boots, her jacket unzipped with a black shirt peeking out, and these silly black cat ears perched on top of her head.

"Hey Baywatch, isn't coming as a dog a little too on the nose?" She smirked, taking a long pull from his beer. She made a face, "Ew, this is warm." She got up without waiting for him. "Grabbing something fresh, want anything?" He shook his head numbly. What is she doing here?

Hanging out with Zatanna had been a great way to blow off some steam. Yes, the whole Harm thing had been weird. She didn't know how she would've handled that sort of situation without Zatanna. I'm going to talk to Batman about getting her on the team. Zatanna was floating in this in-between place, and she knew that was partly her decision because she was still training with her dad, but she knew if Batman told Zatanna it was time, she would get the push she needed.

But Zatanna had been getting texts from Dick all night, and Artemis could tell she was missing him. So, riding high on their victory over Harm, Artemis suggested they stop by the party, and Zatanna almost knocked her over with a hug.

"Alright, alright, calm down. We just need to change first."

"Oooh… Halloween costumes hmmm…." Zatanna tapped her fingers together evilly.

"I don't like the look in your eyes."

Zatanna rolled her eyes, "Fine, fine, two boring outfits coming up." Zatanna chanted before Artemis could stop her, and Artemis found herself in black leather pants and a black shirt, with a light jacket to counter the cool October air.

"Happy now?" Zatanna asked, arching her eyebrow. Artemis shook her head and sighed. When she shook her head, she felt something on her head shake too. Artemis reached up to find cat ears perched on her head on a small headband.

"Really?" she glared at Zatanna.

Zatanna shrugged, "Magician's prerogative."

Artemis rolled her eyes, grinning. They ditched their bikes for a zeta tube, but when Artemis got close to the bar, she couldn't help but wish they had taken the long way there. What was I thinking? Her adrenaline high was starting to wear off, and she didn't know if it was gonna get her through this party. The crowd was like a busy hive when they walked in, everyone buzzing around. Except they were drunk bees in weird costumes- actually, was one of the people here dressed like an actual bee?- in the loudest hive she'd ever seen.

Standing near the entry still, Artemis scanned the bar, like any superhero should- gotta stay aware of my surroundings, she told herself.

But that didn't explain why when she spotted Wally in a corner booth, she couldn't look away.

Zatanna nudged her, "Hey, you okay?"

Artemis took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Zatanna followed her eye line to where Wally was sitting, looking dejected as he picked at his beer bottle. "Something wrong?"

Artemis kept her eyes on Wally. She hadn't said anything about what had happened to anyone, and she wasn't about to now. She turned to Zatanna and asked, in a cheerful tone that sounded fake even to her ears, "What could be wrong? It's Halloween, and we're in a bar!"

Zatanna touched her arm, and Artemis looked away. "Hey, you don't have to tell me right now, but you should tell someone. Secrets don't stay buried, obviously. We all have our issues; that's why we need to lean on one another."

Artemis nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. Just then, Dick came up to them, holding two cups in his hands. "Hey, ladies!"
Zatanna turned to him, her eyes lit up, "Hey Dick!"

Artemis nodded at him, and he nodded back, seeming to look for something in her face. Artemis scowled as she was reminded that friendships were complicated for a reason. Dick handed Zatanna one of the cups he was holding, but he withheld the second cup when Artemis reached out.

"Hey!" Artemis' scowl deepened.

"Hey, this is mine. Get your own," Dick chided. At that, Artemis rolled her eyes, but she felt more relaxed. No matter what Dick or did not know, their friendship wasn't going to change.

"While it's always fun to watch you two children bicker, I want to dance," Zatanna announced, taking Dick by the hand.

And just like that, Zatanna and Dick became just two more bees, wriggling their way through the bar to whatever dance floor was hidden by the wall of drunk college kids. Artemis sighed and looked back at Wally. She didn't see anyone else she knew, and logically, Artemis knew she couldn't avoid him forever. It was probably not even a big deal what happened the other day. After all, no one had mentioned it, not even Wally. If Artemis acted chill, they could probably just pretend it never happened.

Walking to get a fresh beer, Artemis was feeling more confident. He'd acted a little surprised to see her, but he didn't seem angry. She grabbed a beer from the bar (opening it herself, because Artemis knew better than to trust a college party, even one held in a bar). Artemis turned around and almost ran straight into Connor. She put the hand not holding the beer up to stop herself, so her hand landed directly on his chest. They both laughed, and Artemis felt his chest rumble.

She stepped back to lean against the bar. "Hey, how are you doing?"

Connor signaled to the bartender over her head. "I'm good. Megan is in the back. You should come by and say hi."

"I will," Artemis promised. She studied him as he ordered a beer and a cosmo. "So… you and Megan, huh?" She'd known something was going on for a while, but she wanted to confirm it.

Connor crossed his arms. "What about it?"

There'd been a time when that kind of defensive wall was exactly what she wanted, but surprisingly Artemis couldn't find it in herself to be anything but happy for them both. She put her hand on his arm, and he looked at her in surprise. "I like it. It makes sense for you both."

"Yeah?" Connor asked with a hint of hope.

"Yeah." She took a pull from her beer, dropping her hand. "And this is where I tell you if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

They exchanged grins, and Connor nodded.

"Alright then, as long as we're on the same page." Artemis tipped her beer towards him. "I'm going to get very, very drunk."

Laughing, she made her way to rejoin Wally, who seemed to have recovered from his earlier shock. He scooted over to make more room for her.

"Still no Dick?" She asked him. Wally was peeling the label off his beer and shrugged. He wasn't looking at her. Artemis looked around and took a sip of her beer. She thought she spotted Zatanna and Dick in a corner, looking very cozy.

She nudged Wally and nodded her head in that direction. "I think I found him."

"Is that why you're slumming it with me?" Wally asked suddenly, still not looking at her.

Artemis looked at him in surprise. "What does that mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Artemis frowned. "Actually, I don't, Wally."

"Fine, whatever."

What is his problem? "Wally, I'm sitting here because you're my friend, and I wanted to hang out. But I can leave if you want me to."

He was silent for a moment. "No, that's not what I want," he answered grudgingly.

"Okay, then." She watched him as he continued to peel the label off his bottle. "Can we please have a good night? I haven't even had a chance to make fun of your costume yet."

"You did already make fun of my costume!" Wally disagreed, finally looking at her. "And at least I wore one."

"What are you talking about? I came in costume." Artemis gestured towards the ears.

"Please, sexy cat?" Wally rolled his eyes. That's the Wally I know. "That's so basic; every girl comes like that."

"Uh, I'm a tiger, first of all." Artemis waved towards her ears. "And secondly, the sexy part is all-natural, baby. Couldn't help that."

Wally laughed, and Artemis felt all the tension break. "Okay, I'll give you that. But you could have been more creative."

"Please, I've seen you drool over the Tigress outfit." She teased.

"Like you didn't call out Kid Flash in bed." He shot back.

She narrowed her eyes. "Cheap shot, I was under duress. Besides, if I recall correctly, that was your little fantasy."

"Oh, I remember. I also remember that you didn't seem to be complaining about being under "duress" then." He took a sip of his beer. "Besides, don't tell me the yellow spandex doesn't do it for you, babe," he winked.

He had her there; she did like the way it stretched over his lean frame, leaving little to the imagination. She shrugged, and his eyes widened like he wasn't expecting her to admit it.

Quickly, Wally switched gears. He moved closer and wrapped his arm around Artemis, smiling smugly. "So...I feel like you owe me one since I didn't get to see you dressed up tonight."

Artemis removed his arm. "Okay, do you have a problem with my uniform?"

Wally raised his hands. "No, definitely not. In fact, if you wanted to bring that into the bedroom, I would be all for it." Artemis scoffed and crossed her arms. "But today's the day for fantasy, you know. A little… creativity."

She frowned. "Not everyone has time to shop for ridiculous costumes, Wally."

"Oh, come on, like it's that hard to find a sexy nurse costume." Wally disagreed. "And didn't you go to Gotham Academy? So I know you have a schoolgirl outfit."

Artemis cocked her head. "Wow, those are your ideas of 'creativity'? No wonder you're basically failing poetry."

"I am not failing poetry. And anyway, it's still more creative than Tigress coming as a cat. I'm surprised you even have a secret identity. Why not just wear a modified Green Arrow uniform and call yourself 'Artemis'?" Wally seemed very pleased with his own joke.

"Har har. Like your name is so original." Artemis pointed out.

"Still better than your Halloween costume. Just saying, you owe me one sexy outfit." Wally finished his beer, making a face, presumably at the warm, stale flavor.

Artemis considered. "How about this? How about… we go make out in the storage room of this bar, and we'll call it even?"

Wally's eyes widened. "I'm not sure whether this makes us even..." he negotiated.

"We'll see." Artemis sang out. "Wait five minutes and follow me." She started to scoot out of the booth.

"Wait," Wally said suddenly, and Artemis turned towards him, her eyebrow raised.

"Yes?"

"I—" he blew out a breath. "I don't think we should."

Artemis sat there blankly for a moment. "Oh." She finally answered as the embarrassment and rejection (and something else she was going to ignore) started to fill her with dread. Oh god, I never should have started this. I knew he was in love with Megan, and this is so stupid.

"Not that I don't want to," Wally clarified. Artemis crossed her arms. Oh no, now I'm going to have to hear all about how it's not me, it's him, and I don't know if I can get through this without popping his head like a pimple. The last thing she wanted was for him to see how she was affected, though.

She huffed. "Hey, no need to explain. You're not interested? Fine, no skin off my nose."

"That's not it." Wally protested.

"Whatever." Artemis slid out of the booth and stood up. "I'll see you around, Wall-man."

Before she could walk away, though, Wally appeared in front of her. "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Artemis put her hands on her hips.

"Walk away." He lifted his hands like he was going to grab her shoulders, but instead, he just stuffed them into his pants pockets.

"Wally, I don't know what you want." Artemis snapped. Deja vu. She felt like she was always trying to ask him what he wanted when all she wanted was to walk away. Her palms felt itchy, and she reminded herself that punching him in the face was probably a bad idea even though she couldn't think of why not.

"I want to talk." He pleaded.

"Talk about what?" Artemis threw her hands in the air. "You don't want me. That's fine. We're still friends, whatever, but I don't want to talk about it."

"Hey, I never said I didn't want you. Don't make this about that." Wally snapped.

"What else is it about then?" Artemis demanded her hands back on her hips.

He looked around. "Can we sit? Please."

"Wally, it's been a long night. I just wanted to have a fun night with my friends, but now I'm tired. If I'm not going to get any, I might as well go home." At that, she whirled around, stomping outside.

She wasn't surprised to see Wally following her when she glanced over her shoulder, and she sped up on the sidewalk, walking towards the nearest zeta tube.

"Are you trying to outrun me?" Wally asked, astonishment and laughter in his voice as he easily kept pace. Oh right, speedster. Somehow, for a minute, she was just a woman fighting with a guy, and she'd forgotten all the other stuff. That tended to happen a lot with Wally. Not that it mattered now.

"Oh, shut up, you stupid speedster," she grumbled, slowing down to a more normal pace.

"ARTEMIS," he sped to stand directly in front of her, blocking her way.

"What?" She snapped.

"We need to talk."

"But here's the thing- we don't." Artemis poked him in the chest, and he shrank back. "I get it; you got bored. The thrill of the chase is over, whatever." Artemis shrugged. "I'm a grown woman, West. I don't need your pity. You can take that pity and shove it—"

"Oh my god, shut up!" Wally yelled, interrupting as she was just getting going.

Artemis jerked back her head, gaping at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry," he apologized off hand. She shut her mouth and crossed her arms, glaring at him. "But ugh, you drive me crazy sometimes. I mean, can't you just—"

"Shut up?" Artemis supplied sharply.

"Yes, I mean, no, I mean, listen," he started pacing back and forth in front of her. "Okay, it's not that I don't want to make out with you. Obviously, I want to make out with you. Look at you." Artemis was suddenly aware that she was still wearing the cat ears and tore them off. Wally stopped pacing to look at her. "Okay, see, even that was adorable." Artemis made a face; "adorable" was not a word she had ever been used to describe her, and she wasn't sure what he meant or how she felt about that. He began pacing again, paying her discomfort no attention. "But also, I mean, you are really hot. Like really, really hot. And I like that thing you do with your fingers in my hair when we're kissing—"

Artemis felt herself start to blush and shifted from one foot to the other. "Wally, do you have a point?"

He stopped in front of her again. "Yes, Artemis, aren't you listening?"

"Yeah, and all I've heard is how hot I am. Which, no offense, I could hear walking to my apartment from guys hanging out the window."

He frowned at her. "You know, some people enjoy compliments."

"Well, excuse me if I don't love this weird build-up to why you've decided that you don't want to do this," and here she gestured vaguely between them, "anymore."

"You're not listening at all!" Wally exclaimed. "I do want to do this," and here he gestured in what was clearly an imitation of her gesture but more wildly and quickly, "but I just want to talk first."

"Oh my god, Wally, about what?" Artemis was fed up and regretted not just finding more bad guys to beat up or going home where she knew she had some Cherry Garcia in the freezer.

"About why you're afraid of me!" Wally blurted out. For a moment, Artemis wanted to laugh. Afraid of Wally? For one thing, she was pretty sure she could beat him up. And for another, she knew he would never actually want to hurt her.

But then she realized that he was talking about the last time they saw each other. Even if he hadn't said anything, he'd been thinking about it. And the conclusion he came to, no matter how ridiculous it was, was that she was afraid of him.

She hesitated and then, resigned, sighed. "Can we at least talk about this somewhere comfortable?"

"Like where?" He asked, seemingly surprised.

"Like my living room?"

"This isn't some sort of trick?" He asked suspiciously.

"What kind of trick could this be, Wally? You know where I live," she reminded him.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "You could say we were going to your house but then actually tie me up and leave me in an alley somewhere." Artemis wanted to protest, but she also kind of wanted to tie him up and leave him in an alley somewhere, so he wasn't entirely off.

"I promise," she held her fingers up in the traditional Girl Scout sign.

"I don't think you were ever a Scout," Wally narrowed his eyes.

She rolled her eyes and put her hand down. "You got me. But I do promise. Are you coming or not?" He paused for a moment before nodding slowly.

With that, they walked in silence to the nearest zeta tube.