A/N: I had so much fun writing this chapter, and I think the traught fics I've been reading kinda influenced the last bit. Sorry! It was really so much fun though. It's the holidays right now and although I have heaps of time on my hands, I'm stuck. :(

Thanks again to all these people, seriously, I would've stopped ages ago if it weren't for you guys:

Arrowlover17, BittyCatt, Cinomen, Misa3000, Zatanna Carrile, ZeroV, doggy bye, kateygirl7, Black Bat Girl, Gorgeous Chaos, MusicLoverBLD, NinjaBagel, ingrid, maewander25, marinelife2999, spitfireforever, star-eye

PS: Wow I can't believe the follow and favs are almost two lines when I type it up, thank you guys so much :)

Chapter 6: Souvenir

Between the green eyed gazes that shadowed her every move, and the torn looks that were constantly sent her way, Artemis was beginning to lose her slippery grasp on her almost non-existent patience.

Whatever was wrong with Wally West, the archer wanted it to stop. Now.

Sure, she could handle his spite, his sharp tongue, and the fiery spark in his eyes whenever he disagreed with her, but ever since the simulation, he often had a lost look on his face that would appear whenever she caught him staring, and it was starting to unnerve her. It reminded her of the covert, meaningful glances Black Canary and her mentor exchanged sometimes when they thought no one was looking, and the archer almost balked at the idea.

Not gonna go there.

Though she was worried, and slightly pissed off, Artemis hadn't done anything to confront the speedster, fearing a deep conversation that she didn't ever want to have especially with him. Besides, the last time that almost happened, Artemis had shot at him. But enough was enough, and Artemis wasn't one to run away from her problems. Even if it meant that she'd have to D&M with someone who was called Kid by everyone.

It had been a Tuesday, and all of them had just finished one of their temporary therapy sessions when it happened. The archer had been about to leave, and had just picked up her bag to sling it over her shoulder when she saw the familiar shade of orange peeking out from behind the couch, and involuntarily, her feet made their way towards the slouched figure.

Wally had clearly been deep in thought, because his eyes widened in fear when he finally noticed the blonde shadow looming over him. His muscles were coiled tight ready to run off at any moment, but the archer had anticipated his next move and with quick reflexes, Wally's shirt sleeve was pinned to the armrest of the sofa with a fork.

He glanced up with his mouth slightly open in shock. "Are you insane?"

Possibly. For even trying to attempt this, the archer told herself though she congratulated herself on her aim. She had known the speedster would try and evade her since they had not forgotten their little spat on their last mission, and it had been an effective way in capturing his attention nonetheless.

"No comment," she answered coolly, before crossing her arms and leaning back on her heels as she gave him an once-over. "You look like a mess."

Wally forced a smile and focused on the potted plant behind her shoulder. "A hot mess."

The archer rolled her eyes and seated herself on the coffee table facing him. His gaze drifted to her, lingering on her lithe movements and the wisps of blonde hair that always escaped the tight grasp of her ponytail, and when he stared into her grey eyes, something stuck in Wally's throat and he looked away hastily.

The weird feeling he had gotten sporadically since months ago had increased, and he didn't have to know quantum physics to know that it had something to do with the archer. It wasn't like he hadn't seen plenty of pretty girls before- not like Artemis was pretty or anything.

More like beautiful, reminded a tiny voice in his head and he almost groaned aloud.

Of course Wally was an A-class clown but he could be logical when he wanted to, and according to statistics, she'd never be interested in someone like him. Besides, he wasn't attracted to her at all. She was sarcastic, cruel, cold, and about a billion other insults he couldn't think of at the moment.

But then, there was some movement in the corner of his vision, and his eyes slid to her profile for a second when his breath caught in his throat. The strands of hair that had been coming loose had started to tickle her face, and Artemis had untied her ponytail, causing the glossy curtain of blonde to curl around her face like a halo.

Wally swallowed, and tried not to notice how the shine of fluorescent lights travelled down each strand like a meteor shower. Artemis was mean, yes, but at the same time… She was loyal, and courageous, and she never failed to amuse him with whatever she said or did, and before Wally could stop himself, the word was tumbling out of the deepest recesses of his mind: She was a spitfire.

Wally shut his eyes tightly and tried to erase every thought he'd had since ten minutes ago. He was still trying to come to terms with his 'extreme reaction' to her death, but all he knew was that it had hurt. More than he'd ever thought.

"You okay?" came her voice softly, eerily gentle and Wally realised that his 'normal' façade hadn't been as convincing as he'd thought. If it had been any other time, Wally would've given himself a personal note to access the security cameras to use this as blackmail, considering it was the first time he'd ever heard the archer speak like that. Well, to him at least.

"Peachy," he echoed the words he'd spoken to Black Canary once before.

Her mouth thinned, but she said nothing and they soon settled into another lapse of comfortable silence where Wally continued staring at the potted plant behind her and Artemis was staring at the fork that was still punctured through Wally's sleeve.

He was just about to say something about the weirdness of a potted plant growing in a room where there was no sun, when Artemis looked up at him suddenly and the words faltered on his tongue.

"Listen…" she trailed, her grey eyes looking at everywhere but him, and he would've laughed at how uncomfortable she looked if he hadn't been awkwardly shuffling himself. "If you ever need to talk… or something…"

"Why? Are you offering?" He asked, amused.

"Shut up," she glared back, but sighed a few moments later. "Yeah."

Artemis wasn't aware of it and she had thought that the redhead's stupidity had finally caught up to her since she wasn't sure why she'd approached him in the first place, but Wally did feel considerably better. He had been convinced before that her presence would somehow be stifling for him, that it would remind him of the blind desperation he'd felt during simulation, so he found himself smiling when it had been the opposite.

It was like seeing her so real, and so normal made it all a dream- just a nightmare that would soon be forgotten with time.

"No," he gasped in mock horror. "Artemis… talking about feelings?"

Immediately after the words left his lips, the blonde stood up and shot him a glare before storming out of the room.

He had not missed the slight twitch of her lips as she'd turned away and Wally laughed to himself despite her dramatic exit. He had started to stand as well, when he felt something tugging down on his sleeve and he looked down at it with a smile.

Souvenir.

On Thursdays, Artemis had after-school gymnastics and often arrived at the cave later than usual, showing up only because M'gann had made every Thursday a team tradition of 'Together Thursday'. The name itself made Artemis want to stab herself in the eye with one of her explosive arrows, but she'd never admit that the idea was nice. It was the only time the team did something other than train or be sent off to missions.

Except today when she arrived at the cave, she was only there with Robin, who was dressed in civilian clothes -with the sunglasses, of course- telling her that Together Thursday was cancelled this week since everyone had plans.

Artemis rolled her eyes, exhausted from her long day at school and wished she had checked her messages before she had made her way here. She was tugging unconsciously at her uniform skirt, since she did not have enough time to change out of it, and moved past Robin to walk back to the zeta-tube when he called out her name.

"You got any plans?" He asked, his knowing smirk already in its place as he predicted what her answer would be.

She turned around and crossed her arms to give the younger boy a questioning look. "No, why?"

Robin grinned before mimicking her stance. "I'm heading to Wally's. It's his mom's birthday, want to join?"

If Artemis was surprised, she didn't show it, as she shifted her weight to one foot and narrowed her eyes at him slightly. "No."

He shrugged, before moving past her. "Suit yourself."

Externally, Artemis seemed calm and collected, but she had been shocked that Robin would invite her considering he knew how volatile her relationship with Wally was. It had only been a moment that she'd been preoccupied with her thoughts when Robin snatched her bag that was slung on her shoulder, and ducked before she could grab it from him.

"Robin, you're being an annoying little brat."

His chuckle echoed the room as he continued to distance himself from the archer, unsure why he'd done it either. Maybe it was because of Wally's mental breakdown during the stimulation, and Robin's honed detective skills that had picked up on the brief looks his best friend sometimes exchanged with the blonde in front of him. Or maybe, it was the fact that Wally's words from months before still stuck in his conscience. Is it wrong to want to know more?

"You're not getting it back unless you come with me," he goaded with a smug grin on his face.

"You can keep it, I'll just say this really annoying, immature, irresponsible, evil child stole my homework if the teacher asks."

"And risk detention or an F?" He clicked his tongue whilst shaking his head. "We both know how this ends, Artemis."

The archer sighed, exasperated. "What do you want, Robin? I can't just show up there out of the blue. What makes you think it's an extended invitation?" She halted, and bit her lip. "Besides, Wally wouldn't want me there. It's his mother's birthday," she added, though more to herself than to the younger boy who faltered in his steps at her words.

Interesting, the boy thought as he walked toward her. "You're part of this team now, Artemis. And that means you're our friend now too, and friends are always welcome. Mary told me to invite the team anyways, if they were available, since she knew she'd interrupted one of our 'Together Thursdays'." Robin's voice flattened at the term, and the corners of the archer lips twitched upwards.

She shook her head at Robin, and took the opportunity to snatch her bag back from his grasp since he'd moved closer to her during his speech. Robin gaped, trying to regain control but he didn't have to when Artemis sighed, crossing her arms again.

"Fine, I had nothing else to do anyways. But, on one condition: I have to buy something for her on the way."

Robin laughed, his boyish voice echoing triumphantly off the stone walls. "Of course."

"And I have to change," she added, dropping her bag to unzip its contents.

The younger boy shook his head before grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the zeta-tubes. "No time, and you look hot."

Artemis snorted and smacked the back of his head.

I WENT TO WATCH CAPTAIN AMERICA 2 LAST NIGHT, I CRIED AT- (SPOILER ALERT, I won't say much though) STEVE/WINTERSOLDIER. It was so emotional.