A/N: Guess who's back, back again. I have no school, no exams, nothing, and I have no idea what to do with all this time I have. Oh, I know, I'll write! (Like that ever happens)

I can't believe it's been a year (exact Yeariversary on 11/11- Wally's b'day) since I've started writing for YJ, and it gives me so much feels when I think about this exact moment one year ago. I had probably been refreshing emails to see if there had been any feedback on An Impromptu Reunion and giggling to myself at school camp when there had been a review or a new follow. One year later, here we are!

This is a very short chapter and I know, I've been trying my best to get into the swing of YJ, and as always, read as you like and I can't express how awesome you guys are. Thank you so, so much. PM me on any ideas or if you just want to say hi, I love hearing from you guys, especially the reviews that keep me going. (I literally scrolled through all the reviews I'd gotten to motivate myself for this chapter)

Hope you like this comeback! And hoping I'm not the only spitfire writer to update, everyone's been mostly inactive recently :S

Chapter 17: Forgiveness

It's not a date, Wally reasoned with himself, just a social gathering of two people with similar interests and one person who is really, really sorry right now.

The speedster was staring at the archer from the kitchen counter, as he gripped onto the sides nervously whilst wracking his brain for a conversation starter. Whilst Artemis hadn't completely shut herself off since her return, she was more reserved- cautious, even- especially around him. He barely saw glimpses of her, and the most he'd seen of her was when she was with Robin. Dick was younger, and his age had always been a disadvantage in the speedster's eyes, but nowadays, he was actually jealous of his best friend.

He wanted the easy way Artemis spoke to Robin, her less-forced laughs and her hunched shoulders that meant she was at least slightly more relaxed around him than Wally. The speedster looked up from his hands again, to try catching Artemis' attention but she was still in her own little bubble.

The archer was sitting on the other end of the counter, an open textbook in her lap, and it was hard for Wally to focus when she kept chewing on the end of her pencil like that. If Artemis had noticed Wally's intense gaze, she did nothing and for the blonde, nothing was always worse than something.

Without meaning to, the speedster mumbled, "Okay, stop."

As soon as the words left his lips, he pressed them tightly together and hoped with all his heart that it hadn't been loud enough, or coherent enough for the archer to hear. Relief barely lighted his mind when her stormy grey eyes flickered to his face.

The pencil was still poised on her pink lips, and she lifted an eyebrow at him.

His ears felt way too hot, and so did his neck underneath the shirt of his collar, and he almost wanted to slap himself when he uttered his next words. "There's something called a chair," he stumbled, trying to keep his eyes on her as her expression darkened. "It's unhygienic," he rambled on, squirming, "to eat where- uh…" he trailed as Artemis chose that moment to take the end of her pencil out of her mouth.

Wally cleared his throat after an awkward moment and turned his gaze to the ceiling. "Yeah."

From his peripheral vision, the blond only raised her eyebrow again, before lifting her legs to cross her feet underneath on her counter. For someone with her grace, she seemed to do it clumsily; managing to rub her feet all over the surface and Wally realised a second later that it was the old Artemis, the one before hot cocoa, birthdays, awkward hugs and late night text messages.

"You don't seem to be eating- for once," her voice echoed in the empty kitchen and Wally's wide eyes snapped downwards again.

He wasn't sure why he was so shocked to hear her voice, considering that she didn't seem to be ignoring him or any of her teammates. In fact, now that he thought about it, it had been him that had been avoiding her since she'd returned, and that had amounted to the guilt that was still swirling in his stomach.

"That's because, uh…" Wally hesitated.

Whatever, yolo.

He almost expected Artemis or Robin to appear and cringe at his internal monologue, but his conscience was right. Wally scratched his neck and inhaled sharply. "I came to ask you a question."

With the adrenaline pumping in his veins, the speedster had expected more of a reaction. Except the air was still, just like the archer.

She waited for him to continue with an impassive look on her face.

"I… uh… That is…" The speedster stumbled, before blurting the other thing that came to mind. "Mom's wondering if you'll come over for dinner again. On Christmas."

Wall-man, you idiot. Wally smiled at the archer as he pictured punching himself over and over. Anyways, this is safer, right?

Artemis simply stared at him, oblivious to his inner turmoil. Her grey eyes did not betray any emotion and Wally was close to fidgeting again when her head snapped downwards to her textbook again.

"Are you sure you trust me to be around your family?" She said in a monotone voice without even meaning to sound harsh, but the speedster flinched visibly.

He wanted to apologise properly this time -unlike his stupid apology after cocoa night- but he knew sorry wouldn't cut it. He wanted to ask her why, to win back her friendship, and for things to go back to how they were before everything collided in a big bang, but it didn't feel like the right moment. He wasn't ready for that right moment. With Artemis, it never seemed to be the right moment, or the right thing to say. Wally knew why he cared, or why accusing her of betraying them (understandably, considering the situation) tore him up so much, but he wasn't sure why it was so difficult for him to own up to it.

With anyone else, he could've easily said sorry and gotten it over with, and whether they forgave him or not didn't matter as much. Maybe that was it, Artemis was unpredictable after all, and not knowing her opinion of him or whether she would forgive him was better than her rejection and her hatred. Still, the speedster thought to himself, her hatred was still better than her current stark neutrality to everything.

"Yeah…" he swallowed, and considered carefully. "I want you to come."

He watched his words dawn on her stance on the counter and she seemed too still for a moment, before she finally shut her book to stare at him. Her gaze was sharp as her grey eyes appraised him, and despite wanting her attention before, her full focus on him was a little discomfiting for the speedster.

Wally managed a small smile on his face. "What do you say?" He pressed lightly, trying to take the fact that he had her full attention as a positive aspect.

Artemis' lips thinned but after a second's pause, she nodded stiffly. "Okay."

His eyes grew as wide as saucers and his ears were beginning to feel uncomfortably hot again. "O-okay? Really?"

The archer sent him a strange look.

"For real? You're saying yes?"

"Has starving yourself also affected your hearing?" She replied tersely.

Even though he wasn't starving himself, and his hearing was completely fine and he could've gotten angry and answered with something witty back, Wally was too shocked to care. The relief he felt sparked through him and he forgot all about being cautious as he grinned widely at Artemis, the kind where his cheeks ached from stretching so much, and the kind he used to greet her with every time she arrived at the Cave- before the Cheshire mission.

Artemis blinked at his expression, taken aback by the euphoria rolling off him in waves and before she knew it, her lips twitched to mimic his, but she shut it down before it could ever take off. With a huff, she hopped off the counter and strode out of the room, her textbook forgotten on the counter.

Wally watched her leave, his fast processing skills having noticed her almost-smile and he almost gave himself a high-five. Still disbelieving that she had agreed to dinner at his house, he suddenly felt hopeful that his efforts would not be wasted. Now all he had to do was make sure it was a fun dinner, try not to start a fight with her, and earn back her friendship. Easy as pie.