Sorry to keep you all waiting, this is my longest chapter yet and I am a very slow writer.
-Language warning, it gets a little heated later on...
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"Wake up, c'mon, wake up." There were hands on his face, breath on his skin. He opened his eyes, a flurry of panic and confusion rushing through him, his hands, now free, flew to defend himself- against what, exactly, Wally was not sure.
"Hey, hey, chill out." Artemis was crouched over him, hands up in a gesture of peace. It didn't look right on her. "It's just me."
He postponed a reply and glanced at his surroundings, searching for a threat. There was a sheen of sweat on his exposed skin, and the chill it caused made him draw in on himself.
Artemis seemed concerned, and that didn't look right either.
"I think you were having a bad dream. You were thrashing around and everything."
Tentative, Wally reached for his neck where her hands had been, but only found the inhibitor collar. Finally he managed to control his breathing enough to make it sound normal.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"Do you... Wanna talk about it?"
Wally shook his head.
"Okay." Artemis seemed to struggle to find something else to say. "Uh... How's your face?"
Now he remembered the sting on his left cheek, and a hand crept upwards to find a scabbed line below his eye.
"It's been better." He remarked, disappointed he wasn't able to come up with something wittier. When he looked at her, there was a deadness in his voice. "Before, I didn't mean to upset you."
"And I don't care if you've just had a nightmare but I'm not accepting your apology. It was none of your business." Artemis crossed her arms and drew her mouth into a thin line.
Her words struck a nerve.
"Who said I was apologising?" Wally retorted. "I'm not sorry for what I said, you shouldn't have overreacted like that-"
"Overreacted? I barely grazed you-"
"You could have killed me!"
"But I didn't, okay, so maybe you should just lay off-"
"Maybe you should just leave me alone!" There was little right for him to be angry, but in his eyes, he had every right. "Y'know, I was just trying to be nice to you, and you know what? It's really freakin' difficult! Did you ever think that if you stopped hurting me, and other people, maybe you wouldn't be here?"
"You're saying that like I have a choice!"
Their voices had risen into fully fledged shouts. Wally stumbled to his feet, away from Artemis.
"Of course you have a choice!" He cried. "You always, always have a choice, and every fucking time you have made the wrong fucking choice! This," he shouted, opening his arms wide, "is because of you, and nobody else."
Artemis was quiet for a moment. Then she stood, and Wally had to remind himself not to back away. Finally she spoke.
"You asked what I wanted to be, right? Fine. I wanted to be like you, I wanted to help people, I wanted in on how the other half lived. I wanted, just for once, to be a hero." Her voice wavered between poisonous and soft as she edged closer. "And the first time I saw you, half dead and bleeding, I thought I'd actually get to meet the real thing. Someone who stood up for what was right, someone who didn't give up, someone with just a shred of decency in them." Her mouth was right by his ear when she hissed: "So let me just say; I'm really disappointed."
Wally didn't even wait for the thought to process fully in his mind, one moment he was still, and the next his fist was shooting straight towards her face. His knuckles connected with her nose just as his vision went white and then he was on his knees, gasping. In Artemis's hand was the black remote, he hadn't seen her pull it out her pocket, her other hand was cupped over her nose. He tried to stand and was rewarded with a shrieking agony in his neck and a crackling in his ears.
"If you get up, I'll do it again." Artemis growled, but Wally wasn't looking at her; he was staring fixatedly at the ground inches from his face, willing himself to get back up.
There was a lull in the pain and Wally was just about upright before Artemis pressed down on the remote. He crumpled like wet paper.
"Stay down, dammit." She was almost pleading with him. Wally gritted his teeth and clenched a fist around the tattered remains of his resolve. Almost.
He glared at her from the ground, his arms struggling to support his weight. "Fuck you."
Shocked again.
It took every ounce of willpower left in him to make not a single noise, and it soon transpired that even willpower was not enough. He had to say something.
"Not gonna kick me this time, huh?" Wally sneered from the ground. Cold sweat danced on his skin.
"Stop it."
"What, I'm not good enough for you?" He continued, forcing his arms to straighten and take some weight. "Not heroic enough?"
"Shut up."
His ears were ringing and his nerves were at absolute breaking point but he didn't dare stop talking because for once, something felt good.
"Go on, say it. You wanted someone to pity you."
"I said shut up!"
"You wanted somebody to hold your hand-" clumsy, he managed to kneel, "-and tell you that it's okay-"
"Please-"
"-that it's not your fault, you're just poor, misunderstood little Artemis, and you didn't mean to hurt anyone." Wally used the wall to steady himself. Bitter fury snatched the last words from his mouth and shot them at her, point blank.
"You're lying to yourself if you think you're any better than your father."
Absolute silence.
Wally felt his heartbeat in his mouth.
Hazy, Artemis stared him down, her nose starting to bleed, the remote in her hand. Her glare was flame hot and ice cold and when she spoke, it was with a voice to match.
"I don't want to do this."
"Then stop doing it!" Wally shouted, and then his head exploded into whiteness.
No longer able to contain it, an awful, guttural scream broke from his throat like it was made of eggshell. He caught Artemis clapping a hand over her mouth before his eyes screwed shut and he hit the floor, hard.
Silence again.
Air filtered into Wally's lungs but he did not feel like he was breathing. Eventually, he rolled onto his side, chest heaving, body trembling, spent. With eyes half open, he looked up at Artemis. The blood from her nose had reached her chin but she made no move the stem the flow. There was the same cold look on her face, the grimace she wore like she wasn't enjoying what she did, but sure as hell wouldn't regret it later.
"That's it, I give up." He said, almost a croak. "Isn't this what you wanted? I. Give. Up."
-o-
Artemis stood over him for another minute, but Wally didn't move, just lay on his side and let his eyes glaze over and close, his breathing harsh. He stayed perfectly still; maybe if she thought he was unconscious, she would leave him alone. Then, he heard her step closer- this was it this was it- he tried not to tense up and then she was by his side, helping him sit up- she wasn't hurting him, not this time- and then her arms slipped around his sides and she was half lifting, half pulling him across the floor, back to his mattress. Propped against the wall, Wally heard her shuffle around then return, her hands pushing the hair out of his face, probing the cut across his face where the arrow had grazed him. Something sticky was pressed over the graze and Wally realised she had stuck a band-aid on his cheek.
Remorse hit him like a steel wall at the speed of sound. He had been shouting abuse at her just a minute ago, and here she was, being kind.
Artemis' attention moved to his neck, chafed and burned by the collar. Wally felt her hands flit over his skin, gentle, careful, and found it hard to believe they belonged to the same girl who had, minutes ago, left him screaming and writhing on the floor. Then something deliciously cool was pressed against his throat and he could no longer contain a sigh of complete bliss. His eyes opened and he felt Artemis stiffen under his touch.
"You're still awake." She said, frowning, eyes narrowed. Her hands withdrew, along with the cloth, and Wally felt something inside him sink. Artemis had just stood up, turning to leave, when he stopped her.
"Wait-"
What was he doing?
Artemis spun round, irritated.
"What?"
"I just..." He couldn't think of anything to say. There wasn't a word in the English language that summed up how truly awful he felt about what he had said to her. It was far too late to take anything back, and far too soon to apologise. Not that she would forgive him, anyway.
"...you're bleeding." Wally finished lamely.
Artemis lifted a hand to her face, catching crimson on her fingers and blinking when she saw how bright her blood was.
"Oh."
Searching around him, Wally picked up the cloth she had dropped and held it out to her.
"Here."
"...Thanks."
Artemis took the cloth and gingerly, held it against her nose. It looked broken.
There was an awkward pause; Artemis opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She shifted on her feet, then walked away, pulling the cell door open.
Wally felt a surge of panic.
"Please don't go," he called. Artemis froze and Wally's breath caught on his teeth. "I know, after what I said... you don't owe me anything, but can you just stay, please?"
Artemis stayed where she was, halfway out of the door, her back to him. Wally heard her take a wavering breath, then release it.
"Too late." She muttered, and Wally felt the last whole piece of himself break when the door slammed shut.
Numb, he brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them, head buried between his knees, trying to fill the overwhelming emptiness inside his chest. He was too empty to cry, too empty to scream or shout or slam his fists against the wall and roar. So he just sat there, on a filthy mattress in the corner of a tiny cell, alone with himself.
-o-
Wally did not think Artemis would return.
He definitely did not think Artemis would return quietly, not even an hour later, crouch down in front of him and gently lift his head. Bleary eyed, he blinked up at her- not finding anger or resent written on her face, but calm. She pressed something into his hand and Wally glanced down to see: a chocolate bar. His mouth watered in anticipation but his stomach twisted at the thought of it, the thought of her. Artemis saw his hesitation.
"I know you're hungry." She encouraged. "You have to eat something."
Reverently, Wally unwrapped the chocolate and bit off the first piece. It had been far too long since he had had something so sweet in his mouth and he moaned softly, his tongue in ecstasy.
"Thank you." He said, but Artemis didn't even look up.
She was reading the label on a small grey tub of something and chewing on her bottom lip. Wally took another bite of chocolate and Artemis opened the tub, sniffed the contents, then scooped out two fingerfuls of white goop and made a move for Wally's throat. When he shied away, she tried for reassurance.
"The cream is mainly for rashes, but I thought it could help your neck..."
Seeing the honesty in her face, Wally let his guard down and allowed Artemis dab the cream where inhibitor collar had left a swathe of tender skin. Immediately, the raw, stinging sensation lessened, and he found himself relaxing as Artemis treated him.
"I didn't know it would get this bad."
Wally frowned when he heard the undertones of guilt in her voice.
"It hurts less than you'd think." He lied.
A quick, fleeting glimpse at her face showed Artemis trying to smile. Wally didn't bother. Guilt was eating him from the inside out; he had to say something to address the awkward hesitation between them.
"Artemis-" Her eyes shot up to his face. "What I said before, about being like your father, I didn't mean it, okay?"
"But you still said it."
Wally realised then that it may not have been the best time to talk about his misgivings, with Artemis' hands so close to his neck, and memories of his nightmare still fresh on his mind.
"And I shouldn't have... But really, Artemis, I didn't mean what I said." He licked his lips and dropped his gaze. "I just wanted to hurt you, like you hurt me."
His honesty made her pause, her hand inches from his face.
"No."
Her hand made a fist, and withdrew.
"What?" Wally asked.
"No, you were right. I chose to carry on using that stupid remote- you were on the floor, you were screaming- and I didn't stop. I didn't-" Tears welled in Artemis' eyes and she bit down on her fist, fighting them.
"Hey, it's okay." Wally stretched out a hand and touched her arm. He waited for her to shake him off and snarl, but Artemis just closed her eyes. He had never seen her so fragile before.
It felt wrong.
"You're not like them," he started, just as he felt tremors under her skin. "I've spent a long time with the people the Shadows want dead. And... with what you have: loyalty, courage, honesty, sheer force of will- Superman couldn't match you on his best day."
A sniff, then Artemis looked up at him, her eyes wet.
"You think so?"
"I know so." Wally confirmed, and before he had even decided to do so, his arms wrapped around her and he had pulled Artemis into a hug. "You aren't your family, Artemis. Remember that."
For a moment, she didn't move, then Wally felt the archer reciprocate, her hands moving up his back and fisting the material there. She started to shake, and Wally knew she was crying.
"It's okay," he murmured. "Artemis, it's okay."
Minutes passed, and eventually Artemis pulled away from him, hurriedly wiping her eyes with a trembling hand. After regaining her composure, Artemis sat and looked at Wally. Wally looked back.
They both seemed at loss for words to say.
"Uh, so... What was your dream about?"
Oh, no. This was the last thing Wally wanted to talk about. Monsters. Sharks. Vampires. Blood sucking sloths, thunderstorms, parasites, anything but-
"You."
For a long moment, Artemis was completely still. She seemed to have her attention fixed on something beyond the wall behind Wally's shoulder, but then she blinked and she was back in the present.
"What... What was I doing, in the dream?" She asked, with the trepidation of someone testing ice on a frozen lake, bound to fall in.
Wally chewed on the inside of his cheek, hard.
"You were..." Doing nothing. Singing. Naked. Flying. Dancing the hula. Anything but- "Artemis, you were hurting me." He ducked his head. "You wouldn't stop, I was begging you to stop and you just... kept going."
A hand cupped his cheek and reluctantly, Wally looked back up at Artemis. She didn't look angry or cold, like he expected, but troubled.
"You know I wouldn't do that."
He did not reply.
"You know I wouldn't do that, right?"
Wally pulled his hands away from Artemis and probed his neck.
"You kinda just did." He said, and waited for fury to find the girl in front of him and consume her.
It didn't.
Instead, Artemis pulled her hands away, biting her lip and nodding.
"Y'know, I really wanted to hate you." She said, frank.
"I think I could say the same thing." Countered Wally.
They shared a quick grin.
"If it wasn't like this, if we were just ordinary kids- do you think we'd be friends?" Asked Artemis.
Wally thought for a moment. "I think so. Maybe."
"I mean, if you weren't so stupid and annoying."
Wally huffed. "Oh, like you're Miss Congeniality-"
"I'm better than you!"
"Oh yeah? Well-"
Their volley of insults lasted about half a minute before Artemis ran out of words for 'idiot' and Wally stopped trying to outdo her.
"It's gonna keep happening, isn't it?" He asked her. "We're doing okay, then I say something wrong and you freak out and then we're both patching each other up and lying about how much it hurts. It's a cycle, Artemis, and it's not gonna stop until we get over... this." Or I get out of here, Wally thought, but he didn't dare mention escape, not while the air itself was fragile from their previous argument.
"And how do you propose we do that? In case it escaped your notice, we're on different sides." Artemis said and Wally became aware of just how close they were.
"Then... let's just pretend it doesn't matter." His hand rested on hers as he drew nearer, his voice dropping to almost a whisper. "Can we do that?"
Artemis' breath was sweet as she started to speak.
"I think-"
The cell door opened.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
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I'm sort of running out of steam at this point- I've been updating as often as I can but as I am SUCH a slow writer it's hard to keep it up. To all of you leaving reviews: you are wonderful and I love you all. Thank you.