July 6th 2017 1:00 am
Return Chapter 5
After stuffing themselves full of Chinese food and watching crappy re-run TV shows Dick and Artemis eventually fell asleep. Dick woke up a couple hours later with one arm under his head and the other was being used as a pillow for Artemis. She was curled up against his side, with her head on her arm and her sprawled out on the floor behind her. Dick didn't want to wake her but he could no longer feel his arm and he was pretty sure if they stayed on the floor all night both of them would regret it in the morning. As gently as he could he pulled his arm out from underneath her, once it was finally removed he sighed in relief. Standing up he shook the pins and needles out of his arm before he bent down carefully putting his arms underneath Artemis' head and legs lifting her up.
He gently carried her upstairs to the guest bedroom; he gently lay her on the bed and pulled the blankets over her body. But when he went to leave the bedside Artemis grabbed his arm.
"Stay with me, I don't want to be alone" she mumbled with only one eye open.
Dick sighed feeling the exact same way "Alright" he said crawling into the bed beside her. "My bed is way comfier".
"Shut up, I'm not moving again" Artemis said moving over to make room for him.
"Wait were you awake the whole time?" Dick asked.
Artemis grinned "I woke up when you moved your arm".
"What the hell, why didn't you say anything?" Dick asked glaring at her in the dark.
Artemis just smiled "I was too tired and lazy to get up and carry myself all the way upstairs".
"So you let me carry you all the way up here?" Dick said more amused than angry.
Artemis laughed "Yes I did boy wonder, now shut up and go to sleep".
Dick laughed relaxing into the bed he had never slept in before "My bed is still more comfortable" he mumbled.
"The only way I'm moving is if you carry me again" Artemis said not thinking he would actually do it. Dick immediately moved to his knees scooping her into her arms causing her to shriek "What the hell are you doing?"
"You said you would only move if I carried you so I'm carrying you" He said leaping off the bed and moving towards his own bedroom where his huge king size extremely comfortable bed waited for him.
Artemis shook her head "You're pathetic".
Dick just grinned at her as he walked into his bedroom but this time when he dropped her onto the bed. "Damn it Dick that hurt" Artemis said kicking him.
Dick just smiled at her as he got into the bed sighing when he got comfortable "I missed this bed".
"You're an ass" Artemis said relaxing into the bed but not wanting to admit to Dick that he was right this bed was way more comfortable.
"I know, I also have an incredibly sexy ass" Dick said grinning.
Artemis rolled her eyes "Whatever now shut up I want to go to bed".
"Night 'Mis"
"Night dick"
9:00 am
Artemis woke up with her head resting on Dick's chest with her arm draped over his waist. Dick had one arm wrapped securely on her hip and his other hand intertwined with hers that rested on his stomach. Artemis should have felt uncomfortable laying her in a very intimate position with her dead boyfriend's best friend. But oddly enough she was the most comfortable she had been since Wally had died.
"You feeling guilty to?" Dick asked quietly making her jump.
"Jesus Dick don't do that" Artemis said trying to slow down her heart rate.
"Sorry I thought you knew I was awake to" Dick said apologetically.
Neither of them had moved from their position yet "How is it that we ended up like this in a king size bed?" Artemis asked.
Dick laughed "I have no idea".
"You feel guilty?" Artemis asked quietly.
Dick took a deep breath "No I don't even though I know I should".
"I feel exactly the same way" Artemis said.
"Do you want to get up?" Dick asked almost shyly.
"No I'm comfortable and don't want to leave" Artemis said after a couple seconds of silence.
"Good because neither do I" Dick said smiling.
"I don't think I've ever slept in such a comfortable bed before" Artemis said.
"I know I love this bed, it's something I missed every night while I was gone" Dick said.
Artemis laughed "That's a little weird".
"It wasn't the biggest thing I missed. I missed Tim, Barbara, Alfred even Bruce the most even though we had a huge fight. And I diffidently missed the team, I thought about you guys everyday" Dick said.
"Trust me we missed you just as much. Barbara's a really good detective and so is Tim but they diffidently aren't you" Artemis said.
"Thanks 'Mis" Dick said.
"Are you going to come back to the team?" Artemis asked.
"I want to yeah, but I think I should let my wounds heal a little bit first and get back into shape before I show up asking to be on the team again" Dick said.
"Yeah we should probably change your bandages considering you did a whole lot carrying me around last night" Artemis said.
"Yeah we probably should but I don't want to deal with them right now, let's just keep laying here" Dick said.
"I can help you train ya know" Artemis said.
"I don't know you think you could handle it I do some pretty intense training" Dick said teasingly.
"You and I both know I can still kick your ass boy wonder. As I remember saying there's no rust on me" Artemis said smiling.
Dick laughed "Yes I remember that mission Wally never forgave me for putting you at risk like that".
Artemis sighed "He still cared about you Dick; you were his best friend no matter what".
"I know that but part of me wishes that maybe if I went undercover none of it would have happened that he'd still be here" Dick said softly.
"I was the best option for that mission and you know it. If you would have pretended to die you would have had three top detectives searching for Kaldur and not stopping until they found him. I was the best option and Wally knew that. It was my choice and my choice alone to go undercover. I wanted to do it. If I'm being honest I wanted to return to the hero life I missed it, I missed the rush the excitement. But I knew how Wally felt he wanted a better life for us so I went with it" Artemis said.
"Do you think we'll ever be able to leave the life completely?" Dick asked.
"I always thought I would completely retire when I started a family because I want to be able to raise my children and be able to do things with them. I don't want to be disabled." Artemis said.
"I don't think I'll be able leave until I'm crimpled. It's all I know, it's who I am" Dick said.
"I feel the exact same way" Artemis said.
"Do you think we'll ever be the same?" Dick asked.
Artemis knew he was referring to before Wally's death "I don't think so I think it'll always affect us, I think over time it'll get easier but it's changed us. I'm just not sure if it's good or bad yet".
"Diffidently bad for me, look at me I'm a complete mess. I'm not even twenty one and I'm an alcoholic. I lost the one person who was like a father to me when I needed him the most. I walked out on my best friends. I hurt a lot of people in the past year, and I don't know if they'll ever forgive me" Dick said quietly.
Artemis jerked out of his arms sitting up and moving so she could see his face "You listen to me Richard Grayson, you may have screwed up big time but everyone is allowed that at least once in their lives. Everyone loves and misses you; believe me when I tell you they will forgive you. They'll forgive you the minute you walk through those doors. Bruce will forgive you he loves you Dick just like Barbara, Tim and Alfred do. Everyone will forgive you".
"What about you, do you forgive me?" Dick asked his voice barely above a whisper.
Artemis set her hand on his cheek looking him straight in the eye "I forgave you the night you showed up in my apartment".
A tear left Dick's eye as he sat up pulling Artemis into a bone crushing hug that she easily returned just as strongly. "I love you 'Mis" Dick whispered in her ear.
"I love you to Dick" Artemis said back knowing it was a brother sisterly love.
"Let's get dressed and go to breakfast I'm getting hungry" Dick said once they pulled away from each other "I know that perfect place".
"I'm gonna need clothes" Artemis said.
"Barbara has clothes in the guest room that will work for now" Dick said getting up from the bed "You can shower in there; the bathroom is full of towels and different hair products and what not".
"Why exactly does Barbara have clothes here?" Artemis asked getting up from the bed as well.
Dick frowned "It's not like that, she and Tim used to stay with me a lot they both have clothes here".
Artemis laughed "I'm just kidding I'll go shower and change, when I'm done I'll come and change your bandages" she said leaving the room.
But Dick grabbed her arm "Thanks' for getting me yesterday and staying with me".
Artemis smiled "You would have done the same thing; it's what friends are for".
Dick gave her a sad smile as she left his bedroom "Yeah what friends are for" Dick mumbled sadly as he walked into his bedroom.
Dick sat on his bed wearing a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips with no shirt, his first aid kit sat next to him as he waited for Artemis to come back into the room.
A few minutes later Artemis came back freshly showered she wore a pair of blue skinny jeans and a purple top that diffidently wasn't hers, her hair was up in a ponytail and she had her boots on.
"You ready to change your bandages?" Artemis asked moving in front of him.
Dick nodded his head "You should wear purple more often" he said as she set her warm hands on his side to pull the old bloody bandages off".
"Thanks. You really shouldn't do anymore heavy lifting until your wounds heal completely" Artemis said.
Dick snorted "Yeah like you're counted as heavy, I can bench press more than you weigh".
Artemis smiled "You're just being nice, I know I weigh more than I used to when we first meet".
"I'm being serious your light as a feather 'Mis" Dick said grinning
"You're such a flirt" Artemis said as she fixed the last bandage.
"Is that a bad thing?" Dick asked.
"Not always" Artemis said grinning at him as she put her hand out to help pull him up off the bed.
Dick smiled "You love my flirting you always have".
Artemis rolled her eyes "Don't get cocky boy wonder now put your shirt on so we can go eat I'm starving".
Dick just grinned "What I thought I'd go to breakfast like this let everyone get a good look at this incredibly sexy body".
"And all your scars from crime fighting" Artemis said raising an eyebrow at him.
"What they don't have to know that they'll just think it makes me look more irresistible" Dick said still grinning.
Artemis shook her head "Whatever just put your shirt on".
"Is that why you can't take your eyes off my chest?" Dick asked smirking.
Artemis glared at him "I was not staring at your chest".
"Whatever you say 'Mis" Dick said grabbing a grey shirt out of his dresser and putting it on.
"Your irritating" Artemis said leaving the room.
"And incredibly sexy" Dick said following after her, causing Artemis to groan. Which only made Dick smirk.