41. A shoulder to cry on

Artemis stared blankly at the city before her. The sun was setting creating an orange hue in the sky, a beautiful sight but it clashed with the mood she was feeling right now. Her hair was down not in their usual tight ponytail. Her arms were wrapped around her legs with her face buried between them; she sat there all by herself. The wind blew, her hair blowing with the gentle breeze of the air. Artemis held herself tighter.

She was on the roof, the roof where she and her mother would sometimes come up to watch the sunset, even after her legs were in no longer in use Paula found a way to the roof with her daughter and just watch. A peaceful moment the two Crocks both loved, it was like another world for them to relax in while the other world was too busy to stop and enjoy themselves. They would sit here for hours until the sunsets or sometimes stay here even after the sun went down, just enjoying the world, forgetting the harsh reality just for a moment. Artemis peeked over her arm staring at the empty spot where her mother used to sit, but no more.

No more will she hear her mother's soft breathing or lullybys that helped her to sleep. No more will she hear her laugh at the stories they would share. No more will she be there to soothe her pain away. No more will se be able to make her laugh or smile. No more will the apartment they live in feel cozy anymore, just the emptyness will scream and claw at her. There will no longer be the smell of home cooked meals in her home, no sounds of squeaks of wheels of a wheelchair; only memories, happy memories where it will only cause her so much pain. Tears started to gather in her eyes.

"Artemis."

His voice made her turn away from him, not wanting to look at him especially in this kind of state.

"W-what do you want, Wally?" She weakly asked.

"It's going to get cold, let's go inside." Wally said.

Artemis shook her head. "I don't want to."

"Don't be so stubborn, you're going to catch a cold. Artemis, let's go-"

"I said I don't want to!" She snapped at him. "It's going to be colder in there than it is out here."

Wally walked closer to her. "Artemis, your mother passed away, I get that but-"

"You get it? You get it?" Artemis faced him this time, tears streaming down her face. "You don't get anything, Wally. My mom is dead and I'm all alone in my own home. You who have a mom, a dad, an uncle...you have a whole family you could always go back to, but not me! My dad is a criminal and in jail not to mention my sister being associated with a group of assassins, my mom was the only thing I had..." Artemis was hating herself. She felt so vulnerable, a feeling she hated ever since she was little thanks to her dad, but she can't help it. Not right now. "You have no idea what I'm feeling."

"...You're right. I have no idea what you're feeling or going through, but that doesn't mean you're alone. Artemis, you have the Team, the League, and me." Wally walked over to her. "Artemis, I will never leave you." He pulled the stiff blond into an embrace.

She stood still for a while, then her whole body started to tremble, and her shaky hands gripped his shirt tightly.

"It's just not fair! Why did she have to go?!"

"I don't know, Artemis."

Wally said nothing, only rubbed her back and hugged her. Her head was on his shoulder, an automatic responce everytime they would embrace with one another, but this was different. Wally held his girlfriend tightly and comforted her as best as he could. Artemis was thankful for him. Wally was always there. When she found out about her mother's death, when she was planning the funeral, at the funeral, and even now he never left her alone. It was nice to have a shoulder to cry on.

Part 2 (speical)

Wally stared blankly at the tombstone in front of him.

He wasn't paying attention to anything around him, not anymore. It was like his world was crashing down around him. He wasn't fast enough, he was too slow. How ironic, the fastest kid alive was slow? Yeah, he slow, he wasn't like his uncle, the fastest man alive. His uncle, the Flash, has more experience than his protege. Wally couldn't do anything to save his own uncle from a doom's day device.

The funeral was over, everyone left leaving Wally alone in front of the grave. The wind blew, the dark cloud covered the sun making the atmosphere gloomy, matching his mood. His hands were clenched tightly into fists. His friends and family knew he needed some alone time, they knew he was going through a tough time, and didn't want to be so overbearing. Wally closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

He doesn't really want to believe that his uncle was dead. He held onto that thought until the explosion, thinking that he would come back no matter what, because he always does. But this time...this time he didn't come back leaving him alone, waiting.

It wasn't fair.

A familiar warm hand touched his hand. He looked at Artemis with the same blank expression. Her brows were furrowed together, her face looked soft, but it was her eyes that spoke volumes. The eyes that says more then words combined, the same look Dick had when comforting him the best he could. The storm gray eyes that he loved comforted him right this moment.

I understand.

The mask broke. He buried his face into her shoulder, bringing her into an embrace. She wrapped her arms around him, soothing him. His whole body shook, a broken sob escaping him, but he didn't care at the moment. He just needed a shoulder to cry on.

ARGH~! I'm done! Yay! Sorry for the lack of update you guys, college and stuff's been happening. Yeah, my excuse is to blame school. Lol. So I made it a bit longer than the last one.

I watched the episode where M'gann confronted Kaldur and just...mind blasted him finding out their little secret. I was like "YOU BITCH!" I know that she didn't know, but she's been abusing her powers, that's not the M'gann we knew and loved! I saw the mistrust and wary look Artemis gave to M'gann it was just, ugh, Young Justice...Why you pull on my emotions? I'm mad that they didn't update YJ last Saturday, what gives? Did I miss something that I didn't know about?

Anyway, Review please! :)