A/N: This update took an eternity and a half, I know. I'm working on a lot of stuff, including a lot of writing pieces, and this ends up ranking near the bottom of the totem pole. I'm also naturally a slow writer, reflected in and probably amplified by my tendency to write with pen. I mean, words on a computer is just light, but ink on paper is substantial. It feels felonious to write in anything but pen or pencil, especially since I write so slow that typing makes me nervous (I hate being rushed). So that is my excuse for my lack of update. This story is just for fun, and it's really for my own practice more than anything. If you enjoy it, cool, but if you have any advice to help me improve, that would be mucho excellente (I don't speak Spanish). This chapter is actually moderately terrible, but frankly I'm too tired to give shits. Bear with me, this chapter sets up the ending, which should be up within a week or two and will be less excruciatingly horrible than this.
They were in love once. It was years ago, and it was anything but blissful, but it happened. They fell and crushed and smashed and shattered, and they got up weary and bruised — different people, the same people. But love existed in that chaos, maybe a little twisted and bent, but maybe pure. It was an ugly kind of love. It was real.
They were sprawled out on the floor of the cave. Which, if they were smart, they wouldn't have been because it was late and everyone else had the good sense to go to bed. The way Wally saw it, this was Artemis' fault because she refused to operate on a normal sleep schedule, and decided that 1AM was an ideal time for literature, and he had to stay up too because really, was it so awful that he wanted to spend time with her? The way Artemis saw it, she could go to sleep whenever she damn well pleased, and really, her reading would go much faster if Wally wasn't sitting next to her inhaling gallons of ice cream. She liked to call these moments, "Quiet Time Interrupted By Clingy Boyfriend." Wally called them, "Boring."
About halfway through his second tub of strawberry ice cream, Wally decided to turn on the TV. Because hey, Artemis was pretty, but he could only sit there listening to music and eating while she read her book and generally emphasized the quiet time aspect of this arrangement before it got old. But Cat Grant could barely get a sentence into her report on the 5th supposed End of the World this year before Artemis demanded that he turn the TV off.
"I'll turn the volume down," Wally offered. "All you're doing is reading and I'm bored"
"Wow, that really sounds like a problem a book could fix," she muttered, her eyes focused on her reading.
"I don't have a book. Read me yours."
Artemis looked up from the novel to raise an eyebrow at him. "I highly doubt you'd be interested in a selection from How to Murder Your Boyfriend and Get Away with it."
"Well then," Wally feigned an offended reaction, but conceding to turning off the television. "Aren't we just diabolical today?'
Artemis smirked. "I do try," she added in a singsong voice. But seriously, just go to sleep, Wallace. Your ice cream is melting and Julien is entering the seminary at Besancon. I have priorities."
He tapped his knee against hers. "The problem with that being I'd wake up and you be off gallivanting with fictional characters."
"Gallivanting?"
"Yes, gallivanting."
"Whoa, that's a big word. Congratulations. But the key issue here is why you're still up. Wallace Rudolph West, it is far past your bedtime."
"It's because I like you, even though you consistently insult my genius."
Artemis gave him a look and murmured, "I think that's been established in the past three years," before pulling herself towards him to peck his lips.
"Yeah? Because I feel like it could use more establishing." He flashed her a toothy grin. She rolled her eyes. "And Artemis, it's been 3 years 5 months. You're terrible at this."
She just scrunched her face and pushed his arm. Wally continued, "I mean, I know that not everyone can be as thoughtful and attentive as I am, but you'd think it'd be easy enough to remember January 1st."
"Shut up."
"Oh, that hurts. Right in the chest," he retorted, placing a hand over his heart. He sighed, and then continued, "I'm actually to go to bed, because unlike you, I'm not completely deranged — I worry about you, by the way — and you should probably get some sleep too because we have a mission briefing tomorrow morning and also you're ugly when you're tired." He got up and extended his arm out to her as an offer to help her up.
Artemis sat there and laughed, but it was more of a snicker, like Wally was the butt of his own joke. "I'm actually good. I'm sort of thinking about maybe quitting this whole" she gesticulated, "…thing, anyway."
Wally froze, only moving to contort his face into a look of shock. After a moment, "I'm sorry, you're what? What thing is there to quit?"
Artemis realized she was probably more tired than she thought she was, but it was too late because the words were already out and Wally was already staring at her. "… Surprise!" she managed awkwardly, but neither of them laughed.
"Don't joke around, Artemis. This is serious. When exactly were you planning on telling any of us this?" Artemis forgot that he could be serious sometimes. She felt her heart sink into her stomach.
Maybe she was supposed to feel guilty, but somehow, her guilt ended up coming across angry and she snapped, "I haven't even decided on anything yet!" And after a gulp, she added in a softer voice, "And I told you, didn't I?" She didn't look at him, and her voice trembled just barely like she was uncomfortable.
Wally sighed and sat back down next to her. "It's okay. I mean — it's not okay, but it's all right. Or, at least, it's going to be." He grabbed her hand. "Just take your time and make sure you make a good decision. I can keep a secret."
Artemis knew Wally was actually fairly terrible at keeping secrets, but he had this way of convincing her to trust him. Which went against everything that had been beat into her since childhood, but maybe that's what love was. She felt stupid for holding his hand after letting it slip that she wasn't sure if she was going to stay on the team, and she felt stupid for even wanting to quit, but if she didn't do things because they were stupid, then she wouldn't have even been in this "Dating Wally" predicament to begin with, now would she?
Don't know if any of you guys caught this, but Artemis is reading Le Rouge et le noir (or, The Red and The Black) by Stendhal, a 19th century Frenchman who writes far better than I do. The book can be hard to find, but if you do come across a copy, it's well worth reading. (Also, Wally has legitimate reason to be concerned about Artemis running off to gallivant with Julien Sorel because he is a perfect male specimen. Okay, I'll stop now. I'm sorry for my brain).