Words: 823
Characters: Wally/Artemis (M'gann and Dick)
Notes: annicaspoon and I were talking on Skype and I was struck with inspiration after she said something about Artemis being so stubborn that she would've challenged Wally to a race. A friggin' race. You gotta love them stubborn, fiery-headed blonde archers.

competition, #30

"No. Powers." Artemis sticks a finger in front of his face threateningly as they walk to the track.

"Okay, okay! No powers," Wally agrees and he grins confidently, "Let's do this."

They both line up accordingly next to each other. It's only a 600-yard dash, definitely not a big deal, but Artemis hops on the balls of her feet nervously. If Wally doesn't use his powers, there's no way he can beat her at this dash but still, he's always been hard to predict.

"Ready?" M'gann asks from her spot a few meters away. She's holding up one of those guns that start off runners during track meets and Artemis nods at her, crouching down slightly next to Wally. From the corner of her eyes, she can see this small, infuriatingly smug smile crinkling up the corner of his mouth and his green eyes are glinting mischievously. Oh, she'd show him.

"Ready," M'gann calls, "set," and POP, there's the explosion and Artemis zooms off - it's a perfect start, probably the smoothest one she's had yet. There's no one to her right and she assumes that she really has left Wally behind in her dust - sucker - so she grins and tucks her chin in and prepares to sprint the rest of the dash. The wind feels so freeing and exhilarating running along the sides of her ears and into her hair and her ponytail is flapping along behind her animatedly; sort of like it's cheering her on, Artemis likes to think. She is so going to win this.

But then, there's this terrifying blaze of bright red and she catches a flash of dusted freckles that are only fading away with every single day she's pressed her stubborn lips to them but goddamn it, this can't be happening.

Wally's skidding to a stop at the finish line a second later and he bends over, taking a few seconds to catch his breath but when he stands upright again, he's beaming brightly and she can tell that he was only pretending to be out of breath. Bastard.

Artemis's softball training pushes her to still sprint those last few yards and she rushes over the line at top speed. She slows down a few meters afterwards and turns her head slightly at Wally, who's sauntering up to her cockily.

"Well, beautiful?" He's smug again and it's unnerving and she wants to smack him upside the head again and throw nasty words at him but she's a little too out of breath at the moment to come up with a sharp-enough comeback so she settles with a quick, "Shut-up," before gasping for air.

He laughs breezily and suddenly she's being picked up and he's nuzzling his freckled nose against her sweaty brow and she's grimacing and grinning at the same time because she can never really help it whenever he's being touchy.

"Okay, if it makes you feel any better, babe, I did… speed a little back there," he says as he walks back over to their applauding team with her cradled in his arms. Artemis glances over at them and wonders momentarily why the hell they're even clapping after she just lost a race. She shoots a poisonous glare at them and the applause dies down to the sole clapping of Wally's best pal. She flicks him off rudely and the kid cackles hysterically but what Wally has just said registers in her head and she scoffs and punches his shoulder. He snickers and hoists her up higher in his arms. She mumbles gloomily to herself but wraps her arms around his neck anyway.

"You better put me down soon, Kid Fraud - I want a rematch," she snarls quietly.

"Anything you say, babe," Wally agrees without hesitation, dropping her to her feet gently and jogging back to the starting line as if it were something he did every day. Now that Artemis thinks of it, it kind of is something he does every day.

She's beginning to realise that maybe she's fighting a losing battle.

…no.

Nuh-uh.

Artemis narrows her eyes, straightens her back defiantly and marches to her position at the lane to Wally's left.

"You're so making this up to me when we get back to my place," she whispers to him silently. It's meant to be that sweet, seductive kind of threat but he doesn't react immediately like she expects him to. Wally doesn't turn to Artemis directly and continues to face the finish line but his eyes flash delightedly and the corner of his lips quirks up in that ridiculous half-smile and she's breathless again.

"It'd be my pleasure," he whispers back, eyebrows raised slightly, green eyes raking up her figure rapidly - oh, God - before they both crouch down into their starting positions and M'gann starts to count down again.

The gun goes off again and later, he gladly makes it up to her four times over.