Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice. Or Chronicles of Narnia. Or any of the Christmas stories/poems except the edits made.
A/N: I just really hope everyone remembers the termites-in-pants-party joke from "Spark" and "Solar System"!
Also, I would suggest listening to ThePianoGuys' version of "Where Are You Christmas" on YouTube sometime near the end.
In any case, it's a beautiful piece nonetheless :)
A Lingering Feeling
XI. Phoenix
My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too
- "Where Are You Christmas"
Mount Justice
December 24, 14:43 EDT
Artemis released the briefest cry of surprise before the snowball hit her raised arm, splashing her with a flurry of snow fairies. She growled to herself and quickly dodged behind the nearest tree, using its thick trunk to shield her from another rocketing pellet of snow. She stooped down and gathered her own ammunition between her mittens, and chanced a peek beyond the bark. A quiescent winter forest gazed back at her, with no sign of her amber-haired, emerald-eyed assailant.
And then suddenly Wally sprinted out from behind another tree, arms in the air and laughter trailing all around him. Artemis launched her snowball at him, which he dodged with a little help from his super-speed.
"Throw, throw, as fast as you can, you can't catch me; I'm Kid Flash!" he taunted in a sing-song voice.
"You're cheating!" Artemis yelled furiously, and made a mental note to design snowball-arrows for next time.
Said reprimanded speedster zoomed past her in a burst of snow, and Artemis twisted away with a scold of his name. However, far from her desired effect of slowing him down, Wally only increased his speed and circled around her until he formed a rushing cyclone of winter that lifted Artemis high into the air.
"Put me down right now," she screeched, "or I'm going to sever your b—"
Artemis's deadly insult was cut short when she suddenly plummeted through the dissipating winds, and directly into Wally's outstretched arms.
"Your wish is my command, my Christmas Angel," he quipped. He grinned down at her, his eyes animated with mirth, and his cheeks and nose tinged pink from the cold.
Artemis raised an eyebrow, and her lips shimmered into a glossy smile. Wally recognized the glint in her eyes one second too late, and she swiftly slapped a snowball into his face. He teetered backwards, and she leaped from his arms in his momentary distraction and dashed deeper into the forest.
The recent storm of last night had left inches of untouched snow on the ground, and it was fluffy and light as it danced around her legs as she moved. The icy air flowing through her lungs was like cooling peppermint, and the satisfying crunch of snow beneath her boots was reminiscent of autumn leaves and crisp apples. Everything passing her was covered in white as she swam through an untouched fairy world.
She knew he could catch her before one could say "nanosecond", but she wasn't running to escape; she was running because she wanted to. Her Scrooge-like behavior for the past few weeks didn't stem from bitterness against the jovial jingle-bell times; it was an instinctual reaction towards the sensory overload of everything she had never experienced. Passing store-front windows filled with baubles and ornaments and seeing sales of Christmas trees and wreaths on television was overwhelmingly different from witnessing, touching, smelling, and tasting the holiday. She essentially grew up without Christmas, and all of a sudden, for the first time in sixteen years, every facet of the holiday appeared like an avalanche.
It did thrill her, but most of the time she didn't know what to do—how to act, and how to think. It was like taking a child who had been held prisoner behind dark stone walls and presenting him or her with a free weekend in Disneyland.
And then there was the exhaustion of hiding all this from the rest of the Team—not because she felt she could do without their pity, but because it would unmistakably lead to questions about her origins, which would involve revealing her less-than-stellar family ties.
Thus when the Team had taken the afternoon of Christmas Eve to build snowmen (and snow-women) outside Mount Justice, Artemis had absconded into the woods for a rare slice of meditative peace. However, to her outside chagrin—and hidden inner elation—Wally had followed with a sunlit smile and a snowball fight.
Wally wiped the snow from his face and watched a river of gold disappear behind a silver tree. Amateur, he thought to himself. No one can ever hope to outrun the fastest kid on Earth! He mentally released a villainous guffaw and zipped past the tree, locked his target on one snarky Rapunzel, and charged.
"Revenge-!" Wally cried as he pounced on his prey.
Artemis turned around in the last second, her face lighting up with a challenging glare and a flash of pearls against red lips, before both their bodies crashed to the ground with an explosion of frost.
For the briefest of moments, everything was silent except for the sound of their breathing as the air swirled between them like quicksilver. Wally noted how brilliant Artemis's dark eyes glowed in contrast with the swan-white of the surrounding snow, how the rivulets of her ponytail shimmered in the sun, how her parted lips reminded him of sweet holly berries…
He grinned and lowered himself until their breaths rose together as one into the winter sky.
"—is a dish best served cold," he finished in a low voice.
Artemis remained quiet, every snide remark on the tip of her tongue frozen in the air as she found herself losing her will to retaliate in Wally's gaze, because suddenly, in this glacial winter wonderland, she finally felt the walls around her heart begin to melt. Somehow, between all their banter and jokes and secrets and hugs, she may have finally—
"Wally! Artemis!" M'gann's sunny voice suddenly jumped into their heads, startling them both and yanking Artemis's thoughts back from their strange silken sinking.
"Yeah, M'gann?" the archer replied as Wally immediately scooted away so she could stand. She caught him look away and rub the back of his neck, and made a mental note to tease him later.
"We're heading back inside to make gingerbread houses!" The Martian's voice was the epitome of all things bubbly, with infectious enthusiasm that helped erupt a smile on Artemis's lips. "It's going to be a tournament of girls versus guys!" And now Artemis's grin broadened as she turned to eye Wally with satisfaction. Now that was a Christmas tradition she would love to participate in.
"On our way!" Wally responded smoothly, and then added out loud at Artemis, "Prepare to get smoked with graham crackers and gumdrops, Christmas Angel."
Artemis laughed, and swiftly shoveled one last handful of snow from the ground to freeze away his ego with. However, her attack plan was interrupted by Wally's arms scooping her up and the blast of icy air as they weaved through the trees and back to the Cave. She was never going to get used to traveling like that.
Unfortunately for the speedster, Artemis was still holding onto the small clump of ice as they arrived at the entrance, and he was forced to greet the Team while doing the holy-crap-I-need-to-get-this-snow-out-of-my-pants dance to the background music of Jingle Bells.
(It was all the rage at the termite-party.)
Poor Robin was nearly the victim of asphyxiation as he struggled to breathe between guffaws as the Team walked inside.
"Nice moves, bro," he finally managed to joke as he massaged his sore abdomen.
Wally snorted and riposted, "Don't be jealous that's how I get all the ladies."
Artemis overheard and rolled her eyes. She was about to throw a witty response back at Wally when Zatanna suddenly appeared by her side and linked arms with her.
"Soooo," she whispered slyly while detaching the two a few steps away from the main group, "where did you and Wally disappear off to, hmm?"
Artemis scoffed and then answered effortlessly, "We went to find Narnia because Wally has the biggest crush on Mister Tumnus."
"I heard that!" Wally exclaimed as he darted past the two to answer the kitchen's seductions.
Zatanna ignored him and volleyed Artemis's scoff back at her with an added raised eyebrow.
"You mean," she replied, dropping her voice and pulling her friend closer, "Wally has the biggest crush on you."
Artemis then discovered it was very possible to cough, choke, snort, and sputter at the same time. She released a very cliché nervous laugh and waved Zatanna's bizarre notion away while her eyes darted anxiously towards Wally. Although possessing super-speed, he fortunately did not have super-hearing above the waves of holiday music, and was incidentally preoccupied with "singing along" to the overhead tunes, much to Robin's vexation.
"Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg!"
"Really, KF? That got old about the first time minus one."
Artemis did, however, encounter Conner's knowing glance, and fired a warning glare at him. He grinned lopsidedly and turned away to wrap an arm around M'gann's waist as she merrily poured boxes of variegated candies into bowls.
"Oh come on, Artemis," Zatanna continued to verbally egg and physically nudge. "Stop swimming in Egyptian rivers already."
Artemis laughed again, and replied with a noticeably higher tone in her voice, "W-who said anything about swimming in rivers?" And then before Zatanna could even think about zapping her with a truth spell, she slipped away and slid into the bar stool next to Kaldur. "Hey Kaldur! Joining in on the competition?"
"Four boys against three girls?" The Atlantian responded in his usual musing and serene manner. "I think those odds are hardly fair."
Artemis grinned and nodded her head thoughtfully.
"I know right? The boys are really going to lose."
"I think Kaldur meant the odds aren't in your favor," Wally interrupted with a giant bowl of tiny spherical chocolates in his arm. He popped a tiny ball into his mouth and made an effort to chew as unattractively as he could.
Artemis remained unfazed by his act, and retaliated, "Oh right, because 'odd' is your flavor."
Wally stopped chewing and frowned.
"Wuh?" he replied through a graceful mouthful of chocolate.
"What?" Artemis echoed naively with a tilt of her head.
The speedster slowly narrowed his eyes and swallowed.
"Don't make me hurt you," he grumbled.
"Don't make me shove another snowball down your pants," Artemis responded with a snort, and then added as innocently and sweetly as she could ever manage, "Did the termites have fun with the last one?"
Wally tossed his laugh into the air and walked closer to the counter, opposite Artemis.
"I can still call up a demon to haunt your room." He then placed the bowl down and wiggled his fingers in a very eight-legged fashion. "Or, something else more tangible."
Artemis planted her elbows on the marble surface and leaned forward.
"Hoot hoot," she taunted in a sing-song voice.
The rest of the Team regarded the verbal ping-pong match with silent amusement. It always amazed them how the staccato beats of Wally and Artemis's snappy banter never faltered, as if the two secretly held rehearsals for their almost daily duets.
M'gann interrupted their vocal sparring by presenting two trays containing a blank gingerbread house on each, meticulously cut and iced-together with the finest telekinesis. She placed one tray in front of Robin and Conner, and the other between Artemis and Zatanna.
Wally faked an exaggerated motion of slamming his fist down onto the girls' gingerbread house, and zoomed away before Artemis could exaggerate the motion of slamming her fist into his face.
"Yeah, you better run!" she barked, but with an unmistakable hint of gaiety in the threat.
It was decided Red Tornado would be the most impartial judge on the categories of gingerbread-house-aesthetics, and thus the grand competition commenced amongst lighthearted chit-chat and the bright notes of holiday music.
Artemis didn't dive right into the decorations like the others, but instead preferred to shadow for a few minutes. She picked up a tube of icing, and allowed her eyes to roam across the kaleidoscope of candy bowls. She honestly didn't even know the names of a few of the sweets; let alone what they would taste like.
Zatanna caught Artemis's baffled expression, and nudged her.
"Only I can decorate a gingerbread house without physically touching it," she teased, before taking the tube from Artemis's hands and showing her how to border a window with it. "Use it like glue. And then you put on some candy...like sprinkles." She handed the icing back and passed along a bowl of tiny rainbow sprinkles.
Artemis wordlessly nodded and picked up a single purple sprinkle. Then, to distract attention away from herself, she cleared her throat and pulled up a chirpy smile and a riddle.
"What's the difference," she began while carefully bordering the window, "between a knight and Santa's reindeer? One slays the dragon, while the other is draggin' the sleigh!"
"Hey!" piped up Wally through the laughter of the Team, "You stole that from me!"
"Here, have a gummy bear." She picked up a gummy and threw it at Wally, who automatically opened his mouth and caught it with satisfaction.
Robin silently chuckled to himself. Artemis apparently had already discovered the golden key to silencing the ever-jabbering speedster: food.
And what's more surprising was he let her, and stayed quiet.
Robin didn't have to be Batman's protégé to deduce this puzzle.
Planning a competition and actually executing such an event can be very much two different things. Halfway through, Robin and Zatanna began to bicker over the legalities of using magic in the candy architecture. And when Robin wasn't looking, Wally continuously inhaled their building supplies until he and Artemis flew into another oral wrestling match over the disappearing sweets.
"You're having dinner in like an hour! You can't hold off until then?"
"One full hour is a long time!"
"But how are we supposed to finish our houses if you're channeling your inner ogre and monopolizing all materials for your endless stomach?"
Wally crossed his arms and challenged her smugly. "I'm sure the citizens can find something else to spruce up their humble adobes."
"Like your internal organs when I take them from you?" Artemis glowered back.
Wally feigned a shocked gasp and leered away from the counter. "My Lady! Why must you treat an innocent ogre like such? I am only trying to calm the cries of my poor stomach!"
"And I am only trying to house my homeless subjects!"
"My stomach takes precedence over your nonexistent peasants."
"Oh, I can make your stomach nonexistent as well then."
Superboy raised an eyebrow at M'gann, who shrugged and turned apologetically to Kaldur's lightly amused expression. The Atlantian actually had half-a-mind to tell both quipping couples to "get a room", but decided it would not befit a Team leader to utter something so uncouth.
"Well," Wally announced, "as much as I'd love to stay with Princess Wannabe-Wit over here—" he gestured at Artemis, who narrowed her eyes "—I better go help the fam-bam with dinner." He brought two fingers to his forehead as a parting salute, and then turned towards Artemis. "Try not to miss me too much when I'm gone."
"I wouldn't be able to miss you too much if I'm not going to be missing you at all," Artemis retorted.
Wally pursed his lips and shook his head. "Ooo, you've always been a terrible liar, Arty." And then before the archer could tackle him, he zipped out of the kitchen and into a zeta-tube, leaving Artemis grinning and mentally stumbling over the veracity of Wally's statement at the same time.
Central City
December 24, 18:30 CDT
One practical benefit of having a family of speedsters is setting up the dinner table takes less than a second, and shortly after Wally arrived at the Garricks', it was finally time to shush the "cries of his poor stomach". However, not even after his first bite did conversation take a turn for the unfortunately awkward, with his own mother pushing down the first domino.
"So Wally, how's Artemis?" she inquired after scooping her son a ogre-sized helping of mashed potatoes.
"Ah yes, how is your girlfriend?" Joan added with excitement. "You should bring her around more often."
"She-! What-!" Wally choked. "She's not my girlfriend!"
"Yet," corrected Barry between chuckles.
Wally balked and turned towards his uncle.
"What do you mean 'yet'?"
"Oh Mary," Joan continued happily, "I hope you're prepared for lots of beautiful and feisty grandchildren!"
Wally's mother's face flushed with amusement and she gave her son's hair a quick ruffle.
"As long as they don't take after their father and superglue all the electrical plugs to their wall-sockets, I'll be fine!"
Laughter exploded around the table, and a defeated Wally grumbled into his honey ham.
Mount Justice
December 24, 19:40 EDT
Artemis's phone suddenly buzzed as she was half-way through cutting into her lasagna. She turned her head to see the sender of the text and snorted.
"You should probably stay away from my family for a while," Wally's message read. Artemis placed down her utensils and tapped a quick response.
"Lol why?"
Wally's reply came almost immediately: "They're getting ridiculous ideas."
"Aww are they telling you how handsome and charming and smart you are?"
Robin craned his neck from across the table to try to sneak a peek at Artemis's phone.
"Who are you texting?" he inquired. "Your BF?"
Artemis snorted and replied without taking her eyes off the screen, "If by BF you mean Bored Friend, then—" Suddenly, she halted and jerked her eyes upwards across the table at Robin. She was getting the strangest feeling of deja-vu…
Robin merely grinned at her.
"What?" he asked her.
"Nothing…" Artemis finally answered with a slight furrow of her eyebrows. "And it's just Wally," she added nonchalantly.
"And there's my answer!"
Artemis released a very loud "Ha!" at him and returned her expression into one of unamused deadpan.
"You're hilarious, Robin," she complimented him sarcastically.
It wasn't rare for Artemis to find herself completely occupied with thoughts about Wally—whether reliving memories, formulating new witty comebacks to old banter, or imagining scenarios if he were present. She realized how important his family was to Wally, but she couldn't help focus on the gnawing in her heart as she missed his presence. If Wally were here, he would have appreciated her subtle nerdy remark about wanting the food to blueshift instead of redshift, or realized the hilarious significance behind a porterhouse steak, or would have placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder when M'gann passed around a plate of warm peanut-butter chocolate-chip cookies.
She still laughed and joked with her teammates, for they had all gradually became her closest friends and almost-family, but she continued to find herself miss her best-friend—even though that was a title she would never admit to that obnoxious smart-mouthed speedster.
"Recognized: Kid Flash, B03."
Both Artemis's head and heart jerked at the welcoming message from the cave's computer. She placed the final washed and dried plate in the cupboard, turned towards the exit of the kitchen, hesitated for a split-second, and then swished her ponytail behind her shoulder before finally walking out. Zatanna attempted to catch her friend's eye, but Artemis was an archer on a mission. The magician did, however, manage to sneak over to the doorway just in time to humorously wish she had made a monetary bet on her earlier statement to Artemis on the subject of Wally's gigantic crush.
From the condition of the speeder's clothes, he had probably evaporated every single calorie from his Christmas feast running through a snow storm. But despite the winter frost tipping his hair, his eyes and face shone with spring and summer as he walked towards Artemis. They met at the center of the command room, and paused within a few feet of each other. All of a sudden, Wally untangled the maroon scarf around his neck and used it to swiftly lasso Artemis in until her arms were pressed against his chest.
Zatanna couldn't decipher Artemis's expression, but she could only guess Wally was only a second away from becoming a secret eggnog ingredient in M'gann's blender. She was about to step out from her clandestine hideaway when Wally saved himself by pointing upwards with a lopsided grin. Both Artemis and Zatanna's eyes followed his finger to spy a single twig of mistletoe, hung by an artistic web of burgundy ribbons.
Oh you dog, thought Zatanna as she ducked away with a smirk.
Back under the mistletoe, Artemis's silent glower gradually morphed into a foxy sparkle. She tilted her head towards Wally and leaned in with an aura of anticipation. She caught the jump in Wally's eyes, as well as behind his chest, and smirked away her own hitched breathing. Her lips moved closer and closer, until they finally brushed softly over his cheek, and left a tingle of peppermint as she drew away.
Artemis found Wally half-smiling, half-hypnotized as she pulled back.
"That's it?" he asked at last after finding his voice.
Artemis pursed her lips and angled her head pensively. She reached up and carefully brushed back a curl of his hair that had become stuck to his forehead from the melting snow.
"I could add a slap too," she cooed.
Wally inhaled slowly with a deliberately contemplative nod, and cocked an eyebrow at Artemis's glimmering eyes.
"Hmm," he replied leisurely, and then turned away to shout over his shoulder, "So! M'gann! How 'bout some delicious dessert?" He released her from the scarf, and Artemis was left laughing into a quake of wind.
It was just a simple and platonic kiss, but it left a scorching imprint, and Artemis was grateful for the burst of air to cool the tingling heat rushing across her cheeks. However, there was no suppressing the sparks inside her, and it was only the fear of the unknown that stopped her unbridled instinct from wanting more.
She coughed and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, followed by a half-hearted smoothing of her sweater—anything to keep her immediate thoughts away from over-analyzing the situation as she walked back to the kitchen where M'gann was pouring glasses of eggnog. She caught Zatanna staring at her with a contorted face of suppressed humor, and mentally braced herself for the interrogation next time the two girls were alone.
"Eggnog?" offered M'gann as she held up a glass to Artemis.
"Batman approve of this?" the archer asked as she accepted and took a sip. Sweet, creamy, warm…it all hit her taste-buds at once and she felt relaxed even before she swallowed. "Wow M'gann, this is really good! I mean, not that I really have anything to compare this with but—"
Wally immediately whirled to her side.
"You mean you've never had eggnog before?" he interrupted. "Even the kiddy kinds?"
"No, I thought I—" Artemis paused when she felt the eyes on her. She looked away from Wally and noticed everyone had fallen silent and had turned to her with inquisitive expressions. She sighed and lowered her gaze to the beige swirls in her glass. "M'gann and Conner aren't the only ones who've never celebrated Christmas before," she muttered. She looked back up and caught everyone sharing knowing glances with each other.
"Oh, we knew," spoke M'gann.
Artemis shot a frenzied glare at Wally, who threw up his palms and backed up.
"We kind of assumed on our own, actually," Zatanna added quickly.
"Yeah, it's really no big deal," Conner continued. "You never got a chance to celebrate as a kid. So what? You still turned out okay."
Kaldur reached forward to rest a hand on Artemis's shoulder and concluded with the wise words of a leader and a friend: "We will never judge you on your past, Artemis. It is the choices you make in the present that determine your true character."
"And really, as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters right?" Wally interjected with a grin. "Because that's what the holiday season is really about: enjoying time with those closest to you."
"KF, you sap!" Robin laughed, before raising his glass into the air. "To the Team," he toasted, and then turned to Artemis. "To spending the holiday with those closest to you," he added, "but never forgetting those who are gone."
Artemis couldn't quite place the flash of empathy that passed through Robin's dark shades, nor did she have time to dwell on it as glasses clanked upwards and eggnog sloshed downwards among cheers of "Merry Christmas!"
The remainder of the evening was spent in front of the fireplace, with the Team spread out on couches, or in Wally's case, the floor. Halfway through their light conversations, Artemis left her seat on the couch to use the restroom, only to come back to see Wolf had commandeered her spot and was now resting his giant head comfortably on Conner's lap. The effects of the eggnog caused her to shrug away her loss and slide against the couch to rest on the floor next to Wally.
"Hath My Lady finally come down from up high to join her ogre?" he teased.
Artemis leaned back and shot him a grin through half-lidded eyes.
"Ogre, or prince?" she huskily replied.
Wally smiled and leaned closer.
"Whicever My Lady doth wish," he answered.
Artemis continued to stare mirthfully at him until the bits and pieces of outside conversation knocked into their bubble of silence.
"Christmas story reading, anyone?" M'gann suggested as a large book floated softly to the coffee table.
"Ooo, me first!" chimed Wally as he leaned forward to grab the book. "But I'm reading a poem because I have the attention span of a pea when it comes to these things..."
He flipped through the pages until he stumbled across his favorite piece, and began: "Twas the night before Christmas, when all through—" He paused, and his eyes lit up with a dusting of ingenious glitter. He cleared his throat, and restarted the poem, but with a few personal tweaks of his own:
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through Mount Justice
Not a creature was stirring, not even Artemis.
The crime files all opened on the computer with care,
In hopes that Batman soon would be there.
The Team was nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of missions danced in their heads.
And RT in his 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.
When out on the beach there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the exit I flew as Kid Flash,
Opened the latch and was outside in a dash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day as all was aglow.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so brooding and fast,
I knew in a moment it must be ol Bats.
Swifter than the Bioship his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Robin! Now, Robin! Now, Robin and Robin!
On, Robin! On, Robin! On, on Robin and Robin!
To the top of the cave! To the top of the seawall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
He couldn't continue, because the entire Team had dissolved into laughter, with even the usual straight-faced Conner and Kaldur clutching their stomachs.
"I'm pulling the sleigh?" Robin choked.
"All eight of you," Zatanna replied with a chortle, "after I use one of my spells!"
After the laughter died down, she and Robin took turns reading lines from an abridged version of The Nutcracker, and the book was passed around the group until it returned to M'gann for the last story of the night.
"One dollar and eighty-seven cents," the Martian began as she started classically one of the most heart-warming Christmas stories. "That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time…"
Somewhere in the middle of the story, Artemis's eyelids began to droop, and soon the warmth of the fire and being next to Wally pulled her into a dreaming snooze. On its own accord, her head slid down until it found the niche between Wally's shoulder, and her whole being melted into the silken cocoon of sleep.
Wally looked down at the top of her head in amusement. He gently took the empty mug out of her hand and set it aside, and slowly shifted until his arm was around her. If anyone else on the Team noticed this sudden dissolving of the line between the archer and the speedster, no one made a gesture or sound. Perhaps they were all expecting it, or perhaps it was just the cheer of the season that allowed for such bold movements.
"…O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. The end."
M'gann quietly closed the book, and the Team basked in the halcyon of camaraderie for a few moments before a yawn from Robin woke them to the reality of the late hour.
"Sleepy time," whispered Zatanna as she rose from the couch and stretched. She looked over at Wally and Artemis, and noticed the former lost in thought in the mesmerizing flames of the fireplace, and the latter still comfortably asleep in his arms. She sighed and grinned, before murmuring a few words and materializing a blanket on top of the two.
Startled, Wally jerked his head away from the fireplace and caught Zatanna's wink. He mouthed a "thanks" and watched everyone leave the room among wishes of "Merry Christmas" before returning his focus back towards the dancing flames. He closed his eyes, and ran his fingers lightly up and down Artemis's arm. She made a soft sniffling noise in her sleep, and Wally turned his gaze towards her. Somewhere in the background, the soft tune of "Where Are You Christmas" began playing.
And then it hit him like a sappy baseball right in the sappy head: he liked her—the girl whose warmth was permeating through his shoulder into his heart and making it beat faster with every second of his epiphany; the girl who had somehow evolved from the bane of his existence into the boon of his days.
He had never seen it coming, but it somehow felt familiar all the same. Maybe somewhere in the back of his mind he had known the from the first moment he saw Artemis that this was going to be a different story than his flings with the girls at school, or even his good-natured crush on M'gann. It was more than her undeniable beauty that had acted as a fishing hook—it was how she took the time to listen and comfort him on the beach after Kent Nelson's death; how she made his heart fly with adrenaline through her wit; how she argued with him and was never afraid to back down; how she understood and relished his nerdy-side; how she gave him the desire to never see her anything other than happy. It was also how Artemis had somehow changed Wally—for the better. In his fifteen years of existence, her footsteps had left the greatest imprint on his heart, even just after four months.
No more denial; no more ignoring the lingering feeling that had unknowingly morphed from annoyance to adoration; no more lying to himself and trying to climb away on an invisible ladder that had stopped existing. He was falling—no, he was soaring—he was soaring with the feeling of longing pouring through his veins like liquid gold.
Wally West was slowly, but surely, falling in love with Artemis Crock. He had found his Spitfire.
He tightened his arm around her, and gently laid his lips on her soft hair. He closed his eyes again and sat still, hardly breathing, and just living in brief anoesis as the overhead song finished.
I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love…
As the piece trailed away, a lone nebulous thought trailed into his mind like the fingers of unwanted fog; a thought that threatened to shatter his epiphany and maybe something more: what if all this… was unrequited?
A chill suddenly quenched the embers in his chest and his eyes flew open. His breathing buckled, and he slowly pulled away from Artemis to droop his head against the couch behind them. As he stared at the flickering shadows on the ceiling cast by the dying fire at the hearth, he decided he would rather take a risk than sit forever in regret.
Or maybe…she won't know; not yet at least. It'll be his secret to keep until an opportune moment arose, but for now…
With one fluid motion, he scooped her up in his arms, blanket and all, and cradled her all the way into her bedroom. He laid her softly on the bed, and with a small upwards twitch of his lips, tucked in the blanket all around her outline so she looked like a burrito. Just because he liked her more than just a friend doesn't mean he'll ever stop being silly.
He gazed at her peaceful sleeping figure for a moment before zooming out of the room, and then slipping back in a few seconds later. In his hand were a card and a small piece of paper. He flattened both out on Artemis's desk, and borrowing a pen, spent a few minutes thinking and writing down two separate messages. When he finally finished, he sealed the card in an envelope, folded the note in half, and placed both on her nightstand to greet her in the morning.
He remembered the last time he had stayed awake watching Artemis—it was during the nightmarish few hours after she suffered an injury to her head in November. He had knelt on the ground by her bed with his head resting in his arms by her side, and bargained with every higher-powered entity known to man for her eyes to flutter awake. Upon reflection, he wondered if that was the single moment when he realized how valuable her life was to him; how much he would miss her if she left; how broken his heart would be without her.
But tonight, instead of worry and regret tearing his insides, his heart felt full and his gaze was endearing as his eyes traced the perfect arcs of her eyebrows, the full feathers of her long eyelashes, and her cheekbones and lips flushed with the coziness of sleep.
And then on a whim, he dipped his head down and laid a kiss as light as a snowflake on her forehead, before softly whispering, "I've found you, Christmas."
Mount Justice
December 25, 9:24 EDT
Artemis woke the next morning facing her nightstand and a blur of white. She blinked the hazy dreams from her eyes and realized she was staring at the unmistakable scrawl of Wally on a small piece of paper resting on a larger envelope. Upon remembering what day it was, she quickly untangled her hand from the awfully-tightly-wrapped blanket around her and reached over.
She smoothed out the note and read it first:
+1 for putting you to bed?
- Wally
P.S. You snore like a lawn mower
Artemis scoffed. "I do not!" She grumbled out loud, and picked up the envelope. Inside was a Christmas card covered in glitter and wishes of joy, with a simple letter written on the inside:
Dear Arty /Rapunzel/Spider-Lover,
Merry Christmas! So… now that I have 10 points, I can redeem them right?
How about we escape this cold and go to the San Diego Zoo for a day?
Wait… did I just redeem all my hard-earned points for your present? … Dang!
Cheers,
The Extremely Good Looking Wallman
P.S. Just kidding—you don't snore. You do drool a little though :P
Artemis reread the words over and over before finally clutching the card to her chest and resting her head back on her pillow. She closed her eyes with a sigh, and a small laugh jingled through her lips.
Central City
December 25, 8:30 CDT
Wally woke with a start as the cellphone on his nightstand lit up and buzzed. He grumbled something about eggnog, and groggily fumbled his fingers until they wrapped around the thin device and brought it to his squinting eyes. It was a text from Artemis, and he had to blink several times at the simple message before it sloshed through his brain and kicked him awake.
Then suddenly, the phone flew from his hand and plopped onto the covers as he threw his arms into the air with a triumphant yell.
"Wahoo!" he exclaimed, before zooming out of his bed and into the hallway. "Merryyyyyyy Christmaaaaassssss!"
His phone glowed like a star in the night as it shined Artemis's message through the dimly lit room. It contained merely a single word, but held enough warmth for Wally to let him know maybe his secret needn't be a secret for much longer:
"Okay :]"
If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time
A/N: Only 3 more chapters and an Epilogue to go!
Also, thank you to everyone who participated in the giveaway! The winners were already announced, and prizes shipped. However, I'm definitely thinking of having another one when ALF is complete, so keep an eye out! I notified all those who have reviewed ALF in the past via PM's, but I think I'm going to announce it at the end of the Epilogue this time. Less work for me lol.
EDIT: I am well aware of the ages of Wally and Artemis, and how Wally is older than Artemis. However, I planned this story way before "Coldhearted", and thus their birthdays are not canon. Please do not send me messages regarding that. Thanks!
Next chapter: Sometimes, Wally needs someone to wipe his tears too…
Thank you for reading, and for taking the time to review if you can!