I don't own Young Justice
The Flash raced through the stonehalls of the Watchtower, he'd been on a long mission and wanted to get the meeting out of the way so he could spend time with a certain someone...
Emerging into a hall with two transparent walls and a U shaped metal table, Wally paused to see who else had made the meeting. In one corner stood Conner and Raquel, Wally overheard Conner wanting to find out if his strength could break through his teammate's shield and decided he's grab some popcorn if/when they decided to find out. M'gann and Zatanna stood next to the table discussing an upcoming undercover mission, and something about a kid's magic show. Rob (not in his Batman outfit again...) talked quietly with Kaldur at the head of the table. Since taking the title of Aquaman, Kaldur had become an unofficial envoy between the Justice League and Atlantis, which entailed many small exchanges between the Team's past leaders. Last but not least there was Artemis and Roy, sitting together, pouring over what looked like a mission report. The sight of his beautiful girlfriend working so well with Star City's archer in chief make Wally smile, especially considering how both relationships had started off...Roy for his part, had needed a lot of time to deal with finding out he was a clone, but eventually he decided to rejoin the Justice League.
Wally sped over to the pair and hugged Artemis from behind to saying hello. An act which Artemis found somewhere between endearing and exasperating.
"Wally, normal boyfriends say hello"
"Me, normal, I'm the fasted man alive"
Wally decided he'd indulge convention and give his girlfriend a kiss...
"Get a room" came Roy's oh so eloquent reply, but he wasn't done yet..."At least he's on time when you're here".
Artemis gave Wally a HIGHLY suggestive look as she responded "that's because he knows what I'll do if he's late".
Wally went as read as his costume, luckily the situation was saved by Rob calling the meeting to order. The main items on the agenda regarded the team (being lead by the current Robin), news from J'onn about the situation on Mars (putting a smile on M'gann's face), and recent missions, including the joint mission undertaken by Red Arrow and Artemis. The last of these caused some discussion, with both Archers disagreeing on who had hit more targets. This lasted for a few minutes, with Wally trying not to get drawn into the middle, before Rob put his foot down. "If you two don't mind, we have other business to attend to" came to closest the League had heard to The Batman voice in a while, silencing both belligerents instantly. With no other unexpected topics; the meeting was concluded in good time, with Wally and Artemis parting ways to get ready for a dinner date.
As Wally sped through the Watchtower he stopped at the sight of an elderly man in a grey suit, he looked at Wally with a sad smile.
"You found your Spitfire I see" spoke the man
"Yeah" came Wally's cautious reply, before his eyes widened in shock "Your"...
Wally woke with the name of the dead (and departed) former Doctor Fate on his lips. He didn't know why but something made Wally resist the urge to cry out the man's name. As he lay on a sofa in a grey ceilinged room somewhere in the Watchtower, Wally thought about the events of last night.
After the New Year had officially begun, the League had invited the Team to celebrate with them on the Watchtower. Wally had to admit that since they'd saved the League from Savage, it seemed only fair. Although how they were going to handle Watchtower access after this...who knows?
Wally's next thought was of Roy, who had been led back to Star City by Black Canary and Green Arrow. Would his friend be able to recover from this? Would he be able to find the original Speedy? Was the original Speedy still alive?
Wally realised he could do nothing for his traumatised teammate at the moment, and he tried to remember what had happened during the party with the rest of the heroes. His first memory was Rob showing off his dance moves with (and to) Zatanna. Wally had finally figured out what Rob must do at the Events Bruce drags him to. He was suddenly struck by the memory of Batman saying in his most The Batman voice "I don't dance". The thought of Batman dancing made Wally want to burst out laughing, but once again something stopped him.
That lead led to the memory of Doctor Fate, standing in a corner, watching the young couple. Wally had to wonder what was going through Zatara's mind, trapped inside the Helmet of Fate, watching his daughter dance and flirt with her teammate. The thought made Wally grimace in anger at Nabu's actions. He tried to find happier memories, remembering Conner sitting with M'gann, Superman and J'onn. Even Wally knew how much Conner had wanted attention from the Man of Steel, and seeing the two talking casually brought a smile to still sleepy speedster's face.
M'gann had chatted with J'onn, Wally hearing a sincere apology for something she'd done to him during the battle to free him from Savage's control. Now and then she and Conner would look at each other, and Wally wondered what kind of psychic conversation they had been having.
Kaldur and Raquel, despite their peck on the lips (which Wally had been too distracted to witness at the time) had been largely separate during the party. The former talking quietly with various League and Team members, the latter animatedly telling Icon about her experiences with the Team so far, in particular Savages almost successful scheme. It occurred to Wally just how new they both were. They had never encountered this level of action before, and Wally hoped it wouldn't sour they taste for being league level heroes.
That left Artemis. After their kiss, they'd stayed in near each other as they chatted to various other attendees. In spite of himself, Wally was glad Green Arrow had left before the party had really started. He was willing to bet Green Arrow counted as Artemis's father figure and might well watch Wally like a hawk all night. Not that the older archer hadn't taken action; he'd left a message on a rolled up piece of paper, which Flash had delivered. Before unrolling it, Wally noticed it by its weight that the paper contained something, it read...
Kid Flash
It has come to my attention that you intend to pursue my protégé, Artemis. While I do not object to this, you should understand that if I find out you have hurt her in any way, shape, or form, you will die.
Green Arrow
At the bottom on the message Wally found the source of the weight he'd felt. An arrow. A very sharp arrow.
Wally's first reaction was to look to his mentor for help. But Flash just smiled, put a hand on his shoulder and imparted his words of wisdom...
"Hey, you're in the adult clubhouse now"
Before Wally could respond, Artemis came up behind him, put a hand on his shoulder and read the warning. She then smirked in a way that pushed Wally's thoughts in a direction that he REALLY hoped wasn't being monitored by M'gann, and whispered into his ear in a sickly sweet voice...
"Don't worry; if you did there wouldn't be anything left for him after I was done with you"
Yep, defiantly a spitfire.
With that wonderful experience concluded, the party went on.
At some point every couple in the Watchtower had ended up on the designated dance floor. While Conner and M'gann were content to just sway to the music, Wally wanted to do more. Seeing Rob doing...well something involving spinning and dropping Zatanna, then seeing M'gann, gave him an idea. He broadcast a thought to his psychic teammate, asking her to ask Rob to send some dance lesson memories back to him via her. As Rob put it (without missing a beat) "you want Miss M to send detailed memories from one person to another, while former said person and her are both dancing, all so you can show off to your girlfriend"? "Yes" came the unashamed reply, Wally hadn't gotten even this far with Artemis by holding back and playing it safe.
Maybe fate (not Fate) was on Wally's side, as just after this exchange the song changed to a much slower tempo. With both Rob and M'gann agreeing after a further prod, knowledge poured into Wally's mind; apparently Rob had sent him an entire beginner's course. Making an excuse, Wally quickly found a corner to practice the movements on his own. After a few minutes, he rejoined the party, found Artemis talking to Raquel, waited for an opening, and made his move.
"Would you like to dance"? He asked with his right hand extended, palm upwards and open. Artemis clearly hadn't been expecting this as it took her a second to respond with a cautious "sure". Leading her toward the dance floor, which now included none romantic couples and was therefore much more crowded, Wally tried to find a space to start.
Wally started to move with Artemis left to right, collecting his thoughts (both owned and borrowed), and deciding on his starting point. The current piece was slow, so he began by pulling Artemis into a Sway, enjoying the torso to torso contact the move entailed. He held that position, moving backwards and forwards with Artemis, for longer than Rob's memories instructed. Wally didn't care, but did notice Rob's raised eyebrow and half smile.
For about ten minutes they danced, Wally trying all the moves Rob had given him that felt like safe bets, he didn't want to mess up with Artemis after all. After a few minutes, during a slow and quiet section, Artemis asked Wally when he'd learnt to dance. Wally simply smiled and said "I picked up a few moves here and there". The eyebrow raised in response told him he wasn't quite believed, but Artemis didn't enquire further.
Wally noticed he was getting hungry, curse his metabolism! As it was nearing the end of a song Wally was familiar with, he decided to make this his big finish. Holding Artemis's right hand in his own, he pulled her close. "I'm sorry but I need to eat" explained the speedster, the Archer simply laughed and nodded as she was led to the edge of the dance floor. Just as the final chorus was drawing to a close, Wally made his final move(s). A Catapult into a Wurlitzer, then into a Sway as the song wound down (doing it properly this time). In the last few seconds, Wally went from the Sway into a Double Comb. Making sure that both times his hand went over Artemis's head, he would lightly touch her hair. In the song's last few beats He stood with his girlfriend, right hand in right hand and decided to add something extra, a cherry on top if you will. He raised Artemis's hand, kissed it, thanked her for the dance, and left for the buffet table.
As he moved towards the food, Wally spotted Zatanna, who he hadn't seen mingling with the others very much. It occurred to Wally that aside from Rob and Artemis, she had relatively few connections to other Team or League members (not that having your imprisoned/possessed dad here would help with that). "Hey, how are you holding up"? Asked the speedster, "I'm ok, Robin's been trying to distract me all night" came the young girl's reply, as she tried not to look over to the corner where Fate silently observed. Wally wanted to reassure her, to tell her that Nabu would eventually let Zatara go, but didn't want to give her false hope.
Suddenly, Wally found a way to change the subject, and satisfy his own curiosity. "What happens on those nights out you and Artemis go on"? The look Zatanna gave him, smirking and one eyebrow raised, made Wally wonder what would happen if she and Rob ever had a prank war. "We ride around, fight thugs, have a few drinks, sometimes we even run into someone else in a costume". Before Wally had a chance to reply she added in a teasing voice, "Why, did you think we talked about boys the whole time"? This made Wally blush bright red, quickly changing the subject..."Is it always just the two of you"? "M'gann never seemed interested, Raquel's invited to the next one, we just need to find her a bike" replied the sorceress.
After a comfortable silence (minus the sound of Wally eating), Wally decided to rejoin the party. "Hey, I better get back to the others, just know that if you ever need dirt on Rob..." "Don't worry, I'll let you know" came Zatanna's reply, with a different smile to the ones he'd seen before. This wasn't the smile for polite acquaintances; this was the smile for friends. The expression was returned as Wally made his way back to the crowd.
After more dancing and chatting the party started to die down, since all present had commitments later that day they couldn't party too hard. After numerous goodbyes and goodnights to various League and Team members, Wally found himself tired and next to Artemis. Seeing the state of both of them, Flash told them to find a blanket and place to sleep (and shot Wally a light-hearted warning look). The two young heroes had found a blanket, then a sofa...
With that the last of the fog lifted from Wally's mind, and he realised that he was lying down with Artemis on a sofa. Wally's first reaction was to think that this was one the best moments of his life, immediately followed by dread at the thought of someone finding them like this. While the security camera footage would exonerate him post-mortem, it wouldn't bring him back from the dead. Very carefully, Wally moved the blanket just enough to see down the length of their bodies and was relieved to find them both still in their costumes. Hopefully if caught Wally could avoid being thrown into space.
Even sleeping, Artemis looked ready for action, every muscle ready to move into firing position like a bow string. Now that he knew Artemis's past, Wally frowned as he imagined what must have happened to make her so battle ready, even asleep.
Wally also couldn't help but notice how beautiful Artemis looked as he observed her sleeping form. Their proximity and the knowledge of what she could do in a fight quickened his pulse noticeably. He may have felt certain parts of her body merited further observation. This would of course have been for entirely scientific reasons. Any suggestion that it was related to him being a young heterosexual male being close to an attractive female would be disputed in the strongest possible terms.
As much as he was enjoying the moment, Wally was getting hungry, which eventually forced him to move. Very slowly moving away from Artemis, while ignoring vague noises of protest, he rose from the sofa. He was about to set off in search of food, but then turns and leaves his goggles on the armrest next to Artemis's head. He hopes this will convince her not to kick his ass when she wakes up.
Slowly moving through the Watchtower, Wally remembers he hasn't checked the time. It's 10am EST, although he discovers that the League had rows of clocks in certain rooms like an office building, displaying the time in various time zones. Wally then thought of the amount of Zeta-beaming from one continent to another that he'd done over the past months but had never felt jet lag, thank you modern technology.
He caught the smell of coffee in the air and found a large kitchen, with a fresh smelling pot steaming on the table. As Wally poured himself a mug of the dark brown liquid, Kaldur, his own mug in hand, took a seat across from him. "Good morning my friend, I believe congratulations are in order", Kaldur's smile assuring Wally that he was not in for teasing at this time. "Thanks, so what about you and Raquel"? Wally wanted to keep the topic away from his love life in case anyone else shows up. Unfortunately the only reply he gets is a polite "we shall see". Wally then proceeded to get some breakfast and sit back down.
They sat in comfortable silence as the rest of the team join them one by one. Zatanna entered first, greeting them both and downing coffee cups quicker than either Wally or Kaldur. Wally looks at her eyes and wonders how much she'd slept. M'gann and Conner are next, the latter nods in greeting while the former gives them a cheery "good morning everyone", neither take any coffee, the wonders of alien physiology. Rob enters next, greets them all perfectly normally, but takes a cup of coffee. Wally knows that Rob's used to not sleeping much. He takes a seat next to Zatanna, gives her a concerned look, and nods when she gives him a sad smile in return. Raquel's next, yawning, rubbing her eyes and demanding coffee. She downs her cup in one go before greeting them in a tired voice. She takes a seat next to Kaldur, exchanging friendly smiles with their leader.
After several in attendance had drunk more coffee and make themselves breakfast, light conversation started around the table. When the topic of conversation involved Artemis, M'gann asked the inevitable question. "Wally, have you seen Artemis". Rob and Zatanna smirked slightly, forcing images of magical ninja babies into Wally's mind. He thought for a moment about lying, but decided against it. He and Artemis being together was nothing to be embarrassed about, (although he still needed to ask her out on a date), "She was sleeping when I left her".
As the words leave his mouth, Kaldur looks behind Wally, but it happens before he can turn around. Before he knew it, Wally's goggles are back on his head and Artemis has sat down in a seat the others left free to his right. Wally then decided to make it clear to all present his position on the matter of him and Artemis. "Morning beautiful, sleep well"? Before he would have used a cornier voice for such a question, but not today. Artemis smiled as she replied "yeah" before they kissed on the lips. The others were slightly surprised, but recovered after a moment.
And so the Team fell into more light conversation, until Wally decided to get one last hurdle out of the way. "Artemis, would you have dinner with me tonight". The question was meant to sound casual, but he couldn't keep the edge of apprehension from his voice. "Wally West are you asking me out"? Artemis replied in a teasing tone. This was not something Wally would take lying down..."Why, should I be asking someone else"? "Only if want one of my arrows in your back" Artemis countered, her voice holding the challenging edge which made Wally's pulse quicken. "Well then, meet me at the Cave's Zeta-tubes, 7pm" at which Artemis smiled and nodded.
Around the table the conversation shifted to what the Team had on their to-do lists for today; checking in with mentors, family and various other tasks. At some point Wally remembered the dreams he'd been having on and off since July last year, he and his teammates being the next generation of the justice league. At that moment Wally lifted his mug (holding another cup of coffee), surrounded by his friends, and with his Artemis at his side, he made a promise to himself. He would help Red Arrow, and the eight around this table would join him in the Justice League.
The future was theirs.