Disclaimer- Do not own Young Justice or any of it's characters
Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I've been a tad busy and also frankly a little lazy with editing this one.
Hopefully the next one will be on Friday like it's supposed to be.
Anyway, please enjoy this next installment and let me know what you think!
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Chapter length: 3,396 words
o.o.o.o
The sun had returned to Gotham City.
It was as if the streets had never been flooded with gallons of water the previous day. The sidewalks were back to the normal level of hustle and bustle, pedestrians hurrying to their jobs. The warmth cast down from the giant fiery orb was sadly lost upon most of them, so quick were they to make deadlines or get indoors before the daytime criminals started to rear their ugly heads.
One person, however, was reaping the full benefits of Mother Nature's apology for last night's tantrum.
Wally West woke up to the sound of birds chirping right outside of his apartment window, which was a very welcome change from the sharp tap of cold rain drops beating against it. His lids fluttered a bit at the pleasant song, but he couldn't be bothered to open his eyes yet, not when he was feeling so comfortable.
With a morning grunt, Wally rolled himself over into a wide shaft of sunlight that washed over a good portion of his body; it soaked into his bones, warming him from the inside out and making him feel like a fat, lazy feline. He hummed satisfyingly into the carpet that brushed along his chin and lips, tilting his head to rub his cheek against the material.
Never noticed how soft this carpet is, he thought sleepily. So much better than trying to sleep in that chair...
Last night he had given up trying to rest with his back curled uncomfortably in the chair he had sat in to tend Artemis, and had instead slid off into the floor at some point. There he had almost instantaneously fallen into a deep sleep after the day's tiring events.
The memory of said events reminded him rather suddenly of the patient that was under his care right now. She would probably still be sleeping away on his couch, and would most likely awaken with her pain returning from the meds wearing off. There was also a chance she could have very well picked up a fever during the night and sweated them out, but all was quiet in his apartment; no grunts or laboured breaths of discomfort were issueing from the sofa, so that was good.
Thinking of Artemis and what she had been through, though, made him frown against the rug.
I definitely need to check on her... he told himself lethargically, but his body protested any idea of moving, even to pry his lids open. The sun was just too damn invited, and how often did it shine this magnificently in Gotham anyway? Wally could just about count the number of times on one hand alone.
But he really, really wanted to check on Artemis.
Letting out a loud over-the-top yawn, Wally rolled himself over onto his back and out of the magnificently yellow rays of the sun. A smile curved up his lips at the lingering heat on his skin, hoping against hope that it would stay that way for at least the day.
Wally sat up, finally opening his emerald eyes and blinking rapidly so they would adjust to the bright morning filtering into the room. He rubbed at them with his fists, breathing deeply in through his nose.
"Aaaah!" Wally yawned again, scratching at his sunbaked hair. "Good morning my incredibly stubborn and insane shot vict—"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening. The couch that Artemis had been taking her rest on was vacant. In fact, the only things left there that told of her presence was a very unsightly blood stain, and his equally bloody blanket bunched up at the foot of the couch.
If Wally's brain had not been fully awake before, it was now as it kicked into high overdrive panic mode. He scrambled to his feet so fast he nearly stumbled.
"Artemis?" he called, taking in the immediate area. She was no where to be found. How in the world could someone with a gaping flesh wound be up and about within a few hours like it was no big deal? Assuming she hadn't just left him in the middle of the night. Had she not been in such bad shape, Wally would have found that excuse highly plausible, all things about her stubborn personality considered.
Wally checked the kitchen, he checked the guest bedroom, and he was just about to poke his head out into the hall when he heard a sound emanate from his bedroom.
"Artemis?" he whispered to himself, slowly moving back across apartment toward his room. "Or a burglar? That's always a valid possibility in Gotham."
Cautiously, he padded to his shut bedroom door, laying his hand upon the polished metal knob. Like he was about to take a plunge into unknown waters, he inhaled deeply before twisting the object and pushing it inward with his shoulder. The portal swung open, letting the stale air waft out of his room, along with a smell he recognized as his shampoo.
There was a light coming from his bathroom. And steam.
And there was Artemis, the unstable blonde woman, just rifling away through his drawers without a care in the world. Like she hadn't been shot last night and shouldn't still be in excruciating pain.
Oh, and she was naked. Of course.
"What are you doing!?" Wally squeaked, looking at the floor around her. There were socks, underwear, and jesus fuck, she had thrown some of his condoms into the floor and he was about to have a freaking heart attack. "What!?" he yelled again, not even sure why.
The normal reaction for being caught ass naked would have been to scream loudly and make a vague attempt at shielding your body from whoever had intruded. Wally was quickly learning that there was absolutely nothing on the realm of normal about this Artemis woman, because she turned around to face him fully with the utmost calm, jutting her hip to the side while she rested her palms against them.
"Don't you have anything to wear," she asked irritatedly. Her voice was surprisingly husky; he had assumed last night that it was due to her physical condition, but she seemed far better now and that pleasant husky lilt still issued from her throat.
Wally sputtered incoherently. What in the world was he supposed to say in a situation like this? In all his years he could honestly say he'd never had to deal with a strange woman he barely knew walking around his place completely naked. Wally had seen a few naked women in his time, yet he had known them to some degree more than he knew Artemis.
And still for some unknown reason her nudity made crimson heat creep up his face and neck horribly.
Maybe he had seen her naked last night, but that had been a life and death situation; that was different!
Who was this woman!?
Artemis had the gall to look at him like he was the crazy one.
"Hey, fire head! I'm talking to you," she insisted, snapping her fingers like he was in a trance.
He kind of was. He was very distracted by her. This woman that was standing across from him with her jaw set and her hips cocked sassily to one side, staring him down challengingly like she thought he would fight her. This woman that should still be bedridden on his couch right now, and not standing there letting water drip sensually along her curves until it found rest in his carpet.
It was clear to him that she had made herself at home. She obviously had no qualms about utilizing a stranger's shower without asking for permission, and was bold enough to search it out by herself, too. So now there she was, with her skin still damp and shining, her clean golden hair hanging over her shoulder to conceal one breast from view. He hadn't been able to fully appreciate it's length last night; it fell to just above her backside. It looked long enough to do some damage to someone if she wanted it to. And she probably had before.
Her hair didn't look like the only thing she could use to her advantage. Wally found himself absolutely stunned by how well built she was. Her biceps, legs, thighs, calves— they were all so strong and corded looking that he could barely believe she was real. She looked like the kind of woman that had a very strict workout regimen, and could easily break some bones if anyone got on her bad side. Once again he imagined she probably had before.
Better hope you stay on her positive side, then, he thought to himself, eyes lingering on her abdomen.
The abs there were defined as well, but that wasn't what captured his attention; his green eyes had alighted immediately on her injury, searching it from his distance. She had already taped it back over in a very messy attempt at the way he had fixed it the night before. He wasn't confident she had cleaned it and applied the correct medical supplies to it, judging by it's hasty looking appearance. Somehow he knew better than to mention that to her.
"Uh..." he mumbled, still mesmerized by her stature. She smirked at him, swinging her hip over to the other side with a clearing of her throat.
How had he not noticed how beautiful she was before?
Maybe because before you she was kind of dying and you weren't gawking at her like a creep?
Wally flinched at the thought. He whirled on his heels, looking in the opposite direction in a late attempt at some of the modesty his mother had been sure to pound into his skull.
He cleared his throat very loudly.
"Look, Artemis," he started, rubbing at the back of his neck. He hoped she was listening, as he was currently talking to his bedroom wall. "I'll get you some clothes if you'll stop throwing my personal shit everywhere. And then can we sit down and maybe talk about why someone shot you and how you're running around like it never happened?"
There was a silence, like she was thinking about his offer.
"Yes to the clothes. None of your business to the shot," she told him firmly. Wally winced at the answer, wishing he hadn't even tried. "Look, uh… Wally, right?"
He came a hair of asking her how she knew his name; he didn't remember ever offering it up to her last night. But then it hit him that she had probably been snooping quite unabashedly around his digs, and must have seen some of his science plaques or his degree.
"Uh, yeah. The one and only."
"I really appreciate what you did for me. It was incredibly stupid of you, but… I guess I sort of… owe you my life," she sighed out. He got the feeling that admitting he had helped her out was admitting a terrible weakness for her. That bothered him. "But I'm not hanging around for breakfast with you, alright? The fact is, I don't even know you, and you don't want to know me. And I've got some… friends," she spat out the word like it was ash on her tongue, "that I have to get back to before they miss me."
Wally had to ask. He had to.
"And are these... friends, the ones who got you shot?"
"No."
Wally exhaled through his nose, then crossed his arms, glaring at the paint on his bedroom wall.
"I really think you need to stay at least another night. I can't believe you're even up and walking, that's impossible."
"I'm a fast healer," she said. "Now, about those clothes?" Her tone gave him no room for any other questions.
"You know, you're really something, just snooping around my place and clogging up my shower drain with your fancy hair," he groused out at her. "Do you know how expensive Drano is?"
"And you're an awful nosy redhead that thinks he's entitled to asking me personal questions just because you carried me out of the rain I told you I'd rather be left in," she reposted right back. Damn, she was good at that, it seemed. "Clothes, Wally. I already thanked you, I'm not feeding you my life story!"
"Yeah, well! Ugh. Fine, whatever," he groaned, throwing his hands up into the air. As much as he hated to admit it, she really had him on the whole privacy thing. Of course, he personally felt he deserved to at least know how the hell she was okay right now, but it was pretty obvious Artemis wasn't apt to sharing. "So you know, if you could just, maybe, step back into the bathroom so I can—"
"You've already seen me naked, I don't know why you're acting like it's completely intolerable," she huffed out.
"It's not!" he shouted, before catching himself. "I-I mean, you're not intolerable I just... Oh, Einstein, I just want you to not be naked anymore because it's really awkward," he finished lamely. Her laugh met his ears.
"I'm trying to not be naked, hu- Wally. So how about you just tell me where I can find a shirt and some pants and that'll solve your little problem?"
"My little problem?" Wally sputtered out, still in deep conversation with his bedroom wall. "Are you insinuating that I have a—"
"Clothes!" she snarled.
"Shirts are in the very bottom drawer," Wally said quickly. "Uuuh, all of my pants are dirty so maybe you can—"
He was cut off by the sound of something making a soft thumping noise against the floor. Despite himself he turned, only to be met with her rifling through the pile of dirty clothes she had deposited on the ground. Wally felt his mouth drop open in horror, especially when he watched her toss the empty clothes hamper aside and pick up a pair of his dirty underwear, discarding it halfway across the room with utmost casualness.
"What are you doing!?" he yelped for the second time. She was going to land him in the hospital with a severe case of heart failure, he just knew it.
"Looking for something that doesn't look like it's had food or… chemicals spilled all over it," Artemis answered, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she lifted up the third pair of wrinkled denim that had a dried up substance all over it. The next pair clearly yielded results more to her satisfaction. "Ah, these'll do."
She pulled them on. Just like that. No finesse, no underwear. Totally fucking commando.
Artemis was insane and that was all there was to it.
Maybe her injury had snapped her sanity.
"Oh my god..." he choked out, watching the pants sag down baggily around her wide hips. The blonde bent to open his shirt drawer. Her lips upturned in contemplation.
"I would prefer a hoodie, if you have one," she said conversationally, as one might talk about the weather. Wally's brain had short circuited, but he managed to get his limbs working, moving over to his closet to pull his old magenta Stanford hoodie with the giant bleach stain. He handed it to her, watched her pull it over her head.
Artemis flipped her wet blonde hair out of it, eyeing her get-up with approval.
"Yeah, this works."
"Does it?" Wally coughed uncertainly. His pants looked like they would fall off of her at any moment. He was starting to fear the pants he had on would get tight if she didn't stop being a hot blonde in his clothes.
"Yep," she said, walking away. "Thanks, I'll be on my way now."
"What! Just like that?" the scientist cried, following her out of the room. He shouldn't be so surprised by how quickly she was trying to get out of his place, considering. She had made it perfectly clear to him, several times over, that she had just wanted to be left to die in the rain, that she hadn't wanted his help. The thoughts boiled and frothed inside of him as questions he had definitely wanted to ask her, but she was just as unkeen to let him ask them as she had been to let him carry her through the rain.
"Just like that," she responded coolly, already pulling his front door open. "I was honestly hoping you'd stay asleep until I was gone."
"Wait!"
To his surprise, she actually did. Her brow cocked at him.
"What, fire head?"
"I... you can't just... I mean... You have to come back!" Wally told her loudly. "You can't just take my clothes and leave! And, I want to make sure you make a good recovery!"
"I'm sure you'll live without them. And I'm still alive right now so that's probably pretty conclusive."
"Artemis, please?" he begged. He surprised himself as well as her, if her widening eyes were any indication. "Please? I just... I need to know. I can't just hope that you did, I need to know for myself. I was pretty freaked out last night. For you, I mean," he admitted, feeling foolish. He rubbed at the back of his neck, gaze averted to the floor. "I mean, there was so much blood and I wasn't even sure I could do anything for you. I've never had someone's life in my hands like that, okay?"
Silence.
Wally looked up, only to find her eyes on the ground in quiet contemplation. Her eyes flicked over to the couch, as if she could see through the back of it to the blood, her blood still dried there in a gruesome stain. Lastly, she looked at him.
He had no clue what she saw in his expression, all he knew was that he was feeling a whole lot of strange agitation and desperation for a person he barely even knew; he wanted nothing more than for her to stay, so he could know that he had done some good and not be left in the dark to second-guess his own abilities. He was desperate for her to at least be okay.
It seemed that she could discern something of his feelings flickering across his irises, because whatever she had been searching for in his features had clearly been found.
"...fine," the blonde sighed out, her grey eyes piercing his own. "I'll come back to let you know— to prove to you that I'm completely fine. I guess it's the least I could do for... everything."
Wally smiled at her, unsure of what else to say. He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders at her words. It was hard for him to say whether Artemis was more annoyed or more grateful for what he had done for her, but regardless of her feelings on the matter, regardless of her disturbing, careless requests that she should've been left where he found her, Wally felt a sense of satisfaction in his actions.
It always felt good to him, to do something he knew deep in his gut was the right thing to do.
Saving this stubborn and strange woman was, without a doubt in his mind, one of the most right decisions he'd ever made.
Said woman was done with his presence, though.
"Good-bye," she said simply, wrinkling her nose curiously at him for but a moment before walking out and shutting the door behind her.
Wally stood there, wondering if the woman would actually keep her word.
As much as he liked to believe she would, as much as it would make him happy to see her alive and well at least one time, the logical part of his brain jumped in to point out that her demeanor suggested he would most likely never see her again.
He sighed, rubbing at his face, then went to find something to try and scrub his couch down with.