Disclaimer- Do not own Young Justice or any of it's characters.
Please enjoy this final installment in a fic that took me probably a year in all to finish.
It's been frustrating and fun, and I hope everyone had fun reading it. :)
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Chapter Length: 3,169
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A shaft of rare Gotham sunlight greeted Artemis Crock when she awoke that morning. The heat licked over her bare legs and played through her thick strands of golden hair, warming her scalp. It was such a scarce treat that she revelled in it, letting out a little sound of pleasure, smiling, and stretching along the length of the luxurious king sized bed she shared with Wally.
The scientist was snoozing away next to her, one of his arms resting over her stomach and the other sandwiched between them. Her movements didn't wake him, but she could feel his soft puffs of breath falter a little before they lapsed into a steady rhythm against her exposed shoulder.
Artemis smiled at him, at his disheveled appearance; red hair in a horrendous cowlick, sticking out in every cardinal direction and all the in-betweens. His torso was bare, dotted with the freckles she so loved, and when he suddenly flipped onto his back in his sleep, the bright light cast by the sun turned the fine trail of ginger hairs leading down from his belly button a brilliant sand color.
The blue jeans he had flopped into bed with the night before were popped open, the elastic of his boxers riding up the expanse of his narrow hips, yet it was the bleached out stain on the knee of the denim that drew her attention. Normally any length of his exposed skin was a source of intriguement to her in thoughtful moments like this, but this time she sat up and the pads of her fingers traced the fresh new blotch on his clothes.
He had stayed late in the lab again, without her. She hated it when he did that for two reasons: one, it was supposed to be their thing, not his, and two, he wore himself out for no good reason.
She had lost count of the times she'd reprimanded him for it, but it seemed he just couldn't help himself when it came to lab work. Shifting her gaze up to his face, she smiled fondly and shook her head at the dark circles under his closed eyes.
"Dork," she muttered to herself, pursing her lips.
Her dork, of course.
The two of them had been living together for nearly a year now, in an apartment on the west side of the city, far away from the slums that Artemis had grown up in. The slums she had felt trapped in since she was a kid, where her sister had left her and her dad had tried to turn her into a weapon of his own hatred and contempt.
Artemis gazed out the window opposite of Wally's prone form, watching the sunlight filtering across the tallest buildings around their apartment complex. She had never been a superstitious woman, but it felt like a good omen to wake up to such a beautiful sight spreading across a city she had always viewed as dismal and suffocating.
For the first time in her life, Artemis Crock felt completely and utterly free. The past year had been kind to her and Wally; he had gotten a huge promotion at STAR Labs, and she herself had begun fulfilling one of her most ambitious dreams: a college education. She had no idea what she was going to do with it, but considering she had at the very least three more years, she figured she could take her time in deciding.
After all, there was no rush.
Wally stirred, and warm arms wrapped around Artemis's torso, pulling her against a sun-warmed abdomen. He rubbed his face against a slip of skin exposed from her night shirt riding up, and she hummed at the pleasant scratch of his stubble along her back.
"Good morning and happy birthday, gorgeous," he said in a voice husky with sleep, pressing his lips into her back several times. The blonde stiffened, a bit shocked.
"Shit, is it really?" Artemis gasped, turning to look at the digital clock by their bed. The date was displayed in tiny red digits at the bottom right corner, and sure enough she had just about forgotten her own birthday. "Wow."
"Yep," Wally chuckled. He kissed her one more time before sitting up next to her, a grin on his face. "The big two five. And do I have some surprises for you," he teased, waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Artemis elbowed him, holding in her amusement.
"And would any of those surprises have anything to do with your late night lab escapades?" she inquired, quirking an eyebrow and pointing at his pants. Confused, he looked down and then let out a large sigh, rubbing at his face with one hand.
"Einstein, I wish," he bemoaned, frustrated with himself. He pressed one of his cheeks against his fist, looking at her in such a pouty, hopeless manner it almost made her laugh. "I just can't crack it, babe. I really wanted to have something solid on your birthday but… no dice. I'm a mess."
"Yeah, you are," she agreed. She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him slow, their mouths sliding together sensually beneath the heat cast over them by the sun. She pulled away, smiling fondly and running her fingers through his disheveled, fiery hair. "It's not a race, Wallman, I wish you would stop losing sleep over it. It's not worth it."
"It definitely is," Wally argued before she silenced him with her mouth again.
"I love your determination," she breathed close to his lips as she pulled back once more. "But it's okay; I'll love anything you do for me today. Or any other day really," she said, then pursed her lips and looked a little more serious. "But you better stop working on that stuff without me or I'll have your head, West. It's our project, not just yours."
He laughed out loud.
"I know, I know! But it took us so long just to get back to where we were before… well, you know." She nodded in understanding. "I'm just excited to be back at that point. I want to do more with it."
"So do I, you know that. But!" Artemis crowed suddenly, stretching her arms up high, yawning, and rolling out of the bed to stand up. She pulled her pajama top over her head, momentarily enjoying the sensation of the sun's rays along her bare breasts before she leaned across the bed, addressing Wally with hard gray eyes that dared him to stare at her chest just then. "It'll have to wait til tonight. We have several places to be, in case you forgot, Mr. West."
"We do?" he asked, swallowing as his eyes darted down then back up. He grinned lopsidedly. "I thought maybe we could, uh, start out with a little private celebration…"
"As fun as that sounds," Artemis smirked, pulling away from the bed and turning to rifle through their drawers in search of a bra. "That will also have to wait. We have to visit my mom down on the first floor, I promised we'd be there for lunch with her and it's already eleven."
"But it's just a ten second elevator ride down," she heard Wally grumble in protest, the sound of his boxers hitting the floor audible to her keen ears. She snuck a glance at him as he joined her by the drawers, and couldn't help but reach over to pinch his ass when he bent to one of the low drawers for a pair of shorts. He yelped and clapped a hand over the area, shooting her a dirty look. "Okay, that's not going to help us get out the door faster!"
"Sure made me feel better," Artemis snickered.
"You're impossible."
"You love it," she insisted, finally snapping her bra on and pulling a shirt down over it. "Oh, and don't forget we have dinner with Dick and Babs tonight, too."
"Now that part I remember! If they can get away from work, that is."
"True," Artemis agreed, brows furrowing slightly.
Ever since Lawrence Crock had died, the slums had become a rather chaotic place. It was much better off without the alpha to whip the pack into a semblance of an organized threat to the city, but now that just meant Dick's precinct had their hands full with straggling bands of left over wolves that had no where else to go. A large portion of werewolves had gone their own ways long ago, but several smaller, more gang like sub-packs had lingered behind and were still competing with the human gangs for the territory.
Overall it was a much better situation for everyone, but it was keeping the GCPD on it's toes. Dick and Babs pulled in many late nights, but they only seemed too eager to keep up the work.
"I really wish we could do more to help," the blonde grumbled as she hopped into a pair of pants. It really peeved her to be sitting on the sidelines, but everyone kept insisting she needn't ever step foot back into that dreadful place. She appreciated the sentiment but she had lived there her entire life, she was pretty sure she could handle all the bad memories… old and new.
"Babe, you and Zee already helped with your werewolf mythos guide, remember?" Wally pointed out muffledly, pulling his head out of his shirt and winking at her. "And only they know it's the real deal! Thanks to you two, they know what they're dealing with. It's like a book of cheat codes!"
Artemis allowed herself a small smile. "I guess, but I still want to help them more physically."
"Absolutely not," Wally said calmly, not looking at her as he adjusted his shirt.
Before Artemis could open her mouth to protest vehemently, the house phone rang. She settled for casting him a glare that told him the conversation wasn't over and reached for the screeching device.
"Hello?" Artemis ventured, still pursing her lips at the redhead who was perched on the edge of the bed. He raised an eyebrow at her and made a gesture with two of his fingers, pointing at his eyes and then to her face with narrowed eyes. Like he was watching her for any sudden moves. The blonde snorted with amusement despite herself; he was a real piece of work.
"How's tricks, Wolf girl?"
"Zee!" the blonde exclaimed happily at the familiar voice of her best friend. Wally groaned out loud at the revelation of who was on the other end, so Artemis pressed the speaker button with relish. "How's it going?"
"Fine, fine," came Zatanna Zatara's airy voice through the device.
The magician had been on vacation in California for the past week, no doubt splurging on everything coming and going. She insisted that running such a prestigious little magic shop was a lot more stressing than it might appear, and regularly took time off to recuperate. Wally, of course, found that highly questionable, but Artemis had taken to helping out at the shop part time while she went through college and knew firsthand that things really could be draining. Especially in Gotham, where it seemed the superstitious crowd had tripled in size; Zatanna's shop was growing more popular each day.
"I just wanted to call to let you know that I'll be back tomorrow morning, and we can totally have some late birthday tea in the shop," Zee said. Silence reigned for only a moment on her end before she snorted hard with laughter. "Okay pffft, no that's a lie, tea is for stuffy old ladies! Wolf girl, we are hitting some bars hard, and the non-believer is not allowed. Girls only. I'll even get Megs in on it."
"Good! Didn't want to come anyway," Wally said loudly so the eccentric brunette could hear. He crossed his arms over his chest. Artemis and Zee both laughed at his expense.
"Sounds like a plan," Artemis agreed, and she felt a balloon of happiness inflate in her chest at the prospect of such a good time. Nothing had felt so good in the last year as getting so many genuine, reliable friends. And every single one of them knew what she was, but they cared about her anyway. She was the luckiest werewolf this side of Gotham City. She laughed. "Megan will drink us both under the table, you know that right?"
"I'm counting on it!" Zatanna chirped. "Oh and don't worry your pretty little head, Wally; Conner's nicely volunteered to give us all a ride home when we're ready."
Artemis glanced at Wally with a smirk. He simply nodded in approval.
"Good! Color me impressed, Zee, designated driver and everything," Wally amended.
"Please, I make sure my girls get home safe," the magician boasted, then cleared her throat in a change of subject. "Great! So now that's settled. But one last thing before I leave for my massage. There should be a package arriving for your birthday, Artemis… right about now, in fact."
No sooner had she finished the sentence then there was a quick knock on their apartment door.
Wally and Artemis shared an incredulous look over the sound of Zatanna's satisfied chuckles.
"Well? Aren't you going to get it?" Zee prodded.
Wally shrugged and left the room, returning a few moments later with a small brown box that had apparently been left right in front of their door. No delivery man in sight down either side of the hall, nor any indication anyone had been there at all.
Wally called shenanigans; Artemis rolled her eyes and elbowed him.
"Open it," Zatanna insisted impatiently.
"Is it an explosive?" Wally demanded. Artemis rolled her eyes again.
"Of course not, West. It's much better than that," Zatanna chimed sweetly.
Artemis watched Wally open the lid with a degree of hesitation. Inside of it, nestled within many layers of pink packing paper, was a small, delicate bottle with a cork stopper wedged into the top. It was no bigger than a sample bottle of expensive cologne, and it was filled to the brim with a faintly lilac colored liquid. She shrugged at Wally, then with a scrunched nose and many grunts of exertion he slowly wedged the cork free and brought his flared nostrils to the opening to smell it.
Artemis didn't need to be any closer to get the scent. The moment the cork came free, the smell rushed her olfactories and she felt a strange yet familiar warmth pool in her stomach as the enticing aroma gripped her very being. It smelled so good. Her lids hooded and the phone went slack in her fingers, so much so that it nearly tumbled to the floor. She was able to get enough of a hold on herself to keep it within her grasp, but talking on the phone with Zatanna was suddenly the last thing on her mind.
She was much more interested in getting Wally West's handsome self back into their bed.
Wally West, who looked delicious with his untamed bed hair and his peppery freckles, and his shirt on backwards. Fenrir, how could she have gotten so lucky.
"Lavender smellies?" Wally crooned in a joking voice, oblivious to his girlfriend's extreme change in mood next to him. "Isn't that a little tame for you, Zee?"
The magician nearly cackled, which alarmed him greatly; a cackling Zatanna was never good.
"That is not lavendar. It's called extract of Moon Flower, and it just so happens to be a natural, very potent werewolf aphrodisiac. So have fun with your horny girlfriend, and remember to use protection you crazy kids. Toodles!"
Zatanna hung up.
"Werewolf… aphrodisiac. What? Where does she come up with this stuff?" Wally groused, holding the still open bottle out between his thumb and forefinger as though it were a particularly volatile concoction of chemicals. Wally snickered. "Probably wine and food coloring, am I right, babe?"
He received no answer.
Instead, Artemis took his unawares state to her advantage, and tackled him from the side. He yelped, dropping the bottle in his shock. Luckily he had just gotten the cork back inside of it seconds before the blonde made her move, so it thudded to the ground with it's contents safe and sound.
"Babe?" Wally gasped as they fell in a pile on top of the bed sheets. Artemis silenced him by pressing her mouth to his, her nostrils flaring with the ghost of the scent that still lingered about him. That, mixed with his own natural musk, had her all in a tizzy. She grinned into the kisses, pulling her body close to his, getting her hands up under his back and pressing them against warm skin that undulated beneath her fingertips as he rolled them over so he was on top instead.
"What's gotten into you?" Wally asked, a little breathless, his lips puffy from her aggressive attack on them. Artemis bit at her bottom lip, feeling kind of high on something.
"Well, I'm hoping you… maybe. I don't know," Artemis laughed, reaching up to tweak teasingly at the button of his jeans. Wally huffed and grabbed her wrist, then watched her sternly for a minute. His eyes widened as if in realization.
"I'll be damned, that stuff really is a werewolf aphrodisiac!" he exclaimed, then started laughing hard when she just grinned lazily up at him. "Leave it to Zee to find something like that."
"Are you complaining?" Artemis murmured, managing to get his jeans popped open while he wasn't paying attention. She nearly had the tips of her fingers under the elastic of his boxers when Wally grabbed her wrist firmly again, blowing a large, torturous puff of air out of his lips.
"Babe, you know I'm not complaining but… don't we have somewhere we really need to be?"
The blonde blinked, getting a hold of herself. She rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands and groaned in frustration when Wally rolled off of her to lay next to her on his side. He chuckled softly, kissing at her flushed cheek.
"Ugh, no, no, you're right, babe, you're right," Artemis huffed out, her pupils still a little blown from the Moon Flower. "I couldn't help myself, that stuff really just… damn."
"Hehe, looks like I've got a secret weapon," Wally teased, wiggling his eyebrows at her. She glared at him and he held his hands up in surrender. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! But listen, don't worry about it beautiful, I've got all kinds of birthday surprises in store for you tonight," he crooned suggestively, snatching her lips up in a searing kiss that made her toes curl.
Artemis smiled into it all, and she was more content than she'd ever been in her life.
Everything she had here now, with Wally and all of her friends, and her mother close and safe, it was all she could have ever asked for and a whole lot more.
She had found a new pack.