So, here's the first of three oneshots I have planned to post before the next chapter of Fight or Flight. In addition, it's also the first… *drumroll* ROMANTIC ONESHOT. Yes. Hearts, flowers, expressions of affection, and awkward situations!

This chapter is dedicated to Piffthemagicdragon21 for somehow managing to predict one of the stories I was working on. It was a little spooky, to be honest.

Without further ado, the tale of Artemis and Skylar.

"Hey, M'Gann?" Artemis immediately cursed herself as the words slipped out. She had been furiously debating with herself for the past fifteen minutes, until her traitorous mouth made the decision for her.

"Yes?" The Martian girl looked up from the new recipe book she had been flipping through.

Letting out a long sigh, Artemis briefly closed her eyes before opting to just ask the question that she'd been pondering. It was better to do this fast, like ripping off a Band-Aid. "You've known Skylar longer than I have…"

"Um, not really?" Carefully placing her finger on her current page, M'Gann closed her book and readjusted herself so she was facing fully towards her friend, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "I mean, the team was founded in July, and you didn't join until August…"

"That's two months I didn't have."

"I guess you have a point there. What's your question exactly?"

"Do you know if… Do you… Is Skylar…?" Growling in frustration, Artemis picked up a nearby pillow and slammed it onto her face, muffling her voice. "Why is this so hard?!"

M'Gann leaned forward, visibly concerned. "Artemis? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine." She hissed, removing the pillow and hugging it to her chest. "I just… there's something I want to see if you know. And I don't know how to ask it."

"Just say whatever comes to you first." The Martian suggested gently. "Sometimes it's better to just go with your instinct instead of overthinking things."

Drawing in a deep breath, Artemis forced her brain out of its panic spiral, turning to meet M'Gann's gaze. "Do you know if Skylar likes girls?"

M'Gann tilted her head to the side a little. "I'm… not sure, actually. But I know Robin has known her longer, maybe you could ask him-?"

"NO!" Artemis practically yelped, shooting that idea down immediately. There was no way she'd ask Robin about this. "No. No, no, no. I am definitely not asking him that!"

"But if he knows…" M'Gann trailed off as something clicked in her head. "Artemis, are you asking because you-?"

Quick as a viper, Artemis leapt across the space and locked a hand over her friend's mouth before she could finish her question. "Shh!" Once she was sure that she wouldn't talk, she pulled her hand back. "This stays between us, okay?"

Clasping her hands together, M'Gann's eyes were practically sparkling. "Oh, Artemis, this is wonderful. I'm sorry I don't know, but… I think I know how to find out."

Eyes narrowing, Artemis was immediately dubious. "Can you?"

"Yes. And I promise, there's no way I'm going to let her find out that you-" Seeing the blonde's glare, M'Gann giggled. "Oops. But really, I promise."

H

"He's pretty cute, don't you think?" Tilting the magazine in her hand, M'Gann displayed the photo of one of the most popular young actors in the circuit, all dyed hair and artificially white teeth.

Ski'Lira replied with a noncommittal grunt as she continued her final set, easily lifting the hundred and fifty pound bar up and back down. It was high rep, low weight day after all. She had no idea why M'Gann had decided now was the optimal time to talk to her, but she guess she'd allow it. Mostly because her MP3 player was currently broken (after she may or may not have hurled it at Kid Flash's head earlier in the week and he dodged it, causing it to almost completely shatter against the wall).

As she dropped the bar for the last time and sat up, she found another picture shoved in her face, a dark-haired girl who was in some sitcom or something, judging by the accompanying article. "What about her? She's very pretty!"

She merely shrugged as she stood and started to stretch out her arms. Rolling her neck from side to side, she picked up her bottle of water and headed over to the nearby treadmill. Just as she expected, M'Gann merely spun around on the bench so she could still face her. "Well, who would you be attracted to?"

Ski'Lira paused just as she was about to start up the treadmill, as she was suddenly struck with inspiration about her friend's current motivations. "Are you asking if I have a preference of gender?"

M'Gann's face exploded in a blush. "I'm sorry, I was trying to be subtle and… not rude, about it. I know that it can be a sensitive topic for some people and I didn't want to force you to say anything you didn't want to. I was that obvious, huh?"

"Yes. And the answer is no."

M'Gann's brow furrowed. "No?"

"No gender preference. Any potential romantic partners I have will be chosen based off of their personality and integrity."

"That's…"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, no!" M'Gann insisted, hands flailing a little. "I just think that's… a really nice sentiment. Thank you for sharing that with me."

H

"Well that's a hell of a relief." Dropping her head into her hands, Artemis let out a deep sigh, dragging her hands down her face. "Now onto the hard part."

"So you're actually going to ask her?" M'Gann was practically vibrating with excitement. "Oh, this is so amazing! How are you going to do it?"

"See, that's the hard part. I don't know anything about Thanagarian courting. And if I do it the human way… I don't know if…"

"You don't know if she'll accept it."

"I'd just… rather play it safe. Or as safe as I can." Artemis sat up. "Do you happen to know about…?"

"I'm sorry, but no. And I'm pretty sure no one else on the Team does either. Honestly, your best bet would be to ask-"

The blonde was swift to interrupt. "I am not asking her parents."

"Oh, definitely not." M'Gann insisted, face twisting slightly at the thought of Artemis being interrogated by the two Hawks. "I was going to say you should ask Green Arrow."

Hearing the name, Artemis' head dropped. "Oh boy, this is going to be awkward."

H

It wasn't just awkward, it was extremely awkward. She was just glad they were having this talk alone in the Queen penthouse. A potential audience would only have made things worse.

"Do you want me to call Dinah…?" Oliver trailed off, eyes shifting back and forth in clear discomfort. "No offense, but I'm probably not the best person to ask about… girl things."

"Believe me, I know." Artemis grinned at her mentor's clear reluctance, which honestly made the ordeal just a little easier. "It's not a girly girl thing, it's a… girl thing. As in there's a girl…"

Oliver's blue eyes widened as he realized what exactly she was insinuating, and his expression shifted to an eager one. "Really! Then that I can help you with! Sit down, young grasshopper, and I shall teach you the ways of properly wooing a woman." He patted the couch beside him invitingly.

Cautiously, she sat down.

"Alright, step one, you need to start with a good opener. If it's someone you already know, start on a neutral conversation starter and move on from there. Get a little flirty, touch their shoulder, smile a little more, small stuff like that goes a long way. If you don't know them, you could always try a line. Like… did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Because you sure look like an angel to me."

Artemis abruptly burst out laughing. Just the sheer ridiculousness of the hypothetical of her actually using that line on Skylar was too much to handle.

"Hey, it works." Oliver immediately defended. "There was this one time-"

"Ollie, please stop." Getting a handle on herself, Artemis stymied her giggles. "I can already tell you that kind of stuff isn't going to work. I need… very specific advice for a very… specific person."

"…Oh." He honestly looked a little crushed at having his lessons terminated so early, but he merely shrugged it off. "So, what exact kind of advice do you need?"

It was thanks to the presence of the newly released endorphins in her brain that allowed her the boost of confidence necessary to get through her question without stumbling. "What's the Thanagarian courting process like?"

For a moment, it was as if Oliver's brain blue screened and went through a hard shutdown. Physically shaking himself, he cleared his throat, visibly off kilter. "Wow. That's uh…" He seemed to realize something. "It's not a bad thing! Definitely not a bad thing!" He insisted, grinning broadly and pulling her into a fierce hug. "A little unexpected, sure, but still a good thing!"

Drawing back, he kept his hands on her shoulders. To her dying day, she would adamantly deny the presence of tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Ollie."

"Alright, now onto business. I uh… Don't actually know that much? I mean, know some of the steps, but definitely not what order. And I assume you don't want to talk to the Halls…?"

"I don't have a death wish." Artemis deadpanned.

"Fair point. Well, then you're best bet is to talk to Hal. He'll tell you what you need to do. I can set up a meeting for you if you want…?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be… that'd be good."

Oliver proceeded to let out a high pitched noise to indicate his happiness. "My little protégé's growing up. I'm thinking we get ice cream to celebrate."

H

Two days later, Artemis was sitting across from Hal Jordan in a nondescript coffee shop in Star City, safely tucked away in a corner where they were unlikely to be bothered or overheard. Artemis had her hands wrapped firmly around her steaming cup of tea, trying to will away an embarrassed blush.

Hal, bless his heart, had picked up on her discomfort quickly. "You know, you should consider yourself lucky. Thanagarians are a hell of a lot more straightforward about dating than us poor humans."

"Like how?" She asked cautiously. "I know there are… gifts involved?"

"Let me just start from the top." He dug into his pocket and retrieved a pen and started to jot things down on a napkin. "Step One: Fighting. Really, you shouldn't have expected anything less. I'm pretty sure you've already fulfilled the criteria."

"Meaning?"

"Have you two sparred before?"

Artemis' mind flashed to long hours spent in combat training. "Of course"

"Then there you go, step one completed." He put a little check mark next to '1- Fight'. "Step two, that's where the presents come in. Though, uh…" Hal scratched his head with the pen in thought. "There's a bit of a diversion here."

"Diversion?" Now that her tea had sufficiently cooled, Artemis took a sip. "What kind of diversion?"

For the first time since they had sat down, Hal looked about as embarrassed as Artemis felt. "It's a matter of… intention." Seeing the look on her face, he quickly backtracked. "Keep in mind, this is where the cultural differences start to kick in. If you're looking for a serious long term relationship with full intention of marriage, you offer a handmade gift of great worth. But if you're just looking for a… more casual arrangement, the gifts are cheap trinkets. It's like the difference between getting engaged and dating."

Artemis blanched a little at the thought of marriage. She liked Skylar, sure, but not quite that much. At least, not yet. Or possibly ever, one never really knew how a relationship was working out. "The second one. Definitely."

"That's what I thought." Hal chuckled a little. "Just to be clear, there is protocol if you want to 'upgrade' your courting status from dating to engaged, but I don't think we need to get into that."

"So what kind of gifts are we talking?" Artemis asked, already mulling over a few possible ideas.

"Something simple. Like… a stuffed animal, or maybe a cheap necklace. Something that doesn't involve a lot of time invested to make. But don't be afraid to offer something at least a little heartfelt. Trust me, Sky will be able to understand the intent and won't confuse it for serious courting."

This whole process was starting to sound a lot less scary than she had thought it would be. Honestly it was… surprisingly sweet, for such a bloodthirsty race. "Okay… I… Okay, I think I can do that. What's the next step?"

"If she accepts your advance, she'll take the gift and give you one in return as soon as she can. From that point, you're dating, and your relationship will progress as far as you want. The relationship either ends with you mutually returning presented gifts, or offering an upgraded gift to kick off the more serious courting."

"That's…" Brow furrowing, she trailed off a little as she absorbed that information. "Pragmatic, I guess."

"Thanagarians are all about practicality." Hal laughed a little, taking a moment to drink from his own coffee cup and sliding the napkin over to her. "Just be glad you aren't taking the serious option yet. That one involves having to fight a chosen representative for her hand."

Oh, there was the bloodthirstiness she had been missing. "Oh."

The two lapsed into a bit of a silence before Hal awkwardly cleared his throat. "For the record, even if Sky does say no, she's not going to be mean about it. Thanagarians take courting very seriously, and she wouldn't dare to offend you. Especially since you're part of her kast."

"That's reassuring. And um, thanks. For this. I uh… didn't really have anyone else to ask."

"Hey, it was no problem." He insisted, grinning broadly. "I am the resident extraterrestrial expert after all. Now, how about I tell you a few embarrassing stories about Skylar to make you feel a little less nervous about asking her out?"

"Please do."

H

The better part of a week passed before Artemis managed to finally talk to Skylar. They had interacted, yes, but never one on one, and there was no way that the archer was going to do this in front of the rest of the Team. M'Gann had been trying to help, but all of her efforts failed.

But her chance finally came, quickly, and unexpected.

Artemis had zeta'd over to the Cave right after school, not even bothering to change out of her uniform. It had been a long day, between multiple tests and avoiding a few particularly nasty girls in her year that had taken great glee in mocking her financial situation.

After dropping off her school bag in her room and changing into a more comfortable set of casual clothes, she made her way into the kitchen, though she paused in the door when she saw it wasn't as empty as she thought it would be. Sitting on one of the stools was Skylar, book propped open on the counter before her and chin perched on her fist. She apparently knew immediately that her solitude was broken, as she shifted the aviators perched on top of her head back down onto her nose to obscure her eyes.

"Uh, hey" Artemis greeted cautiously, heading towards the fridge and retrieving a bottle of water.

"Hello" Skylar answered, carefully marking her place before closing her book. "How was school?"

"Not great." The blonde admitted. "But it could have been worse."

The Thanagarian teen gave a slight hum in response. "Do I need to beat up anyone on your behalf?"

Artemis' mind conjured up a mental image of Skylar terrifying the daylights out of the snooty girls at Gotham Academy, and couldn't help but smile as she leaned up against the counter. "Not yet, but I'll be sure to keep it in mind. How was your day?"

"Not very eventful, unfortunately."

There was an instant where Artemis floundered with how to respond, as she desperately wanted the conversation to continue, but then inspiration struck. "New book?"

"Ah, yes. It's a compendium of Norse mythology. One of the interns at the museum lent it to me."

"That's cool. I've always liked reading myths and stuff like that." Artemis winced slightly at her awkward response, but tried to cover it up by taking a long drink of water.

She should have known that Skylar would pick up on it immediately.

"Are you certain you're alright? You seem a little… skittish."

"I'm not skittish." Artemis immediately snapped, though immediately regretted it when she saw the slight flare of her friend's wings. She did not want this conversation to take a turn for the aggressive. "Sorry, I meant… ugh, why is this so hard?" Tilting her head down, she glared at the floor. A gentle pressure on her shoulder roused her from her state of self-deprecation, and she looked back up to see the taller girl was now standing in front of her.

"Artemis, I know that I am not the… best person to talk to about emotional troubles, but I am still willing to listen and aid where I can." Skylar increased her grip on her shoulder as a show of reassurance, before letting her hand drop completely.

It was then that Artemis was reminded of why exactly she was doing this and why she had become so infatuated in the first place.

"Wait here."

Practically sprinting down the hall, she made her way to her room, retrieving the small box that she'd been hiding for the past few days, and ran just as quickly back to the kitchen. She mentally thanked the powers that be, as Sky was just were she'd left her, and no one else had showed up in the interim.

"This is for you." Holding out the box, Artemis made steady eye contact, or as close as you could get when you were staring at someone wearing sunglasses.

Skylar's wings flared slightly before freezing, her brows drawing together just slightly. Reaching out, she grabbed the box, her fingers brushing against Artemis' as she did so. The cheap cardboard box was easily pulled apart, revealing the gift nestled inside.

A gleaming arrowhead necklace caught the light, a strip of thin leather threaded through a drilled hole and knotted carefully so that it would lay flat when worn.

"Is this one of yours?" Skylar asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah" Artemis answered, worrying her lip slightly with her teeth.

There was quiet for one more moment, then Skylar's face suddenly broke into a beaming smile as she started laughing.

Artemis felt her heart drop into her stomach like a Kryptonian had just drop kicked it, eyes widening. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid thinking that Skylar would actually accept.

But Artemis' spiral into heartbreak was broken as she felt a well calloused hand take one of her own, and something was pressed into it. Thoroughly confused, Artemis looked down to see a black metal barrette embossed with a subtle leaf pattern.

That was about when her thought process slid to a screeching halt. Blinking once, then twice, Artemis let out a slight squeak as she realized that Skylar was putting on the necklace.

"I… overheard you and M'Gann talking about me." Skylar admitted, smirking slightly. "I thought… well, I assumed that you wouldn't know enough about my people's traditions to present the initial gift, so I prepared a gift for you instead. I've been carrying this around all day waiting for a chance to present my… interest."

Artemis noticed something, something that she had never seen Skylar do before. "Are you blushing?"

"No."

The last of the tension left her, and her heart returned to its rightful place beating away happily in her chest. "I can see your face."

Skylar huffed out a laugh. "No one will ever believe you. And thank you. For the gift. And for… respecting my heritage."

Suddenly remembering her own present, Artemis unclipped it and slid it into her hair, nestling it above her ponytail. "How does it look?"

"Just as I imagined." Skylar replied easily. "So, now that we have done things the Thanagarian way… Artemis Crock, will you go out with me? Dinner and a movie, maybe?"

Artemis couldn't help her grin. "Sounds like a date."

Just so you know, I already have plans for a part two. I couldn't resist writing their first date, not to mention all of the Team's reactions.

And look! You also got some neat Thanagarian Lore. Now that this is posted, I'm going to write up a second Dealing with Thanagarians installment and hopefully have that up within a few hours.