The bird and the cat (conversation)

Chapter 1:everyone needs a home

Artemis has had... Lets call them issues, since Wally died. It's no secret, no lie. Artemis has noticed it, Dick had noticed it, everyone has noticed it. The first thing Artemis did after Wally died was rejoin the team as Tigress. Bart commented on it, and all she said was "I need distance. I need a change. So let's see how Tigress does." She decided she'd probably move in with her mom after her lease on her apartment was up, except one problem. Once she got home and finally had a chance to go to sleep, she made sure she and Brucely ate first, right? Then she entered her bedroom.

She was suddenly assaulted by a mixture of emotions, a mixture of pain and sadness and anger. She fell to her knees and began crying. There was no M'gann there to hug her this time. People deal with pain in many ways, those ways are categorized into two separate actions. Either you keep yourself busy, too busy to have time to think of the issue, or you push everyone away, force yourself into thinking of it more than you should. The latter was Dick's choice. He went as far as quitting the team. The real difference between him and Artemis though, is he's already felt this pain before, she hasn't. Dick may be shutting himself off, but Atleast he keeps his life together. He had let people in, in fact, he'd invite them over.

It's been about a week since Wally died. Not too bad. Artemis moves in with her mother 4 days ago, she just couldn't handle sleeping in her bed anymore. Dick was doing relatively fine, at this point Batman, Robin, Aqualad, Zatanna, and M'gann had all gone to visit him. Artemis was in her room sitting cross legged on her bed, adjusting some arrows while listening to MCR. Suddenly, Artemis' mom wheeled in and pulled out the earbuds by the wires (Aha! This is the soul reason AirPods were invented, wasn't it?!) "I was listening to that!" Artemis whined. "Maybe you should go hang out with one of your friends." Her mother insisted, smiling in an attempt to make her feel better. "I go to the watchtower in an hour." Artemis informed, trying to take her earbuds back, but her mother only tightened her grip. "I mean, for fun!" Her mother clarified. Artemis frowned. "Not in the mood to talk." Artemis said in the most passive-aggressive way possible, clearly directing it at her mother. Her mother frowned and wheeled herself out. Artemis didn't mean it like that, did she?Look, the issue isn't that Paula took her back in, in fact, Artemis is eternally grateful for that! It's just that... well, her mom hovers. She's always checking on Artemis, and that kind of takes away the "I want to be alone." Vibe. Her mother had pulled out her phone and called Zatanna. "Mrs.Crock?" Zatanna asked, answering immediately. "Yes. I was wondering if you could come check on Artemis, she... well, she won't talk to me." Paula explained, Zatanna agreed and within 30 minutes was there. "How bad is it?" Artemis' worries friend asks. "She hasn't gone a single night without having a nightmare and she always wakes up crying. She stays in her room unless she needs to eat, go to the bathroom, or leave the house. She mostly just listens to music and broods, sometimes I hear here crying. She tried to show as little emotion as possible, and when she does, it's not positive. It's not healthy!" Paula complained, obviously worried. "I'll deal with it best I can, butArtemis will need time to readjust. Wally was her whole world for 5 years. We'll need patience to expect change." Zatanna reassured and knocks on Artemis' door. Artemis had froze slightly. "Go away!" She yelled. Her arrows were currently under her bed, but she was in a ball under her covers, crying. "Artemis, I'm going to come in." Zatanna said. Zatanna? Of course her mom would send her. Lovely. Just GREAT. Zatanna walked in and immediately knew the lump under the bed was Artemis. She walked up and grabbed it, holding it close. "What part of go away didn't you understand?" Artemis rasped. Zatanna wipes a tear, "Artemis." Was all she said. She didn't need to finish the sentence for Artemis to know what she was saying. They were best friends, they could understand each other perfectly from tone of voice, and body language.
Right now, Zatanna was saying "I'm here for you" and "Please talk to me". Artemis was silent. Zatanna understood this meant "I want to be alone" but let's be real, everyone who says that needs people. Just like Paula said, this new lifestyle her daughter was trying to force herself into was far from healthy. Zatanna just hugged it tighter. Artemis really didn't want to cry. Over the years, she's gotten more in touch with her emotions, which only made it hurt more once Wally died. She just shut off everything she spent 5 years trying to build up. But she couldn't help it could she? Anytime anyone hugged her it would remind her of the small cuddle sessions her and Wally used to have in the couch if they were bored, or if they just needed it. Artemis began crying in Zatanna's arms. It was so embarrassing, yet it made her feel so much better. "Shh" Zatanna whispered into her friends ear as she cried. Barbara was the next person Dick had invited over. At this point, it was like an unspoken rule amongst the heroes "Who does Dick invite over next?!" Should be a game show at this point. He and Barbara has talked, mostly about memories of Wally. Every once in awhile, Dick would laugh, not his old cackle he was so well known for in the past, but a chuckle. Then, he'd start crying a little, in which Barbara would bring him into a hug. Barbara has looked around and noticed a lot of things about Dick's apartment. It had a lot of dents and cracks in the walls. A piece of the counter was literally gone, and there was no door to the pantry. It was had gone... Downhill. Let's call it that. Then she remembered when Dick first bought it about 2 years ago. He had just gotten his emancipation, mostly to get away from Bruce. He had gotten A LOT of support money from the billionaire, however, Dick wanted the full "Can't pay rent." Experience, so he used up half of the money to buy clothes and furniture, and even for supplies for his new nightwing costume (He was over his disco faze anyway.)
So yes, he got a very crappy apartment and tried to make it look nice. He failed miserably. Dick could see it in Barbara's eyes no matter how much she tried to hide it. "Get a new place!" They screamed at him. Suddenly, a lightbulb clicked in his head and he smiled. "What is it?" Barbara asked, very confused. "Nothing. Just got an idea. And by the way," He said, suddenly kissing her forehead, "Thank you for coming." She laughed and they talked awhile about his idea. "I don't know. It's a good plan and all, but it kinda relies on Artemis saying yes." Barbara mentioned. "It'll work." Dick insisted. Artemis had gotten a text from Dick. Yay. Being social is just her favorite activity at the moment, isn't it?