Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, yadda yadda yadda.
XX
"Put the knife down, Artemis," he says calmly, although he is anything but. He had just walked into her room to demand why she hadn't been starting arguments and being unreasonable to just him and-and-just acting so dull; it was making him nervous, though for not apparent reason. But then he found her standing in nothing but a t-shirt and her underwear in front of a mirror, with her hair pulled to the side and a knife in her hand.
Artemis looks at him, with his stiff posture and raised hands as if she was a wild animal ready to bolt, and laughs. "What-oh, oh no. I'm not trying to kill myself."
This does not appease Wally, and he slowly walks toward her. "Okay, but give me the knife, all right?"
"Oh, please, Baywatch. Relax," the blonde girl leans on one leg (and suddenly Wally is fighting being worried over her safety and admiring her long, lean-this is so not the time); obviously having no intention of letting go of the small dagger. "I know how this looks, but-"
"I'd feel safer if you just gave it to me," interrupts the ginger, still very calm.
And with only a pause and a sigh, Artemis sets the dagger on the vanity in front of her and backs a few steps away with exaggerated slowness. "There. Happy?"
He grins once he's within reaching distance of the offending object. "With you in that shirt and just in that shirt? Very."
Artemis fights her blush but smirks before demanding, "Now that you've assured yourself I am, in fact, not suicidal, can I please have my knife back?"
Once again Wally frowns uncharacteristically. "Why do you need it?"
She glares indignantly. "I don't have to explain myself to you! Mind your own business!"
"When you have a knife and could do yourself bodily harm, it is sure as hell my business!"
"But I won't!"
"I don't know that!"
"Just trust me!"
"I'm worried!"
"Why do you care?"
"Because you're important to me!" he screams in pure frustration.
The fight leaves her and she just stares at him, mouth open. He doubles back, sputtering incoherently, "I mean-you're my teammate-we need you-the team-well-"
Something akin to heart flashes across her face oh-so-briefly. "Save it, Baywatch. Rest assured, your precious team will be fine," she snarls with as much venom as she can muster. "If you must know, I was about to cut my hair."
Of all the things he expected, it wasn't that. "Wha-but you love your hair."
And it's true. Artemis is obsessive about shampooing and conditioning, lets no one touch her hair unless she gives express permission, and God forbid it get cut in a fight (the last time it was-a small lock barely as long as her thumb-Kaldur had to physically stop her from decapitating the offending man. With her arrows).
She shrugs delicately. "It's too long now. It's impractical."
"Is this because of the mission?" Wally regrets the words as soon as they're out of his mouth as Artemis visibly twitches.
All they were assigned to do was track the newest shipment of some newly-synthesized drug with a name only Robin and Kid Flash could pronounce; a simple mission by all means. But even as they were scaling the walls of the arctic compound ("Seriously," complained Kid Flash, "Isn't it required for all villains to have hideouts in places more accessible to heroes?"), somehow the henchmen had known they were coming-Aqualad grimly suspects the mole- and were expecting them. They had to fight to get in, which is when they should have retreated in the first place, but no one was willing to voice their own doubts.
By the time the team had fought through the preliminary defenses, found the shipment records (they were too late to catch the actual shipment), and fought their way back up to the roof where the BioShip would pick them up, all six of them were exhausted. The minions were infused with said drug, making them faster and far more flexible than any normal human and worst of all, they seemed to feel no pain-and none of the Young Justice were willing to kill.
Miss Martin summoned the BioShip, but it would be several minutes before it arrived. Artemis was fighting mostly hand-to-hand, partly from lack of space on the rooftop and partly because she was almost out of arrows. It wasn't much of a stretch for her; Green Arrow had trained her with her body as well as with her bow. But somehow, between the dozens of bodies and her own fatigue, one of them got behind her and managed to get both of his hands on her long ponytail.
The only warning she had was a tingling in the back of her head before she was thrown violently over the ledge of the building, gasping in shock. Kid Flash barely looked over but saw fear as she disappeared.
He saw red and in a rare show of anger, roared in defiance and in less than a picosecond was towing her back up before gently touching her check with more tenderness than she would have ever expected from him and rushing back to the fight. Immediately she was bombarded again, but the BioShip soon arrived and, although battered and bruised, they all returned home alive.
Artemis was quiet on the way back to Mount Justice and avoided everyone's eyes. Immediately after debriefing and a brief visit to the MedBay she collapsed into bed but could not sleep (the guilt was eating her, the bruises were aching, and for the love of God her heart would not slow down since he touched her).
Neither could he.
Both shake themselves out of their reminiscing. Artemis reacts first and says quietly, "It doesn't matter. I should've cut it ages ago; this mission was what finally made up my mind."
"That's insane," argues Wally, "You were tired and seriously outnumbered."
"That is no excuse!" she snaps suddenly, "It's sentimental, and emotions have no place in a fight."
"And that is bull****," he says right back, "If it wasn't for my emotions for you, you would be dead!"
His first thought after he says this is, glad to finally get that out there, and his second is, ohcrap.
"Because-you're my teammate," he says weakly. "And it's-y'know-my duty to save you."
Artemis's face is unreadable. "Of course." The silence holds for only a moment more. "Now give me the damn knife."
"No."
That does it. She gives in to her frustration and throws herself at him impulsively. Wally, of course registers her coming but allows Artemis to tackle him because, well, this is kind of hot.
Artemis did not expect this: she's essentially straddling him and her lips are barely away from his-something that should disgust her and make her back away, but she just can't bring herself to move. I never noticed how green his eyes are...
He could only look at her and his breath catches. It's the first silence in the room since he entered and he doesn't want to break it because he doesn't know if he'll ever have a chance to be this close to her ever again.
Artemis whispers quietly, so quietly he has to strain to hear it, "I don't like-I can't be rescued." Then, a little louder, "But thank you."
He doesn't want her to go just yet, so he blurts out, "Wanna know a secret?"
She blinks-wow, he thinks, she has really long eyelashes-and nods slightly, almost shyly.
With their eyes still connected, he says completely seriously, "I think your hair looks like liquid sunlight," he pauses; she doesn't react, "Shouldn't that be reason enough to keep it long?"
The only reply she can make is a sigh and a soft smile before closing the few inches between them and gently placing her lips on his.
It's gentle and chaste and short, but it's a kiss, and it changes everything.
But the next morning, Artemis walks home with her hair still long.
X
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