Always Traught

Graduation

"Thanks for showing up," Artemis muttered as she looked down at her hat. Dick placed a hand on her back and sighed.
"He would be proud of you, Mai. I hope you know that."
"I do, but we were supposed to be doing this together. Graduating was our dream," She took a shaky breath and twisted her fist into the sand.
"Wally wanted nothing but for you to be happy. Graduating from Stanford University? Man, that's an accomplishment. No more classes, no more bi-
-College was a distraction, Dick. It allowed me to not feel anything. Now I have to process everything. You may have finished, but I haven't even started," She choked on a sob. Normally she would tell herself that Crocks didn't cry, but she felt so defeated. If the wind blew, she felt like she would go with it.
"That isn't healthy," Dick sighed as he pulled her closer, "I know cause I've tried. I would try to shove myself into the hero life, and Bruce helped way too much with that. It wasn't until I talked about how much I missed my parents that I got better - That life got better." Artemis didn't say anything as she leaned against his shoulder. He could feel her tears through this shirt, but she needed to cry. She needed to get it out.
After a five minutes of not moving, Artemis spoke. "Do you really think he would be proud of me?"
"I do," Dick rested his chin on top of her hair, "And I'm proud of you too. You've grown so much."
"Don't turn into my mom," She huffed. The raven bit back a scoff.
"I mean it. Six years ago you were stubborn, finally getting away from your family, and now you've became yourself. You are the intelligent, strong, and loving woman you have always been meant to be," He said truthfully.
"Thank you," She breathed. She sat up and wiped her eyes. A little bit of her makeup stained her cheeks but she wiped it away. "I would probably be dead without you."
"Get traught or get dead," He smirked at her. Artemis scoffed and threw a bit of sand at his chest. Dick frowned and threw sand back at her.
"D-R-A-G you little fucker," Artemis chuckled. She stood up and took off her high heels. Dick stood up and removed his shoes too.
"I'm so throwing you into the ocean," He smirked at her. The blonde chuckled.
"My plan was walk in there first," Artemis shrugged. Dick rolled his eyes before he picked her up by her knees. She held onto his shoulder and started to poke the side of his head.
"If you keep doing that, I'm flinging you into the water," Dick chuckled.
"That's cool. I never liked this dress anyway."