Always Traught

Stupid Pirate Island

The deep, dark water spanned out before them. It was illuminated by the stars the twinkled a million miles away, but felt so close. An miniature island was in the distance. The surrounding trees invited them to come over and explore it's silly history. The young heroes declined. They were pretty far out on their boards. They weren't surfing tonight, but enjoying each other's company. The stress of life had picked up. It felt like the bird and the goddess never saw each other anymore. Missions and training didn't count. She was busy with Halo and Tera. Dick was too busy trying to tame Brion's extreme rage.

"This is nice," Dick interrupted the silence. The blonde nodded. She was staring at the island ahead of them. There was nothing special about it now. Deep inside there was a seagull reserve. Some experts and tourists drove their boats to it in the summer.

"There's a myth that a kid pirate planted his treasure there. He died before he dug it up again. Some say it's in a underwater cave. Other's say it's buried deep in the sand. I think it's just something people just want to believe in order to make their lives more interesting," Artemis said, still looking at the land. Dick resisted the urge to raise one of his eyebrows. It was such a weird thing to think about. At the same time, he wanted know why she thought that. Did she think about it a lot?

The younger hero laid on his board and allowed his fingers to slip into the ocean. His blue eyes moved to the island, too. It was a interesting myth. The tale gave the beach more attraction than the surrounding ones, "Why do you think that? Don't believe in pirates?"

"People believe in a lot of things to make their lives more interesting. Some believe in God, fairies, and that Area 52 stores the dead carcasses of Aliens," Artemis looked at him as she scoffed, "Some people like to think that Superman and Batman are boning on the side."

Dick looked back at his girlfriend and snorted, "And that you moved to California in order to give birth to our secret love child?"

"Exactly," She said rather seriously , "It's stupid to believe in things that aren't true. It gives people false hope. When their dreams are crushed, they blame those things for it. That's one thing useful that my dad taught me. He made sure to never establish those stupid myths in me."

"I think you wanted to believe," The raven frowned, "I think you wanted some sort of normal."

Artemis shook her head. Her lips fell into a thin line and they allowed the sounds of the waves to fill the air. They hadn't talked much before that. They splashed each other when they paddled out. That lead to the simple, joyful sounds of laughter. Dick enjoyed it, though. It made him feel as if their time together was more intimate. It was like they were the only two people in the world.

Twelve years ago, he thought love was just a word. He loved his parents, but he believed that everyone was born loving their parents. People had to grow out of love with them. Since he loved his biological family, he knew nothing different. Then Bruce adopted him. Dick didn't feel the love between them. He was sure it was there, though. And when he dated Zatanna, Dick thought he loved her. He cared so much about her but not to the point of love. All of the other girls he had been with meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Barbara did mean a lot to him. She was his world. But when she cheated, it was thrown out the window.

It took awhile to realize that Artemis was truly his first love. She was always there with open arms. The way she trusted him, cared for him, and looked at him made his heart flutter. Dick loved everything about Artemis. He cherished her skin, her stubborn ass attitude, and even the way she walked.

One thing Dick wanted for her was something normal. He wanted her to believe in things that seemed impossible. Hope kept the world running. Sometimes it disappeared, but it always came back. Now, he only needed to find something seemly impossible.

"What are you thinking about?" The blonde asked him when she noticed him smiling at nothing.

"Nothing," He lied to her, "It's getting late. We should head back."

"I guess. Goodbye stupid pirate island," Artemis rolled her eyes at the island. She laid down on her board and they both started to head back to shore.

Maybe I can get Miss. M to turn into a fairy, Dick thought to himself.

A/N: I keep posting at three in the morning like a crackhead. (Ha. It's literally four in the morning.) What is wrong with me? Anyhow, the story about the island is based off a real one. William Kidd (allegedly) hide some of his treasure on Charles Island. Now it's a bird preserve.