Always Traught

Jealous of a Sandwich Guy

"I went on a date."

"Oh," Was all he could manage to get out of his throat. He looked at Artemis, who seemed to be waiting for some sort of approval. He understood to some extent. It had been three years without Wally. Three years of being alone and learning how to grieve. And Dick was Wally's best friend. He knew how Wally thought and who he would approve of. Artemis wanted to do good by that, so she sought out his opinion.

But Dick couldn't give it to her.

"That's interesting," He said with uncertainty, "I mean, isn't this a conversation you should have with the girls?" Dick knew the reason why she brought this up to him, but he couldn't bring himself to listen. The truth was that he cared for her. And more than just a platonic way. He felt so guilty about it, too. Wally was going to marry Artemis. She was his best friend's girlfriend. That broken all moral codes. But for some reason, he couldn't stop himself from caring about her.

Artemis sighed as she gripped her coffee cup with both hands. Her fingernails tapped against it, "You know why I'm telling you this. I need to know that this, whatever's going on between this guy and I, is okay."

Dick nodded, "I know ... How about you tell me about this guy?" His body wanted to shift from discomfort. Instead, he channeled his inner Batman. He really felt like he was thirteen again. Everyone was so concerned with relationships back then. Heck, back then he had a chance with Artemis.

"I met him on a run a few weeks back," The blonde tried to stay nonchalant, "After a few hours he came up to me with a sandwich. I made some remarks and he did too. Eventually we sat down together and we hit it off. I found out he was staying in Star City for two months and I agreed to meet him again. I met him on and off, but it those weren't dates. Not until last night, anyway."

The acrobat threw on a fake smile after he swallowed the jealousy that was building up in his throat, "That's great, Mai. He sounds like a great guy."

"He is," Her lips flickered up for a matter of seconds. A matter of seconds was all it took for Dick to notice it. He wished that he could've been the one causing that smile, however. But she was starting to truly smile for the first in three years. If that man made her happy, he couldn't protest.

"Artemis, if he isn't hurting you, I can't tell you no. Wally wouldn't want you to be stuck on him. He would want you find love again. Plus, you've grieved. I know you won't treat this guy like a rebound or a second Wally," He said. The raven grabbed one of her hands and they knotted fingers. He took a moment to look at their connected hands. He didn't want to think that this was the last time they would do this.

"I think I'm ready to care again," Artemis nodded in agreement. She looked down at their hands and then back at him, "Thank you, Dick."

"No problem," He let go of her fingers and looked into her eyes, "Hey, you never told me this guy's name. I think I should tell me, y'know, for research purposes."

Artemis scoffed, "I swear, if you find out everything about this guy I will kill you."

He gave her a far too innocent grin, "I won't ... I'll just put a tracker on him," The blonde rolled her eyes at him and gently smacked his forearm. Dick rolled his eyes back at his best friend as he lifted his own coffee cup to his lips.

"His name is Kyle."

The moment the boy's name left her lips, he choked on his coffee. The hot liquid burned his tongue. Artemis' eyes went wide from surprise and he was positive that all the other customers of the Starbucks stared at him.

"What?" The archer asked in a dead serious tone. Dick shook his head as he wiped his mouth.

His first reaction was to say, "Kyle? Like Green Lantern Kyle? Like Green Lantern Kyle who was undercover in Star City, type of Kyle?" But he didn't. Artemis would have mentioned it if she knew. And he really didn't want to be the one to tell her. Someone else could be at the end of that storm. So instead of he said, "Nothing. I just thought of my old coworker Kyle. He was really old and retired here. Super rich, mean dude," Dick waved his hand to dismiss it.

Artemis snorted, "So you thought I was a sugar baby?" Dick nearly spat out his coffee once more. This time from laughter.

"God, no!" He laughed. She did too. After awhile, people started to stare again. They ignored it.

Dick finished laughing before her, so he took the few seconds to think. He was jealous, but the thought of Artemis with Kyle made him ten times more jealous.

You best believe that was going to dig up so much dirt on that guy.

A/N: I call these past two chapters: When you have no inspiration to write :)