Warmth: Ch 1 Chill Withing

Wally walked up the long stairs to the flat landing pad a top Mount Justice, trying to escape the suffocating air within. Since their horrible training session Wally had felt like he was buried within the mountain. He walked out on to the landing pad, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath of fresh air. When Wally opened his eyes he saw Artemis' limp body sprawled out on a lounge chair.

"Artemis!" he yelled, rushing over to her, grasping her shoulders and shaking her.

Her eyes snapped open almost instantly, looking into the terrified green eyes of Wally. "What's wrong?" she asked, panic in her voice.

"I thought…" his voice trailed off as a look of relief washed over him.

They looked away from each other, knowing exactly what he thought. Neither had talked to each other about what had happened during their training. Yet they had both heard from the others.

"So Arty," Wally continued with a smirk, "what the hell are you doing out here?"

"I was cold," she glared at him. She pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Put a sweater on?" he asked with a tone that said 'duh!'

"Hasn't helped," Artemis said giving him a peeved look. "I can't stand the feel of being cold, feels too much like death." She shivered at the thought of cold tendrils slowly creeping up her arm. Then she felt a soft warmth on her arm, cashing away the chill in her. Looking up she saw Wally had placed his hand on her forearm.

"You didn't die," he told her softly. "None of it was real."

"Then why did you freak out?"

"What?" he sputtered, retracting his hand and the warmth. "I didn't freak out."

"That's not what I was told," she pushed.

Wally stood up, his face flushed with anger and stormed off to the door. Before he walked back through the door he turned back to her. "I was worried," he whispered, "I care, ok?" With that he sped through the door.

Artemis watched him leave, desperately wishing for his warmth once more.
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That night Artemis tossed and turned in her bed. She had layered her bed with blankets; hoping that would help keep her warm and it did to a certain degree. However, she could still feel it, a chill deep within her that wouldn't go away. Even if she could ignore that unsettling cold within, she couldn't close her eyes. She tried to but every time she did Artemis would panic thinking she might have slipped into a coma and immediately open her eyes again. Sitting up in bed she sat there with her hands fisted into her long blonde hair begging any higher power to release her from this torment.

"Please let me sleep! Let me be warm for god's sake." As she muttered the last bit she thought of Wally and the soothing warmth that had crawled up her arm at his touch. Without giving it much thought Artemis got out of her bed and made her way across the mountain to Wally's room. Outside of his room Artemis caught sight of herself on the metal door. The sweatpants and long sleeved shirt were baggy on her making her look like a frail child instead of the tough as nail fighter she really was. As the door silently slid open she shed the baggy clothing off and threw them in a corner of the room. Now in a pair of black shorts and green tank top she padded over to the bed.

Wally lay sprawled out on his bed, his flash boxers standing out against the plain white sheets. Artemis smiled knowing she's have to find away to tease him about it. Teaching towards him she gently touched his ankle, testing it. Just like earlier she felt soothing warmth crawl up her hand. She quickly got in bed beside him stretching out and gently laid her hand on his chest, happily feeling herself warm up.

"Artemis," Wally muttered, panic in his voice. He started grouping around, still muttering her name until he had both arms around her. Unsure what to do Artemis laid there stiffly, waiting to see what he'd do next. Wally pressed his chin to the top of her head and whispered "It's ok, you're safe now," before softly snoring again.

"He was dreaming," Artemis realized feeling a mix of relief and happiness. She cuddled closer into Wally and wrapped an arm around him. Warmth was radiating through her body and for the first time in a while she felt safe. Artemis easily fell asleep and managed to wake up before him the next morning and slipped out.

"Let it be my secret for now," she thought, bending down to kiss his forehead before she left.