Chapter Text
Every second Thursday night, Artemis would take the Zeta Tube to North Gotham. Most of the time she would have to Zeta there because she would be at work before, or out doing something. But she always came to Gotham every second Thursday because she had kept this tradition for years now with a young boy. She had met this boy due to unenjoyable circumstances but from the darkness of their family lives they had formed a tight bond. Her father dealt in illegal things and so did his mother. The two kids had met each other while their parents did deals. When Wally found out about Artemis’s little tradition he was scared for her to be wandering around the streets of North Gotham all alone. But she assured him she grew up on these streets and she could take care of herself.
Today was a crisp evening in early fall when she exited the tube. She walked on the old and cracked sidewalk, which hadn’t been redone in years. Not that anyone would notice or pay attention to it being in this condition, it was the way of life for people who lived in the North. The city teetered on the brink of chaos, mirroring the shattered stability of those confined within the Asylum's walls. After a while, she stopped in front of the building she was heading towards. Whoever managed the building always left the door ‘locked’ but if you were to jiggle the door up and down a little it would swing on its hinges. She walked inside and took the stairs up to the roof. At the top of the last set of stairs, there was a door that opened to the roof. The door closed behind her and she saw the small figure of the person she was here to meet.
“Took you long enough, Archie,” said Jason Todd, her longest friend. Besides Cameron Mahkent, although, she couldn’t really consider him her longest friend since everyone’s betrayal. But Jason had always been there for her and she would always be there for him. Jason was like her little brother and she was his older sister. He had created that awful nickname for her years ago and she had begged him to not use it but without missing a beat he always did. Although she had created an equally bad name, in Jason’s opinion, she thought it was awesome.
“Sorry, I had to work today,” Artemis said. He was aware of her job, and although he never saw himself as a hero, he deeply admired how she saved people and escaped her difficult upbringing with her father at an early age. Jason had seen the shift between who she currently was and her before. She was so much happier and was full of life. And he was so glad that they kept in contact even when she got picked up by Green Arrow. He couldn’t imagine life without Artemis. She had always been there to support him whenever he needed it. And he was the same for her.
Jason walked closer to her and they hugged. They had promised each other that they would only hug once every other week because Jason wanted to keep his cool dude vibe, like every thirteen-year-old boy. They broke apart and made their way to the ledge. They then sat on the edge of the building, hanging their feet over the city. The sounds of the city felt muffled up here like it was separate from the city itself. The pollution in Gotham had gotten worse over the years and now you were barely able to see the night sky through the thick dark clouds. But the lights from all the buildings made it look like they were above the sky itself. It wasn’t the tallest building in the city but it was tall enough that it felt like a different world.
They had found this spot one day when their parents gave them $5 and told them to entertain themselves while they talked business. They had been coming here to meet up every second Thursday since. Unless of course one of them had something else to do. But they would always let each other know beforehand. It was their safe space from their parents and the rest of the world. Often Artemis would bring snacks for them to munch on while talking. Today she had two protein bars in her pocket. This was often what she grabbed because it was easy to bring and easy for them to eat.
“How was your day, Jason?” Artemis asked as she passed a bar to the boy. He took it and opened it quickly and began to eat.
“Not the best day,” Jason said, with his mouth full of the bar. “Mom’s started using again.”
Artemis hummed in acknowledgement. Jason’s mom struggled with depression and a substance abuse problem. She had been trying to quit for Jason. He was so happy when she told him because she had been fighting this battle with addiction her whole life but she said that she was going to quit every other week. This time he thought she was seriously going to quit because she lost her job and she didn’t have much income for the two of them. Jason thought that if she stopped using she would be able to turn her life around and they could live as any other happy family. But that didn’t go well.
Artemis had talked very little to Catherine but from what Jason said, she got violent when she tried to quit. So today must have been hard for the younger boy who held out hope for his negative mother. He truly believed that it was his job to protect her and parent her instead of the other way around. But logically he knew that there was nothing he could do to help her. She had made her bed and now it was time for her to rest in it.
“Are you doing okay?” Artemis asked. She knew the answer wasn’t the one she wanted to hear. Jason had been hurt so many times by this life and it killed her that she couldn’t protect him from it all.
She watched as his eyes clouded over with a mixture of frustration and sadness. He sighed heavily before replying, “I’m trying, Artemis. But it’s just.. It’s getting harder to keep believing things will change. I thought if she lost her job it might make her see, might make her stop. But now… I don’t know.” He paused, his gaze dropping to scan the city below as if the answer would be down there somewhere. He had grown up so fast, he had lived all the experiences of a full grown man and it wasn’t necessary for a kid to have to face all these issues so early in life when he was still trying to figure himself out.
Artemis felt her heart ache for her dear friend. She reached out and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. “You’ve done all you can, Jason. You’re strong, but you’re not responsible for fixing everything, especially if it isn’t your job. Sometimes, people have to find their own way, even if it’s painful to watch. And you're the child here. You are not responsible for your mom.”
Jason nodded, his grip tightening the protein bar, the wrapper crinkling beneath his fingers, “I just wish… I wish I could make her understand. That there’s more to life, that she doesn't have to keep doing this to herself…” His voice broke, “and to me.” He felt so frustrated with everything and he didn’t know how to handle it.
Artemis smiled softly, her eyes reflecting the empathy she felt. “Maybe one day she will, Jason. Maybe one day she’ll see the strength you’ve shown and find it within herself.” Jason turned to look at her, with a lighter expression on his face. “And you know you're not alone right? You can always come stay with-”
“No, no no no, Artemis I am not staying with you,” Jason said quickly. “Thank you for the offer but you know I am not going to stay with you, your boyfriend comes over almost every night and the walls are wayyyy to thin at your house and you guys are going to move in together and I DEFINITELY don't want to be there for any of that.”
Artemis nudged him, blushing and laughing at the younger boy. “You’re not supposed to know that.”
“Oh Artemis, I think the entirety of Gotham knows the walls are like paper….” He said laughing. Artemis gently pushed him, still laughing.
“Okay,” Artemis said, “Let's move onto a more appropriate subject.”
Jason started talking about a few super cool motorcycles he saw the other day. Artemis smiled as he talked about the wheels of each one and fast they would go. It was nice for him to have an interest that would be deemed normal for a thirteen-year-old boy. They continued to talk for a while about what kind of motorcycles Jason would get when he was older. He had begged Artemis to take him out on her motorcycle but she kept telling him it was for work only. Even though the real reason was that she didn’t want a child on a motorcycle.
They talked for hours, catching up on everything they had missed over the past two weeks. This time was so special to them, even when their lives were falling apart around them, they knew they had each other and nothing could hurt them.
They found themselves with a lull in the conversation where they just stared out onto their city. “Do you ever see Batman?” Jason asked as he looked up at the Bat Signal which eliminated the night sky.
Artemis took a bite from her bar, “Yeah sometimes.” Jason, like most kids, had a favorite superhero and Batman was his. He liked him because wasn’t a goody two shoes like Superman and he wore all black. Artemis repeatedly joked that she was hurt that his favorite superhero wasn’t her, which always made Jason laugh.
“That must be cool,” Jason said, smiling over the city.
Artemis watched his face light up as he thought about the grown man who liked to dress up as a bad. She hoped Jason never got into this line of work. It was scary enough watching your boyfriend face death every day but to have someone as close as Jason was to her, she could only wish he never had to face this life she led.
“It’s not all it's cut out to be, Jaybird,” Artemis said, standing up with a huff. Her muscles and bruises were starting to hurt from the mission earlier today. Jason stood up beside her and gave her a playful glare for the nickname. They threw out both of their protein bar wrappers in the trash can beside the entrance to the stairs and headed their own ways home.