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Even after spending so many years with her, even after so many years dating her, there were times Wally wasn’t sure how much Artemis meant her threats. It was how she naturally communicated, he suspected. Show no weakness, feel no pain, only the tough survive, that sort of thing. Not everything harsh she said, she meant, and even if she did mean it, she was usually exaggerating.
“Wally.” Artemis said, a glint like steel in her eyes. “Turn around.”
…This time, she was serious.
Wally obediently pivoted so that they were facing opposite sides of the room. “What? Not like I’ve never seen you undressed before.”
“My mom is here.” Artemis said. “For god’s sake, have some decency, Wally. Also, it took hours to get this makeup right, so you’re not allowed to kiss me.”
“If you’re undressed, I don’t need to kiss your face.” Wally said helpfully.
In answer, something thudded across the room, and he pursed his lips and didn’t say anything more. That was a warning, and he was going to listen to it.
She was much more stressed than she was giving off, too, if she was throwing things. Violence was how she calmed herself down. Something she had gotten from her dad, he suspected.
“I don’t suppose you need any help getting zipped up or anything like that?” Wally asked- honestly trying to be helpful this time. Hopefully she would know the difference.
Fortunately, she did, because nothing was thrown at him this time. “There’s no zipper, so no. And besides, you’re not supposed to see yet.”
“You know that’s only for the bride and groom, right?” Wally asked- and immediately his heart started pounding so loud he was sure Artemis could hear it as his mind took that a step further, to what it would be like if they were. He could see it all. Himself and Artemis, as the groom and bride, with the small reception outside full of the team and the Justice League and his family and his school friends, and there would be so much food even he would get full, and then they’d go on a honeymoon someplace that never had any disasters, like Hawaii… And Artemis would smile at him with that crinkle in her eyes and she’d look so beautiful and he’d think I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her and it’d mean something this time…
He thought about it more often than he would ever admit to anyone, even Dick, and every time he had to snap himself out of it before he got in too deep and it turned from daydreaming to an actual want. He was a scientist. He knew when there were too many variables to control for something to work. Between himself, and Artemis, and Artemis’ family, and the team, and how young they were… If it was a possibility, it was a long way down the road, even though they were both twenty-one now and technically adults. He didn’t feel like an adult, if it meant being able to marry. Saving the world didn’t mean he felt mature enough for the kind of responsibility that came with giving himself to someone and taking them in return.
And in the rare moments he felt like he was, Artemis made it abundantly clear she wasn’t. And he was all about what she wanted.
She sighed in exasperation. “Yeah, but… ugh, I hate dresses. You’re at least not allowed to see me until I have it as good as it’s going to get. Hold on.”
“Yeah, yeah, okay.” Wally adjusted his own tuxedo, understanding the feeling completely. Even though technically half of his life was ‘normal’, he wasn’t used to dressing in clothes that were looser than his uniform, and wearing a tux was even more foreign. This would make his third time. He had worn one to his prom, and one to Artemis’ the next week. That had been an expensive month.
But totally worth it, because those were the only two times Artemis had worn a dress, too, and it was only because M’gann had begged her endlessly to go with her to pick it out. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her the entire night. He still remembered the dress: bright red and matching her lips, tight and all the way to the floor with the top done up with rhinestones, with sleeves but a neck so low he couldn’t really remember what the length of them was. Artemis had smacked him and he had been endlessly mocked by everyone else, but she hadn’t objected when he never took his hand off her waist and she was flattered beyond belief when he ran into a wall because he was too busy staring at her.
He was looking forward to turning around and seeing her in the third dress ever, first new one since they graduated high school. Knowing Jade, it was probably a traditional Vietnamese dress, too, and the first one he would ever see Artemis in. He couldn’t wait. She looked good in everything but he had looked up the dresses out of curiosity before and this would be one to remember.
Artemis growled under her breath; there was the sound of fabric protesting, and Wally cringed and prayed she didn’t rip it. “She just had to pick me for maid of honor.”
“Who else would she pick? I think she’s killed pretty much everyone else she’s ever met. Or at least tried.”
“She tried to kill me, too, Wally. I’m just obligated to forgive her because she’s family and my mom-“ Another grunt. “-Won’t let me quit speaking to her. And now I have to wear this and give a stupid toast. I hate my mom.”
“I still can’t believe she got Jade and Roy to agree to this.” Wally said- even though he knew damn well how. Because Artemis’ mom was an actual force of nature, and she was furious that Jade and Roy had gotten courthouse-married and deprived her of the chance to see her daughter walk down the aisle and asked them for months to have a ceremony she could attend. Roy hadn’t wanted to stop his search for the original Speedy, even for a second, but they were making progress so he had hope and Jade was giving normal living a new effort and Paula was immovable. Eventually, they had all agreed, and Roy was cleaner than he had been in years and Artemis complained but she was happy to be maid of honor and just those two things made it worth it in Wally’s opinion.
Roy had privately met with Wally and Dick and Kaldur and told them that they needed to come because in spite of the fact that it hadn’t been her idea, now that it was happening Jade expected it to be perfect. He had been very, very red in the face when Dick said that meant he needed a bachelor party, and then stormed out fast enough he had to come back the next day to actually ask Kaldur to be his best man.
(A wise choice, that, because Wally had seen Dick’s plans and they were not pretty.)
Artemis grunted and swore, but then breathed a sigh of relief. “Finally. I swear I didn’t gain any weight between the fitting and now, it’s this stupid fabric.”
“I wasn’t aware you gained weight at all.” Wally said. “Not sucking up, it’s an actual observation. I’m not sure you do.”
“An excellent try, but you still can’t kiss me.” Artemis sighed. “Alright, I guess this is as good as it gets. You can turn around.”
Wally took a deep breath, closing his eyes- and then turned around and opened them.
Artemis stared back at him, a little apprehension in her eyes, which were lined with black so that it was all Wally could focus on for a second. Her hair was down (even though she had started doing that a few months ago, it was still gorgeous and still a treat) and around her shoulders, which were held too stiffly. She didn’t feel comfortable in dresses- which was a shame, because they suited her.
And the dress was white. White and floor length, hugging her curves the same way the red dress had but it seemed more elegant with the color and her posture, with lace around her throat and over her collarbone and flowing down both arms like water. There was a high slit on either side and white silk pants underneath, and she was standing barefoot but holding a pair of white flats, which somehow made it feel even more like... her . He couldn't put words to it, but it felt like seeing her for the first time since they were adults and realizing that was what they were .
“What do you think?” Artemis asked- he was only dimly aware of it, because she took up all of his attention and all of the light in the room. He had expected her to be averting her eyes in embarrassment, but she was actually staring at him like this was the first time she’d seen him in a tux. He supposed it had been a while, since both times had been three years ago, and her eyes lingering on the white flower in his suit felt like an actual weight on his chest.
He finally remembered his voice, but instead of saying anything he just laughed; he tried to recover, tried to get out actual words (there were a million ways to tell her she looked beautiful; he was afraid she would get tired of hearing it or stop believing him, so he knew them all) but nothing came out. Just more hoarse laughter. There were no words that would be accurate.
Seeming as lost for words as he was, Artemis laughed, too, tucking her hair behind her ears. There was a pearl earring in, and it flashed when she ducked her head. “You too.” She said softly. “It looks… good on you.”
Wally swallowed. “Yeah. You too. You…” And this was a stupid idea, this wasn’t a subject they broached, but if there was ever a time for it, it was now, so he said it. “You look good in white.”
Her eyes cut back up to his in a second, and he froze. There was recognition, there- she was no fool, she knew what he was hinting at- but none of the panic that he so often saw when they talked about commitment and the things that went with it. When Wally first said “I love you”, she had run out of the room and left him feeling like he was going to throw up; he hadn’t fully understood until she said it back to him, because hers had been with the finality of a death sentence. There was a “world be damned” at the end of it, when she said it back, because the way she had grown up falling in love was a weakness and ended badly, and to embrace it you needed to be unimaginably brave.
Artemis, though, was nothing if not brave, and after a long second that hung in the air between them, she smiled. A soft smile, with no trace of fear, no resignation to the gallows, no uncertainty. The kind he never got tired of seeing. Just I love you so much.
Hope fluttered inside Wally’s chest as he allowed himself to breathe and smile back.
Maybe it wasn’t as far off as he thought.