[Artemis doesn't bother with the window, she just pads downstairs and opens the door. She's in her pajamas--a pair of old slobby sweatpants and a tank top--and she hasn't change clothes in three days, which would usually be sort of embarrassing, but right now she couldn't care less. Right now she can't even make eye contact, she just opens the door and stands back to let him in without a word.]
[Wally glances at her face before looking away also, toeing off his sneakers at the door. He glances up again as Artemis shuts the door behind him and locks back up. She turns around.
There are fading bruises around her neck and Wally can see his fingers fitting in them.]
I'm sorry, [he whispers, and it sounds more choked and less in control than he'd wanted so he shoves his knuckles against his mouth and looks away. He'd wanted to come over and check if she was okay, not break down in her foyer like he's made of glass or something.]
[Goddamnit, Artemis really didn't want him to do that either. Mostly because she's only a hairsbreadth from breaking down herself and if he starts then she doesn't know what she can do to hold herself back.]
Don't be.
[Please, don't be sorry. Because it was the drug, not you. Artemis can't handle anything else.]
Come on.
[She jerks her head towards the stairs leading up to her room. She doesn't want to do this in the hallway, at least.]
[Wally follows her up, silent and wondering why he came over at all. He should've just left it alone; it would've been the kindest thing to do, for the both of them, but- shit, he doesn't know. He wanted to make sure she wasn't curled up in a ball, screaming about her dad, which is just absurd.
She lets him into her room and Wally thinks dully, I've never been in her room before as he sits down, cross-legged, on her floor. He looks around. ...he doesn't know what he expected, but this isn't it.
He glances back up at her.]
...you look like you haven't even showered since we got back.
I'm just saying, personal hygiene is important, [Wally mutters defensively, but he doesn't push it. He sits, picking at a loose thread in the bottom of his tee, and looks around her room for anything to settle on. Why does she have so little stuff? His own room's already loaded down with bullshit, dumb knick-knacks that he barely looks twice at.]
Look, I didn't come here to tell you to shower. [Pause.] Even though you probably should. Maybe brush your teeth too. I wanted to ask you something.
[He can keep looking, but the most sentimental thing Artemis has is a mug with her name half scrubbed-off in Sharpie. And that's in the kitchen cupboard because that's where mugs belong. Everything else in her room is either regulation issue or related to her archery equipment.
She bristles at his comments about hygiene. That is definitely none of his business and like he's been Mr. Social after what they went through.]
You have about ten seconds to spit it out before I totally regret letting you in here.
[Wally takes in how her arms are crossed tight over her chest, can't quite look her in the face long enough to see if her jaw is clenched (it probably is) and how she's leaning against that wall like she's about to push off it and punch him in the face. Bringing this up is not a smart plan.]
I wanted to...ask you about your dad. [But then again nobody goes to Wally for the smart plans.]
[Wally's in luck because the tense, ready anger fades away, leaving Artemis awkward and uncertain.]
Oh.
[She's not really surprised. Even though the line in her memory between thought and action is blurry, she remembers what she thought she saw in the arena. And although she can't remember what she said, she's pretty sure she said something.
It isn't the first time she's slipped in front of Wally. After the super awkward ninja boyfriend conversations (that Artemis seriously wishes she could get scrubbed out of her memory) he never really pressed her about it and she assumed he just forgot. Whatever she did or said in the arena though... that's got to be harder to forget.
[Whenever Artemis doesn't respond in the way Wally's expecting he like he's been set adrift in a dingy. That loss of control kind of irritates him, and then he's irritated with himself for being irritated at the lack of attitude she's given him.
He takes a minute, because even if he's annoyed, the last thing he wants right now is a fight.]
Look.
[He clears his throat. He's never done this, despite the endless PSAs schools tend to put out for this sort of thing. He rubs the back of his neck, an uncomfortable mixture of awkward, unsure and concerned.]
If...if your dad's hurting you, you know you can tell somebody, right? Like the League, or even just one of us. Kaldur or something. We can take care of it. We won't even go to the cops, the League can handle it.
[He'd expected something like abuse. Like her dad was controlling, one of those nutso parents who hated heroes maybe. There were lots of people like that, who worshiped at the altar of G. Gordon Godfrey and believed that "self-governed super freaks" needed to be kept on short leashes. He'd just thought her father was someone like that. Not-]
Sportsmaster? Your dad's- [Wally stares down at his feet.] Okay. Well. That explains why you thought he wanted you to kill me back in Bialya.
Wally casts around for something to look at before remembering he's already done that twice and found nothing.]
Do you still...live with him? [The second it's out of his mouth Wally realizes it's a stupid question, but he just can't- him? She had to grow up in a house with that sadist?]
[Things would have turned out very differently if she did. She might have still become a vigilante, but... Artemis has a pretty good idea of where she would have ended up. She got a taste of it when she put on the orange jumpsuit and let herself be put in juvie for the ice villain mission.]
I live with my mom now. [Her mouth twists wryly.] Do you remember a criminal called Huntress? They caught her about six years ago. It made the news.
[Not that she expects him to remember. They were both nine at the time, and for Wally that probably meant playing baseball and watching cartoons and eating snacks after school or whatever it is normal kids do when they're nine. When Artemis was nine, everything in her life was turned upside down.]
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text - 7/27 2:03 AM
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Pebble against your window, Artemis.]
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There are fading bruises around her neck and Wally can see his fingers fitting in them.]
I'm sorry, [he whispers, and it sounds more choked and less in control than he'd wanted so he shoves his knuckles against his mouth and looks away. He'd wanted to come over and check if she was okay, not break down in her foyer like he's made of glass or something.]
action
Don't be.
[Please, don't be sorry. Because it was the drug, not you. Artemis can't handle anything else.]
Come on.
[She jerks her head towards the stairs leading up to her room. She doesn't want to do this in the hallway, at least.]
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She lets him into her room and Wally thinks dully, I've never been in her room before as he sits down, cross-legged, on her floor. He looks around. ...he doesn't know what he expected, but this isn't it.
He glances back up at her.]
...you look like you haven't even showered since we got back.
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Thanks, asshole. I have.
[Once. Right after she got home. But not since then. It didn't seem important.]
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Look, I didn't come here to tell you to shower. [Pause.] Even though you probably should. Maybe brush your teeth too. I wanted to ask you something.
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She bristles at his comments about hygiene. That is definitely none of his business and like he's been Mr. Social after what they went through.]
You have about ten seconds to spit it out before I totally regret letting you in here.
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I wanted to...ask you about your dad. [But then again nobody goes to Wally for the smart plans.]
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Oh.
[She's not really surprised. Even though the line in her memory between thought and action is blurry, she remembers what she thought she saw in the arena. And although she can't remember what she said, she's pretty sure she said something.
It isn't the first time she's slipped in front of Wally. After the super awkward ninja boyfriend conversations (that Artemis seriously wishes she could get scrubbed out of her memory) he never really pressed her about it and she assumed he just forgot. Whatever she did or said in the arena though... that's got to be harder to forget.
She sits down on the edge of the bed.]
... Okay.
action
He takes a minute, because even if he's annoyed, the last thing he wants right now is a fight.]
Look.
[He clears his throat. He's never done this, despite the endless PSAs schools tend to put out for this sort of thing. He rubs the back of his neck, an uncomfortable mixture of awkward, unsure and concerned.]
If...if your dad's hurting you, you know you can tell somebody, right? Like the League, or even just one of us. Kaldur or something. We can take care of it. We won't even go to the cops, the League can handle it.
action
You have no idea... The League already knows, Wally.
[She takes a deep breath. There's no point hiding this anymore.]
My dad is Sportsmaster.
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[He'd expected something like abuse. Like her dad was controlling, one of those nutso parents who hated heroes maybe. There were lots of people like that, who worshiped at the altar of G. Gordon Godfrey and believed that "self-governed super freaks" needed to be kept on short leashes. He'd just thought her father was someone like that. Not-]
Sportsmaster? Your dad's- [Wally stares down at his feet.] Okay. Well. That explains why you thought he wanted you to kill me back in Bialya.
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[Her fingers dig into the bedding at her sides. So Wally didn't forget.]
He... does stuff like that.
[She can't look at him.]
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Wally casts around for something to look at before remembering he's already done that twice and found nothing.]
Do you still...live with him? [The second it's out of his mouth Wally realizes it's a stupid question, but he just can't- him? She had to grow up in a house with that sadist?]
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[Things would have turned out very differently if she did. She might have still become a vigilante, but... Artemis has a pretty good idea of where she would have ended up. She got a taste of it when she put on the orange jumpsuit and let herself be put in juvie for the ice villain mission.]
I live with my mom now. [Her mouth twists wryly.] Do you remember a criminal called Huntress? They caught her about six years ago. It made the news.
[Not that she expects him to remember. They were both nine at the time, and for Wally that probably meant playing baseball and watching cartoons and eating snacks after school or whatever it is normal kids do when they're nine. When Artemis was nine, everything in her life was turned upside down.]
She's retired.
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