Paradise

PARADISE
Despite being exhausted from today's trials, today's criminals with the stealing, the attempted murder and the like, Wally found himself speeding to a special place, a place he went to just about everyday. The light of the day had faded by now, and his legs were awfully sore, but he didn't care, he ran right past the doors, only slowing down to greet Wendy.
            "Hey Wendy!" He pulled a flower from his pocket and placed it in her hand, kissing her cheek, she smiled slightly, pretending to inhale the scent from the petals…only to amuse the speedster.
            "Thanks Wally." He stared at her, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hair.
            "You do good work here Wendy, you know that right?"
            "You tell me everyday Wally and you know what I think." He knows. He knows she wishes she could have said her brother, her twin. He knows.
            "Wendy, thank you." She nodded, knowing exactly what this thank you pertained to, it was really the only relief he could give her, the only reprieve she had…knowing that the life of her brother was gone, but her inbred sense to help others, to protect other lives kept this fact from consuming her entirely.
            "She's in the back, as usual. Careful, she might bite your head off." Wendy struggled to laugh at her own joke; it was meant to lighten the mood, but it didn't help…not at all. Wally nodded.
            "Same old same old." He took his time reaching the next room; he knew how much it pained her to see him run to her. When he finally reached the doors, he heard her.
            "Damn it!" he stopped and closed his eyes. His body was tense; he knew she didn't like that, it made her feel like a burden whenever he was tense, stressed. He hated making her feel that way; from the sound, the words she spoke it seemed as though she was already having a bad day. He inhaled slowly, trying to capture a moment years ago, when things were simple, easy…when things were good. She was sunshine to him then, and he could make it happen again.
            "Hey beautiful!" he exhaled quickly as he entered the room. She had her arms on the iron railing, her face covered in sweat, her blonde curls sticking to her face, her expression angry, determined and frustrated.
            "Not. Now." The muscles on her arms flexed, the tops of fingers shown were red with blood pulsating furiously, being pushed to their ends. The veins of her hands protruded in a manner that made Wally afraid, afraid she was taking things to far…again.
            "Artemis, how long have you been here?" he walked up slowly to her, watching her legs dangle from the bars below as she tried to place her foot on the ground, in the next moment she had it brushing against the floor.
            "Yes!" after uttering that word, Artemis lost her balance, falling ever so quickly, of course Wally ran to catch her, his hands grabbing her shoulders, turning her over gently and placing her head on his lap with one swift motion.
            "I hate it when you do that!" she screamed raising her arms up to slap his face, her torso shaking as she did so.
            "You really want to crack your head on the floor?" Wally was patient, he ran his hands over her hair, it was thinner than it use to be. After that day, long ago, she wasn't able to grow it, the chemicals from the accident…
            "Stop that!" she screamed again, the sweat had fallen into her eyes; they had gone red. Her eyes also stung from the excretion, it was painful. Wally placed his hands over them, rubbing them, she didn't object although she continued to mutter under her breath.
            "You've worked hard today, take a break." He put his hands on her shoulders, waiting for her to rise on her own, that's the way she wanted it. She got up, turning over to him, her voice trembling.
            "Don't look at me like that." Wally's wasn't aware of his exact expression, if anything he felt as though his face reflected his feelings for this woman, his love. His clichéd feelings of undying devotion, his admiration, he grabbed her hand and tilted his head, "What do you mean?"
            Artemis shook her head, letting it drop. To her, his face was of pain. To her she was looking into the eyes of someone who shouldn't love her, but did. Someone who was in as much pain as she was, if not more because of how much he cared for her. She felt guilty, she felt lonely. She felt powerless to make him feel as though everything would be ok…that was her fault. All she ever did was work on these damn bars and struggle to get better, to fight again. She never hugged him, she never smiled, when was the last time she told him she loved him? Even though these thoughts came to her mind like an arrow to it's target, powerful and with such precision, such accuracy…there was so much truth to her thoughts, an irrevocable truth…
            "Shut up." She pulled away from him, reaching up to the bars. She didn't want his love; she knew she needed it but it wasn't right. With all the pain she caused him, it was best if he took off forever. But he didn't, he came here everyday, he came to her for God knows what reason, guilt?
            "Artemis, stop." He grabbed her hands, pulling her back down to look at her.
            "Don't touch me!" This was the worst of it; this was the worst her inner turmoil had to offer. The disgusting selfishness, the anger churning inside, burning straight from hell, the hatred for herself, the need to push everyone away until she was alone on her island, maybe then she could fall into the water and let herself drown entirely.
            "Shh," He pulled her closer to him, letting her head rest on his chest, "Beautiful, I know what you're doing. It's not going to work." He needed to believe that he was right, that she was just pushing him…that she still loved him but she was scared.
            "Shut the hell up, you don't know anything." She pulled herself forward, but he pulled her back. He was the unstoppable force, she was the unmovable object…he was stronger than her at the moment, able to pull her this way and that, she could try and fight it, no she had to win.
            "You don't love me then, that's what you're getting at? That's what you want me to believe? It's not going to work Artemis." He got up, looking down at her as she struggled to reach the bars again.
            "You want to hate the world, you want to hate me, you hate yourself. You want me to go way, runaway, that's it right?" That is it, everything she wanted but not what she needed.
            "Yes, get the hell out." The archer stretched her hands out to the metal bars from the ground, her legs lying on the floor like useless weights made to drag her down, to drown her in an ocean, to fall out of the sky. The sweat dropped like rain onto her clothes, soaking her body with the very anguish in each attempt to rise fully from the ground. She was a bird with broken wings, fixed on flying. She was the broken arrow used in the end of a battle as a last resort, she was a fighter failing to just stand and fight. A warrior in battle…she would surely die.
            Wally watched her struggle to reach the metal, her hands stretching like she was pulling a bow back, ready to attack. Her eyes were narrowed but wet, her lips were red, beautiful, but shaking, she was always shaking these days. His eyes went to her hair; it had once been so long…so full…a reflection of Artemis' life. It had smelled of apples and little something extra, something that was only Artemis. The scent was gone.
He stared at this woman, the woman he loved and saw her as a scared little girl reaching up for someone to hold her.
"Stop looking at me like that!" She fell onto her torso, one hand keeping the upper-part of her body from falling entirely, the other still reaching, but now the angle had change. She was reaching up for him, it was unintentional, but this is how it looked, this was the image that had been set.
"Get the hell out, I don't want you here!" she screamed, her shoulders folding in on themselves, tears falling like hale down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat. In her mind, her appearance was now as disgusting as she felt, how useless she felt.
"Artemis…"
"I don't want you! I hate it when you come here and give me your pity looks, I hate it! I hate you, get out and don't come back! Go live your stupid little fairytale in that stupid speedster's head of yours, get the hell out and stop coming here, I DON'T NEED YOU!" she spat the words out with such a viciousness that her face had morphed into something of a monster, the muscles in her body so tense they were as hard as the metal she had been reaching for, the veins in her body on the edge of snapping altogether, those in her hands had already started…covering her fingers and palms with dots of what appeared to be broken vessels. She was a ship, sinking below the water now.
Wally looked at this girl, this girl who was now panting, nearly choking on her own salvia. He was her target, and she had shot him straight through the heart. Not in a cupid sense, no not at all. She had that arrow tear into him like a knife, twisting it over and over to make sure he couldn't breathe, to stop the flow of blood, to kill him. The only way to save himself was to walk away.
"Artemis," he fell on his knees and pulled her once more to him, forcing her face to look at his, "I love you, if you want, I'll never walk again. I'll never run, I'll hang up the cowl. I'll do whatever it is you want, anything. I love you beautiful, I love you." Now his eyes were wet, and his voice trembled and his hands as steady as his words.
"Wally, please don't." Artemis' face changed, she let his sincerity take over, her lips mouthing out please, please but she'd lost her voice.
"I love you and it's irrational isn't it? I guess that's love." He let his head fall onto her shoulder, facing her neck, "I'll never let you, not again."
There was the reminder, the reminder that Wally did feel guilty, but not guilty in the sense that he felt it was his duty to stay with her, no…guilty because he blamed himself, he blamed himself that she could not walk, that she spent day after day trying to learn again, that he was the speedster running around the world when he felt it was his place she had taken.
"Wally, I was the one who stayed behind. That was my choice." She felt his tears on her neck. An old feeling began to take hold of her, it was the same feeling she had when she thought she was going to die, years ago. The world was different then, the team, Wally…she…they all felt invincible. The team was in sync with one another, they were happy, a family. Mission after mission, day after day. Until that one day, that one day when the League of Shadows came into the picture. Where they were ambushed, where Artemis chose to stay behind, to distract them having known the shadows well.
"I got this." She had said as Wally squeezed her hand, not wanting to let her go. He was suppose to be the distraction, Artemis has convinced him otherwise, having said she knew their moves better than he did, it would be best for everyone to leave it t Artemis.
"I'll see you soon beautiful." He said as he speeded off to reach the rest of team.
But she didn't have it, not at all. The last thing she remembered was falling and then a sharp pain in her back, the smell of unknown chemicals burning her head, a scream "WALLY!" and then nothing. How did she get out? That part is still a blur; her best guess…Jade had somehow found a way to rescue her…Jade…her sister would blame herself too. First her mother and now her sister…
"It's my fault Wally, I'm so sorry. I'm weak, I'm so weak." She said wrapping her arms around him.
"No you're not," he said softly, "You're my Artemis, you're strong." He lifted his head to look at her, she let her forehead meet his and they just sat quietly with one another, quietly in unison with every breath until Artemis finally spoke, breaking the silence with the truth she carried inside of her.
"I kept trying to prove myself to…me. How is it Wally, tell me because you love me more than anyone I know, tell me how I could end up like this, having chosen the life of a hero…how could I end up like my mother?" Wally looked up at her, she was crying heavily now with strands of hair falling to her face, he pulled them away as he always had and kissed her lips, feeling the warmth of everything they shared in the simple touch of two lovers meeting.
"I don't know, I don't know a lot of things. I won't lie and say I do, but I do know that I'm here to help you get better. I'm here to make you believe you were right, you were right to choose to be the hero, that's it right? You're doubting your choice. Don't. And remember, if you had never been the archer, we would have never met, we would have never fallen in love beautiful." She hung onto each word he said, finding herself able to breathe easily for the first time in years. She smiled and kissed him back, slowly, remembering their first meeting right down to their first kiss.
"God I love you Wallace Rudolph West. You've given me everything I've ever needed." In a flash, Wally had a thought and his smile widened, Artemis stared at him, titling her head as he had done earlier.
"Wally?"
            "Beautiful, there's one more thing you need." He picked her up and stood, making sure she had a firm grip around his neck before he took off, pushing all the doors in his way with a kick, the entrance doors already open, Wendy waving her hands as she saw them off.
            Wally ran with his princess, his bride in his arms far out into the night, watching the stars to guide him, Artemis watching him, his face so excited for whatever it was he had to show her. They passed buildings, trees, people, the shades of the night changing to day and then back again within minutes, an hour or so had gone by, she had rested on his arm, falling asleep until the air had changed, they had stopped. Artemis turned to see what was before her…
            "Wally…" There was an ocean, sparkling under the moon, the stars making it even more beautiful with their light, the vines wrapping around the ground and a gazebo in the distance with birds fluttering from the ceiling. Flowers swung softly in the light breeze, singing a silent song. The air was sweet and new, like a fresh rain.
            "I wanted you to have paradise tonight." He said as he walked up to the sand a few yards away from the grass they had been standing on.
            "Wally-"
            "I know beautiful, I know." He let her down slowly, placing his arms around her waist, her feet over his; with each step he took, she walked too. It was slow, and they stumbled from time to time, but the feeling of her leg against his…it was a bond, a unity that was more beautiful then this paradise; it healed her in a way she hoped practice would but couldn't. She felt as though his touch was saving her.
They walked in silence; eventually they reached the water, Artemis turned to look at him, crying again, but for very different reasons.
            "Can we go in?" he helped her into the water, keeping his arms around her waist, making sure she didn't drown in the ocean. He slowly twirled her in the water, she was laughing, a real true, honest laugh. He pulled closer,
"I love you Artemis."
" I love you Wally." They held each other knowing how cruel the world was, having experienced it, expecting it, living it. But for now, they were two lovers, someday husband and wife, floating in the water like angels in the sky.