coming home [A Young Justice Fanfic]

Prolougue - I'm Back Baby!

"I'm back baby, and ready for action," smirking, laughing, smiling.

That's how I wish I came back. Instead I broke through the speed force and landed on Artemis's porch and immediately passed out. No time to wake up and comb my hair and maybe get all that rain shaken off because I was knocked out and lying on the ground when she came and found me. I woke up in her arms, to her brushing my hair with her fingers. I mean I couldn't have asked for a better way to wake up, but a way to come back from the dead and save all my friends from grieving over me? Yeah collapsing on someone's porch in the rain at 10:00 pm has now been proven the worst way to do that.

So yeah that's how I actually came back. Right now I'm sitting on Arty's couch just thinking about it. And about next week...

I'm going to see the team on Monday. Today is Thursday. That means I have four days to prepare. But how the heck am I supposed to prepare for "Oh, hey guys, I'm actually not dead, and my girlfriend has been housing my zombie corpse at her house since last week and hey do you think I could get into school anywhere?" Yeah I don't think so... But I'm a year behind in school now anyways so going back to mine would be awkward. Maybe I could go into Dick's grade. God I miss him.

"Artemis..." I mutter from the couch. I can hear shuffling coming from her room and she comes out to greet me. "Yeah? Need anything?" She smiles weakly. I know she feels good to be "taking care" of me but I honestly feel fine, so I don't know why I can't just sleep at the cave. Apparently the team broke up while I was gone... So nobody would be there anyways...

"What time are we meeting with them?"

Artemis sighs her amazing not-as-pissed-off as usual sigh. "Well Aqualad still hasn't replied, so I'm not sure... I haven't texted Dick yet." She lets out a little sigh, that I know is hiding something. From the way she's been talking about him, I think Dick is suffering. I am too, kind of. I miss my friends. And my life, ya know?

And Mom and Dad and Bart and Barry and shit, I even miss Batman. But especially Mom and Dad...

But of course, I can't see any of them right now.

I mean... I'm seeing Mom tomorrow which is probably what I really should be thinking about and Dad is getting back on Sunday, so I guess I should be excited. But I'm also freaking scared.

"What time are we seeing Mom?"

Artemis takes out her phone from her pocket. "One sec, let me check," God, she's been acting like my mother lately. I miss when we used to take care of each other. This whole me being taken care of thing is weird... I'll talk to her about that later. She needs to finish her homework.

"8:00 am" she pauses and looks at me with her long blonde ponytail hanging behind her, and her sleepy 7:00 pm pajamas hanging loose off her body. "Is that too early?" I don't know why but right then I get up and race over to clutch her in my arms. "No..." I can't think of anything else to say while I embrace her, as she puts her phone in her pocket and hugs me back. "You okay, Wally?" And suddenly things feel normal again. Like we're living in our apartment and Artemis has her hair down and she's wearing that stupid sports shirt that she looks amazing in and we're hugging and I never died.

"I'm fine... I just missed everyone. You especially." The speedforce was dark and quiet and cold and not at all like being embraced in Artemis's arms with her heart beat going the small bit faster when I put my head on her chest and her arms warm around my back and the light filtering in from the windows as the sun sets over the city.

"I missed you too..." She's still holding on to me.

"Artemis..." I pause and think about Dick and Kaldur and Red Arrow and Zatanna and freaking everybody and I feel like I'm losing them all over again.  "Will we ever be the same again?" She pulls back.

"I-I hope so." There are tears coming in her eyes and I really want to just smack myself in the face for making her even more upset and dying and not coming back for an entire freaking year. "I mean... I haven't seen the team in like seven months since I bumped into Dick at the mall and even then we didn't say anything and..." She pauses and looks at my red boots that I'm still wearing because I've been nervous without them.  "I just want to be a team again,"

"Yeah,"

"That sounds so cliche, sorry..." I know. But- but fuck, that doesn't even matter! What matters is me not having bad dreams and waking up and letting myself cry so loud she comes out to calm me down, what matters is that people don't get afraid that I've changed somehow and am better than them because I died or something, what matters is that we can all be friends again and that, shit, what matters is that because of me, all of my friends have been separated for an entire year!

She sighs and turns around. "Sorry," she mutters under her breath.

I race forward and grab onto her even harder than before, before letting go.  "No! I'm- I'm sorry!" And I'm crying again. Drat. I go back over to the couch and bury my head in the pillows.

And of course, like the best girlfriend she is, she comes over and lays down next to me while I cry my eyes out.

Yeah, Wally, great job coming back.