a/n: I had to get this out of my system so I could get back to focusing on law school things. Enjoy! Please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

squeaky swings and tall grass

-o-

There's a lot to be said about swing sets.

As children, it's all too easy to smile into the wind as you fly back and forth and challenge each other to jump further, swing higher, touch the bar. After reaching a certain age, swinging becomes cathartic. The motion lulls you into a state of calm with its rhythm, the repetitiveness is a break from the chaos of daily life, and the momentary feeling of weightlessness at the top of an arc frees you from the weight of the world– or some other bullshit like that.

If anyone dared to ask, Artemis would say that she is swinging in the middle of the night because she feels like it and that's the end of that.

She kicks her legs forward, rises into the air, and exhales slowly as she falls backwards. She shuts her eyes and does the same thing, over and over again in the cool night air, until the sound of crunching footsteps interrupts her zero-dollar therapy session.

Took him long enough.

Artemis opens her eyes and stops pumping her legs as she seeks out the intruder. It doesn't take long for him to climb the rest of the hill and stand before her and the swing set.

"Don't stop on my account," Wally says as he checks the time on his phone. "You do know it's well past normal swinging hours, right? You're into low budget horror movie hours. Any later and you'll be into the prime murder mystery hour."

"Are you– uh, I don't know– a murderer?" Artemis asks.

"No," Wally admits, "but in my youth they called me a lady killer."

"I think I'll be alright," Artemis decides before she closes her eyes and resumes swinging.

The swing set shakes for a moment and Artemis, peeking out of one eye, confirms her theory that Wally has taken a seat in the open swing next to her. The swing set creaks with the added weight.

As soon as she passes him again, she asks, "How'd you know I was out here?"

"We're just that close, Artemis," Wally responds, only half-joking. He uses the tips of his shoes to push against the ground and move back and forth in his swing.

Artemis sends him a level look as she swings past and he holds back a laugh.

"Okay, M'gann gave me a hint. But this was definitely high on my list of places to check."

"Knew it," Artemis breathes out.

"Have I ever mentioned how great this spot is?" Wally asks, fondness flooding his voice. "You can see straight over the harbor. I think it looks better during the day. It's definitely easier to reach when you can see the gopher holes in the hill."

Artemis murmurs her agreement, but doesn't say anything more than that. She just keeps swinging– and thinking. Wally followed her out here for a lot of reasons, and most of those reasons are why she's out here in the first place. They can't keep avoiding this conversation.

Artemis takes a deep breath and slowly starts to slow her pace.

"Wally," she says, dragging her feet on the ground to slow to a complete stop.

"Hm?" Wally says, tilting his head towards her.

Artemis turns towards him in her seat before she quietly asks, "Do you think Garth is right?"

Wally freezes, and the silence sits between them for a long moment.

"Garth–" Wally releases a puff of air and twists in his swing to face her fully before he tries again. "Garth is grieving."

Artemis purses her lips and nods before she presses, "But is he right?"

Wally's gaze drops to her feet and he furrows his brow as he tries to formulate an answer. In truth, Artemis already knows what he's thinking (and that he's been thinking it for a long time now), but she wants to hear him say it. She has to hear him say it (God, she knows he wants to say it).

"I think he has a point," Wally starts slowly, looking Artemis in the eyes again. "I wouldn't take it as far as he did, but I don't think there's anything wrong with maybe– taking a step back? At least for now?"

Artemis keeps her pokerface strong as he keeps talking.

"School is starting soon. That's going to be huge. Dick has things handled around here," he rationalizes, digging the tip of his shoe into the soft dirt. "It's not like they can't call if they really need us– or me. I don't know. I don't know what you want to do, but I think I might've just made up my mind about this."

Artemis watches the weight of his words wash over him and, in spite of the circumstances, she smiles. Finally.

"I think you're right," Artemis says, sure of her words. "I think– for now– it's time to go."

She exhales and lifts her feet off of the ground to let the swing return to its original position. Wally does the same, and they sit there, staring out over the harbor that helped shape them into the people they are today. Take it in. Leaving the team isn't an easy decision in the slightest, but it's one they have to make now (and being on the same page will make it so much easier to follow through with it).

"We can tell them in the morning," Artemis offers, breaking the silence before she kicks her feet in the air and lets the swing work its magic.

"Technically, it is the morning," Wally notes, and he works to match her pace.

Artemis looks over at him as they fly past each other. "Technically, it's murder mystery hour."

Wally throws his head back as he laughs and swings higher. "Was that a threat?"

"Just a fact," Artemis says, her smile turning brighter.

She swings higher and the swing set buckles as they take it all in one last time. Artemis can't help but feel lighter than when she first arrived at the top of the hill. She closes her eyes and relishes the feeling of the wind in her face and her heart pounds with newfound excitement for the future.

They're making the right decision.

(And if we're wrong, she thinks to herself at the top of her arc, well, the Cave will always be there when we come back.)