I know, I'm horrible! I'VE BEEN GONE FOREVER!

Over 21 days, pretty long, sorry to keep y'all waiting but please keep in mind I too have a life. Thank you, plus I had to study pretty hard for finals and HSAP, this will continue up until about mid May when I have my AP exams.

-xXRandomnessXx

Disclaimer: Characters aren't mine just the plot!

Chapter 26: Catching Up

Central City
July 4th 23:18EDT

"You want me gone don't you?"

Artemis was shocked by the question. Not only had she loved and missed Wally terribly during the five years he was gone but she had wanted nothing more than to have him back…until she had given up hope. But now that he was back…

"No," she quickly replied. She didn't want him gone but at the same time she didn't want him there.

"Then why do I get the feeling you don't want me around?" Wally muttered.

"I–Wally, I'm engaged to be married and can't….continue to love you." she nearly snapped. Wally flinched back but simply nodded.

"I understand, you found somebody else." Artemis couldn't handle looking at Wally this way. She sighed in defeat and turned swiftly on her heels heading for the door.

"I'll visit sometime, goodbye." she muttered with a half hearted smile. Pulling the door open she was about to leave when Wally asked one last question.

"Do you still have any of my things?" Artemis nodded knowing all too well that she had kept everything that had belonged to Wally.

"It's all in my attic at the new home."

"New home?"

"I moved out of Palo Alto about two and a half years after you went missing. I moved in with my mom then recently, a few months ago, I moved in with...Derek. I kept everything, it's all in my attic, you can come drop by whenever and get the things." she added quickly.

Palo Alto
May 29th 2013 13:45EDT

Artemis walked into the new home, two boxes in hand, music was blaring from the empty table in the middle of the room. Putting the boxes down she cleaned away some sweat with the back of her hand and admired the room. They would be painting it soon.

A laughing shriek escaped her when Wally wrapped his arms around her from behind and spun her around before they fell over laughing.

"You idiot!" she playfully laughed before grabbing the nearest paintbrush, still coated in paint and splattered paint across his face. They spent the next few minutes with brushes in hand and paint flying around the room. Soon Artemis was covered in white while Wally had several coats of red or orange on him. Finally Artemis dropped to the ground in a fit of laughter and Wally sat beside her.

Sitting on the now ruined living room floor they laughed for a few minutes before Artemis spoke up. "We're gonna need a new floor." she stated.

"Or we could keep the paint splattered floor?" Wally offered up.

"Oh my mom will be so proud that I know how to paint floors. No thanks baywatch." she mocked and lightly pushed him.

"Well I think it looks perfect!" he smiled and pulled her close to his body.

"Good to know Kid Flash likes the splattered floor." she joked wrapping her arms around his neck. They had recently dropped the hero gig but Artemis continued to bring it up which always caused Wally to tense up. "Sorry," she muttered and lightly kissed his cheek.

"It's fine." he smiled. "Artemis you wanna know something?"

"Sure baywatch." she nodded leaning back a little to look at his face.

"I'll never leave your side."

"Is there anything else I should know?" Artemis was pulled from her flashback when Wally asked a question.

"Like?"

"Did we have kids?" he asked remembering the girl from the cafe.

"None."

"You sure?" he asked raising an eyebrow. Artemis glanced at Wally's parents who stood behind him, they didn't show any sign of being disappointed in her answer but she simply nodded. "Were we supposed to get married? Were we engaged? Any secrets I should know about?"

Glancing again at Wally's parents they nodded. "Yes, you had a secret identity, you were Kid Flash. Flashes protege." she answered pulling out her cell phone, she still had a few pictures of him in the costume saved on her phone. Showing him the few where he was in costume but with the cowl down he nodded believing her. "We used to live together, we started dating when we were fifteen, until you went missing five years ago." she sighed reliving all her memories again. "We quit the hero gig back in 2013 because it put us in danger, a friend of ours died during a mission and you no longer wanted to put us in danger."

"You can stop,"

"What?"

"You can stop, it's obvious this conversation is making you uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry Wally, I have to go. Bye Mary, Rudy, I'll bring his things by tomorrow." that was the last thing she said before rushing out the door and leaving Wally standing alone with his parents.

"Wally, honey-"

"I'm fine." he snapped with a cold edge to it. He quickly made his way up the stairs and found the guest bedroom.

Outside Artemis sat her car, tears streaming down her cheeks. A few last words echoing in her head before she finally pulled out of the drive way and headed home.

"I'll never leave your side."

I wrote half of this like forever ago and finished it up today! I feel accomplished, I had nothing to do so I sat myself down and typed this up. I know it's pretty short but I can't really seem to concentrate for long, plus I'm sick.

Um, well anyways thank you for continued support and everything. I love reading reviews from you guys, I love the feedback.

Sorry I know some of you don't like the time skip but it was a very important thing for the whole story to work out.

-xXRandomnessXx