Artemis slowly opened her eyes and the alarm clock came into her view. 9:23 AM the red letters read. Moaning she laid her head back on her pillow. Moments later she shot up sending her long blonde hair flying. She flung off the white covers, shoved her feet into her slippers and threw her fluffy, sky blue vazi on.
9:23 AM is early for most sixteen mwaka olds, but not Artemis. For Artemis anything past eight is late. When she was growing up her dad would surprise her with early morning wake ups, so she just naturally wakes up early now. She wakes up hours before her fellow team mates, but today she only woke up before Wally, Zatanna, Connor, M’gann and Raquel. Only Kaldur and Robin woke up before which is a lot of people for her. She was surprised to not wake up earlier even though she and the rest of the team were out until one last night. They were out until one because it was none other than New Years and what better way to celebrate then to stay up and watch the new mwaka come.
“You slept late for you,” Robin stated as she walked into the kitchen.
“I know, I know. Although we all did stay up pretty late last night after our tango with the League,” Artemis alisema heavy with sleep. She reached up in the open cupboard for a mug and once gotten she poured the rest of the coffee pot in it.
“True,” Robin nodded. “So, I have to ask, how was that kiss Wally planted on wewe last night?”
“How was the kiss that Zatanna planted on wewe last night?” She played along. She wanted to dodge her younger teammates swali as much as possible. Her and Wally have always had a complicated relationship. They have always cared about each other, but showed it in a teasingly, abusive way. As of midnight that all changed with a kiss from none other than Wally which mad it all the zaidi complicated. Was she suppose to upendo him au hate him for it? She couldn’t decide because she couldn’t sort out her feelings right now.
“A plus. You?” The thirteen mwaka old boy with dark, shaggy hair and black as night sunglasses pressed. All Artemis could do was shrug and hope for something to happen so she wouldn’t have to talk about her upendo life to a kid that even worse she went to school with. Finally, she was saved. Not kwa a bell, but kwa Connor who was walking down the corridor to them. She was jumping with Glee because he could care less about her upendo life.
“Hey Connor,” Artemis greeted the sleepy teen while getting up from her barstool inayofuata to Robin’s.
“Oh, hey,” he shrugged.
“How was your sleep?”
“Good, good. You?”
“Good I guess.”
“Artemis, your dodging the question,” Robin alisema from behind his glasses. She ignored him and continued her conversation with Connor.
“I’m going to go get ready,” Artemis ignored Robin and walked down the corridor. Robin knew that she wasn’t going to get ready, but go out outside on the ledge of the mountain that they lived inside to clear her head.
She looked out over the still water and watched the suns reflection. Everything was peaceful unlike her life. There was a light breeze that made the trees lightly dance in rhythm with the nyasi blades. This was her dream world where wewe didn’t have to think and there was no confusion. Her dream land was the complete opposite of her real life. In her dream land she had a normal father that hadn’t left and doesn’t turn corrupt, the same with her sister and her mother could walk and they didn’t live in an apartment, but a house. While imagining all this she slowly sipped the steaming coffee in her personalized mug M’gann gave her for her birthday.
“Hey,” someone alisema behind her disrupting her dreams. Sluggishly she turned around to see a sixteen mwaka old with kitanda head red hair, moyo melting zumaridi, zamaradi eyes, black and white plaid fleece pants and a grey t-shirt.
“Oh, hi Wally,” she alisema turning back to her dream land and sipped her coffee. “Have wewe ever realized how peaceful it is up here? Nothing but you, the trees, long nyasi and the salty water.”
“Yeah, beautiful,” Wally sighed looking at Artemis’s frizzy hair. He walked up to her side and followed her gaze.
“Sometimes I come out here and just think of what my life could be. I mean if my dad and sister didn’t walk out, my mom wasn’t paralyzed and money was nothing. Wish that there was no corrupt and no war. Everyone lived in peace and respected each other. Who am I kidding? The world will never be this perfect utopia at least not with everyone disagreeing every moment they can and believing that they will always be right,” she chuckled to herself and then took another sip of coffee.
“Well, wewe have to look at the bright side of things,” Wally looked into Artemis’s grey/blue eyes. “Like people falling in upendo and what we do. We help the corrupt and help citizens.”
“Do we really ‘help’ the corrupt au just give them another reason to hate us and the law?” She questioned Wally.
“Point taken, but we do help the citizens.”
“From other citizens. The corrupt are just as much citizens as the innocent until proven guilty. That’s what’s wrong with what we do. We say that we helping citizens, but we are locking up citizens. Why don’t we say that we are helping the innocent au the bystanders?” The strength of her argument blew Wally away and tempted him even zaidi to kiss her.
“From now on I won’t say citizens,” he concluded making her smile in victory. “You know you’d be a great lawyer.” Her laugh wasn’t helping with his temptations.
“Please, save that job for Robin,” she smiled as she took her last swig of coffee.
“No, he’d be the detective. wewe would be the lawyer,” Wally smiled.
“And you’d be the one in the audience that would have to be removed from yelling too much,” Artemis teased.
“No, I’d be the forensic scientist like me uncle.”
“Fine and Kaldur will be the judge.”
“And Connor will be the officer there.”
“M’gann will be the one in the audience flaunting over how hot Connor is.”
“Yeah,” Wally laughed. “Zatanna will be the jury.”
“And Raquel will be the witness,” the two laughed almost loud enough that it could be heard in the moyo of the mountain. “Just in case we need to go to court it will be like that.” Artemis snorted.
“You might need to go to court,” Wally suggested. This made Artemis stop dead in her tracks and asked, “How so?”
“Because wewe aliiba my moyo last night and wewe won’t give it back,” Wally looked dead into her eyes.
“You mean earlier this morning? And no, I will never ever give it back that is not until wewe give me mine,” she whispered in his ear. He could feel her hot caffeinated breath on his neck. He watched her walk off into the mountain. His eyes never left her black sweat pants.

An saa later everyone was up, showered and dressed. Artemis sat on the kitanda flipping through the thousands of channels that they received. She finally settled on a rerun of New Girl. She was half paying attention half thinking about Wally and their conversation earlier that morning. She laughed to herself about their court.
“What’s so funny?” A familiar voice asked behind her.
“Oh, nothing Mr. Forensic Scientist,” Artemis giggled.
“Really Ms. Lawyer? I would have never guessed,” Wally played along.
“What lawyer? I hate lawyers. They always get in the way. wewe know that Bats has rules about never getting involved with lawyers. They just screw up the entire investigation,” Robin rambled on.
“Well it’s a good thing that you’re the detective,” Artemis interjected giggling along with Wally once more. Wally was now sitting inayofuata to her watching his best friend’s reaction.
“Got that right. Wait ‘the’ detective?” Robin looked at the two questioningly under his dark glasses.
“Yeah, and I’m the forensic scientist,” Wally alisema very seriously.
“Dude, wewe are not a forensic scientist. Not even close,” Robin alisema shaking his head while walking out of the room confused. In unison Wally and Artemis laughed until they nearly forgot what they were laughing about. The two were starting to cry from laughing too much and Artemis clutched her stomach for it was starting to hurt. Artemis leaned her head on Wally’s shoulder as they laughed and laughed. Finally, their laughter dissipated into thin air as they went back to the TV with Artemis still on Wally’s shoulder.
“You know,” Artemis broke their silence. “I’ve been thinking about what wewe alisema earlier. About the moyo stealing and well, let’s just say it Wally, we’re in love.”
“I know,” he didn’t have to think for he had been thinking all morning and it was making him hungry. “Hey, since wewe upendo me so much, why don’t wewe make me a sandwich?”
“Fine,” she sighed. “What do want on it?” She made her way to the jikoni and proceeded to take out the bread.
“A BLT please,” he hollered towards her.
“I’m right behind you. wewe don’t need to shout,” she told him. Artemis got to work on sandwiches. One for her and one for him. She got down the karanga siagi and jelly and slathered it on the bread. She then slapped the pieces of mkate together and put them on plates.
“Here,” Artemis alisema while shoving a plate in Wally’s face.
“This isn’t a BLT,” Wally alisema taking the plate.
“Your right, I’m sorry that I don’t want to make a fancier sandwich, sandwichi than PB and J,” she alisema with sarcasticness drowning in her voice. With a sigh he ate the sandwich, sandwichi in half the amount of time Artemis finished hers.
“Make me another,” Wally half demanded handing Artemis the plate. Artemis looked at him with those cold eyes and Wally got up and put his dish away, too lazy to make himself a sandwich. Together they walked out of the jikoni to find something to do and ran into their least inayopendelewa friend; the mistletoe.
“Wasn’t M’gann suppose to take that down after Christmas?” Artemis asked the grinning red head.
“Who cares? Let’s keep it up all mwaka and see if anyone notices. Although before we do that tradition is tradition,” Wally answered. Artemis barely let him finish his sentence before she laid her lips right on Wally’s. It was quiet a scene if do say so myself. Artemis was pressed up against the ukuta and Wally. The only thing that stopped them was the yearning for air.
“Better than last night,” Artemis teased in between gasps for sweet air.
“You’re not so bad yourself,” Wally returned. “Now let’s put up that sucker somewhere else and see if anyone notices.” They both looked up to see an empty ceiling.
“But it was just right there,” Artemis pointed confused.

Meanwhile, Robin was hiding out in the air ducts watching the scene unfold before his eyes. Oh so carefully he opened the vent and reached for the mistletoe. Not making a sound he crawled back into his hiding spot. Holding the mistletoe he crawled through the duct until he ran into, “Zatanna, what are wewe doing here?”
“Trying to find you. What are wewe doing here with the mistletoe?” She asked peaking around his shoulder.
“Nothing,” he blushed.

In the hallway Artemis and Wally continued to ponder on the disappeared mistletoe.
“How could it just disappear like that?” Wally asked.
“Hello Artemis,” Artemis alisema while smacking her head imitating M’gann. “Robin.”
“He’s going to pay,” Wally said.
“Oh come on,” Artemis whispered in his ear and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “You can do that later, right?”
“I guess,” he alisema turning to face her. “So, I know that we have already defined that we upendo each other, but are wewe my girlfriend?”
“Are wewe my boyfriend?” She asked staring right into his deep green eyes.
“I sure hope so.”
“Then I guess I am your girlfriend.” The two stared at each other for a long moment and were about to kiss when, “Team ripoti for debriefing.”