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Chapter Text

Their breaths were synchronized and her voice echoed in the walls - much to his pleasure - , fingers running through soft dark locks as his lips worked their way from her neck up to her mouth.

His hands gripped at her waist, and she felt like she was in ecstasy. Only he could do such thing to her.

Soon they both came once again on that long, loving night. His head fell on her chest as they gained their breaths back, her hands instinctively moving up to brush his silk dark strands once again.

Gaining his breath, he moved up and placed a soft kiss on her swollen lips, gaining a soft smile from her.

"Jason" of course, it had to come anytime now. "I have to go"

"Can't you just stay for tonight?" he asked as he stared right into her shinny emerald orbs.

"You know I can't" her hand moved up to caress his cheek. "We shouldn't even be doing this"

"I know, but... Please just stay a little while longer" he brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "I've missed you"

She sighed, then moving her arms up and wrapping them around his neck.

"I've missed you too" she said before connecting their lips togheter once again.

Their lips danced togheter as they rolled over in bed. She craved his warmth, she craved his attention, she craved his love. She craved what she didn't have.

When they finally parted, she let her head rest over his muscled torso as his fingers slowly caressed her long strands of hair. She felt herself getting comfortable, her eyes closing and mind drifting off to sleep... she felt her body go limp as a wave of peace washed over her.

"...Artemis" she heard her name being called out, and she urged not to react to it, but she had to.

"Hmmm...?" she informed him that she was listening and waited for him to continue.

"I have something for you" she felt his body move to reach for something and slowly sat up, opening her eyes. "Turn around"

She did as she was told and felt his hands moving her long hair away over her shoulder. His lips deposited a soft kiss there before she felt something around her neck. Touching it, Artemis found out it was a thin silver necklace with a small red gem. A ruby.

"Jason, you didn't have to" she turned back around to face him, a smile on her face.

He had remembered.

"Yes, I did" he gave her a quick peck. "Happy birthday, Princess"

She rolled her eyes at the nickname and slapped his arm playfully, before leaning forward for a more decent kiss.

"I love you, Artemis" he said, staring right into her eyes.

"I love you too, Jason" she said back, genuinely, before stepping out of bed and sliding back into her clothes.

She slid the window open and a cold breeze came from outside. Great, Artemis! What a genius, going out without a jacket. She shivered and hugged herself, rubbing her arms. Not that she was easily cold - it was actually the opposite -, but Gotham's weather was unpredictable, specially at night, and one would think she would know it by now.

Turning around, she was caught by surprise before even opening her mouth or looking at Jason, as his leather jacket was thrown at her.

"Thank you" she said, sliding it on and already halfway out the window. "I'll make sure it gets back to you safely"

Artemis winked and before she got a reply or a reaction back from him, she jumped out the window into the cloudy cold night of dear Gotham City.

-----

Artemis stared at her reflection in the mirror, and could only think of one person who would enjoy seeing her in that attire more than herself.

She trailed her collarbone with her finger, not missing to trace her lover's gift. The ruby necklace.

It matched with the tight, long satin red dress she wore, a long slit up to her thigh and matching black stilettos. Her long hair was curled and brushed to the side, and her lips contrasting, tainted in a very dark shade of red, almost black. As she looked at her perfectly manicured nails, she wished the other half of the wedding ring resting on her fourth finger didn't belong to him.

From the corner of the mirror, she saw him approach, dressed in a fancy black tux and his blond hair neatly combed back, nothing unusual. She felt his lustful gaze on her, those piercing blue eyes staring at hers through the mirror as his calloused hands gripped her shoulders gently.

"You look amazing tonight, Artemis" he whispered in her ear, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Happy birthday. I'll make sure my gift gets to you safely"

"Thank you, Dalkriig" she gave her best smile as he moved to place a kiss on her lips.

Dalkriig-Hath was an handsome man, there was no denial on that, but he was an asshole, a complete dumbass. And she never really loved him. There were times Artemis almost felt like a slave, like a bird inside a cage, one that was only set free with Jason Todd.

However, both Dalkriig and Jason were mobs, and even though they actually went along with each other, Artemis could be the reason behind a new enemy between them. Disgrace would come upon them if anyone discovered that the Hell leader's wife had been having an affair with the leader of the Red Hoods.

So they decided to keep it a secret since day one. That's the life they'd have to live.

"Where did you get that necklace?" he asked, placing his gaze on the newly acquired piece of jewelry hanging in her neck. "I've never seen you wear it"

"That is because I bought it today. A birthday gift for myself" Artemis spun around, now her back facing the mirror. "Don't you think it suits me?"

"Yes, of course it suits you" Dalkriig simply said, not really bothering with it anymore. "It's your color"

"Now come, let us attend your celebrations" he said, leading her out of the room.

'Like you aren't doing this for yourself', she fought the urge to say it out loud, because in fact, she never wanted any of this. All Dalkriig wanted was a reason to show off all of his richness and power.

-----

The party had begun.

She had thanked everyone for coming, gave a fancy speech, and still she couldn't find Jason anywhere.

The party went on.

She was now on her own. Dalkriig was now somewhere in the crowd, doing whatever he did at this kind of parties, and still no sign of Jason.

Until she caught a glimpse of his face and her face instantly lit up. Running up to him, Artemis' smile immediately died out as she saw him laughing with a blonde woman hanging on his arm. She shot her piercing gaze at them, and if looks could kill, they would already be dead.

Jason then got out of his laughing fit and realized her presence. She could tell by his reaction that he had been stunned by her attire, but he had to act normal in public.

"Oh, Artemis. Good evening, and my congratulations to you" she wanted to roll her eyes and laugh at that, but she contained herself. "I see you haven't met my partner. Artemis, this is Isabel. Isabel, Artemis"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, many congratulations" Isabel spoke, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her face, and held her hand out.

Artemis faked a smile the best she could and shook her hand, eyeing Jason from the corner of her eye.

"Thank you, the pleasure is all mine.  I take it you're enjoying the party" Artemis said. "I'll leave you to continue enjoying it. I will be around if you need anything. Excuse me"

She turned around, making her way back through the crowd and informing her husband she'd be in the bathroom, in case he noticed her quick absence and started speculating things.

Reaching the upper level bathroom and closing the door behind her, Artemis slid her phone out of her purse and quickly texted Jason.

Bathroom, upstairs
See you in a min

- A.

She waited for around a minute until she heard his knock at the door. Artemis signaled for him to enter and lock the door, not looking away from the mirror. She saw him opening his mouth to speak, but she cut him right away.

"May I know who she is and why you're with her?" she asked, still not turning to look at him in the eye, only through the mirror in front of them.

"C'mon Red, don't-..." he was cut of again.

"Jason" his name came out like a blade. "Why is she here with you?"

"We're nothing, okay?" he moved to stay behind her, placing his hands on her hips. "She's just a friend. I couldn't come without an escort. If I did, they would suspect us being gone at the same time easier"

"C'mon" he said, in between planting kisses on her neck. "I even got all dressed up for you today... And looks like you did so as well"

Artemis then spun around, trapping him against the sink and her body, pulling him into a fiery kiss by his tie. Her lips then moved down to his neck, making sure to leave marks covered by her dark lipstick. She then pulled away and moved up to whisper something in his ear.

"I take it you like it" she whispered. "Now go back to your girlfriend with your neck like that. Let her wonder who gave you those"

"Let them guess you're mine" she smirked into the mirror, sliding her leg up against his.

Before Jason could even try to take control of the situation, she was already on her knees and he gripped onto the sink, eyes rolling back.

Back at the party, Artemis couldn't say she wasn't amused. The blondie had been the only one to notice it - gladly - and Jason quickly shoved it off of her. However, she didn't seem to give up on her idea that a certain redhead had done that to him. Artemis just played her game: being sickly sweet towards her throughout the night and shooting her a smirk everytime she looked at her.

Isabel was just a bland arm candy Jason had brought in that night, who had nothing to do with that lifestyle. No one would believe her if she tried to tell them Artemis and Jason were involved with each other. She would be too afraid to even speak up to anyone. Besides, she had no proof.

So Artemis just played her game.

And she had way more fun than she expected with it.

Chapter Text

The next morning, Artemis woke up alone, tangled in the fancy linen sheets in the middle of the huge king-size bed. She felt the first rays of sun warm up her skin as she sat there, realizing Dalkriig had already left for his "business trip" for the whole week. She couldn't be more than glad about it.

Artemis closed her eyes as she enjoyed the warmth against her skin, taking a moment of peace for herself, only to be interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Reaching out an arm to grab it from the bedside table, she recognized the safe line number and quickly accepted the call.

"Good morning Red" his still raspy and sleepy voice sounded from the other side of the line. "How does it feel to be a year older?"

"Good morning to you too Jason" she giggled and fell back on the bed. "And how does it feel to know you're a complete dumbass?"

"Well, I guess that's why you love me" said Jason.

"Maybe" she teased. "Are you busy today?"

"I have a few things to take care off at the headquarters. Still not sure when I'll be free, though" he said.

"Let me know when you are" she said, finally walking up from her bed to her closet.

"Artemis" he knew she was planning something. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing" she smirked as she pulled out his leather jacket from the other night. "Just going out to catch some air, that's all"

"Sure" at this point, Jason already knew how unpredictable that woman could be, so he didn't even bother to pull it out from her. "Gotta go now, talk to you later Red. Stay safe"

"You too..." she bit her lower lip, Artemis wouldn't let that 'Princess' slide. "... Little One"

"Oh, come on-..." she hung up before he could finish his protest and rolled her eyes jokingly, throwing her phone on the couch as she searched for a particular item in between hangers.

Discarding her nightgown and sliding on the tight black jumpsuit with red details, she brushed her long hair up in her signature high ponytail, letting the bangs fall in front of her face as usual.

She put on her thigh high red boots and slid on Jason's jacket before grabbing her purse and heading downstairs, keys dangling in her hand. After stopping for a quick breakfast, Artemis informed security and the maids she was going to stop by later to collect her stuff and spend the night out due to business/family issues with Diana.

They didn't suspect anything. It was normal already, Dalkriig knew Diana, and you could easily say he wasn't very fond of the woman, but he admired and respected her. Diana shared the same thought.

Diana knew what she was doing. And she knew how hard it was for Artemis to leave that marriage in order to go after her true love unharmed.

An error her illuded, stubborn and arrogant younger self had made, and now she had to deal with the consequences.

So she just helped her, trusted the redhead and prayed that she'd make it all out in the end.

Heading downstairs to the garage, Artemis texted Diana, saying she would "supposedly" be spending the night, and searched for her new motorcycle, lighting up at the sight of it.

Dalkriig had finally done something right when getting her the vehicle as a birthday present.

And now she needed to take some air. She needed some peace. She needed to think, and for a bit, to ride away from the whole world.

-----

Her legs dangled off the cliff as she continued to take in every single ray of sun light from this rare sunny day in Gotham City, mind dozing off to wonderland.

She sometimes felt the weight of it all on her chest. Artemis knew it had been a mistake of her reckless younger self, in order to get what she never had and always wished for, but it costed her everything. She was now stuck in a marriage she couldn't get out of, and one in which she realized she didn't ever love him in the early stages of their lives as wife and husband. Artemis had only been in love with the idea and the benefits she got from this engagement.

The day she met Jason Todd at one of Dalkriig's fancy parties had been the day all her worries and problems had washed away - no, actually, pushed to the side, she still couldn't love a man freely. Ever since their first encounter, the tension and desire shared in their eyes never vanished, in fact, it only got more and more intense each day. And then they realized they were in love with each other.

Hiding it for years had been easy, and hiding it for more won't be much harder. But they were getting tired. Artemis was getting tired.

Tired of having to sneak out to be with the man she loved, tired of having to go "home" to someone who didn't mean a thing to her, tired of having to fake it, tired of hiding... She was tired of everything.

Artemis just wanted to show the world how deeply in love she finally was.

He made her feel like a teenager falling for him, he made her wish he was the one she dressed in white for, he made Artemis feel something she had never felt or thought she could ever experience. He changed her, Jason made Artemis feel like if she wasn't even herself - or like she was finally being herself.

But this was all her fault.

She created this mess, she had to take care of it. Without hurting the others.

Without hurting Jason.

Artemis wouldn't cry. No. She wouldn't. She wanted to, urged to let it all out. But she wouldn't.

She got herself in this mess.

-----

Jason ran a hand through his hair and sighed, glad it was all finally over. Now he could finally spend some time with her.

Taking his phone out of his pocket and typing a quick "It's all done, where do you want to meet?", he didn't even have time to click on the 'send' button before he stepped in the headquarters' private garage and saw a very familiar silhouette riding a brand new motorcycle parked right next to his car.

Artemis took off her helmet, swinging her ponytail to get it perfectly untangled - without even doing anything - and greeting him with a smile.

"How do you even fit that ponytail in that helmet?" he leaned over, kissing her softly.

"How do you still ask that question after all this time?" she asked, throwing a helmet at him.

"It has to be magic" he joked. "So, I take it you didn't come here just to give me back my jacket - which, by the way, you can keep, it suits you better"

"First, thank you" she started. "And second, I thought we could spend the night and try out your new safe house, the one on the hill"

"I knew you had something in mind" he smirked before putting on his helmet and hopping on behind her.

-----

His head came out of the water, allowing him to breathe in again. He then proceeded to get out of the pool and shake away the water from his hair, and as he made his way towards the sun lounger, the sight made Jason stop dead in his tracks.

Was there a way he wouldn't be impressed with that woman?

She had finally decided to join him by the pool, and her choice of attire had fitted her perfect body so well that Jason was overwhelmed.

"Green" she lifted her sunglasses to stare up at him. "I never thought there would be a color I'd love to see you in as much as red"

"It's good to know" Artemis shot him a smirk before pulling her sunglasses back down over her eyes. "I kinda like it as well"

Jason didn't care that he was still wet or how much Artemis would protest about it, he just laid down by her side, head resting on her stomach and hand thrown over it. She didn't react.

Instead, Artemis only moved a hand down to play with his soft damp hair. He closed his eyes and smiled. Never had Jason felt in much inner peace as when he was with her.

Falling in love? Jason never thought it was possible, at least when it came to him. Sure, he and Isabel had a thing, but it wouldn't work, so they ended up as just good friends. They never broke up in bad terms, but Jason always felt the way they wouldn't work out was because Isabel was normal, yet he wasn't. All he would bring to her were problems. So Jason decided he couldn't - wasn't even able - to fall in love.

Until he met Artemis and love struck hit him hard, harder than it ever did with Isabel. Jason fell in love. This time for real.

He couldn't even explain what she made him feel, but he liked it. It felt good, and everytime he looked into her eyes, Jason saw nothing but a reflection of himself.

She moved her hand down to caress his cheek, and in a matter of minutes, Jason was asleep, waking up a few hours later with the sun starting to set.

He yawned and stretched, looking up to find Artemis still there, sound asleep. Placing himself on top of her, Jason started placing soft kisses all over her body, starting on the space between her breasts, that the deep cleavage of her green swimsuit exposed, up to her neck and face. Artemis then woke up, only exchanging a quick glance with Jason before he dived in for a kiss. She held his face with both her hands, savoring every second of it. It quickly escalated and became a heated make out session, that was only interrupted because one of their phones started ringing - Artemis'.

They were reluctant to pick it up, but when Artemis saw the name displayed on the screen, her eyes widened and the quickly grabbed it, bringing the phone up to her ear.

"Hello, my dear. How are you?" Jason kept teasing and kissing down her body as she talked on the phone. "I'm good as well, and Diana also"

His lips trailed down her soft skin, teasing her and driving her crazy as she spoke to her poor excuse of a husband on the phone. How he loved to be able to drive her crazy when she wasn't in control.

"Yeah, don't worry" she bit her lip, looking down at Jason, his mouth never leaving her body. "Of course, dear... It is a bit of a long story to tell you right now, I'll tell you when you get home... Yes..."

His lips moved back up, kissing her neck and jawline, then biting her earlobe softly, and he decided to say something.

"I think Dalkriig would love to know what I'm doing to you right now" he whispered in her ear seductively, teasing as his hand slid under the fabric to caress her breasts. "Should we tell him?"

"I-..." Artemis held back her breath and slightly arched her back, holding the urge to give in to his touch and moan his name as he got ahold of her body. "No. No, Dalkriig, it's just a movie we're watching... Yes, just me and Diana, don't worry..."

Artemis hated - lie, she didn't hate, she actually liked it - when Jason did that. It was just unusual to have him in control instead of her. She didn't know someone could mess with her head and body like that... and maybe that actually turned her on. She should let Jason be in charge more often and enjoy his control.

His hand moved further down her body and she gasped at the unexpected action, grabbing a fistful of his hair.

"Hmm... I have got to go as well... Yes, my dear, see you soon... Goodbye" Artemis didn't waste another second and quickly hung up, throwing the phone to the side on the small glass table and pushing Jason's head down.

"Goddess, Jason" she breathed out, almost moaning, and closed her eyes at his touch once again. "If you don't finish the mess you've started, you can already forget what I have planned for tonight"

Hearing those words, Jason smirked and dived down, deciding he wouldn't waste time and leave his woman hanging any longer.

Chapter Text

Jason stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist, hair still dripping wet from the quick shower he had just taken.

He expected to see Artemis already in the room, but not like that.

Of course she had slipped earlier that day that she had something prepared for that night, but Jason had no idea what. That woman was unpredictable.

There she was, kneeled in the middle of the huge king-size round bed, her long red hair pooling around her body over the silk white sheets. The way that red matching set of sheer lace lingerie hugged every curve of her body perfectly made his hands itch to rip it away from her body and uncover her fully, not to mention the innocent - yet lustful - look in her eyes, which didn't help at all. He knew if there was a thing that woman wasn't was innocent.

"Fuck, Red..." was all that came out of his mouth, the arouse in his body already noticeable.

She motioned for him to come closer with her index finger, propping herself up on her knees. Artemis then moved to the edge of the bed and pulled him closer to her body by the rim of his towel.

"Let's try something" her sexy voice echoed in his ears, driving him crazy. "You've been a good boy, so you deserve a reward. You get to be the only one in charge tonight"

"Wait" he moved his hands to her waist, smirking. "Did I hear it right? Is Miss Grace giving up her role of being in charge?"

"Take it or leave it" her tongue ran up his jawline as her hands scratched his chest lightly with her perfectly manicured nails.

Jason didn't even respond, he only caught her by her thighs and threw her down on the bed, falling right on top of her and crashing their lips togheter intensely.

"It was a pleasure seeing you in this, but" he didn't waste any time and quickly unclasped her bra, throwing it away, her panties following right after. "it has to go"

Artemis just smirked, laying there in all her fierce glory in front of Jason, then pulling him back for another heated kiss.

Jason made sure he worked well on her neck with his lips, this was his chance to mark her, to show her she was his. He then kissed down her chest, reaching her boobs and caressing them with his hands while his mouth worked on her nipples. He heard a soft moan coming from her before she ran her fingers through his still wet hair.

After playing and marking them enough, Jason kept going down, leaving a trail of kisses behind. The way his still wet hair brushed against Artemis' skin while he kissed her body made her shiver, feeling the contrast of the cold wet with the heat of his touch.

Reaching his destination, Jason caressed her thighs, then spreading her legs apart and working on her inner thighs, leaving marks as well. The trail of his fingers over the soft skin of her inner thighs almost drove her crazy, begging him to fuck her right there and in that second. But Artemis didn't beg, and he would take his time.

He gave one long lick over her folds and looked up at her. Her head fell back into the pillow and she reached a hand to grab his hair.

"C'mon Princess" he smirked, his lustful gaze still on her. "Tell me what you want. I still can't read minds"

He propped his body up to whisper in her ear, teasing her as his hand worked on her slowly.

"Beg for it, Red" he whispered. "You wanted to switch places, now do it"

"Jason" his name escaped her mouth as a moan, making his head lift up from kissing her body and staring right into her lustful gaze. "I need you on me"

All Artemis got in response was a smirk before Jason spun her body around and her hands gripped the bedsheets, the pleasure of his touch talking all of her breath away.

-----

She couldn't help but stare in pure amazement at the man resting by her side. He was a miracle that, ironically, was introduced to her exactly by her nightmare.

Artemis brushed her fingers softly against his forehead, brushing back his white streak, once falling over his forehead, along with a few strands of black hair stuck to his skin with sweat. She contemplated his face: his strong bone structure, his perfect nose, his emerald spheres now covered, his pierced right eyebrow and his soft thin carnal lips.

Her index finger trailed from his forehead down his nose, then over his lips. This action earned her a soft smile of his as he kissed her finger tracing over his mouth.

"You're so beautiful" she kept staring at him, hand now rested on his cheek and a leg over his.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that to you?" his cheeks flushed, still not used to receive compliments, and opened his eyes.

"We've been in this relationship long enough for you to know the answer to that question is no" he turned his head, now looking at the redhead.

Yeah. Relationship.

But not really.

"Artemis..." Jason begun, interlocking their fingers. "How has it been?"

"The usual" she sighed, closing her eyes for a quick second. "I still don't understand how "such a great mob boss" like him can let something as big as us go by, right under his nose"

"Like I told you, Red" he kissed the back of her hand. "He's smart, but we're smarter. It's not by accident that the Red Hoods are more powerful than the 13 Princes of Hell. That's the only reason he doesn't get in my way"

"And why don't you get in his way?" asked Artemis.

"Because of you" his words carried a tone of calmness as he gently squeezed the woman's hand.

She smiled and leaned forward to share a soft kiss with Jason, filled with pure love and passion for each other. They took their time, no rush to break apart from each other, sharing their feelings for each other the best way they knew. When they finally ran out of air they pulled away, this time with Artemis squeezing Jason's hand in assurance.

"I am not scared of him, you know it" she spoke.

"You're not scared of anything" Jason joked. "You make people fear you"

She rolled her eyes and hit him in the arm, playfully, then shaking her head and earning an "auch!" and a giggle back from the male.

"Continuing..." the redhead continued. "I'm not scared of Dalkriig. Never was. But there's something that holds me back from lashing at him and spitting everything that runs through my mind at him, that keeps me from running away from that life, and I don't know what is. Goddess, I hate how reckless and stupid I was when I was younger and got into this mess... Why did I do it?!"

She stared at the ceiling for a moment, and Jason knew she hadn't finished yet. So he would stay shut, until she let it all out.

"I needed assurance... I needed what I never had, or better, I wanted what I never had. Those luxuries were never necessary... Maybe sometimes... But I was too reckless, to arrogant to see what I was getting myself into" she took a deep breath. "And now, here I am: stuck in a marriage I can't get out of, and dragging you in this with me"

"Artemis" he placed himself on top of her, staring right into her gaze. "I'm doing this because I want to... because I love you. Okay? That's baggage I have to deal with if I want you in my life, the same way you have to deal with mine"

Jason bent over to place a quick peck over her soft rosy lips, still a bit swollen.

"Don't worry about it. We've been fine all of these years, why wouldn't we be now?" he gave her another kiss. "Just remember: we will always be a step forward"

He stroke her cheek with his thumb, earning a soft smile from the woman who wasted no time in wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to rest over her body, then gently running her fingers through his soft silk strands and stroking them, until he fell asleep.

-----

Stepping out of the shower, Jason headed back to the bedroom to get dressed before heading downstairs and preparing breakfast. He loved how Artemis' face discreetly lit up everytime he cooked for her. Not to brag, but Jason knew he was a really good cook.

As he slid on a casual attire - consisting of red and black, like most of his clothing - and turned around to head downstairs, Jason noticed the very light snoring and made his way back towards the bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

Her figure laid down over the round bed, peacefully asleep, wrapped in the silk sheets and surrounded by her ridiculously long red hair. Artemis wasn't a delicate and fragile woman who needed someone to protect her. One simple look from the woman could make anyone fear and bow down to her. But as she laid there, sleeping peacefully, with her thick pink lips slightly parted, Jason could only be reminded of how much of a fool he was for the woman.

The sunlight coming from outside warmed her skin, and Jason could swear she was kind of glowing. Brushing her bangs out of her face, he placed a sweet kiss on her forehead, before the bed shifted with her movement and Jason finally headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.

He was lost in his strand of thoughts in front of the oven when he heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Turning his face to the side, Jason saw her tiptoeing inside the kitchen, her hair now up in a messy ponytail and dressed in one of his shirts - which was not long enough to cover her underwear - and a pair of lace panties. This look would drive Jason crazy right away in any regular day, but the sleepiness in her face only made her look cute.

Jason felt Artemis' hands sneaking up from behind him, wrapping around his waist as her lips connected with the skin of his neck, then resting her head on his shoulder. One of his hands moved to stay over hers, around his waist, while the other rested on her face as he planted another kiss on her forehead.

"Good morning, Red" he asked, a soft smile sneaking up on his face. "Did you sleep well? I made us breakfast"

"Mhmm, I see" she replied, still sleepy. "Good morning to you too"

"Tired?" Jason released from her grasp to turn around and face her, now his arms resting around her waist.

"Do you think?" she said, earning a giggle from him, followed by a kiss.

"As much as I hate to break away from you" started Jason, between pecking her lips. "We should be getting ready to go, as I still have some issues to deal with Black Mask"

"And since I'm your ride back into town, I have to be dragged into your business schedule" she pulled away from his grasp and took a seat by the table. "I'm not your chauffeur"

"I know" he placed the food over the table and took his respective seat in front of the woman. "But I must remind you that you were the one who decided to pick me up and bring me here. And also, I think we should take profit of the only time your dear husband remembered of you to offer you a proper gift"

"I must agree with you on that one" she occupied herself with serving a plate of food for herself while Jason took a moment to observe her, realizing the necklace had never left its place around her neck since he first placed it there.

The smile on his lips didn't go unnoticed by the redhead, who quickly looked up at him and arched a brow.

"What is it, Todd?"

"Nothing" the smile never left his face, and now he was the one occupied with serving himself. "But I take it you liked the necklace. I'm glad"

Artemis instinctively moved a hand up to trace the tiny ruby jewel hanging around her neck and softly smiled, a smile that now didn't go unnoticed by the male.

-----

Jason looked at the woman sitting by his side in amazement. He knew she had an impossibly high alcohol tolerance - she had never gotten drunk, even when she drank when there was no tomorrow -, but the sight of Artemis gulping down the bottle like it was water always amazed him.

He, on the other hand, only took a few glasses to get drunk, even though most of the times it didn't last very long and he got sober pretty quick. Why? Jason would never know.

But right now, smoking a cigarette on his room's enormous balcony, Jason was pretty drunk. Or at least Artemis thought so.

"Artemis Grace..." he babbled out, staring at the dark cloudy skies of Gotham City as he blew out the smoke.

"Yes, Jason?" asked Artemis, placing down the bottle and looking away from the sky to look at him.

A quick, simple message from him had led her here, and she knew he had had a rough day and needed a release.

'In need of a drink, can you swing by?'
- J

That was all the text message said, and that was all she needed to know. He often needed to blow all of the stress away from his system, and this was his way to do it. Jason only needed someone by his side to talk some sense into him, to deal with his quick drunk periods, and Artemis was that person.

"Your name... It's funny" he said, never shifting his gaze away from the sky. "Your mother named you after a goddess. How did she know you'd turn out to be one?"

A smirk appeared on his face, now turning away from the sight to face the woman, before continuing to speak.

"Artemis, associated with the Moon, wild animals, and a bow and arrows, a protector of young girls" he started. "The goddess of hunt and wilderness, the goddess of childbirth and chastity"

Artemis raised a brow at him. She didn't know if he was still drunk or not, neither where he was trying to get with this.

"The last part is a little ironic, isn't it?" he finished his cigarette and placed it on the ashtray, then turning back around to face her. "Miss Artemis 'a Grace to this world', may I know where your chastity is?"

The redhead rolled her eyes back playfully, getting up from her seat beside him and standing in front of Jason, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Dear Jason, chastity is a word that left my vocabulary long ago" she sat on his lap, each leg on each of his sides. "But I'm pretty sure you know about that"

With her hands over his shoulders, Artemis smirked back at him and wasted no time in pressing their lips togheter, as his hands roamed the well-known paths of her body, over the scars on her back and the curves of her body.

Their upper bodies were no longer sporting any type of clothing, and Jason's zipper wasn't zipped up anymore, until Artemis heard a door opening behind them and pulled away from his lips - much to her distaste.

Her eyes noticed a female figure stepping inside the dark room. A blonde female figure.

"Jason?" the figure called out, walking towards the window, and it was only then that she noticed her was accompanied.

"Jason" Artemis stood up, crossing her arms over her chest, and spoke coldly. "What is Isabel doing here?"

Chapter Text

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know Artemis was coming over tonight" Isabel quickly apologized, then stepping back for a bit and glancing away, allowing the couple to get dressed.

"And I didn't know we'd have any visitors" Artemis said as she finished sliding her shirt down her torso. "Specially you"

"I'm so sorry, for real, I didn't-" the woman was quickly cut off by the male.

"It's fine, Isabel. It was not your fault" he said as he put his signature leather jacket back on. "I totally forgot I had called you over tonight, I am the one who's sorry"

"Rough day?" she asked, directing her glance back at him now that the couple was dressed again, and made the whole way out to the balcony.

"You got it" said Jason, with a sigh. "Have a seat"

Isabel nodding, then walking past Artemis and taking a seat in front of the couch the couple was seating. Artemis kept staring at them, standing with her arms crossed over her chest and waiting for an explanation.

"Can you explain me what's happening?" she directed her gaze at Jason.

"C'mon Red, it's not what you think" he tapped the seat by his side, where she was previously seating. "Sit here and I'll explain"

She did what he asked her, but her arms kept its place over her chest and her killing gaze didn't stop switching from Jason to Isabel.

"You can start talking now" was all she said, crossing one leg over the other.

"Artemis, you already know Isabel. Isabel, you already know Artemis" Jason excused the introductions and turned his face to the redhead. "Isabel is my best friend. She knows about us, and she wants to help us. The same way you have Diana, I have her"

"Exactly" confirmed the blonde. "We thought I could be a great way of hiding your relationship. I can distract other people everytime we're in public and you need to meet, like at your birthday party, and play the 'arm candy' part"

"As I am sure you did" continued Jason. "Everyone thinks Isabel is a weak blonde Barbie, who doesn't understand a thing about this world and was only brought in this world due to her physical attributes, which is a complete lie. She's my business partner, and way smarter than most of them"

The expression on Artemis' face softened. Maybe she had been too judging of the woman the first time she saw her at the party.

"I have been Jason's business partner for long, but it wasn't until recently that I ended up finding out about you. So, good job at keeping you a secret" she smiled. "But as soon as I noticed how in love Jason was with you, I knew I had to help you. To make him happy, no matter what"

"So please, Artemis, believe me when I genuinely say I'm only trying to help you and nothing else. I'm not stealing Jason from you" finished Isabel. "What we've had is buried all the way back there, without a chance of even coming back"

To assure her last sentence, Isabel raised her left hand and pointed at a shiny silver band resting around her finger, a huge smile plastered on her face. Artemis gave her a smile back.

"Then I must thank you for doing this" said Artemis. "Although you didn't have to"

"But I want to" said Isabel. "For Jason. And consequently, for you"

The redhead now relaxed, letting her head rest over her man's shoulders and shooting a soft smile at the woman sitting in front of them. She could be useful...

-----

"It is very thoughtful of you to invite us for dinner, Mr. Todd" the blond man sitting by her side said.

"Oh c'mon Dalkriig, no need for such formalities, just call me Jason" he gave his most charming smile as he took his seat at the head of the table. "We're friends. I think you deserve a reward for all those great parties you threw... and for our business"

Dalkriig raised his wine glass, a gesture that Jason rewarded, and both took a sip of the dark red liquid.

Artemis didn't pay much attention. She felt dizzy, a bit off. Her attention was focused on the black silk fabric of her dress - or at least, the attention of her gaze - because her mind was blank. She didn't feel very well.

Jason obviously noticed this, and squeezed her hand under the table, since she sat by his right side, right in front of Isabel. She took a deep breath and looked up, assuring she was fine.

This had been going on for at least a week. She often felt nauseated. It was probably something she ate and would go away soon.

Artemis put on a smile and easily faked her indisposition, talking with the other three people sitting by the table, until the first dish was served.

Dalkriig was too busy babbling about some arms shipment, and Jason was listening, but he could multitask, and the whitening of her face and sudden indisposition didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Artemis?" he called out. "Is everything alright?"

"If you'll excuse me" she gathered the force to speak and quickly got up from her chair, running upstairs towards the bathroom and emptying her stomach in the toilet.

"Isabel, could you be a darling and go check on her, please?" he asked, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

She simply nodded with a soft smile, then getting up and following the woman upstairs. Jason was worried, but he couldn't raise any suspects. He was also pissed at Dalkriig, at how indifferent he acted towards what had just happened. For God's sake, she was his wife! Couldn't he at least pretend he cared a bit better?

At least Jason was glad that, because of this way of acting of his, he and Artemis could so easily hide their relationship.

Dalkriig continued with all the talking, and Jason had to pretend to be listening once again, but now shooting a worried glace at the stairs from once in a while.

-----

She was halfway through emptying her guts on the toilet when Artemis felt a hand holding her hair back and another rubbing her bare back gently.

By the gentle hands and delicate fingers on her back, she quickly figured out that Isabel had been the one to come to her aid.

Feeling nothing else in her now empty stomach, the redhead moved her arm to flush the toilet and let her head fall back against the wall as she closed her eyes. She sat there for a while before taking a deep breath and standing back up, with the help of a worried Isabel.

After washing her face and mouth, Isabel decided she wouldn't take her back downstairs yet, as the woman still wasn't feeling very well and as she had yet to ask the redhead the reason behind her sickness.

Isabel led Artemis to the closest room - which was Jason's - and made her lay down as she walked towards the window to open it and let some fresh air in. She then turned around to head back and close the door, but the echoing "woof" was quicker.

"Dog! Come here girl" exclaimed Isabel as the animal jumped on her, licking the blonde's face and earning a pat and a giggle from the woman. "Who's been a good girl? Huh?"

The pet jumped around her as usual. Dog had always been so energetic and playful, a lovable and affectionate dog. Exactly what Jason needed to keep him company in the loneliest moments his mind usually dragged him into.

No one ever remembers of a moment Dog greeted anyone other way than what had just happened, so the women were very much surprised when she very carefully climbed on top of the bed and cuddled up by Artemis' side, resting one of her paws over the woman's stomach.

Artemis was surprised. She gently rubbed Dog's back as her surprised gaze met Isabel's.

"She's never acted this way with anyone" the blonde said, taking a seat at the edge of the bed by their side. "Dog has never been so... calm. She must have sensed something"

"Hey, Artemis..." she felt the urge to ask as the thought popped up in her head. "Can I ask you something?"

The redhead looked back up at her and nodded, her hand never breaking the contact with Dog.

"Well... Was this a one time thing or have you been feeling this sick for a while?" she asked.

"It has been going on for about a week already" said Artemis. "It is probably just something I ate"

"Are you sure? I mean... Have you considered-..." she stopped as the woman lifted a brow at her, clearly confused about the point Isabel was trying to make. "Is there any possibility you might be pregnant?"

"No" she blurted out, more in a scary denial than in a thought-given answer. "I mean, I don't think so. Maybe... I don't know?"

A slight look of fear crossed her face, and Isabel reached to grab her hand.

"Calm down, Artemis" she spoke, softly. "Let's think togheter. Are you late?"

"...Kind of" the shakiness in her voice was noticeable now.

"And is there any way you could have gotten pregnant? I mean-..." the redhead understood what she meant.

"No. I never forgot to take my pill" she relaxed a bit, thinking it was probably just some odd coincidence. "I don't know how it could just not work, so this can only be a coinci-... Oh, no..."

"Artemis?" Isabel squeezed her hand slightly. "What is it?"

"I got sick a while ago and had to take some strong medicine, so I had to stop taking the contraceptives for a while" she said. "Turns out we forgot about that detail"

Isabel was worried. For both. It had been easy to hide a relationship between the two, but a child won't be. She was sure none of them would even put over the table the option of lying and pretend that child is Dalkriig's. They could even decide not to go forward with it, or there could actually not be a baby inside Artemis' womb right now and this was all a mere coincidence.

A ridiculously scary coincidence.

"Hey, this doesn't mean you're pregnant. There's a chance you're just sick" she squeezed her hand again, deciding they should abandon the issue for the night. "Let's just forget it for tonight, okay? Come by my house tomorrow after lunch and we'll clear this up"

The woman just nodded, and Isabel could tell by the look in her face she was praying all of her Goddesses for it not to be true.

-----

Afraid.

Remember when Artemis wasn't afraid of anything?

She is now. Afraid of a baby.

She now found herself sitting on Isabel's couch, nervously bitting her lower lip and her arms crossed over her knees. Her hand gripped the white stick so hard that she would break it if Jason took any second longer to walk in.

Artemis heard Isabel's voice by the door saying she would be upstairs and Jason's steps approaching. She never turned around to face him, not even when she felt the couch dip by her side and his arm swung over her shoulders as he kissed her cheek.

"Red?" when Isabel asked him to meet her here to talk to Artemis, he didn't even think it would be anything serious, but now he was worried. "What's going on?"

Artemis took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. Then, her emerald orbs met his and her mind told her to spit it out all at once.

"I'm pregnant" she blurted out. "It is yours"

His eyes widened and his mouth fell wide open as she handed him the white stick and Jason's mind sorted out the two lines. Positive.

Artemis kept her gaze on him, watching every single reaction. His mouth moved a few times. He wanted to speak, but he didn't know what to say. His eyes were still glued to the test she dropped in his hands.

"Artemis..." he whispered and turned around to look at her, only to find a single tear streaming down her face.

He moved closer to her and wiped her tear away with his thumb, but that simple action only made the stream of tears she had been holding back roll down. Jason pulled her in for a tight hug, letting her sob against his chest as he gently stroke her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Jason..." sounded her muffled voice, in between her desperate sobs. "I'm scared"

"I know, Red" he muttered. "So am I"

The tears and sobs finally quieted down after a while, but neither felt the need to move away from each other's grasp.

"Hey, Ar..." he gently pulled her face away from his chest and held her up close to him, her puffy red eyes staring up at him, and for the first time in his life, Jason could sense the fear in them. "We don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know? Not at all"

"But..." she sniffled and wiped away her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "...what about you Jason?"

"What about me?" he asked.

"Do you want to do this?" she asked back.

"Well..." he took a deep breath. "I-... I don't know. I've had a fucked up childhood, you know that. I don't want to put that kid through the same I had to go through, but at the same time, I know I can do it. I am not my father, and no kid deserves to have such a fucked up life. Although, look at us: we can't even assume our relationship. I live on the line every single day, I can't risk bringing a kid into this life"

Jason was putting his heart out on the matter. He couldn't deny, he had - even if only a little - given thought to this, but the drawbacks kept him from even bring the issue up to Artemis. She also never spoke about it in all of the years they've been togheter, so he never touched it again.

But now that it had accidentally happened... He was sharing his thoughts, thinking out loud.

"However..." he brought two fingers to her chin and lifted her face up, so she could stare right into his eyes. "...I love you more than anything in this world, and you know it. Having a living proof of our love, even if not planned, warms my heart. The thought scares me, but at the same time makes me feel the need to do anything I can to protect him, or her, and give it all I never had"

His thumb caressed her cheek as she leaned into his touch, her gaze never leaving his and absorbing every word and every feeling he just put out for her.

"But it depends on you only. It is your choice, Artemis" he kissed her forehead. "And I will support you, no matter what"

The woman took a deep breath and held his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. What would she say about it? Her mind was still so... fuzzy, and messy with the news of that afternoon.

"I can't lie, I'm still processing this. I had never thought about being a mother, because look at me!" she exclaimed. "Everyone around me gets hurt in some kind of way, and not to talk about how hard it is for me to let anyone into my heart. Look what we went through for me to even be here exposing my feelings to you today. In no way am I fit to be a mother"

"But..." she took a deep breath. "...it feels right. Ever since Isabel raised up the possibility of a pregnancy last night, it hadn't ever crossed my mind to give it up. What you said, it is true. I love you Jason, and I hope that, through time, I will learn to be a decent mother to our baby"

Jason couldn't help but smile and pull her into a passionate kiss, which was quickly corresponded by the woman. Although, she quickly cut it off, not only to avoid it evolving into something more intense right there, but also because something was bugging her at the back of her mind.

"Jason..." she said in between the pecks he placed on her soft lips. "What about Dalkriig?"

He broke away from her, staring at her completely serious. Until an idea seemed to cross his mind and a smirk appeared on his face.

"Any chance you will you share your brilliant idea with me?" asked the redhead.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Must I remind you of how better than you I am at having ideas?" she teased. "I am sure you don't want me to remind you of all of those great plans of yours that failed so far?"

"Oh, Artemis..." he shook his head playfully. "Trust me, this will be infallible"

Chapter Text

Today's the day.

Artemis took a deep breath, staring at her reflection in the rear view mirror as he drove to her final destination.

Her gaze focused on the big red sparkle reflected over her neck and she held back a face of disgust, as she had done earlier when Dalkriig gifted her a new ruby necklace, with a ridiculously bigger gem. Her (soon-to-be ex) husband had given her the necklace, saying that he had noticed how much he liked her previous necklace to the point of never taking it off, and decided to give her one of his own.

The original one was packed safely inside her purse, the last type of luggage she would be taking out of Dalkriig's house - as well as every single belonging of hers. Artemis was now the only thing left to move in.

Her lips curled upwards softly as the very familiar building came into view, and she couldn't help but actually smile - without Dalkriig noticing - when Jason greeted them by the door, accompanied by Isabel.

"It is very nice to have you here once again, dear partner" Jason spoke with one of his soft, charming smiles of his, as the four settled in on his office.

"I should be the one thanking for opening your "doors" to us, Mr. Todd" he replied, not leaving his charm behind. "I believe we have a lot to negotiate... and to celebrate"

"On that I can agree" Jason then proceeded to pour whiskey in four glasses, handing one out to each of the occupants of the room, which Artemis quickly discarded.

"Honey? Why aren't you drinking?" said Dalkriig, trying (and failing a bit of miserably) to sound like he cared about his wife.

"I-..." she took a deep breath and stood up. "Speaking of celebration, I have an announcement to make"

She made eye contact with Isabel and then with Jason, sitting right by the blonde's side, who gave her an assuring nod.

"I am pregnant" the redhead spoke, earning a smile from Jason, a fake surprised look from Isabel and a shocked Dalkriig.

Dalkriig's mouth fell open, and he turned to look at the tall woman standing. He stared at her for a few seconds before standing by her side and pulling her close by the waist.

"Did you hear that?" he smirked, raising his glass. "I'm having a heir! Now we have another reason to celebrate"

"Well, my congratulations to the soon-to-be daddy then" spoke Isabel with a smile on her face.

"Thank you very much, Isabel" Jason spoke, a smug smile on his face as he decided to stand up as well and raise his glass, mimicking the man in front of him. "I can't wait to be a father"

Dalkriig eyed him, clearly confused. Hadn't he been the one to be complimented? Artemis was pregnant, what was Jason talking about?

"What-..." he was cut off by the redhead getting rid of his grasp.

"I am sorry, my dear, for making you think I would bear your child" her heels clicked loudly on the perfectly polished marble floor, as she made her way around the desk and let Jason pull her to his side by her waist, then placing a quick kiss on her lips. "But I won't handle it anymore. Not with someone I have never loved... and it seems you haven't either. You just loved the body and the idea."

His eyes widened and his fists clenched tightly by his side. Rage filled the expression on his face as Artemis made the final move by taking her wedding ring out of her finger and throwing it at him.

"You..." he pointed a finger at her. "You fucking whore! You were acting behind my back during all of this time! And for what?! You're nothing but a dirty slut, working with the Red Hood only to fuck me up! I should have known it from the start! You-..."

"Hey! Let's calm down, will we?" Jason kept a calm expression on his face, pulling a remote control from his pocket. "One click and my men, all lined up and loaded behind that door, will end you and your empire completely in a matter of seconds, so I would measure my words and not try anything stupid if I were you"

The man bit his lip furiously, and they could swear he could go for a punch right now. Too bad he would never hit any of them, even during their sleep.

"Now, let's put this in clean plates" Jason let go of the woman's waist, leaning over the desk. "To begin with, Artemis was never involved with me in any business matters. Why the fuck would I ever need her to take over your empire, when I could do that alone with a broken leg? It's no secret of how much more powerful than you I am, and if you try anything against us, we both know you'll be the only one to lose"

"And if I were you, I'd put a filter in my mouth before talking about Artemis. You have no fucking idea of what you just lost" Jason spat out, angrily. "Admit it, you only saw her as a body to fuck, and nothing more. You were a complete pig, a scumbag who couldn't even properly pretend to worry about her! So just know, if you ever try to get in our way, even in the slightest way, you're over. Are we finished?"

"This won't end here, you'll see" said Dalkriig. "You better mark my words"

"My men will escort you out now" Jason said, pressing another button to call his men in. "Goodbye Dalkriig, it was a pleasure dealing with you"

A sickly sweet fake smile made its way up Jason's face as the blond man was forced out, much to his distaste.

But he would fullfil his promise. He wouldn't leave them laughing at him like this, no. Dalkriig refused to be the joke.

And so he would definitely get in someone's way.

-----

"So... That's it?" Isabel looked at the couple standing by her side, still staring at the office door Dalkriig had just walked out of.

"It better be" Jason stood straight up again and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "He better not try anything stupid, or he'll go down, once for all"

"And you think he won't try it? You think he will let go of me, Jason? Just like that?" the redhead now joined the conversation.

"I hope so" he protested. "He knows what he can get himself into, Artemis. For some reason he always cared about not interfering with me, and it certainly wasn't because he wanted to be friends with the Hood!"

"I guess my job here is done for today, I'll now leave you both alone" Isabel spoke as she got up, taking a last sip of her drink. "You seem to have a lot to discuss right now"

Walking up to them, Isabel could feel the tension between the couple just by the looks they now threw at each other. She stopped right by their side, giving Jason's arm a slight squeeze and sharing a deadly look at him. She took it Jason understood as a warning for him to calm down. Isabel then did the same with Artemis, but now whispering in her ear to remember she had someone to look after now.

"Well, I will leave you both now. I'll check on the situation later" she said as she made her way towards the huge wooden doors. "And please, calm down. This goes for both of you"

She walked out, hoping for the best, as she knew the pits of fire that burned inside each of them. Artemis crossed her arms over her chest, and if looks could kill, her emerald orbs would have killed Jason by now.

"You cannot possibly be serious" she raised her voice. "You speak like everything will be completely fine from now on! Do we really matter to you, Jason?!"

"C'mon Artemis, stop that! You know that's not what I meant!" he tried his best not to raise his voice as well, but the high levels of anger in him made that hard to accomplish. "Of course you do matter to me! What are you trying to get from this?!"

"What am I trying to get from this?!" she let out an ironic laugh. "Are you kidding me, Jason?! I'm trying to get you down to Earth! Never underestimate your enemy, you should know that better than anyone!"

"Everything will be fine, Artemis!" he screamed in her face. "Goddamnit!"

"Great then!" she screamed back. "If you're going to be this ignorant, then I'll just take care of myself! I'm more than capable to do so!"

"What are you going to do?!" Jason asked, a few possible ideas already running through his head.

"I believe it is none of your business!" was her reply.

"For fuck's sake, Artemis! Can't you see everything I've ever done was because of you?! Why pull this bullshit now, just to piss me off?!" he threw his hands in the air, obviously annoyed, as they both kept their angry tones in their voices and seemed to be going nowhere with this stupid argument. "Please do me a favor and walk out, I have a lot to think about..."

Her mouth fell open as a sudden wave of tears flooded her eyes. She was angry at herself for being so weak to actually cry in front of him - something she assumed had been from the pregnancy, as Artemis never, ever showed her weak side, and specially so suddenly -, but more than that, she was angry at Jason. She couldn't believe he had actually kicked her out of his office. Never had he done such thing when they argued. In fact, Jason was always the one who tried to fix things between them right away.

She bit her lip and couldn't help but let the tears roll down her face as her fists violently swung over the desk instead of flying directly to his face, and threw everything on the ground, the sound of breaking objects echoing loud as they hit the ground.

"Artemis!" he called out, staring at the crying face of his lover before she stormed out of the room and slammed the door with a loud thud.

-----

Silently opening the door to his - now theirs - room, Jason found the woman curled in the middle of the bed, still in her previous clothes. As he approached, Jason could notice the puffy red orbs staring blankly at the wall in front of her as the tears silently streamed down and fell on a poodle over the pillow, wetting it. He carefully sat by her side, her back still facing him as she didn't move a single inch at the sinking mattress.

He moved her now messy bangs from her face, that were stuck to her cheeks by the dried tears, and finally laid down by her side, embracing her curled figure. As Jason threw his arms around her, his lips spread kisses all over her cheek, neck and shoulder.

"Red, babe..." he whispered, resting his forehead against her shoulder. "I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I didn't mean to talk to you like that, not kick you out, but I just-..."

"I'm so sorry, you were right" he took a deep breath and continued, still not earning any reaction from the woman. "You know I will do anything for you, I just... I want to believe so bad that you are finally mine, completely. I want to have you all for me, without having to worry about anyone taking you away. I want to love you like a normal person. I'm so sorry, Artemis... Please forgive me..."

A single tear escaped from his eyes and he couldn't wipe it away fast enough for Artemis not to feel the warm wetness against her shoulder. Unconsciously, his hand that was thrown over her torso slid down to rest over her stomach, and he patiently waited for any kind of response coming from the redheaded woman.

Until she finally did.

Her hand moved slowly to rest upon his, fingers intertwined over the tiny growing bump that Artemis now carried.

"I love you" she muttered out, giving his hand a slight squeeze.

"I love you too, Red" he breathed out, placing another kiss on his shoulder. "More than words can possibly describe it"

A soft smile appeared on the woman's face as the stream of tears suddenly stopped, allowing her mind to drift off from the exhaustion of the day and her eyes close in the assuring company of the man she loved.

-----

Waking up the next day with the shifting of the body who rested by her side, Artemis noticed they were still in the same position as they fell asleep the night before. Looking over her shoulder, she found Jason's face buried against her back, his clothes now wrinkled and the messy bedsheets by their feet. Slowly taking his arms that were around her, she carefully turned around to face him, still sound asleep. The redhead couldn't help but smile, as he looked so peaceful, just like a little child.

It was weird, though. Jason always had a very light sleep, always aware of everything, so for him not to move, even with her being this careful, it had to mean Jason was very tired.

She ran her fingers through his soft hair and placed a kiss on his forehead, before getting up and pulling the bedsheets over his body. There wouldn't be any problem in letting him sleep in today, thought Artemis. After all, he deserved to rest after all of the recent events that wore him off.

She headed off to the bathroom to take a quick shower and wash away anything left in her body from her past life. It's not like she could just wash it away, but as the stream of hot water got rid of the stickiness of her tears in her face, a new feeling of peace and hope filled her. Not taking much longer under the shower, she stepped out and dried herself before stepping back inside the room naked.

Not bothering to search for something to wear in between her clothes, she dived right into Jason's side of the closet and stole a pair of black boxers and a large sweatshirt, then throwing them on. It was halfway through pulling the sweatshirt down her torso that the corner of her eye caught something in the mirror on the closet wall by her side. Artemis couldn't help but smile as she stared at her reflection in the mirror and ran a hand over her tiny bump. She was still only three months along, but the curve was noticeable if you took the time to stare. It was unexpected, that is true, but at every second that passed, it only felt more... right. Like everything was falling into place, and that it was meant to happen, even with her infinite doubts about her capability of being a mother.

Artemis looked down one more time before pulling the sweatshirt all the way down to the top of her thighs and stepping out of the closet. She then made her way across the room and took a seat by the edge of the huge window that allowed in the weak rays of sun of that morning to wake her up. Pulling the curtain away, Artemis tied her hair up in a messy ponytail and rested her head against the cold glass as she stared at the madness of Gotham City below, rising with the bats' fall. Her mind drifted off in between all of the thoughts haunting her mind lately, until something distracted her.

Something furry brushed against her bare legs before curling up by her side by the window's edge. It was then that she realized that Dog had woken up and moved from her sleeping bed by the end of their bed and had decided to join the woman. Artemis smiled and moved her hand to her fur, brushing and caressing her until she fell back asleep, this time by her side.

And as she looked back outside and stared at the birth of another fearful and rushed day in the Dark City, she told herself that everything would be fine.

That she could be herself again. That she could be happy.

That she could love Jason Peter Todd.

Chapter Text

Jason woke up from what he considered the best night of sleep he had in a few months. No waking up in the middle of the night, no light slumber, no nightmares. That was the soothing effect Artemis had on him. He smiled after thinking about the woman, stretching his arms and rolling to the side searching for her. Instead, all he found was an empty bed.

An alert immediately rang in his head, heart jumping in his chest, until he heard Dog's barking and Artemis' sweet laughter coming from downstairs and immediately allowed himself to breathe and calm down. The raven haired man then realized he was still wearing his clothes from the previous day and proceeded to bring himself to shower and change into something more comfortable before heading downstairs.

He then headed downstairs, yawning and running his fingers through his hair in hopes to fix it, as he followed the sound of his girls into the kitchen. Stepping inside, the corners of his mouth turned upwards at the sight of a laughing and happy Artemis sitting on the kitchen floor, playing with an energetic Dog, jumping up and down her body and running around her.

Dog seemed so interested in its joyful time with Artemis that neither of them even noticed his presence in the room until he sat down next to the redhead.

"Well, good morning to both of you" Jason said with a smile on his face as he leaned forward to pat Dog's back, who quickly jumped into his lap and started licking his face. "I see you're having a great time"

"Good morning to you as well, Jason" she smiled back at him. "And yes, I guess you can say so"

It was after a while, when Dog got enough of his affection and focused on playing with the bone shaped chewing toy, that Jason leaned towards the woman and gave her an affectionate kiss. It was slow, as they took their time enjoying each other, but filled with love. As one of his hands took its place softly caressing her cheek, the other rested on her waist, pulling her body closer to his. While this, Artemis raised a hand to his hair while the other rested over his chest.

After a while they finally decided to break their kiss apart with small pecks, getting their breaths back as Jason rested his head on her shoulder, then playing with her hand.

"I take it you had a good night of sleep" she spoke.

"Yeah, I actually did" he replied. "Had been a while since I had such a great night of rest"

"I am glad" replied the woman.

"So, how are you feeling?" the man asked.

"I am feeling fine, thanks for asking" she said.

"And, um... How is... How's the... baby?" the word still felt a bit odd in his tongue.

"The baby is fine as well, don't worry" the redhead took his hand to rest over her stomach. "Feels odd, doesn't it?"

"A little bit, yes" his eyes were now glued to the middle part of her body where his hand now rested, covered by the black fabric of the sweatshirt she wore. "I still can't believe you're here now, nor that we are going to have a baby"

"If I must say, neither can I" one of her hands moved up to his head and played with his hair. "Kind of feels like I am living another's life. I cannot remember the last time I felt so... at peace with life"

"I feel you, Red. I-..." he started. "I'm not good at this, but... You've changed my life, for better. I... I thought I would be forever stuck in the dark, all by myself. But if feels good to have someone by my side, to have you. So thank you, Artemis. Everything is worth having you by my side"

Her other hand moved to hold his chin, lifting his face up so he could look back at her face and notice the tears already at bay in her eyes. She couldn't help but give him a smile, a small tear escaping and rolling down her face that was quickly wiped away by Jason's thumb.

"Little One..." her trembling, sweet voice sounded, but was soon cut off by the dark haired man.

"Shhhh" he pressed his lips against hers once again.

As they finally broke apart, Jason's hand slid down her face slowly, over her neck and stopping at the bottom, feeling the heavy ruby stone hanging on the silver chain.

"I guess we should change this back now" he shoved his hand in his sweatpants' pocket, taking out the necklace he gave her as a birthday gift that he made sure to grab before leaving the bedroom.

He reached his hands behind her neck, unclasping the piece of jewelry and replacing it with the previous one. Her hand quickly traced it, the familiar touch of the necklace where it belonged. Before Jason could even ask her what they should do to the necklace Dalkriig presented her, Artemis took it from his hands and a smirk appeared on her lips.

"Do not worry" she examined the piece of jewelry before holding it in her fist. "The accessory will be returned to its owner safely"

"I'll let you take care of that then, as long as you're careful and safe" he placed a kiss on her hand. "But let's talk about something more interesting now: what do you think about going out on a date?"

"You mean, our first official date?" she raised her brow at him, and then softened her expression. "Very good. When would that be?"

"What do you say about next week?" he asked. "Let you settle in before. Besides, I already have something in mind"

"I am looking forward to it then" assured the redhead, a happy expression in her face.

"Great! Then it's scheduled!" he said, then kissing her forehead. "But while we're here, I better get to make lunch, since a certain person decided I should take a day off today and sleep in"

"And was I wrong?" Artemis now moved, sitting on his lap and facing him.

"I guess you weren't" his lips met the warmth of her neck skin and worked on leaving soft kisses there.

However, he was blocked of his actions as the redhead gripped his hair and moved his face out of her neck, standing up right after.

"I wasn't" she grinned. "Now hurry up with that lunch and you might get some dessert"

And with that, she left the room after Dog, leaving a confused-at-first Jason on the kitchen floor, who immediately smirked as everything clicked on his head. Damn, that woman!

-----

"Consider this a payback" he grinned triumphantly as he sipped on his glass of wine. "You didn't let me drink on our first date, so now you're the one who can't drink on our real first date"

"At least the reason I don't drink isn't because I am a lightweight" she crossed her arms. "They are two completely different reasons"

"Oh, c'mon Princess!" he smirked, placing his glass down and leaning forward over the table. "I told you, I hadn't eaten much that day. Besides, a little drink now and then can't hurt you"

"Sure" she looked at him from the corner of her eyes, as she was now looking around the fancy restaurant he had just brought her. "But don't expect me to take care of you then"

"Don't worry, I can hold my liquor for tonight" he sipped on the dark colored drink once again. "I have to, we have plans for later tonight -- well, I do, but you want to come along"

"Of course I do" she started. "I am sure I could negotiate with Black Mask better than you, even if I didn't want to"

"Well, I'm sure you could" he reached a hand out over the table, waiting for hers to hold. "I've seen you mad, and it's not pretty. You can always get what you want"

"I know" she uncrossed her arms, placing her hand on top of his and opening a soft smile on her face.

Saying Jason was madly in love with Artemis was an understatement. Not that he had many examples of love in his life, but he knew what he felt was pure and deep the first time he touched her. And having her there, in that moment, dressed in that flowy black gown that complimented her body so well, only reminded him of how much he loved that woman, more than anyone he had ever known.

He squeezed her hand as he looked deeply into her eyes, and soon realized there was something missing around her finger.

"Hey, Princess" he called out.

"Yes, Little One?" of course, she wouldn't let that one go by, earning a playful eye roll from the raven haired man as she smirked.

"There's something missing here" he lifted her hand, pointing at the respective finger.

"I guess there is" she smiled, interlocking their fingers and looking up at him. "But why did you point that out?"

"For nothing" he winked at her before pulling their hands to place a kiss on top of hers. "I was just thinking we could get married or something, one of these days..."

"Why, I would very much like to do so" she spoke. "But I believe you must ask it"

"Oh, and I will" he replied. "But first, I need to get a ring"

"Jason, you know I do not need a piece of expensive jewelry to marry you" replied the redhead.

"I know Red" said Jason. "But I want to make it special -- not that I'm not special already"

"Oh Goddesses, what an ego!" she rolled her eyes at him playfully, before letting out a soft laugh.

Soon their orders arrived, and Jason couldn't even try to start a conversation in between their meals, as Artemis ate like there was no tomorrow. Pregnancy things, he thought. Better not mess with the woman. As they finished, she decided she wouldn't be able to eat a whole dessert by herself and decided she would share it with Jason. However, as the fancy sweet dish arrived to their table, she decided she wouldn't be able to even eat dessert at all.

"Are you alright Red?" Jason asked, concerned.

"Yes, I am just feeling a bit lightheaded, that is all" she assured. "It is normal"

"It's better for you to go home then" he said. "I don't want to risk taking you with me and ending up with something happening to you"

She just nodded, knowing it would be better for both her and the baby to take some rest for the night.

"Let me just send a message to Isabel" spoke the man, pulling his phone out of his pocket and beginning to type his message. "I don't want you there alone, you can end up feeling worse or even fainting and I won't be able to reach out to you"

"Artemis" he reached out over the table to hold her hand after he sent the text message. "You know I would do anything to stay and take care of you, but you know how important and serious this is, and-..."

"Jason" she quickly cut him off. "I know, don't worry. I understand, and I am not mad at you. You know better than anyone how I can take care of myself, and it didn't even occur me to ask you to stay tonight. We will be fine, we are with Isabel, you can go"

"Thank you, Princess" he smiled, squeezing her hand again.

"Anytime, Little One"

-----

Artemis felt more and more weak as time passed, loosing her balance and gripping onto furniture to hold herself up. She looked at her now pale expression in the mirror as she gathered all the energy left in her to walk the small distance from the bathroom to the bedroom. She could just call Isabel, but by the lack of noise coming from the room, she assumed the woman was still getting ready for bed in the main bathroom.

Taking a deep breath, the redhead opened the door and walked small steps towards the bed. Never had such a small distance looked so far.

Until halfway through the small walk, something felt odd. It felt... wet.

And as the woman's eyes darted down to her shorts, the red poodle was clearly visible and suddenly, all of her energy left, gravity pushing her down right away. Her heart pumped and a million thoughts darted her mind, as she was able to scream -- loud, but almost not loud enough from her weakness -- for Isabel.

The blonde woman darted inside the room, her eyes widening at the sight and an open house. The desperate, scared look in the woman's dead-like eyes was able to move Isabel's feet close to the fallen one. She kneeled down, holding her upper body as her eyelids started to close without her permission.

"Please, Artemis, stay with me!" she said, desperately, while her shaking fingers tried to type something on her phone. "I will get you help, everything will be fine!"

"Ja-..." she tried to speak, a weak arm tugging at the blonde's shirt. "Jason..."

Was all her weak voice could stutter out before her body gave out on her completely and she went limp on Isabel's arms.

-----

"Excuse the interruption" the doors of the meeting room opened to reveal one of the bodyguards at the front walking in. "but there's an important call for Mr. Hood"

"Is it really that important so that it can't wait?" Jason asked, as he had informed each and every of his security members a thousand times already about how he should never be interrupted in any type of meeting.

"Yeah" teased Black Mask, a smirk on his face. "What else could be more important than me dealing with Mr. Red Hood right here?"

Jason shot him a deadly look from the corner of his eye under the mask, as he wasn't about to loose his point against Roman Sionis. He looked back at the bodyguard, who stood there still.

"Yes, Mr. Hood, it is extremely important, as the person on the other side of the line insisted in assuring" he couldn't ever reveal who was speaking not even the gender by using pronouns in front of enemies, everything could be turn into a weapon.

"Alright then, I'll be right back" Jason stood up, never leaving his sight on the grinning Black Mask. "Miguel, take over for me, would you?"

"Sí, Mr. Hood" the man who before stood behind Jason, watching and analysing every single detail and movement of that deal with precision, took now his seating place at the table.

Jason then left, muttering a "this better be really important" to the bodyguard who led him up at the front, where the phone stood. As they reached their destination, he sighed before taking the phone in hands, clearly annoyed.

"This is the Red Hood" he simply spat out in his cold Hood tone.

"Jason, it's me, Isabel" her voice sounded from the other end of the line, clearly bothered by something. "You need to come, something happened and-..."

"What happened Isabel?" he could now hear his heartbeat in his ear, rushing and beating like crazy.

"It's Artemis. She's at the hospital" as she spoke, a million of alarms started ringing in his head. "She might have lost the baby"

His heart shattered, the phone dropped from his hands and his feet dragged him running across the building as fast as he could, ignoring the calls from everyone as he ran into the streets, driving his bike faster than ever towards the horrendously white medical building. Jason's emotions were running so fast that he wanted to scream, to cry, to punch someone, but all he could do was block himself from everyone and focus on getting to them as fast as he could.

To his woman.

To his baby.

To his family.

Chapter Text

A loud bang was heard was Jason walked in, banging the doors open with a visibly angry expression on his face.

"Where is she?!" he spat out, heading towards the front desk.

"Jason, please, you need to calm down" Isabel approached him, placing her hands on his chest to keep him back.

"No, Isabel! I need to know what happened!" he pushed her hands off of him. "I need to see Artemis!"

"Jas-..." she was cut off by his screaming voice as she was pushed aside.

"Step out of my way Isabel!" he screamed, not bothering about the people around them who now stared. "I. Need. To. See. Her."

"Jason Peter Todd!" the cold look she gave him sent shivers down his spine. "Outside. Now."

Isabel took hold of his arm and led him outside through the corridors. The rushing in and out of the building along with the bright white lights was making him panic already, a buzz ringing in his ears.

Feeling the cold night breeze of Gotham City hit his skin as he passed through the main doors, Jason allowed himself to breathe again. Nothing made sense in that moment. He couldn't even think properly. He just needed to see her.

"Please, Jason" Isabel spoke more softly this time, taking both his hands in hers and facing him, only to notice the void in his confused eyes. "I can't talk to you, or even let you see Artemis in that state. Breathe in, relax..."

He sighed, trying to get his mind in the right place. Jason knew Isabel was right, he needed to calm down. He took a few deep breaths, shaking away the thoughts of how this was all his fault.

"There... Are you better?" she asked, worriedly, to which she only got a nod as a response. "Jason, we still don't know what happened, I still haven't had any news about her state. All I know is that I was getting changed to go to sleep, and I suddenly heard a scream coming from your room. I ran there, she was already on the floor, bleeding, and... God, there was so much blood... It was so scary, Jason"

"Do you... Do you think-..." there were tears in the rim of his eyes, and the knot forming on his throat wouldn't allow him to finish the question.

"I don't know Jason" she looked down, squeezing his hands. "I really don't know... I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault, you did everything you could..." he spoke, breaking the heavy silence that fell between them. "Thank you Isabel"

Jason looked down to notice she was still wearing her pajamas, now stained with... blood. Her blood.

"You..." he closed his eyes, shaking his head in hopes to shake away the thoughts. "You should go home and get changed"

"Are you serious?" said Isabel. "I'm not leaving until we have any news about Artemis"

"Fair enough" Jason sighed, taking his jacket off and throwing it over the woman's shoulders. "But not like that, you're dirty and freezing in those clothes. I have some spares in the back of my bike, I just need to go get them"

"Thank you" she tugged the jacket, pulling it closer to her body. "Are you sure you're not cold?"

"I am, don't worry" he failed at giving her even the slightest of all the smiles, heading towards the parking lot with Isabel following him right behind.

"There you go" he said as he handed her the oversized pieces of clothing. "Uh, I... I need a moment, do you mind if... you go ahead and, I meet you in the waiting room?"

His mind was an unclear mess. He blamed himself. Maybe if he didn't take her out that night she would still be fine and they would still have their baby. Maybe if he didn't suggest them going out so early in her time free of her ex-husband, or maybe if he had stayed home with her instead... His damn business was getting in the way of his personal life, and it was all his fault! That was why he never actually had anyone before Artemis... and why he was wondering if he was worth it for her if he put her through so much.

Jason wanted to cry, he wanted to break down, to let that voice always present in the back of his mind take over of his fragile mental state in that moment. But he couldn't do it in front of Isabel, no, he would put his friend through it, specially since she already had been through and helped with so much.

"Jason..." sadly, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Isabel was the only one besides Artemis who could read through his eyes. "Hey, it's okay"

She wrapped her arms around his body and he gave out, falling on his knees as she followed him to the ground. Jason cried, more than ever before - even more than in the countless times he shed tears secretly by himself in his room. He sobbed on her shoulder, like there was no tomorrow, and the blonde desperately tried to do anything to calm him down.

"No, it's not okay Isabel! It's all my fault!" his muffled voice sounded, in between his tears. "I lost my baby, and probably am loosing the woman I love as well! How is it okay?!"

"Jason, we don't know it yet... Please..." a tear now trickled down her face. "You need to think positive, to believe that everything will be fine and in a few months you'll be back in here with a smile on your face"

"It's hard, Isabel..." he mumbled with a voice so low that she almost didn't hear him. "It's so hard... I just want to be happy, is that too much to ask for?"

It broke her heart to see Jason like that. Isabel knew how much Jason deserved to be happy, after all he had been through. He deserved it more than anyone, and she would do anything she could to help him with that.

After a while, his sobs started to fade away under her touch, and her shoulder was no longer feeling the incoming water drops from his eyes. Isabel pulled his face out of her shoulder. His eyes remained closed for a few more seconds, and when he finally opened them, she could see the tired puffy orbs were now bloodshot red. Her thumbs trailed over his cheeks, wiping away the tears, and then she tried to give him the most heartwarming smile she could put up at the moment.

"We should head inside" she spoke. "It's getting cold, I still need to change and we might get news anytime now"

Jason nodded, slowly getting up and following right by Isabel's side, but truth is, he wasn't ready for any news anytime soon. Because, even though he hadn't given up yet, his weak mind told him he had already lost them.

And that made him feel like a failure.

-----

They had been sitting in those chairs for so long that Jason was sure he couldn't feel his body from the waist down anymore. Isabel rested against him, almost asleep, while Jason bounced his leg nervously and tried to distract himself from the dark pits of his mind in the white walls around them. He was sure he couldn't handle waiting another hour without a single information about Artemis' state, when a man in white scrubs walked in the room and his loud voice made the couple sit right up, wide awake.

"Artemis Grace's relatives?" he called out, and Jason and Isabel didn't waste any second in getting up and walking up to him.

"How is she?" came out of Jason's mouth right away.

"Are you her family?" of course, he would only let in her family.

"Yes, I'm her sister" Isabel lied. "And he's her fiance"

"Alright then" the doctor proceeded. "Mrs. Grace is stable. Took us a while, but both of them are fine, even though she's now going through a risk pregnancy after this episode"

"So... She didn't lose the baby? Artemis is still pregnant?" Jason couldn't help but smile a little.

"Yes, gladly, she is" continued the doctor. "They are both very strong, if I might say. It's a miracle that they survived such a high dosage of poison. She ingested enough to kill any person"

"Poison?" questioned Isabel, as thoughts started running around in Jason's head and he clenched his fists.

"We believe someone might have poisoned her food, or even drink" the doctor clarified.

"Right" Isabel spoke, once again. "We will take care of that, Doctor, thank you very much. But, is there any chance we can see her?"

"Of course. But please don't wake her, she needs to rest" he scribbled down a few things on Artemis' medical board in his hands before looking back up at them. "Room 168, follow down this hallway and turn to the left, you'll find it immediately"

"Once again, thank you very much, Doctor" the blonde woman thanked.

"It's just my job" the man retributed with a cordial smile and excused his leave.

She placed her hand on Jason's back, who hadn't pronounced a single word since the doctor mentioned the poisoning, and led him towards the room. Isabel could see how he was driving himself crazy in that moment just by his body language, so she had to take him out of that state.

"Did you hear what he said, Jason?" Isabel spoke, a smile on her face as her hand rubbed on his back.

"I did" he spat out. "She was poisoned. Artemis was supposed to be dead by now, someone just tried to murder her and my kid"

"Jason" she placed himself in front of him, stopping him right in his tracks. "Please, stop that. Don't focus on the negative for now, okay? You are going to enter in that room and focus on the fact that your family needs you. Do not worry Artemis any more while she is in that bed. We will get cover, but please, leave the revenge for later"

Jason sighed because, once again, Isabel was right. All he wanted was to see them, know they were alive and well. A soft smile appeared in his lips.

"I know, you're right" he said.

"Once again" Isabel mocked.

"Maybe you've been spending too much time with Artemis" he joked, heading towards the room and grabbing the door knob.

Twisting it open, Jason was given a bittersweet sight. She was there, alive, breathing. But all of the machines monitoring her weak body, covered by pale skin devoid of its usual glow, made his heart break a little.

He walked towards the bed carefully, taking a seat by her side and holding her hand in his so gently. The 'beep' sounds of the medical equipment surrounding them lulled her asleep for now, as Jason's fingers instinctively moved to run through her hair, who now seemed to be tainted in a weak washed out shade of red, in contrary of her natural vibrant color of every day.

"Hey there Red" his hand moved down from her hair to her face, stroking every inch of her skin until he stopped by her cheek. "I missed you"

His voice was already sounding stranded, like he was about to cry, and the teary eyes he bared only confirmed such thing. He stroked her cheek gently as he observed every single detail of her face like it was the first time doing so. And technically, it was. Jason had never seen her like this: so weak, so fragile... so small. Artemis was that type of woman whom you'd be killed by if looks could kill. One look at her fierce posture and you felt shivers down your spine, making a mental note to never disobey her or you'd be over. But now, looking at her fragile posture as she laid down unconsciously in that hospital bed, fighting not only for herself, she didn't seem to be the same Artemis everyone knew.

Jason didn't bother in holding back the tears or even wipe them, no. At this point he just stayed silent, letting them roll down his face freely as they blurred the sight of the love of his life. He felt Isabel's hand on his shoulder, as the other pulled him for a side hug.

"They're here, Jason" she said, placing a kiss on top of his head. "They're fine. I told you they would be"

Jason nodded, resting his head on top of Isabel's shoulder as he studied the situation. They may have survived, but nothing would be easy from now on.

"I know, but... You heard the doctor, Isabel" he said. "It's a risk pregnancy. I could still lose them"

"And that's why we will work to prevent that" the woman assured him, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Jason sighed as he felt his mind choking him, making him doubt everything. Why now? Why did he have to deal with his fucked up mind in that exact moment?! His face turned blank, and this didn't go unnoticed by Isabel.

"Jason? Are you okay?" she looked at him. "Tell me, what's going on in there?"

"Isabel, I-... I don't know if I want this. I don't know if I can do this" he muttered.

"What Jason?" she gave him another squeeze. "What is it you think you can't do?"

"I can't be a father, Isabel" his voice echoed, so low that Isabel almost couldn't hear it. "I can't take care of a defenseless, small human being"

"And why do you think you can't do that Jason?" she asked.

He didn't reply. His eyes were glued to the floor as a deafening silence fell between them, worrying Isabel as she worked her way to what actually scared him.

"This was not your fault Jason, and you are not your father" he closed his eyes shut as her words came out. "I've seen the way you treat the kids whenever you visit Crime Alley, and that says a lot. They idolatry you, they look up to you... they love you Jason! You're their hero, and I know you love them as well. It's because you were once one of them that you will never, ever, let any child in this world go through the same you had to go through"

"You can do it, Jason" she assured him. "I know you can. And so does Artemis. She has so much faith in you... You don't even have any idea."

"...have you two been gossiping?" he asked, mocking Isabel, who just laughed. "Wait... Artemis? Gossiping? What have you done with my girlfriend, Isabel?"

"Me? I haven't done a thing" giggled Isabel. "We've just been talking about some things, that's it"

"Some things, huh?" said Jason.

"Girl stuff" smirked the blonde. "You don't want to know, and even if you did, I'm compelled to keep it between me and Artemis only, no one else. That's the rule"

Jason gave out a soft laugh, shaking his head jokingly and Isabel soon joined. He decided to check the time on his phone, and concluded it was already too late for Isabel to stay there. Besides, the bags under her eyes gave away everything, no matter how hard she tried to protest that she wasn't tired.

"You should go home now Isabel" he said. "You need to rest, you're visibly tired"

"Well, you're not..." she stopped halfway through her response to yawn. "...wrong. But-..."

"No buts. I will tell you when Artemis wakes up" replied Jason. "C'mon, I'll give you a ride. There's no way you're going alone in Gotham City at this hour of the night"

"What? No, you're not" Isabel protested. "Artemis can't wake up in here and see she's alone. You stay, I'll call Lucas to come pick me up"

"I'm sorry, I-..." he was cut off.

"Don't be sorry, it's fine" she planted a kiss on his cheek and pulled her phone out of her pocket to contact her husband. "You were thinking about my safety. But please, just think about theirs right now, okay? And make sure to get some rest as well. I will come back here as soon as I can"

He nodded as the blonde woman walked towards the window, already speaking to the man on the other end of the line. They waited a few more minutes chatting about random things until her ride finally got to the hospital. Isabel said goodbye and left him there, occupying a seat by the window with his thoughts as he stared outside.

Jason thought about his plan. He was 100% sure Dalkriig was responsible for Artemis' poisoning. No one would have any reason to do so besides him. Also, their relationship wasn't even public yet -- only barely --, so there would be no way to know it. No one would mess with the Red Hood. And due to this unfortunate event, Jason definitely had to change his plan... for something worse.

As he came up with an idea he was comfortable with, Jason reviewed the steps in his mind until a weird choking noise echoed in the room. He quickly turned his face to the side and found a half asleep Artemis choking on something. In a second, Jason was up and running to her side, but before he reached her, she woke up scared, eyes widened as she bent over to the side to throw up violently.

"Artemis!" he rushed to her, after pressing the button to call the nurses, and held her hair back. "Calm down Red, don't worry, I'll be here"

He said he'd be there, but in a matter of seconds, the white room was light up and filled with doctors and nurses, and he found himself screaming, protesting and struggling to not be pushed out of the room. Failing miserably to fulfill his word, Jason found himself now desperately -- trying to -- watch everything through the window.

He banged his fist against the window and his face fell down as the group of rushed medical staff worked on her quick, blocking most of his vision on what was happening, him now only aware of the flow of rushed doctors going in and out of the door by his side.

Not a single tear fell down this time. Instead, his fists clenched by his side and he swore something under his muttered breath, but something he would definitely fulfill very soon.

"Dalkriig... You're a dead man"

Chapter Text

She felt so weak it almost looked like she got hit by a truck. Even sitting up and doing nothing, she could feel every single one of her muscles aching as she struggled to keep her eyes open, even after having more than enough hours of sleep.

"Do you need to sleep, Red?" asked a concerned Jason, his fingers stroking her long strands of hair gently as her weak torso rested against his chest. "Do you need anything at all? Are you feeling fine?"

"No, Jason, don't worry" she dragged her voice, speaking at a much calm and slow way. "I am okay. Just sore"

His lips moved down towards her forehead, placing a long, soft kiss on top of it, and then holding her hand with his free one. They had been in the hospital for three days now. The first day had been hard, as Artemis kept throwing up and occasionally waking up to pass out a few minutes later only, not to mention she wasn't very lucid the few times she was awake. The vomiting finally stopped by the next day, and her body was now recovering from the poison she had excluded from her body earlier. Jason had gone through hell and back during those days, and Artemis had it double, so the feeling of her right there in his arms was the only thing that mattered to him.

However, even after being secured that her recovery would be certain and that in two days she could go back home, the recovery wasn't easy. Looking at Artemis, not only was her usual glow gone, but you could also see she was apparently a bit thinner. Her eyelids were always halfway closed, her eyes sunken, and she kept mumbling under her breath about how painful her whole sore body was. The change was even noticeable in the way she spoke, so slowly and calmly -- way too calmly for Artemis.

She was miserably weak. The woman herself said it, with tears in her eyes. Artemis admitted she was weak, both physically and mentally, and for a woman like her to admit that, things had to be really bad. Since then, they hadn't let go of each other's touch. Jason didn't even protest, that was all he wanted. Only he was surprised by the woman. Artemis had never, ever been this clingy. In fact, even though their relationship was a secret, it was in her personality to keep her love life always on the low down. So her desperate need of continuous affection definitely surprised everyone.

"Red...?" he called out, bitting his lip as he wondered if he should ask that now.

"Yes, Jason?" the woman replied, lightly squeezing his hand.

"What, uhm... What do you think our baby is going to be?" he decided not to ask what he first planned to. "I mean, a boy or a girl?"

"It will be a girl" her tired voice sounded, so assure of her statement.

"It will be...?" asked Jason.

"Don't ask me how, nor why, but..." replied the redhead. "... I feel it. This might be some mother thing, I have no idea, but I feel that the human being inside me is a girl"

"It is probably a goddess thing" Jason joked, with a smirk, and Artemis rolled her eyes, saving him of a playful slap due to the aching of her body. "I will live in a house full of women: first Dog, then you, and now our kid. You will be the death of me"

"Keep bragging and I leave, and I will make sure to take them both with me" there was the Artemis he knew.

"Hey, I was just kidding babe, I'm sorry" he smiled as he kissed her cheek, noticing the upward movement of her cheek against his lips, indicating she was smiling. "But, you know... It can still be a boy"

"It won't, trust me" Artemis said.

"Alright then" the raven haired boy spoke. "What would you like to name her? I think Ruby would be a good name, you know... Since the necklace and stuff..."

"Ruby... I like the sound of that" she smiled, her free hand slowly trailing up to her chest to trace the piece of jewelry. "But I want to choose her middle name"

"Go ahead, Princess" he couldn't help but smirk at the nickname he used.

"Catherine" a pause was made and silence fell between them, not even moving a single inch. "I want her middle name to be Catherine"

Jason's hand stopped caressing her hair and the other fell limp over Artemis' hand he held before. Gathering the strength to move forward a little bit and turning her neck around, Artemis found Jason staring at her teary eyed, a sad smile on his face.

"You..." a tear escaped and rolled down his face. "You want to... You would do that...? For me?"

"It is a beautiful name, with an even more beautiful meaning" Artemis smiled at him softly, as the bit of strength she had in her failed her and she fell back against Jason's body, who embraced her in a tight -- but enough loose -- hug and cried.

"Thank you, Red" he said before his lips clashed with hers, evolving them in a soft and very passionate kiss. "I love you so fucking much..."

"I love you a lot as well, Jason" she finally said with a huge grin plastered on her face as they broke the kiss, enjoying each other's embrace once again.

-----

Two months had passed since the incident. Artemis was now five months pregnant and tiptoeing around the house half naked. They spent the last two months on the low down. Jason wanted her to recover without any worries, without taking the risk of Dalkriig attacking again if he knew she was alive. Of course Dalkriig wasn't that dumb, he probably knew she wasn't dead, but he had no idea about her state or where she was. Jason made sure to reinforce security to the triple, doing everything he could to avoid anything from happening again. No word had yet been pronounced to each other about who had poisoned her, as Jason decided she should be the one to approach that issue. That would be the only way he would tell her about his plans to take down Dalkriig -- that were already going on in secret --, as the last thing he wanted was to get Artemis involved and worrying with it. She had a lot on her plate already.

But enough time had gone by. She was stable now, his men were working on his plan and soon, Jason would be able to act and take care of that bastard.

"Artemis, I'm home!" Jason shouted as he placed the keys down and took off his jacket. "Red? Where are you?"

No response was heard. He walked around the house, calling and searching for the woman, yet she was nowhere to be found. Jason was almost freaking out when he remembered he hadn't searched outside yet. Stepping out the huge glass doors that led him to the backyard, he relaxed at the well-known sight of a long red ponytail.

Artemis sat on the border of the jacuzzi with a towel wrapped around her torso, the tiny water drops over her arms and the end of her ponytail still wet indicating him she had probably been in there not long before he arrived. Her back was facing him, but Jason could tell she was watching the sunset, lost in her trail of thoughts.

"Red!" he approached the woman. "There you are"

Jason sat by her side, throwing his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss.

"Hello Jason" she asked as they broke the kiss. "How was you day?"

"Kinda boring. Business, as usual" he replied as he looked up at the sunset she admired before, then moving his gaze back to her and smiling. "And yours? What did the doctor say?"

"It was fine. And Ruby is all alright" she couldn't help but rub her growing bump, it was instinctive already. "She is a tiny girl, but there is nothing we should worry about"

"That's great news!" Jason smiled as he bent over and placed a smile on her bump. "I can't wait to have her here with us... I mean, in our arms. And not inside you"

"I understood" she smiled. "If I am honest, neither can I. But at the same time, I cannot help but feel... scared, and worried. What if something goes wrong during birth, Jason? What if... What if what happened to my mother happens to me?"

"Hey, Red" he took her hand in his, while looking right into her eyes. "Don't worry, everything will be fine. We won't lose any of you. I won't ever leave you, and the doctors are doing everything they can to help you two the best, you know that. Even they have already told us there's almost no chance of that happening, that we will both return home healthy and with our girl in our arms. What happened to your mother won't happen to you, Artemis. You're not going to die, Red. I won't let you"

"I know, but-... I..." her bottom lip started trembling, even with her bitting it, but Artemis couldn't keep her tears at bay anymore.

Jason didn't even let her continue her sentence. His arms were already wrapped around her tightly, his hand stroking her back as she sobbed against his shoulder. He tried his best to calm her down, soothing her and rocking her back and forth slightly, and after a while, she had finally let it all out. All of the fear and worry bottled inside her. Jason knew it wasn't easy -- he couldn't even begin to imagine what she had been going through! -- but he promised her and himself the day she told him she was pregnant that he would always be there for everything.

"Are you alright now?" he asked the woman, who was still in his embrace.

"I am, thank you" she sniffled and pulled back from his embrace, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand. "I'm really sorry, I-..."

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry about anything!" he cut her off, placing his hand on top of her thigh, giving it a soft squeeze. "It's okay to be scared, it's okay to be afraid. You taught me that! And I will always be here for you in those moments. After all, that's what a fiance is for"

He winked at her and she just rolled her eyes back playfully, shaking her head before diving in for a soft kiss. While their lips danced with each other's, Jason's hand found Artemis'and played with her engagement ring - which, for a certain reason, also had a ruby gem on it. It was the day after she got out of the hospital that Jason decided it couldn't wait any longer and that he needed to get out of the "boyfriend" stage. So he went out with Lucas to buy the ring he had got his eye on for a while then, while Artemis and Isabel had brunch in their balcony, and it was after that night's romantic dinner -- at home, because she was still recovering -- prepared by him that he proposed.

They definitely couldn't wait to marry each other, but they had both decided it would be better to leave the wedding for after the pregnancy, as having a baby was already too overwhelming for the couple, with all that had been going on their lives at the moment.

"So, dear fiance" Artemis started as they broke the kiss, with a smirk on her face. "Your pregnant future wife is getting hungry, and I believe it is almost dinner time"

"What a smart ass you are..." he muttered, as he narrowed his eyes playfully. "Alright then. How does spaghetti alla carbonara sound to the lady?"

"It sounds amazing" she said, getting up from her place to seat on Jason's lap, then kissing his cheek. "I shall take a shower while my sweet man cooks us dinner then"

"Can't I at least join you?" he asked as he watched the woman get up from his lap and starting to leave, dropping the towel around her body to stay in her red bikini only now. "I'll cook later"

"Only if you behave" she turned around to reply, a smirk on her face as she winked at him, and then continuing to make her way towards the house.

Jason admired her figure for a few seconds, already knowing he wouldn't behave, not with her naked body so close to his. He wondered how she could maintain such body. Pregnant women always gained some weight, that was common sense, but besides the small bump growing on her middle part, Artemis' body remained unafected, just like before she got pregnant. There was so much in that woman that made Jason swear she had some extraordinary genetics. Maybe they really were from a Goddess, or even from an amazon warrior. That woman had to come out of a mythology.

He got up from his place and ran to catch up with her, not missing this chance of being close with the woman of his dreams.

-----

Jason turned around to place the two plates on the table, then dusting his hands off on his apron before taking it off -- even if much to Artemis' disgust, as she enjoyed the sight of the man in it.

"Et voilá!" said Jason with a grin on his face, making his way around the table to sit in front of the woman.

"It looks and smells great" Artemis said, taking her knife and fork in hand right away.

"And so do you" Jason wasted no time in teasing the woman, a smug smile taking its place on his face.

"Say that again and you won't have any more shower sex for a week" she simply said as she stuffed her mouth with food.

"It's alright, we always have the rest of the house" he joked again.

"Continue and it's a whole month without any type of sexual intercourse" she announced after swallowing her food, then taking a sip of her drink very calmly.

"I'm joking, Red, I'm sorry" he lifted his hands up in the air and grabbed his cutlery to start eating, earning a smirk from Artemis from behind the glass she sipped on that he didn't see.

Midway through his meal, Jason stopped to admire the woman in front of him as she focused on her own plate and nothing else. She had stepped down to the kitchen in her usual type of home attire, never fully dressed: an oversized t-shirt she had definitely stolen from his side of the closet (like every other t-shirt or sweatshirt she wore lately), a pair of panties (which sometimes she switched for a pair of stolen boxers from him) and some knee high socks, to change from the usual bare feet Jason heard lightly tiptoeing around the house. However, for some reason, she had ditched the usual messy -- but always high -- long ponytail, leaving her hair down and her bangs framing her whole face in such a lovely way that Jason couldn't stop staring at her. This was how he loved her: as herself. As the most raw version of Artemis Grace.

He didn't even realize how lost in his thoughts about her mesmerizing beauty he was until she broke him out of his transe, snapping her fingers in front of his face.

"You were daydreaming" she stated.

"Yeah... I guess I was..." he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, knowing she would probably joke about him acting like a teenage girl in love. "I was just thinking... About how mesmerizing you are. You're just so... beautiful. You're perfect"

"I-... Thank you, Jason" she smiled, softly, and Jason could swear she was blushing for the first time.

She got up from her seat and made her way towards him around the table, wrapping her arms around him into a hug as he rested his head against her chest. He was almost sure she was going to start the banter, but he was quite surprised when Artemis actually took the compliment without any joke. Jason hugged her back, his arms wrapped around her stomach, as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of her skin mixed with the melody of her beating heart. They stood like that for a while, until his phone rang, announcing he had received a message, and they had to pull away from each other.

Sliding his phone out of his pocket, Jason typed the code to unlock it, then finally reading the message.

Boss, we've got him.
Everything's ready. Tonight is the night.
— Miguel

Jason smirked and typed back a quick reply, then placing the phone over the table.

"Red, I'm sorry, but I have to leave, something came up at work" he said, not giving much details, as she always trusted him with his job, after all, it would -- already was -- be hers as well when they got married. "Miguel just texted me, saying it's an emergency"

"Of course, it's okay, just stay safe" she said, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Should I stay up waiting for you?"

"I'm not sure when I'll be able to finish it and come back home, as Miguel didn't give me much details about the emergency, but it's better for you to sleep" he said as he got up and put on his signature leather jacket, the one Artemis loved. "I don't want my girls tired, you need to get proper rest"

"Do not worry Jason, just go" she said as she walked up to the man, placing a slow and soft kiss on his lips. "We will be fine. Just make sure to join us on the bed when you arrive"

"That'll do" he smiled at her. "Bye Red, I love you"

"I love you too, Jason" she replied as she watched him walk out the door. "See you later"

Making his way as he rode on his motorcycle, Jason couldn't help but grin at the happy thoughts of how his life would go after that specific night. He had dreamt of that for so long, and it was finally becoming true.

Jason was finally going to execute the final and most important part of his master plan.

Kill Dalkriig.

Chapter Text

This was it. It was finally happening. After months of waiting and planing, Jason was finally going to give Dalkriig what he deserved.

Stepping inside the warehouse, the sight of his body strapped down to the chair made Jason's posture change. His jaw was clenched, his hands curled into fists and anger poured out of him. His steps were steady and rushed towards the figure, as Jason was about to lose all control he had in himself in that moment.

He grabbed the black bag covering the man's head and ripped it away, exposing the head of the man he hated the most in the whole world. Dalkriig mumbled incoherent things under his breath, still not lucid from the drug he had his men make him take to kidnap him.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty" roared Jason's voice, loud, as he gripped his hair to pull his face up and slap it. "C'mon bastard! We don't have all night"

Dalkriig hissed, blinking his eyes until he was finally conscious enough to open his eyes properly and make out the scene in front of him. It was then that he saw the Red Hood, and noticed he was tied up to that chair as he tried to move.

"Oh no, don't even bother to try that, Dalkriig" said Jason with a smirk on his face, as he circled the struggling man. "You're not leaving this place alive"

"You think so?" Dalkriig giggled. "My men will come searching for me, and then you will be the one who's not leaving here alive"

"What men, Dalkriig?" his hand rested on top of Dalkriig's shoulder and squeezed it hard. "I warned you: you tried to mess with us, I'd take it all away from you with a snap of my fingers. A little bribe was enough to bring them all to my side and leave you by yourself"

"Then the Princedom will come looking" said Dalkriig. "You really have no idea of how many contacts I have in this business"

"And you have no idea of how easy it was for me to manipulate them and take your place for myself" Jason laughed as he walked in front of the man to see his face. "You tried to kill them, did you really think this would go by unnoticed? I warned you once. You didn't listen. Now you die"

"Die like that bitch should have died when I poisoned her? That whore should be under the ground we step by now, buried deep down" a smug smile appeared on Dalkriig's face. "Her and that offspring of yours. Not that it will survive for long having you two as parents. She doesn't even know what's like to have a mother or a father, and you? You, Jason Todd, are going to do the same your father did to yourself"

Jason's high levels of anger took control of him as he reached the crowbar her carried on his back and swung it against Dalkriig's head, another and another time, repeatedly. He put all of his bottled feelings on his actions, hitting him hard until he bled, and only stopping when he saw the damage was enough for that moment, as Jason still had a few words to tell him before he killed Dalkriig.

Jason backed away a few steps, gaining his breath as he studied the damage he had done to the man, a blood covered -- and dripping on the dirty concrete floor -- crowbar held on his hand. He threw the weapon away to his side, hearing the metal hit the ground as he traded it for his weapon of choice. Quick and efficient. Yes, that was how it was going to be done.

He took one of his guns from its respective holster placed around his thigh, loading and aiming it at his target. Dalkriig moaned in pain, his head hanging low as he coughed his blood, strands of his long blond hair now escaping from his ponytail and tainting crimson. He was struggling to breathe, almost choking on his own blood, but Jason wasn't even close to being finished with him. As he opened his mouth to continue what he had to say to Dalkriig, he was stopped by an unexpected arrow aimed at his gun.

"What the fuck?!" he murmured as the impact of the arrow threw his gun out of his hand and another arrow made its way to aim on Dalkriig's leg with a loud grunt from him, but this one with an envelope attached.

As Jason turned around to find who was behind this surprise attack, he found a silhouette stepping graciously out of the shadow. A well-known silhouette. Dressed in all black with a trail of her swinging long ponytail behind her, there was Artemis, holding her beloved bow in her hands and carrying a gleam in her eyes that shone more than the little ruby gem hanging around her neck as the yellow light of the warehouse reflected on it.

"Good evening, gentlemen" she said as she tiptoed towards them. "I am sorry for interrupting, but it was kind of rude not to invite me to the party, don't you think?"

She glared at Jason as she walked past him, making sure he got the memo that her speech was directed towards him, and that they would discuss it later. Stepping past him, she moved forward towards her ex-husband, making sure to stay close but far away enough not to endanger herself, taking in consideration the state she was in.

"Artemis-..." Jason tried to speak, but was immediately cut off, as he expected.

"No, Jason. This is a matter between me and Dalkriig" she said, not taking her eyes off of the bleeding man. "Hello again, my dear"

"Artemis" he spat out a mouthful of blood on the space of floor in between them. "Woah, you are really pregnant... Is it a boy or a girl? And when is the baby shower? I'll make sure to bring the baby a present"

"The only present we would like from you..." she spat out, with a look on her face that could make anyone curl themselves in fear. "...would be having your cold, dead body buried six feet deep"

Artemis then proceeded to hold her bow on her back, and reached over to detach the envelope from her arrow, now a bit stained with his blood. She made sure she pressed the arrow deeper in his leg before standing back up straight in front of him, earning a grunt from the man as the sharp end of the arrow penetrated deeper in his skin.

"But now, my dear" started the woman, as she opened the envelope. "I have one last love letter for you"

Her hand digged inside the paper envelope to take out a certain piece of jewelry: the overly excessive ruby necklace he gave her before she left him. Artemis had had other plans to return it to him before the accident, and certainly they ended with him miserably alive, but she had to adapt herself to the circumstances, and to be honest, this felt way better.

"I take it you recognize it" she said as she walked to stand behind him, unclasping the necklace and wrapping it around his neck, choking him. "I give it back to you. After all, excess and show off always looked better on you"

She continued for a while, enjoying the sounds of him choking and desperately trying to gasp for air. After a little while, she finally stopped and clasped the necklace to hang around his neck, as his torso fell forward, already to weak to hold himself up straight anymore, and he desperately tried to breathe. Artemis chuckled and made her way around the chair to face him once again.

"Is everything alright, my dear? You do not seem so fine..." she tilted her head as she looked at him, a slight smirk resting on her rosy lips. "Maybe I should help you with that"

She gave him a few seconds to have his last words, but he was so weak that nothing came out, only an angry stare directed towards the woman. Taking her bow back in her hands and drawing a new arrow, Artemis took a step back and aimed at the filthy man sitting in front of her.

"I will hate you forever" a cold, dark tone took over her voice. "Goodbye, Dalkriig-Hath. May you rot in Hell"

She let her fingers go, shooting the arrow with such precision it was almost inhuman. The arrow landed right where she wanted it to: right on top of his heart, piercing through his chest so deep and quickly that his only response was a loud and painful scream. She watched his eyes widen as he hanged on to his last string of life, until after a while, his eyes rolled back and his whole body gave out on him, growing limp under the ropes that tied him to the chair.

Artemis was immobile, her bow still on her right hand as she stared at the dead man in front of her. Jason kneeled to reach his gun and stored it back into the holster as he made his way towards the man, reaching over to check his pulse was completely gone and that he was finally dead. He stood back up straight and reached over to his earpiece, signaling his men that the job was done and telling them it was safe for them to come out and clean that mess up.

"Artemis..." he said, moving towards the woman with his arms open to hug her, but she declined by turning around and heading towards the door.

"Can we please go home?" said the redhead. "I am feeling a bit tired"

"Y-yeah... Of course..." he replied, a bit confused by the emotions -- or lack of them, really -- coming from Artemis, and followed her out.

As he silently hopped on the motorcycle and placed on his helmet, Jason waited for Artemis, who was riding the car, to leave first, so that he would follow her. They drove through the hectic asphalt streets of Gotham City until they got home, and still a word wasn't pronounced by any of them. Jason didn't know if she was giving him the silent treatment for not telling her about the plan, or if she was still processing everything that had just happened. Or if both.

They needed a shower, they needed to get clean of that bastard's blood. Walking inside the house after parking their vehicles, Artemis had walked inside first and Jason had no sight of her when he walked in after her. Sighing, he took a deep breath and headed upstairs to take a hot shower. It was after he cleaned himself that he found Artemis, as he stepped into their room and heard the shower of the suite bathroom running.

He threw on a pair of grey sweatpants and hopped into the bed, pulling the covers up to his waist and deciding her would wait for her there. Jason refused to let them go to sleep like this. He gave her space already, but if she didn't speak, then he would.

Jason distracted himself with his thoughts as his eyes focused on the window on the wall by his side, the one Artemis had climbed in and out of many times during the last six years they have been togheter. He was so lost in those thoughts and memories that he only became aware that Artemis had finished showering when he felt the mattress sink as she crawled in bed. Sliding under the covers, Artemis didn't keep the distance between them. In fact, she immediately threw her arms around his torso and rested her head on top of his chest. Jason smiled at the action, then moving a hand up to her hair to stroke it gently.

"Why did you not tell me about your plans, Jason? You knew I would find out about it" she spoke, softly. "I am not dumb, and this was something I should have done"

Artemis had kept the distance between them for that time to cool herself down. She was calm enough when she killed Dalkriig, as not only was she used to this type of life, but also because it was something she had been dreaming and getting ready for since a long time ago. But she knew the moment she spoke to Jason and confronted him about hiding his plans, she would blow and stress out, and that was something she couldn't do.

"Because I didn't want to worry you, Red. You had enough on your plate already" replied Jason. "I couldn't have you worried and risk losing her. All I wanted was to protect you, for you to be safe and recover well"

"Jason, I am more than capable of protecting myself, you know that very well" protested the woman.

"Usually, yes. But I think sometimes you forget you are pregnant now" he said. "Damn it, Artemis! You are going through a risk pregnancy! All I want is for you to worry about that. God knows how hard it is already for you to go through it, let alone have you worry about that bastard"

"I wanted to do it for you. I wanted to do something for our family" the man continued. "I needed to do something for you after all you've done for us. I'm sorry Artemis, I know it was wrong, but I just wanted to protect you! You looked so happy, you seemed to be going so well... I just didn't want to ruin that. I did it because I love and care about you"

"I-..." she took a deep breath, then turning around to face him. "I know, I am really sorry. You did it with good intentions. You were... right. Thank you for doing that. But I had to do it. I had to end Dalkriig, I needed to get my revenge. And luckily for me, I am a smart woman who knows where to search her information"

"How long have you known about it?" Jason was now curious.

"Since day one" she replied. "That is why I never touched the subject. I was waiting for you to bring it up, but since you never did -- and later I found out you never planned on doing it --, I decided to take matters into my hands in secret"

"I should have predicted" he joked, then leaning down to place a soft, passionate kiss on her lips.

Never breaking the kiss, Jason sat up on the bed as Artemis moved herself to stay on top, sitting on his lap, so that it was more comfortable for her. Their lips danced togheter for a long time, tasting every inch of each other, as their hands trailed and explored every curve of the other's body tenderly. What began as a simple kiss became a make out session, but not a heated one, instead, a soft, loving one. Jason was lost in the woman, so absorbed into it, until she broke the kiss with a gasp and her eyes widened.

"Red? What is going on?" Jason asked, worried, and his eyes immediately started scanning for anything wrong with her. "Artemis?! What's going on? Are you okay?! You're scaring me!"

She immediately went to grab his wrist, bringing his hand to rest on top of her bump and that was when he felt it. The reason behind her reaction, one he now had on his face as well. He felt her. His baby girl.

"Is that-...?" Jason didn't even finish his question, just looked at Artemis for approval, to which he already knew the answer, even before she nodded her head.

A tear rolled down his cheek as he felt his baby girl kick against his hand once again. Artemis was already in tears, with a huge smile plastered on her face. Her hand rested on top of his, over her swollen middle, and Jason could swear he was the happiest man alive right there. And it was then that everything hit him: it was done. They no longer had to worry. Dalkriig was dead, they were finally safe. They could finally love each other freely and show the world how deeply in love they were. They could finally be happy.

Jason planted a quick kiss on her lips and wiped away her tears, not noticing he was crying as well until Artemis' thumb wiped the tears away from his face as he did to hers. He was smiling like a fool, and in his mind, he could already imagine how amazing their life would be once Ruby was born. He didn't remember the last time he had felt so free and happy, and neither did Artemis.

But now, they finally were. They got what they deserved.

And Jason couldn't wait for the future planned out for the three of them.

Chapter Text

He had no idea how anyone could bare with this heat, specially so early in the morning. Sure, Jason had been through many extreme situations and stuff, but he was still a Gothamite after all -- even though the cold weather used to bring him bad memories, not anymore. And then he remembered Artemis, besides being in Gotham for long now, she was still from Bana-Mighdall, and her body was used to the desert heat. Jason there realized Ruby got that heat resistance from her mother.

Jason stood by the huge widows that lead to the balcony of the villa, admiring the sight. Neither of them had yet noticed he was awake already and watching them. Artemis sat on the grass, next to the flower garden, with her legs crossed, and little Ruby sat on top of them, too entertained playing with a red tulip in front of her and laughing at the butterflies. The woman's arms were securely wrapped around the tiny girl, as she never took her eyes off of her, like the protective loving mother she was. He was amazed at the simplicity of their life, at the simplicity of their beauty.

Artemis had tied her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head, one that couldn't keep her bangs away from her face, framing the soft beaming smile on her face. She was still dressed in her satin babydoll, and the way she didn't even bother to move to pull the strap back up on her shoulder when it fell, showed how focused she was in watching her daughter, just as much as Jason was in watching them.

Ruby Catherine Todd. That little ball of energy was a bit over a year old already, and Jason couldn't imagine his life without her. The girl looked a lot like Jason, besides from the red hair and the eyes -- not the color though, that hypnotizing cross between emerald and sapphire, she certainly got that from Jason --, which she got from her mother. He could still remember the day she was born.

Jason had been terrified, scared. Fear took his body in such a way that he had to leave the room to throw up twice. Isabel had to push him aside to calm him down before his anxiety started to affect Artemis. It had been some long and intense hours, full of pain, tears and nervousness, but when they heard Ruby's high pitched cry, the young couple smiled at each other and couldn't help but cry of happiness. She had delivered a healthy baby girl. The first time her fragile tiny body was placed on their arms delicately, they both knew all of it had been worth it.

Artemis was the most wonderful mother for Ruby. They both had been very scared about parenthood, scared they wouldn't be the right people to take care of a child, but when the time came, it just felt so natural. Of course, there were a few obstacles, but nothing they couldn't get over with easily. Besides, Ruby was too much of a peaceful and jolly child. As a mother, Artemis was always very calm and understanding, and always seemed to know what the girl wanted or needed. Ruby has made her patient, no longer acting so impulsively. She had told Jason many times how proud she was of him, and how much of a great father he was to the girl -- and it made Jason's heart melt. He couldn't deny, he had actually been doing a good job at parenting. He and Ruby had connected right away, and the girl always jolts up in joy whenever her father picks her up and spends time with her. Ruby was the couple's biggest love and proudest accomplishment.

Life went by, and the young couple finally decided it was time to tie the knot. Two weeks ago, a small but beautiful ceremony, for close friends only. They didn't want any exuberant party, nor any attention on them. They just wanted their loved ones to acknowledge the dimension of their love.

Jason couldn't believe when his eyes automatically glued to the woman walking down the aisle, and was having even a harder time accepting that such a beautiful woman was willing to settle down with him. Artemis looked gracious. The simple white halter neck mermaid fitted gown fitted her body like a glove, tracing the curves of her body that he very much loved, and her hands held a bouquet made of red roses, to match the ruby necklace around her neck. She never took it off. Her hair was tied up in a fancy bun, with her bangs still framing her beautiful face, and Jason smiled at the other accessory -- besides the white veil -- resting on top of her head: a sparkly tiara. He had spoken to Diana the day before, asking her to insist on making the woman wear it, because she truly was a princess to him.

The day went by and he couldn't be more happier than to be enjoying it with him loved ones and specially with his two girls. Now, as his left hand beared a wedding ring matching with Artemis', they could finally call each other husband and wife, with no one in between them. The two had then decided to discard their honeymoon for a family vacation, wanting to take little Ruby on her first trip, and so they ended up in this amazing villa, in Hawaii.

The landscape was almost as stunning as the girls, but the key word was "almost". Their laugh could still shine brighter than the sun in the hottest summer day, and their red hair could still be more vibrant than any other colorful batch of flowers in the peak of spring.

He had decided to finally join the girls after a few minutes of watching them, stepping into the wooden platform and then on the grass, letting his bare feet feel the tingling sensation of the fresh weeds on the ground under him. Jason approached them, and it was then that they had finally realized his presence.

"Jason, you are awake" pointed out Artemis, which made Ruby lose her focus on the red tulip to clap and giggle with joy. "Say 'good morning' to daddy, Ruby. C'mon!"

"Good morning, pumpkin" Jason said as he sat down by their side, then leaning downwards to feel Ruby's tiny hands grab his face the best she could to give him a kiss, to which he retributed. "And good morning to you as well, Red"

His hand trailed up her arm slowly, pulling the strap of her babydoll back up before leaning over for a kiss, and he knew he had sent a few shivers down her spine. Jason broke the kiss with a slight smirk, to which she corresponded with a discreet bite on her lower lip.

"Good morning Jason" was her reply. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, and I know you did too" he winked at her, before noticing something -- or rather, someone -- climbing on his lap. "And what about you, little Princess? Huh? Did you sleep well?"

Jason picked her up from his lap, holding her up to blow a raspberry on her stomach, throwing the small girl in a laughing fit. He leaned back, now laying down over the grass, and sat her on top of his chest, playing with the giggling girl until she grew tired. Artemis watched them with a smile on her face, and felt her heart melt when Ruby eventually got tired and Jason laid her down on top of his chest, holding her close and kissing the top of her head. Jason and Ruby had been the best thing to happen to her in her whole life, and she didn't regret a single thing she had to go through to get where she was today.

She decided to join them, laying down over the grass on her side, with her arm under her head for support. Artemis moved a hand up to the tiny girl's head, stroking her soft red hair gently, as Ruby softly closed her eyes and was lulled back to sleep. Ruby had always been a very loving child, always very affectionate to everyone, because all she wanted was people to give her love. So it was very rare to find her in any place other than her mother or father's arms.

Her hand slid down from Ruby's head to trail over her fragile arm, whom, at the touch of her mother, even though she was sleeping, moved her hand to hold Artemis' fingers. She felt her tiny strong fingers wrap around her index, pulling her hand closer to her body. Artemis' eyes landed on matching tiny ruby gem around the little girl's wrist, one Jason got her a few months ago. He was worried she could choke with a necklace, so he just decided to go with the bracelet, matching exactly with the redhead woman's necklace.

They both couldn't help but smile, and get lost in each other's gaze. So it was in that exact moment that both of them realized they truly had it all now. Love, friends, a family...

...and a ruby skeleton rotting in Hell.