-Athena's POV-

Swallowing, I judged my options. Both seemed equal in their promises of happiness, joy, and ever lasting love. My eyes darted between the two. On one hand, the sweet yet bitterness of one promised to bring a smile to my face. However, the gentle purity of the other dared me to think of a life beyond my current misery. Both were so delightful. How could I be expected to make the choice? My decision would change my life indefinitely, leading me down a path significantly different than the other option offered. I was backed into a corner. What could I do?

"What'll it be, ma'am?" The vendor asked, gesturing between the chocolate ice cream and the berry ice cream. I looked into his eyes, still indecisive.

Suddenly, two strong hands wrapped around my hips. I kept my focus in front of me. Dick's lip met my neck as he softly kissed, his hair brushing against my cheek. "Dick, let me be. I need to decide," I barked.

He chuckled, facing the vendor while holding me, "I'll take the chocolate and she'll have the berry, please." Dick ordered. I smiled, satisfied. 

"Do you always know what to do or only when it comes to food?" I joked, turning to face him.

"I actually just ordered both because I'm pretty hungry but didn't want Wally to think they;re both for me."

I gasped, shoving his chest playfully. "If you go anywhere NEAR my ice cream, the swords are coming out."

He laughed, his happy little giggles dissolving into a care-free grin. For a moment, we just stared at each other. Dick's eyes rested softly on my face, bathing my skin in a warm blush. He held me by my hips. I had a strong feeling that if he hadn't been anchoring me to the ground, I might've drifted off the face of the Earth. 

"Here you two love birds are," the vendor said, smiling. Dick grabbed our ice creams and exclaimed a 'thank you' before walking away from me. 

"Richard Grayson get your sexy little ass back here," I scolded, jogging through the sand after him. He picked up his speed, balancing the two cones perfectly while running. "Dick!" I screamed after him. 

Eventually, he stopped. I narrowly ran into his chest, forcing him to drop both cones. But, having experience with those kind of tricks before, I stopped myself just as suddenly as he did. With an ego filled smirk, I took a long lick of both ice creams. Dick watched me, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Athena, are you trying to drive me crazy?" He asked while I took another lick of his ice cream. I shrugged. When he bent his head down to taste mine, I wrapped my arm around his neck. Pulling him down suddenly, I shoved my lips onto his. The sweet taste of the chocolate met my tongue as our cold lips slid together. 

Feeling the ice cream melting down my wrist, I slowly pulled away. Dick didn't skip a beat. He took my other hand in his and continued to walk. As we continued on the beach, licking our ice creams, I caught him sneaking glances at me. Little, childish smiles bubbled onto his face every time his eyes hopped over to me. 

For once, I let myself smile, too.

Once we had finished our summery treats, Dick and I wandered down to the beach. The slight ocean breeze picked up my sundress, tugging at the bottom. The white fabric flowed around my shins like the sea in front of me. I had my brown hair -- which now had light blond highlights, as requested by Artemis -- was tied up with a yellow bandanna. I slipped off my flip flops, needing to feel the sand between my toes.

Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Dick. He was wearing a light, white cotton shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. He had insisted on wearing his sneakers for the day. His hair was softly slicked back. His skin had tanned quite a bit since the spring. 

Letting go of his hand, I skipped to the ocean. I let the waves lap at my ankles, smelling the strong smell of salt and a good time. Whipping my head around, I made eye contact with Dick. "Come on!" I called. 

Without hesitation, he crouched down and hurriedly unlaced his Chucks. He splashed in after me, drenching me in tiny droplets. He wrapped his arms around me again, gently lifting me up as I curled into a ball. We both laughed. 

"Dick, let me go!" I said between giggles. His fingers tickled me as he spun me around. My toes grazed the top of the water. 

"Poor choice of words!" Dick taunted, suddenly losing his grip on me. I tumbled, rolling into the shallow depths of the water. I had been soaked everywhere below the shoulders. Looking up from where I sat in the water, I glared daggers at the handsome boy in front of me. "Don't look at me like that. With all your glaring, you're gonna get wrinkles," he teased, "well, more wrinkles."

Grabbing his ankle, I pulled him swiftly down to my level. His entire body was swept under by a tiny wave. When he resurfaced, his hair fell into his face in a sloppy mess. I grabbed his face in my hands and placed a kiss on the tip of his dripping nose. His frown lifted at the corners. 

"I leave you two alone for a single day and I find you guys here soaking wet!" Zatanna's voice boomed from ashore. We both turned our heads, goofy smiles staring back at her. "Hurry up and dry off! Bride wants to see you, Athena!" 

We buffered for a moment before Dick's strong hands picked me up again. This time, he carried my body against his soaking chest to the shore. I slipped into my shoes and waited for him to lace his back on. When we were both ready, we followed behind Zatanna.

When we entered the hotel, I was grabbed by several different hands. "Oh my god, please tell me you didn't walk all the way back dressed like that!" Artemis's mom scoled, eyeing me up and down. I looked at one of the mirrors behind me. The thin, white dress had stuck to my wet body. Dick looked more of less the same. We both smiled at each other. "Regardless, you got to come with me!" She said, tugging me out of Dick's grasp.

"I'll be back!" I called over my shoulder.

"Meet me at the bar at ten if you can!" Dick replied, being pulled in the other direction. I nodded and winked.

I was led to Artemis's room. When it was unlocked, the entire room was blindingly white. The large, long windows were thrown open as a breeze drifted in. The white curtains were blown in, covering the entire room in an angelic white. The walls, floors, furniture, and ceiling were all the same eggshell color. I was pulled into the large living room.

Lying on the couch, Artemis seemed to drift into the air with the curtains. Her arm was snuggled under her head while the other was draped across her stomach. She stared helplessly up at the chandelier. Her hair was almost platinum in its shade, obviously lighter after being kissed by the sun.

Artemis's mother spun me in. "Help her. She has lost her mind!" 

When I caught my balance, I stood in front of Artemis. She didn't move a muscle or even look at me. She just kept her eyes trained on the ceiling with an uncaring calmness. "What's up Arty?" I asked, sitting on the floor beside her.

"Well, wouldn't you know, I don't want to get married," she said slowly, her voice as monotone as I had ever heard. Her green eyes continued to stare unblinkingly. 

"Kinda late for that now," I chuckled, smiling up at her, "is it Wally?"

"No. It's me."

"What do you mean?" I pried gently. 

With a soft sigh, she blinked, but didn't move. The hesitation was small and almost unnoticed. "I'm pregnant."

I didn't outwardly react. I kept my emotions locked away and matched her aloofness. "How does that change anything?" 

This time, she turned on her side to look me in the eyes. Her green eyes were devoid of emotion of any kind. "I don't think I want to keep it, but Wally does."

"Because of his life before? In the Speedforce?"

"I guess," she commented, flipping back to face the ceiling, "but I don't think I can take that on."

"Did you tell him that?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want it to ruin everything," she sighed, crossing her legs and softly rubbing her stomach, "I don't want us to change. Any of us."

I grinned small to myself. An image of Dick immediately popped into my head. "We have already changed, Artemis. All of us. All of us are different. We aren't dumb teenagers with fucked up childhood anymore. We're adults."

"With fucked up childhoods," Artemis joked, her voice still dead. At least we were making improvement.

"Change isn't a bad thing. In fact, change can bring really good things." My mind reflected on everything before me. I never thought that I would ever find someone to love me after Coda. And then I met Dick. I never thought I would ever find someone who could love me after Dick. And then I met Jason. I never thought Dick would ever love me again. And now, I was enjoying every minute with my soul mate again. "If you live your life running from the inevitable, what do you expect to find?"

I let her ponder on that for a minute. After a small time of thought, Artemis sat up. She hugged her knees. "Can I marry him without a baby?"

I rubbed her knee gently. "Of course."

A grin broke out on her face. "Can you run up to the store and get me some things, then?"

"Of course," I said, jumping to my feet, "anything for the bride."

After we straightened out some small details for the big day, I dried off and slipped on a pair of Artemis's Chucks. I left her with all the girls attending the wedding in the living room watching some action movie. 

Quickly running to the Sex Health center and back, I dropped the sacred pills off inside her private bathroom along with a handwritten letter and her favorite chocolate. I snuck out silently just as the climax of the movie approached. 

Tiptoeing out of the hotel and down onto the beach, I followed the tiki torches that lit up the dark night. Groups of tourists partied hard under the trees. Approaching the bar, I saw the unmistakable shape of Dick Grayson. A girl sat at his side, her arm trailing down his arm. He was clearly uninterested, desperately trying to find escape in his full drink and watch. 

I approached, sitting on the opposite side of him. "Hey," I said. He turned towards me immediately, shoving his lips sloppily onto mine. He pawed at my face until the girl got up and left.

"Sorry about that," he said, embarrassed.

"Its okay. I know you're too nice to tell her to go away," I teased, ordering a drink. His hand fell onto my thigh, rubbing it up and down. I watched him, an eyebrow cocked. "That the only reason you ordered me down here?" I sassed.

He gasped, removing his hand sharply. "Of course not! I just wanted to see you!" He let out a long exhale, running his fingers through his messy hair. "Wally was really freaking out."

I giggled, pressing a kiss to his jaw and neck. "So was Artemis."

"I hope we're not like that," he said, his eyes closing slowly as his hand returned to my thigh, "ya know, when its our turn."

"Dick..." I said against his skin, pulling away, "You know how I feel about that."

He smirked cockily, his hand inching higher and higher. "I swear on my life, Athena Thomas. I will make you Athena Grayson one of these days."

I rolled my eyes. "Keep dreaming, lover boy," I turned back towards the bartender, "another, please."

Dick and I tossed it back, secretly caring out some heavy petting, before neither of us could wait any longer. We walked back to the hotel. Sneaking around like we were on patrol, we made it to our rooms without being stopped by some wedding guest needing the Best Man or the Maid of Honor. 

Once the door was safely locked, Dick rushed forward before I could even slip off my sneakers. He smashed my body against the wall, his lips crashing onto my neck. My arms draped over his shoulders as he held me in the air. My nails trailed down his neck and back. His hands gripped onto my thighs as he bit at the skin near my collarbone. 

"D-Dick," I groaned quietly, pulling his lips up to mine and tugging his hair. With one hand, he held me against the wall, shoving his body against me. With the other, he snaked up underneath my skirt and tugged my silk underwear off. I slid his pants off with my toes. 

No time was wasted. 

~~~~~~~~~YIKES this took forever to update and I'm so sorry! I'll try to establish a consistent update schedule within this month now that it's summer! Hope you guys enjoyed this one and are excited as I am about this new book!~~~~~~~~~