Chapter Text
Artemis was halfway through her usual morning routine—hair a mess, coffee mug in hand, sleep still clinging to her brain—when she wandered into Wally’s room.
She reached for the light switch.
“Morning, troublemaker. Hope you didn’t melt the rug again—”
She froze.
Wally—baby Wally—wasn’t baby-sized anymore.
Instead, a bright-eyed, ginger-haired toddler with the same mischievous grin, gripping the crib railing with pudgy hands and bouncing slightly on his bare feet.
“Buh-buh!” he chirped, proud as anything.
Artemis dropped her coffee.
“WALLY?!”
He jumped. Literally. His tiny legs launched him straight up into the air like a frog on a trampoline before he landed with a triumphant flop, laughing as if nothing was remotely out of the ordinary.
Artemis gaped like a fish. Then scrunched her face and pointed a shaky accusatory finger at him. “Nope! You were a baby yesterday! I am not dealing with any of this Speed Force accelerated growth nonsense this early!”
Wally just giggled and wobbled upright again, cooing happily and holding his arms up like he wanted a hug. Or possibly to do parkour off the walls. Hard to say.
He gave her that familiar look—the one that said you missed me, didn’t you?—and even though he couldn’t speak yet, Artemis could practically hear the smug little “heh” in his brain.
“Oh no. No no no,” she muttered, still pointing at him. “You do not get to just skip entire months of infancy and act like it’s cute.”
Wally giggled and threw his arms over the crib rail. He bounced—poorly—and nearly tipped over the side.
Artemis lunged forward and caught him. Wally cooed hugged her around the neck in gratitude, burying his little new-toddler face in her neck.
Artemis sighed, rocking him slightly, “I don’t even own toddler clothes yet.”
He patted her face with both hands, drooled slightly, and squeaked, “Mah!”
“…Are you trying to say ‘Mom’? Or ‘my bad’?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. It was probably both.