Young Justice Oneshots

Safe and Sound: Part One (Cheshroy)

Song is Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft The Civil Wars

A/N This is the same day as the ending of Depths is. I thought about this oneshot recently and decided to write it. Hope it's good. Also, I love this song.

Roy

I opened the door reluctantly. I so didn't want to tell Jade about Arty. But I didn't really have a choice. Someone had to tell her, and I was the best option. "Jade," I called quietly.

"Yeah, Red?" My beautiful wife asked me. I looked at one year old Lian, who sat on the floor in her little white nightgown, playing. She would have no idea what was going on. I felt bad. She wouldn't understand why she wouldn't see her beloved Auntie Arty again.

"I have some bad news," I said, trying not to cry.

"What is it?" She asked suddenly concerned.

I sighed. "It's about your sister... She-she's..."

Jade's eyes, which were currently gray, like her sister's usually were, went wide. I thought about those eyes. Both Jade and Artemis' eyes changed color. Jade's changed from gray to brown, and Arty's could be gray, or brown just like her older sister's, but hers could also be blue. Or, at least, they used to be able to be. "She's what?" She said, worry filling her voice.

"She's dead. She died on that mission in Cape Canaveral. That traitor Aqualad killed her." My voice broke. To think that traitorous murderer had been my best friend.

Jade looked stunned. Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away. "Of course she had to die the death she was terrified of dying. Of course my untrusting baby sister had to die at the (bad word-ing) hands of one of the only people she trusted. Of course. This is why she didn't trust people. Because they usually stab her in the back! Dad did, I did, now the guy who was like an older brother to her does. And he had to actually go and literally kill her!" Jade sounded furious. I didn't blame her. I was on the I-want-to-rip-Aqualad-to-shreds squad too. As was the entire team and the majority of the League as well. "I'm gonna kill him!" She yelled. "If you anyone ever catches the traitorous, good for nothing, motherf***ing, son of a b****), I call dibs! He's mine. I get to kill him. I will kill him!" I knew she meant it. I wasn't even gonna object. In fact I was gonna do the opposite.

"Make sure that it's the most slow, painful, torturous thing you can possibly do," I said. Arty had been like my annoying little sister. Then she was my annoying little sister in law. And now she's dead. And it's Kaldur's fault.

"Of course," She snapped. There were still tears in her usually piercing eyes. "Come on, Li-Li. It's time for bed." She picked up our daughter and put her in her playpen.

"Mama?" Lian asked. "Wha wan?" A/N I shall translate any baby talk with author's notes. This means 'what's wrong?'.

"Nothing you need to know now. Go to sleep."

"But I no sle-"

I cut her off with a look. She understood looks well, especially for such a small person. She didn't continue her original sentence.

"Yah, Mama," She said instead, laying down and pretending to go to sleep. Jade shook her head at her.

Jade went to her own dresser, and pulled out a t-shirt and shorts. She changed into them and laid on our bed. I changed too and climbed in with her. I wrapped my arms around her. I didn't bother to ask if she was ok. I knew that she wasn't. I wasn't, so there was no way that she was. I gently kissed the side of her head. "I love you, Jade," I told her.

"I love you, too, Roy," She said quietly. "But, can we not talk?" A tear trickled down the bridge of her nose.

"Of course," I replied gently, "Try to sleep, ok?" She didn't answer. A few minutes later, I was asleep.

A couple hours later

I woke up to the beautiful sound of Lian wailing. Jade got up and carried her back to our bed. They sat on the side of the bed, Jade rocking her. Lian kept fussing. Jade cut on the little radio by our bed, which we had because Li liked music. A new song started and Jade started to sing along. She almost never sang, but she was really good. The same had applied to her sister. The thought of Artemis made me sad again. I noticed Jade started to cry while she sang. I wondered why.

Jade

The Taylor Swift song Safe and Sound started playing. Even the first lines of the song made me think of my little sister as I quietly sang along to the radio as Li stopped crying. And then I started crying. The lyrics just made memories I had with Arty, both good and bad, visit me.Start of flashbacks

I remember tears streaming down your face when I said, "I'll never let you go"

This was a long forgotten memory. Arty wasn't any older than two, so I must've only been about six. Dad was making us take a swim in the ocean, which Arty, being a toddler, had never done in her life. She could barely even swim in the calm water of a pool, let alone the choppy, ever-moving ocean.

She clutched my hand so tight that it hurt bad and was as white as snow. Much like Artemis' pale face. She was so scared that she was crying. And even though she was only a toddler, she wasn't easily brought to tears. "Don't wet go of me!" She begged. "Don't wet go, Jadie Sissy! Pwease!"

"I won't," I promised her. "I'll NEVER let you go, Arty Silly!"

"Pwomise?" She asked.

I gave her a huge grin that was worthy of the Cheshire Cat. "I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." I said, making her giggle. We played and she stopped being scared.

When all those shadows almost killed your light

No specific memory there, but it suited my little sister.

I remember you said, "don't leave me here alone"

I saw third grade Artemis. "Don't leave me here alone!" She cried as I packed my bag, never to return to live in that godforsaken apartment .

End of flashbacks

But all that's dead and gone and passed, tonight

In more ways than just that it was in the past and history, now.

Just close your eyes. The sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now

God, at least that was true. You know, unless... I got a sickening feeling in my gut. Unless religious people were right and if you weren't religious you wouldn't go to heaven when you die. That couldn't be right. Not many people deserve heaven as much as my little sis does. There was no way any god out there would bar my sister from heaven. Right?I shrugged it off. 'You're being ridiculous, Jade," I scolded myself. 'You're not religious! You know religion is stupid!' I still felt sorta worried anyway.

A/N There will be a part two! I promise!