Then all of a sudden, I heard a note

It started in my chest and ended in my throat

Then I realized, then I realized, then I realized

I was swimming,

Yes, I was swimming.

By the month of March; after what felt like an eternity undercover, Kaldur had began to feel weighed down by the heavy burden he had elected to carry. The days, weeks and months had began to blur together into endless dark blue, like the sea. When Nightwing had informed him that he was bringing Artemis into the fold; Kaldur had been concerned to say the least.

But as soon as he had Artemis' presence by his side, his heart seemed to lighten. The sea wasn't infinite blue anymore, but varying shades of indigo and royal blue with highlights of emerald that would shift with the shafts of light breaking through the surface. His life wasn't seamless lies anymore, but conspiring looks between him and his only present ally, that kept him going and reminded him of his purpose.

Just looking at Artemis reminded him of happier times, when it was just the six of them and they managed to escape every mission unscathed, even after blowing everything up. Just him, her and maneuver 7; of course the maneuver had become more complex over time and harder to pull off, but together they would manage.

Sharing the burden with her made it thousands of pounds lighter. He could see how the mission affected her, how much she missed Wally, and it gave him renewed vigor to be stronger, to be her leader once more.

Some nights when she couldn't sleep without the feel of Wally's body next to her, she would sneak to Kaldur's room and silently get under the covers. Kaldur always acted like he was asleep when this happened, but when her breath would even and she slept better than she had in weeks, she gave him solace.

Rumors of Tigress and Manta's 'secret tryst' spread around the claustrophobic ship quickly. They didn't mind; it was an excuse to spend more time together, relying on one another to keep sane. They fell easily into battle, besides one another constantly, conscious of each others back. They regularly took down most of the heroes together, going as easy as possible.

Once Artemis figured out that he was never really sleeping when she snuck in, they would stare up at the ceiling and remind each other of all the things they had waiting for them back home.

"Stanford" Artemis would start.

"The Cave" Kaldur would continue.

"My Dog" Artemis smiled in the dark.

"The Team" Kaldur smiled too

"Vietnamese food" Artemis practically groaned.

"Anything that isn't seafood" Kaldur added

"You were raised on sea food, you should be used to this" Artemis would argue.

"Yes but pizza and chinese food grows on one quickly" he'd counter and she would laugh.

"Wally" Artemis would sigh

"My mother" Kaldur would smile at her memory now that he had someone to share it with.

"My mother's going to kill me" Artemis would groan and Kaldur would turn his head on the pillow to look at her

"No I don't think so" he would hum sincerely, Artemis would face him tucking her hands under her face. "I think she will be greatly relieved"

"Thanks Kal" she sighed closing her eyes. "Now lets try and get some sleep before they start questioning why we don't get enough sleep"

"I doubt that anyone questions that" Kaldur commented.

"You are so much sassier down here" Artemis chuckled

"Hometown advantage" Kaldur murmured, already partially asleep.

They both dreamed of the day when they could give up the ruse and head home after saving another day. Till then, it was just him, her and maneuver 7.

Hope you liked it!

Swimming by Florence and the Machine