So I've been sitting on this fic for months and totally forgot about it. I came back to it and finally finished it like a boss. Hope you like it. I just really like certain crack pairings.
Disclaimer: DC owns all these characters, not me unfortunately, if I did Supergirl would be in Young Justice already.
Silvery eyes glistened as he watched the girls twitching body, though instead of being snuggled into bed, she was floating several feet in the air, blankets hanging off of her like cascading waterfalls. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie, but the Atlantean seemed completely calm, leaning back in the computer chair tiredly as his gills flared slightly before settling once more.
This was not the first time he had found her like this, it had started a month ago, the male hearing strange noises coming from the blonde's room. When he went to check in on her, she was thrashing about in mid-air violently, and when he attempted to wake her, he was met with a blow to the chest that sent him flying back, narrowly missing the wall. The wind had been knocked out of him, and he was fairly certain one of his ribs had been cracked, but when he regained his bearings Supergirl had been cuddled back into bed as if nothing had happened. He had shrugged it off, assuming it was just a bad dream, but a few nights later it happened again, though this time he was smart enough to stay a safe distance away. The nightmares seemed to be increasing with time and becoming more and more violent—he noted that she would often mumble things in her sleep, but he could never understand them, and after the sixth night he realized that it was her native language.
This was the third night in a row Kara had been having nightmares, and it was the third night where Kaldur had gotten little sleep. They used to be a day or two apart, but now it seemed like they were happening every night. He was hesitant to tell the others about the females sleeping troubles, feeling like it would be an invasion of her privacy, but at the same time he simply could not leave her be. Supergirl could easily topple the entire mountain by accident during one of her episodes, but he had hoped they would let up soon, not progressively worsen. He feared he would have to alert the League about this little problem, and he was beginning to wonder why he had not done it before. He was putting the rest of the team in danger by keeping quiet, but Batman had already been so hesitant about allowing the Kryptonian on the team in the first place. Would he kick her off? She was, technically, posing a threat to the others, even if it was unintentionally. Still, if the nightmares could not be stopped...
His brow creased, a frown creeping across his features, the thought of Supergirl having to leave a particularly distasteful one, even if it was for the good of the team. There was something about her that he found himself drawn too, whether it was the way her eyes seemed to shine when she laughed, or how gentle she was despite her great strength, or even that sad look in her eyes whenever Miss Martian talked about Mars. Physically, she was also very attractive, something that was hard to ignore as her pajama shorts seemed to be rolled up more than normal from her flailing, showing off her smooth, tan skin, the blue tank top with the 'S' shield on the front also hiking up to reveal her toned stomach and side...and, oh god, did she always have those back dimples?
Kaldur shifted positions, closing his eyes briefly and releasing a small breath, feeling suddenly ashamed of himself. Supergirl was his teammate, and as such he should be treating her with respect, not ogling at her, especially when she was so vulnerable. With slow, reluctant movements, he stood, deciding it was time for him to retire to his own room before he was caught. He felt terrible, sneaking around like this, but he just could not form the right words to tell Kara about any of it. Surely she would think lowly of him if she ever found out he had been watching her sleep, and he was unsure whether or not he could convince her that he was merely trying to make sure she did not hurt herself, and lately, he was beginning to wonder if that was the real reason he had been visiting her all along. He always found it hard to be around her when she was awake, but when sleeping...it was different, it felt safer, almost, like he could feign closeness without actually have to get close too her.
Images of Tula flooded his mind and he winced, the wounds still fresh from his friends betrayal—he knew they had not meant him harm, and as much as he wanted to get over it, he still felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he saw the two together. Somehow though, Kara lessened the pain, even if she did not realize it.
Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he heard rustling from behind him, soon followed by several words he did not understand. He turned just in time to see her body lurch violently, her face screwed up into one of pure agony, and the Atlantean felt a twinge of pain in his chest, wishing there was something he could do to comfort her, but if he was not careful, the Kryptonian could easily kill him. Taking a few hesitant steps toward her, he grimaced as she rolled onto her side, curling into a ball and shuddering, her spastic movements causing the blankets to fully slip off her body, falling unceremoniously onto the floor.
"Kara..." his voice was quiet, words gentle, but she did not respond, leg kicking out slightly as she shivered again, causing the blonde haired boy to take another step toward her. He had not noticed it before, but the closer he got, the easier it was to make out her face—her jaw had gone slack and her cheeks were stained with tears, her expression now pitiful.
He seemed to momentarily forget his first encounter trying to wake her up, filling in the gape between himself and her, fingers reaching out to brush against her shoulder, but the lightest touch caused her to start, arm swinging out savagely, causing the male to stumble back, barely dodging the hit. It took the Atlantean a moment to regain his composure before starting forward again, though this time more cautiously. "Kara...Kara wake up," he urged vocally, but still received no response. She was still mumbling, though he could make out some of the words this time.
Murderer
Failure
Worthless
Please
Sorry
Help me
That was all he could stand to hear, his face glazing over in determination as he reached out both arms, wrapping them tightly around the Girl of Steel and bringing her close to him. He winced painfully as she kneed his thigh, feet lifting from the ground as the female seemed to float higher and higher, thrashing about in his grasp, though he was lucky enough to have most of blows miss or nick him. "Kara, please wake up. You are having a bad dream. Everything is fine, do not worry, I will not let anything hurt you."
Her body stiffened suddenly, before going limp, sending them both hurtling toward the ground. Instinctively Kaldur drew her closer, eyes snapping shut in anticipation for the impact, clenching his teeth as his back made contact with the floor. He gasped involuntarily, his grip tightening around Kara, who seemed to groggily be awakening. Masking his pain, he slowly sat up, cradling the blonde in his arms, crystal blue eyes peering up at him in confusion, but a look of relief washed over her countenance almost immediately. "Oh my God Kaldur I..." she was unable to finish her sentence, words being replaced with a strangled sob as she suddenly buried her face into his chest, arms wrapping around his middle.
One arm slid around her waist, subconsciously bringing her closer, while he soothingly began to run his fingers through her hair, his body suddenly feeling ten times warmer than it normally did. "Kara?" He spoke her name for the umpteenth time that night, but this time she twitched, turning her face just enough to mumble something incoherently before another sob seemed to rack her body. Silence fell between them, though it was interrupted by a light rasp at the door. "Kara? Are you alright?" It was Megan, her usually cheery voice laced with concern. "Conner and I heard weird noises coming from your room..." she continued, but her words tapered off.
Supergirl had pulled away from him slightly, scrubbing furiously at her face, but just as she was about to answer, the door flew open, the bulking figure of Superboy coming into view. "Conner!" Megan shouted in disapproval, causing the Kryptonian's frown to deepen. "She's crying," he said bluntly, and it took the Martian a moment to squeeze into the room. "Hello Megan! Of course she was crying—what else could those noises have been! Kara are you alright? Do you want me to make you some—Kaldur?" she paused mid-sentence, blinking in confusion at the Atlantean who was currently detaching himself from the Girl of Steel, who seemed to be shying away from everyone, having found her fallen blanket and quickly wrapping it around herself, attempting to hide her disheveled appearance.
"Greetings M'gann, Conner," he spoke evenly, moving to stand up and restraining himself from cringing as a jolt of pain shot up his spine. "Kara is...fine. She was suffering from a nightmare, that is all. I do not believe she wishes to be disturbed—"
"Then why are you here?" Superboy snapped, staring at Kaldur'ahm accusingly.
"I was merely checking on her, much like yourself," he explained calmly, but obviously that was not the answer Superboy had been looking for, his mouth opening to shoot out another question, but he stopped when Megan laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come on Conner, we should let Kara rest. You can ask questions in the morning...?" her tone was hopeful, glancing between the three before her eyes landed on the raven haired male. He looked rather reluctant, throwing the Atlantean another glare before shrugging off the Martians hand, stalking away. "I hope you feel better Kara! Goodnight you two!" Miss Martian called cheerily over her shoulder, throwing Supergirl another sympathetic look before telepathically closing the door, leaving the two alone again.
"Your rib is broken." It was not a question.
Silver eyes widened in surprising, turning to face the blonde once again, though he could only see part of her face, the rest of her being huddled beneath the safety of the covers. "It is nothing," he assured, but that was obviously not the right thing to say, the ball of Kryptonian curling into herself more. "It's my fault," she muttered softly, guiltily. "It is fine," he attempted to reassure her again, but even through the darkness he could make out the tears that had started once more. "No it's not fine. I always seem to hurt people, even when I try to help them. I just..." she seemed to shrink even more, her hands digging into the sheets, knees drawn to her chest protectively. Her head was bowed as several more hot tears spilled down across her cheeks, and with each passing moment she felt more pathetic and more ashamed of herself.
Here she was, bawling like some emotionally disturb child, and over what? A bad dream. Well, she supposed the problem stemmed from something much deeper, but how could she explain it without sounding like she was complaining? Maybe that's exactly what she was doing though, and part of her felt she had every right to be upset, after all people crumbled over much less than what she had gone through...but she was a hero, a Supergirl, and Supergirls don't cry. No, she was being ridiculous and needed to get a grip. It was just a bad dream, a distant memory, she had a new home now, a new family...it, well, it was not the same, and she would be lying to herself if she said she did not miss her old home, but they were nice to her here (well, most of them). They cared about her, and that would just have to be good enough. No, it was good enough.
With one last sniffle, she wiped away the tears, slowly standing, blanket still wrapped around her body as she regarded the Atlantean who was standing in her room awkwardly. He looked like he wanted to hug her, but hesitated, causing Kara to smile very faintly. Always the gentleman she thought fondly, arms spreading wide for the male, who seemed to brighten marginally, arms circling around her dainty waist and drawing her close. Her face pressed into his chest, breathing in deeply, and she could feel him rest his cheek upon the crown of her head. The embrace only lasted a few beats before they pulled apart, albeit a bit reluctantly, and Supergirl found herself rubbing at her bloodshot eyes, staring up at him mutely.
"I...should retire for the night," Aqualad said slowly, though it was obvious he did not want to go, and Kara felt a twinge of panic fill her, resisting the urge to grab him. "What about your rib?" she spoke quickly, and the urgency in her voice made her flush slightly.
"It is fine, Kara, I will have someone look at it in the morning. Kryptonian's are not the only resilient ones," he spoke evenly, his voice bordering teasing, and she felt herself smile slightly despite herself. "Of course...I...uh," she shifted uncomfortably, but she was soon hushed, being drawn in for another quick hug, though this time she could feel the males lips pressing into her forehead. Her face was surely on fire now, glancing at him through her lashes, to flustered to stare at him directly. "Goodnight, Kara," his voice was smooth and sweet and soothing and sexy and—did she just say sexy? Oh god.
"N-night," she managed out, waving pathetically as he exited the room quietly, though not before throwing her another one of his silvery glances, causing butterflies to rise in the pit of her stomach. The blonde groaned when he was out of earshot, collapsing onto her bed dramatically and shoving her face into her pillow, body sagging noticeable. "Good job Kara. He probably thinks you're an emotional freak now, just to polite too say it," she grumbled to herself sadly, rolling onto her back and blinking up at the darkness. It did not take her long to fall asleep again, the earlier stress having taken its toll, and while no more nightmares plagued her that night, she still could not stop thinking about a certain dark skinned Atlantean that seemed to good to be true.
Kaldur sat at the foot of his bed, sighing into his hands heavily, mentally cursing his cowardice. He had several opportunities to kiss the Kryptonian, but had not taken any of them. He was fearful she would not accept his affections, or worse, return them, like Tula. That she merely saw him as the leader of the team, and was oblivious to his infatuation he had been trying to hide. How could he, though? She was a very beautiful girl, and for someone who had gone through so much, she was very strong. She was different from some of the other hero's—she did what she did because it was the right thing, not because she wanted to help. She just...wanted to be the kind of person who wanted to help.
Maybe he would talk to King Orin about his troubles when he saw his mentor next, but for now, sleep was calling to him, even despite his mind racing in a million directions.
As he settled himself, he could not help but wonder how different things would have been if he stayed back in Atlantis. Perhaps Tula and him would be together...perhaps he would have never met any of the team, only knowing them from the stories his King would tell. Then again, he had met the team, and Tula was with Garth now. Things could have been so much different for him, but they weren't, and he had accepted that, embraced it, even. This was his family now, and one day he hoped to introduce them to his home.
As he drifted off, flashes of sunny blonde hair and bright blue eyes haunted him in the best, and worst ways possible. Perhaps it was time to forget the past and look to the future.
Bam, finished. I'm not completely happy with the ending, but I felt like it would be awkward if I ended it with Supergirl so I added this stuff about Kaldur. Hope you enjoyed it.