Title is from "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine.

Artemis knows something is wrong the moment she arrives on the Manta-Sub and Kaldur isn't there to greet her. Kaldur is always there to meet her after a mission if he's on the sub, and unless something went wrong with his mission, he should be on the sub by now. Put together, the facts paint a picture that Artemis really hopes is incorrect.

"Tigress," one of Manta's soldiers says when Artemis finishes dismissing her men. "Black Manta is ready for your debriefing."

"Where's Kaldur'ahm?" Artemis demands.

There's a pause for a moment. "Kaldur'ahm has not yet returned from his mission," the soldier finally says.

Artemis forces down the impulse to demand more information. Tigress wouldn't do that, and this soldier probably doesn't know much more than she does. When she goes to Manta, after she debriefs, maybe she can ask him. From the beginning, Manta has believed that Tigress and Kaldur are partners in more than one sense, and given that Manta is surprisingly romantic and supportive of this relationship, neither Artemis nor Kaldur have bothered to try to dispute it. It gives them an excuse to spend time alone together in Kaldur's room, and since Kaldur's room isn't monitored, Manta doesn't ever need to find out that they spend their time in there discussing how best to undermine the partnership between the Light and the Reach rather than doing whatever romantic things he's expecting.

Asking Manta about Kaldur would be in character, so Artemis will do it. But first, she has to find him and debrief.

Manta is in the comm room instead of in his office, which is unusual. "Black Manta," Artemis calls when she walks in. "I was told to report to you for a debriefing."

"Yes," Manta replies, standing. He's not wearing his helmet, and he seems distracted. "Was the mission a success, Tigress?"

"It was. We destroyed the building with minimal difficulty."

"Good. Were any of your men injured?"

"No. There were very few guards."

"Good," Manta says again. Artemis has the feeling that he's not entirely listening to her.

"Sir?" she dares to ask. "I was told that Kaldur'ahm has not yet returned. Have you heard from him?"

Manta's face grows grave. "No."

Manta's presence in the comm room and clear distraction suddenly make a lot more sense. Kaldur should have gotten back from his mission an hour ago. If he were delayed, he should have commed the ship to let them know. The fact that he hasn't…

Manta is evil, but he's actually a pretty caring father. If something has happened to Kaldur, especially so soon after his recovery from M'gann's brain blast, Manta will burn the world down to punish whoever's responsible.

"His mind is fully recovered, is it not?" Manta asks suddenly. Clearly, he and Artemis are thinking along the same lines.

"He seemed fully recovered," Artemis replies, since she can't admit that M'gann brought her into Kaldur's head to help.

Manta's lips thin. "Could the Martian have done something to him while she put his mind back together? The same way she left the trap for Psimon?"

"I don't think so," Artemis replies. She knows M'gann didn't, but she can't explain how she knows without arousing suspicion. She hates all of this undercover work. "But anything's possible."

"Comm Kaldur'ahm again," Manta demands, whirling to face one of his soldiers. "Comm everyone on his team. Find them."

Artemis had never thought she would have anything in common with a villain like Black Manta, but as they wait in the comm room, she knows they're both feeling the same anxious, stomach-twisting worry. If something's happened to Kaldur…

Artemis has been back on the sub for nearly half an hour when the comm finally crackles to life. "This is the Manta Flyer," Kaldur says, sounding exhausted. "The mission is completed. We are on our way back."

Manta lets out a long sign of relief. Artemis reflects that, although Kaldur is also unlucky enough to also have a villain for a father, at least he's lucky enough to have one who cares for his wellbeing.

"Transmitting exact coordinates to the Manta-Sub now," one of the soldiers says, pressing buttons on his terminal. "The Manta Flyer should reach us in approximately twenty minutes."

"Kaldur'ahm," Manta asks, leaning over to speak into the comm. "Are you or any of your men injured?"

"We have a few injuries, but none that are serious," Kaldur replies. "I am sorry for the delay, Father."

And that's just Kaldur all over, Artemis reflects. She knows what he sounds like when he's in pain, and the connection is clear enough for her to pick up the hints. Clearly, the mission hit some unexpected difficulties, and Kaldur is apologizing for it.

"You completed the mission," Manta replies. "You have nothing to apologize for, Kaldur'ahm. We will see you when you reaches the sub."

"Understood. Manta Flyer out."

Manta straightens. "If Kaldur'ahm contacts us again, direct the call to me," he declares. "Tigress, with me."

Artemis falls into step behind Manta as he leaves the comm room. To her surprise, he doesn't go to his office. Instead, he leads her back the way she came, to the docking bay.

Then again, she reflects as Manta goes to the place where the Manta Flyer will dock when it returns, perhaps this isn't a surprise after all.

The Manta Flyer arrives just under twenty minutes later. Kaldur's men leave first, all saluting Manta as they pass. Artemis waits, watching for Kaldur's familiar form.

He's the last one out, and he's limping slightly and clearly battered, but he's alive. Artemis feels a wave of relief so strong it nearly knocks her over.

"Go to him," Manta says. Artemis looks at him in shock, which only increases when she sees the small quirk to his lips. "It's why I brought you here with me, after all."

Artemis doesn't need any more encouragement. She runs up the ramp and pulls Kaldur into an embrace, holding him as tightly as she dares when she knows he's injured but doesn't yet know where. Kaldur makes a surprised noise, then tentatively hugs her back.

"I was worried," Artemis whispers. "I thought…"

"I am alright," Kaldur replies gently. "I am sorry for worrying you."

"Shut up, you idiot," Artemis retorts. She's about to say something more when Manta chuckles from the bottom of the ramp.

"You don't need to hold back on my account," he says, clearly amused. "You know I approve of your relationship."

It takes Artemis a moment to figure out what Manta's implying, then it clicks. Judging by the look on Kaldur's face, he realized it before she did. His expression asks for permission and apologizes all at the same time, and Artemis hopes her expression tells him it's okay.

Kaldur's hands cradle Artemis's face, then he presses a gentle kiss to her lips. Artemis would be lying if she said she'd never thought about kissing Kaldur before (she has eyes, after all, and he's been incredibly attractive since she first met him) and although she was right in thinking it would be tender, she underestimated just how tender it would be. Kaldur kisses her like she's something infinitely precious. She wonders if he kissed Tula like this. For a moment, she wonders how much of it is an act and how much isn't.

For a moment, she traitorously wonders the same thing for her.

When they finally pull apart, Artemis avoids looking Kaldur in the eye. She wraps an arm around his waist, both to give Manta the romantic closeness he expects and also so Kaldur can lean on her instead of putting weight on his bad leg. They make their way down the ramp slowly, to where Manta is waiting at the bottom.

"Kaldur'ahm," he says, his voice rich with relief. "I am glad to see you."

"I apologize for the delay, Father," Kaldur says. "The mission had… complications."

"You said you completed it?"

Kaldur nods. "We did."

"Then that is all that matters," Manta replies. "Go tend to your wounds, Kaldur'ahm. You and Tigress deserve a night of rest."

Kaldur frowns. "But Father, the debriefing?"

Manta puts a hand on Kaldur's shoulder. "You can tell me what happened tomorrow. For now, rest. You did well, my son."

Kaldur inclines his head respectfully. "Thank you, Father."

"Come on," Artemis says, pulling Kaldur towards the door. "Let's get you patched up. Anything bad enough that we need to go to medical?"

"No," Kaldur replies, which Artemis knows is what he would say no matter how bad his wounds are. "I can tend to the wounds myself."

"Sure you can," Artemis replies, leading them to Kaldur's room. "But you don't have to."

Kaldur doesn't say another word until they're in his room and the door is closed. Once they're alone, though, he pulls away from Artemis and walks deeper into the room, carefully keeping his back to her.

"I apologize for before," he says, his words as stiff as the set of his shoulders. "If there were any way to avoid it without my father becoming suspicious-"

"Hey, it's fine," Artemis replies. "Honestly, Kaldur, kissing you is far from the hardest thing I've had to do for this mission."

If anything, that only makes Kaldur stiffen more. "I should not have dragged you into this with me," he says as he begins pulling off his armor.

"That's a load of bull and you know it," Artemis retorts. "First, as if you could drag me into anything I don't want to do. Second, you know you needed the support here, and that's okay. Everyone needs help sometimes." She takes a step forward and helps Kaldur remove his armor, revealing the bruised skin underneath. "Even if you don't like to admit it, because you're probably the most stubborn person I've ever met."

"Clearly I am not as stubborn as you, though," Kaldur says with a hint of amusement in his voice as he sits on the edge of the bed and allows Artemis to take over the task of removing his armor.

"I'm a special case," Artemis teases lightly. "So, how many bandages should I get?"

"I am not badly injured," Kaldur replies. "All I require is rest."

Artemis gives him a look. "I'd give you the benefit of the doubt, except you always say that, and you always need more than just rest."

"My physiology means that I heal far more quickly than humans," Kaldur protests. "I do not-"

Artemis puts a finger over his lips, which only serves to make Kaldur confused. "I've heard it all before, fish boy, and I'm not buying it. Are you gonna tell me how many bandages we're gonna need, or should I just get all this armor off you and figure it out for myself?"

Kaldur looks like he's going to be stubborn again, so Artemis nods to herself. "Take the armor off it is."

"Artemis-"

"Kaldur, you already admitted you're not as stubborn as me. We both know you're not gonna win this one."

Kaldur sighs, sounding fairly overdramatic to Artemis, and allows her to remove his armor piece by piece. The more pieces she removes, the more bruises she finds. One of his knees is starting to swell, which explains why he wasn't putting weight on that leg.

"What happened?" Artemis asks softly.

"I am out of practice," Kaldur replies. "It is what comes of being bedridden for as long as I was."

Artemis looks at him in horror, because that makes sense, of course, but… "I didn't even think of that," she admits quietly.

"It was my own fault," Kaldur says. "I should have been more aware of my own weaknesses."

Artemis sets the last piece of armor down on the floor and sighs. "Well, most of this is just bruises, so I don't know how much I can do."

"The bruises will be gone within a few days," Kaldur replies. "I am fine, Artemis."

"I can get some ice to help with the swelling on your knee," she offers. "I'll be right back."

"Artemis, it's fine-" Kaldur begins, but Artemis has already left the room.

She goes to the mess hall and opens up the freezer, dumping ice cubes into a bag. Considering they're in a submarine, all of the electrical appliances work surprisingly well. She's glad of it.

She doesn't run into anyone on the way back to Kaldur's room, which she's glad of. She'd distinctly less glad when she enters the room and finds that Kaldur isn't there.

"You'd better not have run off," she announces loudly.

"I am going to shower," Kaldur calls from the bathroom. "Am I allowed to do so?"

"I can't believe I used to think you were serious all the time," Artemis groans, sitting on the bed. "You are literally the sassiest person I've ever met."

She hears what sounds like a chuckle from the bathroom, then she hears the shower turn on. Setting the bag of ice on the bedside table, Artemis lies sideways across the bed and lets out a deep sigh.

She's glad of Kaldur's sass, and even more relieved to hear him laugh. This mission is taking a toll on her already, and Kaldur's much deeper in it than she is. She's been undercover for about two and a half months. Kaldur has been undercover for over a year longer than she has. If she's already feeling the strain of it, how can he be coping? And at least she has him. Kaldur has her now, but for over a year, he was alone.

Abruptly, and not for the first time, Artemis is furious with Dick for putting both of them in this situation. She knows Kaldur agreed to the mission, and she knows she did too, but Dick is the one who put it together, who offered it up to them, who sucked them in with the possibility of taking down the Light and their mysterious partner in one fell swoop. They're getting close to it, at least - Kaldur thinks they should have enough evidence to take them down within the month - but just because the mission is close to an end doesn't mean that it'll ever really be over, especially not for Kaldur. You don't finish a mission like this, not really. Artemis doesn't think Kaldur will ever be the same as he was before.

She really, really hates Dick right now.

The sound of the shower cuts off, and a minute later Kaldur steps out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. He looks at her with something like surprise on his face when he notices that she's lying on the bed. "You did not have to wait."

Would it kill you to ask for help for once in your life? she thinks as she sits up, but all she says is, "I think Manta is probably going to be expecting me to stay in your bed tonight."

"You need not if it makes you uncomfortable."

"Kaldur, how many times do we have to go through this? I don't mind sleeping in your bed. I honestly like it. You're a good snuggler, and you never hog the blankets, and you don't snore. I really, really don't mind when I need to stay here overnight." She pauses as a thought occurs to her. "Does it make you uncomfortable?"

Kaldur pulls a set of his pajamas out of his top drawer, then pulls out a set of Artemis's - she keeps a few sets in here for nights like this - and tosses them to her. "In all honesty, I find I sleep better when I am not alone."

Kaldur always has a way of making these things sound so earnest.

"So do I," Artemis replies, quickly stripping out of her costume and into her pajamas. She knows Kaldur won't peek, and the two of them have less worries about nudity in front of each other than they did before Artemis joined Kaldur undercover. They're pretending to be in a relationship and sharing a bed more often than not, after all; being fussy about nakedness isn't really much of an option anymore. "Now, let me see that knee."

"It is not serious," Kaldur protests, but he sits on the bed and allows Artemis to pack the ice around his knee. "Everything should heal within a few days."

"We should spar tomorrow," Artemis offers. "To get you back in shape."

Kaldur smiles. "I look forward to it."

"Right now, you should sleep, though," Artemis adds. "You need to get some rest."

"So do you," Kaldur counters.

"I guess we should get rid of this, then," Artemis says, gathering up the ice and dumping it in the bathroom sink. She goes back to the bedroom and turns the light off, then crawls into bed next to Kaldur.

"I'm glad you're okay," she says quietly. "I was worried."

"I apologize for worrying you."

Artemis slaps Kaldur lightly on the arm. "You don't need to apologize. Just be more careful next time."

It's too dark to see Kaldur's face, but Artemis is pretty sure he's smirking a little. "I will do my best."

"Good." Artemis curls into his side and closes her eyes. "G'night, Kaldur."

"Goodnight, Artemis."

For once, Kaldur falls asleep first, his breathing evening out into a slow rhythm. Artemis curls a little closer around him, her head over his heart to hear its steady beating, and finally, she too falls asleep.