A/N: I do not own Young Justice
Where are we going?
Why?
Why are you going?
Why are we growing apart?
We should be growing together
Right?
-Jhene Aiko, Growing Apart Too
Artemis drew circles on Kaldur's chest with her fingertips in the late afternoon, loving how warm his skin felt. She heard him groan quietly and smiled. He was finally waking up. He mumbled incoherently and she kissed his chest before trailing up to his shoulders before kissing his neck then his face.
"You are going to make me starve." He mumbled with his eyes closed. She laughed and he opened his eyes. His mood was automatically lifted at the sight of her smile and he returned it. She placed her head on his chest before sighing contently.
"Now I know my favorite place to make love with you." She said softly. "Who knew it would be the shoreline." Kaldur shrugged.
"It's fitting. It's right where land and sea meet." He told her.
"True." She agreed. "And we were out there for hours and then before that…" She kissed him lightly on the lips. "You, sir, have great stamina." Kaldur grinned.
"I'm glad you could keep up." He said, kissing her again. Artemis cupped his face and deepened it. Artemis could feel Kaldur's smile against her lips and she started to grin too, although it did make it hard to kiss him. They kissed for a few moments, letting their hands explore each other. But there wasn't an urgency that usually came with it. There was desire but contentment as well. They both were comfortable just holding each other.
And that felt amazing.
"We should go out." Artemis said when they stopped.
"Finally?" Kaldur mumbled against her shoulder, kissing it.
"Yes, finally." Artemis said, rolling her eyes but smiling anyway. "Although that might be hard, considering we're on a deserted island."
"There's another island nearby. Maybe an hour on jet ski." He told her.
"Aw, man. More jet ski driving?" Kaldur chuckled, practically hearing the pout in her voice.
"I'll drive." He told her, kissing her mouth one more time. "Now get dressed." Artemis smiled at him before climbing out of bed. Kaldur watched as she sashayed to the bathroom. Artemis felt his eyes on her and walked a little slower so that he could admire her. She posed in the doorway, pursing her lips as if she were a model. He laughed at her silliness.
"Get dressed or we'll never leave!" He said. Artemis shrugged.
"Fine." She said before bounding over to the bed and kissing him soundly, so quick Kaldur didn't have time to react or pull her closer. "But for the record, you take longer in the bathroom." She said before getting up and going to the bathroom. Kaldur shook his head before relaxing in the bed. Then he realized that he was still smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled so much. He sighed. This is why I love her, he thought as he stood up to make them breakfast.
"That carnival was amazing!" Artemis said to Kaldur excitedly as he docked the jet ski. He climbed up on the port before turning around to help Artemis out. She wrapped her arm around his waist and he put his arm around her shoulder. "We should definitely go back." Kaldur laughed, delighted to see her like this. He saw the twinkle in her eyes and could tell she was already reminiscing.
They didn't leave until the late afternoon and by the time they reached the island; the sun was beginning to set. Artemis remembered the first thing she saw: the lights. Rows and rows of light outlining the carnival rides. She couldn't help but gasp at the sight as Kaldur found a place for them to get off. They were soon wandering through the front gate, the smell of candy and greasy food filling the air. They rode every ride, finding them either dizzy or full of adrenaline by the time they got off. In between rides, they would explore the booths that scared all around them. One including the baseball toss.
"3 chances for 3 dollars!" The vendor announced. "Step right up! 3 chances for 3 dollars!" Artemis giggled as they started to pass him. "Hey! How about you, young man? Wanna win a prize for your girl? 3 chances for 3 bucks!" Kaldur paused as he looked at the booth curiously. The game looked simple enough…he looked down at Artemis and smirked.
"I'll let her take a shot at it." He told the vendor. The vendor looked at him, baffled by the response before shrugging as Kaldur placed three dollars down.
"Step right up, little lady." The vendor said. "All you have to do is try and knock off all the bottles and you get the big prize." He instructed as he gave her three baseballs. Artemis aimed carefully before throwing the baseballs in a series of quick throws, knocking off the bottle down in perfect succession. The vendor gapped at her. Artemis smiled sheepishly.
"Archery," she said as an explanation. "I want that one." She pointed to a large sea otter. She held it tightly to her chest adoringly.
"It so cute!" She said as she grabbed Kaldur's hand.
"Very," Kaldur agreed. Artemis smiled at him before spotting a little boy at another booth. He had black hair with bright brown eyes and wore a striped shirt.
"Please," He begged the vendor. "I promised my sister I would get her a big one."
"Sorry, kid. You didn't hit enough targets. Maybe next time." The vendor told him.
"Yeah," The kid said glumly before walking over to the nearest bench defeated. Artemis paused she saw this before frowning.
"Artemis?" Kaldur called but she ignored him as she approach the kid. She sat next to him. The kid pouted at his shoes, paying her no attention.
"Hey, kid," Artemis greeted gently. The kid looked up at her, looking at her curiously before frowning again.
"Hi." He said.
"What's wrong?" She asked. The kid sighed.
"I wanted to get my sister a prize because her birthday is coming up but I can't win any games and I ran out of money." He explained. Artemis' heart went out to the kid, her heart softened at his obvious care for his sister. Artemis tried to think of ways to cheer him up when she got an idea. She pouted before putting her sea otter in between.
"That sucks." She said. He nodded before noticing her disappointed expression.
"What are you sad about?" He asked. Artemis feigned a disappointed sigh before pointing at Kaldur, who was waiting patiently for her a few feet away.
"You see that guy?" She asked the kid.
"Yeah,"
"He says I have too many plushies and won't let me Ollie here." She gestured to her prize. "I have to find him a good home or else I'll have to throw him away." She pretended to think before smiling. "Hey, do you think you're sister will want him?" The kid's eyes widened before nodded energetically.
"Yeah!" He exclaimed. "She loves seeing the sea otters at the aquarium."
"Perfect!" Artemis said, holding out the sea otter. But just as the kid went to grab it, Artemis pulled Ollie back to her chest. "But you have to promise me she'll take care of him. He's really…" She trailed off as she looked at Kaldur who was helping a kid that seem to have fallen. She watched as he made the little girl laugh and Artemis' heart softened at the sight. "He's really special to me." Artemis finished. "So you promise?"
"Promise!" The kid exclaimed. She giggled before handing him the sea otter. "Thanks." The kid said quickly before getting off the bench and scampering away. Artemis watched him go before making her way back to Kaldur, who was looking her with a smile.
"That was nice of you." He commented, She punched his arm playfully.
"Hey, I can be nice!" she said while he laughed. She looped her arm in his. "Besides I have my own sea otter." Kaldur grimaced.
"Please tell me that's not a new pet name." Artemis smirked before nuzzling his face.
"Aw, is my little sea otter upset. Aw." Kaldur jerked away from her and she laughed. He rolled his eyes before wrapping his arm around her waist. She kissed his cheek affectionately. "This is why you love me." Kaldur couldn't help the smile that came to his face.
"Maybe." He relented. He felt something tug his hand and he looked down. It was the little girl he helped before.
"Are you good at games?" She asked.
"Depends on the game, I guess." Kaldur answered.
"Can you win me a prize? Please, please, please!" Artemis tried not to laugh and could the mental "aw". The little girl was so cute.
"Okay." Kaldur said.
"Yay!" The girl exclaimed before grabbing his hand and leading him to a booth. Artemis laughed at the sight before catching up to him.
"I like your new girlfriend. She's pretty." Artemis teased. Kaldur raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. I am never going to live this one down, he thought as he paid for the game. But he didn't mind since it only took him one try to get the little girl a prize, a stuffed bear. He was surprised by the hug the little girl gave him before she went back to her mom.
"Aw, over already?" Artemis said. Kaldur sighed.
"Good things never last long." He said. "It's a shame. She was one of the prettiest girls I've ever dated." His face was serious but Artemis saw the amusement in his eyes.
"Shut up." She said, moving to shove him. He caught her wrist and pulled her to him. She opened her mouth to protest when he kissed her. She relaxed as he cupped her face. She gripped his shirt, kissing him back. Her lips were fervent on his while his were lazy but somehow it worked. He pulled away and wrapped his arms around her.
"Come on." He said, "Let's go on another ride." Artemis nodded as he let them to the nearest ride.
It was well past midnight when they finally finished riding all the rides and visiting every booth. Kaldur couldn't remember the last time he ate so much junk food or stayed out so long. But it was also the most fun he's had in a long time. They rode their favorite rides again until they closed along with most of the booths and ended with the Farris Wheel at dawn, watching the sunrise at the very top.
They stumbled out the carnival in high spirits but tiredly. They spotted a furniture store and stole a few hours of sleep in one of the beds in the back before the owner kicked them out. They made their way to the dinner nearby and ate a quick breakfast before riding back.
"We have to go back." Artemis said. "Do you know how long its going to be there?"
"I know for at least the rest of the week." Kaldur told her as they walked along the beach.
"Then we should go back at least one more time before we leave. When did you say you were coming back?"
"In two weeks."
"I said a few days…I guess I could call Zatanna and tell her it'll be a little longer." Artemis mused.
"I'm sure that'll be fine." Kaldur said. "Gives us a few more days of peace before we get back.
"Speaking about going back…" Artemis trailed off hesitantly. "I just…I think we should hold off telling the team about us." Artemis said. Kaldur scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. Everything had been going so great. They had been happy and Kaldur had been looking forward to going back with Artemis. It was clear that their feelings for each other were real.
So why wait anymore?
"Why?" He asked.
"Well with everything going on and with Wally's anniversary coming up…" Artemis trailed off when she felt Kaldur's fingers let go of hers. She stopped walking and turned to him, finding him three feet away from her. He was looking out at the ocean. "Kaldur?"
He was quiet for a while, trying to process everything she just said. Wally. Almost a year had past and he was still a factor in their relationship. Did they not have a good time? Was it not only hours ago they were sleeping after a full day of being together in every sense of the word? After everything—their mission underwater, Kaldur's father dying, Artemis rejoining the team—how was it that it still came down to only Wally's death holding them back? And then it hit him.
Her guilt is holding her back, he realized, and is the reason why she will never truly choose you.
"Kaldur." Artemis called again.
"You cheated on Wally with me." He said. Artemis recoiled from him as if his words had physically hit her.
"Kaldur-"
"I betrayed my best friend. More than that, I had an actual relationship with you and fell for you while doing it." He looked at her, his gaze sharp with hurt. "You fell for me. And we still betrayed him even when we didn't have an excuse to do it. We knew what we were doing but we didn't care. I betrayed my best friend and you cheated the love of your life. We betrayed him and now he's gone! It happened!"
"Why are you saying this?" Artemis said nervously, not use to seeing Kaldur angry like this. Not use to seeing him hurt like this…
"Because we never say it." Kaldur seethed. "And I am tired of being your biggest secret and I tired of you acting like we never happened or that we were a mistake. We were a choice. One that you made just as willingly as I did." Artemis crossed her arms defensively, as if she was trying to protect herself from Kaldur's verbal assault. How dare he say all this when she was trying to respect death! Out of everybody, she thought he would understand the most.
"Fine. Yes, we happened. Yes, I chose to cheat on Wally with you. Twice. What is the point of you saying this now? Because you're mad I want to wait out of respect?" She asked defensively.
"You're not doing this out of respect." Kaldur snapped, walking up to her. "You're doing this because you're scared and feel guilty. You mourn him as if that will take away the fact that you cheated. And you're stopping us as some kind of punishment to yourself because of what you did. What we did…I'm not going to punish myself anymore. I love you. I want to be with you. And I'm not going to wait anymore." Artemis stared at him in shock. She didn't expect this backlash or the implied ultimatum.
They stared each other down, trying to see who would give first. But by the fire in Kaldur's eyes, she could tell it wouldn't be him. Choose him! Her mind screamed. Don't let him get away! What are you doing? Artemis shut the voice out as she tried to think clearly. But her mind was too crowded and the next thing she knew, she was already speaking.
"I am not disrespecting Wally like that." She said defiantly. "I refuse." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wanted to put them back. Kaldur's eyes widened before any fight he had left his body, the spark extinguishing in his eyes. Lights out. No! Her mind shouted. But it was too late. Her words hung between them like a heavy curtain. And there was no lifting it.
"Then I guess there's no point of you being here, is there." He said quietly. Artemis bit her lip as the full weight of his words sat right on top of her chest. She wanted to apologize or fine something—anything—that made this right. But she knew there was nothing left to say. So she turned wordlessly back to the cabin to get her things.
Kaldur turned away as she walked back, refusing to follow her. It was hard to breathe as he realized her choice. She chose Wally. That was her finally decision. He closed his eyes as he thought of all the people he had lost in the last five years of his life. His first love, his best friend, his father…he wondered if he was destined to care about people that would only leave him. But this…this was a pain he wasn't use to. It hurt worst than the rest. It mattered more than the rest. But as bad as it felt, he knew he could endure. He had to. He walked farther down the beach before sitting down and watching the waves roll on the shore. Still, as strong as he was, he didn't turn around. He could take a lot, that fact being proved over and over again.
But he refused to watch Artemis walk away from him.
