AN: High school graduation tomorrow! Summer, here I come!
Disclaimer: And no.
Talk
It's the first time seeing the Team while he and Artemis are a couple, and Cam isn't really sure how it's going to go. He hasn't told anyone, and if it were up to him, no one would know. Not that he wants to keep it a secret, but…there's Wally to think about. Even though Wally and Artemis broke up on their own terms, weeks before, and even though Artemis is the one who approached him about a relationship, and even though Wally is his friend, it's still weird and probably some sort of violation of the bro-code.
At soon as Artemis enters the Cave, though, keeping their relationship on the down-low is not going to happen. Right away, she slips her hand into his, and the goofy grin and bubbling warmth he gets from this overpower his desire to play it off as no big deal. They barely step into the arena when the girls start to clap. "The new couple is here!" Zatanna cheers.
"You told them?" Cam whispers to Artemis.
"Of course. You didn't tell any of the guys?"
"Not really."
"But…oh. Right."
They both glance at Wally, who is failing at his attempt to be nonchalant because the slight narrowing of his eyes is far more prominent than the smile on his face. That's the look he gets when he's trying to figure something out, and Cam can only imagine what he's thinking.
"So, when did this happen?" Robin asks.
"After the party," Artemis explains, gently pulling Cam into the circle, between Zatanna and Raquel.
"So once we all left?" Raquel seems insulted. "Girl, this is something you do in front of everyone! It's a big deal! And we have to wait a whole day before you tell us of this massive event? Unbelievable!"
"Hey, you got told a day later?" Connor jumps in. "This is the first time I'm hearing about it."
"Same," Robin and Wally agree simultaneously while Kaldur nods.
"I left telling the guys as Cam's job."
Cam turns to his girlfriend (and he still can't fully process that he's using that word to describe Artemis), shocked at the betrayal. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he tries to explain, "I didn't, you know, think it was that important of an event. Nothing truly text-worthy. Besides, I knew that Connor still struggles with the little buttons on his cell phone, and I could only imagine him getting angry while responding, then going on a rampage screaming, 'Connor smash!' and all in all, it just seemed a better plan to tell you in person."
Connor glares but has no time to respond. Zatanna thoughtfully comments, "You know, I kind of sensed this was coming."
And maybe in any other situation, that wouldn't be a big deal, but considering that Artemis had previously been with Wally…well, it's threatening to open up a can of worms Cam would prefer to keep closed.
"As did I," Kaldur adds, in his solemn leader voice, and it sounds much more like a statement of undeniable facts that a mere prediction.
"You did? Huh, I just thought it kinda came out of the blue." He wonders if they hear his voice squeaking.
"There were vibes," Megan says.
It's hard to determine if she means vibes in the abstract sort of sense or literal brainwave sensations that she could read, but either way, it causes Wally to tuck his hand under his chin to further process what's going on.
Thankfully, Dinah walks in at that moment, and training is underway. All discussion of the newest couple ends as rounds of combat practice begin, and Cam thinks he's saved from the topic.
Unfortunately, after everyone has cleaned up, the Team gravitates toward the living room, and him and Artemis are on the hot seat.
"Who approached who?" Megan questions.
"I approached him."
"How was the first date?" Zatanna asks.
"Wait, there was a first date already?" Robin shakes his head. "Cam, seriously, you tell us nothing! I thought we were friends!"
Cam just shrugs sheepishly while Artemis explains, "It was good."
"Just good?" Raquel clicks her tongue. "Cam, Cam, Cam, you are going to have to work on that."
"It was better than good!" he indignantly protests. He turns to Artemis. "Right?"
"It was amazing," she amends, kissing him.
Heat burns his cheek, and he feels that smile crossing his face. Then he remembers that he's talking about his relationship right in front of Wally, who was with Artemis for nine months, who loved her probably as much as he does, and this guilt floods over him. He shouldn't feel guilty because he hasn't done anything wrong (right?), but he can't shake off this nagging emotion.
"Will you two get a room?" Robin demands loudly. "Really, so disgusting, you with your rampant hormones!"
"Oh, you want to play that game, small fry? Last time I checked, you spendhalf your time swapping spit with your own girlfriend! Not to mention those little escapades in your room."
Scarlet stains the acrobat's face, and amidst the snickering of his friends, he stammers, "I, it's not, I'm just showing her stuff on my computer!"
"Oh, that's just disgusting! You are far too young for that!"
"Cam! Ew, you're so gross!"
"Alright, alright, alright, you can play your head games at a later time." Raquel leans back in her chair. "What we all really want to know is how good a kisser he is."
Artemis smirks coyly. "Can't complain."
Cam's chest swells with pride—because Hell, if he waited eighteen years for his first kiss, he deserves to be called a good kisser—but the moment implodes when Raquel presses, "The best you ever had?"
As soon as she says it, she seems to realize the implications because she clamps her hand over her mouth. It's too late, though, and the question lingers like a pestilence in the air. Wally shifts uncomfortably in his chair and stares at the floor. The rest of the Team glances between members, no one sure where this is going. Artemis, after a moment, replies quietly, "He was up there."
It's a compromise answer, but the mood has shifted enough that the conversation changes to school. After a while, the group breaks down, members leaving for various reasons; Artemis is among them, telling Cam that she has to head home for just an hour to help her mom out for something. She leaves in the middle of the pact, so she has no idea that, by the end, only him and Wally are left.
"So…you and Artemis, huh?" Wally asks quietly.
"Yeah."
They both become fascinated in the dust twirling under the lights.
"Did you like her while we were dating?"
Cam winces at the question and contemplates lying—it would be easy enough, and what real harm would come from it? He's a terrible liar, though, and besides, Wally deserves the truth. "Yeah. I mean, I liked her every since we were kids, so when I saw her again…Well, no, not like that. See, um, right away I didn't like her that way, I couldn't, you know, with everything she'd gone through, and I just saw her as a friend, as someone who needed me. But then she got better, and, and everything came rushing back…but you were with her, and I couldn't…I couldn't like her."
"But you did." The statement is said neutrally, without any malice. "You liked her; you can't just turn off that feeling."
He plays with a loose thread on his shirt and avoids answering for a minute. "You're right," he finally murmurs.
"How could you?"
"Look, Wally, I'm sorry, I really am, I didn't want to—"
"No, dude, not like that. I mean…how could you like her like that, care about her like that, and see her with me and not say anything? How could you put yourself through that?"
And now Cam understands that it's not a question of his integrity but of his restraint. "I had to," he explains. "You were her boyfriend, and I respected that. She wanted to be with you, she…she liked you, not me. Besides, you were my friend, and I couldn't do that to you." He pauses. "I would never have broken you two up—that's why I didn't tell her that I liked her until after she told me that first. When I came back into the picture, you were the boy she needed. And I would never mess with that."
Wally thinks that over. When he turns to Cam, he has a small smile on his face. "Well, now you're the boy she needs. And I'm glad you're together. But if you hurt her, I swear to, to, to run around you in a circle until I suck away all your oxygen."
Cam snickers. "Dude, that threat was so lame!"
"Hey, I tried! Not all of us have powers that conveniently can be used for the most heinous act on the face of the earth."
"Yeah, I guess that's just another part of my awesomeness." He thinks for a moment. "So we're cool?"
"'Course we're cool. If you make Artemis happy, that's enough for me."
And that, too, is enough for Cam.
