Artemis made a mental note to never volunteer for a mission to the Arctic again; she had returned from said mission, still feeling the cold drafts brush by her body. "Why did you decide to go," Kaldur asked when the team returned, "If you knew that you didn't fare well in such cold conditions?"
After years of training, Artemis would have thought she'd be smart enough not to volunteer for missions involving severe low temperatures. She hated the cold- it caused her to sniffle and sneeze, to shiver and tremble a day later. She glowered at her own impulsiveness at this very moment- the way it got her into a heap of trouble, and the way it caused her to blindly volunteer. She felt as if she disliked it as much as the catalysis; the Atlantean who volunteered for the mission first. It was worst that he had seen right through her. There was a Martian and two meta-humans, himself included that could have easily sustained the freezing climate, as well as the fact that only three team members were required for the mission.
A coughing fit punctuated the silence of Artemis' room, followed by a sniffle. She snuggled deeper into her covers in a desperate attempt to keep warm. Why had she accepted the mission to go to the Arctic? Especially when there were meta-humans and a Martian on the team that would fare much better in such cold conditions? Artemis shivered, and a tingle ran down her spine- the tingle that seemed to run down her back in spontaneous intervals. Just when she thought it was gone, it would race down again, come in an hour or in five minutes. It was absolutely infuriating.
Then there was Kaldur. He sat by the edge of her bed after delivering a bowl of hot soup. The scent of chicken and rice was mild, but when she poked her head from underneath the covers and saw clouds of steam puffing above it, there was enough incentive provided to make her sit up. It was delightfully warm and as she spooned it, Kaldur would steal glances at her.
"You know, I never received an answer from you." He murmured after a while.
"Hmm?"
"I wanted to know why you came. To the mission of course."
She snorted. "Not trying to sound egotistical and all, but you guys needed an archer. How would you fare without one?" It seemed like the universe didn't find the vain tone in her statement satisfactory, because she let out a loud punctuating sneeze the next second, right on cue.
"How indeed." Aqualad muses. A coy smile presented itself on his lips. He caught the throw pillow she chucked at him. When she was done with her soup, she shifted a bit on the bed, and patted down on the vacant space. He was hesitant at first, up until the point when Artemis teased that she wasn't going to "pass her disgusting-icky germs off to him." He chuckled and relented. He sat by her with his back resting on the headboard.
"That blanket looks vaguely familiar. Is that Zantanna's?" Kaldur asked.
"Yup. She won't be getting it back anytime soon." To prove her point, she snuggled into it a bit deeper.
"Remind me not to leave my things with you."
"Those water bearers? Never seeing them again." She said, providing a faint nudge. Another sneeze interrupted them and Kaldur handed Artemis a box of tissues.
"Jeez, I am not feeling the aster." Artemis mumbled. If she was utterly disgusting and highly contagious at the moment, Kaldur never spoke or pointed out about it. She leaned on him, and he permitted her to do so, slipping an arm around her shoulders.
They remained talking to each other in that position for an hour or maybe even two-Artemis didn't know where the time had gone off to. She began to feel drowsy again in the middle of their conversation about the upcoming mission, gazing at the tattoo that snaked around his forearm and ended on the back of his hand. When had her head decided to rest upon the crook of his neck?
"Artemis? I'll be leaving now. Don't strain yourself and rest up for the next mission."
"Don't need to tell me twice. Besides," she yawned, "you need me there."
As he withdrew from her, his hand lingered momentarily then brushed lightly on her back, shooting tingles up her spine.
...
"Robin, you didn't need to volunteer for the mission. Only three team members were required." Zantanna pointed out, carrying a bowl of soup over to the bird curled up on the couch. Her voice cause him to abandon his position in a ball and sit up straight.
"Yeah. But you know, I didn't feel like sitting this one out. Besides, I feel absolutely fine." Dick reassured. "Really." He added as she arched as brow. Dick offered a winning smile, only to be wiped off his face when he sneezed. The universe didn't appreciate liars.
"Shame. I would offer you some blankets, but mine mysteriously vanished." Zantanna said, lost in thought.
"You could just conjure some up right?" Robin bit his lip, mentally cursing himself for breaking his resolve so soon.
"Yeah, I could. But it seems like you don't need it anyway." The magician gave Robin a curt nod as she walked away.
"That was cold." Dick whispered, a smirk tracing his lips.