Ages: Cameron is 24 and Artemis is 22.
Family Dinner
Late Fall, Team Year 7
The Harper residence was not an ordinarily quiet home. Forget about the revolving door of characters that frequented the house: It was home to an active vigilante, a former vigilante, a former assassin, and a violence loving toddler. Those occupants made for a lively environment.
Cameron, a frequently infrequent visitor of the Harper estate, understood that. He also understood that when Artemis insisted he attend a "small family dinner" with her, that he should expect it to be livelier than normal. What he had not expected was to arrive early and immediately be enlisted by Jade – who seemed even less thrilled about the entire affair than he did – to help with decorations. Her stress induced anger quickly resulted in Cameron making no less than three different last second trips to the store, with her husband eager to join him and escape her wrath each time time.
All the worry for a family dinner, which he assumed just meant Paula was coming over, didn't quite add up in Cameron's mind, but he wasn't going to be the one to point that out to Jade. Instead he chose to very silently marvel at how odd it was to see Cheshire looked stressed out about something as mundane as a dinner. Later he would remember her muttering quietly about seating arrangements and wonder why that didn't clue him into extra guests arriving.
Still, he thought as the combined gaze of the entire table waited for him to answer Paula's question, it would have been nice to know who all was coming.
"I don't know," he answered slowly. "I'm in the middle of arguing over some details with the department chair at Gotham U. If it works out I might get to skip a few credits on the way to a degree. I'll for sure have enough credits for my Associates and a certificate or two."
"Cam is using his personal knowledge to help the department make a new, very unique program pathway on criminology and forensic science. They'd have one of the most unique programs in the country," Artemis piped up proudly from his left side, refusing to let Cameron undersell himself.
"Aw, that's cute," Jade drawled. "Are you going to tell them how you got all that extra, unique knowledge?"
Artemis shot her sister an absolutely filthy glare across the table, but any possible escalation was cut short by Will's easy-going, businessman tone. "You know, Bowhunter is always looking to expand. Someone with your expertise would be extremely helpful."
"Even at dinner this man is trying to sell the company. You have to admire the dedication," Roy called out from his end of the table, each word dripping with sarcasm.
Jim, sitting to Cameron's right, nodded in agreement. "He is persistent if nothing else."
"It's our company!" Will replied in protest, causing Jade to shake her head in general disapproval.
"I appreciate the thought, but I think I have enough on my plate right now Will," Cameron offered, hoping to change the subject. He couldn't the shake the feeling that Dinah Lance – who no one told him was coming – was psychoanalyzing every word out of his mouth. And anyone with eyes couldn't miss Oliver Queen all but gawking at him since he'd entered the house.
Unfortunately, Will didn't let it go. "I know it's not the first time I said this, but let me know if you ever change your mind. We could be talking an ownership stake."
"Now hold on–" Roy started, this time in actual offense, just as Jim asked "What ownership stake?"
"Please, no business at the dinner table," Paula cut in from the head of the table, her voice sharp. "This is for family. It has been a long time since we've all managed to sit at the table together."
Dinah gave her a small but thankful smile, the two women in alignment there. It was rare for this group to be assembled in the same room under pleasant circumstances, and rarer still for the conversation not to become dominated by work, vigilante or otherwise.
"We have a very loose definition of family," Roy pointed out. "Kind of makes it complicated to get everyone in the same room when you're not sure who all is supposed to be invited. Especially when we cancel our monthly dinners every other month."
"Hey, we only cancelled three times so far this year," Oliver protested. "And that first time was Merlin's fault. He has the most inconvenient timing. I swear he always knowns when I have something important to do."
"Someone might believe you're scared to be here," Jade murmured, causing Dinah to chuckle lightly. This time it was Paula's turn to give her daughter a warning look.
"Hey now, the second cancellation was because you had to start that thing at the PTA conference," Roy said accusatorily, his desire to argue with Jade overcoming his desire to watch Oliver squirm.
"It was the homeowner's association meeting actually," Artemis chimed in helpfully, recalling that particular incident with glee. It's not everyday that your sister almost singlehandedly destroys a homeowner's association with a little bit of glyphosate, a nasty rumor about a pool boy and the HOA board president, and a falsified police report.
Almost only because a fluke rain storm messed with the final part of her plan.
Will had been livid. Artemis still cursed herself for not managing to record part of that conversation.
"It all sorted itself out didn't it?" the elder sister replied calmly.
Roy, like he always did, took Jade's bait with gusto. "You almost fucked up–"
"Language," Paula & Jade both cut in sharply.
"Fucked," Lian repeated, giggling as if she knew she wasn't supposed to say that word. Artemis groaned in annoyance, while Roy purposefully avoided making eye contact with Jade. Still, he could the weight of her intense, venomous stare.
"Well, we can't complain too much. The last time was on us," Jim said, gesturing vaguely to himself and the other two Harper brothers. "I did warn against taking that Gotham Contract. There's a reason we charge a Gotham surcharge."
"Gotham contract?" Cameron asked, only to immediately remember that he was actively trying to be invisible.
"We got stuck in the middle of Condiment Man and Spoiler," Jim explained.
Roy grimaced. "Don't remind me of that while we're at the dinner table."
"You know, emergency situations like that are a perfect example of why we should consider opening a separate branch in Gotham. Like I said Cam, with your background you could make a great partner," Will said with a wink. Jade elbowed him as Artemis rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of dinner," Dinah cut in, clearly changing the conversation, "This food is amazing. "
Oliver rushed to agree. "Agreed! I can't stop eating. "
"Thanks," Artemis said with a smile. "I tried a new spin on one of mom's recipes."
"It's a little drier than normal," Paula commented critically. "But better that the last time you made it."
Artemis gave her mom a wry grin, choosing to take the compliment and ignore the critique. "Incremental progress, right?"
"Eventually the student will surpass the teacher. At least one of my daughter is a willing learner," Paula added, ceding her own version of a complement to her daughter while taking a parting shot at another.
Lian chose that moment to break into giggles, starting a chain reaction that left Roy & Jim in uncontrollable laughter while Will and Oliver hid their grins by shoving food into their mouths. Jade chose to ignore them, kissing the top of her daughter's head and helping her handle her food better. Dinah and Paula chose the temporary stop in conversation to pivot to a discussion on the progress of the Queen estate's renovations, which quickly drew the attention of all three Harper brothers.
Cameron leaned a bit to his left, whispering to Artemis. "Are all the dinners like this?"
"This is one of the calmer ones," she whispered back, a conspiratorial smile on her face. "They're probably behaving because you're here. Don't worry, that won't be the case next time."
"Next time?" he whispered back, but Artemis's attention was already gone, firing off a comment towards Roy about his taste in wallpaper, which elicited another round of laughs and groans around the table.
And yet, despite all the teasing and poking and jeering, Cameron didn't feel any malice for even a second. As he looked around, he couldn't help but take in just how familial it all seemed: The three bothers jesting with one another, taking strays from both Artemis and Jade. Dinah and Paula engaging in their own heartfelt conversation. Jade mothering Lian.
He felt a brief pang of longing, suddenly missing Crystal more than he'd had in a while, but brushed it aside before it could take hold in his chest.
For now, he was going to bask in the moment.
…
Later on, with most of the guests gone and Paula mother henning Jade as she tried to mother-hen Lian into bed, Artemis & Cameron found some peace in quiet for themselves in the backyard. The cool breeze contrasted nicely with the warm Palo Alto night, as the two stared up at the starry sky.
"Thanks for coming," Artemis said, leaning backwards as she sat cross-legged.
"Of course. It's...nice to come to family things. Seems like these dinners are a lot of fun," Cameron answered, lying straight back on the grass besides her.
"They're usually pretty nice, except for the prep," she said, a devilish grin flickering across her lips. "Jade will never admit it, but she get's just a bit too stressed out whenever she has to host the family dinner. Tell her to do an extraction out of a highly secured mercenary base and she won't break a sweat. Ask her to host for our mom and her pseudo–in–laws and she might stab you if you breathe too loudly."
"I hadn't noticed," he replied dryly.
"Oh really, the three different shopping trips she barked out at you like a drill sergeant didn't give it away?" Artemis snickered.
"I don't know, I was kind of distracted by Will trying to take as long as possible on each shopping trip. He looked like was going to cry every time we had to walk back into the house," Cameron replied with a laugh.
"How those two have such a functional marriage, I'll never understand," Artemis said with a shake of the head. "But don't worry. Next time is going to be at Ollie's place and he'll be done with his renovations by then. He's probably going to mess part of it up, which means Dinah will be annoyed, Roy is not gonna stop making jokes about it, and Jade is going to antagonize the hell out of him, which will piss mom off. It's gonna be hilarious."
Cameron smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. There it was again. This next time Artemis had referred to earlier.
Artemis turned to look back at him, as if sensing his hesitation. "You are coming next time, right?"
"I mean," he started, unsure how to answer. "It's a family dinner isn't it? I don't want to just insert myself into the middle of it."
She raised an eyebrow. "It's like Roy said, we don't exactly have normal definitions of family here. And I'll take you over Jim and Roy falling for Jade's bait eight days out of the week."
"I appreciate that sentiment, but I don't think I'm on the same level as your in-laws. Or their clone brothers." Cameron chuckled, but his tone was laced with self–doubt that didn't go unnoticed by Artemis.
She frowned, pausing for a few moments as a sharp response formulated in her mind. Before she could speak, both heads swiveled to the sound of a loud crash came through the open kitchen window, followed by the unmistakable sound of Lian's bubbly laughter. The subsequent groan from Jade was only a confirmation of the little girl's mischief, causing both Artemis& Cameron to burst out laughing.
Artemis stared back at the sky, the break dulling whatever sharp words she'd been ready to unload. Now, as her eyes bounced around the bright dots marring the night sky, she felt a creeping sense of dread starting to build.
It didn't make sense that Cameron, after all they'd been through, would still doubt so much about his place in her life. Had she really failed him that much? Things are good. WE are good she thought to herself, her hands starting to squeeze and dig into the dirt under the grass
Not just with Cameron, but everything else. Sure, there were still some sore spots, but they were looking up: She was working through things with Dinah. The nightmares were much better. Dick and her had moved on, at least somewhat. Sportsmaster was shrinking in the underworld, and between his old age and declining crime rate, Artemis was trying not to hope that retirement was in his near future. She knew for a fact he was still in touch with her mother, though she wasn't going to touch whatever they had with a ten-foot pole.
So yeah, things were better.
That's how it goes isn't it? the voice in her head nagged. It never stays good.
And with that came a sickening realization that she'd felt the same way – had that same budding optimism – seven years ago, right before they'd first split up. Because as bad as things had been then, they also seemed to be falling into place all at the right time. Sure, Jade had been in the wind, but she'd built a tolerance to her dad and mom was about to be released. She had Cameron, and plans to guilt Jade back into the house once mom returned. She had a plan.
The connection brought bile to the back of her throat, and Artemis leaned forward, resting her dirty palms on her knees. Her hand twitched towards the scar on her thigh, but she willed herself not to reach for it.
"Are you okay?" Cameron asked, noticing her growing apprehension.
No. No I'm not okay she wanted to answer, because now she was thinking about Cameron again. About the risks he kept taking, sometimes because of her. About his dad, and how resolved is that really? What if he comes back? About what Cameron looked like splayed out unconscious, his blood dripping onto the floor of the Bio–Ship. About what, exactly, she would do if she found herself staring at a headstone with his name above it, or if she walked into his apartment and it was cleaned out and he wasn't answering his phone anymore.
"Artemis," Cameron said as he sat up to match her eye level, his concern growing.
"I don't know how to say it," she started low, slow and quiet. "In a way that makes sense."
Cameron cocked his head in confusion, not sure what she meant. "Say what?"
"I..." she started, trailing off as the words eluded her. All those lit courses and I can't string together two sentences when it matters she thought harshly.
Cameron waited patiently, eyes intent on her as she took a deep breath and tried to center herself.
"You shouldn't feel weird being at a family dinner because you are part of my family. There were whole years were you there for me more than my blood relatives. I don't know how else to say it. I can't...I count on you being there."
He took a moment to process what she said, still unsure what had brought about this train of thought. "I'm not going anywhere."
"That's what we thought last time," she replied bitterly.
"We're not kids anymore Artemis. We aren't controlled by what our parents do anymore," he replied, his tone calm. "Is this because of what I said about the dinner earlier? Because I'll show up–"
"No," Artemis interrupted. "Maybe. Kind of."
A pause followed. "Well, just tell me what you'd like, and you go it," he replied, and Artemis almost let out a strangled laugh because that was such a Cameron response.
"I want you to just be you. To stop feeling like like you aren't as important as you are. Because you are important Cam. And you're kind, and smart, and tough, and somehow not an evil monologuing villain after all the shit you've been through and I can't even find the right words to describe what you mean to me. You are...I can't..." she blurted out, speaking quickly and firmly until words one again failed her and there was no noise but the sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen and the night breeze.
A few moments passed, and then Cameron spoke, his voice low. "I know. Artemis, I know. You don't have to say it."
But I want to she felt like screaming. Instead, she had ash on her tongue and something suspiciously like hot tears pushing at her eyelids.
"It's the little things over the years, you know?" she said, her voice suddenly hoarse. She wasn't sure she was making any sense. It's the little things about you that add up. That sneak up on me.
The obsession with clean sheets even if the rest of the place was a pigsty. The extra time he would spend with little kids like Lian, no matter how easy it would be to get out of it. The weird mixture of fear and awe he had for her mom. How much effort he put into things that he liked to pretend he didn't care about, like his school program. The way it seemed like he was always trying to hide how good he was, and kept failing. How she could come up to him with the stupidest request at any time and the first question he'd ask is when & where, not why. How much of a good person he was, even if he seemed almost completely blind to it.
"Yeah, I know," Cameron said, and she couldn't help but wonder if he really knew, but he kept talking. "How you normally finish your food quickly, but if you're eating a home made meal you take your time. The stupid morning energy you have which doesn't make sense, because right when you wake up you look like a half–dead mess and ten seconds later you're wide awake and ready to go like you've been up for hours. How you rub at the same scar on your thigh when you're nervous or worried, like you're trying really hard not to right now. The sound of your breathing when you sleep, because to me that means I've got more protection than any alarm system in the world could give."
Cameron cut himself off when he noticed Artemis staring. "Sorry, I, uh, like I said. I get it. You look over and it almost freaks you out how much you know a person, and how much you rely on them to just be...them."
He smiled bittersweetly. "I think that's supposed to be love, but what do I know?"
Artemis quickly averted her eyes from his gaze, almost afraid to see whatever might be in his eyes at that moment. Or maybe she didn't want him to see whatever was in her eyes.
"Sometimes I feel so confused. About so many things," she said slowly. The Life. Wally. My friends. Mom. Jade. You all went unsaid.
Still staring upwards at the sky, she reached over and gingerly put her hand over his. "But I know, I know that whatever happens next. I really, really want you to be there with me."
Cameron squeezed. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
"I've got your back, and you've got mine," Artemis said.
"Always," Cameron answered.
Always.
A/N: Artemis and Cameron are bad at feelings and communication. Here they are still being bad at feelings and communications, but good enough for each other to get the message.
