Artemis and Kaldur walked down the street hand in hand from their crummy apartment to Artemis's mother's apartment. Artemis loved the tiny circles that Kaldur made with his thumb into her palm.

"Maybe we should pick up a bottle of wine?"

"Kal mom already loves you; you don't need to impress her you know."

"I know but Paula is such a great cook that I wouldn't feel right not bringing anything."

"Okay Kal."

Kaldur pulled Artemis close to him and firmly planted his lips to hers and gently licked her bottom lip for access to her mouth. She opened her mouth and their tongues caressed each other from her mouth into his and back again.

"Let's go pick up that bottle."

"So red or white?"

"I think red would be best to go with the pasta tonight."

They stopped at a side store vendor on the way. She watched as Kaldur's flexed the muscles in his back as he reached for the bottle at the top shelf. She loved the way he filled out that gray sweater he was wearing. Then her eyes traveled to his blue jean clad ass which she wished she could just sink her teeth into at the moment. They paid for the wine and continued on their way.

"I hope you have a good time tonight Kal. I know hanging out with my mom can't be on your top ten list of favorite things to do with me."

"Your mother is important to you so she is important to me."

At the gate before ringing the buzzer Kaldur pulled Artemis to him again and kissed her deeply as he gently grinded his body into hers. Artemis felt her panties get a tad dewy. She didn't mind because she knew that this was most likely the most action she was going to get all night. Her hand reached under his sweater and scratched her nails against his abs, while his arms encircled her waist as he started too nimble on her neck. A moan rumbled from her throat as she looked him in the eye. Anymore and the two of them would be having sex right in the middle of the street. Artemis reluctantly pulled away afraid that if she didn't that she was going to jump Kaldur right there on the sidewalk. Artemis rang the buzzer.

"Hello."

"It's me and Kal mom."

"Oh, okay I'll buzz you right up."

The gate opened and they walked up.

Paula Crock didn't like Artemis's choice of boyfriends most of the time, okay all of the time. Like mother like daughter she guessed. She always got caught up it the whole super powered thing. She guessed that everyone dreams of being on the front page of the Daily Plant kissing Superman like Lois Lane but, like she tried to tell her daughter those stories were just fairy tells, not real life like the hand grenades thrown through windows and the S.W.A.T. teams breaking down your door. Or how at a moment's notice your life can go from sixty to zero in nothing flat evident by the wheelchair she was permanently bound in now. Yet, Kaldur was different or at least appeared to be. He never lied to her and always respected her home when he stayed over. She remembered one conversation with him that even took her off guard.

Flashback:

"Are you sleeping with her Kaldur?"

Kaldur cleared his throat and took and sip of his tea.

"Yes Miss. Crock we are sleeping together. I want you to know that Artemis was my first and only so it isn't like most cases were I can draw on past experiences to help me you know. I just worry if I am up to par with the rest of them."

The frankness of his answers shocked her.

"Oh. Wow I didn't mean to open that can of worms Kaldur. How is sex used in Atlantis?"

"Same as the surface world I would believe personal recreation or to express love."

"I know that Artemis may have had other partners in the past but she is with you now. Plus I am sure she is very pleased with your errrr… performance."

Kaldur let out a small laugh

"Oh you think that I? No, no, no. The mechanics need no work at all it's the other side, the emotional side that I worry about. I don't want to scare her off with a big dose of I love you before she is ready. So it is hard to keep those feelings in a cage or at bay when all I want to do is share them with her."

That was when she knew more than any other time she believed that Kaldur was perfect for Artemis. Here most grown men would be happy to land a barely legal hottie but, out of all of the boyfriend's she met Kaldur was the first and only to talk about her daughter like that. She could hardly believe that a twenty year old kid was more concerned about her daughter and her feelings rather then how much pussy he got. That part amazed her.

"My daughter has been through a lot Kaldur. I know that she may seem cold at times but, you have to look at it like this. You told her that you liked her and now she is your girlfriend right. So she must like you, now all you have to do is take it a little slow."

To be more worried about Artemis's feelings rather than how many times he could get her in the sack truly impressed her and to come to think of it none of Artemis's previous boyfriend impressed her at all.

Present:

The knock on the door brought her back to the here and now. She opened the door to see Artemis and Kaldur standing there with a bottle of wine.

"Hey mom."

"Hello Miss. Crock."

"How are you two?"

"Good." Artemis replied.

Kaldur bent over and gave her hug.

"We stopped and got a bottle of wine to go with dinner." Kaldur said

Paula wheeled her wheelchair around and invited the two of them into the apartment. Artemis's childhood home looked smaller then she remembered. She chalked it up to the fact that she was bigger.

"Need any help in the kitchen mom?"

"No, right now everything is almost ready."

Kaldur walked over and handed the bottle of wine to Paula. She took it and gave him a smile.

"Thanks Kaldur that was sweet of you."

"So how have you been Miss. Crock?"

"Well I have been doing well nothing to out of the ordinary. Just work and bills. The boring life you know."

"Well fighting bad guys and super villains isn't all it is cracked up to be." Artemis chipped in.

Artemis flopped down on the couch in the living room.

"Go have a seat Kaldur dinner should be ready in a few minutes."

Kaldur gave Paula another hug and a smile before walking over to Artemis and sitting next to her.

"If need any help let us know."

"I will."

Artemis cuddled up to Kaldur on the couch. Paula watched her daughter and Kaldur on the couch. She hated to use the term lovebirds but if she ever saw the perfect example she was looking at them. She watched Artemis snuggle into Kaldur's chest while he formed a protective barrier around her with his body. The whole image was to sweet for words if you asked her. She turned back to the stove and stirred the sauce for the pasta. She chuckled to her as she thought about something she and Artemis talked about one time.

Flashback:

"So what's new?"

"Nothing much mom."

"Are you seeing anybody new?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Just something seemed off about you today."

"I just don't want to mess it up."

Paula shook her head back and forth.

"So who is it now Artemis?"

"No one you would know."

"Must be someone special if you're not telling me."

"I just don't want to mess it up you know."

"You know that there are billions of people in the world, don't get hung up on one guy."

"It's not that. It's just that he really is someone that I like more then I originally thought I did."

"Just remember what I said okay."

With a roll of the eyes Artemis replied, "Sure mom."

Present:

The bubbling sauce made her thoughts come back to the here and now. Still she was glade that the mystery guy turned to be Kaldur. She always wanted someone like that for Artemis the kind of guy that held open doors and pulled out her chair for her. She thought that guys like that only appeared in movies. She guessed it help that Kaldur was adopted royalty after all; her little girl had finally found her prince.

"Dinner is ready guys."

Dinner went off with out a hitch. Pasta with homemade tomato sauce. Side salad and buttered dinner rolls. Then for desert a scoop of Rum Raisin ice cream on top of a slice of lemon flavored pound cake. Of course the boring small talk was in abundance. Questions like what are you kids up to, how is the apartment treating you and so on and so forth. With one word answers that most twenty-one years would use like good, great, and fine.

Dinner was over and Kaldur and Artemis were halfway out the door when a freak thunderstorm blew in. The lighting lit up the sky and the thunder rattled the glass.

"You guys can't walk home in that."

"It's okay mom."

"Not in Gotham it's not."

"Mom I don't have anything to wear to bed or a toothbrush."

"I have an old shirt for you and I have a spare toothbrush."

Artemis wasn't really in the mood for a sleep over she just wanted to get home mostly to have Kaldur all to herself. After all her mom had that pesky rule of no humping in her house. Artemis couldn't blame her if she had a daughter she wouldn't what to listen to her getting some in the next room either. Still she had a point it was raining cats and dogs.

"Okay. I guess Kal will have to take the couch."

"You guys can both sleep in your old room; you're both adults after all."

"Thank you for your hospitality Miss. Crock."

Kaldur was in Artemis's room waiting on her to come in from the bathroom. He took off his sweater and his jeans folded them and sat them on the dresser then he sat on the twin beds that had been pushed together. As if she shared the room with someone a one point. He looked up when he heard the door open. There she stood in the doorway wearing nothing but an oversized white t-shirt. She saw him sitting there in his briefs and laughed to herself.

"Did I miss the joke?"

"No I was just really in the mood tonight and now you're not helping sitting there with no clothes on.

"Ah, that's were your wrong I still have my underwear on."

She looked down at her waist feigning surprise like she had no idea that she left her panties with her other clothes which of course she did on purpose. Kaldur walked across the room grapping her up in his arms and spun her around. She let lose that smile that somehow only Kaldur could get out of her and with a giggle was dropped on the bed. Kaldur kissed her deeply on the lips and smiled.

"Forgot the door Romeo."

Kaldur got up reluctantly of course to close the door. When he came back across the room he sat by Artemis on her bed who had a sour look on her face.

"What's wrong pasta on my breath?"

She let out a laugh.

"No, you taste delicious as always."

"So what wrong Artemis?"

"I just want to ask you something."

"Sure anything."

"Why me Kal? Don't get me wrong I really like you and even if we moved kind off fast over the last year I really like were we are. I just don't get why you chose me out of all your choices you know. I don't have the biggest breast or the best ass. So what was it?

"Artemis if I wanted those things I would have chosen someone else but, I didn't cause those kinds of things don't draw me to a women."

"So if I got rid of my boobs you wouldn't have a problem with it?"

Kaldur let out a laugh himself then he picked her up and sat her on his lap straddling him face to face.

"What's this about Artemis?"

"I just worry you know. I worry that someday you will wake up and see who you're laying next to and realize that you don't want to wake up next to them anymore."

"I am not going to just up and leave you Artemis. I can't tell you why but, just know that I couldn't okay. Please believe me."

"Why can't you tell me?"

"The last person I told those words to ripped my heart out."

"Tula?"

"Yes Tula."

Artemis wanted to scrub her image from his memory. That dumbass redhead had the audacity to hurt her Kaldur. She understood that the whole situation was stupid that was before the team before she was brought on the team after Roy died. She just hated that damn redhead. She looked Kaldur in the eye. A flash of lighting lit up the room leaving their shadows pasted against the wall just as quickly as they disappeared then the earth splitting rumble of thunder came.

"What did you tell her?"

"Artemis I can't tell you."

"Why, cause you wouldn't mean it?"

"No cause I would. I don't want to scare you off."

"You won't. Not if you mean it, really mean it. Cause I might feel the same way."

The room was so silent that the rain hitting the window sounded like drums in their ears. Kaldur's heartbeat was so fast that he was sure it was about to explode right there in his chest. Artemis chewed on her bottom lip waiting for his answer. In all fairness she did put him on the spot but, she had to know. Every since a few days ago when he held her hand to his chest and she felt the steady beating of his heart she just had to know how he felt. She just wanted to her those words form him. His mouth felt dry which was weird for an Atlantean. Fighting super villains was easier then this he thought.

"Artemis I don't know what tomorrow will bring. All I know is that when I am with you days seem brighter and the oceans don't seem as deep. I love you Artemis with all my heart."

Artemis attacked his lips with hers. She greedily sucked his tongue into her mouth and sucked on it like a newborn child at their first meal at the breast of their mother. She kneaded her crotch into his lap upset that his briefs acted like a barrier against her womanhood. She was so damn wet that if she didn't know any better she would have thought that she had pissed herself. Kaldur could always do that to her. Turning her on with little to no effort at all like the sound of his voice or just from the sight of his tattoos. Kaldur's tongue was being washed by Artemis. He could feel the groves of the roof of her mouth, the slickness of the inside of her cheeks, and the bumps of her taste buds on her tongue. He loved the taste of her and he was addicted to it. Artemis sucked his tongue a little harder. She traded his tongue for his bottom lip and took turns between that and his top lip. She could feel his manhood harden between them. As the head of his penis poked out of his briefs she could feel the precum against her skin. She hated the fact that his briefs were in the way like the Berlin Wall keeping her out. The one thing that could've separated them was air and at the moment both of them where in great need of it. They both broke apart breathing heavy grasping for air.

"Kaldur I love you too. More then words can describe."

Kaldur looked her in the eyes with utter amazement.

"Artemis are you sure? Don't think you have to say it because I did."

"Don't be an idiot! Of course I know that I don't have to say it! I said it because it's how I really feel. I just didn't want to screw it up. I love you Kal."

Artemis ran her hand across his chest and rested it over his heart and she felt the thump of his heart. All she wanted to do was make love to him. To give him infinite pleasure to the point where she had to be begged to stop. She finally found someone she felt connected with. Someone she could be herself around. He accepted her and all of her flaws. Kaldur started to kiss her again but, softly this time. Lingering just long enough between each kiss to drive her wild. She responded by pinching one of his nipples. She could feel his penis jump whenever she pinched his nipple and let out a giggle.

"What?"

"I found a remote controller for little Kaldur."

Kaldur watched as Artemis pinched his nipple again and watched as his penis reacted again. Giggling Artemis looked at Kaldur smiling. Kaldur lifted her with no effort and tossed her on the bed before stretching out beside her. He didn't dare take off his briefs because if he did he knew that he would break the one rule that Miss. Crock had asked them to follow. He ran his hand through her blonde hair and cupped her chin in his hand and pulled her lips to his. Soft, gentle, and slow. He repeated this again and again making the hairs on her body rise to attention.

"Kal I need to tell you something. Something important okay."

Kaldur simply nodded his head yes.

"There are things that I haven't told anyone about me Kal. Cause I am frightened of what they might think of me. That is why when I first joined the team I pushed everyone away from me. I have concerns and fears too I just try to bury them deep down so I don't have to deal with them."

"I know beloved. I believe that when you are ready to open up to me you will. The things you never talk about like your abundance of scars or how you nor your mother ever talks about your father. Among other things"

"That is why I have to ask you are you okay with that? I have my secrets, secrets that I may never be able to share and I don't want to push you away Kal. Will you be okay with that?"

Kaldur closes his eyes and start to speak in his native language and kissed her on the forehead.

"My Atlantean is a little rusty. What did you say?"

"It was a prayer to one of my gods to help you with your burdens."

She ran her hand over his face and cupped his cheek.

"I am so happy that you told me how you felt that day. I don't think I would have listened to my heart without that little push in the right direction."

"I am glad I got the courage to tell you myself."

The rain still fell with flashes of lighting in-between the pitter patter of the drops with thunder not far behind them.

"Let's get some sleep Kal."

"Sure."

"Hey."

"Huh?"

"Love ya Kal."

"I love you too Artemis."

In Paula's room there was a slight noise that woke her up. She instinctively pulled the nine millimeter pistol from under her pillow and flicked off the safety and pulled back the hammer in one fluid motion. Pointing it in the dark.

"Now, now, now. Is that anyway to welcome home your husband?"

"Lawrence. Why are you here?!"

"To see you and baby girl of course. Now tell me who the FUCK is in my little girl's room!"

To Be Continued: