“Back to You” (Aqualad x OC)
PART FOURTEEN
(part one) (part two) (part three) (part four) (part five) (part six)(part seven) (part eight) (part nine) (part ten) (part eleven) (part twelve) (part thirteen)
@flamebiirds @super-spoiler@keanureevesislesbian @sapphicstargirl @princes-jasmine @the-shadow-of-atlantis
this is the chapter that y’all have been waiting for forever :)
“This is Cat Grant reporting live from Moose Factory Island in Canada, where over a hundred missing indigenous women and girls have mysteriously reappeared on the Cree Island. Eyewitnesses reported dozens of girls walking out of the forest, and the girls themselves claim to have escaped from the town across the river known as Angelsport. A warrant has been issued, and local authorities are reportedly investigating the accusations, though locals claim that Angelsport is a ghost town, a remnant of French trading back in the 1700s.
“Nevertheless, Shannen Marten, a leader in the community, along with her granddaughter Miiyahbin, has taken charge of seeing to the care and safety of each young woman, while humanitarians from Wayne Foundations note the name, hometown, and tribe of each girl. Moose Factory itself has seen many of its daughters reunited with their families, including young Heather Koostachin, with her fathers.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Marten, can you confirm or disprove any of the rumors going around within the girls that the heroes Aqualad and Nightingale- both of whom have been missing for months- were involved with the rescue?”
“If Aqualad and Nightingale have returned I am certain you could ask that question of themselves.”
“I suppose you’re right. But wouldn’t they be disrespecting international boundaries? Two American heroes trespassing on reservation territory? And what about the other rumor, a new hero that the girls referred to as the Midayo?”
“Let me make one thing clear, Miss Grant. I cannot speak for the entirety of my people, but the Midayo has been a protector of the Cree for longer than the white man. If this Aqualad and Nightingale are working with the Midayo, then the Cree people and the girls that have been rescued here tonight owe them a great debt of gratitude. And so does the world.
“It is harder to do the right thing than to turn away, now so more than ever.”
-
Sidekick yipped around Kaldur’s feet as they stood on the edge of a cliff, overlooking Moose Factory and the open ocean beyond.
“You sure this will work?”
“It is deep enough here that the sunlight does not reach,” Kaldur glanced down the cliff face. Emma picked up Sidekick before she could dash off the edge and squeezed Kaldur’s shoulder.
“I trust you.”
She thought she saw a smile for a brief moment, before Kaldur crouched down, shooting up in an instant and hurling the ice into the water, far enough from shore that all it did was make the Wayne Foundation Relief Ships bob a little bit higher in the water, where they were docked at the Island.
Emma’s hand shot out to grab his arm to keep him from falling, forgetting his invulnerability and affinity for the ocean.
“Are you alright?” Kaldur chuckled nervously.
“Fine. You?” She asked.
Kaldur sighed, stretching his muscular arms, and winced. “I believe I have a few broken ribs.”
Emma’s eyes went wide, “Never thought I’d hear you admit that.”
“There is a first time for everything.”
“Should I fly us back to the cabin?”
“Can your wings handle it?” He asked.
Emma paused, and without a word, handed him the puppy. “Hold on.”
They leaped into the air, mimicking a bird of prey as they glided down the mountainside to their hideout, on the uninhabited end of Moose Factory. Her wings still hurt, but she was used to numbing it out by now.
“You did not answer my question,” Kaldur said as they shut the door behind them, brushing the snow off. Emma’s suit needed a wash, and she needed to get into something more comfortable.
“It’s not like you have to tell me all your problems, I’m just here to keep you from getting in too deep,” Emma said, refusing to look him in the eyes.
Kaldur grabbed her arm this time, pulling her back to him.
“You said you needed to get away too. Emma, what is going on with you?” He asked, holding her by the shoulders.
“You said you trust me, Emma. And I trust you.”
Emma swallowed as her eyes began to sting.
“Sit down. I’ll tell you while you get some medical attention for once.”
Kaldur nodded, taking off his shirt and doing as Emma had instructed while she searched for the first aid Charles had left for them. Kaldur, trusting her, didn’t press the question further, waiting patiently while she saw to his ribs. It wasn’t until she had the splint in place that she finally started to talk, but she still wouldn’t face him straight on.
“My powers are connected to my mind. When Joker tortured me, he activated my metagene and messed up my head. I have my wings because I’m terrified of falling, so they’re supposed to keep me from falling, but they’re specifically dragon wings so that they can double as a shield, as the protection I craved when I was captured.”
She had never opened up to anyone about this. Not Richard, not Willow. Bruce and Dinah knew, these were their theories that they shared with her. So far, they had proved to be true.
“After you- after you went undercover, I was consumed with anxiety and depression. Not just because I thought I’d lost you, but because everywhere I turned, everyone and everything that we’d worked for was falling apart. Bruce was gone, Richard wasn’t talking to me, Willow had Conner, who was always fighting with La’gaan, who was dating M’gann, and M’gann wasn’t the same happy young woman I’d met, and Wally and Artemis weren’t on the team anymore and I just felt so alone and then-
“I stopped using my wings for a while, but they still needed to be stretched, like any limb. Then using my electricity just gave me a headache and aggravated my anxiety, so I started staying behind on more and more missions, like Rick.
“And then you came back, and everything somehow fixed itself, but I was still mad at you, and at everyone else for all their secrets. But then I felt stupid because I didn’t feel like I deserved to be upset after everything that happened, and that just made everything worse-”
Kaldur stopped her, holding her tight. Even Sidekick had gone quiet.
“One who drowns in five meters of water is still as dead as one who drowns in fifty meters.” He said.
“But you’re Atlantean,” Emma reminded him, afraid she’d tear the bandage where she didn’t mean to.
“But you are not.” Kaldur leaned back, holding her face in his hands.
“You do not have to face these things alone, Emma. We are your friends, we want to help you.”
“I know that, Kal. Do you?” She ran her hand over the stubble on his chin. “You take the burdens of your mission so personally, you refuse to look after yourself if you think it will detract from the mission.
“But it’s not all on you.”
“It’s on all of us,” Kaldur murmured, finishing her thought.
Emma shrugged. “We’re a team.”
“Always have been.”
“Always will be.”
Sidekick yipped again, tired of being silent.
“Yes, Sidekick, you can be a part of our team as well.” Kaldur assured her.
“So what did we learn from this?” Emma asked, for both their sakes, as she packed up the first-aid kit.
“That once we have the all-clear we are going to have one big team therapy session together.”
Emma snorted, “Sounds good to me.”
Kaldur placed his hand over hers. “Emma, I am here for you.”
Emma paused. “I know. I’m here for you too.”
-
Alarms resounded through the building as the wall of his cell was blown inward.
“Hullo, Davey!” shouted the man on a grappling cord.
“Rhodes,” He nodded curtly at the despicable man. He may want to destroy Atlantis, and everything that Aquaman stood for, but Black Manta had standards.
“What do you want?” He asked, holding out his cuffed hands.
Rhodes shot them off with a flick of his wrist. “Heard there was a bounty out for a certain Aqualad. Bedlam says the rumor’s that he’s your son?”
David grabbed Rhodes by the collar, yanking him into the cell. “What have you done to him?” He snarled.
Rhodes scoffed, unintimidated. “Him? He destroyed my entire operation, him and his lady friend and that kid they had with ‘em.”
“Nightingale.” David growled. The woman his son had betrayed him for.
“You know where they are?”
Rhodes grinned smugly, waving to the opening in the wall. “Shield won’t hold forever, laddie. All aboard.”
-
Emma was drowning. She was being pulled under by a sharp pain in her shoulder blades, stabbing into her soul and refusing to let go. She gasped for air, but none came. Her gasps become quicker, more furious for air. Emma screamed.
Her scream tore through the house, jolting her awake.
And suddenly, it hadn't been just her who screamed.
She barely glimpsed the snow falling outside as she tossed off the covers and sprinted out in the hall, coming face to face with Kaldur.
He heard.
She heard.
They both stared at each other, breathing heavily.
“I heard you scream,” they both said at the same time.
Emma swallowed, trying to think of what to do. Hold him? Ask to hear his dream? Did he even want to talk about it? Should they talk about it? The walls had been coming down bit by bit in the past months, but were they really ready to tear down those defenses they’d built up between each other?
And then she was staring at his lips.
Their breathing slowed, even and in time with each other. They were both making the effort to calm down, for the other's sake.
“Emma?” Kaldur whispered, his voice tight.
She threw her arms around him.
His arms instinctively wrapped around her, pressing their bodies together.
“Emma,” Kaldur whispered again, as if forgetting her name would make her disappear from his grasp. “Emma, Emma, Emma.”
“Kaldur, Kaldur,” Emma sniffed.
“Kiss me.” She said suddenly.
Kaldur's grip slackened. He stepped back to look at her. Instead of disgust, as either of them might have months ago, he was curious.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.” Emma said. “Are you?”
In the dark of the narrow hall, Kaldur's lips found hers. His embrace returned with fervor, lifting her to her tiptoes to bring her closer.
His forehead rested against hers. “Does that answer it for you?”
Emma looped her arms around his neck, resting her head against his chest.
“I love you, Kal. I always have,” she said.
“That is wonderful to hear,” Kaldur said. He lifted her up in his arms, slowly carrying her to the sitting room couch.
“And why is that?” Emma rested her face in the crook of his neck as they settled on the couch.
“Because, Emma Grayson,” Kaldur reached for a blanket, swaddling it around Emma's light frame, “I think I love you now more than I ever have.”
Emma's voice caught in her throat. This didn't fix things completely. There was so much to talk about, a whole year's worth, but Emma knew now that she never wanted to be without Kaldur ever again, and now she also knew that Kaldur never wanted to lose her again. They could work through it, so long as this was something that both of them were willing to work towards.
“Do you want to be together again, Emma? If you say no now, I promise I will never ask you again.”
“I don’t know. But your biceps and your stupid smile are making it obnoxiously hard to say no.”
“Oh really?” Kaldur gave Emma his biggest, brightest smile, and she hid her face in his chest so that he didn’t see her smiling in return. Kaldur’s arms flexed ever so slightly as he pulled Emma closer and she couldn’t help it. She burst into laughter, meriting some from Kaldur as well.
He lightly kissed her nose. “I love you, Emma,” He said. He tucked her hair behind her ear, “I have for the longest time.”
Emma’s arms wrapped around his torso, feeling his strong heartbeat echo through her entire body.
“I love you too,” She said.
It felt like a two-ton weight meant for Superman had been taken away, something she had tried to hold down for so long was now flying free, as free as her wings had allowed her to be.
“Emma,” his tone was serious, and she shifted to look him in the eye.
“I know I have much to atone for. I should have told you about the mission, and I hope that you can forgive me.”
“You've already started to make up for it,” Emma wrapped her fingers in his curls. His hair had grown so much in the past few months, and since he didn't have to represent Atlantis or answer to any superior like Aquaman or Black Manta, he had allowed himself to let loose and stop shaving every so often.
“I just hope that you can forgive me for believing that you actually had gone evil.”
Kaldur kissed her cheek. “Since that was the goal of me going undercover, then there is nothing to forgive.”
“Now you're making me feel guilty for not forgiving you as quickly.”
“Forgiveness takes time, Emma,” Kaldur murmured patiently.
Emma hummed with a smile, pulling the blanket around them. “And we have all the time in the world.”
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