Title: Disappear.

Chapter Title: Surprise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

Rating: T.

Warning: Slash. MalexMale. RoyxKaldur.

Notes: This is set after Episode 18, Secrets. Anything revealed in the later episodes will not be included.

Summary: RoyxKaldur. When Kaldur's magic disappears Young Justice's world seems to start crumbling around them. But not everything is as it seems.

Kaldur's team-mates are following him everywhere. At all times, one of them is with him but usually it's two. Wherever he goes, they follow. It is reassuring. What is even more reassuring, and a little amusing, is that his Queen only really seems to trust grumpy, cynical, angry Roy completely. So if she has to leave Kaldur for a few minutes she won't do so until Red Arrow arrives.

The Team protested until Mera pointed out that she could get them kicked out the Mountain if she didn't think they were being 'conductive' to Kaldur's attempts to fix himself.

Heaving a sigh, Kaldur tilts his head back to stare at the bright blue of the sky. It is tiring questioning his every thought and action. Tiring trying to analyse himself. Tiring watching his friends' faces light up with joy when they think they've worked it out only for them to fall when he tells them they're wrong.

J'onn had come over that morning and tried to help him find . . . whatever it is he's suppressing. But that too had failed, disappointing everyone. They had made a list of what to discuss with him while he was sleeping yesterday (he still can't believe he fell asleep in front of KF and Robin and they didn't take photos for 'blackmail' like they did when Roy fell asleep that one time) and at the top of the list had been missions. But while they had all been prepared to dive straight into talking through the missions the moment J'onn had left, Mera had not been. His Queen had obviously picked up on his stress about having someone rifling through his memories (even if it had been voluntary and for his own good) and insisted that Kaldur needed to relax before they did anything else. Her plan to make him relax had involved shuffling them all outside to the beach for some fresh air. Heaving another sigh, Kaldur tries to lose himself in the calming sound of the waves against the shore.

It's not really working.

"You'll work it out." Roy says softly, dropping onto the sand beside Kaldur. His Queen has gone to raid the kitchen again (but only once Red Arrow had come back from the bathroom.) Since discovering the fascinating new surface-dweller food she has been too-ing and fro-ing from the kitchen all day to try new things out. KF has even let her try some food from his shelf in the fridge (the speedster is very overprotective of his food due to his metabolism and has at no point let anyone else, not even Robin, have anything from his shelf before) in an attempt to keep Mera happy while they work through things. He's gone with her now to help her pick out 'something decent.' "We're out here to try and make you relax so you can think better and, you know, keep you as healthy as possible."

"I know." Kaldur whispers, turning his eyes to Artemis and M'gann who are discussing different missions they think might have affected him while they build a sandcastle. Robin is inside with Superboy, printing off all their mission reports (most of which Kaldur had written himself) in order to see if something in one of them makes him remember once he's 'relaxed.' He wonders if they could relax if their death was hanging over them, ready to strike at any moment. He knows that he looks worse than he did yesterday and he feels worse too. It had taken far too much effort to make it from his room to the kitchen this morning. He is fading and fast. It's written all over everyone's faces when they look at him.

"Come on Kaldur." Roy whispers, shuffling closer and throwing an arm over his shoulders. "At least try and relax."

Kaldur nods, leaning into the archer. For a long time now Roy has been his go-to-guy when he needed to relax. Perhaps it is because they are not at Roy's apartment. Perhaps it is because it is not just the two of them. Either way, Roy's presence is not calming his frazzled nerves like it usually does.

"Your shoulders are still tensed." Roy grumbles after a moment, giving Kaldur a small squeeze with the arm he has wrapped around him.

"I know."

The archer huffs at that, removes his arm and gets to his feet. Dusting the sand off his trousers he then extends a hand to Kaldur. The Atlantean wraps his own hand around the archer's and allows his friend to pull him to his feet. But Roy doesn't let go when Kaldur is standing, instead he uses the grip he has on the Atlantean to pull him down to where the water is lapping against the sand.

"Roy what are – " Kaldur starts to ask but cuts himself off as Roy doesn't stop at the edge of the water but instead keeps going, dragging Kaldur into the water with him.

"You like the water." Roy mumbles, turning round to walk backwards so he can look at Kaldur as he drags the Atlantean into the sea with him. "It'll cheer you up."

"You're fully clothed." Kaldur protests half-heartedly as the cool water laps at his body. He's trying to feel bad for Roy, really he is. But the archer is right and the feel of the waves tugging at his body is soothing. It's almost as if every time they wash over him they take a bit of his fears with them.

"Totally worth it to see you relax." Roy says with a grin. It's possibly one of the nicest things Roy's ever said to him because Kaldur knows that, for all the redhead's grumpy-bad-boy-don't-give-a-shit-what-other-people-think attitude Roy has always been very careful in his civilian appearance much to Robin's and KF's amusement. And considering he's just walked into the sea, fully-clothed and wearing expensive brand labels (which he hasn't really been able to afford since he started living on his own) it tells Kaldur just how important he is to Roy.

"Thank you." Kaldur whispers, reaching forward to steady Roy as a wave nearly topples him over (because even if he's close to death Kaldur is still more in tune with the sea than the redhead is.) Roy pauses for a brief second, his bright blue eyes wide as he stares down at Kaldur who is practically pressed up against him in an attempt to keep him upright, then he smiles.

"Any time."

They've gone through most of their missions in excruciating detail by dinnertime. Kaldur's remembered everything they've mentioned and added a few details they've forgotten along the way. He's now half-asleep with his head pillowed on Mera's shoulder and his legs flung over Roy's lap.

It's a good thing really. Even though they've still got some missions to work through they need a break.

Robin had Miss M link the team up, barring Kaldur of course, so they could make sure to present a clear and precise explanation of each mission. That had been an error. People had mentally pointed out other people's mistakes when explaining things (Artemis) or got angry every time Kaldur recognised a mission (Superboy) or complained continuously about how awful magic was and why science was better (Wally) or started wondering frantically if they were explaining things right (M'gann) which had resulted in Robin having the migraine of the century on top of having to now take each member aside and Talk To Them. If Mera picked up on their arguments then she would know that Kaldur, their friend and leader, certainly would. And if Kaldur picked up on the arguments then he would get stressed and then get ill quicker. So Mera would, understandably, send them away for Kaldur's own good and as a result they wouldn't be able to help him remember. So he has to stop the team from being so obvious for Kaldur's sake.

It's as Artemis huffs angrily as she stomps, rather than walks, away that the Boy Wonder knows who to talk to first. Urgh, this will not be fun. Robin smiles at Mera, who is giving them all a suspicious look as she adjusts herself to let Kaldur rest more comfortably on her shoulder, and takes off after Artemis.

"Artemis." Robin says, as he follows the blonde into the kitchen.

"Don't." The girl snaps back, rummaging around in the secret compartment of one of the cupboards that Kaldur had built for them so they could hide their favourite snacks from the bottomless pit that was Kid Flash.

"You were picking on people quite a bit." Robin continues, ignoring the dirty look Artemis throws over her shoulder at him.

"I know." She replies, yanking out her chocolate bar and slamming the cupboard door. "I just . . . we have to be the best we can be for Kaldur's sake. They were making mistakes."

"I know that." Robin whispers, taking a step forward and judging her reaction to his sudden closeness. She didn't seem like she was going to turn around and hit him so he takes another step forward. "But you cope with stress situations better than the others. So while they're going to make mistakes that you're going to notice there's no need to be . . . mean about it. Try doing it gently. "

"That'll take too long! Kaldur – "

"Need us to be our best. I know." Robin murmurs, "But we work well as a team because we bring different strengths to it. So you have to compare this to a mission and reign in your temper and focus on working as a team. And that means not picking on each other so much."

Artemis nods, ripping off the wrapper and shoving half the bar into her mouth in one go.

"'Kay." She mumbles sullenly through a mouthful of chocolate.

Robin smiles at her just as KF comes racing into the kitchen, mumbling something about Mera being Kaldur's pillow and her wanting food under his breath. He pauses, yanks open one of the cupboards, scoops everything inside into his arms and dashes out again.

Artemis sighs. "Thank god Kaldur had the secret compartment build."

"Yeah." Robin mutters. One down, three to go. This leader thing is exhausting. Quite honestly, Robin had no idea how much Kaldur did for the team. It's not that Kaldur isn't as important as any other member of the team it's just that he blended into the background. Content to be invisible until he was needed upon which point he'd step forward, fix the problem before going back to being invisible. But since he's stopped being their leader it's obvious just how much he did for them without them realising and now there's a Kaldur-shaped hole in their lives. And they need him back because no matter what Robin does he can't make himself fit that hole. He's not tall enough.

Red Arrow is staring at her Kaldur again, an adoring smile on his lips as he watches Kaldur mumble something in his sleep. The others have all run off to do . . . something. Robin, she thinks, is going to try and keep the others in line. It's nice to know that they are trying so hard to keep their fears from stressing out her poor Kaldur. She's not entirely sure it's working though, which worries her. If he becomes too stressed in this state he might make himself worse. And the quicker he fades the quicker he –

No, Mera thinks to herself shaking her head, she will not think of that.

"So, tell me about how you met my Kaldur." Mera says, running a hand through blond hair in an attempt to distract herself.

The archer blinks in surprise. "Kaldur never told you?"

"He does not speak much about himself due to his childhood."

Red Arrow positively scowls. "His mother or his bullying?"

Well that she hadn't been expecting. "You know about both?"

"He told me about his mother when he told me about his father." The redhead says with a shrug of his shoulders. "And the bullying bit I worked out and demanded answers from him."

"Demanded?" Mera asks, a smile forming. Kaldur, though kind and patient, is one of the most stubborn people she knows. Red Arrow has to be unbelievably determined to have overcome Kaldur's stubborn streak.

"Took a while." Red Arrow says with a grin, looking down fondly at the boy half-sprawled across him. "And using the whole 'you're my best friend' thing coupled with 'I've told you lots of my secrets' and pretending I was hurt to get the right answer."

Mera laughs at that. Oh, this boy has attitude. She rather likes him.

It's Kaldur's third day back at the Mountain and he can barely get out of bed. His limbs feel like lead and when he stretches his hands out in front of him he realises that he's trembling slightly. Nothing obvious, unless you're looking for it which of course, everyone will be. So he grits his teeth and orders his body to stop shaking. It seems to work so with a great deal of effort he manages to drag himself out of bed and into the lounge. He finds that he can't make it to the kitchen though so he just collapses on one of the sofas, breathing deep.

"Kaldur?"

That's M'gann. Forcing a smile onto his face he looks up to find the Martian frowning at him.

"Yes?"

"Are you . . . okay?"

He's reminded of the conversation they had five days ago (has it really only been five days? It seems like a lifetime ago) and how determined she and Superboy were to help him despite his refusal to be helped. How he had lied to them.

He won't lie now.

"Feeling a bit worse than yesterday." He murmurs, watching her face fall. "But I'm sure that today we'll figure it out."

She nods and floats into the air before settling beside him on the sofa. "Of course. You don't have to worry. We're all right here."

Her determination makes him smile and gives him that little bit of energy needed to make it into the kitchen where she has laid out breakfast.

It's just after lunch (for which KF had run half-way way across America and back to introduce Queen Mera to 'the best pizza in the whole of the USA') and Kaldur is reclining into the sofa. They've been through all their missions and have started trying to draw up a time-line of his 'civilian' life for the past three months. It's a little awkward, especially with his Queen there, laughing whenever they tell her about the antics they have forced Kaldur to participate in like pillow fights and eating competitions.

Roy is sitting in the armchair across from him, reading through the timeline they've come up with so far to double-check it. Roy reads like a small child; his brows furrow in concentration and his tongue peaks out from between his teeth. And the thing is that Roy is so serious most of the time that when he does something like this, so innocent and child-like, it makes it all the more adorable to Kaldur.

Mera walks back into the room, a tub of ice-cream clasped in her hands (her latest land-dweller discovery.) She settles down beside Kaldur, leaning in to press a kiss to his forehead before opening up the tub of ice-cream.

There's a sudden bang, a shriek and a hissed "Shhhh" from somewhere in the mountain. It's undoubtedly his team-mates trying to sort out another argument without him finding out about it. Kaldur's grateful to them for trying to keep him out of the team's problems. They just aren't very good at hiding their issues. And Kaldur can feel the stress creeping up because they need him and he can't be there for them. But he can't be stressed because that makes it harder to think through his every action and thought. And so he feels like he's been tugged in two different directions at once and it just can't continue. Not if he's going to keep his promise to his Queen.

So he makes a choice.

"Red Arrow," He says, making the redhead's brow smoothen out as he looks up at him, "could we spend some time at your apartment?"

The archer grins at him. "Thought you'd never ask."

Turning round, he waves at Mera, who is already half-way through her ice-cream. "I'm taking Kaldur away from the noisy brats so he can relax for a while. If that's okay?"

Mera frowns as she opens her mouth, to probably say no, when she freezes. She turns to stare at Red Arrow with serious concentration for a moment before ordering, "You don't let him push himself."

Kaldur blushes. As the day has progressed he's found that walking from one side of the room to the other leaves him breathless but he's been trying to hide it. Trust his Queen to notice.

"I promise." Red Arrow says, scrambling to his feet and putting the timeline back on the table. "You get them to finish off that list. Once I've got Kaldur to relax we'll make our own timeline of what we've done together."

"I shall." Mera replies, offering them a wave as they walk towards the Main room and zeta-tubes.

"So Mr I-can't-walk-across-the-room-without-wheezing." Roy says, offering Kaldur a smirk. "As I don't think you can get to my apartment from the zeta-tube I'm going to – "

Kaldur finds himself making a horrifically embarrassing sound of surprise as Roy bends down and sweeps Kaldur into his arms. The Atlantean automatically wraps his arms round Roy's neck to steady himself as he's lifted up. He pretends he can't hear Mera laughing quietly behind them. It's embarrassing enough as it is without thinking about his Queen being witness to this.

" – do this."

"What are you doing?" Kaldur asks, knowing that – any other time – he would have been strong enough to break free of Roy's grip. Now though, he seriously doubts that he could even push himself away from his chest let alone make the archer put him down.

"Carrying you." Roy mumbles, walking quickly across the room and into the tube. There's a blur of white light and they're in Star City. "Isn't it obvious?"

"I do not believe it's appropriate." Kaldur says firmly. "What happens if you drop me?"

"I won't." Roy says with a laugh as he steps out onto the street and start walking towards his apartment. "Who do you think carried you to bed the last two nights?"

"That's," Kaldur mumbles, trying to work out what he thinks of that. It's certainly making his tummy flutter, "that's – that's – "

"Yeah, yeah." Roy mutters as he walks up the steps towards his apartment. He gently lowers Kaldur to the floor but, rather than stepping back he wraps an arm around the Atlantean's waist and pulls him in close.

"Roy." Kaldur mumbles, feeling his face flush a bright red though he doesn't understand why. "What are you doing?"

"Taking care of you like I promised Mera I would." The archer replies, sliding his key into the door. "You might have fallen or something and cracked your head open on the concrete."

"I'm fine. Really. I'm not feeling that weak." Kaldur mumbles as Roy pushes the door open.

"I promised." Roy repeats, starting to herd the Atlantean into the apartment. Kaldur finds he can't argue with that. Especially as it's a promise to his Queen. He wants to though and doesn't understand why that is.

"So what's the plan?" Kaldur asks softly as Roy sits him down on the sofa. It's rather . . . cute, how attentive Roy is being. As Roy turns round to gape at him Kaldur thinks that the tiredness is catching up with him because he must of just said that out loud.

"Cute. You think I'm cute?" Roy asks, his voice incredulous.

"Err . . . no." Kaldur mumbles, hoping Roy will drop the subject.

"Yes you do." Roy corrects grumpily.

"Well, I only think you are cute a little bit." Kaldur murmurs sleepily, trying to compromise.

"You've got to be kidding." Roy mutters, scowling.

"Not really." Kaldur says, realising that this is a lost cause and just deciding to go with it. "You were being cute just now and you are fairly cute when you do things like reading or sleeping."

Roy's scowl disappears and is replaced with a look of total surprise. "You watch me while I sleep?"

Kaldur blushes again. He's doing that a lot around Roy. How odd.

"Well last time I was here you were asleep when I woke up." He explains. "And you really do look cute when you're sleeping."

"I don't." Roy mutters grumpily.

Kaldur fights back a laugh. "Have you ever seen yourself sleeping?"

"Er, no. But that's not the point." The archer snaps which just make Kaldur laugh again. He'd be more worried about offending Roy if the archer wasn't smiling as he said it.

"You brat," Roy says with a grin, shoving Kaldur, very gently yet playfully, as he sits down beside him before reaching for the remote, "stop talking rubbish about me being cute and watch the TV."

Kaldur smiles as he shifts to press himself against Roy - he's been feeling the cold more today and he needs the body heat. As the voices from the TV wash over him he can feel calm settle over him like it always does when it's just him and Roy together.

And for the first time since he lost his magic he feels safe.

Kaldur wakes up to find himself in Roy's arms again. He shouldn't have fallen asleep (mainly because Mera prefers having him close at the moment so she can check on him during the night to make sure he is still alive) but they had, at least, managed to make a list of what he and Roy had been doing for the past few months before he went to sleep. It's a surprisingly long and detailed list which makes Kaldur realise that he's spent pretty much all his free time with the archer.

Kaldur assumes that Roy called Mera and told her that he fell asleep and, as a result, wouldn't be returning to the Mountain that night. He's about to force himself up to get his communicator to call Mera and check that his friend called her then he notice Roy's nose. It's all scrunched up again. With a small smile, Kaldur folds his arms on Roy's chest and perches his chin on top to watch him sleep. He simply can't resist that nose.

Kaldur isn't sure how long he lies there, dozing in and out, watching the archer sleep – it can't be that long as he needs a lot more sleep at the moment. But eventually Roy does wake up. He blinks his eyes in surprise when he notices Kaldur before groaning.

"You were watching me sleep again?" Roy grumbles, shifting onto his side as Kaldur moves backwards to give the redhead room to sit up. "Why do you do that?"

"My Queen says it is a joy and honour to watch the ones we love sleep because they are entrusting us with their safety." Kaldur replies as he sits up. He wraps his arms round himself as the cold seeps in now that Roy is no longer keeping him warm. Surprisingly Roy is also shivering slightly.

"You are cold?" Kaldur asks as Roy stands up and starts walking to his bedroom.

"Yeah," The archer calls back through the open doorway, "I've been feeling a bit under the weather for the last four days."

"Define 'under the weather.'" Kaldur requests as Roy comes back with a couple of jumpers and hands one to Kaldur before he starts pulling the other on.

"Nothing serious." The archer says, voice muffled by the jumper he's trying to pull over his head. "I've just been feeling cold and kinda weak. I'm also bruising a lot more easily. I took a couple of hits from some thugs the other day which would have barley phased me usually but I'm bruised all over."

He finally finds the hole and pokes his head through to offer Kaldur a small smile, "Though I don't know why you're asking about my illness considering how sick you are, you idiot."

Kaldur barley hears the archer over the roaring in his ears though because everything is suddenly sliding into place and he can't believe he's been that utterly stupid.

In Atlantis there is something called Alitha. There is no direct translation for this word into English. The closest Kaldur can think of is soul-mates or true love but it still doesn't truly describe what happens. When Atlanteans with strong magic find themselves in love, total heart-wrenching can't live without you love, their magic starts to wrap around the person they are in love with when they're near each other. It's a way of offering them the same sort of protection that a magic-user gets from their own magic; slight magical shielding, quicker healing and a better immune system. Of course if the magic-user isn't around for long enough the magic will fade leaving the partner feeling weak due to the lack of magical shielding, cold from not having magic running through their body as well as being prone to illness and slow at healing. All signs that Roy was exhibiting and had been exhibiting since the moment Kaldur's magic had stopped working completely. Which meant only one thing, his magic had wrapped itself round Roy. And if it had wrapped itself around Roy it was because he . . . loved Roy?

Turning to stare at the archer, who was now pulling ingredients for a fry-up out of his fridge, Kaldur tried to work out how he could have missed this. Whenever something troubles him, he goes to Roy because his mere presence seems to make him feel better. Whenever he is happy, he goes to Roy to share that happiness. Whatever the situation adding Roy to the mix just makes it better. Roy with his charming smile and grumpy attitude but cared so much that he would carry Kaldur to his apartment and . . .

He must have worked this out before. Worked out that his magic was wrapping itself round Roy.

Wonderful, grumpy, stubborn, caring, playboy Roy Harper.

Who didn't want a relationship. Who made it very clear that the only thing he truly loved was his work. He'd said to Kaldur, time and time again, the only thing he wanted in life was one-night stands and to do his duty. And an Atlantean's magic is only supposed to protect someone if they love them back and Roy can't possibly love Kaldur back because he's married to his work and straight so there's clearly something wrong going on here. Maybe it's because he's half human and Roy's fully human? Maybe there's been some weird kind of mix up because of his heritage? Either way, his magic has bound them together and Roy will hate it. He values his independence and the grudging respect he has got from the League for doing it his own way too much to want to be bound to someone without his permission. Roy will hate him. Hate him. And to be hated by someone his magic is protecting because he loves so much his magic has mistaken them for being his Alitha is . . . is just . . .

Kaldur buries his head in his hands. He understands now why he might have blocked this realisation from his mind. He doesn't just love Roy, he has bound the archer to him against his will and Roy will hate him for this and Kaldur can't live with that, just can't, he –

"Kaldur." Roy's voice is worried and closer than it was seconds ago and suddenly he's being pulled into Roy's arms. "What's wrong? Have you got a headache? A migraine? What's wrong?"

Roy is panicking about him. Panicking. And Roy just doesn't panic. Ever. So he should respond. Put Roy at ease. But Kaldur doesn't want to answer. He doesn't want to admit to what's he's just realised.

But . . . but he has to.

He has to live with this. He can't push it away and deny it any more. Because the reason he ended up like this in the first place, without his magic and dying, is because he denied his love for Roy. He promised his Queen that he would do his best to stop denying himself. So really, it's time to stop running. Telling Roy might not even fix the problem of his magic because he still won't be truly 'embracing' his love. But he must try anyway. Must fulfil his promise to his Queen. Must try and live for all the people who have desperately been trying to help him.

Glancing up at Roy - who has one arm wrapped round Kaldur and holding him close while his other hand is groping for his communicator which is lying on the coffee table - Kaldur realises that Roy has given up on getting him to talk and is instead planning on calling in help, probably in the form of his Queen. And Kaldur doesn't think he can confess with Mera here.

So it's now or never.

"I love you." Kaldur whispers.

Roy's head snaps back round to face him and there's a second where he just stares at Kaldur, blue eyes wide with shock. And then quite suddenly the redhead is leaning forward, pressing his chapped lips against Kaldur's. He freezes for a brief moment (because of the many reactions he might have been expecting this certainly wasn't one of them) then wraps his arms round Roy's neck, pulling him closer as the kiss deepens. Because whether he was expecting it or not Roy is kissing him. And the archer isn't one for lies or half-truths; he would not kiss Kaldur if he didn't return his feelings.

Roy returns his feelings.

Roy cares for him.

Wonderful, grumpy, stubborn, caring, perhaps-not-so-playboy Roy cares for him.

It starts as nothing more than a tingling in his fingers which Kaldur ignores because kissing Roy seems far more important than some random sensation but then it progresses up his arms, spreading outwards to his torso and beyond, filling his whole body. And, by Poseidon, Kaldur realises that it's his magic. And it's beautiful and wonderful and so he calls it.

Calls perhaps a little too loudly because it's pouring out of him in waves, wrapping itself around Roy and spreading out across the apartment. There's an explosive bang as the water pipes in the walls of Roy's apartment burst. The water forces its way through cracks in the wall, cascading across the floor towards them. Roy pulls his face away from Kaldur's and laughs as water sloshes up against the back of his legs, almost tipping him over.

"You got your magic back." Roy says, his usual scowl replaced with a delighted grin. "You were denying me?"

"Apparently." Kaldur says, feeling a blush spreading across his cheeks as water continues to pour into the room. He's surprised by his inability to reign in his magic, he supposes it might be due to the fact that he's had to call so hard to communicate with it before he lost it. But still the water is steadily pouring in and, Kaldur realises with horror, soaking Roy's furniture.

"Your apartment is going to be ruined." Kaldur gasps, unwrapping one hand from around Roy's neck and stretching out a hand towards the floor. "I'll just - "

Roy kisses him again. Fiercely. Passionately. And he finds himself responding before he knows what he's doing. The water he had been directing away from the sofa drops onto it with a loud splash!

He tries to pull away from Roy at that point to explain to him that he's trying to save his apartment from being ruined but Roy follows him. Peppering kisses across Kaldur's cheeks and nose and forehead and any piece of skin he can reach.

"I – I can't focus." Kaldur chokes out as Roy's lips start trailing down his neck towards his gills. "Your apartment - "

"Kaldur." Roy growls against his neck, hot breath teasing the edges of his gills. "I don't care about my apartment. Not one single bloody bit. You're going to live. You're going to live and you love me. Nothing else matters."

And then Roy is kissing his gills and Kaldur decides that the archer is making far too compelling an argument to disagree with.

Dianh is worried about Roy.

She knew, even before he told her, that the archer was in love with Kaldur. Loved him completely and utterly. So when Kaldur had lost his magic she hadn't known how to tell Roy. How does any mother (and no matter what anyone else said she was his mother in every way that counted) tell their son that the person they love is dying?

She hadn't had to in the end because Kaldur had told him for her.

Batman had been kept up-to-date on the situation by a fairly reluctant Robin and he had informed her that Roy had decided to try and help Kaldur (which hadn't surprised her in the slightest considering how desperately in love with Kaldur Roy was.)

This is why she's here in Star City on her lunch break. No one else knows that Roy loves Kaldur (she hasn't even told Ollie because Roy made her promise not to) so he's going to need someone to help him cope with the situation. Though she doesn't know how she's going to help. She has no idea how she'd react if Ollie was in the situation Kaldur was in. But she has to try anyway.

With a sigh she slides the spare key Roy gave her when he first moved in into the lock and opens the door. Water comes gushing out the door, cascading over her feet and tumbling down the steps into the street.

"What - ?" She mumbles, stepping into the apartment. It looks like it's been hit by a bomb. There are cracks in the wall which have exposed broken pipes that water is still dripping out of and all the furniture is sopping wet and most likely ruined (she can already sense the argument Ollie and Roy will have over the blond buying him replacement furniture.)

But there's no Roy in sight.

"Roy?" She asks; worry filling her when she gets no response. "Roy? Roy?"

There's a squawking sound from his bedroom which makes her instantly run for the bedroom door. Yanking it open she stops short when she sees the redhead hurriedly pulling on a pair of trousers.

"Roy, what - "

Then she notices the bed. The bed where a badly blushing Kaldur has the sheets pulled up to his chin.

"I – what – " She mumbles, waving a hand first at them then at the room behind her. She hadn't expected Roy to confess when Kaldur was essentially on his death bed. And him confessing certainly doesn't explain what happened to Roy's living room.

"Kaldur's got his magic back." Roy mutters. "And we're kinda busy, so if you could - "

He makes a shooing motion with his hands which she chooses to ignore. Because no way, are they getting out of this that easily.

"I want an explanation." She demands, crossing her arms over her chest in determination.

"Later." Roy whines in a tone of voice he hasn't used on her since he was twelve and wanted her to buy him ice-cream. It makes her want to smile because if he is using that voice then everything has to be okay. And he said Kaldur's magic was back so the Atlantean will be fine. So . . .

"Alright, I'll go." She says, turning to walk out the door. "But I expect an explanation later and you boys had better tell Orin that Kaldur's going to be okay. He's been worried sick about Kaldur."

The Atlantean makes a horrified noise in the back of his throat and starts muttering about needing his communicator under his breath. Roy however scowls at her for clearly ruining his plans of what he intended to do after she left.

She supposes, as she shuts the front door behind her, that she should feel bad about that but she can't help the happiness that is filling her up. Her son has found someone he loves and who loves him in return and they are no longer dying.

Life is good once more.

Now, what should she cook for when Roy brings Kaldur over?

"So," Roy says after his front door slams shut, "I suppose I should really ask you what happened in order to explain it to Dinah."

Kaldur blushes, lowering the blankets slightly as he stares up at Roy from his bed. "Now?"

"Considering how much it's embarrassing you?" Roy asks, smirking in satisfaction as Kaldur's blush deepens. There's something amazing about being able to make the calm, patient Atlantean blush with just a couple of words. "Definitely."

Kaldur inhales deeply then mutters very quickly under his breath, "I must call my Queen and King and tell them that I'm going to live."

And with that he scrambles out of bed and reaches for the clothes lying pooled on the floor where they left them several hours earlier.

"Oh no." Roy mutters, pulling Kaldur's trousers out of his hands. "You're not getting out of it that easily."

"Roy." Kaldur mutters, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice. "They're very important to me; I have to tell them as soon as possible."

"If they're that important you should tell them in person." Roy mutters, running his eyes up and down Kaldur's naked form. Enjoying the deep blush this causes. "So the quicker you start talking the quicker we get going."

Kaldur sighs heavily at that, wrapping his arms around himself defensively. "I told you about Alitha, the bonding of one's magic with their love?"

"Yes, you – " Roy stops, considers that for a moment. Huh. "Kaldur, are you and I – "

"Yes." Kaldur says softly, turning his head away from Roy. "You declared that you were not interested in any kind of relationship. And I must have worked out that we had bonded and believed that it was an error due to my half human nature."

"An error?" Roy growls, fighting to keep the pain out of his voice because that hurt. He crosses his arms across his chest to stop himself from reaching for Kaldur and forcing the blond to look at him because he knows he's not the person any parent wants their child to bring home to meet them but still . . . "Why would you think that loving me was an error?"

"No." Kaldur says, voice suddenly stricken as he reaches for Roy, wrapping his hands around Roy's arms and rubbing his thumbs in soothing circles across his skin. "I don't think that loving you is an error. I just thought my magic bonding to you was an error. I didn't think you returned my feelings – you said you were only interested in one-nightstands - so my magic binding us together was going to hurt you because I wasn't good enough for you."

Roy huffs in response at that (because, honestly Kaldur is such a moron some times, how can he not see how god damn brilliant he is?) but uncrosses his arms and pulls Kaldur into a hug. "We're not an error."

"I know." Kaldur says quietly into his shoulder.

"And I only said that stuff about one-night stands and only loving my job so you didn't figure out I'd fallen in love with you."

"That I did not know."

"And I'm telling Canary you freaked out about loving me and forget it."

"I was not, as you put it, 'freaking out' about loving you, I – "

"And," Roy continues, acting as if he hadn't heard Kaldur which makes the Atlantean frown in a way that the redhead has always found rather sexy, "she'll probably demand you come over for dinner with us so she can tease you about it."

"Dinner? Us?" Kaldur asks, pulling away so he can look Roy in the eye, surprise written all over his face.

"Yeah. My family doesn't do things by half. So Canary will want you over as soon as possible." Roy admits. He's got used to it for the most part (apart from when Ollie goes over-the-top about well, a lot of things) but he figures Kaldur is better off getting a warning.

"I see." Kaldur says softly. He pauses for a moment, clearly thinking over what Roy has just said. The redhead can't help but feel slightly nervous about that. Perhaps telling someone you love them and inviting them to meet your parents in the same day is a bit too quick but his family really don't do anything by halves and he'd rather scare Kaldur himself than have Dinah or Ollie scare him.

"That would be nice." Kaldur says softly, reaching up to press a quick kiss to Roy's lips. "I would like to get to know Canary and Arrow as your parents."

"Dinah and Ollie." Roy corrects with a grin that he just can't keep off his face because he can't remember a time where he was this happy.

When Kaldur first comes striding out the zeta-tubes Robin's first thought is 'what the Hell is Roy thinking letting him walk without help?' His second thought, when he notices the look of utter fury on Queen Mera's face, is 'I'm going to lose two friends instead of just one.'

And then Kaldur smiles, extends a hand before him and his tattoos light up as electricity dances down his arm to his fingertips.

Kaldur is doing magic.

Kaldur. Is. Doing. Magic.

There's a sudden cry and Mera launches herself across the room at Kaldur. She's babbling hysterically in Atlantean as she pulls the blond into her arms. But Robin can't really blame her because he feels like running over and hugging Kaldur himself because his friend is going to live.

M'gann. He yells out mentally. M'gann. Tell everyone that Kaldur is doing magic! He's doing magic!

There's a delighted yell in his head and the sudden sound of running footsteps as the Martian fills everyone in on what's happened. The next second KF is sliding to stop beside Kaldur and Mera and, rather than waiting for them to separate, he throws his arms round both of them and joins in the hug. Mera just laughs so Robin takes that as a go-ahead and races across the floor and joins in to. Seconds later, he grunts as his face is mashed into Kaldur's shoulder as the others join in the group hug as well.

"You all look like idiots." Red Arrow mutters as he steps out the zeta-tube behind them. "And if you suffocate him now after we've finally fixed him I'm going to make you hurt."

Mera makes a small happy noise in the back of her throat when she sees the archer and starts squirming her way out the group hug much to everyone's surprise. Apart from possibly Kaldur who is smiling serenely and knowingly at his Queen as she manages to wriggle her way out of the group hug.

"Eristo esa. Eristo esa." She mutters as she makes her way across the room towards him, tears in her eyes. Stopping in front of him, the redhead loops her arms around his neck and pulls him down into her arms. Red Arrow's eyes widen in surprise as the Queen clings onto him but, after he's taken a moment to get over his shock, he awkwardly wraps his arms around her.

"Thank you." Mera whispers, running a hand through his messy red hair. "Thank you so much."

"S'alright." Roy mutters sullenly but there's a slight red tinge to his cheeks that tell Robin he's not as unaffected as he's acting.

"So what happened to make you lose your magic Kaldur?" Artemis asks curiously, her voice muffled because it's buried in M'gann's hair. Mera makes an agreeing noise that suggests she wants to know as well but continues to hug Red Arrow who is beginning to look even more embarrassed than he already was.

Kaldur blushes fiercely at the question. "It's a long story."

"And an embarrassing one." KF adds, with a grin as he notices the Atlantean's red cheeks. "So spill man, we want to hear it all."

Kaldur and Roy share a look. A significant look. Well isn't that interesting.

"Well it started . . ."

It's been two weeks since Kaldur regained his magic and while he's managed to finally get it entirely under control (there were a couple of instances where Roy had surprised him with a kiss and he accidently soaked them both in shock that the archer isn't letting him forget any time soon) but he has yet to be cleared for duty. His body hasn't recovered from the long-term effects of his Disconnection. The Healer estimates it will be, at minimum, another three weeks before he can start training again. And even then he will not be allowed on missions until Batman and Canary think he's ready.

Roy's okay with this. Really, really okay with this in fact. Somehow he's managed to persuade Kaldur to come live with him while he's recovering (Kaldur doesn't quite know how that happened, much to Robin and KF's amusement) and takes great joy in waking the Atlantean each morning with a kiss.

Like he's doing right now.

Kaldur smiles as Roy presses a chaste kiss to first his lips then his forehead before occupying Kaldur's lips once more.

"Good morning." Kaldur says softly when Roy finally pulls away.

"'Morning." Roy replies, trailing his fingers down Kaldur's neck. "Breakfast?"

"Sounds nice. Shall I – " Kaldur starts, beginning to peel back his sheet (Roy has a duvet on top of the sheet they share because he gets cold otherwise) only for Roy to reach over and stop him.

"No. You're still recovering and until you get better it's my job to take care of you."

"And then you'll go back to being grumpy and not spoiling me at all?" Kaldur asks with a smile. "Because if I'm honest this over-attention is beginning to worry me."

Roy snorts. "It's worrying me too. Get better quicker."

Kaldur laughs to himself as Roy stumbles from the bed and makes his way towards the door. "So fry-up or boring cereal?"

"Cereal." Kaldur calls back. "I'm going down to Atlantis today for a check-up and I don't want to have too full a stomach. The tests make me rather nauseous."

"Right. When do I get you back?"

"Probably tomorrow morning. Queen Mera wants me to help her pick out some things for when the Heir is born and to have dinner with them so I shall probably spend the night." Kaldur says softly, smiling to himself. Mera has been calling him every day since she returned home to Atlantis twelve days ago. He can always hear King Orin in the background, demanding to know what he is saying much to his wife's annoyance. Mera also keeps asking about Roy – his Queen hadn't been surprised in the slightest when he admitted to loving Roy and had even approved of the archer. King Orin had been . . . less enthusiastic about their new relationship (mostly Kaldur thinks because his love for the redhead had resulted in him having Disconnection) but Mera had been quick to bring Orin round to her point-of-view though Kaldur does not know how and quite honestly does not want to know. If Kaldur is honest with himself (something he has been striving to do since he got Disconnection) he didn't appreciate how much they both cared for him until this all happened. Now though, whenever they ask him his opinion on the Heir or other aspects of their lives he knows it's because they love him like a son and they want to share their lives with him even though he's living on the surface now.

Smiling at Roy as the archer carefully places a tray with his breakfast on his lap it is clear to Kaldur that having Disconnection has changed his life permanently.

The most obvious change is Roy. Before this all started Kaldur would never have suspected Roy of wanting a long-term relationship, let alone such a relationship with him of all people. But since he admitted his feelings Roy has thrown himself head-first into their relationship with all the passion and determination Kaldur has only ever seen him show when on particularly challenging missions. The archer even brought Kaldur home with him recently for dinner which had been surprisingly enjoyable. Both Dinah and Ollie had been keen on including Kaldur in their lives (he was invited to another dinner in two weeks time and a charity event that the family were going to go support next week) and the Atlantean was very pleased to be so quickly accepted by those that Roy loved (even if he would never admit to loving Ollie and Dinah like his parents out loud.)

The Team's attitude towards him had changed as well, ever since he regained his magic they have been desperate to spend time with him, to get to know him better (they had told Kaldur off quite thoroughly about not telling them about how his King and Queen had pretty much adopted him). He thought the novelty of having him back might fade within a few days but everyone is still so desperate to include him in everything. Before he feared telling them his personal problems in case they didn't think he could put them aside and take care of them in battle. Since his Disconnection they have sat him down and told him that they have decided to help him fix his personal problems in the future so he wouldn't have to put anything aside when they go on missions. But even if his problem wasn't easily fixable they would always have faith in him to do the right thing (which, Kaldur knew, also meant taking himself off the Team if he really wasn't able to handle things because they're so desperate for him not to end up with Disconnection, or anything like it, again.) While Roy approves immensely of this change in their friends he still gets grumpy with them when they ring repeatedly to ask Kaldur to hang out with them or if he says he's busy to 'check that Kaldur is doing okay' mostly because he thinks they don't trust him to take care of Kaldur which he does not appreciate at all.

But, Kaldur has found, the most important change of his team-mates has been in Robin. The Boy Wonder was always their unofficial second-in-command so if anything happened to Kaldur during a mission he took control of the situation. But now, he's trying to actively participate as a second-in-command – he's helping Kaldur reign in the others and backing up his decisions and just all-round helping Kaldur with everything he has to do. The Atlantean knows that Robin isn't ready to be leader yet but he's taken one step closer to being ready and Kaldur is appreciative of the help he is getting.

So despite what he suffered through with Disconnection Kaldur has found that he can't help but be glad that he went through it. Not only has the experience bridged the gap between him and his team-mates it has also given him Roy. Wonderfully grumpy, cynical Roy who loves Kaldur just as much as Kaldur loves him. So though he knows that recovery might be a long way off yet he is okay with that because when he takes his place among his team-mates and friends once more he will be a stronger (and happier) person than he was before. And really, that's all that matters.

End Chapter 4: Surprise.

Eristo esa is my made-up Atlantean for thank you in case anyone was wondering.

I had trouble writing the ending. I think it turned out okay (eventually.) Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

So the reason behind this story is because I had this idea that, for some reason one day, when Roy kisses Kaldur it makes his magic react and they got soaked. And as the idea wouldn't leave so I had to invent a story to explain why they got to that point.