Young Justice: Brightest Day [Solstice Book Two]

Two

"Show me the ring! I need proof!" Cassie squealed.

"It's not official," I laughed weakly, motioning for her to calm down with my non-ringed hands, "We just promised that we'd get married."

Cassie all but glared at me, hands on her hips. "You know that's as good as making it official, right?"

"Perhaps," Raquel put in thoughtfully. "You could get promise rings."

"I mean, getting promoted to Aquaman has to bring a handsome raise with the handsome lad, right?" Artemis leaned back in her chair, sipping her tea in a manner most nonchalant.

"You guys!" I blushed furiously while my friends laughed at my expense. Though Kaldur and I had joined the League with my two former mentors, Cassie was still on the team, the same team M'gann was now leading, Karen and Mal had retired when they began to expect their first child (now we knew it was a girl!), and Artemis had joined her brother-in law, Will Harper, in the League's reserves. She had a lot to catch up on with school, but the two of us had gotten into the rhythm through constant encouragement.

Zatanna grabbed my hands, "You know I'm here if you need a wedding planner, right?"

"Can recommend!" Karen had settled on tea like Artemis and Zee, she wasn't taking any risks with her pregnancy, but that didn't mean she was going to miss out on our monthly get togethers.

"You're on the top of my list," I promised her.

I glanced around the loud and crowded table, unable to keep from smiling. After M'gann and talked over our differences in the aftermath of the battle with Rankor the demon, Black Canary suggested that the girls team start hosting get-togethers to encourage friendships and keep people from having the same misunderstandings that we did. Technically, Artemis, Zatanna, Rocket, and I weren't on the team anymore, but apparently Artemis's saying from the early days of the team still stood: "The League's a bunch of stiffs!" (Except for us, apparently).

Since my joining the team, we'd only gotten a couple more team members- Thirteen, Arrowette, and Spoiler- Traci, Cissie, and Stephanie. Cassie got along fabulously with all three of them, and I was thrilled that she had more friends her age. It was hard to make many friends when you were a teenage, crime-fighting superhero who travelled the world with her mother.

Cassie's straw began to make a hollow sucking sound, signalling that she was out of liquid in her iced latte, and the rest of us were about done too.

"Come ON!" Cassie said as we broke up, "This is a momentous occasion! Even if he doesn't get you something, you should at least get something for him!"

"Like what?" I asked her, "He gets the biggest paycheck for being Aquaman every two weeks. What could I get him that he doesn't already have?"

"You know he donates most of his money to charity, right?" Artemis asked, examining a perfume bottle on display as we passed the store.

"The point is, if he wants something, he'll get it for himself."

"It's still nice to get presents, right Cassie?" Artemis reached behind me to give my best friend a meaningful nudge, but she'd suddenly disappeared. I followed the sound of familiar squeals, and we found her cooing at the window of the pet shop.

"Puppies!" She sighed dreamily as she heard us approach. She began making kissy faces as the lab puppies as they barked and pawed at the window, begging to be played with.

Artemis grabbed my arm, whispering excitedly as Cassie continued cooing.

"Last week I heard Black Canary talking to Kaldur after his therapy session, about how she thinks he could do better if he had a therapy dog. But you know Kaldur probably better than any of us, he's too stubborn to take care of himself unless someone tricks him into it."

I glanced back at the puppies in the store window, guessing where this was going.

"Don't therapy dogs have to be specially trained, though?" I asked her.

"Not really. I think Dinah specifically said he could use a friend to snuggle and cuddle, someone who's always happy to see him no matter what."

I planted my hands on my hips, "You think that's not what I do?" I asked

Artemis laughed, and by now Cassie had made her way inside the pet store and asked the clerk if she could hold one or two of the puppies.

"You know it's important not to throw all your emotional weight onto one person. There are some things he's reluctant to even talk to you about, right?"

I nodded. "See? If he's got a dog it could really help him! Not to mention that once you get married, it's basically your dog too."

I licked my lips uncertainly as one puppy relieved itself on Cassie's shirt. "You house-trained Brucely yourself, right?"

Artemis grinned, "I'll help you with that, don't worry."

I rolled my eyes into a smile, and linked my arm with hers, "Come on, I need your help picking out the perfect canine companion for Kaldur."

Artemis saluted, "I'm your woman."

-------

Artemis was right. Kaldur took to my "Promise-of-an-Engagement-Gift" like he did to water.

"You didn't have to get me a gift." He said distractedly, in a way that meant he was just being chivalrous. His new chocolate labrador retriever puppy was hopping all over his lap, licking at his face and taking in every new and wild scent.

"Well, honestly, I had no idea what to get you at first, and Cassie and the girls wouldn't let me hear the end of it. But I really wanted to get you something, just a bit of a reminder that we both want this."

"This what?"

I shrugged, gesturing around his apartment. "A future together."

Kaldur looked down at the wagging puppy in his hands, then held him up in my face.

"Does that mean he's supposed to be representative of a child?"

"Don't tell me you don't want kids!" I gave him a playful shove.

Kaldur placed the puppy on the floor to explore, and wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing me into the back of the couch. "Perhaps...I could be persuaded..."

"Kaldur!" My warning tone dissolved into laughter, and I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder.

"I love you," he whispered, running his hands through my hair. I loved it when he did that, it always smelled of saltwater afterwards.

"Kiran, how many children would you want?" He asked.

I thought for a moment. "At least one or two." For a moment, I was terrified. A marriage was probably destined to fail if the couple was not on the same page about children.

"Kaldur, do you want children?"

Kaldur was silent for a long time, and I clung to the back of his shirt while the puppy tried to worm his way in between us.

"I am...concerned about having children. I would love to be a father, but you know my own relationship with my father. He was anxious to have a family as well, but then he and my mother were driven apart."

"Hey," I said softly, gently turning his head to look at me, "You are not your dad, you know that right?"

It was Kaldur's turn to bury his face in my chest. He shook with silent sobs as I combed my fingers through his curls and gave the puppy plenty of scratches to keep him happy.

"I'm sorry-"

"It's fine, Kaldur," I told him quietly. "I love you."

Kaldur's chapped lips brushed against my forehead and I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"I love you too."