Something About Us: Chapter Two
Title: Something About Us
Author:Asase
Fandom: Young Justice/ DC
Rating:PG 13
Genre:Romance
Characters: Kaldur'ahm. Roy Harper, Lian Harper
Word Count:2,992
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or organizations from the Young Justice cartoon, comics, or expanded DC universe.
Something About Us
Chapter Two
Roy took a sip of his coffee and frowned. It was perfect. Brewed strong with a bit of sugar just how he liked it. Kaldur didn't even ask how he liked it, only if he wanted coffee. Then brewed a pot and brought a mug to the living room for him. Back then this wouldn't have been weird. There were a number of long nights and early mornings between them. Caffeine was a matter of survival during stake outs and since someone had to keep watch they took turns performing coffee runs. Back then Wally would just load everyone up on sugar, Dick was thoughtful enough to bring sugar packets for everyone to mix their own, but Kaldur, Kaldur always got it perfect. Roy decided that Kaldur was stupid for remembering and his frown deepened.
“Is something the matter?” Kaldur asked looking over from his work in the kitchen.
“Huh? No.” Roy shook his head then took another sip.
Lian sat on the sofa next to her father. Her posture became progressively worse as she flipped through the channels. They were all in Greek. Roy let her have reign over the remote, he wasn't paying attention to the TV anyway. Whenever Kaldur happened to be facing away from the living room Roy caught himself staring. Kaldur had done away with his jacket, as well as the button down shirt he wore that day. He looked slovenly for Kaldur standards in just a pair of dark washed jeans, a tank top, and a plan blue apron. But maybe Roy had just become too used to seeing Kaldur either in uniform or what Kaldur thought passed for casual clothing.
Roy's eyes settled on the muscles of Kaldur's back, he should have lost some definition without hero work to keep him motivated. He wondered if Kaldur swam laps around the island to make up for the change in activity and chuckled.
“Hmm?” Lian asked.
“Nothing. Remembered something funny.” Roy lied.
“Well share it with me. I'm like seriously bored out of my mind over here,” she muttered as she pressed the channel button again.
Roy reached over and mussed Lian's hair. “You'll find something to watch princess.” He laughed as Lian shoved his hand off her head. It was then that Roy's eyes settled onto Kaldur's arms. The tattoos were missing. He was certain that because of their magical nature they couldn't be removed. A sudden irrational fear gripped him. Had he been lead into a trap? Had Kaldur been kidnapped and replaced by an imposter? Either way none of his or Lian's gear was near by. Just as he was thinking of a way to alert Lian without letting not-Kaldur know of his suspicions, Kaldur gestured to the sink and his tattoos appeared. They glowed as a stream of water flowed his way and continued to glow as he rinsed off some parsley. Roy's jaw dropped a bit. At some point during the past four years Kaldur had completed his training.
“You know.” Lian whispered. “I don't blame you for checking him out. Uncle Kaldur's pretty hot.”
Roy's mouth snapped shut. He gave Lian a dirty look. “I am not checking him out,” he said through clenched teeth.
Lian scoffed. “If you say so.” She put the remote down and stood. “Okay there is nothing on,” She raised her arms in the air for a stretch. “I'm gonna see if I can help out a bit.”
“Hey!” Roy grabbed Lian's arm
Leaning in Lian whispered in his ear. “Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell him.” She winked before removing his hand and making her way to the kitchen.
Roy stewed a bit. But I'm not checking him out, he thought, his inner voice sounding petulant within his own mind. He'd checked Kaldur out before, he knew what checking Kaldur out was like. Lian was just to young to know the difference. Roy resisted the urge to nod to himself and took a long drag of his coffee instead. He was simply analyzing the situation. Who knew what would have happened if Kaldur wasn't Kaldur!
His rationalizations brought back memories. He had checked Kaldur out before and now he felt stupid for suggesting they share a bed. Because the last time they did they actually were on top of each other. Granted, Kaldur was out of sorts because of Tula's death and Roy only wanted to make everything okay for who he assumed was his last friend on earth. He'd thought he'd seen the depths of Kaldur's emotional range, but Kaldur cried. Cried, and all Roy could think to do was kiss the tears away.
Shit, Roy thought. He could feel the blood rushing to his face, his ears were probably redder than the tomato Kaldur just passed to Lian to cut up. It was a lifetime ago, but he was suddenly remembering everything they did that night, and did that week. It seemed unimportant after the invasion. Jade had returned to him and brought Lian with her. With a family, and the promise of a fulfilling domestic life, Roy had no time to wonder if the fling could have became something more. Now he was single and spending the night in the bed of the first man he'd ever... Fuck! I should have let him change the sheets, they probably smell just like...Fuck, Roy thought. He began to pray to whatever gods that would listen that the brand of body wash Kaldur used to use had been discontinued. Kaldur was a creature of habit and wouldn't change without reason, otherwise sleep wouldn't come easy for Roy tonight.
Lian was too absorbed with chatting to notice her father's struggles. “Fish huh?” Lian asked her voice dry.
“Apologies,” Kaldur said. “I had beef last night ..so.”
“No its fine. I'm not against it. It's just.” She giggled a bit. “A bit stereotypical? But you're really going all out.” She walked over to the dough that Kaldur had rising on the counter and poked at the plastic wrap stretched on top of the bowl.
“I enjoy cooking.”
“That's nice. That one over there,” She jerked her thumb over to her father. “Only does breakfast and grills things. So man cooking.”
Kaldur's eyes crinkled in amusement. “Man cooking?” He asked with a smile.
Lian blushed a bit. “Yeah...I mean what else would you call it?”
“It's better than no cooking.” Roy retorted. “Since when do you try to cook anything other than boxed mac and cheese and ramen?”
Lian's blush grew. She glared at her father. Roy stuck his tongue out at her as a response. Kaldur laughed at the display and Roy quickly drew his tongue back into his mouth. He went to take another sip of coffee and saw that it was empty. Grudgingly he got up and headed to the kitchen for a refill.
“Anyway.” Lian said as she rolled her eyes. “Do you ever cook for other people? I don't see a dining table.”
“Pass me that bowl please?” Kaldur asked, pointing to the ball of dough. He resumed speaking after he had the bowl in his hand.“I normally eat in the kitchen. There was not enough room for a proper dining space, so I made the island larger and purchased some stools. But I have a table set up on the courtyard. Most of the time my neighbors invite me to their homes and I will make a dish as a gift.”
“Ugh.” Roy inspected his coffee cup after taking a sip.
“Is something the matter?” Kaldur asked.
“No. I added too much sugar.” Roy took a big gulp and then added more coffee to his mug to balance the flavor. Something was so wrong about Kaldur knowing how to make his coffee better than he did.
“So no girlfriend then?” Lian asked.
Roy almost choked on his coffee.
“No.” Kaldur continued to work as if the question didn’t phase him.
Lian pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Boyfriend?”
“Lian,” Roy almost yelled. “Go...watch TV or something.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaat? Its all Greek. I like only know how to say hello and where's the restroom in Greek.” She shook her head. “Are there any English channels? Or Vietnamese?” She asked Kaldur.
“Unfortunately no. But you can borrow my laptop if you would like to find something to watch.”
Lian's face lit up “Oh you have wifi here? I have my own laptop.” She left the kitchen and headed towards the guest room. “Finally civilization!”
Kaldur chuckled as he watched Lian leave.
Roy sighed. “Really, I am so, so, sorry about this.”
Kaldur slipped on some oven mitts. “She is fine. It is hardly worse that what locals have asked about my life.” He opened his oven and prepared to put the bread and fish inside
Roy grabbed bread pan from Kaldur. “What are you doing?” He placed the pan on the table before taking the fish as well. “I don't know why you insist on doing this type of stuff when you know you have a weakness for extreme temperatures.” He plucked the oven mitts off of Kaldur's hands.
“It is fine...I am never near the oven that long.”
Roy gave Kaldur a dirty look as he put the mitts on.
“And what am I to do?” Kaldur responded. “Microwave everything?”
Roy placed the food into the oven and closed the door. “There are some pretty powerful ones on the market now you know.”
Kaldur rolled his eyes. “I have not passed out yet and you never complain when the food is done.”
Lian stood on the opposite side of the kitchen and giggled. “Is this like... normal for you two?”
Both men jumped. Kaldur was the first to speak. “Lian...This is-”
Lian opened her Laptop and held it up for Kaldur. “Password please.”
Kaldur identified his network and then typed in his password.
“Thank you.” Lian moved to sit on one of the stools.
Roy scoffed. “You know, it's good to unplug on occasion. You should take advantage of our cellphone's lack of signal to take a break. Your blog wont shut down if you don't update it every hour.”
Lian typed away without looking up. “You sound old dad.”
“I'm serious, you're always on that thing, and don't lecture me about growing technology. How can you be so connected to a dinky phone or laptop when the Watchtower is chock full of supercomputers? Even some from other planets?”
“You can't play games on the Watchtower computers dad.”
“You can not?” Kaldur asked.
“Batman keeps uninstalling the emulators.” Lian explained
“Oh?” Kaldur made a face. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “ I would think that indulging in such games is important to keeping a balanced mental state. Especially after dealing with unsavory individuals.”
“Can you tell Batman that? It's turning into a family feud. Uncle Dick will download the program, and then Batman will uninstall it. And now that Uncle Dick has managed to create programs that aren't easily uninstallable Batman makes Uncle Tim take it down for him.”
Kaldur laughed. “Lian, You do know Batman's identity correct?”
“Uhh yeah...I know.”
“Then why is it Uncle Dick and Uncle Tim, but not Uncle Bruce?”
“Kal,” Roy interjected. “Have you heard anyone besides Clark and Diana call him Bruce while he's in uniform?”
Kaldur thought for a second. “Oliver when he is angry enough to throw caution to the wind. So point taken.”
Lian's eyes grew wide. “That does not sound nice.”
Roy laughed and rubbed his hands together. “Alright princess. Story time.”
**********************************************
The sofa was too small for Kaldur. He did not try to deny it, he was only glad that the polite thing to do was to give Roy his bed. Roy's suggestion that they share the bed was reasonable. They wouldn't even be at risk for accidental touching. They could have both spent the night in comfort with their backs turned from each other, yet Kaldur felt it would have provided a worse nights sleep for him than the sofa. At least there he wouldn't have to hide his discomfort, or any other intrusive emotions. He was already off center from Roy's behavior last night.
Kaldur pretended not to notice the staring because anything else would make the situation more awkward. Only decades of working under pressure kept his chopping knife steady as he made dinner. He was afraid. Afraid of being alone with Roy, afraid of whatever questions Roy might ask, afraid of explaining himself. He knew that he had been distant for over a decade. He assumed that Roy didn't mind. Roy had no reason to mind, he had a life to rebuild and family to rebuild it with. The answers to his questions would have only hindered that process, and at this date the answers were useless to either of them.
Kaldur woke an hour earlier than normal with back pain. Giving up on the idea of sleep he decided to start his morning ritual, a light breakfast followed by a few laps around the island of Santorini. When he returned both Roy and Lian had gone out for the morning. Kaldur took their absence as a opportunity to get some work done. He wasn't sure what their plans were today, and Lian might insist that he tag along.
Kaldur felt like working in his courtyard this morning. Suddenly the home he had built as an escape felt like a prison. He supposed that he was anxious. He did not know when Roy and Lian would be back and was not ready to speak to Roy yet. It was an added expense but Kaldur installed a small sink in his courtyard, and kept an electric kettle, mugs, and tea in the cupboard under it. He spread out his resources, turned on his laptop, slipped on his reading glasses and got to work. By his third cup of tea he was joined by Lian. She still wore work out clothes and had her hair tied back in a bun.
“I assume practice was successful?”
“Yep.” She tipped over to Kaldur's side of the table and looked over his shoulder. “That...looks really really complicated”
Kaldur removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It is my work.”
“Really? I assumed that you were incredibly rich because of sunken treasure or something.”
Kaldur smiled and returned his glasses to his face. “Unfortunately no.” He picked up his mug and took a sip.
“Green?” Lian asked.
“Yes.” Kaldur got up from his chair. “Would you like a cup?”
“Yes please.”
By the time Kaldur returned with a mug Lian had taken a seat, as well as his cup. “It's already brewed,” she explained. Lian sat crossed legged in her chair, cradling her cup. After a few moments she spoke again. “You know.” she started quietly. “Uncle Dick told me that you were supposed to be my godfather.”
“I was?” Kaldur asked. He hid his surprise.
Lian nodded. “He said that you and my dad used to be really good friends. So he never expected to be asked.”
“Dick is better with children. He also has access to resources that would ensure you have a good life if something were to happen to your parents.”
Lian looked around the patio. “You don't seem to be doing that bad for yourself.” She pointed to a row of planters in the right corner. “How many herbs do you have?”
Kaldur was happy for the change in subject. “I have 15 types.”
She got up and walked over to then. “And they grow year round?”
“It is pretty temperate here.”
Roy opened the door than knocked on the door frame to the patio. “Hey.”
“Morning.” Kaldur glanced in Roy's direction when he answered and regretted the impulse. Some habits never died, and Roy never bothered to bring a full change of clothes with him to the bathroom. At least this time he had the decency to pull back on his used pants instead to making a mad dash for his room with a towel wrapped around his waist. Kaldur wished that he had worn his old shirt as well. To make matters worse Kaldur could smell his body wash on him. Kaldur's skin was sensitive to most soaps so he used a natural brand that smelled of almond oil. It was a level of intimacy that they hadn't shared in a long time.
“Looking for me?” Lian asked.
“Shower's free. And I'm gonna make breakfast.” He looked to Kaldur. “I guess you'd have just about anything we'd need right?”
Kaldur tore his eyes away and returned to his work. “I should have the basics, yes.”
“Nothing too filling.” Lian warned. “I don't want to be bloated before the shoot.”
“Yeah yeah,” Roy waved her off and made his way back into the house.
Lian sighed. “I'd better go and monitor him.” She stopped in front of Kaldur before continuing into the house. “Do you think,maybe, that you and my dad could be friends again?”
“Again?” Kaldur asked feigning innocence. He smiled and hoped that it wasn't as weak as he felt.
“Its just that all he does now is work and chase after me. Uncle Dick's tries to get him to hang out but I don't think he really gets him.... Anyway. Just think about it.” she left the courtyard and returned to the house
.
Kaldur stared after her, unsure if he'd ever find the words to explain that for him being friends with her father was impossible.
Author:Asase
Fandom: Young Justice/ DC
Rating:PG 13
Genre:Romance
Characters: Kaldur'ahm. Roy Harper, Lian Harper
Word Count:2,992
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or organizations from the Young Justice cartoon, comics, or expanded DC universe.
Something About Us
Chapter Two
Roy took a sip of his coffee and frowned. It was perfect. Brewed strong with a bit of sugar just how he liked it. Kaldur didn't even ask how he liked it, only if he wanted coffee. Then brewed a pot and brought a mug to the living room for him. Back then this wouldn't have been weird. There were a number of long nights and early mornings between them. Caffeine was a matter of survival during stake outs and since someone had to keep watch they took turns performing coffee runs. Back then Wally would just load everyone up on sugar, Dick was thoughtful enough to bring sugar packets for everyone to mix their own, but Kaldur, Kaldur always got it perfect. Roy decided that Kaldur was stupid for remembering and his frown deepened.
“Is something the matter?” Kaldur asked looking over from his work in the kitchen.
“Huh? No.” Roy shook his head then took another sip.
Lian sat on the sofa next to her father. Her posture became progressively worse as she flipped through the channels. They were all in Greek. Roy let her have reign over the remote, he wasn't paying attention to the TV anyway. Whenever Kaldur happened to be facing away from the living room Roy caught himself staring. Kaldur had done away with his jacket, as well as the button down shirt he wore that day. He looked slovenly for Kaldur standards in just a pair of dark washed jeans, a tank top, and a plan blue apron. But maybe Roy had just become too used to seeing Kaldur either in uniform or what Kaldur thought passed for casual clothing.
Roy's eyes settled on the muscles of Kaldur's back, he should have lost some definition without hero work to keep him motivated. He wondered if Kaldur swam laps around the island to make up for the change in activity and chuckled.
“Hmm?” Lian asked.
“Nothing. Remembered something funny.” Roy lied.
“Well share it with me. I'm like seriously bored out of my mind over here,” she muttered as she pressed the channel button again.
Roy reached over and mussed Lian's hair. “You'll find something to watch princess.” He laughed as Lian shoved his hand off her head. It was then that Roy's eyes settled onto Kaldur's arms. The tattoos were missing. He was certain that because of their magical nature they couldn't be removed. A sudden irrational fear gripped him. Had he been lead into a trap? Had Kaldur been kidnapped and replaced by an imposter? Either way none of his or Lian's gear was near by. Just as he was thinking of a way to alert Lian without letting not-Kaldur know of his suspicions, Kaldur gestured to the sink and his tattoos appeared. They glowed as a stream of water flowed his way and continued to glow as he rinsed off some parsley. Roy's jaw dropped a bit. At some point during the past four years Kaldur had completed his training.
“You know.” Lian whispered. “I don't blame you for checking him out. Uncle Kaldur's pretty hot.”
Roy's mouth snapped shut. He gave Lian a dirty look. “I am not checking him out,” he said through clenched teeth.
Lian scoffed. “If you say so.” She put the remote down and stood. “Okay there is nothing on,” She raised her arms in the air for a stretch. “I'm gonna see if I can help out a bit.”
“Hey!” Roy grabbed Lian's arm
Leaning in Lian whispered in his ear. “Don't worry. I'm not gonna tell him.” She winked before removing his hand and making her way to the kitchen.
Roy stewed a bit. But I'm not checking him out, he thought, his inner voice sounding petulant within his own mind. He'd checked Kaldur out before, he knew what checking Kaldur out was like. Lian was just to young to know the difference. Roy resisted the urge to nod to himself and took a long drag of his coffee instead. He was simply analyzing the situation. Who knew what would have happened if Kaldur wasn't Kaldur!
His rationalizations brought back memories. He had checked Kaldur out before and now he felt stupid for suggesting they share a bed. Because the last time they did they actually were on top of each other. Granted, Kaldur was out of sorts because of Tula's death and Roy only wanted to make everything okay for who he assumed was his last friend on earth. He'd thought he'd seen the depths of Kaldur's emotional range, but Kaldur cried. Cried, and all Roy could think to do was kiss the tears away.
Shit, Roy thought. He could feel the blood rushing to his face, his ears were probably redder than the tomato Kaldur just passed to Lian to cut up. It was a lifetime ago, but he was suddenly remembering everything they did that night, and did that week. It seemed unimportant after the invasion. Jade had returned to him and brought Lian with her. With a family, and the promise of a fulfilling domestic life, Roy had no time to wonder if the fling could have became something more. Now he was single and spending the night in the bed of the first man he'd ever... Fuck! I should have let him change the sheets, they probably smell just like...Fuck, Roy thought. He began to pray to whatever gods that would listen that the brand of body wash Kaldur used to use had been discontinued. Kaldur was a creature of habit and wouldn't change without reason, otherwise sleep wouldn't come easy for Roy tonight.
Lian was too absorbed with chatting to notice her father's struggles. “Fish huh?” Lian asked her voice dry.
“Apologies,” Kaldur said. “I had beef last night ..so.”
“No its fine. I'm not against it. It's just.” She giggled a bit. “A bit stereotypical? But you're really going all out.” She walked over to the dough that Kaldur had rising on the counter and poked at the plastic wrap stretched on top of the bowl.
“I enjoy cooking.”
“That's nice. That one over there,” She jerked her thumb over to her father. “Only does breakfast and grills things. So man cooking.”
Kaldur's eyes crinkled in amusement. “Man cooking?” He asked with a smile.
Lian blushed a bit. “Yeah...I mean what else would you call it?”
“It's better than no cooking.” Roy retorted. “Since when do you try to cook anything other than boxed mac and cheese and ramen?”
Lian's blush grew. She glared at her father. Roy stuck his tongue out at her as a response. Kaldur laughed at the display and Roy quickly drew his tongue back into his mouth. He went to take another sip of coffee and saw that it was empty. Grudgingly he got up and headed to the kitchen for a refill.
“Anyway.” Lian said as she rolled her eyes. “Do you ever cook for other people? I don't see a dining table.”
“Pass me that bowl please?” Kaldur asked, pointing to the ball of dough. He resumed speaking after he had the bowl in his hand.“I normally eat in the kitchen. There was not enough room for a proper dining space, so I made the island larger and purchased some stools. But I have a table set up on the courtyard. Most of the time my neighbors invite me to their homes and I will make a dish as a gift.”
“Ugh.” Roy inspected his coffee cup after taking a sip.
“Is something the matter?” Kaldur asked.
“No. I added too much sugar.” Roy took a big gulp and then added more coffee to his mug to balance the flavor. Something was so wrong about Kaldur knowing how to make his coffee better than he did.
“So no girlfriend then?” Lian asked.
Roy almost choked on his coffee.
“No.” Kaldur continued to work as if the question didn’t phase him.
Lian pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Boyfriend?”
“Lian,” Roy almost yelled. “Go...watch TV or something.”
“Whaaaaaaaaaat? Its all Greek. I like only know how to say hello and where's the restroom in Greek.” She shook her head. “Are there any English channels? Or Vietnamese?” She asked Kaldur.
“Unfortunately no. But you can borrow my laptop if you would like to find something to watch.”
Lian's face lit up “Oh you have wifi here? I have my own laptop.” She left the kitchen and headed towards the guest room. “Finally civilization!”
Kaldur chuckled as he watched Lian leave.
Roy sighed. “Really, I am so, so, sorry about this.”
Kaldur slipped on some oven mitts. “She is fine. It is hardly worse that what locals have asked about my life.” He opened his oven and prepared to put the bread and fish inside
Roy grabbed bread pan from Kaldur. “What are you doing?” He placed the pan on the table before taking the fish as well. “I don't know why you insist on doing this type of stuff when you know you have a weakness for extreme temperatures.” He plucked the oven mitts off of Kaldur's hands.
“It is fine...I am never near the oven that long.”
Roy gave Kaldur a dirty look as he put the mitts on.
“And what am I to do?” Kaldur responded. “Microwave everything?”
Roy placed the food into the oven and closed the door. “There are some pretty powerful ones on the market now you know.”
Kaldur rolled his eyes. “I have not passed out yet and you never complain when the food is done.”
Lian stood on the opposite side of the kitchen and giggled. “Is this like... normal for you two?”
Both men jumped. Kaldur was the first to speak. “Lian...This is-”
Lian opened her Laptop and held it up for Kaldur. “Password please.”
Kaldur identified his network and then typed in his password.
“Thank you.” Lian moved to sit on one of the stools.
Roy scoffed. “You know, it's good to unplug on occasion. You should take advantage of our cellphone's lack of signal to take a break. Your blog wont shut down if you don't update it every hour.”
Lian typed away without looking up. “You sound old dad.”
“I'm serious, you're always on that thing, and don't lecture me about growing technology. How can you be so connected to a dinky phone or laptop when the Watchtower is chock full of supercomputers? Even some from other planets?”
“You can't play games on the Watchtower computers dad.”
“You can not?” Kaldur asked.
“Batman keeps uninstalling the emulators.” Lian explained
“Oh?” Kaldur made a face. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. “ I would think that indulging in such games is important to keeping a balanced mental state. Especially after dealing with unsavory individuals.”
“Can you tell Batman that? It's turning into a family feud. Uncle Dick will download the program, and then Batman will uninstall it. And now that Uncle Dick has managed to create programs that aren't easily uninstallable Batman makes Uncle Tim take it down for him.”
Kaldur laughed. “Lian, You do know Batman's identity correct?”
“Uhh yeah...I know.”
“Then why is it Uncle Dick and Uncle Tim, but not Uncle Bruce?”
“Kal,” Roy interjected. “Have you heard anyone besides Clark and Diana call him Bruce while he's in uniform?”
Kaldur thought for a second. “Oliver when he is angry enough to throw caution to the wind. So point taken.”
Lian's eyes grew wide. “That does not sound nice.”
Roy laughed and rubbed his hands together. “Alright princess. Story time.”
**********************************************
The sofa was too small for Kaldur. He did not try to deny it, he was only glad that the polite thing to do was to give Roy his bed. Roy's suggestion that they share the bed was reasonable. They wouldn't even be at risk for accidental touching. They could have both spent the night in comfort with their backs turned from each other, yet Kaldur felt it would have provided a worse nights sleep for him than the sofa. At least there he wouldn't have to hide his discomfort, or any other intrusive emotions. He was already off center from Roy's behavior last night.
Kaldur pretended not to notice the staring because anything else would make the situation more awkward. Only decades of working under pressure kept his chopping knife steady as he made dinner. He was afraid. Afraid of being alone with Roy, afraid of whatever questions Roy might ask, afraid of explaining himself. He knew that he had been distant for over a decade. He assumed that Roy didn't mind. Roy had no reason to mind, he had a life to rebuild and family to rebuild it with. The answers to his questions would have only hindered that process, and at this date the answers were useless to either of them.
Kaldur woke an hour earlier than normal with back pain. Giving up on the idea of sleep he decided to start his morning ritual, a light breakfast followed by a few laps around the island of Santorini. When he returned both Roy and Lian had gone out for the morning. Kaldur took their absence as a opportunity to get some work done. He wasn't sure what their plans were today, and Lian might insist that he tag along.
Kaldur felt like working in his courtyard this morning. Suddenly the home he had built as an escape felt like a prison. He supposed that he was anxious. He did not know when Roy and Lian would be back and was not ready to speak to Roy yet. It was an added expense but Kaldur installed a small sink in his courtyard, and kept an electric kettle, mugs, and tea in the cupboard under it. He spread out his resources, turned on his laptop, slipped on his reading glasses and got to work. By his third cup of tea he was joined by Lian. She still wore work out clothes and had her hair tied back in a bun.
“I assume practice was successful?”
“Yep.” She tipped over to Kaldur's side of the table and looked over his shoulder. “That...looks really really complicated”
Kaldur removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “It is my work.”
“Really? I assumed that you were incredibly rich because of sunken treasure or something.”
Kaldur smiled and returned his glasses to his face. “Unfortunately no.” He picked up his mug and took a sip.
“Green?” Lian asked.
“Yes.” Kaldur got up from his chair. “Would you like a cup?”
“Yes please.”
By the time Kaldur returned with a mug Lian had taken a seat, as well as his cup. “It's already brewed,” she explained. Lian sat crossed legged in her chair, cradling her cup. After a few moments she spoke again. “You know.” she started quietly. “Uncle Dick told me that you were supposed to be my godfather.”
“I was?” Kaldur asked. He hid his surprise.
Lian nodded. “He said that you and my dad used to be really good friends. So he never expected to be asked.”
“Dick is better with children. He also has access to resources that would ensure you have a good life if something were to happen to your parents.”
Lian looked around the patio. “You don't seem to be doing that bad for yourself.” She pointed to a row of planters in the right corner. “How many herbs do you have?”
Kaldur was happy for the change in subject. “I have 15 types.”
She got up and walked over to then. “And they grow year round?”
“It is pretty temperate here.”
Roy opened the door than knocked on the door frame to the patio. “Hey.”
“Morning.” Kaldur glanced in Roy's direction when he answered and regretted the impulse. Some habits never died, and Roy never bothered to bring a full change of clothes with him to the bathroom. At least this time he had the decency to pull back on his used pants instead to making a mad dash for his room with a towel wrapped around his waist. Kaldur wished that he had worn his old shirt as well. To make matters worse Kaldur could smell his body wash on him. Kaldur's skin was sensitive to most soaps so he used a natural brand that smelled of almond oil. It was a level of intimacy that they hadn't shared in a long time.
“Looking for me?” Lian asked.
“Shower's free. And I'm gonna make breakfast.” He looked to Kaldur. “I guess you'd have just about anything we'd need right?”
Kaldur tore his eyes away and returned to his work. “I should have the basics, yes.”
“Nothing too filling.” Lian warned. “I don't want to be bloated before the shoot.”
“Yeah yeah,” Roy waved her off and made his way back into the house.
Lian sighed. “I'd better go and monitor him.” She stopped in front of Kaldur before continuing into the house. “Do you think,maybe, that you and my dad could be friends again?”
“Again?” Kaldur asked feigning innocence. He smiled and hoped that it wasn't as weak as he felt.
“Its just that all he does now is work and chase after me. Uncle Dick's tries to get him to hang out but I don't think he really gets him.... Anyway. Just think about it.” she left the courtyard and returned to the house
.
Kaldur stared after her, unsure if he'd ever find the words to explain that for him being friends with her father was impossible.