A Dragon's Love (Young Justice)

Apology Accepted

(Esmeralda's POV:)

I woke up to a strange, blinding white light, and the sound of gentle breathing. It's a little hard for me to breathe, but it's nothing I can't deal with. Once my eyes adjust to the light, I realize I'm in a hospital bed in the medical bay of the cave. I try to sit up, but I feel a heavy weight on my legs that stops me from moving. I look down and am very surprised at what I see.

Kaldur'ahm is asleep, his head resting on his crossed arms, which are lying on top of my legs. I smile slightly, running a hand through his hair gently. Memories flood my mind, and I remember exactly why I'm here in the first place.

I look down to see I'm in a modern day shirt. Somebody changed my clothes. The thought of one of the boys doing it causes me to blush. I shake my head. No. Black Canary most likely did it. I still have my mask on, so that's good. I look underneath my shirt's collar to scars from the tiger's claws. I sigh, dropping the fabric. This is my punishment for harming a tiger At least it's better than being dead though.

I hear noise coming from the hall, and the team comes walking in, along with Batman and Black Canary. They all freeze when they see that I'm awake. I wave, then put a finger to my lips to tell them to be quiet. I point to Kaldur, and they all nod.

"How long was I out?" I ask, my voice cracking here and there. "Three days." Canary says. My eyes grow wide, and I place my hand over my chest. I look back down to Kaldur. "A-and how long has he been here?" I question. "He's the one that brought you to the med bay. He hasn't left your side since." Artemis says. I nod, processing all of this. The big, white wolf from our last mission comes walking up and licking me, sitting on the opposite side of my bed from Kaldur.

"So, what are you gonna name him?" I ask. "What's wrong with Wolf?" Conner asks. "Generic, but acceptable." Kid states, shrugging. I smile, only slightly. "That's a good name." I say. Kaldur grunts, shifting in his sleep before sitting up, rubbing his eyes.

He looks over to see the team, his deep voice giving me shivers as he speaks in his morning voice, "Hello, everyone. What are you all doing here?" He asks. He yawns. "Hey dude, guess who's finally awake." Wally states, grinning. At that, Kaldur'ahm's eyes grow wide and his attention snaps to me. I smile at him, he smiles back, taking my hand in his. I blush ever so slightly.

"How are you feeling?" He asks. I shrug my shoulders. "I won't know until I try to stand up. I've never been injured by a tiger before, so this is new to me." I state as he stands up. "Would you like to try?" He asks. I nod, removing the blankets from my legs, which are covered in baggy pj pants. I move them to the side of the bed, and Canary comes to my other side. They both grab my hands and help me pull myself up.

Immediately, my knees give out on me, and I fall straight into Kaldur's chest. I look up into his eyes, surprised. His look amused. We hear 'aww's' and I'm quick to push away, sitting back on my bed again. "Healing myself seems to have taken all my energy. The gods must have been very angered by me." I state, ignoring my blush and refusing the gazes of the team.

"What do you mean by that?" Robin asks. "It is against my people's beliefs to harm a tiger. I'm lucky to even be alive right now. Had they been more angry with me, they wouldn't have let me heal myself." I explain, covering my legs back up with the blanket. "Told you guys I only needed rest."

"That's not all, Emma." Kaldur states, his voice growing serious. I look over at him, growing nervous just by his voice. "Throughout the entire mission, after you were injured, you acted as though you were fine. Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you let anyone else know you were hurt until the end? Why, did you take that hit for me?" He asks. I look away.

"I value your lives over mine. You all showed me what it's like to have friends again. Something I'd forgotten about since I first came to Earth." I explain, "I know I'm not very good at showing my emotions, but please understand that I care very much for you all. I'd risk my life if it meant saving any of you, and I wouldn't think twice about it if given the chance." I look down. It's silent.

"...Hey, Emma?" Artemis calls, I look back to the others. They all look solemn. "We're... We're sorry. You were afraid of water for a reason, and we didn't think of that." "We were too blinded by our anger to see that you did your best, even though you had every right to be terrified." Robin adds, rubbing his arm. They all look away, either at the ground, or one of the walls.

I smile at them. "Apology accepted. Just remind me never to get on his bad side." I state jokingly, pointing at Kaldur before yawning. "I guess I'm still tired." "We'll let you get some rest, Emma. I'll come back in a little while to check up on your injuries." Black Canary states, ushering the others out, Batman following. I turn to look at Kaldur as he sits back down in his seat, hand taking mine once more. "So, why not get on my bad side?" He asks, a small smile on his lips. I smile softly as I lay back on my bed. "No offense, Kaldur. But you're actually really scary when you're angry." I chuckle lightly. I look at him for a minute as he shifts in his chair. "Isn't that uncomfortable?" I ask, my eyes growing droopy once more.

"It's nothing I can't deal with." He tells me. Even in my tired state, I frown. I take my hand out of his and promptly scoot away from him. He gives me a confused look before I pat the side of the bed closest to him. "Come lay up here. You'll be more comfortable." I offer.

His eyes light up in understanding, and he shakes his head at my offer. "No, you need your rest, and you should have as much room as you need until you are better." He refuses. I frown at him. "I may be a princess, Kaldur, but I'm not stingy. I don't mind sharing. Now come on." I tell him. Instead of arguing, he moves to lay beside me. I smile, taking his hand once more as my eyes begin to droop. "Thank you, by the way." I mumble, scooting ever-so-slightly closer to him. "No problem... Princess." He replies, whispering the last part so that I can't hear.

Not that I could hear anyways. I was already asleep by then, drifting off into a new dream...

(A.N.: This one was sooo cute to write. I hope you're all enjoying it so far. Please comment or something if you see grammar errors or something else. I'm always trying to fix them when I see them. Thank you all. I love you!!!)