Young Justice: Solstice

Thirty-Six

It was dark.

My whole body burned.

It was dark.

I couldn't move.

It was dark

I was fairly certain that I was dead

It was dark.

I was holding something

It was-

"Kiran!" 

My eyes shot open. Kaldur was holding my hand. We were back at the forest, but the realm of demons was still crumbling around us.

"Let's go!" Cassie snapped, pushing my parents onto the bridge. We were the last to go.

I gripped Kaldur's hand and we ran, leaping from stone to stone after our teammates. No one stopped until we were out of the curious basement with the alien inscriptions, which promptly caved in on our heels.

After we had a second to breathe, I looked around. Miraculously, we had all made it back in one piece. 

"We're alive!" Cassie squealed, leaping into the air. The sun was just beginning to rise. A brand new day.

"Cassie!" Her mother cried, running around the corner with another search party.

"Mom!" Cassie flew to her mother's arms. They held each other tightly, and I smiled.

"Are you alright?" Kaldur asked, his arm around my shoulders.

I exhaled for a minute, and threw my arms around his neck. "We're alive!" I laughed long and hard as he spun me around in the air, laughing himself.

"You defeated a demon from legend. You are incredible," He said.

"Seconded!" Mal whooped before sweeping up his own girlfriend for a kiss. 

"I want to ask you to marry me right now." Kaldur said, looking at me with all seriousness.

"Hey! I'm not ready for marriage yet!" I told him, smacking his shoulder. 

"I know, that is why I am not asking yet." Despite my teasing, he was really serious about the whole marriage thing. Could we really be married one day? We were the only people we'd ever really had a relationship with before. Could it really work out?

But it was evident to the both of us that marriage, if at all, was still a ways off. 

For now, Kaldur placed a kiss on my forehead. "I am very proud of you. You should be very proud of yourself."

I giggled. "I think I am. It's still crazy to think about."

"What do you mean? My protege is freaking awesome!" Rocket shouted.

"You mean our protege, right?" Zatanna asked.

"Of course," Raquel conceded.

Artemis was still breathing heavily, leaning against a slab of clay. Superboy was doing what he could to offer comfort, but he was being clear in his boundaries. As usual, M'gann stood to the side, but Beast Boy refused to let her be alone, trapping her in a monkey hug.

I rested my head on Kaldur's shoulder. "I'm sorry for trying to take on Rankor without you."

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking my hand in his.

I swallowed. "You just told me that was how your friend Tula died. If...if I had died what would that have done to you?"

Kaldur set his mouth in a firm line, and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "There is nothing to forgive, Kiran. I should not have tried to take us from the fight prematurely."