#arthurc

When the ocean winds blew in and caused a whistling at your windows - when you were sitting with your girlfriends and their partners came with them and you were sitting on a side of the table by yourself, like the singles side of the table - when you were reading some naughty romance novels that you’d never tell Arthur about, and looked at the cold side of the bed - it really did feel overwhelming. It was as if half of the time, when Arthur was in Atlantis, ruling over the underwater kingdom, it felt almost as if you were a widow. Looking towards the water splashing up against the shore and wondering when your husband would come home - you were awaiting your man from a war. At least, that’s what it felt like. Isolated.

Things were perfect when he was back though. When Arthur would hold you in his strong arms, and spin you around so that your own feet left the ground, and sometimes your shoes would go flying off if they weren’t laced properly. He always gives you shit about that. Sometimes he even tied your shoes for you. But you’d go loosening them up when he wasn’t looking, just so that he’d lecture you in that cute way, and get down on one knee once again. And how he’d snuggle right up to you as he slept, treating you like you were his favorite, most prized teddy bear. The smell of him - musky, slightly salty like the waters themselves, his hair surprisingly soft as it would sometimes tumble over onto your shoulders as well.

It was like two whole different lives. In one, you were the loneliest person in the universe, despite being surrounded by friends and family. And in the other, you were the happiest person around. You were madly in love. You never left the ‘honeymoon’ phase of wanting to be close to him, of holding onto his arm, of having a blast just sitting on the couch and catching him up on movies and television shows that he missed while ruling under the ocean. Unfortunately, the former started to bleed into the latter.

“And that’s when Mara suggested-” Arthur said, talking to you about some political issue down there. Normally, you were more than happy to hear him out. To give him some advice, some of which he actually took and would praise you for later. But when he said that name, you felt that desolating feeling of loneliness again. Of Arthur being out of reach, despite the fact that he was sitting across from you at the small table in the only restaurant in town. It felt like, for a second, he was far away again.

“Mara,” You whispered the name, making him stop. His ex. He had saved Atlantis with her once upon a time, and so it made sense that she would help him rule over it. But it constantly felt as if she was ‘the other woman’, his wife when he was away. The beautiful woman with the hair as red as rubies, who always seemed more than happy to lend a helping hand.

Arthur leaned over, resting his large hand on top of yours. It engulfed it, and his thumb stroked the side of your hand, as his bright blue eyes looked into yours. “Sorry,” He said, his voice coming out hoarse. “I didn’t mean to bring Atlantis stuff up here.”

Your eyes were stuck on his, seeing how he genuinely thought that was the reason why you had straightened up your back, why your smile had fallen.

“It’s not about Atlantis,” You said, shaking your head. “It’s nothing. Forget about it. So what did Mara say, hmm?” You fiddled with the menu in front of you, taking your hand out from underneath his, and pretended to read it, despite having come here with Arthur so many times, you could recite it off the top of your head. He frowned and leaned back a bit against his chair, just enough for it to tilt ever so slightly.

“Well, she suggested that I..” He said, cautiously, and then cut himself off by taking the menu out of your hands and putting it down on the table. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “And don’t tell me it’s nothing.”

You both looked at each other over the table, and you bit down on your lip.  You knew your husband. If you asked him, he would drop the conversation, not pester you about it. But that cloud of worry, that stress of not knowing, would follow him around the entire time he was topside. You didn’t want that either.

“I feel insecure,” You voiced it outloud for the very first time. “In our relationship. I thought that I could handle the time alone, but I can’t. And I thought that I could handle you being around your ex but ... I also can’t do that. I’m trying, I really am. And I trust you, I know that you wouldn’t intentionally hurt me - and I don’t want to try to make you choose between me and the place you love so much, a place that you clearly belong. It would kill me to put you in that position. But ... I think that loneliness is killing me.”

Throughout this, he was looking at you, his face solemn. He didn’t interrupt, he was listening. So you continued on, just letting it all out. So much so that the waiter who had been making his way over stopped, saw your face, heard your tone, and turned around to go and find another table that might need him.

“- I can barely sleep on the nights that you aren’t here. It’s like the cold gets into my very bones and nothing feels right. Like the bed is so big that it just wants to swallow me whole. And I keep going back and forth between am I good enough or am I holding you back? And then you are here. You’re here and things feel better, but it’s not all fine. I sit here and wonder - are you with me? Or is your heart and brain still below the water? Are you just counting down the minutes until you don’t have to spend time with me anymore, and you can go back to where you feel right?”

You rested your head on your hands, running your fingers against your forehead. “I feel like an obligation, Arthur,” You whispered, finally. “Whether you think that I’m one or not ... I feel like one. And I can’t take much more of it.”

There was a heavy moment of silence. Your breath was coming out quicker, almost panting after your rant. You were preparing yourself to be reamed. That he was either going to confirm your fears, or he was going to get mad at you for having them in the first place.

The waiter saw the silence and made his way over, with his little notepad. “What can I get you fine folks tonight?” He asked, his eyes more focused on Arthur. I couldn’t blame him. Arthur drew attention anywhere that he went, whether people recognized him as Aquaman or not. Most of the locals did, but didn’t make a big deal out of it. This young man must be new.

“We’ll take two of the specials, to go,” Arthur said in a grunt, his eyes not leaving you for a second.

“We don’t usually do take-out..." The waiter said, nervously.

“I’ve cleaned out enough trash with the restaurant name on it to know that you definitely have containers, so make our food, put them in there, and we’ll take it ... to go,” Arthur said, finally turning his head towards the waiter. A little shiver went down your back, because despite your emotional breakdown, he really was sexy when he was assertive.

The waiter left, nervously looking over his shoulder at Arthur and then went to the chef. Then Arthur shifted his chair so that he was next to you. A smooth slide and he was by your side on the other side of the table, his face getting close to yours. You could already feel the tickle of his beard.

“We’re going to talk about this when we get home,” His deep voice rumbled. “Just you and me.”

You picked up your water glass and took a sip to distract yourself. Being alone with him for this conversation could either be a great thing, or a terrible thing. You couldn’t read his face.

“I- I’m sorry,” You finally mumbled. “Not about .. how I feel. But about just letting it all out like that.”

“Don’t be,” Arthur said, his hand resting on top of your thigh beneath the table. It was a comforting gesture, not at all intimidating, so at least he wasn’t angry. “You must have been holding onto that for a while.”

“Yeah, it’s been festering,” You said with a small, but still nervous laugh. There was a part of you that was absolutely embarrassed that you had let it all spill, especially in such a public place. But there was another part that just felt relief. Like you had gotten the sickness out of you. Purged your own demons.

He leaned in closer to you and pressed his forehead against yours. You let your eyes close, taking in the warm feeling of him. The smell of salt-water that clung to him like a natural scent. His thumb continued to move against your thigh, and you felt like you would be alright again. All you needed was this one moment.

Arthur unpacked the food when you got back home, setting it up on the small table. It wasn’t as fancy here as it was in the restaurant, but it was a lot more quiet. A lot more intimate. He took a bite of the salmon, chewing on it as he looked you over, and swallowed.

“You know there’s nothing going on with Mera,” He said, first of all. You even hated the way that it sounded coming out of his mouth. Mera. If ever there was a name that you could curse, it would be that one. He took one look at your face - at the scrunched displeased expression that you made whenever she was brought up - and he had a deep burst of laughter. “Come on, do you always have to make that face?”

“I’m not trying to make a face!” You protested, keeping back the smile that you felt growing at his laugh. “That’s just what my face does. It’s an instinctual reaction! I can’t do anything about it.”

“Sure, sure,” He chuckled, his eyes shining brightly. Despite all that you dumped on him at the restaurant, he was remaining positive. He wasn’t giving you grief for everything you said. He wasn’t fighting any of it either, he wasn’t arguing. It made you feel all the more guilty.

“But I do know,” I sighed. “Deep down, I do. And I know that you love me, it’s just - sometimes I wonder if I even deserve it.”

“You deserve it more than anyone,” Arthur said, taking another bite of his food. You were pushing yours around your plate, your stomach too full of knots to actually eat it. “If I could bring you down there and make you Queen, I would. I’d show you off to everyone down there.

“But you can't,” You said, softly. “Everything would be different if you could. We would be different. But the fact is, I’m only human. Not Atlantean, not a hero, not a genius scientist - just human.”

“What’s wrong with being human?” Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow at you. “I know of someone who gave up their voice so they could be human for a few days-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” You said, now trying to hide the smile as Arthur seemed to break all of the tension. “Are you confusing The Little Mermaid for real life again?”

Arthur paused for a moment, the fork still in his hand, speared through his piece of fish as he thought for a moment. “Pretty sure I’m not. I know that Flounder guy.”

“You know A Flounder. You don’t know THE Flounder.”

“And I definitely know that annoying crab. I brought him back for dinner last time I was home,” Arthur said, attempting to say this all seriously, but you could see the slight smile beneath his facial hair. “But my point still stands. I love how human you are.”

You let out a small laugh, accepting his little distraction there. You knew what he was doing. It wasn’t that he was trying to deflect from the conversation about your feelings - he just wanted to try to see you happy. He was always doing stuff like that.

He reached across the table, taking your hand in his. His thumb smoothed over the back of your knuckles. “I wish you told me earlier,” He said, more seriously. “I would have spent a lot more time up here. I can give more tasks to other people, so I won’t be as busy.”

You did appreciate that, it’s exactly what you wanted to hear. But there was another thing that was bothering you about that.

“Why didn’t you just ... have you done that before?" You asked. “Before you knew how I felt. If you know that you could delegate your responsibilities, and spend more time up here with me ... why didn't you?”

He squeezed at your hand. His were so massive, it completely enveloped yours. Everything about him was so big.

“I was planning to,” He said. “I was working hard, trying to take care of everything, trying to bring peace so that I wouldn’t have to go down there much at all.”

“Work hard, play later?” You asked.

“Something like that. But I’ve probably been working too hard, if you’ve been feeling like this.”

You sighed and leaned back in the chair, still holding onto his hand. “It’s not your fault, I guess. You’re the King. You’re meant to be the busiest person in all of Atlantis.”

“Still,” He said, crossing his arms, though still holding your hand, resting them on top of the table. “I should have done better. I’m going to do better.”

Your breathing started to grow a little harder as thoughts started to pop into your head, exploding like bubbles. “What am I doing?” You mumbled, more to yourself more than to him. “You’re the King. I can’t - I can’t possibly ask you to take time away from that. More than I already am. And you work with the Justice League - you’re an actual hero. I feel like the most selfish person in the world.”

Arthur clicked his tongue loudly, and squeezed your hand harder so that you were forced to look at him, bringing you back down to earth rather than in insecurity-land. “Saving the world starts at home. And this is home. Not Atlantis. This, here, with you.”

He loosened up his grip, so he was merely holding his hand against yours now.

“Remember that other movie we watched?” He asked. “The one with the weird little alien who trespasses into someone’s home with all that ... uncanny valley stuff.”

“Lilo and Stitch?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s the one,” Arthur nodded. “And that thing that the little girl says - Ohana means family, and no one gets left behind?”

You couldn’t help a small laugh, sniffling as you did so. It had started to build up when you were thinking about how selfish you were being.  

“You’re my family. And I’ve been leaving you behind,” He said, way too seriously for a grown man who was talking about something he learned in a kids’ film. “And I’m not going to do that again. Not anymore. We’re going to spend so much time together, you’re going to be sick of me.”

“I like the sound of that,” You admitted, letting yourself have this. Maybe you were allowed to be a little selfish. You didn’t want to share Arthur anymore, so maybe you just ... wouldn’t. “But babe?”

“Yeah?” He asked, earnestly.

“Maybe we should lay off the Disney movies for a while. They’re rotting your brain.”

He looked like he wanted to protest for a second but then he gave in. “What about some bad shark movies?”

You’re first lit up into a smile, and you chuckled in Bruce’s direction. Around that time, Arthur had entered the room, hearing Barry’s excited voice and your laugh, which usually didn’t mean anything great around here. “It’s a game, Bruce.” You said, giving the vaguest explanation. “Barry, this is the best thing that you’ve ever bought, I’m so in for a round or two.”

Sitting still, Bruce snorted at the idea of playing a game. Barry, he could understand buying such a thing, but for you to be interested in playing it? Even he didn’t think that you would be that childish, and his expression said it all. “Only for adults though, Bruce, so maybe an old man like you wouldn’t enjoy it.” You’re a bit peeved off by the look on his face, and teasing was your go to in times like this.

“This game, I heard about it.” Arthur said, looking at the box, and laughed. When even Arthur, who resided in the Sea most of the time rather than the house that Bruce had made for us, knew about something that Bruce didn’t - that seemed to make Bruce’s jaw tighten. “And I am in for a round.”

Barry had gathered Victor, Diana, and Clark and set the box of cards on the middle of the dining room table, which was more than large enough to hold all of you. You had rung for Alfred and requested some snacks be brought up, because what was a game night without any snacks? You and Barry also had to take turns explaining what the game was to Bruce and Diana for they never heard of it, while Clark had some idea because of advertisements, and Victor through a quick search of the internet through his head.Turns out, it took a lot more convincing to get Bruce to play, since he insisted that he didn’t have time for such games.

“It really will be fun, I promise.” Your lower lip jutted out in your best pouty face. “You might even have a good time, and I know that it’s been a long time since you’ve had that.”

Comfortable and sitting on one of the dining chairs, Bruce sighed as he realized that everyone was looking at him. The masked hero wasn’t giving in to peer pressure, but rather, he just wanted to keep the peace - though it did help that everyone was looking excited - save for Victor who didn’t really have a facial expression - about the stupid game that they were about to play.

Barry’s enthusiasm was contagious enough to get the others excited so Bruce reluctantly agreed that he would play one round, and one only. He was mainly playing just so that he could beat Clark, however, that would give him a good time. It’s just a few minutes later that he had cards in his hand and grew more confused than ever.

“You just put down whichever one you think is funniest for the situation.” You leaned over to explain, tapping on the black card that Barry had turned over, deciding to be the judge for the first round. He squinted to read it. ‘I’ve got 99 problems but a ____ ain’t one.’

There were chuckles around the table as the players read their cards, picked one, and put it down in the pile for Barry to eventually read. Arthur’s laugh was the loudest, as per usual. He’s not one for being quiet when he wasn’t in attack mode. He slapped his card down with a laugh, and looked around confident that he was going to win.

Diana was more subtle. Her dark red lips curved into a closed-mouth smile as she went through her options. She understood the reference that the card was making, since even she could not avoid a lot of music, as much as it wasn’t to her tastes. The manicured fingers tapped on the back of the cards until she found one that she thought suited, and slid it over to the pile.

“I am so excited for this, you don’t understand,” Barry said, rustling around in his seat as if he had ants in his pants. His power just ended up making it worse, the chair nearly jumping from the ground, then roughly landing with little thuds as he anticipated the answers. A game night with the Justice League, including a grumpy Batman - he couldn’t think of anything better.

A laugh came from your mouth as you picked out your card solely by instincts and pushed it over to the growing pile. “I’m sure - wait, why didn’t we bet on this?” You looked around at the company that you were keeping tonight. Bruce especially - you’d bet all your money, what little you did have since you weren’t a big business man like Bruce or a Museum Curator like Diana - that he would lose this game horrendously. He didn’t have a sense of humor, so far as you noticed.

A card did eventually come from Bruce’s side of the table - but his facial expression made it seem like he was playing poker, not a party game. You smiled over at him, trying to bring the mood up, and watched Barry pick up the cards once everyone had chosen theirs. Looking around at everyone as if trying to be able to tell who picked which card, Barry started to read them out loud.

“I’ve got ninty-nine problems but estrogen ain’t one.” Barry laughed. You chuckled as well, finding it funny rather than offensive. It was only going to get worse from there. “I’ve got ninety-nine problems but lumberjack fantasies isn’t one of them? You’re right, I don’t see that being a problem at all.” Barry laughed. You noticed that even Bruce had cracked a smile at that one.  Barry moved on. “I’ve got ninety-none problems but oompa-loompas aren’t one. Thank god!” He laughed again, enjoying each and every card. Arthur was really getting into the game, laughing harder with each card that came up. He was the loudest of the group. “Next up - ninety nine problems but a defective condom ain’t one - wow.”

You had put forward that one, thinking it was amazingly true because you definitely weren’t having sex with anyone. You had accepted it though - dating and being a vigilante didn’t go well together. “Ninety-nine problems but extremely tight pants ain’t one.” Barry said, and then paused. A minute later, he grinned. “I think none of us would have problems with tight pants.”

You’ve always thought that Barry was a bit of a flirt when he was in a more calm state, and that was showing a little. You motioned for Barry to go on with the last card that was in his pile. Barry picked it up slowly, just to bother you, then read it out. “Ninety-nine problems but drinking alone ain’t one. I’ll drink to that one, it’s the winner.”

You looked around to see who would claim the card, and to your great surprise, it was Bruce that rose his hand. “Didn’t know you had it in you.” You grinned, clapping him on the back. Everyone else seemed to be a little in shock as well, but then they picked up another card, and the turn switched to Arthur’s.

Soon enough, Alfred came back with more snacks, more drinks and then finally, a rather big box which they all ignored at first. As the game went on, some great cards were played. You had won a couple of rounds with, ‘The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History had just opened an interactive exhibit on Bio-engineered assault turtles with acid breath, I get by with a little help from white privilege, and passive-aggressive post it notes, it’s how I want to die.’ As the game went on however, you didn’t care about all the ones you lost because you were just having too much fun.

A while passed, and Barry finally won the game overall, with Arthur in second, then Bruce surprisingly in third. “Y/N, do you mind moving over a little to the left?” Alfred asked once the laughter had slowed down.

“What are you up to, Alfred?”  You asked, scooting over your chair to the left like he had requested. He gave a slight smile, and unearthed a fancy contraption from the box that no one had asked about. Diana stood up, curiosity peeked by the sight of an antique. Her eyes lit up and she laughed, turning to look at the rest of us.

“A camera!” Diana said, leaning forward to look at it. You understood now why Alfred had asked you to move over to the left. His eyes grew excited as Diana marveled over what great condition it was in, and that she had not seen anything like it in meany years.

“Ever since you all have been spending your time here, there’s been a family.” Your face lit up in a smile, and you looked over at Bruce, feeling like you might cry at Alfred’s sentiments. “The halls of Wayne Manor could use a new family portrait, don’t you think, Master Wayne?” He looked towards his butler, more than a butler - a family member - and inhaled quickly, then nodded.

A smile went across Diana’s face too, and she stopped examining the photo to sit back down at the table. You leaned up against Bruce, who was beside you, and put your arm around him from behind, resting your head on his shoulder. You couldn’t see what the others were doing, but you felt Arthur put one of his massive hands on your other shoulder. It’s nice, being close and relaxing like this.

You smiled widely for the camera. But the flash caught you a little offguard, so you were left hoping that you didn’t blink or recoil in the photo that was taken. You then realized that there was someone missing from this family, someone important. “Another?” You asked, getting to your feet. Hands reached out for Alfred once you got close. “It’s an old camera, but it has to have one of those timers, right? What kind of family photo would it be without Daddy Alfred?”

You took a hold of Alfred’s hands, and brought him to the table, letting Diana get up and see if she could find a way to make the timer work on the camera. What everyone else did was stand up, each one of them equally as open to taking a picture as you had been. You positioned Alfred next to Bruce, since they were the closest, and smiled at how the two of them looked together.

It didn’t take long for Diana to set up the timer, then return to the group. There was a clicking sound as it started to count down the seconds before the flash would fill the room with light and the camera would capture your likeness. You didn’t smile this time around, because no one else - save Barry - was smiling. Yet there wasn’t an unhappiness to the photo - it just showed what each of you were. It showed the strength of each person, though each individual had a different kind of strength.

The night continued on after the picture was taken, with another game of Cards Against Humanity being played, and then a couple of beers passed around. How Gotham got through the night without a murder or an explosion while the members of the Justice League were having a good time, you didn’t know. Bruce kept his eye out the window, looking for the Bat Signal every couple of minutes, but it was a clear night. Other than the stars and the moon, there was nothing to be seen except for streetlights. The Batman never took a night off, and you could see how uncomfortable Bruce was about it. He finally stopped checking at eleven though, and put himself to bed at midnight since even he had to sleep at times.

It was about one AM when you, Arthur and Barry settled down. Everyone did consider you three to be the more fun out of the Justice League, though Arthur could get quite grouchy. There were rooms for everyone inside of Wayne Manor, which had become your second home. You loved your position of being on the team but it didn’t pay much at all, and your personal apartment was nothing compared to this place.

You were invited back to Wayne Manor a week later. It had been one hell of a week too - you and Victor ended up having to attempt to capture Catwoman, which is never easy. Well, it can sometimes be easy for Bruce since they seem to have some sort of connection that you weren’t clear about. You never bothered to ask about the rich man’s lovelife - seemed like too much drama there. Which was probably more than anyone could say for yours.

You walked into the dining room where you could hear some voices. Diana’s and Bruce’s. When you stepped into the room, a new feature took over your attentions. Typically, it was rather dark in here, with a couple of antiques well on pedestals around the walls, but today it was different.

You stepped forward to one of the walls. Bruce had the curtains open which was a new thing - sunlight was streaming through but because of the frame’s positioning, it didn’t reflect off the glass which made he picture behind it crystal clear. Your face was looking out upon you, and Bruce’s, Arthur’s, Barry’s, Clark’s, Victor’s, Alfred’s and Diana’s were as well. You were looking at the picture that had been taking during game night.

I was held in place by a rich-looking wooden frame, with the word ‘Family’ engraved on the center of the bottom panel. You touched the F with your fingers, feeling how professional it was - someone had put a lot of work into this frame. Now, you understood why Alfred had wanted to take the photo in the first place.

You looked at your own face, at the hint of the smile that was on the corner of your lips and showed in your eyes. You then looked at the others and you saw a sense of ... of happiness in each of them, even Bruce. It really did make you feel like you had a family with the members of the league - something you didn’t have growing up.