Hey babes! This is not my first time writing fanfiction, not by a long shot, but it is definitely my first time writing for Aquamera. I've seen Aquaman three times now and instantly fell in love with Arthur and Mera together the first time that I saw it. So naturally, I felt the need to write something for them. And this is that result. It ended up turning into a 5+1 type of story, not at all like I had originally planned. But I'm pretty happy with what I came up with.

Hope you enjoy!

He's never been a big fan of being the center of attention. Growing up for him, being the center of attention meant getting picked on and messed with constantly. He learned to toughen up over the years, learned how to fight back, but all the cruel words and mean-spirited physicality did its damage.

Waiting around to be officially crowned as the new King of Atlantis, with all the kingdoms gathered there, most likely talking about him and watching him, it doesn't sit right with him. He knows that most of them are biting their tongues, not saying anything cruel about him or his parentage because he got a fancy golden trident, despite probably wanting to say something.

A gentle flurry of movement against his skin draws his attention and he can't help the smile that pulls at his lips when he finds a particular red-headed Princess gliding toward him, the glow in her eyes dying down when she reaches him, the water settling again.

"Are you nervous?"

He scoffs, looking away from her and shifting a little against his trident. "No."

"Arthur…"

"I'm fine, Mera, really. It's a lot to take in, but I promise I'll be fine."

She fixes him with a familiar stare, her head tilting to one side and an eyebrow quirking up with a small smirk on her lips.

"Don't give me that look," he says. She continues to look at him and he relents, his body relaxing as he lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm just...not that big of a fan of people staring at me. It hasn't always meant well when I was growing up."

She frowns at that, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "These people don't want to hurt you, Arthur. They want to make you their king, officially. And you're going to be a great king. I have no doubts about that."

He smiles, leaning forward to press a lingering kiss to her forehead. "Thank you," he says against her skin. He pulls back and stares into her eyes. "I have something for you."

She gives him half a smile. "Arthur, you didn't need to get me anything. This is your day."

"I know. But I wouldn't be here if you weren't so annoyingly persistent." He takes a moment to concentrate, calling one of the friendlier sea creatures over to where he and Mera are waiting. "Thank you, Flounder," he says with a small smile, patting the creature gently on the head before sending it off again.

He turns back to Mera and holds a single rose out to her, a cheeky smile on his face. "A beautiful addition to an already beautiful outfit as well as a tasty snack for later."

She beams when she sees the flower and immediately takes it from him. "Really?"

He nods. "Yeah. But you have to wear it here." He gently takes the flower back and manages to get it settled behind her ear, tucked around a few strands of her hair. "Perfect."

Throughout the ceremony, despite knowing he's supposed to be concentrating on what's happening, he can't help it when his eyes drift over to Mera.

She's sitting as close to the throne as she can get, her eyes glued to him as she beams with pride and admiration. He winks at her when they catch each other's gaze, causing her to blush nearly the same color as the flower in her hair and he has to stop himself before he laughs out loud.

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It's not their first time on land together, but it is the first time that they're there without any interruptions from a madman, and he's honestly a little excited to share with her all the things he loves about the surface world. He's known how eager she was to learn more about his world since their first trip to Sicily when searching for the trident. He loved seeing the way her eyes had lit up at seeing everything there, all the beauty that the world can offer, all get thoughts and views about the surface world slowly starting to change.

This time around, he decides to show her his hometown, a place still working on repairing the damage that had been done during Orm's fit. He helps out some while they're there, putting his strength to good use. He notices Mera helping out a little as well, talking with some of the locals and learning more about the surface world from their perspective.

He officially introduces her to his dad and shows her the lighthouse that he grew up in, shows her all of his favorite places to go as a kid, even introduces her to some of the guys at the pub and down at the fishing docks. Thankfully it all goes well, she gets along well with his dad and laughs wholeheartedly at some of the stories his dad shares, despite his protests that it was completely unnecessary. His mom even chimes in with a few of her own stories that she remembers from when he was just a baby and it makes him wish once again that she could have been there while he was growing up.

Mera relishes completely in seeing all of the places he loves on the surface, promising to show him all of the places she loves in Atlantis, as well as Xebel, despite spending the majority of her formative years in Atlantis.

And of course, being on the surface means stopping somewhere with roses in full bloom so that he can see the way her eyes light up when she sees them. He wouldn't be surprised if she told him that roses were her absolute favorite part of the surface world.

"A feast fit for a queen," he says, gesturing to the array of roses on display out in front of them once they reach their destination.

She rolls her eyes at him, despite the hint of a smile on her face. "I'm not a queen, Arthur."

He smirks and leans down to kiss her temple, muttering against her hair, "Not yet." He breathes in deeply, having surprised himself a little with the remark, and speaks up again before she can. "Now dig in. I even managed to find a few other colors, just so you can see what they taste like, but I do know how much you enjoy the red ones, so it's mostly those ones."

She slowly wanders through the garden, plucking a rose out and spinning it slowly in her hands. "And is there going to be any real surface food on this adventure like I saw back at your home, or just roses?"

"Well, I figured roses could be the appetizer," he teases, knowing full well that she knows roses aren't actually meant to be eaten. That had been an interesting conversation earlier in the day that consisted of someone else explaining, Mera getting upset with him, and him fumbling his way through an explanation. Thankfully, she didn't stay mad at him for too long and confessed to him how sweet she thought the whole gesture really was.

She continues to smile at him before taking a chunk out of one of the roses and happily moving through the garden again.

He just smiles and laughs quietly before grabbing a rose of his own and taking a small bite, quickly following after her.

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He's never been outwardly romantic, he knows that. But from the moment he knew he wanted to ask Mera to marry him, all he could think about was all of the ridiculously grand gestures he'd seen in all those movies growing up that women somehow seemed to love for reasons he was never quite sure of. And still isn't sure of.

When his dad finally asked Atlanna to marry him, all he'd done was ask her down at the end of the dock with a simple ring and she said yes without hesitation. When he asked his dad why he'd gone so simple in his proposal, all Tom had said was that they'd waited long enough to be a family again and they didn't need any extravagant gestures or too fancy rings to know that they wanted to be together for the rest of their lives.

In the end, he decides to go a bit more simple like his father did, but also make it a bit more personalized for him and Mera's relationship.

He knows some might consider it extremely sappy, but it's on one of their monthly dates on the surface that he asks her. Sometimes they come to the surface for more than just their dates, usually for League business, but they always make sure to set aside time for just the two of them, to keep Arthur connected with both his worlds and for Mera to learn more about the surface world.

He takes her to Sicily, to the place they went when searching for the trident those few years ago.

They spend the day walking around and really taking things in, unlike the last time they were here. Thankfully, a lot of the damage that they'd accidentally caused the last time is nearly fixed.

He takes her somewhere a little more secluded so they can be alone, and when Mera finds the small box with her name on it that he'd brought there earlier, he can tell that she's confused. She loves the rose that's inside, immediately taking a small nibble from its petals before looking at Arthur with furrowed brows while she snacks.

"Look in the box again."

Her confusion deepens when she pulls out a simple ring made from special Atlantean metal with a small gemstone from the ocean floor secured tightly in the middle. "What is this?"

He sighs, despite the smile on his face, and plucks the ring from her fingers before lowering himself onto one knee with a grunt.

"Arthur? What are you doing? Why are you kneeling?"

"On the surface," he begins, "when a person finds that other person they want to spend the rest of their life with, there's a tradition of getting down on one knee and using a ring like this to propose marriage."

She gasps quietly. "Arthur…"

"Y'Mera Xebella Challa, you are…" He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. "You are something else entirely. And I love you for that. You're beautiful, smart, completely badass, and aren't afraid to call me out whenever I'm being an idiot. I never thought I'd be able to find someone who would understand me and handle who I am and what I can do. But then you came into my life and I don't ever want to go back to what it was before. I love you and I want to wake up next to you every morning and always find the best roses for you to snack on." He smiles when she lets out a watery laugh. "I don't ever want to be without you, Mera. I want you by my side as my Queen, ruling over Atlantis together. I want you to be my equal in every way, even though we both know that you're ten times better at all the diplomatic stuff than I am and should definitely always take charge there. But I love you all the more for it. Will you marry me?"

There's a brief moment of silence between them and then she's kneeling in front of him and giving him a slow, chaste kiss, one of her hands gently playing with the hairs of his beard.

She smiles against his lips. "Yes."

He pulls back a little reluctantly and quirks a brow. "Yes?"

She laughs quietly and nods her head. "Yes, Arthur Curry, I'll marry you."

He grins. "Awesome. Now give me your hand. Your left one, babe," he clarifies when she gives him her right hand.

He easily slides the ring onto her finger before pulling her into a hug and dropping a lingering kiss to her temple.

They spend the rest of their evening just being together and basking in the excitement of their engagement. Before they go back to the lighthouse the next morning to tell his parents, of course. Needless to say, but they're both thrilled. As is all of Atlantis when they eventually make the announcement.

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Despite having their actual wedding ceremony in Atlantis with all the kingdoms in attendance, going through all the royal Atlantean customs, they have a small reception on land so that his father and members of the still-growing League and their families can be in attendance.

They exchange rings as well, made from Atlantean metals so that they won't be warped or rusted over time when they're underwater, which had been mostly Mera's idea. After they got engaged and he'd explained how marriage usually works on the surface world, she'd been insistent on celebrating their marriage in both Atlantean and human traditions.

Watching his parents' wedding a couple years prior had just added to her awe of the surface world and she brought up a lot of those ideas when discussing their own wedding. He certainly wasn't one to complain, very much liking the thought of having a physical manifestation of his commitment to the red-headed warrior princess, now queen.

He makes sure that the entire exterior of the lighthouse is lined with roses, his own special touch to the ceremony that she didn't know about. Mera's eyes light up more than he thought they would when she sees the roses after they arrive and he can see the struggle on her face as she remembers that flowers aren't typically for consumption and the others around them might find it a bit strange. Definitely a good call on the roses.

At a later point in the evening, when everyone is out dancing on the makeshift dance floor, including his parents, he pulls her off to the side, away from any prying eyes and ears.

"Arthur, what are we doing over here away from the reception?" she asks him, plucking a smaller rose off the wall and taking a quick nibble from it. He knew she wouldn't be able to resist the flowers for too long.

"Is it so wrong to want a moment alone with my wife?" he asks before huffing out a laugh. "Wow. Never thought I'd ever hear those words come out of my mouth."

"And I never thought I would love hearing those words coming from someone's mouth."

He quirks a brow. "Really?"

She nods. "Yes." She stretches up onto her toes to wrap her arms around his neck and he easily slides his around her waist.

"I love you, Mera," he says with a smile on his face. "And you're going to make an incredible Queen."

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He really shouldn't be surprised that Mera craves next to nothing besides roses when she's pregnant with their first child. Thankfully, he's an extremely fast swimmer and can communicate with the creatures of the ocean and is always able to get her the flowers she wants. It's always in the middle of the night too, he's noticed.

She'll wake him up by either hitting him with her hands or using her hydrokinesis to jostle the water near him. All she has to do is look at him and he knows what she wants. So he goes to get it for her.

She's nearing the fifth-month mark for her pregnancy and he was really hoping that her cravings would switch to something else that's easier to get while living in the depths of the ocean away from human civilization. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

"Arthur."

He groans at the small prodding in his back and flips onto his side to look up at his wife through half-asleep eyes. "Where would you like them from this time, my love?" he asks.

"I don't care," she responds.

He leans forward to give her a quick peck on the lips before he's out of the bed, out of their room, and traveling to find roses as quick as he can.

Thankfully, it doesn't take him long to find roses that are in bloom on the surface. He gets a few and then dives back into the ocean, eager to get back home to his wife. He's never liked being away from her for too long, once they got together. But now that she's pregnant, that desire to stay close just increased tenfold.

He returns to Atlantis as quickly as possible, swimming carefully so as to not destroy the flowers before he can get them to his wife.

She's more than happy to see him back with the flowers and takes them from him eagerly.

"I know these aren't actual food," she says around a mouthful of rose petals, "but they're just so delicious."

He smiles and nods. "So you've said. A lot."

Mera jumps mid-bite and he's on immediate alert.

"Whoa, hey, you okay? Mera, are you alright?"

She nods, the flower slowly drifting out of her hand as her brows furrow together. "I'm fine. I just...I think I felt the baby kick."

He perks up. "You did? Really?"

"Yes. Give me your hand." She doesn't wait for a response, simply grabs his large hand in hers and places it on her stomach where he assumes their kid just kicked.

They both frown when nothing happens.

"What were you doing before?" he asks her.

"I had just eaten the rose and then we were...the rose! Of course! Where did it go?"

"I got it." He drifts off their bed to retrieve the flower and bring it back to his wife, quickly handing it over to her.

She doesn't hesitate in taking another bite after making sure his hand is still resting on the swell of her stomach.

A few seconds later he can't help the wide grin that spreads over his face when he feels a small thump against the palm of his hand.

"Wow. That's amazing." He looks up at her and smiles. "Guess our kid really takes after you and love the taste of roses. That, or they're trying to tell you to stop eating roses because they can't stand them."

"Let's hope it's the former," she says off-handedly, taking another bite from the rose and beaming when their kid kicks again.

He chuckles and leans forward to kiss her forehead, completely thrilled, yet also terrified, at being a dad in just a few short months.

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When their son is born, he can't help but cry. He's just thankful to be underwater so no one can see it. He'd had a lot of concerns about his kid being born, all the ways that it could go wrong, but Mera was always quick to assure him that Atlantis had some of the best medical practitioners alive. It helped ease his mind somewhat, but a part of him still wanted his wife to see an actual obgyn on the surface. But of course, he knew it'd be more difficult to explain any Atlantean problems. He's not sure how his parents did it when they had him, but his number one priority was making sure that Mera was comfortable. And if she wanted to stay in Atlantis as much as possible, then that's what they did.

Thankfully, when the time comes, everything goes as smoothly as it possibly can, him and his mom both by Mera's side to help her and give their support.

Within just a few hours that felt like an eternity, his son comes into the world making him a dad, and Atlantis has its next heir.

"Hey there, little guy, I'm your dad." He whispers quietly to his son as he carefully holds him in his arms, gently rocking him to keep him calm. "I know everything's probably pretty scary to you right now, but I promise it will get a lot better as you get older. Your mom and I are going to do everything we can to make sure that you grow up well and don't look at the surface world so badly like others around here do, okay? But you've gotta cut us some slack every once in a while, alright? Neither of us knows what we're doing here, we're both learning as we go."

"Arthur…"

He glances over his shoulder and smiles at his wife lying comfortably in their bed. "Hey, you're awake." He easily glides over and leans down to kiss her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've just been in battle."

He chuckles. "Well, in a way you were. Really gives a whole new meaning to water birth, huh?"

Her brows furrow. "What?"

"Waterbirth," he repeats. "It's a thing that some women on land do where they give birth in a bathtub or something like it."

"Are the babies able to breathe underwater as ours is?"

"Uh...you know, I don't think so. But that's not the point. The point here is that you're an amazing woman, I love you, and you're going to be an incredible mom."

"And you're going to be a great father."

He shrugs carefully, not wanting to jostle his son. "Yeah, we'll see."

"Arthur…"

He shakes his head. "Nope. Today is all about you and our son."

She smiles lazily at him. "I think I can accept that."

He smiles. "I'm glad. Also, we should definitely decide on an actual name for him soon because I don't think we can just keep calling him 'the baby'. Could you imagine him getting crowned when he's older and everyone starts shouting 'All Hail the Baby, King of Atlantis'? Probably not the best idea."

One corner of her lips pull up and he smiles, leaning down to kiss her forehead again.

"But we don't have to worry about that right now," he tells her. "You just gave birth so I'm sure you're still tired. You need to rest."

"Only if you join me," she says back, turning onto her side so she's facing him. "I may need to rest, but it doesn't mean I can't do so with my two favorite boys."

He doesn't hesitate in joining her in their bed, settling their son carefully in front of her and wrapping his arms around her from behind as he settles himself on their bed. He holds her close, one of his hands resting gently on their son as he slumbers.

He presses a kiss to his wife's hair, breathing in deeply before letting his body relax. He knows he won't sleep, his internal desire to watch over his family taking over his exhaustion. He'll sleep later when his wife is well-rested and able to handle things for a few hours without him.

But for now, right now he's just going to bask in how completely amazing it feels to be a dad.

So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'm thinking about doing a couple more stories for these two, so stay tuned.

Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!