Title: Honourable.
Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice.
Rating: T.
Prompt: Soldier.
Summary: Aquaman and Kaldur talk after the undercover mission is finally revealed.
Kaldur'ahm is a good soldier. In fact, Orin thinks it's fair to say that Kaldur is the best soldier he has. Going above and beyond the call of duty. This is why he is floating in the middle of the Conservatory of Sorcery with his wife and Kaldur's parents, waiting for him. They all want to be here to witness this.
"Forgive me, My King." Kaldur calls out as he swims towards them as quick as he can. Considering the injuries he sustained when they finally took down the Light this is not very quickly at all. "It took me longer than I thought to get here I – "
The boy stops short when he sees what's behind Orin. Mera claps a hand to her mouth to hide her smile at the stunned look on Kaldur's face.
"My King, what is – I mean, is that – "
"A statue of you, Kaldur'ahm? Why yes it is." Orin finishes for him, if anything the look of surprise on Kaldur's face increases. Mera and Sha'lain'a both give in to their happiness and start to laugh as Orin swims forward to greet Kaldur properly. Calvin (who still has a healing wound running from the bottom of his left eye down to the corner of his mouth from helping the League) only smiles and even that action is obviously painful but the look on Kaldur' face is simply too priceless not too.
"What do you think?"
"I think that I have no idea why there is a statue of me." Kaldur stops. Gills fluttering as he breathes in deep. "Particularly, in the middle of the Courtyard at the Conservatory."
"It seemed the most sensible place to put it." Mera says with a smile. "After all, you are one of the best sorcerers it's produced in hundreds of years."
"My Queen, how can you say that when you are – "
"Allow me to correct myself." Mera says over Kaldur's frantic babble. "One of the best sorcerers and Heroes it's produced."
"I am no Hero, My Queen." Kaldur whispers, glancing down at the floor below them rather than look any of them in the eye. Orin sighs at that. The child has long had problems believing in his own self-worth and that has only increased over time. When Kaldur went undercover with his biological father he was forced to earn the man's trust meaning that he had to act as they did. But despite having to prove his loyalty or risk exposure Kaldur somehow managed never to kill a fellow Atlantean. Even La'gaan, who had been captured during battle, had been saved by Kaldur. How he managed this and earned Manta's trust is beyond Orin but it is typical of Kaldur to achieve the impossible.
On top of all this, Kaldur had managed to use his position in Manta's force, to stop Atlantis from being annihilated. The Light had been planning an attack that could be stopped by magic-users and as half of Atlantis' army was made of sorcerers Atlantis had to be destroyed. They had decided to do this by releasing a dangerous chemical into the water nearby. Kaldur had managed to save, not only the entirety of Atlantis, but millions of lives on the surface as well as Atlantis' army, once safe from the chemicals, had stormed the surface to aid the League. He had been declared a Hero, both under the sea and above it, and it only seemed appropriate to honour him this way.
Orin watches the young man awkwardly glance up at the statue of himself before glancing down again, embarrassed. If only Kaldur could see in himself what everyone else saw Orin thinks to himself, life would be so much easier if I didn't have to persuade him that he had the right to a, at least enjoyable if not peaceful, life.
"You may not see yourself a Hero, Kaldur." Orin says softly. "But people were fighting over who got to create this statue. It was remade several times due to the complaints about it not capturing your 'heroic visage.'"
"My . . ." Kaldur trails off, stunned. "My heroic visage? I don't have a heroic anything. My king, this is – this is – "
"What the people of Atlantis wanted." Orin says, giving Kaldur's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Please Kaldur'ahm. It's time you start acknowledging how capable you are."
There's a pause and Kaldur finally looks up at him. There's an odd look in his eyes as he stares at his King, ever so slowly he turns to stare at Mera and his parents. Sha'lain'a offers him a small encouraging smile. Kaldur sighs and closes his eyes, breathing deep as he sets his shoulders like he's about to go into battle.
"I will – I will do my best." Kaldur whispers as Orin starts steering him towards the others.
"That's all I can ask." Orin says. It's not much. It won't fix everything Kaldur has suffered for during his time undercover but it's a start. And that's all he can ask for.
And now my Day 3 fill. I really want to see more Aquaman-Aqualad relationship.