This is a long-ass chapter and I'm not sorry
The first few moments under the water were...Intense. Like you know that feeling when you're about to go on a really cool rollar coaster and you're super excited about it but also kind of scared, and your body keeps going back and forth between the two?
Well that is what I was feeling.
I touched the magic bubble that was placed against my face, covering my nose and mouth; the only thing that made it so I could breathe, and the Atlantean clothes I wore that kept.my body from crumpling from the pressure of the ocean. Another swarm of butterflies entered my stomache and I took a deep breath to reassure myself.
All my worries didn't go away however, until Kaldur's hand slipped into mine and our fingers interlocked.
"Are you alright?" He whispered into my hair and I smiled and nodded.
"This is just...Amazing." I muttered, squeezing his hand gently and he chuckled quietly.
"Kaldur'ahm, Angelina." I heard he familiar voice of Aquaman and I turned to see him swimming towards us. It was almost strange hearing Kaldur's and my full names, and I was surprised that someone calling me by my first name didn't bother me as much as it used to.
"Greeting my king." Kaldur said, putting his arm in a salute and I bowed slightly, not knowing what else to do.
"It's nice to see you again King Orin." I said.
"The same to you." He nodded.
I then saw Queen Mera swimming over to us, a bundle I assumed was the Prince in her arms.
"Angelina, I don't believe you've met my wife, Mera. My love, this is Angelina; also known as Zephyr on the surface world." The king introduced.
Okay Lina! Kaldur didn't teach you Atlantean for nothing!
"It's an honor to meet you Queen Mera. I've heard a lot about you, and I must say you're work, and loyalty to your kingdom is quite inspiring." I said, smiling and hoping I pulled it off.
"Thank you Angelina, I must say it's nice to meet you as well. Kaldur speaks often and highly of you." In my peripheral vision I swear I saw Kaldur blush and I smiled happily. Ecstatic that Kaldur talked about me in a positive light.
"Is this the young Prince?" I asked, motioning to the bundle in the Queen's arms.
"Yes, Arthur Jr." The queen said and she moved her arms to show me the infant, who at the sight of me babbled happily, which made me smile and blush. "He likes you."
"He's certainly quite adorable." I said swimming slightly closer to the baby, who held out it's hands to me and I laughed.
"My king, my queen. If you two would would excuse us..." Kaldur said, saluting and bowing his head.
"Of course Kaldur'ahm." Orin said with a nod and I looked to Queen Mera who smiled at me.
"Do come to dinner sometime before you leave, I'd love to hear more about you." She said and I mentally fangirled.
"It would be an honor." I said, bowing my head again before swimming away with Kaldur.
"Queen Mera liked me! Am I dreaming? Did I speak right?" I whisper-shouted to my boyfriend, who in turn laughed at my behavior.
"You were perfect, as you always are." He said, reaching for my hand and pressing a light kiss to it. "And of course the queen liked you, you're easy to like."
I blushed and giggled at the praise as we swam away.
We didn't go far until we reached a balcony of sorts and I couldn't help but freeze at the sight of the Atlantean city before me. The architecture was beautiful, almost like seashells lined against the ocean floor, and everything was bioluminescent and lit up in beautiful and colourful light.
My breath caught in my throat and I barely felt a familiar webbed hand on the small of my back.
"What do you think?" Kaldur murmured in my ear but my eyes were still stuck to the city.
"You were right." I muttered in reply. "It's beautiful..."
We swam out of the castle and into the city where, although I got some strange looks: I didn't much care. When we got to an open area, there were two people I assumed were Atlantean there.
"Kaldur!" They both exclaim and swim closer. The people were our age, a boy and a girl. The boy was dressed in blue and had black hair held back in a ponytail, the girl had a ginger pixie put and wore yellow.
I knew they were Garth and Tula, I'd seen a picture of them a while back. And I couldn't help but feel a little jealousy creep into me when I saw Tula. She was pretty, gorgeous even. I could understand why Kaldur had been in live with her. But when I saw Kaldur's friends pull away and link hands, I shoved my jealousy away.
Tula and Garth were in love, and Kaldur loved me. There was nothing to be jealous over.
"You must be Lina!" Tula said, spinning to me and . "I'm Tula, it's so nice to finally meet you. Kaldur always talks about you, it's nice to put a face to a name."
I smiled and took her extended hand. "You as well, I've looked forward to meeting you for a long time." I looked to the boy, who was sharing a look with Kaldur. "You must be Garth, it's a pleasure to meet you as well."
Garth took my hand and shook it firmly. "Likewise Lina."
"Your Atlantean is really good, how long did it take for you to learn it?" Tula asked and I laughed awkwardly and played with my hair, which hung in a braid out of my hood.
"Um...Not that long, I guess..." I said, blushingly. "I'm already bilingual and, well, picking languages has always come easily to me more then most..."
"Lucky us." Tula said, grinning and I laughed.
We stayed for a long while, me getting to know Kaldur's childhood friends while they reunited. It was interesting to hear about Kaldur before he became to the surface world, something he didn't talk much about. Many jokes we're shared, a few inside ones that I didn't understand but smiled along anyways.
But eventually, we spilt ways: Tula and Garth to their lessons, and Kaldur and I swimming away to our next destination.
"I can understand why you're friends with them." I said, smiling to my boyfriend. "Tula and Garth seem lovely."
"They are indeed." Kaldur said, a smile gracing his features. "And I'm happy you've seemed to be enjoying yourself. Well, save for the brief period where I saw jealousy in your eyes."
I blushed furiously and I laughed awkwardly. "You saw that, huh?" I muttered. "Sorry."
"There is no need to apologise." He said, grabbing my hand. "You're emotions we're completely justified, and I'm impressed that you got over them so quickly. I've been jealous because of others looking at you countless times, and part of me in relieved that I'm not the only one who has experienced it."
"Are you kidding? Having a boyfriend as handsome as you, I've gotta be on my toes 24/7!" I joked and we both laughed. Although jealousy was a common emotion in our relationship, both Kaldur and I knew that our hearts belonged to nobody but us, and that's how it would stay.
"So I'm actually going to meet your parents..." I stated, changing the subject. "I have to admit, I'm a little nervous."
"Don't be Darling." Kaldur said grabbing my hand and kissing it gently. "They'll love you."
When we finally arrived at Shayeris-which-which took my breath away like every other part of Atlantis did-I felt my nerves build up and a tingle run down my spine. Kaldur seemed to notice my feelings and grabbed my hand gently before pulling me closer and kissing my head. Part of me wished I didn't have the air bubble around me for a moment so we could actually kiss, but the more logical part of my brain reminded me that air was kind of necessary in order for me to be alive.
"Are you alright? We've been swimming for quite some time, do yo need to rest?" He asked, petting my head but being careful as too not remove the hood.
"Im fine my love." I said, smiling up at him and I squeezed his hand. "Just excited."
He smiled and pressed a kiss to my cheek, just over the air bubble. "How did I get so fortunate as to call you mine?"
I giggled and blushed, but continued to look at the man in front of me.
"I could ask you the same thing." I replied, lifting my hand and cupping his face which he leaned into with a affectionate smile.
We stayed like that, lost in our own little world before Kaldur kissed my palm and we pulled away from each other, but still remained linked by our hands.
"Ready to introduce me.to your parents?" I asked cheerfully and he chuckled.
"I've been ready since the day I knew I had fallen for you." He smiled.
The moment we entered the premises, I was attacked by a yellow and green blur.
I felt myself being spun around violently. A moment of panic flooded me before I was able to wiggle free and look at what had attacked me. I was surprised to see it was a woman, possibly in her late thirties, with wild blonde hair and wearing loose green clothing. I didn't know her, but I knew those eyes and the hair.
"Oh my goodness you're even prettier than I thought!" The woman said cheerfully and as she placed her hands on my cheeks, holding my face firmly yet gently. "Please tell me you speak Atlantean!"
"H-hello..." I said in Atlantean, not knowing what else to do as my body remained in shock from being attacked by the woman I knew was Kaldur's mother.
"Oh my Goodness she speaks Atlantean!" The woman screams before clutching me to her chest. I look to my boyfriend for help, only to see he's too busy laughing.
You're lucky I love you...
"Sha'lai'na, you're going to suffocate the poor girl." A deep, calm voice not unlike Kaldur's says and I look to see a man very similar to Kaldur swimming up toward us. "Let her go before you scare her even more."
Begrudgingly, the woman lets me go and I shimmy away.
"It's lovely to meet you Lina." The man said, extending his hand. "I'm Kaldur's father, Calvin Durham. You've met my wife, Sha'lai'na."
"We've been wanting Kaldur to bring you home for years, even before you started dating!" Sha'lai'na said happily, grabbing my hands.
"It's lovely to meet you two as well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been looking forward to this day for a long time." I smiled, but was still terrified that Kaldur's mom would hug me again.
"Mother, I'd appreciate it if you did not scare her away." Kaldur jokes as he finally stops laughing and swims over to us.
"Oh shush dear, I'm allowed to be excited when my son brings home a girl." She said, batting her hand at Kaldur. Clavin chuckles deeply and claps a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Shall we head inside? We have dinner waiting." Calvin says.
"Dinner sounds lovely." I said, smiling. "Do you need any help?"
"Do you cook?" Sha'lai'na asks me, guiding me to the Atlantean-styled home.
"I do...But I'm not familiar with Atlantean dishes..." I said awkwardly. The blonde woman squeals and pulls me into another hug, much to my discomfort.
"You're such an adorable girl! You're absolutely perfect!" She exclaims. "Kaldur'ahm you are not allowed to end things with Lina! I absolutely forbid it!"
Kaldur laughs at his mother's order, but the slight blush that dusted his cheeks didn't escape my gaze.
"No need to worry Mother." Kaldur said, and he switched his gaze to me. "I have no intention of doing so."
The evening was delightful. The food was delicious, Kaldur's parents were amazing, and overall: everything was perfect. But of course, it wasn't over yet. Once dinner and clean up was complete and Calvin and Sha'lai'na had excused themselves to bed, Kaldur grabbed my hand and motioned for me to follow him.
He took me outside before swimming up and sitting on the roof of his childhood home. I grinned as I joined him, plopping down and resting my head on his shoulder.
"Today has been...A dream come true." I muttered as we looked out over the Atlantean city in front of us.
"Agreed." Kaldur said, lightly tracing his thumb against my knuckle. "Although I do apologise for my mother, I know she can be a little...Overbearing."
I laughed gently and squeezed Kaldur's hand. "Don't apologise my love. Although her hugs are like being crushed by Conner: she's a wonderful woman. It's been a long time since Ive been mothered like that, it's...Nice."
Kaldur looked down at me and I raised my head to do the same to him. Our gazes locked on and I became lost in his beautiful eyes.
"Do you think I could pop this bubble-mask and form my own so that I could actually kiss you?" I asked, not being able to take it anymore.
"I would like it very much if you were..." He said hazily. With that, I reached up and grabbed the bubble and tore it away, effectively popping it before I gently grabbed Kaldur's face and brought him into a kiss.
The kiss was gentle and loving, like all of ours. But the amount of emotion that poured into it would have made my knees crumble had we been standing on land. I couldn't help but let out a squeak of surprise when Kaldur lifted me onto his lap, but I quickly recovered and placed my hands on the sides of his neck as his held onto my waist.
After a long, joyous moment of a days-worth of pent-up emotion: I pulled away and formed my own bubble where the other once sat. It was so easy, I.found myself wishing I had done this in the beginning.
"Lina." Kaldur said, still under me as my legs wrapped around his body.
"Yes?" I asked, looking back up to see Kaldur looking at me with an emotion I couldn't decipher, but it's intesity sent a shiver down my spine.
"I love you...So, so much. I love your voice, your beautiful face...I love the fact that you'll look for the silver lining in every situation, I love how you never give up on the ones you care for, I love your eyes and your hair, The way you dance and how you blush...God I love how you blush...I love everything about you, and its gotten to the point where I don't know what I'd do without you."
My heart was beating a thousand beats a minute, and I had no doubt my face was as read as a tomato. I bit my lip, trying to contain my emotions and couldn't help but look down but Kaldur caught my face, lifting it back up to meet his.
"Angelina Dubois..." He started and reached out behind him and pulled out an item that made me gasp and clasp my hands over my mouth in shock. "Would you do me the honor, and make me the luckiest man alive...And marry me?"
In his hands he held a small silver ring with that twirled around before meeting at a small moonstone. I gasped as I stared at the ring, before moving my gaze back to him.
A moment later, after the shock had passed I violently nodded my head.
"Yes! Of course Kaldur!" I said and a huge grin spread across his face before I dissolved the air bubble and let him pull me into a passionate kiss.
So that was a thing! I'm not going to lie, this chapter is probably my favorite so far just because I love all my smol Atlantean children.Also Sha'lai'na and Queen Mera are beautiful woman and I love them so much.Just a warning...Things are going to go downhill VERY quickly from here.