He's been laughing for two minutes straight now. Just a loud obnoxious laugh. I've tried to get a word in, but he was so loud I couldn't even hear myself talk.

I was still against the wall, a tad bit more relaxed, but still staying far away from him. He had settled onto the arm of the couch and I watched his lips pull back in a smile as laughter filled the room, his chest rising up and down with every boast.

Arthur's cheeks were flushed and so was his chest and I wondered if it'd look like that if I was the cause of his fluster? How can my mind shift to something sexual when I've just realized that the man before me is a superhero, possibly an alien like Superman.

"Arthur? Can I go now?"

Arthur actually looked at me and his laughter stopped, perfect thick eyebrows pulled together and his lips pulled apart,"Leave?"

"Yes, leave. Like walk out the door and go home,"

"No,"

"No?" I pushed off the wall,"you dragged me here against my will and have been laughing in my face for the last five minutes. I'd like to leave, Arthur,"

He sighed and blew a strand of hair out of his face,"I pulled you in here because I was angry and I'm laughing because that name is ridiculous. If I scared you I'm sorry, I was just mad that you didn't do what I asked,"

"Well you never told me what to look out for! You just jumped off the thirty foot pier. How was I supposed to know that you were this Aquaman and had glowy eyes?"

I ignored the way he snickered at the name the townspeople had given him and fixed my gaze on him. I was trying to seem mad, but inside I was excited to actually be right.

"You've known my eyes could glow since that day you broke into my house," I opened my house to protest,"You broke into my house," he said again. I clamped my mouth shut and listened to him.

"I probably could have given you more of a heads up. That's besides the point," Arthur told me.

"Then what's the point?"

"Aquaman? Really?"

I rolled my eyes,"I find out you're some weird alien fish man and you're stuck on the name?" I rolled my eyes and headed towards the door.

Arthur was quickly behind me, sidestepping around me to block my path to the door.

"I'm sorry I'm just- it literally means water man. Water man. That's not very creative," he said holding his hands out as caution,"It just took me by surprise, is all. I should be happy you figured it-well I let you figure it out. Anyways, I think someone is trying to get rid of me,"

I scoffed,"Rid of you? No one knows it's you," the seriousness on his face however made me straighten up,"Wait, you're serious?"

"Yes," his hands rested on my shoulders and he turned me around, walking me towards the kitchen," we have a lot to discuss and I'm going to need coffee for this. Take a seat," he pulled out a chair for me and rummaged through his cabinets for cups.

"The cups are on your drying rack," I pointed out.

Arthur glanced at me before grabbing the cups. He was loud as he bustled around the small kitchen and the silence was thick between us.

"So, Aquaman tell me why do you think someone is after you,"

Arthur handed me a cup and set the milk and sugar on the table, cocking an eyebrow at me as he sat down across from me.

"That lady, Yvette. I think she's looking for Atlantis,"

"What the fuck is Atlantis?" I deadpanned.

He choked on the coffee he just swallowed and laughed,"Its where my mother is from. She was the Queen of Atlantis,"

"Wait, wait, wait. You need to start from the beginning. I have no idea what you're talking about, Arthur,"

Arthur sighed like he was getting annoyed with me,"Long story short, my mother, a Queen of Atlantis fell in love with my father, the Lighthouse owner. They banged and out popped me nine months later and my mother had to return to Atlantis,"

I looked at him a bit worried about how nonchalant he told the story,"And your mother? Did she come back?"

"No. I'm pretty sure she's dead," He shrugged.

"I'm sorry, Arthur,"

The pain of loosing a mother was all too strong and fresh for me that Arthur looked up and he realized his mistake.

"I'm so sorry, I'm not trying to be inconsiderate," He quickly said, a worried tone in his voice.

"It's ok, no worries," I chuckled nervously,"Wasn't your dad really old when he died last year? Almost ninety? And you don't seem to be older than maybe 28 or early 30s,"

"He was 93,"

"Oh, shit, but when were you born?" I asked never remembering a little boy running around with old Mr. Curry. I'm sure I would have seen him he's not much older than me.

Arthur leaned forward,"I was born October, 3rd 1962,"

I stared wide eyed,"That makes you-,"

"I'll be fifty three this fall,"

"But, how?!"

"Thanks to my mother I age slower than humans," his blue eyes glanced down at my half full coffee cup,"More coffee?" He asked plucking it from my grasp, I turned in my chair watching him pour another cup for me.

"Where have you been this entire time? And else can you do besides age slowly, jump off tall heights and have glowy blue eyes? Why did you decide to come back to Amnesty Bay?" All my questions flew from my lips so quickly that Arthur just watched me with a small smile.

"First off, I've been away living my life and came back after my fathers death, I got a letter saying he left me the lighthouse. I can talk to sea animals, I possess extreme amounts of strength and can swim fast," He paused as if to think of anything else,"Yep, that covers it now back to what I said earlier. Something's not right with Yvette and her "restoration" of Amnesty Bay,"

I just stared at him,"You can talk to sea animals? Like sharks or jellyfish?!" I cried completely taken back.

Arthur sighed, rolling his eyes,"Of course that's what you take from what I just told you,"

He sat back down across from me sliding my now full coffee cup to me.

"Sorry-its just so much to take in," I explained sipping the coffee,"Wait, you were the one who saved me after I fell off the pier, weren't you?"

Arthur glanced up at me nodding,"Yes, that was me,"

A heavy silence filled in the space between us as we stared at each other. I had wanted to thank that person since that day, but now that he was sitting in front of me I didn't know what to say. Our history, me breaking into his house, staying the night during that storm, and the baskets all seemed so...minute to the fact that I now know it was him.

I parted my lips to say something and watched his blue eyes drop to them before quickly glancing up. I shifted in my seat and Arthur cleared his throat.

"So, uh you said Yvette is fishy?"

"Did you say fishy because of the circumstances?"

I laughed,"Not at first, but now that you mention it, it was slick, no but seriously, why do you think that?"

"She shows up months after I arrive and the folk tale is picking up traction again. It's all everyone can talk about, that's why I was so angry earlier. I'm not trying to draw attention to myself,"

"Well, jumping in after a boy and somehow making your way up a thirty foot wall will draw attention to yourself," I said dryly. He didn't seem pleased with me retort,"Sorry. Continue,"

"I found out from a few guys that she's been asking around about me, when I moved into the Lighthouse, things like that," He explained.

"Arthur, that's not enough to be paranoid about,"

"You don't believe me?"

I sighed taking in his clenched jaw,"Ok, um how about this? I first met her at my house after catching her in my yard. She was explaining to me that a part of my yard, the part that led to the worse off part of the bay and pier was actually the towns. That I didn't own it."

"They explained to me that they want to restore Amnesty Bay back to what it used to be. Showed me their card and petition and I don't know why, but the petition had all my neighbors names on it, like they signed it, but when I asked Leslie she had no idea what I was talking about. Earlier today, actually before I ran into you, she was in my house talking to my dad and the whole atmosphere of the room seemed off so I left,"

Arthur nodded,"There's something off about her and her project. I just can't seem to figure it out,"

I just watched him strum his tan fingers against the porcelain of his cup.

"If you say something's off then something's off. I trust your judgment," I finally said after a long moment.

He looked at me a small smile ghosting across his lips.

"Thank you,"

I nodded and hid the blush that crept up my neck behind the cup as I sipped on the cold coffee. He seemed to be done with his coffee because he stopped drinking it and now had an odd look on his face.

"Arthur?"

He just kept his gaze on me as he drummed his fingers against the table. My eyes didn't know where to go, to his fingers, his face, his eyes. I just looked at him.

Finally, he sucked in a breath and spoke,"Why do you trust me so easily?"

"You haven't given me a reason not to,"

"I'm not someone you should trust-," he began, but I cut him off.

"Then you shouldn't have told me your secret,"

His eyes steeled and his fingers stopped. I could tell he was annoyed by the way his jaw clenched and his nostrils flared.

"Touché,"

I nodded a bit worried on how quickly he became stoic and serious.

"So, can I go now?"

"You want to leave?"

"I mean," I stood up placing my cup in the sink," it seems we've run out of things to talk about,"

"Then we don't have to talk,"

Arthur was right behind me, his chest pressed into my back as he reached over me, towered over me, and placed his cup in the sink. My left hand was on the counter and he placed a hand over mine and pushed my hair aside with the other.

His breath was hot against my ear and I couldn't help, but press against him. The second I did he reached across the front of me and gripped my left wrist, spinning me around to face him.

I looked at him with parted lips, shocked at how he was acting. I'd be lying if I hadn't thought of what it'd be like to be with him. I just wasn't aware that it could actually happen.

Arthur's eyes kept his stare, blue and bright he just looked at me and I frowned. Did I misjudge this? Was this not going to lead us to the bedroom or the couch or the floor? Was he just teasing me.

I decided to break the silence,"Talking is what I'm good at," my voice was low and he chuckled.

Lifting my chin I saw him suck his bottom lip between his teeth and a smirk appeared across his face,"I'll show you what I'm good at,"

He didn't kiss me, but took a step back and walked away. I watched him disappear around the corner and heard his footsteps on the stairs.

He wasn't going to force me into bed. He was giving me a choice, I had asked to leave twice already. I bit my lip, hearing his bedroom door creak open and followed him. If I left now I'd only wonder what if and to me that was worse.

The stairs would undoubtably give my decision away and I wanted the anticipation of me walking up the stairs to rile him up. I could already tell that this night was going to complicate things on a whole other level.

The door was slightly ajar and I could see him leaning on the window sill. It was raining now, lightning flashed across the room illuminating his eyes in the dark. Brightly lit and with a cocked eyebrow his eyes found me when he heard the door creak open further. With a devilish grin he watched me shut the door and I realized something else, I was going to be sore in the morning.