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Ever since Arthur ascended to the throne of Atlantis, the great underwater city had quickly been regaining its past glory.
Arthur trusted Orm to rule beside him, but he knew that his brother still despised the Surface dwellers – no matter how much Arthur wanted to change that. He took Orm to the Surface several times and tried to make him realize the beauty of it… to no avail.
“Surface dwellers are destructive. They are destroying their world and if we aren’t careful, they will ruin our oceans too. Arthur, I swear to Poseidon, if they do not start taking better care of their environment, I will have no choice but to take matters into my own hands.”
“Yeah and we both know how that’s gonna end, brother. Just try to understand them; they’re not all bad. Some might even… surprise you – if you let them.”
Orm tried to make an effort for his family, but he stood firm on his position –until he met you.
He would mostly come to the Surface late at night and usually didn’t get further than the beach. Despite what his brother had advised him, he wanted to avoid contact with Surface dwellers as much as possible. Usually, he just took a long walk on the beach, watching the city lights from afar, trying to adjust to the salty air in his lungs.
But this night, something was different. This night, he was not alone on that beach.
You were walking on the beach and carrying a trash bag for discarded or washed-up rubbish. It was more peaceful to do at night. It felt rewarding to clean the day’s mess, and at this hour, you were less likely to come across someone else. Or so you thought…
What is that guy doing in the water? It must be freezing! you thought.
“Is… Is everything ok?” You asked him.
Orm didn’t know how to interact with Surface dwellers. He had met Thomas once or twice, but he never particularly warmed to him. Still, he knew that a strange man standing waist-deep in the sea at night would be an unsettling sight for anyone.
He slowly approached you. “I’m fine, don’t worry. I was just, uh, taking a walk.”
The moonlight was shining down on his pale skin, enabling you to get a good look at this stranger and his gorgeous blue eyes. You could easily have been frightened by his imposing figure, but there was something fascinating about him.
At first, he didn’t seem to believe you when you explained what you were doing at the beach. A Surface dweller that wasn’t a complete unworthy idiot was unthinkable. But the more you talked to him, the more he seemed to open up to you.
“Hey, would you like to help me?” you asked him after a while.
And that was how everything began. This soon became a habit. Every night he would be waiting for you at this exact same spot, where you went on to spend hours talking and cleaning the beach.
It didn’t take you long to figure out where he came from. It didn’t change a thing for you.
He kissed you for the first time on that beach, just before diving under the waves to go back to Atlantis. You had leaned towards him and gently kissed him on the cheek to say goodbye. It was the first time you had seen him blush. At that moment, the mighty Ocean Master turned to a shy little teenager right before your eyes, but he soon regained confidence. He wrapped his arms around your back and slid his hands down your spine, pulling you closer to him. He looked deep into your eyes before crashing his lips against yours, letting you taste the salt on his lips. You had never known how badly you needed his lips on yours until the moment he actually kissed you. He kissed you with such passion and heat that it was almost surprising that his element was water, and not fire.
Around you, Orm tried to act like a normal guy, but deep down he was still true to his nature and would lose his temper every time he saw someone litter.
“I swear to King Atlan, if you do not immediately pick up the garbage you just discarded I will release the wrath of the Seven Seas on your miserable existence.”
And people, seeing that spark of fury in his eyes, obliged.
Even though your two worlds were at peace, you both found it very hard not to be able to see each other more often. Orm finally understood what his mother had felt when she had to leave Thomas, and he sensed that it was even harder for you not being able to follow him in his realm. He could tell that made you incredibly sad, and he couldn’t stand it.
And so one day he decided to change everything.
“You know, Atlantis is dying to meet their future Queen.” He had that mischievous look in his eye that you’d come to love. The word ‘Queen’ sent a shiver down your spine but you quickly brought him back to reality.
“You do know that I can’t breathe underwater, right?” you scoffed.
“I have something to show you, my love,” he grinned.
Orm had designed a suit with a limited supply of air especially for you, using Atlantean technologies. You were so happy that you jumped into his arms.
Once in the suit, you held tightly to his shoulders as he led you deep into the ocean and into his realm. You were simply in awe. Orm had told you almost everything there was to know about Atlantis, but you never thought it would be that breathtaking. It felt like a dream.
He was really proud to introduce you to everybody, but still he was worried about you and never left your side.
“Can you breathe okay?” “Are you feeling tired?” “Do you have any pain?” He wouldn’t let go of your hand the whole night.
Arthur, Mera and Atlanna were delighted to finally meet you, and Atlanna greeted you by saying “We are honored to welcome you in our family, Y/N!”
Arthur confessed to you that he was indefinitely grateful that you managed to show Orm there was more to the surface than greed and pollution. You respectfully thanked him, but said you were the one who was grateful, because Orm had brought you something far more important: Love and family.
“My Queen, it is time to go home now,” he said as the sun began to rise. “You have already been underwater for too long.”
“This isn’t fair. I want to stay here with you, Orm. It aches me to be apart from you so much.” You didn’t care about the fact that your body had slowly begun to feel numb due to the pressure of the ocean, or that your breathing had started to fall short. You felt like you belong here, more than you ever did on the surface, next to the man you loved.
He took your arms and gently placed them around his shoulders. “Trust me sweetheart, there is nothing I would love more than keeping you here by my side: But I can’t expose your body to such risks.” Seeing the sadness fill your eyes, Orm lifted your chin up and whispered “You are the Queen of Atlantis, my love. This is just a goodbye.”
You wrapped your arms around him and he rushed towards the surface at what felt like light speed to you.
Once on the beach, he helped you out of the suit and, after making sure you were ok, held you in his arms.
“I will be back for you in no time, my love”
Getting back to the reality of your surface dwelling life would be harder after this, but you knew Orm valued your safety above all else, and that he did everything he could to spend more time with you.
He even told you he wanted to come live with you on the surface for good, because he missed you so much. He asked his brother who already gave him his blessing. But you wouldn’t allow it.
“You are an Atlantean King. It wouldn’t be right if you changed who you are for me. We don’t need to choose between our worlds, Orm,” you breathed as he held you close, looking at you like you were the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on.
“At land, or at sea, I will always be yours, my Queen.”