#also i'm currently sick as hell and am not functioning properly so that's lovely and

[megexpress]

Omg after that ask I really need aquamera to adopt a puppy together! And I can't stop laughing at the image of Mera trying to jump into the lions cage "Those are lions Mera, they'll chop your head off and I won't be able to have a chat with them so they change their minds about tasting you" "But look at their puppies! I'm sure the puppies aren't bad!" "Cubs. Lions' puppies are called cubs" and then she goes on mission of questioning about the name of each animal's puppies.

Hello~

Anon is referring to this post.

You sent me this anon a few days before I had learned that AquaMera actually do adopt a dog in the comics! I didn’t know at the time I wrote it. Now I really want them to adopt a puppy in the DCEU. I don’t think they will since the puppy from Arthur’s childhood in the film was probably an homage to Aquadog, but that doesn’t mean I won’t hope for it! 

Yes! I wrote in my tags on that post that Arthur would have to hold her back from trying to pet all the surface animals and I stand by that. The fact that you think Mera would refer to other animal’s babies as “puppies” is so cute, omg. I’m now accepting it as canon because that is adorable. I did think of a scenario that could help appease her curiousity, though…

“Arthur, if you don’t get out of bed right now, I’m going to kick your ass.”

She was sitting on him, shaking him with all her might. Today was Mera’s birthday and she wanted her present immediately. He told her the day prior that he was finally going to make good on his promise - he was going to take her to meet new surface animals. Ever since the puppies she saw, she had been talking non-stop about them. She demanded he tell her stories about the dog from his childhood and his experiences with other animals. She knows a lot about water creatures, but her knowledge about animals from the surface is quite limited. Mera’s curiousity about the surface world comes and goes, but her curiousity about the animals? That hasn’t waned at all. Her eyes light up when she reminisces about the puppy she held in her arms. He is excited to go to the zoo today. He knew it was the perfect gift for her. He loves seeing her happy and to be the one to bring her happiness is a gift in itself.

But, why did she want to go so early?

“As your king I demand you come back in an hour or t-”

The blanket was ripped from the bed and the curtains opened before he could finish his sentence. He shivers in the sudden draft, cringing from the light.

“Mera!”

“Oh! You’re awake! Great,” she says, pulling on his arm to get him up. “Get dressed! It’s time to see more animals!”

“Okay, okay,” he laughs as he finally sits up, wiping the sleep from his eyes. “I’m going.”

“A miracle,” she quips, pulling him to his feet.

“Happy birthday, by the way.” He kisses her temple before shuffling off to quickly get ready.

At the doorway, he looks back to see her smiling and silently clapping to herself in excitement. What a dork.

She notices his stare and huffs in annoyance, shooing him out of the room.

~

The day was a definite success. So much so that Arthur was enjoying himself more than he thought he would. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had went to a zoo. Animals behind cages aren’t his favourite thing in the world, but there is something nostalgic about zoos. His dad brought him to a few when he was a kid. Besides, witnessing Mera’s awe was all the reward he needed. He bought her cotton candy (It’s candy? Yes. But, it’s made from cotton? Not the way you’re thinking. If you’re tricking me… Just eat it, Fight Club. …Oh! It melted! It’s good, right? Yes. Hey! Get your hands off my cotton candy! Haven’t you heard of sharing? You’re already shaking from the sugar rush! Am not!) and heaps of ice cream. She didn’t seem to mind. He remembers the stories of her childhood birthdays. The theme was always the same: stuffy and more like political ploys rather than an actual party. He wanted her to experience a birthday like she never had before - carefree and fun. Thus, seeing all the animals and the copious amounts of sweets. He even bought her a balloon in the shape of a giraffe. She had it tied proudly around her wrist while she lead him around the zoo.

He couldn’t help but softly smile at her gasps of shock, her endless amount of questions, and her tendency to refer to young animals as “puppies.” He nodded at first and was about to correct her, but her look of pure happiness squashed that. She was way too damn happy for him to rain on her parade. So, he gladly went around with her and saw all the “puppies.” He encouraged her to crane her neck to meet a giraffe’s eyes, laughed when she tried to croon back to the screeching monkeys, and smiled in affection as she fawned over the bumbling bears. He took her to see some water animals, too - like hippos and otters - but her attention was really drawn by the surface-bound creatures. Occasionally she moaned about the animals being too far to touch, but then she would get distracted by the sound of a nearby exhibit and would rush to the next species to coo over.

As the day winded down, there was only one animal left to see: lions. She saw the sign and ran to look over the barrier and into the pit. All were lazily laying on a rock, bathing in the last rays of sun, drowsy as can be. The only ruckus was made from the two lion cubs tumbling about and occasionally running to one of the adults before scampering off again.

“How am I supposed to pet the lion if it’s so far away?”

“You’re not. Wild animals are dangerous, regardless if they’re in captivity or not.”

“But I held that puppy on the beach!”

“That’s different. That was a domesticated animal. These are not pets. They could seriously hurt you.”

“I’ve swam with sharks and orcas, Arthur. I could deal with petting this overgrown puppy.”

“It’s an overgrown cat, actually, bu- STOP TRYING TO JUMP THE BARRIER!”

Arthur grabs Mera by the back pocket of her pants to stop her from jumping into the pit of lions. She kicks and tries to wriggle out of his grip, but her sugar high is almost gone and, with it, her energy. Her body slumps in defeat and she lets Arthur pull her back to safety. With her feet firmly planted on the ground once again, Mera turns to Arthur with wide eyes and a pout.

“I just wanted to pet the lion puppies.”

“I know,” he says, pulling her into a hug.

She buries her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. He soothingly strokes her hair. He can tell she’s tired. Her eyes were starting to droop and her energy had significantly dropped in the last hour. The anticipation of the day and then experiencing the actual excitement must have been overwhelming and exhausting. Plus, her feet must be aching from all the walking. He’ll give her a foot massage later. He should also think about actually getting food into her system… He does feel bad for her, though.

That’s when he sees the sign in the distance.

Perfect.He unwraps her arms from around his waist, noticing that her eyes were shut.

“Did you just fall asleep?”

“Mmmm no,” Mera groggily denies, stifling a yawn. “Are we going home now?”

“Just one more thing and then we can leave.”

“Okay.” 

She gently takes his hand in hers, letting him lead her to their last stop.

~

“Shut up!”

Mera’s lethargy evaporates as she takes in the scene before her: people were taking pictures with a baby lion laying across their laps. The supervising zoologist manned the cub, occasionally swapping one out for another when one got particularly restless. People were told to sit still as the cub was placed on their laps and a photo was swiftly taken before the cub was taken back and the next set of people came in. 

Mera’s eyes light up in excitement, her last bit of energy surging to the surface.

“Are we taking a picture with the lion?”

“Of course. Why would I bring you here just to watch?”

She ignores the question as she realizes they are next in line. Her smile is beaming and she seems to be emitting a faint glow. Thankfully, no one notices as they are all enthralled by the lion cub stretching its limbs. She absentmindedly swings their intertwined hands. Arthur affectionately watches her and leaves a soft kiss at the top of her head. She turns to him and winks.

They’re next.

They are rushed in and one of the workers takes the balloon from Mera’s wrist for safe keeping. They are instructed to sit down and be still. Mera freezes, her eyes displaying all the animation that her body cannot. The cub is brought and laid across their laps, its head nuzzling into Mera’s stomach and its tail swishing in Arthur’s face. Mera’s hand slowly descends and hesitantly pets the cub’s head. The cub is distracted, not really paying attention to the affection its being shown, but Arthur can feel its purr rumble throughout its body. Mera lets out a slight laugh. She’s at a complete loss of words. That’s a first, Arthur laughs to himself.

The photographer curtly tells them to smile and snaps the photo. The next thing they know, the cub is removed from their laps and they are handed their photo (and Mera’s balloon) before being escorted out. Mera and Arthur huddle to examine their photo together. The cub isn’t looking into the camera, clearly distracted by something off to the side. However, the cub is not the best part of the photo - Mera is. Her eyes are slightly shining as she looks at the cub in reverence, a hand caught in motion, scratching behind its ear. Arthur is looking at Mera in the photo, a smile playing at his lips, complete devotion in his eyes. 

I’m going to marry her one day.

“Were you crying?”

“What? No!” Mera discreetly wipes at her eyes, erasing the evidence.

He chuckles as she tucks herself into his side and pulls him close.

“Thank you, Arthur.”

“Happy birthday, Mera.”

#AquaMera #Aquaman #thx for the msg anon~ #as someone who has actually done this before... it was definitely an experience lol #also i'm currently sick as hell and am not functioning properly so that's lovely and #explains why i wrote this lmao i think it's cute though and that's all that matters