It had been almost a year since Camille's last encounter with the king of Atlantis. He had remained relatively invisible for the first few months but recently returned to his role as Aquaman. She often saw him in viral videos and a few blurry pictures online, but hadn't personally seen him at all.

After Camille's temporary disappearance she had been assigned away from Amnesty Bay, which was upsetting at first, but understandable considering the stress she'd put her superiors through. Now she patrolled a much larger area that wasn't nearly as peaceful as her last post. Every day there was some kind of calamity - whether it be a stabbing or natural disaster. This place experienced both in equal measure.

For example, she was now on her way to a burning building still full of people. This wasn't because she was the most qualified to find the cause of such an intense fire, but she was the only officer left available in the area. She would have to assist the fire brigade in any way she could, stop people from getting too close, then search the building once the fire was out. That was the plan at least, but when she arrived at her destination she was made aware of just how uncontrollable the flames were. They burned with colours she never thought it could. With each flare another apartment was alight.

Even from blocks away it was like a bonfire. The wood was fast becoming ash and the vinyl siding was sliding down like chocolate in the summer heat. The smoke was being carried to the left by the wind, over the housing estate, raining down dirty ash like anti-snow. A bunch of firefighters were fighting the flames with hoses of water that seemingly did nothing.

"What's the situation?" Camille asked the fire chief nearby.

"We're still evacuating everyone, but it's becoming more difficult by the second. The fire isn't getting any better and the building's close to collapsing." He was tapping on the outside of his fire track anxiously, eyes never leaving the deteriorating structure.

Camille searched her brain for ideas but found none. She couldn't extinguish flames that even firefighters struggled against. She was useless in this situation, and though she continued to brainstorm ways of getting everyone to safety in time, the building's entrance had already started to crumble. Just as the evacuating occupants were about to be crushed beneath the frame, a man sped towards it and attempted to hold it up. The strangest thing was that it worked. He was grunting and straining against the weight, but managed to hold it as everyone escaped.

It didn't take long for Camille to recognise Arthur, but this wasn't the time for reunions. She turned to the crowd of people; some were unconscious, others were covered in ash and coughing more up by the second. "Is everyone out?"

One of the firefighters, kneeling beside the elderly man he had pulled out and waiting for a paramedic quickly spoke. "He said his wife was still in there before he passed out, but there's no way of getting to their room."

"Which room?" Camilly hurriedly asked.

"159, on the fourth floor." He replied regretfully.

Camille's gaze darted back to the building and she saw that Arthur was losing his grip. He was strong, but everyone had their limits. Aquaman shifted his stance and used his back to push it up for a little longer but his expression was mixed with pain and uncertainty. If he was holding this building up, he couldn't save the woman...but if he let go the entire structure would collapse.

Camille didn't waste any time. She sprinted towards the fiery building, feeling the heat radiating through the air. She could almost feel the sparks burning her skin as she drew nearer.

"H-Hey, wait, what are you doing?!" Arthur yelled as she ran passed him. "Get back here, crazy!"

Inside the apartment complex all she could see was red. Parts of the place had already given way and blocked her from taking certain paths. Even the stairs were hidden behind debris. Camille had to climb and squeeze herself passed the hot rubble just to reach them. Even then, the staircase had collapsed just shy of the fourth floor.

Camille came to a halt in front of the large hole, that threatened to soon take the rest of the platform with it. Jumping over it would be suicide...but the wall beside her had been burnt so badly that it was left with relatively large gaps. She swiftly took off her jacket and wrapped the sleeves around each hand to prevent from being burnt, and without any time to be fearful, she started to climb. Thankfully it didn't take too long to reach her destination, and as she pushed herself up her jacket fell into the flames below.

Camille paid it no mind and rushed towards the short line of doors, searching for number 159...but when she reached it the door was locked. Camille, hoping desperately against all logic that the woman was still conscious, started banging on the door; so aggressively that it sounded more like she was trying to tear the wooden barrier down instead of actually knock.

"I'm here to help you!" Camille yelled at the top of her lungs but still barely managed to become audible over the crackling fire. "If you can hear me please open up!"

There was no answer, and Camille wasn't surprised. That would have been too easy...

Camille, regretting that she hadn't searched the old man's pockets for the keys, resorted to plan B. It wasn't he sanest idea that she'd ever had, but it was all she could think of. With a deep inhale that failed in calming her nerves, she manoeuvred her way out of the open window nearby.

Hugging the weak wall, Camille shuffled along the thin strip that circled the fourth floor's exterior. It felt like it might give way at any second, but that only made her quicken her pace. She tried to ignore the hammering of her own heart and her shivering legs as she finally reached the outside of apartment 159. Keeping with the theme of Camille's bad luck, the window was locked as well but this time she wasn't willing to waste anymore time. Biting her lip in preparation, Camille smashed the glass with her elbow and jumped inside.

This particular room wasn't as devastating as the rest of the building. Smoke blinded her path and a few flames had started blazing in the corners, but many items were left untouched by the fire...well, so far at least.

It wasn't difficult to find the elderly woman in the bedroom, laying motionless on the large bed. She was passed out, likely from smoke inhalation, and barely breathing. Camille was quite a small yet athletic woman, so when she picked up the victim her problem didn't arise in actually carrying the elderly woman's weight - it was simply in trying to find enough room in her own arms. Somehow she managed it though. Now the real problem arose...getting back out.

She struggled to unlock the door, altering her hold on the unconscious woman until she succeeded. It was obvious now than ever that she shouldn't have just rushed in, because there was no way out. The staircase had collapsed and their only hope of survival was the broken elevator on the other side of the hall.

Outside of the building everyone watched anxiously, waiting for the police officer to exit. Arthur held it up for longer than he thought he could, and when he felt his arms shaking at the effort he thought of Camille still inside; of everything she had done for him. That unfortunately wasn't enough to prevent the rest of the building from disintegrating though. Soon the entire structure fell around him, and the entrance that he had been holding together was nothing but an archway leading to ruins.

Aquaman was seconds away from being overcome by anguish when he heard something tapping from beneath the rubble. He dug into the ash, moving whole rooms and the still burning ceiling until he found the source of the noise. The elevator was still intact, with only a few dents from all the weight that had fallen on top of it. Arthur forced the doors open, and inside sat Camille with the elderly woman she had saved.

Relief consumed the Atlantean, and he sighed as Camille climbed out of the elevator. "You're insane."

Paramedics rushed to the elderly woman and immediately attached her to a ventilator. Camille brushed the ash and soot from her uniform and smiled, evidently happy to be alive. "Good to see you again too, your highness."

Arthur managed a small smirk at the nickname, but continued curiously "How did you survive the fall? Even in the elevator, you were four stories up. It should have killed you both when the building fell..."

"We weren't four stories up." Camille explained simply. "The elevator was still working, the door was just jammed. We were almost down when the entire building collapsed."

"You're lucky to be alive." Arthur crossed his arms, trident gleaming brightly in his hand.

"Well, so are you if we're going down that road." Camille shrugged, trying to contain her excitement at finally seeing him again after so long. "How's everything in Atlantis?"

This change of subject was welcome, but didn't completely eradicate Arthur of the panic he had previously felt. He sighed heavily, and this was the moment when Camille realised just how bright his costume was. She was so used to seeing him shirtless or draped in dark armour, that this kingly attire appeared completely foreign...perhaps because it was Atlantean. "It's as good as could be expected."

The sight of more officers arriving on the scene filled Camille with relief. She had to inform them of the situation and events, but she also believed she'd earned a few minutes of off-duty time to reconcile with Arthur. Maybe she could sneak away without them noticing... "Wanna go grab a coffee...Ah, wait, do you even drink coffee? Would you prefer water?"

Aquaman raised an eyebrow at the woman. "I'll take a beer."

With that, he walked right passed Camille and expected that she would follow. He wasn't wrong. Arthur could hear her faint footsteps rushing along to try and keep up with his own long strides. "Aren't you gonna get changed?"

"Why would I do that?" Arthur replied, never slowing his pace.

"Well, it's just that you'll draw a lot of attention in that..." Camille stated. Even as they walked down the street she could see everyone stopping in their tracks. It was kind of hard to miss the bright yellow and green armour he wore, especially not when they saw it every day on the news.

Arthur shrugged. "I don't have a secret identity so I'll draw attention regardless of what I'm wearing. That's why I stayed in Amnesty Bay when I was in hiding, everywhere else people would have recognised me and told the Justice League. At least there they knew who I was but chose not to say anything."

Camille blinked, then her eyes widened ever so slightly. "Secret identity?... Superheroes have that?"

"Most of them do." Arthur replied, stopping at a bar instead of the cafe next door to it. "I thought everyone knew that."

"Apparently not." Camille huffed, upturning her lips sulkily as she found an outside table for two. "I don't stalk the every move and interview of Metahumans."

"I don't know about that. I always seem to run into you." Arthur joked.

"Maybe you're the one following me."

Arthur didn't argue, as he was still debating whether to inform her that he had been swimming to Amnesty Bay in the hope of running into her. Maybe he would have if Camille hadn't disappeared to grab their drinks.

Still, he had to ask when she passed him his beer and sat on the chair opposite him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I almost lost my job completely after all of that Atlantis...stuff." Camille explained with a sigh. "The only way they'd let me keep it was if I left my post at Amnesty Bay for somewhere a bit more populated. I suppose they hoped that would stop me from disappearing again."

Arthur took a large gulp of his drink, and that was enough to render the glass half empty. "Sounds like we got you in a bit of trouble."

"That's putting it lightly..." The cop attempted to mimic the dent Arthur had put in his beer, but it barely looked like she had touched it after she was done. "I've been seeing you a lot in the papers. Looks like you've been busy. Have the Justice League taken you back?"

Arthur nodded. "Most of them were just happy that I came out of hiding, but Batman was a little more difficult to convince. He's been making me run around to every small problem that arises as payback."

"Is that how you ended up here?"

"Yeah, why else would I be here?" Arthur laughed. "I never liked big cities so I wouldn't be here willingly."

"Well, if it helps I'm glad you're h-"

Camille was interrupted by a passerby. She had come to a complete halt in front of their table and kept her mossy-green eyes on Arthur. For a moment Camille thought she might start screeching, she was face to face with Aquaman after all, but instead she just smirked. "Cool costume, you look just like him."

Arthur raised his glass and smiled. "Thanks."

The lady then continued walking and Camille found herself gobsmacked. "Does that happen often?"

"More than you'd think." Arthur laughed lowly and the sound rumbled in Camille's ears. "I guess they don't expect to see the king of Atlantis drinking a beer at the local pub, so they assume I'm an impersonator or some drunk lookalike."

"I suppose that makes sense." Camille shrugged. "So anyway-"

Another stranger's intense stare stole the rest of the officer's sentence, and Camille found herself becoming irritated by the interruptions. The red-haired man crossed his arms and scoffed. "Why dress up as Aquaman? He's the most useless member of the JL."

"Excuse me?" Was all Camille could manage to say through her shock. She was constantly surprised by the ignorance of others, but this was just unbelievable.

Though Camille was obviously highly offended, Arthur looked almost amused by the man's words. He'd heard this all before, and now it was simply funny - especially after he'd finished holding an apartment building for the better part of half an hour. The media had caused the large majority of people to view Aquaman as a joke - and that in itself was the biggest joke of all.

"I said that Aquaman's lame. All he does is speak to fish, and I don't know when that would ever be a practical power." The man restated with an annoyingly self-assured expression.

"Firstly, he doesn't 'speak' to the fish. He uses telepathy. On smarter sea life he uses signals that they sense in the water's current, waves or temperature. Secondly, his body's accustomed to swimming through high pressures in the ocean so on land he's stronger and faster than you could ever dream of being." Camille had stood up at some point in her long rant, but couldn't exactly remember doing it. "Who are you anyway? You must be incredibly powerful yourself to think that Aquaman's useless!"

The stranger shifted on the spot and scratched the back of his head anxiously. "Geez, calm down lady. I'm just saying that he's a little boring..."

"No, what's boring is being a forty-five year old divorcee working at a service station with such a mundane life that he spends his time whining to strangers about people he'll never match up to. Aquaman's the literal king of a lost city, what are you the king of? Idiots?"

Arthur took another swig if his beer, trying to hide his laughing face in the glass. The stranger had folded his arms in an attempt to hide his work uniform, and burning with anger, he stormed off without another word.

"That was a little harsh." Arthur had finally managed to contain the chuckles that wanted to escape. He had remembered Camille's bravery and kindness, but forgotten how lively she became when she was angry. Even at this moment she had sat back down, crossed her arms and kept tapping her foot as if she wanted to kick something with it.

"He deserved it." Camille grumbled. "What gives him the right to say shit like that? You're more than he could ever be, even without any powers."

Arthur found himself fairly grateful that Camille cared enough to defend him, but those comments didn't affect him anymore. He heard them so often that it was like white noise. "It doesn't matter. Do you live nearby?"

"Just a few blocks away actually. I-"

"Pardon me, but are you really Aquaman?" Another voice spoke and Arthur could see that Camille was seconds away from snapping. Not that he could blame her. She wasn't use to random people barging in on every private conversation like he was.

"Well I have his armour..." Arthur replied vaguely, trying to avoid lying but also not eager to tell the truth. "And I have his trident as well."

"So...you're not him?" The woman asked in slight confusion.

"I didn't say that."

"Oh, well I'm only asking for my son." She gestured to the small boy at her side, that Camille had failed to notice until now. He wore a dark green shirt with a bright yellow 'A' in the middle. Poseidon's Trident had pierced through the letter, and the design was one often associated with Aquaman. In his hand he held an old action figure of that same hero. It looked as if it had been played with every day for years. "He loves Aquaman. He actually spotted you from across the street and refused to move until I asked."

Arthur granted the boy a warm smile that rarely appeared on the king's face. He wasn't going to turn the boy away, but he was also aware that everyone within earshot was watching with anticipation and that, once he became swarmed by those people, it would likely be uncomfortable for Camille.

"I'll catch up with you later, alright?" He said to her with a brief sideways glance that expressed all that he needed to.

"Sure just don't wait so long next time, fishface." She teased before quickly taking her leave. Though she had been swift in her exit, she truly hoped that he would find her again somehow. There was still so much she wanted to discuss...and this encounter had only reminded Camille that her feelings for Arthur hadn't changed even after so long apart.