A/N: This scene has always bothered me and so I've decided to meddle in. I've seen other authors take this scene on but never once have I seen one where her sisters or father are taken into account, they're used more as an obligatory mention. So, without further ado, what I think would have happened if they had kissed.

Disclaimer: The Little Mermaid and all it's associated characters belong to D*sney.


"You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name." His smile was sheepish and his shoulders were hunched nervously as he continued to row. She looked up, a smile twitching her lips.

He let go of the oars and leaned back. With a small chuckle he scratched his jaw. "Maybe I could guess." She leaned forward in curiosity, eyes widening as she waited. "Is it, uh, Mildred?" Her smile disappeared, replaced by a face of such disgust he couldn't help laughing. "Okay, no."

He looked up in thought. "How about Diana?" Her posture slumped and her lips started to turn downwards as she shook her head. "Rachel?"

"Ariel. Her name is Ariel."

The voice came from nowhere and he looked around in confusion. "Ariel?" She leaned forward, a bright smile gracing her fine face. "Ariel? Oh." He sat up as she grabbed his hand, nodding her head in excitement. "That's kind of pretty." She shyly looked at their hands and then back up at him. He sandwiched her hand between his, his voice turning breathless at the spark that shot out. "Okay." Their blue gazes locked and they shared a small smile. "Ariel."

The boat continued to drift in the lagoon and neither made a notion to separate their hands. If anything, her hand began to slightly tremble in what seemed happiness if the glow in her face was anything to go by. He tightened his hold and scooted closer. Faintly he heard music and singing, the lyrics making him smile.

"Now's, your moment, floating in a blue lagoon. Boy, you better do it soon, no time will be better. She don't say a word, and she won't say a word until ya kiss the girl."

The boat began to shift as it began to move in circles and he saw glimpses of colorful fishes and turtles swimming around them. He took each of her hands in one of his own, marveling at how small and pale she was. Her smile, Ariel's smile, was still firmly in place, although it seemed calmer and more relaxed.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't be scared. You got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl. Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't stop now. Don't try to hide it, how you wanna kiss the girl."

Fireflies swarmed around them, their glow making her red hair shine slightly golden. She tilted her head to the side, hope rising in her eyes. Her smile turned shy and her fingers twitched in his hold.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, float along and listen to the song, the song say kiss the girl."

Their hands seemed to raise of their own accord, each of them leaning slightly closer to the other. His eyes were sparkling with wonder, wonder at how this ship-wrecked, mute, lovely, graceful creature could make him feel as if he was in the middle of some sort of fairytale and turn his world upside down.

"Sha-la-la-la-la-la, music play. Do what the music say, you gotta kiss the girl."

She slowly raised her head, rosy lips lifting into a soft, entrancing smile. Her eyebrows were raised in a taunting curve, a playful dare lurking behind her kind eyes.

"Kiss the girl."

His hands tightened their hold and he leaned forward. No harm would result in an innocent kiss, he thought. He gulped as she turned her gaze more fully on him, a hidden seriousness in the rise of her chin.

"Why don't you kiss the girl?"

Why didn't he? She was beautiful, with her long red hair and the way she approached everything with wonder. She was leaning closer now too, all playfulness gone as he heard her take a sharp intake of breath. He pulled her hands closer to him, making her come closer.

"Go on and kiss the girl."

She lifted her face to him, her eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. He dipped his head and laced their fingers together as he saw her eyelids flutter closed. Her lips were softly parted and he could see her pulse racing in her neck. His own eyes were heavily lidded, eyebrows scrunching together in consideration.

Making a final decision, he closed his eyes and closed the distance between them.

Their lips met softly, her soft sigh caught between the kiss. He tilted his head, applying more pressure. Her lips were soft and pliant beneath his. Her lips moved slowly, responding with such an endearing shyness that he couldn't help his smile. He darted his tongue out and let it trace her lips, her fingers tightening on his at the electrical sensation that shot out with the soft touch.

She opened her mouth willingly, her own tongue coming out to playfully tease his. His hands moved up to grab her elbows, her hands bending to grab his biceps. He nibbled at her bottom lip, enjoying the small whimper that escaped her.

He brushed their lips together before scattering kisses on her face. He nudged their noses together and leaned their foreheads together. He drowsily opened his eyes and saw that hers were still closed. Or rather, they seemed to be staring at her lap.

"Ariel, I just, that was -" He sighed, a stunned smiled piercing his face, a single dimple showing.

"Great," she mouthed, but they way her lips moved made it seem as if she was used to speaking the word. Her eyebrows scrunched together and she lifted a hand to her throat, rubbing the skin. She sighed, a bit resignedly, before looking up at him.

He brought his free hand up to her cheek and brushed his knuckles across her cheek. "I wish you could talk. But we'll find a way to manage." He pecked her lips before sitting on the small bench properly once more and begun rowing back to shore.

He couldn't help but notice that on the way back, she looked into the waters and sadly shook her head, as if she were answering someone's question. He heard a distant sigh, one that didn't come from either of them, followed by a sharp splash of water.


Ariel's legs were tingling.

It wasn't the sort of ticklish tingling she had found out she got when she was still for too long, but more like acute stings. It wasn't even that they all happened all over her legs. They occurred section by section. The sensation had began during the kiss and she'd known what it meant.

Her legs were turning permanent.

The kiss had worked. It had been true love's kiss.

She should be feeling ecstatic. This meant that Erick loved her back, that she would no longer have to worry about turning into a mermaid tomorrow, that she could happily live the rest of her days on land. She could dance, walk, run, jump, and do all the things that she had only dreamt about doing in her grotto.

She was happy, that she was positive about. Yet, there was a gnawing ache inside of her. A certain emptiness that had been there since the first of these three days, but was now drawing more attention to itself.

Her throat hurt.

When Ursula had demanded for her to sing back in her lair, as those ghoulish green hands had started to near her neck, she had felt her voice being ripped from her. When they had closed around her neck, the inside of her throat had felt as if nails were scratching at its insides, trying to scrape away something that wasn't meant to be removed.

When she had gotten her first breath of air as a human, it had hurt to breathe yet she had endured the pain. It wasn't that different from when she had gotten a sore throat. She assumed that the pain would gradually fade and as long as she didn't try to talk, it would be gone all that faster.

She had been right. When Ariel had gotten excited at seeing Eric at the shore, she had tried talking to him and her throat had been assaulted by a burning sensation. When she had gasped as she had slipped off the rock, the air had worked like ice to a burn. It had helped yet it had also caused its own separate pain. But the more she remembered to only nod and mouth words, not try to say them and be met with silence, the more the pain began to dissolve.

During the kiss, the feeling of having nails assault her throat had come back with it's force multiplied by ten, part of the reason why her hold on Eric had tightened. Along with the prickling that had surrounded her waist and the pleasurable shock of Eric's lips on hers, the moment in the lagoon had been as attack on her senses.

As they made their way back to the castle in the carriage, Eric was confidently handling the reins with one hand, the other resting on her knee, thumb drawing soothing circles. She was leaning back in her seat, not caring that it wasn't the proper posture for a princess, land or sea, and trying to control the urge to scratch of her thighs.

The prickling had descended to almost to her knees and it was driving her crazy. She wanted to stomp around, she wanted to stretch like she had seen a cat do while they had gone through the village, she wanted to do anything besides sit still. If she was mermaid, she could have easily swum out of the carriage with no danger. She couldn't do that as a human, it was dangerous. She had gathered as much at the alarm and concern that had overtaken Eric when she had bent over to get a glimpse of the wheels and horse working together.

"It's all right gurl." Sebastian's voice was tired, making him sound his age, something rare. He had slipped into one of her pockets as they had stepped out of the small boat and was now curled up on her shoulder. "We'll get your voice back." He sighed. "Somehow."

Ariel scoffed, turning her head to glance at Eric. He heard her scoff and had raised an eyebrow, not taking his eyes off the road. "Something wrong?" She saw his blue eyes sneak over to her and she gave her a small smile as she shook her head. He smiled, returning his attention to the road ahead. "Good. When we get back to the castle, I want you to rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."

A harsh laugh tried to force it's way out, the action making her throat feel as if it were on fire. She coughed, making the feeling worse. She clutched at her throat, trying to reswallow her spit and breathe in the cool air as a way of controlling the pain.

His eyes flickered over to her and he quickly set the carriage on the side of the road. "Ariel?" She continued to oddly cough, shaking her head at him. He got closer, his hand stroking her back, the gesture soothing. "I'll get Carlotta to make you some tea, okay?" She nodded meekly, the horrible pain slowly subsiding. She waved her hands in front of her, indicating that he should get back on the road.

Warily, he took control of the reins once more, sending the carriage back in motion. This time, he didn't let the horses go at a leisurely pace, making them almost trot in his worry over Ariel. Her eyes had flashed with horror while she coughed and her color had risen in an appalling fashion. It wasn't normal and he was concerned. He would make sure to tell Carlotta to leave a teapot full of brew in her room for the night.

Soon enough they reached the castle's gates and footmen rushed to assist them. Eric instructed them to take care of the horses as he stepped out of the carriage. Coming to Ariel's side, he took her hand in his and helped her make her way down. She smiled thankfully up at him and he returned the sentiment with a soft kiss of the cheek. Her cheeks blushed a pretty pink and she began to make her way to the entrance.

"Ah, I see you've found your way back." Grimsby smiled kindly at Ariel, who in turn dipped her head in a formal acknowledgement. She turned her head to look at Eric and saw him busy helping settle one of the horses. She sighed and pushed open the large doors, her heels quietly clicking behind her.

Grimsby's forehead pulled into a frown, slightly concerned at seeing the normally happy mute so forlorn. Straightening, he stiffly walked over to Eric, a reprimand firmly set in his mind.

"Eric, there's something that we must -"

"Her name's Ariel." The Prince was leaning against an open gate door, staring into the night sky. He sighed, the same sigh he gave whenever he was sailing a ship at full speed. "It suits her, don'tcha think Grim?" He pushed himself off the door and grunted as he closed it. With a nod to the gatekeepers, he started walking towards the castle.

"Why, I guess it does." His eyes were wide, amazed at seeing Eric act so dreamlike. He coughed and hurriedly walked to where Eric was about to close the castle doors. "How did you find out? Can she talk?"

A moment's sadness washed over the shine in his eyes, his mouth tightening into a straight line. "No, she's really a mute it seems." He raked a hand through his hair, sighing as he looked up the stairway, hearing the maids fuss over the new guest. "I started guessing her name and it just," he shrugged, "came to me."

The old adviser's gaze was still curious but he refrained from asking anymore questions. "Yes, well, sometimes things happen for a reason. But did you, per chance, find out anything else about her?"

He shook his head wearily and began to make his way to the ballroom. The room was large and dark, covered in layers of dust from disuse. The chandeliers weren't on, their golden shine seeming rusted. He walked to to the orchestra stage, flipping open a left behind music book. He sighed and sat down on one of the steps. He took his flute out of his pocket, looking at it as though he expected it hold all of the answers.

Grimsby's eyes softened as he looked at the boy, trouble marking his handsome features. "What do you intend to do now?" He dropped his voice to a murmur and added, "Prince?"

Eric sighed and impatiently flicked his wrist. "I intend to go out," he gestured to the balcony with his flute, "and play some damn music." Grimsby shook his head, fully believing the action to be a waste of time. Nonetheless, he followed the youngsters path.

Grimsby stayed behind, feeling that the young ruler might welcome a small moment alone. He watched as his charge set his foot on the banister and began to play his flute. A hauntingly sweet melody flittered out, something akin to a musical plea. He would wager his life that it was that melody that the heroic maiden had sung. When he finished, Eric sighed, and stared out into the ocean.

He made his way towards him, concern obvious in his face. "Eric? If I may say, far better than any dream girl is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring and right before your eyes." He raised a hand in the direction of one of the castle's many hospitable towers and tactically retreated back into the castle.

Eric looked up and was met with the image of Ariel walking past the balcony window, shifting a fork through her hair. Her eyes were closed and her movements seemed like graceful sways. A soft chuckle left him and he tightened his grip on his instrument as he made his choice.

He backed up a couple of steps before lurching forward, throwing the flute across to the rocky edges that surrounded most of the castle. He heard the faint whistle of air rushing past it's holes before a final splash resounded.

He turned and made his way back inside the castle. His choice was made.