Fishing For Compliments
SUMMARY: "Ariel, don't look so down! You're about to meet your biggest fan: Nico-nico-nii! I'm Yazawa Nico, occupation: idol!" Starring Maki as the Little Mermaid and Nico as the crying idol; the playground is the Princess Meet-And-Greet; the obstacle is taking a picture with each other. One-shot, Disneyland AU.

Alternative Title: Placed (Under the Sea)veral Times Maki Has Found Herself Thinking Gay Thoughts
Alternative Description: MAKI IS A GAY MERGIRL AND SHE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY SHE'S ATTRACTED TO THIS STRANGER. rip in peace nishikino maki

Maki promised to herself that she wouldn't get carried away when she signed up for a summer job at Tokyo Disneyland. It would've been easy - she'd land a job as a live performer, hopefully as main pianist, and receive her designated pay with grace. Simple, unproblematic.

God, she shouldn't have planned out her summer so much.

The first mistake was showing up for an interview with a manager, who took one look at her hair color and told her to report for training in a few days. The second mistake was actually agreeing to it.

That was how Nishikino Maki landed a job as a face character for Ariel.

No, wait. The moment Maki clocked in for her job at five-thirty on the dot, her identity was stripped from her. She was no longer heir to a renown chain of hospitals, hoping to make it big as a pianist. She was Ariel, the mermaid princess taking an extended vacation to entertain the children of Disneyland. I'm not even that good with kids. The only consolation was that the paycheck was not something to scoff at. At all. One month was already thrice than what she ever expected (Maki reminds herself to thank capitalism and the Disney business sometime in the future).

This day in particular, she found herself in the prep room, slipping a hairpin behind her ear. The event was a simple meet-and-greet, with the standard hello, group picture, and goodbye signature. "Hey Maki, can you help me with my hair?" A blonde called from the far corner, holding blush in one hand and waving her over with the other.

Maki hummed in reply, taking one last look at herself. A sea-green dress and shell earrings, making for a stark bright comparison to her otherwise bored expression. She lifted the dress from her waist, grimacing at her similarly green heels. No one is going to see them anyway, so what's the point? Maki had to remind herself constantly that Disney never did anything half way. Smoothing over the front of her dress, Maki made her way to Eli's vanity.

"Do you remember how long this shift is?" Maki questioned as she gathered the girl's hair and began to braid the blonde locks. Though the two only knew each other for a short amount of time, Eli was the closest thing Maki would consider a friend at her time working in Disneyland. The weeks of training were tiresome, brutal - smiling was required near 100% of the time, and the obnoxious energy of the other trainees bothered Maki. It was all fake, insincere, and she wanted nothing of it.

She found the other girl sitting alone at lunch, back as straight as a pole, already reminiscent of royalty with the air that she carried herself. She soon began to eat opposite of the blonde, not out of preference but out of spite towards the other Disney recruits. Maki didn't bother starting a conversation, and neither did Eli. They only began talking on the last day of training, when Eli apologized profusely for having not spoken before.

Maki finished the braid, wrapping it into a tight bun . Eli stiffened at the action, though she didn't voice her pain. "Erk... I heard Nozomi saying it's two five-hour sessions with a break in-between." A shrug, a small smile. "I can ask the manager for a longer break if that helps."

Maki shook her head, tucking a stray blonde hair behind Eli's ear and fixing the blue hair band with trained practice. Not too far back, never too far forward. And... done. "We'd be abusing Nozomi as assistant manager if we asked again. Besides..." She sat on a folding chair next to Eli, twirling a loose strand of hair between her fingers. Leaning back her head, she looked at the brightly colored ceiling, patterned with the faces of Disney characters. Typical. "Being a face character isn't so bad."

Eli followed her gaze before softly clapped her hands, bringing Maki's attention to her. "Alright, Ariel, the children aren't going to wait forever."

She scrunched up her face, sticking out her tongue as if she tasted last week's throwaway sandwich. "Please, don't remind me."

Three hours in, and Maki felt ready to cry. She didn't know whether it was out of frustration towards the ceaseless line of children, or out of pain from smiling for so long. Maybe she should've taken Eli up on the offer of a longer break.

"Ariel, don't look so down! You're about to meet your biggest fan: Nico-nico-nii!" Maki widened her eyes as a girl strode up to her, twin-tailed hair bouncing in tandem with her ridiculous posing. "I'm Yazawa Nico, occupation: idol!" Oh... okay? She looked normal enough, in skinny jeans and a navy blue letterman jacket; Maki's intuition told her to suspect otherwise.

It took a couple more seconds before Maki remembered to stay in-character. "A-ah, hello! That was... really cool of you, Nico." She gave a smile, hoping that the sides of her mouth didn't twitch. I can't believe I get paid to say these kinds of things. "Are you by yourself? Even though I'm a princess, I still have a little Sebastian looking out fo- hey!"

Maki found an iron-like grip fastened on her shoulder, and Nico's face several inches closer than it was before. She spoke in a dramatic voice, projecting loudly, as if she wanted everyone to hear. "Ariel. I waited in line for forty-five minutes, standing next to kids crying of sunburn," she held her other hand in a clenched fist, close to heart. Who is this person... "and parents who thought their normal speaking voices were loud and angry. I'd brave it all!" This time, Nico grabbed both of Maki's shoulders and gave a squeeze. "It's all worth it just to meet the one redhead who has inspired me all these years." Huh?

And just like that, Nico flashed a smile and struck out a peace sign, returning Maki her stiffened shoulders. "I'm turning nineteen today too, so the least you can do is pose with me for the picture."

"For someone older, you're really childish, aren't you?" When Maki saw Nico's smile lessen by a fraction, she knew she made a mistake. And- maybe it was the Disney atmosphere, or maybe it was Nico's speech, but Maki actually felt guilty for breaking character. Unless I imagined it...? "Ready for the picture?" An experimental push.

No response, and the girl refused to look at Maki in the eye. At least that confirmed Maki's suspicions. Just how much does Ariel mean to her? She folded her arms, and tried again. "Hey... if I have something to say, then I'll say it. Like... in the movie, remember? I go for what I want, even if I have to risk everything." She twirled a strand of hair, waiting for some sort of reaction.

Maki didn't know this stranger - Nico - that much, but she almost expected the older girl to rebound, or something. Her head was now turned down, and her mouth contorted, struggled. When Nico finally looked up with a smile on her face and tears sneaking along the brims of her eyes, Maki felt floored. Quit... quit smiling if you're sad...

Then she heard a sound: a quiet sniffle."I remember. Look," Nico wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket, which had a Little Mermaid patch embroidered on its front. I should've seen that earlier. "I know you're just some girl playing Ariel, but all she had was her voice when nothing else was going for her, and that got me through a lot of rough patches in life." She inhaled deeply, and let it out slowly, as if she were meditating. Nico gave a small smile. "It's still nice to meet her in real life for a while, even if I know it's not the actual thing."

A beat. Two pauses. Maki took in the sight of this teary-eyed, grinning wreck. She didn't question herself as she wrapped her arms around Nico. I guess... I won't mind doing this kind of thing, just this once. Nico was limp in the hug, though Maki figured she was just taking in the moment. "I am Ariel, okay? Maybe not the Ariel in the movie, but me? I can be your Ariel for today. And I think you did a good job winding up here."

Nico stood so still that Maki worried she might've fainted, but then the girl withdrew from their embrace. Maki watched incredulously as Nico pulled a pink handkerchief out of her pocket, swooping her arm in a half circle, as if she were some Power Ranger. And then- dabbing, softly, like a parent holding their child for the first time. She's crazier than I thought-! After a moment, Nico pointed to Maki accusingly, though she kept her face hidden in the handkerchief. "S-since you just made your visitor cry, you have to do the pose with me now!"

Maki crossed her arms, trying to keep up with the girl's whims. "I never said I wouldn't pose, did I?! And look at someone when you're talking to them." She made a move to grab the offending arm, but before she could, Nico hastily shoved the handkerchief back in her pocket with a small 'humph'. Her eyes were still red from tearing up. Even if Nico had just cried, Maki was prepared to quit if she had to cooperate with an emotional rollercoaster like her. "Geez... what's this pose, anyhow?"

Nico lips tugged upwards smugly, and despite having a visible height disadvantage, she did her best to look down on Maki. "You've already seen it! Follow along now: Nico-nico-nii!" Maki watched in shock horror as Nico pinched her middle and ring fingers against both her palms, holding the rest erect. With a flourish that Maki could only describe as 'idol' (not that she'd ever admit that), Nico pumped her arms upwards, one after the other. She bobbed from left to right, ending with a smile that reached her eyes and lit up her entire face.

Maki didn't know how to react, faced with the fact that she - Nishikino Maki, Princess Ariel - would be subject to that kind of humiliation. She found words coming out of her mouth before she could rationalize the situation. "I'm getting paid to be nice to you, not to embarrass myself, Nico. You look ridiculous, anyway." Fingers found a strand of hair, twirling it as the opposing girl dropped her facade and put her hands on her hips. What can she do? She is a visitor, like she said. Even with her words, Maki felt an underlying feeling of dread as she saw a hooded look in her eye.

"You have a promise as Ariel to be the princess you're supposed to be. You smiled for all the kids before me, so what makes me different?" Nico pouted, taking Maki's hands and shaking them in her (feigned?) desperation. "Are you just scared, is that it? Is the most beautiful Ariel in the entire world scared to pose with me?"

Maki felt her cheeks warm up, and she pulled her hands away from this... this person who wouldn't stop changing her attitude. Is she complimenting me, or my costume-? Huffing one last time, Maki looked away from Nico to see a nearby security guard tapping his wrist. She waved him off with a slight turn of her hand. If it's just this, I guess... Again, she turned back, and brought her arms up slowly. "Nico... Nico-nii?"

"It hurts to watch how horrible that came out. Again! Nico-nico-nii!" She was just chanting her own name, and other than feeling a little hesitant, Maki knew she wasn't 'horrible'. This should be simple. Unproblematic for a girl of her stature. How do I let myself get tangled up in messes like this!

"You're just saying that. Look: Nico-nico-nii!" Maki put in more energy this time, flashing teeth and cocking her hips. This dress makes it a little harder. She risked a glance at Nico, only to see... what? There wasn't any widening eyes, or any clapping, or even a smile. Maki could even dare say she looked disappointed. "H-hey, don't make that face! Nico-nico-nii!" What was this girl making her do?!

"Pft." Nico was holding her stomach, apparently trying to stop herself from laughing. The actual act looked so incredibly, outrageously silly that Maki almost forgot to get angry. It was only when she saw tears that Maki remembered- "You're not getting a picture at all if you want to act like that!"

"But that was perfect! I never thought I'd see someone like you do that." Someone like me? What does she mean by that? Before Maki got the opportunity to ask though, Nico stood straight once more and gave a thumbs up. "Good job Ariel, now you're caught by Nico-nii's amazing abilities, right?"

"No, I'm not..." She gave up. Maki would hang her entire life in a suspension of disbelief if it meant understanding a fraction of Yazawa Nico. "... whatever, let's do this." Wasn't she just crying? How could she smile when she was obviously feeling emotional? Maki stood next to Nico as the cameraman crouched in front of them. As the man began his countdown, Maki found her eyes glancing at her visitor in question. She still wore a smile, though not as big, not quite as fake or forced. The man called out 'one!' and Maki focused forward.

"Nico-nico-nii!" Maki raised her voice, thinking the last time should be the best time.

The sun was gone by the time Maki and Eli were released, alongside all the numerous face character princesses that day. "Say, Maki, today's line was pretty interesting." Maki heard it coming, she saw where Ayase "I'm a real princess" Eli was heading. "Especially that one girl that you sent sobbing after she talked to you."

Maki exhaled, not bothering to reply. That only left more open opportunity for Eli to prod, to which she proceeded by grabbing a single photo from the outside pouch of Maki's bag. Eli held a hand to her lips as she covered a knowing smile. "And look- you even got a spare picture!"

Reaching her hand out and pulling the photo back from Eli's grasp, Maki looked at the print as she explained, her eye twitching in disbelief. "She forgot to get a signature from me, after running away like I was sick or something. Who does that, anyway? That was really rude." The two of them posing was actually kind of... cute. Nico in her Little Mermaid jacket, somehow looking natural as she struck the pose. Maki thought she didn't do half bad herself, either. If only she wasn't blushing so much, damned that Nico. "I'm only holding onto this until she comes back to get it."

Eli stifled a chuckle. "And you're so sure that she's coming back." Maki sputtered for a reply when she realized her own mistake, but Eli continued her forward offence. "You really enjoy being a face character, don't you?"

"W-what?! When did I say that!" Maki picked up her pace, face burning from Eli's words. "She can't call herself Ariel's biggest fan if she didn't come back, geez!"