Alright, I am back with a new story! I recently just watched The Little Mermaid again, and my goodness I do not remember Ariel's voice being that good. And like any other fans, I suppose, I had to ship a character with another. I mean, that's what fandoms do, right? I knew the shipping from years back then, but I wasn't so interested in it because Ariel wasn't really by favorite character back then. Jim was one of my favorites, but I didn't ship him with anyone back then. But now that I have watched The Little Mermaid again, you get the point. I just had to, like any other people did.

This story is basically what happens when the two meet each other using the plot from the original Little Mermaid, drizzled with my own twists and turns. So, as cliché as it sounds, I need to state this before beginning the story; this story is only a background story of how the two met. I actually wanted to write a story of this… discovery that Jim and Ariel encountered, but a background story of how the two met wouldn't hurt, I thought. So that would be in the second book.

Oh yeah, I do not own anything about "Treasure Planet" or "The Little Mermaid" apart from the plot that I'm using in this fanfic. Enjoy!

James 'Jim' Hawkins was a better person than before after having through an adventure of his life. Because of his adventure, the Benbow Inn which had burnt down was now back on its foundation. Because of his adventure, more people started to show up in the inn. Because of his adventure, smiles were seen more frequently on his mother's face, Sarah Hawkins.

However, because of his adventure, his desire for more adventure turned him into a more rebellious man than before. Six months of academy lessons in the Naval Academy bored him, and the purpose of the academy seemed to be against the idea of Jim's own purposes. So, he quit.

Sarah couldn't believe her eyes for the first time when her son entered the door of the inn with an academy uniform on. Reason after reason was surprisingly explained by Jim with patience to his mother, however, it still took days for Sarah to get over it. Getting over the fact that her son would rather wash the dishes than to become a proper soldier was a hard thing to do for Sarah.

Jim was still the old Jim, still possessing a strong will to find freedom in any free time he could possibly get. And that freedom happened to be near his inn, sat against the outer wall of the building. It was his solar surfer, very much still functioning under the care of Jim himself.

Having no interest in work at the moment, Jim used the opportunity to seek freedom. The sun was out, which meant more energy for the solar surfer to use.

Jim had learnt about the areas that he was not supposed to fly at in the academy, which he had to give credit to the academy itself for such a knowledge. Later, he realized the only area that was not covered in any legal law was the ocean. Luck was on his side, as the ocean could be met with several hundred steps from the Benbow Inn to the north.

Jim strolled down the steps, which some were steep, but he managed to reach the beach. He placed his solar surfer on the sand, and did a kickstart on the vehicle. Several attempts were done, and at the fifth, the engine eventually turned into life. Seeing so, Jim quickly spread the solar sail to absorb every sunlight he could get.

"Alright, let's go baby!" He exclaimed to himself, and floored the throttle right after placing himself on the surfer. Needless to say, his eyes were placed at the back of his skull due to the massive g-force he made by accelerating that hard.

"WOOHOO—"

Freedom was defined in the moment. Jim Hawkins was unstoppable, quite literally, because no written law was against him right now. He climbed some altitude to pierce through the clouds. After only seconds, he discovered the space above the clouds. To savor the moment, he yelled on the top of his lungs once again while a hand was slicing through the clouds.

Jim reduced his altitude to meet the ocean, and by saying reduced, it was close enough for his arm to reach the water while still gliding on the surfer. The water greeted his hand with a cold sensation, and combine that with the wind in his hair, he erupted a laughter from his throat. This kind of moment had no such thing as an equivalent.

Satisfied with performing more aerial acrobats, Jim slowed down his speed as he landed on the beach. The thruster on his surfer was steaming hot, so he let it cool down for a moment while sitting down on the sand, gazing to the view in front of him that consisted only the sky, the ocean, and some rocks in the water decorating the view.

However, he soon realized that the view didn't just consist of those three. He spotted a pair of eyes, which quickly hid itself.

"Huh? Anyone there?"

With suspicion, Jim threw away his boots before stepping into the water. He approached the rock that hid the object that he was seeking for. What he found answered his question, there was a person after all.

It was a girl. Before he could even scan her looks, she quickly rotated to the other side of the rock to hide herself again. Seeing so, he tried to assure the person.

"Hey, don't worry, I won't do any harm," Jim approached the girl, and got an angle to see her thoroughly.

Jim's lower jaw dropped a little to the sight he was spectating at this moment. The female's beauty was the cause of it, and it wasn't like he was complaining. Her blood red hair impeccable, her blue eyes were mesmerizing, her slim figure was elegant. In conclusion, she was the most beautiful girl Jim had ever seen.

"You… won't do any harm?" The female questioned, returning Jim's gaze.

"Oh, yes, of course. Why would I?" Jim chuckled to himself. "I uh… you… happened to be swimming here?"

She nodded. "And… you happened to be flying previously," she let out a scoff, "which was quite the performance."

Jim scratched his hair. "Ah, so you've noticed. Please don't tell the cops? Although, technically, they can't arrest me because I haven't broken any law whatsoever—"

"Cops? What are cops?" The female cocked a brow.

Her response was an odd one to Jim. "Um, the police? You know, they ride on solar surfers too, but different to what I have. And they usually patrol some areas—" Jim cut himself. "Except… you're not from around?"

"Well," the female raised something from the water, which turned out to be a pair of fins, "I am from the water, if that even answers your question." She smiled slightly, but the smile quickly faded away when she saw Jim's facial expression. He was mesmerized, but the female misjudged it as an expression of fear.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't even be here, I'm just a freak. Goodbye—" as she was about to leave, he grabbed her hand to prevent her from doing so.

"No, please, don't!"

Jim's action was no doubt initiated by reflex, along with a sense of curiosity to the female. Seeing so, the female turned around and looked at him, as if she was giving him another chance to speak.

"I… have befriended many kinds of people, which includes a half dog, a half cat, who was my captain back then, a navigator robot, a cyborg, who was the closest person to a father figure to me, and a pink slimy creature with the size of a palm. Yet never have I ever complained about it. I think I can add you into the list," he extended his arm for a handshake while smiling, "may I?"

The words touched the female, there was no denying for that, although she had no idea of some of the words that boy had just mentioned.

The female extended her arm as well, and shook his hand. "You may," she curled a smile.

"I'm Jim. And you are…"

"Ariel."

Do review, please :) it's been a while since I last wrote anything, so I'm open for critics.