A/N: Sorry I haven't posted anything in the past two weeks! A computer ban coupled with the worst week ever (you don't want to know) makes for a very unhappy Eimear :( Once again, I'm focusing a little more on less central character; this time, it's Jessica and Arran. Those two are so cute together! Not as cute as Col and Connie are together, but still… enjoy the fluff! Dedicated to Angelmail, Argand, Sparkleglitz and DustyG for the randomest ever conversations! If you have any interest in reading them, check out Angelmail's forum!
Ultramarinus
Jessica closed her eyes as they plunged headfirst into a foot-high wave, letting out a silent shriek as Arran reverted to his human form and swam out from beneath her, breaking their bond abruptly. Her tolerance to breathing without air disappeared along with it, and she emerged at the other side of the wave, coughing and spluttering. Arran laughed at the outraged look on her face, mischief sparkling in his chocolate-brown eyes.
"So, who did you say was a better swimmer?" he asked teasingly, catching her around the waist. Jessica looked up at him and smiled sweetly.
"I said that I would be a better swimmer if you didn't have such an unfair advantage. Race you to that seagull!" she called, already a good five feet ahead of him. Both of them leapt upon the startled seagull simultaneously, and it squawked in protest, shooting from the water like an arrow from a bow, leaving a single white feather floating on the water. The bird gave them a filthy look before flying away. Arran and Jessica looked at each other, and dived towards the prize. A stream of bubbles flew through her mouth as she laughed, temporarily blinding her and allowing Arran to snatch the sodden feather from her hand. He tickled her nose with it, causing her to laugh even more. She slapped at him playfully.
"Cheater." He ignored her comment and dived below the waves, mimicking the group of genuine seals that were looking on curiously. Jessica searched for the bond between her and the selkie, and quickly established it, enabling her to follow her companion further into the ocean. They spiralled through the water, leaving trails of bubbles in their wake. Arran hit the sandy ocean floor first, crash-landing into a leafy underwater fern in surprise. Jessica floated gently down beside him.
"Nice landing." she laughed in her thoughts. Arran rubbed his now human head in bewilderment.
"Who put that plant there?" he wondered, plucking a small, scared fish that was fluttering in panic like an underwater butterfly from his tangled brown hair.
"I got Connie to make it grow there," she thought sarcastically. Arran looked at her in surprise.
"Can she do that?" Jessica whacked him over the head, but barely touched him, the water reducing any force behind it.
"What do you think?" she laughed, giving him a sceptical look. "At least you're a good swimmer!"
"Quod erat demonstrandum," Arran replied, nodding knowledgeably.
"You speak Latin?" Jessica asked in astonishment. Arran gave a distorted smile.
"What else am I supposed to do when you're at school?" Jessica shrugged her shoulders.
"I never really thought too much into that. I guess that I thought that you just spent most of your time swimming." Arran gave her a sceptical look.
"Even a selkie can get tired of that. Since I can't exactly go to school with you, I teach myself things. Quod erat demonstrandum means 'and so it's been proved', by the way."
"I know that. I just don't use it outside of proving theorems. How did you learn Latin, anyway?"
"I managed to restore Connie's old Latin book," Arran admitted. "I only learned the words that I liked, so I don't really know much else. Do you want to go back up to the surface?" he asked, noticing that his companion was struggling for air. Without waiting for an answer, he caught her by the hand and started to swim upwards. Jessica took a deep breath in once they had reached the surface.
"Why are you always so stubborn about staying beneath the water for so long?" he asked teasingly. She glowered at him.
"I'm well able to stay below the water. You probably just wanted to get some air yourself, but didn't want to admit it!" Seeing that if he continued the conversation, it would go nowhere, he accepted her irrational argument.
"You see right through me." Jessica laughed.
"Just kidding. I didn't mean that. Thanks for realizing that I was being stubborn," she laughed. "What other Latin words do you know?" Arran's expression turned serious.
"Just one sticks out at the moment. Ultramarinus." Caught in his intense gaze like an animal in the blinding glare of a car's headlights, Jessica didn't say anything. Arran continued.
"It means beyond the sea. And that's what I've been meaning to ask you." This strange, unconnected statement prompted Jessica to speak.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"Jess, I really like you. I want to take our friendship beyond just our companion's bond. I wanted to know… if you felt the same way about me." Jessica looked at her companion in disbelief. He hurriedly tried to correct what he had said.
"If you don't, then just say so, and we can just go back to being friends." Jessica smiled and shook her head.
"It took you a while to realize that," she replied. Arran hesitantly leaned in towards her. He stopped, and looked into her eyes, seeking her permission. Jessica inclined her head slightly, and he cupped her face in his hand and lifted her face towards his. He pressed his lips softly against hers. Arran brought his other hand around her waist, supporting her in the water.
Jessica knotted her fingers in Arran's damp brown hair, drawing him closer to her. Too soon for both of them, the kiss finished. Jessica looked into Arran's eyes and smiled. Arran wrapped his arms around her, with a different significance to all the times he had casually draped his arms around her shoulders.
"I take it that's a yes?"
A/N: Sorry if that was awful! In case you can't tell, I'm not very good at writing kissing scenes :)
Updates might be slow for the next while; I'll try to have something up every week to spread it out a little more, since the Junior Cert is fast approaching :)
-Darling Summers :)