Of All the Fish in the Sea

It had only been six months after Dory was reunited with her parents and nine months since Marlin and Nemo had been reunited. Things were going well. Marlin had landed a job as an IRS agent meticulously looking through the files and files of financial receipts, invoices, and agreements. Nemo had just finished his 15th month of school and had begun his summer vacation. Dory was as usual living with them with her parents down the reef. One morning, Marlin was eating breakfast, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nemo sneaking out. Marlin yelled out to Nemo as he was pushing on the door with his small fin, "Hey, Nemo. Where do you think you're going?"

"I was just going to the Mall of Great Barrier Reef with some friends," he replied.

"I'm sorry Nemo, but you cannot go today. Dory's parents are coming over tonight for some dessert and I need you to get the house ready. It should only take about an hour, and after you finish up cleaning up the house, you can go to the mall."

Nemo had been through this before and knew there was no point in arguing back, so he decided to go along with his dad's seemingly unreasonable demands and start now so he could finish as soon as possible.

Nemo started cleaning the counters off with some Lysol wipes and slowly worked his way from the outside of the island, to the inside of the island, going back and forth, back and forth. Nemo was cleaning for only ten minutes, when he heard some ruffles from where Dory slept.

Soon after, Dory came out rubbing her eyes with her fins. "Good morning," she said in a groggy voice. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Cleaning up for your parents."

"What? My parents are coming over tonight!" she exclaimed.

"Yes," Nemo replied.

"I must have just forgot."

"Don't worry about it, it's fine," Nemo said as he smiled to himself. Dory was always so easily excited.

"I probably should help you then," Dory asserted.

"Yes, Dory, that's a fantastic idea." Nemo knew that if Dory helped, Nemo could get away faster and head over to the Mall of Great Barrier Reef. Nemo had just finished wiping off the counters, and so he told her that he was going to begin cleaning the dishes if she wanted to help. She readily agreed. Something Nemo always thought was liked about her.

There was not a lot of room in front of the sink, but despite this Nemo and Dory both tried to keep their distance and tried not to bump each other as they were both washing the dishes. However, despite their constant efforts, they would occasionally bump fins.

They were almost done with cleaning the dishes and there was only one more plate left. Dory and Nemo both reached for the same plate and immediately their eyes met. It didn't seem like this time was different, but it was. They gazed into each other's eyes. Nemo had big brown eyes that seemed as deep as the Mariana Trench. Dory admired the way they sparkled in the filtered sunlight.

Nemo stared deeply into Dory's eyes, her eyes as blue as the Caribbean Sea, and as piercing as the sun. Seconds past by as each stared deeply into the other's eye. Nemo was exploring his feelings. Dory exploring her feelings. Both of them exploring their feelings.

Nemo was the one to break eye contact. Dory was in shock. She never realized how she felt about him. She knew she cared about him, but never realized how deeply she cared about him. She flashed back to the moment she first met Nemo, when he was reunited with his father. She remembered watching him swim around in the ocean with the widest smile she had ever seen. She remembered the way his tone body moved in the water, the way his scales felt when she ran her fin across. Her love was deeper than she had imagined.

Nemo was so ashamed. He knew the things that he felt and wanted were so wrong, but felt so right. He quickly thought of his age. He was still in school, only a little more than a year old, and Dory was pushing her fourth year. What would they say, he thought to himself. What would Marlin say? He didn't want to disappoint his family and shock them, but he felt so much and wanted so much.

Overwhelmed by shame, Nemo left the kitchen in a hurry and swam outside to the front yard, gasping for breath. How could this have happened? How could my true feelings be suppressed for so long? His questions quickly turned into answers, and he quickly thought back to Dory and all the things he liked about her, but the humiliation felt like it was too much to bear.

After Nemo ran outside, Dory stood there feeling stupid. She had never felt so rejected in her life. However, very impulsively she ran outside to talk to Nemo.

Nemo heard the door open and close, and knew that she would approach him any second. "Hi Nemo," she said softly, hoping not to startle him. "Are you okay?"

Nemo sighed. He said he wasn't sure.

"Look, Nemo, something happened back there. I'm not sure if it was just on my end, but it didn't feel like that." Nemo remained quiet. "Tell me if you feel the same." Nemo again stayed quiet. "Well?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure if I feel the same. I didn't know I had these feelings, I didn't know they existed. They snuck up on me like a Barracuda sneaking up on a minnow. However, I think there is something inside me that says yes."

Dory smiled and told him that she felt the same and that she wanted to start a life together.

Nemo held back a smile. He was concerned though, what would people say about the new couple, the new relationship, the new pair of lovers. "What do you think other people will say?" he asked.

Dory sighed, "I don't know what they will say, but I do know this. No matter what people say, I will always love you, I will always want to be at your side, I will always want to be with you."

Dory was right, Nemo thought. Her words had given him courage, and he was no longer scared of what people would say, but the fear didn't stop there.

"Look, um, Dory," Nemo stumbled, "I'm okay now with what people will say, because I feel the same way about you, but… but…" he paused. "I'm just worried that you will eventually stop loving me because of my… well you know… my… small fin."

Dory could see the real fear and insecurity in his eyes. She took him by the small fin, and told him, "I know you have a small fin, and frankly, I don't care. I don't care about how big or small your fin is. It doesn't matter to me, because I love you and that will never change."

These words made Nemo feel better. He felt safe near her. So the two went inside, to go and finish up the dishes, but they didn't come back the same. Dory felt right, she felt like she had been missing something for so many years, but now felt at home with Nemo. And Nemo, felt happy about his now found emotions, and no longer cared too much to go to the Mall of Great Barrier Reef, but just to stay with Dory. They had each other, and that was all that mattered.