Yes I know I still need to update the other fic and I'm trash for not doing so, but I've had a bit of writer's block so I'm hoping writing this will help! Even if it doesn't, I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Eric knew her so well – of course he could tell when she was lying. The way she bit her lip and made eye contact intently up until the point where she had to tell the actual lie. How she always spoke a little too quickly through it. How she was of course lying about this – because how could she tell the truth? And how could she reform her behavior to do what her father wanted?

"Daddy, I haven't even thought about going to the surface!"

Eric knew perfectly well she had thought about it – in fact, sometimes it would be all she could speak about. She was always interested in the surface and people and the things that they built, but there were phases of times where it seized her and consumed her. Every conversation would run back to it, every break in contact her eyes would look upwards, and as she'd swim away she'd swirl up, up, up as if hoping to break the surface accidently and pull herself up onto land.

King Triton sighed and rubbed his temple, settling back in his throne. "Ariel, what am I going to do with you?"

"Stop yelling at me?" Ariel offered. But her joke fell flat, and Triton merely glared at her.

"Go, Ariel." Triton said dismissively.

Ariel started to roll her eyes but took her chance to escape and swam off. Eric turned to follow his girlfriend but was stopped.

"Eric, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Ariel was gone, already through the doorway and forgetting the fears her father tried so fruitfully to force into her.

"Yes, sir."

Triton leaned forward and looked Eric in the eye. "Eric, is she lying to me?"

Eric was a little taken aback. Was he being asked to tattle on Ariel, like they were two children on a playground? Yes, King Triton was king of the sea but combining that authority with that of being his girlfriend's father created a whole new level of intimidation, one Eric wasn't keen to bend to.

"Of course not." He said clearly.

King Triton still didn't seem to believe him. "Talk some sense into her, please. I know she's at that age where she won't listen to me. I'm sure you both discuss how unreasonable I am, but after what the humans have done to us – and to her mother – I implore you to see things from my perspective. I worry she'll do something foolish. I know that if she goes to the surface, she may not return."

…

To some degree, Eric knew Triton was right. He had heard Ariel talk about the human world for ages, and saw them as harmless as merpeople, the way she did. He firmly believed that the death of Queen Athena, while tragic, was an anomaly. He and Ariel had discussed these things with great length and frequency. If she went to explore the surface, he was sure she'd be safe. But Ariel loved the surface. She talked about it all the time. If there was some way for her to get legs, she might just run far, far away. And he would never see her again.

But Eric knew Ariel, and he knew the most untamable thing about her – that she would do what she wanted, no matter who minded it. She was independent and self-contained and never one to pay mind to those who disagreed with her for no good reason. There were many reasons why he loved her – her joy in finding new things, the way she spotted tiny shells he would've swam past, the way she bit her lip – but her spirit was maybe the largest reason.

In many ways, he was relieved that she didn't want to actually go to the surface, as the idea of being apart from her was too much to bear. The idea would creep into his mind sometimes and consume him for a night, but by morning he would've pushed in out and resumed their joyful relationship.

Every once in a while, when he saw her looking upwards, he would tense and wait for the words. "Let's go to the surface. Let's climb on the land. Let's finally see what I've been dreaming about for so long". But those words never came, and in time Eric would exhale and they would continue their lives.

He would've gone with her, if it was at all possible. Let her know that they could've found a way – a potion perhaps – to turn them both human. More likely, and more intimidatingly, Ariel would've wielded the trident for the first time in order to transform them. He would've gladly built a life up there with her, but he just couldn't leave the sea. After the recent and untimely death of his parents, he was the last of his line. Everything his family had built up and risen to under the sea was vested in Eric, and it was his duty as a son and a duke to see it through. He had promised his father. And he never broke his promises.

So, for now, he remained perched with Ariel on this thin horizon line, watching as she wavered and hoping she'd fall on the right side.

…

Ariel knew there wasn't much holding her back. She had seen the power of her father's trident, and she knew that as a princess, she had the power to wield it. Maybe not the control, and maybe it would hurt…but she could do it.

She thought about it every time she broke the surface. She'd always go alone – usually very in the morning or very late at night, depending on her mood and the ease of it all. Her father had forbidden her, at least one of her sisters would tattle on her, and she knew Eric would worry. Eric always had a bit of worry in his eyes, usually whenever she got caught up or too dreamy. Ariel knew Eric did not fear the surface as a concept, but maybe he worried in actuality. Maybe he just worried about her.

Once, she had brought up the idea of going up onto the surface. Eric didn't say no outright, because Eric never liked saying no, but he wavered and pushed and didn't quite look her in the eye. She stopped bringing it up quite decidedly after that. Yes, she still talked about the surface – she had no one else to talk about it with, after all – but she didn't bring up the idea of going anymore.

Maybe he was just nervous, though. It had been quite some time since she had brought it up last. Maybe she had misread him. It would be so much easier to go to the surface is she knew she had Eric with her. And beyond that, how was she supposed to do anything without him? She loved Eric, completely and forever. She knew she'd never love anyone the way she loved him. Even the idea, the concept, of leaving his world forever was too much to give any serious thought to.

But there was a way to see how he really felt, a way to open the conversation. She would watch him quite closely and see how he felt and reacted, and know then if she could give living as a human the serious consideration she had always wanted to.

And she would show him tonight.

…

"Hey!"

Eric stuck his head out of his bedroom window. He wasn't particularly sure why Ariel preferred to bounce shells off his house than come to the door. His parents were dead. He had no tattletale siblings. He was the duke and head of his household. There was no one to prevent him from going out. But still, he indulged her. Eric swam out of the window and down to the sea floor.

"Why don't you just come to the door?" Eric laughed, his curiosity still consuming him.

"What if they don't let you come out?" Ariel replied.

"Ariel, barring your father, there is not a man alive who can tell me what to do." Eric snorted.

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "That may be true, but Carlotta is not a man."

Ah. Carlotta.

"Remember that time she said you couldn't go out 'cause you hadn't had a bath?"

"I remember."

"You were seventeen, Eric."

"I know."

"Or the time she said that you didn't eat enough veggies? That you wouldn't have the strength to go to the fair with me?"

"I had plenty of veggies, she just wanted me to eat kelp."

"You were sixteen then."

"Look, I love her but she scares me."

"Or the time she wanted you to stay home to help her put a scrapbook together? Of your own baby pictures?"

Eric just exhaled really loudly.

"That was just last week!"

"Regardless, what're we doing now?" Eric asked, steering the conversation away from this.

Ariel laughed, and swam sharply to the right. "I wanna show you something." Ariel said, waving Eric over.

"What is it?"

"We've got a bit more swimming to do. Just follow me." Ariel took the lead and swam quickly, around rocks and coral she must've used as marking points – if she needed any more marking points at all. She seemed to know this path quite fluidly, and went around twists and turns with an ease Eric couldn't quite match.

"Here." Ariel said happily, putting her weight against a boulder and rolling it. "Come on!" she said excitedly, darting in.

Eric followed her, completely unsure as to what he was about to see. Some grand secret, some part of her that she felt so strongly protective of that she holed it up behind a boulder and couldn't only reveal it to him after they had been dating for three years.

"Here!" Ariel said again with more excitement, spinning around and opening her arms.

She revealed a grotto; rock winding up and up as far as Eric could see, stopping with a pinpoint of light. On every natural shelf there were trinkets and gadgets – human objects that she must've scoured the ocean for; things she lovingly preserved.

"What do you think?" Ariel asked, prodding the silence.

Eric froze, mouth agape. Surely she need not go to the human world; all of its possessions must've been here. There was not a fancy or a fascination, this was a passion beyond all else he had seen in her. That thought stung a little, and would continue to until he re-thought it.

"How long have you been collecting this?" he asked.

Ariel shrugged. "Near my whole life, I suppose."

Eric nodded. "It's…it's beautiful." He lied. "Thank you for showing this to me."

…

Eric didn't go straight home, instead riding his decision and swimming in laps and circles as he thought about what Ariel had shown him – and what it meant. She probably didn't present it to him with any depth in mind. It was something she loved and had poured a lot of energy into, and she wanted to share her collection with him. That's all she saw. But Eric saw more.

Ariel was a human. In the way she thought, and moved, and loved, she was human. She always had been. She just didn't have the legs.

She was not merely interested in humans – hell, even 'fascinated' wasn't a strong enough word. She would never be her true self until she was a human. And she had to know of her father's ability – or his trident's ability, rather – to make this happen. Ariel may not always focus in on all the minutia of royal life, but she wasn't dense. And when it came to realizing her dreams, there was no way she'd miss something as big as turning herself into a human.

While he thought himself arrogant to think it, Eric knew the truth. There was only one reason why Ariel was still here – him. If he was able to leave, he was sure they'd be on the surface already. If they had never met, she probably would've wielded the trident years ago and split her tail in two.

How much longer could he be selfish, weighing her down to the ocean floor when she was so clearly meant to bob at the surface?

…

Eric always came to the door. He would greet whoever opened it for him – often a maid, sometimes a sister, seldom Ariel, who was typically off in her own world. He had never broken this unspoken rule, until tonight. Tonight, Eric threw shells at the side of her room.

Ariel laughed when she leaned her head out and saw him. "What're you doing?" she asked.

Eric gave her a weak smile. "Are you busy?"

"I mean, always, but I've always got time for you." Ariel smiled.

Eric felt three deep notes drag him down. Worry pooled in his stomach. He was too stupefied to leave, too stupid to stay. Ariel wrapped him in a hug, as she was so kin to do and he hugged her back, almost instinctually. There was nothing he could say, nothing he could do now.

"What're we doing?"

"Can we just go swim for a bit?"

"Sure!"

He desperately wanted her to be less chipper – she must've been having a great day. Maybe she found another human object of some sort. Maybe she just had a lot of fun. Maybe…maybe she was just really happy to see him.

They swam off for only a few minutes before Eric slowed, and eventually stopped. "Ariel." He said plainly, almost free of emotion.

This jarred Ariel, and she stopped sharply. "Is everything okay?" she asked, her eyes scanning him.

"I think we should break up." He said it quickly, semi-consciously. He instantly wanted to take it all back, or play it off as a joke.

Ariel froze, furrowed her brow and looked at him. "Are..are you kidding?"

"No." Eric said, cursing himself again. He was stupid! He couldn't even know for sure what this would make her do! She might just stay on the ocean floor, resenting him forever.

"Why?" she said, a hiccup of a cry in her voice.

"I just…I can't do this." Eric said. He wanted to be vague. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't have a real reason – not one he could vocalize, anyway. It didn't matter. He wasn't doing this for himself.

"Eric, did I do something?" her voice wavered again, so softly.

"No, no. It's just- I just – I. I want to break up." Eric nodded.

"You can tell me if I did something – I'll try to fix it, I promise!" Ariel said, reaching out to grab his hands.

Eric didn't fight her, but he didn't grab her back. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Eric-"

"I just can't do this. I'm sorry." Eric said.

"There weren't any signs – how long have you been unhappy?" Ariel said, the first sob finally coming.

"I don't know." It was as close as Eric could get to the truth.

"What if we didn't break up, and just separated for a bit?" Ariel pressed.

"No, Ariel."

"Isn't there anything left between us?"

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?"

"I promise I'll never burden your life again."

Her sadness stayed, and anger came with it. Shaking her head, she backed up and swam off, disappearing from Eric's sight. He hated it. He hated how quickly she accepted that they were over, and how easily she believed that he could ever be through with her. That he could ever be unhappy with her. Had he never made that clear?

But he'd never get a chance to clear his name or convince her otherwise. He knew what he hoped she'd do, what he knew in his heart of hearts that she was already thinking about – what she had never stopped thinking about.

Goodnight, Ariel. He thought sadly. Travel well.

…

It had been twenty years from that fateful day – there was no way Eric could ever forget it. She had changed herself that night; he was the catalyst he simultaneously hoped to be and prayed he wouldn't have to be.

Eric wasn't able to bring himself to visit for many years – he was afraid that he'd see her and crumble, begging her to come back and be with him again. That wasn't good for her; she needed to be who she was. He wasn't sure if his hypothetical begging would've worked, but he knew he wasn't willing to take that chance.

He rested on a low, flat rock, maybe fifty feet from shore, and sighed. It was clear why Ariel wanted this so badly. It was peaceful here. He rested his chin and the rock and kept most of his body in the water, staying hidden.

He had broken after about seven years, pushed himself to shore and searched. He went at twilight or dawn, when he hoped that she wouldn't see him, if she happened to be on the beach. He didn't see her. But Eric continued returning to the surface, looking and scanning and checking different beaches. He didn't think she'd go too far from the water – it was a part of her, too – but what limits did she have now?

In time, after several years of searching, he spotted her. It was sheer coincidence, forced by odds. She gathered up her skirts around her knees and walked – walked! – into the water, sighing happily and tipping her head back. She stooped to pick up a few shells, curious as ever, seemingly healthy, and happy. Above all, Ariel looked happy. And that was what mattered most.

Eric found himself visiting the surface as often as his duties gave him reprieve to do so. He wondered if this is how Ariel felt all those years she hid the depth of her passion for the human world. Sneaking away, staying hidden, loving the satisfaction regardless. He didn't see Ariel every time, but he assumed she must live near this beach, because that was the only place he ever saw her. Sometimes she'd leap in and swim, sometimes she'd look for shells. Once, he watched her jump into the water and kick so furiously he ducked beneath the water to see her. Her legs. She kicked with her own legs. He never saw her with anyone – not a friend, not a spouse, not a child. He wasn't sure exactly how he felt about that.

Today was slightly different.

Ariel did come out onto the beach, head uncharacteristically dipped low. She moved her skirts about her ankles, almost as if she was trying to summon a breeze. She sighed, and crumpled to the sand, placing her chin on her arms on her bent knees.

Almost as if it was beyond his control, Eric dipped beneath the water and swam closer. He hovered beneath the surface for but a minute before, in a 20-year long impulse, breaking the surface. He shook his hair and pushed it back. Ariel looked at him, her mouth a perfect o, as she rose to her feet, almost in disbelief of what she was seeing.

"Eric!" she exclaimed, running towards him. Running on her own legs.

As she leapt into the water and swam out to him, he pulled himself up onto another boulder. He had never gotten his scales out of water before. They looked so much more vibrant up here.

He smiled and reached out his arms to her, unable to meet her halfway. Ariel climbed up on the rock and threw her arms around Eric. He pulled her up onto his lap and slid his hands up to cup her face. Relief coursed through Eric. She was safe, she was happy, she was human. And, by some miracle, she didn't seem to hate him.

"I've missed you." She said quickly, with an urgent fervor he had always loved about her. Still did.

"I've missed you, too." He promised.

"It's been so long…" she said, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"It's been too long. There's not a decision I have more complicated feelings about than the one to break up with you. I'm so sorry, however I hurt you." Eric spoke quickly, trying to get everything out. "I still love you, I always have."

"I love you, too." Ariel said, leaning in towards him.

Eric moved his hands to her waist and her hip and rolled her against him. Twenty years was worth the wait.

Oh, Eric pictured it all perfectly.

Yes, today was different. Today Eric dreamed of what it would be like to see her again, touch her again, earn her forgiveness. But he couldn't. Because Eric had stayed beneath the sea and done his duty. He served as a duke, and ruled his part of the ocean well. He met with King Triton and made plans for the kingdom. He kept up the manor. He married, and had heirs. Eric did his duty.

And, he never saw Ariel again.