Disclaimer: Ariel, Melody, Max, Eric, Scuttle, Sebastian, Flounder, Megara, and Hercules are characters owned and licensed by Disney. I am using them without official permission for non-commercial purposes.

Author's Notes: Ambrose and Iola are my original characters so if you want to use them in any stories or drawings please give me a mention in the description.

WARNING: This chapter has an M rating and is definitely not suited for young audiences (that's right, my dear readers, strap in for some swearing and lesbian sex). Since this is not my usual fare, I'll include a summary at the very bottom of this chapter so those readers who aren't comfortable with strong language and/or descriptive sexual situations can be up to speed for the next chapter.

Ariel's eyes blinked open and focused on Meg's sleeping face, which was just a few inches from her own. Sunlight shone through the window and gently caressed the brunette's every feature. Ariel had been waking up next to Meg for over a month now and she still savored each detail of moments like this one. The ex-mermaid had grown slightly bolder. She reached over to her girlfriend's face and lightly stroked her cheek. She wanted to lean down and kiss Meg but her nerves got the better of her so she stayed where she was and watched as the brunette eased awake. Meg blinked, adjusting to the light, and then looked up, locking eyes with Ariel. She smiled, making the ex-mermaid's heart race. Meg lifted her head up and softly pressed her lips to Ariel's. The redhead felt a warmth spread over her and when they pulled back from the kiss she was grinning.

"We should probably get up," Ariel said.

"You're probably right," Meg replied, visibly disappointed.

They both got up and got dressed for the day, Ariel in their room and Meg in the spare bedroom. Ariel went downstairs to make breakfast and Meg came down to watch her from the dining table. She thought it was sweet that the brunette enjoyed watching her do one of the things she was most passionate about. Max walked sleepily over to Meg, who began absent-mindedly scratching him behind the ears. His tail thumped loudly against the floor and his tongue flopped out to the side, earning a laugh from both Meg and Ariel. As per usual, when Ariel was almost done cooking she sent Meg up to get Melody. After they ate Meg went to wash the dishes while Ariel took Melody into the living room and got her settled in with her toys. Before long, Meg came out to join them, taking a seat next to Ariel and putting an arm around her. Ariel reached over and took Meg's other hand, intertwining their fingers. They sat in silence for a moment. Ariel decided to play one of her favorite games: asking random questions.

"If you knew for sure that you would get away with it, what would you do?" she asked.

"I'd punch Hades in the face," Meg said without hesitation.

Ariel laughed.

"The god of the underworld?" she asked incredulously.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Because he's a real asshole."

"Fair enough," Ariel said, "Do you consider yourself a pessimist or an optimist?"

"That's a tough one, red," Meg said, giving a short pause, "I guess that I've been both at different times. When I was a kid I was very optimistic, then life gave me some shiners and I was pretty damn pessimistic for a while."

"What about now?"

"I really don't know. I think I'm less pessimistic than I used to be but I still wouldn't call myself an optimist. Being riddled with self-doubt makes it hard to think positive, you know?"

Ariel gave Meg's hand a squeeze and rubbed it gently with her thumb. She sensed there was a story behind both of Meg's answers but she decided to let Meg tell it in her own time. Meg gave a distracted smile before leaning back on the arm of the couch. Ariel leaned back to join her, grinning as Meg's arms wrapped around her middle. They sat like that, enjoying the closeness, and watched Melody play next to Max until it was time for Meg to head to work. The brunette stood, kissed Ariel gently, and tousled Melody's hair.

"I'll see you both when I get home," she said with a wave.

"Have a good day at work!" Ariel called as Meg walked outside.

The redhead watched, with a twinge of sadness, as the door shut behind Meg. She turned to Melody, who had resumed playing with her wooden animals. The toddler held one of the animals up and looked at her mother. This was one of Melody's favorite games.

"What kind of animal is that?" Ariel asked, playing along.

"This is a bayo!"

"Oh no! A bear?" Ariel replied, feigning fear.

"It's okay, he's nice," Melody assured her.

She was getting better at speaking every day. Though, Ariel noted, she still had trouble with the R sound in words. Ariel was careful to give Melody good examples of how to pronounce things.

"What does he like to eat?" Ariel asked.

"He likes fishies and bewwies!"

"Fish and berries? That sounds tasty!"

Melody nodded and held up a different animal. The game continued for a while before the toddler had gone through all of her animal figures and had grown bored. Ariel could tell it was time to shift gears so she brought out a cloth pouch that contained several thin wooden pieces with letters painted on them. She poured them out and then lined them up in alphabetic order. She pointed to each letter and asked what sound it made, giving Melody a "good job" when she said the right sound and gently correcting when she said the wrong one. After they got through the alphabet, Ariel helped Melody sound out her own name.

"Do you think you can spell it?" Ariel asked.

Melody slowly sounded out her name again, carefully choosing the corresponding wooden pieces until she got to the last letter.

"That part is a little tricky. Let me help you," Ariel said, picking up the correct piece and setting it next to the others. Then she followed along with her finger as she slowly read, "Melody."

They repeated this process with "Meg," "Max," and "dog." As always, Ariel concluded the activity by asking if there were any words that Melody wanted to know how to spell and writing them out on a piece of paper. Ariel had always been curious and sought knowledge so encouraging her daughter's curiosity and eagerness to learn was very important to her. They played this game until lunch time, when they moved to the kitchen. Ariel put the main part of their lunches on plates and then brought over some grapes in a bowl for them to have on the side. Ariel took one grape and placed it on Melody's plate.

"One for you," she said before grabbing another grape, "One for me."

Melody reached into the bowl.

"One foe you," the toddler said, copying her mother, "One foe me."

They went back and forth like this until they had evenly divided the grapes between their two plates. Melody started eating and humming happily, painting a smile on Ariel's face.

After lunch Ariel helped Melody get ready to go out to the market place so they could buy ingredients for dinner. On the walk over Ariel pointed to various things and asked Melody what color they were. Melody was very good at identifying colors, though Ariel did have to gently correct some of her pronunciations. The ebony-haired girl had a bounce in her step as they went along. She loved this game. When they got to the market Ariel pulled out her shopping list.

"I'm going to need a helper to make sure I have the right amount of everything," she said, "Can you help me count?"

Melody nodded and smiled, excited about being able to participate. For each thing on the list Ariel would read off how many she needed and Melody would count out the objects with her as she picked them up. Soon they had all of their supplies and dropped them off at home, after which Ariel took Melody and Max for a walk on the beach.

Melody busied herself collecting treasures, from shells to sand dollars to sea glass, while Max ran alongside her, wagging his tail at top speed. The blued-eyed girl would dash back to her mother when her hands got full. Ariel put each batch of treasures into a bag she carried specifically for collecting things.

"All right," Ariel called after a while, "It's time to go home!"

Max and Melody bounded over and they all walked back to the house so Ariel could start making dinner.

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Meg waved goodbye to Iola and Ambrose and started to make her way home. She had a little bounce in her step. She loved the life that she and Ariel were creating together, work was going well and she was learning a lot about magical objects from Iola, things were good. A small part of her, a part she had been fighting the whole time she had lived with Ariel, wondered when the other shoe was going to drop. Before she could shove the thought back down, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Meg!"

Meg froze because she knew that voice. She sighed deeply and turned around just in time to see Hercules stop a few feet away from her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked.

"I was back in the area, doing more promotional appearances, and thought I would track you down."

"Why?"

He looked confused.

"Didn't you miss me?" He asked incredulously.

"No, I really didn't. You've got a lot of nerve showing up here out of the blue like this," Meg said, "You're gone for almost a year with no goodbye, no explanation, you just left me alone in that damn vacation house in a town full of strangers, and you come back expecting…what exactly? A warm welcome? Did you think I'd be here waiting for you to come back?"

"Well, yeah."

Meg looked at him in disbelief.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" She roared, "I don't know where all of this arrogance came from but I'll tell you right now it's not a good look on you," she added, jabbing him in the chest with her index finger, "As much as I hate giving that flame-headed fuck any credit, Hades was right about you. I loved you, trusted you- I don't think you even understand how hard that was for me with my past. I opened myself up and made myself vulnerable to you and you took all of that and threw it in the fucking trash."

"Well, I just thought –"

"Don't you get it? You. Fucked. Up. There's no coming back from what you did, and even if I were willing to forgive you (which, newsflash, I'm not), I've moved on," she said, pausing to gently run her fingers along the edge of her necklace's pendant, "I have something amazing with someone who actually cares about me and nothing you could possibly say could make me give it up."

Hercules squared up his shoulders and clenched his fists.

"Who is this guy?" He asked in a macho tone that made Meg roll her eyes.

"Her name is Ariel and she's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Hercules stood speechless and slack-jawed, trying to wrap his mind around what Meg had just said.

"Do us all a favor, Hercules," Meg said, practically spitting his name, "Leave. Just leave. I'm so done with your shit."

With that, Meg turned and strode off in the direction of home with an adrenaline rush rising inside her. She felt a weight lifted off her shoulders and a smile spread across her face. She didn't look back once. She rushed through the door, where Max greeted her. She gave him a pat on the head as she passed, she quickly tousled Melody's hair, and walked quickly into the kitchen where Ariel was cooking. She walked up behind the ex-mermaid and reached around to hug her, earning a surprised squeak from Ariel. The redhead turned around in Meg's arms to return the embrace.

"You're in a good mood," Ariel said, giving a small chuckle, "Did something exciting happen today?"

Meg gave a slight pause.

"You could say that," she said, "But mostly I was just happy to come home and see you."

Ariel's cheeks grew bright red, painting a grin across Meg's face. She looked into Ariel's curious blue eyes and was overcome with a sense of calm, safety, and gratitude. In that moment she felt like the luckiest woman alive. She leaned in and kissed Ariel long and deep, pouring all of those feelings into her lips' motions. Ariel sank slightly, as if her knees had given out so Meg pulled her closer to help support her weight. A moment later, they reluctantly pulled themselves apart so Ariel could finish making dinner. Despite the fact that Meg wished she could hold Ariel longer, she found herself smiling as she walked into the living room to play with Melody and Max for a while.

"I ride Max?" the toddler asked.

"You want to ride on Max?"

Melody nodded.

"Sure thing, short stuff," Meg replied, lifting the girl onto the dog's back and setting her down gently.

Meg held hands with Melody to make sure she didn't fall as Max walked around the living room. The ebony-haired girl was giggling the entire time and the dog seemed to be enjoying himself as well.

Ariel stepped out of the kitchen and Meg saw a smile spread across her face.

"Dinner's ready!"

"All right! Come on, little one, time to eat," Meg said, scooping the girl up and carrying her into the kitchen.

They ate and talked about Ariel's day and when they were done eating Meg washed the dishes. With her after dinner chore behind her, Meg went to join Ariel on the couch. Melody was on the floor rubbing Max's outstretched belly and giggling as he let his tongue flop happily out the side of his mouth. Meg gave a small chuckle.

"So," Ariel said, drawing Meg's attention, "What was that about earlier? Not that I'm complaining, but it really seemed like something happened today."

"It's kind of a long story," Meg said, "Do you remember I told you I came to this town with a guy?"

"Yeah, from what you told me he was a real jerk."

"He wasn't always but he definitely is now. He showed up in town today and had the nerve to ask me if I missed him."

"I hope you gave him a piece of your mind"

"Oh, I tore him a new one," Meg said, "I never told you this but when I was younger I fell in love with a man and while we were together he died. I begged Hades not to take him and he agreed to let my boyfriend live in exchange for my soul. As soon as that asshole got back in his body he ran off with another woman. I was completely devastated. When you literally trade your soul away for someone and they stab you in the back it gets to be hard to trust people. I promised myself that I would never fall in love again after that. I was just going to serve my time with Hades and then move on. Then Hercules came along with his innocent farm boy routine and saved me. I let myself think that it was okay to love him and trust him. You saw how well that turned out."

"That monster," Ariel growled.

"That he is, but him showing up made me realize something."

"What's that?"

"I wouldn't trade what we have," Meg gestured between them and then to Melody and Max, "Not for anything in the world. I realized that I was scared of being hurt again so I didn't want to say how I feel about you out loud because then it would be real and that terrified me. But I'm done letting my experiences with those assholes decide what I do," she paused and took a deep breath to calm her rising nerves, "I love you, Ariel, and I don't want to fight it anymore."

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Ariel paused for a second to make sure she had heard the brunette correctly. She was so happy she felt like she might burst. She flung her arms around Meg and hugged her tightly.

"I love you too!" Ariel said as tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Whoa, hun, are you crying?" Meg said, pulling back to look at Ariel's face.

She lifted her hand and wiped the drops away softly with her thumb.

"They're happy tears."

They embraced for a while, Meg gently rubbing her palm on Ariel's back. Then Ariel looked over and noticed that her daughter had fallen asleep on the floor with her head resting on Max's belly.

"I should put Melody to bed," the redhead said, "I'll be right back."

Ariel carried the toddler upstairs, laying her down in the crib and kissing her on the forehead. She walked back out into the hall just in time to see Meg reach the top of the staircase.

"I figured it was about time we turn in too," the brunette said.

Meg opened the door and they both walked into their bedroom. Ariel reached out her hand to take Meg's, earning a smile from the sarcastic woman. Meg climbed slowly into the bed, never breaking eye contact with Ariel, and pulled the redhead gently in after her. Ariel got the distinct impression that Meg had something on her mind. She wasn't sure exactly what it was but she was interested to find out.

Meg leaned in and kissed Ariel, deeper and deeper until it felt like they might melt together. Ariel felt an unfamiliar stirring inside her, she had a sudden aching in the very core of her being. She needed to get closer. She reached up her hand and placed it behind Meg's head, pulling slightly toward her to deepen the kiss even further. Meg brought a hand up nested her fingers deep in the ex-mermaid's red hair. Ariel was tingling all over, every kiss and every touch sent what felt like tiny lightning bolts down her back and she was starting to feel warm. Her breath was coming out rough. She pulled back for a moment to look at Meg's face and she could here that the brunette was breathing heavily too. Is this what it feels like to want sex? Ariel thought. She had, of course, had sex with Eric but she hadn't particularly enjoyed it. It made him happy so she had gone along with it but she had never once felt a pull like this. She needed to feel Meg, she was hungry for the contact.

Ariel leaned back in to kiss Meg, scooting herself closer. Meg returned the kiss and ran her hand slightly down Ariel's back, stopping to rest it on the redhead's hip. Ariel gave a small shiver of pleasure and moved her hips in until they were touching Meg's. In turn, Meg moved her hips and pulled Ariel's shoulder with her free hand so their bodies were flush against each other. Ariel could feel the heat from Meg's crotch, and her own. It felt amazing and, instinctively, she rocked her hips into Meg's. The brunette returned the favor and they went back and forth like that for a few minutes before Meg pulled back and broke the kiss.

"As much as I'm enjoying this, we might want to call it a night," Meg said, "I don't want to push you into something you're not ready for."

"What if I am ready?" Ariel asked, giving a mischievous smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ariel said confidently, "I want you to touch me, all of me."

Meg was silent for a moment, there was just enough light in the room for Ariel to make out the blush spreading its way across Meg's face.

"Count me in then," Meg said, "But if you want me to stop you let me know right away, okay?"

Ariel nodded as Meg closed the distance between them with renewed fervor. Then, slowly, Meg moved from Ariel's lips to her cheek and kissed it. Then she moved farther and Ariel could feel the brunette licking the tip of her earlobe. The ex-mermaid gave another small shudder and rocked her hips again, pressing herself against Meg. The purple-eyed woman moved down and kissed Ariel's neck. To her surprise, Ariel heard herself moan softly. She didn't know she could make a sound like that. Meg's hands traveled down Ariel's back.

"Do me a favor," Meg said, "Sit up for a second so I can get this pesky nightgown out of the way."

"Only if you promise to take yours off too," Ariel replied, emboldened by the desires that had awoken deep within her.

"You've got yourself a deal, red."

Ariel sat up so Meg could remove the simple pink night gown she was wearing. Meg paused for a moment, her eyes running over the curves of the ex-mermaid's body as a smile grew across her face. Ariel's cheeks grew hot. It as a bit embarrassing but at the same time she enjoyed having Meg look at her like that. The brunette reached down to the hem of her purple nightgown and then paused again.

"Do you want to do it?" she asked.

Ariel blushed even harder and nodded, reaching her hands out and carefully pulling the nightgown up over Meg's head. She froze, captivated by the sight before her. Meg's skin had a faint glow in the moonlight and it only served to accentuate her figure. The brunette gave Ariel a wide grin and then leaned in to kiss her. Ariel leaned back and Meg maneuvered so she was straddling the redhead. The purple-eyed woman leaned back down to kiss Ariel and she could feel their breasts pressing up against each other as they got close. The sensation was amazing. Meg ran her hands down Ariel's sides, stopping at her hips. She broke the kiss to make a trail of kisses across Ariel's cheek and then down her neck. Slowly she made her way downward, kissing the ex-mermaid's collarbone and chest, moving past the breasts and down the stomach all the way to the hem of Ariel's underwear. Ariel held her breath, not sure exactly what to expect. Much to the redhead's surprise, Meg stuck out her tongue and ran it all the way up her stomach until she was back up at breast level. The breath Ariel had been holding in came out as a gasp that changed into a moan halfway through as Meg put one of Ariel's nipples into her mouth and ran her tongue over it in circles. Meg ran one hand over Ariel's side, hips, stomach, and then reached up to gently massage the breast she wasn't licking. Ariel's brain was fuzzy with pleasure as she savored the sensations. Meg was touching her and she loved it but she suddenly felt a strong urge to make contact with Meg so she reached up and ran her fingers gently through the woman's thick brown hair again and again. The purple-eyed woman switched her licking to the other breast and starting massaging the one she had previously been licking.

After a few minutes, Meg came back up and kissed Ariel on the lips. The redhead deepened the kiss and felt Meg buck her hips into Ariel's. She thrust her hips up into Meg's in return. They were both breathing heavily as they thrust back and forth into each other. During this dance, Meg brought her head down to kiss and then lick Ariel's neck. The ex-mermaid let out a loud moan, one that had come from deep within her, born of a hunger that she still didn't fully understand.

"Someone's excited," Meg said, "Don't worry, I won't tease you too much."

With that, Meg made another trail of kisses down to the bottom of Ariel's stomach and then reached around to slide off the redhead's underwear. She lifted Ariel's leg and brought her mouth over to the end of the thigh closest to the knee, kissing her way down to the redhead's innermost thigh then hovered her mouth briefly over Ariel's crotch before bringing it up to the end of the other thigh. Ariel moaned as Meg's warm breath embraced her and again as the brunette's lips moved slowly to her inner thigh. Meg looked up.

"Now it's time for some pearl diving," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Ariel laughed.

"In all seriousness though," Meg said, "I'm gonna need you to hold my hair up while I'm down there. I have so much, it can really get in the way."

"I think I can manage that," Ariel said, gently gathering up Meg's luscious locks and pinning them to the top of her head with her hands.

"Awesome!" Meg said, "Just please try not to pull it."

Before Ariel could reply, Meg brought her face down and gave a small lick. Ariel gasped. Meg gave a few more small licks before bringing her mouth down around Ariel's clit and running circles over it with her tongue. The redhead moaned and ever so slightly tightened her grip on Meg's hair. Her hips started moving on their own. She needed more. Meg moved down slightly and gave a few long, slow licks upward, over Ariel's vagina and up to her clit. Then, to Ariel's surprise, she felt Meg's tongue slide inside of her. The tongue wiggled, sending electricity through Ariel's entire body and teasing another moan from her. After a moment, Meg brought her tongue out and began licking Ariel's clit again, this time faster. She kept going like this, Ariel didn't know for how long. The redhead had lost all concept of time as waves of pleasure washed over her and emptied her mind of everything else. She had never been so hungry for anything in her entire life. She moaned freely as the waves built, her hips grinding so she rubbed fiercely against Meg's still moving tongue. Then it hit her, a huge burst, like fireworks going off in her brain. Her back arced, her hips bucked, her whole body tensed, and she gave a moan so loud she worried, for a spit second, if she would wake Melody. Then she slowly sank down onto the bed as her muscles relaxed and she felt a profound sense of calm and satisfaction. There was silence except for their breathing. Ariel's breath was still heavy but had started to even out.

Meg brought her face back up to meet Ariel's and gently ran her thumb along the redhead's cheek. Ariel reached her hand up pulled Meg's face to hers, locking her in a kiss. After a moment they pulled apart and Meg lay down next Ariel. They looked into each other's eyes as the redhead caught her breath. Meg reached over to hold her hand.

"That was amazing," said Ariel, "I don't even…I didn't expect it feel that good."

Meg looked confused.

"You had sex with Eric though, right?" she asked.

"Well yes," Ariel said, "But it was nothing like what I just experienced."

Meg chuckled.

Ariel cleared her throat.

"I, uh, I want to make you feel good too," she said, "But I'm not really sure how to do that."

"If you're sure you're up for it I can walk you through it."

Ariel straddled Meg and the brunette gave her instructions along the way. Ariel found that as she was touching Meg, with her hands and with her mouth, she was enjoying all of the sensations in a different way than she had when she was receiving. Every time she teased a moan from Meg's lips she smiled. She watched with certain amount of pride as the purple-eyed woman wriggled and bucked and finally as her back arced in ecstasy. I made that happen, she thought to herself. She liked being able to give her girlfriend that kind of pleasure. Meg still panting, Ariel moved so they were side-by-side. Meg pulled her in close so their bodies were pressed together and they stayed like that until both of them slipped into a deep sleep.

There you have the ninth chapter! There was a lot I wanted to do with this chapter (and as you can see it's fairly long) so it took a while to write. My main goals here where to show what Ariel does all day while Meg is at work (because I never really got into that), having Meg confront Hercules (a reader suggested this to me a while back and I liked the idea), and show Ariel's sexual awakening. Ariel essentially acts as Melody's teacher, helping her with reading, spelling, identifying colors, animal facts, etc. Meg now officially has closure with Hercules and was able to admit that she loves Ariel. In my version of events, Meg is bi/pan but Ariel is gay so this is really the first time she's experiencing pleasurable sex. I planned from the beginning to have at least one sex chapter for that very reason. I wanted to show her realizing what she's been missing out on. However, I don't want this to turn into a smut fic (not that there's anything inherently wrong with smut fics, it's just not what I want for this story) so I may not write sex scenes in the future but now that the door is open for the characters you can go ahead and assume that they're having sex even if I don't mention it again.

I would also like to thank all of the people who left reviews after my last chapter and welcome the new readers who have recently followed this story. I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm not sure when I'll be updating next, I'm going to try to write a batch of chapters all in close succession sometime soon but I don't want to make any promises about when because I'll be starting my last semester of student teaching soon.