The moment he had dreaded for so long–the moment that he had been afraid to confront for too long–was finally over with. And now?
Now he was the happiest that he thought he could ever be. It was more than if just a huge weight had been lifted from his chest. It was more than if he could soar above everything.
He allowed Edith to take him by the hand–to show him around the world he had once enjoyed, had once hated, had wanted to be a part of again. He didn't say anything as he listened to her excitedly tell him about how certain things had changed in the town, the new memories she experienced in this place within those ten years, how her life had been in all that time–all the while, he just listened to every word she said with a smile. He had missed her voice and he missed how she would lead him around by the hand–how perfectly their hands seemed to fit together. He was looking around and taking everything in, but his eyes always looked back to her.
She made everything look better. All the sights around him were now better because she was showing him around as if reintroducing him to an old friend.
Whenever Edith looked back, it wasn't just because she was getting animated with talking about things. She wanted to look back and know that there was a face to go with the hand she was holding and that she wasn't dreaming this. That she hadn't lost him forever and that she could see him. She wanted to see Benjamin, and though the smile was modest, his eyes were focused on her and there was a familiar light within them that made her heart race in a good way.
Though it got to a point where they both had to sit down, so they found themselves sitting on a bench. Edith felt like she needed a moment to catch her breath and she smiled as she examined her hand still entwined with his, which felt large as his fingers were curled around hers and yet she also felt a sense of security and comfort.
She was always told that holding hands would be as if fireworks would go off at any moment. Whoever said that was exaggerating–this nice simplicity was fare more comfortable.
"I'm sorry." She nervously chuckled. "I'm just talking your ear off and I'm pulling you everywhere, wearing you out–"
"You aren't." He reassured her. "There's nothing you should be sorry for."
A small silence fell as they watched life go by them. People were just going about their daily lives either to shop or to go somewhere, or to pick something or someone up during what was an ordinary day for them. Nobody was looking back at them, but they weren't exactly focused on anyone else besides each other.
Edith sighed as she lightly rested her head against Benjamin's shoulder, causing the other to look at her. He didn't know how to react as his heart began racing as he felt her against him. He had no intention of going anywhere though (because first off, he was enjoying this and second off it was because the lower half of his body was aching from being pushed beyond the limits he was used to).
"Um," Edith began. "Would you like to see where I live this time?"
"I'd like that." He replied, even if a part of his memories was telling him he had already seen it before.
"We'd have to go back to where Jacob was supposed to pick me and the Lisa and Billy up." She admitted. "But given his luck with certain roadblocks, maybe we won't need to be in a rush."
"Roadblock?"
"Things that get in your way, like pedestrians, other vehicles... maybe a stubborn cow?"
"I mean, if I had a car this wouldn't have been a problem, but I never really needed one. Too much money and I'd be an awful driver anyway."
"They never looked safe. If I had to use one of them, I'd probably crash it into something within ten seconds." He admitted.
Edith pulled Benjamin along as she lead him around the castle. Once in awhile she'd stop to share a story before hurrying along and she showed him every room possible, from the library to the kitchens where she worked.
During this time, she passed a couple of maids as she held hands with Benjamin. They gave them a startled look and she turned her head to see that they were already gossiping about what they were seeing, but she didn't care.
"Did she actually have a boyfriend this whole time?" One maid whispered. "I never heard her say a word about him."
"Eh, I guess he's ok." Another maid shrugged. "I've seen more attractive guys."
It was a genuine shock to the staff–they never saw Edith with a man before, nor had they ever seen her be this happy. No one recognized the man she was with–it was like he came right out of nowhere. It was hard to tell what kind of status he had from his otherwise average appearance, but he seemed genuinely happy to be with her and had eyes for her and only her over anyone else they passed by.
Benjamin could hardly believe it when she took him to her room in the castle. It was a lot smaller than his room, but it was much more well lived in and she had a lot of personal possessions on display. Yet there was a shyness in her bringing him in here, and had he paid more attention, he would have realized that he was the first man she had ever invited into this room.
He noticed the photographs she had on her wall and the first one to catch his attention was that of a familiar woman laughing beside Edith. "Isn't that your aunt?" He instantly recalled.
"Yes." Edith gave the photo a sad smile. "She really did like you. She had a feeling there was a reason you weren't there, but–" She didn't want to mention that her aunt advised her to not give up and keep looking if there was ever another out there. "It was a couple years back when she passed. Got struck with some sort of sickness that she never recovered from."
"I'm sorry to hear that." He was genuine as he looked at the woman in the photo for a few more seconds before moving onto another one.
He stared at the photograph of Edith with her arms around Lisa and Billy and how they smiled together. The connection she had with the two was far stronger than he realized, especially considering how there was no queen in the kingdom upon the surface that should have been in that photograph. Yet the more he thought about it, they never acted as if she was their mother, but there was a familiarity about the relationship between the royal siblings and their adult friend.
"That was at their school." Edith informed him with a shy smile this time. "It was a fun day that day."
"How–" Benjamin wasn't sure about asking this question, yet he couldn't help but ask it. "I'm surprised you didn't have any kids yourself by now. Any reason?"
"Oh!" Edith nervously rubbed her arm. "Well I–the thing is that I spent so much time around those two that I guess it could have been like raising kids of my own. The king never married, so I guess they had a lot of mom figures to look up to here. Besides I–" she hesitated. "Well, the truth is that, I wanted to find someone first before having a child. I mean adopting is fine and probably a lot more noble!" She quickly corrected herself. "But I don't know if I could raise an infant or a toddler all on my own."
While it was a personal relief to him that Edith hadn't been taken, Benjamin couldn't help but be annoyed–how many men wasted the chance to be with her and give her everything she deserved? Unlike him, she had everything that could have drawn someone to her–a welcoming personality, good looks–and yet–
"Actually, now that I think of it," Edith went to the bookshelf and pulled out a certain photograph album "I still saved this photo." She gently pulled out the photograph she was looking for and handed it to a curious Benjamin.
He recognized it instantly–it was the only photograph ever taken of him with her on the beach, before he agreed to dance with her that one night. He hated how awkward he looked in that photo. Edith on the other hand looked beautiful and she still did right now.
"This is the photo I mentioned to George and Harold when I told them about you." Edith admitted, causing him to look up. "They were curious about you–I didn't realize they already knew you."
"They showed this to me."
"What?"
"They showed this photo to–I mean they showed it to him." He corrected as he thought back. "The other me." How exactly did he not make that connection sooner when he saw this? (Then again, from what he could make out, the other one was someone who had a large heart, but happened to be a much larger idiot) "But he didn't know–he thought it was someone else."
"The boys did take that photo for some reason." Edith recalled. "But later on I compared that photo to their drawing of their hero that they made for me, and I realized you both looked too similar for it to be a coincidence."
"Wait what?!" Benjamin was shocked. "How?! I mean, I guess Harold is ok at his age, but there's no way he'd draw me that perfectly–!"
"Well apparently he did. It was still a child's drawing, but there was enough for me to make the connection."
"Plus... uh... there's also–" Benjamin awkwardly and uncomfortably pointed to his toupee. "I don't think you knew that I was–"
"I had a feeling that wasn't natural." Edith admitted. "But it doesn't bother me–I think you look cute either way–" She realized what she was saying and blushed a few shades of red as Benjamin himself also blushed in surprise. "Er–" She crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean–that–yeah. Uh, anyway–" She tried to change the subject. "If you want, you could always stay over here... if you ever want an escape and have time to be up here." Edith added. "And maybe sleep over... or something." She was feeling increasingly warm and awkward the more she was digging herself deeper into this.
Benjamin looked around the room. "That might not be a good idea. I can't wear this thing all the time–" He showed her the bracelet "–And I doubt you'd have a bathtub that could hold all of me."
"Oh drat." Edith realized her mistake. "Well, what if you stayed in here and just took it off for the night?"
"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fit–" Benjamin made the mistake of taking the bracelet off to test it out and make a point. When he realized just what he did, he pulled a hilariously horrified expression of eyes that nearly popped out of his skull and eyebrows that early reached his toupee. "Oh sh–!"
Outside the bedroom, a loud commotion of things crashing mixed with startled cries could be heard in the hallway, as was the case with Marietta who was passing by and stared at the door in confusion.
"Is everything alright in there?!" She went to the door and knocked on it. "Edith?!"
"DON'T COME IN! DON'T COME IN!" Edith cried out through the door. "JUST–DON'T, OK?!"
"What is going on in there?!"
"JUST GET HER TO LEAVE!" A panicky male voice Marietta had never heard before yelled through the door.
"PLEASE LEAVE!" Edith pleaded.
Marietta stared at the door in confusion before understanding dawned on her. She hurried away from the door, but not without giving it a knowing smirk.
"Oh thank God, she's gone!" Edith sighed in relief as she laid on the floor with Benjamin protectively hugging her against him while a few things were scattered throughout her room, with his altered form (which suffered a bit of a beating from one now very well destroyed desk) contorted into a very uncomfortable position as it just barely fit her room.
He sighed and rested his head against her hair. "You're ok, right?"
"Yeah, but what about you?"
"Fine , but I'm pretty sure I owe you a new desk."
Finally Edith took Benjamin to the huge ballroom of the castle.
"This is one of my favorite places in this whole building." She smiled as she twirled around and stopped to look up at the chandelier. "There's been so many dances here and they always looked like fun. And it has a great view of the ocean." She smiled as she looked towards the large windows where the sun was a few hours away from setting. "It's probably one of the best views I've ever seen."
"So you never actually went to one." Edith turned her head to see Benjamin giving her a perplexed look. "Why? I mean they'd let you, wouldn't they?"
"Well, I could... but," Edith nonchalantly shrugged. "There wasn't anyone I could go with. Not a friend or even–well, you know." She looked around the room. "Plus it's not easy to find a ball gown that's my size–they're too pricy to wear for one night or two." She tried to crack a smile, but it didn't work.
"I guess we're almost in the same boat. Anything that involved dancing in the last ten years–I never really liked it, especially when I had no real reason to. Actually I hated whenever I had to let dances happen back home. I was always forced to be there for about ten minutes and then I left as soon as I got the chance."
"Why?"
"Because it wouldn't have been the same without you." He admitted not just to her but to himself. "It was hard to forget that one night with you... and I never really liked seeing everyone else having fun. You were literally the last person I ever danced with."
"Oh," Edith understood. "I see..."
Benjamin didn't even need to feel the urgings within from one side of his heart as he walked up to her–he was wanting to try to erase that part of that past. "Well–I mean, did you at least get to dance in here?"
"No–well, maybe on my own–" Edith stopped as she saw him carefully, yet shyly hold a hand out. Understanding quickly dawned on her and she went to accept it. Carefully Benjamin drew her in and held her close before he lead her in a small slow shuffle.
This felt more than familiar to her. The way he was holding her, their placements–everything felt wonderfully familiar.
He thought he was going to mess up–it was one thing to try to remember to walk but it was another when it had truly been ten years since he danced. He thought he was going to fall over, but it was as if he was staying perfectly in position within water, with the waves to rock him gently back and forth, except this time it was from within himself.
Moments passed and nothing happened as they quietly danced, until Edith picked up on faint humming and she looked up at Benjamin to see him humming a very familiar song with his eyes closed.
"That's the song we danced to that night–you remembered it after all this time?"
"It's hard to forget it." He admitted.
"He told me he remembered that song." Edith recalled something. "When I heard this song being played, I was trying to pretend I was dancing with someone–he said he was there with me–"
"–It didn't look right that you were dancing alone. He–I wanted so badly to pretend I could dance with you–" He that memory with all his heart as if it were fully his own and not something that was sewn right into his memories. "That's how I realized I knew you once. You looked so happy in that memory." Even when recalling the memory in question, there wasn't any of that bitter pain he associated it with anymore. Instead, it was a memory that truly reminded him of why he adored her.
Edith smiled and rested her head against his chest as she moved closer to him. "You were looking out for me all this time. You were close by and I didn't even know it."
"It wasn't exactly me though–"
"Doesn't matter–if he was a part of you, then he was still you."
Slowly his arms began to wrap around her until he was able to hold her further against him.
"You have no idea how much I missed you." She continued. "Your laugh, the way you sing when you think no one is hearing–your smile when you're so excited about something."
Benjamin's only response was to rest his cheek against her hair as he once again rested a hand on her head and then carefully wove his fingers though the strands. How often had he wished for these simple moments? How many times did he regret not doing things like this before trying to force it down with a stone cold heart and an angry scowl?
He slowly moved away from her a bit, but enough that he was still holding her close. "Hmm?" Edith asked as she looked at him with those eyes that he could never forget no matter how hard he had tried.
Slowly–experimentally–he reached out to carefully cup one side of her face with one hand. His heart rate was racing in a way that was both terrifying and enjoyable. He couldn't help but give her an incredibly nervous smile and started leaning in–
"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING?!"
Both of them snapped back to reality as they jolted at the sound of the voice and turned to see a middle aged woman in glasses glare at them from the entrance. Edith was dismayed, though Benjamin instantly looked as if it was taking his all not to unleash an angry storm upon the one who had the audacity to interrupt this private moment and instantly earn a high spot on the list of those he despised.
"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING!" Ms. Gambino snapped at Edith as she stormed up to her and Benjamin. "AND HERE I FIND YOU SLACKING OFF AND PLAYING CINDERELLA IN HERE!"
"Oh no," Edith moaned as she let go of Benjamin. "Wait a minute, I–no wait." Edith remembered and faced the head of the staff. "His Majesty gave me the day off earlier. You can ask him yourself–"
"Oh, and why is that?!" Ms. Gambino demanded. "Don't think I forgot about what happened with your moment of forgetfulness and sending those two boys off to fix your mistake when I wanted them to work here! Did you do it again–?!"
"This has nothing to do with that! And to be honest I've never asked for a day off unless it was an emergency or if I was sick!" Edith was growing frustrated. "I'm certain I've done enough to earn at least one day off!" Yet unknown to her, an already annoyed Benjamin was feeling a certain memory or two getting oh so casually pushed into the front of his mind and once he put things together, he went from incredibly annoyed to more-than-mad at the woman as his fists began to tighten up.
"Oh yeah?! And how often have you messed up on your job by forgetting or doing things behind my back–?!"
"SHE SAID SHE WAS GIVEN A BREAK, OK LADY?!" Benjamin finally snapped and allowed his anger to take over. It was so unexpected that it scared both women, but especially the older woman. "SO LEAVE HER ALONE AND TAKE YOUR CRABBY MOUTH ELSEWHERE!"
"Wh–wha–who the heck are–?! How dare you!" Ms. Gambino quickly recovered and snapped back. "Who do you think you are, ordering me around–?!"
"I'M SOMEONE WHOSE TELLING YOU TO GET LOST AND QUIT BOTHERING EDITH! YOU'RE ALREADY GETTING ON MY BAD SIDE TODAY–!"
"Oh and I suppose you're her reason why she's taking the day off?! Are you the boyfriend or–?!"
"AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM!" He yelled as he quickly wrapped an arm around Edith. "AND IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO LEAVE, THEN WE'RE SURE AS HECK GOING TO DITCH YOU SO THAT YOU CAN GO BOTHER SOMEONE ELSE!" And with that, he quickly lead her away as the older woman scowled at them.
Once they were out of the room and were a good distance away, Edith concernedly looked at Benjamin. He still retained an all too familiar scowl of anger, but then his face turned to shock and he slapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh... oh god–what did I just say?" He asked himself as his voice began to raise in panic. "Did I just actually tell her that I'm your–?!" He held his face in hands. "Oh god, did I just mess up?!"
"Are you alright?" Edith asked in concern.
"I don't know! I wasn't–!" Benjamin was still panicky. "I was just mad at her for how she was treating you! But she also interrupted us and–!" He let out a scared little laugh. "I mean, you don't mind, do you?!"
"Hey, it's no problem, we can go elsewhere like you said." Edith tried to reassure him as she lead him away.
He calmed down after awhile before huffing "If she knew who I was, she would have kept her mouth shut. If this was back home, this would have been a completely different story." It was highly tempting to reveal his identity to the woman, just to give her a huge scare big enough for her to quit bothering Edith.
"Well, she's already been punished if it makes you feel any better." Edith chuckled. "On the morning of the festival, her alarm was set off at the wrong time and someone put something in her clothes to make her itch like crazy. It was pretty funny, even if she did suffer a bit." Edith smirked. "Not to mention someone changed her sign–"
"Figures."
"Huh?"
"I know who did it. There's no one else who would have done it." That woman looked like someone George and Harold would have gladly pranked if given the chance. He had way too much experience being on the receiving end of similar pranks for a number of years to know it was them.
Yet for once he wished he saw that. What startled him (and in some ways horrified him) was that he was suddenly open to encouraging the two to do it again if the woman was stupid enough to yell at Edith like that or interrupt his time with her. Heck, he was ready to thank them the next time they crossed paths!
"Well you aren't going to get them in trouble are you?" Edith smiled before tugging at his hand. "Come on, we still have more to see."
Benjamin was about to agree when he saw the sky from outside and realized how close it was to sunset. "Uh, actually..." He reluctantly began. "The thing is... I didn't know how long I would have up here."
"You need to go now?" Edith felt her heart sink. Was he really on a time limit that she was unaware of?
"I don't want to, it's just–!" Benjamin sighed. "It'd take awhile to get back to the ocean and I don't know how long this'll last–" He held up the bracelet for emphasis.
"Hey, it's ok." Edith squeezed his hand. "But could you let me come with you?"
Down on the beach in a certain secret cove, Edith had been forced to turn around when Benjamin changed out of his clothes and hid them carefully before reaching for the sash to wear across his body in their place. It was only when he knew that he was half submerged in the cold water that he could dare to take the bracelet off.
The sharp cry of pain was what made Edith finally turn around to see him tensed up in pain and discomfort before he ended up biting down on the sash.
"Benjamin?!" Edith hurried over to the rocks and almost jumped into the water, but then he threw himself at one of them and tightened his hold on it, with his nails practically digging into the surface. He was like that for what felt like forever and she was afraid that he was more than taking his all to hide what she couldn't see on the surface of things.
Finally it was over with and he could relax, but he didn't dare look up at her. "Does it hurt?" He looked up to see Edith's concerned eyes. "Does it always have to hurt you?" She asked quietly.
He let out a sigh and averted his eyes. "Yeah... yeah it always hurts." He admitted. "It never stops, and it's worse because of–" He pointed to his mouth and forced a smile that revealed that the once human-like teeth now looked jagged, sharp and terrible.
Edith had no clue what to say, other than that it broke her heart. To think that every time he had changed gave him so much physical pain–every time he went to see her, he had to do that to himself–she couldn't imagine how much his body had to endure–
Christ, did that mean the boys underwent this too?! They didn't deserve that pain either–not on their small young bodies! None of them deserved this!
"I'm so sorry." Her voice became quiet. "You shouldn't have to go through that all the time to be with me. That's not fair for you."
He remained silent before pushing himself away from the rocks. When she realized what he was doing, she worried that she said the wrong thing and panicked. "Wait!" She scrambled to stand up. "Benjamin, wait!" She took the rose out of her hair and took her shoes off and flung them over her shoulder before she ran. Benjamin snapped out of it and watched in surprise as she jumped off the rocks and threw herself into the cold water.
Even as she rose up, she made to swim to him. Edith panted as she swam without stopping. When she reached him, she flung her arms around his neck and held tight as she crashed her lips onto his before he could do or say anything. He was almost surprised by it, but he gave in and returned the kiss as he carefully hugged her–hands carefully pressed against her back as he held her close to him.
A few more moments (and an oddly familiar sensation in her face and body that she felt only once before under scarier circumstances) passed before Edith finally parted from him and could look him in the eyes. "You've seen my world." She began as she cupped one of his cheeks with her hand. "Please let me see yours."
Benjamin paused before a smile broke out. "Alright then."
Then without warning, he hugged her against him and dunked her under the water as fast as he could. The suddenness of it all made her cry out before she bursted out laughing.
"You aren't going to warn me?!" She laughed as she placed a hand on her head and shook it. "You're that ready to–?! Eek!" She squeaked and jolted when she felt him kiss her on the neck, which suddenly became far more ticklish to her than she was expecting. "What are you doing?!" She giggled, causing him to laugh as he rose her out of the water again. "Oh my gosh, stop!" She laughed. "Stop!" She almost shrieked when he kissed her neck again.
"Careful with what you ask for, or you might get it!" Benjamin teased her before falling backwards into the water with her shrieking with laughter until there was complete silence.
Meanwhile, a certain pair of boys had only recently approached the area and when they saw what had been going on, they stopped and stared at the now still waters.
"Uh, we better get out of here." Harold realized how close they were to invading a private moment as he felt himself walk backwards away from the waters.
"Yeah, we should do that." George admitted as they both quickly left the area. "I value my life too much to stay any longer."
Edith calmed down as she finally looked at Benjamin, who loosened his hold on her a bit. "Well, you're being rather playful all of a..." Her voice trailed off as she realized where she was.
She was underwater again.
She was breathing underwater once more. In and out, she was breathing within the water as if she were no longer human. She had been doing so for almost a minute. But more importantly–"I'm..." She held her hand to her throat. "I'm... talking underwater. I'm actually talking underwater."
It wasn't just that though. The last time this had happened, there was too much chaos to fully enjoy it. This time she could look up in wonder to see the sun's final rays reflecting off the surface, causing it to shimmer above her. She no longer had mere seconds to take it in–no she had almost all the time she could ever ask for to look around her. The once freezing cold water no longer made her body shiver, but instead it felt cool, pleasant and almost comforting. It was as if the ocean itself had now become a place where she could feel completely safe and protected.
It always looked so beautiful from above, but down below it was beautiful in a way she never expected it to be.
She smiled. "You know, I thought it was just a fairytale that if a merfolk kissed you, you could breathe underwater. I didn't think that could ever happen to me... let alone someone like me." She made to slowly let go of him and move away to get a better look.
"Wait."
She stopped and turned her head back.
"Please... just..." Benjamin backed away from her a little, but he still kept his hold on her hand until he was as far away as he could be without letting go.
He wanted a chance to see her like this again–he never imagined how even more beautiful she could be under the water and he wanted to see it again. The light from the slowly fading sun illuminated her and made her hair glow as it gently swayed around her head as her dress gently flared up around her legs. Wherever the fabric wasn't covered by the flower print, the white background almost seemed to pop out from the blueness behind her. The same blue of the waters made her blue eyes stand out even more, but not even the ocean itself could still compare to their hue.
The sight of her made his heart race in a way that was good and felt right. It was so much better, now that he knew why he loved her and could feel that love again. He remembered why he didn't want to stop looking at her because nothing else compared to her. He could just stare at her forever, even if everything around him crumbled and faded away.
"What?" She asked.
"I just want to see you." Was all he could say, because it would be completely impossible to explain it to her. He let out a sigh of regret and shook his head. "What I'm seeing is probably a lot better than what you're seeing. I know I'm not handsome–"
Edith frowned. "Hey, don't say that." She tugged at his hand and pulled herself towards him. Slowly she reached out and carefully cupped his face with her hands. She stared at him as he looked at her and kept his mouth as firmly shut as possible. "It doesn't matter how you look or change–I'm still going to love that funny, sweet, determined person that's on the inside that I met all those years ago." She gently rubbed the pads of the thumbs upon his cheeks before one hand slowly trailed down until she had it against his chest, right where his heart was (she could feel him take a sharp breath and his body rose against her hand). "Just please don't be afraid to show yourself to me more often."
He carefully rested a hand over the one was that was still on his face and took in her touch as long as he could as he thought about her words.
She looked down to see the tail, where the apparent similarities ended between him and her. It was almost easy to forget about it in that moment and it made her curious. "Uh," She shyly began. "Um... is it... is it ok if I... if I can touch your–?"
Benjamin felt his face grow warm at the thought of it–he knew what she was asking. "Uh, I–I mean I mind–if you really want to, but–I–just–sure? Wait!" He stopped her as she drew her hand away from him. "I–just don't–I mean–not the front side, ok?!" He stammered.
Edith nodded in understanding before she slowly moved down, closer to his navel.
She wasn't expecting the numerous scaring under his navel that split down both sides of his halves, and they looked painful on first glance, as if his skin bursted apart. Slowly her fingers reached out before touching one in particular, and she could feel his stomach expand as he took a breath upon feeling her touch. Slowly her finger traced the rip in the flesh before she let all of her fingers trace down his body to feel the gradual change of soft human flesh to something that felt a bit firmer, but still a lot softer than what she was expecting. The lower half of his body still felt like skin, but not quite at the same time, and it was not as slippery as she had anticipated.
Slowly she began to move her hand to his side, around where his hip area was–her finger tips lightly touching against him the whole way. As she did, her eyes began to roam and she began to realize that the scarring continued down the tail. There was some very noticeable ones scattered across him that were so deep and so jagged that she could only imagine how agonizing they must have been when he first received them. (How did she not notice them before? Suddenly she began to realize that there had been more to his insecurities than she had considered). Her hand almost went for them, but she stopped herself in time as she journeyed behind him.
Her hands continued to roam upon the dorsal fin and vertebrae and he never once stopped her (actually he was closing his eyes and silently taking in the physical contact–practically leaning into it). Her eyes noticed something and she looked up to see small streaks of faint white scar tissue on a section of his back that made her take in a sharp breath of air. (Or was it water? She had no clue.)
There was so much about him that she still didn't know.
Something in her made her stop and she ended up shooting her arms under his arms before she crossed them against his chest as best as she could and hugged him close to her. This made him snap out of his trace. "Edith?"
She knew he wouldn't flat out tell her the story behind every scar he endured–she didn't want him to relive anything, no matter how curious she was. "I just–" She rested her head into his shoulder. "I want to give you things to be happy about." She settled on saying and thought for a moment. "How long do I have down here?"
"Three days."
"Three days?!" She squeaked as she raised her head up. "So this isn't permanent?"
"If I kept kissing you every day then I–" He felt his face grow warm at the thought that such a thing could now indeed be a reality. "Well there's still a limit, but it's a lot longer with me compared to anyone else."
"Wow, I guess I'm really lucky then!" She let out a laugh. "I get kissed by the king under the ocean and it's not going to stop any time soon." She shook her head. "But seriously, if what you say is true, then I can stay with you for a bit longer."
"Are you sure?" He turned around, forcing her to let go of him. "Don't you have to work tomorrow or–?"
"No, I don't work tomorrow. Besides," She gave him a huge smile as she hugged him again. "I'd rather spend the rest of this day with you."
Once again, he just wanted to quietly watch her. This time he wanted to see her take everything in with child-like awe at the world below. He had to hold onto her whenever they moved elsewhere–he'd easily out-swim her if she tried to swim on her own. She had no complaints against this and practically curled into him as he held her against him with one arm.
Yet over time, this made him realize that there was something pressing up against him in his sash–there was something hidden within it besides the bracelet.
At one point, he stopped to let her admire a series of familiar red flowers that grew upon the coral and rocks. She was able to reach them on her own, despite that the skirt of her dress kept getting caught between her legs and he watched as she floated just inches above the sands to gently touch the swaying red petals of the nearest red flower. He made sure he would look away as fast as possible if that skirt went up too high for his liking (if someone needed to have their dignity intact, it was better for it to be her).
It was at this point that he took out the object that he felt and when he opened his hand, he was startled to see a bracelet similar to his own, but with red beads. He only brought out two similar bracelets, but they were child sized. How–
His question was answered when it came to him–the boys. They must have snuck it in there when he wasn't looking. How they managed to find it in the first place was almost insane.
But he knew what the bracelet meant and he had a feeling he knew why it was given to him. They were trying to tell him something with it.
He looked up to see Edith smiling as some dolphins swam nearby. Her eyes shone with glee as she waved to them and they let out a happy noise in return.
If he gave this to her, she would have to endure so much pain both internal and external.
But she would not be allowed the same secrecy he had when he came to her world. It would look highly suspicious and bring future trouble if a human was caught with him.
Edith sighed in contentment as she allowed herself to fall backward and float in the water. She opened her eyes to see the dying light above and smiled at it.
"Uh,"
She moved her head to see Benjamin holding his hands behind his back while giving her a nervous look. She twisted herself upright as she asked "Yes?"
He took a deep breath and moved his hands forward to reveal one of the red flowers as well as the red bracelet.
"What is–?" Edith was puzzled at the sight of it.
"If you wear this, you'll become like one of us." He admitted. "I mean, you don't have to, but if I take you to where me and the others live, you'll want to hide the fact that your human and I don't want a lot of people to know about that. But if I do, it's going to hurt you and I–" he winced and took a deep breath. "I don't want that. I don't want you to go through it."
Edith looked from him to the bracelet and thought for a few quiet moments. Without even saying a word, she reached out to take it and examined it for a few seconds with a quiet determination.
"If it means I can be with you more often, I'll take it."
She slipped it on before Benjamin could stop her.
The moment he saw her take a sharp breath and her face tensed up, Benjamin rushed over and held her tight while still managing to hold onto the flower. He could hear her moaning and grunting into his chest as he held her tight and cradled her head. His thick fingers wove though her hair and kept her steady as her grip tightened on him–nails sharply digging into his flesh–yet he didn't care.
Finally it was over the moment she relaxed in his hold.
As he moved to give her some room, his eyes caught a flash of sunset pink and sapphire blue underneath her, but they were still focused on her face. He didn't relax until he saw her open her eyes and hesitate before giving him a small smile.
He sighed in relief before realizing he still had the flower. He silently moved her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her right ear before placing the flower there. She let out a small chuckle and he moved in to kiss her and hold her close to him once more. He didn't think he could ever get enough of such small, yet wonderful moments like this one.
He felt a confident, happy optimism that he never felt in awhile. He felt that this was all going to work out one way or another and whatever would come his way, he could face it with her now.
Because I'm a sappy romantic and I like cute stuff like this.
Well, I said it would be a two shot and I kept my word. Now there's the sequel to the Tangled AU that I need to get started on. I said that I aimed to start it by late January to early February. I also said that there would be a delay if season 2 started up around that time. I'm going to try to do what I can and get chapter 1 done before February 8.