Emil couldn't help but stare at the decorations surrounding the ticket counter as they walked into the aquarium. He hadn't been here since he was a kid and the fimo kelp leaves that encircled the windows and lined the outside of the booth were a pretty drastic scenery change from the dull, tan, fish silhouettes that he remembered decorating the space.

"Big fan of seaweed?" Alfred asked, turning to Emil as he stood at the counter and waited for the teller to swipe his card.

"Uh, no," Emil muttered in embarrassment, "I just haven't been here in awhile."

"Well, then it will be an adventure for you!" Alfred exclaimed as the cashier handed him a pair of day passes, "Come on! Let's go to the tropical fish hall first!"

And just like that the taller blond had Emil by the hand and was pulling him through a sea of suburban moms and sticky toddlers. Once they had gone several feet, passing the jellyfish and touch tank exhibits without stopping, the two men found themselves confronted by a large, fake, cave shaped, coral reef.

"Look it's Nemo!" Alfred squealed as they entered the 'cave'. He let go of Emil's hands and ran over to the clownfish tank, pressing his nose up against the viewing window until his glasses scraped against the plexiglass.

"Um..yeah," Emil blushed. Alfred's excitement was...kind of cute, but it was also embarrassing. Didn't Al know that he was a 6-foot tall man who came across as intimidating? Emil really hoped this sort of behavior didn't cause any of the suburban moms too-

"And there goes, Dory!"

"Yup," Emil sighed as a royal blue tang swam past them. This was going to be an awfully long date if this kept up.

"Come on let go to the next tank, it's got Carribean reef sharks!" Alfred exclaimed.

"Sure, why not."

But instead of heading for the shark tank as expected Alfred turned around to face Emil, a frown evident on his face.

"Hey, why do you sound so down? Aren't you having fun?"

"I'm just tired," Emil lied. He might be embarrassed by Alfred's behavior, but that didn't mean he wanted him to feel bad about it.

"You weren't tired when we got here, and that was only a few minutes ago. Come on, tell me what's really wrong," Alfred pouted.

"I-uh, um, well, you see I- uh" Emil stuttered as he tried to come up with a better lie. Shit, that was his normal excuse for being unenthused, now what was he supposed to say? "um, I'm just...not a very big fan of tropical fish. Their colors are..too bright for me? I prefer small grey fish like herring...yeah, herring," he said, trying his best to sound convincing, but knowing beyond any hint of a doubt that he wasn't.

"Oh!" Alfred cried, his face brightening instantly, "well if that's the only problem, then we can go to the Fish of the North Atlantic exhibit!"

"Oh, uhh, yeah, that would be good," Emil replied mindlessly as he tried to figure out how on God's green earth Alfred hadn't called bullshit on him.

In fact he was so perplexed by Alfred's blind trust in his excuse that he barely even noticed as he was pulled through the sea foam green halls of the aquarium and into a large exhibit room with the words Fish of the North Atlantic: Wonders From the Deep written across the entrance in large, dark blue, impact font. It was only once they were in the room that he snapped out of it, taking dim lighting and "underwater" wall patterning that was being projected by a light in the ceiling.

"Here are the fish you want to see," Alfred said as they walked over to a large, multi-species tank that took up the whole wall, "What do you think."

Emil stood there for a minute, watching as a school of capelins swam past, flashing their scales as the went. It was oddly calming, and while Emil had been lying when he said he didn't like tropical fish, he couldn't help but admit that he liked this room better. It had fewer people and more ambiance, two things that could improve any first date.

"It's nice," he stated after watching the fish for a few more seconds.

"Yeah," Alfred said, before pointing to a spotted wolffish, "hey look at that guy!"

"I bet he's an asshole," Emil joked.

"Oh totally, I mean just look at those teeth."

"And speaking of teeth, look at that one over there over there," Emil mused, gesturing to a black scabbard fish at the bottom of the tank.

"Oh, he's gruesome! That dude could totally take me in a fight."

"I know right," Emil grinned.

In that moment, as he and Alfred stood there in light of the fish tank and continued to chuckle at the leering eye of a haddock that was pressed against the glass, Emil realized that he was having fun. Real genuine fun. The type where you laugh hard enough and loud enough that you forget to worry about what people think of you. The type of fun that he hadn't had in a long time. And he suddenly felt a very strong urge to kiss the man that had made him this happy.

He was just about to pucker his lips and stand on his tiptoes when Alfred suddenly turned to him with a delighted grin.

"Hey, I bet I know another exhibit that you'll like even more!" he proclaimed.

"O-oh," Emil muttered, disappointed that his attempt at a kiss had been preempted, "What exhibit is that?"

"Come on I'll show you!" Alfred said, almost bouncing on his toes in anticipation as he led the two of them back into the aquarium's main hallway, "You're going to love it!"

Emil followed along, trying his best to guess their next location until Alfred finally stopped. There, standing in front of them was the worn wooden door to one of the outdoor exhibit, with the words Seabirds written across the top of the casing in loopy slanted letters that were reminiscent of a surfboard rental company.

"When I saw the shirt you were wearing today I knew we had to come here," Alfred explained as he pulled open the door, "It just wouldn't be right if you didn't get to see any puffins!"

Emil looked down at his I freaking love puffins shirt, and realizing what a wonderfully morbid joke he could make out of this situation, looked back at Alfred with a blank face.

"I love puffins because they're delicious," he said, doing everything in his power to suppress a smile.

Alfred's face drained of color instantly.

"They what now?"

The look of horror on the taller man's face was enough to make Emil burst into giggles.

"It was a joke, don't look so freaked out! I mean they do taste good, but I also think they're cute. Not to mention they have some ridiculously complex social behaviors."

"Okay, but...how would you know that they still taste good?" Alfred asked warily.

"Why wouldn't I? I'm from Iceland, it's a delicacy there," Emil responded, "but if it helps I haven't eaten any puffins sense I was 6. That's when my family moved to the U.S"

"Well…" Alfred said, a little bit of color coming back into his face, "I guess that makes sense if it was a traditional thing… uh, you won't eat these puffins will you?"

"No, of course not," Emil laughed, "They're behind like two layers of plexiglass anyways, I couldn't get to them if I wanted to."

"Um...yeah...okay then," Alfred puled, dropping the subject, "Are-are there any other seabirds you like besides puffins-not in an eating way I mean."

"Oh of course! You know I really love guillemots. Did you know that black guillemots can hold their breath underwater for up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds? That's almost twice as a long as a puffin can hold its breath!" Emil blabbered. He usually wasn't one to talk much about his personal interests, but considering the fact that they were in a marine bird exhibit his obsession with seabirds seemed like an appropriate discussion topic.

"Boy, you sure know a lot about this huh," Alfred commented, "Did you study birds in college or something?"

"Nah, I just spend too much time on Wikipedia," Emil admitted. He was about to say more, but instead opted to stop mid-conversation to point to one of the animal enclosures, "Hey look! There are some Brünnichs Guillemots in that enclosure! You know they're one of the most common birds in the northern hemisphere. They're also part of the Auk family. Aren't they cute! Look how those two are preening each other!"

"You know I don't think I've ever heard you talk this much before," Alfred mentioned, looking at Emil in amusement.

"Oh...uh, sorry, am I steering the conversation too much?" Emil wondered out loud, anxiety getting the better of him, "I can stop talking if you want, I know I get a little chatty when it comes to birds."

"Nah, don't worry about it, I think it's cute."

"Oh, uh, okay," Emil blushed. He was not intending to be cute, he was intending to sound educated, but hey, sometimes actions had unintended consequences. He sure as hell wasn't going to complain, this was a date after all.

"Hey look," Alfred said, pulling Emil out of his thoughts, "There are the puffins."

"Where!?" Emil exclaimed, whipping his head around to where Alfred was pointing before running over to the puffin exhibit.

"Slow down there buddy, they're not going anywhere," Alfred laughed, as he followed Emil over to the exhibit "So say then mister ornithologist, got any fun facts about puffins for me?"

"Of course I do!" Emil cried, as he leaned into the glass enclosure to get a better view, "For starters, there are 4 different species of puffins. These guys here are Atlantic puffins, and oh gosh they're adorable! Look at that one swimming with fish in its mouth! Anyways Atlantic puffins have incredibly intricate social behaviors, they have to land with their feet in a very particular position during nesting season to show that they're not a threat to other puffins and when they walk through each other's territories they- oooooh my god, oh my god. Look at those two! they have a puffling! It's so fluffy! Did you know that pufflings can't eat herring? They can only eat smaller forage fish like sand lance or they'll choke. It's actually become a big problem with- holy guacamole, look at that charming little guy strutting around over there, what a good handsome birdy you are. Yes, you are! Yes you a-"

Suddenly Emil realized that he was being pulled away from the viewing window of the puffin enclosure. Before he had time to reject, however, Alfred managed to thoroughly shut him up by giving him a chaste, but hearty, kiss, brushing both of their chapped lips together just long enough for Emil to regain his bearings.

"You're a heck of a lot cuter than I originally thought," Alfred chuckled as he pulled away from the kiss, "But next time I'd appreciate it if you finished one thought on the intricacies of puffin behavior before you started a new one. Seems like some interesting stuff, I would love to hear it all again later when I can take notes."

"Oh-okay" Emil stuttered out, still a bit dumbfounded from the unexpected kiss, "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"I'm sure you will," Alfred laughed, "No come on, let's go look at the jellyfish."

An: Gezz it's been a long time guys, sorry! I hope the length of this chapter can make up for it!

I'm in my first year of college right now so I haven't been writing as much, but I do intend to finish this story I swear.

Thank you very much for your patience!

Reviews are always appreciated!