Prompt: Chocolate (Taken from my own head)

Setting: Canon, set just before Cam's betrayal.

Rating: K+

Pairings: CamxNixie

Warnings: Fluff and sadness.

Recommended Listening: Kiss Me - Ed Sheeran

Chocolate

Cam sat at his table in the Ocean Café nursing a smoothie, staring off into the middle-distance, entirely lost in thought. It was early morning thus no one was around save him and the barkeeps, the mood quiet and contemplative.

Sat sealed away in his locker resided the Trident, its power sitting there, waiting for him. The full moon grew closer with every hour, and that very night was the one. The night he got everything he ever wanted: power, talent, a tail. Zac's chance had been and gone. It was Cam's turn now.

He was so absorbed in his own machinations that he didn't even notice Nixie wandering in, looking somewhat lost. She'd been feeling that way ever since she'd agreed to Cam's plan. Having a man in possession of the Trident set her on edge, and yet she'd decided that this really was the best way. Zac was a danger, and even though he had Lyla and the others fooled, Nixie could see through the act. It had become clear that the only person she could trust was Cam. It seemed a pretty daunting fact to realise, yet it was true.

She was wrenched out of her internal monologue when she spotted Cam himself, sat there with a straw rested between his lips, his head turned aside so that she saw him in profile. In truth, she'd never thought of him as handsome or attractive when she'd first met him. He'd just been another land boy. In that case, however, why was it that now she felt her chest tighten and her heart leap into her throat? The strength of her reaction to him unnerved her, and for a moment she considered leaving just to avoid confronting him.

She dismissed the concept, knowing that the idea of her, a talented mermaid being scared away by a simple land boy was ridiculous. And so, with her head held high she marched in confidently and took a seat at his table, just to prove that she wasn't afraid. At the noise of her chair scraping back he too was interrupted from his thoughts and he glanced over curiously to see who was joining him. Upon spotting her his usual, easy-going smile formed upon his lips, although she thought it looked somewhat weaker than usual.

She couldn't blame him. Tonight was the night of truth. They both had to pray that their plan would work and that in the morning, Zac would be a simple land boy once again. Then they could part ways and no one would have to feel bad about anything. Even so, the idea of returning to the sea and forsaking the land forever made Nixie uneasy, although she wasn't a fool like Lyla. She wouldn't let a land boy ruin her life.

"Nixie," Cam said brightly, grinning at her. "Just the fish I wanted to see."

"Zip it, Land Boy," Nixie hushed him sharply, throwing a cautious look over at David and Carly who were stood behind the bar. Fortunately they seemed occupied with something else entirely, their backs turned and their voices lowered in quick, quiet discussion.

"Oh relax. David would probably just assume it's my cute nickname for you," Cam assured her, smirking and sipping from his drink as he watched her, his gaze unfaltering. Nixie could feel the heat rising in her cheeks, and was about to snap something back when she was interrupted.

"Cam, would you come over here and give us a hand?" David called, glancing back over his shoulder at the blonde.

"Certainly," Cam said graciously, giving Nixie a parting wink before going over to help with whatever he was required for.

Seething bitterly to herself, Nixie sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest, watching sourly as the others occupied themselves with their task. She watched on as they lifted some odd piece of machinery up onto a table beside the bar, grunting with the weight of it. She'd never seen anything like it, but it looked expensive, the metal well polished and the design attractive. She had no idea what function it served, however.

Walking over to inspect it as they set it down, she turned to Cam and asked, "What is it?"

"It's a chocolate fountain," David informed her helpfully, his usual cheerful smile lighting up his face. "People have been coming in asking for a lot of sweet things lately, so we thought it might be a good idea to get one. Of course, you and Cam are welcome to give it a test run. It's on the house."

Cam thanked him, and then they went about turning it on and setting it up. Before too long, a cascade of thick, sticky brown liquid was pouring down across the machine, flowing down three tiers before it pooled at the bottom. David thanked the two blondes for helping him, and then he and Carly disappeared into the back, apparently going to retrieve fruit to dip into it.

Left alone with Cam, Nixie felt she could brave risking making herself look stupid by asking the obvious question. "Cam," Nixie said slowly, eying the so-called 'chocolate fountain', "what's chocolate?"

"What's chocolate?" Cam repeated incredulously, staring at her, his eyebrows shooting up. "What's- Nixie, are you telling me that you don't know what chocolate is?"

"Is that a problem for you?" she retorted defensively, her arms returning to being folded across her chest as she matched his incredulous expression.

"No, no not at all. I'm just surprised, that's all," Cam said hurriedly, grinning to try and disarm her. "It's just that if a 'land person' had never heard of chocolate, well, they'd have to be a hermit. A very sad, incredibly deprived hermit."

Nixie didn't know what a hermit was exactly (did he mean the crab?) but regardless she sensed she was being insulted and so scowled back at him. "It sounds stupid anyway. And why's it in a fountain? Water works perfectly well," she muttered to herself, glaring now at the offending fountain before her.

"Oh Nixie," Cam said, smiling derisively as he looked her over, "you've no idea what you just said." Moving quickly, he moved his hand forward and two of his fingers disappeared behind the curtain of liquid chocolate. When he retrieved them, they were coated in the rich, dark fluid, which dripped down off of them onto the counter in droplets. "Would you do me the honour, Nixie, of allowing me to be the one to introduce you to chocolate?"

Scrutinising him guardedly, Nixie deliberated for a moment before complying, mirroring his actions and dipping her fingers in the chocolate. She withdrew them, and found that they too were now covered in the stuff. "Okay, now lick it," Cam instructed, watching her intently, his half-smile fixed upon his lips.

Nixie glanced up at him sceptically, but he simply nodded back in encouragement, and so she did as she was asked and put her fingers to her lips. She pressed her tongue against them, and licked off a patch of the fluid.

She had to admit, it wasn't bad.

"It's no prawns," she said stiffly, licking away the remains of the chocolate, and then sucking her fingers dry.

"It's chocolate, Nixie," Cam said, grinning broadly at her reaction. "It's better."

"It's not entirely terrible," Nixie allowed, avoiding his eyes as she looked back at the fountain. She had too much pride to ask for more.

Watching her, his eyes gauging her reaction, Cam said nothing for a moment before a wicked grin lit up his face. Nixie knew what that expression entailed, but before she could do anything he leapt forward, striking lighting fast. His fingers pressed swiftly to her face, and then within an instant he jumped back out of her reach.

"Cam!" She said furiously, looking up at him demandingly. "What was that for? What have you done?"

"See for yourself," Cam said slyly, sliding a silver serving dish up from off of the counter and turning it so that she could see her reflection.

Looking back at Nixie was her usual face, except that now, marked upon her upper-lip were two short, dark lines. "Chocolate moustache!" Cam jeered teasingly, breaking into good-natured laughter as he backed away from her again, cackling.

Caught between outrage and laughter, finding his infectious, Nixie dipped her fingers back under the fountain and then pounced on him, jabbing her fingers at whatever exposed skin she could find. He attempted to fend her off but failed to do so for laughter, his body shaking as he tried to defend himself. They wrestled amongst their giggles, and for the first time in what seemed like ages Nixie forgot all about the Trident and just laughed, her body aching with the force of it.

"Truce, truce, truce!" He begged her through his laughs, doubled over as she attacked him. Straightening, finding her work complete, Nixie harrumphed sternly and then dropped the sombre attitude, grinning. Cam's face was now a mix-match of skin and chocolate streaks, a particularly good one running across his nose.

"You, Nixie, are truly a ninja warrior in disguise," he said breathlessly, bent over on his knees as he recovered his breath. Nixie had no idea what a 'ninja' was, but she was pretty sure it was a compliment, and thus she grinned triumphantly, her hands on her hips.

"Come on," Cam said once he'd caught his breath back, straightening, "we'd better get cleaned up."

Falling back into composed silence, they avoided looking at one another as they dabbed at their own faces, pawing and licking the chocolate off of them. "You've still got some there," Cam said once his face was relatively clean, glancing over at Nixie. She ran the heel of her palm across her face, and then presented herself for inspection. "No you missed it, it's there." He gestured to his own face to show her, and she wiped her upper lip again as instructed.

"Missed again," Cam exclaimed with a grin, stepping forward. "Here, let me." He licked his thumb and then dabbed it gently to the corner of her lips, wiping away the offending chocolate stain that lay there.

Her heart stuttering in her chest at the contact, Nixie felt her breath catch in her throat as Cam touched her, her face flushing again. Her eyes met his and held them, locked there. Neither spoke for a moment, nor did Cam remove his hand, his fingers resting ever so lightly against her cheek.

"You've still got some on you," he said in a barely audible whisper, as if he were afraid that speaking would shatter the moment. "Just-" he leant in, his hand catching her jaw and he kissed her, lips meeting lips. Her head swam, the world disappeared, and for a moment Nixie forgot that she was a mermaid and that Cam was a land boy, and that the idea of her loving him was insane. What mattered was that Cam was kissing her.

"-There," Cam finished breathlessly as he broke away from her, their lips parting. He met her eyes, and for a moment she thought that he was going to say something, a heart-breaking, previously hidden sadness lingering there in his eyes. And then, just as his lips parted to form words, the noise of the freezer door opening sounded and David and Carly's voices broke the moment. Cam drew back, and Nixie was left with the feeling that she had just missed out on something that would have changed everything, although in what way she did not know.

"I ought to get going. I have lessons," Nixie said hurriedly, avoiding his eyes, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"Bye," Cam said in a ghost of his usual voice, watching with that same sadness as she turned and left, out of the door before David had even drawn into view.

"Where'd Nixie go?" he asked innocently, looking about for her expectedly.

"Home," Cam said, trying out a smile that held none of his usual humour or warmth. "Back where she belongs."

His gaze lingered on the door, his chest tight, his mind no longer focused within the Café but remaining with her. Nixie was his only doubt; the one reason which meant that along with joy and determination, he felt a stabbing, wounding guilt whenever he turned his mind to the Trident. If he did this, he would lose Nixie, almost undoubtedly forever.

"It's a shame you two broke up," David said from behind him, going about setting out the boxes of fruit. "You were cute together."

She didn't want me, Cam thought to himself. She didn't kiss me back.

"I don't think we'll ever get back together I'm afraid, David," Cam said with a crooked grin, turning to face his friend, masking his true emotions seamlessly. "We're just from two entirely separate worlds."

Outside the Café, walking her way down the pier back to mainland, Nixie had her fingers pressed to her lips. They were simultaneously numb and hypersensitive, tingling and yet they no longer felt like hers. Her heart was racing in her chest, and her ears burned like hot coals.

Slowly, cautiously, she licked her tongue along her bottom lip. She found the taste of Cam and chocolate mixed there, complimenting one another perfectly, and some hurriedly hidden part of her couldn't decide which she liked the taste of best.