#there was one bit where pearl was fishing alone and managed to imitate the way gem said “pearl”

[legally-allowed-to-slime]

they’re besties your honour

[ograndebatata]

Elena of Avalor Ship appreciation week - Day 1 - Enemies to lovers - Marzel x Naomi

Well, the title pretty much speaks for itself, so I guess there’s not much more to add here. I’ll only add that this oneshot takes place in the future of my personal AU, so a few things may be a bit confusing... but I tried, again, to make it strong enough to stand on its own.

I hope you all enjoy it!

Underwater Wonders

They had arrived.

Where exactly, Naomi had no idea, given Marzel still had his hands over her eyes. But she had sensed him stopping as he swam above her, and had also felt, from the smooth ripples she sensed from the above and the warm swishing on her skin, both the pale human-like one on her upper body and the scales of her purplish-pink blue-striped sirena’s tail, that they had finished crossing the tunnels and were back in sunlit water. She could also feel from the tickling on her tail that wherever they were was rather crowded, judging from the multiple vibrations of swimming creatures.

Wherever they were, it seemed she was about to see whatever surprise Marzel had for her.

And sure enough, she felt his hands shifting a fraction over her eyes, though he didn’t remove them yet.

“Are you ready to get awed?” he asked.

Naomi affected a shrug, even though Marzel could hardly see it from behind her. “Beats me.”

“Are you ready to get amazed?”

She swept the betta-fish-like fins of her tail against his, gently so the sharper edges wouldn’t hurt him. “How should I know?”

“Are you ready…”

“...to ask if you’re going to keep yapping all day long or if you’ll just show me whatever you’re not letting me see right now?” she deadpanned, even as her lips curled upwards.

She again felt Marzel’s hands shifting, and just knew he was pouting.

“And here I had at least ten more questions for you.”

She jabbed a threatening finger upwards, though careful to deliberately aim away from him in case she poked his eye.

“Watch it, buster! I know where you live!”

She could just see him smirking even with him covering her eyes and being above her.

“If that’s an attempt at a threat, it’s about the worst one you could make.” Another pause from him. “But I’ll be a gentleman and show mercy. Behold...” he rolled his tongue in the most dramatic fashion he could as if trying to imitate a drum-roll. “...the Rainbow Reef!”

At last, he removed his hands from her eyes. Curious about what exactly was there, Naomi righted herself, opened them… and gaped more than any fish.

It only took a glance to understand why it was called Rainbow Reef.

The water before her was so clear that it looked like the actual sky, more pristine than in the sunniest day in Avalor. Streaks of light overheard dove through the water and danced across everything underneath as if caressing them. Corals and anemones of every hue painted the rocky outcrops at the bottom in explosions of, seemingly only made brighter by the sun, and yet pleasant to the eye rather than painful. Isolated milagras dotted the white sandy bottom, swaying in the currents. And amidst the spectacle, fish of every size, shape and color swam about, somehow managing to go about their business with all the grace of the formal parties she had attended to as a council woman.

As she watched more closely, Naomi saw even more incredible things. The fan-shaped yellow and blue corals closest to her actually moved of their own accord with the currents instead of standing rigidly, while the club-shaped orange ones with white stripes actually whacked any fish that got too close to them. The schools of the fish that looked like a dog-sized sardine if not for the red and white and blue coloration regularly changed color patterns and others responded to such changes. A kind of cuttlefish swimming along the bottom not only blended into their background so well it was almost invisible through that alone but actually flattened itself against the surface it was on, to the point Naomi barely managed to see it. A pack of seals seemed to be playing tag as they cut along the sandy bottom and circled the isolated milagras. Blue crabs that seemed to have jewels of all sorts of colors studded into their bodies scuttled along the bottom. Barely visible between all the other colors, a horse-sized oyster resting between the rocks parted its valves a fringe to hint at what looked like a pearl which literally glowed like a rainbow inside it.

After what felt like an eternity, Naomi managed to mouth an exclamation, though no sound came out.

It was breathtaking.

A faint ripple washed over her from the right. Naomi turned toward it, and saw Marzel floating beside her, an expectant and at the same time apprehensive look on his face.

“Well?” he asked, the anxious look on his face far too endearing for either of their own goods.

For just an instant, Naomi felt like making some ‘dry appreciation’ just to tease him. But he was so honestly nervous that she could only allow her features to melt into a smile.

“It’s gorgeous,” she said. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

Marzel didn’t even make an attempt at looking mock-smug or some comment about how he had known it. He just gave her a relieved smile of his own. And without any words, Naomi realized how nervous he had been at this date of theirs, the first one they went on in months, the first one they went on now that they both had tails, and the first one they went on since yet another great adventure to add to the list of those they’d already had had ended.

Wordlessly, Naomi swished her tail downward to approach him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. He rested his chin on her head and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

And they just floated there, their tails swishing through the water to keep them in place, not exchanging a single word.

But there was no need to. For all the troubles they had endured lately, and how ludicrous their feelings might have seemed in the beginning, somehow, them being here together, contemplating the wonders before them, just felt right. Right and wonderful. There were no other words for it.

How far had they come from the day Marzel had approached her after his father signed the peace treaty and apologized for what his people had done to her grandfather. From the day Naomi had truly allowed herself to face how petty she was being by holding a grudge against people who were only trying to make amends for their ancestors’ wrongs. The day that had been the first step - or tail-stroke - in everything that lead them here.

If Naomi didn’t know any better, she would have guessed he had given her a love potion.

But she did know better. Not only about Marzel, but about his kind. And as much as her old self might be shocked beyond belief at the thought, her current one knew it was true and was glad that the sirenas had indeed changed their ways.

Even if a few who clung to old habits were part of the reason Naomi herself was stuck as a sirena.

She couldn’t help but stiffen at the thought, the memory of her narrowly-avoided death still sending a shiver through her. Marzel immediately drew her closer to his chest, running his free hand through her purple and blue fishtail braid.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not now,” She reached up and ran her fingers along the back of his neck. “This place is too beautiful to ruin it with that.”

That, and she had already let those bastards ruin enough of her life. Having become a sirena was a hurdle, and she still struggled with a few things here and there, but there was a lot of joy to be derived from her new life, and the most important joys from her old one were still present.

She would not let a few rotten bastards deprive her of all happiness of her future just because they had dictated part of it for her.

She drew away from her thoughts as Marzel pulled back an edge. Turning her gaze up, she saw him looking down at her, lost in her eyes.

“Not as beautiful as you.”

“Flirt,” Naomi replied with a smirk.

He shrugged. “What can I say? It’s as much a part of me as both my scales and my legs.”

Naomi reached up and flicked his braid between her fingers. “I’d be careful, if I were you. I just may think you’re too annoying for my show of gratitude.”

He gasped as fakely as one of those actors at a cheap melodrama. “The horror!”

She scrunched up her face as she pretended to have an internal struggle.

“But I guess I can be nice. At least this once.”

He sighed just as dramatically as he had gasped. “Well that’s a relief.”

Naomi pushed herself up with another stroke of her tail and put her right hand to his nape and her left arm around his shoulders.

“Just shut up and kiss me.”

Rather than wait for him to comply, Naomi surged forward and smashed her lips against Marzel’s.

And he wasted no time returning the favor.