...
A few weeks pass and it seemed that our two soon-to-be lovers were busy minding their own individual businesses. Trollex was in the middle of a friendly conversation with his trusted friend beyond compare. Both seated near each other in Trollex's office. Trollex's office consisted of memorabilia of his family, his very original techno creations, and much more confidential cases in the name of buisness and politics- surprisingly.
"Okay! So I've got the DJ booth still intact, so that won't need any new repairing. The guestlist is gonna be open to everyone - as usual. I gotta the list of songs that are gonna be played... hmm." He then pondered, his mind wandering off to think of anything he had forgotten.
Beat Drop then pitched his memory into place, "Oh! You forgot to get the new installation of the sound system!" Trollex perked up, his mind finally clicking into place. "Ah! That's it. Thanks, buddy, what would I do without you." He thanked, giving his unique friend a pat on the head. Beat Drop turned bashful, "Aw shucks, its nothing." he replied. Trollex then reviewed over his checklist and nodded to himself.
"All I need is to pick up that sound system and leave the construction builders to work on the fallen statue which takes care of the follow-spot and lighting situation!" Trollex concluded, putting his checklist back into his drawer.
His eyes followed to Beat Drop who was already swimming his way towards him. "Hey, why don't you take Ariel with you?"
Trollex heated up for some unmentioned reason, but he pushed his reaction aside. "Yeah, she can come with us."
Beat Drop just shook his head and smirked. "No no. Just the two of you."
Trollex just shook his head, not in negation, but more so in acknowledgement of what Beat Drop was insinuating. Though Beat Drop had not known Ariel for such a long time on occasion, despite a couple of weeks passing by, he can almost feel Ariel's goodness whenever he is with her. It especially seems to benefit Trollex, as Beat Drop can see the way Trollex used to light up when he was with Marina. But this time, it was a healthy glow. Beat Drop only wanted the best for Trollex, so he couldn't help but want to encourage the idea of them being in a relationship as it appears to be a very symbiotic one.
"I mean, if you're sure-" Trollex began, Beat Drop quickly cut in the sentence and spoke excitedly. "Oh nooo. It's absolutely fine. You can give her a chance to really see the Kingdom! I've seen it so many times, Ariel should have a chance to go." Beat Drop tried to convince him.
Trollex then turned off his romantic thoughts, only to think about Ariel. Well, he wasn't wrong. Though Ariel had been around the area for so long - seeing as she wasn't used to being around so many people at once - she had grown a lot of confidence since then. It wouldn't be such a bad idea.
"That is a good point. Alright, I'll take her with me instead then." He decided, unbeknownst to him there was a celebratory Beat Drop Button silently cheering so vigorously behind him. Trollex sensed a lot of motion and turned around, only for Beat Drop to immediately relax as if it never happened. Trollex just rolled his eyes in amusement.
"Okay, I guess I'll just go and ask her."
----
Meanwhile, the waterlily herself was busy letting her pen glide against the texture of the paper, creating melodic words of wisdom soon to turn sweet when fully written to its full potential. Ariel had to admit, though she was very well known from anyone who had heard her voice to be the creme de la creme, her writing wasn't so brittle either. She couldn't help but get lost in her own words and story as she continued to write the song. There was no confirmation of fully completing and performing the song to anyone in particular, but it was nice to let her thoughts travel out of her mind in some way.
Mira sat merrily beside her, watching her absentmindedly bob her head and hum to the melody of the song.
"These look great, Ariel!" Ariel perked up at the compliment, with a smile plastered on her face.
"Thanks, Mira. This might be one of my best ones yet! Even though it is a duet... It still works!" She brightened up very quickly.
The cascading sounds of two male voices were bouncing off of the lonely hallways. She perked up knowing that-that was Trollex but didn't pay too much attention to the source of the noise, feeling more obligated to finish her song. Trollex's facial as he entered the room first was inquisitive and curious, only for it now to be brightened up with a hopeful smile on his face once he found ariel sitting on the couch with her aquatic friend, minding her own buisness.
"Hellooooo." He called, she turned her head towards the direction and smiled. She then replied with the same amount of energy, "Hellooooo." They both laughed in amusement to their childish antics, only for them to quiet down as Trollex scooted over to Ariel, leaning against her side in a friendly manner trying to see what she was up to.
"So, where you been at?" He asked politely. Ariel's now nervous facial expression which seemed to be too common to measure had been imprinted on her face. She stuttered. "I, um- uh, not much, nowhere?!" She tried to hide her book behind her back.
Trollex smirked in amusement before easily slipping behind Ariel's back and gripping the book so swiftly out of her grip.
"Hey!" she spoke with a tone that was somewhat defensive. Ariel made a pathetic attempt to try and reach for the book, stretching so far across Trollex's fins, but he kept on her playful smirk and kept his strong arm high in the air, keeping the passages of all melodic odes and masterpieces that lay its soft head in the sheets of the book pages.
"Uh uh uh!" Trollex waved his other hand in front of her face, causing her to internally flinch slightly. "You gotta tell me what it is~" His voice was so playful and teasing, Ariel had to fight the urge to blush, and thankfully she had, letting her defensive and negative emotions take the wheel.
"Give it back, please?" she begged, her voice starting to crack before deflating away from him.
Trollex instantly saw the change in the dynamic of Ariel's emotions and immediately recoiled. "Hey no! I was just messing with you!" He quickly tried to fix his mistake, mentally slapping himself in the face, fearing he had crossed a line.
"No, don't worry. It's not your fault, Lex." Trollex had to admit, the nickname sounded odd for him to begin with, but now he loved it.
No one had ever thought of a nickname for him before, and it sounded so right coming from Ariel's mouth. He didn't want anyone else to call him that except her.
He mentally shook those thoughts away and continued the conversation. Before he could do so, he studied her face. Her eyes, despite their emerald, mesmerizing glow, it almost seems as if they were drowning. Her tears were threatening to escape out of her eye sockets, but in turn, she had the strength to hold it in. Trolllex noticed this immediately.
"Hey, you okay?" He asked, with genuine concern in his voice. Ariel just turned and gave an apologetic smile.
"It's just that... I've never really been used to anyone seeing what's inside that book, it's... eh, I just get anxious when other people get near it." Ariel attempted her very best to form an answer that would be understandable enough to Trollex. To her lucky view, his face is soft and understanding as he softly nods along with her words.
"No, no, I get it. I'm sorry, I should've been more thoughtful about that..." He sheepishly admitted as he had his hand rubbing the back of his neck, looking away from her. She just shook her head and replied. "It wasn't your fault, you didn't know." she selflessly justified his actions for him which seemed to be the source of what was now currently pulling on Trollex's heartstrings.
She was so kind, too kind for her own good he thought.
He then widened his eyes and directed the book towards Ariel "Oh! Here you are. Sorry bout that." She shyly smiled and gently took the book from his grasp, half whispering a "Thank you" as she did.
The silence was once again greeted upon the two techno trolls, it was almost like a back rub for them. Though none of them could admit, they both deeply cherished the moment where they were so close they scales could meet.
It wasn't exactly a measure of sexual tension, but a sense of comfort and safety, the warmth that they had could not compare to the swelling heat from the volcanos in the Rock Troll habitat. They were their own set of warmth, and so forth it could only be cherished for so long before they would be slapped in the face with a slice of reality, or more so their own expected reality rather than what would be left to come in the future.
Trollex almost felt his arm around Ariel's petite shoulders, before he could propose such a bold move he cleared his throat softly, to break that very-well needed silence.
"You wanna join me today?" Trollex questioned.
Ariel had a cute look of confusion on her face. "Whatever for?"
"I gotta run some errands, and I figured... since you haven't really been around the town properly, I could give you a chance to see it!" He smiled.
Ariel had to consider for a short moment. As time has passed by she had realised something. Through her constant battles of overcoming her anxiety, meeting new people, something she has been doing in her life for far too long, that pattern had started to slow down. As if that feeling of constant loss and fear was a mere pebble on a pavement.
Why not?
"Sure!" she softly yet excitedly replied, her normal and calm tone becoming a real sentiment to her own words, yet it still could not compare to the excitement practically shining through her them.