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Two weeks ago your boyfriend Alfred had promised to take you to the aquarium, and you'd been looking forward to this ever since he’d made the suggestion. Your initial enthusiasm never faded — not only because you’d be able to see some of your favorite creatures, but because it was an opportunity to spend time with him after not getting to. Recently, the president was almost constantly requesting his company to discuss business and make changes, and although you were very understanding of Alfred’s situation, you couldn't help but miss seeing him be active at home. He seemed more exhausted.
Today, however, was different. Because Alfred requested off in advance and made arrangements for a coworker to take his place for the day, there would be no interruptions. You even heard him on the phone earlier specifically reminding them about that, so it was going to just be him, you, and the fishes. It made you feel so special.
Alfred handed the person standing by the door your tickets and they ripped a piece that you assumed they needed off, handing him back the tickets.
Alfred handed the employee by the door your tickets, and once the small slips of paper were given back to you he pocketed them and raised a bent arm to you in an exaggerated act of chivalry. You accepted it with a laugh, and the two of you made your way inside.
“Where do you wanna go first?” he inquired once the two of you were out of the way of the doors. You observed him looking around, and then his eyes lingering in the direction of the cafeteria. You snickered quietly, but wouldn't fall for it since it was still too early.
“Hmm, I dunno. Why don't we just start from the left and go all the way around?”
Alfred nodded confidently and led the two of you towards the first exhibit. You immediately noticed that he was taking his time since he was usually more excitable, but he was smiling all the same. He felt your gaze and made eye contact, squeezing his arm around your hand in an affectionate gesture.
"H-hey! Heroes aren't supposed to be dragged around!" Alfred whined, trying to catch up with you.
You held his hand firmly and pulled him towards you. “Then stop moving so slow!” Your hand left his to be placed with your other one flat against the nearest tank.
When he’d finally caught up with you, he got a good look at the thing floating around that you were looking at. From far away it looked more like a weird plant, but up close he could see that it was a jellyfish of some sort. He had no idea what kind it was until he eventually found the sign with its information. He barely skimmed over its habitat and facts, instead focusing on you and how entranced you were by this slowly floating creature. You seemed especially interested in one that was floating upside down for whatever reason. He had no idea how that happened
"You like jellyfish?" He asked, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. You glanced at him and both of you returned to admiring them.
You nodded. "Yeah, I just love how calm and peaceful they look. Plus, they're really weird.”
He couldn't help but laugh at your comment and voiced his agreement. Although he didn't care much for reading about them, he paid full attention to all the facts you told him about them. It wasn't that you were an expert, but you had a lot to share about what you liked. He ended up asking a couple questions that you had no real answer to, but it was perfectly fine.
Once you had enough of the jellyfish, you took his hand again and guided him around the other tanks. He was especially interested in the alligators despite them lazing around, and told you some stories about how he got close to a few during trips in Florida. He mentioned “wrestling” one and “winning” but you voiced some doubts about his story which he playfully whined about.
Eventually, the two of you walked through a glass tunnel surrounded by water. You didn't pay it much mind since you only saw small fishes, but he held an arm out in front of you to make you stop. You made a sound of confusion but was cut off by him pointing up and speaking.
“Look up at the sky.”
You halfheartedly frowned at his joke, but listened anyway. All you saw was a large, moving, white thing. It took you a moment to realize it was the underside of a shark.
“Ohh!”
You hadn’t been to this aquarium since you were little, so you'd completely forgotten about this part. You watched Alfred point out a few different sharks farther away, some that he knew the names of and some that he didn't. If you knew any, you told him what they were. Watching him grin as he pointed and spoke filled you with a comfortable warmth. You gently squeezed his hand tighter and felt your face begin to ache from all the smiling you'd been doing too.
"Touch it!” You held Alfred’s wrist and pulled him into the shallow water to touch an anemone. He thought it was cool to look at, but specifically stated how gross it looked like it’d feel, so of course you had to see what his reaction would be. You knew he was curious too by how he hesitated to reach his hand towards it initially.
“Nooo!” He cried, faking fear.
Although he was stronger than you, he wasn't genuinely pulling away. You could tell that he just wanted to see you put the effort in by how he was letting you win. Eventually you were able to bring his palm down on top of it, and immediately he cringed with a laugh.
“Eww… this is so weird!”
“I know right?” you laughed too, rubbing his hand around so he’d get a good feel of it. He used his other one to pull you off and make you touch it too. You weren't nearly as disturbed by the texture, but you thought it felt weird too.
There was a small starfish in the corner, which Alfred eventually noticed. He had an expression of concentration as he began petting it in a weird way.
“What are you doing to that poor starfish?”
“Trying to pick it up!”
“I don't think you're supposed to do that.”
“But it’s so small! I want to see if it fits in my pocket!” Alfred leaned closer and checked to see if the employee in charge of the petting area was paying attention to him. She was focused on explaining something to two children.
He got a corner of the starfish onto his fingers when you smacked his wrist with a laugh. “Cut that out!”
He joined you and raised both of his hands out of the water as if he were caught, splashing a bit on you unintentionally. “Okay, okay!”
You rolled your eyes and walked past him.
After the two of you had lunch and checked out the remaining exhibits, you were tired. He offered to carry you around but you waved him off, not wanting to attract that much attention to yourself.
“Alright, fine. But how about we check out the gift shop before we leave?”
"Sure, we can do that.”
Inside the gift shop were a lot of cute things, but mostly aimed at kids. The two of you looked around and he tried to convince you to let him buy you things, but you waved the suggestions off. You appreciated his kindness but you weren't sure what you wanted anyway.
After a few minutes of walking around, you decided to check out the keychains. “Aww, look at this.”
You lifted the keychain up to show Alfred that it was a tiny metal alligator. “I’m gonna get this for you. It’s a trophy for that alligator whose ass you totally kicked.”
He pouted at you, but quickly smiled again, pulling another one from the rack. “Then let me get you this one. It’s not the same jellyfish you were looking at, but it’s a fish!”
“It’s not a fish. They don't have bones.”
“Neither will you once I’m done with you!” he declared defensively, taking the keychain from your hand while you processed what he just said and began walking towards the register.
“Hold on a second, what’s that supposed to mean!?” you said loudly, but he only walked away faster.
On the drive home you played with the jellyfish keychain in your hand and listened to it clink against itself. Alfred focused on the road, but you still wanted to talk to him, so you did.
“Thanks for taking me today, I really appreciated it.”
He looked at you momentarily and smiled. “You know I’d do anything for you! Plus… I noticed you seemed kind of down lately. I thought it’d help, and I’m glad it did! Well, I knew it would but—”
Your snickering cut him off, and he didn't explain himself further. He did, however, ask what had been making you so sad.
“I didn't think it was that obvious,” you shyly admitted. “It’s just that you’ve been so busy lately so we haven’t had much time together. I know— it’s not your fault. I’d never blame you for that, but I know the work’s been getting to you too. You’re always so tired. I can't help but feel a little worried.”
“Aww, babe… You don't have to worry about me! Yeah, I do get tired sometimes, but I couldn't be your hero if I didn't know how to handle a little extra work from time to time. I’ll be fine, and if anything ever happens I know you got my back.”
He nudged you gently and you smiled back at him. His optimistic personality rubbed off on you after being around him for so long, and based on his words alone you knew that you could believe him.