Chapter Text
It was a warm Saturday, a bit windy, but perfect for hanging out. Ada ran, she wasn’t late by any means, but she didn’t want to spoil any second of that day. She stopped outside the aquarium and looked around, Where is he? Am I late? Did he even come? Her mind cycled through thoughts.
“…Edega!” Overwhelmed, she called out.
And a hand raised from the crowd.
Edega was holding a pamphlet in place of his clipboard (this guy…). He wore a brown trenchcoat, under it was a black turtleneck. It was stylish, different from his work clothes, nothing like Ada would’ve expected from him. Honestly, she didn’t expect anything of him, not in a bad way, of course. She took a sigh of relief and ran towards him.
“Sorry.. Have you been waiting long?”
“Not at all. Were you finding a parking spot?”
“Oh! I walked here.” She chuckled. More like ran here..
“Ah.”
They awkwardly stood around for a second or two, doing nothing.
Ada held onto her skirt and looked around. “Seems like... everyone else had the same idea.” Another awkward chuckle.
“So it seems.”
Awkward silence…
“S-Shall we get the day started?” Oh man, that sounded like date..
“Lead the way.”
… You’re holding the map!!!
No, Edega wasn’t “doing nothing”, he was busy appreciating the view. Ada had her hair neatly tied up with an orange band, complementing her hair color. Along with it was an open-collared shirt (and a t-shirt under that), reminiscent of the lab coat she wears daily. The sleeves were short, it felt open, the opposite of Edega’s outfit. The long floral skirt screamed “Ada Paige”, didn’t it. She wore what she felt comfortable in. But most importantly, she wore her smile. It was tainted by her eye bags, but who’s fault was that? Well, it showed that she was hardworking..
“Are you coming?” Ada looked back at Edega, snapping him out of his thoughts. He followed suit.
Thankfully, it was less crowded inside. A large tank greeted their view, it was grand and stretched out onto the second floor, unlike anything Ada had seen. They didn’t say it, but both agreed it would be the place they head to last.
In front of them was a petting zoo, several rays were kept. A lot of children were gathering around the tank, sticking their hand inside. Some splashed the water around, but was stopped by the adults. Each exhibit had informations of the species displayed, serving as means to educate visitors – if they didn’t go with a tour guide. Ada got on her knees and leaned down to the tank, her fingers traced the text as she read it in her head. Edega stood behind, looking at her, it seemed like he was reading it too (how?). *Various species of rays were kept. She couldn’t tell from a glance, but the rays were different from each other.
Ada hesitantly reached her hand inside the tank, a ray swam up under it.
I guess things are naturally drawn to her.
This must be the.. cownose ray?
The sensation on her hand felt odd, but familiar. It was smooth, like a rubber glove, and slimey. Ada turned around, to the sight of Edega closely observing her. It felt no different from work…
Without another word, Edega got on one knee and placed his hand next to hers, hovering over the water. The hand slowly lowered to touch the stingray. Smooth rubber glove, slightly slimey. It felt no different from work.
The pair got up after a few minutes. Ada enjoyed trying to identify the rays by eye, and Edega enjoyed looking at her. They walked passed the big tank from earlier, through the back. She couldn’t help but stare at it.
Obstructed by it was the penguin exhibit. The seabirds varied in sizes, all standing around in the man-made habitat. I didn’t know they had penguins in aquariums.. Moving on, there were species of fish in tanks inside the walls. Ada couldn’t tell what they had in common, because they were kept separately.. Unlike another area now that she was looking at Edega’s pamphlet, so nothing of note there. On the opposite side of the room was a big tank, displaying two dolphins. It was devoid of any plants or decorations. Not only the tank was empty, there was nobody around that exhibit either. What’s the word? Ah. Boring.
Is he having fun? I'm not boring him, am I?
He knows this is a date, right?
Were all those small interactions at work just my imagination?
Edega and Ada were never close. She doesn’t hate him by any means, it was just that.. His icy demeanor makes him hard to approach, along with the fact that he is her boss. Still, the small things he does makes him human. When Ada dropped her pen, he picked it up. When Ian was off shift, Edega was the one checking up on her. Then, he asked her to go get him lunch. Ada didn’t know what was happening, they kept seeing each other more and more. The little moments every so often where it just clicks between them. There’s something that Ada has that draws everyone to her. Like a moth to flame.
Eventually, Ada asked him to go somewhere together. She wasn’t sure, still is, whether Edega even likes her as a person or not, but she was interested in him. To her surprise, he accepted it. They rarely ever have time off, so it was an even bigger surprise when she managed to make it fit inside their schedules. How long have they been staring at the dolphin tank already?
Ada looked to her right and briefly caught Edega covering his eye with the pamphlet. Something about the sight made her heart flutter.
They moved onto the second floor, to the coral reef section, Ada saw this in the map earlier. There was a tank displaying the ecosystem, and smaller tanks around with each of the species inhabiting it. You could see the main tank from up there as well, and it’s information board. It’s incredible that so many species can cohabitat like this.. They went around the room, reading about the indiviual species before circling back to the middle.
“It’s you.” Ada pointed at the tank.
“Hm?” Edega turned to look at the target. “…A rock?”
It got a chuckle out of her. “Pff! No, under it.”
He lowered the pamphlet and squinted. “An.. eel?”
“Mhm!”
Watching from the shadows.
“I… see.”
They observed the creature. It laid under the rock, until another fish swam up to it.
“And that must be you?”
A clownfish.
The eel lunged at it, barely missing the critter. Edega awkwardly coughed at the sight before turning away, Ada kept a close look on them. The clownfish approached the rock again and successfully laid beside the beast. Her eyes widened.
“…Yeah, that’s me.”
Finally, best for last, was the main tank. Ada gasped as they went into the tunnel. A large whale shark was swimming overhead, along with schools of fish circling about. There were a couple of stingrays as well, but they were much bigger compared to the ones in the petting zoo. It was beautifully decorated and full of life.. Unlike the dolphin tank from earlier. Ada sighed as she think back to it. Edega couldn’t help but wonder why, he wished he could see things the way she does. Still, it was a pleasing sight to look at.
The day is almost over…
“Should we visit the merchandise store before we leave?”
I just want to know…
“I don’t mind.”
What you think of me…
They headed back down to the first floor. Ada tugged on Edega’s sleeve and pointed to the distance, prompting him to look at it. The main tank, again.
“What about it?”
“Could we take a picture?”
Now that he got a closer view, there was a small podium in front of it. Edega got on the stand while Ada asked someone for assistance. The stranger held her phone up and waited for the cue. They stood closer to each other, one hand slightly brushed against another. Edega tilted his pamphlet to the side, revealing his eye. “Cheese!” They said, as the two striked a peace sign. From a distance, they looked like a couple…
The gift shop was next to the entrance-exit, it was placed in a way that visitors wouldn’t see it on their way in. They had a lot of items, from small trinkets to giant plushies. Both took turn going around, Ada didn’t see anything she really liked, so she waited outside for Edega to finish up. They met again a few minutes later.
“Did you buy what you wanted?”
“Yes.” Edega had his hand behind his back, it piqued her interest. “It took me awhile to decide, but…”
He urged the other to stick her palms out. Then dropped something into her hands.
“I think this is the fish you liked the most out of the whole aquarium.”
Ah.
It was a small keychain of a clownfish. Ada tried her best to held back her emotions, her face quickly gave it away.
“I felt it was only right to commemorate our outing with memorabilia.”
He’s so unfair.
“Thank you…”
“It’s no problem.”
They exited the aquarium. It was much less crowded compared to earlier that day.
“Thank you again, I had a wonderful time.”
“I should be the one thanking you.”
Awkward silence.. again.
“Well.. I should be going now.” Ada turned to the opposite direction.
“…Wait.” Stopping her in her tracks.
“Yes?”
“Let me give you a ride, it’s the least I can do.”
“I’d appreciate it, thank you.”
Ada waited for Edega to retrieve his car. She was alone, with her thoughts again. We barely get any time alone.. Is he fine being in a relationship like this? It just feels right.. I don’t want it to end.
Edega returned with his car a moment later, no pamphlet covering his face this time. He got up to open the door for her. After awhile on the road, he finally spoke up.
“I’ve learned a lot from our date at the aquarium today. So many particular stories of each specimen…”
Date?
“But there’s a lot that I didn’t know, and still don’t know. One in particular I feel I must learn more about.”
He paused, she blinked.
“I wish to learn more about you, Ada. And… Hopefully you want to learn more about me, as well.”
Is this really happening?
She couldn’t contain her emotions anymore. Tears of happiness escaped her.
“I’d… I’d love to.”
“I’m glad.”
It was quiet through the rest of the drive home. Ada thanked him again as she got out, to which he nodded. He waited for her to enter the house. She was standing still, is everything alright? Suddenly, she ran back to the car and kissed him through the window. Edega held her cheek as they melted into each other. It lasted for awhile, but it felt like forever. Ada got flustered and covered her face, stumbling into her house. She waved him goodbye as the door closed.
Cute.
The car drove away.