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They had arrived.
Where exactly, Naomi had no idea, not with Marzel still covering 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 on 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 and above her. "Beats me."
"Are you ready to be amazed?"
She swept the betta-fish-like fins of her tail against his - gently so that 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 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 attempted threat, it's about the worst 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 and backed away with a swish from his tail. Curious about the upcoming view, 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 on the sunniest day in Avalor. Streaks of light overheard dove through the water and danced across everything as if caressing what they touched. Corals and anemones of every hue painted the rocky outcrops at the bottom in explosions of color, 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 going about their business with all the grace of the formal parties she had attended 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 moved with the currents instead of standing rigidly, while the club-shaped orange ones with white stripes actually whacked any fish that got too close. The schools of the fish that looked like a dog-sized sardine if not for their red and white and blue coloration regularly changed color patterns, while others responded to such changes. A kind of cuttlefish swimming along the bottom not only blended into the background so well it was almost invisible from 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 with pebbled shells that almost seemed studded with jewels of all sorts of colors scuttled along the bottom. And barely visible between everything else, a horse-sized oyster resting between the rocks parted its valves a fringe to show the glimpse of what looked like a pearl that literally glowed like a rainbow.
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 fake 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 saying how he'd 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 the end of yet another great adventure to add to the list of those they'd already had.
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. There was no other word 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 led 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 forever.
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 blond, pink-streaked 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 with that."
Not to mention 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 also a lot of joy to be derived from her new life, and the most important joys from her old one were still present, even if she couldn't indulge in them as often as before. She would not let a few rotten bastards deprive her of all happiness in 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.
Once more, she might make a quip in response to his expression on other occasions, but something about the moment made her return the gaze and lose herself in his eyes as much as he was in hers. Neither tracked the time that went by, only vaguely noticed everything going on around them through the ripples of the water over their bodies.
“You know something?” Marzel eventually asked, clearly trying to be conversational, but with a teasing edge that she knew was leading up to something.
“What?” she asked, mirroring his tone.
"This place may be too beautiful to ruin with that kind of talk, but it's still 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 me to show 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, you dope."
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.