Fleur tucked the plastic wrapper of her mini candy bar into the pocket of her shorts, the sweet treat already tucked away between her cheek and teeth.
“-think tonight was a success, but we won't know for sure until the numbers come in next week.” Hermione said confidently as the pair walked through the empty children's section of the aquarium, their hands clasped loosely together between them. “I’m sure the new events coordinator will have notes on what can be improved, of course.”
Brightly colored tables lined the corridor, teal buckets half full of stickers and small toys on some, craft supplies and mostly dried piles of glue on others. Pumpkins and paper bats grinned at the two women from their spots on the walls, hastily colored in by the many children who’d attended the annual ‘Aquascarium’ Halloween event in previous years; a fan favorite, the ‘merry-not-scary’ event had been dubbed the perfect nighttime even for children of all ages at the aquarium by the media.
“I had a lot of fun,” Fleur said brightly, watching the lights turn off behind them with a flick of a switch on the wall. “I’ve never been before, so getting a close-up view of everything was pretty cool.”
“Well then, I’m glad to have been your guide tonight.” Hermione ducked her head down, feeling her cheeks heating up.
“Not just that!” Fleur added, snatching another stray piece of candy off a passing table before handing it off to Hermione. “I mean, the program was great and all but there were just so many people around and it's nice to just be alone together sometimes.”
They passed a seahorse exhibit, H. whitei, better known as the Sydney seahorse on their mission of clearing the hall. Inside the tank a pair of small, light brown seahorses clung to the same strand of seaweed, their tails curled around the stalk to keep from drifting away from each other.
“I get what you mean.” Hermione said after a moment or two, the exit door of the hall just a few feet away now. “Sometimes I feel like closing myself off like a turtle inside of its shell, away from everyone else.”
Sneakers bracing against the cool tile underneath, Fleur pulled the two to a stop, her arm outstretched before her from where she stayed connected to Hermione. Hermione turned, an eyebrow raised in quiet confusion back at the blonde.
But Fleur wasn't looking at her, her eyes instead focused on the flattened tail of Hydrophis atriceps as the snake disappeared back into one of the many hides dotted around its enclosure.
“If you were in your shell, then I’d want to be right there with you.” Fleur said finally, her reflection looking back at her from the glare in the glass.
“There will always be room for you.” Hermione smiled, her cheeks pink as she moved close enough to press a soft kiss against Fleur’s shoulder. “I promise.”
Later, once all the lights had gone out and the aquarium had settled down for the night, a pair of black-headed sea snakes emerged from their hiding place among the rocks and corals within their enclosure.