Ariel shifted uncomfortably, even knowing that the question would come up. This was so much easier at home. Eric already knew all of this stuff. He knew and accepted there that she was a former mermaid and all of his in-laws still were. She knew that it was irrational to think that he wouldn't be as accepting here--he was the same person, after all--but she didn't even know how to approach the subject. "It's a long story," she said finally.
She smiled softly when he suggested that he sing for her again sometime. "I'd really like that," she told him. When he asked for another kiss, she smiled again. The truth was, since their small kiss when he had first arrived, she had wanted to kiss him again. It had simultaneously soothed and strengthened her ache for him. "I think that can be arranged."