And so, darling, we meet again.

There was so much Ariel still didn't understand -- about himself in particular. What was all of this? What had made him even think about kissing Jack? He could have just left it but no, he had to bring up the 'kissing' possibility. He wanted it, though. Ariel didn't know why but he wanted it. He felt as if it was right for him to have it too. For him to kiss Jack...that was right. It was something he felt comfortable in doing. It was as if he was always meant to.

Ariel ducked slightly to allow Jack to pat him on the head and he reached up to catch her hand in his. He smiled softly and brought her hand to his lips. He placed a soft kiss to her knuckles and laced her fingers with his. Ariel looked at Jack coyly and stepped to her again. He brought their hands up and unlaced his hand from his. He pressed the tips of his fingers against hers and looked at her face, watching for her reaction.

"The skin on your hand is incredibly soft," He murmured distractedly, "like silk."

Ariel tapped his index finger against hers and then his forth finger tapped against her opposing one. Ariel smiled slightly and looked at Jack once more.

"Alright sweetheart," he chuckled, "No more 'darling's. I promise."

Jack watched him and watched with slight interest as he held her hand. Now that she did not mind. Somehow, there was nothing that iundicated depency and weakness in that. She felt that combinging their hands, tying their fingers together, somehow that was somethig that boosted her strength, made her seem just as fierce, not as though she had gone soft.

He unlaced them and pressed his fingertips against hers. She smirked at her words and reached out to grab his wrist. moving it to her left palm and his other hand to the top of hers. "Maybe my fingertips are, but it's rough and callusy here." She smirked. Quidditch and duelling and her own rough, adventerous nature had made her hands tough and strong rather than delicate.

Not that she minded.

He tapped her finger again and smiled at her. At his words, she smirked, trying to find a way to make this- all of this, this situation- normal and commonplace. "That's what I thought." She smirked.

Jack was a challenge. That was probably why Ariel enjoyed her presence so much. She always made things a little more difficult but not necessarily in the worst sense. The shack for example. That had ultimately left him in a bad position but it had been enthralling. The naive little puppy had learned exactly what Fenrir had been preaching to him since he'd been six. It had all sunk in, now it had actually stuck and something had made sense. Something had finally worked. And so he'd killed. Ariel didn't know what he'd killed for, really. Certainly not for himself but, probably, for Jack.

Ariel let Jack move his hands and he dragged his fingers gently across her skin, caressing the surface. "Still, it's all rather lovely," Ariel spoke without thinking and he made a face. "Err.. never mind. Soft skin is just rather, uh, nice."

An involuntarily yawn left Ariel's mouth and he ducked his head slightly. He looked back up at Jack when she spoke again and frowned a little. "You see, darling, I cannot help but give you little terms of endearment. You're far too sweet not to have them,"

She watched him struggle to not say kind things. This was where Jack worried. Ariel might act like a jerk to the people he did not know, he may hide himself, but when it came down to it, he wanted to be good to people it seemed. Jack had little to no idea how so she did not try. Being polite, kind, and sweet did not seem natural to her, did not seem necessary.

This is where Jack worried.

For a second she had thought he had got it, and then he was back to darling. Her eye twitched involuntarily. She did not know why it bothered her, the pet names. Perhaps it was the conforming normality of the statements, something that made her like everyone else, rather than keeping her separate. Or maybe it was because she found it belittling or simply untrue. She was not 'darling'... She was frightening.

She snorted. "Yeah, sweet. Funny"

Jack didn't appear to see herself clearly at all. It made Ariel smile but not for that reason. She was a young lady that needed to know that she was adored. Ariel didn't necessarily think that he was the one to do it but he wanted to be of some use. She needed to know that she was appreciated, and loved. She was sweet. Not in the conventional way of course, but sweet in her own way.

Ariel rubbed his hands together and blew warm air into his palms. He smiled at Jack and gestured towards the exit of the Seventh Floor. It was time for bed, he was sure. The Slytherins were probably all snarking to each other down in the Dungeons and right now, Ariel fancied a bit of sleep himself.

"I'll walk you back to the Fat Lady shall I?" He offered gently.