Since I didn't have an author's note planned for this chapter, I want to very quickly rep ninjafairygirl and their crossover fanfiction, Dragon Age of Hearts. If you think the lore of Kingdom Hearts is convoluted, you're obviously not familiar with Bioware's Dragon Age series. Trust me on this, it's worse.

Dragon Age of Hearts is more of a Dragon Age AU, though, with a plethora of Kingdom Hearts, Disney, and Final Fantasy characters that replace those found in canon Dragon Age. The author is absolutely wonderful at distributing characters in a meaningful way and deserves all the attention you can give.

And if you happen to see any familiar faces, know that I had no hand in directing their actions, only approving their appearance. ;)

Thank you for reading!

"He's really sweet Ephemer." Skuld softly noted as Shelby let her scratch under his neck. Anora, who was holding a bag of turtle treats, eagerly nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah..." Ephemer dully grinned. "He's a fun one."

Skuld carefully observed her friend as he absently watched the turtle switch its attention from her to Anora. Anora, not quite used to being around animals, apparently, flinched slightly when Shelby hungrily chomped at the treat bag. It then proceeded into a small game of tug-of-war between the two; the turtle won, ripping the bag right down the center and all over the floor. Anora let out an urgent squeak as she tried to pick up the treats before Shelby could get them all.

Overall, it was a pretty funny event to watch. But, as Skuld noted, Ephemer didn't react. He just stared without an ounce of life in his eyes. Which was absolutely absurd- she had do something to fix that.

"I know something that will cheer you up." Skuld offered, playfully hitting Ephemer on the arm. "Ira is allowing the Dandelions to come to the summer place this year. It won't be just us two and the headmasters."

Ephemer gave a small, inward groan. "I forgot about summer coming up." he admitted in a small voice. At the mention of summer, Anora looked up as well, forgetting her mission on picking up the turtle treats. Shelby didn't care- he made quick work of the treats she had left on the floor. Ephemer gave the smallest of smiles as he watched the turtle eat each treat in a single gulp.

"The Dandelions are going to like the summer place." he noted.

Anora, who was now looking from Ephemer and Skuld with a good round of confusion, started to say, "What…?" but couldn't find the words to finish. It did net her the attention of the other two.

"The Dandelions are the name of the student council Ava started." she explained, assuming that was causing Anora's confusion. "We were told to keep it a secret for awhile so some of us could decide if we wanted to help or not. But all of us did; our first meeting was back in May. We're still trying to get settled, you know, especially since it's been crazy these past few months. Since you're not a part of any clubs or the special house activities, I'm not surprised you didn't know."

But Anora shook her head. Ephemer looked over at her and started to frown.

"What are you doing this summer, Anora?" he curiously asked.

Anora shook her head again- indicating that she didn't have any summer plans. In fact, she hadn't even considered what she was doing for the summer until they started talking about it.

"You do have somewhere to go for the summer, don't you?" Ephemer then questioned.

"It's not like campus is closed or anything." Skuld reminded him, curious on why he was suddenly becoming defensive. "There will still be some students on campus, but it'll feel like a ghost town."

Ephemer wasn't quite listening to Skuld, though. His focus was on Anora, and, at the moment, it looked like Anora was going to be spending summer vacation trapped on campus.

"Would you like to come with us this summer?" he asked Anora. "I can ask Ava right now."

Her confusion now giving way to mild surprise, Anora looked Ephemer in the eye and noted a small spark of something that bordered concern. Slowly, carefully, Anora started to nod her heard in agreement.

"I'd like that." she admitted in a small voice. Ephemer returned the gesture with a firm nod.

. . .

The thing Gula had always admired about Ava the most was her work ethic. Always straightforward, very rarely being distracted by outside forces (or him, for that matter), and she always seemed to enjoy what she was doing. She loved working with the students. When Ava first signed on as a student teacher, she made a point to help out any kid who was struggling with their work. Then there was her relationship with Ephemer; she took him in without a second thought and, for awhile, they were almost inseparable.

"He's a lot like you, you know."

"Who?" Ava absently questioned, not quite listening to Gula as she did paperwork. He smirked at her.

"Ephemer." Gula clarified. "Ephemer is a lot like you, and neither of you try to hide it."

Ava blinked -as if she was just now recognizing Gula was even talking to her- before she looked up at him.

"I don't follow." she admitted. At this, Gula gave an unflattering snort.

"Oh, come on Ava." he teased. "You can't look me in the eye and tell me you don't see one ounce of that kid that isn't just like you." Gula then started to lightly pace across the room as he listed his reasons on his fingers. "You're both far too kind for your own good, you both have a really uncanny way of making friends with virtually anyone, and then there's the way you two eat strawberries..."

"Strawberries?" Ava found herself repeating. Gula seemed to ignore her for a moment as he turned directly to her.

"He loves others just like you do too." he added. His face was unreadable as he then suggested, "Tell me, how often does he talk about her?"

"Skuld?" came the immediate first guess.

Gula smirked. "No." he insisted. "The other one. Who else does Ephemer talk about and can't but smile when he does so?"

Admittedly, Ava had to think about it for a moment. When it came to her, Ava felt rather ashamed that she hadn't noticed it sooner. She looked up at Gula and asked, "It's Anora, right?"

The other headmaster nodded. "Exactly. He's just like you- he doesn't even know he's in love yet."

Ava immediately tried to hide her face upon hearing this. It did not stop Gula from seeing how red her face was becoming, though. He placed his hands on her desk and started to lean it rather close.

"Tell me Ava," he teasingly mused, "When did you realize it?"

To this, Ava looked back up at him. She placed her elbows on her desk and started to lean so close that their lips were mere inches away from touching.

"Well…" Ava started to say, the two of them moving closer to each other. "I guess it was the moment I-"

A sudden knock on the door caused both of them to jump in surprise. Ava immediately retreated back into her seat, leaving Gula to give a knowing smirk.

"I'll get that for you." he offered.

"Thanks." Ava sheepishly mumbled as she tried to hide her face again. Gula laughed as he casually went over to her door.

To Ava's embarrassed horror, it was Ephemer. The boy was immediately caught off guard when he saw that Gula had opened the door for him. He curiously looked from Gula to a brightly blushing Ava.

"Am I interrupting something?" he wondered. It hurt Ava to hear his voice- it still didn't sound as happy as it used to be.

"Not at all." Gula quickly told him before Ava could even react. "We were only talking about you."

Again, Ephemer looked from Gula, to Ava, then back again with a suspicious raise of his eyebrow.

"About what?"

Gula smirked. "Oh, nothing too important." he insisted. "Come on in and sit down. I'm sure you came to visit Ava for a particular reason."

"I… did." Ephemer agreed, giving Gula a suspicious eye as he entered the room. He took a seat in the visitor's chair with an exhausted plop. He took a moment to get wrapped in the familiar plush seat before turning his attention to Ava.

"Hey Ava, can we invite Anora to the summer place this year?"

Ephemer couldn't see the knowing, almost cheeky, look Gula had given Ava. She, on the other hand, completely noticed and proceeded to pretend she hadn't.

"I don't see why not." she admitted- the smirk Gula was giving her was making it hard to focus. "Does she not have any other plans for the summer?"

Her teenaged charge shook his head. "Didn't seem to." he said to her.

"Then tell Anora she's welcome to come with us this year." Ava smiled. For the first time in awhile, Ephemer did as well.

"Thank you." he thanked. But he frowned for a moment, studying her. He gave a small sigh as he stood up from the chair and wearily made his way back out the door. As he passed Gula, he once more noticed the faces the youngest headmaster was giving Ava. He gave Gula a weird look, but shrugged and went on his way.

Once he was out of earshot, Gula did not hesitate to chuckle, "See what I mean? Even when the kid is so mentally spent, he still thinks about that girl before anything else."

"I think that's a bit of a stretch." Ava mused. "But I guess I can see what you mean..."

"Of course you see it." Gula teased, moving back over to her desk. This time, going behind it to get as close to Ava as he could. "He's just… like… you."

And with that, before Ava could even protest, Gula pulled them in for a heated kiss.