Not gonna lie, I kinda just let Ephemer and Anora play off each other in this one. Which is why it ended up really long (we're talking exactly 1,991 words with the author's note). I hope you enjoy the cavities it gives you.
Thank you for reading!
Did having a boyfriend mean that you had to be incredibly self conscious about yourself, or was it just her? Before, Anora had never once second guessed what outfit she would wear for the day. But at this point she had pulled out, looked over, then put back at least three different dresses by now. It had to be a dress too; Ephemer's eyes always lit up when she wore one. She liked when his eyes lit up and his face seemed of soften when she was in the room. It made her feel… safe? Was that the right word for it?
Well, either way, she needed to pick out a dress and get it over with. The two of them had arranged to meet up in the next hour or so- she needed to get a move on.
Or maybe she could send him a text to say that she'll be late?
Anora quickly shook her head. This was ridiculous. She was being ridiculous. Ephemer didn't care what she wore. Right? Right. She still had his shirt from their very first date. If it fit her better, she'd almost wear it on every date. Instead she wore it as a nightshirt far more often than she cared to admit. But no one needed to know that either. No one but her and Ephemer. Ephemer and her.
She didn't mean to, but a pleasant sigh escaped her lips.
Eventually, she settled on a knee-length skater dress with half bell sleeves. And maybe the low hanging necklace was a bit much (since it stopped just a little below her bust), but she felt confident with it. That was all that mattered, right? Anora gave herself a small, affirmative nod as she put on her ankle boots and headed on out the door.
Ephemer wasn't nervous. Nope. Not in the slightest. Which was why he totally wasn't pacing in front of the school's water fountain as he waited for her. He needed to cut his hair- he could practically feel it bounce as he constantly looked up to see if Anora was coming yet. Or maybe he should have used more hair gel. The young man gave an inward groan as he ran a slightly shaking hand through his hair. Was he ever this nervous on his dates with Skuld? This wasn't even his and Anora's first date; he lost track, but he was sure it was at least the fifth. At least.
He still had no idea what they were going to do today. It was a bit late in the morning to actually go out to eat, and it was still too early to catch a movie or something at the theater. In just a week, they would have been together for a whole month and yet, Ephemer kept feeling like he was doing something wrong. He liked taking Anora places where she hadn't been before, just to see her reaction. But when the nearest town was a small one and all its wonders could be seen in a good afternoon? It was hard to find some place unique and new every time.
A good part of him relaxed when he finally spotted Anora coming up to him. She wasn't quite running, but she sure wasn't taking her sweet time either. Her smile was wide- he could see that from here. Not a minute later and the two were holding hands with happy smiles stretched across their faces.
"You were late." he said to her. "Was everything alright?"
Anora bashfully nodded her head as she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Ephemer looked over her curiously and suddenly realized the dress she had on. The skirt and the sleeves had horizontal blue and black stripes while the bodice was a solid black. It fit her incredibly well. His eyes then trained from the dress to the pendant she was wearing. Large enough to fit comfortably in his hand, the unpolished metal pendant was shaped like a sun with a crescent moon etched inside.
"Where did you get this?" he softly wondered as he carefully placed the pendant in his hand. "It's... Oh wow, it's a lot heavier than it looks! Is it made out of solid metal or something? Pewter?"
Anora let out a light laughter. "Skuld let me borrow it." she admitted, shifting her body a bit so the pendant fell out of his hand. "Said it wasn't her style."
"Urg, Skuld. Should have known." the young man then humored. "She got an eye for chunky jewelry if you haven't noticed. It's mostly bracelets though and not necklaces. But, oh boy, she definitely has a knack for finding the weirdest stuff."
This earned him another listen of Anora's sweet laughter that he absolutely adored. The grin on his face was unwavering as he brought a finger up to her chin. Anora complied to the gesture far too easily- the two moving closer for a small kiss.
They were interrupted with the cry of "Head's up!" before something splashed into the fountain behind them. The duo were barely able to react in time to avoid getting splashed. Not a second later, an older student came over to the fountain, fished out whatever had fallen into it (Ephemer wasn't sure, but it looked a lot like a baseball), before said student then dashed away again while yelling out a short "Sorry about that!" from over their shoulder.
"Leopardus." Ephemer hissed under his breath before quickly shaking his head. If they were going to continue their date on campus, a lot more incidents like this one were going to happen. Was there no place they could go where absolutely no one…
"Hey Anora," Ephemer then entertained, just now realizing that Anora was fussing over herself to make sure she hadn't gotten any water on her, "Have I ever taken you to the Dandelions's clubroom yet?"
The look of confusion on her face was all the answer he needed.
. . .
"It's not much to look at," he admitted as he flipped the light switch. "But we all chipped in on decorating the place. Lauriam found the writing desk at a swap meet or something, Brain brought in all the shelves, and the round table? Solid oak! I think we got it from a teacher. I wanna say Ms. Tremaine or ol' Stromboli, but I don't think that's right..."
Anora was only half listening as Ephemer continued to ramble. Her eyes carefully traced around the room, taking in each piece of furniture and hastily placed poster or reminder with caution. Was she even supposed to be in here? She didn't notice the moment that Ephemer had slowly ceased talking and was only staring at her now. He was looking for a reaction. Maybe, for some reason, this was too much for her? The room wasn't exactly the best organized of areas, after all.
Slowly, as if she were in a dream, Anora started to walk around the room. Ephemer watched with envy as her finger gently glided across the top of the round table before a shiver ran up his back. He then watched as she took interest in something laying on top of the writing desk.
"That's the notebook we use to right down the important stuff." he told her the moment he realized what it was. "New stuff, old stuff, stuff that still needs attention. You know. That kinda stuff."
Anora let out a short giggle as she gave him a nod of understanding. Ephemer himself, now realizing how dumb he must have sounded, even let out a small laugh as he nervously reached behind his neck. The young woman then led her attention from the desk to the bookshelf beside it. Most of the books were for schoolwork, with a few classic titles here and there. Finally, Anora moved to the closest of the two couches and cautiously stared at it for a moment before sitting down. It was a lot bouncier than she had anticipated.
When Ephemer sat down beside her, the movement caused her seat to bounce slightly.
"So?" he patiently asked her. "What do you think?"
Anora took a deep breath in as she looked around the room again. "It's… cozy." she admitted in a small voice.
"Isn't it?" he replied with a grin, casually stretching his arms above his head. "I think Brain occasionally comes in during the weekday just to nap. It can get so quiet in here that I swear you can almost hear your own heart beat."
Anora smiled and was about to say something before Ephemer casually placed his head in her lap. He looked back up at her with a goofy, and somewhat challenging, grin. She just stared at him for a moment. The young man's heart raced when a tricky smile crossed her lips as well. But, to his surprise, Anora gently lifted his head and started to rearrange herself. She almost pushed him off the couch as she brought one of her legs up to rest beside him.
When the young woman put his head down again, it was now rested in between her legs. If he tilted his chin up a bit, he could easily see her looking over him. He would have too, had it not been for Anora starting to mindlessly play with his hair. Ephemer let out a relaxed sigh as closed his eyes, allowing her continue. It was a good thing he wasn't wearing hair gel- otherwise they may not have been this comfortable.
New rule: no hair gel would ever touch his silvery locks again. It could do to be a bit long as well. He could wait for another hair cut, no rush.
Ephemer didn't care to know how much time had passed. Everything was just right. He wouldn't have changed this if he tried. When his eyes did flutter open, tilted his chin up a bit to look at Anora. Her expression was gentle, almost dreamlike, as she continued to play with his hair.
"Wow," Ephemer sighed, "I love you so much Anora. You're just so… beautiful..."
Anora blinked, as if she was coming back down to reality, before her eyes actually trained onto him. She gave a small sound of inquisition and a neat tilt of her head to illustrate her mild confusion. But she was beautiful and no words could ever accurately describe it. Ephemer's eyes fluttered closed again as he let out a soft sigh.
"Don't leave." he whispered. "Don't ever leave."
Suddenly, Ephemer's eyes snapped open when he realized what he had said. He quickly sat up and turned around to look at her with a quickly blushing face.
"D-did I say that out loud?" he sheepishly asked, trying to save face. "Dunno what's gotten into me! Must be the weird weather we're having. Sunny for five days in a row? Phew, that must be practically unheard of!"
But Anora's confused look -one that was becoming more suspicious the odder he was acting- did not waver. The silence was met with Ephemer's own nervous chuckles. He had to think of something quickly to change the subject. Something. Anything...
"Okay, so I have an idea," he playfully told her. "I'm going to kiss you, but this time, I want you to run your hands through my hair just like you were before. Wanna try it?"
Anora's expression did not change.
"We can go slow. You don't have to..."
That was when Anora leaned forward a bit more, placing a careful hand on his neck that trailed upwards into his hair. Ephemer shivered for a moment before she pulled them in for a soft kiss. She brought her other hand up to play with his hair as the two reclined against the couch. A smile crossed Ephemer's lips. This was nice. This felt nice. So why did he still have the feeling that something wasn't right?