"So here we are...
No home... a new life... on a whim...
Sat next to a water guy I met, like, a few months ago? I don't remember. It's all been a blur if I'm being honest...
But somehow, even in the specter of homelessness, starvation, and unemployment...
...I've never felt so alive.
I've never felt so fulfilled, so excited for the future laid ahead...
And it's all thanks to this doofus...
Oh...
Look at him...
My dewdrop...
My head on his shoulder, arms tucked around his.
Looking at his face, he smiling a grateful, wholesome smile.
I'm the luckiest flame in the world...
. . .
Ehem!
Sorry about that. Didn't mean to get all sappy on 'ya there...
I should introduce myself, huh?
Yeah... that's a great idea.
. . .
I'm Ember... Ember Lumen, a first-generation fire immigrant. That's right! Smoky! Heh—ew, that sounded gross...
A... lot has happened in the last couple of months or so. I went from, well, nearly fulfilling what I thought was my dream until this liquid doofus here decided to burst into my life."
"Ember, you know I can hear you, right?"
"Flame... did he hear me?"
"I can still hear you."
"Where was I? Right-right... he burst in, changed my mind with his crazy—empathy powers, and now I'm just about to start a new life with him. Crazy what can happen in a couple of months!"
"Ember."
"What?"
"You missed, like, a good chunk of stuff."
"W- What?"
"You're bad at this. Let me take over."
"Hey—Wade?!"
"Okay... can you hear me?"
"Wha—how can you take over narration like that?"
"Great. I'm Wade Ripple! Expert dewdrop, smooth talker, and the therapist in the friend group."
"What friend group?"
"Sh-shh! My story starts when my Dad died. I was really young, and he and I did not get along. You could say that our boiling point was low. Anyway—"
"And you thought I was bad."
"Hey—I'm trying, okay?!"
"So was I! Now c'mon, hand it over."
"Hey- hey! That's not fair! You're stronger than me!"
"Winner-winner charcoal dinner, Wade."
"Wow. Just come up with that?"
"Shut up."
As was per the course of Ember and Wade's interactions – there was always something between the fire girl and the water guy. In fact, as they babbled on, onlookers became increasingly interested in their rapport. A fire girl and water guy so close wasn't an everyday occurrence. Becoming agitated with their banter, an overhearing mediator clued in on the two opposing elementals, nonchalantly chiming in without looking.
"Hey! Could you two—" the mediator began.
As he looked over, he stopped and stared at Ember and Wade, raising an eyebrow.
"A fireball... and a water guy?" the mediator questioned.
"Who're you calling fireball?!" Ember scowled.
"Leave it," Wade advised Ember.
"No! I'm in the right." Ember barked assuredly.
The mediator reinforced his intent, tapping on a sign next to him that read;
No inter-elemental affection on this ship
"Sorry, but elements don't mix on the ship." the mediator advised.
Unable to bring herself to accept it, Ember began to burn a bright purple, grinding her teeth.
"Ember—Ember! Calm down." Wade advised in an attempt to calm her.
She sharply looked over at him, disgusted.
"Calm down?! He's being elementist!" Ember exclaimed.
"That's not a word!" Wade addressed.
"You're not a word!" Ember barked pettily.
"You have 'til the count of 10 to separate." the mediator announced.
"What?!" Ember barked.
10...
"Maybe we should just split up and regroup when we land?" Wade suggested.
9...
"Wade! Don't side with him!" Ember barked.
8...
"I'm just trying not to get us kicked off!" Wade retorted.
7...
"Neither am I! It's him who's being elementist!" Ember growled.
6...
"It's still not a word!" Wade cheekily remarked.
5...
"GAH!" Ember sounded.
4...
"Just let me talk to him." Wade offered.
3...
"Talk to him—I'll show him 'talk'!" Ember threatened.
Ember got up off of her seat, ready to charge at the mediator with explosive fury. Before she could move an inch, Wade leaped to the rescue and blocked her.
"Wait! I got something." Wade assured.
2...
Wade took Ember by her belly, planting her back into the seat and sloshing over to the mediator.
"Just hear me out." Wade requested.
The mediator unenthusiastically looked up at Wade, wearing a flat expression.
"You got 5 seconds. Speak." the mediator allowed.
"We touched," Wade revealed.
Upon his announcement, the other elementals in the room slowly looked over at them in shock. Ember's aggression slipped into frustration, throwing her hood on and slumping into a cradling position in the chair.
"Oh, my flame." Ember quietly huffed.
"Pfft—yeah right. Didn't you hear me? Elements don't mix." the mediator retorted.
"Yet we did! Right, Ember?" Wade announced.
"Yeah—sure! Whatever ends this..." Ember remarked wittingly.
"Not helping!" Wade retorted.
"Prove it." the mediator barked.
Having had enough, Ember threw her hood off and rolled out of her cradling, and lit up, storming over to Wade and the mediator. The instant she arrived, she angrily took Wade by the collar, pulled him in close, and kissed him. Initially shocked, Wade closed his eyes and smiled like a damsel. The very public display of inter-elemental affection quickly disgusted the onlookers, clearly uncomfortable and phobic towards the two.
"What the—" the mediator said.
As Wade was deep within an affectionate trance, Ember sharply pushed him away.
"See? What did I tell you?" Ember scowled.
"Please don't kick us off." Wade pleaded.
"Impossible." the mediator stammered.
"Well, you saw it with your eyes, didn't you?" Ember remarked, folding her arms and wearing a cocky smile.
Baffled, the mediator fell dead silent, prompting Wade to look over at Ember in a mix of horror and admiration.
"Just—go." the mediator pleaded.
Having proven her point to hilarious effect, Ember burned bright in pride. She took Wade's hand, instantly pulling him in for another kiss in a taunt.
"I said go!" the mediator barked.
Ember pulled away from a very-confused Wade still trying to come to grips with what just happened. She bellowed a loud, prideful laugh like her father at the mediator, taking Wade by the hand and walking away.
"Sháshà r íshà!" Ember taunted.
The two made their way through the ship and towards the room they'd be staying in for the duration of the cruise.
"Can you let go of me?" Wade asked politely.
Unaware that she was still dragging him by the arm, Ember regretfully pulled away.
"Oh! Hehe... sorry. I got a lil worked up there, hey?" Ember noted.
Wade shook himself off, spraying mist at Ember accidentally.
"Ah!" she cringed in pain.
"Sorry." Wade apologized.
"It—it's fine," Ember replied.
As they turned a corner and neared their room, Ember held her elbow in nerves, looking away from Wade. Happy as normal, Wade smirked as they went along.
"Okay. I got us booked for Room 52." Wade notified.
Ember's flames began to flicker from nerves, catching Wade's attention as they walked. Without hesitation, he grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her over.
"Hey. Are you okay?" Wade asked.
"Agh, it's just... I feel bad." Ember admitted.
"Was this about before?" Wade asked.
"Y- Yeah. Was I too harsh?" Ember said.
Caught off-guard, Wade scratched his neck and looked away, unable to answer. His attention quickly shifted to the fast-approaching Room 52.
"Ah! Room 52." Wade noted.
Knowing she did something wrong, Ember began to flicker some more, shrinking.
Wade took the key for the room out of his satchel, opening the door wide open. Ember's anxiety turned to confusion as the room was revealed to the two of them. A pungent stench of the elements occupied the room, to Ember's displeasure. She slowly looked around the room, unamused.
"Look, it was the best I could find on such short notice," Wade admitted.
She sighed and tried to recompose herself, looking down.
"Ugh. I don't care..." Ember began.
She brought Wade close by the hand, prompting him to face her.
"...just as long as we're okay." Ember finished.
Wade gave her a sweet, thankful smile. She returned a bigger smile, growing flame in joy. He took his hand and gently placed it on her cheek, her nestling into it.
"It's okay. I'm with you, every step of the way." Wade said.
Her flickering went away, closing her eyes in comfort. The two brought themselves closer to each other lovingly, Ember's head on his chest.
"I know I've said it a lot recently, but I love you, Ember Lumen." Wade professed.
Her flame only grew brighter as he wished such.
"And I you, Wade Ripple. And... thank you." Ember replied.
Wade pulled back from the embrace, prompting Ember to stare directly into his eyes.
"For what?" Wade asked.
"For dealing with that guy back there... for always having myback... for always having the right thing to say." Ember elaborated.
Wade smiled sweetly at her once again.
"Well, it makes it easy when you do the same." Wade acknowledged.
Her own smile grew wider as a grateful smirk painted her face. She pulled away from Wade's embrace slowly, entering the room. She looked over at the corner of the room to see a bunk bed, walking over to the bottom bunk, and sitting.
The instant she sat, the entire bed collapsed in flame. She scrambled off the bed in a panic, prompting Wade to swiftly jump in and hold the debris from snuffing her. He threw the debris into the corner of the room, panting. He looked back over to Ember standing on the other side of the room, looking down in sorrow. He shed a tear empathizing with her, looking around to find a solution to the sleeping problem. A thought bubble quickly popped above his head, lighting up his expression. Dropping his things, he speedily left the room and Ember alone. She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Wade?" she muttered.
Within seconds, he raced into the room with what looked to be a deck chair stripped of flammable materials. He struggled to carry it in, throwing it on the floor in front of Ember, causing her to jump back.
"Agh! Jeez those are heavy. I dunno how you-" Wade trailed off.
Without hesitation, Ember raced up to Wade and wrapped him in a tight, grateful hug. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, smirking and closing his eyes.
"I am so lucky to have you." Wade acknowledged.
In the embrace, Ember slowly recalled her father saying the same words, causing her expression to fall into regret. She shed a tear for her father, but instead of running away, she squeezed Wade tighter, digging her head into Wade's chest again.
"Don't leave... please..." she pleaded.
Wade looked down and began to silently weep in joy. To his surprise, so did she. She looked up into his eyes moments after, still teary.
"I'm not going anywhere," Wade told.
Ember wiped her tears away, smiling gratefully once again. She straightened herself, taking a deep breath.
"Are you sure you still want this?" Wade asked.
Holding his hands, Ember squeezed them firmly, affirming her decision.
"I need this," Ember confessed.
Wade pushed Ember away from him, holding her arms and staring at her in the eyes.
"Then welcome home, Ember." Wade comforted.
Like a Vivisteria flower, she emotionally unfurled, crying in joy and giving him a big, tight hug.