Following a long day at Aquatecture, Ember was beyond happy to return home at roughly 5:30 pm. She swung open the door hard with an excitable expression.
"I'm home!" Ember exclaimed.
Wade and the Sea-Near's turned their heads sharply at her, expressing similar joy.
"Ember!" Wade and the Sea-Near's greeted.
Without hesitation, Wade dropped his things and raced over to her. She did the same, running up and exchanging a tight hug. As their embrace gradually came to an end, Wade pulled back and held Ember by the elbows. He raised an eyebrow, staring at her striking outfit. Before he could say a word, however...
"What's with the suit?" Uncle Sea-Near asked.
Both Wade and Ember looked at her, Wade with a bit of frustration.
"Hey! I was gonna say that." Wade argued childishly.
Ember giggled, stroking Wade's waist as she walked past confidently. Both Uncle and Aunty Sea-Near raised an eyelid in confusion as she walked along.
"It's elemental resistant, so I thought it'd be a good idea to use it around the house," Ember advised.
"Elemental resistant?" Uncle Sea-Near queried.
Ember guffawed gently to herself, looking down. She took a deep breath, approaching the watery floors of the apartment without the assistance of a floaty. She took a step in slowly, unaffected.
Wade and the Sea-Near's instantly gasped in amazement, clapping.
"Whoa! Amazing!" the Sea-Nears exclaimed.
Getting in behind her, Wade swam around to face her, shaking his head in disbelief.
"I got a lot of questions- but more importantly, how'd it go today?!" he asked giddily.
"Oh, my flame- Wade. You have no idea! I'll tell you in detail later!" Ember answered excitedly.
She looked over to the Sea-Nears, all now parked meters away in interest.
"I think you'll be telling us in detail right now!" Uncle Sea-Near said excitedly.
"Ooh- haha." Ember chuckled nervously.
Seeing her getting a bit flustered, Wade swam between her and the relatives.
"If it's all good, I think she deserves some rest," Wade spoke.
He looked back at Ember for her reaction. She looked up at him, smiling widely, and staring lovingly
"Aww- alright. Dinner'll be ready soon though, so I'll come to grab you!" Uncle Sea-Near told.
Ember looked between them and Wade.
"Oh- uhh. I think I'll be good-" Ember stammered.
"Ooh! Before you go on, I got you that interesting fire food at the grocers this morning!" Aunty Sea-Near interjected.
Without much time to react, Ember watched as Aunty Sea-Near swam over to the kitchen. She grabbed out a bag of Kol-nuts. As soon as she realized what they were, Ember's eyes shot open in amazement.
"I hope these were the right ones. The grocer apparently reckons that these ones are 'BYO flame', or whatever that means." Aunty Sea-Near quipped.
Ember stood frozen in her spot, her mouth wide agape.
"Yup. They're the ones!" she replied in over-excitement.
"Phew! Good to hear. They'll be here when you're ready." Aunty Sea-Near said, placing them on the counter.
Ember looked her in the eyes in amazement, smiling.
"Thank you," she said sincerely.
"That's quite alright." Aunty Sea-Near replied.
Ember quickly turned to Wade, who swam in his spot looking at her with a smile. He extended a hand in gesture. She giggled to herself, pushing his hand away as she tried to do it on her own. Like walking for the first time, she unconfidently stumbled along, faceplanting into the water. Thankfully, her bulky suit remained protective from head to toe as she did. Little did she realize that she had become the very thing that she used to get around before.
Wade laughed a burly laugh, shaking his head as he swam over to push her along over to the stairs like a floaty. As they arrived, he leaped out of the pool and heaved her out by the arm. She slowly got up onto her legs, cackling and trying to catch her breath. Wade could only smile as she gleamed. He leaped up the stairs like a prince, gesturing once more for her.
She laughed cutely at him, reaching over and taking his hand to accompany him.
Like a tidal wave, Wade pushed the door to their room open as hard as he could with his body. Ember crept her way in behind him. She threw her bulky suit off, panting and holding her knees. Tired, she instantly flopped over to her wooden bed, exhaling.
Wade sloshed over to be by her bedside, smiling. She shuffled over to her right to face him, an arms-length away.
"So? Tell me everything about today!" Wade asked excitedly.
Ember met his excitement and lit up, smiling.
"Well- the place is lovely. It's like walking into a garden of Eden before you even get to the lobby." Ember recounted.
Already, her recount made an eager Wade tear up, his lips quivering. She giggled at his ease of sobbing.
"Oh, and the inside is just gorgeous. Your Mom wasn't joking when she said this place is one of the best. A break room designed for each element to use?!" she exclaimed.
She laughed to herself in disbelief, shaking her head.
"And? How was the work?" Wade asked.
She looked down with a bright smile, tilting her head as she thought.
"It was really good. They've already got plans to fast-track me. We did nearly a month's worth of training today alone." Ember answered confidingly.
Wade gasped in his spot, his eyes widening.
"Really?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
Once again, he began to tear up in pride, wiping them away. Ember laughed as he went on, rolling on her back and putting her hands behind her head. She lost her smile slightly as she began to think a bit more seriously about things.
"That place... I know that I could work there forever. Everything just feels so... easy." she admired.
Wade could only sob some more uncontrollably as she went on.
"It just feels so... nice... to not have to work a day in your life for your career. That's the dream." Ember recognized.
Like opening the floodgates, Wade began to fully cry in pride, waterfalls from his eyes.
"Look at you! I'm so dang proud." Wade admired.
Hearing him beginning to cry, Ember looked over at him with a big, dumb smirk.
"Are you crying?" she teased.
"No!" he bawled.
She laughed even harder, shaking her head. It quickly faded as a feeling far more loving overcame her. She extended a hand as he calmed, gently caressing his chin. His tears slowly dissolved, calming to a sniffle.
"Enough about me. How was your day?" Ember asked.
Wade wiped his tears away, sloshing about as his hand contacted his face.
"Oh... just the same old for me," Wade answered.
Ember's giddy smile dimmed slightly at the underwhelming answer.
"Just the same? Nothing interesting on your first day?" she pressed.
Wade laconically shrugged, looking away from her.
"Not really. My ties in Element City snagged me another gig as an inspector, so I got to explore the place a bit today," he answered.
"Really?" she asked in admiration.
"Pfft- yeah. The town's nice. It's a lot cleaner than Element City, and that's saying something." he answered, chuckling.
Ember giggled along him, quickly falling silent. Wade looked over to her again, gently making his way up to her. She reached out and began to caress his chin again, smiling.
"Wade! Ember! Dinner!" Uncle Sea-Near called out.
They both sprung up out of their beds excitedly, looking over at each other. They leaped off their beds and redressed - Wade putting a shirt on, and Ember her PPE suit.
The two made it downstairs, lumbered over to the dinner table, and sat. As she got seated, Ember threw off the suit's helmet to the side to eat. Clearly hungry, both the lovebirds began to scarf down their food like rabid elements.
"Ember! Why the suit still?" Aunty Sea-Near raised.
With her mouth filled with Kol-nut, she shrugged carelessly.
"Why not? It protects me from the water so that I can sit with you guys." Ember replied.
Both Uncle and Aunty Sea-Near looked at each other slowly, shrugging in agreement.
"Can't argue with that logic." Uncle Sea-Near acknowledged.
Quickly darting her eyes back to her food, Ember began ripping into her dinner, making a crumbed mess on the table.
"Mmm- wow these Kol-nuts are insane." she admired.
"Can I try one?" Wade asked.
Without a care, she nonchalantly took one, lit it up, and handed it to him on a spoon without looking. He yoinked it out of her hand excitedly, quickly shoving it into his mouth.
Astounded by the inherent lack of care when it came to their elemental opposition, the two Sea-Nears looked at each other, shaking their heads in disbelief.
Suddenly, Wade let out a painful scream.
"YEAUUGH!" he screamed.
Both Sea-Near's leaped backward in fright. Ember bruxed her teeth, staring at him in worry. He threw his spoon at a wall and leaned both hands on the table as he struggled to get it down. The moment it did, however, he jarringly returned to an excitable expression, licking his lips.
"So good!" he grimaced happily.
Once again, Uncle and Aunty Sea-Near looked at each other, utterly speechless. Uncle Sea-Near let out a half-hearted chuckle, shaking his head.
"Well-well- how were your first days today?" Uncle Sea-Near asked.
Both Ember and a frazzled Wade looked at each other.
"Who, me?" they asked concurrently.
"I don't mind." Uncle Sea-Near replied.
Ember looked to Wade, graciously gesturing at him.
"You can go." she allowed.
Now that his pain diminished, Wade returned a thankful smile at her.
"Alright. Well, I was telling Ember before about a new inspector gig I got." Wade began.
"Amazing! Tell us all about it." Aunty Sea-Near prompted.
"Well, I got to explore the city today. It's so nice here! I should've visited with Mom more often." Wade elaborated.
"Well, the door was always open." Uncle Sea-Near interjected.
"Thank you! Right- so I had an interesting case today. This Earth couple was complaining that they had an issue with their ducted air system. Apparently, their property was under government jurisdiction, so I got handed the job. Anyway- I checked it out, and it turns out that there was a homeless Airman living in their system! Wild!" Wade recounted.
Ember giggled cutely at him, her eyes smiling as much as her mouth.
"Oh- that's no good." Uncle Sea-Near thought, looking at his wife.
"That poor man." Aunty Sea-Near concurred.
"Right?! So naturally I had to kindly escort him out and to a shelter." Wade added.
A cheeky smirk befell Ember's face, along with a look.
"Andjust how much did you cry?" she quipped.
Wade looked up and pondered, stroking his chin.
"Most of the way through the altercation... then for roughly 30 minutes after the shelter," he answered.
Ember let out a hearty laugh, swaying side to side in her seat. She looked over to find both Sea-Near's crying profusely, wiping their tears.
"Oh- Wade. You little hero." Aunty Sea-Near admired.
They held each other's hands as they sobbed some more.
"Ember... it-it's your turn." Uncle Sea-Near stammered.
Ember's eyes widened being put on the spot, giggling anxiously.
"Oh- uh, well... it's a long one," she answered.
"Nonsense! We got all night for it." Aunty Sea-Near comforted.
An uncertain Ember took a breath, composing herself.
"Well..." she began.
She gently looked over to Wade, who smiled brightly at her. She smiled back, returning her gaze to the Sea-Near's.
"...I did really well. I finished all the jobs for the day in, like, a couple of minutes," she said.
She quickly took a breath before continuing, letting a quick chuckle escape her mouth. She looked back to Wade again.
"They're fast-tracking me to my final examination by the end of the week," she announced.
The water folk's jaws collectively dropped to the floor in unison.
"What?!" Uncle Sea-Near exclaimed.
"Ember, that's amazing!" Aunty Sea-Near added.
Wade took Ember's hand in pride.
"I'm so proud of you." he complimented.
She giggled a cutesy giggle, looking down happily and exhaling.
"They gave me all these things to do that I already knew. I mean, all those years at the Fireplace helping Dad with repairs must've paid off," she said, looking at Wade.
Unknowing, Uncle and Aunty S raised an eyebrow.
"Your father?" Aunty Sea-Near asked.
"Fireplace?" Uncle Sea-Near added.
Ember's eyes shot open in the realization that she hadn't told it to them yet.
"Oh! Right- I came from Firetown. They were among the first fire settlers in Element City. They pretty much built that culture." she swiftly answered.
Even Wade had to gasp at her fresh answer.
"Really?" Wade queried.
Ember looked him in the eyes, gently nodding. He gave her another proud smirk. As the two looked into each other's eyes, an overwhelming homesickness overcame Ember. As a result, her smile gradually faded. She took a breath, averting her gaze toward the table. She looked at the remaining Kol-nuts on her plate, grabbing a spoon and finishing them off in silence. She swung out of her chair, grabbing her helmet.
"Well... this was nice, but I'm all gassed out," Ember excused.
"What? But we've only just started! Go on, tell us more. We're interested to hear!" Aunty Sea-Near pressed.
Ember's bodily language quickly began to shift to discomfort, caving in on herself. Wade could see that she was getting a bit frazzled. He came to a decision to defend her.
"I think she should... when's she's ready," Wade defended.
The line caused her to light up momentarily. She sharply looked at him, caught off-guard. Gently, she placed her helmet back down, took a breath, and shuffled in close without a word.
"For years, my Dad and I ran the shop while Mum did love readings out back. It was all I knew growing up. I saw my future in running that shop, and... it didn't exactly pan out that way." she began.
Already, the Sea-Nears got teary-eyed, gently sobbing.
"Why?" Aunty Sea-Near asked.
As a sense of sorrow overcame her, molten tears began to gently stream down Ember's face.
"Because it wasn't what I wanted to do. I would lose my temper all the time, and I thought that was just a part of me; something I'd always have. But then one day..." she said.
She looked over to Wade, who gave her a prideful smile.
"...a wise person once said that my temper was just me telling myself something I didn't want to hear," she remarked gently.
Wade's smile grew to a beam, touched.
"He must've been a great man," he answered.
Ember returned him the same touched smile.
"Yeah. He is," she answered.
Confidence in her ability to speak about the topic began to return. She slowly looked away from him, continuing.
"So I began to look at my temper as the answer, not a crutch. From it, I found love... I found happiness... and I found a life worth living." she wisely put.
She came to a conclusion, shedding a bigger tear out of thankfulness. She looked up and gently gasped at the sight of them all crying.
"Oh, Ember. Eloquently put." Aunty Sea-Near admired.
Ember chuckled from her nerves, beginning to hold her arm.
Uncle Sea-Near began to wipe his tears away, struggling to remain composed as he did so.
"I think it's brave of you to express this to us. We thank you - and you too, Wade - for coming into our house while you build your new lives." he admired.
He gently lifted his glass as tears streaked down his face.
"A toast! To a good life." he toasted.
Those at the table all took and lifted their glasses in a toast, embraced by the beautiful moment. Ember and Wade exchanged another look at each other in appreciation. She giggled uncontrollably for a moment, a move that hit Wade at his core. Gradually, however, Wade's expression moved further away from a mirroring of joy to a torn look.
Ember saw the sudden change of expression, staring in subtle confusion. Wade slammed his hands on the table once more, getting himself up.
"Boy, am I tired. I'm gonna head upstairs. It's been a long day." he said.
Breaking the loving trance between the four, the Sea-Near's looked at each other in concern once again. Ember acted by gently taking his hand as she sat.
"You okay?" she whispered.
Wade slowly turned to her with a subtle smile.
"I'm fine. I'll see you up there later?" Wade asked.
She returned him the same subtle smile. She span out of her seat, grabbed her helmet, and put it on. She extended a hand in a hint for her to accompany him.
"You can see me up there right now." she hinted.
Wade admired the hint, giving him a fulfilling smile.
As Ember suited up, she plopped into the water with him, holding his hand as they departed.
The Sea-Nears looked at each other in gentle disbelief, staring in concern as the two left.
Wade and Ember slowly returned upstairs in a far more solemn mood than when they'd first arrived home. Ember threw off her PPE in exhaustion, plopping back down on her bed.
Wade slowly shut the door behind her, throwing his shirt off and dunking into his pool bed. He popped his upper torso out, leaning on the edge nearest to Ember. She turned to her right to face him, her hands under her head.
They smiled gently at each other, both taking a deep breath. Wade leaned on his cheek with his right arm, staring in admiration. Ember giggled as he did so, smirking.
"What's with the overly loving stare?" she quipped.
"Oh, nothing. Just admiring as you head into your prime," he remarked.
She scoffed exhaustingly, rolling her eyes.
"Okay, Mr. Sappy Dewdrop. Drink a good soda today?" she quipped.
The two exchanged a laugh in harmony before falling quiet again. Ember shuffled to meet Wade's gaze again, mirroring his lean toward her. A prideful smile erupted on his face as she did so.
"Did you really mean it?" Wade asked.
Ember raised an eyelid in response to the ambiguity of the question.
"Mean what?" Ember queried.
"Today; about work. Are you really happy with it?" Wade raised.
The question hit her harder than expected, causing her smile to fade as she concocted a response. As she did, she nodded to him gently.
"Yeah. I feel I've gotten my true calling. I mean, I feel I impressed quite a lot for them to just fast-track me through months of work." she answered.
Wade chuckled in admiration, causing her to smile back. He shook his head in disbelief, showing his teeth through his smile.
"I can't express just how proud I am." Wade recognized.
Ember's composure wavered, smiling as she borderline wept.
"I can't believe my luck. I just stumbled into your life and now look where it's gone; we're in a new city, chasing our dreams." Wade continued.
He continued to smirk at her gratefully before gradually losing his smile once again. His expression straightened, causing him to float around his pool. Ember mirrored him in concern, staring as he did so.
"How was your day, really?" she asked.
Wade stopped his paddling about and looked at her, an air of conflict in his eyes.
"No, it was really good. It's always nice to fulfill the time you have with things that make a difference," he answered.
Despite his words, Ember began to feel his expression changing, becoming slightly wary.
"Are you okay with that?" she queried.
Wade sharply looked into her eyes, caught off-guard.
"What?" he asked.
"Are you okay; with doing city maintenance and all that?" she gently elaborated.
"Oh." he sounded.
He chuckled to himself, stroking his hair.
"I'm good with it," he answered.
Still, Ember sensed that something was off with him. As she looked at him with an expressionless look, he slowly pieced together why, attempting to divert.
"No-no- I'm really good!" Wade answered confidently.
Ember looked down with a smirk, chuckling slightly.
"Okay," she replied unsurely.
As the conversation concluded, the two averted their gazes from each other.
"Look, sorry if I couldn't give you a great answer. I'm just tired, and-" Wade apologized.
Ember quickly looked back at him, still concerned.
"No- it's okay. It's been a long day for the both of us," she answered swiftly.
Wade chuckled in his spot awkwardly.
"Agreed." he agreed.
The awkwardness followed him as he slipped down into the pool, floating at head height.
"I'm gonna go for a dunk. I'll see you a bit later," he said.
Unable to answer, Ember looked at him as he slid back down into his pool bed. A wary expression sat on her face. Feeling uneased, she moved around and lay on her other side, cradling herself.
At times like this, she had grown to remind herself of the good in her life - something Wade introduced her to. With this, her expression slowly changed to joy, smiling to herself as she closed her eyes.