'Home time. It was an idea Wade had been loving all day given what he'd dealt with. No amount of Mutrick, Rocky, or Dusty could ruin his mood now, for his Ember were to lock eyes with him in but a moment or two. With this, he entered the elevator up to Casa de le Sea-Near, satchel, and the heaviest of hearts in tow. He looked down at his phone, on it the time reading 6 pm. What began as a flat expression weathered by the day's events soon turned to a grateful gaze as it dawned on him; the hurt was over for the day. It was easy coasting from here on out.
The elevator doors opened to the 25th floor, and out strutted an albeit-tired Wade to the front door. He gave it a hearty knock.
"It's open!" a voice called out.
He threw it open, taking a heaping gulp of breath.
"I'm home!" he exclaimed.
Uncle and Aunty Sea-Near - one preparing dinner whilst the other preparing the table - looked over to him, flailing their arms in greeting.
"Wadey!" they exclaimed in rejoicing.
As the exclamation came to a gentle close, a loud pitter-pattering of feet sounded; indicating Ember's up and about. She threw the bedroom door open with a PPE suit on and leaped down the staircase in one go, sprinting up to Wade. Seeing her not slowing in the slightest, Wade threw his satchel aside, readying himself to catch her. She jumped from unnecessarily far away at him, nearly knocking the poor droplet off his feet on impact. A sharp sizzle indicated so.
"WHOA- Ember!" he exclaimed, laughing.
He gently put her down, chuckling in the process.
"Talk about a 'welcome home'." he thought aloud.
Ember chuckled as she squeezed him tight, shutting her eyes.
"So good to have you home," she admired.
Wade's mouth fell agape as she said it. He knew it; the wave of her love could conquer any of his inner demons. He smiled brightly, returning her tight hug.
Watching from afar in intrigue, the Sea-Nears finished up the dinner preparations.
"Good timing. Dinner- she is served!" Uncle Sea-Near quipped.
The Sea-Near kids all leaped up to the table as Wade and Ember slowly walked over, taking their seats. As the group of 7 finally sat at the table - smiles were ubiquitous. Feeling she wasn't close enough, Ember shuffled her chair and food closer over to Wade. He returned her a gentle smirk in admiration. He looked back over, ready to eat, before realizing what it was. To his genuine surprise, his favorite dish lay in front of him;
"You guys! Fresh-water soup; my favorite!" he exclaimed.
Like he were one of the children present, Wade dove face-first into the food, making a meal of it. Ember giggled at his lack of restraint, looking over to her own dish of Kol-nuts. She picked one up and held it in front of her mouth - still in awe of Wade's demeanor.
"Tell us, Mr. Exciteable. What's been going on in your world today?" she asked.
Concurring with her, the Sea-Nears leaned in with smiles abroad.
Caught quite off-guard, Wade momentarily choked on his food, taking a moment to clear his throat. The Sea-Near parents looked at each other in worry about their poor nephew's eating ability.
"Sorry- sorry. No, today was good. Today was fine." he answered.
Without a moment's hesitation, he dove back into his food, causing Ember to guffaw in intrigue.
"Just fine? Well, that's rather brief for you." she quipped.
Halfway through his bowl, Wade slowly looked over at her blankly.
"Oh- no! I'm just- really tired today," he answered.
With a Kol-nut right in front of her mouth, she chuckled to herself before shoving it into her gob.
"I can relate to that," she agreed, her statement backed up with crumbs.
Picking up on her statement, Aunty Sea-Near leaned further into the table.
"Speaking about today; how did you go, Ember?" she asked.
Wade's head shot straight out of his food, looking straight toward Aunty Sea-Near in agreement.
"Tell us everything!" he exclaimed, water leaking out of his mouth.
Ember lit up slightly in excitement, scooching forward.
"Well. It... was... exhausting... but incredible! I got shown these excellent architecture guidelines called the 7 Principles of Glassitecture." she told.
As she went on, Wade slowly stopped inhaling his food and instead chose to inhale her words. Soon he looked at her, leaning his cheek on his arm. Coming to a close, Ember straightened her posture and took a breath. She caught onto his gaze, returning a loving smile.
Having utterly destroyed his own serving of food, Uncle Sea-Near pushed the table away from himself, kicking his legs up and unbuttoning his shirt.
"Woo- thank you for that, Aunty S. I am stuffed." Uncle Sea-Near quipped, slapping his belly. It jiggled about as merrily as he.
Clearly infatuated with their happy-go-lucky father, the Sea-Near children all mirrored his expression, slapping their own bellies.
"Agreed. Thanks, Aunty S." Wade concurred.
Finishing up with his own serving of food, Wade licked the bowl clean, placing it back onto the table. Lagging behind in terms of consumption pace, Ember quickly stuffed her face with Kol-nut, sliding the plate away from her.
Wade pushed himself out from the table, swinging his legs out from underneath.
"Whelp- I think I best be getting some rest. It's been a long day." he reckoned.
Disappointed that it was over already, Uncle Sea-Near and his three children all called out 'Aww!' in a playfully disappointed manner.
"Don't say that! We were gonna play your favorite game as a family tonight!" Uncle Sea-Near prompted.
Wade looked over to him sharply with an amazed expression, arms pressed on the table.
"Not the-" he began.
"Yup! The crying game!" Uncle Sea-Near confirmed.
Overflowing with emotion, Wade nearly burst into tears in eagerness. A big smile came across his face; how could he say no to that?
"I reckon I got a game or ten in me." he quipped.
Ember giggled cutely at him in reaction, folding her arms.
The eyes of Sea-Nears stared each other down unlike ever before. With Ember, Wade and the kids in the lounge sat spectating; it was on.
"The year was 2001-" Uncle Sea-Near began.
Without much time at all, Aunty Sea-Near burst into tears, collapsing on herself.
"Ahh- no! Not Whirlpool! I loved that dog!" she cried.
She lay on Uncle Sea-Near's shoulder, him patting her on the back as she cried. Him being quite the gentleman, he guided her back over to the spectating area.
"Any volunteers?" he queried.
Sat right next to him, Ember nudged Wade relatively hard with her elbow. He cringed in pain, staring at her. She shot him eyes of prompt, causing Wade to point to himself in query. She sharply nodded with a cheeky smirk, sitting forward legs crossed.
A bit clueless, Wade slowly went up to the podium against his uncle. The two straightened themselves with game faces.
"Who goes first?" Wade queried.
"I think a game of Drop, Vapor, Sea-Sores is in order." Uncle Sea-Near playfully answered.
Wade nodded in agreement, extending his hand out. Uncle Sea-Near did the same, staring Wade directly in the eyes.
"Drop, Vapor, Sea-Sores," they said concurrently.
Wade gestured a hand outwards, hovering a finger over it with his other hand and causing a drip. Uncle Sea-Near meanwhile waved his hand about in a circle, creating a light water vapor.
"Vapor beats Drop." Uncle Sea-Near quipped.
"Aww- man!" Wade retorted, throwing his arm down and pouting.
Ember laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, exchanging friendly glances with Aunty Sea-Near.
Standing back at odds, Wade straightened his posture as Uncle Sea-Near had his turn.
"A little water boy goes to the beach." he began.
The two immediately found themselves at a pending stalemate, both tearing up.
"He- he- he never went again." Uncle Sea-Near finished.
They both managed to hold on for a couple more seconds. Unable to compose himself anymore, Uncle Sea-Near cracked, crying. Wade threw his arms in the air in gloat, cheering. Ember poshly clapped her hands in admiration, cheering him on.
"Wade! Hot flame!" she quipped.
He looked over at her with a moment's glance as Uncle Sea-Near went to sit, still teary-eyed. Wade stroked his chin, deciding who should go next. Coming to a decision, he nodded.
"Wipeout!" he exclaimed.
The Sea-Nears shot up to their feet with eager smiles abroad. Ember simply raised an eyelid, arms folded.
"What- what's going on?" she queried.
Aunty Sea-Near gently leaned over to her, holding a hand up in a whisper.
"When someone says 'Wipeout!', they get to pick and choose if they want to stay or nominate someone else to take their place," she advised.
Still confused, Ember looked back to Wade blankly.
"Ember!" Wade called out.
An expression of frazzle fell upon her.
"I wanna see how you fair against Aunty S." Wade reckoned.
Aunty Sea-Near looked alive and lept out of her seat, staring at Ember. The little flame lady returned her gaze, beginning to smirk.
"Okay. Game on." she agreed.
The two ladies filtered up as Wade joined Uncle Sea-Near - still a bit teary. With nothing but boys on the couch, Uncle Sea-Near took a breath and began to man spread. A bit confused by his spreading, Wade moved away an inch or two, cozying up.
Ember stood, suit on, arms folded.
"I've only cried once-" Ember began.
"Lies!" Wade interjected.
"Three. Three times." Ember corrected herself.
"Also lies!" Wade barked.
Ember sharply shot him a snarky stare, smirking. As it calmed, she looked back over to Aunty Sea-Near.
"Hit me with your best shot." Ember pressed.
Aunty Sea-Near shot her an eager expression, beginning to concoct her argument. In fact, the argument she had was good. Almost too good. It was so good that before it even left her mouth, she began crying, burying her head into her hands.
"Does that count?" Ember quipped.
Aunty Sea-Near simply nodded in response, leaving the stage to be by Uncle Sea-Near's side. She immediately parked herself onto his shoulder, crying on it.
"Wade, Ember. You're up." Uncle Sea-Near prompted.
Wade lept up from his cozying into the couch, racing up to her. He struck a pose as he got into position, making Ember chuckle.
"Alright. You've made me cry once before, but that was the last time!" she reckoned.
Wade chuckled, shrugging with a smirk.
"Why don't you go first then." he dared.
Ember guffawed, shaking her head.
"Oh-kay, Mr. Hotshot. Game on." she agreed.
The Sea-Nears wiped their tears away, shifting their attention to the two.
"Why did the Plant Man shoot a lumberjack?" Ember began.
Managing to hold remarkably well, Wade smirked.
"Because he cut down all of his family roots." she finished.
Instantly, the onlooking Sea-Nears couldn't handle it. They began to cry, cradling each other.
"No! That poor man!" Aunty Sea-Near cried.
Wade merely guffawed aloud, rubbing his eyes with a smirk.
"That- that's just depressing." he quipped.
Ember threw out another guffaw in quick succession, genuinely surprised.
"Ha! I'm surprised you lasted that one, dewdrop." she quipped.
He returned her a confident shrug, holding his own.
"Oh-kay... I'm gonna have to get out the big guns," she thought.
Ember took a breath in preparation, shaking her arms loose. Wade mirrored her thoughts in reaction, doing the same.
Following their readiness, a gentle breeze began to sweep the room via a slightly-open window. Ember felt the wind gently jostle her flames about. It took with it her outright confidence. A literal air of vulnerability began to wobble her composure, though not to her detriment. She was ready to bring out the big guns after all.
She took a step forwards, looking into Wade's eyes with hands at her heart.
"The moment I left Element City... I had doubtful thoughts... for a while. You know this." she began.
Any playfulness within the room is left with the breeze. Instead, Wade and the Sea-Nears stared, losing their smiles.
"...I questioned myself; was this the right thing? And I still do. Even though it took us months, I still didn't feel ready." she admitted.
She locked her gaze on Wade's, becoming in sync.
"You know what I did to fix that?" she queried.
On the verge of tears, Wade began to wobble about, pursing his lips. Ember chuckled at herself for getting so sappy for a game, clenching her hands in nerves.
"...I'd think of you, or look at you, and you'd be there. Even if you weren't with me physically... you were always there." she sweetly opined.
She gently walked closer to him. Their gaze into each other's eyes turned into a maze; they got lost in each other. Her fiery eyes burned complete and utter devotion, and as did his liquidy own.
"I love you, Wade. I made the right choice coming here to start my life with you," she concluded.
Reaching a breaking point, Wade nearly burst into tears. He clenched his jaw shut in hopes to mask it - but it was too much. In gracious loss, a couple of tears streamed down his face. He buried his head into one of his hands, sniffling.
The Sea-Nears cooed in loving reaction to Wade's vulnerability. Having realized she won, Ember very sharply composed herself, wiping her tears away.
"Whelp, that was easy-" she quipped.
But Wade wasn't done with her yet. Before she could get up and leave, he strongly reached out and gripped her hand, looking to the ground.
"Wait..." he pressed.
A feeling of concern adoring her, she graciously remained in her place. Feeling another sharp shift, the Sea-Nears nestled back into the couch, watching.
Wade took a long, deep breath, composing himself to continue.
"This isn't part of the game... but I want a turn." he requested.
Ember looked into his eyes in query, raising an eyebrow. Much like he, she stood straight, returning him a loving gaze in agreement.
"Okay." she allowed.
Smirking from her reaction, Wade took another moment to gather himself. He took her by the hands, bringing her closer.
"Ember..." he began.
As he did, Ember and the Sea-Nears stared - knowing that Wade wasn't playing anymore.
"Today, I thought of you, unlike any other day. There was a flurry of sadness, happiness, and everything in between. At any moment I felt like I was drowning in myself, I'd just think of your gaze... your smile..." he began.
A sharp air of sorrow in Ember succumbed. She lost her smile altogether, her eyes fluttering in infatuation.
"Words can't express how lucky I am to be living here with you. They can't express how grateful I am to have a roof over my head, to be with the most supportive relatives and you. I may have been the one to burst into your life - but you became my life. That... trumps any reason not to be with you.
I love you beyond words, Ember Lumen. Thank you... so-so much." he concluded.
Unfurling like a Vivisteria flower, she broke at the seams. She clenched him tight and close, bawling on his shoulder. Even the Sea-Nears couldn't help but be breath-taken by Wade's wonderful speech.
As vulnerable and happy as the moment was, a feeling of incompletion rang across Wade. He felt overjoyed in hugging his one true love, but conflict still made its presence known. He wanted so badly to repress it, frustrated as to why it came at such a gorgeous moment. He made a compromise with himself, smiling glasslike in Ember's embrace.
The Sea-Nears struggled to compose themselves on the couch, bawling with each other.
"Oh- oh!" they wept.