"Day 3...
Day number 3...
Day... numero three...
. . .
Yeesh
The water in here feels cold for some reason
Ugh
Is its temperature an indicator of things to come?
Is something bad gonna happen today?!
. . .
Relax
Nothing bad is gonna happen.
You just gotta look on the bright side..."
"Speaking about the bright side-"
"Gah! Ember! I'm doing the talking thing!"
"Hah! Now you know how it feels. Ner ner!"
"That's not funny. I'm hyping myself up for today."
"Here, let me help you with that- OH, WADE. CARESS YOUR GENTLE HAND ON MY SHOULDER. SNUFF MY FLAME WITH YOUR-"
"Stop it, Ember!"
"Hahaha! You just love it when I get all flirty with your ash."
"I- don't mind too much, but I'm trying to-"
"Hey... Wade."
"...what?"
"Wanna come and give me a hug?
. . .
Please?"
. . .
"Ugh, fine."
Wade pulled the most childish frown he possibly could at Ember. He sat waist-deep in his pool bed, arms folded. He went to get out, picking up his shirt off the floor and putting it on. Taking a moment to put it on, he momentarily shut his eyes and exhaled. The moment he reopened his eyes, he found an overly-eager Ember standing right in front of him.
"Ah!" he yelped.
He flinched in surprise, slowly uncovering his face with his arm to stare at her in confusion.
"Drop the shirt." she prompted.
Without a word needing to be spoken, he hesitantly pulled it off, standing in his spot like a clueless statue. Ember sat on the edge of her bed, slowly gesturing a finger for him to join her. She tapped a spot next to her as he went to sit, still a look of frazzled confusion on his face. He scratched his face out of nerves, grinning anxiously. She returned him a seductive smile, scooching close, wrapping her arms around his right one. His frazzle-dazzle soon left as he took the moment in, smirking in gratitude. He leaned close to her, closing his eyes.
"Room service!" in interjecting Uncle Sea-Near announced, standing at the doorway.
The two lovers quickly jumped up in embarrassment, holding their arms at their sides militantly. Uncle Sea-Near cringed in discomfort, shielding his eyes.
" Ah- Wade! The shirt! Put on the shirt!" he cried.
Wade's eyes bulged in retaliation, frantically grabbing his shirt and putting it on. Ember giggled in the background, finding hilarity in the moment's absurdity. Wade took a seat back down next to Ember, wiping some sweat away with an arm.
"Okay, it's on. You can open them," he said.
Not fully trusting of his sentiment, Uncle Sea-Near did so at a snail's pace. He sighed in relief upon seeing Wade fully clothed.
"Oh, thank Poseidon." he quipped.
Ember chuckled, raising her eyebrow.
"Poseidon?" she queried.
Wade leaned toward her with a teacher-esque face.
"You know? Water god of the... waters?" he hesitantly answered.
Ember guffawed loudly, folding her arms with a naughty smirk.
"Water god of the waters?" she questioned.
"Hey." Uncle Sea-Near chimed in.
Ember frankly looked over at a displeased Uncle Sea-Near, his arms tightly folded in reaction.
"That's our god you're talking about," he advised.
Ember promptly lost her playful manner, blankly staring with eyes wide. She exhibited that gaze over to Wade, who shook his head subtly with a smirk. Before it could become too tense, Uncle Sea-Near lightened the mood with a relieving laugh, holding his shins.
"I'm just yankin' ya flames! Breakfast is served downstairs," he announced.
He heartily began walking out with a hand on his belly, leading the charge. Wade, slightly frazzled, denied the invitation to a slow breakfast via the bruxing of his teeth.
"Oh, I'll grab it to go. I gotta work earlier today," he mentioned.
Uncle Sea-Near stopped himself - his hand on the doorframe. Ember sharply looked at him, her flame flashing white in reaction.
"You do?" she queried.
Wade slowly looked over at her in the corner of his eye, before noticing her expression. As he did, he spun his body toward her.
"Yeah. Is that alright?" he asked sincerely.
Almost with an air of hurt about her, Ember sighed in disappointment, looking down.
"Oh- yeah. Yeah, that's fine." she hesitantly answered.
Telling that he was making her feel uncomfortable, he straightened his expression, taking her by the hand sharply.
"Look, I can make it up to you," he promised.
She held his hand gently, looking up at his face worriedly.
"No- it's okay. You... do your thing." she allowed.
Filled with gratitude for her response, Wade gave her a smile. He slowly rose to his feet, walking over and grabbing his satchel for departure. He stood at the doorway next to a spectating Uncle Sea-Near. He sharply swung his arms out in prompt, pumping his eyelids at her.
"One for the road?" he queried.
Ember giggled, shaking her head in admiration. She gently got up off her bed before gradually running up to give him a big ol' squeeze. The two impacted relatively hard, squeezing each other beyond measure. Uncle Sea-Near - not a few feet away - stood back in shock as the two lovers sizzled away, fogging up the room.
Ember and Wade gently let go of their embrace of each other, hands on each other's hips. Wade playfully tapped Ember on the nose, making her giggle in a cutesy manner.
"You; make sure you have a good day, okay?" he emphasized.
Entranced by her love for him, she stood speechless as he left downstairs. Uncle Sea-Near watched as she giggled to herself, love-stricken. She soon held her arm as her thoughts calmed, slowly looking over to Uncle Sea-Near. She read the most puzzled expression upon his face, utterly speechless. She shrugged giddily, dancing about as she readied herself for work.
With PPE and backpack on, she smiled at Uncle Sea-Near as she made her way downstairs.
"Can't wait to see what you've made," she said merrily.
As she escaped his line of sight, he stood in his spot like a statue staring into the now-empty room. He shook his head, eyes wide.
"Young love, I swear." he quipped.
Later...
Arriving bright and early at his favorite place in the world, Wade swung open the briefing room door on a mission. The mission - to have the best day possible. Alas, anything could beat yesterday.
But today seemed to have steep competition from the get-go. Mutrick, Dusty, Rocky, and Boulder already awaited him in the room - greeting with the most unwelcoming smiles Wade could expect.
"LB! Good sleep?" Rocky asked with an air of passive-aggression.
Unwilling to let anything get to him that day, Wade chose to ignore his exhausting coworker, standing at the lone vacant chair in the room.
"I take that as a no?" Rocky pressed.
Still, Wade bravely kept his mouth shut, grinning to himself. Mutrick silently gestured a hand out to his seat.
"Have a seat, Ripple." he prompted.
Wade slowly looked over to Dusty - who sat with an arm hanging by Wade's vacant seat. Knowing exactly how this was going to play out, he graciously stopped himself, looking over to Dusty with a smirk.
"Go on." Wade prompted.
Lacking the element of surprise, Dusty gradually took both his arms and folded them, wearing a counter-smirk. With a sigh of relief, Wade sat on the vacant chair with his satchel on his lap - admiring the little victory.
"Morning, you four. Now, congratulations are in order. Yesterday's Bar Elementus case has just been put under police investigation." Mutrick began.
Another sigh of relief escaped Wade's mouth.
"You gave them everything they needed?" he queried.
Mutrick slowly looked over to him, his face a bit blank in reaction.
"What? Y-yes- sure." Mutrick responded.
With his day already being tested, Wade's smile began to fade as trepidation entered.
"Did you give them our notes?" he pressed.
Mutrick simply looked over at him in the eyes in disdain.
"Yes. Everybody's is accounted for." he frustratingly put.
Wade sat back on his seat, staring about Mutrick's desk in curiosity. His eyes came across a notebook, sitting in the very same place it was left the day prior. He gently leaned forward, an eyebrow raised. He reached past his scathing cohort and picked it up, looking it through. He flipped the first page.
Lo and behold...
Notebook belonging to; Wade Ripple. Property of E.B.I.D
Just like that, Wade mouthed something akin to 'come on!' to himself, wearing a face of disgust.
He flipped it through, looking through his notes from yesterday. Nothing had changed. With the building realization that his coworkers might've worked against him, he sharply looked over at them.
"Have you guys got your notebooks?" he pressed.
Dusty, looking the other way, guffawed.
"Nah. We handed 'em into Groucho this morning," he answered.
Wade slowly looked over to his vile superior, wearing a deeply hurt expression.
"Handed them in?" he questioned.
Without a word spoken, Mutrick shrugged carelessly, arms folded and body language closed. Already becoming antsy without five minutes of being onsite, Wade grimaced, standing up angrily.
"Please take a seat, Ripple," Mutrick ordered.
Wade angrily threw his notebook in front of Mutrick, making Boulder in the background flinch in fright.
"You didn't give them anything I had?!" Wade barked.
Dusty and Rocky giggled at his behavior, sniggering to themselves.
"Mr. Ripple, be seated! That's an order." Mutrick retorted loudly.
Wade's face read like a ticking time bomb in response. If only his wonderful Ember were here. He knew that she'd surely destroy the room in fiery anger - an idea that quickly became justifiable to him. But Wade was no fiery man. He was the opposite. Knowing how much trouble it'd get him into, he bravely complied. He sat back in his seat angrily, arms folded.
Mutrick took a second to regather control, staring at Wade with a scowl.
"Okay... now that's over with. You lot have work to do. Beat it." he told.
Like children leaving for recess, Dusty, Rocky, and Boulder leaped out of the room. It left Wade in his spot, stunned and raising arms in protest.
"You didn't say a word about what I'll be doing," he exclaimed.
Mutrick looked over at him angrily.
"You're lucky I don't fire you on the spot for your behavior. Listen." he scathed.
Wade begrudgingly listened, arms folded. Mutrick leaned in with an air of superiority.
"There's a shop down in Sanda Monica running despite multiple citations and foreclosure warnings. I need you to deliver them the bad news and get it shut down," he ordered.
Mutrick handed him a sheet in tandem with his statement, causing Wade to lean forward and read it through.
"Everything's filled out. Just drop it off and come straight back here." Mutrick ordered blasély.
With his composure wavering between being obedient to his job and telling Mutrick to shove it, Wade accepted and took it with him. He got to his feet, putting it in his satchel. He nodded at Mutrick respectfully before walking out of the room. Mutrick kicked back as soon he left, feet up on his desk.
Out in the hallway, Wade clutched his satchel with his hands, wanting an outlet for his impending rage.