The night prior...
Naive to the horror that would follow hours later, Wade walked down the EBID halls toward Groucho's office. A weathered look adorned his face, weary from hours of conversing with the Elementopia Police over the Ashenwood case.
He stared at his phone's lock screen mid-transit, a deep tingle of tension hanging around his wavy spine as the same picture of Ember sat on it, taunting him.
He hadn't heard a thing from her since midday, worrying him to his core. That worry began to reach a breaking point, prompting him to pull up his messaging conversation with her. The most recent text in there was his, which read;
"Hey, Em. I'm sorry, but work's holding me back tonight. We've got quite a bit to do, so I'm not sure when I'll get home. I love you, and I miss you already."
At that time, he hadn't even begun to realize that the reason she left him on read was because she hadn't even received it at all. Alas, he stood and stared at the message, teary-eyed in disappointment and growing self-disgust.
He brought that feeling with him as he approached Groucho's office. Arriving at the door, he gently put his phone in his satchel, taking a deep breath as he opened it.
He entered the office with hands held together in nerves, only to find Groucho staring at the wall, back facing him. He stood with hands behind his back, sending a vibe of tension right at Wade like a piercing arrow. Wade looked down, twiddling his fingers about in nerves.
"The officers just left. We told them everything we knew about the case. It's in their hands now..." Wade expressed.
He stopped mid-sentence, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
"We... I told them everything I saw in there, to the minutest detail." Wade continued.
He remained looking at the ground, bruxing his teeth inside his mouth. Groucho slowly turned to him in a frustrated manner.
Wade looked up at him as he did so, slightly intimidated and with an air of frazzle about him.
In a completely unexpected move, Groucho confidently extended a hand to shake with Wade.
"Excellent work," he said.
Wade's expression instantly fell into surprise, looking at it and hesitantly shaking it.
As it concluded, Groucho turned back around to stare at the wall, hands behind his back. Such only added to Wade's nerves as he stood stiff in his spot.
"If you're wondering - yes. You're free to go." Groucho allowed.
Wade looked up at him again wearing a puzzled look. It slowly calmed however as he realized Groucho was being serious, calming him in the process. He let out a smile in appreciation of the blasted day being over, looking down.
He turned to leave with his satchel in tow, gripping it as he did.
"Just one thing," Groucho said.
Wade stopped in his spot the moment he heard him speak, turning back and falling silent in perplexity.
Groucho turned around once more, leaning both hands on his desk. He stared down at it, eyes clasped shut for just a moment. He looked up to Wade, tilting his head curiously.
"Why do you do this, Ripple?" he queried.
Appropriately, Wade's mouth fell slightly agape, thrown off-guard.
"D- do what?" he replied.
"Inspector. Why?" Groucho elaborated.
A quick pause followed as the query hit Wade's ears. He sharply looked up at his superior, a frazzled look in his eyes.
"Uhh- I'm sorry?" he unconfidently asked.
"Because it seems to me that you're a lot more invested in doing the right thing regardless of the job's requirements. Something I can't say about your cohort." Groucho explained.
Not one to take compliments very well under stress, Wade played around with his fingers out of nerves. Groucho let out a rare smirk, chuckling to himself quietly.
"A man of mystery, I see. More power to you, Mr. Ripple." he admired.
Groucho took a seat at his desk, an air of casualness about him.
"How're you spending your Thursday night?" he asked out of the blue.
Appropriately caught off-guard once again, Wade sharply looked at him.
"Oh. Uhh- not sure." he stammered.
Groucho let out a chuckle, leaning forward at his desk.
"How'd you like to be sure?" he oddly said.
Wade stared at him right in the eyes, raising an eyebrow.
"Huh?" he sounded.
"Tonight, there's a sold-out picture tour going on. The wife got a ticket, but she's crook with fungus rot. She offered it to me, but I'm not even vaguely interested in picture-taking. Seeing as you seem to have a detective streak, I thought I'd pass it along. Is that something you'd like?" Groucho offered.
Wade let out a heaping breath, unsure of how to react to the offer. He began to ponder it on the spot, looking about the flora in Groucho's room.
Opportunities like these don't come every day, especially not from a boss. Even still, the little dewdrop had never been on a picture tour before. The idea intrigued him quite a bit, though one thing loomed around his head.
What would Ember think about him going alone?
The guilt that thought brought weighed heavy on Wade's decision-making. He knew how she got - she tended to become quite heated.
However, another point of view quickly entered the fray. He began to see it exactly as it was; a reward for the hectic week he was in the midst of. Perhaps this was the break he deserved - and she deserved.
That thought prompted Wade to come to a decision. He let out a genuine smile, nodding and extending a hand toward Groucho to accept.
Groucho let out a smirk and took out his diary, giving him the stashed ticket. Wade was moments from taking it with all fingers. That was before another thought got in the way.
He began to think about how she'd spend the night if he went along. He began to envision her, sitting alone in their room at the Sea-Near's. It almost felt like he was right in the room as he watched her visage, curled up in a ball on their bed.
No amount of self-esteem boosting would rid that thought, prompting him to draw his hand away in hesitation. He looked up at Groucho, the same worry in his eyes he had with her.
Groucho raised an eyebrow, holding the ticket in its place.
Wade hesitantly drew his arm down, beginning to turn away and head out without a word being spoken. He looked down as he did, letting out a frown in disappointment. The moment he looked up, however, he found himself in another vision.
He could've sworn he looked up at the gorgeous cityscape of Elementopia for the first time all over again. He recalled the feeling of wonder it brought him, causing him to smile brightly at it. It represented a wondrous future. Thus, he began to sway back toward taking the ticket again.
He began to turn back to accept it before promptly being thrust into another vision of earlier that very day. He recalled strolling the peaceful streets of Pebblebrook with time to kill, admiring the sun as it shone upon him. Even though EBID work was mostly horrible, this was him at his happiest alone in a long while.
Wanting to capitalize on that feeling, he began to smile brighter as he came to another, more finalized decision. He sharply looked up at Groucho, snatching the ticket with a sure look. Groucho let out a guffaw as Wade rather hastily took it, shaking his head.
"You have yourself a good evening, Ripple. See you tomorrow." Groucho said.
Wade took a moment to answer, looking down at his ticket with a genuine smile.
"Thank you... for this." he thanked.
Groucho returned him a nod with a warm smile. Wade chuckled gleefully in reaction, finalizing his decision and turning to leave Groucho's office.
As he left the office and closed the door behind him, he stared down at the ticket. He let out a gentle smirk in appreciation. Yet still, the silent war within his mind raged on. He couldn't help but think about Ember, even through all the positives the experience could bring him. He began to lose his smirk as the guilt of thoughts of her ran rampant.
As before, he quickly opened his phone, staring at her visage on his lock screen. He let out a scoff in self-disgust, daring to even think for himself. He quickly clasped both hands on the thing, bringing up his messages to her. He quickly concocted a text, reading;
"Hey Em. I'll be home a little later tonight. My boss gave me a ticket for a sold-out picture tour of town! I'm actually quite excited! I'll take as many pictures as I can for you! I love you, Firefly!"
He hovered a finger over the send button. At that moment, his feeling of guilt finally became justified to him. He let out a gentle smile, tapping the send button and locking the screen. He slipped the phone back into his satchel, walking along with an even bigger smile.
BZZT-BZZT
Little did he know the texts never went through...
Present Day
Almost as though she were there to watch the events unfold herself, Ember stood in her spot on the pitch-black beach, Wade stood not feet away. A stark look of disbelief could be seen from miles away as she read the unsent messages.
She breathed heavily, mouth wide agape as she tried to process everything that was happening. Ever so gently, she looked up from the phone and out to the ocean. She stared into the inviting pitch-black abyss as if she were trying to find meaning in forgiving him and moving on.
But she was not one to forget. Not one to forget that crushing feeling of anxiety, of depression that prior night she returned home. Not one to forget all those sacrifices she made, just for them to go by the wayside in this crucial moment.
With a now-or-never attitude, she seemed to have come to a decision. She gently shut her agape mouth, frowning her eyebrows. She sharply turned to Wade, causing him to look up at her with a similar hopelessness about him.
In a shocking move, Ember walked up to him, firmly placing the phone back in his hands. She began an angry march away from him, arms firmly straight at her sides.
As Wade stood in shock, Ember's pesky doppelganger let out a surprised gasp.
"Whoa. That I did not expect." The doppelganger remarked.
Wade's mouth fell agape as he watched her walk away. After bearing his soul to her, he felt like she just threw it into the ocean to sink to the very bottom. After all he just went through however, this was not the time to give up. He let out an angry exhale, shaking his head.
"Ember!" he exclaimed.
He began a march like hers in pursuit, arms held out toward her in pursuit. Ember's doppelganger let out a shrug and followed as the two marched down the sands.
"This I gotta see." The doppelganger remarked.
As if his arm were an Ember magnet of sorts, Wade held it out at her departing visage as he followed.
"L- look, it was an oversight that I'm ashamed of! I admit it. But that's just it! It was an honest mistake." he admitted.
Ember let out an ignorant scoff, staring straight and ignoring him entirely. Wade let out a frustrated grimace at her head strength, causing him to resort to drastic measures. He picked up the pace to a heavy jog, catching up whilst she wasn't looking. He sharply gripped a hand on her shoulder. She promptly stopped in her spot, sharply turning and flashing purple toward him.
"I don't have anything else for you." she scowled.
Wade stopped his grasp of her shoulder, gently letting it go with mouth agape and a slight frown. Her mouth fell agape in tandem as she stared back at him angrily, shaking her head.
"You hurt my feelings last night, Wade. No amount of unsent texts- or begging- or justification will change that," she stated.
"You're right. Your feelings are valid, and that I will never dispute. But, I had an onus to tell you the truth regardless." Wade pressed.
The two remained in defensive stances toward each other - much akin to the Mineral Lake Train Station incident back in Element City.
Ember began to breathe heavier in building stress.
"It doesn't matter. You can't change what happened," she stressed.
Wade went to throw an argument her way, however, he graciously stopped himself. At that moment, he realized the gravitas of just how last night affected her, causing him to look down in guilt.
"Yeah. Yeah- you're right." Wade
With hearts slowly beginning to unfurl, Ember persisted in staring at him angrily, though it was evident that she had a pinch of sorrow in her voice.
"Flame- I messed up a chance at building a great future because... because of last night... because of you." She scowled with a sharp point, lips trembling.
Wade opened his mouth instinctively to debate, but, his usual manner got the best of him. He fell silent out of respect for her argument, looking down.
"I- I had it! I knew what I was doing! Th- then you just started getting in my way, a- and you weren't even there, so how could it have been your fault?!" she exclaimed.
As her exclamation hurled at his ears, he squeezed his eyes shut, persisting to look down.
"I- I was so blinded by hatred that it was far too easy to blame you!" Ember yelled.
Her delivery only grew more stabbing at Wade's composure, causing him to let out a few tears in regret. Though he hadn't begun to realize his manner began to affect her, causing her to clench her fists shut, struggling to hold back her own tears.
"...and I- I- I had that hate because of last night, b- because I thought you were avoiding me for no reason! I mean- things were good! I couldn't have had more love for you!" she exclaimed.
She ended her exclamation with a shaky tone, lips beginning to tremble. Wade did the same, shedding another tear in guilt. Watching him gently sob began to eat away at her composure, letting a couple of molten droplets escape her eyes.
As the two went on, the doppelganger stood in her spot in the background, arms on her hips sassily.
"Interesting approach. I'm not sure I like it all too much, though." The doppelganger remarked.
Wade tried his best to be strong, wiping up his tears and looking up at her. He began to inch his way over to her, arms extended.
"I- Ember. I can't put it into words how sorry I am." he expressed.
"Yeah- I know! I feel awful because apparently, youmight be in the right with those- stupid- texts! And I hate that! It- it makes me feel like I'm always wrong." she barked.
"Ember..." Wade
"Flame- I thought back home would be the worst of it- but no! Th- this feels worse! Because I thought it was too soon to have yet another bucket of water thrown on me!" Ember expressed regretfully.
She hunched over as she finished, beginning to cave in on herself.
"Just this once... I don't want to feel like I have to be on high alert- constantly. I- I want to have a week in my life where I feel relieved. Is that too much to ask?" she expressed.
Suddenly, she let the floodgates open, beginning an open, vulnerable cry to her dewdrop. Her doppelganger gasped in the background, shaking her head.
"Okay- pull yourself together. Come on." the doppelganger pressed.
As he watched Ember unfurl, Wade's own sobbing began to calm as his concern for her was reintroduced. He gently began to approach her as she wept, struggling to breathe as she did so.
"I mean- we were so good before this. I- I- I don't understand." she struggled.
"I know," Wade said in a comforting tone.
"No, Wade." Ember debated.
Wade sharply looked up at her as she spoke, tears in his eyes. She stared back with a teary frown.
"I don't think you do." she reckoned.
With the accusatory line, Wade sharply squeezed his eyes shut in guilt, struggling to stay afloat the guilt as it tried to pull him into its depths. Though her anger reigned over all, she watched as he visibly caved in on himself. Thus, a tinge of regret began to enter the fray, causing her to let out another flurry of tears. She quickly wiped up them up with her arm, struggling to maintain her aggressive demeanour, instinctively opting for a more expressive, vulnerable one.
"Why are even we doing this? W- We're supposed to be enjoying a new life!" she pleaded.
"I want to enjoy it... so bad!" Wade argued.
"So why?!" Ember barked.
With another big argument impending, Wade stopped himself before things could become heated. He took a big breath, looking down in guilt. If only Ember thought the same as she let in her own heaping breath.
"WHY?!" She cried.
"IT'S BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE!" Wade broke.
With a show-stopping roar akin to last night, Wade's composure flew into the night sky entirely. He fell to his knees wearily, looking down in defeat. His cry pushed Ember back by both shoulders a foot or two. Her angry expression took a big hit, letting her guilt push its way to the forefront with a wide-eyed gasp.
In the background, her doppelganger simply rolled her eyes at the pathetic exchange.
"Oh- here we go with the waterworks," she commented.
Ember watched with gentle, hurt eyes as Wade knelt on the ground, staring at the sand in embarrassment.
"I- I hated work. Every time I walked in there, it was like I was the butt of every joke. It's like I didn't even get a say. Even... ugh... even in Element City, it was no different. But... It's all I got. Because... because I'm scared..." he admitted.
Partly shocked yet not really surprised he'd come to this, Ember let out a gentle gasp in reaction. Her doppelganger became unruly whilst watching her and Wade's reconciliation.
"Are you seriously gonna believe this?" the doppelganger barked to Ember.
Ember gave her doppelganger a look of disgust for a moment in reaction, speaking volumes without words. Ember's gaze returned to Wade's defeated visage, staring at him incessantly with conflict running rampant within her. He gently rose to his feet, remaining to avert his gaze at her.
"When you're a water guy like me, it's like you just get swept up, no matter what you do. Nobody takes you seriously. E-even if I did chase my dreams like you..." he admitted.
He gently began to walk away from her, facing towards the Pier in the background as she persisted in staring his way.
"I hate that I have to live every day in fear of someone else, and what they think of me. They just push me to the side in their everyday grind while I go day by day with nothing to show for it," he admitted.
Though he wouldn't know it as he averted his gaze to her visage, Ember began to exhibit a worried look. As a result, her aggressive purple began to fade back into her natural orange hue. As a result of her turn, the doppelganger let out a disagreeing roar.
"No!" the doppelganger barked.
Finally, Wade managed to muster the strength to look Ember in the eyes. He let out a gentle tear, revealing to her the true hurt in his face.
"You were the first person outside my family to actually care... to believe, to instil trust and faith in me. Drop- you went against your father's wishes just so that you could realize your dreams... and that we could be together. I- I can't even begin to express how grateful I am because of that." he expressed.
Suddenly, without a moment to react with hostility, Wade went up and held Ember's hand. She sharply looked down at the interlocked hands in worry, quickly looking back to his face with an air of adoration about her.
"Last night- was a knee-jerk reaction, b- because I became drunk in the feeling of validation you gave me. I- ugh... and I had too much. I started to get jealous because- you have everything worked out! And I was glad to be there to help you, and I still am! But...
. . .
I don't have the direction that you do, and that's all I want." he said.
With that admission, Wade remained looking down in defeat, putting his head in his hands in building stress.
"I don't know what to do. I- I feel like I've ruined everything." he reckoned.
Ember stared at him with gentle eyes as he stood hurt, shedding another tear in tribute. As a result of the growing, touching moment, her doppelganger flashed a bright purple in frustration.
"Oh- we are not doing this." she scowled.
She quickly pushed her way right in front of Ember as she stood, conflicted. Ember looked up at her with hurt in her eyes, becoming swayed by Wade's admission.
"If you listen to any more of this garbage, you're done! We're at the point of no return. You're gonna end up just like me because you let him in one too many times." the doppelganger hissed.
The statement hit heavy for an already conflicted Ember. She took it in, gently looking down with her eyes shut. She gently opened them, looking at Wade persisting in holding her hand. Though her doppelganger had driven her for most of the day...
...she was not one to forget.
She was not one to forget all the sacrifices that Wade made for her to have a great life; to convince her to chase her dreams, to be open about what she wants to do in life, and to make sure to do it. Stood in disbelief at the fact that she'd let herself fall so low, Ember squeezed his hand, feeling indebted to her admittedly wrongdoing dewdrop.
As a result of the reconciling move, the doppelganger was shoved backwards by an unknown force - perhaps that of Wade and Ember's love.
"Agh! What in the Eternal Flame is happening?" the doppelganger exclaimed.
In reaction to her squeezing his hand, Wade looked up at Ember sharply - partly relieved.
"No... You haven't ruined anything." she expressed.
Fed up and frustrated with Ember's shift, her doppelganger angrily raced up to her, gripping a hand on her shoulder.
In another shocking move, Ember sharply burned purple in defiance of herself. She sharply turned around, throwing her arm off of her shoulder. Her doppelganger stumbled backwards as a result, falling to the floor back first.
"Agh- no!" the doppelganger barked.
With an opportunity to express herself whilst her doppelganger was incapacitated, Ember quickly shifted her attention to Wade. She went to speak in a panic but was ultimately hushed by Wade's gentle gaze at her. He knew, somehow, that she was being controlled by someone other than her usual self.
The two looked into each other's eyes. The comfort Ember had within Wade's embrace began to reintroduce itself to the fray.
"I want to be mad with you- so mad- but... I know what it's like," she said.
As she spoke, her vulnerability towered over her doppelganger's dwindling fire, causing her to shed pending molten tears in loads. She struggled to breathe as she cried on the spot, prompting Wade to shed a tear in tandem with a growing smile. Trying her best, she took a deep breath as she gripped his hand, nodding assuredly.
"I'll be damned if I don't help you... because you helped me. Even if things could be thrown into question because of last night- I owe you that." she expressed.
She let out another shaky exhale with tears abound. She took both of his hands, her body language facing toward him.
The doppelganger began to evaporate into the air as a result of her and Wade's reconciliation.
"No! I hate you! You selfish-selfish coward!" the doppelganger barked.
She grasped at both hands with passionate might, staring into his eyes.
"Wade- whatever it is that you want to do with your life, we're gonna find that out together. Because who am I not to help you after what you did for me?" she reckoned.
Seeing that he was beginning to save her from the brink, Wade began to break at the seams in admiration. He let out a howling bawl, embracing her with both arms tightly. Unable to restrain herself much longer, she broke into a bawl as well, meeting his embrace with her own.
As the two embraced each other passionately, the doppelganger's grasp on Ember's psyche drew to a close, her beginning to fade into the night sky.
"No!" the doppelganger screamed.
The two reconciling love birds began to lean on each other's heads, bawling passionately, occasionally broken up by relieved laughs.
Though her being nearly faded into nothingness, Ember's doppelganger still had fight left within her. She tried her best to reach a healing Ember, fighting to get up but immediately face-planting in weakness.
Knowing her time to go was nigh, she sharply looked up to Ember one last time, clawing at the ground.
"You will regret this. You're going to walk headlong into a bigger problem, and I won't be there to save you. You're on your own now!" the doppelganger scowled.
Hearing those words of her departing doppelganger, Ember's passionate bawl gently sat to the side for a moment. She looked over to her with a cheeky grin - thankfulness swirling in her flames.
"Good." Ember quipped.
With one last push, Ember sharply turned to Wade, squeezing him as tightly as she could with eyes shut in a powerful move.
"Agh!" the doppelganger screamed.
Thus, Ember placed the final nail in the coffin of her domineering temper. Her doppelganger evaporated, reduced to sparks as it flew into the night sky above.
Feeling a weight lift from her shoulders, Ember slowly opened her eyes. A child-like look of innocence adorned them. She backed away from Wade's hug for a moment, holding him at the hips. He gradually did the same, the two exchanging a grateful look.
"I thought I nearly lost you... for good." he reckoned.
Ember let out a warm smile at him in reaction, prompting him to as well. She closed her eyes, shaking her head as she nestled into his chest.
"You never did. I just lost myself for a time there." she recognised.
Wade reciprocated her loving move with one of his own, hugging her tightly once again.
"Not anymore." he comforted.
With a feeling of security growing between each other once more, she reciprocated his hug.
The two stood in a beautiful embrace for a moment as the mood began to calm. A gentle, warm wind breezed past the two as they stood, filling them with another level of loving warmth.
As it passed, Ember overheard a small crackling of flame just behind her. She slowly turned and looked behind her at the source of the crackle, coming across a baby flicker of flame on the ground. She gently escaped Wade's embrace, a hand on his chest as she stared the other way. Wade watched in curiosity as she walked away and toward the little flicker over yonder.
She gently leaned down at it as she arrived, picking up the flicker with a finger.
"You'll always be a part of me... but you're not me," she stated.
"No!" her doppelganger's voice screamed.
With that cry for help, Ember placed the flicker within her flames, flashing a bright white-hot flame as it became one with her once again.
She let out a heaping exhale as it did, eyes shut in the process. As it passed, she gently opened them, her expression visibly shifting to a more optimistic look. She gently turned to Wade, who was tearing up passionately at her.
"If the overflow gate was a punch, that was an uppercut of beauty." he quipped.
Ember let out a genuine laugh in reaction, sending him a warm, forgiving smile. She looked into his eyes gently as she returned to him. As she approached, passion began to drive her pace faster.
She quickly took him by the collar, tightly embracing him and giving him a flustering kiss on the lips. The moment lasted for a good minute.
The two slowly backed away as it came to a natural close, guffawing simultaneously.
"Wow. What a way to end one crazy week, huh?" Ember recognised.
"Pssh. Yeah." Wade concurred.
The two's chuckling calmed down, letting a comforting sense of warmth enter the equation.
"I'm sorry- sorry that this got blown up." Ember apologized.
"I am too. I- heh- I feel so damn silly." Wade said.
"Don't! These things happen- apparently." Ember remarked.
"Ouch. Was that supposed to be offensive?" Wade retorted.
"Haha- I'm just teasing." Ember joked.
With comfortable laughter coming to a close once more, the scene fell dead quiet, letting the gentle flow of tides hit the shore near them. The two looked down in embarrassment, both beginning to let out a grateful smile.
Ember let out a heaping exhale in relief that it was all over. Wade looked at her with a warm smile, extending a hand toward her in a gesture.
She returned him a respectable smirk in appreciation, looking down at the hand and confidently taking it.
Thus, the two began a gorgeous stroll down the beach, indicating the fulfilment of reconciliation. They held their arms around one another as they did. Ember looked down in thought as they strolled, before gently looking up to Wade's face and exchanging a warm smile with him.
"Wade. I'm really grateful that you told me everything now." she expressed.
He let out a chuckle, raising an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
Ember solidified a confirmation of the statement by putting a hand on his chest.
"More than you know," she confirmed.
Wade let out a relieved chuckle, wiping up some sweat with an arm.
"Heh- well. There's a long way to go, but, like you before me... I'm gonna chase my dream." he reckoned.
Ember let out a hearty chuckle in admiration, hitting his chest playfully. Though, as much as she didn't want to think about last night, she couldn't help but feel wary about him potentially ditching her in doing so.
Seeing that he was stressing her out by his delivery, Wade let out a laugh.
"...and I'm not gonna do it alone." he expressed.
With the affirmation, Ember's eyes shot open, gasping with a wide smile.
"Really?" she asked excitedly.
"I figured that since you'd know how to do it... I might need a few pointers." Wade reckoned.
Ember came to a sharp stop with her wide smile in tow, causing Wade to stop with her. He raised an eyebrow as she smiled silly before wrapping him in a tight hug.
"I'm so lucky," she said.
The statement hit Wade on many levels, causing him to gasp mildly in astoundment and shed a tear at it. Knowing exactly what she was doing with the callback, she shot him a warm smile, holding him at his hips.
Wrapping a tight, neat little bow on the night 4 and day 5 tragedies, the two shared another wonderful embrace.
An aqua inferno for all to see.