"Annie-Bear!" Zephyra playfully called out as she ran towards said man and enveloped his arm. She giggled. "It's time for our weekly outing!"
Ananias let out a particularly weary sigh. "Is it really that time of the week again?" he asked dully. Ever since their first outing together, after realizing that Ananias was having a noticeable lack of fun, Zephyra proposed the idea that they continue scheduling special outings with each other until he finally could, and although Ananias didn't particularly like the idea very much, Zephyra had been so insistent about it that he eventually relented, much to her joy. To be fair though, while Ananias still could not keep himself from reminding himself of the chores he was supposed to do and was unable to truly have fun like she wanted him to, he had to admit that it made him see Zephyra in an entirely new light. Usually, whenever Zephyra was going off on one of her outings, Ananias almost always chose not to join, but now that he regularly had, seeing her having so much fun and genuinely be happy changed his opinion of her and her constant outings of fun she always went off to, at least a little bit. And despite the fact that Ananias continued to be stone-faced throughout their therapeutic dates, Zephyra never lost hope that Ananias would eventually turn around; and even she had to admit, helping people, when she really wanted to, actually made her feel good, especially when Ananias was such a great listener. Sure, it was fun to be around other fun people, but having fun with him was certainly a refreshing change, one that she wouldn't mind having regularly for the rest of her life.
Zephyra nodded excitedly with a carefree grin on her face. "Uh-huh!" she cried. "I was thinking that maybe this time, we could go to the local pub and challenge people to drinking competitions!"
"But I don't drink," Ananias monotonously argued.
Zephyra grinned cheekily at him. "Then you can cheer me on while I do all of the drinking!"
Ananias sighed. "I don't think it'll be very fun for me to just watch while you and someone else drink yourselves silly."
Zephyra laughed. "Hey, you'd be surprised with how exciting watching a drinking contest is! It's honestly more exciting than it has any right of being!"
Ananias rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Fine, I'll take your word for it." He nodded towards the entrance to the army's camp. "Let's go."
"Before we do, I've got something that I wanted to ask you about," Zephyra gently asked.
Ananias cocked an eyebrow in mild surprise. "And that is?"
Zephyra averted her eyes away from his gaze sheepishly before asking, "Are you… do you feel like these weekly outings are working? Like, at all?" She looked back at him. "I mean, I know what I said about me getting you to finally loosen up and have fun no matter what, but if they've really been grating on you, then we could stop if you want. It's no fun being the only one having fun, you know?"
Ananias thought for a moment before answering, "Honestly, not really."
Zephyra's face fell. "Oh."
"I mean," Ananias quickly added, "yeah, I'm not really having fun like you wanted me to and all," he smiled reassuringly at her, "but your happiness, well, let's just say that it's a bit infectious."
Zephyra's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh?"
"Seeing you happy… I can't help but feel happy along with you," Ananias explained. "Sure, I may not be having fun and all, but being happy is probably a step in the right direction, right?"
Zephyra let out a tiny gasp before smiling at him and letting out a small giggle. "It sure sounds like it!" She then jabbed him playfully with her elbow. "And look at you, smiling and all! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were loosening up a bit!"
Ananias chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I am, aren't I? I guess that means that your plan is working then."
"Yep!" Zephyra then frowned. "But at this rate, it'll probably take forever for us to reach our goal." She then contemplated for a moment about what they were going to have to do to remedy that before giving Ananias an impish grin. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to do this forever and ever then!"
Ananias' eyes widened in surprise. "Forever and ever?" he repeated incredulously. "You realize that that may not be realistically doable, right?"
Zephyra giggled. "Fine! Then we'll just have to do it once every other week then, since doing it every week is apparently not 'realistically doable' and all! And besides, you're way wrong, Annie-Bear!"
"I am?"
Zephyra nodded. "Yeah! It's way possible to do something forever and ever! You've just got to commit to it, that's all!"
Ananias rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I don't know. That sounds like a commitment I should consider turning down, honestly."
Zephyra gasped. "What, why?! Who wouldn't agree to having fun once every week? Or once every other week?!"
Ananias let out an exasperated sigh. "We've been over this. It's because I'm just not one for having fun."
"O-Okay, fine! So what if the commitment promised something else besides fun? Would you consider agreeing to it then?"
Ananais simply shrugged. "Depends on the other benefit," he answered simply. "What is it?"
Zephyra frantically thought of a what she could possibly offer to make him reconsider agreeing to the deal before pointing at herself excitedly, smiling at him, and answering, "How about, every time we go out, you get your weekly dose of Zephyra happiness?"
"Zephyra happiness?" Ananias asked dully.
Zephyra nodded. "Yep! You said so yourself that me being happy made you happy, so just think about it! If you agree to this, you'll get a surefire way to be happy at least once every other week! Well, what do you say? Great deal, huh?"
Ananias thought it over for a moment before asking, "Wait, this proposal…."
"Yeah?"
"It's sort of like an actual marriage proposal, isn't it?"
Zephyra gaped at him for a moment before letting out a surprised gasp. "Oh my gosh! You're right! It does!"
Ananias blushed a bit. "Well, this is certainly awkward," he muttered. "Glad we caught that before things got -"
"Yes!"
Ananias whipped his head and gave Zephyra a look of genuine surprise. "Wait, what?!"
Zephyra jumped up and down excitedly. "You're absolutely right! It really was a marriage proposal, wasn't it?" She grinned endearingly at him. "Then let's get married then! I don't mind! Especially if it's you, Ananias!" She gave him a cuddle. "My big, red teddy bear!"
Ananias took a moment to recover from his initial shock before letting out an amused chuckle and giving Zephyra a pat on the head. "Ah well, what the heck. You must be serious if you're actually starting to use my actual name this time around."
Zephyra giggled. "Don't get used to it, buster!"
Ending: Ananias and Zephyra
Ananias became the official messenger between the multitudes of Annas. His wife, Zephyra, found no shortage of entertainment while visiting each and every one of her aunts and whatever fun things that they had to offer for her.
Author's Note: And that ends Zephyra's supports with Ananias. I hope that you enjoyed all of that! Writing supports for Ananias with other OC characters are always tricky, as I sort of have to show what the other OC is all about in one support while making it a unique interaction as a whole as well. What did you all think of Zephyra, Emmeryn's daughter? I'd really like to know. Next up, Ananias will support with Flavia's daughter, Lumaria, followed by Yarne, Laurent, and then Brady. After that, we can finally start with suggestions for Fates Supports. Until then, be patient! See you next time!
