A Lumen Ripple | An Elemental Story

Chapter 17 - Dating (and) the Bizarre, Part 1

The good night that Wade and Ember hoped for was now upon them.

Wade helped his Aunt and Uncle out in the kitchen as an eager Ember pushed open the front door as hard as she could. She stretched herself out in a pose with an eager smile.

"I'm home!" she exclaimed.

Wade sloshed over to her like a child on Christmas day, wrapping her in a much-needed hug. She took the embrace in, closing her eyes. Joining in the shenanigans, the Sea-Nears soon followed Wade's suit.

"Ember! How was work?" Aunty Sea-Near asked.

Ember chuckled half-heartedly, letting go of a smirking Wade and slicking her flames about with a hand. She held her arm, a bit hesitant.

"Oh-- wow! It's... well." she began.

In growing nerves to express her concerns to anyone else besides Wade, she looked down in her spot for a moment. Upon looking up, she saw three of the most comforting smiles imaginable. Aunty Sea-Near, Uncle Sea-Near, Wade. Wade's was the proudest of the lot. She reeled herself into that smile, taking note of how much brighter it looked in comparison to the last couple of days post-work.

Relieved that he was looking so, she took a deep breath, allowing herself to open up.

"I think I'm going for an examination on Friday," she announced.

Wade and the Sea-Near's gasped in unison, some to the point of wiping down their cheeks with their hands.

"Friday?!?!" Wade barked excitably.

Ember jumped on his bandwagon of excitement, nodding her head and holding her hands in a prayer mannerism.

Wade - on the verge of tears - took her and picked her up in a hug once more, albeit a bit more passionately. The Sea-Nears quickly came and joined the hug in congratulations.

"Ember-- that's incredible!" Uncle Sea-Near admired.

They all laughed in joy in their embrace, letting it gradually die down naturally. When it did, Ember looked over to Wade. He returned her gaze with a prideful smile, wiping a tear.

A rather unprofessional thought entered her head - perhaps a result of being penned up throughout the workday. She let out a cheeky smirk, gripping Wade by the hips and pulling him close. Caught off-guard, Wade's eyes bulged out of his streams, arms to his sides helplessly. The Sea-Nears shielded their eyes from the display of affection to the point of cringe.

Ember looked Wade up and down, noticing him wearing his work clothes.

"So is that what you're wearing tonight?" she pressed.

Wade blushed like a princess, holding a hand at his mouth. Out of the know, the Sea-Nears looked at each other.

"Tonight? What's tonight?" Uncle Sea-Near queried.

Ember and Wade looked at them, equally as blankly.

"Oh! I offered to take Ember out on a date tonight." Wade recalled.

Much like he, she giggled cutely in admiration, a hand at her mouth in mirroring. The Sea-Nears shot them a petrified look in discomfort.

"Mmm. Mm-hmm. Right-- right. Yeah-- okay." Uncle Sea-Near stammered.

Slipping into her usual sassy nature, Ember raised an eyelid, folding her arms in a pose. Wade stood by in a pose straight as a soldier.

"What's with that?" she queried.