#Ephemer kh | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

vannahfanfics · 2 years ago

Text

Saccharinity

Word Count: 2785

Fluff, Romance, First Dates

Summary: You and Ephemer go on your first date.

A special commission oneshot I did for my good friend @taruchinator! This version is de-personalized to read as a generic reader, and this is my first real attempt at writing second-person POV, so I hope you all enjoy it. If you’re interested in commissioning a special x Reader oneshot, please see my Ko-fi!

You reclined against the bench with a soft sigh, your hooded eyes content as you watched the water gush up from the center of the fountain. The crystal-clear water sparkled in the bright sunlight streaming down from the azure sky above. It was warm on your skin, prompting you to roll your shoulders with a satisfied hum. The serene atmosphere had your eyes drifting shut; you were so at peace that you didn’t even open them when the distant toll of the clock tower resonated through Daybreak Town to mark the noon hour.

You might have even dozed off a little—you must have, for it sure felt like you jolted awake when you heard a soft, sweet voice chuckle, “I’ve kept you waiting too long, if you had time to fall asleep like this.”

Your eyes snapped open just as a hand brushed over your cheek; a swathe of your hair had slipped into your face with the sleepy bobbing of your head, and the newcomer tenderly tucked it back behind your ear. To this, however, you did not react with surprise; you had dozed off, yes, but you were not so disoriented as to not recognize the young man leaning over you with an adoring smile.

“Ephemer…”

“Sorry,” he apologized with a crooked grin. “I kept you waiting.”

You quickly shook your head.

“No, I wanted to sit here for a while and enjoy the fountain, so I got here a little early,” you insist with a wave toward it. “It’s such a lovely day, after all.”

“It is a lovely day,” he agreed, and you blushed, sensing that he was not really referring to the pleasant weather. It could be raining buckets complete with flashing lightning and booming thunder, and you had a feeling that Ephemer would still think it a lovely day simply because the two of you were going on a date together—your first date together.

The two of you belonged to the same faction, with you joining somewhat later than he. You’d quickly gravitated toward his cheerful, carefree, and slightly cocky personality; what first established itself as a solid friendship gradually grew into something more. The more time you’d spent with him, the more he began to occupy your mind. Late at night, you’d found your thoughts clouded by his airy laughs and sweet smile, found yourself replaying conversations from the day just to smile or giggle at something he’d said, found yourself aching for his presence beside you so that you could just talk about everything until the dawn rose.

You’d been delighted to learn that the feeling was mutual, as Ephemer had approached you yesterday evening after an assignment to bashfully ask you to accompany him around town on your joint day off. “As a date, you know,” he’d made sure to clarify, the boyish hope in his teal eyes at total odds with the confidence he poured into his crooked grin. He’d illuminated like a bright star at your acceptance; unable to contain his excitement, he’d pumped his fist and stamped his feet with a gleeful declaration of “I can’t wait!”

“Although I completely understand if you want to get back to your nap—” Ephemer chuckled, snapping you out of your thoughts. The roguish grin playing over his lips only served to deepen the haze of pink already much at home in your cheeks. “—there’s somewhere I’d like to take you.”

“Oh, of course!” you exclaimed and hopped up from the bench. As you stood, he reached up to poke your forehead—a gesture that had long since become familiar. And just like always, you reached up to put your hand on your forehead while smiling cheekily at him.

Unlike every time before, however, words failed you before you could quip a little barb. The sly boy had used the momentary distraction to grab ahold of your other hand. The warmth of his palm suddenly blooming against yours instantly rendered you breathless, and your eyes were owlish when you whipped your head to gape at him in surprise.

“Was that too forward?” he fretted, smiling bashfully while using his other hand to scratch at the side of his face. “I’m sorry—”

When he tried to slip his hand out of yours, you stubbornly locked his fingers around his. It was Ephemer’s turn to look at you in shock. Despite the butterflies flapping wildly in your belly and your heart playing your ribcage like a xylophone, you managed to shyly stammer, “N-no… I was just surprised, that’s all. It’s, um… nice.”

And it was nice. It felt like your hand belonged in Ephemer’s; it felt like you were a stray key that had finally found its lock.

“Yeah?” he murmured softly, and your heart somersaulted in your chest when he gave you a smile sweet enough to fill your mouth with cavities that very instant. “I think it’s nice, too,” he agreed with a gentle squeeze of your hand.

You two had better start moving, else you were liable to die before you got there—wherever there was. This boy was not good for your heart! Seriously, you were swooning on the spot, head fuzzy and legs wobbly and ears ringing with the sound of your booming heartbeat.

Ephemer seemed to sense your duress, for he chuckled and tugged lightly on your hand as he began strolling through the fountain square at a leisurely pace.

You hastily scurried forward to keep up with him, the soles of your shoes scuffing the stone with each of your shy, shuffling steps. You ducked your head, unable to stop smiling; you were holding Ephemer’s hand and on a date with him! Feeling a little bold, you closed some of the distance between the two of you, an action that the silveret acknowledged with a slight smile and another gentle squeeze of your hand.

Ambling along in comfortable silence, the two of you exited the fountain plaza to meander up the staircases through the 1st and 2nd Districts, eventually arriving at the market. It seemed that the two of you weren’t the only ones who had taken notice of what a fine day it was; the market was more bustling than usual, with scores of people perusing the myriad of wares for sale or congenially chatting with the vendors. Still others streamed in and out of the collection of stores, cafés, and other small businesses encircling the market plaza.

As if all the activity wasn’t already stimulating, your mind buzzed with the burning question of why Ephemer brought you here. This was obviously his destination, for his pace had slowed to a deliberate wander along the left side of the bazaar. Was he intending on buying you a gift? Did he want to eat lunch at one of the cafés? Oh, how you wanted to know—but Ephemer’s serenely content expression betrayed nothing of his intentions, leaving your belly to swirl hopelessly with anticipation.

You were trying to distract yourself by studying the assortment of fruits displayed in the market stall nearby when Ephemer tugged on the sleeve of your jacket to get your attention.

“This is the place, right?” he asked as you turned to look at him, curiosity written all over your features. Your eyes skipped from him to the building before you, a quaint white-and-pink shop squashed between a flower shop and a boutique. You immediately recognized it as—“The bakery that you like?”

“You remembered!” you gasped delightedly. This was, in fact, your favorite bakery in all of Daybreak Town; you simply adored their selection of sweet treats, especially their delectable cakes. You’d gushed about them to Ephemer on more than one occasion—but not nearly so often for you to have expected him to commit its name to memory. When you gave Ephemer a happy smile, he just shrugged—but the grin playing over his lips betrayed how excited he was to have pleased you.

“Let’s go inside!” you squealed and rushed for the door, dragging a laughing Ephemer along behind you. As you scurried in, you were greeted with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly-baked bread, sugary-sweet icings, rich chocolate, lemon zest, spicy cinnamon, and countless other scents blended into one tantalizing harmony. You dashed right up to the counter and squatted down to pore over the enticing selection. Your nose and one hand were pressed against the glass, while your other still clutched tightly to Ephemer’s simply because you were so preoccupied with the tasty-looking pastries before you that you hadn’t even registered you were still holding it. Your eyes flicked left and right as you mentally weighed options, each one making more drool flood your mouth.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you loved this place!” Ephemer cried suddenly. You glanced up to see him holding his belly as he doubled over slightly from the force of the laughter wracking his frame. You couldn’t really find it within yourself to be that embarrassed, though—not when he was looking at you with complete and utter adoration. You just smiled coyly, resting your head against the glass case. After laughing for several seconds, he straightened up with a contented sigh and looked down at you while pushing his hand into his silvery curls.

“Ah, sorry. You were just so adorable; I couldn’t help myself,” he chortled, and you felt that familiar full-body rush of heat as a mixture of giddiness and bashfulness washed over you. Ephemer kneeled down next to you, bringing his head close to yours to peer into the display case. The proximity just further reddened your cheeks, but you couldn’t help but peer out of the corners of your eyes at him to drink in his gorgeously long lashes, the wispy curls of his silver hair, the gem-like sheen of his teal eyes under the bright fluorescents…

You bit down on your lip and hurriedly averted your gaze back to the sweets when Ephemer suddenly peeked through his peripheral vision at you. You know he saw you staring, though, and he confirmed it with a breathy chuckle. He didn’t say anything, however, just returned his attention to the selection and tilted his head to the side slightly.

“You can have whatever you want,” he then said. “My treat.”

“Okay,” you agreed with a nod, still biting your lip but now to try and suppress the big, goofy grin trying to worm onto your face. It wasn’t really working. You looked back at the display, and as you scanned the options, something finally caught your eye.

Chocolate mousse cake… You read the small placard, and immediately, your buzzing taste buds decided that they must have it. You stood, and Ephemer must have also made his decision, for he rose directly after you. He moved to the register to place the order: a slice of the mousse cake for you, and a dreamy-looking strawberry shortcake for him. The pastry chef delivered them to the two of you on a pair of ceramic saucers, which Ephemer carried over to a nearby café table while you retrieved forks and napkins.

“Thanks.” He flashed you that dazzling smile of his when you sat down across from him and handed him a fork and napkin, and it filled you with the same airy, floaty feeling that gripped you every time he did so. However, your brain was not about to let you forget about the scrumptious cake in front of you; you soon found your gaze tugged down to it, and you wasted no time in scooping up some of the spongy cake and whipped mousse topping and bringing it to your mouth.

“Mmmmm…” you hummed in pure bliss, your lashes fluttering as the rich chocolatey goodness melted on your tongue. You were melting, too, slumping down in the chair like it rendered you boneless. Your mind swam in the heady deliciousness, so you barely registered Ephemer laughing at you again. But you did, and so you opened your eyes a sliver to see him leaning his cheek in his hand and regarding you with a dreamy smile. You flushed under such obvious reverence, and the pulse of adrenaline brought you back to reality.

“What’re you thinking?” you asked after swallowing your bite of cake, your inquisitive eyes on him as your fork reached for another.

“I’m thinking about what I have to do to make you as happy as that cake just made you,” he answered matter-of-factly.

Both his honesty and his answer threw you for a loop. Once you processed the statement, however, a rush of giddiness unlike anything you’d felt before—including two seconds ago when you’d been achieving nirvana thanks to this divine chocolate cake—coursed through you. A broad smile split your face, one far too big to even think of hiding behind your hand; you did anyway, holding the hand clutching the fork to your mouth as you coyly flapped your eyes at Ephemer.

“Say that, apparently,” you giggled. “In fact, I think you just made me happier than the cake did!”

“I could say it again if you’re unsure,” Ephemer smirked, his hand falling to the table as he sat up a little.

“No, no!” you protested with a laugh, shaking your head and holding your hands out in a placating gesture. “I don’t know if I can take hearing that twice! I might just explode with happiness!”

“Mhmm, that won’t do,” Ephemer said with a click of his tongue. “I’d miss you if you were gone.”

To his credit, he hadn’t repeated what he’d said; however, that comment was just as joy-inducing as the first. As your cheeks blazed red-hot like fire, you dropped the fork onto the saucer and slapped your hands to your face. It was all you could do not to squeal into them. You did, however, squeal very loudly in your own head, which is why you did not hear Ephemer quietly scooting the chair around the small table.

No, instead, you dropped your hands from your face to suddenly find him sitting next to you.

You might have jumped if it were not for the way his teal-green eyes instantly electrified you. You just sat there, mouth slightly agape and eyes as wide as the saucer sitting in front of you, as Ephemer gently took one of your hands a little closer.

“Can I try something?” he asked so softly, so gently, that you would have wondered if he’d spoken at all if not for his lips moving. You weren’t naïve; you had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to try. It both titillated and unnerved you, making your heart flutter in your chest and your entire body tingle with anticipation. You quashed that scared-excited feeling just enough to close your mouth and nod.

“Close your eyes,” Ephemer instructed in a voice that was, somehow, even softer than before. So soft that it entranced you like a spell, and you found yourself obeying without thinking much about it. As your eyes fluttered shut, you noticed his lips twitch into an adoring smile.

And then, a second later, those same lips were pressing gently to yours. A kiss as soft as his words, like feathers brushing lightly over your skin. They carried the sweetness of the spongecake and strawberries and icing, but also a saccharinity that was entirely Ephemer. As he lingered there for several seconds, just resting his mouth against yours, his thumb stroked across the top of your hand. Such a simple gesture, but one that had your heart soaring even more.

When he finally pulled back, your lips instantly curved into a small, bashful smile. You opened your eyes to find that he mirrored your grin. You wiggled shyly in your seat, then laughed airily, “Well, that definitely made me happier than the cake.”

“Oh, good,” Ephemer chortled. “I was beginning to think that I’d be unable to compete.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” you laughed as you retrieved your fork and scooped up some more of the cake, “I’m gonna miss this when it’s gone. This cake has definitely captured a little piece of my heart.”

“Well, I can content myself with having the rest of your heart, I suppose,” Ephemer smirked, his blue-green eyes flashing mischievously. He tilted his head to the side a little as his expression shifted back to fondness, and he then asked, “If you’ll give it to me, of course.”

And the look you gave him in return left no room for doubt. You scooched your chair closer so you could lean into him a little, and you answered him with a gaze just as soft as his.

“You already have it, Ephemer.”

#kingdom hearts #khux #ephemer #ephemer x reader #ephemer kh #kingdom hearts union x #kingdom hearts ux

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