Proximity Alone

The next morning, Eris woke to the sound of a scuffle. Her eyes slowly opened to the sight of Skuld trying to drag Ephemera off the bed. The curly haired boy clung to the sheets in an attempt to resist against Skuld's strength.

"Sorry for waking you, Eris," Skuld apologized as she glance the said girl's way. "Ephemera here really needs to stop sneaking in and out of people's houses!"

"It's only Eris' house! Plus, I do it all the time!" Ephemera tried to counter.

"A little warning would be nice before you go and disappear out of nowhere again!"

Eris stared on at the scene, still only half awake. The two always reminded her of an old married couple, with how they bounce off each other so effortlessly in these kinds of situations.

"Uh," Ventus' voice cut in from the doorway. "Can you guys keep it down?" The blonde rubbed at his eyes as he peeked his head in, cautiously.

"Ventus!" Ephemera exclaimed as he suddenly let go of the sheets and sent both him and Skuld falling backwards. Quickly getting back on his feet, he helped Skuld up and grinned at the boy at the door. "How have you been?"

Ventus sighed, but returned the smile nonetheless. "Would be doing better if I was still asleep right now, but yeah. How about you?" He replied.

"Doing good! Slept well. Eris' mattress is so comfy. I should just move in here!" He answered, entangling his hand in his curly gray locks.

"Haha, very funny," Ventus heckled. "By the way, you all need to leave soon. We're all going to be heading out soon."

Skuld raised a brow. "Where are you all going? Is there some occasion?" She asked curiously as she dusted off her clothes.

"We all have to go over to Riku's parents' house," He answered albeit bitterly. "They're going to evaluate us, seeing if we're eligible to be freeloading off of them, pretty much."

"Aren't his parents filthy rich or something?" Ephemera asked, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed once more. "Figures, though. You all just got jobs just recently. You've had it good so far. It's time to face the average man's struggle."

"You're anything but average, Ephemera," Skuld retorted, not even sparing a glance at the said male.

"Wait," Ephemera interjected once more. "Is Eris going? She can't be. She's sick, you know?" His hands waved wildly as he spoke. His expression twisted in concern.

"She has to, sadly. Riku tried to convince them to either push the date back or let her stay behind, but they rejected both ideas," Ventus explained with a worried sigh. "Nothing we can do except keep an eye on her while we're there."

"We should let them get ready, Ephemera," Skuld told the boy next to her in a soft voice. "Let's head home. You can always come see Eris tomorrow."

Ephemera turned his head to lock eyes with Eris. "Meet me down at the beach tonight after seeing Riku's parents, okay?" He told her as he stood up and locked arms with Skuld. "Is that okay with you?"

Skuld grinned and rolled her eyes. "Well, at least you're telling me now."

The two went on their way after exchanging goodbyes. Eris hopped out of bed afterwards, exiting her room to go downstairs and make breakfast. Hobbling down the stairs, she realized she felt much better than the other day.

"Morning, dweeb," Vanitas' muffled gruff voice greets her from his seat in the dining room as he stuffs his face with a chocolate donut. "Looks like you're feeling better, I guess?"

Eris smiled. He had taken care of her the past two days, so she knew he had to have been worried. "I am. Thanks for looking after me, Vanitas," she replied, gratuitously.

The ebony hair male grumbled as a light pink settled on his cheeks. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not into that sappy shit," he told her. "Now I don't have to bust my ass over you now."

It was easy to read Vanitas, as always. He tried to act tough, but he loved feeling important to others and cared a lot about the people he was close to.

"You could just say "you're welcome", but alright."