Work Text:
Reminder: Bring ice-cubs for Wade.
Ember types it out on her phone in her Notes app, before scrolling up to read her other notes for the day. Despite it being her day off, she has a lot to do today.
When doing so, Wade walks past her, having just cooked breakfast for the both of them.
“You have your keyboard in Firish?” He asks, glancing at her phone.
“You didn’t know?” Ember asks her boyfriend, putting her phone away. “I mostly have it to communicate better with my parents. They still have difficulty writing English, but they get better.”
“I find it pretty cool!” Wade says, putting his girlfriend’s breakfast in front of her before sitting down across from her.
A fun idea pops in Ember’s head.
“You wanna know how you write your name in Firish?” She asks her boyfriend curiously.
“Sure.” Wade answers, taking a piece of ice bread and popping it in his mouth.
Knowing his answer, Ember grabs a piece of paper and a pen, and writes her boyfriend’s name in her native language. When she’s done, she hands the piece of paper to Wade.
The Water-guy takes it, and looks at the four Firish symbols that make his written name. It looks so surreal, yet so beautiful.
“And?” Ember asks, waning to know what her boyfriend thinks.
“It’s beautiful.” Wade answers with wonder, quite impressed. “Just curious, but how do I say your name in Firish?”
“K’áìshí.” Ember answers straightforward.
“Kaishi…” Wade attempts to say, butchering it a bit.
“No, no.” Embers chuckles, finding her boyfriend’s mispronouncing her name quite adorable. “It’s K’áìshí.”
“Kaishí.” Wade attempts it again, this time getting the last part right.
“A bit better.” The Fire-woman says, liking how the last part of her name sound coming from his voice.
“C-can I just call you Shí?” Wade asks, a bit nervous. “Or is that disrespectful or a weird word-“
“Don’t worry, it isn’t.” Ember chuckles, finding the nickname adorable. “Only you can call me Shí.”
Wade basically breaths a sigh of relief. He doesn’t want to disrespect Fire culture again.
“Thanks.” He says with a smile. “I find it impressive that you know two languages.”
“What do you mean?” The Fire-woman asks. “I just grew up with both.”
“Well, I only know English my whole life.” Wade says, feeling a bit dumb compared to his girlfriend.
“Ah.” Ember says, before a question pops in her head. “Do Water-people have their own language as well?”
“I think so.” Wade answers, remembering having a class about where Water-people came from and their culture. “It’s called Wateren I think, and it originates from Oceania.”
“Huh.” Ember says. Now that she thinks about it, every element has to have their own country and culture. It’s only logical.
“Can you teach me a few words in Firish?” Wade then asks, genuinely interested.
Embers gives her boyfriend a warm smile, truly appreciating that he wants to learn more about her culture.
“Of course.”