Warping into his teapot realm was something she might never get used to. Some time ago, Aether handed her a special realm pass, what was it called? Oh right, the realm dispatch. The first time she warped into his realm, she nearly puked all over the floor, and she needed Aether to help her move around.

How he manages to warp in and out everyday, was beyond her. Yet, despite the uncomfortable method of entering, she loved hanging out and spending time in his realm, the view was amazing, and the weather was always pleasant, plus the owner was her closest friend, so that was always a reason to come here. Time worked differently as the realm somehow had its own day-and-night cycle and she was sure there were time disparities between the realm and the outside world.

"Greetings. Welcome to Master Aether's personal realm. If you are looking for him, he is unfortunately not present." The voice of the adeptus bird was heard.

Oh that was too bad, Furina thought. She came in here in search for Aether since she was currently bored out of her mind. She had already finished her rehearsal and was done with all the necessary preparation needed for her next musical.

"Oh, I see. May I know when Aether will return?" Furina inquired.

"I am unsure. But, according to his usual schedule, he should be back in no time. As per Master Aether, you are allowed to do whatever you wish here." The bird answered, "Also, I would like to let you know that Master Aether already has a few guests present. Please enjoy your stay."

The bird returned to her own teapot, ending their short conversation.

With nothing else to do, she decided to have a look around while waiting for Aether. She knew the traveler had good taste but after seeing his realm, she was even more sure. The architecture was a brilliant mix of the many regions he had visited, there were hints of Monstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, and Sumeru, even Fontaine had begun to creep up. Maybe she could add a couple more things to spice things up, she just needed Aether's permission first.

"Ah hello, hello! Another friend from another end of the world." A cheerful voice came from behind her as she walked under the eaves. She turned around only to be faced with a green-clad stranger. "Nice to meet you, friend! I see Aether has made more and more friends!'

"Oh…uh…hello. It's nice to meet you. My name is F-" Before she could finish she was cut off by the green stranger.

"Lemme guess! You must be Furina!" The green stranger giggled. "I'm glad to finally have met you, Miss Furina."

"H-how do you know my name?" Furina asked. She never met such a person in her life.

"Oh, our mutual friend, the legendary Traveler here told me about your tales!" The green stranger smiled. "My name is Venti, Mondstadt's greatest bard. Come, come! The others are already here!" The bard, now revealed as Venti, pushed her forward towards the gardens.

What others ? Was he bringing her to a bard's convention? She didn't know Aether befriended that many bards. Venti continued to guide her through the gardens, eventually reaching the sizable patio. She noticed there were two other individuals present, one was a tall woman who looked Inazuman while the other was a small girl who looked like someone from Sumeru.

Wait a minute, isn't that…THE RAIDEN SHOGUN? And if she were to guess who the others are, the little girl should be the Dendro Archon while this bard should be Mondstadt's Anemo Archon. Beads of sweat were falling down her face. What did she get herself into?

"Hey hey! Looks like we're going to have a new guest today!" The bard giggled.

"Uh…Hello," Furina managed to utter, her voice carrying a mix of awe and uncertainty. Never in her five hundred years of acting had she encountered another Archon in the flesh. The bard graciously guided her to an empty seat, taking one for himself and taking out a bottle of wine from his belongings.

"Hello. My name is Ei. It's nice to finally meet you, Miss Furina." The Raiden Shogun gave her a warm smile. Furina was unsure of what to do, seeing a warm smile from the warrior god gave her a feeling of dissonance she could not wipe away. "My name is Nahida, hehe. I've heard a lot about you." Came from the Dendro Archon.

"It's…uhm great to meet you all?" Furina said. Being in the presence of real Archons was intimidating to say the least.

"Do you want a drink, loosen up a little, Furina!" Venti offered.

"Please don't spread your alcoholism, Venti. We don't need any more drunkards." Ei sighed.

"Hehe, like Venti said, Miss Furina, we're all gathered here as friends. So you can relax, or maybe you could take a dook dook first. Flush that anxiety dookie away."

What's a dookie? Does it mean what I think it means?

"I'm sorry, but I'm not exactly an Archon, myself." Furina admitted sheepishly.

"Nonsense! You don't have to be a god to chat with us. And besides, you're pretty much an Archon in our books…hehe I love you wine~" Venti muttered the last part to himself.

"Indeed. We have heard of what you've done from Aether. You are an Archon in all but name in our eyes." Ei gave her a smile as she took a sip of her tea.

"I-I…don't know what to say." Furina muttered. "Thank you…"

"No need to thank us. Besides…you should be thanking the Traveler instead. He was singing you praises, which… was warranted." Venti managed to say between gulps of wine. "Say, are you willing to come to Mondstadt for the Windblume festival? Your artistic insight would surely help us a lot! I can't think of a better duo than music and opera!"

"Oh…I'll think about it." Furina replied. So Aether was talking about me to the other Archons? The realization that Aether had been speaking about her to the other Archons brought a mix of emotions. She felt both sheepish and shy, yet a subtle joy was dancing within her at the thought of being talked about by him.

"Hehehe, maybe you can also come to Sumeru? We have our own Zubayr Theater, where our artists come and gather for dances and more!" Nahida suggested as she sipped on her juice. Furina couldn't help but smile, the warmth and kindness emanating from the Archons touched her.

"Hey everyone! Paimon and Aether brought some tea we got from a friend from Fontaine. Hm? Where's Zho-. Wait, is that Furina?" The familiar voice of Paimon called out to the group.

The group turned towards the incoming voice. Aether and Paimon were walking over with boxes of cake on hand.

"Hello everyone. I didn't think I'd see you here, Furina." Aether smiled. Seeing Furina always made him smile.

All the members of the tea party exchanged greetings with the realm owner before enjoying cake and tea together.

"You know, I didn't expect to see you here. Not that I don't want you around." Aether chuckled. After the others left, only Aether, Paimon, and Furina remained. The flying mascot was flying around and playing with Tubby while Aether and Furina sat together side-by-side.

"I was bored so I went into your teapot to go look for you. Then Venti just came by and pushed me here." Furina shared. "You should know that it's your responsibility to entertain me, right?"

Aether chuckled. "Of course, Lady Furina. I'm at your service, if you'll have me."

"Then you won't be seeing the last of me yet, my witness." Furina giggled as she tidied her hair. She turned towards him. "By the way…Everyone else told me something…and I wanted to know why you did it."

"Hmm? What did they tell you?" Aether tilted his head.

"You…uhm…told them about…me, didn't you?" Furina twiddled her fingers as her face turned light pink.

Caught off guard, Aether blushed. "Oh…yeah, I did." He ran his hand through his hair. "Did..I do something wrong? I'm sorry."

"No, no, no. It's not that. I'm not mad. I just wanted to know why you did it." She reassured him. Furina's expression didn't change.

"I…uh…I just wanted them to know how you saved Fontaine, that's all, and how much of a hero you are." Aether admitted, "I wanted them to know what Furina and Focalors did."

Furina held his hand. "I see…" Furina stayed silent for a moment, "I didn't know you liked talking about me with others." Furina teased.

Aether, matching her playful tone, countered, "Who wouldn't talk about Fontaine's biggest and greatest celebrity? You're always on my mind." Their faces mirrored each other's shades of red.

"You sweet talker…Thanks." She said sheepishly, their hands still tied together. "I'm glad to have known you, Aether." She shared softly. "I don't think I'll be where I am right now, had you not come to visit me that day."

"I'm glad. I feel the same way." Aether smiled.

Furina turned her head to him. "Aether… can I… rest my head on your shoulder?" She looked sheepishly.

"Yeah…of course…" They scooted closer together, their bodies inching towards one another. Furina then nestled her head onto Aether's shoulder, and he gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder. In their closeness, they could feel the warmth emanating from each other. Their sense of time had all but faded. Seconds, minutes, hours could have passed, but they wouldn't be able to tell, as they were lost in the comfort of each other's presence.

It was only until Paimon came over did they split from each other.

AN:

Furina x Archon interactions :3