"Here again today? Go ahead."
Aether bowed in appreciation before once again entering the apartment building and up the stairs. He had finished his commissions early today and as promised, went to visit Furina after sending Paimon away to hang out with Navia again— this time without anything pressing on his to-do list. He knocked on her door thrice before calling out her name. "Furina?" He heard another bang though less loud than yesterday before hearing fast footsteps coming towards the door. It swung open to reveal a frantic Furina who was clearly in the middle of cooking again judging from her stained apron.
"Aether? I was expecting you to come later!" She exclaimed in shock at seeing him.
"Did I come at a bad time again?"
"N–no, not at all. I was in the middle of making lunch." A nervous laugh escaped her, prompting her to clear her throat and regain her composure. "Come in, come in. You don't mind waiting a bit longer, do you?" She welcomed him in and closed the door behind them.
He was always fine with that, especially since he not only came early today but also didn't wait for her the day before. 'I still need to apologise for that…' "Furina, about yesterday—" He tried to say but she waved it off.
"Don't worry about it. I know what it's like to be busy," she told him with a cheery smile on her face. "You've already apologised with that cake. Thank you for that and for cleaning up my mess." While he didn't doubt Furina was grateful, Aether couldn't help but think she wasn't saying everything she wanted to say— mainly due to said cake still being on her dining table. A glass dome covered it with a single slice cut out. While he admittedly wasn't as acquainted with Furina as he wished prior to her trial (not for lack of trying; she was pretty busy as Archon), he knew for a fact she had a sweet tooth. For her to have only eaten a single slice since yesterday was… concerning.
Before he could question her about it, Furina asked him to sit down while she finished making lunch. Now that she mentioned it, he finally noticed the scent of something delicious wafting from the kitchen; more specifically, a pot currently boiling on a fire. He also noticed the bowl of boiled spaghetti on the countertop next to the stove. Seeing as there was little else to do, Aether went to sit facing Furina in the kitchen. He watched her in silence as she resumed where she left off, adding seasoning and mixing the pot of what he presumed to be the pasta sauce while consulting her cookbook. However, it didn't take long before the visitor got sick of the quiet waiting— "How have you been lately, Furina?"
"Huh? Oh, I've been doing fine," she answered after a moment to realise what he said. "I've gotten letters from various troupes requesting my 'genius insight and expertise' for their plays but I've turned them all down. The letters were all addressed to the Palais so I don't think I need to worry about anyone knocking on my door to ask in person… aside from you, of course."
Aether couldn't help but let out a small nervous chuckle at being called out like that. "You don't need to worry about that either; I've learnt my lesson from last time."
"…Have you?"
Her voice was tiny and meek but he still heard her. Aether's mind raced as he tried to figure out what she meant; he hadn't asked her to do anything like that again so what was she talking about? Or did she think he was only visiting to ask another favour? "I'm only here to see how you're doing if that's what you're thinking."
"That's not… never mind," sighed Furina before redirecting the conversation to him. "And what about you? What have you been up to recently?"
"…Aside from my Adventurer work, nothing much," Aether answered after a moment of worried silence. Evidently, he was mistaken and said the wrong thing. "Charlotte's been badgering me for a full-length exposé on my life. I've said no but she's persistent."
"You too? She used to send me letters requesting interviews for the Steambird back when I was still the Hydro Archon. I was… too busy. That's the downside of being a celebrity; everyone wants your attention," the former Archon shrugged before letting out a happy and satisfied hmph. "There we go. The sauce is ready!" Furina hummed as she prepared their meals at last. The wait was finally over as she brought the plates of spaghetti to the table. "Tadaa~ Please enjoy!" It was hard not to crack a smile at how pleased she looked with herself; Aether certainly found that to be the case.
He started eating slowly, mainly due to how hot the sauce still was but also out of fear of the taste. Furina might have been following the recipe to a T but she did spend most of her life having someone else cook for her. If Ei had taught him anything, it certainly wasn't how to cook. It was only recently since she stepped down from her position that she started preparing food for herself. To his mild surprise, it tasted good.
'Oh right, this is what she's been eating all the time.' Aether mentally slapped himself for forgetting that fact. It was only natural that she'd be great at making pasta. He complimented her cooking, making her smile brighter.
"Thank you, Aether. To be honest, this is my first time trying this specific recipe so I was unsure how it'd turned out. It makes me happy you like it," she admitted with a little nervousness in her voice. "Um… the cake you made yesterday was pretty good too. I mean, I only ate a bit but it's one of the best I've had the pleasure of eating— and that's saying something."
Aether accepted the compliment with a small chuckle. He offered, "If you want, I can make another one after you finish that one."
"I'll only finish that if you eat with me," Furina counter-offered before quickly adding, "It's not right that you don't get to savour your own work. I can't finish it on my own anyway." He doubted that but it wasn't like he wanted to dispute her, not again for something so minor. Besides, something sweet was nice, especially one he himself made.
Furina made the main course while he made the dessert— leftover from yesterday but dessert nonetheless. It was… nice if Aether had to describe it; just the two of them eating together with Aether continuing the conversation where they left off. He talked about how he was finally getting used to the sort of commissions unique to Fontaine, how the Steambird rewarded him with a new pair of glider wings for his work, and more. Throughout it all, Furina listened intently with awe in her eyes.
Once they got to the cake, Furina proved how much she liked desserts by eating two and a half slices by the time Aether finished his first. That was all he felt like eating which unfortunately meant it was nearly time for him to leave. He wasn't sure if Furina was fine with him sticking around longer than needed; he had visited to see how she was doing and now that it was clear she was holding up just fine— "It was nice talking to you, Furina. Although I think I didn't give you the chance to talk much."
"Don't worry about it. As I said, I've not done much of note for a while," she laughed cheerfully. "I also like hearing what you've been up to; there's never a dull day with you, isn't there?"
"Unfortunately not." Aether shared her laugh before finally saying goodbye. As he was about to leave her apartment, Furina asked if he would visit her tomorrow too. "Hmm… I can't promise that I'll come by tomorrow but I'm sure I'll visit soon." While Paimon would (likely) not mind staying with Navia and eating her special macaroons, Navia herself might start to suspect something was up if he constantly sent his companion her way.
Not that there was anything wrong with Navia knowing he was visiting Furina. Not at all. Regardless, his answer satisfied Furina who smiled as she nodded. "Then we shall meet again. Until next time, Aether."
As the Traveller walked away from her apartment building, he felt a weight he didn't realise he had left his shoulders. After the disastrous visit the day before and the rather not-actually-a-visit that first time, a hidden part of him was anxious to actually spend time with Furina— the real Furina —as friends. 'Third time's the charm and all that…' He just hoped next time would be just as successful as this time.
A/N: I procrastinated more on this chapter than I thought but hey, I did a good enough job. I've decided to actually acknowledge Paimon's existence in my fics for once but whether she'd appear remains to be seen. In any case, hope you all enjoy this chapter and see you next time!