Chapter 6

The next few weeks passed similarly. Furina almost never left the house, except to buy macaroni or sauce or to give some of her clothes for dry cleaning. She still had bouts of sadness and depression when thinking about the past and anxiety and worry when thinking about the future, but overall, she was feeling so much better. She had to admit that Navia, Clorine, and especially Aether were mostly responsible. They kept visiting her every other day. She could see that they were busy, but they still managed to squeeze in a meeting with her into their schedules, for which Furina was eternally grateful. They comforted her when she was sad, helped her around the house, never forgot to bring her cake, and generally made her happy, especially her disastrous dancing lessons with Aether. The only thing she wouldn't do with them was get out of the house more. They wanted to go on a walk, or to a café, or to a restaurant, or to a performance, but she always declined and wouldn't budge. Especially the thought of going to the opera made her shudder. She wanted to steer clear of that place for the time being. Thankfully, the others were an understanding bunch, so they didn't pressure her, especially Aether.

Especially Aether.

Why did she keep thinking about him in this way? In truth, even though she had known Navia and Clorinde for much longer, she somehow felt closest to Aether for some reason. She even confided in him things about her past that she thought she would never share with anyone. He always listened attentively and silently, without interrupting, until she got it all off her chest. And if she cried, he just hugged her and started patting her on the head; that always calmed her down somehow. Even when they were talking about random things, she would sometimes notice that he was staring at her and doing seemingly normal things, like tidying up the kitchen, drinking tea, or eating cake. But when she looked back at him, he always turned his gaze back at Paimon, pretending to listen to whatever she was talking about. Even worse, she caught herself staring at him a couple of times, deaf to the conversation, until Paimon startled her with her high-pitched voice. She knew how these things worked in movies and theater, but that's not how it worked in real life, right?

Okay, maybe she did like him. A lot. But there was no way he liked her back, right? After all, he was the mighty and famous Traveler, while she was... well, nothing, really. Just regular Furina with nothing special about her and not even a vision. Even worse, she couldn't do many things that regular people could in their daily lives; she had to learn everything like a child. And the most depressing thing of all was that she was probably hated by many in Fontaine. She knew now what Neuvillette had told Fontainians: that Furina gave all her divinity to the Oratrice, becoming a regular human being. But the Oratrice was now destroyed to prevent the prophecy, so she was now resigning her post as Archon. Some people might have believed this, but there were obvious gaps in his explanation, so Furina was sure that most didn't and just assumed she was lying to them for generations. So, how could Aether like someone like that?

One day, as she was having these depressive thoughts, she heard a knock on the door. She didn't need to peek through the window to see who it was; she knew the knocking by heart and rushed to the door. And just as she was thinking about him (which wasn't actually a rare occurrence), there was Aether at the door, with Paimon flying close behind him. She didn't share her thoughts with him, of course; that would be inappropriate for a lady... wouldn't it?

After Aether told her about their latest thrilling adventure in the Erinnyes Forst and the usual banter, Furina grew silent and pensive. Aether noticed this and asked, "Are you alright, Furina".

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking... I told you so much about myself already; you probably know me better than anyone by now," she blushed slightly. "But I don't really know that much about you. You know, the real you. I want to know more about you."

Aether paused, putting his fork on the table, his cake only half-eaten. "Are you sure you want to hear it? It's a... rather long story."

"I do. Really."

Aether looked at Paimon, who smiled encouragingly. After all, why not tell her? She shared so much with him; why shouldn't he share as well? He knew he could trust her, he wanted to trust her. Besides, he somehow found it impossible to resist her requests, especially when she had that cute, wonderful look of determination in her eyes. He rubbed his temple, as if to better remember, and started talking.

"You already know that I am looking for my sister, right? We were inseparable with my sister, and she was everything to me. You also know of the Abyss Order?"

"Yes... but what do the two things have in common?"

After each step in his adventure and after every revelation, he found it harder and harder to talk about it. With Paimon's help, he recounted almost the entire story, except for secrets he had promised to protect and some of the most disturbing things he had seen, like what happened at the Chasm. It was painful to talk about, but he also felt like some kind of poison was flowing out of him. Sometimes, like when he got to the part where he actually met his sister, he found it hard to continue. But then he looked into Furina's eyes, and that gave him the strength to continue.

Furina listened attentively. She really wanted to interrupt him with some questions, especially at places where she felt he was omitting something but forced herself not to. When Aether was listening to her, he never interrupted. Towards the end of the story, as it was approaching the Traveler's visit to Fontaine, he started getting visibly emotional.

"And then... shortly before coming to Fontaine, we met Dainsleif again, and I saw her Furina, I saw her past... I was her in the past. And she was the same as I remember, but then why... when I met her in the future, her eyes were different, I saw them, and the way she called my name was different... she was different... and I... don't understand..."

He knew he wasn't making much sense, but he didn't know how to explain or what to say. How does one explain the touch and feel of the Abyss itself? How could he explain the voice from the crystal without sounding insane? He couldn't say anything anymore; it was hard for him to speak. He wasn't crying; it was just that he felt something like a lump in his throat. He didn't know he would get so upset when trying to talk about it.

Furina got up from her chair and embraced him. He put his head between her head and her shoulder, and she put one hand on his back and started patting his head with the other one.

"Why are you patting my head?" asked Aether after a while.

"I don't know; why do you always pat my head when I'm upset?"

"I thought it helps."

"It does help me. Does it help you?"

"... it does."

Aether quickly calmed down, and the rest of the evening went normally. They laughed, they danced a bit, they cooked, they had dinner, and then some more cake. But a single thought occupied Aether's mind the whole time: Was it really the head pats that helped? Or was it that Furina was doing it? As night fell and the Traveler and Paimon had to go, there was something that he could not pretend to ignore any longer. As they stood up, he gave Furina a hug.

But Furina quickly realized that that was not one of the ordinary hugs he gave her. His hands were not on her back or head, but on her waist, and he was also pulling her a lot closer than normal. She hesitated for a few seconds. What if it wasn't proper? What if it confused her even more? But she quickly found out she didn't care. All she wanted, just this once, just this moment, was to be happy.

So, she wrapped her hands around his neck, pulled him even closer, and kissed him.

She felt his hands moving on her back, holding her even more tightly. Every part of her body felt more excited and more alive than ever, as if something was bubbling inside of her from the tips of her (still slightly hurting) toes to the top of her head. She couldn't stop kissing him, touching his neck, touching his hair.

Aether felt as if his head had just exploded, and his brain lay somewhere behind him. He didn't understand what happened around him, and he didn't care, he couldn't think. All he could notice was Furina in front of him. He had been with other girls and kissed many times, but he never, ever felt like this. He couldn't stop, and nothing else mattered.

For the first time in her life, Paimon displayed a sense of tact. She quietly went to the kitchen and scavenged what was left of Furina's cake. She was pretty sure they wouldn't notice or care.

They had no idea how much time had passed when they finally let go. Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Furina's face was bright red, and Aether was smiling brightly, both of their hearts pounding.

"So... how was it?" couldn't help herself but ask Furina. "It was my first kiss after all. To tell you the truth, I always imagine it would be somewhere on a high cliff with beautiful scenery, or maybe at a beautiful restaurant. But I never imagined it would be on the first floor of my new house, hehehe..."

"Even if you gave me the worst kiss ever, I would've still loved it. Because I love you, Furina."

"Eh? But... but given the way that I am now... I can't give you everything you need, I can't... I'm no longer an Archon, I..."

"I told you already, I don't care about any of that. All I care about... is you."

"Me?"

She looked into his eyes. Aether saw something there for the first time. Even when she was at her lowest, at her most vulnerable, he never saw that. Was it... weakness? Or more like tenderness? Was Furina finally letting her guard down around him?

"Well then... I love you too, Aether."

That was all he wanted to hear. So, he kissed her again... and again... and again. In the end, they were both smiling, and then they were both laughing.

"Would you like to stay the night at my humble abode?" asked Furina.

"I'd love to."

Then they heard a very loud burp from the kitchen.

"Oh, no, I think Paimon finished the last of your cake!"