Sorry for the slow updates, I am having a miserable week at work. The next few chapers are going to be a bit lighter, mostly Furina and Aether having fun together.

Note: this chapter takes place after Furina's story quest. It assumes that the reader knows what happened in it. I was thinking of writing a chapter set during the quest, but I found myself repeeting the contents of the quest too much. So you can just fill the differences between the canon and this fic with your imagination :). Maybe I can go back at some point and write my version of it, but not now.

Chapter 11

As they were going back from Dulphy's house after checking up on her with the (soon to be defunct) troupe, Furina and Aether didn't talk at all. Furina was walking confidently a few steps in front of him and seemed engulfed in thought. Aether respected that and didn't want to interrupt at all. At one point, he even wondered if he should continue to her house with Furina or just spend the night at the Fleuve Cendre. But as he slowed down so he could fall behind a bit more, she turned back and gave him an encouraging smile. So, he just went.

When they entered the house, Furina turned to him, looked him in the eyes, and smiled. But it was a smile that Aether rarely saw on her face. It was different from the usual smiles she gave him: the smile when she hugged and kissed him, the smile when she was happy, the smile when she was upset, and he was comforting her. It was a calmer, warmer, more mature smile.

"So..." She started but didn't continue.

"That was beautiful, Furina!" exclaimed Paimon. "Paimon didn't know you could sing as well as you could dance. Even better than that! It was so amazing, Paimon even cried a bit at the end." Which is probably why she was late with the fake Vision prop, Aether thought to himself.

"Thanks, Paimon. I am quite confident in my singing skills. I just don't sing very often in front of others. And," she tuned to Aether, "it is much more difficult to teach someone to sing well than to dance."

Finally, Aether spoke. "I am so proud of you, Furina. And so happy."

"Yes," she said. "A Vision. It's wonderful, isn't it."

"It is. But I'm not talking about the Vision. I am proud of you."

Furina didn't respond; she just kept smiling. So, Aether continued. "And I feel like a complete idiot."

"What? Why?"

"The past few weeks, I've been telling you to focus on yourself instead of others. I thought you would overcome your fears and anxieties by putting yourself first instead of always helping others. But instead, you overcame them BY helping others. I am a fool, and I should know you better by now. I always said you were too caring and gentle, but that was a dumb thing to say. It is just who you are. And honestly, that makes me admire and love you even more."

"Thanks, Aether," said Furina as she wrapped her hands around his neck. "For everything."

"You really didn't need my advice, did you?"

"Of course I did. I needed your support, at least. But that's not what I meant. Thanks for trying to see through... to the real me. To be honest, I myself am not sure how much of 'the real me' is still there... but thanks for trying anyway."

"So, what now, Furina?" asked Paimon as the two fell silent again.

"As I said to the troupe, I am not as averse to a return to the stage as I previously thought. But... I don't want to return to full-time acting for now. Maybe consulting and directing are better choices. At least for now. Aether... you did mean what you said, right? That you'll invite me to join you on your next adventure?"

"Here in Fontaine." Aether wanted to make himself perfectly clear. "But yes, of course! You now have a Vision. There's no reason not to."

Furina smiled again and hugged him so tightly that it hurt. She was as happy as can be.

Aether slept like a baby that night. Happy about the love of his life, he felt like something big and heavy had disappeared from his chest. He woke up late, still expecting to find Furina beside him, but she wasn't there. Must have been very late then, he thought to himself, smiling. Still drowsy, he turned to the side, sat on the bed, and put his feet on the floor. "Am I dreaming?" he thought to himself. He had a feeling that his feet had landed in water. He looked down and froze. The floor was covered with water up to his ankles.

In the first few seconds, he just wondered what the hell was going on; his jaw dropped, and his eyes widened. Then he put two and two together. "Furina?!"

He went out of the room to find Furina at the door, frantically trying to get the water out of the house and out on the street with a mop, much to the dismay of passersby.

"Paimon? Paimon! Get some buckets and come here to help!"

As they were helping Furina, Aether couldn't help but giggle from time to time. Furina was still in a "state of undress," as she herself would put it; her hair was not made, and strands of it were stuck to her face, and she was sweating buckets (as if she wasn't wet enough already) trying to somehow push the water out of the house. His childish giggling seemed to spark her ire, but he just couldn't hold it back.

"Stop laughing at me, you asshole!" It was the first time she called him a word like that, but he didn't mind. He even found it cute.

Finally, after a few hours, they managed to drain the last of the water from the house. But of course, most of the floor, the bottom parts of the furniture, and all their shoes were still wet. Furina sat defeated in a chair, leaving a wet mop with the handle leaning against the wall. Paimon dropped next to her, tired of flying around with buckets full of water.

"Whew. Okay, now we should look out for mold in the next few days," explained Aether, the only one still standing.

Furina turned her face to him; she looked ready to cry. "M-mold?" Aether burst out laughing. "Come on, please stop laughing at me, I know I messed up..." pleaded Furina.

"Don't worry about the mold, I'll deal with it if it comes. Come on, I'll make you breakfast and a strong coffee," said Aether, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Sorry I laughed." He didn't really mean it. "How did you manage that anyway?"

"Well... you see, I couldn't really sleep most of the night, I was so excited. And you slept like an angel, so I didn't want to wake you. So, I got up and started studying my Vision... and then... it sort of just happened." Furina gestured broadly at the house, as she couldn't really explain what exactly she did.

As he was bringing her (and Paimon, of course) breakfast and coffee, she turned to him, her eyes glittering. "Aether! Why don't you teach me? Ah, I nearly forgot..." Her eyes lost the sparkle. "You've never used a Vision either."

"But I can still show you some things! I've picked up a few things on elemental manipulation along the way, and I have Hydro powers now."

"Really?!" Furina was so excited, and he adored it. "Can you show me? Today?"

"Yes," said Aether. "But definitely not here!"

"No! Of course not!" immediately responded Furina, terrified of another accident. "This is a good opportunity to get out of the house. That's what you wanted anyway, isn't it? Let's go to the beach. We won't fear getting wet there."

"Only if you're sure, love."

"I'm sure, love." She really wanted to learn how to use her vision.

"Yay, the beach!" exclaimed Paimon, revived by the powers of Aether's hearty breakfast.

"Okay," said Aether. "Finish your breakfast and get ready. Maybe take a shower, you look like a mess, Furina."

Furina jumped from her chair, full of energy, as if she had received an electric shock. "Excuse me?!" She grabbed the wet mop, which she had left leaning against the wall, and swung at Aether, which he easily avoided. "Didn't I teach you manners? How dare you say such things to me?" Another swing, another miss.

Aether burst out laughing again. The sight of Furina chasing him around the house with a wet mop and vengeance in her eyes was just too good. He only saw one problem. Furina's swings were so clumsy that he could dodge them with his eyes closed.

"I thought of something else too," he said. Furina had gotten close, but he just grabbed the mop handle from her hands, tossed it away, and took her in his embrace. "We'll have to teach you how to use a sword too."