"You know which one she's staying in, right? Go on up, she should be in right now. "

"Thank you," Aether nodded at the landlord outside the apartment building before heading in. He climbed the flights of stairs to reach the right floor and quickly found himself standing before the door of Fontaine's (former) biggest star. "…Maybe I should've brought a gift." It was his first time actually visiting her home. After a moment of thought, he elected to cook something for her in her kitchen; eating macaroni all the time must be getting stale, wouldn't— "AHH!" BANG!

"Furina?!" Without a second thought, Aether opened the door and ran in. The former Hydro Archon's new residence, in stark contrast to her previous lavish abode, was cramped and a bit of a mess; the living room, kitchen, and dining room were relegated to their own little corners of the room which meant that upon running in, he immediately saw what was wrong. Kneeling by the kitchen counter was Furina covered from head to toe with and spitting out flour; evidently from the ruptured bag on the floor in front of her, she was moving it around after baking when she tripped and fell on top of it. Now realising he had overreacted a tiny bit, Aether let out a relieved sigh as he went to help her.

"Ow…"

"Here, take my hand," Aether offered, which Furina gratefully tried to accept. As she was blinded by the flour, it wasn't exactly easy for her to find him— prompting him to take her hand to help her to her feet.

"Thank you…" An embarrassed Furina expressed her gratitude before asking him to get her a tissue or towel. A minute later, she finished cleaning her face and thanked Aether again for helping. "…Wait a second." She looked at him again and blinked, making sure he was actually there. Seeing that he was, she wiped her face with the towel again and looked back. "Aether?! What are you doing here?! You didn't break the lock, did you?!" She was in so much trouble with her landlord already! If he found out she busted the front door too then—

"No, you didn't lock it…" Aether pointed out as he glanced at her entrance. "And I heard you screaming so—"

"I got it, thank you very much," sighed Furina. Not only did she forget to lock her door, Aether just saw her in an embarrassing position. Even if they were sort of friends now, he could have at least the decency to send her a message that he would come by that day. She could've started making lunch early and had something for them to eat. Her look of slight frustration must have been more apparent than she thought as Aether quickly apologised for coming in uninvited. "It's fine. I'm not angry, just… Is there a reason for this visit?"

"No, there's no particular reason. I was just in the neighbourhood is all."

Right, the Adventurer's Guild was up the stairs from here and she lived across the street from the blacksmith, both spots Furina knew Aether frequented. She shouldn't be surprised that he would think to check up on her at some point. "I see. Er… allow me to change first then we can talk. Please take a seat and wait," She was not exactly presentable as a host anymore… Excusing herself to her bedroom, she tried to change and freshen up as quickly as she could but admittedly, it was no easy task taking off her clothes and putting on another set. Once she was done, she came back out with renewed enthusiasm. "Apologies for taking so long, Aether, I… oh…" However fast she thought she was in changing, it clearly wasn't fast enough; Aether was nowhere to be seen, making Furina assume he got tired of waiting and just left. "I'm sorry…" she sighed to herself. And here she thought Aether was patient and kind enough for her.

'It's fine… I only need to cook for myself now.' Bright sides where they were and all that. She returned to her kitchen to resume the cake she was baking before her minor accident. However, to her surprise… it was already done? 'Huh?' Next to the closed recipe book she was following was the perfectly baked pound cake she hoped to make. Only after a few seconds of confused staring did she notice the note tucked slightly underneath the plate. She carefully pulled it out and read what was written.

I'm really sorry, Furina, but I remembered there was something I needed to do today. As an apology, I finished your cake for you. I'll try visiting again tomorrow.

—Aether

It was short but Furina could tell how sorry he felt in his writing and especially actions. The flour on her floor had been cleaned up too. A part of her did feel miffed that she couldn't make the cake herself but silenced it to enjoy her lunch. The former Archon picked up the plate and moved her (or Aether's) cake to her dining table. After making another quick trip to take another plate and utensils to eat with, she cut a slice for herself. She cut a smaller piece from her slice and ate it.

She took her time chewing and savoured the flavour. At last, she swallowed it and could describe her feelings — "…Lonely."

A/N: So… 4.2, huh? Fontaine has always been my favourite since it was first released but the update has cemented it as my number one region and Furina as my favourite character in all of Genshin. Nothing will be able to even come close anymore.

So of course, as my favourite character, I have to make her suffer a bit more, don't I? It's rule one of being a writer. You'd only write characters you like and sideline those you don't… which is why Paimo— Just kidding, I don't dislike Paimon overall, I just don't think about her that much though I won't lie she was more annoying than usual during Act V especially during that one scene near the start (read the room…)

Anyway, this fic will serve as my more character-focused and slow-burned Aerina piece while OBP is my more comedy-centric fic. The bratty persona she had was great but the real Furina we see now I think works a lot more better. Now if only Hydro Traveller was a healer or had better stats, I could use them in the same team together…