When she woke up, Furina felt better than she had in a long time. She usually woke up feeling terrible most mornings from restless sleep as a result of lingering nightmares and anxiety from her time as the Archon. She was sure she had the usual nightmares last night too, so it was odd she was feeling so refreshed.
In any case, she got out of bed and yawned as she exited her bedroom. "Hmm?" A delicious scent filled the air, originating from the kitchen. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Aether was doing.
"Good morning," the Traveller smiled at her, raising his spatula. "I should be done in a few more minutes. Hope you like pancakes and eggs."
"W-wait, what do you think you're doing?" She was the hostess here; she was supposed to be the one making breakfast! Furina joined him at the stove and watched him cook with a small annoyed pout.
Aether skittishly scratched his head as he explained himself. "I know you promised to do it but I feel bad for staying here last night out of the blue. Let me do this as thanks at the very least."
'Well… stopping him now wouldn't make any sense…' And what he was already cooking was good; taking over in the middle would more than likely lead to her making a mess of it. As such, Furina let out a defeated sigh and reluctantly let Aether finish cooking. "—but I'm cooking next time." "Yes, yes," Aether chuckled before telling her to sit down and wait. Furina shuffled to her dining table and took a seat, resting her head on the wooden surface while using her arms as cushions. "…Hey, Aether?"
"Yes?"
Once again, Furina had the chance to ask that question that's been bugging her for the last week. And once again, she was hesitating. Paimon was still asleep on the other side of the room so she couldn't use her as an excuse again nor Aether's exhaustion. She took several deep breaths to prepare herself before finally— "Here you go." A plate of stacked pancakes was placed in front of her followed by another with sunny-side-ups. Aether hummed as he returned back to the kitchen to prepare another plate for himself and his companion. "What were you saying?"
She stared at the food before her and decided… 'Later then…' Enjoy breakfast, worry about Aether's intentions another time. Her stomach was already grumbling anyway.
After waking Paimon, the three ate breakfast in relative quiet (well, Paimon was a rather loud eater in Furina's opinion) and soon finished. Furina naturally complimented him for his cooking but unfortunately, it also meant Aether would leave again. "You're leaving already?"
"Yes, I need to get some things down in the Fleuve Cendre," Aether said with regret in his voice. Paimon also complained about how she thought they could rest a bit longer since the Guild was only up the street. "No use whining, Paimon. The sooner we go, the sooner we can retire for the day," he told her before turning back towards Furina. "We'll see you later then?"
"Later…? Of course, you're always welcome here." Furina had no issue with him coming by even if she wanted to ask why he kept doing so. But at least she had another chance at asking him later that day. They bid each other farewell for now and her two visitors left (for one of them) to work, leaving Furina alone in her apartment again. She summoned Surintendante Chevalmarin and played with her seahorse construct for a bit before deciding to do something for once.
She may like making pasta (or so she told herself) but Aether might not appreciate it as much. Weekends were usually when she went out to buy groceries anyway so might as well; she just needed to decide what to make for lunch…
A/N: A lot shorter than usual but I felt this was a good stopping point. Am I stretching out the "why is he interested in her" thing? Oh definitely but it won't be for any longer than the next two chapter… hopefully…