Chapter Text
A gentle wind breezed through, bringing them relief from the afternoon’s heat. They waited at a cross light, surrounded by people. She was holding Freminet’s hand and she kept an eye on the twins next to her. They crossed the street once the light turned green, heading for the parc. She had visited it during her trip, and she thought it would make a good starting point for their outing. Most people there sat under the shade of the trees snacking on fruits while others were on a peaceful stroll. A couple of teenagers played a game of soccer, using their backpacks as goal post.
They had landed a few hours ago, two to be exact. After unpacking, Arlecchino declared that they would spend the rest of the day resting and only go out in the evening, to which the children complained. They all claimed they weren’t tired and that they wanted to go out now. Arlecchino refused, stating that even if they weren’t tired, she was. Furina jumped on the occasion and offered to go out with the kids. Not that she wasn’t exhausted. She was. She had never expected sitting down for 10 hours straight to be so exhausting. Arlecchino, to her surprise, accepter. Her only request was to be told in which part of the city they were in while Childe asked to be sent any good pictures they would take.
Furina led them to the entrance of the parc, hiding in one of the tree’s shade.
Furina clapped her hand, “Alright! It’s currently 3pm and we have to go home at 5pm. Here are the rules: You must remain close to me at all time. If you see one of your siblings walk away, you still stay with me.I’d rather lose one of you that all three. If you get lost, then stay where you are and I’ll come find you. Got it?”
They all quickly agreed. Furina smiled, thinking that this will be an amazing time.
“Then, what do you three want to do?”
“I want to go swimming,” said Freminet.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t bring our swimsuits with us. But we will go there another day.” she answered. She took his silence as an answer.
“Can we go to a tea house?” asked Lynette while looking around, “I think there is one near here, I saw it in the brochure.”
“Well… Um… I don’t think this is a good idea either. Because what if your Father wanted to visit one too?” she stuttered.
“I can wait for Father.” she stated, her nose scrunched up slightly and frowning. Crap, we’re off to a bad start.
Lyney looked around, shielding his eyes from the sun. He gasped suddendly.
“Furina!” He pointed to a tall building with a crowd of families at its feet. It had giant windows, behind which there were rows and rows of gadgets and plushies. A toy store. “Can we go there? Please?”
She cleared her throat. One one hand, she wanted to make them happy. But on the other, she didn’t have enough money to buy them anything. And the chances of them not asking for something were zero.
“I’m sorry Lyney, but we can’t go there today. But I promise we will go there during our trip!”
He crossed his arms, “We won’t be able to do anything then, if you keep saying no to everything.” he pouted
Her heart dropped. She wanted to make that grimace disappear. Remembering what she had read in a parenting blog, she pulled out her phone.
“You know what? We are going to write down the places we want to go on my phone, this way we won’t forget, ok?”
“Are we not going to visit anything today?”
She gave it a thought. Should they? She worried that they would run out of interesting locations to visit by the end of the vacation if they started now. And what would Arlecchino think if she learned she missed visits with her children? What if…
No, this is about the children. Not her.
“No, I’m sorry we can’t…” seeing their disappointed faces, she added, “This is like a treasure hunt! We’re going to find as many places as possible, alright?”
They didn’t seem super excited by the idea. Come on, think Furina! She reached in her pocket and discreetly took out a few bills to count them. She had 20 mora on her. This should be enough.
“And whoever finds the most place to visit will get to eat not one, but two ice creams!”
Their face beamed up, their smiles reaching their ears. Even Freminet seemed interested. Lyney grabbed her hand and dragged her while he and his twin started running
“Come! We can’t waste time!” he shouted.
Furina almost regretted her promise. The kids pulled her from places to places, fighting on who saw what first. They didn’t leave her time to catch her breath in between locations. But their excitement made it worth it. Besides, all this exercice helped her to stop thinking about Arlecchino. She dreaded the conversation they would need to have. What if they couldn’t agree with each other? What if Arlecchino didn’t want to get married? This topic would need to brought up no matter what, she couldn’t possibly push it aside forever. But her burning lung and aching feet pulled her out of this anxious spiral.
Freminet stopped in front of her and she nearly tripped over him. He pointed to a crowded downward slope. From where she was, she could guess the shape of stalls and shopping fronts.
“It’s a market. Could we go there?”
“How do you know it’s a market?” asked Lyney gasping for air.
Furina took advantage of this break to catch her breath. Hands on her knees, she listened to their conversation.
“It’s written on there.” He pointed to a large wooden sign above the street, hung in between to buildings. On it were ideograms that Furina couldn’t read.
“Since when do you read liyuan?” asked Lyney, dubious.
“Lyney, careful with your tone,” warned Furina, “and it does look like a market.” she followed, searching for any warning signs on Freminet’s face. The last thing she wanted to deal with was a meltdown. Between the heat, physical activity and his brother’s snark she was surprised he didn’t have one.
He was staring at his feet, clutching his fists and opening them repeatedly. She frowned. Uh oh.
“I made a list of words and learned them.” he mumbled.
“Really? That’s wonderful!” she was about to pat him on the back but stopped herself. “I’m proud of you.”
“Oh, I didn’t think you were serious when you said that!” quickly said Lyney, awkwad while his sister was staring daggers at him. “That’s great! Furina, can we add it to the list?”
She wrote the address down and took a quick picture. She’d look up the name later. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lynette giving Freminet a thumb up.
The kids started to slow down, running out of ideas. The twins were arguing about where they would go first while Freminet stayed close to her. The sun was setting, and an orange hue reflected on their blonde hair. The noise of the surrounding crowd fading in the background, she tried to memorise this scene.
The pit in her stomach reappeared. She had grown attached to those kids. They were the sweetest, most creative and kindest kids she had ever interacted with. If they broke up, she’d never see them again. She wondered if they would miss her at all. Would they forget about her? Would they be heartbroken if she disappeared from their lives?
Marriage had been something she dreamt of her whole life, but motherhood? Not so much. She was uncertain if she would make a great mother… Maybe that’s why Arlecchino didn’t want to marry her? Her face soured. This would be a good reason. It’s true that she wasn’t a great exemple when it came to diet, organisation and rationality. She was overly emotional, impulsive and was a terrible housekeeper… If Arlecchino truly wanted a good co-parent, then not marrying her would be a good idea.
“Furina?” asked Lynette, snapping her back to reality. The girl had left her brother’s side and was now next to her.
“Yes? What’s wrong?”
“Are you alright? You look sad.”
Furina froze. Was she so expressive that the kids picked up on it? They already noticed their Father’s sour mood, what if they noticed hers too? Archons, were they worrying about it? Furina wondered if she should come clean. Maybe if she explained that her and Arlecchino had a disagreement, the children would understand? The twins were definitly old enough to understand that couple fought sometimes
Her gaze fell on Freminet. He was still staring at his feet but glanced at people and buildings they passed by.
No, she couldn’t possibly tell them that. Not with Freminet near. He must know nothing.
“I’m fine don’t worry.” she smiled, bumping the end of her nose with her finger. “Now, who wants ice cream?"