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When Furina woke up, something was different.
By different, she didn’t mean completely different, just, something wasn’t the same. Something was… unusual.
And no, it wasn’t the fact that she wasn’t in Fontaine. She hasn’t been to Fontaine in a while. See, a few weeks ago, Arlecchino said to her after one of their intimate sessions that she was needed in Sneznhya for a couple of months, but didn’t know when she’d be back. Furina was hysterical, as Arlecchino was the only person who understood her feelings and helped her through dark times. But when the Knave proposed an idea, Furina was ecstatic, and suddenly it seemed like she was not crying her eyes out a few seconds earlier. Even though her friends, mostly Neuvillette, disapproved of this plan, he was still happy for Furina. Besides, if she’s happy and smiling, then he shouldn’t have a problem.
Anyway, back to the situation at hand. Furina turned over, expecting to meet face-to-face with Arlecchino. To her dismay, she did not. Arlecchino wasn’t in bed with her. That was what was so unusual. If she were in bed, she would’ve been holding Furina in her arms.
I wonder where she is, Furina thought. She sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, her feet dangling. Of course, the bed was taller than her, but she isn’t that short…it’s just that Arlecchino is very tall!
The ex-archon jumped off and stretched her body, feeling some of her bones cracking. Once she was all ready for the day, she left the master suite to make breakfast.
She stepped into the kitchen, immediately noticing something was off once again. Arle didn’t leave a note… Furina pouted, but she didn’t let that ruin the rest of her day. Maybe Arlecchino got called to a Fatui meeting, or the House of the Hearth in the middle of the night and simply forgot to write a note stating where she was and when she’d be back. Yeah, maybe.
Furina shook her head, getting rid of the thoughts circulating through her mind, and started on breakfast.
After breakfast, Furina took a shower and brushed her teeth. If she was being honest, it felt a little lonely being alone in such a big house. Hmph, when she sees Arlecchino, she’s gonna give her a talking to. Furina did remember that once when she awoke to the woman not being in bed, Arlecchino said she should go to the House of the Hearth, as it wasn’t safe to stay home alone. She didn’t mind that, after all, her lover’s children were soooooo cute!!
The moment she arrived at the orphanage with a basket of snacks, children came fluttering towards her, running around and through her lets, gripping onto her sleeve and jumping up and down, and trying to peek in the basket. “Hello, kids!”
“Hi, Miss Furina!” They all greeted back. What proper manners, Furina thought, she guessed Arlecchino told them to greet her with proper respect.
“What’s in the basket?” They all asked unanimously, it was quite scary, to be honest.
“Why don’t we all go to the living room?”
The ex-archon started walking towards the living room, her ears filled with all the younger kids laughing and asking her questions, while the older kids tried to calm them down. “You guys don’t want Miss Furina to dislike all of us with how annoying you are, do you?” She heard one of them say, although the younger kids weren’t really listening.
When she got to the doorframe, her eyes widened at the sight. What she saw caused her to stop before stepping foot past the threshold. Everyone else stopped when they realized she halted and they quieted down, looking at what was in front of them;
Arlecchino, The Knave, the Fourth of the Fatui Harbingers, kneeling before two crying toddlers, a boy and a girl, singing. It was a sight to behold. Never in a million years would she think she would see Arlecchino singing to two crying toddlers. She never even thought she would sing well, nonetheless...
“Пусть всегда будет солнце,
Пусть всегда будет небо,
Пусть всегда будет мама,
Пусть всегда буду я!
Пусть всегда будет солнце,
Пусть всегда будет небо,
Пусть всегда будет мама,
Пусть всегда буду я!”
The two toddlers Arlecchino were singing to stop crying, instead enjoying the beautiful voice of their Father singing in Snezhyan. If Furina thought Arlecchino couldn’t get any hotter, she thought wrong.
Soon, the two toddlers dozed off on the Knave. She didn’t even look angry, instead, she looked content. Arlecchino could be a very kind person around her children.
“Father, Father! Miss Furina is here!”
Oh boy.
Arlecchino snapped her head to them. The children giggled and ran to her, doing what they did to Furina when she first walked in. But Arlecchino wasn’t paying attention to them, instead, her eyes were on Furina, watching her every move as she walked towards her. “How much of that did you see…?”
The director chuckled kneeling next to the woman and kissed her on her cheek. “Just enough to hear your singing voice,” Arlecchino suddenly looked very sheepish; her face was turning a light pink and she was attempting to hide her face. “You sound very handsome, Arle! I love your accent.”
“R—Really?” The other woman asked, mentally kicking herself for stuttering.
“Yes!”
She turned her head away, trying to calm herself down.
“Thank you, Furina. What’s in the basket?”
“Oh!” She had completely forgotten she was carrying a basket. “It’s candy, for the children,” Once she said that all the kids perked their heads up and rushed over to her, picking up at least 2 candies each. They were greedy, but they still wanted other children to get some. When everyone left to frolic around the room, there were four pieces of candies left, two pieces for Furina and Arlecchino; the toddlers who had fallen asleep on Arlecchino woken up the moment the children ran over to their Father.
“So, do you want some?” Furina laughed and sat down.
“I’d love some.”
The ex-archon took one piece out and unwrapped it, holding it up to Arlecchino’s mouth. “Say “ahh”.”
The Knave rolled her eyes but obeyed her lover’s orders. The candy tasted sweet, but also sour. “Ah, this is Sneznhyan candy, isn’t it?”
Furina giggled, putting one candy in her mouth. “Of course, it is, where else would I have gotten it from?” The white-haired woman rolled her eyes.
“The children really like you.”
“Do they?”
“Yes. It is only natural, after all. As you’re my lover and the closest thing to a mother figure they have.”
Furina turned to look at Arlecchino. “What about the Tsarista?”
“She’s never around. The kids haven’t seen her for months. So when you came along and gave them attention and candy, they immediately thought of you as their mother.”
For some reason, that made Furina sad. The Cryo Archon is never around to see her children who are supposed to view her as their mother. Why is that? Does Arlecchino know? She wanted to ask, but she felt like she had intruded on her business long enough. So instead, she kept her mouth shut, leaning against the Knave’s shoulder.
This was life, this was what Furina wanted with Arlecchino. She dreamed of getting married to her, eventually having a kid or two, and watching them play with their siblings. But the real question was…
Did Arlecchino want it, as well?