Work Text:
“Of all the people to approach for relationship advice, I almost can’t believe you picked me.”
Arlecchino knew she wasn’t the person you went to for help with relationships. There were far better people than her for that even within the walls of the House of the Hearth, let alone Fontaine as a whole.
“And yet here I am, with you also asking for advice.”
And Clorinde knew she, too, was not fit to advise a relationship, even with one as steady as her own.
And yet here they were indeed. Tucked away in a corner of Cafe Lutece’s outdoor seating, comfortably in the cool afternoon shade, the sun well on its way to setting. Two cups of fresh made tea, leaves sourced straight from Chenyu Vale between them. Just waiting to be enjoyed.
They both smiled, faux little raises of the lips as they waited for the other to respond, guarded as they were.
But Arlecchino was not one to waste time, not when she had a house full of children to care for, and the only other caretaker her age was the entire reason she’d agreed to such an unusual meeting in the first place.
“I suppose you ought to begin, Miss Clorinde. You were the one to contact me in the first place, after all.”
Clorinde’s head dipped down in acceptance, her tricorn hat set off to the side already.
“It’s about my relationship with Furina.”
Arlecchino hummed, lips pressing against the warm porcelain of her teacup, taking a small sip. Her mind could nearly picture the swirling winds and flowing rivers of Liyue’s prized vale just by tasting it. All it took was a glance up to make Clorinde keep talking.
“Following her flight from the Palais Mermonia, she’s been struggling to care for herself properly. Her meals are sparse, infrequent enough that it's a good day when she eats more than a single plate of food. And she flip flops between not sleeping for hours or even days at a time and sleeping through the entire day without a care in the world, but either way her sleep is clearly not restful.”
Setting the teacup down, Arlecchino crossed one leg over the other, clawed fingers pressing together as she let herself think. The former archon, letting herself rot away in her own home. A more predatory harbinger may have taken advantage of such information, seeing what it was that made a human like her live 500 years.
But that was something the Doctor would have done, and she’d already sworn to never have anything in common with him, beyond their allegiance.
“And where do you come into the equation, Miss Clorinde?”
Clorinde closed her eyes, taking a sip of tea to pause her speech.
“We are both sworn to secrecy on what is discussed here today, correct?”
Arlecchino felt a genuine smile cross her lips, for just a moment. “Naturally.”
“Good. I…Am in a romantic relationship with Furina, I have been since shortly before the prophecy began to come true.”
“My, how scandalous.”
A sharp glare, before Clorinde let herself smile as well. “She made it clear I was free to say no, should I so desire. Clearly, I didn’t.”
“So” Arlecchino resumed, twisting her cup on its plate just a few degrees, minor fidgets to keep her hands occupied. Clorinde noticed but didn’t say a word. Her own hands twitched as well, after all. “You wish to help your partner, Miss Furina, through this tumultuous period in her life, but you don’t know how to approach her on the issue, or get her to open up and begin caring for herself properly again, correct?”
“More or less. She’s stopped completely isolating herself, which is progress in a sense, but it’s slowed to a crawl as of late. Like she’s right at the goalpost, but doing everything in her power to not cross it.”
Another sip, the mild flavor hiding a depth to it unlike any other tea she’d had before.
“Perhaps a bit of extra pressure is in order, then.”
“Elaborate.” Clorinde all but demanded, before calming herself down with a drink.
“I’m not a stranger to self-destructive mentalities. Considering the histories of the children found at the House of the Hearth, it’s a more common occurrence than not. Reckless decision making, refusing to eat or have healthy sleep schedules, and even more extreme behaviors. On occasion these behaviors sort themselves out, through the mutual care of their fellows and my own guiding hand. But when it drags out or is of particular danger to themselves or others, or the mission, one eventually needs to put their foot down. I believe Miss Furina has more than reached this stage.”
Clorinde found herself nodding along, though it was clear she didn’t entirely understand. “And how am I to know where the limit is on that? If I push her too hard, she’s liable to shut me out entirely, and we’ll be back to square one.”
“Hm…Do you sleep together?”
Clorinde choked, eyes widening marginally as she tried to decipher Arlecchino’s words, but the knave was more than happy to elaborate before she had to completely embarrass herself. “I mean proper sleeping.”
A small blush found its way onto Clorinde’s cheeks, likely chiding herself for the mistake. “Ah, no. Not recently, in any case.”
“Well then start with that. You may not be able to get her to sleep entirely, but you should at least be able to coax her to bed. And from there, you should be able to figure things out.”
Arlecchino finished her drink shortly after finishing her explanation, setting the now empty cup on the table with a light clink, the bottom of the cup rimmed with tea leaves.
“I’ll be sure to try that the next time I see her. Now, as for you…”
Clorinde looked up, observing the woman in front of her. She hadn’t expected Arlecchino to take her request as seriously as she had. From what stories Furina had told, and what little she saw of her during the clean up of Poisson, she’d taken the Knave for her title. Cold and cruel, with not a care in the world for the children under her beyond their use as weapons.
What she found was not entirely separated from her initial beliefs. Arlecchino was certainly cold and distant, as hard to read as a burnt book. But she was not heartless, the care was there, just hidden behind her words, and her mask. But why did she ask her, if her initial impressions were so poor? Well…
Neuvilette was swamped with work owing to taking up the mantle of head of government following Furina’s retirement, Wriothesley wouldn’t know the first thing about romantic relationships, Chiori wouldn’t be gentle enough for her needs, and she simply didn’t trust anyone else with her relationship information. So Arlecchino was the only one left.
“Yes, I suppose my turn would be next, wouldn’t it?” Her smile was fake, just the barest bit of concern bleeding through her eyes, haunting as they may have been. “We’re both sworn to secrecy, though I must ask you not to let your personal investment get the better of you. It’s not every day I ask others for advice.”
A request of trust, that was fine. Clorinde could keep her emotions in check, she had to every time she faced an opponent down as a champion duelist, especially when it was someone she knew.
“I’m in a romantic relationship with Navia Caspar.”
And she near immediately broke her promise, hands seconds from slamming against the table to demand answers. But she was calm, she was cool, she was fine.
Arlecchino continued to smirk, humor now dancing across her face. “It’s fully consensual, don’t be mistaken. In fact, Navia was the one to initiate.”
“I’m going to need to hear that story at some point, but for now, explain your issue.”
Arlecchino’s head tilted to the side, eyes faintly narrowed. “As the ‘father’ of the House of the Hearth, it’s my duty to ensure all the children under my wing are well cared for. That means more than just a roof over their heads and food on their plates, but balanced, healthy meals and plenty of hard work, even beyond just what specific training they receive. Unfortunately…”
And Clorinde already knew exactly where this was going. “Navia has been spoiling them rotten, hasn’t she?”
“Exactly.” she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in the biggest show of emotion since they’d arrived. “Being rewarded for hard work and effort is one thing, I’m hardly opposed to the children feeling proud of themselves for their successes, but it feels as though Navia can’t help but give them everything they want at every given opportunity.”
“And the problem, beyond just Navia being an overly eager parent?”
“Morale at the house has never been higher. Were there a negative impact to her behavior beyond just her Macarons being entirely unhealthy to eat more than one of frequently, then I could perhaps point to that as why she shouldn’t be spoiling them quite as much, but the children have never been happier. Some of the younger ones have even taken to calling her ‘mother’.”
And though she was obviously troubled, hand resting over her mouth, Clorinde couldn’t help but notice the affectionate smile trying to force its way out. Her mask more fragile talking about Navia than ever before.
Perhaps them seeing each other isn’t the worst…I still need more details though.
“Well you aren’t going to get Navia to stop spoiling them completely, that’s as lost a cause as making her stop smiling.” they both chuckled, just trying to imagine a Navia that didn’t smile without some horrible event happening. But the mood quickly soured as their minds turned to the Poisson disaster, the conversation quickly forced back on track.
“What would be your solution then, Miss Clorinde?”
“Perhaps try to control when she spoils them?” Arlecchino nodded, motioning for her to continue. “Instead of simply having her shower them with rewards whenever they do anything, you try to direct that behavior towards praising great accomplishments or hard work.”
“And in doing so, incentivize the other children to continue working hard and caring for themselves. A decent enough plan, though explaining it to Navia may have some difficulties.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand. Caring for the children is still new to her, but she is the head of the Spina Di Rosula. You don’t run an organization without learning how to lay down the law. Besides, if she’s in love with you enough to ask you out, then I’m sure she’ll be willing to listen.”
“You’re right. Perhaps I was…overthinking things, just a little. But I appreciate the advice regardless.”
“You’re very welcome.” Clorinde finished off her own tea, letting it join Arlecchino’s cup on the table with a quiet click, both of them rising to their feet. “So, same time next week?”
Arlecchino huffed a laugh, but her head dipped into a nod. “Perhaps, if our schedules align and the need arises. For now, I must be going. The children need to sleep at a reasonable hour, when they don’t have tasks to complete.”
Clorinde looked to the sky, painted in dark purples and slowly fading to black, stars faintly twinkling against the sky. “And I need to see to it that Furina has a proper night’s rest, so I’ll be going now.”
“You know where to find me, Miss Clorinde.”
They both went their separate ways, Clorinde enjoying the rare quiet of the Court of Fontaine as she made her way to Furina’s apartment, giving the door a few light knocks before letting herself in.
It was dark, as usual. The curtains drawn and the lights dimmed. Furina sat over a plate of half eaten macaroni, the only thing she really knew how to cook it seemed. Still awake, but out of it.
“Oh, hi Clori…” she muttered, swaying back and forth. Clorinde slowly kneeled down, helping her love to her feet.
“When’s the last time you slept, Furina?”
“I…dunno. Not sleepy though.”
She interlaced their fingers, feeling Furina’s grip tighten around her hand instinctively, not resisting at all as Clorinde led her to the bedroom, and sat her on the bed.
“I said I’m not-”
“Shh.” Clorinde quieted her, kicking off her shoes and sitting down beside her. “You should still rest anyway.”
She opened her mouth to resist before she was forced to lay down, eyes slowly closing as she pressed against Clorinde, arms wrapping around her back as Clorinde’s hands pressed into her hair, slowly coaxing her into a quiet sleep. The once cold bed now warmer under her touch, as Furina finally fell into a restful sleep.
I’ll have to thank Arlecchino for the advice when I see her next. Or maybe…
—
Arlecchino arrived home to find Navia already waiting for her, all but a few of the children already sent to bed for the night, the last few merely lingering awaiting their “Father”’s arrival, but all it took was a glance for them to run off to the sleeping quarters, leaving Arlecchino to walk to her room, Navia already waiting on her bed in sleepwear.
“Ah, there you are!” She called with a smile as bright as sunshine, waving Arlecchino over. “I was worried about you, caught up with business?”
She sat on the edge of the bed, leaning into Navia’s touch as she kissed her on the cheek, keeping her arms wrapped around Arlecchino’s neck as she sat up fully.
“No, just a discussion. Though there was something I wanted to talk about before we got comfortable.”
“Hm?” Navia tilted her head to the side, still managing to lay her legs across Arlecchino’s lap even as she paid attention.
It was fortunately fairly easy to explain, the words flowing as though she’d always had them, and just needed to know to say them at all. And even more fortunately, Navia took it well…perhaps too well, holding her hand to her mouth as she tried to muffle her giggles for the children.
“Oh, is that it hun? You could have said something sooner. You really are like Clorinde sometimes, hun.” Arlecchino wiped the tears of laughter from Navia’s eyes, unsure whether to be pleased Navia was accepting, or annoyed she was still laughing. “I’ll be sure to tone it down on the spoiling. Here, why don’t you just tell me which of the kiddos have been good recently?”
“For now that will work, though you will eventually learn to decide on your own. I’ll be leaving this branch in your hands when I’m sent to other nations or summoned back to Snezhnaya.”
“Oh, will you? Well I just can’t let you down then! But for now…” Navia gently pushed Arlecchino onto her back, straddling her waist with a smile. “How about we celebrate solving another issue? The night is still young.”
“And you’re still loud in bed, Navi.”
She chuckled, nodding. “Well maybe that’ll just be punishment for reminding me that we won’t be able to spend every night together in the future!”
Arlecchino sighed, but couldn’t find any fault in her logic. “One round.” She conceded, more pleased with the turn of events than she let on, especially as Navia undid the first button of her top
I’ll have to thank Clorinde for the advice, eventually.
—
“Father, you’ve got a package!” Lyney entered her study one afternoon, holding a small rectangular box with a letter attached to it.
“From who?”
“Uh, lets see…” He flipped the package around, eyes scanning over the text before bulging out “the Palais Mermonia?”
Arlecchino hummed, taking the package into her own hands. A purple flower was stamped into the letter, immediately cluing her in to who it was from. “Thank you for delivering this to me, Lyney. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, father.” As he left, she opened the letter, reading it over as she sliced open the packaging with her nails.
Furina has eaten two meals and managed a restful night's sleep, thank you. Same time next week, then?
She glanced at the package, a box of dark chocolates, perfectly bitter.
Same time next week indeed.