Work Text:
A quiet yawn caught Neuvillette’s attention in the midst of his work. It had been a few hours since Furina had settled down for a well deserved nap on one of the sofas in Neuvillette’s office. She hadn’t intended to fall asleep. She had simply been taken aback by the softness of his voice as he made small talk with her while working on paperwork. He had also missed her company. As bratty as she could be, Furina had been the closest thing Neuvillette had to a friend, back then. It was only natural to feel lonely once she’d left. Seeing her now, in a calmer, more relaxed state he’d never seen before couldn’t bring him more comfort.
“Neuvi…?” Furina’s voice brought Neuvillette back to reality. As he turned to face her, he realised she had stolen his coat from his chair, and was now bundled up underneath it on one corner of his sofa. He didn’t know whether her tininess was real or solely a result of the imposing size of the sofa. Even so, he couldn’t help but smile at the adorable sight before him.
It was only when Furina raised both of her arms and started grabbing the air with her hands in his direction that he began to understand the situation. Her eyes had inexplicably changed, as all the sorrow and despair that could once be read in their core had dissolved. They now shone with excitement, wonder, and innocence.
“Hugs please,” she smiled as he approached her. She wrapped her arms around his torso as soon as he was close enough, and brought her whole body close so as to be completely in his embrace. Neuvillette couldn’t hug back, given the fact that she was sitting down and he was still standing. He patted her head and ran his fingers through her hair instead, before picking her up, just like she wanted.
“Did you sleep well, Bluebell?” she had now closed her eyes once more, yawning into his clothes.
“Mmh…” was all she could muster up, before remembering, “Tea party!” she exclaimed.
Neuvillette felt a pang of panic in his chest. He had forgotten about that. He had invited some of Furina’s old acquaintances to have tea together tea today, just to try and help her, socially speaking. But he had not expected to find her in this state. Was this really the best way to reintroduce Furina to her friends? He was obviously anxious about what they would think. His thoughts were running wild in his mind. Then, he thought about who had been invited. Navia, of the Spina di Rosula, and Clorinde, Furina’s previous bodyguard. He had decided to avoid inviting too many people at once, and was now thankful for that decision. Both of them were kind souls, he knew. Maybe they of all people would accept Furina as she was, given what she had been through.
He looked back at Furina, who was now suckling on her fingers innocently, buried against his chest. She didn’t seem to care about people seeing her like this. Maybe she was dying to finally interact with more people after all this time. Maybe he worried too much. Only because he truly cared about her.
“Come on, Precious, let’s get you ready for teatime,” he smiled softly at her immediate excitement. He pushed her hair back and kissed her forehead, before bringing them both back to Furina’s home, where the tea party would be held.
As he pushed the door open, Neuvillette immediately noticed the emptiness of the dust-covered apartment. He felt guilty as he realised the mattress on the floor served as her bed, the wooden table and chairs that stood in the corner had probably never been used, and her small kitchen was full of dishes piled up in the sink that hadn’t been cleaned. Furina herself didn’t seem so happy to be home, an obvious frown on her face. He needed to make this place safe and cozy for her. The tea party was in just a few hours, and he would want big Furina’s input on the decorations as well, so this would wait. Still, he needed to tidy the place up for her guests. Furina would undoubtedly be angry at him if she found out he’d let her guests visit her home in such a state.
While Neuvillette swept and mopped Furina’s apartment, the girl seemed detached. Having had a nap already, she was overexcited at the idea of what was coming. But even in her smaller headspace, she could still feel nervousness. And she was nervous, she just didn't fully understand. A combination that could only cause chaos.
Neuvillette was doing his best to clean the place before Clorinde and Navia arrived. He finally got to doing the dishes. After washing all the pots and pans, he moved on to plates. As he picked up one of the dirty plates, he felt tugging on his trousers. There, he saw Furina, sitting on the floor, thumb latched between her lips, looking as worried as ever.
“What’s wrong, Bluebell? Aren’t you excited to have your tea party?” Neuvillette asked calmly, slipping the plate back into the sink to direct his attention towards her. The little girl slowly nodded in return, but didn’t say a word, the nervous expression remaining present on her face. She hugged his legs as she whined. Neuvillette knew something was bothering her, but he was no mind reader. He did have one trick up his sleeve he knew could calm her down.
After rinsing his hands, he scooped Furina up into his arms. Noticing the tear stains on her delicate face, he rubbed gentle circles into her cheeks making her close her eyes.
“You know that sucking your thumb isn’t good for you, right Precious? I really wouldn’t want you to have to go to the dentist’s,” she buried her face in his neck, “but I’ve been told by a certain nurse that you were given a small box containing something that could help. I happen to have brought it. Would you like to give it a try?”
Furna nodded, her eyes still cloudy, hands grabbing Neuvillette’s shirt. Neuvillette walked back into the living room, sat Furina down on her mattress and handed her the box, which was topped with a silky blue ribbon. The ribbon seemed to catch Furina’s attention as she grabbed it between her hands and tried to put a fistful of it in her mouth.
“Well that’s not a great idea, Louloutte,” he took the ribbon from her hands and helped her open the box. This seemed to trigger something within Furina. She started to heave, and unexpectedly, tears started to flow out of her eyes once more.
“Don’t worry, dear, I’ll give it right back to you when you’ve finished opening your present,” Neuvillette reassured, cupping her face with his hands, hoping it would help her settle down. He had never dealt with a crying child before, and this was no different.
Furina would not stop. She wriggled out of his arms and weakly shoved Neuvillette away, which only did so much. Frustrated, she resorted to sitting on her mattress, crying into oblivion.
Neuvillette wondered how such a small disappointment could possibly cause such a reaction. He remembered what Sigewinne had told him, how the emotions that Furina expressed in this state were truly hers. They just came out under different circumstances. It was a much healthier way of dealing with them. That meant that her current sorrow over her stolen ribbon was simply Furina expressing in her way her own despair and pain, she just didn’t know that.
That thought led Neuvillette to feel a strong wave of empathy for the girl. He kneeled down and pulled her tightly into his arms as she fought back, letting her get it all out. She needed this. They would never be ready in time for the tea party, but that didn’t matter on the scale of Furina’s healing. As she finally stopped hitting him, Neuvillette grabbed the small box and finished opening it. He took the white pacifier that was in it, and gently slipped it through Furina’s pouting lips, attaching the matching salon solitaire-themed clip to her shirt. To his surprise, she accepted it, and started sucking it, the motion immediately bringing her relief and comfort. She even closed her eyes, and leaned against Neuvillette’s chest, fingers gripping his shirt to close the space between them as much as possible.
“There, there,” Neuvillette patted the back of her head. Furina looked a mess. He decided to help her change before finishing the dishes. Neuvillette carried Furina over to the bathroom and put cold water on her face, making her squirm slightly but she stayed silent. He sat her down on a chair and brushed her hair. He had never seen her so relaxed before, as she stared at him in the mirror, making mouth noises with her pacifier from time to time, but never acting up. Neuvillette put her hair into two ponytails for the sake of practicality, and even asked her if she liked them, which she softly nodded that she did. He got carried away seeing her smiling face in the mirror and was in the midst of adding hair clips, when a knock at the door startled him.
Having prepared for this in his head, Neuvillette carried his precious, now-smiling girl back to the living room.
“I’ll be right back, Bluebell. Can you be good and wait here for a few minutes?” he asked gently, offering a reassuring smile. Furina nodded, smiling back at him through her pacifier.
He swiftly moved to open the door. There stood Navia and Clorinde, holding multiple bags and a bouquet of flowers.
“Greetings, Miss Navia, Miss Clorinde. Thank you for coming to see Furina,” Neuvillette started.
“It’s our pleasure, Monsieur Neuvillette,” said Navia, while Clorinde nodded, lowering her head slightly in respect.
“I must take some time to talk to you about something before you enter, though, to prevent you from being too surprised. As you both know, Furina has been through a lot. In fact, I doubt she has ever experienced a happy day in her life. After Fontaine was saved, she was, unfortunately, left alone. Nurse Sigewinne and I sadly witnessed the repercussions all of this had on her. We have since come to the conclusion that Furina would need helping with her new life. We also discovered that she had come up with a coping mechanism of sorts to fend for herself. Furina sometimes reverts back to a more childish, more innocent state of mind. This prevents her from going through all the pain she holds once more, by only worrying about things of relatively little importance. This means that she may act like a small child, and needs to be looked after as such. I have personally only witnessed this happening involuntarily, and today seems to be one of those days. I did not know in advance. I therefore apologise for the surprise. She may also not be inclined to speak much, in this state. I trust you both to be kindhearted and understanding people, which is why we had decided on you both being the first to meet her again. Furina has been isolated for such a long time, she just needs comfort and good people to surround her,” he didn’t realise his own speech had made him emotional, as the clouds had started darkening and small raindrops falling. They were thankfully shielded by the small porch above the apartment’s door.
“Of course we accept her. I see no issue in helping someone we love dearly heal, no matter what,” Navia spoke first, noticing how much it meant to Neuvillette that Furina was correctly welcomed.
“I agree. We have both known her for a little while, and still cannot imagine what she has gone through. I am not opposed to meeting her again as a friend,” Clorinde said, “and, Navia loves children,” she added, shooting a knowing smile at her wife, who smiled back.
“Thank you for your kind words, they are much appreciated,” Neuvillette said.
“I am sure we will have lots of fun together, won’t we?” Navia squealed excitedly, as she bent down. Neuvillette turned around, and finally noticed the head of white hair that had popped up behind him, holding onto his leg and hiding. He patted her head.
“Hello little Furina,” Navia spoke first, waving at the shy little girl, who slowly emerged from behind Neuvillette, blinking at the sight of the two women she had once known.
Furina waved back, giving Navia a glimpse of a smile behind her pacifier.
“Please come in,” Neuvillette invites them, “Furina and I ran into some trouble while trying to prepare our rendez-vous, please excuse us,” he added. Neither one of the two women seemed to care, Navia overjoyed to spend time with the people she loved, and have fun at the same time, while Clorinde was happy to see her wife happy. She also respected Neuvillette, and was happy to help him out with something so dear to him.
“Do not worry, Monsieur Neuvillette! We have brought everything you could ever wish for in a tea party,” Navia exclaimed.
“Thank you both for your kindness,” he replied, profoundly touched by their thoughtfulness.
“Yes thank you! Very happy,” Furina butchered, finally dropping her pacifier from her mouth leaving it hanging on the clip.
“You are both very welcome, especially you, Little Lady, you are absolutely adorable,” Navia replied using her baby voice for the last part directed towards Furina, making Neuvillette smile and Furina giggle at the compliment. Navia looked back at Clorinde with a smile, proud to have made little Furina happy. Before she knew it, Furina was hugging her tightly.
Everyone helped get the table ready. The couple had brought many pastries and cakes, all contributing to making Furina’s mouth visibly water at the sight. Neuvillette made tea, but then thought about Furina and heated up some milk for her.
“Do you need help with the dishes, Neuvillette?” Clorinde asked.
“If it is not a bother for you, the help would be greatly appreciated,” he replied.
So, Clorinde got to work while the table was being set, while keeping an eye on Navia and Furina who seemed to be having a lot of fun together. Clorinde smiled at the sight.
“It seems they are getting on well,” she said to Neuvillette.
“I am so glad you came over. Thank you once more for your help,” Neuvillette replied, smiling softly at the sight, too.