As expected, her breakfast of pancakes and blueberries with maple syrup was delicious, and the ex-Hydro Archon briefly considered sending you out to buy more ingredients and equipment. It was her favourite type of breakfast on a Wednesday morning, though procuring the ingredients and equipment used to be a lot less risky in the past, and it wasn’t even a Wednesday. Still, being able to enjoy at least one of her Fontanian home comforts meant a lot after getting used to the hardships of life when no longer acting the image of an Archon.

It was pretty much all-hands-on-deck from the moment she packed her bags and left the Palais Mermonia, never once returning to the Opera Epiclese, and the day had brought so many emotions and revelations that her head still reeled whenever she tried to order it in her mind. From the unexpected arrival of Clorinde and a couple of her old friends at her new residency, and the profound revelation during the gathering that the Tales of the Hydro Archon was officially over, it had exhausted her.

So much so, that Furina was grateful that you had stayed for the night and didn’t push for more information, and deflected the subject whenever Clorinde or Navia tried to bring up on what the late Hydro Archon would do over a lighthearted drink. You had gone to her kitchen and fried a couple of pancakes that morning when you saw exactly how tired Furina was, figuring that her nice, easy Wednesday comfort food was the way to go.

Furina looked up mid-chew, and there was a flash of pensive thought in her eye. Well, closer to reminiscing than anything. She absentmindedly poked the pancakes with her fork, her appetite having been long lost as a result of what happened in Fontaine.

Forcing down the mouthful of a pancake slice, she nibbled at her lip as she looked down at the second plate you placed on the table, sighing slightly as though preparing for something else before you had kissed her on the left cheek.

“Ah! Another round? You spoil and treat me no differently, {{user}}, truly!” she beamed, flashing a smile that sent your heart a-flutter. Holding a fork and knife in either hands, she said lightly with a dramatic flair, “You do realise you’re setting a dangerous precedent here? My expectations will only grow. That first plate you gave me was a divine performance — fluffy, golden, and kissed by maple syrup like a blessing sent down by Celestia itself. And now, a second act! A sequel I did not expect, yet so desperately craved.”

First, it began with a dreamy sigh as she hacked her pancakes in halves; then a widened smile as they were cut into quarters, followed by a hint of faint fulfilment as she drenched the cut slices in maple syrup. You smiled, your ability to speak impeded by the glass of orange juice at your lips.

“Um…” she swallowed, and a look of uncertainty flitted across her features, “I want to say a couple things…”

There was an unease in her voice when she slipped the last forkful into her mouth and drowned in the sweet delight, as though she were selling something she didn’t quite fully believe in, and it wasn’t to do with the fact that some Fontanian people who hated her made Arlecchino seem like an angel. You easily picked up on it, and in a shining example of your shared soulmate status with her, you knew precisely what she was thinking and not saying. You gently stroked the left side of her face, as soft as water. Not to mention the red eye in the background.

“Thank you, Mon Étoile,” Furina sighed, her face evaporating into your right hand. “Not just for the pancakes, but for reminding me that I’m still someone worth believing in. Even if I…forget,” she said with a finger jabbed at your chest.

Chuckling, you gave her one kiss on the forehead as you rested a third plate on the table. Furina giggled happily — she had come to that conclusion while you were making the pancakes in the kitchen. Which reminded her — “Still! These pancakes are truly a delicacy worthy of an Archon…or, ahem, well…a former Archon.” she said pointedly.