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Furina was busy arranging a pot of flowers when Arlecchino arrived in her home. The harbinger found it impossible to be angry, especially when she found the woman having such unbridled concentration on her face that was unintentionally cute.
Instead, Arlecchino decided to deliver a flick to her exposed forehead.
“Welcome—OW! What was that for?” Furina yelled, immediately turning to glare.
It wasn’t lost on Arlecchino how, even with Furina’s snappish reaction of jumping out of her seat, her hands hovered carefully on both sides of the ruddy, rectangular jar in protection as the table jiggled from the movement.
Arlecchino huffed affectionately. “Silly, you left your door unlocked downstairs,” she explained.
Immediately, the ire on Furina’s face dissipated. Then, she looked away with a grimace.
“Ah—oh, right…”
“We’re not about to discuss why that is a dangerous thing to do, right?” Arlecchino asked, gently tucking an errant hair that fell on Furina’s face behind her ear.
The low ponytail was a good look on her. Arlecchino couldn’t wait to unravel the tresses with her fingers.
“No,” Furina sighed, “we really don’t. That was my bad.”
Nodding approvingly, Arlecchino peeked at the colorful flower set behind her. She could spy a few marigolds and blue lilies among the bunch. Furina followed her gaze and waited, unable to keep a smile off her face then. She was practically vibrating from eagerness.
“Have you taken up flower arranging as a hobby?” Arlecchino asked, catching a petal on her palm.
The harbinger had left for Snezhnaya for nearly a month because of a sensitive matter that had been assigned to her care. The months-long couple also chose to keep their relationship under the wraps so far and thus kept their correspondences to a minimum. Arlecchino must have missed a lot during that period of time.
“As a hobby, yeah,” Furina echoed in assent.
Arlecchino walked closer, intrigued by the collection. The vibrant flowers were spilling forth from the low vase. Some of the leaves were touching the glass table, and the flowers had a pleasing shape from the base that formed an even, inverted triangle.
Flicking some of the flower buds, she hummed upon noticing the pale gold pearls nestled among them in particular alternation.
Arlecchino could tell the sweat and the hard work that went into it.
“You did great, love,” she said, leaning forward to kiss Furina’s forehead. She swore that the girl vibrated even more. “Who was your teacher?” she then asked.
“I am very glad that you asked,” Furina said, her prim smile becoming smug as she drew the book that was hidden among the leaves behind the vase. She tapped it with a finger. “I’m self-taught. I decided to do some spring cleaning while you were gone and found an unopened box under my bed. This book was in that box.”
Arlecchino’s eyebrows rose. She knew that Furina was gifted, and had this rare propensity to tackle new sport and hobbies and get them done excellently on the first try. Deciding to portray her praise, Arlecchino lowered her neck and captured Furina’s chin. Then, she pulled her into a proper kiss. The other woman yelped in surprise but very quickly melted into the action.
Furina looked dazed as they parted, lingering after her lips in a way that had heat blossom inside Arlecchino’s stomach.
“I actually have a present for you, from Snezhnaya,” she said.
This time, Arlecchino was the one to try reigning in her excitement as she pushed the brown bag into Furina’s hands. Furina staggered as she received it.
“Whoa, this is… compact,” she said doubtfully.
Arlecchino showed a rare smile, scrunching up her nose as she nudged Furina’s elbow. “Open it,” she said. “I am quite sure that you have yet to get a hold of this model.”
Furina set it on the table, nabbing the tape and hooking her fingers underneath. From its weight, she could easily discern that it was a gadget, and so she became all the more delicate with its handling. The torn corner revealed something that was piercing black and—oh!
Furina gasped as she held the Kamera on her hands with wonder.
“To be precise, the locals called it the ‘Polaroid’,” Arlecchino said, having taken a seat and leaning on her bent hand on the table. “It captures instant photos, but this model in particular is able to configure a few, rare filters with the help of special lenses. It’s rather handy, don’t you think?”
The model was released only a few months ago, and Arlecchino was lucky enough to have one of her subordinates nab one for her from the stores.
There was a sleek, gray box along with the Polaroid, Furina found out soon enough. Within it were the lenses that Arlecchino had spoken about. What was more surprising was the dusting color they emitted when Furina held them against the light. There were seven such lenses, and their colors were familiar to behold.
“Wait,” Furina said, excitedly turning to Arlecchino, “are these lenses imbued with elements?”
Arlecchino smiled again. “You would be correct.”
“Hello? How in the world…”
Without letting her excitement subside, Furina worked on setting it up. Very soon, Arlecchino noticed the finesse in her movements. Although it was Furina’s first time encountering the model of this gadget, she operated each part so seamlessly that it didn’t take long before she was taking photos with it. Arlecchino was even doubtful that Furina took glances at the instruction manual throughout the building process.
One by one, both women watched as the light struck and waited as the photo papers fell out of the lower end.
There were several shots of Furina’s flowerpot masterpiece. Also, there were separate selfies of themselves. Then, there were the pictures shot as a duo, caught in scenic angles that Furina specifically chose. Her scary accuracy was not something to be messed with!
At Arlecchino’s suggestion, which was an insincere throwaway line that she quickly regretted, they also took some whacky shots. Furina was able to coax a few, wild poses from Arlecchino, despite her grumbling all the way. Soon, the laughter died down in their private quarters.
Furina was inspecting the Polaroid with a very tender look on her face. With the angle of the afternoon sun outside, Arlecchino could tell that it would make for a great shot. The sepia afterglow framed Furina in a wistful vibrance; with a few purposeful letterings, it could be a formal poster to a movie.
But Arlecchino didn’t want to ruin the perfect silence, and so she let it go.
Then, a few moments passed, and she found Furina glancing at her. It happened once, in a quiver of a millisecond, but Arlecchino felt like she had missed a very important message in those eyes. Arlecchino was thoroughly convinced that these droplet-shaped pupils hid another world that was too elusive to capture in mundane light.
Arlecchino straightened up on her chair quickly. “What is it?” she asked, curious.
Furina giggled, not looking. “What are you talking about?” she deflected. “I’m studying it piece by piece. It’s so interesting, Arlecchino. I’m glad you bought it for me.”
“Uh-huh. I don't believe you."
Furina laughed and then tipped her head sideways, relenting. She was gazing down at the Polaroid as if it was her new-born. “I was just… about to let you in on some secret of mine. But I held back at the last minute.” She laughed again and shook her head. “I fear that it might ruin the mood. The silence was just… getting perfect, you know.”
Arlecchino felt goosebumps on her skin rise as she thought how synchronized their thoughts had become in that instant.
“Still,” she said, “you have to tell me. You have made me curious, after all.”
Furina huffed and then looked at her with a pout. Then back again to the Polaroid, to which she shared, “it isn’t my first time handling a Kamera. In fact, I have held and operated Kameras for as long as I can remember. You might have wondered how I put it up so quickly; you didn’t exactly hide your gobsmacked look earlier.”
Arlecchino scoffed, trying to deny it. “When did I…”
“Kamera is instrumental to the film and entertainment industry,” Furina interrupted, “but it is also important in capturing the quieter moments. It felt like my passion to take pictures was rekindled, thanks to your gift.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“It then occurred to me that I have in fact a few albums collecting dust back in Palais Mermonia, but that…” she hesitated. Furina’s eyes were bright and lucid, but a kind of age-old sadness was likewise present in the irises. “Most of the people I took pictures for are no longer in this world.”
Arlecchino hid her surprise, but once she shifted to stand from her seat, Furina held up a palm in a stopping gesture.
“You don’t have to console me,” Furina said evenly. “I’m okay. It’s one of those reminisces that hurt way less than my most pressing traumas. I’m alright speaking about it, so please, allow me.”
Arlecchino took note about her phrasing but respected her wishes. She kept quiet. ‘Hurting less doesn’t mean it’s not hurting,’ she couldn’t help but point out in her mind.
“Having a longer lifespan naturally consigns you to a perspective that’s foreign to most. Time moved a bit differently for me, and so the things that flow with it meant a bit differently as well. In my time as Fontaine’s archon, I have witnessed life’s vicissitudes.
“I have watched buildings rise and expand only to be demolished at the end of their time. I have seen patches of land that were subjects to on-going disputes yet were passed into new hands in the following generations. I have seen and grown along with people yet have been the only one to witness their souls flow back to the greater source. All things flowed back to the source of all waters, but I can’t help feeling… empty many times throughout those small changes.”
“The emptiness that you feel may actually be a well-tucked hurt that had dulled overtime,” Arlecchino opined. “Furina… it’s naturally to feel displaced or upset during change. Even those that you consider small, because they accumulate over time.”
Furina smiled wryly and nodded at her words. “But I find it strange nonetheless, that I should feel this way,” she continued, placing the camera down on the table, next to the neat row of the element-imbued lenses. “You’d expect a feeling of loss from great attachment to things, but in my case, I… didn’t even share my heart to anyone with the looming fear of my secret becoming exposed. So why do I still feel for them? Why do I long for those memories?”
Arlecchino watched her tap each of the lenses, eyebrows furrowed in great confusion and equally strong loneliness. Perhaps, where she could only see it as plain as the manufactured lenses, Furina might be looking at an entirely different scene altogether influenced by her unknowable past.
With her bubbly and eccentric persona, it was easy to forget that Furina was an incredibly old god.
“I’m tired, Arlecchino,” she said, and her voice echoed distantly, like she was being led away by strong waves into the unknown. “But maybe now that I’m a mortal, I can…”
Arlecchino was instantly behind Furina, wrapping her strong arms around the frailer woman. She placed her forehead on Furina’s shoulder. The harbinger inhaled deeply and then exhaled in one, long breath, allowing the quiet the permeate.
Then, Furina held the hands enclosing her chest, a bit wondrously, as if she had just woken up from a moment’s dream. Her fingers glided over the white overcoat, to the wing-like cuffs, to the dark claws.
“When you say things like that,” Arlecchino paused, thinking her words carefully, “I get the impression that you’re slowly drifting away from me to a place where I can’t reach you.”
Furina stilled her movements. “I’m sorry. The discussion’s suddenly gotten depressing, hasn’t it?”
Arlecchino only tightened the embrace. “No, you have every right to feel the way that you do. So… thank you for sharing them to me.” She chuckled. “Every time you tell me something from the past, I feel the same way that I did when you first ensnared me and turned me into putty.”
“You charmer,” Furina accused.
“I get lost,” Arlecchino clarified, “like I can’t ever pinpoint you and your growing number of identities. You are like the night sky, or- more accurately, the oceans below. You oftentimes reveal something about yourself that throw me off-guard.”
“…funny that that’s how I’d describe you too,” Furina said thoughtfully.
Arlecchino rubbed into Furina’s shoulder and squeezed. She turned her head, sliding her nose to the Furina’s nape. When her eyes darted forward, she smiled at the reflection captured on the window to their left. She liked the view and angle, how nicely their embrace was emphasized.
Outside, it had already gotten dark, and evening had caught up.
Sneaking a kiss on Furina’s nape, she smirked and whispered, “mine.”
Furina shivered and dug her fingers into the limbs snaked around her. “You never make it easy for me to pin you down, you know,” she continued with her assessment, surprising Arlecchino, who had been one second away from hauling her back to the bed. Furina grinned, seeing through the intention and not going with it. “One moment I have you wrapped around my fingers and then, another moment I look away and you’re gone. Just like that. You’re a slimy ball squid!”
“How tragic,” Arlecchino teased. “This story about star-crossed lovers, who can never seem to align and synchronize with each other…”
“Don’t you mean… ocean-crossed lovers?” Furina said, snorting at her own joke.
Swiftly, with reflexes that she rarely boasted about, Furina yanked Arlecchino’s hand over head in an elegant twirl and freed herself from the hold. Then, she pecked a surprise kiss on Arlecchino’s lips.
“I love you.” Furina surprised herself with how easily the words tumbled down from her own mouth, but she decided that she liked it better when Arlecchino didn’t bother schooling her awed look in vulnerable moments like this one. So she said it again. “I love you, Arlecchino! I love you from the deepest trenches of Abyss to the topmost pillars of Celestia! I love yo-AH!”
Furina lurched forward, now finding herself horizontally inclined and weightless as Arlecchino carried her from under her arm.
“You’re just doing it on purpose,” the harbinger frowned. “It’s not like your neighbors can listen in or you have very thick and sound-proofed walls to your apartment…”
“I love you!” Furina said, intentionally loud.
Then, Arlecchino flicked her forehead in annoyance. “Baby,” she muttered while dragging them towards the doorway.
“Hey! I’m way older than you!”