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Many of the children in House of the Hearth enjoyed spending time together after meals, particularly after dinner, once everyone was free to do whatever they pleased for the rest of the night. They would most often be found sitting around the hearth, playing games or talking amongst themselves. The little ones had strict curfews, of course, leaving the home much quieter once they’d gone to bed. This night was just the same, with a handful of children still awake and spending the end of their day relaxing.
At the edge of the room, watching them from a distance, sat Arlecchino. She quite enjoyed the sight of peaceful, happy smiles. They had all earned it after working as hard as they do each day. She did wish some of them would turn in for the night, as they had busy mornings ahead of them, but ultimately it would be their own choice.
Arlecchino, on the other hand, found that she did not desire to share in anyone's exhaustion the next day. She stood, catching the attention of those who had not previously noticed her, and called out a quick “Goodnight” to them all.
She made her way to the bedroom she shared with Furina, finding her wife comfortably sleeping in their bed when she entered the room. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the mattress, just sitting and watching the steady rise and fall of Furina’s chest as she slept, hoping that she would not wake her. Arlecchino wanted so badly to keep Furina happy at all times. This had been true for years, but had only become more important now that she was twenty weeks pregnant. Now at the half-way mark, she often felt sore and hungry and tired. All things they were expecting, but it wore on Furina more than anticipated.
Without thinking, Arlecchino leaned over to give Furina a soft kiss to her hair. She had planned to stand back up to get herself ready for bed, but instead froze, hearing Furina’s even breathing pattern shift as her sleep was disturbed.
“Ah, I’m sorry for waking you, darling,” she whispered.
Furina lifted her head slightly, moving from side to side as if looking around, but did not open her eyes. She huffed out a noise of irritation before mumbling, “Arle? Want... hm, I want a snack.”
On top of her newfound difficulty with falling asleep, Furina was often frustrated with her body’s insistent cravings. She was very patient. Never making unreasonable requests, and rarely complaining when she could not find that specific thing she was hungry for. Oh, but how Arlecchino’s heart hurt each time she saw the disappointment that Furina tried so hard to hide whenever she wasn’t satisfied. And at such a late hour, Arlecchino hoped she would request something they already had at home.
“What is it that you want, Furina? I believe we have some cake saved specially for you,” she offered.
But Furina just pouted slightly, eyes still shut as if to prove how tired she was. “No, I want crepes.”
“Not a problem, dear. We should still have some bulle fruit sauce in the pantry from our previous crepes breakfast. Will that do as a filling?”
But she was met with a long and sad “No”. For a moment, she worried Furina might start crying. “Whipped cream... with glabrous beans.”
That was certainly bound to be an unconventional flavor. Arlecchino’s first thought was to offer a different late-night snack. Not only did they not purchase glabrous beans very often, meaning they likely did not have any available, but most shops were closed by now. If she was lucky, Damoville Purveyor would still be open with the beans still in stock after a days' worth of sales.
It was getting harder and harder to say no to Furina in such a sorry state, as her new cravings left her itching with a hunger that she swore would drive her crazy.
“Alright, love,” Arlecchino caved. “It may take some time though, is that alright?”
Furina nodded. She still looked sad, nearly resembling a guilty kitten. “Thank you, love you,” she drawled before flopping her head back onto her pillow.
Arlecchino pressed a hand to Furina’s rounded tummy, as well as a second kiss to her hair. “I love you too. I’ll be back soon.”
She stepped out of their room, back through the hall, and peeked into the large room she'd been in only a minute ago. Some of the children looked up towards her, seeing movement out of the corner of their eyes. The rest followed until all eyes were on her. She scanned the room before announcing that she needed to run a quick errand.
With that, she turned and exited the home. Thanking any gods who would listen that Lyney and Lynette were still up, assuring her that the House would be in safe hands in her absence.
The walk to Damoville Purveyor was never long, but it was inconvenient, if only slightly. The levels that Fontaine’s buildings sat on proved to only extend journeys if a destination was directly below their starting point. The stairs pointed in directions that seemed only appropriate for getting citizens and foreigners alike lost. But Arlecchino would be damned if the length of her trip kept her from fulfilling this odd wish that Furina had entrusted to her.
“Please be open,” she murmured to herself as she approached the store. No other customers were around, but that wouldn’t matter. As long as Boucicaut was working the stall.
Thankfully, to Arlecchino’s immense relief, the shop owner was still behind the counter. However, he seemed to be cleaning up; ready to call it a night. Quickly, she grabbed his attention and successfully made her purchase, all while making the poor man just slightly anxious at the sight of a Harbinger interested in his merchandise.
She expressed her gratitude, offering a generous tip for allowing her to buy the legumes despite how unreasonable the hour was. She’d likely kept him working a whole four minutes longer than he would have if she hadn’t shown up when she did, which in her own eyes was terribly inconvenient of her.
Still, she had her glabrous beans and she was certain that there would be unfilled crepes somewhere in the home. The request may have been strange, but all the ingredients were now at her disposal.
With the house now in sight, Arlecchino allowed the tension she’d hardly noticed she was carrying to ease a little. The moment she stepped foot past the front door, she felt her body ease even farther. It seemed she was more than ready to be done with this and get the rest she had now earned.
The bag she held weighed heavily in her exhausted grip, despite its contents being rather minimal. She could feel the eyes of her children on her as she walked past the room they still occupied, which she did not mind. It was certainly a strange sight, watching her run an errand that, normally, she would not consider doing.
Fortunately, there was little preparation involved before bringing the completed meal to Furina. The process of making a crepe was one that she was incredibly familiar with after living in Fontaine her whole life. And the glabrous beans had been easier to prepare than she had once thought, especially since she never bothered to add any spices or other flavorings to them. Arlecchino had committed many sins throughout her life, but nothing seemed to compare to the moment she opened the crepe and began to spread whipped cream and the warm beans into it. But if this was going to make Furina happy... She glared down at the food for a moment, just questioning its existence to herself before making a second.
The feeling of eyes on her back grew just a bit closer, and she turned her head just slightly to see who had decided a brave look at the unfolding atrocity.
“Father,” Lyney started, “is this really what Furina asked for?”
Arlecchino simply plated the dish, satisfied with the creation, and turned to the small crowd that had formed. “Learn well, dear children. Love may require you to do strange things. Now, if you all will excuse me,” she stepped forward, the group splitting to let her pass, “I must deliver this to my wife.”
The group watched silently as she walked down the hall and disappeared into her bedroom.
“Furina,” Arlecchino called softly as she stepped into the room, “I brought what you’ve requested.”
With a groggy, confused sound, Furina woke up and searched for the location of the voice. “Huh? You brought what?” She sat up slowly and rubbed the sleep from her eyes to focus on Arlecchino.
“The crepes you asked for, dear. I apologize that it took me so long to bring it home.” She held out the offending plate, more than ready for it to be off her hands.
Furina took it, examining the contents before admitting, “Arlecchino, I don’t remember asking for this?”
“You-,” Arlecchino stammered, “Not even a whole hour ago, I accidentally woke you, and you asked for this. Is it not what you wanted?”
A part of her found it comical, that after all her running about, it wasn’t even what Furina had been hungry for. Another part of her dreaded needing to leave the house once again in hopes of finding some other food that would be satisfactory.
But Furina just laughed, “I’m sorry! I don’t remember! But you know, it doesn’t look half bad, and baby and I are a little hungry. So, thank you!
“Ah, of course,” Arlecchino replies, still a bit stunned.
She watched as Furina took a bite and was more than shocked to see her practically melt at the flavor.
“Mh! Arle,” she spoke through her mouthful, “what did you put in this? I need it every day.” She took another bite, bigger this time, and sighed in contentment.
“It’s-” Arlecchino hesitated, “It has glabrous beans in it.”
Furina stopped chewing. Her head turned to her beloved spouse with pure bewilderment plastered on her face. “I asked for beans? In a crepe?”
“Yes. I now realize you must have been talking in your sleep when you asked but-”
“And you just accepted that?”
“I would never deny you, Furina.” Arlecchino silently hoped that was the right answer.
Luckily, Furina then bursts into laughter. Not only had she sent Arlecchino out to buy an ingredient that was rarely seen in their household, but the strange combination that she had requested in her sleep was actually quite delicious. “Oh, love,” she giggled, “I’m really sorry you went out for something I didn’t even know I wanted. And I’m even more sorry that I’m definitely going to ask for you to make this for me again tomorrow.”