Archive of Our Own ^beta

In Furina's humble opinion she more than deserves some me-time, and what better way than to walk through the nation she's tried so hard to protect? Afterall, you'd be surprised how in 500 years you can get to know every inch of a land's geography without actually knowing even a single thing. A shame, really.

Luckily she now has all the time in the world to catch up on that, and oh, how she is catching up, it's like seeing it all for the first time again. She can't help herself when she feels something she'd call a sense of accomplishment and pride at the sight of the nation, something that made the past 500 years more than worth it.

Furina also rediscovered her love for sunsets, the way it bathes the world in its beautiful colors truly is a sight to behold. Especially here, on a sandy beach with a view over the waters that surround the Court of Fontaine. 

Even if she may not quite know where her life will take her now, here sitting on the beach and in its soft, warm sand and the wind blowing against her face as a gentle breeze she feels at peace. Relaxed. Content. How nice it is.

It only gets better when she hears a small chirp next to her, feels something small on her thigh and is greeted with the sight of an otter with a shell in its paw.

Furina gasps. "Oh my! Well aren't you just an adorable thing!" 

The otter chirps happily (or at least she hopes that's what that noise meant) in response.

Carefully she pats her lap, silently inviting the small creature. It looks at her for a moment before clumsily climbing into her lap. A giggle escapes her at the sight of it laying down, squealing in content.

Impulsively Furina decides to take her chances and pet her new furry friend and hopes it'll allow it. And, oh archons, her heart melts when it does let her, leaning into her touch even. She's certain this must be heaven. Petting an otter on the beach.

Yep.

They stay like this for a while, Furina gently running her hand through the otter's fur while it chirps away, when a thought hits her.

The otter reminds her of Neuvillette.

How weird, to compare him with an otter.

They do not even belong in the same group of creatures!

…

She looks at its face.

…

…

Okay maybe it does look like him.

Is thinking that a punishable offense? She preferably doesn't wanna go through anything like that ever again. 

Then again it's just her and the Otterllette. Neuviotter?

Furina shrugs, laughing at the sheer absurdity of her thoughts, almost not believing that this is how they go to Neuvillette. Then again, it has been months since they last saw each other. And oh she tried not to think of him, as hard as that is given he's the Chief Justice and essentially a topic of discussion and adoration for the people at any time.

Not that she blames them.

She shakes head, attempting to get rid of that thinking and instead concentrate on her small companion. "Well," she says, small smile forming on her lips, "You are certainly far less stoic than Neuvillette, aren't you? You little critter you!"

"Furina."

She jumps at the sound of her name, her previously occupied critter buddy jumping as well and fleeing into the water. Oh dear… she hopes she can make it up to the otter another time, but perhaps that's something future-Furina should worry about given that she in the present can feel eyes staring at the back of her head.

Slowly she gets up, swallowing the anxious lump in her throat as she pats the sand off her legs. The least she can do is seem presentable when she faces him.

"Ehem! Monsieur Neuvillette! What a pleasure to come across Fontaine's Chief Justice on such a nice day!" She says, far more enthusiastic than probably would be appropriate right now.

"Lady Furina," is all Neuvillette offers as a reply, and oh, how strangely nostalgic it makes her feel to hear him call her that.

There's a silence following that, if Furina is being honest, is beyond uncomfortable. Awkwardly she coughs, hoping it'll break the silence and lessen… whatever kind of tension this is. 

"Well I am… certain that the Iudex must be busy," she says. She continues, "I wouldn't want to steal any of your precious time Monsieur! So I will gather my bag and.. shall-" Furina trails off. Only now realizing the look on Neuvillette's face.

To anyone else he would seem as stoic as ever, but she's known him for a long time. She knows that face, it's the same face he'd make back when she used to live in the Palais, when she came into his office unannounced talking about whatever came to mind, when after she'd say, "Well my dear Iudex, you must be busy, no? I'll leave you to it." 

And he'd look at her, his usual expression softened, just the smallest bit and he'd tell her, "There is no need for that, Lady Furina. Stay as long as you desire." His way of asking her to stay.

Except this time the expression feels… sad.

Furina sighs in defeat. "-and shall put them over there," she finishes her previous sentence. 

She doesn't wait for a response, simply does as she said, hoping it'll be less tense than it is now. 

When she returns Neuvillette is seated in the sand, staring at the sun which is almost completely gone by now and replaced by the stars of the night sky slowly appearing.

"Please, sit with me," Neuvillette asks her, not taking his eyes off the sky.

Quietly she complies with his request, ensuring there's space between them still. Minutes pass in which the only sound filling the quietness was the gentle waves lapping against the shores, it's a familiar and comforting rhythm. 

Next to her the Chief Justice lets out a heavy breath. It felt… shaky. Gently he asks her, "Would you allow me to tell you a story, Furina?"

"A story? I didn't take you for a storyteller, Monsieur!" Furina replies.

The dragon hums, a deep rumble - it feels as comforting and familiar as the sound of the waves. "I am not usually," he replies. 

Furina leans back, a sound of curiosity escaping her. "In that case, I'd be a fool to let such a rare chance escape, wouldn't I?"

She watches him closely, trying to make out any detail that could tell her more of what he's thinking, but the dark and the fact that he refuses to turn his face to look at her still make it rather hard. She huffs in frustration, surrendering to having to just listen to his story.

"Once upon a time there was a land surrounded by the sea," he starts and Furina listens. Intends on listening as closely as she can, wondering where this will go.

"The ocean was powerful, a force of nature, but there was no order in its existence, no routine, nothing to guide it. It could've done anything. Cause the worst of storms, or perhaps flood the land and drown the life it bore?"

Furina shivers at the words, unwelcome memories making themself known, discomfort creeping through her skin, down to her bone, leaving an icy chill in its wake. She swallows, hard. Trying to focus on Neuvillette so the feeling would leave again. 

If Neuvilletts noticed her small moment then he doesn't show it, he simply keeps telling his story, "Maybe the sea could be completely still too? It doesn't know what it will do, does not understand itself. It is lost, still trying to understand what it should do.

Then one dark night, the moon appeared in the sky, bright and beautiful and the moment the ocean gazed upon it it knew it wished to be near the moon.

The ocean cannot help but follow it, drawn to its light, its beauty, for the moon has given it order, and guides it through the darkness. No matter how far away or how quiet the moon is, the ocean longs for it, yearns for it, to be as close as possible." 

Neuvillette pauses for a moment, and Furina uses it as an opportunity to quietly interject, "It's impossible for the ocean to reach the moon… that's quite sad, isn't it?"

The Hydro dragon hums. "It may seem that way but…" He replies slowly, letting the words hang in the air and Furina wonders if that's all he means to say when he suddenly turns to face her. 

"But to the ocean it is worth it, because it loves the moon, with every drop of its being. It would not be as it is now without her," he says softly, looking at Furina with a small smile that somehow carries more sadness than she's ever seen on him.

It feels like the air is knocked out of her lungs, her heart beating so very fast because she knows he is not talking about the ocean or the moon, none of this was about them, but about them.

This time Furina is the one turning away, pulling her knees to her chest. "The moon," she whispers, "it's just pretending to be a light in the dark. The light is not its own, all it does is reflect the sunlight. It's not real… just a deception..."

"The moon could sit in the darkness, with no light whether of its own or reflected, and the sea would still yearn for it."

"But it isn't the same," she argues.

"The moon is the moon, whether you can see its beauty thanks to the light it reflects or not it is still there, that is a fact. The only fact the ocean needs," he counters.

Furina laughs dryly, "You- You stubborn old dragon…"

She hears the sound of Neuvillette shuffling closer to her. 

"Why say all this?" She asks him, refusing to face him still.

"Because I miss you, Furina," he tells her and, oh, how she hates how soft his voice is, how gentle and familiar and oh archons how she's missed him too.

And yet she can't just accept that. "No, no you don't. You miss Furina the Hydro Archon, someone that never existed. A role I played. It's better this way, for both of us."

"Furina," he calls out to her, "I respect your choice, if you truly do not wish to be near me then I will leave you be. If it is what you honestly want."

Does she not want him near her?

…

"But still…" She counters weakly.

"Well, every actor brings something personal to the role they play, correct? Something that makes the performance uniquely theirs."

That… well, he has a point she supposes. It is not like she never noticed things like that either, characters and actors becoming a very unique performance. 

She doesn't like that thought, for now.

"And that aside," the dragon adds, "I do not believe that everything about the centuries we have ruled, lived and spent together were a simply act."

"But what if they were?!" She asks, voice louder, more forceful than she intended. 

She feels like she is being punched in the gut yet again when she looks at Neuvillette. Face tainted by a certain sadness and yet his smile is warm, his eyes are soft and… affectionate.

She doesn't know how else to describe the expression he is making.

…

Her chest aches.

"Then, I wish to get to know you all over again."

Oh how her chest aches.

"I'm human, Neuvillette," Furina tells him, emphasizing it. Stressing it. "What if I age like one too now? What if… what if in 60 years I die?"

His response is immediate, "Then I will find you in your next life. And meet you all over again."

But he doesn't stop, because of course he does not stop. He takes her hand into both of his own, holding on tightly, like if he lets go she'll disappear again. 

Oh.

"I will find you in your next life, and the life after that, and the one after that. Wherever you are I will find you, until I too return to the waters I came from," he reassures and she knows he is serious. Every inch of his face, every fiber of his being is a testimony to his honesty.

Furina bites the inside of her mouth, trying to swallow the lump in her throat when she asks, "Why?"

Her voice betrays her, cracking when she repeats, "Why?"

Her free hand wanders to his face, faintly tracing his jawline before resting on his cheek and by the third time she chokes on her sob, "Why, Neuvillette?" Desperate. "Why?"

Neuvillette does not answer, simply reaches up to the hand resting on his cheek, holding it. He turns his face to press a soft kiss against her palm, surely seeing the red that takes over her face.

"Because you are the moon, and I am the ocean," he tells her, leaning into her hand, nuzzling it.

The dam breaks and for the first time in a long time she holds him, her face pressed into the crook of his neck. It's…

Warm.

Familiar.

Comforting.

And a bit like home.

"I missed you too, you know," she mumbles into his neck and feels his hold on her tighten.

"Neuvillette I- I will not return to the Palais."

"That is alright."

"And I don't want to perform in the Opera."

"As you wish."

"A-And I don't know where or how we should go from here."

"Then we will take it slow, take all the time you need."

Carefully she wriggles out of the embrace, looking at her dragon as he lets out a noise of protest. "Say my dear Iudex, do you not have any questions or complaints about any of that?" She asks him in confusion.

Neuvillette shakes his head, "Not at all. You are here, beside me. I could not ask for more, Furina."

"You…! Ugh f.or someone who says they have issues with things like these you sure are saying a lot of… things!" She retorts, shaking her head in disbelief.

There is a moment where they stare at each other wordlessly before finally Neuvillette laughs. Laughs. She has heard him laugh before of course, but it is rare. So very rare that it warms her heart and she's sure it'll melt when his laugh becomes a smile and he tells her, "The moon is beautiful tonight."