'When was the last time I have let myself relax like this?' Navia thought to herself as she was hugging Aether's left arm.
Even since Melus and Silver had dissolved she wasn't able to relax in such a manner. Not knowing who might be watching her and her not wanting to show any kind of weakness to anyone.
She remembered how they had dissolved. How Aether had accompanied and comforted her. And also how he had ranted his frustrations just now.
'I placed him on a pedestal. I am his friend and yet I did something like that. What does that say about me? Aether has been nothing but kind and caring to me and I've completely disregarded how he was feeling. Not noticing the frustration he was carrying.' Navia thought to herself as she raised her head and looked at his face.
Aether noticed her movement and looked at her as she looked at him. He gave her a gentle and kind smile which caused her to widen her eyes before she looked down.
'How can you look at me with such gentle eyes Aether? Even though I, I never even properly thanked you.' Navia thought to herself in silent disbelief.
She remembered how much they had cooperated with each other and the fun moments that they had with each other. The way he treated her was very kind and gentle and apart from Melus and Silver she can say that he is the one person in Fontaine she trusts the most, well, now he is the one she trusts the most.
'Ah, after the flood happened I have been depending upon him a bit haven't I? Not only did I not ask him about how he was these past few days, I didn't even stop to think that he might've been stressed.' Navia thought to herself in realisation.
She looked at his hand and then intertwined her fingers with his. He seemed to be surprised as she glanced at his face as she blushed at her own action.
'Why did I do that?' Navia thought to herself with a blush on her face.
But she was more surprised when he didn't seem to mind it and instead gave her hand a gentle sqeeze. This caused her to look at him in shock while he smiled at her gently.
"I know you're hurting Navia. There's no need to keep up your act around me. I'm here for you." Aether said to her in a soothing tone.
Navia felt more tears form from her eyes as they fell down her cheeks. She leaned onto him and hugged him as her tears fell down her face.
'Oh Aether. I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when you were troubled. And now you are comforting me. I'm...' Navia thought to herself as she hugged his left arm.
Aether looked at her and sqeezed her hand gently again as if to tell her that she will be fine. He felt her sqeeze back before she hugged his arm tighter. He was also able to feel something soft pressing against his arms but he didn't say anything about it and only opted to blush slightly.
Meanwhile Navia has a good blush on her face as she hugged his arm. She could feel her heart racing at the action she is doing right now. But she also felt relieved and relaxed when she did it.
'I'm sorry for indulging on this Aether. But I promise to make it up to you.' Navia thought to herself as she hugged his arm and leaned onto him.
Meanwhile Furina who had heard Aether's words was silent as she felt her tears streaming down her face. She couldn't exactly look at him at the moment so she opted to look down and hide her face. Aether decided to give her some space for herself as he rubbed her back reassuringly.
Furina leaned onto him and enjoyed the feeling. The 500 years of torment and acting being brought to the front of her mind due to her thinking about them. She could remember how much she had suffered to see to it that the prophecy would not be fulfilled.
And she was happy about the fact that she had indeed saved Fontaine. But she still hadn't told anyone about this. Mainly because she doesn't want to remember those painful memories, another was that the people might not even believe her. She might still have supporters, but she wasn't going to count on that.
Moreover, if she even wanted to talk to someone about it then it would be Aether. She doesn't have anything against Neuvillette but he still doesn't have a full grasp on the concept on emotions and she doesn't want to reveal her innermost feelings to someone who doesn't even fully understand emotions in the first place.
And now? When she has just learned that he knows about the years of suffering that she had endured and was willing to help her? She was feeling a bit more closer to him than before. She also didn't forget how he had comforted her when they were trying to help the trope.
She also remembered the words that he had said to her after she had done acting in the final part of the scene.
Flashback
"Are you sure you want to back out of acting?" Aether asked her in a private area.
"Of course. I don't want to act ever again." Furina said to him stubbornly as she crossed her arms.
Aether looked at her and sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He thought about some things before he looked at her.
"Furina, I don't think that you will be happy with that decision." Aether said to her.
Furina's face turned into one of rage when she heard that.
"What is wrong with you and Paimon!? I told you that I'm done with this. I don't want to be someone anymore! Why can't you understand that!?" Furina shouted at him in anger.
However Aether didn't flinch or anything. He just looked at her calmly. Furina also realised that she had lost her cool and coughed into her fist before looking at him.
"Look, I have already suffered too much. I don't want to go through that again." Furina said to him seriously.
"Even if it means giving up something you love?" Aether asked her in response.
Furina looked at him surprised when she heard that while he moved a bit in front of her.
"I have been with you ever since we had started this commission Furina and I know that you are quite sad. I know from how you talked that you feel responsible for what happened to the people in Poisson." Aether said to her in a gentle tone.
"If you know about it then you shouldn't be talking like this to me." Furina said to him with a slight frown.
"That's exactly why I should be talking about this to you. Do you remember how you felt when you were performing on stage?" Aether asked her.
"I don't know. I just went through the motions." Furina said to him a bit hesitantly.
"You were happy when you were performing. You were extremely happy." Aether said to her with a smile.
"I... was?" Furina said surprised.
"Yes. The aura that you had was completely different. You enjoyed the role you had played in the show and I can say with confidence that you liked acting again." Aether said to her with a smile.
Furina just looked at him when she heard that as her eyes widened a bit.
"You may say that you don't ever want to perform again but the truth is that you love shows and performing. You are a natural at it and you love it with all your heart." Aether said with a bright smile.
"Aether." Furina said stunned at his words and smile.
"You were born for the stage, to be a performer. And most of all, you love performing just as much as you like to watch it. So, Furina, I'm not telling you to perform for the people of Fontaine. Not for the troupe, nor for me or anyone else in the world." Aether said to her with a smile.
Furina looked at him in shocked silence as she wasn't able to say anything and could only keep on looking at him with wide eyes.
"I want you to perform for yourself and no one else. Enjoy the new life and freedom that you now have. Because that's who you are Furina. The greatest actress of Fontaine and the world." Aether said to her with a smile and a gentle tone.
Furina was stunned when she heard the words coming out of his mouth. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that she would hear those words coming out of Aether's mouth yet here he is saying all that to her.
She felt her face become a bit hotter while she could feel her heart starting to beat a bit faster. But she quickly masked it and controlled her heartbeat as she looked at him.
"So don't quit Furina. I know that I may not be the best person for this but, I promise to be there to help you whenever you want." Aether said to her with a gentle tone.
Furina looked at him before she looked down, not knowing what to say to what she had just heard. Aether who saw her action let out a small sigh before looking down. Then in a surprising move he bowed to her.
This caught Furina off guard as she didn't expect him to be doing something like this.
'Wh-What is he?' Furina thought to herself shocked and confused.
"I'm truly sorry for how I had treated you in the court and I hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive me." Aether said to her as he kept the bow.
"A-Aether." Furina said shocked at his words.
"Sorry about that. I'll be going back to talk to the troupe now." Aether said to her with a small smile before he walked away from her.
Furina raised her right hand towards him but stopped as she watched him walk away from him. She brought her right and place it over her chest as her chest beat inside it.
Flashback End
As Furina remembered that she looked at Aether who has a calm face as he comforted the two girls beside him. Furina leaned her head on his shoulder as he made sure to place his right hand on her back gently as she hugged him slightly.
'I already forgave you Aether. It was because of you that I finally got my freedom. And, I also fully realised my love for acting. If you hadn't said that then maybe I would've taken a lot more time to realise that.' Furina thought to herself as tears fell down.
But this time the tears were from releif. A relief she felt from being in his arms and being comforted by him.
'Thank you, Aether. I will always, always, believe in you and trust you. You are, the most precious person to me in the world.' Furina thought to herself as she leaned onto him and hugged him more.