Chapter Text
That morning, Furina's eyes opened to the sight of her very attractive best friend's head hovering over her. It took Furina a little while to compute the context she was waking up to. Her right leg and arm hugged her life-sized bubblerbeast, Monsieur Bulles, and the lower half of her face was hidden behind his plush—a good thing, since she was drooling a little.
Clorinde was sitting on the bed, her hand on Furina's shoulder. In her dazed state, the girl couldn't read the neutral expression in her former bodyguard's face. Her lips were closed in a thin line, and her cheeks were slightly flushed. Weird.
Furina tried to sit up so she could ask her friend what had brought her there—Clorinde did have a copy of her keys for emergencies—but was suddenly hit by an uncomfortable wave of dizziness and nausea. “Ugh—” she let her body fall again on her bed. Suddenly, Furina remembered how she had drunk herself to sleep the previous night. “What happened?”
“If I have to guess, you drank too much— again. I swear I knocked several times before coming in,” Clorinde explained. There you have it—the duelist could be a bit of a nervous wreck when she thought someone she cared about was in trouble. If Furina hadn't heard Clorinde knocking on her front and bedroom doors, the alcohol had definitely worked too well.
Furina hummed, deepening her face on Monsieur Bulles' plush in an attempt to will the nausea and growing headache away. She was starting to piece together what had happened, but it didn't explain the odd strain in Clorinde's voice that was different from the scolding tone she reserved for when she caught Furina drinking herself to oblivion. “I will get you some water and medicine, then.” The duelist breathed deeply, seeming to gather the courage for something. “I suggest you cover yourself in the meantime.”
“Cover—” then, she recalled. The heat of the late-spring night, combined with the alcohol her body hadn't quite gotten used to consuming yet, had bothered her enough that, in her dazed state, being naked was the only thing that made sense. Suddenly aware of the slight breeze of spring across her very naked skin, Furina shot up to look for some of the clothes she had discarded the night before.
Ignoring her nausea and headache, she quickly stepped into her boxers and pajama shorts before pulling the shirt over her head. Then, she threw herself on her bed again, hoping she could drown herself in the covers to avoid the awkward conversation that was coming. Why had Clorinde come today, of all days?
Neuvillette was the only person who had ever seen Furina naked before, and that was several hundred years ago, when Furina was still— well, not a child, since she had been born with the body and skillset of a grown woman, but mentally younger, more innocent. Neuvillette was, however, the closest thing she had to a brother, a parent, or even a son, depending on their mood. He was family.
Clorinde was Furina's very attractive friend, whom she had just started realizing she most definitely had a crush on. Ugh, this was going to be beyond awkward. Furina's body had never been feminine or masculine in its entirety, and while she had always felt like a girl, some might argue that she was a boy despite her slight curves, round face, and high-pitched voice. It was one of the (many) reasons she had avoided being in a romantic or sexual relationship while she was pretending to be a god; the idea of the entire nation finding out about the uniqueness of her body was mortifying.
In the few minutes Clorinde took to grab her some water and medicine, Furina worked herself into a panic state. On the other hand, as she sat down on the edge of Furina's bed, the duelist had relaxed shoulders, and her face, no longer flushed, was serious but composed. She poked the actress's side a few times to get Furina's attention, “go on, the sooner you take the medicine, the sooner you will start feeling better.”
Furina bit back a dramatic response. Instead, she rose herself to a sitting position slowly to avoid triggering another wave of nausea, reasoning that she had embarrassed herself enough that day without having to rush to the toilet to throw up. Without looking at Clorinde, she took the pill and quickly swallowed it, making a face at the lingering taste of medicine before drinking the water the duelist offered her in one gulp. Which didn't help with her nausea, but Furina closed her eyes and breathed deeply, willing her stomach to behave.
“You will feel better soon.” There was a hint of worry in Clorinde's voice, but they had been there enough times that Furina wasn't surprised. This wasn't about seeing her naked; it was concern for the way Furina had started relying on alcohol to be able to sleep. But the former Archon realized that this time was different when Clorinde didn't follow up on her statement with a speech about the dangers of her behavior, or about how it could damage her now-mortal body, or even about the need to look for more healthy, permanent solutions.
“Look— about earlier— I— well—” And wasn't that a good start for the damned conversation? Not that she had ever figured out a protocol for when your gorgeous best-friend-turned-into-crush discovered that you're an intersex anomaly—because while that was the closest term Furina had found to describe herself, she had never seen or read about anyone similar to her—by walking in when she was naked.
“Take your time,” Clorinde said, taking Furina's hand into hers. Despite the silent support, she could hear the slight humor in the other woman's voice, and, looking up, she noticed that the corners of her mouth were curled up into a soft smile.
“You can't tell anyone!” She finally managed to say, a little emboldened by the calm, effortless way Clorinde was handling the situation. However, as soon as the words had left her mouth, Furina realized that it was a silly, unnecessary request; the duelist was one of the most private people she knew and would never betray someone's secret.
“Of course,” Clorinde responded without hesitation, her soft smile slowly giving way to a more neutral—albeit still relaxed—expression. Furina held her breath, wondering what the change meant. Had she angered Clorinde? Offended her? The former Archon had become quite adept at reading people's expressions, but she was also aware that feelings often clouded her judgment, and Clorinde was skillful at hiding her emotions. “I hope you know that it changes nothing. You're still my dear friend Furina, no matter what.”
The girl felt herself flushing at her friend's words. Yes, she had expected things to change if people ever found out about her physiology. It wasn't normal for women to have male genitalia or a literal flat chest, and even the cases she had spotted here and there were quite different from her own. Furina guessed Focalors created her in her image—the image of a god who could shape herself in the way she felt more comfortable. And, to be truthful, Furina was comfortable with her physiology as long as she was referred to as a woman. All in all, she was anything but normal, and people tended to react badly to those who weren't normal.
“Furina,” Clorinde's voice, steady and calm, dragged her from her inner turmoil. When Furina looked up to meet her friend's eyes, she noticed they were glistering with an emotion she couldn't quite name. “I don't care about how you look under your clothes. You are still my brave, intelligent, resilient friend, beautiful inside and out.”
Unable to hold her tears of relief, Furina threw her arms around Clorinde, burying her face on her shoulders as she tried to control her tears. She hadn't ever noticed how suffocating it was to hide it from her friend, the possibility of someone she cared so much about finding out and abandoning her. “Love you,” she muttered under her breath, unsure if she wanted Clorinde to acknowledge the words or not. It was the first time that she said those words out loud to someone, and the thought of rejection once again terrified her, but she couldn't keep them in when her friend was being so lovely and kind.
Clorinde wrapped her arms around Furina's middle, bringing her into a tighter hug. “I love you, too,” she whispered back, her voice no longer calm but still firm, leaving no room for argument. And while Furina knew it wasn't the same kind of love she felt, it was enough to make her dissolve into sobs, relieved that her secrets had only brought them closer.