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The opera house was still, the distant echoes of Fontaine’s rebuilding efforts barely reaching inside. Furina and Yoshika remained on the stage, both lost in thought. The battle was over, but the weight of everything they had endured lingered between them.

Yoshika leaned against one of the ornate pillars, her gaze fixed on the grand chandelier above them. “So… what now?” she muttered, more to herself than anything.

Furina, still seated on the edge of the stage, tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling as well. “Now?” she echoed, her voice unusually soft. “We wait. We prepare. And… we endure.”

Yoshika glanced at her, noting how different Furina seemed compared to their first meeting. The extravagant, attention-seeking god who once bathed in dramatics had changed. But the spark in her eyes remained.

A silence stretched between them—comfortable, yet thick with something unspoken.

Furina sighed and turned to Yoshika, a smirk forming on her lips. “You know, for someone so reckless, you fight like someone who actually cares.”

Yoshika scoffed. “Tch. You think I fight for fun?”

Furina shrugged, a teasing glint in her eyes. “Maybe. Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to impress me.”

Yoshika raised an eyebrow, pushing off the pillar. “Impress you? Please.” She crossed her arms. “You’re the one who kept looking at me during the fight.”

Furina gasped, placing a dramatic hand over her chest. “Moi? Look at you? Perish the thought!”

Yoshika smirked. “Liar.”

Furina pouted, but a faint blush dusted her cheeks. She turned away, kicking her legs slightly. “…Fine. Maybe I did.”

The confession hung in the air, neither of them acknowledging its weight. Yoshika narrowed her eyes slightly, watching Furina’s fidgeting hands, the way her gaze darted anywhere but at her.

This wasn’t like her.

“Furina,” Yoshika said, her voice quieter now. “What’s wrong?”

Furina flinched but quickly masked it with a smile. “What do you mean?”

“You’re acting weird.”

“I’m always weird.”

Yoshika rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.” She stepped closer, standing just beside Furina. The god tensed slightly but didn’t pull away. “Something’s on your mind.”

Furina sighed, running a hand through her short white hair. “…I was thinking.”

“That’s dangerous.”

Furina shot her a glare before huffing. “I was thinking… about you.”

Yoshika froze.

Furina didn’t meet her gaze, instead keeping her eyes fixed on the empty audience seats before them. “You could’ve left, you know,” she muttered. “After everything, you could’ve just gone back to Snezhnaya. To the Tsaritsa. To safety.”

“…I told you,” Yoshika said after a moment. “I don’t like being controlled.”

Furina chuckled weakly. “That’s not the only reason.”

Yoshika stiffened.

The words were unspoken, but she could hear them.

You stayed for me.

The realization settled deep within her, heavy and undeniable.

She had fought against Celestia not just because she hated them. Not just because she refused to be a pawn.

But because Furina was here.

Because she cared.

Too much.

Yoshika looked away, suddenly feeling uncharacteristically restless. “Tch. You’re reading too much into it.”

Furina gave her a knowing look. “Am I?”

Yoshika didn’t answer.

A quiet sigh left Furina’s lips, and then—warmth.

Furina had leaned her head against Yoshika’s shoulder, her presence light yet grounding. Yoshika stiffened at first, unsure what to do.

But then, slowly, she relaxed.

“…You’re an idiot,” Yoshika muttered, though there was no bite to her words.

Furina hummed. “And you’re stubborn.”

A pause.

Neither of them moved.

Neither of them spoke the words lingering between them.

But in that moment, they both knew.

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𝖠𝖭 𝖭𝖮𝖳𝖤: 𝖥𝖨𝖭𝖠𝖫𝖫𝖸 𝖲𝖮𝖬𝖤 𝖥𝖴𝖱𝖨𝖲𝖧𝖨𝖪𝖠 𝖢𝖮𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖭𝖳 𝖮𝖬𝖦????