Chapter Text
Wriothesley missed Neuvillette.
At first, he chalked it up to an effect of being branded the Hydro dragon’s mate, a dull yearning ache to be together, or hell to just even be within close vicinity of one another. Normally, he’d eagerly rush to the surface to find him, to surprise him with a bundle of rainbow roses just to see Neuvillette’s stony expression soften with a smile and a sparkle in his lavender eyes.
Sometimes they’d have lunch, usually it was dinner just for the sake of him spending the night. They’d make love occasionally, but it seemed Neuvillette was content to just snuggle up against him, to relax after a long day and let all his stress melt away in the safe arms of the man he’d proudly called his mate.
Strangely, however, the Iudex had become remarkably skilled at avoiding him. Recently too, and just when Wriothesley genuinely thought things were all fine and dandy…and he thought Neuvillette was happy, and how happy he was to have someone to be this close too but…
His office was always conspicuously empty, he wouldn’t answer his door (Wriothesley did have a key, but it didn’t feel right using it if he was looking for answers). The Melusines seemed equally as puzzled, which wasn’t a good sign. They weren’t working against him, he knew that much, especially since they could see the mark on his shoulder. Under normal circumstances, he’d tolerate jabs about “harassing Monsieur Neuvillette” but that wasn’t remotely what he was doing, and the Melusines knew that. He just wanted to find his mate, that was it.
Two weeks...three weeks...he’d managed to catch a glimpse of him at the court house, but he’d vanished just as quickly without so much as registering his presence, and there was no way Neuvillette wasn’t aware of it.
A month now...had he done something wrong?
Neuvillette wasn’t the sort to be passive aggressive and, that aside, he usually knew when the Chief Justice was angry, which wasn’t often.
It bothered him, and Sigewinne could tell it bothered him. He’d made it clear, however, that he absolutely didn’t want her to go spying for him. For starters, if Neuvillette was upset, her doing that wouldn’t help his mood, and another, it wasn’t technically her problem. She’d insist otherwise, at least until Wriothesley shut down her idea and would just get more and more agitated until she left. He didn’t like losing his temper at Sigewinne, but even he had his limits.
She’d started giving him space outside of meeting for tea to discuss important Fortress matters, and she’d even stopped trying to force her shakes on him. He kind of missed it, now that he thought about it. He’d almost be willing to drink one if he could see her perk up like she usually did when someone humored her strange homeopathic treatments.
So after all that, imagine his surprise when he ascended the stairs to his office and found none other than the Matron and Neuvillette himself, sitting on the couch with his head bowed and hands folded on his lap with Sigewinne hovering nearby. He couldn’t help but notice that with her hands on her hips, the two of them looked like a disapproving parent with a troublesome child.
“Welcome back, Your Grace,” she greeted pleasantly. Neuvillette refused to look at him.
It took a few blinks and a shake of his head to recover from the shock, after spending weeks trying desperately to just get Neuvillette to look at him, he was right here.
“If I’d known I was to be expecting company, I would’ve brewed a pot of tea beforehand,” he said with an awkward cough as he laid down the papers he was carrying on his desk.
“I already took care of that,” Sigewinne said a bit too smugly. As if on cue, the shriek of a tea kettle went off and the Melusine skipped off to retrieve it.
Wriothelsey noticed that Neuvillette had looked up to watch her go, but as soon as his gaze drifted back over to him, he quickly looked back at his lap. He wouldn’t even make full eye contact.
Now that Wriothesley could see him fully, he could at least acknowledge that the Iudex didn’t look any different, save the fact his cheeks seemed a bit more pink than usual and he was fidgeting, lacing and unlacing his fingers and squeezing his hands tightly.
“So…” he said, making the other man jump. When Neuvillette finally acknowledged him, all he could get out of his expression was two things- exhaustion and, odder still, shame. There was a strange emotion in his lavender eyes, not really something sad, but...closer to distress. What? Did he really not want to see Wriothesley that badly? He wanted to demand to know what he’d done but Sigewinne returned before he had a chance to ask.
With the skill of a trained server, she poured the three of them their drinks, sweet steam curling up from the light pink liquid. Wriothesley recognized the one she’d chosen immediately- rose. A strange choice...and part of him wondered if she was trying to make a point. He dragged his chair out from behind his desk in order to sit across from the pair as Sigewinne made herself comfortable on the couch next to Neuvillette.
They drank (or rather, he and Sigewinne did, Neuvillette just sat there awkwardly) in silence for a good while before Wriothesley cleared his throat before speaking.
“So, is anyone going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Of course, but before you get the wrong idea, my Duke,” Sigewinne climbed down to delicately place her teacup on his desk, “This was one hundred percent my idea.”
“Okay?”
“I’m just making this clear, you didn’t tell me to do this.”
“Do what?”
Sigewinne sighed, “I’m sure you’re aware of my concern about what’s been going on recently, and putting aside the personal side-effects, the professional ones are also starting to become noticeable. I’ve had several Melusines ask about it.”
Neuvillette remained silent, so Sigewinne continued, “Needless to say, I got fed up and decided to do my due diligence as a nurse and patch up this situation with the opening I was given.”
“An...opening?” Wriothesley raised an eyebrow.
“Monsieur Neuvillette called upon me for a private consultation,” she explained, “However, like I said, given recent circumstances, I felt it was both stupid and unfair to leave you in the dark on this matter.”
“Circumstances? What circumstances?”
Sigewinne crossed her arms and looked at Neuvillette expectantly, her left rhinophore twitching ever so slightly.
After fidgeting with his teacup, he looked up, but proceeded to balk immediately and quickly turned away again, biting his lip.
Sigewinne let out a frustrated sigh and turned back to Wriothesley, “My Duke, do you know what the term ‘gravid’ means?”
After being so unresponsive, Neuvillette’s reaction to that was the most Wriothesley had seen him move since they’d started talking. His face had gone ashen, mouth hanging open slightly, that strange distress more prominent in his eyes.
“Uh...no. I’m not familiar.”
“Sigewinne…” Neuvillette practically whined, “Please…”
“It’s not a fairly common term,” she explained, completely ignoring Neuvillette, “There are few ways to describe it eloquently, so simply put, it’s the term for an animal carrying eghh-eees!”
Sigewinne squealed in surprise as Neuvillette dropped his cup on the floor in order to throw himself at her to slap his hands over her mouth. It was a small miracle he hadn’t straight up tackled her given the size difference.
E...eh...egg…
“Egg? Eggs?” Wriothesley concluded, based on what syllables Sigewinne had managed to get out before being silenced, “You mean...like a bird or a-?”
He and Neuvillette looked at each other and that was when everything clicked together. The Chief Justice released Sigewinne and sagged to the floor in a heap, skin considerably paler and distress vividly clear on his face.
Sigewinne indignantly brushed herself off and straightened the rows of ribbons on her dress, “Yes. Eggs.”
Wriothesley liked to think he had a good reign on his emotions, after all, he couldn’t be a huge softie or a walking time bomb in order to professionally run the Fortress of Meropide. However, in this moment, he was hit with so many different emotions at once he didn’t know how to properly react. Out of all the feelings, the worst one bubbled to the surface as he abruptly stood up and all but threw his cup onto the desk, splashing tea everywhere. He turned away, scrubbing at his face with his hands, trying to keep control but ultimately failed when he turned back to them.
“You told me you couldn’t get pregnant.”
“I can’t,” Neuvillette replied quietly.
“Did you lie to me?!”
“No, I didn’t lie. You asked if I could get pregnant, you didn’t ask if I could lay eggs.”
“What’s the difference?!” he snapped, making Neuvillette shrink back against the sofa, “Did you seriously not consider this would happen? Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“I-I didn’t think...” Neuvillette tried, but seemed to be unable to finish his sentence.
“You didn’t think, yeah, it sure looks like it,” Wriothesley was skirting dangerously close to shouting, something completely out of character, especially as more and more emotions were starting to form a dangerous cocktail that was threatening to spill out, “I can’t- was this why you kept avoiding me? You didn’t want to tell me? This was your own damn fault-!”
“That’s enough!” Sigewinne planted her tiny self right in front of Neuvillette, arms outstretched protectively, “What’s gotten into you, Wriothesley? How can you speak to Monsieur Neuvillette like this?”
“I’m sorry, what was that you said earlier about not getting involved?” Wriothesley said acidly.
Sigewinne glared at him, “I won’t allow you to treat a patient in such a fragile state in such a fashion!”
“Oh, are you sure that’s not favoritism showing there?” he sneered, but it was the look of clear shock on Sigewinne’s face that finally snapped him out of his fit...that and how small and pathetic the usually proud Neuvillette looked as he remained behind the nurse. Under normal circumstances, Neuvillette would have no doubt stood up to him, he wouldn’t have yelled, but firmly talked him down, but that was normal circumstances, when Wriothesley wouldn’t lose his temper like this, and Sigewinne wasn’t attempting to mediate this interaction. He was distressed, he was afraid, and Wriothesley had snapped at him like an enraged dog when he was in a state so vulnerable he was reduced to hiding behind a tiny Melusine.
He let out a sharp breath between clenched teeth and turned on his heel, stalking towards the stairs.
“W-wait! Where are you going?” Sigewinne demanded, attempting to chase after him.
“For a walk,” he replied shortly, not looking back as he descended to the ground floor and exited his office, slamming the door behind him.
The sound of the door slamming echoed for a rather unnerving amount of time in Wriothesley’s vault of an office, which didn’t help Neuvillette’s already ruined nerves. Between general work stress, the eggs, and the constant haunting thought he couldn’t keep it a secret from his mate forever, it was a small miracle he hadn’t just straight up broken down.
“I’m so sorry,” Sigewinne said gently, “I...didn’t think he’d lose his temper like that.”
Neuvillette let out a shaky sigh and climbed back onto the couch feeling about as steady as the tainted water phantasms looked.
“How are you feeling?” she asked once she came back over to his side, placing her hand on top of his.
“Like I’m about to throw up.”
“That’s understandable…” her brows pinched together, “Did you seriously not tell him you could lay eggs?”
“No! I didn’t think it would come up…” he said, “Besides...I didn’t lie to him...not really.”
“Yes, but your body produces them, what, every one hundred years or so?”
“I...what are the chances, Sigewinne? I didn’t think the risk was high enough to warrant mentioning.”
The Melusine sighed, “Too late to go back now, I suppose.”
She was, tragically, correct in that regard. In the most spectacular example of ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty’, Neuvillette had spent a rather concerning amount of time lamenting how he didn’t pay as much attention to his body as he should’ve. Usually, he recognized that pit-in-stomach feeling he always suffered through, an unsettling chill in his body, but it must have somehow managed to exactly line up with his aestus and he’d ended up being completely oblivious to it.
This was so, so much worse though because not only were his hormones shot, but this was the first time he was carrying a clutch of fertilized eggs. It was a completely different sensation from his previous clutches, which were always cold, lifeless and never in his body longer than a few weeks.
It had been the cramps that had first tipped him off something was wrong- pain so unbearable he was reduced to curling up on the couch in the private lounge of the opera house immediately after trials. After that, dizzy spells which made walking long distances difficult, and it was finally the frustratingly consistent low-grade fever that forced his hand and caused him to call on Sigewinne.
To say he’d panicked in response to the news was an understatement, he’d managed to work himself up so much he’d passed out.
“You can’t tell Wriothesley, you can’t…”
He couldn’t bring himself to do it, because Wriothesley technically hadn’t been wrong that he could bear children, just not...in the typical human sense. While he had indeed answered the question posed at the time honestly, he still felt like he’d lied, lied to the man who’d told him he loved him in the midst of one of the worst states Neuvillette could be in.
The shame had been overwhelming, and it still was even after Sigewinne had effectively bullied him into telling his mate about his condition...and even then…
“What now?” he asked nervously, wringing his hands together.
“Give him a little while to cool off, he’s probably just as freaked out as you were...or are,” she replied, “I don’t think Duke Wriothesley would abandon you. I’ve seen how he looks at you, I swear he's worse than a boy with his first crush. He’ll come back.”
She had a point, and was most likely correct, but it didn’t make this any less an unpleasant experience.
“You’re not in any pain, are you?” Sigewinne asked worriedly, Neuvillette shook his head.
“Just...tired. And unreasonably warm,” he said, tugging at his shirt collar.
“Your body’s turned into an incubator, so you’d better get used to that,” she said, “I’ll get you something cool to drink. Then you should rest and I’ll clean up this mess.”
“But it was-.”
“Ah-ah! No buts, doctor’s orders,” she scolded with a smile, wagging her finger in his face.
Neuvillette opened his mouth to protest but knew he wouldn’t win this argument and sighed, “Yes, Matron Sigewinne.”
“Very good!” the Melusine beamed, “I’ll be right back.”
Her enthusiasm brought a smile to his face. Truly Meropide couldn’t have asked for a better nurse...and he probably couldn’t have either in his current state. He slumped back in the cushions and stared at the ceiling.
He winced, “The weather...must be absolutely dreadful right now.”
The downpour had petered out by the time Wriothelsey had slogged back to the Fortress after walking for so long his legs ached. Even with the umbrella, he was damp, and his boots were muddied, but it was the fact he knew why the weather was so bad that wasn’t helping his current state of mind.
Eggs. Eggs. Eggs.
He was still processing that. Yes, dragon so logically it made sense, but still.
It wasn’t that long after he’d escaped out into the fresh Fontaine air and the torrential downpour that he’d started feeling guilty for snapping at Sigewinne and Neuvillette. The head nurse was just helping, and his mate...well…
He couldn’t begin to imagine how Neuvillette was feeling right now. He didn’t have any experience with expectant mothers, but he’d been familiar with stories of emotional whirlwinds and the increased sensitivity from stories he’d heard from prisoners, although he always got the feeling those were exaggerated. Sigewinne would probably rip him up one side and down the other if he used those as reference points.
Still...he’d never seen Neuvillette look that...helpless before. He had been haunted by the image of his mate basically cowering behind Sigewinne when there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that Neuvillette could have easily defended himself if needed. It was so...out of character...but then again, if what he said was true, he wasn’t just protecting himself now.
Not only that, he’d lashed out at him, he’d hurt him. Honestly he wouldn’t blame Neuvillette if he never forgave him for that outburst.
“Some mate I am…” he muttered, looking up at the sky as the clouds slowly parted, the rain changing to a drizzle so he closed his umbrella and shook it out as he reached the elevator to the Fortress. No one was none the wiser as he walked past, giving brief greetings to the gardes and some of the workers who had been tasked with assisting in the escort of new prisoners.
The walk back to his office felt like he was being smothered, that despite the clueless smiles and greetings he was being judged for his screw-up. He was tempted to bolt back outside but decided against it as he walked into his office and headed back upstairs.
Much to his surprise, Neuvillette was dozing on his couch, a light blanket draped over his sleeping form. He looked a little better than before, not quite as pale, and his face was far more relaxed. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted…
The spilled tea and smashed cup had long since been cleaned up and there was a little note on his desk with a familiar stamp on it.
Your Grace,
I’m going to be frank, please don’t be angry with Monsieur Neuvillette. If I read the room right (and knowing me, I probably did!) you’re just as scared and confused as he is. Talk to him about it, be gentle. I would explain it but that’s not my place, I’ve already interfered enough. I think you’ll both be fine. Best of luck
-Sigewinne
PS: Don’t forget to give him a kiss when he wakes up!!
The last comment was accompanied by so many heart stickers it was weighing down the paper. It was cute but Wriothesley couldn’t really scrounge up any happy feelings right in that moment. He sighed and tossed it to the side.
Scared and confused, huh? That tracked, but Wriothesley was still puzzled by something. Had Neuvillette never laid eggs before? He had a difficult time believing that, given how old his mate was. He’d never brought up the subject before (although to be fair, he’d never asked). Wriothesley had so many questions, he wished he could track down Sigewinne to get her to give him the answers he desperately needed, but she was most likely right when she said it wasn’t her place.
With another sigh, he quietly slipped behind his desk and set about working again, listening to his lover’s even breathing from nearby.
His lover.
Great, now he just felt like more of an asshole.
Time was a difficult thing to gauge in Meropide, so Wriothesley had no idea how long he’d been chipping away at the pile of documents before he heard rustling from the couch.
Neuvillette sat up and stretched, silver hair spilling over the arm rest as he yawned and groggily rubbed his eyes.
“Hey,” Wriothesley said softly, trying to keep his voice relatively gentle so he didn’t startle him.
“Mmg…” was the sleepy reply, “Forgive me, how long was I asleep?”
“A few hours,” Wriothesley replied, standing up and making his way over to the couch, “It kind of...sounds like you needed it though.”
Neuvillette glanced at him but then away just as quickly, that distressed expression creeping across his features again, “I didn’t mean to stay that long…”
Wriothesley took a deep breath, “I’m...sorry I lost my temper. That wasn’t...I don’t…”
Finally, Neuvillette looked at him, his brow was pinched slightly but he looked a bit more relaxed than before.
A heavy exhale, “I’m sorry, Neuvi.”
“It’s...okay. I understand why you were upset,” Neuvillette said with a small smile, “It wasn’t my intention to lie to you or...to keep secrets.”
Wriothesley recalled what Sigewinne had said in her note. He’s just as scared and confused as you are, talk to him.
“So. Eggs.”
“Yes.”
“I assume you’ve...laid them before?”
A pained expression crossed Neuvillette’s face as he clutched the blanket that had pooled around his lap tightly. He hesitated before answering.
“Y-yes…”
Wriothesley didn’t like that pause. He didn’t think Neuvillette was lying, but he got the feeling there was some vital piece of information he was missing here.
He reached over and placed his hand over Neuvillette’s, gently stroking his knuckles with his thumb.
“Take your time.”
Neuvillette drew in a breath, “My body naturally produces eggs everyone one hundred years, usually the eggs aren’t...viable,” the strain in his voice was obvious as he looked away shamefully, “So my body just...passes them...and…”
“I’m sorry, Neuvi,” Wriothesley said gently, “I didn’t know that you’d gone through all that.”
“Not many do, it’s…” he let out a shaky breath, “I would say one gets used to it after so many times but…”
“I can’t imagine what it’s like.”
Neuvillette smiled sadly at him, “I’d prefer you not imagine such dreadful things.”
A fair assessment, Wriothesley would admit. That and he disliked how distressed the topic seemed to make his mate. Obviously it was just a natural part of his biology, but to him, it was something disgusting, something that hung over his head like an ugly shadow, a stain on his shining self.
“So, yes, this is a first time for me.”
Wriothesley took another deep breath and squeezed Neuvillette’s hand, smiling, “That’ll make two of us then.”
A pause.
“How are you feeling?”
“Varies day by day,” Neuvillette answered, “Some days I feel fine, others it feels like I swallowed a brick. The only really consistent annoyance is this fever-.”
“Fever, huh?” Wriothesley brushed some of his silver hair from his face, “That explains why you’re so pink. It’s cute.”
The pink in question turned red as he swatted away Wriothesley’s hand.
“I-it’s not cute, it’s just my body adjusting to a more appropriate temperature-.”
“Neuvi. I’m teasing, relax.”
Mouth still partially open, Neuvillette sat back and let out a quick huff, “Sorry, that’s been...an issue of late. I’ve been overblowing everything since…”
“I’m sure that must have been a shock for the staff.”
“Oh no, I internalized it so much I fainted,” he said awkwardly, “Thankfully Sigewinne was there and I wasn’t injured.”
“You...you would…” Wriothesley sighed, “Well, so long as you’re with me, feel free to go overboard as much as you want.”
Neuvillette looked mildly horrified, “N-no! I couldn’t! What if...w-what about my-?”
“Only you would freak out about being told to forget about pleasantries when you’re with your lover.”
Neuvillette pressed his lips together tightly.
“But...that aside…” Wriothesley scratched the back of his neck, “How long exactly?”
“How long what?”
“How long until you lay the eggs.”
Neuvillette’s face reddened again and he quickly pulled his hands away to bunch them up in the front of his coat.
“I...I’m not fully sure…”
It took every ounce of self-control for Wriothelsey to not put his face in his hands, “You...you don’t know. It’s your own species and you don’t know.”
“I told you, this has never happened before,” Neuvillette said in a clipped tone, a flare up of his temper before he quickly backpedaled and took a deep breath.
“Sigewinne and I have been doing some research, but there isn’t much. Our best guess is five months to...a year.”
“A year?” Wriothesley choked out incredulously.
“I’m sorry…”
“D-don’t be...I’m just…” he ran his hand over his face, “This is a lot, Neuvi. I’m still back on the fact you can lay eggs in the first place.”
“It isn’t generally a topic that comes up in regular conversation.”
“No I imagine not,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, “What do you want to do?”
“I can’t vanish for an unknown amount of time without reason,” Neuvillette bit his lip, “Fontaine still needs me and...I think I can conceal my condition for the time being.”
“Hm, yeah, those robes of yours sure are bulky enough.”
Wriothesley laughed when Neuvillette glared at him and let out an indignant huff.
“And if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to request my care be entrusted to Sigewinne.”
“She’d probably insist on it anyway. I’ll be more than happy to get her aquabus passes.”
Neuvillette seemed to deflate a bit as he relaxed, giving Wriothesley a smile and a nod.
“What about Lady Furina though?”
Much like when Sigewinne asked him if he knew what ‘gravid’ was, Neuvillette’s reaction to that question was so sudden and so severe Wriothesley was fully prepared to lunge across the couch to grab him in case he fainted again. His face had gone chalk white, and his hands were starting to shake from how tightly he was clutching the fabric.
“I-I can’t tell her…” Neuvillette blurted out, “I can’t...she can’t-.”
“Hey, hey, easy…” Wriothesley shushed him, carefully sliding his arm around his trembling shoulders, “If you need an excuse for anything-.”
“N-no, it’s not that,” Neuvillette bit down on his knuckles, an attempt to try to collect himself and then utterly failing to do so, “There...there’s a rule...I broke with this. Dragons have the potential to throw off the elemental balance of an entire region so we’re not allowed to breed and-.”
The words came out so fast Wriothesley barely had a chance to comprehend it. Marked or not, he could tell his mate was on the cusp of a nervous breakdown and he was beginning to regret bringing up the subject, minor as he figured it was.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he collected the utterly panicked dragon in his arms, squeezing gently.
Wriothesley was struggling to come up with an actual response, he’d never seen Neuvillette react to the mentions of Furina in such a manner. The mood was generally one of exasperation or amusement, something involving her theatrics during a trial or her breaking into his office with some absolutely absurd demand. He’d never had an inkling of an idea that Neuvillette viewed her as anything than the Archon of Fontaine, childish antics aside. This was the first time he’d ever seen Neuvillette straight up terrified of their hopeless goof of a Hydro Archon.
“Do you want me to get Sigewinne?”
Neuvillette shook his head and curled up tight against Wriothesley, like he was seeking warmth on a chilly night. They stayed like that for a good while, quiet to the point Wriothesley would have believed the Iudex had fallen asleep again were he not fidgeting with the chain on his vest.
Steadily, his breathing evened out as Wriothesley rubbed his hand up and down his back.
“Better?” he asked, nuzzling his scalp.
The other man took a deep breath, “F-forgive me, th-that was...that outburst was unhelpful.”
“Hey,” Wriothesley gently took his chin and lifted his head up, “Don’t apologize. Your body’s going through a lot of changes, of course your emotions are going to be all over the place.”
He smiled and leaned down to give his mate a kiss.
“I’ll take any verbal abuse you hurl at me, don’t worry.”
“That’s not- oh, you’re hopeless,” Neuvillette said with a tired eyeroll, “But the sentiment is appreciated.”
Wriothesley chuckled and tucked his head back under his chin.
“About Furina though…” he felt Neuvillette tense up again, “What are you scared she’ll do, exactly?”
“Because...because of the threat my offspring will pose to the balance of things, she’ll order the eggs destroyed,” Neuvillette shivered, “W-which is within her authority as Archon, and I-I’d have to obey her-.”
“Except you wouldn’t,” Wriothesley finished, “And that’s why you’re scared.”
Neuvillette made a noise then suddenly pushed Wriothesley away so he could sit up. His purple eyes were glassy with tears and he tried to hide his face when a small sob slipped out.
“I know I shouldn’t...perceive Lady Furina in such a light...s-she’s never been cruel, but…” he swallowed thickly, “I have...no recollection of the time I’ve been this fearful...of Lady Furina, of myself, of you-.”
“Wait, why me?” Wriothesley asked in bewilderment.
“Because…” Neuvillette hesitated, voice wavering, “B-because I’ve seen many cases in court involving unwanted children...or unplanned children, and how one or both parents abandoned them.”
He let out a choked noise, “Those abandoned by their partners because they didn’t want responsibility, and I...I panicked. I should’ve known better...but we’ve never...discussed children and I was so scared I-.”
“Hey, come on, you know I wouldn’t do that,” Wriothesley reached out and cupped his cheek, he was a little hurt that Neuvillette flinched slightly but brushed it off as nerves, “You know for a fact I wouldn’t do that.”
Neuvillette gave him a weak smile, wavering from the threat of tears as he reached up to clasp Wriothesley’s hand and lace their fingers together.
“I know. I’m...I’m deeply sorry I ever thought that. I was...thinking too much, even when Sigewinne assured me you wouldn’t do anything of the sort,” he bit his lip hard and squeezed his eyes closed, tears leaking out from the corners, “I’m sorry.”
Wriothesley was glad this exchange hadn’t happened with his earlier self, it wouldn’t have ended well. Sigewinne hadn’t been exaggerating, he was scared. It stung a bit that the thought had ever crossed Neuvillette’s mind, but he couldn't really blame him if he was totally irrational in his panic.
“It’s okay,” he assured his mate, “But, if I may add, I think you’re thinking to lowly of Furina too.”
“Wh-what? Sh-she has a duty as the Hydro Archon, and-."
“She’s a ditz, not a sadist,” Wriothesley said, “Did you even talk to her?”
“Not about this, no.”
“I think, honestly, Furina would be extremely appreciative if you told her. You are her Chief Justice, after all, her confidant, her last surviving brain cell…”
“I’m going to ignore that last part.”
Wriothesley chuckled, “She cares about you, and trusts you. I think you should at least give it a try, something tells me you’re overthinking again.”
He paused thoughtfully, “And if the worst comes to pass, I’m fully prepared to smuggle you over the border into Sumeru.”
“Would...would the Dendro Archon allow that?”
“Based on what I’ve heard, she sounds pretty reasonable,” Wriothesley shrugged, “Besides, I don’t think she’d reject us if I told her it was a family emergency.”
Neuvillette blinked owlishly a few times and then his cheeks turned a pleasantly darker shade of pink as he looked away bashfully.
“W-what? What did I say?”
“Nothing just…” he gave Wriothesley a shy smile, “Family. I like hearing you say that.”
“That’s what we are, right?” Wriothesley grinned, “You, me, and our clutch. One big happy-.”
Wriothesley wrapped his arms tight around Neuvillette, the startled yelp was expected…the jab to his chest and the very audible crunch that followed was not. He let out a pained wheeze and released him to gingerly cradle the spot that had been hit.
“That...that was a rib,” he grimaced, quickly undoing his vest to look, “M-maybe two…”
Neuvillette was looking at him with wide eyed shock, both hands over his mouth.
“I...I guess I’d better get used to that?” he cringed as his sheepish laugh strained his injured chest.
“No, just...don’t hug me that tightly.”
“Noted.”
“...do you...want me to fetch Sigewinne?”
“Yes please.”