Work Text:
Neuvillette has spent hundreds of years amongst humanity, deciding their fates and hearing their stories, and yet, even after so long, he can’t quite figure them out. They were always saying things they didn’t mean or acting in completely baffling ways. They did awful things to each other and believed they could just get away with it, and sometimes they did. But they did kind things for each other too; they’d show empathy for each other and forgive things that Neuvillette considered unforgivable, and that kindness would sometimes go completely unappreciated. Humans felt like aliens, and he couldn’t tell whether what he felt for them was love or fear.
As he lies at the bottom of the sea, staring up at the otters and blubberbeasts playing above him, he figures that it doesn’t matter at that moment. The sun shines through the shallow waters, glittering against the surface so brightly that it would likely blind any mortal who stared directly at it. It was a shame that something so beautiful was so dangerous to the wrong eyes. Lucky him he supposed, he could stare at the dancing lights for the rest of time if he so desired, or he could at least until someone came to find him. Maybe he should just swim deeper, deeper than anyone would think to look for him. The cool touch of the water is nice against his skin, and breathing comes much easier to him beneath the waves. It’s been so long since he’s had a break, and the building stress is starting to feel like weights slowly dragging him down into the depths of despair.
A tidalga floats by brushing his nose, and he stares at it as the current carries it and its friends away. He smiles a bit as he watches their little journey out towards the open sea. The life of a tidalga truly seems like the best way to exist; floating on without a care in the world sounds like a little slice of paradise. The merry little band is soon swept out of his line of sight, and he’s left staring at nothing.
He’s not sure how long he stays like that, just watching a point in the distance without a thought in his head, but after some time, he’s pulled from his stupor by an otter headbutting his arm and trying to guide him towards the surface. For a few seconds, he doesn’t make a move, wondering if maybe he should swim away and make for deeper water, but he knows that, unfortunately, he can’t run from his job forever and that if he did try and make an escape, the duke would undoubtedly chase after him and that would just ruin his peace anyway. He lets himself follow the otter up, floating to the surface as the sky above clouds over, enveloping the sea in shadow.
“Wow, delighted to see me, are you?” Wriothesley asks sarcastically as Neuvillette breaks the surface; he’s looking up to the sky as the rain starts to fall from above, and Neuvillette feels a touch guilty as the duke’s hair begins to stick to his forehead. “This kinda stings, you know?”
“It’s got nothing to do with you, I assure you.” He sighs, stumbling to his feet and digging his toes into the sand as he squeezes the salty water out of his hair. He glances over to see his boots and coat still sitting where he’d left them, a gull perched peacefully beside them. At the sight, he wilts a little bit. If only the bird could read his mind and fly away with one of his boots, that could be a valid enough reason to cancel his afternoon meetings.
“Have you considered quitting your job?” Wriothesley pipes up from beside him, and Neuvillette looks back at him. He’s drenched now; his dark shirt is like a second skin, and his fur collar looks sad, drooping from the downpour and frosting over a little near his vision.
“If I quit my job, nothing would get done, and our government would be driven into the ground within days,” Neuvillette says as he turns away, stretching out his shoulders and biting back a yawn. He walks towards his discarded clothes, dragging his feet, preemptively mourning the feeling of rain droplets kissing his exposed skin. “Without work––I wouldn’t know what to do with myself.” He mutters sadly, hoping that the duke hadn’t actually heard that. Wriothesley keeps silent as he sorrowfully drags his coat and boots on, taking far longer than was strictly necessary. He fiddles with the last latch on his boot for a good minute, delaying the inevitable for as long as he possibly can. Finally, he can’t stall any longer, and he slowly clicks it shut and grouchily rises to his feet.
Wriothesley smiles softly at him as he falls into step beside him, probably in some attempt to lighten his mood, but the gesture goes unappreciated on his part. The rain starts to tip down even harder, and Neuvillette feels a little guilty as he gives the duke a once over, noticing that the man’s clothes are completely soaked through.
“Let’s get inside quickly,” Wriothesley says, his shoulders weakly trembling in the cold. “Maybe some food will make you feel better. Sigewinne made a bunch of sweets this morning, and I don’t want any, so you can have my share.”
“You really should be more considerate of Sigwinne. You could at least try her desserts today.” Neuvillette bristles a bit at Wriothesley’s casual dismissal of the melusine’s efforts. He never understood how the duke couldn’t appreciate food that came from a place of love, and Sigewinne’s milkshakes always tasted delightful to him, so Wriothesley’s claims that the dishes made him sick seemed far-fetched. But then again, humans are painfully fragile, so maybe it was true.
“Hmm, no thanks, I’d rather not, but I’m sure you’ll adore them.” Wriothesley smiles as he hops up onto the elevator platform before extending a hand down to Neuvillette. The dragon stares down the offered hand for what's probably longer than socially acceptable before he gingerly takes it in his own. He holds it for a few seconds, making no effort to step up onto the ledge. He loses himself in the sensation of Wriothesley's cold, calloused hands against his own soft skin, thinking aimlessly about how often the duke must train to have built up such strong hands. The storm starts to ease up without him even noticing as Wriothesley squeezes his hand and crouches down to get back Neuvillette's eye level.
“Your honor, as delightful as it is to have your hand in mine, I think we should head inside soon.” Wriothesley's quiet words bring Neuvillette out of whatever trance he’d fallen under.
His cheeks flush softly as he nods in response and finally lets Wriothesley pull him up onto the platform. His blush darkens at the casual display of strength, and it takes all of Neuvillette’s composure to keep himself from reaching out to touch Wriothesley's arm just to feel the solid, icy muscle underneath.
“How about after the meeting, you stay a while?”
Neuvillette tenses up a little as he looks at Wriothesley skeptically. The duke just smiles softly as the rain continues to dance down around them, filling the air with the heady scent of the damp ground.
“Why?” He responds after close to a minute has passed. He sounds embarrassingly uncertain even to himself, and he’s grateful the duke has the courtesy not to mention it as he replies.
“Because you look exhausted, and I thought you might enjoy having dinner with me and Sigwinne,” he says gently, and Neuvillette has to look away.
He was never fully prepared for how well Wriothesley could see through him. It makes him feel naked, and he’s still not sure if he loves or hates the sensation. He trembles a little, and Wriothesley steps closer, shielding him as a gust of wind blusters past them.
“After we eat, maybe you can try and get some sleep; maybe being down so deep will help you relax a little,” Wriothesley says gently as he caresses Neuvillette’s chin and lifts his head up so their eyes meet.
“Do I really look so tired?” Neuvillette laughs emptily, and the duke frowns in response, running his thumb beneath the judge's eye, marveling a little at the way his white lashes stood out like cresting waves against his deep blue irises. But even the dragon’s inhuman beauty couldn’t hide how deep his dark circles had gotten, and Wriothesley couldn’t just pretend he didn’t see them.
“You look like you haven’t slept in months.” He says honestly and his heart clenches a little at the grimace that spreads across Neuvillette’s face.
Neuvillette presses his eyes shut and focuses on the feeling of the rain pattering against his skin. Wriothesley drags his thumb beneath his eyes again, and he shudders at the tenderness of it. The sudden storm begins to ease off as the dragon leans into the rough hand cupping his cheek and with a deep breath, he finally manages to pull himself back together and meet the duke’s gaze once more.
“Alright. Let’s get this meeting over, and then I will stay with you.” He breathes out, his chest fluttering a little as he watches a bright smile spread across Wriothesley’s face.
“Come on then. We might need to stand in front of a fan for a bit before the meeting.” The duke grins, taking his hand again and tugging them towards the fortress elevator. Neuvillette stops him though, yanking him back in response as he flourishes his free hand, dragging the water out of their clothes and discarding it with a splash. “Or you can do that.” Wriothesley laughs incredulously, squeezing Neuvillettes hand as he quickly drags him into the lift so as to keep their freshly dry clothes from getting soaked again. “Let’s get it done then.”
The pair awkwardly stumble into the lift as the sky starts to clear up behind them, and the sun peaks out from behind the clouds again. Wriothesley fiddles with the buttons, and then the doors are shut, and they’re both on their way down.
“Thank you for caring about me,” Neuvillette says softly after a minute or two. His cheeks heat up as he says it and he can’t bring himself to look away from his shoes even as Wriothesley bumps shoulder with him.
“You make it astoundingly easy.”