Archive of Our Own

Compared to many places in Teyvat, Fontaine had a relatively mild climate. At worst, the humidity and sting from the sun would raise the temperature for a few hours before it petered out, then cooled when the sun set, not too dissimilar to a neglected pot of tea.

These changes weren’t as drastic as some place like, say, Sumeru, but it was still commonplace to hear the locals (especially the city-goers) complain about the temperature being even slightly off.

They however at least had the luxury of being able to remove layers until the weather returned to normal. Short of ripping off his own skin, Neuvillette had no such relief, not this time of year….and he wished it was something weather related.

Even having rid himself of his dark blue robes and with the office windows open, it did nothing to relieve his present discomfort. Not the fire under his scales, which had made themselves more pronounced and itched terribly, nor the awful stomach cramps...and worst of all, not the feeling he was being scrutinized by every person who looked at him. The thought anyone knew of his current...condition made him nauseous.

What would the people of Fontaine think if they found out their impeccable, refined Chief Justice went into heat like a common beast? He cursed his natural physiology, but there was nothing he could do. No pills to take, no potions, even the lovely potion master in the Melusine Village couldn't provide anything to completely abate the symptoms, try as she could. The most she’d managed to craft was a mild sedative to at least allow him to have a restful night’s sleep. All he could do was keep his inevitable mood swings in check and suffer in silence until he had to call off for the last few days to ride out the worst of it.

Alone.

Or occasionally with Furina’s commentary. The former was more preferable even if he hated both.

A soft knock at the door brought him back to reality with a bump. He’d zoned out all but completely, oblivious to the paperwork piling up on his desk. The abrupt re-connection with reality made him harshly aware of the burning ache in his body as he straightened up in his chair.

“Come in,” he called politely, trying to busy himself with looking like he’d actually been working.

The door opened slightly and a petite figure poked their head inside.

“Monsieur Neuvillette?” Sedene inquired, rhinophores twitching, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Never,” he said with a shake of his head, smiling as he relaxed hearing the familiar voice of the ever attentive secretary, “What do you need, Sedene?”

“Well…” she started, looking down at the floor before back up at him, “You missed lunch.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I must’ve been too absorbed with-.”

“Again.”

“That’s-.”

“For the third time this week.”

Neuvillette closed his mouth with a click and looked away guiltily, unable to meet the concerned gaze of the Melusine.

“Forgive me, Sedene...it wasn’t my intention to worry you.”

“Monsieur…” Sedene quickly peeked over her shoulder before shuffling in and closing the door, “We all know you’ve been having a...difficult week.”

Upon hearing this, Neuvillette went stiff.

Oh...oh no...he thought in rising panic. Did I do a poor job hiding it this time? Does everyone know? Oh no-.

“Monsieur?”

He snapped out of it when Sedene spoke up again, looking at him with concern in her big eyes.

Right...Sedene and the other Melusines wouldn’t spread gossip, especially not about him (Siegwinne he wasn’t sure about since she’d picked up all those unbecoming habits from the Duke, but nothing he could do about that now.)

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, rubbing his face with a trembling hand. It was difficult to conceal his state from two very specific parties, neither of whom he could find a reasonable excuse to avoid. Furina would probably throw a world-ending temper tantrum if he left her to her own devices and the Melusine...he couldn’t bring himself to worry them. Thus far, he hadn’t prevented either of these things.

Just the day prior, he’d had to request postponing a trial due to his less than favorable disposition in combination with a fever and a great deal of physical discomfort. Furina, in her stately wisdom, had turned up at his house demanding answers to a whole slew of things Neuvillette couldn’t be bothered to remember while screaming and banging on his doors and windows. He’d ruined her fun for the day, apparently.

“Monsieur, perhaps you should take the next few days off…” Sedene suggested gently, “We can easily handle anything that should come up.”

Neuvillette sighed and brushed some stray hair out of his face, “I appreciate the suggestion, Sedene, but I can manage. So long as I’m getting a decent night’s sleep, it won’t be an issue. And on that note-.”

He held up a stack of papers that was considerably smaller than he seemed to recall it being.

Sedene’s brow crinkled as she stared at the papers, his relatively sad attempt to change the subject, if not drop it entirely.

“Monsieur Neuvillette, I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” she said, walking over to reluctantly retrieve the papers, “You should be resting.”

“The law doesn’t rest, I’m afraid.”

The Melusine pouted, “You’re the one always telling us to mind our health, but what about you? I think we’re allowed to tell you the same!”

Unfortunately, this is no normal illness…he thought somewhat bitterly, “If only it were that simple, Sedene.”

The poor Melusine looked totally defeated, rhinophores drooping slightly as she hung her head and turned to leave.

Oh. He really hoped his bitterness about the subject hadn’t slipped through in his tone. He’d never take his frustrations out on the Melusines, no matter how poor of a mood he was in.

Sedene...her name got shamefully caught in his throat when he tried, so instead he reached for his tea cup. The drink was cold and most certainly over-saturated, but he desperately needed to wet his throat.

Sedene reached for the handle before pausing a lengthy moment, paw resting on the curl of metal.

“Actually, if you don’t mind my asking,” she turned back around suddenly, “When was the last time you saw Duke Wriothesley?”

Neuvillette choked, inhaling the insanely bitter drink straight into his nose and sinuses. The poor cup was all but thrown back onto the desk as he wheezed and spluttered.

Sedene gasped in horror, “Oh my goodness! Monsieur Neuvillette! I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean-!”

Neuvillette waved his hand as he quickly dabbed up the mess on his face with his handkerchief before attempting to mop up the puddle on his desk.

“It’s-,” he coughed, “I-it’s fine, Sedene.”

No, it really wasn’t. Neuvillette had been trying his damnedest to not think about the Duke the last several days lest he get absolutely nothing done. It wasn’t that he disliked Wriothesley, quite the opposite in fact. Yes the man was a bit aloof and liked to push Neuvillette’s buttons by pretending he didn’t understand proper etiquette, but the Iudex wouldn’t deny he found the man attractive.

In fact, were he to do so, the Melusines would no doubt call him out on it.

They’d had dinner, lunch, breakfast after spending the night together-

His brain shorted at that thought. No, no, no, no, no not now…

Almost immediately, he could imagine the sensation of cool metal wrapped around his heated skin, arms pinned above his head as Wriothesley-.

He almost dropped the cup again as he fumbled to grab it, roughly swallowing an unnecessary amount of tea because, well, what did it matter? He was already soaked in it.

It hurt but it was enough to derail that line of thought as he forcefully put the cup back down, gasping like he was recovering from having his head shoved underwater.

“Oh...I’m so sorry, Monsieur. I was just trying…” Sedene hung her head guiltily and turned back to the door, “I won’t bother you the rest of the-.”

Her sentence was cut off with a surprised squeal as she was suddenly knocked aside by the door swinging open.

“Oh, for Furina’s sake! I’m sorry Sedene!” a familiar voice loudly apologized, and a familiar voice Neuvillette would very much like to not be hearing right now.

Thankfully, the force hadn’t thrown Sedene into any furniture or seriously hurt her. Mostly she just seemed rattled as she adjusted her hat and collected the papers she’d dropped.

“I knocked, I swear,” Wriothesley said looking sheepishly up at Neuvillette.

“It wasn’t your fault, I wasn’t paying attention.” Sedene replied, her tail perked up, “In fact, we were just talking about you!”

“You...were?” Wriothesley looked between her and Neuvillette, who had been frantically attempting to get Sedene’s attention by waving his hands.

“It wasn’t anything bad, don’t worry!” she chirped, completely ignoring Neuvillette and his present distress, ”But I have to drop these reports off for Monsieur Neuvillette, have a wonderful day, M’lord, Chief Justice.”

Leaving Wriothesley standing there with his mouth open, Sedene skipped out of the office, gracefully shutting the door behind her.

After an awkward pause, Wriothesley finally looked back at Neuvillette and cleared his throat.

“So...that explains why I felt my ears burning.”

Neuvillette wanted to jump out the window. Would it be the source of gossip for weeks afterward? Most likely, but he absolutely did not want to be here right now and it was currently his only escape route besides shoving himself under his desk like an irate child and refusing to come out.

Of all the times, of all the people who had to show up when he was in this state…

“What happened to you?” he asked, having approached the desk far quicker than Neuvillette had anticipated.

“I...got sloppy. Spilled my tea by accident,” the Iudex answered, trying to shake some stray water out of a document, “Nothing to worry about. What do you want, Wriothesley?”

“Nice to see you too,” the Duke replied curtly, dropping the stack of files he’d been carrying on the desk with a loud slap, completely ignoring any potential water damage.

“I said I was sorry to Sedene, you know.”

“I heard you, what are these?”

Keep it strict, keep it professional...don’t look at anywhere else but his face…

“Expense reports,” Wriothesley answered, crossing his arms and- oh no...please don’t do that, “You complained they were late last month, so here they are.”

“Did I?” 

“You did, yes.”

“I don’t complain.”

Wriothesley rolled his eyes, “It sure sounded like you were complaining last time we spoke.”

Breathe in, breathe- oh, that’s a dreadful idea, Neuvillette realized too late when he got a whiff of Wriothesley’s cologne and his usual musk, but the cologne…

“That’s the cologne I gave you…” he muttered in a daze.

“Excuse me?”

“I-I mean...hah…” Neuvillette tried to get his mind back on track but was failing miserably. Were he a weaker man, he would have jumped across the desk and begged Wriothesley to ruin him right there in his office...which could still happen if Neuvillette didn’t keep a borderline strangling leash on his self-control.

“Forgive me, I’ve been…fatigued of late, focusing has been difficult.”

Or rather, focusing on relevant things. Like work-.

Wriothesley counted as work didn’t he?

No, do not go there…

He cleared his throat, “Thank you for getting these to me on time then, Your Grace. I will review them this-.”

When he looked up, he was mildly surprised to find not only hadn’t Wriothesley budged but he was regarding Neuvillette with a skeptical expression.

“W-what?”

“If you’re so fatigued, why are you still here?” Wriothesley asked, “Were you in my position, Siegwinne would have banished you from the workplace to get some sleep, you know.”

Neuvillette chuckled, “I’m relatively certain Sedene just tried to do that, but unfortunately, I have work to do as you can see-.”

“I see a lot of paper covered in tea,” Wriothesley noted, peeling a page off the desk and holding it up, ignoring the droplets steadily plip plopping back into the puddle. He raised an eyebrow, “Have you had lunch yet?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I know I get kind of grumpy when I haven’t eaten,” Wriothesley replied, leaning against the desk on his hip, “Figured I’d ask, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this out of sorts before.”

You haven’t.

For all their trysts and dates and...whatever their relationship was, Neuvillette made a point to not involve anyway when he was slowly and internally being baked by his own out of control hormones. Wriothesley especially. Partly to preserve whatever professional dignity was left and party because he couldn’t drag a human into it. He wouldn’t. The idea of anyone seeing him made him feel so sickeningly vulnerable. He was the unshakable Chief Justice of Fontaine, not a bitch to be bred...as much as he’d like that right now.

His scales were itching again.

“Neuvi?”

“Hm?” Neuvillette snapped back to reality again, sincerely hoping he hadn’t started drooling in the interim.

The Duke rolled his eyes, “Okay, that’s it, get your coat on.”

“H-huh? Why?” Neuvillette spluttered in a sudden panic.

“Lunch, duh,” Wriothesley answered, “I’ll pay.”

“But-.”

“But what? All your papers are going to be here when you get back.”

I don’t want people to see me like...this...he thought shamefully, tugging at his ruffled sleeves. He felt dirty, impure, he ached in the worst sense of the word. He couldn’t be out in public, not now. The thought of sitting in a busy restaurant…

“You still need to eat something,” Wriothesley said bluntly, “You’ll feel better after you eat, I promise.”

Food isn’t the issue here...Neuvillette thought with a sigh, although the noise his stomach proceeded to make seemed to disagree with that statement. After all, the last three days had basically just been him foraging, maybe it was time for a real meal…

“Alright. On one condition.”

“It’s never easy with you, is it?”

Neuvillette scowled, Wriothesley held up his hands in surrender.

“I’d like to eat somewhere private, would it be too much to ask…”

No, no, no! You idiot, what are you doing?!

“...if we ate back at my house?”

Please say no, please say no, please say no…

Wriothesley shrugged, “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

Damn it!

“I can pick something up, that’ll give you some time to change,” he said, turning away, “See you in a bit?”

Neuvillette had been too busy gnawing on his lip to reply with anything besides a shaky nod.

“Try uh...try not to pass out before I get there?” Wriothesley gave him a concerned look, “Unless you’d rather tag along-?”

“N-no, no! I’m good!” Neuvillette protested a little too shrilly, “I-I’ll be alright. If not I can have one of the Melsuines escort me home.”

Wriothesley sighed, “I’ve got a lot of faith in those girls but I don’t think they’ll be able to do much if you collapse like a broken meka.”

“Which I will not do,” Neuvillette countered.

“Whatever you say, Chief,” Wriothesley said as he opened the door and exited without another word.

Once he was sealed within his office again, Neuvillette proceeded to do exactly what he told Wriothesley he wasn’t going to do- he crumpled forward, slamming his forehead against the desk, tea be damned.

“Neuvillette, you are a fool,” he groaned, however the sound of the door opening caused him to sit up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.

Sedene poked her head in, “So about that lunch date…?” she asked smugly.

“Just because I have a soft spot for you doesn’t mean there aren’t extenuating circumstances that will result in you being tossed out of my office," he threatened in the most half-hearted manner possible. 

Sedene just giggled.

Neuvillette was positively frenzied by the time he heard a knock at the door. He made an effort to tidy the house, or at most, the first floor where he hoped the two of them would stay for the duration of the meal.

Arguably the only conspicuous problem was that all his decorative couch cushions were gone, as were any blankets...and towels...and the linen cabinet was almost completely empty. Hopefully Wriothesley wouldn’t-.

“Hey, where’s your tablecloth?”

…notice.

“It’s...ah, I had to send it to get dry cleaned,” he lied as the Duke set the plates out, “Why?”

“Oh I just...ya know, I know you don’t like getting stuff on the table,” he replied, lightly tapping on the dark wood with his knuckles, “You gave me hell last time for leaving a glass on it.”

“Water rings are a different matter than crumbs,” Neuvillette replied primly as he sat down, folding his hands in front of him, “Crumbs I can easily sweep up, water rings can damage the-.”

“Chill, I get it,” Wriothesley said with a smile, “I will make an effort to not ruin your furniture, Chief Justice.”

For some reason, the gentleness of his smile made Neuvillette’s heart throb...or was that anxiety. He couldn’t tell.

Control yourself! He chided, shifting in his seat as he subconsciously ran his hand down his neck to press down hard on his collarbone in an attempt to scratch his scales.

“You alright?” Wriothesley asked, Neuvillette flinched and quickly lowered his hand.

“Y-yes, sorry.”

“Do you have a rash or something? You shouldn’t scratch at it if that’s the case, you’d make yourself bleed," he paused, "Do you want me to ask Siegwinne for some ointment when I get back?"

Oh, Neuvillette wished he could claw his scales off. Maybe then he’d get some relief…

"N-no, I'm good, thank you. I appreciate your offer though."

Wriothesley watched him for a minute before letting out a sigh and opening the food containers, releasing a positively mouth-watering cloud of deliciously scented steam. His stomach let out an obnoxiously loud gurgle, earning him an amused look from Wriothesley as he turned away awkwardly, cheeks going pink. 

“Okay...maybe I was hungry…” he grumbled.

“And before I forget…” Wriothesley stuck his hand back in the bag, piquing Neuvillette's curiosity, and pulled out a bottle with a flourish, “The finest filtered water from our lovely region of Fontaine for our esteemed Chief Justice.”

Neuvillette pressed his lips tightly together but ultimately failed to keep himself from laughing as Wriothesley effortlessly undid the cap with a crisp crinkling noise.

“Am I really that predictable, Wriothesley?”

“Honestly?” the Duke pulled out another bottle, this one filled with bright, fizzy, orange liquid, “You seemed a bit...off, so I thought I’d get you something I know makes you happy.”

Neuvillette smiled as he took a sip, resisting to urge to sigh in contentment as it cooled off his body. He’d had this water before, of course, many times, but he always enjoyed the crisp, natural sweetness. Far superior to its fizzy alternative, which he’d never understood the appeal of.

“Thank you for the meal, Duke,” he said before elegantly digging his fork and knife into the lasagna he’d been presented with.

Wriothesley shrugged, tearing off a piece of garlic bread and passing it to him.

“You’re gonna owe me,” he took a bite of it, “I have to convinch the waitresh to make it fresh.”

Neuvillette made a face as Wriothesley slurred around his food before swallowing, and based on the distinct lack of response, he either didn’t notice the judge’s disapproving stare or couldn’t be bothered to care.

“Plus it cost extra to get it expedited- gods, I’m starving,” he rather unceremoniously dug his fork into it (no knife, Neuvillette observed) and cleaved off a corner before shoving it into his mouth.

Under normal circumstances, Neuvillette would scold him for such indecency, but he found himself absurdly distracted by the bob of his throat and the oh-so slight strain of muscle as he swallowed.

Wriothesley picked up his drink and went to take a sip before he noticed Neuvillette staring, “Uh…”

The Chief Justice realized his mouth was hanging open slightly and he hadn’t so much as twitched since he started trying to cut into his meal.

“Do I...have something on my face?”

“A-ah...n-no, just, um…” Neuvillette coughed, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt, “F-forgive me.”

“Perhaps what I should have asked is if you’ve actually slept recently,” Wriothesley said, taking a long sip of his drink. Neuvillette quickly looked away before he got further distracted by the other man’s mouth and the potential of it being wrapped around-.

Oh no...his face...his smell...why couldn’t they have eaten outside? Why hadn’t he considered tha-?!

“O-ow?!” he yelped, dropping his silverware onto the table and spluttering as he spat out the lasagna in a particularly undignified manner.

“I told you it was fresh,” Wriothesley said bluntly, nudging his water closer.

“Fresh does not necessarily equal hot!” Neuvillette protested before taking a quick drink, grimacing at how tender his mouth felt. 

"Oh, it's not that hot you big baby," Wriothesley rolled his eyes and got to his feet. 

The comment frustrated him, but Wriothesley was probably correct that he was being over-dramatic, however he was so anxiety-ridden right now everything felt like it was too much.

At least it took his mind off his hormones for a bit…

“Here,” Wriothesley bent down right in front of him, giving him a start, “Open your mouth.”

“Wha-?”

“Open your mouth, let me see.”

Neuvillette let out a noise. It wasn’t an especially coherent one, not labelable as a sound like a groan or a whine...probably a weird combination of several different ones because, well…

Wriothesley, tragically, didn’t wait for him to actually reply before hooking his thumb on Neuvillette’s bottom teeth in order to gently hinge his mouth open.

“It doesn’t look like there’s any serious damage,” he reported before furthering Neuvillette’s torment by pushing in his index finger and pressing it flat against his tongue.

“And I thought Furina was a drama queen.”

Neuvillette glared at him. Thankfully, Wriothesley got the message and quickly removed his hand before it got bitten...except now he wished he actually had something in his stomach to throw up for the sake of getting Wriothesley’s taste out of his mouth.

“If it’ll make you feel better, I can get Siegwinne to throw together something for you.” Wriothesley continued, using a spare napkin to clean off his fingers, “Like one of her abominable health shakes.”

“Urgh, they’re not that bad…” 

“Your sense of taste has always been kinda weird,” Wriothesley made a face, “I’ve had week old coffee that tasted better than that.”

Neuvillette gave thought to arguing but ultimately opted against it. For starters, there was a chance his self control might slip, and for another, Wriothesley was technically correct. After all, the Melusine perceived virtually every sensory aspect in the world differently than humans. Siegwinne was on point with the health effects of her ‘shakes’ but had yet to figure out her choice of ingredients resulted in a beverage that, to humans, was basically the edible equivalent of swamp mud.

Neuvillette wasn’t the biggest fan of her drinks but he was less bothered by the taste than Wriothesley was. He wasn’t entirely sure he could stomach one at this very moment though…

“I-I’m sorry,” he blurted out, “That...outburst was completely unnecessary.”

“I wasn’t-? Are you sure you’re okay?”

Neuvillette felt a sharp twinge of annoyance, “Yes, I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s not what the Melusines told me.”

Neuvillette’s thoughts came to an abrupt stop. Surely he’d misheard-.

Wriothesley sighed, running his hand over his scalp and briefly smoothing out the mess of silver and black.

“I was surprised too, because I know not all your girls view me in a particularly positive light,” he explained, “But...Siegwinne got a message saying I should come up to visit you because you were...in a bad state. Or something along those lines.”

He waved his hand, “Siegwinne was definitely being vague so I never got the full story out of her. She’s absorbed all my stubbornness, tragically. So..." he paused, crossing his arms. “Figured I’d come up here with a bullshit excuse to see you, and with all that out of the way..."

Wriothlsey leaned against the table, expression softening, “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong now?”

Neuvillette felt very small, very hot, and he knew he was blushing, overwhelmed by a whole slew of unattractive emotions- shame, panic, arousal. This wasn’t the first time the poor Melusines were aware of his heat, but primarily the worst thing about it was their dismay they couldn’t do anything to ease his discomfort. He hated worrying them, it was his burden, as it had been for many, many years.

This was the first time they’d straight up avoided discussing anything about it directly. Did they not...trust him?

No...that wasn’t it…

He bit his lip, clutching the sides of his chair so tightly his knuckles had gone white and clamping his thighs together.

“Neuvillette…” Wriothesley said gently, taking the Chief Justice’s chin between his thumb and forefinger in order to tilt his head up, “Come on, don’t make me go find someone to tell me instead.”

Neuvillette jerked his head away, “T-this is blackmail…”

“Is it? I’m sure one of the Melusine would be happy to explain whatever malady is affecting the Chief Justice,” Wriothesley pushed off the table, “If I went back to Meropide with a blank report, Siegwinne would never forgive me.”

Neuvillette swallowed.

“Neuvi, I’m here to help you, why is that so hard to believe?” Wriothesley demanded, clearly frustrated, “I wasn’t lying when I said it was a direct- and private- request.”

The Iudex groaned as his stomach constricted painfully, but still didn’t reply. His knees were starting to ache.

“Five,” Wriothesley spoke up again suddenly, again snapping Neuvillette out of his thoughts as the man started walking away.

“W-wait, what are you-?”

“Four,” Wriothlsey continued, holding up the same number of fingers.

Neuvillette scrambled to his feet, very nearly falling on his face from how dangerously close his knees had come to locking up.

“Three,” Wriothesley called back, glancing over his shoulder, “I told you, if you weren’t going to tell me, I’d go ask one of the Melusines. Sedene, I think, is the best choice? Two-.”

“Stop!” Neuvillette shouted, startled by the volume of his own voice. Wriothesley seemed surprised as well, but it had the right results. The Duke, his hand resting on his coat where it hung on the hook on the wall, watched him expectantly.

Unfortunately, whatever spine Neuvillette had managed to grow almost immediately disintegrated. He withdrew slightly, hugging himself.

“I need to know one thing...before I tell you anything,” he said weakly, “You won’t tell anyone about this, no one. No one can-.”

“Neuvi,” Wriothesley turned back to him, quickly closing the distance so he could cup Neuvillette’s cheek, it took a great deal of effort for the other not to flinch.

“I don’t gossip, you know that,” he said, placing his other hand on Neuvillette’s other cheek so he was fully cradling his face, “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

A calloused thumb brushed along the underside of his eye, a gesture that was intimate and loving but-.

“Are you sick? You’re very w-.”

Neuvillette shuddered and grabbed Wriothesley’s wrists to shove his hands away from his face. He sucked in a harsh breath and shivered again as too many senses were overloaded- smell, touch, even taste, the sheer closeness of Wriothesley’s presence was enough to cause an almost painful heat to curl in his gut.

“I-I’m sorry,” he said weakly, unable to meet the other man’s worried gaze.

“For Furina’s sake, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Neuvillette looked at him in alarm “N-no! It...it’s nothing like that…”

He took a step back and hugged himself tighter, Wriothesley seemed to have taken the hint and didn’t follow.

“As I’m sure you’re aware...I’m not...human,” Neuvillette felt a blush start crawling across his face, “I-I’m-.”

“And I’m sure you’re aware that I don’t give a damn.”

Neuvillette let out an exasperated sigh, “Don’t interrupt please.”

“Sorry, just trying to be reassuring.”

"Which is appreciated but..."

He bit his lip, “As I was saying, my biology isn’t the same as yours, s-so…”

His face wouldn’t stop burning, so he quickly turned away, covering it with his hands as he blindly staggered away.

“H-hey! Hey! C’mon! Don’t run away now!” Wriothesley protested, chasing after him. At least it was better than him storming out to ask Sedene for details.

The Iudex finally lowered his hands only to catch his nails through his gloves with his teeth.

“Neuvi…” Wriothesley came up behind him and carefully pulled his hands away from his mouth, “Take a deep breath, it’s okay.”

Part of Neuvillette should have had the mind to pull away again, but somehow the familiar, solid warmth of his (his?) Wriothesley settled his nerves enough to regain his composure.

“You said biology, so it’s a biological thing? Is it like, a virus?”

Neuvillette couldn’t help but chuckle, “No, it isn’t a virus.”

Strong arms slid around his mid-section, squeezing him gently, “Okay, are you going to make me guess then? I’ll tell you now, we might be here a while, biology was never my strong suit.”

Somehow, Wriothesley’s light-hearted teasing took some of the weight off his already strained shoulders, but the embarrassment of what he was about to admit was coming rolling back in faster than a high tide.

“Neuvi…”

Neuvillette took a sharp breath and nervously rubbed at his scales through his shirt.

“Sorry, I...usually the only people who know about this are the Melusine and Lady Furina-.”

“Weird segue, still avoiding the question.”

“R-right…” Neuvillette hesitated again, “I’m afraid...there’s no graceful way to say this but every few years I go into...aestus.”

There was a very long pause after that, long enough to make Neuvillette squirm uncomfortably.

“Aestus? You mean like-,” another pause, “Oh.”

“Yes, it’s...not a particularly...pleasant experience,” Neuvillette sighed, trying to resist scratching at his scales again, “Do you understand why I was reluctant to tell you now? It’s humiliating. Can you...imagine what it would be like if the public found out I turn into...this?”

“Turn into what? The most beautiful creature in all of Fontaine?”

Neuvillette managed to turn partially around, face scalding and eyes wide with sheer bewilderment.

“Wriothesley…” he growled, “What are you-?”

“Telling the truth, like you did,” the Duke replied, docking his chin on Neuvillette’s shoulder, breath tickling his cheek.

“Did you really think I was just going to straight up abandon you because of this?” he asked, “Or that I’d hate you?”

“N-no, but…” Neuvillette trailed off, staring at the floor, “I don’t...want anyone to see me like this. Lady Furina’s comments on it are humiliating enough-.”

Before he could finish, he was suddenly turned around so he was face to face with Wriothesley, hands on his shoulders.

“Furina isn’t here, Neuvi. Forget about her. It’s just you and me.”

Neuvillette felt the hands go to move but then stop, hesitant, seemingly recalling his reaction from earlier.

“And you trust me, right?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then will you let me take care of you?”

Neuvillette’s chest ached. Part of him was still aggravated the Melusines had gone around him to ask for help, but the other part was deeply touched by Wriothesley’s willingness to do so.

He knew the Melusines weren’t all completely on board with his relationship with Wriothesley. He didn’t hate them for it, they worried about him as he did them. Their biggest worry was any emotional harm that could come from it, if only because he could influence the weather by simply having a bad day.

...but Wriothesley wouldn’t do that, he’d experienced enough pain in his own life. He could be coarse, but the thought of him hurting Neuvillette in any capacity?

He was so painfully vulnerable right now, his usually sturdy, solid walls reduced to nothing more than frail egg shells that had just cracked and were now flaking away to reveal his delicate, aching, desperate core.

His hands traced up Wriothesley’s broad chest before coming to rest on his shoulders.

“Please.”

That was all the permission Wriothesley needed as he leaned forward and kissed him.

All things considered, it wasn’t an especially passionate or forceful kiss, more like one of the ones they’d share when Neuvillette would catch Wriothesley in his kitchen at some absurd hour because he’d climbed in through the kitchen window. Something soft, affectionate- but not remotely enough, not now that his shell had collapsed and his body felt like it was going to go up in flames.

He leaned into the kiss harder to try and get his point across, but the next thing he knew, he was pinned up against the closest wall with a tongue in his mouth and a knee pressed between his thighs.

Were Wriothesley not keeping him propped up, he most likely would have turned into a puddle.

Deft hands made easy work of his shirt as Wriothesley’s rough fingers found their way under the fabric, tracing up his flat stomach as his mouth simultaneously moved to his jaw- sucking, kissing, careful bites- all of it near overwhelming as his back arched off the wall and his hips involuntarily rocked forward against the knee, which in response, was pressed even harder against him, limiting his movement even more.

Wriothesley’s hands continued up, tracing over his chest and teasing his nipples until he splayed his fingers over the layer of aquamarine scales fanning across his collarbones.

Neuvillette shivered and mewled, even the slightest pressure made him feel so raw and sensitive. It occurred to him Wriothesley had never actually seen his scales, just the pale, iridescent patterns on his body where they were, areas that were delicate but not off limits (and Wriothesley did love teasing those areas, especially the ones that wrapped around his hips.)

Somehow, sensitivity aside, it was quite soothing to have Wriothesley lightly tracing the edge with his thumb, but not touching completely.

“So, you’ve been holding out on me?” he teased.

Neuvillette flushed, “N-no, my scales stay hidden unless I’m like this. I can’t control when they- hng…”

He trailed off with a poorly stifled moan as Wriothesley lazily moved his mouth down far enough that he could trace his tongue over his collarbones.

It was hot and it felt so, so, so wonderful. He grabbed a fistful of Wriothesley’s shirt.

“B-bedroom,” he managed to gasp out as he felt hands skimming up his back, feeling the neat ridge of scales that cascaded down his spine.

“What you don’t want me to rail you against the wall?”

“Not in my living room, no,” Neuvillette replied, managing to scrounge just enough of his decency to remember that peeping toms (or in this case, peeping Archons and peeping news reporters) had been something of an issue of late.

“The Chief Justice isn’t an exhibitionist? That’s no fun,” Wriothesley purred, taking Neuvillette’s earlobe between his lips and giving it a light tug.

“Wriothesley…” he growled, sinking his nails into the other man’s arms.

“I’m joking,” he replied with a laugh, hands moving down to hook under his thighs, “Put your arms around my neck, I’m going to lift you up.”

Neuvillette didn’t quite grasp the logistics of what Wriothesley had planned, but did as instructed. Wriothesley then effortlessly scooped him up off the ground with a startled yelp. Out of reflex, he wrapped his legs around Wriothesley’s waist, held steady by the strong hands supporting his thighs.

“Relax, I’ve got you.”

Neuvillette let out a huff, “You are the only person in all of Fontaine that is allowed to manhandle me in such a fashion.”

“Oh are you planning on making than an official law? 'I am to only be thrown around like a sack of potatoes by the Duke of Meropide'?”

“I would sooner retire and sink myself to the bottom of the ocean.”

Wriothesley pouted.

“Besides, if you were a bit more aware of how laws are decreed, you’d know they wouldn’t be worded in such a crude fashion.”

“Oh? Then, pray tell, how would you word such a law?”

Neuvillette had to be careful not to bite his tongue as they went up the stairs. He cleared his throat, “'The Chief Justice of Fontaine is to not be touched in a socially improper fashion by anyone, only the Duke of the Fortress of Meropide is permitted to do so in a private setting.'”

“Private setting, huh?” Wriothesley quirked an eyebrow as he walked into the bedroom, “Sounds like you broke your own law then, your grace.”

Neuvillette frowned, “What are you talking about?”

“Define ‘private setting’, because if it’s only limited to our living spaces, the several times I’ve ravished you in your office most certainly broke that law,” he grinned, “What’s our sentence going to be then?”

Before Neuvillette could reply, he was dropped with a soft oomph onto the overflowing bed.

“Oh, hey! There’s the tablecloth.”

Neuvillette very abruptly discarded any and all thought of silly fictional laws involving his personal life and instead remembered the absolutely abysmal state his bedroom was in.

Even putting aside the piles of towels and laundry, the bed was overflowing with anything he could get his hands on in his home, be it the aforementioned tablecloth or the decorative cushions from the lounge. He groaned and covered his mouth with his hand as his blush flared up again.

“What? What’s up?” Wriothesley asked. When Neuvillette opened his eyes, he found him folding up said tablecloth before tossing it somewhere out of sight.

“I-I...please...forgive...the mess in my bedchamber…”

“Really? You’re so pent up your scales might as well flake off and that’s what you’re apologizing for?” Wriothesley asked as he quickly undid his vest and any miscellaneous accessories besides his undershirt.

Neuvillette opened his mouth to protest but was cut off as the mattress dipped when Wriothesley carefully climbed onto the bed, knee resting between Neuvillette’s parted legs with hands on either side of his hips.

“I told you, don’t worry,” he said softly, “Besides, you’ve seen my flat in worse shape.”

Neuvillette had to concede he had a point.

Abruptly, the warmth and weight pulled away, much to his dismay, if the noise that escaped his throat was any indicator.

Wriothesley looked alarmed, “What was-?”

“It w-was...nng…” Neuvillette slumped back, covering his face with both his hands.

“Wow, you’re a total mess.”

Neuvillette jolted when Wriothesley rested both hands on his thighs, squeezing them gently.

“S-so you’ve observed earlier…” he grumbled. “Can we go back to arguing about the wording of legal legislation?”

“No we will not.”

And with that, Wriothesley peeled off his own shirt, finally exposing his beautifully sculpted, scarred chest and that triggered something in Neuvillette that made him wish he’d just torn the shirt in two and pulled the Duke down on top of him. The silver barbells piercing his nipples caught his attention immediately, some weird human custom Neuvillette would never hope to understand but didn’t make it any less appealing a feature on his partner. It...suited him.

He hastily discarded his white dress shirt and gloves, fully exposing his scales, his rapidly rising and falling chest, and he flinched when Wriothesley ran his fingers over a patch of scales peeking out from under the waistband of his trousers.

“Does it...hurt?” Wriothesley asked, pausing to rest his warm hand on Neuvillette’s trembling stomach, stroking the skin with his thumb, “When I touch them…?”

Neuvillette let out a sigh, “No, it doesn’t...hurt. It just feels...strange.”

“Good strange or bad strange? I can stop, if you want.”

“N-no, I-I want…” Neuvillette swallowed, “I want you to touch me, I don’t care where, I want-.”

Neuvillette very suddenly found himself silenced by an overwhelmingly rough kiss while hands groped at his belt and trousers. He moaned into Wriothesley’s mouth as his hips lifted up to give the other man easier access.

Surprisingly, the Duke was very mindful as he slid them off, carefully lifting the fabric up so it wouldn’t chafe the scales on his hips. Not that Neuvillette hadn’t been suffering with it all day...and the last several days. Honestly, being stripped completely bare was the best feeling in the world at this point.

He hummed and stretched languidly, scales rippling as his muscles contracted and relaxed.

“You really seemed to like that,” Wriothesley commented, stroking his fingertips over his stomach again, eyes skimming down, admiring the tasteful patches trailing down the sides of his thighs from the ones on his hips, “Feeling better?”

Neuvillette twitched at the ticklish sensation.

“F-for now, thank you,” he answered, watching Wriothesley’s fingers trace the layers of scales again, heat bubbling up in his belly.

Touch me...touch me more...please...he wanted to beg, but it seemed he really didn’t need to actually vocalize it. His brain went blank as soon as Wriothesley wrapped his hand around his far-too sensitive cock, already hard from just the brief foreplay and Wriothesley’s overwhelming presence.

It was straight up embarrassing how quickly he fell apart, after days where the only relief was a cold shower or his own hand (which he avoided as much as possible, lest he become dependent on it). And after Wriothesley had already basically been all over him...

“Already?” Wriothesley raised an eyebrow, as he looked at the mess on his hand.

“Mnng...I told you…” Neuvillette groaned. “I’ve not...had a mate to aid with this before…”

“Oh? Is that what I am now?” Writhosley asked coyly, “The mate of Fontaine’s Hydro Dragon? Imagine the scandal-.”

“Sh-shut up…” Neuvillette half whined, half growled, “It was a sl-slip of the tongue…”

“Was it now? Let’s see...what are the qualities in a desirable mate?” he sat back, once again deriving Neuvillette of the contact he so desperately craved, “Strong, handsome, able to provide healthy offspring- which we both know can’t happen- but I can mind your darling Melusine like they’re our flesh and blood, protection, love-.”

Neuvillette lunged up and grabbed Wriothesley by the back of the head, slamming their mouths together with enough force to make their teeth clack together. He dragged the other man down and swiftly wrapped his legs around his waist to give him enough leverage to flip their positions so Neuvillette was straddling his stomach, panting from the sudden exertion and the desire searing through his veins.

“Alright then, my dear Duke,” he panted, a feral desire skittering up his spine as he stared down at his intended prey, “If you’re so determined to pair with me, let’s see if you can satiate me first.”

Far from being deterred, Wriothesley just flashed him a bold grin, “You’re on.”

Neuvillette dove down and kissed him again, starving, all tongues and teeth while Wriothesley’s hands impatiently felt their way up his waist, his ribcage, splaying over his back.

The positioning was a bit awkward, so Neuvillette leaned forward more so that Writothsley could grab a hold of his buttocks with both hands. Neuvillette jerked as fingers spread his cheeks and-.

Wriothesley let out a puzzled noise, “What, did you prepare yourself beforehand?”

“N-no, i-it’s...natural…” he rasped, shivering as his slick began dripping down the insides of his thighs, “A side effect of my aestus.”

“Man, why can’t you do that every time we fuck? Imagine the Mora we’d save on lube.”

Before Neuvillette could retort, two fingers were shoved into his already pliant body with an utterly obscene squelch. Any and all bite he’d had vanished in that instant as he scrambled to cover his mouth before anything could slip out and his muscles constricted tightly.

It was this moment of vulnerability that allowed Wriothesley to hook his arm around Neuvillette’s waist, fingers still buried inside him and flip the other off him so he was spread out on his back.

Despite his best efforts, a moan still slipped out as Wriothesley twisted his fingers, back arching and legs bending.

“Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you like this?” Wriothesley asked, voice low as he started mouthing down Neuvillette’s bared throat, over his chest, and Neuvillette couldn’t stifle a gasp as the Duke took a nipple into his mouth, teasing it lightly between his teeth. He lathered it with his tongue before looking up with a grin.

“I guess your nature is why you always seem to look so feral when I ruin you. Me, turning the Chief Justice into a debauched beast. Who’da thunk?”

“And only you-,” Neuvillette wheezed, “I a-assure you, were s-such things to get out-.”

“You’d seal me away in the farthest corner of the Fortress of Meropide never to see the light of day again?”

Neuvillette had some kind of response, but promptly lost it when Wriothesley’s rough fingers pressed firmly against his prostate.

His hips stuttered so hard it hurt and he frantically reached for the base of his cock to keep himself from coming again so soon. If he made a sound, he wasn’t aware of it...at least, until Wriothesley withdrew his fingers and the whine he uttered was downright pathetic.

Fluid oozed out of his hole as Writhosley held up his hand to examine the viscous liquid strung between his fingers.

“What, do you intend to torment me now?” he growled, tempted to kick the other man out of frustration.

“I’m more concerned about you not hurting yourself.” Wriothesley replied, clean hand stroking up the underside of Neuvillette’s thigh to push it up so he could examine his entrance, “I thought I was going to end up tearing something. I’m all for experimenting but I’m not really in the mood to try fisting you right now.”

Neuvillette reigned his temper back in and let out a shaky breath, nodding and wincing as his cock throbbed, “I-I’m fine...forgive me, I’m not usually…”

“Stop apologizing,” Wriothesley said as he carefully lowered Neuvillette’s leg back onto the bed, “I told you to trust me to take care of you, yeah?”

The Iudex blushed and nodded.

Wriothesley smiled as he sat back, looking around and humming, brow crinkling until he spotted something that made his eyes light up.

“Pass me that towel, would you?”

Under any other circumstance, Neuvillette might have scolded him for not saying ‘please’, but his mind was too fogged up with lust to care. He grabbed the nearest one that had ended up in the heap and passed it to his partner. In the meanwhile, Wriothesley had grabbed a pillow from...somewhere (Neuvillette recognized the pillowcase embroidery that identified it as one from a guest room, but he couldn’t remember where on the bed he’d tossed it in the first place).

“Trade you?” he asked playfully. Neuvillette swatted him with the towel and laughed anyway.

“Here, wrap your arms around this,” Wriothesley instructed, pressing the pillow against his chest. Neuvillette, now curious if anything, obeyed, finding a bit of comfort in squeezing the soft, lavender scented cushion.

“I’m going to turn you over, okay? Just relax.”

Although the hands on his scales once more made him shiver, he effectively allowed himself to go limp as Wriothesley did exactly that before spreading the towel under his raised hips.

“Comfortable?” he asked, resting his palm on the small of Neuvillette’s back.

“Mmhmm…” Neuvillette replied lazily, shifting his hips slightly, “Are you going to…?”

“Let me finish prepping you first,” Wriothesley replied, undoing his belt buckle before standing up from his seat on the edge of the bed.

“My body is more than prepared, you don’t have too,” Neuvillette said impatiently, turning around to glare at him but ended up staring at his...generous manhood, which only made him even more desperate to jump the man and claim what he wanted.

“For my own peace of mind,” he explained, tossing his pants onto their growing pile of clothes, “I’ll feel better knowing I can destroy what’s left of your dignity without accidentally injuring you. That is not a conversation I want to have with Siegwinne.”

Neuvillette huffed a laugh into the pillow, cheeks dusted pink at the tenderness of the consideration, “A fair point.”

Wriothesley gently nudged his legs apart, causing some stray slick to leak out.

“Although...I believe you when you say you don’t need it,” Wriothsley noted, gently stroking his fingers along the thin line of sensitive flesh between his testicles and his entrance, smearing fluid along the way, “Don’t think I’ve ever had girlfriends who got this wet.”

Neuvillette shot him an irritated glare over his shoulder, “You are not talking about your past romantic partners when you’re about to put your fingers inside me.”

Which was exactly what Wriothesley did, sending a tremor through Neuvillette’s body as he gasped in surprise.

“It was a compliment,” Wriothesley murmured, pressing a kiss to the back of his neck, “Now, my other question; do you want me to avoid your prostate? You reacted pretty violently when I touched it earlier.”

The question caught Neuvillette of guard. He was tempted to just blurt out and beg ‘yes, yes, touch it please!’ like the pathetic creature he was right now, but he was deeply comforted by Wriothesley’s concern, it lit a pleasant warmth in his chest and he nuzzled the pillow shyly.

“Hm, let me reword that- do you want to cum again from it?”

Neuvillette’s body went completely taunt as he shoved his completely flushed face into the cushion.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

With a shaky sigh, Neuvillette raised his head from the pillow and rocked his hips back slightly, being careful not to do it as roughly as before.

“Please?”

Wriothesley chuckled, something Neuvillette felt in his ribcage due to their close proximity right before he suddenly dragged his tongue over the scales running down Neuvillette’s spine, stopping only to press a kiss to the dimple in his lower back.

“Then I can most certainly do that.”

Neuvillette had no time to mentally prepare himself before those fingers pressed against that bundle of nerves again. Pleasure exploded like fireworks in his lower belly and he reflexively raised his hips higher for more contact.

...how embarassing…

Well, at least he still had a little bit of dignity left...except...no, no he really didn't. Not with how he was mewling and moaning and squirming as Wriothesley massaged his prostate. Careful, gentle circular motions while he spread his fingers to stretch him open. If Wriothesley really did intend to make him cum, he was certainly dragging it out to the best of his ability.

Not that Neuvillette was really going to complain, if the noises and the way he bowed his back and spread his legs was any indicator. His erection throbbed and he wanted so badly to touch himself, but he was far, far too morbidly curious about the end result of this activity.

He moaned shamelessly as Wriothesley slipped a third finger in and put even more pressure on his prostate.

“Now that’s a sound I enjoy hearing.” Wriothesley teased as he spread his fingers, “You’ve got such a pretty voice, so don’t hold back on me baby.”

Neuvillette squirmed again, thighs quaking from the strains as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“W-Wriothesley…” he whimpered, clutching the pillow so hard his hands were starting to cramp, “Wri-Wrioth...sleeey...I-I can’t...t-take it-.”

He was overstimulated enough as it was, especially as he felt pressure building in his gut.

“Almost done,” Wriothesley assured, intensifying the massage and the stretching enough that Neuvillette’s squirming only got worse, so much so that Wriothesley had to wrap one of his strong arms around his mid-section in order to hold him in place.

He pressed into his prostate hard and Neuvillette buckled almost completely as his orgasm slammed into him. He was reeling, gasping and trembling as Wriothesley gently rubbed the bundle of nerves until Neuvillette let out a whimper of protest. The fingers were withdrawn with another obnoxiously wet sound.

“How are you still hard?” Wriothesley asked incredulously.

“Welcome to being a non-human with an unfortunate need to breed with another,” Neuvillette replied with a huff, not that the explanation did anything to fix the slightly twinge of pain he felt from overstimulation when his cock twitched.

“Wait, I’m not going to...get you pregnant, am I?”

Neuvillette rolled his eyes and looked back at Wriothesley, “Don’t be absurd, were that the case, I wouldn’t be so readily agreeing to this with such spectacular disregard of any potential risks.”

“Look, I’m just making sure. I don’t know how dragon biology works.”

“You won’t,” Neuvillette repeated, raising his hips up again, “I have the Meuslines, and I’m not personally looking to procreate any time soon.”

“You had to say it like that…”

“Duke Wriothesley, if you continue to delay breeding me like you promised, I will-.”

Neuvillette didn’t have a chance to finish. The air was very abruptly punched out of him when Wriothesley bottomed out in a single solid thrust, fully sheathing himself in the slick, tight, hot heat. 

“For someone who is...thoroughly convinced you can’t conceive…” Wriothesley panted, already sounded spectacularly wrecked, “You’re very eager for me to- fuck- fill you up with my seed. Or am I wrong, Your Honor?”

It took a tremendous amount of brainpower to even produce a coherent reply.

“I...I’m positive,” he choked out, “My body can-can’t...it can’t-.”

He cut himself off with a sob. Being stuffed so completely and utterly full, stretched to the point of aching, was beyond maddening...and it felt so, so, sososososososgoood…

Wriothesley didn’t move, something which Neuvillette quite readily protested with a disgruntled noise as he pushed his hips back.

“Impatient,” Wriothesley clicked his tongue as he grasped Neuvillette’s hips, being mindful of his scales.

“Y-yes, well, you’re the one who-.”

Neuvillette yelped as Wriothesley pulled out and then suddenly slammed back in again. His face turned scarlet as the undignified noise left his mouth, he didn’t even have a chance to muffle it in the pillow.

“Again with the lovely noises…” Wriothesley purred, rocking his hips backward and forward in a fashion Neuvillette would call ‘tentative’ had Wriothesley not already begun thoroughly rearranging his guts in the first place.

“That wasn’t too much, was it?”

Neuvillette huffed, “I’m not made of glass, Wriothesley. I didn’t invite you to be gentle-.”

He choked again as, once more, another thrust knocked the air out of his lungs, save a broken wheeze of ‘yesss’.

That was all the confirmation Wriothesley had needed, apparently.

They’d laid together several times before, and generally, Wriothesley was a considerate lover, passionate, intense. It was more than enough for Neuvillette’s brain to turn to mush, when he was bound in silver and almost completely helpless to Wriothesley’s whims.

Yet he’d never done anything that the Iudex didn’t desire or would harm him, and then how close they’d be afterwards...Wriothesley kissing bruises and bite marks as if that would magically erase them.

Perhaps that was why Neuvillette kept going back, Wriothesley could effortlessly strip him of his cold outer shell no matter how hard Neuvillette resisted. Stripped and left soft and vulnerable, but safe...always safe. Wriothesley would hide his secrets like they were his own, he was one of the handful of people who knew about his true identity and wasn’t repulsed by him.

Neuvillette should’ve believed him when he said he viewed him as the most beautiful creature in Fontaine. He wasn’t repulsed by his heat or by his scales, he didn’t ridicule him. He’d just...kissed him. Just like that.

Neuvillette’s back bowed as another thrust knocked the air out of him. Again, again, again...filled, emptied, filled...and at least he understood the reasoning for the towel- his slick was creating a horrible mess as it leaked out and coated the insides of his thighs.

He clung to the pillow and gasped and whined, each push setting his nerves ablaze while the withdrawal was closer to trickling sparks.

Yes, he would admit it now, this was exactly what he needed, even if Wriothesley wasn’t technically his ‘mate’.

He doubted the Melusines were unaware of that fact, they’d recognize his elemental resonance on the Duke in a heartbeat.

Another thrust jolted him forward and out of his thoughts, coming dangerously close to bashing his skull on the headboard were it not for the mountain of bedding in the way. He, alas, was unable to actually coherent express this...and whatever else he might have had clinging to the edge of his mind when Wriothesley gently nibbled on one of his elegant blue rhinophores. He shuddered and flinched and bit down hard on his lip.

Most people just assumed it was hair or some kind of strange accessory. Some clueless Melusines had accidentally pulled on them when braiding his hair and the pain was so abrupt and so intense, it hadn’t just rained, Fontaine had one of the worst thunderstorms it had in a long while which had resulted in the aquabus routes flooding and being unusable for three days. Despite their fearful apologies, he hadn’t been upset or angry, they hadn’t known.

Wriothesley on the other hand, had found out when he’d indulged his own curiosity and stroked his finger along one of them while they’d been discussing some form of collaboration. Neuvillette had practically jumped out of his own skin as if he’d been electrocuted, much to Wriothesley’s bewilderment. The following exchange was tremendously awkward, Neuvillette struggling around the comedic exaggeration of his response. Thankfully Wriothesley, while mildly amused, had apologized for startling him.

...although it hadn’t deterred him from touching it again, although he made a point to not do it in public and at least warn Neuvillette beforehand. He did love to tease him ever since he’d learned they were remarkably ticklish.

He didn’t bite or chew, just gently tug and mouth at it, which was more than enough to further send Neuvillette into a tizzy.

“Ah...a-ah…!” he mewled loudly, pawing at the mattress...or whatever was layered on top of it.

“Too much?” Wriothesley asked, slowing his pace to long, languid strokes. The change was enough to give Neuvillette a small window to catch his breath.

“J-just a surprise...like usual,” he said with a quiet laugh, “You’re too cruel, your Grace.”

Wriothesley hummed and pressed a few lazy kisses across his upper back and shoulders.

“I do so love being cruel to our indomitable Chief Justice,” he chuckled right before his hips pulled back and then snapped forward again, Nevillette moaned loudly, a tremor wracking his thighs as he shuddered from the sharp spike of pleasure.

“Lets see how many more pretty noises I can get you to make.”

Wriothesley tangled his fingers in Neuvillette’s silver hair tightening his grip near the scalp and scraping his nails against his skin, but being mindful to not yank on any spots close to his rhinophores.

Lips traced lightly down the scales on his back, rewarded with another shiver and a soft mewl.

He wasn’t as slow as before, but not quite as rough either. Each thrust was solid and deep, each movement tugging at his hair. No harsh yanking, just prickles of pleasure across his scalp. Neuvillette liked to think he had a good grasp of self control but at this rate, he wasn’t just coming apart at the seams, he was straight up disintegrating.

He’d shoved the pillow to the side, finding it more of a hindrance now as he rocked backwards, clawing at the sheets and clutching them so hard his knuckles had gone white and the fabric was tearing, his jaw slack and drool oozing down his chin.

Wriothesley had officially seen him at his lowest and most pathetic...but would he really see it like that? All he’d done was praise Neuvillette, smother him with adoration, appreciation...love.

Was it love? Neuvillette didn’t have the brain capacity to really think about it in depth.

His scalp was released so Wriothesley could move down his back so both of his big strong hands could hold onto his waist. Neuvillette’s over-stimulated nerves could feel every scar and callous.

He wanted more, so, so much more-.

“W-Wriothesley…” he gasped, hoping his hoarse voice hadn’t been drowned out completely. Thankfully, his partner did slow down back to steady, gentle rocking, letting Neuvillette’s nerves settle again.

“All good?” Wriothesley asked, sliding his hands over the scales on his hips. Neuvillette nodded, awkwardly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and swallowing

“W-Wriothesley...I have a question for you.”

The other man stilled, which in and of itself was frustrating...but at least he was still comfortably full for the time being.

“Go ahead,” the Duke said, lazily kissing down the ridges on Neuvillette’s back and stroking his hands up and down his sides, over the bumps on his ribs, “Take your time.”

He took a deep breath and managed to get up on his forearms.

“I mentioned...mating before…” he bit his lip.

“That you did, what about it?”

Neuvillette gingerly turned around to look up at Wriothesley, who was much closer than he'd been expecting. 

“Would you...do you...after all this…” Neuvillette swallowed again, “Will you still want to see me?”

Wriothesley looked taken aback, “Of course I would. If anything, I have become a bit...too enamored with you.”

His voice trailed off with a purr as he lightly kissed the patch of skin under Neuvillette’s ear, who let out a soft laugh.

“You'd think with a line like that I'd easily fold, but..."

“But?”

“Would you…” Neuvillette reached around to lightly tangled his fingers in Wriothesley’s hair, “I’d like...I’d like you to be my mate. Truly."

Wriothesley’s eyes lit up, “I’m not already?” he asked mischievously.

“Not in this sense,” Neuvillette chuckled, “I’m an elemental creature, so I’ll need to...mark you properly.”

“Well, when you put it like that…”

It was Neuvillette’s turn to be taken aback now, “You’re...not going to question it? Or what’s involved?”

As long as it doesn’t involve doing anything to my dick, I’m down,” he shrugged.

Somehow, Wriothesley’s lax attitude completely threw Neuvillette off, but the willing acceptance of the offer lit a bundle of fireworks in his chest. The dragon was impatiently pawing to the surface, eager to finally bond after neglecting itself for hundreds of years.

Neuvillette had so often denied himself connections with anyone outside of a professional setting, the fact Wriothesley had dredged up such a strong desire from the crushing bottom of the ocean, along with his eagerness, his clear affection…

“Then...I hate to ask, but we need to rearrange ourselves a bit,” Neuvillette explained, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice, but seemingly failing to do so based on the grin he got.

“Only you would insist on being polite with my dick in your ass,” Wriothesley shook his head as he slid out, causing Neuvillette to hiss and shudder as some built up slick gushed out.

“Hold on,” Wriothesley grabbed another towel and carefully cleaned up the mess on his thighs. Neuvillette sighed and nodded appreciatively.

“So, before this break actually kills me.” Neuvillette rolled his eyes again and looked at Wriothesley, who gestured at his erection, tip dark and red, veins thick on the sides, precum and slick giving it a light sheen.

“Trust me, I don’t want to wait either…” Neuvillette rolled over, tossing the towel off the bed. He took a deep breath as he sat up, wincing.

“It’s hard to mark you when I’m facedown in the mattress.”

Wriothesley raised an eyebrow, “Go on…”

“In order to mark you, I have to share my own elemental resonance-.”

“Skip the explanation until after.”

Neuvillette let out a heavy sigh, stroking his fingers up over Wriothesley’s shoulder, “Let me bite you, put simply.”

“That’s it?”

“It may be uncomfortable.”

“So long as it doesn’t straight up kill me.”

It shouldn’t...I hope…

Neuvilette hesitated. Would a human have the physical capabilities to handle it? The last thing he wanted to do was harm his lover, but he got the feeling Wriothesley, stubborn as he was, would insist anyway.

Oh well. Caution to the wind and all that…

Neuvillette grabbed both of Wriothesley’s shoulders and pushed him over onto the mound of fabric and straddling his stomach, capturing his lips with his own as his hands eagerly explored Wriothesley’s scarred chest, pausing to brush his fingers over one of his pierced nipples, greatly enjoying the sharp inhale he was rewarded with.

“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Wriothesley looked around at the piles of fabric around them and raised an eyebrow, “What’s with all...this?”

Neuvillette blushed, “It’s...um...a habit...I feel compelled to...nest. I know humans don’t-.”

“Clearly you’ve never talked to someone who’d had a bad day,” Wriothesley interrupted, looking vaguely amused, “Relax. Everyone likes the comfort of being nearly flattened by bedding. It’s warm and safe, right?”

“I...didn’t...well, yes.”

“C’mon, you’re fine, I was just curious,” hands rested on his hips, stroking lightly over his scales, “But doesn’t nesting for animals come as a paternal instinct?”

“That’s not why I do it. And don’t refer to me as an animal.”

“Just making an observation. Are you sure you can’t-.”

Annoyed, Neuvillette shut Wriothesley up as he sank back down on his erection, the angle now properly rubbing against his sore prostate.

Wriothesley shouted in surprise, fingers digging painfully hard into his sides and hips bucking up into the heat he was suddenly back in.

He curled his lip back in a snarl and...Archons, why did Neuvillette find that so attractive?

“How about a little warning next time?!”

“F-for a man of few words, you sure are-,” Neuvillette swallowed and gasped, “You are remarkably mouthy right now.”

The sudden spike in possessiveness in tandem with the cracks in Wriothesley’s cool demeanor gave Neuvillette a rush like he’d never experienced before. After years and years and years of pushing his instincts down for the sake of public appearances, he was finally permitted to let go completely.

He ground his hips down hard, choking back a moan as he pushed Wriothesley deeper into his body.

The grip on his hips loosened, smoothing down his thighs, giving Neuvillette a moment to ground himself after the surge of light-headedness that had followed the sudden mounting of his intended mate. When he opened his eyes, he found Wriothesley smiling lazily up at him.

He gasped softly as he canted his hips up gently.

“You know I love you, right?”

Neuvillette went still and held his breath, looking at the man beneath him in genuine shock.

“L-love?” he repeated dumbly.

“Yes, love, and I’m not just saying that because you’re about to mark me,” Wriothesley replied, his mouth turning down slightly, “What? Is it that hard to believe?”

Neuvillette felt heat prickle across his cheeks, “N-no…I’m just...surprised. I never thought-.”

Wriothesley sighed, sitting up on his elbows, “You’re so dense sometimes, that’s why I always said it when you weren’t listening. At least I knew I could say it then.”

Overwhelmed with emotions, tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, and at nearly the same time, rain started tapping lightly against the windows.

Wriothesley looked at him in alarm “H-hey, what’s-? What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s just…” Neuvillette quickly wiped his eyes, but it didn’t do anything to stop his vision from getting blurry and more warm, wet tracks to start trailing down his cheeks. He let out a shaky laugh, “Hormones.”

Wriothesley smiled sheepishly as he fully sat up so he could take Neuvillette’s face in his hands, using his thumbs to brush the tears away, before pulling him into another kiss. His arms slid down and wrapped around his waist.

“You’re hopeless. Yes, I love you. How many times do I need to say it?”

Neuvillette sucked in a breath as Wriothesley kissed the tears away from his cheeks, “I love you, my dear Hydro Dragon, so don’t cry.”

Neuvillette simply couldn’t take it anymore, he roughly pulled Wriothesley into an open mouthed kiss as he raised up on his knees before slamming back down, pleasure shooting up his spine. Wriothesley responded in kind, hips rocking up harder to meet him.

He went all but completely limp, clinging to Wriothesley’s shoulders, mewling and moaning and letting the other man completely take control, take care of him, just like he promised. Nails (claws?) raked down his back, and if it bothered Wriothesley, he didn’t express as such.

Somewhat absentmindedly, he brushed his lips along the side of Wriothesley’s throat, ghosting his breath over his warmed, sweat slicked skin. He dragged his tongue over a patch of skin at the base of his neck, permission requested once more.

He got a confirmation in the form of a grunt and a nuzzle along his jaw.

Fangs sank deep and hard into his shoulder and Wriothesley reflexively jerked his hips.

Mine, mine, mine...a voice growled in his head as he felt his Hydro resonance spike, like a scalding hot geyser.

There was a slight issue though, which Neuvillette didn’t quite register as quickly as he probably should have. Pain, cold and sharp, prickling down his sides from where Wriothesley’s hands were clamped onto his waist. He only reacted once it hit his scales, and while the pain should have snapped him out of his frenzy and pull away, but all he did was bite down harder.

Elemental reactions. Right. He should have expected that with his own element going so wildly out of control. Wriothesley was only resisting out of instinct, a reflexive reaction to his Cryo being effectively drowned...which was the last thing Neuvillette wanted to do. He just needed…a little more…

The hands on his hips tightened to the point they’d most certainly leave bruises as Wriothesley slammed his hips up and climaxed with a completely incoherent string of curses. Only then did Neuvillette detach his mouth with a slurp, a messy string of saliva and blood dripping from his lips. He sat back, staying as seated as long as he could until-.

“Wriothesley?”

The Duke looked completely drained, face pale as he slowly came back to his sense and realized what he’d done.

“Shit! I didn’t- are you- hng…”

Too much, too fast, he swayed as soon as he pulled his hands away. Neuvillette had to catch him and hold him for a moment, stroking his hair.

“I’m fine, Wriothesley.”

“I froze your scales off…” he grumbled into his shoulder.

Neuvillette glanced down at the damage, wincing as he flicked some of the blackened, brittle scales away from raw, exposed skin.

“They’ll grow back, don’t worry about it.”

“Celestia that was…” Wriothesley swallowed and took a deep breath, “A lot.”

Neuvillette glanced down at the area of his back just below the deep, crescent shaped bite wound- the spot where his three ringed mark now rested, glowing a pleasant pale blue. The dragon purred.

“Understandable.” he said, lightly stroking his fingers over it, tracing each ring carefully, “It’ll pass.”

“I also don’t think I’ve ever cum that hard before either,” Wriothesley shifted his hips, “And, um...not to be an ass to the person who just gave me the best orgasm of my life, but could you get off me please?”

Feeling suddenly mischievous, Neuvillette rolled his hips gently, earning him an unappreciative swat to the thigh.

“I’m comfortable, give me a minute,” he replied with a contented sigh, “Although part of me is wondering what this would be like if humans could knot like some-.”

Wriothesley groaned and slumped back, his head hitting the solid wall with a thud.

“Humans have this thing called a ‘refractory period’, Neuvi, so if you don’t get off me, you’re gonna be on your own the rest of the day.”

Neuvillette chuckled and did as requested, shivering at the sensation of Wriothesley’s seed leaking out of him. He closed his thighs as soon as he flopped back down on the bed, humming as he rubbed them together while a hand skimmed over his stomach to curl around his erection.

“Surprised you didn’t cum from that experience,” Wriothesley observed, lazily moving his hand up and down, “One more before we call it a day?”

“Or when I become insatiable again.”

Wriothesley grinned and pulled him into a kiss, mindfully squeezing and stroking the sensitive cock in his palm.

It didn’t take long, Neuvillette was already over-stimulated as was, so a quick swipe of a thumb over his puffy cockhead had him arching and gasping as he came.

He waited for his nerves to settle and his body to relax, which was rudely interrupted by Wriothesley tugging the soiled blanket out from under him with a noise of protest.

“Wanna shower...don’t wanna move…” Wriothesley grumbled, having disposed of the bedding before wrapping his arms around Neuvillette and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Oh, I wore you out instead of the other way around? What a pleasant change of pace,” Neuvillette teased.

“Hush, you like it and you know it.”

Neuvillette hummed, snuggling closer to his...partner, lover, his mate, Wriothesley fit a lot of those terms now, it made him feel warm and content.

Safe.

He didn’t think he’d ever liked a word so much before.

“I sure hope you don’t have any trials this afternoon,” Wriothesley commented rather abruptly.

Neuvillette’s eyes flew open as his otherwise hormone addled brain cleared enough to remember he was supposed to be on his lunch break...and he had probably gone way over the allotted time limit.

“Duke Wriothesley, I can’t believe-!” he protested, scandalized, as he scrambled to get out of bed and forced himself to ignore how his legs almost gave out, “Everyone’s probably wondering where we are! There’s documentation I need to finish writing up! A-and what about Lady Furina! I have to-!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Wriothesley caught his wrist and promptly yanked him back into bed with a frustrating amount of ease and a somewhat indignant yelp, “Fontaine won’t burn down if you take a break for the rest of the day. I’m willing to bet Siegwinne and Sedene have already concocted convenient excuses for us.”

“B-but...”

“And I can assure you, if you don’t stop thinking about work, I’ll be more than happy to make you forget.”

Neuvillette, bewildered, blinked at his lover a few times before Wriothesley traced his hand up his arm, then slid it across his chest to brush his thumb over a tender nipple. He sucked in a sharp breath, giving Wriothesley a dubious look, but as soon as his looked into his mate’s silver-blue eyes, it changed into a mischievous smile.

“Is that a promise?”

Wriothesley gave him a wolfish grin, “Promise.”