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What had started as accidental meetings had grown into a sort of habit. And from there, had gently bloomed into something of a courtship. Hands brushing against one another's, quiet walks outside, along the shores together.
They kept it private, not out of fear that they were doing anything wrong, but because neither of them felt… Quite ready, to deal with the scrutiny.
Neuvillette was very aware of their class discrepancies, with himself being the Chief Justice, and Freminet being a ward of a foreign country's noblewoman. Freminet was an adult, but still lived at home, tending to his younger siblings.
Neuvillette, however, lived on his own. He spent more time in the Palais Mermonia and in the Epiclese than he did at home. The Chief Justice was very aware that becoming closer, more official, would help Freminet care for his family. Their families becoming one. But Neuvillette was hesitant.
Shy, one could say.
As the Hydro Sovereign, he'd never taken a mate. As Neuvillette… His romantic life was unheard of. Unimaginable, to some. There were people who genuinely felt that he couldn't feel anything at all, given his persona within the Court.
He feared hurting Freminet, or worse. The other man was so quiet, so anxious… He deserved to settle down with a human man who was not also a dragon older than the archons themselves. No matter how much Neuvillette loved him so.
But he could give him a better life, could grant the younger man true stability. His Father was rarely around, and left Lyney and his siblings to tend to their family often.
He could step in. He could take them under his wing, as he'd taken the Melusine, as he'd wandered deep into the long petrified bones of a dragon he had laid to rest himself, and found a whole village of the dead dragon's children.
(Their father loved them, they said. He wanted them to live well. Neuvillette swore he would ensure it.)
(Elynas had not wanted anyone to suffer because of him. And he had not wanted Elynas to suffer in turn. They had formed an agreement between them, signed in Neuvillette's teeth tearing into Elynas' throat. He still remembers that foul blood filling his maw, acrid and burning.)
He could. He could tell Freminet everything, let him decide if he wished to take him as he was. A dragon, not a man. Something ancient, beyond any mortal understanding.
The thought plagues the furthest reaches of his mind, and he considers bringing it up, but how? It takes a few days of deliberation, before Neuvillette decides.
The tides called to him. They always did, begged their Sovereign to return, to slough off this fake human shape and reclaim what was his.
He makes his choice, taking a pen and paper, beginning to write.
They meet near Romaritime Harbor, away from the noise and the ships. Endless stretches of water between Fontaine and Sumeru.
This was the safest place for them both, if he was going to shift. He takes Freminet's hand, looking softly, warmly at him. Asking him to close his eyes, remain in place. Telling him that this must remain a secret, just between them.
"Please do not open them until I say so." He asks of the younger man, voice soft. Please.
Freminet nods, shutting his eyes tight.
Neuvillette smiles, pressing close, just to kiss his forehead, before stepping back, further, deeper into the water. Letting it finally take him. He sinks beneath the waves as they twist and welcome him home, slowly but surely returning him to his original shape.
To what he was. Long elegant coils, clawed fins. Powerful jaws, long tendrils trailing from the top of his head. Spines along his back, his scales an opalescent blue.
He tells Freminet to open them again, speaking through the depths. Rising from the waves, towering above the smaller man. So tiny, so human. So beloved to him.
Freminet blinks, looking around— up. His eyes widen, and his mouth falls slack, in awe. Confusion, then realization spread across his face.
Neuvillette was the hydro dragon. This entire time. He was right here. The diver's mind raced a mile a minute as he pieced everything together.
The Sovereign gave him time, purring softly, a low rumble deep in his chest. He would lean down, gently nudging his snout into Freminet's hair.
Freminet would reach up, touching his snout, his scales. Petting over them in quiet awe.
They spend a good few moments like this, Freminet gently touching him like he wasn't sure what he was seeing was real. Neuvillette patiently waiting, purring, tender.
"I needed you to know. You deserved to. I am sorry I kept this from you for so long." The dragon says, his voice echoing off the waves. "I didn't want to take this… Us, any further, if you didn't know what you were getting into."
Freminet flushes, looking up at him, wading further into the water alongside Neuvillette's coils. "What do you mean?"
The dragon is silent, for a long time. Mulling over his words, before finally speaking, "...I was considering asking your Father for permission to marry you. You could live quietly with me. We could have a peaceful life together. Even like this. I can help support you. Your siblings. It would not be the first time I took little ones into my care."
Freminet is at a loss for words, his heart beating entirely too fast. Marry him? Neuvillette… He wanted that with him? The Hydro Sovereign wanted to marry him?
The Hydro Sovereign nuzzles into him, nudging him close. Knowing it was too much all at once, regrettably. He should have planned this better, humans were so fascinating, but. What seemed like nothing to him, was a groundbreaking thing to his poor little lover.
"I know it's quite a lot to take in. There's no need to have all the answers right now. I just felt that you deserved the truth about me. I hate to feel as though I'm deceiving you." The Chief Justice says, voice soft, gentle. "I apologize."
Freminet shook his head, looking up at him, distressed. "There's just. Too much in my head right now. I can't…"
"Hold on to me. You don't need to respond." The dragon says. Freminet silently pulls himself up onto the dragon's back, feeling Neuvillette begin to descend into the water.
He'd moved to put on his helmet, but found that he could breathe just fine. Neuvillette was tending to him. Taking care of him, like he said. They dove deeper, together, exploring along the grasses and weeds, swimming alongside otters. Every aquatic creature moved around and with the dragon, in tune, as one.
Freminet swipes a clam off the sandy bed, offering it to one of the otters. Delighted, the little creature took it, falling behind. Freminet smiles, soft, small.
He'd thought he was in tune with the lakes of Fontaine. He hadn't once considered that Neuvillette would live and breathe with them, that the Hydro Sovereign would have deprived himself of them for so long.
Upon the lake floor, they find their solace, the water turning cool, dark. All noise fell away, even the bright sun seemed to dim. Neuvillette's long form glowed gently within the darkening waters, slowly becoming the only thing that Freminet could see.
And that dragon was the most beautiful thing to him. Freminet swam towards his face, cupping his massive snout. Rubbing his hands over glowing scales. Kissing between nostrils.
Deciding that he would have Neuvillette. As a dragon. As a man. As anything he was and chose to be.