Work Text:
Knock, knock, knock.
Puzzled, Neuvillette looked up from the report he was writing. It was already quite late in the evening. Most of the other people had already gone home for the night. So who could be knocking on his office door at this hour?
It had been a tiring day. All day long, Neuvillette had been buried in reports and papers that needed his consent. He barely even had time to take a break and drink some water in between.
Now, the exhaustion was finally catching up with him, as he put down his pen and squinted at the door. He swore the door wasn’t supposed to look this blurry…
Knock, knock, knock.
The knocking on his door continued. Neuvillette blinked, trying to clear the sleep from his vision. If only he could lean back in his chair and close his eyes for a few moments.
But no, he couldn’t. He still had so many reports to look over.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!
Neuvillette sighed, glaring at the door. Whoever this was better had a good explanation as to why they were disturbing him at this hour.
He took a deep breath, straightening in his chair. “Come in!” he called.
The words had barely left his mouth, before a quick force entered his dimly lit office. They crossed the room and came to an abrupt stop in front of his desk. Even when his brain was already half-asleep, Neuvillette easily recognised who it was.
“Wriothesley?” He cocked his head to the side, confused. “What are you doing here?”
Wriothesley folded his arms across his chest. Neuvillette’s eyes unconsciously followed the motion, taking in the details of his strongly muscled arms. “I could ask you the same question,” Wriothesley said, his deep and quiet voice bringing Neuvillette back from his musings. “It’s almost midnight.”
“I know,” Neuvillette said, sighing deeply as he fell backwards into his chair. He rested his elbow on the armrest, letting his head fall into his hand. Oh, how heavenly it would be if he could just close his eyes and–
“Neuvillette…” Wriothesley’s voice echoed through the otherwise silent office.
Neuvillette opened his eyes again. “Huh?”
Wriothesley looked at him, his blue eyes calculating. Neuvillette had to look away as he felt a blush slowly creeping up his neck. It would be all too obvious on his fair skin.
“How long has it been since you’ve had a decent sleep?” Wriothesley asked after a while. His voice was still oddly quiet, yet there was a soft edge to it now. If Neuvillette didn’t know any better, he would say Wriothesley almost sounded worried.
Neuvillette shrugged, digging in his brain to try and remember the last time he had even seen his bed for more than a couple of hours. Now that he thought about it, how long had it been? He couldn’t even recall.
The silence Neuvillette gave him seemed to be enough as Wriothesley sighed, unfolding his arms. He walked around the desk and stopped right next to Neuvillette. From this close, the scent of his cologne was even stronger than usual.
Careful, as to not startle him, Wriothesley dragged Neuvillette’s chair back so it faced him. He took both of Neuvillette’s hands and slowly pulled him on his feet.
Neuvillette stared at him, his mind racing. They had never really been this close, physically. Yes, they were close friends–they had been for a long while now–but they both weren’t a big fan of all that hugging and touching friends usually do. Although, if he had to be honest, Wriothesley’s touch did feel rather… pleasant.
“What are you doing?” Neuvillette asked as Wriothesley started pulling him around the desk and towards the office door. “I still have work to do, you know.”
Wriothesely turned to look over his shoulder, one corner of his mouth lifted into a half-smile. “I know,” he said, smugness clearly audible in his voice. “But I also know a better place you could be right now.”
Neuvillette huffed and rolled his eyes, but he didn’t resist as Wriothesley continued his way outside, not letting go of Neuvillette’s hands. “I cannot imagine any better place than my desk, right now,” he mumbled under his breath. “Well… perhaps there’s one place, but I’m sure I’ll see my bed again very soon.”
They carried on their way through the streets of Fontaine. It was oddly busy to be this late at night. Everywhere he looked, there were people walking and even dancing around. Everything looked so festive, though he couldn’t remember today was a special day…
Archons, he didn’t even remember what day it was…
“Wriothesley?” Neuvillette asked as they turned yet another corner. Something in the pit of his stomach told him he knew exactly where they were going. He had walked these streets many times before, after all.
“Hm?” Wriothesley looked over his shoulder again.
Neuvillette took a deep breath. Oh, this question was going to sound absolutely absurd. “Can I ask you… uhm, what day is it today?”
“Ah,” Wriothesley nodded before turning his head back. “Just as I thought.” He squeezed Neuvillette’s hands for a second as he gave him another look. “You’ll see very soon.”
Confused, and slightly irritated he didn’t get a clear answer to his question, Neuvillette furrowed his eyebrows. What kind of answer was that? He simply asked what day it was because he may or may not have forgotten. Why couldn’t Wriothesley just answer the question? Why did he have to be so mysterious about it? Was he hiding something?
Before Neuvillette could voice any of his questions, they arrived in front of a very familiar front door. He had been here many times whenever Furina had asked for his company, or when he had some free time and he didn’t want to spend it alone. Contrary to what many people might think, Furina was actually a good listener.
“What are we doing here?” Neuvillette asked.
Wriothesley had let go of his hands to knock on the door. He gave Neuvillette a wicked smile. “My dear Neuvillette,” he said, walking towards him. They were standing extremely close. Now that he thought about it, they were definitely standing closer than normal friends would. “You truly spend too much time holed up in your office.”
At those words, Neuvillette huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I do not,” he said, indignant. “How dare you say something like th–” Just then, a large yawn interrupted his sentence. He blinked a few times, ignoring the light blush that dusted his cheeks.
Wriothesley laughed, throwing his head backwards as his shoulders shook with mirth.
Neuvillette hadn’t heard him laugh like that before. It sounded like music to his ears. He should make Wriothesley laugh like that more often.
“You were saying?” Wriothesley asked between laughter. He wiped away a tear that rolled down his cheek.
Neuvillette rolled his eyes, though couldn’t help the small, amused smile that threatened to show on his face. Well… That was one way to prove your own point.
He was about to make another comment, when the front door Wriothesley had knocked on earlier, finally opened. Warm light spilled out onto the streets and there, in the doorway, stood an all too familiar silhouette.
“Wriothesley!” Furina exclaimed happily, clapping her hands together. “You’re back!”.
Wriothesley turned to face Furina. “I am,” he said, and though Neuvillette couldn’t see it, he could hear the smile in his voice. “And I’ve brought the Chief Justice with me as well.”
“Oh!” Furina looked around Wriothesley’s shoulder, her eyes sparkling with glee. “You found him!”
Neuvillette huffed indignantly. “I was never lost, you know.”
Furina and Wriothesley exchanged a meaningful look, before Furina turned her bright smile back to Neuvillette. “If you say so.”
She motioned for them to follow her into the apartment. “Come in! Come in! The party is already in full swing!”
“Party?” Neuvillette asked. He really should remember what day it was. Something in him told him, it was quite the special day.
Yes,” Wriothesley nodded. “Furina’s throwing a big party. Even the Traveller and Paimon are here.”
Without waiting for an answer, Wriothesley took Neuvillette’s hand again and pulled him inside. Immediately, they were surrounded by music and loud laughter. A few different people were gathered in Furina’s apartment, dancing and drinking many different coloured drinks.
Even when they walked around the room, Wriothesley didn’t let go of his hand. Neuvillette felt his cheeks turning red. It must have been from the cold outside. He definitely wasn’t blushing because they were still holding hands, thank you very much.
“Oh, Wriothesely and Neuvillette have arrived!” Paimon’s loud and familiar voice shouted above the other sounds in the room. Neuvillette flinched a little. As if everything around him wasn’t loud enough already.
Immediately, people around them started greeting them. Even Navia and Clorinde had made it to the party. Odd… Normally, they didn’t attend many parties together. It must be a very special occasion then.
“We’re so happy you could make it, Monsieur,” Navia said. She was smiling widely as she leaned heavily on Clorinde’s shoulder. “We had started to think you wouldn’t make it on time.”
Neuvillette tilted his head to the side. “On time for what?”
“The countdown, of course!” Paimon exclaimed as she and the Traveller joined their little group. “It would have been a shame if you missed it.”
“Well, that’s why I went to go look for him,” Wriothesley chimed in, a satisfied grin on his face. He squeezed their intertwined hands.
“Good thing you found him then,” the Traveller said, giving both Neuvillette and Wriothesley a knowing smile.
The blush on Neuvillette’s skin deepened even more. Archons, he had never blushed this much in his life. Perhaps he was coming down with a fever. The room was starting to become a little too warm, after all. He should go get some fresh air now that he still had a chance.
“Excuse me for a moment,” he said with an apologetic smile on his face. “I’m going to get some fresh air.” He let go of Wriothesley’s hand and made his way over to one of the open windows of the small apartment.
He could immediately feel his face cooling off. The cold, fresh night air seemed to do wonders. He already felt a thousand times better. He should really take more care of himself. These last few weeks had been so busy, he had neglected his own needs way too much.
Perhaps, he could use a little break. He was certain the Melusines would appreciate his company for a couple of days.
“Alright everybody!” Furina exclaimed. She stood on her coffee table, a glass of something Neuvillette didn’t recognise, in her hand. “Go grab yourself some drinks and stand with the people you love! It’s time to start counting down!” She threw both hands in the air, a large smile lighting up her face. “Ten, nine, eight…”
Just then, a glass of fresh water appeared in front of Neuvillette. Surprised, he looked away from Furina, only to be met by those familiar ice blue eyes.
With a smile, he took the glass from Wriothesley’s hand. “Thank you.”
Wriothesley answered his smile with a smile of his own. “Don’t mention it.”
“Seven, six, five, four…”
“Have you remembered what day we are, yet?” Wriothesley asked.
Neuvillette looked around him for a moment, taking in every little detail in the room. How everyone was dressed festively. How all the decorations seemed to be ready for something new. And all those people he hadn’t expected to see again unless it was for something very special. Something in him told him exactly what day it was.
“Three…”
“I think I do now.”
“Two…”
“You do?”
“One…”
"Definitely."
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”
The people around them shouted and laughed loudly, dancing around and hugging everyone they came across. Neuvillette turned to Wriothesley, his expression turning soft, tender. He leaned a little closer. “Happy New Year, Wriothesley,” he said, his voice not much louder than a whisper.
Though Wriothesely heard it perfectly, because his eyes lit up and his face softened as well. The hard lines around his mouth that had been there earlier, disappeared, making room for a soft pink blush on his cheeks. He leaned even closer, until their noses were resting together. “Happy New Year to you, too, Monsieur.”
Their lips met somewhere in the middle, sending sparkles down Neuvillette’s spine. This was everything he had been dreaming off and more. The perfect way to start yet another year, with the perfect person by his side. He couldn’t imagine anything better right now.
Apart from maybe his soft, warm bed. But those were worries for later. Right now, he was just happy with the man he had been longing for for a while standing right in front of him, closer than normal friends would.
They were so entranced with each other, they didn’t even notice the Traveller snapping a picture of them, until the next they, Neuvillette received an envelope at his house. It was one of the most perfect photos he had ever seen in his life, and he couldn’t wait to share it with Wriothesley as well. Though if the snores he could hear coming from his bedroom were anything to go by, he was still sound asleep.
Smiling widely, Neuvillette put the photo onto the kitchen table and walked back to his bedroom where he joined Wriothesley back in bed. This was rapidly becoming his favourite place in the world. And he would love to always wake up like this.
He could already feel this year would be one of the best of his life.