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'You like hugging a lot, do you?' Wriothesley loved to tease, but he rarely mentioned Neuvillette's choice of physical contact before. One reason was that he wanted to let Neuvilette feel comfortable, he let his silence or reciprocation be what encouraged the other to continue.
But lately, the frequency of himself getting a hug was increasing significantly. Finally, the thought left his mouth. And with no intention of mocking, he looked at Neuvilette with a tender smile while waiting for the answer.
'...I do.' Wriothesley felt a bit awed, just when those lilac eyes shifted from casting down to looking up. Their gazes met, and it took only less than ten seconds before he got the answer.
The duke took that as Neuvilette was sure of his answer, but Neuvillette was just being Neuvillette; outside the courtroom, outside of the formal situations and the diplomatic atmosphere, Neuvillette is actually more passive than he appeared at those times. He's not a cold person, but only if you're a melusine you'll easily get the warm eyes from him.
Wriothesley's not a melusine- but it just means he doesn't get the fatherly love. Well, he pursued the chief justice first, to convince Neuvillette of a new kind of relationship. One that's beyond personal and not a friendship.
He told Neuvillette that he doesn't have to be smitten. It's enough that he decided to step over, Wriothesley was content already if the other would go at his own pace.
From quite not knowing what and how to calmly accept what was given, to small but steadily imitating his actions to give back, to do it first. He knows the hesitation has been absent when being passive yet, his body language showed otherwise. Neuvillette still didn't say much, he hadn't changed much in expressing his feelings through words. But at least, he only said the truth.
So 'I do.' and if Wriothesley wanted to talk on the topic more, he needed to ask but that wasn't really a problem for him.
He liked to do everything with the person who he'd like to spend the time with the most for so long: talking or being in close proximity, anything was cool.
As the change was both endearing and intriguing; if there was no particular reason behind it, then it was fine. If the hug had become Neuvillette's favorite thing to do, he'd be happy to indulge just that.
He held their eye contact, their hands are intertwined, his own cherished gesture for a while,
'I want to know why my love has hugged me a lot lately.' The teasing tone was added here, lightly in the few last words. So his love wouldn't feel pressured as he wasn't someone who ever asked things in a roundabout way.
Now that Neuvillette's shoulders shifted, he felt like he got the hint and he might be right. The man was pondering, but it then had become clearer; he had only shown these sides of him to a few, the head nurse included because she was special- and him-
But it wasn't often.
Be it because he didn't want to make people worry about him, be it because he believed he must be a strong individual to take on the tasks by position. So he had hidden it well...
'It helps.' He finally said. His tiredness was looming delicately over his frame.
This time, Wriothesley didn't ask what the hug had helped. His eyes became softer by the conclusion he had come up with himself. His own duty was also nothing of easy but he had thought about it, with the role that important, he wanted to be there when Neuvillette eventually feels the weight of it all. And he had always been glad to be trusted to be an audience when the man displayed his mental state.
'Come on, then.' Gently told Neuvillette to close their distance once more while also slightly urging by the hand.
Until his head was on Wriothesley's shoulder, the one in embrace was the one who hugged back more tightly since he knew the other's current way of hugging quite well.
He would also make sure to pry out more about his feelings: was it overwhelming, or was it unbearable.
There might be a possibility that the sea began to ripple since he was here. And that he had admitted just then, just now, that he needed something to help, rather than telling people to not be concerned..