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“Is this about the last time I was here-”
“No” Wriothesley interrupted Neuvillette’s question. He was aware Neuvillette would still think so, as they didn’t have a talk about it. But he didn’t have an intention to talk about it, he just wished things would be normal between them. If it ever was normal…
“I just thought you could stay for tea. I could brew you my finest batch of tea: Gyokuro” He knew Neuvillette wouldn’t be interested in anything he could offer. That man was just always too busy to engage with others or spend time with friends. He wasn’t even sure two of them could be considered friends, after all the chief of justice was arguably the most important individual in Fontain while he himself was just feared by prisoners in Fortress of Meropide. Outside of there, no one even knew him. He didn’t even exist to many. He wouldn’t consider himself a life-changing miracle which Neuvillette was to many Fontainians, even to him. The sentence he now has to serve might seem like a bad influence on his life quality, yes, nonetheless, he couldn’t hate the man. Neuvillette was a fair man. Neuvillette’s decisions mattered to the whole of Fontain. Why would someone like him be convinced to stay by some offer of tea?
“Okay. But make it with the water that I am going to provide for you if it is not much inconvenience. I would not want to offend Your Grace but I have noticed over the years that the quality of the water here does not suit my tastes. I do not recognize the name of the tea you just mentioned, however getting to know you has provided me with a lot of intel about your tastes and interest in tea. Therefore, I believe this Gyokuro, I hope I am able to pronounce it fairly correctly, is high quality. I would like to savor the taste with the water that I think is the best quality.
Wirothesley was both surprised Neuvillette accepted to stay for a bit and the excessively kind explanation and reasoning he gave for wanting to use his powers to provide water for the tea. He knew Neuvillette was right, the taste of water there was shit compared to the outside world’s. He wouldn’t get offended by something like that, he smiled.
“It’s from Inazuma. I got it shipped, and it sure arrived very late. I was saving it for a special occasion but it wouldn’t hurt to drink a little bit of it now.” Wriothesley explained.
“I am not sure I would be able to savor it as much as it deserves. You value it more, I would be fine with a more common drink. The reason I stayed is not because of the type of tea.”
Neuvillette sat down beside Wriothesley’s desk, crossing his legs while Wriothesley started preparing his precious tea.
Then why did you stay?
“I want you to taste it, the value I attach to it is only meaningful when I share it with…” He paused, he was going to say “friends” but he doubted the comment wouldn’t make things weird between them. Their conversations were always purely professional. “...people.” He completed the sentence but regretted it immediately. The man probably wasn’t even human, he served as the chief of justice for hundreds of years. Neuvillette, as graceful as he always is, didn't comment on this.
“Thank you then. I appreciate it.”
Wriothesley came to his desk with two cups and a teapot on a tray and sat on his chair. He started playing with the ornaments on the teapot as he felt as if he was holding Neuvillette against his will there and wasting his time. Because the man probably thought they had something important to talk about but the room was silent and Wriothesley couldn't find anything tangible to talk about. Neuvillette could have spent this time doing paperwork which he would now have to complete by pulling an all-nighter or waking up at a very early hour. He felt like an ass, hopefully, Neuvillette would like the tea, but he just said he wasn’t there for the tea didn’t he?
“Be careful, don’t burn your hand with the steam.” Wriothesley felt his hand get pulled away, the action also pulling him away from his thoughts. Neuvillette’s gloved hand was resting on top of his, Neuvillette didn’t seem to have noticed the prolonged physical touch as his genuine concern was readable from the line between his eyebrows.
“If you have something important to do, I wouldn’t want to hold you here,” Wriothesley said nervously.
“Well, I’m staying here of my own free will, no need for your concern. Please don’t burn yourself while your mind is eating you away. If you do not wish to waste my time, stay in the moment. I don’t mind the silence, it gives me a sense of ease. I feel calm, especially with this fresh and earthy smell of the tea filling the room. It’s perfect, this is perfectly relaxing. I am afraid I might even fall asleep. It was a long day” Neuvillette closed his eyes and inhaled, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
Wriothesley nodded slowly, their hands were still touching and he didn’t know if he was dreaming but Neuvillette’s thumb was caressing the top of his hand. He had to pull his hand away to pour the tea into the cups as the brewing time shouldn’t surpass two minutes. Blood rushed into his cheeks, he was suddenly feeling very hot, he felt sweat drops form on his forehead. He wiped them with the back of his hand, also fixing his hair. Besides him getting hot from the touch, the room was actually hot which he noticed from Neuvillette’s glowing skin.
“I actually didn’t think you were going to drink tea, considering you were drinking earlier,” Neuvillette said, raising his eyebrow and opening his eyes to look into Wriothesley’s eyes. “I don’t mean to interfere with your personal life but I thought you would cleanse your palate before drinking this tea.”
“Drinking?”
“Whiskey.”
“How did you know?”
“Your breath smells.”
“Sorry. I didn’t think I was standing close enough for you to smell it off of me.” Wirothesley backed away from his desk.
“No need to apologize, I didn’t say it smells bad. You are not drunk after all. It smells better than last time when you had just smoked cigarettes and I could taste it when you kissed me.” Neuvillette blinked his eyes.
Wriothesley’s eyes widened. So, he IS addressing THAT time.
“Sorry. You can ignore that. I was afraid you wouldn’t ever come down here again after that time. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“Do what? Pull me from my collar to kiss me? Could that even have happened accidentally?”
The question was rhetorical but Wriothesley answered anyway. “Yes.”
“Okay” Neuvillette didn’t question him further, he just sipped his tea with an unreadable expression on his face, eyes glancing around the room. “It’s good. Gyokuro, you shouldn’t let it get cold.”
“Well now that you have mentioned it, I need a palate cleanser before tasting it. What would you recommend?” He hoped the earlier topic was dismissed and would not ever be discussed again. That action being an accident was partially correct as he didn’t expect to do that either. Neuvillette was walking away after spending just a few minutes discussing new prisoners who would be joining the Meropide and Wriothesley’s heart sank knowing he probably wouldn’t come down there again for months. He realized he missed seeing the man, his white hair that reached his waist, his half lidded gaze with long eyelashes, the long speeches he gave every time he talked even for simple matters… Wriothesley wanted to stop him in his tracks, prevent him from leaving so he held him but when their eyes met he panicked and kissed him. Neuvillette didn’t say anything, he just continued walking and Wirothesley hoped he would ignore the occasion, it was just a peck.
“Drink water with lemon” Neuvillette interrupted his journey in his memory.
“I don’t have lemon here, I can drink water. Wriothesley attempted to get up, Neuvillette motioned him to sit back down. He pointed his hand towards him.
“Open your mouth.”
“No need.” Writohesley said, embarrassed by what Neuvillette was offering.
Neuvillette swirled his finger in the air allowing small water droplets to form.
“I told you I do not like the water here. Actually, I hate it even. I don’t want you to drink it. The pipes are dirty” Neuvillette held Wriothesley’s jaw with the tip of his fingers to lift his head slightly. The touch felt hot. He felt his heartbeat getting faster. How did he even end up in this situation? He would normally consider himself as someone who has authority. In his daily life, he had all the control over everyone but now he was melting under the touch, the words, even the appearance of a powerful man who effortlessly had control over him. Neuvillette the man he is… Does he even know what he is doing? There is no way he is that clueless.
Wriothesley swallowed the water that got into his mouth. His prominent Adam’s apple moved up and down as the water flowed through his throat. He couldn’t have known but the dragon watched him intently. Cold eyes following the water’s imaginary path.
As Neuvillette let go of him, he slowly blinked trying to process what just happened.
“As I said, don’t get your tea get cold”
Wriothesley immediately took a sip, hoping this action covered the confused and aroused state he just found himself in.
“The flavor is certainly magnificent.” he stated but he sounded out of breath. And, he couldn't taste a thing as his mind decided to focus on other things…
“I never thought a human would be interested in me. Let alone you… I never thought you would be interested in men.”
“I’m not interested in you!” He wasn’t sure if Neuvillette was glad with the discovery of learning this or not so his first instinct was to defend himself. If it was anyone else at the Fortress of Meropide he would deny the part about his sexuality but he knew Neuvillette wouldn’t mind that. Judging someone because of that would be too superficial for him, Neuvillette was a more complex man.
“Hm, perhaps I understood things wrong.”
“But why wouldn’t you think I’m interested in men?”
“I hear rumors. A lot of women like you here and I heard you are closer with some of them than others. Sometimes spending the night with them.” Neuvillette tested his response. It was true he heard rumors but he didn’t believe a lot of them. Crazier ones have been told about Wriothesley’s relationships and secrets, he didn’t believe any of them.
“The truth is, I did enjoy talking and spending time with a few women but there never was someone that I romantically liked or spent the night with. That doesn't prove I don’t like men.”
“So, you do like men?”
“Where are you going with this?”
Neuvillette was thinking with a serious face, lips pursed together, eyes wandering around. “It's just… curiosity. I never liked someone, never had a relationship.”
“NO WAY” Wriothesley’s jaw dropped, such a gorgeous man, how come he didn’t have anyone in love with him? Neuvillette can date anyone he wants, probably even half of men who claim they are straight.
“It's hot here” Neuvillette was trying to take off his collar. He had already slipped his gloves off. As he fiddled with the clasp, the collar got tangled in his hair. Neuvillette wouldn’t ask for help, Wriothesley didn’t wait for him to lose clumps of his hair to remember he could get help, so he got up and walked to the other side of the desk. He silently helped him remove the tight collar on his neck which had left a red mark on his pale skin. The amount of hair the man had made it hard for Wriothesley to reach the back of his neck so he moved them out of the way. His hair was silky smooth, soft. His fingers glided through the pieces. He also removed some of his accessories which looked uncomfortable. Then, Wriothesley’s fingers lingered on Neuvillette’s shoulders, there was hesitation noticeable in his movements as he couldn’t decide whether to remove the outer piece of his clothing that gave him the pointy shoulders.
Neuvillette leaned back against his hand. Wriothesley was startled by the movement, his breathing quickened. He took this as allowing him to continue so he took his jacket to reveal the white shirt underneath.
“You look good in this,” Wriothesley said and noticed Neuvillette staring at him from below, his eyes half closed. Tiredness readable from his now seemingly darker eye bags.
“I lied, I do like you.” Wriothesless suddenly confessed. “I kissed you because I liked you.”
“I know”
With the removal of accessories, Neuvillette’s collar bones became visible, his shirt’s front was open a few inches. Wriothesley walked around the chair to face the man to properly try his chance.
“Can I kiss you again?
“If I say no will you starve me from the taste of your lips?”
DAMN How can he even say this with a straight face?
This time Neuvillette initiated the kiss getting up from his chair, less aggressive than before, no rush this time. Slower.
Wriothesley felt his neck getting pulled. He opened his eyes to see Neuvillette had wrapped his tie around his hand, playing with it. Wriothesley also noticed a trait of the Chief of Justice that no one knows, his extremely long tongue, dragon tongue which was almost going to choke him.
“Your cheeks are red. I didn’t know you blushed.” Wriothesley said, trying to catch his breath. Because of Neuvillette’s hold on his neck, he was only a few centimeters away from the other’s face.
“I do blush, you are just the first person to see it and well… the tongue” he showed his tongue that got to his chest, it slimmed to a pointy tip. He smirked and pulled him back into a kiss.