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"Okay, perfect! That's good right there!"
In a shocking feat for her size, Sigewinne bent over the pillows laid out in her way, grabbing hold of one a little further from her, and took in a deep breath before lifting the thick cushion over her head. "Now," she choked in a physical struggle, "for this one!"
"You better be careful, Sige. Need me to handle that one?"
Wriothesley's soft voice, cunning like a bottle of whiskey, emerged from the other side of the couch. He warily eyed the cushion Sigewinne held, keeping watch over the way her tiny arms handled the hefty fabric looming over her, and calculated to himself how helpless she would be if she were to accidentally bury herself in the couch. He had just finished meticulously placing more cushions to create the foundation of the fort, and the one Sigewinne shakily held was next in line.
In protest and with her knees bent, she adjusted herself further to the weight she carried so proudly. "I've got it! I don't need help!"
"Well, if you say so," Wriothesley tutted with uncertainty.
Neuvillette stood across from them, gathering cushions from the chair nearby. He grinned at the sight, making note of Sigewinne's strength and show of bravado just to impress her caretakers; and Wriothesley's gentle way of caring and looking after the people he held so dear. It was rather endearing for Neuvillette to witness, getting to see the little family he cherished so deeply be so domestic with each other in the little home they built together. He turned back to the chair and grabbed a few pillows before making his way back over to the couch.
"What shall I do with these?" Neuvillette beckoned to Sigewinne, and she turned around with a big grin before throwing her cushion down into a new spot on the couch. "Oh! You can put those ones right there!" She pointed over to the middle portion of the fort. "We'll start getting the inside ready. Wriothesley," she turned to address him, "you can grab the sheets and start covering the top of the fort!"
With a gentle grin and an evident excitement for his next task, Wriothesley puffed out his chest and let out a prideful "yes, ma'am!" before walking over to the nearest bedroom to retrieve the sheets.
Sigewinne turned back to the task at hand and muttered sweetly to herself, "he's so helpful!"
Neuvillette turned his head over to face her, holding the pillows in each of his hands. "Would you like them arranged in a specific way?"
"No," she waved him off, "it's better for the inside if we just throw them down and make ourselves comfy later!"
He chuckled to himself. "Whatever you say."
Despite Sigewinne's simple answer, Neuvillette chose to arrange them in a set pattern anyway. Hoping Sigewinne wouldn't notice his intentfulness in his craft, he looked down at his options.
In one hand, he held a pastel blue pillow with frills running down the middle. This one acted more as a throw pillow, so he set it aside for now. The next option he leveled, however, was one from Sigewinne's room that she had pulled out to prepare. It was a longer pillow with a soft pink cover, and simply holding it made Neuvillette feel comforted. There were hints of perfume on the sides, revealing itself as it wafted into the air as Sigewinne's signature scent.
He was grateful for her more than most else in the world. Bringing the Melusines into Fontaine, though not initially intended to be a selfish act, has made him feel incredibly happy considering how significant the addition of Sigewinne has been in his life.
He had known her for an awfully long time, but only with Wriothesley being added into the picture did they truly begin to bond.
Oh, Wriothesley.
Neuvillette thought about him often. Suffice to say, he was the cherry on top to Neuvillette's long and arduous life. No one had warmed his heart quite as preciously, or been as patient with him as the Duke. No one had such a bright smile, and such a soothing voice, or commanding aura that threatened those who dared to come too close...
"I have more pillows I can bring out, too, if you'd like!" Sigewinne suggested, and Neuvillette's head quickly turned to face her. She watched carefully as Neuvillette leveled his choices, and a sweet smile graced her face. "We've got many options, so don't you worry!"
Neuvillette smiled back slightly in embarrassment, and his eyes went back to his own set options. He huffed out a small chuckle. "I suppose we should bring those out, then."
At his reply, Sigewinne beamed, and soon jumped off of the couch and over into her room. She passed by Wriothesley as she ran, who carried more blankets than Neuvillette thought possible. Most of them were comforters & sheets, but there were a few fuzzy blankets that Neuvillette mentally scolded himself for getting so excited over seeing.
"So, where should I put these?" Wriothesley asked with a smirk, holding the blankets out in front of him.
Neuvillette blinked. "Hm. Sigewinne had told me I could place the pillows anywhere, so I assume the same goes for most of these"
In a strangely far reply, Sigewinne shouted from her room, "Put the sheets aside! The rest can go wherever!"
Both of them turned to face the direction of her bedroom, then back at each other with shared smiles. "Guess that answers my question," Wriothesley snorted before handing a few blankets to Neuvillette. "Here. I trust your judgement."
Neuvillette's face grew a bit redder at the remark. He brushed a hair behind his ear, and muttered a small "thank you" before taking the blankets from Wriothesley.
The blankets were lovely to look at, but even lovelier to touch. Neuvillette fully recognized that if he were to lay in bed with one of these laying over him, he might never leave. As such, he preferred to keep them on the chairs & at the foot of their bed, so he could silently bask in their comfort without getting lost in it, a book in one hand and a fresh glass of Natlanese water in the other.
Wriothesley sat down gracefully onto the couch to start laying out blankets, setting the sheets aside per Sigewinne's wish. He turned to steal a glance at Neuvillette, who was deciphering the best blanket to pillow ratio, and looked down at the blankets he gifted to him. Wriothesley grinned, and finished laying out the smaller ones he was holding.
"I've gotta say, those are awfully comfortable," he hummed, eyes searching intently between Neuvillette and his blankets.
"Yes," Neuvillette's gaze lingered on the covers, "Sigewinne did a good job picking them out."
It was common in their house for Sigewinne to decorate, considering that both the men of the house did not necessarily have good taste in decorations; if they had taste whatsoever. Wriothesley surely did not- before then, he was cooped up in the depressingly bleak steampunk Fortress of Meropide, and Neuvillette's seemingly "old-fashioned" taste was easily over three hundred years old. Sigewinne, despite also residing in the Fortress, often looked at home magazines on her breaks, sighing longingly at every beautiful interior she laid her eyes upon. It was so habitual that the Fortress receptionist would often save copies just to give over to Sigewinne when she was in the mood to read them.
Wriothesley chuckled at the sentiment. "She sure did. Speaking of which–" Wriothesley rose from the couch, leaning back slightly with his head angled toward the ceiling and yelled, "Hey, Winnie, am I going to be putting the sheets over the chairs, like last time?"
She scurried out of her room, several pillows and big stuffed animals in hand, and nodded exasperatedly, "Yes!" before running back over to the couch to throw all of her findings onto.
"Ah, we're adding your plushes into the mix?" Wriothesley taunted, and Sigewinne puffed her cheeks, face growing red.
"They're super soft and really nice to hug. You'll soon realize you like them too! You'll see!" She crossed her arms before sprinting back over to her room. "All you have to do is drape the sheets over the cushions and make sure they don't fall!"
Wriothesley offered her a quick thumbs up before she disappeared, then headed over to the dining area, grabbing a chair or two and coming back over to lay them against the couch. Neuvillette, eager to help but less aware of what to do, stood and grabbed the sheets from off of the side of the couch, carefully unfolding them as he did. He looked over to Wriothesley, who had set down the second chair and was positioning it in line with the couch, and Neuvillette slid over to him to attempt tying the edge of the sheet to the chair.
"Do you need help?" Wriothesley's low voice hovered over Neuvillette, and draped itself against the back of his neck. Neuvillette stiffened, hands growing clammy. "...If you don't mind."
Wriothesley offered his side of the sheet over to Neuvillette, and he obliged, watching the Duke tie a much more secure knot around the top of the chair than Neuvillette ever could have. He attempted to, but failed, in fighting back the blush on his cheeks.
They repeated the motions one more time, and when they had reached the other two corners, they had simply rested them atop the cushions Sigewinne had previously set out; this time, with Wriothesley holding the blanket in place, and Neuvillette taking two smaller pillows, one for each corner, and setting them atop their newly completed fort.
Well, almost complete.
Sigewinne, bursting from her room once more, scurried back over to the couch with many more stuffed animals in hand. Wriothesley blinked, then laughed; a small act that nevertheless made the Iudex's heart flutter for a moment.
"You sure have a lot of stuffed animals, don't you?"
Sigewinne huffed once more. "No! When will you get it? You can never have too many of the things that make you happy!" She held the stuffed animals closer to her chest, then walked back over and climbed into the fort, head disappearing inside as she threw her favorite critters into the fort.
Finding himself to be incredibly sentimental, Neuvillette chimed in, "I agree. It's a wonderful thing to surround yourself with the things you love. For example," he cleared his throat, "I enjoy surrounding myself with you both."
Wriothesley's face immediately flushed red, as he looked over his shoulder towards the wall with an embarrassed look on his face. "Well–," he paused, raising a hand to his chin, "ah… yeah, I just got outplayed."
"Hee-hee! We love you too, Monsieur Neuvillette!" Sigewinne responded with an aggressively bright smile on her face. "Anyway, you guys should come in! It's super cozy!"
"It's done?" Neuvillette tilted his head.
Sigewinne nodded. "Yup! Super easy, right?"
Neuvillette thought back to when Sigewinne struggled carrying the cushion without accepting help. "Ah… yes," he chuckled, "very easy."
The fort, from the outside, wasn't particularly appealing to look at; Most of the proper work was done on the inside. The sheet was facing the wrong way, making the illusion seem muddy and rushed. But the moment Neuvillette lifted the edge of the sheet and poked his head through the entrance, it was practically a whole new world.
The lights from the outside were dimmed quite a bit by the sheet, but just enough was poking through for those within its parameters to see. The myriad of blankets and pillows, each from Wriothesley & Neuvillette or Sigewinne's collections, had an unintentionally well-developed color scheme, and the many plushies that Sigewinne brought in only amplified the effect. Some aspects were fuzzy, some soft, some colors pastel, others deep and muted. It was quite lovely, especially with the soft light poking through.
Neuvillette situated himself steadily within the boundaries, lowering his head a tad so he wouldn't disturb the sheet that hung above his head. Sigewinne had already climbed in, and was quick to make herself comfortable within the piles of pure comfort. Her cuddling plushie of choice, of course, took the shape of a small, round blubberbeast, and she held it closely to her as she wriggled underneath the blankets.
Before long, Wriothesley's head popped into the fort, and he took a long look at the inside in awe before deciding to fully crawl inside, book in hand. His surprise was evident as well, and he settled next to Sigewinne, effectively placing her between himself and Neuvillette. As Wriothesley settled in, he glanced sweetly at Neuvillette, then smiled.
"Hey, this is pretty romantic, wouldn't you think?" he professed confidently to Neuvillette, leaning down slightly to ensure Sigewinne heard it well. She quickly rose from her comfortable position and carefully shoved Wriothesley away from her, protesting the thought. "Ew! You guys are so weird!"
Neuvillette chuckled, keeping the rising pace of his heart hidden.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Sigewinne jumped underneath the blankets, and turned to grab two other plushies from the edge of the couch: an otter and a seahorse. She quickly shoved each of them into both Wriothesley and Neuvillette's arms, startling both. She gave Wriothesley the otter, and Neuvillette the seahorse.
"You both have to have one too!"
He had to admit… they were quite nice to hold.
In an attempt to make himself comfortable, he grabbed hold of one of the blankets and draped it over himself, settling into the small fort by resting his head against the cushions behind him, and shuffled his back against the pillows. He brought the seahorse closer to him.
Wriothesley, discreetly noticing, followed suit. He eyed the blankets that lined the fort, seemingly struggling to make a decision with the sheer amount of options laid out in front of him.
"We sure have a lot of blankets, don't we?" He chuckled.
Sigewinne settled deeper into her cozy pile and hummed, "Sure do!"
Neuvillette looked over to each of them, and his heart fluttered.
In the light, it was almost unreal how ethereal each of them looked. The dim lights overhead sifted between the slivers of the sheets and illuminated Wriothesley's face, which seemingly glowed. His gentle fingers traced the surrounding objects, one on the blanket above him, and the other on the storybook he had yet to open. The arm that held the book also held the otter, in the crook of his elbow. Sigewinne's eyelashes fluttered with something reminiscent of tiredness, but too pristinely to be in exhaustion. Her cheeks were graced with pink, much like Wriothesley's, as she laid comfortably between her two loving caregivers. Neuvillette looked up, and made quick eye contact with Wriothesley, who looked up at him in adoration, then soon broke the gaze by looking down to his side and retrieving the book, this time with both hands.
"Hey, I… thought I could read this for us. What do you think?"
Sigewinne looked up and nodded, eyes sparkling in excitement. Neuvillette mentally framed the picture.
"That's a great idea!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
"Alright, alright," Wriothesley carefully opened the book, sitting up further and focusing his sights onto the first page. He dramatically cleared his throat.
"Once upon a time…"
Wriothesley went on with wonder in his voice, and Sigewinne stared up at him in complete and utter adoration. Neuvillette found it quite sweet and innocent of her, looking at someone with so much love in her heart; then quickly realized he was doing the same.
Oh, how he loved his little family.
The story was one Neuvillette had heard many times before– it was an excerpt from Fables de Fontaine, which he had familiarized himself with quite well over the years. The Maiden and the Sun, it was; one that Neuvillette did not entirely care for the meaning of, but enjoyed nonetheless. It was even easier to enjoy at present, as Wriothesley gave both the fox maiden and her mother frail high-pitched voices to get a chuckle out of Sigewinne as he read, but mostly inflicting it onto Neuvillette instead, who silently laughed under his breath.
Despite the silliness of the situation, it was evident that Sigewinne would not last much longer cuddled up next to her two favorite people while drenched in fluffy blankets and her favorite stuffed animals. Neuvillette was entirely sure Wriothesley's sweet voice was also responsible, as well, outside of his satirical impersonations of the characters. Silently Neuvillette watched as she slowly drifted off to sleep, cuddling the blubberbeast and leaning against Wriothesley's side. Her chest rose and fell slowly to the rhythm of Wriothesley's words.
The Duke read for a little while longer, before stopping at the very end of the Crow and the Fox. He looked over to Sigewinne, then realized she had drifted off to sleep.
"Hey, when did she knock out?" He stammered in a hushed voice, so as not to wake her.
Neuvillette shook his head. "Right before you finished reading The Maiden and the Sun."
Wriothesley sputtered, "Aw, but that was the one I put the most effort into!" He sighed, eyes traveling up to meet Neuvillette's. "Ah, well. At least I got a good audience out of you."
"I will always be an audience for you, should you need it."
"Hm!" Wriothesley huffed proudly, "Were my impressions good, at least?"
Neuvillette did not expect himself to laugh out loud. He cleared his throat with a cheeky grin, "Yes, Wriothesley, they were perfect."
They sat in gentle silence for a few moments, both sets of eyes trailing shyly towards the other's. Wriothesley nervously ran a hand through his hair.
"Did you mean it, earlier," Wriothesley slowly leaned in closer to Neuvillette, eyes barely holding their gaze, "when you said you love us?"
Neuvillette stared at him for a moment, mouth hanging slightly agape as he subtly backed away, "Ah–," he thought for a brief moment, "of course I did."
The joy was evident on Wriothesley's face, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "Haha… well…" he started, this time in more of a secretive, hushed tone, "I love you too. I hope you know it."
Neuvillette took in his surroundings one more time, analyzing every part of the scene that graced his eyes. Sigewinne asleep, happy and comfortable, and Wriothesley's icy blue gaze wrapping itself safely around Neuvillette's thumping heart, putting him at ease once again. His face lifted in quiet joy, and he smiled, eyes never leaving Wriothesley's.
"I love you a lot."