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It was a warm day on June 4th in the nation of Justice. The sun was shining, and Neuvillette was currently sitting in a rocking chair, feeding, or at least attempting to, a tiny baby girl with downy blue and white hair and small wolf ears.
"Please, little one... " Neuvillette murmured, still trying to get little Éloïse to latch on.
Wriothesley was rushing around, frantically trying to put his tie on properly. Éloïse had barely slept the night before, leaving Wriothesley to be the one to comfort her, as he wanted to make sure that his beloved Iudex got as much sleep as possible. Unfortunately, the wolf-eared Duke ended up oversleeping, and was now running late.
“I’ll be back later tonight, okay, sweetness? “ The gray-eyed man said, quickly heading out the door to leave.
“W- Wriothesley, wait- “ Neuvillette started, holding out his free hand, but the Duke had already left.
The white-haired man felt his heart break a little bit, and tears began to prick at his lavender-shaded eyes.
Wriothesley had forgotten to give Neuvillette a goodbye kiss.
How… How dare he?!
Wriothesley always gave Neuvillette a goodbye kiss before he left anywhere, even if it was just to a different room in their home! The Chief Justice shook his head, wanting to clear his mind of any ill thoughts.
The Duke still loved him, right? Of course, he did. Why wouldn't he? Neuvillette had given birth to Wriothesley's baby two weeks ago. He had been on maternity leave since then, at the insistence of Furina and the Melusines.
However, Neuvillette had also been struggling with postpartum depression after the birth of Éloïse.
Neuvillette would get irritated at the slightest thing, and he hated it! He hates getting angry with his husband! Their little sea bunny did not deserve to hear any of their arguments!
Neuvillette felt a few tears begin to fall, and immediately tried to wipe them away with his free hand, but it was of no use.
Sovereigns, he was a terrible parent. Here he was, worries over some stupid kiss he didn't receive, when his daughter needed to be fed. How selfish could he be, worrying about himself when he has a daughter to care for?
The only thing keeping Neuvillette from completely spiraling were the sounds of his baby girl nursing against his chest. Rain began to patter against the window, and as Neuvillette continued feeding Éloïse, the rain outside would pour even harder than before, and he could hear a faint rumbling in the distance…
Wriothesley had been sitting at his desk for what felt like hours at this point. It was currently some time in the evening at this point, and he desperately wanted to return home to his precious husband and baby. Archons, how he loved them so much.
Neuvillette had the prettiest look in his eyes whenever he held tiny Éloïse, humming little lullabies, the Duke could go on and on about how much he loved the Iudex of Fontaine!
He glanced over at a photo he had placed on his desk last week, just a few days after Éloïse had been born. It was of Neuvillette softly reclining in bed, holding little Éloïse in his arms. And standing right beside him, was Wriothesley himself. The photo has been taken courtesy of Furina. She had wanted to take a few more, but Éloïse had started getting fussy, so they only took the one.
Wriothesley then began to think about how Neuvillette had gained a little weight lately, but that wasn't what upset him.
What upset him was how people thought it was their business to comment on it.
Wriothesley had nearly punched a man’s lights out for commenting on Neuvillette's weight, and he ended up having to be restrained by Clorinde before things could get out of hand.
The thought of seeing his sweetheart Chief Justice in any sort of pain whatsoever made Wriothesley's wolf ears pin to his head.
Wriothesley was just about to finish some paperwork and go home, when a loud clap of thunder roared overhead, followed by a strike of lightning. And that's when it hit him. The thought, not the lightning.
Shit.
Wriothesley didn't give Neuvillette his goodbye kiss this morning.
The Duke thought of how upset his husband must be right now. Yes, it rained whenever Neuvillette cried, but not this badly!
The wolf-eared man quickly finished his remaining paperwork as fast as he could, grabbed his coat, and practically sprinted out of his office like his life depended on it.
The sky was dark and overcast when Wriothesley burst through the doors of his shared home with Neuvillette. Inside, Éloïse was wailing because of the thunder and lightning, and the white-haired Iudex was trying, and failing, to calm her down.
“Here, give her to me. “ The Duke murmured, carefully taking the baby girl from Neuvillette's arms, and started to walk around the room, gently bouncing the little girl in his arms. “You miss Papa today, Ellie? “ He cooed.
Almost instantly, baby Éloïse calmed down, her wails reduced to mere sniffles. Wriothesley picked up a plush leisurely Otter, walked over to the vintage bassinet in the corner of the nursery, and placed both the plush and Éloïse inside it, gingerly tucking her in with a soft blanket.
The moment Wriothesley turned to face his husband, however, he saw that Neuvillette’s eyes glaring at him, and his usually pristine hair frizzy.
“How… How in the Sovereigns- “ Neuvillette growled, before he was swiftly stopped by a kiss to the lips.
“I know, I know… I forgot to give you a goodbye kiss, I’m sorry- “
”How are you a better parent than me?” Neuvillette whimpered, nearly collapsing into Wriothesley's arms.
“Neuvillette…? “ Wriothesley murmured, gray eyes wide.
The white-haired man sniffled, glancing up at his husband with tear-filled eyes. “I… I could not get Éloïse to calm down for half the day, I struggled to nurse her this morning, Wriothesley I am a horrible pa- “
”Who. The fuck. Said that? “ The Duke growled, wolf ears now pinned back, and his tail began lashing from side to side.
Neuvillette gulped, before responding, “I did… “
“Well, I'm gonna stop you right there. No way in all the seven nations am I letting you call yourself a bad parent. “ Wriothesley stated.
“But… But I am… “ Neuvillette mumbled.
“Darling, you carried Éloïse for nine months. Nine. Months. You are… You are so incredible, you know that? You take such good care of our baby girl, you carry Fontaine on your shoulders… “
“I am only the Chief Justice… “ Neuvi chuckled weakly.
“And I have the honor, the privilege, of being married to the Chief Justice. Neuvillette… You deserve the world… “ Wriothesley stated, before peppering Neuvillette's forehead in kisses.
The Iudex's face flushed a light pink, and he huffed, turning his face away from the Duke. “I… I am still very upset with you for not giving me a proper kiss this morning. “
Wriothesley smirked. “Is that so?~ “
Before Neuvillette could act, the wolf-eared man immediately pulled him into his arms, and dipped him like they were on the cover of a romance novel…
And kisses his forehead once more.
Neuvillette's eyes widened, and frowned. “You know very well what kind of kiss I was expecting, Wriothesley. Bad dog. “
Wriothesley gave a cheeky grin, and proceeded to keep Neuvillette dipped backwards, practically smothering his forehead with kisses. “I'm just showing my husband some affection.~ “ He teased.
Neuvillette huffed again, and this time, grabbed Wriothesley’s tie to pull him in for a proper kiss.
Afterwards, the Iudex stood up, brushing off his poet’s shirt, and gave the Duke of Meropide his own smirk. “Hmph. I’ll get dinner started… Sweetness.~ “ He whispered, hips swaying as he walked away.
Wriothesley was merely left standing there, eyes blown wide, and hands twitching.
Sovereigns, he loved his husband so much.