Work Text:
Familiar, soft footsteps drew Wriothesley's focus away from the stack of papers on his desk, there was only one person that would enter his office without knocking at this time of day.
"Ah, Sigewinne, did something hap-" The Duke couldn't help but he taken aback a bit as the melusine held her hand up and interrupted him.
"It's storming." Sigewinne was slightly out of breath from rushing up the stairs. "I had to go to the surface to grab some supplies and it was raining really hard, I heard thunder too."
It didn't take much time for Wriothesley to understand what she was getting at, he quickly sat up, not bothering to put anything on his desk away.
"I'll go check on him, I'll have someone at the court deliver a letter if it's something serious. You're in charge while I'm gone, got it?" The man walked past her quickly and left the main office, it would be a long walk, the aquabusses were no doubt shut down due to the weather, it's a good thing he didn't get cold easily.
--
The walk from the fortress to Neuvullette's small home outside the court walls was a very wet one, by the time Wriothesley arrived and used his own key to unlock the front door, he could have rung his jacket out like a drenched towel.
The man quickly shed his soaked outer layers once inside, closing and locking the door behind him. "Neuvi! You alright!?" he called out as he made his way around the house checking any spot Neuvillette could have made a nest in, their bedroom was one of the last places he checked, and Neuvillette wasn't in there either. Wriothesley began to feel a sense of nervousness well up inside before he heard it, a barely audible groan coming from the connected bathroom.
"You in here love?" Wriothesley's voice was soft as he entered the bathroom, his heart breaking at the scene he saw.
Neuvillette was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet, his arms resting on the seat while his head hung forward, his breathing was heavy and his face was tinted a sickly green. It appeared as though the dragon had been sitting there a while, having put a towel down at some point to protect his knees from the hard tile.
Wriothesley didn't get a reply other than a soft 'mhm' causing his frown to deepen. He dug through the drawers on the counter, finding one of Neuvillette's many hairties as well as a hand towel that he ran under cool water from the sink. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner, the aquabus lines were all shut down." Wriothesley sat on his knees besides his husband, beginning to pull his soft white hair away from his face. Neuvillette finally turned his head slowly to look at The Duke.
"It is alright, I..." He paused to take a few deep breaths, trying to keep a wave of nausea from hitting him again. "I apologize for causing you to worry, I did not want you to stop your work." The noticeable tremble in the dragons voice broke Wriothesley's heart.
"Even if I wanted to stay in the fortress, Sigewinne would have found a way to force me out, she's done it before, took me almost a week to find my keys again." Wriothesley tied Neuvilette's hair up in a, frankly very messy, ponytail before holding the damp towel in his hands, using cryo to cool it down even more before gently wiping the sweat off of his beloved's face.
Neuvillette sighed appreciatively and leaned a bit closer to the other man, who quickly wrapped a strong arm around him. A small smile was visible on the dragon's face.
"She is very clever, isn't she?" The pride was audible in Neuvillettes voice.
"I mean, yeah, but I'd rather her not use her cleverness against me." Wriothesley leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Neuvillette's temple, causing a soft purr to begin in his throat. Neuvillette's draconic instincts were very happy to have his mate home again. He'd never admit it, but it was getting more and more difficult to be away from Wriothesley as his pregnancy progressed.
"Feeling better?" Wriothesley already knew the answer, he couldn't hear rain hitting their roof anymore.
"I am, thank you, dear." Neuvillette leaned against his mate more, letting his eyes close. He made a confused noise when he heard the bathtub faucet turn on.
"Sigewinne told me that warm baths would help you relax and that I need to be pampering you so that's what I'm doing. Don't worry, I won't use anything with added scents."
"I do wish she could come and visit, I miss her quite a bit."
"I can always send a letter and have her come up to see how you're doing, she's been worried lately, you're all she'll talk about besides official reports"
Neuvillette smiled. "That would be lovely, if only to ease her mind, I am sure she could use a break anyway correct?"
"Hey hey, don't accuse me of overworking her now, she's the one that refuses to take a day off." Wriothesley chuckled softly, helping Neuvillette out of his night clothes, his eyes wandering to the barely noticeable bump on the dragon's lower abdomen. "When did this happen? I didn't notice it when I visited you last." Wriothesley lowered a hand to rest against the other's stomach, an overwhelming feeling of pride washing over him.
"Ah, I am not sure, I only noticed it this morning." Neuvillette rested a hand on top of Wriothesleys, his purring increasing tenfold at the view of his mate already showing love to their unborn child.
Wriothesley leaned down a bit to be closer to Neuvillette's stomach, his voice soft. "Look at you, growing like a little weed in there."
"Darling, do not compare our child do a weed."
Wriothesley laughed. "It's just a saying, a way to say something or someone is growing fast."
"I... I see.. Then I suppose I agree with you, their growth does seem very fast." Neuvillette watched as Wriothesley stood up, taking the hand that was offered to him and standing, allowing himself to be oh so gently picked up and lowered into the warm water in the bathtub. He immediately felt at ease, whether it was the warmth or simply being in water, some part of the bath was definitely helping.
"Temperature ok?." Wriothesley leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Neuvillette's forehead, smiling at the tired not he got in return. "I'll go get you some water so you can rinse your mouth out, any preferences?"
"I have a few bottles from Cider Lake in Mondstadt, they are all labeled, would you bring me one of those?"
"Cider Lake water, got it."
Neuvillette watched as Wriothesley left the bathroom, hearing his footsteps as he descended the old staircase and the dragon purred louder. He had to admit, being doted on like this was quite nice.
He couldn't wait to see Wriothesley dote on their child as well.