Unless

I love you. What are those feelings? Warm as the summer sun, fluttering butterflies in your stomach. I’ve never experienced those before. Even now he tells me so simply that he loves me. Tell me, how does it feel? 

When you are more than five hundred years old you forget how to live, how to adore, how to love. Humans have it easy, short lives and falling in and out of love so easily. Years pass and therefore they die. I can't say I relate to that at all. However here he is, simply as that, those words fell out of his lips as he painted a smile on his face looking at me softly. 

–”My apologies, but I don't quite understand”- I dared to say as my gaze averted his eyes.  

–”I didn't expect you to. I know my feelings might be unilateral but I just wanted you to know. Many people are kind of afraid of you”--  he laughed – “but I know that you are such a lovable person. I couldn't help butlove you”--  he stood up off his chair and walked towards me and gently grabbed my hand  – “you don't need to respond. Just don't stop coming to see me, Sigewinne misses you, you know?” – he giggled with a rufescent face and continued to look at me so…lovingly. I looked down and took my hand away from his. 

–”I need to return to Palais mermonia, tell Sigewinne I'll gladly come by again. It was…lovely to see you, Wriothesley. Keep the good work… now, if you'll excuse me”-  while i walked away so awkwardly, he just stood there in silence watching me leave his office in the Fortress of Meropide. Couldn't help wanting to run away. 

In my five hundred years I've seen all kinds of things, felt too many things and done some things that until this day I regret and leave a heavy burden in my heart. However I cant understand something so simple as romantic love. As I stepped outside, the sun in the sky shined so brightly, I needed to close my eyes for a second. The sky looked so vast, so blue, with tons of big clouds; I sighed. 

-”It's such a lovely weather”- 

…

As soon as I walked in, people started to exclaim in my direction just to greet me with courtesy. Others looked away intimidated, most likely, and I wasn't capable of stopping thinking about what Wriothesley said regarding me. Do I really give such an unapproachable aura so much? I'll admit I'm a phlegmatic person, but that does not mean I don't enjoy talking to people sometimes. While I was consumed in thoughts, I opened the door just to find the Hydro Archon sitting on the couch while sipping slightly of her tea, while enjoying (of course) a little piece of strawberry tart. Nonchalant by this, I walked towards her and gave Lady Furina my greetings. 

–”Good afternoon, Lady Furina, I don't recall you needing to see me today. Sorry if im delayed”--

–”oh, good afternoon Neuvillette. You didn't forget, I just wanted to pass by, that's all. Sometimes being out there can be rather exhausting, being popular it's such a hassle sometimes”-- she puts her tea cup on the table then takes a bite of her dessert.  –”I assume you were in the fortress. How is that boy Wriothesley?”-- 

-”He's doing alright. More than alright after what happened today I must say, and I hoped you could help me with it. Of course, if it's not too much of a problem"-  I asked shyly as I sat down in front of her. She had a confused look on her face while I said this, but quickly asked. 

-”What happened then? Not many things happen to you but more strange is that you are asking me for help, this is intriguing”- she chuckled while covering the little smile that escaped from her lips with her hand.

 Now I'm starting to doubt myself if I should tell her, but besides Wriothesley, Furina was the only one I could go to. Sadly, the traveler was too busy attending to some situation in Sumeru at the moment. Building up the courage to explain, and not to mention expressing my feelings, my lips parted and closed again as I was thinking of a way to start up the conversation. After a while I decided to finally speak up, asking a question as a start. 

–” Do you know what it is to love romantically?”-- while trying to maintain a serious and nonchalant face, I asked. Ironically, I tried to stay serious but lady Furina didn't hold anything back. While she was sipping on her tea, she almost spat all of it but managed to swallow it, and as a result she choked and started to cough. 

–”W-W-Why are you asking a lady this type of question?!”-- she managed to say while her cough started to ease a bit. –'' I'm surprised, not only that you are asking ME that, it's the type of question, coming from you”-- Furina took another bite of her tart as her face looked feverish, as a result of coughing and embarrassment. –” answering your curious question, do you think while I pretended to be a god all of these years, I had time to fall in love? Sadly I never liked anybody. So I don't know about romance. Now tell me, what bothers you so much, and how it's connected to your visit today at the Fortress.”--

I hesitated, my head had all of these confusing ideas and it was really overwhelming, however I know it won't change anything at least if I speak and have a clearer mindset about it later, therefore after two minutes, I said what really happened. 

–"First of all, I apologize I startled you. Today when I visited, Wriotesley had served me tea and everything was clearly normal. But just for a moment, everything turned serious, and he confessed his romantic feelings for me…”-- everything went quiet as i said that last part. Furina looked surprised, but that was not the reaction I was hoping for from her, compared to what happened before. 

–”So it finally happened huh? and, what did you tell him?”--  and as simple as that she asked not even thinking twice. What does she mean with “it finally happened”? Now I'm equally confused. 

–”If I can importune, what do you mean ” it finally happened”? You knew?”-  

--”Oh, don't worry about that, it's not like he told me. I just knew by looking at him. You know Neuvillette? As old as you are, you are surprisingly very naive.  That boy looked at you like you were his everything, with stars in his eyes. I got a feeling that he also respects you a lot.”- 

I listened to Furina talk with a surprised look on my face. She knew all of that just by looking? I couldn't even comprehend his feelings before he told me himself, but she knew just by seeing how he looked at me. That left me even more perplexed, why does he exactly like me? What does he even like about me? I frowned while reflexing about all of this. This is not helping me much like I was expecting. I sighed as I came to the conclusion that after all, I don't understand this feeling. 

-”I told him I didn't comprehend it. What love is it supposed to feel? Not so long ago I resented humans, not to forget that their lives are short to begin with. I've never experienced feelings like humans describe it. He told me i didn't need to understand, but i can't help but want to understand them…i feel like i need to”- 

Not that I've told him before, but Wriothesley, it's equally important and significant to me as well anybody else I'm close to. I've never thought of looking at him in any other way as my friend. But I want to try everything in my power to understand, because just like I just said, he's important…very dear. 

–” Now, like the real human that I am, as well as the Hydro Archon who knows best, who told you that love it's the same with everyone? If a person it's really important to you, that's already love. The real difference it's whether you feel happy, comfortable, and feel like you never want to leave their side. That's maybe when you know you are in love.”--

I was absorbed by her words. Definitely I could relate to some things she said just now but I still feel the need to figure things out. When me and Wriothesley met, he was just a teenage, vengeful boy. Not that I understood everything at first, but he accepted everything that came his way with his head up. For me that was a very strange behavior from a teenage human. It piqued my interest, to see what the future had for him. It was the first time I expected the time to go fast. For me it was just a few years, they went fast as I wanted them to, and in that time he became the Duke in the Fortress of Meropide. It was truly marvelous how everything turned out alright at the end after all I did to help. When I came to know Wriothesley more, I could see how much he changed his mindset and his view of life. He got to know friends, family, and began to cherish them more and more. Wriothesley made a home out of the Fortress, making opportunities for those who want to keep on living, on trying, and that's something I can relate to. I, Ludex Neuvillette, descendant of the Hydro dragon, was neither human… nor dragon. Humans of that time were extremely prejudicial so I truly didn't have a place to stay, any place I belonged to. That's the reason I resented them in the first place. Humans were afraid about things that were different, abhor the different creatures, and in Fontaine I wasn't the only one who carried that burden and fate. One thing I can be grateful for is that time brings some better things. They started to welcome melusines, which are my family, and they started to feel accepted and comfortable. I made it possible that they had justice and equal rights in Fontaine, but I'm really pleased with the change of attitude of humans. 

–”Neuvillette, are you alright? You have been silent for quite a while”-- Furina snapped me right away to reality, and my eyes locked with hers. My gaze went downwards, wary of the situation. 

–”I'm alright. I needed a moment to think. Your words really reached me, but, how do I seek to see if my feelings are just as his?”- 

–” Well, now that you know his true feelings, it won't be hard to be aware of him. Just, try to be around him and think what are you feeling while you are spending time together”- 

Well I do feel at ease and happy whenever I get to visit. We have the opportunity to talk about so many things and of course, I get to see Sigewinne. They make me feel warm… and I'm truly happy to be around them. All melusines are part of my family, as well Sigewinne and Wriothesley…they are absolutely dear to me, just as I hold them close to my heart. 

–”You are right…Thanks for listening to me, Lady Furina. I'll take on your advice.”--

She smiled slightly at me and took her last sip of her tea before standing up. 

–” You are welcome. I'll let you know that I don't offer my advice service just to anyone, so consider yourself lucky”-- and with a giggle, we smiled softly at each other and she took her leave towards the door –”i'll see you later then. Try to meet up with him ok?”- and with that said, the door opened and she disappeared behind it, leaving only the scent of tea and my head messed up, with all kinds of information, but at least, i'm more at ease. 

[omniscient pov] 

Neuvillette certainly knew he needed to do something quickly. His heart and mind couldn't handle much more, so he wrote a letter. Maybe planning a little date, if you can call it like that, with Wriothesley would be the best option right now. He hesitates slightly as he grabs his pen to write on the paper in front of him. He doesn't plan to be sincere, or at least tell Wriothesley his true feelings on the matter, he just wants to invite him a little dinner outside the Fortress and then go for a walk. He just wants to spend more time with him. Letting go of all the air he had holded back, dared to finally move his pen and write. 

The letter was simple enough, without making it too fancy, he asked him out. He sent a melusine to please give him his letter as fast as she could, and with hopes that Wriothesley was free for him the day he chose. Two days forward today. He knew Wriothesley was a busy man, even though it didn't look like that at first, he takes his job very seriously.  Still, he selected that day because there was a festival on Fontaine and wanted him to have a good time. The only reason that they met today was because they were so busy prepping for this festival that their tea breaks were postponed until everything was finished. With nothing else to do, just to wait for his response, Neuvillette left his office and went straight to his chamber. 

[...] 

Two days passed a little bit too quickly and Neuvillette, who is famous for being so calm, was actually very nervous. Now he was aware of everything and anything, and that made him nervous. What if he does something and Wriothesley hates him for it? He couldn't stop thinking how he wanted things to be perfect. Though he did not express his feelings by his face, his head was kind of a mess. 

The day after he sent the letter, he revived a response the same day, not the way he was expecting. Wriothesley went and passed by his office to tell him yes in person. Apparently he was around attending some things so he took advantage of his little trip. 

-”I'm actually free that day, lucky you. Or me…in this case”- Wriothesley laughed shyly as he put his hand on the back of his neck, embarrassed by his words and continued saying -” I wasn't expecting an invitation so im really happy you did. But well, I need to go…good to see you, and see you tomorrow i guess? haha, near the fountain as always then…”-  

With a little smile and putting his fine lips upon Neuvillette´s hand as a farewell, he took his leave, leaving Neuvillette behind with a feverish face. He cleared his throat and thought he maybe was going crazy, as he felt his heart go fast for a minute there. 

-”Perhaps it's the heat…yeah. I just need a cup of water”- said without thinking, because the weather that day was actually really acceptable. 

Coming to the present day, it was almost time to meet up with Wriothesley in front of the fountain. He really prepared for this day. Neuvillette wanted to go and try a new restaurant which was in the mouth of all of Fontaine, and what a better day than today, and actually he gets to try the restaurant with someone like Wriothesley.  After dinner, they would go to the main event of the festival and take a little walk around, while talking about trivial things. 

Without thinking, Neuvillette was very happy he gets to spend time with Wriothesley like this, since it's very rare for the both of them to go outside and do some stuff that is not work related. 

Minutes passed very fast as he was already waiting on the place they agreed. However he could not reduce his uneasiness. Deep in his thinking, he could not sense the presence behind him. A hand touched his shoulder, and Neuvillette got startled by this act and looked behind him, finding the one person he'd been waiting on. Wriothesley smiled at his reaction and giggled before putting himself in front of Neuvillette to look at him properly. 

–"I didn't know you would get startled by that, my apologies. Also, sorry I'm kinda late, things got a bit busy at the end” –  he apologized bashfully. 

– “Don't fret. I just got here myself. Good to see you again, was work very difficult today as well?” –  as he asked, they started to slowly walk in a random direction. 

– “ Ah, it was nothing. It's just more papers to read. The thing that made me be late was a little problem with some guys in the Fortress. Nothing as serious as it's already resolved. Thanks for asking” – Wriothesley smiled, and somehow it made Neuvillette want to smile as well but he endured it, since it would be weird for him. 

They had some little talks along the way until it finally clicked Wriothesley.

– “ So what did you plan? Did you want to do something for today?” – 

Neuvillette was surprised by the sudden question, he stopped and said. 

– “ oh yes, now that i remember, I wanted to go to the new restaurant with you if you don't mind”–

– Haha! Of course I don't mind, if something, it actually makes me happy. Then, let's go. Can you lead the way, Iudex Neuvillette-?” – Wriothesley jokingly did a reverence and took Neuvillette’s hand. 

Neuvillette now smiled slightly and nodded in response. 

– “Yes, of course” – he added, and led the rest of the way. 

[...]

Silence. The two of them stayed silent in front of the doors of said new restaurant, reading the paper note left on the door. Who would have thought that the owners were on a break because of the festival? That only meant it was closed for the night. Neuvillete bit his lip unconsciously. He wanted everything to be perfect and the night was already giving him problems and not only that, both of them barely had any time to sit back and relax so this was pretty disappointing for Neuvillette, who was expecting to try this with Wriothesley on such a rare free day. 

–” Well, that was unexpected” – Wriothesley finally broke the silence between them and sighed –'' I guess this just means we need to get together like this some other time to try it right? Your face it's telling me you are troubled by it, am I right?” – Neuvillette sighed too and nodded. 

– “ This is all my fault. I needed to make sure they were open this evening. I beg your pardon” – 

Neuvillette bowed his head in a form of apology. 

– “ It wasn't your fault. We could just go to the one we always go to. It's not a problem for me” – 

Wriothesley grabbed Neuvillette’s hand and started to drag him along. Neuvillette was clearly surprised by this act but decided  to not say a thing since he didn't actually mind it, in fact if he dared to say, he did enjoy it. “Maybe this is what Lady Furina meant with the word different”, Neuvillette thought to himself.  

After another bit of a walk, they were already in front of the restaurant. Wriothesley was way too absorbed to notice he was still holding Neuvillette’s hand. 

–” Oh, I'm really sorry. I did this as an impulse, i hope you are not angry” – 

–” Ah, no… it was nothing, really. Dont worry about it. “ – Wriothesley smiled at the response of Neuvillette and opened the door. 

– “ so, let's go then?” – Neuvillette had a little smile drawn on his face, walked forward and went inside. Wriothesley did the same after him. 

The dinner went really smoothly. Both talked about their jobs and respective problems, talked about Sigewinne and the melusines as well, like they always did. Strangely it did not get boring at all. Both enjoyed talking to each other. They felt comfortable with one and another, that's why their tea breaks were so important. Not that Neuvillette was a tea fan but it was at least a water based drink so he didn't have much of a problem with it. 

With the meal finished, Neuvillette decided it was time to do the other part of the plan so they went ahead and left the restaurant to go where the festival was held and talk a little. Neuvillette heard that there it was going to be a vals dance. He didn't want to ask so he hoped Wriothesley would ask first. 

The reason he knows it is that he needed to give permission to the ones organizing the festival to use the outsides of Opera Epiclese to hold the dance planned for the night. Well, not only the dance, the festival as well so they are headed there. 

Everything was nicely decorated when they arrived. Dim lights were scattered around the spotlights as a subtle decoration to make a warm ambience. The decoration has colors like greens, yellows and blues and generally it seemed like a cute festival. It was the perfect way to end a day. It didn't start off smoothly but somehow the afternoon ended up being satisfactory. 

– “ I guess those busy days we spent working on this weren't so bad after all. It paid off really well” – Wriothesley felt relieved looking around because part of the decorations were done by one of his colleagues in the Fortress.  

– “ You are correct. It really looks very remarkable. I also did hear there was supposed to be a dance at dusk. “ – Neuvillette threw the bomb, hoping Wriothesley would ask him to a dance. He was determined to figure out his own feelings by all means so, being close to him enough to feel the heat of his body through his, maybe will be the perfect thing to finally be aware of something.

— “ Oh really?” – as soon as he dared to ask, the music started and people around them began to reunite. – Would you…accept if I asked you to dance this piece with me?” – Wriothesley bowed like a prince and extended his hand for Neuvillette to reach, formally asking to dance. Neuvillette, happy he really did ask him, stood in silence and just grabbed his hand. Wriothesley smiled warmly and held Neuvilette close as he started to move. 

Just barely a minute passed when people started to stare at them and whisper things. There were some people who wouldn't hold back and went to them to greet them and some to ask them stuff. They could not even dance properly or dance without someone interrupting them. They started to quickly surround them and Wriothesley held Neuvillette’s hand and fled the festival. Exhausted and  gasping, both went to higher ground, away from the people to finally be in peace. Neuvillette on the other hand, had an incredibly sad look on his face Wriothesley could not ignore. Neuvillette thought he finally had the ways he wanted them to be, that the night was going finally perfect, but there he was, feeling very pathetic he could not make something right for once. Wriothesley noticed his gloomy look and thug his hand getting his attention. 

–” Hey, none of this it's your fault before you start saying sorry” – Neuvillette looked at him with very sad eyes and averted his gaze away again sighing – “ I can hear the music all the way up here. Want to continue where we left off?” – he accepted again, but still felt a little bit bad that the night didn't go as he expected to. 

–” Tell me… why are you so worried about things today? You can tell me, I don't mind” – 

Wriothesley held Neuvillette close again and while dancing slowly to the music, with fine steps and soft caresses around the waist, Neuvillette responded. 

–” If I must say, the truth is…that I couldn't stop thinking about the thing you told me.” – 

Wriothesley was clearly surprised by this. He didn't expect such a reason since he told Neuvillette not to worry but still, he did worry and thought about it. 

–” Im very aware of what you told me, but I still felt the need to know… that I needed to understand.” – he continued – “ When I requested advice, the best option was to be with you more, since it wouldn't be that much of a problem because I'll be more aware of you and your feelings, but today didn't go as planned… I don't even know why you like me if I'm absolutely honest with you…” – Neuvillette had his face down the entire time. If he was honest, he couldn't bring himself to look him in the face. It was way too embarrassing already blurting out his feelings like that. 

Wriothesley with a lot of emotions going in his head and mind, stopped dancing for a second and his hand landed on Neuvilette’s chin and forced him to look up and lock eyes with his. 

– “ Then I'll gladly tell you…” – Wriothesley smiled as he let go of his chin and continued dancing at the rhythm, under the shiny moonlight. 

– “ You already know plenty of my past, so I wont bring it up again but, you know how i ended up in the Fortress right? As a kid, I thought I really didn't have a future ahead of me. Not many people really helped me when I needed it the most. When I got to know you, how is it a person who's neither human nor dragon, helped me more than those said humans? I respected you so and I still do, but I also learned you enjoy talking to people, you like to help those in need, your sense of justice makes you strong but also very emotional. The more and more I got to know those sides of you, that's the moment I realized I was in love with you. Loving you makes me whole, you know? The way that you formally talk, the way you express yourself, the way you care about who are different, and even though i'm a human, i still want to spend the rest of my short life loving you and staying by your side…i'm not leaving you” – 

Neuvillette had never heard such beautiful words before. How sincere he sounded talking about the things that made Wriothesley, the man right in front of him with such eyes glowing like stars in the vast sky that looked at him in such a lovely way, be so in love with him, and cherish him so. Neuvillette’s heart was about to jump off his chest after hearing such a confession. The hands that were holding his waist suddenly felt more warm, and he felt tingly inside. His soft but musky smell was all around him leaving him completely covered by his smell, warmth and even his words. The moon that shined before them, was leaving subtle moonrays on Wriothesley’s profile making his face look more refined and not leaving a single detail. He was shining in Neuvillettes eyes, truly mesmerizing.  Neuvillette didn't take long to realize his true feelings, and so with those running thoughts, he stopped dancing just to grasp Wriothesley’s face in his warm hands, and in the speed of a second he drew his face closer to his to crash their lips together. 

He left Wriothesley astonished by his actions but it didn't take him long to follow along. He placed his arms around his back and waist and drew Neuvillette closer to him so their bodies could share the heat, not wanting to let go. Neuvillette moved his hands and placed his arms around Wriothesley, holding him around the neck. They spent a good few minutes like that, kissing and hugging until their breaths gave up. Slowly, their faces got apart, not really getting far. Noses touching and their lips red, they looked each other in the eyes. Wriothesley could not help wanting to smile and Neuvillette wanting to run away. What did he just do? 

– “ Can I take that as you accepting my feelings?” – still with his face close, Wriothesley whispered closely to Neuvilette’s lips, and he could not separate his eyes from Wriothesley's lips. In a second, he looked up. 

– “ I guess you can” – Neuvillette smiled like never before and kissed Wriothesley's lips again. They both smiled through the kiss and kept dancing along later. 

Neuvillette was thrilled he could do such a perfect confession. The view of vast green ground, the stars in the sky and such a wonderful full moon, they were the witnesses of their first love demonstration, but surely it won't be the last. 

That night was absolutely perfect for both of them towards the end. Both couldn't stop thinking about it, and that night, they both fell asleep with a smile on their faces…  love you”--  he stood up off his chair and walked towards me and gently grabbed my hand  – “you don't need to respond. Just don't stop coming to see me, Sigewinne misses you, you know?” – he giggled with a rufescent face and continued to look at me so…lovingly. I looked down and took my hand away from his. 

–”I need to return to Palais mermonia, tell Sigewinne I'll gladly come by again. It was…lovely to see you, Wriothesley. Keep the good work… now, if you'll excuse me”-  while i walked away so awkwardly, he just stood there in silence watching me leave his office in the Fortress of Meropide. Couldn't help wanting to run away. 

In my five hundred years I've seen all kinds of things, felt too many things and done some things that until this day I regret and leave a heavy burden in my heart. However I cant understand something so simple as romantic love. As I stepped outside, the sun in the sky shined so brightly, I needed to close my eyes for a second. The sky looked so vast, so blue, with tons of big clouds; I sighed. 

-”It's such a lovely weather”- 

…

As soon as I walked in, people started to exclaim in my direction just to greet me with courtesy. Others looked away intimidated, most likely, and I wasn't capable of stopping thinking about what Wriothesley said regarding me. Do I really give such an unapproachable aura so much? I'll admit I'm a phlegmatic person, but that does not mean I don't enjoy talking to people sometimes. While I was consumed in thoughts, I opened the door just to find the Hydro Archon sitting on the couch while sipping slightly of her tea, while enjoying (of course) a little piece of strawberry tart. Nonchalant by this, I walked towards her and gave Lady Furina my greetings. 

–”Good afternoon, Lady Furina, I don't recall you needing to see me today. Sorry if im delayed”--

–”oh, good afternoon Neuvillette. You didn't forget, I just wanted to pass by, that's all. Sometimes being out there can be rather exhausting, being popular it's such a hassle sometimes”-- she puts her tea cup on the table then takes a bite of her dessert.  –”I assume you were in the fortress. How is that boy Wriothesley?”-- 

-”He's doing alright. More than alright after what happened today I must say, and I hoped you could help me with it. Of course, if it's not too much of a problem"-  I asked shyly as I sat down in front of her. She had a confused look on her face while I said this, but quickly asked. 

-”What happened then? Not many things happen to you but more strange is that you are asking me for help, this is intriguing”- she chuckled while covering the little smile that escaped from her lips with her hand.

 Now I'm starting to doubt myself if I should tell her, but besides Wriothesley, Furina was the only one I could go to. Sadly, the traveler was too busy attending to some situation in Sumeru at the moment. Building up the courage to explain, and not to mention expressing my feelings, my lips parted and closed again as I was thinking of a way to start up the conversation. After a while I decided to finally speak up, asking a question as a start. 

–” Do you know what it is to love romantically?”-- while trying to maintain a serious and nonchalant face, I asked. Ironically, I tried to stay serious but lady Furina didn't hold anything back. While she was sipping on her tea, she almost spat all of it but managed to swallow it, and as a result she choked and started to cough. 

–”W-W-Why are you asking a lady this type of question?!”-- she managed to say while her cough started to ease a bit. –'' I'm surprised, not only that you are asking ME that, it's the type of question, coming from you”-- Furina took another bite of her tart as her face looked feverish, as a result of coughing and embarrassment. –” answering your curious question, do you think while I pretended to be a god all of these years, I had time to fall in love? Sadly I never liked anybody. So I don't know about romance. Now tell me, what bothers you so much, and how it's connected to your visit today at the Fortress.”--

I hesitated, my head had all of these confusing ideas and it was really overwhelming, however I know it won't change anything at least if I speak and have a clearer mindset about it later, therefore after two minutes, I said what really happened. 

–"First of all, I apologize I startled you. Today when I visited, Wriotesley had served me tea and everything was clearly normal. But just for a moment, everything turned serious, and he confessed his romantic feelings for me…”-- everything went quiet as i said that last part. Furina looked surprised, but that was not the reaction I was hoping for from her, compared to what happened before. 

–”So it finally happened huh? and, what did you tell him?”--  and as simple as that she asked not even thinking twice. What does she mean with “it finally happened”? Now I'm equally confused. 

–”If I can importune, what do you mean ” it finally happened”? You knew?”-  

--”Oh, don't worry about that, it's not like he told me. I just knew by looking at him. You know Neuvillette? As old as you are, you are surprisingly very naive.  That boy looked at you like you were his everything, with stars in his eyes. I got a feeling that he also respects you a lot.”- 

I listened to Furina talk with a surprised look on my face. She knew all of that just by looking? I couldn't even comprehend his feelings before he told me himself, but she knew just by seeing how he looked at me. That left me even more perplexed, why does he exactly like me? What does he even like about me? I frowned while reflexing about all of this. This is not helping me much like I was expecting. I sighed as I came to the conclusion that after all, I don't understand this feeling. 

-”I told him I didn't comprehend it. What love is it supposed to feel? Not so long ago I resented humans, not to forget that their lives are short to begin with. I've never experienced feelings like humans describe it. He told me i didn't need to understand, but i can't help but want to understand them…i feel like i need to”- 

Not that I've told him before, but Wriothesley, it's equally important and significant to me as well anybody else I'm close to. I've never thought of looking at him in any other way as my friend. But I want to try everything in my power to understand, because just like I just said, he's important…very dear. 

–” Now, like the real human that I am, as well as the Hydro Archon who knows best, who told you that love it's the same with everyone? If a person it's really important to you, that's already love. The real difference it's whether you feel happy, comfortable, and feel like you never want to leave their side. That's maybe when you know you are in love.”--

I was absorbed by her words. Definitely I could relate to some things she said just now but I still feel the need to figure things out. When me and Wriothesley met, he was just a teenage, vengeful boy. Not that I understood everything at first, but he accepted everything that came his way with his head up. For me that was a very strange behavior from a teenage human. It piqued my interest, to see what the future had for him. It was the first time I expected the time to go fast. For me it was just a few years, they went fast as I wanted them to, and in that time he became the Duke in the Fortress of Meropide. It was truly marvelous how everything turned out alright at the end after all I did to help. When I came to know Wriothesley more, I could see how much he changed his mindset and his view of life. He got to know friends, family, and began to cherish them more and more. Wriothesley made a home out of the Fortress, making opportunities for those who want to keep on living, on trying, and that's something I can relate to. I, Ludex Neuvillette, descendant of the Hydro dragon, was neither human… nor dragon. Humans of that time were extremely prejudicial so I truly didn't have a place to stay, any place I belonged to. That's the reason I resented them in the first place. Humans were afraid about things that were different, abhor the different creatures, and in Fontaine I wasn't the only one who carried that burden and fate. One thing I can be grateful for is that time brings some better things. They started to welcome melusines, which are my family, and they started to feel accepted and comfortable. I made it possible that they had justice and equal rights in Fontaine, but I'm really pleased with the change of attitude of humans. 

–”Neuvillette, are you alright? You have been silent for quite a while”-- Furina snapped me right away to reality, and my eyes locked with hers. My gaze went downwards, wary of the situation. 

–”I'm alright. I needed a moment to think. Your words really reached me, but, how do I seek to see if my feelings are just as his?”- 

–” Well, now that you know his true feelings, it won't be hard to be aware of him. Just, try to be around him and think what are you feeling while you are spending time together”- 

Well I do feel at ease and happy whenever I get to visit. We have the opportunity to talk about so many things and of course, I get to see Sigewinne. They make me feel warm… and I'm truly happy to be around them. All melusines are part of my family, as well Sigewinne and Wriothesley…they are absolutely dear to me, just as I hold them close to my heart. 

–”You are right…Thanks for listening to me, Lady Furina. I'll take on your advice.”--

She smiled slightly at me and took her last sip of her tea before standing up. 

–” You are welcome. I'll let you know that I don't offer my advice service just to anyone, so consider yourself lucky”-- and with a giggle, we smiled softly at each other and she took her leave towards the door –”i'll see you later then. Try to meet up with him ok?”- and with that said, the door opened and she disappeared behind it, leaving only the scent of tea and my head messed up, with all kinds of information, but at least, i'm more at ease. 

[omniscient pov] 

Neuvillette certainly knew he needed to do something quickly. His heart and mind couldn't handle much more, so he wrote a letter. Maybe planning a little date, if you can call it like that, with Wriothesley would be the best option right now. He hesitates slightly as he grabs his pen to write on the paper in front of him. He doesn't plan to be sincere, or at least tell Wriothesley his true feelings on the matter, he just wants to invite him a little dinner outside the Fortress and then go for a walk. He just wants to spend more time with him. Letting go of all the air he had holded back, dared to finally move his pen and write. 

The letter was simple enough, without making it too fancy, he asked him out. He sent a melusine to please give him his letter as fast as she could, and with hopes that Wriothesley was free for him the day he chose. Two days forward today. He knew Wriothesley was a busy man, even though it didn't look like that at first, he takes his job very seriously.  Still, he selected that day because there was a festival on Fontaine and wanted him to have a good time. The only reason that they met today was because they were so busy prepping for this festival that their tea breaks were postponed until everything was finished. With nothing else to do, just to wait for his response, Neuvillette left his office and went straight to his chamber. 

[...] 

Two days passed a little bit too quickly and Neuvillette, who is famous for being so calm, was actually very nervous. Now he was aware of everything and anything, and that made him nervous. What if he does something and Wriothesley hates him for it? He couldn't stop thinking how he wanted things to be perfect. Though he did not express his feelings by his face, his head was kind of a mess. 

The day after he sent the letter, he revived a response the same day, not the way he was expecting. Wriothesley went and passed by his office to tell him yes in person. Apparently he was around attending some things so he took advantage of his little trip. 

-”I'm actually free that day, lucky you. Or me…in this case”- Wriothesley laughed shyly as he put his hand on the back of his neck, embarrassed by his words and continued saying -” I wasn't expecting an invitation so im really happy you did. But well, I need to go…good to see you, and see you tomorrow i guess? haha, near the fountain as always then…”-  

With a little smile and putting his fine lips upon Neuvillette´s hand as a farewell, he took his leave, leaving Neuvillette behind with a feverish face. He cleared his throat and thought he maybe was going crazy, as he felt his heart go fast for a minute there. 

-”Perhaps it's the heat…yeah. I just need a cup of water”- said without thinking, because the weather that day was actually really acceptable. 

Coming to the present day, it was almost time to meet up with Wriothesley in front of the fountain. He really prepared for this day. Neuvillette wanted to go and try a new restaurant which was in the mouth of all of Fontaine, and what a better day than today, and actually he gets to try the restaurant with someone like Wriothesley.  After dinner, they would go to the main event of the festival and take a little walk around, while talking about trivial things. 

Without thinking, Neuvillette was very happy he gets to spend time with Wriothesley like this, since it's very rare for the both of them to go outside and do some stuff that is not work related. 

Minutes passed very fast as he was already waiting on the place they agreed. However he could not reduce his uneasiness. Deep in his thinking, he could not sense the presence behind him. A hand touched his shoulder, and Neuvillette got startled by this act and looked behind him, finding the one person he'd been waiting on. Wriothesley smiled at his reaction and giggled before putting himself in front of Neuvillette to look at him properly. 

–"I didn't know you would get startled by that, my apologies. Also, sorry I'm kinda late, things got a bit busy at the end” –  he apologized bashfully. 

– “Don't fret. I just got here myself. Good to see you again, was work very difficult today as well?” –  as he asked, they started to slowly walk in a random direction. 

– “ Ah, it was nothing. It's just more papers to read. The thing that made me be late was a little problem with some guys in the Fortress. Nothing as serious as it's already resolved. Thanks for asking” – Wriothesley smiled, and somehow it made Neuvillette want to smile as well but he endured it, since it would be weird for him. 

They had some little talks along the way until it finally clicked Wriothesley.

– “ So what did you plan? Did you want to do something for today?” – 

Neuvillette was surprised by the sudden question, he stopped and said. 

– “ oh yes, now that i remember, I wanted to go to the new restaurant with you if you don't mind”–

– Haha! Of course I don't mind, if something, it actually makes me happy. Then, let's go. Can you lead the way, Iudex Neuvillette-?” – Wriothesley jokingly did a reverence and took Neuvillette’s hand. 

Neuvillette now smiled slightly and nodded in response. 

– “Yes, of course” – he added, and led the rest of the way. 

[...]

Silence. The two of them stayed silent in front of the doors of said new restaurant, reading the paper note left on the door. Who would have thought that the owners were on a break because of the festival? That only meant it was closed for the night. Neuvillete bit his lip unconsciously. He wanted everything to be perfect and the night was already giving him problems and not only that, both of them barely had any time to sit back and relax so this was pretty disappointing for Neuvillette, who was expecting to try this with Wriothesley on such a rare free day. 

–” Well, that was unexpected” – Wriothesley finally broke the silence between them and sighed –'' I guess this just means we need to get together like this some other time to try it right? Your face it's telling me you are troubled by it, am I right?” – Neuvillette sighed too and nodded. 

– “ This is all my fault. I needed to make sure they were open this evening. I beg your pardon” – 

Neuvillette bowed his head in a form of apology. 

– “ It wasn't your fault. We could just go to the one we always go to. It's not a problem for me” – 

Wriothesley grabbed Neuvillette’s hand and started to drag him along. Neuvillette was clearly surprised by this act but decided  to not say a thing since he didn't actually mind it, in fact if he dared to say, he did enjoy it. “Maybe this is what Lady Furina meant with the word different”, Neuvillette thought to himself.  

After another bit of a walk, they were already in front of the restaurant. Wriothesley was way too absorbed to notice he was still holding Neuvillette’s hand. 

–” Oh, I'm really sorry. I did this as an impulse, i hope you are not angry” – 

–” Ah, no… it was nothing, really. Dont worry about it. “ – Wriothesley smiled at the response of Neuvillette and opened the door. 

– “ so, let's go then?” – Neuvillette had a little smile drawn on his face, walked forward and went inside. Wriothesley did the same after him. 

The dinner went really smoothly. Both talked about their jobs and respective problems, talked about Sigewinne and the melusines as well, like they always did. Strangely it did not get boring at all. Both enjoyed talking to each other. They felt comfortable with one and another, that's why their tea breaks were so important. Not that Neuvillette was a tea fan but it was at least a water based drink so he didn't have much of a problem with it. 

With the meal finished, Neuvillette decided it was time to do the other part of the plan so they went ahead and left the restaurant to go where the festival was held and talk a little. Neuvillette heard that there it was going to be a vals dance. He didn't want to ask so he hoped Wriothesley would ask first. 

The reason he knows it is that he needed to give permission to the ones organizing the festival to use the outsides of Opera Epiclese to hold the dance planned for the night. Well, not only the dance, the festival as well so they are headed there. 

Everything was nicely decorated when they arrived. Dim lights were scattered around the spotlights as a subtle decoration to make a warm ambience. The decoration has colors like greens, yellows and blues and generally it seemed like a cute festival. It was the perfect way to end a day. It didn't start off smoothly but somehow the afternoon ended up being satisfactory. 

– “ I guess those busy days we spent working on this weren't so bad after all. It paid off really well” – Wriothesley felt relieved looking around because part of the decorations were done by one of his colleagues in the Fortress.  

– “ You are correct. It really looks very remarkable. I also did hear there was supposed to be a dance at dusk. “ – Neuvillette threw the bomb, hoping Wriothesley would ask him to a dance. He was determined to figure out his own feelings by all means so, being close to him enough to feel the heat of his body through his, maybe will be the perfect thing to finally be aware of something.

— “ Oh really?” – as soon as he dared to ask, the music started and people around them began to reunite. – Would you…accept if I asked you to dance this piece with me?” – Wriothesley bowed like a prince and extended his hand for Neuvillette to reach, formally asking to dance. Neuvillette, happy he really did ask him, stood in silence and just grabbed his hand. Wriothesley smiled warmly and held Neuvilette close as he started to move. 

Just barely a minute passed when people started to stare at them and whisper things. There were some people who wouldn't hold back and went to them to greet them and some to ask them stuff. They could not even dance properly or dance without someone interrupting them. They started to quickly surround them and Wriothesley held Neuvillette’s hand and fled the festival. Exhausted and  gasping, both went to higher ground, away from the people to finally be in peace. Neuvillette on the other hand, had an incredibly sad look on his face Wriothesley could not ignore. Neuvillette thought he finally had the ways he wanted them to be, that the night was going finally perfect, but there he was, feeling very pathetic he could not make something right for once. Wriothesley noticed his gloomy look and thug his hand getting his attention. 

–” Hey, none of this it's your fault before you start saying sorry” – Neuvillette looked at him with very sad eyes and averted his gaze away again sighing – “ I can hear the music all the way up here. Want to continue where we left off?” – he accepted again, but still felt a little bit bad that the night didn't go as he expected to. 

–” Tell me… why are you so worried about things today? You can tell me, I don't mind” – 

Wriothesley held Neuvillette close again and while dancing slowly to the music, with fine steps and soft caresses around the waist, Neuvillette responded. 

–” If I must say, the truth is…that I couldn't stop thinking about the thing you told me.” – 

Wriothesley was clearly surprised by this. He didn't expect such a reason since he told Neuvillette not to worry but still, he did worry and thought about it. 

–” Im very aware of what you told me, but I still felt the need to know… that I needed to understand.” – he continued – “ When I requested advice, the best option was to be with you more, since it wouldn't be that much of a problem because I'll be more aware of you and your feelings, but today didn't go as planned… I don't even know why you like me if I'm absolutely honest with you…” – Neuvillette had his face down the entire time. If he was honest, he couldn't bring himself to look him in the face. It was way too embarrassing already blurting out his feelings like that. 

Wriothesley with a lot of emotions going in his head and mind, stopped dancing for a second and his hand landed on Neuvilette’s chin and forced him to look up and lock eyes with his. 

– “ Then I'll gladly tell you…” – Wriothesley smiled as he let go of his chin and continued dancing at the rhythm, under the shiny moonlight. 

– “ You already know plenty of my past, so I wont bring it up again but, you know how i ended up in the Fortress right? As a kid, I thought I really didn't have a future ahead of me. Not many people really helped me when I needed it the most. When I got to know you, how is it a person who's neither human nor dragon, helped me more than those said humans? I respected you so and I still do, but I also learned you enjoy talking to people, you like to help those in need, your sense of justice makes you strong but also very emotional. The more and more I got to know those sides of you, that's the moment I realized I was in love with you. Loving you makes me whole, you know? The way that you formally talk, the way you express yourself, the way you care about who are different, and even though i'm a human, i still want to spend the rest of my short life loving you and staying by your side…i'm not leaving you” – 

Neuvillette had never heard such beautiful words before. How sincere he sounded talking about the things that made Wriothesley, the man right in front of him with such eyes glowing like stars in the vast sky that looked at him in such a lovely way, be so in love with him, and cherish him so. Neuvillette’s heart was about to jump off his chest after hearing such a confession. The hands that were holding his waist suddenly felt more warm, and he felt tingly inside. His soft but musky smell was all around him leaving him completely covered by his smell, warmth and even his words. The moon that shined before them, was leaving subtle moonrays on Wriothesley’s profile making his face look more refined and not leaving a single detail. He was shining in Neuvillettes eyes, truly mesmerizing.  Neuvillette didn't take long to realize his true feelings, and so with those running thoughts, he stopped dancing just to grasp Wriothesley’s face in his warm hands, and in the speed of a second he drew his face closer to his to crash their lips together. 

He left Wriothesley astonished by his actions but it didn't take him long to follow along. He placed his arms around his back and waist and drew Neuvillette closer to him so their bodies could share the heat, not wanting to let go. Neuvillette moved his hands and placed his arms around Wriothesley, holding him around the neck. They spent a good few minutes like that, kissing and hugging until their breaths gave up. Slowly, their faces got apart, not really getting far. Noses touching and their lips red, they looked each other in the eyes. Wriothesley could not help wanting to smile and Neuvillette wanting to run away. What did he just do? 

– “ Can I take that as you accepting my feelings?” – still with his face close, Wriothesley whispered closely to Neuvilette’s lips, and he could not separate his eyes from Wriothesley's lips. In a second, he looked up. 

– “ I guess you can” – Neuvillette smiled like never before and kissed Wriothesley's lips again. They both smiled through the kiss and kept dancing along later. 

Neuvillette was thrilled he could do such a perfect confession. The view of vast green ground, the stars in the sky and such a wonderful full moon, they were the witnesses of their first love demonstration, but surely it won't be the last. 

That night was absolutely perfect for both of them towards the end. Both couldn't stop thinking about it, and that night, they both fell asleep with a smile on their faces…