Egg: Domestic Days
Summary: Modern AU. Just your normal average every day domestic life with the two husbands and their adoptive daughter. Only, not so very normal, but so very adorable in the end.
Warnings: Mention of violence, death, and emergency medical situations.
“Hm?” hummed Neuvillette, as he looked over to his ringing phone at the opposite end of his office desk. His workday still had a few more hours to go, and it was rather odd to be getting a call this late in the day, or at all. Typically, the only calls he would get was during his lunchbreak, or after he had locked up his office and left for the night to return home. Both calls, of course, being Wriothesley to check in on him. The man was rather independent and stoic on the outside to others, but when it came to Neuvillette, he was extra diligent in making sure that he was properly taken care of, and everything was running smoothly. Neuvillette bore a frown as his mind started to race about what could be happening for Wriothesley to be calling him outside of his normal time. This made him think back to the fresh scare they just went through not too long ago now.
The two of them had recently gotten married and had returned from their overseas honeymoon. Relaxed, rejuvenated and more in love than ever before, they had both come back to homelife more ready than ever. Their adoptive daughter, Sigewinne, was delighted upon their return, having stayed with their close family friend, Navia and her girlfriend, Clorinde while they were away. Luckily, the two women somehow survived her hyperactive antics by giving her copious number of stickers and a sticker book for her to strategically and artistically position them in. For a five-year-old, she was very active and full of life, more so, they felt, than other children. She also took to watching odd medical videos here and there, which, they made sure to keep the extra gory ones out of her view, but still had her watch the simpler ones to quench her curiosity. Wriothesley’s sister had passed away a year or two prior, the dad not being in the picture. Having been close to Sigewinne since birth, they immediately began the adoption process, having just processed the last few bits of paperwork within the past couple of weeks, making it officially legal that she was now their daughter. Though she felt immense grief for the loss of her mother, she seemed to be rather attached to the two men, and they wouldn’t have it any other way for now, until she needed to develop more independence.
However, it appeared that bad luck seemed to strike their little family again, as the worst event of their shared lives together had occurred. That night was horrible, and one that Neuvillette wanted to forget. He had noticed that his husband was late getting back home one night, it was odd, given that Neuvillette had rather late hours some nights, depending on the court cases that he was presiding over. Normally, Wriothesley would be in the shower and in bed, having taken care of Sigewinne and put her to sleep as well, and there would be a dinner waiting for him on the counter, or some form of their favorite take out meal. However, that night he was only greeted by Sigewinne, who was red in the face from crying saying that Wriothesley had rushed out of the door hours ago, accidentally left his cellphone, and told her to stay put and that he would be back soon. It had been hours since then, and his phone was dead, the charger probably being left in his car so there was no way for the phone to stay on. The man had a chronic habit of always leaving his phone uncharged and seemingly at 10% battery life constantly, how Neuvillette wondered, he managed that, he had no clue. It drove him nuts, especially that night.
Almost as soon as Sigewinne had latched herself onto Neuvillette’s leg and started crying, his phone started ringing. Startled, he dropped his laptop bag, dug out his phone while petting her head and holding her tight against him, to try to calm her down. He was very familiar with the phone number that appeared on the screen. Chevreuse, the police captain, never called unless it was an emergency. Neuvillette’s heart dropped, he knew that no good news was going to come out of this conversation. He hesitated for a slight second, before he pressed for information in the most serious tone that he could muster. Chevreuse cut immediately to the chase.
She explained that as Wriothesley had started to investigate a recent crime scene that they needed his assistance with, as the suspect seemed armed and dangerous and possibly still in the area and he was the one to handle situations such as this. As luck, or the lack thereof had it, it seemed like the perpetrator came back to site and had shot the man through his leg and arm as he was sifting through for evidence. Turned out that the criminal had a rather hateful tone towards any symbol of justice, and Wriothesley had happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. As Chevreuse continued, Neuvillette learned that his husband had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and had been rushed to the nearby hospital for emergency surgery. Neuvillette wasted no time, turning off the call and making sure to drop off Sigewinne with Navia and Clorinde again, thanking them for being able to accommodate her on such short notice, and immediately making his way to the hospital.
Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days. Neuvillette, with his given reputation, was ushered into a private waiting room area that was outside the surgery room. He right leg bounced up and down in nervous anticipation, his mouth ran dry, and there was a light coating of sweat upon his skin. His heart felt like it was going to rip itself out of his chest at any moment. He had never felt such a fear in his entire life, and he surely hoped that he would never feel something like that again. After what felt like an eternity, a doctor, dressed in full surgical garb, came out, sitting down next to him. He explained that the damage was extensive, but the surgery was a success. With time, and physical therapy, Wriothesley would be able to function normally again, but any strenuous activity might prove to be a challenge, such as chasing down a suspect or fighting his way out of a situation. Neuvillette didn’t care, they’d work through all of that. He was just happy that his husband was alive, that he would pull through.
After a week of recovering in the hospital, Wriothesley was allowed to go back home. Neuvillette couldn’t have been happier, and Sigewinne had missed him so much, that she had drawn at least sixteen different pictures of them all living together again, and a big giant letter written, poorly but adorably, of how much she loved him and hoped that he got better soon (not counting the ones that she already made for him and gave him while he was recovering in the hospital). Wriothesley couldn’t have been happier, especially when he was able to lay down in his own bed, huffing in the familiar scent of himself and Neuvillette, he was finally truly home. Neuvillette couldn’t have been happier either, but one thing did worry him in the back of his mind. How exactly would Wriothesley handle his job now? The physical demands might outweigh what his recovering body could handle.
It took a few nights of discussing, and to Neuvillette’s shock, it was Wriothesley’s idea to put in his resignation and quit his position. His main reasoning being that Sigewinne had already lost her mother, his sister, and with her having been a single mom, they were the only two parental figures that she had left. They couldn’t risk their lives when they had one to raise. Plus, Wriothesley could see the worry and stress that Neuvillette was exerting the whole time. The man could fool the average person, but Wriothesley could see right through him like he was the clearest window. He never wanted to cause his lover that much pain and anguish again. Besides, he had a real soft spot for kids. He didn’t want to admit it, but maybe home life was more his style now anyway. They discussed it more and agreed that Wriothesley would take care of the home matters, and would get a job when he was ready, if he felt like he was ready to return to the workforce. Being a judge, Neuvillette brought in enough funds where they wouldn’t have to worry for money, so it worked out in the end.
Now, you can see why sudden phone calls made outside of the normal timeframes made Neuvillette nervous. He carefully picked up his phone, seeing that it was Wriothesley calling. He swiftly hit the accept button.
“Wriothesley? Is everything alright?” Neuvillette tried to remain poised, but he knew Wriothesley would be able to hear the hint of worry and panic in his voice.
“What? Oh, yeah, everything’s fine! I just got a call from the school earlier, looks like Sigewinne came down with a fever after lunch and went to the nurse’s office.” Wriothesley had barely finished his sentence before he heard Neuvillette gathering his things in the background. If Wriothesley had a soft spot for Sigewinne, Neuvillette was the dad of all dad figures of protectiveness of her. She had him wrapped around her little finger, completely.
“Hey! Hey! Stop it! Listen to me, you seadragon!” Wriothesley yelled out, a ‘cute’ little nickname that he had given Neuvillette ever for one afternoon he sat his then fiancé down, discussing in depth about how he loved leafy seadragons and how unique they were. Wriothesley could hear the rustling cease and started to continue.
“Listen, I already picked her up and we’re back home. She’s resting now, and I’m about to make her some soup and turn on her heated blanket on the living room couch. I knew you’d drop everything to take care of it, and I beat ya to it. Take your time getting home, no rush, okay? Just focus on finishing up the workday, and we’ll both be waiting home for you, sound good? I’ll get dinner cooking once I know she’s passed out and resting.” Wriothesley said, in a calming tone.
This did ease Neuvillette’s nerves. “Alright, are you sure? Do you need me to pick up anything on the way? Does she need any more blankets?”
“God no! You buy her every blanket she sparkles her little eyes at, we got enough! Just shut up, get your shit done and come home already!” Wriothesley growled out, clearly a little irritated, but also in an adoring manner.
“Wriothesley! Language!” scolded Neuvillette, though you could hear the playful smile through his tone quite easily.
“Eh, she’s fine, she’s in her room changing into her pjs now. Anyways, see you in a bit, love you!” the man teased as the line went dead.
Neuvillette rushed back over to his desk, turning his laptop back on and sifted through files and paperwork like never before.
•
•
•
Not even an hour later, Neuvillette arrived home. Sure, he brought some of his work home with him, but he didn’t want to spare a single moment, wanting to make sure that their little girl was okay and not needing anything else. The second that he opened the front door of their home, he looked at the immediate living room, and he had to take a moment to pause. The scene before him was one that he would etch into his memory forever, his heart swelling in pure adoration and love.
Wriothesley and Sigewinne were both laying on the floor in front of the entertainment center, completely passed out. Looks like Wriothesley had gathered enough of her silly little decorated blankets to create a decent sized makeshift bed, and they were passed out asleep in it, almost completely enshrouded with even more blankets. Wriothesley was covered in stickers that Neuvillette was sure she had placed on him while he was asleep, and she was all snuggled up with to him, her face a little flushed, but otherwise fine. He eyed some medicine that was on the living room table, it must’ve made her pass out just as fast as his husband had.
Neuvillette quietly walked over and got down onto his knees, using the back of his hand to check Sigewinne’s forehead, satisfied when he felt that the fever wasn’t too high, just high enough to make him want to keep a close eye on her, though. He then turned his attention to his husband, who was lightly snoring, a shark sticker stuck on his forehead. He silently reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone, making sure that it was on silence mode, and took a picture. He was going to put that as his background, curious to see how long it would take Wriothesley to notice later. He lowered his head, giving his lover a soft kiss on the forehead, and then one lightly on his lips. He was shocked to feel Wriothesley, softly, kiss him back, and then turned to his side, still asleep. God, he loved this man more than anything in the world, and he was going to give him and their little girl every bit of the world they ever wanted, because they deserved it.
Well, a little late to start dinner now, he supposed. He swiped open his phone and began ordering their favorite take out meal, plus some extra soup and bread on the side. He would provide and take care of his family, as silly as they may be.
