Word Count: 1,516
Summary: “She followed whatever direction the wind blew the snow as it rained down in a glittering display, almost like delicate flecks of stardust.”
Author’s Note: Another winter themed fic to celebrate the last month of the year, this one featuring my other Genshin husband! Well, technically I have 3, but one of them belongs to a clone of my self insert and the story starts to get a little convoluted...but not in this fic! Instead, I decided to write up a little reaction for this duo to the first snow of the season, with a little reference to Nova’s cabaret work and how she tends to spend her days alongside her loves before she heads to her club in the evenings.
While they both work in the respective capitals of their nations, the trio all resides in a custom Adeptal abode together that has teleportation connections to various points of interest they need to visit, such as the court, the harbor, and even their new shared home village in Qiaoying. I just wanted to give a little trivia because I think it’s neat, but none of that really has anything to do with the fic, which was just an excuse for Nova to flirt with Neuvillette and vice versa because I love them lol. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!
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Soft beams of moonlight streamed in through the elegant bronze and sea-colored windows that decorated the walls of the esteemed Iudex’s office. Their plush drapes were drawn back by thick gilded cords to usher in a complementary glow to the gently flickering candles and buzzing electric lights that dotted the interior of the building itself. It was a symphony the official had grown somewhat fond of, or perhaps merely accustomed to, although the pleasantly rhythmic ticking of the grand clock that stood proudly among his many shelves pulled the performance of his various office fixtures together splendidly.
If one had been paying attention, they may have taken notice of the subtle way in which the light from beyond the panes that guarded the office from the encroaching chill outside was slowly snuffed out by a rolling band of white that threatened to bring a different kind of nighttime spectacle to the skies above the unique sea themed nation.
Neuvillette’s sharp gaze was focused intently on the crowded desk before him as he sorted through the documents, ledgers, and assorted paperwork piled up all around him in organized stacks, as was customary for the day to day routine of the experienced Fontainian bureaucrat. When he wasn’t reviewing case files, signing paperwork, and managing the business taking place within the esteemed halls of the Palais Mermonia, he could be found presiding over trials and observing various shows at the Opera Epiclese. It was a busy schedule to be sure, especially now that the illustrious Archon he’d once relied on had embraced a very different kind of role and life. But despite her distance and preoccupation with reinventing herself, his various duties weren’t a burden the Iudex always had to tackle alone. This evening presented a fine example as his patient partner paced around his office in idle amusement, biding her time as her husband finished up sorting and signing the most urgent of the files he’d processed over the course of the afternoon.
It was a bit daunting to think that there were more documents introduced and cataloged and authorized each day, alongside the harrowing reality that there were practically always more left over than he started with, no matter how much overtime the dutiful Iudex worked. The nature of such a critical and demanding job was that it was simply never done. He ran a gloved hand over his forehead and through his styled bangs, absently adjusting the vibrant blue and gold clip that held said styled portion of his flowing white hair in place. Situated just over one of his subtly pointed ears, Neuvillette truly appreciated the times when he could wear his less common, more draconic traits on full display now that both he and those nearest and dearest to him understood the full nature of his role and existence in this land. It was a vulnerability he preferred to indulge within the comfort and privacy of the expansive Adeptal estate he enjoyed with his newly established family.
It was the very place he’d be meeting with them after they all finished up their duties for the day, if he ever managed to drag himself away from the endless cycle of civil and judicial management he seemed to find himself repeatedly and helplessly trapped in.
“I have a surprise for you,” a delicate voice caressed the back of the distracted man’s ear, the weight that belonged to its owner sliding over his shoulder just as he’d finished a signature, drawing him promptly away from his dizzying spiral. His unprepared heart skipped a beat or two as he attempted to turn in his desk chair and face her. Instead, she adjusted her position and gripped the ruffled cuffs of his well tailored sleeves, keeping him pinned against the chair arms as her lips brushed the edges of his skin that only grew rosier with every word and breath that slipped through them. “If you think you can pull yourself away from all this paperwork for a moment or two...or maybe more. I think you’ll be decently impressed with what I have to show you.”
Neuvillette swallowed, the heat that seared his pointed ears and swirling head bleeding down into his cheeks and neck, making his veins tingle and his muscles tense as her teasing burned through him. Nova wasn’t usually so straightforward when it came to things of this nature, but it wasn’t as if this was the first or only time she’d ever surprised him in such a manner, either. Knuckles white under the disguising fabric of his deep blue gloves as his trembling grip threatened to snap the chair beneath him to splinters, the unsettled man steeled his nerves to the best of his ability and followed the guiding touch and murmur of the woman who’d been waiting so patiently, too patiently, for him to find a suitable stopping point for today’s shift.
Even more to the Iudex’s surprise, however, was that the interruption really hadn’t been an idea of the whimsical feline’s own design. On the contrary, as soon as he turned to observe Nova’s offering it became abundantly clear that she was just as awed and caught off guard by the display she’d discovered as he was. Their shared wonder was an unexpected result of the shower of fluffy flakes that descended from the heavens like tiny puffs of cloud, and perhaps not all that far off in their similarities. The first snow of the season had arrived to dominate the scenery of the Court of Fontaine and its self-contained streets that curled in on one another like swirling currents, presenting a pristine backdrop for the crystalline invasion to take hold as it began to encase the capital’s various structures in a snowy wonderland, as fleeting as the appearance of such weather proved to be year after year.
“It’s snowing!” Nova exclaimed, furry ears flicking in delight as she gestured towards the wintry scene putting on a show with flakes that danced across the windowsills and tapped a melody against the glass. It was a bit tricky to balance with her tail likewise flailing in excitement as she bounced on the tips of her toes between the fine floor tiles and the blue patterned carpet that ran through the very center of the room. She followed whatever direction the wind blew the snow as it rained down in a glittering display, almost like delicate flecks of stardust. “C’mon, grab your coat so we can get going! I want to get to the cabaret before the front gets snowed in. I have to open soon, anyway. And we promised to meet Zhongli there for dinner, remember? We both know you don’t want to be late.”
Even as she rambled on the exuberant feline helped her partner prepare for their departure by grabbing his coat and scarf and assorted other accessories as she went. They were stowed away in their proper places as per usual, and she went through the same routine they often shared of gathering all the essentials and helping catch the blind spots for one another. She had a tendency to be forgetful, and her loves had a proclivity for being somewhat overbearing, so they met somewhere in the middle by keeping track of the essentials for each other. It was a partnership they’d all come to rely on in their own ways, and that they all knew they were sure to never run out of gratitude for, just by the very nature of how lucky they were to have ended up crossing paths in the first place.
“Alright, alright, I suppose the rest can wait until tomorrow,” Neuvillette acquiesced as he finally rose from his seat, adjusting the various accessories she’d collected for him and ever so kindly bestowed upon his person as he did so. The state of his desk had also been somewhat cleaned off in the meantime, with the most urgent items set aside to be dealt with when he arrived first thing in the morning. “We wouldn’t want to have to call someone to dig out the entrance again, now would we?”
“I don’t even want to think about it,” his wife remarked with a tired sigh as she slipped an arm through his, her tail naturally coiling around one of his legs as they made their way towards the building’s exit. Before they made it to the office door, she made sure to pause and pull the man back, stealing a short but sweet and direct kiss from him that only made him erupt in another swell of suffocating blush. “Let’s just focus on enjoying the scenery on the way. Maybe we can even stop at the cafe and grab a tea or something before we head in.”
“As long as it’s with you, I don’t care what we do,” he responded with an earnest smile, stealing another kiss in retaliation that left her more breathless than she expected before he resumed leading her through the remainder of the Palais Mermonia’s grand corridors. “Though you’re right, I’d prefer not to be late for our engagement.”
IT'S BEEN FOREVER, BUT, IT'S TIME FOR A TAKEOVER!!
"Hi everyone! Thanks to a job that called her away, Nevermore kinda had to leave this place alllll open, so I asked, and she let me take over things for her while she's gone! I'm excited to see what you guys have for me, even if like, she did warn me about stuff but, pfff, totally got this under control!"
