#idk if it's appropriate to call it minimal fluff

[xiaoriae]

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.

pairing. neuvillette & wriothesley x gn!reader (separate) ★ genre. established relationship au & fluff. ★ wc. 1.2k

synopsis. calling out the fontaine men by their pet names!

contents. pet names (reader's: dear, darling, etc.), lovestruck neuvillette :( , may contain an inaccurate description of the melusine's tail bcs i'm dumb, a really minimal spoiler from the 4.0 archon quest (regarding hydro dragon and rain) in neuvillette's, mention of sedene (the melusine outside neuvie's office), neuvillette just wants his kith >:( , wriothesley might be ooc bcs we all love him despite not knowing him yet, mentions of sigewinne in wrio's, made-up [1] fontaine law and background setting, and an assumption of sigewinne is the one who often treats wrio's injuries(?).

a/n. first, idk who to pull for; either neuvi or wrio bcs i alr have hydro and cryo dps :cries: but srsly, the v4.1 trailer has me on my knees for these two men (in a respectful manner of course).

support banner and animated line dividers by @/cafekitsune on tumblr.

ִ ࣪𖤐 𝐍𝐄𝐔𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄

neuvillete would never admit it out loud.

how you left him in awe every time he heard you calling out for his attention—monsieur neuvillette in a formal setting, but instead referring him as neuvie when in private.

something about it had always made neuvillette's chest just a little bit tightened at the way the name rolled off your tongue oh-so-eloquently, and he often found himself staring at your lips a second longer than what everyone would consider as appropriate.

oh, how he would love to peck your lips, feeling them against his, even for a brief moment.

it was an embarrassing thought sitting at the little corner of his mind. he was ashamed at how easily you had him on your mercy.

"neuvie," your voice came out a tad bit softer after seeing him spacing out—in which was totally not a norm to see him staring far ahead and at you, though not until recently.

"are you alright, love?"

he swore he felt his heart dropped. it was a double kill to him, who recently figured out that he loved you more than he initially thought he would. how endearing of you to call him with such names, it was cute. a perfect adjective to describe you.

"nothing, dear," his voice resonated through the room, and you realised how he looked at the perfect weather illuminating his office through the window.

you looked at him back, skeptical as to why the corner of his mouth seemed to form a fine curve, but you shrugged the feeling as soon as it came. maybe he was happy, considering the sunny and chilly weather outside.

and his feeling mattered to you the most.

"monsieur neuvillette," you called him out again.

this time, neuvillette could barely hide the frown that was about to form on his face. why did you call him that? why the sudden change of attitude? he was confused. especially when he felt the soft touches on his hair.

you were patting his head, occasionally fixing his hair as neuvillette slightly leaned in to feel the warmth only you could exude.

"it is about time for today's trial, chief justice. lady furina must have been waiting for you at the opera house," you gently reminded him, feeling the way his shoulders tensed.

oh—how stupid of him, he thought. he finally understood why you called him by his title, there was sedene all along at the door.

the melusine looked at both of you in amusement, he could tell by the way her tail was wagging.

"another minute, dear?" his voice was low enough, seemingly to avoid the melusine's attention as he sighed.

you beamed a small smile at him, making neuvillette felt ten times heavier to let go of you and go to the court. "no, neuvie," you rubbed soft circles at the back of his hand, and neuvillette fought the urge to intertwine his finger with yours.

he fought the urge to kiss you on your lips—his name sounded so precious coming out from you. it actually pained his heart at how irreplaceable you were in his life. 

"after the court session is over, we can cuddle all we want, yeah?" you pecked his cheek, and neuvillette thought he could die happily if this was the treatment he would get—a reward worth billions of mora if this was what you gave him from cherishing and loving you.

and he would love to hear and love you forever.

ִ ࣪𖤐 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐘

inside the fortress of meropide, the only person that could make wriothesley's burdens felt lighter was you, and only you. to see that you enjoyed your time being here—although the fortress was everything except fun and colours—and sometimes helped sigewinne with her infirmary stuff, he felt a part of him was proud at how kind and brave you were. 

wriothesley loved looking at you teasing and babying sigewinne. it was another trait that made him clicked with you so well—despite his profession and the countless dangers he might have brought along.

he remembered the first time you insisted to tag along with him to the infamous underwater prison. no one could enter and exit the fortress whenever they wanted, and you managed to prove him wrong. now that your reputation was well-known within the area, it seemed that the law on permitting outsiders to get into the fortress with thorough screening process didn't really seem to be applicable to you.

every garde recognised you. every staff and people and melusine alike—all had acknowledged you in their work space.

so when you introduced yourself as wriothesley's other half, it was understandable that your name made it in the headlines and became the monthly issue from the steambird.

'after all, the duke doesn't really seem to be the lover type, isn't he?'

"hi, handsome," you waved at wriothesley, who seemed to just finish with an interrogation session with one of the criminals. a stack of papers was in his grip.

his eyes widened at the way you called him with that word which often failed to not make his heart thumped against his chest.

"good evening, darling," he scoffed when he felt the way his voice almost cracked. the random terms of endearment you threw at him had always made his actions cut short and his words to be stuck in his throat. "what are you doing here? did i not say to go back home at 5? it is late."

"mhm," you hummed.

pointing at the clipboard in your right hand which wriothesley had realised was there all along, you explained yourself. "was running an errand for sigewinne. the poor nurse had some troubles so i lent a hand or two," you said while tapping wriothesley's shoulder thrice, feeling proud of yourself for contributing a cent around the fortress.

you then involuntarily fixed his tie, still giving him the proud smile you often wore.

wriothesley sent you a soft smile at that, contradicting the multitude of scars littered across his body.

of course his favourite person was the one who was kind enough to help sigewinne—it was as if you silently repaid sigewinne's past deeds of treating his injuries. how could anyone would not love you for that, he thought.

your heart swelled at the sight. your partner was quite soft at heart when he smiled, despite the roughness he portrayed.

you were staring at his face with those sparkles he never knew could exist in one's eyes. it was too much, but wriothesley thought he would just mentally appreciate the pure loving look you gave him.

"this will do. now my man looks dashing as always."

it took him exactly three seconds to understand what you meant. you were fixing his appearance, and he felt his face became a little bit warmer. my man, he unconsciously repeated the words in his mind.

if sigewinne saw the two of you being so lovey dovey in public—well, maybe both of you were done for.

"the gesture is very much appreciated, darling," he chuckled.

"you are very welcome, sir," you replied, mimicking the small chuckles he sent towards you.

"since both of us have already worked overtime, let us grab a bite?" you swung your arm around his, interlocking with the arm that often held you with such gentleness.

"alright," wriothesley gave in to your suggestion, long forgotten where he should be heading before crossing his path with you. "let us go on a date."

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[softhaos]

FATE TRANSCENDS TIME

pairing – kim jongin x reader

genre – angst, very minimal fluff, soulmate au

description – set in a world where everyone is born with a running timer tattooed on their wrist that stops ticking once you’ve found your soulmate. it’s possible to reset the timer regardless whether you’ve found your soulmate yet or not. resetting your timer will result in death but will give you the chance to find your soulmate in a different life. you’re considering resetting your clock even if it means giving up jongin in this lifetime.

warning – none

word count – 1.6k

author’s note – did i get inspired by the wonderful dating news for this story yes i did and you can say what you want but there’s no denying that they’re a powerful couple anyway i like reducing myself to a crippling mess, am trying hard to get into writing satisfactory angst and i think i managed to achieve both of them (i lied, it’s questionable tbh) nonetheless i hope you’ll enjoy reading uwu

The stars blazing through the night sky pale in comparison to him. It’s way too cold to be standing outside at this ungodly hour yet here you are with scarves wrapped around your necks and covering your ears and hands shivering due to the frost.

The stars blazing through the night sky illuminate his handsome face and even with his brows furrowed in confusion, he looks beautiful. He stares at you in disbelief, lips slightly parted as he tries to understand your true intentions.

The stars blazing through the night sky bring the best and the worst out of him. He looks beautiful, but that doesn’t hide the bags under his eyes nor the acne scars on his bare skin. Your heart and resolve crumble little by little when he says with a cracked voice and crooked smile, “You’re joking, aren’t you?”

You wordlessly stare at him, hoping that he’d get the hint. When he realizes that he won’t get a verbal response anytime soon, he inhales deeply and runs his fingers through his jet black hair as he tries to process the situation at hand.

“No. No, y-you’re joking, definitely.” his voice is barely audible but you catch each and every syllable. He stares to the ground, more murmurs of irritation and denial slipping past his lips. The sudden urge to lift his chin up lingers in your mind, but before you can act without thinking, his head shoots up.

“Tell me you were just joking about resetting your timer,” he begs and that’s when the last remnants of your heart shatter completely.

“I’m sorry,” you say as you muster up a faint smile.

Jongin fixates his eyes on you longer, trying to comprehend your thought process. “Is it because our relationship has been made public? Is the backlash troubling you? Have people been bothering you–”

“It’s not that! I just–” you take a moment to recollect your thoughts and stabilize your voice, “– the entire fiasco is a lot to take in. I’m not sure if I could ever adapt.”

Though it’s been one month since the public announcement of Jongin dating you for a good year – of Jongin having found his soulmate a year ago – your life has taken a complete 180° turn: You suddenly have a bodyguard, can’t go out of the house unaccompanied and have to be careful about which words you throw out. Neither you nor Jongin expected the massive support from the public, yet the constant attention you garner from the media is something you could never get used to.

“Adapt to what exactly?” Jongin asks.

You shift your weight from one leg to the other. “Everything. Look, it’s already been hard going on dates before we came out clean. It’s just that– I mean– as much as I want to stay, I can’t keep up with this lifestyle until I die. I just– I can’t live like this!” the words leave your mouth faster than your brain can process while Jongin is taken aback judging by his wide eyes at your sudden confession.

As soon as the realization dawns on you, your legs give up on you. But Jongin is fast and he pulls you into his embrace before you can slump to the ground. Although his arms wrapped around you still feel like the comfort you needed the most, not even his hands threaded in your hair or his signature scent that you associate with his warmth can stop your ugly sobs.

“I want to stay, but I can’t,” you cry as the first tears flow down your cheeks. Jongin’s scarf muffles your sounds and you cling onto his jacket while he remains silent and continues with his gestures.

There’s something oddly domestic about the position you're in despite the given situation. A fracture of this reminds you of the time you spent together when nobody even knew you existed in his life. Yet at the same time, it's terrifying. The way he comforts you despite your ulterior motive seems as if he’s picking up the pieces and patching your heart back together but simultaneously crushing the already small shards into nothingness.

Once you’ve calmed down and the tears no longer fall from your face, Jongin says softly, “If you need to reset it, do it.”

Those words are the last words you expected him to say.

“Are you serious?” you look up at him, sniffling once.

“Hey, you were the one who brought it up in the first place, don’t ask me,” he chuckles lightheartedly and caresses your cheek. He pauses, takes a good look at your puffy face and smiles weakly when you stare right back at him.

“If you really feel like you–” he hesitates, but swallows the lump in his throat as he cups your cheek with a trembling hand,“–if you really feel like this isn’t the time where we’re supposed to be together, then reset it.” His voice is a little bit rough at the edges, barely stable, but he manages.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine right now?” you ask, causing him to flash you yet another, perhaps brighter and more convincing smile.

“I’m a big boy, Y/N. Sure, I’ll miss you, but I can handle it. My timer won’t be affected so at least I know that at one point, I already found you.” Jongin retracts his hand from your cheek and instead, grabs your own and runs his fingers over the ink on your wrist that’s not covered by your jacket. “Besides, you never asked for an idol as a soulmate and I know you’ve been struggling because of my job. I want you to be happy and carefree,” he mutters while rubbing the same spot over and over again.

The gesture plants a smile on your face.

“Yeah, what was I thinking? You’ll do great,” you say out loud, though it’s more directed to yourself – as if you were the one who needs to be convinced that everything is going to be all right.

Upon hearing that, Jongin looks up and cracks a subtle chuckle. He opens his mouth to add on to something several times but refrains himself from speaking those words out loud. Under normal circumstances, you would press him to say what he wanted to say. This time, you stay put and invite yourself back into his warm embrace. You don't know how long you've been standing out in the cold in that position, but it feels like an eternity that you don't want to break out of.

It goes without saying that you had to let go sooner or later. Jongin is the first to realize that.

“I guess I should go. It’s way too late already," he finally says. You nod silently and slowly peel off him before you accompany him to your front porch.

Dismissing any further verbal exchange, he smiles at you fondly one last time before he turns his back to you. However, the silence only seems to last three footsteps long until you speak up, “Hey, Jongin?”

Jongin stops in his tracks and looks back to you with expectant eyes.

“Thank you.”

It was then when a switch in his mind flipped. In the blink of an eye, he's suddenly standing right in front of you and the next thing you know, his lips land on yours.

The kiss in itself is slow and sweet, yet you can sense the yearning and regret that fills Jongin up to the brim. He's being careful, trying not to push your boundaries and trying to refrain himself from doing something incredibly stupid. You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck once he pulls you closer towards him.

It's in the kisses like these where the realization hits you the hardest; the depth of his affection for you and vice versa is displayed the clearest in this kind of deep, sensual kisses. Your mouths don't part until both of you are out of breath and the warmth has spread all across your bodies.

As he tries to regain his breath, Jongin presses his forehead against yours and for a while, you stay in that position. Your heart beats furiously against your ribcage up to the point where it might actually jump out and overflow while Jongin's lashes flutter shut, relishing the last sweet moment you two share.

“See you later, Y/N,” his voice is barely above a whisper, but the soft and caring undertone laced in it makes you believe that everything will definitely end well.

With that, Jongin takes a step back, grabs your hand and presses a delicate kiss on your timer before he intertwines your fingers one final time. At this point, you're both smiling genuinely and gone is any sign of desperation and ailing.

“Yeah, see you soon," you whisper in return and then, he lets go.

The stars blazing through the night sky shine down on him as he digs his fists into his pockets and walks further away from your house until you can’t see his silhouette anymore. Your fingers subconsciously brush the tattoo on your wrist and you fondly look at the numbers inked on your skin. A genuine smile makes its way up your face and you sigh when you lift your gaze up to the sky. You don’t know when you will be reborn, but you are certain that the stars will still be there when you graze the earth in another lifetime.

You can’t wait to meet him again.