#this prob should have been posted on keypostos but i wanted keyotos comeback

[keyotos]

"you came?"

"you called!" you cheerily moved past neuvillette. "of course i came. it's not like i had anything better to do," you shrugged as you entered his office.

you're leaving wet footprints all around the carpet. your hair is dripping and your clothes are sticking to your body. from the time when you arrived at his office doorstep to now, neuvillette deduced that you probably sprinted over to the office. even though your workshop was on the other side of town.

"don't you have...work?" neuvillette cautiously walked towards you.

you, on the other hand, did not give a care in the world to your current predicament. "like i said, nothing else better to do."

"but," you carried on, "hanging out with the chief justice is something to do. not having to listen to people with lack of common sense," you rolled your eyes as you browsed neuvillette's bookshelf.

the chief justice tailed closely behind you. though, not because he was suspicious: more of, for once, he did not want to be alone today. hence, why he called you. and why he especially hoped you weren't going to show up.

"it was pouring outside today. aren't you worried you're going to get sick?" he crosses his arms while looking towards you.

you frown, "no? the rain feels nice. like a nice shower i haven't had in years," you push some of neuvillette's papers to the side as you sit down on his desk.

"you haven't showered yet?"

silence.

"it was a metaphor," you embarrassingly look down to the ground below you, "i showered last night."

"oh." hm. the air suddenly seems to be more awkward now.

"yeah," you toyed with some of the pens on his desk, "anyway. why did you call me over here?"

neuvillette's solemn expression made you raise an eyebrow. his eyes shifted from you to the books that surround the both of you. either he was embarrassed of calling, or he called you by accident and felt awkward about telling you to leave.

"it's nothing," he shifted back towards you.

you pout a little bit, "doesn't seem like nothing," you murmur to yourself.

neuvillette shuffles around the room, stiffly avoiding you as you watch him eye the shelves, "i assure you, it was nothing."

"well," you refute, "you don't call on me often. actually, you don't call me...ever," you point an accusing finger at him. "so whatever it is, it seems kinda urgent."

"i accidentally called you," he lied.

"you had to type my phone number into the landline!" you shouted whilst contorting your eyebrows. neuvillette's eyes move back to the ground after your small outburst, and regret sinks into your stomach.

he's stressed⎯big time. the last thing you think he needs is someone yelling at him, and after realizing that, it feels as though your heart has shriveled up into your chest. you rub at your temples, quietly mumbling something to yourself before staring at neuvillette in front of you.

"i'm sorry," your eyes dart up and down his figure, not knowing where to stay, "i didn't mean to shout. i was just shouting out of worry. not that it makes it better though."

"if you don't wanna talk about it, i don't need to know about it," you smile at him, "there."

"thank you," the chief justice returns his gaze back to you once more, and gives you a small smile back. you nod at him gently before continuing.

"there's no need to thank me," you clasp your hands together in your lap, "it's nothing. let's talk about something else now."

and so you two talk. you two talk a lot. your conversations range from the recent trials in the opera house to the newest customer that you wanted to strangle today. neuvillette advises you not to strangle people. you say that you can't promise it.

and it's quiet for a while. neuvillette's heart, which had been rapidly drumming in his chest prior to your arrival, has slowed. his breathing was even with you around, and all those heavy feelings from before have disappeared.

"and after that stressful day i had today, i feel a lot better after coming in here," you finish your overview of your day with your hands splayed across neuvillette's desk.

"really?" one of neuvillette's eyebrows quirked up in curiosity, "why?"

you snort, like he had just asked a dumb question, "you're one of the most interesting parts of my days. plus, i barely ever see you, so this is always fun."

this is always fun. neuvillette feels his heart rate speed up slightly, but he chalks it up to something else.

"is it now?" he drums his fingers on the armrest of the chair he is now sitting in, "i never thought i could be so entertaining."

you shrug, "eh. you have your moments," you tease and wink at him. one of his hands grips the armrest.

"anyway," you continue, getting off of his desk and sitting in one of the chairs across from him (he wonders why you chose not to do that earlier), "since you think you're so entertaining, we should probably do this more often."

"i suppose i could make it work. maybe i'd have to find time to fit you in my schedule though," neuvillette looks down to skim his calendar, but his eyes snap back up to you after hearing you sigh.

"wow. the chief justice doesn't have any time for me," you make a heart-breaking motion with your hands as you woefully shake your head.

his eyebrows quickly shoot up in worry; neuvillette hopes he hadn't just offended you. his motions are hesitant as he attempts to reach out for you to console you, but his hands remain on the armrest, still as ever.

in the end, he manages to say, "i assure you that we will meet soon. i will make time for you if you desire," in a calm voice, even though he feels frantic inside.

you shake your head again, this time with a small smirk on your face, "oh chief justice, i was just pulling your leg," you scoot your chair closer to the desk so you could properly face neuvillette, "but i will be holding you to that, 'we will meet soon,' offer."

"and it won't be under the circumstances of an 'accidental call,'" neuvillette jokes. your eyes widen. did the iudex of fontaine just make a joke?

"wow. who knew you had a sense of humor," you grinned, sounding impressed.

"oh? i guess i picked it up from you," he hid his growing smile from you.

and the next time you two meet, neuvillette thinks he's picked up more than just humor.