Tidal | Neuvillette

VI

- keeping up appearances -

Y/n had reached her place of occupation. The local cafe in Fontaine, Résidence Océanique. A reserved cafe inside the courtyard of Fontaine. It was blue and white with gold tints and pretty lighting. She tied up her hair loosely into a braid before greeting her coworkers with a smile of repressed agony. "Good morning." Or "Hello." was the extent of her smalltalk, she wasn't big on it.

Her coworkers welcomed her nicely, despite a few thinking she was a tad outcasted and some even thinking she was so.. unusual. The uniforms weren't too bad either. At least she didn't think. A blue apron over a black dress and a Name-Tag that she accidentally wore backwards. She looked in the mirror of the bathrooms and rubbed her face a bit, noticing a dinginess of purple sleep deprivation beneath her eyes. She slapped herself a little, just to ensure herself that she definitely wasn't still asleep.

My mother.. she had..

Why can't I remember? It's.. not been that long.

Think. Think just think.

She left the bathroom.

Think. Think mo—

"Hey! Is that y/n?" Shouted a familiar high pitched voice from the entrance of the cafe, causing her to look away in a slight embarrassment. "Ah.." It was only the traveller, and the small floating friend that went with them. Paimon or something..

And someone else. Oh.

What was he doing with them? How out of the norm..

"We didn't know you'd be here! Small world." Y/n led them to a secluded table in the cafe by a stained glass windows that reflected light beside them. "Neuvillette promised to show us Fontaine cuisine.. what are you doing here?"

"Ah.. well, I got a job here. Fairly recently actually. It was about time I earned some income.." y/n kept up her smile and laughed too, despite the fact she was still pinned down by the thought of growing into her mother's face. The face she can't even remember. "Ohhh, yeah! Good for you, y/n... doing things and putting yourself out th— Hey! is that a cake stand!"
Paimon and the traveller wondered off to look at the cake stand, causing her to laugh a little as she flipped to a blank page on her notebook to take orders. But her face quickly slipped back into one of hidden pain.

"Ahem—"

Realisation struck a bit too late.

"Hi..."

She automatically went back into a fake smile. Muscle memory works hard when it's unable to take a day off.

"Good morning, welcome to the—"

"You don't have to act now. It's just me." Spoke the familiar deep voice of the chief justice, startling her a little.

"Ah.. Monsieur.. you're mistaken! I'm fine." She waved her hands dismissively. "I'm doing.. well today. I've been fine lately... I- I swear to you."

Liar. You can't even bring yourself to get out of bed.

The chief sighed a little bit, knowing he wouldn't be able to crack her from her shell of denial and repression. Part of him still wondered if everything she told him was fully true. "I would never press you for detail. I see... you have a new job." Neuvillette was so genuine. He had a certain softness to his eyes that made her want to trust him, even though she really didn't want to... she really didn't.

"I'm happy for you."

Happy for her, yet right now he looked pensive as her studied her features.

She sighed in defeat. "Thank you.."

A smudge of comfortable silence struck between the two.

"Uh.."

"Y/n."

"Yeah..?"

"I know you're upset. Talk to m—"

"It doesn't matter."

He sighed again.

"To me it d—"

"I'm fine."

More silence.

"Pleas—"

"Neuvillette! They sell little cakes with strawberries on them!" An interruption. Thank the archons. Paimon looked overjoyed at all the delicate foods displayed on the counter, glazed with a sugary icing.

"We have to try them." Agreed the traveller.

"Ah-" he looked over to her again. "I'll take.. 2 of those."

"Alright."

Neuvillette looked over at her again as she walked back to the pastry counter. God, he wishes he fully understood her. She seemed so isolated and lonely. He felt a sprout of a new emotion brewing beneath his lack of understanding. Sympathy. Deeper than empathy. An urge to help. Her eyes were slightly dull and it was blatantly obvious she hadn't slept in a little while.

emotion, a complex experience of consciousness, bodily sensation, and behaviour that reflects the personal significance of a thing, an event, or a state of affairs..

He felt.. emotion.. for her. Sympathy.

This then caught the eye of the traveller, who looked at the chief with a smirk tugging at their lips, noticing how his stare followed y/n everywhere she went. "Monsieur.. are you perhaps.. thinking about a certain someone?" Their eyebrows went up and down mockingly.

He raised one of his eyebrows and for once, looked a bit dumbfounded. "What..?"

The traveller and Paimon looked at each other before sniggering a little bit. "Maybe he's in lo-" The traveller slapped their hand over paimon's mouth, before suppressing another giggle.

"Excuse me?"

"It's okay, we won't tell her."

Neuvillette looked genuinely confused. But after a short while, a small, gentle smile played on his lips.

He can't say he knows what that feels like.. maybe she could change that.

Hello. It's late I'm tired.
Hope you enjoyed :D