Day/Theme: Day 2 – First Date
Title: That’s all that matters.
Author: @zetsubouparade
Rating: G
Warnings: Canon divergence, likely OOC-ness, a little bit of angst because that’s all I know in life, unbeta’d.
Summary: Irisviel had never once seen the outside world so close, so Saber figures they should take a little detour. It had never occurred to her, though, that things would escalate as quickly as it did.
It was supposed to be a silly, harmless thing. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, Saber reminds herself once more. She didn’t predicted her actions and words to mean what they now meant, and it will all most likely come back to bite her sooner or later. But it’s not like she can turn back now. It’s way too late for that.
Because honestly, the fact her reaction to Irisviel’s words was so grossly miscalculated shouldn’t interfere in her chore. “Venturing into the city will also be a new experience for me, but it is the duty of a knight to accompany a lady. I shall do my best,” or so the blonde had said earlier. And as the taller woman took her words to heart, while Saber herself didn’t put that much of a thought or meaning into it, their following path was already settled.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or something like that.
But well, Saber supposes it can do no harm.
Her companion looks very happy, after all.
Irisviel is not aware of her internal conflict – which is a good thing, she thinks as they enter the sixth shop for the day, Saber barely managing to carry all the goods they had already bought due the lack of a few spare arms.
“We should go have some fun after this,” she laughs between the clothes in the hangers, raising a specific piece so it's put right in front of Saber.
“What do you mean?” the Servant asks, raising her head after checking the vesture Irisviel had apparently taking a liking to.
The woman smiles happily, her voice a gentle sing-song.
“There’s an amusement park nearby! I always wanted to go to one. It always looks so much fun in the movies...”
The thought trails off. Different pieces of clothing start to form a pile on her own arms, and for a brief moment Saber actually worries if they will have enough money if Irisviel decides to buy it all. She knows the Einzbern family has a lot of possessions, but still. However, the woman must have realized the other's uneasiness, for she wears a comforting smile––
“Don’t worry! These are not for me, but for you.”
––Albeit for completely different reasons.
If the former king wasn’t distressed enough before, she is now.
A knight mustn’t worry a lady over unnecessary things, and she keeps trying to picture that inside her head, repeating it as a mantra. If she survived the endless row of clothes Irisviel had made outside the dressing room especially for her, she could survive this small thing. You fought battles against formidable enemies. You can do this.
Well, maybe her fear wasn’t completely unreasonable.
The line to enter the park was especially big.
But she could get used to it. She always does. Masters and affiliates always seem to assume it’s easy to be in good terms with the “when” they’re summoned in, and although that is partially true, not everything should be taken for granted. Their language is adjusted and some basic knowledge is passed to all of them – but what about the strange clothes, mannerisms and costumes? Battles were easy. It was you against a simple enemy. The result would only depend on your skill, effort and maybe a bit of luck, but that was it.
Plus, Saber had never worn a hoodie before. Or skinny jeans, for that matter. But that was the easy part. Kind of.
And although she was feeling fairly uncomfortable and even a bit impatient, the blonde could safely say she was enjoying herself – at least a little. Because, well, she has Irisviel with her.
She omitted that last part all times her companion asked her about it, obviously. After all, that was highly inappropriate––
“Look, we’re next!” the albino beamed, taking the other by the arm.
“We rode the Ferris wheel, the haunted house, bumper cars,” Irisviel raised the fingers of her free hand as she counted all of the rides, smile big on her face as the other hand held an ice cream they had recently bought, “Chairlift, that one with water, two of the roller coasters and... And...”
“D-Don’t say that out loud!”
Saber blinked, momentarily lost. “And why is that?”
The taller woman narrowed her eyes, pouting a little. And the sight was absolutely adorable--
“There’s children around us.”
“I don't see how that’s a problem.”
“They––! They will make fun of us!”
Oh, the Servant smiled back, feeling a little wicked around the edges, She’s embarrassed because she rode a children's ride, I see.
“You looked like you were enjoying yourself. That’s all that matters.”
As she watched Irisviel’s face grow different shades of pink and red, Saber immediately swallows back the rest of her comment. The fact she feels too comfortable around the white-haired woman was and currently is a big problem and they both know that, because they might not be together tomorrow, because that would bring only suffering for the both of them––
“Are you?” the other’s voice brought her back to the real world, face stiff.
She smiled tenderly, cheeks still a little flushed.
“Are you enjoying yourself, Saber?”
The blonde decides to make a purposeful pause right there; it’s not like she was the calculating kind of person, but facts are Irisviel had asked her that for too many times that day, and for all of them Saber gave her an immediate response, to which she unconsciously didn’t allow herself to think twice about it. But maybe she should, at least this once – because the woman in front of her is not even a human being, but she’s probably more exciting and nurturing than anyone else Arturia had ever met. And she looks genuinely concerned about what the Servant thinks of all that.
She isn’t human, but so isn't Saber.
Irisviel isn’t human, but she feels just like one.
We’re probably going to vanish in less than a month, but she’d like to guarantee they enjoy living as best as they can and as long as they’re able to.
Because in the end, that’s all that matters, she thinks with herself.
For a split second, the Servant remembers Guinevere’s face. Her partner, her wife, the person she had to look after while she was alive. They had married each other for various reasons, but not due love. Affection, yes; but love, no. And albeit Arturia did what she could, Guinevere ended up finding true love within one of her companions of battle. The king felt betrayed at first, but there was nothing she could do about it. Because Guinevere was finally happy.
And for the longest time she thought something was amiss, for she never experienced love towards any other being, while the people around her seemed to find their halves yet so soon. Arturia loved to fight – the noblest sense of the word and its concept –, loved her people, loved her ideals. But never loved another person as an individual.
However, maybe, just maybe, towards Irisviel––
And as if those two simple words could translate all her rushed feelings accurately, Irisviel gave her a very sad, although extremely genuine smile. Ceasing the distance between them in small steps, she slid her hand into Saber's, gently nudging her head against the blonde locks.
The breath was caught in her throat as the Servant gave a light squeeze on the other’s hand, a small blush creeping up her cheeks and ears – but she said nothing. Her eyes watched absent-mindedly passersby run across her line of sight, unaware of what had just happened between the two of them.
As she felt Irisviel squeeze her hand a little harder, her eyes focused on the woman resting the head on her shoulder, white locks of hair falling on it gracefully. Saber smiled back.
“There’s one thing more I want to do before we head back. Is that okay?” the red eyes watched her expectantly.
While they headed for the souvenirs tents, Saber is transported to that same morning, where she kept thinking about how things went out of her control. But maybe it was best this way – they were fated to disappear sooner or later, but so was everyone else.
“Ah! Saber, can you get that one for me?” Irisviel pointed to the biggest teddy bear on display, apparently not fully confident on her skills to win such big of a prize over. “Please!”
The Servant nodded happily. Such task would be far easier if she had been casted in the Archer class, but she wasn’t about to badmouth her own over something so small. As she approached the tent with eyes blazing with conviction, Irisviel laughed, drawing her attention.
“Nothing. It’s just... This really looks like a date.”
Saber blinked, a strange feeling tingling inside her stomach, suddenly unable to bite back her big, astonishingly stupid, kind-of-joyful smile.
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