Being near Hakuno put Nero into something she supposed was similar to overdrive. Every sensation was heightened, every aspect of her senses brought from their usual level tens all the way to an astonishing fifteen. It was as though upon seeing her, colors in the room exploded into brighter versions of themselves and the vision of Hakuno became so vivid it warmed Nero’s heart to look at. The sweet, soft sound of her voice was melodic to the ancient ruler. Touching her, touching her was an entirely different experience from any other. Her Praetor’s skin was delicate, smooth like the finest silk in the kingdom and soft against her own. Nero welcomed Hakuno’s hands as they roamed her arms, her sleeves, the fabric of her clothing, for she couldn’t know how impossibly long her Queen had been waiting for her return. It was by no means the homecoming Nero believed a Queen deserved, and had she known they would meet again so soon she would have prepared a feast for a thousand men, but for now, holding her like this seemed like a homecoming enough. Smiling down at the other, emerald eyes gleamed with glee and a sense of pride, reassurance that at last, something was right with the world once more.
Their gazes bore into one another’s, and it was as if Nero could see all of SE.RA.PH. in her master’s hues. Then and there, Saber decided (for perhaps the thousandth time in her life) that Hakuno was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. A glorious sight to behold, one she was fortunate enough to see. “Worried, for me?” Saber allowed her signature smirk to pull at her lips, straightening her shoulders and unconsciously puffing out her chest. “I saved an entire city from a ravaging wildfire, don’t you remember the tale? I was worried about you!” Nero retracted slightly from the embrace, holding Hakuno at arms length and tracing her figure with worrisome eyes, logging her condition and checking for any injuries. “But of course I knew you would be alright, you are my master, after all. And rightful queen of the Moon Cell.” Nero knew Hakuno must have questions, could see the way they built up in her mind through the subtle changes in her expression. Saber had a great many of them herself - such as, what happened to transport her master to this oddity of a land? Did she miss her? How long had she been there, had she already began a new contract with some lesser servant (one no-doubt unworthy of Hakuno’s gracious presence), and why had she taken the moon beam in the first place? “My apologies it took me so long to find you again.” Gently, she intertwined their fingers of one hand. “But I am here now.”
The soft tones of her master’s voice brushing against her ear sent a surge of warmth through her. Nero had always been strong, as saber class normally were, but when paired with her true master, it was an entirely different level of strength she seemed to reach. Though a servant and master relationship may have been how they started, Saber often wondered what they were now. She wondered what the strange, fluttering feeling in her gut was when Hakuno’s lips quirked into Nero’s favorite smile, wondered why being so close to her, like this, felt like standing next to the core of the Moon Cell itself. If she had known any better, she’d also wonder if Servants were meant to feel this way, if they even could, but the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. Instantly, she pegged them as her men, her fellow security guards and raised a hand to stop them in their tracks as they entered the same area. Her free arm never once left Hakuno’s waist as she dismissed them, fighting the internal sigh that made its way up at the reminder of the men and their incompitancy. “They will not bother us anymore. I am… all yours.” She meant the words innocently, but also with all the sincerity a righteous King held.
A deep breath, a long hold, and then let go it wa an attempt to stop the tears, she was worried, but this was a happy moment, she should be smiling. She was about to speak when the footsteps rang and without a word somehow Nero was able to wave away the other guards from interrupting them like a warning or an order, Hakuno couldn’t tell, but it was still amazing to her. Hakuno smiled softly feeling the hand around her waist, it had been a long time since she had felt that gentle and protective hold. Nero was worried about her? Well being one to plan things out normally that was a rather reckless and unplanned act...but what else was she supposed to do? A memory, a pang of interest and worry arose from this thought line, but there was a small thought that stopped that how was Hakuno supposed to go about this...? Her contract, her ring, her codecasts they all still existed, but did they still work the same? She didn’t have much of a chance to test them, nor did she want to test something destructive...but did Saber’s body still work with mana, did Nero still need her or was there no need for a master in this world? She had encountered Tamamo at a time sure, but she never was able to get any real thesis proven nor any tests done for seeing another of her loyal servant in this place.
A word almost arose once again, but then ‘BEEP, BEEP, BEEP’ the regalia ring certain was starting to get annoying with that being, time to check it really quick to stop ruining the mood. Hakuno, while Nero was signaling to her men, opened the holographic screen and quickly checked the tabs, while she didn’t experiment with Tamamo she did thoroughly explore the Regalia ring and it’s capabilities, and it was just the same with Tamamo. Though one thing did seem odd to Hakuno as it entered Nero’s data, at least on general basis (C rank) based on looks and general data, it also listed her as a ‘Rogue Servant’ a term generally used for Servants without a contract in a world where the one master was the ruler of the mooncell...an odd thing indeed, but a good sign in her opinion. “Nero...” Hakuno would say after closing the display, “We need to talk, privately. I can wait here until you’re off if i need to.” Though Saber did speak after and the words brought a slight pink tint to Hakuno’s cheeks mainly for how she worded that, but she did suppose someone like Nero was bound to word it like that eventually, honestly she was surprised it had not happen soon, but when you’re like Hakuno and Nero something like that isn’t normally said with how Roman citizens sleep especially a king and queen. Clearing her mind of those thoughts Hakuno had quickly gone to where they could go to talk after Nero’s shift, her mind went quickly to her own home, probably not the best place, but it certainly was private...kinda.
Worries, plans, words, fantasies everything just piling ontop of eachother in her head and this wasn’t exactly the kind of mindset she wanted to be in if one of those mind splitting headaches set in. Hakuno moved her hand, slowly down the others arm to intertwine their fingers...her hands were warm, a soothing sensation that put Hakuno’s mind at ease if only slightly. She wanted to say something, something really special brought upon by a random fleeting thought of joy that she wanted to achieve, but fear set in imiediatly as the words reached her tongue, a fear of being rejected...no for now keep that stored away, do not bring too much at once it will overload your brain Hakuno. Hakuno took a deep breath once again the tears stopping as she stood straight up and smiled at Nero as if she had not laid eyes on the woman in years, because for all Hakuno knew she HAD spent years in that dark abyss, so that might as well been the case. It was nice to see that even after what they had been through, even after the time Nero had to rule alone, that she was still acting almost the same exact way she had in the past. One last look into the emerald hues that looked back at her, a gaze on her that was caring and Hakuno knew at that moment once again she felt as if she could finally let her guard down slightly and actually enjoy the situation.
