[ Fighting is a goddamn pain. Why couldn't everyone just stay peaceful instead of stirring the pot? Well, to be fair, most of the Master/Servant pairs agreed on not being reckless and starting fights in hopes of getting the Holy Grail to manifest, but the fact remains that there are others who held a different opinion on the matter.
Still, Oberon is strong. Regardless of whether it was coincidental or not, Ai's Servant was powerful... and no matter what, he protected his Master.
No matter what.
He wonders, as he fights to keep his body from dematerializing, what Ai must have thought just now... when he called out to her for a Command Seal. A boost that would allow him to release his Noble Phantasm without sucking Ai's life completely dry.
"Lie Like Vortigern", "Eye of a Dream Falling Yonder"
The Abyssal Wyrm, the hollow insect, a hole in the world itself. By all means, it was also his true form. He can't help but wonder what his Master thought of it as it fell on the enemy, swallowing both Servant and Master alike. Just like how a Noble Phantasm has been described to her, it was truly a trump card to end all trump cards.
It was also too much for just one command seal to power, Oberon realized, but instead of asking for her third and last stroke... he simply took the alternative, refusing to use mana from Ai and using solely his own. To his credit, it worked.
Unfortunately, it does also mean he's on the verge of disappearing. Shit. ]
Ugh...
[ It hurts to move. What a painfully nostalgic feeling. Did he black out? Is it even possible for Servants to black out? He can feel the edges of his body fraying at the seams, a light glow as the spiritrons that make up his body start to unravel while all he can do is lay there in the aftermath of the battle, frustratingly trying to keep himself from disappearing... but he's drained.
Is this it? He thinks. One use of his Noble Phantasm and that's it? What will happen to Ai, then? A Servantless Master in this mysterious Grail War where nobody knows what the hell is going on? Where the Masters themselves aren't even of this world?
Well, it's not like he'll be able to think of it much longer at this rate. Even with his blurring vision, he can just barely make out the figure of Ai running towards him. He'd say sorry, but then it'd be a lie. ]
[ As hopeless of a Master as she is, Ai knows full well that's not where the laundry list of her flaws ends. But if there's anything at all she can pride herself on, it's that she learns fast. She might make mistake after mistake, but never the same one twice. Especially not in a place like this, where it could so easily come back to bite her.
So she learns. Every little tidbit of information she can find about mages, Masters, Servants, all of it - she memorizes it all greedily, in case it might come in handy later. And besides that... the less information she has to try and pry out of Oberon, the better. At least coming from other sources, she can be reasonably confident she's getting a straightforward answer.
So she knows what it means when she comes half-tripping to meet him and sees his form wavering like a candle threatening to snuff itself out. She knows what that thing had been, that void in the sky that had howled like wind and screams. She understands that unless she acts fast, she's going to be in a whole lot of trouble. But more pressingly and more frighteningly, she's going to be alone.
When she finally reaches his side, Ai all but tumbles to her knees, hitting the ground hard enough that she knows they'll be bruised and chewed up later. Her hands bracket his face as she leans over to see him, as if there's any wound she can treat for something like this - ]
Oberon... [ Her voice is shaking. She's trying to keep it steady, but- ] What... why did you...?!
[ Ah... there she is. He can see her clearly now. Great. ]
Hah... they were pissing me off, so I went all-out, that's all...
[ It had been a rough fight, actually. Why else would he resort to his trump card? It's not like he had any problem with fighting while not at his strongest, it just meant he had to fight smarter, but even that only kept things an even fight. He needed something to tip the scales in his favor, and he had exactly what he needed in that regard. ]
Did it scare you? Harsh. That may as well have been my true form, you know...
[ Shame that it seems his calculations were off. He used up far more mana than he expected, even though he tried to keep the scale to a minimum. Guess that's the downside to an Anti-World Noble Phantasm.
Alas, there's no wound to treat. That's not to say there aren't wounds, he just came out of a fight after all, but it's nothing lethal. His spirit core is intact, but he's out of the very thing that the Master is supposed to provide for their Servant. ]
...what? Don't tell me you think you could've handled it. You should be thanking me for not sucking you dry, you know...
I'll thank you when you're not disappearing on me...!
[ Her fingers scrape the concrete under them as her hands ball into frustrated fists. Even a foolish, clueless girl like her knows exactly what's going on here. She knows it's her own fault, too - a pathetic, faker mage like her can't sustain a Servant like Oberon, especially not when he has to fight like this. He's burned himself to a crisp to keep her safe. Cleaning up after her messes, just like he always does.
She doesn't know what'll happen to her when he vanishes. Maybe she'll be sent back to die. Maybe she'll be permitted to stay. Maybe she'll be given another Servant. Somehow, out of all those options, it's the latter that stirs the most dismay in her chest.
She doesn't want another Servant. She doesn't need anyone else, not when the two of them have spent all this time trying to understand each other. Nobody ever sees her because they never want to look close enough but Oberon's gaze has gone through all the grimiest, ugliest parts of her and he still decided she was something worth protecting. She can't give them up.
But what can she do?
It takes a second for it to come to her. Fragments of information pulled from as many sources as she could find to teach herself with. A mage's own body is the most effective catalyst for magical energy. It saturates every part of them, down to their saliva, their blood.
The most effective way for a Master to share mana with their Servant, is-
Ai sucks in a breath. Shaky, sharp. She leans in close, close enough that when her hair spills over her shoulder, it curtains both their faces. ]
Oberon. [ In that tone of voice, it's an unmistakable command. ] Open your mouth.
[ She doesn't give him any further explanation. Instead, she bites down hard on the tender skin on the inside of her mouth. Hard enough that her eyes water, hard enough that almost immediately, she tastes blood. And when that coppery taste has saturated the inside of her mouth, enough so that she's certain this will work, Ai closes the distance between them and presses her lips to his.
It's not a real mana transfer. But right now, it's the best she can do. ]
[ There's nothing to be done. Oberon Vortigern will disappear here, he's at peace with that.
...like hell. Of course he's not at peace with it. Damn it, why does he have to be able to see Ai so clearly right now...? It's filling him with regrets. What will happen to her now? Go back to the moment of her death like a certain king? Remain in this place as a Servantless Master? The first option is the worst, of course, but the second wouldn't be too bad...
...she might contract with another Servant, too. Someone easier to deal with than himself. Someone who can speak something that isn't a lie.
...yet as he thinks of that, an ugly frustration grows in his chest. She's his. Nobody else's. Nobody can protect her like he can, nobody can understand her like he can. Call him possessive, call him toxic, you think he gives a shit?
Ugh, he closes his eyes. Seeing her face is what's allowing those thoughts to fester. She's a poison to him, surely. She must be...
"Oberon. Open your mouth."
Huh? ]
...huh?
[ His eyes open and he gives voice to his confusion... which includes opening his mouth in the process. In his weakened state, he can't even react. Not to seeing her bite down on her own lip and draw blood. Not to her leaning in and... ]
...!
[ Even if he could move right now, he probably wouldn't have been able to. He freezes, his eyes wide as he feels his lips pressed against hers. He can taste it... the taste of her lips, but more than that, the taste of her blood.
"What am I, a Vampire?" he thinks... but of course, it works. He tastes her blood on her own tongue, entering his own mouth... and becoming the substance that sustains him. Saliva, blood, both of those things... fluids from her own body, saturated in mana, flows into him. ]
[ If the circumstances were anything but what they are, maybe she'd be self conscious that - well, it's a not exactly the most chaste kiss. Clumsy and urgent, deep and messy and at an awkward enough angle that someone's teeth (probably his) snag against her lips. They haven't so much as held hands and here she is with her tongue in his mouth. If he'd gone and bitten it out in retaliation, she probably wouldn't have blamed him.
But she's not thinking about any of that right now. She's thinking about his form fraying to pieces at the edges, light and magic bleeding out of him like a gushing wound and she's thinking that no matter what, she won't allow him to vanish so long as there's something even a pathetic Master like her can do about it.
She doesn't pull back until her lungs scream at her for a breath. A thread of scarlet-tinged saliva connects their lips for a second until Ai roughs the back of her hand over her mouth to wipe it away. When she meets his eyes, the intensity of her gaze is a little... ]
[ How... embarrassing?? He totally just froze up while he forced her tongue into his mouth, what the hell? Granted he didn't have much strength to do much else, but... that's changed. Strength has returned to his limbs, the tips of his fingers—which had dematerialized—have begun to take shape again.
There's a part of him that's still transparent, transient, fading... but...
What the hell...
That look in her eyes, that intensity, the light tinge of dark red on her lips... ]
What the hell are you...
[ ...God, she's beautiful. Fuck, he's doomed. ]
Yeah, I'm... fine...
[ Yet he weakly lifts his hand up to Ai's cheek. He's probably just told her the most transparent lie imaginable. He's still here, a leaking container that's only been refilled the barest amount. ]
[ Something in her expression shifts. The businesslike intensity doesn't quite vanish but it makes way for something different. There's relief, an easing of panicked tension... but there's something else, too. It's a slow unfurling that softens her face with something that looks almost tender.
Then her mouth, still stained red, tugs into an uneven smile that looks almost helpless. ]
You liar.
[ The first time had been all panic, indelicate and entirely practical, purely for the purposes of keeping him here for another minute, another second, however long it would take her to fix this. She'd barely even thought about what it would mean to do it.
This time, she does. She has all the time in the world to think about what a terrible idea this is and then decide to do it anyway.
Her face lowers to his again. When she kisses him the second time, it's not nearly as clumsy. There's no clashing of teeth on lips, no awkward angle that makes her neck strain. But in every other way, it's just the same. Just as messy and indelicate and embarrassing in a way she'll be tearing her hair out over later.
But there's nothing else she can do. So long as her blood and her body are saturated with the magic he needs, what other choice does she have?
So she'll let him drain as much as he needs out of her. She can worry about damage control once she's certain he'll be here long enough for it to be a concern. ]
[ "Yeah..." he thinks in response. "Who the hell taught you about this" is another thought on his mind, but fortunately for Ai, it's hard to shoot barbs at her when she has her bloodied lips pressed against his.
This time, he responds. He doesn't freeze up in total shock, both at being kissed and the idea that she is kissing him, and... isn't repulsed at kissing the insect of the abyss.
She should be repulsed, he thinks... but she isn't, and frankly? He doesn't have the energy to complain about her lack of sanity.
So instead, he returns it... their tongues intertwined with each other's, the taste of blood on both of their lips. It doesn't taste good, obviously. It tastes awful, all metallic and salty. He'd even go as far as to say it tastes like shit.
But his hand rests on the back of her head as he kisses her roughly... hungrily, even. It's not like there's enough strength in his arms to actually hold her there, but his clawed carapace, having just reformed, runs through the locks of her hair and stays there.
It's a painfully slow process. Mostly on account of the fact that he drains even as she refills him... but a physical path proves to be more efficient than a spiritual one. For maximum efficiency, one must go further... much further, but...
He kisses her harder, forcing his tongue in as if to devour the blood in her mouth. He can't indulge that. He won't. It's already annoying enough that someone actually told her about this method, even if it's saving his life. ]
[ It's a repulsive kiss. But of course, any kiss of any sort would be, so long as it's coming from her. Ai of B-Komachi is untouched and untouchable, polished to such a mirror shine that the idea of tarnishing her should be abhorrent. She can't be held or understood like a real human being, just admired from a distance like a delicate decoration. Ruining the finish like this with no delicacy or decency - what else can she call herself but repulsive?
She's already paid the price for breaking that rule once - paid it in blood, even. But here she is again, making the exact same mistake and paying once again in blood.
But that's just it. Idols don't bleed. Creatures like that don't have human blood running through their veins. It's only because she's such an intolerably filthy girl, a dirty human playacting at being something pretty and pure, that she has the pound of flesh to pay for something like this.
She wonders, even as his hand in her hair anchors her to the kiss, just how disgusted he must be with her.
She doesn't know how long it takes for their lips to part. Just that her mouth is sore and puffy when she finally does and her face is burning. It takes her a few seconds to remember how to breathe enough to speak. ]
Tell me it's enough. [ Then, with a catch in her voice that surprises even her; ] Don't go yet.
[ That's right, she's disgusting. Repulsive. Humans may think that what they've done is beautiful, but humans are naturally disgusting. Their tastes aren't worth shit.
He wants to tear it all down. Like back then, when he destroyed Britain, when he tried to destroy Proper Human History. A visceral rage boils up inside him and makes him want to tear it to shreds and defile it.
Like what he's doing right now.
He looks up at her again, her face flushed, her lips puffed up and bloody, her hair hanging over and around them like a curtain. He finds himself breathing just as hard as she is.
Ah. He thinks, unable to look away. Humans have no taste after all, do they? ]
...it's more than enough, Ai.
[ He lies. He lies to her as he always does, gripping her with hands that have begun to regain their substance... ]
Don't stop.
[ ...and this time, he's the one initiating, suddenly pulling her down with his renewed strength and forcing his lips onto hers once more. He bites gently at her lips, not breaking skin, but renewing the flow of blood.
There they are, laying in the aftermath of a battle, crashing their lips together in a bloodstained kiss. It must be painful, it can't not be... but that's fine. Neither of them can allow things to go further, but even so... that won't stop him from marking and tarnishing humanity's precious little idol himself. ]
[ She doesn't get a chance to speak - not that she knows what she would have said, even if she had. All that comes out of her is a thin noise (protest? encouragement? even she doesn't know) when his teeth close on her lips again and the rusty taste of her blood washes over her tongue.
Blood. That's it. That's the only reason they're doing this. There's no other way for her to pour her mana into him as quickly as they need, so even this little indignity she can file away as something necessary. It's not about what either of them want or don't want. It's just pure practicality. Even if he's kissing her like he wants to eat her, even if it feels good- even if it feels good enough to-
Ai yanks herself back. She can only go so far when he's still holding her but it's enough for her expression to be perfectly clear - trembling, wide-eyed alarm. That fear, again. The one she directs entirely inward and smothers her heart with.
Once again: a retreat. Not a rejection. ]
... you're okay. That's more than enough. We don't need to...
[ Her voice is trembling. It sounds like she's making to excuse to herself as much to him. ]
[ She realises what he's about to do only a split second before it happens and panic crests in her stomach. She can't pull back - he's swallowed so much of her mana that surely he must be back to full strength and there's no way Ai could fight back against him, even if she tried.
Once was necessary. Twice was a precaution. Three times was testing their luck. But this is -
What else can she can it but pure indulgence? Not that there's anything pure about a kiss like this. But if this is what he's indulging in, wanting it instead of needing it, wanting it badly enough to take it like this-
What is she supposed to do?
Her fingers catch his shirt, tug urgently for his attention. ]
Oberon- wait- I can't breathe like this-
[ It's true. When she manages to get her voice out, it's gasping and breathless. But it's also a surrender - you've won, so please let me retreat. ]
[ She's not wrong. His body is no longer fraying at the seems, his body has rematerialized and isn't on the verge of falling apart. He's certainly not in fighting condition, but she's succeeded at her goal. He isn't disappearing. From here, all he needs is rest, to let Ai's mana flow into him naturally through their spiritual path.
He releases the kiss with a gasp, not breathless like Ai, but still heavy. His face, normally pale, is unusually flushed. ]
[ It's always about what she wants, isn't it? As if it's that easy. As if she's allowed to have any of it. Her expression wavers, her alarmed dismay turning into something frustrated, messier and harder to read.
After a moment, she shakes her head. But then- ]
I don't know... I don't know, but...!
[ Her voice is ragged and shaky in a way that has nothing to do with her needing a breath. ]
I can't do it like this. I can't...
[ Like this. Whatever that means. It's the truth but it's impossible to read anything from it even so. ]
[ He grabs her again, but not with an arm snaked around to pull her in from behind, but with a hand gripping at the loose-fitting hoodie she's wearing. He doesn't kiss her, he just pulls her close. ]
Don't give me that...!
[ You, the greedy woman who pursued two kinds of happiness at once... you, who he understands so much that it hurts. Understands so well that he can't help but try to drag the truth out of her, kicking and screaming if need be.
Because the truth may not exist for him, but it does for her, whether she realizes it or not. ]
Why did you save me, then!? Why did you go to such lengths...
[ Go to the point of hurting herself in order to keep him from leaving her. Ai may not realize it... hell, Oberon may not even realize it just yet, but... far more of his feelings have been forcefully dragged out of him than either of them realize. ]
[ She yelps, and has to brace herself again, both hands flat on the ground either side of him once more. She doesn't fight to free herself but she leans back as far as she can - she can bear to meet the intensity of his eyes, not right now. ]
It- it was the only thing I could think to do! If you vanished- nobody here knows what happens if someone loses their Servant!
[ It's all true. And yet it's a lie at the same time - one of omission. ]
I was... scared. I panicked. Are you trying to say I shouldn't have bothered?!
[ That she didn't need to go that far, to be so desperate to save him that she was willing to draw her own blood if it meant ensuring that he stayed.
He bites his tongue before he says that, but instead of that, he brings his hand up to tenderly put his thumb on her lip and wipe away the lingering blood on it. ]
...yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Who in their right mind would go this far!?
[ She knows what she wants, he knows that she knows, and he's had enough of her running. ]
[ And retreat she does - but only barely. She sits back enough to him to rise as well, but she doesn't leave his side. The immediate fear has left her eyes, even if her heart is still pounding uncertainly in her throat. ]
... are you really... [ A pause and another convulsive swallow. The bite is still welling with blood and she lifts her arm so she can press her sleeve there and try to stem it. Her voice comes out muffled by the fabric. ] Is that all I had to do?
[ It looks as though he's back in one piece but she can't shake the feeling that it'd been just a little too... convenient. Isn't it just a little too much of a cliche for her to patch things back up with a kiss like that? ]
[ He forces himself to sit up, still not looking at her. ]
Of course not. But you wouldn't like going that far, so I'll manage.
[ He scoffs, leaning back and staring up at the night sky. He feels slow and weak, but that's just in comparison to his standards as a Servant. He's not much different in strength compared to your everyday human right now. ]
...who the hell taught you that, anyway? Seriously...
[ Behind her sleeve, her mouth tugs into a rueful smile. ]
Nagiko-chan did. Or, well - not exactly. She's been teaching me about magic and some of the things I don't understand yet. She told me a mage's magic gets stored in every part of their body, like their hair and their blood and their spit. So... I kind of put the rest of it together myself.
[ She'll have to thank her for the save. Or, uh, try to thank her while very carefully avoiding why the lesson had become so relevant. ]
[ There is a 100% chance that she would be able to put two and two together and realize why it became relevant, and that neither she nor her Master would shut up about it afterwards. He'll have to kick her ass later.
Because sure, he's alive, but how the hell is he supposed to deal with Ai now? It'd be nice if he could retreat himself and just be the Fairy King for a while, but this frustrating woman won't even allow that. ]
...Well, as long as that's all she told you, then it's fine.
[ Surely she wouldn't go into that much detail, right? ]
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no subject
Still, Oberon is strong. Regardless of whether it was coincidental or not, Ai's Servant was powerful... and no matter what, he protected his Master.
No matter what.
He wonders, as he fights to keep his body from dematerializing, what Ai must have thought just now... when he called out to her for a Command Seal. A boost that would allow him to release his Noble Phantasm without sucking Ai's life completely dry.
"Lie Like Vortigern", "Eye of a Dream Falling Yonder"
The Abyssal Wyrm, the hollow insect, a hole in the world itself. By all means, it was also his true form. He can't help but wonder what his Master thought of it as it fell on the enemy, swallowing both Servant and Master alike. Just like how a Noble Phantasm has been described to her, it was truly a trump card to end all trump cards.
It was also too much for just one command seal to power, Oberon realized, but instead of asking for her third and last stroke... he simply took the alternative, refusing to use mana from Ai and using solely his own. To his credit, it worked.
Unfortunately, it does also mean he's on the verge of disappearing. Shit. ]
Ugh...
[ It hurts to move. What a painfully nostalgic feeling. Did he black out? Is it even possible for Servants to black out? He can feel the edges of his body fraying at the seams, a light glow as the spiritrons that make up his body start to unravel while all he can do is lay there in the aftermath of the battle, frustratingly trying to keep himself from disappearing... but he's drained.
Is this it? He thinks. One use of his Noble Phantasm and that's it? What will happen to Ai, then? A Servantless Master in this mysterious Grail War where nobody knows what the hell is going on? Where the Masters themselves aren't even of this world?
Well, it's not like he'll be able to think of it much longer at this rate. Even with his blurring vision, he can just barely make out the figure of Ai running towards him. He'd say sorry, but then it'd be a lie. ]
no subject
So she learns. Every little tidbit of information she can find about mages, Masters, Servants, all of it - she memorizes it all greedily, in case it might come in handy later. And besides that... the less information she has to try and pry out of Oberon, the better. At least coming from other sources, she can be reasonably confident she's getting a straightforward answer.
So she knows what it means when she comes half-tripping to meet him and sees his form wavering like a candle threatening to snuff itself out. She knows what that thing had been, that void in the sky that had howled like wind and screams. She understands that unless she acts fast, she's going to be in a whole lot of trouble. But more pressingly and more frighteningly, she's going to be alone.
When she finally reaches his side, Ai all but tumbles to her knees, hitting the ground hard enough that she knows they'll be bruised and chewed up later. Her hands bracket his face as she leans over to see him, as if there's any wound she can treat for something like this - ]
Oberon... [ Her voice is shaking. She's trying to keep it steady, but- ] What... why did you...?!
no subject
Hah... they were pissing me off, so I went all-out, that's all...
[ It had been a rough fight, actually. Why else would he resort to his trump card? It's not like he had any problem with fighting while not at his strongest, it just meant he had to fight smarter, but even that only kept things an even fight. He needed something to tip the scales in his favor, and he had exactly what he needed in that regard. ]
Did it scare you? Harsh. That may as well have been my true form, you know...
[ Shame that it seems his calculations were off. He used up far more mana than he expected, even though he tried to keep the scale to a minimum. Guess that's the downside to an Anti-World Noble Phantasm.
Alas, there's no wound to treat. That's not to say there aren't wounds, he just came out of a fight after all, but it's nothing lethal. His spirit core is intact, but he's out of the very thing that the Master is supposed to provide for their Servant. ]
...what? Don't tell me you think you could've handled it. You should be thanking me for not sucking you dry, you know...
no subject
[ Her fingers scrape the concrete under them as her hands ball into frustrated fists. Even a foolish, clueless girl like her knows exactly what's going on here. She knows it's her own fault, too - a pathetic, faker mage like her can't sustain a Servant like Oberon, especially not when he has to fight like this. He's burned himself to a crisp to keep her safe. Cleaning up after her messes, just like he always does.
She doesn't know what'll happen to her when he vanishes. Maybe she'll be sent back to die. Maybe she'll be permitted to stay. Maybe she'll be given another Servant. Somehow, out of all those options, it's the latter that stirs the most dismay in her chest.
She doesn't want another Servant. She doesn't need anyone else, not when the two of them have spent all this time trying to understand each other. Nobody ever sees her because they never want to look close enough but Oberon's gaze has gone through all the grimiest, ugliest parts of her and he still decided she was something worth protecting. She can't give them up.
But what can she do?
It takes a second for it to come to her. Fragments of information pulled from as many sources as she could find to teach herself with. A mage's own body is the most effective catalyst for magical energy. It saturates every part of them, down to their saliva, their blood.
The most effective way for a Master to share mana with their Servant, is-
Ai sucks in a breath. Shaky, sharp. She leans in close, close enough that when her hair spills over her shoulder, it curtains both their faces. ]
Oberon. [ In that tone of voice, it's an unmistakable command. ] Open your mouth.
[ She doesn't give him any further explanation. Instead, she bites down hard on the tender skin on the inside of her mouth. Hard enough that her eyes water, hard enough that almost immediately, she tastes blood. And when that coppery taste has saturated the inside of her mouth, enough so that she's certain this will work, Ai closes the distance between them and presses her lips to his.
It's not a real mana transfer. But right now, it's the best she can do. ]
no subject
...like hell. Of course he's not at peace with it. Damn it, why does he have to be able to see Ai so clearly right now...? It's filling him with regrets. What will happen to her now? Go back to the moment of her death like a certain king? Remain in this place as a Servantless Master? The first option is the worst, of course, but the second wouldn't be too bad...
...she might contract with another Servant, too. Someone easier to deal with than himself. Someone who can speak something that isn't a lie.
...yet as he thinks of that, an ugly frustration grows in his chest. She's his. Nobody else's. Nobody can protect her like he can, nobody can understand her like he can. Call him possessive, call him toxic, you think he gives a shit?
Ugh, he closes his eyes. Seeing her face is what's allowing those thoughts to fester. She's a poison to him, surely. She must be...
"Oberon. Open your mouth."
Huh? ]
...huh?
[ His eyes open and he gives voice to his confusion... which includes opening his mouth in the process. In his weakened state, he can't even react. Not to seeing her bite down on her own lip and draw blood. Not to her leaning in and... ]
...!
[ Even if he could move right now, he probably wouldn't have been able to. He freezes, his eyes wide as he feels his lips pressed against hers. He can taste it... the taste of her lips, but more than that, the taste of her blood.
"What am I, a Vampire?" he thinks... but of course, it works. He tastes her blood on her own tongue, entering his own mouth... and becoming the substance that sustains him. Saliva, blood, both of those things... fluids from her own body, saturated in mana, flows into him. ]
no subject
But she's not thinking about any of that right now. She's thinking about his form fraying to pieces at the edges, light and magic bleeding out of him like a gushing wound and she's thinking that no matter what, she won't allow him to vanish so long as there's something even a pathetic Master like her can do about it.
She doesn't pull back until her lungs scream at her for a breath. A thread of scarlet-tinged saliva connects their lips for a second until Ai roughs the back of her hand over her mouth to wipe it away. When she meets his eyes, the intensity of her gaze is a little... ]
Did it work...? Do you need more?
no subject
[ How... embarrassing?? He totally just froze up while he forced her tongue into his mouth, what the hell? Granted he didn't have much strength to do much else, but... that's changed. Strength has returned to his limbs, the tips of his fingers—which had dematerialized—have begun to take shape again.
There's a part of him that's still transparent, transient, fading... but...
What the hell...
That look in her eyes, that intensity, the light tinge of dark red on her lips... ]
What the hell are you...
[ ...God, she's beautiful. Fuck, he's doomed. ]
Yeah, I'm... fine...
[ Yet he weakly lifts his hand up to Ai's cheek. He's probably just told her the most transparent lie imaginable. He's still here, a leaking container that's only been refilled the barest amount. ]
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Then her mouth, still stained red, tugs into an uneven smile that looks almost helpless. ]
You liar.
[ The first time had been all panic, indelicate and entirely practical, purely for the purposes of keeping him here for another minute, another second, however long it would take her to fix this. She'd barely even thought about what it would mean to do it.
This time, she does. She has all the time in the world to think about what a terrible idea this is and then decide to do it anyway.
Her face lowers to his again. When she kisses him the second time, it's not nearly as clumsy. There's no clashing of teeth on lips, no awkward angle that makes her neck strain. But in every other way, it's just the same. Just as messy and indelicate and embarrassing in a way she'll be tearing her hair out over later.
But there's nothing else she can do. So long as her blood and her body are saturated with the magic he needs, what other choice does she have?
So she'll let him drain as much as he needs out of her. She can worry about damage control once she's certain he'll be here long enough for it to be a concern. ]
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This time, he responds. He doesn't freeze up in total shock, both at being kissed and the idea that she is kissing him, and... isn't repulsed at kissing the insect of the abyss.
She should be repulsed, he thinks... but she isn't, and frankly? He doesn't have the energy to complain about her lack of sanity.
So instead, he returns it... their tongues intertwined with each other's, the taste of blood on both of their lips. It doesn't taste good, obviously. It tastes awful, all metallic and salty. He'd even go as far as to say it tastes like shit.
But his hand rests on the back of her head as he kisses her roughly... hungrily, even. It's not like there's enough strength in his arms to actually hold her there, but his clawed carapace, having just reformed, runs through the locks of her hair and stays there.
It's a painfully slow process. Mostly on account of the fact that he drains even as she refills him... but a physical path proves to be more efficient than a spiritual one. For maximum efficiency, one must go further... much further, but...
He kisses her harder, forcing his tongue in as if to devour the blood in her mouth. He can't indulge that. He won't. It's already annoying enough that someone actually told her about this method, even if it's saving his life. ]
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She's already paid the price for breaking that rule once - paid it in blood, even. But here she is again, making the exact same mistake and paying once again in blood.
But that's just it. Idols don't bleed. Creatures like that don't have human blood running through their veins. It's only because she's such an intolerably filthy girl, a dirty human playacting at being something pretty and pure, that she has the pound of flesh to pay for something like this.
She wonders, even as his hand in her hair anchors her to the kiss, just how disgusted he must be with her.
She doesn't know how long it takes for their lips to part. Just that her mouth is sore and puffy when she finally does and her face is burning. It takes her a few seconds to remember how to breathe enough to speak. ]
Tell me it's enough. [ Then, with a catch in her voice that surprises even her; ] Don't go yet.
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He wants to tear it all down. Like back then, when he destroyed Britain, when he tried to destroy Proper Human History. A visceral rage boils up inside him and makes him want to tear it to shreds and defile it.
Like what he's doing right now.
He looks up at her again, her face flushed, her lips puffed up and bloody, her hair hanging over and around them like a curtain. He finds himself breathing just as hard as she is.
Ah. He thinks, unable to look away. Humans have no taste after all, do they? ]
...it's more than enough, Ai.
[ He lies. He lies to her as he always does, gripping her with hands that have begun to regain their substance... ]
Don't stop.
[ ...and this time, he's the one initiating, suddenly pulling her down with his renewed strength and forcing his lips onto hers once more. He bites gently at her lips, not breaking skin, but renewing the flow of blood.
There they are, laying in the aftermath of a battle, crashing their lips together in a bloodstained kiss. It must be painful, it can't not be... but that's fine. Neither of them can allow things to go further, but even so... that won't stop him from marking and tarnishing humanity's precious little idol himself. ]
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[ She doesn't get a chance to speak - not that she knows what she would have said, even if she had. All that comes out of her is a thin noise (protest? encouragement? even she doesn't know) when his teeth close on her lips again and the rusty taste of her blood washes over her tongue.
Blood. That's it. That's the only reason they're doing this. There's no other way for her to pour her mana into him as quickly as they need, so even this little indignity she can file away as something necessary. It's not about what either of them want or don't want. It's just pure practicality. Even if he's kissing her like he wants to eat her, even if it feels good- even if it feels good enough to-
Ai yanks herself back. She can only go so far when he's still holding her but it's enough for her expression to be perfectly clear - trembling, wide-eyed alarm. That fear, again. The one she directs entirely inward and smothers her heart with.
Once again: a retreat. Not a rejection. ]
... you're okay. That's more than enough. We don't need to...
[ Her voice is trembling. It sounds like she's making to excuse to herself as much to him. ]
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He can't stand it anymore.
He allowed her to retreat before. He reached out to pull her back, but stopped himself. In a sense, in that moment, he had retreated as well.
He refuses to do so again.
So he pulls her back in. Forcefully, roughly, hungrily. ]
I'm not done.
[ He's just following orders, isn't he? She told him not to go, that's all.
...even in his own thoughts, he can't help but lie.
He kisses her again, his strength having clearly returned enough for him to do so, and refuses to let go. ]
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Once was necessary. Twice was a precaution. Three times was testing their luck. But this is -
What else can she can it but pure indulgence? Not that there's anything pure about a kiss like this. But if this is what he's indulging in, wanting it instead of needing it, wanting it badly enough to take it like this-
What is she supposed to do?
Her fingers catch his shirt, tug urgently for his attention. ]
Oberon- wait- I can't breathe like this-
[ It's true. When she manages to get her voice out, it's gasping and breathless. But it's also a surrender - you've won, so please let me retreat. ]
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He releases the kiss with a gasp, not breathless like Ai, but still heavy. His face, normally pale, is unusually flushed. ]
...is that what you want?
[ To retreat? To run from him again? ]
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After a moment, she shakes her head. But then- ]
I don't know... I don't know, but...!
[ Her voice is ragged and shaky in a way that has nothing to do with her needing a breath. ]
I can't do it like this. I can't...
[ Like this. Whatever that means. It's the truth but it's impossible to read anything from it even so. ]
S-so... please don't ask me again.
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[ He grabs her again, but not with an arm snaked around to pull her in from behind, but with a hand gripping at the loose-fitting hoodie she's wearing. He doesn't kiss her, he just pulls her close. ]
Don't give me that...!
[ You, the greedy woman who pursued two kinds of happiness at once... you, who he understands so much that it hurts. Understands so well that he can't help but try to drag the truth out of her, kicking and screaming if need be.
Because the truth may not exist for him, but it does for her, whether she realizes it or not. ]
Why did you save me, then!? Why did you go to such lengths...
[ Go to the point of hurting herself in order to keep him from leaving her. Ai may not realize it... hell, Oberon may not even realize it just yet, but... far more of his feelings have been forcefully dragged out of him than either of them realize. ]
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It- it was the only thing I could think to do! If you vanished- nobody here knows what happens if someone loses their Servant!
[ It's all true. And yet it's a lie at the same time - one of omission. ]
I was... scared. I panicked. Are you trying to say I shouldn't have bothered?!
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[ That she didn't need to go that far, to be so desperate to save him that she was willing to draw her own blood if it meant ensuring that he stayed.
He bites his tongue before he says that, but instead of that, he brings his hand up to tenderly put his thumb on her lip and wipe away the lingering blood on it. ]
...yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. Who in their right mind would go this far!?
[ She knows what she wants, he knows that she knows, and he's had enough of her running. ]
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I wasn't. I just told you I was scared, didn't I?! It was this or let you just disappear and you-
[ Pause. Swallow. Her mouth still tastes horribly like blood. ]
... You've already saved me so many times. How could I just give up on you without at least trying?
[ It's not entirely the truth. Maybe Ai herself doesn't know it well enough to give it to him.
But it's true enough. ]
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You're such a pain... dragging this out of me...
[ He lets his hands fall to his sides, and for once, is the one to look away. ]
...fine, go on then.
[ She's free to retreat. ]
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... are you really... [ A pause and another convulsive swallow. The bite is still welling with blood and she lifts her arm so she can press her sleeve there and try to stem it. Her voice comes out muffled by the fabric. ] Is that all I had to do?
[ It looks as though he's back in one piece but she can't shake the feeling that it'd been just a little too... convenient. Isn't it just a little too much of a cliche for her to patch things back up with a kiss like that? ]
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Of course not. But you wouldn't like going that far, so I'll manage.
[ He scoffs, leaning back and staring up at the night sky. He feels slow and weak, but that's just in comparison to his standards as a Servant. He's not much different in strength compared to your everyday human right now. ]
...who the hell taught you that, anyway? Seriously...
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Nagiko-chan did. Or, well - not exactly. She's been teaching me about magic and some of the things I don't understand yet. She told me a mage's magic gets stored in every part of their body, like their hair and their blood and their spit. So... I kind of put the rest of it together myself.
[ She'll have to thank her for the save. Or, uh, try to thank her while very carefully avoiding why the lesson had become so relevant. ]
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[ There is a 100% chance that she would be able to put two and two together and realize why it became relevant, and that neither she nor her Master would shut up about it afterwards. He'll have to kick her ass later.
Because sure, he's alive, but how the hell is he supposed to deal with Ai now? It'd be nice if he could retreat himself and just be the Fairy King for a while, but this frustrating woman won't even allow that. ]
...Well, as long as that's all she told you, then it's fine.
[ Surely she wouldn't go into that much detail, right? ]
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