[ He playfully shoots back his retort. Not that he was mean to her, but he is also the villain here you know.
He answers her questions, reminding her who's who. Seriously, it's a good thing there aren't an abundance of Artoria-lookalikes out there in reality... her faceblindness is already bad enough, though at the very least, most of them have the same name.
He's briefly silent at that last question, though. ]
...Yeah. Even though she knew exactly who I am and what I was, I found myself being resummoned to Chaldea when everything was said and done.
[ He sips from his empty cup again before continuing. ]
The Last Master of Humanity... I suppose dealing with so many Servants all the time is bound to drive anyone loopy. She's annoyingly genuine to a fault, I seriously couldn't believe it when she summoned me after all that... and you know what she said to me? "Glad to be working with you again."
Dealing with just you is enough hassle. I can't imagine handling a bunch of other Servants, too.
[ Still, that unsettled feeling still makes a home in her chest. She's not jealous - that girl from Chaldea is, after all, just a girl - but... that's two other people now she has to try and fill the shoes of, isn't it?
At least Titania had the good grace to not be real. ]
I hope she's ready to be disappointed if she ever turns up here, though. [ Another huff - whatever that feeling is, she's winding it up into a joke to try and dislodge it. ] You're my Servant now.
[ "You're mine." ]
I won't give you up to anybody.
[ At that she risks looking at him, with one of those smiles that's just a little too pretty to be true. ]
[ His eyes meet hers, and for a moment, they widen in surprise. Her eyes are as blinding as always, but... they're especially bright right now.
...but in response to that look in her eyes, that damn smile of hers, he can only laugh. ]
Hah... ahaha...!
[ He laughs... and he leans in, putting his face close to hers. ]
Hah... who taught you to be so possessive... wasn't I just making you scream not too long ago?
[ He taught her to be possessive. Literally his fault. Everything is his fault, always, and that's not a joke. He brings his hand up to brush away some of her hair while he grins at her. ]
Don't worry... I know. You're mine, and I'm yours. That won't change, Ai...
Who says I'm possessive? I'm not taking that from the guy who couldn't stop biting me just to make sure everyone knew who my Servant is.
[ ... But she does look a little mollified, at least. She knows full well her heart's too sensitive to any risk of change, any possibility of something she wants slipping out of her hands. ]
... Besides.
[ Her other hand comes up to make sure his face doesn't pull back. ]
No matter who your Master is, I'm the only one who gets to do this.
[ And she closes the gap between them with a kiss. ]
[ The movie doesn't pause, obviously. Even as Oberon returns the gesture and kisses her back, it keeps going... he'll have to explain the rebel army to her and who Percival is after this, isn't he?
Ah well... it doesn't matter. With how often he watches this movie... she can always just watch it again with him. Besides, with as much as Ai's watched so far, she deserves a little break. The rebel army won't be too hard to catch her up on.
So he kisses her deeply, returning her affection and neediness with his own. She's not wrong... this privilege is reserved solely for herself and nobody else. She is his Titania... his everything. He leans over the armrest separating them to do it... hell, at this point, why is she even sitting next to him?
It's that thought occurring to him that prompts him to suddenly reach over to put his hands on her waist—though he does take her tub of popcorn and put it aside on the other armrest. Snacks are important, especially since with this, he won't be getting up to get more—and pull her over onto his lap. She's small enough for it to work, after all, and it's easier to kiss her this way.
...god, they are the most obnoxious movie-goers, aren't they? ]
[ Somehow, she doesn't see it coming. Even though she'd been the one huffing and puffing to herself about the armrest between them, the second he lifts her out of her seat, she gives one of those surprised and not entirely dignified little noises. ]
Jeez, Oberon...! [ The cadence of her voice comes out like a complaint which probably isn't a surprise with how she's gone pink with embarrassment all the way to her ears. ] At least warn me before you go picking me up like that. You have way too much fun with it.
[ ... But it's certainly not a complaint. She settles herself in and goes right ahead in helping herself to another kiss. It is easier to do this when she's in his lap, huh... ]
It's a good job it's just us here. You'd get us thrown out.
[ Even if he wasn't a Servant, picking her up would be easy... and she fits perfectly and comfortably straddled in his lap, too. Really, they're just as bad as each other... ]
Oh, I'd figure something out...
[ Would he, though? It really is a good thing they're alone... there's truly nothing more distracting than a girl straddling her beloved in the middle of a movie in order to make out. Not that they've been the most gracious of movie goers in the first place, considering how openly they've been speaking from the get-go.
His arms wrap around her waist, he crashes his lips against hers and pushes his tongue in to dance with hers. Her privilege alone... and he'll show just how far that privilege goes.
By the time he pulls back to allow Ai to catch her breath, the group in the movie have long since reached the point of finishing up their strategizing for their next move. ]
[ Just as it always seems to go as of late, Ai doesn't mean it to go quite this far. She's distantly aware they're missing quite a chunk of the movie, but... well, Oberon's just very good at distracting her, that's all. She's totally not at fault here. What else is she supposed to do when her Servant is such a handful?
By the time he lets her go, forget her ears - she's flushed all the way to the roots of her hair again and she can feel her face burn with it. She knows full well that's a dangerous face to let him see so she turns - all the way in fact, settling herself sideways in his lap just to make it a little harder to give into temptation.
It seems a little strange to be kissed breathless in a dream. But then, what isn't strange about this whole situation? ]
If I missed anything, don't complain when you end up having to explain it later.
[ that's really all she has to say for herself?? ]
[ Honestly, at this point, the movie is the one thing keeping them from letting things get out of hand again. Just how badly smitten do you have to be to one another to get to this point in both reality and in a dream?
He relishes in seeing the look on her face, at least for as long as she allows him to before she turns herself sideways in order to hide it. ]
Yes, yes, I know.
[ He'll use his hands on her waist to turn her around the rest of the way, now seated facing the movie in his lap and his arms wrapped around her. She's larger enough than her that it works out fairly well, he thinks. ]
[ S-somehow being perched on his lap like this is all sorts of embarrassing even though there's nobody else around... are the two of them really so far gone that they can't keep their hands off each other even in a dream? And it's not like she can even blame him for this one...
Still. It's not unpleasant. It's not like she's exactly starved for his touch after what they spent all night doing but being held like this is still new. Maybe that makes her just a little pathetic but she's known that for a long, long while. ]
This is one of those parts of the movie, huh?
[ She pipes up with that after a little while of quiet. ]
Where it starts looking like everything's going right before it all goes wrong again.
[ Yes, yes they are so far gone. Never at any point will Ai have to worry about Oberon being stolen away by his former Master... they're practically locked in at this point. ]
...I suppose it is. We've coasted rather steadily along so far... even saved Norwich, but I suppose it is indeed from here... when things start to escalate.
[ It takes a little longer than that, at least. As far as movies go, this is a rather lengthy one, after all... but up Artoria's ringing of the first bell meant, as Morgan herself declared, the true beginning of the war... Mash's journey with Aesc, and of course... ]
"I don't want to see her. I don't want to be shown her. She's too much. I don't want to believe it. I don't want to acknowledge it.
After all.
She has no equal. Takes no refuge. No one who understands her. None who can comfort her.
She receives no reward. No goals. No rest. She cannot afford failure, not even a single mistake.
Ah—from the bottom of my heart, I think: "no."
Just how cruel must it be for everyone to smile and acknowledge a King like that?"
[ More of the girl who Ai understands all too well. ]
[ It's impossible to hide it now she's sat where she is - impossible to pretend she doesn't tense and go ramrod straight in his arms as those words pour out of the speakers.
It's too much. She's too much.
Yeah. She remembers.
A thin noise rises out of her throat and finally resolves into a laugh. You could almost mistake it for a real one. ]
Ah, she's not wrong. It really is cruel. So cruel you could be sick from it.
[ Her hand drifts up and once again - that spot on her stomach she can never truly stop thinking about, no matter how much time passes. ]
I guess a story like that doesn't change no matter where you go.
[ He feels her stiffen in his arms, and he responds by pulling her close again, his chest against her back. ]
Hah... that's right. Sickening, isn't it? Maybe it's just because I'm not from Proper Human History... but I never did understand that king. Perhaps nobody ever did...
[ Well, it's a good thing at least that those words are a lie, even if neither of them have a way of knowing it.
She wakes up as per usual, and at the very least, her pain is at least somewhat noticed by Fujimaru... and the Faerie King, who serves to reinvigorate the party.
It's strange to watch himself tell the others of his summoning, especially with Ai in his lap like this. Ai, who already knows the grotesque truth of his summoning, but...
The way he lets out a sigh when the group is informed of the encroaching army on the Welsh Forest... his forest...
Rather than pained, he sounds... resigned, almost. How many times has he watched this? ]
[ The question tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Sat like this, she can't see his face - and maybe that's a little kinder, all things considered. It means that whatever this pulls out of him, he doesn't need to hope Ai doesn't see it. But she knows the sound of a sigh like that. She's let out so many of her own that sound just the same, after all.
Again, the question surfaces in her mind: just how many times must you watch a tragedy play out before you get so... bored of it? ]
I'll stay to the end no matter what but... we don't have to keep watching.
[ He's glad she can't see his face. Perhaps it's selfish of him, considering what he's seen of her face, but... ]
...I hated them, you know. I hated how grotesque they were, the way they crawled along my body when I couldn't move, the way they clustered around my every step, the way they viewed me as their king... their savior. To them, the Child of Prophecy was a story... but I was their reality. I hated having that role thrust onto me by creatures so weak that it was only natural they were persecuted, faeries that didn't even have the intelligence to understand the injustices they were dealt.
[ The first tragedy plays out. A forest erupted in flames, the chitters of the creatures perishing within. "It hurts. It hurts. Please, stop. Please don't burn our forest. Please don't destroy Oberon's home." ]
...In the end, I saved none of them. Their deaths accomplished nothing, too. Watching to the end is the one and only respect I can grant them.
[ All of it. From Artoria's enraged screams, the battle with Faerie Knight Gawain, and even to Oberon's first participation in battle (yet another lie he had told, that he wasn't suited for combat)... he rests his chin on top of Ai's head, proof that through it all... not once does he look away. ]
...Well, I suppose I did return the favor in the end. Oh, whoops, spoilers.
[ His tone is so jovial with those last words they couldn't be anything but forced. ]
... It's all stories in the end, huh? Ones other people tell you. Or about you, I guess. You never really get a say in how it turns out.
[ She really can't draw a comparison between them. Oberon is so unfathomably old, a story playing out at a scale a tiny thing like her can barely even comprehend. Ai of B-Komachi was something she did to herself. Faerie King Oberon was burned into him like a brand. Everywhere you could even try to point to some way they're similar, Ai falls pathetically short every time.
But it still prickles at her skin like recognition. For the second time, she wonders if maybe she's just projecting. Then she decides it doesn't matter.
The hand that'd been gripping the front of her shirt at last slides down to settle atop his. When he'd lifted her into his lap, their hands had come unlinked but now she slides her fingers back into the gaps between his again. ]
I like the one we've been telling together. For what it's worth.
[ It's unfair to compare them. Ai's life, as tragic as it was, was the life of a human. She faced human troubles, human pain, and at the very end... she experienced human love as well. Oberon Vortigern is and always has been larger than that, whether he liked it or not. The will of Britain itself... it's wish for destruction. It's hard enough to comprehend for mages, nobody could blame Ai for struggling herself.
He was just one such iteration of that will... that the concept of "Oberon" washed ashore on the isle and used as the base for the next Vile King.
...But does that really matter? That she is merely a human idol, that he is a living doomsday device... who says that means they can't understand each other?
If an ordinary girl thrust into a larger-than-life role can do it... can come to an understanding with not only him, but countless others... then anything is possible, isn't it? ]
...Yeah, me too.
[ His hand links with hers again, this time with his clawed and monstrous hand... but still his hand nonetheless. He's inhuman, but he desires love the same as her.
The fire ends, and the Faerie King is left to mourn for his subjects. Unbeknownst to all, his true wrath is inflicted onto the single nearby individual that he needed out of the picture anyway. ]
"You... You! I know you! I recognize that horrible cursed scent! I smelled it during the war against the mors! No... This can't be. You're supposed to be dead... The high queen... I have to tell the high queen..."
[ It's a grim sight... the knight is completely devoured by a swarm of insects, of course it's grim. But for the first time during Ai's stay here, the rage of Hoshino Ai's true Servant can be seen onscreen. ]
[ Ai promised to watch until the end. So she does.
Even though her skin crawls. Even though her whole body rebels at the thought of seeing even a second more. Even though there's that well disciplined animal part of her brain that never stops and never goes quiet soaking up the rage and resentment pouring off the screen to use against her later as a reminder; see? you're not safe. why were you ever stupid enough to think you were?
She promised she'd watch. So she does.
It's hard to reconcile, though. She'd been afraid of him at the very start because of exactly this - the rage and the violence. She's learned first hand in all sorts of ways that the Servant who answered her call is never going to be kind or gentle, not even with her.
And yet... even as she watches all this play out, here she is wrapped up in his arms. She knows full well how easily his hands can bruise and mark her and yet he's holding her with the care off someone handling a fragile, precious thing.
Suddenly she's glad that the position they're in means they can't easily see each others' faces. ]
It probably gets worse from here, right?
[ Her voice is carefully neutral. ]
I guess that's technically spoilers. I just wanted to be ready for it.
[ He's silent, his clawed hand so careful as it intertwines with hers. He was never a safe Servant to summon... hell, as far as risk goes, he's probably all the way up at the top of Servants most likely to kill their Master.
But he holds her as though she were the most precious existence in the world. He marks and bruises her, but he takes care not to destroy her.
He's used to being a living contradiction, at least. ]
...Yeah. I'm afraid it does.
[ They can't see each other's faces, but he practically eclipses her frame with his body as he holds her close. He's practically giving away how needy he is for her touch. ]
But... thank you for staying.
[ At the very least, every journey has it's ups and downs. There's the battle with Woodwose, Mash's journey with Aesc the Savior, the corpse of a god at the bottom of a pit... but then there's the ball at Gloucester, which has Artoria dragged inside by her two red-headed companions, kicking and screaming the whole way.
But in the end... it is all mostly downhill. The true name of Faerie Knight Tristan, the tragic fate of the Rain Clan, the efforts of a single Savior going up in flames for no reason at all. ]
"Ah... Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why... Why...? Why...!? This was supposed to be the greatest day in Britain's history... Everything was supposed to change for the better! But they... they killed Uther! They slaughtered my entire Round Table... like they... like they were just trash! They asked the world of us! They thought the world of Uther! But now, they've poisoned him... They were too afraid to even face him! Cowards!!! Uther... Talk to me... Uther, Uther! Say something! Please, say anything! Just open your eyes!!! I never let failure stop me! I've kept trying all these thousands of years! Am I doomed to fail here, too!? Is it still not enough? Am I not enough!?"
[ Two girls hated and rejected by the land they were sent to grant salvation. It's nothing Ai didn't already have an idea about already, but it probably doesn't help that the two girls look so similar... like mirror images of each other. One simply being in the process of burning out while the other burnt out a long time ago. ]
[ It's funny. Oberon's never exactly been shy about manhandling her whenever he deems it necessary (and often when it's not exactly necessary) but this is the first time he's been quite so... clingy. It's definitely not as though she hates it - whether she'd realized it or not, she's been aching for someone to reach out and touch her like she's a real human being for so, so long. Having someone finally do it... well, it's everything.
She wonders, suddenly, just how many of those unnecessary touches before had been just excuses. She wonders if Oberon's like her in that way, too - aching for someone to reach out and touch. And just as terrified of having someone flinch and retreat.
Once again, her attention's drifted from the movie. She thinks that's fine. She's gotten the gist. This feels a little more important.
As best she can from her spot in her lap, she butts her head gently against the side of his neck, tucking herself in as close as she can get. It's all she can manage when they're sat like this, but... ]
I said that I would. I might be a liar, but I don't break promises.
[ He's glad that she can't see his face right now... see the way his face softens at her recognition. His yearning for warmth... their yearning for warmth. Their similarities just continue to stack up... and you don't need fae eyes to see the truth when you're looking at a mirror.
Here they are, watching a movie together... yet their thoughts can't help but rest on each other instead. ]
Mm...
[ He doesn't have much to say... he's not sure how to put into words just how much he loves her in this moment. So he just hums, pressing his cheek to the top of Ai's head and further tucking her as close into himself as she can get.
He holds her, refuses to let go, and just continues to watch the story playing out in front of them. Londinium's fated destruction, the death of a friend, the final ringing of the bells... and the upcoming final battle. ]
"...I see. You're still hung up on Gareth. But remember, the prophecy predicted all of that. 'The round fortress shall burn, and the bell of water shall appear.' What happened to her wasn't your fault, and she didn't desert you, either. That was her fate."
"...Is that really what you think?"
"Of course it is. Besides, Gareth wouldn't want us to be sad about her being gone."
[ It was only natural that the Faerie King would come to comfort Artoria in that moment, but... ]
"I don't mean about her. I mean what you said about there not being a singel casualty. ...The truth us, you think our chances of winning are slim, that the Round Table Army's going to be slaughtered, and the humans will be the first to die."
[ It's strange, really, the difference in their eyes. They were always the same, but Artoria's weren't nearly as violent in dragging out the truth. If anything, they were constantly reluctant to, but did so anyway.
It's different now, though. Her eyes look the same as Oberon's, and for once... it's him on the receiving end.
[ ... A sigh flutes out of her, somehow embarrassed, fond and resigned all at once. ]
Well, that explains it.
[ Then, pre-empting the question which would surely follow; ]
I couldn't stand how you looked at me at first. Or I guess... I couldn't stand how I felt when you did. It was like you were just seeing all the things about me I hate and I used to get scared. Like, "ah, what exactly must he be seeing to make me feel like that?" [ Another soft breath, almost a laugh. ] But I guess that was all on me. If you were seeing the real me, no wonder it made me so sick.
[ "After all, I've always hated her."
Another big dramatic sigh and matching attempt to play her words off as a joke; ]
I'm definitely taking all the wrong lessons from this, but I'm kind of jealous. [ it comes out more bitter than she means it to. ] It sounds exhausting but being able to just understand people's feelings like that... It'd sure solve a lot of my problems.
[ "You could afford to be greedier" he thinks, but doesn't say. She doesn't like what she sees when she looks at most people... she's scared of them.
He's always known, always seen that in her, but now she's saying it out loud... even if it's only because it's him. She's come farther than she realizes... a shame it took someone inhuman for her to reach that point. ]
You're welcome, then.
[ ...Not that he minds. If that means her true self is for him alone, then he can't say he doesn't like the sound of that. ]
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no subject
[ He playfully shoots back his retort. Not that he was mean to her, but he is also the villain here you know.
He answers her questions, reminding her who's who. Seriously, it's a good thing there aren't an abundance of Artoria-lookalikes out there in reality... her faceblindness is already bad enough, though at the very least, most of them have the same name.
He's briefly silent at that last question, though. ]
...Yeah. Even though she knew exactly who I am and what I was, I found myself being resummoned to Chaldea when everything was said and done.
[ He sips from his empty cup again before continuing. ]
The Last Master of Humanity... I suppose dealing with so many Servants all the time is bound to drive anyone loopy. She's annoyingly genuine to a fault, I seriously couldn't believe it when she summoned me after all that... and you know what she said to me? "Glad to be working with you again."
[ He lets out a sigh. ]
...well, not that it matters now.
no subject
Dealing with just you is enough hassle. I can't imagine handling a bunch of other Servants, too.
[ Still, that unsettled feeling still makes a home in her chest. She's not jealous - that girl from Chaldea is, after all, just a girl - but... that's two other people now she has to try and fill the shoes of, isn't it?
At least Titania had the good grace to not be real. ]
I hope she's ready to be disappointed if she ever turns up here, though. [ Another huff - whatever that feeling is, she's winding it up into a joke to try and dislodge it. ] You're my Servant now.
[ "You're mine." ]
I won't give you up to anybody.
[ At that she risks looking at him, with one of those smiles that's just a little too pretty to be true. ]
no subject
...but in response to that look in her eyes, that damn smile of hers, he can only laugh. ]
Hah... ahaha...!
[ He laughs... and he leans in, putting his face close to hers. ]
Hah... who taught you to be so possessive... wasn't I just making you scream not too long ago?
[
He taught her to be possessive. Literally his fault. Everything is his fault, always, and that's not a joke.He brings his hand up to brush away some of her hair while he grins at her. ]Don't worry... I know. You're mine, and I'm yours. That won't change, Ai...
no subject
Who says I'm possessive? I'm not taking that from the guy who couldn't stop biting me just to make sure everyone knew who my Servant is.
[ ... But she does look a little mollified, at least. She knows full well her heart's too sensitive to any risk of change, any possibility of something she wants slipping out of her hands. ]
... Besides.
[ Her other hand comes up to make sure his face doesn't pull back. ]
No matter who your Master is, I'm the only one who gets to do this.
[ And she closes the gap between them with a kiss. ]
no subject
Ah well... it doesn't matter. With how often he watches this movie... she can always just watch it again with him. Besides, with as much as Ai's watched so far, she deserves a little break. The rebel army won't be too hard to catch her up on.
So he kisses her deeply, returning her affection and neediness with his own. She's not wrong... this privilege is reserved solely for herself and nobody else. She is his Titania... his everything. He leans over the armrest separating them to do it... hell, at this point, why is she even sitting next to him?
It's that thought occurring to him that prompts him to suddenly reach over to put his hands on her waist—though he does take her tub of popcorn and put it aside on the other armrest. Snacks are important, especially since with this, he won't be getting up to get more—and pull her over onto his lap. She's small enough for it to work, after all, and it's easier to kiss her this way.
...god, they are the most obnoxious movie-goers, aren't they? ]
no subject
Jeez, Oberon...! [ The cadence of her voice comes out like a complaint which probably isn't a surprise with how she's gone pink with embarrassment all the way to her ears. ] At least warn me before you go picking me up like that. You have way too much fun with it.
[ ... But it's certainly not a complaint. She settles herself in and goes right ahead in helping herself to another kiss. It is easier to do this when she's in his lap, huh... ]
It's a good job it's just us here. You'd get us thrown out.
[ says the girl who started it... ]
no subject
[ Even if he wasn't a Servant, picking her up would be easy... and she fits perfectly and comfortably straddled in his lap, too. Really, they're just as bad as each other... ]
Oh, I'd figure something out...
[ Would he, though? It really is a good thing they're alone... there's truly nothing more distracting than a girl straddling her beloved in the middle of a movie in order to make out. Not that they've been the most gracious of movie goers in the first place, considering how openly they've been speaking from the get-go.
His arms wrap around her waist, he crashes his lips against hers and pushes his tongue in to dance with hers. Her privilege alone... and he'll show just how far that privilege goes.
By the time he pulls back to allow Ai to catch her breath, the group in the movie have long since reached the point of finishing up their strategizing for their next move. ]
no subject
By the time he lets her go, forget her ears - she's flushed all the way to the roots of her hair again and she can feel her face burn with it. She knows full well that's a dangerous face to let him see so she turns - all the way in fact, settling herself sideways in his lap just to make it a little harder to give into temptation.
It seems a little strange to be kissed breathless in a dream. But then, what isn't strange about this whole situation? ]
If I missed anything, don't complain when you end up having to explain it later.
[ that's really all she has to say for herself?? ]
no subject
He relishes in seeing the look on her face, at least for as long as she allows him to before she turns herself sideways in order to hide it. ]
Yes, yes, I know.
[ He'll use his hands on her waist to turn her around the rest of the way, now seated facing the movie in his lap and his arms wrapped around her. She's larger enough than her that it works out fairly well, he thinks. ]
no subject
Still. It's not unpleasant. It's not like she's exactly starved for his touch after what they spent all night doing but being held like this is still new. Maybe that makes her just a little pathetic but she's known that for a long, long while. ]
This is one of those parts of the movie, huh?
[ She pipes up with that after a little while of quiet. ]
Where it starts looking like everything's going right before it all goes wrong again.
no subject
...I suppose it is. We've coasted rather steadily along so far... even saved Norwich, but I suppose it is indeed from here... when things start to escalate.
[ It takes a little longer than that, at least. As far as movies go, this is a rather lengthy one, after all... but up Artoria's ringing of the first bell meant, as Morgan herself declared, the true beginning of the war... Mash's journey with Aesc, and of course... ]
"I don't want to see her. I don't want to be shown her. She's too much. I don't want to believe it. I don't want to acknowledge it.
After all.
She has no equal. Takes no refuge. No one who understands her. None who can comfort her.
She receives no reward. No goals. No rest. She cannot afford failure, not even a single mistake.
Ah—from the bottom of my heart, I think: "no."
Just how cruel must it be for everyone to smile and acknowledge a King like that?"
[ More of the girl who Ai understands all too well. ]
no subject
It's too much. She's too much.
Yeah. She remembers.
A thin noise rises out of her throat and finally resolves into a laugh. You could almost mistake it for a real one. ]
Ah, she's not wrong. It really is cruel. So cruel you could be sick from it.
[ Her hand drifts up and once again - that spot on her stomach she can never truly stop thinking about, no matter how much time passes. ]
I guess a story like that doesn't change no matter where you go.
no subject
Hah... that's right. Sickening, isn't it? Maybe it's just because I'm not from Proper Human History... but I never did understand that king. Perhaps nobody ever did...
[
Well, it's a good thing at least that those words are a lie, even if neither of them have a way of knowing it.She wakes up as per usual, and at the very least, her pain is at least somewhat noticed by Fujimaru... and the Faerie King, who serves to reinvigorate the party.
It's strange to watch himself tell the others of his summoning, especially with Ai in his lap like this. Ai, who already knows the grotesque truth of his summoning, but...
The way he lets out a sigh when the group is informed of the encroaching army on the Welsh Forest... his forest...
Rather than pained, he sounds... resigned, almost. How many times has he watched this? ]
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[ The question tumbles out of her mouth before she can stop it.
Sat like this, she can't see his face - and maybe that's a little kinder, all things considered. It means that whatever this pulls out of him, he doesn't need to hope Ai doesn't see it. But she knows the sound of a sigh like that. She's let out so many of her own that sound just the same, after all.
Again, the question surfaces in her mind: just how many times must you watch a tragedy play out before you get so... bored of it? ]
I'll stay to the end no matter what but... we don't have to keep watching.
[ "Unless you want me to see." ]
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[ He's glad she can't see his face. Perhaps it's selfish of him, considering what he's seen of her face, but... ]
...I hated them, you know. I hated how grotesque they were, the way they crawled along my body when I couldn't move, the way they clustered around my every step, the way they viewed me as their king... their savior. To them, the Child of Prophecy was a story... but I was their reality. I hated having that role thrust onto me by creatures so weak that it was only natural they were persecuted, faeries that didn't even have the intelligence to understand the injustices they were dealt.
[ The first tragedy plays out. A forest erupted in flames, the chitters of the creatures perishing within. "It hurts. It hurts. Please, stop. Please don't burn our forest. Please don't destroy Oberon's home." ]
...In the end, I saved none of them. Their deaths accomplished nothing, too.
Watching to the end is the one and only respect I can grant them.
[ All of it. From Artoria's enraged screams, the battle with Faerie Knight Gawain, and even to Oberon's first participation in battle (yet another lie he had told, that he wasn't suited for combat)... he rests his chin on top of Ai's head, proof that through it all... not once does he look away. ]
...Well, I suppose I did return the favor in the end. Oh, whoops, spoilers.
[ His tone is so jovial with those last words they couldn't be anything but forced. ]
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[ She really can't draw a comparison between them. Oberon is so unfathomably old, a story playing out at a scale a tiny thing like her can barely even comprehend. Ai of B-Komachi was something she did to herself. Faerie King Oberon was burned into him like a brand. Everywhere you could even try to point to some way they're similar, Ai falls pathetically short every time.
But it still prickles at her skin like recognition. For the second time, she wonders if maybe she's just projecting. Then she decides it doesn't matter.
The hand that'd been gripping the front of her shirt at last slides down to settle atop his. When he'd lifted her into his lap, their hands had come unlinked but now she slides her fingers back into the gaps between his again. ]
I like the one we've been telling together. For what it's worth.
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He was just one such iteration of that will... that the concept of "Oberon" washed ashore on the isle and used as the base for the next Vile King.
...But does that really matter? That she is merely a human idol, that he is a living doomsday device... who says that means they can't understand each other?
If an ordinary girl thrust into a larger-than-life role can do it... can come to an understanding with not only him, but countless others... then anything is possible, isn't it? ]
...Yeah, me too.
[ His hand links with hers again, this time with his clawed and monstrous hand... but still his hand nonetheless. He's inhuman, but he desires love the same as her.
The fire ends, and the Faerie King is left to mourn for his subjects. Unbeknownst to all, his true wrath is inflicted onto the single nearby individual that he needed out of the picture anyway. ]
"You... You! I know you! I recognize that horrible cursed scent! I smelled it during the war against the mors! No... This can't be. You're supposed to be dead... The high queen... I have to tell the high queen..."
[ It's a grim sight... the knight is completely devoured by a swarm of insects, of course it's grim. But for the first time during Ai's stay here, the rage of Hoshino Ai's true Servant can be seen onscreen. ]
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Even though her skin crawls. Even though her whole body rebels at the thought of seeing even a second more. Even though there's that well disciplined animal part of her brain that never stops and never goes quiet soaking up the rage and resentment pouring off the screen to use against her later as a reminder; see? you're not safe. why were you ever stupid enough to think you were?
She promised she'd watch. So she does.
It's hard to reconcile, though. She'd been afraid of him at the very start because of exactly this - the rage and the violence. She's learned first hand in all sorts of ways that the Servant who answered her call is never going to be kind or gentle, not even with her.
And yet... even as she watches all this play out, here she is wrapped up in his arms. She knows full well how easily his hands can bruise and mark her and yet he's holding her with the care off someone handling a fragile, precious thing.
Suddenly she's glad that the position they're in means they can't easily see each others' faces. ]
It probably gets worse from here, right?
[ Her voice is carefully neutral. ]
I guess that's technically spoilers. I just wanted to be ready for it.
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But he holds her as though she were the most precious existence in the world. He marks and bruises her, but he takes care not to destroy her.
He's used to being a living contradiction, at least. ]
...Yeah. I'm afraid it does.
[ They can't see each other's faces, but he practically eclipses her frame with his body as he holds her close. He's practically giving away how needy he is for her touch. ]
But... thank you for staying.
[ At the very least, every journey has it's ups and downs. There's the battle with Woodwose, Mash's journey with Aesc the Savior, the corpse of a god at the bottom of a pit... but then there's the ball at Gloucester, which has Artoria dragged inside by her two red-headed companions, kicking and screaming the whole way.
But in the end... it is all mostly downhill. The true name of Faerie Knight Tristan, the tragic fate of the Rain Clan, the efforts of a single Savior going up in flames for no reason at all. ]
"Ah... Aah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Why... Why...? Why...!? This was supposed to be the greatest day in Britain's history... Everything was supposed to change for the better! But they... they killed Uther! They slaughtered my entire Round Table... like they... like they were just trash! They asked the world of us! They thought the world of Uther! But now, they've poisoned him... They were too afraid to even face him! Cowards!!! Uther... Talk to me... Uther, Uther! Say something! Please, say anything! Just open your eyes!!! I never let failure stop me! I've kept trying all these thousands of years! Am I doomed to fail here, too!? Is it still not enough? Am I not enough!?"
[ Two girls hated and rejected by the land they were sent to grant salvation. It's nothing Ai didn't already have an idea about already, but it probably doesn't help that the two girls look so similar... like mirror images of each other. One simply being in the process of burning out while the other burnt out a long time ago. ]
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She wonders, suddenly, just how many of those unnecessary touches before had been just excuses. She wonders if Oberon's like her in that way, too - aching for someone to reach out and touch. And just as terrified of having someone flinch and retreat.
Once again, her attention's drifted from the movie. She thinks that's fine. She's gotten the gist. This feels a little more important.
As best she can from her spot in her lap, she butts her head gently against the side of his neck, tucking herself in as close as she can get. It's all she can manage when they're sat like this, but... ]
I said that I would. I might be a liar, but I don't break promises.
[ ...
Somehow, that's not a lie. ]
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Here they are, watching a movie together... yet their thoughts can't help but rest on each other instead. ]
Mm...
[ He doesn't have much to say... he's not sure how to put into words just how much he loves her in this moment. So he just hums, pressing his cheek to the top of Ai's head and further tucking her as close into himself as she can get.
He holds her, refuses to let go, and just continues to watch the story playing out in front of them. Londinium's fated destruction, the death of a friend, the final ringing of the bells... and the upcoming final battle. ]
"...I see. You're still hung up on Gareth. But remember, the prophecy predicted all of that. 'The round fortress shall burn, and the bell of water shall appear.' What happened to her wasn't your fault, and she didn't desert you, either. That was her fate."
"...Is that really what you think?"
"Of course it is. Besides, Gareth wouldn't want us to be sad about her being gone."
[ It was only natural that the Faerie King would come to comfort Artoria in that moment, but... ]
"I don't mean about her. I mean what you said about there not being a singel casualty. ...The truth us, you think our chances of winning are slim, that the Round Table Army's going to be slaughtered, and the humans will be the first to die."
[ It's strange, really, the difference in their eyes. They were always the same, but Artoria's weren't nearly as violent in dragging out the truth. If anything, they were constantly reluctant to, but did so anyway.
It's different now, though. Her eyes look the same as Oberon's, and for once... it's him on the receiving end.
Honestly, it's no wonder why he's fond of her. ]
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Well, that explains it.
[ Then, pre-empting the question which would surely follow; ]
I couldn't stand how you looked at me at first. Or I guess... I couldn't stand how I felt when you did. It was like you were just seeing all the things about me I hate and I used to get scared. Like, "ah, what exactly must he be seeing to make me feel like that?" [ Another soft breath, almost a laugh. ] But I guess that was all on me. If you were seeing the real me, no wonder it made me so sick.
[ "After all, I've always hated her."
Another big dramatic sigh and matching attempt to play her words off as a joke; ]
I'm definitely taking all the wrong lessons from this, but I'm kind of jealous. [ it comes out more bitter than she means it to. ] It sounds exhausting but being able to just understand people's feelings like that... It'd sure solve a lot of my problems.
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[ His voice is oddly serious when he responds. He sighs, his chest rising and falling against her back. ]
...Besides, I can't imagine you'd enjoy it. You wouldn't like what you'd see looking at me.
[ The truth can be ugly, but lies can be even uglier. ]
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[ it's an uncharacteristically blunt response, only barely softened to a joke by the bitter smile on her face. ]
It's funny, right? I'm an idol who loves everybody. But a lot of the time the first thing I think when I see people is just how much they scare me.
[ It's always been fear, after all. Fear of rejection, revulsion. Fear of being hurt, fear of being misunderstood.
Or maybe fear of being understood in her entirety - and having them be repulsed by her all the same. ]
I guess that's why it's not so scary with you anymore. I don't have to wonder what you're seeing. ... So maybe that's good enough.
[ All she's ever needed is for just one person to really see, after all. ]
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[ "You could afford to be greedier" he thinks, but doesn't say. She doesn't like what she sees when she looks at most people... she's scared of them.
He's always known, always seen that in her, but now she's saying it out loud... even if it's only because it's him. She's come farther than she realizes... a shame it took someone inhuman for her to reach that point. ]
You're welcome, then.
[ ...Not that he minds. If that means her true self is for him alone, then he can't say he doesn't like the sound of that. ]
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