A/N: this is a missing scene from the epilogue of A Different Fate. Needless to say, it won't make any sense if you haven't already read that fic ;)

I blame this first part entirely on my friend HiddenCamellia. She insisted until I gave in and wrote this part, which is the reason for the M rating. It's all her fault :P

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Since leaving their wards in Japan and going on a trip through Europe, there was truly nothing standing in their way. Arturia had no more excuses to 'delay' something she was actually looking forward to.

After the moment they had shared right after the Grail's destruction, they had not proceeded further. Other matters had required their attention, important matters that could not be postponed… but now they were all settled.

To be fair, Gilgamesh had tried, more than once, to push up her shirt while his arm was around her waist, touching her back as his hand attempted to climb higher, as he kissed her senseless. His other hand was usually in her hair, which he undid himself. Her own hands had been on his cheeks, fusing their lips together even more. But every time, something or someone had interrupted them, and in some ways, she had been glad for it. It would not have been good to initiate something and then have their time together cut short because of other engagements.

But now, there was nothing to stop them from taking that next step. She knew he was eagerly looking forward to it, if the way he had grasped her hand with a heated gaze as they dematerialized was of any indication. Not that it was a bad thing; she was just as impatient as him, but it was kind of strange when she thought about it. He may be the King of all Heroes, but she had come to realize, that, in some ways she held a great power over him.

It was evening when they left Japan for Germany, to go to a hot spring hotel they had booked in advance. As soon as they had checked in and the clerk at the reception office was distracted, Gilgamesh smoothly grabbed Arturia around the waist, giving her no time to react, and dematerialized them to their room.

She adjusted to the slight unbalance that was the transportation's collateral effect and barely had time to appreciate the slightly surreal view of the sunset out the huge window, before his warm mouth descended on hers.

She would have probably had unwanted thoughts going through her mind in that moment, finally alone with him without any possible interruptions – Gilgamesh had personally turned off both their mobile phones and carefully put them at the bottom of their travel bags –, but she could not think as he began to kiss her.

It wasn't their first kiss, by any means, but still, it had not lost any of its marvellous sensations. In the previous weeks, they had kissed so many times that Arturia, once wary of any kind of physical contact, had found herself not only at ease and comfortable, but craving Gilgamesh's ardent embrace. She had even come to initiate their kisses and she had discovered that her arms went up to touch him of their own accord.

No… not of their own accord.

She wanted them to. She wanted to touch him more, and several instances, she had come to resent the barrier that clothes provided, while at the same time she was grateful for it, as it stopped them from going too far too fast. But now… that barrier was only a hindrance to be removed.

Without holding anything back, she immediately responded to the touch, her arms going around him to pull him closer. She felt a strange movement of his lips against hers, and it took her a few moments to understand what was going on.

He was… grinning into the kiss?

Her combative nature taking over, she pushed back and made his grin disappear with an aggressive onslaught on his mouth – strong and determined, but not violent, which did not hold back any of her emotions.

When they separated for air, they were both completely breathless. Her green eyes were wider than usual, and she could see that his pupils were dilated in his red orbs. In particular, she had never seen his eyes so dark, so close to burgundy – like his favourite wine, she dazedly recollected – instead of blood red… and she had a hunch that her own eyes were probably darker than usual as well.

But the change in colour did not prevent her from seeing the unabashed desire and especially his affection towards her… and it was so intense… so intense that she could not hold his gaze and had to look away.

She had not lied when she said she trusted him – and now it was time to prove that to be true. And she was not scared about what was going to come now that they were finally alone. She knew what he desired… because she desired the same. She anticipated it, and she knew it was something she truly wanted – and the fact that she knew that he wanted it as well was making it perfect.

Her thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly started moving again.

They were standing in the middle of the room, and their eyes were on each other – and a conversation was not needed.

Slowly, in a careful way, but also with the self-assuredness of someone who knew what he was doing, his hands came up to her clavicles, tracing them softly, to then travel a little downwards and start unbuttoning her blouse, unhurriedly.

Arturia was still, and only the occasional hitch in her breathing betrayed her slight nervousness. Both she and Gilgamesh knew, however, that it wasn't because of lack of faith in him but because of the novelty of the experience.

Perhaps the modest King of Knights should have felt much tenser than she actually was… but she knew that she had the same expression as him – she wanted the material gone. Judging by the look in his eyes, it was something he was impatient to do, but how fast it was going to happen, well, it would depend… and for once, just this once, she decided she would consciously let him take the lead.

The meticulousness and precision with which he was starting to undress her were so uncharacteristically tender, but at the same time tremendously ardent, that Arturia could not stop the tears from gathering in her eyes.

When was the last time she had ever felt so overwhelmed by her emotions? More importantly, by positive emotions?

Probably never…

Gilgamesh, with his ever-outstanding perceptiveness when it came to her, noticed how her feelings were about to flow out of control, and brought his mouth back on hers for another deep kiss, calming her chaotic mind.

When his deft fingers reached the last button of her blouse, he peeled the material off her shoulders and let it fall to the floor, without being gentle but without being rough, either. Her indigo bra was exposed to his view, and his eyes were indeed focused on her naked flesh, indulging on the places where he still could not see.

His hands went downwards, almost teasing her as he traced the edge of her skirt, casually beginning to noiselessly push it down together with her leggings, but leaving her underwear on as he almost kneeled down to accompany the clothes to the floor.

Her creamy white skin was bare before his gaze, and suddenly she wished it was a little colder in the room, so she could justify the goose bumps she felt erupting everywhere on herself. She was not ashamed of her body… but she wasn't completely comfortable with it, either. Even though all the curves where in the right places, she was not voluptuous, and did feel a little self-conscious because of that.

However, she trusted him. She did not move – simply allowing him to do whatever he pleased with her. It was probably one of the greatest displays of trust on her part, and he was well aware of it.

As soon as her clothes were off and only her matching undergarments were still in place, Gilgamesh, kneeling at her feet, was fully struck with the enormity of the significance of her behaviour towards him in that moment. And he could not help standing up abruptly to passionately capture her lips in a deep, open-mouthed kiss – which was only helped by the fact that she parted them in surprise at his assault.

His hands grasped the sides of her head getting better access to her mouth, and in the process his fingers sank into her tresses, slightly fumbling to untie her blue ribbon and then work through entangling her braided hair impatiently.

Her long, golden locks cascaded around her face, creating a lovely frame he had seen only once, many years before, when Illya had managed to dress her up good-naturedly. He could not help letting his hands run through their soft texture, but he made sure not to break the kiss in the process. No matter how enticing her hair was, her lips were currently his main focus.

He decided, however, that he wanted to go down those legs of hers while he could still focus enough to do so. He released her mouth to go down her body, nibbling everywhere he could reach and coming closer and closer to his destination… when he abruptly froze.

Some white marks had caught his eye.

There were some peculiar scars on her otherwise perfect legs – scars he recognized, and that made him feel an unexpected spasm in his chest.

He knew their origin – his weapons had caused those white marks.

When he had proposed to her, seven years earlier, he had thrown his golden weapons at her, and she had been wounded because her fight with Berserker had weakened her considerably, both physically and mentally. Right after that, she had been drenched in the Grail's darkness, before her Heroic Spirit's body had had the time to heal properly.

The scars from back then still marred her body.

And all because he had used a part of his treasure to hurt the greatest treasure of them all…

Gilgamesh suddenly felt slightly sick. He had hurt her – for the sole purpose of having her agree to be his wife, he had hurt her in a way that had left visible signs on her, even after all that time. What kind of king stabbed his queen? He had learned that, and he knew she did not resent him for the past, but that did not mean that he could not come to resent himself. He had never thought of feeling aggrieved about something he had done… but seeing those white scars that he had inflicted upon her in pure egocentricity… it truly disgusted him to remember that he had done such a thing.

She had noticed his look, and in a way, it helped her forget that she was almost naked in front of him. Her small hands went to his cheeks, giving him soft caresses. Without speaking, she conveyed him a message.

She did not hold it against him – and he should not hold it against himself. She did not want him to.

He leaned forward and, surprising both her and himself, gently kissed the scars. He was not able to hide the flicker of guilt that went through his eyes – and Arturia managed to catch it.

She did not want to see him blame himself even after all that time, after they had finally put the past behind them; therefore, she murmured quietly, "If you want, I can have them gone."

His head snapped up to look at her in surprise. She smiled a little and closed her eyes for a moment.

Avalon responded to her silent call, surrounding her body in a warm light. Her hands touched the scars briefly, and they disappeared in an instant.

He could only stare, her legs now free of any imperfection. She did not give him time to decide how to proceed though.

"Gilgamesh."

Her tone was strange. She looked at him as he stood up again with a sudden movement, her eyes determined.

"I would like… I would like to ask you something."

He raised an eyebrow. He did not think that the timing was the most appropriate for questions or requests, but her gaze was completely serious and it made any possible protest die on his lips.

"I would like for you to have Avalon."

Blood red eyes widened in true shock. Arturia wanted him… to have the most powerful defence Noble Phantasm in the world?

She did not give him the time to speak.

"I want to entrust Avalon to you… because I should not be the one to keep it, but it's too powerful to give it to just anyone." Her eyes were firm on his. "You are the only person I would trust to keep it safe, Gilgamesh."

He could not give an immediate reply, even while her hands glistened as she took the sheath – whose golden and blue colours, as he distractedly noticed, were their colours, his and Arturia's – out of her body and sealed it inside his.

He was deeply aware of the magnitude of what she was doing. She was giving up her Noble Phantasm to give it to him – the only person in the world who had enough power to harm her, if he so desired. And she was willingly giving him her strongest defence weapon.

He knew she wasn't just showing him her trust in him – she was also giving him the equivalent of a token of her love.

If he had had any lingering doubts left before that day, concerning her feelings about him, now he knew for certain.

He had her love… and did not think he could ever feel more exhilarating happiness than in that moment.

The feeling was so incredibly strong… he wanted to share it with her. He needed to share it with her. He wanted to make her feel the same elation.

And he brought his mouth down on hers in a searing kiss, his hands fisting in her blonde hair again.

As he continued to kiss her, with his hands going through her tresses and occasionally brushing against her almost completely bare back, it occurred to him – even though he was having some trouble in remaining coherent in his thoughts – that he was still fully clothed. He nibbled down her neck and then up to her ear, a place he had had the pleasure to enjoy kissing several times in the past and where he knew she was particularly sensitive. Right on cue, a small whimper escaped her lips and, as if she had read his thoughts, her smaller hands softly tugged at the hem of his shirt.

To his slight amazement and great pleasure, he noticed that there was no hesitance in her actions, her previous nervousness clearly overshadowed by eagerness and honest willingness. She was however obviously asking for his permission, and he somehow reluctantly pulled away from her ear to stare into her eyes… her darkened, magnetic green eyes.

Silently, his red orbs gave her leave to act.

As slowly as he had done before with her, she began to open his white shirt, button after button, and for the life of him, he could not figure out how she managed to make that seem so… sensually entrancing.

Her fingers didn't stay respectfully away from his upper body as his had been – she traced more and more muscles on his chest, with some timidity at first, but soon gaining confidence as she touched him more intimately.

He could not suppress a groan – she immediately took it as the good sign it was, and finally finished unbuttoning his shirt, a process with which she had taken her time. His hands did not stay idle in the meantime; one went behind her back, to pull her closer and to caress her bare skin, teasing the edge of her panties, while the other went up to play with her long hair again.

His movements made her bolder; after touching, tracing and going through his whole chest with almost scrupulous accuracy, she went downwards, grazing his pants with a return of her former bashfulness. But as soon as she saw him give a tiny smirk, her hesitance was forgotten and, unflinchingly, she unzipped his trousers and pushed them down in a swift movement.

Before she could remove his last item to uncover his now very obvious erection, he pulled her face towards him to lock their lips into another ravenous kiss, savouring the taste of her mouth and enjoying – and swallowing – the soft moans that were now escaping her.

Without the hindrance of the clothes, their bodies were much nearer – and much more susceptible to every little touch.

His lips went down her neck again – her long, wonderful, sensitive neck, with which he was quickly developing a fascination. He loved covering it in kisses… and he knew he was going to enjoy it for a long time to come, if he had his way.

She felt her skin burning wherever he touched her, and she wasn't sure anymore if it was because of shyness, eagerness, nervousness, desire… and she did not really care to find out.

She wanted him – now.

Without her fully realizing it, his touch became more insistent, making her take unconscious steps backwards, until she abruptly felt the wall behind her. Her hands flew up to steady herself, landing first on his shoulders and then going through his blond hair. He had let it down, the way he knew she preferred it – and she could stroke it and pull at it as much as she wanted. His own caresses over her body never stopped, making her breath come short and her thoughts more and more disjointed.

Suddenly his lips, coming down her neck, found the bra straps. The fabric was in the way – and it was high time to get rid of it. The hand on the small of her back found its way upwards, softly touching her skin until it reached the last piece of clothing hiding her chest.

Its presence was long overdue… and he unhooked it, swiftly proceeding to discard it and throw it across the room.

And before Arturia even realized what was going on, his lips left her neck to go downwards… and his tongue darted out to lick the now bare skin in the valley between her breasts.

Supported by the wall, she could not stop the sudden jerk of her upper body and the throaty moan that left her mouth. His lips began to pay close attention to her chest, kissing, licking and occasionally sucking on every centimetre of her skin that he could reach… which was considerable, since there weren't any clothes to stop him anymore.

She was no longer able to think intelligibly by then… and she felt unknown sensations begin to stir in her lower abdomen, coiling tightly. She had a strong suspicion that he was aware of it – in fact, he had probably been aiming for that.

When he finally relinquished her breasts to stare at her, she was flushed and out of breath, her eyes wide and with a considerably dazed look in them. Very pleased with the results, he leaned forward again to give her another kiss, this time on the lips.

She felt her legs being lifted as her back was pressed against the wall more securely, and she instinctively wrapped her limbs around him, while their mouths were hungrily against each other.

After he pulled away a little to allow them both to breathe once more, he only gave her the time to see the intensity in his eyes before she suddenly felt his hand – the one that wasn't supporting her against the wall – brush against her stomach, her belly, her damp panties… until he pushed them aside and his fingers sank inside her.

A wordless scream left her lungs and she arched her back in reaction, instinctively asking for more. He continued to caress her, greedily taking in the sounds that escaped her mouth and making sure that her eyes became hazier with each touch.

Her expression was beautiful, and he could not help a feeling of elation in knowing that he was the one who was provoking that in her, who was eliciting such reactions from her.

She was knowingly allowing him to touch her so intimately… she trusted him to touch her in such a way.

With every moan that left her lips he found it harder to restrain himself, until he decided to just discard her underwear altogether.

But before taking off her last item, he had something else he wanted to do.

His fingers left her most private parts to slowly come up to his mouth. He waited until some haziness left her eyes and she could focus enough to look at him. Slowly, while he held her gaze, his tongue darted out of his mouth and licked every digit clean.

A fierce red appeared on Arturia's cheeks. Gilgamesh smiled deviously at her.

"Exquisite," his low voice said, and the fire in his husky tone was unmistakable.

He did not give her the time to blush more, because his hands began to push her panties down her legs – which were quivering and still around him –, briefly unwrapping them from around him to get rid of the item but immediately making them go by his waist's sides again. Before he could continue where he had left off, her smaller fingers went to his hips and pulled down his own underwear in a steady motion.

It was… arousing to see her behave so boldly.

Now truly impatient, he pushed her more firmly against the surface behind her, one of his hands caressing her face as he kissed her deeply, while the other went behind the small of her back to keep her hips from slamming against the wall.

As suddenly as he had kissed her, he pulled away, his blood red eyes gazing at her until her half-lidded green ones fluttered open. He stared at her intently, letting her feel him brush at her damp entrance… and then he pushed inside.

Her back arched, exposing her neck to him where he immediately began to leave a trail of featherlike kisses, and all her four limbs tightened around him, as she got accustomed to the initial discomfort. He held her firmly to him, while white stars erupted behind his eyes, because she was so hot, and wet, and tight…

Tentatively, she moved her hips, sending a jolt through their joint bodies and making them both moan in pleasure. His mouth became more insistent on her neck, sucking at its base with passion, and she could no longer suppress the sounds of ecstasy that were leaving her throat. Her eyes focused enough for her to lean forward, to have her lips trace his ear softly, sending a shiver down both their spines.

Only one word – she managed to say only one word. But it was enough.

"…more…"

Before she could make another movement, his arms went around her back to hold her more securely. Not giving her the time to protest about the abrupt interruption in his ministrations, he took her away from the wall and carried her, without separating their bodies, to the bed… where, with another intense kiss, he immediately resumed where he had left off.

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Gilgamesh woke up a few hours later, feeling very content and relaxed. A quick glance to the window confirmed to him that it was a few hours before daybreak.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the woman lying down next to him, enveloped in his arms, deep asleep. His eyes swept over her form, and he was not surprised by the sheer love that warmed his chest as he tightened his hold on her gently.

He could not help it – he continued to stare at her, raptly.

Especially in her sleep, she looked angelic. Oh, she was a fearsome warrior, he never did and never would doubt that, but he could not say he disliked the way she looked in that moment. Her long blonde hair was sprawled out on the pillow around her head, making a quite interesting halo.

His fingers itched to touch it… and he gave into the impulse.

Those soft strands… Gilgamesh decided then and there that – provided she agreed – he would be the one to undo her chignon from then on. Those tresses were wonderful… he let his fingers go through them another time, and another, and another…

The King of Heroes leaned forward to kiss her temple, and then remained a long time just looking at her as she slept, silently taking in the beauty of the woman he loved… the only one who was much more precious than any treasure he had ever laid his eyes upon.

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Arturia woke up, feeling uncommonly warm and comfortable, as if a heater was right next to her. After the end of the Fourth Grail War, she had gradually learned to savour the few moments she could still spend in bed in the mornings… and she was not going to let that change now.

Sighing in her slumber, she snuggled closer to the source of warmth… only for it to somehow pull her nearer as well.

Wait, what?

Green eyes flew open in shock as the memories from the previous night flooded back in her mind – and she smiled a little, joy replacing her surprise.

Inquisitive and slightly drowsy – but still beautiful, she thought – red orbs stared back, openly… and she knew she could not hide the warmth from her own eyes, nor did she want to.

Apparently, she had fallen asleep in his embrace – and he had very evidently not let go of her the whole night, because she was still wrapped securely in his arms.

Arturia felt no inhibition stop her from getting closer to Gilgamesh, burying her face in his neck and deeply inhaling his scent.

It was a reminder of the fact that everything was real… and she could not suppress another, wider smile, before whispering his name against his skin.

He felt her beaming on his neck, and he brought his lips down to trace her ear lightly.

He pronounced her name as well, in a barely audible murmur.

The King of Knights – probably for the first time in her life – felt more than just at peace.

In the arms of the King of Heroes, whom she had learned to love and who reciprocated her feelings wholeheartedly, she was finally in her true heaven.

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A/N: my dear friend HiddenCamellia, you made me write this, so it's dedicated to you. Thank you so much for the endless patience you have with me!

Also: go read HiddenCamellia's piece "Transcend", because it's wonderful :))))))

And heartfelt thanks to my beta, TheBookAngel, for her help!

Thank you very much for reading :)