Arturia grumbles incoherently when the figure beside her promptly wakes up, hyperventilating. Lifting an eyelid and observing the actions of the other, she asks:
"Bad dream?"
Gilgamesh slowly shakes his head, being cautious not to worry her. She rolls her eyes, but before she was to sarcastically comment on how that's not getting past her, he slumps back into his side of the bed, back turned against Arturia.
She never liked people having their backs faced at her, it seemed to be a mocking gesture of disrespect, whether intentional or not. A look of concern marred her face as she wriggles near the other and leans towards his muscular back. She frowns when he stiffens upon the contact, only to stubbornly wrap her cool hands around him and letting her fatigue take over, drifting off to sleep again.
Sighing at her childish antics, Gilgamesh finally turned over to face her, only to be met with a vulnerable Arturia with an angelic face, soundly asleep. Her blonde hair radiated against the sun, several strands stuck out here and there. Gilgamesh unsteadily takes out his hand from her tight grasp, only to tuck a golden thread-like strand of her hair behind her pale ears, admiring the shade of gold in the process. The King of Britain's hair always carried an aroma of lilies, it reminded him of her purity, and her nobility, despite still being very naive in the process. Her golden hair and emerald orbs compared to any other woman stood out like a diamond in the rough. However, despite the beauty of her hair, she ties it up into a bun with a braid surrounding it, it seemed to be a signature hairstyle of some sort, but he never knew the reason behind her hairstyle.
She spent hours tying it every morning, and would not comply to any of his commands until it was perfect. "A King fights a noble battle head-on and will never retreat or cower until the enemy is defeated.", she would retort sharply when he offered to tie it for her. It annoyed him to no ends, but he knew it was for a reason.
As if on cue, the alarm started to ring, with a dismayed Arturia waking up with a jolt, her face soon morphing into a irritated look, a deadly aura radiating off her. Gilgamesh's hands retreated in fear, acting nonchalant all of a sudden. Slamming her hand on the dreaded instrument, she woke up, wrinkling her nose in discomfort. His shirt hung from her shoulders, which was quite the sight to behold. It complimented her petite figure, and Gilgamesh hated to admit it, but he loved seeing her in a drowsy state with his clothes on. Arturia was never quite the type to nap with pajamas, despite growing up in quite the wealthy background, she would just plop onto her fluffy bed without a worry and dream about the exciting things Merlin might teach her tomorrow. Dragging her legs home after a tiring day of work, she would just pull over whatever was the nearest to her right hand, which just so happens to be where Gilgamesh puts his clothes. Little does he know, Arturia feels a strange sense of comfort and safety when wearing his shirt, inhaling his scent whenever stressed. If he were to know of this, she would be taunted to no ends. Arturia held a certain amount of pride as a King, mind you.
She splashes a handful of water on her face to wake her up, as Gilgamesh lazily heads to the living room to prepare breakfast. The swordswoman secures the lock on the bathroom door and throws Gilgamesh's shirt into the laundry basket, she must make sure the peeping incident did not happen again. Using a moment of silence to stare at the laundry basket that seems to grow as the days passed by, she remembers it was nearly laundry day. Taking a mental note to deal with the worn clothes, she steps into the shower and turns on the hot water. One thing Arturia enjoyed in the mornings were her long, hot showers in the mornings, it was a time where she could just be embraced by the warmth of the water and get lost in her thoughts for a bit and Gilgamesh would have no complaints at all. It was also her savior, for when she was feeling down or sad, the noise of the water hitting the floor was a way to conceal her sobs, allowing her emotions to flow out. The drops of water would calm her down and let her think things over. Arturia hated being seen vulnerable.
She ties her hair up in a quick ponytail and fastens it with a hairband left near the sink. With a light blue towel wrapped around her body, she leaves the bathroom. A pair of rough hands slipped around her waist, embracing her from behind. Holding back a squeal, she jumps away in embarrassment, grabbing whatever long material was near her, which just so happened to be a broomstick. Amused, Gilgamesh chuckles, which resonates mockingly into Arturia's ears. She huffily turns away from him and stubbornly marches to their room to get changed.
Realizing she was taking quite some time, Gilgamesh heads to their room and opens it without hesitation. There sat Arturia, braiding her golden hair around a bun and attempting to tie it all up with a mere blue ribbon. The ribbon was torn and old, yet she still insists on using it. Fiddling with her hair over and over again, she didn't notice him coming in. He gently takes the ribbon out of her hands, earning a squeak of surprise from her, and fastens it up for her perfectly. Arturia was fazed for a moment, before turning her head left and right to admire the result, she seems oddly satisfied, and shot the other blonde a smile.
Giving her bun a soft pat to assure it's secured, she leaves the room in her business clothes. It was nothing too regal, only a cerulean blouse that flowed till her hips and a pair of long black pants that were loose at the ends that complimented her legs. Arturia found it easy to walk with, and were the best presentable clothes if she were to go into combat anytime. By the time she reached the dining table, Gilgamesh was there already, with a ridiculous apron on, pulling her chair away from the table and smirking. Arturia shut her eyes in distress and prepared for the blow.
"Ladies first." he announced to no one in particular, snickering. The Babylonian king knew very well the latter despised being treated as a lady or given lady-like restraints, she bears the pride and thoughts of a man, therefore hoping to be treated like one. Gritting her teeth, she held back the urge to punch the grin off the face of her husband and sat down, maintaining her usual calm composure. Days like these makes her want to draw Excalibur out and just slice the goldie into two pieces, he was one of the only people who got on her nerves.
But… that was not all there were to it. He received her affection too, despite all those suitors attempting to court her. Hell, she even rejected him with all her might from the start. Arturia was genuinely shocked at his wedding declaration, but with the stress building up from Irisviel's disappearance to Berserker's revelation, she could only choke out desperate words of rejection, to which the King didn't take it in well, of course. When they were reunited 10 years later, his love for her remained as passionate. She started to see different sides to him. When the 5th Holy Grail war came to an end, Saber (she preferred this name when talking in terms of the war), had maintained a physical form as well, keeping her contract with Rin Tohsaka. They had their happy moments afterwards. It was not a surprise when they declared themselves as a couple a few months after the end of the war, even Shirou (the poor boy, being rejected) had come up to bitterly congratulate them (Gilgamesh tried to contain his mocking laughter at this while Arturia elbowed him in the ribs).
However, what was even more surprising is that Gilgamesh was the one to get down on his knees, pull out a ring (For once it was not too flashy, noted by Arturia), and proposed to her. Surrounding them were people cheering, especially with Illyasviel jumping around in happiness, screeching out unfamiliar terms like "OTP" and "shipping".
The King of Britain was as red as a tomato at that moment, and even the arrogant king could not contain his embarrassment. They remained in that position for a second as the unexpected audience anticipated for the soon-to-be bride's answer.
"Y-Yes, you jerk."
The face that stupidly lit up afterwards was priceless, and till today, Arturia would still tease him about it. Though, deep down, Arturia was bubbling with an indescribable amount of happiness.
It was not long till she moved in with him soon after.
Ah, memories.
Arturia looked up from her well-cooked breakfast, only to see Gilgamesh staring out to space, lost in his thoughts. His face was peaceful and nearly seemed angelic, as if…. What was she thinking?! Arturia slightly blushed from her thoughts. She abruptly stood up from the dining table which caused him to turn around, and headed towards the door.
"Goodbye kiss?"
He said, eyes gleaming with mischief, his hand leaning on the door frame as she adjusted her small, pale, foot into the turquoise pumps she wore to work. Arturia froze, to which came as a surprise. Usually she would blush, stutter and push him away. Just when Gilgamesh was about to head back into the house, she lightly tugged on his shirt, causing him to turn around in curiosity, which then Arturia dragged him down to her height by his collar and kissed him fully on the mouth. Before Gilgamesh could further deepen the kiss, she pulled away and dashed off to work, leaving the Babylonian king dumbfounded. The woman never ceased to amuse him, he thought. It was nowhere near a minute after the kiss and he already yearned for more of her luscious, soft, lips.
Gilgamesh's face turned into a smirk, he was not letting the woman go when she comes home tonight.