Chapter 6 - Victory
Lena felt very warm when she woke up. Once she felt like she was finally bothered enough to open her eyes, the blue-grey orbs focused on the man who she was half laying on top of. She saw his muscular torso, and his lightly stubbled jawline before she finally lifted her head up, looking at his peaceful, sleeping face. Her mind drifted back to last night, slowly recalling what happened.
One of his hands was fisted in her hair, and the other was grasping her hip, almost hard enough to bruise. His mouth was on her neck, and she knew that words were not possible nor were they necessary at this point. She had never felt anything like this before. Every touch he made was a slow burn, and she struggled to keep her breath as his hands roamed across her body.
Her mouth was dry, and she knew that she needed to get up and use the toilet as well. Carefully, she dragged herself out of bed and grabbed the large t-shirt that was on the floor and put it on, although she wasn't sure which of them it belonged to. She tiptoed to the bathroom but heard a familiar voice coming from the bedroom moments later.
"Lena?" He was awake.
"Yeah?" she replied casually whilst sitting on the toilet, doing her business.
"Where are you? Come back to bed!"
"I'm in the fucking toilet. Gimme a minute, would you?" she rolled her eyes at him, but she smiled nonetheless. She felt a little sore from last night, and was being careful as she cleaned up.
Once she was done, she headed back to his bedroom, and leant against the doorframe, watching him quietly. He rolled over and grinned at her before he tossed the blankets off himself, and in all his naked glory, rushed to pick her up and threw her onto the bed. She bounced on the mattress and they laughed together before he climbed on top of her. He kissed her, and due to th distraction he didn't notice that she was preparing her counterattack. Her foot hooked behind his, and in one movement, she grabbed his arm, pushed her hips up and to one side and rolled them both over, with her ending up on top. He looked up at her with shock evident on his face and she laughed.
"I didn't know you could do that."
"I have been paying attention in our grappling sessions you know." Her blank look made him chuckle, knowing that he was just too busy messing around rather than actually working hard during their training.
"Have you been hiding your true skill level from me?" He raised an eyebrow in question.
"Of course I have. I very much enjoy having you wipe the floor with me every damn time we spar." her blank look did not change as he chuckled.
Cú Chulainn shifted his weight and rolled them back, making Lena groan frustratedly. He shuffled to rest his head on Lena's chest, supported by her breasts. She stared down at him and he looked up at her, feeling her gaze on him. He was trying not to laugh at her expression which was the equivalent of 'Excuse me?'.
"Are you quite right there?"
"Definitely." just to emphasise his point, he used his pointer finger to poke her boob and chuckled as it jiggled. "It's like rippling water." he felt her glare at him, and it just made him laugh even more.
"You just wait. I'll get you back for this." she whispered evilly, knowing she would get payback.
"Why does that sound like an invitation?" A mischievous glint appeared in his eye and he moved swiftly to pin her arms down so she could fight him off.
"What are you doing? Seriously…" she squirmed to try and get out of his grip.
She squealed loudly as he nudged her shirt up with his face and began nipping and kissing her stomach. When she winced faintly, he immediately stopped and let her arms go. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her.
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, all the cheekiness gone from his voice.
"Yeah...I'm just..." she ran a hand through her hair, feeling a little awkward, "I'm a bit...sore." she whispered the last word, and nodded towards the junction between her legs. Since she still only had the oversized shirt on, but he instantly understood her meaning.
He sat up quickly and his expression had completely changed from his roguish smirk to a strangely concerned expression, also being aware of his own state of undress too. Momentarily, he chewed his lip before he opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again, as if he changed his mind. With a heavy exhale, he finally spoke.
"Was I...was I too rough?" his tone was cautious, and he sounded genuinely worried if he had hurt her last night.
"No, no. Not at all. It's normal." she smiled to try and reassure him, but his brow stayed just as tightly furrowed. Sitting up, she placed a hand on his leg and smiled again. "I'm fine, I promise. It's perfectly normal."
The Irishman nodded after a moment, accepting her words. He had tried his best to be careful, especially because his status as a Heroic Spirit meant that he was incredibly strong, and he had been worried he would accidentally hurt her. It took all the self-control he had not to drive into her with everything he had, but he had focused on her enjoying herself and had kept himself in check. The only marks on her were the few love bites on her neck and shoulders, and he was sure that he would have some too.
"So what should we do today?" she asked him happily, trying to change the subject. He raised his head to make eye contact with her, and immediately she knew exactly what he was thinking. "You'll need to give me some time before round 2, okay?" Lena said with a laugh, enjoying his enthusiasm. It made her feel good to know that he hadn't had enough of her yet.
He pouted and dropped his shoulders in reply, and she just laughed more. He resisted the urge to laugh but failed and shook his head as they both cracked up. After a minute, Cú Chulainn looked at her idly, and just let the situation sink in. Lena Redwyn had summoned him as a Heroic Spirit to fight in the Holy Grail War, and somewhere along the way, somehow, he had ended up falling for the hilariously short-tempered woman. Though she would never admit it, or hit him if he said it aloud, she was incredibly kind underneath her tough exterior. It seemed that no one had gotten to know her well enough to see it or been kind to her in the first place to earn her kindness in return.
That realisation made him sad for her. Once he disappeared after the war was over, she really would be alone again. She seemed pre-emptively heartbroken when she had told him about it earlier, and he wondered briefly if there was something he could do. Her sweet voice broke him from his reverie and she began waving a hand in front of his face.
"Earth to Cú Chulainn."
"Sorry, what?" he asked, trying to figure out if she had been speaking whilst he was spaced out.
"I said, are you hungry?"
"Uh, yeah. I could eat." he smiled, trying to be casual. Lena was not convinced, but didn't question him, and simply got up and headed out of his bedroom.
Getting up off the bed, he put some underwear on and strolled out to the kitchen, and found Lena wasn't there, but she appeared only a few seconds after he finished his thought. He gave her a hand making breakfast, but she was a bit of a control freak anyway and didn't let him do much.
Once it was ready, they sat at the breakfast bar and ate in comfortable silence…
The day before the War
Lena was currently rousing on Cú Chulainn for making a mess on the sheets that she was currently hanging out to dry, while he half-helped, and spent the other half of the time cacking himself laughing and purposely getting in her way. They had made the mess during a rather vigorous round of fornication last night, and they had been too tired to change the sheets, and slept in his room instead.
She growled at him as he grabbed her waist, and she tried in vain to get out of his grip, attempting to keep up her charade of being angry at his antics. After a few more seconds, she lost her patience and grabbed his arm, twisting it up behind his back, using his own height and leverage against him. It clearly didn't bother him and he just continued laughing at her. Frustrated at losing the battle, she let him go and pushed him away.
After they finished their boring task, they did some physical training, and Lena got the chance to test some of her offensive and defensive magic against him. It had been their main focus in their last few sessions, so she would know what she was capable of against other Servants. What combos would work, and what didn't flow properly. They were able to work together with minimal verbal communication, which was exactly what they needed. Seamless teamwork was the best way to ensure that they won their fights.
Since they got along so well, and understood each other, it made working together much easier. The last several days since their feelings had been revealed had strengthened their bond further. They had been talking more about their morals, and beliefs and what they wanted out of life, and so on. They had done plenty of physical bonding as well, taking the opportunity while they could, before the fighting started.
Although they both were trying to relax as much as possible, even in the back of their minds, they were expecting the worst result from this war and were making the most of their time together. It was basically a subconscious decision since they hadn't talked about their feelings toward each other since they confessed. Maybe it was to try and prevent themselves from getting too hurt should the War end badly. They hadn't really expected their relationship to evolve this way, but it was a welcome development.
Lena had grown up in a household where everyone wished she was gone, and even her own step-mother quite frequently told her that she wished she would die, but only when her father wasn't around. Her father travelled a lot for work, so he wasn't there to protect her very often. When Cú Chulainn arrived, and treated her like he truly valued her existence, it was probably the main reason that she fell for him. He made her feel like she was important and attractive, and that she was needed. Not even her own family, the few friends she had in school, or anyone made her feel like that before.
Fortunately for some people, they never needed to worry about people valuing them and caring about them. Lena had always envied those sort of people, and the main thing that she wanted out of life, is for someone, anyone, to truly care for her and want her around. Someone who made her feel important, valued and loved. Now that she had finally found someone who did care, it was a feeling that she couldn't describe. She hadn't expected to find anyone, and had already accepted that she would be alone for the rest of her life, even at her young age. It wasn't something she was pleased about, but after continuously dealing with the same cycle of treatment over and over again, she had learned to expect it. Someone who broke that cycle was bound to be easily noticed by her. Of course it just so happened to be an Irish Heroic Spirit who would have to leave once they were defeated or the War ended. It was heart break waiting to happen, but she was trying to live in the moment.
After they had trained for a few hours, they went inside to eat. While they organised their lunch, the happy couple constantly mucked around, and play-wrestled each other. Once they almost smashed a shelf full of plates and bowls, they stopped their activities abruptly. Cú Chulainn suddenly grabbed a hold of her, and refused to let her go, simply hanging onto her her using his height and weight to stop her from getting away. She stopped struggling and smiled, just enjoying his warmth and affection. She hadn't quite gotten used to being touched so often, but it was nice for a change. Eventually, he let her go and they took their food to the coffee table in the living room, taking a seat across from each other. As they were eating, Cú Chulainn noticed that Lena wanted to say something, but didn't seem to have the right words. He could see the cogs turning behind her eyes as she worked out how to say it.
"Do you...do you think we have a chance at winning the War?" she asked quietly, but continued staring at her lunch.
"Of course. We have to win." his usual cockiness appeared, and it always did when they talked about fighting in the War.
She smirked faintly, "I'm being serious."
"So am I." he grinned at her from the other side of the table.
"I don't really have a super important wish that I want granted, so why exactly do we have to win?" she raised an eyebrow quizzically, not entirely sure why he was so certain of their victory before they had even had one fight.
"Because…" he rubbed his chin thoughtfully and she waited silently for his answer. "Because if we win...I might be able to stay." He shrugged faintly, still unsure of how she would react.
Blinking slowly, Lena took a second to realise the weight of his words. He saw her hesitation and tried not to get upset, but he felt his stomach drop and his heart stop at the sight of her uncertainty. Before he could fully react, she smiled, and his heart didn't start it's rhythm until she spoke.
"You actually want to stay here...with me?" her smile was barely there, but it tugged at his heartstrings. He realised that she wasn't uncertain about being with him, but was surprised that he actually wanted to stay with her.
"Only if you don't mind, of course." he watched her expression intensely.
"You're sure?"
Her smile was still strained, but he could tell that just the thought of having someone who genuinely wanted to be around her was enough to make her happy. When he nodded to reassure her, she chewed her bottom lip and nodded slowly, and he could see the corners of her mouth turned upwards in a smile. She looked adorable, and he laughed happily. He was glad that she wanted him to stay, and his relief immediately eased the ache in his chest. The young man knew that she hadn't had a good run with people in her life, and it would probably take her a while to get used to someone being around who was genuinely nice.
"But doesn't that mean that you would live as a mortal, meaning that you would age and die?"
"Yeah, but I'm okay with that. Isn't that half the fun of living? And if I'm with you, it can't be that bad."
He laughed happily, and she couldn't help but laugh with him. For the first time in her life, she actually felt like she wouldn't be alone forever, like she would be happy for once. The void that she hadn't realised was there until now, seemed like it was slowly filling up. It was a good feeling, and she was unsure as to how she was supposed to express her feelings, or whether it was even appropriate to do so.
Instead, she just gave Cú Chulainn a long look, and smiled at him happily but her eyes held determination. He sensed her change in demeanour and smiled with her.
Seems like they had a War to win...