A/N: thank you to HiddenCamellia for helping with this chapter ;)
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Gilgamesh was luckier than Arturia: he got sick as well, but it was a much milder cold than hers and only ended up lasting two days.
It was still quite amusing to watch though. Once she managed to feel well enough to look around without her head hurting, she was a first-hand witness to his extreme annoyance at being sick, an annoyance heightened only by the fact that he could not direct it at anyone but himself.
It helped keep her amused during those days of sickness: seeing Gilgamesh Uruk, the most powerful man in the world, sulking in his bed.
Soon enough, however, her amusement left room to some small stabs of guilt – it was because she was contagious that he had become sick – and, more importantly, to concern. She was slowly healing, while he had just gotten the beginning of the fever.
And that had only happened because he had remained there at home to take care of her, to not leave her alone while she was unwell. He had been attentive and kind towards her. She was still sick, but she was feeling better than he was, therefore she insisted upon making tea for both of them, and she made sure to give him his own medicine regularly.
A couple of days earlier, there had been a few tense and rather awkward moments when, with the – valid – excuse of being her husband, he had remained in the room as the doctor had been going through her medical record and had asked her routine questions. He had therefore found out that she was on the pill – and had been for years – but he had then strangely been respectful enough of her privacy not to bring up the subject again when they were alone.
Arturia had, of course, always known that living so closely with him meant that some rather private matters were inevitably going to be disclosed. However, she did not intend to explain to him the inner workings of the female anatomy that had made her period so irregular as to force her to take the pill ever since she had turned twelve, and she was more than ready to carry on as if nothing had happened at all, as it seemed Gilgamesh was too.
It was after all only a minor incident, which had taken place during the short while he had spent in his bed being sick. Indeed, while the illness made him quite grumpy, after only one day of a high fever he was already feeling much better; he had however lost a lot of strength, the same as she had.
As she sat at the end of her bed distractedly reading through a magazine, she was unable to stifle a small chuckle when she looked over at him.
He gave her an odd look as he heard her make that sound, and she got up from the bed, going to him to feel his forehead.
"You almost look… cute with that expression on your face as you lie here in bed like that," she explained.
He was indeed pouting in bed, and at her words, he seemed to be both astounded and annoyed. Unable to think of another way to respond to her comment, he gave her a half-hearted glare.
Seeming to realize what she had just said, Arturia felt her cheeks heating up, and most certainly not because of the fever.
Even though it hurt to stretch his facial muscles, he scoffed at her.
She mumbled something incoherent before taking a few steps back and bringing some more hot tea, acting as if nothing had happened.
Just thirty-six hours later, he was fully healed. For her, the illness seemed instead to be taking its time. She did not get sick often – in fact, she could hardly remember the last time it had happened – therefore it was as if she suddenly had to catch up with years of being in full health.
Gilgamesh forced her to remain in bed for the rest of the week, and by working from home, he ensured that she was properly looked after.
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However, the CEO of Uruk Enterprises could work from home only for a limited period of time before his presence became truly necessary at the office.
With some actual reluctance, Gilgamesh went back to work, but not before making sure the housekeepers came by the house at least three times a day to check on his wife. Arturia had to hold back a scowl at his exaggerated antics, especially since she was almost completely healed at this point.
In fact, two days after he had gone back to work, she woke up feeling relaxed, calm and full of energy. Since she was supposed to have the afternoon of work on that day, she went to visit her family in the morning.
Iri, little Shirou, Sakura and Rin were all very happy to see her, as were nurse Kariya and her cousin Diarmuid, since they had been very concerned about her health, and the warmth of their welcome truly surprised her, even if in an extremely positive way.
From the few words Diarmuid said, Arturia guessed he had initially suspected a pregnancy as well, but luckily for him, Diarmuid was polite and respectful enough to not inquire about something as forward as that. It also did not take her long to see that Iri had subtly influenced her conversation with him to clear up his misconception, and Arturia was glad about it. She wouldn't have been very understanding with her cousin, if he had actually brought up the uncomfortable subject with her; Iri had foreseen that danger and had set things straight. When she later expressed her thanks, her sister took her slightly aback by merely shrugging it off and winking at her.
After spending a delightful time at the hospital and having lunch with everyone – Shirou and Rin insisted they wanted to tell her everything they had learned during her absence – Arturia went to the office. There was quite a large amount of paperwork waiting for her, and she immediately started on it, knowing that missing more than a week meant that there was a lot of catching up to do.
Her colleagues were very warm in welcoming her back as well, and that was yet another unexpected surprise for her, but once again not an unpleasant one. She had never realized how much her co-workers seemed to actually look up to her.
She also noticed how no one made any comments on the possibility of a pregnancy, even though she had not forgotten their loud expressions of gushing ecstasy on the day she had gotten sick. It seemed that Gilgamesh had spoken to everyone in the building to clear up the misunderstanding and to make sure that the office policy of professionalism was respected.
That was both expected and unexpected from him; more speculation about them was never unwelcome – at least usually – to increase publicity, but at the same time, these were his offices, and it was obvious that he demanded a higher degree of seriousness from his employees.
The afternoon went more smoothly than she had thought, even though she could not deny that sometimes she still felt her head become heavy; to concentrate better, she finally decided to go work in the meeting room, which was empty but had a soothing and relaxing atmosphere, thanks to the expert internal decoration provided by Mana Corporation.
Being one of the last people in the office, she took one of the extra keys to the room so she could make sure to lock it after her when she was done. Some time later, as she was about to complete the last pile of paperwork, she received a visit from one of the most widely grinning people she had ever met: Enkidu Eabani.
She looked up from the sheet of paper she was filling out, and gave him a glare as he sat down in front of her.
"Ria~! It's very good to see you back in full health!"
Her glare intensified. She had a few things to discuss with him, mainly regarding his behaviour on the day she had gotten ill.
"Enkidu, how nice to see you. If you recall, you made a very uncalled-for comment the last time we saw each other."
The still smiling man did not attempt obliviousness, instead choosing to keep his grin in place, letting her see that he was well aware of what she was talking about.
She couldn't truly get angry at him – after all, for all his idiotic remarks, she knew that Enkidu was a reliable friend – but that did not mean that she was going to let him get away with his nonsense.
Therefore, she continued, "From other people, I could have expected it, but from you…! You of all people should know what kind of arrangement Gilgamesh and I made when we got married. So why, for heaven's sake, did you suggest that I was pregnant the other day?"
Enkidu could see the annoyance radiating off her in waves – much like Gilgamesh's did, he briefly thought – and held up his hands defensively.
"Hey, hey, calm down~! I may be Gil's best friend, but I don't know everything! I'm aware of the general matters of your marriage contract, but nothing else. And, dear Ria~," he added, suddenly smirking more, "how can you blame me for thinking you were pregnant?"
She only gave him one of her flattest looks. She usually did not like being overly blunt, but he wasn't giving her much of a choice, was he? Friend he may be, but friendship did not stop him from being childish, it seemed.
"You are well aware of the fact that it's a blanc marriage. I'm sure Gilgamesh must be complaining a lot about it. So why did you even consider such a possibility?"
Enkidu only grinned.
"First of all, Gil doesn't usually complain – when there's something not to his liking, he acts. But back on topic, things between you two can always change, lovely Ria. And, in my personal opinion, should you decide to… ~consummate the marriage…~ I'm certain your time with Gil would become so heated that you'd be pregnant in no tim–… OW!"
He rubbed his arm where she had smacked him, giving Arturia a puppy-hurt look, and in that exact moment, Gilgamesh entered the room.
The crimson-eyed man frowned as he saw his wife.
"Arturia, what are you doing here? You are supposed to be resting. At home."
His tone was strangely controlled, as if he was holding back his emotions with great difficulty. Which was odd, because he usually did control his emotions, but he did so effortlessly.
Was it the fact that Arturia had gone back to work in spite of not being completely healed – not completely healed in his opinion – that had made him lose his usual mask?
Enkidu caught up on it immediately and rolled his eyes.
"Oh Gil, don't be such a baby~, and try to be less of a control freak!"
He was still rubbing his sore arm, and at his best friend's raised eyebrow, complained, "Believe me Gil, your wife is fully healed~… she hits hard!" He pouted slightly. "She hurt me!"
Gilgamesh's eyes briefly flickered from his pouting friend to his still incensed wife, and he smirked slightly.
"I'm quite certain that she had a valid reason to do so and that you deserved it, Enkidu."
To Arturia's surprise, Enkidu stopped caring about his injured self, his yellow-grey eyes opening much wider than usual as they flickered between them both.
A large grin blossomed on his face.
"Maybe I did, Gil… maybe I did…~"
Still with that wide, daft smile on his face, he stood up and walked out of the room. As soon as he had left, closing the door behind him, they heard a dry click.
A click.
Enkidu's singsong voice chanted, "I'm coming back to open the door only tomorrow, so enjoy your time together, newlyweds!"
They heard him snicker as he walked away.
Gilgamesh and Arturia looked at each other. Not breaking their gaze, he reached into his pocket and she shuffled among the pile of documents in front of her, and both took out a copy of the office key. They almost smiled at each other. Almost.
"You have a copy too?" she asked, amused.
He gave her a smirk.
"Obviously. I'm impressed that Enkidu can't fool you either."
She raised an eyebrow, uncertain about whether or not it was actually a compliment. She had kept the key on the desk after opening the door of the meeting room, while he apparently had copies of the keys of every room in the building.
He was studying her with an odd intensity in his eyes, and his gaze pensively flickered from her to the rest of the room. He had not missed the fact that she had come to complete her work in this specific meeting room, one furnished and with interior designs made by his project Mana Corporations.
She did not notice the focus of his gaze though, and shrugged.
"Let me finish with this file before we get out of here – it's almost dinner time, and I would like to cook spaghetti tonight."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You are not fully healed, Arturia. You are not cooking anything."
She would not back down, she would not let him win, and she would definitely not let Gilgamesh have the last word either.
"Then we are going to cook together, dear husband."
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The following day, Enkidu's expression of pure disappointment at seeing them arrive at work with the limousine and reach the meeting room together was nearly laughable.
He stared at them with his mouth hanging open, looking like a child whose favourite toy had been taken away.
"You… you escaped?"
Both Gilgamesh and Arturia grinned at him, and Enkidu almost pouted.
"You two are no fun. I go through so much effort to liven up your days~, and you just spoil it!"
Arturia's expression was flat, and Gilgamesh almost sighed.
"We were expecting an apology, Enkidu."
His expression was innocent – oh, so innocent.
"Whatever for, Gil~?"
Arturia snapped, quickly getting annoyed, "For locking us in a room, Enkidu!"
The green-haired man only grinned.
"On the contrary, you should apologize to me~! It took me quite some time to make sure that the offices were empty last night so that no one could hear you in case you wanted to be freed– OUCH!"
He rubbed his sore head. "When will you stop hitting me, Ria~?"
Her reply was stern as her eyes flashed in warning.
"Once you will start putting a filter between what you think and what comes out of your mouth – so, if I were to guess, I'd say never."
Gilgamesh looked very amused. He fully approved of Arturia's actions – in fact, he was almost enthralled.
Enkidu was an extremely friendly person, but he was also a handful to deal with, especially since his personality was a curious mix of a vast amount of exuberant and eclectic tendencies. The fact that Arturia could put up with him so well and was able to push him back whenever he crossed the line needed to be given some consideration.
He had only seen her interactions with her family and with the staff, but Enkidu was someone they could both consider a friend – and she had been herself with him too. She was not outspoken just with him, Gilgamesh; when Enkidu exaggerated with his antics, she was firm in putting him in his place as well. While she was patient and polite, she did not allow anyone to talk over her or control her.
Gilgamesh had thought, at the very beginning of their acquaintance, that perhaps she just contradicted him and talked back to him to make things more difficult for him because she detested him, and since he had come to enjoy those verbal spars, he had not minded too much.
It was now clear, however, that he had underestimated her. She had not been making an effort to challenge him; it was who she was that made her behave like this. He had believed she might be going out of her way only because she disliked him, or even putting up a façade; instead, he now knew for certain that she had never stopped being herself when dealing with him.
She had an independent nature; it was therefore not surprising that his 'control freak' self – as Enkidu loved to call it – clashed with her often, especially since it was clear that it was not an act on her part.
It was strange to realize, but it was not unpleasant. His wife was as strong as she was firm, yet it was precisely her independence that made it possible for her to deal with the sharks of high society.
She did not like to be controlled. Neither did he.
It felt incredibly strange to realize that they actually had such a thing in common.
It was even stranger to realize that such a woman, who was never putting up an act when they had discussions and refused to back down, was actually a great match for him.
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Many other considerations, all concerning his wife, kept Gilgamesh's mind occupied for far more time than he cared to admit.
For several days, he kept thinking about it, and observed her more keenly than he had done in the past. There had been changes in the previous weeks, beginning from the time of the suspected cheating and through to the night they had spent together at the hotel.
Gilgamesh was, to his displeasure, quite used to light teasing, but he only tolerated it from his best friend – and Arturia was not his best friend.
Her remarks had always been biting and direct, but lately, there had been a change. What she said had become more… playful, and he enjoyed the occasions in which they talked more and more, even when they talked about things that were completely inconsequential.
Her expressions were among the most fascinating things he had ever had the occasion of seeing. It had not been easy to recognize at the beginning, since she was always stern, quite serious, and never seemed happy, but it had been the gradual discovery of the small changes in her face that rendered her incredibly expressive.
To be fair – speaking of happiness – he had actually witnessed something odd just a few days before. She never seemed happy, except for when she had those rare, small smiles that curved her lips whenever she was with her family, but when they had both been sick, she had actually let out a small laugh. That was something that had never happened before.
It had not been that long since their wedding – barely five months, in fact – yet things had truly changed.
On his wedding day, he had taken a resolution. He had resolved to make an effort with his wife, to not make her miserable nor make her regret her decision to marry him.
He did not believe she was unhappy, nor did she appear to regret anything so far; but since she was unpredictable and so were all her actions, he had not managed to keep the resolution of making a true effort with her.
At least not intentionally.
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Arturia did not often indulge in thoughts about her husband, especially since the time they had been forced to share a bed at the hotel inauguration, but she was not blind.
She could not avoid noticing that Gilgamesh now stared at her a great deal more than usual, especially after what had transpired with Enkidu. While the green-haired man had presumably learned his lesson, the blond one had taken to following her every movement – her every change of expression – with what she was forced to call an intent interest.
Not that it was something that really bothered her. Their interactions had lost their venom from not so long before, but they had not lost any of their sarcasm, and the teasing glint in his eyes whenever he addressed her wasn't gone, no matter how much he stared at her.
It was just that the mockery – or at least, what she had considered to be mockery – seemed to have completely disappeared.
Against her better judgment, she had found herself staring at him more, too. He had been more than just her caretaker during her sickness; he had actively sought to make her feel better when she was ill.
What she could conclude from all that had happened was that he had been amused by the way she had smacked Enkidu and had developed a momentary, fleeting fascination with her, nothing more than that.
Once a little time passed and he had his fill of studying her, he would be reminded of the fact that looking after her family was what mattered the most to her, and his superficial, sudden spark of interest would soon vanish and die away.
Yet… every time she repeated that conviction to herself, the thought was not accompanied by a feeling of relief.
She refused to allow herself to ponder over the reasons for it.
However, that resolution was not kept easily, considering what happened only a few days later.
Towards the end of a meeting, Gilgamesh flippantly informed his employees that he was satisfied with Mana Corporations' job inside the meeting rooms, and he therefore intended to give the project more space and importance. They specialized in interior designing, and they were going to begin their vaster work by renovating all the offices of Uruk Enterprises. He added that the employees were allowed to offer their input for the rooms they actually worked in.
If taken on its own, it wouldn't have been that important of a decision. Gilgamesh had constant projects around, which received his attention when they deserved it, and Mana Corporations had proved to be efficient and to work well; it was not truly surprising that he had decided to expand it while immediately taking advantage of it at the same time.
What was important and surprising, in Arturia's opinion, was the fact that, among the first offices that were renovated and whose style was changed in order to be suitable for the employees, there was her own.
She recalled how he had seen her work in the meeting room, and she had to seriously wonder whether he had gotten the idea of changing the entire offices because of that.
Gilgamesh couldn't care less about interior designing; he had a surprisingly keen eye for it, but he had never shown to be interested in it, and that was something that made his decision even stranger. Could it truly be that he had noticed how a more suitable design could help the employees concentrate more?
Arturia eventually decided that she was truly giving too much thought to something that did not deserve it.
After all, trying to figure out her husband was an impossible feat.
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Sakura always prepared breakfast before going to accompany Rin to school, but she asked one specific morning free to take her sister to a pediatric appointment for the yearly check. Arturia granted her request, and set her alarm clock a bit earlier than usual to have the time to cook herself.
She was therefore mildly surprised when Gilgamesh got up at her same time and deigned to help her, peeling some fruit while she toasted bread and took out butter and jam.
Seeing him busying himself in working in the kitchen with her, she could not help a remark on her part.
"Food really brings out the best of you, Gilgamesh."
He sent a mild glare in her direction.
"Not in you, apparently."
She responded with a half-hearted glare of her own, before taking the toast to the table.
In that moment, her mobile phone rang. It was still in the bedroom, and they heard it from the kitchen only because there was no one else in the quiet house.
Frowning, and feeling a strange apprehension filling her, Arturia put down the food and quickly went to retrieve her phone. When she saw that it was the hospital's number, the dread that had been dormant inside her for the past few months came violently back to life.
Firmly, she pushed the button to answer.
"Mrs. Ria? It's Kariya."
Kariya had taken up to calling her that after Sakura's example, and if he was giving her a phone call, it had to mean that it was important.
Swallowing briefly and stifling her fear, Arturia replied, "Yes? What happened?"
"Irisviel has gone into labour."
It was more than two weeks before the estimated due date. It was unexpected and not a good sign, especially because of Iri's still weakened body.
Tone clipped, Arturia managed to get out, "I will be there as soon as possible. Thank you, Kariya."
She closed the communication and turned around… to find Gilgamesh standing behind her with her coat in hand, staring at her in a way that told her that he had not overheard but had guessed that the situation was serious. Her face was also more expressive than she realized, and for a man who had been living with her for months – and studying her face in the last few weeks – it wasn't hard to see that she was close to panicking.
Under normal circumstances, she would have noticed how uncharacteristic it was: not the fact that he was able to read her face, but the fact that he was instantly ready to do something about the situation.
Yet right now, she was much too preoccupied with other thoughts.
"My sister is in labour," was all she said to inform him, but she did not need to elaborate.
He nodded, guiding her out of the house. To her mild surprise – she was too worried to pay any real attention to it – they did not take the limousine, but one of his own cars, and he went to drive.
He shook his head at her unspoken question, letting her know that he would not answer, and they spent the quick car ride to the hospital in complete silence, their breakfast remaining forgotten on the kitchen counter.
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