A/N: Warning: some parts regarding Irisviel make strong references to depression, and from now on there will be moments in her POV.


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MAIN (present)

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When she received the phone call from the hospital, Arturia jumped out of bed in her nightgown, completely uncaring of the fact that it was five in the morning. She did remember that Gilgamesh was in the same room, but the ringing of the phone had already disturbed his sleep anyway.

In the darkness of the place, he studied her with mild irritation through his sleep-laden eyes, and she turned towards him as soon as she finished throwing some clothes on herself.

"Iri has woken up," was all she said, before going to the bathroom to look for a few items she might need to take with her.

To her enormous surprise, when she came back into the bedroom Gilgamesh had put on some clothes as well and was looking as composed as ever, not like someone who had just been woken up in the middle of the night.

"I'm coming with you."

She opened her mouth in protest, knowing that he had two meetings in the morning, but he cut her off smoothly.

"I won't be in the room and shock your sister into passing out again, but I will go with my wife to the hospital."

Of course, she suddenly remembered: they had to keep up appearances at all times, which must be why he wanted to accompany her. She was however startled at feeling a small, minimal twinge in her chest at the thought.

She willed herself to ignore it and preceded him out of the room, without glancing back.

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At the hospital, Shirou was still sleeping while the doctors talked briefly with Irisviel.

They explained where she was, how long she had been in a coma and why, adding a few details about her illness. They also mentioned the fact that she was pregnant – not that her large, occasionally kicking six-month belly could leave her confused for long – told her that her son was asleep in the room next to hers and kindly informed her that her sister was on her way.

Within half-an-hour, Arturia was seated next to her, tears glistening in her eyes, holding her hand and smiling at her more widely than she had been smiling in a long, long time.

The white-haired woman felt her eyes getting wet as well. She had been over three months in a coma, leaving her sister and her son to worry about her.

She tried to move slightly in her bed, but it took effort to just lift a hand, so she gave up on her attempt to reach the linens. Her sister, however, took notice of it, and quietly tucked her covers more securely around her. Iri gave her a wry smile.

"I am so sorry, Ria. I have no idea how these months must have been for you and Shirou, and I'm so sor–"

"Iri, shhh," Arturia immediately stopped her. "Please… you have nothing to apologize for." Her smile appeared once again. "Shirou is well. He is still sleeping in the room next to this; I'll wake him up soon."

Her fingers caressed her sister's hand. "How are you feeling?" she asked, softly. "Especially regarding the unexpected pregnancy?"

Iri blinked briefly, and then her features distended.

"Physically, quite weak, but better than I thought. There's quite the weight on my belly, but that is to be expected. I had never thought… I never thought I'd ever get pregnant, but it doesn't shock me as much as it probably should."

Her dark red eyes, which had been closed for over three months, focused on her sister with a heavy look. "There are other things that shock me much more. Ria… why are we in Japan? And how am I in one of the most exclusive of Tokyo's clinics?"

Arturia's smile reduced a bit, but did not disappear. She had always known that she would have to explain everything, eventually.

"It's a long story, Iri. If you are feeling well enough, I will summarize it… but if you'd rather rest–"

Iri shook her head.

"Please tell me everything."

Arturia took a deep breath. She had a truly long story to tell; it was best to make it short, but without skipping any of the important details.

"After you collapsed inexplicably, it was little Shirou who called the emergency number, and you were brought to the hospital. I was told… not only about your pregnancy, but also about the fact that you were ill. The only way to heal you was through extremely expensive treatments." She paused briefly. "You weren't simply in a coma, Iri. You and your baby were dying."

She took another deep breath, and appeared to be almost apologetic. "Please understand, Iri… you were sick, Shirou was desperate and I had to find the money to pay for the cure."

Irisviel stared at her, aghast, trying in vain to hide the dread that was slowly filling her.

Oh no. Oh no. They were currently in an extremely comfortable and luxurious place; that meant that her sister must have indeed found the means to pay for it. What had Ria had to do to obtain the money? They were not rich… they did not have possessions to sell, they did not have anything valuable enough…

Arturia took yet another slow, deep breath, before bringing up something that seemingly didn't have anything to do with what she was talking about.

"On the same day you fell into a coma–… actually, only mere hours before, I was on a social outing with my college and work colleagues. On that occasion… my boss, Gilgamesh Uruk, proposed to me."

Irisviel was honestly surprised to hear that. Wasn't her boss an awfully arrogant, unpleasant, and conceited man? A man who had done nothing but make her life difficult at work and on such social outings…?

As if reading her thoughts, Arturia nodded.

"It's exactly as you're thinking. He was exceptionally arrogant in the way he addressed me, so I ended up refusing him with a slap to the cheek."

Iri let out a weak chuckle, amazed.

"You… what?"

She wasn't truly surprised at the gesture – she knew Ria stood up against arrogance whenever she could – but this was still her boss they were talking about… and one of the wealthiest men in the world, if she recalled correctly. For some reason, this specific thought nagged at her, and she frowned slightly.

Arturia went on, "Believe me, Iri, he deserved it. In any case, I later came to wish I hadn't done it, because it would have made the following day easier."

Iri could only stare at her mutely.

"As soon as I heard about your condition, I was frantic about finding the money – but you know how impossible that would have been. The only solution I could think of is the decision I ultimately made."

She hesitated, but she had to get things over with quickly. "I went to Gilgamesh, apologized, made a contract with him… and, well, here we are."

Irisviel stared, wide-eyed. Surely, she did not mean… she could not mean…

Her gaze fell on her sister's left hand almost unconsciously. There was no ring there.

Arturia watched her with barely veiled anxiety, before taking out the chain around her neck, showing her the wedding ring and pronouncing the last words carefully, "I'm now married to him, Iri."

Iri's eyes went impossibly wide. She shook her head, stifling the mild pain it caused her.

"Wait. Ria, wait. You are making fun of me. You slapped your boss, then apologized, and then got married to him?"

Arturia merely nodded, without adding anything. That was exactly what had happened.

Iri looked ready to have a seizure, and the blonde woman quickly gripped her hand, holding it steadfastly.

"Iri… Iri, listen to me. I had no other choice. Gilgamesh needed a wife for the good of his public image; I needed money. We both got what we wanted, and aside from having to live with him – he's, um, some kind of a roommate," actually a manor-mate, but that was not the point, "…the only real thing that changed is my surname."

That actually managed to make Irisviel smile, but just barely. She stared at the wall in front of her, trying to wrap her mind around her sister's words.

Arturia was not finished though. "Iri… I understand that it's a lot to take in. But there are a few other things you should know, too."

Waiting for her sister to bring her eyes back on her, she continued, "As you certainly understand, you can't tell anyone about the contract between Gilgamesh and I. You are in fact the only person, aside from Enkidu – Gilgamesh's best friend, I talked about him, he's that hopelessly cheerful man – who knows about it. Not even Shirou knows the truth. Also…" She hesitated. "You need to be careful with the people you talk to, mainly because of the press's attention on this, but– Iri!"

Iri almost screamed in hysterics, and tried, succeeding this time, to sit up on the bed, ignoring her fatigue, her aching muscles and her depleted state.

"Ria! What is that man doing to you!? What has he done to you?! What do you mean, the press!? What has your life become? What is he doing, what is he forcing you to do, how dare he try to–…!"

"Iri, calm down immediately! You will hurt yourself and your baby!" Arturia firmly exclaimed, keeping however her voice low, hoping that Shirou had not been woken up by the noise.

Iri knew that it was never a good idea to defy an angry Ria, therefore she made an effort to breathe slowly and calm down a little. But what her sister had just said…

Seeing her a bit more composed, Arturia resumed her tale, in a much gentler tone.

"I should have been more specific when I mentioned the contract. Gilgamesh is financing everything that I ask him to; in exchange, I am to be his wife in the eyes of the public, which means that reporters are always around looking for a scoop on my private life with him. You and Shirou should more or less be out of the main storm of it, but I can't promise that you won't somehow get dragged into it anyway."

That was not what truly worried Iri, and her following words clearly expressed what her real concern was.

"Ria, being in a coma has not rendered me completely stupid. Having to be his wife in the eyes of the public means that you… you have agreed to more than just lies to give to the rest of the world… you have agreed to a life of deception." Her eyes were brimming with tears. "You, a person who hates deceit and falsehood of any kind, you have agreed to marry an arrogant stranger because you needed money just to save my life…?"

A few tears escaped her eyes. "Ria… do you even realize the magnitude of what you have sacrificed for it?"

When Arturia did not give her a reply, letting her know that she actually did realize it but did not care, Iri insisted, "How long is this arrangement going to last?"

For the first time, Arturia was seriously taken aback.

That… was actually a very good question.

She searched her memory, frowning. Impossible. How could she and Gilgamesh have overlooked making a decision on such an important matter…? Even though she had the distinct impression that he did not intend to accept something like a divorce any time soon, they had never actually talked about it.

However, she could not waste time in pondering over this. She knew little of her husband's actual plans for the future, but she told Iri what had already been arranged.

"To answer your earlier question… we are in Japan now because Gilgamesh intends to remain here for about two years, to run the main headquarters of Uruk Enterprises. After that period of time, we will probably move back to the US."

Iri was still in a weakened state, but that did not stop her from narrowing her eyes at her sister. She was still quite horrified by the whole matter.

"I asked another question earlier, Ria… what kind of man is your… husband? Is it safe for you to be anywhere near a person like him? What is he making you do? Is he… is he doing things to you? Is he a psychopath? Is he some sort of crazy sociopath obsessed with you, or some other kind of insane monster? Or–"

"Iri," Arturia's soothing voice broke through her tirade. She knew that Iri was the type to often read the news, especially the sections about crimes. She had to reassure her on that point right away.

"Please do not immediately jump to the worst conclusions. First of all, the marriage is blanc. Second, Gilgamesh and I actually don't spend much time in each other's company. We share a room and occasionally a meal, but we don't even interact that often. We have work and we are busy. And, in all honesty, he isn't that bad… sometimes he actually manages to be bearable."

Her small smile did not entirely convince Iri, but it was a step in the right direction.

Arturia stood up. She had talked more than enough about her husband. There was someone much more important in her sister's life who still didn't know that Iri was awake.

"Now, let's wake up your son. Be prepared to learn all about his milk teeth."

She almost winked at her sister, before stepping into Shirou's bedroom. The boy was still fast asleep as she gently shook him awake.

"Shirou… Shirou," she called, bringing him out of his slumber, and was relieved when she finally saw him rub his eyes and stare at her with a bleary expression.

"Auntie Ria?" he yawned, looking at her with puzzlement.

Arturia smiled brilliantly at him.

"There is a wonderful surprise in the other room. Don't you want to say good morning to mommy?"

His golden eyes widened and he returned her smile broadly, before immediately running towards the door.

"Mommy!" he screamed in joy at seeing his mother awake, and jumped straight on her bed and into her awaiting arms, not missing the look of pure affection with which she was regarding him.

"Shirou…!" she murmured, cradling her son to her chest.

He did not break the embrace for a long time, holding his mother as close as possible – with the pregnant belly in the middle – and clutching almost frantically at her.

"Don't leave again, mommy…!" he murmured quietly into her hospital robe, his sobbing tone making it clear that he had burst into tears, and Arturia deemed it wise to make her exit for at least a brief while. Waving a little in her sister's direction, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

And she stared, dumbfounded.

Gilgamesh was still there, sitting on a chair in the corridor, sporting quite an annoyed expression on his face. He had obviously – or rather, not quite so obviously – been waiting for her.

"I assume from the boy's yell that he is aware of the fact that his mother is conscious," he said, nothing in his tone and composure betraying the fact that it was very early in the morning and he had not even had breakfast yet.

Arturia nodded, a little uncertain. She had thought that he had gone back home or even to the office; she had definitely not expected him to wait there outside the room. To be honest, she didn't quite know what to make of it.

He made the decision for her. Standing up, he took her arm – his grip oddly not forceful – guiding her towards the dining area of the hospital. When she tried to object, he did not let her.

"We haven't had breakfast yet, and while I doubt your sister is allowed to eat regular food at the moment, you should get something for your nephew as well."

That made all her protests die away instantly, and deciding to ignore his strangely thoughtful words, a few minutes later she found herself taking slow gulps of her tea while he was sipping on his black coffee. With a small tray containing hot milk and a few donuts – Arturia disapproved of that hyper-caloric food, but she thought she could spoil her nephew, just this once – they went back to Iri's room.

Right outside, however, Arturia paused. Gilgamesh seemed to intend to follow her into the room, and she was not sure whether it was a good idea. Iri had after all not reacted positively at all when she had told her about him…

He partially guessed her thoughts, and smirked.

"I do hold some curiosity about meeting the woman whose health is the primary reason for which you made a contract with me." Seeing that she was still uncertain, his smirk widened. "Don't worry, Arturia. Your sister has nothing to fear from me."

She raised an eyebrow. That was the least of her concerns.

"I'm more worried about what she can do to you, Gilgamesh. She hasn't taken the news of the marriage too well, but since she's still a long way from being completely recovered, I just hope she doesn't overexert herself in manifesting her distrust towards you right now."

She did not wait to see his reaction and entered the room. Shirou was still in his mother's arms, whispering something in her ear as she smiled at him.

Both looked up at them. Shirou's face lit up at seeing the breakfast and even more at seeing the man who followed his aunt, even though he did not attempt to leave his mother's loving embrace.

"Uncle Gilgamesh!" he exclaimed, extending a hand towards him, as if to beckon him closer.

Both his aunt and uncle approached the bed, Arturia laying down the tray before making the necessary introductions.

"Iri, this is my husband, Gilgamesh Uruk. Gilgamesh… my sister, Irisviel von Einzbern."

The two measured each other without a word. Iri could not deny that she felt quite a bit intimidated by the man, and her wariness of him seemed to increase with every passing second.

He was tall, his presence was imposing and, well, so was his ego, which seemed to flood the room. Yet at the same time, she had not missed the way her son had called him, nor the fact that he seemed accepting of it. She had also not been able to miss the way he kept extremely close to her sister.

For some reason that she could not pinpoint, Iri felt that it was probably for the best if she did not address him directly. She did not know why, but she had a feeling that he was a very complex person, and she wouldn't have been able to hold her own in a conversation with him, at least not while she was still feeling so weak.

Therefore, she spoke to her sister.

"Ria, there was no need for you to call your husband here at this time in the morning…"

Arturia gave her an odd look.

"He was actually already here, Iri. In fact – he came with me after the hospital called me earlier this morning."

Since Shirou had just sunk his teeth in a donut the wrong way and had unintentionally splashed most of the cream on her face, Iri didn't have the chance to give a reply to that, but she registered it in her mind and put it aside for later. Shirou had grown a lot in the three months of his life that she had missed, but she was glad to see that he was still the young child she knew and was not too grown up yet.

As her sister carefully helped her son clean up the mess, the white-haired woman thoughtfully let her gaze wander to the blond, crimson-eyed man.

His behaviour towards Ria was hard to define: there was possessiveness, there was arrogance, there was open amusement and yet also attentiveness and respect. A mixture of too many puzzling emotions, especially considering that she had only seen him for a few minutes, therefore making it impossible to reconcile with the man himself.

It was minimal, but she had a hunch… that perhaps… perhaps it was for the best if she waited before evaluating him. Studying him first would be to everyone's benefit, she concluded, because after all, she did not know much about him in the first place.

Yes, she decided. She would determine her sister's husband's nature and, if he was in any way a danger around her beloved Ria, she would do her best to take care of the issue.

But in order to properly do that, she needed to heal first.

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