A/N: thank you to HiddenCamellia for giving ideas for this chapter ;)


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If changing a baby's diapers and looking after the education of a young boy were indeed activities that required attention and time, looking for jobs didn't require any less patience.

Iri did not intend to stay idle for long; she was already staying in her bed only the bare minimum required, while the rest of the time she walked as much as possible and focused on the rehabilitation therapy, to regain the full use of all the muscles in her body. She also insisted on going outside at least once a day together with both her children, and after a while, she became progressively more independent, not needing help to move around anymore.

At the same time, while she was recuperating her strength, she also spent several days with Arturia in writing up her résumé and looking through magazines and newspapers about jobs. They also had some real estate's leaflets delivered to them, starting to search for an apartment. When doing that, the blonde woman was careful in giving advice, since she considered it very likely that one day – probably quite soon – Kariya was going to become a permanent part of Iri's life.

Iri was actually doing a very good job on her own for her recovery, not forgetting however to involve Shirou when, for example, she went through the pictures of some apartments. Once his mother was discharged, the young boy was going to stop lessons with his private tutors and resume public school.

Unfortunately, Arturia did not have much time to actively concentrate on helping her sister; she was having her hands full in this period – it was already August, time certainly went by fast – because of work.

The trip to Europe, Enkidu's accident, Ninsun's visit and the wedding anniversary had distracted her, but neither she nor Gilgamesh could forget that the two of them had worked together – very efficiently – for the growth of Uruk Enterprises.

With Enkidu now back on his feet, fully healed and focused on directing the progressively more solid venue in Hong Kong (he had been quick to avoid Arturia once she had hinted at the fact that she knew about his having a girlfriend, courtesy of Ninsun's sly comments), the amount of work in Japan was not to be taken lightly.

Together with Gilgamesh, she participated to all the work meetings, her schedule becoming more and more busy as she often found herself staying late at the office to conclude reports, write down instructions for other employees, and outline agendas for the following meetings.

The strangest part in all this was that she didn't mind the heavy workload, because she enjoyed what she was doing at Uruk Enterprises.

She was also beginning to truly see why Gilgamesh was said to have workaholic habits. His company was his pride, and he took pride in making it prosper and grow. That was something that required time and attention, and of course it would make him very attached to his work.

Even though it was true that, since their wedding, he had gradually started to spend more time with her instead of only working–…

No, she was not going to go down that line of thought, for it was pointless.

*"*"*"*"*"*"*"*"*

Gilgamesh did occasionally say things that puzzled her, as well as behaving oddly towards her from time to time, but that was simply part of their daily life, of how they normally interacted and, even if she would never admit it out loud, she would not have traded it for the world.

She had actually thought that they had found something close to trust, that they had come to have at least a good degree of respect for each other that would grant them a peaceful coexistence. They had after all been married for over a year, managing to more or less get along throughout that period of time, and that was something rather impressive.

However, while it had indeed seemed to be so, there was suddenly a change that she had not expected. For several days in a row, he seemed to be detached and pensive, and she caught him staring at her more than once in the evenings, before they both went to sleep without exchanging a word.

At first, she simply assumed that his strange mood had something to do with work, since not only was she very busy, he was too.

However, even though the workload was heavy on both of them, everything at the office was running smoothly, and if something had been truly wrong, she was confident he would have told her, or if he had indeed felt like being reticent, then Enkidu would have let her know about it.

It was beginning to worry her, also because he had been avoiding coming with her to the hospital during the past few weeks. He had accompanied her only once, but he had left immediately after having a brief talk alone with Kariya.

Her husband's behaviour was odd, and she did not like it. She remembered all too well the previous time she had thought that something was off with him: she had ended up suspecting him of cheating, and she truly did not intend to relive the experience.

She couldn't figure out Gilgamesh's conduct, yet she wasn't even given the time to study it properly.

One evening, several days after the strange change in his behaviour, he told her that it was best if she prepared her luggage, but not for a long trip, only in preparation for a few days away. He also told her to choose clothes she liked for it, nothing too formal and instead more casual.

That puzzled Arturia exceedingly – especially since he usually gave much more precise directives about her wardrobe – and she inquired after it. After all, it was a regular Thursday night, and he had not mentioned anything about a trip on the weekend or any time soon.

But he was evasive when replying to her question, or rather, he didn't give her a clear reply, and only emphasized the fact that she needed to prepare her luggage. He had obviously something in mind, something she could not guess, and something that she was apparently not going to find out either.

Inwardly, Arturia shook her head at him. He always accused her of being stubborn, but he could hardly claim to be the opposite.

By now, she could not deny that she had gotten to know him rather well. She knew that he would not have told her to pack her things for no reason at all, and he was also very much aware of the fact that she preferred to take care of her luggage on her own, not allowing the staff to do it in her stead.

Therefore, even if still in the dark regarding the reason why he asked her to do such a thing, she decided to comply, and packed a small suitcase.

Even if she had work the entire day, the following afternoon she managed to finish a few minutes earlier than usual, getting ready to go home. Gilgamesh seemed however to know that she had a full day – on second thought, of course he knew, he was her employer after all – and stopped by her office right when she was about to leave.

He told her that they were going out to dinner in the evening and therefore she needed to dress up for the occasion.

She did not even have the time to frown, confused and utterly bewildered, because he was already gone after delivering her that brief message. She had to forgo her daily visit to her family at the hospital because of lack of time and therefore went home still in the same state of confusion, wondering about her husband's strange actions and behaviour.

She barely had the time to freshen up and select an elegant evening gown of her choice before Gilgamesh was home as well, taking a shower and getting ready swiftly before escorting her to the car.

She noticed that he had chosen to drive himself – they managed to evade the reporters that had once again increased in number after their anniversary – and she wondered if it had been to avoid conversation with her. They had not been talking much these past few days…

However, if Arturia had not expected him to take them to a very classy western-style restaurant, she had certainly not expected them to be alone either. She had thought it was going to be an event or something that had been arranged at the last minute and about which he had not had the time to talk in advance, or something of the kind; instead, they had reservations at this restaurant, and just for the two of them.

Truth to be told, the place was impressive. It was a rather ancient, well-structured building – it was so elegant that reservations were obviously required – but it was not ostentatious by any means. In fact, it was particularly stunning because most of the tables were simply next to large glass windows, which gave quite the romantic view on the beautiful inner garden the building possessed.

It was certainly a good place to have dinner, she had to admit inwardly, and she was shocked at finding out that she liked it very much. She noticed that Gilgamesh seemed pleased by her silent approval of the place, and her confusion came back – together with some suspicion as well.

What on earth could her husband be planning?

She would have considered such a place appropriate for an elegant but quiet celebration – a place that suited her tastes perfectly – maybe a place where people would have gone after graduation or a promotion at work.

Gilgamesh was the CEO of a company, therefore he certainly hadn't been promoted; she hadn't either, and she did not recall anything that should be celebrated.

As soon as they sat down and placed their orders, she cleared her throat and looked at him.

"Gilgamesh, while this is a truly stunning place to have dinner and I must admit that I like it very much, you still haven't told me the reason for this evening out."

He seemed genuinely surprised by her question and stared at her with a raised eyebrow, before briefly shaking his head in amazement and then giving her one of his best smirks.

"Now, Arturia, why should I not take my wife out to dinner on her birthday?"

Arturia blinked. What?

Oh.

That was right – it was her birthday, and she had completely forgotten about it. How could she have been so obliv–

She blinked again. Gilgamesh… he… he had remembered?

And he had taken her out to dinner – just for this occasion?

He did not let her get lost in her thoughts, and his voice brought her back to the present.

"In case you were wondering, I didn't do anything last year on this day because you were rightly too worried about your sister, and you wouldn't have appreciated anything that distracted you from taking care of her."

He did not add that he also hadn't known her well enough, nor did he add that he had not been in love with her yet, but he chose to merely stare at her, taking in her expression of honest amazement.

His actual thoughtfulness and unexpectedly sharp understanding of her took her aback. It was perfectly true that now those hard and more difficult matters in her life had been settled, and it was also true that during the former year – well, during the current one, too – her birthday had not been among the many things on her mind. It was very kind of Gilg–

She stopped in her thoughts. Since when was Gilgamesh such a thoughtful person?

Especially since she had to admit that remembering her twenty-fourth birthday and actually taking her out to dinner to celebrate it – and in a restaurant that she liked – was indeed a thoughtful gesture.

She made a mental note about it: she should pay him back. It wasn't the first time she owed him, but this particular matter truly needed to be given something in return.

Their food arrived, the waiters as discreet and swift as they were expected to be and, as they began to eat, she felt obliged to explain her startled reaction when he had told her the reason for the dinner.

"I am not… used to celebrating my birthday. I haven't actually thought about celebrating it for quite a number of years."

His raised eyebrow made her give him a slightly apologetic look. "Iri's health problems are not a recent matter, unfortunately. And when we moved to the States, there was little Shirou, and then Kiritsugu's long hospitalization… too many other things required attention to give much thought to something as inconsequential as my own birthday."

As she interrupted herself to sip on her wine – exquisite taste, she noted – he took the bottle elegantly and then refilled her glass, in an out of character gentlemanly gesture, even though it wasn't the first time he did something of the kind. He was clearly refraining from drinking too much himself, and she knew that it was because he had to drive them back later.

Nonchalantly smirking at her stunned look, he replied, "I'm not surprised, since it is fitting for the kind of person you are. I am certain though that your sister did not allow the occasion to just pass by."

Arturia nodded in confirmation, deciding to stop pondering over his behaviour and just steer the conversation forward.

"Iri was stubborn about that – she never forgot. Even when she was very ill, she would tell me to take an evening off and go out to 'enjoy life'."

She shook her head, remembering her sister's adorably pouting expression that had sometimes – very few times – forced her to leave the house and go out with her classmates and later her university colleagues.

Now that she thought about it, she had not gone to see her sister, nephew and niece on this day; if she had, she would have probably been reminded of the fact that it was her birthday. It was strange however that they had not even given her a phone call…

Could it be that – as odd as it seemed – Gilgamesh had had something to do with it, in order to keep the secret about the evening surprise?

Her attention was diverted from those considerations when he asked her other questions about her past birthdays, which prompted her to admit that all the occasions in which Iri had actually managed to make her go out had ended up with her having to take care of her severely intoxicated colleagues. Gilgamesh merely scoffed at that, commenting on the low alcohol tolerance of such mongrels.

They continued to talk about several things, the conversation remaining light, natural and even relaxed, at least until their after-dessert coffee arrived.

All of a sudden, she saw him stare at something behind her, quite intently. Mildly confused, she followed the direction of his gaze, turning her head around, but there was nothing there.

Even more confused, she turned her head again to bring her eyes back on him… and suddenly, there was a small parcel in front of her.

Gilgamesh grinned. He had obviously tricked her, probably to enjoy her dumbfounded expression as she stared at the present he had just given her.

"Open it," he invited her, a strangely unfamiliar glint of keenness in his eyes.

Arturia stared at it for a while. She was not used to such things; she was not used to receiving presents of this kind, or of any kind. She wasn't used to receiving presents, period.

A little wary, she cautiously brought her fingers to the small ribbon and untied it slowly. Inside the rectangular box there were two envelopes, and she opened them, her eyes widening as she saw the contents.

"But these… these are…" Her voice failed her.

Gilgamesh seemed both amused and exceedingly pleased by her reaction, and sipped on his coffee with composure, his crimson eyes not leaving her shocked face for even a second.

Arturia could not speak. There were four tickets, two in each envelope. The first two were in her and Gilgamesh's name, for a trip two weeks from then. It wasn't just any trip: it was going to be the tour of the five lakes of Mount Fuji.

She had told him about this trip, over a year before, the one she wished she could have had the time and the means to take back when she had been living in Japan.

He had remembered that desire of hers. Such a thing was… it was… quite unexpected to say the least.

The other two tickets were instead in her and Iri's name. They were for the upcoming weekend – starting tomorrow, she realized in even greater shock – and they booked two nights at the location by the sea where the two of them had lived a few years before, right before they had left for the US. It was a place dear to them both, and they had wished to go back there one day.

Apparently, they were now about to do just that.

They could visit and spend a weekend in the place where they had grown up. Together.

Gilgamesh's voice broke through Arturia's spinning thoughts.

"Your sister knows about the trip, and nurse Kariya has already agreed to look after Irisviel's two children for the weekend. The Tohsaka girls, who live with him, will of course be there to lend a hand as well."

Seeing her still flabbergasted expression, he added, carefully, "I have to leave later tonight, and I will be in Yokohama for two days. The chauffeur will be at the nurse's disposal and will bring the two kids back to the hospital when you and your sister are back from your trip."

Arturia felt a sudden, unwanted lump in her throat. He was going to such great lengths – especially considering his usual behaviour – to allow her to spend some extremely rare quality time with her sister.

He was being… truly kind, and even considerate.

Her voice was very quiet, and very soft.

"Thank you, Gilgamesh."

She looked at him, her eyes glistening slightly, and for the first time ever, she truly smiled at him.

She really meant her thanks, because even though they were bound by a contract, what he had just done was not part of the contract at all. He had done more than a kind gesture towards her in the past as well, but the current one held perhaps more meaning than he even realized.

She did not care for material objects, and he knew that. He had carefully considered things that she would honestly appreciate and given them to her as presents. He knew her far better than she had thought, in giving her such precious gifts for her birthday.

An abrupt thought struck her. Back when they had signed the marriage papers, hadn't she… hadn't she seen his date of birth as well…?

She inhaled sharply.

He looked at her questioningly, and she could not stop her words from blurting out.

"Gilgamesh… your birthday… it…it was yesterday…! I– I completely forgot…!"

Her eyes lowered a bit, and she felt decidedly ashamed. She had forgotten not only her own birthday, but his as well. And there she was, the day after, when he had just taken her out to dinner and given her presents she truly treasured, while she–

He chuckled, and the warmth in his tone surprised her.

"It's a matter of little consequence to me, Arturia."

Her head snapped up and she actually glared at him.

"Not to me!"

He seemed taken aback by her vehemence, but she did not give him the time to inquire about it and looked him straight in the eye.

"You have taken me out to dinner to a beautiful place you knew I would like. You have given me an extremely thoughtful and very much appreciated present. You have proven, more times than I am comfortable admitting, that you are a better person than I gave you credit for. And what have I done for you? I haven't done anything for you!"

She immediately stopped talking after that. He could reach the wrong conclusions if she added another word, and she had already let slip more than she intended. Maybe what she had said had already made him reach the wrong conclusion.

But, to both her surprise and relief, it didn't appear to be the case. Instead, he looked at her thoughtfully, and for some very long seconds, there was complete silence between them, as blood red and emerald green remained locked with one another.

Then he smiled, and her breath was stolen away. Arturia knew – from what Enkidu had told her, and from her own experience with Gilgamesh – that his smiles, those beautiful smiles that changed his haughty expression so radically, were not only incredibly rare, but they also had to be earned.

Furthermore, she knew that this was something – one of the few things – she and her husband actually had in common.

His smile only widened at her stunned expression.

"You have, Arturia. You have."

With thorough calmness, he took another sip from his coffee, leaving her at a complete loss for words.

It was getting late, and they finished their coffees in silence. Arturia did not allow herself to reflect on his last enigmatic words, and occupied herself by holding the two envelopes with the tickets firmly as they left the restaurant, keeping them close, as if she never intended to let them go.

During the entire car ride, spent in oddly companionable silence, she reflected about the several things that had happened during the evening – during this surprisingly very pleasant evening.

Gilgamesh had driven them to the restaurant himself instead of calling the chauffeur because he had to leave after dinner; in fact, he was only going to be dropping her off at home before going to the airport.

In spite of the fact that he had to take a flight shortly, he had still taken her out to dinner because it was her birthday, and he had chosen a high-class place, yes, but one that she would like. He knew that she was not comfortable in sumptuous, snobbish restaurants, therefore he had selected a place that would be to her tastes and where she would enjoy a nice evening.

He had then given her presents, presents she truly valued, because they would give her the possibility to visit places she wished to see and spend some unburdened quality time with her almost fully recovered sister. He had not given her expensive objects she couldn't care less about, but the opportunity to make memories that she would treasure.

The presents also explained why he had asked her to pack her things: it had obviously been so that she was ready to leave on her vacation the following day.

And she… all she could do at the moment was realize how wrong she had been. During the past few days, she had been suspicious of him for no real reason.

"That, you were indeed," came his reply from next to her, inside the car.

Without noticing it, she had spoken her last thoughts out loud. She cleared her throat, looking away, but he was not going to let her off the hook so easily.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eye with a deadly serious look, he asked quite bluntly, "You said, some time ago, that you have enough trust in me to know that I would never bring you harm. Then why do you keep doubting me like this?"

Arturia was quiet, because he was right. She was continually having doubts about him even after he had proven to be different from the person she had first perceived him to be.

She couldn't help it: she was forced to remind herself of the things he had done that proved that he actually did deserve her trust. She was just too used to questioning his every action for no reason; it was enough that it was him doing them.

She bit her lip, but she did not have the time to say anything else – apologize, explain herself, speak her mind, retort in kind – because they were already in front of their house. She was however so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize it until her car door was opened by Gilgamesh, standing outside and looking at her in amusement.

She quickly put the tickets in her purse (she had still been holding them in her hand) and stepped out of the car. There were only a couple reporters around, to her deep relief, the late hour having probably made the rest of them leave.

She stood awkwardly for a moment in front of her husband, before steeling herself and looking up into his eyes. She knew that he had to leave now if he wanted to make it to the airport in time.

"Gilgamesh, I am sorry for my unjustified distrust towards you. Thank you… for this evening, and for the presents you gave me. I don't think I can even explain how much they mean to me."

And before she could change her mind, she followed her natural impulses, allowed her lips to tilt upwards and spontaneously gave him another true smile.

The second one of the evening – the second one she had ever directed at him.

She immediately took a step away from him after that, trying to turn around at the same time to walk back to the house, but he did not let her.

He grabbed her wrists gently, pulled her to him and fleetingly pressed a kiss against her lips – but she didn't even have the time to widen her eyes, because he had already released her and was stepping back into the car, one hand raised in goodbye.

"Enjoy your weekend, Arturia."

Not giving her the time to form a coherent reply nor do anything but stare at him, he gave her a strange smirk that suspiciously looked like a smile… and then he was gone.

About half an hour later, when she had taken a shower and was brushing her teeth before going to bed, Arturia stared at her reflection in the mirror and pondered over a couple of things that were now clear in her mind.

As she had been reminded on this very day, celebrating her birthday was not that bad.

And, well, she had to admit that her husband, the man she had fallen in love with by now, was truly not that bad, either.

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Driving to the airport, Gilgamesh did not even attempt to control the pleased feeling in his chest.

In fact, he wasn't just pleased. He was delightedly elated.

It was not the satisfaction that came with making a productive deal, or managing to successfully conclude a meeting, or proving that he was once again right, or anything of the kind. It was a true sense of bliss, and just because he had seen his wife's reaction at receiving his presents.

He had been able to do something that made Arturia smile in true happiness – smile in true happiness at him – and that, aside from being unprecedented, was wonderful.

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