...

...

Being back in the town where they had lived for many years, Irisviel could not help recalling many precious memories, some good and some bad, but she decided not to dwell on them.

Instead, she chose to focus on spending a relaxing weekend with her younger sister. She knew, thanks to her brother-in-law, that no one from the press was around and would bother them, giving them their best possible peaceful time together.

Shirou and little Illya were with Kariya during those two days, and Iri knew that she couldn't find a more trustworthy person to look after them, except maybe her sister Arturia. A fond smile appeared on the woman's lips as her thoughts went to the grey-haired man she had come to care about very deeply.

She and Arturia had just come back from the cemetery, where they had gone to pay their respects at their parents' graves. The plane crash in which they had lost their lives had been over six years before, but that did not mean that they had forgotten the pain that such a loss had brought them.

After a few minutes in front of the grey stones together, however, the two sisters had been able to give each other a smile without forcing it. As much as they could still feel sorrow, they had been able to move on.

Right now, they were sitting outside their hotel, next to each other at one of the tables in the yard, having a late breakfast. Since the weather was warm, the guests had been offered the meals in the park outside, with plenty of strategically placed shadows so that the morning sun would not be bothersome. On one side of the yard there was the tall, bohemian-style building of the hotel, and on the other, barely hidden by trees, there was a large water park.

Iri did not like the silence that had stretched between them ever since they had come back from the cemetery, even though it had not been uncomfortable by any means. The fact that she was always together with two quite bubbly children may have altered Iri's perception a bit, but Arturia seemed to be too quiet even for her usual standards.

Therefore, the white-haired woman cleared her throat.

"So, Ria. That husband of yours presented you with the tickets for this trip yesterday, as your birthday present." Her eyes were twinkling a little. "You should probably know that he called me two days ago, informing me of his intentions and preventing me from making you my birthday wishes since he wanted to take you out for dinner and he had this surprise in mind for you. Quite oddly thoughtful of him, I must say."

She studied her sister's face, her gaze discerning, because her sickness had not lessened her sharp senses when it came to her beloved sibling.

Arturia found herself almost trying to avoid her gaze, but managed to control herself in time.

"Yes… thoughtful, indeed," she replied, feeling a vague uneasiness.

Iri waited. She knew that Arturia would talk, if given enough time.

The blonde woman sighed though, and her words took her sister by surprise.

"Iri… are you happy?"

Taken aback, the other woman stared at her sister mutely for a few seconds, trying to guess what had prompted such a question. She didn't manage to do so, but she knew Arturia: the inquiry was not casual, it held a meaning.

And Iri slowly smiled, knowing perfectly what her answer was going to be.

"I believe I am, Ria. I have my Shirou, and he is a lovely boy. I have my little Illya, and she is a healthy baby. I have… I have Kariya now, and I couldn't ask for a better man in my life. My strength is gradually coming back to me. As hard as it is to admit, I am truly learning to overcome Kiritsugu's loss. And," she leaned forward, her arms going around Arturia's shoulders in a loving embrace, "I could never forget that I have the best sister in the world."

The blonde woman smiled, but Iri wasn't blind, and could see how the smile did not reach her eyes completely.

Arturia sighed again, and grimaced.

"You also have a brother-in-law now," she said, eyeing her carefully as she pronounced every word slowly.

Iri chuckled briefly, surprising her.

"Ria, I'm not a fool. You've explained to me the reasons for your marriage. It was convenient – for you and for him." She did not mention that it was what had saved her own life, as she knew that her sister wouldn't have appreciated her bringing it up. "Even though Shirou has come to adore him, and even though I've noticed that you have started wearing your wedding ring on your finger, I don't truly consider him my brother-in-law."

Arturia frowned, and seemed about to protest, but Iri raised a hand, in a very rare display of older-sister behaviour, and then rested it on hers slowly.

Their hands were similar, both pale and white; but one was weakened by years of sickness while the other was strengthened by facing the continuous hardships of life. The second one wore a refined golden ring with small elegant carvings, while the first one no longer had a ring, not after it had had to be removed during her coma.

The weaker hand, however, squeezed the stronger one with unexpected firmness.

"You have not accepted your husband in your life, Ria. And, unless you decide to change your mind about it… neither will I."

Green eyes were slightly shocked, while dark red ones were kind. "I am your sister, Ria. I will always support you and your choices… as you have always done with me. And that includes the choice in terms of husbands."

Arturia felt tears gathering in her eyes, and she tenderly squeezed her sister's hand back.

"Dear Iri. You have such a good heart."

Iri only laughed, and Arturia was pleased to hear how light and unburdened the laugh was.

Privately, the white-haired woman thought that the one with a truly good heart was her sister, but she knew the blonde woman would not accept such a compliment.

Her keen eyes were then sharp on Arturia, and she added, "But there is still something else on your mind, Ria. What is it?"

Arturia wasn't overly surprised that Iri could tell from just looking at her face.

"I… wonder about my husband. And… that… is making me uncertain."

The dark red eyes suddenly became knowing, as she understood.

"Oh, Ria. You are feeling guilty."

Without warning, she made her sister stand up, before hugging her fiercely.

In a low voice, releasing her but keeping her standing, she murmured, eyes carefully observing her, "You are slowly getting to know him, aren't you, Ria? And you are finding out that being married to him is actually better than you thought." Her eyebrows knitted together for a second. "But for some reason, you are afraid that you pursuing this… this, whatever it is… would be disrespectful of my past grief."

She pulled away, giving her a gentle smile. "You must not think this way, dearest sister. You have sacrificed far more than you could ever have by entering this marriage. I suffered for Kiritsugu's loss, I will never downplay it, but it's now in the past. I have more than enough reasons in my life to be happy and look brightly at the future. My own past sorrow should never influence you. It's your right to find some happiness in your life as well."

Arturia shook her head, pulling back and making them both sit down again.

She was never going to admit that she was developing deep feelings for her husband – especially since they were one-sided – but she needed to make sure her sister was made aware of the increased respect and some actual friendship that now existed on her part, towards Gilgamesh.

"Iri, don't be too hasty. It's true that… I… am getting to know Gilgamesh better, and, as much as it pains me to admit how wrong I was, it's also true that he has revealed himself to be a better person than I gave him credit for, both at work and in private. But that does not mean that I fully like him. I just… well… I recognize that my marriage is turning out to be a source of more than just material stability for me, because, as much as I truly love my job, that's not all there is to it."

She took a deep breath. "Gilgamesh is not a bad person, and that much had already become clear the day I married him. But… he has proven to be clever, occasionally respectful and actually able to care about so many things. For that, I am grateful. As I said, this marriage… is giving me more than I expected. And… I find myself liking it." She finished her admission with her eyes uncharacteristically lost in the distance.

She was surprised to hear Iri laugh again.

"Oh, my dearest Ria… so this is really the problem." She inclined her head to the side, before unexpectedly and straightforwardly asking her, "What do you want, Ria, for yourself?"

Startled, Arturia could only stare at her in confusion, at least until she took the question seriously.

Upon realizing that she did not have an answer, she blinked. Several times.

"I… never thought about such a thing," she admitted, with some wariness.

Iri looked almost exasperated.

"Ria, I know that you always think of me, Shirou and Illya first, and want the best for us. But you have every right to be what you'd call 'selfish' and think of yourself and your own life too."

It was shockingly similar to something Gilgamesh had told her in the past as well, even though the motive in this case was different.

Arturia had a feeling that she knew where Iri was going with her subtle allusions, but she wasn't going to take the bait, for she did not intend to mention her one-sided feelings to her sister, at least not for now. She had already admitted to respecting Gilgamesh as a person and to really liking her job at Uruk Enterprises, and she was not going further than that.

Iri wasn't an insisting person by nature, but as she leaned forward again to stare into her eyes, Arturia did not give her the time to speak, deeming it safer to state things clearly yet without too many unnecessary details.

Her tone was steady.

"Iri, I am slowly beginning to welcome my husband as a true part of my life – as a friend. You actually already said so a few minutes ago, but I want to be sure: would you accept him in your life as well, as your brother-in-law, if I accept the idea of him being my husband?"

Iri chuckled, always amazed by her sister's antics.

"Are you asking for my permission, Ria?"

Arturia smiled a little, a strong gust of wind managing to loosen a few strands of her golden locks, bringing them out of her chignon to frame her face.

"Not exactly. But you are my sister, and I care about your opinion – more than you can imagine."

Iri took her sister's hand again, feeling a deep warmth surging in her chest at those words.

"I trust your judgement, dear sister, on this matter as I always have on any other matter. And if you decide to truly accept Gilgamesh in your life, I will support your decision."

Then she smirked, a little of the family's well-suppressed mischievousness emerging. "And of course I'll be very happy for you. So, when are you giving Shirou, Rin and Illya some playmates?"

It took Arturia a few seconds to understand the meaning of those words – they were rather out of character for sweet Iri and much more suitable for impish Enkidu – but when she did, she blushed bright red and stuttered slightly, to her sister's utmost delight.

"I-Iri! That's not what I meant!"

The white-haired woman laughed once again, heartily and with a large smile on her face.

"I know, Ria, I know – I just couldn't resist! But I understand you perfectly." She sobered slightly. "The gist of all this is that your husband is starting to earn your trust and respect. He is becoming a friend, a companion, someone you can accept in your life not just because you have to due to the monetary arrangement."

She smiled more widely. "Such a thing makes me happy, Ria." Her eyes were gentle. "You have isolated yourself, willingly or not, because of my sickness. You can't imagine how truly happy it makes me to see you opening up more to people – and yes, even to your husband."

Arturia smiled as well.

"We are slowly getting our lives back on track, aren't we, Iri?"

The two sisters grinned at each other, and because of the sun's reflection, their eyes then landed on the other side of the yard, where the water park was located. A simultaneous thought passed through their minds.

Arturia narrowed her eyes while Irisviel smirked.

"We shouldn't–…" the blonde woman began, but Iri was already standing up once again and dragging her along with surprising strength.

"We probably shouldn't, but it won't do us, nor anyone else, any harm! So come!"

And before long, the two sisters were seated between a large number of children, enjoying the water park attractions and having more fun together than they had had in years.

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

As Arturia arrived home late in the evening on Sunday, she almost stumbled against her husband, since he was leaving the house in that same moment.

Her surprised green eyes met his equally surprised crimson ones, but he was obviously in a hurry, so he wasted no time in informing her that he had just come back from Yokohama but needed to be in Osaka for the following few days and was therefore on his way to catch another flight.

He was next to the limousine, the chauffeur holding the door open for him – the number of reporters had surprisingly reduced during the weekend – when he suddenly turned towards his wife again.

"I trust you had a pleasant weekend."

It wasn't phrased as a question, but it was obviously one.

Arturia nodded at him, and smiled a little bit.

"I did."

The change in his stern expression was minimal, but the slight softening of his eyes was not lost on her, so she refused to hold herself back from adding, "Have a safe journey, Gilgamesh."

He gave her a nod, and then stepped inside the car. Arturia followed the vehicle with her eyes until it disappeared.

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

On Monday, Arturia was going to be at work the whole afternoon, since she was going to have to attend – or rather, lead – an important meeting, therefore she went to the hospital in the morning. She was glad to see her nephew and niece, who had spent a delightful weekend with Sakura, Rin and Kariya, whom Shirou had now no trouble calling 'uncle'.

What Kariya told her, however, puzzled her exceedingly. Gilgamesh had apparently called him twice every day, to curtly inquire after the children and make sure they had all they could need. That showed a level of caring that she would not have expected, and it occupied her mind more than she wanted to admit.

Her husband's behaviour was confusing, and no matter how much she questioned herself about it and attempted to think about it rationally, she could not find a plausible explanation for it. At the same time, she couldn't seem to be able to get those jumbled thoughts out of her mind.

Being so preoccupied, in the afternoon she was particularly edgy, and she led the meeting with much more sternness than she would have usually done, intimidating the office directors with her strict attitude. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since there had been more people present than usual and her behaviour allowed the meeting to be much swifter and decisive, but Arturia privately considered that she had better keep her stress levels in more rigorous check; otherwise, she risked ending up snapping at innocent co-workers.

She was surprised to see Enkidu remaining behind as the others left the room, and he inclined his head towards her after everyone else was gone.

"You're not in the best of moods today Ria, are you?" he inquired gently, and she averted her eyes before she could stop herself.

Her behaviour on this day was not one the green-haired man could tease so easily, but his volcanic brain had already figured out a possible solution, and he abruptly grinned at her. "How about going out for a drink or two to relax a little bit~?"

She eyed him warily, and with good reason. This was Enkidu, for crying out loud, and even though she considered him to be an older brother figure of sorts, she still had to be cautious around him and his plans.

"I don't believe this to be the brightest of your ideas."

He waved her off.

"No excuses, Ria~! The drinks are on me!"

"…that's not enough to convince me, Enkidu."

His yellow-grey eyes twinkled.

"Do you really wish to subject the entire building to your temper today, Ria~?"

Arturia glared at him for his successful use of an emotional blackmail she could not contradict, and grabbed her handbag.

"Fine. But this had better not take long."

Enkidu laughed as he chivalrously held the door open for her.

"Soothe your mood by sharing a drink with a friend who is going to leave for Hong Kong in a couple of days, Ria." And he winked at her as they walked out of the building.

When sitting down on the bar stools, she decided not to tease him about his girlfriend – she wasn't in the mood for it – and simply questioned him, "You're going on another business trip then?"

He nodded as his favourite drink – beer – was delivered to him.

"Indeed. And I do hope to find your spirits normal again when I'm back~!"

She had trouble in holding back a snort as her gin tonic arrived as well.

"That is extremely doubtful, since I am to be away with Gilgamesh this weekend."

The green-haired man raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"You are?"

Realizing she had let it slip without meaning to, she huffed, deciding that it didn't really matter.

"It's… it's part of his birthday present to me. We are going to do the tour of the five lakes."

Enkidu did not express outwardly the surprise he was feeling, but could not help carefully studying his friend, whom he almost considered a younger sister by now, from the corner of his eye, before suddenly grinning.

"Oh, I see now~… Of course you're in a foul mood! You are irritated at Gil!"

She didn't even know the specific reason that had triggered it, but she was indeed restless and on edge – and it was all because of her husband, therefore there was no point in trying to deny what Enkidu had just deduced.

However, she frowned as she stared at her glass without touching it.

"I wonder if it's even possible not to be annoyed at him."

Enkidu grinned merrily, sipping on his beer contentedly. It seemed that his best friend was the cause for the blonde woman's dreadful spirits. Not that such a thing surprised him very much; Gilgamesh could occasionally be irritating, therefore he could not fault Arturia for being less than pleased about it.

It was a bit odd, however, that in over a year of marriage she had never let her discontentment affect work… at least until this particular day.

Taking him by surprise, she suddenly took up her drink and drowned the contents of the glass in one gulp before slamming it back on the counter.

Enkidu eyed her warily; even when she smacked him, she was usually a kind person, in firm control of herself and her emotions, and normally she would never have slammed her glass on the table like that, risking breaking it.

It seemed that her frustration towards Gilgamesh was of a different kind than usual.

"There are far too many times when I don't understand Gilgamesh's play at all," she abruptly grumbled, surprising and amusing him even more.

Enkidu studied her briefly once again, and then decided it was safe enough to ask her to elaborate.

"What play might you be talking about, Ria~?"

Her reply was however not what he expected, as she sighed heavily and her words started flowing out like a river.

"I am unable to see what he truly means with his actions. He's too confusing to decipher! Sometimes it looks like he cares about certain matters, other times it is as if he's trying to trick me. I never know when, or if, he's being genuine."

She sighed again, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "Even when he speaks to me he's odd. He even interrupted our conversation the other day with something ridiculously out of character. Something along the lines of saying that I'm 'fascinating'."

Arturia had expected the person next to her to laugh and maybe jest about it; she had most certainly not expected Enkidu to choke on his drink.

She turned towards him quickly to hand him a tissue, and she was taken aback at seeing that his eyes were wide in disbelief, even as he was still sputtering slightly.

"Ria… he told you… what?"

She raised an eyebrow. Was it so important that she had to repeat it? Well, not that it mattered anyway. She shrugged lightly.

"I don't recall what exactly we were talking about, but I believe it was about my sister. I had replied to his comment on something, and out of nowhere and for no reason, he told me, 'You are so fascinating'."

Enkidu's suddenly unreadable face had a slow but very wide smile blooming on it and, as he still held his now soaked tissue, he let out a chuckle.

"Oh, Ria~, maybe you didn't see the importance of that sentence, coming from Gil~…"

He continued to grin widely but refused to add another word, his mind working quickly.

Now he could see the reason that had made Gilgamesh leave on a business trip this week, right before he was going to spend a few days alone with his wife. The current work trip to Osaka had not been imperative at all, in fact, he would have been able to handle it from home without much trouble.

But it was now obvious to Enkidu that Gilgamesh had wanted to be alone for a while, and his friend Gil only did that when he had important, conflicting thoughts to sort out.

He had done the same many years before, when he had decided to found Uruk Enterprises, but also on his wedding day, before getting married to Arturia, and Enkidu suspected that it had happened after his own car accident as well. The green-haired man did not know what exactly was going through his best friend's mind, but he could guess that whatever it was, it was closely related to his lovely wife, who had very obviously crept her way into his heart in more ways than one.

Looking at the woman in question, Enkidu grinned at her widely, while Arturia, not for the first time those days, found herself confused.

She could not ask for an explanation though, because he spoke again, his expression now sobered up and completely serious.

"It's not my place to explain Gil's behaviour since I can't know for sure, but if you'll accept an advice from a friend, just let me tell you to pay extra attention to anything he says and does, and the words he uses around you."

Arturia lifted an eyebrow and frowned slightly.

"I already do that," she told him, quite matter-of-factly, and Enkidu had to stifle another grin at her severe expression.

He sighed, a wistful, small sigh, while his eyes almost glazed over in bliss.

"Oh, ~Ria~. If only you could see yourselves! You're just so adorable that I can't even decide which one of you two is cuter!"

Arturia gave him one of her flattest looks, and he grinned happily for the umpteenth time, standing up and paying for their drinks as he had promised.

Then he winked at her before making his way out.

"Don't worry too much about things with your husband, Ria. Just enjoy the tour of the lakes and make sure to take pictures~!"

...

...