A/N: This chapter contains explicit sexual content, which is why the story's rating was changed to M ;) hope you enjoy!


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GILGAMESH

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He was glad about waking up before her, because it meant that she was still there, closely held in his embrace, and all his to keep next to himself.

He did so, feeling her body and her hair as they were pressed against him, and his lips tilted slightly upwards in a smile.

Soon enough, however, the smile turned into a frown.

While he truly revelled in waking up like this on a Sunday morning – which meant they had most of the day at their disposal – he could not stifle the sudden feeling of… uncertainty.

The previous evening, he had not expected them to end up in bed again. Not that he was complaining, of course, but he–… he did not know how to proceed.

And Gilgamesh Uruk never found himself in the position of not knowing how to proceed.

His eyes swept over his wife again, unnerved, and his hand ran through his hair almost in reflex, recalling how Arturia's nimble fingers had done the same just a few hours before.

He stared at her intently. She was always so peaceful looking in her sleep… his arm went to tighten around her waist in a protective instinct he did not feel inclined to repress.

This morning, he would not let her leave his arms so soon. Not like the day before.

He would make sure she did not escape him this time.

He examined her entire form attentively; daylight was creeping into the room, and it made everything much more visible. This obviously meant that he could see much more.

The two previous nights he had taken his time – well, both of them had taken their time after the first frenzied moments – in kissing and touching her body everywhere he could reach, but it had all been in the dark. As much as it had been enjoyable – very much so – he now wanted more.

In this particular moment, in the slowly brightening room, he could see. That meant that some new, very thorough exploration was in order.

With a smirk, he pulled his wife even closer to him, immediately going for the spots he remembered having already kissed exhaustively. It would be a very interesting way to start the day, and he would enjoy waking her up in such a manner.

He leaned forward, tracing her neck again with his lips. Her skin, same as his own, was covered in small red marks and love bites from where he had kissed and nibbled and sucked the night before… and the one before that…

His hands came to have a firm yet gentle hold on her hips, pulling her flush against his body and caressing her at the same time. As his mouth was busy on her neck, his fingers became greedy, travelling slowly but surely from her hips to her thighs, disappearing between them.

Arturia's eyelids slowly fluttered open, still drowsy from sleep but unable not to feel the sensations that were shooting through her from her core. She shuddered, opening her eyes some more and struggling to wake up fully.

Her skin was burning. Her whole body was on fire.

Gilgamesh's ministrations became more insistent as she finally met his eyes, sleepy haziness not yet gone but being slowly replaced by a very different kind of haziness.

He could see her trying to rub her thighs against each other, and he grinned widely. He was getting the precise results he wanted.

"Mmm… Gilgamesh…"

Her voice was both sluggish and needy, and his eyes darkened instantly. He was definitely not going to refuse the unspoken invitation held by her tone.

It was going to be quite a while before either of them left the bed.

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MAIN

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Monday marked the beginning of a very stressful week filled with work.

Arturia was inwardly thanking every possible deity of any kind of godly pantheon that might exist for the fact that on Friday she had already prepared a list of the things she needed to do, so that she was able to meet the new interns and give them instructions with sufficient composure and adequate professionalism.

During their time there, the young college students were not only going to learn, they would also get a glimpse of the world inside Uruk Enterprises, and they would unknowingly give publicity to the already incredibly famous company. It was important that the impression they received from their experience there was positive, as the name of the place was synonym of success, and Arturia intended to keep it that way.

To be fair, she was not required to meet the interns herself, as she could have delegated the job to someone else. However, since it was the first time the venue in Japan offered internships, and since she was the one in charge of the entire project – Gilgamesh had made it very clear that the responsibility was hers – she wanted to make sure that everything ran smoothly. And as she meant for her directives to be followed with exact precision, she did not feel like delegating, at least for the time being.

It was, however, still somewhat problematic to focus on instructing the young people who were about to start two months – or three, depending on their college – of internship at Uruk Enterprises while her uncooperative mind instead kept picturing her husband's head buried between her legs

She should truly stop that line of thought immediately.

Yet no matter how much she tried to, she was only able to keep concentrated enough to guide the interns around and assign them their tasks, before she could not keep her resolve any longer and swiftly retired to her office, closing the door behind her as she tried to calm her tumultuous mind.

She blushed at the thought of Gilgamesh's tongue as he had breathed on her ear lightly, and then how he had brought his lips down to devour her mouth, but heat reddened her cheeks even more at the thought of another part of Gilgamesh's anatomy as it pushed inside her…

She didn't have the slightest clue about the fact that, in his own office in the same building, Gilgamesh was having similar troublesome thoughts to deal with.

Sunday had been among the strangest days they had both experienced in a long while. They had not left the bed for several long hours, and they had talked very little.

They had been… otherwise occupied.

He yanked her wrists together and pulled them over her head. She instinctively felt the desire to resist, struggle, pull away… but she did not. Because one look at the man so intimately connected to her won her over.

It was Gilgamesh who was kissing her so deeply. It was Gilgamesh who was touching and stroking her. It was Gilgamesh who was inside her.

Knowing that it was him and knowing who he was for her was more than enough to both quiet her instinctual fears and make her hesitations and her every resistance disappear.

Therefore, she responded.

To all of his touches, kisses, caresses, which were all impatient but not rough, she answered with her own.

She loved him, after all.

She had not needed any kind of special revelation or sudden shock in order to fall for him. She did not know when, where or why she had started to have feelings for him, but she was not interested in finding out.

She loved her husband, that was all. She loved him so much that she knew she would not be able to fool herself into thinking differently.

When she had first realized her feelings, she had told herself that she needed to stifle them and forget them, but she should have known that it was a futile resolution. She was past the point of no return by now.

She was not in love with him because she was currently sleeping with him – it had come long before this moment, and her love was far deeper than something merely physical.

She was distracted from her serious line of thought once more, however, when his mouth moved again, for he seemed intent on making her feel as much as possible. It already did unthinkable things to her own lips, hotly and demandingly, but all that was still nothing when compared to when that talented mouth of his went to other places on her skin… for example, her breasts–

"AH!" she gasped, and felt him smirk briefly, having had his reward for his relentless attentions, before he ardently kissed her again…

Extremely thankful that no one could see her crimson cheeks, Arturia tried hard to start breathing normally again.

No matter what they had done in bed, not once had they talked about it – about what had changed and what was still changing between them.

How was it possible that she was able to throw away all her inhibitions when in bed with him, but outside of it she was not able to confront him about it? To go to him, look him in the eye and ask him to talk about what was going on between them?

Not that their time in bed was without conversation at all, but they were very brief conversations, and the contents… the contents were not things she ever wanted to repeat in public.

She felt her cheeks turning scarlet again as her mind was brought back to the brief moments in which they had talked, whispered other things in each other's ears.

"You are shameless in vocalizing your pleasure."

She did not have the energy to reply or even just manage to glare at him when he murmured such a thing next to her ear, his arms possessively wrapped around her sated body.

He chuckled at her expression, leaning down to ghost over her form. She was completely spent, but she was conscious of his touch, and she shivered when his lips found her neck once more.

His voice reverberated against her skin. "You can see that I'm not complaining though…"

She shivered again, and struggled to find the words to reply.

"You… are… utterly insatiable… ah!"

She did not remember the details of the sea of pure pleasure she had drowned in a few moments later; she just knew that they had both lost themselves in it once again.

Her hands trembled slightly as she touched her wedding ring, which was the only item she – and Gilgamesh – had still been wearing the day before, when they had been wearing nothing else.

She took several deep, shuddering breaths, struggling to find her composure again. She was married to the man she had slept with. Of course she already knew it, but this little detail was what she kept repeating to herself, because it only made things more complicated than they already were, when it should have made them simpler instead.

They had not married out of love – far from it. They had both married for various reasons, partly selfish ones, not truly caring about one another.

As time had passed, however, they had learned to first respect and then like each other enough to get along.

Yet that was all there was – all there was supposed to be.

As for herself, she knew that at this point she loved her husband. It had taken time and it had taken quarrels and fights, but she had fallen in love with him. Unconditionally.

She felt strangely safe when she was close to him, and what had happened somewhere in the middle of the previous night was still impressed in her mind.

She woke up only barely, turning from one side to the other, trying to find a comfortable position to fall asleep in. Not fully conscious, she breathed in and out evenly, and slowly, she became aware of someone's gentle touch.

Warm hands were caressing her arm and then going down the rest of her body, but without any sexual intent behind it.

The caresses were soft, caring… loving.

Still in that state of semi-consciousness, she managed to make out the feather-like touch of his lips along her shoulder, as she was now lying on her side.

She could not explain, for the life of her, why feeling him like this was so comforting, so relaxing, so… safe

She let it lull her back to sleep.

As far as Gilgamesh was concerned, instead, Arturia did not know how or what he felt towards her. She was quite certain that he had come to care about her in some way, but she believed that, even if that was the case, deep down she was still a tool in his eyes.

It was hurtful to think about it, but one of the most important lessons she had learned by spending so much time with him was to face reality and not try to amend it.

He did not love her back, she was sure of it. However, since that was the case, she had to do something about it, because she would not settle for being a tool, even though she currently couldn't think of a possible way of changing such a state of things.

They were going to have to talk about what was going on, but it didn't seem likely to happen any time soon, as every moment they had spent alone together since Friday evening had seen both of them naked and rather busy in their bed.

That very same morning, after all, had not been any different…

When she woke up early on Monday morning, she didn't need even a second to remember what had happened the night before. Her skin was still on fire and she truly was not able to forget.

It was also made difficult by the fact that he was lying next to her, deep asleep, and her face was turned towards him. It was actually more than that: her face was not just turned towards him, it was also incredibly close to his.

The only thing separating her lips from his were a few inches of the white fabric of the sheets. There was almost no space between them, and it was strangely thrilling to realize that they had been sleeping like this.

They had fallen asleep in such a way, after the previous night, when they had–

She controlled the urge to slide away. He was sleeping, but since her movements could wake him up, she had to be careful.

However, as she was preparing to cautiously move to the side and slowly get out of bed, she found herself unable to look away from him.

Even though she had been sharing a room with Gilgamesh for over a year, she had never stared at him as he slept, especially not from up close like this.

The blond eyelashes surrounding his closed eyes were long, and very distinct. His hair, of that inimitable liquid gold colour, was down and falling over his eyes slightly, even though it was still quite messy after the way her hands had fisted into it the previous night. His expression was peaceful.

She did not know what it was, but something just made her remain there, next to him, looking at him, drinking in his every feature, familiar as it was.

Her hand was near her own face, but under the sheets, and she knew, she knew that if she moved her fingers just a tiny bit she would be able to touch him. She could feel his body heat next to her, so very close to hers, confirming her assumptions.

As soon as she formed the thought, she made her decision. Why not? Why should she deny herself a small, imperceptible touch of him…?

Her fingers made a minimal movement forward.

The next instant, he was awake, kissing her feverishly, his hands going down to possessively grasp her hips and firmly push her against the pillows. A sound of surprise escaped her lips when she realized that he had not been asleep after all.

She tried to be coherent, even though his ministrations were making it difficult. She had to leave soon, she had to go to the workplace because the new interns were about to arrive, she needed to concentrate…

The sinuous way his lips were going down her throat was making things very difficult though.

As her fingers tangled in his hair, making it even messier than before, and as she vehemently brought his mouth back on hers, she briefly considered that, after all, the interns were only arriving later in the morning – in the meantime…

Yes. In the meantime, her husband would make every thought about them leave her mind.

Arturia decided that she had to stop letting her mind wander so foolishly, as she had to prepare for a meeting that was going to take place half an hour later. It was going to be a long one, but she would then be able to go pick up Shirou from school and accompany him home to Iri and Illya. And since the following day she was going to work only in the afternoon, she would bring both the little boy and Rin to school again.

But to do that, she needed her face to stop looking like a tomato the entire time.

She had to gather all her self-control and prove – to herself – that she was capable of being proficient even when both her mind and body were very much set on betraying her.

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The following day, Gilgamesh woke up, feeling his body as relaxed as it had been ever since he had become intimate with his wife.

But once again, he did not find her in bed with him. He was displeased about that, because waking up and having her next to him, only for his eyes to admire, was one of the feelings he had quickly learned to treasure the most.

Getting up to a sitting position, he then heard the water running in the shower.

A smirk appeared on his face as he glanced at the clock. There was little time before work, but he was going to make worthy use of it.

Silently, almost stealthily, he made his way to the bathroom. She had not closed the door entirely, therefore it was easy to sneak in and, once inside, he quietly closed it behind him.

He was in luck: she was facing away from him, standing in the shower and letting the water run over her body, shielded from his view by the opaque panels. His smirk widened as he walked around the empty bathtub in the middle of the room.

He quietly made his way to the other side of the panels then, coming up behind her and, as she heard the movement of someone approaching her, his wife turned her head abruptly, her hands immediately dropping her sponge cloth to go to cover her chest in reflex.

Gilgamesh's crimson eyes gleamed as he stared at her.

"Don't hide from me, Arturia."

His expression showed his amusement at her gesture of covering herself, but his features betrayed his desire for her at the same time.

No matter how often he had now seen her naked, he could not tear his eyes off her, drinking her in, his roaming gaze penetrating and making her feel as if he was caressing every inch of her body with it.

He took a step towards her, and she took one back in instinct. But she hit the wall; there was no more space to go backwards. Even though the water from the shower was hot, the wall behind her was much cooler, and her back had come in direct contact with it.

She shivered.

Crimson eyes burning even as they suddenly darkened, he reached for her, and his arms enveloped her around the waist, turning her so to bring her back now flush against his chest.

He was fully hard and by the time she noticed, it was too late to prevent her body from reacting to it, her lower abdomen filling with that tight sensation she had become accustomed to during the past few days.

She did not try to resist him, not even playfully – on the contrary, she made sure she was as close to him as physically possible by pressing back against him – as she shivered again.

The hot water was now running over both their bodies; he could see the droplets on her face and her shoulders, and he followed their journey down her skin with rapt interest.

Her breath became ragged as soon as she felt his hardness pressing more insistently against the small of her back, before his hands slowly came up to touch and caress her breasts firmly. Small moans began to leave her lips, and she leaned into his touch, all while the water continued to run over their bodies.

He bent her slightly forward to brush against her entrance, feeling that she was already damp – and not just from the water from the shower – making her squirm even more wildly in his arms.

One of his hands went up to turn the shower off, while the other went down to tease her between her legs, making her gasp loudly. Both his hands then went around her hips to steady her as he bent her forward some more–

–before he pushed inside her from behind.

A gasp left her mouth, and he made her turn her head to the side to passionately capture her lips in a kiss as he moved back a little to begin to thrust inside her. She readily responded to his touch, her moans increasing in volume and frequency, and soon, very soon, he felt her beginning to tighten around him.

Before she could reach her peak though, he made an effort to pull out of her, turn her around, kiss her wildly to quiet her growl of protest while pushing her back against the wall and enter her again in one swift motion.

"I want to see you," he purred in her ear, and she was too lost in the renewed sensations to do anything else aside from distractedly acknowledging it and then immediately finding his lips again, sucking on them eagerly.

More intense than before, they continued their heated lovemaking, and as her limbs went around his body to pull him in deeper, closer to her – to have more of him – he was rewarded in his choice to change positions when he felt her starting to tighten again.

He sped up his thrusts, swallowing her now full-fledged screams of pure and unadulterated pleasure, and the next instant she exploded around him, bringing him with her over the edge, deep inside her.

Panting heavily, he leaned against her shoulder, as her arms remained around his neck, awkwardly caressing his skin, and he remained still inside her.

It took them both quite a while to catch their breath; then they slowly disentangled from each other, and he instantly turned on the shower again.

To her great surprise, he took up the sponge cloth that had fallen from her hands before their… encounter, put some more shower gel on it, and began wordlessly – firmly but softly – passing it over her skin to wash her body with it.

What was most astonishing to her though, was the fact that he did so without any lewd desire behind it.

Slowly, incredibly slowly, he traced and scrubbed every inch he could reach of her satiated body – and no place was foreign to him, as he had become very familiar with it in such a short time – with meticulous accuracy and unexpected tenderness.

Feeling her wide eyes on him, he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips chastely, briefly, gently, leaving her quite confused.

To his passion, she could answer. To his sarcasm and teasing remarks, she could answer. But to his tenderness…

Well… Maybe…

As he went down her legs and reached her ankles, she suddenly leaned down as well and took the washcloth from his hands after a slight hesitation.

"Let me," she murmured quietly when she met his eyes.

They were both almost sitting on the shower floor at this point. When he let go of the sponge, she used their decreased height difference to her advantage, starting to pass the cloth over his shoulders, all her former hesitance gone.

She let it go over his chest, his arms, his fingers… She had it in both her hands when she reached his right one, and he suddenly grabbed hers – leaving the sponge in the other one – to lace their fingers.

They both stood up again as their hands were intertwined and she continued to let the sponge pass over his body, demonstrating the same meticulousness he had displayed on her as well.

She was very careful not to look into his eyes anymore – as she did not know whether she would be able to keep her composure if she did so – which was probably best since he kept watching her the entire time, and suddenly, he leaned forward to kiss her briefly on the lips again, with startling underlying intensity.

The washcloth dropped from her hand, which she brought up to his hair, grabbing at it instinctively, as the water from the shower ran over them both. She found that his movements were making her lean against the wall again, and their kiss got deeper, yet still remaining rather respectful at the same time.

When they finally separated, they both opened their eyes at the same moment, just to stare at each other; they were both relaxed, but somewhat wary at the same time.

She broke their gaze to turn off the shower, put the sponge away and slowly step out, with him following her closely. He leaned over the tub towards the hangers near the door, seizing both their towels and handing over hers before rapidly using his to dry his chest and back, and then tying it around his waist.

She was still working on her arms when his fingers found hers, taking the towel from her to rub it over her wet back, the last place she still needed to dry off. Then he wrapped the long piece of cloth around her body, tucking it securely and smoothly over her breasts.

He spun her around, enveloping her waist in his arms possessively and leaning down to kiss her once again; this time, it was nothing more than a peck on the lips.

His words were almost whispered and while his tone was controlled, she could still feel the reluctance in it.

"I need to go to the office."

And the next instant, he was gone.

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After that eventful morning, Arturia found it truly difficult to focus on work for the rest of day, no matter how sated and satisfied her body was feeling.

She was quite disconcerted at herself, or rather, she was mostly confused because of her body. It was being incredibly responsive to all of Gilgamesh's touches; in fact, she felt herself react as soon as he was in the same room, and that – to a certain extent – was not only startling, but it could also truly be somewhat frightening.

It was a relief that Sakura was coming over in the evening to cook, and Arturia was happy to converse with her over recipes and the best way to prepare a particular French menu that the purple-haired girl had never heard of, even though they ultimately settled on a relatively traditional Japanese dinner.

While she was setting the table though, she suddenly felt some very familiar eyes on her, and looked up quickly – only to meet her husband's gaze. He had apparently just arrived and, of course, the first thing he did was stare at her intently and basically undress her with his eyes.

The heat in his crimson orbs made it very clear that he had by no means forgotten their explosive morning together in the shower.

From the kitchen came Sakura's voice.

"Aside from the regular menu, was there something specific Mr. Uruk wished to eat tonight, Mrs. Ria?"

Both Gilgamesh and Arturia knew that the girl had meant the question with completely innocent honesty, especially since she was not aware of the fact that both her employers were already home; but that didn't mean that they would understand it that way.

Gilgamesh's eyes turned several shades darker and the look he gave Arturia was enough to make her tremble in anticipation. She had immediately recognized the glint of a very different kind of hunger in his eyes, and a fierce blush immediately covered her cheeks.

She truly needed to improve her skills when it came to controlling her emotions, because she was married to a man who obviously enjoyed seeing her startled reactions.

"No, nothing specific. Anything that is offered will do," was Gilgamesh's smooth reply, and both Arturia and Sakura choked, albeit for very different reasons.

The purple-haired girl was affected because she had not known that her terrifying employer was already home; Arturia was reddening because she had perfectly understood her husband's double meaning and was deeply conflicted with herself.

She was mortified and incensed at him, but that wasn't all it was; her body was strongly reacting, as his words – and his eyes – clearly promised what he would do to her, even while she outwardly replied merely with a glare in his direction.

Her inner self was however definitely looking forward to retiring for the night, after dinner.

She was not going to be insensitive towards Sakura only because of her very impure thoughts about Gilgamesh though; she would not allow her desires to make her be uncivil towards the young girl.

She even went to help a bit in the kitchen when the meal was over, but she tensed as her husband's hand was suddenly posed on her hip, apparently in a casual fashion.

In reality however, he didn't put it just anywhere. He chose the precise spot where the evening before he had left her a trail of hickeys – it still baffled her how he had learned her body's most sensitive spots so quickly – and she knew that, no matter how much she wanted to keep being amicably polite, it was time to send Sakura home.

Arturia was also fully aware of the fact that her husband wasn't any less impatient than her, and that only made it more difficult to keep her breathing normal.

She had been wearing a suit on this day; Sakura had barely left the house that she felt the arm surrounding her pulling her closer, so that the fingers of his hand could leisurely disappear underneath her clothes – between her legs – right there… as he loved doing and as she loved even more feeling…

"Ahh!" she gasped, trying to maintain enough coherency and keep her voice down, not sure if they were alone in the house and therefore uncertain whether she could already allow herself to be so loud.

She felt him smirk against her neck, where he immediately transformed his kissing and nibbling into full-fledged suckling.

She was losing her ability to think articulately because of his ministrations, and she knew that he was completely aware of it – and smug about it too, the confident jerk.

With the last of her coherency, she concentrated on a fleeting thought that struck her. How was it even possible? After an entire Sunday under the sheets, another night together and a morning filled with pleasure, they still weren't satisfied…?

Unable to remain standing when his fingers and mouth continued with their relentless attentions, she turned in his grasp, clutching at his shoulders in an attempt to keep her balance.

His assault on her body only became firmer, and he lifted her slightly, his touches on her never ceasing.

In this position, she had no other choice but to have her legs go around his waist once again for balance, while his hand underneath her clothes, deeply buried between her legs, continued its incessant work.

She was nearing a dangerous edge, and she was so close that she didn't even realize that he had carried her up the stairs and to their bedroom – where no one would disturb them – at least until she felt him making her lie down against the pillows on the bed. His hands left her most intimate place to quickly unbutton her shirt and take off the rest of her suit.

Missing his touch far more than she cared to admit aloud, she tugged at his own shirt, almost ripping it open as she was frantically picking at each button.

When he chuckled, amused by her impatience, she growled at him, and his eyes turned an even darker shade of crimson at the sound. She did not waste any time and immediately pulled his face down for a deep kiss.

Before long, when there were no more clothes standing in her way after she was done in ferociously tearing everything off him, Gilgamesh broke the kiss they were exchanging and stared at her with half-lidded, now fully darkened eyes.

"I believe it's time for my meal to begin."

Arturia was far too flushed already to have the possibility to redden more at his words, but if her body could not change colour anymore, it would certainly find other ways to react.

Gilgamesh's mouth left her after another kiss and his entire form retracted slightly from her to take off her suit trousers and underwear and, as he had just promised, ultimately brought his mouth on all the places where her needy body wanted him most.

His touch was insistent, the combination of his tongue and fingers never faltered, and Arturia panted as the pressure he was building inside her grew and grew, until–

–until, unable to hold back anymore, she finally shattered with a scream, sweat covering her whole shivering body, fully ready to be claimed by his once again.

Indeed, neither of them was done; she was going to scream several other times the same way that night…

…and he was going to join her, with just the same amount of passion.

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When she woke up a few hours later, she found herself alone and with her body still tingling pleasantly all over.

She knew that Gilgamesh needed to go to Osaka on this day, and had therefore had to leave even before breakfast. He was not going to be back until much later in the evening, but Arturia still felt a small twinge in her chest at the thought that he was away from her.

In some ways, she knew she would have found it easier if it had just been because of the wonderful sex. Had it been purely carnal desire, it would have been a different issue to deal with and restricted solely to the physical satisfaction.

That wasn't however the case. Although sleeping together was a definite bonus, it wasn't what mattered when it came to her relationship with him. Sooner rather than later, they were going to have to talk about what was happening between them, but if the many months with him had taught her anything, it was likely going to be very difficult. Not just the talk itself, but finding the right moment to do so because of lack of time.

This particular week was indeed the busiest they had had in quite a while, and all the moments they had spent together had been in their bed… or, like the previous morning, in the shower.

It had been one year and a half since she had made the contract with Gilgamesh, and she was now sleeping with him. On top of that, there was the small detail of her having also fallen in love with him.

She stretched under the warm covers that had been carefully put around her to tuck her in – as much as the kind gesture puzzled her, she knew perfectly who was behind it – allowing herself a few minutes to think more seriously about what had been happening during the past few days.

Becoming intimate with Gilgamesh was not that surprising, nor was it unpleasant in the least. She liked not having any kind of barrier between them and being able to feel him so close to her.

What did surprise her was his behaviour towards her when they were together during those moments.

He had been surprisingly… rather gentle and tender with her. He was passionate and ardent, that was without a doubt, but he was also dedicated and loving, and he never left her unsatisfied. Even in the most heated moments, he had not been cruel or coercive towards her; he wanted her, that was doubtless, but while he didn't hold back in touching her, he did not force her either. The only thing she could perhaps detect as a bit strong was the fact that the pleasure had been so intense that it had almost been painful, but that was hardly something she could complain about.

It was clear that he liked being with her in such an intimate way, and she liked it too, but… she still didn't know whether that was all there was to it.

He had been quick in learning her body in ways that continued to startle her, and he very obviously enjoyed it, smugly, when he managed to surprise her or make her cry out in shock. But then again, he never hurt her, and he never put his personal pleasure before hers, even though she might have more or less expected such a thing to happen from a person like him.

Yet what had remained most impressed in her mind was the fact that each and every time she came undone, he held her in his arms and kissed her fervently wherever he could reach.

She had actually come to believe that he loved to look at her as he brought her to the highest pleasure possible, as much as she still felt embarrassed by it, but she couldn't truly find anything to dispute about that, for she loved looking at him as well.

What she preferred though – and she had an inkling that he liked it as well – was when both of them reached that extraordinary moment of pleasure together.

Afterwards, they could lay in each other's arms to rest peacefully, and he would always give her a kiss on her hair, or take one of her locks to his lips to kiss it, and immediately after she would spontaneously lean on his chest as he would pull her closer.

She had not imagined him to be the type who liked to cuddle, but he very obviously wanted her to fall asleep in his embrace – something that, in some way or the other, she always ended up doing.

Why, again, was she actively trying to find anything wrong in what they were doing, when there was nothing that could be placed in that category…?

…well, aside from the fact that they still hadn't talked about it, of course.

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

On the flight that was taking him to Osaka, Gilgamesh almost didn't manage to control himself as he was about to groan aloud.

He wasn't able to concentrate on his work as he would have liked, and it was all because of his wife. Of the beautiful image she had presented to him in the morning, asleep under the covers, when he had had to leave their bed to take his flight.

He wished he could have framed that moment…– or, rather than just capturing that moment, he just wished he could have prolonged it by staying with her a little longer.

On Friday night, when they had had that trivial discussion about something he didn't even remember anymore, they had impatiently ripped off each other's clothes and just feverishly aimed for each other's touch, but… after that…

Somehow, somewhere, it had turned to something gentler, as they had taken their time in exploring each other and kissing and truly making love.

No matter how many times they slept together after that, she was still so, so wet and tight for him – and it drove him wild each time. Being in her liquid heaven over and over again was beyond any kind of earthly pleasure he knew, but just having her in her arms was more than enough to bring him bliss.

He had no control over that part of himself, and he could not pretend that it wasn't the case, as it actively prevented him from focusing on what he had to do.

He glanced at the clock. He had a long day ahead of him, but by evening, he was going to be back home – with his Arturia.

His most precious Arturia.

He could hardly muster enough patience to wait until then.

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

Even with the week's busy schedule, Arturia did not have the entire afternoon to work and could therefore leave a little earlier, considering herself lucky for it. She needed some real free time to put a bit of order in her mind and prepare herself to talk to Gilgamesh.

They truly had to – needed to – talk.

However, as soon as she came home and went to the bedroom they shared – and the two beds had not been separated for quite a while now, nor did they apparently feel the want to separate them – she heard a noise coming from the bathroom, whose door was slightly ajar.

This made her frown. The cleaners were supposed to have come in the morning, and no else aside from Gilgamesh could be in this bathroom, but he was in Osaka and would not be back until evening.

Arturia cautiously went to the bathroom door and, disregarding her apprehension, slowly pushed it open.

There, in the tub filled with steaming hot water, her husband was leisurely taking a bubble bath, his eyes closed.

She blinked, and the words slipped out before she could stop them.

"Aren't you supposed to be in Osaka?"

His blood red eyes opened calmly to look at her, not appearing particularly worried about being seen in this position. After all, Arturia's mind amenably pointed out, in this bathroom, they had already done other things, and they had seen each other in much more uninhibited positions–

No. It was best if she did not allow her thoughts to go there.

"Today Iskandar was to come from America for the business meeting, but he cancelled. Apparently his son got a bit sick. There was no point in remaining in Osaka for nothing."

She remained standing there, even after she had received his explanation. Her eyes did not leave Gilgamesh, who had the water coming up to his chest and droplets on his shoulders, and was leaning casually against one end of the tub.

The water was steamy… and… she wouldn't have minded a warm bath…

Not completely sure about what she was doing but unable to stop herself, she took a step forward.

Gilgamesh had been home earlier than expected, and knowing that Arturia was still at work, had found no better way to make time flow by – as he waited for her return – than to fill the tub and take a bath. He had considered going to the office, as he was rather impatient to see her again, but ultimately decided it was wiser to wait for her to come home.

And there she was, right in front of him, apparently ready to surprise him once more. His eyes landed on her again – and he stared as, to his great astonishment, she slowly began to undress.

He was very good at concealing his emotions, but he could not entirely stop his eyes from widening slightly.

As one piece of clothing after the other came off, Arturia was fully aware of how daring it was, to strip in such a manner in front of him. But there was also something very, very intimate about willingly undressing in front of someone she – finally – trusted.

Someone she loved and trusted.

She swallowed the lump in her throat at the thought. She knew that it was highly likely that her feelings were unrequited, but she was done in denying herself. They were going to have to talk about what was going on, but it was obviously not going to be on this day.

Right now, she wanted to feel him, touch him, be in his embrace again and, even if it was selfish, even if it was against her better judgement, she would be doing it for herself.

Even though she still felt some nervousness in every movement she made, she was no longer too self-conscious when it came to being naked. He had proved that they could be quite unabashed about their unclothed status the previous time, when he had joined her in the shower – she should stop thinking about it – and he had already seen her naked plenty of times.

There was no point in hiding… especially not from his roaming stare.

This time, however, she would be joining him.

As the last item – her bra – fell to the floor, she took slow steps towards the tub, and even more slowly, stepped inside, letting herself sink down into the water.

Gilgamesh's eyes hadn't left her for a second, and she stared straight at him as well.

Her words were unhurried and careful, but there was no hesitation in them, even though she knew that they were slightly ambiguous and could easily be misunderstood.

"You asked me to tell you when the day came in which I did something for myself… very well then. That's precisely what I just did. Was it as memorable as you expected?"

The gaze they were exchanging was filled with heat, but she decided to consciously break it by closing her eyes and making herself comfortable in the water, which was as hot and soothing as she had expected it to be.

She was about to lean against the other end of the tub, opposite from him–

–when suddenly his arms were around her, his hands were just everywhere on her body and she could not hold down a surprised and rather undignified squeal at his passionate assault.

He wasn't being forceful, but he was definitely ardent – impatiently ardent.

She had teased him enough.

The water overflowed from the tub onto the floor as husband and wife lost themselves inside each other once again.

...

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