A/N: Much less smut, but still enough to make me give you a warning for it ;)


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After a rather prolonged time spent in the bathtub, during which a large amount of water ended up on the floor, Arturia was stunned when Gilgamesh took her up in his arms when they decided it was time to leave it.

However, she was quick to scramble away to their room as soon as he put her back on her feet and the contact between them ceased. She still wasn't sure how to feel about what had just occurred – well, aside from the obvious pleasure, of course – and she hoped that being separated from him could help clear her mind from its delightful but extremely distracting haze.

Reaching the bedroom, she forwent the towel to put on her bathrobe to cover herself, and then was about to go look for something to wear in her closet when an accidental glance in the mirror's direction made her pause.

The bathrobe didn't cover her neck and upper chest, nor did it cover her entire arms and legs. In the mirror she could clearly see the many love marks that her passionate husband had left on her skin.

She did not have the time to move her eyes away, because Gilgamesh was already out of the bathroom as well, completely naked and completely uncaring of it, and was coming towards her from behind. They met each other's eyes in the mirror in front of which she was standing, and he brought his hands up, touching her collarbone, pushing the fabric aside to find her bare skin.

As he swiftly slipped the bathrobe off her shoulders and let it fall on the floor, his arms went around her waist, embracing her and allowing their naked bodies to touch once again.

She leaned into him, completely trusting him and not saying a word in spite of her inner conflict, and he leaned down to kiss her neck, breaking the gaze they were exchanging in the mirror. Heat surged through her and began to concentrate in her lower abdomen, her excitement not yet sated even after the time spent together in the bathtub.

She didn't even attempt to stop the impulse that made her incline her head to the side, giving him better access, and she felt one of his arms tighten around her waist, as the other instead reached down and his fingers slid between her thighs to touch her – to find her not only wet, but dripping wet…

"Naughty wife," he murmured into the pale skin of her neck with a smirk.

Her own arms were still limp by her sides, but at the increasing intensity of his ministrations she made them reach backwards, awkwardly finding his torso and beginning to trace his muscles to then start going downwards.

His assault became more insistent, and the kissing quickly transformed into shameless sucking.

Arturia knew she was going to have new marks the following day – exactly like all the other times – but she couldn't bring herself to care. She did not mind such marks on herself at all, since they were the proof of what transpired in their rooms.

She couldn't really complain about them either, since she was after all usually very good at leaving marks on him as well.

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

However, things could not continue like this. They could not go on simply sleeping with each other and staying in each other's arms without knowing clearly where they stood with one another.

They had to talk, Arturia decided firmly. However, it was apparently impossible for them to keep their hands off each other when they were at home; thus, she thought to herself, it was best if they talked somewhere else. And while the office wouldn't have been her top choice for discussing such a delicate subject, since the alternative was not talking about it at all, she made up her mind with a sigh.

She would go to his office, and talk with him.

She had to go there in any case, as it was Friday, and she had to give him a full report of the first week of internship. In the evening they were going to Iri's, for her sister had invited them over for dinner, together with Kariya and the girls, to celebrate some sort of housewarming party.

Since it was the last day of the already stressful week, it was only towards the late afternoon that she finally managed to complete her report and, feeling quite tired, she made her way towards his office.

All she wanted to do was simply deliver her report, and just talk.

But when she knocked and he let her in, she found herself standing in front of his desk, with her folder full of the necessary files in hand, completely and utterly unable to find the words for what she wanted to say.

With no better option and no longer sure about what she should do, as now coming there did not seem like such a good idea anymore, she sat down.

While remaining mute and trying to ignore the unease she felt, she attempted to bide her time by observing him briefly and immediately noticed that, even though he looked as handsome as ever, he had a hint of dark bags underneath his eyes.

She knew very well that at least part of the responsibility for those was hers, the thought not helping her come out from her silence by any means. In fact, she had to make an effort to hide the fact that her body was starting to tingle all over again.

How much power did this man actually have over her?

He merely stared at her, but she avoided his gaze, disliking the unwelcome feeling of truly not knowing how to transform her chaotic thoughts into words.

Eventually, he broke the silence.

"Long day?"

Surprised, she stared back at him, and after a pause, replied shortly, "As yours has been, I suppose."

He nodded, curtly as well, and the silence stretched, not a single sound breaking it.

When the silence was starting to become deafening, he questioned, warily, "Was there something specific you meant to say…?"

She remained quiet. Was there, indeed? Why had she thought that going to speak with him in his office was a good idea, when they were obviously both tired and stressed after a long day of work? Particularly when there was so much obvious tension between them?

Her head hung a bit lower and she stood up. She wasn't used to second-guessing herself after she made a decision, but on this occasion, it was best if she left.

She put the folder in front of him and made to turn away.

"Probably not. I'll just–"

She couldn't finish the sentence, because her husband abruptly leaned forward and his fingers grabbed her chin, turning her head to the side slightly so that she was now looking directly into his blood red eyes.

He stood up and made it to her side of the desk with incredible speed.

Avoiding his stare was impossible, and he seemed to be perfectly aware of it; the hand that wasn't holding her chin went easily around her waist, pulling her entire body flush against his.

The next instant, his lips were on hers, moulding their mouths together perfectly and smoothly deepening the kiss within the next second, while his hand went from her face to her hair, unbounding it swiftly.

As her back somehow found his desk to lean against – with her files now sprawled underneath her – and their clothes somehow found their way to the floor, Arturia's wicked mind innocently pointed out that her plan had gone completely awry.

He was becoming far too good at undressing her, as in just a few moments, she was completely naked, lying on the desk of his office, having pushed most other files – and the picture of them together – to the side. His hands were roaming all over her body and he leaned over her, wasting no time in touching and kissing every inch of her already burning body.

Her eyes were about to roll back in pleasure when one last sardonic thought struck her.

'Just talk', indeed.

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

As if nothing had happened in the offices at Uruk Enterprises less than an hour before – as if they hadn't just broken every strict office regulation that Gilgamesh himself had set in their working environment – Arturia and Gilgamesh showed up at Iri's for dinner precisely on time.

Kariya, Sakura and Iri were in the kitchen to finish cooking – Iri had been adamant that her sister was not to be burdened by the preparation of the meal – therefore in the meantime, Arturia looked after the children. Her husband was sitting down on a couch, with a bored expression that she could feel was a bit forced.

Gilgamesh had her report about the interns in his hands, but instead of reading it with concentration, his eyes kept flickering between it and his wife. It was somewhat understandable, as the papers had been lying on the desk underneath her back just a short while before.

Arturia was now sitting down on the living room's floor, baby Illya in her arms and Shirou and Rin playing with Lego pieces and occasionally tugging at her long braid, for she had not had the time to do anything more elaborate with her hair after Gilgamesh–

Arturia resolutely interrupted that line of thought, keeping focused on rocking the little girl in her arms as Shirou mistakenly grabbed her scarf instead of her braid and tugged at it.

"Be careful, Shirou," she admonished him, as she allowed him to take the warm shawl from her and examine it – it was cashmere, in autumn colours – and Rin started to grab it as well since she wanted to see it first. "Pulling at things that are around a person's neck can be dangerous."

The little boy sheepishly apologized to his aunt, before enthusiastically rubbing his cheek against the soft material of her scarf. Shaking her head, Arturia only smiled when Rin pouted and declared her wish to receive a similar scarf for Christmas.

Kariya interrupted the talk by calling them from the kitchen, announcing that dinner was ready. They heard Iri's steps approaching, presumably to take up Illya in her arms, but before she could enter the room, Gilgamesh suddenly stood up from the couch and calmly went to kneel down next to Arturia.

He took the scarf from the children's hands, who didn't dare try to oppose him even though they really liked the garment, and firmly but gently put it back in place around Arturia's neck, while she could do nothing but stare at him in complete astonishment.

Shirou and Rin looked at the couple with interested fascination, and that was how Irisviel found them when she came into the room.

"Dinner is ready!" she cheerfully reminded them, and as Shirou and Rin scrambled out of the room to go wash their hands, she leaned forward to take her daughter from her sister's arms.

Since Arturia was still puzzled about Gilgamesh's strange behaviour, she gave him a questioning glance as soon as Iri preceded them to the kitchen, rocking Illya in her arms.

The blonde woman startled at finding herself much closer to him than she had anticipated, and having his crimson eyes so near her could only make her thoughts jump back to an hour before, when he had been kissing her so thoroughly in the office, not just to convey his passion but also to make sure their moans were stifled–

With effort, she brought her mind back to the present, but it wasn't necessarily an improvement for her troubled thoughts, as he was still holding her gaze intently even as they went to wash their hands as well.

In a low voice, he murmured next to her ear, "It's best if your skin remains covered, Arturia."

As she still seemed to be confused by such a strange explanation, he added, a bit stiffly, "You probably don't want your sister to see your neck."

Understanding dawning on her, she suddenly reddened a bit, remembering that she had an incalculable number of love bites on her neck that he had given her the last couple of nights, and an hour earlier as well, by sucking on her pulse point – and many other places – very eagerly. There was a reason why she had avoided ever taking off her scarves lately, and she mentally reprimanded herself for not having thought of it when the children had started to play with that specific item.

She was however surprised by such a gesture coming from her husband. Gilgamesh had been discreet in helping her cover herself, knowing that, being a private person, she would have been extremely mortified if her sister, Kariya, Sakura or – heaven forbid – the innocent kids had noticed those marks.

Not that there was anything wrong in having love bites all over her skin. Arturia did not dislike them, nor was she ashamed of them, as they were simply the result of what happened behind closed doors, and she neither detested nor was embarrassed about sleeping with her husband.

Nevertheless, she did not wish for the rest of the world to see them at the moment, especially not her sister. If Iri saw them, Arturia wanted it to happen when she would be able to tell her freely about why she had them; she wanted to have a logical explanation for what was going on with her husband.

But as things were now, she did not have such an explanation to offer.

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Enkidu was still abroad, and he was only going to come back to Japan in the middle of the following week. Until then, he usually communicated through texts or Skype calls, especially when he had to participate in meetings and conferences.

But on the following Sunday evening, when Gilgamesh's private phone rang with a call from him, it meant that there was something serious regarding work that needed immediate attention.

That didn't stop the blond man, not for the first time, from repeatedly cursing his best friend's timing.

He was still naked in his bed, together with Arturia, breathing heavily as they had both just come down from their high. His blond hair was down, almost covering his eyes, and he was staring down at her, trying to catch his breath as he leaned on his forearms, which were resting on both sides of her body. She was holding him close to her, arms around him in a tight embrace, for he was still deeply buried inside her.

Her eyes, hazed with sated passion, were looking into his as she was panting as well. Her golden hair was sprawled on the crumpled sheets underneath them, but a few locks were sticking to her face and neck, damp with sweat.

Driven by a sudden impulse, he was about to bring his fingers up to brush them away–… when the sudden ringing made him freeze, startling them both and brusquely bringing them back to reality.

When he answered the phone, still breathless, he was forced to quickly disentangle himself from her and consciously try to give his attention to what was being said inside the receiver, as there was indeed a minor but still complex problem to settle for Uruk Enterprises.

One of the employees he detested the most – a reckless, inept fool hired before he had come to Japan and of whom he had not gotten rid yet – had made the mistake of not double-checking the names of the countries where Mana Corporations was about to start working, and had approved the paperwork to send them to Sweden instead of Switzerland. Therefore, a few signatures and his direct supervision were needed to settle everything.

It could have certainly been something more serious, while as it was, it was perfectly manageable – it included firing someone, so of course it was – but the timing truly couldn't have been worse.

Talking with Enkidu on the phone didn't stop him from noticing how Arturia quietly sneaked away from their bed, slipped on a simple robe she sometimes used at home and left the room – or rather, fled from it.

The day had been filled with awkward stiffness, as they had both been avoiding indulging in the much needed talk and had instead remained in each other's arms most of the time. The housekeepers had been there in the morning, and Sakura was supposed to come later to prepare dinner, but for the rest of the day, they had been alone.

And he had not been able to keep his hands off her, as making love to her was not good, it was insanely good and she was far too tempting to resist.

It took him a little while to register that Enkidu was asking him if he was all right, to which Gilgamesh eventually replied, somewhat tersely, "I am busy, Enkidu, but I'll go to the office right away."

Even as he ended the call, took a quick shower – he was still covered in sweat, hardly adequate for work – and swiftly got dressed, he could only concentrate on his dislike about what he was going to have to do. As peculiar as it was for him to think in such a way – since he had never cared for such things – he believed it was wrong, and even rude to leave right after sleeping with Arturia, and he felt his chest constrict slightly with displeasure.

He decided that he had to at least briefly speak with her before leaving, his beloved work be damned. It could wait a few minutes more; there was no way he would leave the house – or rather, his wife – without a word.

Gilgamesh found her in the kitchen, silently working with milk, eggs and flour. She was evidently going to prepare something to bake because, as he now remembered, it was Rin's birthday the following day. He felt another unwelcome twinge of guilt; not about the little girl of course, but about having to leave his wife like this.

He cleared his throat. She immediately looked up in his direction, with a very guarded expression in her eyes, and he saw how she scanned him up and down, noticing how he was dressed in his suit.

"There is an emergency at work that needs to be dealt with immediately," he said, knowing that the least she deserved was a brief explanation for the phone call and the sudden necessity he had to leave.

He saw how she stared at him intently, as if to judge whether or not he was being honest.

She… was it possible? Did she not believe him?

He did not like such a thing. At all.

Deciding that elaborating on his explanation could be beneficial, and realizing that, since she had participated in all the meetings, she was going to be able to understand what had happened, he did not leave it at that but went into more detail.

"It was Enkidu on the phone. One of the employees made a potentially damaging mistake, confusing the location where Mana Corporations is supposed to start working, and this is serious enough to have to be solved as quickly as possible."

He made sure to hold her gaze as he said so, trying to convey both the urgency of the situation but also his reluctance at having to leave, and he saw that her expression, while not getting any less guarded, seemed to relent a little. Arturia was fully aware of the expansion of his project, as she had overseen many of its dealings together with him and had even made some on her own.

"If you're going to fire that employee, please remember to be sufficiently human towards him," she replied after a pause, gazing directly into his eyes.

She had guessed what he was going to do – it was very likely that she had guessed the employee's identity as well – and, knowing that attempting to change his mind on what he had already decided would be useless, she was trying to lessen the evil that was going to befall the incompetent fool.

She wasn't unaware of that particular employee's lack of sense, but since she was Arturia, she was always going to be as fair as possible.

She gave him a brief and slightly rigid nod, averting her gaze.

"Until later then."

Her tone was not cold, but it wasn't warm either, and it was clearly putting an end to their conversation. She seemed to want to keep as detached as possible from him and, especially considering how intimately they had been joined only a few, mere minutes before, he was somewhat upset by it.

This wasn't how Arturia behaved. This wasn't how his beloved wife usually behaved. This wasn't how the woman he had just made love to normally behaved…

She was distrusting and maybe she was even hurt by the way they had been interrupted. Gilgamesh felt frustrated; he wished, above anything else, that he was able to stay at home right now. With her, and have the opportunity to talk with the woman he loved.

But he couldn't. Work had precedence, and Uruk Enterprises needed its CEO's intervention.

Yet no matter how much he cared about his work, and even though he knew he had to leave soon, feelings won him, at least for a moment.

The impulse was too strong; he just could not stop himself.

With a few rapid steps, he was next to her, and he pulled her to him in a sudden embrace, not giving her the time to react.

Her hands were covered in flour, so she couldn't move without getting his clothes all white, and she refrained from doing so. He took full advantage of it, leaning forward and making his lips brush against her temple.

The contact was incredibly brief and fleeting, but she could not mistake the tenderness, the longing and the feeling he put in that gesture.

She only had the time to lock eyes with him for a second, her startled green on his fond blood red ones–

–before Sakura entered the room, with a basket full of eggs in her arms.

"Here are the eggs you requested, Mrs. Ri–"

The purple-haired girl quieted immediately, because she could not miss how close husband and wife were – he was holding her in his arms – and realizing that she had most likely interrupted them as they were kissing, she instantly paled. She quickly attempted to apologize, but was unable to find the voice to do so, because her fear of her employer had merely lessened and not yet disappeared.

Gilgamesh took a step away from his wife, turned around and left for the office without another word.

There was silence in the room for a few more seconds, until Sakura squeaked, terrified, "Mrs. Ria, I'm so sorry…! I didn't mean to–"

Arturia did not let her finish, even though her eyes, slightly unfocused, made her look like she was in a sort of trance.

"Don't worry, Sakura. My husband had to leave for work anyway. He just… wanted to apologize to me first."

The girl stared at the woman in wonder as a tiny smile tilted her lips upwards and brightened her emerald eyes, the haze now leaving her.

Arturia smiled a little more widely before indicating the eggs. "Thank you for those, Sakura. Now, let's get to work."

As she prepared the dough together with the girl, talking with her about inconsequential things, Arturia was not truly present mentally. She was busy with an inner struggle, forcing herself to take a firm resolution.

She had been avoiding the subject with her husband for far too long; she had to gather her courage and talk with him.

As much as it was pleasurable to spend time with him as they had done for the past week, it could not last. They had gone from being stiff acquaintances and cautious companions who lived under the same roof to having passionate, uninhibited and unprotected sex without a real reason – except for the extraordinary attraction they felt for one another – and it was best if they finally had an honest talk about it, like the adults they were.

About the matter of protection, to be fair, Arturia wasn't too worried; she had been on the pill ever since early adolescence to help regulate her period, and therefore she didn't fear any unplanned – and at the moment unwelcome – pregnancies.

But as far as the rest was concerned – especially the 'being adults about it' part – she knew that, since they were refusing to talk to each other seriously, she and Gilgamesh still had some growing up to do.

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A few days later, sitting in his office and holding a cup of coffee in hand, Gilgamesh stared at the files on his desk without seeing them.

He would have liked to remain in bed longer today – especially after the wonderful morning sex – but he had work to do, and so did his wife. He had to admit that he had no idea regarding how much she was getting done; he certainly wasn't having the most productive of mornings.

Not that he minded too much about his horny, adolescently thoughts. A small smirk tugged at his lips when he recalled her dishevelled state a mere few hours before, as she had been sprawled out beneath him, shivering and writhing under his touch, so soft, so pliant, all naked and wanton, as no one else had probably ever seen her and no one else ever would.

His wife. His precious Arturia. He kept thinking about how beautiful she looked, how delicious she tasted, how absolutely wonderful it felt to touch her and be inside her…–

"Gil~… I'm talking to youuuuu!"

He immediately came out of his pleasant musings, frowning at his best friend who was waving a hand in front of his face and looking at him with a curious expression.

It was actually fair: Enkidu had just come back from his business trip to Hong Kong, and was now demanding his attention. Gilgamesh huffed, irritated by his exaggerated antics, and took a generous sip from his so far untouched coffee.

Suddenly a wolfish grin appeared on Enkidu's face, and his eyes glinted deviously.

"You and Ria have slept together, haven't you?"

It was very lucky that there was no one else in the office at this time on Thursday morning, because it would have been quite a disconcerting and undignified scene to witness. Gilgamesh violently choked on his coffee, only barely managing not to sputter everywhere, but getting quite a substantial amount of dark liquid on the desk nonetheless.

"Enkidu–!"

Enkidu's grin only widened. His bluntness had hit the mark.

"I've never seen you grin so stupidly while thinking no one was watching you, so I took a shot in the dark. It's true then, isn't it?"

The fact that Gilgamesh did not reply and simply took a paper towel to clean up the mess, with as much composure as he could, was confirmation enough.

"You two have slept together –" Enkidu leaned forward to look at him more closely, his eyes sharp and studious, "– and more than once!"

His expression was satisfied, almost elated, and he raised an eyebrow teasingly. "I can see now why you've been so busy last weekend," he said, emphasis on the word 'busy'.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow as well, having found his usual calmness again.

"As you know very well, work is what was extremely busy, Enkidu."

Yellow-grey eyes twinkled, not fooled for a moment.

"Oh, I know that work has been hellish for the past fortnight, but Gil, you don't look like someone who has been through hell and back. I'd say you rather look like someone who has gone to heaven and still hasn't come back…"

Gilgamesh chose once again to stay silent and not grace his best friend with a reply – not that there was actually the need for one, since it had not been a question but a very accurate observation.

Enkidu grinned, mischief etched in his every feature. "So, don't be reticent. How was it?"

The blond man frowned slightly.

"This is my wife we're talking about, Enkidu. As much as I am used to your blunt ways, we are not having this subject as part of the conversation."

Enkidu's grin only widened.

"That good, huh?"

Gilgamesh glared, crimson eyes turning alarmingly serious.

"Enkidu. Do us both a favour and cease this."

His voice had a strange, very dangerous edge in it, and Enkidu sighed, dropping the subject. Truth to be told, he wasn't interested in the details of Gil and Ria's sex life, nor would he prod into something as private as that; he just enjoyed teasing his friend.

Still full of mirth even though mindful of Gilgamesh's warning, he grinned once again.

"You're not very good at hiding how fixated you are on her, Gil. You even told her how 'fascinating' you find her… but since she doesn't know the exact significance of that sentence, she didn't understand what it meant."

Gilgamesh gave him an extremely hard stare, attentively studying him before guessing, "She told you about it."

Enkidu's mischievous expression did not change as he immediately replied, "Of course she mentioned it! You told her something like that yet didn't bother to explain what it meant – do you really think that a woman like Ria wouldn't find it baffling to say the least? Intelligent people ask themselves questions, Gil…~"

Yellow-grey eyes observed the CEO of Uruk Enterprises intently, and suddenly the green-haired man smiled. Not one of his usual grins, but a true smile. "You have fallen head over heels for her, man."

His usual grin was back in place quickly though. "So, now that you are no longer denying that you're into her, let's see… what kind of person in love are you? Are you the type 'I can't live without you', or 'you're the light of my life please marry me' kind of person?"

At Gilgamesh's flat and uninterested stare, he only laughed. "No, I guess not. The puppy love isn't your type, either… so maybe it's the 'let's make a lot of babies together so we can spread our love around the world' kind of love?"

He only laughed harder, obviously poking fun at Gilgamesh's raised eyebrow. "No, wait, I know: 'I have never loved as deeply as I now love you, and I never will again'~!"

Gilgamesh froze in place, and his expression was such that Enkidu abruptly stopped laughing. His eyes widened.

"Heavens," he said softly. "You… you are truly in love with her."

He stared at his friend in pure shock. Of course he knew he had a thing for her, but he had not imagined it was so unabashedly deep.

He had actually been jesting a bit about it, but it appeared that what Arturia had told him, a few weeks back, over a couple of drinks – something to which he had not given too much thought – had been neither exaggerated nor just simply odd after all.

Her husband had let the truth slip, even though she did not know it and neither did she imagine how honest he had been.

Gilgamesh gave him a cold stare. He was mildly offended, but not because he was in love, and he spoke quietly.

"I'm not very impressed by your disbelief, Enkidu."

Enkidu chuckled, still somewhat amazed.

"What's hard to believe is you admitting it – even to me."

Then he scoffed. "You never say that I'm your best friend and that you obviously care about me, even though we've known each other our whole lives. So yeah, it's kind of hard to believe that you'd admit your feelings for your wife. But wait." He narrowed his eyes at him, understanding now how serious the situation was. "You haven't told her, have you?"

Complete silence followed, and Enkidu sighed. "Of course you haven't, you coward."

As the green-haired man knew very well, his best friend had told her about his fascination for her, but Arturia was unaware of the hidden meaning behind his words. Telling her that she was 'fascinating' was for Gilgamesh the same as declaring his unending love for her, as Enkidu had now just realized as well; but since she didn't know that, she was obviously still in the dark about the depth of her husband's feelings for her.

Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow at Enkidu's harsh statement.

"Enkidu–…"

"Oh, let me say it, Gil. You have sex with her, but you don't have the guts to tell your wife how deeply in love you are with her, or just that you're in love with her, period."

Slowly, very slowly, crimson eyes went to meet yellow-grey ones in an open glare. But again, he didn't say a word. He knew, deep down, that everything Enkidu had said was true, and he would not lie to his best friend.

The green-haired man tapped a finger on his chin thoughtfully.

"Never mind. I know that you'll come around soon, Gil, but the most important thing is another. What does she feel for you?"

Blood red eyes closed for a second before he focused on the file that was on his desk, scanning its contents quickly but carefully before signing the first of the many documents.

As he went on to the next file, he curtly uttered, "I am not aware of what she feels."

Enkidu's eyebrows rose.

"You're telling me you have no idea how your wife feels about you?" His tone was more than just disbelieving. "So she might hate your guts and you'd be none the wiser–?"

"She doesn't hate me," Gilgamesh interrupted him.

He let go of the papers, giving up on his futile attempt at concentrating on them, and turned to face him. "She would've never slept with me if she hated me. Her sense of honour would not allow her to do such a thing."

He sighed, anticipating Enkidu's question. "But if she had true feelings for me, she would have probably told me."

Enkidu's eyes flashed, suddenly knowing.

"The way you told her about yours?"

He had him there. Green hair swayed to the side as Enkidu leaned forward, locking eyes with his best friend.

"I've told you this before: don't lie to me – or to yourself, Gil. You've been sleeping with the woman you made a contract with. That was not in the contract, and since you said that you don't know how she feels about it, it means that both of you are avoiding the subject. But sooner or later you'll have to face it – and my guess is that she'll be faster than you in getting a grip and talking about it."

Gilgamesh gave no reply. Enkidu was rarely this serious, especially on a subject as personal as the one at present.

Even though he was a few months younger than the green-haired man, it had always been Gilgamesh who had made the decisions and always known what to do.

On the matter at hand, he again knew what he had to do – but he was reluctant and extremely unwilling to go through with it.

He also knew, however, that his best friend was completely and utterly right.

He sighed once more, now truly unable to concentrate, his mind divided between the pleasant memories of the early morning and the less pleasant ones from right now.

"I do appreciate your advice, but we are going to have a meeting in an hour, so let me complete the agenda."

Enkidu wasn't fooled for a second.

"You always prepare the agenda several days in advance, Gil~…"

With all the dignity he could muster once again, Gilgamesh silkily replied, his dismissal clear in his voice, "I did say complete, Enkidu."

The green-haired man rolled his eyes and huffed, standing up, stretching, and then making his way out.

When he was at the door, however, he stopped and looked back at his best friend over his shoulder, a devious grin curving his lips and his voice in full singsong mode as his eyes focused on a new addition to the room's décor.

"By the way~… very nice picture you have there on your desk, ~Gil~!"

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