Chapter 1: Never Gonna Give You Up

"If you are so fucking miserable then we will go to HQ tomorrow and I will summon another Servant so you can go about your life since you don't need me to stay corporeal anyway!" I scream at Gil before slamming the door in his face as I enter what now would be only my room.

"Fine! Just don't come begging when your next Servant falls short!" Gil yells back through the door. When I don't respond he jabs again. "I won't take you back! You had your chance!" When I still don't respond, he tsk's before dematerializing.

How did we end up like this? I think to myself as I burry my head in my pillow. I had been secretly so happy when I summoned Archer Gil as my ideal companion, but my excitement was short lived. Every day was a struggle just to communicate with him as he insisted on treating me as inferior. It's not that I didn't know he was an asshole, it's just that I had tried so hard to win him over and he continued to resist me every step of the way.

No matter what the reason, I was tired of constantly fighting, constantly loving him and being demoralized, constantly giving and getting my hand slapped. Tomorrow I would replace him and find a Servant I could be happy with. So why was I so sad?

—-

"Well Ms. Rhey, fortunately for you, Gil really doesn't need his bond to you dissolved. Since he is part human courtesy of the grail, all you have to do is just repeat the phrase "I absolve you from your service Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh" and the bond will disappear with a faint white light on your hand and you can try again for a more compatible Servant." The scientist said.

"Really? That's it?" My surprise is evident.

"Yep."

"Right. Here we go then." Turning to face Gil I search for any semblance of remorse, but he just leans against the wall without meeting my gaze.

Tears form in my eyes and I choke out the phrase. "I absolve you from your service Heroic Spirit Gilgamesh." Then the back of my hand is engulfed in light for a few seconds before returning to normal. Giving him one more tear filled look, I turn and walk into SERYPH. "Let's do this. I sniffle and the machine starts up.

Seconds later I am faced with the most baffling thing I could not explain.

"Hi Master my name is Kid Gil, but you can just call me Gil! It's a pleasure to meet me...you." His smiling face turns down into a frown. "Master? Why were you crying?"

I wipe my eyes and force a smile on my face. "I'm sorry, I lost someone I really cared about today so I'm sad. Don't worry though, I'll be fine."

He scrunches up his face and comes to stand in front of me before tugging on the bottom of my shirt.

I kneel only to have him place a hand on my cheek. "Don't be sad Master, I'll take care of you. I never want to see you sad."

I look into his innocent eyes and my lip begins to quiver. I can feel my resolve cracking as my tears press against my eyes. That's when his arms wrap around my neck and he hugs me.

"There there Master, please don't cry. You are so pretty when you smile."

I couldn't resist. Wrapping my arms around him I squeeze him as I pick him up. "Thank you Gil that is very sweet of you to say." I sniffle a few more times. Would you like to go home so I can show you around?"

"I would like that very much!" He says and I put him down so we can walk home. When his feet hit the ground he reaches for my hand. "Give me your hand Master, you will feel safer that way."

I laugh for the first time in what feels like months as I take Kid Gil's hand so we can leave. When we pass Gil, who is still leaning on the wall with a strained look on his face, I don't even turn to look at him.

—

He didn't think she would go through with it. He knew she loved him, and he loved her, but every time he tried to tell her it always came out negative or cruel.

So why was it so easy for that little brat to say the nice things that he couldn't say? He even got her to smile effortlessly. Least she couldn't be in love with him, he was a child for fucks sake. She could still love him and that pissed Gil off.

"I'll be damned if I let her love anyone but me, and especially any OTHER me." He said to no one in particular before removing himself from the wall and heading back to the apartment. He wasn't sure how he was going to make this work, but he wasn't ready to just throw away the last few years they had been together. If that brat could do it so could he.

—-

"So Master, why was my older self in the room with you during your summoning?"

My face winced and I grimaced. Right to the point. Ever observant kids are.

"He decided he didn't want to be bonded to me anymore so we came to void the bond so he could be free and I could get a different Servant. Imagine my shock when you appeared."

"So then he was the person you lost that made you cry?" Gil places his index finger on his lips as we walked with a look of pondering on his face.

"Yes...that is correct."

"If losing him made you sad, why didn't you stay and make it work?"

"You get right to the point don't you?" I sigh. "Because I'm not going to force him to be somewhere he doesn't want to be."

"How do you know he doesn't want to be with you? Did you ask him?"

I stopped stunned and Kid Gil stopped 3' in front of me before turning to look at me with curiosity but not judgement.

"I didn't. I could just tell he was unhappy and he never tried to stop me, so he must have wanted it too." I shrug then continue walking.

"You should have confronted him and made him say he wanted to leave. Now you will never know for sure."

The rest of the walk back was in silence, but Gil's hand never left mine. It was a comfort that made me sad and happy because I couldn't help drawing conclusions between the two.

When we got to the door and inside, I couldn't hide my shock. There, seated at the table was Gil reading a book.

He never turned to us, but he did acknowledge our presence. "I still have a key idiot. Besides, I have nowhere else to go so until I find something else I'll be staying here. Also, close that mouth. You aren't catching flies and it's incredibly unflattering."

I involuntarily squeeze Kid Gil's hand.

"I take back what I said. He's a jerk. You are better off without him. Just ignore him while he is here." Then he takes my bag and placed it on the side table before leading me to the kitchen.

"Let's make something to eat. I'll even help." His voice is so cheerful and happy that I can't help but smile and do as he says.

"It's a shame their roles aren't reversed and Gil isn't this sweet instead. I could handle an age appropriate child...". I mumble.

Kid Gil says nothing, pretending he didn't hear. He isn't upset by her words, just at how his older counterpart is behaving. He would have to work hard to change him for his Masters sake because he knew deep down she loved him. It was written all over her face.

The question was could he do what Enki had failed to do? He wasn't sure but he was going to try. He wasn't a quitter and though he wasn't as terrible a person as his older self, he did carry the same personality. They did say no one knew you as well as you knew yourself though so maybe, just maybe he could turn things around.

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