Thank you all for the reviews! Pretty much all of the reviews were talking about Shirou's element and origin so I'll just address that here. They will be revealed later. I already know what I want to do with that. Shirou will eventually have a reality marble. His distortion came from his trauma related to the fire and not Avalon. That being said, Shirou's magecraft will not be the focus of this fic. This is a fluff fic primarily. I'm sorry of that's not what you were expecting but the main focus of this fic will be hugs and the subsequent feelings coming from said hugs. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 2: Breakfast
Shirou knew his new mother wasn't normal, but that was fine. As soon as the door to their new house was closed, two incredibly long horns appeared on Tiamat's head. Shirou could only stand there and stare.
"Oh?" Tiamat turned to look at Shirou. Her head tilted ever so slightly. "Do my horns disturb you? I would not want you to be uncomfortable."
"They're pretty…" Shirou's voice was soft, almost a whisper. He was enamored by them. They were long and curved, somehow making the shape of a butterfly, not unlike the ones in her eyes.
"Why thank you," Tiamat smiled while putting a hand over her mouth. Then, she started to float. Shirou tilted his head, trying to determine what was going on. His new mother was floating, had massive horns, and spoke in his mind. Was his mother even human?
"To answer your question, I am not human," Shirou flinched when he heard the voice of his new mother again. How did she do that? "Oh? Is it impolite for me to read one's thoughts? I apologize."
"I…" Was reading minds wrong? Shirou didn't know, but if it was something that Tiamat was used to doing… "It's okay… I don't mind."
"What a thoughtful child," Tiamat floated over and picked up the small boy. Shirou basked in the warmth that Tiamat provided. "Now, let's explore. We need to pick your room, after all."
Shirou laid on the bed in his new room. It was comfortable. Nothing like the charred ground from the fire. He looked up at the ceiling, trying to sort out his feelings.
Tiamat was really good to the young boy. From the little time he had known her, she was making an effort to make sure Shirou was as comfortable as possible. Even though Shirou could barely remember his past life, he was smart enough to deduce that Tiamat was not normal.
Is that… really a bad thing, though? Shirou hesitated. Maybe Tiamat did have a few quirks to her. So what? It didn't matter if she could float or read his mind. She loved him. It was obvious enough in the way she held him. Shirou felt safe in the woman's arms. He felt like he was wanted.
The boy closed his eyes and a small smile spread on his face. He truly was lucky.
Tiamat couldn't help but smile when she heard Shirou's thoughts. This child… he loved her. Even if he wasn't born from her, he felt genuine affection for her. If only her other children would be more like him…
As Shirou's thought patterns started to simmer down, Tiamat started to float. She made her way out of the house and followed the cursed energy she felt as she made her way back to the location of the fire. She saw multiple humans cleaning the place. With a thought, she made herself completely invisible to normal eyes.
She knew she sensed something odd when she was carrying Shirou out of that fire. After a few minutes of aimlessly floating, she found herself levitating over a corpse. There were still traces of severe curses on it, but they were subsiding now that the man was long dead. Tiamat slowly lowered herself until she was on the ground. She then bent over and shoved her hand into the corpse's chest.
Instead of forming a hole in the corpse, Tiamat's hand just went through it. The corpse started to glow gold as Tiamat wrapped her hands around something. She pulled her hand out to see that she was holding some sort of sheath. It felt undeniably fae in origin.
Maybe it would make a good birthday present for Shirou, Tiamat thought as she floated away, her courses set for home.
Shirou woke up to the sound of a crash. He shot up without a care for what could be going on and rushed out of the room. When he entered the kitchen, he saw Tiamat frowning as she looked down at a small flame started on the floor. With a wave of her hand, the fire was gone.
"Oh, did I wake you? I apologize," Tiamat said as she looked up at Shirou. "I was trying to make a meal for breakfast, but it occurred to me that I do not know what humans eat. I tried to make a dish I used to serve to my own children, but it seems that this place is not suitable for such meals."
"It's okay," Shirou shook his head. He could see Tiamat's expression change. Shirou couldn't identify the emotion in Tiamat's eyes, but it felt kind of… sad. He didn't like it when she looked like this.
"Maybe we can ask Gilgamesh?" Shirou asked, his memory reaching for the name of the man who brought them here.
"That sounds like an excellent idea. What a smart child I have," A smile grew on Tiamat's face as she floated over and ruffled the boy's. Shirou beamed at the praise and leaned into her hand. "Now, let's go pay the other child a visit."
Ever since Gilgamesh got his body, he had taken the time to explore humanity. To see how much it had changed since he was king. Despite not having him to lead the race, Gigamesh was… disappointed.
Humanity was so unproductive. Most of them just sit in their cubes and press buttons all day. What was the point of it all? They weren't growing food for their people or advancing their country forward. They weren't defending their home or raising cattle. It felt so—
"Gilgamesh," The golden king heaved a sigh as he heard the beast's voice. He turned around to see Tiamat standing behind him, gingerly holding Shirou's hand.
"What is it you want, creature?" Gilgamesh asked.
"It has come to my attention that I do not know how to make human food," Tiamat said, her mouth unmoving. "Is there a place where I can get Shirou something to eat?"
"Tch. Follow me," Gilgamesh said. Tiamat gripped Shirou's hand and followed the king. He then stopped at the Copenhagen. He stopped by the place shortly after dropping Tiamat and Shirou off the previous night. It was… acceptable. "There aren't many places that suit my palette, but this place will do."
Gilgamesh opened the door and stepped in, followed by the two mongrels behind him.
"Ah, Gil!" The golden king was greeted by a lazy wave and an easygoing smile from one Hotaruzuka Asashi. The bar was mostly empty except for the owner kicking his feet up at a table while a young girl was putting away a broom. "It's nice to see you again!"
"Oh? You remember me?" Gilgamesh was a little irked at the nickname but refrained from skewering the man. He may be an insufferable mongrel, but there was hope for the children. Maybe they would grow up to be half decent people.
"With how well you tipped, how could I forget?" Asashi chuckled as he made his way to the counter. "Who are these two? Isn't he a little young to bring here?"
"I didn't know any other place that served food," Gilgamesh replied simply as Tiamat took a seat. She lifted Shirou up so he was sitting on her lap. "These two recently moved in and Tiamat's cooking skills were… inadequate, so they came to me for help."
"Thank you for having us," Tiamat said, her neutral expression unchanging. "I am Tiamat and this is Shirou."
"Ah, thank you," Shirou stiffened, as if he was snapped from a trance before dipping his head in thanks.
"Wonderful to meet you," Asashi smiled. "My name is Hotaruzuka Asashi and that girl over there is Otoko."
"Don't call me that," The small girl walked up to what Gilgamesh could only assume was her father before turning to the three. "I'm Neko. Nice to meetcha."
"Oto—" Asashi flinched under the gaze of the girl. "Neko, can you do me a favor and make some pancakes for Shirou?"
"Fine," Neko grumbled before disappearing into the back room.
"Pancakes?" Tiamat tilted her head.
"It's an American breakfast dish," Asashi elaborated. "It's very sweet so it's popular with the kids."
"I see," Tiamat nodded slowly. "Thank you for the information."
"No problem," A bead of sweat appeared on Asashi's forehead. "So you moved recently, huh? Where did you come from?"
"Far," Tiamat answered vaguely. "I came upon this little one in the fire."
"Oh," It seemed Asashi had the sense not to press further on that matter. "I'm so sorry. You must have been very brave to save him."
Tiamat pulled Shirou a little closer to her and nodded silently.
"So how did you two meet?" Asashi asked, trying to change the subject.
"I came across them while on a walk," Gilgamesh replied honestly. The man wasn't worth the energy of coming up with a lie. "Tiamat was looking for a hospital and Shirou was badly burnt so I took them to a hospital."
"Ah…" Asashi muttered. He wisely remained quiet until Neko returned with the pancakes. They were glistening in the light and Gilgamesh noted that there was already syrup on them.
"Here you go," Neko offered the plate to the young boy along with a fork and knife. Shirou grabbed the utensils. He struggled to cut into the pancake, but Tiamat gently grabbed his arms and guided his hands.
Shirou managed to cut into one of the pancakes and take a bite. The young boy's eyes lit up and he made a muffled sound of delight. For some reason, this action… it resonated with Gilgamesh. He allowed a small smile to spread upon his face. Maybe humanity wasn't doomed after all.
Neko grit her teeth as she watched the trio leave. She heard the whole conversation while she was in the back. Her father had an uncharacteristic frown on his face as well.
"What's on your mind?" Asashi asked as Neko sat down on the chair usually reserved for her father.
"I heard everything," Neko leaned back into the wooden chair. "I just feel bad. Like I feel like I should have done more than just make a couple of pancakes.
"That's called sympathy. It's not a bad thing," Asashi pulled a chair from the bar floor and sat next to his daughter. "You saw the news last night, right?"
"Yeah," Neko muttered. It truly was a horrific event. Even on the grainy TV they had in the bar, it still looked terrifying.
"Can't help but feel bad for the kid," Asashi muttered. "And the mom, too. She just moves and the first thing she has to deal with is that fire. And she managed to rescue a child, too."
Asashi then turned to Neko and smiled. "That woman is the kind of woman I want you to grow up to be, okay?"
"Alright," Neko smiled back. With their personalities being polar opposites, Neko didn't really have many of these heart-to-hearts with her father. They were rather nice for the teenager.
Shirou… Neko thought. That boy. He had already gone through hell. She shook her head.
That settles it, Neko thought, determination swelling through her very being. I'm going to make sure that kid has the best life he can.
Thank you all for reading! I am aware of the liberties I'm taking with Gilgamesh's personality, but I do want to include him on the list of people Tiamat ends up adopting. I'm really excited to continue this fic and give everyone the hugs they deserve. With that being said, please do consider leaving a review! I would love to read and reply to your thoughts. Also please join my Discord! I would love to talk to you all and answer all your questions! I talk a lot about my thought process while writing, so if you're interested in that, do consider joining. The url is discord . gg (forego the spaces) followed by a slash and CpVs7R8KXz. Unfortunately you'll have to type the rest of the url in manually because I'm not allowed to post links. Thank you for reading and I'll catch you on the flipside.