Chapter 1: Mother Once More
For many years, Tiamat slumbered. It had been a long time since her children had left her. They simply didn't need her anymore. And so, she slept. She wallowed in the fact that she had no one to care for. No one to raise, no one to nurture. No one to love.
That's when it happened.
Tiamat wasn't sure how long she had slept, but she was awoken by a cry for help. A child's cry. Not with their body, or with their mind, but with their soul. Tiamat felt the cry from where she was in Imaginary Number Space. The amount of pain from that cry.
Tiamat stirred and listened closer. It was a human child. Tiamat almost scoffed. Humanity, as far as she was concerned, was a race invading her home. She should leave the child alone to die.
But… What was this feeling? This heartache? Despite the fact that the child was human, she still felt a desire to help. A desire to nurture.
Was it her longing? Was she so desperate to be a mother that she was willing to rescue this… this human? After a few moments of hesitation, her choice was made.
Tiamat shrunk down into a manageable form and left the Imaginary Number Space.
The only thing the boy knew was fire. Buildings were burning, the cries of people ringing out as they burned to a crisp. He could feel the fire kiss his skin. He wanted to scream out, but he didn't even have the energy. He didn't have the energy to do anything but walk.
The boy continued to walk. He stepped over bodies of men, women, children, and animals. He walked past a woman whose body was crushed by a pillar. He could hear her begging him for help. He could hear her pleas. He continued to walk.
The boy wanted to cry. He wanted to fall to his knees and give up. He wanted to scream. There were so many things he wanted to do… but he couldn't. He felt like if he stopped walking, his body would shut down completely. He couldn't even turn to look at the man who was screaming as his body was impaled by a pole.
Eventually, the boy felt himself slip. Time seemed to slow down as he fell over. His body racked with pain when he hit the ground, but the boy did not make a noise. He couldn't.
In any other circumstance, the boy would lament his death. He would think about how terrible the world was, but he couldn't. He couldn't think past the pain as he felt the searing burns on his skin.
As he started to feel his eyes close, he saw something glow. He faintly felt the pain numb ever so slightly as he was lifted off the ground.
As he was, he couldn't make the figure of his savior out. The only thing he could feel was warmth. It wasn't like the searing pains of the fire. Those were but a distant memory. He felt a warmth that made his heart swell. A warmth that draped over him like a blanket. A warmth that assured him that everything will be okay.
I wonder… if I can feel this warmth forever, The boy thought as the darkness finally took over.
Tiamat looked down at the poor boy in her arms. She could feel her heart shatter into tiny little pieces. The boy didn't even cry. It was obvious that he was in pain, but he made no sounds.
Her feet slowly lifted off the ground as she started to float. She was only a few inches off the ground when she started to move. She weaved her way through the streets before finally making her way out of the fire. Waiting for her was a blond human male with red eyes.
"A beast dares show its presence in my garden?" The man scoffed.
"Step away, spirit," Tiamat's voice rang throughout the area, despite not opening her mouth. "I seek to provide this child with aid. If you try to intervene, I will remove you."
"Oh? What an interesting creature," The blond man rubbed his chin before smiling. "I will allow you to stay in my garden for the time being. Come, let us get this tiny mongrel the help he needs."
At the same time, things were not going well in the Clock Tower.
"What the hell happened to the sensors?!" A man ran around a room, barking orders.
"S-sir! A massive influx of power caused them to overload!" One of the man's lackeys shouted.
"Where was the source?!" The manager shouted back.
"W-we don't know!" Another person shouted in reply. "The influx was so strong and sudden! It was like the whole world was affected by the influx at the same time!"
"Shit!" The manager slammed his fist on a desk. "We need to find out what caused it as soon as possible! We may not know what it is, but if it's that strong… we might not be able to eliminate it."
Tiamat and the blond man stood over the boy's bed. Thanks to a bit of magecraft, the boy was healing nicely, but he had yet to wake up. Tiamat had long since used magecraft to hide her horns and her eyes to seem more normal.
"Spirit—"
"My name is Gilgamesh," The man replied with a pointed glare. "It would do you well to remember the name of your king."
"Gilgamesh," Tiamat corrected herself. "Where can one get shelter in the human world? I will need a place to raise this child."
"It will be handled," Gilgamesh responded. "I need to make arrangements. I will meet you back here. If you aren't here when I return, I shall consider you guilty of disobeying the king and I will exile you."
Tiamat turned to look at Gilgamesh as he walked out of the room.
"What a nice child," Tiamat thought aloud. She had little understanding of what his ramblings were, but he still offered them shelter, despite his rash attitude. She liked him.
Tiamat then turned when she heard the sound of sheets ruffling. Her pointed ears twitched as she did and she saw the young boy she rescued stir from his sleep.
"Child. I see you have awoken," Tiamat made an extra effort to make the voice her mind conveyed extra gentle. "What is your name, young one?"
"I… I don't…" The boy paused for a couple seconds, squeezing his eyes before he opened them again. "S-Shirou. I think my name is Shirou."
"Is that all?" Tiamat tilted her head. "Do you have any other names?"
"I… I don't remember," The boy, Shirou replied. "I don't remember anything else…"
"That is okay, young one," Tiamat took a step forward. Gilgamesh had told her that humans wouldn't react well if she floated, so she started to walk as soon as she was in the presence of humans. Tiamat put a hand forward. "May I?"
Shirou looked at the hand with a confused look before looking up and nodding, the confused look still in his eyes.
Tiamat put a tender hand on the boy's cheek. The boy then grabbed her wrist with both of his and held her hand still, as if Tiamat was the last bit of life he was clinging onto.
How precious, Tiamat couldn't help the smile that started to grow on her face. With this once action playing out, she knew she made the right decision in saving the boy.
Shirou then jumped when there was a knock on the door. Tiamat already knew there was a human approaching. A… doctor if she remembered correctly.
"May I come in?" A female voice asked.
"You may," Tiamat answered with her body this time. From her observations, normal humans couldn't use telepathy. A human woman opened the door and walked in. She had black hair and brown eyes and wore white clothing.
"Hello. My name is Dr. Yuna and I'll be helping you for today," The woman introduced herself.
"I am Tiamat," The beast responded curtly. She hated that she had to speak to this… human as an equal, but right now, she was willing to do anything for the child behind her.
"S-Shirou," The young boy introduced himself shyly.
"Well, little Shirou, you're a really strong young man, you know that?" Yuna had a friendly smile on her face as she knelt down by Shirou. "When Tiamat here brought you to us, you hurt, but now you're all better. Isn't that great?"
"Y-yeah…" Shirou muttered. Yuna seemed to notice Shirou's mannerisms and her eyes started to fill with concern.
"Shirou, honey, do you have parents? Or anyone that can take you home?" Yuna asked.
"I…" Shirou shook his head, pointedly looking away from Yuna. "I don't remember."
"That's okay, dearie. I'm sure that someone will take you home," Yuna soothed.
"I want to take Shirou," Tiamat declared, causing Yuna and Shirou to jump. Tiamat approached Shirou and knelt down so she was at eye level with the boy. "Do you want to come home with me? If you want to, I can be your mother."
"Yes!" Shirou exclaimed before clasping his jaw and looking down. "I mean… if you'll have me."
"Of course, Shirou," Tiamat gently cupped the young boy's face and moved it so that he was looking at her. "We can go home together."
It didn't take long for Gilgamesh to return. It was about five minutes after the doctor had left to get the discharge papers when Gilgamesh opened the door to the hospital room.
"It seems like the tiny mongrel is awake," Gilgamesh huffed.
"Gilgamesh, please do not insult my son like that," Tiamat's eyes drifted over to the spirit. Shirou flinched when he heard the voice.
"Did… did you hear that?" Shirou asked.
"Yes, child," Tiamat turned to smile at Shirou. "When I'm not around normal people, I prefer to speak like this. Is that okay with you?"
"Y-yeah," Shirou nodded hesitantly. Gilgamesh just huffed in response.
"A contact of mine has managed to find you a place for you to stay," Gilgamesh said, catching Tiamat's attention. "When you are done getting the tiny mon— one out of this place, I shall lead you there."
"Thank you, Gilgamesh," Tiamat nodded. "You are a good child."
"Do not call me a child. I am your king," Gilgamesh whirled around before leaving the room. Tiamat couldn't help but smile, though. She knew he was starting to warm up.
Fortunately, discharging Shirou wasn't too hard. It only took a few minutes before Shirou, Tiamat, and Gilgamesh were leaving the large, sterile building.
"Now, follow me," Gilgamesh said as he led the two to some sort of steel contraption. It was painted yellow and had four circular feet. "This is a taxi. This is how normal mongrels move about the city. Come, it shall take you to your new home."
"May I?" Tiamat turned to Shirou and spread her arms a bit. Shirou looked at her and paused for a couple seconds before nodding. Tiamat picked up the child with relative ease and entered the steel beast.
"Can you take us to the north end of Miyama Town?" Gilgamesh handed a stack of small papers to the man sitting in front of them.
"You got it, boss," The man said. The steel beast lurched forward and started to move. Tiamat could have easily gone faster, but she had to admit that they were going at a good speed… for a human, at least. It took roughly half an hour, but they made it.
"Here's your stop," The man said. Gilgamesh nodded and opened the side before exiting. He motioned for Tiamat to exit and the beast made her way out. Gilgamesh returned the steel creature to its original stage and it ran off.
"It's just down this road over here," Gilgamesh led them down the street to a large, wooden house. The man then handed Tiamat a small object. It had a round top and the bottom extended with a couple jagged lines poking out. "The previous owner died in that fire you found the child in. My contact was able to claim this properly quickly."
"Thank you, child," Tiamat said, holding Shirou close to him. "We shall repay this debt someday."
"It's only natural for a king to care for his subjects," Gilgamesh turned away. "Do not misbehave, creature, or you shall suffer the consequences."
His peace being said, Gilgamesh walked away. Tiamat then turned his attention back to Shirou and smiled.
"Welcome home."
Thank you for reading this first chapter! Welcome to my self-indulgent Tiamat fluff fic! Many liberties will be taken and many hugs will be given. A few things I want to cover. Kiritsugu, not finding a reason to live during the fire, dies during the Fuyuki Fire. And yes, Tiamat and Shirou are now living in what would have been the Emiya estate. I hope you continue to follow this fic!
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.