New Year
Shira decided that whoever first thought to include alcohol in New Year celebrations had never seen someone get drunk.
While she, Saber, Rin, and Sakura had drank one or two cups of sake and Ilya was only allowed the traditional three sips (much to the white-haired girl's disgruntlement), Taiga was getting wasted. Shira stared at her guardian from where she sat at the dining room table, no longer hungry for the soba noodles she'd prepared for the New Year's Eve dinner, as the woman in question swayed in her seat, loudly "la la la"-ing to the melody of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony playing on TV—or trying to, anyway. For once, Taiga took little interest in the food as she downed cup after cup of sake, her face becoming redder the more she drank.
Rin was unable to suppress an amused grin at the brunette's antics. Saber continued calmly eating his meal, as though somebody getting intoxicated was an everyday occurrence. Ilya was taking advantage of Taiga's current drunkenness by stealing food from the latter's plate.
"Ilya, stop doing that," Shira admonished as her adopted sister grabbed another piece of Taiga's sushi.
"Why not?" Ilya asked carelessly, popping the sushi into her mouth. "Taiga's in no condition to yell at me, so what's the big deal?"
Before Shira could inform Ilya that it wasn't polite to steal food from people, even if they were drunk out of their minds, Sakura chose that moment to speak.
"Uh, Ms. Fujimura," she began, sounding concerned, "I think you've had enough to drink for one night."
Taiga paused in her singing attempts long enough to answer. "Whaddya talking about, Sakura?" she asked, her voice slurred. "I feel fantastic!"
"You won't be saying that in the morning, believe me," Shira warned, frowning.
The wide grin never left Taiga's face. "But it's nighttime now! The morning hasn't come yet! I'll worry about the morning...um..." her grin faded a little as she slowly blinked her glassy brown eyes, then suddenly returned in full force, "whenever the morning gets here!"
Shira smacked herself in the head, feeling a migraine coming on, while Taiga giggled and groped for the flask of sake, her hand shaking. Just as her fingertips were about to graze her new favorite drinking container, Saber grabbed the flask and held it out of her reach.
"Sakura and Shira are right, Taiga," Saber said, his voice firm. "Enough is enough."
Taiga's demeanor went from cheery to furious in no time at all.
"No! Gimme that!" She shot to her feet, but her legs wobbled almost immediately, and Rin stood up to grab her right arm before she could fall flat on her face.
"Lemme go!" Taiga demanded, obviously misinterpreting Rin's actions as she unsuccessfully attempted to break out of the black-haired girl's grip.
"Maybe we should go home," Rin suggested, the humor she'd initially gotten out of the situation now gone.
"Aw, but things are just getting interesting!" Ilya complained.
"But what about—?" Sakura tried to ask barely after Ilya had finished, eyeing Taiga nervously.
"I will get her to a guest room," Saber interrupted as he set the flask aside, stood up, and took the drunken woman by the left arm, pulling her to the door as soon as Rin let go of her. "Come with me, Taiga."
"But my sake!" Taiga wailed, sounding somewhere between outraged and anguished as she tried squirming out of Saber's grasp.
Not bothering to form a reply, the blond dragged her out of the room despite her struggles and protests.
Shira sighed. "Guess I'll lead you guys out, then." So saying, she, Rin, Sakura, and Ilya left the dining room as well, and before long, the latter three were out on the front doorstep of the estate.
"Will you still be going to visit Ryudou Temple tomorrow, Senpai?" Sakura questioned.
"Sure I will...I think," Shira replied, stifling a groan as Taiga's drunken shouts were heard. Still, the redhead managed a smile as she exchanged goodnights with the other girls, and once Ilya, Sakura, and Rin were gone, Shira returned to the empty dining room.
For a few seconds, all she did was stare at the table, at the plates and bowls that contained half-eaten food. She could still hear Taiga shouting (Honestly, Fuji-nee; I think there are people in China who haven't heard you yet, she thought grumpily), and she wondered if Saber needed any help with getting her settled. But before Shira could dwell on that thought, she spied the flask of sake sitting near Saber's plate.
...Maybe a couple more drinks to settle her nerves first wouldn't be such a bad idea.
It took more time than Saber would have liked to get Taiga to a guest room, what with her trying her hardest, both physically and verbally, to get him to let her go and stumble her way back to the dining room. Luckily, though, as soon as the door to the nearest guest room was opened, the woman's alcohol-induced...hysteria, for lack of a better word, disappeared as quickly as it had come. Saber finally let go of Taiga's arm and watched her stagger towards the futon and fall face first onto it.
He heard light breathing not two seconds later, confirming that Taiga was now asleep. Saber made a mental note to come back with some water before heading back to the dining room, thinking that Shira could use his help with cleaning up the kitchen.
No sooner had he slid the door to the dining room open did he find himself looking at the sight of Shira sitting on her knees at the table with her head thrown back, gulping down a cup of sake.
"Honey!" she exclaimed as she turned in Saber's direction, her eyes glazed over and a bright, lopsided smile on her flushed face.
Saber blinked. In the time it had taken him to get Taiga settled, Shira, who always called him either Saber or Arthur (the latter of which being reserved for intimate moments), had gotten herself drunk enough to address him by a term of endearment? He hadn't been gone that long, had he?
"Shira," he responded as neutrally as he could, uncertain if he should find this amusing or not.
The redhead set her cup aside, evidently losing all interest in drinking, and stood up on unsteady legs. She stumbled over to Saber, and he walked forward with his arms outstretched, ready to catch her if she lost her balance. That, however, proved to be unnecessary, as Shira grabbed Saber and pulled him into a tight hug the instant he was in her reach. He only had time for a startled yelp before she crushed her mouth to his.
Her kiss was rough—in fact, he'd wager that it was even rougher than some of their more passionate kisses—and her hands were eager in their exploration of his body. In any other situation, Saber would have let himself get lost in the moment, but the taste of sake curbed whatever lust he'd ordinarily feel. His breath hitched as Shira's hand wandered down his chest and stomach to reach his pants, and he quickly broke off the kiss and pulled away from her, keeping her at arm's length.
"Shira," Saber said again, "now is not the time."
"But we're alone," she murmured, leaning forward to thrust her tongue back into his mouth, one of her hands now trying to get his tie off.
"And you are drunk," he pointed out after pulling back for the second time. "Perhaps you should be in our room now."
A mischievous gleam lit up Shira's eyes at the mention of their bedroom; Saber wouldn't have been surprised if everything else he'd said had not registered in her mind at all. "Ooh; getting frisky, are we?"
You are one to talk, he thought as Shira moved forward to press her lips to his throat, her arms once again wrapping around him to pull him closer. Even so, he could not help the small groan that escaped him as she covered his neck in kisses. If he was being honest, to say that letting her have her way with him was not a temptation would be a lie, but ultimately, taking advantage of her while she was drunk was the last thing he wanted.
"Not here," Saber gasped out as he pushed Shira away.
Her lower lip quivered. "C'mon, honey; I want you."
"I know you do." He gave her what he hoped was his most charming smile. "But I believe it would be more comfortable if we continued this in our room. Would you not agree, Shira?"
Making it sound like she would get something other than sleep may have been deceptive, but the lie was necessary if Saber wanted to get her asleep in bed before things got out of hand. In any case, Shira ended up happily complying and allowed the blond to quite literally sweep her off her feet and carry her bridal-style out of the dining room.
They were about halfway down the hall when she lifted her face up to try to kiss him again.
"Patience, Shira," Saber told her as he turned his head away, both to avoid her lips and to hide the amusement he was starting to feel about her persistence. "There will be plenty of time for that in the future."
When you are sober, he added silently. And when I have put a wedding ring on your finger.
Saber could almost feel the pout Shira was directing at him, but he was able to reach their bedroom without any further incident. He managed to open the door and close it behind them with his foot, then walked to the futon and lowered them both onto it.
He was just pulling the futon's blankets aside when Shira's arms snaked around Saber's neck and her mouth attacked his with renewed enthusiasm. He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her down onto her back, ending the kiss and looking at her as she gazed up at him through already half-closed eyes.
"Love you, honey," she mumbled.
"I love you, too." Saber removed his hands from Shira's shoulders and moved to get up.
"Hey, where're you going?" Shira asked, grabbing him by the wrist.
"I'm merely stepping out," the blond told her, prying her fingers from his wrist. "Please relax for now; I will return shortly."
And with that, Saber stood up and walked towards the door. He had only taken a few paces before he turned around to find that Shira was now fast asleep, and he allowed himself a soft chuckle. Nice try, Master.
He stepped back to the futon to cover Shira up with the blankets, then headed to the dining room to wash the dishes. Once that was done, Saber turned off the television, went to the bathroom to get two cups of water, and took one to the guest room where he'd left Taiga. Afterward, he returned to his and Shira's room, set the second cup of water on the desk placed beneath the window, and slipped into bed.
In her sleep, Shira turned to snuggle up to Saber; this time, he didn't pull away, and it wasn't long before he joined her in slumber.
When Shira opened her eyes the next morning, the sunlight coming in from the window caused her to immediately close them again.
Her first thought as she turned to press her face into her pillow was, Ugh...why does the sun have to be so bright?
Her second thought as she heard herself groan was, Why the hell do we not have curtains?
And her third thought was an acknowledgement of the fact that her head was pounding like someone was beating at it with a hammer. What on Earth happened last night? Shira tried to remember through her headache. There had been the New Year's Eve dinner...then Taiga got drunk, so Ilya, Rin, and Sakura left early...then she'd noticed the flask of sake...but what happened after that? Try as she might, Shira couldn't remember.
Just how much did she drink, anyway?
"Happy New Year, Shira," she heard Saber say, his voice low.
The redhead guessed that he was either lying or sitting beside her in the futon, but she didn't bother with turning in his direction. "Define 'happy,'" she rasped. "God, my head's killing me."
Shira felt Saber rub her back as he continued. "I brought water for you and set it on your desk. Can you get it on your own, or do you want me to?"
"You go ahead; I don't trust myself to move right now."
She stayed where she was, eyes closed and face in her pillow, as she heard Saber step forward to the desk. Groggily, Shira got up on her knees and opened her eyes just enough to see Saber kneeling in front of her with a paper cup of water in hand. She gratefully accepted the cup and took slow, small sips.
"Thanks, Saber," she said when the water was about half gone. After a slight pause, she asked, "Uh...can you tell me what happened last night? The last thing I remember is having some sake after Tohsaka, Sakura, and Ilya left."
Saber remained silent for a few seconds, obviously considering his words carefully. "I got Taiga settled in a guest room, and when I returned to the dining room, I saw that you were drinking. And then...well, you were very physically affectionate."
"...Oh." She stared down at her cup, already having some idea of where this was going. "More so than usual, you mean?"
"Yes," Saber answered. "Not only that, but you were quite...ah, eager to get me out of my clothes." He paused as Shira felt her face burn red hot. "And you kept calling me honey," he added as though it were an afterthought.
Shira looked back up at Saber; she grinned a bit despite herself. "Seriously?"
The blond nodded. "I was able to bring you to our room, and you fell asleep shortly afterward."
"Hmm." What little of a grin that was on Shira's face faded as she took note of how calm Saber's tone had been from the moment she'd woken up. Granted, Saber being so levelheaded and even-tempered was nothing new, and it was one of the things she loved about him, but somehow, his calmness seemed out of place.
"What is it?" Saber wanted to know after several seconds of silence.
Shira took a sip of water before replying. "You're not mad? I mean, from what you told me, I basically tried to jump your bones last night."
"You were drunk, and it's not as if you held me down or anything...although you had a difficult time keeping your hands off of me," Saber added, a slight, teasing smile tugging at his lips.
"Well, that's comforting," Shira said dryly, drinking the rest of her water.
"And," Saber went on, becoming serious again, "even if I were angry about anything you did last night, I believe you suffering from the effects of a hangover is enough of a punishment."
"No kidding." The redhead pressed a hand to her still aching temple to prove the point. "And speaking of which, I wonder how Fuji-nee is holding up?"
Before Saber could respond, the two were startled by the sound of loud retching coming from the bathroom.
"Guess that answers my question," was all Shira could say, wincing in sympathy.
Author's Note: According to the Wikipedia article on Japanese New Year, it's tradition for Beethoven's Ninth Symphony to be performed throughout Japan during the New Year season.