A Sunny Day

by 7NegativeCreep

Akito Tohsaka takes what is quite possibly the biggest gamble of his entire life; asking a certain blond Englishman if he would like to become his boyfriend. (a genderbent heroines au) (sequel to 'Ever Present Feelings')

1. A Sunny Day

"...Hm."

'Something is ringing' are the current thoughts of Akito Tohsaka as he stirs from his slumber.

It takes him only another moment to recognize that the source of the noise is the classically styled clock that rests on his nightstand.

Normally, Akito would never have set an alarm for himself on the one day of the week he did not have to get up for school, only ever having to deal with that extra sleep being taken away when something important enough to warrant not risking sleeping in too late was planned.

That's it though, Akito does have something important planned.

Something he very, very much would rather not sleep in and miss.

After taking another few seconds to grumble to himself over wishing he could indulge in the warmth of his bedsheets for even a moment longer, the young man forces himself to jolt upward and silence the annoyance that prevents him from doing so. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he squints at his nightstand to confirm that it is in fact the time he set it to go off the previous night.

8:00am. 'Thank god.'

Even if he is a bit more tired than he hoped he would be, Akito is at least happy that he's getting himself up at the time he wanted to. Throwing himself off his bed immediately afterwards, Akito thinks about how uncharacteristic it is of him to be this quick at getting himself out of the covers. He attempts to answer his question as to why momentarily, but immediately decides against it when he realizes that any answer he would come to would be far too embarrassing to ever even admit to himself.

It doesn't take him long to grab everything he needs before exiting into the hall; his typical casual outfit from his dresser, and the ribbon he uses to tie his hair from his desk. He puts all of this under his left arm as he departs for the shower in the nearest bathroom, still currently wearing the cat-printed pajamas that he would rather die than admit he owned to anyone other than the tanned man he happens to live with.

Though he wants to make it a quick one, showering gives Akito time to think to himself for the first time this morning.

As was stated earlier, Akito very much does have something important planned for today.

It isn't something regarding his magecraft like you might expect, nor is it a meeting with a member of the Church or Mages Association.

It is something simple, mundane, and much more scary for someone like Akito Tohsaka.

It is a date; one with the boy he likes.

Saber, King of Knights, Arthur Pendragon, servant of Shirou Emiya, whatever you prefer to call him, had agreed to spend all of this Sunday with the magus boy for as long as he likes. And while Akito is proud of himself for being able to invite the blond without letting any of his anxiety show through his tone or face, he is still a teenager preparing to confess to a member of the same gender (one that he does not know the sexual orientation of) that he is completely infatuated with him and would be especially elated if he would like to be his boyfriend.

It is going to be near impossible for the young man to keep his composure for the entire day, but Akito is going to pretend to not know this and psych himself up anyway with threats of self inflicted punishment if he fails.

A good portion of the day has already been planned, with the rest Akito deciding to wing as best as he can with the large amount to do in Shinto. Even if the boy he loves doesn't reciprocate, Akito is going to make sure that Saber enjoys the day to the fullest.

'Though it would be pretty lame if it was for nothing…'

The shower stops running, and Akito removes himself from it to finish up his morning routine with some simple facial care, brushing his hair, tying a portion of it into a fashionable masculine ponytail, and dressing himself in the clothing he prepared earlier.

Exiting the washroom, he can faintly hear a recognizable sizzling coming from what is quite certainly the kitchen downstairs. The faint aroma of egg and onion that only grows stronger as he approaches confirms the boy's suspicion that his stove is currently being used.

"Good morning, Archer." Akito greets the tall, tanned man occupying his kitchen for the first time this morning. He crosses his arms and fondly gazes at the apron tied around his servant's back.

"The omurice will be done in a minute. I figure you'd like a meal before you leave, seeing how you're up so early on a Sunday." The man responds to his master standing behind him, not bothering to even take a glance backward.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you." Akito turns on his heel and moves himself to the couch in the living room to his rear. He has already made himself plenty presentable, and is running a good bit ahead of schedule, so there isn't much he could do except await breakfast.

It had taken him a few weeks after the Grail War had ended, but the former Counter Guardian has somehow managed to settle back into the routine life he once led.

He still has plenty to keep himself busy during even the near two months he has had in peace, with his master being the administrator of Fuyuki and all. Though, re-learning the domestic life is something he also has taken to for when his master wasn't in need of his expertise elsewhere. And that master considerably appreciates being spoiled with that style of cooking at both of his homes.

Akito does however wish that his servant would gain some sense in fashion. The black dress shirt and pants combo is somehow even more bland than the jeans and long sleeved shirt that the chef of the Emiya household often wears, and it would be nice to see such a handsome man present himself in a way that flattered him even a little.

Akito leans back onto the armrest closest to the kitchen and allows himself a yawn for the first time today. He hadn't felt particularly hungry earlier in the morning, but the fragrance that was impossible to prevent from entering his nostrils is starting to make the young man feel restless in anticipation of the coming meal.

He decides to start conversation with the cook in order to hopefully make time pass by faster. Maybe he can even make something productive out of this dead time.

"So, Archer." He calls to the kitchen while staring up at the ceiling. "What was your Saber like?"

The sigh the man produces can't be heard by the young magus, but the slight pause in his cooking can be.

Akito figures that it would have been insensitive to inquire about the heroic spirit's past life during the war, but enough time should have passed, right? Archer seems to have made peace with himself, in more ways than one, so it shouldn't hurt to be a little curious about something like that. Getting any extra information about the young king he was about to attempt to swoon is always good too.

The man clad in apron takes one more breath. "I won't blame you if you don't believe me, but the Saber I knew was a woman."

A few blinks is what it takes for Akito to process what his servant has just said, furrowing his brow and seating himself upward to look towards the kitchen, even if the white haired man still isn't in view.

"Huh? How'd you know him then if he wasn't your servant?"

"That's not what I was implying. The Saber I summoned was the same King of Knights that you know, only that mine went by the name Arturia."

Akito blinks a few more times. He can reason out that it does make sense that some things about the life that Heroic Spirit EMIYA lived could be different from the life of the Shirou Emiya he's friends with. But there's something the magus can't wrap his head around.

"So you're saying that the Saber you summoned… was Queen Arturia…?"

"No, out of consideration for her and the Saber you're acquainted with I won't divulge much more about her life, but she was still the very same King Arthur of legend."

'? How the hell…?'

"What? Was she like a crossdresser or something?"

The sound of utensils being briefly fiddled with ends, and the chef makes his appearance in the living room, an egg dish that could succinctly be described as mouth watering sitting on the plate he holds.

"Something along those lines." The cook sighs, placing the plate and utensils down on the table that sat in front of his master along with a cup of hot coffee.

"Huh…" Akito takes another second to process the strange factoid about his servant's life. "I wouldn't have guessed that something like that was possible…" The boy mutters to himself while drawing a line across the top of his omurice with the blade of his knife, watching the always satisfying show of rice and tomatoes washing down onto his plate. "People being a different gender I mean… but I guess I wouldn't have ever thought that King Arthur could have been a woman either." He says as he places his first bite of the warm meal into his mouth.

Archer takes a moment to internally congratulate himself watching his young master's face slightly contort in satisfaction from the meal he just tasted. Then crosses his arms and decides to entertain the conversation for a bit longer.

"The Akito Tohsaka I knew was actually a young woman as well, so was the Tomoki Matou I was acquainted with."

Akito's chewing stops. His brow furrows again as he glances in disbelief at the servant for saying something that probably shouldn't have come as much of a surprise considering what he had just revealed a minute ago.

He swallows the bite down and responds with a straight forward, "Are you serious?"

"I don't remember much from when I was young, but yes, I can at least recall that I did spend time with a woman as troublesome as you."

Akito continues glaring for another moment before leaning back with the same furrowed brow and taking a sip from the coffee he was also given.

"What was her name…?" The young man questions with suspicion in his tone, still not convinced that his servant wasn't playing some kind of elaborate joke on him to fill the time.

"Rin, and your sibling's name was Sakura."

"How were they spelt?" Akito continues to prod.

"Do you seriously expect me to remember what characters they used to spell their names?"

"..." Akito glares at the servant for another moment in an attempt to get a better read of the deadpan expression he possesses.

"...Fine. I'll believe you." He gives up on testing the cook more, going back to the food made specifically for him and rationalizing internally that continuing to scrutinize and interrogate the person who had just made this unbelievably tasty meal would be too ill-mannered.

Though, he does continue to inquire further as he chews the next bite of egg and rice he had just picked up.

"What was she like then? Much different than me?"

The taller man continues to stand in the same position next to the side of the coffee table. Akito can almost sense a tinge of nostalgia in Archer's expression. "She wasn't that much different to you, no. She of course had a feminine charm that you don't, but you certainly are just as much of a hassle in the same ways as she was too."

Akito ponders to himself for a moment regarding if he thinks it's likely that he would turn out the same if he was born a woman, before nodding to himself a moment later when he decides that it was likely possible. The next most obvious question comes to his mind, "How'd she look then?"

The servant takes a moment to think as well, switching his posture to allow his left arm to rest at his side and his right to prop itself on his hip.

"As you would expect, she was quite a lot shorter than you are, only a few inches taller than Saber. She was thin and partially wore her hair long with a pair of twintails. Disregarding the skirt and thigh high socks, she would actually dress quite similarly to how you do. She had the same preference for turtlenecks and typically wore one that looked nearly identical to yours."

Akito attempts to form the image of the girl being described. The woman he envisions is quite flattering for him, but a surprisingly accurate depiction of how he would look if he was born with two x chromosomes instead of one.

With the decently detailed description already given by Archer, the red devil notices the opportunity to tease the expressionless servant and takes it in a heartbeat.

"So, was she cute?"

"What?" The archer narrows his vision.

"The me you knew. Rin, was it? Was she attractive?"

"Objectively speaking, yes, she was an attractive woman. She probably had to turn down twice the amount of men attempting to seduce her as you have women. But I couldn't envision that any man would want to continue pursuing a relationship once they learn of what she was truly like."

The master chuckles to himself briefly, "Oh come on, I know you're just saying that because it's me. You're still a guy, aren't you? If I was such an attractive young woman then I'm sure you've had at least one lewd thought about me, hm? Or what, are you actually a girl too?"

Akito's pseudo-housewife scoffs, "Do I look like I am?"

"I dunno, if King Arthur could get away with it then I guess you could too. I won't judge." The young man retorts with his signature ever punchable smirk plastered on his face.

Archer only responds with a silent roll of his eyes, his arms returning to cross once again to show his level of mild annoyance with the Tohsaka boy.

"What about Tomoki and Saber's girl selves then? Either of them cute enough for your tastes?" Akito takes another bite of his breakfast as he finishes his sentence.

It takes Archer a moment to recall, or, at least reminisce, on the appearance of the women in question. He momentarily closes his eyes and exhales to release tension.

"They were both beautiful women in their own regard. However, it's been far too long to tell if I had any romantic feelings of the sort for either of them."

There is something off about Archer's tone, something that Akito can easily pick up on, but the melancholy it radiates tells the young boy that it probably is not the best idea to pry more from the jaded man about this topic. He takes another sip from his coffee to briefly ponder, and decides to direct the conversation elsewhere.

"Jeez, I couldn't imagine that Emiya-kun would survive long living with a bunch of girls." He mildly chuckles to himself.

"The Saber and Tomoki I knew were even more similar to their counterparts here than yours was in some regard, and you should know how fond they are of Emiya Shirou. It was Rin and Illyasviel that were the biggest hassles to manage."

"Illyasviel…?" Akito furrows his brow for a split second. "Oh! Was Illya a girl too?"

"That he was."

"Damn, you really were the only guy in the house then." The boy half mutters to himself and takes another bite from his meal. Though part way through chewing, Akito senses another opportunity for teasing, but this time he thinks that it could even possibly provide some information that can aid his younger brother in his own troubles, depending on the answer given of course.

Archer's master takes another slip from his coffee, and narrows his vision at the tanned man with an overly catlike expression, one that tells the servant to prepare for whatever the demon eating his meal is about to utter. "It's hard to believe that someone like Emiya-kun could die a virgin after spending so much time surrounded by a bunch of women his age. Have you really been telling the truth about not getting with anyone before, or are girls just not your thing…?"

"When have I ever said that?" The taller man returns to displaying his annoyance.

"You haven't," Akito's smirk widens a bit. "but anyone who knows you well enough could probably tell that you're a virgin anyway."

A sigh exits the chef's mouth, deciding to not bother spending the energy trying to convince his roommate that he has, in fact, slept with a fair few women previously, and ends the conversation here to avoid falling into Akito's traps for teasing any further. "...Are you done?" He motions with his head towards the dish placed on the coffee table.

The boy lets a single chuckle out as a miniature gloat for his victory over one of his favourite people to bicker with. "No, not yet. I'm not impolite enough to waste a warm meal like this."

Akito swallows another spoonful of omurice and chooses to continue teasing anyway. "You never actually answered my question though. What's the reason why you haven't hooked up with anyone? I'm sure that if you aren't interested in girls there are plenty of guys out there that'd love to spend a night with a man like you."

The servant rolls his eyes once more, thinking to give another excuse to deflect away from the agenda Akito is trying to push. "Romance simply isn't necessary for someone like me."

"Uh huh, and cooking meals for me in the morning like you're my wife is?"

A very faint, momentary jolt in Archer's expression is caught by Akito.

"You're my master, keeping you healthy is a part of my duty." The servant responds in the same tone as previous.

"Sure." Akito sarcastically replies, taking another bite from the plate and swallowing it a second later. Even the slight signs of embarrassment shown by Archer are enough to amuse the young man. Though he's become quite jaded from his experiences, the rare times when Archer could show his flustered side were just as adorable to Akito as when the servant's younger self does the same.

"I won't judge you if you're gay, you know? I'd even understand if you've been into me the whole time. I'm well aware of how attractive I am as a man." Archer's master straightens his posture and places a hand on his hip, closing his eyes and gesturing his free arm outward to jokingly emphasize his appeal.

"Didn't I already explain that you are just as bothersome now as you were as a woman?"

"Then are bigger men like Lancer more your type? What about a guy like Tomoki? He's small and frail, shouldn't he be the perfect fit for you to play the hero for?"

"My answer doesn't change."

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to about that stuff I'm always here." He teases one last time, taking the final spoonful of omurice to finish the dish.

Akito swallows the rest of his now lukewarm coffee and places it on top of the plate in front of him. "Anyway, thank you for the meal, Archer." He shows a genuine smile to his servant.

Archer doesn't respond as he reaches to take the plate from the boy, but Akito knows that he does appreciate the thanks.

As the taller man bends further downward, the younger boy suddenly recalls something and motions his hands forward to dismiss the servant.

"Don't worry about doing dishes. I'm going to use the kitchen for a bit before I go anyway."

Archer returns to his straightened posture, placing his right hand back on his hip and giving an, "Alright." in return, before immediately untying his apron from his waist in an impressively practiced motion and handing it to his master.

The young magus follows and stands himself up as he lightly stretches his arms in front of him. "I'll probably be around an hour. But in case I don't see you before I go, depending on what happens, I might be staying at Emiya-kun's for the night. So don't worry if I'm not here by nightfall."

"I assumed as much." The chef responds as he walks away from the lounge.

Akito furrows his brow.

'…assumed what?'

…

He decides to let it go.

"I'll talk to you later then. I don't have anything for you to do today, so spend it however you like." He says as he takes a step towards the kitchen his servant had just used.

"Akito, there is actually another difference between you and the woman I knew."

The voice from across the room stops Akito in his tracks. Why does Archer's tone sound playful?

"Huh? Like what?"

"Rin was less subtle about her flirting with the Saber she was acquainted with."

The boy's eyes widen slightly and his cheeks flush a faint pink. "D-Deflecting back to me doesn't prove that you aren't gay you know!" He calls to his roommate as he storms away from the nuisance to avoid losing any more with Archer having the upper hand.

Archer lets out a small chuckle himself.

Akito is a man he puts a lot of trust into, and he hopes that this world's 'King of Knights' can find happiness with a man that isn't him.

"Hey, it's me!" Akito calls towards the living room of the Emiya household, having just stepped through its front sliding door and into the entrance hall. He turns the corner and is met with the ever familiar sight of three of the home's most frequent residents.

"Good morning, Nii-san!" Tomoki is the first to notice Akito's arrival, pivoting away from the dishes he was just washing to greet his brother with a smile.

Shirou and Saber are the next to follow, the master turning away from the chore he was working away at with Tomoki, and the servant away from the Tokusatsu show he was just enjoying on the family television he is seated in front of.

"Welcome back, Tohsaka." "Good morning, Akito." The two greet the new arrival in order.

"You guys just finish breakfast?"

"More or less. Tomoki and I are just finishing up with the dishes." Shirou places his hand on his hip, giving himself a moment to relax before returning to the housewifery that Akito's servant is likely also partaking in back at the Tohsaka mansion.

"I'm sorry if you were hoping to eat with us. If you would have said something we could have had breakfast together." An apology sounds from the younger sibling, his expression displaying a slight bit of dejection for not including his brother in the routine pleasure of eating as a family.

Akito casually waves his hand in front of him to dismiss. "Don't worry, Archer already made me breakfast back at my house. I'm just here to pick up Saber anyway, so I wasn't ever planning to stay long in the first place." He glances down towards the blond boy to his right, who is now bringing himself to his feet to make his way next to the boy who invited him out for the day.

"O-Oh! Is today your dat- d-day out with Saber-san?" The purple haired boy catches himself before accidentally outing his elder brother's plans before the date even began. Luckily, only Akito is perceptive enough to catch the close mistake and manages to keep a straight face…

…At least for a moment before the boy who now stands next to him responds with, "Yes, Akito and I are going on a date to Shinto for the day." Causing all colouring to entirely drain from the faces of the pair of siblings.

Shirou squints slightly. "What are you two planning to do there all day?"

"Nothing we need you for. Just lunch, dinner, and whatever catches our eyes. You and Tomoki can spend the day doing whatever you do when you're alone together." The Tohsaka surprisingly manages to respond without any noticeable flusters.

"Alright, you guys enjoy yourselves then." Shirou exhales, having decided that was enough prodding and turns back to continue washing the dishes.

The smallest of the men turns his head up towards Akito. "I'm going to quickly use the washroom before we leave, unless we are in a rush of some sort."

"Go ahead, we have plenty of time. I'll go wait at the entrance."

Saber smiles at his date in the usual way he does, and turns to give a slight bow of the head towards the two chefs in the kitchen. "Thank you, Shirou, Tomoki. I greatly appreciated the meal."

"You don't have to thank us, Saber-san." "Yeah, it's what we do." The two cooks give their expected humble replies, and the knight makes his way away from the trio.

"See you two later then. I'll try to have Saber home before it gets too dark." Akito turns on his heel to await his date in the entrance hall, giving a wave backward as he does so.

"Have fun." The ginger replies to his back as he grabs another dirty plate from the moderately sized pile next to him.

Akito is confused for a moment, having expected his brother to have said a farewell as he typically does, but has his question answered a second later when he hears a light set of footsteps behind him begin making their way towards the entrance hall he now stood in.

The young magus turns back around to meet his younger brother's warm gaze with his own.

"Good luck with today, Nii-san." The boy wearing the pastel pink apron begins with an excited expression, his voice brought down to almost a whisper to avoid dealing with any possible eavesdroppers. "I really hope everything with Saber-san goes well."

"Th-Thanks…" The typical cute mannerisms of his younger brother combined with the topic at hand causes Akito to expectedly flush a tinge pink, averting his gaze to the wall and scratching the back of his neck to deflect away from his embarrassment. "You should do something with Emiya-kun then too. You're going to be alone with him all day anyway."

Tomoki meekly looks to the side as well. "I'll… um… try to do something…"

The shared embarrassment allows a small grin to appear on Akito's lips as he relaxes, turning his gaze back to the purple haired boy to hopefully bring his spirits up. "Nothing too drastic though. I'll be pissed if you manage to get a boyfriend before I do."

Even if he still isn't fully composed, the comment still eases Tomoki back to a comfortable level. "I won't make any promises. It might be nice to have something up on you." He giggles to himself.

Akito's grin widens, his favourite rival accepting the challenge was the best motivation he needed. He gives the boy a slight slap on the side of the shoulder to silently show how proud he is to see him motivated to do something so far out of his comfort zone.

"I'll see you after I'm done. I hope things go well for you too, Tomoki."

"Thank you. I'll wait for you two to return home." The younger boy gives his brother one more smile and turns back to return to aiding what will hopefully be Akito's future brother-in-law in the kitchen.

Tomoki seems to have left at the perfect time, as right as he turns back into the living room, the date Akito has been awaiting turns the corner of the hall himself.

"My apologies for taking so long."

"It hasn't been long at all, don't worry. Are you ready to go?" He smiles at the petite servant.

"Whenever you are yourself."

"Alright, shall we then?"

Saber responds with a nod, and the two bend over to put on their shoes.

In the corner of his eye, Akito catches a presence at the end of the hall. He pauses slipping on his loafers to focus on the long haired woman he quickly identifies as the servant Rider.

The two squint their eyes at each other, the looks on their faces effectively communicating a silent conversation without either having to call across the hall to the other.

(You're going to leave them alone for the day, right?)

(Yes, I was intending on doing so.)

Akito is happy with the servant's response, and subtly nods his head to confirm. The two have somehow managed to form the Tomoki-wingman/woman-coalition without even communicating to the other verbally that they are aware of his feelings for the head of the household.

The magus turns back to finish putting on his shoes, and Rider returns to her room to continue reading one of her many novels.

"After you." The knight speaks when Akito rises to his feet, having already readied himself a moment earlier and opened the door for the taller boy.

Akito smiles a bit at the action, "Thanks." And steps outside into the warm spring day.

He has a good feeling that today should go well.

'Where is the bus?'

The young magus' patience quickly grows thin.

Even if he usually is able to pride himself on keeping cool in these sorts of situations, something going wrong right at the beginning of his date with Saber is not going to do well for anyone's anxiety, the light tapping of his foot making it increasingly obvious that Akito is getting very pissed off very quickly.

"Akito, is something the matter?" Saber questions the clearly irritable boy to his right.

The taller boy catches himself and feigns a smile towards his date. "No, nothing's wrong. Don't worry."

'WHERE IS THE FUCKING BUS?'

The blond is smart enough to catch his friend's anxiety and attempts to begin problem solving to hopefully ease his worry somewhat. "I haven't heard of any accidents that should affect us. Is it possible that we could have mistaken the timetable?"

"I shouldn't have." Akito turns his head towards the schedule posted on the bus stop next to him, leaning in slightly to examine the chart further. "Yeah, 10:15. It was supposed to be here ten minutes ago." He says with an exasperated tone as he glances down at his watch for what is likely around the tenth time since they have begun waiting.

"10:15…?" Saber's voice sounds confused.

"Yeah…?"

"Akito, we left only slightly after 9:00."

'What…..?'

Akito's eyes widen and brow furrows in shock.

"What do you mean? I just checked my watch and it says it's just before 10:30."

Saber furrows his brow as well. "Are you sure you aren't mistaken…? The show I had been watching at Shirou's is always scheduled for 8:30 on Sundays."

"Huh!? Then why does my watch say-... No, wait, I'm sure I woke up at eight! How would I accidentally leave an hour early without notic-"

'Did my clocks rewind again?'

Akito places his hand overtop of his mouth and blankly stares through the pavement. "No… why the hell would they-..."

"Have you figured out what was the matter…?"

Akito glances back up to the small boy, "I-... I think the clocks in my house might have been set back an hour again. But-... why would they even do that a second time…!? I didn't even practice any magecraft this morning, and I doubt Archer would mess around with anything."

Unbeknownst to Akito, the event that triggered the malfunction in every clock in his home was something set over a month ago. As with what caused it previously, the culprit was once again the will left by the previous Tohsaka head. The 'test' Tokiomi prepared for his son, that Akito is still not aware of mind you, was started once again by complete accident, as the young magus had absentmindedly left the will directly next to a pile of Rubellite gemstones which very slowly powered the trap enough for another use with the energy siphoned from them.

And the day the will activated once again just so happened to be the second most important date of the entire year for Akito.

Saber relaxes his expression and allows his hands to rest by his side. "Shall we walk to Shinto ourselves then?"

Akito snaps out of his trance once again and waves his hand in front of him. "N-No…! We should be fine! There's got to be another bus around here somewhere…!" The boy turns back to the bus stop in a panic, quickly scanning the schedule to hopefully find another bus that could save this day out of canceling itself before it has even started.

"Akito, I really don't mind if we have to-"

"Th-There…! One to Shinto at 9:30!" Akito interrupts the boy as he slams the tip of his pointer finger on the chart. He moves the finger across the line to read the location posted. "And it's only…. a few blocks away…"

His sudden burst of energy disappears, awkwardly turning back to the now cross armed boy to his side.

Saber sighs. "...I don't mind waiting an hour if you do not want to reschedule."

Akito stares at Saber for a moment longer, then towards his watch, then back to the timetable, then back to Saber again, then back to the timetable again.

The finger he is still pressing against the sign begins to curl into a fist. It takes him roughly three seconds to weigh his options before straightening his posture and moving towards the date he is already fairly afraid that he is disappointing.

His left palm opens and he starts to reach towards the servant…

He hesitates…

"...Fuck it."

Then grabs the forearm of the small boy and takes off towards the bus stop with him.

"A-Akito…!?" Saber shouts in surprise. The poor boy was not expecting his date to be so forceful so suddenly.

"We can make it in three minutes if we run!"

After managing to ordinate himself and match the pace of the taller boy, Saber lightly shakes his head. It's a bit endearing to the blond that Akito is going so far to preserve the day as much as he can, but Akito shouldn't have to worry so much about appeasing him on just a simple day in the city.

And besides, "Akito, you can't run that fast."

"..." The magus doesn't bother responding.

Akito has realized by now that meeting the bus as it arrives is simply not possible. Though over the past month or so, some of the most frustrating traits of Shirou Emiya have seemed to rub off onto him. He has a plan for this date, and he is still going to follow it to the best of his ability.

"Akito…"

"Shut up, we'll make it!"

Saber sighs. He takes a moment to think about an idea that he was going to suggest before Akito grabbed at his arm and pulled him away, but decides to go with the magus' own, admittedly stupid, decision.

The servant frees his arm from Akito's grasp, and slightly lowers his stance.

Akito glances behind him in response, displaying a confused expression as he attempts to figure out what the other boy is planning.

"Saber, what are you-AH!?"

During the time it took Akito to respond, Saber had picked up his pace and swooped the unsuspecting boy off of his feet and into a position uncomfortably (for Akito) resembling one a groom would carry his bride in.

The speed of Saber's movement immediately increases as he no longer has to keep within the stride of his date.

Akito's face goes nearly as red as his top, immediately sputtering as soon as his brain catches up to what is happening.

"WH-WH-WH-WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"

"My apologies, but we aren't going to arrive before the bus unless I do this." He says in a surprisingly calm voice.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THIS LOOKS!?"

"Nobody is around to see us, don't worry."

"B-BUT-!..."

The boy doesn't have a response. Saber is right, again. All he can do now is avert his gaze downward and pray that the blond is more focused on where they are going than the unbelievably embarrassed expression he is wearing, or even worse, if anyone he knew were to pass by and see Akito being carried in such a way by an adorable smaller boy that appears to be around his age.

No matter what happens though, the fact that Saber is the one who just saved the date that Akito set up for him is not going to do any good for the taller boy's psyche.

'I'm going to kill myself later.'

"And here we are." The two come to a smooth stop, not even a minute after they had begun sprinting.

Akito allows himself an extremely shaky exhale, and is gently let down onto his feet by the gentleman who brought him here.

"Th-Thanks…" He very awkwardly says to the human-chariot hybrid, still refusing to return eye contact.

"You needn't give me thanks." The younger boy responds in a strangely proud manner, then recalls something and places both of his hands on his hips in preparation to scold. "Though, I would appreciate it if you were to at least give me more of a warning next time you decide to yank me as you did just now."

Akito crosses his arms in a pout. "W-Well, I'd appreciate it if you were to give me more of a warning next time you do-... do something like that!"

"Unless I am mistaken, you were the one who stated that we could only make it in time if we ran. I believe we both are aware that we wouldn't have had enough time to debate over whether or not I should carry you instead."

The taller boy holds his pout for another moment before realizing that he has just been complaining to the person he is taking out on a date and sighs.

"...Alright, fine. I'm sorry."

Saber returns to his previously proud expression, indulging himself in the small victory he had just earned. "I accept your apology. If you would like, I wouldn't mind carrying you to Shinto as well. I'm sure it wouldn't take long."

"N-No! That's fine!" Akito sputters out, his cheeks back to the same shade of red they just were a moment ago. "The bus should be here any minute now anyway."

The black haired boy's gaze immediately darts to the timetable posted behind him, internally praying to whatever governs fate so that he won't have to once again be carried like how he hopes to carry his date down a church aisle one day.

And as if on cue, Akito spots the incoming city bus out of the corner of his eye.

A wave of relief stronger than anything since he was risking his life in the Holy Grail War washes over him.

Akito looks back towards the servant boy, who has seemingly also noticed the same approaching vehicle. A soft chuckle exits the magus. It's not exactly easy to stay so tense when met with the content expression of the adorable person you're in love with.

And with the expected gentlemanly action from Saber, the blond follows the boy who invited him into the bus, making their way straight to the back as they both did with Shirou the last time they went out like this together.

Normally, taking the city bus at a time like this during a Sunday would have likely resulted in the two boys being awkwardly pushed together while standing from the large number of passengers that should be present. But due to some God taking pity on the hopeless boy clad in red turtleneck, today's bus is nearly empty. The only other people present besides them and the driver are an old lady and a child half Akito's age.

As with what is expected of the young knight, Saber immediately goes to watch the passing scenery in silence. Akito is well aware that Saber isn't usually one to start casual conversation, so there isn't a need to worry about this quietness at the moment.

In fact, a short break to calm himself is exactly what Akito needs right now.

Nothing that bad has happened yet. There's plenty in Shinto to do, so even if his other plans don't work out, as long as he stays calm Akito shouldn't run into any more trouble for the rest of the date… Barring the potential for another mixup regarding the bus ride home.

With the back of his date's head towards him, Akito can at least take this time to appreciate the charming figure seated to his right without having to worry about being caught doing so.

Ever since the two first met and Akito had started to spend most of his time in the Emiya household, the adorable boy has completely captivated the freeloader in a way no human has before. It is such a level of captivation that Akito felt the need to describe a man as 'beautiful' for the first time in his life.

Everything from the softness of his skin, the silkiness of his blond hair, the beauty of his emerald eyes, and the thinness of his body would already look quite stunning on any build regardless of gender.

Though, with the person who possesses all of these features being a young man, who despite still appearing around Akito's age, is so much shorter and possesses a level of boyishness that not even his younger brother owns, the young magus finds it near impossible to keep the image of 'Arthur Pendragon' off of his mind, even during a time when he still harboured feelings for the knight's master.

Not that Akito has ever attempted anything to cease the 'strange' and 'then foreign' thoughts that began to form since the servant first burrowed his way into his mind. Picking out the white collared shirt, deep blue waistcoat, black dress shorts and mid-calf high socks, and brown dress boots that no longer would fit the magus was an intentional move by Akito to further complement the appeal of the boy he had yet to recognize his feelings for.

And it is that same outfit, the one Akito likes on him best, that Saber is wearing today. Akito would liken it to poetry if the boy didn't wear it so often. But it is still quite a nice feeling to see Saber wearing the outfit he first gifted him when they first met.

Maybe he's getting ahead of himself, but the black haired boy briefly thinks of all of the new outfits he could convince the boy to wear and how cute or handsome he would look in them if they become a real couple.

But truthfully, he's happy to see the servant in any kind of clothing. Saber's adorable and happy expressions are already enough of a sight for him to behold.

Well, Saber at any angle is enough of a sight too. But it would be nice if he could have one sight in particular, that of a wide and beautiful smile he is only able to catch a glimpse of on rare occasions, completely to himself someday, even if it is a selfish request.

…

Akito really hopes that today goes well.

A loud squeak of the breaks reverberating across the vehicle, the bus comes to a stop.

The smaller boy immediately brings himself to his feet and turns back towards the taller boy for the first time since they first sat down.

With a gentle grin on his face, Saber extends his open palm outward towards his still seated date.

Akito closes his eyes and chuckles internally. This is another thing he wants to keep to himself too.

He takes the gentlemanly boy's hand a moment later.

Someday, he wants Saber to grab his extended hand too.

"Akito?"

"Hm?" The boy in question turns his head towards the blond, still walking along the green Fuyuki Central Park grass towards nothing the servant could discern besides possibly a hotdog stand.

"I was under the impression that we were going to eat lunch."

"Oh, we are. Don't worry." Akito dons a cocky smirk as he retorts back to the confused boy to his right.

Saber furrows his brow for another moment, but decides to trust the boy taking him out and relaxes his posture as he continues to follow Akito towards what he assumes is a restaurant he hasn't heard of on the other side of the park.

The day has, as of now, gone mostly according to plan for Akito.

Immediately struggling with an ATM and needing Saber to use his memory of watching Shirou to help him withdraw a few thousand yen wasn't a great start for the boy who felt that he was already indebted to his date after the bus incident. However, the next few hours of the day before lunch went by without any major incident, Akito only having to deal with his own occasional red cheeks when reacting to the words and expressions of the former king.

Akito's first idea was a simple bit of window shopping. Seeing it as a bit of a warm up for the both of them to enjoy small talk as they explore the different stores of the Verde shopping center. Even if he felt a sharp prick from his wallet as he purchased smoothies for the both of them, the current Tohsaka head was still enjoying himself and the smiles from his date throughout the morning and considered it payment enough for his ever lightening pocket.

Though, there were a few times where he did wish he could spend a bit more money on his date. Passing by different clothing stores, Akito found himself cursing society for not making it socially acceptable for men to force their adorable totally-not-boyfriend to try on a variety of different outfits for him to appreciate the view of and possibly take home.

While Akito somewhat wished he could have at least taken Saber to the nearby eyewear store, he made an effort to avoid dragging the smaller boy to the same stores he dragged him and their mutual ginger companion to when they had their day out during the Grail War. Partially out of wanting to make sure that Saber was getting his own unique experience today, and partially because Akito would get quite bored himself repeating the same motions as the time he subconsciously attempted to win over two boys at once.

Unlike his younger brother, Akito isn't someone who can find enjoyment in the same thing forever. Unless that same thing happens to do with a certain Englishman of course.

After they had their fill of exploring the indoor mall for a couple of hours, Akito had suggested the two try a round of bowling before they went for lunch. Thinking that his date would enjoy a new sport that he hadn't been introduced to as of then.

And though Akito had expected that he would lose in the end to the superhuman ability of the servant he was with, he had completely underestimated the speed at which Saber would pick up how to play effectively. Mister Perfect was barely even allowed a frame to warm up as the small boy immediately began to shock onlookers with a consistent set of strikes for the entire match. Akito was at least happy that Saber had appeared to enjoy himself though and decided that then was a good time to take a lunch break before returning to the activities.

And that leads us to the present, with the two boys hiking up a hill towards a side of Fuyuki Central Park unfamiliar to the still confused servant. The warm sun above and light breeze ahead keeping the pair comfortable in this unfamiliar corner of the city.

"Alright, here we are." Akito proudly exclaims to his date, stopping at the top of the grassy bump of land.

Saber, now even more confused than he was previously, scans the area around them. The hill they are standing on top of is an unnaturally formed one after the fire of the 4th Grail War, the destruction by chance pushing a large amount of dirt into this very spot, tucked away behind a short walk through some trees. Despite the gloomy origin however, the clear view this hill gives of both the main urban area of Shinto and the harbour is quite the remarkable one. It's only natural that one would wonder why the pair of boys are seemingly the only two present in such a location.

After taking in the sight around him, Saber glances back towards the black haired boy to his left. The blond's focus naturally directs itself at the mysterious single strap bag Akito has been wearing over the course of the day.

The smaller boy sighs to himself and dons a warm grin, feeling a tad foolish from only now figuring out what his date's plan for lunch is. "Am I to assume that we are going to have our meal here?"

"So you figured it out?" Akito chuckles. "Shame. I was hoping to surprise you with this." He says as he pulls the bag from his shoulder, placing it on the ground and producing a simple light blue and tan coloured picnic blanket from inside of it.

"The scenery here is still more than astonishing enough to compensate. I can only wonder how I've never heard of this place until now." Saber adds as he aids the magus in unfolding the blanket onto the ground.

"Yeah, I hadn't heard of it until recently either. I was talking to Archer the other day and asked him if he knew any nice spots in Shinto for a lunch like this and he said this would be a good one. He's got a scarily good map of the city in his head from all the scouting I have him do. Apparently, the trees do a real good job at hiding it when you're in the park."

"I would also assume that most parents wouldn't allow their children to play past the open area either."

"Probably another reason." The two both seat themselves on the blanket in tandem with Akito's response.

"I'm pretty impressed though." Now seated comfortably with his arm resting on his propped up right leg, Akito takes in the view around him too instead of focusing on the reaction of the servant. "Not that I didn't have faith in the ability of my servant or anything. It's just my first time here too, y'know."

"I expect most residents of Fuyuki would react the same as well. I'll have to give Archer my thanks next time we meet."

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be a bad thing to praise him a bit every once in a while." Akito teases the tanned man as if he was present to retort.

He decides that now is a good time to reveal the remaining contents of his bag, but stops himself as he catches the poorly hidden interest in the other boy's expression.

"Akito, what exactly did you bring for us to eat? I don't recall Shirou or Tomoki making anything extra today."

The boy in question stifles his chuckle. Even if he attempts to act as innocent and polite as possible, once Saber is in the mood to eat there really isn't a way to get food off of his mind. Akito, as well as many of the blond's other companions, gets some amusement from receiving first hand confirmation that the phrase 'a meal fit for a king' is much more accurate than most would presume.

"I was just about to get to that, don't worry. It's nice to know you're excited, Saber." He teases the knight, fixing his posture and pulling the knapsack closer to him while doing so.

The knight sitting on his knees places one hand on his hip in awkward retaliation. "I'm only curious. You never struck me as someone who would bring leftovers to a picnic. So it's natural for one to inquire of what you could possibly have brought with you." Saber attempts to defend himself from the obvious attempt at teasing.

"Well, you're correct there." Akito holds his cocky smirk as he pulls a moderately sized box from the bag and places it in front of him along with a thermos and two small cups. "I'm sure you eat enough of Emiya-kun and Tomoki's cooking all the time, so I thought that you'd appreciate something from me for a change."

The taller boy internally relishes in Saber's focus being glued to the still warm, white box placed between them, and continues. "I'm still the only one at home that can cook chinese food. And unless I'm mistaken, you haven't had a meal like this before." Akito punctuates by opening the lid and presenting the assortment of food to Fuyuki's resident gourmet.

Saber's eyes immediately widen as the immaculate aroma hits his nostrils. It takes all of the swordsman's willpower to not drool at the sight of such a delicious feast prepared just for him and his date.

Still completely satisfied with the reactions given by Saber, Akito places a singular chopstick between his index finger and thumb, pointing it towards the meal as if it were a classroom chalkboard.

"These here are shrimp shumai, it's a type of dumpling. These are stir fried cabbages. These are chinese styled chashu pork. It's roasted over high temperatures instead of low like Emiya-kun does. This is just some simple fried rice. And this is iced tea. Besides the rice, this should all be new for you, right?"

"Y-Yes, I believe so…" Saber manages to force out, still in complete disbelief that a meal like this is about to be his.

Akito proudly allows himself a warm grin, "Alright, good." and hands an extra pair of chopsticks over to the starving blond, who somehow manages to instantly swipe them not even a moment later while still being polite.

"Thank you for the food." The smaller boy gives his thanks and, before Akito can even grab a second chopstick for himself, picks up a slice of the chashu pork and places it into his mouth.

Akito pauses his movements momentarily to take in Saber's reaction to his first bite. The servant impulsively closes his eyes and lets out a quiet, satisfied 'Mmmm' as the flavor meets, and exceeds his expectations just as the chef hoped it would.

"So? Is it good?" The magus cockily asks the obviously rhetorical question once he could tell Saber had swallowed.

"It's delightful, Akito. I couldn't possibly praise you enough." Saber delivers with a beaming smile.

Akito thinks to himself that he could very well get used to being praised like this, and rules to indulge himself in prying more compliments from his date.

"Oh? How's it stack up to Emiya-kun and Tomoki's cooking then? That's some high praise from you, Saber."

"Well, I wouldn't ever want to compare the three of your cooking talents to each other. But I would be immensely happy if I could sample your cooking more often." He says as he places some of the stir fried cabbage in between his chopsticks.

"I can't exactly take Emiya-kun and Tomoki's cooking time away from them. But if you ever want to stay at my place for dinner one day, I can send Archer out so I can prepare whatever you like." A slightly flirtatious grin is shot at the blond with the proposition.

Something about Akito's words or grin must have done something internally to the boy of shorter stature, as he slightly widens his eyes and pauses his eating for a moment, blankly staring at the boy across from him for a moment before catching himself and swallowing his bite of cabbage.

That expression is the one Akito was aiming for most. Knowing his sudden increase in confidence wasn't for nothing relieves him.

"I may have to take you up on that offer sometime, Akito." Saber finally manages to respond as he composes himself.

"Alright, just tell me when you're interested. You can even spend the night if you want to try breakfast too." The magus continues to flirt as he comfortably leans back onto one arm.

Saber manages to hold back a choke as he stumbles out a "I-I… I might have to sometime as well…" in response.

"Hm? What's with that response? We have plenty of empty guest rooms. You didn't think I was asking if you wanted to sleep with me, did you, Saber?"

The servant's cheeks flush a tinge red momentarily. "I-I wasn't assuming anything of the like. Though, I believe most would get taken aback by someone inviting them in that tone. You should be more careful with your wording so as to not mislead people in the future." He says with closed eyes as to emphasize his scolding, which only comes across as an adorable pout to the boy across from him.

"Hey, you're the one who agreed to all of this before even trying everything here." Akito continues to tease as he picks up the until now untouched shrimp shumai with his chopsticks and places it in his mouth.

He chews on it for a second.

…

The cocky smirk he just donned vanishes.

'…it's undercooked…'

He's only given a moment to parse before his date follows him in grabbing a dumpling himself as Akito watches in horror.

"H-Hey… Saber you don't have to-" He tries to call out to the other boy, but cuts himself off when Saber's face contorts back into a satisfied smile just as he did when sampling the previous portions of the meal.

'…well, if he likes it then it's probably good enough.'

"Hm? Did you say something, Akito?" Saber responds after a swallow, clearly being too absorbed in the flavour of the bite to fully process the world around him.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm happy you're enjoying this though."

"I most certainly am. I'm really appreciative of you cooking something I had yet to try too."

"You don't have to thank me. I'll get you to make up for it somehow another day." Akito jokes.

Saber plays along with the remark and places his hands on his hips to jokingly scold. "You shouldn't treat others like this in order to gain favours, you know."

The red devil playfully chuckles. "Fair point. But the least you can do is take up my offer on dinner and breakfast, no?"

"I already told you that I am inter-"

The blond cuts himself off and furrows his brow.

"...? What? Something wrong?" Akito asks in confusion, catching a few moments later that Saber was actually looking behind him and not at him.

The magus furrows his brow too, straightening his posture and turning his head back. His gaze being immediately met by the approaching-

"Hey, what're you kids up to?" Greets the blue haired foreigner, hands in pocket and cigarette in mouth as he usually does in his typical hawaiian tee and leather pants.

'Are you fucking serious?'

An uninvited guest such as Lancer was at the top of the list of things Akito would least like to happen during their lunch. But at least if it was a classmate or practically any other servant it wouldn't be too hard to convince them to leave while still being polite. Though it seems the goddess of luck decided to personally screw with Akito today, as she has chosen the one person that operates most on a 'whatever I feel like' basis to crash his date.

Akito makes a mental note to let the servant's young master at the church know to check the docks for any misbehaving men from Ireland.

"As you can see, we are having lunch at the moment, Lancer." Luckily for the black haired boy, Saber hasn't exactly warmed up to his fellow servant even with the few times they have eaten together at the Emiya household. Though Saber's weariness likely comes from him being territorial about his share of the Chinese food that sat in front of him rather than fear of the other foreigner ruining the date.

"So ya are." The tall man says as he eyes the food between the two seated boys. "'Kid back home cook this for ya both?"

"No, actually, I made this. Emiya-kun doesn't know how to make Chinese." Akito bites back.

"Yer a chef too, eh? I'd assumed that all the tanned prick was good for anymore was makin' grub." He says as he seats himself between the pair, comfortably resting an arm on his propped up leg. "But I guess even fancy rich lads like yourself got hobbies."

"I don't exactly cook for fun. I've managed to keep myself fed out of necessity long before I met Archer."

"Well, regardless of reason, Akito's cooking is still quite delicious." The smaller servant interjects with his own compliment to the chef, not wanting Akito to put himself down for lack of passion, even if that wasn't his intent.

"Is it now? Hear that lad? That's big praise from a glutton like him!" Lancer elbows the still exceedingly grumpy magus to his right. "Heck, you've got me curious too."

The intruder reaches forward to grab a slice of the meat neatly placed in the bento in front of him, only to be subsequently slapped away by Akito's palm before he can sample the pork.

"I didn't make this for you, y'know!"

"Yeesh, fine. I'll leave yer crap alone. What's yer problem anyway? Is it that time of the month for ya or something?"

"Sh-Shut up! Don't you complain after you sit yourself all comfortably next to us and try to steal the food I cooked without asking! What the hell are you even doing here in the first place!?"

"Do I really need a good reason? Just saw ya walk up here and decided it'd be good fer killing time."

"Akito, I don't mind if Lancer sits with us for a little."

Akito glances over to his date's sympathetic, yet resigned face, the magus' still tense from his failure to convince the Irishman to leave.

"...Though, only if he doesn't pilfer any of our meal."

Saber's extremely 'him' followup was too much for Akito to completely keep up his annoyance.

He sighs and crosses his arms. "Alright, fine. Stay however long you want, just don't touch the food."

"Whatever, fine by me. Got nothin' better to do." Lancer responds, casually taking a drag of his cigarette. "What's up with this anyway? You know it's not exactly normal for two dudes to be eating out like this, yeah?"

Akito's eye twitches.

He is finding it EXTREMELY difficult to not immediately snap right back to yelling at the unwanted guest.

"I don't see a problem." Akito manages to force out through his teeth with a feigned smile. "I'm sure you've had lunch with another man before, haven't you?"

"'Course I have. But I haven't ever made a whole picnic for 'em. Are ya really telling me ya don't see how this looks, lad?" The servant of the lance questions the boy with the obviously still irritated face.

"What exactly are you implying, Lancer?"

The pair of men both shift their attention to the confused blond.

"Yer really not just pullin' my leg, are ya? It looks like you two are on a dat-"

"I-It doesn't matter what it looks like! We're just eating lunch, Lancer." Akito interrupts the servant, the blue haired man turning back to look at the slightly flushed face of the teenage magus and then back to the still confused blond.

Lancer furrows his brow momentarily before his eyes lighten with some kind of epiphany.

A smug grin forms on his lips.

"Ah, I see how it is, lad." the man speaks, giving a light tap on Akito's back.

The faint bit of red that was present on Akito's cheeks deepens in colour with Lancer's sudden change in demeanor. "I don't know what the hell you're thinking, but it's wrong."

"Sure, kid." Lancer responds as he brings himself to his feet. "Step to the side with me fer a sec, will ya? Saber, I suppose ya won't mind if I borrow him for a tinge."

"..." Akito silently grumbles to himself for a moment. He's still even more frustrated knowing that Lancer has almost certainly figured out what his goal today is. But he decides to go along anyway in hopes that he can better convince him to leave him and his date be.

"Fine. One minute." he gives in, and turns back to the smaller servant and tries his best to give him a smile. "I won't be long Saber, don't worry."

"I don't mind. Though, if you are in need of my aid please don't hesitate to call for me," the blond says with a light smile of his own, still seemingly oblivious to what is happening as he goes back to his meal.

'Just listen to what he says, and tell him to leave' Akito repeats to himself internally as he and the man he currently most wants dead make their way partially down the hill so that Saber doesn't unintentionally eavesdrop.

Once he decides that they have walked far enough, Lancer moves himself in front of the teen and casually removes his hands from his pockets to cross his arms. Akito can only stop in front of him and show his annoyance through the daggers he is staring up at the servant. Though, despite Akito being gifted with a height taller than the average Japanese boy his age, the threatening aura he is attempting to radiate doesn't come across well at all to the foreign adult who towers above the young man by over 10cm.

"So." Lancer initiates conversation. "I wouldn't have thought that he'd be your type."

Akito's face deepens red once more as he's directly confronted about his homosexuality for the first time, biting back with "What makes you so sure of what my preferences are?" in a whisper.

"Lad, ya ain't exactly the best at hiding that sort of thing. Until I saw ya and Saber here together I assumed you and the Emiya kid would've had somethin' goin' on by now."

"E-Emiya-? What-!? N-No-! Neither Emiya-kun or I have or ever had anything going on! And I don't have anything going on with Saber either!"

"Ya, I can see that. I'm just sayin' lad that I'm sure most of yer friends probably assume that you're the kind of person who'd swing that way."

"..."

Even though he wants more than anything right now to retort and dismiss Lancer's statement, Akito can't think of any good evidence to the contrary.

He moves his hands from his hips and crosses them in a mirror to the servant, suddenly now conscious of how easily he falls into certain stereotypes.

"I still don't get why you thought I'd be dating Emiya-kun of all people…" the magus pouts.

"Well, for starters, ya spend an awful lot of time with him. Almost half the time we meet it's with the kid. And I doubt he's much straighter than you."

"Huh?" The tail end of the sentence catches Akito off guard. "What makes you say that?"

"What makes me say that he's gay? It ain't normal for a dude to blush and sputter when another guy says he'd let ya sit on his lap, ain't it?"

Akito's eyes widen "Y-You asked him to sit on your lap…!?"

"Huh? No. I just told him that if he was a chick I would let him."

The young magus can only stare in disbelief for a moment. He isn't quite sure if he's more confused as to why Shirou had apparently blushed or why Lancer offered that in the first place.

"...Anyway." Akito segways, eyes closed in a show of annoyance as Lancer takes another drag from the cigarette between his fingers. "What did you even want from me? If you're just going to call me a queer or a fag just get it over with and fuck off. I'm not going to let you ruin this date I planned for a week get any worse." He bites at the servant.

The spearman furrows his brow momentarily before returning his cigarette hand back to his pocket. "Lad, I woulda called you names long ago if I cared. I was actually about to get of yer hair in a second anyway."

The shorter boy locks a suspicious gaze at the servant for a few more seconds, then relaxes his expression and returns a hand to his hip and lets another fall to his side once he deduces that Lancer isn't going to say anything too unpleasant.

"So, what is it then?" Akito says with a sigh.

"Mostly just wishin' you luck. Saber's a big catch, huh?"

The boy's cheeks flush a tinge red with the conversation's return to his date. "O-Of course he is. He's a servant, it'd be strange if any of you weren't considered one."

"Not even talkin' 'bout his identity. I'm sure yer well aware of how many looks the kid gets from other young ladies in the city. You aren't short on competition for the guy, that's fer sure."

"Yeah, I know. But it's not like he pays much attention to them or anything."

"Do ya think he's into you then? Think he swings the same way as ya or somethin'?"

Akito pauses before answering.

While Saber has given him a fair few flustered reactions throughout the day, none of it was particularly out of the ordinary for the servant, and still kept Saber's sexuality and possible interest in the magus ambiguous.

He decides to feign confidence for Lancer, but before he can say anything, the blue haired man continues first.

"So ya aren't sure." He says with now crossed arms, looking down at the boy with some degree of pity or sympathy, likely from some form of subconscious comradery for his fellow man who partakes in the art of seduction.

The magus sighs yet again in defeat. "...Nope. I would've asked him out sooner if I was."

"I'm guessing you're just takin' him out for the day and gonna ask him out later, yeah?"

"Basically, yeah."

"I'll give you credit for havin' the guts to ask him out then. I'm betting a lot of yer friends wouldn't've asked out a catch like Saber unless they were more confident or daft, and I'm assumin' you ain't the latter."

The tail end of Lancer's comment causes Akito to return to crossing his arms as he scoffs back. "Who do you take me for? I'm not some idiot like Shinji or Goldie who assumes that everyone wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get in my pants."

The taller man gives a light chuckle to Akito's shared dislike of a certain other servant.

He takes another hit of his cigarette and continues the conversation. "Fair 'nough. Then has yer date been goin' well so far?"

"It's…. fine." The younger boy manages to force out through some obvious hesitation. His attempt at hiding his anxiety completely fails.

Lancer sounds off another light chuckle. "Oh so yer nerves have been actin' up the whole day then?"

"N-No!" Akito fumbles out. "I'm only like this right now because someone interrupted our lunch."

"Yeah, no. Not buyin' that, lad."

"Tch-! What the hell do you know!? Wouldn't you be pissed too if your date got-"

"Lad, you ain't convincin' anyone like that. You were miffed the second I appeared in front of ya. If that was enough to set ya off, then I'm sure you'd get all pissy at one of those ATMs or somethin'."

The response Lancer receives is only a simple scowl from the boy in front of him. Both the servant and the master are well aware that Lancer was right on the money with that example.

The servant, noticing Akito's blatant insecurity, relaxes his posture further and responds with an attempt to get the other man to relax.

"Look here. I'm sure Saber appreciates ya doin' all of this for him, but he don't seem like the kind of guy that wouldn't prefer ya to be a bit more relaxed on this type of outing. If yer really serious about askin' him out, you need to show him that yer someone he can relax around. You gettin' so worked up trying to impress him is gonna remind him more of his past than getting him to fall for ya."

"..."

Akito takes a few seconds to sit in silence, eyes closed as he ponders Lancer's remark.

His expression shifts from annoyed, to reflective, to saddened, to annoyed again, and finally to defeated.

"...Fine. I guess you're probably right about that." He resigns.

"Don't take this like you've already screwed up the whole day. I donno how long ya plan on staying with him, but you still got plenty of time to make up for it before ya ask him out."

"I know, I know. I don't give up that easily. I'm insulted that you'd think I would."

"Heh, good answer, kid." Lancer's mouth contorts to a proud grin. "I'm sure it'll turn out fine if you figure out how to relax."

"If he isn't straight, that is." The boy rolls his eyes in an attempt to hide his embarrassment from being praised for this kind of thing.

"Well, if you want my opinion. Most the servants here seem to care less about what ya got in yer pants when it comes to this stuff than the average person. Can't say if it's because the view on that sort of thing was different from where they came from, or if bein' reborn into a new era made them give less of a shit, but these ain't exactly bad odds yer dealing with here."

Moving his hands back to his hips, a suspicious, yet somewhat catlike expression rises to Akito's face. "What category do you fall into then?"

The servant takes one last drag of his ever shrinking cancer stick (the side effects of which a familiar like him has the pleasure of not having to worry about).

"Whatever I feel like." He says with an exhale of smoke, dropping the cigarette butt a second later and burying it into the soil with his heel. "Alright, I'll leave you and the kid alone fer now. Let me know how it goes next time I see ya."

"Fine, it'll be payment for the advice you gave me." The boy exhales.

"Sounds good to me." Lancer chuckles and lightly punches the magus on the shoulder. "Good luck, lad."

Akito winces slightly from the tap of a superhuman like Lancer and says his own mildly bitter goodbye to the man already waving backwards with his back turned. The blue haired servant is nearly out of sight and lighting another cigarette a few seconds later.

The magus allows himself one last sigh before he returns back to his date.

Though he appreciates Lancer's advice, and will try his best to heed it, he is already far too exhausted to deal with another intrusion like this.

…

"Sorry for taking so long."

"Itch no-" Saber stops himself from responding to his approaching date with his mouth full, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as an apology for displaying improper manners and swallowing the bite of pork he had just been chewing. "It's no problem at all. I assume that Lancer has left us to ourselves?"

"Yeah, pretty sure he's going to find someone else to bother instead to kill time." Akito says as he seats himself. His voice still shows a slight hint of his mental exhaustion.

The meal's chef glances at the lunchbox he had prepared, taking note of the very sizable difference in the amount of remaining food than what he remembered seeing before he had left just moments ago.

Noticing that Saber had done the same while he was gone, Akito grabs the remaining cup and pours himself some of the homemade iced tea.

He takes this moment to hopefully calm his nerves enough to remain casual for the rest of the day, admiring his work on the beverage and using that as affirmation that he's doing well enough.

He's Akito Tohsaka, there's no reason why he should be this worked up on taking someone out on a date. He's been asked out by and rejected enough women at his school to understand that he shouldn't be worried about his charm in the slightest.

Yet something- no, a lot of things about the boy seated across from him makes Akito anxious that even everything the Tohsaka heir has to offer isn't enough to support someone of Saber's calibur.

Akito knows his friend well enough to be aware of some of the things that plague his mind. Just as Saber, Shirou, and Tomoki have all pushed him into being a person he can be truly proud of, he wants to be able to do the same for the boy who struggles to find much to take pride in.

It's just that-

"Akito."

The servant on Akito's mind interrupts his train of thought. The first thing the magus notices as he returns to reality is the worried, yet sweet smile on the blond's face.

It almost reminds him of his brother.

"Hm?"

"I have known you for long enough to tell that you haven't entirely been acting yourself today. If you are worried about pleasing me. I promise that simply spending this time with you is enjoyment enough."

"..."

Akito sits in silence, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks as he stares back into the beautiful emerald eyes gazing upon him.

If Saber had said this to him any bit earlier in the day he would have been far too proud to not immediately retort with denial.

He mirrors his date's expression with a warm smile of his own, one saying something along the lines of 'how stupid am I?'.

"...Alright. That makes me happy to hear."

It's a little annoying having to admit that Lancer was right.

"I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that I would have still become king if I were born a woman. But to think that It'd turn out so similarly is quite the shock."

"Yeah, I basically told Archer the same thing. Your girl self must have had some crazy talent for crossdressing if they managed to keep the charade up the whole time."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past a certain magus I knew to be able to make it work. At least if he was the same one I was acquainted with."

"I guess there isn't a way for us to know for sure. How about you try crossdressing yourself and see if it works the other way around?" Akito teases his date with a catlike grin.

"I don't have any interest in that sort of activity, thank you." The victim of Akito's teasing says with a sigh, opening the door to the outside of the seaside restaurant they had just enjoyed another delicious meal at for his friend.

It is now roughly half past 7pm, and the pair of boys are just about to begin their trek back towards their last stop of the day, a bus stop.

The sci-fi flick they had spent the afternoon watching in the local theater and the second meander around Verde had provided enough entertainment for the two of them before they had decided to eat dinner at the restaurant Akito had made reservations for.

In truth, it all could have gone a bit better. Akito wishes that he could have chosen a movie that the two of them could have enjoyed, or perhaps a romance to set the mood, instead of the space opera that only the blond seemed to be enthralled in. And the noticeable grimace on Saber's face when the preview for an adaptation of a certain legend played on the big screen in front of them made Akito regret even bringing his date to the theater in the first place. It was also quite hard not to feel anxious on Saber's behalf when the smaller boy was being hit with the strangely competitive glares Kaede Makidera shot at him when the pair had ran into the trio of love detectives as they were making their way out of the shopping mall.

Despite all this however, the two boys are both presently engaged in the same brand of casual small talk they partake in on a near daily basis.

Taking the advice of the biggest flirt in Fuyuki might not have been the worst idea after all, since the lack of very apparent overcompensation in Akito's actions and demeanor made dealing with everything and simply enjoying the presence of one another more pleasant for both of the young men.

"Oh come on, Caster seems to be pretty keen on getting you to try it so I'm sure you have enough talent."

The smaller of the boys places his hands on his hips in a light, yet still playful pout as his date passes him by through the door frame. "I still don't think it would be wise to listen to much of what that woman has to say."

"I mean, I'm nowhere near friends with her if that's what you're worried about. But I still can admit when someone has a decent taste in aesthetics." Akito continues to present with the same level of teasing.

"I beg to differ."

"Well, even if you don't agree with Caster, I'll say I think it'd suit you. You and Tomoki have untapped potential in regards to that, y'know?"

"How about you then, Akito? What if I said that I think that crossdressing would suit you?" Saber rebuts, relaxing his right arm and letting it fall in an attempt to mirror Akito's sass with his posture.

The magus sarcastically shrugs. "I'd take it as a compliment. I know what the appeal of my build is. Though I doubt that I'd be as attractive as my girl self."

Saber lightly shakes his head in a motion of 'of course you'd say that'. His expression relaxes as he decides to cease with playing along and pouting.

"How do you think Shirou would fair then?"

"Emiya-kun? It'd be a sight, that's for sure." Akito chuckles. "I never took him for being especially feminine in appearance, but I've seen him get away with much crazier stuff before."

"I can't say I disagree." The servant responds with a chuckle of his own.

The taller boy turns his head to the seemingly infinite body of water that the pair has been walking alongside.

Despite it not even officially being spring yet, the decreased temperature from the sea still isn't enough to make the boys uncomfortable without a jacket of any kind. In fact, this is the first time the pair has been able to take a walk like this in the warmer weather. Though with it still being early in the year, the sun has begun its fall into the east as it colours the sky and sea a warm orange tint.

Akito glances towards the approaching (and thankfully barren) harbor, the darkening sky reminding him what he had planned to do for the entire week.

Checking his watch and making sure to subtract an hour, the young man decides that right now is the only opportunity he'll get tonight to set the correct atmosphere for a confession such as this.

He takes in a sizable bit of air, and turns back towards his date.

"Hey Saber, we're actually too early to catch the bus right now. Want to go sit at the harbor to kill time?"

"That's fine with me. I'm assuming that you have it correct this time?" The smaller man replies with some light teasing.

Akito retorts with a joking scoff. "Who knows? Maybe it's any minute now and I'm just trying to ditch you."

Saber chuckles once more. "You should know that my senses are good enough to catch something like that."

"Yeah, whatever."

Akito exhales and starts curving to his right towards the end of the concrete space protruding into the body of water.

With the impending confession ever approaching, his attempt at keeping his nerves low is beginning to fail. Small talk at a time like this would normally be best to settle into something as serious as admitting that you're in love with the person you're conversing with. Though with his increasing anxiety, Akito is currently spending more internal energy keeping himself calm than forcing out what would likely be something extremely awkward to the boy following along next to him.

The harbor being completely devoid of visitors is quite the blessing in the sense that Akito doesn't need to worry about anyone eavesdropping on a teenage boy admitting his homosexual feelings for his friend. But at the moment it can't feel like anything but a curse as the deafening silence of the waves crashing against the rocks makes the lack of conversation feel considerably awkward.

By the time the two reach the end the sun has gotten ever closer to setting. The colour in the water has faded closer to black, and the light breeze lightly sweeping their hair has decreased in temperature even further.

Akito is the first to seat himself, still in silence.

He gazes behind him at his date before scooting slightly to his right to make room, even if he didn't particularly have to with the two of them choosing to sit towards the center of the edge.

The teenage boy watches as his date wordlessly positions himself to his right, the two's legs dangling off the edge less than a meter above where the waves can reach.

Saber doesn't look back to Akito, deciding to instead stare off into the sea, a complicated expression displaying on their face as they sink into some unknown thought.

Unable to catch himself and realize how awkward it could be for him if he's caught staring like this, Akito continues to take in the sight of the side of Saber's head.

The expression the swordsman wears doesn't strongly radiate any particular emotion. A seemingly neutral guise, not bearing happiness, sadness, nor anger.

At a glance, the way the servant looks at the sea resembles the one Akito had seen on the very night he met the knight. The one he first thought was beautiful, and gallant, and merciless and embodied everything he thought he had worked towards until that day.

But it isn't that same stare. There wasn't anything on Saber's mind back then like there is now. Maybe that should be a warning of sorts to the magus, but just like that night he can't help but be taken in by it.

Akito follows Saber's stare into the vast emptiness.

He isn't sure if Saber is thinking more about the past or the future, but this stretch of water only serves to remind the student of how in a year he'll be off to living in a completely different continent.

Going to school at the clocktower is something Akito has been preparing for his entire life. And while he doesn't plan on changing that anytime soon, nor does he feel compelled to in any way, the events of the Holy Grail War have changed him.

He's not the magus his father wanted him to be.

He's not the Akito Tohsaka his father wanted him to be.

He's not the kind of magus that can spend every day attempting to perfect the same kind of magic that every one of his fathers had previously in the exact same way, upholding every magus code and law to a T no matter what anymore.

And he's not the kind of magus that can live alone anymore either.

"Akito."

The silence is broken.

The boy in question shifts his gaze back to the servant.

Saber isn't looking back, his eyes still trained on something unseen.

Akito doesn't immediately respond, simply staring at the short blond hair and pale face of the ex-king.

Saber continues. "Do you think the versions of us that Archer knew had a similar relationship to ours?"

A memory of the tail end of a conversation earlier in the day resurfaces in Akito's mind.

"O-Oh, um I couldn't say…! Archer didn't mention anything about that…" Akito responds with palpable anxiety as he scratches at the back of his neck, his previously more calm demeanor giving way to uneasiness as soon as the sudden question was thrown his way.

"Do you think his Saber disappeared when we destroyed the grail?"

"I-… I assume so, yeah."

"And his Akito?"

"I'm guessing that she went to study in London like I plan to."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Saber exhales.

Silence returns.

Akito follows Saber's gaze once more, looking into the horizon as the last bits of warm colours disappear from the surroundings.

It doesn't seem likely that Saber is going to be the one to initiate conversation for the foreseeable future.

…

Akito can't seem to pin down exactly what is on the knight's mind.

Even though he planned to confess at the end of the day regardless of what happened, Akito was still hoping that he could have been given some new proof that Saber would reciprocate, that he wouldn't have to worry about any possible risks.

Nothing today had changed his anxiety from before.

Nothing is going to change until Saber gives him his answer directly.

…

Akito exhales.

"...Archer did mention one other thing about his Akito and Saber though."

Saber doesn't look Akito's way, but he doesn't give off the impression that he is ignoring the other boy.

"Apparently, Rin really liked to flirt with the Saber she knew pretty often."

"..."

"..."

"...I assume nothing came of it?"

"I doubt it."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Saber?"

"Yes?"

"I'm in love with you."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The servant exhales once again.

"...I had a feeling that you were going to say that today."

Akito feels the blood drain from his face.

"..."

Saber turns to meet his emerald eyes with Akito's bright azure ones, a bittersweet smile formed on his lips.

"I'm in love with you too."

"..."

"..."

"...Oh, um… wow… alright…" Akito sputters momentarily. He moves his sight away from the boy and awkwardly down towards the rocks below, a small smile present on his face as he scratches at his scalp.

"Were you not expecting me to reciprocate?"

"I uh… wasn't expecting you to turn me down either, but yeah, not really…"

"I'm surprised. I wouldn't say that I was exactly the greatest at hiding my feelings for you." The blond says with a light chuckle.

The black haired boy follows with a chuckle of his own "Are you sure? I nearly had a crisis worrying about that until now."

"I suppose that explains how you've been acting today then."

"Yep…."

"..."

"..."

Saber returns his eyes to the far off waves. Taking in the silence once more as the breeze lightly sways him and the other boy's hair.

Akito continues to stare downward as well, his heart racing and cheeks still devoid of colour.

"...So, this means we're dating now, right…..?" The magus speaks into the rocks.

"If you're okay with it, then I assume we are."

"..."

"..."

Akito doesn't need to turn to his right to tell what Saber's expression looks like. His inflection has been nearly identical since the two first set foot on the harbour.

He knows that Saber wouldn't lie about his feelings like this, but his demeanor hasn't changed much at all even after he had confessed to him.

'…Now isn't the time to celebrate.'

"...Saber, you can tell me what's been bothering you."

The servant takes in a deep breath and lets it back out after a few moments of sitting with it.

His expression fades from his light smile into a more neutral one.

"How fair is it that I didn't disappear that day?"

"..."

Akito looks away from the rocks once again and moves his gaze towards the boy.

The complex emotion that has been displayed on Saber's face near the entire time the pair has been sitting on the edge of the harbour is starting to become a bit more clear.

"Those I had led to and directly caused the deaths of have all died in vain.

There is nothing I can do to prevent the fall of my kingdom, I have accepted that already.

My reign as the King of Britain ended on the Hill of Camlann.

Countless lives taken.

Even more of my countrymen dead.

Many of the knights who had served me as well.

I have failed as a king, as a husband, and as a friend.

And here I am, living out the rest of my long life in these peaceful, sunny days, surrounded by those I love, just like the life I had promised for those living under my rule."

Saber and Akito's eyes meet.

The emotions the servant has been attempting to suppress finally come out through the lightly watering eyes on his pleading face.

It's selfish of him. He's well aware of this.

He can't stand to burden someone after everything he has done.

Yet, it's the only thing he can think to do.

"Why am I, not any of the many people I had disgraced, allowed to continue living?

Why am I allowed to love and be loved after everything I have done?

How am I supposed to atone for an unatoneable sin such as this?"

The taller boy stares back into the wet eyes that continue to silently beg.

He thinks to himself for a short moment, repositioning his arms further behind him and leaning backwards, staring up at the starry sky above.

Saber can only watch as he awaits an answer that he's sure Akito can't possibly give.

"I can't tell you." The magus responds with an exhale.

"..."

"I've already yelled at Emiya-kun for thinking the same way before. And while I'm pretty sure he's learned to forget about that stuff, I doubt someone can do for you exactly what Tomoki has done for him.

As much as I wish that me, Emiya-kun, and everyone else could be enough for you to be happy, I know it would be stupid to only hope for that.

Saber, I-..."

Akito turns to show his boyfriend a bittersweet expression of his own.

"I promise that I'll be by your side until you can figure out how to atone.

If I hadn't met you on that night, I wouldn't have been able to find the happiness that I had been missing for so long.

No matter what it is. No matter where it takes us. No matter how long it takes.

I want to be next to you until you find an answer, and I'll work myself as hard as I need to that end."

"..."

A single tear traces Saber's cheek.

"Okay." He nods with a smile.

Akito smiles too.

"I love you, Saber."

"I love you too."

The magus can't help but widen his own smile as he takes in the one worn by the boy finally staring back with a matching, loving gaze he'd hoped to see one day.

'….That's the one….'

Post another few moments of taking in the sight of his new boyfriend, Akito straightens his posture.

"Well then, you should be quite thankful that someone as acclaimed as Akito Tohsaka, administrator of Fuyuki city and temporary practitioner of the second magic, has taken such a liking to you." He says with his left fingertips placed on his chest and a joking smirk on his lips.

Wiping the sole tear from his face, Saber's expression lightens and mirrors the pose of the boy to his left. "Then it would only be the greatest pleasure for I, Arthur Pendragon, to stand by the side of a magus of your caliber, Akito."

Even with his cheeks slightly reddening, the magus in question chuckles seeing the somewhat uncharacteristic action of the knight. "You really do like to flatter me, huh?"

"None of what I've said is a lie. I may have been acquainted with a more experienced magus in the past, but I can easily say that I much prefer your company to his."

"Oh, that Merlin guy?" Akito asks with a smirk. "Just watch me, I'm going to become tenfold the magus that skeleton ever could amount to."

Saber giggles to himself. "I wonder what he would say if he were here to hear that. He made frequent attempts to learn of my romantic preferences, so I am quite curious to learn how he would react to me falling for a man. One who would make a claim as you just had at that."

"I would guess that most people from your time weren't too progressive with that sort of thing. It's still pretty hard to believe that the famed King Arthur is a homosexual."

"I never gave much thought to romance until recently, but I wouldn't say that gender is something that could sway my feelings for a person. And besides, couldn't you say that many would be shocked to learn that the famed Akito Tohsaka is a homosexual as well?"

"You think that I look straight to you?" Akito perks up momentarily before closing his eyes and placing a free hand on his hip in preparation to bitch as he frequently tends to. "That Irish jackass must've just been projecting then! Can you believe that he had the audacity to tell me that I looked like a queer to everyone when he pulled me aside earlier!?"

"Though I can't speak for everyone, I will admit that I have suspected this of you for a while."

"Urk-" Akito stutters, one eye opening in shock and annoyance at the immediate shutdown to his assumption that he doesn't portray himself in a stereotypically homosexual way.

"Akito, you have been flirting with me nearly everyday since the night we met. I'm not as dense as Shirou as to be unaware of your tells for when you are interested in someone."

"H-Hey, you were the one who wanted to sleep with him when you first got here! I'm not going to buy that you know this better than me."

"W-Well, I was only viewing myself as a mere servant back then. It was natural for a servant to offer protection to his master when he is least on guard." The servant retorts with a pout.

"Then what about all the times you've acted all princely around me!? Like, do you really know what carrying me around and telling Emiya-kun that we're going on a date looks like!?"

Saber crosses his arms. "Those were my own attempts at seducing you. I am still quite perplexed that you weren't more confident that I had developed feelings for you."

Akito responds with a silent pout of his own. It doesn't feel nice to have his previous theory for Saber being interested in him confirmed in this manner.

He turns his head back forward and sheepishly glares at his shoes as he slumps forward ever slightly, still continuing his sulking.

"...You didn't have to go so overboard with it like you did earlier."

"I recall that we have long since agreed that it was our only option, and besides, I am rather fond of seeing how cute you get when you're flustered, Akito." The blond teases.

Akito's cheeks flare an even deeper red, "Sh-Shut up…! If anyone saw us I'd never hear the end of it at school!"

"I'm certain nobody was around to witness me carrying you, and I believe that I more than deserve to tease you in return a few times."

"It's not fair when you treat me like I'm some noblewoman or something…" The magus mumbles into the rocks.

"Ah- that wasn't my intention." Saber's tone switches to a more apologetic one. "It's just that I have only been taught how to properly swoon a lady and not a gentleman as a man. I apologise if I have offended you with any of my actions, I was only hoping that it would make my interest in you more apparent."

Akito straightens his posture once again and turns to his date. "N-No, It's fine, Saber. I don't mind." He says as he awkwardly scratches at the back of his head.

"Are you sure? I don't mind learning how you're supposed to go about treating another man in this era if it bothers you."

"S-Saber, no, I really don't mind…!" Akito sputters, slightly turning his head and averting his eyes away from his date a moment later as the embarrassment of what he's about to say hits him. "I- um… always thought it was really cute of you…"

It takes the servant boy a moment to process the words of the magus and remove the light blush from his face, but Akito's confession puts a gentle smile on the knight's face.

Quickly deciding his next action, Saber leans over towards his unknowing boyfriend and places a small peck of the lips on his cheek, watching as his lover's eyes widen and the previously pink skin brighten into a ghostly pale.

Akito snaps his head back at the blond, a lovingly proud smile greeting him as if Saber is certain that his significant other never would have expected him to do such a thing first.

"I hope you do not mind me doing thi-" Saber's follow up is silenced by the lips of the other boy being pressed onto his own. Akito's hands had swiftly been placed on the pale boy's cheeks and pulled him into another kiss.

It doesn't take long for Saber to allow himself to give into his partner's advancement, closing his eyes just as his partner had already and focusing on the sensation of Akito's soft lips locking with his.

It isn't anything theatrical. It isn't something many would celebrate. It isn't something for anyone else.

This doesn't feel like how it did on his wedding night all those years ago.

…

Akito releases his boyfriend from his intimate gesture, the two opening their eyes and allowing themselves an exhale in tandem.

It's impossible for either of them not to blush a little when looking into each other after a prolonged kiss, but the sight of the man they had just been locked lips with is too captivating to let them move their eyes anywhere but into each other's.

Akito swallows, finally being the first to break eye contact after sufficiently etching the face of the other boy into his mind.

"I wanted to be the one who started our first kiss…" he pouts.

Saber giggles softly. "I figured as much."

He continues to stare at his black haired lover, the slightly embarrassed face he dons being even more endearing than it ever had been to him in the past.

'Maybe it will be fine if it's with him.'

Pulling himself back into a comfortable seated position, Akito glances towards the sky now illuminated by the bright sphere one would typically see at this time of night.

"It's getting pretty late."

"So I can see." Saber responds. "Do you think now is a good time to end our day out?"

"If you're ready. As romantic as this spot is, I would be lying if I said that the cold air isn't getting to me."

"I don't mind. I've more than enjoyed myself today."

"Well, it's not like our date has to end at Emiya-kun's. I doubt either of us are going to be able to sleep easily after all this."

"I suppose so." Saber exhales with a light chuckle. "Though, I assume that we have long missed our ride home, haven't we?"

The magus looks down and rolls his sleeve up past his wrist.

8:06pm

An exhale.

"You guessed it, by sixteen minutes to be exact."

"Shall we look for another like we had this morning?" Saber inquires, his tone indicating that he somehow already is aware of the answer his partner will give.

A short inhale through the nostrils is all it takes for Akito to decide his next action.

"Nope."

He rises to his feet and lightly stretches his limbs, before looking back down towards the adorable boy he's thought about trying this with ever since he had realized that he is in love with him.

Akito extends his hand downward.

"I don't mind walking home this late if it's with you."

A similar paleness to the one Akito wore minutes ago flushes the small boy's face for a second, then fading back to its usual colour as he takes his next breath, his smile widening ever so slightly more.

"Me neither." he responds, taking his boyfriend's hand just as he had taken his many times before.

Only this time, their fingers interlock.