Summary: In another universe, it's well-known as to how a young Master confessed to her forest hunter of an Archer. Here's how it happened in the original universe, where the Master was alone. It started in the Ooku, it ended in Chaldea.
Note: Let it be said that Carim/partialdignity inspired me again because if their writing is any indication (specifically referring to the stories titled "Step Back, Press Forward" and "Excising the Thorn"), they keep giving me ideas that I have to write down. And I never did show how Vy confessed to Robin in the original universe without Ayako, did I? It's time to fix that! Plus I wanted to revisit Extra Days 4 and 6 specifically, to explore why the Ooku was so important.
The Ooku event is how I got to know Carim and their partner Lunar better. It's what challenged me in my writing and understanding villains like Kama. And it's the event I want to come back to in exploring the romance that took the centerpiece relationship that is Robin and Vy's entire bond in this story.
Content warning, of course, for Ooku spoilers, mentioned sexual assault, and lots of romance-fumbling.
The theme for this chapter is split between two: (1) the theme titled I'll Face Myself from Persona 4; and (2) the Acoustic version of Boop from RWBY.
Please enjoy!
Day 46: Acceptance
"So," the teenage version of Kama had chosen to make an appearance in the Ooku back then, the pout on their face a dark and foreboding sign of what could possibly come next, "you can't drink?"
Behind Robin, Arturia, and Achilles' protective circle of elbows and weapons, Vy had merely raised a hand in the air to nod sheepishly, clutching at the sash that made up her Mystic Code's collar with her other hand. "I literally can't. This alcoholic mist is more likely to hurt me than help you in your goal, to be frank."
Kama ignored the sword, spear, and arrow pointed in their direction in favor of giving Vy a look. "It's not because you're not of age, right?"
"Aye," Vy replied. "I am of age, but I only tried drinking once."
"And?" Kama said dully, their voice veering on longsuffering and very, very tired.
"I was red-faced, very angry, and not very happy with my family who had me chug a full 12 ounces of 5% alcohol to figure out where my tolerance was," Vy pointed out with the same raised hand, doing her best to ignore the heat starting to slowly flood her cheeks. "If I drink any more than that, I'm probably not going to be able to get through the Ooku like you want me to. Most likely fall over and be very cranky and stubborn instead. And I don't think either of us would like that when we both have our own goals in mind."
Kama blinked. Vy didn't have to glance at her communicator to know Mash and Sion were exchanging a quiet conversation of their own either — most likely over the new bit of personal information she dropped. The only ones that didn't seem to be shocked were the Grailed Servants standing in front of her, and even then, Vy could sense their apprehension with the unfolding situation.
"…No," Kama said after a moment, a note of vulnerable confusion leaking into their voice as they uncrossed their arms. "I never thought I'd have the fucking gall to admit it, but you're right. Neither of us would want that, but the floor here is already centered around the sin of drinking, so…" Kama closed their eyes and put a hand to their chin.
"Is it too hard to ask for a break, then?" Robin drawled suddenly, still pointing the Yew Bow at the opposing Assassin. "This is too long of a hike even for my standards."
Kama suddenly snapped their fingers, making any protests die down on Vy's side as the Ooku around them swirled. "I might as well change the rules, right?"
Then, wind was blowing everywhere, making Vy shut her eyes from reflex. She could vaguely hear Robin yell out, "The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?!" much to Tsubone's loud protest of, "Forgive me, Sir, but you make it too easy!"
The last thing she expected was something striking her from behind. From the impact, it felt blunt and hard, something like a baton kind of weapon. She could feel the panic from the other Servants as she coughed in reaction, but what came out of her mouth didn't feel like saliva — more solid, more visceral — but by the time she was opening her eyes, she found herself staring at eerie, matching brown eyes glowing from across the room.
…Me? No, not exactly—
Brown eyes covered by glasses. A dainty black dress, barely going to the other person's knees. No shoes or sandals of any kind. And with brown hair barely making a bob cut that touched her shoulders, it took Vy too long to realize the other person was her.
Not entirely her, mind, considering that other her was being embraced from behind by the teenage Kama, but it was still a her Vy recognized. Someone from pictures, someone Vy knew she was before Chaldea, before she met everyone.
"Wait, when—" Achilles was choking, glancing between Vy and the other version at Kama's side, his spear lowering just a fraction from his shock. "How is there another—?"
"Might as well give you a new guide to this new floor, right?" Kama was purring, pressing their cheek into that person's hair in what would've been an affectionate gesture in any other circumstance. In the corrupted Ooku, however, Vy knew it was taunting. "And why not face the Master none of you have met until now?"
"I'll do my best to guide you all!" the other her chirped, patting Kama's hand as the Assassin started to disappear into fragments of mana. "Look forward to it, Kama-san!"
"That's my girl," Kama hummed before they disappeared completely from the room, making Munenori put a hand to the pommel of his katana in apprehension. "Give them a show, alright?"
"Aye!"
Vy could only look into the eyes of the specter that was once her and gulped.
If not for that specter, traversing through this new floor of the Ooku would have been the same kind of business as the other two before it. Find a lamp, go into a new hallway, enter a new room, and fight whatever enemy awaited inside.
The specter wearing Vy's face was just. So. Troublesome. There were no other words Vy could use for that other her. Whenever an enemy had appeared or one was defeated, the other her would just have the most inappropriate thing to say.
The very first encounter ended up with her jumping around the room and clapping her hands as if asking for approval when saying, "I brought in so many big enemies for you to train up for in preparation for seeing Kama-san! Didn't I do a great job? What do you think, Achi? Are you feeling more like a hero now?"
It took a hot minute to hold Achilles back from saying something that time, more so when the doppelganger took the opportunity to look at all the Servants like how Vy herself would. If not for the different outfit and hairstyle, Vy knew her other self would've been a spitting image. She easily could've been, with the same eyes and voice.
It didn't make hearing her comments hurt any less.
"I've done everything I can to make this journey a painless one, but it never feels like it's enough for you," she said once, nearly making Arturia step forward if not for Parvati and Munenori stopping her with outstretched hands. "What am I doing wrong, Art-san?"
Hearing the nicknames Vy made, the names she came up with, abused in such an underhanded way felt wrong. There was no other way to put it.
"I thought that enemies that were easy poison pickings were your kind of fights to pick, Big Robin," she said another time, making Robin freeze before he could fully turn away and face Vy herself. "Am I really helping you be the hero you wanted to be?"
It was one of the many moments Vy found herself grateful for telepathy, because she could easily hear the others converse without having to open her mouth, and she could feel the growing unease that matched her own.
That's not our Master, Parvati said vehemently mid-walk, tugging on Achilles' forearm pointedly. She wouldn't ever say things like that!
Despite the intent behind Parvati's thoughts, something still stabbed at Vy's heart. Um…
From what I'm aware of, Munenori put in quietly before Vy could voice it, the Bodhisattva precepts on this floor have changed to match our Master's weaknesses, Lady Parvati. And considering our enemy, I wouldn't put it past them to make a version of our Master to fight. But all that other version has done has been addressing us — the Servants — with things that our Master wouldn't say. But, Munenori turned to Kiara and the other Servants, his gaze focusing specifically on the Big Three in particular. I'm assuming that the Grailed would have their own thoughts on this?
Achilles pulled his arm out from Parvati's grip as carefully as he could, keeping his expression schooled at the same time Arturia stoically crossed her arms over her chest. Vy knew she couldn't turn her head to look into Robin's eye, because she knew she'd be afraid of what she'd find in there. The mana transfer they did earlier was embarrassing enough — having another version playing devil's advocate wasn't helping at all with Vy's heart.
Even if it's an illusion, it's still— Arturia shook her head, cutting herself off. I never thought I would dislike hearing my own nickname.
Nearby, Scherezade made an understanding kind of noise under her breath, reaching out to rest a dainty hand against Arturia's shoulder past her armor, which Arturia only gave a slight nod of polite acknowledgement towards.
You could simply kill her, Kiara said suddenly, an eerie smile on her face in spite of the words, making Scherezade and Mata Hari freeze in their places first. If I'm right, the precepts ruling over this floor are numbers six and seven — the ones that focus on not broadcasting the misdeeds and faults of the Buddhist assembly and not to praise oneself and speak ill of others. And if that other Vy keeps addressing the Grailed Servants with such targeted questions, Kama's goal this time seems to be having us praise and call out that other Vy for everything. If you don't want to deal with it, Kiara waved a pointer finger in the air, making a circle thoughtfully. Just kill her and we can move on. You can't ignore her forever.
Almost immediately, Vy could feel the anger and frustration flood her mind before the Big Three voiced it, the collective negativity making her heart ache all the more because of who it was from.
There's no way we could— Achilles choked. How could you say that after hearing everything we have—
You say that like it's easy— Robin was moving forward, but Vy found herself taking a hold of his mantle before she realized it, nearly making a fistful of the green cloth for herself. She could feel his eye on her for real this time, staring shocked holes into the top of her head as the other Servants turned to look at her too. Vy…?
"Master?" Mata Hari whispered, her voice wispy in the eye of the one lamp that was in Vy's other hand.
I'll handle it, Vy was thinking, forcing strength into her mental voice. Because Kiara is right, even if we don't like it. We can't let that illusion trample over all our progress. So I'll do it.
Princess… Arturia said softly.
I'll do it. I mean it. Vy gulped, but raised the lamp in her hand to move forward, tugging on Robin's mantle one last time before letting it go. So don't stop me, Saber, please. My darkness shouldn't pull you all into this.
"Master—" Scherezade said with a raised hand.
No, Caster. Vy still shook her head. I'm sorry. No matter what you say, this is my problem alone for once.
One long battle with a kimono-wearing ghost later, and then that illusion was in front of them again. This time with tears in her eyes and hands tightly clenched into fists in front of her chest.
"Why won't any of you look at me?! I've been — I've been working so hard to make this Ooku floor good for you! Kama-san doesn't know you like I do!" The other Vy was starting to sob, her voice choking up in her throat as she clutched at her chest. "I've been working for so… so long… so why won't any of you look at me?! Why won't anyone understand me?! Why won't people just listen to me?! I'm doing it right! I'm the only one who's doing everything right! So why—"
Despite all the pain, all the stabbings, all the protests her mind was saying in how reckless this was, Vy took a breath and stepped forward.
The illusion version of Vy, in her frilly black dress and short bob cut and all, merely continued to cry, this time forcing her gaze away from Vy herself. "Wh-What are you doing? Why are you coming closer to me? You've never acknowledged me! You're the 'real' one who kept denying me!" She was screaming now, wailing to the point of making Parvati and Munenori wince as Vy felt the Grailed tense through their mental bond. "Why are you coming here now? You never wanted to voice out your frustrations! You never wanted to take out your anger on the world! No matter how kind you pretended to be, you still hated people! You hated saving humanity when they never understood you, when they denied you the chance to be happy even as a Master, when they called you a criminal under some kind of pretentious law after the Incineration ended, so then why—"
Without a word, Vy took out her boomerang and reached over to gently tap the illusion's head with it, the motion making a soft Bonk noise along the way.
"Wha—" the other Vy was looking up now, red streaking her eyes and droplets staining her glasses. "What are you doing?"
"Bonking you," Vy said quietly, tossing her boomerang somewhere over her shoulder while choosing to reach over with extended arms. "And hugging you. Because even if I denied you, you're still me. And you need to stop saying all that."
"Wha—" the doppelganger froze once Vy got her arms around her, and even with no physical distance between them, Vy could feel her other self lurch back, tension clear in her muscles Vy could feel through that black dress. "Why are you doing this? Why? Didn't you want to be saved? Didn't you want someone to listen? I have to do it!" Without a second to spare, the illusion started to struggle, thrashing around in Vy's arms as her head twisted back and forth on her neck. "You won't ever admit it, you just keep sitting on your ass and letting the other Servants fight for you, so then—"
Despite the collective shock ringing like a loud siren in the back of her head, Vy didn't move. "Even then, there's a difference between 'never wanting' and 'never knowing,'" Vy said quietly. "If you're really me, you should know that by now, right?"
For the first time since entering this floor of the Ooku, the illusion version of Vy fell silent, her struggling ceasing almost immediately. Her arms fell limply against her sides a second later.
"Sure, I've felt that. Even if I hated myself — hated you for it. I've still hated people — hell, I've nearly started to hate the Proper Human History that I've been asked by Dr. Roman to defend, after all the Lostbelts I've seen," Vy admitted, hugging her other self tighter to her chest while pressing a soft hand to the other Vy's hair. "I've even wondered if what I'm doing is the right thing. But I can't just ask Art-san, Achi, and Big Robin to take all my problems away when I don't know how far gone those problems are. And you shouldn't ask them to do that either. That's not their burden to take, especially when they get to live again after everything they've gone through."
"But…" the other Vy's voice had gone down to what could best be summed up as a child's whimper. "But I don't know what else to do… Kama-san doesn't pay attention to me — they stopped once they left me here. You never paid attention to me. Who else am I supposed to go to?"
"You can start by going to me now," Vy whispered back, raising the hand she had on her other self's hair to start gently stroking it. "Because how can you try to help the others like you've been trying to when you can't even help yourself, other me? Did you forget Daddy's old saying already? Even if it's been a decade, you still remember what happened after coming home from that therapy session about our near sexual assault and then facing him and Mommy, right?"
Wetness started to form on Vy's shoulder through her Mystic Code. "Help yourself… before helping other people?"
"Aye," Vy said, a note of wavering pride starting to emerge in her voice. "And I'm sorry that I never acknowledged you until now. Even if my trauma made me forget, made me try to bury all of those negative emotions, I still felt them. And you're just as much a part of me as those emotions are too." With one more stroke of the other Vy's hair, Vy sighed. "So it's about time you give yourself a break, okay? I'll take it from here. I can at least accept you when my past self couldn't."
As if triggered by the words, the doppelganger Vy's feet started to disappear first, fading away into soft golden sparkles. "You're… you're so cruel," she said, a hint of a laugh echoing at the end of her statement as her hands were the next to disappear. "Staying so kind even when it means the end of me…"
"But it's not the end," Vy persisted in the hug, rubbing her other self's cheek with her own while ignoring the urge to cry. Fistfuls of that black dress weren't helping when that too was disappearing. "I won't let it end here. You know that."
"Heh, maybe…" By the time the illusion had a chance to say it, her neck was already fading, her mouth barely forming her last words to murmur into Vy's ear. "I just wish… I got to say 'I love you' to Big Robin since you haven't…"
Vy felt the remaining mana gather in a soft pile in her hands once the doppelganger finally disappeared, leaving nothing solid in her arms to hug. Without a second to spare, the sparkles of gold mana in her palms then moved past the cracks in her fingers, floating over to the nearest wall. With one bright flash of light, Vy blinked to find a door where the sparkles once were.
"…Who are you to call me 'kind' when your energy made the entryway to the next floor, other me?" Vy muttered to herself, taking what little mana was left in her hands to cup it and hold it close to her chest. "If anything, 'cruel' is the only thing I'd agree with you on in the real world… and besides…" Vy felt one corner of her eye start to itch, and she instinctively reached up to rub at it with her sleeve, "That kind of confession is something we'll both decide, not just you…"
Footsteps echoed behind her, the collective shock in her mind from before transforming into sadness and sheer resignation as Vy inhaled. Right. The Servants were still in the room too.
Vy wasn't alone anymore. And that was the scary part.
Why wouldn't they stare at me? Scrutinize me? Their Master just admitted that her illusion was right in her admissions of hating people. Of not trusting Proper Human History that much. Why wouldn't they—
"…I'm sorry," left Vy's lips first as she forced herself not to turn around, choosing to straighten her shoulders. Had to keep composure somewhere, even with her steadily raggedy voice. Probably couldn't sing for the next day or so. Ah well. "I can guess that wasn't the easiest thing to see, but we can finally go now. I'll just follow you all from the back of the group this time—"
The last thing Vy expected were arms grabbing her, turning her around and then hastily pulling her into a firm chest. All her blurry eyes could see past her dipping glasses and clumsy feet stumbling was Lincoln green for an answer.
Composure had apparently gone out whatever metaphorical window the Ooku had spouted in favor of sincere, unabashed affection and Vy wasn't sure what to make of it. Especially when it was coming from one of the most secretive Heroic Spirits she knew in her entire life as a Master.
"Big…" Vy felt herself choke up before she could stop it from happening. "Big Robin?"
"I'm the one who has to say sorry, you little chick of a sparrow of mine," was the fierce whisper into the crown of her hair, the firm chest in front of her heaving from what felt like more than just fatigue as a hand rested on top of her head, keeping her from squirming away but still being surprisingly gentle as it brushed through some stray strands sticking out from her scalp. "Why didn't I see it all sooner?"
Why didn't you say something?
Vy closed her eyes, glimpsed another person behind her eyelids, this one with a black t-shirt and a mocking smile, and shook her head, tilting it to rest more firmly into Robin's palm. "…I wouldn't have said it all that easily," she whispered in return, raising her arms as much as the shakiness in her muscles could allow to weave around his trembling arms to clutch at his mantle and hug him back. "I've never been the best at asking others for help. And I never wanted you to worry."
Even if a part of me hated humanity from how unfair and selfish it could be, for you and Mash and everyone else, I still…
"Even if you felt like that, it's still you, little sparrow," Robin protested vehemently from his new perch on top of her head, his fingers shaking too as they carded through her hair in the same way Vy did for her other self. Was he — was he actually protesting on her behalf? When was the last time someone did that outside of her family and friends and Dr. Roman and Mash and Da Vinci—? "You didn't have to hold it all in just to prove a point to me or anyone else, Vy. It's still you."
Vy froze.
Why wouldn't I care about you? It echoed fiercely through their bond despite the subdued rage, angrily searing Vy's brain with what she could only briefly summarize as love in spite of the shock. It's you, Vy. My little sparrow. Mine and no one else's.
It was when Arturia and Achilles joined into the hug, refusing to move from their newfound places wrapping their arms around Vy and Robin both that Vy decided she had nothing else to say. There was nothing better to say to them all but a quiet, "…Okay."
Then I'll keep trying my best to be better for you.
Vy chose to ignore the thoughtful look Kiara was directing their way in favor of extending her arms to try touching Arturia and Achilles too in the group hug. From the ripple of relief echoing through their mental bond established through time and the Holy Grails, Vy knew this choice (at least this time) was the right one.
"…When you get back to the Wandering Sea, I'll hug you too, Senpai," Mash said finally on the matter over Vy's communicator. "No take-backs — that's the rule."
"I like that new rule," Achilles added solemnly. "Let's keep that."
"Agreed," Arturia finished.
Later on, when Kama disappeared to leave the original Novum Chaldea behind, Vy found that she couldn't sleep. She knew she had to, considering her dipping mana levels and the schedule Dr. Roman had left behind for all of the Servants to enforce. But every time she closed her eyes, nothing was coming of it. Her heart wasn't relaxing in the slightest.
Because all she could think about was a Lincoln green Archer, and how his lips felt during the Ooku. How tight his arms were when holding onto her, like she was a precious treasure and not just the last Master of Humanity. Just… all of him, being there and being alive and kissing her back then in that one room of the Ooku like he couldn't get enough of it.
It was soft…
The thought was enough to make her face feel like it was on fire. Before the Ooku, before the whole mess that was fighting Beast III/L, Kamadeva, Vy knew Robin Hood was someone special. He was Robin Hood, the Archer of Sherwood Forest, the silent knight for villages everywhere back in Britain. And to Vy, he was her childhood hero. Even if he kept claiming he wasn't the original (Vy already had an idea long before he was officially summoned back in the original Chaldea, when they first met in America's Singularity), he was still Robin. Her hero. To the little girl that she was before Chaldea, he was someone she always wanted to thank.
She didn't know when she fell in love with him.
Maybe it was the casual conversations they had at the start of their relationship as Master and Servant. How he'd try to play off his concerns through lazy pats to the shoulder, sneaking up on her through the cover of the No Face May King to give some tidbits of advice. Or maybe it was all the times he covered her back, stepping out of his comfort zone of traps and poison just to protect her from the front lines when the others were too far away to get there. Or was it when he heard everything her other self had to say in the Ooku? When he only shook because Vy took the risk of confronting her and accepting all of the bad things she said while bringing herself down?
Vy wasn't sure.
At the time, when looking back at the whole Ooku situation (after the infamous make-out she knew the other Servants were starting to whisper about in their newfound break after Beast III/L's disappearance), Vy knew it was a necessary evil to undergo. The Wandering Sea was in a state of crisis thanks to Kama's machinations — there was only so much the corrupted Ooku could do before it would inevitably wreck more havoc than it should've. But she wasn't expecting Robin to shake, to hug her like she meant something afterwards again.
But at the same time, her memories were odd. Vy could vaguely remember previous times, before the advent of the Lostbelts, when Robin was… Well, was he ever so affectionate before they became Master and Servant? Vy could remember the Robin in America occasionally patting her head after she said something, much to Billy and Geronimo's quiet laughter, but not to the level of the Robin in Chaldea.
The Robin in Chaldea didn't mind her hugging him, snuggling up to him in naps, and…
Vy felt her face flush again and she buried it into the nearest pillow to scream.
Back in Salem, when she was close to falling asleep the one time she was waiting for him to come back to the Carter household, he kissed her head two times, didn't he? And, and, when he got injured and she waited on him back then, he kissed her head again twice too, right?!
"You two have been sharing a bed for how many cycles now in this damn Luluhawa?!" Jalter Berserker had yelled once during a doujinshi drafting, giving her the stink eye when Vy flinched back before deflating and patting her shoulder in an unspoken apology. "Not to harp, Master, considering your help in this whole ServantFes mess, but I highly doubt your devoted bodyguard would let anyone into sharing a bed with him outside of flings. But he let you. That's just gotta mean something, right?"
Ringing suddenly made its presence known in her ear through loud echoes traveling past the pillowcase's delightful fluff, and Vy raised her head to see her communicator's alarm blinking angrily at her from the darkness. With a tired hand, she reached up to smack it off, shaking her head while pushing herself up from her blankets.
"Should at least get changed, huh…?"
This time, there was no one to answer. For that, Vy was strangely grateful.
A few moments later, Robin pushed himself off from his place leaning against the wall near the door leading to Vy's personal room in the Wandering Sea, taking a steadying breath.
"Our Princess does not regret the choice she made in the Ooku," Arturia had said over the weathered flask they shared, her smile thoughtful and sad all at once when the words left her lips. "She's rather in love with you, if you just had the eyes to see it."
"Love, huh…?" Robin glanced at the colored-pencil-made poppy flower hanging in front of Vy's door, taking in the careful pencil warning Mash left there from what felt like forever ago (even when he knew it was only a few months, not even nearing a year yet) with a wry smile. "What am I missing, then?"
He could never remember if he had a Maid Marian in his time alive as the Man in Green. All that mattered back then was protecting the village he had, all because it was the right thing to do. Even if his druid of a father was an outcast, even if the boy he raised was never accepted as one of their own, those villagers were still being persecuted and asking for a hero. There was no one else to fill the role, even if it was ultimately one person against an army that had way too many assassins for his liking. Even when those villagers ultimately betrayed him for their own skins.
But all it took was being summoned by one brunette girl — one little sparrow — to take his breath away when she said, "But you still made a difference for me! That's why you're Big Robin!"
All it took was for her to say my efforts were worth it, huh? Robin took another breath and raised his hand. Time to face the music, he duly reminded himself. Whatever happens, happens.
Knock, knock, his knuckles went against the door.
"W-Wah! Yes?" rang out from behind it a second later, and Robin could hear with his sharpened senses some fluttering of fabric. "G-Give me a minute! Let me finish changing, then I'll open the door! I'm still in my pajamas!"
Almost immediately, Robin felt his face flush with embarrassed heat. It wasn't supposed to be taken in any other way but literal — every human had to change clothes sometime. Not to mention he was a Servant — and an adult man otherwise. Having his head in the gutter wouldn't help anyone, especially Vy. So why did his heart have to take Vy saying that in the most inappropriate way his mind could conjure up?
"T-Take your time, Master," Robin called back while crossing his arms, resulting in his hearing Vy let out another surprised squeak past the door. He decided to bury the reactive, small twinge of pain into the back of his mind for processing later. Her comfort came first in the end. "There's no missions to go to, so you don't have to rush."
"That doesn't mean—" Robin could hear more rustling behind the door now, along with many footsteps, as if Vy was pacing back and forth between her wardrobe dresser and bed. "I-I still wanted to talk with you, Big Robin!"
His heart skipped a beat that it didn't need.
"R-Really?" he said, doing his best to keep it sounding nonchalant, but the small hint of hope running through his Spirit Origin emerged nonetheless. "Will you be alright, little sparrow?"
"Aye! I'm not dead!" rang out a minute later, and once Robin blinked, he could hear something hit the floor in the room with a loud thunk noise. Was that a shoe? "…Ow," said Vy, with a few more footsteps. "Forgot the dresser door was open. Ow ow ow… And that was a bad line. But I'm okay! G-Give me a second, really!" Another pause, accentuated by more shuffling footsteps, then Vy finished with a higher pitched, "Please don't actually count off one second, Big Robin!"
Robin clamped down on the sudden urge to laugh. "One," he relented instead.
"Muuuuu!" was the expected answer past the door. He could hear more shuffling and some lighter thunk noises. "Robin!"
Heh. That's more like it. "How much should I count off then, Vy?" Robin let himself grin some while ducking his chin into his mantle. "One minute? Ten?"
"One!" Without hesitation, the door swung open, revealing Vy standing in the doorway in an appropriately matching white dress and black ribbon sash as she huffed for breath. Some stray strands of hair proceeded to fall down from Vy's head and onto her cheeks as she held the door open, pout half-formed before she met his gaze. "S-Seriously, Robin," she said, "I was going to open the door…" To Robin's surprise, pink started to spread across her cheeks as she broke off the eye contact, starting to nervously shuffle back and forth on her sandals. "A-Anyway, you can come in now…"
Is she nervous? Around me?
With another breath, Robin did as Vy asked, being careful not to bump her when walking in along the way, and once he entered the room, he could see Vy close the door with a careful click of the nearby switch. "You might want to lock that, little sparrow," Robin said as gently as he could, before Vy could move away from the door. "If this is going to be a long talk, I don't think you want anyone interrupting, right?"
The shade of pink on Vy's cheeks turned a darker color in response, looking rosy in the light of the room as she nodded. All Robin could think at that moment was simply, Adorable. "G-Good point," she murmured, pressing another finger against the switch to do as Robin recommended. Once both of them had heard another click, this time from the door, Vy withdrew her arm to bring it close to her chest, her gaze darting back and forth like her sandals were, refusing to stay in one place. "Um." She gulped, her glasses slowly sliding down the bridge of her nose to barely sit in front of her eyes as she wrung her fingers together. "I-I don't know how to start this."
Robin took a breath he didn't need himself and reached over to rest a palm against Vy's shivering ones. "Let's just sit down?" he offered, unable to help the relief flooding his veins at feeling Vy's trembling die down under his touch. She's not rejecting me. "Then you can take your time, little sparrow." Bending his head some to meet her gaze, he put on his best smile, ignoring the small part of his brain going in a seething voice, you're seducing her. "I'm not going anywhere."
Slowly, Vy smiled back, the rosiness of her cheeks dying down to a lighter, happier pink. "Okay," she replied, turning one hand over to squeeze the hand he had extended in her direction. "If you're… um, okay with rambling? I-I think the only place to sit is the bed."
"It's fine," Robin answered immediately, pitching his voice to be as soothing as possible in the hopes that it could provide some comfort in the face of whatever she was thinking about. Arturia and Achilles both said that — that Vy was in love with him, but with how much she was shuffling, with how much distress was ringing through their mental bond and nagging at the back of his brain, he wasn't sure at this point. "Lead the way?"
Vy nodded, squeezing his hand again before tugging at it, and Robin could do nothing but follow as she led him towards the bed in question, smoothing out some of the covers before sitting down and gesturing for him with one arm to do the same. Despite feeling a growing lump in his throat, Robin tossed caution to the wind and did just that, keeping about an arms length between himself and Vy in case she needed the space.
Be prepared for anything, he had to remind himself, sitting up straighter once Vy scooted closer to him in spite of the distance he created earlier. Who knows what could happen. You just have to accept it.
Sadly, it didn't stop the instinctive hiss of pain that left his throat when Vy's head gently bumped the bad shoulder he was still nursing from his earlier spar with Arturia. Almost immediately Vy lurched back, her eyes reflecting panic as she raised one hand in his direction, letting go of him to fret instead. "I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked, her hands splayed open as she glanced him over. "I-I didn't mean to hurt you, Archer!"
"N-No, it's not you, Master," Robin said outwardly, ignoring the twinge of pain that echoed in his brain at hearing his class name instead of his nickname. "My shoulder's still smarting a little from a spar I had with Saber earlier, but Chiron and Nightingale were able to handle most of it." Forcing another smile on his face, he reached over with his tingling hand to grab one of hers to squeeze. "It's no big."
"With Art-san?" Vy breathed, her cheeks still rosy as her gaze darted between his face and his hand that he was using to still hold hers. "But if it still hurts, do you need mana? I-I could—" Vy then cut herself off, the rosiness on her cheeks growing brighter with each passing second. "Oh. Uh. Um."
Robin felt his smile turn a bit weaker at the edges. Is she thinking about the Ooku? "I'd rather you not cut yourself for me, little sparrow."
"I-I wasn't thinking about blood!" Vy screeched, closing her mouth once Robin winced again, this time at the volume. "I-I'm sorry, this isn't how it was supposed to go…" Vy then ducked her head, her voice slowly dying down to a whisper as she squeezed his hand again. "I wish the storybooks had a to-do list of how to confess your feelings…"
…What?
Whether or not Vy noticed Robin's freezing, she didn't seem to give any indication of it, tracing some lines in the center of his palm instead as a way of grounding herself. "Th-The thing is, Big Robin, I couldn't take my full 45 minute nap today."
Robin relaxed his stance as much as he could. It explained some of her unease at least, not to mention it lined up with what Saber and Rider said earlier. "Yeah?"
"A-And, see, the thing is…" Even through the makeshift curtain that was Vy's hair, Robin could see her ears start to turn the same rosy pink as her cheeks. Her grip on his hand was turning a bit sweaty, but it was still delicate and thoughtful as she murmured, "All I could do in my time awake was think about the Ooku and, and you."
Oh.
Lub-dub, someone's heart went. Robin wasn't sure if it was Vy's or even his.
"…Me?" Robin said, barely noticing how far away he sounded as he gulped down another breath he didn't need. "What about me, Vy?"
"E-Everything," Vy squeaked, still absently playing with Robin's hand along the way. "How you're cool, you're handsome, you're always capable of so many things the storybooks said you were, l-like when it comes to archery and cooking and traps and smooth-talking, and um." Her ears are turning red. "How you were… um, holding me during the Ooku when we were exchanging mana."
Oh. She went there. She actually went there.
In a wispy voice Robin himself couldn't recognize, he said, "Did you dislike it, Vy?"
"N-No!" Vy said adamantly in spite of her blushing, raising her head to give him the most lopsided earnest smile he'd ever seen. "Not at all! Weirdly, I… I wanted more, back then. I still… kinda do now. I think?"
Robin could feel heat equal in intensity to Vy's own start to climb up the back of his neck. "Vy…"
"L-Let me finish!" Vy interrupted, raising her other hand to press a shaking pointer finger to his lips. "I-I'm not done, okay?" A beat or so later, she lowered her finger, her ears turning a brighter red as she shook her head. "What's weirder for me is that… well, I've never been in love before, Big Robin." The smile at her lips turned a bit more self-deprecating with the words. "I've loved people before, but they were friends. Family. I never felt like, like—" she gulped, "Like I wanted to kiss someone forever." Vy proceeded to let go of his hand, raising both of hers to cover her rosy cheeks as she brought her knees up to her chest. "But with you, it—it felt good, it felt nice and safe, and, and—" Vy inhaled sharply, burying her face into her knees while wrapping her arms around the underside of her legs past her dress, finishing in a now muffled voice, "I-I want to hug you! I want to kiss you! I want to stay with you! Heck, I-I love being with you!"
Love, his mind echoed dully. Just like Rider and Saber said. She actually said love—
"It's not even just the kissing in the Ooku," Robin could hear Vy whisper past her new burrow of her knees and dress, her ears still red from what he could see through her hair. "It's whenever you hug me when I'm nervous, whenever I feel your arms around me before going to bed every now and then during my daily naps after bad days." Vy's ears were nearing the shade of a tomato at this point. "It's the faint smell of mint and cigarettes I get whenever I hold the No Face May King, it's the tea you make me whenever it's your turn to wake me up from my naps, it's—" This time, Robin could make out a faint choking noise. "It's when you saw the doppelganger version of me in the Ooku and told me you still cared about me, calling me 'little sparrow' in spite of all the bad things that illusion said..." With a deep breath, Robin saw Vy slowly turn her head out from her burrow to give him a desperate, pleading eye filled with nothing but embarrassed want through her hair. "So, um… when I think of 'love' now, I… I can't help but think of you."
Robin opens his mouth and finds nothing leaving it aside from a choked noise that could've easily come from a tired bull than a person. Because what else was he hearing but a love confession?
Vy raises her head from her knees a bit more in response, her gaze turning uncertain with it. "Did… did that make sense?"
With nothing in his throat, Robin forced his mouth closed and nodded.
"Um," Vy fidgets through her dress, her smile turning upside down as she took the time to process the apparent face he was making. "Was it bad?"
Robin forced himself to take a deep breath of his own, relaxing the grip he apparently had taken of the blankets underneath, choosing to smooth it out in a not-apology for his silence. "…No," comes out in the same wispy voice from before, but this time, he could feel relief and confidence start to surge through his veins. "I wasn't expecting it, really."
"Th-Then," Vy slowly unfurls herself from the ball she was imitating, letting her sandaled feet touch the floor past the bed as her hands made fistfuls of her dress. "Are you okay with that, Big Robin? Me…" she ducks her head, squeaking out, "loving you, I mean? More than a Master should?"
"Risk it all," Rider said, right…?
"That's… my question, isn't it?" Robin dared himself to lean into Vy's personal space bubble for his part in 'taking the risk,' noticing her cheeks turning rosier the closer he got as a tiny wry smile of his own tugged at his mouth. "I'm still a concept in the end, little sparrow. I'm not a real man in the eyes of those other 'real' Masters, but you make me real enough to want you." He's not sure what to make of the little Ah noise she makes when he gently bumps her head with his, but he exhales quietly, closing his eyes. "And I never really knew love when I was alive either, all my flings included. But you…" Her cheek is warm under his palm once he raises it up to rest it there, nearly scalding his skin past his glove if not for how soft it feels against his fingertips, and opening his eyes reveal Vy's widened brown ones reflecting his image in return. Like she could only see him. "You were the only one to call me 'Robin' in all caps, little sparrow. You were the first one to call me a 'hero' and mean it." With a dry laugh scratching at his throat, he grinned. "How could I not want to kiss you in the Ooku?"
How could I not love you too?
It echoes in the back of his mind and he knows Vy could hear it through their bond. There's more surging through it now — not just the unquestionable trust they've always had, but warmth and pure happiness echoing inside too. It's… nice, compared to what Robin could briefly remember of the cold unfeeling steel that came with Dan way back in the Moon Cell. And he knows he doesn't want to dwell on the weird mess that was BB back in that weirdly named Sakura Labyrinth.
Outside of his thoughts, Vy merely blinked at him, the warmth of her cheek growing hotter with each passing second as her mouth fell open. "So…" a bit of joy started leaking into her voice as she leaned into his palm. "It's okay? To love you, I mean?"
Without hesitation, Robin felt his head bob up and down in a nod as he snaked his other arm over to touch the small of Vy's back. "Is it okay for me to want to kiss you in exchange, little sparrow?" Robin whispered, his smile stretching some more as one end of Vy's glasses bumped the side of his thumb. "If you don't stop me now, I might just make a habit of taking more mana from you on a daily basis."
This time, Vy giggles, the noise sounding tinkly to Robin's ears as he leaned in for his breath to start mingling with hers. He can feel her fingertips barely grazing the collar of his shirt past the No Face May King as her palms press against his chest, and electricity runs through his veins. "Aye," she said simply, more giggles punctuating the word as her nose bumped his. "I think you don't have to go for just mana now when it comes to that, Big Robin. A-And," Vy blushes, her cheeks turning rosier, but she persists with a quieter, "I-I did say I wanted to kiss you lots too, so…"
A chuckle is all Robin has in return before he finally, finally tilts his head to press his lips against Vy's, and it feels heavenly. The softness he remembered from the Ooku was still there, and even if Vy's lips were slightly chapped thanks to only waking up maybe 10-15 minutes ago, he can't get enough of it. He can't get enough of her. To his delight, a happy hum of a noise echoes in the air between them as Vy smiles in the kiss, relaxing to the point of nearly melting in his arms as he moves the palm he had on her cheek to cup the back of her head. It feels natural pulling her closer, tasting her while not stopping for breath.
I love you, was the next thing Robin could hear through their bond in the brief moment he gets when pulling away, and Vy's eyes, even past her lopsided glasses, reflect stars as she blinks up at him. Thankie for being my Robin.
Robin doesn't even deny the relieved huff leaving his lips as he tilts his head the other way and ducks down for another taste. "Thank you for loving me, little sparrow," he whispers against her mouth, memorizing the look of her rosy cheeks before opening his mouth to deepen the next kiss and thus taste her some more. "I love you too."
It takes him a while to notice Vy's hand clutching at his bad shoulder, and another few moments between kisses to realize said shoulder isn't smarting anymore. In the face of the sheer relief and glee running through his entire Spirit Origin, though, Robin finds himself not minding. Because for once, since coming back from the Ooku and three Lostbelts and the Throne of Heroes, he finally has something tangible, something real in his hands to hold, and he knows he's not going to let her go anytime soon.
Holding something up close meant so much more compared to the days of old where he had to watch joy from afar. The little pleasured gasps and squeaks in Vy's voice through all the liplocking, made just for him, were sheer proof of that.
"R-Robin!"
There's a smack noise that Robin can't deny as he pulls back, licking his lips. "Hm?"
Even after so many kisses, Vy still has the same embarrassed, rosy look to her cheeks as she looks up at him with wet lips, but she's giggling. "I-I don't mind kissing, but um. Can I still hug you too?"
Robin grins and leans back some for Vy to carefully wrap her arms around his neck past his mantle. "You can do more than that now, little sparrow." Leaning back some more, he relishes in her surprised yelp as he pulls her down with him to the bed, taking in her wide eyes as she lies down on top of him with an open mouth. Her hair brushes the side of his neck as he whispers, "I'm just not going to stop anytime soon, y'know? I finally got to hold you after three years, so I'm going to enjoy this for as long as I can."
"M-Muuuu…" She doesn't reject his lips brushing hers again, though, taking his pecking them briefly through her pout as she blinks. "Dork."
"That's not a 'no' I hear~"
The next "Muuuuu" starts sounding more like another, I love you, once Vy leaned in to close the distance between them again, this time of her own volition.
Later that night in the Dining Hall, Achilles is elbowing his side with a needling grin at the Grailed Servants' usual table. "You look winded," he hummed over his plate of curry, his grin turning more shit-eating by the second. "Did you finally work it out with our Princess, Archer?"
Pretending to roll his eyes, Robin pokes at his own soup bowl with a spoon. "I dunno what you're talking about, Rider."
"Don't pull that with me!" Achilles protests next, throwing a hand in the air. "The other guys have been having a pool over you two for — hell, how long now?! And I'm the one who had to help convince you to go after her with Saber! So did it work out or not?!"
"…When did you have time for that betting pool shit?" Robin points out incredulously, being careful not to drop his spoon into his bowl while giving Achilles the stink eye. "And for the record, asshole, it did."
Despite knowing it was coming, Robin still found himself coughing once Achilles claps a hearty hand against the back of his shoulders. "Then congrats, Archer! You finally got over the pining!" Once Robin's glancing at him, though, Achilles' shit-eating grin has died down in favor of a kinder, softer smile as he retracts his hand. "Make sure to help her be happy, you hear? If you don't, I won't hold back on you."
Robin grinned back in good jest. "You'll have to beat Saber to that one, Achilles. She made that statement first." When taking in Achilles' instinctive flinch at the mention of their Grailed comrade, Robin shrugged his shoulders. "And believe me, I know."
This time, it's Achilles' turn to roll his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Good." In a tinier voice, he adds, "You better."
"My shoulder still hurts from how I landed on it from Saber's spar, Rider," Robin points out with a swat to Achilles' own shoulder for extra emphasis. "So I know." In a whisper to match Rider's previous tone, he finishes with, "The last thing I want is to see her cry again if I can do anything about it."
At that comment, Robin looks up to see Achilles grin wryly. "Then I'm glad it's you," he said, reaching over with his arm to pat Robin's shoulder this time. "She'll be in good hands with you around."
In the past, Robin might've brushed it off with a self-deprecating comment and a dry laugh. But now, in Novum Chaldea, he found himself shrugging with a warm smile. "What can I say? I learn from the best."
Not even a second later, Robin could feel warmth spread out in the back of his mind as Achilles looked past him to let out a warm whistle. "Princess! Over here!"
Speak of the devil — no, maybe angel was the better word for it — and they would appear.
"Big Robin! Achi!" Vy was jogging over from her previous place in line at the serving area, a small bowl of fruit in her arms, her face lighting up at taking in Robin and Achilles' places at the usual table. Arturia was carefully following Vy's every step from behind, easily balancing two trays of lavishly done Japanese meal sets in her hands as she gave curt nods to them along the way. And to no one's surprise, Mash was also following Arturia and Vy both with her own tray, joy clear in her eyes past her glasses as they all came closer. "Thankie for saving us spots!"
"Of course, little sparrow," leaves Robin's lips as naturally as breathing, and he relishes in the soft rosiness he finds blooming across Vy's cheeks as they make eye contact in response. Patting the spot next to him with one hand, he watches as Vy slips into the space without hesitation, the happy hum echoing in their shared bond as Vy leans over to gently bonk the side of her head against his shoulder. "No need to rush — we have plenty of time to eat."
"Aye," Vy murmured over the chatter of the Dining Hall as Arturia and Mash took seats across from them, and Robin knows he's not imagining the delicate hand reaching over to grab his own to squeeze under the table. "Thankie, Big Robin."
I love you, her fingers traced out against his palm and Robin smiled.
Turning her hand over to expose her palm, Robin wrote something back while hiding it with a spoonful of soup. I love you too.
It was his truth he could keep for once.
Before bed, Arturia gave Vy one last smile. "Princess?"
"Mm?"
"Are you happy now?"
Vy blinked, closed her eyes, then opened them to return Arturia's smile with one of her own. "Aye!"
Note: This chapter is dedicated to the aforementioned Carim/partialdignity, since they helped me with proofreading this whole thing and hearing out my thoughts on the initial draft to keep the Kama respect (Ooku did their lore dirty); and Lucien/hizentadahiro, since they are a big support of the RobinVy relationship. Thankie. I love you both platonically so so much.
Otherwise? I'm gonna sleep all the emotions off because this was a lot. I'll see you all next time.