pullmeoutalive | Fate/Echo's Call

[ She hadn't wanted this. She had disagreed with her father's plan, to participate in the Holy Grail war at all, but perhaps it hadn't been loud enough.

(Perhaps, Haru thinks, tiredly now, as though she didn't know that it had been nowhere near loud.)

But with mages hearing the stirrings of a powerful man ready to put Tokyo beneath his heel, she ought to have expected this. Instead, she had come home and found her father, face-down on the ivory shag carpet, body having long since grown cold. But the armor. The armor was still where he had hidden it, five sets of hidden drawers locked with a seal only a member of the Okumura family could undo.

She hadn't wanted this. But things couldn't stay as they were, and only a few days after his funeral, Haru had finished preparations. The circle, etched carefully and painstakingly on the floor with care given to each individual symbol. The armor, placed in the center.

... She can't shake the feeling that she is still her father's subservient puppet, but as she finishes chanting--

The room explodes in light and her hand burns as the lines of three Command Seals engrave themselves onto her skin.

Much to her embarrassment, she's tipped over backwards from the shock. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, I mean that and... the, um. Other things I...

[ Kill her. ]

Oh, about my...

[ There he goes, going red again. ]

Well, I uh, I appreciate the compliment.

Please just... forget about it.

[ Telling your Servant he's hit in enemy territory... ]

[ His gaze slides away, which makes the fact that he's still holding her hand a bit awkward. ]

No, it's... I'm really flattered that you find me attractive. I, um, I think you're really beautiful, too.

I--

... You do?

[ Pardon her, she sounds a little stunned. ]

Of course I do. And not just in looks, either. You're kind and talented and considerate and... I couldn't ask for a better partner.

[ He manages to look at her again through all that, though he's still red up to the tips of his ears. ]

[ Well, that's comforting, considering she is also a lovely shade of dark red at the moment. ]

... Thank you. I couldn't imagine being partnered with anyone else.

Me neither. There’s no one else I’d want to be with.

[ Was that wording deliberate or a slip? Probably the latter, since he seems a bit surprised at himself when he realizes the connotations, but… he doesn’t try to correct himself. ]

[ It's his surprise that surprises her; maybe because Haru hadn't expected him to say such a thing, and then not catch himself and correct it. Meaning... ]

Um... Arenvald... [ and she says this carefully, cautiously. ]

If I... wanted to be more than your Master, hypothetically--

[ There is a part of him that can't help but wonder how often this happens – a Servant and Master are connected, and thrust headlong into a highly dangerous situation. It is so very easy to lean into that connection, to allow it to run deeper in a myriad of ways beyond a tool and its user.

It is so very easy for him to look at this girl, strong and determined and lonely, and fall for her.

His fingers tighten, ever slight, around her own. ]

Hypothetically... I would tell you that I want to be more than your Servant.

[ A part of her, the part that has always delicately set aside her own desires to fulfill someone else's wishes, whispers that she has no right to ask for this. Arenvald is a Heroic Spirit, a literal legend, kind and wonderful and strong. Haru Okumura is merely a girl.

But the louder part, for once, is Haru's own heart, the warmth that blooms when Arenvald's fingers squeeze hers. He... feels the same? ]

... It seems we have an agreement. Non-hypothetically.

[ Were she to say any of those things out loud, he'd tell her she's wrong. He is no legend, he is just a boy. A boy with a gift he doesn't feel he deserves and with so much left to prove, even long after his death.

If anything, he doesn't deserve her.

But deserving or not, they've landed in each other's lap, and he cannot help the way his heart thunders in his chest as, spurred by that small bit of acknowledgement, he leans over to brush his lips against hers. ]

[ This wasn't a scenario Haru had envisioned-- rather, one that she had allowed herself to imagine might actually become a reality. But her eyes slowly close at the first press of his lips to hers, and Haru leans into it, turning it into a more reciprocal kiss with a soft noise of approval.

What this means for them, she's not entirely sure. But right now, it just feels so good to be selfish, if just for this precise moment. ]

[ His heart soars even as it breaks, knowing that he doesn’t belong in this world, this time, and no matter how much he may promise her, the very rules of his existence mean he will have to leave her one day.

But for now, they can be selfish. He can take this for what it is, as he lifts his free hand to cup the side of her face. For a very long while, he just enjoys kissing her, until at last he forces himself to break away, if only a little. ]

You really are gorgeous, you know.

[ Haru's hand lifts, fingers curling over the hand resting on her face. He feels so warm, so solid-- it's hard to remember in this moment that he's so much more than human.

But she also can't let herself forget that. ]

When I have a terrible case of bedhead, I'm sure... you're very sweet, Arenvald.

Bedhead or no, it’s still true.

[ He doesn’t know if she will ever not be beautiful to him. ]

Truthfully now, how are you feeling? No ill effects from Caster’s magic?

... My head feels a bit heavy, but I think water should help with that.

[ Haru never wants to be drunk. ]

I can help with that.

[ So saying, he reaches for a pitcher and glass that one of the housekeepers left on the bedside table some time ago to pout her a glass of water. Gingerly, he offers it to her. ]

Got a bit of a hangover, have you?

[ He’s teasing. ]

[ Haru takes it slowly, bringing it to her lips-- though not before breathing out on a bit of a pout. ]

I'd rather not remember anything about how foolishly I acted... I really was like a drunkard.

If it makes you feel any better, the last time I imbibed too much, I jumped in a lake.

[ Yes, this is canon. You're welcome. ]

You... jumped in a lake?

[ ????? ]

Were you all right??

Fate/Echo's Call

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