Fate/Echo's Call

[empression]

[ 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. ]

Comments

[paladorable]

[ 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. ]

[empression]

[ 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. ]

[paladorable]

[ 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.

[empression]

[ 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.

[paladorable]

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?

[empression]

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

[ Haru never wants to be drunk. ]

[paladorable]

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. ]

[empression]

[ 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.

[paladorable]

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. ]

[empression]

You... jumped in a lake?

[ ????? ]

Were you all right??