Four times Gilgamesh is woken up, and one time he wakes up first.
Enkidu leaned down, concentration edged on his features. He extended his arm forward and, even though Gilgameshâs form was half-hidden under the blankets, he managed to poke his cheek with incredible precision.
His best friend didnât react at all.
Enkidu wasnât discouraged, and repeated the action, this time adding the sound of his voice.
Again, no reaction, and again, Enkidu didnât let it faze him.
âGiiiiiiiilllllllllll.â Two pokes accompanied his call this time, and since there still werenât any results, he decided to try to change the name on purpose, âBillllllllllllll.â
Gilgamesh grunted, clearly displeased even as he kept sleeping, but didnât open his eyes.
âItâs eight in the morniiiiing,â Enkidu insisted, without success, because his best friend didnât budge.
Understanding that he needed to switch to other tactics, he casually said, âOh well, I guess Iâll have to tell Ms. Fujimura and dear Arturia that youâre not coming to school today.â
The next second, Gilgamesh bolted up from the bed, eyes snapping open and expression fully alert. And what was presented to him was a smirking Enkidu who was holding up his school bag and a pair of socks.
"I made the eggs sunny-side up today, and you're going to eat them," the green-haired boy announced, knowing that otherwise Gilgamesh would once again leave without breakfast.
Yawning audibly, Gilgamesh brought a hand to his hair, unconsciously tousling it even more, and grumbled.
Arturia had been told that Gilgamesh was taking a nap in his tent, and since her skills at cooking were non-existent, Enkidu gave her the task to go wake up the âSleeping Beautyâ while he finished grilling their lunch.
Cautiously glancing inside the flaming red tent, Arturia found Gilgamesh fast asleep, half his body under the blankets and the other half hugging them and the pillows close. She had to suppress a small smile when she noticed that his usually impeccable hair was a mess, reminding her of a birdâs nest, albeit a strangely blond one. It also looked soft, and she had to curb the sudden impulse to pass her fingers through the sunny strands.
While she was staring, he turned around in his sleep, taking the blankets with him, and as he did so his t-shirt pulled up, revealing part of his bare back and even showing her a hint of his boxers peeking from his pants.
Realizing how inappropriate and nosy she was being, Arturia shook herself and after taking a cautious step inside the tent, she leaned forward to shake the sleeping boyâs shoulder.
It did not seem to have any effect except for making him bury his head inside the blankets. Arturia recalled that Enkidu had warned her that waking up Gilgamesh could be extremely difficult, and therefore shook his shoulder more firmly.
ââŚjust leaaaaave,â he mumbled, his head completely disappearing among the blankets. She almost chuckled at the childish image.
Clearing her throat, she attempted to call his name.
âGilgamesh? Gilgamesh, wake up.â
His head partially emerged from the sheets, and his expression told her he recognized her voice, but he also seemed to believe he was dreaming.
Her crouched position starting to become uncomfortable for her, Arturia kneeled down next to him and extended her arm to shake his shoulder again. He shifted in that same moment though, and her hand landed on his bare arm and the blankets instead.
She was slightly surprised to notice how warm he was and how comfortable the blankets seemed to be. Had she had the time to indulge in it, she probably would have felt tempted to lie down on those soft sheets and fall asleep as well. She had however more than enough control over herself to not give in to such a desire and, what was probably the real reason why she wouldnât do that, she was hungry.
Before she could do anything else though, Gilgamesh shifted again and his other hand came to grasp hers, tugging at it.
âCome back to bed, ArturiaâŚâ
Her face became the same colour of the tent, and she pulled back immediately as Gilgamesh instead hugged the pillows more tightly. This was becoming awkward, especially when her mind unhelpfully pointed out how adorable he looked when he nuzzled the blankets with his cheek.
âArturia,â he whispered, and as a small smile appeared on his lips, Arturia cleared her throat again, this time more loudly.
âGilgamesh â itâs time to get up.â
Still slightly red-faced, she watched as he seemed to realize that her voice was coming from above and not from the blankets in his arms.
He finally blinked, turning to look in her direction, and his crimson eyes met a pair of green ones looking at him expectantly.
Once again, she felt the urge to ruffle his hair when he sat up, the birdâs nest looking even more dishevelled now.
Since he was awake, she lowered her voice and her tone was gentler as she repeated, âWake up.â
It was then that she noticed how close their faces were, because he blinked again upon feeling her breath on his skin.
âWhy are⌠you⌠here?â
âEnkidu told me to wake you up for lunch, since food is almost ready. Come on now.â
His expression was odd, and he seemed lost in his thoughts, clearly wondering if he was still dreaming.
Proving how much eloquence he possessed in that moment, he muttered, âHmmm,â before shaking his head a couple of times, sleepy haze finally leaving him.
Now fully awake, he directed a small smirk in Arturiaâs direction, as she had stood up in the meantime.
âYou could have stayed in that position, I didnât mind.â
She abruptly tried to take a step back, but before she could stumble on the mess of blankets, he grabbed her arm, to simultaneously steady her and pull himself up. His bangs fell into his eyes, and his brought a hand up to disentangle his hair.
Arturia made sure to keep a little more distance between them and tried to change the subject.
âHow long have you been asleep, by the way?â
âNot very long,â was his elaborate reply, and she raised an eyebrow.
Her eyes were however drawn to his t-shirt, which she noticed had still remained up as he was napping, and her raised eyebrow went even higher.
âShow some decency, please,â she scolded, and while he did pull down his t-shirt, he looked supremely unbothered.
âItâs not like I wanted it to roll up,â he pointed out, legitimately. âI move when I sleep, if my clothes donât follow itâs their own fault.â
Arturia had a flash of the black boxers she had seen just a few minutes before, and huffed to hide her embarrassment, while Gilgamesh appeared to be oblivious and stifled another yawn.
âCome, everyone must be already at the table by now, and I will not let all the barbecue meat disappear before we get there.â
Knowing very well that a hungry Arturia could be dangerous, Gilgamesh made an effort to contain his amusement and followed her without objections.
When he got a place of his own, Gilgamesh had believed his unpleasant mornings of being forced to get out of bed at ungodly hours were over, especially since he had refused to settle for a lowly flat and had instead chosen a huge mansion to reside in.
He had however forgotten the very important fact that Enkidu had rented the mansion next to his, and that his best friend considered it his mission to wake him up himself.
When Enkidu waltzed into his bedroom for the fourth day in a row at seven in the morning, using the spare key he had given him himself and turning on some loud rock music, Gilgamesh managed the impressive feat of inventing a string of new, extremely creative curse words while still not being completely conscious.Â
After only a week, he decided that, no matter how much he loved his best friend, there were limits to what he was willing to tolerate, and perhaps a slightly smaller but more isolated flat wouldnât be a bad idea after all.
He pondered over that particularly appealing thought with a smile gracing his features, since he was considering proposing to Arturia soon.
He woke up slowly, his mind not completely conscious yet, but he was aware of a strange yet not unpleasant sensation that seemed focused on his head.
It took him several minutes to start feeling more coherent, and even longer to realize what the unknown sensation was, especially since he refused to open his eyes yet.
A small, soft hand was gently caressing him, fingers going through his hair without hesitation but making sure not to accidentally pull on it. Even though he did not open his eyes, Gilgamesh couldnât help letting his lips curve into a slight smile, for he knew those hands very well, and he knew the warm body attached to them â and currently in his arms â even better.
Without making a sound, he leaned forward slightly and nuzzled her neck contentedly. She chuckled softly, her movements stopping for a second before resuming with a barely noticeable hint of eagerness.
His smile widened. His precious Arturia knew that he hated getting up early in the morning, and when it was inevitable, for example on specific days in which they had to take a flight, she made sure he woke up in the most pleasant way possible.
Arturia was woken up by some small sounds coming from the stove.
As she opened her eyes, blinking rapidly to wake up fully, she realized why those sounds seemed to be so close: the evening before, she and Gilgamesh had fallen asleep together on the couch. Looking around, she saw that someone had draped a blanket over her. She smiled faintly.
As she turned towards the man in the kitchen to thank him, her words died in her throat as she noticed that her husband â who wasnât even facing her as he casually yet expertly moved the food and plates â was wearing an apron.
And not a random one but a frilly one. He gave her a smirk as he briefly turned around, but didnât stop in his work, silently conveying the fact that he was almost done and was going to bring a tray to the couch for them both.
Arturia shifted the pillows and leaned back against them, accepting to be the lazy one for once and watching Gilgamesh as he calmly and confidently made them breakfast.
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