i'll bottle my smiles

She takes it as its offered, brushing a hand against the cover and carefully lifting the cover. A small gasp, the way she half covers her mouth as the box’s cover falls onto the floor with a soft ‘tud.’ “ Oh ... ” That ... probably isn’t the reaction they’re hoping for, is it? She doesn’t seem to notice, but that’s likely because she’s stunned to see them choose to celebrate a romantic holiday, and, perhaps more so, to have a gift from Arthur.

Reaching for its cover, she covers the present back up and holds it against her chest. Then, she turns up to look at them sharply, puffing up her chest a little. “Isn’t much?” Ah, she catches how sharp her tone comes to sound, and she loses the aggression quickly, but the sharpness in her eyes doesn’t fade. Honestly, there’s limits to modesty, but this isn’t the way to go about it. “Why would I mind?”

The caster had to… think what the Assassin just said for a moment, or two. His iris eyes blink, before asking, “Are you reading, what our dear Master(s) call, a ‘Young Adult’ book?” Merlin takes the book from Guinvere’s hands, before flipping though it.

It was material that he wished to remove from his memories.

“…This is pretty Trashy.”

“ Yes, they said it would help me better get along with everyone. ” She says a bit more cautiously now. Although what smile she might have held instantly faded the moment he commented on the book’s contents.

Taking a seat at the nearest chair, Guinevere peers inside the box, placing its cover beneath it to make room for it on her lap. Her eyes light up seeing the chocolates inside. She picks one up, seeing the detail that went into them, and gingerly takes a bite out of it. Pressing the palm of her hand against her cheek, she smiles brightly.

“Survival of the chocolatiest, only those with the most chocolate will survive such a tragic battle.”

“Goodness I hope not, that’s gonna be chaotic.” Merlin blinks.

“Huh?! O Assassin, why you must retire to your room so early? It hasn’t even ticked at night hours.” The rome servant could not help, but to point this out for no namely reason. “This is some mere joke of a result, no?”

“R..Rest in pieces, Assassin.” Nero pats

Smelling the fried chicken and seeing Guinevere, the ‘Saber’ nearly bounced over to greet his wife, only to remember who he was currently acting as. Still, the way his eyes lit up and his mouth curved for a moment couldn’t be hidden, even as he promptly schooled his expression into a politer smile. “Gu-Ahem. Guinevere. It is a pleasure to see you.” He was about to speak when he recalled Saber spoke in a softer and lighter tone of voice, resulting in him clearing his throat. He really wasn’t made out for this…

It was curious to see Arturia acting similarly to Santa, at least in those finer features of hers. Even the way she was addressed was different than usual. Arturia was always quite stiff, even while greeting her --- fumbling over her words like that, it wasn’t like her husband in the least. Perhaps ... Well, it wouldn’t matter if she were wrong, it would make for an amusing conversation later, wouldn’t it?