Tired

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It was supposed to be another pitstop in the daily routine Robin found himself in at Novum Chaldea. Another shift where he was assigned to wake up the little sparrow from her daily nap. Even if she needed her rest, the good ol’ Dr. Roman always said she couldn’t sleep forever lest it worsen her sleep schedule at night. And seeing her sleepy face always did relieve the demons still resting on top of his heart. If he was lucky enough with the timing, he could probably sneak in a kiss or two just to give something back to the girl who kept giving to a rogue like him. 

“Little sparrow, I’m coming in—” 

It didn’t make opening her door to find the newest Foreigner Servant at her bedside any less “what the fuck.”

Robin knew that the Servant in front of him was supposed to be an ally. Any Servant who answered Vy’s call automatically received that label with only a few outliers to the rule (examples being Penthesilea and Columbus after Agartha’s bullshit). Still, if Abigail Williams from Salem was any indication, Foreigner Servants were still dangerous with their housing Outer Gods, and the figure known only as “Azathoth” in Chaldea’s databases was no exception. To see him lingering near Vy’s bed, holding her hand, reminded Robin too much of another Servant who tried the same thing in another time, with far more darker intentions, and they were a former Beast. 

If a Foreigner was here— 

The Yew Bow was already starting to form on his forearm when Robin realized something was tugging at him aside from the usual paranoia. Something oddly warm. “…What are you doing, Foreigner?”

Vy’s chest merely rose and fell underneath her blankets in a clear sign of sleep, matching the carefree smile covering the pale-skinned Foreigner’s face as he turned in his chair to look in Robin’s direction. Despite continuing to hold onto Vy’s hand, the eye on Azathoth’s armor did nothing but blink at him as his smile widened. “Looking after your Sleeping Beauty, Archer?”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” Robin bit out past a whisper, noting Vy’s steady breathing as he slowly walked closer, keeping an eye on both her and the Foreigner holding onto her hand the entire time. “What are you up to?”

“Nothing really, May King,” Azathoth purred, sounding like a schoolboy teasing a friend as he slowly let Vy’s hand go to tuck the girl further into her blankets. “Well, aside from waiting for when the lovable rogue prince wakes up the Sleeping Beauty with a kiss~!”

The fuck. “I’m not going to do that,” Robin snapped, dispelling the Yew Bow to come closer to Vy’s bedside, keeping a discrete hand on the hidden pouch on his clothes holding his poison needles just in case Azathoth had any funny business in mind. There was only so much he could do when Vy was so close by. It didn’t stop the oddly warm feeling in his chest from spreading. What was going on? “But the little sparrow does need to wake up now.”

“Then be my guest!” Azathoth’s smile didn’t even falter in the face of Robin’s apparent dislike — heck, it was like it merely widened in Robin’s direction as his purple eyes started sparkling with anticipation. Without a second to spare, the Foreigner then pushed himself back from the foot of Vy’s bed with one leg, allowing his chair to slide back on its caster wheels to give Robin more room to come in. “Don’t let me interrupt your fairy tale!”

“Yeah, yeah…” Robin said with the best bite he could muster in the face of those odd warm feelings — why were the feelings happening to begin with, Robin could’ve sworn he’d never met this Foreigner before Chaldea — turning back to Vy’s figure with a wry smile. 

Even when tucked in and asleep, Vy still looked as innocent as ever. As if an Outer God couldn’t even disturb her.

At least one thing hasn’t changed. 

Robin gently steeled himself against what would inevitably come and reached over with one hand to gently shake Vy’s nearest shoulder. “Little sparrow, it’s time to wake up.”

As expected, Vy made a sleepy “Muu” noise, shifting in her blankets to turn over onto her side, her hands curling into her pillow in a quiet protest. Some of her long brown hair fell onto her cheek with the motion, and Robin felt the smile grow on his face in spite of the spectator behind him. 

“C’mon, Vy, you can’t sleep forever,” he continued gently, shaking her shoulder again. “I’d love to let you rest some more, but there’s still things you want to do today, right?”

That did it. Vy’s eyelids slowly fluttered open to reveal those large brown eyes reflecting Robin’s image, and Vy tilted her head at him in a daze. “Big… Robin?” A yawn left Vy’s mouth before she could stop it, resulting in her taking a second too long to bring her hand up to cover her lips as Robin slowly sat down on her bed to take her into his arms. Her hair care products were still gentle as always on his nose as he started absently brushing out tangles from her tousled locks. Whether or not Vy noticed the pounding of his heart against his chest, she didn’t say. Instead, she merely leaned into him with no resistance, murmuring, “Is it… is it that time already?”

“Just about,” he mused, ignoring the nearby snickering from his fellow Servant as he reached over to grab Vy’s glasses, offering them to the little sparrow once she started coming back into the world of the living with a soft shake of her head. Probably to take out the last bits of dreams, no doubt. Still looked cute. “Someone else beat me to seeing you, but that can be handled later.”

“Someone…?” Vy narrowed her eyes at the nearby wall once her glasses successfully rested against the bridge of her nose, and a moment was all it took for her to turn her head and notice the other Servant in the room. To Robin’s surprise, Vy then smiled like she was addressing an old friend. “Batin!”

Batin—?! Wait. Wait. Vy wasn’t one to come up with names on a whim. All her nicknames meant something. But this—

Robin felt his heart skip a beat. Why does that sound so familiar— 

“Still calling me that, Master?” Azathoth put in for the first time since Robin’s arrival, his normally teasing voice a smidge softer in Vy’s direction as he crossed his arms over his chest. The eye in the center of his armor continued to move, almost looking like it was bulging outwards in response to Vy’s generally friendly aura — ew — contrasting the warm smile on Azathoth’s pale face. If Robin didn’t know any better, the Foreigner’s complexion seemed to turn a bit warmer with Vy’s call, his response being an equally warm, “Don’t you have better things to do than call out to me?”

“I do!” Vy gently pushed at Robin’s arms, leaving Robin with nothing to do but let her go in confusion as she got up from her bed, rushing over to—

Oh no, Vy, you can’t be— 

Before Robin could comprehend what he was seeing, Vy was running over to the Foreigner, with her bare feet and baby-blue pajamas and all, just to jump up and wrap her arms around Azathoth’s neck in a tight hug.

WHAT THE— 

Azathoth seemed just as befuddled as Robin, his arms limp as his purple eyes widened at what was Vy leaning against his front. “…Vy?”

Danger, DANGER, the little sparrow is—

“I didn’t forget you,” was all Robin could make out with his trained hearing, and then Vy pulled back to cross her arms behind her back, blushing enough to have her ears be colored pink from what Robin could see past her long brown hair. “And Outer Gods need hugs too! You deserve more than one anyways, Batin!” 

Huh?

Azathoth gaped, and Robin knew it was time for intervention. He got to his feet almost immediately, but before the Yew Bow could materialize onto his forearm, Vy walked backwards fast enough for her head to gently bump his shoulder. She then leaned back enough for her gaze to meet his, and she smiled. “Anywho! My hug quota’s been fulfilled, so you can do whatever you’d like, Batin! For now,” Vy giggled weakly in Robin’s direction, her smile looking all the more hopeless, “let’s go, Big Robin?”

I dunno what I’m doing, please help? 

Yep. Count on Vy to have a hopelessly naive idea like hugging a fucking Foreigner in the name of friendship. 

Of course, Master. Robin didn’t need to be told that twice. What kind of rogue was he if he couldn’t teleport out of a room with his Noble Phantasm? “Sure, little sparrow.” To his fellow Servant, he saluted with two fingers. “See you around, Foreigner.”

By the time Robin pulled on his green mantle to conceal his Master for privacy and safety’s sake, though, he couldn’t shake off the last glimpse he got of Azathoth’s face. 

------------------------

It was supposed to be another normal day. Farming for materials in various Rayshift locations, training in the simulator, and then resting in between work shifts. At one of the many break facilities in Chaldea, it was supposed to be something along those lines. 

Robin Hood specifically was sipping at a cup of coffee while reading an article on a Chaldean-brand tablet, lounging in his chair at one of the many refreshment tables in the facility, when the question was posed.

“Sooooo, May King?”

Robin held back a sigh over his tablet, pressing the power button to put the device into sleep mode. “What is it, oh great Eternal Genius of Chaldea?”

“Thank you for the respect~!” Looking up revealed the inventor Caster looming over him with a very silly grin, hands hidden behind her back as she leaned into his personal space bubble by a small margin. On instinct, Robin leaned back to re-establish the bubble, but whether Da Vinci noticed this or not, she didn’t say. Instead, her grin widened once she noticed she had his attention, proceeding to add in a chipper tone, “But I believe you’ve been getting closer to our little Master, haven’t you?”

“I can attest to that!” Achilles called out from his corner of the facility rendered as a gym, putting down a barbell to smirk. “Saddling up to the Princess like her personal knight in shining armor!”

“…And?” Robin said, feeling his eyebrow twitch while going back to his coffee, taking another sip. This was going in a direction he wasn’t liking much. “It’s what any good Servant would do, right? Protecting the Master from threats?”

“Still! When are you two going to get married?” Da Vinci continued, undeterred.

Robin immediately spit out his mouthful of coffee, feeling it burn on his tongue as he sputtered, “Wh-WHAT.” The small flecks of spittle on the tablet screen from his wasted coffee didn’t make him feel any better.

“It’s something new to see here, a wedding,” Da Vinci hummed, leaning back to stand upright while shuffling back and forth on her heels in anticipation. Apparently she ducked away fast enough to avoid the spray. “Our little Master, in a white dress, walking forward to meet a beloved man in green~!” 

Oh god.

“Oh, I can hear the birds singing now~!” Achilles added in a singsong voice, striding over with a gait that was anything but casual as an arm was slung over Robin’s head. “I’d like to be the best man for that!”

Oh god. 

“Wh-What makes you think the little sparrow would want to marry me?!” Robin protested, putting down his cup hastily while grabbing a napkin to wipe at the soaked tablet and nearby table he could reach. “Isn’t that going too fast!?”

“I mean, the Incineration’s changed a lot of things, Archer,” Achilles hums over Robin’s head, continuing to use his head like some kind of armrest as he started to whistle of all things. “You could easily woo our Princess if you wanted to. Utilize those good looks you keep bragging about under your breath when complaining about something!”

“I could most definitely set up a date spot with Romani!” Da Vinci chimed in, looking all the more triumphant about it. “With our growing resources, scheduling a date is not beneath me!”

Robin held back a sigh, crumpling the wet napkin in his hand into a ball to toss into the nearby trash can, shaking his head enough to make Achilles retract his arm. “…What makes you two think the little sparrow would want to date me?”

As expected, the room started to feel cold once Achilles’ arm fell to his side. “…What makes you ask that, Archer?” The lighthearted tone in the Rider’s voice grew softer, almost sympathetic, as he went on with a solemn, “From what I can see, the Princess loves you.”

“As a hero, not as a man,” Robin felt the words come out like poison from his throat, shaking his head again. “She’s only loved the Robin Hood from the books she read, not me. Why would she go for someone like me, anyways?”

I’m not the Robin Hood all the kids sing about. 

“From what I can tell,” Da Vinci interrupted in an equally quiet voice, “she still cares about you in spite of that.”

“But how long will that be, Da Vinci?” Robin waved it off with a hand, closing his eyes and pushing his coffee away. “The little sparrow’s got her eyes set on the long-term goal, and from what I can tell, she doesn’t want to get married until her parents are back.” Until all this Saving Humanity business is over. “Why marry a charlatan like me?”

In the end, whether we win or lose this battle, I’ll still disappear. The little sparrow won’t have us around forever. So why would she love me? 

“Why not you?” Da Vinci retorted, her voice rising in volume from what appeared to be plain disbelief, crossing her arms over her chest. “There’s a reason she used a Grail on you, Robin Hood, and Vy rarely uses our stock of Holy Grails.”

“Yeah!” Robin turned once Achilles was cuffing the back of his head, an affronted expression on his face. “Not even me or the Queen of France got one yet, Archer! Yet you did! That’s gotta mean something!” 

She wants you to stay, you dense Archer, Da Vinci’s blue eyes said with a fierce flash of a blink when Robin turned back to meet her gaze. Why wouldn’t she love you after all that?

Robin had no answer for all that. He opened his mouth, tried to find something to defend himself, something to deny what was being presented to him, only for the hiss of a door to interrupt his thoughts. He tried to compose himself, he really did, but the May King still found himself freezing at the high-pitched voice that echoed throughout the break room. 

“Big Robin? Achi? Da Vinci-chan?”

True to form, Vy — the little sparrow herself — was peeking past the entrance to the break room, hands clinging onto the sides of the doorway as she looked around the room, long brown hair framing her face. Even with her glasses starting to slide down the bridge of her nose, Robin couldn’t deny the sight of her brown eyes lighting up once she noticed him there, an equally bright smile forming on her face with it. “Big Robin!”

There you are, beloved friend, immediately leaked through their bond, flooding Robin with warmth that he honestly wasn’t expecting. Emotion leaking? It’s good to see you!

…Well. “H-Hey, little sparrow,” he eventually got out past the lump in his throat, forcing himself to grab his lukewarm coffee to take a calming sip while Vy ran over. 

Unlike him, the other Servants seemed to want to treat the previous conversation like a passing wind, as the Mona Lisa was back with Da Vinci’s equally happy, “Hello, mia bella!” in Vy’s direction.

It matched Achilles’ cheery, “Hey to you too, Princess!”, no doubt. The Rider still took his hand off of Robin’s head before Robin could question it, reaching over to pat Vy’s hair. “What’s going on with you?”

“Just wanted to grab you three for a taste-test!” Vy hummed, glancing between all three with a happier smile as she gently bounced up to bump her head against the palm of Achilles’ gloved hand. “I just finished making a batch of blueberry muffins, so I was thinking we could all eat it together!”

“Ooooh, that sounds lovely, cara mia!” Da Vinci cooed, clasping her hands together in anticipation while making the space to give Robin a dirty look. “I know Rider and I are all for it, and Archer should be too, right?” 

By the time Vy was looking in Robin’s direction, he could feel a drop of sweat trickle down from his hairline as he glanced away for the last swathes of composure he could muster. Too sparkly. Too cute to look at. Achilles wouldn’t let him hear the end of this for weeks. “Y-Yeah,” he said in a quieter voice, sipping at his coffee to conceal the residual heat starting to climb up the back of his neck. “Not going to say ‘no’ to a little lady’s hard work.”

Vy proceeded to make a noise caught between a laugh and a happy squeal as she jumped in place, shaking her hands in the air like it was her birthday come early. “Yay! We can all go to the Dining Hall then!” The last thing Robin expected was for the hyper moment to fade with Vy’s gaze lingering on him, and he turned his head just to find her brown eyes hesitating in his direction. “Um…” Vy started, a softer high-pitch rising in her voice as she shuffled about in place through her boots. “Big Robin?”

Robin put down his mug of coffee once it dawned on him there was nothing more to drink, turning in his chair to give Vy his best attempt of a smile. Even if his heart was acting weird, he could at least be a good Servant to her. A good imitation of a knight. “What is it, little sparrow?”

Vy smiled, albeit a weaker one than her original greeting one, as she tucked her hands behind her back, kicking up some dust with one boot. “I’m… I’m feeling tempted to hug you like I would Achi and Da Vinci-chan, but are you…” Vy gulped, shaking her head. “Well, um. Could I hug you?”

It took Robin another moment to realize he was blushing. Goddammit. Da Vinci and Achilles were definitely snickering behind them. He still forced himself to inhale through his nose, ducking half of his face into the No Face May King to hide as much as he could while carefully extending his arms outwards. There were just some things petty bowmen couldn’t resist. “...As long as you’re okay with it, little sparrow,” left him in a quieter voice than intended, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Just get over here.”

Vy’s answering giggle and warmth in his front once she rushed over to wrap her arms around his neck were worth it at least. “Thankie, Big Robin,” was the warm whisper brushing his ear. “Thankie so much.”

I care about you lots, I really really do, leaked into their bond, tickling the back of Robin’s mind again. I’d like to be with you, charlatan or not. 

Oh. “I… I should be the one thanking you, Vy.”

“Eh?”