#bond 11

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Musashi could still remember the moment Vy saw through her lie as Iori. Even when she was faking a smile and trying to put on her best brave face, all Vy did in that Las Vegas Singularity past Robin's protective arm was smile quietly.

"It's nice to meet you then, Iori-san," she had said back then, gently nudging Robin's arm away to step forward and offer Musashi her hand as an olive branch through handshake. "I look forward to working with you if you're just as cool as Shii-chan."

Cool, was what Vy said. Not "reliable," not "hardworking," just... cool. And even with the shame that flooded her at remembering the Grail-cooked udon that started the whole Las Vegas mess, Musashi took it with a laugh that felt genuine coming out of her throat. It was hard enough not acting on the urge to hug Vy that day, because her sundress and cute straw hat made her look more adorable than what Musashi remembered of her back in Shimosa, and Shimosa Vy hugged Musashi constantly.

Even now, with her Saber self as a whole other being in Novum Chaldea and her own existence as a Berserker solidified through Holy Grails, that sense of fond surprise hadn't changed at the sight of the rare rainbow flame being offered to her again.

All it takes is three rare prisms, they say...

"Little riceball," left Musashi in a breath caught between a laugh and a cough, her swimsuit straining against her skin from the effort as she met Vy's confused eye. "Again with this?"

"Why not?" Vy retorted, sounding close to offended if not for the sparkle in her bespectacled eyes. "Not everything you've done has been a screw-up to me, Shii-chan."

Musashi froze.

Without skipping a beat, Vy took a step forward to take both of Musashi's hands in hers, slipping the Bond Chalice in between their intertwined fingers as she smiled a softer, kinder, loving smile. "Sure, you making that Grail-cooked udon might've caused some trouble," she went on quietly with a shake of her head, "but it still let me meet you, Shii-chan. It let me bring you to Novum Chaldea, let me hug you every day like I wanted to back in Shimosa when you were the same as your Saber self." With a giggle, Vy raised her head to meet Musashi's eye with that same sparkle in her gaze. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, well, I wanted to give you this Bond Chalice because it's you and you've done plenty of good too!"

Is that why—

It took Musashi a moment too long to realize her nose was starting to itch, and taking one hand to swipe at it revealed its fair share of snot and tears starting to emerge on her features. "Vy... you'll kill me with those kinds of things..."

It didn't stop Vy from pulling on Musashi's hand to wrap her arms around Musashi's neck, being careful of her swords, and Musashi stumbled. It was easy to see Vy struggling to keep the gesture up from the height difference, her legs trembling thanks to standing on her tiptoes, but when Musashi swiveled her head in Vy's direction, the little riceball merely tightened her grip. "No," she said in a harder voice, something thick outlining her tone that Musashi definitely didn't hear before. "No dying on my watch, Shii-chan. Absolutely not. One world rejected you before. I'm not doing that to you. So no dying on me."

With a laugh of her own, Musashi reached over with both arms to tightly wind them around Vy's waist, keeping the Bond Chalice clutched between her fingers as she lifted the petite Master up in the air. Vy was yelping, sounding absolutely adorable, and Musashi let her self-control fall to the wayside as she turned her head to press an affectionate kiss to Vy's cheek through the tears starting to blur her vision. "Only for you, little riceball."

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Robin knew he was dreaming. From the damp grass under his feet and the smoky scent of the No Face May King, he knew he was back in his past again. There was no other explanation.

It didn't make seeing his little sparrow approach him in a long white dress any less eerie. Sure, Masters and Servants could share dreams, but there was something different about Vy walking closer to him compared to the previous times they had experienced this, awareness obvious in her features.

Not once during his previous summoning did Sir ever approach him like his little sparrow.

With a tilt of her head, her straw hat tipped back against her hair as Vy slowly sat down on her knees. A pink lotus was placed against the ground that she didn't cover, matching the pink ribbon keeping some of her long brown hair back and the warm smile on her face.

"You don't have to sit alone, y'know, Robin," Vy whispered, offering a single hand to him. "You're not alone anymore."

Even when every single part of him doubted that, he found himself smiling and raising a hand back.

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Sometimes, Achilles could still remember the unease. The unending discord, the quiet foreboding. Even his goddess mother Thetis had cried tears over such things, much to his small, lingering regret as he went on to be the hero she wished him not to be.

It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling either, but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable when sensing it start to trickle down his spine at the sight of Vy wordlessly offering yet another Bond Chalice to him, smiling through the fatigued lines and dark shadows underneath her eyes. He knew she was a selfless, caring girl like that, giving Servants food and rest like they were people and not just heroes, but Achilles wondered sometimes, when the exact moment was in her life where she stopped looking after herself.

There was only so much Novum Chaldea could do, and "enough" was still a subjective term for things with the Foreign God lingering on the horizon like a motherfucking demon that really needed to get her head out of her ass.

Even then, the exasperated smile tugging at his lips was real as he reached past the rainbow flame, past the gold cup keeping him in the room, to rest his hands underneath the arms of the oh-so-human girl who summoned him.

Before, in another world, he had to serve a priest who had far too lofty goals for Achilles' liking, probably as nothing more than an extra bodyguard if Amakusa Shirou Tokisada had anything to say on the matter. Or Semiramis, being such a pompous, dishonest queen. How Atalante agreed to working with them back then was beyond Achilles.

Here, however, in a world that was Bleached beyond repair, he could at least be another Hero, a successful one this time, to a girl who deserved to be saved at least once.

Achilles could see Vy's lips move in a wordless cry of his nickname (heck, their bond could let him hear her voice it without it taking physical sound waves in the softest, sweetest tone, even when he knew she would only ever love one Hero as a man in her heart) once he lifted her up from her place trying to hand him another gift, letting the Bond Chalice fall to the floor of the Enhancement Center with a clatter. In his arms, she squirmed, looking more like a child than a weakened, traumatized Master with her loose ponytail and the wide look in her brown eyes that reflected his image. Still, her hands rested on his shoulders, not even giving a sign of resistance as he brought her close to him.

Bump, went their foreheads.

"Silly Master," he whispered in response to the questioning muu that Vy made as he closed his eyes. "You gotta remember you matter before you lose your voice trying to give me things."

I won't treat you like I did Penthesilea. Never.

Vy croaked a soft, "A..." just as Achilles bumped their heads together again. "Achi..."

"No buts, Princess," he continued, adjusting his grip so that she was protectively nestled into his chest, her hair tickling the side of his neck. Her waist was tiny in his arms, thin despite the muscle and taut flexing that served as proof of her training outside the simulator. "I told you with the first Bond Chalice, remember? I lost one love before." No. Maybe two, when counting the Great Holy Grail War. But still. He rested a hand in those long brown locks of hair, stroking it quietly. "I'm not going to stand losing you."

Achilles only let himself relax and press his cheek into the top of Vy's hair once he heard the squeaked, "O... Okay."

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Arturia honestly should have not been surprised. She knew better than anyone - save perhaps the other Grailed Servants, Robin Hood and Achilles especially considering their shared status as the original "Big Three" - that Vy was a selfless and kind young woman. If someone asked for her, she'd be there. If an opportunity to help presented itself, she would take it without hesitation. She was that sort of person.

Not even the rarity of a Bond Chalice meant much in monetary value to her, especially when offering it to Arturia like it was a birthday present. Smiling and all.

With Vy, sentimental value meant more than any costs that they could acrue.

"Princess..." left Arturia in a huff of a fond breath, unable to help herself from shaking her head at the rather adorably confused face Vy made in response to her nickname. "How much did you work for this?"

The color slowly drained out of Vy's cheeks - well, all but pink, mind - as she processed the question. Then she raised one pointer finger past the rainbow flame in the gold cup. "Am I..." Vy's voice cracked in almost comedic hesitation. "Am I allowed to take a vow of silence?"

"Vy," Arturia said in the closest tone to a stern voice she could muster past the sudden urge to laugh. "I won't get angry. You can answer the question."

It doesn't stop the young woman from flushing a darker shade of pink, and she ducked her head, almost as if to hide her face behind the gold cup as she still held it up in Arturia's direction. "...Three rare prisms," is the eventual squeak that rose past the rainbow flame still standing between the two of them. "And lots of farming."

"Is that why you took me with you on all those quests?" Arturia mused, unable to hide the soft smile starting to tug at the corners of her mouth as she raised a hand in Vy's direction. "Princess, you didn't have to."

"I-I wanted to!" Vy blurts out next, and Arturia finds herself pleasantly surprised again at the sight of Vy's determined brown eyes staring at just her past the rainbow flame still in her hands, pink fading for softness and kindness that belonged to no one else. "You're my best and favorite Saber, Art-san! You've fought long enough, so you deserve good things after that! So... so..." Vy trailed off.

You've done so much good for the world, for me, echoed through their bond in lieu of verbalized words, climbing up Arturia's spine and warming the back of her neck. Why wouldn't I give you another Bond Chalice after that? No one deserves to suffer alone.

This Master. Only someone like Vy would actively make the effort to be at Arturia's side, even when her hands were shaking and her voice was trembling from the sheer effort. Standing tall, to the best of her ability, probably to the very end.

Arturia gently took the golden cup from Vy's hands before Vy could push herself anymore, smiling in return.

"Art-san...?"

"As long as you remember that you have done plenty of good yourself, Princess," Arturia whispered, keeping the Chalice close to her chest while leaning over to bump foreheads with the young woman, "then I won't have to worry."

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Compared to the first time they stood in the Enhancement Center together, years ago, Robin looked more put together. More like an old friend than a disoriented Heroic Spirit, unsure of where to go way back when. "You really were serious," Robin chuckled, rubbing the side of his nose with his thumb. "Even after all this time, huh."

"Why wouldn't I be—"

Still, Vy felt herself freeze with the Bond Chalice falling limp in her hands once Robin took out a large satchel from behind his back.

"Big...Robin?"

"Just a sec." Robin winked at her, placing a finger to his lips while lowering the satchel to the ground of the Enhancement Center. Once the bag touched the tile floor, the knot keeping the bag closed loosened with Robin letting it go, revealing a large pile of familiar seven-pointed rainbow-colored jewels inside. With a soft whistle, Robin left the bag on the floor, tilting his head at Vy once she was staring up at him and away from the treasure. "I couldn't just let my little sparrow use up all her materials on me without giving something back now, right?"

"Saint... Quartz?" Vy felt herself inhale sharply, glancing between the bag and Robin before blurting, "Robin..."

These are expensive, where did you find these, when did you—

The next thing Vy knew, Robin was in front of her, mere centimeters away as his hands cupped hers, the Bond Chalice's rainbow flame illuminating the affection in his visible green eye as he smiled. "Hey," he whispered, "what's the starry-eyed look for, little sparrow?"

It took a single tear sliding down Vy's cheek to realize what he meant. "I-I..." Vy's throat closed without her meaning it, causing her to duck her head to try catching her breath. A hand still rose towards her, a calloused thumb proceeding to rest at her cheekbone to wipe the next tear away with that signature softness that Vy knew belonged to her most trusted Archer, and she choked. "Wh-What did I do to deserve you, Big Robin? Getting me Saint Quartz wh-when I just wanted to be with you, nothing else..." The Bond Chalice itself was looking foggy as her glasses grew blurry. "Just... wh-what... Wh-What did I do to have you in my life?"

You don't have to do anything, little sparrow, tickled Vy's mind, and that was all the warning she had before the Bond Chalice was being taken out of her hands and a strong hand was pulling her in. Even past her blurry glasses, she could see nothing but green as her body fell limp against Robin's supportive one, her head left to do nothing but rest in his shoulder.

"R-Robin..." came out in a choked sob before Vy could stop it.

"I don't just do this for anyone, little sparrow," brushed the top of her hair as an arm wound around her waist, squeezing reassuringly. Fingers were brushing through her hair. "I wanted to do this because it's for you."

"Uuu..." Vy's nose seized up as more tears proceeded to bubble up in her eyes, dotting her glasses. Somehow, strength proceeded to surge through her arms, enough for her to reach up and hug Robin back, clutching the No Face May King like a lifeline in the process. Thank you, thank you, I love you, I love you, echoed so much in her head. "I-If..." Vy sniffled instead, closing her eyes and burying her face into Robin's shoulder to hide the fear, "If I said...I wanted my eventual first time to be with you, Big Robin, would it — would it be okay?"

Could I still be with you? Even when I'm like this?

This time it was Robin's turn to freeze, and Vy could feel the shock reverberate through their bond before he was gently pushing her back, his forehead gently bumping hers. "...If you said that, little sparrow," Robin said in a quiet voice, his visible eye fluttering open to stare at her and her alone, "then of course it'd be okay. As long as you're okay with me as your eventual first." An unintentional giggle left Vy's lips once the tip of Robin's nose rubbed hers, and blinking her eyes revealed her own reflection shining in Robin's green eye as he smiled. "Then again," he hummed against her lips, breath warm all the while, "I've been your first for a lot of things, haven't I?"

"I-I don't regret it. Being with you has been one of the greatest things that could've ever happened to me..." Vy took one hand up to cup his cheek and brush the fringe of hair away from his face, revealing his other green eye to her as she did her best to smile through the tears. "I-I love you, Robin Hood."

Robin simply blinked at her, a shaky breath brushing her lips as he answered, "And I love you, Vy Duong."