( U w U )

She really couldn’t take much more direct attention to her clit. Even now she was shaking quite noticeably and grasping at anything she could with a vice grip for some sort of support. She’d never actually . . Put anything inside. So needless to say, the foreign sensations causes a hitch in her panting and her gripping to tense up a bit more.

Eyes bleary and wet, she can’t help the movement of her hips, the mixture of sensations down below causing the rising tension in her abdomen to begin rising. From there it was a downward spiral and before she knew it she was seeing stars.

Or at least, she had been attempting to keep things low-key. But at this point? She was passed caring. Besides, someone had probably already realized by now, and that was the most plausible explanation as to why the room was now vacant aside the two of them. She had no shame when it came to this sort of thing. She was an oni, more beast than human. If anything, doing it like this was a good way of showing off who he belonged to.

Heated pants continue to drip from her parted lips along with a few dribbles of saliva. Even though he’d stopped touching her lower, feeling him cling to her like this, and the twitching against her insides as she squeezed down on him . . It was enough to satisfy her.

“ . . Feeling close to spent, are you~? It’s alright, you can go ahead and cum now. Do your best to fill me up~”

 . . .  Just a couple hours ago she’d been celebrating the holidays with her friends and husband. And now they were just . . Gone? Where did they even go? Well, back to the throne of course but . . She hadn't seen it. She hadn’t seen any of them leave, herself.

What was she supposed to do now? Go home? Find an actual job? No. She didn’t even need to with the paycheck they’d slipped her. She didn’t want to go home either. After all this, the concept of . . Just living, like a normal person . . It didn’t feel right. It had only been a few hours and already . . It felt like something important was missing.

There was a hole in her . . Somewhere. A gaping void. Something crucial was gone. And as she sat there, silently, her hands folded and nose tucked within them while her eyes bore into the adjacent wall of the disciplinary room, the only thing she could think of was . . Why?

Why this? Why again? Hadn’t they already lost enough? And now these people were barging in here . . Taking even more from them? How was she supposed to sit there and look these people in the face . . And be totally fine talking to them?

Silence is golden, that’s what Da Vinci said, a sentiment Ritsuka knew well. But could she really sit there and be silent this time? Could she hold herself passively? Could she stand tall and watch what little remnant of a family she’d found in Chaldea slip from between her fingers?

Probably not. And with that thought brought the notion that she could really mess this up for everyone. She wasn’t . . Ready for something like this. Not so soon. 

She was scared. More scared than she had ever been in any singularity. And this time . . Alone too. 

Her form deflates, head sinking down into her palms as the urge to cry began to well up once again. 

They were gone . . They were gone and there was nothing she could do. They were gone even though she knew they didn’t want to leave. She couldn’t help them. Once again, she had failed in protecting those who were important to her. 

And once again some bastard who was just a little bit bigger than her was sneering down at her for it . . When would enough be enough for these people? Why did things like this keep happening? Why was she so weak? Why wasn’t she allowed to be happy for once?

She just wanted her servants back. She wanted her friends . . Her family. She’d give anything to-

Would you really give a n y t h i n g ?

The subtle shaking of her shoulders came to an abrupt stop.

 And gradually, the mage sat back up. 

Form held straight, stiff . . Her previously soggy, soft, and tired eyes now sharpened and hawk-like as they stuck themselves to the wall ahead once again.

That was right. She couldn’t do this. This was just too much for her . . And that was why, giving control up for a while . . Was okay.

The newfound burning just beneath her skin, which she gives no noticeable signs of, is accompanied by a familiar, coaxing voice that leads the magus into unconsciousness. Her eyes flutter shut one more time, and when they open again, she’s gone.

A polite smile worms it’s way onto the woman's lips as she sits in the cell. Her legs crossing and hands folding in her lap as she waits for her turn to be called away. And it didn’t take very long at all.

It would be remarked of, after the interviews with the former master of Chaldea, that they were surprisingly cordial. All smiles, in fact. No matter what questions were asked, no matter what topics were brought to light. 

She never once stopped smiling.

Maybe their time in Chaldea had truly worn down upon them? The constant battles and life and death situations had warped their perspective? They were, after all, just some rinky-dink magus from the backwaters. Perhaps it was all too much for them to handle?

There were no direct answers. But one thing that could be agreed upon by all in attendance afterwards was; Something wasn’t right.

They were right. She was right. All this was too much. She couldn’t do it alone. But luckily for her, she was never truly alone. She always had someone waiting to take the reigns for her once things started to get to be a little too much. And now was just as good a time as any to hand them over.

Once she had returned to the disciplinary cell, the master decided that she really had never felt quite so good. And to the blatant shock of her colleagues sharing the cell, she laid down and went to sleep with ease on the rock hard bunk.

He's never been the type to give a damn about 'Christmas' or giving out gifts, hell -- it's been four years and he's still not really bothered with the concept. But, as much as Selena said she didn't much care about it either, she always had this glimmer in her eyes when the others partook in festive games or events.

For once, he felt a change was needed; whether or not that was a good thing, he'd yet to find out. So, out of nowhere in the middle of the night; he grabs her hand and gently lifts her up, wrapping his other arm around here and essentially holding her against him like a hug. Then, he takes her to an empty room in Chaldea and puts her down. When she looks around, she'd see it's NOT an empty room; in fact, it was decorated with multicolored Christmas lights (namely red & green) alongside mistletoe and even a Christmas Tree in the corner of the room. There was even music playing from a speaker -- /Christmas/ music.

Shutting the door behind them, the Berserker lets out a (flustered) sigh. "..I did all this myself." Whenever did he have the time to do THIS? Who knows. Regardless, he stares down at her for a moment before extending his hand to her again; but before she even thought about taking it, he takes her hand and pulls her into him once more. Without a second thought, he (slightly) bends down and puts his other arm around her waist.

Then, he began to slowly move his body to the melody of the jingle playing; making sure she kept up with his pace (and making sure to not step on her foot). "..Sorry I'm pretty shitty with gifts, but I thought this'd make you happy." Ah, but -- he felt this was good enough. It was enough for him, evident by the /genuine smile/ he was now showing while dancing with her. "Merry Christmas, Blueberry." Of course, they were also slowdancing under the mistletoe.

Christmas was . . A weird thing, now. Back home, as one would expect from a close knit community of farmers, they would throw a ginormous party at one estate or the other and spend all Christmas eve playing games, chatting, eating, dancing . . And even if they didn’t go anywhere one year or another, she knew her family would always have something set up back at home for them too. They used to sit in the living room, bundled up under blankets and sharing warm drinks and cookies.

The adults would talk and tell stories, and an old cartoon would be playing in the background for her to watch. Before long . . Everything would fade into white noise, and she’d end up falling asleep in one of her siblings laps. Then she’d wake up the next morning, tucked in her bed and to the smell of something being cooked and presents everywhere.

Of course, that was . . A long time ago. Back when her brother was still around. But nothing had really changed aside from his absence over the years.

But now . . Well, not to say it wasn’t festive in Chaldea. SOMETHING always happened. Though more often than not it was . . Strange. And Fujimaru ended up having to take care of whatever problem had arisen. Then they’d all have some cake afterwards to celebrate, sometimes the staff would hand out presents or the servants would give stuff out. But it wasn’t nearly as . . Fun, as it was at home.

She didn’t really mind though. She was happy here too even if they didn’t have a huge buffet table or dancing. Besides, it was probably for the best that she didn’t stuff herself silly like she knew she would have at home. And she had Cu here.

That made her wonder, would he have liked that sort of thing? A big party at home? Probably not. But she couldn’t really tell when it came to him, sometimes.

Though, that wasn’t the topic on her mind tonight. Half asleep, cheek squishing a book between her face and the pillow, there wasn’t much going on up there aside from a muffled recap of what she’d just read.

Naturally, she’s confused for a moment as she feels herself being lifted up and grabbed from the bed without warning. Peering up at the berserker with sleepy eyes, she blinks, then seems to silently accept whatever is going on and leans up against him. She did wonder where he was dragging her off to but didn’t question it. She knew him well enough to know he had his reasons for things, and it was probably better not to ask.

She was quite surprised to find that he was, in fact, not taking her to the lounge or simulation room for a change of scenery or training. But had brought her to an almost painfully vibrant and cheerfully decorated room instead.

Still half asleep and now star-struck, Selena glances about the room with a mystified expression before glancing back to him with a growing look of shock.

He . . Did this? Alright. So did that Sumerian fever thing come back and send him into a hallucinatory state or something? Because this was . . Weird.

Still trying to process exactly what was going on, her eyes shift to his hand and she opens her mouth to speak, only to find that she’s not much choice in the matter and it quickly squished against him once again.

Her mouth immediately clamps shut and she just stares at him for a few silent seconds before he speaks again and her shock breaks into a softer expression. A strange wave of deja-vu washes over her for a moment.

Oh . .  So that was what was up. Yeah. This was more than good enough for her too.

A happy smile twists the corners of her lips as she takes her free hand and reaches out to cup his cheek, “ . . So you can smile.” That was probably one of the best gifts she’d get, honestly. And she doubted she’d get anything much like it for a long time afterwards. 

There Gilgamesh was, standing in front of Ritsuka, holding out a golden box with sapphire colored ribbons around it to keep it from opening. "Take it; it is my gift to you. Of course, I'm sure there isn't much I can give you better than the rings that prove our wedlock; but, it is something I've worked on myself." He'd love to see her reaction, but he simply smiles when she takes it and walks past her.

 "You may give me your praise and affection over it later" He knew she'd like it, anyways. Inside, once she peeled the ribbons off, was a silver-chained necklace; attached at the very end was a heart shaped Lapis Lazuli stone. The shape itself was hand crafted by Gilgamesh himself, as he had a nearly unlimited supply of Lapis. All along the heart were various sprinkles of real gold, making it shimmer wherever it moved. 

However, were she to move it into the light; she would make out a message etched into the stone with, you guessed it, gold ink that showed only when exposed to light. When inspected; she would see that the message reads out, in both Sumerian and Japanese, a very familiar message with added text; 'For the light of my life; she who is my greatest treasure.' On the back of the heart, the message continues; 'You are my wife, my queen, my love. I will not give you up. Gilgamesh.' The message finally ends when he signs his name.

She’d only just managed to recover from the impromptu trip to the underworld and the renewed Christmas celebrations that had followed after her return and the dissipation of the fever. Still somewhat drained, she just couldn’t let herself relax anymore! There was still so much to get done before the end of the year and she’d feel wrong sitting out, (even if she was recovering.)

Flying to and fro between this hallway and that, from lounge to kitchen to the tech room, Ritsuka was keeping herself busy. Too busy to stop and remember that the holiday was now upon them, and she really ought to take a break and go see her husband king.

It was as she at last stopped moving her feet to lean against a wall and catch her breath that the realization dawned on her. A surge of panic wells up through her feet to her stomach at the possible repercussions that could come with her absent-mindedness, but it is as soon as she jolts into action that she finds herself cut off by the very person she’d been about to track down herself.

Surprised initially, she screeches to a halt with wide eyes. Though this expression of shock quickly devolves into curiosity as he’s already shoving a beautifully decorated box into her hands. Mouth opening as if she were about to speak, she’s cut off once again in favor of his words. And by the time she would find a chance TO speak, he’s already passed the gift on and trotted off.

Immediately she assumes he must have been a bit miffed with her, hence the sudden exit. A pang of guilt consumes her gut as her very much puppy dogged eyes turn to the present in her hands. She.. Really should wait. Christmas was tomorrow after all. And opening it now would feel-

But he seemed like he wanted her to open it now . .

Glancing about to make sure he had not turned on his heel for a rebound, or was hiding nearby, she huffs and scurries off into a vacant room nearby to further inspect her gift.

Once satisfied with her solitude, the redhead took a seat on the Chaldea issues, unused bed, and began to stare longingly at the present in her lap once again.

It would take her a while to finally make up her mind after much pacing about and talking to herself. But once she finally caved, she was glad that she had.

It was with the utmost caution that she unwrapped the box, the ribbon and wrapping itself pretty enough to make the magus not want to open it, so she decided to be as gentle as possible in opening it, instead.

Slowly, she pulls the necklace out by its chain, her face consumed by awe at the sight of the lovely trinket. She’d . . Never been much for jewelry but, this was really beautiful, wasn’t it? Grasping the lapis centerpiece gingerly, she runs her thumb over the stone which alerts her to something on the surface . .

Squinting but finding nothing, she stands up and begins to pace around again, only to accidentally blind herself when holding it up to the rooms light. Taking a moment to recover with a whine, she rubs at her eyes, only for them to water up . . And not because of the light.

Now, Ritsuka was a sap even at the best of times. It took . . Very little to make her cry. So needless to say, reading what was written on the necklace made her break out into full on sobs.

Plopping back down onto the bed, clutching her gift to her chest while she sputters, the magus’s mind wanders into the realm of; How had she gotten lucky enough to find someone like him? How had something like her managed to latch onto someone like him and be reciprocated so eagerly?

How could he look at the mangled, decrepit, and defective mish-mash of a tool she was and find it fitting to say such nice things to her? 

She didn’t understand it. But did she really need to? She loved him, and he had settled for her, for some reason. She was happy, and that was more than she thought she deserved, let alone needed.

When she finally managed to calm down, her eyes reddened and puffy from the tears and her furiously wiping sleeve, Ritsuka sniffles then carefully places the necklace’s chain about her neck. 

She didn’t like to show off, and despite it’s beauty, the necklace was somewhat large to be worn casually. And so, she tucks it beneath the collar of her shirt where it feels satisfyingly cool against the skin of her chest. Just above her heart.

“ . . . “ She’s not used to this sort of thing, obviously.