A Pair of Brackets

Ritsuka’s room is, generally speaking, rather sparse.

That’s not to say they don’t own a lot of junk (they absolutely do, as the storage room below deck will attest.) However, a lot of people tend to come in and out of their room, so they’ve taken the habit of keeping the floor clean.

This makes the circle of stones all the more striking today. Thirty-seven rocks, of various shape and size, disposed with a perfect distance from one another.

“So?” Ritsuka asks, sparkles in their eyes. “What do you think?”

What does she think? Well. Artoria, Caster, she who chants, is mostly extremely confused right now.

She eyes at Ritsuka. They’re obviously really excited about her answer. Their body keeps swaying up and down, and they’re flapping their hands right in front of their chest. She can tell this is something really important to them.

But no matter how she looks at it… these are rocks. Just. These Are Rocks.

Okay. Okay, let’s look at this differently. These are rocks, true, but achieving a perfect circle with anything is really hard. Additionally, making all of them equally spaced must have taken quite some time (doubly so for Ritsuka, whose fine motor skills are approximate on the best days.) “This is really well-made.” She settles on. “I can tell you put a lot of efforts in it.”

Ritsuka immediately perks up, like a puppy being offered a treat. “You like it?”

“Sure!” It’s not specifically something she would want in her own room, but if that makes Ritsuka happy? Good for them. Good for them.

“Would you,” they pause. Their entire body does, bouncing and flapping and talking alike. It’s deeply uncanny. “Would you like to step in?”

… Ah. “No.”

Artoria has rarely encountered fairy rings for herself, thankfully. That doesn’t mean she’s stupid enough to step into one. Granted, human rings are probably different, and she trusts Ritsuka more than anyone else in this world, but… that’s still not enough trust to get her to step in this thing.

Ritsuka visibly deflates. The sight tears at her heartstrings, obviously- she doesn’t want to make her best friend sad- but most importantly, it’s kind of worrying. Ritsuka isn’t one to wear their disappointment on their sleeve.

Before she can ask any question though, they shake their head. “Alright. I got this. I’ll do better next time.” Suddenly, they grab her by the shoulders, spin her around, and push her out of the room. “Now, shoo! I’ll amaze you next time! You’ll see!”

---

She doesn’t see them again for the rest of the day, which isn’t surprising (Chaldea is a big place) but she doesn’t hear of them either, which is (the servants are… not very normal about Ritsuka. You can usually make an educated guess as to where they are in the building based on the gossip following them.)

Seven pm though and they ambush her on her way to the cafeteria.

“Artoria!” They immediately shove something warm against her chest. It’s round. It’s solid. She palms at it. This is… a loaf of bread? “I made it for you!”

“Oh. Thank you.” She pinches a corner to break it away from the rest of the bread. Olives and ham have been baked into it. She eats that crumb. It tastes… a bit too salty, frankly, but it’s still pretty good. Most importantly, Ritsuka made it, for her. She can’t help a smile as she eats. “I didn’t know you baked.”

Ritsuka nods. Their entire body sways with their head. One of their hand closes around her wrist, and gently tugs her towards their room. “They wouldn’t let me close to the knives. But I can mix things. And I can knead. So I thought it would be perfect.”

… Well that is a mildly worrying thing to say.

Too soon though, they push her in their room, and the conversation shifts. “So! I changed the circle. What do you think this time?”

At first, Artoria doesn’t pick up what has changed with the human ring. It’s still a circle of stones. It’s still the same size, and the stones are still at equal distance. But as she rakes her brain as to what has changed- it hits her. “Oh, I like the gradient you did with the colors. It’s pretty.” All the shades of gray are on one side, slowly followed by all sorts of striped rocks, spotted rocks, and eventually- quartz, feldspathoids, and their more colorful cousins.

Ritsuka preens, like a peacock. “Right? Right??” They look this close to jumping up and down. How long did they spend on this? She doesn’t really get human art, but she can appreciate dedication when she sees it. “… Would you like to step in, then?”

“Still a no.”

And they deflate again. They glare at the circle as if it had personally offended them, clicking their tongue.

“Hey, are you okay?” Artoria asks tentatively. “You keep fidgeting, and you’re a bit red in the face… do you have a fever?”

She reaches out to find out, but Ritsuka bats her hand away, shaking their head. “Okay, I think I know what to do. Shoo! I’ll call you back when it’s done.”

“You-”

“Shoo, I said! Next time I’ll blow your mind, you’ll see!”

---

This time they disappear for an entire day. When they come back to get her, they’re panting and sweaty, the first buttons of their shirt undone. Obvious distraction aside, this is not helping Artoria’s worry, considering it’s at best 10°C in Novum Chaldea.

“Are you sure you’re okay-”

“I’m fine! I’m fine.” And the weirdest thing is, this pings true to her Fairy Eyes. Ritsuka is very good at fooling themself, but her eyes have always pierced through their most convincing acts. “Here. For you.”

This time, it’s a scarf they shove in her hands, royal blue with a golden emblem embroidered at each end. The wool is a bit rough at each end, which tells her that this is handmade. As a servant, she is no longer sensitive to cold, but she appreciates the gesture regardless.

They drag her back to their room once more. The color gradient is still here, but this time they seem to have played with the spacing of each stone: they’re packed in group of three, so close they’re almost touching, and then these three spaced equally with each other.

“Oh, this looks cool.” She comments. It reminds her a bit of simple sigils. It’s surprisingly pleasing visually.

Ritsuka’s hands are flapping like crazy. “Right? Right??” They’re smiling at her, sharp canines shining under the artificial light. “Would you-”

“No.”

Their hands still. “… But you do like the circle, right?”

It feels like they’re asking something heavy, but Artoria cannot for the life of her figure out what. “I do like it. I don’t want you to stop showing these to me.” Whatever human thing those circles are- she can tell they’re important. Even if she doesn’t understand them, she doesn’t want Ritsuka to feel like she’s not interested in their culture. “But I’m not stepping in any circle. Ever.”

Ritsuka stares at her for a second. Slowly, their hands start flapping again. “So the problem is the circle.”

Well. Yes? She supposes? “I don’t like enclosed spaces. I need an escape route. You know how it is.”

“No circle, and an escape route.” Their hands speed up. “Okay! Next time for sure. Next time for sure, I’ll show you!”

---

The next time they get her, their shirt is wide open, and the glimpse of tits she sees is distracting enough that she forgets to drag them to the infirmary for it.

“So? So?” It’s like they’re vibrating all over, flapping hands and twitching legs, their whole body rocking back and forth. “What do you think of this one?”

It’s-

Not a circle.

It’s a square, in fact. Or more accurately, two brackets next to each other, the space between them large enough for a person to walk through.

“What do you think?” There’s a tension in their voice. Fear? Expectations? It sounds like both.

Artoria doesn’t answer. She knows what they want from her. So, simply, she steps in.

Ritsuka stares for a second- and then they actually jump in place, thrusting both fists towards the sky. “YES!” They spin suddenly, then point a finger at her. “Don’t move. Be right back!”

They throw themselves at their wardrobe. For a moment, Artoria can only look at them with confusion- she figured this would lead to some kind of reaction, but she didn’t expect it to be this intense. Then Ritsuka starts changing clothes right in front of her, and she has to hurriedly look the other way.

“Okay, done! Look at me, Artoria.”

She turns again, crossing her fingers that they’re decent. They are, mostly. They’ve changed into very colorful clothes- mostly bright blue, a bit of yellow, a bit of red. For some reason, their chest is still very visible, but Artoria doesn’t have time to dwell on that, because the second she lays her had on her friend they start dancing.

It’s nothing like the dances in Fairy Britain. This isn’t like the waltz from the queen’s castle, nor is it like the village dances from Tintagel. Ritsuka jumps, throws themself on the ground, lifts themself up on their forearm alone, curls into a ball and spin. It’s an impressive display of skills, and Artoria can do nothing but gape as the dance goes on.

When they’re done, they slide to their knees in front of her, smiling up at her. “So?” They’re breathing heavily. “What did you think?”

“… This was really good.” She’s still recovering from the sight. This was breathtaking. “I’ve never seen something like that before.”

Ritsuka gives a small, breathless laugh. “… Good enough for a bite, perhaps?”

And just like that, they’ve lost Artoria again. She gathered that they wanted their stone circle to be appealing. She figures that the dance followed a similar logic. But what does biting have to do with any of that? “You want me to bite you?”

Ritsuka’s eyes widen, and though their face is already red from the effort, she could swear they’re blushing harder at her words. They blink up at her, and then, hesitantly, raise a hand towards her. “If you would…?”

… Sure. Why not? It wouldn’t be the weirdest thing she’s seen in Chaldea. Artoria crouches down, then takes their wrist, to gently guide their hand in her mouth.

Their skin is warm against her lips. Really, really warm, like that bread they gifted her, fresh out of the oven. She runs her tongue against their palm. It tastes a bit odd, like skin always does- maybe a bit salty, with how heavily they were just sweating.

She aims to bite the fat of their thumb, at the junction between bones. Their flesh cave easily under her jaw. She means for this to be a quick nip, just to humor them- but they barely react as she bites down, so she decides to apply just a bit more pressure, to see, and maybe just a bit more, and a bit more, and a bit more-

They squeak, finally, like a chew toy, and that’s when she realizes that she definitely left a bruise with how hard she went at it.

“Sorry!” She hurriedly lets go of them. She can see the precise print of her teeth on their skin. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. “I didn’t mean-”

Suddenly, arms wrap around her, and she is hauled up as Ritsuka gets up, pressing her tight against their chest. “I love you!”

True. “What?”

“I love you! I love you! I love you!” She doesn’t think they mean to yell, but they’re so giddy, their voice is booming like thunder, and every shot of lightning is her eyes pinging true, true, true. “I love you sooooooo much. I love you more than the entire world!”

They walk backward as they say so, until the back of their knees hit the bed, and they fall onto their mattress. They don’t let go of her a single second, meaning Artoria finds herself pining her friend down without a warning.

“I love youuu.” A powerful purr suddenly rakes their body, making Artoria jolt. “I love you, I love you, I love you!”

Artoria should say something, anything, get out of their hold and ask for clarification, but it’s really, really hard to think when she feels bombarded by a deluge of love and affection. “I- you- Ritsuka- you-”

Suddenly, Ritsuka lets go of her, grabbing her by the shoulders to prop her up. “I need to lay on you.”

“What-”

Her sentence ends with a squeak as Ritsuka flips them over, flopping over her like a giant cat. They even stretch like one, extending their arms way past Artoria’s head, eying at their hand with a smug smile.

“You bit me.” Their voice seems to vibrate as they speak, their purr echoing with their words. Their whole body feels like a furnace. “You bit me. You’re not taking that back! You’re never getting rid of me now. I will be with you forever and ever. Even in hell. Even in Avalon. I belong to you now! You take responsibility!”

“I didn’t- I-” In this position, she catches glimpse of the schedule hung above Ritsuka’s bed. The entire week is greyed out. It’s a bit hard to read upside down, but eventually, she makes it out:

[RUT WEEK :D]

Oh.

“I love youuuu.” Ritsuka nuzzles the side of her neck. She can almost hear little hearts crowning their sentences. “I love you so, so much. I’m gonna take sooo good care of you, you’ll see. I’ll never let you be hungry or cold or alone. You’ll see! You’ll see.”

“Ritsuka,” she taps on their shoulder. “Ritsuka, are you, uh. Are you. Horny?”

With the way they’re laid across her, she has no way to tell- no direct contact with any compromising part. Thankfully, or not, Ritsuka seems to have no problem responding with: “Yeah. I wanna eat you out so bad. I think I could come just from that. You smell so, so good. It must be heavenly down there. I wanna map your whole body with my mouth and suck on your tits and bite you all over and-”

“Enough! Enough. I’ve got the picture.” She throws a hand over her burning face. She feels like she’s going to die.

Ignorant, or uncaring of her embarrassment, Ritsuka simply lays their head on her collarbone. “But you bit me. So you gotta be the one to take the lead. That’s how it works. Well, I’ve never been with another alpha, but I’m sure that’s how it works.”

That seems stupid. However, she also strongly suspects that Ritsuka’s, uh, rut (who named that thing this makes them sound like a dog) (DO NOT THINK OF RITSUKA AS A DOG NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE HORNY) is hindering their ability to think straight, so instead what she says is: “And what if I, uh. Don’t?”

“That’s okay. It can wait. I’ll wait forever for you.” They nose her neck again. “Right now I just want to hold you. That’s allowed, right?”

Then, suddenly, they jump on all four, hovering over her. The sudden loss of their weight over her is somehow the most jarring part. “Oh my god, I’m the one who have to make the nest, right? I don’t know how to do that!” They move to sit back on their heels. “I need to go ask Mash-”

But Artoria grabs them by the collar first and drags them back down. “Your bed will do just fine.” She only has the vaguest idea of what a human nest entails, but what she knows is that she is not ready for Ritsuka to run off and, presumably, tell everyone that she is… their owner? Their wife? Their lover? She has no idea what is going on but she will keep it contained to this room until she figures it out.

“Oh. Okay. You’ll sleep with me?” They flop back down. The way they look up at her- it’s like she hung up the stars. It’s like she is a star. It’s like she’s something greater than life, to be loved, to be worshipped, and that love is so much more than what she is used to get that she doesn’t know what to with.

“S-sure.” It’s not the first time they’ve slept together- slept in the same bed together. The fact that they’ve apparently been hit by the simp beam doesn’t change anything. If Artoria thinks it enough times she’ll start to believe it eventually.

Ritsuka doesn’t reply. They set their head on her chest, ear right above her heart, and close their eyes, a dopey smile on their face. “I love you.” They repeat once more.

True.

Slowly, Artoria rises a hand, and buries her fingers in their hair. They respond with a low purr.

When their rut is over, she thinks, when their rut is over, we need to talk about this. I need to know if this was the rut talking. I need to know if they meant all of this.

And then, as an aside: If they did mean it, I’m jumping their bones.

Comments