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Ventifact

Living in Chaldea is, overall, pretty good. Artoria gets three hearty meals a day, no one has tried to steal any of her stuff yet, and she even has a room of her own. (Well, technically shared with Oberon, but considering the man spends the majority of his time in his pocket garbage dream dimension, Artoria basically has the whole room to herself aside from their movie nights.)

Still, old habits are hard to kill. No matter how safe Chaldea seems, Artoria’s eyes are accustomed to Noticing. Noticing any hint that things might go wrong. Noticing the most innocuous of escape routes. A lifetime of teachings does not disappear in a day, and, well, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Which is all a really long way to say that the second Ritsuka steps into her room, fifty alarm bells ring inside Artoria’s head.

“Artoria!” They didn’t knock. Ritsuka always knocks, and yet here they are. They’re breathing heavily. Their uniform is hastily buttoned. There’s a slight flush to their cheeks. Everything points towards hurry and emergency, which means something really bad must have happened. “Artoria, here you are.”

She sits up hurriedly. “I’m here. What’s going on?”

Ritsuka rushes to grab both their hands. Their palms feel abnormally warm against hers. “Artoria. Listen to me. This is important.” Their words feel heavy to her eyes. Whatever is happening, it is deeply significant. “I want you to have this.”

…

Her gaze goes to the object in her palm. Then to her master. Then back to the item.

“Ritsuka,” she articulates really, really slowly. “This is a rock.”

“Yes.” Ritsuka confirm, which explains nothing.

“Why… are you giving me a rock?”

“I picked it for you!” They’re positively beaming with a pride Artoria cannot for the life of hers understand. “It’s pretty. It’s round. It’s good to the touch. I thought it was be a good rock.”

… Okay…? Fair enough? She guesses? It is fairly pretty, she’ll admit- it’s pitch-black and covered in wrinkles, which also makes for an interesting sensation under the thumb. “Oh. Thank you…?”

Something flickers across Ritsuka’s face- their lips press together, their eyebrows get lower- but before she can identity the emotion, it’s gone. “Is Oberon here? I have one for him too.”

“I think he’s scamming Caesar right now. Do you want me to hang onto it? I can give it to him when he comes back.”

Ritsuka pauses for a second, then shakes their head. “No. I’ll give it to him myself. It’s important.”

This isn’t a lie either, but that doesn’t really tell Artoria what important entails. She doesn’t think there’s an emergency going on, but Ritsuka is still acting uncharacteristically weird.

“Are you sick?” She reaches up to touch their forehead. Holy shit, their skin is burning.

“No. I’m fine.” Truth, but that kind of truth doesn’t weight much in Ritsuka’s mouth. Their standard for being fine is about halfway through hell.

“Drunk then?” Might be worth telling the medical bay about this. Ritsuka is stupidly good at fooling people about their physical and mental state.

“I’m telling you, I’m fine!” Ritsuka grabs her wrist, and

Uh

And

Hm

Lays her palm against their cheek and rubs their head against it.

“I’m fine. No need to worry about me, alright?” Do they have sideburns? They feel so fuzzy and- wait, hold on, she knows that ploy, they’re trying to distract her by embarrassing her, well not today Ritsuka she knows all of your trickS DID THEY JUST FUCKING KISS HER KNUCKLES?? “I need to find Oberon. See you!”

While she’s too stunned to stop them, they abscond from the room.

…

What the fuck just happened???

The first step to any Chaldean investigation is this: check the message board in the cafeteria.

Yes, it sounds stupid, but it’s true. The Chaldean staff is really good at spreading the message whenever something important happens. Ritsuka conked out two days ago and doesn’t seem to be able to wake up? Message board. Christmas is coming and all servants must be on the lookout for trouble? Message board. A newcomer got summoned in Chaldea? Message board. Artoria has dodged countless annoying events by checking the message board ahead of time and heeding the warnings.

Unfortunately, the message board is empty today. She does run into Ritsuka again though, and while they don’t seem much better on the fever front, they shove a bunch of swiss rolls in her hands, which is always appreciated.

Step two is asking around. Just stop some dudes in the corridor and asks hey, has Master seem a bit odd to you recently? It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s free! Loving this technique.

This one yields a bit more results; after a full hour camping in the west wing, here is what Artoria gathers:

Granted, that isn’t much, but it tells her something very important: this means that whatever is wrong with Ritsuka is a human thing. If the other servants barely noticed a thing, that must mean it’s a normal feature to them. So: a human thing.

While reassuring, that unfortunately means that Artoria has no way to fish for more information without revealing how little she knows about humans. And, well. She really, really doesn’t want to do that.

(Artoria is many thing- Caster, she who chants, the child of prophecy- but above it all, she is a paranoid little rat, and she knows it. To admit openly how little she knows is to basically beg to be taken advantage of, and she’s already done her time, thank you.)

So. That means asking someone who has witnessed fairy Britain firsthand for help, since they wouldn’t hold it against her for not knowing things.

Ritsuka is out, for obvious reasons. The Fairy Knights are also out; Artoria simply doesn’t feel close enough to any of them to risk that.

Oberon is out, because he doesn’t know any more than Artoria does; she knows that because she successfully convinced him that Ritsuka’s bouts of purring were symptoms of pneumonia, and it’d been hilarious to see him fret around them like a mother hen.

Mash is out, because it would be painfully awkward, by virtue of the whole. You know. Mutual identity theft thing. Ritsuka has assured her multiple times that it was alright, Chaldea has endured worse things, Mash wouldn’t hold it against her, ect ect, but the fact is that Artoria still feels really weird talking to Mash. The demi-servant always looks profoundly sad when she looks at Artoria. Then again, maybe Caster simply reminds her of someone else. Her face is quite commonplace around here.

So the only one left is…

“I didn’t expect you to come to me.” Morgan says, her face still as always.

Artoria crosses her arms, huffing. “Look, I don’t want to be here either. But you care about Ritsuka too, don’t you?”

Artoria has a lot of complicated feelings about Morgan; killing someone does that to you, she assumes. But she knows that if nothing else, Morgan is fair, and that means she’ll help Caster regardless of their personal history if she believes it to be for a just cause.

Morgan nods. “Describe the symptoms to me.”

Artoria describes it all; the strange behavior, the increase in body heat, the odd gifts.

Morgan stays silent for a few seconds. “My spouse is an alpha, are they not?”

Oh fuck no not the whole alpha/beta/omega thing again. Artoria has tried, she swears she has, but this entire societal system makes no sense to her. She has no idea what Ritsuka is, and frankly she’d hoped it would never be relevant. “Probably? Why?”

“Alphas have those yearly periods where they get really energized. That makes them act a bit out of character because they’re essentially drunk for an entire week.”

Ahhh. That explains the fever. Not anything else, though.

Morgan raises an eyebrow. “The two of you are friends, are you not? Is it really so odd for my spouse to show affection to you?”

… Guess not. It’s still different from what they usually do, though.

“If I recall correctly, alphas during their time of the year tend to be a bit dumbed down. Societal filters and common sense can fly off the window because they’re too excited.” She shrugs. “Why don’t you directly ask them what they meant by this? It may not be completely coherent, but you’ll get some answer this way.”

Against her will, Artoria has to admit this was good advice, and so after an entire day of thinking things over she gives up and just knocks at Ritsuka’s door.

“Artoria!” They hug her tight in greeting- yet again they are being way more tactile than they usually are. They rub their hands against her back twice (they usually go for her shoulders, but at least that bit is familiar; something about scent glands at the wrists and marking the people around them, if she recalls correctly. It’s a human thing.) Then they step back with a smile. “I was just about to look for you!”

“You’ve been seeking me out a lot recently.” Oberon too. She’d asked him. No other servant has reported anything similar, though.

They shrug, turning around to rummage in their closet. When Artoria sits down on their bed, they turn around, holding a life-sized cat plushie.

“There! I made it for you. It’s extra squishy Perfect to hold. Or sleep on. Or whatever you want!”

They hand it out to her, and she takes it. It’s a bit rough around the edges- they really did make it themself, it seems. It’s cute though, and soft, so yes, she’ll make good use of it.

Still, she mustn’t be distracted from her original goal. “Ritsuka. Why do you keep gifting me things?”

Ritsuka blinks. Once. Twice. Then, wordlessly, they prop themselves next to her.

“Ritsuka?”

“Hold on. I’m trying to explain. It’s a bit hard to think right now. Easily distracted.”

A few seconds pass, where they just stare at their hands. Eventually, they turn to her. “I want to show you that I am resourceful. If you ever need anything I can find it for you. I can give it to you. I want you to know I would never let you be hungry or cold and even if it’s not something you need if it’s pretty or comforting I can get that for you too. I want to show you that you can always rely on me.”

Oh.

Oh it really was just- unfiltered affection. They care. They care about her so much. She always knew that, realistically, but it’s another thing to truly feel it.

“Oh. Thank you.” She holds the plushie closer to her chest. “But you know you don’t have to do that, right? I already think of you as my most reliable friend. You don’t have to do anything for me. You don’t have to prove anything to me. I know exactly how strong you are.”

Ritsuka looks at her like- like she’d turned into a star. Like she’s the brightest thing in the world. Suddenly, they grab her forearm. They open their mouth. Close it. Frown. Open it again. “Do you understand what you’re saying?”

“Yes…?” She rakes her brain, but she can’t think of any other alternate meanings you’re strong and reliable could possibly have. Is it a human thing again?

They wrap both hands around one of her own. “I need to make sure. I need you to say it. Can I bite you?”

That last sentence is heavy with feelings Artoria cannot parse. It’s important, possibly the most important thing they have ever asked of her in Chaldea. Now that is definitely a human thing- but what could it possibly mean?

She glances at Ritsuka’s lips. It can’t be about cannibalism. Their canines are quite sharp (the one alpha trait she managed to remember) but they’re not nearly enough to render raw flesh off a living being. So they’re not asking to eat her. What else could they possibly be requesting?

Maybe she’s overthinking this. They have sharp teeth. They could hurt her. Maybe that’s what they’re asking. Do you trust me to stop before my canines break the skin? Do you trust me to not use my strength against you? Do you trust me? Do you trust me?

What a silly question. Artoria has been through so, so much worse than a bite. It would take more than a nibble to scare her off.

“Sure.” She says, tugging at her collar to uncover a bit of shoulder. “Go for it.”

She sees Ritsuka’s pupils blowing up, their eyes almost becoming entirely dark. Both their hands reach up, their lips part-

They take hold of her face, and the next thing Artoria knows there are lips pressing against her own.

Artoria knows what a kiss is, in theory; she’s heard stories. She’s read books. But while the idea had intrigued her, she had always found the base concept a bit silly. What could possibly be so great about bumping faces?

She was wrong. Boy, she was so wrong. She feels hyperaware of everything- their chapped lips, their warm palms, their weight leaning into her. She opens her mouth, to gasp in surprise, and suddenly there’s a tongue in her mouth and oh. Oh. She Gets It now.

Ritsuka pushes her, and she falls backward, hitting the sheets. Her friend immediately crawls over her, disregarding the plushie to the side. They lean down, and for a second she expects another kiss, but their mouth closes around her bare shoulder instead.

It’s- it’s weird. Being bitten, that Artoria knows- by horses, by dogs, even by fellow fairies a few times. These bites had been meant to hurt. Ritsuka’s isn’t like that. She feels the teeth digging in, but they clearly have no intention to break the skin. There’s still a little pain, but most importantly there’s heat and their mouth feels wet oh fuck she might actually be into that.

When they finally break away from her skin, she is certain she’s going to bruise. Ritsuka doesn’t stop here, though. They dive for her neck next, trailing kissing down her throat until they reach her collar. There, they grab a fistful of her front, and start pulling.

“Hey, don’t just tear it apart!”

With a grumble, Ritsuka sits back on their heels, and they properly start undoing the buttons instead. Briefly, it occurs to Artoria that she should have probably said something like stop what you’re doing or hey slow down a minute instead. But then her shirt opens to let Ritsuka intently suck on her breasts, and it’s suddenly very hard to remember why she shouldn’t have sex with her best friend right this instant without discussing a thing.

She feels a hint of teeth around her nipple, and she hisses. Okay. Okay, no. Focus, Artoria. She has to put an end to this. She grabs Ritsuka’s collar with both hands, and forcefully pull them up. “Hey. No biting there. They’re sensitive.”

Weakly, Ritsuka nods.

Okay. Alright. Now is the moment where she puts her foot down, stops all of this, and then goes back to her room to furiously masturbate. She likes Ritsuka quite a lot, (and not in a completely platonic way if she’s being honest,) but that kind of things require communication and-

Ritsuka tries to pull away from her grip. And fails. Holy fuck. She’d never fully realized how strong she is as a servant. She’s holding Ritsuka, and they have no way to break away from her. She has front view on their slender neck, but no amount of straining can help them.

“Artoria?” They call, unsure.

“I need to get you a collar.” She replies immediately, which is not what she meant to say at all.

Ritsuka blinks again, then smiles wide. “Want to pull me around on a leash?” They lean forward, into her hands rather than away from them. “Want to make me your pet for real? I can be obedient. Just for you.”

They’re a human. They’re an animal. They speak full, purposeful sentences, trailing a hand against her bare stomach for emphasis. There eyes are shining with something feral and hungry, something barely constrained by her grip that wants nothing more than to go wild and bite.

Their other hand curls around her wrist. They tilt their head down to kiss her fingers, and land the final blow: “can I keep going, Master?”

Fuck!!

Her grip must weaken then, falling under the assault of her newly-discovered kink, because Ritsuka shakes themself free and dives right back down. Before she can react, they tug at her skirt and sink their teeth in her hip.

“S-so much for being obedient.” Yet, when her hands reach them this time, it’s to bury themselves in their hair. They suck another bruise there, leaving behind the distinct imprint of their teeth.

“Can I go lower?” They ask afterwards, fingers hovering over her skirt.

“Go for it, puppy.” She breathes out.

She knows she made a mistake when she sees Ritsukas eyebrows shoot up into their hairline. “I mean!” Somehow, she feels herself heat up even harder. “There’s no gender-neutral way to say good boy or good girl, so-”

Ritsuka basically throws themself at her skirt, tossing it behind them mindlessly, so clearly they must not mind. They work on her stockings next, pulling them down her thighs, her calves, her feet. And here she lies, naked save for her unbuttoned blouse.

Ritsuka looks at her from above, gaze raking her body from up and down. “Hi.”

Maybe it’s because of how tense she feels, but the greeting makes her laugh. “Hi yourself.”

What will they do next, she wonders? Will they go for her legs? Her inner thighs? Or will they go directly for her arousal?

None, it seems. Instead, Ritsuka takes hold of her ankle, and lifts it up.

Her blood turns to ice. “Wait-”

She lifts herself up on her elbows, but it’s too late; Ritsuka’s lips are already on her, kissing the sole of her foot.

She flinches, a moan escaping her throat. She hates this. This is embarrassing. She likes this. This feel kinds of good. She’s feeling a lot of conflicting things at the moment. “Wait,” she says, “don’t look, please, I-”

Ritsuka takes her words literally- they close her eyes, at her request. Still, that doesn’t stop their tongue from going up, to finally lap over her two amputated stubs.

Artoria throws a hand over her mouth. She’s intimately familiar with how sensitive feet are, because the pain of losing her toes is still vivid in her mind. Somehow, it has never occurred to her that this sensitivity could bring pleasure instead. Ritsuka’s tongue slides over her scars, sneaks between her toes- and finally, their whole mouth close around her biggest toe to suck.

She’s panting by the time they’re done. “You okay?” They ask, opening their eyes again.

“… Give me a heads-up next time.” Is what she finally replies. It wasn’t- it was- it wasn’t terrible. It was even pretty good. It’s just- what a way to rewrite her trauma, huh.

Ritsuka nods. Then, with a last kiss to her foot, they slide up to chomp on her ankle instead.

“You really are a dog.” Artoria legitimately cannot tell if this is a human thing, or if Ritsuka has a very blatant biting fetish. She’s not complaining either way, mind you. “Are you trying to eat me?”

Drool still link their mouth to her leg when they part. “Do you want me to?”

Their fingers trail their way up her calf. “I want to taste you everywhere.” Their hand pauses on her hipbone- where they bit her earlier. She can still make out the shape of their mouth here. She is so horny she feels like she’s about to explode. “Can I, Master?”

The first thing Artoria learns in the morning is this: being cuddled is, hands down, the best way to wake up. She’s comfortable. She’s warm. Ritsuka’s chest is soft against her back. Ten out of ten. Would do it every morning if she could. She is a bit sore, but that is to be expected after last night.

She’s content to stay here, snuggled, until she finally feels Ritsuka shift behind her. “Hey. You awake?”

Ritsuka replies with a non-committal noise. For a second, they hold her a little tighter. Then, after a pause: “Why are you in my bed? Naked?”

Ah. “Do you… not remember?” Awkwaaard.

“Things are a bit fuzzy.” She feels the mattress shift as they sit up. Unfortunate; she liked being held. Still, she supposes that’s a conversation they should have, so she rolls on her back to face them.

They look down at her. She looks up at them. “Did we have sex?” They ask.

“Yes.” Multiple times, even. She liked it very much. Can we do that again? Soon? Hopefully?

“Oh. Nice.” Well. They’re taking it better than she expected. That’s. Good…? “That explains why it’s much easier to think today. Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” Wait. No. fuck. She meant to say you’re welcome. Damn it. “What was up with you yesterday? You’ve been acting odd all week.” She adds, quickly changing the subject.

Ritsuka frowns. “No one told you? I was in rut. Still am, though not for long.” They smile- bare their teeth, really, and tap their canines. “It’s an alpha thing. It happens to us yearly-“

Suddenly, their eyes go wide. They stare at her, utterly stunned, colors visibly draining from their face.

“…Ritsuka?”

“Did I bite you?!” Their voice is high-pitched with unfiltered panic.

Artoria brings her and to her shoulder, where Ritsuka first bit her. Considering both her wrists are bruised as well, this probably doesn’t hide much. “I came inside you three times last night, and that’s what catches your attention?”

“Biting someone is a much bigger deal than fucking them!”

Okay! That made no sense. Ritsuka is very clearly upset though, so damage control first. Artoria sits up, reaching out to lay a hand on their arm. “Hey, don’t worry about it. I consented to it.”

“You consented?!” Then, after a short pause. “I actually asked?!”

“Yes…?”

Very slowly, Ritsuka lays back down, face first. Then, they grab the covers, and throw them above their head.

“Ritsuka.”

“Ritsuka Fujimaru is not here. If you need anything, leave a message, and I’ll get back at you in sixty-seventy years when I’ll be done digging a hole to hide myself in.”

“You’re being a tad dramatic.”

“I’m being an appropriate amount of dramatic!”

“I can bite you back, if it helps.”

“You can-” The lump under the cover curls onto itself. It does not finish its sentence.

Artoria pinches the bridge of her nose. “Okay. Clearly I’m missing some context here. Explain.”

Silence.

“Ritsuka.”

After a few seconds, Ritsuka lifts a bit of the cover. Their face is beet-red. “Biting is… usually an alpha thing.”

Okay. So far she follows. Explains the teeth and all. “And?”

“You only bite the people who are important to you. As in,” they emphasize the next part, “really important.”

… okaaay? That explains a little, but without a point of reference, Artoria would be lying if she said she really got it.

Ritsuka seems to think for a few seconds, then adds: “I bit Mash.”

Ah.

Okay, so people really fucking important to you. Granted, Artoria doesn’t know exactly what is Ritsuka and Mash’s relationship- doesn’t know If there are any words, for fairies or humans, to describe the depth of the bond they share- but she knows it’s important. And if they bit her, if they consider her as important as Mash, then-

“Wait. The gifts. The whole showing me you’re strong and reliable bit. Ritsuka, was that your attempts at courting me?”

Ritsuka makes a single, distressed noise, like a kettle that reached its boiling point.

“Holy shit. Holy shit.”

“I- I was planning on doing it right! Actually give you context and all! But when I’m in rut, it’s- it can be hard to remember details sometimes.”

Artoria can’t help it- she bursts out laughing. Ritsuka hides their face in the covers again, groaning. “I’m glad my embarrassment amuses you.”

“Oh please. As if you haven’t ever been amused by my embarrassment.” She reaches down to ruffle their hair. “You should probably explain yourself to Oberon, though. He still doesn’t know why you’ve been religiously giving him rocks for the past few days.”

Ritsuka grumbles something akin to an agreement. They’re still not looking at her.

“… Though, you know. Had I had the context. I would have still let you bite me.” These teeth are more truthful to her eyes than any spoken word, every bruise an I love you carved into her skin. “And the offer to bite you back still stands, if you would let me.”

Ritsuka’s face snaps towards her, a starstruck look painted over their features. They stare at her, and then- wordlessly, present their bare neck to her.

LuckyLadyLily: This is both cute and sexy and I love it

anta_permana: THIS IS FUCKING ROMANTIC IM CRYING