Chapter Text
Arthur was annoyed.
He never imagined that his arrival in the Chaldea would be so agitated. He had answered the call of the summons, ending his hunt to help his new master. But maybe he should have thought twice?
He silently endured the surprised and indescribable looks of the Chaldea staff, obviously expecting his female counterpart.
Ritsuka, after quickly introducing himself, explained to him what was making everyone so nervous. It seems that the only time they met the King of Knights was in a burning Fuyuki where she had been corrupted by the Grail. Which meant that with Arthur's current appearance, a man had caused doubts about the state of the King of Knights... but obviously, they had absolutely nothing to fear from him.
It was after he made a demonstration with a graceful bow to Ritsuka and pledged his allegiance to him that tensions eased around him and he had finally noticed his presence.
This presence was so familiar and so dangerous, that holding Excalibur made his wrist itch before he even met his eyes.
A presence that gives him goosebumps, a powerful aura capable of making anyone bend, a look so penetrating that it took a will as strong as a god to be able to sustain the look.
Him.
When their eyes met, he thought he saw the same as Tokyo's, as unpredictable and fierce as his former opponent. But instead, it was even worse, it was a version even more dangerous than him, even more deadly...
The urge to draw Excalibur became even more pressing. Especially when he noticed the changing gaze of the King of Heroes.
Indeed, the moment he saw Arthur, he seemed particularly bewildered and surprised. But his eyebrows crossed the next moment, indignant and accusatory, as if he had just been given an intolerable offense.
Simultaneously, the air around the golden king rippled to show golden halos and the wind began to pick up around Arthur's hand. A simple look, without a word, without a sound... they were going to fight right here before any rational thought could cross their minds. Arthur had his reasons, but what were his?
Alarmed, Ritsuka immediately rushed in front of the King of Heroes as a barrier and spoke quickly to introduce Arthur as a completely different Servant than the King of Knights of this world. The rest of his words seemed to vanish into thin air, as if the fight that would be broken out was more important than the rational explanations of a teenager.
However, it was Gilgamesh who lowered his arms first, crossing his arms and raising his chin with superior air. He then smiled a particularly provocative smile, leering at Arthur as if he was just a joke in fate.
The wind around Arthur's hand disappeared and he calmed his guard as he watched the King of Heroes slip out of the summoning room, as if he had sensed the unwelcome and massive arrival of a number of Servants to welcome Arthur.
Ritsuka sighed and took one last look at the King of Knights who remained silent until his welcoming committee arrived.
-
Arthur had been in Chaldea for some time now and he particularly liked the place. It was really nice to have so many allies he could rely on and to have such a caring Master with his Servants. The King of Knights had sympathized with most of the inhabitants of the structure and a friendly feeling had generally formed around him. Maybe more for some.
He was happy and a little disappointed to meet Mash. Galahad's presence in her was strong, but he wished he could talk to him and feel less alone as a knight of the round table. But he was still very friendly towards her. Mash was a brave girl with her own personality. He had this feeling that he could consider her a reliable sister in arms.
But despite all these positive points... Arthur felt an obvious discomfort.
So obvious that pretending not to see it would be totally stupid and useless because everyone could see it.
Even if the opportunities were few and far between, how could he ignore the insistent and intense gaze of the King of Heroes, who did not hesitate to show his undoubted interest just by taking the time to observe him.
At first, Arthur thought he was provoking him. Then, maybe it was just curiosity. Now... It was embarrassing. Not that Arthur felt embarrassed to be watched every time they passed each other, but he felt as if his back was being stabbed with that simple look and all the Servants around could see that the King of Heroes was interested in Arthur in some way.
As the King of Knights was not yet familiar with everyone, he preferred to ask the Master for more information...
"I'm sorry Arthur. I can't explain to you the reason for her behavior towards you. The little explanation I have is that King Gilgamesh and your female counterpart both found themselves adversaries in a Holy Grail war. Fuyuki's fourth, I think. But his majesty was careful not to explain how it ended. We're guessing the ending was pretty bad considering it was only ten years before the next war began."
Arthur was a little disappointed, but he was going to have to make do with it...
Arthur was on his way home from a daily mission when he came across the King of Heroes in the hallway that day.
Gilgamesh had deigned to leave his room for a reason he did not know and did not want to know. By instinct, he had tried as best he could to ignore the king of Uruk where he had always managed to shorten the moments spent in his presence to avoid creating awkward situations. But it wasn't always that simple.
Like now.
When they became aware of each other's presence, Gilgamesh immediately stopped and crossed his arms, his face lit up with a particularly arrogant smile, leering at the King of Knights as if he were a curious and stupid beast acting at will.
Behavior that finally put an end to Arthur's patience.
The Knight King stopped only a few meters after passing him. He did not hide a weary sigh at such childish behavior and he could tell that Gilgamesh seemed to be enjoying it.
He turned to him with a disapproving look, pursing his lips in annoyance.
"Can I do anything for you, King of Heroes?"
The king shrugged as he let out a small laugh of amusement, his piercing gaze watching Arthur without the slightest hint of embarrassment. "You could help me with a lot of things... but for now, I'm just curious."
He approached Arthur to position himself in front of him, forcing the King of Knights to be on his guard. Keeping some distance between them, the King Hero leaned forward a little, hands on hips to observe Arthur's face more closely, his eyes crinkled and Arthur could also admire the features of his face.
"I thought you had manifested yourself as a man to avoid me, although it wouldn't have made any difference. But here's the surprise... although you look a lot like her, you're different."
Arthur blinked as he took in the reference to his female version of this world. "That's right. But I'm sure she was living up to her story as King of the Knights."
Gilgamesh's smile widened, straightening up to look down on him. "She is! In her noble folly of wanting to save her homeland, she has fought body and soul for her ideals, even to the point of wishing to erase herself from history."
The information seemed to upset Arthur who remained silent for a moment. He didn't know that she had gone that far. Obviously their similar history ended without a doubt from the moment they were invoked and the conclusions were different. What exactly had she decided?
"She is like a bright star whose brilliance cannot be dimmed...that cannot be reached." Gilgamesh continued, no doubt a bit dreamy, but Arthur didn't know him well enough to detect that bit of thought in his mind.
"Could it be admiration?" Arthur asks, as if trying to throw off the king. But this one only smiles and smiles.
"I collect the most beautiful treasures in the world. They all belong to me. And I consider the King of Knights to be one of the most beautiful that I covet ardently... right down to my bed."
It was strange. Arthur didn't immediately understand what the king of heroes had just said, and when he grasped what Gilgamesh was getting at, for some reason, he blushed in place of his female counterpart, offended that he could be reduced... no, reduced her... or rather, reduced them to mere pleasure in bed.
The sight seemed to be a delight to Gilgamesh's eyes and he did not hide his pleasure. Now that he had made his first impression on Arthur's mind, he walked over to him, leaning slightly toward his ear as Arthur stood frozen in place, too shocked to remember to keep his distance from the Hero King.
"Be up to the task until my queen arrives, Arthur... I expect nothing less..."
More and more offended, Arthur blushed more and turned to the King of Heroes to remind him who he was talking to... But all he got was golden particles of light dancing in front of him and an echoing laughter that faded away as quickly as the particles.
Pursing his lips further, he promised himself never to give satisfaction to Gilgamesh's expectations, not realizing that he was now facing a precipice and that the King of Heroes was just waiting for him to fall... to find him in his arms.
-
TO BE CONTINUED...