Chapter Text
Arondights clashed. Blue mana swirled as the two knights duelled. The whirlwind song of fairy steel rang out, attacks and parries flowing without relent.
Nothing about the fight was serious. Ever since coming to Chaldea, Melusine had wanted to test herself against the original bearer of Arondight, and Lancelot had been more than happy to oblige. Often the simulator would be busy, and they had to try and find a large enough room where they could swing their swords without fear of damaging the walls.
Her gauntlet backhanded another thrust out of the way and Melusine lunged, seeing a chance to claim another round. Lancelot had over-extended, assuming his technique would compensate for his weakness.
White armour clinked as Melusine pulled her punch at the last second and tapped the knight in the chest. Slight amusement pulling at the corner of her lips. She’d never really enjoyed fighting as much as other fairies, but this was one of the few chances she let herself do so. All to prove her worth against the one whose saint graph she shared.
“Another round for me, Sir Lancelot.”
Something cold hung near Melusine’s neck and surprise flashed across her face. The other knight’s Arondight rested near her exposed flesh, blade held away from her skin but close enough to count for the spar’s purposes. It felt more annoying that Lancelot just looked at her with friendly nonchalance rather than gloating.
“Another round for both of us, I think. Shall we take a break, Lady Melusine?”
Physically, there was no need. Melusine’s magical energy would never fade due to her nature as a dragon, and she could feel Lancelot still had reserves to spare. Even after such intense exchanges over the last half hour, neither of them was any slower for it.
“...Very well, Sir Lancelot. I was growing tired of this.”
Mentally though, she did need one. Even if she could never run out of mana, Ritsuka insisted she take breaks often to rest, and Melusine could never argue with her lover. It would’ve made her feel guilty to ignore that advice even when Ritsuka would never know.
“Here Melusine, catch.”
Clear plastic flew through the air and the fairy knight caught it easily. The contents sloshed about as Lancelot smiled at her, the atmosphere already back to being casual now the spar was over. It felt nice though. The formality of the duel certainly had its appeal. But being friendly with the one whose saint graph she bore felt nicer than acting like a knight with him.
Melusine turned to regard the other knight as she drank, trying to get a grasp on him again. She’d been overjoyed to finally meet him at Chaldea. To see the peerless, honourable, perfect knight she’d been given the name and weapon of. Even if it had been a distant dream, she had always wanted to meet the real Lancelot.
Seeing him in person had briefly shattered that dream. At first, he’d been exactly what she imagined. Noble, strong, courageous, everything a knight should aspire to be and everything she’d tried to be. And then she’d seen how he was off the battlefield and read the records of how he acted when there was no crisis worthy of a knight.
Receiving constant love letters from Chaldea's staff, associating with Tristan and Gawain without correcting their shameless ways, endless time spent goofing off and not acting like a proper knight. It had shocked Melusine to her core, both the behaviour itself and also the implication that Morgan saw her that way.
Then she’d slowly gotten to know Lancelot better, and the disappointment had faded. She’d come to understand that they were alike. Just not in the ways she’d been afraid of.
Lancelot the knight was almost as perfect as the legends said. But Lancelot the human, the man who he was when he set aside his knightly responsibilities, was not the same. And it had been unfair to judge him for it when she was like that.
Melusine the fairy knight, bold, strong, honourable, courteous, was not the same as Melusine the fairy. A creature who just wanted to be loved and held in warm, tender arms, and spoil the one she loved beyond all reason.
Perhaps that was what Morgan had seen, and why she had thought the title of Lancelot would be fitting. Or maybe she was just overthinking things.
Seconds ticked by and water coursed down her throat, cool and refreshing after the simple but intense sparring session. Hinges clicked and the visor slid from her face, silver hair shaking free as the fairy knight turned to Lancelot. After getting to know him better Melusine understood that beneath the superficial flaws and personal guilt, he was still a kind and caring man.
Which was partly why she had something to ask him. A matter more personal than just wanting to test herself against her knightly namesake.
“Sir Lancelot. You…know what it is to be lovers with someone, right?”
Surprise and slight guilt ran across the knight’s face at the question. To his credit he didn’t let it linger, the reaction hidden with a grin that was equal parts sheepish and surprised.
“I suppose you could say that, yes. The circumstances weren’t always ideal, but I have known women in that way. Why do you ask?”
Perhaps that had been too blunt a question, but Melusine didn’t know another way to phrase it. She understood Lancelot’s history with women was troubled and that he regretted how those relationships had ended. But there was nobody else she felt could answer the question she had. Or nobody she trusted as much as the knight, anyway.
“It’s about Ritsuka. I had…a question I wanted to ask. And I know you as a knight and as a person so, please. If you could just listen for a moment.”
Lancelot slowly nodded, the duel they’d just fought forgotten as if it never happened. It was impressive how he could be like this. Friendly, supportive, willing to hear out such a strange and personal request.
Melusine breathed in, slightly nervous now she had reached the heart of the matter.
“I know how to be a knight to Ritsuka, her prince. How to treat her like a lady in all the ways chivalry asks. But” the fairy paused, breathed, and pushed on. “What do you do with a lover as a person, and not as a knight?”
Fog clung to the edges of Ritsuka’s mind as she wandered down the hall, trying to keep her balance and mostly succeeding. Occasionally she stumbled, crossed her feet and nearly tripped or swung too far the wrong way and had to lean against the wall, but she could feel herself recover with every step she took. It had been an eventful evening.
All the drinking Servants had decided to see who could hold the most liquor, and for some reason they’d wanted Rituska to be the referee. It had sounded like a fun time, even if she didn’t have any interest in drinking, so she’d said yes. And then all of it very quickly unravelled.
Everything had been fine at first, just a crowd of drinkers chugging down as many glasses of beer as they could keep track of. Then Ibuki had rolled out the casks of sake, followed by Napoleon bringing out casks of wine to try and match her, and everyone had just cut loose. After that it was a vague blur of alcoholic fumes and red-faced Servants drinking and laughing and trying to get Ritsuka to join in too.
That had felt like the best time to slip away, and the arrival of Martha to lecture everyone had given the Chaldean ample opportunity to leave quietly. Now she just wanted to collapse into bed and cuddle with Melusine while she slept off the second-hand drunkenness she’d picked up from all the fumes.
Servos whirred and Ritsuka stepped inside her room, not quite as wobbly as she’d been when she fled the drinking party but still feeling slightly drunk at the edges. Warmth ran through her chest at the familiar sight of her fairy knight perched on the end of their bed.
“Hey, Melusine. How’d things go with Lancelot?”
It felt good to see the fairy’s deep brown eyes again. To see the way they lit up at the sight of her, even as they slightly narrowed in worry.
“They went well. Are you okay, Ritsuka? You’re…wobbly. Should I get Asclepius?”
The Chaldean shook her head and tried to look less dishevelled.
“No, no I’m fine. Just got roped into something with the drinking Servants. Feeling a little wobbly from all the second-hand alcohol. Don’t worry, I didn’t drink anything, I just-.”
The world tumbled and Ritsuka gasped. A soft thud filled the room and gentle arms wrapped around her, warm and tender, her knight's dress soft and welcoming as it rubbed against her cheek. Her knees must have finally given out and Melusine had caught her before she hit the floor.
She could feel the red creep across her cheeks as they stood there, her heart beating faster at the contact. Even if it was accidental, she felt far better about her current state now.
“Are you alright, Ritsuka?”
Fabric shifted and the Chaldean pulled herself upright, her knight’s arms still wrapped around her waist. For a brief moment she thought something flickered through Melusine’s eyes, but then it was gone. All she could do was smile awkwardly and chuckle at her own clumsiness.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just need some time to clear my head. Thanks for catching me, my knight.”
It felt good to make Melusine blush when she said that. She was always so unflappable, so calm and collected when they were in front of other people. But alone, she was so much cuter. Catching her off-guard like this was rare enough for Ritsuka to savour the moment.
“It's...my pleasure, my lady.” The fairy guided her towards the bed, still wrapped in her embrace, her voice growing quieter with every word. “Now please, rest. You're tired. Let me hold you close and chase it all away. Please.”
Warmth flowed from her and into Melusine, and the Chaldean snuggled up close. It was hard to argue with the fairy at the best of times. Dazed, tired, and desperately happy, she had no chance of objecting.
“Sure thing, my-.” A tired yawn swallowed the rest of her words. Now that she'd stopped moving, her body felt like it would fall apart. “Mmm, thank you. Melusine~.”
“Okay, can you run that one by me again Da Vinci? I'm not sure I really get it.”
“Sure thing, just gimme a sec to clear up the audio.” White noise buzzed in her ear and Ritsuka winced, waiting for the Rider's familiar tone to come back through. She knew maintenance around Novum Chaldea was a constant process, but she hadn't expected them to be doing it during a Rayshift.
“Okay, can you hear me now? Good, then listen up whilst professor Da Vinci lays it out!”
“So, the current situation is this. We've detected an anomaly at the site of a previous Singularity, specifically one in the northern region of Japan, and it looks like it managed to temporarily revive itself. We're not sure how long it'll last, or if anything specific even caused it, but immediate projections give it about a day. Following me so far?”
Ritsuka nodded. That part of the admittedly hurried briefing had been very clear.
“Good, so here's your mission. Just take a look around and see if you can locate any reason for the Singularity's revival before it probably wraps itself up. Oh and uh, maybe don't mention this to Director Goredolf. He's got enough stress without something like this on his plate, y'know? Well then, buon viaggio!”
The line went dead and Ritsuka sighed. It looked like this was just another entry in Novum Chaldea's long string of bizarre encounters that she had to deal with on her own. After the last few seasonal fiascos she could understand why every member of staff and Servant in the base avoided thinking too much about what was happening.
“Is there something wrong, Ritsuka? Does Da Vinci not know what's happening?”
She turned and gave the Lancer her best smile. Despite the bizarre circumstances and incredibly vague briefing, she felt completely safe in her hands.
“Nope, we're all good. Just a last minute check-in before we take a look around and see if we find anything. You ready for this, Melusine?”
The Lancer puffed up her chest with pride and flashed a cocky smirk at her. Ritsuka couldn't help but sigh at her girlfriend's confidence. No matter where they went or what they faced, she always got the same answer to that question. The only reason she even bothered with it any more was because Melusine enjoyed the chance to show off whenever she was asked.
“Of course I am. I'm the strongest thing in all of Chaldea. As expected of your number one Servant, right Ritsuka?”
“Absolutely, Melusine.” She wrapped her fingers around the fairy's wrist and pulled her towards the Singularity's looming entrance. “Whether it's skeletons, giants, or gods, they're all the same to you. My gallant and amazing fairy knight.”
In Chaldea's long history of Rayshifts and bizarre Singularities, there were a few in particular that stood out to Ritsuka. Luluhawa with its endless time loop crafted by BB to ensnare her. Castle Csjeste and its almost legally required addition of more and more castles on top of it every year. The multiple Nobu fiasco in Sion's simulator box where she'd pretended to be the daimyo of a warring states clan.
All of them were Singularities that she remembered for better or for worse. But for some reason the one that had decided to resurface now, out of all the possible options that could have appeared, was the Oniland one.
“Ritsuka, Ritsuka, what's this? And that? And this pink fluffy stuff?”
The fairy knight raced between the stands, punctuating her sprints between the confectionery sellers punctuated with bright-eyed twirls to try and drink in every sight and sound. Ritsuka couldn't help feeling buoyed by the sight of it.
Sometimes she forgot that some of Chaldea's Servants weren't used to modern settings, let alone the bizarre situations they usually found themselves in. Melusine's reaction was understandable for her first visit to an amusement park. And also very, very cute.
“The big thing's a Ferris wheel. See those cars? You sit in those and take in the view as they go round and round.” Her fingers wrapped around the fairy's and Ritsuka continued to point out the attractions one by one. “Over there's the teacups, where you sit together and spin them around as fast as you can. And over there's the mirror house where you have to try and get out from the maze whilst seeing which mirror makes you look the funniest.”
Melusine's eyes lit up, and the fairy knight positively buzzed with energy. It was the most childishly excited Ritsuka had ever seen her.
“All of them, let's do all of them. We can spare the time for that, right? Even if we just go around once it shouldn't take too long.” The fairy looked down at her, eyes pleading. “Please?”
Echoes of guilt bounced around Ritsuka's heart as her girlfriend's eyes bored into her. A second passed, then two, then three...
“Sure, why not? We've got time to spare.”
The grip around her hand tightened and Melusine almost pulled her off her feet as she hurried towards the closest attraction. Ritsuka had to hurry to keep up, smiling and laughing as they moved amongst the rides.
Nothing had suggested the Singularity would stick around long, and there was no reason to expect it to suddenly mutate. They could spare some time just to be together like this.
Besides, the setting was perfect for a quiet romantic date. Just the two of them together with nothing and nobody around to disturb them.