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Looking back, Hakuno couldn’t tell how she was roped into this.
Some may say that with the benefit of hindsight, Hakuno shouldn’t have been so surprised—she was, after all, more than used to landing herself in weird situations when hanging out with Gil, sometimes even looking forward to the anticipation that often came with it, so why should this be any different?
The thing is, and while it is most certainly true that most if not all of the situations she’s seen herself getting roped to by her Servant were randomly bizarre (sometimes even edging on the danger of getting hurt), they were still fun.
Ever since Hakuno started exploring the universe with Gil, she’s got to see a side of him that not many had the opportunity to witness—and that was the fact that in spite of his jaded personality and cruel exterior, Gil was actually… a fun person to be with – as much as Hakuno hated to admit it. Gil could turn normal get togethers into exciting adventures, gifting his companions with happy memories of crazy day trips.
Long, distended conversations under starry, moonlit skies, exciting (and sometimes also dangerous) adventures on unexplored lands, shopping trips, nights out… there was always something fun to do with him.
But this… this was a little different from their usual trips.
“Come on, Hakuno! Cast off already and get in here!” Gilgamesh shouted from where he was, a huge grin on his face. His arms splashed through the water, tossing turbulence into the calm and quiet.
Hakuno looks at her Servant warily, deciding it would be best to stay seated by the lake’s shore for now.
It isn’t that she doesn’t trust that this was fun—she knows how to swim (to an extent), she's not afraid of drowning (for the most part), and she knows well enough how much Gil thrives in water, so she can rest (more or less) certain that he's not faking his enthusiasm just to get her to undress with him; a shameless douchebag he may be, but Hakuno still remembers how deeply disappointed he was when he found out that the pool area in the Near Side of the moon had ‘restricted access’.
However…
Hakuno was still unsure. She had never been in a situation quite like this with him. Yes, certainly, she and Gil had bathed together before, but those instances were different. When she and Gil had shared a bathtub, it was always Gil the one who was unrepentantly naked; Hakuno always kept a towel on herself to cover her nakedness, uncaring about her Servant’s scoffs about how she shouldn’t be so coy or mindful about her appearance when she was in his presence.
She hadn’t brought any sort of swimwear with her that she could change to, and with how insistent he was that she completely forwent clothing altogether, she doubts Gil will lend her clothes from his gates even if he happened to have exactly what she needed—meaning she’d have to quite literally cast off, just as Gil was urging her to do.
Plain as you may be, your body is still mine and only mine to gaze upon, Master, he would say, with the kind of smug, mocking grin Hakuno would love to punch off his face. You ought not to be embarrassed.
Hakuno frowned, trying not to pay much heed to her suddenly reddening face.
In any case… Are these waters even remotely safe? That’s also another pressing concern of hers. It’s one thing to go take a bath in a lake when you’re sure there aren’t any predators on sight—and in that regard, it wasn’t as though she or Gil could be certain about the kind of things that lurked beneath the surface, considering how the place they’re currently exploring is thousands of years away from earth; nobody else, aside from themselves, has had to chance to see it for themselves. For all they knew, there might be creatures hiding underneath the water, just waiting for them to lower their guard.
Gil didn’t seem much concerned about it, though, even though he was a nobody here just like she was. In this vast universe where human-made tales of heroes and gods are unknown, she and Gilgamesh were closer to being equals than they’d be anywhere else—and still, Gil acts as though they have nothing to get concerned over.
“Are you really not the slightest bit concerned about getting mauled? No matter how similar to Earth this place is, it’s not like we can trust animals to be exactly the same… what if there’s a giant monster underneath this lake?”
With the benefit of hindsight, Hakuno wasn't sure why she even thought about asking him.
Of course, Gil’s answer was a scoff.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Gilgamesh said, as if her frets were completely unwarranted. “There is no one out there except for you and myself—and even if there was someone or something else, Master, it’s not like there’d be much to look at, what with your plain physique. You are one hundred percent free of scrutiny.”
Hakuno threw him a glare, one that her pretentious Servant completely disregarded. “Gil, I know that this is a minority opinion for you, but some of us actually have boundaries. So no—I'm definitely not going to get myself naked in front of you.”
“Ah, so is that it? Even after I granted you special permission to both gaze upon my majesty and show yourself as you are in my presence, you dare to be shy and withhold the joys of your naked body from me, Master?” Gilgamesh asked with a teasing smirk. "It's fine, truly. I can declare with utmost certainty you don't possess anything I haven't already seen plenty a time in the past."
Hakuno huffed, not going to fall for his unsubtle ploy to humiliate her into making corny confessions.
“Don’t flatter yourself so much. I’m more worried about attracting whatever things lurk around here than I am about you."
He rolls his eyes at her. “You really do have a strange way of working. Truly, I was already familiar with this pesky little habit of yours of always being caught up in the whirlwind of your own frets, but this is wholly unwarranted even by your own standards, Hakuno. It is me and you here—even if there was indeed some beast waiting for the right moment to strike, what would stand in our way?”
She sighs to herself, watching him float in the water as she mulls his words over.
The worst thing about her Servant is that he usually was right about most things—maybe they really don’t have anything to be so concerned about. Maybe, Hakuno considers, Gil was right when he said that she had spent her life without truly living, which is why she just couldn’t help but worry about everything and anything, too much and too constantly.
Nevertheless, and her own worries notwithstanding, she would be lying if she said she didn’t want to try this out. Having been created as an NPC already made Hakuno an existence that was bereft of many life experiences, and it was made even worse when one accounted for the fact that she was based after an amnesic mage from thirty years ago.
Gil was also making it hard to refuse him, though. In fact, seeing her Servant, always so gloomy and threatening, acting the softest she’s ever seen him was making her have second thoughts about her refusal to take a dip into the lake.
Gil was a man whose default expression was always a scornful grin, and who looked like he would end your life if the mood struck him. However, right now, what Hakuno was seeing was something else entirely. Something… almost human.
Never had she imagined Gil in this scenario—but… well, here he was, splashing water into her direction, all while giving her the biggest smile she’s ever seen on his face; one that even managed to reach up to his eyes.
It’s… actually very comforting, in a way—the way Gil is always on the look for things that they can do together, always in pairs. He always says that he does these sorts of things merely for his own amusement, and while Hakuno doesn’t doubt that there is still an element to that in Gil’s actions, she also knew that Gil wanted her to have genuine experiences; ones that she can say without a shadow of doubt that she’s lived for herself, and not ones that she’s seen through the blurry, faulty lenses of another person.
…However, Hakuno would also appreciate it if Gil could at least pick a less dangerous pastime to do, every once in a while.
This time it’s Gil’s turn to sigh; long, drawn-out, and sounding slightly tired—although not in the exasperated sort of way, but actually in a rather… should she say, fond way? As if he had been expecting this sort of reaction from her beforehand and really couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed at her, even though Hakuno knew that he would have been, had this sort of behavior had come from anybody else but herself.
“...You truly pick the oddest of times to acquire a sense of prudence, Hakuno; you usually never hesitate to throw yourself into acute danger for some inane, moronic reason, always eager to push yourself to the limit even when the odds are stacked against you, yet a simple dip in a lake has you hesitating. Furthermore, this would be far from being the first time we’ve shared a bathing space, so why do you refuse to cast off and join me? Because there might be some nonexistent predator lurking in the shadows?” He waved his hand before splashing some more water toward her direction. “Fool, what makes you think I haven’t already scouted the area? Even if it’s for caprice, there is not a single detail I ever leave to chance!”
Hakuno gives him a look, not really trusting his words, and seeing that his last attempt at coaxing her to join him wasn’t having effect, Gilgamesh sighed once more.
“Fine. Remain being boring, then,” he told her with a shrug, sending her a pouting glare that almost seemed to say ‘you’re missing out’. “I shall be waiting for when you reconsider.”
Hakuno splashes some water with her foot and towards his direction, making Gil harrumph like a scorned child as he dips deeper into the lake to swim a few more laps. She sat there, just as she’s been doing for the past thirty minutes or so since they found this hidden place during their exploration, watching him pass through the water seamlessly, his back muscles rippling with each stroke of his arms.
Gilgamesh was honestly beautiful—that much Hakuno couldn’t deny, no matter how much she wished she could. She’d always found him attractive, although not enough to deal with his bullshit. Loathed as she was to admit it, she might have developed… a certain liking to him throughout the time they spent together on the Far Side that went a little beyond simple respect, but had decided against it when she realized how much trouble that would bring her.
It's precisely that knowledge what keeps Hakuno from joining him in the water—she knows that would bring her nothing but headaches, and Gilgamesh was already a persisting migraine even without accounting for whatever tension that existed between them. She doesn’t want to dwell too much on it, afraid of what that would bring, so she focuses on the surroundings instead.
It was calming, the whole sight itself. The rustling of leaves, the gentle ripples of water as Gil swam, the evening sun as it started to disappear beneath the mountains, and the few hours they were spending together before they would have to find a place to camp.
She drank it all in, committing it all to memory.
Gil may be an adrenaline junkie, but lucky for her he could also appreciate the simple pleasure of partaking in the joys of nature. As long as she didn’t get roped into humoring his more extreme whims, Hakuno could actually get used to this.
She was so focused on making sure she wasn’t looking at him, that before her mind could catch up with what was happening, Hakuno felt the frigid splash of water landing against the skirts of her dress all of a sudden, soaking through the fabric and making her yelp in surprise.
C-Cold, cold, cold...!
That was so damn cold!
The splash of water came before Hakuno could have the time to step out of the way, and now her clothes were completely soaked from the waist below and clinging to her skin in the most uncomfortable of ways.
“...Your clothes got wet, Master,” Gilgamesh spoke, swimming back towards her and not even making an attempt to conceal his grin.
Hakuno glared towards her Servant's direction, spotting him right beneath the spot where her feet were dangling from her slightly elevated place by the lake’s shore.
His crimson eyes twinkled in that mischievous way that was so quintessentially Gilgamesh, and in that moment Hakuno knew that nothing good could come out of this.
“All thanks to you and your constant splashing around”, she replied, suspicion rising.
“Hoh. Is that not a shame?” He asked rhetorically, his voice at complete odds with the syrupy sweet grin plastered on his face as he reached and grabbed her ankles.
Oh, no.
“Gil—”
“Whatever shall we do? Since they are already ruined, I am afraid there is only one thing we can do about it now.”
It wasn’t hard to guess what was coming.
“Don’t you dare, Gil. Don’t you fucking dare. I swear to the Moon Cell, if you–”
He pulled hard.
The next thing she knew, hazy blue flooded her vision, water weighing her body down from all sides. Mutedly, she could hear Gilgamesh laughing.
Strong hands grabbed her by the waist as she came up to the surface, gasping and gulping for air, the cotton of her dress heavy on her body.
Hakuno emerged to the surface with flailing arms, trying to push the hair off her face while simultaneously trying to wipe off the water on her eyes.
Gilgamesh, of course, was still the worst man she’s ever had the misfortune of meeting—just as expected, he did not possess a shred of decency as to look at least slightly apologetic about this, his body wracking with laughter as he watched her clumsily flail around.
Hakuno turned around in his hold once Gilgamesh deemed her conscious enough not to accidentally drown herself in her panic, and when she tried to reach out for him and punch him, it was only to realize the water slowed her movements, which coupled with the sound of his obnoxious laughter made her even more furious. When she finally reached the laughing bastard, though, Hakuno tried to muster as much force as her little body could produce, even if she knew the impact of her fist against his chest would only tickle him.
“You jerk! You got me all soaked!” She yelled.
“Well, that was the idea,” Gilgamesh said as a matter of fact, sporting the same shit-eating grin Hakuno wished she could punch off his face sometimes.
“I hate you!”
When Hakuno went to punch his chest once again to make her point across, Gilgamesh grabbed both her wrists, disarming her instantly.
“No, you don't,” He said simply, smile still in place, pulling her closer. “You really do not.”
“Yes, yes, I do!” She seethed, trying to free herself from his grasp. “And I’m hating you more by the second!”
She should have known that Gil would have taken her struggle as an invitation to pull her closer—because that’s exactly what he did, in a blink of an eye before her mind could catch up with what was happening; closing whatever distance existed between them as he pulled her to his chest with only a light tug at her wrist.
Their noses brushed, Gilgamesh carrying her on his arms deeper into the lake like she weighed no more than a feather, and Hakuno’s heart skipped a beat, her skin tingling under his gaze. The light of the fading evening sun hugged his silhouette, making his hair almost look like a golden halo.
So that’s how he does it, Hakuno mused. Considering his godawful and shitty personality, she’d always been baffled by how easily Gilgamesh conned his way into whatever he wanted—including his ease to lure others into his bed. Of course, she’s aware of the more somber aspects of his legend, but the fact still stood that he collected broken hearts like Rin did with jewels and hair accessories.
She’s never really understood his appeal; regardless of how physically attractive he was, Gilgamesh was still a real piece of work, and many would argue he wasn't eye candy enough to deal with his toxic amounts of bullshit. His personality alone could completely kill whatever sexual attraction anyone could feel for him. However, and up this close, now Hakuno understood. There was something overwhelmingly alluring in his eyes; a mixture of cockiness, pride and greed that would render most people speechless, herself included.
Gilgamesh, wearing that golden armor of his and with that look on his face that said he wouldn’t hesitate to cut you in half if you did something to displease him, usually looked like a towering menace you should keep your distance from—now, however, he looked… ethereal.
Beautiful, more like. Much as she’d like to deny it, Gil’s attractiveness always felt like getting punched to the gut.
Hakuno didn’t know how to answer. Usually, she reacted to his unsubtle attempts at riling her up with some sarcastic or slightly snappy remark of her own, but this time the situation was so awkward and tense she really wasn’t sure what to say.
She didn’t know what to do, or where to hide.
She looked up at him, heart beating fast, not understanding the situation.
Time stood as still as the two of them were, their bodies nearly touching as Gilgamesh still held her wrists in his hands and caressed the tip of her nose with his own.
Expression oddly soft, Gilgamesh whispered, his breath warm against her shivering lips, “Do you still want to punch me?”
Hakuno wondered if she actually did. A part of her would certainly still derive satisfaction out of it, but there’s another that just—
“Well–”
Whether she wanted to punch him or not, that hardly seemed to matter to him.
Before she could put this into proper context, Gilgamesh kissed her—moving his lips languidly over her own, oddly patient, continuing to do so until Hakuno’s look of shock melted into acceptance.
Hakuno returned the kiss, her lips moving clumsily along his own, then made an embarrassing squeak as his other hand found the small of her back and pulled her even closer.
A strong shiver traveled down her spine as their tongues met, and she could feel his lips curl up into a smile when that hand of his traveled down her back and squeezed her ass.
Bastard. Asshole. Jerk.
“Everything okay, Master?” he teased as soon as they pulled apart for air, never once one to let an opportunity to gloat go to waste. “Surely this small exchange of mana wasn’t enough to render you bereft of fight.”
Fuck you. You already know the answer…!
“I’m f-fucking freezing,” she whispered, hoping that the slight tremble in her voice would be mistaken with shivers born out from the coldness of the lake's water, and not of excitement.
Gilgamesh’s smile seemed to stretch wider at her answer.
“I'll warm you up, then,” he said, lifting her up. Instinctively, Hakuno wrapped her legs around his waist. “We still have some hours left before the sun finally settles. There is a lesson I ought to teach you.”
Used as she was to Gilgamesh’s whims, Hakuno shouldn’t have been so surprised things would end up escalating to this point—she was, after all, more than used to landing herself in weird situations when hanging out with Gil.
Nevertheless, she still asks herself…
…How had she come to fall for this?