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Saber and Iori flopped down on a hill on the edge of town, exhausted after a long day of work.
"Finally, we got that Boss's order…" Saber groaned. "I can't believe he didn't warn us he hadn't paid for it yet!"
"My hands are still sore from all the statue carving I had to do to afford it…"
There were dark bags under his eyes - admittedly, not that different from how he normally looked, but his blinking was slow, and his words were mumbled. He somehow managed to seem even more exhausted than he usually did.
"You know, you made way more than we needed. You could've stopped to take a break at some point."
He ate a bite of rice with clearly sore hands. "I got into a rhythm. By the time I realized how many I'd made, it was almost morning anyway."
"What?! You didn't sleep last night, at all?" Saber's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Iori! We could've just gone back to Babyloni-ya and gotten the payment from that Boss!"
"I didn't want to bother him. You know how he gets if we ask too many questions."
Saber grumbled. They couldn't retort that; they were better off dealing with the Boss as little as possible. They started eating their rice. "Well, when we get home, you can rest."
Iori yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "That sounds nice…"
The two sat quietly for a moment…
…and then Iori flopped over, spilling his meal across the grass.
"Eh?! Iori?!"
He let out a quiet snore.
Saber laughed. "He fell asleep while eating… What is he, a baby?!"
Iori was laying on his side, curled up slightly, looking like a little shrimp.
"…He kind of looks cute like that. Still, he'll get a crick in his back if he sleeps there."
They considered trying to wake him up, but he looked so exhausted, it would be rude to interrupt him.
Saber shoved the rest of the rice into their mouth (and then took what little of Iori's hadn't spilled for good measure - not like he was going to eat it anyway), and then with puffy cheeks like a chipmunk, they picked up Iori and threw him over their shoulder like a sack of flour.
"Let's get you to bed."
Iori snored in response.
Despite being roughly manhandled the entire way home, Iori still somehow never woke up.
"You sleep like the dead." Saber grunted, sliding open the door to Iori's house.
Kaya was waiting there to greet them, as she usually was. "Welcome home!" she said, giving them a big cheery smile, before getting a good look at what was going on. "Oh my! Big brother fell asleep?"
Saber chuckled. "He was up all night working. Wouldn't stop for even a moment of rest."
Kaya laughed back. "Yep, that sounds like him! Thanks for bringing him home… I can't count the number of times I've found him passed out in the backyard, sleeping like a baby even though it's raining!"
"Silly boy…" They walked over to the bed, pulling Iori off their shoulder. "Alright, let's get you to bed."
Saber crouched down and laid him down on the futon. "There, that should be more-"
Iori wrapped his arms around them.
"Eh? Iori? Let go, I-"
Despite him normally being so weak, his grasp was surprisingly strong.
Kaya giggled. "Oh? It looks like big brother wants to cuddle… Hehe, he must really like you~" she teased.
"I… He must just be cold. Come on, Iori, let me go-"
She wagged her finger at Saber like a schoolteacher. "Don't you know it's rude to pull out of a sleeping person's grasp? Everyone knows that!"
"Eh?!" Saber blushed.
"And besides! You were up early today too, weren't you? Maybe you should lay down and rest for a little bit too."
Saber mumbled something under their breath. Servants didn't need to sleep, but she couldn't tell Kaya that…
With another cute little giggle, Kaya stood up and walked to the door. "I'll give you two a little privacy. Hope big brother's snoring doesn't bother you too much!"
Before Saber could object, she left, leaving the two of them alone. Saber laid down next to Iori.
Despite the two of them sharing a futon for the entirety of their time together (Iori only had the one, and said that money was too tight to buy a second one), this was the first time Iori had cuddled up with them like this.
They wrapped an arm around him, Iori resting his head on their chest.
It felt… nice.
Saber wouldn't mind if they did this more often…