5:35pm
The two sisters entered the younger's apartment with their eyes to the floor and bodies so tense that they more teetered than walked, each hiding from the other behind a veil of blonde hair. After them, the rose-haired Saber entered, latched the door and, with a troubled yet stoic aura, shepherded the two young women into the living space.
The two exchanged glances. Despite having said so much, it still felt as if there were more to say, though neither seemed to be able to figure out what it was building on their lips. The awkwardness was oppressive- just standing there, twiddling their thumbs and waiting for the other person to finally say what was on their mind.
"Chrysaor," Monica, Athena, started, "Could you give us some space?"
He began to say something, but cut himself off and nodded, "Of course. Take all the time you need. I'll just... excuse myself."
Without another word, he stepped out onto the balcony and shut the door behind him. The girls were alone.
Monika had entered first, and was hovering near the sofa. Monica, Athena, took the long away around the coffee table and sat down. With just a glance, her sister understood and took a seat next to her.
The younger sister spoke first, "Do you really want me to go with you? To London?"
Monika inhaled sharply and let out a shuddered breath, "Yes- yes, absolutely! It might be a little rough at first, maybe a little cramped with my roommate. But-! I have a friend who lives on her own! Maybe you could- or I could- stay with her for a while. Or-! or-"
She flung her arms out, "It doesn't matter! We can make it work, I promise!" She placed both hands on her sister's knee, "The point is: you don't need to fight anymore. You don't need to stay here and... and put your life on the line."
She looked down at the soft, pale hands touching her, "What would I even do? Do you want me to study magic?"
"Sure! Maybe? I don't know. If you want to, we probably could. At least, I could teach you what I know- maybe some self-defense at least. But you don't have to, not if you don't want to. You can do whatever you like, and I'll be there to help. You don't need to worry about the Grail War, or... going back to your old job."
Her hands clung just a little tighter.
"This is all so much."
"I know."
She felt tears start to touch as she struggled to find her breath, "I don't know- I really don't want to see Mom and Dad again."
"You don't have to! Not if I can help it, anyway. Look, I know how they can be-"
"No. No, Monika, I don't think you do."
Her gaze sank, "Maybe I don't. But if you think that I got better treatment because they loved me more you are sorely mistaken. They don't love either of us. I got preferential treatment because I was useful to them. And you- they didn't see a use for you, but we're both just tools in the end. That's just how mages are."
She took a moment to chew on that. She hadn't actually meant that Monika had been the favorite, she only meant that Monika was in boarding school and didn't have to deal with them day-in and day-out like herself. Now, she wondered whether the isolation might've been a grimmer fate. Both of them had been neglected, just in different ways.
"Athena- I." She began to choke up, "I was the one who told them not to look for you."
"What?"
Her eyes and cheeks were red, and tears began to roll down her cheeks, "I told them- I told them we were better off without you. I said that it wasn't worth the hassle. I convinced them not to look for you because-"
She took a deep breath.
"-Because I thought you'd be better off on your own. I wanted you to have your own life, make your own friends, and carve your own path. I thought I should've been the only person to live under their thumb! Athena, please, if I had a pound for every time I'd missed you, or every time I worried about you, every time I wanted to see you I'd be the richest woman in the world! But I didn't!"
She looked to her sister, pleading, "I'm tired of making excuses! I'm a terrible sister! I know I am! I'm just as bad as Mom and Dad! I've neglected you just as much, but please-! Please give me the chance to make it right. Please give me the chance to be the big sister I always should've been."
Athena looked down, finding that she couldn't get a full breath.
"Sis, I-" She swallowed and looked back up, "I love you."
The two locked in a tight embrace, each swaying into the other, crying into her sister's hair and clinging with grips so tight that their nails began to dig into bone, but neither cared. The pain was swallowed by the warmth of their bodies, and the bond between them.
"I love you, Athena. Please forgive me."
"I do. I do."
"Please," She pushed back to see her sister's face, "Give me a chance to set things right."
Athena, feeling the emotional high wane, took each of her sister's hands and lowered them to their knotted laps.
"Monika. You already have." She managed a smile, "I found my path. I found my friend. If I have these things because of you, then that just makes me love you more."
She was taken aback, and the high passion seemed to drain from her face, "I guess that means... your answer hasn't changed?"
"No. I'm sorry."
Her disappointment was clear, and yet she managed a strong front, "So, you know what that means?"
"Yes."
"And you know I support you? And I love you?"
"Absolutely."
"Then... there isn't anything else to say, is there?"
"...We could say 'I love you' again?"
Monika gave a coy smile, "Didn't we already say that?"
She shrugged, "Yeah, but we have to make up for all the times we didn't."
"I love you, Athena."
"I love you, too, sis."
They let the words hang in the air and settle like a refreshing mist.
"If you've made up your mind," Monika squirmed in her seat, "Then you should probably tell, um-"
"-Chrysaor."
"Yeah, he seemed a bit nervous earlier."
"He tends to be."
She gave her sister a peck on the cheek and exited to the balcony. He had been looking out towards the sunset, his mind adrift somewhere far off, but he came to full, anxious attention the moment she appeared.
She gave a slightly embarrassed tilt of the head with a strained half-smile, doing her best to cut through the awkward air.
"Hey."
"Ah," He gave a heavy sigh with his sad smile and looked back out to the orange-purple sky, "So it's come to this, then."
Her back straightened of its own accord, as if something had slithered down her spine. She did not like his tone, not in the slightest.
He must have noticed her reaction; he waved his hand as if to dissolve her concerns into thin air.
"Look, Monica- er- Athena, don't worry about me. This isn't my first battle, and I'm sure it won't be my last. I'm perfectly capable of holding down the fort here- for both of us." He looked into her face with sincerity, "You never wanted this. You never asked for this. It's not fair to ask you to stay and risk your life for something as petty and fickle as a wish. You have your whole life ahead of you, and this is a really good deal. You'll be in a better place than you were. You'll have a real future, and wasn't that your wish from the start?"
Her brow furrowed, "Chrysaor, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying," he looked up to the sky, as if asking God what to say next, and his sad smile briefly faltered before returning, "-That I'm happy for you. I am, really. It's been an honor- a pleasure, to have been your Servant, but, as your Servant, as your friend, I would rather see you safe and happy than..." a grim shadow fell over his face, "-than the worst."
He shrugged.
The emotions clogged her throat, "Chrysaor..."
His head sank, but he was as content as he was sad.
"-What the Hell!?"
He raised back to full attention, "Wait-what? What'd I say!?"
"Do you want me to leave? What the Hell!?"
"No! Yes? I don't know what you want from me!"
"Chrysaor-!" She stopped herself and took a breath, tempering her anger, "I'm not leaving."
"What? You're not? Wait-" he looked around, seeming to wonder whether the joke was on him, "What do you mean you're not leaving? Monica- Athena, whoever you are, this is a great opportunity for you! You can't just pass it up like that, not when your life is on the line!"
"Yes the Hell I can! Did you forget what I said!? I'm in this to win, Chrysaor! I'm here for the long haul! I'm not making excuses anymore, I'm not running away anymore! I'm staying, I'm fighting, and that's that! So unless you really want to be rid of me, unless you really hate me-" Her thoughts hit a hard dead end, and she lost all ability to be angry, "Let me stay. Please. I don't want to go anywhere else."
"Why not? What changed?"
"Don't you get it yet?" She put a finger in his chest, "You. You're why. You changed my mind. You are why I want to fight."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying that I love you, Chrysaor."
Silence fell on them with the sun as stars began to shine through the murky haze of dusk.
As her hand fell from his chest, he caught it with both of his and raised it back up.
"I don't think you know what you're saying. I'm a Servant. It won't be easy."
She gave a wide smile, knowing now with full certainty that he felt the same way that she did, "Was it ever easy?"
His features lightened, "No. But this- this is nearly impossible. The only way to make it work is-"
"-To win."
"To win."
"Then we don't have a choice. You'll just have to keep being my knight in shining armor for just a little while longer."
"As if that would end with the war."
"It would only be the beginning."
The twinkling of newborn stars in the purple sky danced in each of their eyes, the light shining off their grins as if their lips each held a dozen moons within them. What began as waxing turned into waning, their smiles disappearing into pursed lips that inched closer to one another.
-But he met only her finger.
"Ah-" He pulled back, flushing fiercely, "I'm sorry, I just-"
"It's okay. Just not yet." Mischief gleamed in her rosy cheeks, "We have to win first, right?"
He scoffed, "Really? Is that your idea of motivation?"
"It's working, isn't it?"
"Well..." He sighed, "Yes, I suppose it is."
"Then what's the problem?"
"None at all." He glanced out at the quickly darkening sky with a shadow across his face, "I guess we should get a move on."
She nodded in agreement, and hid her disappointment that their moment had ended. With a final, coy exchange, they returned inside and found Monika where she had been: sitting with knees locked together on the couch.
Saber and his Master exchanged a glance, and he gave her an approving nod. Without any more waiting, Athena met her sister's eyes and swooped in, returning to her place beside her and taking her hands.
"Monika, Chrysaor and I will have to go soon, but... I wouldn't mind spending a little more time with you before we do."
Her face tightened, whether with joy or discomfort wasn't clear.
"Thank you, Athena. I appreciate your concern, but no. You don't need to waste your time trying to make me feel better." She looked at Saber, "Chrysaor, was it?"
He nodded.
"You seem to have the best idea of what's happening," she steeled herself, "Tell me how I can help."
Athena turned to face him as well, "Can she? It might be too dangerous."
She turned back to her sister, who was still locking eyes with Saber. She couldn't express her gratitude for the gesture, knowing herself how much courage it took to go out on such a limb, but there were few things she feared more in this moment than endangering the sister she never knew she had. The sister she never knew she loved.
Chrysaor knew exactly what his Master was feeling through their link, and disappeared into silent contemplation for a long and quiet moment.
"..."
"..."
"You know, I may have an idea."
....