The Deal

When they get back to the room, a note was left on the door by the Order. Taking it, Ria scanned it before handing it to Emiya.

"They want to send us out a week from now. Guess you, and I have to get down to business."

Even though she knew the life they lived now couldn't last, she was still trepidatious about bonding completely with Emiya.

Acknowledging there were still some feelings for Cú present in her heart, her time together with Em made her feel like she was cheating on what she wanted to believe they still had. She also worried about the conditions that had been set out for her. She could make him hers if she produced a child with a bonded Servant. Hadn't she always held out hope that any child she had would be Cú's? Did she even want a child with anyone else? Now wasn't the time for her to get answers as Emiya, sensing her distress, ran his hand up and down her arms as he pressed into her back filled her senses.

"No matter what, I will protect you." Taking her by the forearm, Emiya turned her around and hugged her to him, holding her head gently against his chest.

His gestures were and had always been since the first day, so incredibly sweet. It made her wonder if this was what a real relationship felt like. Cú had never taken her anywhere, cooked for her, voluntarily cleaned, held her on the couch until she fell asleep without it turning sexual, or let her have her space. He had always been more like a pet who only did what he wanted, getting attention when he wanted and having no real sense of others' needs.

As he held Ria, she wrapped her arms around him and began to cry. All she knew at that moment was that she didn't want to lose this man with her now. Not his stupid smirk, not his gentle touch, not his subtle possessiveness, not anything.

Standing there with him, stroking her hair and holding her until the tears stopped, she pulled away to get a tissue from her purse and blow her nose. "Thanks, Emiya. I haven't cried like that in a long time."

"I can tell. What's bothering you?" His voice was low and gentle.

Taking a chance, she hesitantly walked back to him so she could curl up against his chest, hoping he would hold her again, which he did.

"I have a lot of conflicting emotions right now. After Cú left, I swore I would never summon another servant again unless I was guaranteed I could get him. I was so in love with him, or so I thought. Then the Order sat me down and presented me with a deal: Summon another Servant, Life Bond with it and if it was male, produce a child."

Emiya visibly stiffened when she said that but didn't release his arms around her.

"If I did that and fought the Singularities, I could bond with as many servants as I liked, even take them by any means necessary if I wanted. They would also not delve into my private life. As you can see, I took the deal being still so in love with Cú and desperate to get him back by any means necessary."

Emiya began stroking her hair which helped calm her but not settle her anxiety. Nuzzling into his chest, she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I hadn't planned, however, on being shown how foolish my love for him had been. What I thought was love was just lust in various forms. Being with you, I have come to see the potential of a real relationship."

Bringing her hand up to caress his cheek, she smiled softly. "I'm broken, Em. I don't know that you want to fix me, especially when I don't know what will happen if I ever see Cú again. What I do know is I can't lose you either. I want to stay with you. I'm not asking you to love me or even like me, but I hope maybe we can come to some...."

Then his lips were on hers, kissing her with enough passion that she knew she had found what she had always wanted but never quite grasped: True Love. True selfless, unapologetic, innocent love. Continuing to kiss her until she beat on his chest, letting him know she needed air, he released her, both breathing heavily as his eyes carried a smoldering fire deep within their core.

"I have loved you since I first saw you bloody and mana depleted that first day after the battle. I hadn't expected to have feelings for you, but your fierceness, even in imminent defeat, drew me towards you over and over again. I was, and have always been, jealous of Cú and how much you loved him because he never loved and valued you the way I knew I could."

Then his lips were on hers again and again and again.

"Please, Ria, let me love you the way you deserve."

She was in awe of the intensity of his emotion. His kisses were nothing like Cú's, which had been fierce, demanding, and possessive. Emiya's were soft, intimate, all-encompassing, holding desire, not lust. They weren't overly demanding or insistent. They told a story of constant, burning love instead of blazing passion. Frozen, trying to process what was happening and what she was feeling, she didn't bother to stifle the tears falling down her cheeks.

"I promise I won't hurt you. I could never."

His words against her lips were so sincere, and at that moment, they were the one thing she needed to hear. Closing her eyes, Ria put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "I guess I can say yes. But only if you don't mind taking care of some old lady."

He laughed and then picked her up in a princess carry. "We should get some sleep if we have to start training tomorrow." He said as he carried her to her room and placed her on the bed.

"You know I can't sleep if you don't sleep with me, right?" she pouted cheekily as he begins to turn as if to leave.

Smirking, he removed his shirt before sitting down next to her on the bed and removing his shoes. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"Oh!." She blushed, which caused him to bend down and kiss her softly.

"Go put some pajamas on, preferably nothing too revealing since I doubt I will have the will to resist you with all the snuggling I want to do."

Giving him a mischievous look, she slid off the bed next to him before walking over to pick the shirt he discarded up off the floor. "You don't need this right now, do you?" She looked at him over her shoulder, teasing as she put his shirt in between her teeth so she could pull her shirt off and replace it with his. Delighting in his sharp intake of breath as her near-nakedness flashed before his eyes, she unclasped her bra underneath his shirt slowly before removing it, letting it drop to the floor; his shirt so small it barely covered her ass, which was perfect.

Turning to face him, she undid her pants as he watched, eyes wide and hands clenching the sheets. Once unclasped, she pulled them below her hips, letting them fall to the floor with a few swings of her hips before stepping out of them and crawling back in bed. Snuggling under the covers, she stared at his rigid back teasingly. "You coming, Em?"

Taking a shuddered breath, he tried to pull himself together. "I was unprepared for how much of a temptress you are. Do you even know the state you put me in?" He turned to look at her, and Ria could see his struggle to keep control of his desire.

"I'm sorry,I'll go put pants on." She moved to exit the bed on the opposite side, but his hand grabbed her wrist, causing her to turn to face him.

"It has nothing to do with that. It has everything to do with the fact you are in this bed with me in my shirt, wanting to be intimate with me even if it is just kissing."

He then pulled her to him forcing her body almost into his lap. "I won't lie to you or hide from you. I love you. I don't expect you to feel the same for me, but I ache just being next to you. My soul craves you, and sometimes it is so overwhelming. All I ask is you try to accept my feelings no matter what anyone else wants from you and me and see if you can learn to love me even a little bit." He then took her face in his hands and kissed her deeply as he slid under the covers and locked her body against his.

Having never felt the nakedness of his skin against her hand, it caused a fire to ignite in her core as their lips met over and over, and her hands roamed his nakedness. Up his chest, over his shoulders, up to his neck and through his hair, down his back, and finally back to his chest. So intoxicating was the feel of him that his entire body slowly became a drug she was unable to resist.

"Em." She whispered in a pained but needy voice, his fingers alighting a passion in her she thought long dead as each finger ran over her partially clothed body slipping under her shirt to caress her torso and back but not her breasts.

"Ria." His lips came to her ear to kiss and whisper seductively as he held her against him firmly; the familiarity held within the shortening of his name creating an overwhelming urge to devour her.

Feeling the aching love and passion behind his words, she clung to him, kissing any and every part of him she could reach. It was impossible now to go back to the innocent teasing of the nights past, but nothing about that upset her. Though she knew there were still feelings for Cú inside of her, she couldn't deny the feelings for Em that were raging throughout her right now.

"Please, don't leave me. Stay with me." Her lips lifted to seek his, which he gratefully gave her. Kissing her, licking her bottom lip, and caressing her face, Em soothed her with his touch until her breathing calmed, and she shifted to lay down on his chest with her face nestled into his neck.

Bringing his hand to her hair, he stroked it slowly, overwhelmed by the fact he could now love her openly and receive her affection in kind.