Guarded heart

Irisviel's first week at work was overwhelming.

She had to remember everything, from dates to papers placements to scheduling and remembering names... It was a lot to get used to.

Fortunately, almost everyone has been kind and helpful, and her boss was patient.

Everyone minus Agravain.

Agravain was... difficult.

He was always angry, and he constantly avoided looking at her.

Normally this would not bother her, but she needed this work. Drama was the last thing she wanted.

"Huh? Agravain? He is the worst." Mordred said, during her lunch break. "He's my brother, but man do I wanna punch his face."

"So he's always angry?" Irisviel hummed, taking a bite from the lunch she ordered. It was from a restaurant nearby, and the food was amazing. "I don't mean to sound rude, but you don't look alike."

She came to learn that her boss' relatives worked here, but she found it strange how different Mordred looked.

He was the splitting image of her boss.

It didn't bother her much, since Artoria was his aunt after all, but it definitely made him stand out.

"Oh? That's because I take after my father!"

"Your father?"

"Mordred." The boy froze up at the chilling tone coming from Gawain, who stood right behind him. "Shouldn't you be at school?"

"I don't want to! Get off my case! Don't act like my brother or somet- GAH" Gawain ruffled his hair with force.

"But I AM your brother, and now I am going to tell our new employee all the embarrassing stuff you do."

"HEY NO WHAT THE FU-"

"Language."

Irisviel giggled.

Despite being a highschooler, Mordred would show up often to help and hang out. He had a strong attitude, but he was nothing but kind to her.

Gawain was nice and reliable as well, and always helpful.

There was an interesting yet welcoming atmosphere to this company.

"Sorry about my little brother, did he bother you?" Gawain asked with a smile, as if he didn't have hold of Mordred's head hostage.

"Oh no! He is very sweet! I like Mordred!" She grinned, and the boy blushed and muttered something.

"I'm not sweet..."

"I am glad we finally have a secretary again. The boss would work overtime every day without anyone to help." Gawain let go of Mordred, who scoffed.

"That's just an excuse. She was overworking herself because of the divorce." Mordred crossed his arms, and looked away upset. Gawain gave him a disapproving look, but did not say anything.

"Work is exactly what the boss needs.  If she gets distracted, it will drag the company down." Agravain showed upus behind them, making both brothers yelp.

"Gah! Stop being so creepy!"

"I will when you stop wasting time. Don’t you have jobs to do? And you Mordred, go to your classes.” Agravain sneered, and then his glare landed on Irisviel. “You’re here to work, not to play friends.”

With that, he was gone.

“He ruined the atmosphere.” Mordred shoved his hands into his pockets. “Don’t let him get to you Irisviel, he just uh… has a thing with women.”

“I can see that.” Irisviel raised an eyebrow. The man’s words did not bother her, but even she had to admit he was infuriating. “I do have to leave now though. My lunch break is over.”

“Aw.”

“You know, you should grab lunch with us sometime. We always hang out during free time." Gawain's optimistic tone warmed the room again. "You can bring your daughter as well! We have been dying to meet her!"

"Of course! I'd be happy to!" She gathered her things, and waved at the two, then walked away.

It was a heartwarming place, and so she did not mind one person's complaints.

She resumed her work, arranging every report given to her, and writing down any upcoming meetings. She checked everything at least two or three times just to be sure.

When time came, she knocked on Artoria’s office, and waited for a moment before trying again.

Irisviel carefully opened the door to the office after getting no response.

She looked at the empty chair, before her eyes caught her boss sleeping on the couch.

She stood there, unsure what to do.

On one hand, it wouldn't be right to wake her up, on the other, she had a schedule she needed to stick to.

Irisviel took a deep breath, and walked inside.

She slowly approached the couch, and got a clear view of her boss.

Artoria was asleep on her back, and her arm was laying on her face, covering her eyes.

Her form was somewhat guarded. Perhaps it was Irisviel's imagination.

Come to think of it, she noticed how restless her boss has been.

Her schedule was always full, and her paperwork was endless.

She wouldn't leave her office unless it was at night, and sometimes she would stay late, finishing more work.

She would even miss lunch sometimes.

It was concerning.

Irisviel then noticed Artoria move.

She wasn't awake, but she was shifting in her sleep, and her lips pulled into a grimace.

Could it be that she was having a nightmare?

"Boss?" She called, but it wasn't enough to wake her up. She moved closer and tapped her shoulder.

Still asleep.

She hesitated for a second, then gently shook her shoulder, finally waking her up.

She pulled away, and watched as Artoria's arm moved away, and her eyes looked at her, dazed and... somewhat panicked, before returning to normal.

"Ah, Irisviel." She sat up, running a hand through her hair. "Did I oversleep?" She asked, and exhaustion slipped out of her voice, and the secretary bit her lip.

“No, there is still time before your meeting"

"Ah. That is good. I could use some coffee before going."

"May I suggest lunch first? It is hard to work on an empty stomach." Irisviel suggested, concerned for her boss' unhealthy habits.

"Just coffee will be fine." The blonde said, before her own stomach would betray her, rumbling in agony. She turned away, hiding her face, and the visible blush. "Going out to get food would waste too much time."

"I ordered extra lunch today, so you don't have to worry about that." The secretary stated, and her boss turned to her, staring in awe as if she was an angel.

Truth is... she noticed how her boss would skip meals every day, so she thought she might do something about it.

"I suppose I can't say no to that." She smiled. "Thank you Irisviel, you are so considerate."

“I’m just doing my job.” Irisviel tucked a hair behind her ear, feeling bashful, she excused herself to get the lunch.

Once the two sat in the office, Irisviel started reading the schedule out loud. Artoria did not have many meetings today, but she had a lot of papers to sign, from new recruits, to buying needed materials, and signing contracts.

Irisviel had no idea if her boss was listening though. The blonde was eagerly eating her lunch, and her eyes were sparkling like a child’s, it was as if she was staring at her one true love.

“Next you have a meeting with the CEO of Babylonia jewelry.”

The true love’s spell broke, and Artoria’s eyes darkened.

“Right… That was today.” She sighed, staring sadly at her empty plate. She was not looking forward to getting a headache from that guy. She then looked back at her secretary. “Should we get going then? Since we’re going to meet him, there is a place I’d like to go to.”

Irisviel nodded quietly.

Another thing that she noticed about how her Boss was the fact that never hired a driver. It seemed she liked to do most things herself, while it was in a way admirable, she had to wonder if her Boss even slept at this point, doing everything by herself.

Somehow, they ended up in front of a flower shop.

“Surely you aren’t buying flowers for Gilgamesh.” Irisviel joked and Artoria grimaced, clearly in pain.

“Please don’t say such things. He disgusts me.” Artoria complained, and shook her head, trying to chase the thought away. “I’m buying flowers for his secretary. She deserves them for dealing with him on a daily basis.”

“Aw, Boss you’re kind of cute.” Irisviel said, before realizing ‘oh no that’s my boss’, and so her eyes went wide, and a small Taiga appeared in her imagination giving her a thumbs up that she did not want.

“Huh?” Artoria blushed at the compliment. “I’m not cute. I am intimidating.”

“No, no, she is totally right.” A third voice joined in on their conversation. He was a handsome young man with a beauty mark right beneath his eye. The card on his chest read ‘Diarmuid.’ “Artoria, I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“Dia!” Artoria’s smile was brighter than ever, at the sight of an old friend. “I have been busy. I’m sorry for not passing by.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He gave her a knowing look, then turned  to Irisviel. “Hello, I am Diarmuid and I work here. How can I help you?” His eyes shifted back to Artoria. “Don’t tell me you’re buying flowers for this lovely lady.”

And so the blush was back, on both their faces this time.

“Diarmuid, this is my secretary.” Artoria rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. “Those flowers are for Siduri.”

“Ah, that poor woman.”

“Indeed.”

The two took a moment  of silence for her.

It was kind of funny from an outsider’s perspective.

“I’ll get you a pretty bouquet for a hardworking legend.”

“Actually, get me two.”

Diarmuid’s smile widened, and once they got the flowers, they were on their way again.

Irisviel could feel the tension growing in the car, as they moved closer and closer to Babylonia jewelry. Her boss looked as if her soul was being drained slowly, but surely. The poor soul.

And so, the time for her soul to completely shatter has come, and there he was, standing smugly, as if on top of the world.

"ARTORIA! YOU COULD NOT FORGET ME SO YOU CAME-"

"Stop yelling." Artoria felt her eardrums bleed at Gilgamesh's voice. "Of course I came for our work meeting." She slapped the arm he tried sneaking around her shoulder. "Behave."

"You could have insisted I come to your office but instead you accepted to come to my place!" Gilgamesh laughed, and she covered her ears, sighing.

Irisviel looked at the two in concern, but Gilgamesh's secretary, Siduri, placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't mind them, they are always like that." Siduri sounded tired.

"Now! Become my wife! We even have witnesses!"

"I refuse."

"That is fine! You can answer me wrong as many times as you want as long as-"

"I REFUSE."

The two bumped heads, literally. They each tried to push the other down.

"Who would marry an arrogant brat like you?!"

"I have more admirers than you do! Women faint at my sight!"

"I don't envy their poor taste in men."

"Oh this could take a while, we should break them up." Siduri took a deep breath, and walked towards them.

Right as she said that, Gilgamesh’s face got sprayed with water, or to be more accurate, he got sprayed with a water gun.

Artoria pulled away just in time to avoid the attack.

“Enkidu!” Gilgamesh cried out at his friend’s ambush.

Irisviel immediately recognized them. Enkidu was the model for all of Babylonia’s jewelries, and the face of the company. They were extremely popular due to their politeness and good looks.

“You stink.” They said, and the polite image was thrown out the window. “Take your work more seriously.”

“Excuse you?!” Gilgamesh swayed his hair, and showed his sparkling teeth. “I'm perfect!”

He got sprayed again.

-Guarded heart-

After getting sprayed too many times by his friend, Gilgamesh ended up with some random bunny onesie because he had no spare clothes. They all mysteriously disappeared.

Artoria and Irisviel squinted at the man before them, and they were certain that was Enkidu’s plan all along. Enkidu just stole Gil’s chair and played video games.

Artoria almost wanted to take a picture to blackmail him into leaving her alone, forever, however she was honorable and did not resort to such methods.

Unless it was against Morgan.

Morgan was the exception.

“We’re opening a new branch around here.” Gilgamesh explained, showing Artoria the map on his tablet. “I’ve been fighting to get this spot for a while, but now that I finally got my hands on it, I’m expecting some trouble during the opening day.”

“I believe I gave you enough men for protection, I doubt anyone would try anything with their reputati-“

“Ishtar would.”

“What?” She breathed out, in disbelief.

“Ishtar is an idiot you see.”

Siduri sighed, sensing an upcoming argument.

“You… You bought her property, didn’t you?” Artoria rubbed her temple, she knew that the animosity between these two would never disappear, but to go as far as to play with fire… Who was the real idiot here?

“The idiot almost went broke and was forced to sell it to me because MY company is much BETTER than hers, and all of her jewelry are knock offs!” He laughed, proud of his achievement. He knew that Ishtar would come for him and stir up trouble after he bought it. It was truly survival of the pettiest.

“Fine, fine!” Artoria took a deep breath, she did not want to get any angrier at this fool. “I will give you my men.”

“Make sure they’re hot, okay?”

Nevermind, she was going to choke the life out of him.

“These two sure have an interesting relationship.” Irisviel chuckled, drinking some tea Siduri made her. The two were watching their bosses wrestling, while listening in on their conversation to note down anything important.

Siduri smiled.

“Believe it or not, these two are childhood friends.” Irisviel’s eyes widened. “They got along a lot better as kids, but drifted apart later. They still care for each other in their own strange way.”

“Really? I’m glad.” Irisviel smiled, and looked at Artoria, her expression softened. “Boss seems like a private person, so seeing she has so many friends makes me happy.”

The sight of the exhausted Artoria, isolated in her office, without food, and barely any sleep, plagued her mind once again.

Siduri beamed at her words, and Irisviel took a moment to admire the older woman, she was calm and collected, and had a friendly presence. She could make anyone feel comfortable around her.

“It makes me happy that you are looking out for her. Artoria is kind, so she puts everyone before her, and forgets about herself in the process.” Siduri looked at the bickering ‘friends’ fondly.

“Irisviel.” Artoria called out, and the secretary stood up to join her. “Did you make note of everything?”

“Yes!”

“Good. We will head back now, and make a list of who to send for the opening.” Artoria said, already deep in thoughts. She then walked to Siduri. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, please make sure this idiot comes.”

“I will.” The woman chuckled. “Thank you for the flowers, they’re beautiful.”

“Of course.”

“Hey! You’re leaving already?” Gilgamesh complained, and was about to go after Artoria, only for Enkidu to pull him down to their lap, holding him hostage. “HEY!”

“Stop harassing people.”

“You’re the one harrassing me! What were you even playing this whole time, taking away my chair?”

“Animal crossing.”

“Thank you for the help Enkidu.” Artoria waved, and they gave her a thumbs up. “Let’s leave before he complains more.” She whispered to Irisviel, and they walked away.

"I heard that! You are missing out! I am such a snack!" 

"No one likes snacks so full of bone and no meat." Enkidu did not look up from their game. 

"I..." Gilgamesh looked at his friend, shocked, before yelling. “ENKIDU YOU TWINK-”

-Guarded heart-

Irisviel could not hold her laughter any longer once they were in the car.

“Gilgamesh sure is interesting.”

“That’s one way to describe him. I think I lost ten years from my lifespan talking to him.” Artoria yawned, feeling tired from dealing with such an energetic enigma.

“That’s no good. I want Boss to live a long fulfilling life.” Iri grinned, and her boss turned to her in surprise, before turning away.

“Oh, thank you… I hope you do too.”

Her boss was really cute...

"By the way, who are these flowers for?" Irisviel asked, looking back at the bouquet in the backseat.

"These are for you." Artoria stated simply, as if she did not just cause her secretary's face to redden. "You have been working hard, and you deserve some appreciation."

Irisviel's face darkened even more, and she folded her skirt, escaping her boss' gaze.

"It's only my first week, I barely did anything."

"Take it, Irisviel." Artoria smiled at her briefly, but kept her eyes on the road. "I like honest and hardworking people."

Irisviel felt strange.

This was the first time she was given something genuine.

"I... thank you." She grinned. "I thought bosses are scary and rude so I was worried about working, but now I'm glad it ended up being for you."

Artoria’s expression softened.

“I am glad you think so, Irisviel. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Irisviel blushed, feeling a warmth enveloping her, and she could not be any happier.

To think that an unexpected meeting under strange circumstances had led her to such a warm person, who has been giving her a job and kindness… She was truly lucky.

There are people as warm and bright as the sun, and Irisviel wanted to stay close to them, and she hoped they would never burn out.

“Me too.” She said, and looked into Artoria’s eyes. “ Me too.” She repeated, for herself this time, for a sad heart that has not seen much kindness from the world, yet sang from receiving so much of it in such a short time.