Saber was worried for Rin.
There was something amiss with her, that much was obvious, more so than usual. In the months after Shirou's escape she had run herself ragged to fix her mistake. She had taken more courses, more projects and worked harder to make ends meet.
She indebted herself financially with several important figures to buy jewels for her craft, achieving brilliant results that forced many of her detractors to hold their tongues in the face of her accomplishments, all for the sake of helping Shirou out of the trouble they had put him into.
They, yes, for Saber herself was not without guilt.
Shirou had been reluctant in going along with Rin's idea of showing his skills. He was acutely aware of the nature of his abilities and was under no delusion as of his fate if they were to be exposed. While he was often helpful to the point of being reckless he wasn't suicidal as his behavior could suggest at times, not without a life at stake, at least.
It was Saber who gave him the final push.
She wanted him to take pride in himself and his own skills, something that he dearly lacked. Not that being humble was wrong, per se, but she wanted him to value himself more for his own good. What a joke.
She was aware of the risks, but she also knew that there is no gain without them. Shirou was unconvinced but went along with it for their sake.
And they lost him because of that.
There hadn't been a chance for a goodbye. They never even saw the Sealing Designation coming, finding it out only after the hunt for Shirou was called out publically. To this day no one knew how Shirou had known beforehand, for he hadn't so much as run as he just disappeared without a word.
The only thing that the Enforcers had been able to put together was that Shirou had stashed enough money and survival gear in a secret location to disappear at a moment notice. Unbeknownst to Rin and Saber until then, the journals found in his Workshop were written in a way that it made apparent to the readers that his research into Unlimited Blade Works was done without Rin's knowledge or approval.
It was because of that they survived the ordeal unscathed.
Well, that and the fact that Saber could negate all of their spells, slay their Enforces by droves and possibly collapse the Clock Tower from inside with her Noble Phantasm. That is not to say they wouldn't have eventually overwhelmed her, but with Shirou's journal exonerating them the direction wasn't about to waste people and money on them.
But that was beside the point. The point was that Shirou had been looking out for them all along, considering himself a liability to the point that he was ready to escape at anytime, going as far as to create in advance a credible story that would keep them out of any trouble related to him
The sheer magnitude of their own arrogance wasn't lost on them.
Rin had promised Archer and to herself that she would save Shirou while Saber was sworn from the very first day of their meeting to be his sword and shield.
They had both failed it so much there was no way to describe it.
In the end he was him who saved them from their own actions. Surely there weren't enough words in the languages of men to curse their folly.
But that what worried Saber now was something else entirely. Rin had changed. She had been tired for a long time because of the prolonged strain of maintaining a Heroic Spirit while overworking physically, mentally and magically.
She still looked tired and stressed, but she was no longer worn out. It was a good thing, Saber supposed, but Rin hadn't changed her habits as far as she knew so she couldn't help but wonder what was given up in exchange of her improvement.
Rin hadn't mentioned anything specific, which was telling. If someone as proud as her didn't at the very least discuss an improvement then it was achieved by meaning Saber wouldn't have approved of.
She didn't know what to do. Confronting Rin about it would be futile. The young woman knew how to keep her secret and Saber didn't want to make her feel like she had to watch her back from her Servant. On the other hand she knew she had to intervene somehow.
Perhaps she was being too hasty. For the time being she would only observe. If anything changed in a way she didn't like she would take steps to correct it.
She had already failed Shirou. She would not fail Rin as well.
She would do anything to preserve at least that oath.
Anything at all.
-xXx-
A few days later
"Alright. Today we are going to try something different," Gerard said.
When she returned to Gerard's Workshop for the second appointment of that week, she was more than a little anxious. The last time had been... shocking, for a lack of better words. So much that when Gerard said that she almost felt sick to her stomach.
"Like what?" she asked, perfectly masking her apprehension.
He unbuttoned his pants and extracted his member, already fully erect. Rin almost froze at the sight of it. It wasn't like she hadn't seen it yet, but every time it came out they went through a progression of making out and getting naked. She always avoided looking directly at it, but now Gerard had whipped it out without any forewarning when they were still clothed.
Rin didn't know exactly how to behave. Acting upset at this point over something like that would have only made her look like a fool. Not know what to do made her feel a thousand times more embarrassed than normal and her face became red in response..
The feelings that rod of meat subjected her to were nothing short of delirious. Just thinking about those moments... No! Thinking about the other day was not a good idea.
"So?" he asked.
"W-what?" had she been staring at it so much that she had zoned out?
"I said... suck me off."
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