Rin Tohsaka's eyes have been fixed on the clock since midnight. The time passed slowly, but Rin's anticipation was too great for her to occupy her mind with other things. Tonight she will summon her servant, the one which will win her the Holy Grail War. Her mana reaches its peak at two am, she knows. To summon Saber, she must conduct the ritual at the right time.
As the large clock hand snails towards its vertical position, Rin takes her gems in her hands and runs her fingers over their cool, polished surfaces; feeling the power they contain; reassuring herself she is strong enough to do this. She draws the summoning circle using melted jewels instead of blood, jewels infused with her own mana, chanting as she does so. The circle was passed down to her from her father. She will use everything at her disposal to succeed in this summoning.
The hour approaches, and she activates her magical circuit. She feels the mana flow from the air, through the circle of liquid jewels, and into her body. The power feels raw, electric. Mana courses and thrums through her veins. She can feel the energy shift. Potential to kinetic to heat, back to potential and then shooting off into magical. A bead of sweat rolls down her forehead, and she furrows her brow in concentration. The mana threatens to tear her body to pieces, to burst her apart, if she cannot control it. She ignores the pain, the burning, knowing she must only keep this power reigned in for a few more seconds.
The clock chimes. It is time. Rin channels the overwhelming energy back into the circle starting the ritual. She speaks, her voice low but steady.
"I announce. Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword."
The air is thick with magical energy, which sparks around her. Never before has Rin felt this kind of power. It is intoxicating, and Rin almost believes herself capable of anything.
"Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."
She closes her eyes. She is almost there. She can not afford to be distracted, not now. In just a few seconds, she will see her servant. She raises her voice, growing more confident thanks to the power surging through her.
"Make an oath here. I am the one who shall become the virtue of all afterworld. I am the one who shall lay out the evil of all afterworld. Thou art Seven Heavens clad in the Three Great Words. Emerge from the ring of control, guardian of balance...!"
The ritual is finished. Rin opens her eyes, and frowns. Nothing has changed. Doubt creeps into her mind, her confidence vanishing. Did she fail? She was certain everything was perfect, but...
A loud crashing sound from upstairs startles her. The summoning conundrum will have to wait. She turns on her heel and races up the steps of the basement towards the noise. The door to her living room is hanging off its hinges, and fails to open when she tries the handle. Gritting her teeth, she slams into the wood shoulder-first, and it gives. Inside, the living room looks like a battlefield. The ceiling is crumbling, furniture is broken and toppled over, and only the large grandfather clock remains unharmed. Rin freezes. She remembers arriving at school early, how she realised all the clocks in her house were an hour fast. It is one am, not two. She curses herself, wondering how she could be so stupid.
"I did it again..."
A chuckle draws her attention. Rin whirls around, her heart racing, and her breath catches in her throat when she spots the figure across the room. Leaning against the wall, clad in brilliant golden armour that seems to reflect sunlight even though it is the middle of the night, is the most beautiful man Rin has ever laid her eyes on. He sweeps his gaze over her, a glint of amusement in his catlike red eyes. Questions race through Rin's head, but she finds herself unable to voice them. All she can do is stare, captivated, at this man who radiates etherealness.
"Well?" he asks, his voice commanding attention, and Rin wants him to speak more, just so she can listen to that musical tone. A smirk is playing on his lips. "Surely my master has not gone mute?"
"Master." Rin tests the word out, finds it suits the golden man better than it does her.
Cautiously, she asks, "You are... My servant?"
His smirk becomes a grin.
"So long as you prove yourself worthy."
(He neglects to mention the fate of the servant she actually summoned.)
He insists on mana transfer after they fight Berserker for the first time. She suspects he doesn't truly need it, but it's hard enough to talk him down once he's decided on something. She tries to appease him with simply joining their magical circuits, but Archer will have none of it.
"After forcing your King to retreat, this is the least you can do." he purrs in her ear, and as her knees weaken Rin thinks of the Jewish bible and wonders if this was how that woman Eve fell into sin.
Rin is a magus, so she has no romantic notions about sex and virginity, and tries to facilitate mana transfer in the most businesslike manner possible. But lying beneath him on her bed, dressed with new sheets at Archer's insistence, she feels more like a lost child than the proud, headstrong woman she tries to project.
He undresses her slowly, clever fingers teasing her breasts, but Rin won't give him the satisfaction of eliciting a response beyond the blush that darkens her cheeks. She grits her teeth and fixes her eyes on the ceiling, reciting the basic tenets of gemcraft in her mind. She hopes her servant will bore quickly and just get to it.
Eventually, he does. His master's refusal to enjoy herself displeases the golden king, but he allows it this time. There will be others.
(He does not tell her how much more fun it will be to wear her down until she begs for him.)
Emiya isn't fit to be a master in the Grail War, Rin thinks. The most he'll achieve is getting himself killed, and Rin would be loathe to let that happen after using her most precious jewel to save his life already. She decides to try talk him into relinquishing his command spells, and hopes after that she can convince Saber to contract as a second servant for herself.
(He pictures the indignant rage on Saber's face at being forced to fight by his side, and he loves the thought of it. He considers how she'd react to Rin on her knees before him, wonders how quickly he could have them both broken and keening for his attentions)
The priest failed to convince Emiya, so Rin decides to take matters into her own hands. She asks Archer to stay out of it, and he is happy to oblige.
(While she is at school, he takes the time to visit the church.
"Gilgamesh." Kirei greets him with a raised eyebrow, the corners of his mouth inclined ever so slightly. "I trust all is going well."
"The Tohsaka girl proves entertaining at times," he admits. "Though her pride is somewhat of an annoyance. She does not yield herself to me as is proper."
Kirei chuckles at that, gives him a knowing smile. "You expect her to treat you with the reverence her father showed you?"
"Reverence? Do you take me for a fool, Kirei?" His sardonic laugh bounces off the walls of the small room, and in the next instant he is behind the priest, his voice a low hum in the man's ear. "You know well if that sycophantic excuse for a magus showed me the respect I was due, then we would never have come to this arrangement."
Gilgamesh's slender hand snakes down Kirei's chest, runs over the soft black fabric of his trousers until it elicits a hiss. Kirei takes his hand and leads him to the basement, nipping at his neck while he inhales the scent of death mixed with mana.
He takes everything in that disgusting room for his own.)
She ends up inviting Emiya home to heal his wounds from his scrap with Rider. They discuss battle strategy, negotiate a temporary truce at her suggestion, while Archer watches on silently.
(He sees the way the boy looks at her, how he fumbles his words and stares too long when her attention is on something else. It infuriates him, that someone would dare look upon his rightful possession with such lust. He wants to take her then and there, have her screaming his name and begging for more until the insolent boy learns that she is his.)
(Accompanying Rin to school bores him, but when she offers mana transfer on his terms in recompense he graciously accepts.)
That night, he is not so generous as to go about his business and leave Rin to hers. His red eyes burn into her, and Rin can't bear the strength of his gaze, the feeling it builds in her stomach.
She turns her head, but Archer takes her chin in between his thumb and forefinger, and pulls her back to face him. He is displeased, lower lip jutting out almost sulkily.
"Do not turn away in the presence of your King."
Rin wants to roll her eyes, to object, but his lips press against her neck and all she can do is gasp. A hand slides down her body, dips underneath her shirt, and travels upwards. His mouth stays at her neck, licking and kissing and sucking. The fabric of her bra is pulled down, and as his hand plays with her breast, Rin squirms and squeaks and blushes scarlet.
It doesn't take long before Archer has her out of her clothes, naked but for her panties. He drinks in the sight of her, and she isn't sure where to look. She tries to cover her chest with her arms, but he nudges them away with his head and suckles on her breast, and Rin's back arches involuntarily. "A-Archer..!" When he raises his head again, there is a wicked smirk on his face, which serves only to make her blush fiercer.
She does not want to be enjoying this. She does not want to lean into his touch, to call out his name, to want him. He knows, of course, and she can see how he delights in it and it infuriates her to see him so smug. She turns her mind back to gemcraft, back to the familiarity of spells, and tries to quiet the urges of her body. She can't hold back the groan of satisfaction when Archer slips inside her, but she manages to fight the need to buck her hips, to grasp him tight and pull him closer. It is a small victory, but Rin will take it.
(He revels in seeing her struggle with herself, knowing it is only a matter of time until she comes completely undone.)
Emiya stops showing up to school one day, and Rin hopes it is because he decided to heed her advice and withdraw. When she finds Rider's corpse, worry gets the better of her. She asks Archer to pay him a visit, but of course the wilful king refuses "to be treated as some messenger boy" and suggests she find someone "whose birth befits such a station". Rin has half a mind to lecture him on that's not how things work any more, but thinks the better of it. She suspects it isn't that he doesn't already know that, merely that he does not care.
(He slips out briefly, while she's changing for gym class - he finds it amusing that she'll lie naked beneath him when he requests, but that she won't stand having him present while she undresses at school - to consult with Kirei.)
When Rin arrives home, there is a message waiting for her on the answering machine. The fake priest's bored voice informs her that Shirou Emiya had indeed decided to withdraw from the War, having lost his servant in a confrontation with Caster, and sought refuge within the church. She breathes a sigh of relief, and gives Archer a wry half smile when she declares "Well, that's one more servant down at least."
(Knowing of Emiya's true fate makes him feel smug, though he would have preferred to carry out the act himself. After all, it was the duty of the King to deliver punishment upon those who wronged him.)
The night before their assault on Caster at the Ryuudou Temple, Rin joins him for a glass of wine. The alcohol emboldens her, and it doesn't take long before she closes the distance between them. Her hands dart underneath his shirt, fingers splaying out over his chest muscles.
He tries to play oblivious, but his coy smile betrays his knowledge of her intentions.
"What are you doing, Rin?" his honeyed voice asks, his amused expression teasing. A pink colour dusts her cheeks, and she feels herself swell with indignation, but she controls herself because she knows she must.
"I thought you would want to recharge your mana before tomorrow's fight." She is pleased by how coolly it comes out. Archer contemplates, one eyebrow raised at her.
"... Yes, I suppose so." he decides finally. "Though it would not do to tire my master out before such an important battle. The joining of our circuits will suffice tonight."
She tries to mask her disappointment, but he sees how the light dulls in her eyes.
She tears away from him, paints a false smile of relief on her face. "Yes, that will certainly be more convenient."
(He has her right where he wants her.)
She ends up lying beneath him on the sofa, chest covered only by her bra, while his own is bare. She closes her eyes. To concentrate, not because the sight of him makes her want- no, she can't think about that. Focus. Focus. Focus!
He knows, he must, because he takes a strand of her hair between his fingers and lazily twists and twirls it around. She peeks at him.
"Archer, if you won't concentrate, then I won't be able to provide you with sufficient mana." she reprimands him.
Well, she tries to. She suspects he doesn't care very much, given the grin plastered on his smug face. His startling red eyes capture her gaze, vanquishing any further protests from her mind, and she realises she is utterly lost to him. It isn't fair, having a servant so beautiful. Before she can second guess herself, she kisses him. Her mouth is urgent, hungry, yearning.
(It tastes like victory.)
He pulls back, eyeing her with an expression that is questioning, but most definitely not surprised. Of course he knew, the bastard.
"Rin?"
Her cheeks darken by the second, her eyes avoiding his only to wander down his slender but strong chest, and Rin hates herself for not being able to keep her desire in check.
"Archer, I..." She still won't meet his eyes. She can't.
"Yes?"
"I..." She falters.
"Yes?" He presses her on.
"I want you." She forces her eyes closed as she says it, tries to ignore the heat creeping into her cheeks.
"I do not understand, Rin."
Motherfucker.
He's lying through his teeth, and they both know it. She should not allow her own servant to treat her this way, to make mockery of her pride so openly and unashamedly. There is silence between them while she stews, torn between her adamant refusal to say it aloud and the knowledge that she can only fight it for so long. It is a pointless fight; they are inevitable.
"Rin?" he prompts her, and she can tell from his voice just how much he's enjoying this. She swallows thickly, takes a deep breath, composes herself.
"I want to have sex with you." She manages to keep her voice steady.
His lips curl ever so slightly in triumph. She hates him for it.
He bends her hips over the arm of the chair, and she moans his name as he thrusts into her.
(He fucked Kirei Kotomine like this once, just after her father's death, but she doesn't need to know that.)
They approach the Temple from the mountain gate, where they find Assassin waiting. He introduces himself as Sasaki Kojirou and challenges Archer to a duel. Rin blinks, and the servant has fallen. "He was worth neither my time nor my effort." Archer offers by way of explanation, and Rin finds herself quite glad that he is her own servant rather than an enemy.
The moment they reach the inner grounds, Caster launches an attack from the air, and Saber emerges to launch a vicious attack on Rin. Rin is able to bolster their defences, but her spells are useless against Saber, so Archer is forced to parry the swordswoman's attacks with Ea to buy time for his chains to subdue her. With Saber no longer a threat, he can focus his full attention on Caster. Before his Gates of Babylon have fully summoned forth the weapons he requires, a man, Caster's master, joins the battle. His movements are swift, enhanced by Caster's magic, and he goes straight for Rin, landing a solid blow to her stomach that makes her retch blood before Archer's chains capture him too. He lets out an angry roar, and within moments Caster and the man both fall, impaled by several choice treasures.
Archer rushes to Rin's side, props her up against his chest in the first display of concern for someone other than himself she's seen from him. She gives him a weak smile before turning her attentions to Saber, still struggling against her bindings.
"Saber," she asks quietly. "What happened?"
"I do not think she will attack you now, Rin. Perhaps this would be better discussed at home, where you can treat your injuries." Archer suggests, and Rin nods in agreement.
(He does not enjoy playing humble or concerned, but Kirei insists that she must trust him until the final moments, must believe he is loyal to her. Let the girl think he cares then, it will make the betrayal all the sweeter.)
She approaches Archer after Saber rejects her offer to contract with her, a hint of disappointment only barely visible on her face.
"I want to thank you," she tells him shyly. "For saving my life today."
(He has to remind himself it is her first time sucking someone off, because her skill is impressive enough to make him forget. He thinks of Tokiomi Tohsaka, wonders how the proud magus would react if he knew what his daughter was doing in that moment, and his release quickens.
Later, he muses over it with Kirei, and if he is surprised to learn those thoughts arouse the priest, he does not show it. Gilgamesh doesn't so much as blink when Kirei launches himself at the king, hurriedly tugging off those snakeskin pants he is so fond of.
Talented as Rin is for a beginner, she doesn't compare to the practiced Kotomine.)
She wakes up in the morning to a message from the false priest informing her that only Archer, Lancer and Berserker remain. Sadness blossoms in her chest as she thinks of Saber's fate, of how the woman-king must have faded from existence shortly after refusing Rin's offer of partnership.
"On my honour as a knight," Saber had said. "I must serve only one master, and I should seek him at the church now, to ask if he will have me back. I thank you for freeing me from Caster's control, Rin, but it is time I took my leave."
She must not have made it after all, and the guilt weighs heavy on Rin's conscience.
With only two other master and servant pairs left, Rin can taste, victory on her tongue. In a rare good mood, she decides to invite him to her room.
(Usually, he doesn't wait for an invitation.)
She dresses for the occasion, in red silk that frames the curves of her body beautifully, and the way Archer looks at her makes her feel powerful. She has him lay beneath her, and for once he is content to wait as her hands explore the taut skin of his muscles, deceptively soft over the solid ridges.
She eases herself onto him, rides him slowly at first, but her pace picks up when she grows more confident. His hands rest firmly on her hips, tilting her now and then so the angle is just right for her to dissolve into sighs at the friction. She leans in for passionate, hurried kisses, and moans into his mouth when he catches her tongue between his teeth and bites down gently. Even when her legs grow tired and she is fucked to satisfaction, she continues her thrusts until she feels Archer's orgasm spill into her.
(The look of pure triumph on her face at that might just be his favourite part of the night.)
She collapses next to him, falls asleep with one thumb tracing over his collarbones while she quietly murmurs "Archer, my Archer."
The forest where Illyasviel von Einzbern resides is thick with trees, and Rin thinks she would surely find herself lost were it not for Archer, who navigates through it with ease. Illyasviel's bounded field stretches far beyond the castle itself, and she greets them in the foyer alongside Berserker when they finally arrive. The pale girl taunts Rin from her safe position on the stairs, guarded by the imposing giant before her. When Archer flashes a quick smirk in her direction, Rin finds it easier to ignore the other girl's words, and her voice echoes loudly as she gives Archer her order - "Defeat Berserker."
The ground shakes under Berserker's heavy steps as he tries to duck around Archer's blades. The giant is deceptively fast for his size - not fast enough to evade all of Archer's attacks, but the wounds he suffers do little to slow him down. Archer knows to keep his distance, recognises the strength Berserker possesses is fearsome. Rin has one eye trained on Illyasviel, caution demanding she doesn't underestimate the abilities of the Einzbern master. The girl seems unstable enough that she might attempt a direct attack on Rin herself if her back is turned for even a moment.
It takes time, but Archer's attacks eventually run Berserker down, the wounds causing him to stagger and giving Archer the chance to land the final blow. When the giant's body falls, Rin's servant turns to her with his usual cocky smile. Time slows for Rin as she sees Berserker begin to rise behind Archer, her almost-smile twisting into a look of horror as she screams a warning to him. "Archer! Watch out!" His grin falters when the shadow of the enemy servant falls over him, and Rin feels panic bubble in her stomach. She watches as Berserker's huge fist bears down, her breath catching in her throat and her mouth drying up. So close, she thinks, I was so close.
Then there is a hand on her shoulder, hot breath tickling her ear as a crystalline voice chimes "Do you have so little faith as to believe such a cheap trick could defeat this great King?" Before she can respond, he is back on the battlefield, fighting with renewed ferocity. He fells Berserker once more, twice more, many more times until she loses count and wonders if there can ever be an end to this fight. Illyasviel grows angrier as the battle draws out, and finally in a desperate move orders her servant to ignore Archer and to kill Rin instead. Dread washes over the Tohsaka mage when Berserker turns his stony sights to her, but before he can launch his attack, Archer has the beast captured in his chains. Archer eyes him with disdain.
"A mongrel such as you is not worthy to lay a single hand on my master."
With that, Berserker falls for the final time. Illyasviel bursts into angry tears, calling out to her servant to "Get up!", wailing "You can't leave me! You can't leave me alone!". Rin wonders how she can feel pity for a girl who, the first time they clashed, was nothing but bloodthirsty and sadistic. But she knows what must be done, and indicates as such with a solemn "Archer." She can't bring herself to watch as Archer finishes her off, can't bear the nausea in her stomach though she knows it is necessary.
"Rin," Archer's voice is soft, inviting. "Come here." She folds gracefully into his embrace, her head pressed against his chest which heaves slightly as he breathes. His thumb traces circles on her cheek, and Rin marvels at how safe he makes her feel. She raises herself up on the tips of her toes, a soft and genuine smile on her lips, and whispers his name in a wondrous voice. "Archer." He leans in to her kiss, and she can feel his smile underneath her lips as they press together.
"Rin," he mutters against her mouth. "You truly are a beautiful, talented magus." His draws back from the kiss, and she leans into the hand that caresses her face, closing her eyes.
"It's such a pity you're so foolishly naive."
Rin chokes out a gasp, bile rising in her throat as something alien presses into her back. Her body jerks with movements that aren't hers, the surface of her skin rippling and shifting. Magical energy surges through her, so potent it burns, and the pain makes her want to scream, but she can only retch a thick black sludge. Tears pool in the corners of her eyes as she searches Archer's for an answer, but all she finds is a cool, uncaring gaze. Everything is agony as her bones liquefy, her organs collapsing in on themselves, her body rearranging itself into something she cannot comprehend. The last thing she knows is Archer's voice, low, and with a cruelty she did not know him to possess, urging the forces that destroy her on.
"You'll make me such a wonderful Grail, Rin Tohsaka."