He had sat there all night. The pain in his back was rather strong, but he didn't care. Whether the young girl behind the door wanted to admit or not, she had wanted him there. A favor was never asked, but it lingered in the air, waiting for him to grab it. They had made progress at times; there were good days, there were bad days. They couldn't quite find a happy medium for a while. Each day was an extreme. It was extremely good or extremely confrontation. Rin would fly off the handles at times, but Archer understood. Under the list of things he deserved, her pity was not scheduled for him. No. He wouldn't have asked for it. When everything went wrong, he hadn't tried to deny or make excuses. Archer accepted his life, and the job that would come from it. If ever she could forgive him, he would be there, waiting.

Slowly, better days began to happen as he tried harder and harder to show her what he would do for her. Archer spent all of his time at home, trying to make her smile, trying to make her happy. He walked with her to and from her school—Archer had picked up a new job as a teacher for Science and advisor to the Archery Club—and she showed to some of his club's tournaments that he had to attend. Over time, a smile would come and go. A sweet comment would bring a blush; a joke would bring a laugh; and she had held his hand a few times. Everything seemed to have closed in, but they would implode. Rin would spend the next day on the floor, in tears. She would never call for him, but she would want him there. He'd hold her until she pushed him away, cursing and screaming at him.

That had stopped over time. Now there were only tears and sobs, questions that she wanted answered, but he had no real answer. Rin couldn't get the satisfaction of a confession because he didn't understand what had happened. There were so many things wrong at the time that he couldn't handle the amount of excuses that he had but none of them were right. They didn't mean anything. They didn't excuse him.

He laid there, hand on forehead, remembering back to that night where everything went wrong. They had argued about something, something dumb. He couldn't even remember what it was because it truly wasn't that important, but it was the most repetitive event of their week—they were fighting all the time. Rin was always stressed with her studies and school, and their lives had been strained after the Holy Grail War had ended. Archer didn't know what to do with his life for a long time. He had been re-born and created on a battlefield. Instead of adjusting like everyone else was, he (and a few others) had found the new life difficult. He hadn't truly sought out a job for many weeks, lamenting his discomfort and spending time interacting with the other lost souls that returned from the war. Many had laid their bygones aside and begun to build a support system for each other.

And that was when and where it happened. Archer was angry with something that had been said at the end of the argument. It hurt for some reason because it had hit a truth somewhere and the fact that it was from Rin only worsened the blow. She was the one person that she had trusted to be by his side, supporting him no matter what. Rin was going to be there for the end of their days. He had wanted everything with her in this new chance; he wanted a chance at forever by his side. But he couldn't believe she would lash out at him like that. They weren't trying to find middle ground with each other; they weren't listening. Archer shut down.

He went to the normal 'meeting' at the Sake House in town, greeting the others with his one trusted companion, Lancer. Walking in, they greeted everyone and began talking. Someone had gotten a lot of money, and sake sat on the table in abundance. Archer normally declined drinking, preferring to keep his mind and body safe from their affects. He guessed that was part of being a warrior for so long; alcohol had lost its taste and intrigue and he considered his body a weapon that needed to be cared for. But he let everything go this evening and drank more than he had ever done before. Much of it was lost to memory save for a few images. Laughs, jokes, chants, songs, purple hair, sheets, pale skin and large eyes, and a headache that hurt larger in the morning than anything in his life. He'd never made it home. Instead, Archer had made his way into the arms of a former enemy. Her voice grated as he woke up, Caster draping her delicate hand and matching lavender nails over his chest, running them over his skin.

"You'll have to admit that it felt nice to be wild and free for once, not held back by such a brat." His actions hit him as he laid there, staring at the ceiling. He felt a small amount of pain in his stomach when she had called Rin a brat. Don't say her name. I shouldn't be here; you shouldn't be here. Archer's teeth gritted against each other as he swung himself out of the bed and began to dress himself, feeling near throwing up at each moment. Each layer of clothing felt like more and more of a burden.

"I guess you need this?" Caster held up a small, red flip phone—the light at the top was flashing like an SOS beacon. Archer quickly reached over and grabbed from her before going to the door. A snide chuckle left the lips of the venomous lady, laid up in her throne, as Archer left, panic finally setting in. He flipped the phone open. I didn't come home. I didn't call or text her. I just left and never came back. Archer couldn't quite cope with himself. He was disgusted with himself, but he was unsure of what Rin was going to do. How was she going to react? Not well. He couldn't keep it from her, as the thought quickly crossed and left his mind. He'd never live with himself, that kind of lie. Archer finally swallowed the bile that was inching up his esophagus as he stopped for a minute and rested against a wall, checking his phone.

"Hey. I'm sorry for what I said. I shouldn't say something like that to you. You don't deserve that. I just lost my temper."

"Archer?"

"I hope that I didn't make you this mad. Please. Just come home and let's talk about this. I'll even cook dinner."

"I hope you are okay."

"Are you ignoring me?"

"Why aren't you home? I'll wait up. You better come back soon, Archer. This isn't funny anymore. We need to be adults and talk about our problems, not run away from them."

"Fine."

Seven messages. Three missed calls. All from the same person, the one person that would want him around. Instead, Archer was off, trying to destroy the last of whatever happiness he had in life; not much had changed since the Holy Grail War, he guessed. Anything he could destroy, he tried. Rin could be better off with someone else, but they were both stubborn. Somewhere in his gut, he realized that this wasn't likely; they both knew that they were tied together. They couldn't deny it, but they couldn't quite admit it.

The next few days had passed on eggshells. Rin had been trying. Archer told her part of the truth: he had gotten drunk, out of anger and hurt, and he stayed out with friends because he was too worse for wear. He didn't remember much of it, but he had rushed home immediately, catching Rin before school. He just wanted to apologize. Rin had taken it, ecstatic to see him. Archer desperately wished for that same familiar, hidden excitement from her face whenever he came home to her. Now it would mean the world as he chided himself for taking advantage of it.

However, as they say, the darkness eventually comes to light. One day, Archer had arrived home after getting groceries for the house. Rin should have been home, but he didn't see her in her normal places. He found her though, curled up in a ball on the bedroom floor; she was clutching a red-jeweled necklace that meant so much to them, literally and symbolically. And then it was across the floor and there was a flurry of tears, screams, and assaults as Archer tried to pick up the pieces of the broken girl before him.

It would have never been okay with anyone, but definitely not with the one person he had abandoned Rin for during the War. The wound stung far deeper than it ever could have. Archer watched as his arrow, ever true to its target regardless of reason behind its trajectory, hit its target with full devastation. Caster had played her card, catching Rin as she had coffee with a friend and telling everything. Rin had caught Lancer at his job, working at a local clothing store on the way home. He had no alibi for Archer, and the pain began to grow. She hadn't made it far before the tears started, and she hadn't made it far into the room before she collapsed.

Her pushes were determined, but she gave in after a while. Exhaustion set in as she let him hold her close, sobbing into his shirt amidst sincere and repeated apologies. He held her there, trying to hold both of them together.