A/N: Spoilers for Fate/Stay Night UBW. ALSO, I'm going to deviate from the plot of UBW here slightly in the points that I mention because I want to change a few things going forward in the way the ending plays out. If you don't like it, sorry but it's a Fanfic, I do what I want lol…

Enjoy!

Thump!

Rin slammed her fist into the couch she was lounging on as she finished re-reading another one of her books and looked around the room. She took in a deep breath, holding the book in her other hand like a frisbee before setting it back down on the coffee table with a sigh. It wasn't the book's fault that she was bored after all and decided that it wouldn't do for someone as composed as her to throw another one of her priceless books across the room…Again.

Rin had known that it was going to be a long trip when she had agreed to go, but with almost 3 months of not finding anything she was almost at her wits end. She had been cooped up in this hotel room for who knows how long, and she still had little to show for it. When Luvia and her had first arrived in the area they had quickly become aware of how much they had both stood out. Between Luvia's striking blonde hair and regal attitude and Rin's black hair, as well as the red scarf that she refused to part with, it was obvious at a glance that the two weren't locals. They had decided to remain in their rooms and use familiars to find their target.

Both Luvia and Rin had sent familiars all over the region but with the heavy fighting going on they had been destroyed so quickly that it felt like it was almost a waste of energy to continue to even create them. Rin had taken that as a challenge and had steadily increased the number of familiars she sent out weekly and the scope of her search to increase her chances of finding something.

After a month of living together her and Luvia had decided to split up to cover more ground, not that they had enjoyed spending that much time together in the first place. Most of the familiars were destroyed traveling between cities or on battlegrounds, so it made sense to split up where they were releasing the familiars to minimize travel distance. Rin had stayed in the capital city with the rooms that Lord El-Melloi II had provided them to keep up the pretense that they were together. He had sent both of them for safety after all, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. The set of rooms that he had reserved had 2 bedrooms with a shared common room, not to Rin's tastes since the only person that she had ever willingly shared a living space with was Shirou, but she couldn't complain since she wasn't footing the bill. Luvia had left to search further north where most of the refugees were currently fleeing, and they checked in with each other every day or two to provide updates.

Rin let out another sigh as she looked over the stack of research books that she had brought with her as a distraction while her familiars worked. Her eyelids had started to feel heavy; the months of constant magic use were starting to take a toll on her. Deciding that she deserved a nap Rin reached up and grabbed the green sweater that she had started keeping close at hand after Luvia left and her naps on the sofa became more frequent. As she burrowed deeper into the sofa, she snuggles the sweater and relaxes from the familiarity of his scent on it. As she lay there Rin sleepily fingered the scarf that she had taken to wearing daily since they had arrived. With a small smile playing across her lips Rin remembered the day that Shirou had used the scarf to officially start their relationship as she drifted off…

It had all started as a normal enough Saturday for Rin, she had been dragged out of her blissful sleep by her alarm clock, which she promptly threw across the room. As Rin hauled herself out of bed and began her daily routine, she couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

'Ah, that's what it is, the mansion is silent, I got used to having Archer around,' she thought to herself as she finished getting dressed and made her way downstairs. Before she had fought in the grail war Rin had been the mansion's sole occupant for the past ten years, baring occasional visits from the damn priest. Then she had summoned Archer, and as much as his sardonic attitude had irritated her, she had also grown to find comfort in the way that the sarcastic servant had cared for her.

Soon after Shirou had also visited due to the circumstances of the war. Though he hadn't actually spent very much time at the Tohsaka manor he had been a constant companion throughout the war, even if he hadn't been wholly useful for most of it. Shirou had brought a warmth into Rin's life that she hadn't realized that she missed, and the idiot had even told her that he had serious feelings for her twice.

The first time he had confessed had been right after he had saved her from Caster after Archer had betrayed her, the idiot had made her cry and she had taken him up to the overlook about Ryuudou Temple. After letting her vent, he had told her that she had blindingly brilliant in his eyes throughout the war. When Rin had asked him why he had saved her, Shirou said that he hadn't really thought about it until he was already in front of her. He told her that she had held his attention from afar for a while and that after agreeing to work with her he had fallen for her even more.

Rin had shoved him and told him that people could get confused from words like that, he told her he did have feelings for her. Rin, being an idol, had been confessed to in the past, but it had always been more of an annoyance than anything else. When Shirou had told her that he had feelings for her Rin hadn't known what to do in this kind of situation for the first time in her life. She had an unexplainable warm feeling that had been growing inside her since she had seen him jump down in front of her in that decrepit church that she should have died in. When he had said those word that warm feeling had exploded into what felt like a stomach full of butterflies. Rin, feeling extremely happy for some reason, leaned her head on his back and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue. Tonight, you were my hero."

Shirou confessed to her again a couple of hours before the final battle of the war. Saber had still been recovering and Shirou had come to Rin to tell her that he wanted to fight Gilgamesh, he wanted to provide a distraction for Rin and Saber to focus on destroying the grail. She had thought Shirou had figured out that Archer was an alternate future version of himself and that his reality marble would be the best way to fight Gilgamesh's armory, but the idiot had just said that he had a gut feeling that he had the best chance against the former servant out of the three of them. Rin explained to him that even with his lack of mana there was a way for him to be able to manifest a reality marble, linking herself and Shirou together so he could pull on her mana. She explained that she was going to implant her magic crest on him, explaining that a crest is proof a mage lived and the culmination of their life's work. Shirou had argued at that point not wanting her to give him something so valuable, but she had said that this was her most important fight, so she had to commit her most important possession to it. Of course, that idiot had to distract her and tell her that he was in awe of her and that her commitment to see this through reminded him why he had fallen for her. Rin had felt that warm feeling and those butterflies in the pit of her stomach again, but she just blushed and told him that they didn't have time for that right now, even though she had wanted nothing more than for him to keep talking.

Then that idiot had to ruin it when he misunderstood her intentions in telling him to take off his clothes to perform the transfer.

After successfully transferring her crest to Shirou, Rin had sat on the bed glaring at him for peaking at one of her deepest, most treasured memories. He had no clue what she was irritated about which had infuriated her to the point that she had started beating him with a pillow. After letting off some steam, she had laid back down and blushed as Shirou made to leave the room. "Hey, wait, where are you going?" Rin had asked, not able to look at the boy's face.

Shirou looked at her with his hand on the doorknob, probably feeling like he was being led into a trap, and cautiously replied, "I was going to go lay down in my room for a few hours before we left. Might as well be as prepared as possible right?"

"Would you… stay here with me?" Rin asked in a moment of weakness, having enjoyed the closeness that she hadn't felt in years. As she watched Shirou's eyes widen out of the corner of her eye she spluttered, "A-and don't you dare overthink this. I just… I don't want to be alone right now, ok?"

Without another word, likely worried that he would mess it up, Shirou had turned off the light and walked over to Rin's bed. He asked with his eyes if he was allowed to get under the covers and after a heated debate in her head, Rin had allowed him to, facing away from him so that he couldn't see her bright red cheeks. Shirou had tentatively put his arm over her and pulled her close, she had almost told him off, but right as she took a breath to, she realized that the warm feeling that she had been noticing lately had spread through her whole body. As she lay there in his arms listening to the sound of his breathing Rin realized that for the first time that she could remember she felt safe. "Thank you, idiot", she had whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

After they had destroyed the grail, and both somehow survived the encounter intact, Rin and Shirou had returned to his house. Rin had grabbed Shirou without a word and dragged him into her borrowed room and the two had curled up and dozed in the bed together until the sun was getting ready to go back down. Just for comfort, not because she actually liked him or anything Rin had told herself. The next day Rin decided that it was time for her to return home and told Shirou that she would see him at school the next day.

It had been two weeks since she had returned home, and Rin was irritated with the way Shirou had been acting. He would say hi to her as they passed in the hallways of their school, but he hadn't said anything to her about the war since its conclusion, 'Or more importantly,' she thought to herself, 'he hasn't said anything about continuing where we left off either.' Rin was torn inside between the Tohsaka heir that had to maintain her pride and cold nature as a magus and the girl who didn't have any experience with love and wanted to feel the warmth that being around Shirou brought her heart again more than anything. She was on autopilot through the rest of her morning routine, her mind split between what she could do to change the status quo and if she should even try as she finished off her morning tea and toast with strawberry jam and set off to school.

"Good morning Tohsaka-san"

She flinched when she heard the voice of the man that had ruled her thoughts all morning and turned around to see him jogging to catch up to her with a goofy smile on his face. If the sight of his smile had made her heart beat a little faster and her step a little lighter, she never would have admitted it.

"Good morning Emiya-kun, this is out of the way for you. Did you need something?" Even though she had been thinking about him since she had woken up, she still couldn't help the coldness creep into her voice, borne from her irritation at the way he had been acting for the last two weeks.

Looking a little taken aback at the abruptness of her greeting Shirou started scratching the back of his head, something Rin had noticed he did when he was nervous. Looking as if he was choosing his words carefully, he said, "Tohsaka-san, I need to be honest with you. I've tried to go back to the way things were before this all began so it doesn't affect the way you're viewed at school but… I've felt like something important has been missing over the past two weeks without you around. I was wondering if you were available after school today for lunch?"

Rin's eyes widened and a blush covered her face as she processed the words that he had said. She hadn't stopped to think that he might have been worrying about her image at school and being associated with the school brownie, not that she cared. All she had been focused on was how she felt, even though she hadn't made the effort that he was standing in front of her making right now.

"Hmph. I-I-I guess I could make some time for you. But only if you promise to brew me the tea that I had last time I was over," she finished weakly, knowing that he had seen through her from the stupid grin on his face.

"Of course, Tohsaka-san. Nothing but the best for you."

Rin sighed as the bell signaled the end of the half day, she hadn't been able to focus at all after spending the rest of her walk to school talking to Shirou about what had been going on in their lives the past two weeks. Just that short walk with him had brought back that warm feeling that she had missed so dearly and when they parted after he had walked her to class, she had spent most of the class thinking about the goofy smile that had been on his face the entire way and tried to ignore how her cheeks ached from smiling back. During the first break of the day Rin had realized why Shirou had been keeping his distance from her since they had returned to school, everywhere she went all she heard were rumors about how she had been seen smiling and walking to school with a boy today, even after the war he had been trying to protect her without her realizing it.

"Idiot," She whispered with a small smile dancing on her lips.

"Why Rin I don't think I've ever seen you daydream in the middle of class, especially with a smile on your face like that. Are you thinking about anything specific? Perhaps a particular brownie I hear you walked to school with this morning?" A voice startled Rin out of her thoughts and as she turned to look at the speaker, she saw the grinning face of one of her school friends, Ayako Mitsuzuri, as she questioned a now blushing Rin as the rest of the class began to clean off their desks and leave for the day.

Rin tried to recover but she knew she had already lost from the feeling in her cheeks, "I don't know what you could be talking about Mitsuzuri, we simply arrived at school at the same time this morning nothing more."

"Oh, really? Then there's nothing going on with you and him at all?"

"No, as I said it was a simple coincidence."

"Oh good, then maybe I'll finally ask him out. It's Saturday after all, maybe lunch? He's still fair game after all."

"No, you can't! We are going to…." Rin trailed off as she saw the smirk on her friend's face and realized that she had just walked into a trap. 'Stupid Shirou, this never would have happened if you hadn't distracted me' Rin grumbled to herself.

A few classrooms down Shirou felt the sudden urge to sneeze, someone must be talking about him.

Knowing that there was no way out, Rin gave in with a sigh and told Ayako that Shirou had invited her to lunch that morning and then spent the remainder of their time cleaning up trying to placate her friend with a story of how her and Shirou met that didn't include a secret magical death war between Magus.

It felt like an eternity had passed to Rin by the time that her and Ayako reached the front gate. Ayako had just taken a breath to ask another question when her eyes fixed on something behind Rin. "Oh, look Rin, here comes your lover now," said Ayako just loud enough for Shirou to hear her. Thankfully, they had been one of the last students to leave for the day with all the questions that were being asked, so there wasn't anyone around to hear the girl's statement other than her intended targets.

With a now bright red face that matched Rins coat, Shirou approached the two girls with a shy wave and a questioning look to Rin. Before anyone could say anything, Ayako decided to take just a little bit of mercy on the boy. "I'm just kidding Emiya, but anyways it's time for me to get going. Have fun on your date you two!" The girl laughed as she walked away, having seen Rin's face turn the same shade of scarlet as Shirou's.

"Well let's get going, I'm sure you must be hungry," Shirou said as he turned towards his house.

"Of course I'm hungry, I just had to explain to Mitsuzuri how we ended up coming to school together today, and what our plans for lunch were," grumbled Rin. She was still trying to process everything that had just happened, with the biggest thing that stood out in her head being that Ayako had been right about one thing. She was on a date with Shirou, and she was surprised that the thought made her feel the most at peace that she had been since she had left his house two weeks ago.

Shirou stopped and looked at Rin with a nervous look on his face, "What did you tell her Tohsaka-san? I don't want to become a bother to you, no matter how much I miss your company."

It was Rins turn to pause, it made her sad that he thought that her being associated with her would cause her problems. If anything, she was more worried about the trouble that her admirers would cause the brownie for stealing her away, she was already used to the attention after all, who cared what it was specifically about.

"You're not a bother, idiot." She smiled at him, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "I… missed your company also these last two weeks," Rin finished quietly.

Seeing the shocked look on Shirou's face Rin started to quickly walk towards his house before he could make her embarrass herself further. Realizing the idiot was still standing there, she turned and asked, "Didn't you promise me lunch? I would like to eat sometime before the sun sets." She turned and started walking again, not waiting for him to catch up. They finished the rest of the walk in silence, the whole way Rin making sure that he didn't see the small smile that remained on her lips.

"Thank you Shirou, your cooking is always amazing, but you went all out with lunch today," sighed Rin as she relaxed, drinking the earl grey tea that had just been brewed for her following the meal. She quietly wondered what was on the idiots' mind. He had been distracted ever since she had admitted that she enjoyed his company on the walk home, even though Rin thought it should be obvious with everything that had happened between them. "So Shirou, are you going to tell me what you've been thinking about the past hour or are you going to allow me to keep me wondering?" She finally asked, having finished her tea.

Shirou started and gave her that goofy smile that she was becoming fond of, "Well Tohsaka-san, I know I only asked you over for lunch but if you have time, I was hoping that you would be willing to spend a little more time with me."

"Hmm, I'll consider it. What did you have in mind?" She couldn't give in too easily, that wouldn't be any fun she thought to herself. 'I am excited to see what he has planned; he rarely puts himself first. Maybe saving him from himself will be a little easier than I thought.'

"I want to take a small hike in the forest trails above Ryuudou temple. It may not be much, but I would like to show you something. If we leave soon we will get there at the perfect time." The look in his eyes as he told her took her breath away. At that moment nothing in the world could have made her say anything other than…

"Well, I'm not exactly dressed for hiking, but I guess I can manage. I hope for your sake it's worth it though, otherwise can you imagine what I'll do," Rin teased, trying to see just how far she could push the boy.

"Probably sulk like a child," Shirou said with a smirk as he got up and left the living area. Rin was so shocked she sat there for a few moments before she realized that her mouth was open.

"Are you coming, Tohsaka-san?"

Finally fighting through the shock of Shirou actually winning a round of their near constant banter, Rin composed herself as she walked to the front door, sighing as that warm feeling that had been following her all day came back once again.

It was getting close to dusk as they reached the base of the trails leading up into the area around the temple. Rin couldn't help but remember what had taken place here a scant two weeks ago, and how close both she and the boy next to her had been to death. She saw a shiver go through Shirou and she reached over and squeezed his hand lightly. He looked back at her with a slight blush and a small smile on his face but said nothing as they headed up into the trails surrounding the forest. They would have time to talk about what had happened here, but it was all still too fresh.

Rin was startled as Shirou suddenly grabbed her hand without warning after they had traveled about two-thirds of the way up the mountain and pulled her onto a less travelled trail leading away from the main path. She blushed from his grip but didn't make any move to break contact with the boy and smiled as she noticed that he didn't either. She considered teasing him about it, but she decided to enjoy the warmth as they continued deeper into the forest.

"Hey Shirou, where are we going?" Rin asked after 10 minutes of following the trail, her curiosity finally getting the better of her.

"Just a little further, we are going to get there right on time," smiled Shirou. Rin's heart fluttered when she saw the smile that crossed his lips. It was different from his normal smile, which always felt like he was hiding some kind of pain behind it. 'I will do anything to keep that smile on his face,' she thought as she continued to follow him down the trail.

After five more minutes of walking, they finally came out on a cliff overlooking Fuyuki. Rin was speechless as she stared out over the city, taking in the sights and sounds off in the distance. When she finally looked at Shirou that smile was on his face again as he gazed at her face causing her to blush.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked as he finally tore his eyes away from her and looked out over the city as well. "Kiritsugu used to bring me up here all the time when I was still struggling with what happened during the fire. He would tell me that the cool mountain air would pull the smoke from my lungs and wash the stain of ash away."

Rin smiled gently, knowing how much Shirou missed his adopted father. She was happy that he was willing to share such a deep memory with her and be vulnerable in front of her. She listened as Shirou continued to talk about his father as he led her over to a boulder that had been smoothed by years of wind wearing it down until it was just wide enough for the two to both sit down.

Feeling Shirou's shoulder rub up against her own as they sat together, Rin felt a light blush cross her face at the sensation, realizing that this was the closest they had been to each other since they had shared the bed in her room at his house two weeks ago. She started to think about how she missed the feeling of his arms around her, how safe it made her feel. She wouldn't mind another night like that…

"Tohsaka-san… Hey Tohsaka-san, is everything ok?" Shirou said, looking at her with not a small amount of concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine, nothing for you to worry about you idiot," She huffed and turned away, trying to hide the deep blush that had spread across her face as she got caught with her mind wandering. 'It was all his fault; I've been distracted all day and it's all Shirou's stupid fault.'

"Well, if you're sure," Shirou looked away, not sounding thoroughly convinced. Then, as if remembering something, he started smiling again and turned back to her, holding out the package that he had been carrying with him since they had left his house earlier.

"I'd like you to have this Tohsaka-san, as thanks for everything you've done for me," he said with the same smile playing across his lips.

"I can't accept this, I have nothing to give back to you, and you've done just as much for me as I have for you," Rin said looking down as she nervously accepted the package. She felt guilty that she hadn't realized what it was earlier, but she was also curious what he had gotten her. 'Well, I might as well open it, I know that look and he won't take no for an answer.'

Rin peeled open the package and pulled out the contents, the first thing that crossed her mind was how soft the material felt in her hands. The next thing that she noticed was that it was the same red as the jacket that she wore, making her smile while thinking that even this idiot was smart enough to figure out that she had a color preference with her clothes. As she unfolded it her smile got bigger as she realized what it was.

"I thought that you could use a replacement, I know that you used to wear another scarf when we would go out at night during the war, but it got destroyed by the grail right?" Shirou asked as he looked on in anticipation, obviously as excited as she was about the gift. "This one is one of a kind though."

Rin was just about to ask what he meant when she felt something rub against her hand that had a different texture than the warm softness of the scarf. As she looked down, she saw a tag sewn into the scarf that said…

I will make sure you never feel alone again

With love, Shirou

"H-h-hey, if you go around saying things like that people will get the wrong idea," stammered Rin as she looked away from Shirou. 'How does he know exactly what to say to me when it matters?' she thought to herself as she tried to hide her blushing face for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"Well, I didn't say it, it's written there," Shirou smirked as she turned back. That was the second time he had beaten her tonight; she really was off today she thought to herself, "But I do want to say this also Rin."

Shirou's face got serious, and he took a deep breath. Rin, alerted by his use of her first name, turned to fully face him, showing him that he had her full attention.

"We've shared a lot in a short period of time, and I've mentioned that I have feelings for you," Shirou paused taking another deep breath before continuing, "to avoid the risk of you getting the wrong idea twice in one night I'll just ask you, Rin Tohsaka, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" He finished shyly, still looking into her eyes with a hopefully smile on his lips.

'I think I finally know what that warm feeling is' Rin thought to herself as she smiled at the hopeful boy in front of her. "Hmm, I don't know, you're a real handful Shirou," she said as she leaned toward him. Then Rin surprised both of them when she grabbed his collar and pulled him into a tentative kiss. As she leaned back feeling lightheaded and wondering what had just happened, she let out a sudden giggle at the dazed look on Shirou's face.

"But yes, I think I will be perfectly happy being your girlfriend."

After finally waking up, Rin noticed that it was getting close to dinner time. "I miss you, idiot," she whispered before getting up from the sofa and folded the green sweater back up before placing it on the end table. Grumbling about how her dreams had been too short she made her way into the small dinette that was attached to the common area Rin was shocked by how little she had in the way of food still in the hotel room.

'Well, I guess I better go shopping while it's still light out, don't want to be caught out after dark.' She thought as she made ready to leave. She wasn't afraid of the local militia, far from it, but she didn't want a target on her back from putting one of them in the hospital while she was trying to search for someone without being detected.

Rin's mind wandered as she locked up her room and made her way towards the market, still thinking of her dreams about Shirou. She didn't notice the set of eyes that watched her from above as she moved through the market, collecting the various fresh local faire that she had gotten used to cooking with during her stay. As she was leaving, she bumped into a man, getting knocked to the side and almost spilling the food she had just bought.

"Hey, watch where you're…" she started to say, before she noticed that he was already gone. Searching, she saw him disappearing into the crowd further inside the market. 'If you're going to bump into someone the least you can do is apologize,' she thought, irritated that she had missed her chance to let off some steam.

As she turned back towards the exit, she saw a militia guard pointing at her and talking to his companion before quickly moving his hand and looking away when he noticed her gaze. 'That can't be good, I need to get out of here, I'll send a familiar to follow them later. There are too many witnesses here to do anything.' Rin hurriedly walked out of the market, glancing behind her as she went to make sure the men weren't following her.

She finally relaxed as she neared her hotel, it appeared that the militia guards hadn't followed her, but it still made her uncomfortable knowing how much she stands out in the local crowd. 'It may be time to find a new place to stay,' she thought as she looked around one final time, 'I've been here for a while, and I haven't found anything that fits the description of our target yet. Maybe I should head up north and meet Luvia and…' Suddenly she felt a tug on her arm as she was pulled into an alley right next to her hotel.

"Hey, that's twice today!" She shouted, trying to get a look at her attacker. All she could see in the shadows was two men dressed as local militia members looking at her with smiles on her face. Rin felt a chill go down her spine at those smiles, knowing that she needed to leave before more showed up, she started to turn away when suddenly she felt a sharp prick on her neck.

Feeling the injection Rin went into full flight or fight mode, she likely didn't have much time until whatever she had been injected with took effect. She turned on her heel, ignoring the two in front of her to try to escape back out onto the street, but she saw that it was blocked off by the two militia men that she had noticed earlier. Cursing her luck as the world blurred, the last thing that Rin thought as she hit the ground was, 'Stupid Shirou, this never would have happened if you hadn't distracted me.'

A/N pt. 2: Sorry for the delay on getting this out, I could make excuses about work or it being summer but to be completely honest I was hitting a wall with the story, and I didn't want to write anything that I felt was subpar.

EDIT: A/N pt. 3: Big shoutout to TungstenCat, I wrote the scene at Ryuudou temple pretty quick after reading his work and that scene was heavily inspired by one of the scenes in his work Winter Flame (Definitely work a read, I've reread it several times!) and I apologize for not double checking that the shoutout you deserve made it in after my break.

You'll also notice that this chapter focuses mainly on Rin and Shirou's date and isn't very heavy on what is currently happening. This was the last flashback that I have planning for at least the next couple chapters so I promise you will see what is going on with our two Main Characters very soon 😉 Just a reminder constructive feedback is greatly appreciated, and even just a good job makes my day. Until next time!