This is my first work on this site!
I've been reading about Fate lore and re-reading some of my favorite stories here… I've got the bug. I think my fascination with the Fate franchise has always stemmed from the themes explored in Fate/Zero. The clash of ideologies. How people interact because of these ideologies. I think it's such a great story because the plot is so character and character motivation driven, it's almost intoxicating.
Stay Night has some of these elements as well, I think, but the story drives itself a little more, with the characters going for a ride along with how the writers envisioned things - probably due to the visual novel medium and the many endings Stay Night's writers wanted to achieve. That said, I find the characters from Stay Night extremely compelling.
I have an idea for a larger story, but I thought I'd post a few one-shots first just to test the waters. If anybody finds my stuff and likes it, I might commit to something larger.
This particular one-shot is incomplete, so far. I'd say it's about halfway done, and I've been working on it almost daily this week. And that's despite the fact that I have midterms in Ochem and Physics next Wednesday. Oops.
It's inspired by the beginning of a story I read recently, called Servant and Cook. It's a great fiction; you should go check it out!
Anyway, here goes. I hope you enjoy :)
-!-Part 1: Light in the Afternoon -!-
'This just in – the British Pound Sterling fell two points this morning when the EU announced it would be raising tariffs on British textiles being shipped from the UK…'
Shirou tuned out the drone of the radio, wrench in hand. He was laying under his motorcycle, performing some repairs, and he threw his weight into the wrench, twisting it tight to ensure the bolt wouldn't shake loose in the future.
Just earlier that morning, Shirou had been on his way to the Clock Tower to meet with Tohsaka for lunch when the engine misfired and blew its head gasket. After calling his magus friend to tell her that he wouldn't be able to make it to their appointment, he resorted to walking his bike home. His journey back to their Twickenham apartment had been filled with muttered curses and regret that motorcycles could not be taken on public buses.
'…Minister Boris Johnson has announced a meeting with the American president scheduled for next month. Among the topics of discussion: how to deal with the rise of China, and the decline of the…'
Shirou reached upward to set down his wrench and pull out his phone when out the corner of his eye he caught a beam of light that filter through the garage window. The afternoon sun was speckled filtering through the leaves outside, the golden light illuminating dust in the air like fireflies meandering through golden syrup. Shirou paused, taking in the sight before him. He hadn't seen such vibrant colors in years. He closed his eyes. Brilliant emerald eyes shining with regal determination, a golden sword raised up, flecks of golden dust rising about her…
"Shirou!"
Shirou jerked forward, his forehead rising to smash painfully into the bolt he had just tightened. He grimaced.
"I'm back!" Tohsaka yelled as the front door slammed.
Shirou, dazed, was vaguely aware of Tohsaka traipsing about the house, looking for her roommate. He rubbed his forehead in pain as the radio droned on behind him.
'…top 100. It's almost hard to believe that Seasons (Waiting on You)* is still at the top of the charts. 9 weeks on top and no signs of slowing down!'
Shirou could already feel an angry welt forming under his skin. He slipped out from under his motorcycle, carefully as to not repeat his injury.
"You won't believe the nerve of the Luvia!" she yelled from across the house. He heard her loud footsteps getting closer. She must have realized he would be working on his motorcycle. "Lord el Melloi II had already promised me the research grant on incorporating elemental characteristics into prana storage devices, and yet there she was, in his office, schmoozing, like that – Oh, there you are Shirou."
Shirou was picking up his wrench when Tohsaka burst through the door that connected the garage to the rest of the house.
'…And now, back Today's Top Picks, a segment where you, the listener, vote for the songs you want to hear! Cast your votes on…'
"You look horrible," Tohsaka said over the radio as Shirou stood up, wrench in hand.
Shirou frowned as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Would appreciate word choice other than 'horrible'," Shirou mumbled. A pop song began playing on the radio.
Tohsaka looked at him with morbid fascination. "And you're listening to this garbage?!" She moved over to the radio and swiftly turned it off. "That welt must be hiding some serious brain damage, Shirou!"
"Hey," he retorted. "Unlike you magi, I actually interact with real human beings every day." Shirou worked as a mechanic at a local shop to help pay for expenses. He was proud of the friends he had made at work. "Knowing a song or two keeps people from thinking you live under a rock." Many of his fellows weren't too keen on immigrants when he had first met them, and knowing the lyrics to some of the songs his colleagues played while they worked had definitely helped him break the ice.
"Hmph!" Tohsaka flipped her hair over her shoulder, her arms crossed over her chest. "Well, do your 'normal people' make a habit of reneging on their commitments? Because I haven't forgotten about lunch."
"It's hardly my fault, Tohsaka," he pleaded. Tohsaka gazed back, unimpressed.
"All I hear are excuses, Shirou!" Her face was impassive and her stance haughty, but a smile was spilling out at the corners of her eyes and mouth "You're the mechanic. You should know when your bike needs maintenance. Good thing you'll be making it up to me tonight when you treat me to dinner. I'll be ready to leave at 7."
Ah. There it was. Shirou watched, startled, as Tohsaka swept out of his room before he had a chance to reply. When she was gone, Shirou shook his head, a wry smile on his face. Tohsaka was a whirlwind at times, but she was loyal to the last, and he was grateful for the constant support she provided under the bluster and bravado. Living with her over the past several years had truly been a blessing. He couldn't imagine where he'd be had he not followed her to London. He pushed away his wandering thoughts. If he wanted to be ready by seven, he had to finish up in the garage and get dressed quickly. Tohsaka would probably give the bump on his head a few friends if he were late.
Shirou grunted, a strange expression coming to his face. He wondered, curiously, if he was beginning to become content with his life, after all these years.
When Shirou had finished cleaning up after his repairs, he left the shop. Just before he closed the door behind him, however, he hesitated. The emerald green of the leaves by his rooms and the motley golden light that illuminated his workshop were fading with the setting sun. Shirou sighed. Content was definitely not the right word.
-!-
Tohsaka Rin was not content. Most people, when feeling Rin's feelings and thinking Rin's thoughts, would recognize them for what they are: sadness, hurt, frustration, confusion. Rin, on the other hand, on the account of not being 'most people,' just felt angry. And even this emotion she masked with haughty humor and fabricated stubbornness. Or at least, that was what she had done for the past several years.
Now, however, Rin was lying in her bathtub, and the mental gymnastics she used to keep her heart from aching were beginning to fail. The fake humor and overexaggerated personality that she had used had slipped away like molten steel when she lowered herself in the warm bathwater. The anger underneath it had been startling. It throbbed inside her chest. It made her fists clench and her nails bite into the skin of her palms. She was angry with Shirou. He had the nerve to follow her to London, to rely on her, to live with her, and, worst of all, be an amazing life companion.
Rin sighed to herself, closed her eyes, and dunked her head under the water. When she rose, her wet hair was a curtain of midnight black pressed against her skin.
Rin, in a rare state of not telling herself lies, wasn't being totally fair to Shirou. She was grateful for his helpfulness, his kindness, and his quiet support. She was a handful, even if she would rather show up to the Clock Tower naked than say it aloud, and Shirou had been nothing but patient and understanding when faced with her stilted anger and her big head. In many ways, this was why she was so angry with him. His kindness towards her and the rest of the world made it difficult for her upset with him. It made it impossible for her to want to end her relationship with him, no matter how painful it was for her to be near him. And most importantly, Shirou's generally excellent demeanor made it impossible for her to ignore how furious she was with herself.
So, Rin was not, in fact, angry with Shirou. Rin was livid with herself. When it came down to brass tacks, Rin was an extremely understanding person. But because of her ego, because of the skills she knew she possessed, Rin held herself to an incredibly high standard. And she could not believe that someone as smart as her had let herself develop feelings for a man who was so hopeless he had not given up on a girl he would never see again. The notion of liking a man who was so far removed from reality made her blood boil with self-derision.
It was with these thoughts and those complex emotions bouncing around her skull that Rin calmly stood up, drained the bath, and dried herself off with a towel. She was Rin Tohsaka. She may have been feeling emotions she had locked away from her consciousness for years, but she had faced All Of The World's Evil. She could handle a lovable idiot like Shirou, and she could handle herself.
She entered the bedroom with a sigh and spent a little time picking out a few clothes for dinner. Unsurprisingly, she settled on a combination of a rich red overcoat that complemented a black shirt and dark pants. She was looking fucking fantastic for dinner, she told herself as she shut the door to her bedroom. There would be nothing Shirou could do but look at her and think she was gorgeous.
When they met in the living room, Rin smirked with smug satisfaction at the faint blush that colored Shirou's cheeks. It almost matched the color of his hair.
She pointedly ignored the fact that he could be comparing her shining black hair and rich almond eyes to a blonde bun and an emerald gaze. Why couldn't the idiot accept reality?
Tohsaka internally shook her head. It didn't matter. She was Tohsaka fucking Rin.
"Geez Tohsaka," Shirou said, scratching the back of his head. He smiled sheepishly "You look terrifying with that expression."
"Oh God," Rin sighed as she rolled her eyes. She fought the urge to violently bring her hand to her forehead. Leave it to Shirou to ruin all her hopes and dreams.
"What?!"
"You're insufferable sometimes Shirou." She ignored his claims of not understanding what she was talking about and frowned. She didn't like that Shirou knew how to look good too. And she really didn't like that she found herself looking.
-!-
Shirou was very conscious of Rin's arms around his torso. They brought her all too close for comfort, considering Shirou had spent years avoiding thinking of Tohsaka in any way other than a friend. No matter which way he looked at it, he had promises to keep. How much time it took him to keep his promises may have been irrelevant to him, but it didn't mean that he didn't enjoy the feel of her pressed up against his back. Shirou would be lying if he said that the idea of their relationship progressing past 'friends' didn't make his heart burn with excitement and his stomach twist with anticipation.
Shirou breathed in deep. The crisp night air filling his lungs was like ice against his skin. It shocked him out of his daydreams and slammed his consciousness back into reality. Between his legs, there was a complex system of lubricated steel, with belts turning, pistons pumping, valves opening open and closing, all dictated and synchronized by the throttle at his feet. He felt the steady thrum of the engine vibrating front and back, side to side, against his legs. If he depressed his foot, even if only a little, the finely-tuned machine would suck in more gas, its vibrations increasing in frequency. If he let off the gas, it would sip quietly at the fuel it needed to stay alive and wait patiently for his next command.
As Shirou stepped hard on the gas, he had to tighten his grip on the handlebars in front of him as engine underneath him roared, eager to eat up the asphalt beneath it. He felt Tohsaka tighten her grip around him, and simply watched the white lines on the road zipped by one-by-one. He felt thankful for the reliability and predictability of engines. They were complex systems that followed a strict set of rules. If a screw was too loose, a head gasket not manufactured with precision, it would all fall apart. Shirou's ability to structurally grasp engines gave him an edge over his colleagues at work, but he was happy he was able to find such an effective way to help other people. People relied on their vehicles for their livelihoods, and if he could help them get back to their daily business quickly, Shirou considered it a job well done. He was also thankful for the peace and focus it gave his mind. It certainly beat silently raging against the arrogant figures in the Mage's Association.
In many ways, that was why it was so surprising to Shirou that he had lost his head (and given it a bump) when Tohsaka had surprised him that evening. While it's true she startled him because he was zoning out, it was rare for him to get distracted from working on a machine of any kind in the first place. He smiled a small, wistful smile. Leave it to her to occupy his mind more than his own profession.
Shirou signaled left, exiting the highway.
It had been three years, and she still came to his mind, unbidden. It was both comforting and unsettling that she would never stop coming to him. Comforting because it meant he knew he wouldn't have any trouble keeping his promises to her, but disappointing because it forced him to confront the life he had chosen for himself. He would never regret meeting the King of Knights, but that didn't mean he didn't sometimes wonder how much simpler his life would have been had he not.
Shirou slowly eased onto the brake as the traffic lights in front of him switched from green, to red, to yellow. He shook his head and snorted. What silly thoughts.
He would face every hardship in the world if it meant he could see her sitting calmly in his dojo, her golden hair framing an absolute, regal peace that only she could rally to her cause. In his mind's eye, he saw her shift imperceptibly as he registered him stepped into the room. She shifted her face to face him before she deliberately opened her eyes. He found himself facing a green that was both rich with buried meaning and gleaming with a gentle appreciation of his presence. Her chest lifted as she breathed in to speak, and –
"Shirou," he heard Tohsaka say sharply.
He blinked and found himself staring into the emotionless green light of the traffic light reflecting sharply off his retinas. He blinked again and looked away. The city stretched out around him, lights twinkling with the bustle of a Friday evening. The people around him walked with the universal appreciation of not having to work the next day.
"Shirou," Tohsaka said again. "It's a miracle you haven't crashed and killed us both with that head of yours. Is it filled with cotton balls or something?"
Tohsaka yelped slightly when Shirou only grunted and put his foot to the pedal. He felt her scramble to get her arms around her torso. He could only barely hear he indignant cries of protest over the sound of the wind rushing past them both. He almost smiled.
-!-!-
Third upload for this story. I'd say it's about halfway down now. I hope you stay tuned for dinner!
Please let me know what you think!
*: Seasons (Waiting on You) is a real song by a band called Future Islands. The whole album it's in, Singles, is fantastic, and I highly recommend it. If you've heard its lyrics, let me know if you think it was an appropriate plug ;)