(A/N: Part 2)

Chapter 2

Orihime froze up, blushing as she processed the words. By the time she turned around, Archer had already left.

She stood up and went to her room, sharply closing the door behind and swallowing.

What the hell had just happened.

She rushed over to the bed and pulled the sheet up to her shoulders. Neither the weather nor her skin which was unusually warm called for it but she needed the extra layer of covering.

The events of the night replayed in her mind, this time, not because of guilt but with her imagining Archer watching her from a distance. His eyes following her hand as it snaked up her legs. Did he notice the frustration on her face, or that she was struggling to uphold her promise.

That was particularly embarrassing because he made no secret of what he thought about her resolution. And now he knew for certain that he was right.

And yet despite that, that's not what seemed to be bothering her the most. Instead she fixated on the image of herself being watched. She couldn't help but wonder what he thought. Was he intrigued...curious?

Orihime sprang up from the bed and shook her head. No, this was all wrong.

And despite how hard she tugged at the reins, her mind wandered right back. Did he anticipate the next movements of her hand, watching with blood rising up to her cheeks. Was he disappointed when she did not go all the way?

Orihime found her resolve completely weakened. Giving up trying to hold off, she pushed her legs together, shifting uneasily. Her face gleaned with sweat.

If the idea wasn't completely insane,she could have considered going to his room. Instead, the thought helped jolt her back to reality.

She had lost it. This was not how any of this was supposed to play out. And yet, it was only reasonable that it had. He was right in pointing that she was entirely alone. No one really knew her in this world and the only people who had any knowledge of how she even got here, did not give much away. If it hadn't been for Rin and Shirou, she wouldn't have trusted the mage association at all.

So Archer was really the best she had. He wasn't a talker but he was reliable and since they had started working together, there was some predictability in their interactions. To someone who had had seen her loved ones die and then ended up in a different dimension altogether, this was extremely significant,

And well, there was no point dancing around the fact. He was attractive. And towered over her, something that felt both reassuring and overwhelming. She had never considered herself to like challenge. But maybe Rukia would have liked the challenge.

Once again, emotions poured into her but not from sensual thoughts, rather she realized she appreciated Archer. And although she would stay bound to Ichigo forever, she could acknowledge that her life had turned out a lot better than it could have in a situation like this.

She lay back down somewhat easier and the exhaustion from the day finally made itself known. She stretched her back and moved her feet to and fro, finally turning around to sleep.

Next day when Orihime went outside, nervous about facing Archer, he was nowhere to be found. She sighed in relief not just at not having to face him but also because for the first time in two months, she felt light and energized.

She went to the kitchen and unhurriedly gathered food items on the counter. She sliced up scallions, smiling slightly at the sound of the knife thumping at the cutting board.

As she poured her veggies into the pan, they began sizzling softly. Orihime looked up at their table. It had come with the house, like all other furniture she had available. That was partly why she didn't earn much working in the restaurant. The other reason was that a restaurant job could only make her so much.

She had moved into the first place she had found. Rin had offered to help out but she didn't feel comfortable taking favors. But the house she had scored on her own wasn't the most comfortable, or much to look at.

The wood was dulled and chipped, the carpet had lost its color and the kitchen wasn't much beyond functional. She thought back to Archer's suggestion of moving to Rin's house.

Maybe until she could find a better job. Or ask Rin to arrange her graduation certificates. Not that they would work in this world. They would have to figure something out about that.

She noticed it was time for her shift. She took another minute to eat and then went downstairs.

Archer had woken up early to go to the shop. There weren't any dishes to clean as the restaurant had not yet opened but he thought Orihime could use the time to herself. As the opening hour drew close, he began to wonder if she would come downstairs at all. Had he gone too far?

Before he could ponder any further, the familiar thump on the hollowing wooden stairs answered his questions.

Orihime came downstairs wearing a pink skirt and a white sweater with a matching pink ribbon around the collar. Although a similar color palette as she usually wore, it was brighter, more upbeat.

Archer took that as a sign that he had not messed anything up. Although when their eyes met she shyly looked away, she went to her station all the same and began squirting soup into a bowl which the shop had repurposed as a soap container.

"You are late." Ache commented, monotonous enough that Orihime could question whether the exchange last night had even taken place.

"I was making breakfast." She replied, hesitant.

"Right."

"Also, I was thinking, can you ask Rin if there's any way I can get my education records here."

"The institutions you got your education from don't even exist in this world."

"Yes but I can't get a better job without them. Could Rin not use any magecraft?"

"I suppose I could ask. Or we can move to Rin's place. They are going to stay in London for a year at least."

"Would it be right?" She asked, instead of adamantly refusing. That was new.

"She has plenty of money and you could get a certification within that time to start a different job." Orihime looked thoughtful. Archer watched a waiter return the first batch of plates and decided to do it himself.

"Also-" He began. "Do you want to take a look at your memories?"

Her eyes shot up at him. "My memories?" She asked, loud enough that a passerby could hear.

"I spoke to Rin to get more information about you. She stored the memories from the day you came here in a pseudo Reality Marble. It's not as strong as the real thing but still surprising that you can use one."

"I don't know what that means." She said urgently turning towards him.

"I can assist you in accessing it."

"You have to help me. Can we try right now?" Orihime leapt up on her toes.

"The shift has barely started."

"It's fine, we are going to live in Rin's house anyways." Orihime grabbed Archer's hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

Archer had to bend a little because of her pull but stabled himself quickly. He noticed his hand in both of Orihime's tugging him forward. He couldn't help but smirk.

"Easy there."

Orihime let go at once and turned around. "Come on."

They went upstairs to their living room and Orihime fixed a stare on Archer.

"Give me your wrists."

Orihime bit her lip and then extended her arms. Archer took them in hands, easily wrapping his fingers around them. She blushed somewhat but the memories were important enough that she didn't lose focus.

"Now close your eyes and turn on the communication channel."

Orihime did and felt a faint presence around her thoughts. She wasn't used to talking through it. Previously, the woman had allowed her brain to think only acceptable thoughts but this time, intrusive ones threatened to pour into her head.

She grit her teeth and squinted her eyes tight.

Archer noticed her get tense and then suddenly a glowing yellow beam shot out of Orihime's hand. He stepped back as the beam formed a triangular shield between them.

Orihime opened her eyes and calmed down, the beam faded away.

"What was that?"

"My defenses are working again." Orihime realized.

"Oh." Archer was amused. "Why did you use them?"

Orihime eyes bulged wide and then she snapped her face in a different direction. "I don't want you to see my thoughts." She admitted sheepishly.

Archer tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Orihime glared at him. "Because they are personal that's why!"

Archer smiled knowingly. "Are you thinking about something I shouldn't know?"

"No" She yelled defensively, but the red on her cheeks told a different story.

"Well, what's the problem then?"

Orihime looked like she would burst with embarrassment. She stilled herself and turned her eyes downward "I am scared." Archer was surprised by that response. "What if there's something I don't want to know."

"Like what?"

"Like...I left Ichigo to die because I got too concerned about my own life." A tear gleaned in her eye.

"Hey," Archer walked closer and clasped her shoulder. "I doubt it. You are way too selfless for that." Orihime looked at him hopefully. As if she desperately wanted the words to be true. "And besides, if you're obsessed with a guy enough to take a vow of celibacy in his absence, I doubt you would just let him die."

Orihime shoved him back.

"I am just kidding, and then again, you are having a hard time keeping it."

"How dare you?"

"I apologize. Now let's get back, we can try again later."

Archer leapt for the stairs but he could feel Orihime was staring daggers into his back. The manager shot them a look as they came downstairs but did not make a comment.

"We shouldn't escape from work like this in the middle of the shift. Gives the wrong ideas."

"Can you stop already?"

"My bad."

They resumed work and by the time they were done, Orihime was sure about moving to Rin's house. She couldn't imagine doing this for years to come.

Scraping dishes came with one perk today though. It was that Archer left her alone and kept his attention on plates.

Fate had really taken a liking to her suffering. After having less than virtuous thoughts about a guy-without wanting to, she had to let the very guy look into her brain.

'Without wanting to?' That was not entirely true. She would never admit it but she liked the way he teased her. It was as though she wanted to be convinced that her goal was ridiculous. That she could use the company and he could provide it.

Orihime piled the platters up and thrusted them into the rack, harsh enough that her thoughts cleared away.

"Do you want to give it another shot?"

"Not yet."

"Alright." Archer pulled his gloves off and turned to go upstairs. "Pervert" He whispered.

"I am not!" Orihime objected and followed him along.

They went back upstairs. Archer did not say anything else and for some reason that had only added to her impatience. She did want to know what happened. If not to be sure that she had not done anything selfish then just to know how she had landed in a different dimension.

But the more she tried to hold off, the more obscene became the things her mind threatened to flash at him. She wanted to cry with frustration.

She did not have a solution when they went upstairs but her curiosity couldn't stop her. "We should try again but make it as quick as possible.

Archer looked puzzled for a moment then smiled again. He had done it twice in the same day. She should have stopped right then.

"I will. I would rather not look anyways." He replied. "Go sit, I will make dinner then we can start."

Orihime sat down and watched him cook. He was surprisingly good. He probably hadn't cooked for Rin so she wondered where he had learned. He was technically immortal so perhaps he had picked it up some time in forever.

She noticed the apron he had put on. He had exchanged it for his blazer that he usually took off whenever they returned home. His hair had fallen to the sides of his face, the gel probably having lost affect after the day.

It made him look boyish. The entire sight of the guy she had initially felt rather intimidated by, appearing domestic and familiar, made her warm. Like the night before when she had momentarily made peace with her appreciation of him.

She wondered about his life. Rin had not mentioned a lot about that either and she doubted Archer would open up to her. But she wanted to know more. About his family, if he ever liked someone, or how he had become a Servant. Maybe that conversation was days away.

Archer put the food on the table and began to sit down.

"Wait." She said, "Let's get this over with."

"The food will get cold."

"Aren't you supposed to do as I tell you?"

Archer looked surprised. Then he stood back up. "As you wish."

She held her arms out again. Whatever authoritativeness she had mustered melted away as he took her wrists into his hands. She closed eyes and intended the channel on.

"Where is it?" She asked, communicating through the channel.

"You have to let go of control and be present inside your mind." He said.

Letting go of control did not sound like a good idea. She tried but her brain felt like it was on the cusp of betraying her again.

"They are intrusive thoughts, Orihime. They will go away if you just let them be" Archer told her.

"How-"

"I can sense how you feel." He explained. Orihime gasped slightly. "Now calm yourself down." He reached for her shoulders and grabbed them firmly. "Envision yourself in a formless space, the reality marble is within you so you will feel its presence when you dial everything else down completely."

But an empty space was the last thing Orihime could think of right now. She felt light in his grip, weak on her knees. He probably sensed that because he slowly guided her down to their floor, sitting down but not taking his hands off from her.

Orihime opened her eyes. She was counting on him to keep her upright and he wasn't letting go. The channel had turned off but it was futile pretending she wasn't feeling the way she did. Her eyes were dark. She felt butterflies in her gut. She wouldn't be able to get up if she tried...and she didn't want to.

"You have to let go." Archer said. There was no knowing what he was referring to. He put a hand behind her back and sat her up against the table looking down at her intently. She was breathing heavily but couldn't look away.

He was close, too close. And she had gotten him there. For a moment she was frozen in place, eyes glued at him as his was on hers. His face appeared so much warmer with his hair falling over his forehead. His expression nervous and yet looking attentively at her.

"Orihime?" He called her name again. She could feel his breath on her neck. It twisted something inside of her. He needed a response. She had to tell him to stop-or keep going.

"I-." She whispered barely audible, her hands settled on his chest, holding his shirt instead of pushing him away. "Shouldn't"

"Do you want to?"

She closed her eyes and panted. She grabbed his forearms as an answer. Archer moved his hand to her ankle, flicking it over with his thumb and ghosting his fingers further up her calf.

"You have to tell me." He said. His fingers still hovering above her skin.

Orihime tensed her face and shifted uneasily. She did not have any room to move. "Yes you non-"

Arched kissed her lips before she finished her sentence and pulled her into his lap. Any thoughts of stopping left Orihime at once. She needed this. She straddled him and opened her mouth. His lips, soft and warm, nudged gently and his tongue slid over hers.

It was somewhat of an unfamiliar and dizzying feeling, she began to kiss him back, brain flooding with chemicals as their tongues danced together, a delicate but needy rhythm.

He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to his body, curling an arm around her and lifted her face from the back of her neck. Orihime complied, holding still and taking in the feeling of his lips of her jaw and neck, tugging at her skin, turning it into his mouth as he trailed down to her chest.

"Do you want to go inside?" He asked, close enough that she could feel the vibrations of his throat against her collarbone.

"No," Orihime replied, holding his head from behind to ask him to continue.

"Someone's needy."

"This is all wrong." she hissed.

He held her sides and left short kisses down her breasts. His fingers crawled up close to cupping her but not moving any further. He looked up at her, her hand still behind his head, fingers coiling softly around his hair. "Tell me to stop." Archer offered.

"No."

Archer turned her around, keeping her in his lap and stiffly pressed up against her. Orihime gasped, her own hips mirroring his movement.

Archer gathered up her skirt in folds against her stomach and massaged a handful of her thigh into his hand. Orihime anchored her head against his shoulder and rubbed against him. It quickly became insufficient and he pulled her sweater over her head, Orihime raising her arms to let it slide away.

He slipped a hand under her arm and his fingers sunk into her breasts squeezing hard and kneading the skin between his fingers. He shoved a thumb on her nipples and pulled it between his fingers and the thumbs. Orihime moaned loudly and leaned forward onto her arms. Archer bent forward with her, shifting some of the weight onto her back.

She felt his hard settling on her thigh, her back arched up in response. She chewed her lips and swallowed in anticipation. "Archer." She whispered.

He leaned forward and planted his lips against the side of his neck, thrusting his palm up to her neck and dragged it down her stomach. She felt him twitch and vigorously press up against her.

"Archer" She yelled out, more high pitched, asking for nothing in particular.

He growled raspily, voice low and dark and then pushed Orihime down all the way. She moved her arms to her side as her cheek connected with the carpet floor.

The roughness only turned her on further. He grabbed her face from the side and held it down, the other hand feeling up the back of her thigh. He flipped her skirt over her waist.

Orihime blushed and clenched her muscles as his hand made its way to her ass exploring soft flesh that was barely covered by her panties.

"Relax yourself" He said, tapping her lips with a finger from the hand that was keeping her in place.

She sucked in air and closed her eyes, feeling exposed and yet exhilarated. He grabbed a cheek playing with it for a moment and then pulled her thighs apart.

She spread her legs further and hoped that he would finally just take her.

But his movements became small and cautious again. Hand coming to rest inside the band of her panties. "You know I was anticipating teasing you more." He said smugly and pulled it lower slightly, leaving it on her thigh.

Orihime was moving restlessly. Knowing his fingers were close enough, just not quite there.

"Please." She begged.

"But you didn't need much convincing." He punctuated the sentence by pulling her panties down to her knees.

"Almost feels like I had this" He shoved a hand between her legs. Orihime keeled and jerked forward "too easy."

Orihime her insides shuffling. It was so obscene, nothing like what she ever did with Ichigo. But it only made her hungrier. She rocked her hips forward, trying to press her clit against his palm, moving sides until his hand was positioned against her opening.

Arched chuckled a little. "What do you want, master?"

"You know what I want." She admonished.

"You will have to ask. And I would prefer you do it nicely."

"Your fingers." She demanded.

"Huh" Archer brushed them up against her clit. "What about them?"

"Ahh" Orihime yelped. "Put them inside me…! Please."

And Archer obliged. "Of course Master, all you had to do was ask." He slid his fingers inside, filling her up. Her walls clenching against him. He began to rub his thumb over clit in slow circular motions.

Orihime stiffened up, feeling nothing else but Archer's finger stretching her channel dragging and pushing in deeper each time while his thumb moved quicker on her clit.

Her fluids were dripping down her thighs, ass getting pulled and pushing losely along his fingers that she made no effort to stop.

She wanted him to go faster, pound them into her but before she could ask, something made her stop.

"Archer" She called out in an inquiring tone. Archer stopped at once, hand moving down to her shoulder to reassure her.

"Everything okay?" Orihime turned around. Archer blushed slightly at her sight. "Get up and come with me," she said and stood up, her legs weak but determined. She took his hand and gestured to her room

Archer gave her a quizzical look and followed. She went over to her bed and sat down against the headboard. "I want you to take me." She said, looking at him, only wearing her panties. And yet it was him who blushed.

"Are you sure?" he asked, approaching her bed.

"You have asked me before, Archer." She said leaning forward and pulled him on top of her. "You know I am."

Archer was still hard. He only needed another look at her to know she meant it. He undid his belt and the button on his jeans, too impatient to undress any further. He rolled his hip forward and pressed harder and harder against her.

He reached down and pulled out his shaft. Orihime sighed as she felt the warmth against her. Archer groaned and slowly lowered himself into her.

Orihime wrapped her arms around him, she was already wet and stretched out so she thrusted her hips and urged him on. Archer picked up pace, his body soon slapping against hers. He balanced himself on her upper arms, looking down at Orihime who looked as drunk with pleasure and he was.

His rhythm began to break, his core tightening. His thrusts became shorter and deeper. The sounds from his throat, smokier.

Orihime felt herself coming close to the edge herself. She threw her head back and blanked out. Her eyes fell shut, her brain clearer than it had been in a while.

And then she sensed it, an alien presence when nothing else occupied her mind. Without getting a chance to think, it swelled open and she found herself in hazy imagery of a forest.

She recognized it at once, and immediately spotted herself and Ichigo. She was calling for him as she remembered doing, only it was her Grimmjow had just impaled.

And Ichigo was yelling in horror. Reaching his hand out from the ground where he lay injured. But he couldn't do anything as the light behind her eyes went out.

She had died.

Orihime's eyes widened but before she could process any further, she was snapped back to reality by Archer calling her name weakly. She let herself get engulfed by the final throws of his hips and came just as she felt his fluids pour into her.

"Archer," she said. Her hand came to rest in his hair. Inviting him to stay there for a minute. "I think I accessed the marble."

Her own voice was airy. Her breathing short and fast.

"What?" He looked up at her.

"Mind blanked." Was all she managed.

Archer gave her tired smile. "I guess you are welcome." He said and rolled to the side.

"I died." She told him. "It was me, not him. Rin must have brought me here instead of...wherever souls go."

"Oh." Dying was all too familiar to Archer to be much of a surprise. "See you did nothing selfish."

Orihime blinked in surprise. "Yeah" She smiled as the realization dawned on her. She turned back to look at the ceiling. "I guess then it is not just me who allowed you to stay here. Rin brought me here so you could stay"

Archer turned to face the ceiling as well. "Yeah, that makes sense. It's more of a mutual thing, I suppose." He commented. "Well and If you have died then this doesn't really count as cheating huh."

Orihime snorted a short laugh. "Next time, you will strip down." She ordered.

Archer met her tone. "As you wish, Master." and put an arm around her.

(A/N: That's it. I just want to say to quell any confusion for anyone. This has no relation with my Fate/Bleach crossover. I did not write this, so no… This is not related nor canon to Hibiscus Archer. This was a simple test and experiment I had someone write for me. Especially for fans that wanted Orihime and Archer EMIYA to eventually become a couple in HA. Because for the life of me, I can't see them as a couple, but only as very close friends. Despite this cute story, yeah… No, Orihime/Archer pairing in HA. Firmly keeping it platonic. But yeah- at least- Orihime/EMIYA fans have this to enjoy. And maybe you can write your own EMIYA/Orihime story.)