Rin let out the breath she realized she had been holding since walking through the door of their new apartment, letting her gaze wander over the space. In typical London fair it was on the smaller side, with a kitchen along the wall to the right off the entryway and a cozy living room taking up a majority of the main living area off to the left. The last sliver of space between the kitchen and the living room had a small dinette just barely big enough for the two of them, with french doors directly beyond it leading out to an enchanting view of the river across the street glowing in the sunset.
Hearing the shuffle of feet coming from the hallway beyond the living room Rin turned to see the man she loved with all her heart slowly working his way back into the main room with a look of awe gracing his face. "Wow Tohsaka-san this place is amazing, leave it up to you to find somewhere with a view like this on a budget."
"Hmph. I don't know why you would expect anything other than the best from me," huffed Rin, turning away from Shirou in a poor attempt to hide the smile that danced across her lips, elated that Shirou was happy with the apartment that she had found. Rin had been looking forward to this move more than she realized, not because she was going to be able to learn at the clock tower, the prestigious institute of learning for prominent magi, attendance had been a given after their victory in the Grail War. Rin was excited because she finally had a space that was entirely hers to share with Shirou. Rin's face got warm as she looked past Shirou to the single bedroom that they would both be sharing, a relatively fresh step in their relationship.
Seeing her blush Shirou followed her gaze and ended up looking at the bedroom as well, "Tohsaka-san, what are you thinking about?" he asked with a shy smile.
"Nothing you idiot! Did you finish moving all of the boxes into the bedroom?" Rin snapped, more irritated in herself for her momentary slip than at Shirou for catching her.
Shrugging as he padded over to her, Shirou said, "I think so, all we have left to do is unpack our clothes, and I'll need to make a trip to the grocery store down the street." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the crown of her head with a small smile on his face.
Since he was her idiot, Rin decided that it was ok. She smiled back and nuzzled her face into his neck, "Then let's get started, I'm hungry and excited for what you have in mind for the first dinner in our new house."
Rin pulled away just in time to see Shirou's cheeks burning before he turned away and started to unpack his suitcase. Rin knew that his blush wasn't just from her compliment, she rarely showed her affection for him so openly, even in private. Rin knew that Shirou longed for her to be more open in showing her feelings around him, even though she knew he would never ask her to change a thing about herself. Rin had decided when he had moved to London with her that she would do her best to make sure that he knew just how much she cared about him, even though she couldn't bring herself to say the words themselves yet.
An hour later the bedroom was mostly unpacked, with only a few piles of Rin's clothes left on the bed. Rin was concluding one of the most important tasks involved in their move to London, having Shirou hang up her clothes. Shirou had finished putting away his meager selection of clothes quickly, and all it had taken Rin to get his help was to stare at the mountain of clothing and sigh.
Once the bedroom was in order, they moved out to the living room, Rin was ready to spend the rest of the day curled up on the couch reading one of her research books when she made eye contact with the boxes of said books that she had forgotten about stacked in front of the bookcase lining the wall.
Shirou let out a small huff of laughter as she groaned thinking about how long it would take for her to unpack and organize the heavy research tomes. Glaring at her boyfriend who was still trying to hide his amusement as he moved into the kitchen she said, "It's a good thing that reinforcement magic is your strong suit, otherwise this would take us forever."
Shirou looked at her with a gentle smile while he shrugged on a light jacket to turn the late summer breeze. "Is getting those books unpacked more important than going to get food for dinner?"
Realizing that he had her caught between two impossible choices, Rin decided that pouting was her best option and turned away to begin unpacking the mountain of boxes that she had brought with her to continue her research while studying in London.
"Rin."
Rin quickly looked up from the box of books that she had started digging through to find Shirou standing by the door, keys in hand. She immediately stood up and walked over to him, the box of books forgotten in the living room as she searched his face for any signs of what had happened in the few minutes since she had turned her back to him.
"What's wrong Shirou?" she said with concern in her eyes as she reached out to cup his cheek in her hand. He never used her first name unless it was something serious, even though she was actively trying to break him of the equally annoying and endearing habit.
Leaning into her touch he paused for a second before deciding exactly what he wanted to say. "Nothing is wrong, and I know I could wait to say this later, but I just wanted to say that I'm happy that you decided to invite me to come with you to London. There's not a single place in the world that I would rather be than right here with you."
Rin looked at the goofy smile on his face and sighed. As much as she wanted to be annoyed with him for interrupting her work and worrying her, she just couldn't help but smile at the words.
Yes yes, of course you're happy to be here with me. Now hurry up, I'm hungry," she said. Giving him a quick kiss as a reward for making her heart flutter with his declaration, she pushed the idiot towards the door and turned back to her box of books. The sooner he left the sooner he would come back she smiled to herself, looking forward to some much-needed time spent together after the stress of the move.
"One more thing."
She turned back with one eyebrow raised in mock annoyance, trying to hide the smile that she felt creeping back onto her face. "Yes Shirou?"
He smiled, looking into her eyes as he turned the knob on the door, "I love you Rin Tohsaka."
Through the uncontrollable blush that spread through her cheeks she felt a pang of guilt in her heart that she didn't have the courage to say those wonderful words back to him yet. She managed to stutter out, "I-I-I know idiot, come back to me soon."
"The store is right around the corner, I shouldn't be long," he said as he made his way out of their apartment.
Rin watched Shirou walk out and just as he was closed the door….
THUD THUD THUD!
Rin cursed, the racket at her front door pulling her out of a nostalgic dream of the first day she and Shirou had moved into their London apartment. As another round of banging began Rin shouted that she would be there in a minute, pulling on the robe that he had always worn in the mornings when he would wake up early to make her breakfast. As she shuffled to the door Rin tried to process why that dream had come up now, a little over five years after her and Shirou had made this place their home.
Rin yanked open the door and glared at the tall blonde outside her apartment smiling sweetly at her. "What do you want Luvia?"
Luvia's eye twitched slightly, but knowing she had woken her old rival up, she managed to keep a smirk on her face as she relayed her message. "Lord El-Melloi II has requested your presence for an urgent contract that he was issued by the Mage's Association. He also asked me to advise you to pack for a long trip and warm climates."
"What makes that man think that I have any interest in providing him with my services?" Rin growled as she took in the other woman's appearance. Finally processing the sight at her door, she realized that Luvia was dressed for the same kind of travel that Rin had just been informed to prepare herself for, as well as noting the two bags that were lying to the side of her door. Feeling a headache coming on she lamented the current turn of events in her head. Not only had she been woken up before the sun had risen, which should be a crime on its own, but her old teacher had the gall to summon her like she was one of his attendants using the one person that she wanted to see the least.
If she hadn't needed the money to purchase more supplies for her research, Rin likely would have slammed the door in Luvia's face and returned to her warm bed, no further thought given to whatever she had been so rudely summoned for. However, she knew that while she was annoyed by his method, Lord El-Melloi II would not have sent Luvia to get her if the contract was not worthy of her time or interest. For him to send a request in such a direct manner was enough to peak her attention, and to use Luvia to do so was even more intriguing. Sighing internally, Rin thought that she could use a distraction from the dream she had been pulled away from. Anything to keep her from spending more time thinking about him right now.
Luvia's smile slipped for a split second when she saw Rin go from palpable anger over her message to a sober silence. Something must have reminded the other woman of Shirou. She knew that the other woman was still struggling to overcome what had happened with her lover two and a half years ago, but Luvia could not offer support to Rin in the spirit of their rivalry, knowing her sympathy likely would not be well received regardless.
"He is confident that this contract will hold your interest, however even I do not know the details, just that he appeared excited and told me to fetch you immediately. Lord El-Melloi has scheduled transportation for the two of us leaving in two hours. That is all I know right now." Luvia stated with such sincerity in her eyes that Rin knew that she was telling the truth.
Rolling her eyes at the confirmation that she was expected to travel with Luvia, Rin finally decided that she owed her mentor the visit that he had requested. "He's even giving me extra baggage? This contract better pay extremely well if I'm expected to bring you along with me. I will present myself at his office in one hour to see what he has to say," she grumbled slamming the door in Luvia's face, not waiting on her response.
Rin stomped her way into the kitchen and started to prepare herself some tea and toast, missing the days when she would have been woken up with a kiss and a smile, breakfast already prepared with love. She sat down at the table of the dinette and realized how worn it looked compared to her dream of the past. Running her hand over the timeworn surface she sighed, missing that idiot that had left her behind to fulfill his dream of becoming a hero of justice.
She remembered the day that he left, everything had been normal, with the two of them going along with the comfortable routine that she had grown accustomed to after living with Shirou for two and a half years. Shirou had walked into the living room after a wonderful dinner and instead of sitting next to her so she could snuggle into him while she read one of her research books, he had sat down in front of her with a serious and somewhat pained look on his face.
"Rin, I don't have words to express how happy I've been living this perfect life here with you," he began. "But," he continued after taking a breath to steady himself, seeing the fear in her eyes, "I need to leave and begin my journey to fulfill the destiny I inherited when I was a child. I've stalled, staying here with you in the name of self-enjoyment for so long that I worry if I don't leave now to fulfill my destiny I never will, and I would regret that for the rest of my life.
"No," Rin started with a shuddering breath, barely able to hold back the tears threatening to spill down her face. "No, please, give me six more months," she begged, giving in and letting the tears start to run down her face, "Six more months and I will follow you anywhere. I-I want more time with you, I know its selfish but if you'll give me six more months, we can figure this out."
Rin could see the pain in Shirou's eyes as he watched her cry in front of him, frantically trying to convince him to stay, even for just a little bit longer so that she could finish the task that had been expected of her long before she had been born.
Trying to get herself back under control, Rin took several deep breaths before she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her close. When he pressed a kiss into her forehead and whispered that everything would be ok, she lost it for the first time since her father had passed away leaving her alone.
They spent the rest of the evening nestled together on the couch, Shirou just holding her in his arms, every so often leaning down to press kisses onto her lips or her forehead, as if trying to make up for the earlier distress he had caused her.
As they finally went to bed, Rin thought she had convinced him to stay, or at least earned herself a reprieve for the next six months while she figured out what to do and got her affairs in order.
When Rin had woken up the next morning, she had immediately noticed the lack of heat from his side of the bed. Fearing the worst, she had rushed out of bed immediately, searching the tiny apartment as she felt her heart drop when she saw the kitchen empty and a note laying on the dinette table. She held back her tears as she moved over to the table to read the note that he had left her, holding out hope that maybe he had just needed to run to the grocery store down the street. When she had noticed that the note was stained with tears, she finally broke, spending the rest of the morning lying in bed crying from a broken heart. The note was short, only saying…
My dearest Rin,
I know when you wake you will probably feel betrayed and confused. You may even hate me, but after yesterday I knew you would either try to stop me or follow me into this life at the expense of everything you've worked so hard to achieve. I wish I could stay with you longer but if I do, I do not think I would have the strength to do this, even now it hurts worse than being stabbed through the heart. Please do not come looking for me, while I have resigned myself to this path to fulfill my destiny, I do not wish this life for you. I hope that you will find it in you some day to forgive me, but if you cannot, that is just one more regret for me to bear.
I love you Rin Tohsaka, more than anything.
Emiya
Rin was startled out of her memories when she felt a drop of water hit her hand. Looking up at the ceiling worrying that she had a leak in her roof she realized that her vision was blurry, and touching her face, realized where the water had come from.
"Stupid Idiot, he's been gone for almost three years and is still making me cry, I guess I never did end up getting over my fear of telling him that I loved him," she smiled sadly. She got up as the kettle began to whistle and her toast popped out of the toaster. Pouring herself a cup of tea and put a liberal helping of strawberry jam on her toast, she smiled sadly thinking that this was just like he used to make it for her every morning, but somehow it just didn't taste quite the same.
After Rin finished breakfast, she went into her bedroom and took a quick shower, cursing Lord El-Melloi II for imposing such a tight timeline on her that she couldn't afford to take a bath before a long trip away from home. Rin began to pack her bag and then stopped, thinking about what her rival had said when she had stopped by to deliver her message. Luvia had said to pack for warm climates, so Rin assumed that since it was likely a high paying contract that the target would be in a desert. No mage would pay good money to send another somewhere nice to fetch something when they could do it themselves, no matter how lazy they were. After she finished packing her bags Rin prepared to leave when she had a sudden thought.
"Well, Luvia did say that it was going to be a long trip… I guess it wouldn't hurt to bring that." She murmured as she quickly walked back into her room and came out with a green sweater. As much as she hated it, when she was feeling especially lonely at night, Rin would seek out that favorite sweater that he used to wear. She didn't know if he had left it on purpose but even after 3 years it still smelled of him, giving her a sense of comfort, however brief, like she was wrapped safely in his arms again.
As Rin walked out of the apartment, she wondered to herself, "What could the target of this contract possibly be to get Lord El-Melloi II so worked up?"
Rin arrived at the office exactly one hour after her conversation with Luvia. Knowing that she was expected, Rin entered after a quick knock, walking directly to the desk and sitting down in one of the two guest chairs, with Luvia having already arrived and sitting in the other available seat.
Wanting to waste no time Rin immediately set into the man sitting across the desk from her with an infuriating smirk on his face despite the withering glare he was receiving. "What is so important that you felt the need to send this witch to wake me? Could it have not waited until our appointment tomorrow?"
"Now Rin, is that any way to speak to an old teacher? Here I am offering you a very lucrative deal, all for a surveillance contract I might add, on a potential mage that may require a sealing designation in the future." Lord El-Melloi II said slowly, annoyance at his former student's attitude briefly showing through before he regained his composure.
Rin didn't miss the slip and she decided to ease up, if just slightly, because she knew that the man in front of her did likely have her best interests at heart. "Fine, where do you wish for me to go and what is the specifics of this surveillance contract? And why must I have a travel companion, specifically this one? Our issues aside, is where we are going so dangerous that the both of us are required?"
Taking a deep breath Lord El-Melloi II started to explain the contract that he had summoned the two young women for, "This contract will indeed require two of the strongest mages of your generation to work together to offset the risk of the location you shall be searching. The information on the target is vague which is the cause of the contract in the first place. The fighting in the region is so heavy that every familiar that have been sent as an observer has been destroyed. This contract dictates for you to go to the location and use your magic to locate the source of these rumors, identify the target, and record any magic use that you see over forty-eight hours. It should not be hard for you to locate the target once you arrive, since the rumors indicate that they are actively participating in the conflict. The contract does not forbid interaction with the target if needed. This is a personal addition but if you feel the need to engage the target for your own safety then do so. I will not be able accept you two not returning from this contract since I am the one that brought it to you, and as such I am willing to cover the breach of contract fees to ensure you return safely. Any questions?"
Luvia gave a polite no, having already likely heard this before Rin had arrived.
Rin looked across the desk at the man, "What aren't you telling us?"
Lord El-Melloi II chuckled, "Perceptive as ever Rin, I had planned to hold onto this as a trump card if you decided that you didn't want to take on the contract, but since you saw right through me, I guess I'll share." He paused for affect, making eye contact with Rin to make sure he had her full attention. "The man is said to wear a red scarf, rumors say he refuses to take it off."
Rin's heart started to race when she heard the description of their target, and for the first time in almost three years a genuine smile graced her lips.
"When do we leave?"