Title: Rain in Three Parts
Rating: PG-13 (For some married couple sheningans)
Characters: Emiya Kiritsugu, Irisviel von Einzbern, Kiritsugu x Irisviel
Word Count: 1,122
Warning/s: Some Fate/Zero spoilers. Nothing that major, though.
Summary: The symbolism of rain is threefold.
Dedication: To yukari rin. I have no idea whether you support this pairing (or hell,if you even know who Irisviel is), but you're writing me Archer x Rin smut, and I wanted to dedicate something to you, so there.
A/N:This is my contribution to fsn(underscore)fiction's April challenge. Most of my notes are after the fic, but for those of you who don't know who Irisviel is…you can find some helpful links in the original post for this on my lj. I tried to make it more or less clear in the fic who she was, but you can get all the details at the link.

Cross-posted to fsn(underscore)fiction and my personal lj.

Downpour
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It was raining, the kind of heavy Germanic rain that made the Great Flood not only seem possible, but mild in comparison. A more superstitious man might have taken it as an ill omen, but Emiya Kiritsugu was made of sterner stuff then that. Even a week before he was set to summon his Servant and head to Japan, the mage was the very picture of calm.

The sound of tea being poured took him out of his contemplation of the downfall. Irisviel passed him his cup (plain, the way he preferred it) with that smile that he never tired of, even after eight years. Kiritsugu took the cup without a word, not bothering to give voice to the thanks he felt. Expressiveness always came awkwardly to him, and his wife understood well enough that his actions spoke where his words did not. That he was grateful for the things she did for him even when he didn't say as such. That he loved her even if the number of times he had actually said those words to her could be counted on one hand.

"Does the weather displease you, Kiritsugu? You're frowning." Irisviel spoke up over the rim of her teacup, lips tilted slightly upward. "Formidable though it may be, I don't think it's going to have much of an effect."

Kiritsugu snorted slightly as he leaned back in his chair. "It's just rain. It only concerns me as far as it has an effect on my weapons. Metal and water don't mix well."

"You would know better than I." Irisviel replied, fingertip idly tracing the peony pattern on the cup. The ivory-haired woman smiled playfully. "But I do like the rain. It comes from the sky and revitalizes the earth. Nothing is lovelier than the garden flowers after rainfall."

Kiritsugu only sipped his tea in response, thinking that his wife couldn't be more wrong. After all, she was far more beautiful than any simple plant, no matter how pleasing to the senses of sight and smell.

Of course, he doesn't tell her this. It's one of the many things he would find himself regretting later.

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Storm

Hours later the rain is still coming down as hard as ever, but in the dark and quiet of their bedroom the sound is muted enough to be oddly soothing, like a distant heartbeat. Nonetheless, Kiritsugu isn't paying the rain much mind, occupied by the woman curled up in his arms. Waves of silky white hair spill down Irisviel's back, covering the both of them, and though Kiritsugu is hardly a poetic man and not at all given to flights of fancy, he is reminded of the pure white wings of angels(if anyone can save him, she can). He gently twined his fingers around a few loose strands, trying not to compare it to a lifeline, the last hope of a desperate man. Each breath he took was filled with the scent of lilies and rain and something uniquely Irisviel. Kiritsugu had never wanted much in life, but wished for a brief second that the peace of this moment with his wife would last beyond the night.

Almost as if she read his mind, Irisviel stirred to wakefulness, kissing his neck lightly before she caught sight of the look on his face. She brought her hand to his face (she knew her touch alone couldn't take away his cares, but it has never stopped her from trying and it never will).

"Kiritsugu?"

His arms tightened around her, bringing her close. "Things were easier when I didn't have so much to lose."

"That may be true." Irisviel murmured, voice soft with the understanding only she possessed in regards to him. "But were they better?"

"Never. But Iri, if anything happens to you-"

Irisviel pressed one slender finger to Kiritsugu's lips, silencing him.

"You helped me gain happiness, even in my existence as a puppet. I will support you in all you do, but you must not falter in your goals." She smiled tenderly at him before lightly brushing her lips against his. "I am not afraid."

Kiritsugu said nothing in response, but the kiss he gave Irisviel meant so much more than simple words. Expressive, true, loving.

Removed from the warmth and dim light of the couple's bedroom, the freezing cold rain came down without relent.

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Shower

Seven days later, it was raining again, a light shower covering the land. Though it was cool and grey outside, the light of the summoning circle Kiritsugu was standing in front of chased the darkness to the corners of the room. An ancient sheath held in one hand, grimore in the other, the mage's focus was set solely on the working and the chant he was reciting. Behind him, close enough to provide additional support as it was needed but distant enough not to obstruct him, Irisviel watched silently.

"I command thee. Thou shalt come forth to my side. Thy sword shalt control my fate. Abiding by the Holy Grail's haven, if thou accedest to this will and reason, then answer me. The oath set forth here. I am the embodiment of good in the eternal world. I am the disposer of evil in the eternal world. Thee, the seven heavens that bear the great trinity, come forth from the circle of constraint." The glowing circle brightened like a miniature sun the second Kiritsugu placed the sheath on it, yet neither mage flinched from the glare.

"O, guardian of the balance!"

Slowly, a figure clad in blue and steel armor rose out from the circle. Kneeling in front of Kiritsugu, the eirei spoke.

"Servant Saber. My sword will be with you, my fate is in line with yours, Master."

Kiritsugu's expression didn't change, though the subtle widening of his eyes told Irisviel his Servant wasn't exactly what he had been expecting. Nonetheless, the mage didn't falter in his response.

"You are Arthur Pendragon, Servant Saber?"

A regal nod. "Yes, Master. May I request the name of the one who summoned me?"

"I am Emiya Kiritsugu. My companion is Irisviel von Einzbern. She will be your partner."

"As you will, Master."

Unseen by all the occupants of the windowless room that held the summoning circle, the rain stopped. Looking back on it later, Irisviel would wonder more than once if that had been the defining sign of what would come for them in the Fourth Holy Grail War. Symbolism is an important aspect of the alchemic arts she was a master of, and it is well known that the heavenly origins of rain symbolize the blessings and revelations of the divine.

Had the secession of the rain been a sign of the benediction being revoked?

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A/N: Okay, for something so short, a ridiculous amount of fact-checking went into it. I even checked the translations on the Beast's Lair board to make sure certain things were accurate: specifically that (a)Irisviel was Kiritsugu's wife (which shouldn't really come as a surprise, since I don't think the Einzbern's would have wanted Ilya to be illegitimate), (b)that her personality as well as fervent support of Kiritsugu's goals were accurate, and (c)that Kiritsugu's nickname for her was Iri. I found that last one especially cute, coming from such a restrained guy. You can tell he was crazy about her, in his own way.

Fpr those of you out there who know me as "that crazy chick who is utterly rabid about Archer, Rin, and Archer x Rin", what won me over to Kiri x Iri (though it has by no means unseated Archer x Rin as my OTP of all time), was the translation of the Fate/Zero prologue as well as the utterly squee worthy fanart of them by the artist StParusu (I could be wrong about the name, by the way. It's the same artist who does the Childcare is War doujinshi, if that helps).

Anyway, to get to the main point, this fic is divided into three mini-sections, each symbolizing a different aspect of rain and the couple, which are as follows:
1.Tears and emotional release (or lack of it in his case)-Kiritsugu
2.Fertility and the sexual act-Kiritsugu and Irisviel
3.Divine blessing and revelation via it's heavenly origins-Irisviel.

I don't have the translation for when Kiritsugu summoned Saber, so that part is probably off a little. I used Rin's summoning spell from the anime (they were trying to get the same Servant, after all) and the fact the original summoning circle was in his storeroom in place. Either way, it's fairly close to canon.