Summary: This is a day that never dawned, a night that never came to be. Or is it? In the depths of the Mariana Trench, the Seraphix-summoned Robin Hood has the fortune (or perhaps misfortune) of seeing an alternate version of himself with Chaldea's last Master, and no matter how sweet BB talks to him, the difference in treatment has him start to waver.

Note: Spurred by the exhaustion that came from family, both old gen and new, suddenly engaging in unprompted political talk around me on freaking Lunar New Year, and my rereading the SERAPH manga fan-translation on MangaDex for writing the previous chapter (and trying to get out of the political mess).

Because when I brought my Grailed Robin with me through the whole SERAPH event, it struck me that with two Robins around, well.

Have to see how things play out, right? Mostly unedited writing and all. So spoiler warning for events in the Main Interlude: SERAPH chapter of the canonical FGO story, with the smallest reference to the current NA Valentine's event in 2025. And content warning for implied abuse, discussed in passing. Just saying.

The theme for this Lost Day is Longing Freesia from Yugioh Zexal. For those of you looking for instrumental alternatives, I'll point you to the tracks titled Bousou Sentou from My Hero Academia, and Konfijon Puzzle from Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun.

Here we go.

Lost Day 9: Different Perspective

Archer already knew he was sour about being killed once. Being hired to work for a cheapskate like BB made him feel worse. (Because what good Master hated hard work? He trained to get up to Level 80, dammit.)

Sure, mana was being provided. He wasn't being kicked out to single-handedly fight an entire Holy Grail War on this mockery of a digitized oil rig either. Hell, he even wasn't being made to gather Sakurament just to eat like everyone else summoned to this mess of a digital War. All he was given was the power to go between the sides of Seraphix — front and back — to "clean up the trash" as BB cheerfully put it.

But something didn't sit right with him, even after BB sent Elizabeth Bathory out for food stand duty. (Or was it "Elisabeth Bathory"? He was too tired to really check spelling at this point. The idol could sing his and BB's ears off later. That was a future him's problem.)

He just wasn't expecting his latest assignment to get personal.

The script was ready in his brain. The petite Chaldean Master was with Meltryllis and the other Servants she gathered, looking over the Secret Nape and its remaining facilities. Vy — the tiny woman, way too tiny for saving the world once before — was freezing up at the sight of the coffins (not that he could blame her for it), and the others were still looking around. But he had his chance, even if Meltryllis, Sentinel status and all, was patting Vy's head with one of her sleeves.

EMIYA Alter didn't look like he was going to interrupt either. His face was as stern as it was when Archer first saw it. The chance was as golden as it could come. "We should survey the area and try to focus on getting more information—"

"There's no need to worry 'bout that."

His entrance could've been perfect. Manifesting himself out of the shadow of the No Face May King with an extra swish of his arm was something he could do to be showy. To be BB's "perfect lackey." Yet a single arrow, just one arrow, was all it took for him to misstep, and Archer forced himself to re-evaluate his stance in favor of dodging and not losing his head.

…That was one of my arrows.

Shaking his head to regain his confidence, he blinked the subsequent burst of stars out of his vision before pushing his hood fully back. The arrow that would've taken one of his eyes out had subsequently lodged itself into a Chaldea container behind him, and turning back to face the source had him unconsciously gulp.

…When did I ever look so determined?

Because at the center of the Chaldean investigation group and the obvious cause for his sudden faux-pas, another him was suddenly there, emerging from a patch of mismatched light and shadow and wrapping an arm around Vy's shoulders just to pull her close to him. The Yew Bow was glowing from his other self's right arm as Vy was nestled into his chest, blushing faintly while he scowled.

…Great. Just what I needed today.

Archer withheld the urge to sigh. No wonder that arrow interrupted his entrance. Considering it was the same man who killed him before, he should've expected the hostility. The two Holy Grails invested in his other self definitely meant he wasn't shooting for show. (Now. What could he do to nicely ask for the same damn thing from his AI of a Master? Pose nude or something?) "…Hey, other me. I'm not here to fight this time."

"You better not, else if you look at my little sparrow the wrong way again, I'll finish the job I started by putting an arrow through your head and dick." Chaldea's Robin hissed, and Vy jumped a little as he held her tighter. "You're not here just to say 'yo' and then leave like that cheater of a fake kouhai you're currently calling 'Master,' are you?"

Meltryllis was shooting Chaldea's Robin a shocked look through her long hair, and Tamamo Cat was purring. "How knightly of you to look after Myaster Vy like that, woof! You've definitely earned a Jaguar stamp with that heroism, Robin!"

"Shut it, Cat. I appreciate it, but not now."

This guy… Archer pretended that the words didn't faze him, rolling his shoulders to let the threat pass him by. "We're short on time, so I'll make it quick — I have a message from BB." Even if the subject is a freaking pain in the ass, that damn Lip.

Chaldea's Robin, Grailed glow and all, didn't stop his glaring even when his tiny Master eventually raised a hand to gently pat his bow arm with a nervous face. The pats seemed to be the only thing to make his other self relax, one green eye slowly softening when meeting big brown ones in eye contact, but it ultimately didn't convince him to let Vy go. If anything, the arm pats and eye contact just made him squeeze her closer to his side in a full hug instead, eliciting a quiet squeak from the human girl. Through it all, seeing it play out right in front of him, Archer did his best to ignore the growing gnarl of darkness emerging in his gut.

… At least that Alter Ego feels the same way I do. The thought was little comfort considering how Meltryllis was still resting a sleeve against the top of Vy's head, patting it through the embrace his Chaldean self seemed to just not want to give up.

(Wasn't he supposed to not be able to hold anything? Why was he hanging onto Vy then?)

(Why did it look like he didn't want to let go?)

Taking it all in left one nagging question in his tired brain.

What made Vy better than BB, anyway?

"Here we are, Chaldeans, back at the front — Oi, BB!" Archer feels his stomach metaphorically give out once the backs of his eyes were registering the same sight as his ears (which were already starting to ring from all the feedback). "You didn't tell me about this!"

Because a few meters away from their new starting location, a crowd of Servants and Digital Beasts were outright duking it out with each other. Noble Phantasms being shot out like candy willy-nilly too. And with Lip still rampaging among them like no tomorrow (screaming as usual, while also using those claws like the modern lawnmowers), it definitely wasn't a happy landing.

Also. Archer did not need to hear his other self sigh in disappointment, dammit! The pink pop up window that fills his vision next just makes him yell in frustration. "This place is filled with attack programs and Lip's lost it! You didn't say anything about that, BB!"

"Sorryyyyyy, Matcha, it's not me!" Even through a hologram, his AI Master didn't look all that apologetic, shrugging her shoulders while suggestively fingering the business end of her baton. Ugh. "But as soon as you take out the attack programs, you should be able to get to Lip! So there's no need to panic — just get to cleaning up! Senpai already has my secret weapon to finish the job!"

Before Archer could retort anything else, the pouting AI closed out the hologram with another wave of her teacher's baton, leaving the chaotic Digital Sea behind to roar in her place.

"AAAAAAH!" Lip screamed helpfully for her part from afar, claws groaning loudly against the digitized floor behind her. Great. She was still here too.

And what was BB getting at when saying "secret weapon"? Something to tear Lip's restraints off? What did BB originally say? "Something to unlock Lip's heart?" Was that really so simple?

"So it wasn't Mother's handiwork…" Meltryllis muttered to herself, crossing her arms over her chest. "That explains why Lip met us here at the Separator. Which means—"

The last thing Archer expected to hear then was a quiet metal clang from behind him.

Glancing over his shoulder reveals a metal stick — no, a metal bo staff extending itself from Vy's left sleeve, right into the reach of her palm to squeeze, and there's no mistaking the Yew Bow manifesting on his Chaldean self's right arm either. When did—

Archer suddenly finds his breath caught in his throat.

Stars were gleaming in Vy's brown eyes past her glasses now. Bright blue ones, their glow rivaling the night sky of the real world beyond this sinking oil rig that was the newest mockery of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War. And—

And those same blue stars were reflecting his Chaldean self's image alone, even from a cursory glance.

"Okay then. Dodge the attacks, clean house, rendezvous with Gawain-san and Vlad, and get to Passionlip. Just another long Monday for me at Chaldea." For such an abridged version of BB's newest checklist, Vy looked surprisingly comfortable through the tense line of her brows and shoulders, a single turn of her head towards his Chaldean counterpart being all it took for her to actually smile. Not a combat-taunt kind of smile, but an actually confident smile. It struck Archer then that it looked beautiful to match her strangely cute higher pitch of, "Big Robin?", to his counterpart.

Chaldea's Robin pretends to crack his neck, rubbing the back of it with his free hand past the collar of the No Face May King while meeting Vy's gaze. "Yes, yes, little sparrow, did you want me to jump in with you?"

Vy's smile could've rivaled a flower's bloom with how much she was beaming. "Yes, please! If it's alright with you, the battle routine's been set and magical energy's all locked and loaded!"

"Of course it is… but there's no need to ask—!" Through the grumbling, Chaldea's Robin doesn't hesitate to dash forward — past Archer, past Meltryllis and Cat, past everyone — to weave through the first smoke cloud and slide on his back to raise his legs up. Vy sprints to match his pace, cartwheeling herself onto her hands and catapulting on her next flip as soon as the soles of her boots meet her Archer's own, promptly jumping upwards with the assist to aim one end of her bo staff at a Digital Beast's head on the way down.

What am I… what am I seeing right now?

The first target in a rogue attack program roars for its last death cry before Vy promptly lands on its neck boots first, digging her bo staff further into its head to solidify the kill. Spiritrons fly out past her feet as she stands back up to keep running, and right behind her, Chaldea's Robin was throwing a smoke bomb into the first gathering of Servants that separated Lip from the Separator. It didn't even take a second for him to rush forward and take Vy's extended hand as it detonated, pulling her close once more while aiming the Yew Bow. The first bolt that leaves the sacred crossbow creates a larger explosion that overtakes the previous bomb, immediately wiping out the first mob and giving the Master-Servant duo a chance to run together.

Right to where Gawain was still holding off Lip too. Everything — from Vy's bo staff catapult to his other self sliding past Digital Beasts just to help her jump higher — it was all too smooth for Archer to conclude anything but telepathy to explain it. Because for a battle routine to come together so quickly, it meant—

Archer forced himself to swallow bile.

Either his other self had been with the Chaldean Master for longer than he had ever been with BB, or Vy herself had genuinely bonded with him (as if she didn't care that he was a shadow, as if she genuinely cared about him) to the point they didn't even need to outwardly talk to each other just to work through a chaotic battlefield. No matter the answer, the dark gnarl in Archer's gut continued to grow at seeing them weave between each other's space bubbles just to cover the other's blind spots.

"Gawain-san! Please hang in there with Vlad and keep Passionlip down! Cat and Melt-san will assist you!"

"Of course, my lady!"

Without hesitation, Cat and Meltryllis were already running past him, just to work with the battered Knight of the Sun and the vampire-turned Lancer keeping the damsel in distress still for Vy to rush in with her chosen Servant, but all Archer found himself doing was staring after them in a funk. His feet weren't moving, his range of vision looked foggy, and his arms felt like lead. He knew BB would have his head if he didn't move now to help save the helpless Sentinel Princess, but—

How could they work together so well like that? How could…

Why couldn't it be…

Archer knew he had seen a lot with this weird Holy Grail War, no thanks to BB putting him on clean-up duty of all things, but for multiple Servants to willingly be at the Chaldean Master's beck and call, with another version of him holding her hand—

Archer couldn't help but absently wonder what it would take for Vy to hold his. He already knew from past experience how BB could and would never do such a thing. A demented, impatient AI overseer like herself would be more likely to toss him into the trash heap of Seraphix and laugh in his face than ever give him the time of day.

Vy, though… she was holding his other self close by the hand through all the disappearing Spiritrons and — and he was reciprocating too. Like he was real. And Archer could already taste the bitter iron of blood on the underside of his tongue at the sight.

Different ladies, different Masters. Just different leaves on the same tree. And that was what made the back of his mouth taste worse.

The Spiritron Dive that tears the mask off of Lip's face could've gone on for an eternity, yet Archer knew he wouldn't be able to tell by the time Vy gingerly lifts her hand from Lip's chest. The flowery Code Cast key that BB provided as a "secret weapon" disappears as soon as Vy clenched and unclenched her hand, but her knees wobble just a little past her skirt before she tips back the same time Lip does the same.

Archer feels himself startle, instinct being all that saves him from more embarrassment as his hands reach out, but a cleaner, fresher green cape beats him to it. All it took was a simple sweep of the mantle, and that was it.

Chaldea's Robin catches Vy in his arms just as Gawain catches Lip, the two men immediately lowering their faint-of-heart ladies to the ground soon after. Lip's obviously unconscious when looking her over, but Vy—

"Phew…" Vy's breathing comes out a little stilted and hard, contrasting Lip's own controlled sleep-filled exhales. Vy's apparent puffing even goes as far as making the Master's usual high-pitched voice sound wispy when saying, "T-To note for future stuff, I dun' wanna touch anyone's chest unless it's an affectionate hug or a medical exam ever again." She huffs a tired sigh, leaning her head against her Robin's shoulder and eventually closing her eyes in favor of inhaling more precious oxygen. "I-I hate free fall, I-I really really do, so can I say that right now?"

"...You can and it's understandable." Chaldea's Robin slowly hugs her, helping her get back up to standing height once she shakily shortens her bo staff to stash it away. "Will you be okay going to the control tower, little sparrow?"

"Aye… still gotta even if I can't, but thankie for checking, Big Robin." Vy still willingly leans on him, a happier kind of hum echoing between them, and Archer forces himself to swallow the sudden lump forming in his throat. The odd warmth of the scene seems to even extend to Gawain, who, while wounded, was proudly smiling at his "lady" of a Master by the time she turns to him with a weak giggle. "And… and a thankie to you too, Gawain-san. I dunno if I could've done it without you, Cat, Melt-san, Vlad, Archer, and Big Robin."

Archer tries not to show his flinch at being addressed.

As if not caring, Cat purrs just as Meltryllis tosses her hair back confidently. "Not half bad of a job for a human, Albrecht." If Archer didn't know any better, it was as if Melt was purring too when adding in a softer tone, "Well done in freeing Lip, Vy."

Vy flushed pink, stumbling in place and drawing a chuckle out of his Chaldean self. "I-It wasn't all me, Melt-san, really…"

"While your humility is appreciated, my lady, you succeeded just as much as we all did in the rescue efforts. And truly, as one of your many Servants, I couldn't be more proud of that." Yet Gawain doesn't stop smiling, even when he starts lifting Passionlip up in his arms for a bridal carry. "Nonetheless, while I am glad we were able to free this young lady from her bindings, I do want to take her to the church to rest. I do not need to be as strong as my king to know this poor thing is exhausted."

The flush on Vy's cheeks disappeared as quickly as it arrived, her face immediately setting back into stern business to match. Archer didn't know how to feel about it, or her quieter voice of, "And that's fair, Gawain. You both fought long and hard, so I think you should rest too."

"It is no trouble, Lady Vy, I'm perfectly fine." Not that Archer was one to talk, but it was rich to hear that coming from a guy who was half-naked from the waist up thanks to Lip's claws. Yet Gawain was still smiling. "Let me continue assisting you with your investigation!"

"...Eh? Um, okay? Thankie?"

"Of course, my lady! My king would be quite cross with me if I didn't protect our mutual Princess!"

Vy blushes once more.

…Were all knights like this? Archer could've sworn, just for a second, that he could hear his other self mutter under his breath, "...No wonder Saber chose you as a knight. Too tough for even Lip to trash. Not that it's a bad thing."

…Saber? Who was he talking about? And when did he—

"Fweh?" Vy must've noticed too, because she was then trying to crane her head back to meet Robin's gaze in eye contact, worry visibly deepening the fatigue lines on her brow. "Did you say something, Big Robin?"

"Haha. It was nothing, little sparrow." A tiny squeeze to the Chaldean Master's shoulders leaves it at that, and it was a blink-and-you-could-miss-it moment, but the Chaldean Robin was leaning in and—

Archer inhaled sharply. His other self had just pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Vy's head past her low-hanging ponytail. And from the looks of it, Vy didn't notice, even when he whispered into her hair, "Nothing at all."

Nothing at all, my ass. I would actually take BB to bed to call it.

But all Vy does is fidget, her reply rapidly devolving to resemble the tone of a shy village maiden when asking, "You sure…?"

"Just focus your mana on everyone else, Vy. I'll be fine." There's another light kiss to her head, eliciting a soft confused Muu from Vy. It looked like she still didn't get it, even past the pink blush on her face, but amazingly his other self didn't look like he cared if she did. The warmth in his voice was audibly undeniable once he whispered, "Don't worry about it."

"O-Okay…"

Gawain beamed at all of them while Vlad shook his head with a long-suffering sigh.

Alright then. What the absolute hell was going on here? Was his other self more of a softie than either of them realized?

Or, fuck. Better question. Was Vy such a good Master for him that his other self actually fell —

Archer unconsciously found himself blinking — once, twice, thrice to process — before Tamamo Cat interrupted the moment (and his own ever-growing train of thought) by letting out a happy yowl. "ANYWAY! To you, Gawain, handsome Sun, I'll take Lip off your hands! Fellow Alter Egos gotta be there for each other, so if you wanna investigate, I can leave the control room to you and Myaster!" She trots herself over, fuzzy tail and paws and all, before easily lifting Lip off of Gawain's bare arms, fangs peeking out her lip as she grins.

"Oh," Gawain demurs, his apparently forced smile now dimming as he bowed his head in gratitude, "well then. Thank you, Lady Cat. The help with Lady Passionlip is appreciated."

"Woof! Don't worry your paws about it, Cat's good with keeping the claws in, woof!"

Gawain laughs. "I had no doubt about it."

Vlad shrugs his shoulders, adjusting one bent claw of his shoulder armor. "I'll follow her back to the Church as well. No matter what, it was a good battle, Knight of the Sun."

Archer blinks and nearly misses it, but there were a couple of flower petals floating down onto the group as Gawain re-manifests his cape and shirt to pat one armored hand against his chest. "I agree, Lord Vlad. Thank you for fighting alongside me — I'm honored to have gotten the chance to fight alongside another knight. I have much to learn from you."

"Now who's calling who humble here?" Vlad shrugs again, hiding another smile just as Tamamo Cat bounced in place, adjusting her grip on Passionlip.

Just from looking at it, looking at all of it, Archer decided that this group was weird. Because if Archer didn't know any better, those giant oversized paws of Cat's had actual muscle mass to them, considering the method Cat was lifting Lip actually prevented her claws from scratching the floor. Handling Lip's larger-than-life chest, though, was a whole other story. What's worse, Vlad and Gawain were just going along with it, which made looking at it all the more weirder. (How BB saw that giant rack of boobs as a viable resource in this sinking oil rig was beyond Archer. And how Lip didn't get back pain from the whole thing. Not that it was any of his business, being someone who was killed by BB before.)

Cat just purred towards Vy while Vlad, for his part, gave a silent wave. "I'll paw-sitively see you later in your bird's nest, Myaster!"

"O-Okay, Cat! Thankie for all your hard work!"

The last thing Archer expected was for Cat to then turn and grin at him. "Hey, taxi! To the church!"

Taxi. Wait. Him?

"Who are you calling a taxi?!" Archer blurted out, only belatedly remembering to cover up his exasperation with a hasty cough. This wasn't the time to fume and mope. Cat ultimately wasn't the issue here.

The issue was—

Archer allowed himself one sigh. Just one, while resting his hands on his hips for a form of composure. Because what he was thinking of was a risk, he already knew that even through his previous life as a nameless betting man, but—

He could deal with BB later. For once, he wanted to deal with her later.

"Alright. Before I act on the newly coined taxi service for the one Chaldean pet and AI Princess of our group—" Archer promptly ignored Cat's immediate yowl of outrage, "—I have a question for my other self."

Chaldea's Robin straightened his back, still keeping Vy close with one arm, but also stepping away from her with one-two steps. Apparently his instincts were still intact through all the budding strings-attached-for-once romance. Good. "What's up?" he asked lowly.

Archer resisted the urge to roll his eyes, turning his head away instead to mutter, "…spit roast." And ugh, that just sounded bad. He needed to work on talking.

"...Huh?" His Chaldean self raises his voice. "What was that?"

Archer sighed again. Better idea. Intead of talking, he really needed a drink because whoop-de- fucking -do, he was starting to actually regret this. Acting on his line of thought, away from BB. But—

But Vy was standing right there being oblivious and strangely cute with her rapid blinking even to his eye, so he couldn't help it. Especially when his Chaldean self was actively looking more human next to her, holding her in his arms like a real man.

BB wasn't watching. He had his chance this time.

"Other me, are you willing to share your little sparrow for a spit roast?"

And really. He was curious about his options. Coded language and all. In hindsight, he probably should've expected the outraged arrow of a poisoned bolt being aimed his way soon after, but the modern folk put it as "hindsight is 20/20."

Not that it made his other self's scowl all the more painful to take in. "...I have no idea what the hell BB put you through, nor do I want to know," his other self hissed, the Yew Bow glowing that same golden shine from before on his arm (the same shine as the Holy Grails that powered him, rivaling the one Grail that was hidden deep within BB's garishly pink studio), "but my answer to your question is a no. Just, no. The little sparrow here is mine."

Archer let himself sigh again. Yep. That tracked as a total failure, and here he was, trying to be inconspicuous with the innuendo. Trying to be discreet about asking for an out didn't seem to do him any good here. No matter how optimistically his mind tried to spin it, this whole conversation was looking like his bad luck continuing its trend, inevitably being stuck with BB for comfort at the end. So— "...Then, to the quiet little sparrow?"

Chaldea's Robin froze, just as Vy spoke up with a muted, "A-Aye?"

Archer forced a smile. "Could I get a mana payment from you for Cat's taxi service?"

Cat yowled again, something like, "You didn't need a mana payment before on the other side, woof!", but she didn't matter. The Chaldean version of himself bristling at his question didn't really matter, either.

All Archer could see in front of him was tiny, petite Vy looking up at him with those big brown eyes of hers, the blue stars in those irises reflecting his image for once past her round glasses, and he swallowed thickly.

His other self was still bristling, green eye flashing with another unspoken threat, but Vy, true to her honest form, eventually raised a hand. Once to pat his Chaldean self's arm, then to place it palm up in the air. As if she was a student, trying to ask a question. Politely at that. BB could take some pointers from her in being a good "kouhai" with that kind of behavior — not that Archer would ever give her that much closure. "...Um. Not to be rude, so please excuse the offense, but what exactly does that 'payment' entail? I thought BB was holding onto all the Sakurament…"

Smart girl. Archer knew the back of his neck was burning, both from the sweat formed at confronting his other self and the embarrassment at his next line of thought, but his mouth moved for his brain anyway.

"...Hug."

"Eh?"

Archer bit on the inside of his cheeks. "Just one hug. You seem to like hugging the other me a lot, so. What does that actually feel like? That's all I'm asking now, so no offense taken or meant."

"The fuck. What's the goddamn point in asking that after—?!" Chaldea's Robin quips, but the same tiny hand stops him.

"...Hold on." Turning his gaze back reveals Vy actually — actually smiling at him. She could've rivaled a budding flower coming into bloom with how genuinely happy she looked in that moment. Huh? "Is that it? A hug?" A giggle slowly emerges in her voice, and his Chaldean self doesn't even get a chance to reach out before she's pulling herself away and running. "I can do that! I love hugs and you deserve one too, Archer!"

…Huh, okay. That surprisingly worked out. But she was running. Towards him, and—

"Wait, wha—?!"

Archer doesn't get another word out before Vy is promptly bowling herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing up on both tippy-toes to meet his height. His nose is immediately assaulted with the scent of sugar and what vaguely reminds him of flowers once she cuddles him, no thanks to her long brown hair tickling his cheek, and Archer blinks.

For a split second, just one, he couldn't see the digitized Seraphix anymore.

Beyond Vy's brown hair, beyond the warmth holding onto him, he could've sworn he saw a valiant knight in blue, black and white, laughing his ass off through his matching spiky hair. Near that knight was what looked like a short-haired, blond princess (not a monster from the Moon Cell?) in white and blue ribbons, laughing happily too. And between them both was—

The knight and princess behind Vy's hair had him there too, outright guffawing at what sounded like them talking about a "Lovey-Dovey Johanna statue."

A vision of the future? A vision of what was to come? Was that what was haunting him now, especially now that he was finally getting a taste of what his other self had?

Was he really so desperate to feel like a human that a single hug was all it took for him to start hallucinating?

Archer felt himself swallow thickly, forcing his eyes open and taking in the warmth nestled in his front. Vy felt just as small as she looked, nowhere near as heavy or loaded as BB or Passionlip, but there was no mistaking the tiny smile against his chest as she held onto him. "Thankie for the taxi service, Archer," she whispered, her thin arms squeezing his neck as she hung onto him. "Thankie for all the help. Even if you're not my Big Robin, you're still Robin, and thankie for being here."

"I—" When did BB ever say something like that? Did she ever?

Archer doesn't get a chance to really ruminate on the weight behind those words, behind that high-pitched voice brushing the shell of his ear, before Vy pulls back to let him go. His arms, lead-filled as they were, didn't even get the chance to hug back, but the look on her face seemed to imply she didn't mind. Holy Virgin, that pink flush from earlier is back on her cheeks, but she's still smiling. "That should be enough, I think, with the amount of time we have. I still have to go to the control tower, but thankie, Archer."

Instinct is all that saves Archer face in the end, his hood immediately coming up to fall against his hair soon after he unconsciously decides to turn away. He didn't need to see his other self approach from behind just to hug his little sparrow close again, away from him, as he had his taxi service to uphold. Damning heat on his face or not.

He still had a Master on this cursed oil rig, even if it wasn't Vy, who was now starting to hum a quiet, Maaaaaatcha~, in the back of his mind. And it was great.

"...No problem. Have fun investigating," is all he gets out to Vy, just as he takes Cat's shoulder and snaps his fingers to make the world swirl.

He didn't need to hear his other self whispering whatever lovey-dovey stuff he had into Vy's ear as he left. Not when that self wasn't him anymore.

(Even if, through the saccharine sweet voice starting to mutter invasive questions, one after the other in rapid AI-built succession, in the back of his brain, a small part of him wished he could've gotten more from the girl his other self called "little sparrow.")

(It was a thought Archer himself knew he could never entertain, with the baton that tugged at his mind threatening something worse.)