[Though he usually ended up looking totally unreadable as he lacked the motivation to be much more than apathetic, a little wry smile clung to his lips.
While he couldn't say he'd ever once been on a traditional date, he hadn't lacked experience in get-togethers that were similar enough. There was something considerably less combative about him that evening--simply wanting to kill the tension without making it a lesson or a platitude.
Stepping outside with her with the mansion locked up, he paid it no more mind. The big, lonely house would have to take care of itself while they were gone--barring the insane safeguards Rin had secured throughout the years. She and it could stand to be separated more and more. Ahead of them, past the gate, there was a car parked on the street.]
I called for a taxi. It's a bit of a hike, otherwise.
[It was always difficult to leave the house. The energy around it always felt like a lonely trap. Something that repelled you if you were outside, but sunk its claws into you if you happened to be inside. Not quite a bounded field, but the change in air is all the same once they cross that gate.
Spending time outside the manor with her Archer could sometimes be difficult. He was difficult and he reveled in it. Tohsaka herself enjoyed the challenge, but like this she finds herself... Well, she finds herself embarrassed at the way excitement and nervousness builds in her stomach - fluttering like butterflies.]
I see.
[Though she wouldn't have hated being brought there in his arms. Rin steps beyond the gate and gets in the car.]
[No matter the gap in time, he was keen to miss fine details. Expecting that Rin was level-headed and on top of everything as usual, Archer thought nothing of sitting beside her after handing the driver the place's business card for reference. With the glass shut between them, the hum of the car and their trip left them completely alone.
It was different. He wasn't carrying her or leading her around as the one to defend or cover for her but they were completely side-by-side. It carried another meaning that he felt the need to chew on--out loud, as well. Archer left one hand on the seat between himself and Rin.]
[Tohsaka has made many mistakes over the course of her life, and will continue to make them still. Especially as she sees his hand rest between them out of the periphery of her vision. For some time she ignores it, but that only makes her more nervous.
Eventually her small, pall hand will rest on his. Her palm a little clammy from her fretting. Though she's determined to act cool. Really, she's only good at these things if she initiates them...!]
It's not a bad different.
[IT IS, IT IS, IT IS!!!! No, that's just her inexperience talking.]
[When he realized he'd closed the gap between them, he thought about taking his hand back. Bridging that gap between them, even if they were reasonably alone, might have been pushing it. The moments passed and he thought about a clean break for his phone or even to check if he had a backup card but the soft weight of her hand convinced him otherwise.
He found it gratifying to have a clammy hand on his, for once.
Once she took that plunge, he didn't think she'd recoil so easily but he still turned his hand over to hold hers, happy that she reached out at all. Her timid side might have been well-hidden otherwise but he was sure to notice it when she closed that gap.]
The good kind, then. [It was absolutely impossible to leave the full arsenal of teasing behind for the evening but he still wanted to at least make it all enjoyable enough that she'd think about the next time.] I'll continue trying my best to behave.
[She hates that she is so nervous. It really shouldn't be this way, but her heart is so... full. Like it might burst with the slightest provocation. Being isolated for so long really does make you sensitive to even the littlest of things—!
Tohsaka's hand twitches in his when he turns over to hold her properly. There's an urge to yank it back, but she fights that.]
If you misbehave I'll be sure to make you toe the line again. I cannot call you mine without taking responsibility.
[To know Rin was putting in the effort was enough to spare him the impulse to tease her and being too challenging wouldn't put her at ease for another date. No matter what she said, he told himself, he had to make the idea of a second date to be as appealing as possible.
What, then, was the perfect balance of the two? He thought it over, not quite realizing how his fingers curled to hold her hand a bit more possessively--it being an entirely unconscious gesture.]
I'll be mindful. [Offering a middle ground, he put on a smile and made a concerted effort to bury all his instincts that demanded he take some sort of offensive to overwhelm her. Small talk. A little bit of that could go a long way, couldn't it?] Did you go out to lunch with Sakura, by the way?
[Tohsaka actually doesn't mind banter now-and-again. Teasing might make her melt, but a little push back kept things interesting. Rin always likes to have her mind busy with something. After all, if she's busy turning something over in her mind it's less time spent overthinking her actions or her own self-consciousness.
The mention of Sakura pulls a smile from her, and he'll be able to feel as she relaxes some.]
Yes. It was a light lunch, but getting to see her happy is...
[It's everything.] Today has been a good day so far.
[He regretted it more and more that he never cared to ask her such things when he had his chances. Though he loathed the nature of heroes who entered the war in the hopes of achieving dreams they couldn't achieve in life, it was much easier to understand them in the present. That smile alone, unburdened by anything else she carried with her from day to day? He knew he couldn't replicate it for himself and that was fine--it was something she could only have with her sister.
Well. Regrets were simply a list of resolutions they couldn't fix. It was a shame that the worst of them managed to find his chance to have a wish he wasn't aware existed.]
I see. That's wonderful look on you, Rin. [Even just knowing she had her chance was well worth the cost of admission. He'd reap the benefits even if he believed he hadn't earned them.]
[His comment snaps her out of the momentary bliss.]
Eh? You mean the dress?
[Certainly she doesn't consider the face she just made. Though he'll have felt the way her hand twitched in his - almost as if preparing to yank away.]
[As it were, he had no expectation at all that he'd freak her out when he was so stubbornly trying to be as level-headed and non-combative as possible.
In a sense, returning to what he once was might have been his most dangerous move, all while he thought he'd created a safe haven for her to relax--.]
It does, but I was thinking that I don't really get to see you smile that way. There isn't a shred of conflict in it.
[At that point, he didn't know what to say. Again, she introduced him to something new, drawing up a feeling he couldn't describe and leaving him to decipher it.
It drew a smile out of him as well. That much made it easier to accept.]
Would you say she feels the same?
[It was a meaningless question--one he already knew would be a 'yes' but he couldn't help but wonder if she needed to affirm it for herself as well.]
Yes — or at least I hope so? She still wears that ribbon, even now...
[The hand covering her face shifts just a bit to pinch her cheek. Is this really happening? Is this for real? A life in which her sister can actually be her sister, and someone she can trust with her life is taking her out to dinner? Honestly it feels too good to be true. A false reality.]
[He had already worked out his excitement, shadow-boxing in the hall while she got ready, but it was still enough to stun him into a moment's silence just to hear that lilt in her voice--something that felt relieving. Satisfying.]
I would say I'm surprised she never made her own, but... hah... those good-for-nothing Matous never taught her properly. I think she'd honestly be happier not having a life involved with magecraft at all.
[And lord help the Mages Association if they ever attempted a sealing designation because that would go incredibly poorly.]
[Tohsaka lets go of her own cheek to instead curl her fingers inward toward her palm. Resting her loosely closed fist against her lips she thinks a little harder about her sister before speaking up again.]
I'm already finding the idea of leaving her behind again difficult, but it's not a path she should follow me on.
[Ah. Silently she's thankful for that. It helps to have someone else to ground her. Otherwise she'd spiral until her brain latched onto something else.]
Not much, actually.
[Especially not now that things have gotten a little wacky. Grail War over, but the Servants remain? Was this after-effects of using the Jeweled Sword? Ah... she'll probably get in trouble for it.]
[That much was a relief. Even if he hadn't told her directly, he was sure she understood the root cause of his betrayal, so the fact that they were no longer so alike as to frustrate him managed to make it all easier to accept him.
Even so, there was still the color of guilt in him. He left that girl behind as well, hadn't he?
Sighing, glanced sidelong to the window to check how far they'd gone. With Rin there beside him, maybe a small portion of that guilt would fade.]
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[Though he usually ended up looking totally unreadable as he lacked the motivation to be much more than apathetic, a little wry smile clung to his lips.
While he couldn't say he'd ever once been on a traditional date, he hadn't lacked experience in get-togethers that were similar enough. There was something considerably less combative about him that evening--simply wanting to kill the tension without making it a lesson or a platitude.
Stepping outside with her with the mansion locked up, he paid it no more mind. The big, lonely house would have to take care of itself while they were gone--barring the insane safeguards Rin had secured throughout the years. She and it could stand to be separated more and more. Ahead of them, past the gate, there was a car parked on the street.]
I called for a taxi. It's a bit of a hike, otherwise.
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Spending time outside the manor with her Archer could sometimes be difficult. He was difficult and he reveled in it. Tohsaka herself enjoyed the challenge, but like this she finds herself... Well, she finds herself embarrassed at the way excitement and nervousness builds in her stomach - fluttering like butterflies.]
I see.
[Though she wouldn't have hated being brought there in his arms. Rin steps beyond the gate and gets in the car.]
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It was different. He wasn't carrying her or leading her around as the one to defend or cover for her but they were completely side-by-side. It carried another meaning that he felt the need to chew on--out loud, as well. Archer left one hand on the seat between himself and Rin.]
It feels different already.
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Eventually her small, pall hand will rest on his. Her palm a little clammy from her fretting. Though she's determined to act cool. Really, she's only good at these things if she initiates them...!]
It's not a bad different.
[IT IS, IT IS, IT IS!!!! No, that's just her inexperience talking.]
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He found it gratifying to have a clammy hand on his, for once.
Once she took that plunge, he didn't think she'd recoil so easily but he still turned his hand over to hold hers, happy that she reached out at all. Her timid side might have been well-hidden otherwise but he was sure to notice it when she closed that gap.]
The good kind, then. [It was absolutely impossible to leave the full arsenal of teasing behind for the evening but he still wanted to at least make it all enjoyable enough that she'd think about the next time.] I'll continue trying my best to behave.
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Tohsaka's hand twitches in his when he turns over to hold her properly. There's an urge to yank it back, but she fights that.]
If you misbehave I'll be sure to make you toe the line again. I cannot call you mine without taking responsibility.
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What, then, was the perfect balance of the two? He thought it over, not quite realizing how his fingers curled to hold her hand a bit more possessively--it being an entirely unconscious gesture.]
I'll be mindful. [Offering a middle ground, he put on a smile and made a concerted effort to bury all his instincts that demanded he take some sort of offensive to overwhelm her. Small talk. A little bit of that could go a long way, couldn't it?] Did you go out to lunch with Sakura, by the way?
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The mention of Sakura pulls a smile from her, and he'll be able to feel as she relaxes some.]
Yes. It was a light lunch, but getting to see her happy is...
[It's everything.] Today has been a good day so far.
whoops
Well. Regrets were simply a list of resolutions they couldn't fix. It was a shame that the worst of them managed to find his chance to have a wish he wasn't aware existed.]
I see. That's wonderful look on you, Rin. [Even just knowing she had her chance was well worth the cost of admission. He'd reap the benefits even if he believed he hadn't earned them.]
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Eh? You mean the dress?
[Certainly she doesn't consider the face she just made. Though he'll have felt the way her hand twitched in his - almost as if preparing to yank away.]
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In a sense, returning to what he once was might have been his most dangerous move, all while he thought he'd created a safe haven for her to relax--.]
It does, but I was thinking that I don't really get to see you smile that way. There isn't a shred of conflict in it.
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Tohsaka raises her hand to her face and tries to cover it with one hand. Her gaze falling away to the window.]
Yes, well... that's how it feels to regain something lost.
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It drew a smile out of him as well. That much made it easier to accept.]
Would you say she feels the same?
[It was a meaningless question--one he already knew would be a 'yes' but he couldn't help but wonder if she needed to affirm it for herself as well.]
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[The hand covering her face shifts just a bit to pinch her cheek. Is this really happening? Is this for real? A life in which her sister can actually be her sister, and someone she can trust with her life is taking her out to dinner? Honestly it feels too good to be true. A false reality.]
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I haven't seen her without it.
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[And lord help the Mages Association if they ever attempted a sealing designation because that would go incredibly poorly.]
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Magi were rotten in general but few made it an aspect of their crest.]
I agree. She has good spirit but becoming a full-fledged magus would offer her no improvements.
[Suffice to say, it wouldn't take much effort to convince him to put down hunters and executioners with prejudice. He was well-acquainted.]
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I'm already finding the idea of leaving her behind again difficult, but it's not a path she should follow me on.
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[Just so slightly, he squeezed her hand as if to draw her right back to where they started.]
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Not much, actually.
[Especially not now that things have gotten a little wacky. Grail War over, but the Servants remain? Was this after-effects of using the Jeweled Sword? Ah... she'll probably get in trouble for it.]
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Even so, there was still the color of guilt in him. He left that girl behind as well, hadn't he?
Sighing, glanced sidelong to the window to check how far they'd gone. With Rin there beside him, maybe a small portion of that guilt would fade.]
It's good that she can live in the present.