Chapter Text
Acher, who much preferred to only be known as 'the Red one' rather than the many other nicknames that he’d been given since being summoned at Chaldea, is on the ground, elbows deep in the piping beneath the sink. With so few staff, it only made sense for Servants to help with maintenance tasks. It had nothing to do with him liking it. Not much anyway. Archer dreaded the thought of any of the inventors lurking in Chaldea getting their mitts on the kitchen appliances.
A grunt. The pipe is secured. Archer extracts himself from under the sink. He wipes his damp hands with a rag he projects. “Done.” Archer said.
Rider, Queen Boudica, another member of the Chaldea Kitchen Team, clasps her hands. “Fast as ever. I’m sorry I have to bother you every time, Archer.” Rider said.
Archer smiles. Boudica’s always polite. “It’s fine. I’d rather fix-.” Archer said.
The clanking of armour. Saber, Gawain, barges into the kitchen. Archer frowns and his cloth vanishes to free his hands, fully expecting the muscle-loving knight to do something ridiculous.
Gawain beams at Boudica. “Queen Boudica! I beg you, we need your assistance! We shall hold a feast!” Gawain said.
We must mean the Knights of the Round. Archer covers his face. He wants to groan. Nothing good comes of her knights getting excited. Which they do, a lot.
“A feast? How wonderful.” Rider said.
The British pair left Archer dreading the inevitable chaos. What snippets he could hear, ‘King’ and ‘happiness’ bode ill. Whatever trouble the knights are going to cause, Lancer, the King Arthur who spends the most time with them, will not stop. Lancer is as naïve as her and far more willing to bend for amusement than she had been.
“Give me a break…” Archer said.
More information is needed. Master and Mash would forgive a few rambunctious activities if it is fun and there is a Holy Grail at the end. But Archer wants none of the troublesome nonsense himself. He glances around the kitchen. Prep work for dinner is done. Bhima will be on duty. So, he’s free to leave and disaster prep.
Archer walks out of the kitchen and down the hall. Saber is coming the other way. Archer makes himself smirk, the one he knows makes her want to punch his lights out.
Saber twitches when she spots Archer. Still, she smiles at him. So much for keeping this brief. “Archer, have you got time?” Saber said.
Archer looks away. He does. A big part of him is glad she asked. That he doesn’t have to ask her and that she doesn’t feel obligated as his Servant. Still, it feels wrong. A blade digging into his flesh that he can’t pull out. “I have an hour before my scheduled rest period.” Archer said.
“It has been some time since we trained together.” Saber said.
Archer rubs his neck. Hearing training from her still makes it ache. A ghost of a memory from when he was too stubborn and stupid and weak. “Fine. The simulator is usually free about now.” Archer said.
The pair, Acher in red and Saber in blue, walk to the simulator in silence. She is smiling. His smirk has a bitter edge. Archer would mind people seeing his feelings, but he knows damn well every Servant they pass is wincing in sympathy. Saber has never learnt to hold back. She’d had many challengers, then she kept throwing herself at them until she won. And then Master figured out how to help Servants use their skills faster… Saber’s challengers had dried up fast when she realised she could double her buffs in a single turn. Koyanskaya encouraging her to demonstrate it at every possibility ensured everyone suffered.