Hello! I figured that, with the upcoming Christmas season, I'd do a little Christmas story for fun. It is just a little cute story, and I may update some more with a few extra chapters here or there if this story remains interesting to anyone. As always, I don't own anything Fate/Stay Night, Type-Moon does. I simply borrow them for fun and make stories. Feel free to comment! I hope you enjoy!

Rin sat inside her library, looking outside her window. The days had grown darker, and the cold had begun to settle in. Finally, the temperature had dropped enough that the house had needed the heating on, Rin finally admitting defeat to the weather outside.

The house had finally began to succumb to the feeling of the oncoming season—Christmas. It had been many years since she had actually spent her time celebrating Christmas. Having not had either of her parents around in a while, she had left the holiday behind to her memories—a nostalgia she didn't visit often, yet they were incessantly haunting her lately.

From the hallway, Archer had seen a single light seeping out into the hallway that had darkened by the sun retreating. Knowing what laid beyond that door, he hadn't hesitated to quietly enter the room. However, he hadn't expected the young beauty facing the window, running her finger around the cup and lounging in her chair. He couldn't help but look outside as well, following her gaze. The world around the house had becoming barren, leaves falling from the tree and disappearing. The cold had come as well, and the world fell asleep quicker in his opinion. Yet, Archer knew what was crossing his young master's mind.

"Rin," He said, watching her slightly snap back into reality, "Is everything alright?"

The girl tried to hide that she jumped, and he knew that was because of how he continuously picked on her. He spared her. The look on her face showed a feeling that he could read, but she would never say.

"Yes. Everything is fine, Archer. Thank you for the tea, by the way. It was delicious as always." Quietly, Rin turned back to the window, losing herself in her thoughts once again. Archer quietly neared her before he leaned down and took the cup from her hands, returning to the door.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to travel into town and get some groceries. Is that okay?" Archer waited for a moment before he cleared his throat. Silently, Rin nodded her head, never connecting back to Archer's gaze. Without another word, he stepped out from the room and headed to the kitchen.

As Archer sat the cup in the sink along his, delicately washing the dishware, a calendar peeked over his shoulder, showing the date of December 24.

Archer neared the major shopping district of Fuyuki finding that the district had changed itself drastically. Various lights were on as night had begun approaching, and stands had begun to adorn various open areas. Archer quietly adjusted his white scarf, tucking it further up his neck and into his large coat, before approaching. The various stands showed a range of goods as diverse as the stands themselves. There were little knickknacks for trees, house decorations, chocolates, small gifts and other various things that seemed to give away everything.

"Are you shopping for the perfect Christmas gift, sir? For the lucky woman? For a sister? Family?" A jolly man behind the stand Archer had neared was smiling with large rosy cheeks, tempered from the cold of the port city.

"No. Sorry. I was just looking. I had lost track of time. I hadn't realized it was so close to Christmas," Archer said without breaking his gaze from the range of wines that the man was selling.

"Close to Christmas indeed! Tomorrow is the big day! You're one of the lucky ones not out here shopping for a gift for that special someone. People always run around the stores today, trying to grab the best, last-minute gift!" The man laughed quite hard, jiggling his belly along his laughter. A group of girls had approached and begun looking, diverting the man's attention enough for Archer to quietly step away from the stand and head down the street to investigate more stalls before being greeted by a familiar set of voices.

"Archer!"

The tall servant turned himself backwards, confronted by two lively people. The short, red-haired man and his purple-haired companion excitedly ran towards Archer carrying shopping bags in front of them.

"How are you?" Sakura gently asked Archer, bowing her head ever so slightly.

"I am fine. I'm doing some shopping. That's all." Archer eyed their bags quietly as he spoke, curious about what they had done during their visit to the market.

"Really?! Are you Christmas shopping?" Emiya slightly looked at the lack of any bags around Archer after saying so, the excitement seeming to dim with the realization.

"No. I was hoping to just get some groceries." As Archer spoke, he saw Sakura's bag slightly bounce a little, being let down gently and fueling Archer's curiosity.

"What's wrong, Sakura?"

The girl quietly shrugged for a minute and then looked to Emiya, who also seemed curious why she now seemed slightly discomforted by Archer's statement. The delicate girl slightly struggled with her words before finally mustering the courage to say what was on her mind.

"I…I am sorry. It's just…I hoped that you would be doing something for Christmas with Rin. I know she won't say anything, but Christmas was her favorite holiday when we were little. She used to make our parents put up the tree as early as possible, and she spent all night decorating it, making sure that it was perfect. Although we were a family of mages, our parents were always happy to celebrate with us, and Rin used to make presents herself for everyone. After we were separated and the Fourth Grail War, I don't believe that she's ever celebrated it. I had hoped that she would do it this year since you were back. She has been so much happier since then."

"Really?" The young boy had seemed genuinely surprised, but his older-self seemed reassured as to what he had suspected.

She had been thinking about Christmas.

"Interesting…" With that, Archer seemingly turned around from the pair, waving his hand behind him and disappearing from the two into the crowd of shoppers.

Archer had returned after a while of shopping, making a large amount of sound in the kitchen. Rin sighed to herself, staring at the book in front of her. Her semester had already stopped for the holidays, but that didn't stop her from studying her magus skills. She had spent her past few days reading over older spells that her father had written in books, or ones that she had seen him reading when she was young.

Rin was just incapable of paying attention. The more that she had attempted to force herself to pay attention. The more that she had seemed to drift off into another time and space, losing herself.

She was jerked back to reality by the sound of the door to the library opening again. The tall, dark servant slowly walked near her, bringing with him an interesting set of smells. It confused Rin for a moment, but she was distracted as he replaced her empty cup with a full one.

"What are you studying for? There is no Grail War, Rin."

As annoying as it was, he was right. Rin wasn't going to combat another magus—hopefully—any time soon. She was really just reading to prepare herself for the magus life after she finished schooling in Japan. The Clock Tower had seeped into her head, and she was distracting herself with her determination to become the best magus.

"I'm just studying. It never hurts to have some knowledge, especially with high school being nearly the end before my next step—The Clock Tower."

"Ah, I see. Well, it is quite late, and I can tell from the state of the kitchen that you have already made and ate dinner yourself. How about you go to bed for the evening, and I'll finish cleaning up around here. I'll tidy up a bit."

Rin sighed, and she realized how childish she felt. She wanted to argue and say that she had every right to stay up as late as she wanted, but she wasn't able to—he was right. There was nothing stopping her, and she was only wasting potential daylight by refusing to sleep now.

Archer simply smiled at her as she looked up to him somewhat frustrated, "I will drink the tea, so it won't be wasted. Promise."

Archer gently smiled at her more, encouraging her to agree with him. As she looked at him, a yawn slowly crept out of her mouth, agreeing with him. Reluctantly, she got up when he pulled out the chair, and she followed behind him as he opened and closed doors, leading her to her bedroom. Archer silently turned around and closed the door behind her, shuffling off down the hallway.

Rin stretched as she got ready for bed, relaxing in a hot bath and thinking to herself. As she finally crept towards her bed, she looked out of the window for one last time before drawing the curtains. Snow had begun to fall and coat the ground, dressing it in a beautiful white blanket.

Rin smiled to herself, "It's been a few years since I have seen snow fall in Fuyuki. I had almost forgotten how beautiful it was…"

Rin woke up early in the morning before to the smell of food wafting into her room. Although Archer may be infuriating at some points—devilishly handsome the rest of the time—he did cook wonderful meals for her. However, this smelled somewhat different than her typical breakfast. If she was honest, it smelled like something roasted.

Curiosity piqued, Rin left her room and begin descending down to the kitchen and living room area…and she froze at the entry way to the living room.

In the corner of the room sat a rather large Christmas tree that smelled freshly cut. The tree was beautifully decorated in red and white ornaments and other dressings, aiding its beautiful lighting. Under the tree were a few presents, tucked in their wrappings and the warmth of the tree.

Alongside that, she could see the dining table filled with various holiday foods, and beyond that was the figure of the culprit himself.

Archer was cleaning up after himself, an apron draped over his simple outfit—a black shirt, red jacket, and denim pants. For the first time in a while, he was wearing the glasses that they had picked out for him a few months before. He didn't seem like a servant. She was living with some darkened angel, bringing something back to her that she hadn't experienced in many years.

Archer washed the pots and pans that he had used for cooking. As he finished and removed his apron, he quietly looked around to notice the lovely girl staring back at him. She looked delicate as ever. She had abandoned tying her hair back in pig tails, and she delicately stood in her pajamas, staring back at him.

"Good morning, Rin." Archer had hoped to be greeted with a similar response; however, he found something far different. As he opened his eyes to her after a smile, tears had begun to fall from Rin's face. She faced him without making a sound, letting them fall.

"Rin!" Immediately, he was holding her, tucking her head into his chest. "What's wrong?"

She took a few moments before stepping back and looking up at him, wiping her face. "N-nothing. I was just surprised is all…"

The young girls quietly looked away to everything, hiding her embarrassment. "What is all of this for?"

"It's Christmas, Rin, so I decorated and cooked."

"What about the presents?"

"Those are for you, of course."

Archer smiled as the girl looked from her back to the presents before walking near them.

"All of them?"

Archer simply giggled before nodding and taking a seat on the couch, crossing his leg over the other as he always did.

He watched as Rin seemed to hesitate for a moment before picking up one box and looking at it for a moment. She stared at it before finally beginning to rip the package from the wrapping paper, opening it. Inside of it was a rather large, black pea coat. It had beautiful buttons on it, covered in some sort of design. Archer could do nothing but smile and giggle somewhat before she placed it beside her and continued to the next one. Despite her slight hesitation, Rin had a look on her face that pleased Archer—one of happiness and excitement.

As she tore through the presents and looked at everything she had accumulated. There was a large red scarf, some new dark leggings, a few sweaters and a few books for Rin to write in.

"A-archer. I don't have anything to give you…You gave me all of this, and I don't have anything to give back."

Archer felt her sincere guilt over it. However, he was quite prepared for it. With one gesture, he delicately motioned for Rin to come and join him on the couch, patting the seat next to him. Rin quietly sat down, looking at him for a moment before he pulled her into him.

"It's fine, Rin. You gave me this. You gave me this second chance—another chance at my life and to make everything right. I know your future, and I'm trying to make you as happy as I had tried—and failed—then."

Quietly, Archer reached into his right pocket and held out a small box to Rin. She took the delicate, black box in her hand, discerning what kind of box it was: a ring box.

"I made something for you. I'd like you to open it."

It took her a moment before she finally moved it, simply staring at the box for quite a while. As Rin opened the box, a slight gasp was the only sound that she let out.

"Archer…"

"I promise. I'm going to do everything to make it better this time."

With a swift movement, Archer took the ring from the box and placed it on her hand. Left behind after he removed his hand from her hand was a beautiful silver ring with a small, heart-shaped red jewel tucked inside. The ring had some slight engraving upon it that was beautiful. Rin looked at it a few times before removing it and placing it on again, seeming to not believe it.

"Do you not like it? Should I have bought you something instead?"

"N-no. It's beautiful. I can't believe it. Wait…" Rin was distracted by the sight of something inside the ring. She turned it to the light, revealing an inscription on the inside of the ring.

"My peculiar, little Master"

The first things that had ever been spoken between them.

Although she resisted the urge to attack Archer for etching something so permanently on something that was so meaningful, she instead placed her ring back on before reaching up to his face, locking her lips to his.

"Merry Christmas, Archer."

"Merry Christmas, Rin."