Requested by the ass in Neir's avatar Neir, because he was in the mood for Saber/Shirou fluff and I've owed him the stuff for the longest time. Some minor notes:

Drabble 03: An alternate take on Heaven's Feel. What if Shirou had instead been consumed by the loss of Saber?

Drabble 04: Happy Iri Harem AU. Yep, yep.

Was my first time really writing Saber, so I apologize in advance if she's OOC at all.

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01. Keep Holding On – Avril Lavigne

He hadn’t woken up yet, but he was still breathing. His regeneration was slower than usual; Saber blamed herself for that, somewhere deep inside herself. She had been away from him when the attack had happened, so Avalon was reacting more slowly than usual.

But he was still breathing.

Yes, Shirou was…. unconscious, and covered in blood, and rather pale beneath that blood, all things considered. Rin had been shaking as she tended to him.

That hadn’t been comforting.

But he was still breathing.

Saber held tightly to Shirou’s hand, and never once left his side. As long as he was still breathing, he would still wake up.

She wanted to be there when he did.

02. I’d Come For You – Nickelback

All things considered, going to the church had probably overall been a foolish decision.

Saber had known of the risks, of course; had felt the wrongness of the place right from the very start. Setting foot inside of it was like asking to be attacked, and clearly Shirou had learned nothing from her if he still entered the place with his guard down.

Indeed, the most intelligent decision would have been to stay home. If Shirou was killed, well, it was a shame, he had been a good master and a decent—

Amazing.

--lover, so the loss would certainly be felt. But Rin was still alive and still a functioning magus, and if need be Saber could easily form a contract with her. Why, the girl would probably even be a better—

No she wouldn’t.

--Master than Shirou himself had ever been.

And instead she had donned her armor and was rushing to the church because in that instant, for Saber, the War and its prize had been the last thing on her mind.

Because in that instant, for Saber, all that had mattered was her boy was in danger. Her Shirou.

And that was simply unacceptable.

03. Words I Couldn’t Say – Rascal Flatts

It had been sudden, unexpected. If Shirou had been capable of feeling at all, it would have been almost painful. The numbness was there instead, the shock, the emptiness.

He almost wished for the pain.

He pressed his fingers to the dark stain on the floor, and swallowed. He had known this was a possibility; Saber had specifically said she was there to protect him, to win the War, and she would have disappeared within two weeks or so anyway—

“I ask of you, are you my Master?”

Oh. The numbness was starting to fade.

Shirou’s gaze hardened. No. He wouldn’t forget; as long as he lived, the image of her standing in that moonlight, armor blazing, would be burned into his memory. The image of her smile, of how she was dressed in normal clothes, how she looked as a girl—

Broken and bleeding and keeping herself up with nothing but her sword.

No. Emiya Shirou would not forget.

“…. Saber.” His voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if to comfort. “I’ll win it for you.”

The Grail she fought so hard for…

The Grail she gave up to defend me…

I’ll win it in her place.

04. Live Like We’re Dying – Kris Allen

He was going to die.

The boy accepted this, because he knew it was truth. There was nothing else to it, quite simply; he was going to die. The rain was falling, certainly, and putting out the flames, but it was too little too late.

He was going to die.

He sighed softly, closing his eyes, and relaxed. The darkness was warm, inviting, and welcomed him into it with open arms. It was almost laughably easy to sink into its embrace, to just let go and slip away…

Something cool brushed gently against his cheek. He felt strands of hair pushed out of his eyes, and he blinked groggily, looking up.

His vision was blurred, but as it sharpened and cleared he saw a woman was gazing down at him; a woman with sharp green eyes, blonde hair spilling all around her, her armor burnt and cracked. She looked every bit the defeated, battle worn king.

And yet…

She’s smiling?

She wasn’t just smiling. She was crying, tears in her eyes and falling without shame as she gathered the boy into her arms and hugged him, cradling him like he was the most precious treasure.

In an instant she was on her feet, carrying him, flying across the ground faster than he could comprehend. “Irisviel! Irisviel, Kiritsugu, I found a survivor!”

Baffled, he simply closed his eyes once more and rested his head against her chest.

The sound of her heartbeat refused to let him fall back into the darkness, this time.

05. Collision of Worlds – Robbie Williams & Brad Paisley

The way he eyed the steaming cup almost made Saber laugh; almost. Amused all the same, she gently picked up her own cup and sipped deeply, enjoying the taste. “Shirou, it is merely English tea. I promise you, it is quite delicious.”

“You say that because you’re used to it.” Still, he picked it up, even if he only cradled it in his hands, still a little unsure. “Where did you say you got it?”

Her eyes gleamed. “Shirou, just drink it.”

Shirou was quiet for a moment; finally, he chuckled and shook his head, lifting the cup in a mild salute. “Well, you took so well to Japanese food,” he said, and gulped the liquid down in one swallow.

06. Let Me Go – 3 Doors Down

“No.”

In retrospect, going to speak with her before he left had probably not been the best idea. Shirou had known Saber would be against it; she’d watched with worried eyes as his skin darkened and his hair turned white, as his voice deepened and he grew taller, and his eyes went from warm gold to cold steel.

“I’m not letting you go.” She stood in front of him, laughably small after his growth spurt, and refused to move. “It is not wise, Shirou.”

He growled, just a little. He was normally much better at reining in his temper with her, but they’d argued about this for days. “Saber, I’ve already made up my mind. I have to go—“

She gently pressed her hand to his lips. He fell silent, steel colored eyes boiling, and she smiled a little at the hint of heat that was so Shirou.

Good. He can still be kept from becoming Archer yet.

“You didn’t let me finish.” She smiled. “I’m going with you, of course.”

He blinked, then opened his mouth when her hand pulled away. “Absolutely no—“

This time she kissed him to keep him silent, and Shirou had a hard time arguing against her.

07. No Way Out – Phil Collins

The hill was always bloody. She hated that the most, out of everything about it.

She always came back to this hill. This bloody, silent, broken hill. Surrounded by its bodies, the stench of death still in the air.

It was always the same.

It never changed.

It has to change.

The king bowed her head, clinging to the hilt of her broken sword like it was a lifeline, and refused to cry even as blood streaked her cheeks.

In Fuyuki, a young boy began to dream of a magnificent sword.

08. Let It Out – Miho Fukuhara

Saber was not used to smiling, or to laughing.

It was not something she had done often, back when she had lived as the king. Smiling had been hard to do because of the burdens and expectations placed on her shoulders, and laughing was a rare feat that only Merlin could accomplish under the best circumstances.

So overall, she wasn’t used to smiling. She could certainly do it, but it was a practiced smile, never a real one. And laughter, unless it was urged out of her from Merlin, was a rare creature indeed.

And that was why Shirou blushed all the way up to his ears and stammered when he handed Saber the stuffed lion he had seen her eyeing, and her immediate reaction was to laugh with delight and tackle him with the brightest, happiest, prettiest smile he had ever seen any girl give.

And to himself, he quietly vowed to make her smile and laugh far more often.

09. Jersey – Mayday Parade

Shirou knew he was not a good life partner for anyone.

He was broken. He was wrong, he was empty, he was… he wasn’t normal. Wasn’t healthy. Wasn’t the kind of man who could settle down, could give a woman the life and happiness of peace she deserved.

Shirou was himself, and he knew he was never going to be with anyone for the rest of his life. He was a traveler, a fighter, someone who placed the happiness of others above and beyond his own happiness. To be anything but that was to fall short of the superhero Kiritsugu had regretted never being, to fall short of his promise to the old man and to betray the ideals that had carried him this far.

Shirou knew he would be alone.

But when Saber dozed beside him under the safety of a tree, barely minding the cold and the wet, Shirou sometimes wondered if maybe, just maybe, she would stay with him until the day he died.

10. Only One – Yellowcard

He wondered, sometimes, if she could do better than him. Should do better than him.

(She knew he wondered, and she disagreed. He was the best for her, the very best, and even if he had been the one to start their relationship she had always been the one to never doubt it.)

He wondered, sometimes, if he should let her go. Should give her the option of finding someone else.

(She knew he wondered, and it made her roll her eyes and demand extra portions at dinner. She would never find someone else like him. She hadn’t even been looking when she’d found him.)

He wondered, sometimes, he if was being unfair to her.

(She knew he wondered, and it made her frown and beat him extra hard during their sparring sessions. If he thought their adventures, their battles and their travels were being unfair to her, then he clearly hadn’t done his homework on her legend.)

He wondered, sometimes, how she could still love him after all this time, after all of the changes and the growing.

(She knew he wondered, and as she drew him to her and kissed him she whispered all of the ways she loved him into his ear, soothed his wounds with her fingers and lips, and promised again and again.)

He wondered, sometimes, he if would ever believe her.

(She knew he wondered, and it made her smile. Because even if he didn’t say it, she knew he already believed her; he was just afraid to admit it to himself, and she had always prided herself on her patience.)