Morgana kissed her younger sister's cheeks and pulled away from the hug, "How have you been, sweetheart?" She asked, keeping her hands on her sister's shoulders, "You look so cute, and you've grown up quite a bit since the last time I saw you."
Arturia smiled brightly, "I've been great! What about you? And I know, it's been so long; I thought I wouldn't see you until my graduation."
"Father told me I should come to visit, so here I am. Merlin and I are staying for a week or something." She scrunched her nose, "Oh my gosh, you're in uniform! I remember those good ol' days; it looks great on you, darling, you look so adorable."
The younger female laughed a little and shook her head, "I don't look that stunning, unlike you. You look so fancy like that."
Morgana looked down at her royal purple dress and shrugged, "It's not that fancy." She giggled, "I've worn fancier things, this is just a normal dress."
The girls started to talk about other things, most of the talk was about what they had been doing since they last saw each other, but Arturia couldn't help but notice that her sister had gained a bit of weight since her wedding in the previous year, but she thought not to mention it just yet, "Father forced me to join fencing again, so in an hour I must be there. But what about you? Other than working, what have you been doing?"
"I've been doing a little bit of exercise," Morgana clenched her teeth, "Trying not to over work it. Merlin always tells me to relax and take it easy, he's simply the perfect husband. I'm such a hassle that I wonder how he puts up with me, but he signed up for that when he made his vows."
Arturia giggled again and sighed, "You've finally just realized you were so needy?"
Morgana glared at her sister and then slapped her on the knee, "No need to be so feisty." She laughed, "But honestly, Merlin is such a sweetheart. In other news, I have great news for you as I see father had forgotten to tell you. The real reason I am here is because…" the female's smile grew as wide as it possibly could, "Merlin and I are expecting a child."
Arturia's jaw dropped and she finally realized why the female seemed to have gained weight, "Honestly? Congratulations, Morgie, that's splendid news." She returned the smile and proceeded to wrap her older sister in a tight hug.
Morgana laughed a little and hugged the shorter one back, "I cannot believe father forgot to tell you. I'm already three months in and I told him when I had found out. He really forgets a lot of things, doesn't he?"
Upon pulling away from the hug, Arturia chuckled and nodded in approval, "Yes, he does that a lot."
The older lady's smile faded, "Speaking of father, how is he doing? Has he been faring well?"
The blonde immediately knew what her sister referred to and she gave a short nod, "Yes, he is doing much better. He's been going to some counselling sessions and it is helping him a lot."
Morgana's smile returned, "That is pleasing to hear. Well, sweetheart, now that we've talked about the important things, tell me. Have you brought a boy home yet?"
Arturia sighed and shook her head, "No. I have a boyfriend, but father has not met him yet. Plus, we just got together again."
The black-haired female clapped her hands, "Oh, a secret romance! What's he like? Does he treat you well? How did you meet him?"
"Morgie, that is already one too many questions. He treats me very well, a little too well; he's the perfect gentleman… but that means he doesn't allow things to happen between us."
"Aw! What's his name? Is he cute—oh he best be!" She brought a hand to her chest, "Is he tall? Tall guys are always a plus."
"His name is Diarmuid, he is tall and very, very handsome. He is older than me, however, but we are making things work out," the blonde replied, "We met during the summer but there were a lot of complications so we had to break things off, but we finally fixed most of it."
"Diarmuid? Tall, crazy black hair, beauty mark?" Her sister furrowed her brows, "Irish security company?"
Arturia's eyes widened a little, "You know him?"
Morgana gasped, a bright smile on her face as she brought her hands to cover her mouth, "No way! My baby sister is dating Mister Gorgeous? This is amazing! I haven't seen him since the wedding, and even then I could barely talk to him because the ladies were basically throwing themselves at him. Last I heard he was in Ireland; I cannot believe you are with him. Back in High school Emiya, Marie and I would tease him about his beauty mark, saying it had magical powers to make the ladies fall for him. We nicknamed him 'Love Spot'. Ah, the good old times."
"Wait, you went to school with him?"
"Yes, we're friends; he was at my wedding. So he's, oh no. Arturia, he's much older than you, what are you doing with him? How did you even meet?" Morgana's giddiness had been replaced with confusion.
"Uh," Arturia laughed nervously, "We met during the summer and we dated… but when school started we found out how old we truly were and let's just say things weren't so pretty then."
"I can imagine, but if you both honestly have true feelings for each other, who am I to judge? It is not as if he is twice your age. Are you meeting with him this weekend? I want to see him and tell him the big news!"
"Morgie…" Diarmuid paced his kitchen, "Morgie…" He furrowed his brows, the name felt familiar but he was not able to make a connection between Arturia and the name.
"What's that all about?" Cú Chulainn popped a chip into his mouth as he watched his older brother waiting for the oven to warm up, "Why would you even wear that apron? It's so cheesy it makes me feel as if I'm lactose intolerant."
Diarmuid shot a glare to his younger brother and rolled his eyes, "Scáthach got it for me, drop it." He glanced down at the green apron that read 'Kiss me, I'm Irish' on it in big beige letters.
Cú Chulainn let out a chuckle, "And you can't get a better one? I'm pretty sure that was a joke. But enough of that, who's Morgie? Are you cheating on Arturia already? Jeanne told me you got together."
Diarmuid sighed, "Do you know anyone that might be nicknamed 'Morgie' in relation to Arturia? It's just that it sounds so familiar but I can't place my finger on it."
The younger of the two pulled out his phone and typed in what he knew before opening a page, "Morgana La Fey; kept Mother's Maiden name and did not go under "Pendragon". Older sister of Arturia and head of RB of Camelot in England at the moment. Recently married to Merlin, but also kept maiden name." Cú Chulainn answered his brother.
"Morgana is Arturia's sister? What? And I'm not even going to ask how you know all that." The honey-eyed male was paying attention to the oven, waiting patiently for it to beep.
"The magic of the twenty first century—internet." Cú Chulainn rolled his eyes, "So, I have to go to this initiation thing—"
"Not happening. You're grounded and it's final, you won't change my mind."
"But that's not fair." The blue-haired boy argued.
Diarmuid groaned, "You came to live with me to fix up your act but you are acting the same as you did in Ireland, thus I won't allow it."
"Are you fucking kidding me? No, I am changing. I had to do this whole initiation because the people I want to be friends with seem like the right crowd. I know I came home drunk the other day and I have a fucking tattoo now—of a butterfly—but I won't do it again, I promise!" The things you do for people, he thought.
The older of the two seemed to slip a chuckle but he became composed, "Guinevere told me to tell you that if it still stings—"
"It stings like a bloody bee." Cú Chulainn growled.
Diarmuid finished his sentence, "To use alcohol."
"I'm not getting drunk just to supress the pain. Plus, I've taken like three Tylenols." The boy added.
The oven beeped and Diarmuid put the steak inside before rolling his eyes, "Rubbing alcohol, , you know? Hydrogen Peroxide? Apply it and press it there for twenty minutes and it should get rid of the pain."
Cú Chulainn sighed, "If I must." He murmured and stood from the seat he had taken earlier before reaching for the rubbing alcohol in the medicine cabinet, "Tell me when the twenty minutes are up, then I'll take a shower."
While Cú Chulainn was trying to relieve his pain, Diarmuid's phone began to ring and he looked at it, noting that Arturia was the one calling him. He took a deep breath, feeling the butterflies in his stomach—not his back—and answered the phone, "Hello." He wasn't using terms of endearment yet, and he wasn't going to for the next month or so.
"Oh, hello Diarmuid!" The voice was not that of Arturia, instead it was Morgana, "You answered, in record time too. How are you darling? My sister told me all about you two and I must say I am surprised. Here I thought that Diarmuid would never be let loose out of Youth's grip and yet that very boy is dating my little sister, isn't that a wonder?" The female went on and Diarmuid could hear sounds of protest from Arturia in the background.
"Anyway, we're having a family dinner tomorrow, but I want you to come over. I mean we have a huge table and we don't even use it, so bring Scáthach and Cú Chulainn over as well. My sister is going to invite one of her friends and we can have a little dinner. Father will definitely approve of you since you are the first son, you needn't worry about that. As for Sunday, was it? Merlin and I will be joining you, think of it as a double date. I really want my husband to meet you because he couldn't do so properly at the wedding due to the ladies."
"M-Morgana…" Diarmuid had been caught off guard by all the plans that the black-haired female had made, "Are you certain that you want my siblings and I to attend your family dinner?"
"Oh please Diarmuid," He knew she was grinning, "Father would love to meet the children of the CEO of Fianna Corp. He would simply adore it! It is going to be so much fun. I'll see you then, tootles." And with that, the female hung up, leaving Diarmuid stunned.
A few seconds later, Cú Chulainn came bolting down the stairs, his hair dripping wet and simply dressed with a single towel around his waist, "You won't fucking believe it!"
"Language," Diarmuid glared at his younger brother, "And you're ruining the hardwood, this best be important."
"It's gone! It wasn't a permanent tattoo;" he turned around and showed his older brother his butterfly-free back, "you don't even know how happy I am right now. I could twerk, if I wanted to!" Cú Chulainn shook his booty closer to his older brother.
"Get away!" Diarmuid pushed his younger brother further from himself, "You were so gloomy about it that I decided you had had enough."
Cú Chulainn turned around to face Diarmuid, "What do you mean?"
"Lancelot called me the night you came home drunk and he told me it was fake. I've been playing along and I was going to do so for a month but you've been crying about it this entire week so I told you how to get rid of it." The older one spilled the beans at long last.
"What?" Cú Chulainn yelled, "You knew all along! Have you any idea how I was basically planning to cut it off!"
"That's what you get for getting drunk. I should have let you cut it off." Diarmuid chuckled at how surprised his brother had seemed.
"So, do I get to go on a date with Jeanne tomorrow?" Cú Chulainn was back to his normal self as he winked at his brother.
"First, put on some pants and then we'll talk about it."
The initiation party was a small get together. They were in a suite that seemed to be only for them and there was a wall of pictures separate from the initiation pictures. That one was filled with pictures of them enjoying their days or having other embarrassing moments. Cú Chulainn looked over the suite and took note of the furniture and of everything else around him as this was a new place for him. Although much smaller than his brother's suite, it was still beautiful and elegant.
"Gather around baes!" Guinevere clapped her hands and everyone went to the wall of initiation pictures. That was where Cú Chulainn's eyes caught Arturia's, which was giving a kiss to Gilgamesh while she was dressed as skimpy as she had let them. Lancelot was wearing a wedding dress, long purple hair done in an elegant fashion, fingernails painted and make-up applied. Aside from his built frame, he could have passed as a pretty woman. Gawain was skinny dipping with sharks and there wasn't a picture for Guinevere at all. But! Jeanne's picture was simply perfect, bright pink hair to her waist as if she had bathed in a highlighter and some horrid 80's fashion with what looked like an octopus hat on her head.
"We have another addition to the team and that means another embarrassing initiation. This picture is a little provocative, Cúch, I'm sorry. So this one will be up on the top!" Guinevere wiggled the paper before being helped upon a chair by Lancelot and placing the picture at the top of all the others.
Cú Chulainn covered his face because he didn't even want to see it and he heard Jeanne gasp as Gawain burst into loud laughter, "Take it down!" He argued, still covering his face.
He felt someone lifting up his shirt and he turned around to see Jeanne with a relieved expression, "Thank goodness it wasn't permanent. Just like mine, the dye stayed for a week. And hot pink looks great on you," she was giggling as she winked and he furrowed his brows as he had not recalled that the butterfly was hot pink.
He looked up at the photo and gasped upon seeing himself, "Guinevere, take that down!"
"No can do, sweetheart!" The brunette giggled, "Now! Let us have some cake and drinks!"
"No alcohol!" The blue-haired boy glared.
Guinevere shook her head, "Of course silly, Jeanne doesn't drink." She laughed and hurried to the kitchen, followed by her boyfriend who would help her.
"I've got to say that it was an interesting picture," Arturia commented as she sat at the table, "Not something I had wished to see—would rather erase it from my memory—but interesting nonetheless."
"May we never mention this?" Cú Chulainn looked at the green-eyed girl.
Jeanne laughed and added, "I don't know, I would like to see you in hot pink some time."
"Stop!" Cú Chulainn was red by now, "I'm supposed to be the one flirting with you!" His head fell on the table before Guinevere set the cake in the middle and Lancelot set the drinks.
Jeanne rubbed circles on his back all the while laughing, "Cake time!" She beamed and Cú Chulainn slowly lifted his head.
The teenagers enjoyed their dessert and after they had talked about their initiations, Arturia had excuse Jeanne, Cú Chulainn, and herself because they had to hurry to the dinner.