Honey Walnut Coins


Shirou was smiling and looking at Saber as they entered the high-class restaurant.

She was stunning. Her hair was done up in a series of complicated braids and pinned together at the top of her head by a navy blue pin, and she wore an elegant blue cocktail dress that had a shoulder strap in the form of flowers. Even the faintest hint of make-up could be seen, enhancing her natural beauty.

She was beautiful.

Looking at himself, Shirou actually felt kind of underdressed… but then, so did the other women who were shooting jealous glances into their direction.

He had to chuckle at her uncomfortable look once she took notice, before he led her to their seats.

It was right at the window, overlooking the London Bridge and the Thames, which were illuminated softly by the various street lights and the moon, the snow draping over everything like a blanket.

Shirou smiled softly at her as he stood behind the chair, whispering "after you, Milady."

Her eyes glinted in amusement as she watched him sit down. "Milady?"

His smile made way to a grin. "Would you have preferred 'Milord'?" He pretended to ponder, "Or maybe something more neutral, like Your Majesty?"

She raised her eyebrow at his cheeky answer. "I think you are spending way too much time with Bedivere and Tristan, Shirou."

"Nay!" He whispered in mock-horror, "The King has made her anger known; whatever is it that I should do?! What is it that I did wrong?!"

Saber had no outward reaction, but he could see she was laughing silently, because her eyes glinted with humor.

A waiter arrived at that moment, passing them the menu and wishing them a good evening.
There was a short silence as both looked at the listed beverages and food, the waiter dutifully waiting until they had decided on the former.

Saber looked at the dinner for two special as he came back with their wine, the red liquid being poured into the glass with expert handling.

"Have you decided yet, or should I come back later?"

Shirou glanced at her, but she just hummed, letting him decide. He looked back at his menu. "The Dinner for Two Special, what is it?"

"White Pepper Skate or Seared Turmeric Chicken with a salad of your choosing; though we recommend Caesar Salad, as it is especially fresh. The dessert is Souffle Omelette with Vanilla Apricots for both variations."

Shirou nodded, turning his attention back to Saber. "What do you say? Or do you want something else?"

She smiled at him, "I believe skate sounds interesting; I have never had it before."

The waiter nodded, but Shirou glanced at the menu again, frowning. "It's fresh?"

The waiter blinked. Well, it seemed like the young man knew what he was talking about. "Yes; it was caught this day."

The redhead nodded in satisfaction, and the waiter left them. Saber shot him a glance, a wry smile on her lips. "Shirou, the food critic. Why does it sound so believable?"

He returned her quip. "Right, because you won't be doing the same once we reach the dessert? And just so you know; if the skate isn't fresh, there's a high chance that you'll get sick."

She rolled her eyes at his overprotectiveness, but let it slide this time. Instead, she took a sip of the wine, watching Shirou do the same out of the corner of her eyes.
It was such an uncommon sight that it made her pause.

"…you actually drink wine?"

It was his turn to raise his eyebrow. "Hm? I mean, I do prefer sake over wine, but yeah. Why?"

A blush spread across her cheeks as she blinked, once again forgetting that Shirou was -while still younger than her- not a teen anymore, and so yes, he could drink wine or sake if he wanted to.

Really, it happened far more often than she'd like, often resulting in embarrassment on her side for forgetting simple things like that.

Like, how he could drive a car.
Or be allowed to drink alcohol.

Shirou watched her face light up, and had to smile at how cute it looked. He could guess what she was thinking about.
"You know, it's only wine; it's not like I'm drinking ale or beer or anything like that…" his tone became sarcastic, and Saber glanced at him, confused.

"…while barely being fifteen."
Until he finished, that is. Then her dignity was the only thing keeping her from burying her face in her hands. "'t was a requirement at the time."

It was only a mumble, but Shirou still reached over and patted her hand affectionately.

"There, there; I believe you."

Then something occured to him. "Huh, I never though about it like this, but you must have a pretty high tolerance; probably drinking the other Knights under the table."

Her cheeks flared up again because she was unable to deny it. People like Lancelot and Agravain were able to keep up with her, but Gawain or Palomedes were no match to her when it came to it; she could easily out-drink them.
Bedivere was even worse.

Turning her head abruptly to the window, so that she could look anywhere but his smile, Artoria looked outside for the first time since they entered.

She was struck by the beauty of the landscape.

"The view is nice, huh?"

Shirou had followed her gaze, and the softness returned to his eyes.

"It is beautiful," she admitted. He took hold of her hand once again, softly pressing his lips against it.

"Not as much as you are."

Her own gaze softened as she scolded him lightly for kissing her hand. "You are… in a surprisingly flattering mood tonight, Shirou."

He took another sip of his wine, waiting with his answer as their food arrived.

"It's not flattery if it is the truth, Saber."

Flattery didn't do her justice, after all.

They ate in a companionable silence afterwards, with not many words exchanged. When the dessert arrived, Shirou had been right, as Saber made an offhanded comment that she was sure Guinevere, Galahad and Bors could do better, which earned a chuckle from him. But other than that, it was only the two of them, and nothing else.

When the clock was nearing its zenith, Shirou paid for the food (and left a gracious tip as well as a note that he'd recommend it to his father, which almost made the chef faint) and they went back into the cold night air, their breathing coming out as silent puffs.

His destination was the bridge.

Taking a hold of Saber's hand, Shirou led them there, all the while glancing at his watch.

There were a few other people - and a few other couples as well, one of whom had sat a few tables to the left of them in the restaurant - so they walked to a relatively empty space, which offered a nice view of the river.

They still had a few more minutes to go.

"Dare I say that I actually did not expect this evening to be so… romantic?" Saber was smirking at him, and he rolled his eyes in good humor.

"I'll admit that I might not be the most romantic person around, but even I have some tricks up my sleeve, thank you very much."

She leaned against him, humming. "As one of the most prominent figures of chivalric romance, I can assure you that you did quite well."

Shirou draped an arm over her shoulder, smiling. "This and that are two entirely different things, Saber."

She glanced up at him. "I assure you, they are not."

Saber leaned in—

the clock struck twelve.
The resulting fireworks bathed the bridge and its residents in a warm light.

Master and Servant, Sword and Sheath, Magus and King, Shirou and Artoria broke apart, smiling at each other brightly.

"Happy New Year."


Hello there, look who's showing herself again! Yay? ...no? well, that's okay too. Still, have a nice little chapter, because it might be amongst the last ones for a while.
Such is the fate of those who have that terrible fate known as 'Abitur/Finals'... well, long story short, school's getting hectic, and I don't know when I'll have time to update the fic - I've got three (maybe four) more Desserts, so except an update next week, but after that, things will be slow until summer, I guess.

Or my next block of free time, which ever comes first.

(ANd I feel like I'm repeating myself quite a lot...)

So... yah.
On another note, I think writing the dialouge in this was the most fun I had in a while. Can you believe that it was supposed to head into a complete different direction? Then I started writing the wine Scene, and... yup. It happens xD

Onto the Reviews:

Isame Kuroda: Hehe, you're welcome. And poor Merlin indeed xD

I'm just a Guest: Souma Yukihira. Shirou's simply a 'nickname' everyone rolls with ;)
And I see what you did there, with the " ". Nice work with that x3 Once he meets his future daughter in law, Shirou'll be moving to Alaska, I think. (Why can I imagine Souchirou being the Kind of dad that loves 'Dad Jokes' to death? Hmm...

CG-3m1y4: The parallel was the main reason why I wrote the snippet. And yep, Shirou's actual name is Souma, but he goes around introducing himself as 'Shirou Emiya' to avoid being crowded by fans of his dad XD
And the First Order was great! Especially Cu. The only real nitpick that I have with it is the fact that Galahad has short hair. Really, I grew fond of the Color (even if it's not purple. Probably takes after his mom more than after Lancelot? Or Anime genetics) but the length is bugging me somehow xD Where's my Bedivere-hair-length Knight!? I wanted to braid it! And now my Dessert's all wrong! Noooo *cue dramatic Music *

...Ahem. Well, I can't wait for Apo Anime (as in, give me now!) and indeed, 2017 seems to be a lucky year for Fate fans. (and Nintendo. I can hear my wallet screaming)

Well, the truth is that I'm not a great fan of these games, and the only reason why I'd have played it was because of the Story :/ Eh, translations are great too xD
And I agree. Merlin is a Genius! I hope we get some kind of Event which focuses on the Knights and him, and all of the idiotic mischief he's up to. Would be hilarious xD

Delca: Well, some People can't get a break, it seems ;D
Don't worry, that'll be included as well. As for the Swimming bit; it's not like she's able to walk on water anymore, what with no Magic and all. But I have it filed away for later.

Happy Baking Everyone!