I whistled silently, momentarily stunned as I stared with wide eyes at the room Iroh had told me to head to. I had to give it to the old man, he damn well knew his stuff, it seems. Even better, he hadn't gone overboard like I felt some of the other Servants might have done had they tried to help.
The room was about one and a half times bigger than the room Mordred and I shared. That meant it wasn't cramped, and just as importantly, wasn't awkwardly huge for just two people at a single table to be in. To further reduce that factor, three large, red velvet curtains had been hung up one the sides and rear wall. Curiously, one seemed to have been moved further away from the wall it was resting against, but seeing that there was no movement or anything, I quickly dismissed it as I turned to fix my gaze upon the seating arrangements Iroh had made for Mordred and I.
The table was the perfect size for two people sharing one, and thankfully there wasn't a vase full of crimson roses or two lit candles resting on gilded candelabras. The plates and typical silverware one would find at a fancy restaurant had already been organized. In the center of the table rested two pitchers. One was filled with crystal-clear water, while the other decanter contained a rich, purplish-red liquid that I would assume was wine. MY beloved knight made a low whistling sound of clear amazement.
"Wow, looks nice," Mordred said. "Not that bad a venue, I got to say." I smiled brightly as I turned to look at her.
"Only the best for my knight in shining armor," I said. Mordred stared at me with wide eyes and a bright red blush on her cheeks. She stuttered a few seconds later, lightly slugging me in the right arm (at least, gentle by Mordred Standards. I could almost guarantee that I'd find a bruise in that spot by morning).
"God damn, why did I have to be partnered with such an idiot?" Mordred said, and I knew that was just her way of dealing with my admittedly cheesy line. Damn it, Jacob, you're suppose to make her comfortable and relaxed, not mildly embarrassed!
"Okay, maybe that was a bit much," I quickly admitted. Mordred raised an eyebrow, finished recovering from my words of affection.
"You think?" Mordred said with a drawl, and it was my turn to blush. However, I knew she wasn't really upset with me. She just didn't handle embarrassment well, as I had come to learn, and so was falling back on old habits.
Others might have been offended by that, but they weren't as close to the proud knight as I was. I shook my head.
"Better too much than too little," I countered. Mordred barked in amusement at my retort. She rolled her eyes and elbowed me in the side, gentler than her 'light' punch this time.
"You never know when to shut up, do you, princess?" It was my turn to lightly slug her arm. Being far hardier than me courtesy of her status as a Servant, she merely cackled in victory, literally shrugging off the gesture.
Feeling somewhat more relaxed, we sat down. I reached out for the pitcher of cool water, filling my cup, while Mordred poured some wine into her own glass. Once she had set the decanter down, I held up my glass halfway towards her, and my beloved knight quickly copied my actions. The glasses gave off a gentle clink as their rims tapped one another, and we silently toasted each other's health.
Hopefully, the dinner being made would arrive soon. It was sure to help make up for the apparent awkwardness we were both bound to cause at the current rate…
Iroh stared at the scene in front of him with great disbelief. Both of his eyebrows were twitching violently as he was reminded of having to mediate disputes between his nephew and niece when they were young. Iroh wished that were the case. It would be far easier to handle than…than this!
When he had dismissed his staff for the night, Iroh had expected to be able to work in the kitchens by himself, with no interrupts or distractions as he made one of the finest meals that would ever grace Chaldea's cafeterias.
Instead, he felt like he was in some sort of damn cooking show!
"No, no, no," Boudica, Queen of the Iceni, stamped her right foot down with a furious pout on her lips. The Rider had quickly established her reputation as a fine cook and had quickly become Iroh's unofficial sous-chef. When he had asked why she had stayed behind when everyone else had been clearly dismissed, Boudica had said that she was going to make sure that the meal her adopted daughter would have during Mordred's first-ever date was perfect. Normally, the fire magus enjoyed working beside the motherly Heroic Spirit, but not this time. "I need to use the cutting board now!"
"As do I!" As if that wasn't bad enough, there was another Servant also working in his kitchen! Jacob's latest Servant, the brusque Archer known as Emiya. Iroh had no idea how or why, but shortly after Boudica had made her declaration of intent, the red-wearing Archer had shown up and declared that he was the one who should make the meal, and started working on what Iroh quickly realized was a traditional, simple, yet mouthwatering dish of rice and beef.
Iroh had once said that too many chefs in one kitchen made for a comedy. Never in his wildest dreams had the magus imagined both just how true it was, and that it would happen to him! "Roman owes me a raise for this. No, forget that. Jacob owes me a new set of tea bags!" Iroh grumbled as he worked on his own dish.
It had quickly become a scene straight out of some third-rate TV drama. Boudica snapping at Emiya for using the ladle she had was reaching for. Emiya snapping back at her for using too much of the spices, and both at them snapping at Iroh whenever he tried to either mediate or focus on his own work.
With the ability to make the entire meal thrown out the window, the Chinese magus had settled on making the sides for the dinner date meal. Boudica proudly got the chance to make the main course (and from the smell of it, it wasn't going to be a let-down at least), and finally, Emiya the dessert side dish.
In all honesty, Iroh felt that this 'Three Kingdoms of Cooking' scene could have ended only in disaster. And yet, and yet, that was far from the case! Still, as Iroh finished plating the broccoli and other vegetables that he had cooked in the traditional style of his country, he couldn't help but sigh in dismay.
"Last time I try to manage a dinner date…"
The heel of Mordred's right boot tapped nervously on the ground. The proud Knight of Rebellion tired her best to maintain an air of confidence, but damn it was proving difficult to do so!
Her heart was beating faster than normal, like she had run a hundred miles carrying Clarent in her armor when she was a Knight of the Round Table. In a selfish way, she wished she were doing that right now, in fact.
'Okay, what's a little unfair,' Mordred reflected to herself after a moment's hesitation. Jacob was doing his best, and honestly, clumsily though her partner was at times this evening, she was really touched by the lengths he was going. Just how much effort he was putting into, as he had put it, 'making her feel special'.
Unfortunately, it was also making her feel uneasy. Not regarding her Master and lover, not one damn bit. Rather, in her ability to handle it. Whenever there were feasts in Camelot that she had to attend, she would usually sit on the farthest seat at the farthest table that she could find. The mouthwatering smells of food (though it damn well paled in comparison to the rich variety she now had available as a summoned Servant) served to torment her, as she couldn't eat with her helmet on. She'd have to fight down the pangs of hunger for hours on end, waiting until everyone else had either passed out or in their rooms before she could finally have a (paltry) feast of her own on the cooling leftovers.
For better or worse, during those celebrations, the future Knight of Rebellion essentially became a wallflower. Someone barely noticed. And honestly, at the time, it suited her. She hated court etiquette, especially whenever members faked being friendly or compassionate, or any other kind of virtue they lauded upon themselves.
For the most part, they were as false as Mother's 'love'.
Now, though, she wished she had focused a little more on observing the less grating examples of etiquette displayed at the celebrations in Camelot. Maybe then she would feel so shitty awkward!
It seemed that her partner was also having an awkward time, and she couldn't help but wonder if it was because of her actions. Anything they'd normally talk about felt far more difficult than it normally would be.
Jacob had just asked her another question that she belatedly realized was a question and was trying to think up of a response when the door to their dining area swung open silently. Mordred exhaled in absolute relief as she and her date turned to see who was entering the room.
"Sorry for the slight delay, but dinner is finally ready," a short, portly man that Mordred quickly recognized as Jacob's friend, Iroh, came into the room, pushing a small and ridiculous-looking metal cart. On it rested several covered plates, and Mordred's stomach instinctively rumbled softly as the delicious aroma of food began to fill her nose.
"What's for dinner?" Jacob asked as Iroh began to place the plates in front of him and Mordred. "It smells delicious!"
"It better fucking be, for all the trouble it caused," Mordred heard Iroh mutter, but he wasn't glaring at the two of them. Trouble in the kitchen? Her mild interest in the matter was quickly dismissed when Chaldea's head chef began to unveil the food.
"Ahem, so, for the main course, we have a rich and delicious beef stew. For the sides, we have freshly-made daifuku rice cakes, with a filling of sweetened red bean paste," Iroh said, gesturing at a plate of a half-dozen of the interesting-looking treats, before the chef placed a small and for vegetables, seasoned ji elan," Iroh explained, pointing to the greens.
Mordred stared at the last dish for a few seconds. Then, her eyes darted to the cook, fixing him with a flat stare. "It looks like broccoli," Mordred said dryly. Iroh didn't respond to subtle barb.
"Well, of course it is! I just wanted to make it feel more exotic then saying, 'Chinese broccoli'. Sounds better that way, wouldn't you say?" Mordred paused, looking at Jacob. Her partner merely shrugged as he started readying the appropriate silverware, and she looked back at their 'host'.
"Eh, fair enough. I was always shit with names, anyways," Mordred said off-handedly. Iroh merely laughed again. Seriously, was this the guy who drained Tristan of all his positive emotions or something?!
"I hope you enjoy. Don't worry about cleaning up when the two of you finish in here. I'll handle that. Just focus on enjoying the food, yes?"
"You got it, Iroh," Jacob said with that friendly smile of his he liked to hear so often. Mordred nodded in agreement, seeing no reason to speak up when Jacob could cover that for the both of them this time.
"Excellent. Well, with nothing else needed to be said, I bid you both a good night," Iroh said with a half-bow, before pushing the cart out of the room and silently closing the door behind him.
Mordred and Jacob nodded towards one another and started to dig in. To her delight, the food was delicious. The greens were not slathered in butter like she had heard horror stories about from Jacob (seriously, that's horrifying for hm, though?), and the meat was well-seasoned and evenly cooked.
Mordred had been skeptical at first about the daifuku, though she suspected her former Master would have enjoyed them, as she herself came to realize as she greedily gulped it down.
It was then that she realized that she was literally demolishing her food. Normally, she didn't give a damn, not even when she did it in front of Jacob, but as her setting swiftly reminded her, she suspected that was not a good impression to give. Especially considering the far slower pace her lover was eating his own food.
"Enjoying the food?" Jacob suddenly asked after chewing and then swallowing a fork of beef. Mordred coughed silently, trying her best to regain her composure. She nodded, flashing him a smirk that was only half-heartfelt.
"Damn tasty, that's for sure." She felt her heart flutter a bit (much to her mild annoyance) at the honest smile she received from Jacob.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said, taking a sip of water before continuing to speak. "So, I was thinking—"
Whatever her partner had been about to mention went unsaid, as they both stilled at hearing the sound of movement. Her eyes darted towards the door, seeing that it was indeed closed. She started to concentrate on summoning her armor and Clarent, in case an enemy had somehow managed to infiltrate the walls of Chaldea, when a feminine-sounding, polite cough came as the curtain parallel to her and Jacob suddenly fell down.
Mordred almost bolted to the door when a chillingly-familiar voice echoed around the room. No. No, no, no, no, no! Surges of anger and embarrassment rushed over her as three certain Servants clustered around what appeared to be a piano came into focus.
"Good evening, Chaldea's two adorable lovebirds! I hope you've been having a good date thus far. I couldn't resist trying to make the night even more memorable for you, Master Jacob, and you, Mordred. And now, for tonight's special entertainment. The debut of Chaldea's newest musical duo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jeanne d'Arc!"
No fucking way…
I stared, horrified, at the beaming Marie, the apologetically smiling Jeanne, and the enthusiastic Amadeus as I finally discovered what the far curtain had been hiding. I couldn't help but imagine just how livid the composed Iroh would become when he heard about this latest development.
I lowered my utensils onto my half-finished plate as Amadeus began the starting notes of a song that I didn't immediately recognize. It seemed that the famous composer was perhaps a bit rusty, understandably so perhaps, for his notes were not as well organized as one might have imagined for someone famed for such skill. Then again, I highly doubt they were using his piano. Besides, he quickly regained his control and began again, the tune more confidant-sounding this time.
As I wracked my brain to see if I could recognize just what the hell Marie had decided for the group to play (and of course what the hell they were thinking?!) when Jeanne began to sing.
Oh, this is the night, it's a beautiful night
And we call it bella notte
Look at the skies, they have stars in their eyes
On this lovely bella notte
Huh, apparently, we had a Disney fan amongst the staff and/or Servants in Chaldea, as I quickly recognized the song now that I could heard the words to it. I suppressed a groan. Bless their hearts, but were Amadeus, Marie, and Jeanne trying to re-create the iconic moment from The Lady and the Tramp?!
Mordred's jaw hung open as she stared numbly at her friends, and I felt the urge to do the same. Well, the silent awkwardness sure as hell had been dealt with! Now, it's been replaced with mortification. God, what a mess this had turned into! Trying to calm down, I distracted myself to listening some more to Jeanne's singing.
Jeanne had a beautiful voice, alright. I would be the first to admit that, had it been under any other circumstances, gladly would I have listened to the voice of the Ruler. However, this wasn't going to plan. Despite her intention, I felt that Marie had ensured that my well-intended plan had ended in failure.
As Jeanne continued singing in beat with the elegant tune Amadeus played, I turned to Mordred, feeling my shame on my face. I couldn't meet her eyes at that moment, disappointed at myself. "I'm sorry, Mordred. It looks like this has become a disaster," I said softly and bitterly. My hands were clenched tightly into fists as they rested on my lap, out of sight. "Feel free to chew me out."
I could feel Mordred's gaze on me, but still I was unable to look up at her. For the next few seconds, the only noise was coming from the two-person band. Then I heard a noise escape Mordred's lips.
It started off as a soft sound of snickering, muffled perhaps in an attempt to not laugh at my embarrassment no doubt. It quickly turned into a chuckle, before finally becoming a full-blown laugh. My eyes darted up to see Mordred bending over the table, her arms clutching her stomach as her eyes were screwed shut tightly.
I felt a burst of confusion enter my mind. While I had basically all but commanded her to mock me, Mordred's laughter clearly wasn't of a demeaning or mocking nature, but one of heartfelt joy, mixed with some relief. When my precious partner opened her eyes, I saw they were glinting merrily.
"Idiot!" Mordred said the word without heat as she regained enough of her composure to talk properly. A wide, toothy grin was present on her lips as she shook her head. "Since when did we try to do normal, Jacob?" She asked. I tried but failed to suppress the sheepish laugh her words elicited from me. "Things going off-kilter is the norm around here, remember?"
"Well, yeah," I admitted, rubbing the back of my head a bit ruefully. "I just wanted to make it a special night for you…"
"And we both ended up like two idols blindfolded in a cave, stumbling around wildly," Mordred said with a rueful grin of her own. "We were both a bit foolish tonight, Master. We focused so much on trying to be perfect for the other—" My eyes widened as I leaned forward slightly, resting my arms on the table in what some would refer to as an ungentlemanly manner.
"—that we forgot to enjoy being with one another!" I said in unison to Mordred. We stared at one another for a few seconds as Jeanne continued singing, then we both burst out into wild cackling, unrestrained and earnest. Managing to regain some form of control, I smirked at Mordred, who raised an eyebrow as she silently questioned the reason behind it.
"Since when did you start listening to Jeanne's sermons?" I asked teasingly, being rewarded with Mordred becoming red-cheeked. "I see you're actually taking advice from your friend."
"She's just a comrade, that's all!" Mordred growled, once more refusing to use the f-word. Usually, the f-word of courses referred to the eloquently-crude word, 'fuck'. In Mordred's case, however, it seemed to be the word 'friend'. I knew why my knight had such difficulty accepting the concept, having grown up in an environment where friends literally couldn't exist for most of her short and tumultuous life. However, if she really didn't enjoy hanging around Jeanne one bit, she'd have told me to drop the matter almost a month ago. "Oi, what's up with that look on your face?! Knock it off!" I merely smiled and shook my head, saying nothing.
It was rather adorable how much of a tsundere (I believe that's what Ritsuka once referred to her as?) my partner could be at times.
"I'd like to try this again sometime, Jacob." Mordred's voice was now calm, and she had a hopeful look in her eyes. "This whole 'going on a date' concept," she swiftly added, though her brow crinkled ever so slightly. Even with the Throne of Heroes providing her with a reasonable grasp of understanding modern culture, there were some things that the blonde knight was still wrapping her mind around.
"At least next time we'll not have to relay on a third party intervening or something," I agreed, though not without a teasing remark. Mordred rolled her eyes, and almost in unison, we impulsively began leaning in towards one another. All outside noise seemed to become a dull buzz as we pressed our lips towards one another in a brief but passionate kiss.
"I love you, Mordred," I said, my lips just mere inches away from hers. My brown eyes stared into her beautiful ones of emerald, and to my delight, I could see clear fondness and love (though she'd deny ever looking that sappy, no doubt about that) swimming around inside them.
"I love you too, Jacob," Mordred whispered softly, testing each word and sounding pleased with them. It was the second time she had used that sentiment like this, and I felt so happy my heart could burst. I leaned forward again, with Mordred copying my actions as we kissed each other passionately once more.
For a first date, despite all the chaos, it certainly had a wonderful ending.
Original Endnotes: Best way for a date to end, in my opinion! So how was it? Not going to ask much, because I wanna hear from y'all, but did I at least do a decent job? Regarding next chapter: expect a lot of cute fluff, and multiple POVs, both new and old :)
Now, for the question(s) of the chapter: For FGO players, which of the five-star Servants that we can do the ticket exchange for with next year do you plan to go with? Either Jeanne or Artoria for me as present. Second question: what's your dream job
As always, thanks for reading and being so supportive of this story! It's come so far and I still have trouble believing it at times! Feel free to comment and all as always, and I hope you enjoyed! Can't wait to find out what you lovely guys and gals thought of it, and I'll see you in the next update!
Updated Endnotes 5/18/22: As always, the full-length and more frequently-updated copy of The Will to Fight can be found on Ao3. I hope you enjoyed today's update, and see you next time! :)