Concurrent Fates

October 20, Friday

The loud clacking of heels sounded through the airport. They were quick and joyful like those of one of the women in movies running happily towards their love whom they had never met in person or maybe like a wife jogging to embrace her husband who had returned from war safely. Either way, the woman who was making her way through the building was excited. She was a good ten meters in front of her traveling companions, she was so anxious to be on her way to Fuyuki. "Come on, guys! Let's get going! Artie and Jeanne are waiting for us!" the brunette exclaimed as she finally slowed town to let her friends catch up.

"Guin, honey, I do not think that the plane will leave any earlier just because we get on it earlier. We do not have to hurry. Plus, we'll be there for at least two weeks. We'll have plenty of time to catch up with them. Trust me, babe. Everything will be fine," her fiancee, Lancelot, informed her calmly. "I know that you have been super worried about how they're getting along, but you shouldn't be. They are full grown adults with their own jobs and own apartment. Just calm down. We'll be there in no time."

Guinevere took his hand and sighed. She normally was not this worried. Usually, she was a tiny bit, but she had faith in her sisters from two different misters. However, ever since she called Arturia and learned about this Diarmuid person as well as the Cu who Jeanne was with, she was basically panicking to herself until she fell asleep. "Lancey-sweetie, I am scared that their decisions in men will not match their wits and charm."

"Jeanne is dating somebody? Who is- Ow! Marie! That hurt!" Gawain began to exclaim until he was interrupted by the short, white-haired woman to his left. "I was just wondering. She's like my little sister."

"Jeanne is older than you," Atalanta stated.

"I didn't ask for your opinion, Atalanta." She shrugged at the response, turning her attention towards the happy, little Frenchwoman holding Guin's hands.

"O-M-G! No way! My beautiful, little Jeanne has found a man?! And Arturia as well?! Oh my goodness, why did you not tell me this, Guin? Come on! There's no time! Let's hurry! We must meet these men!"

Thus, Bedivere, Gawain, Tristan, Atalanta, Lancelot, Astolfo, Sieg, Siegfried, and Laeticia remained. "Uh-uh, h-hold up!" the two girls, plus Astolfo, exclaimed. The men gave one of their "ugh, women" groans, then quickly running after them.

"Good morning, my beautifuls~!" a sweet voice called out as thin arms wrapped around the two blonde secretaries. Jeanne and Arturia giggled at the affection shown from their boss's wife, Irisviel. It was odd how close the two were to her. She was almost like a second mom to the both of them. Every morning they would come in and Irisviel would have a big smile on her face as well as a big hug waiting for them. "Have any plans for this weekend? I want to make sure that you two are safe, so I need to know your entire weekend schedule!"

The gorgeous woman unwrapped them, walking between them and turning around to face them. Her smile was that of an angel's. They swore up and down that she could never do any harm. She was caring, thoughtful, and an amazing mother. Her beading red eyes looked at them with happiness as she waited for their answers.

"Well," Arturia began, remembering that she hadn't told Jeanne about their friends coming to visit. She put a smile on her face turning to Jeanne, who was beat red. Why is she blushing?

Jeanne could feel herself flushing. She bet that if she looked in the mirror she would be redder than any tomato she had ever seen. She recalled Cu saying that he did not want to tell Diarmuid about it, but that could have been the only way she would figure out. "D-did Diarmuid tell you? I had no idea you knew!" the Frenchwoman exclaimed nervously, heart beating fast.

Saber looked at her best friend in confusion, having no idea what she was talking about. She opened her mouth to ask, it seemed Iri had done it for her. "Oh? Know what? What is it?"

"W-well," she murmured embarrassingly. "I-I have a date tonight."

The two women gasped at the same time. Confusion turned to happiness in Arturia as she nudged her best friend, laughing. "Jeanne, I had no idea that you were going to go out with Cu tonight!" Jeanne's face somehow became an even darker shade as she realized her mistake. Oh my goodness, Jeanne, you just gave it away! Why didn't you just let Artie speak?!

"I was just going to say that our friends are...visiting...tonight." The room became silent as Arturia realized that Jeanne was going to be in deep trouble. Guinevere would never let the girl's poor soul hear the end of it. They could almost hear it now.

"Oh my goodness! My baby Jeanne is missing her friends coming over for a man?! Oh Lord have mercy, things are changing at a pace in which I cannot keep up with. It seems like just yesterday she was slapping the skirts off of men when they took a step too close! Now, she's missing her best friends in the world for what? Men?"

The poor girl would have to go through the same number of poems, songs, and cheesy Shakespeare excerpts on love that Guin knew. Arturia could hear the others' laughs clearly in the back of her mind. "Maybe you should reschedule?" the shorter blonde suggested as the different outcomes of Jeanne missing the first night they were visiting were finished playing out in their head.

"W-what?! No! No! This is our first date! I do not want to reschedule! I would much rather listen to hours and hours of Guin's brutal lectures about boys having cooties than have to call Cu and ask if we can postpone it! I really like him, and I think, I hope, he really likes me. I do not want to throw away my shot," she retaliated, her hands fidgeting and finding refuge with each other.

"Wait a second, are you talking about Cu Chulainn Ua Duibhne?" Irisviel interrupted out of the blue, earning their attention. They stared at her in surprise before nodding simultaneously. How did she know that they were talking about Cu Chulainn? "No way! He was speaking of you?! Haha, I guess I should have known – 'beautiful, kind, with the sweetest voice you could ever hear.' Oh my! Yes, definitely do not cancel! He was so excited this morning when I was speaking with him! I would hate for him to have to miss a date!"

Arturia and Jeanne turned their heads after giving each other a glance. "Y-you talked to him? A-and, he said that about me?" Jeanne questioned her, wanting to make sure that she was hearing correctly.

"Yes!" she exclaimed, oblivious to the fact that her husband's secretaries had no idea that she knew Cu.

"Um, how do you know him?" Artie asked the beautiful woman.

"Hmm? Oh, he's my son's best friend! You know, I'm older than I look! I try to maintain a fine figure and face! I'm sure you've met him if you've gone to their apartment complex, or at least heard of him. He's Cu's next-door neighbor."

Arturia and Jeanne looked at each other, trying to remember who lived right next to him. "You must be close to him if you know how much of a handful he can be. Do you happen to be his best friend?"

"Ha, you must be kidding. Me best friends with that personified trouble? Haha, yeah right. That was a good joke though. Ever think about seeking a career in comedy?"

"Wait, is Archer your son?" Arturia questioned.

"Yep, that's him! Oh, those two are always together! They tend to deny their best friendship though," Irisviel clarified, causing the two girls to laugh. "Anyway, Cu seemed really excited about the date, so please don't cancel it. He hasn't had a date in so, so long, and I think going on one would be good for him. I think it would be great for you too, darling. He's such a gentleman when it comes to dates, and as I said he is really into you. You're a lucky lady to have gotten his attention."

Jeanne smiled with a red face. She could barely believe that she was going out on a date with her celebrity crush, but hearing all of the amazing things he said about her to Irisviel made her heart jump with joy. "Haha, yeah," she mumbled lightly.

Arturia finished putting the decorations and food bowls out for when her friends arrived as Jeanne was getting ready for her date with Cu, who would pick her up from their apartment complex. She noticed that her best friend wasn't listening to his music or any music for that matter, maybe because she could hear him singing in person. Or, maybe she was just so nervous that she hadn't thought of putting on music to calm herself. Whatever the reason, it made Arturia nervous, even though it wasn't her date.

Finally, the door of the Frenchwoman's room slid open, revealing her in a beautiful, short purple dress with long sleeves. She wore silver jewelry to complement the look as well as black heels and a circlet with a long piece that decorated her braid. Artie smiled at her, "You look gorgeous, Jeanne!"

Jeanne smiled. "Thank you. D-do you think that Cu will like it?" she asked quietly. Arturia nodded confidently, earning a pleased expression on Jeanne's face.

She looked at the clock - 4:50 it read. She could feel the butterflies hitting the edges of her stomach. Knock. Knock. Knock. She jumped at the sudden sound. He was early. Did that mean that he was excited about taking her out? Or, did he overestimate the time in which it took to arrive at the apartment? Hurrying to the door, she opened it slowly, as if trying to take her last nerve-calming breaths.

Before she could comprehend what was happening, the door was then pushed open with insane force. She was pushed to the ground, falling on her behind. "Hello~!" the loud greeting came from a feminine voice – Guinevere. She had thought they wouldn't arrive until after she left. "Oh no! I am so sorry, Jeanne! I was just so excited to see you two that I pushed you- Oh! You look so snazzy this evening, my darling! Did you dress up just for us? You are absolutely gorgeous!" Guinevere complimented her as she helped the younger woman up.

"Urm, no, I, uh, actually am going on a-" she began, only to get interrupted by the rest of the gang coming in.

"Guin, did you push Jeanne?! How could you?! You probably got her dress all dirty!" Gawain hurried over to her side. "My apologies, Jeanne. Guin is a little hyper right now, due to how long it has been since we have seen you and Artie. Now, you didn't have to put that dress on just for me," he winked, causing her to roll her eyes with a giggle. This was how Gawain always acted around her.

"No, I-" Once again, she was cut off from her sentence as Astolfo and Laeticia hugged her.

"Jeanne, we missed you so much!" the two simultaneously exclaimed joyfully.

"Seriously though, why are you so dressed up?" Astolfo questioned, his little fang sticking out. Everyone was looking at her (except for Arturia who was laughing at the situation). She blushed. She hadn't been expecting to see them, so she wasn't planning on telling them about her date. Arturia had told her that she would just inform the group that she was busy, but they had arrived before her date.

"U-um, well, I-I'm going out on a date with someone." She wondered if she should say who. They may think it a joke, speaking that he was the favorite singer of every single person in the apartment. "Y-yeah, someone," she murmured to herself with a red face.

"Someone? Who is this someone?" Lancelot interrogated. "Come on; it's not like we'll know them. I'm sure he's a super nice guy if he caught your interest. Now, come now; tell us who it is. What's his name? What does he do for a living? Does he live nearby or quite a ways away?"

"You'd know him," Saber commented out of the blue as Jeanne stalled from saying. "Trust me; he's not difficult to know," she laughed, causing Lancelot to tilt his head in confusion. He looked down at Jeanne, who looked nervous.

"We would?"

"Um-"

Three more knocks rang out throughout the room, causing Jeanne to try to sprint to the door. However, the heels on her feet wouldn't let her be quicker than Guin, who had been the one to win the race. "I got it!" she stated as her hand wrapped around the knob. With a speedy hand, she opened the door to reveal whoever it was that Jeanne was going on a date with. Jeanne covered her mouth in fear of what Guinevere would do when she realized who it was.

"Hello~!" the female greeted with momentarily closed eyes. "Are you my little Jeanne's da-te?" she stumbled, finally looking to see who it was. In front of her, a tall man with familiar blue hair and red eyes smiled at her. "W-wait," Guin said.

"Oh, hi. Um, is Jeanne home?" Cu Chulainn asked politely, not being able to see everyone in the room, due to the one in front of him. "We wouldn't want to be late for our reservations."

Everybody in the room stared at him, not believing what they were seeing. They stood their frozen in disbelief. The singer, Cu Chulainn, was at the door to Jeanne and Arturia's apartment, dressed up in a gray vest over a black button up along with gray pants.

Jeanne, seizing her opportunity to run out of the apartment with no comments about the man she was going on a date with, hurried to grab her purse and jacket then going to the door. "Ah, yes, I'm here. Sorry about that, I just needed to grab something," she sweetly told him. Her smile was wide and bright.

"It's no problem. We have time. Ready to go then?"

"Of course." Cu nodded happily as the two left the apartment, the singer waving everyone goodbye after saying hello to Arturia,, who couldn't get the amused smirk off of her face.

As they were walking down the steps of the apartment complex, Jeanne noticed that Cu was staring down at her. She looked up at him, her hands were kept around his upper-arm. "Cu? Is something wrong?" she spoke softly, noticeably waking him from his small daze.

"Ah, nothing. I was just thinking that you look stunning," he told her with hot ears. She kept looking up at him for a moment before her face grew red once again.

She grinned. "Thank you. I'm glad you think so."

A/N: Sorry that it took so long. I was planning on updating yesterday (if you would like to know when I should be updating, I say so on my tumblr), but I had a horrible day yesterday and had no drive to finish this chapter. Anyway, thank you for reading. You guys keep me going!