Happy New Year everyone! Hard to believe it's now 2023! Hope you enjoy today's update!

My body trembled with nervous excitement as I finished cleaning myself up. I had passed the time going over team maneuvers with Ritsuka, as well as going a few rounds of sparring with him. I hadn't forgotten how I had been rather brutal the last time I had crossed training swords with him before a date, and his momentary hesitation only further solidified that memory.

Thankfully, a firm promise of taking it easy had helped, as did the idea of making it into a friendly competition of sparring, with the winner getting to go first for the next batch of summonings when the time came.

Unfortunately, the match ended in a tie. By then, I had only a few hours left before the start of my second date with Mordred.

"Have a final match tomorrow?" Ritsuka asked, noticing my momentary distraction when I checked my clock for what had to have been at least the eighteenth time. I nodded with flushed cheeks.

"Sounds good to me."

"Have fun tonight!"

"Thanks! That's the plan," I said in good humor. I noticed a familiar head of pink hair suddenly duck away from the doorway. "I think both of us will be having a night to remember, in fact."

"What do you mean?" Rits, as oblivious as ever, asked. Not wanting to get ahead of myself I settled on flashing my friend a mysterious smirk. Or what I hope came across as one.

"You'll see."

Dinner had been a rather enjoyable experience. Neither of us required Marie, Jeanne, and Amadeus to come to the rescue for either of us. Nor was the food as fanciful as on our first date. Nothing of low quality, of course, but nothing exotic, either.

I had gotten a thick, delicious New York strip steak with perfect marbling, cooked medium rare. I savored every last bite of the perfectly cooked steak. Mordred did the same, showing an unusual, but not unappreciated, level of restraint as she dug into her own steak.

For conversation between mouthfuls, we mainly exchanged how our days went. Mordred had asked about some of the team attacks I had come up with Rits, and had generally approved of them and/or critiquing them, displaying the tactical part of her mind that people so hastily refused to accept.

For Mordred, she had actually spent the day talking with Jeanne, Jekyll, and Fran. To my delight, she mentioned that she had suggested that the latter two hang out again, and tell her more about London. Of course, when I pressed her on the reasons for why she did so, the Knight of Rebellion had responded that she simply 'wanted to know what my other self had done in London', something that I recognized was merely the Saber putting up a show.

Needless to say, my curiosity was piqued by this. However, even though we were dating, that didn't entitle me to know everything about her. If she didn't want to talk about it now, so be it. After all, I was more than content to wait until she felt ready to share with me the real reason behind it.

She had also informed me that some of the Servants were still on edge over the fight between Ritsuka and I. To my dry amusement, it seemed that for the most part the unease was over who would have won the fight. Well, better friendly rivalry or something like that, then to have my Servants feel pitted against those of my friend.

We also talked some about our next deployment, and I bounced off some ideas on who I wanted to take with me. Currently, aside from Mordred, I was thinking about taking Fran and Jeanne Alter with me. The former because she seemed interesting and had a cordial (soon to be friendly, too, I hope) relationship already with Mordred. When the knight seemed on the verge of protesting latter, I had pointed out that the sooner the Dragon Witch was on the field, the sooner we could see if she really meant to work with Chaldea, or was just a ticking time bomb.

Mordred was still hesitant about the idea, though part of it had to do with lingering anger over the barbs she'd received from the Dragon Witch. Still, she did agree that it was certainly better than nothing.

After we had finished dinner and took a few minutes to let the delicious food settle, we got up and moved over to the recently-reopened recreation wing of Chaldea. It was composed of quite a number of rooms of varying sizes. Several were large, intended for parties and the like. Briefly eyeing one of them, I saw what looked like a pool table and a foosball table. I had a feeling that some of the more outgoing and/or restless Servants would be using these rooms very soon.

There were also some smaller rooms. A number of them were actually set up as a sort of mini-theater, complete with a TV that made the ones in sport bars seem small. Having been told in advance which one had been reserved for Mordred and me, I had taken the step of placing not only the movie that Emiya had recommended and somehow gotten a copy of, but my other movies as well.

While my laptop was nice and all, and able to be used as a mini-TV, when given the choice between using that or using a proper TV, I was naturally inclined to take the latter. Besides, I was also thinking of announcing later this week that I was going to be renting out (free of charge, mind you) the bulk of the DVDs I had brought with me for Servants and staff alike. What better way to do so (and ensure that I wouldn't have people knocking on my door at random moments) than to have them in one place that could be accessible by all?

"Nice setup," Mordred remarked idly as we stepped inside, neither impressed nor disappointed in the layout of the room. I hummed in silent agreement, before sitting down. A few yards away from the wall-mounted TV was an extremely comfortable-looking sofa, with a desk table on either end for placing drinks or bowls, though neither of us had brought any.

"So what's the name of the movie?" Mordred asked, practically throwing herself onto one side of the couch and claiming it as her own. I chuckled and walked over to the TV area.

"It's "This is Something Different". Some kind of romantic comedy. The kind you're supposed to watch on a date," I said, setting up the DVD player. Mordred made a simple grunt of acknowledgement, and said nothing else by the time I finished setting everything up. Grabbing the remote control, I made my way over to claim my half of the sofa, and we soon began watching the movie.

Looking back, it seems my mind had decided to be merciful and forcibly repress everything that I saw. All that I could remember was that the next thirty minutes of film had me gagging, cringing, and wanting to die in a hole. From the sounds of it, Mordred was handling it little better than I. Understandably so.

Finally, I ended the digitalized torture.

"I think I'm going to be sick," I moaned to Mordred, finally giving in and practically smashing the stop button. Emiya….just…."What the hell was that?"

"Evil," Mordred growled, a somewhat haunted look in her eyes. Her own cheeks seemed to have a hint of green in them. "Please tell me that we're done with that movie, and not just pausing it to recover our senses." I shook my head vehemently.

"No, we're done with that movie." And Emiya sure as hell was going to get an earful about this, mark my words! I felt the urge to ask Jeanne to see if she could find someone to perform an exorcism for the damn room now!

Mordred grunted in approval. "Excellent. However, we now have another problem. What are we going to do now?" Ah, an excellent question! Thankfully, I had an idea in mind.

Seeing as how the traditional method of having a date night watching a rom-com had failed us, it was time to see if using a non-traditional movie genre would save my hide.

"How about The Lord of the Rings?" I suggested. Mordred cocked her head to the side.

"What's that about?" A smile began to grow on my lips as a set of fond memories associated with the title came to mind.

"Only one of the best movie series to ever grace the earth!" I exclaimed. "It's got fighting, monsters, magic. Basically, a good-versus-evil kind of story that's breathtakingly detailed. It does have some romance, but in my opinion, it's more of a subplot. Honestly, if you give it a try, I think you'd love it!"

Mordred hummed for a minute or two, staring at me with a rather intense look in her eyes. I kept silent, wishing for my knight to make her own conclusion on whether to try it or not. In all honesty, I couldn't, wouldn't, blame her for calling it a night. While not a resounding success by any measure thus far, our second date wasn't an abject failure, either.

"Alright, fuck it. Let's see what I think of it. I better be impressed now, considering how enthusiastic you were talking about it." My smile grew even wider.

"You won't regret it," I vehemently promised her as I grabbed the first movie, The Fellowship of the Ring. Extended edition of course. Once you saw the series like that, watching the theater-released version, while shorter, was a bit of a let-down.

Once we were settled back in, and the main menu was on display, I pressed the play button.

"The world is changing," the rich voice of the actress who played Galadriel said as one of the most iconic theme songs (at least in my opinion) began to play. Right off the bat, Mordred's eyebrows were raised in curiosity. Well, at least she was interested.

The prologue had barely ended and the narration of Bilbo Baggins just began when Mordred made her first comments. "Fucking hell," she exclaimed, wide-eyed and a wild light in her eyes "That Sauron dude…man, I'd like to face off against him. It would be one hell of a fun challenge."

Normally, I would have merely laughed softly at the idea. However, considering that she was a Heroic Spirit, and a damn fine Saber to boot, the idea didn't seem as far-fetched as it sounded. Then my eyes widened softly.

"Say," I said softly, hitting the pause button. Mordred tilted her head to the side as I continued speaking. "You don't think that Sauron or any of the characters from the books these movies are based off of could qualify as Heroic Spirits, do you?"

She shrugged. "Seems to me that a number of Servants we've encountered came from similar sources. If this series is as popular as you've claimed it is, it seems rather likely, doesn't it?" Mordred said rather nonchalantly.

I, on the other hand, wasn't as blasé about the idea, considering characters such as the Balrog, Sauron, Saruman, or the Witch-King of Angmar, to name a few. I felt myself pale instinctively, but before I could descend into the panic attack that I was on the verge of slipping into, I felt myself being almost thrown onto the floor from the impact of Mordred's palm on my back.

"Oi, relax princess. We're probably going to find out their weaknesses by watching this movie series, hm? For example, apparently, all you have to do to defeat this 'Dark Lord' asshole is to cut off his fingers and throw a rinky-dinky ring into lava," Mordred pointed out with her trademark smirk showing.

…Well, she wasn't wrong, per say. Strip away all the plot and theatrics of three novels/movies, and that basically summed it all up. Still, I stared at her a bit flatly, before shaking my head in mock disappointment which elicited a chortle of amusement from my lover. "Very well," I said before I hit the play button again. Mordred and I refocused our attention on the (far superior) film…

A few more scenes had gone by before Mordred spoke up again. To my great amusement, Mordred had apparently taken a liking to Gandalf the Grey. As someone who had grown up in the age where wandering wizards were an actual thing, Mordred had some poignant things to say. Especially regarding the Magus of Flowers.

"Why couldn't Merlin have been more like this Gandalf bloke?" Mordred huffed. During the firework scene, the Knight of Rebellion had a look of child-like awe on her face at the display of pyrotechnics. While a tad bit fantastical compared to what most fireworks were capable of accomplishing, I couldn't help but share in her awe.

"When we defeat Solomon once and for all, how about we go see an actual firework show?" I suggested softly, not wanting to speak over the movie and ruin the experience for her. Somehow, the offer managed to cause her beautiful eyes to brighten even more.

"I'd love that!" I smiled at her innocent joy. Jeanne would possibly throttle me over not taking a picture of Mordred's face, but fuck it. It was a sight for my eyes and my eyes only. A true pleasure indeed.

It also caused a second idea to pop into my head. I should talk to Ritsuka sometime about those festivals he mentioned once where they had fireworks. From the sound of it, the pyrotechnic display was damn impressive. Something perfect to take the Knight of Rebellion to for a date night, once everything had been fixed.

"It's a promise!" I said softly, once more watching the film.

"See? And people say I'm crazy for throwing Clarent like a spear!" Mordred crowed triumphantly as Aragon nailed the last of the Ringwraiths in the 'face' with a torch during the incident at Weathertop. I had to hit the stop button so I could throw my head back and laugh.

I thought she would have enjoyed that scene. When my laughter had been brought back into control, I merely shook my head. While I wouldn't be the first to deny that even in the extended edition, the first half of the Fellowship of the Ring might not exactly be considered the most riveting to first-timers to the franchise, Mordred seemed to have quickly fallen in love with the plot so far.

"Come on, let's resume!"

"As my knight commands."

"Ha, that wasn't too chaotic a meeting," Mordred said after the forming of the Fellowship of the Ring scene had concluded. My right eyebrow arched upwards ever so slightly as I turned to look at her.

"Speaking from personal experience?" I half-asked, half-joked. Mordred groaned and nodded. A bolder man than I would have suggested that she was in fact pouting. As I was neither a bolder nor suicidal man, I kept that observation very much to myself.

"Yeah. I was actually the most organized of everyone. At least, by the time that I served at Camelot." My jaw hung open slightly at that. I didn't mean anything serious by it, but even to me, Mordred didn't strike me as being an organizer. She was strong, intelligent, brave, and resourceful. However, the Knight of Rebellion also had a tendency to display a devil-may-cry attitude rather frequently.

This time, it was Mordred who shot me a less than amused expression.

"Mother once spent a week's punishment on teaching me how to file paperwork. It wasn't exactly something I wanted to do. It's just that by becoming efficient at it, Morgan no longer saw it as a way to torment me." And just like that, my mirth dried up faster than the sun.

"Oh," I said softly, at an overall loss for words. Still, I wouldn't be a bad partner and let the conversation completely dry. "So, there was consistent arguing?" Mordred nodded, clearly relieved for the conversation to shift to a different topic.

"More or less. Remember, I joined towards the end of the time of Camelot. If that was a result of recent events when I had joined, or if it had always been that way, I don't know."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"I sure as hell don't miss the paperwork!" I could tell she wanted to stop talking about the subject any further, though. Conveniently, at that moment, the first half of the movie ended, so I had a transitional question handy.

"So, what did you think?" I asked, as the end credits appeared, saying that the adventure would be continued on the second disc. Mordred had an excited and hungry look in her eyes.

"Okay, that was way better than that other piece of garbage!" I smirked slightly, pleased to have converted yet another person to realizing that the Lord of the Rings trilogy were a true masterpiece.

"I'm glad to hear it," I said, checking to make sure that no one else was in the room, or nearby. Confirming that there were only the two of us, I leaned in and delivered a light peck on Mordred's right cheek with my lips. I was instantly rewarded with a pink blush as Mordred glared at me half-heartedly. "You're lucky we're alone when you did that."

"Totally worth it," I told my knight, and she rolled her eyes at my more romantic side showing up. I checked the time and winced slightly. It was almost eleven. "It's getting late. Do you want to watch the second half, or call it a night for now and continue watching it later?"

Mordred stared at my flatly. "You got me hooked on this movie, and want to wait for who knows how long to finish it?" She deadpanned. It was my turn to feel my cheeks flush. I coughed sheepishly into a fist before looking back up with a regained composure.

"Right, that was a stupid question. We'll watch the second half. I want to save the other two movies for another time, though."

"Why?" Mordred half-asked, half-whined as her childish nature poked its head. I grinned and couldn't resist ruffling her hair. It only took her a half-second to bat my hand away with the back of her own hand.

"Well, leaving aside from the fact that if we did so, we'd be up until at least noon tomorrow, there is one reason. I want to have something for us to do on our next date." Mordred stilled for a minute, a thoughtful look crossing her face. I remained quiet, letting her decide. Finally, the Knight of Rebellion shrugged her shoulders a bit carelessly.

"Eh, fuck it. Sure as hell beats that rom-com trash heap. Please tell me you're going to burn and/or incinerate that trash." The way she said that made it clear that she would gladly do it for me otherwise. Wanting to somehow prevent some sort of industrial-scale accident, I shook my head.

"Nah, leave it to me," I said, getting up and walking over to the DVD player and popping out the disc. Returning it to its case, I inserted the second disc of the extended version and headed back to the sofa as the device began whirling softly. The big TV screen started to turn black as the menu popped up to start the film, but I didn't hit the play button. Instead, I looked over at my blonde partner.

"Well, at least we learned a few things." Mordred arched a fine eyebrow at that remark as she silently pressed me to elaborate on it. "Well, for one thing, we suck at trying to do what people consider to be traditionally romantic dates."

"Yeah. The dinners are fine, don't get me wrong, but they're also kind of boring. I don't want them to be what we consider to be 'romantic'," Mordred commented. I nodded my head at her.

"Exactly. That means that instead of trying to live up to someone else's concept of what is or isn't romantic, we should instead focus on what we enjoy. It doesn't have to be romantic in and of itself, or even traditional. All that matters is us spending time together and being affectionate."

Mordred chuckled in agreement, shaking her head slightly, causing her messy ponytail to flop around lightly. "I think I can do that. Just remember to bring snacks next time, okay?" I returned her smirk with one of my own.

"You got it." I raised the remote control to point it at the DVD player, looking away from my lover. Before I could hit play and start the second half of the movie, however, I felt the warm weight of a body leaning against my side.

Caught off-guard by the sensation, I almost dropped the control. Regaining control over my body, I turned to look at my partner.

Mordred was leaning against my side, in a romantic manner. The typical boyfriend/girlfriend image, in fact. It felt good, no, wonderful, but it was completely out of character for her. So much so, I couldn't help but ask the only question presently preoccupying my mind.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly, not at all displeased at Mordred's action. It was certainly an unexpected gesture, though. Especially for Mordred. Sure enough, I could tell that she was feeling a bit embarrassed, but she didn't get up and return to her side of the sofa.

"What does it look like?" She grumbled, acting a bit like the tsundere Ritsuka kept claiming she was. "I'm getting comfy." I nodded, smiling.

"I see. It does feel nice," I said. Risking Mordred's wrath once more, I kissed the back of her head as her wild ponytail tickled my chin once more before hitting the play button, thus starting the second half of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Jeanne hummed happily to herself as she walked down the hallway. She had seen Mash leading Ritsuka to her room, and based on the conversation between her, Marie, Astolfo, and the kind-hearted Demi-Servant, she was finally making her move.

A part of her wanted to gather some of the others from their friend group, to listen in and find out if Mash really was finally making her move.

Still, the Demi-Servant had required so much coaxing into taking such a bold action (at least from Mash's perspective), that it seemed too risky. By this point, any remaining amusement surrounding the now-awkward situation had dried up. Furthermore, with more and more Servants arriving, there was always the chance that he would find someone else.

The Maid of Orléans was roused from her musings by the sound of music. It was faint, but she could tell it wasn't a song. Rather, it sounded like some sort of movie main menu theme. The kind that could get really annoying after the first two or three loops of it.

The Ruler waited a few minutes, listening carefully to see if maybe one of the night owl Servants or staff members were watching a movie, but had to use the restroom before starting the film. Jeanne quickly came to the conclusion that wasn't the case.

Unable to let the matter go, she sighed and resumed walking down the hallway. With each step she took, the menu music grew louder and louder. Well, at least the silver lining for this situation was that the soundtrack in question was of the more bearable sort. Not that it would excuse the party responsible from her chiding.

Jeanne took a deep breath before opening the door. She opened her mouth but quickly closed it when she saw just who it was before her. She raised a hand over her mouth and muffled the cooing noises she made.

On the sofa were Jacob and Mordred. Both had fallen asleep. It was how they had fallen asleep that she found the most adorable, however. The prickly Knight of Rebellion was leaning against her lover. Her head rested gently against his chest, rising and falling slightly in time with Jacob's breathing. Mordred had an utterly peaceful and serene expression on her face, a rare sight for Jeanne, even when the Saber was in a great mood.

Jacob had a soft smile on his lips. One arm dangled over the edge of the sofa, while the other was loosely wrapped around Mordred's waist. Lying just above the knight's waistband of her short shorts, Jeanne was unable to tell if their Master had done so either by design or subconsciously. Regardless of which one, there were still a few matters that had to be dealt with.

She suspected that if she tried to move one or both of them back to Jacob's room, she'd wake someone up. Jacob would probably just shrug it off, but Mordred wouldn't react well.

However, she couldn't just leave the couple as they were. While it was nowhere near freezing like it was outside the halls of Chaldea, Roman and Da Vinci had instituted a policy of reducing the temperature somewhat to conserve power. That meant that the room was going to get rather chilly.

While it wouldn't really matter much for Mordred as a Heroic Spirit, their kind-hearted Master was still human, prone to illness. Jeanne doubted that it would get cold enough tonight for the American magus to get a cold or something, it wasn't impossible. He'd take being bedridden very poorly.

The Ruler sighed as she looked around the medium-sized room. To her relief, she found a heavy, warm-looking blanket that was emblazoned with the stylized 'C' for Chaldea folded in a corner of the room. That would do, alright.

The French saint grabbed the blanket and delicately unfolded it, making not an ounce of noise. Wordlessly, carefully, Jeanne then proceeded to drape it over Chaldea's most favorite (and currently only) couple. "Marie would kill me for not getting a picture of this," Jeanne whispered to herself, before noticing her Master's phone resting at the foot of the couch.

Thanks to Jacob's kindness, Jeanne knew how to operate the camera mode for the electronic. Holding it up, she took a quick set of pictures of the smiling and blissful expressions of her friend and Master. Then, she turned off the phone, and returned it to where she had found it.

As much as she loved the two, she wasn't interested in being caught standing in the room should either of them wake up.

"Goodnight, Mordred. Goodnight, little brother," Jeanne said after turning off the TV and looking back at the adorable couple that were her friend and Master. She paused, and a rather impish smile appeared on her lips. "Sleep well, you two. Tomorrow. Be prepared to be badgered over how cute you are."

Original Endnotes: And done! Enjoy the tooth-rotting fluff of this chapter? I know I sure as hell did in both brainstorming and then writing it! Man, these are the kinds of chapters that make me wish I could draw art of my scenes, lol. Eh, oh well.

Also, MORDRED AND JACOB KINDA CUDDLING! SO ADORABLE!

So what are your thoughts on the second, successful date night movie choice? I know a lot of people were hoping for the movie to be Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but there is a reason why. A quite simple one, too: I have plans for it later on. I do promise you, there WILL be a chapter where Mordred and Jacob are watching the movie. ;) I also hope you don't mind about skipping over the first movie, but really, it was only a plot device of overall insignificant value.

Now, for some more sappy commentary. When I first started writing this story almost a year ago, I knew it was going to be rather long. However, I never expected for it to do as well as it has. This is the longest venture of my writing career, and I am so proud of it. But, as proud of it as I am, I owe a lot of it to you guys and gals. All the kudos, reviews, ectara, it's been amazing. I sincerely enjoy interacting with those of you who comment, guests and members alike. Thank you. :)

Next chapter, we finally get to see Mash talking about feelings with Ritsuka! Just as a heads up, has a bittersweet ending (related to Mash's 'secret', not her crush).

Now, for the question(s) of the chapter! First up: returning once more to the theme of the current event going on in FGO, which of the three versions of Oda Nobunaga do you like the most, Archer, Berserker, or Avenger? Also, who do you think would be the better Caster, Merlin (FGO) or Gandalf? Third question: Do you guys feel that this story is sticking too close to the plot of the game in a way that is unenjoyable? I got a troll guest comment on the copy of this that I post on , and they bashed me over this. Do y'all think that is a big deal, or just the normal case of ignoring flamers? Because, as you all know, I love bringing quality content to you amazing folks.

As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read up to this chapter. I sincerely hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think. Thank you for all the support, and I can't wait to find out how this chapter will be received! I hope you have a lovely weekend, and I'll see y'all in Chapter 101!

Updated Endnotes 01/08/23: As always, the fully-updated version of my story can be found on Archive of Our Own if you want to skip the wait and all. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed today's update, and I'll see you here next time!