Fate/ NEW ERA

eight

The image of the heartbroken Igraine was burned into the back of Artoria's eyelids. Every time she so much as blinked, she would see her mother weeping. Thus, as Artoria sat at the departure lounge, she looked through some pamphlets that were placed on a coffee table in front of the pair, so as to distract her mind. She was aimlessly flipping through the pages, barely paying attention to what was actually on them for her tactic didn't seem to be working as efficiently as she'd hoped.

Artoria sighed and placed the pamphlet back on the table before rubbing her face. They'd been waiting in the lounge for quite some time, and it seemed they would still have to wait for another hour or so until they actually boarded the plane.

"Master, would you like something to eat?" Diarmuid asked. He long noticed her restlessness, not just by her bouncing knee, but also because of her repeated sighs.

Artoria looked over at him, lips stretched in a thin line. She thought about saying she wasn't hungry, but as she had opened her mouth to speak, her growling stomach outed her.

"What would you like me to get for you?" There was a faint smile on his lips that Artoria caught, she didn't take it as though he was making fun of her, but she most definitely wasn't impressed with his reaction.

"What would you like to eat?" She turned the question on him.

Diarmuid frowned for a split second. "Servants don't need to eat, master."

"I didn't ask if you needed to eat, I asked what you wanted to eat." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the uncomfortably stiff seat. "You've already told me you don't need to eat, that doesn't mean you shouldn't eat..."

Diarmuid slowly nodded. "Well, on the way here, I noticed there were all sorts of food options. What would you recommend I try?"

"Come to think of it, modern food must be overwhelming for you..." She glanced down the west wing of the airport, where she had remembered seeing a few food stores. She looked back at Diarmuid and asked, "What are you feeling? Something sweet? Something salty? Maybe you'd prefer a drink? They have plenty of options. There's also fruit, in case you don't want anything heavy," she paused and thought for a second. "I don't think you've tried many fruits, have you? We have so many exotic fruits you can try now, you know, like mango, or oranges. Have you tried oranges?" She asked, brows furrowed and head slightly tilted.

He shook his head. "I haven't been given the chance, unfortunately. But I very much would like to try them."

"We'll have to get them while in Japan..." she mumbled, making a mental note of it. "They can be very sweet. I prefer the tangerines though. Anyways," she shook her head. "What do you want to eat?"

There was a look of awe in his eyes momentarily, as if what she had said was spoken by the angels themselves. He'd never been given so many options before, usually he'd just be served something, but never given the option of choosing. "What's your favourite food, master?" He questioned.

Artoria pouted her lips and furrowed her brows in thought. "That's quite the hard question. I pretty much like anything that tastes good."

"Surely you must have a favourite..." He mumbled.

Artoria stood from her seat as she shrugged. "Let's just go see what they have, we can choose from that," she said as she stretched.

Diarmuid nodded and followed after her as she led him down the walkways of the enormous airport, past high end stores and duty-free shops until they reached an area where a few food establishments were settled. Artoria stopped in front of a burger shop, she seemed to weigh her options and sighed.