Day 3: Playing Video Games

A video game was not exactly what you would think when you saw Arturia laughing on the floor while Diarmuid was panting and there was fluff and feathers all over the place.

Maybe we should back it up a bit. I'm quite certain you're confused. You see, it all started with a simple video game.

"Now remember," Jeanne sighed, "don't do anything stupid." She warned, giving the sideways glance before heading off to the door where she was heading to the grocery store to buy a few snacks as the nice and kind host she was.

"Elder Scrolls?" Arturia singled out the thin case from the rest, analyzing it for a while before passing it over to the handsome man next to her. She riffled through the cabinet again, "Halo? Car game?"

"Elder Scrolls," Diarmuid confirmed, a smile slipping onto his lips, "Looks interesting, to be honest."

"Elder Scrolls it is," Arturia snatched it from the man's hands, not meaning to be rude. She popped open the case, her thin fingers sliding over the smooth disk before taking out of the case and settling into the open tray of the game console. After the screen began to display the opening image of Bethesda, she hurried back to the couch, crossing her legs over themselves and placing a pillow on her lap.

Diarmuid held the controller in his hands, shifting from side to side upon the opening music filling the room with the high-tech surround system. He hadn't played video games for a while now, but he was quick with his reflexes—his training did not work for nothing, huh?

"Are you ready, my good sir?" She asked, a smirk on her lips.

Diarmuid shrugged, "Anything for my lady." He returned the playful smile.

Arturia, claiming first controller, pressed start. After setting up their characters and selecting a playing field, they began clicking buttons and swinging swords.

"Heal me, please!" Diarmuid's health was depleting greatly after taking an arrow to the knee... and many more arrows out there. His character was running around, swinging a sword while they were being ambushed by a group of Vampires.

"My god, Dia, you were supposed to stick to the plan! Just eat something!" Arturia complained as she settled back into the comfy couch again. Ease and calm was evident in simply her posture. Her back was relaxed, legs crossed—applesauce style, arms barely flexed and fingers quickly gliding over buttons.

Diarmuid, on the other hand, sat hunched over, facing the screen; eyes glaring at the television, arms flexed to the fullest as he held the controller with intensity and determination (A hint of anxiety mixed in as well), "Wait, what button was that again?" He grumbled, trying to ward off a vampire that was on the verge of killing him.

"Inventory," she answered with tranquility. Her end of the vampires were being slayed with little to no effort. This also had to do with the fact that Arturia's character had more experience points because Arturia would love to hang out at Jeanne's playing video games.

"And...how do I get there? There is not inventory button on this thing."

"Oh, uhm, start?" She was focused on the game and not thinking too much about what Diarmuid had asked.

He had to glance down to check the button and pressed it; pausing the game immediately. He frowned after earning a grunt from Arturia.

"Dia," she whined before pushing herself off the couch, leaning forwards a bit, "Why'd you pause the game. We were doing so well."

"You," he corrected, "You were doing so well, not me. Plus, you told me inventory was start."

Arturia noticed the frown on his lips, she took a deep breath and landed a hand on his arm, noticeably calming him when she rubbed circles on it with her thumb, "Hey, it's okay. You're just starting out, right? So, let's go over the control options. B is inventory, start is pausing, resting so on..." She continued explaining the options to him, helping him understand by guiding him to click each button while she spoke.

He nodded a few times, trying to digest the information, nodding his head afterwards, "Okay, I think I got it now."

"Good," Arturia gave him a thin smile and then they began again, Diarmuid forgetting the controls and eventually dying a few times along the road—Arturia having to heal him a million times.

"I definitely suck at these things." The male sulked, setting the controller down safely on the table.

Arturia chuckled, "You simply need a bit more of practice, and I assure you that you will be great at gaming one day; though, not as great as me." She was not one to ever boast—she admitted she sounded like Gilgamesh for a second there—but she wanted to see Diarmuid's face.

He turned to her, a soft glare in honey eyes, "Well, what about a duel. Right here, right now."

"That would be delightful." Arturia challenged, she never turned down the offer of a fair fight with Diarmuid. She was quick to grab a weapon—which so happened to be a pillow.

Diarmuid followed suit, taking a cushion from the couch and readying it the way one would with a bat.

"Whenever you are ready, my good sir." She flirted. Yes, flirted. The tone in her voice had already thrown Diarmuid off guard just in time so not escape the oncoming blow for inertia inducing pain in his face.

"Not fair!" He argued, "You tricked me!"

"No you know how I feel!" She called back as she dodged his swing of the cushion. Arturia threw herself over the couch, dipping under so that Diarmuid missed her once again.

Diarmuid—instead of possibly flipping over the couch in his attempt of jumping over it and ducking so he wouldn't hit his head on the ceiling—rounded the object like a normal person would, "What is that supposed to mean?" He reached over of her but she smacked his hand away with her red pillow.

They fell panting on the floor next to each other, the exhausting pillow fight of probably thirty minutes had left them drained. There were feathers and cotton fluff scattered all over the room—items knocked over and thank God, nothing broken.

"I think I won." Diarmuid grinned, heaving through his smile.

"What a joke," Arturia laughed, reaching out to a floating feather, "I'm pretty sure it was a tie."

The man nodded, "Okay, I agree there."

Someone cleared their throat and crinkling of plastics bags as they fell to the floor crisply set the room ablaze, making Arturia and Diarmuid shoot up, "What happened here?" Jeanne impatiently tapped her foot as her arms were crossed over her chest, "What did you do to my living room?"

"He started it!" Arturia did not hesitate in throwing Diarmuid under the bus.

Diarmuid gasped at the accusation, "She drew first positon!"

"Well, both have to clean it up."