It had been a decent enough flight, one she had made many, many times before. Simply more of the same as she descended the steps of the family jet. Looking up through her sunglasses, she spotted an all-too-familiar figure waiting for her at the end of the tarmac.
"Arthur fucking Pendragon! It's been too long!" She cried, running into the well-sculpted arms, only for him to ruffle her waist-length blonde hair.
Arthur laughed, "Yeah, Katey, I know. Like three weeks, yeah?" He put an arm around her shoulder as he grabbed her suitcases and dragged the bags behind them as he and Katey walked towards the sleek BMW, whose trunk became home to the suitcases. At least it would be so for the ride to Arthur's apartment. Or, flat, she should say.
"So! How's my favorite cousin?" Katey asked as she slipped into the passenger seat beside Arthur.
"Well, you know, not much has happened other than finishing school. Same as you. I still can't believe you've decided to come to school in London instead of staying in the States."
Katey, or as she loathed to be called, Katelyn, Pendragon was the heiress to the American branch of Pendragon Industries, a company focused on many aspects; textbook production, advertisements, magazines, you name it, Pendragon probably owned it. Her father, James, had moved to the USA as a young man, where he'd met Katey's mother, a debutante straight out of Richmond, Virginia.
His older brother Uther, Arthur's father, had stayed in London to head the main branch. The Pendragon family was nothing short of business royalty, both in the UK and the US. As a result, Katey had decided to come to England to pursue her degree in executive business alongside her cousin and childhood best friend/brother figure, Arthur Pendragon.
"This summer sure is gonna be different, usually it's the other way round, and y'all come round ours for the summer." Katey mentioned as they pulled into the parking garage for Arthur's, and now hers, apartment building. Flat. They parked in Arthur's reserved space and made their way to the lift. Upon entering, Arthur pressed the button for their floor.
Once they reached their floor, the doors of the lift opened to reveal a small hallway that led to a single, large door. Arthur unlocked it and led Katey into the apartment.
"I'd pick a room now if I were you. Once the boys move in it's sure to be utter chaos." Arthur mentioned as he threw his keys onto the table on the right of the entrance hallway.
"Wait, what boys?" Katey asked as she moved into the kitchen and opened the fridge, snagging a piece of pizza. "You never said anything about any boys, Wart."
"I certainly did, Kat. A few of my mates are going to be sharing the flat with us this summer. Didn't you eat anything on the flight?"
"Ugh, no," She groaned, "The only food on Agatha was gross caviar. Daddy keeps forgetting to ask Martin to stock up on crisps and hummus for me. But anyway, I don't remember this. How many mates, eh, Wart?"
"Let's see…Leon, Lance, Gwaine, Percy, and Elyan."
"I'm to be sharing a flat with six boys. Ugh, kill me now."
"Hey now," Arthur admonished his cousin, "You're the only one who won't be sharing a room, so I wouldn't complain too much. Speaking of my mates, we're meeting up to play some rugby in the park in about twenty minutes. Do you want to unpack a little and then join me? Otherwise you're welcome to stay here and relax, do whatever."
"That depends. Are there any fit boys in the park, Arthur?"
"Well, seeing as I'm not gay, I can't really answer that, now can I?"
Katey huffed. "Are you still in denial, Wart? Come on. It's me. You know you can tell me."
Arthur gawked at his cousin. "Are you serious? Me? Gay? You've really lost it."
Another huff. "Whatever. When you're ready you'll do something about it. But you should know that my gaydar is spot-on. I'll come to the park, say hello to Leon. I'll bring my book, get some reading done. But I'm gonna go unpack awhile, you stay there brooding, my darling Wart." And with that, she left him there, dragging her belongings to her chosen room. She unpacked relatively quickly, for she was nearly done when Arthur knocked on her door to let her know it was time to leave.
"Alright, just let me change quickly. I didn't realize how much time had passed."
He nodded and shut the door behind him, allowing Katey to slip into a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, and put on her favorite lo-cut black vans. She grabbed her newest book and her purse and went to meet up with Arthur by the door. "All ready to go, Wart?"
Arthur laughed as they made their way back into the lift and down towards the garage. "I was waiting on you, if I remember correctly. Did you find everything okay? In your room, I mean?"
"Yeah. Thanks. How far is the park? We won't be driving, will we?" Katey received her answer as the pair made their way out of the garage and onto the sidewalk.
"No, we'll walk. It's only a block or two to Hyde's park where we'll be meeting the lads." Arthur walked close to Katey's side as though protecting her from the onslaught of people; who knew how busy the streets were at this time. Katey casually remarked at how people seemed to not even notice her and Arthur. "My father essentially bribes all the local rags to keep from sending those buzzards after me. Doesn't your father do something similar?"
Katey thought for a moment as they crossed Park Lane. "Well, yes, but typically, with family outings at least, it's still rather difficult." They passed by a small shop with a chalkboard listing the teas of the day. "Ugh, bloody brits, refusing to serve iced tea. I'm gonna go nuts this summer without some good, unsweetened iced tea. Oooh, Wart, I'm gonna make sun tea out on the balcony and you and the boys have to try it!"
"Ugh, bloody Americans, drinking their tea cold. Uncivilized." Arthur replied, scrunching his face in disgust as Katey laughed at his side. They crossed the road again, this time ending up on the sidewalk which surrounded the park. They followed a path leading through Hyde until they heard a voice shout, "Oi, princess, we're over here!" They turned in the direction of the voice, and sure enough, there was a group of boys, in various states of dress for the game. Arthur hustled ahead of Katey, clapping his friends on the shoulders and laughing. Once she joined the group of men, all of whom were considerably taller than she, she cried out and threw her arms around Leon, much to the surprise of the other boys.
"Lo, Leon! It's been so long, nearly three weeks!" Leon laughed and hugged her back. "Lo, Kat! I forgot you were flying in today. How's the jetlag?" She shrugged in response. "No worse than usual, considering how many times a year I make the damn transcontinental flight." She released Leon and blushed, realizing she'd forgotten her manners and hadn't introduced herself. She unconsciously stepped behind Leon, not enough to be really hiding but still minutely behind him.
Try as she might, she couldn't deny how fit Arthur's friends were. One, well, all of them were tall, most of them tan. One was gaspingly tall, easily six-seven, with huge bulging muscles. Two had long, dark hair, one of them with a beard to match. The last of them, a young black man with lean, long arms and legs, despite being the shortest of the group. And all of them disarmingly handsome.
"You didn't tell us you were bringing us a bird to cheer us on, princess." Said the one with the dark beard, a voice deep and gravelly yet soft.
Leon burst into chuckles and Arthur sighed. "She's not a bird, Gwaine, she's my cousin. She's not here to cheer you on, either. Katey, this is Gwaine," He smiled at her flirtatiously and she blushed even harder, "Lancelot," Arthur motioned to the other dark-haired boy, who took her hand and bowed, saying, "Encantada."
"El gusto es mio." Katey replied in kind, smiling. A Spaniard, and clearly a romantic. Nikki was going to shit herself when she heard about this.
"This giant lug over here is Percival, but we call him Perce and Percy," Arthur motioned to the tallest boy, who smiled shyly at Katey and waved a bit, running his hand over his close shaven head. "And lastly, Elyan, our token gay friend," Elyan just shrugged and smiled at her, as though this was how he was always introduced, "and brother of Lance's girlfriend, Gwen. You'll meet her at some point. Lads, Katey, Katey, lads. You're staying with her and I for the summer. Now, Kat, we're going to get started with the game, you brought a blanket right? The grass is kind of scratchy."
"The grass is kind of scratchy," She mocked, "Wart I'm not a child. Of course I brought myself a blanket." The blonde heiress moved back a few meters and spread her blanket out on the lawn, set her purse down, and lay down.
"She's feisty, innit she lads?" Gwaine commented, smiling back at her. "Did she call you 'Wart', princess?" Arthur groaned. "Gwaine, actually this goes for you, Leon, and Percival, and I'm only going to say this once. You're my friends. I'm not going to go all crazy overprotective over her, so feel free to try and woo her if you'd like, but I swear on my entire inheritance that I will singlehandedly destroy any one of you if you hurt her. Even you, Percival. Remember Harry Barnes two New Years' ago, Leon?"
Leon whistled as they made their way up the field. "You broke his leg and his arm, didn't you?"
"Who's this Harry Barnes bloke?" Percival asked.
"Two years ago, when Katey was round Arthur's for Christmas holidays, she'd met this boy Harry Barnes, who was also in town visiting family. He got drunk and tried to grope her, and when she came crying to Arthur and I, Wart here snapped and went on a rampage. He beat the boy within an inch of his life, and broke his arm and his leg. So yeah, duly noted, mate." Leon nodded his assent. "Although you know I see Kat as a sister, same as you." Arthur shrugged. "Yeah, it's Gwaine I'm really worried about."
"Alright you lot, are you done gossiping so we can play?" Elyan called, looking over his shoulder at the rest of the group. Katey giggled from where she sat, book open in her lap. It had probably been about forty five minutes when she decided she needed to get up and stretch her legs, so she laid her book down on the blanket, stood and stretched her arms out above her head, grabbed her purse and headed off towards the tea shop. As she entered the store, the clerk, a young man probably no older than herself, smiled and welcomed her. He wore a deep blue cardigan accented with a maroon scarf wrapped stylishly around his neck. Katey felt a familiar feeling tugging at the back of her mind. Oh yes, she and this boy definitely played the same field. "Hullo, what can I do for you?" Katey noticed that the boy's eyes were electrifyingly blue, a sharp contrast with his messy black hair and pale skin, with cheekbones that could cut glass.
"Um, yes. First off I'll need six water bottles, and…Can I have a cup of black tea over ice?" She awaited the ridicule, but the boy, his nametag said Merlin, just kind of looked at her strangely. "You, you want your tea over ice?"
"Oh, hun, you've clearly never met an American. Over in the States, we drink mostly iced tea. The southern part of the country is famous for their zealously sweetened tea. I'm really very partial to unsweetened tea, myself. If you want, I'll just take a hot cup and then pour it over ice. Like iced coffee, you know?" Katey smiled sweetly.
"Well, I've met plenty of Americans, but they usually try to do the whole 'we aren't tourists give us a cuppa please' and it's rather horrid. I admire you asking for what you really want."
She laughed. "Well thanks a bunch, I guess. So Merlin, huh? Like, it's really your name?"
He groaned. "Yeah, my mum was sort of a hippie. Straight out of the Arthurian legends. It's bloody awful sometimes. You should hear all of the wand jokes I get when I go to the gay clubs."
"Oh god, I bet. Believe me, I know what you mean. My cousin Arthur gets it all the time. Can I have a bag for those, or something?" She asked as he handed her the bottles of water. He nodded and handed her a plastic bag. "Really? Arthur's a normal enough name. Bit on the lame side, but normal."
She sighed. "Yes, well, Arthur as a name itself is normal, but Arthur Pendragon is most definitely not."
"That is pretty bad, I guess." Merlin paused as he handed Katey her hot cup of tea and a cup of ice. "I don't mean to sound creepy, but I saw you and that bloke walk by earlier. Was that your cousin? Cause to tell you the truth, he's extremely fit."
"Yup, that's good ole Wart. He's over there manning it up with his friends, some guys I only just met. Horribly boring."
"If you don't mind me asking, is he…do you think you could…I mean I know you don't know me but…" Merlin fumbled for the words, what was he thinking? Asking this stranger to give the handsome man – Arthur, he reminded himself – his number?
"Go ahead and write in down, sweetie. I know. Just, don't let the pompousness fool you? Wart's a good guy. He hasn't really come out, though…but I'll be happy to give him your number, okay? I'll make sure he calls." Katey took the slip of paper from Merlin's fumbling fingers and smiled warmly. "Oh, I'm sorry…I'm being rude. I'm Katey Pendragon. Here's my number, give me a ring if you want to hang out or something, yeah?" She offered her hand, which Merlin shook. With that, she took her tea and the waters and left, calling, "Have a good one, Merlin dear!" over her shoulder.
By the time she made it back to where the boys had been playing and where she'd lain the blanket out, they were all sitting on the blanket waiting for her. "Ah, there's the lovely maiden!" Gwaine announced, throwing his arms out. Arthur proceeded to slap Gwaine on the stomach while Katey just sighed. "I'm not a maiden, thank you. I've brought you all waters."
"Tell me you're not drinking that horrid iced tea nonsense."
"Wart," Katey cringed, "It's not nonsense, and it's delicious. And I'm going to be drinking little else, so get used to it."
The boys all looked at her as though she had declared that she would be auditioning for the circus as a fire breather. Honestly. She handed the waters out, receiving various forms of thank yous.
"You are so strange sometimes, Kat." Leon said, taking the water she handed him. She sat down with them on the blanket and placed her book in her purse. "So what's on the agenda for the rest of the day?" She inquired, sipping at her tea.
"Well, the lads are going to move their things into the flat, and then we're going to the pub down the street from the flat. I'm going to ride back to the flat with Leon, Gwaine and Elyan, so do you mind riding with Lance and Percy?"
"No, that's fine. We're gonna follow you, right?" Arthur nodded. "And pubs, huh? I always forget 18 is the drinking age here." Katey mentioned, standing. "Well, no offense boys, but you all smell like sweaty gym socks. I'd really like to get back to the apartment so y'all can shower." Arthur looked to his friends, smirked, and they all stood, somehow near simultaneously, and hugged her. She shrieked, and then fell into fits of giggles.
"So we smell, do we, Katey?" Leon remarked, smirking and laughing along with everyone else. She managed to wriggle her way out, and snatched her blanket up into her arms.
"Alright everyone, enough fooling around, we all do smell pretty bad so we should be going." Arthur declared, leading the way towards his friends' cars. Katey followed silently, walking next to the hulking Percival, who didn't say anything either. At least not until they reached Lance's car, when he asked, "Would you rather ride up front or in the back?"
Startled, she replied, "It's really not a big deal. I'll ride in the back."
"I just didn't want any of our things to fall on you, yeah? I figured I'd offer." And with that he opened the back door, gesturing for her to get in. "Thank you," she said quietly, to which he nodded before shutting her door and getting in beside Lancelot. "Be careful. I know it's a short ride but Arthur would kill us if anything fell on you." Lance told her, reminding her to mind the things around her. The ride only took a minute or two, and once everyone had made it up into the flat, Arthur distributed keys. "Now, Katey's already picked a room, seeing as the rest of us will be sharing. Now, who's rooming with whom?"
There was some momentary bickering before it was decided that Lance and Elyan would take one room, Leon and Arthur would take another, and Percy and Gwaine would take the last one.