At last, the long awaited sequel to Unexpected! This continues the story after Merlin and Morgana were (seperately) set on their blind date with each other by the conniving engaged pair, Arthur and Gwen. It begins with the morning after:
Morgana rolled over in bed and groaned. Her mobile was ringing shrilly on her nightstand. She knew exactly who it was and what she wanted. Morgana picked up the phone, sighed then answered. "Hello, Gwen."
"Morgana! How was the date?"
"First off, do you know what time it is? Secondly, it wasn't a date; it was 'an evening out with a friend.'"
"Yeah, right. Suuuure it was. Okay, so how was your 'evening'?"
"Fun! The restaurant was excellent—great food, nice ambiance. After that we found a play park and took advantage of it. Then I invited him back to mine for hot chocolate. We talked for a while then he went home."
"That's it?" Gwen sounded disappointed.
"That's it, Gwen. I know you and the rest of the world think there's something between us. But there's no spark—we're just really good friends."
"Oh. Well, um, okay."
"But it was a fun evening, so thanks for arranging it!"
"You're welcome. Are we still going out later?"
"Yep, see you then."
"Bye Morgana."
Morgana smirked. It looked like she'd gotten away with it this time. Last night, she and Merlin had agreed to keep the fact that sparks had flown between them, secret. Gwen and her fiancé, Arthur-Morgana's brother -had set the friends up on blind dates. Of course they forgot to mention they'd set them up with each other. So they're pretending nothing happened between them and seeing how long it takes the other couple to realize the truth.
She stretched and walked out of her room. She caught sight of her sofa and smiled—she had very fond memories of that sofa now. She smiled and the mobile in her hand rang again. Her smile grew when she looked down at the display—Merlin.
"Hi there. I was just thinking about you," she said.
"Oh yeah?" he replied.
"I walked out of my room and saw the sofa."
"Oh. The sofa. Mmm."
"I know. So what are you up to today? You never said."
"Unfortunately I have to work. But can I come over in the evening?"
"Absolutely." She took a deep breath. "I can't wait."
"Me either. See you later."
"Yes you will. Goodbye."
"Bye."
xxxXxxx
After Merlin hung up with Morgana, he got himself ready for work. It was great having someone to be with. Romantically. He'd been too shy after his last girlfriend died two years ago. Morgana had been his friend for a long time, so the transition to boyfriend/girlfriend felt easier, more natural. And definitely worth it.
He'd been at work in the book shop for all of five minutes when Arthur came strutting in. Great, just great. He couldn't avoid Arthur; his best friend had already seen him. "Hey Merlin."
"Hey, Arthur. I'm kind of busy, can I call you later?"
Arthur looked around the shop. There was one customer a few aisles away. Catrina, one of the managers, walked by. "You're not busy. Go ahead and chat."
Merlin rolled his eyes. Now he had to talk to Arthur and spin the story he and Morgana had agreed to tell. It wasn't that he didn't like getting one over on Arthur; he just didn't like lying. He sighed and said, "I know why you're here."
"Really. Do tell."
"You want to know how the date with Morgana went. I'll tell you." He took a deep breath.
"Well?"
"Patience. The evening out with my good friend went well. Nice restaurant by the way." Arthur nodded. "We messed around at a play park on our way to hers then she invited me in for hot chocolate. It was chilly outside."
"And?"
"And what?"
"Did you do anything I have to hurt you for?"
Merlin suppressed the nervous laughter that threatened. "Relax. Your sister's virtue is intact." And it was; they hadn't gotten that cozy. "You don't have to worry about that—there were no sparks between us."
"Really?"
"Yep, we're friends, good friends. Nothing more."
"Oh, well, Gwen and I thought differently. You two are so close."
Merlin did laugh his time. "Don't feel too bad. You're not the only one to think that."
"Well okay then." Arthur shuffled his feet uncertainly. "I'm glad you had a good time anyway. I'd better go; I actually have to drop by work too. Father's idea."
"Rotten luck, mate. See you later then."
"Bye Merlin."
Merlin sighed in relief as his friend left. He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. "You all right?" Catrina asked.
"Oh yeah, I'm great actually. I've a girlfriend now."
"Really? That's wonderful. Anyone I know?"
"Ah, nope. Girl I met the other day."
"Well, bring her by sometime; I'd love to meet her."
Catrina flounced off. She was a nice person, but snoopy. Merlin sighed in relief and got back to actual work.
xxxXxxx
Arthur and Gwen were sitting on the sofa at his and Merlin's flat. Merlin wasn't home quite yet. "So now what?" Arthur asked his fiancée.
"Well, they both said nothing happened between them and there were no sparks. What are we to make of that?"
"I think they're lying. They have to be. We can all see it—even Lance, Leon, Gwaine . . ."
"But they said . . ."
"I know what they said. Maybe we have to catch them out."
"How? We don't—"
At that moment the front door opened and Merlin stepped in. He looked at the two sitting on the couch and quirked an eyebrow. "Are you guys talking about me?"
"Of course not," Arthur scoffed. "We're . . . deciding which DVD to watch."
"Well I still like Twenty-seven Dresses," Gwen pretended to argue.
"Okay," Merlin said, still not believing. "I'm going out tonight, so enjoy your film, kids." He disappeared into his room.
"He's going out!" Gwen whispered.
"Should we follow him?" Arthur suggested.
"Unless you really want to watch that DVD?"
"Not at all. Let's get ready." Gwen and Arthur got up to locate their binoculars. By the time Merlin came out of his room, they had hidden everything away and were looking at DVDs again.
"Die Hard! It's a classic," Arthur argued.
"Too much shooting. And it's not Christmas!" Gwen replied. "Oh hey, Merlin, you off?"
"Yup. See you later."
"Bye, Merlin."
As soon as the door closed, they jumped up and put their coats on. Arthur and Gwen waited a couple minutes then went out into the night to locate Merlin. He wasn't too far ahead of them so they didn't actually need the binoculars.
They watched him head to the cinema. He met no one in the lobby but went right into one of the films. After a few minutes of debating whether they should go in and/or buy tickets to the film Merlin was seeing, they decided to wait him out in the department store next door. It wasn't a long movie and they needed to register for wedding gifts anyway.
xxxXxxx
Merlin hadn't actually bought a movie ticket. His friend Gwaine worked at the cinema and let him walk through the lobby, into the theater then out through the exit door. He walked the short distance to Morgana's flat and knocked.
She opened the door with a sparkling smile and threw her arms around him. After a brief but passionate kiss, she asked him, "Did they take the bait?"
He led her over to her sofa. "Definitely." It was pretty funny to watch them go all 'spy' and act like they knew what they were doing. I hope they have the sense to not wait outside the cinema the whole time."
They looked at each other and said simultaneously, "Nah!" And they both started laughing.
"We'll have even more fun at their engagement party on Saturday," she commented.
"Oooh, yeah. I can just see them, watching us like hawks, wondering, 'will they or won't they?' I can't wait."
"Mmm. Overacting. I love it!" She pulled him closer and they spent the rest of the evening curled up together under a blanket.
xxxXxxx
Gwen and Arthur were pretty annoyed when Merlin never came out of the cinema. They decided to just go home and watch their own movie. When Merlin got home, he went straight back to his room. And in the morning he explained that he hadn't liked the film and had left early.
The night of Gwen and Arthur's engagement party arrived. They'd been engaged for a couple of months but had just now gotten around to having the party. Both were anxious to see how Merlin and Morgana acted around each other. Morgana had already shown up but Merlin hadn't come out of his room yet. When he finally did, they watched Morgana, but she didn't even look in Merlin's direction.
The happy couple mixed and mingled while keeping an eye on their two best friends. They watched both work around the room and eventually meet up. Gwen nodded at Arthur and crossed to the kitchen so she could see them from a different angle. To cover what she was really doing, she pretended to look for more food.
They both watched as Merlin told Morgana something and she laughed, a little over the top, they thought. She then put her hand on Merlin's arm and leaned closer to whisper something. They both burst into loud laughter after.
Gwen watched with alarm as Arthur walked closer. She shook her head frantically at him, but he ignored her plea. She stopped short of leaning over the bar to listen to what he was going to say to them.
"You two look cozy," Arthur pointed out.
Merlin and Morgana immediately stopped laughing, looked at each other then started giggling again. Arthur hadn't seen that as a particularly funny statement. "What's so funny?"
Merlin calmed down enough to smirk. "You are. You still think something's up between us."
Arthur looked back and forth at them. "Well, you look suspicious."
"Standing together and talking looks suspicious?" Morgana's face was morphing into her "back off" look. He'd learned to fear that look, but it didn't deter him now.
"I know that Merlin said you're not a couple, but this isn't convincing me." Gwen rolled her eyes at that.
Arthur should have heeded Morgana's warning. "Arthur, the three of us practically grew up together. There's no way I'd date him," she stated.
Arthur was beginning to wish the floor would swallow him. He looked at Gwen for help but she was miming the "cut" sign at him. "Ah, so you feel like brother and sister then."
Now they were both glaring at him. Also, most everyone else in the room was staring at him. He'd really stepped in it now. "Yeah," Merlin agreed tersely.
"Well okay, I guess I was wrong. I can be wrong. Um, I'd better go help Gwen with the, uh, thing . . ."
"You do that. Bye, Arthur," Morgana dismissed him.
Arthur, in a daze, walked over to Gwen. "Help," he mouthed.
She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Well, what did you expect would happen? You ambushed them. Now they'll be even more careful if they're together."
Arthur sighed but nodded. He helped Gwen pour more drinks and set out more food. When they looked up from their task, both Merlin and Morgana were gone. Gwen whacked Arthur's arm. "Good job—you drove them away." She shook her head and walked away to talk to Mithian.
xxxXxxx
When Arthur and Gwen were occupied, Merlin and Morgana had snuck out the door. Once they got into the elevator going down, they started laughing hysterically.
"Did you see the look on his face?" Morgana asked him.
"Yeah," Merlin imitated Arthur's dumbfounded face, "priceless." They broke into giggles again right before Merlin leaned down to capture her lips. They remained locked together until the doors opened on the bottom floor.
A gasp broke them apart. They turned and smiled at the older woman who stood there. Merlin took Morgana's hand and led her outside, both laughing and skipping down the sidewalk.
xxxXxxx
After everyone left the party, Arthur and Gwen flopped down on the sofa. "Sooo, that went well," Gwen said.
Arthur made a face. "Yeah, except for the part where I pissed off my best friend and my sister."
"I'm sure they'll forgive you . . . someday."
"Thanks." He thought for a moment. "D'you think they really are seeing each other or do we have it wrong?"
"I'm not so sure anymore. But I think we should leave them alone for a while, in any case."
"Yeah." He shuddered. "Being on Morgana's bad side is not good."
"I wouldn't know about that. But I am looking forward to our holiday next weekend."
He moved closer to her. "Mm, me too."
"Three days of sun and sand . . ."
"And a cozy little cabin for two . . ."
Talking ceased as she drew his face to hers. They stayed awake for a long while after that, doing just a little bit more than cuddling before cleaning up.
xxxXxxx
Merlin walked out of his room in the morning to see Arthur and Gwen sitting at the table. He tactfully ignored the fact that Gwen was wearing the button-up shirt that Arthur had been wearing the night before. "Hey guys."
"Hey, Merlin," was all Gwen said to him before blushing and turning away.
He should have known Arthur wouldn't leave it at that. "Where did you vanish to last night?"
"Oh, I walked Morgana home then kind of wandered for a while before coming back." Well, it was only half a lie. He and Morgana had cuddled on her sofa for a while before engaging in what Arthur and Gwen had likely done last night. Though all their clothes had stayed on at least.
"Really," Arthur pushed.
"Yes, Snoopy. I was being a gentleman, which is more than I can say for you." Arthur gave him an offended look. "Oh drop it already."
"I didn't say anything."
"Gwen, make him stop," Merlin pled.
"Arthur, let the man eat breakfast in peace."
"Thank you, Gwen. Hey, are you sure you want to hitch yourself to that dollop-head?"
Gwen laughed while Arthur glared. "Don't worry, Merlin, I'll whip him into shape."
"Guinevere!"
It was Merlin's turn to laugh. "Oh good. Just keep it in the bedroom, okay?"
She winked. "It would be my pleasure."
"Now that's just T.M.I.," Merlin moaned.
"Okay, enough," Arthur intervened. "Just eat."
And just like that, everyone got back to breakfast.
xxxXxxx
A few nights later, Merlin was back at Morgana's. He'd told Arthur he'd be getting home late and had gone to her flat right after work. They were currently eating Thai take away, since neither of them could cook very well.
"Hey," Merlin started. "You remember that Arthur and Gwen's holiday is this weekend, right?"
"Yeah. What about it?"
"They'll be away three whole days, Morgana. Three whole days with no one snooping around and me all alone in my flat . . ."
"Ooh, I think I know where you're going with this."
"That's right. We can have a romantic tryst of our own—make out wherever we want, whenever we want . . . a perfect time to lie about naked if we want."
She scooted closer to him. "Mm, I can see it." She smoothed a hand down his chest. "You, me, drinks of our choice, pressed together . . ."
He closed what little space there was between them, attacking her lips with his own. She brought her other hand to his chest and slid both up and into his hair to secure their faces together. His slid down to her waist and he stood, lifting her up with him. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he carried her over to the sofa, where he sat. She shifted until she was straddling him. After a brief pause for air, they dived back in until they became lost in their own little world.
xxxXxxx
Gwen stood in the living room of Arthur and Merlin's flat tapping her foot. Impatiently. She'd managed to pack for their holiday in about twenty minutes. Merlin reasoned that was because Gwen was organized and had everything pre-bought and washed in advance of today, unlike Arthur. He was currently running around the flat with his head cut off, asking Merlin where this or that was. Every so often he'd find something, yell "yay!" and toss said object into his room.
"Sooo, how's it going?" Merlin asked Gwen.
She growled and rolled her eyes. "We were supposed to leave an hour ago."
"Sorry. I should have insisted he do this last night."
Gwen flushed. "Yeah, um, he was a little busy."
"I know."
She flushed deeper. "Sorry. But at least you'll have some peace this weekend."
"It's all right. I'm actually really happy for you guys. It'll be weird when he moves out."
"Don't worry. We'll come back and visit so often you'll get sick of us."
"That'll never happen."
At that moment Arthur careered into the room, breathing hard. "I'm—ready—to go—Gwen."
"It's about time!" She smirked.
"You two need any help?" Merlin queried.
Arthur puffed out his chest. "Nah, I got this." He went into his bedroom, picked up his bags and came back out.
"Great. Well, I guess we'll see you Monday, Merlin," Gwen said.
Arthur waved his farewell as Merlin replied, "See ya!"
He waited for half an hour before he called Morgana. She'd packed a bag and waited for his call before she came over. When he opened the door to her, she was wearing a trench coat and a smile. He let her in and closed the door behind her.
She walked past him into the living room. When he turned to face her, she gave him a wicked smile before opening up her trench coat to reveal her lack of clothing. He took one look and asked, "So, I guess you want to put off dinner, hmm?"
Morgana winked and beckoned him to her. He wasted no more time and rushed over to devour her lips. He pushed her coat to the floor and slid his arms around her. He ran his hands everywhere he could reach before taking her hand and pulling her into the bedroom. They didn't emerge for quite a while.
xxxXxxx
Merlin and Morgana spent the rest of the weekend lounging around the flat in various states of undress. They cuddled and canoodled, danced and feasted on take away food and engaged in varying acts of debauchery. They never left the flat and virtually ignored the outside world.
So they should have been surprised when the door opened Sunday afternoon to admit a drenched Gwen and Arthur. But the dry couple were currently in Merlin's room in the middle of some very intense foreplay and thus ignorant of anything outside the bed they reposed upon.
Gwen and Arthur were grumbling to each other about the incessant rain that had driven them away from their beach holiday. They dropped their bags to the floor then paused as some very interesting sounds drifted to their ears. "What is it?" Arthur whispered.
"Shh!" Gwen replied. "It's coming from Merlin's room."
They listened for a few moments, but it quickly became obvious as the sounds grew in volume and formed words like "oh" and "yes!" They easily recognized their friend's voice, but the female one puzzled them for a moment until she screamed. Arthur went pale. "Is that—?"
"It totally is."
"You have got to be kidding me. We were right all along?"
"They played us, and we believed them!"
"They are so going to regret that."
Arthur pulled his phone from his back pocket and he and Gwen crept closer to Merlin's door. He turned on the phone's video camera and slowly extended his arm .When he could clearly see his friend and sister engaged in activities he'd never wanted to see either doing, he pushed the "record" button. He let it run for about two minutes while he and Gwen stifled hysterical giggles.
After that, they crept back to the front door, picked up their bags and carefully snuck out the door again. They decided to get some food then go to Gwen's flat until they could "arrive" at their original return time. It would be an interesting experience, that was certain.
xxxXxxx
Gwen and Arthur went back to Merlin and Arthur's apartment at nine pm. They'd had a relaxing evening discussing how they'd break the news of their discovery and had decided to confront them when they were all together.
The flat looked completely different from a few hours ago. It looked like two people had spent a fair amount of time making it look like only one person had been there all weekend. Merlin sat on the sofa watching telly and waved at them with a "Hi guys." The deception was really good, they had to admit. If they hadn't known Morgana had been there, they wouldn't have suspected.
"Hey Merlin, how was your weekend?" Gwen asked.
"Oh, kinda quiet really. I had to go into work for a bit yesterday then saw a film on my way home."
"So you didn't see Morgana at all?" Arthur queried.
"Only at work. She was kept pretty busy so we didn't talk much."
Gwen and Arthur looked at each other. They knew that was definitely a lie—Morgana had told Gwen that she had the weekend off "for once" and was going to use it to relax. "Hmm," Gwen said. "Well, we'd better get to unpacking your stuff Arthur." She motioned toward his room with her head.
Arthur clued into her subtext rather quickly and heaved his bag over his shoulder. "Later, Merls."
Merlin nodded dismissively and the engaged couple went to Arthur's room. Gwen closed the door behind them. "He's lying."
"Well of course he is. He and Morgana have been denying their thing for so long . . . if I hadn't known he was lying I would have thought he was telling the truth. He used to be crap at lying."
"Okay. Oh it's going to be fun to burst their bubble. So are you calling her to come over for dinner then?"
"Yeah I'll do that. And she'll come because she knows you'll dish about our weekend."
Gwen giggled. "You know me so well." She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him into a kiss that started chaste but quickly became more heated. Suffice it to say the unpacking did not get accomplished that night.
xxxXxxx
Morgana had agreed to dinner, of course. It was now Monday night and Gwen was putting the finishing touches on dinner while the boys beautified the table. Gwen watched them for a moment, bantering like idiots and messing around but somehow getting the job done. As she watched she thought again how Morgana and Merlin were perfect for each other. Morgana had many of the good qualities that had attracted Merlin to Arthur and kept them friends. But she had less of Arthur's qualities that drove Merlin nuts. Since they'd first met Gwen had imagined them together—it had just taken the two of them much longer to realize it themselves.
Then the doorbell rang and Merlin took off to answer the door. Gwen watched Morgana's face when being confronted by Merlin—Morgana smiled the smile Gwen knew well. The woman had a secret she was trying to hide. Gwen wanted to laugh, but managed to hold it in. Above her glee that she'd caught her friends out, she was glad that they were finally together.
Merlin offered Morgana his arm and led her over to the table where Arthur sat smirking at them. This seemed highly suspicious to Morgana, so she asked, "What are you so happy about?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just glad to see you," he replied, still smirking.
"Gwen, make your fiancé stop smirking," Morgana complained.
"Arthur, stop it," Gwen said as she walked over to the table with the last dish. She placed it then sat in the last empty chair.
They immediately set upon dinner. Conversation flowed like water among the longtime friends. Gwen and Arthur shared everything about the beach. At one point Arthur shared how cozy their little cabin was and told Merlin he "should book a place there sometime when you get a serious girlfriend." Merlin flushed and Morgana smirked but said nothing.
They are good, Gwen thought. Well, Arthur and Gwen could play the game too. And they were set to spring their surprise during dessert.
Gwen got Arthur to help her clear the dishes and ready the cake. "You have the phone?" she whispered.
"In my pocket," he replied quietly. "I'll just get it ready here." He tapped the screen a few times and nodded.
Arthur picked up the cake and carried it over. He and Gwen sat again and they chatted about different things until Arthur asked Morgana, "So how was your weekend Morgana? Merlin said he saw you at work Saturday."
Merlin and Morgana gave each other a quick look. "Um, yes."
"You told me you had the weekend off," Gwen stated.
"Ah yeah. I got called in."
"Like Merlin did?" Arthur prompted.
"Yes, we both got called in. It was unexpectedly busy."
"Ah, okay. So you weren't banging your secret boyfriend?" Gwen asked.
Morgana had been lifting a forkful of cake to her mouth but it slipped from her grasp and fell to her plate. Her mouth fell open for a moment before she recovered enough to say, "I have no idea what you're talking about. You know I don't have a boyfriend. I'd tell you!"
"Would you?" Gwen wondered.
"Of course!"
"Hmm."
"Well Merlin here looked extremely relaxed when we got back last night," Arthur pointed out.
"Yeah, because I was tired and ready for bed. Not that you two helped."
Gwen blushed but kept at it. "Oh you were ready for bed all right. Again and again, I'm guessing."
"What?!" Merlin looked frazzled and indignant.
"Oh we got back here a little earlier than we'd planned due to the rain," Arthur explained. Both Merlin and Morgana went pale. "And Merlin, you were definitely in bed but you weren't alone."
"Oh crap."
"I hope that wasn't involved, that's really disgusting."
Morgana had finally pulled it together. "Okay, what is it you two think you know?"
"I'm so glad you asked. Arthur?" It was Gwen's turn to smirk.
Arthur pulled out his phone and tapped it a couple of times. The video of Merlin and Morgana's sexy time began playing. They were too shocked to say anything for a few seconds but said simultaneously, "Stop!"
"Something you want to share?" Arthur prodded as he stopped the playback.
Merlin and Morgana looked at each other for a moment before he nodded. He took her hand and said, "Okay. Yeah, we're together."
"Ha, I knew it!" Gwen crowed. She and Arthur shared a high five. "Why didn't you guys tell us?"
"Because we knew you'd act like this," Morgana stated.
"Really?" Arthur wondered.
"Yeah, you always get so smug when you're right. You rub it in my face for weeks," Merlin complained.
"And you're getting to be as bad as him, Gwen," Morgana added.
Gwen stopped her little victory dance and looked at her two friends. "Ouch."
"You kind of are," Merlin said.
Arthur took Gwen's hand. "You two lied to us for—how long has this been going on?"
"Since the blind date you set us on," Morgana replied.
"Weeks."
"Yeah. We discovered that we really like each other, so what?"
"I'm sorry about all this and guys, we really are happy for you. But if you'd told us then you could have avoided all this," Gwen said.
"We've been trying to get you two to see what we and all of our friends have seen for a while now—that you could be great for each other," Arthur added.
"We know," Merlin said after a glance at Morgana. She smiled at him.
"So now you two don't have to hide anymore," Gwen pointed out.
"No, no we don't," Morgana said with a smirk. She suddenly leaned into Merlin and gave him a long, sloppy kiss.
"Okay, Morgana, you don't have to demonstrate here," Arthur cried.
"Okay then." She stood. "Coming Merlin?" She held out her hand to him.
"Definitely." He took her hand and let her pull him to his room. The door swung shut loudly.
"And that's our cue to clean up," Arthur said.
"Then get out of here," Gwen added as something began banging on the other side of Merlin's door.
"You got it." He leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss, after which they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher. With hardly a glance at Merlin's door, the two of them promptly left the flat.
Thanks for reading! So what did you think? I do love comments! Oh and this part of the story is based on Bonnie Raitt's song, Something to Talk About. Title obviously comes from that as well. I do not own the song, its lyrics or the goodness that is Merlin.