Into the Limelight

Aaaand I'm back! Seriously, just the fact that enough people cared about this story enough to want a sequel was enough to make my 2013. Thank you all so, so much. I've tried to include things people wanted me to include, hopefully I've done your ideas justice...

THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO FORBIDDEN, so it might be a bit difficult to follow if you haven't already read Forbidden. Here's an idea: go and read that one first. It's good, I promise. Kind of.

So, read on and enjoy... and let me know what you think! xxx

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Gwen woke to the feeling of Arthur's lips on hers, and she smiled groggily against them. 'Good morning,' he whispered when he realised she was awake. She opened her eyes fully. They were in Arthur's flat. It was the morning after the premiere, and they had come back here late last night to have their own after-party.

'Good morning,' she whispered back. 'Last night was... incredible.' Lightly, she traced a finger down his bare chest.

'Which bit, the premiere or the sex?' he asked curiously.

'The premiere,' she laughed, 'But yes, the sex was good too.'

'I'm glad you thought so. Are you ready to face it?'

'Face what?'

'The articles that will already have been posted online.' He reached for his iPad on the table next to the king-sized bed, and she nodded nervously. Nothing in her life compared to what the premiere had been like last night. Apart from being blinded by the flashes of the cameras, deafened by the screams of the fans, and seeing Uther look at her with an amount of anger she had never seen before, Gwen thought that overall it had gone rather well. Nothing had been thrown at her, at least, and there had been no dress malfunctions... she just hoped that not only the reveal of Morgana and Leon's relationship but also the reveal of their engagement had drawn some of the attention away.

'Here we are,' said Arthur, resting against the headboard of the bed. Gwen did the same, and watched Arthur type 'Pendragon premiere' into the news section of Google. Within seconds, over 8 million results had been found. 'Here goes,' said Arthur grimly, and clicked on the top result, which was an entertainment website. They both scanned through the article quickly, relieved when it seemed to be in their favour. The next few similar articles all seemed to have a similarly positive vibe too, although Arthur was rather annoyed that all of them had included Gwaine's quote about him being whipped. Content, they lay back down in bed again, Gwen resting her head on Arthur's chest.

'It's going to be weird, filming the sequel without you,' said Arthur. 'Not seeing you every day, not having lunch with you...'

Gwen shrugged, and smiled. 'My offices are a fifteen minute walk from Camelot. We'll be fine. I can visit you during lunch, you can visit me...'

'Good,' he said, leaning down to kiss her again. 'This is going to work, you know.'

Gwen smiled again. 'I know.' She stretched, and heard her stomach rumble.

'Breakfast?' Arthur suggested.

'Breakfast.'

Once dressed (well, kind of- Arthur in a t-shirt and boxers and Gwen in Arthur's shirt from last night and a pair of knickers) they moved into the kitchen area of the flat, where Arthur began poking through the cupboards. 'What do you want, tea or coffee?' he asked over his shoulder.

'Coffee,' she said, filling the kettle up with water and putting it on to boil.

'Do you want cereal or toast?' he asked as he spooned coffee granules into two mugs.

'Ah, I would kill for a fried breakfast,' she thought aloud, and opened the fridge to look for bacon. All she found, however, was a milk carton, different juices, some bottles of wine, a tub of butter, a jar of jam, and a jar of pickled eggs. Gwen looked back in confusion at Arthur, who was watching her sheepishly. 'Arthur, where's all your food?' she asked.

He shrugged, looking back at the kettle that had just begun to boil. 'I don't really eat here much,' he confessed. 'When I do have people round, we usually just order a take-out or I get Merlin round to cook something for me.'

'You can't cook?' she exclaimed. 'How is that even possible?'

'It was never really necessary,' he said casually like it wasn't a big deal that a twenty-seven year old man couldn't cook. 'We had cooks to do everything for us growing up, and then there was the staff at Camelot, or the dinners at the big fundraisers, or the nights out...'

Gwen shook her head. 'Okay, I'm going to have to teach you how to cook. I'm surprised you can even make a cup of coffee.' She took a sip of the drink that had been handed to her and immediately spat it back into the cup. 'You can't even make coffee,' she whispered, and poured the rest of the drink down the sink and starting afresh with new granules.

'That coffee was fine,' he protested. 'I used the same amount for my own, and that tastes all right...'

'Arthur, that was so strong it could kill a child. How can you drink it like that? Coffee needs milk, and half the amount of granules that you clearly just used.'

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. 'But then the caffeine doesn't have a strong enough effect.'

'Yes it does.'

'No it doesn't.'

'Does.'

'Doesn't.' She was about to retort when he came up behind her and put his hands around her waist, hands resting just under the front of her shirt. Slowly, he kissed the side of her neck and she breathed out slowly, trying to stay composed as his hands traced the hemline of her knickers. 'I win,' he whispered in her skin. She was just about to turn round to face him properly when there was a knock on the door, making her jump, but Arthur continued to place kisses along her neck. 'Ignore them, they'll go away soon enough,' he whispered as the person knocked again. Whoever it was obviously didn't want to be kept waiting.

'Don't ignore me, Arthur,' came the sound of Uther Pendragon's voice from the other side of the door. 'I know you're in there.'

Both Gwen and Arthur froze. 'Shit,' whispered Arthur. 'He never comes round, I just get summoned to his office...'

Uther knocked again. 'Arthur, I'm warning you...'

Gwen suddenly remembered what she was wearing. 'I'm not dressed!'

'Just- just hide in my room and get dressed while I deal with him.'

'I didn't bring any clothes with me, we came straight from the premiere!'

'Borrow a pair of boxers or something.' He kissed her quickly and she ran into the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She locked the door at the exact moment that Arthur let his father in, and she began to search through drawers as quietly as possible. In the top drawer below the window she found, to her surprise, a bag containing woman's clothes that looked like they would fit her, and a note on top of them. It read:

Gwen, I'm going to assume you didn't pack any clothes to wear the morning after the premiere? If that's the case, here are some clothes for you. We stole them last time we were round at yours. Hope the premiere went well.

Love, Merlin.

She smiled and pulled the clothes out of the bag. There was fresh underwear, a pair of leggings and a loose dress, and she began to get changed quietly.

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Meanwhile, Arthur had just let his father into the flat, who despite the earliness of the morning was already dressed in a suit. Arthur shut the door behind him and watched nervously as Uther walked into the kitchen area, noticing the two mugs on the side and drumming his fingers on the worktop.

'I bought you this flat for your nineteenth birthday present,' said Uther quietly. 'Do you remember?'

Arthur nodded, not really seeing where this was going.

'My credit card paid for all your holidays too, and all your expenses when you got drunk and your friends smashed your hotel rooms up. Do you remember that?'

Arthur nodded again.

'And those clothes that you're wearing- I gave you the money to buy those, too, by giving you a major role in every film I've made since you were a teenager. Remember?' Arthur nodded, and Uther looked him in the eyes. Arthur had never seen him look so dangerous. 'And how do you repay me?' Uther continued. 'BY HUMILIATING ME AND MY COMPANY ON THE RED CARPET IN FRONT OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND THEIR CAMERAS BY BREAKING YOUR PROMISE TO STAY AWAY FROM HER, THAT'S HOW!' He suddenly roared, making Arthur jump.

'That wasn't why we did it,' Arthur said quickly. 'You wouldn't believe me when I said I was serious about my relationship with Guinevere. I felt I had to prove it to you. We didn't do this to spite you. We did it to show you that we're in a serious relationship, and this is just something that you're going to have to get used to.'

'Arthur, you've got to see sense,' Uther said impatiently. 'She's clearly only with you for your celebrity status and your money.'

'She's not!' Arthur insisted, trying not to let his temper rise. 'We're with each other because we love each other, and I know that she would still be with me if I was the poorest man on earth.'

'Rubbish,' Uther snarled. 'Is she here? I bet she's here.' He looked over towards the closed bedroom door. 'Guinevere! Come out here.'

There was a brief silence and then the door opened and Guinevere walked out into the kitchen area to stand next to Arthur, looking nervous but still holding her chin up high. 'Hello, Uther,' she said.

'I suppose you think you can get away with murder when it comes to my son, now that you don't work for Camelot,' said Uther quietly, and Gwen almost felt a shiver run down her spine. 'Mark my words, Arthur: she's only with you for status and money. Once she finds someone more influential and richer, she'll move onto him.'

'Guinevere is standing right here,' said Arthur angrily. 'You could at least do her the courtesy of acknowledging her presence when talking about her.'

Uther stayed silent for a minute, staring down at the worktop and seemingly steadying himself. 'All right,' he said eventually when he looked up. 'It seems that as you won't listen to your own father when it comes to seeing sense, I'm going to have to treat you like a child and take away your privileges. Filming for the sequel of the Sword in the Stone will be postponed. The film that was meant to be filmed after, which you know you were going to have the lead role in. Do you remember our meetings about that film?'

Arthur nodded, not liking where this was going.

'I'm giving your part to Gwaine, instead.'

Arthur and Gwen both opened their mouths to protest, but Uther carried on talking. 'There will be no arguments on the matter. I'll get him to sign his contract this afternoon.'

'You can't do this!' Arthur exclaimed as Uther went to open the front door.

Uther stopped and turned round to face his son again. 'I can, and I will,' he said sternly. 'There is no more to say on the matter, only that you will have a minor role in the next film. Maybe a line or two, nothing more. You can see if Guinevere stays with you then.' He left the flat, leaving a deathly silence behind him.

Arthur turned to face Guinevere, and was surprised to see she wouldn't meet his eyes. 'Maybe I should go,' she said in a small voice.

Arthur frowned. 'What? Why?'

'Look, I know that you love me, but I don't want to be the one who comes between you and your father ...'

He interrupted her with a kiss, pushing her against the worktop once more. They broke apart for breath a moment later. 'Sod my relationship with my father,' said Arthur quietly. 'All I care about is you.' He began to kiss her again, but she pulled away with a smile.

'As much as I'd like to continue this,' she said, 'I said I'd go round to Morgana's at eleven, and if I don't leave soon then I'm going to be late.'

'Why do you have to go to Morgana's?' he complained, trying to bring her back towards him.

'Just girl talk,' she replied with a smile. 'Freya's going to be there, too.'

'All right, then.' He checked his watch. 'Although I'd say you've still got a good ten minutes before you need to leave.'

'Oh, yeah?'

'Yeah.'

The next kiss was slow and deep, and Gwen let Arthur unzip the back of her dress and let the material fall to the floor. She was just beginning to work her hands under his t-shirt when her phone began to ring on the worktop next to her. They both paused. 'Leave it,' whispered Arthur roughly, continuing to plant kisses on her neck. Gwen obeyed and closed her eyes, tilting her head to give Arthur easier access. The phone stopped ringing, and she had just managed to remove Arthur's t-shirt entirely when it began to ring again.

Unwillingly, she opened one eye to try and see the screen of the mobile. Lancelot's name was flashing up. She reluctantly tried to escape Arthur's embrace, and he looked up at her, confused.

'I should, um, probably get that,' she said, and he continued to look longingly at her.

'It's Lancelot. He probably wants to talk about the premiere. I said I'm ring him. I'm sorry...'

Arthur groaned and released her so she could pick up the phone just in time. 'Hello?' he heard her say. 'Oh, hi, Lance. No, you weren't interrupting anything...' she mouthed "sorry" across at Arthur pleadingly, who grimaced and shuffled off to take a very cold shower. When he came back into the kitchen area twenty minutes later, Guinevere had already left. In her place was a note:

Really sorry I had to leave so soon. Leon rang me as well, and because it's Friday everyone's assuming poker's still on, and they all think we should do it at yours. If you're up for it, let me know and I'll bring pizza or something. See you tonight?

Gwen xx

He smiled and picked up his phone to text everyone and let them know that yes, poker would be at his tonight, and he expected them all to bring their own beers and crisps.

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'We did it!' Morgana squealed when Gwen arrived at her flat ten minutes later. 'We showed them!'

'We certainly did,' replied Gwen with a smile, and then looked round the flat. 'Sorry I'm late... is Freya here yet?'

'Merlin just called, she's ill and he's making her stay at home so he can look after her. Seriously, those two are adorable.' She shook her head affectionately and they walked through to the kitchen. 'What do you want to drink? Tea? Coffee?'

'Coffee, please.'

'So have you dared to look at the papers yet?' Morgana called over her shoulder.

Gwen nodded. 'They were all rather nice about us, actually. Nicer than I expected. And hardly anyone in the comments section said I was with him to be famous. What about you and Leon? Were they nice about you?'

'Oh, it was brilliant, because they've all been saying that we've secretly been together for years now, so we basically proved them all right, so they're very happy with us,' said Morgana, grinning. She handed Gwen a mug of coffee and they sat down at the table together. 'Are you working today?'

'Lancelot says I don't have to come in until the afternoon,' said Gwen. 'I wanted to take the whole day off really, but he's right, we really do need to get to work on marketing after Fashion Week. I've got a meeting with my promotion team at two. Can you believe that? I have a team!'

'That is amazing,' Morgana agreed. Then she looked at Gwen properly, who was biting her lip. 'Are you really all right?'

'I... kind of. Uther just turned up at Arthur's flat,' she confessed.

Morgana nearly spat out her coffee. 'Seriously? Uther actually left the office to see him?'

'Yeah. Let's just say he wasn't too happy about my appearance at the premiere last night.'

'Shit. What did he do?'

'Well, he lost his temper a bit, and he's rescheduled the films. They're filming another one instead of going straight onto the sequel for The Sword in the Stone which Arthur was originally meant to have the lead role in, but the role's being given Gwaine instead.'

'Shit,' Morgana repeated. 'How did Arthur take it?'

'He seemed okay, I suppose, but I don't know if he was putting it on just because I was there. I don't know, Morgana. He's going to have to put up with so much stuff from his father because of me, and no matter how much he says he doesn't care, I really think it affects him.'

'I know,' said Morgana. 'But even if it does affect Arthur, he'll stay with you instead of Uther. He loves you more; that's fact. Uther's acceptance would just be a bonus. Now come on- as your best friend, I expect to receive advance previews of all your designs from now on. What have you got planned?'

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'Freya?' Merlin shut the door behind him and turned to see Freya sat on the sofa. He took this as a good sign, because this morning she hadn't looked well enough to sit up in bed. She hadn't been feeling well for a few days now, and when he had woken up to the sound of her vomiting this morning he'd insisted that she took the day off. She looked round when he walked towards her and tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

'Feeling better?' he asked, kissing her softly on the cheek and kicking off his shoes before joining her under the blanket. His hand found her leg, and he ran his fingers up and down her thigh lightly.

'Um, not really,' she said quietly, eyes not moving away from the TV.

Merlin frowned. 'Do you think it's virus? Maybe we should go to the doctor's and get you some antibiotics...'

'It's not something that antibiotics can solve,' said Freya quickly.

'What do you mean?'

'Well...' she took a deep breath, and turned to face him fully, and turned off the TV. 'I was in bed this morning, trying to think what was wrong with me. I've been feeling my worst in the morning, although it's carried on all day, I'm tired, I just want to eat chicken soup all the time, my boobs really hurt...'

Merlin felt his eyes widen. This couldn't be what he thought it would be. They weren't ready. They were poor. They weren't married. This wasn't planned. 'Freya...'

She was crying now. 'And then I realised my period was two weeks late, and I took a test, and...'

He wrapped his arms around her tightly. 'Oh, my god,' he whispered into her hair. 'Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.' He felt her tears dripping onto his shoulder, and almost felt like joining in. 'What are we going to do?'

She pulled away, sniffing and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. 'I have no idea. How can we have let this happen? We were so careful!'

Merlin sat back in the sofa, his mind spinning with numbers and dates. 'How far along are you?' he asked eventually.

'A few weeks. Not very far. But I'm not going to get a- I couldn't-'

'No.' He shook his head quickly. 'That wasn't what I meant. I was just thinking... about work, and stuff. We'll have to start saving.'

'Saving?'

'You know, for stuff for the nursery. And- and for when you can't work, when you're on maternity leave. And- oh, I completely forgot, Mum called. She's in London next week and has invited herself round for dinner. We'll tell her then.'

'Oh, no. I'm going to have to tell my parents.' Tears started to trickle down Freya's face again. Her parents were devout Catholics, and had never warmed to Merlin when they had first been introduced to each other. He couldn't see them taking the news that their daughter was pregnant out of wedlock as a good thing.

'It will be fine,' said Merlin, almost forcefully, and he honestly didn't know who he was trying to convince more. 'We'll manage. Everything will be fine.'

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'Good evening,' smiled Gwen as Arthur let her in. She put the pizzas down on the kitchen counter before reaching up to kiss him, and then felt his hands drift towards the hem of her dress. 'There's no time,' she laughed. 'The others will be here any minute.'

'You're in a good mood,' Arthur observed, following her through to the living room and pulling her down onto the sofa with him.

'I had a really good day at work. We've got massive plans for the next line already, and our online stock has completely sold out already.'

'Sounds better than mine,' said Arthur, kissing her again. 'I've been doing interviews all day to promote the film, stuck in a hotel room with each journalist asking exactly the same questions as the previous one.'

There came the sound of the door opening, and Leon, Percival and Gwaine walked in, each carrying either beer or crisps.

'Ew, that's gross!' said Gwaine in a false American accent, and Gwen and Arthur disentangled themselves, grinning sheepishly. Arthur began to shuffle the cards, but Percival stopped him.

'Aren't we waiting for Merlin?' he asked, and Arthur shook his head.

'He texted to say he wasn't feeling well, or something,' he replied.

'Maybe there's something going round,' suggested Gwen, sorting out the chips. 'Freya was meant to meet me and Morgana today, too.'

'Sounds to me like they just wanted a day in bed, if you know what I mean,' grinned Leon, and the others laughed. 'He'd better turn up for work tomorrow...'

The first round of poker commenced, and not even half an hour into the game did Gwaine lose the last of his chips. He swore and threw his cards down to the jeers of Arthur and Leon before standing up and stretching. 'Can I use your balcony, Arthur?' he asked, reaching for his jacket.

'Um, sure,' said Arthur, frowning. 'Why?'

'I need a smoke.' He went to leave the room, but Leon threw out a hand to stop him.

'You smoke?' said Gwen in disbelief. 'Since when?'

Gwaine shrugged. 'A while now. A few months. We really need to hang out more if you didn't already know...'

'Don't smoke,' said Arthur at once. 'You know my father's giving you the lead in this new film, and when the part was mine he kept hinting at me to go the gym more often. You're going to need all the fitness you can get, and believe me, smoking does not help in that department.'

Gwaine shrugged again and walked out of the room and a moment later they heard the balcony door slide open. 'I'll start training later,' he shouted to them.

Arthur turned back to the others. 'Can you believe that?' he asked, and they all shook their heads. 'I mean, when we were over in America he went out a lot with some friends, but I never thought... I'll get Merlin to speak to him tomorrow, he listens to him the most.'

Once Gwaine had been sprayed by Gwen with Arthur's deodorant, which she claimed was absolutely necessary before he came back inside, they continued with the game, and before midnight Leon had won and was gleefully collecting everyone else's money. 'See you tomorrow,' he said to them all happily before leaving. Percival and Gwaine followed, with Percival supporting Gwaine slightly given the number of beers the Irishman had managed to get through. Once they were alone, Gwen turned in Arthur's arms and kissed him softly. 'How was today really?' she asked sympathetically.

He shrugged, looking away and playing with a strand of her hair. 'It was okay,' he said. 'Apparently Father made the announcement about the change of schedule and Gwaine being given the lead at Camelot. I told them all not to talk about it tonight, which is why it didn't come up. Right now, I need to keep work and home very separate.'

She nodded in understanding. 'Look, if there's anything I can do-'

'There's nothing, honest. Stop beating yourself up about it.' He kissed her back, and felt her relax. 'Come on. I could do with a shower...' he winked at her suggestively, and she rolled her eyes.

'Do you have a fear of showering alone?' she laughed as he took her by the hand and led her through to the bathroom.

'Only since you came along,' he whispered into her ear, causing goosebumps to appear on her neck. 'Now come on. I haven't been with you properly all day...'

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The next day at work was difficult for Arthur, to say the least. Yesterday, Uther had told everyone that the reason for giving the lead to Gwaine was because of Arthur's promotion schedule, and even though the interviews for the film weren't even taking place at Camelot itself but in a hotel instead, there were still a lot of mutterings amongst Arthur's team who were speculating on what the real reason might be. Merlin's strange mood wasn't helping, either. His usually talkative (often to the point of annoying) assistant had been almost completely mute all day, doing as he was told in a trance and adding no sarcastic comments to any of his instructions. By lunchtime, the atmosphere between the two of them as they ate alone in the side room became unbearable.

'Oh, for god's sake, Merlin, say something!' Arthur finally burst out, and Merlin looked up from his salad to stare at him.

'What?' he asked, frowning.

'You've barely spoken today, and believe it or not, I'm beginning to miss your mindless chatter. What's wrong?'

Merlin stared back down at his salad again. 'Freya's pregnant,' he said after a moment.

Arthur stared at him. 'Shit.'

'Yeah.'

'Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing this wasn't planned.'

'You got it.'

'Are you going to get it-'

'No.' Merlin shook his head quickly. 'We both said years ago that that would never be an option.'

'So... you're going to be a dad.'

'Yeah.'

'You're going to have to learn to change nappies and stuff.'

'I know.'

'And be responsible for an actual human being.'

'Uh-huh.'

'For eighteen years.'

'Not helping, Arthur.'

'Sorry.' He paused. 'Do her parents know yet?' Their entire friendship group knew about Freya's strict Catholic parents, who were strong believers in no sex before marriage. Arthur was almost certain that they didn't even know about their only daughter living with her boyfriend.

Merlin shook his head. 'We're having dinner with them next week.'

'Do you have a plan?'

'For what?'

'You know, how you're going to tell them. "Hello, Mr and Mrs White. Very sorry, but I've accidentally knocked up your daughter and we're going to have this baby out of wedlock.'

'I'll ask her to marry me,' said Merlin, almost to himself. 'It won't be anything fancy– just us and a couple of witnesses. She's only a few weeks gone, so if we get married soon enough then maybe we could pretend we got pregnant after the wedding. Her parents won't suspect...'

'Do you have a ring?' asked Arthur after a moment.

Merlin shook his head. 'We don't need one. We're going to have to cut back on everything for a while if we're even going to be able to consider being able to afford baby clothes, and a pram, and a nursery- hell, we don't even have a room to make into a nursery, it'll just have to be a corner of the living room...'

'Merlin, if you need some money, all you have to do is ask.'

'I have savings, but we honestly don't need a ring. Not even a proper wedding dress- white would hardly be appropriate anyway, given the circumstances,' he chuckled. 'No honeymoon, either, because we can't take time off work, but maybe Mum will lend us her house for a couple of days in the summer...'

Daniel, Arthur's publicist, stuck his head round the door. 'We're ready to start again,' he said. 'Just a couple more hours, and then we'll be done.'

Arthur groaned and stood up. 'Great. Actually, Merlin, I'd love a coffee- could you run downstairs and get me one?'

Merlin sighed. 'Yes, your highness.' He left the room, and Arthur looked around for their bags. He found his wallet and looked inside, taking out five twenty-pound notes and stuffing them into the pocket of Merlin's coat. He smiled slightly to himself of the thought of Merlin being a parent before leaving the room to face the endless journalists' questions.

At the end of the day, when everyone was packing away and Merlin and Arthur were putting their coats on, Merlin frowned and pulled the money out of his pocket. 'Arthur, what is this?'

'That, Merlin, is a handful of twenty-pound notes. If you look in the corner, there's a number two and a number zero next to each other, and that means-'

'Arthur, I can't take these.' He tried to hand the money over, but Arthur swerved out of the way.

'Well, they're certainly not mine. Why would I give you money? That would imply that I want to help.'

'Arthur...'

'Look, I definitely didn't put them there,' said Arthur with a smile. 'And finders keepers. You have to keep them now, it's the rules. I'll see you tomorrow- and say hi to Freya from me.'

Arthur walked away, still smiling, and dialled Gwen's number. It rang a few times, and then went to voicemail. Realising she must still be working, he shoved the phone back in his pocket and got into the car waiting for him outside the hotel, ready to take him home. It began to drive and his phone began to buzz in his pocket, and he picked up. 'Hello?'

'It's me,' said Gwen on the other end of the line. 'Sorry I missed your call, I was in a meeting... what's up?'

'I was just wondering if you want to do something tonight,' he said, smiling in spite of himself. 'We could go out for dinner, or rent a film...'

'Dinner sounds wonderful,' she said. 'Where shall I meet you?'

'I'll pick you up at quarter to seven; I'll book a table somewhere nice. Wear something dressy.'

'Okay. I've got to go now, but I'll see you later. I love you,' she replied quickly. The line went dead.

'I love you too,' said Arthur quietly, putting the phone back in his pocket. As soon as he got home he rang Kilgarragh's, a restaurant that was a ten minute drive away and one of his favourites. They were usually quite busy, but the head chef was a friend of Gwaine's mother and had a soft spot for him and his friends. He was certain Gwen would love it, too. As promised, he turned up at Gwen's at quarter to seven to find her wearing a figure-hugging red dress.

'You look beautiful,' he told her truthfully, handing her the bunch of red roses he had picked up the long way.

Her face softened as she took the flowers. 'Arthur, you didn't need to...'

'But I wanted to,' he corrected her. 'I know we've been together for well over a year now, but if we include the premiere then this is only our second official date, and I want to do it right.'

They arrived at the restaurant on time and were shown to their seats, and Gwen had the chance to look around properly. The restaurant was done in red and gold (which may have been why Arthur liked it so much) and had candles everywhere, and the table they were at was in a corner hiding them from the windows, showing the street in which they had been gawped at before coming inside. A small jazz band played quietly in the centre of the restaurant, and waiters swerved around them to deliver delicious-smelling food to their customers.

The conversation flowed easily between the two of them as the food arrived and Gwen was telling Arthur about her day. 'So Lancelot thinks we should definitely look into some buying some new warehouses, because at the rate business is going we're going to have to expand yet again,' she concluded, taking a bite of her pasta. 'Oh my god, this is delicious.'

'Do I ever actually get to meet this guy?' asked Arthur as he began to eat his ravioli. 'Lancelot, I mean.'

Gwen smiled. 'Actually, we were talking about you today. I think it would be really nice if we had dinner with him, because he really wants to meet you properly and I know the two of you would get on really well.'

'You two seem really close,' Arthur noted, trying to sound casual. 'Considering how little time you've been working together.'

Gwen smiled again and reached for Arthur's hand over the table. 'You have nothing to worry about,' she told him. 'Lancelot's lovely, but... well, he's not you. There's not that spark that we have. I don't fancy him- we're just close because we went to university together, and he knows the business. That's all.'

She continued to smile at him, but her thoughts drifted elsewhere. She'd been suppressing the memories for a while now, but occasionally they would come to the surface again. They'd discussed it when they'd reunited in America after meeting at ComicCon, that it didn't mean anything and there was no awkwardness over what had happened all those years ago...

It was just another party in someone's house, in their second year at university. Gwen couldn't remember drinking that much, but as she stumbled out of the bathroom she wondered if someone had spiked her drink. 'Hey,' said a voice, and she looked over to see Lancelot leaning against the wall, holding a beer and looking just as out of it as she felt. 'How you doing?'

'You're not Joey,' she laughed, walking over to him and putting a hand on his shoulder. They slid down the wall and sat down next to each other.

'I know,' he slurred. 'I'm Lancelot. And you're Guinevere.'

'Yes I am,' she smiled. 'And I must say, Lancelot DuLac, you are looking rather spectacular today.'

'Thank you. So are you.' They stared at each other for a moment. 'So should we...'

'Yeah.' And then they were kissing, and then they were in a bed, and then she was waking up the next morning naked next to Lancelot, who was equally naked. He was already awake, and grimaced at her.

'Morning,' he said.

She rolled over to face him. 'About last night...'

'Don't worry. I know it didn't mean anything, and I know it was a mistake, and it definitely won't affect our friendship. Pinky promise?' he held up his pinky finger, and she linked it with her own.

'Pinky promise.'

'Gwen?'

She jumped. Arthur was looking across at her, amused. 'Earth to Guinevere...'

'Sorry, long day,' she said, returning to her pasta. 'How were your interviews?'

As he talked about how boring the questions for press releases were, she decided not to tell Arthur about her and Lancelot's night together. Even if it had been a single drunken mistake that had happened years ago, she was sure he wouldn't appreciate learning about it. It was just something that would never come up in conversation. After all, there was no point in causing a fight about something so meaningless and old... was there?

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

So that's chapter one done!

Chapter two is already finished so I'll put that up in a few days when I'm completely happy with it. In the meantime, please subscribe and review!

xxx