I just want to say thank you to anyone who took the time to review and those who didn't, but decided anyway, to go with me on this journey.


The guys decided to have a night out.

Merlin had mentioned to Gwaine, that Arthur seemed a little unhappy and they should all do something to lift his spirits.

They gathered at one of their favourite pubs and waited for Arthur.

After waiting a few minutes, Gwaine decided to order a round of drinks for everyone to get them started. He took Percival with him to get the drinks, and left Leon, Merlin and Lance seated at the table.

After a few minutes of conversing, where Leon and Merlin were mostly speaking, Leon excused himself to visit the men's room.

Merlin eyed Lance suspiciously, and noted his detached behaviour.

He knew Lance was the quiet type, but not this quiet, and certainly not this miserable looking.

Deciding he couldn't take it anymore, he breached the quiet atmosphere with a question. "Are you okay, mate?"


Lance glanced at Merlin, and lowered his head back to the table.

"What's wrong Lance? This isn't you, we came here to cheer up Arthur, and now you look like you're in need of a good cheering up," he said kindly.

"It's nothing Merlin, I'm just tired. I've had a rough day, so don't trouble yourself worrying about me," he replied.

Merlin was just about to question him further, when Leon arrived back at the table, with Arthur in tow.

"Look who I found in the men's room," Leon said jubilantly.

Just then Gwaine and Percival returned with the drinks and placed them on the table. Gwaine spotted Arthur and said,

"Well well, the princess has finally decided to join us."

Arthur flashed Gwaine a warning look and replied, "I told you not to call me that Gwaine. Sorry I'm late guys, I had some things to finish up before I came here, and I didn't expect to be that long."


The guys welcomed him, all except Gwaine, who bowed his head as if he was in the presence of royalty.

Arthur grumbled under his breath and took a seat, while Gwaine remained standing. He looked at Arthur and asked him,

"So, what will it be Princess, beer, ale or something soft?" Again, Arthur looked fit to strangle Gwaine, but he told him,

"Beer," instead.

Swishing his hair and smiling cheekily, Gwaine left to get the drink for his friend.

Merlin touched Arthur on his shoulder, and told him,

"He doesn't mean anything by it Arthur; you know he's just winding you up, don't you?" Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled loudly, before replying to Merlin.

"I know he doesn't mean it, it's just that…he's so damn annoying."


Gwaine returned to the table with the drink for Arthur and handed it to him, saying,

"Here you are Prin…" but he was cut off by Arthur telling him,

"Don't you dare."

The other guys at the table started laughing, even Lance who was so quiet all the while, stifled a laugh.


Drinks started flowing now that everyone was there and everyone had indeed loosened up.

Merlin, never one to hold his drinks, decided to drink soda instead, so he was deemed designated driver.

Percival also opted for soda instead of liquor, and he too was given the job as a designated driver.

They struck up a conversation about work, and who had the hardest job, with Gwaine declaring his had to be the hardest, because he had apparently met the one woman so far, who he couldn't charm in his capacity as a Liaison Officer at Arthur's father company.

This made everyone at the table laughed out loudly, causing them to garner a few un-wanted stares.


The night wore on, and the drinks and conversation kept flowing freely.

Leon was the first one to become inebriated, and he sat with his head on the table, talking quietly to no one in particular.

The next person to become intoxicated was Gwaine, to everyone's surprise, but what they didn't know was, Gwaine had already been drinking at home, before he came to the pub.


Arthur and Lance seemed to be in competition, with each challenging the other silently, by drinking each set of drinks ordered.

The first signs of the two of them caving, was when Lance started to sing "You are so Beautiful" looking at his pitcher and sounding very out-of-tune.

Arthur started having a conversation with an imaginary woman, because he kept telling her how much he loved her, and how she is the undisputed queen of his heart.

At first Merlin thought he meant Vivian, and he nudged Percival, and told him,

"I think Arthur's speaking to Vivian."

At that, Percival laughed and Merlin chuckled cheekily.

Their laughter was cut short when they heard Arthur say.

" I love everything about you, you have the most beautiful brown eyes I've ever seen, and your curls, wow, I could play with them all day.

Tell me you love me Guinevere."


Merlin stared in horror at Arthur, and then his eyes flew to Lance to see if he had heard what Arthur said, but alas, he was still singing to his pitcher of beer.

Percival nearly choked on his drink, when he heard what Arthur said.

He looked at Merlin for clarification, but the only thing Merlin did, was shrug his shoulders, and shake his head in the negative.

They nodded to each other, indicating they should call it a night and see everyone home safely.


Helping each other, both Merlin and Percival had their charges loaded into their cars, and ready for their journey home.

As everyone lived in close proximity, the two designated drivers decided to make things easier by following the other to each stop, where they could help their friends into their respected homes.

They had decided who was going with who from the time they left the pub, with Percival taking Arthur and Gwaine, and Merlin taking Lance and Leon.

The first person they dropped off was Leon, followed then by Gwaine. They then decided that they could handle the last two guys by themselves, so they parted ways, and headed in different directions.


Merlin would normally be with Arthur, but he knew it was difficult to handle him when he was drunk, so he was glad he opted for Lance instead.

Lance was a more co-operative drunk than Arthur, and Merlin would have little to do in getting him inside his home.

They drove silently for a while, with Merlin thinking that Lance must have fallen asleep.

He was surprised when he heard Lance asked him,

"Have you ever been in love Merlin?"


Merlin was caught of-guard by the question, but he answered,

"Yes I have, why do you ask?" Lance went quiet for a few seconds, and then he replied,

"We're born, we live, we die, and life goes on, and you know what Merlin, we love, we laugh, we cry, so forth so on. Some people are made for each other. I've never had reason to believe that before.

I've heard people say it from time to time, but until now… I just thought that…if you find someone to love and they love you back… and the two of you can get along , that's all there is to it.

Love is supposed to be two sided, but when you find yourself in a one-sided relationship, where you are the one with the hearts in your eyes, and the person you love is looking at someone else with hearts in theirs, you should be man enough…or woman enough to let that person go, stranger things have happened, so it's entirely possible.

It takes courage to love someone, and even more courage to love them enough to let them go."


Merlin drove in silence, just listening to his friend, a friend who he thought was intoxicated.

'Maybe the saying is true. Alcohol really loosens the tongue,' he thought to himself.

"Where is this coming from Lance?" he asked.

Lance exhaled loudly and hung his head in silence. He sat that way for a while, and only lifted his head when Merlin called his name again.

He didn't even realize that Merlin had come to a stop in front of his home.

"Lance, come on, talk to me mate.

What's going on?" Merlin asked. Lance clapped his friend on his shoulder, and told him,

"I'm okay Merlin; I just need some time to think, and lots of sleep. I promise I'll talk to you as soon as I figure things out.

Thank you for bringing me home, old friend.

Travel safely, and have a peaceful sleep."


Merlin wasn't convinced that Lance was okay, because he certainly didn't look so. He asked him,

"Are you sure Lance, because I don't have to hurry home, I can stay here for as long as you want me to. I want to help if I can."

Lance smiled at his friend. "I'm very lucky to have a great friend like you Merlin, thank you for caring about me, but… as I said before, I'm fine, I just have a tough decision to make and I need to think about it before I do anything. So go on home and get some sleep okay," he said sincerely.

He made an attempt to get out of the car, and Merlin, ever helpful, got out and came around to Lance's side, and opened the door to help him out.

They bid each other goodnight, and Merlin watched as his friend stumbled his way to his front door, and let himself in.

Heaving a sigh, Merlin got back into his car and headed for home.


Meanwhile, Percival and Arthur were chatting away companionably. Arthur was telling Percival,

"I've been a complete idiot Percy. I've let the only woman I love more than anything in this world, be taken by someone else and now, I'm miserable.

I have to confess something to you Percy, I don't love Vivian, never did, I don't even like her, I only tolerate her for the sake of being lonely. I told myself months ago, that if I can't have the one person I love so desperately, I might as well take anyone, and I know that's not right, but to be honest, I really don't have the energy to care.

I want out of this relationship with Vivian, but every time I see… her…the woman I love, with this other guy, I just put up and shut up.

I don't know what to do; it hurts Percy, so much, that it feels as though my heart is literally breaking."


Percival was dumb-founded.

He had never seen Arthur this way before.

He knows exactly who Arthur is speaking about, 'Gwen,' he whispered to himself.

Before his friend's drunken chat with this 'imaginary' woman tonight, Percival remembers the looks Arthur always give Gwen.

He recalls how Arthur is always quiet and reserved when she is near, and how he always steal glances at her, even if she is with Lance or he is with Vivian.

'He always call her Guinevere, and no one else does' he thought to himself.

He recalls how happy Arthur is when Vivian and Lance are not around, and how he seems to draw close to Gwen, and hang on her every word.


Then Percival remembers something very important, the look on Gwen's face when Arthur calls her name, the way she smiles when she sees him, the way she

looks when he is not around, and the way she looks when she happen to see him with Vivian.

'Oh-my-God! They are in love with each other,' he thought to himself.

He noticed also, that both Arthur and Gwen always seem to want to spend un-usual amounts of time talking together and how jealous Arthur seem to

be, when a guy compliments her, even if it is one of their friends.


"Arthur, mate, I had no idea. Did you ever try talking to this woman, because you never know, she might have feelings for you too, stranger things have

happened" Percival said kindly.

Arthur laughed sarcastically, and said, "I haven't had the heart to tell her, I want to, but I also don't want to cause trouble for

her. She seems to be happy whenever I see her, so I don't want to mess that up."

Percival came to a stop in front of Arthur's penthouse styled home, the one that Gwaine calls a small mansion, and he said,

"You could be the cause of that happiness, maybe when she sees you, she becomes happy, think about it."


Arthur thought about what Percival said for a few seconds, before he replied.

"The thought never crossed my mind. I always assumed that she is happy with this other guy, and I resolved to love her from afar, and be a great friend to her, even if it kills me."

They sat in silence for a few moments, both engrossed in their own thoughts. Arthur exhaled audibly and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

"This is a mess, you can't help who you fall in love with, the thing is, I've been in love with her for so long, even before I knew what it meant to be in love, and I never said anything, I just decided to let nature take its course.

When I first met her, back in high school, I was drawn to her and I found myself thinking about her all the time, and I grew to care for her, more than anyone… I never thought that things would end up this way," he said honestly.


Percival felt sorry for his friend.

He placed his hand on Arthur's shoulder and told him,

"Listen mate, you can't go on like this. I want to see you happy, and the

only way that can happen, is if you decide to take the bull by the horns and do what's best for you. I know what you have to do, and more importantly, you

know what you have to do. You're not alone buddy, so think about what you really want, and go after it."


Arthur felt better.

He took Percival's words of advice to heart and made a promise to himself to act on them.

"Thank you Percy, you've been a great friend. You are correct, I definitely know what I have to do," he said sincerely.

"I'm just glad I was here mate, and never forget, I'm always here," Percival said kindly.

They bid each other good night, and Arthur walked slowly up his long driveway and into his home.


I wanted to show how close the guys are, and show that Arthur can confide in someone else besides Merlin. Hope it was good enough.