Oh, wow. Thank you all so much for your lovely and encouraging reviews, added alerts, and favorites. I do hope everyone seems in character in this, and thank you so much for your support. I'd like to know if you all prefer longer chapters, or short ones. Whichever makes reading this a better experience for you, basically.

II

As she looked around her surroundings, Morgana took another sip of her beer, finishing it off. Merlin looked away from Gwen.

"Want me to get you another?" he asked politely, looking between the two women.

"Oh, no that's fine," Morgana shook her head, looking at the line.

"I insist. Gwaine and I are mates, he'll let me through," Merlin smiled and took off before either of them could reply.

"He's really nice, Gwen," Morgana said.

"Yeah," Gwen sighed.

Morgana smirked.

"He's just so polite and reserved. Do you think he's hiding something?" Gwen asked suddenly.

"What, like being a serial killer?" Morgana snorted.

Gwen nodded.

"Nah. I think he's hiding the fact that he's a good shag," Morgana smirked and drank her vodka in one go.

Gwen nearly choked on her laughter.

"What?"

Morgana rolled her eyes, "Look at him. The quiet ones are usually pretty damn good shags, so I've heard."

"Oh, you've heard," Gwen repeated skeptically. Morgana laughed and Gwen followed suit.

Merlin returned with drinks, looking confused upon noticing Gwen's sputtered laughter and red face.

"What did I miss?" he asked.

Morgana looked at him, turning pink because now she wanted to know if he was, in fact, a good shag.

"Nothing," Gwen squeaked for the both of them.

He regarded them suspiciously and set the drinks down, and then sat down.

"So, Merlin, got a girlfriend? Or boyfriend?" Morgana asked, because she wouldn't judge. She was asking for Gwen, of course.

He chuckled, "No. Neither. My girlfriend broke up with me before I came here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Gwen said immediately.

"It's fine. We're still friends. She's back in Ireland," Merlin shrugged.

"I knew you were Irish. From Belfast?" Morgana asked, pleased she recognised his accent. Was she supposed to express her condolences regarding his status as a single man? She decided against it, as Gwen had already done so.

"Armagh, actually. You're from Dublin?" he asked her.

"Ashford," Morgana clarified, "how long you been in London?"

"Two months, staying with a family friend of my mum's. Helping out with taking inventory at his shop."

"What kind of shop?" Gwen asked.

"Eh, books. He used to be a physician, but he retired a while ago. So he opened a medical book shop," he answered.

Merlin licked his lips as he took a sip and Morgana found herself staring. Bad, bad Morgana. He's for Gwen. From what I can tell, he's just as polite and lovely as Gwen.

As the night wore on, Merlin opened up a bit more, and they found themselves falling apart in laughter at a joke Gwen cracked.

Morgana clutched her side, while Merlin hit the table with his hand. Gwen too was cracking up, unable to stop.

"And then, he came out of the changing room, wearing a skirt," she finished a tale about how her brother had accidentally ended up in the girls' changing room at the gym, his clothes stolen by an ex.

"I need to meet this brother of yours," Morgana gasped, trying to calm herself.

Before Gwen could reply, they were interrupted by Arthur.

"Morgana," he said, "Merlin, my lady," he greeted them

Gwen scowled and Merlin bit back a smirk at his address to Gwen.

"What do you want?" Morgana crossed her arms.

"I need to speak to Merlin," he said, and Merlin furrowed his brow.

"What is it?" he asked.

"In private," Arthur growled.

"You're not going to kiss me, right?" Merlin looked frightened, "you can't be that drunk."

"Of course not, you idiot!" Arthur turned red, making Morgana burst out in fresh laughter.

Merlin stood and followed Arthur several meters away, Morgana eying the Irishman as he walked away. She would put big money on his baggy jeans hiding a lovely bum. For Gwen, obviously. His presumably lovely bum would be for Gwen. She took a long drink.

"What is it?" he asked his roommate.

"You know that girl, right?"

"Who, Gwen?" Merlin asked.

"That's her name? Gwen," Arthur looked like a dope for a moment.

"Yeah. What about her?" Merlin crossed his arms.

"Are you two together?" Arthur asked seriously.

Merlin chuckled, "We're friends. She's my buddy from art history."

"Oh," Arthur immediately brightened, smiling, "will you talk to her for me?"

"No way. I'm not getting involved. Do your own woo-ing," Merlin shook his head.

"Merlin," Arthur groaned, "please?"

Merlin sighed, "I'll see what I can do."

Arthur moved to clap him on the shoulder, then stopped short, pulling his hand away quickly. Merlin looked at him as if the blond had grown two heads, and went back towards the table where Gwen and Morgana waited.

"What did he want?" Morgana asked as Merlin sat back down.

"Nothing important," Merlin lifted the mug to his lips and glanced at Gwen, who didn't seem to notice his gaze.

Morgana licked her lips, tasting the ale. Merlin took out his mobile and grinned.

"What is it?" Gwen asked.

"My friend, Lancelot, just sent me a message. He's waiting outside," Merlin stood.

"Lancelot from class?" Gwen asked, smiling upon recognizing the name.

"Yeah. We're going to a less, well, less crowded pub. Care to join us?" Merlin asked, taking his wallet out and placing money on the table to cover the drinks.

"Oh, we can pay for ourselves," Morgana said.

"It's fine. You can pay for the next round," he grinned cheekily.

"We don't want to impose," Gwen said.

"No imposition at all," Merlin smiled lightly.

Gwen and Morgana stood, taking their purses, and followed Merlin out the door out to the late summer night. Arthur watched them leave, frowning. He was supposed get Gwen to come to him, not lead her out of the pub.

Lancelot greeted Merlin with a handshake, and nodded at Gwen nervously, and then shook Morgana's hand, with Merlin mumbling introductions. Morgana eyed him. Tall, tan, rugged. She had to fight a smirk. Lancelot's behaviour around Gwen was the way Gwen acted around Merlin. It's as if she'd found herself in a very drunken romantic comedy and had been designated as wing-woman. She could be fantastic wing-woman, thank you very much.

They walked a block down the narrow road to another pub. It was smaller, and far less crowded. Morgana instantly decided she liked it better than the loud one they had been at prior.

They sat down at a corner table, Lancelot bringing over four glasses of ale, and Morgana requested some shots of vodka.

"So, you three are in the same class? That must be fun," Morgana said, wondering if there was any room left in this class for her. Everyone around her was so incredibly dull and boring and haughty. She hated it. At least Gwen, Merlin, and Lancelot were nice. And at least now that she and Merlin were acquainted she had someone to sit next to in journalism.

"Yeah," the three nodded, almost simultaneously.

"Gwen talks about you a lot," Lancelot said politely.

Morgana raised a brow and turned to her roommate.

"Only nice things," Gwen said quickly.

"Of course. I'm so pleasant all the time," she snorted, "I apologise in advance for being a bitch."

Merlin chuckled while Gwen and Lancelot looked affronted.

"Sorry about the potty mouth. It's been a curse since childhood," Morgana tapped the side of her glass.

"The first time my mum heard me say 'fuck', she washed my mouth out with soap," Merlin offered, earning a smirk from Morgana. She never would have thought the polite man had quite the dirty mouth on him. He looked so, how should she put this? Innocent wasn't quite right, because there was something in his eyes that gave away the fact that he wasn't so innocent. More like reserved.

"How old were you?" she asked.

"Eh, five, maybe six," he scratched the back of his head and Lancelot laughed.

"My mum would've burned my tongue off," the newcomer cringed.

"You don't cuss, ever, do you?" Morgana narrowed her eyes.

"Not in polite company, no," he said easily, and Gwen smiled softly.

"We're not very polite company," Morgana said.

"I am very polite company, thank you very much," Merlin said with a faux posh air in his voice.

"Or so you say," Morgana smirked and Gwen looked between the two curiously.

"I am incredibly polite," he leaned forward, Morgana matching his movements. Her eyes narrowed.

"In public, maybe," she gave a half-smile. Blue met green as they stared each other down, trying to figure the other person out.

"So, Lancelot, how are your other classes?" Gwen asked, effectively breaking the staring match going on.

Merlin and Morgana leaned back, into their seats.

"Just fine, thanks. It's quite a bit of work, but it's doable," he shrugged.

Morgana bit back a laugh. She was immature sometimes, 'doable'. She flicked her eyes at Merlin who caught her gaze and turned towards Lancelot, appearing to intently listen to Lancelot's description of his chemistry class. Gwen was listening intently, because she liked Lancelot. That and she didn't currently want to watch her roommate try and get one of her first friends at the university to engage in a staring match with her.

After a few more drinks, they decided it was late enough and that they had more than enough to drink.

"It's on me," Morgana said, pulling out her wallet.

"No, I invited you two," Merlin glanced from Gwen to Morgana.

"And I invited you," Lancelot told Merlin, "So I should pay."

"You said I could pay for the next round," Morgana scowled at the Irishman.

"It's been far more than a round," Merlin pointed out, gesturing to the assortment of empty mugs and shot glasses on the table.

She rolled her eyes and Gwen fought a chuckle.

"How about we each pay for our own drinks," Gwen suggested.

"Always the voice of reason, Guinevere," Lancelot nodded in agreement, and Gwen bristled at the use of her full name.

"Lancelot, I've told you. I'm just Gwen," she said indignantly.

"Guinevere is such a pretty name," Lancelot said, smiling.

Gwen smiled slightly and nodded, "It's ancient, though."

"Which one of us here has a normal name?" Morgana snorted, "it's like all of our parents were on crack when they named us."

Merlin started to laugh, and turned it into a cough midway when he noticed Gwen and Lancelot's shocked looks.

The bill was settled and the four new friends (or, at the very least, acquaintances) walked out into the cool night air. They chatted as they walked towards the university's flats, stopping in front of the girls' dorm building.

"Thanks for tonight," Gwen smiled at Merlin and Lancelot, "it was fun."

"Yeah, it was," Lancelot smiled at her.

"See you in class," Gwen said, "You coming?" she turned to Morgana.

"Nah. I'm going to walk around a bit more, not tired yet," she said, lingering outside.

"Well, I'm going to head off. It was nice meeting you," Lancelot said, nodding towards Morgana.

"Likewise," Morgana smiled slightly.

Lancelot nodded at Merlin and Gwen, and waved goodbye. Gwen waved to Lancelot and then Merlin and Morgana, heading inside.

"You just didn't want to walk around, did you?" Merlin asked.

"Nope," Morgana shook her head, fishing in her purse for what she needed. She pulled out a pack and took a cigarette, putting it in her mouth. Merlin smirked.

"Need a lighter?" he asked, taking one out from his pocket.

"I didn't peg you as a smoker," she mused, bringing her mouth towards his hand, letting the flame catch onto the cigarette.

"It's a nasty habit, I know," Merlin picked a pack out of his back pocket, sticking a cigarette into his mouth, lighting it.

Morgana blew smoke out of her mouth, sighing.

"I've tried to quit. It's just fucking hard," Morgana shrugged.

He nodded in understanding, "I started up when I was fifteen. You?"

"Fourteen. Full on teenage rebellion," she shook her head.

"I'm guessing the tongue ring came soon after," Merlin chuckled.

"Ears, nose, then tongue," she smirked, "you noticed my tongue ring?"

"It's not exactly unnoticeable," Merlin averted his gaze.

"Want a closer look?" she blew more smoke from her lips.

"No thanks," he snorted, and Morgana laughed.

"Gwen doesn't know I smoke. I can't tell her. She's so saintly," Morgana took a puff.

"I'd say the same about my roommate, expect Pendragon doesn't seem very saint-like," Merlin blew let out a puff of smoke.

"He's not, trust me," Morgana rolled her eyes.

"Lancelot, on the other hand, is a right saint," Merlin smiled a little. He didn't really want to talk Arthur up to Gwen, when he thought Lancelot was far more suited for her. And it was obvious that he was smitten with the petite woman.

They smoked in companionable silence, and Morgana dropped her cigarette onto the sidewalk, stepping on it.

"Does Arthur know you smoke?" Morgana asked.

"Not as if he'd care, but no. Does he know you smoke?" Merlin asked, wondering how exactly the two knew each other. 'Family friends' was incredibly vague, and it didn't seem like they'd keep the same sort of friends.

"Nope," she grinned. She'd been good at hiding it, "it'll be our secret." She brought her finger to her lips, smirking.

Merlin dropped his cigarette and stepped on it, "I'm trying to quit."

"Aren't we all?" she sighed, "good night, Merlin. It was nice to properly meet you."

"Same here," he said.

He watched as she turned away, walking up to the entrance of the dormitory building. He walked down the block, to the boys' building, taking his time. Arthur was probably still getting himself blindingly drunk. He laughed shortly. Never would he have thought Arthur Pendragon would ask him to talk up a girl for him.

He reached his building and unlocked the door, walked up the stairs, and reached his little flat to see Arthur sprawled over the couch, eyes half closed.

"Hi," Merlin tried not to laugh.

Arthur's face was buried in a pillow, one leg over the edge of the couch, shirt riding up his back. He grumbled something.

"I can't understand a word you're saying. G'night," Merlin went towards the room.

Arthur rolled over, "YOU!"

"Me, what?"

"You took Gwen away. Where were you?" he pouted.

Merlin snorted.

"Well, mother, I walked Gwen and Morgana back to their flat."

"Gwen," he grinned stupidly, "did she say anything about me?"

"Nope. Morgana insulted you enough that she wants nothing to do with you," he laughed at the offended look on the blond's face.

"Morgana," he grumbled, "ruining my life since we were kids. I hate her. Stupid Morgana," he put a pillow over his face and Merlin had the sudden urge to smother him. Morgana was anything but stupid, and good for her if she ruined this prat's life.

"Right. Night," Merlin scowled and stalked off into their room, ready to sleep away what he knew would result in a hangover.

"Gaius?" Merlin opened the door, bell tinkling to signal his entry.

"Merlin?" came the old man's voice from behind the counter, back turned, "you're here early."

"Class was cancelled," he smiled politely at the man who had taken him in for the summer.

"All the better, then," Gaius smiled at the boy.

"What do you need help with?" Merlin asked, setting his bag full of textbooks behind the counter.

"I have some old medical books that need to be sorted," Gaius said, taking his glasses from his eyes.

"No problem," Merlin grinned, taking off to work. He liked helping who he had at first regarded as a doddery old man. Yes, Gaius was old, but he was still as lively as any man half his age.

His eyes blurred slightly as he turned yet another page of the textbook. Gwen was seated across from him, writing down an essay, an examination on a particular work of art. They'd been in the library for barely two hours when who else but Arthur Pendragon showed up.

Merlin scowled at his roommate, who sat down next to Gwen. Gwen didn't even look up, as focused as she was on her paper.

"Hello," Arthur greeted politely.

"Hi," Merlin grunted. Gwen nodded in acknowledgement.

"What're you up to?" Arthur asked.

"Studying. It's that thing most students do before a test, when they actually read," Merlin quipped, making Arthur fight an amused grin.

"Right," Arthur said slowly, "Merlin, your laundry's piled up."

"That's yours," Merlin said shortly, "I did my laundry two days ago."

"And you didn't think to ask if you could take mine?" he sounded offended.

"I'm not your servant, Arthur," he rolled his eyes and Gwen smirked ever so slightly. She'd been hanging around Morgana too much.

"I didn't mean it that way. It'd just be the friendly thing to do," Arthur backpedalled.

"The friendly thing to do would be to wash your own damn clothes, and stop leaving all the dirty dishes to me," Merlin closed the book in front of him and stood abruptly.

"If you'll excuse me Gwen, I think I need a break," he addressed his friend.

"Oh, it's fine, Merlin," Gwen smiled at him.

"Good luck on your paper," he said.

"Thanks," she nodded and watched him leave. She turned her attention back to her book, ignoring Arthur.

"So, Gwen," Arthur started.

"Leave me alone, Arthur," Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Why won't you give me the time of day?" he asked, genuinely confused.

"Because you're a bully, and a prat," Gwen gathered her books and stood, leaving him sitting alone.

Merlin walked as far as he could before needing a smoke break. He looked around, taking in his surroundings. Lush grass, tall trees, and no one around; abandoned, as everyone crowded onto the main courtyards and parks. All the better for him, this way.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one with a lighter. He took a deep breath and let out his stress, his frustration. And he was doing so well, not smoking for almost three days. Damn Arthur.

She trudged into class Thursday morning around 10. She was one of the first students to arrive and the professor wasn't even there yet. She went towards the back of the lecture hall and sunk into her seat. She set her notebook and pen on the desk and crossed her arms, appearing a bit like a petulant child.

Her demeanor was probably one of the reasons she had few friends in sixth form and in secondary school (any friends, really). She kept to herself and her closest friend moved to France for university, so it wasn't like she could call Nimueh up whenever she liked. She had her own life in Paris, now.

Secondary school spent at a private, preparatory academy made her bitter towards the spoilt, entitled children. She came from a wealthy family as well, her mother did, anyway, and Uther, being the Prime Minister, and prior to that, a top politician and businessman, was certainly wealthy too. However, even though she could access her inheritance, she only used it to cover tuition and her clothing costs. She started to work after school at a music shop the day she turned sixteen, and continued to do so to save up money.

She looked up at the sudden shift of weight beside her and smiled.

"Merlin," she greeted.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" he asked.

It'd been a week since she last spoke to him. That'd been after sharing a smoke after the pub. She'd seen him around with Gwen or Lancelot (or even Arthur) but neither made an attempt to strike up a conversation as they were preoccupied with other things.

"Not at all. Glad to see a friendly face," she said quietly, not wanting her classmates to hear her low opinion of them.

Merlin smirked, "I'm honoured you have such a high opinion of me."

"We Irishmen, regardless of country, need to stick together," Morgana said with mock-seriousness.

"I agree completely," he snorted.

Before they had time to continue speaking, the professor showed up and started a presentation on the decline of print journalism and the rise of blogging.

Morgana alternated between taking notes and doodling in her notebook. She glanced over at Merlin's notebook, watching as slender fingers jotted down whatever he deemed important in small, scratched handwriting. She smiled slightly and leaned her head towards his ear.

"We can finish our conversation later," she whispered.

"As you wish," he turned to look at her briefly, offering a small smile before turning away.

Morgana smirked. She liked Merlin. For Gwen, of course.

Another chapter bites the dust. The next chapter includes Merlin and Morgana being left alone by Gwen and Lancelot during a night with one too many drinks.

Since I've got so much written out already, I should be able to upload a chapter a day, and then taper it off to a chapter every few days until classes at university start once more.