Title: Relentless
A/N: Hello! Not much to say except thank you to all who read and reviewed this fic. I appreciate you all 100%! But anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter, ok? Please? With sprinkles and love? Ok, enjoy!
-McDiggin'It
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Chapter Two:
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Christmas approaches quickly, and Merlin finds himself standing inside a jewelry store with Gwaine, looking for gifts for his family. Gwaine tries to find bracelets for his 2 little sisters, earrings for his mother, and a good watch for his father.
Merlin, however, had no one to buy gifts for. And he guesses it's no wonder he's managed to save up so much money. He has no parents, having grown up in several foster homes until he turned 18. The only person he considers family, is Gwaine. Gwaine had taken him to his home, introduced him to his family, and always invited him over for the holidays. But this year, Merlin has declined Gwaine's offer to spend Christmas with him and his family again. This year, he wants to try being alone for once, but really, he doesn't want to keep intruding on his best friends family gatherings all the time. So he lied to Gwaine and told him that he'll be going on a holiday ski trip with Troy, a person he made up. He feels bad about lying to his friend, but figures that what Gwaine won't know, won't hurt him.
"No gift for the Lady Morgana?" Gwaine asks teasingly.
Merlin chuckles and looks at him. "No, I'll just stick with the usual."
Gwaine huffs, "Why don't you just tell her that it's you?"
Merlin shrugs as he pretends to be interested in a gold chain in one of the glass cabinets.
"Every holiday, special occasion, her birthday, and even Hanukkah which none of you celebrate because none of you are Jewish, you've sent her flowers without an inkling of a sign that they're from you. Don't you think she's more likely to give you a chance if you tell her?"
Merlin sighs, shaking his head. "If she knows they're from me, she wouldn't keep them."
"Or maybe she'll realize you really love her, and finally give you a chance."
"Or maybe she'll file a restraining order against me."
"Or maybe you're being a little chicken." Gwaine jokes, earning him a glare from his best mate.
"I just don't want her to think I'm trying to buy her affections with flowers."
"Then what do you want her to think?"
Merlin shrugs, digging his hands into the pockets of his coat. "I don't want her to think anything. I do them to make her smile and feel special."
Gwaine chuckles, shaking his head as he pays for his gifts.
They head back out, walking towards their dorms which isn't very far from the jewelry shop. As they walk, Gwaine spots Morgana a little whiles away from them, talking to a guy. A guy which Gwaine knows is new to the school because he had just started in his class last week. Glancing over at Merlin, Gwaine sees that his friend is currently oblivious to the interactions between the love of his life and the new guy, Lancelot if he's not mistaken.
"Errr, maybe we should go get some food first." Gwaine says suddenly.
Merlin looks at him, "I thought we're ordering pizza."
"Yeah, I'm not feeling pizza today." He says as he grabs Merlin's arm and tries to pull him away from where Morgana and the new guy are standing. But he's too late. Merlin has just looked up and spots the two.
"Is that Morgana?"
Gwaine stops, looking over at the two again and feigning surprise. "Oh, errr I don't know, maybe. Come on, I'm starving-"
"Who is she talking to?"
Gwaine sighs heavily as he lets go of his friends arm. It's pointless to try and pull him away now. He knows how Merlin is whenever he sees Morgana. "That would be the new guy, Lancelot."
"Lancelot? Freshmen?"
Gwaine shakes his head, "Senior. Transferred from another University or something."
Merlin's jaw clenches as he watches Morgana talk and laugh with the new bloke, and a strange feeling envelopes him. His chest tightens, his heart rate speeds up, and his breathing quickens. Could this be jealousy? No, it can't be... He turns to look at Gwaine. "You still not feeling pizza tonight?"
Gwaine sighs, shaking his head. "Nah, pizza's fine." Despite his constant teasing of Merlin's affections for Morgana, he knows for a fact that Merlin's feelings are genuine. He gently thumps his friend on the back as they continue walking towards the dorms. Seeing Morgana talking and laughing with some guy, who if he's completely honest, is quite good looking, is probably a huge blow to his friends ego. Glancing over at Merlin, he sees him staring at his feet as they walk right past Morgana and Lancelot. He's never actually seen Merlin ignore her. Every single time Merlin has seen her, he would immediately go over to her and talk to her, or at least try to. He would ask her out and she would reject him. But today, Merlin keeps walking silently.
Gwaine sighs as he looks at the girl of his best friends dreams and glares at her. This must hurt Merlin more than any rejection the girl has given him.
For the rest of the night, Gwaine worries that Merlin is truly heartbroken, but the next day he finds that his worries are in vain. Merlin is back to grinning and talking animatedly and it immediately brings a sense of relief for Gwaine. Merlin is his bestfriend because of his ability to make people around him happy and feel special. He has a way with words that no author or poet could match in his opinion. He has a big heart, and an even bigger sense of humor. Gwaine would hate to see him change that because of some girl... and yet, Merlin's smiles don't look quite right. So he decides, he's going to help Merlin in any way to get Morgana to fall in love with him.
...
"Good morning, Princess." Morgana rolls her eyes as she looks up from her book and at the owner of the voice currently disturbing her peace and quiet. Her eyes narrow at him as she folds her arms and looks expectantly at him.
Gwaine chuckles, "May I sit with you?"
"No."
He sits anyway, crossing one of his legs over the other and leaning back against the bench. He glances at her, seeing her still glaring suspiciously at him, and he laughs. "Jesus Christ, Morgana. Quit looking at me like I just murdered your dog."
"You are just like him." Morgana says annoyedly.
At that, Gwaine smirks, knowing she's referring to Merlin. "How're you doing today?"
"What do you want, Gwaine?"
He looks at her, pretending to look offended. "What makes you think I want anything?"
She rolls her eyes at that, "You're his bestfriend. Did he send you to do his dirty work?"
Gwaine smirks at her, "And what dirty work is that?"
"God, you sound just like him. Are you sure the two of you are not related?"
Gwaine snorts, "Look, I just want you to know that he's not the guy you think he is."
"And there you go!" Morgana exclaims, arms flailing at him.
"What?"
"The reason you're here! He sent you, didn't he?"
Gwaine sighs, looking at her more seriously, and he can tell that Morgana's noticed his change in demeanor as well. "He has nothing to do with my being here. He doesn't even know where I am. He left early this morning to go buy y- errrm.. socks."
Morgana stares disbelieving at him. "Then why are you here?"
"Honestly, I wanted to ask you about your relations to Lancelot." Gwaine says nonchalantly.
"That's none of your business, first of all. And second, what do you care?"
"Well for starters, we saw you talking to him yesterday... you two looked awfully cozy."
"Again, that's none of your business."
Gwaine sighs, shaking his head. "You're beautiful. I'll give you that, but I honestly can't see what Merlin sees in you."
Morgana is utterly offended, turning to glare at Gwaine again. "What's that supposed to mean?" She demands.
Gwaine quirks an eyebrow at her. "Oh please, Morgana. You act like you're this innocent little princess, when truthfully, you're just a heartless bi-"
"I don't care what you think of me, Gwaine. Let alone what Merlin or anyone else thinks!"
Gwaine scoots away from her, fearing that Morgana might actually punch him in the face if he doesn't tread carefully. He values his face too much to make the girl any angrier than she already is. He sighs, looking out into the distance as the rays of the sun bathe them in warmth. "This isn't how I wanted this conversation to go, but you leave me no choice, Morgana."
"What are you talking about?" Morgana asks incredulously.
"I'm talking about Merlin!"
Morgana scoffs, "He means nothing to me. He's a selfish, lying, soul sucking, hypocritical, womanizing idiot."
Gwaine is taken aback by her description of Merlin. He had no idea that this is what Morgana thinks of Merlin. "Are we even talking about the same Merlin?" He sees her give him an annoyed look and continues. "Because the Merlin I'm talking about, is the exact opposite of those things... well," he pauses, thinking. "He was a sort of ladies man before you, but he's completely changed now."
"I don't believe that for a second."
"That's because you won't listen for a second... if you did, I would tell you what kind of person he is."
"You're his best friend." Morgana says with an eye roll. "You can say whatever you like to make him look good, but I know him."
"Do you now?" Gwaine asks amusedly. "Well lets hear it then."
"Hear what?"
"What you know about Merlin. You say you know him, right?" He gestures towards her. "Then tell me."
Morgana glares at him, "Will you leave me alone afterwards?"
Gwaine shrugs, "Fine."
"Fine." Morgana shrugs back before looking ahead towards the snow covered trees. "He's cocky he's arrogant and stubborn, he's selfish, dimwitted, he thinks he knows everything, he walks around like he's better than everyone, he disrespects women, and he has some foolish notion that I would actually go out with him, when I know for a fact that he's just trying to get into my pants." She looks at Gwaine again and quirks an eyebrow at him. "Did I forget anything?"
Gwaine stares at her for a long moment before sighing exasperatedly, "You really have no clue, do you?"
Morgana gives him a confused stare, "About what?"
Gwaine laughs humorlessly. "I would tell you, but it's not my truth to tell." He gets up then, turning to look at her one last time. "I've known Merlin my whole life... and I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. He may be a bit of an idiot sometimes, but he's none of the things you listed. He's the exact opposite." With that, Gwaine walks away, back towards his and Merlin's shared room.
Morgana stares at him, not sure of what to make of Gwaine's words. He did look sincere, but then again, he's a performer. A natural actor. He could very well be lying on behalf of Merlin.
...
It's been 2 days since her encounter with Gwaine, and quite honestly, she hasn't been totally unaffected by what he said. She's been catching herself thinking about... Merlin. And she would immediately push the thoughts away. She cannot afford to think of him in any way. What Gwaine told her the other day, are more likely than not, lies.
Like always, Merlin continues to ask her out. He'll pop up out of nowhere, smiling at her goofily and then asking her to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner with him. And like always, she declines. She especially hates it when he keeps smiling at her as if she's just agreed, or as if he knows something that she doesn't. It's unnerving.
She doesn't understand the way his brain functions. He's smart. She knows this from all the classes they've had together since freshmen year, but he certainly doesn't act like it.
He acts like nothing bothers him, like he thinks he's the most amazing human being to ever walk this earth. And it annoys her because what the bloody hell does he have that makes him so bloody happy all the time? She doesn't think she's ever seen him unhappy, and it's not fair. She wants him of all people in school to be miserable. She wants him to feel at least half the pressure that she feels every single day. She wants him to cry and show an emotion other than elation. She wants him to suffer. She wants to wipe that stupid smirk off his face. She wants him to...
"Morgana?"
The emerald-eyed girl turns, her look of curiosity quickly turns to a devious smirk. "Lancelot! Hi."
"Hey. I was just on my way to the cafe down the street and I saw you sitting here... in the cold." He smiles.
Morgana grins widely, a plan forming perfectly in her mind. "Yes, it is getting a bit chilly." She smiles innocently at him. He's handsome, smart, funny, and very respectful of women. "Mind if I join you?"
Lancelot's eyes practically light up at that, and he nods enthusiastically. "Of course! I was just about to ask you to join me anyway."
Morgana gathers her things into her bag before getting up and they start their short walk towards the cafe. Like an answer from the good Lord himself, she sees Gwaine and a girl with dark brown hair walking up the street, laughing.
Morgana grins widely. This is her chance to start making Merlin Emrys miserable. With that in mind, she moves in closer to Lancelot, batting her eyelashes up at him. "It's cold." She tells him.
She smiles triumphantly as a blush forms on Lancelots' cheeks and he puts an arm around her shoulder. She sneaks a glance over at Gwaine, seeing him shake his head towards her. If this goes well, Gwaine will tell Merlin, and that should certainly wipe that constant smile off that blue-eyed arsehole's face the next time she sees him.
For the first time ever, Morgana actually looks forward to seeing him in class tomorrow.
...
A/N: Oh, Morgana.. you evil you! Anyway, please review and let me know if Morgana was a little harsh to use Lancelot to make Merlin jealous. But at the same time, I think it's a must! We have to get the dramatics and angst pumping in this fic! Next up, Merlin finds out. What will be his reaction? I'll update as soon as possible!
-McDiggin'It
