Disclaimer: See chapter 1.
AN: As always, a huge thank you to all my fellow Mergana fans who read the previous chapters and favorited/reviewed, you're my biggest motivation to keep this little story going and updating on time :) Anyway hope you enjoy this one!
-MM-
Chapter 4
They don't talk about it.
Merlin suppressed another yawn, his tenth one this morning. He didn't get that shut eye and he felt it in his every aching bone. Still he thought it was worth it.
Besides Morgana giving him a curt 'Morning' when she came in, nothing has changed. He hoped for a thank you maybe or something along those lines but it seems a cold shoulder will do the trick.
He sighed as he went over the papers Arthur brought in and tried to find a way to encompass them into the narrative, he and Morgana outlined the day before. A lot of information surprised him on the first glance. He checked again as he came to read another one of atrocities Uther Pendragon dealt to unsuspecting victims.
He finally got the picture. Arthur was trying to unmask Uther's operation. One that spanned decades it seems. From real state to shady witness disappearances. It read almost like one of those old mafia novels and he shivered just thinking about what they were about to do. They were a small company and if Uther got the wind about their agreement with his son it could spell trouble for them. Still they couldn't leave Arthur to his own devices.
His teeth gnawed at the tip of the pencil as a case after case presented the darkness that Uther was ready to step in to just to get what he wanted.
He read it again and again so he wrote down some notes on things that needed to be revised.
Uther's a dick.
He looked at the paper and his loopy handwriting. Well, not all of them are bound to be winners.
"Merlin?"
His gaze snapped towards Morgana as she casually walked up to his desk. How come they don't talk about it?
"Yeah?"
She came and dropped another file at his desk glancing at the notes, or a note he took.
"Here's another deal that placed Uther on the path of closing yet another case because the witness suddenly had a change of heart."
"He skipped town?" Merlin asked.
"More like skipped on his life, as he was found dead in his flat overdosed on meth."
"So, what's so weird about it?"
"The man was healthy and had no history of drug abuse. Advocated an active lifestyle, ran a marathon. Still the case was dismissed."
He let out a sigh, the things were not looking good for them.
As she leaned forward to look what he wrote down, he got a whiff of her perfume and it made him dizzy for a moment.
"Well at least you got that right." she said as a smile rested on her face. He followed her gaze and a laugh escaped him as well.
"It seems like the only thing I'm sure about."
"I can say the same."
She moved from his desk back to hers and he had to wonder for God knows what time today. Why don't they talk about it?
"Can we really do this Morgana?" he asked instead, once more kicking himself for not having the guts to say what was really on his mind.
She looked like she was off in her own world before she said, "It's the right thing to do Merlin."
He knew she was right but still the ramifications could be too big to ignore.
"Regardless, can we really go through with it if we know that the moment Uther has us on the radar things will get rather difficult for us Morgana?"
She scoffed at his fears before placing her pen down with force as she locked her gaze with his.
"Sometimes you have to do what's right and damn the consequences."
For a moment it looked like they were locked in the battle of wills, as if she was daring him to say something. What, he didn't know. All he knew was that they don't talk about it.
He was a flipping coward.
"Alright," was all he managed as a reply. Nothing but a sound of pens scratching the paper could be heard for the next hour.
"Are you alright Merlin?"
He glanced at her and saw honest concern in her eyes. He nodded in return.
"Yes, just didn't get much sleep last night."
He held his breath for a moment berating himself for saying such a thing. He was better than that. Now she will close up and he would be back where he started. Cold and distant Morgana. That was an atmosphere he didn't want to relive. It was like hugging a glacier.
"Me neither," slipped from her lips and Merlin felt his neck snap in her direction so much that he felt like he was pistol whipped. Yep he'll feel this for the rest of the day.
As he searched her eyes, she was already looking down at her paper scribbling something down.
They don't talk about it. Push and pull, neither here nor there. Like he was in a purgatory being weighted for his action.
He gritted his teeth in frustration. God damn it, they don't talk about it.