Hey guys, I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update! It's seemed as though my workload has been trying to prevent me from writing at all over the past week! Rest assured to those who have been asking, that I am still working on this story, although it may take a while for updates over the next 3 weeks. No Merlin on Mordred action as of yet I'm afraid ;) but I'm building up to it – honest!

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Chapter 7- That homosexual elephant.

After they had their wristbands checked by the burly looking security personnel at the door, they ventured inside The Rising Sun, only for Merlin to have his jaw physically drop. Sleek modern booths lined the vast room, occupied with white tables turned purple by the dimmed UV lights above; whilst at the head of the room there was the bar, illuminated by soft yellow beams of light fired up from the floor. The main feature of course was the dance floor, which was positioned conveniently right in the centre of the room beneath all sorts of strobe lighting and technical machines, which Merlin had admittedly never come across before in his life. At present it was pulsing dimly with a cool blue light as though it were alive and breathing; waiting for the time when the club would be full enough for the party to come alive and it could roar into life.

"Wow..." Mordred gaped from beside him, his face struck with awe, "You wouldn't get any of this at any other uni!"

This was a given, thought Merlin. Only one of the richest and most influential establishments in the country would lavish this sort of luxury on its students. It was a vast contrast to the local taverns back in Ealdor where he and Will used to go on occasion. To be perfectly truthful they were the closest Merlin had ever been to an actual nightclub; not that he was going to admit this to the others and especially not Arthur.

"This is amazing!" sang Gwen, whilst clapping her hands and springing up onto her tip toes like a Meerkat trying to survey as much as the club as possible.

"Amazing and expensive," sighed Merlin, as he pointed over to the drinks menu magnified up against the wall. He really didn't think his mother would be too impressed if he were to report home having spent his entire well earned student grant on drinks in this place.

"Well it's a good thing Arthur will be paying for the first round then isn't it?" smirked Morgana, quirking her eyebrow slyly over at her brother, "So if I were you then I'd make sure to order as expensive a drink as possible to make the most of it!"

You could practically see the colour drain from Arthur's face, even in the dimmed lighting of the club. "Have I ever told you how much I hate you Morgana?" he asked tightly, while miserably pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. Merlin could see Lance furiously trying to keep a straight face, but ultimately failing, resulting in him having to dodge out of the way quickly as Arthur aimed a kick at his shins.

"Frequently I believe yes," she trilled whilst looking around for a free booth in which they all could sit.

As it happened, it appeared that Arthur had little to worry about; Gwen and Morgana ordered a glass of white wine each, whilst Merlin and Mordred plucked for a simple pint of cider. Lance offered to help carry back the order and so the two men left for the bar, leaving the other four to settle into a booth.

The plush purple benches were deliciously welcoming as they sat down and there was an almost collective sigh of relief as they were able to take the weight of their feet.

As they sat, Mordred glanced over his shoulder and seemed to frown in thought at the pair taking a seat in the booth opposite theirs across the room. Merlin was on the verge on asking what he was looking at, before Gwen sighed and pouted her lips in worry.

"You don't think I was a bit harsh making him buy us all drinks do you?" she voiced aloud to the group, whilst staring at the back of Arthur's golden blonde head as he waited at the bar.

Morgana cast her a scandalous look, "Are you kidding? You made a bet fair and square and I can assure you that had it been the other way around then it'd be you propping up the bar right now!"

"I suppose..." smiled Gwen, sweeping a dark ringlet of hair back behind her ear. "But I just kind of feel as though maybe I've been a little bit tough on him today."

"Oh no you don't!" warned Morgana, placing her hand firmly on Gwen's arm, "If anything he should be buying you a drink regardless if he'd won the bet after the way he behaved this morning."

Mordred leaned forward in his seat, stretching his arms on the table, the confusion obvious on his face, "Are we missing something here?"

Merlin would no doubt have been similarly interested, had he not been completely occupied with inhaling the scent of Mordred's aftershave which had reached him as the other boy had shifted next to him. He saw Morgana glance at him peculiarly, as he leaned slightly to his left so as to inhale deeper, before he mentally slapped himself and adopted a curious position to mimic Mordred's.

Morgana clapped her hands together merrily, before launching into a story. "Basically, when I and Arthur went to introduce ourselves to Gwen, no sooner had she invited us into her room, than Arthur practically swaggered in and launched himself onto her bed and began making rude remarks about the collections of books and DVDs she had."

Merlin could kind of sympathise with Arthur in being faced with all of those romantic comedies but still, he wouldn't have gone about insulting Gwen's stuff in that way.

"Then of course I mentioned that I was a state schooled student here with a grant," added Gwen, rolling her eyes, "which of course got him up on his high horse moaning about all the commoners they were letting in these days..."

Ah the jackpot... thought Merlin sarcastically and he could tell that Mordred was thinking along the same lines.

Gwen continued, her kind face still set into a slight frown. "I was still kind of stressed from moving in and saying goodbye to my dad and brother and I don't know, I just sort of... snapped!"

"It was wonderful..." sighed Morgana, a dreamy smile plastered across her face, "She started shouting at him about how she understood he was used to a more luxurious lifestyle but that it was no excuse for him to be so rude to her and that he was acting like he was some kind of spoiled prince!"

Mordred began shaking beside him, his arm brushing against his own as he laughed out loud.

"Oh that is brilliant!" he exclaimed, his eyes shining with tears of laughter.

"I felt kind of bad afterwards but at the time it did feel really good!" admitted Gwen, grinning shyly.

"So that's why you've caught his eye is it?" winked Merlin, causing Gwen to blush prettily.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" she exclaimed, whilst glancing up again at the bar, obviously flustered.

It was only then that it dawned upon him, that if both Lance and Arthur seemed to be showing an interest in Gwen, then it was only a matter of time before there would inevitably be some sort of conflict over the matter. Now that Mordred was no longer involved, he felt free to feel concerned on Gwen's behalf. However, he reasoned to himself, this wasn't a given and certainly not worth his while contemplating over now.

"Speaking of affections for others," smirked Morgana, leaning forward across the table, her necklace glinting and sparkling under the UV lights, "do you happen to seeing anyone Mordred?"

Mordred, who had been looking over at the men in the other booth again turned sharply, his face blank as though caught completely by surprise. "Ummm what?"

Merlin could feel himself tense whilst awaiting his reply. He was obviously straight and no doubt had an equally stunning girlfriend waiting for him back in London. He felt his magic stir deep within him as though it too was eager to hear what Mordred had to say. That was odd...

"Are you seeing anyone at the moment?" repeated Morgana, her eyes glinting with curiosity, although Merlin noticed them flit over onto his own face on occasion. Clearly she wasn't asking for her own benefit.

"Urr No I'm not..." he said, his blushing cheeks casting an attractive contrast over his features under the club lights.

Merlin felt as though his heart swelled in chest – just for a moment – before returning to its usual size with a thump. It therefore surprised him when he noted his chest hadn't actually physically moved and that this occurrence had gone completely unnoticed by the others.

Mordred was single! Not that this actually meant anything, but somehow just knowing this made his life seem just that bit more rosy.

"Really?" exclaimed Morgana, with the hint of a grin hid under her innocent expression, "I would have thought you would have been inundated with girls!"

Mordred chuckled at this, whilst absent-mindedly spinning a coaster he had picked up from the table with his pale fingers, "I can't say that it's ever happened!"

"What hasn't?" came an unexpected voice, making them all jump in their seats. Arthur and Lance had returned with the drinks whilst they were talking and were both standing there expectantly.

"If he told you, then he'd have to kill you," shrugged Merlin, casting a wink in Morded's direction.

"Well in that case we'd better drop that topic and starting drinking these then!" grinned Lance as he began serving out the drinks he was holding.

Merlin took his cider with thanks and took a sip, enjoying the sensation of the cool liquid running down his throat, washing away at the lingering taste of the chips. Across from him, Arthur had already knocked back half a pint and it looked like the rest would soon be heading the same way. He noticed Merlin's gaze and shrugged unapologetically, "How else is a guy supposed to get wasted around here?"

Gwen rolled her eyes and shifted her position to turn to face Morgana again, a wide smirk plastered on her face. "So what about you?" earning her a quizzical look from the rest of the group.

Morgana also looked confused as she took a large sip of her wine, "Hhhmm?"

"Are there any special men in your life at the moment?" clarified Gwen, her grin widening further as she leant her elbow on the table and rested her head in her hand.

There was a loud spluttering sound as Arthur choked on his beer, spilling some of the drink down his front in the process. He hardly seemed to notice however, as he glared at Morgana intensely as he awaited her answer.

"Honestly Arthur! There's no need to put on the protective brother act; it really doesn't suit you!" chuckled Morgana as she took yet another sip of wine.

"Well?" smirked Mordred from beside him, obviously enjoying what he could have been considering revenge for her putting him on the spot earlier.

Morgana stuck out her tongue playfully at him, before sighing and placing her glass on the table, "There isn't anyone no... and to be perfectly honest I doubt there will be anyone soon! Men can be such arseholes... I was thinking of renouncing men completely actually..." She turned sharply to Gwen, pouting her lips suggestively, "How about it Gwen?" she smouldered, "Fancy a walk on the wild side?"

This time both Arthur and Lance choked into their glasses and ended up spraying beer all over the table. Merlin bit his lip in an effort to contain his laughter at the look on Arthur's face and wished he had pre-emptively thought to get his camera phone out.

"We'll have none of that... stuff going on Morgana!" warned Arthur as he slapped a still coughing Lance on the back, "There's already a big enough homosexual elephant in the flat don't you think?"

"Arthur..." warned Lance, looking sharply at his friend, whilst continuing to gasp uncomfortably.

Merlin did his best to maintain a neutral expression, but he couldn't help but admit that he feeling slightly hurt. However it was not a completely new experience for him; which like his mother had told him he must learn to accept throughout life.

"Have I missed something here?" queried Mordred, frowning slightly, looking from face to face around the table, which had been overcome by a stony silence.

Oh... realised Merlin. Mordred hadn't been in the room earlier when he'd outed himself to the others. He could feel the back of his neck prickling uncomfortably and no doubt his ears were burning red. Thank goodness for the dimmed lighting.

Should he say something? He had enjoyed being in Mordred's company, fleeting though it had so far been and he didn't want it to end before it had even began should it turn out he shared Arthur's views...

His mouth had turned bone dry as he made to speak, "He means m -"

"Ignore him Mordred," snarled Morgana, her eyes blazing at her brother, "He's just being a jerk."

Arthur simply shrugged as he downed the rest of his beer, pausing to wink at Merlin as he stood up, "On that note I'm off for a piss" he smirked, "Coming Lance?"

Lance looked up at Gwen briefly, who was herself biting her lip to restrain herself, before turning to look up at Arthur, "I'm fine here thanks."

Arthur looked slightly taken aback at Lance's decline before he righted himself and swiftly turned on the spot and made in the direction of the toilets.

"What a complete prick," breathed Mordred, "No offense," he added, tilting his glass to Morgana.

"Oh no no, I wholeheartedly agree!" she said airily, waving him off with her hand, "But..." she paused in contemplation for a moment, before looking around at the rest of the group.

"He is a good man," she said simply, a sad smile playing on her lips, "I want you all to know that; even if right now he is throwing his weight around and being an arse..."

Silence descended again on the group as they all took a sip of their drinks. If ever there was a time when he wished he was absolutely pissed, thought Merlin, then it would be now.

He wet his lips before breaking the tension, "Well I certainly hope you're right Morgana," he said quietly, before stealing a gaze towards Mordred.

The other man met his eyes and Merlin could see doubt swimming in them as bright as the day, it was clear from the moment that Mordred had heard Arthur's full name that he had reacted adversely to him.

They continued to look at each other for a moment, before Mordred broke his gaze away as he watched one of the men from the opposite booth move over in the direction of the toilets.

"Here's a question for you all," he spoke slowly, still watching the figure retreating across the room, "Has anyone noticed the guys in the other booth have been following and watching us since we arrived at the club?"

They all turned in unison to stare at the remaining man in the booth opposite, who in turn looked up to stare back at them with an even gaze.

"Well one of them is following Arthur into the toilets..."