Gwen goes to work today despite wanting to sleep in. After the dancing and the late dinner they scoffed down the night before, she is in no mood to work. But unfortunately, she is no longer queen of an unspecified kingdom and not in possession of an unlimited amount of money. Also, her rent is due after Christmas and her landlord definitely lacks any sort Christmas spirit.

It's her going over her finances on the bus ride to work that she realizes that she should probably buy some presents for Arthur and Merlin, and maybe Kilgarrah, the not-so-ordinary bird. And so, after work, she pushes her way through the throng of last minute shoppers at the local mall. Christmas songs play in the background of people talking and yelling, children screaming and sales people fighting for sales. She wanders into the tie section and stares at the selection of ties. It's what she always bought for her father and brother and any other males she owes presents. Absently, she reaches out and touches one silk tie.

Perhaps if she had more time, she could have baked them something. She ignores the little voice in her head that reminds her that her last attempt at baking had resulted in her having to air her small apartment to get rid of all her smoke. Maybe she could have put her rusty knitting skills to use. It doesn't matter at any rate because she only has three days and a selection of ties in front of her.

But ties are boring and Arthur and Merlin don't even wear ties as far as she remembers.

Her mind scrambling for ideas, she walks around the mall crossing off more and more items off the list of potential gifts. She says goodbye to mugs, t-shirts with silly sayings, pens and socks.

Then she sees it.

Arthur is already closing up when she arrives at the coffee shop. His grin when he sees her sends shivers down to her toes. He hops off the stool he's standing on and goes to her, kissing her hard. Then his eyes drop to the bag in her hand.

"Presents? For me perhaps?"

She shakes her head and bites down on a grin. "No."

He doesn't believe her. It's written all over her face but he just says, "Give me a few minutes to close up. I have a surprise for you."

Gwen finds herself completely unsurprised that Merlin tags along to their ice-skating date. He did that hundreds of years ago. There's no reason to stop now. The late night rink is all lit up with lights and filled with families and couples. Arthur and Merlin banter about who the better skater is and even though Gwen isn't completely familiar with them in this life, she's pretty sure that their argument is pointless because she is the better skater among them, thanks to childhood skating lessons her father insisted she attend. When she tells them that, Merlin looks impressed while Arthur merely arches an eyebrow then challenges her to a skate-off.

Arthur turns out to be a decent skater. Only not as decent as her.

She does a small leap – a waltz jump, lands well and turns to grin at Arthur.

"You're only going to hurt yourself!" calls Merlin as Arthur skates out on the ice.

Gwen leans against the railings which Merlin is gripping in his quest not to fall. "What's he planning to do?"

"Something foolish because the extent of his skating skills is skating in a straight line."

There's a yelp and when Gwen turns from Merlin to look, Arthur is sitting on his bum on the ice. Her heart in her throat she skates over to him and kneels down, her hands running across his legs.

"He's just milking this, you know," says Merlin.

"Shut up!" Then Arthur turns to Gwen and pouts.

She and Merlin end up bringing him home. It's the first time she's in his place and she's slightly taken aback at how big and expensive it looks. Google did inform her of his wealth but seeing it in front of her is a little overwhelming.

The three of them end up lying on Arthur's large bed.

"Is there meaning behind our reincarnation?" During a lull in their conversation, she asks the question that has been bothering her. "Like, do we have to stop an oncoming apocalypse?"

Merlin lifts himself on his elbow and looks at her over Arthur. "Kilgarrah says there is but I've never found anything in all my reincarnations. I just lived my life and well, died."

His answer is oddly comforting. Gwen likes the idea of being ordinary.

"I like being normal, you know." Arthur echoes her thoughts. "All that "unite the kingdom thing" was really stressful."

"Yeah," says Gwen. "I rather you not be murdered in service of your country too."

"That too," agrees Arthur as he slips an arm around Gwen and pulls her closer. He turns to look at Merlin. "I think it's time you go home, Merlin."

AN: Thank you for the comments!