A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in updating. I freaked out over a characterization issue and consequently went back through the entire fic to revise a few details. I'm happier with the state of the fic now, so you'll find some very small changes in the earlier chapters.

Thank you as always for your lovely reviews, and I hope you enjoy!

"Okay, so how do we approach this?" Morgana asks, tapping her fountain pen on the notebook in front of her. Startled awake by yet another nightmare, she'd spent plenty of time thinking about how best to approach the topic of their presentation with Merlin while she'd lingered over a very early breakfast, and she has her fair share of ideas. Still, she wants to give him a chance to voice his opinions before stepping in and taking over.

If there was one thing she'd often been accused of doing wrongly in her academic past, it was taking over and stifling her collaborators. Granted, in the past, they'd all been idiots and she'd been justified in doing so… But now, for once that she's paired with an equal – even if her lack of doctorate says otherwise, she wants to give Merlin a chance.

"Well we have two months until the conference."

"We do," Morgana confirms, smirking.

Merlin takes in Morgana's expression and struggles not to smile back. She seems perfectly at home, at ease in his office, and he sees the emerald green leather of her laptop case sticking out of her woven, leather bag.

Caving into his smile, he leans back in his chair. "You have this all planned out, don't you?"

Morgana feigns an innocent expression, and Merlin nods and adds, "If I know you at all, you already have a schedule and a proposal drawn up."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Morgana…"

She beams and reaches into her bag, pulling out her laptop case. "Alright, fine. I have a slideshow with all of the details."

Merlin crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow as his mouth twitches. "I knew it."

"I wanted to see what you came up with first. Who was working on this with you before Caelia turned to me?"

"Ella Jenkins. She was visiting from Cambridge."

"And?"

"We didn't get along."

"Caelia said she dropped out, not that you drove her away."

"She had unethical research methodology."

"Ah. So you didn't get much done."

"Nothing. We had to ditch everything."

"So you have no ideas."

Merlin smirks. "I didn't say that."

"Then go ahead."

Merlin raises his eyebrow. "Don't you want to show me your slideshow?"

"You already know my approach is better, then." Morgana smirks.

"That's not what I'm suggesting."

"Just tell her your plan, Merlin!" Ben exclaims, standing up from the desk across the room. "I'm going to the library until your meeting is over."

Morgana turns in her seat towards Merlin's officemate and shoots him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry," Merlin adds. "We should be done within the hour."

Ben raises both eyebrows at them. "Somehow, I highly doubt that."

Conversation flows with increasing ease as the afternoon elapses before them. They go through their respective ideas for the panel. They split up the labour and share reading lists and do far more planning than either usually would for an hour-long talk. Ben returns to pick up his things and leave for the weekend, long past the hour he'd designated. He gives them knowing looks and departs without a word, and still the two sit and talk, pretending to stick to the topic that's brought them back together but truly looking for excuses to catch up without letting go of their anger or their hurt.

They finally stray and move on to talking about the ways their lives had changed over the past five years. Morgana starts telling Merlin about her work and is mid-anecdote about a time Galahad had gotten them into a sticky situation by losing the code to a building they were trying to get into and deciding to compensate by flirting with the guard when Merlin suddenly, and very quietly, asks, "What made you come back, Morgana?"

The smile drops from Morgana's face as she takes in the change in his expression. The laughter that had rung through the room moments earlier is gone, and Merlin looks somehow sad, as if he doesn't quite believe why she's here.

"To Monmouth? Elaine sent me," she says, frowning. Surely she'd told him that much.

"Why? What does a university have to do with a paper? Let alone a Medievalist institute?"

Morgana hesitates. She isn't supposed to talk about her missions, but she doesn't want to lie to Merlin, and after her fruitless meeting with Nimueh that morning, she's beginning to think that this mission isn't as authentic as Elaine would like her to believe.

"Elaine asked me to look into Dr Nimueh. Apparently she's getting ready to make some scandalous announcement that promises to impact society as a whole, and I'm supposed to find out what it is."

"To stop it?"
"No. That isn't what I do. We don't play at God."

Merlin huffs, looking down at his lap as he leans back in his chair. He raises his eyebrows and looks back up at her, eyes scrutinizingly lingering on hers. "Well. I don't know if I can be of much help, but I've noticed something odd about Nimueh. I may be able to figure out what she's working on. Though," he trails off, grinning. "I'm sure you'll figure it out before I do."

"At this rate, I'm not so sure."

Merlin cocks his head at her, but then sobers up. "Still, that isn't quite what I meant."

"Oh?"

"What prompted you to come back to this? To academia."

"I missed this. I love my job, but I needed something more, for me. Just for me. What I do… I get a thrill out of my work, and it's reassuring to know that some of what I do has an impact. That fewer people can be victimized by corrupt business men, and that fewer politicians and bankers and men in power can abuse their offices and take advantage of people. I love it, and I don't intend to stop. But I also missed this. Investigating gives me a thrill, but the joy I find in learning, in research, and even in writing is something else. Coming back this week reminded me of how much I love it, and how much I pretended that I couldn't live without it. I can't, and so I'm back."

Merlin's expression softens as she speaks, and he smiles when she finishes. "I can understand that. I've never seen anyone as driven as you are."

"I'm glad Caelia has us working together," she says with determination, "and I'm glad you didn't back out when she suggested we collaborate."

"Well," Merlin begins, eyes sparkling as he speaks, "I thought it would be silly to ignore the chance."

Smiling, Morgana looks down, feeling for the first time since she'd decided to speak to Merlin and open up that things might begin to go the way she'd hardly dared to hope they would. Filled with newly found confidence, she decides to ask the question that's been pressing on her mind.

"Gwen told me you wrote part of your doctorate on the Aithusa myth."

Merlin nods, blood rushing to his cheeks. "I, um. I couldn't shake the myth after all that happened, so I started digging into all similar stories, and well, I ended up writing the whole thing on the politicized stand-in of dragons in medieval myths as influential allegories. I used Aithusa in the section on positive influences."

Morgana nods. She'd read as much on his online profile after talking to Gwen, but she wanted to hear more. "I'd love to read it."

"They'll have it in the library soon, but I can send you a copy. In fact," he pauses, his ears growing far redder than his face, "there's talk of turning it into a book."

"Merlin! That's wonderful!"

"Thank you," he looks down, not used to praise.

They go silent for a couple of moments before Merlin meets her eye and quietly asks, "Do you still have Aithusa?"

"Of course I do."

"How is he?"

"I still think he's as adorable. I'm lucky to have him."

"Still as loyal as ever?"

Morgana nods. "He lives up to his namesake. He can't stand anyone else, though. Remember how sweet he was with you? He hisses at everyone now. Arthur's terrified of him."

Merlin chuckles. "Somehow, I'm not surprised. Arthur doesn't even want to meet Kilgharrah."

"Kilgharrah?"

"I adopted a cat, too. Or rather, he adopted me. He showed up at my flat one day, and he hasn't left."

"What's he like?"

"Fat, grey, bossy. All he does is eat and give me grumpy looks."

Morgana nods, laughing. "Does he have a dragon for a namesake, too?"

"One of the manipulative bastards I wrote about. In his myth, Kilgharrah's an old, scaly dragon who twists a warlock around his finger and crushes the fate of an entire kingdom out of vengeance."

Morgana raises an eyebrow. "Perfect for a pet."

Merlin shrugs. "He's good to have around. It's nice to have a living creature in the flat."

Morgana's tempted to ask if he has anyone else, if things have changed with Viviane, but she resists, not wanting to risk the awkwardness. Yet she finds herself talking before she can help it. "You should come see Aithusa sometime."

Merlin nods. "I'd like that."

Morgana looks out the window at the darkening sky. "Do you want to come now? We've been here most of the afternoon and it's getting late. I can give you the book I mentioned, too."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asks, swallowing thickly.

Morgana gives him a half sided smile, and eyes lighting up as he takes in the ease with which she confirms her request, Merlin agrees.

They walk to Morgana's flat, Merlin rolling his bicycle along with them. For all the time that's gone by, Morgana can't help but note how good it feels to walk beside him again, even as ridiculous nerves flutter through her stomach, and unbeknownst to her, through Merlin's as well. They fall into step, trading stories with increasing ease, and when Merlin follows her through the door and up the stairs of the old, Georgian building she now calls home, Morgana hopes that the awkwardness is behind them for good.

It isn't.

They barely make it in the door before Aithusa is bounding down the corridor, meowing and announcing his presence. He ignores Morgana and makes straight for Merlin, meows growing louder and turning to purrs as Merlin crouches down to greet him.

"Hi, Aithusa." He holds out his hand, and the cat brushes against his legs, nudging the offered hand with his head.

Merlin silently laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he gives Aithusa his full attention.

Warmth rushes through Morgana as she watches them. That Aithusa hates everyone but her is well known to her and her circle of family and friends, and seeing that his love for Merlin is still as strong as the day they'd gone to adopt him reassures her. She gently puts down her woven leather tote on the wrought iron bench by the door and slips off her trench before hanging it on the hook above.

"Kilgharrah never greets me like this," Merlin mutters, standing up with Aithusa in his arms. He scratches him behind the ears as he speaks, and Aithusa's deep purrs echo through the tiny room.

"Well Aithusa rarely even greets me like that. I think he's missed you."

"Well I've missed him, too," Merlin says, keeping his eyes trained on Morgana's. His voice is steady, assertive, and he adds, "Very much."

Morgana's mouth twitches and curls into a smile. A wave of happy calm washes through her as Merlin returns her smile and she reaches out to briefly but firmly squeeze the arm he has wrapped around Aithusa.

"Why don't I show you around? This isn't much compared to the penthouse, but it feels more like home."

"It suits you," Merlin states, moments after they make it into the small living/dining area. Wrought iron and glass bookshelves line the walls and the room is decked out in emerald green accents. Merlin smiles as he takes it in, feeling Morgana's presence in every detail. "It looks far more like you."

"Thank you. Can I offer you anything to drink?"

"Just some water, please."

Morgana nods. "I'll be right back, then. Make yourself at home."

The doorbell rings almost as soon as Morgana steps into the kitchen. Sighing, she puts down the glass she'd picked up and makes her way back down the corridor.

Peeping through the door, she sees Galahad standing outside, shopping bag in hand.

"Lad! What are you doing here?" she asks, immediately opening the door.

"I called you and texted you. About a half dozen times." He holds up a bottle of wine and a bag full of what definitely smells like takeaway. "I thought we could catch up."

"I've been busy. I didn't notice, and we saw each other last night, Lad!"

Galahad tries to feign a look of innocence but then sighs. "I need your advice."

"About Viviane?"

Colour rushes to Galahad's cheeks and Morgana grins.

"Maybe?"

"Alright, come in, but mind you I'm not alone."

Galahad frowns. "You never have anyone over. No!"

"Not like that!"

Still carrying the wine and the food, Galahad marches straight into her living room. "Merlin!

Morgana rolls her eyes and follows him. Merlin is standing in front of the sofa, Aithusa still in his arms, and Galahad is gaping at him.

"Something wrong, Lad?"

"He's holding Aithusa."

"And?"

"And Aithusa's snuggled up to him! Purring! I can hear him purring from here, Morgana."

Morgana crosses her arms, and lips curling upwards, turns to Merlin who's coolly but amusedly watching Galahad.

"Aithusa likes Merlin."

"Aithusa doesn't like anyone, Morgana."

"That's obviously not true."

Galahad silently laughs and then takes a few steps towards Merlin and Aithusa. Aithusa affectionately nudges Merlin and then turns around, hissing as Galahad approaches.

"You see! He doesn't even want me anywhere near him!"

Morgana smirks and teasingly replies, "Far be it that someone dares not to like you."

Galahad frowns. "Everybody likes me."

"Maybe it's because you got upset with him the first time you met him."

"He tore my favourite shirt with his claws!"

"Galahad! Almost all of your shirts are identical. Every shirt you own is your favourite shirt."

"It is a nice shirt."

Merlin scratches Aithusa behind the ears, secretly pleased. "He's never torn any of my clothes."

"Or mine," Morgana adds.

"That's because he likes both of you. It's a sign."

Morgana rolls her eyes at Galahad. "Merlin and I adopted him together."

"Yeah, but he was always partial to you, even then. Remember how he would let the other kittens near you?"

"I do." Morgana smiles and steps closer to pet Aithusa. He begins to purr more loudly at her approach, and she leans down to kiss him on top of the head.

Merlin catches a whiff of her perfume as she does so, and he struggles to remain perfectly still as her lips linger, centimetres from his fingers. She stays near after she stands, and he gives into his smile after he catches her looking his way.

"This is disgusting," Galahad interrupts. "He's a monster with everybody else."

"Well, he's my monster, Lad."

Merlin gently puts Aithusa down, but the cat sticks next to him, weaving in and out around his feet.

"Should I go?" Merlin asks. He knows now that there is and never has been anything between Morgana and Galahad, but he feels like he's intruding nonetheless. "I don't want to get in the way of your plans."

"We didn't have plans, and no, you should stay if you want to. Galahad just wanted my advice, and I think you might even be able to help him."

"Morgana!" Galahad objects.

"Well I don't think anyone knows Viviane as well as Merlin does. You might benefit from asking him, too."

"Viviane?!" Merlin asks, smirking and sitting down on the sofa. "So this is why you were at my lecture yesterday. I did think it was a bit odd."

"It was a public lecture! And besides," Galahad adds, "I like dragons."

Morgana snorts. "Since when?"

"Since forever," Galahad says defiantly. "Merlin gave a very interesting talk." He turns to Merlin and adds, "Your slideshow was very compelling."

"You're just saying that because Viviane said she suggested it," Merlin teases.

"I am not."

"Awww you made a slideshow!" Morgana interrupts. "I want to see it."

"It wasn't that good."

"Please?! We can hook it up to the television while we eat!"

"Fine," Merlin agrees, blushing as he walks back to get his laptop from his bag in the entryway.

Galahad beams at Morgana as he grabs three wine glasses from off Morgana's bar car.

"Not one word," Morgana warns, raising one threatening eyebrow.

"A word about what?" Galahad asks and fails to hold back a smirk.

Morgana picks up a cushion and swats him with it before following Merlin out of the room.