Oh God, the possibilities of pairings for this story are just so endless you know, it's really stimulating to write this one out!

BTw Lance is in the picture now for those of you guys wondering where he was off to, so possible pairings for now are Arthur/Merlin, Arthur/Gwaine, Merlin/Morgana, Arthur/Lancelot, Gwaine/Percival, Lancelot/Gwen, and hell if I know where I'm taking this in the end!

I hope you guys like the ambiguity as much as I do and I urge you guys to keep an open mind….as this story may end up ending in any of the above pairing scenarios!

Sorry for the wait on this chapter, I am suffering from a hellish cold and fever and couldn't stand to see my PC screen for two days, colds are horrid!

CHAPTER - 12

"I told you to be careful"

Merlin frowned at Lance who was seated quite comfortably on his living room couch and sipping white wine when Merlin was quite literally losing his head.

"You're not surprised" Merlin stated narrowing his eyes at Lance who shrugged.

When Merlin had started to become friends with Arthur, Lance was none too pleased about it but still he'd not actually expressed his dislike in anything other than the occasional frown and warning Merlin to keep his eyes wide open at all times because Arthur didn't make friends with people without an ulterior motive behind it.

Merlin groaned and rubbed his temples in irritation, it was just one kiss, and he shouldn't be making a big deal out of this! He wasn't a bloody high school girl for God's sake.

"He was drunk off his arse though, so maybe….maybe it wasn't all that intentional"

Lancelot looked pointedly at Merlin and then asked "Are you really that naïve?"

Merlin's shoulders slumped and Lance's eyes softened, he knew all too well how confusing it was to deal with Arthur's attentions.

Merlin grew exasperated then and huffed, "I kissed him back Lance! I kissed him back when I've never even thought about kissing a bloke before and I liked it!"

Lance sighed and set his wine glass down on the coffee table as he said "Really Merlin, just because you liked being kissed by one bloke doesn't make you gay or bi…you don't have to go hurtling into a sexuality crisis over that."

Merlin went and sat on the couch close to Lance and murmured "Maybe your right….I'm over reacting"

Lance squeezed Merlin's thigh saying "No you aren't, it's okay to be unnerved by it…."

Lance's voice was gentle but his face was shrouded in misery when Merlin really looked at him and Merlin felt like the lowest scum on the earth at once for bringing up Arthur to Lance of all people.

"Shit mate, I'm sorry I brought him up to you…." Merlin hastily apologized as Lance closed his eyes and shook his head, when he opened his eyes to look at Merlin, his smile was fond as he asked "Well who else are you going to vent to, Will?"

Merlin had to smile at that for they both knew Will was a terrible person to have a heart to heart with.

They settled back against the couch then but before Merlin could tactfully divert the topic Lance said "Arthur…he's a bit like the sun you know, and when he directs all that charm and warmth on you with a single minded focus you're just left wanting to be in his presence….and then when it's over, you're left feeling cold all over like you've never been before."

Lance gulped and took his wine glass again chugging it all down in one swallow as Merlin bit his lip and wondered if Lance would ever get over Arthur. And as a friend he should be helping Lance in that respect instead of foisting his own silly troubles on Lance who still seemed heartbroken.

Merlin was concerned though as he thought Lance would never get over Arthur if he didn't confront the whole matter and Arthur head on.

For all these six months since he'd started working at Pendragon Corps Lance had never ventured out with Merlin and his mates whenever Merlin invited him, he became even more of a recluse when Merlin had revealed that he had forged a friendship with Arthur Pendragon.

It was a testament of Lance's bleeding noble heart that he wasn't angry at Merlin for that, Will would have quite gladly throttled Merlin if he ever did something like that to him.

So it was plain to see for him that he just had to break Lance out of his self-imposed exile from dating life and just get him to get over his heartbreak because Lance did not deserve it. Unfortunately it would mean getting Lance to come out with him where Arthur would also be present but Merlin resolved that he'd just have to do it, for Lance's sake even if Lance would want to punch him after that, but Merlin was going to rely on Lance's goodwill and hope that he wouldn't.


Arthur was having one hell of a headache that he'd consumed three cups of coffee since the morning and it was not even nine am yet.

To make things worse Merlin was not speaking to him, he remembered their drunken kiss only vaguely and he'd tried to apologize to Merlin by calling him but Merlin wasn't picking up his damned phone.

He sent the fifth text as of this morning to Merlin saying, 'Merlin, I'm sorry, can we talk?'

Not surprisingly there was no reply even after half an hour had passed and Arthur resolved to meet Merlin later in the day in his floor and confront him, though he had no idea what he was supposed to say other than what he'd already tried saying through his texts.

He was in his office pretending to work while nursing his head in his hands and doing anything but work. It was understandable really that he scowled when Gwaine came in with a satisfyingly smug expression that only a thorough shag could give.

And now that he knew who Gwaine was shagging with, he couldn't refrain from needling Gwaine even if he wanted to.

Gwaine didn't even glance at him from where he was seated on his chair and Arthur cleared his throat loudly and obnoxiously.

Gwaine looked up at him with his eyebrows raised expectantly and Arthur cleared his throat again before he said "So Percy" in as conversational a tone as he could muster.

Gwaine closed his eyes and sighed and when looked back up at Arthur it was with a defiance that made Arthur smirk.

"You didn't really think you could keep it from me, did you Gwainey?" Arthur asked in a condescending tone.

Gwaine shrugged and said "It doesn't matter that you know"

Arthur widened his eyes dubiously, "Really now?"

"Yes" Gwaine said bitingly rising up to sit straight and leaning his hands on his desk.

Arthur pretended to pick at his perfectly manicured nails as he deliberated, "I wonder what Aunt Annis would have to say about you dating a security guard at the company…"

Gwaine narrowed his eyes and snapped "I'll bet it would be better than what she'd say if I was dating you."

Arthur looked mock insulted and quipped, "Now that's blasphemy, Aunt Annis loves me…she'd think me quite a catch for her son…"

Gwaine rolled his eyes and said "What's blasphemy is incest Arthur, we're cousins for Christ's sake!"

Arthur flapped his hands in the air like that was not even a thing to be concerned about and said "Five times removed distant cousins….we're not that related."

Gwaine gave it up as a lost cause then and booted up his laptop hoping to fend off further questions from Arthur but it was not to be.

"I suppose I understand why you'd take a shine to him…"

Gwaine kept quiet knowing Arthur was goading.

"After all you were always the one to like the brawny types….you know there are things that are more pleasurable that being held down in awkward positons by aggressive brutes."

Gwaine snorted and said sarcastically "You'd know that would you? After all your preference has always been tiny twinks who would bend over easily for you. You're too chicken shit to go for a real man Princess."

Arthur's eyes widened and Gwaine smirked congratulating himself on a job well done.

Arthur spluttered and Gwaine crossed his arms and waited.

"I do to go for real men Gwainey! If you forgot I dated Percy long before you did!" Arthur pointed out triumphantly.

Gwaine just shook his head, "Percy doesn't count and you know it!" Percy for all his gigantic build was such a sweet gentle man underneath it all.

Arthur was still wide eyed and indignant and Gwaine for once felt like he had the upper hand and he couldn't help but taunt Arthur further, "Just admit it Princess, you're an arse virgin who is scared of letting any real man bugger you for real."

Arthur got up from his chair then in a right conniption fit when Gwaine just laughed and swung left and right in his revolving chair with a wide smile on his face.

"I AM NOT AN ARSE VIRGIN!" Arthur proclaimed just before he came to stand before Gwaine.

Gwaine raised his eyebrows dubiously, "Of course you aren't…" Gwaine's tone was chiding and Arthur just could not take the smug smile on Gwaine's face for a single second longer.

So it all came bursting out, "I am not an arse virgin, quite contrarily the one who took my arse virginity was Kay in high school"

Gwaine's eyes widened in disbelief as he knew Kay to be one of the most arrogant little arse hats to ever walk the planet and never understood why Arthur was friends with the guy.

"And then there was Leon, Lance and yes my dear Gwainey….your Percy too!"

Gwaine wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for the fact that Arthur's cheeks were turning red and he was sucking his lip inward like he did when he'd revealed something he'd rather not have said at all.

It was the closest Gwaine had come to seeing Arthur being genuinely uncomfortable in any situation aside from that one time they got caught by Uther sans clothes on one of their memorable Halloween parties where they'd both had a bit too much to drink.

And not so surprisingly Percy had fucked Arthur, Gwaine didn't know how he felt about that bit of revelation, for now he just wanted to enjoy to look of abject discomfort on Arthur's face for all the times Arthur had put him in such a position.

Gwaine then smirked, he couldn't help himself as Arthur narrowed his blue eyes clouded with ire, "Fine then….I'll make a concession"

"Not an arse virgin then…..an arse prude it is!"

Arthur snorted "You can't say the word prude and my name in the same sentence and you know it. So what if I have a preference to top? I like giving more than receiving and…" Arthur dropped his voice a few octaves and came closer to Gwaine leaning down towards him saying "I'm very very good at giving…"

Arthur's hands sidled up to Gwaine's thighs and started stroking up and down and Gwaine wondered when the tables had turned with him being none the wiser.

Gwaine was not in the mood for their usual tomfoolery though, he'd had quite enough of that for today and he caught Arthur's hands when they were at a danger of groping his groin area where he was half hard already just by Arthur putting his hands on him.

He resented the power Arthur had over him in that way, why couldn't he be an unattractive and heartless bugger Gwaine could hate and leave it at that?

But no Arthur had to be the bloke whose face looked like it had been carved by the Gods and was blessed with the charms and conniving to go with his looks. What was worse was that Arthur did have the capability to care about people, he just had an awful way of showing it and it had never gotten into his head even now that what he was doing to people was wrong.

Gwaine's musings had left him unprepared for when he snapped back into the present to find Arthur so close to him and that his hands were still wrapped around Arthur's on his lap.

Gwaine sighed then, tired of their games, because it was always games with Arthur, "Are you ever going to stop?" he asked looking into Arthur's eyes with a seriousness that Arthur was not accustomed to seeing from Gwaine.

Arthur was confused, "What do you mean?" he asked while squeezing Gwaine's thighs as his eyes sought Gwaine's lips and wanted nothing more than to kiss him, right there and then.

Gwaine put a stop to it however as he forcefully took Arthur's hands off of him and rolled his chair back to put some distance between himself and Arthur.

When he was satisfied he looked up to see Arthur looking mutinous and snapped "This Arthur" he indicated encompassing them both.

Arthur didn't reply and Gwaine scowled, he couldn't believe he was still letting Arthur grope him on every occasion and enjoying it when he was in a relationship with someone who made him happy for once.

"This has to stop!" he said resolutely as he stood up and started pacing, "I am in a relationship with Percy, I like him…." He turned around to face Arthur and said it again for Arthur's benefit because he could be the most thick skulled person to have ever lived, "I like him a lot"

Arthur's lips curled but he didn't say anything as Gwaine said "I hope you respect that Arthur, I really do."

Arthur knew now was not the time to throw a fit like he rightly wanted to and nodded his compliance managing not to scowl until Gwaine's back was turned. Percy was a nice enough guy and Arthur didn't even dislike him but he should have known better than to lay his hands on Gwaine when the entire bloody office knew Gwaine was strictly off limits.


Morgana and Elena were looking at the security camera's footage of the lobby where Percy was standing in his customary uniform and frowned.

"I thought he'd be fired for sure" said Morgana, still confused about how Arthur had not retaliated in that nasty way he did whenever someone put a toe out of line.

"Hmm, yeah I was expecting a dog fight at the least" Elena replied, "It's strange for Arthur to be so complacent about it all….maybe against all the odds he's letting Gwaine be?"

Morgana snorted, "No way, he was murderous when he saw them yesterday, Merlin and I had to literally restrain him to prevent him from running over to Percy and smashing his face in."

"Speaking of which, where is Merlin today?" asked Elena.

Morgana frowned again as she asked "He hasn't come in?"

"No" Elena said and the cogs turned in Morgana's mind as she and Elena turned to each other at once and said "Oh shit!"

"You think they might have?" Elena asked while Morgana fumed not understanding why she was so put off by the thought.

"NO!"

Elena not noticing Morgana's mood speculated, "Arthur is a bit of a handsy drunk you know….and Merlin….he's so impressionable…maybe…"

"NO Elena!" Morgana shouted and Elena shut her mouth looking bewildered, "He was too drunk off his arse to do anything but puke and pass out."

"If you say so" Elena mumbled as she looked at Morgana pensively.

Then after she'd come to a very good conclusion on why Morgana looked pissed off she said "You know you should make a move on him already if you're that interested."

Morgana spluttered, "WHAT? I'm not….interested…"

Elene tutted, "Come now, dense is not your style…."

Morgana huffed and looked at Elena chewing her lip in thought, then clearing her throat primly she asked "You think I should call him?"

Elena had a Cheshire cat grin on her face as she proclaimed "You totally should"

Morgana mirrored her grin before she took out her mobile and scrolled through finding Merlin's number.


So, enjoy reading!

Reviews are much appreciated and loved, thankyou guys for keeping me motivated to write this story!