Chapter 14

Arthur kept his eyes closed, savouring the warm weight over his stomach. He had dreamt about this moment so many times for the last fifteen years... Reality surpassed each of them. She was wonderful… Hot, bewitching, delicious… He stretched, reaching over the blankets to caress her, and immediately sat up startled.

Mouse whined, very annoyed to be disturbed in her sleep, and jumped on the floor. The bed beside him was empty. Arthur rubbed his eyes with his palm, ruffling his hair, dazed or crushed, he didn't care to know. The bed still held the mark of the night, her warmth and her print on the mattress… One pillow hanged midway between the bed table and the floor; Morgana had pushed it when they… She had rested her head on his shoulder afterward, and fallen asleep almost instantly, curled in his arms.

Now she was gone and he felt miserable.

Arthur dressed quickly before he opened the window to chase the last vestige of her scent out of the bedroom. The gush of fresh air helped with the threatening headache, at least a little.

She hadn't bothered to explain why… Did making love with him mean anything at all for her, or was it just the next step in the endless list of her 'mend-me' requirements? Was she going to use him, whenever she needed to feel cherished or wanted?...

He should not have let her… He could not let her.

He rested his forehead against the cold window. Morgana was never cruel, yet her behaviour was exactly that. Arthur's fist crashed on the wall. The only missing thing to add to the insult was a little note and breakfast ready. He was probably going to find that in the kitchen.

"Hi…"

He froze. Morgana was curled in the sofa, his laptop on her folded legs and a cup of coffee in front of her on the table. She was wearing his (her) favourite shirt and her delicate skin was coloring with embarrassment. The words tumbled when he spoke.

"You're here."

Morgana blushed even more and put the computer away, grabbing a cushion to shield her instead.

"Did I wake you?"

All the anger and the pain vanished into thin air. She was here. She looked adorable. The wary in her eyes while she watched him approach was adorable. She was adorable… And she was still here...

Arthur cupped her neck and brought her face to his to kiss her deeply. Morgana sighed in contentment and circled his neck to keep him close.

"Good morning…"

He smiled.

"Good morning beautiful…"

After a moment, Morgana seemingly consented to release him to stretch and Arthur noticed some resemblance with Mouse in her satisfied smile.

"I could get used to that…"

He emptied her cup and grinned.

"Kissing me?"

"You telling me I'm beautiful. And the kisses."

Pushing her splendid hair away to brush one kiss in her neck was too tempting, and he did just that.

"You're beautiful."

Arthur pressed another kiss on the sensitive skin under her jaw, playing with one button of the shirt.

"Enchanting."

And another on her now bare shoulder.

"Mouth-watering."

And another one.

"Mine."

Morgana giggled. He neatened her clothing, and pulled away with a pout.

"But I don't like waking up alone."

She straightened up toward him and lost herself completely in his embrace, her senses completely blind to anything that was not Arthur, his scent or his arms clasped around her. Each move was pushing her a little more under his charm. Morgana caressed his neck down his shoulders, and up again. He was so strong… She wanted him closer. One night was definitely not enough.

Arthur pressed her back into the cushions and his hand banged on the forgotten computer beside her. He tried to grab it while she pulled on his tee-shirt and missed. Her lips on his throat were making it impossible to concentrate. He considered simply sending the damn machine on the floor; the screen had something familiar.

Arthur blinked. A memory pierced through the mist of love and lust. Her mouth reached his chin and the remembrance shuddered. He had to have it out of his way.

Emails.

He had received emails with the same background. His mind connected with his eyes again and he froze completely.

From LeiaM

To Arthur Pendragon

Object: Me

I…

Morgana was LeiaM. She knew who he was all this time.

Arthur pulled away harshly.

Surprised, Morgana moved to caress his cheek but he dodged her hand and pointed at the computer.

"Explain."

The word chilled the air around her. The moment she had dreaded so much had finally arrived. Morgana opened her mouth to speak, but his voice snapped again.

"You lied."

This was going worse by the minute.

"Arthur…"

She wanted to touch him, to calm him with a caress or a kiss but he gripped her wrists roughly and freed her instantly, as if the contact had burnt him.

"How long?"

'For how long have you been playing with me?'

Morgana tried to answer and he beat her again.

"How could you do this to me? I loved you."

The pain in his question was excruciating. The past tense is the lasts words distressed her even more. Morgana stood slowly and began tiding the coffee table.

Furious with her silence, Arthur forced her to stop.

"Answer me!"

Her eyes were gleaming. For the first time in years, however, he had no desire to loose himself in them.

"Why would I? You judged me already."

Her flat tone screeched on his nerves. He wanted her to explain, to defend herself; he needed her to implore for his forgiveness, to tell him she loved him…

Arthur grasped her for a savage kiss and she bore the assault, totally unresponsive. He released her to smirk.

"Isn't that what you want? Some dependable idiot who will fuc…"

"Arthur."

The coldness in her voice was more efficient than a slap. Arthur let go off her arms.

She glanced down so he wouldn't see the tears ready to fall. Morgana collected her empty mug, and picked up the rest of her things.

"Be a gentleman one last time and call me a cab please."

She wished she hadn't woken up first and decided to let him sleep. She felt cold. She wished she had curled against him and buried LeiaM deep inside, never to rise again. He looked like an angel when he slept.

What harm could do some words on a screen? A lot.

Morgana zipped up her dress and sat on the bed. Mouse tiptoed onto her lap, sensing her sadness and nestled against her with a soft whine. Brief flashes were invading her mind : the race for the kitten in the store the previous weekend; the blue of his eyes when he teased her; their pairing against Uther when he tried to punish one of them (which generally handed with both being grounded); battles for the remote control to finally discover they want to watch the same thing; their epic rows when they played twister, with Merlin counting points; this way he had to know when she needed him to hold her, even when she didn't ask; years of laugh and tenderness, disappearing in a puff of smoke because she'd been so stupid.

One single tear escaped. She wanted to run into his arms for comfort, and for the first time in her life, she couldn't. She had always been able to go to him when her foolishness brought her down with a bruised heart. She ran to him and his love erased all her failures.

'I loved you'. She had ruined everything. Another tear fall, and another, and she began crying silently.

The kitten on her lap moved, and Morgana picked it up to kiss its little head, trying to sober herself.

"You'll take care of him for me, will you?"

The kitten licked the salty moisture on her cheek, and the graze from the tiny tongue nearly brought up a smile.

"Be good, Mouse."

"Morgana."

She hadn't heard him coming in. Glancing up was a mistake, another one. Morgana tried to force indifference into her voice and failed. She sounded only pathetic.

"Is the taxi here?"

Arthur sat near her on the bed, and she moved away, hoping for the distance to help ignoring how much she needed his warmth around her. It didn't.

Mouse was turning her head back and forth between them, apparently unable to decide who held her loyalty. Arthur scratched her back absently. The kitten cuddled where it was, close to Morgana, within Arthur's reach.

"I didn't… We need to talk."

The defeat in his voice was horrible. It was all her doing. Maybe she could try to explain, and appease some of his pain…

"I never meant to hurt you."

He kept silent. Morgana mustered her courage to go on.

"At first I didn't know it was you… Then we teased about the names, and I remembered… About the comic book; Justin Arthur the Shining Knight."

"You could have told me then."

Only the anger was gone from his voice. The hurt was still lingering there. She wanted to make it right; she needed it. They both did.

"I didn't know how. And you were… different. I liked the flirt. You had never flirted with me."

In his dreams, his courting was always brilliant, not the overused clichés he had served LeiaM… served her. Arthur blushed slightly.

"I didn't because you never looked at me that way."

Her heart flustered a little. Could it be…

"I was fine with what we had."

'Liar'. He never was fine with their sibling relationship, but he couldn't stand to see her crying… At least when he was her 'brother', he was able to make her smile.

His hand caressing Mouse brushed her thigh inadvertently and she tensed. Arthur withdrew his hand immediately.

"Do you think we can have that again?"

Nothing would ever be the way it was. Morgana turned her gaze away from his mesmerizing blue eyes, tears threatening to spill once more.

"No, I'm sorry. I love you. I can't go back to being your sister. I don't want to."

He could not take it any longer and closed his arms around her, to comfort her if nothing else. Morgana stiffened but he held tight, refusing to let go. 'I love you.' He could not let her go.

His fingers on her wet cheeks were almost trembling, as he dried her tears. She didn't pull away at the contact, relaxing imperceptibly at the soft gesture.

Arthur's mouth found hers for a timid kiss, which lacked all the strong emotions they had shared in the last 24 hours. Somehow, it was even better.

He didn't insist on the kiss and simply enfolded back her in his arms.

"Where we'd go from now?"

"I don't know…"

Her heart felt whole again, yet she was terrified. What if it didn't work? She was not that good in the relationship department. All her attempts so far had ended up in spectacular crashes. However, none of her former boyfriends had been Arthur...

He brushed his lips on her temple and she leaned a little into him, uncertain. She could feel his uneasiness too.

"I'm sorry Arthur… I was afraid you… rejected me if I told you I was LeiaM."

"Rejected you? I've been in love with you all my life! I would never…"

Her eyes widened in shock. Then a ravishing smile appeared to light her face, making her eyes glitter in joy. Arthur pressed his forehead to hers.

"If you can forgive 15 years or more of lying, I suppose I can forget about two months…"

"Weeks. Two weeks."

She couldn't help correcting him. He made a face at her, which she answered with one of her mischievous smiles. He loved her… Morgana freed her arms to slip them around his neck.

"Two weeks against fifteen years. You own me."

Arthur kissed her again.

"Maybe. But you're cooking anyway."

"I'm not ironing your shirts."

His next move sent her world upside-down. She missed his weight on her when Arthur broke off the kiss, and she pulled him back to her immediately, dazzling him in the sweetest way. His grasp on her hips becoming almost rude when his control began to shatter and she grinned against his mouth.

"I'm not ironing your shirts."

"Oh, I think you will… After all, you own me for fifteen years of waiting. I intend to collect every single day."

The end is only the beginning.