AN: I made a small edit in the previous chapter. If you read the reviews, you'll know what and why. On another note, thank you for the comments! I apologise if this fic is getting too rambling (as the back of my mind keeps telling me) but well. I like the idea of them taking their time getting together.

Good morning. :)

Arthur stared at his phone, as guilt almost choked him. He'd been such a coward dealing with Elena. Gwen would be appalled. Even as anxiety rose in him, he quickly typed a reply.

Are you free for lunch?

Her quick reply only made him feel worse. He typed in a time and place, placed his phone on the table, then leaned back into his chair, closed his eyes and replayed that scene over and over again. What had he been thinking? Gwen was dating Gwaine and he had told himself to keep his distance. Yet within the matter of hours, he'd completely forgotten.

"I was looking at the presentation again."

"Any breakthrough?" Arthur cracked open an eye and looked up at Merlin. "You're still in your pajamas."

Merlin shot him a look. "Are we expecting visitors?"

"No."

"Then what does it matter what I wear? What's wrong with you?" Merlin pulled out a mug and some instant coffee.

"Nothing wrong with me."

"Want some coffee?"

Arthur shook his head. "The presentation?"

"Yeah." Clicking the switch on the kettle, Merlin turned around and leaned against the kitchen cabinet. "It's too professional."

Shifting so he was sitting up straight, Arthur said nothing. Merlin often started out cryptic but given time, he'd explain himself. Patience was always a virtue when dealing with Merlin, not that Arthur usually had much patience. As Merlin pottered around the kitchen in his ugly pajamas, making his coffee and toast, Arthur drummed his fingers on the table.

Merlin started to hum the theme song of one of his dramas.

"Alright. What do you mean by too professional?"

"Remember how Morgana called us a scrappy band of something? And you know how everyone loves an underdog?"

Arthur leaned forward as Merlin's words sunk in. "So our presentation looks too slick, too impersonal?"

"Exactly." Sliding the coffee cup onto the table, Merlin took a seat.

"What do you propose we do?"

"I have no idea."

Percy, Morgana's babysitter, looked suspiciously at Arthur before handing Sarah over.

"Say bye bye to Percy," said Arthur, waving Sarah's arm at Percy.

She happily babbled her goodbyes.

"Thanks! I'll drop her off at Morgana's."

Always the silent giant, Percy just nodded, then closed the door, leaving Arthur and Sarah in the corridor. Arthur peeked down at Sarah in his arms, and smiled. If there was anyone who could ease the storm of feelings that had been buffeting him over the past weeks, it was Sarah. Whenever he was with her, there was a sense of peace that always enveloped him. Strapping her into his car, he kissed her head, taking in a breath of her baby scent before starting the car. The plan was to go for a walk in the park, feed some of the ducks and that one swan and try and forget about all that plagued him.

He didn't count on bumping into Gwen at the park.

"Did you throw your doggy out?" Arthur stood from the bench and crouched next to the stroller, peering around to see if he could find it.

"Looking for this?"

Lifting his head, Arthur found himself looking up at Gwen. In her hand was Sarah's stuffed dog.

The joy that hit him when he saw her was indescribable. "Hey you."

She smiled. "Hey you. And hello Sarah. Do you remember me? I've missed you."

As Gwen bent over the stroller and tickled a very amused Sarah, Arthur saw that Gwen still looked stressed. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it but she looked like she lost weight as well.

"It's not lunch time for you, is it? Because if it is, don't you think it's rather late?"

"Ah, the building site needed to stop work till that mess we have with the paperwork is sorted out. And I didn't feel like going back to the office." She stood, wiping her hands on her pants, and gave him a wry smile. "It's so frustrating, you know. I've always been careful about all the paperwork that needs to be done but somehow I managed to miss filing this. And now, of course, everything is delayed and my client is not happy to say the least."

As he pushed Sarah along the pond, Gwen walked beside him. "When did this problem surface?"

"The day after we put in the bid – that was Thursday, I think." Gwen shook her head, her pony tail swishing from side to side. "Thankfully Gwaine has been so understanding about it because it's affecting my work on his project as well."

"Gwaine sounds nice." He kicked a pebble across the path.

"He is. He's been really good to me these few days."

"I guess you two are serious about each other." Why he was torturing himself like this, Arthur had no clue. But perhaps if he heard more about Gwen and Gwaine, he'd stop that pining his heart insisted on doing.

"Serious? It's only been a week." Gwen shrugged. "But I like him."

Arthur glanced at Gwen. "Yeah he seems like a good man."

"How about you and Elena?"

Immediately, Arthur remembered the very awkward lunch he just had. "Oh. We're just friends."

"I thought you two were more than friends." Gwen stopped walking and turned to face him. "Did you get dumped?"

"No. Actually, I told her it wasn't going to work out just today."

Gwen made a comforting noise and rubbed his arm. It was supposed to be comforting but all Arthur felt was desire curling through him. Quickly he took a step away from her.

"I thought you liked her."

Gripping the handles of the stroller tightly, Arthur walked on, trying to get his raging hormones under control. He wasn't a teenager anymore for goodness sake. "I thought I did too. Turns out I didn't."

"So, you're single again huh?"

Arthur stopped. The words were flippant but there was something in her tone. Slowly he turned to face her. "Yes," he said, his voice low. "I'm single again."

She was closer than he thought.

"That's good," she said.

"Good?" He dropped his hands from the stroller. "Why is it good?"

She frowned but said nothing.

Arthur stared down at her and she looked right back at him, her brown eyes filled with a message he wasn't sure he was reading correctly. Slowly, he brought his hand to her cheek.

She didn't move away, moving her face imperceptibly into his palm. Whatever plan he had, whatever common sense he had, disintegrated under her gaze.

"Yesterday," he said quietly. "I almost kissed you."

"I know," she whispered, one hand moving to his hip. Her touch was light, barely felt through his shirt, but it was enough to send Arthur's blood rushing through him.

For a while, they stood unmoving, just staring at each other.

"Gwen."

She blinked, then suddenly took a step back, her chest heaving. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Desire still coursed through Arthur although he suddenly felt bereft. Gwen was still apologizing, her eyes everywhere except on him. The distress on her face was like ice water.

"I should go to the office."

"Gwen. We just got caught up in a moment. It just happened. It doesn't mean anything."

Nodding, Gwen gratefully took the out he gave her. "Yeah. I really have to go to the office. And it's not like you can give me a in your car."

Accepting her attempt to ease the lingering tension, Arthur smiled. "One day Gwen, you'll take back your words."

This time her smile was more genuine and Arthur basked in being able to rescue them both from that ill-advised moment. "And one day, you'll let me drive your car."

"Never," he said as she walked away.

"You're late."

Arthur arched an eyebrow at his sister, who leaned against the front door, arms crossed, feet tapping against the floor. "By about 5 minutes. We were having fun."

She stepped aside, allowing Arthur to enter her small apartment with a sleeping Sarah. Gently he lowered Sarah into her cot, adjusted her stuffed dog next to her, then leaned over and dropped a kiss on her head. Morgana came to stand next to him, her fingers curling around the sides of the cot.

"How was your day?"

Morgana kissed him on the cheek. "Good. Except for some reporters who were trying to get me to take sides between you and Dad."

"I hope you chose my side."

"You tired Sarah out. And of course I picked you to win. I even gave a little speech about the importance of preserving the heritage of our town." Gently, Morgana touched Sarah, tracing her cheek. "What did you two do today?"

"We went to the park, fed some ducks. She's a big fan of the aggressive swan."

"She's a big fan of everything that moves."

Sarah started to stir, making grumbling noises. Arthur ran a hand over her soft hair, smiling fondly at Sarah. "She's a darling. Thanks for letting me have her."

"I would like to point out to you that I still have to pay Percy even though you took her off him."

"You can afford it."

In response, Morgana smacked his shoulder. "Want to have dinner together? I've some leftovers from yesterday."

"Yeah, why not?"

When Gwen asked Arthur to come over to her place, without Merlin, to talk, dread pooled in his stomach. She greeted him at the door, her face streaked with flour.

"Pies?"

"Your favourite." Her lips quirked into a slight smile.

His heart immediately leapt as irrational hope built in him. "Need my help?"

She turned to walk into the kitchen. "If by help you mean tossing flour at me, then no."

As usual, her kitchen was a mess, bowls and spoons strewn all over the place, flour all over the counter tops. It was utterly Gwen and Arthur never realized he could like messiness so much.

Picking up a spoon, Arthur leaned against her counter, and watched as she checked on her pies in the oven.

"What are you smiling at?"

"You," he said honestly.

"Ah." Her eyes slid from his and she folded the towel she used to handle the oven pan, slowly and carefully. Arthur was pretty sure she was usually never so neat. She was nervous and that made him nervous as well. His fluffy, irrational hopes dissipated.

"Ah?"

"I think we need to talk about what happened yesterday." Gwen began moving bowls from one part of the counter to another, still refusing to look at him.

Arthur stiffened as tension built in him. "We're in business together."

Finally, she looked up at him. "I'm not backing out of that. I just think that we need to draw some lines. Be clear about things."

His hands curled into fists. "About things. If you are worried I'm going to pounce on you, then there's nothing to worry about. I can control myself."

"Arthur." She sucked on her lower lip and he hated how it made him want to kiss her. "I –"

"It's just physical attraction. It happens. You're not the first one." He was overreacting, being an ass but it seemed the only way to deal with the pain. Pushing himself away from the counter, he walked out of the kitchen, pausing at the entrance. "Don't worry, Gwen. I know where the line is."

"Arthur!"

He stopped but didn't say anything, tensing when he felt Gwen walk towards him, then her hand on his arm. Slowly, reluctantly, he turned around and seeing Gwen, her eyes sad and worried, the anger that had surged in him, disappeared.

"I don't want to lose our friendship. Not over this. Acting on our attraction – it's a bad idea. We work together and –"

He covered her hand with his. "And I'm not a good bet."

"That's not true."

Rubbing his thumb over her hand, he smiled. "Well, I wouldn't bet on me. So you probably shouldn't."

The oven beeped. Gwen shot him a wry look. "Pies."

Merlin arrived a while later and as they tucked into Gwen's pies, Merlin shared their breakthrough from a few days ago. At least talk of work, distracted Arthur from the awkwardness that was bubbling between him and Gwen.

"Only," said Merlin. "We can't decide how to give the presentation more heart while keeping it professional. We thought of a video but that might be too produced and too fake."

Arthur nodded. "It's a fine line to walk. My dad can put up something slick and professional but it's expected of them. They are promising profit. We are trying to win people over with history and nostalgia."

Gwen chewed slowly, clearly deep in thought. "So we need to make them nostalgic. What about bringing them to the city hall itself? We don't have to have the whole presentation in the conference hall right?"

"That's a brilliant idea." Merlin put down his fork, a clear sign that he was excited.

Her eyes sparkling, Gwen also set her fork down. "Stories. People love stories. We bring them to the city hall, tell stories of its place in the town – it's bound to tug at their heartstrings."

Watching Gwen and Merlin trade ideas, Arthur couldn't help but grin. All his years working on projects in his father's company, he'd worked with various people and while he'd generally worked well with them, there was never this energy, this synergy. So this was what all those business consultants were talking about during all those boring training he had had to sit through.

"Videos," said Arthur. "We could interview people for the videos. Don't make it too polished. Together with the visit, it could work."

Gwen beamed at him. "I think we might have a pretty good idea here. We just have so much to do."

"We have slightly less than a week. It's not impossible. Arthur and I will work on it." Merlin popped a piece of pie in his mouth. "I'm pretty excited."

Arthur smiled at Gwen. "Me too."

Merlin was out looking for people to interview and Arthur was working on polishing up their opening presentation when the doorbell rang. Annoyed at the interruption and convinced that it was more reporters, Arthur swung open the door, ready to bite someone's head off.

"Gwaine!"