Chapter 21: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Arthur stared blankly at his stepsister. Morgana stared back.

Her eyes took in the fact that he was shirtless, clad only in a pair of jeans, and barefoot, that his hair was uncombed, and that he was holding his wallet in one hand.

"You're not the pizza delivery guy," Arthur blurted out in complete surprise.

"Arthur, what? You're waiting for a pizza at this hour?" Morgana blurted back. "I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd bring you this." She held up a paper bag from which the scent of Chinese food was wafting. "I had dinner out with...um, and, well, I thought--"

"You're bringing me your leftovers?" Arthur managed to say, but Morgana pushed past him and began marching down the hall to the kitchen, her high heels tapping smartly on the polished wood floor.

"I'll just put this in your kitchen and be on my way," she called over her shoulder before Arthur could protest. "You ungrateful wretch, you could at least say thank--"

There was a sudden shriek from Morgana, and a tremendous crash.

Arthur sped grimly down the hall, only to find one of his porcelain plates in pieces on the kitchen floor, with Morgana and Merlin staring down at it in dismay. It was quite clear that they had collided in the middle of the room, and Merlin's face had gone paler than usual with shock. Morgana raised her eyes first, saw his unbuttoned shirt and generally dishevelled state, and put both hands up to her mouth.

"Oh--I'm sorry, Merlin," was all she could manage to say. "I didn't hurt you?"

Arthur was white with temper.

"Morgana," he said in a glacial voice. "What the f--what, exactly, are you doing here?"

For once, Morgana seemed at a complete loss for words. "Arthur, I--"

"You have your cellphone, don't you?" he continued with quiet fury. "You could have had the decency to ring me."

"Arthur, it's alright," Merlin whispered. Arthur ignored him.

"All this innuendo, and now this spying," he hissed. "I'd really like to wring your neck!"

"Just try it," Morgana replied, getting a little of her spirit back. "I honestly wasn't spying. I had no idea that Mer--that you had company. I went to your favorite Chinese restaurant with, um, and I thought I'd be kind and bring you the leftovers because you love sauteed vegetables with sesame sauce."

"And who's Mr. Um?" Arthur snapped, putting one hand to the bridge of his nose in a gesture of frustration. "There's no reason for you to keep secrets from me at this point."

Morgana stared at the floor. "I had dinner with Leon, not that it's any of your business," she muttered. "And I am sorry, and I wasn't spying."

"You've been nattering away about my private life for weeks, and now this!"

Morgana's lower lip quivered mournfully.

Arthur glared at the bits of porcelain littering the floor. "And Morgana, that was nineteenth-century Dresden, for fuck's sake."

"It's alright," Merlin said quickly. "I can mend it, you know I can. You won't even know it was ever broken."

"It's the 'court dragon' pattern," Arthur said, suddenly losing steam. "It was my mother's."

Morgana actually looked stricken. She put out a hand and touched Arthur tentatively on the arm.

"I'm really and truly sorry, Arthur, I am."

The achingly uncomfortable moment was broken by a muffled thump on the front door.

"It must be the pizza delivery," babbled Merlin with relief. "I'll get it, shall I?"

Arthur silently handed over his wallet and Merlin raced down the hall, leaving the step-siblings face to face.

"Fifteen years ago I would have given you a good thrashing," Arthur said with a lopsided smile, looking Morgana in the eyes. "I'll forgive you, only because Merlin says he can mend the bloody thing."

"I suppose I would deserve it this time," she answered in a subdued voice. "But Arthur--I really do think it's lovely that you and M-Merlin--"

"Not another word," Arthur said warningly.

Morgana knelt down and began picking up bits and pieces of porcelain. Arthur handed her a plastic bag and she put the pieces inside.

"This pizza's massive," Merlin said, appearing with a large, flat box that he was holding gingerly by the edges. He set it down on the kitchen table and peered into the plastic bag of ceramic shards. "Are you sure you got every piece?" His eyes raked the floor, then he bent and captured a long sliver between thumb and forefinger.

"Arthur," Morgana murmured again. "I am really, really sorry! And Merlin..."

Arthur and Merlin exchanged glances.

Arthur took a deep breath and gritted his teeth.

"Morgana," he said heavily. "Would you like to share some pizza with us?"

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Ten minutes later, they were seated around the living room coffee table with slices of pizza on paper plates, a large bowl of re-heated sauteed Chinese vegetables, and three glasses of water with ice cubes.

Morgana had regained a little of her insouciance and was looking brightly from her stepbrother to his conservator, her eyes sparkling with obvious pleasure.

"You can't imagine how gorgeous you two look together," she said happily. "You're perfect foils, physically."

Arthur groaned and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, whilst Merlin simply ducked his head in embarrassment.

"I'm not admitting to anything," Arthur stated flatly. "And neither is Merlin."

"You needn't worry," she continued, as though she hadn't heard. "I'll not say a word to anyone at work."

"You'd better not," Arthur said sternly. "Not even to lover boy."

"Lover boy?"

"Leon."

"Arthur, Leon's not my lover," Morgana said indignantly. "Although that's a nice thought; I wouldn't mind. But no, I won't breath a word to him, or anybody else. And certainly not to Uther."

Arthur let out an explosive breath. "If you ever...if you dared...I'd give you exactly five minutes to say your prayers and then..."

"Don't you think you're being a bit excessive when it comes to letting anybody know?" Morgana asked plaintively. "I understand about Uther, but plenty of other people would probably approve. And that nonsense about not being involved with a workplace colleague, that's simply silly. Look at Gwen and Lance."

"Gwen and Lance had what is known as a pre-existing condition, to put it in medical terms," Arthur growled. "They became involved before Lance was hired, not after."

"But that's just as bad," Morgana insisted. "Some people might think Lance was hired by the Institute because his girlfriend works there."

"I don't care," Arthur said stonily. "My private life is private, Morgana, and it isn't anybody else's business. And there's an end to it."

"Well, what does Merlin think?"

"Merlin isn't thinking, he's eating," responded Merlin, his mouth full of stir-fried vegetables. "I'm famished."

"I thought you said you're lactose intolerant," Morgana said curiously. "Are you sure you can have that pizza?"

"One or two slices are okay," Merlin explained, reaching across the table. "There isn't that much cheese on them." He scooped a second helping of vegetables onto his paper plate. "I can't believe how hungry I am."

Morgana shrugged. "Arthur has that effect on people. Well, don't let him tire you out, Merlin. The man doesn't know his own strength."

Arthur shot Morgana a furious glance, and she wisely retreated into silence.

They finished their impromptu meal and Morgana hastily took her leave. At the door, she gave Arthur an awkward hug (which he returned, awkwardly) and another mumbled apology. Then she kissed Merlin's cheek and smiled at him, causing Arthur to see red for three seconds.

"Well, that's done it," Merlin said once the door had closed behind her. Arthur was still tense, and Merlin made an effort to cheer him up. "Imagine the disastrous effect our, erm, friendship could have on the rest of the staff. Lance and Gwen will start necking in the hallway. Morgana will ravish Leon. Gaius will take up with some young babe. All of the guards will begin sleeping together."

Arthur scowled but then laughed involuntarily. "Merlin," he grumbled. "You're an idiot. No--don't bother about the washing up, the forks and knives can wait until morning."

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Arthur held Merlin in his arms and wondered about him a little.

He's reserved, he never talks about himself. Everybody likes him, but he's hard to get to know. In fact, there's so much that I don't know about him. Apart from his professional abilities, his unique personality, and...this.

Merlin sighed and fitted himself more closely into Arthur's embrace.

Arthur's sexual experience was broad; he had strong appetites and had been with both women and men. From the look of things, Merlin had probably never had a male lover before him, but he was an intuitive partner, his instincts were flawless, his response to Arthur's lovemaking was almost lyrical in its sweetness. Arthur slid a hand over silky skin, taut muscle, and a bony hip, and heard Merlin gasp with pleasure.

Yes, well, he desires me. Thank the gods. But how does he feel about me, really?

He thought about the way virtually every person at the Institute got along with Merlin, the way the women (Morgana and Gwen in particular) all adored him and fussed over him, the way the young girls who did volunteer work in the library made eyes at him and flirted with him (of course they would have done the same to Arthur, except that they were all in awe of the Assistant Director). He had even seen one or two of the muscular young security guards slide their eyes in Merlin's direction.

They wouldn't dare. I don't want anyone else to touch him. He's mine.

Then Merlin's hand closed softly around him, and the movement of his wrist stopped Arthur from thinking entirely.