AN: A very random AU.

Updates will hopefully be frequent because I'm enjoying this AU, but as a struggling student myself, I can't promise regular updates, just that I will get chapters to you as soon as!

Please enjoy, and faves/reviews keep me alive :)

Arthur was flustered. Not that he would admit it to anybody, but he was. He was busy running errands for his father for the charity event that evening, but his mind was on other things. Other people, really. Mainly person, but thanks to Morgana and Guinevere, another continued to creep into his mind now.

The first brought the most unpleasant feelings. Richard, his ex-partner, was on his mind. They had broken up a few months ago now, and Arthur could honestly say he was over him. Honestly. Really. Totally. Unfortunately, most people didn't believe him, and he even had a terrible time convincing himself. He had been working on it though, and he believed he was getting there. That was, until he found out Richard was attending the charity event, too.

Arthur, who worked in his father's business – despite his protests – had met Richard at the company. They had hit it off instantly, and even though Arthur had never thought himself to be capable of a long-term relationship, that is where they went, for a year. Arthur was proud of himself, going from one-night stands to committed in a short space of time. Richard, however, apparently didn't share his positivity.

"Arthur, you're not serious about anything."

"That's not true," shaking his head, he vehemently rejected what Richard was saying. "I'm serious about you!"

"As sweet as that sentiment is, it doesn't mean anything."

Arthur spluttered, speechless. How could he explain what it meant, to a man clearly devoid of emotion?

"You're not serious about your career, your future."

"A career isn't everything."

"How can I build a future with someone who doesn't see one?"

"I do see one, with you!"

"But nothing else."

He should have listened to Morgana and Gwen. They had warned him. Playing over their final conversation, he realised what an idiot he was. All the talk about careers, he should have seen the ambition in Richard. That he was willing to do anything to get to the top. Or anyone. Having your father head of the company may have had its perks, but most of the time, it came with employees wanting something from you. Richard finally exploded when he realised Arthur didn't know what he wanted from him, because he was naïve, because he loved Richard, because he didn't care about the damn company.

Shaking the thoughts away, he shuddered, taking a sip of his coffee. His mind wandered to the second person nagging at his thoughts, a stranger he knew only by the name of Colin. When the ladies had told him about the escort, they hadn't given him any clue what the man looked like, nothing. Only the basics, so he wouldn't be able to nit-pick and refuse the date. He wasn't sure he wanted the date, but he wanted support. Morgana would be at the event, but they both knew how their father undermined her. It was best to get someone else in, a fresh face.

His thoughts suddenly disappeared as he felt someone slamming into his side, his brain, having been too occupied to see the oncoming threat, was too slow to react as his coffee – his boiling hot coffee poured over his shirt. Ignoring the bumbling apologies of the man now picking up whatever he had dropped, Arthur flicked his hands away from him as his now empty cup rolled down the path.

"You idiot," he heard himself speaking aggravatedly, stunning the other man into silence as they both took in Arthur's now drenched shirt. Stepping to the side to get a better view, he felt something crunch underneath his foot, causing the other man to grimace, but Arthur didn't care to think about that. "Why don't you watch where you're going!"

"What?" His assailant blinked a few times, probably having difficulty processing what Arthur had just said. He looked like a simpleton and based on the way his mouth continued to open and shut like a fish, Arthur figured it was not an unlikely assumption. "You walked backwards, into me!"

"No, no, no, this was your doing." Arthur stared at the coffee cup which had no stopped rocking. "I needed that drink."

"And I need that medication you keep standing on, your prat!"

Following the man's eyes, Arthur spared a casual glance at the box he stood on. An ounce of sympathy spread through him, but he was still annoyed about his coffee. "Perhaps you should have been watching where you were going."

He had expected the attacker to put up some fight, but after he sputtered and grumbled a "get off it then!" the man huffed on his way. Arthur felt a little disappointment, he had been in the mood to argue with someone since he woke up.

Merlin was in quite an irritated mood. All morning he had been running around for Gaius, delivering orders, collecting orders, and even cleaning the pharmacy – which he was sure had not been in Gaius' original job proposal. His other job was not helping his mood much, either. February was usually a quiet month. Of course, there was Valentine's Day, and if it fell on a weekday, he would usually get a client on the day and the weekend. Still, it was only a couple of days' work, nothing more. Plus, it came with the unfortunate bonus that because he usually dealt with desperate clients around that time, they usually drank more and forgot the boundaries of his work. He had to take any bookings he could, though, because his PhD funding and only went so far. Gaius paid him with a room, but he still refused to live there rent free. The rent was low, but that on top of other bills and food, bookings were a necessity.

Thankfully, something had come through for him that evening. It was a charity event for a business, and he would be accompanying the son of the head of the company. How exciting! he half grinned, half grimaced, wondering how typical this son lived up to the stereotypical rich, first-in-line son. From the information he got from the ones who booked him, he appeared on the surface to be a normal guy with normal problems. The reason Merlin had been hired was because his date, Arthur Pendragon, had an ex-boyfriend attending the same event. Arthur suffered from an allergy to eggs, but sometimes didn't take enough care to prevent an attack, so Merlin was going to have to play the attentive partner. Luckily, from his part-time training with Gaius, he knew what to do if either of them forgot to check if any meal on the menu contained egg, and he could take some tablets just in case. The one thing Merlin was not very surprised at was the fact that this Arthur did not want to follow in his father's footsteps and take over the family business when the time came. That was rather typical of sons in wealthy families, but Merlin would be confident in betting that Arthur being attracted to the same sex probably did not help the fractured relationship he had with his father. It was times like this he was glad he had his mother and Gaius, two of the most caring people in the world. It helped also that Gaius mostly was not bothered as long as he got his chores done.

Fixing the bow tie on his suit despite it being perfect, he finally smacked his arms to his sides, finalising his preparations for the evening. He hoped this Arthur wasn't handsy. He had had enough of the clients who continually groped him. Other escorts offered that sort of service, and Merlin didn't judge them, but it was not his style. Knowing his strengths and his weaknesses, he knew he was definitely better at being a date than anything more. It had surprised him at first that it was more of the older clients who could not understand this, but speaking to Lance, a friend who had recommended the work, he was told that they were like that because they were used to it. In earlier times, harder times, more escorts had offered it than not.

Throwing on a slimming coat and bracing himself, he left, ready to do battle