AN: Let us all just agree that my attempts at sticking to an update schedule are abhorrent, and hope I will change my ways soon!

Thanks for all your support despite my terrible punctuality, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Not too long to go now, folks :)

Thanks to the lovely comments from The Magic Arts, Mirror Kyaw, GuestM, MerlinEmrys88, rigaudshemlock, Guest, ninagayler, and karameiwaku. I really appreciate the comments and support, you guys are so great!

To Guest: I think Arthur's feelings are somewhat justified, but I think relationships really need to be built on trust, and Arthur knows and understands Merlin's job. It inevitably involves him going out with other people, and I don't think Arthur should feel insecure about it, because in the end, it is only a job, and that's all Merlin sees it as. I do appreciate your opinion, though, and I know others will see it in the same way as you, this is really just my take :)

Merlin's phone sat on the table beside his breakfast, but he no longer routinely checked it, knowing there was nothing to see. It had been a week now, and while he knew Arthur was busy with his training as chief, he meant what he had said, he would not keep waiting around, especially if it meant waiting for the inevitable rejection. He let out a sigh, realising he must have been doing so quite a lot that morning, when Gaius cleared his throat, sitting opposite from him.

"Merlin, is something troubling you?"

His eyes looked up, trying for innocent, but his guardian eyed him wearily.

"You've been acting quite strangely, and I don't know how to deal with your mood swings."

"What mood swings?" He tried, looking slightly offended.

Gaius only quirked an eyebrow, in the way he always did when the game was up, and Merlin shrugged.

"It's nothing you can help me with," he swirled his spoon around in the porridge, allowing his face to drop dejectedly since Gaius was obviously not falling for his attempts to let this go.

"Would you like to share the problem with me?"

"Gaius,"

"I don't like seeing you like this," the old man admitted, knowing how to play the boy.

Merlin groaned internally, rolling his eyes as he dropped his spoon quickly, splashing some porridge by accident. "It's just… problems, with someone."

Gaius' eyes widened as he sat back, realising what Merlin was referring to. The escort was regretting getting out of bed.

"You know, Merlin, I've been in love before."

"Please, Gaius," He buried his head in his hands.

"I've had my fair share of relationships, and the problems that come with them."

"Really, Gaius," Merlin poked his head from his palms, pulling a face, "I don't want to hear about this."

Merlin sunk his head on the table as his guardian continued anyway, falling into a chuckle as he finally brought his tales to an early close.

"Alright, why don't you tell me the problem." Merlin picked his head up, looking at Gaius with hesitant eyes.

"Nothing," he shrugged, scratching a finger against the table as he let his eyes roll towards it.

"Is it something to do with your time management?"

Glaring, Merlin sat up, "what? No! There's nothing wrong with my time management,"

Gaius' stare challenged him, "you are quite busy."

Merlin huffed, making strange noises as he shook his head, "maybe if you didn't have me cleaning the pharmacy all the time, I wouldn't be so busy! How does it even get in that state all the time, anyway?"

"Don't blame me because you give yourself too much work," Gaius shrugged, staring at his ward, daring him to continue. Merlin knew if he did, he would only get more, worse, jobs.

"Fine, fine," letting his shoulders sag again, he slumped back into his moping position against the table, "no, it's nothing to do with my schedule. Not really. I don't know," he frowned, "he just told me he needed time to think. It's been a week now, though, so I think he just doesn't know how to tell me he's not interested."

He didn't bother looking at Gaius as the old man hummed, deciding to wrap into himself in as pitiful a position as possible.

"You should wait and see, my boy, before jumping to conclusions."

Merlin only nodded, but his hope was dwindling easily.

Freya seemed not to be much help either, but he could tell she felt guilty for getting his hopes up. It was hardly her fault, though, and Merlin should have known the situation had become too good to be true. He sat beside her at her desk, flicking through some profiles of new escorts, people he would probably never meet. His eyes rushed over them with disinterest, though he would occasionally pipe up and ask Freya more about one, just for something to do.

"It's a shame you've got an appointment with Elena tonight," Freya scooted closer, ignoring the paperwork she should be doing, and Merlin felt a little bad for his pouting. "We could have had a movie night or something." She elbowed him, and he offered her a small smile, shrugging.

"It's fine," he sighed. "Maybe she's learnt how to dance."

Freya grinned, but shook her head, "you could always teach her."

Shutting the folder of escorts, he leaned on his other elbow now to chat, both of them ignoring what work they had to get done eventually, "between this job, the pharmacy, and my PhD, I'm not sure I'd find the time, or the will."

Laughing, the secretary patted his shoulder with sympathy, "are you at the pharmacy later, then?"

Merlin nodded, rocking his chair slightly, "Gaius said it might help distract me, but we both know there's just more mess."

It was at that moment Lance came in, nodding to the pair, already a look of pity on his face. Merlin blinked and didn't open his eyes again for a few seconds, preparing himself. Now there were two of them, and Lance had not had his chance to comfort him yet.

"How are you?" Lance handed over the coffees, blowing over his own as the steam rose from it. "Heard anything?"

Merlin looked down, shaking his head. He didn't need to take a glance to know that his friends were sharing a look, and it only served to make him feel smaller. This was ridiculous, he knew, since Arthur had even admitted they were not really anything. Friends, maybe, but anything more?

"I'm sorry," Freya pushed her side against him kindly, "I thought he was interested."

It had been nice to hear it before, but now, it just felt like another punch in the gut.

"How could he? Nobody's interested in dating an escort," he mumbled.

"Merlin," Lance perched on the edge of the desk, looking down at him seriously, "just give him a little time."

"It's already been a week,"

"But you said he's working, and you know what that's like, so just don't lose heart yet."

Merlin looked up to his friend, who seemed sincere, and he wanted to trust him, but he had felt that hope before. "I'm pretty sure he hates me right now," he mumbled, crossing his arms on the desk and resting his chin on top. He knew how pitiful he appeared, but right now, he didn't mind. He had finally opened up to somebody, finally believed somebody might see past his job, but then it all came crashing down so quickly that he was still having trouble digesting it all.

"It didn't seem like that when he met us," Freya suggested, "he asked a lot about you, he wanted to get to know you."

"Maybe he's just nosey,"

"Or, maybe, he needs to figure out what he wants." Lance raised an eyebrow, and Merlin wondered whose side he was on. Although he was right, of course.

"What do you want, Merlin?" Freya asked kindly, pushing her hair behind her shoulder as she smiled sadly.

He shrugged, "I will give him time, but I feel like an idiot. How do I even get over someone I never actually dated?"

Working at the pharmacy just made his day worse, Gaius leaving him once again to sort out prescriptions. It was thankfully less busy today, though, and he was able to focus less on angry, impatient customers and more on his thoughts. He wondered about what his friends had said, about everything really. Although he had not wanted to check before, he now itched a little more to check his phone, but he knew if Gaius caught him on it on the job he would have words, the old man disapproving of it, even if there was nobody in, so it was hardly 'unprofessional'. Still, maybe it was for the best, he knew his heart would only sink when he saw there were no messages. He wanted to think maybe Lance had a point, and maybe Freya was right, too, but a week was a long time. Too long a time to dwell on something that was never really a thing to begin with, apparently.

The bell sounded on the door, and he heaved himself up from where he sat hidden behind some shelves, away from the world. When he saw her, his eyes widened, and the panic flared in him again as it had when she first came in, only this time for quite a different reason. Arthur already knew about most things in his life, so there was no worry now. But how was he supposed to go about this situation? Would Morgana know? Probably, he thought; as much as Arthur complained, the two were close, he knew, and there was no doubt she likely forced the confession out of him anyway. He was more surprised she had not dragged her brother here by the ear, to be honest.

He wondered how he looked, knowing full well it wasn't great. Still, there could be plenty of reasons for that. Raking a hand through his hair, trying to neaten it without really thinking, he hoped she would not think him so pitiful. It wasn't like he was going through a proper breakup, after all.

"Merlin," Morgana smiled pleasantly, but he could see the awkwardness in the lack of crinkles around her eyes. He couldn't help but blink at the use of his real name, though, and she smirked then, "he said he'd told everyone."

Merlin shrugged, nodding, "I guess he has, yeah."

There was a pause, a tension hanging in the air around them, and Merlin held his breath for an impressive amount of time as he tilted backwards of forwards on his heels, his eyes shifting, not wanting to catch hers and engage in whatever conversation she might decide on.

"Is Gaius here?" She finally asked, and Merlin looked around, despite knowing full well Gaius was not there.

"Er, no, no," his lips turned into a thin line, and again he swayed.

Morgana looked at him expectantly, "I'm supposed to pick up my prescription?"

His eyes once again widened, and he stammered, bringing his swaying to an abrupt stop as he realised where they were, and what job Gaius had put him in charge of. "Yeah, of course!" He smiled briefly, before rushing to the back to search through the prescriptions. He was grateful for the break, and that she did not speak while he searched so he might get it done quicker and she would leave sooner. Scanning through the bags, his eyes still somewhat untrained in this job, he was longer than he wanted to be, but managed to find her prescription eventually.

"Here," he smiled, the falseness of it emulating her own, and handed her the bag.

As she took it, he had hoped she might just leave, but there was sympathy in her stare, and she lingered for a moment too long. In the brief time he had gotten to know her, he already knew she was not one to stand by and not offer her advice, asked for or not. It was a trait he liked in her, believing she was a good force in Arthur's life, but he was comfortable simply wallowing alone (and sometimes with friends) for now.

"How are you?" She asked, but he could tell she was aching to say more, simply holding back for the moment.

"Fine," he nodded, "and you?" And him? Morgana was perceptive; she heard.

"I'm good," she offered another smile, this time something truer than before, but there was still the sympathy lying behind her expression. "Arthur's… he's changing," Morgana struggled with her words, and Merlin didn't hide his confusion. "He's making changes, done a lot of thinking."

Merlin felt a little bitter, wondering if at all those thoughts had anything to do with him, and, if so, why he hadn't heard anything. He was stumped, though, when Arthur's sister spoke again.

"He left the company," she let out, biting her lip.

"Really?" He blinked.

She nodded and grinned, and Merlin found himself feeling something lighter, but confusion still weighed on his mind. What did this mean? Did it mean anything, really, for him? When Arthur said he needed to think, Merlin assumed it was only about them.

"I guess that's good," he gave a smile, "really." There was sincerity in his voice, because he was actually glad to hear it, knowing Arthur's hatred for his job was one of the focuses of his life right from the start. He wondered how the other man must be feeling now, without a job, and a wave of guilt hit. Perhaps Lance was fair in telling him not to rush, because it seemed Arthur had a lot of decisions to make.

"Not for Uther," he found himself laughing at the way Morgana's eyes lit at the mention of her father's disappointment. "He even started treating me with some respect, whether he wants me to run the company, or simply to get back at Arthur, who knows."

"Would you run it, if he asked?"

"God no," her eyes went wide, shining with mischief, and Merlin felt considerably less awkward now as he shoved his hands in his pockets, continuing their chat until she realised the time.

"It was nice to see you," he said, his sadness returning in his smile.

"You too," she nodded, and again, lingered as her face fell. "I'll talk to him," their eyes met, as she spoke quietly, seriously.

Merlin shrugged, letting out a breath as he pursed his lips, "I don't know that he'll listen," he said with resignation.

Morgana shook her head, "I don't know, Merlin. A few months ago, maybe, when I didn't expect him to quit his job."