Merlin picked Gwen up at the entrance to the resort, where her dad had dropped her off. She wore a yellow, sun dress with slits down the middle and on both sides of the top, and Merlin kind of wished she had asked him first, what to wear, because this looked a little inappropriate. But he didn't mention it, as she hooked her arm around his and they walked inside the room where Uther and Hunith were getting married. The two sat down in the only empty seats they could find and waited.

"You're not doing anything in the wedding?" asked Gwen, after sitting there, silently, for a few minutes. Merlin didn't look over at her, otherwise she would see him frowning, and he shook his head no. "But your step brother and sister are?"

"Yeah..." he trailed off, and he didn't have to look over to know she was giving him a strange look. He realized it was odd...and unfair, but he didn't want to dwell on that now. The wedding started, Uther walked out first, going down the isle in a very quick fashion, as if he was in a rush to get somewhere quickly, and he didn't make eye contact with anyone. Merlin knew this was his third wedding and he still felt a little embarrassed about it, which made it just a little bit funny...

Next, a few people he didn't know. And then finally it was Arthur and Morgana's turn to walk. Because they were the Best Man and the Maid of Honor, they got to walk together. Arthur had looked exactly as he had seen him last, just a little more sweaty, but Morgana was now in a maroon, flowing dress, that made her look like the Goddess she claimed to be, and her hair was done up in a loose bun.

"Wow...you're step family is really good looking..."

Merlin wondered, for half a second, if that meant she thought he was ugly, but he ignored this, and instead focused on the fact that his mother was now floating down the isle, fake smile plastered on her lips. She did her hair in an almost fifties style, and her dress kind of matched that theme as well. Having short, flowing, sleeves and she did not wear a vale, only a white hair piece.

They watched the wedding silently, nothing seemed to go wrong, Hunith even cried at one point, and Merlin couldn't tell if this time it was fake or not. Once it was over and they were officially married, everyone started piling out of the room, and Merlin quickly got up and grabbed Gwen by the arm, he wanted to find Arthur and Morgana, so they could go to the reception together. The reception was in a different room, on the other side of the resort. Somehow, as they were weaving through the mess of people leaving the room, Gwen had slipped out of his grip and was lost. There were more than five hundred people attending this wedding, so that was easy enough to do. Merlin, however, manged to find Arthur, through the sea of people and rushed over to him. He was standing against a wall, looking at all the people passing.

"There you are!" said Arthur, as soon as he saw Merlin. "I was looking for you. We better hurry, before we miss all the fun..."

Merlin could tell Arthur was being sarcastic, but even still, he couldn't go without finding Gwen. "I can't...I have to find Gwen, she's-"

"Ah...Arthur, my Darling, long time no see!" said a voice and Merlin paused, looking behind him at what might have been the oldest woman he had ever seen alive. The big ass hat on her head only made her look worse. She was wrinkly and worn down, and like she had way too much plastic surgery. "Give me a kiss!"

Arthur leaned forward and pressed his lips to the cheek of his old bat for less than a whole second, before pulling away and looking grossed out. "Hello, Nan..."

"Your grandfather is around here somewhere, I'm sure he would love to see you, as we never hear from you anymore," said this woman, who was obviously Arthur's grandmother, so that meant...Uther's mother. How were they still alive? Uther was in his sixties. "You know we might be old, but we know how phones work..."

"I am just very busy with Uni these days, I don't have time for anything," said Arthur, looking nervous, and he never normally acted this way, he normally acted much more relaxed, even when being shouted at by Uther. The woman rolled her eyes, clearly not believing it and then looked down at Merlin, like she had only just realized he was there.

"Is this the new Branch?" she asked, and Merlin found that to be an odd question.

"This is Merlin, Hunith's son..." Arthur trailed off, the more and more that they stood there, the more and more Arthur looked annoyed.

'Hmm..." the woman hummed, as she looked over Merlin closely, face scrunching up and when she had her fill of judging him, she turned her nose up at him. "Scrawny..."

Arthur's eyes darkened at this and he grabbed Merlin by the arm, quickly. "I think we ought to be going, see you, Nan..."

He dragged Merlin along, muttering under his breath about how she was a 'stupid, old bitch,' and Merlin didn't even mention the fact that he still needed to find Gwen, because Arthur didn't give him a chance to, until they were much further away from the crowd of people. Once they were, Arthur released Merlin's arm and unbuttoned his suit jacket.

"God, I hate my family," he said now, as they walked, slowly, next to each other. A few party-goers walked passed them, trying to get there in time for the dinner, but clearly Arthur didn't care about that. Merlin only did a little bit. "I already had to throw my Uncle out, once...hopefully he doesn't come back."

"Uther has a brother?" asked Merlin, he hadn't heard anything about this, but he hadn't heard about the Grandparents either, Merlin was starting to think he didn't know anything about the Pendragon's.

"No...my Uncle on my mum's side," explained Arthur. "He's never forgiven my dad for cheating on my mum, so he always shows up at my dad's weddings, to judge his mistakes."

Merlin nodded. "Wow...I'm glad I don't have any family..."

"Excuse me...this is your family now!" said Arthur, as they finally reached the hall the reception was in, they hadn't reached the door yet, but they could hear loud music playing.

"That's not what you said earlier, you said we're not really family..." Merlin explained, smirking at Arthur, whose mouth fell open slightly. "And that's true, no one treats me like family here...my mum won't even let me be in her wedding. Gwen thought that was insane...try explaining that, I couldn't..."

"Merlin, I didn't mean...I..." Arthur stumbled over words and Merlin continued to look amused by it. "I just meant I didn't see you as a step brother...I see you as more of a friend."

"It's okay, I don't see you as a step brother either," said Merlin, and that was true, because he was too busying seeing him shirtless in his mind. "I didn't say I was upset by it."

Arthur sighed, deeply. "I just want to get ridiculously drunk and not think about anything anymore..."

They entered the reception, where dinner had long been served, and Merlin found Gwen sitting at a table with his and her names on a little sticker. Merlin noticed it was pretty far away from the bride and grooms table, where Arthur and Morgana sat with Uther and Hunith. Merlin wondered why Hunith was pushing him away so much, it was like she didn't want him there...well, it wasn't like that, it was entirely that. But Merlin decided not to let it bother him, he had no love for his mother, and as time went on and on, the less of anything that could be confused as love was there. When his father had first died and he knew he was going to live with his mother he didn't know what to expect, he still had hope for her, she had never shown him much love, but he never thought she didn't love him...now, as he sat at her wedding, and Gwen chatted up this old man sitting next to them, he realized no...she didn't love him, and that was okay, it really was...because he didn't care. There were literally only two people at this wedding he cared about, and they were sitting at the table with her.

Dinner ended and the cake was cut, along with the bouquet being tossed. Which Morgana caught, and Arthur decided to endlessly make fun of her for, as she claims she never wants to get married, but she did look quite pleased with herself, Merlin noticed. The live band came out and there was dancing, and mini cupcakes of all different kinds, along with pastries, and of course...wedding cake. Gwen had run off somewhere, Merlin didn't know where to, for the second time today. She wasn't a very good date, and more often than not he found he didn't have anything to say to her, because now, unlike when at school, she didn't have a conquest to tell him about. They really didn't have anything in common.

Arthur had started drinking, heavily, Merlin had seen him stop the waiters carrying around drinks several times. He abandoned the table where Uther and Hunith were, and he came and sat down next to Merlin. With two drinks, that were dark red and gold, he offered one to Merlin, who took it, really, without question. This happened a few times, where Arthur would take two drinks, either the red and gold one, which burned a lot going down, or a red and orange-y one, which tasted more tropical and fruity, Merlin liked that one better. Merlin wasn't technically allowed to drink yet, but Arthur did this openly and people saw it, yet said nothing.

Merlin wasn't really drunk though, he felt just comfortable, Arthur...he was, he had several drinks at this point and didn't seem like he was going to be stopping any time soon. Merlin had never seen him drunk, tipsy, which is what Merlin was now, but never completely drunk. Morgana came over to the table, as Merlin was watching Uther and Hunith leave the room, it was getting late, a lot of people had started to leave now, but the band was booked another hour, so some people stayed.

"Come with me, Merlin," she told him, she was completely sober, and she gave Arthur a dark look, as she took Merlin's hand and lead him away.

"Where are we going?" he asked. She didn't answer him, just led him over to the stage and waited for the man singing to stop. Merlin was starting to wonder, what exactly she was playing at. "Morgana..."

"I want you to sing a song with me," she explained. "Arthur told me you sing good, so..."

"Mum said she didn't want me to-"

"Hunith left," grinned Morgana. "It's free game!" Merlin laughed, he didn't think he would agree to this if completely in his right mind, but he followed her up on stage and the man who led the band handed him his guitar. "Hello everyone, Merlin and I...we would like to sing a song together, for a bit of fun. Okay?"

People cheered below them, though Merlin figured most of those people had no idea who Merlin was. So, maybe when they embarrassed themselves up here, it wouldn't bother Merlin as much.

"What song are we singing?" he asked Morgana, as she turned back toward him. She beamed and held up her phone, showing him a picture of song lyrics, but he knew the song. He had heard it a few times when he would be in her room and she would play music. He had never played it before, obviously though, and it was an odd choice for a wedding. But like she had said...Hunith was gone. The band behind them came to life, playing the song, before Merlin started strumming along, he had never played along side anyone before.

Morgana took her microphone and brought it to her lips, Merlin had to admit she looked stunning doing so, like she belonged there. "I got a girl crush...hate to admit it but.." she sang with a soft, raspy voice, just loud enough to hear, but quite and gentle, like she was really in pain. Again, strange song choice for a wedding, but this was Morgana after all. They sang the chorus together. "I want to taste her lips...yeah, 'cause they taste like you...I want to drown myself in a bottle of her perfume..."

Merlin was impressed with how their voices sounded together, the deeper-ness of Merlin's voice and the soft, lightness, of Morgana's complimented each other nicely, he wished they had sung together before. "It's all you, baby boy!" said Morgana, speaking about the next verse, Merlin suddenly remembered he was in front of a room full of people and he took in a sharp breath.

"I don't get no sleep...I don't get no peace," Morgana held up the lyrics on her phone, so he could read them, but he had basically remembered them, he tried his best, he was obviously not as good as Morgana, but he belted out the raspy, most painful voice he could find. "Just thinking about her...under your bed sheets.." he swore he heard cheers, but he had to be imagining it, it was the drink playing with him. He was happy he wasn't sober, but he might put more effort into it, if he was. "The way that she's whispering, the way that she's pulling you in. Lord knows I've tried...I can't get her off my mind."

The song continued, and Morgana, clearly setting Merlin up, only sang backup when needed to, allowing Merlin to finish the song on his own, when it was done, and he slightly wanted to die, it was quiet for a second, not even the sounds of the band could be heard, before everyone started cheering. Merlin blushed deeply, as they exited the stage together.

"You're welcome," said Morgana, smirking, as she walked off, and left Merlin to walk back to the table, by himself. Arthur was still sitting there, when he noticed Merlin coming he looked up and grinned stupidly big.

"Dammit," he was still very drunk, if not more drunk than before. "Fuck...wow, you amaze me."

Merlin laughed, sitting down next to Arthur and took the glass of the red and gold drink out of Arthur's hand, and finished the rest of it himself, he ignored the burn. "I think you've had enough of that."

"Mm...you're right," Arthur nodded. A few people came over and told Merlin they enjoyed his singing, and all the while, as they did this, Arthur, somehow, got closer and closer to Merlin, until Arthur's hand had landed on Merlin's thigh. He didn't move it, but was confused by it.

"You have a lovely voice, young man," said a older woman, who also looked a bit sauced, as she walked passed. "Bright future...very bright."

She walked off and Merlin jumped a little, noticing Arthur was now leaning even closer. "We should get out of here soon," he said, very close to Merlin's face.

"Yeah," said Merlin. "It's been a very long...weird day."

"Hmm..." mumbled Arthur. "I have to pee..."

Merlin laughed. "Go pee..?"

"Will you wait here for me?" asked Arthur, Merlin nodded. "I...I wanted to walk you to your room, can I?"

"Um...sure?" offered Merlin. Drunk Arthur was an odd one, their rooms were three doors down from each other, so they had to walk there anyway, but Merlin wasn't going to question it. Arthur got up and nearly tripped over his chair.

"Wait here, I'll be right back!"

He ran off, out of the room and once he was gone, Morgana walked back over. "Everyone wants you to sing another song, before the band goes..."

"Uh...no, me and Arthur are about to leave," said Merlin. Morgana rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Merlin...the people want you!"

"I..." but Merlin didn't know what to say, so he stood up and agreed to do it anyway, Arthur could wait a minute, right? At least people actually liked him here, even if they were probably all drunk and didn't know any better. He got back up on the stage, this time alone, and took the guitar from the lead singer, who walked off, clearly done for the night. "I...wrote this song myself, not for the wedding...though, I did write a few for that," he might have been throwing a little shade at his mother. "It's not the best, I...don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it, but here it goes..."

He started playing the guitar, and sang the words, and as he got to the first chorus, one of the band members played a tune on the piano to go along with the song, that Merlin would definitely be stealing later to add in. "Get up up on the dance floor, move, it's a Saturday night fell in love with the sparkle in the moonlight. Reflected in your beautiful eyes, I guess that is destiny doing it right, and dance like they do in the Mediterranean, spin you around me again and again and. You're like something that God has sent me,I want you baby...solamente..."

To Merlin's surprise, people were dancing and smiling up at him and tapping their feet, if they were still sitting, too drunk to get up. Merlin felt, maybe for the first time in his life, proud of himself, he had done something people liked, and really...it almost made him cry, but he couldn't start crying in the middle of his song, so he focused on jamming out on the guitar, the way the song required you to.

"You and I we're flying on an airplane tonight. We're going, somewhere where the sun is shining bright . Just close your eyes...and let's pretend we're dancing in the street, in Barcelona..."

Merlin walked off the stage, now that he had finished singing and everyone cheered and started getting ready to leave. He didn't know how he felt about it, he was happy yes, excited, too, that people liked his song and thought he sung okay, but he was also kind of tired...he wondered if Arthur heard the song and what he thought of it, he had to have come back from the bathroom by now. This older man approached Merlin, as he was trying to walk back to the table Arthur had been at before. He wasn't there now, though, Merlin noticed. He wondered where he was, as the man started talking.

"Hello, I'm John Reed," he was saying. "I know your step father, Uther, we've done business..."

"Yeah?" offered Merlin, he didn't really want to talk right now, but the man didn't seem to get it.

"I produce songs," he continued to say. "I just wondered if you ever thought about going into the industry?"

"What industry?" questioned Merlin, in return, the man looked confused at him.

"Music?"

"Oh...no," Merlin shook his head. "I just write songs for fun."

"Well, you have a quite a voice and from what I can tell talent with song writing, too."

"Thank you, that's very nice. Have a good night," Merlin smiled, and walked around the man, he didn't want to sit there and talk to him anymore, he wanted to know where Arthur was. He found Morgana near their table. "Where's Arthur?"

"Oh, I saw him go up the elevator while you were singing," she explained, putting many party favors into her purse and trying to shut it, with no luck.

"He told me to wait for him..." Merlin pouted, he hadn't exactly meant to, but he did find it kind of rude that Arthur left.

"He was pissed off his ass, Merlin, he had to go to bed," said Morgana, as she finished with her purse and beckoned him toward the exit. "Hey...where did your date go?"

"She left along time ago," said Merlin, as he followed Morgana, out of the reception room. "I think she left with some old guy...now I'm going to have to hear about their sex tomorrow..."

"Why?" asked Morgana, with a scrunched up face, as they walked toward the elevator, which was only right across from the reception room.

"Because, she has to tell someone...and she doesn't have any other friends."

"...and you talk to her why?" asked Morgana, as they entered the elevator and the doors shut in front of them. Merlin only shrugged.

(A/N: So, Huther, which I can literally not stop calling them...are now married, and I am just going to say that the next chapter is pretty big, not only in the plot, but I also think it is the longest chapter of this story so far, so stay tuned for that. I''m really excited to post it. I hope you have enjoyed this one!)