They only slept for a few hours and then they were up again, by noon they were out of the inn and back in the car, and by two they were home. After dropping Elyan off at Merlin's parents house, whom were 'keeping him' as Merlin's mother put it when she called them. Merlin could tell Elyan was stressed at the idea of his mother not wanting to see him, but also kind of relieved, Merlin supposed he would be too, but he also wouldn't have done half the dumb stuff Elyan does. Merlin had his own stress right now anyway, he knew as soon as they got home Arthur and Gwen would start fighting, it was without fail. She was pissed and Merlin could see it in Arthur's eyes narrowed on the road and his hands had a steady, too tight grip on the steering wheel, he was beyond just mad anymore.

That is exactly what happened, too. Gwen had stayed there, waiting for them. She was standing in the hall way, like the scary thing in a scary movie. She first tried to start on Merlin, just screaming things Merlin didn't listen to because he was just trying to make it up the stairs. He had came in first to try and get out of there before the yelling started. Arthur came in right behind Merlin though, and as soon as Gwen opened her mouth, Arthur responded at once.

"Don't even say a word to him!" he shouted over her shriek's and she shut her mouth, but even though Merlin didn't directly look at her, he could feel the furious burn of her glare on the back if his head as he ran. "I think you've said quite enough to him already!"

"HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN SAY TO MY OWN BROTHER-"

And then Merlin shut the door to his room and laid in his bed. Just because he shut the door though didn't mean he couldn't hear them. When they had moved to arguing in the kitchen he had heard them less, but her shrill screams could still be heard, and the angry retorts in a deep, rusty voice from Arthur, every once in awhile. But then they moved into the sitting room and the hall, maybe two or three times and this is when Merlin could hear them better. Not word for word, but the gist, enough to know what was being said. Gwen was accusing Arthur of cheating on her...with Merlin, and then threatening him. First with going to John K about their marriage being fake and then she continued to threaten him that she would leave him, because apparently his whole life would be a complete wreck if she did. Merlin didn't think it would be, but whatever, this wasn't his fight. This fight, by the way, lasted five hours and didn't even end, Gwen had just gotten so mad after Arthur told her he really didn't care if they broke up or not, that she stormed out in tears...but of course she did, that was how she left every fight.

Merlin didn't come out right away either, he waited a good forty-five minutes before coming out of his perfectly safe place. He wasn't necessarily worried she would come back, because she wouldn't for a long while. Maybe, hopefully, a whole day. He stayed inside his room more so because he assumed Arthur needed some time to calm down. Merlin found Arthur in the kitchen, head leaning on the fridge and beer in hand, the three other empty beer bottles said he chose alcohol to clam him down, which is probably not the best idea. Even so, he must not have heard Merlin walk in, or just didn't care, Merlin wasn't sure which, but he didn't make a move when Merlin walked in and then closer to him. He reached out gently and touched the swell of Arthur's back with his hand and he jerked a little bit, so he really hadn't known Merlin was there, was he drunk or just that deep in thought? Arthur turned around then and his eyes mopped over Merlin slowly, he shook his head and frowned. Deep in thought then, that was the answer. Merlin understood he did have a lot on his mind, and a lot of it was Merlin's fault, he should have fought harder to be allowed to drive home. But Arthur was just too stubborn sometimes, both he and Gwen were. Merlin really didn't know what to say, what do you say as encouragement to a person who had just spent five hours fighting with their girlfriend? Better luck next time? Break up? Merlin sighed, he didn't know.

"Do you need a hug?" he chose to ask and Arthur didn't answer right away, he just continued to look at Merlin for maybe a whole minute or so.

"No..." he finally answered, his voice was rough and horse, probably from shouting for so long. "I need-" he paused his speech, shaking his head again and rolling his eyes. "I don't even know what I need anymore. Something for my head...it's killing me."

Merlin wasn't going to give him anything, because he was drinking and medicine and booze don't go together. Instead, Merlin reached out with the same hand he had touched his back with and brushed a few stray, blond hairs off of his forehead. "I'm sorry," he whispered, he could have been talking about the headache, or about their fight or really about a lot of things, but he didn't add on to that, he only let his fingers trail down the side of Arthur's face. Arthur reached up and took his hand with his own, the one that wasn't still holding the beer, and pulled him a little closer.

"I suppose I will take that hug..."

Merlin listened without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Arthur's shoulders and pulled him in the rest of the way closer. Arthur put his own arms tightly around Merlin's middle, so tight that Merlin could even feel the beer bottle pressing into his spine, but he ignored this. Merlin wished he could comfort Arthur, not exactly like how he had comforted Merlin this morning, after Gwen's rude texts, unless Arthur wanted the kissing and Merlin did debate with himself about whether or not he did at least on a daily basis anyway. But no really, Merlin just wished he knew how to comfort Arthur better, Arthur knew how to comfort Merlin much more than Merlin knew how to comfort him. Maybe that said a lot about Merlin as a person, that he was just always upset or something, so Arthur had learned how to comfort him. Merlin didn't like the thought of that much, so he pushed those thoughts away and focused on trying to figure out ways to help Arthur. Food, food always helps everything, Arthur loves food. Or maybe talking, but Arthur probably didn't want to talk about what Gwen had said, and Merlin had heard a lot of it anyway. Arthur was also kind of private, especially with passed, and probably still present, relationships. Merlin really didn't know what to do, so instead he just hugged Arthur a little tighter, snuggling his cold nose into the crook of Arthur's neck. He pressed his lips to the skin there, which had kind of been an accident, he really didn't mean to do it, but when Arthur hummed in approval, he did it again, and then leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"You know..." he said, very softly. "You're a little cute when your kind of mad and drunk..."

He waited for Arthur's response to this, which was the raise of his eyebrows and his head turning slightly to face Merlin more. They were very close though, so Merlin knew he ought to be careful. "Is that so?"

Merlin titled his head, shrugging one shoulder. "I did say a little..."

"It's really probably not a good time to be flirting with me, Merlin," he said, in an asshole way, but in the asshole way Merlin knew was only joking. Merlin shrugged a little more this time.

"It's never a good time to flirt with you," he retorted. "But I still do it anyway...because you like it."

Arthur smiled, shaking his head, "Who says I like it?"

"Oh...so you would you like me to stop doing it then?" Merlin retorted again, pulling back from their embrace just a little bit. Arthur didn't let go though.

"I didn't say that..." said Arthur.

"Mhm..." said Merlin knowingly. "Because you like it..."

"Shut up."

"Make me!"

"Don't tempt me..."

Merlin took that as a personal challenge and leaned forward and kissed Arthur's cheek, "tempt," he whispered, and then did it again. "Tempt again..."

Instead of getting angry or actually being tempted to do anything at all, Arthur just laughed. "You're a complete ass, Merlin..."

Merlin just smiled, biting his lip, feeling some kind of glee that he had actually managed to cheer Arthur up, a tiny bit at least. "I know," he answered. Arthur pulled him closer again, kissed him on the forehead in some form of fondness and then released him entirely. Merlin felt a little sad about that, but he pushed those feelings away to instead watch Arthur walk to go throw away his empty beer bottles. "Are you okay?" he asked, because although he had cheered him up, it was still a harsh fight he had just been through. "Do you want me to make you something to eat?"

"No...and no," Arthur turned back and gave Merlin a smile. "Thank you though."

"No, you're not okay?" asked Merlin.

"I just don't know what I want to do, Merlin," he told him and then sighed deeply, then promptly continued talking, "I used to think the world of Gwen, and that I loved her and I wanted to be with her...but anymore I don't think I do. I know I don't, actually, and that's the problem."

"Why?" Merlin asked, and he didn't really even know what he was asking, why what? But Arthur just shrugged.

"I used to think she was exactly the woman I always thought I would be married to, I thought she was like my pervious fiancée, but she's nothing like her," said Arthur, Merlin nodded. He understood what Arthur was saying, but living up to a dead fiancée was hard for anyone. No two people could be exactly alike, but Merlin didn't tell Arthur that, he just let him carry on. "Gwen's rude, gets angry over everything and I shouldn't want to hide things from her. I shouldn't want to not tell her things that happen in my day because I don't want to hear her bitching at me. Just look at the way she treats you, if she treats her own family poorly, how will she treat our children...? These thoughts, Merlin...they're not new, they're not just because I am upset. I've had them for a long time now. I hate the way she acts, how fake she can be...but I try, I try to look passed it...but I don't think I can anymore. She tracks my phone, she is too controlling, she acts like a lunatic...is it so wrong I don't want to be with her anymore?"

"No," said Merlin and Arthur put his face in his hands, and rubbed his eyes.

"I'll take getting deported," said Arthur. "I'm not afraid of going back to Florida, I always said I was fine with it...My whole family is there, I stayed for her."

"Why would you get deported?" asked Merlin and Arthur frowned at him.

"If I break up with her that's exactly what's going to happen, Merlin, we both know that."

Merlin returned Arthur's frown, he didn't want Arthur to leave England, to leave him essentially. But he assumed that no matter what, if Gwen and Arthur broke up, there would be a great debate on whether or not Merlin and Arthur would stay married, Merlin would have to choose then, once and for all, his loyalty and he honestly knew it wouldn't be to Gwen. That's to say Arthur would want to stay married to him, and maybe he obviously didn't. But all of this scared Merlin, to no end, right to the very core, and maybe selfishly he didn't want to not be married to Arthur, nor did he want Arthur to leave. So in turn, Merlin did something he probably really shouldn't have, because she doesn't deserve it at all, but he defended his sister.

"I get what you're saying," he said. "This is all stuff she needs to work on, we all know that. But you love her, Arthur, I know you do...I can see it in your eyes," he lied. "And...not to make excuses for her, because sometimes...she does do a lot of awful things, but you know what Lance did to her. No woman is ever the same after a man does that to them. Don't judge her so harshly, try to understand where she's coming from."

Arthur just stared at him for a few seconds, completely shocked. "So...you want me to stay with her?"

"I'm not saying that," said Merlin, and honestly he didn't really know what he was saying. "But she has a lot of trust issues and...we've not exactly been innocent in this either," Merlin admitted and he and Arthur both knew exactly what he meant by that. "I'm just saying you need to give her the benefit of the doubt, let her calm down, talk to her..."

Arthur sighed, "Alright...I'll talk to her, I do love her...I just-" Arthur shook his head. "Things have to change."

Merlin nodded, "I know..."

(A/N: Hello! I hope you all are doing good. I am very interested in you all reading this chapter to see your thoughts about Merlin in the end there, and what you think about what he said (and did). But ALSO, I have a tendency of writing this in the middle of the night on nights I have to work the next day in the morning, and I had to edit this one a lot while reading my final review, so I'm just saying if you see any mess-ups I am sorry for them and also forgive me! I'm tired, but I do hope you enjoyed this chapter! If it helps to explain my life's problems any, I had to email my boss something a few hours ago and I noticed I spelled "Verbal" wrong a little too late, so you know...yay for looking dumb!)