Chapter 4

Merlin took a deep breath before approaching the table where his work mates stood. Gwen smiled at him when he arrived, all sweetness, but it was Mary's voice that reached his ears.

"Finally! I thought it would be last round before you arrived. Come on, grab a seat."

He liked Mary, he really did, but sometimes she was so loud that he felt like he could literally vanish just from the amount of looks that people around were giving them.

"No, I'll fetch another round. Are you having the same?"

Everyone agreed on having more of the same, and Gwen stood up, cleaning her hands in her lap in a gesture he felt that was very characteristic of her.

"I'll go and help" she offered, smiling.

He would have just nodded and accepted it – tried to gracefully handle her attentions, but Mary just couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"OH, YES!" her voice boomed (when Merlin first read Goblet of Fire, he just knew that this was how Madame Maxime would have sounded). "You've met already. Off you go, young doves!"

Sometimes, he really wished he could just drop dead. He moved to the bar to get the drinks, Gwen alongside, and after handing every-one their own drink, he and Gwen sat in a table near enough the boot they were using to discourage anything more romantic from her part (except, of course, Mary would have made a party out of it and cheered until the very end, but Gwen didn't know her long enough to know that) and far enough so they could talk to each other.

And it really amazed Merlin that the conversation seemed to flow well enough. Gwen was sweet, kind, had a good sense of humor – which Merlin felt on his own skin as she teased him – and if she had one flaw was speaking brilliant things and apologizing right after them. Also it made Merlin feel very reassured that she didn't seem to know exactly how to flirt and how to deal with her crush on him, which made them spend more time having a just-friends talk.

They had been talking for almost an hour when it was Halig's turn to get the drinks, and he passed them making some kind of joke – one that Merlin didn't even hear, although he was sure it was about nerds and sci-fi – before interrupting them with a question.

"This is your thing, yeah?" he said, laughing at Merlin. Many times before he had noticed that Halig was a perfect fit for his job taking care of the market's butcher section, and it never failed to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah" he said, half-hearted.

"What was his name again? Oh yes. Stavros!"

Merlin merely shook his head, correcting the man under his breath.

"Davros."

Of course, Halig didn't even listen, he just walked out still having a laugh.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Gwen was watching him closely, and Merlin just wished he wasn't such a sad bastard.

"What was that about?" she asked, puzzled.

"Nothing, really. It's just that… I'm into some sci-fi."

She looked at him as if he was a lost puppy for a few seconds, before asking:

"Doctor Who?"

He beamed at her – she didn't seem judgemental at all, merely curious.

"Yeah!"

"I don't watch it" she said, shrugging. "At home it was all about Takaway – or Britain's Got Talent. Sorry, but, there's no way I'd go with a kids show against it."

"I always tape one and watch the other" Merlin said, happily. "It's really good, isn't it? Although after Susan Boyle…"

She smiled at him, clearly happy with the subject.

"Yeah, but I think The X Factor is becoming much better" she confided, amused. "I mean, there's more emotion, right?"

He laughed at this, happy to have found someone who shared his love for singing competitions – Lance never cared, Arthur said this was way over his own 'gay cota', whatever that meant. Gwen blushed a bit, probably misunderstanding him.

"Oh, really, I think it's amazing that you watch Doctor Who. I really do. Dad was all over it when I was young. It caused the first big change in our house – he and mom argued loads over the TV when it was being aired across Coronation Street?"

"I remember that" said Merlin, and she merely smiled.

"Aren't you too young for that?" teased Gwen, and he laughed.

"Are you?"

"Anyway, dad solved it. He bought a second TV in order to be able to watch it in peace. I didn't, though it terrified me!" She said her eyes wide as tennis balls.

"I wouldn't have taken you for this kind of girl" he said, laughing, and she slapped him lightly in the arm.

"I got better."

"Doctor Who didn't" he confessed, smiling. "It still gets me terrified sometimes!"

Gwen smiled at this, before adding.

"My brother was born in the year it turned 30 – Mom and Dad actually fought over his name because of Doctor Who!"

Merlin laughed again, happy.

"He didn't want name him "The Doctor", did he? Or John just because you are Smiths?"

She laughed, denying it with her head.

"Brigadier" she confessed, laughing.

"No way!" said Merlin, torn between amazement and laughter. It wasn't such a bad choice to come in after all.

[hr][/hr]

Arthur sat on the sofa, knowing from Elena's look that she meant business. She was a dear, Elena, so he wasn't too worried.

"We have being thinking" she said, he face serious. "I know we have agreed on most things but… I need some guarantees."

"He's my kid" said Arthur, firmly. "I'm not going to stop paying."

She smiled softly at him, nodding.

"Yes, but what if you lose your job? If you get sick? If something happens to you?"

He frowned at that.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"It's just… Anything could happen, and I really need more security – it's not for me, really, it's for Gwydion. If… I don't know… You could be run over by a car."

"Watch out for a Zetec" said Morgause, walking into the room and sitting in the arm of Elena's chair.

Arthur smirked at her, and she gave him one of her most terrifying smiles.

"This insurance covers anything" said Elena, handling him the paper.

Arthur just looked at it, feeling ill. He and Elena had known each other since they were toddlers; Uther had hoped that Elena would become his darling wife until it became clear that she was much more inclined to pursuit Morgana instead of Arthur. This smelt like Morgause all over, and he cursed the day that Morgana had introduced her tutor to their friend. Elena would never have doubted him.

"I don't see why…" he said, his forehead creased.

"You could get sick" said Elena, softly.

"What do you mean?" replied Arthur, wearily.

"We're not talking measles, Arthur" said Morgause, standing up, angrily. "You got tested, but it was ten months ago. Three hundred party nights ago. Two hundred one-night stands ago…"

"Morgause…" said Elena, softly. "I think he understood."

The witch calmed down again and set by her wife.

"It's just a precaution" said Elena, again. "I don't want your money, and I don't need it, we're fine… But if it comes to the worse… Gwydion has a whole life ahead of him."

Arthur agreed with a nod, his throat tight. He didn't trust himself to speak just now. A part of him knew that Elena had a point, but Morgause had made it very clear she didn't believe he was sane enough to take care of himself. A manwhore he might be, but he was safe. Jesus! What a bitch.

"I'll have to run it pass a solicitor" he said, finally.

"I did that" said Elena.

"And is he any good?" asked Arthur, knowing what the answer would be.

"I am fully qualified" replied Morgause, tightly.

"So, I'll run it past Leon, if you don't mind" said Arthur, standing up. "I'd really like the opinion of someone that doesn't use magic to convince the judge."

He knew Morgause would react in flames (not literally, he hoped), so he stood up, ready to leave. Elena touched her wife lightly before taking him to the door.

"You didn't have to" she said, tightly.

"Are you sure she didn't enchant you to fall for her?" asked Arthur, as he did from time to time.

Elena smacked him in the arm, smiling.

"You think I'm a twat" she complained, before getting serious again. "Honestly, Arthur… It's just that… Uther doesn't know and I don't think…"

Arthur nodded, not wanting to get into that particular can of worms.

"I'm sure Leon will find it acceptable. It's just a precaution."

She hugged him for a long while – as Elena always did – and waved as he walked away.

He waited until he had driven from the house to vent his anger.

"THOSE LESBIANS!" he screamed, as Merlin answered the phone. "You got to come, Merlin. NOW."

"She's really nice" said Merlin, all apologetic. "I think…"

"Tell her you like to take it up your arse and leave!" said Arthur, wondering why the hell Merlin even was entertaining a girl.

He knew from the silence from the other side of the line that his friend had felt hurt, but there wasn't much he could say. It was the truth after all.

"You are my best friend" he offered, knowing it was at the same time a form of pleading, blackmailing and apologizing.

He could hear Merlin on the other side, talking to the girl.

"It's my friend's mother – she's in hospital."

Arthur laughed despite his anger – Merlin was a shitty liar, which was amazing considering all the things he hid from most people.

He turned the phone off, trying to concentrate in the traffic, but the whole thing just kept playing in his head. It wasn't that he completely hated Morgause – but she seemed to thrive in challenging his life. Arthur could bet this was some sort of plot to make him come out for his father, and he really didn't like to even think about it. He had known Morgause would be trouble since he first met her – Morgana's magic tutor from Oxford, also studying law and also a huge bitch. He had truly believed she was about to turn Morgana into a big fan of cunts, but it was so much worse than that. He had heard (and almost killed the messenger, he really rather not think about it, truly!) that Morgana had dabbled in it for some time before both got tired of it and moved to new things – or back to old habits, in Morgana's case, with that awful bloke she dated then, Valiant, and after a while, Morgause and Elena had become an item.

But Elena wasn't the real problem – Arthur didn't honestly believe that Morgause had enchanted her or anything, as weird as they were as a pair, he knew how much Elena loved to be taken care of, and in her own way, Morgause was fiercely protective of those she cared for. It had been before that – when Uther had found an internship spot for Morgause on his firm during Arthur's last summer before college. Morgause was too curious for her own good, and deeply organized, which couldn't be said about her boss. The idiot had left her in charge of organizing the papers, and it had coasted him his job – but not before Morgause came across some legal documents about Ygraine that changed his whole life.

Arthur had grown up thinking his mother's death was a fatality. He missed her, even though Uther had remarried while he was still a toddler, Nimueh wasn't the motherly type of person. He wondered what it would have been like if she had lived, and learned that no good could ever come from wondering, because he couldn't change the past. It was rare and sad, but Ygraine had reacted poorly to the labor, and her heart had given up. No one could have predicted it, right?

Except the documents were forms signed by his father – and mother – telling them that they could and should have expected it, that Ygraine should never have gotten pregnant again. Tons of papers that were signed to make it clear that they knew they were keeping the pregnancy despite medical advice against it, papers showing that Ygraine had been advised against getting pregnant after Morgana's birth. And Morgause – she hadn't lost any time in sharing her knowledge with Morgana and Arthur. He didn't believe it at first, but when she forced a confrontation between Arthur and Ygraine's late doctor, Geoffrey, he had been forced to explain the truth to him – that Uther had forbidden Ygraine to have an abortion, that he had bullied the doctors into caring for her, that he had believed until the very last minute that it was nonsense and that she would be fine until she lay dead.

Arthur remembered all too well how he came back home – raging against Uther, how he had jumped and hit his father for his idiocy, how angry he had been, kicking and punching Uther's smaller frame. He was blinded by his anger, and if Merlin hadn't forced him away from his father with magic, Arthur could have killed him with his bare hands.

Uther had forgiven him, and asked for forgiveness, but Arthur wasn't ready for it and spent the first two years of college without talking to his father. Nimueh would tell him off for it from time to time, and while he wanted to be just as pissed off with her – since she had known it all for ages, since she had been best friends with Ygraine, since she had stood up against him until her friend told her to leave it, that she would never give up her child – he couldn't. He had the distinct feeling that Nimueh had given Uther a much harder time for it than Arthur could even try to do.

Of course, it had gone sour for Morgause – she was kicked out, her boss as well, and Uther swore that she would never find employment again in the area. Also one of his father's silliest moves, since it started to alienate Morgana from him and it became much worse when Morgause used her many skills to try and destroy him. She didn't care about his money, not really, but she hated him for his lies with a passion that even Arthur couldn't truly understand. And Morgause was good, all Uther's actions had done was to make her deeply desirable for the opposing companies.

It had put both him and Morgana completely out of business law – Arthur had moved on to advertising and PR, but Morgana had managed to make Uther even more annoyed when she kept on studying law but decided to go for Human Rights internships and jobs. It could have been a phase, just a rebellion, but then she met Alvarr, and it became clear that she would never "get back to the right track", as Uther put it. Both had slowly come back to having a reasonable relationship with their father, but it would never be as close or one of trust. And even ten years later, Morgause still hated Uther as much as ever – and sometimes, Arthur thought she hated him as well.

As he stopped by the pub, his friend was already out, and got in the car in a matter of seconds.

"It's the opposite of childbirth – first you have the kid, then you get fucked" complained Arthur, without caring to explain. He saw that Merlin seemed a bit dazzled, and his friend didn't answer him as he usually did, still thinking.

"It's like in Age of Steel – I just met my wife from a parallel universe." Merlin said, and Arthur let out a barked laugh.

As much as he liked Merlin, he was a ridiculous bloke.

[hr][/hr]

Freya had walked Mordred to the bus stop – ready to take his backpack back to her house after he left. Mordred tried not to think much about the people around as he changed his "sleeping over Freya's" shirt to the one she had chosen for him to go out that night.

He was nervous, even if he tried not to show it. Freya watched closely as the bus approached, signing over for it, and he turned to her and voiced what he had been thinking all day long in school.

"At school… They are all kids. They talk and then go home, and have a wank! I'm doing it" he said, hopping in the bus. "I'm really doing it!"

She beamed at him and waved him off. He wished he felt as confident as he had sounded. He knew he had been just a shag – but it could be more, couldn't it? He'd go over and he's show up, and Arthur would pick him again, and see that Mordred really liked him. It had started as nothing, but it could go somewhere, right? He had taken Mordred to the hospital to see his newborn. He had asked for Mordred to come back even after he had made a complete fool of himself when they first went to his apartment. There were possibilities there.

He also felt like everyone around was staring at him, his blushed cheeks as he remembered last night. A quick check showed that it was just his imagination – people seemed to glace him naturally and not think much about it. For Mordred, thought, it seemed that it was written across his face, across his body, that Arthur was still deep inside him. He could feel the emptiness he had left, even if there were no physical marks. He could hear people thinking about their own business, and it all seemed small and unimportant – no one there could really understand how addictive Arthur Pendragon was or how he had changed Mordred.

As he came out of the bus, he remembered how scared he had been last night, and he still had no idea where he should go to find Arthur – or even if he would really be there – but it was as if last night had happened to someone else: he now knew what he was looking for, he could almost sense Arthur, and he knew deep down that if he only followed his instincts, they'd take him to the right place.

He had been told often that he was a strange boy, especially when he was young and couldn't control himself, but now he cherished those peculiar feels inside him, like a snake recoiling in his belly – they'd take him exactly where he wanted to be.

Feeling more confident than he would have believed possible last night, he walked into a pub – and there he was, in all his perfection: Arthur Pendragon, the King of Albion Street.