Arthur had many regrets in his life, but his biggest regret was introducing Freya and Merlin to each other.

The entire debacle had started when Freya had mentioned that she wanted to meet his girlfriend, Guinevere, so naturally, Arthur also introduced her to his new Uni friend, Merlin.

Deciding to get out of the bars and clubs which everyone at uni frequented, Arthur had booked a nice restaurant for the four of them, not too far by car, but definitely too far too walk.

Merlin, in his usual fashion, rocked up late.

The man had grinned his characteristic grin, which had both Arthur and Guinevere rolling their eyes. But it was Freya's reaction that caught Arthur's attention.

It was a look which he hadn't seen on his best friend's face in years. In six years, to be exact, not since she had denied having that crush on Gwaine, the school rebel. Her lips were pursed slightly, faint flush spreading across her cheeks, a surprised look flashing quickly across her face.

Arthur had introduced the two of them, and Freya had held out her hand, a small smile adorning her face, biting on her lip slightly, other hand reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear. Arthur groaned internally. This was not going to end well. Merlin wouldn't feel the same way about Freya, and then she would get heartbroken, and then Arthur would have to choose between his childhood best friend and his uni friends. Quite possibly even Guinevere as well.

Anyway, Merlin had gripped Freya's hand, and in a smooth movement which quite shocked Arthur, bowed, brushing his lips to her hands. Freya had tensed up slightly, a moue of surprise, cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red.

Oh.

Oh no.

This was most definitely not going to end well.

Oh, and Arthur hated when he was right. While Merlin seemed able to hold a proper conversation with Freya, the woman in question seemed to find it hard to speak properly. Guinevere seemed to find the entire debacle quite amusing, secretly texting Arthur while the other two were distracted. It was not helping to relieve Arthur from the pain he was feeling on his best friend's behalf.

Finally, Guinevere seemed to get the hint, and as food rolled around, she engaged Freya in a conversation, and much to Arthur's relief, the two of them hit it off. He always knew that they would, but knowing and actually seeing it were two different things.

Despite the awkward, and harrowing start, the night went well, almost ending in disaster when Merlin asked Freya for her number, and the woman froze slightly, before shyly writing it on his hand for him.

Arthur swore that Freya had been about to faint then and there. He had never seen her this in love before.

Then, the night was over, and Guinevere was curled into his side on the couch, telling him about how much she loved Freya, and the activities they had already planned to do with her.

"... although, I must say, I've never seen Merlin so infatuated with someone before. Poor boy."

Arthur choked on his wine.

It didn't get any better from there. Merlin and Freya started hanging out more and more often, claiming that they needed a break from being third wheels of Gwen and Arthur.

Then Freya showed up one day, panic in her eyes, shoving past Arthur, and into the small kitchen of his apartment.

"I think I'm in love with Merlin."

She said it so bluntly that it took Arthur's brain a couple of seconds to catch up. When it did though, he couldn't help it.

He laughed.

Freya flushed, and, grabbing the nearest tea towel, whacked him with it repeatedly. It just made Arthur laugh even harder.

Finally, he was able to get a hold of his emotions, long enough at least to choke out an apology, and to pull the poor woman into a hug.

"You know," he whispered, forcing down another laugh, "apart from Merlin, I think you're the last person to know."

That was the wrong thing to say.

"You think Merlin might know?"

Arthur snorted, "Absolutely not, the man might be a wizard at biomedecine, but he wouldn't know someone flirting with him, even if they slapped him in the face with a tea towel."

That seemed to do the trick, cause then she was giggling, before she grew serious again, a pained expression crossing her face. Oh, and Arthur knew that face. That was not a good face.

As discreetly as he could, he opened his phone, about to message Guinevere about being late for their date, only to find she had already messaged him, asking to cancel. Apparently a "Merlin emergency".

Arthur replied with an affirmative, before shutting off his phone, turning his attention back to his friend.

Freya was pacing the kitchen floor, murmuring to herself, her entire body tense. Sighing, Arthur opened his fridge, grabbing his tub of emergency ice-cream, and spoons. It looked like this was going to be a long night.

"...and then she concluded that Merlin couldn't possibly be in love with her and that she would remain friends with him!"

Arthur waved his hands to emphasise his point to Guinevere, who was lounged on his chest, her face twisted round so she could watch him, shock written across her face.

"No," she responded.

"Yes," Arthur retorted, straight faced, taking a sip of his wine.

"You're never going to guess this, Arthur," Guinevere started, taking a sip of her own wine. "But Merlin said the exact same thing to me. Like, those exact same words. The exact same night."

Arthur groaned. They were both idiots. Idiots in love. This was going to take some serious meddling, from both him and Guinevere. It was going to be a long couple of months.

Unfortunately, both Freya and Merlin seemed adamant that they were going to remain friends with the other, shutting down any questions that Gwen or Arthur threw their way, all the while sending longing looks at the other.

Gwen and Arthur tried everything.

Accidentally locking them in cupboards.

Inviting them out on group excursions and then bailing out at the last possible minute (this one didn't go down so well, considering that afterwards, both Merlin and Freya were convinced that Gwen was pregnant).

At parties they always played spin the bottle, but that plan was stopped after it was clear all Merlin and Freya were doing were talking.

And so it continued for the next few months, until one fateful night.

It had been raining, the water running in waterfalls down the window panes, the streets filled with puddles as the already drenched ground made a futile attempt at soaking up more.

Arthur and Gwen had gone out on a date, or at least, they had tried to, giving up when it became evident that the torrential downpour wasn't going to stop.

They had made their way back to Arthur's small apartment, making a beeline for the bedroom and dry clothes, before settling in the living room, on the threadbare couch, curled into each other, blanket draped over the top.

The peace was disturbed when the door slammed open, laughing filtering through the room as a soaked Merlin and Freya suddenly appeared, sopping wet, their coats covering their heads.

At first, the two of them didn't seem to notice Arthur and Guinevere, Merlin leaning over and pulling Freya into a twirling kiss, both of them laughing.

Arthur's brain froze, trying to process the sudden change, when Gwen let out a loud exclamation.

"Finally!"

Both Merlin and Freya stopped short, eyes comically wide, mouths gaping, a flush creeping its way onto both of their features.

Gwen was practically bouncing on the couch, and Arthur shot the (what he assumed) new couple a raised eyebrow, face full of amusement.

"So…" he trailed off, dragging out the torture just a little bit. He deserved this for having to deal with them for the last couple of months. "Anything you two want to tell us?"

"Well…"

"Arthur, really…"

They both started at the same time, trailing off as they waited for the other to finish.

"Oh quit teasing them, Arthur," Gwen admonished, already moving away from the couch, dragging the blanket with her and off of Arthur. "I need to know everything. All of the details… but first I think both of you need to change into some dry clothes."

And with that Guinevere had both Merlin and Freya hustled off, before returning to snuggle into Arthur's side.

Both Merlin and Freya appeared minutes later, their faces slightly flushed, Freya almost swamped in Merlin's bagging clothing.

And, as the months went on after that night, Arthur really couldn't help but think how lucky it was that Freya and Merlin had both met.

(Not that he would ever tell either of them that).