Title: Home

…

Chapter Four:

…

She couldn't help herself. No one can help her. To make her night even worse, she gets a call from one of her co-workers at the firm, about Nelson's case. And it was not good news.

When she returns to her table with Nelson, she saw that Merlin and the girl he was with were no longer at their table, so she guesses they left. She refuses to think about what that could possibly mean.

Nelson looks concerned as she takes her seat across from him. Leaning over the table, he says, "You're as white as a sheet."

She doesn't even have to lie when she shakes her head and answers, "I think I just need to get home and get some rest."

For the first time since they started dating, Nelson looks angry. He sighs heavily and rolls his eyes, "We just got here." He says in an aggravated tone.

Morgana doesn't think much of it at first. He's right after all. But she couldn't stand to be there anymore. "I know," she nods. "But I really want to go home." She's trying to keep the tears at bay, but it's useless. Everything is just too much at the moment. She grabs her clutch from the table and walks out.

Nelson follows her out and takes her by the upper arm, pulling her to a stop outside the restaurant. "Damn it, Morgana." He whispers furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She's taken aback by his sudden change of behavior. He had always been so put together and respectful. "I'm just having a crappy day, Nelson." She says as she tries to pull her arm out of his grasp, but he doesn't let go.

Nelson rolls his eyes, "Can't you for one second, think of what I want?"

"Nelson, what the hell are you talking about?" She asks confusedly. "I told you I'm not feeling well and I just want to go home."

The man actually glares at her. "I've been nothing but patient with you. I've been a great boyfriend. I've kept my word and waited for you to come around. To let me in, but you still treat me like I'm not your boyfriend! We've been together for weeks and you still haven't even let me touch you anywhere beneath your clothes!"

"I told you I'm not ready for that!"

"Then when?! Because it's been weeks, and I feel like I'm never getting closer to getting anything from you!"

Morgana's face reddens in anger. She had never seen this side of Nelson, and she really doesn't like him very much right then. She glares at him. "Is that what this is about? Sex?"

"No, but normal couples have sex all the time!"

She exhales harshly through her nose as she glares at him. "I told you from the beginning that it's going to take time."

"I know, but-"

"But nothing!" She cuts him off sharply. "Nelson, I'm not the kind of woman who trusts easily. Before I give myself fully to someone, I have to trust them with every fiber of my being."

"Are you saying you don't trust me?"

"I don't know, Nelson. Should I?"

Nelson rolls his eyes and scoffs at her. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You haven't told me the truth about everything." She points out.

"What?" He makes a confused face and says, "I've been honest with you!"

"No, you haven't..." she trails off for a short moment before muttering, "and maybe I haven't been honest as well."

"What?" His facial expression changes quickly from confused to angry. "Did you cheat on me?"

"Wha-"

"You did, didn't you? With your best friend!"

"What? No!" Morgana says angrily. "I never cheated on you." She supposes that's not really true. She may not have actually cheated on him, but she might as well have with the way she's been thinking about Merlin all the time.

"Don't lie to me." He whispers furiously. "You fucked him, didn't you?" A look of realization crosses over his face, and Morgana knew that he really believed she cheated. But at this point, she no longer cares what he believes.

"I've kept things from you, but I have never cheated on you, Nelson. I'm not that kind of woman!"

He scoffs, "And I really did all those things I told you I did." He says sarcastically.

Morgana stares. "You lied to me?"

Nelson rolls his eyes at her. "Of course I lied to you!" He snaps, then casts a side glance at a couple leaving the restaurant before turning back to her and whispering. "I was trying to impress you."

She couldn't believe it. Every single thing that Merlin said about Nelson, was true. And she was stupid enough to believe all of it. She finally manages to yank her arm out of his grasp. "Well you're doing a crappy job at that." She says. "I'm leaving." She moves towards the street, but Nelson's hand wraps around her wrist, yanking her back.

She stumbles as she turns to look at him. "Let me go." She says as calmly as she can manage.

"No." Nelson says angrily. "You're not going anywhere until we're done here." His grips tightens so hard, Morgana almost cries out.

"Let me go!" She says indignantly.

Nelson's grip tightens further, his face almost blue with anger. "I will not. We're going to go back to my place, and that's final."

Rage fills Morgana. She has been going through hell for the past couple of weeks, and tonight, the man she's possibly in love with is probably going to make love to another girl. And then she received word about some new evidence concerning her boyfriends case, and he wants to keep adding to the list?! Tonight is not a night for Nelson, or anyone in their bloody right mind, to mess with her.

With all her strength, she yanks her wrist out of Nelson's grasp. "So this is what the real you looks like." She laughs humorlessly as tears well up in her eyes again. "Merlin was right about you."

Nelson narrows his eyes at her, "Why the fuck is Merlin even in this conversation?!" He asks angrily. "He's not even important, and quite frankly, I don't know why you're best friends with him. Does he get you off when you're lonely?" He taunts her with a laugh. "Is that all he is to you? A nice fuck while your real boyfriend is waiting for you?" He goes a step further and says, "Because if he's not fucking you, then he's probably gay."

Morgana's anger boils yet again, and without hesitation, she slaps him across the face and glares at him. "You're not even close to being half the man Merlin is."

Nelson gapes at her, having not expected her to actually hit him.

"I'm going home whether you like it or not, Nelson. And you can go to yours." She turns to walk away, but then she remembers the thing she was going to talk about with him later, and turns back to look at him. "Oh, and your case has been reopened. Your ex-wife apparently found a video she forgot she recorded of your anniversary two years ago, in the living room... the night you beat her."

Nelson's eyes widen with fear. "I- I didn't do it-"

"Oh please." Morgana cute him off. "It's a bloody video footage, Nelson! There's no lying out of this one."

He stammers as he looks to her with pleading eyes. Lies. "What- what do I do?"

She doesn't fall for his lies again. She shakes her head at him and says, "I suggest you find a new attorney." With that, she turns and leaves for good.

She cries the whole way home, ignoring the cab drivers concerned looks. She knows she should be crying about Nelson and how he had lied to her, but at this point, she doesn't give a damn about the man. The reason she's crying, is because just a few miles away, in a flat she had called home since the owner purchased it, the man she had been best friends with for the majority of her life, is probably making love to that girl he was with tonight. If that wasn't enough, the skies turn dark as rain begins to pelt the pavement when she gets out of the cab.

The moment she gets to her flat, she drops her clutch, kicks off her heels shrugs out of her soaked coat, and leaves them strewn across her hallway before falling into her bed and letting out a loud, uncontrollable sob.

God, I've messed up so badly, she thinks. Not only did I push away the one person who means the world to me, the person I pushed him away for, turns out to be a bloody liar. Merlin was right. She should've listened. She should've known that the reason her life had always been so great so far, was because of Merlin. He has always been there, from the moment she met him in High school when he had punched her ex-boyfriend for calling her a slut. Memories of their time together begin to flood through her mind, threatening to drown her.

Countless hours studying together for exams, laughters, food fights, sports, watching movies together, sailing together, that one time Merlin got into a car accident and she sneaked into his hospital room to sleep next to him on his small hospital bed- their playful banter and inside jokes, cuddling when it's raining and talking about going outside to dance in it. They never did do that, she realizes sadly.

After an hour of crying and reminiscing, Morgana sits up in bed and looks towards her bedside table at the framed picture atop it. She remembers the day the picture was taken, and the feeling of safety and love that she felt as Merlin wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side. She remembers how she had instinctively wrapped her own arms around his torso, and pressed her face into his chest as the photographer snapped their picture. She remembers the feeling she always has when she's with him. A warm, fuzzy feeling... like she belongs there. Like she's home.

She realizes with a jolt, that she's utterly, hopelessly, and wholeheartedly in love with Merlin. So why is she still sitting there, without her best friend? She rises to her feet and inhales deeply as she closes her eyes. She exhales slowly, before opening her eyes again, and she knows. She knows what she has to do.

...

She's driving as safely and quickly as she can in the pouring rain, mentally preparing herself for what she's about to do and say. She's terrified that he might reject her, but she has to try. She doesn't think about the possibility of him not being alone. She just needs to see him.

Morgana shivers as she stares at the front door of Merlin's flat. The streets are empty, everyone is hiding inside from the rain, and here she is, soaked to the bone, and about to do what could possibly be the riskiest thing she has ever done on her own. She raises her hand to knock and stops, dropping her hand back down to her side. What am I doing? I have a key! But that girl could be in there with Merlin, and if she is, I really don't want to know what they could be doing. She inhales deeply and counts to five, before raising her hand again to knock. Just as her knuckles are about to make contact with the wooden door, it swings open, and she freezes.

Morgana's heart plummets, because standing in the doorway, wearing the same dress she wore earlier, is the girl she'd seen with Merlin at the restaurant. Morgana expected this, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. The girl suddenly narrows her eyes at her and says, "You look really familiar." she stares for another few seconds before shrugging. "May I help you?"

Morgana stares, her mouth hanging open, the rain soaking her further, and her eyes filling to the brim with tears. A thousand questions fill her mind. Why is she answering Merlin's door? Did they do… something? Before she could continue further with her thoughts, Merlin steps into the hallway, halfway into putting his shirt on.

He stops dead in his tracks upon seeing her. "Morgana?"

Morgana's swallows down the lump that forms rapidly in the back of her throat before she shakes her head, turns and runs back to her car. She hears him calling her name, but she doesn't stop until she's across the street and standing next to her car. She fumbles with her keys, dropping them and then picking them back up, but the continuous fall of her tears make it extremely hard to see clearly and distinguish which key goes to her car.

"Morgana!"

She can hear him still calling, his voice getting louder and the sound of footsteps splashing through the puddles on the ground getting closer. She manages to find her key and unlock her car, but before she could pull the door open, she feels Merlin stop directly behind her and take her arm. She yanks her arm away, angry at him and angrier at herself for coming here.

"Morgana, stop." Merlin says breathlessly.

She does. She leaves her keys in the door and stares at her car window. He tries again, touching her shoulder gently, and then turning her around to face him. She stares at the ground as her lip trembles because she'll burst into tears if she looks at him.

"Please look at me." Merlin says softly. He raises his hand and takes her chin, tipping her head up so she has no choice but to look at him. It feels so good to be so close to him, and yet… it pains her to be so close to him and not do what she wants to do. She wishes they could just go back to how things were when they were best friends and can't stay away from each other for more than a few hours.

Like she knew she would, she cries. Shaking her head, she tries to turn back to her car, but Merlin stops her yet again, putting his arms around her and resting it on the top of her car. He moves in closer so that he's caging her in, and leans down so that his face is directly in front of hers.

"Look at me." he says again.

Morgana refuses. She shakes her head and turns her face away from his. "Just let me go, Merlin. It was stupid of me to come here."

"No." Merlin says, his tone soft but stern. "I'm not letting you go."

"Merlin—,"

"Not until you tell me why you came here."

She finally looks at him, her eyes turning angry. "Just let me go, Merlin." she goes to shove him off, but he's resilient.

"Tell me why you're here first." he moves in even closer until he's pressed completely against her.

It reminds her of when they would have a food fight in his kitchen, and he would cage her in against the counter to keep her from getting to more food so she could pelt him with it. She's angry, and hurt, and cold, and this isn't how she thought this would go. She doesn't even know how this would go! But seeing him putting his shirt on could only mean one thing. He had already slept with that girl. Whoever she is. She shakes her head and pushes at his chest, but he stands his ground and lets her slam her fists against his soaked, cotton-clad chest. "I hate you!" she cries as she continues to beat his chest with her fists. She continues for a full minute before breaking down and pressing her face into his chest.

She feels him envelope her in his arms, and the immediate feeling of safety and love warms her heart. "Why are you here?" Merlin whispers into her hair.

She finally breaks as she pulls away and stares up into his stupid, blue, beautiful eyes. "Because I need you!" she says angrily. "The whole time I was away from you, I couldn't stop thinking about you. I've been losing my mind little by little, every moment that I was away from you." her voice breaks at that last part and she shakes her head. "And I didn't realize how much I needed you until I lost you."

Merlin makes a confused face and he touches her cheek gently. "Morgana, I don't care what goes on between you and me. I don't care if you hate me and never want to see me again. You, will never lose me." he whispers. "You mean the world to me."

Morgana frowns, "What about that girl? It looks like you already have someone." she says pathetically, casting her eyes away again.

Merlin leans forward, picking her chin up and staring into her eyes. He smiles and shakes his head. "Nothing happened between me and that girl."

Morgana sniffles and regards him skeptically. "You were shirtless." she points out.

He nods. "Yeah. I was… And I was going to sleep with her." he sighs and looks over his shoulder at his flat, then back at her. "But I couldn't."

Morgana stares, confused. "Why?"

He sighs, "Every time I kissed her. Every time I touched her. Every single bloody time I looked at her, all I could think about, all I could feel, and all I could see…" he shrugs as if it were obvious. "… was you."

Morgana's eyebrows furrow in confusion as hope begins to spread back inside her chest. Is it possible that he actually feels the same way? "You mean… you're—,"

"I love you, Morgana… I think I've always loved you from the moment I met you. And it took losing you to Nelson for me to realize that."

Her heart beats wildly against her chest as she stares at him through her tears. He loves me… He loves me! Omigodhelovesme! "Are you sure?" she asks, then mentally slaps herself. Why would you ask such a stupid question!?

Merlin chuckles as he takes her hand and lays it over his chest, above the place where his heart beats. "More than anything."

"Nelson is…" she trails off and shrugs, "No more."

He doesn't ask. He just stares at her. "That's why you're here?"

She shakes her head and looks at him fully. "I'm here because I've been wanting to come here everyday since the day I chose that lying son of a bitch over the only person who means the world to me."

Merlin actually laughs softly. "So you're…" he pauses and looks down at his soaked shoes. "You don't love him?"

She shakes her head. "I never did."

"And me?" he looks up shyly at her. "Did you never love me either?"

Morgana supposes she deserves the pull at her heartstrings when he gives her that bloody innocent, puppy-dog look, and asks her in that innocent, whiny tone he uses when he wants something from her. And bloody hell it always works. Her heart melts straight through her chest and oozes to the floor as she look up at his handsome face. "Oh Merlin," she sighs. "Of course I love you!" she finally confesses.

Merlin laughs and pulls her with him so they're standing in the middle of the road. There are no cars around, no music, no nothing. All they feel, is the rain on their skin. All they hear, is the rain hitting the ground. All they see, is the rain, washing away their regrets at having waited so long.

Merlin takes her right hand and lays it over his shoulder, before taking her left one and holding it firmly in his. "Dance with me?" he asks softly, a tiny smile forming on his lips.

She realizes that this, would be the first time they would actually dance in the rain. She accepts immediately, letting him twirl her around before pulling her back into his embrace. She looks up into the blue eyes of the only man who makes her feel like she belongs, and she tells him something she had always known deep down inside. "It doesn't matter where I am, or who I'm with." she smiles, knowing that she's going to spend the rest of her life with this man. "At the end of the day, you, Merlin, will always be my home." and while the rain continues to fall around them, Morgana and Merlin share their first of many kisses.

…

The End

…

A/N: SAP FEST! I know. But I really can't see any other way to write things. I'm just a giant sap. Anyway, I hope you guys liked it. Please let me know what you guys think!

-McDiggin'It