A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews! They're all very much appreciated. :)

Arriving in the lobby before Arthur, Gwen catches her reflection in a floor-length mirror that graces a far wall of the room. A couple sits on the plush, velvet sofa before it, dressed in evening wear, and Gwen wonders what it would be like to attend the gala in a gown rather than a uniform. She knows Arthur and Morgana hate the event, has helped Morgana pick out too many feathered dresses and nursed Arthur back from too many Albion-induced hangovers to think she would enjoy it for itself. Yet, she thinks back to earlier in the evening when she'd helped Arthur straighten out his outfit and knows she wouldn't mind dressing up beside him and spending the night whispering jokes to one another rather than sneaking Arthur out into the night for a break from it all.

She pushes a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she runs the possibilities through her mind, thinking of the plum-coloured dress Morgana had made her try on earlier in the week and the reasons she and Arthur could find for sneaking away. She feels herself begin to blush when Arthur alerts her to his presence with a cough and thanks whoever decided to dim the lobby lights at night.

"Ready?"

Amusement is written across his face as he considers her expression, but his eyes soften as he meets her eye, and she nods, smiling to herself as they make their way out the door.

"Where would you like to go?" She considers the street in front of them. The hotel Albion selected for the gala is in the middle of Mayfair, surrounded by a row of upmarket boutiques that Morgana had dragged her through on more than one occasion. Their windows cast an eerie glow over the street with their backlit displays, but nothing is open and the pavements are deserted save for the occasional discarded Christmas tree.

Arthur shrugs. "Wherever you would like to go." The corner of his mouth turns up as she raises an eyebrow, and he shoves his hands into the front pockets of his coat, looking oddly shy.

Gwen feels a flutter of nerves run through her, and she bursts out laughing at their behaviour. They spend all of their free time together, or with Merlin, and here they are, acting like they had when they'd first met.

Arthur joins in and shakes his head. "I'm sorry. It is your break though."

"I could do with coffee if I have another two hours of the gala ahead."

Arthur nods once and steps forward. "There's a café around the corner that should still be open. My father moved us in here when he was having the house redone years ago, and Morgana and I used to sneak out and go there for hot chocolate at night."

"That sounds lovely." Gwen smiles at the thought, wondering for the thousandth time what it would have been like had she grown up in London and met Arthur and Morgana before university. Her own childhood had been much different, happily spent in a rural town centred on the ruins of a medieval castle, far from the city and posh hotels.

"The hot chocolate certainly was, but I'm not sure it'll live up to the stuff we used to get at Oxford."

Arthur and Merlin had gotten a flat in the centre of town during their final year, and the three of them had fallen into the habit of studying together until the early hours of the morning, only taking breaks to seek out chocolaty beverages spiked with shots of espresso at a tiny coffee house in their building.

"I'm not sure anything can compare to that," Gwen murmurs.

"No," Arthur agrees, and nerves flutter through her again, as she feels him softly brush the backs of his fingers against hers as they fall into step beside one another.

She doesn't know if the gesture is intentional, but she reciprocates and he immediately laces their fingers together and smiles down at her.

The café is, as promised, around the corner, and they find it to be surprisingly busy for the late hour. They spot an empty corner table, but keeping an eye on the time and both secretly craving far more privacy, they opt for takeaway and leave cradling their drinks in their free hands.

Taking one whiff of her mocha, Gwen knows Arthur was right to recommend the café and sighs, wishing she could take her time to savour the drink rather than rush back to work. Looking up from her cup, she finds Arthur watching her, mouth slightly agape and a mildly dazed look in his eyes. It isn't an expression she's often seen on his face, but she stills when she realizes it's one he's only ever worn around her. "What is it?"

He snaps back to at the sound of her voice, and smiles at her. "It's nothing. Just, thank you for escaping with me."

"Anytime, Arthur. I'm just sorry I can't stay for long."

He squeezes their still joined hands, and his voice dips, "Long or not, this is already the highlight of my evening."

Gwen chuckles, not wanting to read more in his answer and get her hopes up too high. "That isn't exactly difficult with the evening you're having." She looks up, expecting him to laugh along with her, but finds him looking down at their hands with a small smile.

He brushes his thumb against her wrist, and she feels hope rising up within her despite herself. "I mean it, Gwen. This would be the highlight even if my father wasn't dead set on setting me up with every unmarried woman at the gala."

She swallows, and forces herself to ask, "Did none of them really catch your fancy?"

"How could they?"

"They weren't all that bad, Arthur." Seeing him with them had been excruciating, but some of the women had seemed genuinely lovely and she knew that if the circumstances had been different, she could have rooted for them.

Arthur scoffs, and his voice is almost impossibly low, "None of them were you though, were they?"

She stops walking and meets his gaze. He looks as nervous as she feels, and her mouth begins to quirk into a smile, even as she mutters, "You don't mean that."

"I do."

She shakes her head and beams. "Arthur."

"Guinevere." He mirrors her expression and swings their joined hands, but he sobers as he stares at her and a certain sadness taints his smile as he continues to speak, "You've always been the reason why I haven't been interested in any of them."

She gapes at him as her heart drums in her ears, and she knows she should say something, anything about the feelings that she's kept to herself for ages, but a barely audible, "Always?" is all that manages to slip out.

"Well, since that night you yelled at me at the end of first year for breaking my finger after I rushed to hold the door for you and tripped. I haven't seriously thought of anyone since."

"Arthur, that was five years ago." All the times they'd shared together since then run through her mind, all the times she'd almost spoken up about her own feelings but hadn't, convinced that he wasn't interested, that they couldn't be, and she shakes her head in awe.

He shrugs. "There's never been anyone else." He swallows, looking away before sheepishly meeting her disbelieving gaze, no doubt remembering all the flings she and Merlin had heard about. "You've been the only one to matter to me, Guinevere, the only woman I've ever loved."

She continues shaking her head and then suddenly remembers all of the exasperated sighs Merlin had let out as she'd confided in him about her feelings for Arthur through the years, all of the enthusiastic pushes he'd given, and she both wants to laugh and scream at the ridiculousness of it all. "Arthur, I-"

Arthur looks down, smiling sadly. "It's alright. I don't expect you to feel the same way."

"But I do." His eyes snap back to hers and are suddenly filled with such renewed hope that she begins to laugh despite herself. "This is such a mess, Arthur. Of course I feel the same way."

He lets out a chuckle. "You do?"

She nods, biting down on her lip. "I've loved you for almost as long we've been friends. I didn't want to believe it at first, but it's been years, Arthur. I -" She laughs, giddy that everything is finally coming out into the open and wonders what to say next, but it doesn't matter because the next second, Arthur's lips are on hers and she feels every last remaining ounce of doubt leave her as she responds to his embrace.

The night and the chill of the city street fade away and all she knows is what it finally feels like to be so close to Arthur, to feel his hand slip out of hers and tangle into her hair and taste the hint of espresso on his lips as he smiles into their kiss.

Her own smile grows in response until she has to pull away, grin stretching across her face, and finds Arthur watching her with an even more dazed expression than before. "I can't believe we've waited this long."

Arthur shakes his head and his eyes light up more as he laughs. Gwen curses the drink in her hand, wanting to wrap both of her arms around his neck and pull him back down to her, but before she can fixate on the thought, Arthur's phone chimes to Uther's ringtone, and they both move apart as he reaches into his pocket. He frowns, switching it off, and turns back to her, extending his free hand.

"We should probably head back."

Gwen nods, but then her own phone chimes repeatedly and she reaches for it, finding a string of messages from Merlin.

Uther on the lookout.

Eleanor in tow.

They do not look happy!

Gwen frowns, holding her phone up Arthur. "Maybe you should call him back?"

Arthur cringes. "Or I could just leave."

"Arthur."

"You know how he is, Gwen. He isn't going to change his mind about anything, and if Eleanor's talked to him, then he's going to side with her."

"You can't hide from him forever though." She tosses her drink in a bin near the hotel entrance and threads her fingers through his.

"I won't. I've told him how I feel, and I'll continue telling him until he listens, but I don't want to ruin tonight. Not after this." He squeezes her hand, and her mouth twitches upward into a smile.

"I don't want tonight to be ruined either, but if you talk to him and he listens, then you can put it behind you once and for all."

Arthur nods, and his expression settles into a pout as his eyebrows knit together and his mouth purses. "And then we can leave?"

"Then you can leave. I still have another hour and a half on my shift."

"You could get Merlin to cover for you."

She smirks. "That wouldn't be fair to Merlin, especially not after everything we've put him through."

Arthur chuckles. "I suppose we have put him through a lot. He's been pushing me to get over myself and tell you how I feel for ages."

Gwen gives in to the laughter she'd resisted earlier and shakes her head. "Poor Merlin. He's been encouraging me to do the same for months now."

"I'm surprised he hasn't combusted before now."

Laughing they leave the quiet street behind them and head back into the hotel.

They decide to go up separately, not wanting to excite any suspicion. Arthur goes first, pouting all the while, and by the time Gwen follows several minutes later, Uther has him locked in an argument.

Gwen can't hear what they're saying, but Uther looks eerily calm, shooting reassuring smiles at his guests. She holds back a scowl, no more used to Uther's cool anger now than she had been when she'd first met him years ago. He would often get angry, openly but quietly disapproving of Morgana's rebellions and Arthur's life choices.

She and Merlin had been to visit over the holidays early in their friendship with Arthur, and comfortable in their presence, Arthur had chosen the moment to share his doubts about mathematics and finance. He'd told them many times of his dreams to break away from his father's line of work and do something that would actually help those less fortunate than himself. With their support, he'd looked into alternate courses and had optimistically approached his father.

Uther had not understood. He'd flown into a quiet rage, citing obviously rehearsed speeches about birth right and family duty. Gwen had been horrified by his reaction. Her own father had sworn to support her in whatever she did before he'd passed away, and Gaius stood by Merlin's every decision. They'd both assumed that Uther would understand and his support his son, but they'd been wrong and watched their friend quietly succumb to his guilt trip.

She'd learned since then that Arthur had a weakness for family duty, held back by the fear of disappointing those who had come before him and feeling the ever-persistent need to make everyone happy before thinking of himself. She admires his dedication, but she fears he'll give in to Uther's rhetoric again tonight.

Sighing, she makes her way back to the bar and finds Merlin watching the scene play out across the room.

"It doesn't look good."

"How long have they been at it?"

"Pretty much since Arthur walked in the door. Uther was waiting for him by the door."

Gwen nods and begins rearranging a row of glasses. "And Eleanor?"

"She ran off just as Arthur arrived."

Gwen scoffs. "She's never been one to face the consequences of her actions."

"That she isn't." Merlin shakes his head, but then turns back to his friend with a grin. "Soooo. How'd it go with Arthur?"

Gwen wants to keep things between her and Arthur for just that night, but she feels warmth spreading through her cheeks, and a smile betrays her before she can even attempt to suppress it.

"I knew it!" Merlin beams down at her, and she doesn't know that she's ever seen him wear wider grin.

"I don't know how you've put up with us for all of this time."

"Oh, it hasn't been easy." He shakes his head as he speaks, but the smirk remains fixed to his face, and Gwen can't help but laugh. "I'm happy for you, Gwen. It was about time."

"Thank you, Merlin." She smiles and reaches beneath the counter for a bottle just as the sound of shattering glass cuts through the lull of chatter that fills the room.

She straightens just in time to see Uther march out of the room, all false calm gone from his countenance.

"That can't be good," Merlin states, free from the mirth that had previously laced his speech.

"Not if it finally got Uther to show some emotion." She scans the room for Arthur and spots him making his way towards them.

He looks exhausted as he approaches the bar, but his eyes give off an exhilarated shine, and she knows he's happy with himself despite the commotion he's caused. She gives him a soft smile and reaches out to place her hand over his when he leans against the counter.

"What did you do?" Merlin asks, cocking his head to the side.

"I threatened to resign, effective immediately."

"Arthur!"

"He wouldn't listen, and I'm done trying to make him."

The mirth returns to Merlin's face as he responds, "He can't have accepted that."

Arthur shrugs. "He'll either have to accept it or come to terms with the fact that I won't act as his financial, strategic puppet."

"Did he say anything before he stormed off."

"No." Arthur looks pleased with himself, but the smile fades as he continues, "I should go speak with him before he does anything rash, though."

Merlin nods. "That would probably be a good idea, and make sure my job isn't affected!"

"Merlin!"

He shrugs, turning to look at Gwen. "What? Uther or not, it's a good job."

"I won't let you lose your job, Merlin," Arthur promises. He exhales. "I'm done after this though. Can I crash at yours tonight?"

"Of course you can stay. Why would you even ask?" Merlin begins to answer, but then turns to Gwen. "Ah."

She rolls her eyes at their friend, telling herself that Arthur spends more time at their flat than at his own as it is. "Of course. You have the key?"

Arthur nods, and gives her a close-mouthed smile in thanks before walking away.

Gwen breathes out as Arthur leaves the room and leans against the back wall. "That wasn't what I was expecting when I told him to speak to Uther."

"Nor I, but I'm proud of him."

"As am I. It was about time someone stood up to Uther."

Merlin smirks, shaking his head. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

Gwen scoffs. "Uther? I doubt it."

"No." Merlin laughs, but then catches the group coming towards them and groans. "I think your boyfriend's driven the rest of the guests to drink."

Gwen pushes off the wall and stands beside Merlin. "Call him that, and I'll take off and leave you to deal with them alone."

"You wouldn't."

Gwen shrugs. "Try and see."