The title for this chapter is a line from the song Keep The Change, You Filthy Animal by All Time Low.

Scientific Soul Mates

Chapter 2:
You must think that I'm crazy

*.*.*.*.*

Going to work on Monday after a weekend of being interviewed and prepped for a marriage that he was going to be going into—probably maybe anyway—without even knowing his future wife or husband was… well, a bit of a relief, actually. Arthur sifted through paperwork, and grinned through client meetings and phone calls like it was nothing, like he didn't hate it all, and it was easy, for a change, not to let it all get to him or bore him or wear him down for a change. Indeed, it was a nice distraction from the stress and wondering and puzzling he'd been through over the weekend. His whole world was suddenly so upside down and backwards just because of a couple meetings, and a few thoughts, and the possibility of a thing that might not even happen for him, that he was happier to go to work that day than he'd been in a long, long time now.

Because of that, he was somehow able to put the events of the weekend out of his mind, for the most part, for the majority of the day.

Until around lunchtime, that was, when his sister, who worked just a floor up, called him and informed him that they would be taking their lunch together that afternoon. Arthur had tried to get out of it, but Morgana was much more than just persistent when she wanted something, and, clearly, she wanted to have lunch with Arthur that afternoon, so, unfortunately for him, it happened. He did, however, manage to convince her to dine with him in his office, at his desk, instead of going out to some restaurant like she wanted to.

And he was actually beginning to regret that.

Smiling a bright red Cheshire cat sort of smile as she picked at a salad and sandwich across from Arthur and the sandwich and crisps he was currently picking at as something twisted in his stomach, Arthur almost wished he'd tried harder to get out of this impromptu lunch altogether. He could have done it, too, if he'd just tried a little bit harder, there was isomething they needed to so, work to be done, clients to meet with—there was always something that needed to be done, he really could have come up with a decent excuse, when he thought about it for a long moment or two…

"Morgana," he sighed at last, leveling her with a tired sort of look. "What is this all about?"

"Lunch, brother dearest," she answered, batting her thick lashes at him as she took a bite of her sandwich.

Arthur rolled his eyes in turn, "Can we please just skip the part of this conversation where you pretend to be innocent and I pretend to believe your bullshit until you come out with the realreason for wanting to have lunch with me and get to the last part first for a change?"

"Well if you want to take all the fun out of this," she all but sighed, reached out to take one of Arthur's crisps, popped it into her mouth before chewing thoughtfully before beginning a moment later, "I want you to go out on a date with one of my friends."

"What?" Arthur asked, almost… amused at her request. Any other time, and he would have said yes just to get her to leave him in peace, but… well, technically he supposed he was off the dating market until he found out whether or not he was getting married to some total stranger. Any saner person might have gone on the date and forgotten about the marriage thing, since the opportunity was presented before him, but… well, Arthur didn't have much luck with relationships anyway, so, even if he went out on a date with this friend of Morgana's, it wasn't likely to go anywhere, so, really, what was the point?

"I want you to—"

"I heard what you said," Arthur interrupted. "But… I can't. Sorry," he shrugged, reaching out to take a sip of his coffee to avoid eye contact, though he knew Morgana's perfectly shaped eyebrow was high on her forehead, a purring question or retort resting just on the tip of her tongue to goad him into either telling her why he couldn't go on the date, or get him to agree to go on the date anyway.

And she wouldn't leave his office until she got one or the other, he knew all too well.

He knew that if he did get matched up with someone, that he would have to tell her, his father, all his friends, eventually, but… well, he was hoping that part wouldn't come until it was much too late to be talked out of it. And Morgana was a gossip, if she was anything at all, especially when it came to something like this; he was sure if he told her this without extracting a promise of epic proportions out of her, it would be all over the office by the time he left later that evening.

Putting his coffee cup back down, he let out a sigh and met her eye, the question and prodding resting just in the glint of her eye now.

"I can't go on a date with your friend, because… I might be getting married soon," he offered before she could ask.

And as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he would be getting very little peace for the longest of times; Morgana and her incredulous questions and prodding and disbelief would be staining every look and conversation they had for the rest of the day, and probably long afterwards as well.

At least, he told himself, sinking back against his chair as she went off on him then, calling him a complete moron and various things of the such, and told him it was a stupid idea and et cetera et cetera, that was one less person he would have to worry about telling later on. And anyway, once she stopped flipping out on him, he wondered if he might be able to convince her to help him break the news to their father, when the time came…

*.*.*.*.*