AN: Wow it's been a long time since I updated! I've been wildly busy with having two jobs for three weeks. (Film sets take up a lot of time and energy.) But I have recovered sufficiently to continue so here we go!

Three weeks had passed since the conference in France. Arthur had thrown himself into work with a passion that had Merlin's eyebrows disappearing into his hairline. He had tried a few times to get Arthur to talk but was always met with a stony face and eventually the 'forbidden' subject was dropped. Arthur was more than happy to take on as much of the work that he could that came at the end of the conference as it took his mind off Gwen. Her face would still float through his mind once in a while, causing a strange pang to shoot through his chest, but he was getting better at ignoring it. Sort of.

A loud knocking at his door made Arthur look up sharply. He had asked that no one disturb him today. Exasperated, he called out to whoever was there that they could enter, hoping this wouldn't take long.

Expecting Merlin with some asinine problem, Arthur was surprised when his sister, Morgana, strode through the door.

"Morgana, what are you—" Arthur began but broke off when another person followed her in.

Lancelot du Lac was an associate with the French diplomatic party. Arthur had met him a few times before, finding the other man to be incredibly amiable. He spoke with a gravity that lent itself to deep discussions, a quality Arthur appreciated when Merlin was goofing off or simply wasn't around. If they lived closer, Arthur was sure that he and Lancelot would be very good friends. Now, Lancelot entered Arthur's office, smiling as Arthur stood to greet him.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Arthur laughed.

"Just my job," Lancelot replied. "The French are sending emissaries to each of the parties that participated and I requested to be the one to come over to England."

"Well, it certainly is good to see you again," Arthur said. "Are you staying long?"

"Not very. I'll be in and out of the embassies for the next three days while also helping my girlfriend look for somewhere to live."

"Your girlfriend?"

"Yes, she used to live here in London and has decided to return."

"Well if you aren't too busy with all of that, I'm meeting some friends this evening for a drink if you want to join us. Bring your girlfriend; Morgana will be with us as well, won't you?" Arthur said, finally addressing his sister. Morgana rolled her eyes at him but her smile indicated she wasn't bothered by his ignoring her until now.

"Of course I will. Actually Arthur, I just came by to make sure you were coming to dinner on Sunday? Father is insisting but I figured you would probably prefer to hear it from me than him."

"Yes, Morgana, thank you. Tell him I will be there," Arthur said. Morgana nodded, then said goodbye, leaving Arthur and Lancelot alone. They talked a little before Lancelot announced that he had to go but that he would definitely catch up with Arthur and his friends later that evening. After he left, Arthur hummed to himself; this would be the perfect distraction to take his mind off Gwen.

Arthur, Merlin, Morgana and few others had already been at the pub a half hour when Lancelot showed up. He apologized for being late but everyone waved it off. Arthur made all the introductions.

"So you know Merlin and Morgana already. This is Gwaine, Percival and Leon," he said, pointing out each person around the table.

"Yeah, and, fair warning," said Percival. "We are limiting Gwaine's alcohol consumption tonight and making sure he doesn't get us kicked out again." The others all chuckled.

"Hey, just because I got in a fight last week—"

"It was a pretty big fight, mate," Leon interjected.

"I was not letting a woman get treated like that, whether she knew him or not." Frowning, Gwaine took a swig of his beer. The friends were silent for a minute before Percival spoke again.

"Yeah we know. And you know we all backed you up. Just—if it happens again—wait until you're outside to start throwing punches, eh?" He clapped Gwaine on the shoulder and like that, the tension dissipated. Small conversations broke out and Arthur leaned over to Lancelot.

"Sorry about that. This is a regular occurrence with them. Want to protect everyone. Anyways, I thought you said your girlfriend was coming too?"

"She is, she just had a later shift at work. She should actually be here soon…oh, there she is." He nodded towards the door. Arthur turned his head but whatever he had been expecting, this was not it. It felt like all the air had been sucked from his lungs and his heart had sunk down into his stomach. Lancelot stood to guide her over and introduce her.

"Everyone, this is…"

"Guinevere," Arthur whispered. No one heard him, the others were all focused on Lancelot as he introduced her to the group, but her head turned as if she had. Her eyes widened in shock and what looked like a moment of guilt. She looked just as surprised to see him as he was her, and even less pleased. This night had just gotten much longer.