Next one! Since I have now finished my other story, I can update this one more (hopefully) but the chapters will be shorter. Thank you for the reviews I got for Chapter 3 and I hope you enjoy this one!
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.
Morgana,
I have gone to work and will be back at about 5pm.
Please help yourself to anything in the fridge or cupboard.
I have left the hot water switched onso you can have a shower if you want - I think there are some spare towels in the airing cupboard.
I'm sure you can figure out how to use the TV remotes and don't worry if you can't find Aithusa because she tends to wander off.
There is also a spare door key on the kitchen table if you want to go out.
From Merlin
PS. You snore really loudly.
Her mouth drops open at the last sentence, but she finds herself grinning at the kind letter she had found on the coffee table. She looks around for Aithusa and sees that the cat is still keeping her legs warm. They start to play a game where Morgana wiggles her feet under the duvet and Aithusa claws and pounces at the movements, which results in a lot of giggling and meowing.
Merlin was right - the TV remotes aren't hard to use - and she ends up watching a 'Friends' marathon and then 'Doctor Who' re-runs. At about 12pm, she can no longer ignore her rumbling stomach, and manages to drag herself off of the comfortable sofa and into the kitchen. Going by previous experiences, she decides not to cook anything, so she raids the sparse food cupboards and eats a packet of Hula-Hoops and a Rocky bar instead. Not a particularly healthy breakfast, but nevermind.
Aithusa disappears after a while, so, with nothing else to do, she locates the bathroom and has a shower. Funnily enough, Merlin doesn't own any fruity scented shampoos or conditioners, so she just rinses her hair through with the hot water. She could stand there for hours with the water hammering down on her tense shoulders, but eventually it begins to run cold. Stepping out of the steam is like torture and her skin prickles with goosebumps as soon as it is exposed to the cold air of the bathroom so she quickly wraps the towel she brought in with her around her shoulders.
Cursing under her breath, she realises that she forgot a towel for her hair and reluctanty exits the bathroom and searches the airing cupboard for one. No such luck. She ventures cautiously downstairs, in the hope of finding one there, but it is much cooler than the shower and she shivers as the freezing air attacks her body.
She checks the living room and then the kitchen, wishing to find a towel on a radiator, but there are none. With the idea of having something to dry her hair with diminshed, she goes to walk back upstairs, but only gets halfway across the kitchen before she hears the front door open.
Merlin's voice calls out to her and then starts to get louder, so she looks desperately around for somewhere to hide or something to cover herself with, but there is nothing, so she stands there and waits, dressed in only a towel. A few seconds later, Merlin's cheerful face appears around the corner and the two make eye contact for what feels like forever.
He walks forwards suddenly and grabs her waist, kissing her passionately. He rips the towel from her shoulder and-
"I'm sorry," he stammers and she snaps out of her of her daydream, as he brings his hand up over his eyes, shielding her from his view. "I had no idea you were..."
"Yeah, I was just going to..."
"Yeah okay," he breathes and she thunders up the stairs, clutching the towel tightly.
"Idiot, idiot, idiot," she mutters to herself as she throws her cothes back on, hobbling around inside the bathroom. How could she think about Merlin like that? At that specific point in time? She wants to stay upstairs forever, the thought to having to go down and look Merlin in the eyes again after that is almost unbearable. A few more minutes are dragged out, as she attempts to untangle her hair with her fingers, before she finally decides to take the trip downstairs again. She finds him in the living room, sat on the sofa and staring into space.
"Merlin?" He looks up, so that their eyes meet, and then quickly looks away, both of them blushing furiously. "Sorry about... that. I couldn't find a towel for my hair, so I came down to look for one and then you came in... Why are you back, anyway? I thought you said you finished work at 5 o'clock?"
"Lunch break," he explains. "I came back to see how you were. Got a bit more than I bargained for, though."
"Yes," she laughs nervously. "I think you did."
The joke ends and the silence begins as they run out of things to say. Morgana stands awkwardly in the doorway, her wet hair dripping loudly onto the carpet.
Merlin turns to her suddenly. "Did you find a towel in the end?"
She shakes her head. "I don't suppose you've got a hairdryer have you?
"Not that I know of," he smiles. "I bet Gwaine has one though, so you could ask him." Then he leaves for work againa and she lounges around all day until he comes back.
"Is pizza okay?" Merlin yells as she goes into the kitchen to help him unpack the shopping.
"Pizza is fine, thank you," she replies as she walks into the room. He starts, not realising she was so close, and hits the back of his head on a cupboard he was putting an item into.
"Ouch," Morgana comments at the thud and he grins sheepishly as she begins delving into some carrier bags. "I probably won't be of much use to you, as I don't know where anything goes," she tells him as she starts placing tins of baked beans on the counter top.
"Nah, that's okay. You can just put what you find anywhere really," he instructs as he opens several cupboards, shoves random things inside and then shuts the door quickly again before they have chance to fall out. "Oh, I have something for you, by the way."
"Really?" She asks as she copies his untidy method and slings a few packets of crisps away.
"Taadaa!" He smiles broadly at her, as he hands her a carrier bag containing a hairdryer, a hairbrush and a small bottle of strawberry scented shampoo.
"Merlin!" She exclaims. "Thank you, but you really shouldn't have."
"It's okay," he laughs as she hugs him gratefully. "But you really should've seen some of the looks I was getting when I went through the checkout."
20 minutes later they are sat on the faded brown sofa, tucking into half of a cheese and tomato pizza each.
"Where do you work, Merlin?" Morgana asks him after they have stopped laughing at 'Total Wipeout' on the TV.
"HMV," he says, as they watch yet another contestant go tumbling off the Big Red Balls. "Why?"
"I just wondered, that's all." She looks around the room. "It explains all the CDs."
"Yep," Merlin agrees. "I'm making the most of my staff discount card."
She giggles and reaches out for another slice of pizza.
"What happened to your wrist?" Merlin frowns and sits forwards.
"Huh? Oh," she looks down at her outstretched arm to find that the skin is a purpley blue and swollen. "It's from yesterday. I slipped on some ice and fell on my arm. I hadn't really paid any attention to it until now."
"Does it hurt to move it?" He asks and takes her wirst gingerly in his hands, inspecting it.
"I don't think so. I mean, I can't remember it hurting apart from when I did it."
"Does this hurt?" He squeezes the bruised flesh gently and she winces slightly. Then he disappears off to the kitchen and walks back in with an ice-pack with a tea towel wrapped around it.
"Thanks," she nods as he rests it on her lower arm.
"Welcome," Merlin says and flumps back down on the sofa.
They settle into a more comfortable silence than the one earlier in the day, happily eating and relaxing. Suddenly, Morgana gasps and stands up, fumbling through the pockets of her jumper and then her jeans. She stops and proudly brandishes a small, silver key.
"What?" Merlin almost laughs.
"Front door key," she beams.
"And?"
"I forgot I had it. We can use it. Tomorrow. We can wait until Alvarr goes out and then go into the house and get my clothes and that...If that's okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Merlin agrees. "It's my day off, too. Good thinking, Batman."
She takes a small bow and then returns to the sofa.
Ugh, what a horribly short chapter! Bit of a filler, but the next chapter is going to be so much fun! Already have some of it written.
I hope you liked this one - I only put in Morgana daydreaming at the last minute and even then I was debating it, so I hope you like it! Please please PLEASE review! It makes me so happy if you do!
Thank you for reading! Oh, and a belated Happy New Year! :)
