Elyan is at the piano playing some chords – something Gwen knows is very likely to turn into another song for their next album even if she can't imagine it right now. She might manage the band, but music isn't exactly in her blood. Percy sits next to him and hums a few bars and soon their heads are bent close together and, every now and then, Elyan is scribbling frantically in his notebook. It's a slow week – no public appearances, no charity work – and it's nice just to hang out in Arthur's large penthouse.
Arthur and Merlin are behind the bar, chatting, laughing and messing with drinks, creating Frankenstein worthy concoctions that they name after themselves. Artful Arthur. Merlin in the Mist. The Greedy Gwaine. They think they are hilarious. Gwaine is somewhere – Gwen isn't quite sure. Unlike the rest of them, she's actually trying to work on their schedule. They are about to begin their biggest tour to date in two weeks and while the guys get to do the fun stuff like sing and dance, she has to work out the logistics of bringing them around the country with as little fuss as possible. Pushing her glasses up, Gwen tries to focus on the screen in front of her and the excel sheet full of various tour details.
Every now and then, she finds herself glancing up at Arthur. Once or twice, he catches her eyes, then brazenly winks. Her face flushes and she stares at her screen again, determined not to look up.
Until she does again.
Thankfully, she is quickly distracted by Gwaine who is suddenly in her eye line and gyrating his hips and doing some sort of popping with his arms and chest. There's also a little bit of a shuffle with his feet. Clearly, he's been drinking some of Arthur's and Merlin's experiments.
"What do you think of this move? For Avalon Rises – the bit when Elyan and Arthur harmonise."
She blinks, pulls off her glasses and sighs. "Really Gwaine. Didn't you tell me the dance was already choreographed?"
"Don't ask her," Merlin laughs, clearly tipsy as his orange drink sloshes out of the tumbler he's holding. "You know she has no sense of rhythm."
Gwaine treats her to one more roll of his hips, then wanders to the bar. Arthur looks at her, even as he says to Merlin that he thinks that Gwen has plenty of rhythm. Even though she is across the room, she can feel his words caress her skin, sending desire shooting through her. She squeezes her legs together and counts backwards from ten. Thankfully everyone is far too busy to catch his meaning. At least no one gives any hint that they do. He keeps his eyes on her, dark and heavy with desire. She knows she should look away but she can't. Then Arthur breaks eye contact and turns to laugh at something Gwaine says and she yanks her attention away from him.
Everyone is sprawled in Arthur's living room, in deep slumber. All except her and Arthur. He's grabbed her hand and tugged her into his bedroom, barely closing the door before he encircles her with his arms. She tells him about the others outside. He simply grins and tells her, they need to be quiet.
And they are very quiet.
And it is very good.
She's in his bed one night, snug under his thick quilt, her cold feet tucked under Arthur's thighs when he talks about her attending a movie premiere the band is scheduled to attend. Her refusal is instinctive (she much prefers to remain behind the scenes) and after a moment's hesitation, he smiles and says, good choice. It's easy to ignore the slight twinge in her heart when Arthur leans into her and nuzzles her throat.
Two days later, Arthur tells her about a fancy, new restaurant that's opening and asks her if she wants to go. The next day, he wants to watch a movie at some film festival. And the day after, he suggests a trip to the beach. She says no to everything. Their relationship – whatever it is – starts and ends in the bedroom. She has enough self-preservation to keep it that way. And anyway, Arthur takes her rejections with a smile and a shrug, so it's not like he's actually serious about his invitations.
She's in the plane, just after take-off when she experiences her first bout of queasiness. It's probably the shaky take-off and she doesn't think about it again. Arthur is seated several rows behind and it takes some self-discipline for her not to keep looking behind at him, especially when she's pretty certain she can feel his eyes on her.
They are in a rented studio in their first tour city practising. Gwen sits in a corner and works on the various last minute administrative details. Despite having slept comfortably in a five-star hotel the night before, she's tired and can barely control her yawns. And her stomach still hasn't recovered from the flight. Still there's work to be done and she soldiers on. Occasionally, she looks up and grins at them as they run through their concert. She never stops being amused by grown men dancing this way – the coordinated arm movements, the synchronised hip thrusts, the random tearing off of shirts. And yet, even at their cheesiest moment, when Arthur turns his gaze on her, she can feel that familiar arrow of lust twists in her stomach and her mind wanders to when Arthur is pulling off his shirt for her in the privacy of his bedroom.
A sweaty Elyan flops down on the floor next to her, followed by Gwaine. Good practise, she says automatically and they grunt in acknowledgement. Percy is fiddling with the video recording of their rehearsal and Arthur is gulping down water at the corner of the studio.
"We're not crisp enough," says Percy, his eyes still glued to the tiny screen. "You can't just do what you want, Gwaine."
Gwaine shrugs. "I'm hungry. Let's go get some lunch. I'm thinking of a greasy hamburger."
On cue, her stomach lurches and she feels ill. She swallows and rubs her stomach, hoping to ease it. Perhaps it's food poisoning. She really shouldn't have eaten that last donut.
When Arthur turns up at her room that night, hair still damp from a shower he's just taken, she turns him away. She's strangely tired and her stomach still feels weird. But instead of leaving when she tells him she's sick and that he shouldn't hang around her, Arthur simply frowns. Then he chides her, as if she's a child, saying that she should have said something earlier.
"Never fear though," he says with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm here now."
Arthur's arms warm around her, his hand stroking her back, Gwen slowly drifts to sleep with the unnerving thought that she might be enjoying this far too much.
AN: Thank you for the comments! And I guess it's not over yet.