WHEN ARTHUR MET GUINEVERE

Summary: This is the story of how Arthur and Guinevere first met told as a modern fiction so there's a fair bit of AU and OOC. Multi chapters and rated T just in case. In this one there's ice, new cocktail recipes that (might not) work, some dancing (of the physical and emotional kind), not necessarily in that order :)

AN: Italics denote POV and Real Time is in normal font so I hope it doesn't get too confusing. Thank you wonderful alerters, and reviewers - i tried to level it out here but yeah...who knows? Hope you all enjoy it! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or the characters but if I did...

Chapter 20: The One With The Dancing (Around)

Gwen opens the freezer and pulls out a jumbo ice bag. As she straightens up and turns around, she almost bangs into Arthur who has come right up behind her. Startled, she drops it and the bag breaks, spraying ice cubes all over their feet.

"Damn it!" she exclaims, moving to get a bowl to scoop up the ice and comes back to join Arthur on the floor as they pick up ice cubes. He picks up his share silently, glancing over at her ever so often, trying to read her expression. Gwen cleans up quickly, not making eye contact at all.

Gwen's POV

Bloody hell Gwen! Pull yourself together. Isn't alcohol was supposed to make you feel more relaxed? Why can't he go back to the party and enjoy himself? Uh because you're being weird…Whatever. Just calm down.

After she dumps the damp cloth back in the sink Gwen turns around and notices that Arthur is now leaning against the counter, looking expectantly at her.

"Uh Guinevere…?"

"Yes?" she asks coolly as she places the empty platters in the boxes Kelvin had brought over.

"Is everything ok?"

"Yeah sure. Why do you ask?"

"Weeell…You seem a little out of sorts, and I know we haven't had a chance to chat since you found out about Elyan so I thought –", she interrupts him at this point, wincing as she realizes her words come out a bit sharper than she had meant them to.

"Arthur…Everything is fine. As I keep telling people, I was just tired yesterday. Plus, there's so much last minute stuff going on with uni and my trip. It's all good, really". Gwen stops clearing the dishes and finally looks right at Arthur, who still looks unconvinced. Then he nods slowly and grins at her.

"Okay then. It's just I thought maybe you were a bit upset about Elyan coming to work at PI or something. I mean, when I didn't hear from you I thought maybe you were pissed off with me or something, I don't know…"his voice trails off when he notices that Gwen is now frowning and she leans against the sink, folding her arms firmly across her chest. Experience has taught Arthur that it's almost always never a good sign when a woman does that after one has said something.

"Yeah well I'm sorry that my job and studies got in the way of my having to check in with you every night Arthur", she hadn't (really) meant it to sound so nasty and quickly bites her lip. Arthur frowns momentarily then smiles at her, shrugging good naturedly, and lets out a quick laugh.

"Guinevere, I know you're busy and I don't expect you to call me back all the time, it's just that, I figured Elyan would have told you about the job and…well, I guess I know you well enough that maybe if you weren't ok with the whole thing, you would probably tell me. Anyway, since everything's ok, I guess I don't have to go on about it?" He cocks his head to one side and gives her a cheeky smile.

For some reason, instead of making her relax, this move just makes her feel even more bothered, something that she doesn't want to feel but for some reason does anyway.

"You know Arthur; the whole world does not revolve around you!...Sorry, that came out wrong. It's just…never mind. Forget it". She waves her hand in the air as if warding away the negative energy that she can't seem to shake and it's enough to make Arthur stand up straighter and move towards her. Gwen silently curses herself for her weird outburst and starts to place the serving spoons in the boxes, conscious that Arthur is now only inches away from her.

"Guinevere…I wasn't – What's up with you? You seem to be avoiding me - and now you're biting my head off for some reason. If you're upset about Elyan you should just come out and say it, or at least tell me if I've done something wrong. It's never stopped you before. Please?"

She turns back to face him, "Ok, yes…I was a bit upset about Elyan…Which was bad – is bad. I mean, I am happy for my brother and that he's got a good job and all that…I just wish…I don't want people to talk or to think that you're just doing this because of special favors or something to me…Not that we're not grateful for the help, but people talk. I don't want you to have to defend or have to make allowances for him – or me all the time."

Arthur frowns and shakes his head, looking right into her brown eyes, trying to figure out where she is going with this conversation.

"What 'people' are you talking about? I know you're a bit worried about how it's going to pan out, but you don't have to. You know we're doing everything properly. And as much as you probably won't like me saying this, the whole thing really has nothing to do with you – as in you shouldn't be so concerned, I mean. This is your brother's job so -"

"This has EVERYTHING to do with me Arthur Pendragon! This is my life! He is my brother and you should have thought through all the bloody consequences first! I work there too! Were you not listening that night at Lancelot's party? I feel like you kind of monopolized the whole thing to your own advantage t-"

Gwen only becomes aware that she's now speaking louder and talking faster when Arthur cuts her off heatedly.

"What are you talking about? What advantage? I was just trying to help him, and it made good sense to head hunt for someone for this position. Now I'm getting a CIA interrogation? What's really going on Guinevere? In case you haven't noticed your brother is a grown man, a decorated army veteran – if he really wanted your help he would've asked for it. All I did was offer him a job, nothing more or less. Geez".

He sounds more than a bit baffled to boot but Guinevere is too worked up to care. She shakes her head angrily and points at his chest.

"It's about you not overstepping your boundary and confusing the…friendship, that's all!"

Arthur shakes his head firmly and puts his hands out towards her in surprise.

"Overstepping what boundaries? You don't let people in Guinevere, not really anyway. You don't have to do every bloody thing all by yourself you know? No one expects you to worry about everyone else all the time, not Elyan, Morgs, and least of all me. Why can't you just say 'thanks Arthur, for being there? For being a friend?' "

Gwen knows the situation has escalated into something that she wanted desperately to avoid, but now that they're here on the platform and she can't seem to stop the train of regretful words from pulling in to the stop.

"Yeah, well maybe that's how it should be. I guess I am just trying to figure out how to handle everything. I don't know if I want to deal with all the additional drama that being with you brings."

Arthur sighs, clearly annoyed now and moves back to lean against the counter, both of them now face each other from a few metres away. A safe distance, he thinks before replying.

"Whatever you want to tell yourself. You're too bloody stubborn for your own good. You keep going on about us being friends but you are so reluctant to trust me as one. "

"Well maybe it's better that way. It's already causing quite a lot of unnecessary drama and you said -", Arthur cuts her off in surprise. His tone clearly noting how exasperated and frustrated he is with the conversation.

"What? Wait…What are you talking about? I never said anything about us not being friends. Just 'cos we argue and you think-…Wow…You must think that poorly of me to imagine that just because a psycho ex of mine and my father make comments about us that I don't see our friendship lasting. Just be honest with me for five minutes Guinevere. Where do you see this relationship going?"

"Don't go there Arthur. I like being with you – I've never doubted that. I just think there are so many things at stake here – and I am not that daft to know that you defying your father publically over me was not a good thing for your relationship with him. At least you still have a dad Arthur, don't you think that that is relationship worth salvaging? I guess…I am just trying to figure out what it is exactly the two of us are doing here, and whether or not I still think it's a good thing." Gwen speaks slowly and evenly, the fight finally gone out of her when Arthur challenged her to admit how she felt. She, of course, has chosen the easy option.

He holds his palms up resignedly and nods his head dejectedly at her and as she watches those brilliant blue eyes cloud over, Gwen feels like she's about to burst into tears.

"Seriously? Ok fine. Don't talk about it. You let me know when you figure out what it is you want. Excuse me". With that he turns and walks out of the room.

Gwen bites her lip but can't stop the tears from forming in her eyes and she scuffs the floor with her toe.

Gwen's POV

What have you done? I don't know. Yes you do. You could've told Arthur about what his father said! Why? What good would that have done? He would've just gone over to his house and gotten into another row over me. Yes, but he still deserves to know why you jumped down his throat. Yes he does. I was like a crazy person just now…God, what is wrong with me? I'll tell you if you like. No thanks. Ok then. Well first off, you just (possibly) told Arthur that you can never have a future with him – like real relationship future type of thing! No I didn't. Yes you did. You eejit. I'm not an eejit! I am doing this for the two of us. Its better this way. Everyone's happy. Lucky Uther. Stop it. No you stop it. It's not too late. Yes it is. Besides, he didn't even tell me how he felt. That's your comeback? It's all I've got. I'm going to India soon – two weeks time. He's running an international company – there are all these other women who are more suited to him. This, whatever it is we're doing is "inappropriate" as the dragon said. He's one of the world's most eligible bachelors; what would he want with a cleaner soon to be teacher when he could have a member of a royal family, an heiress or a supermodel? Ok then…Whatever you say. You sound just like Arthur. And you sound like a Whimpy Wilma. Yeah…I guess I do. Crap. What have I done? You're scared. You're confused. You care for him. Crap .Bullocks. Crap.

She is too busy washing her face and mentally kicking her butt to notice the flash emitting from the bushes of the hedge facing the kitchen bay windows.

Arthur makes small talk with friends and drinks some of a suspicious looking creation that Gwaine swears is 'the best future cocktail of all time' and after two glasses, he concurs that it doesn't really taste that bad, although the fact that he cannot feel his tongue after drinking said glasses is a bit worrying. He is trying to have a good time, but can't get the conversation with Gwen out of his head, or her strange behaviour.

Arthur's POV

What just happened there? Uh…Guinevere was upset about…uh everything and yeah…Why? What did I do? What was all that about having a good relationship with my dad? She said that a lot actually…I just wish she could talk to me. Let me in. Do you? Of course. I…Yes? You were saying? There's no point. She obviously doesn't feel the same way or even want to talk about it. Are you ready to talk about your feelings? Maybe. Possibly. I could be. I wonder if people can switch sub consciouses? Sorry? Oh, er…my bad, was that out loud? Moving along, It's obvious she's into you waaaay more than she's saying. No she isn't. Now look who's sitting in the denial boat? Stop the sarcasm. Ok sorry. What I meant is; she wouldn't be this upset if she wasn't at least considering how she really feels about you. So I should?... Bloody hell, do I have to think of everything? I guess I do. It means you should talk to her. Tell her how you feel. Tonight? No, in two weeks time. But she'll be in India by then. Oh really? Wait…You're being sarcastic again aren't you? Hmm…No, don't answer that. She doesn't want to be friends anymore. She says it's too much. She's the one who got criticized by both my father and Vivian…She didn't deserve it but she got hurt…More than she ever let on, obviously. I just wish I could say something to make her feel better. Ok, do I need to keep repeating myself like any run of the mill top twenty dance/pop song lyrics now? No, no. I get it. I have to talk to her. Finally!

Gwen and Arthur intentionally avoid each other for the rest of the evening, attempting to do it in an inconspicuous way; however, their mood changes are not lost on their friends, who pick up the weirdness factor straight away, despite their combined average alcohol intake for the evening.

By 12 am most of the guests have left, and only the close friends and two of Elyan's army buddies remain. A plan has been hatched by Gwaine and Elyan to go out to their favourite club. M&M decline in favour of staying back to clean up a little and Gwen offers to stay and help Morgana.

While Arthur is in the bathroom and Gwen is helping Kelvin and Cathy load their van with the boxes on the street, Gwaine quickly whistles and all of them group together in the garden. As soon as they're all assembled, Percival nods at Gwaine who, although he's slightly swaying from side to side, is still competently coherent.

"Ok folks. Here's the thing. I dunno what happened to those two earlier, but my guess is there's trouble in paradise. So this is the plan. We-"He is cut off suddenly by Leon, hovering in the back of the group.

"Gwaine, I don't think it's such a good idea to keep drumming up plans...Maybe we should just leave well alone?" The rest of the group, including Elena who affectionately cuddles her husband knowing that he meant well with his comment, shakes their heads firmly and Morgana speaks up from where she is standing leaning against Merlin.

"Thank you Leon for the suggestion, but for once we Irish are together on this one. Gwen is staying with me tonight and Arthur already said he'd wait for Merlin and they'd get a cab back together so they'll both be here for a while anyway. Leave it with us." She confidently states while Merlin looks at her in surprise. 'Us'? He thought he was done with any more 'Arwen' plans, and he certainly doesn't relish the prospect of Arthur, or worse, Gwen maiming him anytime soon! Knowing he won't be able to change Morgana's mind, he wearily nods at the others and Elyan, who is now a solid member of this group, laughs quietly, happy that Gwen has such a great group of friends who obviously care very deeply for her wellbeing.

When Gwen and Arthur return, everyone says their goodbyes (rather hurriedly) and depart for the club, leaving Morgana, Merlin, Gwen, and Arthur standing in the living room looking at each other in a not really but sort of awkward silence.

"Merlin, I need your help bringing things to the kitchen. Gwen, could you please bring in the stuff from the garden? Arthur, some of the heavier chairs need to come in from outside. Perhaps you could help Gwen…?" Morgana uses her cheerful voice (an amazing feat for 12 am) and after she receives two unenthusiastic nods from her friends, pulls Merlin towards the kitchen who in turn, throws Arthur and Gwen a look that translates somewhere between "I swear this was not my idea guys. Sorry!" to "Be nice to each other!"

Gwen doesn't talk to Arthur, but just smiles faintly at him before going to the garden. By the time Arthur gets there, she is already placing dirty plates and glasses into a box on the floor. Arthur starts stacking the chairs in one corner. After five minutes of eternal silence save for the scraping of chairs and clinking of bottles, Gwen can't stand it any longer. Turning around she clears her throat loudly and Arthur hears her, and turns to look back at her, then continues moving furniture around.

"I…um…I wanted to say sorry for what I said in the kitchen. It's just that…Could you just stop doing that for a minute please?" He finally stops and straightens up to face her.

"Not doing anything you wouldn't be doing too Guinevere", he says somewhat sarcastically. When Gwen opens her mouth to retort, she sees Arthur's face break into a goofy grin, and realizing that he is joking with her, she smiles at him. She knows that he is trying to smooth things over, and she appreciates it.

Gwen's POV

This is Arthur. This is how he is with me. This is how he makes me feel. Talk to him Gwen!

"Gotcha…" he says, starting to laugh. When Gwen joins in, he is relieved, and he revels in the sound of her laughter, something he thinks he could never get tired of hearing.

Arthur's POV

Thank goodness…I love the sound of her laugh. And the way her eyes light up. Ok, could you sound any more like someone in a Mills & Boon novel? Come on Arthur. Now's your chance. Tell her how you feel.

"You're funny", she says drolly, shaking her head.

He shrugs and grins back at her.

"I do try Guinevere. For you I can always be a clown…But no red clown shoes though – not really my shoe color." They both laugh again, as he walks over to where she is standing. The ice has broken.

"I guess I'm just trying to process everything that's happened. My brother's back and I'm off to India soon and then back to work somewhere else. I met you in amongst all of the other stuff and now…" she trails off, trying not to look too deeply into his piercing blue eyes which are focused on her right now.

Arthur shoves his hands in his jeans back pockets and shrugs.

"It's ok…I get it. Sorta…I mean, I know a lot's happened over the past few months. I'm sorry too – if you think I am too pushy and I shouldn't have said it's none of your business what with Elyan's job…I know he's your brother. I…uh…I feel things for you Guinevere, and I…I don't want to lose what we have. Even if you're not sure…"

"I don't know what we're doing here Arthur, but I feel the same way about you too. I just think that there are other…factors to consider and –"

"Guinevere stop it! What matters is you and me. Screw what everyone else thinks. Can we at least spend time together before you go and see what…and where this goes? I mean…Um, if you want to that is. 'Cos if you don't want to then I guess I'd have to lower myself to be around Merlin all the time and Morgana might kill me for taking away essential snuggling time. She is quite scary when she's pretending to be calm and nice you know?" Gwen cracks up at Arthur's assessment of Morgana's steely nerve because it's quite accurate.

She nods shyly at Arthur, smiling up at him.

"Ok…Let's…see where this goes. I would, uh, really like that". Arthur lets out a breath that he wasn't sure he was holding.

In the brief moment of silence that follows, they both become conscious that the outdoor speakers are still on and Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with somebody" comes on. Arthur grins at Gwen and nudges her.

"How about we start right now?" Gwen looks up at him quizzically.

"I heard through the grapevine that…a certain pair of country bumpkin 11 year olds once won a county fair talent show for their jazz/hip hop/ballet self-choreographed piece to this number and…well…I know all about your other talents, but this is one dance I would love the honor of learning from the maestro. I mean come on, the Grantham County Fair Talent Show 1st Place Award is a grand feat Guinevere. One must not be shy…"

Gwen covers her face in embarrassment, shaking her head.

"Hell no! Oh my God! Who told you about that?" She has turned red and stands very still while Arthur bursts into laughter again.

"Hey, come here. Seriously though…You and I have not even had a dance yet – and we may not get another chance for a long time. Plus, I hear tell that you have got some serious dance moves. So, Ms. Leodegrance, it would give me great pleasure to dance with you this evening, er I mean morning." He bows gallantly and extends his hand to her, fixing his puppy dog expression blue eyes pleadingly on her.

Gwen giggles and shrugs, moving to stand next to him, playfully pushing him out of the way.

"What the heck? I mean, I would be delighted my good Sir. Now watch and learn Pendragon". They laugh again as she goes through the steps with him and he tries his best to imitate her movements. Arthur is not a bad dancer and they manage to do the chorus bits together before he breaks into the robot dance and they both begin a 'battle'. They are having such a good time, laughing and dancing and as Arthur spins her around, he trips on a bottle lying on the stones and they both fall down, as he pulls her down so that she falls on top of him.

Gwen's POV

Great! Now what? He is…Um…Yeah…I can't think. Don't think. Just enjoy it. No, this is weird. Why? 'Cos we're friends. Uh huh…Sure looks like it. What was that? Uh nothing. Just relax. You'll be fine. You could kiss him right now and get it over with. No way! Ok…Just saying is all…

Gwen desperately tries not to stare into his eyes, even though she is now in a bit of an embarrassing position on top of him on the floor. Arthur looks up at her and holds his breathe for a moment.

Arthur's POV

Damn bottle. Sure sure. What's that? You know what to do Arthur. No. I can't do anything rash. I don't want to ruin our friendship. This is not ruining it. It's just taking it to the next level. You both want to. I know I do. Wow…Guinevere is…She's…beautiful. If you don't make your move in the next twenty minutes I will…You will what? I will stop offering assistance to you. Wait, aren't we the same person? Yeah, but you're a bit of a whimp so…yeah.

"Oof. Sorry Arthur", Gwen offers, trying not to blush furiously, fighting away her inner thoughts, trying not to imagine his lips on hers.

"Don't be. Are you alright?" Arthur finally finds his voice, noting that his throat has gone dry. Gwen nods, quickly getting up, pulling him up with her as the music changes and Uncle Kracker begins to sing "Smile". Arthur grins at her and still holding on to her, he gently puts her arms around his neck and moving closer, they both begin to slow dance.

As Arthur holds her close, feeling her crazy curls – which he realizes are one of his favourite things about Gwen, he inhales the white ginger lily scent of her perfume. He even knows the name of it, having seen her and Morgana getting all excited over a sale of it at their favourite shop a couple of weeks ago. For a brief second, he imagines what it might be like to wake up to that scent next to him every day for the rest of his life, and the idea does not scare him at all.

Gwen feels like her heart is beating at a million beats per second as Arthur pulls her closer to his chest and when she rests her cheek against his shoulder, she can feel his heart too. She wonders if he is feeling what she is right now. Almost as if he can read her mind, he speaks softly.

"Guinevere…I don't know if we'll get a chance to do this again for a while, but I want you to know that I care about you so much. That with you I can be myself. Not Arthur Pendragon – managing director of an international company who has to please everyone all the time. When I am with you, I can recite all the Bad Boys phrases and eat all the popcorn straight from the bag and talk about football and anything really. I'm gonna miss you. I just…I don't want you to leave without you knowing that".

Gwen fights away the tears as she buries her face in his shirt, inhaling the scent that she has come to know as his. It's a mixture of woody aftershave and whatever type of expensive fabric softener his launderer uses. If she is being completely honest with herself, it's sort of, maybe, but really is quite, intoxicating right at this moment.

Arthur exhales slowly, hoping that he hasn't just screwed up the last chance he has at telling her how he (sort of) really feels about her as he can feel her moving back. He stops dancing and pulls back a bit to see her expression.

Gwen's eyes are suspiciously bright and she smiles up at him, still clasping her hands around his neck.

"I will miss you too Arthur. Very much. You'll have everyone and I'll…be alone...Well, I'll hopefully make new friends and I am really looking forward to the experience of course but…I will miss you as much as me, uh, I mean, I will miss you more than anything. Yeah, that's what I mean…" Gwen stammers through her response blushing furiously as she cannot seem to stop staring up at his mouth, or into his eyes. The way he's looking at her now makes her feel like her legs are going to turn to jelly.

Gwen's POV

Oh stop it! You sound like a 13 year old talking to the head boy or something! Kiss him already would ya?

Arthur continues to look at Gwen who he notices is trying not to blush, even though she's smiling up at him. What he does next he doesn't think about, he just does it. He pulls her closer and feeling her respond to it, he bends down as she moves towards him, their lips are just about to meet when out of the corner of his eye he sees the bushes directly behind them moving, as if something (or someone) large is in them.

He pauses and Gwen, who has closed her eyes, opens them as Arthur frowns at something behind her shoulder. She also turns to see what he is looking at and then back at him questioningly. He shakes his head and then whispers to her to stay put. When he walks over to the hedge he pushes it back but there is nothing there. Just the empty green space that borders with Morgana's house. Turning back to Gwen he shrugs and smiles, moving back to where she is now picking up the other bottles. He studies her for a moment, admiring her lovely profile under the soft tiki torches and garden lights and thinks about their almost kiss, cursing the stray dog or whatever it was that startled him. He hopes that there will be another chance very soon to try that again.

Gwen knows he is looking at her so she turns towards him and smiles, beckoning him over with an inclination of her head, hesitant at first, then she laughs, her dark eyes sparkling in a teasing manner.

"Come on Sherlock. These bottles are not going to pick themselves up." He joins her as they continue to clean up, laughing and chatting about the party and their friends' antics, both of them trying to figure out what to do next, knowing that the dynamics of their relationship have shifted. For now though, it's enough that they are both ok with it. Whatever 'it' is.

They're still picking up bottles, chatting, and moving things around so they don't notice M&M standing at the door looking down towards them. Morgana rolls her eyes and moves away to go down to meet them leaving Merlin standing in the doorway grinning, but shaking his head at the same time.

"Geez…Will they or won't they? They're worse than those people on Bones! Sheesh!" he mutters to himself as he makes his way down to help his friends.

The street, filled with cars two hours ago is now deserted save for one battered Ford Explorer parked not too far from Arthur's car. A stocky, short man shivers in the early morning chill as he turns up the heater and removes the excess leaves from his coat and beanie. Pulling out his cell phone he dials a number and prays that she won't answer, but of course she does.

"Well?" the single word is not a greeting, but still enough to make him feel uneasy like he always does when he's in her presence.

"I think we may have hit the jackpot Ma'am," is his nervous reply.

"Good", he can almost picture the wicked grin etching across her porcelain features as she taps her perfectly manicured nails on the marbled table top in her penthouse apartment, "Meet me tomorrow; same time, same place and you'd better bring all the evidence or the deal is off. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am", he agrees, eager to be rid of this client as soon as possible. Hanging up, he zips up his camera bag properly and starts the car. He is already thinking of how he will be able to use the money for this job on a holiday to somewhere much warmer than here.

AN: Hey Folks, I tried me best again to balance out the the emotional rollercoaster that 'my' Arwen relationship spurts out and all that jazz...In the end, you either like it or don't but that's ok :) Thanks for reading though and if you get the chance to review please do so as I love hearing what y'all think. Up next Chapter 21...