Chapter Four

'All set?'

Gwen looked round her now empty flat. She had lived here for four years, and it felt weird to be saying goodbye after all this time. She hadn't noticed Arthur sneak up behind her in the doorway and wrap his arms around her waist. She smiled and nodded, turning round to kiss him. 'I love you,' she said softly.

He kissed her back. 'I love you too.' They walked out the flat for the last time and took the steps downstairs together, where outside Leon, Percival, Gwaine and Merlin were waiting. As it was a Saturday, they all had the day off from Camelot with the exception of Morgana, who was having a meeting with Uther about the development of her new character, and had dutifully given up their day off to help with packing everything into their cars to take from Gwen's to Arthur's. Arthur had insisted this was necessary, reminding Gwen of the time when delivery men had stolen photos and money from his flat when let inside.

Gwen looked round at them all. 'Thank you all so much for helping,' she said sincerely. 'If I can make it-'

'You can repay us by inviting us to the gathering you and Arthur are throwing at yours tonight,' Merlin insisted. 'We'll all bring drinks if you order the pizzas, and then we can all build a den out of blankets and watch films in it...'

'Step too far, Merlin.' Arthur rolled his eyes, and everyone got into their cars, all of which had backseats and boots filled with Gwen's boxes. She hadn't realised how much stuff she had until she'd begun to pack a week ago. Arthur was sharing Gwen's car, Gwaine shared Leon's, and Merlin shared Percival's. As they drove, Arthur turned to Gwen.

'I was thinking,' he said casually. 'We should redecorate.'

Gwen smiled. 'Really?' she just loved how he said we, because they now shared a flat.

'Well, yeah. You weren't there when I chose any of the colours, but now it's as much your flat as it is mine. So... colour ideas?'

Gwen pondered on the choices as they stopped at the traffic lights. 'A pink living room,' she said as they started to move again.

Arthur stared at her. 'Sorry?'

'Yeah,' she confirmed. 'Like, each wall could be a different shade. One could be a hot pink, another could be a baby pink...'

'Really?' he said weakly.

She burst out laughing. 'You're so easy to wind up, oh my god...'

He scowled as they entered the gates to the estate of flats. 'That's not funny. I thought you were going to destroy my- our- flat.'

'Don't worry, I wouldn't.'

They were the last to arrive at Arthur's, with the others waiting impatiently outside to be let into the building. It didn't take long for them to unload the boxes from the cars, and they worked out a system of passing through to the flat fairly easily, with all the clothes boxes going into the bedroom, and everything else going into one of the spare bedrooms, which was going to be turned into Gwen's office for when she wanted to work from home.

'Right,' said Gwaine, pushing up the sleeves of his shirt and fastening them just below his elbows. 'We'll leave you to it, then. Have fun unpacking all these boxes... and whatever else you might be doing when we leave.' He winked at Arthur, who shook his head back, trying not to look like he had been thinking along exactly the same lines.

'Actually, before we all go,' said Merlin quickly. 'What's everyone doing a week on Saturday?'

'Um... nothing, I don't think,' said Arthur, and the others all shook their heads. 'Why?'

'Because me and Freya are getting married, and we'd love for you all to be there.'

'Funny. What's it actually about?'

Merlin laughed. 'I'm not joking. We really would love for you all to be there. Mum's already said she'll be a witness, but obviously you need more than one, and Freya's parents definitely won't be there after our dinner with them last week...'

'You're serious?' said Arthur. 'You're actually getting married a week on Saturday?'

'Well, yeah.' He looked around at them all, looking slightly nervous now. 'Please say you'll all be there.'

'Of course we will,' said Gwen with a smile. 'That's just, well, extremely quick. But congratulations! That's amazing!'

'Thanks,' said Merlin sheepishly, grinning. 'What time will the party start tonight?'

'Get here for eight,' Arthur told them all, 'We should be done by then.'

Once everyone had left, Gwen and Arthur were left alone in the middle of the flat.

'We really should get started on all these boxes,' Gwen sighed, turning to look into the bedroom. 'I'm starting to regret packing so many- ohh...'

She stopped talking and breathed in sharply, for Arthur had appeared behind her and dipped his fingers just below the front waistband of her jeans.

'The boxes can wait,' he whispered, planting kisses on her neck and moving his fingers lower. 'In the meantime, I'd say we've got a couple of hours to kill, wouldn't you?'

Several long blissful hours later, when she had showered and dressed again, Gwen stepped back into the bedroom, finally beginning to open up the wardrobes and boxes. Arthur had gone out to get some milk and some drinks for the small housewarming party they were throwing tonight, and had left her to start unpacking her clothes. The left wardrobe had been allocated to her, and she opened it to see there was a shelf at the top. She stood on tiptoes and ran her hand along the surface, checking to see that Arthur's socks hadn't made their way up there over the years. She frowned when her hand brushed against what felt like several sheets of paper, and pulled them down.

She was holding two photographs. It took her a moment to realise the first was of a much happier looking Uther, no older than his late twenties, arm in arm with Ygraine at their wedding day. Gwen sat down on the edge of the bed, stunned, and looked at the photo closer. She had never thought about it before, but Arthur didn't have any pictures of his parents around the flat. The only photographs she had ever seen of Ygraine were in magazines when they had been talking about the Pendragon family history- one of those "how it all began" articles.

The second photograph was a lot worse quality, and Gwen brought it closer to see that it was Ygraine in a hospital bed, her blonde hair covering half her face as she gazed down at the child in her arms. Arthur. Gwen remembered Arthur telling her that his mother had died four days after he had been born from a blood loss the doctors couldn't keep up with. This must have been one of the last photos of her.

The door slammed shut. 'I'm home!' Arthur called, and she heard him put his bags in the kitchen before walking through. 'They'd run out of Presecco, but instead I managed to get-' then he stopped when he saw her. 'What are you doing?'

Gwen held up the photos for him to see. 'I found these in the wardrobe.'

Arthur stopped in the doorway. 'Well, that's where they live.'

'Why?'

'Do I need a reason?' He started unloading her clothes out of the boxes and onto the bed. 'It keeps them safe.'

'We should put them up somewhere,' Gwen suggested. 'Frame them, put them on the wall.'

Arthur paused. 'I suppose we could now.'

'Okay.' Gwen felt slightly relieved he was reacting so calmly. 'Why haven't you before?'

Arthur shrugged. 'Don't know. Didn't want to always be reminded, I guess.'

Gwen kissed him softly. 'We'll put them up,' she whispered, 'And everything will be all right.'

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'Hi Gwaine,' said Gwen happily, hugging him as he came through the doorway. A moment later she pulled back. 'You've lost weight,' she said with narrowed eyes, looking him up and down.

Gwaine laughed uncomfortably, ruffling her hair. 'You're so sweet, Princess. It's like having a second mum, I swear.'

Gwen folded her arms across her chest. 'Are you eating properly?' she asked. 'You're not ill, are you?'

He laughed again and walked through to the kitchen, cracking open a beer and dumping his rucksack in the corner. 'Really, I'm fine. You can stop worrying.'

'All right,' said Gwen doubtfully, watching as he drank half his beer bottle in one go.

As the party continued, Gwaine began to feel better and better with every drink he had. He'd worked out a clever plan- so that no one would think he was drinking too much, he'd brought his own bottle of vodka with him in his rucksack, and every time he reached halfway down his beer, he'd fill the other half with vodka so that everyone thought he was just drinking beer. He was a genius, he told himself. Absolutely fucking genius, and he was on top of the world, and he was dancing with a girl in the small dancefloor that had been made in the kitchen, a girl who Gwen worked with, but he couldn't remember her name. The next thing he knew, his tongue was down her throat, and her hands were everywhere, and the music was getting louder, and then they were sneaking out of the flat with his rucksack full of vodka to go back to his place where there would be more privacy.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Arthur were busy entertaining their guests and making sure everyone was all right. They barely had any time to themselves, and so they were both surprised when they found themselves alone for a brief moment when Gwen came out of the bathroom just as Arthur had gone to use it.

'Come on,' he said with a grin and pulled her back inside. She laughed and obeyed, letting him press her back against the door as he kissed her deeply.

'Did I mention just how stunning you look in your dress tonight?' he murmured, fingers stroking her hair gently.

She smiled. 'You may have mentioned it.' She hooked her fingers in his belt loops. 'You're not looking too bad yourself.'

'Thanks,' he grinned, and kissed her again. She let him continue for a moment before pulling away.

'People will be wondering where we are,' she whispered.

'Let them wonder.' He tried to kiss her again, but she laughed and swerved.

'I'd better get back,' she told him sternly. 'We'll have plenty of time to ourselves later...'

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'Has anyone seen Gwaine?' said Merlin at about half eleven, just as he and Freya were about to leave.

'I saw him with Martha earlier,' said Arthur, shrugging. 'Maybe they went back to his.'

Merlin rolled his eyes. 'Of course.' Gwaine had been acting a lot drunker than he usually did this evening- after all, he had only been drinking beer, it couldn't have had that much of an effect on him. 'I'll check in on him in the morning, then.'

'See you tomorrow,' said Gwen, hugging Freya tightly. 'Nine at yours, all right?'

'All right,' said Freya with a smile, secretly thrilled at the prospect that Morgana and Gwen had invited themselves round tomorrow evening to discuss what she was going to wear for the wedding.

On the way home, Freya slipped her arm through Merlin's. He looked down at her and smiled. 'No nausea today?' he asked.

'Only a little at breakfast,' she told him. He smiled again. 'Good.'

When they arrived back at their tiny, one-bedroom flat and tried to turn the light in the hallway on, nothing happened. Freya sighed. 'When was the electricity bill due?'

'Today.'

'Bugger.' She leant back against the door. 'I meant to pay it last night and completely forgot. My memory's terrible at the moment.'

'Baby brain,' said Merlin, almost to himself.

'What?'

'Baby brain,' he repeated. She could just about make out his face in the darkness. 'That's a pregnancy thing, isn't it? Makes you forget stuff.'

'It might be,' said Freya, surprised that he knew this. 'Bloody inconvenient, if you ask me.'

Neither of them dared to say that this pregnancy was more than inconvenient. Every problem they seemed to have at the moment seemed to be caused by baby brain, or morning sickness, or mood swings, or a lack of money because they were saving for a pram... the list seemed endless.

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The next morning, Merlin knocked on Gwaine's door loudly. When no one answered, he knocked again. A moment later Gwaine answered, dressed only in boxer shorts and reeking of alcohol and smoke. Merlin wrinkled his nose and stepped into the flat, which was in more of a disgusting mess than his own bedroom had been in when he was a teenager. 'You look terrible,' Merlin told him as they walked through to the kitchen together.

'Cheers,' said Gwaine groggily, pouring coffees for the both of them. The pause in dialogue allowed Merlin to hear the sound of a shower running. He raised an eyebrow and turned to face Gwaine.

'Sorry, I didn't realise you would still have company.'

'Yeah, well...' he stopped talking and yawned widely, scratching his head. Merlin banged his hand on the worktop loudly and Gwaine groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

'Not so loud,' he whispered.

Merlin rolled his eyes. 'Which bathroom has the painkillers?'

'The non-shower one.'

Merlin made his way through to the smaller of the two bathrooms and pulled open the cabinet above the sink, searching through the numerous boxes in search of some Paracetamol. He found the box at the back of the top shelf, and as he pulled it out, something else fell with it.

He picked up the small bag of white powder, frowning. Cocaine? He couldn't say he was an expert on such matters, but he seen enough crime programmes over the years to know that he was holding a Class A drug.

As calmly as he could, Merlin walked back through to the kitchen with the box and the bag in his hand. 'Here,' he said, putting two tablets into a glass of water and passing it to Gwaine. 'And perhaps this would help as well?' he held the bag up for him to see.

Gwaine's face clouded over. 'It's not mine,' he said at once.

'Then why was it in your cabinet?'

'I -' Gwaine paused. 'Fine. I tried it. Once.'

'Oh, for God's-'

'Just once!' Gwaine insisted. 'I was looking after it for a friend, I swear I was, but I had a party round here and I was really drunk and everyone else was doing it and I thought what harm could one little line do? But it was horrible, Merlin, I promise you it was, and I hated every second of it, and I haven't done it since, and I'll never put myself through that again.'

Merlin watched him carefully for any signs of a lie. 'So why do you still have it?' he asked slowly.

'Because it really was my friend's, and I need to give the rest back to him, but I just haven't seen him. I promise. Please. You've got to believe me. I would never do that.'

A pause. 'All right,' said Merlin eventually. 'But if you ever do anything like that again...'

'I know. Don't worry. I wouldn't be that stupid.'

The shower stopped running in the bathroom and they both looked towards the door.

'I won't disturb the rest of your day,' said Merlin. 'But I'll see you at Camelot tomorrow, won't I?'

'Yes,' said Gwaine quickly, almost hurrying him towards the front door. 'And Merlin?' he hesitated. 'Please... please don't tell anyone about the coke? I was so ashamed. I don't want anyone knowing. Not even Freya. Promise.'

'I promise,' said Merlin, and left. 'Just- just give me a call if you need anything, okay?'

Part of him hadn't believed Gwaine. Part of him wanted to insist that he take a blood test, just to prove himself. But it wasn't a punishment or a telling off that Gwaine needed if he really was using – it was a friend.

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When Merlin had left the flat Gwaine rested his forehead against the smooth wood of the door. That had been a close call. He'd completely forgotten that part of his stash had been hidden in that stupid cabinet. It hadn't been easy, lying to Merlin, but then it wasn't easy for Gwaine to watch his best friend have everything he wanted, so figured Merlin didn't need any more.

There came the sound of footsteps and then the girl from last night (was it Megan? Maddie?) appeared in the kitchen doorway, wearing nothing but a short towel. He plastered a smirk on his face. 'Good morning,' he said.

'Morning,' she grinned. Then her face fell. 'Do you think Gwen will fire me?'

'For having fun? Probably.' He stopped himself when he noticed how she hadn't laughed. 'Ah, come on, it was a joke.'

'I know.' She gestured to her towel. 'Well I should probably get dressed.'

'Okay.' Then he heard what he had just agreed to and backtracked hastily. 'Unless you're up for one more round before you leave?'

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Gwen woke to the sensation of Arthur's hand gently tracing up and down her bare thigh from his spooning position behind her. 'Good morning, roomie,' he whispered in her ear when he noticed she was awake.

She smiled. 'Morning, roomie,' she echoed, tilting her head so he could kiss her properly. 'What time is it?'

'Just gone nine.'

'Ahh... I should probably get up. I said I'd ring Lancelot this morning to let him know my final decision on the colour palette for next season's coats. I said I'd do it yesterday but with the move and the party and everything...' she yawned and stretched. 'It was a shame he couldn't make it last night.'

'It was,' Arthur lied, batting away any feelings of jealousy over the fact that she had woken up with the thought that she had to call Lancelot.

She sensed the lie and turned round fully to look at him, smiling. 'I know he's not your favourite person on the planet. But... just be courteous to him?'

Arthur rolled his eyes melodramatically. 'I'll do my best.'

'Good, because I think I'll invite him round for dinner at some point next week. I do not want a repeat of last time.'

This time the eye roll was genuine. 'You know I wouldn't.'

'I do.' She kissed him, smiled, and got out of bed, walking naked over to the door. Arthur groaned and reached for her, but she was just out of his reach.

'Come back to bed,' he pleaded. 'Just for five more minutes.'

Gwen laughed and put her dressing gown on. 'If I don't get coffee I might die. Don't worry, I'll come back.'

'Fine.' He read the news headlines on his iPad whilst listening to the kettle boil in the kitchen, but stopped when he heard Gwen talking on the phone. She was speaking to Lancelot already? Seriously?

Sighing, he got out of bed and put his own dressing gown on, standing in the doorway to the kitchen to see Gwen sitting at the breakfast bar with her back to him, on the phone with a steaming coffee in front of her.

'But then I thought the paler colours might be better to be saved for the winter collection instead...' he could hear her saying. As quietly as he could he snuck back into the bedroom (their bedroom) and retrieved his camera from his bedside cabinet and then returned to the kitchen. Gwen still had her back to him and was obviously listening to something Lancelot was telling her. He held the camera up and whistled softly, so she turned round. In the moment when her eyes met his he captured the shot, her hair in a messy bun, her brown eyes sparkling, make-up free and wearing nothing but an old dressing gown. He had never taken a more beautiful photo. She smiled abashedly at her having been caught on camera and then turned back round as she began to reply to Lancelot.

Arthur set the camera down on the coffee table next to him and then crept up behind Gwen, putting his hands on her waist. She didn't even flinch and continued to talk.

'Maybe you're right. A bit of colour in the winter lot could make an impact on the catwalk.'

One of his hands slipped inside her dressing gown whilst the other began untying its belt slowly. He could hear Lancelot's voice coming out of the phone faintly.

Gwen tried to reply again, desperately trying to ignore Arthur's hands. 'I was thinking maybe a purple theme, you know, it still wouldn't be in people's faces...' her breath hitched as one hand slid even lower.

Arthur heard her breathing pattern change and smiled to himself. This smile grew when he heard her say quickly, 'Lancelot, I'm going to have to call you back, something's, um, come up...'

Which was true.

'Okay. Yep. See you in a bit. Bye.' She hung up and leant back against Arthur's chest, 'That was an important business call you interrupted.'

He leant down and kissed her, the dressing gown slipping off her shoulders. 'Oh well.'

'I'm serious.' She pulled away slightly. 'He needed briefing before the meeting this afternoon.'

This time it was Arthur who pulled away. 'You're going into work today? But it's a Saturday!'

Gwen rolled her eyes. 'I have to make up for the time I lost for the move yesterday. I told Lance I'd be in by one.'

Oh, so it was Lance now, was it? Arthur tried to keep his face neutral. 'Right,' he said eventually.

She obviously sensed the discomfort because she turned round and kissed him again, slower this time. 'I'm sorry,' she said. 'But it's my job. I have to keep on top of things.'

Arthur nodded and smiled. 'I know. Don't worry.' He checked his watch. 'You've still got time for breakfast, haven't you?'

Gwen smiled, relieved that he wasn't going to protest. 'Of course. Full English?'

'Yes. Still got a bit of a headache from all the wine last night.'

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Gwen finished late at the office, and therefore made her way straight to Freya's for their evening of discussing the wedding with Morgana. The door to the flat was opened by Merlin, who greeted her with a friendly hug. 'I've been banished from my own home by Morgana,' he told her miserably, as he buttoned up his coat. 'So I'm going to Percival's and we're marathoning Lord of the Rings.'

Gwen tried to hide her smile. 'Well, have fun,' she told him.

'Bye, Gwen. Have fun.'

'Bye.'

Gwen made her way through to the living room, where Morgana and Freya were sitting on the single sofa. Gwen sat in the beanbag next to the television. 'Hello,' she said to the both of them, and opened up the folder she had bought with her. 'So I started making some designs during my break at work today, but obviously Freya, you'll have the final say, so I'm going to need your input in what it should look like...'

'Sorry?' said Freya, confused.

'You're not going to just be wearing something off the rack,' Gwen told her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. 'I'll be making your wedding dress.'

'Gwen, as much as I would love that, I really can't afford that... I was hoping to wear a dress from somewhere that just so happens to be white, and it's only a week away...'

'Don't be silly,' said Morgana at once. 'Any costs will be covered by us. Think of it as our wedding present to you.'

'And there's more than enough time to make it as long as we finish the design tonight,' said Gwen. 'I'll have my best seamstresses start on it tomorrow morning.'

'Guys...'

'You can thank us later.'

Gwen passed Freya the folder, which was open at a page of different shaped dresses. 'We'll do it systematically,' she told her. 'First you'll choose the shape. Then the material, then any decorations, then the accessories...'

'I don't want anything tight-fitting,' said Freya at once. 'Nothing that shows my bump.'

Morgana laughed. 'You haven't got a bump!'

'I have,' Freya insisted and pulled up her t-shirt. 'Look.'

It was true that Freya's stomach was slightly more rounded, but Gwen still said, 'You know, if it weren't for the fact that you're glowing slightly, it would be very difficult to tell you were pregnant at all. It's still early days.'

Freya laughed and pulled her t-shirt back down. 'I know. I just... I don't want to look back at my wedding photos and be reminded that the only reason it happened is because I was pregnant.'

'That's not true,' said Morgana at once. 'You're getting married because you and Merlin love each other. He didn't have to propose.' She took a sip of her wine. 'Oh and by the way, Leon and I have set a date! We'll be getting married on June 8th. We've booked a venue and everything.'

'That's only seven months away,' Gwen exclaimed. 'I'd better get started on your dress designs as well...'

'Maybe you should change your business and just go into wedding dress designs,' said Freya with a small smile as she looked through the folder on her lap. 'All of these are so beautiful.'

'Thank you,' said Gwen graciously. 'But I think these might just be one-offs. Favours for friends.'

'Which one would you have?' Freya asked Morgana, passing the folder over.

'Hmm.' Morgana looked through the designs. 'I'm a fan of the ones with a train, I think. And satin. I like satin.'

'I think I'll have one with a low back,' said Gwen without thinking. Both Morgana and Freya looked up at her.

'Did my often worthless brother finally get off his backside and down onto one knee?' Morgana asked in a hushed voice.

Gwen laughed uncomfortably, suddenly realising her mistake. 'No. No, not at all. I was just saying, you know, if one day in the future I did want to get married...'

'Do you want me to give him a kick up the arse and tell him to hurry up with a proposal?' asked Morgana excitedly. 'It would mean that all three of us would even be engaged at once, even if yours Freya will end as of a week today, which would make it a lot easier in terms of planning...'

Gwen laughed again. 'I really don't think Arthur would appreciate being told to hurry up with plans that I'm certain he hasn't even made. Give him a bit of a break! We only just moved in together.'

'True,' Morgana reasoned. 'But if he hasn't proposed by the end of the year, I'm going to be having words with him. You'll have been together for what, two and a half, three years since you started seeing each other in secret by then?'

'More or less,' said Gwen, who hadn't thought that far ahead. 'Has it really been that long?'

'I think so,' said Morgana, taking another sip of her wine. 'Don't know how you've managed to put up with him for that long. You deserve a medal.'

Gwen returned home just after midnight, carrying Freya's final dress design in her bag. In the end she had gone for lace-covered satin, with no train and an empire waistline. Gwen was certain it would suit her perfectly- now it would just be a case of making it in time.

Walking through to the bedroom, she found Arthur already asleep on his side of the bed. She looked down at him and smiled slightly, with a small voice in the back of her head wondering what she would say if he did propose.

Little did she know that the same voice had been in Arthur's head for quite a while.

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Hello, strangers!

I know, I know. I am so sorry that it's taken this long for an update to appear. I don't have a proper excuse for my absence, other than a complete lack of imagination (until last week) about what's going to happen in this story. Now, however, I know exactly where it's heading and have all my chapters planned out! Yay!

Thoughts? Opinions? Complaints? Please please please let me know in a review so I know how I'm doing. You have no idea how much I value all of your feedback, both good and bad!

Next chapter will be up late February/early March, I promise...

See you soon!

xxxx