Christmas came and went. New Year passed.

Gwen had spent it alone in her home.

Merlin had travelled back home to spend the holiday season with his mother.

Both Morgana and Arthur had been roped into the events at the Pendragon mansion.

"You need to talk to her," Morgana told Arthur days before his birthday. There was only so much of the depressive bastard she could take. The last time she had seen him like this over anyone was back when they'd been at Kingswood.

Arthur didn't answer her; "She's beautiful. She's funny. She's intelligent. She can bring you down a peg or three." For which Morgana was truly grateful for. "I don't understand why the pair of you just won't talk to each other. What happened that's so traumatic that you're throwing away the best relationship you could have? She's iso/i much better than the usual bimbos you bring home."

"Are you quite finished?" Arthur snapped. She was giving him a headache. It might have been reminiscent of his hangover from the night before. He hadn't drunk so much in quite a long time. Gwaine had been proud of him.

"No, actually, I'm not."

"Then please, let it all out," he said holding his head in his hand. It couldn't get much worse with her prattling, "I'm sure it's the more riveting argument you've ever had."

Looking at him now Morgana could see that it, whatever iit/i was, was eating at him slowly from the inside out. He didn't need her lecturing him he already knew what she was going to tell him. All too well. She could see it in his eyes; "What happened?"

"She's not interested."

"Oh my god," now she wanted to hit him around the head with his own horse riding crop; leave a mark, "are you completely blind?"

"No. Her complete lack of interest in me isn't my imagination or me simply denying it, Morgana. She has near told me she's not looking here for anything," Morgana sighed at her brother's apparent lack of inspiration towards the cause. He obviously hadn't tried hard enough, "Can you please leave it?"

"No, Arthur. I can't, because I know that what you've just said is icomplete/i shit."

"And who told you that? iMerlin/i?"

"Yeah."

"No offence, Morgana, but your boyfriend speaks a lot of crap."

"Not this time. How can I put this in a really plain way that you'll understand?" She thought for a second rubbing her fingers over her chin, "She fucking digs you. Get the fuck out of your own arse and realise that."

Arthur looked positively defeated. Morgana had never seen him like it; he was usually so over-confident and boarding on annoying; "Doesn't mean a whole lot when she's not even willing to let me kiss her."

"So you tried?" She looked surprised and a little confused. She hadn't expected that. She just knew isomething/i had happened just the once.

"I didn't itry/i," he defended, "We iboth/i went in for it. iBoth/i times."

"Twice? Arthur, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's none of your business."

"Oh, Ar-thur," she reached out and squeezed his arm, "I'm sorry. You should have said; I'd have left you alone."

"I'm not a child, Morgana. I can deal with this myself," he pulled his arm from her grasp and left her sitting there.

Morgana growled and hit the side cushion of the sofa, "Great job of it you're doing so far."

X

It had snowed heavily overnight the day term was due to start. The school had closed its door. It was considered a danger to pupils and teachers alike to have it opened. Gwen wasn't complaining. It gave her another day to gorge on all the chocolate that Merlin had bought her for Christmas.

The snow bought panic. Merlin had been called that morning and told not to risk his health coming down the hill into work. He hadn't argued and had adorned his boots and walked the minute to Gwen's house in two having to take it slower.

He knocked on the front door twice and waited, his head curried in his scarf against the cold. He jumped on the spot until the door hinted at opening and he pushed in.

"Good morning to you too, Merlin," Gwen said dryly watching him run towards her kettle and fondle it with a great pleasure, "Can I do something for you?"

"Tea. Then I'll go into it."

"Right," Merlin clicked on the kettle and settled against the kitchen side. He contemplated jumping up and sitting on the counter, he only stopped himself because he knew Gwen would only pull him off anyway.

"What the fuck?" is how he decided to start.

"'What the fuck,' what?"

"What's going on with you?"

"Well, there's snow, and a lot of it, so I'm at home eating chocolate and considering watching A Knight's Tale in High Def?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Then elaborate?"

"You and Arthur."

"What about us?"

"iAre/i you an 'us'?"

"Clear as mud, Merlin."

"Fucking hell, Gwen!" her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Only rarely did Merlin swear so violently and rarer still did he shout at her, "You know iexactly/i what I'm asking you!"

"We're nothing."

"Nothing? What happened to tingles and stargazing?"

"Out the window."

"Why?"

"Because it's not a good idea, that's why."

"Again I say; 'What the fuck, Gwen?'"

"Can we not?" she snapped. She wasn't in the mood for his prattling. Everything she wanted right now was her bed, a hot water bottle, tea and a box of celebrations that was preferably full of only Truffles and Maltesers.

"Not what? You've been in a bad mood for weeks. Did you even enjoy the Christmas season?" he said without thinking.

"Do I ever enjoy the Christmas season, Merlin?" she replied on the verge of tears. Merlin instantly knew he had crossed the fine line between being a caring friend and pushing her too far. Worse still, he knew that she hated Christmas and everything it brought for her, "I spent my Christmas season at the fucking cemetery, Merlin. I spent it clearing flowers and putting new ones in."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah," she bit, "So I'm ireally/i not in the mood for this today, Merlin."

"Sorry. Maybe…" he faltered, he'd already pushed her over the edge but what could he do? His mother still lived in Wales with his Uncle and his father lived on an oil rig in the North Sea; he couldn't relate to her at times like this, "Maybe it'll do you some good to share this with him?"

"He doesn't need my problems."

"He'd understand. Better than I could. You've both got your share of problems and history."

"The orphan doesn't need sympathy, Merlin," she said as the first tear trailed down her cheek. For three-hundred-and-sixty days a year she managed to block on the memories, spending Christmas at her mother's bedside as she watched her die, "I just want to carry on. Once a year I go there. I don't need reminding of it the rest of the time."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Merlin pulled her into a hug and rested his chin atop her head, "Sorry."

She cried into his shoulder, sniffing and rubbing her nose with the back of her hand, "Forgiven," she nestled her head against his shoulder and took a deep shaky breath.

"He can help you more than I can. He knows what it's like."

"He never knew his mother. You don't miss what you never had."

"Maybe you do. Maybe it's time you cut loose from the past and let yourself be happy. You have to stop punishing yourself for things that weren't your fault."

"I watched her die and there was nothing I could do about it, Merlin. My father was broken, there wasn't anything I could do to help him. He'd never known love like that."

"Maybe now is iyour/i chance to feel it," Merlin said running his hand up her arm. Gwen pulled away from him and made her way to the sofa. She beckoned for him to follow – the kettle forgotten – and she started to tell him everything.

X

The party was in full swing when Arthur started to look for her. He hadn't seen her arrive but then the door had been on the latch and he had spent a long time circulating around his riding friends and friendly-rivals in the heated conservatory. There were so many people loitering in his house that he could barely remember the names of half of them.

Gwaine was in one corner next to Lance, the latter was talking to a girl who seemed to have latched onto him whilst the former seemed to be the one doing the latching…

Arthur blew out a breath through closed lips. He saw Morgana and Merlin standing over to one side with no Gwen in sight. She wasn't with Leon or Percy and he hadn't seen her hanging near the other two. She wasn't in the empty kitchen getting herself a drink and both bathrooms were unoccupied.

The rooms weren't full enough that he risked missing her as he searched around them. She wasn't there. It was official. She couldn't be fucked with him anymore. It was over before it had even begun.

He was destined to spend his twenty-sixth birthday alone with a lukewarm beer sat on his kitchen counter as people partied in the room next to him without him. And he didn't care. He was happy with that; as happy as he could be.

X

The lone figured pulled her scarf up around her ears and cuddled into her coat as the cold win took off around her. It attacked her freckled cheeks and her curly hair whipping it into her face; "What do I do, Daddy?" she said to the air surrounding her looking up at the sky as she stood in the middle of the darkened and deserted cemetery, "What do I do? What do I say?

"He's given me so much and he doesn't ask for anything. He listens to me and he takes all in. He took me stargazing, Daddy, just like you used to. We sat there there looking at the stars drawing pictures and laughing at the stupidity of it all. He reminded me so much of you then, Dad, he really did. He made me laugh which saved me from crying at the memory of you. I don't know what to tell him. I've never told anybody about what happened with you and with Mum. Nobody but Merlin. But he was the only person I had when you died.

"I've already lost so much. I don't know if I can handle losing anything else. Any word from you or Mum, anything you can give me I'd be grateful for," Gwen laughed at herself through her tears, "Now I'm asking the stars for advice. Nice one Gwen. Feeling a little like Simba," she wiped her tears away and looked down at the pair of matching headstones, "Why'd you leave me? Both of you? I need you now. I need you to tell me what to do. But you can't. God, I'm going to lose him too; I know it. The life I have now; it's nothing without him. Six months ago I would never have said that.

"I guess I have to sort this out on my own. I love you."

X

Arthur pulled open the tack room, it hadn't been locked and nor did anybody usually knock. He briefly wondered who it could be; Morgana would walk right in and he hadn't arranged to meet with any of the others. He frowned; there were no vans outside so it wasn't a delivery man. Through the window he saw a mop of black hair.

He pulled open the door, "Morgana's not here," he said wearily, unsure of why else Merlin might possibly be waiting outside the tack room and in the farmyard. He let the male pass him into the tack room without argument.

"I know," he didn't seem entirely serious but the look on his face confused Arthur, crossed between concern and amusement.

"Right, so you're here because?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Bit late for that Merlin. I do know you're digging on my sister. She does talk to me you know," he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, "Even though sometimes I wish she wouldn't."

"Not about that. I wouldn't talk to you about that. That's too weird."

"Right?"

"I want to talk about Gwen. I know you kissed."

"We didn't kiss."

"Nearly, whatever. Are you going to do something about it?"

"I tried. She didn't want to know."

"Yes she does."

"I itried/i."

"Obviously not hard enough," it had been a good two months since Gwen's birthday. They'd gone out as a group plenty of times but the two of them avoided each other more. They didn't look at each other; they would stop talking if the other looked like they might start to contribute to the conversation. Gwen had started to talk to Gwaine and Lance more than ever and Merlin could see it vividly that Arthur didn't like it; "Gwen doesn't do this very often."

"Do what?"

"Men," Arthur raised a solo eyebrow at him. Merlin rolled his eyes at him, "Relationships," he clarified, "She gets nervous. She throws herself into her work. Away from people."

"Right?" Arthur's brow knitted, he knew why Merlin was telling him all this; he just didn't understand iwhy/i. This, if it was anything, wasn't any of his and Morgana's business. Arthur folded his arms across his chest. Was this Merlin's way of telling him to do something about it inow/i? If it was, he just needed to say so.

"What I'm saying is: you'll going to have to go to her. She likes you. She just needs to know you like her back before she does anything about it," Merlin picked up one of the photos off of the pin-board on the wall and smiled at it. It was of the four of them at the Rugby match all those months ago. Life was simple then, Merlin though for all of a second before he realised that, no, it wasn't. That was when things were on the right track, not simple, "Gwen's lost a lot in her life. She doesn't want to lose anyone else. So if you do talk to her don't mess her around. If you go into this, you're in it for keeps."

"What is this, the M&M Intervention brigade?"

Merlin laughed, "Pretty much. Talk to her."

Arthur considered Merlin for a moment, "I won't get any rest until I do something about it, will I?" Morgana had bugged him a few more times about it. He could have sworn than she had enlisted Gwaine on her quest too. Maybe Gwaine was doing it for his own good, if Arthur wasn't going in for it he could and not feel so bad about it knowing Arthur wasn't doing anything about it.

"Not in the slightest."

"Okay."

Arthur grabbed his keys and jacket from the workbench and headed out of the tack room, leaving Merlin standing in the middle of the room on his own. He clicked his tongue against the top of his mouth and swung his arms by his sides. He'd never been at the yard on his own before. He didn't know what to do with himself. He could go and say hello to the horses or he could go home.

He chose the former. They were always easier to talk to than Arthur anyway.

X

For years Guinevere Leodegrance hadn't had a soul to go girly shopping with. Her friends at university had either been male or not inclined to a good shop (if they were they were looking for the wrong sort of shops.)

She had agreed to shopping with Morgana when Merlin had begged her not to take him along. He wasn't a shopper and he never would be. It didn't bother Gwen, Morgana was good company and maybe she could get more information out of Morgana about her relationship with Merlin than he was giving her.

"Enough of me," Morgana said after an hour as she flicked through the sale rack in Republic, "What's going on with you?"

"January sales," Gwen deflected as she pulled a top from the rack and help it to her. Morgana shook her head and she replaced it, she was right, it wasn't that nice, "I don't know. Life's just eating at me. Work is busy and Christmas is never a good time for me."

"Merlin said," Gwen glared at her, intended for Merlin, and looked into the rack, "He didn't say why and I'm not going to ask because it is none of my business. When you choose to tell me then I'll listen. He just mentioned that you didn't like Christmas and it wasn't a subject you liked to talk about. But I'm here for you if you need me, Gwen. For anything. Even if you want to complain about my brother. Just no gory details."

"There are no details to tell."

"I know something happened."

"I thought you might. Merlin's been on my case."

"Arthur said you nearly kissed and that it wasn't ientirely/i one-sided," Morgana probed stopping her search for fashion must-haves and looking at Gwen through sympathetic eyes.

"He'd be right."

"So what happened?"

"I'm not in the right place."

"Just so you know; he iis/i in love with you."

"You don't know that."

"I'm his sister. He's tells me everything; I iknow/i that."

"I know it could work, but I just-"

"History, I know. Give it time," Morgana smiled reassuringly at her and reached into the rack, "Here, have this. Maybe you should go out in it one night this week and have good time. Perhaps on Wednesday with me and Merlin at that French place he likes?"

"Maybe I should," Gwen took the garment from her best friend's girlfriend and help it up to her, "Little short?"

"With legs like yours inothing/i is too short."

X

When Gwen got back to her flat with several bags of shopping in her hands that night she was greeted with a rose taped to her front door with a small note attached to it.

She looked at it and sceptically pulled the note from its place perched behind the stem.

centerSorry I missed you.

I always miss you.

I'll see you soon.

Won't watch the stars without you.

xxx/center

Gwen chewed on the side of her lip and unstuck the rose from her door. She lifted it to her face and smelt the petals. There were no thorns on the stem and each petal was perfect.

centerp.s. you can't fake perfection,

there is only what is and what isn't.

You always leave me breathless./center

She smelt the rose again, running her fingers over the petals. She chewed on her lip but slowly her face broke into a grin.

X

"Hi, Gwen, it's Morgana. I forgot you were teaching now, but me and Merlin have booked a table for tonight, we thought it would be nice to all go out for a meal together. Have some good wine and really make the most of it. Anyway, the table's at eight at the French place on Milsom Street. See you later," she hung up and smiled at the male sat next to her on her sofa.

"You are an evil, evil woman."

"I do try."

"Will it work?"

"Not if you don't phone Arthur."

"Why have I got to do it?"

"Just do it."

"Yes M'am."

Merlin fished his phone out of his pocket, hit a few buttons and held it to his ear. He sat for a few seconds before Morgana held a voice on the other end of the line, "Arthur? It's Merlin. Yeah, not bad. You? Yeah, cool. Me and Morgana have a table booked at Café Rouge on Milsom Street for eight. Yeah, for the four of us. See you there. Yeah. Yeah, she's coming," Merlin smirked at Morgana, "Yeah, see you later. Bye," he hung up, "Like taking candy from a baby."

X

Gwen stood waiting outside of the restaurant wrapped up tightly in her winter coat and scarf. Her hands were shoved deep into her pockets. Her hair splayed over her shoulders, keeping her ears warm. Her nose tinged red from the cold; skin cold to the touch. She looked down the street towards the main town and back up towards the main road. She caught a glimpse of a broad set figure walking towards her, the street lamps and Christmas lights reflecting off of his blonde hair. The figure waved at her. Gwen relaxed and waved back.

At least now she wouldn't be completely alone.

"Hey," he greeted from a few metres away, quickly taking the last few steps to her.

"Hi," she smiled back and looked up the street again, "Are Merlin and Morgana not with you?" she asked checking her watch. Arthur was already late. Gwen knew Merlin, he was an on time type (at least when he made plans, other times he just turned up).

"I thought they'd be here already. Said they were going out before hand and would meet us here," he shrugged, "I don't know about you," he said with a slight tug at the corner of his mouth as he looked her up and down, "But I'm bloody freezing. Shall we go get the table and they can join us when they get here?"

"I think that's a great idea."

Gwen followed him through the door to the restaurant; he held it for her, ever the gentlemen. She thanked him and headed towards the waiter that stood by the bar. He welcomed her with a smile and started up the usual drivel in an awful French accent.

"We've got a table booked."

"For deux?"

"Four, thanks," the waiter looked down at the page.

"What name?"

"Pendragon?" Gwen questioned looking up at Arthur who shrugged.

"I assume so."

"Ze only Pendragon I have is for two."

"Emrys?"

"None for Emrys."

"Right," Gwen chuckled, rolled her eyes and turned to look up at Arthur who looked nonplussed, "My mistake."

The waiter grabbed two menus and led them to a secluded table in the corner. He pulled out the chair for Gwen and pushed it back in for her as she sat, "Thank you," she said as he handed her the menu.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Arthur said looking down at the menu before discarding it on the table, "Did Merlin call you?"

"Morgana."

"I should have known."

"We might as well eat now we're here. They went through so much trouble after all," she said looking more than amused. Arthur returned her smile and picked the menu back up, "What shall we get to drink?"

"Bottle of white?"

"Sure," the waiter came back, almost as if he could sense their thoughts and took their drinks order. Shortly returning with a stand and ice bucket and two wine glasses along with the bottle of the most expensive bottle of white wine on the list, "Don't worry, I'll pay for it."

"No-"

"Yes. I know your views on paying lots of money for good wine."

"I pay money for good wine. I just don't have money to iwaste/i on good wine."

Arthur poured out half a glass for each of them and set the bottle into the ice bucket, "Is that so? Well tonight's my treat. Morgana would hang and quarter me if she knew I'd let you pay."

X

Two figures sat on small swing set in the middle of a park that they had come across on their way home. The blonde male had seen his companion's face light up when she had seen it. He'd taken a detour towards the park and she'd followed his lead without question. He held the gate of the small park for her and traced her footsteps as she walked over to the swings.

They swung high to the sky and back again for a long while; the early spring air whipping at their faces. The two of them smiled from ear to ear and gradually slowed their pace.

"When I was fourteen my Mum died. She got pneumonia and didn't make it over Christmas. I watched her die at home because she refused treatment. She didn't want a fake life full of tubes and didn't want heroic measures so they gave up. They said we could take her home so she was more comfortable but said she wouldn't make it to New Year and they were right.

"A couple of years later my Dad started having problems with his heart. He had one heart attack and was fine. We thought that was it then six months later he had another one and didn't come back out of hospital. They'd thought he would be okay but he had a secondary attack whilst he was in A+E. They came and told me he was dead and I didn't believe them. I ended up running off to find him and when I did he was pale and not breathing. He had tubes coming out everywhere from where they'd tried everything and it hadn't worked.

"I was on my own," Arthur had stopped swinging as he'd listened to her stories. She was still gently rocking back and forth and staring at the sky, "For a week I locked myself in my room. I didn't tell Merlin. I pretended it was all okay. I even left for the weekend like I was going home to see him.

"Merlin clocked something was wrong and came by. He found me sat in the middle of my Dad's floor crying. All he did was hug me for an hour and then I told him. The words 'he's dead' finally left my lips. It was finally time to face the music. My whole family had left me. I was on my own."

Arthur looked on in silence as tears built up in the corners of her eyes. He gently placed his hand on her knee and squeezed in reassurance; "You're never on your own."

"I had Merlin and that was it. He did so much for me. I loved him. He was the brother I never had. He took me home again and put me to bed with a hot water bottle and a box of tissues. He sat with me all night and just held me as I needed it. There are only so many times you can lose without breaking down."

"You don't need to explain yourself to me; I understand."

Gwen smiled meekly at him and brushed her tears away with the back of her hand, "You and Morgana," she started with a change of tone, "you act like there's nothing between you. You're blood and that's it. You'd do anything for her."

"I grew up believing she was my sister. And she is. I fell off a swing when I was nine and I broke my elbow and cut a massive gash on my forehead. Before she got Sophia to take me to the hospital she cleaned me up and made sure my head wasn't bleeding too badly. iThen/i? she let Sophia take me to the hospital. She always looked out for me. The first time I fell off of CK she was the person who had me on the feet had brushed me off. That's the main reason she's the person who runs my life for me. She knows me inside out."

"I don't have that with anyone," Gwen said as she kicked the woodchip below her feet and stared at her shoes.

"Yes, Guinevere, you do."

She took a moment to contemplate over it but the answer was simple, "Merlin."

"Merlin," Arthur confirmed, "He knows you more than anyone ever could. He knows that to calm you down you need tea, a hot water bottle and the fifth act of Romeo and Juliet."

"How do iyou/i know that?"

"I listen."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Listening."

"You could talk all day about accountancy and I'd listen because it was you talking to me."

Gwen let out a small chuckled and kept his eye contact, "Thanks?"

"You bring out the best of me, apparently. So Morgana tells me."

"You weren't that bad before, I'm sure."

"You have too much faith in people."

"Sometimes that was all I had."

"Not anymore," Gwen allowed herself a grateful smile, one that he returned, "Let's go back."

"Oh, sure. I've got an early start tom-"

"No," he interrupted, "I mean with us."

"We've already started again once."

"This time it's more of a step back a few paces. Go back to stargazing and holding your hand," he reached out to the chain that Gwen was holding as she had been flying through the air and wrapped his fingers around hers. She dropped her hand from the cold metal and took his hand in hers, "There's more to life than complicated relationships; let's make it simple. We're two people who like each other a lot. We're two people with hopeless amounts of baggage. You're the girl who ran me over and stole my heart," it was his turn to blush and look at the floor, "Not many people can claim that."

"Not many people can try to, I imagine," with a chuckle Arthur shook his head and admitted that she was correct. Nobody else could claim it because nobody else had done it and wee unlikely to.

"So, how does that sound?"

"Like a good idea," he looked up at her again. There was no smile on his lips but a look in his eye as he studied her features in the darkness.

The pair of the stood simultaneously headed for the exit of the park without a word to the other and without letting go of the other's hand. It was only a five minute walk to Gwen's flat from the park and they walked the majority of it in silence until they reached the end of her road.

"How does one end a first date?"

"I don't know," she said with a pink tinge to her cheeks. It had been a while since she'd been on one.

"Confirmation of a second, perhaps."

"I'll call you."

"If I don't hear from you I'll take the message."

"iI'll call you/i," he stooped and kissed her gently on the cheek.

"Thanks for tonight," he said with his mouth still by her ear as he rasped the words at barely more than a whisper; "Thanks for trusting me."

"I always trusted you," she said as he lingered next to her. Her warm breath tickled his ear as she spoke and heated his cheek reminding him of the close proximity to her lips and he backed away.

"Don't be offended when I say I didn't trust you. You did hit me with your car."

"Yeah I did," she laughed, "Thank you for bringing that up," she said cheerily as they entered her building and climbed the stairs with speed.

"I'll see you soon, Guinevere," he let go out her hand letting her open the front door of her flat without having the jungle with her keeps in her left hand.

She gave a small wave as she turned to face him standing in her doorway, "Bye Arthur."

X

The fine May morning started like any other. The run rose over the South Gloucestershire countryside like it did every other. The grounds surrounding Badminton House were full with Marquees and cars ready for the weekend of events ahead and the custom it would bring.

Arthur Pendragon had woken that morning with a new sense of self. This was his competition. He was returning champion. He had a history of wins to continue. His last few competitions he had placed at, but all his efforts went into this one.

No other competition mattered to him more than this.

His father would be there for each of the days. He'd watch and he'd realise the years of teenage arguments he'd had with him had been worth it. He'd put his life on hold once again to train for the competition. Nobody truly understood his reasoning for it other than his sister. Gwen had happily taken a step back; she had been busy with rehearsals for the sixth formers summer exams and the school's summer play so she'd rarely had a free moment. They'd seen each other a few times but they were still sitting on the early stages of a relationship. They'd started with a new policy; one they both lived by, with their closest confidants, and wanted the same from each other.

Before they could commit themselves to anything long-term and completely- terrifyingly – life changing they'd wanted to clear the air and work through their baggage with both each other and everybody else.

It had been a long process but it was nearing its end.

Arthur had invited Gwen – and Merlin on default – along to the three day event that had been marked in red marker on his calendar since he'd bought it the last September. He wanted Gwen to finally see what it was that consumed every other thought he had.

"I'll be bad luck, I can feel it now."

"No, Guinevere, you'd bring me the best of luck," he'd said and had finally managed to convince her that it was no mistake. He wanted her there, win or lose.

The doorbell rang early the Friday morning of the first event. Arthur and Morgana had already been down to the site the day before for all of the more formal proceedings but today the competition really began. Gwen had been happily standing on the other side of the door with Merlin stood by her side looking a little worse for wear; 'Morgana,' was what Gwen said in way of explanation with a smirk on her face and a nudge of her elbow in Merlin's ribs. Arthur screwed his eyes shut against the mental image he didn't want and let them in. He directed them towards the kitchen where Morgana adorned an apron and a chef's hat.

"Today is the day I cook the Breakfast of Champions," she declared as she scrambled eggs. There was sausages and bacon under the grill, bread in the toaster and beans in another pan on the hob. Merlin approached her and gently kissed her on the cheek so not to get in the way of her Nigella act.

"Coincidentally it's also the only day she cooks."

"Can't be giving you this treat every day. You'll get fat."

"Perhaps you should feed it to Merlin everyday then." Merlin didn't disagree.

X

The four of them arrived not long after 9. It was already bustling with people. Gwen hadn't known much about horses or in fact how the competition worked but Arthur had tried his hardest to explain it to her vacant expression; "You're not going to remember any of this are you?"

"Not in the slightest," her features split into a grin. As much as she had tried to remember everything he had told her, and that she'd researched for herself, she really couldn't remember. And between that and teasing Merlin about Morgana – which would never get old – Gwen had overloaded her brain and given up trying.

Arthur laughed; "Copy Morgana."

"That I can manage."

"I'd better go get changed" he said checking his watch, "As much as I'd love to, they won't let of compete go jeans and t-shirt."

"See you in a bit then," he'd offered her one final smile and hugged her before parting.

"Don't get lost."

"Yes, sir," she saluted him loosely and turned back to find Morgana talking to an elder man as Merlin loitered by one of the shopping stalls and feigned interest in what looked like an oversized dog bed.

X

Arthur knew he looked most ridiculous in his Dressage jacket. It wasn't a particularly good look on anyone. But he never felt more of a tit than he did parading around go it. This year though he hadn't argued with Morgana just before she had ordered his jodhpurs so he's gotten black ones rather than the horrid beige attire Morgana had gone for previously. In black he looked like less of a gimp.

He zipped up his boots and brushed off his jacket one last time. He wasn't competing for an hour or so. He planned on sitting and watching with the others for a while then going and spending a little time before with CK. They would have their one sided pep talks just before Arthur led him out towards the entrance to the arena.

"You are completely incapable of dressing yourself aren't you?" Morgana chastised. She grabbed his collar and started to straighten it out. He was about to complain that re-tying his tie was a step too far but he was too late. She wound it about itself into a Windsor knot and pulled it back into place, she nearly strangled him in the process, "There. You are now more presentable."

"Apparently so," he chuckled adjusting his cuffs.

"Very dapper," Gwen commented looking him head to toe.

"I look like a tool, always do," he said honestly, "But thank you."

"Any time, Tool Boy," Gwen jabbed.

"If we hurry up we can check out some of the competition before you're up."

"Any hot names this year?" Arthur asked swiping the program guide from Morgana's hand. He scanned the competitor pages.

"Some new ones. Nobody completely surprising though."

"Good."

"Good chance?" Gwen asked not knowing the left from right of the horse riding world."

"Competition is pretty much as last year which means if everybody performs the same Arthur will win hands down."

"Being slightly out of practise and with them probably a lot more trained than I am, it makes it harder."

"Arthur is being modest-"

"Realistic-"

"He'll wipe the floor with them."

"No pressure then," Gwen said with a sympathetic smile.

"None at all," he said with a fraction of worry inset into his expression.

"You'll be fine," Gwen assured him gently batting his shaking hand slightly with her own, "Where's the cocky Arthur I know so well?"

"Back at the yard."

"You'll be ifine/i," she gave him an understated kiss on the cheek. Morgana and Merlin, she hadn't failed to notice, were busy making themselves scarce, "Good luck."

"Thanks. I'm going to need it," he disappeared towards the stables alone. He rounded the corner and spotted Sophie standing outside of Camelot King's stall stroking the horse affectionately on the nose, "Hey Sophie," he greeted reaching up to scratch behind CK's ear.

"Good luck today, Mr P."

"Thanks," he smiled down at her, "Can I have a minute," he nodded towards his horse.

Sophie grinned, "Sure. He tells me he is very excited," she said. She pecked the horse on the end of his nose and took off towards the arena to find a good seat.

"Come on then you," Arthur started, "Are we ready for this?"

X

The three of Arthur's main supporters were sat in the 'royal' box along with the families and close friends of the other competitors. Each of them had something to say about Arthur Gwen hadn't failed to notice. Some of them weren't particularly positive and she had to bite her tongue in order not to take a swipe out at them.

"Rider number thirty; Arthur Pendragon returns his year with his horse Camelot King," there was a loud cheer from the crowd. He had a lot of support from the people around the arena. Gwen couldn't help but beam.

"Dressage was always his weakest," Morgana explained to the pair of novices, "He's a jumper, he has the perfect seat but sometimes CK gets other ideas in the sand arena. A foot wrong there a pace change not subtle enough there. Hopefully he's not concentrated on the jumping too much."

"Right, okay."

"Don't worry too much about knowing what's going on. Just go with it. If it looks right, it probably is."

They watched on in anticipation. A few sharp intakes of breath behind them told them that the others felt threatened by the run he was giving. One woman tisked when Morgana pointed out that CK had put a foot out by taking off on the wrong foot into a trot before he should have. There wasn't much to be done about it.

Time seemed to drag before Arthur was leading his horse down the centre of the sand and finishing on the centre point and saluting the judges. The crowd clapped, more impressed by his run than a lot of others; "How did he do?"

"Quite well," a voice answered behind her. Gwen turned to see the older man Morgan ha been talking to earlier sitting there. She smiled at him politely but didn't say anything more to him, nor him to her.

"He's second," Morgana confirmed, "Which means it's far from game over."

X

Merlin and Morgana broke away from the other two later in the afternoon and took advantage of the quieter crowds that the Friday always possessed and headed for the shops. There were so many to get around and Morgana feared it might take a fair while; "You know I hate shopping don't you?"

"But with the promise of the food tent that's more of a mini mansion full of food and free samples I'm sure you can forgive me whilst I look for a new gilet and chaps."

"But why take me iwith/i you. You could have taken Gwen."

"She's busy. She has good luck to distribute."

"Something I didn't need to know, thanks Morgana."

She smiled at him and gently patted the front of his new shirt and pulled him towards her capturing his lips in a soft kiss before dragging him into one of the leather stalls to check out their supply of riding gear.

"It's all a bit kinky, isn't it?" Merlin asked flicking through a pot of riding crops as Morgana thumbed through a pile of paired chaps.

"If you're into that kind of thing, I guess," she shrugged as she triumphantly found her side and pulled the plastic wrapped leather from the jenga-style pile, "Success!" she checked the price tag and her smile grew, "Fabulous."

"Why do you need chaps, again? You don't even ride."

"Because at things like this you need to look the part."

"I don't."

"That, my darling, is because you are a hopeless case. I, however, shall be more publicly scrutinized if I don't remotely look like I know what I'm talking about. Joules shirts and chaps it is."

X

The Saturday started in much the same way for the competitors. They arrived before the crowds and readied themselves for the day of events. The only difference for one of them was the state in which he woke up. Fully clothed in a pair of jogging bottoms and loose polo shirt, Arthur Pendragon had woken up with a rogue curly hair in his face. He'd batted it away in his half-awake state and nearly freaked out before he realised that Gwen was perched asleep against him still holding onto the empty plastic bowl that their popcorn had been in the night before as they'd watched Black Beauty in his room without the prying eyes of Merlin and Morgana.

He had placed a soft kiss to her forehead and she'd woken from her slumber.

"Morning," she mumbled rubbing her eyes trying to unfuzz her vision, "What time is it?"

"About half-six," Gwen let out a short groan, "I know. I'm going to go shower and get dressed. We need to leave in an hour."

"Okay," she said with her eyes closed.

From then on he'd been in a good mood; throughout his shower as he'd thought of anything but sleeping in the same bed as Gwen to keep himself calm. He was worried enough about the tournament to need anything else to panic about as well and having guilty feelings whenever he looked at Gwen was something he could do without.

He showered in cold water.

When they reached the grounds that day it had been busier. There were younger kids running rings around their children and girls from the local Pony club on their horse riding around looking pretentious and self-important.

Saturday, Cross Country Day, was the crowd pleaser.

There was already a healthy crowd of people gathered by the water. If anywhere he'd have liked to set Gwen and Merlin up there, it would be more interesting for them but something in him told him that no, he wanted them watching his every move on the screen and knowing exactly what was happening with assistance from Morgana.

"You'll be great," Gwen had assured him and kissed him on the cheek as she had done the day before when he'd gone to get changed. It had worked for him the day before; it could potentially have the reverse affect without it.

"Don't screw up," Morgana said with a smile in her voice.

"Thanks, Morgana. Your confidence is charming."

"I didn't say you would. I just said idon't/i."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"I didn't plan on spending hundreds of your winnings yesterday, but it still happened… you have to win so we can actually afford to pay for them."

"We can afford it? Why are you spending my money?"

"I'm getting a cut; you just have to win it."

"Thanks. I'm going to get changed now. We're on early today so I'll see you later."

X

Gwen had noticed that the same older male was sat behind her once again in the Royal box in the arena. She'd not paid him much attention before now but something about the way his eyes were burning into the back of her head made her weary.

His attention wavered. He didn't seem to pay attention to anybody else other than Arthur. Should he be there for Arthur's support then surely Gwen would have been introduced to him before now.

Cross Country was something Gwen could actually understand. Jump the jumps; don't refuse; don't knock it. Arthur's run hadn't been flawless but his lack of penalties had taken him to the top of the leader board with complete ease.

The three of them found him surrounded by journalists once they'd ventured away from the arena clocking that he wasn't coming any time soon. The older man Gwen had keep seeing was brandishing at them making them disperse and had his arm clapped around Arthur's shoulders.

"Who's that?" Gwen said out of the side of her mouth to Morgana and Merlin' whoever could answer her.

"That's our father," Morgana said approaching the man with a smile on her face. Gwen's face fell. She hadn't been expecting that one. Then again, there weren't any pictures of the family in Arthur and Morgana's house. She had no idea what the man would look like.

"Time to meet the parent?" Merlin said with a smile on his face.

"You've already met! This isn't fair," Gwen protested as se was gently dragged towards the Pendragon family.

"You forget; you and Arthur aren't anything yet. To Uther you are just a friend. He gets the chance to like you first. You won't get the scrutiny I did. Besides, it's not like you have to be a man and protect Arthur from all the horrible things in the world. Apparently I don't look manly enough to protect Morgana from a sheep let alone a rogue knife-wielding attacker."

"Oh good, that was helpful. Just the sort of person I want to be," she said through her teeth as she smiled at the pair of Pendragon men.

"Dad, meet Guinevere."

"Lovely to meet you, Guinevere."

"Please, call me Gwen."

"My son does not…"

"No, but that is because he is a little strange in the head, sir," insulting his son probably wasn't the best place to start.

To her surprise he seemed to take it quite well. He laughed at her joke and even continued it himself; "Landed on his head one too many times as a baby," Uther laughed and held out his hand to her, "Nice to meet you, Gwen."

She took his hand and shook it as firmly as she could manage. She was no push over; "You too, sir."

"I've heard a lot about you. Starting with this weekend last year," Arthur cleared his throat purposefully and Uther looked to him, "Still. Nice to put a face to the name."

"Likewise. Well done, Arthur," Gwen said turning her attention to him over his father who now seemed more interested in Merlin than her. The elder Pendragon started to talk to Merlin about things that passed so far over Gwen's head she wouldn't have been able to reach them on her tiptoes in Spice-Girl-platforms.

"My lucky charm struck again," Arthur said with the cheesiest grin on his face.

"It would seem so," Gwen said with a red tinge on her cheeks and shifting her weight from her left to right foot. She tucked a lose curl behind her ear.

"Best keep it up, hadn't I?" he smiled bending his knees so that he could force Gwen to look at him.

"You had," the reporters came back to him then, like moths to a flame, and started probing him for a response. Gwen excused herself and gracefully escaped to talk to Morgana rather than be scooped into Arthur's world.

X

When Gwen woke the next morning she was alone. She distinctly remembered not falling asleep alone. She shut off the alarm that signalled half-six and got out of Arthur's bed. She pulled her socks back on, feet cold from the layer of chill in the room that had been created by the open door than led onto a small balcony.

"Morning," she greeted as she stepped out onto the balcony. She'd grabbed the first jumper she could find on her way out and pulled it over her head. She didn't get a response from Arthur. "You okay?" she tried again.

"Fine," he snipped and pushed back into the house.

Gwen looked after him and frowned.

X

"He can't afford to knock a single fence. If he does then the other guy has a better chance of winning," Morgana explained quickly. It certainly explained why Arthur was so snappy. He didn't like to lose; that was the one thing Gwen had learnt in the last year.

"And if he does?" Gwen didn't quite understand the logistics behind each and every round. She knew Arthur did stand a good chance of winning but like every championship running there were a number of other competitors that could still strip him of the title he so craved.

"Then we hope that the other guy falls."

"Right," Gwen nodded, slightly uncomfortable at the sudden change in atmosphere. They walked out to the car. Arthur was already in the driver's seat, Merlin behind him waiting for Gwen to join him.

"Or hits every single fence."

"So we go for a clean run for Arthur then?"

"Basically," neither of them wanted to wish an ill run on another contestant. They needed to show sportsman ship and it wasn't something that would come easily. But the crowds were behind Arthur the last two days; hopefully they would remain the same.

When the two girls climbed into the jeep it was tense. Arthur didn't say anything before he pulled away from the front of the house.

"Alright, Gwen?" Merlin said before Morgana shot him a look that told the both that they should be quiet. Arthur needed to be only with his thoughts.

X

"Come on then, CK," Arthur said into his horse's ear as he leant forwards as he took to the arena, "Time to do me proud," he trotted around the edge of the field once as the last competitor took the last fence with a good ease, "We can do this."

Arthur kicked on into a canter and aimed CK at the first jump. He did it smoothly as he always had in practise. i'One down'/i Arthur thought to himself calmly rounding the corner to take the next three fences in a row with a great ease.

Fence after fence the pair took with confidence. The spectators watched on and clapped each jump, getting more excited with every jump that he did, "Good boy," he said as he leant forward into one of the jumps.

With five jumps left to the course CK had only clipped one of the fences but it hadn't fallen. The water jump had always been the horse's downfall but right now Arthur aimed him at it with a new found confidence; he could do this.

"Come on, boy, we can do it," he nudged his horse on and took the jump with a bit of added speed, leaving CK to clear the jump only touching his hoof to the water. Slight penalty but not enough to worry Arthur at all. He guided CK around the last jumps to the finish line with a beam of a smile on his face.

"Good lad," he rubbed his hand beneath CK's mane and kissed his neck as they slowed, "Good boy," Arthur looked up then to the box and saw Morgana, Merlin, Gwen and his father all stood applauding him with big smiles on their faces.

It was a good, clean, run.

A new confidence coursed through Arthur. He could win this.

He caught Gwen's gaze and grinned.

He jumped to the ground with a cheer when he got out of the arena and pulled his helmet from his head. He flung his arms around CK's neck and kissed his horse affectionately before he was taken down to the stables to cool down.

"Good run, Pendragon," his closest competitor said to him as he walked through towards the stands; "Really impressive."

"Thanks, Tom," he shook his outstretched hand quickly before he slipped up the steps towards the box and his friends.

X

Only a perfect run from Tom Billing would knock Arthur from the top spot. He was sat forwards in his seat. His foot was tapping repetitively on the floor of the stands. He kept rubbing his hand over his chin and over his mouth. Gwen was watching him more than she kept an eye on the action in the arena.

Tentatively, Gwen reached out and slipped her hand onto his knee. She gently squeezed his knee. He turned to smile at her but quickly looked back to the arena, an eager eye on the rider in the ring. So far so good for him, so far so not-so-good for Arthur. She'd never wished ill on any person before now, but she couldn't help but want him to knock something. Anything.

She suddenly felt a warmth on her hand and she gently moved her hand to intertwine her fingers with his.

At that moment Billing's horse caught one of the jumps with one of its back legs as it came down to land. Morgana celebrated as the fence came down. Billing continued to the next jump and the same happened.

Gwen squeezed his hand, she knew what it meant. His father clapped him on the shoulder. Arthur sat there speechless, the usually overly confident, boisterous Arthur completely gone.

"Congratulations," she said to him. A mix of pride and nerves coursed through her as they watched Billing finish his run. Arthur was staring at the scoreboard, his name didn't move. He slowly grinned as it dawned on him. He dropped her hand and pulled her into a tight hug. It was over as quickly as it began before he was pulled into another hug by Morgana.

X

The four guests Arthur had with him accumulated at the front of the crowd at the prize-giving.

Arthur jumped down from the podium and towards the four of them. He immediately reached to hug Gwen again. He pulled her from her feet and span in a quick circle. She wrapped her arms around his neck in case he lost grip so she didn't fall. "Kiss for the lady," one of the photographers started to say continuously once Arthur had put her feet firmly back on the ground.

"Congratulations Arthur," she said quietly once again into his ear as she hugged him on her toes. They didn't lose contact when he moved his head back to look at her.

"Kiss for the lady!"

iIn front of all these people?/i Gwen bit the inside of her lip, "Screw it," she murmured under her breath and kissed him firmly on the lips. She felt him smile against her lips before he gently kissed her back. She had her fingers around his lapels, holding him to her.

The flashes around them went crazy; the local papers taking a constant stream of pictures of their winner and the woman he appeared to be involved with.

They parted and rested their foreheads together.

Merlin and Morgana and clapping a mixture of Arthur's win and the kiss that had been a long time coming. The younger male kissed his girlfriend's temple and waited for them to finish celebrating.

Uther clapped his son on the shoulder, rousing him from his daydream; "Congratulations, son. Well deserved," the man looked to Gwen and nodded down at her. That was acceptance if ever Arthur saw it and he didn't waste time before he leant down to kiss her again.

"Thank you," he breathed into her ear as he wrapped his arms around her again to the pleasure of the photographers around them.

"Any time," she pressed a light kiss to the side of his neck.

The group of the escaped the hounding of the local papers quickly after that. They' all wanted to know what it felt like to return to the championships and claim his title for the fourth year in a row. Arthur had responded with an unprintable "Fucking Fantastic," before they had all taken off towards the riders quarters to find a bottle of champagne and celebrate.

X

The sixth form students started to drift it at eight-thirty as the last alert bell sounded. Tom walked in with a paper tucked under his arm. He approached the small table in the corner and laid the paper down. He ripped off the back page. He dug around in the draw and found a stray blob of blu tack.

When Gwen walked out of the office two minutes later she was greeted with a wolf whistle; "Good morning to you too," she said with a bemused grin on her face. She looked at each of her Sixth Form students in turn. They were smiling at her a mixture of smirks, pride and suggestive looks on their faces, "What?"

"Nice pull, Miss," Tom stepped forwards and grinned. Gwen squinted at him. He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. Gwen's eyes followed it, leading to his decoration of the drama room wall with the article and picture about Arthur's win at the Trials that weekend, "The Chronicle loved you. Very photogenic."

They couldn't have used one of the pictures of Arthur and his trophy. They had chosen to go with the headline 'Pendragon Victors a New Man' to accompany a picture of the pair of them as she'd kissed him; "Oh sweet Jesus..."

"He's gorgeous," Amy said simply. The other girls in the class all agreed loudly, "Fit too, eh, Miss? Stamina of a horse…"

Tom laughed, "As I said: nice pull."

"Okay, okay," Gwen started raising her hand to quieten the hubbub of noise that had started, "enough of my private life. We have rehearsals to do."

"Gwen and Arthur sitting in a tree..."

"Thomas," she warned, pulling his artwork down fro the wall and crushing it in her hand.

"I'm rehearsing..."

Gwen watched her students with glee as they began to act out their modern rendition of a Greek Tragedy. Full of incest, gods and death it was perfect. Until the end when they went ad-lib and started to madly interpret the scene given to them in the press; "Oh Arthur, you hunk of a man, whisk me from my feet and take me now!" Amy said as Tom had embraced her for their big kiss in the piece.

"Oh Gwen. I love you," he declared and pulled Amy into his arms. He spun her around and dipped her. She squealed loudly as he did so, cut off by him kissing her very much in their own characters, "Meet me behind the stables," he said dramatically.

Gwen cleared her throat; "And on that note can we please go iback/i to the actual script and finish this? It was perfect until this last bit."

"That last bit was the best bit," Tom defended as he walked back to his position to start the scene again, "Too much? Over the top, Miss?"

"Pretty accurate," she said with a suggestive grin.

The students all looked at her with gaping mouths and wide eyes.

X

Working at her desk in the drama office she wasn't expecting anyone to knock on the door. "You've got a visitor," Ellis announced nodding towards the door. Gwen looked up and smiled.

"Hi."

"What are you doing here?" she asked with a smile on her face. She moved out of the office and away from Ellis' prying ears. Arthur stooped quickly kissing her on the lips. She smiled against him before remembering she was stood in the middle of her classroom. She withdrew from him.

"I got some weird looks when I came in," he said in partial wonderment. He'd known where the drama department was from his days in the school a decade ago. It had barely changed at all which had made it slightly easier on him rather than having to ask around.

"Uh yeah," she reached into the bin and pulled out Tom's screwed up news paper. She uncrumpled it and flattened it against her stomach, "A few of them picked up on the papers..." she handed it to him, "Back page news. I feel so special."

"Ah," Arthur rubbed the back of his neck and flattened his hair down, "so would it be inappropriate to take you to lunch?" he asked looking up from the picture with an awkward smile. He'd never thought his personal life was the stuff of newspapers; but it had been a feed they could take up for the local story.

"I've only got fifteen more minutes of my lunch break left. But you're welcome to stay here for a bit. I've got a free lesson after registration. You can help me mark the year seven work," she joked.

"Sounds like fun."

"Liar."

"You're right," he smiled, "But I can entertain you whilst you work," she didn't think the school would like it particularly if she kept him with her, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt her. She could always write it off as an educational plight. Just a long as they both behaved.

"The year thirteens will be in later rehearsing for their exam next week."

"I can disappear then if you want."

"They could do with an audience."

"In that case I'll happily stay."

"Be prepared for teasing."

"Like a group of kids could put me off."

"They've got a talent for it," Gwen checked her watch and double checked on the classroom clock. She had to check her pigeon hole in the staffroom before she headed to the English department to her tutor group, "I should get going to registration. I'll be back in 10 minutes. You'll be okay with Ellis?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine."

"He shouldn't bite. Though sometimes I fear he might."

"Duly noted," she quickly pecked him on the cheek, "What about dinner? Are you free for dinner?"

"I think I can manage that. I better go to registration."

"I'll see you in a bit then?"

"Yeah," she grabbed her papers, "I'll be back soon."

He grabbed her hand and tugged her back towards him. He kissed her chastely on the lips before he let her go; "Now you can leave."

X

The summer sun was low in the sky as Arthur pulled up outside of Gwen's building. The pair of them regarded each other for a moment before she took off her seatbelt; "Thanks for a lovely evening," she beamed as he shut the engine off.

"Thank you for the company," he shifted in his seat to face her. She smiled as she leant in to kiss him. He reciprocated in kind. He raised his hand to the nape of her neck. Gwen kissed him again feeling a rise of assertiveness as she ran her tongue over his lip. She felt his tongue against her own. His hand moved down her arm to her waist, gently caressing the muscles beneath her shirt.

Arthur rested his forehead against hers with a small smile on his face. She pecked him on the lips, "Would you like to come in?"

"I'd like that."

X

Two miles away in the pub on the outskirts of the city there sat one couple and four other men. Each of them jolly and happily drinking their beverages with glee. There was something missing for them though; "Where did you say he was?" Percy asked with a confused frown on his face.

"He's celebrating with Gwen," Merlin answered and grinned. Gwaine wolf-whistled and solemnly downed the rest of his pint. His last chance well and truly gone (even though he had known for a while now that he was never going to actually get the chance he liked to hope).

"I don't want to know," Lance said pushing his fingers into his ears for comic effect, "What they do in their spare time isn't something I wish to hear about."

"We don't get a choice," Merlin interjected.

"To the happy couple and the incredibly happy champion," Percy toasted, "May they be happy and sprightly forever."

"Or until Arthur's next competition when he'll drive her insane and she'll impale him with a fork," Morgana suggested raising her glass to Percy's.

"Or that!" Percy said and the group of them clashed their glasses together.

Leon, who had sat quietly in the corner finally spoke up, "You know," he started, "We should celebrate ifor/i him if he's going to be a boring sod and celebrate Ialone/i. Champagne all around?"

"Make mine a pitcher," Morgana had said loudly, "Champagne gives me a headache."

X

Arthur reclined against the arm of the sofa with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Gwen nestled against his chest as they watched the late night comedy. Arthur's body shook as he laughed. Gwen smiled into his chest and cuddled into his side.

"You know, you never celebrated your win, not properly," she said, she splayed her fingers against his chest and rested her chin on her hand as she looked up at him.

"I did," he stated simply, "I spent my evening like this."

"Exactly; the same as a non-celebratory night," Gwen frowned. Surely he wanted to do something, ianything/i, to celebrate his victory for a fourth year in a row.

"Perhaps the celebration is continuing still," he moved to kiss her and smiled, "I don't need anything else," he ran his hand along the small of her back, catching her skin as the material of her shirt lifted.

"We could have done something more interesting, like go to the cinema or hang out with the guys or something."

"And have them fawn over my girlfriend? I'd rather have you to myself. What?" he noticed Gwen smiling at him dopily.

"'Girlfriend'," she smiled coyly, "iBoyfriend/i."

"'Sex god'," he corrected.

"I wouldn't know about that," Gwen said honestly; her imagination agreed with her. She thought him to be the tender lover who would make it as much about her and her pleasure as much as his own.

"Ask Gwaine," he smirked.

Gwen laughed heartily, "That really doesn't surprise me."

"I was joking."

"I wasn't."

"I know."

Gwen kissed him firmly on the lips. He pushed up from the sofa cushions gently nipping her lip, "I'm sure I could find out," Arthur raised an eyebrow at her with a teasing smile on his lips, "What?"

"Nothing," he kissed her, "I didn't mean for you to think that I meant-"

"No," Gwen buried her head into his shoulder and smiled, embarrassed, "I know. In time I'll find out. I have no plans or rules as for when it shall be. Should be come about tonight or tomorrow or next Thursday or in three months; it'll happen for the right reasons and it'll be the right time."

Arthur silenced her with a kiss; "You don't need to explain yourself to me," he said with a positively gorgeous smile on his face. How she'd managed to resist him at all during the nights she'd spent in his bed she had no idea. She didn't know if now the barriers had been broken she'd be able to fight to keep any of them erected, "I know I'm a sex god, I don't need you to tell me."

"Only Gwaine to," they both laughed. The notion really wasn't that disturbing to Gwen. They pair were very close. Even if the conclusion didn't come from first-hand experience it would come from accounts of personal experience and one-upping each other over the years, "But I'm serious; don't you want to do something to celebrate?"

"Like drink one of your god awful bottles of wine?" Arthur jibed with a wicked grin flashing across his face. He nuzzled into the top of her hair as she stared off into space.

"Yes, like that."

"Do you have any god awful bottles of wine for me to get you drunk on? Having you powerless to resist me-" she elbowed him in the side. He caught her hand and stretched it out so she was unable to attempt an injury again.

"No…"

He gave a hearty laugh and reclined further into the cushions; "Then there goes that plan…"