As the door snapped shut Gwen let out a sigh.

'I'm really sorry Arthur'

'For what?' he asked nonplussed.

'For all the couple talk, they just get a little over excited every time there's a new guy in my life'

'It's cool, I liked them a lot'

'Well they really liked you too, my brother's didn't even take to Merlin that quickly'

He grinned, 'maybe it's just my dazzling charm'

She snorted, 'or maybe it's your exceptional cooking talent'

'Ha Ha- very droll Guinevere'

'So do you want to watch the rest of Pride and Prejudice, we have episode five and six still left to go and you're leaving tomorrow'

'Oh yeah' he said remembering and was shocked to find that an icy rock of disappointment slipped into his stomach. He had totally forgotten that Merlin would be here to pick him up the next day as Freya was

flying back to the States early in the morning.

'Pride and Prejudice sounds good' he beamed to cover this totally ridiculous feeling of discontent which was swelling inside him.

They settled down on the sofa together with a bottle of wine. Arthur sat in his usual seat at the right end of the sofa, a seat which Gwen would struggle not to view as his in the future, and Gwen sat beside

him, her legs curled under her, a cushion on her lap.

Arthur continued his usual commentary until Gwen suddenly hushed him, a serious look on her face. Arthur watched with bemusement as Colin Firth removed his jacket, then his cravat, then his waistcoat.

'Oh' he whispered, 'is this the famous lake scene?'

'Sssshhh' she hissed, daggers in her eyes.

'I guess so' he said as Darcy jumped into the water.

'Oh my god, she's totally gawping at him' he said 'hey! And so are you'

She smacked him in the face with the cushion.

She pressed the pause button.

'Arthur' she said rounding on him, 'you just ruined one of television's greatest moments'

'What?' he exclaimed, 'how was that anything special?'

'Do you know nothing?'

'Evidently not'

'That is one of the sexiest moments in broadcasting history'

'No way!'

'Yes way! And we are going to go back and watch it again and you are going to be silent'

'Fine'

This time he tried to watch it with a more critical eye.

Once the damp Darcy had left the screen he said 'I still don't get it'

'Well the majority of the female population does' she said with a grin.

He spent the rest of the episode with only half his mind on the progression of the story, the other half remained on the lake scene and what exactly it was about it that Gwen found quite so alluring.

Then the titles were rolling and his frustration surfaced, 'so you like those tall dark and handsome guys do you?'

'Doesn't everyone?'

'You just like the tall dark and handsome ones?' he asked, not quite sure why this was bothering him so much.

'I don't really have a type'

'But your last boyfriend was that type'

'I guess, but I've dated a lot of different guys' oh yeah, like that was supposed to make him feel better. He didn't know why this was working him up, but it was. It wasn't as if he was jealous of a character off the

TV, or was he? True he hadn't really appreciated her staring at Darcy as if her eyes were glued to the bloody screen, but that didn't mean he was jealous, right?

'So what is it about the lake scene that does it for you?'

She paused, thinking for a moment, 'I don't really know, he's just got this intense, romantic hero thing going on and the whole wet shirt thing just seems to highlight the hotness, I don't know why'

'Intense, romantic hero thing?'

'Yeah'

'Do you reckon I could pull that off?'

She giggled, but at Arthur's expectant look she said, 'that wasn't a serious question was it?'

'Yes'

'Well I don't know, I'm not sure how you go about judging these things' she shrugged.

'Arthur where are you going?' she said as he left the sofa, 'you're not upset are you?'

He shut the bathroom door behind him.

She followed him and knocked on the door, 'Arthur?'

Then the shower turned on. He wasn't- No he couldn't possibly be-

The door opened.

Her jaw dropped, he had.

He stood there in his wet jeans, his white shirt, plastered to his skin, hinting at the muscular torso beneath it, his hair was darkened nearly to brown by the water and was stuck to his forehead, somehow

making his eyes wider and a brighter blue.

Her mouth went dry.

'So can I pull it off?' he laughed nervously.

She stared at him blankly.

I must look ridiculous, he thought bitterly, what had he been playing at, he was Arthur Pendragon, he didn't do things like this and now she was looking at him like he was crazy. He turned to make a hasty retreat

back to the bathroom but her hand caught his arm.

'You can pull it off' she said with a smile, 'but you've got a few too many buttons done up for it to be really effective'

She undid two more buttons and spread open his collar, 'there you go, now you could rival Colin Firth for hottest damp male' she laughed.

He didn't laugh.

She slowly raised her eyes to his face, her heart pounding fit to burst.

Their gaze locked.

A pause of a heartbeat.

His eyes flickered almost imperceptibly to her lips and then he was bending down, pressing his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. Time seemed to stand still, and then he was pulling away, her lips followed him and

she opened her eyes.

'I'm sorry Guinevere' he said his eyes wide with concern as he chewed his lip, 'I shouldn't have done-'

But his words were cut off but her mouth on his. Taken by surprise as he was, he backed against the wall. Her hands slipped into his wet hair, as he slid his around her waist. He leaned into her deepening the

kiss. And now she was pulling away.

She turned from him, clapping a hand to her mouth.

'Gwen?' he said uncertainly.

'Oh God Arthur I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-' she broke off, 'you are my employer's son, you are Merlin's boss'

'Okay?'

'You are Arthur Pendragon' she said, turning to face him once more.

'But I'm also just plain old boring Arthur, the guy who can't cook and is crashing on your sofa' he smiled, tucking a curl behind her ear.

'You could never be plain or boring' she said faintly, her heart pounding like a hammer on an anvil.

'Oh really?' he breathed into her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

She turned her head to look up at him. She pushed herself up on her toes, 'really' she confirmed, the word brushing against his lips. He couldn't help himself, in half a second his lips were on hers again, all

reason pushed aside. The kiss was hungry this time, as his hands went to her neck, her jaw, her hair. She caressed his chest through his wet shirt and she could feel the pounding of his heart under her

hands. His hands moved once again to her waist and ran one hand lazily up her side, just brushing her breast. Now his kisses were on her jaw line, her neck, her collar bone. She shuddered as he sent

shockwaves of pleasure through her.

'Arthur' she breathed in a low voice.

He stopped what he had been doing, pulling away from her to look at her full in the face. His dark, serious eyes searched her own.

'Guinevere?' he asked, his brow furrowed with worry.

Logic had left her, reason had vanished in a puff of smoke so she surrendered herself to her clamouring heart. She took him by the hand and led him into her room.

His eyes sought hers as she unbuttoned the rest of his shirt and slowly pushed it off him, before her hands began to explore the contours of his torso, their gazes locked all the while.

'Are you sure about this?' he whispered in spite of his body's pleading for him to remain silent.

Her response came in the form of her wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, pressing every possible inch of her body to his, kissing him with a fierce intensity which he reciprocated with great enthusiasm

as he pushed the bedroom door shut behind them.

She woke feeling rather warm and very well rested. It was a moment before she realised she was in nothing more than her bra and knickers and there was a strong, muscular arm around her. Oh God! She

thought as reality crashed down about her ears. She looked first at the arm wrapped around her, then to its owner. His eyes were shut, his fair eyelashes fluttering slightly. His breathing was regular and

deep. He was lying on his side and Gwen wondered whether or not his sleeping position was responsible for the absence of his usual snoring. His hair was back to its usual blonde and lay haphazardly on the

pillow. What had she done? She had slept with Arthur Pendragon. Of all people. What had she been thinking? The honest answer: not a lot.

She moved Arthur's arm and slid out of bed, silently thanking God that he was a heavy sleeper.

She picked up the clothes which had been thrown without a care to the floor the night before, including Arthur's still damp jeans and shirt which she placed on the radiator to dry. She then pulled on a hoody

and crossed the living room to the bathroom, jumping straight into the shower. As the water began to fall it mingled with the angry tears which were forming in her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? She

was Gwen, the girl who had serious boyfriends, not flings, not one night stands with men like Arthur Pendragon. That was another girl, it had to be. She was furious with herself, how could she have allowed herself to

become just another notch on his bedpost? She could not understand it, how could she, sensible, responsible Guinevere have let this happen? Let alone initiated it. She felt sick as she remembered how it had started,

how he had been so tentative, every bit the gentleman, yes he had kissed her first, but she had been the one to push it further. Yes it had been good. Okay, she amended very good, but that didn't make her feel any

better. It still wasn't her. It repulsed her that her body had taken control and had silenced all reason and judgement. What was this feeling which was clenched like a vice clenched around her heart, making her feel as if

she was falling away from the Earth's gravity and into a darkness she did not know or understand?

She wiped her eyes as she stepped out of the shower. She was crying over a boy, how pathetic, a boy she barely even knew, doubly pathetic. She pulled herself together as she wrapped a towel around

herself, she was a grown woman, she would just have to get over it. She took a deep breath and made her way back into her room to collect all the bits and pieces she needed as quietly as possible.

She dried her hair in the bathroom, the room furthest from the bedroom and the sleeping Arthur. She thanked her lucky stars that he didn't stir for she was not sure she could have dealt with him.

Feeling it would be a little cold to leave without saying a word to him, given he would probably be gone long before she got back from work, she took the coward's way out.

Arthur,

Sorry I didn't say goodbye, had to go to work, didn't want to wake you. Again feel free to do whatever you want before Merlin comes over. When you leave would you mind locking up with the spare keys (they are in the

dish on the table by the door) then posting them through the letter box, it would be greatly appreciated. Hope you have a nice day,

Gwen xx

She poked her head into the bedroom one more time before she left. Arthur had rolled over onto his back with the whole bed to himself and was snoring loudly. She couldn't help a half smile coming to her lips.

Then her face fell as she remembered as this would probably be the last time she would see him until the Pendragon Group mixer next month. Well, she thought wryly, he should at least remember her name,

having breathed it into her ear enough times during the course of the previous night.

He shivered when he awoke and looked about him. He was alone. He glanced over at the clock, it was half nine, Gwen would already be at work. He rolled out of bed and spotted his jeans and shirt on the

radiator and he smiled. He pulled on a hoody to cross the living room and got straight into the shower. He leant back into the flow of water, allowing it to splash him straight in the face as he tried to wrestle

the goofy smile from his lips.

Try as he might he could not keep his mind focused and as a consequence ended with a good deal of shampoo in his eye. But even as he nursed his watering eye he could not stop his mind drifting back to the

previous night. The feel of her under his hands. The feel of her bare skin on his. The taste of her. The sound of her shallow breaths in his ear. The smell of her. The overwhelming presence of her. It had been

great. Okay, he amended, it had been fantastic.

His wiped his weeping eye as he got out of the shower. It was just a bit of soap. But it didn't half cane he thought bitterly.

He pulled on some clothes and made breakfast. As he ate his cornflakes he spotted a piece of note paper with Gwen's handwriting on it. He read it several times, smiling at the two 'x's at the bottom. He noted

how the first was drawn casually but with confidence, he could almost see her as she contemplated the second, as she marked the paper with a tentative but precise cross.

He stashed this second note, along with the first in his jacket pocket.

He was just washing up his breakfast dishes when the doorbell rang.

Merlin was standing on the door mat.

'Time to go' he said, beaming, 'bet you're glad to see me'

'Not really' he teased him, though the sentiment was real.

'Well grab your stuff and we'll get going'

'I should dry my dishes' he said.

Merlin's eyebrows twitched in confusion. There was something not quite right about that.

'I'll go grab your bag while you're doing that' Merlin offered, 'where is it?'

Before he could stop himself he said, 'in Gwen's room'

'Why is it in Gwen's room?'

'It was somewhere to put it so it was out of the way of her family yesterday' he said lamely.

'Okay' Merlin said a little suspicious, there was something up, Arthur had barely stopped smiling since he had arrived and he was voluntarily doing chores, had the world been turned on it's head?

Merlin pushed these thoughts to one side, he was probably just overreacting. He went into the bedroom, the bed was made, though rather haphazardly, not the way Gwen would have left it. He picked up

Arthur's bag and went to leave. He spotted Arthur's jacket slung over a chair and grabbed that too. As he reached the door a piece of paper slid from the pocket of his jacket and fell gracefully through the air,

finally coming to rest in the wastepaper bin.

He retrieved it and it was a moment before he noticed the rest of the contents of bin. A rolled up magazine, some screwed up sheets of paper, a couple of tissues and an empty condom wrapper. His mind went

blank.

'Hey Merlin, let me just write a note to Gwen then I'll be-' he broke off as Merlin pushed him up against the wall, pinioning him there.

'Merlin?'

'You promised you wouldn't do anything!'

'I didn't'

'You had sex with her!'

'Yes I did' he said, seeing little point in lying.

Merlin hit him hard in the face.

'Ow!'

'Screw you Arthur!' he said letting him go, and starting to pace, 'Screw you'

'Merlin?' he asked, massaging his jaw.

'Don't!' he spat bitterly, angry tears in his eyes.

'What?'

'And all I asked of you was that you left her out of whatever stunt you were planning on pulling, and you couldn't even do that. I can't believe I counted you as a friend, I should never have trusted you.'

'Merlin, Gwen and I are both adults'

'Don't make me hit you again' he breathed fiercely.

'I don't understand'

'Gwen is like a sister to me and I was there for her through the whole Lancelot fiasco. She was fine. And then you had to come along and fuck it up.'

'Merlin, I-'

'Gwen isn't some girl you picked up in a bar, she is my best friend'

'I know'

'And you know you've got to tell her the truth'

'The truth?'

'I know Gwen's a smart girl and will have worked it out most probably, she's does know your reputation after all, but you have to be completely honest with her, tell her how things are'

'What are you talking about?'

'You have to tell her that you're the biggest piece of shit on the planet and that you are really sorry, but that it didn't mean anything'

'Didn't mean anything?' he asked, his tone now very serious.

'Yeah' Merlin said, a little hesitantly.

'And you say that's what Gwen will be thinking?' he asked quickly.

'Yeah, well like I said, she knows what you're like'

'What I'm like?'

'That you get around a bit'

'So you're telling me that you think Guinevere thinks last night was just a one night stand?' he enquired frantically.

'Most probably'

Arthur began pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair.

'I don't get it' Merlin said, his anger gone now, replaced by confusion, 'shouldn't you be happy about this? It makes it easier for you to get out of this'

'And who said I wanted to get out of anything?'

'Are you saying that last night with Gwen meant something?' Merlin asked his eyes wide with incredulity.

'Eureka! I think the boy has got it' he said with a grin.

'You're actually serious'

'Yes'

'Well this is fantastic!'

'Hang on, you're okay with this?'

'Of course, this is brilliant'

'But you were so angry before'

'That's when I thought you had just had meaningless sex with my best friend, of course I was mad, but this, two of my best friends getting together, well I think that's great!' he beamed, before his face

darkened suddenly, 'though you hurt her and I will totally kick your butt'

'You would have to dig me up first because her family would have killed me' he grinned.

Merlin grinned too, 'so was Gwen surprised when you told her you wanted more than just a one time thing?'

'I haven't told her yet'

'What?' Merlin exclaimed.

'She left before I woke up.'

'So she still thinks that it didn't mean a thing to you?'

'Maybe, I guess, though I thought I'd made it pretty clear how I felt.'

'Did you tell her though?'

'No'

'Then go tell her!'

'Now?'

'Yes now. What are you waiting for? Christmas?'

Arthur pulled on his trainers, threw on his jacket and grabbed his sunglasses off the coffee table where Gwen had left them the night before.

'Go! Go! Go!' shouted Merlin, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.

'Could you take my stuff back to yours, I'll meet you there, then you can fill me in on your romantic weekend with Freya' he said with a wink.

'Go!'

'You're back!' Gwen said running into her friend's arms.

'Yeah I am!'

'How was Dubai?'

'Too hot, but the meetings went really well, so I can't really complain. More importantly, how was Arthur? Is he still alive?'

'He's still alive' she said, her voice hollow.

'And he didn't drive you too crazy?'

'Oh he drove me crazy alright' she said with a half smile.

She was not sure why she was not being entirely honest with Morgana, she was her friend after all. But she was also Arthur's sister and Gwen was pretty sure that somewhere in the girl code there was a rule

about not sleeping with your friends' brothers, it felt like a kind of betrayal. She was also sure that Morgana would take Gwen's side in a heartbeat, blaming the whole thing on Arthur, something Gwen was not

sure she could take, feeling that she ought to shoulder the majority of the responsibility for what had occurred between them.

The two of them talked over the buyers' meeting and the outcome of the talks in Dubai over tea and coffee in Morgana's office.

They were in the middle of a serious discussion on how serious an impact Uther's arrest would have on stock prices when the phone rang. Morgana picked it up quickly, 'send him in Clara'

'Who-' Gwen began.

Arthur stood in the doorway.

He had taken the tube across London and had been delayed by an accidental detour when he had taken the Victoria line south rather than north, as he had been too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pay

much attention to the underground map. He had then walked at a brisk pace over to the Wesley Road building which was fortunately slightly separate from the main Pendragon Group complex, being just

around the corner, but far enough away to ensure that no members of the paparazzi were lurking. He pushed open the glass doors and took off his sunglasses as he entered the dark atrium. He crossed to

lifts and pushed the 'up' button.

After half a minute the lift pinged and doors opened.

He and a young, mousy-looking woman entered. He felt the eyes of several of the lift's other occupants on him. He fiddled with the cuff of his jacket nervously.

The lift stopped on the first floor and all but one of the people in the lift left it.

He went to push the button for Level 4 but the mousy-looking woman got there first, pressing the button for the Basement. She looked in horror at what she had done.

'I'm so sorry sir' she gushed, 'I'm so very sorry'

'Don't worry about it' he grinned, the same goofy grin he seemed to have been wearing all morning, 'it's just a casual call anyway'

'Thank you sir'

'Call me Arthur,'

'Arthur' she smiled timidly.

Arthur strode purposefully over to the reception for the floor.

'Hi, I'm here to see Guinevere Leodegrance'

The receptionist did not even look up from her computer screen, 'you mean Gwen?'

'Yes'

'Is this a social call?'

'I suppose'

'She's in a meeting with Morgana at the moment. But if you would like to take a seat over there' she said gesturing vaguely in the direction of some comfy looking leather chairs by the lifts, 'I'll let her know

you're waiting. Can I take a name?' she asked, her eyes still fixed on the screen in front of her.

'Arthur'

'Arthur who?'

'She will know'

'Look, all I want is a surname' she said looking up from her screen for the first time, 'oh' was all she could manage.

'I'll just sit over there' he smiled.

'I'm so very sorry sir, I will give Morgana a call and see if she's happy to see you'

'Oh no, I'm happy to wait, I'll just-' he began, but she had already picked up the phone and was dialling a number.

'She'll see you now' the woman smiled, 'sorry again, Mr Pendragon, sir.'

'No problem, and thanks very much for your assistance.'

He walked down the corridor, his heart in his mouth, pounding sickeningly fast against his tongue. He had never been one for nerves, not before exams, or football games, or asking out girls. But somehow she

turned his legs to jelly, turned his stomach inside out and made his head spin. He pushed open the door.

'Who-' she began, but stopped once she saw it was him. Her mouth fell open a little.

'Hi' he said, his eyes focused on Gwen.

'Hi' she replied looking at the carpet.

'Hi' said Morgana, trying to remind Arthur that she was in the room.

'Hi' he said vaguely, still staring at Gwen, willing her to raise her eyes to his face.

Okay, Morgana thought, watching the behaviour of her best friend and brother, she was defiantly missing something and she was one hundred percent sure that whatever it was had something to do with Arthur's

sudden desire to cook.

'Gwen we were pretty much done here, and I really need to give Uther's lawyers a call, so if you don't mind could you and Arthur go to your office please?'

'Sure' Gwen said, her voice a little thin.

He followed her down the corridor to her office. She was going to be sick she was sure of it, she felt like she should be on board a ship in the middle of a storm before her stomach churned like this. What was he

doing here? She couldn't deal with this. But it didn't look as if she was going to have much of a choice.

She opened the door and led him in, walking behind her desk, so that the big chunk of furniture was between them. Somehow it made her feel a little safer.

She began to sort through some papers on her desk, purely to give her shaking hands something to do.

'Guinevere?'

'Yes' she said looking at the floor.

'We need to talk about what happened last night'

'I don't think we do, you were feeling vulnerable because of what has been going on with your dad, it was a one time thing, it didn't mean anything'

'Is that really what you believe?'

She didn't reply, eyes still on the carpet.

'Is that what you thought last night?'

'I don't know'

'Did you only do it because you thought it would just be a one night stand? Was that part of your decision making process?'

She let out a harsh laugh, 'decision making process? You think that last night had anything to do with rational choice?'

'Do you regret it?'

'Arthur just don't!' she said looking up at him, jaw set in an angry line, 'don't make me say it, this isn't fair. I'm telling you that I understand, I don't blame you, we can just forget this ever happened, that any of

this ever happened and we can go back to being vague acquaintances'

'Is that what you want?' he said coming around the desk to join her.

'It doesn't matter what I want' she said staring at the carpet.

'I'm inclined to disagree, but I will let it lie for the moment, I will tell you what I don't want. I don't want to forget it, any of it, I don't want to go back to being two people who know each other vaguely from

work, frankly I don't think I could. I don't want it to have meant nothing, I don't want it to be a one time thing. But if that is what you want, I will leave you alone and will respect your decision.'

She raised her eyes slowly to his face. They shone with the embryos of tears but she held them back with a will of iron.

'Are you serious?' she said in a hollow voice.

'Guin-e-vere' he drawled with a mischievous grin. The sound of his voice caressing her name, just as it had the night before, sent a shiver through her spine.

She couldn't help smiling too, 'so what is it that you propose?' she said teasingly.

'A date, this Friday? And taking it slow'

'Isn't it a bit late for that?' she grinned as images from the previous night floated irresistibly to the surface of her mind.

'I still think it's worth a try' he said his eyes wide and strangely innocent, 'I want to do this right'

'Well so far I think you're doing very well' she said linking her arms around his neck and forcing him to sit down on the desk, her in between his legs. She kissed the corner of his mouth.

He turned to try and capture her lips but she moved to quickly for him.

'Tut-tut' she said wagging a finger, 'what happened to going slow?' she said pressing a finger to his lips with a wicked glint in her brown eyes, this was going to be fun.

'You're a cruel woman' he said as she began to run a lazy finger up and down his thigh, placing tender kiss after tender kiss along his jaw. Both totally absorbed, neither noticed a gentle knock at the door.

'Oh' came the voice from the doorway.

Gwen and Arthur flew apart, turning with flushed cheeks to the intruder.

'Lancelot?' Gwen breathed.

'You're supposed to be in China!'

'Well I came back' he said, looking at Gwen, holding the large bouquet limply in one hand as the words 'for you' hung in the air, as solid and immovable as granite.

Gwen looked between them, Arthur pale with anger, Lancelot pink with embarrassment. Oh God! What was she going to do?

-END-