A/N: Sorry for the slightly uneventful chapter, I'm trying to a) avoid making them too long and b) work on characterization a little more. Next chapter has more thing happening, I promise.

There's Something About Dave
Chapter Two

Dave piled the box he was carrying on top of the other, similar boxes stacked in the corner of the room. The apartment they'd chosen was a lot bigger than the one he and Bennet had shared, although that may just have been because of the fact that there wasn't any junk cluttering it up. It was even fairly clean, aside from the fine layer of dust that covered every surface; even the real estate agent had apparently been unable to banish it.

The three of them had fallen in love with the apartment upon first seeing it, although it was a bit out of their price range, and had snapped it up as soon as absolutely possible. It had two bedrooms, a full bathroom, and came fully furnished. Dave was, of course, wondering how they were going to afford the rent, but Balthazar had told him not to worry about it and that they'd find some way to come up with the money each month. The idea had crossed his mind that they could simply magic up some money, but he doubted it was possible; other spells all had a scientific ground to them in the manipulation of matter, but there was nothing scientific about creating something from nothing. Besides, he doubted using their magic to pay the rent was something Balthazar would approve of. 'No shortcuts', as he always said.

As he went to take another box from the moving truck waiting outside, his phone rang in his pocket. He fumbled to grab it and hit the talk button, holding it up to his ear.

"Hello?" On the other end of the line he could hear the din of voices in the background, along with light, classical string music.

"'ello, love," greeted the person on the other end. The heavy accent, air of confidence, and affectionate nickname were more than enough to tell him who he was addressing. "What have you been getting up to?" Dave cast a quick glance at Balthazar, who was standing in the middle of the living room and levitating boxes into their appropriate rooms now that they were away from prying eyes.

"Hey, give me a second," he said, headed for the door. Balthazar looked away from the boxes he was floating into the larger of the two bedrooms and gave him a questioning look. He merely pointed to the phone he was holding to his shoulder and held up his finger in a 'give me a minute' gesture.

Once he was safely in the stairwell at the end of the hall, he put the phone back to his ear. "Hello, Drake. Sorry about that," he said, leaning back against the wall of the landing between floors. "Not to uh, be rude or anything, but how'd you get my number?" he asked.

"I looked up your phone number and called your old apartment, but your roommate said you didn't live there any more and gave me your cell number," he replied, talking just loud enough for Dave to hear him over the voices and music in the background. "You busy?"

"Yeah, kind of," He brushed a hand through his hair, giving a little nod to a woman who was passing him in the stairway. "I'm sort of in the process of moving into a new apartment."

"What about later this evenin'? Say, seven thirty?" Drake asked. As Dave was pondering his question, he heard the performer turn away from the phone and say to someone beside him, 'no, it's just a friend' before he put the phone back up to his ear. "So? Think you'll be able to take enough time out of your busy schedule to spend an hour or so with me?"

"Um- maybe, but may I ask for what?" he said, shoving his free hand into his pocket. He looked down at his old man shoes as Drake laughed a little.

"Nothing sinister, I promise," he replied. "I just want to thank you properly for saving my life. And I promise it'll be much more worth it than my last thank you." Dave couldn't help but laugh when he said that, despite reddening slightly at the memory. He'd never expected to ever kiss another man, let alone one that had once tried to kill him, but as much as he hated to admit it, he really hadn't minded it all that much. The thought unsettled him a little, but he shook it off.

He looked around to see if Balthazar had come to find him like he had a habit of doing. "You don't have to do that, you know," he said, sort of folding into himself again. Occasionally someone would come up or down the staircase as they were talking, but he'd been very good at blending into the walls up to this point in his life and now was no different. "I didn't do it because I wanted-"

"I know you didn't. You're mister Goody-Two-Shoes, you did it out of the kindness of your own heart, et cetera. Doesn't mean I don't want to thank you for it," Drake replied. "So. Seven thirty?"

"Um, yeah, I guess, sure, but I don't exactly have a car so you'll have to tell me what train to get on and what stop to get off on." Drake laughed at the statement.

"I'll be picking you up, of course," he said. "Silver SUV. I just need your address," Dave heard him turn away and almost drop the phone, sounding rushed when he returned. "Hey, I've got to run, so text it to me, okay?"

"O-" Dave heard a distinct click and the sweet sound of silence, and he pulled his phone away from his ear and looked down at it in confusion. "-kay." While wondering exactly what had just happened, he stuffed his phone back into his pocket and jogged up the stairs to the floor his apartment was on. When he walked back in, Balthazar turned to look at him.

"Who was that, Dave?" he asked.

"Just a friend who wants to hang out tonight," he answered. He knew Balthazar was about to pry further, so he quickly changed the subject. "Do you guys mind grabbing the last couple of boxes? I'm going to go start unpacking." Before Balthazar could say anything else, Dave slipped into his room and locked the door behind him. Once inside, he sighed and turned his attention to the first box. He knew that Balthazar was eventually going to find out that Drake had survived and he also knew that if he questioned him about it, he would never be able to fool him. He just hoped that he'd have time enough to come up with a good defence.

Balthazar watched as Dave's door closed and locked, pursing his lips.

"There's something wrong with him," he said. Veronica looked up from opening the first box of kitchen things they had bought for the apartment; she was rather new to a lot of technology, including most of what they had bought, but her organizational skills were completely unaffected by the fact that she'd suddenly ended up more than a thousand years in the future. "He's even jumpier than usual, and he's clearly hiding something from me." She smiled at him, setting the new plates on the counter.

"He is a young man, Balthazar. Like any young person, there are going to be things he wants to keep secret," she pointed out, loading the plates into the cupboards. Without really thinking about it, he began to help her, unloading some of the utensils and cookware from other boxes. "Just give him some time. One way or another, you will find out what he is hiding. Just don't do anything rash simply because you're paranoid."

Balthazar blinked at her a few times, furrowing his eyebrows a little. "Paranoid? Me?" She turned towards him and gave him a dry look, her hands still moving automatically to put more dishes away. "Okay, I get the point. But I think my worry is at least a little warranted. I mean, he is my apprentice. Besides, just because he beat Morgana, it doesn't mean that he's immortal. I want to make sure he's not getting into anything dangerous."

"I may have only known Dave for a week, but he does not seem like the kind of person who would get involved in dangerous things," she said, pulling out some pots and pans. She held them up, silently questioning where they went, and Balthazar walked over and opened the two-parted cupboard beside the stove. "You should trust him a bit more, my love. Imagine if Merlin had kept you on that short of a leash."

"Dave isn't me. He isn't as responsible, he's not as well prepared..." He trailed off when Veronica gave him another dry look. "Would you please stop doing that? I get it. I'm being paranoid. I'll be quiet now." Veronica gave him a little smile and walked over to him, pushing his messy hair away from his eyes and giving him a quick kiss.

"Just keep unpacking. It will take your mind off of things."

Dave fell backwards onto his newly made bed; all of his clothes, books and various knickknacks were finally unpacked, he was dressed and groomed to the best of his abilities, and Balthazar hadn't tried to talk to him once the entire time. Normally that would worry him, but since he was trying to avoid him, he felt incredibly fortuitous.

He quickly glanced at his watch, far more anxious about Drake's arrival than he was really comfortable with. He tried to convince himself it was just the thought of Balthazar finding out about his helping Drake, but he wasn't any better at lying to himself than he was at lying to other people.

Trying to distract himself from the time, he looked over at his dresser where Drake's ring was sitting. He'd been meaning to give it to him if he found him alive when he went to his penthouse, but he'd immediately had second thoughts; after all, he was a Morganian. Letting him live was one thing, but trusting him with his powers after what he'd done was another matter entirely. At the same time, it didn't feel right keeping the ring from him; it was his, after all, and Dave had his suspicions that he wouldn't be performing any shows without it. He'd seen bits and pieces of most of his DVD's thanks to Bennet, who owned all of them, and there was zero explanation as to how he did some of his tricks without real magic.

He almost rolled right off his bed when his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he fumbled to pull it out. He'd been expecting the text, of course, because he'd asked in his text to Drake that he do so when he pulled up outside of the building, but it still surprised him. Grabbing his bag, he hastily shoved the ring in his pocket. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it, but keeping it with him didn't hurt.

Racing out of his room and towards the front door, he almost collided head-on with Balthazar, who'd been clearly about to break his streak of good luck by coming to talk to him.

"Hey, sorry I couldn't help you guys unpack, I was just getting ready for my, er.. outing." he said, unable to think of a better word. Balthazar nodded.

"It's understandable. I'm just curious as to why you're spending your evening going out with a friend instead of with Becky. I mean, she is the girl you risked our entire mission for." he pointed out. Dave pursed his lips and bobbed his head side to side.

"Yeah, but it's not like we need to go out every night. Besides, my friend was really insistent," As he spoke, he tried to manoeuvre around Balthazar, but Balthazar continuously moved into his path. "Look, as much as I'd love to stay and talk, he's waiting for me outside. Can we please save whatever sort of conversation you're trying to stall me to have for when I get back?" Before his master could answer his question, he ducked around him while he was considering his response.

"Dave.." he called after him, but Dave just turned and gave him a little apologetic smile.

"I'll call you when I'm on my way home, okay? And I'll make sure I'm home in time to get good rest so I can train tomorrow." he offered as an apology before slipping out the door and practically running down the hall. He jumped down the stairwell, skipping five or six stairs at a time to try and reach the bottom faster. When he practically body slammed his way through the front door, momentum made him almost run right into the silver SUV parked right in front of the entrance. He heard the driver laugh and almost flipped him off, but was glad he didn't when the window rolled down and Drake leaned over from the driver's seat, smiling at him.

"In a hurry, love?" he asked. Dave rolled his eyes at the nickname and inhaled deeply, opening the passenger door and sliding into the passenger seat.

"Didn't want to keep you waiting," he replied, letting out a little gasp. After carting all of the boxes from the moving truck up four stories without the aid of the elevator, thanks to it being out of order, the run down the same four stories to get to the entrance, he was extremely tired. "So, why did you want me to go out with you tonight?" Drake laughed at how he phrased his sentence, which caused Dave to immediately realize what he'd said. "I mean- why did you want me to accompany you out- why'd you want me- oh, forget it. Why am I here?"

"What, you're not just here to bask in the pleasure of my company? Clearly I'm doing something wrong, most people would give an arm and a leg for the opportunity." he said, pulling into traffic. Dave pulled on his seat belt and settled back into the ridiculously comfortable leather passenger seat. He wasn't surprised at all that Drake's SUV came with all the bells and whistles- the number of buttons on the radio control panel alone made even a physics major like himself a little frightened, he could feel the bottom of his thighs heating up from the seat warmers and the upholstery was genuine, extremely soft leather.

What a world, Dave thought, snorting a little laugh at Drake's response, partially in sarcasm and partially genuinely. "Yeah, I know a few people who definitely would. Seriously, though." Drake let out an annoyed exhale at the long line of traffic in front of them, and settled back into his own chair while they waited.

"I told you, I want to thank you properly. And don't even try to tell me 'I don't have to' because I really don't want to hear it," he replied, reaching over to turn on the radio. Quiet eighties music filled the SUV and Drake whistled along, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. Dave looked at the radio, then at Drake, in bewilderment. "Something on my face?" Drake asked with a smirk.

"I didn't really peg you as an eighties music kind of guy, that's all." Dave said, looking away from Drake immediately. Drake snorted a little as he pulled into the left lane, preparing to turn at the next intersection.

"Isn't 'don't judge a book by its cover' one of those goody-goody morals you're supposed to adhere to like superglue?" he asked, leaning back in his seat again. He glared at the traffic as though it would simply part at his stare. Dave wondered if he was like this every time he drove in New York traffic.

"I'm sort of new to this whole 'goody-goody' thing, you know," he pointed out, trying his hardest not to laugh at Drake's frustration. Drake gave him a dry look and a little grin, and Dave looked back with a sort of 'deer in the headlights' kind of look. "What? What's with the look?"

"Let's just say you're not exactly the 'bad boy' type, love." he replied. From behind them, a car honked at how long they were taking to move forward, the conversation having distracted Drake from noticing that traffic was moving again. In response he rolled down the window and stuck his arm out of it, flipping the driver behind them off, before pulling ahead and turning to the left. Dave wasn't particularly familiar with this part of the city and really had no idea where they were going, but he doubted it was anywhere within his normal price range anyway.

"And how do you know? Aside from the whole trying to kill me thing, you've only known me for like, a day." Drake smirked at him as he was talking.

"Well then, let me take a few guesses. You've never been in jail, or even arrested, first of all." he said, drumming along to the current song on the radio. Dave crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips a little.

"Okay, that one's sort of a given." he said, watching street signs carefully. He'd been sort of absorbing Balthazar's paranoia over the past week, and even though he wanted to trust Drake, there was a part of him that kept reminding him about the fact that he'd tried to kill him.

"If you found a wallet on the street you'd make an actual effort to find the owner, and even if you didn't you'd turn it into the police instead of taking the money in it, even if it's only a dollar." he continued. Dave rolled his eyes.

"..yeah." he admitted.

"You never cheated on a test in your life," Drake said, pulling onto a street to the right. "And you've never nicked anything from a store, even when you were just a kid..."

"Okay, okay, I get the point. I'm the stereotypical good guy. The kind of guy mom's dream of for their daughters. Etcetera etcetera." He couldn't help but laugh at the cheeky grin on Drake's face. "You're an ass."

"And yet you're in my passengers seat." he pointed out. Dave rolled his eyes, unable to deny it.

"Against my better judgement, since you won't even tell me where we're going." he muttered. Drake just laughed.

"That's because it's supposed to be a surprise. Stop trying to spoil it for yourself," he said, turning the radio up. "You'll see when we get there, anyway. Might be a bit of a drive, though."

"Careful, if you keep me fore too long Balthazar might think you're kidnapping me." Dave warned, leaning his head against the window. Even though it was hot outside, it being the start of summer, the air conditioning in the van made the windows cold to the touch. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, furrowing his brow in slight confusion when Drake became eerily silent. This whole time he'd either been speaking or laughing or humming, constantly making some kind of noise, but now he was completely quiet.

"Does he know you're with me?" he asked, sounding surprisingly serious. He looked away from the window and turned to look at the Morganian, who was decidedly stern faced and was keeping his eyes strictly on the road.

"He.. knows I'm out with someone. I didn't tell him who. Why?" Of course he'd avoided telling Balthazar, there was no way this would be in any way acceptable in his eyes. If anyone was the real goody-goody, it was him. Morganians were always bad and had to be gotten rid of. He spent over a thousand years eliminating them, after all.

"..no reason. So what, you have to be home before your bedtime?" he asked with a little chuckle, going back to normal. Dave raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't pry. It really wasn't any of his business. Drake was just taking him out to a mysterious (but presumably expensive, judging by everything he owned) location as thanks for saving his life, thanks he really didn't want or need. He had to admit, though- he'd been the one to agree to it, sort of. And it didn't pain him to be here or anything. Drake was strangely nice for someone who had tried to kill him.

He returned the laugh and grinned, replying with a simple, "Basically."