"What are you doing here?" Merlin asked softly, hand gripping the door tightly, debating whether or not to slam it in the blonde's face.

"Needing to take a piss," Gwaine responded before Arthur could say anything, pushing past the blond. "Bathroom still in the same place?" the brunette asked, and, not waiting for an answer, headed upstairs.

"Merlin, I want to talk…"

"Arthur, I thought I asked you to leave me alone," Merlin interrupted his voice lower, rushed, his vision blurring slightly. "I-I don't want…"

"Five minutes," Arthur said quickly, almost pleadingly. "Please Merlin, just five minutes."

"Fine," Merlin whispered, stepping aside to let Arthur inside, "but only five minutes."

"Who is it, sweetheart," his mother called from the other room.

"No one," Merlin called back, shutting the door. "Come on," he murmured, gesturing towards the stairs, and he led Arthur to his old room.

The moment his bedroom door was closed, he turned and said, "You have five minutes."

Arthur was quiet for a good thirty seconds, blue eyes scanning the room, obviously choosing his words correctly. Merlin started to get a little impatient, needing Arthur to leave before he said some things he'd regret, but before he could suggest the blond leave, Arthur finally said, "I mucked everything up."

"You can say that again," Merlin muttered, leaning against his door, crossing his arms. "I-I loved… and you just…" Merlin drew in a deep breath, willing himself not to cry. "Tell me something Arthur was anything you said to me the truth?"

"Everything I said to you was the truth," Arthur replied slowly, taking a hesitant step forward, but froze when he noticed Merlin shrink away from him. "The only thing I lied about was the bet, and I swear Merlin, I swear, I was going to tell you. I called it off, I did, the moment I realized how much I loved you."

As much as Merlin wanted to trust Arthur's words, wanted to believe they were as sincere as he sounded, he knew he couldn't take the blond at face value. He needed more answers, needed to understand why Arthur would do this, why he would take the stupid bet in the first place, and the only way he was going to understand is if he asked.

"Why did you do it?"

Arthur was quiet for a long moment, eyes downcast, bottom lip caught between his teeth. He finally took a deep breath, looked up to meet Merlin's eyes, and softly said, "I never thought I'd fall in love with you. You were originally supposed to be another notch, another conquest I could brag about at parties, but there is just something about you that I can't describe, something I don't think I could even attempt to describe.

"And I know I don't deserve it, and I'm not asking you to do anything about it, but I need you, Merlin. I need you more than I thought possible. And I swear I meant what I said Thursday, I am willing to do whatever I have to to prove that I really do love you."

"I don't think I can trust you," Merlin admitted shaking his head, after a long pause, looking just over the blonde's shoulder, sniffing.

"I'm willing to regain your trust. Whatever I have to do, I will do it."

"We could," Merlin started, uncertain, finally meeting Arthur's eyes again. "We could start out as friends."

"I would like that," Arthur replied with a small smile, holding out his hands. "Merlin Emrys, will you be my friend?"

"Yes," Merlin replied shaking the blonde's hand.

Merlin

It wasn't ideal, but Arthur would take friendship over nothing any day. For the first few weeks, Merlin was still a little wary around him, bringing Gwen or Gwaine along when Arthur asked him to lunch or dinner. The blond accepted this without complaint, knowing trust was hard to regain once lost, and it didn't exactly hurt that he liked Gwen and could actually tolerate Gwaine.

Morgana was another story entirely. She had been known to hold grudges for years, and since Arthur hurt someone she cared for, her anger and resentment towards him grew tenfold. She liked to invite herself along on some of the lunch and dinner dates, usually dragging Mordred, and spent the entire time throwing dark glares at her brother, daring him to hurt Merlin again.

It wasn't until mid-January, about three weeks before Morgana's wedding, when Arthur managed to get Merlin alone. Gwen and Lancelot were celebrating their anniversary, Gwaine had a prior engagement with a pub, and Morgana and Mordred were talking to the florist about last-minute details for their wedding.

It surprised him that Merlin agreed to the date at all. Things had been going smoothly with the two, they were slowly falling into old patterns, but Merlin still seemed wary to go anywhere with Arthur without a chaperone. Not wanting to look a gifted horse in the mouth, Arthur didn't make a big deal about the date and made plans to pick Merlin up around eight.

He arrived early to Merlin's flat, debated whether or not to go inside, and finally got out of his Lexus. He started towards the building, catching the door as an elderly couple returned from a night-time stroll (or something). He rode the elevator up with the two, watching them get off on the second floor, and finally stepped off on Merlin's floor.

Arthur raised his hand to knock on the door, but it flew open a second before his knuckles could meet the wood. Gaius stood in the threshold, eyebrows furrowed, and silently gestured Arthur inside. For a moment, Arthur almost declined the offer, a fleeting image of Gaius stabbing him repeatedly with a bread knife popping into his head, but he shook the image away and stepped inside.

"An elderly couple let me in," Arthur answered the unasked question, very much aware of Gaius shutting the door behind him.

As Gaius moved back to the kitchenette, taking a seat at the counter, Arthur stayed by the door, arms crossed, eyeing the older man cautiously. The man in question merely took a sip of his still steaming mug, blue eyes trained on Arthur, a heavy silence filling the small flat.

Ten agonizing minutes later, Merlin finally emerged from the bathroom; his robe tied tightly around him, dark, wet hair plastered to his forehead. He froze when he spotted Arthur standing by the door, blue eyes wide. "H-how long…?"

"Ten minutes," Gaius replied getting to his feet, carrying his mug over to the sink.

"You're twenty minutes early," Merlin pointed out, crossing his arms, obviously trying to hide what he was wearing from Arthur.

Fighting a smirk, Arthur said, "Yeah, traffic was light. Can I…?" he shot a quick glance Gaius' way, the 'eyebrows of doom' still furrowed, and Merlin got the hint, nodding, and led Arthur down the short hallway to his bedroom.

"Uh, make yourself at home," Merlin murmured heading towards his closet. Arthur nodded, perching on the end of Merlin's bed, resting his hands in his lap. He looked around the small room, actually taking it in for the first time.

He spotted a small shelf above the shabby desk, several dragon statues littering the surface. On the desk was an old computer, turned on, screensaver showing the words: Computer Programmers Do It Better. Arthur chuckled softly, looking away from the screen, eyes settling on a green guitar in the corner.

"I never noticed that before," he commented slowly.

"What?" Merlin poked his head out of his closet, a green shirt in his hand, eyes settling on the guitar Arthur was pointing at.

"Oh, that." Merlin's face flushed as he returned to his searching. "I can't play if that's what you're hinting. It's not even mine."

"Whose…"

"My father's," Merlin replied softly, sadly, emerging from his closet holding a pair of blue jeans and a red t-shirt.

"It's beautiful," Arthur whispered standing, moving towards the guitar. He inspected it, making sure not to touch, finding a name carved into the back of the neck. "Kil… Kilgharrah?" he sounded out, glancing back at Merlin with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, he, uh, he named it," Merlin stated quietly, face turning a deeper red. "He, um, he always used to joke about how Kilgharrah was his best friend and that one day he'd teach me to play." A wistful expression crossed Merlin's face only to be replaced by a sad smile. "He left it at home the night he died. I can't bring myself to learn to play."

"My mother played the piano," Arthur admitted eyeing the guitar. "We had one in the library for years, just collecting dust because I wouldn't let anyone play it." Glancing back at Merlin again, a sad smile of his own on his face, Arthur said, "I remember when Morgana was eight, she made the mistake of touching the piano. She didn't know, of course she didn't, but I didn't care. I broke her favorite doll, and Morgause locked me in the basement."

A heavy silence filled the room only to be broken by Merlin saying, "I'm going to get dressed."

"Okay," Arthur whispered and left the room, leaving the door ajar, and leaned against the wall. That was enough sharing for one night.

Merlin

They went to a casual restaurant downtown. Morgana had dragged Arthur to it a few months ago; way before he met Merlin, and made him look through invitation samples with her. It had been, without a doubt, the most boring afternoon of his life, but the food was good so he had stored the restaurant's name in his head for later.

The hostess seated them at a booth, far away from the door, and left them with two menus before heading back to her podium to help two new arrivals. Arthur shrugged out of his jacket, Merlin copying him, and set it next to him, snatching one of the menus off the table.

"Morgana dragged me here once," Arthur shared with Merlin, glancing over the menu items. "The food is decent enough."

"I can see that," Merlin commented softly, looking at his own menu. "I can also pronounce most of it." Arthur glanced up, noticing the flicker of amusement in the younger man's eyes. He smirked, returning his attention to the menu.

A waiter approached them several minutes later, quickly taking their drink and food order, disappearing just as quickly into a crowd of people. Arthur tapped his fingers against the table, watching as Merlin looked around the restaurant.

"How have you been?" the blond asked curiously.

"Fine," Merlin responded softly, glancing over at Arthur. They hadn't seen each other in about a week, both busy at their prospective jobs. After Merlin quit the mailroom, Morgana had offered him a job at her café, fixing the computers and machines when they broke and keeping an eye on the books. He even took orders when Henry was running late. "How about you?"

"Great."

They were quiet for a few minutes, returning to their tapping and looking around. Usually Gwen or Gwaine kept the conversation flowing, occasionally Mordred and Morgana adding their two cents. Sometimes Gwen and Morgana (who had become fast friends) would go off into their own little gossip world, leaving the guys to fend for themselves, but at least somebody was talking; Arthur wasn't used to the quiet.

Their food arrived a while later, giving the two men something to do, and another silence filled the table as they began to eat. Arthur started thinking that maybe this date wasn't such a good idea, especially when it seemed Merlin wasn't really ready for it, but he was saved the trouble of saying anything when the younger man stated, "I'm sorry for being so quiet tonight."

"I hadn't noticed," Arthur lied shoving some potatoes in his mouth.

"Liar," Merlin murmured fighting a smile, picking at his food. "It's just…" he trailed off, taking a bite of his food. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and softly continued, "I've been thinking."

"Oh." Arthur leaned forward, intrigued by what Merlin had to say.

"Yes, about us."

"What…?" Arthur cleared his throat, looking down at his plate, trying to push down the hope bubbling in his stomach. "What about us?"

"It's been great, this past month. You've been… you've been great." Arthur's hope suddenly crashed and burned. Was this a breakup? Was Merlin breaking up with Arthur? How was that even possible? They weren't even technically dating anymore? Hold on, Arthur, he told himself. You're jumping to conclusions. Let him finish.

"Okay," Arthur said softly, gesturing for Merlin to continue, needing him to continue.

"I, um, I wanted to ask you something," Merlin stated taking Arthur by surprised. Okay, this was not what he was expecting. This wasn't even close to what he was expecting. What could Merlin possibly need to ask him? Keeping his newly risen hope under control, Arthur nodded, indicating to Merlin to go ahead. "Would you…" the younger man wet his lips, trying again, "Will you be my date for Morgana's wedding?"

Arthur was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "I was thinking about asking you the same thing after dinner."

"So you will?"

"Yes."

After that they fell into a semi-normal conversation, staying until well past closing just talking, and only leaving when the wait staff kicked them out. It reminded Arthur of their first date, and he couldn't help but smile as he drove Merlin home.

Once he parked in front of Merlin's building, he glanced over at the younger man and said, "So, I'll see you around."

"Definitely," Merlin replied with a small nod. Arthur expected him to get out of the car, maybe give the blond a small wave before heading inside, but Merlin surprised Arthur by leaning forward and kissing him, once again reminding the blond of their first date. It was a soft, sweet, closed mouth kiss that ended too soon.

"Good night, Arthur," Merlin whispered against Arthur's lips before getting out of the Lexus. Long after the younger man went inside, Arthur still sat out front of the building, touching his tingling lips. He held onto hope that he might have just won Merlin back.

Merlin

"This was a bad idea," Merlin said nervously, shakily trying to tie his bow.

"Not this again," Gwen moaned playfully, fighting a smile. "You are hopeless, Merlin." She stepped forward, helping him with the bow.

"I don't even know what I was thinking, asking him to the damn thing."

"That you still love him," Gwen teased finishing up with the bow. "Come on, Merlin, you've never stopped loving him, and the longer you deny those feelings the longer you'll be miserable." She patted his chest, giving him a peck on the cheek, and headed out of his room, her long dress barely brushing the floor.

Merlin looked down at himself, took a deep breath, and quickly followed her out. He knew she was right, he had to stop denying his feelings, but a part of him just kept waiting for Arthur to betray him again. Irrational, sure, but if it already happened once who's to say it wasn't going to happen again?

They rode in Lancelot's car to get Arthur, Gwen and Lance up front while Gwaine and Merlin sat in the back. Merlin had gotten several phone calls from Morgana the night before, making sure he was still coming, having him relay messages to Mordred via three-way calling, and otherwise keeping up a constant chatter to help calm her nerves. Merlin didn't exactly enjoy the calls, but he couldn't blame her either. She was getting married today; she had a right to be nervous.

"He lives here," Gwen announced when Lancelot pulled up to Arthur's building.

"Yes," Merlin replied nodding.

"Damn, I need to find me a rich guy," Gwaine commented with a smirk and Merlin snorted, getting out of the car. He headed towards the building, very nearly running into Arthur as he was coming outside. The younger man stopped, looking the blond up and down, unable to stop himself from staring. Arthur knew how to fill a suit; Merlin merely looked like a kid playing dress up.

"You, um, you look nice," he commented wanting to smack himself the moment the words left his mouth.

Arthur smirked, grabbed his hand, and dragged Merlin towards Lancelot's car. As they got inside, he murmured, "Morgana was right. You look good, too." Merlin's face flushed red and he shut the door.

Merlin

The wedding ended with a long kiss between Mordred and Morgana. Afterwards, they went to the banquet hall Morgana rented for the wedding breakfast. After they ate, Mordred lead Morgana to the dance floor where they danced to some song Arthur had never heard of. About mid-way through, the entire hall was surprised when Uther asked to cut in. Arthur had even seen his father show up. Morgana was surprised, but still allowed the dance.

After the first dance, the rest of the guests joined the couple on the dance floor. Arthur had to practical drag Merlin, who kept complaining about not knowing how to dance. Settling one hand on his waist and grabbing the other, Arthur whispered, "I'll lead."

It was a slow song, something by The Beatles, and midway through Merlin rested his head on Arthur's shoulder. Very softly, so only Arthur could hear him, warm breath gentle against the blonde's neck, he softly said, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

Merlin

Gwaine watched Merlin and Arthur sway back and forth, a sad yet content smile on his face. He may have lost Merlin, but at least he lost him to someone who deserved him. He shook his head, wondering if anyone would miss him if he stepped out for a smoke, already tired of all the happy couples, but a shadow fell over him, stopping his escape.

"Would you like to dance?" a blond asked, hazel eyes meeting Gwaine's.

"Sure," Gwaine murmured accepting the hand offered to him. As the two headed towards the dance floor, the brunette said, "My name's Gwaine."

"Leon," the curly blond responded with a smile.

With a small smile, Gwaine decided that weddings weren't so bad after all.

This is it guys! I want to thank everyone who reviewed, alerted, favorited, and just plain stuck with this story to the end. It's been fun writing it, and I really hope you guys enjoyed it.

So, thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, and I really hope to catch you in the next story.

See ya!

P.S. The ending bit is for the person who requested that Gwaine find some love.