A/N: This is set in the "For All the Nights You Can't Sleep" universe and is an "outtake" that takes place somewhere between chapters 1 & 2 when Merlin and Morgana are still getting to know one another. I've had this scene in mind for ages but only just got around to writing it.

The first time Morgana sees Merlin outside of the coffee shop is at the library. It's the night before her term papers are due, and she's frantically working on one last essay on the corporeality of clothing in Old English narratives when the first message from Merlin arrives.

You're not coming in tonight? :(

She glances away from her laptop, having disconnected from the internet to focus, and is smiling at her phone before she even picks it up to reply.

Nope. I have a big deadline tomorrow.

Library?
Yep. :/

Are you caffeinated?

Barely.

Meaning you've had only one shot in the past few hours.

Two. At eleven.

Preposterous!

Haha. It's one thirty, and I'm going to be here all night.

:(

She puts her phone down, not expecting Merlin to say anything more. She keeps glancing over at the screen after every sentence she writes, despite herself, and she chides herself for feeling disappointed when it finally goes black.

She doesn't know what she feels for Merlin. They've only known each other for a few weeks, but she feels at ease around him and finds herself enjoying his company more and more with every passing day. She hasn't been to the coffee shop today, and she is, honestly, despite the paper-induced panic and the anxiety, quite sad not to see him.

Her essay sucks her in after that. Thirty minutes and a thousand words zoom by, and she's barely conscious of her surroundings, high on adrenaline and terror that she isn't going to meet her deadline, when someone quietly clears their throat and jolts her out of her trance.

"Is this seat taken?"

She looks up in annoyance, ready to bark at whoever wants to sit down at her table when virtually the entire library is empty at two in the morning. Can't they see that she's doesn't want to be distracted? She feels her eyebrows shoot up, but then the person standing in front of her isn't some random man but Merlin, and her annoyance fades into delight.

Smirking, she gestures towards the chair across from hers and plays along. "By all means."

Merlin beams at her and places the largest size of takeaway cups that Gaius has to offer in front of her before. "I thought this might help. I put in an extra shot, even though Gaius looked horrified when I did."

"Thank you." She beams back at him and automatically reaches for the triple shot mocha in front of her. She drinks and sighs happily as the warm liquid rushes down her throat, but then cocks her head to the side. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"Gaius gave me the night off."

"And so you decided to come here, to the library at two in the morning? I'm honoured."

Merlin shrugs. "No one should have to spend the night in the library alone. I've seen the types who hang around at night."

"You mean, super dedicated intellectuals?"

Merlin smirks. "You can never be too safe."

"How gallant of you," she quips but then softens her gaze. Hair messy and wearing a pale grey jumper that looks impossibly soft, Merlin not only looks tired but makes her realize how much she too misses sleep. "Seriously though, thank you. You don't have to do this."

"No, but I want to. Besides, I have deadlines coming up, too."

"I thought you were done with classes and just had your thesis left?"

"Almost. I still have one left."

"Ah. Paper?"

Merlin nods. "For next week. And I haven't started."

"That's brave."

"Or stupid."

Morgana smirks. "You can't be smart all the time."

"And you?"

"Ah, well I'm an exception." She beams up at him.

Merlin looks amused, and his eyes light up as he tries not to laugh in the deadly quiet room. "Clearly. Though what I meant was, what are you working on?"

"The corporeality of clothing in Old English narratives."

Merlin nods. "Fascinating."

"It is, actually. If I wasn't low on time, I'd be worried that I wouldn't be able to stick within the word limit."

"Ah. That's always a problem."

"It is, isn't it?" Morgana smiles. "Most people don't get that."

She watches Merlin as she reaches up to retie her hair into a messy topknot.

Merlin pulls his laptop out of his dark blue backpack and settles a pile of books next to it.

"What's yours about?"

"Twelfth century Druid practices."

Morgana adjusts her glasses and nods. "That sounds fascinating too. I've always wanted to learn more about the Druids."

"You can read the paper when it's done, if you'd like."

"I'd be honoured to."

Merlin's smile grows, and barely holding back her own, she turns back to her essay. Merlin does the same, and they spend the next few minutes alternating between staring at their screens and staring at one another when they think the other isn't looking.

They set their own paces after that. Merlin gets sucked into reading and furiously taking notes on post-its that he sticks to every other page of his library books, and Morgana zooms through thousands of words. She's halfway through her twelfth page when Merlin nudges her under the table and smiles.

"What?" she asks.

Merlin feigns innocence, and his smile grows, spreading across his face. "Nothing."

Morgana cocks an eyebrow and smirks at him.

Merlin nudges her again. "This is nice, is all."

Morgana feels herself begin to blush as warmth rushes to her cheeks. "It is, isn't it? We should do this more often."

Merlin agrees. "We should. I never realized how nice the library is in the middle of the night."

"Ah. Well. That's because you haven't been in the right company."

She expects him to make a quip back to her, but all joking fades from his expression and he gives one, serious nod. "I think you're right."

The corner of her mouth twists up, and gently nudging Merlin's calf with the toe of her emerald green smoking slippers, she smilingly gets back to work. They both get on with their writing after that, breaking their concentration only to smile at each other and drink their coffee.

When morning comes around and others begin to flow into the library, Morgana finds a finished paper on the screen in front of her and a suspicion that her friendship with Merlin could very well turn into something more.