Merthur Oneshots

Chain Me To Your Heart's Desire (Part 5)

Leon remained standing, and once everyone had settled, went to get everyone a round of drinks.

"So, Arthur," Morgana started, leaning back in her seat, and Arthur prepared himself for a night of grilling. "Your soulmate's birthday is tomorrow, right? Any idea what you are going to write to him?"

Arthur blinked. This was not what he had expected at all. It took him a minute to reply- "Honestly, I don't know."

Morgana tutted. But before she could say anything, Leon came over and handed everyone their pints. Arthur quickly picked up his and drank deeply, as to avoid Morgana and her prying questions. He knew that she meant well, but she always had had a problem with timing.

Judging from the look she was passing him, she had figured out what he was trying to do, and was not happy. Arthur ignored her.

"So," Gwen started, "I heard the most crazy story from Lance at the hospital..."

Arthur tuned her out. The conversation continued without him, and Arthur spent his time staring in the depths of his mug as if it contained all the secrets of the world.

His stupor was broken by a babble of voices, coming from a group that had just entered the place. Arthur looked up, to see a few people, three men and a girl. Two of the men were dressed in scrubs, pegging the whole group as from the hospital. Finding nothing interesting, he went back to his beer, until the three sitting at his table started to get up.

Frowning, he looked up again to see Gwen throwing her arms around a man. From the looks of it, he was a part of the group that had entered earlier, but hadn't come in with them. Squinting slightly in the dim light, Arthur recognised the man as Lancelot, Gwen's fiance.

As he watched, Leon thumped him on the back and Morgana gave him a firm hug. That was so unlike her that Arthur snapped out of his alcohol and self-pity induced haze and realised that he was also expected to greet him.

Standing from his seat, he took a second to straighten himself, before moving forward. "Good evening Lancelot," He greeted. "I suppose this group was the one which was dragging you for drinks this evening?"

The formal tone wasn't strictly necessary, but Arthur didn't know him all that well, despite him being his PA's fiance.

Lancelot chuckled. "Yes. What a coincidence that we chose the same pub then? I can have drinks with both of you guys!"

The conversation was taken over by the women then, and Arthur took that time to scan the rest of the group. Two of the men had already gone somewhere, but the woman and the one of the other men were still sitting at the table, arm wrestling. Both of them were equally strong, and the match seemed like it had been going on for a minute or two. Beads of perspiration had popped on both their foreheads. As he watched, the woman pushed the man's hand to the surface of the table and cheered. The man groaned, and pulling out his wallet, forked out five pounds to the woman. She shoved them in her purse shooting him a smug grin.

"You're a nurse?" Arthur asked, wincing a bit when almost no thought went behind when he spoke. Both of them looked up at him, eyes wide. After a beat, the man chuckled. "Yes, both of us are."

Arthur nodded mutely, taking that as an invitation to take a seat. It probably wasn't one, but there was a high chance that they would be sitting together anyway, with Gwen and Lance, and there wasn't anything wrong with getting a head start, right?

Fortunately for him, the two people didn't seem to mind. They watched him and took a seat beside the woman, who turned to him with a bright smile and offered her hand for a shake. Arthur obliged. "Freya." She introduced herself.