Part 17: link

    Arthur has a lot on his mind this morning. He is restless, because he can’t do anything. Merlin says he can’t take the treo lên, sling off until Sunday at the earliest. At least one thêm day. Grr. Cheering at the rugby match is going to be difficult, indeed, not to mention certain… leisure activities he plans on engaging in later with Guinevere.
    By ten a.m. he is stir crazy. He stalks out to the common room and finds Leon playing catch with Wayne across the room. They are seated on sofas opposite one another, tossing a plush version of an American football back and forth.
    “Hey, do bạn blokes mind if I knock off a couple hours early? I’ve got some errands I want to make before the match this afternoon,” he asks.
    “Go ahead,” Leon says, catching the ball.
    “You’re not any use around here right now, anyway,” Wayne teases. He is abruptly pegged in the side of the head bởi the plush football, exactly where Leon has aimed it with laser-like precision. “What?? You’re only shoving him out the door because that means bạn get to be in charge. For two whole hours,” he says to Leon, tossing the ball back, aiming it just out of reach of his long arms so he has to get up off the sofa to retrieve it.
    Merlin looks up. “What errands?”
    Arthur just raises an eyebrow at him and walks out the door.
    Surely not, Merlin thinks.

    Arthur walks out of the bright sunshine and into the building. He strides through the lobby, garnering a few surreptitious glances from the employees, who not only notice the treo lên, sling and the bandage, but the small white paper bag he has perched on the slung arm and the coffee cup he has clutched in his left hand. No one các bình luận about the fact that he is carrying in food. The bank is very quiet, since it is Saturday, and his trainers make very little noise on the marble floor as he passes.
    He stops outside a lift in the back and presses the button. He rides it to the top. When the doors open, he steps out onto the carpeted floor beyond.
    “Good morning, Father,” he says, walking in.
    “Arthur.” Uther Pendragon is seated behind a large mahogany desk, staring at a computer screen. He finally turns to look at his son and says, “What on earth has happened to bạn now?
    Arthur sets the bag and the coffee down in front of his father and tells him, “Just dislocated and a little burnt.”
    “Again?”
    Arthur laughs. “Merlin says I’ll be fine.”
    “I’m sure bạn will.”
    “I brought bạn some breakfast.”
    “Arthur, it’s half ten already. Don’t bạn think that’s a little late for breakfast?”
    “Have bạn eaten yet?” Arthur raises an eyebrow at his father.
    “So what did bạn bring me?” Uther các câu trả lời the câu hỏi bởi not answering it.
    “Mocha with hazelnut.”
    “Ahh,” Uther smiles. There are a grand total of three people who know what Uther’s secret yêu thích hot drink is. He peeks in the bag, “And a scone?”
    “Orange cranberry.”
    Uther pulls it from the bag and addresses Arthur. “To what do I owe this visit? Surely bạn didn’t stop bởi just to feed me a late breakfast.”
    “Three things.”
    The first is easy. He tells him about Guinevere, hiển thị him a picture he took of her on his phone. He looks with interest, declaring that she is lovely.
    The một giây is slightly thêm difficult. But after much thảo luận and consulting of calendars, Uther realizes that he would be available for bữa ăn, brunch the very tiếp theo ngày if Gwen is also available. Arthur’s fairly certain she will be.
    The third item on Arthur’s agenda is nearly impossible.

    Half an giờ later, Arthur emerges Victorious from the bank, the item he has sought tucked safely in his pocket. He drives back to his flat, and as he walks to the door, he calls Gwen.
    “Arthur! You’re early!” she exclaims.
    “I knocked off early. No point in staying when bạn can’t do anything,” he explains.
    “Do bạn want to meet for lunch?” she asks.
    “Yes, but actually, I was wondering if bạn would help me with something first.”
    “Of course.”
    “Will bạn help me wash my hair? I can’t do it with one hand and it’s driving me bonkers.”
    Gwen laughs and says, “I’ll be over soon.”
    “Guinevere?”
    “Hmm?”
    “Bring a change of clothes with you. I’m taking bạn out after the match.”
    “Okay.” She smiles and hangs up the phone.

    Her phone rings as she drives. It’s Morgana, calling from the salon, just to be nosy.
    “I’m actually on my way over to his flat. He needs help washing his hair,” she chuckles, “Though I’m sure we’ll end up making a big mess in the process.”
    Morgana has an idea. “Bring him here.”
    “That’s brilliant. I’ll do that.”
    She pulls to the curb outside Arthur’s apartment and she calls him. “Put your shoes on and come out to the car. I’m taking bạn to Morgana’s salon. We’ll wash your hair there.”
    “Um…”
    “It will prevent a wet mess at your place. Come on.”
    “Okay.” He sighs and slides into his flip flops.
    The salon is actually not far from Arthur’s flat. Heads turn as they walk in, as a gorgeous man with his arm in a treo lên, sling and a bandage on his neck strolling into a hair salon is not an every ngày occurrence.
    Morgana greets them immediately, kissing Arthur’s cheek and declaring, “You look a mess!”
    “Well, thank you, Morgana,” he answers.
    “Does it hurt?”
    “It’s not too bad. Mostly it’s just uncomfortable and inconvenient. And restrictive.”
    Morgana smiles knowingly at the implications in Arthur’s last statement, and takes him bởi his right arm, leading him to a chair at a sink. She has piled rolled-up towels on the edge of the sink to make it thêm comfortable for him. He sits and looks at Gwen, eyes questioning.
    “Yes, I’ll do it,” she says, knowing he specifically wanted her to be the one to do his hair. Morgana shows Gwen how to work the strange faucet and then walks away to go answer everyone’s gossipy các câu hỏi about the handsome stranger.
    Arthur thoroughly enjoys having Gwen wash his hair. He closes his eyes, enjoying the warm water and the feel of her hands on his scalp. A few times she leans over and he is treated to her breasts pressing the side of his face.
    “You’re doing that on purpose,” he accuses her, smiling, eyes still closed.
    “Maybe,” she smiles, bending over and kissing him.
    “Mmm.” He wasn’t expecting the kiss. She straightens back up and rinses him.
    “All done,” she says, helping him sit up and rubbing his head with a towel.
    “I’m going to have to get one of these sinks someday,” he says, peeking out at her.

    There is still time to stop for lunch before the match. They stop at a món cà ri, cà ri take away and get a few dishes to share back at Arthur’s.
    They leave for the match after lunch. The heat wave has dissipated a bit, and it is comfortably warm out. Gwen has on a tank hàng đầu, đầu trang with the team name on it. Arthur has wisely put on a áo sơ mi that buttons up the front. He looks at her and says, “I guess I need to get some team wear.”
    “Oh! Thanks for reminding me,” she says. They are stopped at a traffic light, so she reaches into the back ghế, chỗ ngồi and brings forth a cap, which she places on his head.
    “Thank you. I am no longer underdressed.”
    Gwen pulls the car through a side entrance, a guard waving her through when she shows him a card she pulled from her wallet.
    “Nice,” Arthur looks around. She parks the car and they walk a very short distance to the pitch and their seats in the một giây row, right behind the players’ bench.
    They sit, and Gwen looks at Arthur. She frowns.
    “What?” he asks.
    She stands up, walks in front of him and pulls him up. She pushes him into the ghế, chỗ ngồi she just vacated so she is now sitting on his left side.
    “If anyone’s going to bump into that shoulder, I want it to be me,” she tells him. He smiles at her concern.
    “Oi! Gwen!” a voice shouts from below.
    “Elliot!” she calls back, and waves at him. He looks around, then comes bounding over.
    He favors his father strongly, looking almost exactly like the man in the picture apart from the lighter skin tone. He is not very tall, but powerfully built. Gwen leans phía trước, chuyển tiếp over the still-vacant seats in front of them to say hello to her brother. Arthur tries to act like he’s not checking out her rear while her brother is standing there.
    “Hey,” he says, “where’s Dad?”
    “Couldn’t make it. Elliot, this is Arthur.” She reaches her hand back to Arthur and he stands.
    “Hi,” Elliot says, “did my sister do that to you?”
    Arthur laughs, and says, “Work-related injury. Sorry if that disappoints you, mate. Nice to meet you.”
    “You, too.”
    “Arthur’s a firefighter,” Gwen says, “he was injured Thursday night on a call.”
    “Just dislocated, nothing big,” Arthur explains.
    “Oh yeah, I’ve had that,” Elliot says dismissively. “No big deal.”
    Arthur laughs and looks at Gwen, saying, “See?” She angles her head to the side and gives him a look.
    Elliot watches this exchange with interest. His sister is positively glowing in this man’s presence. He wonders how long they’ve been dating and why he’s just now learning of him.
    “Elliot, you’re being summoned,” Gwen tells him, noticing a coach below looking up at him.
    “Gotta run. See bạn after, okay?”
    “As long as bạn don’t get killed,” she says.

    It is a good game, and their team wins. There is much cheering and carrying on, and afterwards Gwen leads Arthur down to the field. Ever the sports fan, he chats easily with Elliot and the rest of the team, discussing the game and picking apart details of particularly good plays. Elliot takes this opportunity to grill his sister.
    “So, Arthur…”
    “Yes, Elliot, he’s my boyfriend.”
    “Since when have bạn had a boyfriend?”
    “Since when is that any of your business?”
    “Since I’ve been your brother.”
    She diverts. “Dad likes him. He gave up his ticket to him.”
    “So he wasn’t busy, then?”
    “No. Do bạn have some sort of problem with Arthur?” She puts her hands on her hips.
    “Don’t get defensive, he seems like a great guy,” he says, glancing over at Arthur, who is laughing at something one of Elliot’s teammates has said. “Are bạn two… serious?”
    “You could say that.”
    “What would you say?”
    “Yes, we are.”
    “He makes bạn happy.” Not a question. He knows his sister.
    “Very.”
    “Well, then, I’m happy.” He kisses her cheek and they walk over to where Arthur is.
    “What time is dinner?” she asks him.
    “We have an giờ and a half,” he looks at his watch. “Should we go?”
    “Probably should do, yes. Gentlemen,” she says to her brother’s team. Several wave and say, “’Bye Gwen.”
    “Great meeting you, Elliot,” Arthur offers his hand, and Elliot takes it.
    “You, too, Arthur. Take good care of my sister,” he says, giving a brotherly warning.
    “I intend to,” Arthur smiles and slaps his back as they walk past.

    “Where are we going?” Gwen asks Arthur, back at his flat. She has changed clothes into a rich red dress that accentuates her curves in all the right ways, low cut but not too much so, váy flaring out to end just above her knees. She is fixing her hair in the bathroom while he changes clothes.
    “Luigi’s,” he says.
    “Mmm, Italian.”
    “Glad bạn approve,” he walks in as she is applying lip gloss. “Wow.”
    “Thank you,” she smiles at him. Her hair is in loose curls falling about her shoulders, tousled but still somehow orderly. She looks gorgeous and Arthur is tempted to hang the reservations and carry her off to bed. Well, perhaps not carry, he thinks.
    “You look pretty edible yourself there, mister,” she tells him. He is wearing a light blue áo sơ mi that accentuates the blue in his eyes and dark grey trousers. Gwen changed the bandage on his neck earlier, replacing it with a smaller one (with Merlin’s consent) that is almost unnoticeable beneath his collar.
    “Thank you,” he leans phía trước, chuyển tiếp and burrows into her hair so he can Kiss the side of her neck. She smiles.
    “Shouldn’t we get going?” she asks as he continues to nibble, his right arm now around her waist.
    “No,” he says into her neck.
    “Yes,” she pushes him gently away, laughing.

Part 19: link