Page 43 of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love

‘The key,’ he said. ‘I mean – the lock. I need to …’ He gestured hopelessly at the door, and Arthur stepped aside. He seemed to be having a fair amount of trouble with it, which gave Arthur time to consider his approach.

‘Er – I’m really sorry about that,’ he said, trying to sound cheerful. ‘It was … you know. A mistake. It’s late, and … apparently all that talk about ancient magical deities really gets me going.’

Gabriel didn’t say anything. He finally managed to turn the key in the door, but then just stood there staring at it, his back to Arthur.

‘In my defence, I really did think—’

‘Is this why you made a deal with Gwen?’ Gabriel said quietly. ‘She knows?’

Arthur squinted up at the starry sky and only momentarily considered lying. ‘Yes.’

‘She’s protecting you. Because you’re … you don’t like women?’ He said it slowly, as if the pieces were only coming together in his mind as he did.

‘I like them just fine,’ Arthur said. ‘For strictly hands-free activities. Going to concerts. Book clubs. Turns about the hall.’

‘Whydid she agree to this?’ Gabriel still hadn’t turned around. It was making Arthur extremely nervous. The full repercussions of what he’d just done were hitting him as violently as he’d hit the floor. He had kissed the Prince of England … on a whim. Gabriel could be angry enough to tell his father – he could be angry enough to have Arthurarrested, for that matter, for losing his mind and attacking him in a shed.

‘I can’t – um,’ Arthur said stupidly. ‘You’d have to ask her.’

‘Right,’ Gabriel said. ‘Right.’

‘Are you going to …’

Arthur faltered, because Gabriel had finally turned to him with an expression of such uncharacteristically fierce determination on his face that Arthur strongly considered making a run for it.

He cleared his throat nervously and tried again.

‘Is this the part where you—’

He had been about to say ‘call the guards’, but as it turned out there was no need for any further speculation to that end, because Gabriel had stepped forward and kissed him.

It was extremely clumsy – he had approached with far too much speed, and practically knocked their heads together – but Arthur pressed a hand to Gabriel’s neck to steady him, feeling Gabriel’s curls brush against the tips of his fingers as he held him in place. Gabriel had the element of surprise this time, but if there was one thing Arthur knew he was good at, it was kissing; his eyes fluttered closed as Gabriel tentatively put a hand to his chest, and then Gabriel was moving more insistently, surprising Arthur with theurgent press of his mouth and the fact that his fingers were fisting in Arthur’s tunic.

Arthur was just really getting into it, deeply enjoying the hitch in Gabriel’s breath when he let his mouth go all soft and yielding, when he was suddenly pushed away. Again.

‘Sorry,’ Gabriel said, pink and wild-eyed and breathless. ‘I – damn.’

Arthur grasped for something to make the moment less awkward and failed. ‘You should call your bird Morgana,’ he said in a strangled voice. ‘You know – Merlin the cat, Morgana the crow.’

‘Right,’ Gabriel said. ‘Thanks.’

And then Arthur was looking at his back. Again. He stood watching the prince walk quickly away and then turned and kicked the wall of the mews, immediately feeling guilty when he heard an alarmed, avian shriek emanate from within.

‘Well,’ he said to his aching foot. ‘Thatcertainly clears things up.’

‘Where have you been?’ Arthur said when Sidney finally came stumbling through the door a few hours later.

‘You bloody well know where I’ve been,’ Sidney said, wrinkling his nose in affront. ‘You’ve been where I’ve been. You left where I’ve been. I was waiting for Agnes, and then I was with Agnes. Where haveyoubeen? You’re all dusty.’

Arthur had been sitting and staring out of the window at the stars since he’d returned to his quarters. It had all felt rather romantic and dramatic at first, but after a while his neck had started to hurt.

‘I was with Gabriel,’ he said. ‘And then I wasn’t.’

‘Uh-oh,’ said Sidney, pulling up a chair and sitting down heavily next to him. ‘What did you do?’

‘Kissed him,’ Arthur said matter-of-factly. ‘In the bird shed.’

‘Shit,’ said Sidney. ‘Is that some sort of slang for something I don’t want to know about?’