7
It is the last major scene to film for the day, but unlike Angel, Bradley needs to stick around to finish up a couple of night-time reshoots with Colin. He’s tired just thinking about it, as it’s been an exhausting week of shooting, both physically and mentally. The current Arthur and Gwen scene is run only once before the director, Paul, puts a temporary halt to the shooting.
“Take five,” he says, rushing across the room without further explanation.
Bradley raises a brow, noticing in that moment that Angel is been carted off somewhere -- probably to make-up or wardrobe or something, even though she seemed fine a moment before -- and shrugs.
"We need to make some adjustments to the camera angles," Paul announces, out of the blue a few minutes later, as if everyone on set should be interested in this information, though he supposes probably most of them are.
He is about to go find something to drink, since this issue apparently isn’t about to be resolved in the next thirty seconds when he is stopped by someone yelling at him. "Stay in place, Bradley. We're making some changes to the camera angle and lighting, and we need you to hold your spot while we do that." So he does as he's told.
Several boring minutes later, and Paul is grumbling at several people simultaneously about something that Bradley doesn’t particularly care all that much about. It’s at this time that Bradley notices Colin making his way onto the set, presumably finished with his own individual scenes for the day. He is about to call out to him, but apparently isn’t quick enough.
"Colin!" Paul gestures him over from the side of the room. "I need you to step in for Angel for a second."
They share a bemused look, but Colin is ever the consummate professional, and he merely shrugs and makes his way over to Bradley, completely un-phased. Someone wrangles them into the proper positions and gives them firm instructions to stay put.
"Not that I'm complaining or anything," Bradley says, loudly, to no one in particular, "but isn't there a bit of a height difference between Angel and Colin? If you're trying to adjust the cameras and all that, I mean."
Nothing but silence meets his protest, and Colin, who seems to find this terribly amusing, snickers. "I think I could probably pass as Angel, yeah?"
Bradley scratches his chin with mock thoughtfulness. "Well, you're not quite as pretty–" His words are cut short by a shove to the shoulder.
"Ow! No rough-housing, Morgan. Sometimes the truth hurts."
“Or you’re just a big baby,” Colin points out ever so helpfully, mischievous glint in his eyes.
Their argument is promptly interrupted by the director again. “Can you guys run the scene please?”
Colin blinks. Bradley snorts incredulously, turning to stare at Paul. “You do realise that Colin isn’t actually in this scene, right?”
“Yes. But do it anyway. We’re pressed for time.” He waves a dismissive hand at them. “Bradley, just say your lines, and Colin, ad-lib.”
And that is that, apparently. Paul moves with lightning speed back to the other side of the room and in less than a minute, he seems ready to begin.
Colin leans in close. “Should I be holding your hands?” he whispers teasingly.
“You wish,” Bradley says with a grin, poking him in the ribs for good measure. But then he remembers himself and takes a moment to get into the correct frame of mind, even if it is just a run through with the wrong person.
“Okay, take this seriously and we’ll get the test done in one shot,” Paul calls out. “And… action!”
“This isn’t really necessary, Gwen,” Bradley says, mentally trying to superimpose Angel’s face onto Colin’s, with little success.
“I’m quite certain it is,” Colin replies.
“I don’t need anyone to look after me.”
“Yeah, no one except Merlin, that is.” Colin’s lips pull up into a tiny grin, and Bradley has to fight to keep from laughing.
By the time they finish the lines, Bradley is so absorbed in what he’s doing that he is almost surprised when he hears, “Cut! That was perfect, thanks.”
Funny how he'd forgotten about that, Bradley muses. So they’d recorded this little practice scene and it somehow ended up accidentally airing. But the only questions Bradley now has are ‘how’, and ‘why’?


10
Gah! Anon!fail! Anyway...
This section has to be posted in 3 sections due to the word count limit :P
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Watching Merlin with children is quite the experience. They find things like Merlin tripping and falling hilarious, and they get overly caught up in the plot, even though it’s a variation on something that’s been done over and again. It’s quite a contrast from watching with his friends, or with an audience full of people with a very specific perspective.
The girls get scared a couple of times throughout (Nathaniel folds his arms, displaying a tough exterior, but Bradley sees him jump too), but this is one of the more light-hearted episodes of the season. Bradley is so distracted by the various and numerous comments from his cousins that he nearly misses when the final throne room scene starts. Normally he doesn’t care much for the throne room scenes, but he thinks that something occurs in this one that is important for the future of the Arthur and Merlin friendship, and he can’t help but want to pay attention.
Thankfully, the children have either run out of topics to comment on or are beginning to fall asleep, but whatever the reason, silence fills the room as everyone watches. Uther and Arthur are discussing the result of a recent battle, in front of some members of the council. Arthur is outlining what happened and how he and Merlin managed to escape.
It’s obvious that Arthur is watching someone across the room, the way his eyes continually drift away from Uther. Bradley knows that Arthur is watching Merlin, because he happened to be there at the time, but the audience is still none the wiser. The scene progresses, and by the end of it, Arthur’s lips pull up into a small smile as he’s still staring across the room. Bradley is suddenly filled with the intense desire to find out who Arthur is eyeing, even though he knows, and he feels silly for getting so caught up in his own show.
A moment later, Bradley receives his second consecutive surprise while watching the show. Arthur is still smiling in a way that looks almost private when the shot cuts away to the opposite end of the room. But instead of cutting to Merlin, the camera cuts straight away to Gwen. Who, during the filming, wasn’t even standing near Merlin, though the audience wouldn’t know that from the way it was filmed.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Bradley’s aunt coos, and the girls join in almost immediately.
But Bradley is thoroughly confused, yet again. He knows with absolute certainty that he’d been watching Colin the whole time, as he’d been directed. It didn’t even really make sense in context of the scene to cut to Gwen, and yet that’s exactly what’d happened. This isn’t something that Bradley would normally even pay attention, but after last week’s obvious error, he finds he can’t help but pay a bit more attention than usual, and for good reason, it would seem.
“That was an awesome episode!” Nathaniel declares a few minutes later, though Bradley isn’t fully listening to him at this point.


They stick around for just under half an hour before his aunt and uncle announce that it’s almost bedtime, and they should be heading back to their hotel. Bradley sees them off, and then spends the next hour reviewing the filming of that scene in his head. It’s equally possible that he’s simply remembering wrong and jumping to ridiculous conclusions. After a while he decides that he’s probably over-reacting and chooses to forget about the whole thing. It’s not really that important, after all.
Besides, Bradley has more important things to think about. Namely, the arrival of his guest the following day, and what he’s going to need to do in preparation.
~*~
Bradley wakes up early Sunday morning with two main goals in mind. The first is to clean his flat from top to bottom so that it can be presentable for Colin. Which is not to say that he lives in utter filth – his mother raised him better than that – but it's been far too long since he's done any sort of thorough clean, and now seems as good a time as any to accomplish that task.
It takes more than two and a half hours, but Bradley is feeling well pleased with himself when he finally finishes cleaning. He's vacuumed, dusted, swept, mopped, cleaned every inch of the bathroom, done the laundry, and even emptied out the spoiled food in the fridge. He flops back onto the bed with an exhausted sigh – which he's made, by the way, for the first time in close to a month – throwing one arm over his eyes while the other flings a rag haphazardly across the room into the dirty laundry basket.
He permits himself ten minutes to rest before setting out to accomplish goal number two: grocery shopping. Bradley’s fridge isn’t exactly equipped for the likes of one vegetarian – and highly allergic to everything delicious, if you ask him – Colin Morgan, so he’s made a list of some of the things he hopes will be all right for him to eat. Bradley hasn’t exactly kept track of every little thing that Colin likes (or won’t eat), but he knows his allergies at least, so that should logically be a decent place to start.
By the time he returns from the Tesco a few blocks away, it’s nearly time to pick up Colin. After putting away the food and double-checking the train schedule one last time, Bradley heads out to go retrieve his house guest.
The station is busy, which is not much of a surprise, and Bradley just hopes that Colin remembers not to take a taxi, that Bradley was planning on picking him up. It would appear that his train arrived just after Bradley did.
He keeps his eyes peeled for his lanky, dark-haired friend amidst the crowds, wondering if a large ’Colin Morgan’ sign might have been a smart idea. Of course, then it would’ve drawn a great deal of attention to the two of them, and Bradley’s quite sure Colin wouldn’t appreciate that too much.
A minute later, Bradley spots him, and is filled with unexpected relief, and a little bit of excitement. As Bradley pushes through the crowd – because he doesn’t think Colin’s actually seen him yet – he briefly contemplates how to greet him. It is not a new debate. Bradley is very physically affectionate with his family and friends; he always has been. But Colin is a little more reserved, only touching Bradley to get his attention or if he gets really worked up about something. The first time they’d reunited after working together on series one, Bradley had enveloped Colin in a bear hug. Colin had patted his back awkwardly until Bradley finally pulled away, smiling in his typical tolerant manner, but it was obvious hugs weren’t really Colin’s thing.


11
The first thing Bradley does when they arrive is give Colin a tour of his flat.
“You realise I’ve been here before, right?” Colin points out, about thirty seconds into the grand tour.
It’s true. He has been to Bradley’s. Twice. But this is entirely different. Then, he was just stopping by briefly; now, he’s staying for an extended visit. There are things he needs to know – like where the towels are kept, how to work the faucets on the shower (because they can be a royal pain in the arse), and other such important information.
Bradley huffs, folding his arms as he turns to stare at Colin. “I’m not sure what your point is.”
Colin quirks a shoulder, grinning. “I have no point, I was just saying…”
“There are things you need to know while you’re rooming at Chez Bradley. For example, what will you do if you want to watch a DVD with surround sound and I’m not here? Or if you’re in the shower and suddenly the water is scalding and you don’t know how to fix it? Do you really want to find out what that feels like, Colin? Do you?”
The amused bark of laughter is answer enough.
Giving himself a mental pat on the back, Bradley leads Colin down the hall to the bedroom. “You can throw your luggage wherever you like, but I cleaned out a drawer for your things there—“ he points to said dresser drawer, “—and you can hang whatever you want in the closet.” He’d made some extra space there as well.
Colin smiles appreciatively at him, dropping his bags at the foot of the bed, then gets this uncertain look about him. “Thanks, Bradley. That’s really kind of you. But are you sure you don’t want to sleep here instead? I can sleep on the sofa. I mean, I’m already putting you out as it is—”
But Bradley holds up a hand, putting a stop to that line of thought immediately. “Like I told you two days ago, the sofa is comfortable, and I wouldn’t have offered my flat if I didn’t want to. So from this point on there’s no more discussion about it, all right?”
Colin nods, raising both hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I won’t bring it up again. Thank you.”
With that out of the way, Bradley carries on with the tour slash instruction session.
“You can help yourself to anything in the fridge,” he says, pulling it open. “I’m not sure if I have anything you want, exactly. I, uh, went shopping this morning. I picked up a bunch of vegetables, except for tomatoes of course, and, um, that tofu that I think you said you liked, though it might be the wrong kind—“
He stops, glancing over at Colin, and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck, suddenly feeling a bit awkward, though he’s not sure why. Colin is staring into the fridge, expression unreadable, so Bradley does what he’s best at and keeps talking. “And I bought some soy milk, though I also have real milk, because I can’t live without it, but obviously that’s not for you. Oh, and, like, those fake eggs, ‘cause I know you can’t eat real ones, but I make a fantastic omelette, so I thought maybe you’d like to try it while you’re here…? Or, uh, you could just go out and buy stuff that you actually eat, because I’m not really good with the whole vegetarian thing…”
Bradley trails off, then, fully aware of the fact that he’s now rambling, and Colin hasn’t said anything yet. Probably because he’s trying to figure out a way to tell Bradley that he’s an idiot, without being rude, because Colin’s way too polite to tell Bradley straight out that he doesn’t know the first thing about being a vegetarian, even though he’s spent three years listening to Colin talk about what he eats and doesn’t eat. He should know something about this by now, should’ve done some research before he went shopping.
A hand on his arm pulls Bradley out of his self-deprecating reverie and his gaze darts up to meet Colin’s.
“No, this is great, Bradley. You’ve really—You have basically everything I would’ve thought to buy. I didn’t expect you to do this. I— thank you.” His voice is thick, and something about the way Colin’s looking at him fills Bradley with an unexpected warmth that travels from his feet all the way to the tips of his ears. He finds that he likes it. It feels familiar, and pleasant, especially because he’s made Colin happy. And has actually done something right.


12
Bradley smiles and shuts the fridge door. “I imagine you’re probably tired and hungry, so I was thinking we could maybe grab some take away and watch a movie or something tonight?”
Colin nods. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Half an hour later, they’re seated comfortably on either end of Bradley’s sofa, food spread out on the coffee table and Labyrinth starting up in the DVD player. Bradley didn’t even have to work to convince Colin that it would be a brilliant idea to watch it. He always knew there was a reason he liked Colin, not just for his dark sense of humour and easy friendship, but also for his obviously amazing taste in films. Toby and John could learn a few things from him, that was for sure.
Just before the movie starts, Bradley’s mobile buzzes and he notices a text message from John: hey! u busy? we’re going to the pub 2nite for mike’s bday. let me know.
He contemplates the idea for all of five seconds before deciding against it. He should probably ask Colin what he wants to do, but considering he needs to be up early to meet with that friend of his tomorrow morning, Bradley sort of assumes that he won’t mind staying in. Also, for completely selfish reasons, Bradley would prefer to just spend the night in, catching up with him. They haven’t even really spoken in over a month. Besides, Bradley’s mates can turn into complete idiots when they’re pissed, and he sort of wants to keep Colin away from them in that state.
He fires a quick response back – sorry, can’t. busy, but thanks for the invite – before starting up the movie.
They both chuckle when Sarah starts crying about her bear Lancelot. “We should make Santiago watch this, the next time he’s on set,” Colin suggests with a grin, and Bradley can do nothing but agree. You can never watch Labyrinth too many times, if you ask him. Plus, Santiago has a good sense of humour; he’d probably enjoy it.
Just after David Bowie as Jareth the Goblin King appears on screen, there is a knock on Bradley’s door.
Colin turns to look at Bradley, raising an eyebrow curiously. “Are you expecting someone?”
“No,” Bradley says, shaking his head. Reluctantly, he pauses the movie and goes to see who showed up at his flat, unannounced.
“John?” Bradley blinks, staring at his friend standing on the other side of the doorway. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at the pub celebrating Mike’s birthday or something?”
John shrugs casually and smiles. “I am, but your flat happened to be on the way, and I thought I’d see if I could change your mind and drag your arse out with us.”
“I suppose that text where I told you I was busy didn’t get through that thick skull of yours then?” Bradley asks, folding his arms and shooting John a pointed stare.
“You don’t look busy,” John says, attempting to peer over Bradley’s shoulder in one of the most completely obvious moves Bradley’s ever seen.
“I am.”
“You have a girl in there?” he asks suddenly, smirking, and wiggles two eyebrows suggestively.


Bradley laughs heartily, shaking his head. “Not exactly.”
“Hey, Bradley, what’s going on?” Colin’s voice wafts in his direction, and Bradley turns his head at the same time that Colin rounds the corner.
“Ahhh, now I see,” John says, voice laden with innuendo, but he’s clearly taking the piss. Bradley reaches over and punches John in the shoulder. Hard.
Before John has a chance to say anything else stupid, Bradley steps back away from the doorway and proceeds with introductions. “Colin, this is my idiot friend, John from school. John, this is Colin.”
“Nice to meet you, mate,” John says, extending his hand.
Colin accepts, shaking it firmly. “Likewise.”
“So how long are you in town?”
“At least a week, possibly longer,” Colin replies. “Bradley kindly offered to let me stay with him while I’m in London.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Bradley I know.”
Bradley’s expression sours, and he narrows his eyes at John. Colin simply laughs. “Hilarious, mate,” Bradley growls, though he’s grinning too. “So what are you doing here again?”
“Well, I wanted to see if you could join us at the pub, but since you’re so busy, never mind.”
13
I promise more is to come VERY soon! Sorry for the delay again folks. RL's been keeping me busy!
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"You’re more than welcome to go out if you want, Bradley. I don't mind at all," Colin says, before Bradley even has a chance to get a word in. "I need to be up early tomorrow, so I think I'll stay in. But I brought several books and now that I know how to work the DVD player I think I'll be just fine on my own."
Of course Colin would tell him to go out while he stayed in for the night, alone. It is so very typical of Colin. He's the kind of bloke that'd offer someone the last bite of his sandwich, give a person the shirt off his back if it was needed, or stay up an extra few hours to help someone (mainly Bradley) with their lines, even if he had to be up at 5:00 am the next morning to start filming. He's one of the most selfless people Bradley has ever had the pleasure of knowing and it's one of the numerous things Bradley adores about him, even if he is hesitant to use the words 'adore' and 'Colin Morgan' in the same sentence outside of his own mind.
"Thanks, mate, that's kind of you to offer," Bradley says, patting Colin on the back, twice, jovially. "But I'm not going to go to the pub and leave you here. Not only is it rude, but we have prior plans anyway."
"What plans?" Colin looks confused.
Hitching a thumb in the general direction of the living room, Bradley says, "Take away, movie, remember?"
"Ah, yes. Right. Didn't realise that counted as 'plans'."
"It does," Bradley asserts with a sage nod.
John takes this opportunity to insert himself back into the conversation. "What movie are you watching?"
"Labyrinth," Colin says, and very obviously tries not to laugh when John's face scrunches up in obvious displeasure.


"He's managed to talk you into watching that, has he?" John wonders, sounding simultaneously awed and amused. "You're a stronger man than I."
Colin merely shrugs, smiling shyly, hands burying in the pockets of his hoodie. "I don’t mind, actually. We’ve watched it before. Once you take into consideration the year in which it was made, and remember that it’s supposed to be a bit of a ridiculous fantasy movie, then it really is quite entertaining.”
“Plus, David Bowie,” Bradley feels the need to add.
Raising both hands for a second before shaking his head, it’s clear when John finally accepts that he’s lost this round. He and Colin are a force to be reckoned with, so powerful that not even five David Bowie’s could touch them. Well, that and the fact that John’s smarter than he looks sometimes, and knows how to pick his battles.
“Your loss, mate. I’ll be out getting pissed and having a blast, thank you. Have fun watching that ridiculous film,” he says with a grin, giving them both a teasing salute before sauntering off down the hall.
“Oh, we will,” Bradley calls after him, not because it’s the least bit necessary but simply because he enjoys driving John mad.
They return to the television and continue watching the movie, Bradley quoting along with nearly everything Jareth says, and the two of them either singing along to the songs or making up their own lyrics, when it seems more entertaining (which is virtually the entire length of the movie). By the time they’re finished, Bradley’s sides hurt from laughing so much. In fact, he can’t remember the last time he had this much fun.
“Only you could make watching this terrible movie that enjoyable,” Colin says, and Bradley knows there was a jab somewhere in there, but he’s too distracted by the compliment to care all that much.
They smile dumbly at each other for a moment – because what else is there to say to that, really? – before Colin glances down to check the time on his watch. “Oi! It’s not that late, but I told Nick I would meet him first thing in the morning, and by the time I take the Tube…“
Bradley nods in understanding. “Of course. I’m knackered myself actually, so I’m sure I’ll be going to sleep soon as well.” There’s something else he wants to say or do, something else he had planned since the morning, but now he can’t for the life of him remember what it was.
“Well, good night,” Colin says with a smile, after nearly a minute passes and neither of them make any attempt to move.
Bradley returns the smile automatically, like it’s a natural response. “Good night.”
Colin disappears from the living room and is likely halfway down the hallway when Bradley suddenly remembers. “Col?”
A beat, and then, “Yes?”
“Hold on one second.” Jumping up off the sofa, Bradley retreats to the kitchen, meeting Colin at the bedroom doorway a minute later.
“Here,” Bradley says, depositing the object in Colin’s waiting hands.
“What’s this?” Though it’s obvious, when Colin extends his fingers and peers down at what rests in his palm.
“Keys to my flat,” Bradley says simply, and tries to ignore the little unexpected flutter in his heart that appears when Colin meets his gaze, just a touch of uncertainly in his eyes. “Since you’ll be off doing your thing and I’ll be off doing mine. That way I don’t have to stay home, and you don’t have to stay away until I return. Makes the most sense, wouldn’t you agree?”
Colin nods, understanding lighting up behind his eyes, which seem even bluer than usual, if that’s possible. “Oh, okay. That’s probably a good idea, thanks.”
“Of course it is. It was my idea, after all,” Bradley says, folding his arms and smirking arrogantly.
“Yes. The epitome of brilliance. Bradley James. Right,” Colin deadpans, and Bradley laughs heartily in response. Colin’s just jealous, that much is painfully clear.
“You only wish you had my amazing powers of awesomeness,” he says, nudging Colin’s ankle with his foot, and Colin’s gaze immediately drops to the source, briefly, before meeting his eyes once again.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to get through the day,” is Colin’s only reply, and unfortunately, Bradley isn’t sure how to argue with that.
Fingering the keys, Colin eyes them curiously, as though he’s having some deep, secret thoughts, and then finally shoves them into the pockets of his jeans. “Thanks, Bradley. Night.”
“Good night,” he says, a moment too late, to the door gently closing in his face.
It feels significant, somehow, Bradley handing over the spare set of keys to his flat, even though it’s a gesture born entirely of necessity and nothing more. Still, some weird part of his brain feels that this is a good thing, and at this hour, he isn’t too inclined to try and argue with it.