Where did you learn to Tango? (Della)

[Arthur]

The problem with Merlin living with Gwen was that it sometimes meant that he was not always there, at the frat house, to cook Arthur’s dinner. Now Arthur could quite possibly easily summon the boy there to do exactly that, but at this precise moment in time he was beginning to think it was a better idea if he just avoided his manservant altogether. Yes, definitely the best idea. The boy was just…well things always seemed to be some complicated when he was around and he didn’t mind him washing his socks and exchanging the odd hello every now and then…but since they had officially ‘made up’…well Arthur hadn’t really been spending much time with him.

He felt a little guilty about that…and a little sad…but it was necessary. Completely and utterly necessary.

He grabbed the glass in front of him and took a long drink before he realised that he hadn’t ordered alcohol but a glass of Pepsi instead. Drinking alcohol when he was alone was never a good idea…drinking alcohol just generally with whoever was never a very good idea. Slipping into a depressed ‘I’m a Prince I shouldn’t be eating alone’ slump he was just about to order said Alcohol when someone he recognised walked in. She was one of Merlin’s friends…he was sure of it…

Smiling happily he waved at her, motioning to the seat in front of him.

It wasn’t a desperate move. It was just polite, no young lady should have to eat on her own, and he wasn’t going to let her sit down at another table all awkward and alone without her chaperone before knocking over the vase and-…

He really needed to get out of the house and stop watching old movies.

“Della,” he said cheerily, “won’t you join me?”

[Deleted]

Della had never been here before, actually. Oh she had been by the lake about a billion times when she was walking Rook, but obviously she wasn’t going to go there with him. Most establishments frowned on having overexcited Scottish Deerhounds going around and sniffing everyone. The other day, however, her curiosity was really starting to get the better of her. I mean, the place was called Lady of the Lake. That was probably the precise reason that it was even called that: to stir up curiosity. So today? Rook was waiting in the dorm room after having a nice long walk this morning (that way he was sure to be napping instead of, say, ripping up her copy of Dubliners…again), and Della was crossing into the restaurant, sort of glancing around.

She hadn’t glanced around enough, however, to realize that there was a fairly familiar face around here, at least not until she heard his voice. Wait…was that…she looked towards the direction of the voice, and what do you know? It was Arthur. She hadn’t seen him in quite some time, and honestly, she was surprised that he even remembered her name. He got points for that. Honestly, if he was a part, he was still a saint compared to some princes she could mention (rotten, rotten Humperdinck who needed to back the frak off)…and he had been pretty nice to her that one time they wound up buying ice cream…

Arching an amused/surprised eyebrow, Della crossed over towards him. “Arthur, hey…uh, sure, if you don’t mind.” It wasn’t like coming here alone really bugged her. It was standard procedure for anyone who wrote, and Della...well, she at least thought that she was on her way to being a writer. The fact was, however, that in spite of the fact that there were times when maybe she could stand an attitude adjustment, she wasn’t about to be rude to Arthur for no good reason.

So she settled down into the seat that Arthur had motioned to, commenting, “Haven’t seen you in a while, how are things?” Then remembering something pertaining to Merlin, and of course realizing that he and Merlin, in spite of how complicated things were, were friends, she asked, “Oh, did you meet Archimedes yet?” After all, she had been there when Merlin was looking for an owl, had even helped him pick the little guy (which was really just an expression, that owl was not little) out. The hilarious part was that her boss thought that this meant that she just had excellent saleswoman skills. Even at Tintagel, owls weren’t exactly a hot item. Her boss clearly didn’t know Merlin, then.

[Arthur]

“Wouldn’t have said it if I did, it’s good to see you again,” he said and found that it was actually a somewhat genuine statement.

True he mostly called her over because he was lonely and eating alone was just pathetic, but the last time they had grabbed ice cream together had been fun. What he remembered of it. The fact that he remembered it and her at all meant that it must have been above average so he felt it was a fairly fair assumption that he quite like the company of Della. Gwen spoke about her some times, the sweet girl that would look good in gold, and of course Merlin spoke about her, in some ways he felt he knew her without actually speaking to her.

Smiling he was about to tell how well things were when she brought up the owl, and so he glared instead. Not at her, just at the memory of the meeting. “Yes I have met the owl,” he grumbled, “he’s the most bad tempered grouchy animal I have ever met, and that’s including the bears I’ve seen in the woods back home. I don’t know why Merlin is insisting that he keep the bloody thing. I‘m toying with the idea of saying it‘s me or the bird, but I have a horrible feeling he would pick the owl.”

Deciding that he probably shouldn’t sour their meeting with his glare he smiled again, trying to make light of just how much he really hated that bird and said, “But apart from that things are…fine. How are you? And more importantly, what is a beautiful girl like you doing out and about all by herself?”

[Deleted]

Huh…it was good to see her, huh? Even if she had friends around here now, the idea of people actually being glad to see her was a new concept for Della, and it seemed like Arthur most certainly meant it. It was kind of funny, knowing that a virtual stranger felt that way. Then again, Della spent enough time with his manservant, didn’t she? Perhaps that was enough, the fact that they at least had a mutual friend. It certainly never occurred to Della that she would be worth mentioning Merlin, forget about Gwen. Another Camelot native that she hadn’t seen in quite some time, not since she got that fashion advice…and perhaps someday she should probably let her know that, shockingly, it was working well for her. I mean, really? Della Miller actually looking pretty good, even with most of her thrift store items? That was another new concept, most certainly.

Then he went on to complain about the bird, which was more than a little surprising for Della. Once he was done with his little ‘it’s me or the bird’ rant, she paused, blinked, and then thought of a suitable response.

“…wow, I’m very glad that I pointed him to the friendlier owls then…you probably would’ve hated Damian, let’s just say that I gave the little demon that nickname for a reason,” Della quipped, eyebrow arched. She never realized that one could have such hostility towards an owl, an owl that had seemed fairly sweet…then again, this was based off of her own judgment, paired with the fact that Archimedes was really among the nicer owls…well, what did she really know, right?

Well, she did know that she found it hilarious that Arthur pulled out a line like that, and she let out a laugh that was almost involuntary. She just couldn’t help the fact that clichés like that made her laugh. She was practically trained to scorn it, but she figured that she wouldn’t tell Arthur that.

“Well I’m not alone now, for one thing,” she pointed out and then she sort of shrugged. “I don’t know, I just kept seeing this place when I went to walk Rook by the lake, and decided to see how it was. Being alone never really bothered me all that much.”

Even in a place like Tintagel, where there could be dangers lurking around every corner; that was why she never left the dorm unarmed. Sure, it was just a switch knife, but it would do the job…although at some point she was going to have to start target practice again, she hadn’t done that since Dodge left…just at the thought of her ex, her fists clenched ever so slightly. It wasn’t even just the fact that he left; if she just had herself to worry about, whatever. She made it clear she didn’t love him anymore in a rather messy fashion, but again, it did the job…it was Alyss. Sure, now she seemed fine, but honestly, that was just a stroke of luck. Della wasn’t sure if Alyss would’ve made it if it weren’t for this odd change of heart (no pun in intended).

“Anyway, I’m not the only one who came here alone, it would seem. I’m surprised you didn’t have some of your buddies or some pretty girl here already.” She hadn’t asked Merlin about Arthur’s love life, for obvious reasons, but hey, since it was just them, it seemed appropriate enough. Couldn’t bring up a painful subject to Merlin if he wasn’t there.

"And as for how I am...can't complain, actually. Things've been quiet, which is a huge relief...but I won't hold my breath over the possibility of it staying that way."

[Arthur]

There were worse birds than Archimedes? He was about to say as much when his brain caught up with him and he managed to hold on to his tongue. She pointed Merlin to the friendlier birds which meant that she must work there and she must have suggested that he bought that grumpy bird which he had just insulted. Well it had insulted him first! He was very glad he hadn’t said that out loud. He had never heard something so ridiculous in his life. He really need to get over this bird. “Ah, right, yes, well he is a very…nice….feathered bird. Good breed.”
 
There, that saved that situation, he was actually quite proud of himself. Keeping birds was a woman’s thing anyway, he wasn’t fond of them in the first place. Men kept dogs…that made him sad…he missed his dogs…and his horse…
 
Walked Rook? A rook? Why would you walk a rook surely it would fly, what a ridiculous thing to-…she was talking about another pet, wasn’t she. Quite possibly a dog, in fact most likely. He sighed longingly and said, “What breed is Rook? I’ve got all sorts back home, some good hunting dogs. Do you work in the pet shop then? Do they sell dogs?”
 
As the conversation moved to the fact that he too was alone he said, “Ah yes, but it is much more socially acceptable for me to be alone. I know most girls are far from being damsels in distress these days but despite that chivalry is not dead. You may not need it but I am offering my company, that way you won’t be bothered by any other dashing princes.”
 
The smirk and charm was there to cover the fact that when she had said she thought he might be here with some pretty girl, the image he had got in his mind wasn’t of such a thing, but someone else entirely. He wasn’t thinking about that so he had immediately diverted the attention from…that image. Focus on the girl. Girl, girl, girl.
 
“I know what you mean,” he said nodding sagely, “I always thought relationships were supposed to be these wonderful blissful things but its more like…a hurricane, you never know where its going to sweep you next. Although, that could be more about the girls I’ve dated as opposed to the status of relationships.”
 
Smiling he looked up at her, “What about you? What hurricanes have you survived?”

[Deleted]

Honestly, Arthur didn’t need to worry all that much. Perhaps there were things that Della overreacted over (it was called being a teenage girl, or even better, it was called being human), but the very last thing she was going to take offense over was him not liking the owl. In fact, with the way he was awkwardly trying to backtrack, she had to laugh.

“Easy Arthur, I’m not going to bite your head off if you don’t like Archimedes. I didn’t really peg you for a bird person anyway,” she assured him, even throwing in a grin for good measure. To be fair, she hadn’t pegged Merlin for one anyway, but at least she was right about Arthur. Fifty/fifty wasn’t bad; it meant she was about as accurate as a coin flip. Not exactly ideal, but whatever.

“Hell, I’m not even a bird person.” And as if he had anticipated her pointing out that she simply worked better with the mammals (the dogs and ferrets being her favorites, especially since she had been reassured that puppy mills weren’t associated with the establishment), he asked about Rook. She had no idea, but that actually made her face light up. There was something to be said about a girl who had been lonely for most of her life, and then found the one friend that was definitely always there and didn’t have to worry about pirate ships or spells or anything like that…it was nice. There was a reason dogs were humanity’s best friends, apparently.

“Scottish Deerhound, Merlin’s actually met him…hey…you know, if you miss your dogs, maybe you should meet him sometime. Rook’s crazy friendly, must be that way to make up for his mistress.” She smirked slightly, but there was a gentleness in it, because she could definitely see that Arthur missed his own dogs, something she could really sympathize with…wait, he was asking about the pet shop wasn’t he? Jeez, maybe her boss did have a point when he said that she was good with this? She was quite possibly getting them a customer without even trying.

“Absolutely, and the best part is that there weren’t any puppy mills involved, those things are just awful…” She smiled again. “Hey, if you need help picking one out and I happen to be working, don’t hesitate.”

As for his little talk about chivalry not being dead…well, he was kind of right, wasn’t he? “Well, good thing you know that we can take care of ourselves, that definitely earns you points…and I do appreciate the company, I’ll admit…and God, you’re right, you’re highly preferable to some of the other princes I’ve met…” Which reminded her, where the hell was Morgan Owen, she still had a bone to pick with him, even if Humperdinck was proving to be far worse…seriously was the concept of “Prince Charming” lost on these guys?

“Did you really?” she asked, kind of torn on finding it funny that his original thoughts about relationships were so different from hers and just realizing that it was probably normal. She was probably the weird one. “I actually used to think there was no possible way that they were worth it.” She hesitated for a moment, but then figuring that she was with a friend, or at least he was close enough to being one, she answered, “Only one…you know, I’ve never thought of it before, but hurricane is a pretty accurate description.” She let out a rueful laugh. “His name was Dodge, I have no clue where he is now…I’m not even mad at him for my sake, I’m the one who broke up with him…but there was someone else here that really needed him and he just abandoned her.”

Realizing that she had gotten quite solemn in talking about that, she shook her head, brushing it off with one hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to go all sob story on you.”

[Arthur]

He definitely felt a lot better after he had discovered that he had not offended her with his comments, however that was nothing to the happy feeling he got when she started speaking about her dog. The way her face lit up he could see in this moment why Merlin was friends with the girl, why Gwen spoke about her every now and then, she looked simply radiant and happy. Plus it was nice to meet someone who loved their animals just as much as he had loved his back home, in fact he was beginning to think it was strange that he hadn’t missed them before now.
 
“Puppy Mill?” he said looking confused, “I’ve…never heard about them but they sound…strange and…awful. But I’ll be sure to pop in sometime and I’m sure with you’re expertise skills I’ll find the right one.”
 
Although he was currently talking to the same girl that had suggested Archimedes for Merlin so he wasn’t quite sure how far he could trust her judgement. Then again, maybe Merlin didn’t give her a choice, he did seem to form attachments to rather bad humoured things that were-…wait…nooooooooooooo. Della was talking about how she appreciated the company and how he was better than some princes he knew, however he was only half listening as his thoughts went whirring about his head. Out loud, looking very much like his feathers had been ruffled, he said, “I am nothing like Archimedes! He’s, he’s…grumpy all the time! I’m not, I’m hardly every grumpy, I have a happy and cheery disposition that everybody loves! Like a puppy! I’m as happy as a puppy.”
 
Still sort of lost in his own thoughts and calming down a little, he looked a little more wounded than angry and muttered worriedly, “I mean I know he calls me a prat but I never thought it was meant meanly…”
 
Tuning back in to Della he realised the girl opposite him was pouring her heart out to him and all he could think about was Merlin. He should probably be listening, that was important, Gwen talked about it all the time ‘listening’ instead of just thinking about himself, even if he had reason to. And he was especially supposed to listen to girls, that was important, according to Gwen. So he put on his best ‘I’m listening’ face and well…listened.
 
After a moments pause he considered her story and said carefully, “Whilst I feel sympathy for this other girl…I cant help but feel you have dodged a bullet there…Oh Gods that was an awful pun, I was being serious, I didn’t mean too…look. You gave him up for this other girl, and I’m sure you still liked him and everything but look at how he treated her. You made the right choice because you’re not sitting around waiting for him to come back, thinking maybe they’ll change their mind and want to be with you, that they’ll come back and you’ll see them and they’ll make everything alright again because you loved them, because it made sense being in love with them, instead of these strange awkward feelings that-…”
 
He wasn’t talking about Della and Dodge anymore…no…somehow Meg and…well others had entered his thoughts and thus his conversation. Back tracking and trying not to let on how much personal stuff he had revealed to her he looked up and asked, “But you’re not waiting on him, are you? You’ve moved on?”

[Deleted]

It had become so commonplace for her to be around people from different eras that Della sometimes forgot that Merlin and his friends were all from Camelot, the freaking Middle Ages, pretty much, so when Arthur asked about puppy mills, that all came rushing back to her. “Oh right, you wouldn’t have had them in Camelot…yeah, they’re terrible, it’s pretty much a brothel for dogs, except it’s all about popping as many puppies out of the females as possible rather than just sex…” She shuddered to think of Rook coming from a place like that. “It’s really not good for any of the animals…anyway, we don’t want to talk about that. Yeah, I can definitely help you find a dog…in fact, I might have just the one for you.”

Then something…very odd happened. Arthur suddenly snapped about he was nothing like Archimedes and how he was a cheerful person. There was really only one way to describe the look on Della’s face, and it wasn’t even an adjective; “What the sod?” But then he went on to mutter something about Merlin calling him a prat…and then the sympathy came back just a little. “Oh he definitely doesn’t mean it that way…I’m…sure he didn’t buy Archimedes based off of you being a prat?” Let it never be said that she was the best at offering comfort at all, which sort of made her feel bad, seeing as once the Dodge story came out…Arthur was actually being very, very, very smart, it was enough to surprise her. Especially since he seemed to be taking it rather personally for a moment…

“Oh, I’m very much over him,” Della assured Arthur, almost laughing at the thought of pining over him. Please, she had been the one to dump him, remember? That should’ve been enough proof…although the truth was, it actually took longer to recover than she thought. By the time Alyss had told her that she couldn’t find him, she was starting to regret breaking up with him, wondering if maybe she should go and they could actually talk like she had originally planned. The fact that she was able to help Alyss when she herself was nursing a broken heart was…well, surprising. But it seemed that burying those emotions for her sort of friend’s sake did her some good.

“The truth is, he was never all that nice,” she admitted, then tilting her head. “Strange, though…it never really mattered to me much before…” Was this a sign of maturity or part of the whole realizing that people weren’t so bad thing? She wasn’t sure…but she was sure that she didn’t want another guy with Dodge’s temper, and she definitely didn’t want to feel as insecure as she had during their relationship. She…she needed someone who was her equal, somehow. Or at least felt like one, because she wasn’t sure if true equals really existed. Anyway, none of this would matter if her theory that perhaps she wasn’t really meant for this whole love thing, however worthwhile it was (and it was a lot that she admitted it was in the first place). Perhaps that was for people like Westley and Buttercup. She was okay with that, really.

“Now…” Arching an eyebrow, she asked, “How’s your love life going, if you don’t mind my asking?” Because she had a funny feeling there was more to what he had said about Dodge than you would think, and, well, she had just told him, perhaps he would feel obligated to sate her curiosity. As Merlin’s friend, she felt like she should at least have some idea of what the object of his affection was thinking.

[Arthur]

A brothel? For dogs? It took every bit of self control in Arthur’s extremely immature mind not to burst out laughing at that one. Of course when Della explained it, it was a little less amusing and he understood the terrible implications of it. In all seriousness real human brothels were not something to find amusing unless you had very little morals and didn’t care about personal hygiene and health…or you were Gaston. But for dogs? He was able to keep a straight face however and nodded to her comments looking as serious as he could and shaking his head when she was finished. “That’s awful,” he said as genuinely as he could.
 
Arthur decided that from the expression on her face at his little outburst he simply wouldn’t comment on her own reply. Mainly because he wasn’t sure that she was right, he could definitely see why Merlin might, maybe draw the comparison and probably bought it as some kind of pay back or lesson he had to learn. Idiot. He gave instead a rather non committal shrug that he left Della to interpret as she wished.
 
He was glad to hear she was over this Dodge person, especially when she mentioned that he hadn’t been very nice to her. “Love or…even just liking someone a lot can cloud your judgement in these matters. Make you think it doesn’t matter. Meg could be really nasty when she wanted to be, she used to push me away all the time and back then it didn’t matter…but I think about it now and well…yeah, basically, I get what you’re saying.”
 
Now she was asking about his love life, well he had asked her and he’d given her a little insight to it already, where was the harm? That she would tell people that he really didn’t want her to tell and probably only by accident and maybe if he asked her not too she wouldn’t but still she might and-…hmm.
 
“Non-existent,” he said and smiled sadly, “My last girlfriend was…pretty crazy. The last time I ever date a fan I can tell you that. She knew everything about me and I remember when we met she actually fainted, I said something, oh I don’t know something really corny that Merlin would have just rolled his eyes at and she fainted. Not even faking it, she fainted. But I thought hey, why the hell not. I’ll tell you why the hell not; because she was mental and I think she even liked another guy at the same time and…never again. Honestly.”
 
He took a sip of his drink and said in an attempt to get off the subject of him, “So, is there not even a prospective somebody on the horizon?”

[Deleted]

Della wasn’t really that surprised that Arthur had been on the verge of laughter when he heard her description of puppy mills. She probably could have worded it better and besides, it was such a depressing topic that she was just glad to nod at his response and move on. Also? Be thankful that there was a good chance that Rook didn’t have such awful luck. No, she was far more interested in that noncommittal shrug that had been the result of her reassurance. Honestly, even though there had been the lilt of a question in her voice, she did mean it. She remembered all those times that Merlin’s stories had made her want to give Arthur a piece of her mind, but then the young wizard would say something that would make Arthur sound…well…worthy of one of her best friends. But she knew that the love confession was something that they were trying to leave behind for the time being…how could she say this without making it clear that she was hoping along with most of Merlin’s friends that those two could work things out?

“I’m serious,” she said, making her voice a bit firmer. “Merlin may acknowledge that you’re not always the nicest person, but then he turns around and says something about you that makes me think, ‘Okay…he’s definitely the boy that’s going to be the hero that I’ve read about thousands of times’.” Was that a bit much? Perhaps, but it was also honest and maybe it would make him feel a bit better about the Archimedes thing, even if they just didn’t speak of this. Then she offered a slight smile and teased, “Just don’t tell him I told you that, he’ll accuse me of trying to inflate your ego.”

As for his mentions of a Meg…yes, she thought she remembered a few whispers about her a couple of years back. Funny how she was a major obstacle in her friend’s happiness, but Della hadn’t really given the girl that didn’t even have a face in her mind very much thought. So this new information didn’t really change much, except Della winced in sympathy. “Ouch…that’s never easy…caring so much about someone only to have them want to keep you away…” But it might not have been because she didn’t trust you…it could have been that she didn’t trust herself too, a part of her mind piped up, bewildering her. Now where had that come from? What did she really know about…pushing people away…oh who was she kidding? She was an expert on that. That was how she and Dodge had broken up in the first place. Whether she was justified or not, she had still pushed him away over notions that he didn’t love her as much as he claimed…because she was scared that she was losing herself…and weren’t there times when she was a mega bitch? The realization that she perhaps wasn’t so different from this Meg person was a touch unsettling, to be honest…but maybe it was all the more reason for her to stay away from romance. If that was the kind of person she was, she obviously didn’t deserve…now why did she feel like there was a name attached to that, one that her conscious mind hadn’t quite grasped even though the rest of her was very much in the know?

In spite of her thoughts spinning, she still managed to chuckle a bit at the mental image of Arthur dating a fan. “Oh dear God, yeah, that…that just sounds like a nightmare. You have my sympathies, Arthur, and you just made me so glad I don’t warrant any fanboyisms…or fangirlisms, really. I mean, the closest I’ve got is Morgan, who won’t let that Tournament go. You’d think he’d realize I have no desire…” Then she shook her head, that wasn’t that important. He didn’t need to know the whole complicated story of Morgan trying to be someone else while she had forgotten all about him. It was a ridiculous story worthy of a soap opera, really.

And then he asked that question, and why was it that she didn’t just answer flat out no? She thought for a moment. “The god of messengers was very intent on flirting with me the other day, but I doubt that’s going to work, because I have no desire to be on his long list of conquests that even Wikipedia knows about.” Truth be told, though, she could feel herself trying to make a joke to cover up said confusion, and it was probably very transparent. “Um…I don’t think so…except…do you ever get the feeling that you’re keeping a secret from yourself?”