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mythandmagic (mythandmagic) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-07-15 16:51:00

Who: Gwen / Merlin / Jane
What: Geeks and coffee
Where: Stark Ind. cafe
When: July
Rating: Low
Status: Complete


Jane had dragged herself out of the lab again and away from reading lines of data for coffee. Sweet, sweet, heaven sent coffee. She sat leaning over her cup, taking in the smell and stirring lazily when laughter from the door drew her attention. She saw Gwen entering with a man Jane hadn’t seen before and she smiled over at the girl.

Gwen was headed into the coffee shop with Merlin, one of her coworkers. Actually, a superior. She'd offered to take Merlin out for a coffee to celebrate his promotion. In the coffee shop she saw Jane, a very friendly gal she'd met up with before. She waved, and motioned for Merlin to follow after her. "Hi, Jane! How's your project coming?" She asked, then motioned to Merlin. "Sorry, this is my co worker Merlin, in the IT department."

"Pleased to meet you" Merlin smiled at Jane after being dragged over by Gwen. He was hoping this would mean Gwen would be too preoccupied to delve into the reasons for his perpetual happy mood lately. What with only just meeting Jane and all. "What is it you're working on?"

“Hi Gwen,” Jane smiled up at them. “Merlin, nice to meet you,” she held out a hand to shake his. “I’m Jane Foster” she indicated for them to take the seats opposite her, it would be nice to talk to someone after looking at the reams of data. “I’m working with the particle accelerator, working up some data for my theory on Einstein-Rosen Bridges,” she explained with a smile. “Yourself?”

“We’ve just been handed the most excellent news of Merlin’s promotion. So I’m treating him to a coffee.” Gwen said, giving Merlin a smile. It hadn’t passed by her that he was in a much better mood lately, and though she hadn’t peppered him with questions about it, she was planning to. “Do you mind if we join you?” The place wasn’t crowded at all, there were plenty of empty tables, but Gwen was hoping to turn Jane into a friend, rather than a gal she’d bumped into a few times.

Merlin shook Jane’s hand and offered a smile. “IT” he said simply, “The normal kind not the particle accelerator kind” he joked, “Wormholes huh? Your field must be astrophysics then?” he guessed as they sat with her. Merlin was all about being friendly and making new friends so he didn’t mind sitting together one bit.

"Not at all," Jane smiled, indicating the chairs. "Yeah, wormholes are kind of my thing," she shrugged. "Astrophysics is my passion, I don't really think about much else," she grinned.

Gwen motioned for Merlin to have a seat, she was going to pop over and pick them up a couple of coffees. Hers with skim milk and sugar-free vanilla, his congratulatory. “I’ll be right back.” She said, then jogged over to the line. They were practically strangers, she didn’t want to leave them alone together for too long.

“That’s all a little over my head in truth” Merlin admitted, after nodding and giving Gwen a thankful smile, “I can rebuild computers but that’s about my knowledge limit” he gave her a small smile.

“Ah, so you’re a techy geek,” Jane smiled. “I can do a certain amount, but nothing too complex, I’m better with numbers, formula, y’know,” she shrugged. “So how long have you worked here? How long have you known Gwen?”

Gwen popped over to grab a couple of coffees. She ordered them from the barista, paid, gave a generous tip, and the girl offered to bring the coffees out when they were finished. Gwen accepted, and started back to the table while Jane and Merlin were still chatting.

"Oh I've been here over 6 months now" Merlin told her, "Moved over from the UK with my best friend. I've known Gwen a while, she's sweet and fun to chat to"

“Really? And what brought you over here then?” Jane asked. “Apart from the weather,” she winked at him. “And she really is, I’m hoping that we’re going to be friends,” she smiled at the girl.

“Does there need to be more than the weather?” Gwen asked, breaking into a grin. She was a little curious about the reason that Merlin had been so chipper lately. Maybe that was part of it? “And I know we will be,” she added to Jane, smiling.

“So... what’d I miss?” Gwen added. It’d only been a couple minutes that she was off ordering and paying for drinks.

“Weather was a big pull” he grinned, “But really it was Morgana, my friend, she wanted to move and I didn’t want her to come over here on her own so I managed to swing this job and moved with her. Best thing I’ve ever done” he said happily. After all he’d never have met Audrey if he hadn’t.

“Nothing too big” he added to Gwen, “Just general chit chat”

“Yeah, I’m just grilling my newest friend,” Jane joked with Gwen. “Cool, so what does your friend Morgana do then? She into IT too?” Jane asked Merlin as she sipped her coffee.

“Ah, I see.” Gwen said, beaming between the two of them. “I’ve been replaced! I see how it is!” She teased, then busied herself with her iced coffee while they continued talking about Merlin’s roommate. She was interested, though, she’d only heard about Morgana in passing.

“Oh god no. She’s part of the security team at a Burlesque club, she looks after the dancers” Merlin told her before grinning at Gwen, “You could never be replaced. I just have a habit of collecting friends of the female variety” he teased.

“Yeah, what he said,” Jane grinned and raised her cup as a toast in his direction. “A burlesque club, eh? Well that’s...different,” she joked. “Either of you ever been?”

“What? A burlesque?” Gwen laughed. “No, I’ve never had the occasion. Have you been, Merlin?” She asked, grinning and pink around her cheeks.

“Can’t say that I have” Merlin replied, “Morgana says it’s very good and it’s supposed to be quite skilled and everything but there are other places I’d rather spend my time” Like the bakery, he thought with a smile.

“Oh really,” Jane leered. “I think that’s a case of TMI,” she joked from behind her coffee, nudging shoulders with Gwen.

Gwen was grinning now, impishly. “Oh, yes. I want to know where you’d rather spend your time, Merlin.” She said, giving Jane a look. There was something that’d made Merlin happy lately, and Gwen was curious as to what it was.

Merlin’s blush deepened, “I didn’t mean it like that” he exclaimed to Jane before focusing on Gwen, “Well I just mean that there are better places to be than a burlesque club. Better and happier too”

“Uh huh...” Jane grinned at him. “Keep digging there Merlin. I’m sure I could find you a bigger shovel around here if you’d like,” she laughed over the rim of her coffee.

“Oh, yeah.” Gwen was beaming. “Better and happier, huh? Like... where? For instance?”

“My girlfriend’s bakery” he admitted blushing but smiling brightly. He might as well get it over with, he knew girls and they didn’t leave things alone. “Or her apartment. Or wherever she is” he shrugged.

“Ok,” Jane turned to Gwen with a mock look of distaste. “Remind me never to go to that bakery,” she joked with a grin, casting a glance at Merlin’s blushing face.

Gwen laughed. “I think I’d like to go, if that’s the sort of attention I’d get from the bakers. Does she have a cute brother?” She asked, teasing.

“Not like that!” Merlin exclaimed, “I just like being with her” he informed them, still red but relaxing. “No brother but plenty of friends” he informed Gwen before looking at Jane, “And you really should go there, she is an incredible baker.”

“Amongst other things,” Jane joked with Gwen. “I will take your word for it Merlin, you’ll have to take me sometime,” she smiled. “Have you been, Gwen?”

“I haven’t, I don’t think? Which bakery is it?” Gwen asked, turning to look at Merlin. “I’m sure I’d love to go. We could all go together some time and meet your girlfriend.” She said, waggling her eyebrows playfully at Merlin.

"Baxter bakery" he replied, before shaking his head vigorously, "No, no meeting. Not en masse anyway, I know what you girls are like. I will end up outnumbered and picked on" he said with a smirk.

Jane looked over at Gwen with raised eyebrows, trying to silently communicate that they should totally go anyway. “I’d ask what the special is, but I think it’s only for Merlin,” she winked over at him.

“Who, us girls? We’d never.” Gwen said, giving Jane a look. It was so on.

"See?" Merlin exclaimed, "The teasing has already started. You guys are mean" though he couldn't stop the small smile that remained on his face.

"Right..." Jane grinned. "As if you want to do anything more right now than shout out to the world how amazing she is. Oh! Were you the guy on ValarNet who posted that lovey-dovey thing about his girlfriend?" she pointed at him happily.

Gwen laughed. “That’s right! I forgot about that.” Honestly, she thought that Audrey was a lucky girl for nabbing a guy like Merlin. Of course, she wasn’t interested in Merlin that way, but she was a little jealous that Merlin and Audrey had such an adorable, happy romance.

Merlin blushed deeply, “Ah yeah, yeah that was me” he admitted, “I needed to prove to Audrey I was serious” He felt lucky himself and wished all his friends, Gwen and Jane now included, could be as happy as he was.

Jane laughed as Merlin blushed, his British charm endearing him to her. “I think she should be pretty secure after an announcement like that,” Jane smiled at him.

“I know I would,” Gwen said, giving both Merlin and Jane a nod. “It was a little odd, but endearing, I have to admit.” Gwen said, reaching over to ruffle Merlin’s hair. She worked side by side with him every day, Merlin was starting to be more like a brother than anything else to her.

Merlin smiled at Jane before laughing at Gwen’s statement, “That’s me, odd but endearing” he grinned rolling his eyes as his hair was ruffled. He liked Gwen, she was easy to get along with and she knew her stuff too. And despite his protests he’d quite like her to meet Audrey.

Gwen laughed. “That is you. I’m pretty good at this naming features thing.” She said, then sipped from her coffee drink.

Jane grinned as she watched them banter back and forth, at the moment happy to sit back and listen. They seemed like really good friends, and hopefully in time, she could become one too.

“Uh huh” Merlin smiled at her, “It’s pretty good I guess” he told her grudgingly, “So what’s Jane’s name feature?” he asked bringing the other girl back into their conversation.

“Oh. Um.” Gwen turned to look at Jane, breaking into a grin. “You’re brilliant but approachable.” She said after a long moment of consideration. And the look on her face when she came up with those words was one of proud achievement. As if she’d hit the nail on the head.

Jane blushed. She knew she was smart, but she’d never really considered herself brilliant, and the approachable was what she called progress. From being the social pariah at school for being the girl with two dead parents and an overwhelming interest in science to the person she was today was quite amazing to her sometimes. “Thank you Gwen,” she smiled.

Merlin nodded, “Okay maybe you are good at it” he admitted with a smile at the both of them.

Gwen blushed, too, breaking into a huge smile, then shrugged. “It’s all in a day’s work,” she teased, and lifted her iced coffee cup to clink against each of theirs in turn. “Speaking of work,” she added after a quick sip, “I really should be getting back to my desk. I have upgrades to perform.”

Jane swallowed the last of her coffee as she looked at her watch. "And I have particles to annihilate," she grinned gleefully at them both.

“Wouldn’t want your boss on your back” Merlin teased Gwen before he nodded, “Yeah guess it is that time huh? It was nice to meet you Jane” he said smiling at the other woman. “Maybe we should make this a weekly thing?” he suggested.

"I'm all for that," Jane smiled as she stood up. "A weekly catch up of sorts, what about you Gwen?" she asked, pushing her chair under the table.

Gwen nodded, standing from her chair. “I think that’s a brilliant idea, actually. We should gather once a week, check in, gossip, make sure everyone’s all right?” She asked, picking up her iced coffee from the table.

“Excellent” Merlin said standing too with drink in hand, “This time next week then” he said smiling.

"I feel like we should have a gavel," Jane joked as they started to leave the cafe.

"We can pretend?" Gwen playfully suggested. She took her iced coffee in one hand and brought it down against her other, holding it flat like a gavel coming down to mark a judge's decision. "Same time next week!"

Merlin laughed as they waved to Jane who went off down the corridor while he and Gwen went back to their office too. He had a feeling his working life was about to get that bit better from now on.