Mordred’s grip is strong, but he seems distracted. Summer lifts an eyebrow, glancing at Elena, as the dark-haired man answers the phone, and instantly she senses a change in his attitude — whomever is on the other end of the line, it’s someone important to him.
Very important.
She wants to inquire, but he doesn’t really wait, just pops right back out the door. She breathes a little laugh through her nose and offers Elena a drink, instead. Despite his clear sincerity, she doesn’t expect Mordred’s return at all, and something inside slumps a little at that. It’s a surprise when he comes back, another man with him, equally tall and dark, but slim and more nervous-seeming.
“This is your Merlin, is it?” she asks, smiling.
’My Merlin,’ Mordred thought, trying not to flash him a smirk for there were some people who weren’t comfortable with the entire thing. “Yes, this is Merlin, the man who could get lost even if you led him somewhere yourself,” Mordred says with a laugh as Merlin went over to hug Elena. He could almost hear Merlin’s smile and see the eye roll he would have given him.
The soldier turned to Summer. “So whom else is going to be showing their face?” he questions, glancing over at Merlin as he took in his costume, the dinosaur onsie he had brought a few weeks ago.
That quick flash, of pride and delight and sheer joy, told Summer she was more on the mark than she’d realised. Useful to know, particularly since she was coming to realise that this floor of the complex was basically composed of cute guys with a few pretty girls for seasoning. It was a mild shame that two of them seemed to already be paired off, but Mordred was so pleased she couldn’t regret it for long.
“Damned if I know,” she answers. “I’ve barely met any of you folk yet. That was the whole point of this, really. I’ve only really spoken to the blond fellow a few doors down, and I never did catch his name.” She makes a face. “The movers shifted my furniture up, then dumped my boxes on the sidewalk and abandoned me. I had to recruit his help to get it all inside.”