The Calm Before The Storm
Author: digthewriter
Title: The Calm Before The Storm
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Arthur, Mithian
Summary: Arthur has a lot of thinking to do.
Warnings: Modern!AU. Angst.
Word Count: 780
Prompt: "Work" for artist appreciation month - at camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Part 10 of the "divorce!fic". All my thanks to schweet_heart for the beta!
Catch up:
1. All too familiar
2. Leaving the past in the past
3. That Familiar Feeling
4. We laugh and we cry (And we break)
5. Busy was always better.
6. The need to stop the hurt
7. Despite our estrangement
8. And you would smile, and that would be enough
9. We Have To Win
Arthur took the better part of a week to think about what Ethan had said.
The more he casually discussed it with his friends, the more he realised that all of them wanted him to get back together with Merlin. And none of them were surprised that Uther and Morgana had been involved in his divorce.
What he didn't understand was how easily Merlin had called it quits.
How stupid he had been to not chase after Merlin when he had filed the paperwork for the divorce.
It was a constant struggle to remind himself that no, he hadn’t been so stupid. Merlin had disappeared. He'd been the one who had left, and he was the one who had gone into hiding. Sure, he'd kept in touch with Gwaine, but Gwaine was and always would be loyal to Merlin. He never told Arthur where Merlin was staying, and Arthur's texts, voice messages, emails had all gone unanswered.
Ethan was right. It wasn't all on Arthur. He was not the only party involved or guilty. It had been Merlin's choice to leave.
So now if he wanted Merlin back--did Merlin want the same thing?
Again, it was Arthur who had seen Merlin at the coffee shop. It was Arthur who had called Merlin after he'd found out about Morgana's bitter words to Merlin. It was Arthur that had showed up to Merlin's open studio.
It was Merlin who had showed up at the pub the night of their date.
But, what did that mean, though? So Merlin had also made a gesture of reaching out. But would it even be worth Arthur's time? Would it be worth risking another heartache?
*
"The more you think about it, the more you're going to talk yourself out of it. Why don't you just stop running around in circles and do something?" Ethan told Arthur when they spoke on the phone again. He was in Hong Kong for the week before heading over to Sydney.
Sometimes Arthur wondered if Ethan was running away from something, under the pretence of work.
Work. That was something Arthur hadn't thought about in a while. He'd been going through the motions, making calls, adding numbers, and didn't bring up the topic of going to New York with his team. After Ethan had told him to fuck work, it was exactly what Arthur had done.
His team didn't need him. Honestly, it was such a well-oiled machine that it made him feel redundant. Mithian had been working with him for years, and she'd never even managed to get a promotion. He knew Uther would have never approved, he was everything Arthur was against. Maybe he could look into getting her promoted before he stepped down. Chances were, he was just going to walk out one day and never return.
*
"I'm giving you the New York project," Arthur told Mithian on Friday before the long weekend.
"I'm sorry? Are you--" Her eyes lit up and then she scowled as if Arthur was pulling a joke on her. "You're kidding me."
"No, Mithian. I'm the team lead on this, and I was supposed to go to New York, but you know what? My father doesn't need to approve this, and I decided that it's time you start showing everyone else in this company how crucial you are. This trip will do wonders for your career, and if you don't get a promotion or a hefty bonus from it, I will personally write your resignation letter and give you an astonishing reference. You deserve this."
"I don't know what to say..." Mithian said, sounding truly surprised. "I feel like this has come out of nowhere."
"No, and yes." Arthur smiled at her. "I've just been...preoccupied and lately I noticed that you lot work wonderfully with or without me. So this is your chance to prove me right. That the company can depend on you."
"You have changed in the past few weeks."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't know...it's like you've got the light in your eyes again. I mean, not the way it was before...before...I mean..."
"Before my divorce," he said softly. "We're back in touch. My ex and I--"
"Oh? Are you thinking of trying again?"
Arthur shrugged. "I've no idea. But I do know that I don't want others to suffer while I'm sitting here wallowing in my own problems. Life moves on and I need to focus on doing good for others...and all that." He gave a short laugh, realising he was probably rambling on for no good reason.
"That's incredible, Arthur. I mean, sorry, Mr Pendragon."
"No, please. Call me Arthur."
read part 11 here
Title: The Calm Before The Storm
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Arthur, Mithian
Summary: Arthur has a lot of thinking to do.
Warnings: Modern!AU. Angst.
Word Count: 780
Prompt: "Work" for artist appreciation month - at camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Part 10 of the "divorce!fic". All my thanks to schweet_heart for the beta!
Catch up:
1. All too familiar
2. Leaving the past in the past
3. That Familiar Feeling
4. We laugh and we cry (And we break)
5. Busy was always better.
6. The need to stop the hurt
7. Despite our estrangement
8. And you would smile, and that would be enough
9. We Have To Win
Arthur took the better part of a week to think about what Ethan had said.
The more he casually discussed it with his friends, the more he realised that all of them wanted him to get back together with Merlin. And none of them were surprised that Uther and Morgana had been involved in his divorce.
What he didn't understand was how easily Merlin had called it quits.
How stupid he had been to not chase after Merlin when he had filed the paperwork for the divorce.
It was a constant struggle to remind himself that no, he hadn’t been so stupid. Merlin had disappeared. He'd been the one who had left, and he was the one who had gone into hiding. Sure, he'd kept in touch with Gwaine, but Gwaine was and always would be loyal to Merlin. He never told Arthur where Merlin was staying, and Arthur's texts, voice messages, emails had all gone unanswered.
Ethan was right. It wasn't all on Arthur. He was not the only party involved or guilty. It had been Merlin's choice to leave.
So now if he wanted Merlin back--did Merlin want the same thing?
Again, it was Arthur who had seen Merlin at the coffee shop. It was Arthur who had called Merlin after he'd found out about Morgana's bitter words to Merlin. It was Arthur that had showed up to Merlin's open studio.
It was Merlin who had showed up at the pub the night of their date.
But, what did that mean, though? So Merlin had also made a gesture of reaching out. But would it even be worth Arthur's time? Would it be worth risking another heartache?
*
"The more you think about it, the more you're going to talk yourself out of it. Why don't you just stop running around in circles and do something?" Ethan told Arthur when they spoke on the phone again. He was in Hong Kong for the week before heading over to Sydney.
Sometimes Arthur wondered if Ethan was running away from something, under the pretence of work.
Work. That was something Arthur hadn't thought about in a while. He'd been going through the motions, making calls, adding numbers, and didn't bring up the topic of going to New York with his team. After Ethan had told him to fuck work, it was exactly what Arthur had done.
His team didn't need him. Honestly, it was such a well-oiled machine that it made him feel redundant. Mithian had been working with him for years, and she'd never even managed to get a promotion. He knew Uther would have never approved, he was everything Arthur was against. Maybe he could look into getting her promoted before he stepped down. Chances were, he was just going to walk out one day and never return.
*
"I'm giving you the New York project," Arthur told Mithian on Friday before the long weekend.
"I'm sorry? Are you--" Her eyes lit up and then she scowled as if Arthur was pulling a joke on her. "You're kidding me."
"No, Mithian. I'm the team lead on this, and I was supposed to go to New York, but you know what? My father doesn't need to approve this, and I decided that it's time you start showing everyone else in this company how crucial you are. This trip will do wonders for your career, and if you don't get a promotion or a hefty bonus from it, I will personally write your resignation letter and give you an astonishing reference. You deserve this."
"I don't know what to say..." Mithian said, sounding truly surprised. "I feel like this has come out of nowhere."
"No, and yes." Arthur smiled at her. "I've just been...preoccupied and lately I noticed that you lot work wonderfully with or without me. So this is your chance to prove me right. That the company can depend on you."
"You have changed in the past few weeks."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't know...it's like you've got the light in your eyes again. I mean, not the way it was before...before...I mean..."
"Before my divorce," he said softly. "We're back in touch. My ex and I--"
"Oh? Are you thinking of trying again?"
Arthur shrugged. "I've no idea. But I do know that I don't want others to suffer while I'm sitting here wallowing in my own problems. Life moves on and I need to focus on doing good for others...and all that." He gave a short laugh, realising he was probably rambling on for no good reason.
"That's incredible, Arthur. I mean, sorry, Mr Pendragon."
"No, please. Call me Arthur."
read part 11 here