Chivalry is dead
Author: bunnysworld
Title: Chivalry is dead
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Warnings: none
Word count: 888
Prompt: chivalry
Summary: Arthur is back and has a difficult time adjusting to the modern world
Author’s notes: Not beta’d. Yay! What else is new.
Merlin rounded the corner, shopping bag in hand, already looking forward to having a drink with Arthur whom he was going to meet in a little café Arthur liked. It hadn’t been too long since Arthur was back, just showing up one day in front of his door, and he was still trying to adjust to the modern world, which wasn’t easy. So Merlin had let him go on his own as he insisted he would be fine while he was running some errands.
Just as he saw him, two young women tossed their drinks on Arthur, got up and left him standing there.
“Arthur!”
Arthur stood there, the drinks dripping off his face, totally flabbergasted.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
Slowly sinking into one of the vacated chairs, Arthur whispered “Chivalry is dead.”
Alright, that didn’t sound as if Arthur was physically hurt. “You know what?” Merlin pulled a red hoodie out of one of his shopping bags. “You go to the loo and get out of this wet sweatshirt then tell me what happened.” A bit worried, Merlin looked after Arthur who disappeared inside the café.
While he waited, he ordered Arthur’s favorite iced chocolate and a slice of cheesecake for him as well.
Finally Arthur reappeared and sank into the chair.
“Come on, spill it.” Merlin gently nudged him.
“I was over there,” Arthur pointed to the little park with a playground, “sitting on a bench in the sun when one of the little girls fell off that slidey thing.”
Usually, Merlin corrected him when he used new words wrong, but he let it go and just nodded.
“She was crying and nobody came to her aid, so I got up and went over. She wouldn’t tell me her name, so I picked her up. You know…I hoped that her mother would see and finally come calm her down.”
Merlin already made a face and had a feeling he knew what was coming.
“And she did. But instead of thanking me for taking care of her baby, she ripped the little one out of my arms and hit at me. Said she would call the guards on me and I think she called me all kinds of names.” Arthur looked disappointed.
Reaching over, Merlin put a hand on Arthur’s forearm. “It’s not that easy anymore. People do not like strangers touching their kids. There are too many bad people out there.”
“But I’m not bad!”
“No, you’re not. But she couldn’t know.”
Arthur contemplated that for a moment. “And then I went to the market inside.”
Before Merlin could ask if he meant the supermarket or just another shop, Arthur continued. “And there was this man in a moving seat.”
Merlin blinked. “Do you mean a wheelchair?”
“Yes, that. And I had seen that people pushed a button for the door to open with magic. So I pushed it for him. I mean…he couldn’t walk and I thought this might make it easier for him.”
Squeezing Arthur’s arm, Merlin nodded. “And he didn’t like that.”
“No.”
There was total confusion on Arthur’s face. He thought he had done something nice for someone. “He cussed me out.”
“You meant well, I know, but some people want to show that they can do it on their own and feel patronized when you just do things for them.”
Arthur frowned slightly.
“But how did you end up with the drinks all over you?”
Sighing deeply, Arthur looked down to where Merlin’s hand was on his arm. “I was here, waiting for you and I heard those fair maidens talk about sword fighting. So I offered to show them how well I can handle my sword and all of a sudden, they jumped up and tossed their beverages at me.”
Merlin tried to stay serious, he really tried. Hard. But the giggle inside him was stronger, so he giggled helplessly as Arthur’s cake and chocolate was brought over.
Arthur threw him a hurt look. “What’s so funny?”
When he finally calmed down a bit, Merlin leaned in and whispered “They might have been talking about sword fighting but they thought you were talking about your…sword.”
“I was. It’s at home, I could have fetched it.”
“No, Arthur, you don’t understand. Your…’sword’.” Merlin kind of gestured with his eyes.
It took Arthur a moment before the thought sank in and his eyes went wide as he blushed. “I would never do that!”
“No, but they thought you were.”
Arthur’s shoulders sank even more. “I don’t belong here.”
They had this discussion a few times before and Merlin was having none of it. “Yes, you do. It’s where I am and you belong with me. Now eat up, so we can go home.”
“To do what?”
“How about…I’ll run you a bath?”
“A bath?”
“Yes, with candles all around it.”
“Candles?”
“Yes, the scented ones you liked so much.”
“And then?”
“Then we can sit outside for a bit and watch the stars.” That always calmed Arthur down as he felt connected with Camelot. They were the same stars they had looked at all those centuries ago. “And then…” Merlin grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Hm?”
He leaned in and whispered, “And then you can show me how well you can handle your…sword.”
Arthur smiled and nodded. “I can try.”
Title: Chivalry is dead
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Warnings: none
Word count: 888
Prompt: chivalry
Summary: Arthur is back and has a difficult time adjusting to the modern world
Author’s notes: Not beta’d. Yay! What else is new.
Merlin rounded the corner, shopping bag in hand, already looking forward to having a drink with Arthur whom he was going to meet in a little café Arthur liked. It hadn’t been too long since Arthur was back, just showing up one day in front of his door, and he was still trying to adjust to the modern world, which wasn’t easy. So Merlin had let him go on his own as he insisted he would be fine while he was running some errands.
Just as he saw him, two young women tossed their drinks on Arthur, got up and left him standing there.
“Arthur!”
Arthur stood there, the drinks dripping off his face, totally flabbergasted.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
Slowly sinking into one of the vacated chairs, Arthur whispered “Chivalry is dead.”
Alright, that didn’t sound as if Arthur was physically hurt. “You know what?” Merlin pulled a red hoodie out of one of his shopping bags. “You go to the loo and get out of this wet sweatshirt then tell me what happened.” A bit worried, Merlin looked after Arthur who disappeared inside the café.
While he waited, he ordered Arthur’s favorite iced chocolate and a slice of cheesecake for him as well.
Finally Arthur reappeared and sank into the chair.
“Come on, spill it.” Merlin gently nudged him.
“I was over there,” Arthur pointed to the little park with a playground, “sitting on a bench in the sun when one of the little girls fell off that slidey thing.”
Usually, Merlin corrected him when he used new words wrong, but he let it go and just nodded.
“She was crying and nobody came to her aid, so I got up and went over. She wouldn’t tell me her name, so I picked her up. You know…I hoped that her mother would see and finally come calm her down.”
Merlin already made a face and had a feeling he knew what was coming.
“And she did. But instead of thanking me for taking care of her baby, she ripped the little one out of my arms and hit at me. Said she would call the guards on me and I think she called me all kinds of names.” Arthur looked disappointed.
Reaching over, Merlin put a hand on Arthur’s forearm. “It’s not that easy anymore. People do not like strangers touching their kids. There are too many bad people out there.”
“But I’m not bad!”
“No, you’re not. But she couldn’t know.”
Arthur contemplated that for a moment. “And then I went to the market inside.”
Before Merlin could ask if he meant the supermarket or just another shop, Arthur continued. “And there was this man in a moving seat.”
Merlin blinked. “Do you mean a wheelchair?”
“Yes, that. And I had seen that people pushed a button for the door to open with magic. So I pushed it for him. I mean…he couldn’t walk and I thought this might make it easier for him.”
Squeezing Arthur’s arm, Merlin nodded. “And he didn’t like that.”
“No.”
There was total confusion on Arthur’s face. He thought he had done something nice for someone. “He cussed me out.”
“You meant well, I know, but some people want to show that they can do it on their own and feel patronized when you just do things for them.”
Arthur frowned slightly.
“But how did you end up with the drinks all over you?”
Sighing deeply, Arthur looked down to where Merlin’s hand was on his arm. “I was here, waiting for you and I heard those fair maidens talk about sword fighting. So I offered to show them how well I can handle my sword and all of a sudden, they jumped up and tossed their beverages at me.”
Merlin tried to stay serious, he really tried. Hard. But the giggle inside him was stronger, so he giggled helplessly as Arthur’s cake and chocolate was brought over.
Arthur threw him a hurt look. “What’s so funny?”
When he finally calmed down a bit, Merlin leaned in and whispered “They might have been talking about sword fighting but they thought you were talking about your…sword.”
“I was. It’s at home, I could have fetched it.”
“No, Arthur, you don’t understand. Your…’sword’.” Merlin kind of gestured with his eyes.
It took Arthur a moment before the thought sank in and his eyes went wide as he blushed. “I would never do that!”
“No, but they thought you were.”
Arthur’s shoulders sank even more. “I don’t belong here.”
They had this discussion a few times before and Merlin was having none of it. “Yes, you do. It’s where I am and you belong with me. Now eat up, so we can go home.”
“To do what?”
“How about…I’ll run you a bath?”
“A bath?”
“Yes, with candles all around it.”
“Candles?”
“Yes, the scented ones you liked so much.”
“And then?”
“Then we can sit outside for a bit and watch the stars.” That always calmed Arthur down as he felt connected with Camelot. They were the same stars they had looked at all those centuries ago. “And then…” Merlin grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Hm?”
He leaned in and whispered, “And then you can show me how well you can handle your…sword.”
Arthur smiled and nodded. “I can try.”