Swipe Right For Fish for Sage-Owl
Title:Swipe Right for Fish
Recipient: sage-owl
Author: salamandair
Rating:G
Pairing/s:Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Summary: There’s something else at the Aquarium besides Fish. Like Arthur’s next boyfriend.
Warnings:None
Word Count: 3034
Author's Notes: (I don’t claim ANY of the aquarium things to be right. I just imagine and hope for the best. Also, Disney actually did a menorah for one of their coral tanks. It’s so cool, and inspired me for this fic.
Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Sage! I hope you like this!)
Disclaimer:Merlin is owned by the BBC and Shine. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made. Don't send us to the dungeons.
----------------------
Prompt:
Merlin/Arthur Aquarium AU? Maybe Merlin works there as a trainer/researcher, Arthur visits and is fascinated, they go on a date where Merlin shows him all the behind-the-scenes stuff...
---------------------
You matched with Merlin on 12/12/2022
Merlin: All the stars in the sky shine bright at night. But you, my love, shine brighter than them all
Is that the best you can come up with? That’s sad and pathetic Arthur
Merlin: Oh, I’m sorry, did His Royal Highness want the classic ‘Hi’ pickup line instead? My mistake!
Merlin: I get credit for being original, at least
No, you get credit for irritating the hell out of me by starting off with that awful line Arthur
And that’s only because I feel sorry for you Arthur
Merlin: I made another mistake, I’m sorry. I called you ‘Royal Highness’
Merlin: I should’ve called you ‘Royal Pratness’
Merlin: I feel sorry for you, really
And why is that, Merlin? Because I’m talking to you? Arthur
Merlin: Because I took away precious ‘staring at myself in the mirror like a wannabe model’ time from you
Merlin: Something you must do when you’re not being rude on dating apps
For your information, MERLIN, I actually like to learn about the ocean and sea life in my spare time. Arthur
Something you’d know if you saw the picture in my profile Arthur
Merlin: What, the one of you at the ocean? That doesn’t mean you like learning about sea life. It just means you like to go to the beach shirtless and have everyone with eyes lust over you
Merlin: I’m sure you’re just saying that because you saw I work at the Aquarium in my profile
I AM telling the truth, believe it or not Arthur
I have no reason to lie to you Arthur
Merlin: Other than to get in my pants like everyone else on this app
Merlin: For the few minutes I’ve talked to you, you’ve been a massive prat, so excuse me if I don’t believe you
I don’t have to prove anything to you Arthur
If you don’t believe me, that’s not my problem Arthur
Merlin: It sort of is if you want this to go anywhere, because you started being an arse the moment we talked.
Merlin: Not a very good way to win over someone you just met on a dating app, you know
And I’m sure you have a better way, since you’re still on this app Arthur
I’m all ears if you do, MERlin Arthur
Merlin: Start off by not being an arse, for one. That’s a great start
Merlin: The rest is easy after that hurdle, which will be huge for you to get over
Ha ha ha, you’re so funny, Merlin Arthur
So funny. You should really be a comedian. Arthur
A few hours later
So, say I apologize for being rude. In theory Arthur
Would you be willing to restart our conversation on the right foot? Arthur
Arthur finished reading the conversation that he just didn’t have the heart to delete and let out a rough sigh, closing the app and putting his phone away. That conversation with ‘Merlin’ (if that was his real name) bothered him, not only because Arthur knew he had acted wrong, but because Merlin had interested him. No one could really keep up with Arthur and talk back to him, but Merlin seemed to be able to give it as good as he got. That wasn’t something Arthur had dealt with before and it fascinated him.
But that was eight days ago, and Arthur hadn’t heard from Merlin since their initial conversation. Normally, Arthur wouldn’t be so hung up on it, but it stuck in his head like a catchy song, playing over and over. He really wished he had another chance to make it up to Merlin.
A sharp nudge in Arthur’s ribs pulled him out of his thoughts and he groaned, holding his side and glaring at Morgana, who was walking next to him. “What?”
“Stop ruminating. I can hear you doing it,” Morgana quipped.
Arthur frowned at that. “I’m not ruminating,” he denied, but from the look on Morgana’s face, she didn’t believe him.
“Look, there’s nothing you can do now, Arthur. Get out of your head and focus. We’re at the aquarium for you,” Morgana said, giving him a charming smile, one that made Arthur snort in response.
“No, we’re here because you bought an extra ticket for a date that never showed, and you persuaded me by force to come here,” Arthur responded with a raised brow, and rolled his eyes as Morgana waved that away.
“Semantics, dear Arthur,” Morgana said and gave him another smile. “Come on. Inside.” She walked ahead of him, and Arthur sighed, resigned to his fate as he opened the glass door after her before following her inside.
“Arthur, look,” he heard Morgana say to him from just a few feet away.
They were in an open room in the aquarium, one where there were not only tanks around them with various coral and small fish, but also a large glass window across the room where one could see the manatees. Arthur had been looking at the seahorses when he heard Morgana.
Turning away from the tank, he moved to where Morgana was standing, in front of a very large tank in the shape of a circle. The first thing that drew his attention was what looked like a Menorah, a very large one, in the tank, with a green type of coral sitting in the center and in three of the spots on the Menorah. “Isn’t that fascinating?” Morgana asked. Arthur nodded, looking at her.
“Very,” Arthur agreed, then looked at the tank again and saw the small fish swimming around it. “That doesn’t seem to be very safe for the fish in there. They could injure themselves or the material could poison them.”
He could practically hear Morgana roll her eyes at that as he stared into the tank. “I’m sure that the professionals here at the aquarium know what they’re doing, Arthur. They’re not going to risk their coral and fishes for fun.”
Arthur scoffed at that, shaking his head. “You don’t know that, Morgana. Companies will do anything at the expense of animals.”
“Actually, we never would risk the health and safety of the creatures here just for fun,” a male voice said from Arthur’s right side.
Arthur turned his head to see who was talking and was met with a very familiar face.
Merlin, Assistant Lead Aquarist.
At least, that’s what the nametag on his dark shirt said. But judging from the familiar curly dark hair, the blue eyes and infectious smile on his face, this was the same man Arthur had been talking to eight days ago. There was no doubt about it.
“The Menorah in there is 3D printed from material that has been determined to be safe for saltwater and the creatures in there. Furthermore, it’s sanded to remove any sharp edges and we test it first before it's placed in there. Especially since we put the Frogspawn coral in the menorah,” Merlin added, smiling at the two half siblings. “No creature would be harmed if it was determined not to be safe for them.”
“I see,” Arthur said, blushing lightly as he looked at Morgana, who had moved next to him. “We, uh, appreciate the education-”
“Arthur, doesn’t he look familiar?” Morgana commented, lightly nudging Arthur and shooting him a sly smile when he looked at her. Arthur blushed a little more and raised a brow at her.
“Morgana, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur denied. He was sure that Merlin wouldn’t remember him, especially not after the way Arthur rudely messaged him. He wouldn’t say anything and he certainly didn’t want to bring it up. He hoped that Morgana wouldn’t bring it up either.
But that was wishful thinking on his part. Morgana wrapped an arm around Arthur’s shoulders and gave him another smile. “Arthur, isn’t this the same man you were telling me about? The one you talked to a week ago on-”
“Morgana!” Arthur interrupted her quietly, his cheeks turning hot in embarrassment.
He heard a laugh then, and Arthur turned his head to see a warm smile on Merlin’s face, watching the two of them. “Hi, Arthur,” Merlin greeted. “It’s good to see you in person.”
Arthur cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at Merlin’s face. “It’s good to see you in person as well, Merlin,” he replied. “Again, thank you for the education on the Menorah.”
“It’s part of my job: no problem. The more I can teach people, the happier I am.” Merlin waved away the thanks, then cleared his throat. “I know you said you were interested in sea life, so how about I give you a little tour behind the scenes of the aquarium?”
Arthur looked at Merlin carefully and when he was sure he wasn’t kidding, he spoke. “I’d love to, but I don’t want to leave Morgana…” He trailed off, giving a small smile to Merlin.
“It looks like she already left you,” Merlin replied, raising a brow at that and Arthur turned his head to see that Morgana wasn’t next to him any longer. Or anywhere in the open room for that matter.
Arthur frowned at that and turned to Merlin. “Uhm… Just a moment…” he mumbled and took out his phone, seeing that he had a message from Morgana.
[Morgana] [12:35 PM] I got tired of watching you acting like a blushing bride. Go have fun with your date! I’ll see you later.
That witch.
Arthur sighed and rubbed his eyes before he looked up at Merlin and smiled. “It looks like she’s gone off to do her own thing. So, if the offer is still on the table…”
“Always,” Merlin replied with a grin, then turned away from Arthur. “Follow me.”
Arthur followed Merlin past a door that read ‘FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY’ and was led to a large hallway, with a door ahead of them and two ways to go, left or right.
“I can’t really do a full-blown tour, but I can show you a couple of things at least,” Merlin informed him as he went left down the hallway, with Arthur hot on his heels.
“I appreciate you showing me anything at all.” Arthur replied, then cleared his throat. “I thought you didn’t believe me when I told you I was interested in sea life?”
Merlin turned his head as he walked and gave a small smile to Arthur. “I may have misjudged you. I saw how genuinely interested you were in the creatures while you were looking at them and knew that no one could fake that,” he said, then turned his head back to look forward as he turned a corner.
Not too far ahead, Merlin stopped and motioned for Arthur to stand next to him. “We can’t go inside, but I can at least show you this,” Merlin said and opened the door.
Arthur was looking into a very large room that not only had many small tanks separate from each other, but a few of them had fish inside. One even had a small octopus inside. All of them had clipboards hanging from them. Against the right wall, there was a very large and long desk covered in papers and had a computer on it. The room also had a few dozen shelves with various things on it. From what Arthur could see, some of the items were for sick fish.
“This is the Isolation Room, for when creatures we house at the Aquarium are sick,” Merlin explained, looking at the room. “They each have their own filtration system so that whatever we treat them with doesn’t go into the main system and harm everyone else. Everything we do to them is carefully documented and we only return the creature back to their home when they’re fully recovered.”
“Wow,” Arthur said softly, looking at the room in wonder.
“It’s a big place. We’re able to treat most of the diseases that we see in our creatures. We’re able to contact a specialist if we need one, however, for when more rare diseases pop up.” Merlin smiled when Arthur looked at him.
“That’s amazing,” he replied, thoroughly impressed with the setup.
The smile was still on Merlin’s face. “This is also where we keep new creatures as well, to make sure they’re healthy before we introduce them to our main tanks.”
“Right. The last thing an established tank needs is problems from a new mate,” Arthur agreed. Merlin’s smile widened at that.
“Come on,” Merlin said, waiting until Arthur stepped back before he closed the door and walked past Arthur, waving a hand behind him. “I want to show you one other thing.”
Arthur followed Merlin down the hall through another door, then up a flight of stairs. Arthur frowned when he heard water sounds, especially as they got louder, but when Merlin opened the door next, his eyes went wide.
“What?” Arthur asked as Merlin showed him a very large, very deep pool. “Is this…?”
“It’s for the dolphins,” Merlin replied, grinning at him. “Cool, isn’t it?”
“Very,” Arthur nodded. “I assume we’re not allowed out there?”
Merlin nodded at that, a wistful smile on his face. “I wish we were. But dolphins, like any animal, are dangerous and we’re not allowed out there unless we’re with a trainer.” He explained. Arthur nodded, then watched as a dolphin came up to the deck edge and stuck the tip of its nose out, bobbing up this way and that. Arthur chuckled in response, a smile on his face as the dolphin stuck its face out further and made a noise, a happy one from what it sounded like, before sinking back down into the pool.
Arthur felt a grin cross his face and he looked at Merlin, stepping back so Merlin could shut the door. “They seem friendly enough,” he responded, letting Merlin pass him to follow him back down the stairs.
“They usually are, honestly. I’ve personally never heard of anyone in our aquarium having issues with the dolphins, but it’s a safety issue because the deck is really wet and if we slip, it can get nasty,” Merlin explained with a sigh.
“Makes sense,” Arthur replied with a shrug as he followed Merlin off the stairs and down the hallway again.
“I’ll see if I can persuade Gwen to do something special for us next time,” Merlin said, shooting a grin over his shoulder at Arthur as they went back out to the main floor. Instead of leaving Arthur there, though, Merlin kept walking.
Arthur raised a brow and caught up next to him. “Next time?” he asked, looking at Merlin. “What do you mean?”
Merlin smiled a knowing smile at that and winked before he kept walking, leaving Arthur very confused.
“Thanks again for the little tour,” Arthur said as they sat at the circular table together.
Merlin had taken him to the aquarium’s café, stating that he needed food and would get Arthur some as well. In the end, Arthur had paid for both of them because he didn’t want to inconvenience Merlin, even if the other did say it was more than fine.
Chewing his sandwich, Merlin shook his head and swallowed before he spoke. “Really, it was no problem at all. It’s the least I can do after I, y’know, accidentally ghosted you.”
Arthur frowned as he took a bite of his salad and raised a brow. “Accidentally?” he asked once his mouth wasn’t full.
“Yeah. See, I don’t have app notifications active. It bothers me too much, so I just never turn them on. I never got your message as a result, because I rarely go on that app anymore,” Merlin explained. “I just noticed it this morning and I was going to message you tonight.”
Ah, that made sense. Arthur nodded at that and took another bite of his salad, thinking before he spoke. “It’s not a big deal.” He shrugged, trying to play off the issue. He didn’t want Merlin to think it bothered him as badly as it really had.
Merlin shook his head at that. “It is to me. I don’t like ghosting people. It just…It’s not nice.”
“Everyone does it. It’s not a big deal,” Arthur pointed out.
“But it is when you came back and apologized for being a prat,” Merlin said, giving him a smile. “That was a humble thing for you to do. And I appreciate that.”
Arthur felt himself blush at that, and shrugged. “Well, regardless, what you did show me was amazing and I really appreciate you doing that for me.”
“If you thought that was amazing, then our real first date will blow your mind.” Merlin winked and took a bite of his sandwich, grinning as Arthur felt himself blush more and took another bite of salad to buy himself a moment or two to think.
“That tour can count as our first date,” Arthur reasoned, finally able to look at Merlin.
Merlin thought for a moment, then spoke. “That was part one of our first date,” he announced.
“Part one?”
“Yeah. I don’t want our first date to be a tiny tour and lunch here.” Merlin explained. “It just… it’s not my style. So that was part one.”
Arthur laughed at that and smiled at Merlin, sighing in fake resignation. “If you insist,” he relented, not minding the idea of seeing Merlin again. He then looked at Merlin closer, looking at his mouth for a moment and seeing an opportunity. “You have something…”
“Where?” Merlin asked, raising his brows and picking up a napkin.
“Here, I got it,” Arthur said and leaned in, pressing his lips to Merlin’s for a long moment, then using his tongue to swipe the bit of sauce on Merlin’s chin before pulling away and sitting back down, smirking when he saw Merlin blush with wide eyes.
“Prat,” Merlin remarked after a moment and leaned in to kiss Arthur.
When Arthur finally left the aquarium around 5 PM, he had a message from Morgana waiting for him. All it said was,
[Morgana] [4:30 PM] You can thank me later.
Recipient: sage-owl
Author: salamandair
Rating:G
Pairing/s:Merlin/Arthur Pendragon
Summary: There’s something else at the Aquarium besides Fish. Like Arthur’s next boyfriend.
Warnings:None
Word Count: 3034
Author's Notes: (I don’t claim ANY of the aquarium things to be right. I just imagine and hope for the best. Also, Disney actually did a menorah for one of their coral tanks. It’s so cool, and inspired me for this fic.
Also, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Sage! I hope you like this!)
Disclaimer:Merlin is owned by the BBC and Shine. No copyright infringement is intended and no profit is being made. Don't send us to the dungeons.
----------------------
Prompt:
Merlin/Arthur Aquarium AU? Maybe Merlin works there as a trainer/researcher, Arthur visits and is fascinated, they go on a date where Merlin shows him all the behind-the-scenes stuff...
---------------------
You matched with Merlin on 12/12/2022
Merlin: All the stars in the sky shine bright at night. But you, my love, shine brighter than them all
Is that the best you can come up with? That’s sad and pathetic Arthur
Merlin: Oh, I’m sorry, did His Royal Highness want the classic ‘Hi’ pickup line instead? My mistake!
Merlin: I get credit for being original, at least
No, you get credit for irritating the hell out of me by starting off with that awful line Arthur
And that’s only because I feel sorry for you Arthur
Merlin: I made another mistake, I’m sorry. I called you ‘Royal Highness’
Merlin: I should’ve called you ‘Royal Pratness’
Merlin: I feel sorry for you, really
And why is that, Merlin? Because I’m talking to you? Arthur
Merlin: Because I took away precious ‘staring at myself in the mirror like a wannabe model’ time from you
Merlin: Something you must do when you’re not being rude on dating apps
For your information, MERLIN, I actually like to learn about the ocean and sea life in my spare time. Arthur
Something you’d know if you saw the picture in my profile Arthur
Merlin: What, the one of you at the ocean? That doesn’t mean you like learning about sea life. It just means you like to go to the beach shirtless and have everyone with eyes lust over you
Merlin: I’m sure you’re just saying that because you saw I work at the Aquarium in my profile
I AM telling the truth, believe it or not Arthur
I have no reason to lie to you Arthur
Merlin: Other than to get in my pants like everyone else on this app
Merlin: For the few minutes I’ve talked to you, you’ve been a massive prat, so excuse me if I don’t believe you
I don’t have to prove anything to you Arthur
If you don’t believe me, that’s not my problem Arthur
Merlin: It sort of is if you want this to go anywhere, because you started being an arse the moment we talked.
Merlin: Not a very good way to win over someone you just met on a dating app, you know
And I’m sure you have a better way, since you’re still on this app Arthur
I’m all ears if you do, MERlin Arthur
Merlin: Start off by not being an arse, for one. That’s a great start
Merlin: The rest is easy after that hurdle, which will be huge for you to get over
Ha ha ha, you’re so funny, Merlin Arthur
So funny. You should really be a comedian. Arthur
A few hours later
So, say I apologize for being rude. In theory Arthur
Would you be willing to restart our conversation on the right foot? Arthur
Arthur finished reading the conversation that he just didn’t have the heart to delete and let out a rough sigh, closing the app and putting his phone away. That conversation with ‘Merlin’ (if that was his real name) bothered him, not only because Arthur knew he had acted wrong, but because Merlin had interested him. No one could really keep up with Arthur and talk back to him, but Merlin seemed to be able to give it as good as he got. That wasn’t something Arthur had dealt with before and it fascinated him.
But that was eight days ago, and Arthur hadn’t heard from Merlin since their initial conversation. Normally, Arthur wouldn’t be so hung up on it, but it stuck in his head like a catchy song, playing over and over. He really wished he had another chance to make it up to Merlin.
A sharp nudge in Arthur’s ribs pulled him out of his thoughts and he groaned, holding his side and glaring at Morgana, who was walking next to him. “What?”
“Stop ruminating. I can hear you doing it,” Morgana quipped.
Arthur frowned at that. “I’m not ruminating,” he denied, but from the look on Morgana’s face, she didn’t believe him.
“Look, there’s nothing you can do now, Arthur. Get out of your head and focus. We’re at the aquarium for you,” Morgana said, giving him a charming smile, one that made Arthur snort in response.
“No, we’re here because you bought an extra ticket for a date that never showed, and you persuaded me by force to come here,” Arthur responded with a raised brow, and rolled his eyes as Morgana waved that away.
“Semantics, dear Arthur,” Morgana said and gave him another smile. “Come on. Inside.” She walked ahead of him, and Arthur sighed, resigned to his fate as he opened the glass door after her before following her inside.
“Arthur, look,” he heard Morgana say to him from just a few feet away.
They were in an open room in the aquarium, one where there were not only tanks around them with various coral and small fish, but also a large glass window across the room where one could see the manatees. Arthur had been looking at the seahorses when he heard Morgana.
Turning away from the tank, he moved to where Morgana was standing, in front of a very large tank in the shape of a circle. The first thing that drew his attention was what looked like a Menorah, a very large one, in the tank, with a green type of coral sitting in the center and in three of the spots on the Menorah. “Isn’t that fascinating?” Morgana asked. Arthur nodded, looking at her.
“Very,” Arthur agreed, then looked at the tank again and saw the small fish swimming around it. “That doesn’t seem to be very safe for the fish in there. They could injure themselves or the material could poison them.”
He could practically hear Morgana roll her eyes at that as he stared into the tank. “I’m sure that the professionals here at the aquarium know what they’re doing, Arthur. They’re not going to risk their coral and fishes for fun.”
Arthur scoffed at that, shaking his head. “You don’t know that, Morgana. Companies will do anything at the expense of animals.”
“Actually, we never would risk the health and safety of the creatures here just for fun,” a male voice said from Arthur’s right side.
Arthur turned his head to see who was talking and was met with a very familiar face.
Merlin, Assistant Lead Aquarist.
At least, that’s what the nametag on his dark shirt said. But judging from the familiar curly dark hair, the blue eyes and infectious smile on his face, this was the same man Arthur had been talking to eight days ago. There was no doubt about it.
“The Menorah in there is 3D printed from material that has been determined to be safe for saltwater and the creatures in there. Furthermore, it’s sanded to remove any sharp edges and we test it first before it's placed in there. Especially since we put the Frogspawn coral in the menorah,” Merlin added, smiling at the two half siblings. “No creature would be harmed if it was determined not to be safe for them.”
“I see,” Arthur said, blushing lightly as he looked at Morgana, who had moved next to him. “We, uh, appreciate the education-”
“Arthur, doesn’t he look familiar?” Morgana commented, lightly nudging Arthur and shooting him a sly smile when he looked at her. Arthur blushed a little more and raised a brow at her.
“Morgana, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur denied. He was sure that Merlin wouldn’t remember him, especially not after the way Arthur rudely messaged him. He wouldn’t say anything and he certainly didn’t want to bring it up. He hoped that Morgana wouldn’t bring it up either.
But that was wishful thinking on his part. Morgana wrapped an arm around Arthur’s shoulders and gave him another smile. “Arthur, isn’t this the same man you were telling me about? The one you talked to a week ago on-”
“Morgana!” Arthur interrupted her quietly, his cheeks turning hot in embarrassment.
He heard a laugh then, and Arthur turned his head to see a warm smile on Merlin’s face, watching the two of them. “Hi, Arthur,” Merlin greeted. “It’s good to see you in person.”
Arthur cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at Merlin’s face. “It’s good to see you in person as well, Merlin,” he replied. “Again, thank you for the education on the Menorah.”
“It’s part of my job: no problem. The more I can teach people, the happier I am.” Merlin waved away the thanks, then cleared his throat. “I know you said you were interested in sea life, so how about I give you a little tour behind the scenes of the aquarium?”
Arthur looked at Merlin carefully and when he was sure he wasn’t kidding, he spoke. “I’d love to, but I don’t want to leave Morgana…” He trailed off, giving a small smile to Merlin.
“It looks like she already left you,” Merlin replied, raising a brow at that and Arthur turned his head to see that Morgana wasn’t next to him any longer. Or anywhere in the open room for that matter.
Arthur frowned at that and turned to Merlin. “Uhm… Just a moment…” he mumbled and took out his phone, seeing that he had a message from Morgana.
[Morgana] [12:35 PM] I got tired of watching you acting like a blushing bride. Go have fun with your date! I’ll see you later.
That witch.
Arthur sighed and rubbed his eyes before he looked up at Merlin and smiled. “It looks like she’s gone off to do her own thing. So, if the offer is still on the table…”
“Always,” Merlin replied with a grin, then turned away from Arthur. “Follow me.”
Arthur followed Merlin past a door that read ‘FOR EMPLOYEES ONLY’ and was led to a large hallway, with a door ahead of them and two ways to go, left or right.
“I can’t really do a full-blown tour, but I can show you a couple of things at least,” Merlin informed him as he went left down the hallway, with Arthur hot on his heels.
“I appreciate you showing me anything at all.” Arthur replied, then cleared his throat. “I thought you didn’t believe me when I told you I was interested in sea life?”
Merlin turned his head as he walked and gave a small smile to Arthur. “I may have misjudged you. I saw how genuinely interested you were in the creatures while you were looking at them and knew that no one could fake that,” he said, then turned his head back to look forward as he turned a corner.
Not too far ahead, Merlin stopped and motioned for Arthur to stand next to him. “We can’t go inside, but I can at least show you this,” Merlin said and opened the door.
Arthur was looking into a very large room that not only had many small tanks separate from each other, but a few of them had fish inside. One even had a small octopus inside. All of them had clipboards hanging from them. Against the right wall, there was a very large and long desk covered in papers and had a computer on it. The room also had a few dozen shelves with various things on it. From what Arthur could see, some of the items were for sick fish.
“This is the Isolation Room, for when creatures we house at the Aquarium are sick,” Merlin explained, looking at the room. “They each have their own filtration system so that whatever we treat them with doesn’t go into the main system and harm everyone else. Everything we do to them is carefully documented and we only return the creature back to their home when they’re fully recovered.”
“Wow,” Arthur said softly, looking at the room in wonder.
“It’s a big place. We’re able to treat most of the diseases that we see in our creatures. We’re able to contact a specialist if we need one, however, for when more rare diseases pop up.” Merlin smiled when Arthur looked at him.
“That’s amazing,” he replied, thoroughly impressed with the setup.
The smile was still on Merlin’s face. “This is also where we keep new creatures as well, to make sure they’re healthy before we introduce them to our main tanks.”
“Right. The last thing an established tank needs is problems from a new mate,” Arthur agreed. Merlin’s smile widened at that.
“Come on,” Merlin said, waiting until Arthur stepped back before he closed the door and walked past Arthur, waving a hand behind him. “I want to show you one other thing.”
Arthur followed Merlin down the hall through another door, then up a flight of stairs. Arthur frowned when he heard water sounds, especially as they got louder, but when Merlin opened the door next, his eyes went wide.
“What?” Arthur asked as Merlin showed him a very large, very deep pool. “Is this…?”
“It’s for the dolphins,” Merlin replied, grinning at him. “Cool, isn’t it?”
“Very,” Arthur nodded. “I assume we’re not allowed out there?”
Merlin nodded at that, a wistful smile on his face. “I wish we were. But dolphins, like any animal, are dangerous and we’re not allowed out there unless we’re with a trainer.” He explained. Arthur nodded, then watched as a dolphin came up to the deck edge and stuck the tip of its nose out, bobbing up this way and that. Arthur chuckled in response, a smile on his face as the dolphin stuck its face out further and made a noise, a happy one from what it sounded like, before sinking back down into the pool.
Arthur felt a grin cross his face and he looked at Merlin, stepping back so Merlin could shut the door. “They seem friendly enough,” he responded, letting Merlin pass him to follow him back down the stairs.
“They usually are, honestly. I’ve personally never heard of anyone in our aquarium having issues with the dolphins, but it’s a safety issue because the deck is really wet and if we slip, it can get nasty,” Merlin explained with a sigh.
“Makes sense,” Arthur replied with a shrug as he followed Merlin off the stairs and down the hallway again.
“I’ll see if I can persuade Gwen to do something special for us next time,” Merlin said, shooting a grin over his shoulder at Arthur as they went back out to the main floor. Instead of leaving Arthur there, though, Merlin kept walking.
Arthur raised a brow and caught up next to him. “Next time?” he asked, looking at Merlin. “What do you mean?”
Merlin smiled a knowing smile at that and winked before he kept walking, leaving Arthur very confused.
“Thanks again for the little tour,” Arthur said as they sat at the circular table together.
Merlin had taken him to the aquarium’s café, stating that he needed food and would get Arthur some as well. In the end, Arthur had paid for both of them because he didn’t want to inconvenience Merlin, even if the other did say it was more than fine.
Chewing his sandwich, Merlin shook his head and swallowed before he spoke. “Really, it was no problem at all. It’s the least I can do after I, y’know, accidentally ghosted you.”
Arthur frowned as he took a bite of his salad and raised a brow. “Accidentally?” he asked once his mouth wasn’t full.
“Yeah. See, I don’t have app notifications active. It bothers me too much, so I just never turn them on. I never got your message as a result, because I rarely go on that app anymore,” Merlin explained. “I just noticed it this morning and I was going to message you tonight.”
Ah, that made sense. Arthur nodded at that and took another bite of his salad, thinking before he spoke. “It’s not a big deal.” He shrugged, trying to play off the issue. He didn’t want Merlin to think it bothered him as badly as it really had.
Merlin shook his head at that. “It is to me. I don’t like ghosting people. It just…It’s not nice.”
“Everyone does it. It’s not a big deal,” Arthur pointed out.
“But it is when you came back and apologized for being a prat,” Merlin said, giving him a smile. “That was a humble thing for you to do. And I appreciate that.”
Arthur felt himself blush at that, and shrugged. “Well, regardless, what you did show me was amazing and I really appreciate you doing that for me.”
“If you thought that was amazing, then our real first date will blow your mind.” Merlin winked and took a bite of his sandwich, grinning as Arthur felt himself blush more and took another bite of salad to buy himself a moment or two to think.
“That tour can count as our first date,” Arthur reasoned, finally able to look at Merlin.
Merlin thought for a moment, then spoke. “That was part one of our first date,” he announced.
“Part one?”
“Yeah. I don’t want our first date to be a tiny tour and lunch here.” Merlin explained. “It just… it’s not my style. So that was part one.”
Arthur laughed at that and smiled at Merlin, sighing in fake resignation. “If you insist,” he relented, not minding the idea of seeing Merlin again. He then looked at Merlin closer, looking at his mouth for a moment and seeing an opportunity. “You have something…”
“Where?” Merlin asked, raising his brows and picking up a napkin.
“Here, I got it,” Arthur said and leaned in, pressing his lips to Merlin’s for a long moment, then using his tongue to swipe the bit of sauce on Merlin’s chin before pulling away and sitting back down, smirking when he saw Merlin blush with wide eyes.
“Prat,” Merlin remarked after a moment and leaned in to kiss Arthur.
When Arthur finally left the aquarium around 5 PM, he had a message from Morgana waiting for him. All it said was,
[Morgana] [4:30 PM] You can thank me later.