Missteps and mistletoe - for Dk323
Title: Missteps and mistletoe
Recipient:Dk323
Author: bunnysworld
Rating: nc-17
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur, probably Gwaine/Percy, Leon/Mithian and Lance/Gwen mentioned
Summary: Arthur has been back for a few months when Christmas looms at the horizon. Since he’s very interested in it, Merlin tries to do everything to make this first Christmas a memorable one. But then there’s black ice and a tumble…
Warnings: none that I can think of
Word Count: 4519
Author's Notes: I loved the prompts and had a lot of fun playing with them. I hope this is what you wished for and you have fun reading this, too. Thanks to the mods for this great community and organising this exchange once again. Happy holidays to all of you! Oh, and before I forget: Of course tons of thanks to the bestestest (yes, that is a word) beta in the world! Everything that is still in there, is original Bunnish. Typos need love, too! *grins*
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.
Merlin keened and grabbed the headboard harder as Arthur slammed into him again and again. He had missed this for so long but now Arthur was back and sometimes they were just like rabbits. Or horny teenagers. Just with a lot more skills.
“I’m…”
It was all Arthur said before he slammed in one more time and stilled.
Merlin loved that moment when he could feel Arthur getting even bigger and then pulsing out his load. It didn’t matter that he didn’t come himself. Arthur had given him a great hand-job as start of their activities and he had come again when Arthur had pushed into his spot over and over before he changed positions again.
A lazy smile spread on Merlin’s face when Arthur slowly pulled out and rolled to his side. He let go of the headboard and made a face. He hadn’t even noticed that his arms had been so tense.
“You alright?” Arthur had closed his eyes.
“Mhmmm.” Merlin moved around a bit and pulled Arthur close. As much as he loved watching him getting through his post-orgasmic haze, he wanted to feel him close now. They had missed so much time.
Not even a year ago, he had been on wintery hiking trip with Percy - of course they took a route that led them close to the lake - when all of a sudden Arthur had stood by the big rocks they usually took their break at. While Merlin wondered if his mind played tricks on him again and wasn’t sure if it even was Arthur, Arthur had scolded Merlin for not being there right away and reprimanded Percy because this definitely wasn’t the official uniform of a knight of Camelot he was wearing. Laughing and crying, Merlin had hugged Arthur over and over. It definitely was him.
The following months hadn’t been too easy. Time on Avalon moved a lot slower than in this world and while Arthur had stood watching, things had moved too fast for him to keep track. They’ve had some scary and some funny moments introducing Arthur to the present and more than once Merlin had to do a lot of convincing since Arthur felt he didn’t really belong here. He still needed to ask what certain phrases and terms meant but he had warmed up to watching television and to playing football.
“Merlin?”
Arthur’s voice pulled Merlin out of his thoughts. “Yes?”
“Will we get a tree, too?”
“Pardon?” Sometimes Arthur asked random questions and it took Merlin a moment to catch up with him.
“Leon said they’ll get a tree because that’s what you do in winter. It is winter now.”
“A Christmas tree?”
“That’s what he called it, I believe.”
Merlin drew random patterns with his fingers on Arthur’s arm. “Would you like one?”
“I don’t know. Would you? Gwen told me about decorations and Gwaine about the presents, I thought that sounded nice.”
“Christmas isn’t just about presents and decorations, though.”
“It isn’t?” Arthur looked up at him and Merlin bent his head so he could press a kiss on Arthur’s forehead.
“No. Remember the new religion?”
Arthur thought for a moment and then nodded.
“This is just what it developed into.”
“Wait. It was about religion and now it’s about presents?” Arthur frowned.
“Unfortunately for a lot of people it’s just that. But that’s not what it is meant to be. If you’re not religious, it’s about family and friends and spending time together, too.”
Arthur was silent for a moment. “But you are part of the old religion, aren’t you? I mean, you still are magic.”
Merlin smiled. “When you’re as old as I am, you’re a bit of everything.”
“So…you don’t do that tree-thing?”
“I haven’t had a Christmas tree in ages, but if you want one, we’ll get one.”
Arthur scrambled up a bit to kiss Merlin.
***
Sometimes it wasn’t easy with Arthur. The things Merlin had gotten used to, the stuff that was normal for him was all new to Arthur and he didn’t take all of it well. It was a delight, thought, to see Arthur take in all the new things that surrounded Christmas these days. They went to the Christmas market with their friends and Gwaine bought Arthur more mulled wine than was good for him. After the worst hang-over was dealt with, Merlin took Arthur back, so he could fully appreciate the atmosphere, the smells and tastes until the crowd got a bit too overwhelming and they went home.
By the middle of December it started to get cold and Merlin couldn’t help but smile fondly when Arthur stood by the window and watched the snow fall that had just set in, just like he had done in his chambers in Camelot. They went for walks in the snow, away from the noise of the city, just the two of them and Merlin loved every second of it, even though his feet got cold and his nose and cheeks almost burned when they came back to the warm house later.
He taught Arthur how to make hot chocolate and warm cider but wasn’t sure if he should introduce Arthur to eggnog yet. Merlin was convinced that Gwaine would do that soon enough.
Since Merlin hadn’t had a tree in at least 50 years, he didn’t have any ornaments left, so they went shopping for those.
“Red! Red and gold!” Arthur insisted.
“They won’t have any with the Pendragon crest on them, though.” Merlin smiled.
“We could have them made.”
Chuckling, Merlin had leaned over and kissed Arthur softly before they entered the store. “Let’s start with red and gold and then see what else they have.”
Fortunately, they didn’t have golden dragons or anything like that, but Arthur wanted most anything that matched the colours and so they ended up with a lot more ornaments than their tree would be able to hold. But Arthur was happy and that was all that counted for Merlin.
***
Merlin was making Christmas cookies when Percy, Gwaine and Arthur came back from shopping for the tree. Of course Gwaine knew someone who knew someone who had connections so they could get the tree a lot cheaper, but it meant they had to travel about 90 minutes one way and Merlin was convinced that they could have just gotten a tree close to their place that wouldn’t have been more expensive. But it was a road trip and an adventure for Arthur, so he didn’t object, insisting if they had a tree, they needed Christmas cookies as well, so he needed to stay back to make them.
The tree turned out to be too large - Arthur’s fault, Merlin supposed, everything needed to be larger for him, he was a Pendragon after all! - and they needed to take it outside to saw a bit of the stem off before it fit into the living room.
While Percy and Gwaine showed Arthur how to set up the tree and put the lights in it, Merlin pulled another batch of cookies out of the oven.
“Are you alright there, lads?”
“More cider would help!”
“Sure, Gwaine, everything is better with cider.” Merlin chuckled as he arranged some cookies on a big plate and then put a foil on it. “Help yourselves, I’m just going over to Mrs. Jacobson and give her some of the cookies and see if she needs anything.”
He didn’t even bother with a jacket. The way through their back yard wasn’t far and he would be back soon. Arthur was excited about the tree, he wouldn’t even notice that he was gone while he was supervising Percy and Gwaine who put the lights on the tree, too. When Merlin was back, they wanted to do the decorating together.
Their neighbour, a nice elderly lady, was fine and since Merlin had just run some errands and did grocery shopping for her, she didn’t need anything but a bit of company and it took Merlin a lot more time to get out of her place again than he had thought. Hurrying back through the yard, he noticed it had started raining and just pondered if the rain would freeze over when he slipped and fell with a yell just as he had almost reached their back door.
Before Merlin could try to scramble up again, the door opened.
“Merlin!” Arthur came out. “Merlin, are you alright?”
“I…I don’t know.” His arse hurt where he had hit the ground but his hand felt even worse.
“Can you get up? Percy, help him. Gwaine, call Gaius!”
Merlin would have smiled. That was the Arthur they all knew, strong, confident and in full organisation mode, barking orders. As Percy tried to pull him up, though, a sharp pain flared up in his wrist and he yelled out again.
He missed Gwaine arguing that Gaius was just an old man with a book store and some esoteric nonsense and that they needed to get Merlin to the A&E, something Arthur had never heard of before.
Percy picked Merlin up and almost carried him inside, even though Merlin protested.
“I can walk!”
“Yes, we saw that.” Percy let him down gently on the couch and turned to Gwaine. “Can we get a doctor here? Should we call an ambulance?”
“He’s not dying and the roads are still okay, we’ll drive.” Gwaine already got their jackets and his keys.
Arthur was no help at all. They didn’t have to see a doctor in all the time Arthur was back and even though they had seen hospitals on TV, the real experience was rather overwhelming. As they got out of the house, Arthur watched Percy’s every move, ready to give him a piece of his mind in case he hurt Merlin even more. When they finally arrived at the A&E, he looked around, trying to take everything in, still keeping an eye on Merlin and trying to make sense of everything while protecting Merlin.
Merlin couldn’t be there to explain things as a nurse took him away to get some x-rays. He needed to wait for a doctor on his own while his friends waited in the waiting area and he hoped that Gwaine and Percy took care of Arthur. He was happy that they were there while this happened. Arthur wouldn’t know what to do, they had never spoken about an emergency like this.
A young doctor came in. “Mr. Emrys?”
“That’s me.”
Checking a clip board, the doctor nodded. “Wow, you did a great job on that wrist. At least it’s not a complicated fracture. We’ll bring it back into the right position and you will need to wear a cast for a while, though.”
Merlin blew out a breath he hadn’t noticed holding. At least he didn’t need surgery; that was good. “And my…backside? Did I break my…you know?”
The doctor chuckled. “No, you didn’t break your behind, Mr. Emrys, your tailbone is fine, but I’m sure that bruise on your buttock will hurt for a while.”
***
It had taken quite a while for them to get Merlin’s arm into a cast and Merlin was still a bit pale when the doctor released him into the care of his friends again.
“What did they do to you? Did they hurt you? I’m going to punish them if they did!”
Merlin smiled tiredly, the image of Arthur wielding a sword at the doctors and nurses was a really funny one. “Not more than I already hurt myself. No need for rash action.” Sinking into the passengers’ seat carefully, Merlin blinked. They had given him some pain killers to make it through the night and they already set in. “Can we go home?”
Percy drove while Gwaine tried to answer Arthur’s questions in the back seat.
“Don’t you know any healing spells? Why don’t you heal yourself?”
That was a question Gwaine had asked him long ago, in a different life, when they had been on a hunting trip and he had caught a nasty cut when he reached for a knife someone handed him the wrong way. Before Merlin could muster the energy to answer, Gwaine already did.
“He’s exhausted. Do you have any idea how much energy doing such magic requires?”
“Oh.”
“And I suspect the pain killers don’t really help with that either, do they?” Percy drove carefully, the road condition had gotten worse.
“That, too.”
“Then why didn’t you just…I don’t know…fix that arm yourself or at least refuse to take the…medicine?”
Once again, Merlin tried to open his mouth, but Gwaine was faster.
“He was in pain, we really needed to get this checked. And could you imagine the doctors’ faces if he said ‘Oh, nevermind, I’ll fix this myself’? Imagine what happened afterwards? You already found out that hardly anyone believes in magic anymore. They might have just kept Merlin and run all kinds of tests on him. No, it’s better this way. Let this heal like it is supposed to.”
Merlin managed a thankful smile. He would throw a healing charm on this arse as soon as he could. It almost hurt more than the wrist and he hoped the trip would end soon and they were back at home and he could lay down. Hanging in the passengers’ seat of a car didn’t do anything for the injury. Gwaine was right, though. Merlin had learned a lot about medicine in his life, but sometimes an x-ray was a lot better than guessing and if he revealed his magic now, they might never let him go. The moment he had the energy again, he would numb the pain but else let the healing go its natural course.
With a lot of grunting and hissing, they managed to get Merlin into the house when they finally arrived and Merlin was thankful that their friends refused to leave. He wasn’t in the condition to calm Arthur down and Percy and Gwaine did a wonderful job. That the rain had turned into ice on the roads now was very convenient, it gave them a reason to not travel home.
“Come on, Arthur, let him sleep. You’ll let us know if you need anything, Merlin, hear me?”
Merlin nodded slightly at Gwaine and closed his eyes. The medicine and some water was on the night stand where he could reach it, along with his mobile, so he could call them if they didn’t hear him. The last thing he noticed before falling asleep was Arthur pulling the blanket up a bit and pressing a kiss on his hair.
***
The next day, Merlin felt a bit better. A lot of his energy went into keeping the pain at bay, but he had moved to the couch and smiled at everybody who came to visit.
Gwen brought food, insisting that Arthur couldn’t cook and they couldn’t live off pizza for weeks. Lance busied himself with keeping the walkway in front of the house clean. Percy checked if they needed anything and Gwaine called to see when he was needed as taxi driver again to bring Merlin to a doctor.
Arthur was no help at all. In the months he had been back, he had learned a lot and tried to adjust to the new environment as well as he could but it was Merlin who had kept the house running and who knew what to do and who to call.
Still, each time he woke up, there was fresh tea and water on the coffee table, sometimes with a plate with cookies, sometimes sandwiches that were obviously made by someone who had no idea how to make them. Other times, he found himself wrapped in the blanket he had left in the bedroom.
A few days later, when Merlin came back from the bathroom, he carefully slid down onto the couch, trying to avoid sitting.
“Does it still hurt?”
Merlin nodded.
“Can’t you do some magic?”
“I’m doing magic, Arthur, but this is exhausting.” Merlin smiled tiredly. “I haven’t done this in a while.”
Arthur came over and sat on the coffee table. He looked lost. “I don’t know what to do. I’m useless.”
Shaking his head, Merlin smiled. “Usually I’m the useless one, am I not?”
Looking up, Arthur huffed out a chuckle. “So this is what it feels like?” His face grew serious again. “Tell me what to do, Merlin. Creatures and evil, those I can protect you from. I still have Excalibur and I know how to use it. But this? All I can make is tea and sandwiches.”
“That’s a lot more than you could have done back in Camelot. You didn’t even know how to dress yourself and look, here you sit in front of me, all dressed and you did it all by yourself.” Merlin joked but his voice was soft and gentle. “Lesser men would have gone crazy by everything you saw and learned in the past months, but not you…you managed to get through everything.”
“Because you are there, as always.”
“You once told me to never change…”
Arthur looked at Merlin for a long moment. “You have changed. A lot. And yet you haven’t.”
“And that’s good or bad?”
After a moment, Arthur smiled. “It’s good. But I still don’t know how to help you.” He sighed.
“You could come here and kiss me. You haven’t done that since the accident.” Merlin’s eyes twinkled.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say you should take me and pound into me with all the force you can muster, I just want a kiss.”
Arthur grinned and switched places so he sat next to Merlin. “But that would be a great idea as well. How long does it take for your arse to be…un-broken?”
“Oh, shut up and kiss me already.”
Merlin sighed into the kiss. As much as he loved when Arthur took over and claimed his mouth, explored it and left him with swollen, almost bruised lips, he loved when Arthur was gentle. Like now.
Just as Merlin tried to deepen the kiss, Arthur pulled back slightly.
“You have to tell me when it hurts, alright?”
Merlin almost laughed. “I promise.”
Slowly, Arthur hand slid down Merlin’s front and cupped Merlin’s bulge through his sweatpants.
“Arthur…” Merlin whispered breathlessly into the kiss.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have…” Arthur pulled his hand back.
“Don’t…go on.” Merlin captured Arthur’s lower lip between his teeth and grinned when he felt Arthur’s hand finding its way into his pants.
Merlin’s eyes fell shut when Arthur first rubbed him through his boxers and moaned loudly when he finally felt Arthur’s fingers on his skin, being wrapped around his length. He bucked up into the fist clung to Arthur when Arthur started to stroke him just the way he liked. It didn’t take long before he felt his orgasm building and he yelled out as his body stiffened and he shot his load.
Leaning against Arthur, Merlin panted hard.
“Are you alright?” Arthur whispered.
Merlin couldn’t do more than nod and grin lazily.
***
“We need to do something about that tree, it looks so sad.” Percy helped Merlin out of his jacket after he brought him back from yet another doctor’s appointment.
“I’ll try to hang the baubles later.” With some effort, Merlin kicked his shoes off. “You already put the lights in that day when…”
“When you broke your arse.” Percy finished and grinned. No matter how much Merlin had protested, his friends spread the version that he had broken his arse, which was much worse than that fracture in his wrist - and he feared it would take years for them to forget this.
Arthur came from the kitchen. “You’re back, what did the healer say? Are you alright?”
Merlin smiled. He knew that Arthur didn’t trust those modern healers fully. “Getting there.”
“Is that tea I’m smelling?” Percy had been there before when Arthur insisted that the healing process should be a lot faster with all that modern medicine and Merlin tried to explain to him that a broken bone took just as long to heal than it had back in Camelot.
“Arthur, could you get Percy a cup? He did all the driving.” Merlin threw Percy a thankful look while Arthur went to the kitchen, muttering about him definitely not being the manservant here.
“Merlin,” Percy turned to him when Arthur was gone, “you’re not hanging any baubles into the tree.” He gave him a stern look.
“But I have to do it. Arthur doesn’t know how to.”
“It’s not exactly rocket science, you know, but you need to be able to climb a ladder and you need two hands. We can’t have you break the baubles and end up at the A&E again because you cut yourself and have glass splinters in your hand…or elsewhere.”
Merlin laughed. “I appreciate your concern, but it would be a lot nicer if you didn’t make me look like a complete idiot.”
Arthur came back with tea for them all while Merlin manoeuvred himself onto the couch again.
“Tell you what. I’ll give everyone a call and we’ll meet here tomorrow afternoon and then we’ll make the place look Christmas-y, okay?” Percy already pulled out his mobile.
Merlin threw Percy a look. He had declined the invite to Leon and Mithian’s Christmas party since he could hardly move when it took place a few days ago. It might only be his wrist that was broken, but the fall had rattled him more than he was willing to admit and sometimes he felt like one giant moving bruise. He had tried to encourage Arthur to go there but Arthur had refused to leave his side.
“Come on, what’s wrong with bringing the party to you when you can’t come to the party?” Percy got up and shrugged into his jacket.
Merlin looked at Arthur, who had listened closely.
“Is this like a feast, this…party?”
“More like decorating the place and then just having a good time…yes, like a feast, but I promise Gwaine will behave.” Percy looked serious.
Arthur laughed. “Come on, Merlin, we can have a feast here. If it gets too much for you, I’ll get Excalibur and throw them all out?”
In the end, Merlin agreed.
***
The next morning, Gwen and Lance appeared and took over the kitchen.
“This was meant to decorate the place for Arthur, not to turn into a huge thing.” Merlin protested.
Gwen handed him a glass of her special Christmas punch to which she never revealed the recipe. “Here, drink, relax and let us do our thing.”
Percy had picked Arthur up for some shopping, insisting that Arthur needed to experience the joys of Christmas shopping and they were gone for hours.
Gwaine, Leon and Mithian showed up a while later and started to decorate the place, with Leon and Mithian teaming up to put ornaments on the tree and Gwaine mostly sipping the punch and offering not so helpful advice.
Merlin felt a bit useless in all of this since he couldn’t do much. He had banged his arm against the sink this morning and it hurt more than in the last days, so he used a bit more magic to dull the pain down. He wandered around at first, but since their friends didn’t need him to help, he just sat on the couch and watched. He had to admit, though, that it was fun seeing how their friends changed the place from its normal look into a cosy Christmassy place. The fantastic smells coming from the kitchen added to the atmosphere and that Leon had started singing carols while working led into a singing battle between him and Gwaine, who tried to make Leon sing some false and very rude lyrics to the songs.
The front door opened.
“We’re back!”
All Merlin could see, though, were huge packages being carried in. “What’s all this?”
“Just some things.”
Merlin carefully got up to take a look. The wide grin on Arthur’s face usually meant nothing good. He laughed, though, when he saw what Percy unwrapped. Red baubles with the Pendragon crest on them. “You didn’t!”
“I did!” Arthur grinned even wider. “Gwaine showed me how to order them and Percy knew where to pick them up.”
Shaking his head, Merlin chuckled. “Can’t I leave you alone for five minutes? I should have never showed you how to use the internet.”
“Don’t worry, we didn’t show him where to find the porn.” Gwaine snatched a cookie from the bowl and popped it into his mouth, grinning around it.
“Gwaine!” Merlin glared while Arthur just asked “Porn?”
“Nevermind.” Gwen frowned at Gwaine as she carried in a tray with her Christmas punch.
“Anyway, the tree needs more baubles and other decoration!” Leon reached for the first box. “Give me a hand, Arthur.”
They decorated the tree and had wonderful food that Gwen and Lance had prepared and talked and sang and Merlin sat in the middle of all of that and thanked whoever was responsible for their friends.
He might have dozed off for a moment, so he jerked up when someone yelled ‘Tadaa!’ and blinked.
“Wow! You’ve outdone yourselves. It’s wonderful.”
“Arthur has done most of the work, we only showed him how to handle the ornaments.” Leon smiled.
“He only broke one!” Gwaine grinned.
“And that was your fault! You handed it to me too fast.” Arthur mock-glared, not really angry at that. “And it wasn’t one of the ones with a dragon anyway.”
Merlin smiled. Even though their December hadn’t gone as he had planned, Arthur did have fun and that was the most important thing. “Thank you, everyone. We couldn’t have better friends.”
Everyone raised their mugs and glasses. “Friends!”
Lance put a hand on his shoulder. “We will clean up now and leave.”
“There’s no need to leave. Stay, please.” Merlin scrambled up. “The party’s only started. You can’t go now!”
Gwen got up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “You look tired, all this healing must be exhausting.”
“It is, but it’s getting better, don’t worry; and thank you so much for all of this.”
She squeezed him for a moment and then whispered “There’s even presents under the tree.”
Merlin let Arthur pull him over to the tree and then to the window sills and he had to admire all the decoration they had put up.
“And you’ve got to see this.” Arthur grinned.
“What?”
“This!”
Merlin followed and found himself standing in the doorway. “What’s to see here?”
Arthur looked up and pointed to the mistletoe that hung there.
Chuckling, Merlin shook his head. “Who taught you about this tradition?”
“We’ve been watching a lot of Christmas films in the past days.” Arthur smiled proudly. “You know what this means, right?”
“No more TV for you for a while?” Merlin teased.
Arthur pulled him close. “Shut up, Merlin.” He leaned in and kissed Merlin deeply and Merlin didn’t even notice that their friends where wolf-whistling and clapping.
Recipient:Dk323
Author: bunnysworld
Rating: nc-17
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur, probably Gwaine/Percy, Leon/Mithian and Lance/Gwen mentioned
Summary: Arthur has been back for a few months when Christmas looms at the horizon. Since he’s very interested in it, Merlin tries to do everything to make this first Christmas a memorable one. But then there’s black ice and a tumble…
Warnings: none that I can think of
Word Count: 4519
Author's Notes: I loved the prompts and had a lot of fun playing with them. I hope this is what you wished for and you have fun reading this, too. Thanks to the mods for this great community and organising this exchange once again. Happy holidays to all of you! Oh, and before I forget: Of course tons of thanks to the bestestest (yes, that is a word) beta in the world! Everything that is still in there, is original Bunnish. Typos need love, too! *grins*
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.
Merlin keened and grabbed the headboard harder as Arthur slammed into him again and again. He had missed this for so long but now Arthur was back and sometimes they were just like rabbits. Or horny teenagers. Just with a lot more skills.
“I’m…”
It was all Arthur said before he slammed in one more time and stilled.
Merlin loved that moment when he could feel Arthur getting even bigger and then pulsing out his load. It didn’t matter that he didn’t come himself. Arthur had given him a great hand-job as start of their activities and he had come again when Arthur had pushed into his spot over and over before he changed positions again.
A lazy smile spread on Merlin’s face when Arthur slowly pulled out and rolled to his side. He let go of the headboard and made a face. He hadn’t even noticed that his arms had been so tense.
“You alright?” Arthur had closed his eyes.
“Mhmmm.” Merlin moved around a bit and pulled Arthur close. As much as he loved watching him getting through his post-orgasmic haze, he wanted to feel him close now. They had missed so much time.
Not even a year ago, he had been on wintery hiking trip with Percy - of course they took a route that led them close to the lake - when all of a sudden Arthur had stood by the big rocks they usually took their break at. While Merlin wondered if his mind played tricks on him again and wasn’t sure if it even was Arthur, Arthur had scolded Merlin for not being there right away and reprimanded Percy because this definitely wasn’t the official uniform of a knight of Camelot he was wearing. Laughing and crying, Merlin had hugged Arthur over and over. It definitely was him.
The following months hadn’t been too easy. Time on Avalon moved a lot slower than in this world and while Arthur had stood watching, things had moved too fast for him to keep track. They’ve had some scary and some funny moments introducing Arthur to the present and more than once Merlin had to do a lot of convincing since Arthur felt he didn’t really belong here. He still needed to ask what certain phrases and terms meant but he had warmed up to watching television and to playing football.
“Merlin?”
Arthur’s voice pulled Merlin out of his thoughts. “Yes?”
“Will we get a tree, too?”
“Pardon?” Sometimes Arthur asked random questions and it took Merlin a moment to catch up with him.
“Leon said they’ll get a tree because that’s what you do in winter. It is winter now.”
“A Christmas tree?”
“That’s what he called it, I believe.”
Merlin drew random patterns with his fingers on Arthur’s arm. “Would you like one?”
“I don’t know. Would you? Gwen told me about decorations and Gwaine about the presents, I thought that sounded nice.”
“Christmas isn’t just about presents and decorations, though.”
“It isn’t?” Arthur looked up at him and Merlin bent his head so he could press a kiss on Arthur’s forehead.
“No. Remember the new religion?”
Arthur thought for a moment and then nodded.
“This is just what it developed into.”
“Wait. It was about religion and now it’s about presents?” Arthur frowned.
“Unfortunately for a lot of people it’s just that. But that’s not what it is meant to be. If you’re not religious, it’s about family and friends and spending time together, too.”
Arthur was silent for a moment. “But you are part of the old religion, aren’t you? I mean, you still are magic.”
Merlin smiled. “When you’re as old as I am, you’re a bit of everything.”
“So…you don’t do that tree-thing?”
“I haven’t had a Christmas tree in ages, but if you want one, we’ll get one.”
Arthur scrambled up a bit to kiss Merlin.
***
Sometimes it wasn’t easy with Arthur. The things Merlin had gotten used to, the stuff that was normal for him was all new to Arthur and he didn’t take all of it well. It was a delight, thought, to see Arthur take in all the new things that surrounded Christmas these days. They went to the Christmas market with their friends and Gwaine bought Arthur more mulled wine than was good for him. After the worst hang-over was dealt with, Merlin took Arthur back, so he could fully appreciate the atmosphere, the smells and tastes until the crowd got a bit too overwhelming and they went home.
By the middle of December it started to get cold and Merlin couldn’t help but smile fondly when Arthur stood by the window and watched the snow fall that had just set in, just like he had done in his chambers in Camelot. They went for walks in the snow, away from the noise of the city, just the two of them and Merlin loved every second of it, even though his feet got cold and his nose and cheeks almost burned when they came back to the warm house later.
He taught Arthur how to make hot chocolate and warm cider but wasn’t sure if he should introduce Arthur to eggnog yet. Merlin was convinced that Gwaine would do that soon enough.
Since Merlin hadn’t had a tree in at least 50 years, he didn’t have any ornaments left, so they went shopping for those.
“Red! Red and gold!” Arthur insisted.
“They won’t have any with the Pendragon crest on them, though.” Merlin smiled.
“We could have them made.”
Chuckling, Merlin had leaned over and kissed Arthur softly before they entered the store. “Let’s start with red and gold and then see what else they have.”
Fortunately, they didn’t have golden dragons or anything like that, but Arthur wanted most anything that matched the colours and so they ended up with a lot more ornaments than their tree would be able to hold. But Arthur was happy and that was all that counted for Merlin.
***
Merlin was making Christmas cookies when Percy, Gwaine and Arthur came back from shopping for the tree. Of course Gwaine knew someone who knew someone who had connections so they could get the tree a lot cheaper, but it meant they had to travel about 90 minutes one way and Merlin was convinced that they could have just gotten a tree close to their place that wouldn’t have been more expensive. But it was a road trip and an adventure for Arthur, so he didn’t object, insisting if they had a tree, they needed Christmas cookies as well, so he needed to stay back to make them.
The tree turned out to be too large - Arthur’s fault, Merlin supposed, everything needed to be larger for him, he was a Pendragon after all! - and they needed to take it outside to saw a bit of the stem off before it fit into the living room.
While Percy and Gwaine showed Arthur how to set up the tree and put the lights in it, Merlin pulled another batch of cookies out of the oven.
“Are you alright there, lads?”
“More cider would help!”
“Sure, Gwaine, everything is better with cider.” Merlin chuckled as he arranged some cookies on a big plate and then put a foil on it. “Help yourselves, I’m just going over to Mrs. Jacobson and give her some of the cookies and see if she needs anything.”
He didn’t even bother with a jacket. The way through their back yard wasn’t far and he would be back soon. Arthur was excited about the tree, he wouldn’t even notice that he was gone while he was supervising Percy and Gwaine who put the lights on the tree, too. When Merlin was back, they wanted to do the decorating together.
Their neighbour, a nice elderly lady, was fine and since Merlin had just run some errands and did grocery shopping for her, she didn’t need anything but a bit of company and it took Merlin a lot more time to get out of her place again than he had thought. Hurrying back through the yard, he noticed it had started raining and just pondered if the rain would freeze over when he slipped and fell with a yell just as he had almost reached their back door.
Before Merlin could try to scramble up again, the door opened.
“Merlin!” Arthur came out. “Merlin, are you alright?”
“I…I don’t know.” His arse hurt where he had hit the ground but his hand felt even worse.
“Can you get up? Percy, help him. Gwaine, call Gaius!”
Merlin would have smiled. That was the Arthur they all knew, strong, confident and in full organisation mode, barking orders. As Percy tried to pull him up, though, a sharp pain flared up in his wrist and he yelled out again.
He missed Gwaine arguing that Gaius was just an old man with a book store and some esoteric nonsense and that they needed to get Merlin to the A&E, something Arthur had never heard of before.
Percy picked Merlin up and almost carried him inside, even though Merlin protested.
“I can walk!”
“Yes, we saw that.” Percy let him down gently on the couch and turned to Gwaine. “Can we get a doctor here? Should we call an ambulance?”
“He’s not dying and the roads are still okay, we’ll drive.” Gwaine already got their jackets and his keys.
Arthur was no help at all. They didn’t have to see a doctor in all the time Arthur was back and even though they had seen hospitals on TV, the real experience was rather overwhelming. As they got out of the house, Arthur watched Percy’s every move, ready to give him a piece of his mind in case he hurt Merlin even more. When they finally arrived at the A&E, he looked around, trying to take everything in, still keeping an eye on Merlin and trying to make sense of everything while protecting Merlin.
Merlin couldn’t be there to explain things as a nurse took him away to get some x-rays. He needed to wait for a doctor on his own while his friends waited in the waiting area and he hoped that Gwaine and Percy took care of Arthur. He was happy that they were there while this happened. Arthur wouldn’t know what to do, they had never spoken about an emergency like this.
A young doctor came in. “Mr. Emrys?”
“That’s me.”
Checking a clip board, the doctor nodded. “Wow, you did a great job on that wrist. At least it’s not a complicated fracture. We’ll bring it back into the right position and you will need to wear a cast for a while, though.”
Merlin blew out a breath he hadn’t noticed holding. At least he didn’t need surgery; that was good. “And my…backside? Did I break my…you know?”
The doctor chuckled. “No, you didn’t break your behind, Mr. Emrys, your tailbone is fine, but I’m sure that bruise on your buttock will hurt for a while.”
***
It had taken quite a while for them to get Merlin’s arm into a cast and Merlin was still a bit pale when the doctor released him into the care of his friends again.
“What did they do to you? Did they hurt you? I’m going to punish them if they did!”
Merlin smiled tiredly, the image of Arthur wielding a sword at the doctors and nurses was a really funny one. “Not more than I already hurt myself. No need for rash action.” Sinking into the passengers’ seat carefully, Merlin blinked. They had given him some pain killers to make it through the night and they already set in. “Can we go home?”
Percy drove while Gwaine tried to answer Arthur’s questions in the back seat.
“Don’t you know any healing spells? Why don’t you heal yourself?”
That was a question Gwaine had asked him long ago, in a different life, when they had been on a hunting trip and he had caught a nasty cut when he reached for a knife someone handed him the wrong way. Before Merlin could muster the energy to answer, Gwaine already did.
“He’s exhausted. Do you have any idea how much energy doing such magic requires?”
“Oh.”
“And I suspect the pain killers don’t really help with that either, do they?” Percy drove carefully, the road condition had gotten worse.
“That, too.”
“Then why didn’t you just…I don’t know…fix that arm yourself or at least refuse to take the…medicine?”
Once again, Merlin tried to open his mouth, but Gwaine was faster.
“He was in pain, we really needed to get this checked. And could you imagine the doctors’ faces if he said ‘Oh, nevermind, I’ll fix this myself’? Imagine what happened afterwards? You already found out that hardly anyone believes in magic anymore. They might have just kept Merlin and run all kinds of tests on him. No, it’s better this way. Let this heal like it is supposed to.”
Merlin managed a thankful smile. He would throw a healing charm on this arse as soon as he could. It almost hurt more than the wrist and he hoped the trip would end soon and they were back at home and he could lay down. Hanging in the passengers’ seat of a car didn’t do anything for the injury. Gwaine was right, though. Merlin had learned a lot about medicine in his life, but sometimes an x-ray was a lot better than guessing and if he revealed his magic now, they might never let him go. The moment he had the energy again, he would numb the pain but else let the healing go its natural course.
With a lot of grunting and hissing, they managed to get Merlin into the house when they finally arrived and Merlin was thankful that their friends refused to leave. He wasn’t in the condition to calm Arthur down and Percy and Gwaine did a wonderful job. That the rain had turned into ice on the roads now was very convenient, it gave them a reason to not travel home.
“Come on, Arthur, let him sleep. You’ll let us know if you need anything, Merlin, hear me?”
Merlin nodded slightly at Gwaine and closed his eyes. The medicine and some water was on the night stand where he could reach it, along with his mobile, so he could call them if they didn’t hear him. The last thing he noticed before falling asleep was Arthur pulling the blanket up a bit and pressing a kiss on his hair.
***
The next day, Merlin felt a bit better. A lot of his energy went into keeping the pain at bay, but he had moved to the couch and smiled at everybody who came to visit.
Gwen brought food, insisting that Arthur couldn’t cook and they couldn’t live off pizza for weeks. Lance busied himself with keeping the walkway in front of the house clean. Percy checked if they needed anything and Gwaine called to see when he was needed as taxi driver again to bring Merlin to a doctor.
Arthur was no help at all. In the months he had been back, he had learned a lot and tried to adjust to the new environment as well as he could but it was Merlin who had kept the house running and who knew what to do and who to call.
Still, each time he woke up, there was fresh tea and water on the coffee table, sometimes with a plate with cookies, sometimes sandwiches that were obviously made by someone who had no idea how to make them. Other times, he found himself wrapped in the blanket he had left in the bedroom.
A few days later, when Merlin came back from the bathroom, he carefully slid down onto the couch, trying to avoid sitting.
“Does it still hurt?”
Merlin nodded.
“Can’t you do some magic?”
“I’m doing magic, Arthur, but this is exhausting.” Merlin smiled tiredly. “I haven’t done this in a while.”
Arthur came over and sat on the coffee table. He looked lost. “I don’t know what to do. I’m useless.”
Shaking his head, Merlin smiled. “Usually I’m the useless one, am I not?”
Looking up, Arthur huffed out a chuckle. “So this is what it feels like?” His face grew serious again. “Tell me what to do, Merlin. Creatures and evil, those I can protect you from. I still have Excalibur and I know how to use it. But this? All I can make is tea and sandwiches.”
“That’s a lot more than you could have done back in Camelot. You didn’t even know how to dress yourself and look, here you sit in front of me, all dressed and you did it all by yourself.” Merlin joked but his voice was soft and gentle. “Lesser men would have gone crazy by everything you saw and learned in the past months, but not you…you managed to get through everything.”
“Because you are there, as always.”
“You once told me to never change…”
Arthur looked at Merlin for a long moment. “You have changed. A lot. And yet you haven’t.”
“And that’s good or bad?”
After a moment, Arthur smiled. “It’s good. But I still don’t know how to help you.” He sighed.
“You could come here and kiss me. You haven’t done that since the accident.” Merlin’s eyes twinkled.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say you should take me and pound into me with all the force you can muster, I just want a kiss.”
Arthur grinned and switched places so he sat next to Merlin. “But that would be a great idea as well. How long does it take for your arse to be…un-broken?”
“Oh, shut up and kiss me already.”
Merlin sighed into the kiss. As much as he loved when Arthur took over and claimed his mouth, explored it and left him with swollen, almost bruised lips, he loved when Arthur was gentle. Like now.
Just as Merlin tried to deepen the kiss, Arthur pulled back slightly.
“You have to tell me when it hurts, alright?”
Merlin almost laughed. “I promise.”
Slowly, Arthur hand slid down Merlin’s front and cupped Merlin’s bulge through his sweatpants.
“Arthur…” Merlin whispered breathlessly into the kiss.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have…” Arthur pulled his hand back.
“Don’t…go on.” Merlin captured Arthur’s lower lip between his teeth and grinned when he felt Arthur’s hand finding its way into his pants.
Merlin’s eyes fell shut when Arthur first rubbed him through his boxers and moaned loudly when he finally felt Arthur’s fingers on his skin, being wrapped around his length. He bucked up into the fist clung to Arthur when Arthur started to stroke him just the way he liked. It didn’t take long before he felt his orgasm building and he yelled out as his body stiffened and he shot his load.
Leaning against Arthur, Merlin panted hard.
“Are you alright?” Arthur whispered.
Merlin couldn’t do more than nod and grin lazily.
***
“We need to do something about that tree, it looks so sad.” Percy helped Merlin out of his jacket after he brought him back from yet another doctor’s appointment.
“I’ll try to hang the baubles later.” With some effort, Merlin kicked his shoes off. “You already put the lights in that day when…”
“When you broke your arse.” Percy finished and grinned. No matter how much Merlin had protested, his friends spread the version that he had broken his arse, which was much worse than that fracture in his wrist - and he feared it would take years for them to forget this.
Arthur came from the kitchen. “You’re back, what did the healer say? Are you alright?”
Merlin smiled. He knew that Arthur didn’t trust those modern healers fully. “Getting there.”
“Is that tea I’m smelling?” Percy had been there before when Arthur insisted that the healing process should be a lot faster with all that modern medicine and Merlin tried to explain to him that a broken bone took just as long to heal than it had back in Camelot.
“Arthur, could you get Percy a cup? He did all the driving.” Merlin threw Percy a thankful look while Arthur went to the kitchen, muttering about him definitely not being the manservant here.
“Merlin,” Percy turned to him when Arthur was gone, “you’re not hanging any baubles into the tree.” He gave him a stern look.
“But I have to do it. Arthur doesn’t know how to.”
“It’s not exactly rocket science, you know, but you need to be able to climb a ladder and you need two hands. We can’t have you break the baubles and end up at the A&E again because you cut yourself and have glass splinters in your hand…or elsewhere.”
Merlin laughed. “I appreciate your concern, but it would be a lot nicer if you didn’t make me look like a complete idiot.”
Arthur came back with tea for them all while Merlin manoeuvred himself onto the couch again.
“Tell you what. I’ll give everyone a call and we’ll meet here tomorrow afternoon and then we’ll make the place look Christmas-y, okay?” Percy already pulled out his mobile.
Merlin threw Percy a look. He had declined the invite to Leon and Mithian’s Christmas party since he could hardly move when it took place a few days ago. It might only be his wrist that was broken, but the fall had rattled him more than he was willing to admit and sometimes he felt like one giant moving bruise. He had tried to encourage Arthur to go there but Arthur had refused to leave his side.
“Come on, what’s wrong with bringing the party to you when you can’t come to the party?” Percy got up and shrugged into his jacket.
Merlin looked at Arthur, who had listened closely.
“Is this like a feast, this…party?”
“More like decorating the place and then just having a good time…yes, like a feast, but I promise Gwaine will behave.” Percy looked serious.
Arthur laughed. “Come on, Merlin, we can have a feast here. If it gets too much for you, I’ll get Excalibur and throw them all out?”
In the end, Merlin agreed.
***
The next morning, Gwen and Lance appeared and took over the kitchen.
“This was meant to decorate the place for Arthur, not to turn into a huge thing.” Merlin protested.
Gwen handed him a glass of her special Christmas punch to which she never revealed the recipe. “Here, drink, relax and let us do our thing.”
Percy had picked Arthur up for some shopping, insisting that Arthur needed to experience the joys of Christmas shopping and they were gone for hours.
Gwaine, Leon and Mithian showed up a while later and started to decorate the place, with Leon and Mithian teaming up to put ornaments on the tree and Gwaine mostly sipping the punch and offering not so helpful advice.
Merlin felt a bit useless in all of this since he couldn’t do much. He had banged his arm against the sink this morning and it hurt more than in the last days, so he used a bit more magic to dull the pain down. He wandered around at first, but since their friends didn’t need him to help, he just sat on the couch and watched. He had to admit, though, that it was fun seeing how their friends changed the place from its normal look into a cosy Christmassy place. The fantastic smells coming from the kitchen added to the atmosphere and that Leon had started singing carols while working led into a singing battle between him and Gwaine, who tried to make Leon sing some false and very rude lyrics to the songs.
The front door opened.
“We’re back!”
All Merlin could see, though, were huge packages being carried in. “What’s all this?”
“Just some things.”
Merlin carefully got up to take a look. The wide grin on Arthur’s face usually meant nothing good. He laughed, though, when he saw what Percy unwrapped. Red baubles with the Pendragon crest on them. “You didn’t!”
“I did!” Arthur grinned even wider. “Gwaine showed me how to order them and Percy knew where to pick them up.”
Shaking his head, Merlin chuckled. “Can’t I leave you alone for five minutes? I should have never showed you how to use the internet.”
“Don’t worry, we didn’t show him where to find the porn.” Gwaine snatched a cookie from the bowl and popped it into his mouth, grinning around it.
“Gwaine!” Merlin glared while Arthur just asked “Porn?”
“Nevermind.” Gwen frowned at Gwaine as she carried in a tray with her Christmas punch.
“Anyway, the tree needs more baubles and other decoration!” Leon reached for the first box. “Give me a hand, Arthur.”
They decorated the tree and had wonderful food that Gwen and Lance had prepared and talked and sang and Merlin sat in the middle of all of that and thanked whoever was responsible for their friends.
He might have dozed off for a moment, so he jerked up when someone yelled ‘Tadaa!’ and blinked.
“Wow! You’ve outdone yourselves. It’s wonderful.”
“Arthur has done most of the work, we only showed him how to handle the ornaments.” Leon smiled.
“He only broke one!” Gwaine grinned.
“And that was your fault! You handed it to me too fast.” Arthur mock-glared, not really angry at that. “And it wasn’t one of the ones with a dragon anyway.”
Merlin smiled. Even though their December hadn’t gone as he had planned, Arthur did have fun and that was the most important thing. “Thank you, everyone. We couldn’t have better friends.”
Everyone raised their mugs and glasses. “Friends!”
Lance put a hand on his shoulder. “We will clean up now and leave.”
“There’s no need to leave. Stay, please.” Merlin scrambled up. “The party’s only started. You can’t go now!”
Gwen got up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “You look tired, all this healing must be exhausting.”
“It is, but it’s getting better, don’t worry; and thank you so much for all of this.”
She squeezed him for a moment and then whispered “There’s even presents under the tree.”
Merlin let Arthur pull him over to the tree and then to the window sills and he had to admire all the decoration they had put up.
“And you’ve got to see this.” Arthur grinned.
“What?”
“This!”
Merlin followed and found himself standing in the doorway. “What’s to see here?”
Arthur looked up and pointed to the mistletoe that hung there.
Chuckling, Merlin shook his head. “Who taught you about this tradition?”
“We’ve been watching a lot of Christmas films in the past days.” Arthur smiled proudly. “You know what this means, right?”
“No more TV for you for a while?” Merlin teased.
Arthur pulled him close. “Shut up, Merlin.” He leaned in and kissed Merlin deeply and Merlin didn’t even notice that their friends where wolf-whistling and clapping.