Merlinfic: The Bus Stop 21/23
Author: destiny_chicken
Title Enroute
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Arthur, Merlin
Summary: Merlin and Arthur head to Manchester on the train, and Merlin tries again to convince Arthur to listen to him.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1269 this chapter
Author's Notes Thank you to inspired_being for beta'ing my story.
Merlin stood on the train platform, anxiously searching for Arthur. If he didn't arrive to board the train in the next five minutes, they'd have wait 40 minutes for the next train. No doubt somehow Arthur would manage to put the blame on Merlin if they missed the train. Then he’d be in a sour mood and even less receptive to listening to anything about their relationship.
There was a flash of blond hair coming around the corner. Merlin held his breath until he was sure, yes, it was Arthur, hobbling as quickly as he could with his cane.
Puffing slightly, Arthur stopped beside Merlin, dropping his briefcase and overnight bag on the platform. Arthur looked him up and down and then raised an eyebrow. "Emrys," he said in acknowledgement.
"What?" Merlin queried, curious as to why Arthur had given him a once-over and raised eyebrow. He looked down at himself and thought it might be the way he was dressed. "Don't I look okay? I bought this jumper especially." Merlin was wearing a white shirt with a blue tie covered by a grey jumper finished with crisp black trousers. He was carrying his backpack slung over one shoulder and had combed his hair out of his eyes for once.
"You'll do." Arthur thought Merlin was looking very sharp, but he wasn’t about to tell him. He found his eyes were drawn to the close fit of Merlin’s trousers, but he forcibly focused his vision towards Merlin’s face. All business, their relationship was all business now he reminded himself. Arthur himself was impeccably dressed in a light grey Armani suit, white shirt and red tie. "I just wasn't sure what to expect from you," Arthur finally explained.
"We'd best get on board. Do you want me to carry your briefcase?" Merlin offered.
"If you can manage it without tripping, yes." With that curt response, Arthur hoisted his overnight bag strap over his shoulder and stepped to the train. Merlin shook his head at the insult as he followed close behind.
Once seated on the train, Arthur went straight for his briefcase to pull the papers out. He began reading the Cranfield contract and then began reviewing the proposal charts. Merlin opened his backpack to retrieve the financial report and run over once more but he'd been over it so many times before, his attention soon wandered. He was staring out the window but wasn’t seeing the countryside passing by. He debated whether he should try once again to convince Arthur of the truth. Arthur had crumpled his note, but had he read it first? What else could he say to Arthur, now, while they were stuck together on the train, to convince him Will wasn't his boyfriend? He really wanted to repair their relationship.
An idea came to him. "Arthur, how come you never talked much about your prior relationships, male or female, when we were together?"
Arthur glared at Merlin. "Merlin, that's not business-related and you're treading awfully close to a topic we are not going to discuss."
Ignoring the comment, Merlin continued. "I can guess why not. Because what happened before was immaterial to our relationship, just like Will is immaterial. Will was just a friend from my childhood, nothing more. He's not my friend anymore, by the way, after the lies he told you." Merlin hoped this approach would make a dent in Arthur's stubborn exterior. He really needed to get through to him, to make him understand.
Arthur held his head in his hands as he stared down at the proposal. His hands almost functioned as blinders, keeping his eyes away from Merlin. As much as he didn't want to hear anymore of Merlin's words, his ears still picked up the subtle vibrations and translated them into Merlin’s words.
"He thought I shouldn't be dating my boss so he set out to ruin our relationship by telling you he was my boyfriend and accusing you of harassment. He knew about my supervisor at the copy place and was worried this would be a repeat. So, for 'my own good,' he decided to resolve the situation himself by driving you away. I'm hoping he hasn't succeeded."
"I'm not listening to you," Arthur lied. His stomach was churning and his head was spinning with the thought that Merlin might be telling the truth.
Merlin, not sure if his words were affecting Arthur or not, carried on. "I told Will he couldn't decide who I dated and who I didn’t. I want us to be together Arthur. I like you an awful lot, and I thought the feeling was mutual. Underneath your prattish exterior, you're a reliable and kind man. You make me smile and my world is brighter with you in it. And from what I experienced, the physical side of our relationship had been fabulous."
Arthur continued to pretend to ignore Merlin, but his thoughts were in turmoil. Had he been wrong in believing what Will had said? Did Merlin really care for him? He couldn't think about this anymore right now, he needed to prepare for the Cranfield meeting. With difficulty, he forced his attention to the work at hand and set aside his questions.
Merlin glanced sideways at Arthur, but discerned little response--except maybe Arthur was breathing a bit more rapidly. And he'd closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if to gather himself, before he shuffled the Cranfield papers again. Maybe Merlin's words had made an effect.
The shuffling of the papers reminded Merlin that now might not be the best time to be pushing Arthur about their relationship. He needed to be ready to present in less than 90 minutes to the Cranfield plant executives, and evidently needed the time to finish his preparations. Maybe after the meeting or, worst case, on the trip home he could bring it up again and get Arthur to listen to him..
~~~
Upon arrival in Manchester, Arthur and Merlin picked up the hire car and drove to the Cranfield factory. Merlin's extensive preparation meant there were no wrong turns and they arrived in good time. They were met in the lobby by Cranfield's P.A., Alistair. He apologized that Mr. Cranfield wasn't able to greet them personally. He told them Cranfield had been slightly delayed and would meet them at the conference room. Alistair led them to an empty conference room and delivered steaming hot coffees for both of them.
Arthur provided the thumb drive to Alistair who loaded the presentation onto the laptop on the podium. He provided Arthur with the remote and Arthur tested it by flicking through the first few slides of the presentation. Everything was set and then Mr. Cranfield arrived.
"Arthur, it's a pleasure to see you again," Cranfield said as he shook Arthur's hand. "And who is your young colleague here?"
Arthur gestured for Merlin to stand up. "Merlin, this is Mr. Cranfield. Bert, this is one of my team members, Merlin Emrys. He'll be handling the financials for us today."
Bert Cranfield was an effusive man, pumping Merlin's hand vigorously. "No need to stand on ceremony here, just call me Bert."
"Pleased to meet you, Bert." Merlin flashed a genuine smile at the business man, basking in the thought of Arthur calling him a team member, not just his P.A. Team member--he liked the thought of being on Arthur's team.
"Likewise, Merlin, likewise. Now let's all take a seat and I'll explain who's who in our version of office politics. To whom you need to pay attention, who you can ignore and whose opinion really counts."