Merlinfic: The Bus Stop 23/23 Complete
Author: destiny_chicken
Title At Last
Rating: R
Pairing/s: Arthur/Merlin
Character/s: Arthur, Merlin
Summary: Close proximity in the single hotel room leads Arthur and Merlin to finally talk about their feelings.
Warnings: None
Word Count: 1860 this chapter
Author's Notes Thank you to inspired_being for making my story better than itwould have been without her. Dear readers, I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this last installment, but both my beta and I got busy and there was more editing and re-writing needed than usual. I hope you have enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Dinner was quiet, with neither Merlin nor Arthur saying more than three words to each other. The awkward silence stretched on as Arthur reviewed more paperwork and Merlin fiddled with the playlists on his phone.
Finally, Merlin steeled his nerves to bring up the topic he'd been thinking about ever since they’d reached the room. He pulled out his earphones and asked, "What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?" he asked and was then unsuccessful in staving off another yawn. It had been a long day.
Arthur looked around the room, seeking other options. There were none. "Well, I'm not sleeping on the floor, so I guess we share the bed. Unless you'd rather sleep in the tub?"
"No, I don't want to wake up all stiff in the morning. Sharing the bed it is, then. I'm going to have a shower and change."
Arthur watched as Merlin gathered his things and headed to the bathroom. Once in the shower, Merlin’s thoughts turned to how close he would be lying next to Arthur all night. They would hardly be able to avoid touching each other in the small bed. Would he awake to find himself wrapped around Arthur as he had when they fell asleep together that night on the office sofa? That wouldn’t be so bad, really, Merlin thought. How would Arthur react if he found Merlin snuggled against him? It might prompt a more meaningful reaction out of him beyond just ignoring Merlin’s attempts to talk to him.
Arthur stripped down to his boxer-briefs and climbed into the bed. He usually slept naked, but that would be pretty presumptuous given the current situation. He hadn't brought any sleeping clothes, since he had not expected to have to share his room, much less the bed. So boxer-briefs it was. Any more clothing beyond that would be too uncomfortable against his skin. But that meant he would feel any touch of Merlin against him, against his skin. Surely with tossing and turning during the night, they would come into contact. He shivered at the thought of Merlin’s hand or arm against his bare skin.
Arthur thought back to the note from Merlin and to his words on the train that morning. His chest constricted and it was hard to breathe. What if it were true and Will was nothing more than a friend to Merlin? An obnoxious, violent friend. What were Merlin's true feelings for him? Arthur knew this was the time to find out.
Merlin emerged from the bathroom in a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. "You ready for lights out?" he asked Arthur.
Arthur breathed a quiet "Yeah." He nervously chewed on his lower lip.
Merlin turned out the light and climbed into the other side of the bed. "Good night, Arthur."
"Yeah, you too."
First they both lay on their sides, backs towards each other, trying hard to take up as little space as possible. They hovered near the edge of the mattress on each side. Arthur could hear his own heart pounding loudly. He listened carefully and heard Merlin release a shaky sigh. Arthur cautiously adjusted his position so he lay on his back. He still wasn’t touching Merlin, but Merlin was right there. After the stillness became almost unbearable, Arthur finally spoke.
"You did a great job on the financials today. Better than Leon would have. He tends to get obviously nervous when presenting. You didn’t seem nervous at all.” There was a slight pause before Arthur spoke again. “And you convinced Alined. Thank you," Arthur spoke quietly.
The room was still for a moment before Merlin turned over to try to see Arthur's face in the dark. "Thank you for telling me that. I know praise is a rare thing from you."
Merlin began to reach for the light, but Arthur interrupted, "No, leave the lights out. It's easier to talk in the dark."
Merlin was quiet, waiting for Arthur to say more. Hoping whatever additional he had to say would be about their relationship. Just as Merlin was finding the silence intolerable and was about to say something…anything, Arthur spoke again.
"I read your note."
There was another long pause. Merlin finally said, "And?"
Arthur's voice wavered a little. "Tell me one thing, Merlin. Do you really care for me?"
Merlin was dumbfounded. How could Arthur not know the answer to that question? He refrained from calling him an idiot and answered sincerely. "Yes I do. More than anyone else I've ever known in my entire life. Well, except maybe for my mum. But that's different-knowing her since I was born--her being my mum and all." Merlin shut up, realizing he was babbling as he often did when he was nervous.
Merlin took a deep breath to calm himself. What he said now was very important. "Arthur, can't you tell I care for you by how persistently I have been trying to get you to listen to me? I wouldn't have gone to all this effort if you weren't really important to me." Merlin hoped he was getting through to Arthur now.
"Well, I was trying very hard not to listen to you," Arthur explained with embarrassment.
"And why was that? Why did you believe Will's ridiculous story over the truth I told you?" Now they were getting to the heart of Merlin's issue with Arthur's behavior.
"I guess it was because I found it so hard to believe you were interested in me, for myself. All my life, people have befriended me because of my name or the family wealth, but never just because they liked me for being me. So when I heard Will's story, it fit right in with my theory that you weren't really as interested in me as it seemed, and I believed him. I'm really sorry."
Merlin's heart ached for Arthur and his insecurities. "The fact I tend to talk back to you could have been a clue that I wasn't just pretending to like you."
"I guess I'm not too perceptive about emotions and feelings,” Arthur confessed. “I was too scared to find out how you really felt about me. Can you forgive me for not trusting you?" Arthur pleaded.
"Will you trust me now? Will you believe me when I say I care about you, Arthur. Not your name nor your money, but you." Merlin's voice quavered a bit with the emotion he felt and hoped he conveyed to Arthur.
Arthur listened intently and heard the sincerity in Merlin's voice. "Yes, I trust you now. Can you forgive me for being a jerk and not letting you tell me your side of the story?"
“If you can forgive me for having an idiot for a friend and not mentioning he was staying with me earlier," Merlin countered.
Arthur smiled in the dark. "Deal." He felt his heart was suddenly lighter and his breathing was easier.
Merlin turned his head so he could see Arthur’s face now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. He searched Arthur’s eyes and found only honesty and concern. He breathed his own sigh of relief. "At last."
Arthur saw Merlin’s eyes searching his face. He was so close Arthur could feel his breath. The last time they were this close was at Merlin’s apartment before Will showed up. He looked to Merlin’s face for an answer as he wondered what was next. He could see Merlin’s eyes, with pupils wide, dropping to his bare chest in answer to the unspoken question. Arthur finally asked, "Where were we when Will so rudely interrupted?"
"I seem to recall being in your arms," Merlin offered with a cheeky grin.
Arthur beckoned. "C'mere then."
Merlin scooted over to Arthur and was encircled by his arms. He immediately sought out Arthur's plump, chapped lips, soothing them with his own. Arthur responded by sucking on Merlin's lower lip, nipping gently. Merlin moaned and trembled in response to the sensations. Arthur didn’t wait any longer. His tongue darted in, probing for entrance to the moist warmth. Merlin didn’t hesitate in opening to him, his own tongue circling Arthur's.
Merlin clung to the back of Arthur's neck with one hand while he ran his other hand through Arthur's hair. After breaking apart for air, Merlin gasped, "I've thought about this so often.” Arthur twisted, turning them over so Merlin was underneath him.
"Me too. Seeing you in the office was driving me crazy." Arthur started kissing the tendons in Merlin's neck from jawline to the little bit of his collarbone he could reach inside the T-shirt’s neckline. Arthur slid his hand up inside Merlin's shirt, skating across his wiry torso, lifting the shirt. Merlin let loose a soft groan as Arthur's fingers rubbed against one of his nipples. "Let's get this shirt off you," Arthur suggested. Merlin didn't hesitate to lift his T-shirt up and over his head and throw it in the general direction of the armoire.
Arthur immediately set about to get Merlin to produce more of those wonderful noises. Now having complete access to Merlin's collarbones, he wasted no time in lavishing them with kisses. He moved lower and heard a small gasp as his tongue licked a nipple. "You like that, eh?" Arthur murmured.
"Mmmm," was all Merlin could manage to say. He jerked Arthur's hair, pulling him back up so their mouths could meet again. Their bodies were mostly aligned now and with a roll of his hips, Arthur met Merlin's hardness with the feel of his own. He groaned, his hand touching Merlin's chest and then lower to bring his fingers to fumble their way inside Merlin's waistband.
Arthur gently slid his hand around Merlin’s length. Merlin felt for Arthur’s erection in his boxers to do the same. Soon the pants were in the way and were hastily removed before Merlin pulled Arthur back down so they could grind against each other.
They continued thrusting back and forth, gasping, their tongues lapping at each other’s skin, mouths slurping in heated frantic kisses. They groaned and grasped each other with tight caresses. Pace quickening with more moans and clutching, they reached the brink, before they fell over it into a hazy languor of satisfaction. Feeling boneless, Merlin only had enough energy to push Arthur off him and then snuggle against his side, too exhausted to worry about the mess between them.
However, before Merlin totally gave into the sated feeling and dozed off, there was an insistent yipping sound coming through the wall. The soundproofing between rooms evidently wasn't enough to stifle the barking of the show dogs next door.
Arthur roused enough to say, "What is that hideous yapping?"
Merlin snuggled deeper into Arthur's side to try to block out the sounds. "Dog show, remember?"
"Leave it to you, Merlin, to wake up the dogs with your loud groans." Arthur pulled a pillow out from under him and put it over his head.
Merlin nudged him, adding, "I distinctly heard some cabbage head doing his fair share of moaning."
"Go to sleep, idiot," Arthur retorted.
"Prat," Merlin whispered, determined to get the last word in.
"Merlin, shut up."
~~~