Survival Training (Oneshot)
Title: Survival Training
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~5,000
Warnings: Modern AU
Summary: In which, Merlin and Arthur decide to take a survival training class over a long, holiday weekend. Well, Arthur decided and Merlin, not having the slightest idea how to say no to Arthur, said he’d go with him. But, when things take a turn for the worse, Merlin decides that now would be as good a time as any to admit that he’s just a wee bit magical.
Notes: Written for ravelqueen at glomp_fest 2012. Many, many thanks to sabriel75 for the last minute beta and for being, well, pretty glorious. ;) Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Also available on AO3 here
Survival Training
Merlin Emrys, 21-year-old literature major at Camelot University and self-proclaimed hater of all things outdoors, surveyed his surroundings with disdain.
The evergreens towering high into the sky, full of heavy needles at the top but sparsely covered at the bottom, blanketed the area in a silence Merlin could only describe as eerie and disconcerting. And, without being able to see it at the moment, Merlin knew that when they finally started this ill-advised "holiday" the ground would set at a steep incline, the trees eventually giving way to rocks, the rocks to large boulders and the boulders into snow-covered cliffs. The brochure had promised grand, sweeping views, the chance to become one with nature and instruction in the skills needed to survive in the wilderness.
Merlin snorted. "The brochure should have said, ‘Come to survival training where there are so many trees you'll get lost before you even get started, your odds of freezing to death are pretty spectacular and we can guarantee a brush with death when you stumble across a bear or a R.O.U.S. Oh and good luck! You're totally on your own! Ha. Ha. Ha.'"
Arthur Pendragon, 22-year-old business finance major and Merlin's roommate (slash-best friend), was adjusting his packed rucksack and looking as if Christmas had come early. Merlin was loathe to admit that the outdoors only made him much more beautiful. The sun that was desperately trying to glint through the trees must have thought so, too, because their rays made a beeline for Arthur's golden hair, making him shine and sparkle like some bloody Greek god (or Edward Cullen - only hotter, blonder and less vampire-y). Arthur was definitely made to be in the wilderness.
He quirked his eyebrow at Merlin and huffed out a laugh. "You do realize, Merlin, that this is nothing like The Princess Bride, don't you? Rodents of Unusual Size don't actually exist, even though you swear you saw one that night you went on a tequila bender and passed out in the alley. I thought we went over this."
Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "First of all, The Princess Bride is a cinematic classic and should get its proper respect, thank you very much." Arthur snorted in amusement and went about looking at his map. "Second of all," Merlin said, raising his voice, "I did see a R.O.U.S. that night, Arthur. Just because you automatically assume it was the size of the ones in The Princess Bride doesn't mean that it was. Rodents of Unusual Size, Arthur. Anything bigger than a normal-sized rodent is a R.O.U.S."
"Mmm," Arthur said, noncommittally. He wasn't listening. He was never listening. Not that Merlin could actually blame him. They had beaten this subject to death and were just going to have to agree to disagree.
But it had been a giant rat. Merlin would never cut down that alley again - even if it was the quickest route from their dorm to the pub.
"Fine then, bears," Merlin adds, folding his arms across his chest and huffing. "I know there are bears up there."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, there are no bears. They would not send us out on a beginner's survival training to an area known to have bears."
Merlin looked around at the expanse of forest in front of him with an incredulous look on his face. "What?! Of course there are bears in there, Arthur!"
Arthur crouched to set the map on the ground, letting his finger drag across the surface to map out the route he wanted them to take. It was his own little way of letting Merlin know they were done talking about this. Merlin sighed.
He wasn't entirely sure how he'd been suckered into this. Merlin was not an outdoorsy kind of guy and even complained when his pale, sensitive skin had to come into contact with sunlight for even the briefest of moments. He liked being indoors, where there was modern-day miracles, like plumbing and coffee makers. He didn't enjoy hiking or rock-climbing like Arthur. He preferred curling up in one of the comfy chairs in the campus library and reading a book or chatting with Gwen, one of the student aids and their good friend.
The truth was, Arthur and Merlin were about as opposite as they come. Arthur, golden-haired and fit beyond belief, was destined to run his father's company, Pendragon Industries (Merlin still wasn't entirely sure what that company did) and play football every weekend in the park with his beefy mates. Merlin, dark-haired and about the size of a flag pole, wanted nothing more than to make his fortune writing fantasy novels that appealed to every age and finding a nice man to settle down with.
Of course, Merlin had already found a nice man to settle down with - even if said man didn't seem interested in him - and that's what reminded him of why he was currently standing at the edge of the parking lot waiting to start this trek through Hell.
Merlin looked down at Arthur, who was concentrating so hard on the map that his forehead was creased into a scowl. Merlin had only said yes to this survival training codswallop because Arthur had pulled out the big guns: an epic pouty face and quivering lip that Merlin did not find at all mesmerizing, thank you. He was just. Well. Yeah.
Merlin was so screwed.
Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, a bit impatiently, Merlin huffed. "Have you figured out which way you want to go yet, Arthur? We're the last ones here and at this rate, we'll be able to spend the night in the car." Merlin smiled. "Never mind. That's a brilliant idea. Let's sleep in the car!"
Arthur glared up at him. "We are not sleeping in the car."
"Fine," Merlin pouted. "Whatever. Can we get going then?"
Arthur sighed and gathered up the map, shoving it into his rucksack and then throwing it over his shoulder. "I didn't think you were so keen on the idea of survival training, Merlin," he teased.
"Oh, I'm not," Merlin answered, adjusting his own survival training-issued rucksack. "I'm just sick of standing around here."
Arthur smirked. "Then let's be off, shall we?"
*****
An hour later and Merlin was short of breath. Arthur had taken them directly to the stream that led down the side of the mountain and promptly told him that they were following it up. Merlin had figured that was as good a plan as any, considering they would always have a point of reference. But now that he realized it was on the steepest part of the mountain, he was ready to run back down to the gathering site, jump in the car and go back to campus.
The trees had thinned much sooner than Merlin had anticipated and after that it had been straight up hill and over rocky terrain. For a brief moment, Merlin was actually thankful that Arthur had bought him his first pair of hiking boots ever (not that he'd be telling him that), but then he slipped off the side of a particularly wet boulder and cursed him to high heaven for even inviting him on this trip.
Merlin sat down on the rock and huffed. "I'm stopping," he announced.
Arthur, a fair ways ahead of him, turned and scowled. "We've only just begun, Merlin. I want to make it another mile, at least, before we stop for the night."
"So we can do what?" Merlin asked, pulling out one of the canteens of water they were permitted when starting, and taking a long pull. "Work another two hours to find firewood, make shelter and freeze to death without blankets. Oh and might I add that we will likely starve, too because we have nothing but four canteens of water and two packages of beef jerky between us - and let's be honest here, Arthur. You're a fan of eating. I've seen you eat an entire large pepperoni pizza, a massive pile of gravy-covered chips and half a pan of Gwen's slutified brownies all in one sitting. And then demand more. If you decide you want to eat both of those packages of jerky, I am screwed."
Arthur didn't look very impressed with Merlin's little diatribe. "Could you be anymore dramatic?"
"Yes!" Merlin added. "On top of all that, I expect we'll be eaten by bears at some point. Bears, Arthur! Big, giant, fluffy bears!"
Arthur shook his head, looking a little more amused than before. "What did I tell you about the bears?"
"I know I'm right," Merlin pouted.
Arthur huffed and dropped his rucksack to the ground. "Fine, we'll make camp here tonight then. On the rocks. I'm sure that will be lovely sleeping. No sense walking on to see if we can find a bit of undergrowth to sleep on. Definitely. Here would be better. Mmhmm."
Merlin looked around him, at the rocky terrain, and sighed. Damn. If he had to take his chances with bears or a broken back from all rocks, he supposed he'd go with the bears. After all, Arthur was probably right. Why would they send them out into the wilderness if there were bears about?
He picked up his rucksack. "Fine," he said. "Let's keep going, but so help me, you'd better find us a soft place to sleep."
*****
Surprisingly, another mile or so following the stream and the rocky ground had given way to another forest, only a little more sparse and with many more low-hanging branches. It was easy to walk a few hundred yards away from the stream and find level, softer ground to make camp.
Of course, Merlin wasn't about to praise Arthur for his foresight.
If you could even call it that.
"Look," Arthur commented, pulling on the branches above them and holding them together. "We even have a makeshift canopy. All we need is something to tie these branches together with and we'll be good." His smile was blinding and cocky. A deadly combination.
Merlin dropped the armload of firewood Arthur had made him "go off and fetch" and rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's going to keep us safe from bears," Merlin mumbled.
"What was that?"
"I said you are not gods gift to the great outdoors, Arthur."
"I never said I was," Arthur smirked.
Merlin pointed his finger at him and narrowed his eyes. "I know what you're thinking." Arthur's responding laugh was loud and glorious and when he tipped his head back, Merlin tried to pretend like he wasn't staring at the long column of his neck.
Merlin dropped down to his knees to start arranging the firewood in some semblance of order, while Arthur popped open his rucksack to see if there was something inside that could double as rope.
"Ah ha!" Arthur shouted, jumping up from his crouched position and holding up a precariously knotted and small bundle of twine.
Merlin rolled his eyes. "What kind of survival training is this? We only get one package of beef jerky, but they send us with twine?"
Arthur smirked. "Well, that's alright then, Merlin. I'll go ahead and set up a canopy for myself then with the handy twine they've been so kind to have given us in the beginning survival training course that you insisted we take, because - and I quote - ‘You can't take an expert class before you've started at the beginning, Arthuuuuur.'" Arthur had raised his voice an entire octave to imitate Merlin, which was just grossly unfair, and then laughed. "I'll leave you to make your own canopy."
Merlin silently fumed while he continued to stack the wood in the same fashion he'd seen their instructor do it earlier in the day. It was one of the few things Merlin truly paid attention to, because he was not about to freeze to death. Unfortunately, every time he thought he had it set up, he'd reach for the matches (yes, they got matches, thank god) and it would promptly fall over.
Trying not to grumble too loudly, Merlin re-stacked the wood for the third time and held it with one hand, while he grabbed the matches. It was tricky work, but he managed to continue to hold up the pile and strike the match at the same time. When he set the kindling on fire, he had to let go, but kept his eyes trained on the pile to make sure it didn't move.
"Success!" Merlin cried when the wood caught and seemed to stay put. And if Merlin's eyes looked a little golden when Arthur turned around, well, he was right in front of the fire.
*****
Merlin huddled underneath the sad excuse of a canopy that he'd had to make himself and shivered. The canopy hadn't been a huge deal, at first, so he didn't really take his time tying the branches together.
Of course, that was about the time the clouds had rolled in and the sky had opened up. He and Arthur had worked quickly to use the two pieces of tarp they had been given to cover their area and the remaining firewood, but it wasn't enough to save the fire that was already going.
Also, Merlin's side didn't hold up, and while sitting under the tarp and bemoaning the fact that he had to build yet another fire, his tarp had collapsed down on top of him, soaking him to the bone.
Arthur, after laughing at him for a full five minutes, had helped him put his canopy back together as best as he could, but by the time they got it finished, it had stopped raining. And Arthur was dry and warm in his clothes, while Merlin was wet and shivery.
Merlin looked over at Arthur and rolled his eyes. Of course he was sleeping. Arthur could sleep through anything. He looked over his lean body, the way he had his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles, and wanted.
They had been instantaneous friends when they'd met the first day of uni. And considering how opposite they were, it was a surprise to both of them. But there was a familiarity between them and a sort of unspoken bond, so they'd slid right into the friendship. And even though Arthur had a tendency to rip on Merlin quite constantly, he was known to get his own digs in once in awhile. It was a balance that worked for them. They'd been pretty much inseparable since the day they'd met.
Merlin wasn't entirely sure when he'd started to fall for Arthur, though. If he were honest with himself, it was probably love at first sight, but Merlin wasn't always honest with himself. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that Merlin was arse over tit for that gorgeous, big lug and Arthur just. Well, he wasn't interested.
Merlin shivered again, sending his body into tremors, and he huffed in annoyance. He looked over at Arthur to make sure he was still sleeping and then he closed his eyes. When he opened them a second later, they burned gold and instantly his clothes were as dry as they'd been before the start of their trip.
Sighing in relief, Merlin relaxed a bit, but still felt chilled. He looked over again at Arthur, who had a rosy glow to his cheeks and firelight highlighting his glorious hair. Merlin sighed and made a decision.
After dropping a few more pieces of dry firewood onto the fire, he shimmied closer to Arthur as quietly as he could manage, so as not to wake him. He reached out a hand when he was close enough and touched the top of Arthur's hand. It was extremely warm and Merlin found himself moving in closer without even realizing it.
He was just about to lie down next to him, just to hopefully absorb some of the heat radiating from him, when Arthur's hand shifted and grabbed Merlin's. His eyes widened and shot to Arthur's face, but he was still sleeping. Merlin didn't have time to pull away - didn't even know if he could if he wanted to - before Arthur was dragging him down beside him and wrapping his arms around him.
Merlin found himself as the little spoon, with Arthur's hands wrapped around his waist and his warm nose pressed to the back of Merlin's neck. Shocked, Merlin didn't move, but lay tense, waiting for Arthur to wake up and realize what had just happened.
Instead, Arthur breathed against his neck and mumbled sleepily, "Cold, Merlin. Cold."
Merlin's mind was moving a mile a minute and all that was coherant was cuddlingwitharthurcuddlingwitharthurCUDDLINGWITHARTHUR. What was going on here?
Arthur rubbed his nose against the side Merlin's neck then, brushing it over the shell of his ear, before letting out a soft breath and then passing out completely, if the little snore was anything to go by.
Merlin laid there, trying to get his bearings, but he was tired and Arthur was so very warm and, even if Arthur didn't know what he was doing, this is what Merlin had wanted for what felt like an eternity. So, instead of freaking out - which, really, what good would that be? - Merlin let himself relax in Arthur's arms. He pillowed his head next to Arthur's on his rucksack and closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of Arthur's arms around him and the warm length of him down his back.
*****
There was a bear.
Sweet mother all of that's holy! There was a bear!
Merlin grabbed Arthur's hand and started pulling him away, but Arthur wasn't coming with him. He was just laughing and pointing back at the giant bear that was not at all fluffy and saying, "That's not a bear, Merlin. That's a bear!"
And then there were two bears. Only the second was twice the size of the giant first one and Merlin was going to die. Oh my god, they were going to die.
"We're not going to die," Arthur murmured.
We are going to die, Arthur! There's a bear! C'mon!
"Shhh, Merlin. There isn't a bear."
There is too a bear!
"Merlin," Arthur prodded. "Merlin, wake up, there's not a bear. You're just dreaming."
When Merlin's eyes finally popped open, things were fuzzy around the edges. His head swam with the idea that they were surrounded by giant bears and that Arthur, laughing in his face, wasn't scared of them at all. And yet, there was something more concrete taking place of that terrible image. Merlin felt his fingers were entwined tightly with someone else's. He could feel a warm body pressed behind him. He could feel warm lips on the back of his neck. He could-
Oh.
"Okay now?" Arthur asked, his breath on Merlin's ear. Quiet. Sleepy.
Merlin swallowed hard and nodded his head only slightly, but with as close as Arthur was to him, he knew he could feel it.
Arthur hummed in response, then let his lips graze over the shell of Merlin's ear, while he let his warm hands slide beneath the hem of Merlin's shirt, touching the bare skin. Lighting it on fire.
"Much warmer now," Arthur mumbled against the side of his neck.
Merlin's brain was short circuiting. He knew that if he just turned his head to the left, he could press his lips against Arthur's. That they'd be kissing. And he wasn't sure if Arthur was even aware that any of this was happening. Like the night before, he sounded half-asleep, in a haze caught between waking and unconsciousness and Merlin wasn't sure what to do.
But when Arthur's teeth scraped the top of his spine and his half-hard bulge pressed into his arse, Merlin sucked in a deep breath and decided that now was better than never. He turned his head just slightly and Arthur met him halfway, their lips slotting together like they'd always been meant to be that way.
A ridiculous noise of happiness bubbled up from Merlin's throat when Arthur licked into his mouth and he quickly twisted in his arms to get a better angle. Arthur smirked, much more awake than Merlin had expected him to be, and murmured, "Hey."
Merlin didn't blush - he was just really warm - when he replied, "Hey," in a hushed tone. He stared into Arthur's blue-blue eyes and then let his gaze slide down to his mouth.
Arthur moved first, his lips attacking Merlin's, claiming them between his teeth in gentle nips and bites, before soothing with his tongue. Merlin fisted his hand into the front of Arthur's jacket and pressed himself closer to Arthur, their bodies shifting together. When Arthur's hard length pressed against Merlin's, a shudder rippled down his back and a loud moan involuntarily escaped his lips.
"Wanted you," Arthur said between kisses, "for so long."
Merlin wanted to agree - figured if they were going to get their thoughts out, now would be a good time - but his brain wasn't functioning properly and all he could respond with was an enthusiastic, "ngh."
Arthur laughed against his mouth and then pressed Merlin back, ready to put his weight on top of him and ravish him properly, when they heard it.
The low, deep growling noise was coming from somewhere behind them, and yet they both knew it was exceptionally close. Arthur and Merlin both stopped moving, they both stopped breathing and they listened. The growl came again and Merlin felt his skin rise in gooseflesh.
A tiny squeak left Arthur's mouth and Merlin clamped his hand down over it. It was an unfortunate move, because Merlin had done enough research before their trip (and a good thing, too, because their instructor hadn't given them any indication on what to do in case of a bear attack - that must have been for the expert class) to know that they needed to stay completely still. And Merlin knew the minute he moved his hand only a couple centimeters to cover Arthur's mouth, he had drawn the bear's attention to them again.
He wasn't sure, but he thought it might be impossible to outrun a bear, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were about to find out for sure.
Merlin, who had the best angle, carefully lifted his head to see that the bear was probably 20 meters away, digging in the dirt beside a tree where Arthur had dropped a load of berries he'd found the night before. It wasn't a great head start, but it was something.
He let his head drop back down and looked Arthur in the eyes. He tried to give him as many signals as he possibly could with just his eyes, but Arthur just looked terrified. If Merlin hadn't been just as scared, he'd have rolled his eyes and told him to stop being such a girl. As it was, he understood and pleaded with his eyebrows for Arthur to understand.
Finally, Arthur barely jerked his head in acknowledgement and Merlin let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was short-lived though, because in the next moment, he found his fingers counting on their own.
When he had three fingers in the air, both of their eyes widened and they were quickly on their feet.
*****
Merlin's lungs burned and he did not want to be arguing about this right now.
The bear had, of course, taken right off after them as they got up to run. And Merlin, who had kept pace with Arthur the entire fast-paced trek through the woods, contributed to their survival to the fact that they were, in fact, in the woods. The bear had seemed to have a little bit of trouble getting to full speed while navigating the trees and because he and Arthur were much smaller, had the slight advantage.
Their disadvantage, however, came with the fact that they had no clue where they were going. The bear had been blocking their way back to the stream so, in an effort to at least head down the mountain, they'd taken off in the opposite direction of the bear, but also (hopefully) in the downward direction.
And at first, they had been traveling down. Merlin could see the rocky terrain ahead of them and figured at that rate, they'd be to the car in no more than ten minutes. Unfortunately, as they came upon the giant rocks, it only led them to an extremely steep, very much of a dead-end cliff. They had only just stopped their forward momentum in time to not fall over the side.
Merlin clutched his side, hearing the bear huffing behind them, cornering them and waiting to make his move. He looked over, trying not to make eye contact and noticing for the first time exactly how large the bear was, how big its teeth and claws were. As if to make a point at that very moment, the bear stood up on its hind legs and growled loudly.
Merlin wanted to faint.
"What do you bloody mean you might have another way off this cliff?" Arthur was shouting at him.
He hadn't meant to say the words, but when Arthur had seen that they were trapped and instinctively asked what they were going to do now, Merlin might have mentioned that there was another option.
"I just." Merlin stopped, his breath coming out in puffs along with Arthur's. He really didn't want to die on this god-forsaken cliff in the middle of absolutely nowhere on a stupid "vacation" that Arthur had pouted his way into, but dammit, he didn't want to lose Arthur either.
"What, Merlin?!" Arthur shouted. "This isn't a time to think about it! If you have a way down, let's hear it."
Merlin bit his lip. This was not going to be good.
But before he could make up his mind as to which was more important - survival or revelations - the bear, dropping down to all fours, charged at them. Without hesitation, Merlin moved forward, wrapped his arms around Arthur and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the gold burn was fading from his eyes and they were standing in the middle of the parking lot.
Merlin had a brief moment of blinding elation. And then he saw Arthur's face.
*****
Arthur was pacing. He hadn't said much since they'd found themselves out of harm's way, minus calling the instructor on his emergency number and telling him they were pulling out of the weekend early. They'd ridden back to uni without speaking and Merlin was pretty sure he had worried his lip to death. His stomach was in knots and he just wished that Arthur would say something.
"So you're like David Copperfield?"
Okay, maybe something else.
Merlin shook his head. "No," he answered, quietly. "I'm. Well. You see, I was born. I." Merlin stopped, his hands in the air as he shrugged. "I have magic," he finished lamely.
Arthur laughed if maybe a bit harshly. "There is no such thing as magic."
"But there is," Merlin answered, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed. "You saw it for yourself, Arthur. How else did we get off that cliff?"
Arthur's eyes widened. The shock from earlier crept into his face and Merlin wanted to reach, to hold him and kiss him and tell him that it was alright. Just because he was a little bit magic, didn't mean he was any less Merlin. That what they did earlier, before the cockblocking bear of DOOM!, was something they could get back to really quickly if Arthur would just open up his mind to the possibilities.
Merlin took a chance. He got up from his bed and grabbed Arthur's shoulders. "Arthur, I'm still me," he said gently. "I'm still Merlin. The same Merlin that you met two years ago on the first day of uni. The same Merlin that helped you home the night of your breakup with Viv and the same Merlin who let you puke all over his new shoes. I'm the same Merlin that you text sixty-thousand times a day about the most random things and the same Merlin who sends you cell pictures of every cat I see for no particular reason than the fact that I know, deep down, you love cats. But most of all," Merlin stopped and stared at Arthur for a minute, the deep lines of distrust and confusion dimming in his eyes with each memory. "But most of all, Arthur, I'm the same Merlin that you kissed up on that mountain today. The same Merlin you said you'd been wanting to kiss for so long."
Arthur looked back at him. He didn't move forward, but he didn't pull away and Merlin knew. He knew he had him. He just needed a little push in the right direction.
"I might be a little bit magical, Arthur," Merlin said and he pressed his forehead against Arthur's. "But I didn't feel like it until I met you."
And then Merlin let his lips press against Arthur's. He didn't push, just let them rest there, warm and inviting and finally Arthur kissed him back. Slightly tentative, but full of promise and Merlin thought that maybe survival training was pretty glorious.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~5,000
Warnings: Modern AU
Summary: In which, Merlin and Arthur decide to take a survival training class over a long, holiday weekend. Well, Arthur decided and Merlin, not having the slightest idea how to say no to Arthur, said he’d go with him. But, when things take a turn for the worse, Merlin decides that now would be as good a time as any to admit that he’s just a wee bit magical.
Notes: Written for ravelqueen at glomp_fest 2012. Many, many thanks to sabriel75 for the last minute beta and for being, well, pretty glorious. ;) Any remaining mistakes are my own.
Also available on AO3 here
Survival Training
Merlin Emrys, 21-year-old literature major at Camelot University and self-proclaimed hater of all things outdoors, surveyed his surroundings with disdain.
The evergreens towering high into the sky, full of heavy needles at the top but sparsely covered at the bottom, blanketed the area in a silence Merlin could only describe as eerie and disconcerting. And, without being able to see it at the moment, Merlin knew that when they finally started this ill-advised "holiday" the ground would set at a steep incline, the trees eventually giving way to rocks, the rocks to large boulders and the boulders into snow-covered cliffs. The brochure had promised grand, sweeping views, the chance to become one with nature and instruction in the skills needed to survive in the wilderness.
Merlin snorted. "The brochure should have said, ‘Come to survival training where there are so many trees you'll get lost before you even get started, your odds of freezing to death are pretty spectacular and we can guarantee a brush with death when you stumble across a bear or a R.O.U.S. Oh and good luck! You're totally on your own! Ha. Ha. Ha.'"
Arthur Pendragon, 22-year-old business finance major and Merlin's roommate (slash-best friend), was adjusting his packed rucksack and looking as if Christmas had come early. Merlin was loathe to admit that the outdoors only made him much more beautiful. The sun that was desperately trying to glint through the trees must have thought so, too, because their rays made a beeline for Arthur's golden hair, making him shine and sparkle like some bloody Greek god (or Edward Cullen - only hotter, blonder and less vampire-y). Arthur was definitely made to be in the wilderness.
He quirked his eyebrow at Merlin and huffed out a laugh. "You do realize, Merlin, that this is nothing like The Princess Bride, don't you? Rodents of Unusual Size don't actually exist, even though you swear you saw one that night you went on a tequila bender and passed out in the alley. I thought we went over this."
Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "First of all, The Princess Bride is a cinematic classic and should get its proper respect, thank you very much." Arthur snorted in amusement and went about looking at his map. "Second of all," Merlin said, raising his voice, "I did see a R.O.U.S. that night, Arthur. Just because you automatically assume it was the size of the ones in The Princess Bride doesn't mean that it was. Rodents of Unusual Size, Arthur. Anything bigger than a normal-sized rodent is a R.O.U.S."
"Mmm," Arthur said, noncommittally. He wasn't listening. He was never listening. Not that Merlin could actually blame him. They had beaten this subject to death and were just going to have to agree to disagree.
But it had been a giant rat. Merlin would never cut down that alley again - even if it was the quickest route from their dorm to the pub.
"Fine then, bears," Merlin adds, folding his arms across his chest and huffing. "I know there are bears up there."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, there are no bears. They would not send us out on a beginner's survival training to an area known to have bears."
Merlin looked around at the expanse of forest in front of him with an incredulous look on his face. "What?! Of course there are bears in there, Arthur!"
Arthur crouched to set the map on the ground, letting his finger drag across the surface to map out the route he wanted them to take. It was his own little way of letting Merlin know they were done talking about this. Merlin sighed.
He wasn't entirely sure how he'd been suckered into this. Merlin was not an outdoorsy kind of guy and even complained when his pale, sensitive skin had to come into contact with sunlight for even the briefest of moments. He liked being indoors, where there was modern-day miracles, like plumbing and coffee makers. He didn't enjoy hiking or rock-climbing like Arthur. He preferred curling up in one of the comfy chairs in the campus library and reading a book or chatting with Gwen, one of the student aids and their good friend.
The truth was, Arthur and Merlin were about as opposite as they come. Arthur, golden-haired and fit beyond belief, was destined to run his father's company, Pendragon Industries (Merlin still wasn't entirely sure what that company did) and play football every weekend in the park with his beefy mates. Merlin, dark-haired and about the size of a flag pole, wanted nothing more than to make his fortune writing fantasy novels that appealed to every age and finding a nice man to settle down with.
Of course, Merlin had already found a nice man to settle down with - even if said man didn't seem interested in him - and that's what reminded him of why he was currently standing at the edge of the parking lot waiting to start this trek through Hell.
Merlin looked down at Arthur, who was concentrating so hard on the map that his forehead was creased into a scowl. Merlin had only said yes to this survival training codswallop because Arthur had pulled out the big guns: an epic pouty face and quivering lip that Merlin did not find at all mesmerizing, thank you. He was just. Well. Yeah.
Merlin was so screwed.
Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, a bit impatiently, Merlin huffed. "Have you figured out which way you want to go yet, Arthur? We're the last ones here and at this rate, we'll be able to spend the night in the car." Merlin smiled. "Never mind. That's a brilliant idea. Let's sleep in the car!"
Arthur glared up at him. "We are not sleeping in the car."
"Fine," Merlin pouted. "Whatever. Can we get going then?"
Arthur sighed and gathered up the map, shoving it into his rucksack and then throwing it over his shoulder. "I didn't think you were so keen on the idea of survival training, Merlin," he teased.
"Oh, I'm not," Merlin answered, adjusting his own survival training-issued rucksack. "I'm just sick of standing around here."
Arthur smirked. "Then let's be off, shall we?"
*****
An hour later and Merlin was short of breath. Arthur had taken them directly to the stream that led down the side of the mountain and promptly told him that they were following it up. Merlin had figured that was as good a plan as any, considering they would always have a point of reference. But now that he realized it was on the steepest part of the mountain, he was ready to run back down to the gathering site, jump in the car and go back to campus.
The trees had thinned much sooner than Merlin had anticipated and after that it had been straight up hill and over rocky terrain. For a brief moment, Merlin was actually thankful that Arthur had bought him his first pair of hiking boots ever (not that he'd be telling him that), but then he slipped off the side of a particularly wet boulder and cursed him to high heaven for even inviting him on this trip.
Merlin sat down on the rock and huffed. "I'm stopping," he announced.
Arthur, a fair ways ahead of him, turned and scowled. "We've only just begun, Merlin. I want to make it another mile, at least, before we stop for the night."
"So we can do what?" Merlin asked, pulling out one of the canteens of water they were permitted when starting, and taking a long pull. "Work another two hours to find firewood, make shelter and freeze to death without blankets. Oh and might I add that we will likely starve, too because we have nothing but four canteens of water and two packages of beef jerky between us - and let's be honest here, Arthur. You're a fan of eating. I've seen you eat an entire large pepperoni pizza, a massive pile of gravy-covered chips and half a pan of Gwen's slutified brownies all in one sitting. And then demand more. If you decide you want to eat both of those packages of jerky, I am screwed."
Arthur didn't look very impressed with Merlin's little diatribe. "Could you be anymore dramatic?"
"Yes!" Merlin added. "On top of all that, I expect we'll be eaten by bears at some point. Bears, Arthur! Big, giant, fluffy bears!"
Arthur shook his head, looking a little more amused than before. "What did I tell you about the bears?"
"I know I'm right," Merlin pouted.
Arthur huffed and dropped his rucksack to the ground. "Fine, we'll make camp here tonight then. On the rocks. I'm sure that will be lovely sleeping. No sense walking on to see if we can find a bit of undergrowth to sleep on. Definitely. Here would be better. Mmhmm."
Merlin looked around him, at the rocky terrain, and sighed. Damn. If he had to take his chances with bears or a broken back from all rocks, he supposed he'd go with the bears. After all, Arthur was probably right. Why would they send them out into the wilderness if there were bears about?
He picked up his rucksack. "Fine," he said. "Let's keep going, but so help me, you'd better find us a soft place to sleep."
*****
Surprisingly, another mile or so following the stream and the rocky ground had given way to another forest, only a little more sparse and with many more low-hanging branches. It was easy to walk a few hundred yards away from the stream and find level, softer ground to make camp.
Of course, Merlin wasn't about to praise Arthur for his foresight.
If you could even call it that.
"Look," Arthur commented, pulling on the branches above them and holding them together. "We even have a makeshift canopy. All we need is something to tie these branches together with and we'll be good." His smile was blinding and cocky. A deadly combination.
Merlin dropped the armload of firewood Arthur had made him "go off and fetch" and rolled his eyes. "Yes, that's going to keep us safe from bears," Merlin mumbled.
"What was that?"
"I said you are not gods gift to the great outdoors, Arthur."
"I never said I was," Arthur smirked.
Merlin pointed his finger at him and narrowed his eyes. "I know what you're thinking." Arthur's responding laugh was loud and glorious and when he tipped his head back, Merlin tried to pretend like he wasn't staring at the long column of his neck.
Merlin dropped down to his knees to start arranging the firewood in some semblance of order, while Arthur popped open his rucksack to see if there was something inside that could double as rope.
"Ah ha!" Arthur shouted, jumping up from his crouched position and holding up a precariously knotted and small bundle of twine.
Merlin rolled his eyes. "What kind of survival training is this? We only get one package of beef jerky, but they send us with twine?"
Arthur smirked. "Well, that's alright then, Merlin. I'll go ahead and set up a canopy for myself then with the handy twine they've been so kind to have given us in the beginning survival training course that you insisted we take, because - and I quote - ‘You can't take an expert class before you've started at the beginning, Arthuuuuur.'" Arthur had raised his voice an entire octave to imitate Merlin, which was just grossly unfair, and then laughed. "I'll leave you to make your own canopy."
Merlin silently fumed while he continued to stack the wood in the same fashion he'd seen their instructor do it earlier in the day. It was one of the few things Merlin truly paid attention to, because he was not about to freeze to death. Unfortunately, every time he thought he had it set up, he'd reach for the matches (yes, they got matches, thank god) and it would promptly fall over.
Trying not to grumble too loudly, Merlin re-stacked the wood for the third time and held it with one hand, while he grabbed the matches. It was tricky work, but he managed to continue to hold up the pile and strike the match at the same time. When he set the kindling on fire, he had to let go, but kept his eyes trained on the pile to make sure it didn't move.
"Success!" Merlin cried when the wood caught and seemed to stay put. And if Merlin's eyes looked a little golden when Arthur turned around, well, he was right in front of the fire.
*****
Merlin huddled underneath the sad excuse of a canopy that he'd had to make himself and shivered. The canopy hadn't been a huge deal, at first, so he didn't really take his time tying the branches together.
Of course, that was about the time the clouds had rolled in and the sky had opened up. He and Arthur had worked quickly to use the two pieces of tarp they had been given to cover their area and the remaining firewood, but it wasn't enough to save the fire that was already going.
Also, Merlin's side didn't hold up, and while sitting under the tarp and bemoaning the fact that he had to build yet another fire, his tarp had collapsed down on top of him, soaking him to the bone.
Arthur, after laughing at him for a full five minutes, had helped him put his canopy back together as best as he could, but by the time they got it finished, it had stopped raining. And Arthur was dry and warm in his clothes, while Merlin was wet and shivery.
Merlin looked over at Arthur and rolled his eyes. Of course he was sleeping. Arthur could sleep through anything. He looked over his lean body, the way he had his arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles, and wanted.
They had been instantaneous friends when they'd met the first day of uni. And considering how opposite they were, it was a surprise to both of them. But there was a familiarity between them and a sort of unspoken bond, so they'd slid right into the friendship. And even though Arthur had a tendency to rip on Merlin quite constantly, he was known to get his own digs in once in awhile. It was a balance that worked for them. They'd been pretty much inseparable since the day they'd met.
Merlin wasn't entirely sure when he'd started to fall for Arthur, though. If he were honest with himself, it was probably love at first sight, but Merlin wasn't always honest with himself. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that Merlin was arse over tit for that gorgeous, big lug and Arthur just. Well, he wasn't interested.
Merlin shivered again, sending his body into tremors, and he huffed in annoyance. He looked over at Arthur to make sure he was still sleeping and then he closed his eyes. When he opened them a second later, they burned gold and instantly his clothes were as dry as they'd been before the start of their trip.
Sighing in relief, Merlin relaxed a bit, but still felt chilled. He looked over again at Arthur, who had a rosy glow to his cheeks and firelight highlighting his glorious hair. Merlin sighed and made a decision.
After dropping a few more pieces of dry firewood onto the fire, he shimmied closer to Arthur as quietly as he could manage, so as not to wake him. He reached out a hand when he was close enough and touched the top of Arthur's hand. It was extremely warm and Merlin found himself moving in closer without even realizing it.
He was just about to lie down next to him, just to hopefully absorb some of the heat radiating from him, when Arthur's hand shifted and grabbed Merlin's. His eyes widened and shot to Arthur's face, but he was still sleeping. Merlin didn't have time to pull away - didn't even know if he could if he wanted to - before Arthur was dragging him down beside him and wrapping his arms around him.
Merlin found himself as the little spoon, with Arthur's hands wrapped around his waist and his warm nose pressed to the back of Merlin's neck. Shocked, Merlin didn't move, but lay tense, waiting for Arthur to wake up and realize what had just happened.
Instead, Arthur breathed against his neck and mumbled sleepily, "Cold, Merlin. Cold."
Merlin's mind was moving a mile a minute and all that was coherant was cuddlingwitharthurcuddlingwitharthurCUDDLINGWITHARTHUR. What was going on here?
Arthur rubbed his nose against the side Merlin's neck then, brushing it over the shell of his ear, before letting out a soft breath and then passing out completely, if the little snore was anything to go by.
Merlin laid there, trying to get his bearings, but he was tired and Arthur was so very warm and, even if Arthur didn't know what he was doing, this is what Merlin had wanted for what felt like an eternity. So, instead of freaking out - which, really, what good would that be? - Merlin let himself relax in Arthur's arms. He pillowed his head next to Arthur's on his rucksack and closed his eyes, concentrating on the feel of Arthur's arms around him and the warm length of him down his back.
*****
There was a bear.
Sweet mother all of that's holy! There was a bear!
Merlin grabbed Arthur's hand and started pulling him away, but Arthur wasn't coming with him. He was just laughing and pointing back at the giant bear that was not at all fluffy and saying, "That's not a bear, Merlin. That's a bear!"
And then there were two bears. Only the second was twice the size of the giant first one and Merlin was going to die. Oh my god, they were going to die.
"We're not going to die," Arthur murmured.
We are going to die, Arthur! There's a bear! C'mon!
"Shhh, Merlin. There isn't a bear."
There is too a bear!
"Merlin," Arthur prodded. "Merlin, wake up, there's not a bear. You're just dreaming."
When Merlin's eyes finally popped open, things were fuzzy around the edges. His head swam with the idea that they were surrounded by giant bears and that Arthur, laughing in his face, wasn't scared of them at all. And yet, there was something more concrete taking place of that terrible image. Merlin felt his fingers were entwined tightly with someone else's. He could feel a warm body pressed behind him. He could feel warm lips on the back of his neck. He could-
Oh.
"Okay now?" Arthur asked, his breath on Merlin's ear. Quiet. Sleepy.
Merlin swallowed hard and nodded his head only slightly, but with as close as Arthur was to him, he knew he could feel it.
Arthur hummed in response, then let his lips graze over the shell of Merlin's ear, while he let his warm hands slide beneath the hem of Merlin's shirt, touching the bare skin. Lighting it on fire.
"Much warmer now," Arthur mumbled against the side of his neck.
Merlin's brain was short circuiting. He knew that if he just turned his head to the left, he could press his lips against Arthur's. That they'd be kissing. And he wasn't sure if Arthur was even aware that any of this was happening. Like the night before, he sounded half-asleep, in a haze caught between waking and unconsciousness and Merlin wasn't sure what to do.
But when Arthur's teeth scraped the top of his spine and his half-hard bulge pressed into his arse, Merlin sucked in a deep breath and decided that now was better than never. He turned his head just slightly and Arthur met him halfway, their lips slotting together like they'd always been meant to be that way.
A ridiculous noise of happiness bubbled up from Merlin's throat when Arthur licked into his mouth and he quickly twisted in his arms to get a better angle. Arthur smirked, much more awake than Merlin had expected him to be, and murmured, "Hey."
Merlin didn't blush - he was just really warm - when he replied, "Hey," in a hushed tone. He stared into Arthur's blue-blue eyes and then let his gaze slide down to his mouth.
Arthur moved first, his lips attacking Merlin's, claiming them between his teeth in gentle nips and bites, before soothing with his tongue. Merlin fisted his hand into the front of Arthur's jacket and pressed himself closer to Arthur, their bodies shifting together. When Arthur's hard length pressed against Merlin's, a shudder rippled down his back and a loud moan involuntarily escaped his lips.
"Wanted you," Arthur said between kisses, "for so long."
Merlin wanted to agree - figured if they were going to get their thoughts out, now would be a good time - but his brain wasn't functioning properly and all he could respond with was an enthusiastic, "ngh."
Arthur laughed against his mouth and then pressed Merlin back, ready to put his weight on top of him and ravish him properly, when they heard it.
The low, deep growling noise was coming from somewhere behind them, and yet they both knew it was exceptionally close. Arthur and Merlin both stopped moving, they both stopped breathing and they listened. The growl came again and Merlin felt his skin rise in gooseflesh.
A tiny squeak left Arthur's mouth and Merlin clamped his hand down over it. It was an unfortunate move, because Merlin had done enough research before their trip (and a good thing, too, because their instructor hadn't given them any indication on what to do in case of a bear attack - that must have been for the expert class) to know that they needed to stay completely still. And Merlin knew the minute he moved his hand only a couple centimeters to cover Arthur's mouth, he had drawn the bear's attention to them again.
He wasn't sure, but he thought it might be impossible to outrun a bear, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they were about to find out for sure.
Merlin, who had the best angle, carefully lifted his head to see that the bear was probably 20 meters away, digging in the dirt beside a tree where Arthur had dropped a load of berries he'd found the night before. It wasn't a great head start, but it was something.
He let his head drop back down and looked Arthur in the eyes. He tried to give him as many signals as he possibly could with just his eyes, but Arthur just looked terrified. If Merlin hadn't been just as scared, he'd have rolled his eyes and told him to stop being such a girl. As it was, he understood and pleaded with his eyebrows for Arthur to understand.
Finally, Arthur barely jerked his head in acknowledgement and Merlin let out a quiet sigh of relief. It was short-lived though, because in the next moment, he found his fingers counting on their own.
When he had three fingers in the air, both of their eyes widened and they were quickly on their feet.
*****
Merlin's lungs burned and he did not want to be arguing about this right now.
The bear had, of course, taken right off after them as they got up to run. And Merlin, who had kept pace with Arthur the entire fast-paced trek through the woods, contributed to their survival to the fact that they were, in fact, in the woods. The bear had seemed to have a little bit of trouble getting to full speed while navigating the trees and because he and Arthur were much smaller, had the slight advantage.
Their disadvantage, however, came with the fact that they had no clue where they were going. The bear had been blocking their way back to the stream so, in an effort to at least head down the mountain, they'd taken off in the opposite direction of the bear, but also (hopefully) in the downward direction.
And at first, they had been traveling down. Merlin could see the rocky terrain ahead of them and figured at that rate, they'd be to the car in no more than ten minutes. Unfortunately, as they came upon the giant rocks, it only led them to an extremely steep, very much of a dead-end cliff. They had only just stopped their forward momentum in time to not fall over the side.
Merlin clutched his side, hearing the bear huffing behind them, cornering them and waiting to make his move. He looked over, trying not to make eye contact and noticing for the first time exactly how large the bear was, how big its teeth and claws were. As if to make a point at that very moment, the bear stood up on its hind legs and growled loudly.
Merlin wanted to faint.
"What do you bloody mean you might have another way off this cliff?" Arthur was shouting at him.
He hadn't meant to say the words, but when Arthur had seen that they were trapped and instinctively asked what they were going to do now, Merlin might have mentioned that there was another option.
"I just." Merlin stopped, his breath coming out in puffs along with Arthur's. He really didn't want to die on this god-forsaken cliff in the middle of absolutely nowhere on a stupid "vacation" that Arthur had pouted his way into, but dammit, he didn't want to lose Arthur either.
"What, Merlin?!" Arthur shouted. "This isn't a time to think about it! If you have a way down, let's hear it."
Merlin bit his lip. This was not going to be good.
But before he could make up his mind as to which was more important - survival or revelations - the bear, dropping down to all fours, charged at them. Without hesitation, Merlin moved forward, wrapped his arms around Arthur and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the gold burn was fading from his eyes and they were standing in the middle of the parking lot.
Merlin had a brief moment of blinding elation. And then he saw Arthur's face.
*****
Arthur was pacing. He hadn't said much since they'd found themselves out of harm's way, minus calling the instructor on his emergency number and telling him they were pulling out of the weekend early. They'd ridden back to uni without speaking and Merlin was pretty sure he had worried his lip to death. His stomach was in knots and he just wished that Arthur would say something.
"So you're like David Copperfield?"
Okay, maybe something else.
Merlin shook his head. "No," he answered, quietly. "I'm. Well. You see, I was born. I." Merlin stopped, his hands in the air as he shrugged. "I have magic," he finished lamely.
Arthur laughed if maybe a bit harshly. "There is no such thing as magic."
"But there is," Merlin answered, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed. "You saw it for yourself, Arthur. How else did we get off that cliff?"
Arthur's eyes widened. The shock from earlier crept into his face and Merlin wanted to reach, to hold him and kiss him and tell him that it was alright. Just because he was a little bit magic, didn't mean he was any less Merlin. That what they did earlier, before the cockblocking bear of DOOM!, was something they could get back to really quickly if Arthur would just open up his mind to the possibilities.
Merlin took a chance. He got up from his bed and grabbed Arthur's shoulders. "Arthur, I'm still me," he said gently. "I'm still Merlin. The same Merlin that you met two years ago on the first day of uni. The same Merlin that helped you home the night of your breakup with Viv and the same Merlin who let you puke all over his new shoes. I'm the same Merlin that you text sixty-thousand times a day about the most random things and the same Merlin who sends you cell pictures of every cat I see for no particular reason than the fact that I know, deep down, you love cats. But most of all," Merlin stopped and stared at Arthur for a minute, the deep lines of distrust and confusion dimming in his eyes with each memory. "But most of all, Arthur, I'm the same Merlin that you kissed up on that mountain today. The same Merlin you said you'd been wanting to kiss for so long."
Arthur looked back at him. He didn't move forward, but he didn't pull away and Merlin knew. He knew he had him. He just needed a little push in the right direction.
"I might be a little bit magical, Arthur," Merlin said and he pressed his forehead against Arthur's. "But I didn't feel like it until I met you."
And then Merlin let his lips press against Arthur's. He didn't push, just let them rest there, warm and inviting and finally Arthur kissed him back. Slightly tentative, but full of promise and Merlin thought that maybe survival training was pretty glorious.