Fic: Could be Worse (Ch 2)
Title: Could be Worse
Rating: R
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin (with Morgana/Leon and Lancelot/Gwen)
Warnings/Spoilers: Modern AU
Summary: Having just finished his Masters and falling behind on rent, Merlin's in desperate need of a job. Unfortunately, nothing in his field is available immediately and the last resort his godfather managed to rustle up ("I already have a secretary, Merlin") isn't exactly what Merlin would call his dream job.
A/N: Thank you so much to my lovely beta endlesscharade. This fic is for sstormc who has been amazingly patient while I've worked on this. I'm sorry it took so long for me to start posting, my friend! Oh, I'm also the summary queen of FAIL.
When Arthur entered his office the next morning and checked his email he found a message from Merlin.
From: GLeech@Camelot.co.uk
To: APendragon@Camelot.co.uk
Subject: Hard Drive Recovery
Arthur,
I don’t have a Camelot email yet so I’m writing from Gaius’s. I wanted to tell you I’ve finished going through your hard drive and managed to save everything. All of your files have been saved onto one of the company externals. You can pick it up from Gaius whenever you come in.
Merlin
Arthur stared at the email for a moment before picking up the phone and pressing Gaius’s extension.
“IT Support, this is Merlin,” said the cheerful voice on the other line.
“Merlin,” Arthur said, nonplussed. “This is Arthur Pendragon.”
“Oh, bugger,” Merlin replied, the cheer gone from his tone. “You’re in, then?”
“Yes,” Arthur answered, not sure if he should laugh or yell at his new PA to get his arse up to Arthur’s office where he was supposed to be.
“Well, did you need something?” Merlin asked. “I sent you an email.”
“I saw it,” Arthur said. “I’d like my files.”
“You can come get the external whenever you like,” Merlin told him. “I’ve got it right here. Gaius checked it, too. Everything was saved.”
Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. Maybe he should just sack Merlin before things got too out of control; it didn’t seem worth the frustration to have a PA who was completely incompetent and idiotic.
“Bring it up here,” Arthur ordered.
“Excuse me?” Merlin asked and Arthur could practically feel Merlin’s hackles rising at Arthur’s tone.
“You’re my PA and I asked you to do something,” Arthur informed him imperiously. “Bring me the external and hurry up. I’ve got a job for you.”
“I’ll be there soon,” Merlin muttered and the line went dead.
Arthur sighed and slumped in his chair. What had he done to deserve such a terrible PA? He knew he didn’t have to keep him, but Merlin was Gaius’s godson and Arthur would feel guilty for sacking him. Gaius had taken Arthur aside after Merlin had gone home the previous day and told Arthur how much it meant to him that he’d agreed to hire Merlin on. Gaius had mentioned Merlin was really a good young man; he was just having a hard time of it at the moment. Arthur decided he’d give Merlin one more chance, if Merlin really had managed to recover those files and was the computer genius his resume made him out to be, maybe it was worth tolerating his unprofessionalism.
*~*~*
“My master awaits,” Merlin announced to Gaius, gathering the external hard drive and walking towards the door.
“You really shouldn’t speak to him like that,” Gaius said mildly. “He’s only asking you to do your job.”
Merlin sighed. “I know. I just feel a bit of an idiot for how I acted yesterday when I first met him.”
“So your response is to be even more offensive?” Gaius asked, cocking an eyebrow. “If you’re hoping to hold on to this job even for one pay cycle, you might want to rethink that strategy.”
Merlin flushed. “I will. Sorry, Gaius.”
“You’re lucky Arthur hasn’t chucked you out already,” Gaius continued. “He doesn’t usually tolerate incompetence.”
Merlin bit his lip and nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“You better go,” Gaius said, nodding towards the door. “Don’t keep Arthur waiting any longer than you have already.”
Merlin nodded and hurried out of the room, heading for Arthur’s office. When he arrived, he knocked once before entering to find Arthur sitting at his desk, still going through his email.
“Do you sleep, Merlin?” Arthur asked when he turned around to survey his new PA.
“What?” Merlin frowned. He had been up late the night before trying to get the files for Arthur, but he’d gone to sleep around one AM. It was nothing compared to his university days where he’d pulled more all-nighters than he wanted to admit.
“That email you sent me, it came after midnight,” Arthur replied, eyeing Merlin critically. “You don’t actually get paid for working extra hours. This is a salaried position.”
“I wanted to finish it,” Merlin answered with a shrug. It was true. It had been a while since he’d been given any sort of task that didn’t include cleaning his flat or paying bills.
“You worked from home?” Arthur asked, sighing when Merlin nodded. “I’d rather you didn’t take my things home with you. If anything happened, I couldn’t replace them.”
“It’s not like I don’t know my way around a computer. I’m not going to break your hard drive!” Merlin protested, glaring at Arthur who looked taken aback by Merlin’s outburst. He walked over to Arthur’s desk and dropped the external next to his keyboard. “You made it sound like it was important so I thought I’d best get it done for you.”
“Well, thank you,” Arthur replied dubiously, looking down at the external for a moment before connecting it to his desktop.
“All of the files are there,” Merlin said grumpily. “You don’t need to check them.”
Arthur snorted. “I still need to be able to access them, though, yeah?” He opened the folder Merlin had labelled ‘Arthur’s Files’ and sighed in relief when he saw that everything was there from the photos at Morgana’s wedding to the most recent draft of a business proposal he hadn’t saved anywhere else.
“I don’t think any of them are broken,” Merlin commented as Arthur scrolled through everything. “I did my best.”
“This is brilliant.” Arthur grinned at Merlin.
Merlin shrugged. “Sure.”
Arthur tried not to laugh. He wasn’t sure why, but he found Merlin’s rudeness more amusing than anything. If Merlin hadn’t proven to be competent Arthur may have gotten rid of him but he decided to ignore Merlin’s bad temper and focus more on the fact that Merlin was able to complete tasks quickly. At least Arthur hoped he was, this had been the only task Merlin had been set.
“Did you need anything else? Maybe I need to get you a coffee?” Merlin asked, tone slightly bitter.
“I can get my own and I prefer tea anyway,” Arthur replied, not quite paying attention as he read through a new email.
“Well, did you need something?” Merlin asked, clearly wanting to get out of Arthur’s office and head back to Gaius’s IT office to tinker with computers. Gaius had promised Merlin that when he wasn’t doing jobs for Arthur that he could help the IT support crew. Gaius had also told Merlin that it was unlikely he would have much free time working for Arthur but Merlin hoped he would be able to get away. He figured that if he was down in IT he could at least look for jobs more related to his field.
Arthur leaned back and looked at Merlin. “Do you have a desk yet?” When Merlin shook his head, Arthur looked thoughtful. “You still need a Camelot email, as well? Well, why don’t you go down to HR and talk to Gwen and see if she can’t help push your paperwork through and find you a temporary space. My old PA had a desk just down the hall but since he’s now working for my father, I think he kept the space. Gwen will know.” Arthur shrugged as if to say that he didn’t typically bother with such things. “Come back when your email is set up and we’ll work on making sure you have access to my schedule.”
“Lovely,” Merlin said dryly. “Anything else?”
“Give me your mobile number,” Arthur ordered, pulling out his smartphone.
“Why? I’m not letting you ring me at all hours of the night to help you pick out your wardrobe or bring you a curry because you’re working late,” Merlin warned, sticking his hands in his pockets. “That’s not my job.”
“Are you quite finished?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, looking both exasperated and amused by Merlin’s behaviour. When Merlin just glared at him, Arthur said, “I think you watch too many films. You’re my PA, not my slave.” He swept his eyes up and down Merlin’s slender frame, a small smirk on his lips. “Besides, I think I can dress myself without your input.”
Merlin flushed. The trousers to his suit were slightly too short and it had been a while since he’d last dry cleaned the jacket it, but there was nothing wrong with it. It was a perfectly good suit. Merlin opened his mouth to tell Arthur so when the door opened and Uther Pendragon stepped inside.
“Come back when you’ve finished with that, Merlin, and make sure I get your mobile,” Arthur said, waving Merlin away as he greeted his father.
Merlin didn’t bother saying anything to Arthur as he left. He’d met Uther Pendragon the day before and the man was intimidating. Merlin might find Arthur to be a bit of a stuck-up prat, but he knew better than to fling insults in front of the boss.
It took until after lunch for Merlin to get his email set up and find a large cubicle where he could work. It turned out that he would share the area with George, Arthur’s previous PA and Uther’s current one. Merlin thought that the sandy haired man was rather strange, but he seemed helpful and willing to share the space with Merlin so long as Merlin kept to his side of the large L-shaped desk.
When Merlin had procrastinated enough with setting up his new computer, gathering office supplies, and asking George for the information on the wireless printer they were going to share, he finally sent Arthur an email.
From: MEmrys@Camelot.co.uk
To: APendragon@Camelot.co.uk
Subject: Desk
Arthur,
I’ve got a desk and an email now. No electric kettle, so don’t bother asking, you’re still going to have to make your own tea.
Merlin
P.S. You need to work out a nicer way to ask for men’s numbers or they’ll think you’re only after their virtue.
Merlin waited to see if Arthur would respond to him. He wasn’t sure why he was enjoying taunting Arthur so much, but he couldn’t help it. It didn’t seem to make Arthur angry, if anything he seemed amused. Merlin had pegged Arthur as an uptight arse and a bit of a control freak after overhearing the conversation between Arthur and his ex-boyfriend, but he was finding that Arthur was actually quite level-headed and a dedicated worker. Most people in the company seemed to like him.
When Merlin had mentioned to Gwen from HR that he was Arthur’s new assistant, she had smiled at him and said that he was lucky, that Arthur worked hard and was good to his employees. Gwen had warned him that Arthur had a bit of a superiority complex but that as long as Merlin got his work done, Arthur would treat him fairly. Merlin had no intention of not doing his job, but he was sincerely hoping that he wouldn’t be stuck arranging Arthur’s schedule or filing Arthur’s paperwork for the rest of his life.
He grinned when he saw Arthur’s response to his email.
From: APendragon@Camelot.co.uk
To: MEmrys@Camelot.co.uk
Subject: Re: Desk
Merlin,
You’re still not my slave and I like making my own tea. You’d probably poison it anyway. Now come into my office, we need to discuss next week’s schedule.
A.
P.S. Get over yourself and give me your mobile number.
Merlin shook his head and made his way over to Arthur’s office. He knew he needed to listen to Gaius and stop taunting his new boss, it was only his second day after all, but it seemed Arthur was willing to play along.
*~*~*
Two weeks later, Arthur was at Morgana and Leon’s house for dinner, trying not to think about the fact that the two of them had just told Arthur they were trying for a baby.
“I really don’t want that picture in my head, thanks,” Arthur grumbled, earning himself a light smack on the back of his head from Morgana and a sheepish grin from Leon.
“You’re not supposed to picture it,” Morgana said tartly. “You’re supposed to tell us how wonderful it is that we want a child and that you can’t wait to be an uncle.”
Arthur snorted. “I don’t want to think about you spawning.” Morgana glared at him and Arthur chuckled. “Of course I’m happy for you, stop looking at me like that.”
Mollified, Morgana smiled and put her hand on top of Leon’s where it rested on the table. “Have you started dating again? You actually seem…well, happy is the word I’d normally use but I don’t think you allow yourself to be happy.”
“He’s got a new PA,” Leon reminded Morgana. “So he’s not bringing work home as much and actually gets out of the office before six.”
“He’s good?” Morgana asked curiously. “Leon said he’s got a mouth on him.”
“He’s rather odd,” Arthur admitted. “I think he goes home at night and thinks up new ways to insult me.”
Morgana frowned. “Sack him. You don’t need to put up with that.”
“No,” Leon interrupted, “it’s actually quite funny and it works. He’s really good at what he does, even if it is a bit unconventional.”
Morgana didn’t look convinced so Arthur said, “He’s the man who saw me have a fight with Peter in front of the tea house. I think he’s still convinced I’m a bit of a self-centred berk.”
“I don’t see how that’s a good basis for a PA,” Morgana replied stubbornly.
Arthur shrugged. “He gets his work done. He’s not as competent as George but he actually knows about computers and managed to save those files for me.”
“He’s better than George was,” Leon argued. “Merlin actually tells Arthur when he’s being stupid rather than getting passive aggressive or going to Uther.”
“You want to recruit him,” Morgana accused.
“He’d be a good systems analyst if we can ever get rid of Edwin,” Arthur replied, seeing no point in denying Morgana’s claim. “Yeah, he’s a bit of an eccentric and he’s not very nice to me but he seems to get on well with everyone else. I don’t need to like him to know we could definitely use him.”
Morgana sighed. “Arthur, you need to stop always thinking about work.”
“I like my job,” Arthur argued.
“I know,” Morgana said slowly, looking to Leon for support and sighing when he wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I just think you need to start dating again.”
“It’s only been a few weeks since Peter,” Arthur pointed out. “I think I’m allowed some personal time.”
“You need a holiday,” Morgana retorted. “Get your head on straight and spend some time away from the office. Tell your new PA to arrange it. I’ll book you a reservation somewhere quiet and without internet for next weekend.”
Arthur made a face. “Morgana, I think I’m capable of sorting my own life out.”
“Oh, Arthur,” Morgana said indulgently. “You’re such a fool.”
*~*~*
“Why would I need to ring you over the weekend?” Merlin asked on Wednesday when Arthur informed him that he would be unavailable Friday evening through the weekend.
Arthur shrugged. “I don’t know. Perhaps to tell me that you deleted all of my files or that the office burned down and you got out alive.”
Merlin snorted. “I don’t actually live in this cubicle with George, you know.” He looked over at George and said, “No offense, George.”
“Of course not,” George replied, eyes focused on his computer screen and appearing to ignore the conversation occurring behind him. “I haven’t imagined such a thing would occur between us. It would drastically reduce the amount of time I spend assisting Mister Pendragon.”
“Right,” Merlin said, looking perplexed as well as slightly concerned.
“Thank you, George,” Arthur said, trying not to laugh. “Come along, Merlin. I’d like to speak with you.”
Merlin got to his feet quickly, wanting to put some distance between himself and George.
“Does he…service your father?” Merlin demanded when they were in Arthur’s office.
Arthur looked shocked for a moment before his face broke into a gleeful grin and he started to laugh. “You’re a twisted man, Merlin.”
“I’m not the one assisting Mister Pendragon,” Merlin argued, glaring at Arthur.
Arthur raised an eyebrow, clearly still amused. “I think you’ll find that you are, in fact, assisting Mister Pendragon.”
“No I’m-oh, you mean you,” Merlin said flatly. “Well, that’s not quite as impressive.”
“I think you’ll find I’m massively impressive,” Arthur replied suggestively, a grin tugging at his lips as Merlin let out an exasperated sigh.
“I think you exaggerate to the point of lying,” Merlin retorted, turning around and heading for the door. “Is there anything you actually needed, Mister Pendragon?”
“Yes,” Arthur said simply. “Sit down; I need to walk you through the next few days to ensure the correct paperwork gets sent to London for the Mercia deal. That meeting is in two weeks.”
*~*~*
“So how’s the new job?” Lance asked Merlin Saturday afternoon while they ate sandwiches in Lance’s kitchen. “Do you like your boss more now that you’ve been working there for three weeks?”
Merlin sighed. “He’s a bit of a pompous git but I suppose he’s all right.”
Lance nodded sympathetically. “It’s not for much longer. You’ll find something.”
“There’s nothing out there,” Merlin complained. “Working for Arthur isn’t too bad, but I wish he’d hire me on as a software engineer or an analyst or something! Camelot Enterprises develops computer technology and I’m stuck working as a personal assistant in the marketing office.”
“I know, mate, but you’ll find something better eventually. At least you got your heat turned back on and you’re no longer eating potatoes for every meal.” Lance grinned at Merlin. “I almost broke down and bought you groceries.”
“You can’t afford that!” Merlin protested. He tried to imagine Lance buying him groceries and was appalled to find that he may have accepted them. Lance was a poor medical student who lived in a dingy two bedroom flat with three other people and could barely make ends meet.
“It’s the doctor in me,” Lance replied with a shrug. “I was worried you might blow away.” He eyed Merlin critically and turned to pull a packet of Hobnobs out of his cupboard. “You’re nearly too thin as it is. Take those with you and eat all of them.”
Merlin grinned and tore open the packaging, shoving two into his mouth at once. “I hate being poor.”
“Me too,” Lance replied, chuckling. “Did I tell you I met someone last night?”
Merlin sat up straighter and forced himself to ask around the biscuits, “Where? What’s her name?”
“Gwen.” Lance smiled shyly. “I think you might know her, actually. She works at Camelot Enterprises.”
“Gwen?” Merlin asked, pleasantly surprised. “From HR? She’s a lovely girl!”
“We’re having dinner on Tuesday and I think drinks again on Friday,” Lance replied, looking pleased. “I met her at the Great Dragon.”
Merlin nodded in understanding. “Yeah, some of the people from work go there on Fridays. I went the first week but haven’t gone again. The owner cornered me near the loo and told me that I wasn’t working hard enough to join with my other half and become whole.”
Lance snorted. “I met him last night. He’s a bit barmy but I think he’s harmless.”
“Is that where you’re going Friday? Maybe I’ll tag along with the people from work and make sure she’s as nice as I think she is.” Merlin winked and finished his sandwich.
“Does Arthur ever go?” Lance asked curiously. “I’d like to meet the man who’s able to turn you into a complete idiot.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. He’d told Lance about the emails and how he didn’t seem to be able to stop himself from insulting Arthur at even at the worst moments. Merlin said that he had no idea why Arthur kept him around and Lance argued that it was because Merlin was probably good at his job and amusing as hell.
“I don’t think he does. He’s not the type to relax.” Merlin looked thoughtful for a moment. “He probably sleeps in his suit and wears his tie to bed.”
Lance raised an eyebrow. “Some people are into that.”
Merlin laughed. “He’s too uptight. He’s on holiday in Wales this weekend and sneaked in to an internet café after he’d arrived to make sure I’d mailed, faxed, or made copies of everything he’d given me.”
“How old is he again?” Lance asked, looking concerned rather than amused by Arthur’s antics. “It can’t be healthy.”
“He’s probably about thirty,” Merlin replied with a shrug. “He’s single, I know that much. Remember? I told you and Will about his boyfriend smashing his laptop and breaking up with him.”
“That sounds difficult,” Lance said, genuinely looking upset for Arthur’s situation. “Maybe you should tell him to come on Friday even if he doesn’t usually go. I have a mate I could bring along. If anything, Arthur might think he’s a laugh and could have a fun night.”
“I don’t know if Arthur’s the one-off type,” Merlin said slowly, fighting down the monster that was now wrestling in his stomach at the idea of Arthur sleeping with a friend of Lance’s. Lance’s friends were typically do-gooders with infinite amounts of patience. They’d probably be able to put up with Arthur’s prattishness, but it would be boring and they…well, they wouldn’t be Merlin. Merlin shoved that thought away as quickly as it came, disgusted with himself.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lance replied with a shrug. “Gwaine’s fun to have around and he’s smart. You might like him.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “I’m not letting you set me up again. Griff was completely mental.”
Lance laughed. “Don’t worry; I learned my lesson after you made me come save you.” He smiled at Merlin. “Try and get your boss to come. I’d like to meet him and it would probably be good for him to get out.”
Merlin shrugged. “It’s close enough to work; I might be able to convince him to come out for a pint if the day isn’t too bad. He tends to be rather cross on Fridays.”
“You’re too invested in his moods,” Lance commented, grinning knowingly at Merlin. “Offer to buy him a drink, he’ll probably come then.”
Merlin glared at him but didn’t argue that he wouldn’t mind buying Arthur a pint. Instead, he changed the subject and asked about Lance’s upcoming date with Gwen.
Continue to Ch 3