Could be Worse Ch 3
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 returned to work on Monday morning, he found that Merlin hadn’t arrived yet.
“He’s usually a little late, Mister Pendragon,” George said helpfully when he noticed Arthur walk by the second time.
“Of course he is,” Arthur muttered. “Idiot.”
“Sorry, sir.” George looked at Arthur expectantly. “Was there anything I could assist you with?”
Arthur was beginning to wonder where on earth George had learned to speak. He probably read too much P. G. Wodehouse as a child, Arthur thought, and idealises Jeeves. He briefly wondered if George being Jeeves made his father Bertie and almost laughed out loud at the thought.
“Are you all right, sir?” George asked in that same expectant tone, making Arthur wonder how George would sound if Arthur really wasn’t all right.
He’d probably calmly dial nine-nine-nine and administer necessary CPR, Arthur realised. He’s even odder than Merlin and completely boring.
“Sir?” George asked again, still gazing at Arthur expectantly.
“Yes, I’m fine, thank you, George,” Arthur replied. “Would you tell Merlin to come see me when he gets in?”
“Of course, Mister Pendragon,” George said, nodding once and then returning to whatever he had been doing on the computer.
Arthur stared at him for a moment before turning and walking back to his office. George had been his PA for only three weeks before his father had taken him instead. At the time Arthur had been frustrated with his father for stealing away a very competent PA but now, Arthur was shocked to realise, his father couldn’t pay him to take George back. Merlin might be socially inept and a completely useless PA for most things, but Arthur liked him. He liked that Merlin was able to talk to Arthur about software engineering and offer his opinions, however sarcastically, about what would appeal to the public. He liked that Merlin teased him yet still got the important jobs Arthur asked him to do completed on time.
Merlin might be completely unable to handle a simple scheduling without Arthur holding his hand, but he was definitely good for using as a sounding board when Arthur was thinking out loud. He also kept Arthur from falling into the melancholy moods he was prone to whenever Uther overruled one of Arthur’s ideas.
Thank goodness his father had taken George.
Too bad Merlin wasn’t permanent. Arthur frowned. He’d have to convince Merlin to stay on somehow.
*~*~*
“Should I offer him a raise?” Arthur asked Leon over lunch later that day.
“You could try,” Leon answered after a moment. “I don’t think that’s going to keep him on, though.”
“I know.” Arthur sighed. “If I could, I’d swap him out for Edwin immediately.”
“Why don’t you? You’re the one in charge of Development and Marketing,” Leon reminded him before taking a sip of his Coke. “I wouldn’t mind taking Merlin on my team, but I don’t have an opening after hiring Percy.”
Arthur nodded. “He’s not got great business sense, but he understands the technology far better than I do. A little more training and he’d do well as an advisor in Marketing. I’d even take him on for one of our smaller teams once he got a little more experience down in Development.”
“You like him,” Leon said, clearly amused. “Morgana’s right.”
Arthur shot him a warning look. “That has nothing to do with it.”
Leon chuckled. “It doesn’t make it any less true.” He smiled at Arthur and shook his head. “Look, mate, I don’t care if you like him. I know that wouldn’t affect your decisions in terms of who you hire on at work. Maybe you should speak to your father, see if you can’t find a place for Merlin. Get rid of Edwin, he’s a tit.”
Arthur laughed. “I can’t. My father hired Edwin on and he hasn’t done enough to justify sacking him.” He paused for a moment. “Maybe I’ll see if I can’t convince Merlin to come to London with me. He’s helped me with this proposal and we’ve got enough in the budget for a second hotel room.”
“He’d get the experience,” Leon agreed, looking at Arthur knowingly.
“Exactly,” Arthur replied. “He wouldn’t get to do much but at least he’d see how these meetings work and he’d be good to have around when we start thinking about our contract with Mercia.”
“He’s also your PA,” Leon pointed out. “It’s in his job description to travel with you for these sorts of business ventures.”
Arthur grinned. He’d never really included his PAs in this type of thing before. His father took George all the time while Arthur preferred to do most of his work on his own. Merlin would be good company, Arthur thought, and he’d probably throw a royal fit at being ordered to pack his bags for a three day trip to London.
“I’ll tell him this afternoon,” Arthur said. “You’re right, it’s his job.”
“I can’t wait to hear how that works out.” Leon snorted. “I’ve never seen anyone who likes spending time with you less than Merlin. Perhaps tell him to bring you a coffee before you spring this on him.”
*~*~*
“Forget it,” Merlin snapped later that afternoon when Arthur had informed him about his decision to bring Merlin to London. “I’m not tagging along so that I can shine your shoes and be stuck in a hotel room all day waiting for you to return just so that I can tuck you into bed.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Don’t be stupid.”
“Excuse me?” Merlin demanded, glowering at Arthur. “I don’t think it’s stupid to complain about having to rearrange my schedule to help you deal with your personal habits.”
Arthur snorted. “You’ve got over a week, unless there’s something really important you need to take care of, you’re coming to London with me.”
“I don’t want to,” Merlin said petulantly, making Arthur grin evilly.
“That hardly matters,” Arthur replied, doing his best not to laugh at the outraged look on Merlin’s face. “Your job description is that you’re to assist me with business matters, even those that occur outside of the office.”
“You’re a pervert,” Merlin moaned. “You’re just trying to get me alone and then you’re going to play the boss card and I can’t afford to get sacked so I’m going to end up servicing you like George services your father.”
“Merlin!” Arthur yelled, ending what Arthur considered to be Merlin’s dangerously treasonous tirade. “Shut up.”
“I’m not sleeping with you,” Merlin muttered so quietly Arthur almost didn’t hear.
“Obviously!” Arthur exploded, noting with satisfaction that Merlin turned bright red. “What is the matter with you?” Arthur shook his head, trying to clear all of the inappropriate thoughts that were now springing unbidden to his mind. “You’ll have your own room and a stipend for food. I just need you there for meetings; you can do whatever you want when you’re off.” He raised an eyebrow at Merlin and crossed his arms over his chest, assessing Merlin who was still beet red and not meeting Arthur’s eyes. “Does that work?”
Merlin nodded and mumbled, “Yeah, fine. I’ll go to London.” He backed away from Arthur’s desk. “I need to, er, go work on that filing.”
“Oh, right,” Arthur said, suddenly confused. “Go ahead.” He watched Merlin turn to go and called quickly, “Merlin!”
Merlin turned around and looked at Arthur with wide eyes. “Yes?”
“Make sure you buy a decent suit before we leave for London.”
“Of course,” Merlin replied with a sigh, shaking his head as he left the room.
Arthur’s mouth twitched at Merlin’s expression and turned to get back to work.
*~*~*
“And then he told me to buy a decent suit!” Merlin ranted to Will over the phone.
“Well, you don’t have the best fashion sense,” Will said reasonably and Merlin hated that Will, his friend who was the most critical person he knew when it came to the upper class, wasn’t taking his side.
“That’s not the point,” Merlin retorted, slamming into his flat with his mobile tucked between his ear and shoulder and immediately flopping on the couch.
“No, I know,” Will replied. “But he’s not wrong, is he?” Will sighed and Merlin knew that he needed to calm down, that he was acting childishly if Will was sighing at him. “Mate, I know you’re not happy in that job but it’s good pay, yeah? Buy the new suit, keep looking for something better, and when you interview somewhere where you want to be, you’ll look like you fit in.”
Merlin snorted. “Thanks.”
Will laughed and said fondly, “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah,” Merlin said quietly. “It’s just--he’s such a prat.”
“He’s your boss, you don’t have to like him,” Will said. “I’d be worried if you did.” Merlin could picture the grin on Will’s face and he felt a pang of loneliness stab at his heart - he missed his best friend. “Just do what he tells you and you can move on.”
“I know, I know,” Merlin sighed. “I hate that I’ve got a job at one of the largest software companies and I’m not doing anything useful.”
“Ah,” Will said knowledgably. “That’s what this is about then.” He chuckled and Merlin felt that pang of loneliness again. “Look, I’m sure Arthur’s a right tosser but he hasn’t sacked you yet. Maybe he likes you. I’d take advantage of that, see if he won’t hire you on somewhere else in the company. They’ve got to have an opening somewhere!”
“I called him a pervert,” Merlin reminded him, mortification starting to creep in over the righteous anger. “I told him his father’s PA services his father.”
Will snickered. “Still, he didn’t sack you.”
“He’s probably thinking up torture methods,” Merlin muttered. “That’s why he’s taking me to London. Will, what if he plans on killing me in London and making it look like an accident?”
“Merlin!” Will choked out, laughing uproariously. “You wanker!”
“I know,” Merlin moaned. “I’m in so much trouble.”
“No!” Will cried, still howling with laughter. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t shag him!”
“I won’t,” Merlin snapped, horrified. “I mean, he’s fit and all but he’s…”
“Merlin,” Will cut in, “I was joking. Shit. Don’t shag your boss.”
“Right,” Merlin replied.
“I’m serious,” Will said, a warning note in his voice. “I’ll never forgive you if you bring home some posh git.”
Merlin snorted. “You know, you’re not my mum and I don’t need your approval for these sorts of things.”
“Yes you do,” Will replied and Merlin knew he was smirking. “Sorry, mate, but I’d better go; I’m working nights this week.”
“Sure,” Merlin said, smiling. “Thanks.”
Will chuckled. “Anytime.”
“I’ll talk to you later,” Merlin said, still smiling when he tossed his phone onto the counter. Will might have crap advice sometimes but he knew how to cheer Merlin up.
*~*~*
On Friday afternoon, Arthur found himself sitting in his father’s office for their biweekly meeting feeling as though he was five years old.
“I understand, Father,” Arthur said for what he thought must have been the millionth time in the last hour. “I’ve got everything sorted, the meeting’s next Friday.”
Uther nodded. “I don’t need to remind you how much we need this deal.”
“I know.” Arthur refrained from sighing. He’d heard it all before and was tired of his father’s reluctance to let Arthur manage his own department.
“I see you’re taking that PA of yours,” Uther commented. “Are you sure you can trust him to do his job? He seems a bit half-witted.”
If anyone else had said that, Arthur would have chuckled, as it was his father, he felt his lips press together to keep from retorting that Merlin was just fine, thank you.
“He needs the experience,” Arthur said finally.
“Make sure he doesn’t get in the way,” Uther said seriously. “We can’t afford to lose this deal due to some idiot’s mistake.”
“Don’t worry, Father, I’ll make sure Merlin does his job,” Arthur replied, feeling slightly guilty. He liked Merlin and trusted his opinion but he knew if he told his father that then Uther would only scoff.
“See that you do.” Uther looked his son over and nodded once. “Be sure to send me updates while you’re in London.”
“I will.” Arthur got to his feet, trying not to feel hurt at his father’s obvious lack of trust. “Have a nice weekend, Father.”
Uther grunted and Arthur left the room, wishing, not for the first time, that he didn’t care so much what his father thought.
He was rounding the corner to his office when he spotted Merlin walking towards the human resource office.
“Merlin!” Arthur called, nodding towards his office when Merlin turned around.
Merlin visibly flinched. “Can I have a minute?”
“Now, Merlin,” Arthur ordered, walking into his office with a quick glance to ensure Merlin was following. He grinned to himself at Merlin’s obvious annoyance and settled behind his desk, trying to shake off the bitterness that always came with meeting with his father.
“What is it?” Merlin asked tiredly. “Don’t tell me you’re making me go over the bookings for London again. We’re not leaving until Wednesday and I’ve already confirmed them twice.”
Arthur snorted and grabbed a file from beside his keyboard. “I need you to look over those before we leave.”
Merlin took the file, tucking it under his arm. He frowned at Arthur before asking cautiously, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” Arthur said, wondering what brought the question on.
“You look angry,” Merlin said, his usually mocking tone gone to be replaced with something like curiosity and maybe even a little concern. “I didn’t do anything, if that’s what’s got you bothered.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow. “Guilty conscience, have you?” He chuckled when Merlin glared at him. “It’s nothing, I’m just thinking about London.”
Merlin nodded, looking thoughtful. “You know,” he said slowly, as though he were about to regret his next words, “a few of us are going out for drinks later.”
“I know,” Arthur said with a dismissive wave. “People go every Friday.”
“You don’t,” Merlin replied. “Why don’t you?”
“I work late on Fridays.” Arthur shrugged. “It means I don’t need to come in on the weekends and it’s quiet without all of your chatter.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Take the night off, come out with us.”
Arthur cocked an eyebrow and teased, “Are you asking me out?”
Merlin looked away for a brief moment before retorting, “You wish.”
“Another time,” Arthur said, sighing. “I’ve got to get ready for London.”
“No, you should come,” Merlin argued, surprising Arthur with his genuine insistence.
“Fine,” Arthur said, “I suppose if we’re to spend five days in London together it’s best to see you pissed and know what I’ve signed up for.”
“Prat,” Merlin teased, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.
“Get back to work,” Arthur said gruffly, trying not to think about how this was one of the few times Merlin had openly smiled at him and how much he liked it. “I’ll see you at the pub.”
Merlin nodded, smiling privately to himself in a way that made Arthur’s stomach flip over, and left the room.
*~*~*
When Arthur left his office after six that evening, he found Merlin still at his desk, a pencil behind his ear as he read through the documents Arthur had given him earlier. George was nowhere in sight and Arthur wondered why Merlin stayed; he wasn’t required to remain after five.
“You know, you’re welcome to go off and order a drink,” Arthur said, chuckling when Merlin jumped at the sound of his voice. “It’s not that I don’t like seeing you take your job seriously, but I know that a pint is probably more exciting.”
Merlin spun his chair around and offered Arthur a genuine smile. “I was interested.”
“No you weren’t,” Arthur said, frowning. “Really?”
“The new product,” Merlin said, tucking the papers back into the folder and then locking them in his filing cabinet. “It’s good. Joining with Mercia will help; the new processor with one of their designs will be really popular.”
“You think?” Arthur asked, wondering where Merlin’s business sense was coming from.
Merlin grinned. “Well, I’d want to play with it.”
Arthur shook his head, pleased for some unknown reason that Merlin was actually interested. “You’ll get to hear more about it when we’re in London.”
Merlin nodded. “Are you still going to the pub?” He would never admit it to Arthur, but one of the main reasons he’d stayed, despite being interested in the new computer technology, was to ensure Arthur didn’t wiggle out of having drinks.
“Yeah, I said I would, didn’t I?” Arthur quirked his lips in what might have been a smile but managed to simply make him look smug.
“You’re leaving now?” Merlin asked, shutting his computer down and getting up, checking to make sure he had his keys.
“Is this your subtle way of asking for a lift?” Arthur teased, smirking when Merlin rolled his eyes.
“No,” Merlin said, walking past Arthur and leaving the office, heading for the lift. “I was going to take the bus. It’s just a few stops.”
“I’ll drive us and save you the fare.” Arthur stepped into the lift with Merlin and pressed the floor for the parking garage.
Merlin thought to protest but knew it wouldn’t do him any good. Besides, he didn’t really mind riding with Arthur for ten minutes and he was curious as to what Arthur was like outside of the office environment.
The elevator door opened and Arthur motioned for Merlin to walk out. “Let’s go, I think we’re probably already late.”
“It’s not a business meeting,” Merlin chided, following Arthur through the garage. “It’s drinks with friends from work.”
Arthur shrugged and pulled out his smartphone, frowning at whatever it was he read but offering no explanation. Instead, he pulled out his keys and offered them to Merlin. “Can you drive?”
“What?” Merlin asked, staring at Arthur who appeared to be perfectly serious. “No.”
“I thought you knew how to get there,” Arthur snapped, walking briskly over to a Vauxhall Astra and unlocking the door. He caught sight of the look on Merlin’s face and raised his eyebrows in question. “What?”
“Nothing,” Merlin replied, staring at the hatchback. “I just didn’t expect you to drive something so…this,” he finished lamely.
“It’s very British,” Arthur said seriously, though it was clear he was trying not to laugh.
“It’s old,” Merlin said bluntly, still staring at the car.
“I bought it for myself back in uni,” Arthur replied brusquely, holding the keys out to Merlin again. “I’d appreciate it if you drove; I need to respond to this email.”
“I can’t,” Merlin said, shaking his head once. For clarification purposes when Arthur seemed to be getting frustrated, Merlin added, “I don’t have a license.”
Arthur sighed and wrenched the door open, climbing in and telling Merlin to do the same. He turned the car on as soon as Merlin had his seatbelt buckled and drove out of the garage.
“Why don’t you have one?” Arthur asked, navigating the busy, narrow streets easily.
“Never saw the point,” Merlin replied. “Didn’t need one at uni and the bus and train systems work well enough.” He didn’t add that he never could have afforded to buy a car, not when he could barely afford to feed himself and pay his bills.
“Fair enough,” Arthur said and drove the rest of the way in silence. He pulled into a parking spot just down the street from the pub and immediately pulled out his mobile. “You go ahead, I need to send this.”
Merlin wanted to protest and tell Arthur to relax, that he’d invited him to have a drink so that he could have fun, but doubted those words would be welcome. He made an ass of himself enough at the office and figured it was best if he let Arthur have his space. Besides, he told himself, Arthur won’t listen to me anyway.
“See you inside,” Merlin said, getting out of the car and doing his best not to be offended or hurt by Arthur’s lack of response.
When he entered the pub, the first thing Merlin did was seek out Lance, who was standing by the bar with Gwen and a man Merlin didn’t recognise. He recognised many other people from Camelot Enterprises in the pub, including Arthur’s friend Leon, but he didn’t know enough of them to strike up a conversation, so he headed over to his friend.
“Merlin!” Lance said, obviously pleased to see his friend. “You know Gwen.” He smiled at the pretty dark-skinned girl standing next to him.
“Hi, Merlin,” Gwen greeted, taking a sip of her drink. “Lance said you’ve known each other since you were at uni. Isn’t this a funny coincidence?”
“I think it’s great.” Merlin smiled at her. He didn’t spend much time with her, but he liked Gwen and often sat with her and a few other people from the office during lunch.
“What about me?” asked the man on Lance’s other side, a grin on his face as he looked at Merlin. “I’m Gwaine.”
Lance snorted and pushed Gwaine with his shoulder. “He’s starting rounds in A and E with me next week.”
“Finally out of the psych ward!” Gwaine cried delightedly. “I thought that old lady was going to-”
“Yes, quite enough of that,” Lance said quickly, blushing. At Merlin and Gwen’s curious looks, he elaborated, “She thought I was a, uh, male escort and tried to take off my shirt.”
Merlin and Gwaine burst out laughing and Gwen hid her face in her drink to hide her giggles.
“Thanks,” Lance said dryly, shaking his head, “knew I could count on you, Merlin.”
“Always,” Merlin replied, trying to force a serious expression. “Must have been difficult, you know, fighting off a pensioner.”
“Merlin!” Gwen said, laughing and moving closer to Lance as though to apologise for laughing at him.
“I like you, mate,” Gwaine informed him, grinning over at Lance who rolled his eyes. “I hear you work at Camelot.”
“Oh, right!” Lance said, breaking in excitedly. “I was telling Gwaine about your boss.”
“What did you say?” Merlin frowned. He remembered Lance offering to set Arthur up with someone, but he also knew he’d complained about Arthur enough that Lance could have said anything from, ‘Merlin thinks his boss is fit, are you interested?’ to ‘Merlin’s boss is an absolute tosser, may want to give him a miss and you can take Merlin out instead.’
“Just the truth,” Gwaine replied, making Merlin frown in confusion as Gwaine chuckled and looked around. “Where is the little princess?”
“He’s not-” Merlin began.
“Oi! Arthur!” Gwaine shouted over the noise, raising his hand up and waving Arthur over.
Arthur’s look of surprise at hearing his name morphed into one of excitement and delight, making Merlin feel a rush of jealousy that he quickly attempted to quash.
“They know each other?” Merlin asked Lance quietly so that Gwaine wouldn’t overhear. He watched Gwaine pull Arthur into a hug, slapping him on the back and laughing when Arthur tugged on his long hair, both of them in quick conversation.
“Yeah,” Lance replied, looking pleased with himself. “They went to school together, apparently. Gwaine’s lived out of the country for a few years, did uni in Germany and came back to start the medical programme we’re in.”
“Huh,” Merlin said, watching as Arthur brought Gwaine over to talk to Leon and a few of the people from Leon’s department.
“I thought you’d be happy,” Lance commented, picking up on Merlin’s mood.
“No, it’s great,” Merlin said with false cheerfulness. “Reminds me that Arthur’s human.”
Gwen frowned. “Arthur’s lovely, he just works hard, is all. He doesn’t mind when you tease him, not that you’re not allowed to tease him, of course, I mean, I think he likes you well enough not to get angry and you do your job, but his father would never let you do something like that.”
Merlin smiled at her, charmed by her rambling defence of Arthur’s character and the compliment she paid him. “Shall we get a table?”
“Let’s grab Gwaine,” Lance said, nodding towards where Gwaine, Arthur, Leon, and Leon’s employee Percy were chatting. “I think you’ll like him if you get to know him.”
“Lance, I thought I told you not to do this anymore,” Merlin muttered. He didn’t really want to get to know Gwaine, not if he was so close with Arthur. Especially after knowing that Lance had told Gwaine things Merlin had said. It was rather embarrassing to think that his boss’s close friend might know how Merlin harboured inappropriate feelings as well as the desire to give Arthur a swift kick in the pants.
“No, no,” Lance said quickly. “I just know you’re bored on the weekends and Gwaine’s a laugh.”
“I have a brother,” Gwen added. “He’s not gay, but he’s a nice guy, you might get on. He teaches history.”
“I’m not lonely,” Merlin protested, flushing at the idea that Gwen and Lance were trying to find him friends. He felt a bit like the unpopular, shy kid on the primary school playground, the one the guidance counsellor was always trying to make the other kids include.
“I know,” Lance said quietly, “but you hardly ever go out now unless it’s with me or Will.”
Gwen seemed to sense Merlin was uncomfortable and exclaimed, “Oh! You never got your drink.”
“It’s all right,” Merlin said, glad for the change of subject. “I was going to ask Arthur if he wanted one in exchange for the lift.”
Lance’s eyebrows rose but didn’t comment. Instead he walked up behind Gwaine and tapped him on the shoulder, asking if he wanted to join them at the table in the corner.
“We’ll all join you,” Arthur said, not waiting for an introduction. He nodded to Merlin and smiled at Gwen before leading the six of them over to the table Lance had pointed out.
“I don’t think he invited you, princess,” Gwaine taunted, reaching up and ruffling Arthur’s short blond hair. “You’re not his friend.”
Arthur rolled his eyes and offered his hand to Lance, who shook it. “I’m Arthur and I’m terribly sorry you’re stuck saving lives with this twat.” He looked at Gwaine. “Who was stupid enough to let you in?”
Gwaine snorted. “Dunno, mate, but I must have fooled someone.”
“Indeed,” Arthur replied with a grin, sliding into the chair next to Gwaine.
Merlin took the seat across from Arthur, feeling relieved when Gwen sat down next to him. He didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt uncomfortable in Arthur’s presence and didn’t like how familiar Gwaine and Arthur seemed to be. Even Leon seemed to be in on the conversation and Merlin remembered Arthur mentioning once that he and Leon had been at uni together. Merlin assumed that meant Leon had met Gwaine once or twice.
“I need a drink,” Merlin suddenly announced, getting to his feet and drawing a startled look from Percy who had just taken the chair on Merlin’s other side. “Anyone want anything?”
“I’ll go with you,” Arthur said, getting up to follow Merlin to the bar and pulling his mobile out of his pocket, scrolling through something Merlin couldn’t see but making him want to knock the iPhone out of Arthur’s hands. They were supposed to be taking a break from work.
When they had placed their drinks, Merlin was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the silence. He usually was able to ignore Arthur’s good looks, even if it resulted in more insults than was appropriate, but seeing Arthur outside of the office and knowing that he could laugh and joke like a normal person made Merlin want to know that side of Arthur.
“Who’s your friend?” Arthur asked, looking back at the table where Lance had his arm around Gwen’s shoulders and frowning.
“That’s Lance,” Merlin said. “We were at uni together.” Then, because he couldn’t control his mouth, he added, “He met Gwen last week and I think he really fancies her.”
“Obviously,” Arthur said dryly, turning to settle Merlin with his piercing blue gaze. “He’d better be good to her.”
“I don’t think he just wants to get in her pants,” Merlin protested.
Arthur made a face. “Do you actually have the ability to control what comes out of your mouth or do you just put words together and hope your brain eventually catches up?”
“You prat,” Merlin grumbled, staring at Arthur who was now looking highly pleased with himself.
“I was wondering when you were going to start talking to me.” He grinned and nodded back towards the table. “Your friend, though, he’s a good chap? He won’t hurt her?”
“What do you care?” Merlin asked, wincing at how rude that sounded. “Sorry. I just didn’t know you were interested in her. I thought you liked blokes.”
“Tact is not your middle name, is it, Merlin?” Arthur teased, chuckling at Merlin’s furious blush. “No, it’s all right, honestly. Gwen’s my sister’s best friend and she’d have my hide if anyone hurt her friend and I could have stopped it.”
“Lance won’t hurt her,” Merlin said honestly. “He’s great.”
Arthur nodded, seeming to be relieved. “Good.”
“It must be good to see your mate,” Merlin said after a moment, looking over at where Gwaine was sitting and offering Arthur a half-smile.
“It is.” Arthur grinned and he looked younger, Merlin thought, less stressed or something. “He’s been back in Birmingham for two years now but we hardly ever see each other.” He chuckled. “Funny that he’s a friend of your friend.”
Merlin wanted to say something about how Arthur should spend more time having fun, how he obviously enjoyed getting out when they could pry him away from his office, but their drinks arrived and he lost his chance.
Continue to Chapter 4