Could be Worse Ch 4
Title: Could be Worse
Rating: R
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin (with Morgana/Leon and Lancelot/Gwen)
Warnings/Spoilers: Modern AU, WIP
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.
“I hear you went out for drinks last night,” was Morgana’s greeting when Arthur answered his mobile the following morning.
“I’m not hung-over if that’s why you’re talking to me this early in the morning,” Arthur retorted, leaning back in his chair and surveying the neat stacks of paper on his dining room table.
Morgana laughed. “No, actually, I was wondering if you’d like to come to dinner tomorrow night. Gwen’s agreed to come and bring her new man.”
“That was quick,” Arthur said, surprised.
“Oh, Arthur, you prude,” Morgana purred almost fondly. “Not all of us wait months and months to introduce our boyfriends to our friends.”
“But it’s only been a week or two,” Arthur protested, ignoring the unsubtle dig at his own dating choices and patterns.
“Both you and Leon met him before I did,” Morgana replied. “I think Gwen’s serious enough about him that he can come to Sunday dinner if she wants him there.”
“Fine,” Arthur conceded, “that’s fine.”
“So you’ll come as well?” Morgana asked, though they both knew Arthur would be there. He almost always went over for Sunday dinner.
“Should I bring anything?” he asked instead, forcing himself to sound extremely put-out so as not to give her the satisfaction of knowing just how much he looked forward to dinner with her and Leon.
“Dessert,” Morgana answered. “Nothing you baked yourself, we’re not subjecting Gwen’s boyfriend to that.” She chuckled. “At least not yet.”
Arthur scoffed, “He’s already her boyfriend?”
“Arthur,” Morgana warned, “stop it. Just because you’re married to your career doesn’t mean other people aren’t having fun.”
Arthur bit his tongue to keep from saying anything that would cause a fight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Be here at seven,” Morgana said and Arthur knew she thought she’d won something. He just wasn’t sure what it was.
*~*~*
When they finished eating the chocolate torte Arthur had brought for dessert, Arthur found himself dragged into the kitchen by Morgana and told it was his job to do the washing up.
“I’m a guest,” Arthur protested, crossing his arms when Morgana raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’ll help you,” she said quickly and Arthur narrowed his eyes, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Morgana do chores in her life. Morgana grinned. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Arthur sighed and turned on the tap, waiting for hot water to come out before he put the stopper in the sink and began to wash the dishes. “What is it?”
Morgana’s gaze softened and she looked as though she were about to try and comfort him. Arthur hoped she wouldn’t, it would only embarrass them both.
“I’m fine,” Arthur said, hoping that was the correct response to whatever mad idea was brewing in Morgana’s mind.
“No,” she replied tartly, “you’re not.” She shook her head. “Arthur, I saw how you were looking at Lance and Gwen.”
Arthur stared at her. “I like him, he’s good for her.”
“Exactly,” Morgana replied with a short nod. “What about you, Arthur?”
“What about me?” Arthur asked, bemused. He continued washing the dishes, passing them to Morgana to dry or put in the dishwasher depending on what they were.
“Nothing,” Morgana said quietly, “forget I said anything.” She was silent for a few moments and then asked teasingly, “They’re a bit sick, aren’t they?”
“Oh, disgusting.” Arthur laughed. “Gwen seems happy, though.”
Morgana smiled at him in a way he wasn’t sure he liked. “Yes, she does, doesn’t she?”
*~*~*
Merlin looked at the text message Lance had sent him for the third time, wondering if his life could get any more complicated.
Sunday dinner was nice. I like Arthur. Might ask him to join my footie team.
Lance had rung him the day before to make sure Merlin wouldn’t be uncomfortable with him going to dinner with Gwen at Arthur’s sister’s house. Merlin hadn’t known how to react; Arthur was his boss, after all, not an ex-boyfriend or even a friend. He’d muttered something about how it was nice for Lance to already be invited to meet Gwen’s best friend and Lance had gone on about how they wanted to include each other in as much of their lives as possible.
Merlin wasn’t sure if it was incredibly sweet or incredibly weird. He decided it was moving faster than what he would like for himself but so long as Lance and Gwen were happy, he would support them.
He flopped down on the couch and ripped open a packet of chocolate digestives, cramming two into his mouth as he wondered what would happen if Lance and Arthur became mates. The idea didn’t scare him as much as he thought it should. After seeing a more relaxed side of Arthur on Friday night, Merlin had found himself wondering what it would be like to frequently spend time in Arthur’s company outside of work. He knew the other man was a workaholic, but he also thought he might have misjudged Arthur; he wasn’t as much of an arrogant prat in reality. At least, Merlin didn’t think he was.
He’d been incredibly friendly to Lance and had laughed at jokes with Gwaine. Merlin still felt a twinge of jealousy when he thought back to how Gwaine had managed to make Arthur roar with laughter. Arthur had still left the pub before any of the others, but Merlin had only seen him check his mobile twice, which had to be some kind of record where Arthur was concerned.
Merlin sighed and reached for the remote to turn on the television, absently flicking through channels until he finally settled on a rerun of QI. It wasn’t a good idea to fantasise about his boss. Especially when he and Arthur would be together in London for five days and four nights. He shook his head and turned up the volume, hoping the silly comments from the panellists would help distract him.
*~*~*
“Are you packed?” Arthur asked Merlin after lunch on Tuesday when he brought Arthur a file.
Merlin nodded. “Yeah, finished up last night.”
“Did you get yourself a new suit?” Arthur swept his eyes up and down Merlin’s body in a very obvious manner. “I don’t want to see that one while we’re in London.”
Merlin refrained from asking Arthur if he liked anything he saw, knowing it would earn him a scoff and rude response that might actually hurt his pride. Instead, he just nodded and asked, “Do you want me to meet you at the train station in the morning?”
“Where else would you meet me?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I’m not coming here to collect you.”
“I didn’t expect you to,” Merlin snapped, wondering where the friendly man from Friday night had disappeared to. He’d have to rethink the arrogant prat label if Arthur kept this up.
“The train leaves early,” Arthur said, breaking into Merlin’s thoughts. “Do try and be on time.” He snorted when Merlin started to protest and said, “Don’t even try, I know you’re late four days out of five.”
“The bus comes late sometimes,” Merlin replied with a shrug.
“Take an earlier one,” Arthur suggested as though Merlin were very dim. “Or better yet, get your licence.”
“What’s the point? I can’t afford a car even if I had a licence,” Merlin said quietly, not wanting Arthur to know that he’d embarrassed him.
Arthur looked wrong-footed. “Right, er, well, I’ll try and find you a better bus schedule.”
“You’re too good to me,” Merlin spit out sarcastically, grinning in spite of himself. Arthur really did look apologetic even if his attempt at making things better was pathetic.
“Go on, get out of here,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “Double check on all of the reservations and meetings before you go home. Oh, and make sure all of the relevant documents are on my desk. I’d like to review them this evening.”
“Of course.” Merlin nodded and headed for the door.
“And make an extra copy for yourself,” Arthur called after him as the door was about to shut.
Merlin turned back, eyebrows raised in question.
“It’s always good to have a second set of eyes,” Arthur said defensively.
“Yeah, definitely,” Merlin replied dubiously. “I suppose I am the only other person from the office going that you’ll be able to talk to if there are any finals changes to make.”
Arthur snorted. “Shut up, Merlin. The document is finalised and if I’d wanted your opinion on it, I would have asked. This is solely so that you’ll know what’s going on in the meetings.”
“Right,” Merlin said with a short nod, looking amused. “Whatever you say.”
*~*~*
“Buggering hell!” Merlin swore loudly when he woke the next morning and realised he had exactly twenty-five minutes to get to the train station before the train left. No time for a shower or breakfast and barely enough time to change his clothes. He grabbed the first thing in his closet that he saw - a dark green t-shirt with a faded dragon motif - and a pair of dark jeans. They were taking the train and then going straight to the hotel; Merlin reasoned he could change when they got there. The nicer clothes he was going to wear on the train were in desperate need of ironing and he was very low on time.
On the way out the door, he grabbed his hoodie and a pair of cut-off gloves from the closet, not wanting to even attempt to drag his nicer coat out from his suitcase. With one last look around the flat for anything he might have forgotten, he hurried out the door with his laptop case and new suitcase, which he’d found at Tesco on the cheap and only purchased because it had a built-in garment bag where he could store his new suit.
“Arthur’s going to kill me,” Merlin muttered under his breath, darting for the bus stop where the bus he needed to take was just pulling in. He managed to get on just in time and thanked the driver profusely before finding a seat.
He felt his pocket buzz and pulled out his mobile to see a text from Arthur demanding to know where he was. He sent back a quick reply, So this is what happens when blokes give you their number and prayed that he would make it to the train station on time. He had no doubts that Arthur would leave without him but tried not to focus too much on that possibility. It didn’t bode well for him if that scenario, which was looking more and more likely, occurred.
When the bus pulled in at the stop near the train station, Merlin practically flew outside and sprinted for the station, suitcase hitting him uncomfortably in the ankles a few times.
“Where in the bloody hell have you been?” Arthur roared when Merlin arrived with barely two minutes to spare. He grabbed Merlin’s arm almost painfully tight and hauled him from the platform and onto the train.
“Sorry,” Merlin panted, too relieved at having made it to actually sound sincere. “At least I’m here.”
“Don’t give me cheek,” Arthur scolded furiously as he shoved his suitcase in the storage bin and stalked over to their seats to sit down, giving Merlin a look that he thought Arthur must have learned from his father.
Merlin quickly packed his things in with Arthur’s before grabbing his hoodie and taking his seat. “I really am sorry.”
Arthur shook his head and looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station, clearly trying to calm himself down. When he looked at Merlin again, it was with something close to disbelief. “Do you have a good reason?”
“Er…” Merlin began, not sure if he should admit to having overslept.
Arthur sighed, clearly frustrated. “I don’t understand. You said you were ready. What was it that kept you? Did you go out last night? Are you hung over? You clearly haven’t showered or even bothered to look professional.”
“No,” Merlin said, wanting to tell Arthur that he was being grossly unfair but not getting the chance because Arthur was still ranting.
“Please,” Arthur said through gritted teeth, “give me a reason for why you couldn’t get your arse to the train station when I needed you to be. And while you’re at it, explain why you look like a uni student.”
“I overslept,” Merlin answered, wincing inwardly at how pathetic of an excuse it truly was.
“Right, good.” Arthur made a disgusted noise. “Just…don’t talk to me for the rest of the trip.”
“You would have gone on without me,” Merlin said, pulling his hoodie over his head so as to avoid the scornful look Arthur was shooting him.
“You’d better believe it,” Arthur confirmed, wrinkling his nose at Merlin’s clothes but choosing not to comment.
“Then I don’t see why it matters,” Merlin argued, wanting to get Arthur out of his mood. If they were to spend a little over two hours on the train to London together, Merlin didn’t want the silence to be too uncomfortable.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “It matters, Merlin, because I still would have had to deal with getting you to the hotel and then to the meeting. You said yourself you’ve never been to London.”
“No, but I’ve been to Cardiff,” Merlin argued.
“Which isn’t London,” Arthur pointed out, not looking amused.
Merlin shrugged. “I could have found it.”
Arthur sighed. “At least tell me you’ve got a change of clothes in your suitcase.”
“I’ve got my new suit,” Merlin answered, wondering if Arthur was about to order him to change. Arthur was wearing his regular business suit and Merlin had the strange urge to lean over and undo Arthur’s tie and order him to relax. He wondered if Arthur actually owned leisure clothes or if he spent his weekends in button downs and dress trousers.
“Good,” Arthur replied. “Now pull out those documents I had you copy yesterday. I’d like to go over them with you.”
“I thought my opinion didn’t matter,” Merlin said dryly.
“It doesn’t,” Arthur replied, his lip curling upward into a smirk. “But I want to make sure you actually did as I told you for once.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and went to pull down his laptop bag.
*~*~*
They managed to make it from the train station to the hotel without running into any complications and Merlin was grateful that the meeting at Mercia Corporation wasn’t until that afternoon. It gave him time to shower and change into the new suit as well as hopefully grab something to eat from the small café he’d seen on the way in.
When he’d finally showered and changed, he went down the hall to Arthur’s room and knocked.
“Come-oh dear lord, what are you wearing now?” Arthur asked, stepping aside to let Merlin inside.
“What?” Merlin asked, looking down at his new suit with surprise. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Nothing,” Arthur replied, clearly lying, “but you’re not wearing that tie.” He went to his suitcase and began to rummage. After a moment he looked over his shoulder at Merlin and raised an eyebrow. “Well? Get it off then.”
“I’m not about to get my kit off,” Merlin yelped, taking a step back towards the door.
Arthur laughed and said in a way that was almost affectionate, “You’re such an idiot.”
“Oi!” Merlin protested.
“Your tie,” Arthur stated, tugging at his own as if to explain what a tie was. “Take it off. There’s no reason to ever wear yellow paisley.”
“There was a matching vest,” Merlin offered.
“That’s awful,” Arthur said, looking offended at the thought. “Please tell me you didn’t buy it.”
“I do have some taste,” Merlin grumbled, unknotting his tie and rolling it up.
Arthur offered one of his own, striped red ties. “Put that on and bin the other one.”
Merlin took the red tie and put it on but shoved the paisley one into his pocket rebelliously. He knew there was no way he would be able to return it, not when he’d thrown the receipt away, but he didn’t want Arthur to think he could control everything.
Arthur watched with amusement. “Are you hungry? We’ve got quite a good food budget and there’s a really excellent restaurant a few Tube stops down.”
“I thought most of the food in London was supposed to be good,” Merlin commented, feeling surprised at how well Arthur seemed to be acquainted with London when he knew Arthur had been born and raised in Birmingham. Taking public transport seemed to be slightly below him as well, when Merlin thought about it.
“It depends,” Arthur said with a shrug. “With how we’re dressed, though, I’d really rather not go for a kebab stand.”
Merlin grinned at the image of Arthur eating from a street vendor. “Whatever you want, the company’s paying.”
Arthur chuckled. “Come on, then, if I’m to be in meetings all afternoon I’d like to have time to grab a coffee after lunch.”
Merlin did as he was told and followed Arthur from the hotel and to the Tube station. He was surprised again when Arthur pulled out what looked to be a very worn Oyster card and added money to it, getting a disposable ticket for Merlin to use. “Where’d you get that from?”
“Huh?” Arthur asked, looking from the ticket to Merlin with some confusion. “I just bought it at the machine. Keep up, Merlin.”
“No,” Merlin said as he walked through the turnstile, “that one.”
“My Oyster card?” Arthur said with a frown as he turned the plastic card over in his hands. “I’ve had it since uni, actually. It’s in rather bad shape, isn’t it? I should probably get a new one.” He looked a little sad. “I just don’t come into London as much now.”
“I thought you did uni at Birmingham.” No one had ever actually told him that; Merlin had just assumed Arthur would have gone to the university at home for convenience seeing as how he was set to inherit one of the fastest growing and most profitable computer software companies in England.
Arthur looked startled. “No, LSE.” He smiled. “I lived in London for five years, actually. I did my Masters at LSE as well.”
“Good uni,” Merlin said for lack of anything better to say.
“Yeah,” he replied but he didn’t sound smug about having gone to one of the best universities out there. Rather, he sounded wistful.
“Do you miss it?” Merlin asked as they walked onto the platform to wait for the train to arrive.
“Uni?” Arthur shook his head. “Nah, it was a lot of work.” He grinned at Merlin and looked around the Tube station. “I don’t even miss London, not really.”
Merlin wanted to ask what it was Arthur did miss but he had a feeling he wouldn’t get an answer and so he waited with Arthur in comfortable silence until their train arrived.
*~*~*
“A latte with cream, really?” Merlin teased as they walked from the Tube station and towards Mercia’s office building.
“What’s wrong with it?” Arthur asked, sipping his drink.
“Nothing,” Merlin said lightly. “It’s just, it’s a little fluffy, isn’t it?”
“Fluffy?” Arthur repeated flatly, elbowing Merlin in the ribs. “I’ll show you fluffy.”
“Oh, you haven’t gained that much weight since I first started working for you,” Merlin quipped, feeling much more comfortable with Arthur after their lunch. He’d almost forgotten they were in London on business and that lunch was simply something to fill the time before the meeting, not a date or even a casual meet up between friends.
“I’ll have you know I go to the gym at least four days a week.” Arthur sipped his drink again, eyebrows raised at Merlin as if daring him to make another comment.
“Fair enough,” Merlin said, hands raised in mock surrender. “I just thought you might worry about your arse getting larger.”
“Looked at my arse, have you?” Arthur joked, grinning wickedly.
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, I could do much better.”
Arthur scoffed. “In your dreams.”
“No,” Merlin said cheekily, “you would only be so lucky.”
“I don’t think so,” Arthur replied, smirking as they approached the building where Mercia had its offices.
“You’re not really my type,” Merlin lied lightly.
“I’m everyone’s type,” Arthur said grandly, spreading out his hands and sloshing some of his latte out of the cup.
“Charming,” Merlin said with false seriousness, “a genuine prince. And how exactly are you single again?”
Genuine hurt flashed across Arthur’s face for the briefest of seconds before his expression became closed and guarded and Merlin wondered if it had even been there at all.
“I didn’t-”
“We should pick up the pace,” Arthur interrupted, tossing his cup in the bin outside of the building, “we’re nearly late and after this morning, I don’t want arriving by the skin of your teeth to become a habit.”
Merlin bit his lip to keep from arguing his point further and followed Arthur.
Continue to Chapter 5
Rating: R
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin (with Morgana/Leon and Lancelot/Gwen)
Warnings/Spoilers: Modern AU, WIP
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.
“I hear you went out for drinks last night,” was Morgana’s greeting when Arthur answered his mobile the following morning.
“I’m not hung-over if that’s why you’re talking to me this early in the morning,” Arthur retorted, leaning back in his chair and surveying the neat stacks of paper on his dining room table.
Morgana laughed. “No, actually, I was wondering if you’d like to come to dinner tomorrow night. Gwen’s agreed to come and bring her new man.”
“That was quick,” Arthur said, surprised.
“Oh, Arthur, you prude,” Morgana purred almost fondly. “Not all of us wait months and months to introduce our boyfriends to our friends.”
“But it’s only been a week or two,” Arthur protested, ignoring the unsubtle dig at his own dating choices and patterns.
“Both you and Leon met him before I did,” Morgana replied. “I think Gwen’s serious enough about him that he can come to Sunday dinner if she wants him there.”
“Fine,” Arthur conceded, “that’s fine.”
“So you’ll come as well?” Morgana asked, though they both knew Arthur would be there. He almost always went over for Sunday dinner.
“Should I bring anything?” he asked instead, forcing himself to sound extremely put-out so as not to give her the satisfaction of knowing just how much he looked forward to dinner with her and Leon.
“Dessert,” Morgana answered. “Nothing you baked yourself, we’re not subjecting Gwen’s boyfriend to that.” She chuckled. “At least not yet.”
Arthur scoffed, “He’s already her boyfriend?”
“Arthur,” Morgana warned, “stop it. Just because you’re married to your career doesn’t mean other people aren’t having fun.”
Arthur bit his tongue to keep from saying anything that would cause a fight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Be here at seven,” Morgana said and Arthur knew she thought she’d won something. He just wasn’t sure what it was.
*~*~*
When they finished eating the chocolate torte Arthur had brought for dessert, Arthur found himself dragged into the kitchen by Morgana and told it was his job to do the washing up.
“I’m a guest,” Arthur protested, crossing his arms when Morgana raised an eyebrow at him.
“I’ll help you,” she said quickly and Arthur narrowed his eyes, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Morgana do chores in her life. Morgana grinned. “Don’t look at me like that.”
Arthur sighed and turned on the tap, waiting for hot water to come out before he put the stopper in the sink and began to wash the dishes. “What is it?”
Morgana’s gaze softened and she looked as though she were about to try and comfort him. Arthur hoped she wouldn’t, it would only embarrass them both.
“I’m fine,” Arthur said, hoping that was the correct response to whatever mad idea was brewing in Morgana’s mind.
“No,” she replied tartly, “you’re not.” She shook her head. “Arthur, I saw how you were looking at Lance and Gwen.”
Arthur stared at her. “I like him, he’s good for her.”
“Exactly,” Morgana replied with a short nod. “What about you, Arthur?”
“What about me?” Arthur asked, bemused. He continued washing the dishes, passing them to Morgana to dry or put in the dishwasher depending on what they were.
“Nothing,” Morgana said quietly, “forget I said anything.” She was silent for a few moments and then asked teasingly, “They’re a bit sick, aren’t they?”
“Oh, disgusting.” Arthur laughed. “Gwen seems happy, though.”
Morgana smiled at him in a way he wasn’t sure he liked. “Yes, she does, doesn’t she?”
*~*~*
Merlin looked at the text message Lance had sent him for the third time, wondering if his life could get any more complicated.
Sunday dinner was nice. I like Arthur. Might ask him to join my footie team.
Lance had rung him the day before to make sure Merlin wouldn’t be uncomfortable with him going to dinner with Gwen at Arthur’s sister’s house. Merlin hadn’t known how to react; Arthur was his boss, after all, not an ex-boyfriend or even a friend. He’d muttered something about how it was nice for Lance to already be invited to meet Gwen’s best friend and Lance had gone on about how they wanted to include each other in as much of their lives as possible.
Merlin wasn’t sure if it was incredibly sweet or incredibly weird. He decided it was moving faster than what he would like for himself but so long as Lance and Gwen were happy, he would support them.
He flopped down on the couch and ripped open a packet of chocolate digestives, cramming two into his mouth as he wondered what would happen if Lance and Arthur became mates. The idea didn’t scare him as much as he thought it should. After seeing a more relaxed side of Arthur on Friday night, Merlin had found himself wondering what it would be like to frequently spend time in Arthur’s company outside of work. He knew the other man was a workaholic, but he also thought he might have misjudged Arthur; he wasn’t as much of an arrogant prat in reality. At least, Merlin didn’t think he was.
He’d been incredibly friendly to Lance and had laughed at jokes with Gwaine. Merlin still felt a twinge of jealousy when he thought back to how Gwaine had managed to make Arthur roar with laughter. Arthur had still left the pub before any of the others, but Merlin had only seen him check his mobile twice, which had to be some kind of record where Arthur was concerned.
Merlin sighed and reached for the remote to turn on the television, absently flicking through channels until he finally settled on a rerun of QI. It wasn’t a good idea to fantasise about his boss. Especially when he and Arthur would be together in London for five days and four nights. He shook his head and turned up the volume, hoping the silly comments from the panellists would help distract him.
*~*~*
“Are you packed?” Arthur asked Merlin after lunch on Tuesday when he brought Arthur a file.
Merlin nodded. “Yeah, finished up last night.”
“Did you get yourself a new suit?” Arthur swept his eyes up and down Merlin’s body in a very obvious manner. “I don’t want to see that one while we’re in London.”
Merlin refrained from asking Arthur if he liked anything he saw, knowing it would earn him a scoff and rude response that might actually hurt his pride. Instead, he just nodded and asked, “Do you want me to meet you at the train station in the morning?”
“Where else would you meet me?” Arthur raised an eyebrow. “I’m not coming here to collect you.”
“I didn’t expect you to,” Merlin snapped, wondering where the friendly man from Friday night had disappeared to. He’d have to rethink the arrogant prat label if Arthur kept this up.
“The train leaves early,” Arthur said, breaking into Merlin’s thoughts. “Do try and be on time.” He snorted when Merlin started to protest and said, “Don’t even try, I know you’re late four days out of five.”
“The bus comes late sometimes,” Merlin replied with a shrug.
“Take an earlier one,” Arthur suggested as though Merlin were very dim. “Or better yet, get your licence.”
“What’s the point? I can’t afford a car even if I had a licence,” Merlin said quietly, not wanting Arthur to know that he’d embarrassed him.
Arthur looked wrong-footed. “Right, er, well, I’ll try and find you a better bus schedule.”
“You’re too good to me,” Merlin spit out sarcastically, grinning in spite of himself. Arthur really did look apologetic even if his attempt at making things better was pathetic.
“Go on, get out of here,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes. “Double check on all of the reservations and meetings before you go home. Oh, and make sure all of the relevant documents are on my desk. I’d like to review them this evening.”
“Of course.” Merlin nodded and headed for the door.
“And make an extra copy for yourself,” Arthur called after him as the door was about to shut.
Merlin turned back, eyebrows raised in question.
“It’s always good to have a second set of eyes,” Arthur said defensively.
“Yeah, definitely,” Merlin replied dubiously. “I suppose I am the only other person from the office going that you’ll be able to talk to if there are any finals changes to make.”
Arthur snorted. “Shut up, Merlin. The document is finalised and if I’d wanted your opinion on it, I would have asked. This is solely so that you’ll know what’s going on in the meetings.”
“Right,” Merlin said with a short nod, looking amused. “Whatever you say.”
*~*~*
“Buggering hell!” Merlin swore loudly when he woke the next morning and realised he had exactly twenty-five minutes to get to the train station before the train left. No time for a shower or breakfast and barely enough time to change his clothes. He grabbed the first thing in his closet that he saw - a dark green t-shirt with a faded dragon motif - and a pair of dark jeans. They were taking the train and then going straight to the hotel; Merlin reasoned he could change when they got there. The nicer clothes he was going to wear on the train were in desperate need of ironing and he was very low on time.
On the way out the door, he grabbed his hoodie and a pair of cut-off gloves from the closet, not wanting to even attempt to drag his nicer coat out from his suitcase. With one last look around the flat for anything he might have forgotten, he hurried out the door with his laptop case and new suitcase, which he’d found at Tesco on the cheap and only purchased because it had a built-in garment bag where he could store his new suit.
“Arthur’s going to kill me,” Merlin muttered under his breath, darting for the bus stop where the bus he needed to take was just pulling in. He managed to get on just in time and thanked the driver profusely before finding a seat.
He felt his pocket buzz and pulled out his mobile to see a text from Arthur demanding to know where he was. He sent back a quick reply, So this is what happens when blokes give you their number and prayed that he would make it to the train station on time. He had no doubts that Arthur would leave without him but tried not to focus too much on that possibility. It didn’t bode well for him if that scenario, which was looking more and more likely, occurred.
When the bus pulled in at the stop near the train station, Merlin practically flew outside and sprinted for the station, suitcase hitting him uncomfortably in the ankles a few times.
“Where in the bloody hell have you been?” Arthur roared when Merlin arrived with barely two minutes to spare. He grabbed Merlin’s arm almost painfully tight and hauled him from the platform and onto the train.
“Sorry,” Merlin panted, too relieved at having made it to actually sound sincere. “At least I’m here.”
“Don’t give me cheek,” Arthur scolded furiously as he shoved his suitcase in the storage bin and stalked over to their seats to sit down, giving Merlin a look that he thought Arthur must have learned from his father.
Merlin quickly packed his things in with Arthur’s before grabbing his hoodie and taking his seat. “I really am sorry.”
Arthur shook his head and looked out the window as the train pulled away from the station, clearly trying to calm himself down. When he looked at Merlin again, it was with something close to disbelief. “Do you have a good reason?”
“Er…” Merlin began, not sure if he should admit to having overslept.
Arthur sighed, clearly frustrated. “I don’t understand. You said you were ready. What was it that kept you? Did you go out last night? Are you hung over? You clearly haven’t showered or even bothered to look professional.”
“No,” Merlin said, wanting to tell Arthur that he was being grossly unfair but not getting the chance because Arthur was still ranting.
“Please,” Arthur said through gritted teeth, “give me a reason for why you couldn’t get your arse to the train station when I needed you to be. And while you’re at it, explain why you look like a uni student.”
“I overslept,” Merlin answered, wincing inwardly at how pathetic of an excuse it truly was.
“Right, good.” Arthur made a disgusted noise. “Just…don’t talk to me for the rest of the trip.”
“You would have gone on without me,” Merlin said, pulling his hoodie over his head so as to avoid the scornful look Arthur was shooting him.
“You’d better believe it,” Arthur confirmed, wrinkling his nose at Merlin’s clothes but choosing not to comment.
“Then I don’t see why it matters,” Merlin argued, wanting to get Arthur out of his mood. If they were to spend a little over two hours on the train to London together, Merlin didn’t want the silence to be too uncomfortable.
Arthur rolled his eyes. “It matters, Merlin, because I still would have had to deal with getting you to the hotel and then to the meeting. You said yourself you’ve never been to London.”
“No, but I’ve been to Cardiff,” Merlin argued.
“Which isn’t London,” Arthur pointed out, not looking amused.
Merlin shrugged. “I could have found it.”
Arthur sighed. “At least tell me you’ve got a change of clothes in your suitcase.”
“I’ve got my new suit,” Merlin answered, wondering if Arthur was about to order him to change. Arthur was wearing his regular business suit and Merlin had the strange urge to lean over and undo Arthur’s tie and order him to relax. He wondered if Arthur actually owned leisure clothes or if he spent his weekends in button downs and dress trousers.
“Good,” Arthur replied. “Now pull out those documents I had you copy yesterday. I’d like to go over them with you.”
“I thought my opinion didn’t matter,” Merlin said dryly.
“It doesn’t,” Arthur replied, his lip curling upward into a smirk. “But I want to make sure you actually did as I told you for once.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and went to pull down his laptop bag.
*~*~*
They managed to make it from the train station to the hotel without running into any complications and Merlin was grateful that the meeting at Mercia Corporation wasn’t until that afternoon. It gave him time to shower and change into the new suit as well as hopefully grab something to eat from the small café he’d seen on the way in.
When he’d finally showered and changed, he went down the hall to Arthur’s room and knocked.
“Come-oh dear lord, what are you wearing now?” Arthur asked, stepping aside to let Merlin inside.
“What?” Merlin asked, looking down at his new suit with surprise. “What’s wrong with this?”
“Nothing,” Arthur replied, clearly lying, “but you’re not wearing that tie.” He went to his suitcase and began to rummage. After a moment he looked over his shoulder at Merlin and raised an eyebrow. “Well? Get it off then.”
“I’m not about to get my kit off,” Merlin yelped, taking a step back towards the door.
Arthur laughed and said in a way that was almost affectionate, “You’re such an idiot.”
“Oi!” Merlin protested.
“Your tie,” Arthur stated, tugging at his own as if to explain what a tie was. “Take it off. There’s no reason to ever wear yellow paisley.”
“There was a matching vest,” Merlin offered.
“That’s awful,” Arthur said, looking offended at the thought. “Please tell me you didn’t buy it.”
“I do have some taste,” Merlin grumbled, unknotting his tie and rolling it up.
Arthur offered one of his own, striped red ties. “Put that on and bin the other one.”
Merlin took the red tie and put it on but shoved the paisley one into his pocket rebelliously. He knew there was no way he would be able to return it, not when he’d thrown the receipt away, but he didn’t want Arthur to think he could control everything.
Arthur watched with amusement. “Are you hungry? We’ve got quite a good food budget and there’s a really excellent restaurant a few Tube stops down.”
“I thought most of the food in London was supposed to be good,” Merlin commented, feeling surprised at how well Arthur seemed to be acquainted with London when he knew Arthur had been born and raised in Birmingham. Taking public transport seemed to be slightly below him as well, when Merlin thought about it.
“It depends,” Arthur said with a shrug. “With how we’re dressed, though, I’d really rather not go for a kebab stand.”
Merlin grinned at the image of Arthur eating from a street vendor. “Whatever you want, the company’s paying.”
Arthur chuckled. “Come on, then, if I’m to be in meetings all afternoon I’d like to have time to grab a coffee after lunch.”
Merlin did as he was told and followed Arthur from the hotel and to the Tube station. He was surprised again when Arthur pulled out what looked to be a very worn Oyster card and added money to it, getting a disposable ticket for Merlin to use. “Where’d you get that from?”
“Huh?” Arthur asked, looking from the ticket to Merlin with some confusion. “I just bought it at the machine. Keep up, Merlin.”
“No,” Merlin said as he walked through the turnstile, “that one.”
“My Oyster card?” Arthur said with a frown as he turned the plastic card over in his hands. “I’ve had it since uni, actually. It’s in rather bad shape, isn’t it? I should probably get a new one.” He looked a little sad. “I just don’t come into London as much now.”
“I thought you did uni at Birmingham.” No one had ever actually told him that; Merlin had just assumed Arthur would have gone to the university at home for convenience seeing as how he was set to inherit one of the fastest growing and most profitable computer software companies in England.
Arthur looked startled. “No, LSE.” He smiled. “I lived in London for five years, actually. I did my Masters at LSE as well.”
“Good uni,” Merlin said for lack of anything better to say.
“Yeah,” he replied but he didn’t sound smug about having gone to one of the best universities out there. Rather, he sounded wistful.
“Do you miss it?” Merlin asked as they walked onto the platform to wait for the train to arrive.
“Uni?” Arthur shook his head. “Nah, it was a lot of work.” He grinned at Merlin and looked around the Tube station. “I don’t even miss London, not really.”
Merlin wanted to ask what it was Arthur did miss but he had a feeling he wouldn’t get an answer and so he waited with Arthur in comfortable silence until their train arrived.
*~*~*
“A latte with cream, really?” Merlin teased as they walked from the Tube station and towards Mercia’s office building.
“What’s wrong with it?” Arthur asked, sipping his drink.
“Nothing,” Merlin said lightly. “It’s just, it’s a little fluffy, isn’t it?”
“Fluffy?” Arthur repeated flatly, elbowing Merlin in the ribs. “I’ll show you fluffy.”
“Oh, you haven’t gained that much weight since I first started working for you,” Merlin quipped, feeling much more comfortable with Arthur after their lunch. He’d almost forgotten they were in London on business and that lunch was simply something to fill the time before the meeting, not a date or even a casual meet up between friends.
“I’ll have you know I go to the gym at least four days a week.” Arthur sipped his drink again, eyebrows raised at Merlin as if daring him to make another comment.
“Fair enough,” Merlin said, hands raised in mock surrender. “I just thought you might worry about your arse getting larger.”
“Looked at my arse, have you?” Arthur joked, grinning wickedly.
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself, I could do much better.”
Arthur scoffed. “In your dreams.”
“No,” Merlin said cheekily, “you would only be so lucky.”
“I don’t think so,” Arthur replied, smirking as they approached the building where Mercia had its offices.
“You’re not really my type,” Merlin lied lightly.
“I’m everyone’s type,” Arthur said grandly, spreading out his hands and sloshing some of his latte out of the cup.
“Charming,” Merlin said with false seriousness, “a genuine prince. And how exactly are you single again?”
Genuine hurt flashed across Arthur’s face for the briefest of seconds before his expression became closed and guarded and Merlin wondered if it had even been there at all.
“I didn’t-”
“We should pick up the pace,” Arthur interrupted, tossing his cup in the bin outside of the building, “we’re nearly late and after this morning, I don’t want arriving by the skin of your teeth to become a habit.”
Merlin bit his lip to keep from arguing his point further and followed Arthur.
Continue to Chapter 5