Kink Me! #31
Kink Me! #31
Closed to new prompts!Welcome to Kink Me! Merlin #31! :D
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The last person Merlin expects to see walking through the door of the coffee shop later that week is Uther Pendragon.
Uther just stands at the counter without ordering for a long moment. He's watching Merlin with that research-experiment stare again. Merlin shifts awkwardly in place.
"Uther," he greets uncertainly, feeling very aware of Gwen's curious eyes on his back.
"Merlin," Uther returns, with a grave little tilt of his head that makes Merlin have to bite back a laugh in spite of himself. "I...I require your assistance."
Merlin works very hard not to grimace. "All right," he says, as evenly as he can. "Well, my shift here doesn't end for another five minutes, but if you don't mind waiting, I can get you a coffee...?"
Uther seems oddly bewildered by that idea, like ordering coffee in the coffee shop is a thing that would never have occurred to him. Merlin wonders uncharitably for a moment if he's somehow afraid of contracting Gay Cooties, but after only the slightest hesitation, he gives another stiff little nod of thanks.
"I can certainly wait. A plain coffee would be lovely, thank you for offering."
Merlin chews on his lip very hard, and keeps his back to the counter while he pours the coffee so that Uther can't see him fighting a laugh.
The last five minutes of his shift are interminable. He manages to invent and discard a hundred increasingly dire scenarios for what kind of "assistance" Uther "requires," ranging from help shopping for rainbow-patterned power ties to planning the world's most businesslike coming-out party for his son.
In the end, though, Uther just gives him a mildly uncomfortable look, and invites him out for dinner again.
Merlin will never know what devil possesses him to say, "There's a chippy up the street, we could walk while we eat," but watching Uther's face as he struggles with that suggestion makes the whole evening already worthwhile.
Shockingly, Uther actually concedes, albeit somewhat uncertainly, and within half an hour, they are meandering side by side through the local park, and Merlin is watching with open amusement as Uther attempts to force down a chip butty without actually touching it with any part of his body, including his taste buds.
"So, what can I help you with?" he finally asks, because he can't help feeling a little mean, even if it is funny.
Uther makes the least dignified face Merlin has ever seen from him around the last bite of his "dinner," but like the proper, polished gentleman he is, he finishes chewing and swallowing before he deigns to answer.
"Arthur works in my company," he says bluntly. "And while he did eventually tell me of his...preferences, I have noticed that he's made no mention of it in the office."
He's far too dignified to indulge in things like vocal tones or facial expressions, but the words somehow manage to carry a distinct feeling of tattling nonetheless.
"Perhaps he's working up to it," Merlin suggests reasonably. "Or perhaps he just doesn't care to announce his personal business at the office. That's actually not unusual. It's really no one's business, is it?"
Uther seems wrong-footed by this response. "Are you suggesting he might never tell them?"
Merlin's eyebrows go up in spite of himself. "Is there some reason he should have to? I mean, he might want to, in which case good on him and I wish him well when he's ready for that, but it's not like it's a requirement. It's his business who he talks to about personal things, isn't it?"
"Of course it's not his business!" Uther snaps. "I was given to understand that this - this coming out is part of the...the agreement!"
"The...agreement," Merlin repeats, baffled. "Between...gay people?"
"Yes,“ says Uther, like Merlin is the idiot here. "Coming out means telling people. I do know that much, at least."
"But not necessarily all people," Merlin points out. "I mean, we don't have to wear name tags or anything. Where are you getting your information? It's not a cult, Uther. It's just like anything else - everyone has to make their own choices about who has a right and a need to know their private business."
-cont'd-
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