Paradigm Shift [06/? Merlin, BBC 2008]
Title: Paradigm Shift
Fandom: Merlin (BBC 2008)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Genres: AU/Drama/Romance
Rating: PG-13 (rating subject to change)
Warning: Underage sex (maybe eventually)
Summary: In which Arthur babysits Merlin and...things happen? [[From the kinkme_merlin prompt: Arthur/Merlin, Modern AU, Arthur is sixteen, popular, with the world at his feet - and he falls in love, unexpectedly, wrongly, desperately, with fourteen-year-old Merlin.]]
Navigation: 01 / 02 / 03/ 04 / 05 / 06
.
Arthur drove Sophie home, which sort of sucked because her house was way out of the way. Before she got out of the car, she stuck her tongue in his mouth and Arthur knew she couldn’t be that mad if that was the way she said good-bye. He also knew without glancing in the rearview mirror that Merlin was cringing. Sophie said, “Text me tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure. Good night.” Arthur watched her go, and it wasn’t until Sophie got in her house that he turned to Merlin. “Here, move up.” He patted the now empty passenger seat beside him.
Merlin seemed uncertain for a moment and unbuckled his seatbelt and scrambled to the front. Arthur was halfway expecting him to take the long way and get out of the car to walk around, but it was heartening to see that the kid wasn’t completely helpless. He fumbled for the seatbelt, but then Arthur reached over --
“Here.”
Merlin would not look at him, “Thank you.”
They drove, with an odd suspended silence hanging between them. It got to be a little too odd, and Arthur said, “Choose something to listen to on the radio.”
Merlin’s fingers hovered over the button, and then he dropped his hand, “I messed up, didn’t I?”
Arthur tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the steering wheel, “Morgana seemed like a nice girl. Did she have fun?” It wasn’t an answer, but then again, he hardly had an answer to the question that Merlin was asking him.
“She said she did...but I know she’s lying.”
Then the silence took over again, and Arthur did not speak again until he had parked his car in the garage. He turned off the ignition and sighed. “Merlin --”
“Just tell me I messed up and that I’m helpless at this sort of thing, okay?” Merlin interrupted him unexpectedly. His seatbelt clicked almost angrily as he fumbled for the door. “You shouldn’t have made me ask her out!”
“So it’s my fault?”
“Of course it’s your fault! It’s not like I want to go and randomly stick my tongue into some girl’s mouth!” Merlin’s eyes were very blue in the dark. “Arthur, this whole thing...it was embarrassing and I wish I never did it!” Abruptly, he opened the door, “I’m going to go home now. Thank you for today.”
Almost by instinct, Arthur reached out and caught Merlin’s arm, “Stay. I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”
.
“It’s April,” said Merlin as he watched Arthur heated up milk in a pan. In Arthur’s preciously few memories he had of his mother involved her standing in the kitchen heating up milk in a pan.
Arthur said, “So?”
“It’s weird,” Merlin crossed his arms. “No one makes hot chocolate in April.”
Merlin was calling him weird, Merlin was the last person in the world who had any right to call him ‘weird.’ But instead of calling him out on it, he said, “My mother made hot chocolate for me in April. Or...she used to.”
There was an immediate silence in the kitchen, even the milk had stopped bubbling. Merlin opened his mouth and then closed it again, “Oh.”
For himself, Arthur said nothing. He fetched two mugs and filled them, and then he went to the cabinet to search for the can of cocoa powder. Then he put two generous spoonfuls into each one and carried them to the table. Set one down in front of Merlin and stared at his own mug. He really shouldn’t have said that, but it shouldn’t have been something he was ashamed of. And he wasn’t, he wasn’t ashamed of it.
But it --
“Look, what I meant was that hot chocolate is good for you when you’re in a bad mood, okay?”
Merlin put his mouth to the rim of the cup and Arthur watched as he sipped at the hot chocolate, at the corner of his lips there was a brown smudge. Merlin licked at it.
“--Arthur?”
Arthur hastily looked away, “I...huh?”
“I said,” Merlin said, looking almost annoyed. “I said that I didn’t remember my dad at all. And that’s okay. Mom said he left before I was born.” Obviously he thought that this admission would cover up Arthur’s own slip from earlier. It didn’t...but at least the kid tried. Props to him for that.
“D’you ever wonder about him?”
Merlin shrugged, “Not really...Mom said I look like him. I have his eyes, and she said I’ll be handsome soon. My dad was handsome.” There was a slight pause as he studied Arthur’s face, “You look like your mom, don’t you, Arthur?”
Arthur was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe, “Why do you say that?”
“I saw him one time, you didn’t look like him at all.” Merlin now had smudges on both corners of his mouth. Arthur did not quite know why, but it apparently bugged him enough that he reached over for a napkin and handed it over.
“Here, wipe your mouth, you’ve got chocolate,” Arthur said. Then he added blandly as he knew how, “I don’t remember what my mom looks like.”
Merlin stared at the napkin, and then he stared at Arthur, “Oh.” He wiped hastily at the smudges, only making them worse.
“Here, let me do it,” Arthur took the napkin from him and the edge of it tore off. Merlin looked at him defiantly.
“I’m not five years old.”
“You might as well be,” Arthur tilted his chin up slightly and dabbed the napkin carefully on both corners of Merlin’s mouth. “Why are you so messy?”
“No one has ever made me hot chocolate before.”
“Jesus, you’re fourteen,” Arthur stared at him incredulously for a moment longer before stepping past him to toss the napkin into the trash. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is you’ve never had a glass of kool-aid.” (Among other things) but Arthur pretended he never thought it.
“I’ve had kool-aid,” said Merlin, setting his jaw stubbornly. “Why do you always have to make fun of me?”
“Because...I dunno, it’s kinda fun,” Arthur sighed. “Besides, I’m not...really making fun of you. I’m just, you’re different from me, that’s all.”
Merlin stared at him coolly for a moment, “So it’s because you have sex and I don’t?”
Arthur nearly bit his tongue, “No -- I...what? No one said anything about sex, Merlin. Besides, you’re sort of...young for sex.”
“You keep saying that, and you’re not that much older than I am,” Merlin stuck out his tongue and Arthur watched his tongue lick slowly across his upper lip. “Besides, I’m not going to have sex for a long time, even when I’m your age.”
“Fourteen is a long way away from almost seventeen, Merlin,” feeling oddly subdued and even more strangely old, Arthur set a hand on the kid’s head and kept it there for a long time. “You probably shouldn’t be having sex at my age anyway...stick to it, yeah?”
.
That exchange seemed to fill up their quota of ‘strange conversations that should have never been had ever’ and Merlin didn’t say anything when Arthur excused himself to get blankets and a spare pillow from upstairs. Except when Arthur threw them on the couch, Merlin said, “What are you doing?”
“It’s for you, in case you want to lie down.”
“Oh.”
Merlin stood there for an awkward moment or two, and then he went over to the couch, “My mom is probably going to be back soon.”
Arthur shrugged, “So? Lie down anyway, you look tired.”
For some reason or the other, this convinced Merlin and he burrowed into the blanket and blinked up at Arthur almost owlishly, “What are you going to do?”
“Go upstairs and study, probably. I dunno yet.” Arthur walked over to the side of the couch and on a strange sort of instinct, reached out to smooth hair out of Merlin’s eyes. “I’m sure your mom knows where to find you when she comes back. Our doorbell is very loud and obnoxious. Probably will wake you up.”
“Yeah...I told her I was with you. I didn’t tell her about the date though, she probably wouldn’t like it.” Merlin reached out a hand and held onto Arthur’s wrist. His grip, like the rest of him, was vulnerable. “Can’t you stay? I’ll scoot over and you can have half the blanket.”
There was suddenly a very strange feeling at the pit of Arthur’s stomach, like someone had shot him full of poison and he was just realizing it. It wasn’t a good feeling, but he nodded anyway, “Okay, fine, I’ll stay.” He nudged Merlin's foot, "Scoot."
Fandom: Merlin (BBC 2008)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Genres: AU/Drama/Romance
Rating: PG-13 (rating subject to change)
Warning: Underage sex (maybe eventually)
Summary: In which Arthur babysits Merlin and...things happen? [[From the kinkme_merlin prompt: Arthur/Merlin, Modern AU, Arthur is sixteen, popular, with the world at his feet - and he falls in love, unexpectedly, wrongly, desperately, with fourteen-year-old Merlin.]]
Navigation: 01 / 02 / 03/ 04 / 05 / 06
.
Arthur drove Sophie home, which sort of sucked because her house was way out of the way. Before she got out of the car, she stuck her tongue in his mouth and Arthur knew she couldn’t be that mad if that was the way she said good-bye. He also knew without glancing in the rearview mirror that Merlin was cringing. Sophie said, “Text me tomorrow?”
“Yeah, sure. Good night.” Arthur watched her go, and it wasn’t until Sophie got in her house that he turned to Merlin. “Here, move up.” He patted the now empty passenger seat beside him.
Merlin seemed uncertain for a moment and unbuckled his seatbelt and scrambled to the front. Arthur was halfway expecting him to take the long way and get out of the car to walk around, but it was heartening to see that the kid wasn’t completely helpless. He fumbled for the seatbelt, but then Arthur reached over --
“Here.”
Merlin would not look at him, “Thank you.”
They drove, with an odd suspended silence hanging between them. It got to be a little too odd, and Arthur said, “Choose something to listen to on the radio.”
Merlin’s fingers hovered over the button, and then he dropped his hand, “I messed up, didn’t I?”
Arthur tapped his fingers thoughtfully on the steering wheel, “Morgana seemed like a nice girl. Did she have fun?” It wasn’t an answer, but then again, he hardly had an answer to the question that Merlin was asking him.
“She said she did...but I know she’s lying.”
Then the silence took over again, and Arthur did not speak again until he had parked his car in the garage. He turned off the ignition and sighed. “Merlin --”
“Just tell me I messed up and that I’m helpless at this sort of thing, okay?” Merlin interrupted him unexpectedly. His seatbelt clicked almost angrily as he fumbled for the door. “You shouldn’t have made me ask her out!”
“So it’s my fault?”
“Of course it’s your fault! It’s not like I want to go and randomly stick my tongue into some girl’s mouth!” Merlin’s eyes were very blue in the dark. “Arthur, this whole thing...it was embarrassing and I wish I never did it!” Abruptly, he opened the door, “I’m going to go home now. Thank you for today.”
Almost by instinct, Arthur reached out and caught Merlin’s arm, “Stay. I’ll make you some hot chocolate.”
.
“It’s April,” said Merlin as he watched Arthur heated up milk in a pan. In Arthur’s preciously few memories he had of his mother involved her standing in the kitchen heating up milk in a pan.
Arthur said, “So?”
“It’s weird,” Merlin crossed his arms. “No one makes hot chocolate in April.”
Merlin was calling him weird, Merlin was the last person in the world who had any right to call him ‘weird.’ But instead of calling him out on it, he said, “My mother made hot chocolate for me in April. Or...she used to.”
There was an immediate silence in the kitchen, even the milk had stopped bubbling. Merlin opened his mouth and then closed it again, “Oh.”
For himself, Arthur said nothing. He fetched two mugs and filled them, and then he went to the cabinet to search for the can of cocoa powder. Then he put two generous spoonfuls into each one and carried them to the table. Set one down in front of Merlin and stared at his own mug. He really shouldn’t have said that, but it shouldn’t have been something he was ashamed of. And he wasn’t, he wasn’t ashamed of it.
But it --
“Look, what I meant was that hot chocolate is good for you when you’re in a bad mood, okay?”
Merlin put his mouth to the rim of the cup and Arthur watched as he sipped at the hot chocolate, at the corner of his lips there was a brown smudge. Merlin licked at it.
“--Arthur?”
Arthur hastily looked away, “I...huh?”
“I said,” Merlin said, looking almost annoyed. “I said that I didn’t remember my dad at all. And that’s okay. Mom said he left before I was born.” Obviously he thought that this admission would cover up Arthur’s own slip from earlier. It didn’t...but at least the kid tried. Props to him for that.
“D’you ever wonder about him?”
Merlin shrugged, “Not really...Mom said I look like him. I have his eyes, and she said I’ll be handsome soon. My dad was handsome.” There was a slight pause as he studied Arthur’s face, “You look like your mom, don’t you, Arthur?”
Arthur was suddenly finding it very hard to breathe, “Why do you say that?”
“I saw him one time, you didn’t look like him at all.” Merlin now had smudges on both corners of his mouth. Arthur did not quite know why, but it apparently bugged him enough that he reached over for a napkin and handed it over.
“Here, wipe your mouth, you’ve got chocolate,” Arthur said. Then he added blandly as he knew how, “I don’t remember what my mom looks like.”
Merlin stared at the napkin, and then he stared at Arthur, “Oh.” He wiped hastily at the smudges, only making them worse.
“Here, let me do it,” Arthur took the napkin from him and the edge of it tore off. Merlin looked at him defiantly.
“I’m not five years old.”
“You might as well be,” Arthur tilted his chin up slightly and dabbed the napkin carefully on both corners of Merlin’s mouth. “Why are you so messy?”
“No one has ever made me hot chocolate before.”
“Jesus, you’re fourteen,” Arthur stared at him incredulously for a moment longer before stepping past him to toss the napkin into the trash. “Next thing you’re going to tell me is you’ve never had a glass of kool-aid.” (Among other things) but Arthur pretended he never thought it.
“I’ve had kool-aid,” said Merlin, setting his jaw stubbornly. “Why do you always have to make fun of me?”
“Because...I dunno, it’s kinda fun,” Arthur sighed. “Besides, I’m not...really making fun of you. I’m just, you’re different from me, that’s all.”
Merlin stared at him coolly for a moment, “So it’s because you have sex and I don’t?”
Arthur nearly bit his tongue, “No -- I...what? No one said anything about sex, Merlin. Besides, you’re sort of...young for sex.”
“You keep saying that, and you’re not that much older than I am,” Merlin stuck out his tongue and Arthur watched his tongue lick slowly across his upper lip. “Besides, I’m not going to have sex for a long time, even when I’m your age.”
“Fourteen is a long way away from almost seventeen, Merlin,” feeling oddly subdued and even more strangely old, Arthur set a hand on the kid’s head and kept it there for a long time. “You probably shouldn’t be having sex at my age anyway...stick to it, yeah?”
.
That exchange seemed to fill up their quota of ‘strange conversations that should have never been had ever’ and Merlin didn’t say anything when Arthur excused himself to get blankets and a spare pillow from upstairs. Except when Arthur threw them on the couch, Merlin said, “What are you doing?”
“It’s for you, in case you want to lie down.”
“Oh.”
Merlin stood there for an awkward moment or two, and then he went over to the couch, “My mom is probably going to be back soon.”
Arthur shrugged, “So? Lie down anyway, you look tired.”
For some reason or the other, this convinced Merlin and he burrowed into the blanket and blinked up at Arthur almost owlishly, “What are you going to do?”
“Go upstairs and study, probably. I dunno yet.” Arthur walked over to the side of the couch and on a strange sort of instinct, reached out to smooth hair out of Merlin’s eyes. “I’m sure your mom knows where to find you when she comes back. Our doorbell is very loud and obnoxious. Probably will wake you up.”
“Yeah...I told her I was with you. I didn’t tell her about the date though, she probably wouldn’t like it.” Merlin reached out a hand and held onto Arthur’s wrist. His grip, like the rest of him, was vulnerable. “Can’t you stay? I’ll scoot over and you can have half the blanket.”
There was suddenly a very strange feeling at the pit of Arthur’s stomach, like someone had shot him full of poison and he was just realizing it. It wasn’t a good feeling, but he nodded anyway, “Okay, fine, I’ll stay.” He nudged Merlin's foot, "Scoot."