[FIC] The Ultimate Measure - Part II (Arthur/Merlin; PG-13)

[merlinmusesmod]

Merlin exhales loudly as he drops his bag on to the passenger seat of Freya's car. Other than the encounter with Valiant after history the day had, for the most part, gone smoothly. However, it had been chock-full of meeting people and trying to get settled in. Merlin's tired, and he's never been so excited to see a vehicle in his life; the idea of walking home in the four inches of snow they'd received during the day is in absolutely no way appealing.

Merlin had met all of Freya's friends, including the rest of the study group, and Merlin has to admit that they're all quite brilliant. Besides Freya and Arthur there's Morgana, who Merlin's found out is the head cheerleader. She's sarcastic, vocal, and determined to win any argument. He figures he can be forgiven for assuming that Arthur would be dating her - they very well could be dating, if Arthur wasn't her brother. Instead, that honor's taken by Leon, who's just as stubborn as she is but seems to compliment her and adores her to no end.

Then there's Lance, who is quiet but strong-willed, and he's a good match for Gwen, who is Freya's best friend. Gwen's kind but opinionated, and not afraid to voice it, similar to Freya. Merlin can easily see why they're best friends.

There's also Gwaine, who has to be the biggest flirt Merlin has ever known. He's charming, charismatic, cocky, and Merlin has no idea how Elena, Gwaine's girlfriend, puts up with him. But she does, and in return Gwaine adores her clumsy and abrupt ways.

Finally there's Will, who is without a doubt the biggest prankster and enabler Merlin has ever met. Merlin's already made mental notes never to trust anything Will gives him to eat or drink, and to always make sure to keep Will on his good side just to be safe, since the only one who seems to be able to keep him in line is Freya.

One or more of them are in every single one of his classes, and more than once that day the lot of them had made Merlin laugh aloud with their antics. They all seem to be genuinely good friends, and care about each other. Merlin's still not quite sure what to make of being brought into the middle of that with no questions asked, but he has to give Freya credit where it's due - they've all been very welcoming. He can't help but be amazed what a difference 24 hours can make. He's honestly looking forward to the study group later that night, and to getting to know them all better.

He's startled from his thoughts when a snowball hits him in the face. "Hey! What...?"

Freya laughs, clapping her hands together to get the snow off. "You were totally in another world, I've been trying to get your attention for a whole minute," she says with a grin.

Merlin blushes while wiping the snow off of his face. "Sorry."

"'s all right," she replies, opening the door and climbing in. "So what'd you think of everyone?" she asks once they're inside. "I know they can be a bit much, sometimes, but they all mean well."

"No, they're great. You were right," he admits with a smile.

"Even Arthur?" she teases while pulling out of the parking lot.

Merlin ducks down into his seat, looking out the window. "Yeah, even Arthur," he says softly. And isn't that just it? As much as Merlin had tried to find Arthur annoying, tried to find some fault to focus on, as hard as he searched for one all day long, he couldn't find one. Unless he were to start listing confidence and helpfulness as being negative qualities, that is. Merlin's aware that he's being petulant, but damn it all, it's really not fair. No one should be allowed to be that likeable in addition to being that gorgeous.

After the tiff with Valiant in history, Arthur had walked with Merlin to French, warning him about the Only-French-In-My-Classroom rule along the way. When they arrived, Arthur had brought Merlin into his group with Leon, Lance, and Elena for an ongoing project which they were being granted time to work on that day. He quickly and efficiently explained, in French as required, what was going on and worked to incorporate Merlin into the group. And sure there had been times when Merlin had still wanted to slap him, like when Arthur had asked if Merlin was telling a story or directing an airplane, but Arthur had honestly tried to be helpful all morning.

When Freya stops the car in front of his house, Merlin turns to thank her for the ride. He pauses at the serious expression on her face. "What?"

"I don't suppose you'll re-think reporting Valiant after what happened today?" she hedges.

"Freya-"

"No, Merlin. It's not right, what he said; what they're doing," she says, insistent on at least being heard. "I just wish Mr. Jameson had still been in the room when it happened. I swear those idiots think they can get away with anything just because they can bang their heads into other heads on a patch of grass."

Merlin snickers at her tirade. "I never said it was right. I just said I didn't want to add fuel to the fire. People like them don't think logically, and I don't even want to deal with it," he defends, grabbing his bag and moving to climb out of the car. He stops, again, when he feels her hand on his arm.

"I'm going to respect your choice but I don't like it. And if they actually hurt you again, I'm reporting them," she says firmly.

Merlin nods, knowing nothing he can say is going to make her change her mind. It's not that he doesn't care about being treated poorly, he just knows that it could be a lot worse than it is. And he's grateful to have people who support him as that makes it easier. In the end he simply feels as though fighting is not currently worth the trouble. He doesn't know how to make her understand that, though, without telling his whole life story and so just lets it be for now. "I need to walk Cabal and get the drive cleared off before our study group tonight. 6 o'clock, right?" he asks as he opens the door.

"Yeah, just come on over whenever," she says, letting go of his arm and allowing him to climb out. He closes the door and waves as she heads across the street to her own drive.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I need a break," Arthur declares later that night, snapping his calculus book shut around his notebook. He looks up to see how Merlin's doing on his WWI timeline; a giant piece of paper Arthur had taped to the hallway wall with a series of blanks needing to be filled in, a kind of pop-quiz for Merlin to take. Merlin's kneeling in front of it, holding a sheet of paper in his hand with a list of events and he's looking back and forth from one to the other, crease on his forehead and lower lip between his teeth as he studies it. Arthur's inclined to think it's one of the most ridiculous things to be attracted to, but he can't help it - all he wants to do is lean forward and bite Merlin's lip for himself.

Arthur shakes his head to clear the thought and attempts to focus on what Merlin's actually writing. He stops Merlin just as he's penciling in "USA joins war" on the line marked December 7, 1916 instead of the one for April 6, 1917. "David Lloyd George became Prime Minister before the US joined the war," he says helpfully as he leans over and steals Merlin's phone, opening it and snooping around to see if there are any games on it.

Merlin sighs, looking down at the paper in his hand. "How do you even remember that?" he asks, obviously frustrated.

"History's one of my things," Arthur replies with a shrug. "How the hell do you remember everything there is to know about derivatives, integrals, and... What the hell are we even doing right now?" He opens his book again to look at the chapter title, "Oh, yeah, L’Hộpital’s Rule," he says sarcastically before slamming the book closed again and returning his attention to Merlin's phone.

"It's not that hard," Merlin responds, dropping the piece of paper and moving to sit back against the wall beside Arthur. "I can help you, I need a break from history anyway-hey!" he exclaims, reaching to steal his phone back when he realizes Arthur's doing something with it.

Arthur laughs and shifts it to his other hand, holding it away from Merlin. "Just chill, I'm not doing anything bad, promise." When Merlin sighs and relaxes back against the wall, Arthur returns the phone to his lap and continues typing. "I beg to differ, by the way. Math is evil. I'm sure everyone in this house but you and Freya agrees with me."

Merlin just snorts in response, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Arthur can hear the others in various rooms of the house, discussing biology, Spanish, or literature, but he's content to sit beside Merlin and take in his profile out of the corner of his eye.

"So if we're both taking a break, does this mean I can start asking more questions which you just ignore? I'd hate to break tradition."

Arthur glances sideways again just in time to catch a half smile grace Merlin's lips. "I don't know, maybe it's my turn to ask questions," Merlin says, turning his head to look at Arthur.

"Mmmm, nope. I've answered, like, a dozen of yours, you've answered four of mine. I think it's my turn still."

"All right then, have at it," Merlin says, still with that soft smile and head turned toward Arthur.

"Okay, what about everything I asked you yesterday?" Arthur asks, keeping his gaze on Merlin's phone and determinedly not looking towards Merlin's half-lidded expression. Arthur's convinced Merlin has no idea how sexy that expression truly is.

"You mean in Alice's office?"

"Yep. There's what, eight unanswered questions there? Let's see if you remember them all."

"Seven," Merlin corrects, leaning forward again to rest his elbows on his knees. "You already know my name."

"Ah, but not your last name," Arthur counters.

Merlin rolls his eyes and looks down at the floor, picking the hem of his jeans absentmindedly. "All right. No, I didn't know the clocks stop moving at 20 minutes and 43 seconds past each hour, but I watched today and you're right, they do." Arthur laughs softly but allows Merlin to continue uninterrupted. "Yes, obviously yesterday was my first day, but you already knew that. I moved from Boston, and moved here because Mom decided it was a good idea and, well, she's my mom so here I am too."

Arthur nods when Merlin glances up, to show he's listening. "Good memory. You can skip the next question though; I already know you're a senior." Arthur dodges the pencil Merlin throws at his head.

"Uh, Mr. Kilgharrah's my favorite teacher, though that might be more because it's calc," Merlin says with a grin as Arthur snickers.

Merlin pauses for a couple of minutes, tracing his fingers over the hall floor. Arthur can clearly see that Merlin's grown uncomfortable with the next question. "You don't have to tell me what happened. It's kind of obvious after this morning." Arthur says quietly.

"No, it's fine," Merlin assures, but takes another moment before inhaling deeply and answering. "As for what the hell happened yesterday, well, yesterday morning Cenred overheard me asking the school secretary about if there's a gay-straight alliance at the school. He made the correct assumption about my sexuality, ran off to tell all of his jocky type friends, and what you saw yesterday afternoon was the aftermath of them making it clear what they thought about 'my type'," Merlin says all in one breath, complete with air quotes around 'my type'. "I thought I got off light, all things considered, especially since every guy in school seems to be a jock of some kind," Merlin adds, trying to brush off the whole situation.

Arthur isn't quite sure what to say in response to that. He'd kind of like to go find Valiant and Cenred and shove them off a cliff. And while that would solve the problem, it's not exactly helpful at the moment. "Don't do that, don't shrug it off. Your being gay, or bi, or whatever, is not a valid reason for them to beat the shit out of you. Why didn't you report them?" he asks.

"I'm gay," Merlin clarifies. "And because there's no point."

"But-"

"No, Arthur, there's no point," Merlin says, firmly. "What would happen? Everything would be public, everyone would know what happened, and why, and all Cenred and Valiant would get is a slap on the wrist, maybe a suspension. I wasn't seriously injured so there's no way they'd be expelled. And then, okay, maybe they'd keep it out of school, but then what? They'd just attack me outside of school where it's easier for them to get away with it or where they could cause a lot more damage. It's just... not worth it," Merlin says, and Arthur can pick up on the exhaustion behind the words.

"This isn't the first time, is it? Everything you just said, it's all happened before, hasn't it?"

"Yes," Merlin admits. "It happened at my old school. It's part of why we moved, actually. But here's different." Arthur watches as Merlin looks over his shoulder and into the living room where Freya, Gwaine, Will and Elena are sitting. "People care here, so I don't think it'll get as bad. Especially with you all around, I doubt they'll try something too risky. And I can handle it," he says, looking back to Arthur.

"You shouldn't have to handle it," Arthur says firmly.

"No," Merlin agrees. "But I will." Arthur can't think of one single thing to say to that. He wants to argue, convince Merlin to do something about it, but at the same time he can see Merlin's point. He's a bit relieved when Merlin starts speaking again on his own. "So, you're not going to start being all weird and distant now, right? The whole puppy thing, it's kind of amusing. I'd hate for it to stop."

Merlin's looking down at the floor again but Arthur can clearly see the blush staining the tips of his ears. He's obviously embarrassed, and before even thinking it through Arthur's saying the only thing that might level the field. "If you're worried I'm going to treat you differently for being gay, you can stop. It'd be a bit hypocritical of me."

Arthur watches Merlin's head shoot up, eyes questioning, and meets his gaze levelly. If Arthur had previously had any concerns about telling Merlin, they've now vanished at the look of combined relief and awe on Merlin's face. "Wow, okay, I didn't see that one coming. My gaydar's always sucked though. You're gay?" Merlin asks.

"Do we really have to do labels?" Arthur asks. It's the one thing Arthur hasn't yet figured out, despite spending the entire previous night thinking about it. "Heterosexual, Homosexual, Bisexual, Asexual, Pansexual, does it really matter? Labels are confining and I haven't thought about it enough to determine a classification. Suppose the important bit is that yes, I like guys. Though that's something newly discovered," he admits.

"Newly discovered?" Merlin tilts his head sideways and studies Arthur for a moment. "Is that why you look strung out?" The tone is light but Arthur can see the concern hidden in Merlin's eyes.

Arthur's not quite ready to go there, no matter how much reassurance Merlin may need. He shrugs in reply before pushing his shoulder into Merlin's, knocking him a bit off balance. "Maybe I just stayed up all night re-thinking being a jock, you know, after the way I was scolded so thoroughly for being one yesterday," he jokes.

Merlin groans and buries his head in his hands but Arthur can still see the blush on Merlin's ears and neck. "Sorry, about that," Merlin says quietly. They sit in silence for a moment before Merlin finally drops his hands and continues, "Telling you off yesterday, looping you in with them, I'm sorry. I've been informed that it's only the, how was it worded?" he questions himself. He pauses for a moment before continuing, "Oh yes, something like the 'jocks who bang their heads into other heads on a patch of grass,' I believe? Apparently those are the ones to watch out for and you dribbling on wooden floors jocks are perfectly respectable."

"Ha!" Arthur nearly falls over laughing. "Apology accepted," he manages nearly a full minute later when he can breathe again, wiping a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. With a large grin still gracing his features he hands Merlin back his phone. "All done." He watches as Merlin glances suspiciously down at the phone in his hand. "It's not a bomb, Merlin, it's just your phone."

Arthur laughs again as Merlin flips him off with one hand while pocketing the phone with the other. "Break time's over, Mister, back to calc you go."

...

Later that night Arthur's mobile beeps with an incoming message while he's trying to finish the last of his homework. Thanks for everyone's numbers. Though, did I honestly need Bob's Taxi Service? Do I want to know why you have that memorized?

Arthur grins and taps out a quick reply. Never know when you might be stranded. But then, you could always call one of us.

His phone beeps again thirty seconds later. Unlikely to be stranded when I don't drive in the first place.

Yeah, about that, what kind of person doesn't know how to drive, anyway?

Never had a need to drive in the city. Why, want to teach me?

Can't. I don't even know your last name. You might be a crazy person. I don't teach crazy people how to drive.

Future serial killers everywhere are shedding tears knowing they've lost another instructor. It's Ambrose.

I'll let you know about the teaching thing after your background check comes through. Meanwhile, what's your favorite song?

You're a master of segues. When you get that report back, you should know I was framed :-) Good night, Arthur

Avoiding me again, drat. Night. P.S. Pet the puppy for me =)

Afterwards, Arthur finds it difficult to concentrate on biology, but surprisingly has no trouble sleeping that night at all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh dear God, what are we listening to?! Is this-? Are we seriously listening to Soulja Boy?" Merlin cries with dismay as he climbs into the backseat of Arthur's SUV a week later. Freya's car hadn't wanted to start that morning and so, stranded, Merlin had indeed called Arthur for a ride.

"It's Savage featuring Soulja Boy, thank you very much Merlin," comes Arthur's reply from the driver's seat.

Merlin ignores Freya's helpful, "Don't bother, Merlin, it's a lost cause," and keeps his eyes pinned on Arthur's reflection in the rear-view mirror.

"That doesn't stop it from being crap. Why do you have to be a wanna-be gangster jock? Why can't you be a, I don't know, classic rock jock? Much cooler, not to mention safer for all of our eardrums," he says while rubbing his ear.

He watches Arthur shoot a glare in Morgana's direction who, if it weren't for her seatbelt, would possibly be on the floor of the front seat with her laughter. "Can't be too hard on your precious ears if you're able to recognize it," Arthur fires back.

"Not by choice, they play it at enough parties and put it in enough movies that it's impossible not to recognize. I don't get the appeal. It's not music; it's just a beat worthy of making a bunch of people rub up against each other and have barely disguised vertical sex on a dance floor."

There's a pause as Arthur meets Merlin's eyes in the rear-view mirror finally, one eyebrow arched, "And the bad part of that is..."

Merlin blushes but doesn't look away. "Vertical sex shouldn't have to kill my eardrums," he snaps.

"Oh but Merlin, if you're doing it right then your eardrums are the last thing you should be thinking of," is Arthur's reply, complete with cocky grin.

Merlin rolls his eyes and just as he's opening his mouth to reply Morgana interrupts. "So, when's the wedding?" she asks in an innocent tone.

"Morgana-"

"What-"

"Well you already fight like a married couple," she explains, and then adds helpfully, "Might as well just get on with it."

Freya and Morgana both burst into laughter at Merlin's and Arthur's flabbergasted expressions. Merlin can feel the blush on his cheeks move to his ears and sinks down into his seat, turning to look out the window while Arthur rubs his forehead with his finger, eyes firmly focused on the road in front of them.

...

Merlin's phone vibrates in his pocket ten minutes into French the next day. So what type of music would you prefer to have vertical sex to then?

If we get caught you're the one retrieving our phones from Mr. Pen... OMG the principal is your father.

Arthur snickers from across the table while typing out a quick response, Quick on the uptake, you are. And you plan on teaching the math whizzes of future generations?

I suddenly feel like the guy from the wrong side of the tracks. I'm erasing all our messages.

Embarrassed to be seen talking with me? I'm crushed. Where's the love?

Before Merlin can even type in a response another message comes through. Oh and Merlin? There's no way I'm playing the girl in this relationship; you'd look way too pretty in a dress.

Flustered, Merlin can only manage a quick reply of, What relationship? before blushing and pointedly ignoring Arthur's smirk as he shoves the phone back in his pocket.

...

The next couple of weeks fall into somewhat of a routine for Merlin. Life in small town Wisconsin is frighteningly dissimilar to life in the city, but Merlin finds it almost refreshing. There are less distractions and everything kind of blurs together in this mix of school, studying, and this building... whatever it is with Arthur. It all feels a bit surreal, like a dream. He can always count on Valiant and Cenred to wake him up, though.

It's been a whole week, just long enough for Merlin to start to let his guard down. I should have known better, is the only thing he can think of through his shock. He's standing in the middle of the hallway after fourth period with Valiant's spit on his cheek and the echo of Cenred's harsh, "Dirty queer," bouncing off the walls mockingly. He keeps his head down, using the excuse of digging through his bag for a Kleenex, refusing to look up and acknowledge them, acknowledge anyone.

He feels someone lead him to the side of the hallway, hears some of the students laughing in the background as Will trips Valiant and then follows up with a sarcastic, "Oops, sorry there buddy. Need a hand up? You really should pay attention to where you're walking, though. What if you'd stepped in front of my truck?" But none of it registers; Merlin's so determined to not let it matter.

He blinks when a tissue is waved in front of his face. Before he can reach for it he sees Arthur's hand grab it and lift it to Merlin's cheek, cleaning it. The softly spoken "All right?" finally brings Merlin back to the present. "Hey," Arthur tries again when Merlin doesn't respond, ducking down to look at Merlin's face. He must find confirmation of what he's searching for because he just nods, straightening back up and wrapping his hand around Merlin's wrist. "Let's get out of here."

Merlin finally nods and allows Arthur to lead him away.

...

That first day starts a tradition of spending lunch with Arthur while sitting on the floor in the freshman locker bay. As far as Merlin's concerned, it's the best time of the day. With all the homework that's being piled on them recently, and the regional basketball tournament beginning in a week, everyone's busy and stressed and Merlin's happy to enjoy the half hour a day with nothing else hanging over them. Merlin isn't sure how much longer he can keep his crush on Arthur hidden before stepping in it, but he's going to keep using the excuse to spend time alone with Arthur for as long as he can get away with it, even if being the sole focus of Arthur's attention can be disarming.

Usually they talk about random things, whatever strikes their fancy at the moment to discuss. Movies, teachers, and places they want to travel, things like that. Lately it's been the only time they've been able to continue their ongoing game of Q&A.

"Favorite color?" Merlin asks, not in the mood for any serious questions.

Arthur snorts at the question but responds with, "Red, you?"

"Cerulean. Red's boring, and vague. Pick a shade of it."

"Listen to you, Mr. Demanding today. All right, hmm," Arthur trails off and Merlin watches as he contemplates a more specific answer. "Rosewood, maybe."

"Better," Merlin says with a grin. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" he asks next, biting into his apple.

"When I grow up? Really, Merlin?" Arthur mocks, but answers anyway, "A Veterinarian."

"Ah, explains biology then, and your hatred of math," Merlin teases. "I should have known, actually, what with how when groups are at mine you pay more attention to Cabal than studying."

"That's because puppies are awesome, how can you deny them?" Arthur asks before finishing his burrito.

"It's hard, I admit," Merlin says while glancing sideways at Arthur.

"Why'd you name him Cabal, anyway?" Arthur questions.

"It was supposed to be a joke, what with my name being so similar to one of the names for Merlin in Arthurian legend. I thought it would be funny. Now it's just ironic, what with you, Morgana, Gwen, and even Lance around."

"Huh," is Arthur's only reply, but he's looking at Merlin with a curious expression on his face.

"So eloquent," Merlin observes. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's just; I thought you hated all forms of history. You willingly named your puppy after a dog in Arthurian legend. I'm so proud," Arthur says, his tone laced with sarcastic adoration.

Merlin throws his sandwich wrapper at Arthur's head to keep himself from leaning over and kissing away that smug grin.

...

"I'm not going to put up with much more of it," Arthur says at Gwen's during their next study group three nights later. Earlier that day, before last period, Valiant had 'tripped' into Merlin's open locker door, causing it to slam shut on Merlin's hand. Merlin had spent the whole of Music Theory with an ice pack on his hand, but it was still badly bruised.

"I know," Merlin sighs. He's not surprised that Arthur's heard exactly what happened; Gwaine and Lance were there, after all. What is surprising, however, is Arthur's level of anger over it. The times before Arthur had merely seemed concerned; Merlin's not quite sure what to make of the change.

"I've let it go on too long as it is," Arthur adds, insistently.

"I just don't want to make it worse," Merlin defends, tiredly.

"That's not an excuse for not standing up for yourself," Arthur snaps, glaring in Merlin's direction.

"No, it's not," Merlin agrees, and turns back to his chemistry homework.

...

In the end, Merlin supposes he has Cenred to thank - not that he intends to ever deliver it. Merlin had been walking down the corridor with Freya, Elena, and Gwen, heading toward the gym for the first regional basketball game, when Cenred had 'accidentally' dropped his open bottle of water in front of Merlin, spilling it and causing Merlin to slip, nearly taking a nose dive down the stairwell leading to the gym. Had Gwen not managed to steady him, Merlin's certain he'd be in the ER having a cast or twenty put on.

The next day Merlin is once again unsurprised when Arthur's heard about what happened, but this time Merlin is absolutely convinced that Arthur is angry with him. Despite Merlin's attempts to engage Arthur in conversation, Arthur's barely said a dozen words to him all day. Arthur's jaw has been tense, his posture rigid, and Merlin's never seen him put forth that much effort to focus in class ever. Merlin refuses to dwell on how much it actually hurts, however, until they're walking to lunch and for all that they're walking side by side, Merlin feels as though he might as well not even exist.

"Why are you angry with me? You've barely said a word to me all day, what did I do?" Merlin asks. He stops in the middle of the row of lockers, dropping his bag and refusing to go any further until Arthur at least looks at him.

When Arthur turns toward him, eyes flashing and face red with anger, Merlin wonders if maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut. "What's it going to take Merlin? How far do they have to go? Is your death far enough? He could have killed you yesterday with that stunt."

Merlin swallows, taking a small step backwards instinctively. "It wasn't-"

"No," Arthur cuts him off. "Don't you fucking dare say it wasn't that bad, or that it isn't serious just because you got lucky and walked away this time without a scratch." Merlin watches as Arthur visibly bites down on the rest of his tirade; walking a few steps away, then turning and walking back. Arthur's jaw is clenched and he runs a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone, "How long are you going to keep playing the victim, Merlin?"

"Fuck you, Arthur," Merlin snaps, apprehension forgotten in his sudden anger. "You think that I ask for them to treat me like this?"

"Well you sure don't do anything to try to make it stop. You don't even face them, you just cower like an abused animal and let them walk all over you. What am I supposed to think?"

"That's rich coming from you, isn't it? Everything's so easy for you and if it's not you can just run to Daddy and he'd take care of it for you, wouldn't he? You know what? Forget it, I don't need this," Merlin says, reaching down to pick up his bag. He's angry and frustrated and right now he just needs to get away from Arthur before he either says something he's going to regret or gives away just how much Arthur's words and anger are truly hurting him.

"Fine, Merlin, go. Push me away and run. Ignore all your problems, see how long and how far you have to run until they disappear," Arthur calls out after Merlin's retreating form.

"Why do you even care?!" Merlin cries despite every warning bell inside telling him to just walk away. Because isn't that just it? He's never been able to walk away from Arthur. So he turns around again, body facing toward Arthur but Merlin finds he just can't look Arthur in the eye this time. "They aren't even after you, they're after me."

Merlin's startled when Arthur's suddenly right there in front of him, having crossed the distance between them before Merlin had even realized that Arthur was moving. "Do you really not know?" Arthur asks, incredulously.

Merlin closes his eyes, taking several deep breaths, attempting to calm down. The smell of soap, apples, fabric softener, and something that's just inexplicably Arthur is all around him. While usually it's comforting, right now all it's doing is making this spot inside Merlin ache, and he knows the moment he opens his eyes Arthur's going to be able to see it written all over his face; he opens them anyway. "What, Arthur? Not know what?" he asks, resigned.

He feels rather than hears Arthur's sarcastic huff of laughter, which only serves to spark the ire inside Merlin again. Before he can say anything, however, Arthur's pushing Merlin's bag off of his shoulder and then Merlin finds himself shoved up against the lockers with a hand in his hair and Arthur's lips pressed firmly against his own.

Merlin's mouth opens automatically in a mixture of shock and irritation; the latter quickly fading as the feel of Arthur's lips pressing against his own begin to register in his mind. His eyes are still open and the blurry image of Arthur's too-close face swims in front of him before he does what he's been wanting to do since that first day in the nurse's office; he closes his eyes and kisses Arthur back.

The kiss is anything but gentle; their emotions from moments before are still too fresh, running too close to the surface, and so the kiss is passionate, biting, and it's all Merlin can do not to be swept away in it. His right hand moves to fist Arthur's shirt over his heart, and Merlin finds his other hand has moved of its own accord to bury itself in Arthur's hair, pulling him closer at the same time that he's pushing back against Arthur.

It could have been seconds, minutes, or hours - he has no idea - but Merlin finally breaks the kiss when he feels Arthur's palm slap against the locker by his head in a desperate attempt to help keep them both upright and balanced. They're both panting and Merlin's dizzy from either the lack of oxygen, Arthur's kisses, or possibly some combination of both. He can feel the handle of the locker behind him digging into his back, his lower lip is stinging from where Arthur's bitten it, and Arthur's other hand is gripping Merlin's own so hard that it's actually painful. "Arthur," he breathes as he opens his eyes. He takes in Arthur's dishevelled state - the kiss-swollen lips, the finger-mussed hair, and the lust-filled expression. Merlin's never seen anything more perfect.

Arthur moves his hand back up to cup Merlin's face, tracing his thumb over Merlin's cheek, and Merlin closes his eyes, unknowingly leaning into the touch. "Do you have... any idea how long I've wanted to that?" Arthur asks softly before moving in and capturing Merlin's lips again. Where the last kiss was passionate and claiming, this one is gentle and reassuring, a promise of more kisses to come, should they be welcomed. When it ends, Arthur leans his forehead against Merlin's and answers his own question. "Since you told me off that first day in Mrs. Greenwood's office."

Merlin can't contain the startled laughter. "Really?"

Arthur grins, "Yeah. There you were, telling me off for having the nerve to talk to you, and all I could think about later was how I wanted to kiss those ridiculously full lips of yours." He leans back and watches his own thumb tracing over Merlin's lips, as if to emphasize it.

Merlin's soft laughter is interrupted by his own groan when he remembers what he actually said to Arthur that day. He buries his face in Arthur's shirt, embarrassed. "God, I was such an ass that day. I can't believe you bothered to try talking to me again."

Merlin feels Arthur's chest shake with silent laughter. "Yeah well, you were right about one thing."

Merlin looks up, arching an eyebrow in question at Arthur's large grin. "Oh?"

Arthur nods, moving his hand to the back of Merlin's neck. "I'm the jock who's going to be shoving you into a lot of lockers from now on," he comments before kissing Merlin again.

Merlin can't come up with one decent reason to protest. And if a shiver shoots down his spine and there's a warm curling feeling in his stomach at the thought of it, well that's going to be his secret. Best not encourage the puppy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part III