help/hurt: Leon/Merlin, PG
Title: help/hurt
Pairing: Leon/Merlin, unrequited Arthur/Merlin
Rating: PG, no warnings
Summary: Written for this kinkme_merlin prompt: Modern AU. Merlin is dating Leon, and his best friend Arthur is suspisious of the 'older guy' Merlin is seeing, and demands to meet him. Arthur then threatens Leon if he ever hurts Merlin because Arthur is the only one allowed to do that.
AN: I meant to make it cute and funny and it ended up being hurty and unrequited. Unbetaed, feel free to point out mistakes.
Arthur is suspicious of all the men Merlin dates, purely on principle. Because even though Merlin is clumsy and has ridiculous ears and an impertinent sense of humor, he’s Arthur’s best mate, and Arthur wouldn’t let anyone hurt Merlin.
“Arthur!” Merlin says at the kitchen table, sitting next to a strange man. “This is Leon. My boyfriend.”
“Good to meet you, Arthur. I’ve heard a lot about you,” Leon says diplomatically, extending his hand to Arthur.
Arthur coldly ignores the hand. “I would say the same, but I have heard absolutely nothing about you.”
Merlin blushes and looks to Leon, who smiles indulgently. “It’s still rather new, only a few weeks now,” says Leon, “and Merlin was nervous about telling you.”
Arthur looks at Merlin, who looks down. “You get… really angry,” he says a bit defensively. “I didn’t want you to get all judgmental!”
Something in Arthur snaps, and his mouth moves before he can stop himself. He hates seeing Merlin with other men, virtual strangers who don’t know how Merlin takes his tea, or what shampoo he uses, or his bizarre love of caramel popcorn. He can’t stand it, because no one is good enough for Merlin, and certainly not this Leon fellow, and what is Merlin playing at, calling him...
“Judgmental! Me, judgmental? Of what, your sugar daddy and his midlife crisis twink?”
Arthur barely sees Merlin’s hand move before he feels it slap him across the face.
“Fuck you, Arthur.” Merlin stands and goes to the bathroom, leaving Arthur with Leon.
Arthur turns to Merlin’s new “boyfriend”. “I swear to god, if you hurt him,” he threatens, “I will make sure you regret it.”
Leon meets Arthur’s eyes. “I think you’ve already hurt him enough,” he says quietly.
Arthur opens his mouth, but finds that he has nothing to say.
“I can tell you have his best interests at heart,” Leon says, and damn him for being so calm and understanding, “but he’s an adult. He can make his own decisions, and you need to respect that.”
“I just… I want him to have someone who loves him like he deserves.” Someone like me.
“I know," Leon says. "I care about Merlin. And that’s how I can tell that you do too.”
Arthur exhales like he’s been punched in the gut. “I don’t…”
Leon stands up and puts a hand on Arthur’s shoulder briefly. “It’s nice to meet you, Arthur.” He goes in the direction Merlin went before, presumably to comfort his boyfriend.
Arthur sits at the kitchen table, alone, trying to take deep breaths and willing himself not to cry. What do I do now? he thinks to himself.
---
Merlin is sitting in the dry tub when he hears a knock at the bathroom door.
“Merlin?” Leon says. “May I come in?”
“It’s unlocked,” Merlin answers.
Leon slips in the door and closes it behind himself, and comes over to sit on the edge of the tub.
They sit quietly for a while. Merlin is somehow too angry to cry, and too hurt to be properly angry.
“He always does this,” Merlin finally speaks. “He always says things like that whenever I bring someone ‘round, or flirt with someone, or anything. I don’t understand why he’s so cruel. I’m so sorry for bringing you here, I should never have… Why can’t he just be happy for me?”
Leon doesn’t say anything, he just crawls into the tub across from Merlin and gathers his boyfriend in his arms and holds him in the cramped space. When they come out of the bathroom, the kitchen is empty and Arthur is gone.
---
Merlin is clumsy and has ridiculous ears and an impertinent sense of humor, but he’s Arthur’s best mate, and Arthur won’t let anyone hurt Merlin. Not even himself.
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