IT'S ALL JUST CAFE TALK ANYWAY: Part Three
SUMMARY: Arthur is impressed with new university cafe employee - Merlin.
GENRE: Modern AU
RATING: R
PART ONE
PART TWO
They had just come in from practice, changing shorts and jerseys for pants and t-shirts.
“Hey, Pendragon,” Wendall Williams said with a sneer. “I didn’t see your boyfriend out at practice today. You mates have a row?”
“Fuck off,” Arthur told him simply. He wasn’t in the mood for Wendall’s wise-cracks.
Wendall gave Arthur a derisive smirk and then challenged, “Does he know he should be doing more than sucking your cock for forty thousands pounds? Talk about a high-priced sex toy, mate.”
The words were barely out of Wendall’s mouth before Arthur pounced on him, pounding him with fists and a whole lot of fury. Fucking guy. He always was a twat.
It took three other teammates to pull Arthur off of Wendall and to keep him held back. Wendall was on the floor, holding his nose, which was gushing with blood, crying out in agony. “You broke my nose, you fucking prick!” he screamed at Arthur.
“You’re lucky that’s all I broke,” Arthur growled back while his three teammates held tightly.
“Come on, Arthur,” Lance said, “just walk away. You did your damage. You can walk away now.”
Henchmen Miles and Chas were bent over Wendall, trying to help him up. Chas chimed in, “Yeah, Pendragon, just walk away. Go back to your boyfriend.”
Arthur clenched his jaw and flexed his muscles, causing Sam and Ben, who were holding him back by the arms, to instinctively tighten their grip. Lance, who was in front of him, backed him a few more steps. But, suddenly, all the fight went out of Arthur and he relaxed his body. Neither Wendall nor Chas were worth it. His teammates let go. Arthur collected his clothes and gear from his locker and left.
Arthur tried to ease the anger out of his body as he walked to his car, thinking about his reaction to Wendall’s comments. It wasn’t the insinuation that Merlin was his boyfriend or that Arthur was having sex with another guy that bothered him, that had made him attack Wendall with such fury. What had bugged him was Wendall’s smear against Merlin - that Merlin was some kind of sex-for-hire boy toy. That had grated Arthur’s nerves something fierce. Merlin was a young and brilliant budding physicist who was nobody’s play thing, and certainly not Arthur’s. Merlin was so much better than the rest of them, including Arthur. Guys like Wendall, Miles and Chas would only end up living in Merlin’s great shadow.
And he was also quite pissed that his father must have let slip to a teammate’s father (probably Wendall’s) that Arthur had forked out forty thousand quid to pay for Merlin’s scholarship. What business had it been his father’s to do something like that?
He had just unlocked his car and was throwing his gym bag onto the passenger seat when he heard Coach Taylor call him back and Arthur knew he was going to catch hell for breaking that prick Williams’ nose.
*~*~*~*~*
Merlin set a latte down on the table in front of Arthur and took a seat opposite him. “Gwen says you were suspended from football,” he said quietly. “You want to talk about it?”
Arthur picked up the latte and took a sip. “Not really.”
“We could go out and get you drunk this time,” Merlin offered, trying to cheer him up.
Arthur chuckled and then said, “Somehow I think that would end badly.” He gave Merlin a reassuring smile. “Thanks, Merlin. But I’m okay.” When Merlin raised his eyebrows, he added, “Really. I did something stupid and I got properly nailed for it. It’s the way it goes.” He would not tell Merlin that his suspension had come as a result of his attack on Wendall for his disparaging comments.
“How long?”
“Three-game suspension.”
“Tough break.”
Arthur shrugged. “I’ll live. Give me an excuse to catch up on my graduate work.” He sipped some more of his latte and then asked, “When you finished here?”
“Another hour,” Merlin told him.
“I can hang around and give you a ride, if you want.”
Merlin lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”
“Maybe you could even be convinced to hang out at my place for a while tonight?” Arthur coaxed. “Watch some telly with me?”
Merlin looked tempted but said, “I’ve got a ton of school work to do. I’m in a fucking doctoral program, Arthur. Hard stuff. Physics. Remember?”
“I’ll order your favourite take-out,” Arthur further coaxed Merlin.
“I hate you,” Merlin said congenially, rising from the table. “I want Indian food, something real spicy,” he told Arthur, as he returned to his place behind the counter.
Arthur just grinned at him and returned to sipping his latte.
*~*~*~*~*
They had picked up Indian carry-out on the way to Arthur’s flat, Arthur making sure to order a good portion of vindaloo curry for Merlin and a less spicy tandoori chicken dish for himself.
They ate their food in front of the telly, seated on Arthur’s luxurious cozy leather sofa, sipping Brothers perry while flicking channels between a football game and a science program Merlin had wanted to catch. And, in between all that, they chatted about Merlin’s dissertation research (Arthur nodding with interest even though he knew next to nothing about physics), about history and politics and football (Merlin listening intently even though Arthur knew these were some of his least favourite topics), and about Gwen and how nice she was (both could easily agree on that).
It was nice, Arthur decided, just to spend time with Merlin, hanging out, eating spicy take-out, chatting about this and that. He shared a level of comfort with Merlin that Arthur could honestly say he had never felt with anybody before. He had friends, of course, but most of them were either fellow football players or those whose fathers were connected to Arthur’s father in some way. There wasn’t any depth to those relationships. Arthur had had girlfriends too, and although some of these relationships had been satisfying to a degree, they still had not reached the level of depth and comfort that he felt he shared with Merlin. With Merlin, Arthur could just be himself. No pretences. No games. No bullshit. Merlin accepted Arthur for who he was, and Arthur loved him for it.
Merlin helped Arthur pack up the left-over food and carried it to the kitchen, handing it to Arthur to put in the fridge.
Arthur closed the door of the fridge and turned toward Merlin, intending to offer him a ride home. Merlin was slouched against the kitchen bar counter, his eyes tired-looking but still glinting, his hair messed in that adorably enticing way, the hint of a shadow appearing on his chin, upper lip, and below those kicking-right-off-his-face cheekbones. Arthur stared at Merlin’s lips, which were red from the spice of the curry, full, moist. God, he wanted to kiss him.
Arthur moved in toward him, placing his hands on the counter on each side of Merlin. Then he claimed Merlin’s mouth with his, wanting to feel and taste him, to explore those sweet red lips and his moist spicy tongue.
Merlin let Arthur explore with his lips and tongue for a few minutes before he put his hands on Arthur’s chest and pushed him away lightly. “This is probably not such a good idea,” he told Arthur. But his lips remained parted, subtly jutting out in wanting.
“Alright,” Arthur replied, thinking that it was a wonderful idea to keep kissing Merlin.
Merlin appeared tortured, as if weighing one tasty indulgent option over another less appealing but rational one. Then, apparently making his decision, Merlin fisted Arthur’s shirt and pulled him into a tongue-kiss.
Arthur responded in kind by pushing his own tongue deep into Merlin’s throat. He felt Merlin’s hands drop from his chest to his hips, his thumbs hooking into the belt loops of Arthur’s jeans, pulling his lower body more closely into his. The feel of Merlin’s crotch against his, even separated by two layers of denim, was exciting to Arthur and he found himself deepening the kiss. Then, Arthur reluctantly dragged his mouth from Merlin’s, moving it to his ear to whisper, “Stay with me tonight.”
He expected Merlin to turn him down and was both pleasantly and anxiously surprised to hear Merlin breath out, “Okay.”
They moved around the wall into Arthur’s bedroom. They both stripped down to their boxers and then tumbled into Arthur’s bed, mouths and tongues hot, wet, and desperate. Kissing Merlin was exhilarating, intoxicating - Arthur couldn’t get enough.
Arthur started to run his hand down Merlin’s bare chest, but then drew back, suddenly feeling awkward and shy. “It’s okay,” he heard Merlin say. “You can touch me.”
Arthur wanted to touch Merlin, wanted to touch him all over, but this was all very new to him. Not the foreplay - Arthur had plenty of sexual experience - but that experience had all been gained with women. “I...” Arthur started. “I don’t-I’ve never--”
“You’ve never been with a guy before,” Merlin said in understanding. “It’s okay. We can take it slow.”
Merlin had had both girlfriends and boyfriends - a long term relationship with a male friend -and so Arthur figured it was best to yield to Merlin’s experience in this regard. He allowed Merlin to take his hand and place it on his chest, encouraging him to explore. Arthur did, running his palm over Merlin’s smooth chest, rubbing a nipple between thumb and forefinger. He brushed his fingertips across Merlin’s stomach, thumbing his belly button playfully. Then, feeling more confident, Arthur rolled on top of Merlin and planted kisses on his neck and chest, enjoying the feel of Merlin’s body quivering under his mouth as he kissed, licked and sucked his way around, exploring Merlin’s sweetness.
Arthur rolled to the side when he felt Merlin growing hard beneath him, his own erection taking shape in response. He wanted to feel Merlin’s blossoming hardness, to stimulate it further with tender strokes.
Merlin had his tongue in Arthur’s mouth and, seeming to read his mind, he took Arthur’s hand again and moved it to his crotch. With his hand over his, Merlin rubbed Arthur’s palm against his cock, which began to tighten against the fabric of his boxers.
When Arthur became more confident in his fondling, Merlin moved his hand to Arthur’s chest, smoothing his palms over it, circling Arthur’s nipples with his thumbs. He kissed Arthur some more, sliding his tongue through parted lips, exploring the inside of Arthur’s mouth, tangling their tongues sensuously.
Merlin rolled out of Arthur’s cock-rubbing and on top of Arthur, stretching Arthur’s arms over his head, still kissing him. He broke the kiss to nibble Arthur’s ear lobe, to press his mouth to his neck, and to lick a path across his collarbone, returning his mouth to Arthur’s in between. To Arthur, this felt like heaven.
“You really are a great kisser,” Arthur professed breathlessly while Merlin was exploring his chest with his tongue.
Merlin lifted his head and smiled at him. Arthur felt his pelvis tighten and grow hot. “Thanks. And I swear, Arthur Pendragon, you wear this awesome-smelling cologne all the time just to make me crazy.”
Arthur chuckled. He didn’t, but he was glad it had that effect on Merlin.
Merlin moved his mouth and tongue down Arthur’s chest, hovering just above the waistband of his boxers. With deft fingers and a mischievous grin, Merlin pulled down the shorts, exposing Arthur’s erection.
Arthur kept his arms extended over his head and he watched as Merlin situated himself on his lower thighs in a straddle. His heart was thumping so loudly he thought for sure Merlin could hear it, but Merlin was completely focused on Arthur’s cock, gripping it with both of his hands, using the lower one to pump the shaft and the upper one to stimulate the cockhead.
Arthur was torn between wanting to watch Merlin stroke him and to lull his head back to savour the feeling of Merlin’s stimulation. He settled for closing his eyes, feeling every stroke, every pump, every flick of Merlin’s thumb across the tip of his cock. It seemed Merlin wasn’t just a great kisser.
“You liking that?” Arthur heard Merlin say.
He could barely form a response other than “guh” while attempting to nod his head. Arthur was rendered completely speechless when he felt Merlin pass his tongue over the tip and slit of his cockhead. His body quivered as Merlin continued to tongue his tip, his hips involuntarily lifting in yearning.
Merlin continued to use both hands and his mouth on him, while Arthur lay back revelling in total ecstasy, until he heard Merlin finally whisper somewhat raggedly, “Sorry, Arthur. But I can’t take any more. Just the feel of you is driving me crazy.”
Arthur opened his eyes to see Merlin take his left hand from his cock and thrust it down his own boxers, jerking his own manhood with a rhythm that matched his pumping of Arthur’s. Merlin pumped and jerked steadily, heartily, until, at last, Arthur came with a jolt of his body that left him shuddering for several seconds. Merlin’s jerking produced a similar effect shortly after, and Merlin’s cockhead, peeking out at the top of his boxers and pointed directly at Arthur’s spent cock, spurted warm stickiness that mixed with Arthur’s own sticky eruption.
Merlin mumbled, “Sorry” before sliding up Arthur’s body, unconcerned about the semen that spread over both of their stomachs and chests in the process. He claimed Arthur’s mouth once again, sliding his tongue between parted lips as though that was where it belonged.
They lay side by side, kissing and tonguing, until they finally fell asleep. And Arthur was pretty sure their lips were still touching long after they surrendered to their dreams.
*~*~*~*~*
Morgana had her legs curled up under her as she lounged on Arthur’s sofa, sipping a strong cup of tea. She had arrived in the late afternoon, stopping by to see her step-brother on her way to meet a friend for dinner.
“I think I’m in love with him,” Arthur told Morgana, half-boldly, half-shyly.
“Him?”
“Merlin.”
“Oh, the cafe guy Gwen works with,” Morgana acknowledged. “He’s cute.”
“He stayed here last night,” Arthur revealed. Morgana raised her perfect eyebrows. “We didn’t do anything serious,” Arthur clarified. “Just kissing, touching.” He didn’t bother disclosing that Merlin had given him an incredible hand job that had left him panting.
“And how do you know it’s love and not just lustful curiosity?” Morgana asked him.
Arthur thought about it. He just knew. Mostly because it hadn’t been at all awkward this morning when Merlin had rolled out of his bed, pulled his clothes on, and then went into the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth with Arthur’s two-weeks new toothbrush. And it had still not been awkward when Merlin gave him a tongue-kiss goodbye before taking a taxicab home, promising Arthur he would ‘catch him later’. And it had further seemed perfectly natural to Arthur, after showering and dressing, to brush his teeth with his Merlin-used toothbrush without even thinking about running the bristles under scalding water for five minutes. And, it hadn’t even bothered Arthur that he had had to strip his bed and wash his sheets to remove their combined bodily fluids, wishing only that such necessary laundering would become a regular occurrence.
“I’m completely comfortable with him,” Arthur told Morgana.
“Comfort is good,” Morgana agreed, “but I think love should also come with a desperate desire to screw his brains out.”
“Well, there’s that too,” Arthur admitted, grinning.
Morgana smiled and then threw her arms around Arthur. “Awww....my brother’s in love!”
“Do you think it’s strange, Morgana?”
“What? That you’re in love?”
“That I’m in love with Merlin,” Arthur elaborated. “He is a guy.”
Morgana shrugged. “We love who we love, Arthur. If you’re happy, then it’s right.”
Arthur was happy. Very happy.
*~*~*~*~*
Arthur watched Merlin working behind the counter, trying not to grin at the way Merlin was pretending not to notice him.
It had been two days since Merlin had stayed the night with him. Their romance was still very fresh, and Arthur found that it took every ounce of his mature resolve not to go around grinning like a goofy teenager in love. But it was hard because he was in love and he felt like grinning - all the bloody time.
Arthur saw Merlin say something to Gwen, and then he came toward the end of the long serving counter, crooking his pointer finger at Arthur as a hint to follow him.
Merlin led him to a small store room that had shelves lined with tins of coffee, boxes of paper cups, and various machine supplies. Merlin quietly shut the door behind them and then pounced on Arthur, saying with passion, “I need to kiss you.”
He assaulted Arthur’s mouth with warm lips, pushing his tongue - hot and wet - so far down his throat that Arthur could practically feel it tickling his toes. At the same time, Merlin’s hands roamed his body, running over his backside and then rubbing his front package, moving across his chest and shoulders.
“And apparently feel me up,” Arthur teased during a brief moment of pause in Merlin’s sensual onslaught.
“Umm...” Merlin mumbled, moving his lips to Arthur’s neck, “that too.” He reclaimed his mouth, tangling tongues, pulling Arthur’s hips forward into him.
Arthur loved Merlin kissing him, touching him. And he especially loved the way Merlin seemed to know what pleased him, what excited him. Arthur felt Merlin’s beginning hardness through both of their jeans and he pressed his pelvis into him. Merlin responded by pushing his tongue deeper down his throat, making Arthur grab a hold of Merlin’s head, threading fingers through his hair, yanking slightly on it, as Merlin’s tongue went impossibly deeper.
They were so engrossed in savouring each other that they were not aware of Gwen’s presence until they heard her whisper loudly, “Uh, Merlin? It’s getting busy out there. Sorry. I need your help.”
They parted quickly but reluctantly. Gwen looked at Arthur somewhat apologetically and Arthur had to wonder what Merlin had said to her earlier. Had he told Gwen he was taking Arthur into the store room to make out with him? In any event, she hadn’t seemed too surprised to catch them in hot lip-lock. Maybe Morgana had said something to her.
“Sure, sorry Gwen,” Merlin muttered, quickly adjusting himself. Arthur did the same. They both followed Gwen out to the main cafe area. And, indeed, there was now a line-up.
“I’ll come back later and give you a lift home,” Arthur said to Merlin as Merlin started to get hustling behind the counter. Or to my place, Arthur thought lustfully, noticing the rosy flush of Merlin’s cheeks, the delightful after-effect of their five-minute store room snogging.
Arthur caught Merlin’s attention, pointing to his own head, miming a flattening of his hand against it. Merlin reached up and quickly smoothed a hand over the hair that was sticking up wildly, the result of Arthur having tugged on it just a few minutes before.
He winked at Merlin, and turned to leave, catching a glance from Wendall Willliams, who was giving him a knowing smirk. He sidled up to Arthur.
“So, Pendragon, just here for a quickie?” he said. “Latte, that is.” Wendall flicked a look at Merlin, who was already busy behind the counter.
“Mind your own business, Williams,” Arthur ground out, willing himself to remain cool-headed. It would not do to have a repeat of the locker room incident, especially here in the university cafe. Arthur gestured at Wendall’s heavily taped nose. “You don’t want to have that reset.”
“Hope he’s worth that three-game suspension,” Wendall continued to taunt, intentionally trying, Arthur knew, to get a rise out of him.
But Arthur refused to take the bait. Instead, he gave Wendall a sarcastic smile and left the cafe, focusing on remembering how Merlin’s lips had felt on his just moments ago.
*~*~*~*~*
When Arthur returned to the cafe later, he found Gwen working behind the counter all by herself.
“Where’s Merlin?” he asked. Arthur was sure Merlin was supposed to be working until eight.
Gwen frowned, biting on her bottom lip. “He went home,” she told him. “Said he wasn’t feeling too well. Left a couple of hours ago.”
Odd, Arthur thought. Merlin had seemed fine when he was snogging and groping him in the store room earlier. Gwen’s look and lip-biting gave him pause.
“Did something happen, Gwen?” he asked but Gwen simply responded with a shrug.
Something was up, Arthur decided. And he was going to find out what it was.
*~*~*~*~*
Arthur pulled up in front of Merlin’s building, finding a spot to park rather easily. He had never been to Merlin’s flat, his “home-in-a-box” as he called it, but Arthur had dropped him off at the building a few times before.
Inside, Arthur looked through the list of names to determine which of the “boxes” belonged to Merlin and found that one on the second floor was where his friend - his lover - resided.
Arthur climbed the stairs to the second floor and then knocked on the door with the number twenty-two on it, reflecting that if the size of the building and number of listed occupants were any indication, then Merlin’s description of his flat was, indeed, an apt one.
Merlin opened the door. His eyes showed surprise, but he said very evenly, “What are you doing here, Arthur?”
Definitely not friendly or lover-like, Arthur assessed. “Gwen said you left work because you weren’t feeling well,” Arthur said, trying to get a foot over the threshold but noticed that Merlin very subtly blocked his attempt. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” Merlin repeated with more feeling now in his voice. He crossed his arms and hitched his chin up a notch. “Why? You think you can just fix whatever’s wrong by throwing your money at me?”
Ah, Arthur realized. So this was it. He knew it was going to come sooner or later.
“How’d you find out?”
“Your football mate was kind enough to enlighten me,” Merlin informed him, both anger and hurt showing in his blue eyes. Then, he said, “Along with asking me what kind of sexual favours I’m performing for that kind of money.”
“Christ,” Arthur muttered, running his hand through his hair.
“What kind of game are you playing, Arthur?” Merlin wanted to know. “Were you hoping I’d trip all over myself lusting after you, so you could go back to your friends and tell them all about it?”
“No!” Arthur countered. How could Merlin even think that? “It’s not like that at all...I--”
Merlin lashed out at Arthur, giving him a hard shove that knocked Arthur over the threshold. “I don’t need your money, Arthur,” Merlin told him. “And I don’t need you.”
Merlin closed the door, leaving Arthur standing on the other side, completely at a loss as to how this had taken such a wrong turn, especially when a few hours ago their lips had been locked and their tongues tangled in the cafe store room.
Arthur sank to the ground outside Merlin’s door, his back sliding down the wood. Merlin may have just pushed him out of his box-flat, but Arthur had no intention of going anywhere. He would stay put until Merlin was ready to listen to him.
It was nearly three hours before Merlin opened his flat door, apparently intending to get some fresh air. Arthur had resorted to resting while he waited and practically fell into Merlin’s home-in-a-box when the door was suddenly yanked open.
Merlin appeared genuinely surprised. “You’re still here?” he said.
Arthur rolled himself up and off the ground, which was not very graceful but got the job done. He said to Merlin, “You shoved me out before I got a chance to say--”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Merlin interrupted stubbornly. Arthur could see the faint look of hope in Merlin’s eyes mixed in with the hurt. He could also see the tell-tale signs of expressed emotion in those blue depths and knew that it had not been easy for Merlin to shove him out, to tell him he didn’t need him. And that was enough motivation for Arthur to try and make Merlin understand how he felt.
Arthur dared to move inside the threshold, backing Merlin up somewhat with his movement. He closed the door behind him so as to make it harder for Merlin to shove him out again. He tried again. “You shoved me out before I could say, before I could tell you, how I feel.” Arthur met Merlin’s blue eyes with his own. “How I feel about you.”
“Yeah?” Merlin said so softly that Arthur hardly heard him.
Arthur took a deep breath. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to make sure Merlin understood. “I’m totally in love with you, Merlin,” he said. “I want you like crazy and want to be with you. I’ll do anything to prove it to you. Please just give me that chance.”
Merlin said nothing but Arthur could tell he was deeply affected by Arthur’s admission. “I should have told you about the scholarship money. I’m sorry, Merlin. And I’m sorry that bloke Williams made you think that my giving money meant you owed me any kind of....” Arthur looked away for a moment, “sexual favours.” He returned his eyes to Merlin’s face. “I just wanted to help you finish your doctoral degree. That’s all.”
“I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble with your friends,” Merlin said finally. Arthur could see the emotion building up in Merlin’s eyes and he wanted to smooth that hurt away, to assure Merlin of what was important to him.
“I don’t care about them, Merlin,” Arthur said. “I care about you. I love you. I want you.”
Merlin backed Arthur up against the door, his mouth hot on his, his tongue slipping easily between Arthur’s waiting parted lips. But before he became completely lost in Merlin’s sensual tongue-play - God, he wanted him! - Arthur needed to show Merlin how much he loved and wanted him. So, he cupped Merlin’s face between his hands and dragged Merlin’s sweet mouth and tongue away from his.
Merlin looked wary, his eyes questioning. Arthur was quick to reassure him. “I want you to kiss me, Merlin, to touch me. But, first, let me show you how I feel about you.”
As he said this, Arthur dropped to his knees, lining his head up with Merlin’s crotch. He unbuttoned Merlin’s jeans and slid down the zipper. Then he yanked Merlin’s jeans down just far enough to expose his cock, which he was pleased to find was already hardening in response to his actions, in anticipation of what was to come.
Arthur licked and sucked Merlin to full erection and then set about pleasuring Merlin with his mouth and tongue, taking full enjoyment from hearing Merlin’s raspy breaths and throaty moans. When Merlin threaded his hair with his fingers, pulling slightly on his head, Arthur picked up the pace of his pleasuring until Merlin finally exploded, crying out, “Oh God, Arthur!”
Arthur swallowed Merlin’s warm and salty seed and swiped a thumb over his lips. He turned his blue eyes up to look at Merlin, whose face bore the after-effects of orgasm - cheeks flushed, eyes glazed, lips parted. God, he was beautiful.
“You get how I feel, then?” Arthur asked, sliding up Merlin’s body to meet his delicious mouth with his own.
“Umhmm,” Merlin mumbled into Arthur’s mouth, not willing to break the kiss. It was a full two minutes before Merlin pulled his tongue out of Arthur’s mouth, leaving his lips just touching Arthur’s, so he could say, “Now let me show you how I feel.”
Merlin then led Arthur to his sofa bed, which really only required about two steps backward, considering Merlin lived in a box, after all.
*~*~*~*~*
“Good luck,” Merlin wished him, after giving Arthur a kiss that drew both envious stares and sour looks from his teammates.
Arthur didn’t care one bit. “Thanks.” He smiled and winked at Merlin. “I’ll see you out there.”
And there was no doubt he would, seeing as Merlin had dressed for the occasion - championship game - in spirited school colours, sporting one of Arthur’s spare team jerseys, the number seven and ‘Pendragon’ proudly on the back. Arthur knew that Merlin had never been to a school sports event in his life - and it tickled him rather pink that Merlin was giving it his all just for Arthur.
Arthur turned to rally his troops before game time. He met Wendall Williams’ sneering gaze and considered telling him to shove his attitude up where no one could see it, but before he even had the chance to weigh in on the decision, Lance fixed Wendall with a fierce look and told him to “zip it.”
As his team got called onto the field, Arthur looked for Merlin. He spotted him with Gwen and Morgana, sticking out like a sore thumb between them. Merlin had added a tall, colourful, floppy hat and a wooly scarf, both in the school colours.
Arthur grinned. What an adorably goofy geek Merlin was. But he was Arthur’s goofy geek and that was all that mattered.
THE END
GENRE: Modern AU
RATING: R
PART ONE
PART TWO
They had just come in from practice, changing shorts and jerseys for pants and t-shirts.
“Hey, Pendragon,” Wendall Williams said with a sneer. “I didn’t see your boyfriend out at practice today. You mates have a row?”
“Fuck off,” Arthur told him simply. He wasn’t in the mood for Wendall’s wise-cracks.
Wendall gave Arthur a derisive smirk and then challenged, “Does he know he should be doing more than sucking your cock for forty thousands pounds? Talk about a high-priced sex toy, mate.”
The words were barely out of Wendall’s mouth before Arthur pounced on him, pounding him with fists and a whole lot of fury. Fucking guy. He always was a twat.
It took three other teammates to pull Arthur off of Wendall and to keep him held back. Wendall was on the floor, holding his nose, which was gushing with blood, crying out in agony. “You broke my nose, you fucking prick!” he screamed at Arthur.
“You’re lucky that’s all I broke,” Arthur growled back while his three teammates held tightly.
“Come on, Arthur,” Lance said, “just walk away. You did your damage. You can walk away now.”
Henchmen Miles and Chas were bent over Wendall, trying to help him up. Chas chimed in, “Yeah, Pendragon, just walk away. Go back to your boyfriend.”
Arthur clenched his jaw and flexed his muscles, causing Sam and Ben, who were holding him back by the arms, to instinctively tighten their grip. Lance, who was in front of him, backed him a few more steps. But, suddenly, all the fight went out of Arthur and he relaxed his body. Neither Wendall nor Chas were worth it. His teammates let go. Arthur collected his clothes and gear from his locker and left.
Arthur tried to ease the anger out of his body as he walked to his car, thinking about his reaction to Wendall’s comments. It wasn’t the insinuation that Merlin was his boyfriend or that Arthur was having sex with another guy that bothered him, that had made him attack Wendall with such fury. What had bugged him was Wendall’s smear against Merlin - that Merlin was some kind of sex-for-hire boy toy. That had grated Arthur’s nerves something fierce. Merlin was a young and brilliant budding physicist who was nobody’s play thing, and certainly not Arthur’s. Merlin was so much better than the rest of them, including Arthur. Guys like Wendall, Miles and Chas would only end up living in Merlin’s great shadow.
And he was also quite pissed that his father must have let slip to a teammate’s father (probably Wendall’s) that Arthur had forked out forty thousand quid to pay for Merlin’s scholarship. What business had it been his father’s to do something like that?
He had just unlocked his car and was throwing his gym bag onto the passenger seat when he heard Coach Taylor call him back and Arthur knew he was going to catch hell for breaking that prick Williams’ nose.
*~*~*~*~*
Merlin set a latte down on the table in front of Arthur and took a seat opposite him. “Gwen says you were suspended from football,” he said quietly. “You want to talk about it?”
Arthur picked up the latte and took a sip. “Not really.”
“We could go out and get you drunk this time,” Merlin offered, trying to cheer him up.
Arthur chuckled and then said, “Somehow I think that would end badly.” He gave Merlin a reassuring smile. “Thanks, Merlin. But I’m okay.” When Merlin raised his eyebrows, he added, “Really. I did something stupid and I got properly nailed for it. It’s the way it goes.” He would not tell Merlin that his suspension had come as a result of his attack on Wendall for his disparaging comments.
“How long?”
“Three-game suspension.”
“Tough break.”
Arthur shrugged. “I’ll live. Give me an excuse to catch up on my graduate work.” He sipped some more of his latte and then asked, “When you finished here?”
“Another hour,” Merlin told him.
“I can hang around and give you a ride, if you want.”
Merlin lifted a shoulder. “Sure.”
“Maybe you could even be convinced to hang out at my place for a while tonight?” Arthur coaxed. “Watch some telly with me?”
Merlin looked tempted but said, “I’ve got a ton of school work to do. I’m in a fucking doctoral program, Arthur. Hard stuff. Physics. Remember?”
“I’ll order your favourite take-out,” Arthur further coaxed Merlin.
“I hate you,” Merlin said congenially, rising from the table. “I want Indian food, something real spicy,” he told Arthur, as he returned to his place behind the counter.
Arthur just grinned at him and returned to sipping his latte.
*~*~*~*~*
They had picked up Indian carry-out on the way to Arthur’s flat, Arthur making sure to order a good portion of vindaloo curry for Merlin and a less spicy tandoori chicken dish for himself.
They ate their food in front of the telly, seated on Arthur’s luxurious cozy leather sofa, sipping Brothers perry while flicking channels between a football game and a science program Merlin had wanted to catch. And, in between all that, they chatted about Merlin’s dissertation research (Arthur nodding with interest even though he knew next to nothing about physics), about history and politics and football (Merlin listening intently even though Arthur knew these were some of his least favourite topics), and about Gwen and how nice she was (both could easily agree on that).
It was nice, Arthur decided, just to spend time with Merlin, hanging out, eating spicy take-out, chatting about this and that. He shared a level of comfort with Merlin that Arthur could honestly say he had never felt with anybody before. He had friends, of course, but most of them were either fellow football players or those whose fathers were connected to Arthur’s father in some way. There wasn’t any depth to those relationships. Arthur had had girlfriends too, and although some of these relationships had been satisfying to a degree, they still had not reached the level of depth and comfort that he felt he shared with Merlin. With Merlin, Arthur could just be himself. No pretences. No games. No bullshit. Merlin accepted Arthur for who he was, and Arthur loved him for it.
Merlin helped Arthur pack up the left-over food and carried it to the kitchen, handing it to Arthur to put in the fridge.
Arthur closed the door of the fridge and turned toward Merlin, intending to offer him a ride home. Merlin was slouched against the kitchen bar counter, his eyes tired-looking but still glinting, his hair messed in that adorably enticing way, the hint of a shadow appearing on his chin, upper lip, and below those kicking-right-off-his-face cheekbones. Arthur stared at Merlin’s lips, which were red from the spice of the curry, full, moist. God, he wanted to kiss him.
Arthur moved in toward him, placing his hands on the counter on each side of Merlin. Then he claimed Merlin’s mouth with his, wanting to feel and taste him, to explore those sweet red lips and his moist spicy tongue.
Merlin let Arthur explore with his lips and tongue for a few minutes before he put his hands on Arthur’s chest and pushed him away lightly. “This is probably not such a good idea,” he told Arthur. But his lips remained parted, subtly jutting out in wanting.
“Alright,” Arthur replied, thinking that it was a wonderful idea to keep kissing Merlin.
Merlin appeared tortured, as if weighing one tasty indulgent option over another less appealing but rational one. Then, apparently making his decision, Merlin fisted Arthur’s shirt and pulled him into a tongue-kiss.
Arthur responded in kind by pushing his own tongue deep into Merlin’s throat. He felt Merlin’s hands drop from his chest to his hips, his thumbs hooking into the belt loops of Arthur’s jeans, pulling his lower body more closely into his. The feel of Merlin’s crotch against his, even separated by two layers of denim, was exciting to Arthur and he found himself deepening the kiss. Then, Arthur reluctantly dragged his mouth from Merlin’s, moving it to his ear to whisper, “Stay with me tonight.”
He expected Merlin to turn him down and was both pleasantly and anxiously surprised to hear Merlin breath out, “Okay.”
They moved around the wall into Arthur’s bedroom. They both stripped down to their boxers and then tumbled into Arthur’s bed, mouths and tongues hot, wet, and desperate. Kissing Merlin was exhilarating, intoxicating - Arthur couldn’t get enough.
Arthur started to run his hand down Merlin’s bare chest, but then drew back, suddenly feeling awkward and shy. “It’s okay,” he heard Merlin say. “You can touch me.”
Arthur wanted to touch Merlin, wanted to touch him all over, but this was all very new to him. Not the foreplay - Arthur had plenty of sexual experience - but that experience had all been gained with women. “I...” Arthur started. “I don’t-I’ve never--”
“You’ve never been with a guy before,” Merlin said in understanding. “It’s okay. We can take it slow.”
Merlin had had both girlfriends and boyfriends - a long term relationship with a male friend -and so Arthur figured it was best to yield to Merlin’s experience in this regard. He allowed Merlin to take his hand and place it on his chest, encouraging him to explore. Arthur did, running his palm over Merlin’s smooth chest, rubbing a nipple between thumb and forefinger. He brushed his fingertips across Merlin’s stomach, thumbing his belly button playfully. Then, feeling more confident, Arthur rolled on top of Merlin and planted kisses on his neck and chest, enjoying the feel of Merlin’s body quivering under his mouth as he kissed, licked and sucked his way around, exploring Merlin’s sweetness.
Arthur rolled to the side when he felt Merlin growing hard beneath him, his own erection taking shape in response. He wanted to feel Merlin’s blossoming hardness, to stimulate it further with tender strokes.
Merlin had his tongue in Arthur’s mouth and, seeming to read his mind, he took Arthur’s hand again and moved it to his crotch. With his hand over his, Merlin rubbed Arthur’s palm against his cock, which began to tighten against the fabric of his boxers.
When Arthur became more confident in his fondling, Merlin moved his hand to Arthur’s chest, smoothing his palms over it, circling Arthur’s nipples with his thumbs. He kissed Arthur some more, sliding his tongue through parted lips, exploring the inside of Arthur’s mouth, tangling their tongues sensuously.
Merlin rolled out of Arthur’s cock-rubbing and on top of Arthur, stretching Arthur’s arms over his head, still kissing him. He broke the kiss to nibble Arthur’s ear lobe, to press his mouth to his neck, and to lick a path across his collarbone, returning his mouth to Arthur’s in between. To Arthur, this felt like heaven.
“You really are a great kisser,” Arthur professed breathlessly while Merlin was exploring his chest with his tongue.
Merlin lifted his head and smiled at him. Arthur felt his pelvis tighten and grow hot. “Thanks. And I swear, Arthur Pendragon, you wear this awesome-smelling cologne all the time just to make me crazy.”
Arthur chuckled. He didn’t, but he was glad it had that effect on Merlin.
Merlin moved his mouth and tongue down Arthur’s chest, hovering just above the waistband of his boxers. With deft fingers and a mischievous grin, Merlin pulled down the shorts, exposing Arthur’s erection.
Arthur kept his arms extended over his head and he watched as Merlin situated himself on his lower thighs in a straddle. His heart was thumping so loudly he thought for sure Merlin could hear it, but Merlin was completely focused on Arthur’s cock, gripping it with both of his hands, using the lower one to pump the shaft and the upper one to stimulate the cockhead.
Arthur was torn between wanting to watch Merlin stroke him and to lull his head back to savour the feeling of Merlin’s stimulation. He settled for closing his eyes, feeling every stroke, every pump, every flick of Merlin’s thumb across the tip of his cock. It seemed Merlin wasn’t just a great kisser.
“You liking that?” Arthur heard Merlin say.
He could barely form a response other than “guh” while attempting to nod his head. Arthur was rendered completely speechless when he felt Merlin pass his tongue over the tip and slit of his cockhead. His body quivered as Merlin continued to tongue his tip, his hips involuntarily lifting in yearning.
Merlin continued to use both hands and his mouth on him, while Arthur lay back revelling in total ecstasy, until he heard Merlin finally whisper somewhat raggedly, “Sorry, Arthur. But I can’t take any more. Just the feel of you is driving me crazy.”
Arthur opened his eyes to see Merlin take his left hand from his cock and thrust it down his own boxers, jerking his own manhood with a rhythm that matched his pumping of Arthur’s. Merlin pumped and jerked steadily, heartily, until, at last, Arthur came with a jolt of his body that left him shuddering for several seconds. Merlin’s jerking produced a similar effect shortly after, and Merlin’s cockhead, peeking out at the top of his boxers and pointed directly at Arthur’s spent cock, spurted warm stickiness that mixed with Arthur’s own sticky eruption.
Merlin mumbled, “Sorry” before sliding up Arthur’s body, unconcerned about the semen that spread over both of their stomachs and chests in the process. He claimed Arthur’s mouth once again, sliding his tongue between parted lips as though that was where it belonged.
They lay side by side, kissing and tonguing, until they finally fell asleep. And Arthur was pretty sure their lips were still touching long after they surrendered to their dreams.
*~*~*~*~*
Morgana had her legs curled up under her as she lounged on Arthur’s sofa, sipping a strong cup of tea. She had arrived in the late afternoon, stopping by to see her step-brother on her way to meet a friend for dinner.
“I think I’m in love with him,” Arthur told Morgana, half-boldly, half-shyly.
“Him?”
“Merlin.”
“Oh, the cafe guy Gwen works with,” Morgana acknowledged. “He’s cute.”
“He stayed here last night,” Arthur revealed. Morgana raised her perfect eyebrows. “We didn’t do anything serious,” Arthur clarified. “Just kissing, touching.” He didn’t bother disclosing that Merlin had given him an incredible hand job that had left him panting.
“And how do you know it’s love and not just lustful curiosity?” Morgana asked him.
Arthur thought about it. He just knew. Mostly because it hadn’t been at all awkward this morning when Merlin had rolled out of his bed, pulled his clothes on, and then went into the bathroom to relieve himself and brush his teeth with Arthur’s two-weeks new toothbrush. And it had still not been awkward when Merlin gave him a tongue-kiss goodbye before taking a taxicab home, promising Arthur he would ‘catch him later’. And it had further seemed perfectly natural to Arthur, after showering and dressing, to brush his teeth with his Merlin-used toothbrush without even thinking about running the bristles under scalding water for five minutes. And, it hadn’t even bothered Arthur that he had had to strip his bed and wash his sheets to remove their combined bodily fluids, wishing only that such necessary laundering would become a regular occurrence.
“I’m completely comfortable with him,” Arthur told Morgana.
“Comfort is good,” Morgana agreed, “but I think love should also come with a desperate desire to screw his brains out.”
“Well, there’s that too,” Arthur admitted, grinning.
Morgana smiled and then threw her arms around Arthur. “Awww....my brother’s in love!”
“Do you think it’s strange, Morgana?”
“What? That you’re in love?”
“That I’m in love with Merlin,” Arthur elaborated. “He is a guy.”
Morgana shrugged. “We love who we love, Arthur. If you’re happy, then it’s right.”
Arthur was happy. Very happy.
*~*~*~*~*
Arthur watched Merlin working behind the counter, trying not to grin at the way Merlin was pretending not to notice him.
It had been two days since Merlin had stayed the night with him. Their romance was still very fresh, and Arthur found that it took every ounce of his mature resolve not to go around grinning like a goofy teenager in love. But it was hard because he was in love and he felt like grinning - all the bloody time.
Arthur saw Merlin say something to Gwen, and then he came toward the end of the long serving counter, crooking his pointer finger at Arthur as a hint to follow him.
Merlin led him to a small store room that had shelves lined with tins of coffee, boxes of paper cups, and various machine supplies. Merlin quietly shut the door behind them and then pounced on Arthur, saying with passion, “I need to kiss you.”
He assaulted Arthur’s mouth with warm lips, pushing his tongue - hot and wet - so far down his throat that Arthur could practically feel it tickling his toes. At the same time, Merlin’s hands roamed his body, running over his backside and then rubbing his front package, moving across his chest and shoulders.
“And apparently feel me up,” Arthur teased during a brief moment of pause in Merlin’s sensual onslaught.
“Umm...” Merlin mumbled, moving his lips to Arthur’s neck, “that too.” He reclaimed his mouth, tangling tongues, pulling Arthur’s hips forward into him.
Arthur loved Merlin kissing him, touching him. And he especially loved the way Merlin seemed to know what pleased him, what excited him. Arthur felt Merlin’s beginning hardness through both of their jeans and he pressed his pelvis into him. Merlin responded by pushing his tongue deeper down his throat, making Arthur grab a hold of Merlin’s head, threading fingers through his hair, yanking slightly on it, as Merlin’s tongue went impossibly deeper.
They were so engrossed in savouring each other that they were not aware of Gwen’s presence until they heard her whisper loudly, “Uh, Merlin? It’s getting busy out there. Sorry. I need your help.”
They parted quickly but reluctantly. Gwen looked at Arthur somewhat apologetically and Arthur had to wonder what Merlin had said to her earlier. Had he told Gwen he was taking Arthur into the store room to make out with him? In any event, she hadn’t seemed too surprised to catch them in hot lip-lock. Maybe Morgana had said something to her.
“Sure, sorry Gwen,” Merlin muttered, quickly adjusting himself. Arthur did the same. They both followed Gwen out to the main cafe area. And, indeed, there was now a line-up.
“I’ll come back later and give you a lift home,” Arthur said to Merlin as Merlin started to get hustling behind the counter. Or to my place, Arthur thought lustfully, noticing the rosy flush of Merlin’s cheeks, the delightful after-effect of their five-minute store room snogging.
Arthur caught Merlin’s attention, pointing to his own head, miming a flattening of his hand against it. Merlin reached up and quickly smoothed a hand over the hair that was sticking up wildly, the result of Arthur having tugged on it just a few minutes before.
He winked at Merlin, and turned to leave, catching a glance from Wendall Willliams, who was giving him a knowing smirk. He sidled up to Arthur.
“So, Pendragon, just here for a quickie?” he said. “Latte, that is.” Wendall flicked a look at Merlin, who was already busy behind the counter.
“Mind your own business, Williams,” Arthur ground out, willing himself to remain cool-headed. It would not do to have a repeat of the locker room incident, especially here in the university cafe. Arthur gestured at Wendall’s heavily taped nose. “You don’t want to have that reset.”
“Hope he’s worth that three-game suspension,” Wendall continued to taunt, intentionally trying, Arthur knew, to get a rise out of him.
But Arthur refused to take the bait. Instead, he gave Wendall a sarcastic smile and left the cafe, focusing on remembering how Merlin’s lips had felt on his just moments ago.
*~*~*~*~*
When Arthur returned to the cafe later, he found Gwen working behind the counter all by herself.
“Where’s Merlin?” he asked. Arthur was sure Merlin was supposed to be working until eight.
Gwen frowned, biting on her bottom lip. “He went home,” she told him. “Said he wasn’t feeling too well. Left a couple of hours ago.”
Odd, Arthur thought. Merlin had seemed fine when he was snogging and groping him in the store room earlier. Gwen’s look and lip-biting gave him pause.
“Did something happen, Gwen?” he asked but Gwen simply responded with a shrug.
Something was up, Arthur decided. And he was going to find out what it was.
*~*~*~*~*
Arthur pulled up in front of Merlin’s building, finding a spot to park rather easily. He had never been to Merlin’s flat, his “home-in-a-box” as he called it, but Arthur had dropped him off at the building a few times before.
Inside, Arthur looked through the list of names to determine which of the “boxes” belonged to Merlin and found that one on the second floor was where his friend - his lover - resided.
Arthur climbed the stairs to the second floor and then knocked on the door with the number twenty-two on it, reflecting that if the size of the building and number of listed occupants were any indication, then Merlin’s description of his flat was, indeed, an apt one.
Merlin opened the door. His eyes showed surprise, but he said very evenly, “What are you doing here, Arthur?”
Definitely not friendly or lover-like, Arthur assessed. “Gwen said you left work because you weren’t feeling well,” Arthur said, trying to get a foot over the threshold but noticed that Merlin very subtly blocked his attempt. “What’s up?”
“What’s up?” Merlin repeated with more feeling now in his voice. He crossed his arms and hitched his chin up a notch. “Why? You think you can just fix whatever’s wrong by throwing your money at me?”
Ah, Arthur realized. So this was it. He knew it was going to come sooner or later.
“How’d you find out?”
“Your football mate was kind enough to enlighten me,” Merlin informed him, both anger and hurt showing in his blue eyes. Then, he said, “Along with asking me what kind of sexual favours I’m performing for that kind of money.”
“Christ,” Arthur muttered, running his hand through his hair.
“What kind of game are you playing, Arthur?” Merlin wanted to know. “Were you hoping I’d trip all over myself lusting after you, so you could go back to your friends and tell them all about it?”
“No!” Arthur countered. How could Merlin even think that? “It’s not like that at all...I--”
Merlin lashed out at Arthur, giving him a hard shove that knocked Arthur over the threshold. “I don’t need your money, Arthur,” Merlin told him. “And I don’t need you.”
Merlin closed the door, leaving Arthur standing on the other side, completely at a loss as to how this had taken such a wrong turn, especially when a few hours ago their lips had been locked and their tongues tangled in the cafe store room.
Arthur sank to the ground outside Merlin’s door, his back sliding down the wood. Merlin may have just pushed him out of his box-flat, but Arthur had no intention of going anywhere. He would stay put until Merlin was ready to listen to him.
It was nearly three hours before Merlin opened his flat door, apparently intending to get some fresh air. Arthur had resorted to resting while he waited and practically fell into Merlin’s home-in-a-box when the door was suddenly yanked open.
Merlin appeared genuinely surprised. “You’re still here?” he said.
Arthur rolled himself up and off the ground, which was not very graceful but got the job done. He said to Merlin, “You shoved me out before I got a chance to say--”
“I don’t want to hear it,” Merlin interrupted stubbornly. Arthur could see the faint look of hope in Merlin’s eyes mixed in with the hurt. He could also see the tell-tale signs of expressed emotion in those blue depths and knew that it had not been easy for Merlin to shove him out, to tell him he didn’t need him. And that was enough motivation for Arthur to try and make Merlin understand how he felt.
Arthur dared to move inside the threshold, backing Merlin up somewhat with his movement. He closed the door behind him so as to make it harder for Merlin to shove him out again. He tried again. “You shoved me out before I could say, before I could tell you, how I feel.” Arthur met Merlin’s blue eyes with his own. “How I feel about you.”
“Yeah?” Merlin said so softly that Arthur hardly heard him.
Arthur took a deep breath. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to make sure Merlin understood. “I’m totally in love with you, Merlin,” he said. “I want you like crazy and want to be with you. I’ll do anything to prove it to you. Please just give me that chance.”
Merlin said nothing but Arthur could tell he was deeply affected by Arthur’s admission. “I should have told you about the scholarship money. I’m sorry, Merlin. And I’m sorry that bloke Williams made you think that my giving money meant you owed me any kind of....” Arthur looked away for a moment, “sexual favours.” He returned his eyes to Merlin’s face. “I just wanted to help you finish your doctoral degree. That’s all.”
“I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble with your friends,” Merlin said finally. Arthur could see the emotion building up in Merlin’s eyes and he wanted to smooth that hurt away, to assure Merlin of what was important to him.
“I don’t care about them, Merlin,” Arthur said. “I care about you. I love you. I want you.”
Merlin backed Arthur up against the door, his mouth hot on his, his tongue slipping easily between Arthur’s waiting parted lips. But before he became completely lost in Merlin’s sensual tongue-play - God, he wanted him! - Arthur needed to show Merlin how much he loved and wanted him. So, he cupped Merlin’s face between his hands and dragged Merlin’s sweet mouth and tongue away from his.
Merlin looked wary, his eyes questioning. Arthur was quick to reassure him. “I want you to kiss me, Merlin, to touch me. But, first, let me show you how I feel about you.”
As he said this, Arthur dropped to his knees, lining his head up with Merlin’s crotch. He unbuttoned Merlin’s jeans and slid down the zipper. Then he yanked Merlin’s jeans down just far enough to expose his cock, which he was pleased to find was already hardening in response to his actions, in anticipation of what was to come.
Arthur licked and sucked Merlin to full erection and then set about pleasuring Merlin with his mouth and tongue, taking full enjoyment from hearing Merlin’s raspy breaths and throaty moans. When Merlin threaded his hair with his fingers, pulling slightly on his head, Arthur picked up the pace of his pleasuring until Merlin finally exploded, crying out, “Oh God, Arthur!”
Arthur swallowed Merlin’s warm and salty seed and swiped a thumb over his lips. He turned his blue eyes up to look at Merlin, whose face bore the after-effects of orgasm - cheeks flushed, eyes glazed, lips parted. God, he was beautiful.
“You get how I feel, then?” Arthur asked, sliding up Merlin’s body to meet his delicious mouth with his own.
“Umhmm,” Merlin mumbled into Arthur’s mouth, not willing to break the kiss. It was a full two minutes before Merlin pulled his tongue out of Arthur’s mouth, leaving his lips just touching Arthur’s, so he could say, “Now let me show you how I feel.”
Merlin then led Arthur to his sofa bed, which really only required about two steps backward, considering Merlin lived in a box, after all.
*~*~*~*~*
“Good luck,” Merlin wished him, after giving Arthur a kiss that drew both envious stares and sour looks from his teammates.
Arthur didn’t care one bit. “Thanks.” He smiled and winked at Merlin. “I’ll see you out there.”
And there was no doubt he would, seeing as Merlin had dressed for the occasion - championship game - in spirited school colours, sporting one of Arthur’s spare team jerseys, the number seven and ‘Pendragon’ proudly on the back. Arthur knew that Merlin had never been to a school sports event in his life - and it tickled him rather pink that Merlin was giving it his all just for Arthur.
Arthur turned to rally his troops before game time. He met Wendall Williams’ sneering gaze and considered telling him to shove his attitude up where no one could see it, but before he even had the chance to weigh in on the decision, Lance fixed Wendall with a fierce look and told him to “zip it.”
As his team got called onto the field, Arthur looked for Merlin. He spotted him with Gwen and Morgana, sticking out like a sore thumb between them. Merlin had added a tall, colourful, floppy hat and a wooly scarf, both in the school colours.
Arthur grinned. What an adorably goofy geek Merlin was. But he was Arthur’s goofy geek and that was all that mattered.
THE END