Merlin/Arthur - Desperate For His Touch - The Casual Fling - Chapter 8
Title: Desperate For His Touch
Rating: R
Author: DIGTHEWRITER
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, Morgana, Others.
Warnings: Slight use of a 'petname' - that might be considered an 'overuse'. Modern!AU. Sexual content.
Word Count: ~1,200
Prompt: "Writer's Choice" for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Continuation of "THE CASUAL FLING" - READ Chapter: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN / Thanks to archaeologist_d for the beta.
Summary: Arthur really can't hold it inside anymore. He wants Merlin. Needs him.
"So what was that all about?" Gwaine asked Arthur when they were alone in the sitting room.
Morgana had left for the evening and Merlin, Gwen, and Lance were in the kitchen cleaning up after the dinner, while Mordred, Kara, and Percival were in the entertainment room with Lance's PS4.
"What do you mean?"
"Kissing Merlin like that in front of everyone. You know they're all gonna think you two are a sure thing..."
"We are a thing," Arthur said, confused. "We're dating. We're not dating anyone else and I happen to like him, a lot."
"What happens after the two of you fuck?" Gwaine asked, and Arthur was a bit taken aback by his tone. It wasn't like Gwaine to be so crude.
"What is your problem?" Arthur asked; it was easier to get angry with Gwaine than provide an answer to a question he didn't have an answer for.
"Morgana thinks you're going to break his heart," Gwaine said.
Of course, Arthur understood now. "You care more about Morgana than your own best friend. Why don't you just ask her out? Maybe you should worry about your own fucking dating life." Gwaine rolled his eyes but Arthur wasn't finished. "What makes you think he won't break my heart? I happen to like him, a lot. He dared me to go on these dates with him. What if he doesn't fancy me enough to keep a relationship and-"
"Arthur?"
Arthur stopped when he heard Merlin's voice from by the door.
"Is everything alright?"
"Fine, I was just leaving," Gwaine said before Arthur had a chance to.
Before anyone else could say anything, Gwaine was out the door. It wasn't until he'd left that Arthur realised how Gwaine had been his lift and now he needed a ride back to his flat.
"Rat bastard," Arthur mumbled.
"What happened?" Merlin's concern was adorable; he clearly didn't know Gwaine had just set them up.
Arthur sighed. "Gwaine's an arse and he just left. I'll need a lift back to mine, I'll ask Lance-"
"I can drive you."
"Mer, you don't have to." Shit, Arthur did it again. He'd called him "Mer" when Arthur had arrived at the dinner party that night and now he kept on calling him that. It was his sex name for Merlin and now it was slipping out without his control.
Merlin smiled and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "I like that you call me that."
"Call you what?" Arthur asked, pretending to be clueless.
"You're a prat," Merlin said and shook his head. "Let's say goodbye to our hosts and I'll drop you home."
"So when did you start calling me Mer?" Merlin asked as they pulled away from Gwen's flat and he put Arthur's address in his GPS.
Arthur bit his lip and looked out the window for a long minute before he answered. "Since the first time I came thinking about you."
Merlin nearly stopped the car mid-road. "For fuck's sake, Arthur!"
"Hey, you asked." Arthur shrugged and batted his eyes innocently at Merlin.
"You're a pure monster, you are," Merlin said and continued driving.
"Says the man who is withholding sex from me."
"So it's about that again," Merlin mumbled and Arthur wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that.
"It's not about that, but you know, it's weird to be with someone and not be able to be with them."
"The whole no-sex dating was supposed to be about getting to know each other. I wanted to show you that dating isn't all bad and we can have fun and be together, and-"
"And I'm not arguing with you, Merlin," Arthur said, frustrated. "I just-I just can't help but wonder if you're the one playing with me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I've liked you since forever. I used to like you when we were in uni and I didn't know you were gay. I just kept my distance because the last thing I wanted was to fall in love with a straight bloke. Then you went away and now you're back years later, you're gay, and you seem to be interested in me but-"
Arthur didn't realise right away but they'd stopped driving. Merlin had pulled up in front of Arthur's house and they were parked while he went on his rant.
"It was the only way for me to get you to see me," Merlin whispered.
Arthur scowled. "More games," he said.
"It's not a game. I've liked you since forever, too, Arthur." Merlin shut the car engine off and turned to face Arthur. "I was always quiet when we were in uni together and we had all these common friends. You were the first bloke I ever met that made me question my sexuality. I knew I wasn't attracted to girls but I wasn't sure if I was attracted to boys, either. By the time I realised I was, you were...you were seeing other people. I didn't know how to get your attention. I didn't want to date some other bloke so I didn't date anyone at all. Then I went for my Master's Degree, after that I moved to New Zealand. I dated men there but-"
"But what?"
Merlin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was about to shut himself off and tell Arthur to get out of the car before he drove home.
Arthur leaned a bit closer to Merlin and brushed the back of his hand against Merlin's cheek. "But what?" he whispered. "Mer," he added for leverage.
Merlin looked up at him with his brows furrowed but he smiled, too. "You're a prat," he said, then laughed. "But...I could never find the right man. The man that made me feel the same thing you did back in the day. It was why I came back. It was why I agreed to this whole no-sex dates thing so I could at least get you out of my system before you'd fuck me and then discard me."
"I don't want to discard you, Mer," Arthur said; this time the "Mer" was genuine.
When Merlin didn't say anything for a long time, Arthur decided to just go for it. "Do you want to come inside?"
"Arthur-"
"Just a drink. Maybe...maybe more," he said raising his hands in surrender. He couldn't help himself and he wasn't going to lie to Merlin. "But, we won't do anything you don't want to do and I'll make it good for you. I swear."
"Yeah?" Merlin asked; his voice slightly wavering.
"Yeah. I won't even touch myself. It'll be about you." Arthur bit his lower lip for good measure. He could tell Merlin was interested or at least just a bit curious. READ CHAPTER 9
Rating: R
Author: DIGTHEWRITER
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Gwaine, Morgana, Others.
Warnings: Slight use of a 'petname' - that might be considered an 'overuse'. Modern!AU. Sexual content.
Word Count: ~1,200
Prompt: "Writer's Choice" for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Continuation of "THE CASUAL FLING" - READ Chapter: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN / Thanks to archaeologist_d for the beta.
Summary: Arthur really can't hold it inside anymore. He wants Merlin. Needs him.
"So what was that all about?" Gwaine asked Arthur when they were alone in the sitting room.
Morgana had left for the evening and Merlin, Gwen, and Lance were in the kitchen cleaning up after the dinner, while Mordred, Kara, and Percival were in the entertainment room with Lance's PS4.
"What do you mean?"
"Kissing Merlin like that in front of everyone. You know they're all gonna think you two are a sure thing..."
"We are a thing," Arthur said, confused. "We're dating. We're not dating anyone else and I happen to like him, a lot."
"What happens after the two of you fuck?" Gwaine asked, and Arthur was a bit taken aback by his tone. It wasn't like Gwaine to be so crude.
"What is your problem?" Arthur asked; it was easier to get angry with Gwaine than provide an answer to a question he didn't have an answer for.
"Morgana thinks you're going to break his heart," Gwaine said.
Of course, Arthur understood now. "You care more about Morgana than your own best friend. Why don't you just ask her out? Maybe you should worry about your own fucking dating life." Gwaine rolled his eyes but Arthur wasn't finished. "What makes you think he won't break my heart? I happen to like him, a lot. He dared me to go on these dates with him. What if he doesn't fancy me enough to keep a relationship and-"
"Arthur?"
Arthur stopped when he heard Merlin's voice from by the door.
"Is everything alright?"
"Fine, I was just leaving," Gwaine said before Arthur had a chance to.
Before anyone else could say anything, Gwaine was out the door. It wasn't until he'd left that Arthur realised how Gwaine had been his lift and now he needed a ride back to his flat.
"Rat bastard," Arthur mumbled.
"What happened?" Merlin's concern was adorable; he clearly didn't know Gwaine had just set them up.
Arthur sighed. "Gwaine's an arse and he just left. I'll need a lift back to mine, I'll ask Lance-"
"I can drive you."
"Mer, you don't have to." Shit, Arthur did it again. He'd called him "Mer" when Arthur had arrived at the dinner party that night and now he kept on calling him that. It was his sex name for Merlin and now it was slipping out without his control.
Merlin smiled and placed a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "I like that you call me that."
"Call you what?" Arthur asked, pretending to be clueless.
"You're a prat," Merlin said and shook his head. "Let's say goodbye to our hosts and I'll drop you home."
"So when did you start calling me Mer?" Merlin asked as they pulled away from Gwen's flat and he put Arthur's address in his GPS.
Arthur bit his lip and looked out the window for a long minute before he answered. "Since the first time I came thinking about you."
Merlin nearly stopped the car mid-road. "For fuck's sake, Arthur!"
"Hey, you asked." Arthur shrugged and batted his eyes innocently at Merlin.
"You're a pure monster, you are," Merlin said and continued driving.
"Says the man who is withholding sex from me."
"So it's about that again," Merlin mumbled and Arthur wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear that.
"It's not about that, but you know, it's weird to be with someone and not be able to be with them."
"The whole no-sex dating was supposed to be about getting to know each other. I wanted to show you that dating isn't all bad and we can have fun and be together, and-"
"And I'm not arguing with you, Merlin," Arthur said, frustrated. "I just-I just can't help but wonder if you're the one playing with me."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I've liked you since forever. I used to like you when we were in uni and I didn't know you were gay. I just kept my distance because the last thing I wanted was to fall in love with a straight bloke. Then you went away and now you're back years later, you're gay, and you seem to be interested in me but-"
Arthur didn't realise right away but they'd stopped driving. Merlin had pulled up in front of Arthur's house and they were parked while he went on his rant.
"It was the only way for me to get you to see me," Merlin whispered.
Arthur scowled. "More games," he said.
"It's not a game. I've liked you since forever, too, Arthur." Merlin shut the car engine off and turned to face Arthur. "I was always quiet when we were in uni together and we had all these common friends. You were the first bloke I ever met that made me question my sexuality. I knew I wasn't attracted to girls but I wasn't sure if I was attracted to boys, either. By the time I realised I was, you were...you were seeing other people. I didn't know how to get your attention. I didn't want to date some other bloke so I didn't date anyone at all. Then I went for my Master's Degree, after that I moved to New Zealand. I dated men there but-"
"But what?"
Merlin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked like he was about to shut himself off and tell Arthur to get out of the car before he drove home.
Arthur leaned a bit closer to Merlin and brushed the back of his hand against Merlin's cheek. "But what?" he whispered. "Mer," he added for leverage.
Merlin looked up at him with his brows furrowed but he smiled, too. "You're a prat," he said, then laughed. "But...I could never find the right man. The man that made me feel the same thing you did back in the day. It was why I came back. It was why I agreed to this whole no-sex dates thing so I could at least get you out of my system before you'd fuck me and then discard me."
"I don't want to discard you, Mer," Arthur said; this time the "Mer" was genuine.
When Merlin didn't say anything for a long time, Arthur decided to just go for it. "Do you want to come inside?"
"Arthur-"
"Just a drink. Maybe...maybe more," he said raising his hands in surrender. He couldn't help himself and he wasn't going to lie to Merlin. "But, we won't do anything you don't want to do and I'll make it good for you. I swear."
"Yeah?" Merlin asked; his voice slightly wavering.
"Yeah. I won't even touch myself. It'll be about you." Arthur bit his lower lip for good measure. He could tell Merlin was interested or at least just a bit curious. READ CHAPTER 9