Making New Friends - Merlin/Arthur
Title: Making New Friends
Author: digthewriter
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, OMC
Summary: Merlin invites Arthur to a pub with his Canadian friends, things don't go as smoothly, yet they do.
Warnings: Modern AU. Dialogue heavy. Alcohol. Pub scene.
Word Count: ~1850
Prompt: "new beginnings" for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Chapter 8 of ongoing story: A Last Chance. Read Chapter 1 / Read Chapter 7
Arthur took in a deep breath and entered the pub. He could do this. He was sure he could. It was just a plain old Canadian bar with people having after-work drinks. Merlin had invited him since all of Merlin's co-workers were going out and Merlin wanted to bond with them.
He had no idea why he was so nervous. None of these people knew about his history with Merlin, he was sure of it because Merlin wasn't the type of person who shared his life with others. Or, he didn't used to be. He had no idea if and how much Merlin has changed in the last three years.
Still, even if Merlin told every single person at the pub that Arthur had broken his heart, this was no excuse to not go. Merlin invited him and that meant something.
He didn't see Merlin right away as he entered the Scholar. There were a lot of small groups gathered around the dark pub and they all seemed deep in conversation. Luckily, the bartender caught his eye and Arthur ordered a Jack Daniels on the rocks, and Arthur gave him his credit card asking him to leave the tab open. He had no idea how long he was going to be there for, and he was definitely going to need liquid courage.
This was a new beginning for him and alcohol could only make things a bit easier.
"Arthur, you made it!" Merlin approached him a minute later, followed by three or four people that looked to be his co-workers.
"Of course," Arthur replied and waved a hello to the group behind Merlin. "I'm Arthur Pendragon," he said offering his hand. Soon he met Merlin's friends, whose names he immediately forgot, and offered to buy them a drink.
"No, the boss is paying for us," one of the blokes from the group said, and pointed at a man in a suit standing by the door.
"Oh, that's very nice of him. You lot do this a lot? Get sloshed on your boss's dime?" He teased and the group of people laughed as Merlin placed an order for all of them, which wasn't hard since they were all drinking beer.
"So Arthur, what brings you to Toronto," the only woman in their group asked. She had a brilliant smile and her eyes were kind. She looked as though she was genuinely interested in what Arthur had to say.
Arthur laughed slightly and ran his hand through his hair. Though he felt a blush creeping up, he answered, "Merlin." When the woman smiled and bit her lower lip, he felt as though he should clarify so he didn't totally embarrass Merlin. "We haven't seen each other in a few years and I found out through a friend that he was here for a while, and I had some holiday time left, so I thought, you know..." He shrugged. "...Why not just catch up?"
"Aw, that's really sweet," the woman said and she was about to ask a follow up question when Merlin interrupted.
"Okay, then. Let's not waste all our night harassing my friend over here. Why don't you lot tell a bit about yourself to Arthur, and me?"
The group nodded and they all started, one by one, talking about themselves, and this time, Arthur knew all their names. Travis was the oldest of four children and he escaped his family in Ottawa and moved to Toronto when he was nineteen. Susan, the woman that had been super friendly to him, was married and her and her partner were going through adoption interviews for their first child. Todd, who had been looking at Arthur rather flirtatiously since he'd arrived (and Arthur had ignored) talked about the hottest club he'd just been to, and invited Merlin and Arthur for the next night. Finally, Mathieu, who was from Montreal said that he'd started at the company the same time as Merlin and was looking forward to making new friends.
All in all, they seemed like a nice bunch, and Arthur was happy to have met them. Except for maybe Todd, because he was sure that he'd been flirting with Arthur the entire time and everyone else was either oblivious, or completely ignoring it.
After a few more drinks, that Merlin insisted Arthur let the company buy for him, Arthur went outside for some fresh air. After the initial introductions, Merlin hadn't talked to Arthur at all. He didn't know if Merlin was cross with him because of Todd's flirting, or something else that upset him so much.
Outside, he ran into Travis, who was standing in a corner smoking. "Hey, man. You want one?" Travis asked Arthur offering him a cigarette.
Arthur knew he shouldn't. He barely smoked anymore, and Merlin hated it, but he'd been so nervous about this whole thing that he figured it couldn't hurt. Not really. Maybe Merlin would talk to him then.
"So, you and Merlin?" Travis asked as he lit up his lighter.
Arthur chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"
"No, man," Travis said in an assuring voice. "If it were obvious, I think Todd would have backed off. Now that's obvious."
Arthur laughed. "Yeah, it would have helped if Merlin was talking to me but the more he ignores me the more Todd thinks he has a chance-or something..." Arthur said shaking his head, unsure if it made sense. "So how did you know about me and Merlin-"
"Is there something going on?"
"It used to be. But like I said I haven't seen him in three years."
"And you came all the way from the UK because you found out he was here?"
Arthur nodded.
"And he hasn't kicked you out?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Earlier today when he'd mentioned that he had a friend from back home visiting, he was just really odd about it, you know?" Travis asked, finishing the last of his smoke.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, it was really weird the way he said your name. He's talked about his friend Will..." Arthur inwardly groaned at the name, and Travis laughed. "You can tell that they're like brothers or something, but with you, it was odd. I didn't know he was even gay until the way he lit up when he saw you tonight. Whatever it is, it's something special."
"I hope so," Arthur said and shook Travis's hand once he they were free. "Thanks, mate. It's really nice to meet you."
"Yeah, you too," Travis said, beaming. "I've gotta go so maybe I'll see you around?"
"I certainly hope so," Arthur said and bid Travis goodbye as he walked back into the bar.
Arthur stayed outside for a few more minutes and breathed deeply. He hoped that he could just go in and find Merlin to talk to and that Todd wouldn't be there. As nice as the bloke was, Arthur really wasn't interested and he knew that it wasn't the man's fault. He'd said that he and Merlin were just friends and there was no reason for anyone else to think otherwise. Unless there were as observant as Travis, of course.
When he went inside the pub again, Arthur didn't see Merlin right away so he thought about getting another drink and settling his bill. The bartender handed him his card back saying that everyone there was drinking on Charles's tab. Arthur assumed Charles was Merlin's boss. Arthur placed the card back into his wallet, and found some cash to tip the bartender with. The man gave Arthur a smirk and poured extra whiskey in his drink.
"Impressing everyone here, I see."
Arthur closed his eyes and turned to look at Todd. He was far too close to Arthur than he would have liked. "Just doing my share to keep the staff happy," Arthur said with a smile and tried to manoeuvre his way from under Todd.
Todd was really attractive. No doubt about it. He had amber eyes, a perfectly chiselled jaw, and a gorgeous smile. He looked fit, and his deep auburn hair was well kept. If this were a different lifetime, Arthur wouldn't have minded the attention from someone so good-looking, but in this lifetime, Arthur preferred a man with messy dark hair, blue eyes, and ears so big he could hear anyone from across the room.
"Hey..." Todd said softly and grabbed Arthur's forearm. "Why do you keep running away from me?"
"Todd," Arthur said, just as softly. "I don't want to take this the wrong way, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way but-"
"Do you want to come home with me tonight?" Todd asked, abruptly and then gasped as if he were acting that he couldn't believe he'd just blurted that out. "I thought you should just know what I'm going for."
Arthur smiled and ran a hand through his hair again. "Thank you for the offer, but I can't."
"You can't? Or you don't want to?" Todd challenged.
Their voices were still low and Arthur was sure that no one else could really hear them. He smiled. "I'm...not interested."
"Why?" Todd asked, as if he were insulted at being rejected. Arthur was sure that with his looks, he didn't get that a lot.
"I'm in love with someone else-"
"What does that have to do with-"
"He's the reason I'm in Toronto," Arthur said.
"Oh," Todd supplied. "I thought you were just friends- Until tonight I didn't even know he was gay."
"Yeah, that's not the first time I've heard that tonight," Arthur said, "maybe that's what he's trying to do so I'd appreciate it if you-"
"I won't tell anyone, and please, this is Canada. We don't care!" Todd said, his arms flailing about and that just made Arthur drop his head back and laugh.
"Thanks, mate. I appreciate that."
Todd smiled and took out a business card and wrote something on the back. "Here's my number, just in case it doesn't work out."
Arthur looked at Todd in confusion. Was it so strange for this man to offer him a shag even though he'd said that he was in love with Merlin. Hadn't he and Merlin got together in the first place despite the fact that Arthur had been in a relationship with Gwen?
No, he couldn't do that. Not again.
"Thanks, but, if it doesn't work out, I'll just be leaving. Don't sell yourself short, Todd. I'm sure you'll find the right man that wants you and only you," Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound like an old man or someone too straight-laced.
Todd rolled his eyes, taking the business card back. "Life's too short to waste your time waiting for someone to come around," he said.
"Maybe you're right. But I'd wait a lifetime for him," Arthur said. He patted Todd's shoulder and turned around, running right into Merlin. "Mer-"
"What was that?" Merlin asked, keeping his voice calm, but the fear in his eyes was just too evident to Arthur.
Arthur shrugged. "Just talking about loves and lifetimes," he said smiling, hoping that he'd ease off the tension from between Merlin's eyebrows. He didn't like seeing it there. read the next part
Author: digthewriter
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, OMC
Summary: Merlin invites Arthur to a pub with his Canadian friends, things don't go as smoothly, yet they do.
Warnings: Modern AU. Dialogue heavy. Alcohol. Pub scene.
Word Count: ~1850
Prompt: "new beginnings" for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Chapter 8 of ongoing story: A Last Chance. Read Chapter 1 / Read Chapter 7
Arthur took in a deep breath and entered the pub. He could do this. He was sure he could. It was just a plain old Canadian bar with people having after-work drinks. Merlin had invited him since all of Merlin's co-workers were going out and Merlin wanted to bond with them.
He had no idea why he was so nervous. None of these people knew about his history with Merlin, he was sure of it because Merlin wasn't the type of person who shared his life with others. Or, he didn't used to be. He had no idea if and how much Merlin has changed in the last three years.
Still, even if Merlin told every single person at the pub that Arthur had broken his heart, this was no excuse to not go. Merlin invited him and that meant something.
He didn't see Merlin right away as he entered the Scholar. There were a lot of small groups gathered around the dark pub and they all seemed deep in conversation. Luckily, the bartender caught his eye and Arthur ordered a Jack Daniels on the rocks, and Arthur gave him his credit card asking him to leave the tab open. He had no idea how long he was going to be there for, and he was definitely going to need liquid courage.
This was a new beginning for him and alcohol could only make things a bit easier.
"Arthur, you made it!" Merlin approached him a minute later, followed by three or four people that looked to be his co-workers.
"Of course," Arthur replied and waved a hello to the group behind Merlin. "I'm Arthur Pendragon," he said offering his hand. Soon he met Merlin's friends, whose names he immediately forgot, and offered to buy them a drink.
"No, the boss is paying for us," one of the blokes from the group said, and pointed at a man in a suit standing by the door.
"Oh, that's very nice of him. You lot do this a lot? Get sloshed on your boss's dime?" He teased and the group of people laughed as Merlin placed an order for all of them, which wasn't hard since they were all drinking beer.
"So Arthur, what brings you to Toronto," the only woman in their group asked. She had a brilliant smile and her eyes were kind. She looked as though she was genuinely interested in what Arthur had to say.
Arthur laughed slightly and ran his hand through his hair. Though he felt a blush creeping up, he answered, "Merlin." When the woman smiled and bit her lower lip, he felt as though he should clarify so he didn't totally embarrass Merlin. "We haven't seen each other in a few years and I found out through a friend that he was here for a while, and I had some holiday time left, so I thought, you know..." He shrugged. "...Why not just catch up?"
"Aw, that's really sweet," the woman said and she was about to ask a follow up question when Merlin interrupted.
"Okay, then. Let's not waste all our night harassing my friend over here. Why don't you lot tell a bit about yourself to Arthur, and me?"
The group nodded and they all started, one by one, talking about themselves, and this time, Arthur knew all their names. Travis was the oldest of four children and he escaped his family in Ottawa and moved to Toronto when he was nineteen. Susan, the woman that had been super friendly to him, was married and her and her partner were going through adoption interviews for their first child. Todd, who had been looking at Arthur rather flirtatiously since he'd arrived (and Arthur had ignored) talked about the hottest club he'd just been to, and invited Merlin and Arthur for the next night. Finally, Mathieu, who was from Montreal said that he'd started at the company the same time as Merlin and was looking forward to making new friends.
All in all, they seemed like a nice bunch, and Arthur was happy to have met them. Except for maybe Todd, because he was sure that he'd been flirting with Arthur the entire time and everyone else was either oblivious, or completely ignoring it.
After a few more drinks, that Merlin insisted Arthur let the company buy for him, Arthur went outside for some fresh air. After the initial introductions, Merlin hadn't talked to Arthur at all. He didn't know if Merlin was cross with him because of Todd's flirting, or something else that upset him so much.
Outside, he ran into Travis, who was standing in a corner smoking. "Hey, man. You want one?" Travis asked Arthur offering him a cigarette.
Arthur knew he shouldn't. He barely smoked anymore, and Merlin hated it, but he'd been so nervous about this whole thing that he figured it couldn't hurt. Not really. Maybe Merlin would talk to him then.
"So, you and Merlin?" Travis asked as he lit up his lighter.
Arthur chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"
"No, man," Travis said in an assuring voice. "If it were obvious, I think Todd would have backed off. Now that's obvious."
Arthur laughed. "Yeah, it would have helped if Merlin was talking to me but the more he ignores me the more Todd thinks he has a chance-or something..." Arthur said shaking his head, unsure if it made sense. "So how did you know about me and Merlin-"
"Is there something going on?"
"It used to be. But like I said I haven't seen him in three years."
"And you came all the way from the UK because you found out he was here?"
Arthur nodded.
"And he hasn't kicked you out?"
Arthur shook his head.
"Earlier today when he'd mentioned that he had a friend from back home visiting, he was just really odd about it, you know?" Travis asked, finishing the last of his smoke.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, it was really weird the way he said your name. He's talked about his friend Will..." Arthur inwardly groaned at the name, and Travis laughed. "You can tell that they're like brothers or something, but with you, it was odd. I didn't know he was even gay until the way he lit up when he saw you tonight. Whatever it is, it's something special."
"I hope so," Arthur said and shook Travis's hand once he they were free. "Thanks, mate. It's really nice to meet you."
"Yeah, you too," Travis said, beaming. "I've gotta go so maybe I'll see you around?"
"I certainly hope so," Arthur said and bid Travis goodbye as he walked back into the bar.
Arthur stayed outside for a few more minutes and breathed deeply. He hoped that he could just go in and find Merlin to talk to and that Todd wouldn't be there. As nice as the bloke was, Arthur really wasn't interested and he knew that it wasn't the man's fault. He'd said that he and Merlin were just friends and there was no reason for anyone else to think otherwise. Unless there were as observant as Travis, of course.
When he went inside the pub again, Arthur didn't see Merlin right away so he thought about getting another drink and settling his bill. The bartender handed him his card back saying that everyone there was drinking on Charles's tab. Arthur assumed Charles was Merlin's boss. Arthur placed the card back into his wallet, and found some cash to tip the bartender with. The man gave Arthur a smirk and poured extra whiskey in his drink.
"Impressing everyone here, I see."
Arthur closed his eyes and turned to look at Todd. He was far too close to Arthur than he would have liked. "Just doing my share to keep the staff happy," Arthur said with a smile and tried to manoeuvre his way from under Todd.
Todd was really attractive. No doubt about it. He had amber eyes, a perfectly chiselled jaw, and a gorgeous smile. He looked fit, and his deep auburn hair was well kept. If this were a different lifetime, Arthur wouldn't have minded the attention from someone so good-looking, but in this lifetime, Arthur preferred a man with messy dark hair, blue eyes, and ears so big he could hear anyone from across the room.
"Hey..." Todd said softly and grabbed Arthur's forearm. "Why do you keep running away from me?"
"Todd," Arthur said, just as softly. "I don't want to take this the wrong way, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way but-"
"Do you want to come home with me tonight?" Todd asked, abruptly and then gasped as if he were acting that he couldn't believe he'd just blurted that out. "I thought you should just know what I'm going for."
Arthur smiled and ran a hand through his hair again. "Thank you for the offer, but I can't."
"You can't? Or you don't want to?" Todd challenged.
Their voices were still low and Arthur was sure that no one else could really hear them. He smiled. "I'm...not interested."
"Why?" Todd asked, as if he were insulted at being rejected. Arthur was sure that with his looks, he didn't get that a lot.
"I'm in love with someone else-"
"What does that have to do with-"
"He's the reason I'm in Toronto," Arthur said.
"Oh," Todd supplied. "I thought you were just friends- Until tonight I didn't even know he was gay."
"Yeah, that's not the first time I've heard that tonight," Arthur said, "maybe that's what he's trying to do so I'd appreciate it if you-"
"I won't tell anyone, and please, this is Canada. We don't care!" Todd said, his arms flailing about and that just made Arthur drop his head back and laugh.
"Thanks, mate. I appreciate that."
Todd smiled and took out a business card and wrote something on the back. "Here's my number, just in case it doesn't work out."
Arthur looked at Todd in confusion. Was it so strange for this man to offer him a shag even though he'd said that he was in love with Merlin. Hadn't he and Merlin got together in the first place despite the fact that Arthur had been in a relationship with Gwen?
No, he couldn't do that. Not again.
"Thanks, but, if it doesn't work out, I'll just be leaving. Don't sell yourself short, Todd. I'm sure you'll find the right man that wants you and only you," Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound like an old man or someone too straight-laced.
Todd rolled his eyes, taking the business card back. "Life's too short to waste your time waiting for someone to come around," he said.
"Maybe you're right. But I'd wait a lifetime for him," Arthur said. He patted Todd's shoulder and turned around, running right into Merlin. "Mer-"
"What was that?" Merlin asked, keeping his voice calm, but the fear in his eyes was just too evident to Arthur.
Arthur shrugged. "Just talking about loves and lifetimes," he said smiling, hoping that he'd ease off the tension from between Merlin's eyebrows. He didn't like seeing it there. read the next part