And you would smile, and that would be enough (Merlin/Arthur)
Title: And you would smile, and that would be enough
Author:
digthewriter
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Ethan, Gwen, Lancelot
Summary: Arthur takes his friend to Merlin's open studio.
Warnings: Modern!AU. Angst.
Word Count: 1800
Prompt: "It's quiet uptown" for HAM4CAM for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Part 8 of the "divorce!fic" All my thanks to
schweet_heart for the beta.
"Thanks for accompanying me," Arthur said, as he and Ethan got out of the taxi outside of Merlin’s art studio.
Ethan and Arthur had practically grew up together, so when Arthur told Ethan what his Friday night plans were, Ethan had been kind enough to volunteer so Arthur wouldn't have to go alone.
In their four years together, Merlin had met Ethan a few times, but since Ethan was always busy and travelling the world, they'd not formed a close kinship. Ethan, after all this time, was still Arthur's friend. And Arthur was glad for it.
There were plenty of friends they still had to share after the divorce, mainly Gwaine, Mordred, and Elena. Asking his friends to take a side would have been a suffering too terrible to name. Arthur hadn’t wanted to do that. He'd told his friends they could be friends with him and Merlin if they wanted. If they wanted to be on Merlin's side, that was all right too. That was how he'd ended up only being friends with Percy, who never went out of his way to talk to Merlin; meanwhile, Gwaine saw Merlin often.
"I can't wait to see Merlin's face. Can you imagine?" Ethan said as Arthur held the door to the studio open for him.
Arthur chuckled lightly. "You know, Merlin knows you're straight."
"So not the point, mate," Ethan said, patting on Arthur's shoulder. "All he's going to see is you brought this..." he pointed to himself, "...as your date."
"You're not my date," Arthur said, laughing, and as soon as they entered, he ran right into someone. "Shit, I'm so sorry!"
The man Arthur had bumped into barely looked at him, and kept walking.
Arthur and Ethan shared an awkward face and continued walking in.
"What's his problem?" Ethan asked, and Arthur shrugged.
0-0-0
"Arthur!" Gwen approached them as soon as they'd checked in their coats. "And who's this?"
"Ethan, this is my assistant, Guinevere. Gwen, this is my oldest friend, Ethan. He's just in town from Shanghai for a few weeks, and we had plans for dinner tonight."
"It's wonderful to meet you," Gwen said, shaking Ethan's hand. "My husband is around here somewhere..." She pointed towards the small crowd gathered. "When I find him, I'll make sure he stops by to say hello."
"This is quite the turnout. I don't remember Merlin's stuff being any good," Ethan said, and immediately Arthur elbowed him. "Ow."
"Oh, you know him? I mean, of course you do. You're Arthur's oldest friend."
"Relax, Gwen," Arthur said in a firm tone. Just then, a waiter walked by carrying a tray of champagne flutes, so Arthur grabbed a couple of glasses for him and Ethan. "Ethan's straight."
"Oh, so you're not here to make Merlin jealous," she said in a whisper.
Arthur shook his head.
"Oh no, I'm here to make Merlin jealous," Ethan said with a wink, wrapping his arm around Arthur's shoulder. "He doesn't need to know I'm still straight."
"I don't need this right now," Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound totally frustrated. "I'm here--we're all here to support Merlin. No one is making anyone jealous. Or whatever. Merlin doesn't want to get back together, and neither do I. It was a coincidence we got set up on a blind date--and a wake up call for me I should try to be friends with him again. That's all. Stop with your over-analysing of the situation. Please."
Gwen looked as though she were about to argue, but Arthur spotted Merlin, who was coming right in their direction.
"You made it!" Merlin said, smiling, but keeping a pointed distance between himself and Arthur. And Ethan. "Ethan! I've not seen you in ages!"
"Hello, Merlin," was all Ethan said.
"Brilliant. You've met Gwen," Merlin said, looking as though he'd picked up on Ethan's cold attitude. "Of course, she's Arthur's assistant. I mean, you've met her before, obviously. Anyway. Glad you're here. There's free food and drinks and--"
"Emrys..."
Ethan and Arthur exchanged a look when the man Arthur had accidentally bumped into walked up to them and placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder.
"You're being missed," he said.
The man was tall with vibrant red hair, and freckles. He wore torn jeans with a black t-shirt and a black blazer. He looked like a man who didn't know how to dress down, if he wasn't always dressed up. If anything, Arthur thought he looked like he was trying too hard to be casual.
"Right. Of course!" Merlin said, slightly flustered. "I was saying hello to my friends. Charles, this is Arthur and Ethan. Charles is a friend of mine I know from Tate. He helped me set up the open show--"
"Brilliant," Charles said, looking unimpressed. "You can't be entertaining your friends, dear." He cupped Merlin's face and leaned down to kiss Merlin's cheek. "Now, let's go and impress some buyers."
"See you later," Merlin said, smiling, as he allowed Charles to whisk him away.
"That's his date?" Ethan asked, almost scoffing. "Please, Arthur. I think as far as dates go, you're winning the lottery."
"Eth--"
"Hi." Their argument was interrupted when a tall man with dark hair, and gorgeous eyes approached them and hugged Gwen. "Sorry, I got sucked into some talks about sculpting. Didn't mean to leave you alone for so long."
"It's all right, I've been chatting with Arthur. My boss. Arthur, this is my husband Lance, and this is Ethan."
"Hello." Lance gave them a soft smile, but Arthur caught the hint of awkwardness in his posture. Needless to say, he knew who Arthur was in relation to Merlin, and wasn't sure how to deal with the entire thing.
"So I hear you're taking classes with Merlin..." Arthur said. They started to walk around the studio, passing the paintings on the wall and taking note of all the people admiring Merlin's work.
"Yeah." Lance ran a hand through his hair. "It was Gwen's idea. She'd seen a brochure about art therapy at the hospital when I was there..." When Arthur looked confused, Lance smiled softly. "I was in a car accident a while ago. I did some physical therapy, but I was still struggling with...stuff. I didn't want to talk to someone about it, so Gwen suggested maybe taking a sculpting class would help me...cope."
"Oh, that's a good idea,” Ethan put in. "My ex-girlfriend did a programme like that in Shanghai. Working with kids with neurological disorders. Art and music therapy programmes. It's all the rage."
Lance nodded, and Arthur smiled at his friend, bumping his shoulder.
When Arthur's gaze drifted around the art studio, he found Merlin looking at them. Arthur nodded once and returned his attention to Lance.
"Yeah, exactly. It was helpful. I mean, I was able to let out my frustration and anger or whatever was bottled up with something positive." He smiled and Gwen squeezed his arm. "There were some classes where you brought in your work -- the ones you didn't like and you got to smash it and start all over. Those were my favourites."
Arthur gave a bark of laughter. "I can't believe he still does that!"
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Merlin used to talk about it all the time. One of his art teachers did that. You created art, only to destroy it, to create it again. It was his favourite class in Uni. I'm not surprised he's incorporated in his own teaching techniques."
"You don't think it's completely mental?" Gwen asked.
"It's completely mental," Ethan said.
"It is. But it's so Merlin."
0-0-0
Arthur and Ethan walked around the studio admiring Merlin's work. Okay, so maybe Arthur was admiring Merlin's work and Ethan was mostly scoffing at him. Like the best friend he was.
"When do you go back to Shanghai again?" Arthur asked, teasing.
"Sick of me already? Oh, my heart!" Ethan mocked him by placing a hand on his chest and pretending to have a heart attack.
"Calm down. There aren't any women here for you any more, and you know you're simply itching to get back to your fu--"
"Hi." Merlin's voice silenced Arthur's insult and Ethan immediately stiffened.
"It's you again," Ethan said.
"Behave," Arthur said.
"Enjoying yourself?" Merlin asked.
"Well, I learn to live with the unimaginable," Ethan said. Arthur didn't even know what that insult was supposed to mean.
"It is art," Merlin said with a smile.
"Sorry. Ethan's just being...Ethan," Arthur said, grabbing Ethan's arm and leading him away. "Honestly, you don't need to be so rude." When Ethan opened his mouth to say something, Arthur added, "Stop being yourself. Just go and chat up with Gwen again. I'll come and fetch you."
"Sorry about that. Ethan's a bit jetlagged still, I suppose," Arthur said to Merlin and raised his champagne glass at him. "Good job with the show."
"Do you like it?" Merlin asked, looking embarrassed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't sure if I was ready to do an opening. I mean, people in my studio, judging my art..."
"Look at where you are! It's brilliant. I mean, can you imagine being even further from where you started? I'm happy for you. Really proud of you too. You're doing amazing for yourself!"
"Thanks a lot--"
"Emrys!" Charles's voice boomed through the room again.
Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Really. You're on a date with that guy?"
Merlin bit his lower lip. "He asked me to dinner and well... we're seeing how it goes. I mean, he's been helping a lot with my production and PR..."
"Didn't think you were the type to sleep with someone so they could be good for business," Arthur said before he could stop himself.
He and Merlin stared at each other for a while.
"Sorry, it's not my business."
"No, it's not. And I don't appreciate--"
"Arthur, we're going to be late for that thing," Ethan said, coming to Arthur's side immediately. "You know, drinks with Stacy."
Stacy, was codeword for Ethan wanting to get out of a sticky situation. Why he was using it there with Arthur, he had no idea. But if Ethan thought they needed to leave, Arthur needed to trust that. Still, he wasn't done speaking with Merlin.
"Can't she wait?" Arthur asked, turning to look at Ethan.
"No. You know she can't. And Mark is going to be there too..."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at Ethan who gave a slight twitch to his shoulder, shrugging without looking like he was shrugging. "Come on, then."
When Arthur turned around to face Merlin, he found Merlin gone. Well, not gone. He was at the other corner of the studio, speaking with Charles and other people. Charles had his arm around Merlin and had pulled him close. Merlin did turn his head to look at Arthur but Arthur immediately diverted his attention towards Ethan.
"Well, let's go and meet Stacy and Mark then," he said. Read part nine one: LJ OR DW
This entry was originally posted at http://digthewriter.dreamwidth.org/452453.html. Please comment anywhere you'd like. Thanks for reading
Author:
digthewriter
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/s: Merlin/Arthur
Character/s: Merlin, Arthur, Ethan, Gwen, Lancelot
Summary: Arthur takes his friend to Merlin's open studio.
Warnings: Modern!AU. Angst.
Word Count: 1800
Prompt: "It's quiet uptown" for HAM4CAM for camelot_drabble
Author's Notes: Part 8 of the "divorce!fic" All my thanks to
schweet_heart for the beta.
"Thanks for accompanying me," Arthur said, as he and Ethan got out of the taxi outside of Merlin’s art studio.
Ethan and Arthur had practically grew up together, so when Arthur told Ethan what his Friday night plans were, Ethan had been kind enough to volunteer so Arthur wouldn't have to go alone.
In their four years together, Merlin had met Ethan a few times, but since Ethan was always busy and travelling the world, they'd not formed a close kinship. Ethan, after all this time, was still Arthur's friend. And Arthur was glad for it.
There were plenty of friends they still had to share after the divorce, mainly Gwaine, Mordred, and Elena. Asking his friends to take a side would have been a suffering too terrible to name. Arthur hadn’t wanted to do that. He'd told his friends they could be friends with him and Merlin if they wanted. If they wanted to be on Merlin's side, that was all right too. That was how he'd ended up only being friends with Percy, who never went out of his way to talk to Merlin; meanwhile, Gwaine saw Merlin often.
"I can't wait to see Merlin's face. Can you imagine?" Ethan said as Arthur held the door to the studio open for him.
Arthur chuckled lightly. "You know, Merlin knows you're straight."
"So not the point, mate," Ethan said, patting on Arthur's shoulder. "All he's going to see is you brought this..." he pointed to himself, "...as your date."
"You're not my date," Arthur said, laughing, and as soon as they entered, he ran right into someone. "Shit, I'm so sorry!"
The man Arthur had bumped into barely looked at him, and kept walking.
Arthur and Ethan shared an awkward face and continued walking in.
"What's his problem?" Ethan asked, and Arthur shrugged.
0-0-0
"Arthur!" Gwen approached them as soon as they'd checked in their coats. "And who's this?"
"Ethan, this is my assistant, Guinevere. Gwen, this is my oldest friend, Ethan. He's just in town from Shanghai for a few weeks, and we had plans for dinner tonight."
"It's wonderful to meet you," Gwen said, shaking Ethan's hand. "My husband is around here somewhere..." She pointed towards the small crowd gathered. "When I find him, I'll make sure he stops by to say hello."
"This is quite the turnout. I don't remember Merlin's stuff being any good," Ethan said, and immediately Arthur elbowed him. "Ow."
"Oh, you know him? I mean, of course you do. You're Arthur's oldest friend."
"Relax, Gwen," Arthur said in a firm tone. Just then, a waiter walked by carrying a tray of champagne flutes, so Arthur grabbed a couple of glasses for him and Ethan. "Ethan's straight."
"Oh, so you're not here to make Merlin jealous," she said in a whisper.
Arthur shook his head.
"Oh no, I'm here to make Merlin jealous," Ethan said with a wink, wrapping his arm around Arthur's shoulder. "He doesn't need to know I'm still straight."
"I don't need this right now," Arthur said, hoping he didn't sound totally frustrated. "I'm here--we're all here to support Merlin. No one is making anyone jealous. Or whatever. Merlin doesn't want to get back together, and neither do I. It was a coincidence we got set up on a blind date--and a wake up call for me I should try to be friends with him again. That's all. Stop with your over-analysing of the situation. Please."
Gwen looked as though she were about to argue, but Arthur spotted Merlin, who was coming right in their direction.
"You made it!" Merlin said, smiling, but keeping a pointed distance between himself and Arthur. And Ethan. "Ethan! I've not seen you in ages!"
"Hello, Merlin," was all Ethan said.
"Brilliant. You've met Gwen," Merlin said, looking as though he'd picked up on Ethan's cold attitude. "Of course, she's Arthur's assistant. I mean, you've met her before, obviously. Anyway. Glad you're here. There's free food and drinks and--"
"Emrys..."
Ethan and Arthur exchanged a look when the man Arthur had accidentally bumped into walked up to them and placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder.
"You're being missed," he said.
The man was tall with vibrant red hair, and freckles. He wore torn jeans with a black t-shirt and a black blazer. He looked like a man who didn't know how to dress down, if he wasn't always dressed up. If anything, Arthur thought he looked like he was trying too hard to be casual.
"Right. Of course!" Merlin said, slightly flustered. "I was saying hello to my friends. Charles, this is Arthur and Ethan. Charles is a friend of mine I know from Tate. He helped me set up the open show--"
"Brilliant," Charles said, looking unimpressed. "You can't be entertaining your friends, dear." He cupped Merlin's face and leaned down to kiss Merlin's cheek. "Now, let's go and impress some buyers."
"See you later," Merlin said, smiling, as he allowed Charles to whisk him away.
"That's his date?" Ethan asked, almost scoffing. "Please, Arthur. I think as far as dates go, you're winning the lottery."
"Eth--"
"Hi." Their argument was interrupted when a tall man with dark hair, and gorgeous eyes approached them and hugged Gwen. "Sorry, I got sucked into some talks about sculpting. Didn't mean to leave you alone for so long."
"It's all right, I've been chatting with Arthur. My boss. Arthur, this is my husband Lance, and this is Ethan."
"Hello." Lance gave them a soft smile, but Arthur caught the hint of awkwardness in his posture. Needless to say, he knew who Arthur was in relation to Merlin, and wasn't sure how to deal with the entire thing.
"So I hear you're taking classes with Merlin..." Arthur said. They started to walk around the studio, passing the paintings on the wall and taking note of all the people admiring Merlin's work.
"Yeah." Lance ran a hand through his hair. "It was Gwen's idea. She'd seen a brochure about art therapy at the hospital when I was there..." When Arthur looked confused, Lance smiled softly. "I was in a car accident a while ago. I did some physical therapy, but I was still struggling with...stuff. I didn't want to talk to someone about it, so Gwen suggested maybe taking a sculpting class would help me...cope."
"Oh, that's a good idea,” Ethan put in. "My ex-girlfriend did a programme like that in Shanghai. Working with kids with neurological disorders. Art and music therapy programmes. It's all the rage."
Lance nodded, and Arthur smiled at his friend, bumping his shoulder.
When Arthur's gaze drifted around the art studio, he found Merlin looking at them. Arthur nodded once and returned his attention to Lance.
"Yeah, exactly. It was helpful. I mean, I was able to let out my frustration and anger or whatever was bottled up with something positive." He smiled and Gwen squeezed his arm. "There were some classes where you brought in your work -- the ones you didn't like and you got to smash it and start all over. Those were my favourites."
Arthur gave a bark of laughter. "I can't believe he still does that!"
"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.
"Merlin used to talk about it all the time. One of his art teachers did that. You created art, only to destroy it, to create it again. It was his favourite class in Uni. I'm not surprised he's incorporated in his own teaching techniques."
"You don't think it's completely mental?" Gwen asked.
"It's completely mental," Ethan said.
"It is. But it's so Merlin."
0-0-0
Arthur and Ethan walked around the studio admiring Merlin's work. Okay, so maybe Arthur was admiring Merlin's work and Ethan was mostly scoffing at him. Like the best friend he was.
"When do you go back to Shanghai again?" Arthur asked, teasing.
"Sick of me already? Oh, my heart!" Ethan mocked him by placing a hand on his chest and pretending to have a heart attack.
"Calm down. There aren't any women here for you any more, and you know you're simply itching to get back to your fu--"
"Hi." Merlin's voice silenced Arthur's insult and Ethan immediately stiffened.
"It's you again," Ethan said.
"Behave," Arthur said.
"Enjoying yourself?" Merlin asked.
"Well, I learn to live with the unimaginable," Ethan said. Arthur didn't even know what that insult was supposed to mean.
"It is art," Merlin said with a smile.
"Sorry. Ethan's just being...Ethan," Arthur said, grabbing Ethan's arm and leading him away. "Honestly, you don't need to be so rude." When Ethan opened his mouth to say something, Arthur added, "Stop being yourself. Just go and chat up with Gwen again. I'll come and fetch you."
"Sorry about that. Ethan's a bit jetlagged still, I suppose," Arthur said to Merlin and raised his champagne glass at him. "Good job with the show."
"Do you like it?" Merlin asked, looking embarrassed. He ran a hand through his hair. "I wasn't sure if I was ready to do an opening. I mean, people in my studio, judging my art..."
"Look at where you are! It's brilliant. I mean, can you imagine being even further from where you started? I'm happy for you. Really proud of you too. You're doing amazing for yourself!"
"Thanks a lot--"
"Emrys!" Charles's voice boomed through the room again.
Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Really. You're on a date with that guy?"
Merlin bit his lower lip. "He asked me to dinner and well... we're seeing how it goes. I mean, he's been helping a lot with my production and PR..."
"Didn't think you were the type to sleep with someone so they could be good for business," Arthur said before he could stop himself.
He and Merlin stared at each other for a while.
"Sorry, it's not my business."
"No, it's not. And I don't appreciate--"
"Arthur, we're going to be late for that thing," Ethan said, coming to Arthur's side immediately. "You know, drinks with Stacy."
Stacy, was codeword for Ethan wanting to get out of a sticky situation. Why he was using it there with Arthur, he had no idea. But if Ethan thought they needed to leave, Arthur needed to trust that. Still, he wasn't done speaking with Merlin.
"Can't she wait?" Arthur asked, turning to look at Ethan.
"No. You know she can't. And Mark is going to be there too..."
Arthur raised an eyebrow at Ethan who gave a slight twitch to his shoulder, shrugging without looking like he was shrugging. "Come on, then."
When Arthur turned around to face Merlin, he found Merlin gone. Well, not gone. He was at the other corner of the studio, speaking with Charles and other people. Charles had his arm around Merlin and had pulled him close. Merlin did turn his head to look at Arthur but Arthur immediately diverted his attention towards Ethan.
"Well, let's go and meet Stacy and Mark then," he said. Read part nine one: LJ OR DW
This entry was originally posted at http://digthewriter.dreamwidth.org/452453.html. Please comment anywhere you'd like. Thanks for reading