Time's Up, Chapter 6 part 1
Chapter 5
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Part 1
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The last time Merlin was tricked this easily was at school. No teenager could refuse a triple-dare, regardless of the ridiculousness of the challenge. Steal chemical agents from his father’s lab? Go on a trip to next town by foot with ten quid and a bottle of water?
This time Merlin surpassed himself. There was only one plus side to this situation: he stopped obsessing over his grades. Arthur's dragging him out to clear his head helped and happened at just the right time as Merlin was basically done with his studies.
He now could concentrate without any interruptions on this predicament he got himself into.
Merlin didn't really care for the second part of the training until Arthur joined in. Stocks, percentages, investments, business-plans were never something Merlin was into, but Arthur knew how to grab the audience's attention. He spoke of the numbers with the enthusiasm of a child, reciting his favorite poem to his mum. Flipped the pages on the easel, demonstrating charts and tables. Joked, urged, and at the end hypnotised not only Merlin, but even the lot more experienced Percival, who looked like he completely forgot where he was and had already mentally invested all his hypothetical money into this hypothetical project. Merlin himself was ready to join him. The illusion died as soon as Arthur came out of his role.
Merlin waited in silence until “the round table” voted to accept the new member into their brotherhood, and was ready to say goodbye to Arthur when he asked him to stay behind.
“You seem down,” Arthur noted after everyone left.
“Just tired,” Merlin responded flatly. He didn’t feel like figuring out the real reason.
Arthur smiled crookedly. “That’s what I thought. Would you join me?”
Merlin blinked and only then realised that Arthur walked up to a barely visible door in a wall and opened it. The space behind it was dark.
“What’s there? Your imaginarium? Are we going to be Power Rangers?”
“What if I prefer Doctor Evil?” Arthur laughed, letting Merlin in.
“Being bald won’t suit you,” Merlin shot back.
The room definitely didn’t look like an imaginarium. It was rather a small, ordinary living room-a sofa, a table, a mini-bar, a mini-fridge.
“I used to have a buzz-cut.” Arthur collected a few ice-cubes and split them between two glasses. “No one complained.”
“You’re surrounded by extremely polite people.” Merlin climbed onto the sofa, pulled his knees to his chest and accepted the glass without question. Arthur, not to waste time on light stuff, poured them both whisky.
“Gwaine hacked into your email,” Arthur said as a matter-of-factly and tilted his head back, draining his glass.
Merlin froze with his still half-raised to his mouth.
“Find anything interesting?” He very much wanted to throw the drink in Arthur’s smug face, but that would be too childish.
“I don’t care which strips from Pearls Before Swine you consider the coolest.” Arthur added more into his glass. “Why doesn’t Balinor let you work in his lab? I spoke with Gaius. The old man loves you, but I’m sure his personal affections are not why he regards your professional skills so highly. Gaius claims you’d be welcome in most biotech companies. Even without a degree.”
“I have an early lecture tomorrow.” Merlin placed his drink on the table, but his attempt to get up didn’t work. Arthur pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him stay next to him.
“I still want to help you. You just saw it-I have no self-fulfillment issues. And if I wanted to prove myself at the expense of others, I’d easily find a victim. How about opening your own lab?”
“In France or Italy?” Merlin asked angrily. It was hard to stay collected. Arthur really cut him to the quick by invading his privacy so blatantly, and by the question itself.
“In England. George analysed the market and found a small company for purchase. The owners are nearly bankrupt and ready to sell it at cost. The location is decent, it comes with the equipment, and they are already staffed. Although, if you don’t like them, you can always hire your own team.”
“I don’t feel like joking right now.” Merlin jerked his shoulder away, and, mimicking Arthur, drank all his whisky.
“Do I look like I’m joking?” Arthur shrugged. “Since a Rubik’s Cube wasn’t very entertaining for you, I decided to offer you a better challenge.”
“Bugger off.” Merlin flopped himself on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes. He obviously didn’t take Arthur’s words seriously. After all, he just witnessed how good Arthur was at manipulating his clients. “Going to use your tricks on me?”
“Exactly.” Arthur loosened his tie. “Let me slip an opiate into your coffee.”
“What does an opiate have to do with anything?” Merlin didn’t get it, dubiously glancing at his glass.
“Professional methods during negotiations. Some slip drugs into their clients’ drinks to slow their reflexes. Others do the opposite and add nootropics-or mix them together. Sometimes they cleverly schedule a meeting right after a long flight, this is the most popular one at the moment. Imagine a person after a super early flight, with barely a nap on a plane, and he’s already being dragged into a meeting without being given a chance to catch a break.”
“Dirty tactics.”
“Effective.” Arthur leisurely draped his arm over the back of the sofa, so his fingers almost touched Merlin’s neck. “But I prefer to play without a leg-up. And to eliminate any questions, my offer has nothing to do with charity or practical jokes. I’m going to sign a contract with you and make good money exploiting your brain and time. I’ll provide everything you need for your research, and you’ll pay me back by succeeding-it'll be a beneficial endeavor, financially and personally, for both of us.”
“I have to think about it.” Nothing surprised Merlin any more. “Find out about the company, what they did before, what kind of equipment they have, their licenses, patents. What would be my responsibilities, my time table, and whatever else there's to check.”
“Afraid I’d lie to you?”
“After the training I just saw? Oh no, I’m convinced you’re as innocent as a lamb.” The alcohol created a strong buzz in his head, clouding his usual caution with drunken bravery.
Arthur leaned forward and touched Merlin’s neck. His fingertips slid over Merlin’s skin, ticklish, sending down a slight shiver.
“No, I wouldn’t call myself innocent,” Arthur admitted.
What happened next was so predictable and obvious Merlin didn’t try to stop it. Arthur moved closer and, pressing his palm against Merlin’s knee, lightly touched his lips with his. But he wasn’t cautious for long, forcing Merlin’s mouth open with his tongue.
“How about a little bet?” he whispered, brushing the tip of his nose against Merlin’s jaw.
“What bet?” Merlin breathed out, clutching at soft blond strands. A few seconds later he gave in to the spur of the moment and agreed to Arthur’s ridiculous conditions.
Merlin grimly clicked “send” and bit on his knuckles. It had been two days, and he still wasn’t sure how he managed to agree to a bet that he wouldn’t sleep with Arthur. Of course, Arthur’s proposition wasn’t that direct. But under the veiled, “Want to bet you won’t object to doing it with me?” was exactly that: Arthur implied that if at any point he decided to want Merlin, Merlin would give right the fuck in.
Of course Merlin thought the idea itself was preposterous. And of course, he immediately accepted the challenge, vehemently dismissing Arthur’s claim. And it obviously had been a mistake. Because Arthur was clearly using his tricks on Merlin. Bastard!
At least this moment of stupidity was evened out by the agreement to work with Arthur and accept the responsibility of rebuilding the small, unknown pharma company. Arthur allowed him to hire a new staff and promised not to tell Balinor until Merlin made progress. Arthur refused to accept the notion that the results might not be positive.
“Why am I always in such deep shite after my sessions with Arthur?” Merlin asked himself and opened the organic chem textbook; the last exam was scheduled for tomorrow morning. The text wasn’t sinking in. Merlin kept re-reading the same paragraph for probably the fifth time, but the thoughts about his new job were distracting him, the weight of responsibilities felt brick-heavy on his shoulders.
What if he couldn’t pull his weight? Couldn’t make it work and cause the whole business to tumble down? How soon would he be able to pay Arthur back? Bloody hell, he didn’t even know what he'd be working on. Not meth, obviously!
Merlin laughed nervously. The sound rang hollow in the silence of the night. Enough. Merlin resolutely put the book aside and went to the bathroom. Brushing his teeth, he grimly studied his reflection. He needed to be done with the exams soon, or he'd be eligible as an extra in The Walking Dead. Why not? Imagine Gaius sitting in the classroom when all of a sudden Merlin staggers inside, eyes all mad and red, and goes to bite his favorite professor. And then everyone in his path until some tosser doesn’t shoot him in a head.
His phone pinged, and a shiver ran down Merlin’s spine. That sound meant new email. Could they respond this quickly? He hung up the towel with shaky hands and dashed back into his room. To open his email. Enter the password. And there it was.
“Hello,
I'd like to talk to you in person. Tomorrow at six.
Morgause Orkney”
Merlin had no idea who this Morgause Orkney was, but the tone of the email was snippy, on the verge of coming off as rude. And, at six, but where? Logically thinking, probably at the lab Arthur wanted to buy, but again, where was the lab?
His phone pinged again. This time it was Arthur.
“I’ll pick you up at 17:30. Dress in business attire.”
Merlin didn’t even bother to be surprised. Later. All that later, for now, a good-night’s sleep, otherwise he’d definitely fail his last exam.
The exam, despite Merlin’s fears, went really well, he always had bad luck getting the most difficult questions. This time they were so easy, a fresher could do it. Diligently filling out five and a half pages with answers, not forgetting to include the key details from additional resources, Merlin placed his paper in front of Gaius. Gaius checked his watch.
“Are you certain you’ve answered all the questions?” Gaius raised his brow, not having any doubt in his student.
“Sure am.” Merlin snorted. “When should we expect results?”
“In two-three weeks, like I said before the exam.” Gaius winked at him, and Merlin beamed.
He knew Gaius would go over the students’ answers tonight. And that Merlin wouldn’t disappoint him.
As he was leaving the auditorium, other students were rolling their eyes. No one had any doubt that Merlin Emrys would finish before anyone else. Many openly wondered why he even showed up for the exam. What a waste of paper. But Merlin thought otherwise. Yes, he was sure Gaius already gave him a high grade overall, but rules were rules and they had to be followed. Which meant-to spend the required time at the uni and check off all the required boxes.
Merlin stood on the stairs outside and squinted at the bright sun. He had time to kill before the meeting this evening. The jitters, temporary forgotten during the exam, were back with a vengeance. Merlin had no clue what the talk was going to be about. He didn’t even have a business-plan. Unlike Arthur, probably. Hopefully. Otherwise they’d have to spend all that time dodging Morgause’s questions. And his gut was telling him that she’d have a lot of questions.
He tried to distract himself and it wasn’t working. The time was crawling. Merlin came home, had lunch, watched TV, argued in a chatroom with some “random_user” about the future of the pharmaceutical industry. Finally, when the minute hand was at quarter after five, Merlin slowly dressed up and went down the stairs. Thank goodness, his parents weren’t home. Otherwise, they’d subject him to an interrogation they were so good at-where, why, when will you be back? They trusted Merlin a little more these days, showing less and less suspicion, but Merlin still couldn’t handle seeing their wary expressions every time he had to go somewhere.
It was his fault.
Arthur arrived at the precise time when the tension in the air could be measured in volts-meaning, at five-thirty sharp. Merlin flopped down onto the passenger’s seat.
“Who’s that?” he asked without delay as soon as Arthur pressed on the gas pedal.
“Morgause? Oh, she’s a real pill.” Arthur chuckled, carefully pulling away from the kerb. “She manages the company.”
“Does the company have a name?”
“It does.”
“Are you going to tell me?” Merlin said, getting irritated.
“I don’t remember,” Arthur replied smoothly. “Something-something corporation.”
Merlin gaped at him, at loss of words.
“What?” Arthur shrugged uncaringly. “I don’t pay things like that any mind. We’ll rename the company anyway and start with a clean slate.”
“If they sell it to you,” Merlin noted carefully. Arthur grinned. “Wha-already?”
“Indeed. Signing it over the day after tomorrow.”
A wave of panic washed over Merlin. He turned pale and clutched the safety belt. Arthur looked at him strangely, and Merlin’s thoughts immediately shifted to their little bet. His cheeks reddened traitorously.
“Relax,” Arthur said softly. “It will all work out.” He turned on the radio, effectively stopping Merlin from objecting.
“Are you joking?” was the first thing Morgause said as soon as they were seated at the table.
“Uhhhh.” Merlin flushed.
“Morgause, I’m so happy to see you.” Arthur scowled mildly and kissed the woman’s hand. “You’re enchanting, as always.”
“Be serious. Are you going to make this little snot a head of the company?” Morgause disrespectfully poked her finger at Merlin. Merlin fumbled with the knot of his tie. The evening was promising to be splendid.
“That’s right. Meet the future Director of Blah-Blah Company-Merlin Emrys.”
“Even if he were Prince Harry!” Morgause leaned back in her chair. “Are you off your rocker? Does he even have qualifications?”
“No.” Arthur smiled like he had no care in the world and opened the menu, not paying attention to Morgause sitting with her mouth open. “They serve excellent roast beef. I highly recommend it.”
Merlin spaced out. Lost the thread of the conversation and all sense of reality. Arthur and Morgause argued, pored over the numbers, discussing the details of the business-plan and the company’s development strategy. The company, which Merlin himself would have to formally take over. And Merlin was keen to agree with Morgause-he just didn’t have the chops for it. Wouldn’t be able to handle it. How could he if he had no experience whatsoever? He’d be happy to dedicate himself to the research, the experiments, science, but managing business... He was interested in a degree in biochemistry all his life, not an MBA, damn it all.
Basically, the dinner was a painful affair. No one bothered Merlin, thank God, but the disapproving glances from Ms Orkney were humiliating enough. Finishing his dessert, Merlin slowly dabbed his mouth with his napkin, put away his silverware and rose to his feet. Arthur arched his brows in a silent question.
“I have to get ready for my finals. My apologies,” Merlin said as calmly as he could. “It was nice meeting you.”
It was like a bad dream. Moving like a zombie, Merlin stumbled into the waiters several times, trying to leave as fast as possible and forget this whole evening. This whole idea. Why did he even agree to be involved in this scheme?
His phone buzzed in his pocket. Arthur. Probably was worried. Not about Merlin, of course. About his investments, which Merlin ought to uphold.
Wait. Since when did Merlin owe to Arthur anything?
Ignoring the call, Merlin walked to the kerb to hail a cab. The phone vibrated again.
“What do you want?” Merlin sighed heavily into it.
“Actually, I wanted to talk to you, Merlin,” he heard Gaius' surprised voice.
“Oh. Gaius, I’m sorry. I thought it was Arthur.”
“You have a delightful way of talking to him,” the professor said sarcastically. Merlin chose to not comment. “Merlin, how many pages did you turn in for your exam?”
“Six total. Why?”
“Very strange, I seem to be missing a page.”
“WHAT?”
“Calm down, Merlin. I think it’s just a mix up...”
Merlin wasn’t listening anymore. Literally falling into a cab, he gave the address of the university. His hands shook, and to help to calm his nerves, he clamped his hands between his knees. The drive took forever; it started to drizzle outside, the car stopped at every stoplight-the whole world was against Merlin Emrys today. Finally, when Merlin had already mentally said bye to his good grade, they arrived at the destination. Getting out of the cab, he didn’t bother to check where he was going, and as a result stepped into a deep puddle. Watching the light fabric of his new shoes turn to muddy-grey he decided he’d had enough.
Merlin didn’t sign up for all this rubbish. All he ever wanted was to finish his degree and follow his father’s footsteps. At his father’s lab.
Sod it.
“Sorry, Arthur, but your strategy has failed,” Merlin muttered, chuckling with slight hysteria in his voice, and, making a sharp turn around, startled the cab driver by climbing back into the car.
Today he was going to have the best tweak of his life. No doubt.
Arthur politely refused the coffee Hunith offered and went back outside. He expected a relapse for a long time now, and it seemed, had finally provoked it. Merlin was visibly shaking when he was saying good-bye to Morgause earlier. His hope was that even in that condition Emrys had enough sense to come back home.
“Hullo, boss,” Gwaine greeted him cheerfully. “You’re turning into a professional stalker, but fine, I won’t make any derogatory comments about how low you have fallen.”
“I’ll cut off your bonus,” Arthur promised.
“He got a call from his professor, Gaius. I traced his cell via GPS, he took a detour, but now he's on his way home. May I leave the lad’s private life alone now?”
“Certainly. Say hi to Morgana, I can hear her muttering.”
“Definitely will.” Gwaine hung up, and Arthur exhaled.
It was good that he wasn’t a licensed therapist. Sometimes “dirty tactics” where the most effective, indeed.
A cab arrived at the front door about seven minutes later, and an extremely irritated Merlin stumbled out of it. Arthur stepped back, avoiding the street lamp light. Merlin paid to the driver and, bypassing the front door, moved straight in the direction of the garage. Arthur followed him, trying not to make any noise.
Merlin, however, didn’t try to be quiet or hide. He probably wouldn’t notice a herd of elephants, should they take up residence on the front yard right now. Arthur watched Merlin pull off his jacket, dropping it in a heap on the floor, raise on his toes, and grab a small jar from the top shelf. Normally, people kept small screws in containers like that; in this case, Arthur was sure there was nothing of that sort inside. Merlin pulled out a notepad from his bag and tossed it on the hood of the car; he opened the jar, shook out some of the crystallised powder onto the glossy cover of the notepad, and skillfully straightened it into even lines.
“Would you like a note?”
Merlin flinched and snapped his absolutely wild eyes at Arthur.
“What are you doing here?”
“Instilling law and order in the neighborhood,” Arthur barked right into Merlin’s face. “You’re under arrest, hands behind your head.”
The tactic of distracting Merlin worked like a charm, so Arthur decided to continue this little game. With one hand he knocked the notepad and the almost full jar off to the floor, and with the other, twisted Merlin’s arm behind his back, helping himself by pressing his knee there. Merlin bucked, trying to free himself unsuccessfully, cursed loudly, and slumped down when Arthur shook him a little.
“Sod off!” Merlin tried to twist out of Arthur’s hold again. “Fuck you, Arthur, I don’t need your help. Leave me alone!”
“Do you want your mum to come in here?” Arthur asked, leaning to Merlin’s ear.
“Let her,” Merlin said stubbornly. “I can’t disappoint her more than I already did.”
“After my conversation with your father? I agree, that would be hard.”
“What conversation?”
Arthur let Merlin go, and Merlin, quickly turning around, stared at him in astonishment.
“Let’s go.” Arthur picked up Merlin’s jacket and handed it to him. “I’ll tell all about it, and you’ll decide what you’re going to do next.”
“Stop this mysterious silence!” Merlin kicked off his Keds and padded to the sofa. “Did you rat me out to my parents? Mum was looking at me weird when I was changing...”
“Cool it.” Arthur hung his raincoat and got rid of his jacket. “Learn to discuss your business in a calm manner.”
“Yes, about that.” Merlin ruffled his hair. “I can’t do it. Your brilliant idea is actually a total crock of shite.”
Arthur sat down next to him, and after giving Merlin another moment he asked, “Are you done?”
“Yes. Why aren’t you offering me a drink?”
“So you could throw a drunken tantrum? Thanks, I’ll pass.” Arthur yawned. “I told Balinor everything.”
“Everything?” Merlin’s expression was a picture of absolute horror.
“About the new company.” Arthur paused. “I know I promised to keep it quiet for now, but he cornered me. Your father knows how to get what he wants. So, I explained to Balinor why you’ve been behaving this way, and it made him very upset. You know, you’re such an arse. My father, in a similar situation, would’ve just shipped me to rehab, and wouldn’t lament about ‘my boy is so sensitive’.”
It had been a while since Arthur felt this stressed. One little mistake-and it could be all for naught. So far, Merlin reacted as expected: horror was replaced by guilt, and he no longer emitted destructive energy like a nuclear reactor.
“What else did he say?” Merlin asked quietly, deflated.
“A lot of things, but only one concerns you. Emrys Chemicals will sign a contract with your company. They need help with some sort of a research; I didn’t go into details. But Balinor already checked the equipment at your new lab and said you have enough resources to make it happen.”
Merlin sat staring into a space.
Arthur rose to his feet. “I need to change. Now you can get yourself a drink.”
Arthur took his time to switch from a business suit into more casual khakis and a button-down, and walked back into the room. Merlin seemed calm, and if Arthur didn’t know what to look for, he’d miss the signs. I’ll tell him later how Gwaine weeps when Simba loses Mufasa.
“Feeling any better?”
Merlin mumbled something and sipped from his drink. Rum with Coke, most likely.
Arthur poured himself some wine and settled next to Merlin.
“You don’t have to manage the company until you’re ready. Morgause is an excellent administrator, if it weren’t for her, they would’ve folded six month ago. She agreed to stay on and work with you. Your responsibility is to run the lab, and you can handle that. You can discuss the changes in your staff with Morgause-your father agreed to lend you a few researchers.”
“Do I have to take them?” Merlin frowned and tossed one leg over another.
“No. He can’t pressure you into anything. And he doesn’t want to. Stop being such а pansy, Merlin.”
“I’m not a pansy,” Merlin bit back. “You don’t understand.”
Trying not to scoff, Arthur shrugged his shoulders. This game was tiring, and the most challenging part was still coming.
“That’s enough.” He took the empty glass away from Merlin and pushed his own out of the way as well. Last thing he wanted was the red spots on the light upholstery.
Merlin watched Arthur’s manipulations with great deal of caution, but didn’t move from his spot.
“Headache?” Arthur placed his palms on either side of Merlin’s neck and pressed softly, making him turn. “Today is your lucky day, I’ll be your personal masseuse.”
“What’s next? Feeding me from a spoon?”
“Are you planning to jump out the window and turn into a slobbering idiot?” Arthur asked, gently kneading his neck. Merlin definitely didn’t pay enough attention to his body.
“I don’t think so.” Merlin snorted and cried out when Arthur found a particularly painful knot.
“Then no feeding from a spoon.”
Taking care of the most tense areas, Arthur gradually changed the nature of his ministrations. His touches weren’t causing discomfort anymore and made Merlin flutter his eyes in pleasure. Arthur leaned in, softly kissed the tip of Merlin’s ear and moved his hand to Merlin’s flat stomach, sliding it under his faded t-shirt. Merlin laid aback, opening to Arthur’s kisses and probably not realizing what he was doing.
Part 2