A long way to go 2/?
Title: A long way to go 2/?
Author: bunnysworld
Rating: NC-17 (not in this part, but it’ll get there)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Spoilers: No spoilers
Warnings: modern AU, with a hint of magic, mentioning of Arthur/other, homophobia
Word Count: 15.800andafew
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the boys aren’t mine. Just took them out to play a little. I give them back unharmed - if I have to. Own nothing, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Arthur thinks his life is over. And then he meets Merlin.
Thanks to the wonderful tambear13 for being my cheerleader through this and for the quick beta.
Notes I still haven't decided in how many parts this will be posted, so there's still the ?. I hope I get around to really look into that tomorrow. :)
Part 1
He didn’t know why he’d come back, but Arthur was there at 2 pm sharp. He limped into the room and sat down after greeting the healer.
“How are you today?” Merlin smiled and took his seat opposite to Arthur.
Arthur shrugged. For a day he’d thought his knee was already better, but last night he tripped over something he’d left lying around and didn’t have a very peaceful night. “Okay, I guess.”
“What happened since Tuesday?”
“Not much. Thought the knee was better, but I had a very rough night.”
Merlin nodded. “What did you do during the day?”
“Nothing much. A light work-out, but the rest of the day…,” Arthur shrugged. What had he done? How was he spending his days? “Watched some TV, checked some emails, the usual.”
“So you do work out. What exactly do you do?”
Arthur was glad that Merlin didn’t nag about the sitting about, watching day-time TV. “Nothing spectacular, just some work with the weights.”
“How about the exercise bike?”
Throwing Merlin a long look, Arthur’s expression darkened. “Can’t, you know that.”
“I think you can.”
“Are you saying I don’t want to?” Arthur almost growled. “You saw that I can’t put my weight on my leg. My knee gives way. I don’t have the strength to even ride an exercise bike!”
Merlin just scribbled something on that annoying clip board. “Why don’t you tell me what really happened?”
“Oh, someone did a Google search on me….” Why did he ask when he already found all the info on the internet?
“I never Google my patients.” Merlin shook his head and then just waited.
“What makes you think that this was something else than a sports injury?”
“Arthur,” Merlin leaned back in his chair and Arthur wondered when he gave permission to switch from Mr. Pendragon to first name.
“Arthur,” Merlin repeated, “there is nothing wrong with your knee. It’s been torn, it’s been broken, but the surgery went well and everything is back where it belongs. Might not be good enough for top level sports any more, but it sure is good enough to walk without crutches.”
Arthur reached for his cane. “Are you saying that it’s all in my head?” He’s heard that before, but nobody had been able to prove it or do something about it.
“Your brain has the memory of the pain. And that it still hurts has more to do with your expectation for it to hurt than actual pain. “
“The pain is real,” Arthur insisted. He didn’t make it up. There was a reason he constantly was on pain killers.
Merlin nodded. “Which pain?”
“What do you mean, which pain?”
“The one in your knee or the one in your heart?”
What the heck did the bloke mean by that? He hadn’t mentioned any trouble other than his knee. But looking at Merlin, there was something knowing, something old and wise in his eyes and Arthur sighed. “Probably both…” He swallowed hard. Arthur had never admitted this to anyone, but the memory of it all was still fresh after two years.
Merlin just waited for him to continue, but when Arthur didn’t say anything more, he got up. “Why don’t we do something about the pain in the knee, then?” He helped Arthur over to the bench again and repeated the procedure from two days before.
Arthur was prepared for the flaming heat and just tried to relax. If this Merlin bloke was able to take the pain away for only a few hours, it was worth coming here. And the gentle touches of the long fingers felt good, too.
When they were done, Merlin handed Arthur a little leather-bound book. “I want you to note a few things down for me.”
“A diary?” Arthur was about to laugh. “I’m not a girl.”
“I know you aren’t,” Merlin smiled, “I just want to get a better idea of the way you spend your days. It’s important to work out a little training plan for you. Note everything down that you do, that you eat, the meds you take. And if you feel like writing down a thought or two, do that. Anything and everything can help.”
Arthur looked at the book and then eyed Merlin skeptically.
“Just do the both of us a favor. Be honest. There’s no use of noting down ‘I had a salad with my tofu’ when you washed down your burger with a bourbon and then popped in some pain killers.”
Making a face at the mentioning of ‘tofu’, Arthur still stared at the book. Then he nodded. If that was what it took to get rid of the pain, he could do it.
Part 3
Author: bunnysworld
Rating: NC-17 (not in this part, but it’ll get there)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Spoilers: No spoilers
Warnings: modern AU, with a hint of magic, mentioning of Arthur/other, homophobia
Word Count: 15.800andafew
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, the boys aren’t mine. Just took them out to play a little. I give them back unharmed - if I have to. Own nothing, no copyright infringement intended.
Summary: Arthur thinks his life is over. And then he meets Merlin.
Thanks to the wonderful tambear13 for being my cheerleader through this and for the quick beta.
Notes I still haven't decided in how many parts this will be posted, so there's still the ?. I hope I get around to really look into that tomorrow. :)
Part 1
He didn’t know why he’d come back, but Arthur was there at 2 pm sharp. He limped into the room and sat down after greeting the healer.
“How are you today?” Merlin smiled and took his seat opposite to Arthur.
Arthur shrugged. For a day he’d thought his knee was already better, but last night he tripped over something he’d left lying around and didn’t have a very peaceful night. “Okay, I guess.”
“What happened since Tuesday?”
“Not much. Thought the knee was better, but I had a very rough night.”
Merlin nodded. “What did you do during the day?”
“Nothing much. A light work-out, but the rest of the day…,” Arthur shrugged. What had he done? How was he spending his days? “Watched some TV, checked some emails, the usual.”
“So you do work out. What exactly do you do?”
Arthur was glad that Merlin didn’t nag about the sitting about, watching day-time TV. “Nothing spectacular, just some work with the weights.”
“How about the exercise bike?”
Throwing Merlin a long look, Arthur’s expression darkened. “Can’t, you know that.”
“I think you can.”
“Are you saying I don’t want to?” Arthur almost growled. “You saw that I can’t put my weight on my leg. My knee gives way. I don’t have the strength to even ride an exercise bike!”
Merlin just scribbled something on that annoying clip board. “Why don’t you tell me what really happened?”
“Oh, someone did a Google search on me….” Why did he ask when he already found all the info on the internet?
“I never Google my patients.” Merlin shook his head and then just waited.
“What makes you think that this was something else than a sports injury?”
“Arthur,” Merlin leaned back in his chair and Arthur wondered when he gave permission to switch from Mr. Pendragon to first name.
“Arthur,” Merlin repeated, “there is nothing wrong with your knee. It’s been torn, it’s been broken, but the surgery went well and everything is back where it belongs. Might not be good enough for top level sports any more, but it sure is good enough to walk without crutches.”
Arthur reached for his cane. “Are you saying that it’s all in my head?” He’s heard that before, but nobody had been able to prove it or do something about it.
“Your brain has the memory of the pain. And that it still hurts has more to do with your expectation for it to hurt than actual pain. “
“The pain is real,” Arthur insisted. He didn’t make it up. There was a reason he constantly was on pain killers.
Merlin nodded. “Which pain?”
“What do you mean, which pain?”
“The one in your knee or the one in your heart?”
What the heck did the bloke mean by that? He hadn’t mentioned any trouble other than his knee. But looking at Merlin, there was something knowing, something old and wise in his eyes and Arthur sighed. “Probably both…” He swallowed hard. Arthur had never admitted this to anyone, but the memory of it all was still fresh after two years.
Merlin just waited for him to continue, but when Arthur didn’t say anything more, he got up. “Why don’t we do something about the pain in the knee, then?” He helped Arthur over to the bench again and repeated the procedure from two days before.
Arthur was prepared for the flaming heat and just tried to relax. If this Merlin bloke was able to take the pain away for only a few hours, it was worth coming here. And the gentle touches of the long fingers felt good, too.
When they were done, Merlin handed Arthur a little leather-bound book. “I want you to note a few things down for me.”
“A diary?” Arthur was about to laugh. “I’m not a girl.”
“I know you aren’t,” Merlin smiled, “I just want to get a better idea of the way you spend your days. It’s important to work out a little training plan for you. Note everything down that you do, that you eat, the meds you take. And if you feel like writing down a thought or two, do that. Anything and everything can help.”
Arthur looked at the book and then eyed Merlin skeptically.
“Just do the both of us a favor. Be honest. There’s no use of noting down ‘I had a salad with my tofu’ when you washed down your burger with a bourbon and then popped in some pain killers.”
Making a face at the mentioning of ‘tofu’, Arthur still stared at the book. Then he nodded. If that was what it took to get rid of the pain, he could do it.
Part 3