An Ordinary Life (Merlin/Arthur, NC-17, 1/8)
It was a beautiful spring day, the sun shining over the green meadow dotted with flowers and fluffy white clouds sprinkled across the cerulean sky, a perfect day. Merlin lay on his back, finding pictures in the clouds, enjoying the quiet afternoon for a little while. A jet contrail across the sky eventually shattered the illusion that he was still in Camelot, enjoying a stolen moment away from his duties, and he sat up with a sigh, his eyes going to the nearby hill, a few scattered rocks all that remained of the once glorious castle which for a short time had been the center of a golden age for Britain--or Albion as it had been called then.
After Arthur's death, the bright dream had quickly collapsed, no one else able to hold it, and after a few generations, even the castle had fallen into disuse, the kingdom broken apart and the lands of the Pendragon's fief absorbed piecemeal into the surrounding kingdoms. Unable to bear seeing anyone else lay claim to Arthur's home, Merlin had razed it to the ground and left Camelot, refusing to return for generations.
That had been a decision he'd regretted the first time he encountered a young man with familiar eyes who seemed drawn to the eccentric old man who lived in the forest in the woods. Though Arthur didn't always remember their past, anytime they met some deeply buried part of him recognized Merlin, no matter what age the eternal wizard chose to be, and they almost always became friends. Very rarely, Merlin allowed the feelings between them to become more, but losing Arthur again when they had been lovers was even more painful, and it had been several lifetimes now since he had been able to bear the thought of that loss.
In fact, it had been some time since Merlin had found Arthur at all, as sometimes he didn't, but for the last twenty years or so, he'd felt the hum deep in his bones that told him Arthur had been reborn, and he could only hope that this time, they would meet. And perhaps this would be the time that Arthur would remember who and what he was and what they were to each other. With that in mind, he'd chosen an appearance much as he'd looked when he and Arthur first met all those centuries ago, one that should approximate Arthur's own current age.
With a final glance at the spot where the castle had once stood, Merlin resolutely turned his back and made his way back to his motorcycle, leaving the Welsh countryside behind to return to London and his life as one of the idle rich. Centuries of life had allowed the wizard to amass--and occasionally lose--fortunes, and this was one of the lifetimes where he chose to 'inherit' wealth and simply enjoy a few decades without bothering to work. It was time to find Arthur, and he wanted nothing to interfere with that.
***
The club was wild, packed with young university students all looking for a good time, chief among them a blonde twenty-year-old dressed in faded jeans and a red shirt who was leaning against a railing, talking with his friends and holding a bottle of beer in one hand.
"Mmm, there's a nice one," he murmured, downing the rest of his beer before heading out into the crowd to ask the woman he'd spotted to dance. A few songs later, he abandoned her, bored by her inane conversation, and scanned the crowd for another partner. "Well hello," he murmured, sauntering up to the lean-featured young man and flashing him his most brilliant smile. "Care to dance?"
Merlin nearly choked on his ale, his eyes widening as he stared at the gorgeous blonde man. Even if he hadn't felt Arthur, he would have known this was him. He looked exactly as he had the day Merlin met him in Camelot.
He managed not to gasp out Arthur's name, and he regained his composure before the other man decided he was brain-damaged. "Love to," he said, setting the bottle down and moving closer.
"Brilliant," the blonde grinned, grabbing Merlin's hand and urging him toward the dance floor where they joined the throngs gyrating to the day's top techno music.
"I'm Rhys," Merlin yelled, letting his hands rest on the soft denim covering Arthur's hips. He wished he hadn't chosen to wear leather trousers that night since it would make it that much more difficult to feel Arthur's touch, but judging by the heat in the blonde's eyes when he looked at Merlin, they'd served their purpose far better than the wizard could ever have imagined.
"Arthur," the other man replied, flashing another brilliant smile at him as he slid an arm around Merlin's waist, synchronizing their movements with negligent ease. "It's good to meet you."
Merlin had to fight the desire to melt against Arthur. He looked like him, sounded like him, smelled like him, and even felt like him, and Merlin was finding himself reacting as if the fifteen centuries between had never been.
Not even the few times that he had permitted himself to become the lover of one of Arthur's reincarnations had felt like this. "Yeah," he said simply, moving his hands up Arthur's chest to loop his arms around the blonde's neck.
Arthur chuckled at that, and his free hand came to rest on Merlin's ass as he pulled them closer together. "Not much for small talk, are you? Fine by me, I hate being yammered at."
Merlin chuckled. "We might have a problem then. I've been told I have a tendency to talk too much. Unless I'm distracted."
"And how does one best distract you?"
Somehow moving closer, Merlin rocked against Arthur. "Getting the idea yet?"
"Yeah, I think I am," Arthur grinned, his fingers flexing against Merlin's ass as they moved in time to the music, burgeoning erections rubbing together through the layers of denim and leather that separated them.
"I love a clever man," Merlin purred against Arthur's ear just before his teeth closed on the tender lobe, worrying it gently, causing the other man to shudder against him.
"And I love a perceptive one. Any reason we're still here dancing when we could be doing something much more interesting?"
"You're leading."
"And I'd be glad to continue doing it," Arthur laughed, beginning to walk Merlin back through the crowd to the edge of the dance floor, keeping an arm around his waist even as he let Merlin turn around. "So, yours, mine, or the alley behind here?" he asked, giving a wink.
"Option D," Merlin replied with a filthy grin.
"Which is?"
"All of the above, of course."
"Definitely my kind of man. Tube it from here or are we going for the alleyway?"
"If we go for the alley, will you be able to get it up again by the time we get to my flat?"
"That depends," Arthur asked, grinning cockily. "Is your place more or less than five minutes away?"
"Oh, you are so going to live up to that," Merlin chuckled, stopping so that he could pull Arthur to him for a kiss that quickly had both of them groaning and Merlin's legs wrapped around Arthur's waist.
"Greedy," Arthur panted once the kiss broke, "I like that in a person even more." As he was speaking, he hefted Merlin higher and staggered back toward the alley, pressing the leaner man up against the wall and grinding against him as he kissed Merlin again, their tongues dueling as their mouths opened.
"Fuck or fucked?" Merlin gasped, nibbling along the tendon on the side of Arthur's neck and rocking against the hard cock pressing against his own.
"Either works for me, but right now I'd rather be in your ass," Arthur growled, unwinding Merlin's legs from around his waist and getting a hand between them to knead Merlin's cock.
"I really hope you have something," Merlin groaned, thrusting into Arthur's hand. "If I have to wait till we get back to my place, I'm going to be very disappointed."
"Would I have offered if I didn't?" Arthur let go of Merlin's ass and dug in his back pocket, coming up with a condom and small packet of lube which he waved in front of Merlin's face.
"Brilliant," Merlin said, pulling Arthur in for another kiss, grinding against him at the same time, at least until the more muscular man moved back enough to pop the button to his trousers and ease down the zipper.
"So," Arthur murmured, nipping at Merlin's lower lip, "face to face or up against the wall?"
Merlin grinned. "Much as I'd like to ride you, I really don't feel like stripping in an alley, so up against the wall it will have to be. We can try other options later."
"Perfect plan." Arthur's hand slipped into the open fly of Merlin's trousers and closed around his shaft, slowly stroking the hard length. "And I have to say, I love a man who goes commando." The last was added with a dirty chuckle before he let go and worked the supple leather downward, baring the other man from waist to knees.
"I like the feeling," Merlin replied, rocking against Arthur and groaning at the sensation of his bare cock rubbing against the denim.
Arthur hummed in pleasure even as he ripped open the packet of lube and squeezed some out onto his fingers behind Merlin's back. The finger was then trailed down Merlin's ass crack, dipping inward to rub against his hole as Arthur kissed him again.
"Oh hell yes," Merlin groaned, "Arthur!"
"Turn around," Arthur whispered, releasing his hold on Merlin's waist to gently press against his hip until he did just that. Waiting until Merlin had braced himself, he then leaned up against him, licking Merlin's ear as he slid his finger inside the tight channel.
Shuddering, Merlin pressed back and clenched his ass around the invading digit, reveling in the sensation of being filled. "So good," he rasped, letting his head fall forward.
"How do you feel about biting?" Arthur rasped, twisting the finger that was buried in Merlin's ass.
Merlin shuddered and moaned, his whole body tightening, and Arthur chuckled throatily. "I'm going to take that as a positive reaction," he said, adding a second finger and nipping at the bare skin of the base of Merlin's neck.
Merlin shuddered again, his fingers scrabbling at the wall. "If you keep that up, I'm going to come before you ever get inside me."
"To quote someone I recently met, 'will you be able to get it up again by the time we get to your flat?'" Arthur asked, speaking the words against Merlin's shoulder as he pulled his fingers from his ass and tore open the condom. It was a matter of seconds to roll it on, and then he was pushing inside, moaning deep in his throat as he was surrounded by clinging heat.
Laughing breathlessly, Merlin tensed for a short time as his body adjusted to the sudden fullness and then slowly relaxed. "You'd be amazed how often I can get it up," he promised.
"You good?" Concern had entered the other man's voice as he held himself still, breathing deeply to keep from moving.
"Better than good," Merlin assured him. "It's just been a while since I've done this, so give me a minute, yeah?"
"Damn, Rhys, you know how to make it hard on a guy," Arthur panted, resting his head against Merlin's shoulder but doing as he asked though he did snake a hand down to circle Merlin's shaft, and his lips curved into a smile when he felt that he was still hard.
"Hard is good," Merlin murmured, shifting his hips and groaning at the sensation. "Okay, minute's over; let's shag."
"Oh yeah," Arthur said as he began to move, hips and hand working together in perfect harmony as he groaned against Merlin's shoulder.
"Oh yeah," Merlin echoed, rocking between Arthur's hand and cock, his motions speeding up and his body tightening after only a few minutes. One more thrust from Arthur against his prostate and Merlin was crying out, his seed spraying over the wall as he came.
A low-voiced curse escaped Arthur's throat, and he closed his teeth on Merlin's shoulder, indenting the skin as he thrust a few more times and came as well as he was massaged by the last spasms of Merlin's climax.
The bite made Merlin cry out, another hard spasm wracking him with pleasure.
After a long moment where the only sound in the alley was them trying to catch their breath, Merlin chuckled. "I am so glad I decided to go out tonight."
"Me too," Arthur said, his smile audible in his tone as he slowly pulled back out of Merlin, tossed away the condom, and set himself to rights. "It gives me a good reason to skip classes tomorrow as well because I'm going to wager it's going to be a long night.
"Mmm, as long as we can make it," Merlin agreed, hitching his trousers up some. "Oh bugger it, please tell me you have a tissue or something," he said hopefully.
Arthur grinned as Merlin turned around and dug in his back pocket to brandish a somewhat ragged tissue at him. "Always prepared," he smirked.
"I like you already," Merlin said, snatching the tissue to clean himself up somewhat before working the leather trousers back into place. "I'd have hated to have to use my shirt; it's one of my favorites."
"While I'm enjoying the trousers myself," Arthur said appreciatively as he watched Merlin squirm to get them back on.
Merlin glanced at him. "I have others."
"At your flat which is how far from here?"
"Maybe fifteen minutes by cab," Merlin said with a shrug, and Arthur frowned slightly before digging in his other back pocket and rifling through a slim black wallet.
"Sure we can't take the tube?" he asked.
"Did I mention that I don't work because I'm disgustingly rich?" Merlin replied cheerfully.
"Come off it," Arthur scoffed before looking at Merlin more closely. "You aren't?"
"'Fraid so. My flat's actually the top two floors of a tower, and I own it.
Er, the tower, not just the flat."
"Bloody hell. Are you sure you don't want to marry me?" Arthur laughed.
"Never on a first date," Merlin chuckled. "So fifteen minutes groping each other in a cab rather than an hour of behaving ourselves on the tube, yeah?"
"Good by me." Arthur slung a companionable arm around Merlin's shoulders as they walked out of the alley and past the line of twenty-somethings waiting to get into the club then to the corner where they flagged a taxi.
They piled in, and Merlin gave his address to the driver, then promptly ignored him in favor of half turning in the seat and kissing Arthur.
"Best taxi ride I've ever had," the blonde murmured before tracing the line of Merlin's lower lip with his tongue as his hands kneaded Merlin's ass.
Totally ignoring every tenet of safety in a moving vehicle--it wasn't as if he couldn't use magic to protect himself and Arthur if need be--Merlin twisted more and moved to straddle Arthur's lap, rocking against him as the kiss deepened.
Arthur groaned, his thumbs slipping up under the brilliant blue fabric of Merlin's shirt to rub against his lower back, just skimming the divot at the top of his ass and remaining there until the driver cleared his throat.
"That'll be twenty-two fifty," he announced.
Merlin retrieved the slim wallet from his pocket and tossed a fifty pound note at the driver. "Keep the change," he said, climbing out and pulling Arthur after him.
They nearly tumbled into the private lift, and Merlin had fistfuls of Arthur's shirt in his hand as he kissed him even before the door slid shut.
"We aren't even going to make it to a bed, are we?" Arthur panted as the floor jarred beneath them and the lift began to rise.
"Eventually," Merlin mumbled against his lips. "I hope you were planning to stay for breakfast. And maybe lunch."
"Can you cook?"
"Very well, actually. Though I was always shite at hunting," he said with a chuckle.
"Hunting?" Arthur asked, for the moment distracted from the kissing.
"I had a friend who enjoyed it--and ate what he hunted," Merlin added hastily, "but it was never my thing."
"I have to agree with you; honestly, what's the point in it when we have Tesco and take away?" Arthur chuckled. "Or are you telling me he was of that class?"
Merlin shrugged. "He was, but he also lived out in the countryside. But he's not really what I want to be thinking about right now." He hooked a leg around Arthur's waist, the other man grinning as he ran a hand down his thigh.
"Good point," he murmured before kissing Merlin again, their lips and bodies remaining locked together until the lift doors opened onto a poshly conservative foyer.
Merlin wrapped his other leg around Arthur's waist, letting him support his weight. "That way," he mumbled, more intent on mouthing Arthur's jaw than paying intention to where they were.
The blonde stumbled out of the lift and into the foyer, trying to keep his eye on where he was going without dropping his chin. "Keys?" he asked in a distracted tone, his arms flexing as he pulled Merlin tighter against him.
"Already used it to get into the lift," Merlin mumbled. "That door," he said, gesturing toward the main entrance to his flat.
"You going to open it, or am I risking dropping you?" Arthur asked as he walked in the direction Merlin indicated.
"If you bruise my ass, you don't get to fuck it," Merlin retorted laughingly, looping one arm around Arthur's neck and reaching with the other to open the door. Arthur carried him through to his real foyer, one that reflected Merlin more than the generic outer lobby. Filled with an eclectic mixture of starkly modern and antique pieces, the room somehow worked. Rich scatter rugs broke the polished marble expanse of the floor, and one wall was covered with a hanging that was as brilliantly colored as if it had been woven yesterday but which had once hung on the wall of Arthur and Merlin's chamber in Camelot.
"Down the hall and to the right to the stairs up to my bedroom," Merlin instructed.
"Up the stairs?" Arthur asked, not really noticing their surroundings as he was intent on getting to where they wanted to go. "Are you trying to kill us both?"
Merlin laughed. "I'll hop off once we get to the stairs. I don't want to break you before I get to try all your paces."
Arthur snorted at that even as he walked down the hall, stopping at the foot of a wide marble staircase. "I'm not a horse," he commented dryly.
"So you don't want to be ridden hard?" Merlin asked as he lowered his feet to the floor and caught Arthur's hand in his to draw him upstairs.
"Hrmm, when you put it that way," Arthur mused as they ran up the stairs and Merlin led him to his bedroom where he immediately dropped down on the plush king-sized bed. "Ride away!"
Merlin burst into laughter, though that didn't slow him down from retrieving lube and condoms from the bedside table. He tossed them down next to Arthur, removed his shirt and toed off his ankle length soft leather boots and socks, then moved to straddle Arthur's waist.
"Hrmm, I'm liking this more when I can see you," Arthur observed, running his hands up Merlin's thighs to frame his groin between his palms.
"And turnabout's fair play," Merlin replied, reaching for the buttons on the bright red shirt hiding Arthur's chest from him.
"I always believed in fair play," Arthur purred, arching up like great cat beneath him when Merlin's fingers grazed his skin.
"Mmm, nice," Merlin replied, the long, pale back bending so that he could drag his tongue over first one then the other nipple, drawing a shudder from the man beneath him.
"Oh bloody hell, do that again, Rhys," Arthur groaned, threading the fingers of one hand through Merlin's hair.
Smiling, Merlin snapped at a nipple, tugging with his teeth, and he pinched the other gently.
"Christ!" Arthur almost levitated off the bed. "You do realize that it's been a lot more than five minutes since we finished." The words were panted out as he squirmed beneath Merlin.
"I'm just trying to decide if I want to fuck you or ride you," Merlin said, his eyes dark and his voice husky. "Any preferences for which comes first?"
"Well, I have fucked you," Arthur panted, "shouldn't I find out if you're crap or not from this end?" He grinned as he spoke and rubbed his thumbs over Merlin's leather-covered cock, making Merlin gasp and laugh at the same time.
"I have never been crap, well, at least not since the first time." Merlin smirked at him. "Care to help me out of these?"
In answer, Arthur went to work on the button and zipper once again, dragging his fingers over the bare flesh beneath the black leather. Merlin shuddered with pleasure and thrust forward, then settled back so he could work Arthur's jeans open.
Arthur shifted from side to side, and in a short time both their trousers were gone and Arthur was sitting up enough to shake off his shirt, leaving them both totally bare. The blonde's eyes darkened with arousal and appreciation as his gaze swept over Merlin's bare body.
"Gorgeous," Merlin breathed, leaning in to kiss Arthur and grab the lube. A moment later, they were sitting in the middle of the bed, Merlin straddling Arthur's lap, and slick fingers slid between Arthur's cheeks to tease at his opening.
"The whole point is to be in me," Arthur growled before dipping his head to lick Merlin's nipple, making Merlin gasp and shiver.
"That's the point of getting you slicked," he pointed out when he could speak.
"Which will only happen if some of it gets inside me."
Laughing, Merlin pushed Arthur flat and shifted back to settle between his legs. A moment later a finger pushed into him. "Happy now?"
Arthur shifted and sucked in a deep breath when the finger brushed against his prostate. "Oh yeah, I'm brilliant," he crooned, spreading his legs wider and looking down the length of his own body at Merlin's cock with a hungry expression.
"Yes, you are," Merlin whispered, his heart in his eyes for the merest split second before his gaze fell to where two fingers were slicking and opening Arthur for him, twisting and pushing deep. Arthur groaned as his hips arched up off the bed, and his eyes went half-closed with pleasure.
"It hasn't been a long time for me, so don't feel as if you have to take forever," he offered in a throaty voice.
"Oh really? So this would be all right?" As he spoke, Merlin was opening a condom one-handed and sliding it onto himself. That was all the warning Arthur got before the fingers were gone and Merlin's cock was pushing into him.
A startled groan emerged from Arthur's throat, then he was wrapping both his arms and legs around Merlin, rocking up to meet each thrust as he caught Merlin's mouth in a wild, hungry kiss. Their bodies moved together, and their hands explored, both men finding the other's hot spots, Merlin with conscious intent and Arthur with subconscious memories that allowed them pleasure neither had ever found with anyone else.
It seemed to last forever, but all too soon Arthur gasped and shuddered, hot liquid spurting over both of their bodies while Merlin's mouth ate his cries of pleasure.
"Arthur," Merlin moaned, rearing up to stare at the evidence of Arthur's climax, the sight sending a ripple of pleasure through him. "Yes," he hissed, moving faster now, stabbing into Arthur with quick, hard thrusts that sent him screaming into orgasm after only a short time longer.
"All right," Arthur murmured a time later when both their breathing had slowed to something approximating normal, "it might take longer than five minutes to recover this time."
Merlin chuckled wearily, his head tucked into the curve of Arthur's shoulder and an arm and leg flung possessively over the blonde. "It might even be time to sleep between rounds."
"And I see I get the wet spot," Arthur murmured, not sounding too upset, judging by his yawn and the arm he wrapped around Merlin's waist.
Merlin snorted. "Have you noticed how big this bed is? Move us if it bothers you." He clearly had no intention of moving off his comfortable position half on top of Arthur.
"Ass," Arthur muttered as he did just that, managing to shift them both to the side and out of the spot where the other man's semen had leaked from his condom before Merlin had disposed of it.
"You can have that later."
"After breakfast or before?" Arthur yawned.
"Both." Merlin's lips curved into a smile Arthur could feel against his shoulder.