Fic: Merely Ceremonial, 2b/3
Words: 5,794 (series total: 17,000)
Series Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Summary: Merlin had had enough to worry about before between passing his classes and making rent. He hadn't counted on an excitable dragon hatchling suddenly finding its way into his life, or the way it would turn his life upside down.
Read on AO3.
[ Part 2a]
A few weeks later, Merlin woke to the sounds of someone banging around in the kitchen. He groaned and shoved his head under a pillow, which was harder and pointier than it should have been. Blinking blearily, he lifted his head just enough to squint and found that he’d fallen asleep on his textbook. Again. He shoved it out of the way just enough to let himself faceplant back onto the mercifully soft pillow.
He managed to doze for another ten minutes before something nudged his foot, and then again, more insistently, when he just grumbled and retreated further into his blankets.
"Aithusa," he sighed, "it's too early for this."
In answer Aithusa just whistled impatiently. When Merlin finally brought his head out from under his pillow, he saw that she wasn't even looking at him. Instead she had her eyes fixed on the door, nose raised like it was when she was hunting. Merlin sniffed, confused, and rolled his eyes when he smelled the bacon that had caught her attention.
"That's what you woke me up for? Breakfast? Didn't you eat enough last night?" he grumbled. Again, Aithusa just whistled, not even bothering to use their mental connection.
Another push against his foot forced Merlin out of his daydreaming.
"Alright already, keep your hair on. I'm going."
Aithusa purred and scampered off of the bed for the closet while Merlin rolled off of the bed. Out of habit, he checked to see that Aithusa was out of sight before yanking open the door, and made sure to shut it tight behind him. He followed the smell of bacon and burning toast into the kitchen, where Arthur was standing at the stove. He took a moment to appreciate the sight. Arthur had clearly gone running that morning, his hair still damp from the shower. He was wearing an old t-shirt which stretched across his shoulders, and Merlin gave him a full minute of staring at the muscles moving beneath it before he spoke up
“Gwen will never believe me when I tell her you were actually cooking.”
“Christ, Merlin, you scared the shit out of me,” Arthur hissed, glaring at Merlin over his shoulder. Merlin smiled.
"Embarrassed at being caught cooking more like," he teased. Arthur just grunted, which made Merlin laugh. He plopped himself down into one of the chairs at the table and fixed Arthur with an innocent, expectant look.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "At least get the plates if you're going to steal my breakfast, Merlin."
"It's a bit late for breakfast," Merlin pointed out as he leapt up to fetch the plates and forks. "Don't you think?"
"That's what you get for being a lazy arse and not getting out of bed until noon."
"You made this for me? I'm touched, Arthur," Merlin said, only teasing a little bit. Arthur just grunted again and poked the eggs. Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "It's not poisoned, is it?"
"Just eat it, idiot," he ordered, and plopped a healthy portion of eggs on Merlin's plate.
"Yes, sir," Merlin saluted, expertly avoiding Arthur's elbow jab and returning to the table. He dug in eagerly, savoring each bite. One of the first things he'd learned about Arthur when they'd moved in together was that he had a Big List of Super-Secret Talents, and cooking was definitely one of them when he could be coaxed into the kitchen. It was one of Merlin’s favourite things about Arthur, that this secret part of him was just for Merlin to see.
When Arthur's back was turned, Merlin directed a glance at the plate of bacon. A few pieces leapt off the plate and hovered there. Merlin blinked, and the bits of meat skittered off in the direction of his bedroom. A second later, Arthur turned around to join Merlin at the table.
"So who were you talking to earlier?" he asked, settling in the chair opposite Merlin, who stopped chewing abruptly.
"Wha'?"
"Swallow before you talk, Merlin," Arthur sighed. "I heard you talking to someone in your room this morning."
Merlin swallowed too quickly and nearly choked on his eggs. He coughed, earning himself a concerned look from Arthur before he choked out, "You heard me?"
Arthur nodded, still looking at him strangely. "I was just coming to wake you up for breakfast and I heard you through the door. I left before I heard anything. I didn't think any conversations of yours would be worth eavesdropping on."
Merlin managed an eye roll. His heart, which had sped up at the thought of Arthur hearing him talking to Aithusa, began to even out. "It was just my mum. Sorry I'm not exciting enough."
He expected a prattish comment about how Arthur would never have accused him of being exciting, but instead Arthur gave him a half-shrug and attacked his toast with a butter knife. Merlin watched him for a moment, bemused.
"You know, you don't have to kill toast," he said eventually. Arthur looked at him, brow wrinkled.
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" he asked, and that was so much more like the Arthur Merlin knew that he almost smiled.
"Nothing, you arse. Just eat your breakfast."
For a while, there were no sounds in the kitchen other than their forks hitting the plate between bouts of chewing. Merlin sent out a tendril of magic to check on Aithusa, who was happily munching on her own breakfast and would be content for quite a while yet. Satisfied with that, he turned back to Arthur.
"So what's the plan for today? I feel like I haven't seen everyone in ages."
"That's because you haven't. Gwen was convinced I'd killed you and hidden the body," Arthur replied. Merlin just rolled his eyes. "We were all going to meet for a pint this evening, if you want to join us."
Merlin chewed thoughtfully. He could probably get away with not taking Aithusa hunting for one night. She’d been doing well, one night off wouldn’t harm anybody. “Pub sounds great,” he agreed finally, swallowing his last mouthful of egg. Arthur smirked at him.
“Great. Now you can wash the dishes, since I was nice enough to make breakfast.”
“What? No fair, I didn’t ask you to cook,” Merlin whinged, mostly for show. He knew he’d give in eventually and just magic the plates clean when Arthur wasn’t around, but Arthur didn’t know that.
“Tough.” How Arthur managed to smirk haughtily while shoveling eggs into his mouth, Merlin would never know. Merlin grumbled some more and made a big show of bringing his dishes to the sink, which just made Arthur smirk even harder, before finishing off his breakfast and flouncing out of the kitchen, leaving Merlin alone to deal with the clean-up.
It only took about two minutes for him to spell the dishes clean, and another one to put them back into the cupboards by hand (he'd learned his lesson about mixing his magic with sharp or breakable objects years ago). Arthur's door was still closed, do he grabbed his laptop and settled into the sitting room.
He had a few unread messages, most of them from school that could be put off until later. Beneath a link from Will that Merlin would ignore until he was certain Arthur wouldn't catch him was a reply from Gaius in their ongoing email chain about Aithusa. He clicked on it eagerly.
Merlin-
It sounds to me like Aithusa is progressing as quickly as she can without another dragon to guide her. Your magic seems to be a satisfactory enough surrogate, so I do not think we have much cause for worry just yet. Her progress in your mental connection is certainly promising.
Even so, I would rest easier if I had the chance to observe her for myself, sooner rather than later. I can give you the rest of this weekend, if you are available.
Merlin let out a small sigh. He'd be lying if he said he wouldn't be relieved to have an extra pair of eyes on his dragon, even if just for a day, and was already tapping out a reply when Arthur's door opened and he stepped out into the hall.
"How did you finish so quickly?" he said, blinking in surprise.
"Magic," Merlin replied with a dramatic eye roll. Arthur huffed and threw himself onto the sofa, making the laptop bounce.
"Anything interesting going on?" he asked with a nod at the computer. "You have your thoughtful face on."
"My uncle Gaius wants to visit tomorrow. I know it's last minute, but..." Merlin shrugged. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course I don't," Arthur replied in a strangely gruff voice. There was a peculiar look on his face when Merlin looked up at him. It disappeared the moment he noticed Merlin watching him, too quickly for Merlin to identify it.
"Alright then, thanks," Merlin said, slowly. Arthur nodded stiffly and turned to stare at the telly. Merlin looked at him for another moment, and was just about to ask Arthur if he realized he'd forgotten to turn the telly on when he broke the silence.
"Is everything alright?" he asked very quietly. Merlin blinked.
"What? Is...everything's fine?” he replied, lifting the end of the sentence like a question. He gave a half-hearted smile and knew almost without looking at him that Arthur didn’t fall for it.
“…yeah, alright,” Arthur said after a moment in that same awkward, quiet tone. “Just…you’d tell me if something was wrong?”
Merlin opened his mouth, and for a second he almost just blurted it out. Every secret he’d been holding for months was on the tip of his tongue. But instead, he just pasted on another smile and said, “Yeah, ‘course. Why, what makes you think...?"
Arthur shrugged. "Nothing. Just, your family never just comes over like this." He shoved at Merlin's hip with his bare foot and gave him a cheeky smile. "And after all your bitching about my family."
“Your family is terrifying. And has zero concept of personal space," Merlin retorted, earning himself a laugh from Arthur.
"Shut up," Arthur said, and finally turned to turn the telly on. Merlin made a fuss when he immediately switched onto a match, but allowed him to keep it on, like he always did, the awkward moment forgotten.
---
It had been a long time since Merlin had been round to the pub. Really, really long. Stupidly long, even. He couldn't remember a single reason for his extended absence, either, not with a drink in his hand and his cheeks red from laughter (or possibly from said drink-maybe even both). But as tipsy as he was, he had nothing on Arthur, who'd gotten into a drinking contest with Gwaine of all people about ten minutes after they'd arrived and hadn't slowed down since.
"Merrrlin," Arthur slurred, throwing a sloppy arm around Merlin's shoulder. His fist collided with the drink Elyan had just finished, which wobbled precariously but managed to stay standing. "Merlin."
"Yes, Arthur?"
"I," Arthur began, sucking in in a deep breath like he was holding in a secret, "am drunk."
Merlin laughed, along with most of the table, as Arthur hadn't bothered to lower his voice. "I'd say so, mate," he agreed, meeting Leon's amused glance over Arthur's shoulder. Arthur huffed.
"'s all Gwaine's fault. Gwaine 'n fucking whiskey," he grumbled.
"Gwaine seems to be doing fine," Elyan pointed out, and they all turned to look at Gwaine, who was flirting easily with a blonde woman at the bar, his face barely even flushed despite the many pints he had under his belt.
"To be fair, though, Gwaine's sort of super human when it comes to alcohol," Leon said, and they all nodded.
Eventually, after Gwaine had left with the blonde and Arthur had switched to water, they decided to call it a night. Merlin stumbled over the doorstep as they all filed out, and laughed when Lance caught him.
"Easy there," Lance said good-naturedly.
"Christ, I'm out of practice. I hardly drank anything and I'm tripping over my own feet," Merlin laughed back.
"You always trip over your own feet," Lance pointed out. Merlin made a face at him, which Lance just ignored. "It really was good seeing you, though, Merlin. Gwen was getting worried. We all were," he added, glancing over to where Leon and Arthur were hailing cabs. Merlin dragged up a smile.
"Nothing to worry about. I was just busy," he said, and he was pretty sure the sick, twinging sensation in his belly had less to do with the amount of alcohol in it and more to do with lying to his friends. “Besides, I saw Leon just this week. And I see Gwen all the time in lecture.”
Lance smiled softly back. "Just take care of yourself, yeah?" he said, and clapped Merlin on the shoulder briefly before walking over to Gwen.
Arthur was mostly quiet on the cab ride home. He draped himself over Merlin, like he always did when he was drunk as Merlin struggled to get them into the flat. He managed, with absolutely no help from Arthur, and kicked the door shut behind them.
"Jesus, you're getting fat," Merlin bitched, his shoulder starting to ache from Arthur's weight.
"'m not fat, Merlin," Arthur grunted. "You're just too skinny."
"If you say so," Merlin snorted. "Come on, let's get you some water and then get you in bed."
"Mmm, bed," Arthur repeated happily. He followed Merlin into the kitchen easily enough, and Merlin propped him against the counter to grab a glass. He'd just stuck it under the tap when he felt a warm body press heavily against his back, and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
"Merrrlin," Arthur purred, close enough for his breath to tickle Merlin's ears. Merlin squirmed, but that only made Arthur hold on tighter. Finally, Merlin reached back to slap Arthur's thigh lightly.
"Shift over, you arse. You're getting whiskey breath on me."
He had about two seconds of warning before Arthur was in his face, and he squealed and almost fell, laughing and trying to bat Arthur away.
"God, gross, get off me!" he laughed, and was thoroughly unsurprised when Arthur just smirked and came closer. "Arthur!"
"Say uncle," Arthur demanded, pressing his fingers against Merlin's ticklish spot.
"Fuck, uncle! Uncle!" Merlin bit out between bursts of helpless laughter. Arthur stopped tickling him, but he didn't let go. Instead, he just looked at Merlin, still standing uncomfortably close. Merlin looked back, a little confused but not concerned, until one of Arthur's hands came up to cradle his chin, thumb stroking along his jaw and he blinked. "Arthur?"
"I miss you, Merlin," Arthur sighed, quiet like it was a secret.
"What do you mean? I'm right here."
"I don't mean now, Merlin," Arthur retorted with a roll of his eyes like Merlin was the one not making sense. "I mean...recently. You're being all weird and...and secret-y."
"I'm an open book," Merlin quipped, but the words sounded false even to his own ears.
"Merlin," Arthur sighed, and he sounded so sad Merlin opened his mouth, to say what he didn't know, but it didn't matter because the next second Arthur swayed forward to press their lips together.
Merlin froze. He wasn't sure if his brain did, too, or if it was just suddenly buzzing with so many thoughts he couldn't grasp a single one, but it didn't matter because Arthur was kissing him.
The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but when Arthur pulled away Merlin's heart was beating like he'd run a mile. He stared at Arthur, but Arthur wasn't looking at him. It wasn't until he took a step back that Merlin realized he wasn't holding him either, and by then Arthur was halfway out of the kitchen. Merlin took a step forward, probably to do something stupid like chase after him, but forced himself to stop. He waited until he heard the soft click of Arthur's door shutting, and slumped heavily against the counter, head in his hands.
His heart was still pounding frantically in his chest. Arthur had kissed him. And it hadn't been a dream. Merlin could still feel the warmth of him on his lips, real in a way it hadn't ever been in any of the countless dreams he'd had about it since they’d met. Arthur had kissed him.
But...he'd been drunk, too. And that thought was at least half of the reason for Merlin's pounding heartbeat. Arthur had always been handsy when he was drunk. Perhaps this was just the natural progression of things, a quick peck between friends (had it been quick though? Merlin wasn't even sure of that). He might not even remember it in the morning.
"Shit," Merlin sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. "Fucking bloody...shit."
Eventually, he forced himself to straighten. He shuffled out of the kitchen, but not before filling a glass of water and leaving it on the table next to some paracetamol for Arthur come morning. Arthur's door was still firmly closed when Merlin passed, which was good, because even a drunk Arthur would have noticed a dragon chirrup concernedly and stick his head into the hallway to nuzzle Merlin's leg the instant Merlin opened his door.
Merlin glanced over his shoulder in panicked instinct even as he gently shushed the dragon, shooing her back inside with calming hands.
"Shh, Aithusa, it's alright," he said with false cheer, cursing himself. He hadn't been paying attention to what he'd been letting cross their psychic link. "It was nothing."
Aithusa didn't seen entirely convinced, but after a few more minutes of petting she calmed down. Merlin sat back on his heels to consider his options. He was wide awake and depressingly sober, with no chance of getting any sleep any time soon, and Aithusa was full of energy. Neither of them would be hurt by a few hours of fresh air. And Merlin desperately needed to think. He reached out to scratch under Aithusa’s jaw.
"Alright, come on. Let's get you to the park, yeah?"
[ Part 3]
Series Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Summary: Merlin had had enough to worry about before between passing his classes and making rent. He hadn't counted on an excitable dragon hatchling suddenly finding its way into his life, or the way it would turn his life upside down.
Read on AO3.
[ Part 2a]
A few weeks later, Merlin woke to the sounds of someone banging around in the kitchen. He groaned and shoved his head under a pillow, which was harder and pointier than it should have been. Blinking blearily, he lifted his head just enough to squint and found that he’d fallen asleep on his textbook. Again. He shoved it out of the way just enough to let himself faceplant back onto the mercifully soft pillow.
He managed to doze for another ten minutes before something nudged his foot, and then again, more insistently, when he just grumbled and retreated further into his blankets.
"Aithusa," he sighed, "it's too early for this."
In answer Aithusa just whistled impatiently. When Merlin finally brought his head out from under his pillow, he saw that she wasn't even looking at him. Instead she had her eyes fixed on the door, nose raised like it was when she was hunting. Merlin sniffed, confused, and rolled his eyes when he smelled the bacon that had caught her attention.
"That's what you woke me up for? Breakfast? Didn't you eat enough last night?" he grumbled. Again, Aithusa just whistled, not even bothering to use their mental connection.
Another push against his foot forced Merlin out of his daydreaming.
"Alright already, keep your hair on. I'm going."
Aithusa purred and scampered off of the bed for the closet while Merlin rolled off of the bed. Out of habit, he checked to see that Aithusa was out of sight before yanking open the door, and made sure to shut it tight behind him. He followed the smell of bacon and burning toast into the kitchen, where Arthur was standing at the stove. He took a moment to appreciate the sight. Arthur had clearly gone running that morning, his hair still damp from the shower. He was wearing an old t-shirt which stretched across his shoulders, and Merlin gave him a full minute of staring at the muscles moving beneath it before he spoke up
“Gwen will never believe me when I tell her you were actually cooking.”
“Christ, Merlin, you scared the shit out of me,” Arthur hissed, glaring at Merlin over his shoulder. Merlin smiled.
"Embarrassed at being caught cooking more like," he teased. Arthur just grunted, which made Merlin laugh. He plopped himself down into one of the chairs at the table and fixed Arthur with an innocent, expectant look.
Arthur rolled his eyes. "At least get the plates if you're going to steal my breakfast, Merlin."
"It's a bit late for breakfast," Merlin pointed out as he leapt up to fetch the plates and forks. "Don't you think?"
"That's what you get for being a lazy arse and not getting out of bed until noon."
"You made this for me? I'm touched, Arthur," Merlin said, only teasing a little bit. Arthur just grunted again and poked the eggs. Merlin narrowed his eyes at him. "It's not poisoned, is it?"
"Just eat it, idiot," he ordered, and plopped a healthy portion of eggs on Merlin's plate.
"Yes, sir," Merlin saluted, expertly avoiding Arthur's elbow jab and returning to the table. He dug in eagerly, savoring each bite. One of the first things he'd learned about Arthur when they'd moved in together was that he had a Big List of Super-Secret Talents, and cooking was definitely one of them when he could be coaxed into the kitchen. It was one of Merlin’s favourite things about Arthur, that this secret part of him was just for Merlin to see.
When Arthur's back was turned, Merlin directed a glance at the plate of bacon. A few pieces leapt off the plate and hovered there. Merlin blinked, and the bits of meat skittered off in the direction of his bedroom. A second later, Arthur turned around to join Merlin at the table.
"So who were you talking to earlier?" he asked, settling in the chair opposite Merlin, who stopped chewing abruptly.
"Wha'?"
"Swallow before you talk, Merlin," Arthur sighed. "I heard you talking to someone in your room this morning."
Merlin swallowed too quickly and nearly choked on his eggs. He coughed, earning himself a concerned look from Arthur before he choked out, "You heard me?"
Arthur nodded, still looking at him strangely. "I was just coming to wake you up for breakfast and I heard you through the door. I left before I heard anything. I didn't think any conversations of yours would be worth eavesdropping on."
Merlin managed an eye roll. His heart, which had sped up at the thought of Arthur hearing him talking to Aithusa, began to even out. "It was just my mum. Sorry I'm not exciting enough."
He expected a prattish comment about how Arthur would never have accused him of being exciting, but instead Arthur gave him a half-shrug and attacked his toast with a butter knife. Merlin watched him for a moment, bemused.
"You know, you don't have to kill toast," he said eventually. Arthur looked at him, brow wrinkled.
"What nonsense are you spouting now?" he asked, and that was so much more like the Arthur Merlin knew that he almost smiled.
"Nothing, you arse. Just eat your breakfast."
For a while, there were no sounds in the kitchen other than their forks hitting the plate between bouts of chewing. Merlin sent out a tendril of magic to check on Aithusa, who was happily munching on her own breakfast and would be content for quite a while yet. Satisfied with that, he turned back to Arthur.
"So what's the plan for today? I feel like I haven't seen everyone in ages."
"That's because you haven't. Gwen was convinced I'd killed you and hidden the body," Arthur replied. Merlin just rolled his eyes. "We were all going to meet for a pint this evening, if you want to join us."
Merlin chewed thoughtfully. He could probably get away with not taking Aithusa hunting for one night. She’d been doing well, one night off wouldn’t harm anybody. “Pub sounds great,” he agreed finally, swallowing his last mouthful of egg. Arthur smirked at him.
“Great. Now you can wash the dishes, since I was nice enough to make breakfast.”
“What? No fair, I didn’t ask you to cook,” Merlin whinged, mostly for show. He knew he’d give in eventually and just magic the plates clean when Arthur wasn’t around, but Arthur didn’t know that.
“Tough.” How Arthur managed to smirk haughtily while shoveling eggs into his mouth, Merlin would never know. Merlin grumbled some more and made a big show of bringing his dishes to the sink, which just made Arthur smirk even harder, before finishing off his breakfast and flouncing out of the kitchen, leaving Merlin alone to deal with the clean-up.
It only took about two minutes for him to spell the dishes clean, and another one to put them back into the cupboards by hand (he'd learned his lesson about mixing his magic with sharp or breakable objects years ago). Arthur's door was still closed, do he grabbed his laptop and settled into the sitting room.
He had a few unread messages, most of them from school that could be put off until later. Beneath a link from Will that Merlin would ignore until he was certain Arthur wouldn't catch him was a reply from Gaius in their ongoing email chain about Aithusa. He clicked on it eagerly.
Merlin-
It sounds to me like Aithusa is progressing as quickly as she can without another dragon to guide her. Your magic seems to be a satisfactory enough surrogate, so I do not think we have much cause for worry just yet. Her progress in your mental connection is certainly promising.
Even so, I would rest easier if I had the chance to observe her for myself, sooner rather than later. I can give you the rest of this weekend, if you are available.
Merlin let out a small sigh. He'd be lying if he said he wouldn't be relieved to have an extra pair of eyes on his dragon, even if just for a day, and was already tapping out a reply when Arthur's door opened and he stepped out into the hall.
"How did you finish so quickly?" he said, blinking in surprise.
"Magic," Merlin replied with a dramatic eye roll. Arthur huffed and threw himself onto the sofa, making the laptop bounce.
"Anything interesting going on?" he asked with a nod at the computer. "You have your thoughtful face on."
"My uncle Gaius wants to visit tomorrow. I know it's last minute, but..." Merlin shrugged. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Of course I don't," Arthur replied in a strangely gruff voice. There was a peculiar look on his face when Merlin looked up at him. It disappeared the moment he noticed Merlin watching him, too quickly for Merlin to identify it.
"Alright then, thanks," Merlin said, slowly. Arthur nodded stiffly and turned to stare at the telly. Merlin looked at him for another moment, and was just about to ask Arthur if he realized he'd forgotten to turn the telly on when he broke the silence.
"Is everything alright?" he asked very quietly. Merlin blinked.
"What? Is...everything's fine?” he replied, lifting the end of the sentence like a question. He gave a half-hearted smile and knew almost without looking at him that Arthur didn’t fall for it.
“…yeah, alright,” Arthur said after a moment in that same awkward, quiet tone. “Just…you’d tell me if something was wrong?”
Merlin opened his mouth, and for a second he almost just blurted it out. Every secret he’d been holding for months was on the tip of his tongue. But instead, he just pasted on another smile and said, “Yeah, ‘course. Why, what makes you think...?"
Arthur shrugged. "Nothing. Just, your family never just comes over like this." He shoved at Merlin's hip with his bare foot and gave him a cheeky smile. "And after all your bitching about my family."
“Your family is terrifying. And has zero concept of personal space," Merlin retorted, earning himself a laugh from Arthur.
"Shut up," Arthur said, and finally turned to turn the telly on. Merlin made a fuss when he immediately switched onto a match, but allowed him to keep it on, like he always did, the awkward moment forgotten.
---
It had been a long time since Merlin had been round to the pub. Really, really long. Stupidly long, even. He couldn't remember a single reason for his extended absence, either, not with a drink in his hand and his cheeks red from laughter (or possibly from said drink-maybe even both). But as tipsy as he was, he had nothing on Arthur, who'd gotten into a drinking contest with Gwaine of all people about ten minutes after they'd arrived and hadn't slowed down since.
"Merrrlin," Arthur slurred, throwing a sloppy arm around Merlin's shoulder. His fist collided with the drink Elyan had just finished, which wobbled precariously but managed to stay standing. "Merlin."
"Yes, Arthur?"
"I," Arthur began, sucking in in a deep breath like he was holding in a secret, "am drunk."
Merlin laughed, along with most of the table, as Arthur hadn't bothered to lower his voice. "I'd say so, mate," he agreed, meeting Leon's amused glance over Arthur's shoulder. Arthur huffed.
"'s all Gwaine's fault. Gwaine 'n fucking whiskey," he grumbled.
"Gwaine seems to be doing fine," Elyan pointed out, and they all turned to look at Gwaine, who was flirting easily with a blonde woman at the bar, his face barely even flushed despite the many pints he had under his belt.
"To be fair, though, Gwaine's sort of super human when it comes to alcohol," Leon said, and they all nodded.
Eventually, after Gwaine had left with the blonde and Arthur had switched to water, they decided to call it a night. Merlin stumbled over the doorstep as they all filed out, and laughed when Lance caught him.
"Easy there," Lance said good-naturedly.
"Christ, I'm out of practice. I hardly drank anything and I'm tripping over my own feet," Merlin laughed back.
"You always trip over your own feet," Lance pointed out. Merlin made a face at him, which Lance just ignored. "It really was good seeing you, though, Merlin. Gwen was getting worried. We all were," he added, glancing over to where Leon and Arthur were hailing cabs. Merlin dragged up a smile.
"Nothing to worry about. I was just busy," he said, and he was pretty sure the sick, twinging sensation in his belly had less to do with the amount of alcohol in it and more to do with lying to his friends. “Besides, I saw Leon just this week. And I see Gwen all the time in lecture.”
Lance smiled softly back. "Just take care of yourself, yeah?" he said, and clapped Merlin on the shoulder briefly before walking over to Gwen.
Arthur was mostly quiet on the cab ride home. He draped himself over Merlin, like he always did when he was drunk as Merlin struggled to get them into the flat. He managed, with absolutely no help from Arthur, and kicked the door shut behind them.
"Jesus, you're getting fat," Merlin bitched, his shoulder starting to ache from Arthur's weight.
"'m not fat, Merlin," Arthur grunted. "You're just too skinny."
"If you say so," Merlin snorted. "Come on, let's get you some water and then get you in bed."
"Mmm, bed," Arthur repeated happily. He followed Merlin into the kitchen easily enough, and Merlin propped him against the counter to grab a glass. He'd just stuck it under the tap when he felt a warm body press heavily against his back, and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.
"Merrrlin," Arthur purred, close enough for his breath to tickle Merlin's ears. Merlin squirmed, but that only made Arthur hold on tighter. Finally, Merlin reached back to slap Arthur's thigh lightly.
"Shift over, you arse. You're getting whiskey breath on me."
He had about two seconds of warning before Arthur was in his face, and he squealed and almost fell, laughing and trying to bat Arthur away.
"God, gross, get off me!" he laughed, and was thoroughly unsurprised when Arthur just smirked and came closer. "Arthur!"
"Say uncle," Arthur demanded, pressing his fingers against Merlin's ticklish spot.
"Fuck, uncle! Uncle!" Merlin bit out between bursts of helpless laughter. Arthur stopped tickling him, but he didn't let go. Instead, he just looked at Merlin, still standing uncomfortably close. Merlin looked back, a little confused but not concerned, until one of Arthur's hands came up to cradle his chin, thumb stroking along his jaw and he blinked. "Arthur?"
"I miss you, Merlin," Arthur sighed, quiet like it was a secret.
"What do you mean? I'm right here."
"I don't mean now, Merlin," Arthur retorted with a roll of his eyes like Merlin was the one not making sense. "I mean...recently. You're being all weird and...and secret-y."
"I'm an open book," Merlin quipped, but the words sounded false even to his own ears.
"Merlin," Arthur sighed, and he sounded so sad Merlin opened his mouth, to say what he didn't know, but it didn't matter because the next second Arthur swayed forward to press their lips together.
Merlin froze. He wasn't sure if his brain did, too, or if it was just suddenly buzzing with so many thoughts he couldn't grasp a single one, but it didn't matter because Arthur was kissing him.
The kiss couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds, but when Arthur pulled away Merlin's heart was beating like he'd run a mile. He stared at Arthur, but Arthur wasn't looking at him. It wasn't until he took a step back that Merlin realized he wasn't holding him either, and by then Arthur was halfway out of the kitchen. Merlin took a step forward, probably to do something stupid like chase after him, but forced himself to stop. He waited until he heard the soft click of Arthur's door shutting, and slumped heavily against the counter, head in his hands.
His heart was still pounding frantically in his chest. Arthur had kissed him. And it hadn't been a dream. Merlin could still feel the warmth of him on his lips, real in a way it hadn't ever been in any of the countless dreams he'd had about it since they’d met. Arthur had kissed him.
But...he'd been drunk, too. And that thought was at least half of the reason for Merlin's pounding heartbeat. Arthur had always been handsy when he was drunk. Perhaps this was just the natural progression of things, a quick peck between friends (had it been quick though? Merlin wasn't even sure of that). He might not even remember it in the morning.
"Shit," Merlin sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. "Fucking bloody...shit."
Eventually, he forced himself to straighten. He shuffled out of the kitchen, but not before filling a glass of water and leaving it on the table next to some paracetamol for Arthur come morning. Arthur's door was still firmly closed when Merlin passed, which was good, because even a drunk Arthur would have noticed a dragon chirrup concernedly and stick his head into the hallway to nuzzle Merlin's leg the instant Merlin opened his door.
Merlin glanced over his shoulder in panicked instinct even as he gently shushed the dragon, shooing her back inside with calming hands.
"Shh, Aithusa, it's alright," he said with false cheer, cursing himself. He hadn't been paying attention to what he'd been letting cross their psychic link. "It was nothing."
Aithusa didn't seen entirely convinced, but after a few more minutes of petting she calmed down. Merlin sat back on his heels to consider his options. He was wide awake and depressingly sober, with no chance of getting any sleep any time soon, and Aithusa was full of energy. Neither of them would be hurt by a few hours of fresh air. And Merlin desperately needed to think. He reached out to scratch under Aithusa’s jaw.
"Alright, come on. Let's get you to the park, yeah?"
[ Part 3]