Fic: I've Got Rhythm
Word Count: 6,350
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Summary: A little over a year into their relationship, Merlin and Arthur have settled into routine. Arthur doesn't know how he feels about this, but he should have known life with his nerdy, pole-dancing boyfriend would be anything but boring.
Read on AO3.
Part 6 of the Pole Dancing AU [part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | all]
A/N: Title taken from the song ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’. Hotel is inspired by the Royal Pacific Hotel.
If there’s any pole dancers that happen to be reading this, please let me know! Rehearsals and competitions are compiled from my own experience as a dancer and youtube videos. :) If anyone has any possible prompts/ideas for future parts of this series, also let me know! I've loved this universe and hopefully will see it expand between work this summer. (PS - Thank you to whoever submitted this series to fy-merlinxarthur on tumblr for their WIP meme--you got my attention!) x
The alarm went off at 6 o’clock. Arthur groped for it until it fell silent, and then promptly rolled back over to doze. Merlin made a pathetic snuffling sound and buried his nose in Arthur’s pillow. Neither of them moved again until the snooze alarm went off and Arthur shifted over to shut it off.
“Merlin,” he mumbled, kicking Merlin’s leg under the covers. “Wake up.”
“Mmfgh,” Merlin replied, curling into a tighter ball and blinking slowly. Arthur kicked him again before he crawled out of bed, letting Merlin work his way into wakefulness. He knew by the time he showered, Merlin would be up and marginally alert. Maybe, if he was lucky, Merlin would be awake enough to join him and they could have a quickie in the shower. Judging by the grumpy murmuring coming from the pillow, though, it didn’t seem likely.
He showered quickly, waking up under the warm spray, and stepped out to the smell of toast wafting in from Merlin’s tiny kitchen. Sure enough, Merlin himself was putting the last touches on his tea when Arthur found him, a piece of toast already shoved in his mouth.
“Gu’ morni’,” he said around his mouthful, handing a second mug to Arthur before removing his toast. “Sleep well?”
“Fine, thank you,” Arthur replied, giving Merlin a quick kiss. He brushed the resulting crumbs off his lips with a grin. Aithusa meowed impatiently for her own breakfast, and Merlin moved towards her while Arthur flicked through the paper. He picked up a piece of toast and didn’t even blink at its charred edges. It was miracle enough that Merlin hadn’t burned down the kitchen, and Arthur had grown quite used to burnt toast.
“You’ve got that meeting with Gaius this morning, haven’t you?” he asked when Merlin finally joined him at the table. Merlin nodded.
“Yeah, not for a while yet. I’ll pop in the shower when you head off.”
“We still on for Wednesday lunch?”
“Should be, don’t see why we’d be that long. I’ll text you if things change.”
Arthur nodded. The rest of breakfast passed in casual conversation broken up by teasing, just like every morning they spent together. When they finished, Arthur fetched his briefcase from its usual spot by the door, nudged Merlin’s ratty trainers away from his business shoes, and pulled Merlin into his usual, easy goodbye kiss.
“See you at lunch,” Merlin said, like he did every Wednesday, and Arthur grinned at him as he slipped out the door.
---
It turned out that Gaius had more to say than Merlin’d anticipated, so Arthur found himself leaving for lunch by himself. Usually he went to one of the nicer restaurants when he was on his own, if he went out at all, but his feet automatically led him to Pret a Manger, where he usually went with Merlin. He shrugged and went in anyway, selected his food and made his way to the till.
“Hey, Arthur,” Sefa greeted him, already tapping out the commands for his usual meal as her eyes slid automatically to look for Merlin. She looked surprised to find nobody there. “Where’s Merlin?”
“Meeting at work,” Arthur answered, choosing to ignore her pout. He was well aware of the poor girl’s crush on Merlin, who was honestly too charming for his own good. “Should be back next week.”
Sefa immediately brightened. “Oh, well. Tell him I said hi.”
“Cheers.”
Arthur took his food and headed for his usual seat. He settled in, took a bite of his sandwich, and fidgeted uncomfortably. Something felt off. Had he sat at the wrong table? No, this was right-second from the wall, between the words ‘salads’ and ‘cakes’ stickered to the window. He checked, and, yes, he’d gotten the right sandwich. He took another bite, chewed thoughtfully, and looked at the empty chair usually occupied by Merlin.
Ah. So that was it.
After a few more minutes of awkward, silent chewing, Arthur gave up. He wrapped his sandwich back up and headed back to the office, which was as good a place as any to eat if Merlin wasn’t joining him.
Gwen was at her desk when he arrived, one hand on her keyboard and the other juggling forkfuls of pasta salad. She raised an eyebrow when she saw it was him.
“Forget something?”
“What? No, I just decided to eat here today.” Gwen blinked.
“What about Merlin?”
“He’s at work. Had a meeting with Gaius,” Arthur said, not very successfully hiding the bitterness in his voice. Gwen looked confused.
“But…isn’t it Wednesday?” she asked, glancing at her desk calendar. “You always eat together on Wednesdays.”
“Not always,” Arthur lied. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how long it’d been since their last lunch-less Wednesday, but he didn’t think that merited Gwen’s snort.
“Please, you two are so predictable. Wednesday lunches, Friday pub nights. Monthly visits to Hunith and alternating grocery runs for both of your flats,” she recited, as if it was a checklist. “You pick him up from the studio and every other Tuesday you stay in for takeaway.”
Arthur stared at her. “You know far too much about my personal life.”
“I keep track of your schedule,” Gwen reminded him. “Besides, I think it’s sweet that the two of you have a routine like that.”
“You make us sound like a boring old couple that never does anything fun,” Arthur said, making a face.
“Not boring. Just…” Gwen made a waving motion. “Domestic. It’s sweet,” she insisted when Arthur pulled another face. “All couples settle into a routine eventually, especially when they spend as much time together as you and Merlin do.”
Arthur hummed noncommittally. “If you say so,” he said, shrugging. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just finish my lunch in the office.”
Gwen waved him off, and Arthur retreated to eat his sandwich in peace. He thought over Gwen’s words while he chewed. Were he and Merlin really that predictable? Sure, they had a system. That didn’t make them boring. They’d only just had their first anniversary three months ago-they definitely had a long way to go before lunch every Wednesday became house slippers and book clubs. They didn’t even live together yet.
Though, to be fair, they might as well. It was a rare morning when they woke up alone at their own flats, and even rarer to not see each other at least once in a day. Arthur practically knew Merlin’s daily routines better than he knew his own, but still, that didn’t mean anything. Arthur’d known Val damn well, too, and lord knew that relationship had been anything but domestic (though Arthur suspected this might have had more to do with Val being dull as a brick rather than any particular intimacy between them).
Although…Merlin wasn’t exactly Val, was he? Arthur actually cared about him, for one. And Arthur enjoyed their monthly dinners with Hunith better than he’d ever enjoyed meals with his own family. He was more comfortable with Merlin than he could ever remember being, and Arthur realized with something like dawning horror that they had settled into routine life.
Oh hell.
Arthur’s mobile went off just as he reached this conclusion, and he knew without looking that it was Merlin.
pret near you is much better than near me, the text read. this is unacceptable.
It’s the same food, idiot, Arthur replied, smirking around his sandwich.
shut up and eat your super club, Merlin texted back, followed quickly by, lance keeps giving me weird looks. did you tell gwen i want to play with his hair?
Arthur let out a bark of laughter. No, saving that one for a rainy day. You probably have something on your face.
There was a pause before Merlin replied, and when he did it was simply, prat. Just like Arthur knew it would be.
---
“So, Vivian’s new costume came in today,” Merlin announced later that night, after a lazy dinner in Arthur’s kitchen once they’d relocated to the sitting room. Arthur sniggered.
“How bad is it this time?”
“Not terrible, actually,” Merlin admitted, moving over to Llamrei’s tank. “Rumor has it Helen gave her a dress code after the last one caught on the pole and tore halfway through the routine. She didn’t give up her sequins, though.”
“Heaven forbid,” Arthur said mock somberly. “It’s a good thing she’s not going to Florida, or she’d blind the judges before your pale skin had the chance.”
“Oi,” Merlin protested, even as his mouth turned up in a grin, like it did every time someone mentioned the upcoming competition. It was his first outside of the country, a trans-Atlantic competition that, according to Merlin, was breeding grounds for international contestants. Merlin had spent the past months oscillating between terror and excitement at the thought. “Don’t be a prat. Or I might just go and find myself a nice Florida boy instead.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow, settling deeper into the sofa. “Will you now?”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Merlin nodded with a casual shrug, smiling innocently. “You know what they say about American boys and English accents.”
Arthur laughed and extended a hand. “Come here, you idiot,” he commanded, and though Merlin rolled his eyes he obeyed. He flopped gracelessly down into Arthur’s lap and pressed their lips together. Arthur threaded his fingers into Merlin’s hair, nipping gently at Merlin’s lip when they paused for breath before kissing him again, and again. He kissed Merlin exactly the way he knew Merlin loved, and Merlin repaid in kind until they were both a little dizzy and gripping each other a little too hard.
“Still thinking about those American boys?” Arthur murmured, sliding a hand down to grip Merlin’s arse pointedly. Merlin grinned and pressed his thumb against Arthur’s lips.
“Maybe,” he teased, swooping in for a kiss, “but you could always take me to the bedroom to distract me.”
Arthur prepared to do just that before a thought occurred to him.
“No, wait,” he said when Merlin made to clamber off of his lap, “stay.” Merlin raised his eyebrows, but did as requested. Arthur kissed him in reward, shifting enough for the leverage to push Merlin onto his back and stretching out on top of him. Merlin hummed happily, already wrapping his long limbs around Arthur to bring him closer. Arthur slipped a hand between them to rub at Merlin’s hardening cock, and Merlin purred appreciatively until Arthur made to thumb open his trousers.
“Wait, wait, let’s get to bed first,” he said, moving to push Arthur up, but Arthur shook his head.
“Let’s do it here.” He leaned in to press a persuasive kiss to Merlin’s mouth, shutting out his protests.
“Arthur,” Merlin mumbled against his mouth, “I know this sofa’s big, but it’s not that big.” Arthur groaned.
“It’ll be fine, Merlin. Can’t we change it up even a little bit?”
“By falling off the sofa?”
“Oh, for-fine, never mind,” Arthur grumbled, and made to sit up. He’d barely moved at all, however, before Merlin grabbed his arms, keeping him in place with a tiny frown.
“Hey,” he said quietly, “what’s this about?”
Arthur sighed. “Nothing. I just thought we’d have a change, for once. Something other than a quick fuck in the bed.”
Merlin’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Excuse me?”
“I didn’t-“ Arthur sighed and let his head fall to Merlin’s chest. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just…forget about it.”
“No. Clearly something’s bothering you. I’m not just going to ignore it,” Merlin replied, nudging at Arthur until he looked up again. “What is it? Are you bored?”
“No. Yes?” Arthur tried, then made a face. “Not exactly.”
“Oh, well, that clears things up,” Merlin teased, smoothing a bit of hair off Arthur’s forehead. “You know you can tell me. Do you want something different? We could try some things, unless you have something in mind.”
“No, it’s not that really,” Arthur said slowly. “I just…do you think we’re boring?”
Merlin blinked in surprise. “Boring?”
“Yeah. Predictable, that kind of thing.”
“Of course not. We’re too young for that.”
“That’s what I told Gwen!” Arthur replied. “But…she might have had a point. I mean, when was the last time we did something just for the hell of it?”
“I don’t think that makes us boring,” Merlin pointed out, resuming his slow stroking through Arthur’s hair. “We’ve been together for over a year, Arthur, we were bound to get comfortable with each other.” He traced his thumb over Arthur’s cheekbone, looking suddenly nervous. “Unless, you’re not happy?”
“No, God, Merlin,” Arthur hurried to say, leaning down to press a kiss against Merlin’s mouth. “I am, I promise.”
“Well then, if you’re happy, and I’m happy, why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t, I guess.” Arthur huffed, shaking his head. “Christ, this is stupid.”
“Well, stupid people do stupid things,” Merlin agreed sagely, and Arthur smacked him. Merlin just sniggered before his face softened. “Honestly, Arthur, this isn’t a big deal. We can switch it up once in a while. Just don’t be a prat and get all constipated on me.”
Arthur snorted at him. Suddenly he realized that he was still lying on top of Merlin, though both of them had long gone soft, and shifted himself up to let Merlin breathe. “Yeah? What do you have in mind?”
Merlin hummed thoughtfully, not bothering to sit up and letting his fingers tap up and down Arthur’s chest.
“We could go away together,” he suggested, and brightened suddenly. “Come to Florida with me.”
“I have work,” Arthur protested, because they’d been over this before. Merlin, however, just smiled, and drew Arthur closer again.
“So spontaneously take a few days off,” he suggested, and Arthur laughed even as Merlin pulled him in for a kiss.
“Hoist on my own petard,” Arthur murmured, and knew by his delighted laugh that Merlin took it as the concession it was.
---
There was very little about Florida that was like England at all.
Arthur, who had been before, had expected the heat, but Merlin had staggered under it the instant he stepped out of the airport, much to Arthur’s amusement. By the time they reached the hotel hosting the event he’d adjusted enough to gawk delightedly at the stone elephants blowing water in the lobby and the myriad of plant life everywhere. They got lost looking for the right doorway to the tower their room was in, and by the time they found it Merlin and Freya barely had time to drop off their things before they had to dart off to a run-through. That left Arthur alone with Helen, so Arthur executed a tactical escape and fled down to the pool area.
He spent most of the afternoon there, and was still there when Merlin and Freya finally emerged from the event room to join him.
“Christ, that was exhausting,” Merlin groaned in greeting, throwing himself onto the recliner next to Arthur’s theatrically. “They made us practice entrances and exits three times each, and then dragged us on a tour of the hotel. To top it off, we had to spend the whole day with our competing class.” He raised his head from the recliner and fixed them with a serious look. “American men are far too obsessed with protein shakes.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Freya argued with an amused smile. “You’re being dramatic.”
Merlin made a face. “You’re just saying that because you didn’t have to deal with creepy Cenred all day.”
“No, but I had his lover, and Morgause is just as bad,” Freya pointed out. Merlin blinked at her.
“Morgause and Cenred? But I thought they hated each other.”
“They do,” Freya assured him, “but, as it turns out, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker. Kara said she saw them using aerial silks as a swing once.”
Merlin groaned and dropped his head back onto the recliner. “I didn’t need to hear that. I am way too tired to be thinking about Morgause and Cenred’s kinky sex life.”
“Too tired for dinner?” Arthur asked, not even bothering to hide the blatant segue onto a conversation that didn’t involve aerial silk sex. Thankfully, neither Merlin nor Freya seemed to be complaining.
“Never too tired for dinner,” Merlin said, already pushing himself off of the recliner and onto his feet. “Where’d you have in mind?”
They decided to hop onto the hotel ferry for one of the restaurants across the lake. Merlin got his second wind, which lasted about until they’d finished their meal and were heading back to the ferry, at which point he crashed, spectacularly.
“’m gonna pop some tags,” Merlin sang softly into Arthur’s shoulder, already mostly asleep, “on’y got twenty dollars in m’pocket…”
Arthur buried his face in Merlin’s hair to hide his grin as the ferry toted them back to the hotel. Freya was awake enough to walk herself back to the room, but Merlin leaned heavily against Arthur as they made their way to the correct tower. Not that Arthur minded. He waved goodbye to Freya and let Merlin stumble into the room on his own, grinning at the way he headed straight for the bed and face planted onto it without bothering to take off anything.
“Come here, you idiot,” he said fondly, tugging on Merlin’s trouser leg until he rolled over enough for Arthur to help undress him. “Useless,” he went on. Merlin kicked at him pitifully.
“Shut up, ‘m tired.”
“I can see that,” Arthur agreed, climbing onto the bed to help divest Merlin of his shirt. “Running around a hotel all day will do that.”
“’s not a hotel. ‘s a bloody zoo,” Merlin grumbled, and Arthur laughed.
“Go to sleep, idiot.”
“Mmm,” Merlin sighed happily, already burrowing under the blankets, but a second later his eyes flew open and he turned over to look at Arthur. “Wait, no, we’re-we’re supposed to be doing things. Together. Spontaneous things.”
Arthur laughed. “I don’t think you’re much up for any sort of thing other than sleeping right now.”
Merlin frowned, brow wrinkled like a child. “’m fine.”
“You’re exhausted, you said so yourself,” Arthur reminded him, and moved up to press a kiss to Merlin’s brow. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get the competition out of the way before we worry about being spontaneous.”
Merlin’s frown didn’t quite abate, but he sighed in acquiescence anyway and sank back into the pillows, muttering, “’f you insist.” Arthur gave him another fond smile, and swooped down to kiss his forehead in a fit of uncharacteristic tenderness.
“Sleep. Big day tomorrow,” he muttered, and Merlin mumbled something in response.
---
“Please welcome to the stage for competition, Morgause Orcades.”
Arthur clapped politely with the crowd and tried desperately not to think about aerial silks as the blonde woman glowered at the audience and delivered another strong, vaguely threatening performance. Freya was directly after her, and her softer, smoother routine was so different from Morgause’s that Arthur was sure she’d pull ahead. She moved with the quiet strength that Arthur had grown used to over the months of seeing her dance, moving her body around and shifting into position with ease that belied the difficulty of her routine. Arthur saw her confidence waver slightly when her hand slipped on her foot, not enough to make her fall but enough to be noticeable, but then she slipped straight back into the routine and finished without further error.
The crowd applauded her heartily, anyway, and when she slipped offstage it was with a smile on her face.
Finally, it was Merlin’s category.
The program had Merlin listed as fourth in line for his category. Merlin had fretted over his placement all morning-Cenred, Merlin’s biggest competition, had been given the last performance, and Merlin would have to work particularly hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Arthur had no doubt that he would, and had no compunctions about telling Merlin so, which had brought a soft, fond smile to Merlin’s face.
“In tonight’s last competing class, please welcome to the stage for men’s advanced competition, Merlin Emrys.”
It was too dark to make anything out clearly at first. The first strains of music started, and a faint spotlight crept onstage to reveal Merlin’s hunched form at the foot of one of the poles. He rocked back and forth as the light continued to grow, creating a creepy atmosphere that, judging by the sudden shifting of a few of Arthur’s neighbors, was working like a charm. Merlin kept his face hidden from the audience as he bent further forward. There was none of his usual cheekiness present as he leapt suddenly to his feet, staring around at the still-dark stage and out into the audience with a manic air. Some in the audience murmured when they noticed the straightjacket wrapped around him. Even Arthur, who had lost count of how many times he’d watched this performance, was a little taken aback by how convincing Merlin was. He didn’t usually do dramatic acting routines like this one, but he was a natural at it.
The music sped up, and Merlin sped up with it. He threw himself on to and then immediately off the pole, thrashing in his jacket as soon as his feet hit the floor. When one of his arms came lose, he paused, as if in wonder, and then again with the other. He moved over to the pole again, stepping onto it rather than jumping this time, but he jumped down again after only a few seconds and ripped the jacket off completely, throwing it onto the ground.
A lone cheer whistled out as Merlin stared down at his hands. His entire body had shifted, going from hunched and uncomfortable to long and loose. The frown that had puckered his forehead through the entire routine had softened. As if to test his newfound freedom, he sprang suddenly into a backflip, landing with a giant grin before flipping onto the pole. The audience had come alive along with him and cheered his movements, and Arthur marveled at how he could wrap them up in his story so easily. Merlin had spent days tracking down the right music and framing the right moves to fit. Arthur had made fun of him at the time, but now.
Merlin hardly stood still, moving from move to move between one beat and the next and all with that peaceful smile on his face. He looked happy to be alive and moving, putting his body through its paces. Arthur watched him leap onto the pole and spin with nothing more than his hand for support, the rest of his body starfished out, and remembered the hours of practice and the countless bruises than had been put into learning it. On stage though, Merlin made it look easy.
The music wound down, and Merlin went with it, stepping over to his discarded jacket for a final dip down, in submission or in refute, it was up to the audience. The lights dimmed, and the audience cheered, Arthur along with them.
---
“…thank you to all of our talented participants for another successful competition. We hope you all return to us next year and have all the luck in the future.”
Arthur hardly remembered to clap along with everyone else at the announcer’s speech. He hated award ceremonies. They always lasted far too long, and the wait made a nervous tension settle in his belly. As always, though, the smiling announcer seemed to care little about his nerves.
“And now, to announce the second runner up for women’s intermediate competition-“
Arthur tuned her out. His eyes sought out Merlin in the crowd on stage, standing off to the right with an easy smile as the intermediate winners accepted their awards. Cenred was standing a few people to his left, still in his leather daddy ensemble from his performance and making eyes at Morgause across the stage. Arthur had to stifle a laugh when he noticed Merlin subtly shuffling away from him before straightening and cheering loudly when Freya’s name was called for third place (his smile noticeably dimmed when Morgause claimed first).
The announcer made a show of switching envelopes as the cheering died.
“Congratulations, ladies, on your spectacular performances. Now for men’s advanced competition, the second runner up is-“ She rattled off a name that Arthur didn’t recognize, followed by cheering as the man collected his trophy. “Congratulations. And our first runner up-“
She paused, again, and Arthur was tempted to get up and strangle her by the time she finally read, “Cenred Mercia!”
Arthur’s though his heart might beat its way out of his throat as Cenred strutted forward with a greasy smile. He looked back at Merlin, who was clapping as if in a daze and looking somewhere between terrified and elated, and Arthur knew exactly what he was thinking. Surely, surely Merlin had first if Cenred didn’t. Finally, Cenred stepped back and the announcer brandished her envelope.
“And finally, our first place dancer in men’s advanced competition-is Merlin Emrys!”
“Fuck,” Arthur saw Merlin mouth as the other dancers pounded him on the back before he realized that he had to do more than stand there, and made his way up towards the announcer. He accepted the award, bowed for the audience, and let out a disbelieving laugh as his applause continued. The announcer tried to grab everyone’s attention, but neither Arthur nor anyone else was giving her the time of day, and at last she gave up with a cheery, “Thank you again to everyone for coming, and goodnight!”
The dancers all shuffled offstage, Merlin with them. Arthur joined the queue heading out of the ballroom.
“That Emrys guy was amazing,” someone a few people ahead of him said to her friend. “I’ve never heard of him before. Where’d he come from?”
“Program says England,” her friend replied. “Do you think he does workshops? I’d love a lesson with him-“
“Of course you would,” the first friend giggled, and Arthur ducked his head to hide a grin. The group moved away as the queue emptied into the foyer, and another moved in closer to Arthur.
“I can’t believe Morgause won again,” one of them complained, “her routines look the same every year. It’s not fair.”
“At least Cenred didn’t win this year,” pointed out her friend. “I mean, I liked his routine this year, but that Merlin guy was good-“
Arthur heard no less than four other people singing Merlin’s praises before a side door opened and Merlin himself finally appeared. He was laughing and smiling at the various dancers talking to him, but as soon as he saw Arthur he beamed and broke away from the group. Arthur smiled, and then he had an armful of a laughing Merlin and lips pressed against his own. Arthur returned the kiss eagerly, until Merlin broke it with a giddy laugh.
“First place,” he said a little breathlessly, arms still around Arthur even as he bounced excitedly on his feet.
“Congratulations,” Arthur replied with a smile. “I told you you’d be brilliant.”
Merlin beamed, if possible, even harder before kissing Arthur again, and Arthur caught sight of a few dancers giving them a disappointed look.
“Don’t look now,” he murmured against Merlin’s lips, “but I think you have a fan club.”
“What?”
Merlin turned around in time to see one of the intermediate dancers giving him wistful eyes, and a handful of others giggling behind their hands as they stared at Merlin and Arthur.
“They were all very impressed with your performance,” Arthur went on, grinning against Merlin’s ear. “You should have heard them talking. I’d say I have some competition for your affections-“
“Oh God, shut up, you prat,” Merlin laughed, and then, “Freya, tell Arthur he’s being an arse.”
Poor Freya, who had just made her way over to them, blushed and stammered, “Sorry?”
“Don’t listen to him, he’s being an idiot.” Arthur grinned and nodded at the trophy in her hand. “Congratulations, you did beautifully.”
“Oh, thank you,” Freya blushed again, ducking her head bashfully. Merlin began bouncing on his toes again, smiling firmly back in place.
“We need to celebrate! Is there a pub around here?”
Arthur grinned. “Actually, I have a better idea.”
---
An hour later, the three of them were stuffed into the crowded dance floor of the club Arthur had noticed the day before. Arthur had his hands firmly on Merlin’s waist as they danced, though they were pressed so tightly together he doubted anyone would think they weren’t together, anyway. Even Freya was coming out of her shell a little, smiling and dancing a few feet away from them.
The DJ shouted something into his mic that made the crowd cheer. Merlin laughed and turned around in Arthur’s arms so that they were face-to-face, still dancing.
“This is fun!” he shouted over the music so Arthur could hear. “I can’t believe you suggested a club.”
“Just being spontaneous,” Arthur shouted back, which earned him a laugh.
“It’s a promising start.”
Arthur huffed at that, tightening his hold on Merlin’s hips to grind even closer. Merlin chuckled. The song changed, transitioning into yet another bass-heavy something that Arthur had never heard, but he definitely wasn’t complaining when Merlin hooked his arms around his neck and kept on dancing. There were only a few inches separating their faces now, and none separating them anywhere else. Arthur could feel the warmth of Merlin’s body all along his front, hotter and more thrilling than the warmth of the club at his back. It was not surprising then when Merlin leaned forward and kissed him, deep and hot and so, so sexy.
“Fuck,” Arthur swore, but it was lost to the noise of the club and to Merlin’s mouth.
The crowd moved around them, occasionally bumping into one of them, but neither of them spared anyone else a thought. Arthur’s hands had traveled up into Merlin’s shirt and were running along his spine while Merlin fisted his hair. A small part of Arthur balked at this level of intimacy in such a public place, but most of him cried ‘Fuck that!’ and pulled Merlin in for more. He felt Merlin’s laugh rumbling in his chest and sucked his lower lip into his mouth in punishment.
Someone knocked into Merlin, sending him falling forward against Arthur. Arthur opened his mouth to tell the stranger off, but Merlin moaned before he could get a word out, and Arthur noticed the hardness pressed against his hip.
He smirked against Merlin’s lips and rolled his hips deliberately, delighting in Merlin’s resulting groan. Merlin’s hands moved down to grab Arthur’s arse in encouragement. Arthur was more than happy to grind their cocks together in blissful, not-enough friction while people danced around them. It wouldn’t be enough for long, but the sounds Merlin was making and the illicit thrill was too good to stop.
Arthur grunted in protest when Merlin broke their kiss, but Merlin just smiled and brought his lips up to nip gently at his earlobe.
“Having fun?” he asked, just barely loud enough to be heard above the music. Arthur grinned.
“Why? Have better plans?”
“How about a spontaneous blowjob in the loo?” Merlin murmured against Arthur’s ear. Arthur’s cock throbbed and he groaned. Merlin, thankfully, took that as the agreement it was and took a step back, eyes not leaving Arthur’s face as he reached for Arthur’s hand.
Arthur couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex crammed into a toilet stall, and he remembered why when his elbow immediately slammed against the wall and his knees nearly buckled when he was backed against the toilet. He was saved from falling by Merlin’s quick grip, and then Merlin was on him again and Arthur forgot to care about their surroundings. Merlin sucked on his tongue while his fingers worked at his jeans, sliding inside as soon as there was enough room to rub Arthur’s erection through his pants. Arthur would have returned the favor if his hands weren’t occupied in Merlin’s shirt, tracing the lines of his back and stomach and moving up to tease a nipple.
Distantly, he heard someone outside laugh and then the sound of the sink running, but he was too distracted by Merlin’s hand to worry about being caught. He swallowed back the moan that tried to escape when Merlin bent down to suck at his neck. Merlin hummed against his skin, as if he’d heard it anyway, and began to easy Arthur’s trousers down. His cock was still trapped in his pants when Merlin stepped back with a dirty grin and unzipped his own trousers, palming himself even as he dropped to his knees. He leaned in to nuzzle Arthur’s cock, one hand coming up to stroke along it, still not making any move to release it. Arthur growled.
“Merlin…” he said warningly. To his chagrin, Merlin just smirked and squeezed him. “Arse.”
Merlin laughed throatily, but finally reached up to ease Arthur’s pants over his erection. He left fluttering kisses along its length before licking the head and taking it in hand. Arthur let his eyes fall closed while Merlin’s hand worked up and down his cock, blessedly tight and good after their grinding on the dance floor. He looked down again when Merlin made a soft, pleased noise, and almost choked on his tongue when he saw Merlin fisting his own cock as he did Arthur’s, hungry eyes staring right back at Arthur.
Seeing that he had his attention, Merlin grinned widely and leaned forward until the head of Arthur’s prick met the corner of his mouth. Instead of taking it inside, though, he let it slide against the skin of his cheek, leaving a trail of precome. Arthur grunted involuntarily and gave a tiny thrust, which Merlin noticed and smirked at him for.
“Eager,” he teased, and Arthur might have said something back, eavesdroppers be damned, if Merlin hadn’t finally deigned to take him in his mouth.
Merlin was very, very good at giving head. He sucked and licked and moaned like he wanted to do nothing more than suck Arthur’s cock, and the performance almost always did Arthur in in minutes flat.
This time, he knew he wouldn’t be lasting long from the beginning, so he intended to enjoy it for as long as possible. Merlin took him in as far as he would go and hummed. In lieu of groaning, Arthur bit his lip and reached down to press his thumb against Merlin’s cheek, imagining he could feel the warmth of his own cock through Merlin’s hot skin. Merlin peeked up at him from beneath his lashes and eased back before swallowing Arthur back down again, and again. He let out a tiny moan as his eyes fluttered, and Arthur noticed his shoulder moving with his hand as he worked himself, too.
“Yes,” Arthur exhaled. He loved watching Merlin get himself off, and doing it with a cock in his mouth was twice as good. Merlin pulled off completely to run his tongue along Arthur’s head, and Arthur had to grip Merlin’s hair hard to keep himself from thrusting in and choking him. Merlin didn’t seem to care; in fact, he swallowed Arthur right back down, all signs of teasing gone as he worked Arthur into orgasm, ignoring Arthur’s whispered warning and swallowing when Arthur was finally pushed over the top, coming hard down Merlin’s throat.
Arthur fought hard to catch his breath as Merlin eased off of him, a little bit of come on the corner of his mouth. He watched hungrily as Merlin sat back on his heels, eyes squeezed shut as his hand flew over his dark red cock, hair mussed and face flushed and gorgeous. He widened his legs under Arthur’s gaze and reached down with his free hand to fondle his balls, and Arthur knew he was close so he dragged him to his feet and slammed their mouths together, licking eagerly into Merlin’s mouth to taste himself. Merlin was too far gone to respond properly, breath hitching with every swipe until finally he gasped and came, catching his come with his free hand while Arthur stared.
“Fuck,” Merlin gasped finally, tilting his head against the stall wall to catch his breath. “Arthur.”
Arthur kissed him in answer, still loose and warm from his orgasm. “That,” he said quietly when they’d stopped for air, “was brilliant.”
Merlin laughed breathily. “Mhm. I’m liking this spontaneity thing.”
The sound of a toilet flushing a few stalls over interrupted their laughter. Arthur grimaced, which just made Merlin laugh harder and bury his head in Arthur’s shoulder until the sounds of running water had been shut off and the music swelled for a moment as someone left the room.
“We should go find Freya,” Arthur eventually suggested. Merlin hummed.
“She’s going to know exactly what we were doing,” he sighed.
“Probably,” Arthur agreed, and kissed him again for good measure.
---
Merlin had to be coaxed awake with two cups of coffee and a promise of toast the next day, but Arthur was long used to dealing with his sleepy boyfriend in the morning and hustled him along. Merlin grumbled, just as Arthur’d known he would, and promptly fell asleep on Arthur’s shoulder on the coachride, like Arthur’d known he would, and tried valiantly to hide his smile when he woke up to find Freya taking a picture of them. His grumpiness lasted no longer than it took for the coach to arrive at the gates of Disney, and had long since been forgotten by the time Arthur kissed him in front of Cinderella’s castle. Just like Arthur’d known it would be.
It wasn’t until that night, when the three of them had claimed a spot for the firework show and Merlin was watching it all from under Arthur’s arms, warm and so wonderfully familiar, that Arthur decided that maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with a little predictability.
[ Part 7]
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Summary: A little over a year into their relationship, Merlin and Arthur have settled into routine. Arthur doesn't know how he feels about this, but he should have known life with his nerdy, pole-dancing boyfriend would be anything but boring.
Read on AO3.
Part 6 of the Pole Dancing AU [part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | all]
A/N: Title taken from the song ‘I’ve Got Rhythm’. Hotel is inspired by the Royal Pacific Hotel.
If there’s any pole dancers that happen to be reading this, please let me know! Rehearsals and competitions are compiled from my own experience as a dancer and youtube videos. :) If anyone has any possible prompts/ideas for future parts of this series, also let me know! I've loved this universe and hopefully will see it expand between work this summer. (PS - Thank you to whoever submitted this series to fy-merlinxarthur on tumblr for their WIP meme--you got my attention!) x
The alarm went off at 6 o’clock. Arthur groped for it until it fell silent, and then promptly rolled back over to doze. Merlin made a pathetic snuffling sound and buried his nose in Arthur’s pillow. Neither of them moved again until the snooze alarm went off and Arthur shifted over to shut it off.
“Merlin,” he mumbled, kicking Merlin’s leg under the covers. “Wake up.”
“Mmfgh,” Merlin replied, curling into a tighter ball and blinking slowly. Arthur kicked him again before he crawled out of bed, letting Merlin work his way into wakefulness. He knew by the time he showered, Merlin would be up and marginally alert. Maybe, if he was lucky, Merlin would be awake enough to join him and they could have a quickie in the shower. Judging by the grumpy murmuring coming from the pillow, though, it didn’t seem likely.
He showered quickly, waking up under the warm spray, and stepped out to the smell of toast wafting in from Merlin’s tiny kitchen. Sure enough, Merlin himself was putting the last touches on his tea when Arthur found him, a piece of toast already shoved in his mouth.
“Gu’ morni’,” he said around his mouthful, handing a second mug to Arthur before removing his toast. “Sleep well?”
“Fine, thank you,” Arthur replied, giving Merlin a quick kiss. He brushed the resulting crumbs off his lips with a grin. Aithusa meowed impatiently for her own breakfast, and Merlin moved towards her while Arthur flicked through the paper. He picked up a piece of toast and didn’t even blink at its charred edges. It was miracle enough that Merlin hadn’t burned down the kitchen, and Arthur had grown quite used to burnt toast.
“You’ve got that meeting with Gaius this morning, haven’t you?” he asked when Merlin finally joined him at the table. Merlin nodded.
“Yeah, not for a while yet. I’ll pop in the shower when you head off.”
“We still on for Wednesday lunch?”
“Should be, don’t see why we’d be that long. I’ll text you if things change.”
Arthur nodded. The rest of breakfast passed in casual conversation broken up by teasing, just like every morning they spent together. When they finished, Arthur fetched his briefcase from its usual spot by the door, nudged Merlin’s ratty trainers away from his business shoes, and pulled Merlin into his usual, easy goodbye kiss.
“See you at lunch,” Merlin said, like he did every Wednesday, and Arthur grinned at him as he slipped out the door.
---
It turned out that Gaius had more to say than Merlin’d anticipated, so Arthur found himself leaving for lunch by himself. Usually he went to one of the nicer restaurants when he was on his own, if he went out at all, but his feet automatically led him to Pret a Manger, where he usually went with Merlin. He shrugged and went in anyway, selected his food and made his way to the till.
“Hey, Arthur,” Sefa greeted him, already tapping out the commands for his usual meal as her eyes slid automatically to look for Merlin. She looked surprised to find nobody there. “Where’s Merlin?”
“Meeting at work,” Arthur answered, choosing to ignore her pout. He was well aware of the poor girl’s crush on Merlin, who was honestly too charming for his own good. “Should be back next week.”
Sefa immediately brightened. “Oh, well. Tell him I said hi.”
“Cheers.”
Arthur took his food and headed for his usual seat. He settled in, took a bite of his sandwich, and fidgeted uncomfortably. Something felt off. Had he sat at the wrong table? No, this was right-second from the wall, between the words ‘salads’ and ‘cakes’ stickered to the window. He checked, and, yes, he’d gotten the right sandwich. He took another bite, chewed thoughtfully, and looked at the empty chair usually occupied by Merlin.
Ah. So that was it.
After a few more minutes of awkward, silent chewing, Arthur gave up. He wrapped his sandwich back up and headed back to the office, which was as good a place as any to eat if Merlin wasn’t joining him.
Gwen was at her desk when he arrived, one hand on her keyboard and the other juggling forkfuls of pasta salad. She raised an eyebrow when she saw it was him.
“Forget something?”
“What? No, I just decided to eat here today.” Gwen blinked.
“What about Merlin?”
“He’s at work. Had a meeting with Gaius,” Arthur said, not very successfully hiding the bitterness in his voice. Gwen looked confused.
“But…isn’t it Wednesday?” she asked, glancing at her desk calendar. “You always eat together on Wednesdays.”
“Not always,” Arthur lied. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how long it’d been since their last lunch-less Wednesday, but he didn’t think that merited Gwen’s snort.
“Please, you two are so predictable. Wednesday lunches, Friday pub nights. Monthly visits to Hunith and alternating grocery runs for both of your flats,” she recited, as if it was a checklist. “You pick him up from the studio and every other Tuesday you stay in for takeaway.”
Arthur stared at her. “You know far too much about my personal life.”
“I keep track of your schedule,” Gwen reminded him. “Besides, I think it’s sweet that the two of you have a routine like that.”
“You make us sound like a boring old couple that never does anything fun,” Arthur said, making a face.
“Not boring. Just…” Gwen made a waving motion. “Domestic. It’s sweet,” she insisted when Arthur pulled another face. “All couples settle into a routine eventually, especially when they spend as much time together as you and Merlin do.”
Arthur hummed noncommittally. “If you say so,” he said, shrugging. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just finish my lunch in the office.”
Gwen waved him off, and Arthur retreated to eat his sandwich in peace. He thought over Gwen’s words while he chewed. Were he and Merlin really that predictable? Sure, they had a system. That didn’t make them boring. They’d only just had their first anniversary three months ago-they definitely had a long way to go before lunch every Wednesday became house slippers and book clubs. They didn’t even live together yet.
Though, to be fair, they might as well. It was a rare morning when they woke up alone at their own flats, and even rarer to not see each other at least once in a day. Arthur practically knew Merlin’s daily routines better than he knew his own, but still, that didn’t mean anything. Arthur’d known Val damn well, too, and lord knew that relationship had been anything but domestic (though Arthur suspected this might have had more to do with Val being dull as a brick rather than any particular intimacy between them).
Although…Merlin wasn’t exactly Val, was he? Arthur actually cared about him, for one. And Arthur enjoyed their monthly dinners with Hunith better than he’d ever enjoyed meals with his own family. He was more comfortable with Merlin than he could ever remember being, and Arthur realized with something like dawning horror that they had settled into routine life.
Oh hell.
Arthur’s mobile went off just as he reached this conclusion, and he knew without looking that it was Merlin.
pret near you is much better than near me, the text read. this is unacceptable.
It’s the same food, idiot, Arthur replied, smirking around his sandwich.
shut up and eat your super club, Merlin texted back, followed quickly by, lance keeps giving me weird looks. did you tell gwen i want to play with his hair?
Arthur let out a bark of laughter. No, saving that one for a rainy day. You probably have something on your face.
There was a pause before Merlin replied, and when he did it was simply, prat. Just like Arthur knew it would be.
---
“So, Vivian’s new costume came in today,” Merlin announced later that night, after a lazy dinner in Arthur’s kitchen once they’d relocated to the sitting room. Arthur sniggered.
“How bad is it this time?”
“Not terrible, actually,” Merlin admitted, moving over to Llamrei’s tank. “Rumor has it Helen gave her a dress code after the last one caught on the pole and tore halfway through the routine. She didn’t give up her sequins, though.”
“Heaven forbid,” Arthur said mock somberly. “It’s a good thing she’s not going to Florida, or she’d blind the judges before your pale skin had the chance.”
“Oi,” Merlin protested, even as his mouth turned up in a grin, like it did every time someone mentioned the upcoming competition. It was his first outside of the country, a trans-Atlantic competition that, according to Merlin, was breeding grounds for international contestants. Merlin had spent the past months oscillating between terror and excitement at the thought. “Don’t be a prat. Or I might just go and find myself a nice Florida boy instead.”
Arthur raised his eyebrow, settling deeper into the sofa. “Will you now?”
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Merlin nodded with a casual shrug, smiling innocently. “You know what they say about American boys and English accents.”
Arthur laughed and extended a hand. “Come here, you idiot,” he commanded, and though Merlin rolled his eyes he obeyed. He flopped gracelessly down into Arthur’s lap and pressed their lips together. Arthur threaded his fingers into Merlin’s hair, nipping gently at Merlin’s lip when they paused for breath before kissing him again, and again. He kissed Merlin exactly the way he knew Merlin loved, and Merlin repaid in kind until they were both a little dizzy and gripping each other a little too hard.
“Still thinking about those American boys?” Arthur murmured, sliding a hand down to grip Merlin’s arse pointedly. Merlin grinned and pressed his thumb against Arthur’s lips.
“Maybe,” he teased, swooping in for a kiss, “but you could always take me to the bedroom to distract me.”
Arthur prepared to do just that before a thought occurred to him.
“No, wait,” he said when Merlin made to clamber off of his lap, “stay.” Merlin raised his eyebrows, but did as requested. Arthur kissed him in reward, shifting enough for the leverage to push Merlin onto his back and stretching out on top of him. Merlin hummed happily, already wrapping his long limbs around Arthur to bring him closer. Arthur slipped a hand between them to rub at Merlin’s hardening cock, and Merlin purred appreciatively until Arthur made to thumb open his trousers.
“Wait, wait, let’s get to bed first,” he said, moving to push Arthur up, but Arthur shook his head.
“Let’s do it here.” He leaned in to press a persuasive kiss to Merlin’s mouth, shutting out his protests.
“Arthur,” Merlin mumbled against his mouth, “I know this sofa’s big, but it’s not that big.” Arthur groaned.
“It’ll be fine, Merlin. Can’t we change it up even a little bit?”
“By falling off the sofa?”
“Oh, for-fine, never mind,” Arthur grumbled, and made to sit up. He’d barely moved at all, however, before Merlin grabbed his arms, keeping him in place with a tiny frown.
“Hey,” he said quietly, “what’s this about?”
Arthur sighed. “Nothing. I just thought we’d have a change, for once. Something other than a quick fuck in the bed.”
Merlin’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Excuse me?”
“I didn’t-“ Arthur sighed and let his head fall to Merlin’s chest. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just…forget about it.”
“No. Clearly something’s bothering you. I’m not just going to ignore it,” Merlin replied, nudging at Arthur until he looked up again. “What is it? Are you bored?”
“No. Yes?” Arthur tried, then made a face. “Not exactly.”
“Oh, well, that clears things up,” Merlin teased, smoothing a bit of hair off Arthur’s forehead. “You know you can tell me. Do you want something different? We could try some things, unless you have something in mind.”
“No, it’s not that really,” Arthur said slowly. “I just…do you think we’re boring?”
Merlin blinked in surprise. “Boring?”
“Yeah. Predictable, that kind of thing.”
“Of course not. We’re too young for that.”
“That’s what I told Gwen!” Arthur replied. “But…she might have had a point. I mean, when was the last time we did something just for the hell of it?”
“I don’t think that makes us boring,” Merlin pointed out, resuming his slow stroking through Arthur’s hair. “We’ve been together for over a year, Arthur, we were bound to get comfortable with each other.” He traced his thumb over Arthur’s cheekbone, looking suddenly nervous. “Unless, you’re not happy?”
“No, God, Merlin,” Arthur hurried to say, leaning down to press a kiss against Merlin’s mouth. “I am, I promise.”
“Well then, if you’re happy, and I’m happy, why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t, I guess.” Arthur huffed, shaking his head. “Christ, this is stupid.”
“Well, stupid people do stupid things,” Merlin agreed sagely, and Arthur smacked him. Merlin just sniggered before his face softened. “Honestly, Arthur, this isn’t a big deal. We can switch it up once in a while. Just don’t be a prat and get all constipated on me.”
Arthur snorted at him. Suddenly he realized that he was still lying on top of Merlin, though both of them had long gone soft, and shifted himself up to let Merlin breathe. “Yeah? What do you have in mind?”
Merlin hummed thoughtfully, not bothering to sit up and letting his fingers tap up and down Arthur’s chest.
“We could go away together,” he suggested, and brightened suddenly. “Come to Florida with me.”
“I have work,” Arthur protested, because they’d been over this before. Merlin, however, just smiled, and drew Arthur closer again.
“So spontaneously take a few days off,” he suggested, and Arthur laughed even as Merlin pulled him in for a kiss.
“Hoist on my own petard,” Arthur murmured, and knew by his delighted laugh that Merlin took it as the concession it was.
---
There was very little about Florida that was like England at all.
Arthur, who had been before, had expected the heat, but Merlin had staggered under it the instant he stepped out of the airport, much to Arthur’s amusement. By the time they reached the hotel hosting the event he’d adjusted enough to gawk delightedly at the stone elephants blowing water in the lobby and the myriad of plant life everywhere. They got lost looking for the right doorway to the tower their room was in, and by the time they found it Merlin and Freya barely had time to drop off their things before they had to dart off to a run-through. That left Arthur alone with Helen, so Arthur executed a tactical escape and fled down to the pool area.
He spent most of the afternoon there, and was still there when Merlin and Freya finally emerged from the event room to join him.
“Christ, that was exhausting,” Merlin groaned in greeting, throwing himself onto the recliner next to Arthur’s theatrically. “They made us practice entrances and exits three times each, and then dragged us on a tour of the hotel. To top it off, we had to spend the whole day with our competing class.” He raised his head from the recliner and fixed them with a serious look. “American men are far too obsessed with protein shakes.”
“It wasn’t that bad,” Freya argued with an amused smile. “You’re being dramatic.”
Merlin made a face. “You’re just saying that because you didn’t have to deal with creepy Cenred all day.”
“No, but I had his lover, and Morgause is just as bad,” Freya pointed out. Merlin blinked at her.
“Morgause and Cenred? But I thought they hated each other.”
“They do,” Freya assured him, “but, as it turns out, that’s not necessarily a deal breaker. Kara said she saw them using aerial silks as a swing once.”
Merlin groaned and dropped his head back onto the recliner. “I didn’t need to hear that. I am way too tired to be thinking about Morgause and Cenred’s kinky sex life.”
“Too tired for dinner?” Arthur asked, not even bothering to hide the blatant segue onto a conversation that didn’t involve aerial silk sex. Thankfully, neither Merlin nor Freya seemed to be complaining.
“Never too tired for dinner,” Merlin said, already pushing himself off of the recliner and onto his feet. “Where’d you have in mind?”
They decided to hop onto the hotel ferry for one of the restaurants across the lake. Merlin got his second wind, which lasted about until they’d finished their meal and were heading back to the ferry, at which point he crashed, spectacularly.
“’m gonna pop some tags,” Merlin sang softly into Arthur’s shoulder, already mostly asleep, “on’y got twenty dollars in m’pocket…”
Arthur buried his face in Merlin’s hair to hide his grin as the ferry toted them back to the hotel. Freya was awake enough to walk herself back to the room, but Merlin leaned heavily against Arthur as they made their way to the correct tower. Not that Arthur minded. He waved goodbye to Freya and let Merlin stumble into the room on his own, grinning at the way he headed straight for the bed and face planted onto it without bothering to take off anything.
“Come here, you idiot,” he said fondly, tugging on Merlin’s trouser leg until he rolled over enough for Arthur to help undress him. “Useless,” he went on. Merlin kicked at him pitifully.
“Shut up, ‘m tired.”
“I can see that,” Arthur agreed, climbing onto the bed to help divest Merlin of his shirt. “Running around a hotel all day will do that.”
“’s not a hotel. ‘s a bloody zoo,” Merlin grumbled, and Arthur laughed.
“Go to sleep, idiot.”
“Mmm,” Merlin sighed happily, already burrowing under the blankets, but a second later his eyes flew open and he turned over to look at Arthur. “Wait, no, we’re-we’re supposed to be doing things. Together. Spontaneous things.”
Arthur laughed. “I don’t think you’re much up for any sort of thing other than sleeping right now.”
Merlin frowned, brow wrinkled like a child. “’m fine.”
“You’re exhausted, you said so yourself,” Arthur reminded him, and moved up to press a kiss to Merlin’s brow. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s get the competition out of the way before we worry about being spontaneous.”
Merlin’s frown didn’t quite abate, but he sighed in acquiescence anyway and sank back into the pillows, muttering, “’f you insist.” Arthur gave him another fond smile, and swooped down to kiss his forehead in a fit of uncharacteristic tenderness.
“Sleep. Big day tomorrow,” he muttered, and Merlin mumbled something in response.
---
“Please welcome to the stage for competition, Morgause Orcades.”
Arthur clapped politely with the crowd and tried desperately not to think about aerial silks as the blonde woman glowered at the audience and delivered another strong, vaguely threatening performance. Freya was directly after her, and her softer, smoother routine was so different from Morgause’s that Arthur was sure she’d pull ahead. She moved with the quiet strength that Arthur had grown used to over the months of seeing her dance, moving her body around and shifting into position with ease that belied the difficulty of her routine. Arthur saw her confidence waver slightly when her hand slipped on her foot, not enough to make her fall but enough to be noticeable, but then she slipped straight back into the routine and finished without further error.
The crowd applauded her heartily, anyway, and when she slipped offstage it was with a smile on her face.
Finally, it was Merlin’s category.
The program had Merlin listed as fourth in line for his category. Merlin had fretted over his placement all morning-Cenred, Merlin’s biggest competition, had been given the last performance, and Merlin would have to work particularly hard to stand out amongst the crowd. Arthur had no doubt that he would, and had no compunctions about telling Merlin so, which had brought a soft, fond smile to Merlin’s face.
“In tonight’s last competing class, please welcome to the stage for men’s advanced competition, Merlin Emrys.”
It was too dark to make anything out clearly at first. The first strains of music started, and a faint spotlight crept onstage to reveal Merlin’s hunched form at the foot of one of the poles. He rocked back and forth as the light continued to grow, creating a creepy atmosphere that, judging by the sudden shifting of a few of Arthur’s neighbors, was working like a charm. Merlin kept his face hidden from the audience as he bent further forward. There was none of his usual cheekiness present as he leapt suddenly to his feet, staring around at the still-dark stage and out into the audience with a manic air. Some in the audience murmured when they noticed the straightjacket wrapped around him. Even Arthur, who had lost count of how many times he’d watched this performance, was a little taken aback by how convincing Merlin was. He didn’t usually do dramatic acting routines like this one, but he was a natural at it.
The music sped up, and Merlin sped up with it. He threw himself on to and then immediately off the pole, thrashing in his jacket as soon as his feet hit the floor. When one of his arms came lose, he paused, as if in wonder, and then again with the other. He moved over to the pole again, stepping onto it rather than jumping this time, but he jumped down again after only a few seconds and ripped the jacket off completely, throwing it onto the ground.
A lone cheer whistled out as Merlin stared down at his hands. His entire body had shifted, going from hunched and uncomfortable to long and loose. The frown that had puckered his forehead through the entire routine had softened. As if to test his newfound freedom, he sprang suddenly into a backflip, landing with a giant grin before flipping onto the pole. The audience had come alive along with him and cheered his movements, and Arthur marveled at how he could wrap them up in his story so easily. Merlin had spent days tracking down the right music and framing the right moves to fit. Arthur had made fun of him at the time, but now.
Merlin hardly stood still, moving from move to move between one beat and the next and all with that peaceful smile on his face. He looked happy to be alive and moving, putting his body through its paces. Arthur watched him leap onto the pole and spin with nothing more than his hand for support, the rest of his body starfished out, and remembered the hours of practice and the countless bruises than had been put into learning it. On stage though, Merlin made it look easy.
The music wound down, and Merlin went with it, stepping over to his discarded jacket for a final dip down, in submission or in refute, it was up to the audience. The lights dimmed, and the audience cheered, Arthur along with them.
---
“…thank you to all of our talented participants for another successful competition. We hope you all return to us next year and have all the luck in the future.”
Arthur hardly remembered to clap along with everyone else at the announcer’s speech. He hated award ceremonies. They always lasted far too long, and the wait made a nervous tension settle in his belly. As always, though, the smiling announcer seemed to care little about his nerves.
“And now, to announce the second runner up for women’s intermediate competition-“
Arthur tuned her out. His eyes sought out Merlin in the crowd on stage, standing off to the right with an easy smile as the intermediate winners accepted their awards. Cenred was standing a few people to his left, still in his leather daddy ensemble from his performance and making eyes at Morgause across the stage. Arthur had to stifle a laugh when he noticed Merlin subtly shuffling away from him before straightening and cheering loudly when Freya’s name was called for third place (his smile noticeably dimmed when Morgause claimed first).
The announcer made a show of switching envelopes as the cheering died.
“Congratulations, ladies, on your spectacular performances. Now for men’s advanced competition, the second runner up is-“ She rattled off a name that Arthur didn’t recognize, followed by cheering as the man collected his trophy. “Congratulations. And our first runner up-“
She paused, again, and Arthur was tempted to get up and strangle her by the time she finally read, “Cenred Mercia!”
Arthur’s though his heart might beat its way out of his throat as Cenred strutted forward with a greasy smile. He looked back at Merlin, who was clapping as if in a daze and looking somewhere between terrified and elated, and Arthur knew exactly what he was thinking. Surely, surely Merlin had first if Cenred didn’t. Finally, Cenred stepped back and the announcer brandished her envelope.
“And finally, our first place dancer in men’s advanced competition-is Merlin Emrys!”
“Fuck,” Arthur saw Merlin mouth as the other dancers pounded him on the back before he realized that he had to do more than stand there, and made his way up towards the announcer. He accepted the award, bowed for the audience, and let out a disbelieving laugh as his applause continued. The announcer tried to grab everyone’s attention, but neither Arthur nor anyone else was giving her the time of day, and at last she gave up with a cheery, “Thank you again to everyone for coming, and goodnight!”
The dancers all shuffled offstage, Merlin with them. Arthur joined the queue heading out of the ballroom.
“That Emrys guy was amazing,” someone a few people ahead of him said to her friend. “I’ve never heard of him before. Where’d he come from?”
“Program says England,” her friend replied. “Do you think he does workshops? I’d love a lesson with him-“
“Of course you would,” the first friend giggled, and Arthur ducked his head to hide a grin. The group moved away as the queue emptied into the foyer, and another moved in closer to Arthur.
“I can’t believe Morgause won again,” one of them complained, “her routines look the same every year. It’s not fair.”
“At least Cenred didn’t win this year,” pointed out her friend. “I mean, I liked his routine this year, but that Merlin guy was good-“
Arthur heard no less than four other people singing Merlin’s praises before a side door opened and Merlin himself finally appeared. He was laughing and smiling at the various dancers talking to him, but as soon as he saw Arthur he beamed and broke away from the group. Arthur smiled, and then he had an armful of a laughing Merlin and lips pressed against his own. Arthur returned the kiss eagerly, until Merlin broke it with a giddy laugh.
“First place,” he said a little breathlessly, arms still around Arthur even as he bounced excitedly on his feet.
“Congratulations,” Arthur replied with a smile. “I told you you’d be brilliant.”
Merlin beamed, if possible, even harder before kissing Arthur again, and Arthur caught sight of a few dancers giving them a disappointed look.
“Don’t look now,” he murmured against Merlin’s lips, “but I think you have a fan club.”
“What?”
Merlin turned around in time to see one of the intermediate dancers giving him wistful eyes, and a handful of others giggling behind their hands as they stared at Merlin and Arthur.
“They were all very impressed with your performance,” Arthur went on, grinning against Merlin’s ear. “You should have heard them talking. I’d say I have some competition for your affections-“
“Oh God, shut up, you prat,” Merlin laughed, and then, “Freya, tell Arthur he’s being an arse.”
Poor Freya, who had just made her way over to them, blushed and stammered, “Sorry?”
“Don’t listen to him, he’s being an idiot.” Arthur grinned and nodded at the trophy in her hand. “Congratulations, you did beautifully.”
“Oh, thank you,” Freya blushed again, ducking her head bashfully. Merlin began bouncing on his toes again, smiling firmly back in place.
“We need to celebrate! Is there a pub around here?”
Arthur grinned. “Actually, I have a better idea.”
---
An hour later, the three of them were stuffed into the crowded dance floor of the club Arthur had noticed the day before. Arthur had his hands firmly on Merlin’s waist as they danced, though they were pressed so tightly together he doubted anyone would think they weren’t together, anyway. Even Freya was coming out of her shell a little, smiling and dancing a few feet away from them.
The DJ shouted something into his mic that made the crowd cheer. Merlin laughed and turned around in Arthur’s arms so that they were face-to-face, still dancing.
“This is fun!” he shouted over the music so Arthur could hear. “I can’t believe you suggested a club.”
“Just being spontaneous,” Arthur shouted back, which earned him a laugh.
“It’s a promising start.”
Arthur huffed at that, tightening his hold on Merlin’s hips to grind even closer. Merlin chuckled. The song changed, transitioning into yet another bass-heavy something that Arthur had never heard, but he definitely wasn’t complaining when Merlin hooked his arms around his neck and kept on dancing. There were only a few inches separating their faces now, and none separating them anywhere else. Arthur could feel the warmth of Merlin’s body all along his front, hotter and more thrilling than the warmth of the club at his back. It was not surprising then when Merlin leaned forward and kissed him, deep and hot and so, so sexy.
“Fuck,” Arthur swore, but it was lost to the noise of the club and to Merlin’s mouth.
The crowd moved around them, occasionally bumping into one of them, but neither of them spared anyone else a thought. Arthur’s hands had traveled up into Merlin’s shirt and were running along his spine while Merlin fisted his hair. A small part of Arthur balked at this level of intimacy in such a public place, but most of him cried ‘Fuck that!’ and pulled Merlin in for more. He felt Merlin’s laugh rumbling in his chest and sucked his lower lip into his mouth in punishment.
Someone knocked into Merlin, sending him falling forward against Arthur. Arthur opened his mouth to tell the stranger off, but Merlin moaned before he could get a word out, and Arthur noticed the hardness pressed against his hip.
He smirked against Merlin’s lips and rolled his hips deliberately, delighting in Merlin’s resulting groan. Merlin’s hands moved down to grab Arthur’s arse in encouragement. Arthur was more than happy to grind their cocks together in blissful, not-enough friction while people danced around them. It wouldn’t be enough for long, but the sounds Merlin was making and the illicit thrill was too good to stop.
Arthur grunted in protest when Merlin broke their kiss, but Merlin just smiled and brought his lips up to nip gently at his earlobe.
“Having fun?” he asked, just barely loud enough to be heard above the music. Arthur grinned.
“Why? Have better plans?”
“How about a spontaneous blowjob in the loo?” Merlin murmured against Arthur’s ear. Arthur’s cock throbbed and he groaned. Merlin, thankfully, took that as the agreement it was and took a step back, eyes not leaving Arthur’s face as he reached for Arthur’s hand.
Arthur couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex crammed into a toilet stall, and he remembered why when his elbow immediately slammed against the wall and his knees nearly buckled when he was backed against the toilet. He was saved from falling by Merlin’s quick grip, and then Merlin was on him again and Arthur forgot to care about their surroundings. Merlin sucked on his tongue while his fingers worked at his jeans, sliding inside as soon as there was enough room to rub Arthur’s erection through his pants. Arthur would have returned the favor if his hands weren’t occupied in Merlin’s shirt, tracing the lines of his back and stomach and moving up to tease a nipple.
Distantly, he heard someone outside laugh and then the sound of the sink running, but he was too distracted by Merlin’s hand to worry about being caught. He swallowed back the moan that tried to escape when Merlin bent down to suck at his neck. Merlin hummed against his skin, as if he’d heard it anyway, and began to easy Arthur’s trousers down. His cock was still trapped in his pants when Merlin stepped back with a dirty grin and unzipped his own trousers, palming himself even as he dropped to his knees. He leaned in to nuzzle Arthur’s cock, one hand coming up to stroke along it, still not making any move to release it. Arthur growled.
“Merlin…” he said warningly. To his chagrin, Merlin just smirked and squeezed him. “Arse.”
Merlin laughed throatily, but finally reached up to ease Arthur’s pants over his erection. He left fluttering kisses along its length before licking the head and taking it in hand. Arthur let his eyes fall closed while Merlin’s hand worked up and down his cock, blessedly tight and good after their grinding on the dance floor. He looked down again when Merlin made a soft, pleased noise, and almost choked on his tongue when he saw Merlin fisting his own cock as he did Arthur’s, hungry eyes staring right back at Arthur.
Seeing that he had his attention, Merlin grinned widely and leaned forward until the head of Arthur’s prick met the corner of his mouth. Instead of taking it inside, though, he let it slide against the skin of his cheek, leaving a trail of precome. Arthur grunted involuntarily and gave a tiny thrust, which Merlin noticed and smirked at him for.
“Eager,” he teased, and Arthur might have said something back, eavesdroppers be damned, if Merlin hadn’t finally deigned to take him in his mouth.
Merlin was very, very good at giving head. He sucked and licked and moaned like he wanted to do nothing more than suck Arthur’s cock, and the performance almost always did Arthur in in minutes flat.
This time, he knew he wouldn’t be lasting long from the beginning, so he intended to enjoy it for as long as possible. Merlin took him in as far as he would go and hummed. In lieu of groaning, Arthur bit his lip and reached down to press his thumb against Merlin’s cheek, imagining he could feel the warmth of his own cock through Merlin’s hot skin. Merlin peeked up at him from beneath his lashes and eased back before swallowing Arthur back down again, and again. He let out a tiny moan as his eyes fluttered, and Arthur noticed his shoulder moving with his hand as he worked himself, too.
“Yes,” Arthur exhaled. He loved watching Merlin get himself off, and doing it with a cock in his mouth was twice as good. Merlin pulled off completely to run his tongue along Arthur’s head, and Arthur had to grip Merlin’s hair hard to keep himself from thrusting in and choking him. Merlin didn’t seem to care; in fact, he swallowed Arthur right back down, all signs of teasing gone as he worked Arthur into orgasm, ignoring Arthur’s whispered warning and swallowing when Arthur was finally pushed over the top, coming hard down Merlin’s throat.
Arthur fought hard to catch his breath as Merlin eased off of him, a little bit of come on the corner of his mouth. He watched hungrily as Merlin sat back on his heels, eyes squeezed shut as his hand flew over his dark red cock, hair mussed and face flushed and gorgeous. He widened his legs under Arthur’s gaze and reached down with his free hand to fondle his balls, and Arthur knew he was close so he dragged him to his feet and slammed their mouths together, licking eagerly into Merlin’s mouth to taste himself. Merlin was too far gone to respond properly, breath hitching with every swipe until finally he gasped and came, catching his come with his free hand while Arthur stared.
“Fuck,” Merlin gasped finally, tilting his head against the stall wall to catch his breath. “Arthur.”
Arthur kissed him in answer, still loose and warm from his orgasm. “That,” he said quietly when they’d stopped for air, “was brilliant.”
Merlin laughed breathily. “Mhm. I’m liking this spontaneity thing.”
The sound of a toilet flushing a few stalls over interrupted their laughter. Arthur grimaced, which just made Merlin laugh harder and bury his head in Arthur’s shoulder until the sounds of running water had been shut off and the music swelled for a moment as someone left the room.
“We should go find Freya,” Arthur eventually suggested. Merlin hummed.
“She’s going to know exactly what we were doing,” he sighed.
“Probably,” Arthur agreed, and kissed him again for good measure.
---
Merlin had to be coaxed awake with two cups of coffee and a promise of toast the next day, but Arthur was long used to dealing with his sleepy boyfriend in the morning and hustled him along. Merlin grumbled, just as Arthur’d known he would, and promptly fell asleep on Arthur’s shoulder on the coachride, like Arthur’d known he would, and tried valiantly to hide his smile when he woke up to find Freya taking a picture of them. His grumpiness lasted no longer than it took for the coach to arrive at the gates of Disney, and had long since been forgotten by the time Arthur kissed him in front of Cinderella’s castle. Just like Arthur’d known it would be.
It wasn’t until that night, when the three of them had claimed a spot for the firework show and Merlin was watching it all from under Arthur’s arms, warm and so wonderfully familiar, that Arthur decided that maybe there wasn’t anything wrong with a little predictability.
[ Part 7]