Fic: Interlude I (Marriage 'Verse)
Title: Interlude I (Marriage 'Verse)
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: R (for language and implied sexy times)
Word Count: ~1600
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, and make no money from this. This is purely for my own enjoyment. Everything belongs to the BBC.
Summary: Modern AU, part of a 'verse that starts with 'Love Is A Grave Mental Disease.' In which telling Uther of their engagement goes about as well as Arthur's Valentine's Day proposal plans did.
Author's note: This is just a short fic, which was originally supposed to be part of a longer sequel I'm working on. However, it no longer fits with the rest of the sequel, so I decided to post it as its own little extra.
“…You’re getting married.”
Here we go, Merlin thought. He plastered on his best fake smile as Uther stared back at them both in disbelief, like they were playing a joke on him. He kept glancing toward Morgana suspiciously, as if she might be in on it.
Arthur reached for Merlin’s hand beneath the dining table, lifting his chin in defiance. “Yes. I proposed on Valentine’s Day.”
Merlin snuck a quick, fond glance at Arthur’s proud face. Every time he told someone about it, he acted like he was the first man ever to think of proposing on Valentine’s Day and wasn’t he the most amazing boyfriend ever.
Uther’s face said that he was wondering where he’d gone wrong with Arthur.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Morgana said pointedly.
Merlin had long resigned himself to the fact that, in Uther’s eyes, he was a good enough employee, but he would never be good enough for Arthur. Uther had made this quite clear from the very first time they’d met, so he was in no way surprised at the man’s reaction to the news.
“What about that girl you were with before?” Uther said.
Arthur’s jaw clenched. “You mean the one I was going out with more than five years ago?”
“The blonde one, yes. You know, she’s working for me now-”
“Unless you hadn’t noticed, I’m not seeing her anymore,” Arthur ground out. His fingers were gradually tightening around Merlin’s.
“Believe me, I had noticed,” Uther said darkly, giving Merlin a less-than-friendly look. Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. “But come on, Arthur - think about this. Have you told the board of directors yet?”
“What do they have to do with this?” Merlin asked, frowning, squeezing Arthur’s hand back under the table.
Uther sneered at him. “Do you actually have any idea who Arthur is?” he demanded incredulously.
“Uther!” Morgana said reprovingly.
“No,” Arthur cut in, “Merlin’s right. This is a private matter.”
“As nice a sentiment as that may be,” Uther said, “you know very well that in your position, you have to maintain a certain image-“
The first time Uther had argued along these lines, Merlin had been outraged. It said something that he didn’t even blink now. Arthur, on the other hand, always let it get to him.
“Everyone already knows I’m seeing Merlin - I’ve been with him for five years, and I never tried to keep it secret!” Arthur raged. “I’ve taken Merlin to every company party with me! And I’ve still tripled the company’s profits since I’ve been there! We’ve got a house together!”
“Arthur,” Merlin murmured, moving his hand so that he could squeeze the other man’s knee. He and Morgana shared a long-suffering look.
“That may be,” Uther argued, “but I still think-“
“That what, people won’t want to do business with a company with a fag as director?” Arthur countered furiously.
“Arthur,” Merlin said again, more firmly, and Arthur finally looked at him. His face was flushed, eyes angry and hurt. Holding Arthur’s gaze, Merlin said, “Your father isn’t going to change his mind, and it’s not worth arguing. We should just go.”
That effectively shut Uther up. He glared at Merlin, jaw clenched, and Merlin tried not to appear intimidated, which wasn’t easy when he actually was.
After a moment, Arthur’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and the wildness began to bleed out of his eyes. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have to listen to this. We’ll go home.”
“At least stay for the night,” Uther said hurriedly. “It’s too late to get back into London now.”
It wasn’t, but Merlin was too nice for his own good and nodded his assent when Arthur looked at him questioningly. “Then we’ll retire for now,” Arthur told his father, getting up from the table.
“Me, too,” Morgana said, getting to her feet and shooting Uther a poisonous look as she did so.
“Morgana,” Uther began, but in the face of her glare, said no more.
“Goodnight, father.” Arthur nodded his head, then tucked his hand around Merlin’s elbow and drew him from the dining room. Morgana followed them out, and then as soon as they were all out of earshot, she cried, “The nerve of the man!”
“It’s alright,” Merlin tried to soothe her. “I’m used to it.”
Arthur looked like someone had kicked him in the teeth. He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated, and groaned, “Good God, Merlin, you shouldn’t have to get used to that.”
“I only endure it because you’re good in bed,” Merlin told him, grinning, and Morgana made a choking sound. Arthur didn’t really respond, looking distracted and tired, so Merlin bid goodnight to Morgana for the both of them, and took Arthur to bed.
<><><><>
Trips to Uther’s Surrey estate always seemed to turn out quite eventfully, which Merlin was convinced was one reason why they were only ever rarely invited to stay. Another reason was probably because Arthur had some weird fetish about having Merlin fuck him very loudly whenever they were there, leaving Uther scowling at them viciously in the mornings.
The country house, enclosed within acres and acres of land, was used as Uther’s weekend getaway. It had about a million rooms and staff to keep it in good order, and it had only served to further convince Merlin that Uther believed he was practically the King of England. Merlin associated the place with rejection - his first ever visit had been to introduce himself as Arthur’s boyfriend, and things had only gone downhill from there.
The beds were nice, though, Merlin had to admit that. And they were even better when they had an utterly fucked out Arthur Pendragon lying in them, hair stuck in sweaty strands across his face and bare chest still heaving as he fought to catch his breath.
“After that, I think your father might actually try to poison us at breakfast,” Merlin commented, idly trailing fingers along Arthur’s damp skin.
“After that, I don’t think I care,” Arthur groaned hoarsely. “Bloody hell, Merlin.”
Merlin grinned, and leant down to press a wet kiss to Arthur’s shoulder. “Good to know I can be of service,” he said with an exaggerated leer.
Arthur just stared at him, a little dazed-looking still. Merlin leant over and kissed him slowly, until Arthur found the energy to lift one hand and run it through Merlin’s messy hair. Eventually, Merlin collapsed along the other man’s side, chin tucked over Arthur’s shoulder. That close, the blond smelled of sweat and sex.
They lay in companionable silence for a minute or two, long enough that Merlin began to drift off to sleep. Then Arthur said quietly, “I really am sorry.”
“You can’t control what your father feels,” Merlin murmured, opening his eyes to watch Arthur’s face. “And my mum thinks you’re the best thing that ever happened to not just me, but the entire world.” Hunith had, predictably, been thrilled at the thought of them marrying.
“Someone has to appreciate my greatness,” Arthur replied with a smile, soft around the edges.
“I know, I certainly don’t,” Merlin said. “Maybe you should just marry my mum instead.”
Arthur snorted, lips still curved into that sweet, soft smile as his eyelids drooped. “Maybe I will,” he said, and then seemed to drift off to sleep. Merlin pulled the covers higher over them both before following.
<><><><>
Uther looked tired and accusative at breakfast the next morning, and Merlin sat through a full English breakfast opposite the man wavering between smug glee and abject terror. After that was a stilted good-bye at the front door. Merlin hugged Morgana, shook Uther’s hand and then went to the car, giving Arthur and his father privacy as he pretended to check through their stuff to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.
Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin watched as the two of them spoke quietly together, Morgana to one side watching them warily. He couldn’t see Arthur’s face from where he was, but he caught a glimpse of Uther looking serious and grim.
Logically, Merlin knew that Uther’s disapproval wouldn’t stop Arthur from going through with the civil partnership, but sometimes when Uther made it abundantly clear that he didn’t like Arthur’s choice in partner, Merlin worried a little. Arthur put a lot of stock in his father’s opinion, and much of his life had been spent doing things in order to gain Uther’s approval. Merlin was possibly one of the first things in Arthur’s life that he had actually chosen for himself, rather than to please someone else.
Eventually, Arthur received a terse, one-armed hug from his father, and then made his way towards Merlin and the car. They’d taken Arthur’s flashy Aston Martin for the weekend trip, because Uther made a face whenever they turned up in Merlin’s very-ordinary-but-far-more-practical Ford. Merlin always made a show of complaining when Arthur insisted on taking the Aston, but secretly he was not entirely immune to the appeal of the whole expensive-car-plus-hot-driver thing. On one occasion, Merlin may or may not have made Arthur pull over on a deserted country lane so they could have sex in it.
“Morgana says she wants to plan the wedding,” was the first thing Arthur said as he settled himself in the driver’s seat. “And I said only as long as she could get us The Exchange as the reception venue.”
Merlin decided that he really didn’t need to worry so much.
<><><><><>
End.
1. The actual sequel to this is well on the way, but not quite there yet. I'll butcher it into something readable in the near future, hopefully!
2. If you got this far, thank you for reading!
Fandom: Merlin (BBC)
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: R (for language and implied sexy times)
Word Count: ~1600
Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, and make no money from this. This is purely for my own enjoyment. Everything belongs to the BBC.
Summary: Modern AU, part of a 'verse that starts with 'Love Is A Grave Mental Disease.' In which telling Uther of their engagement goes about as well as Arthur's Valentine's Day proposal plans did.
Author's note: This is just a short fic, which was originally supposed to be part of a longer sequel I'm working on. However, it no longer fits with the rest of the sequel, so I decided to post it as its own little extra.
“…You’re getting married.”
Here we go, Merlin thought. He plastered on his best fake smile as Uther stared back at them both in disbelief, like they were playing a joke on him. He kept glancing toward Morgana suspiciously, as if she might be in on it.
Arthur reached for Merlin’s hand beneath the dining table, lifting his chin in defiance. “Yes. I proposed on Valentine’s Day.”
Merlin snuck a quick, fond glance at Arthur’s proud face. Every time he told someone about it, he acted like he was the first man ever to think of proposing on Valentine’s Day and wasn’t he the most amazing boyfriend ever.
Uther’s face said that he was wondering where he’d gone wrong with Arthur.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Morgana said pointedly.
Merlin had long resigned himself to the fact that, in Uther’s eyes, he was a good enough employee, but he would never be good enough for Arthur. Uther had made this quite clear from the very first time they’d met, so he was in no way surprised at the man’s reaction to the news.
“What about that girl you were with before?” Uther said.
Arthur’s jaw clenched. “You mean the one I was going out with more than five years ago?”
“The blonde one, yes. You know, she’s working for me now-”
“Unless you hadn’t noticed, I’m not seeing her anymore,” Arthur ground out. His fingers were gradually tightening around Merlin’s.
“Believe me, I had noticed,” Uther said darkly, giving Merlin a less-than-friendly look. Merlin raised an eyebrow at him. “But come on, Arthur - think about this. Have you told the board of directors yet?”
“What do they have to do with this?” Merlin asked, frowning, squeezing Arthur’s hand back under the table.
Uther sneered at him. “Do you actually have any idea who Arthur is?” he demanded incredulously.
“Uther!” Morgana said reprovingly.
“No,” Arthur cut in, “Merlin’s right. This is a private matter.”
“As nice a sentiment as that may be,” Uther said, “you know very well that in your position, you have to maintain a certain image-“
The first time Uther had argued along these lines, Merlin had been outraged. It said something that he didn’t even blink now. Arthur, on the other hand, always let it get to him.
“Everyone already knows I’m seeing Merlin - I’ve been with him for five years, and I never tried to keep it secret!” Arthur raged. “I’ve taken Merlin to every company party with me! And I’ve still tripled the company’s profits since I’ve been there! We’ve got a house together!”
“Arthur,” Merlin murmured, moving his hand so that he could squeeze the other man’s knee. He and Morgana shared a long-suffering look.
“That may be,” Uther argued, “but I still think-“
“That what, people won’t want to do business with a company with a fag as director?” Arthur countered furiously.
“Arthur,” Merlin said again, more firmly, and Arthur finally looked at him. His face was flushed, eyes angry and hurt. Holding Arthur’s gaze, Merlin said, “Your father isn’t going to change his mind, and it’s not worth arguing. We should just go.”
That effectively shut Uther up. He glared at Merlin, jaw clenched, and Merlin tried not to appear intimidated, which wasn’t easy when he actually was.
After a moment, Arthur’s shoulders relaxed slightly, and the wildness began to bleed out of his eyes. “You’re right. You shouldn’t have to listen to this. We’ll go home.”
“At least stay for the night,” Uther said hurriedly. “It’s too late to get back into London now.”
It wasn’t, but Merlin was too nice for his own good and nodded his assent when Arthur looked at him questioningly. “Then we’ll retire for now,” Arthur told his father, getting up from the table.
“Me, too,” Morgana said, getting to her feet and shooting Uther a poisonous look as she did so.
“Morgana,” Uther began, but in the face of her glare, said no more.
“Goodnight, father.” Arthur nodded his head, then tucked his hand around Merlin’s elbow and drew him from the dining room. Morgana followed them out, and then as soon as they were all out of earshot, she cried, “The nerve of the man!”
“It’s alright,” Merlin tried to soothe her. “I’m used to it.”
Arthur looked like someone had kicked him in the teeth. He ran his hand through his hair, frustrated, and groaned, “Good God, Merlin, you shouldn’t have to get used to that.”
“I only endure it because you’re good in bed,” Merlin told him, grinning, and Morgana made a choking sound. Arthur didn’t really respond, looking distracted and tired, so Merlin bid goodnight to Morgana for the both of them, and took Arthur to bed.
<><><><>
Trips to Uther’s Surrey estate always seemed to turn out quite eventfully, which Merlin was convinced was one reason why they were only ever rarely invited to stay. Another reason was probably because Arthur had some weird fetish about having Merlin fuck him very loudly whenever they were there, leaving Uther scowling at them viciously in the mornings.
The country house, enclosed within acres and acres of land, was used as Uther’s weekend getaway. It had about a million rooms and staff to keep it in good order, and it had only served to further convince Merlin that Uther believed he was practically the King of England. Merlin associated the place with rejection - his first ever visit had been to introduce himself as Arthur’s boyfriend, and things had only gone downhill from there.
The beds were nice, though, Merlin had to admit that. And they were even better when they had an utterly fucked out Arthur Pendragon lying in them, hair stuck in sweaty strands across his face and bare chest still heaving as he fought to catch his breath.
“After that, I think your father might actually try to poison us at breakfast,” Merlin commented, idly trailing fingers along Arthur’s damp skin.
“After that, I don’t think I care,” Arthur groaned hoarsely. “Bloody hell, Merlin.”
Merlin grinned, and leant down to press a wet kiss to Arthur’s shoulder. “Good to know I can be of service,” he said with an exaggerated leer.
Arthur just stared at him, a little dazed-looking still. Merlin leant over and kissed him slowly, until Arthur found the energy to lift one hand and run it through Merlin’s messy hair. Eventually, Merlin collapsed along the other man’s side, chin tucked over Arthur’s shoulder. That close, the blond smelled of sweat and sex.
They lay in companionable silence for a minute or two, long enough that Merlin began to drift off to sleep. Then Arthur said quietly, “I really am sorry.”
“You can’t control what your father feels,” Merlin murmured, opening his eyes to watch Arthur’s face. “And my mum thinks you’re the best thing that ever happened to not just me, but the entire world.” Hunith had, predictably, been thrilled at the thought of them marrying.
“Someone has to appreciate my greatness,” Arthur replied with a smile, soft around the edges.
“I know, I certainly don’t,” Merlin said. “Maybe you should just marry my mum instead.”
Arthur snorted, lips still curved into that sweet, soft smile as his eyelids drooped. “Maybe I will,” he said, and then seemed to drift off to sleep. Merlin pulled the covers higher over them both before following.
<><><><>
Uther looked tired and accusative at breakfast the next morning, and Merlin sat through a full English breakfast opposite the man wavering between smug glee and abject terror. After that was a stilted good-bye at the front door. Merlin hugged Morgana, shook Uther’s hand and then went to the car, giving Arthur and his father privacy as he pretended to check through their stuff to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything.
Out of the corner of his eye, Merlin watched as the two of them spoke quietly together, Morgana to one side watching them warily. He couldn’t see Arthur’s face from where he was, but he caught a glimpse of Uther looking serious and grim.
Logically, Merlin knew that Uther’s disapproval wouldn’t stop Arthur from going through with the civil partnership, but sometimes when Uther made it abundantly clear that he didn’t like Arthur’s choice in partner, Merlin worried a little. Arthur put a lot of stock in his father’s opinion, and much of his life had been spent doing things in order to gain Uther’s approval. Merlin was possibly one of the first things in Arthur’s life that he had actually chosen for himself, rather than to please someone else.
Eventually, Arthur received a terse, one-armed hug from his father, and then made his way towards Merlin and the car. They’d taken Arthur’s flashy Aston Martin for the weekend trip, because Uther made a face whenever they turned up in Merlin’s very-ordinary-but-far-more-practical Ford. Merlin always made a show of complaining when Arthur insisted on taking the Aston, but secretly he was not entirely immune to the appeal of the whole expensive-car-plus-hot-driver thing. On one occasion, Merlin may or may not have made Arthur pull over on a deserted country lane so they could have sex in it.
“Morgana says she wants to plan the wedding,” was the first thing Arthur said as he settled himself in the driver’s seat. “And I said only as long as she could get us The Exchange as the reception venue.”
Merlin decided that he really didn’t need to worry so much.
<><><><><>
End.
1. The actual sequel to this is well on the way, but not quite there yet. I'll butcher it into something readable in the near future, hopefully!
2. If you got this far, thank you for reading!