fic: It's Not That Easy, Being Green
Title: It's not that easy, being green
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~4800
Warnings: None
Summary: Written for this kinkme_merlin prompt: Arthur/Merlin, AU, Merlin is the well-meaning hippie who runs the only recycling business in his small town. Arthur is the city-boy stuck there for the summer who starts recycling just to see him. Sex on the counter-top, knocking empty beer cans every which way.
Notes: For bedofpearls, to whom all the countryside-isms are dedicated: the gig, the cider and the lucozade.
Arthur was so screwed. The first time his father's old friend Gaius had sent him to get rid of the recycling, he'd met the man who ran the recycling point. And that man had completely messed up his perfectly planned out life.
He had two bags - paper, of course - jammed full of plastic bottles precariously swinging from his bike handles, and a backpack full of paper on his back; he looked ridiculous. He was riding a bike for goodness' sake! Arthur hadn't ridden a bike before his summer here since he was about seven.
For another thing, putting things on his handlebars was probably the worst idea anyone had come up with. Instead of the weight balancing out, the paper bags swung around precariously threatening to drop their contents and both sides simultaneously unbalanced him now.
On top of this, he was actually buying more drinks in plastic bottles just so he had empty bottles to bring over which, he was sure, defied the entire principle behind recycling.
Arthur finally reached the little store that served as the town's only recycling point and dismounted his bicycle with absolutely no grace whatsoever. It promptly fell over when he completely forgot to use the stand, and he reached for the chain to remember that he'd forgotten it. Oh.
As he stood in front of the store, Arthur reminded himself how stupid he was being. And then he pulled his shirt straight anyway. The door chimed cheerfully as he pushed his way in, and a young man with a mop of dark hair looked up and smiled. "Arthur! Whoa, more already?"
Arthur grinned, raising his bags full of bottles for Merlin to sort out behind his counter. He'd practically lived off bottled drinks this week, drinking his weight in Coke Zero and apple juice. He'd picked up a copy of every single free newspaper and leaflet in town in order to get enough to come back here. He was fairly sure Gaius thought that he was completely crazy.
Emptying his rucksack of paper, Arthur shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. "Well, it was all just lying around and it just needed the effort of someone picking it all up." It was worth the amount of time he spent gathering these things and even the embarrassing relearning of how to cycle to see Merlin beam at him.
Merlin started sorting out the bottles by glass or plastic. "So, city or country?" To anyone else, it might have sounded as if Merlin had completely switched topics, but it was just a continuation of their last conversation. Arthur had found that he liked it; it was like having one really long conversation that spanned a multitude of subjects.
"City," Arthur said with a grimace. "Sorry, but the country is just too quiet and slow-moving. Everyone's asleep by eleven and up with dawn and I can't buy juice when I'm craving it at three in the morning." He didn't want to offend Merlin, but he was a city-boy at heart. The country drove him crazy with its lack of variety. "I love it for holidays and such to wind down, but I couldn't live here permanently. You ever lived in a city?" He moved round the counter even though it was the staff section and started shifting empty cans.
Merlin laughed. "The closest I got to a big city was going to uni at Bath." Bath was by definition a city, but it wasn't what Arthur would consider a proper, thriving city. "I like not having to rush things." He smiled slowly at Arthur. "We don't all just sit around and gossip about the neighbour's new curtains though. Why don't I show you some of our nightlife?"
Nearly knocking a can over and sending the entire lot skittering across the counter, Arthur looked across at Merlin. "Sure," he said quickly, in case his pause had been interpreted as reluctance. Arthur had some difficulty putting the word 'nightlife' in context of the pretty Wiltshire countryside. "Is that a country boy's way of asking someone out on a date?"
It was hard to reach Merlin's expression when his eyes were hidden between the sweep of dark eyelashes, but he suddenly looked straight at Arthur. "Nope. But this is: Want to come to the gig with me tomorrow night?"
-
Arthur stared at his wardrobe, very nearly wailing to the world that he didn't have anything to wear. He rifled straight past the four crisp shirts which were completely unsuitable. He lingered on the section with his more casual short-sleeved shirts and then thought of Merlin in his long-sleeved t-shirt and loose jeans and skipped past those too. He eventually decided against a sleeveless vest and wavered between his grand total of two t-shirts. He needed more t-shirts.
Finally pulling on the more colourful of the two t-shirts, which was to say the one that wasn't black, Arthur dashed out of the door, having said that he'd meet Merlin at the recycling point after work. He jogged to the corner just around the recycling point and paused to catch his breath. Arthur swept his hair back into place, checked that his deodorant was still holding up and dawdled for a moment in despair that he didn't have a mirror to check his appearance before turning up for a date, of sorts. It was no wonder that girls always carried one around with them.
"Hey," Arthur sauntered up as if he hadn't ran the length of the town, nearly getting run over twice in his haste to get here. He surreptitiously checked out Merlin's arse, with its slip of underwear peeking out from over the jeans, as he bent over to lock the iron grate over the point entrance. It was a nice arse.
Rattling the grate to make sure that it was properly locked, Merlin looked up. "Hey yourself. Good timing," he said, falling in step with Arthur as they headed towards one of the fields. "Just so you know, it's all local bands playing. Some of them are great, but some of them... well, stereotypes have to have some basis in truth, right?" Merlin grinned. "Don't worry. Hopefully, we should have had enough to drink to not care by then."
As they tramped across the grass, Arthur slowly started to realise that perhaps he didn't quite know what a 'gig' in the country meant. To him, it was a smaller band in a medium sized establishment such as a bar with a small but intimate crowd. Here, it seemed that the entire village was in the field. The owners of the single local pub had brought along bar equipment and were catering for the drinks. "This is what they mean by a local community, I suppose," Arthur said, trying to take it all in.
Merlin chuckled, heading towards the bar with Arthur in tow. "I bet you don't even know the names of your neighbours." Arthur shrugged apologetically - he knew that Flat 4 had two kids, and Flat 6 had a quiet asian couple, but that was the extent of his knowledge. "Cripple Cock?"
Arthur must have heard wrong. "...Pardon?"
Merlin flushed adorably. "It's a cider," he said, holding out a bottle. "Cripple Cock Farmyard Scrumpy. It's not bad," he added, blushing even more.
"Oh," Arthur said weakly, taking the bottle. Only in the country could someone name their brand of cider 'cripple cock'. "I'm not that fond of cider," he said doubtfully. It seemed to be the only thing they were serving though, so he tried a bit. "You're right, it's not bad. Nothing like cider I've tried before." He made a mental note to buy the next round though.
Merlin tugged him through the crowds of people towards people who seemed more their age. "Let me guess. You've only ever had Bulmers." They both made the appropriate disgusted face that Bulmers deserved. Everything was a step up from Bulmers. "Come on, my friends are over here. This is Will, and Freya." Arthur had also made the mistake of assuming that when Merlin meant a date, he meant an environment where they were together, mostly undisturbed, alone.
Will and Freya waved at them - or rather, at Merlin - and eyed Arthur with interest. The entire affair seemed to be a lot more involved than the gigs Arthur had been to too. Everyone seemed to know at least half the people performing tonight, and there was a lot of bantering and chatting. Some people had brought food for the evening; one group of entrepreneurs had brought along barbeque sets and were selling sausages and burgers. Even the kids were here, running around with bouncy balls and frisbees, getting tangled up and tripping over the dogs.
Some blokes were currently involved in dismantling a lorry, it seemed, which was parked right in the middle of everything. "What's that for?" Arthur asked, leaning in close to Merlin to be heard. He watched as the men tried not to drop the entire side of the truck on anyone.
Merlin chuckled. "That's the stage."
-
Much later that evening, when they had both burnt themselves on the fat sausages and drunk much, much more cider, Arthur grinned as Merlin bounced in time to the music, singing along. The families and elderly had long since gone home, and everyone was at least a little bit drunk by now. It hadn't exactly been dinner and a film, but he had enjoyed himself very much.
The drums were too loud, and the mics were too quiet so it was very hit-and-miss on what songs Arthur could recognise. There had indeed been some cringingly bad music, but they had taken breaks then to get more drinks and chat with Will and Freya. Will had been sceptical when Arthur had said he was having fun, but Freya was lovely and managed to smooth the whole thing over without anyone being hurt.
Finishing off his Black Rat ("Black Rat, Merlin?" Arthur had said disbelievingly, eyeing the cider, which wasn't black and didn't sprout any rats' tails out from it as he had half expected), Arthur left his bottle somewhere in the grass and joined Merlin. "What're you e'en singing?"
"It's a cover of The Killers!" yelled Merlin, words all slurring together. "Well 'think 'tis!" He pulled on Arthur's wrists, flailing them along with his own and Arthur had no choice but to dance along. "Last song!" Even Arthur could tell from the mess of music that it was 'We are the Champions'. They warbled tunelessly together, swaying in the crowd of people, Merlin's arm loosely slung around Arthur's neck. Arthur grinned like a lunatic.
They trampled their way back across the field after it finished, everyone dispersing in the dark, clutching at each other when they couldn't see the way. "SHHHH!" Merlin giggled after almost forty minutes of unsteady walking even though it seemed barely seconds to Arthur, as they finally neared Merlin's home, a place he shared with his mum and presumably the person he didn't want to wake. "Thanks for bringing me home," he said in presumably what was meant to be a whisper and yet was absurdly loud in the silence, leaning on Arthur's shoulder.
"Don't mention it," Arthur said in Merlin's ear, not wanting to try out whispering himself. He slid his arm around Merlin's waist, feeling his weight shift as he rocked a little bit. "I had a great time, thanks for taking me."
"Mm, welcome," Merlin said, words slurred from tiredness as well as drink now. He moved his hands upwards uncertainly, hesitating before combing his fingers through Arthur's hair. Their noses pressed together for a moment, and then Merlin leaned forwards. It was slightly sloppy, but Arthur sighed into the kiss. There was a light touch of pressure and the promise of tongue before Merlin rocked back onto his heels. "G'night," he smiled, soft and sweet and adorable.
"Night," Arthur breathed, letting his fingers trail across the slightly sweat-dampened fabric at Merlin's lower back and watching him open his door. He smiled when Merlin looked back shyly at him just before closing the door, and found it really very hard not to skip back to Gaius'.
-
Arthur turned up at the recycling point again a few days later, this time remembering the chain to padlock the bike to the lamppost outside. Sliding inside, Arthur smiled at Merlin, waving one hand in greeting as he sorted out laminated cardboard for someone else. He flicked Arthur a wave, even as he helped the old lady empty her bags.
Even though he was there a little before the recycling point closed, Arthur found himself waiting impatiently to be able to monopolise Merlin's time, perched on one of the seats made out of recycled car tires. The lady finally left, Merlin seeing her out after having asked about her fourteen cats and two dogs, three children and seven grandchildren, each of them by name. He was just shutting the door with a friendly wave when Arthur came up behind him, looming behind him and resting his chin on Merlin's shoulder. "Arthur!" Merlin swatted him away, turning the sign to 'Closed'.
"Hey," Arthur waited for Merlin to turn around, not entirely sure what was quite appropriate behaviour. He reckoned that like everything else in this small town, he should probably take it slow. "Do I get a 'hello' kiss, or is it early days for that?" Merlin blushed, awkwardly moving his weight from foot to foot as Arthur invaded his personal space. Arthur couldn't help but grin a little; Merlin was adorable.
"I guess," Merlin shuffled, tugging Arthur's collar straight. He went cross-eyed as he tried to watch Arthur lean in, emitting a soft, "Oh!" as Arthur's lips met his. His eyes dropped closed as Arthur massaged his lower lip. "Mmm," he hummed, going in for a second kiss as Arthur pulled away after a brief moment.
Carefully putting his arms around Merlin's waist, Arthur grinned. "I admit I thought I'd have to wait longer than that for more kissing." They perched on the counter, Merlin carefully rearranging beer cans out of the way. "I wasn't sure what the protocol having had one date was."
"Are you calling me easy?" Merlin asked, poking Arthur in what was probably the only soft spot on him: under the ribs. Arthur laughed, grabbing the finger. "Besides, I don't either. I've never really got past a first date." His shoulders hunched over a little.
Arthur frowned. "No?" He scooted right over so that their shoulders bumped. "You've never got past first date?" He tried to keep the incredulity out of his voice, but he just could not understand. Merlin was intelligent, passionate about what he did, and could charm any parent in under ten seconds. Merlin was beautiful. "I can't see why." He ruffled Merlin's hair.
A pink flush rose across Merlin's cheeks, this time in embarrassment. "I don't mean - I'm not-" He flapped a hand in a way that Arthur found surprisingly easy to interpret as 'a virgin'. "I've had -"More flapping that Arthur took for 'sex with people'. His sentences seemed to tumble out of his mouth as he tried to tell his story before he could change his mind and clam up. "And I've had a boyfriend before. Will - he and I were together for ages. We're not any more, obviously," He said, hastening to clarify. Arthur put a hand on Merlin's knee, rubbing one thumb over the worn jeans in reassurance."But yeah," he finished, nervously nibbling his lip, "I've never really done dates."
"So I could utterly debauch you right now, and you wouldn't complain?" Arthur asked, trying to lighten the mood. He was rewarded with a burst of laughter from Merlin, and a sudden soft peck on the cheek. Arthur blinked, freezing in surprise. It was such a sweet gesture that he had never received, and he could feel his heart just melting. "Wow."
Arthur hopped down quickly to pull down the blinds on the small office space. Merlin's nervous, anticipatory expression, accompanied by fumbled wrangling of his fingers, from the implication of pulling the blinds across made Arthur's heart pound in his chest. "C'mere," he jumped back onto the counter, cuddling them closer. One of Merlin's legs ended up hooked over Arthur's knee, and Merlin's hands were warm against Arthur's chest. They snuck up occasionally, his fingers brushing over the bare skin of Arthur's neck as if he couldn't quite believe that he was allowed to touch.
Shuffling the back of Merlin's t-shirt up, Arthur felt when Merlin shivered as his skin met cool air. He played his fingers across the skin, feeling the soft fuzz of hairs. "You okay?" He asked, his voice somehow hoarse, the short phrase encompassing past the surface meaning to asking for permission to go further, asking if he really wanted to do this.
"Yeah." Merlin nodded firmly. "Yeah. It's just been a while." Merlin lifted one shoulder in a small shrug, before tracing the edge of Arthur's jaw. "And I never expected-" he broke off again, not entirely sure how to say it.
Arthur scowled, and pressed against Merlin until he was lying across the counter with Arthur looming over him. "You deserve the best," he said fiercely, surprising even himself. He kissed Merlin roughly, one hand curled in his hair and the other tucked under Merlin's t-shirt at the small of his back. Merlin's tongue lapped at Arthur's, then slid into Arthur's mouth and Arthur responded eagerly. Arthur tried to pull away several times, but Merlin's head tilted up for more, and Arthur could hardly say no.
They finally parted with a few lingering soft kisses, and Arthur looked down at Merlin, who was all rumpled hair, red lips and striking cheekbones. He looked shy as hell, and utterly delectable. Merlin swallowed as they just stared at each other for a bit. "I don't know about the best, but I suppose you'll do for me," he managed cheekily, tugging at Arthur's shirt in that universal gesture that meant 'off now, please'.
Arthur obliged, nearly pulling his buttons off when they wouldn't come out of the buttonholes quickly enough and tossing his shirt onto Merlin's office chair (made from recycled plastic bottles). "Wow," Merlin said, shrinking into himself again even as he reached out to splay a hand across Arthur's abs. "I should have gone first," he said timidly.
With a snort, Arthur pulled Merlin's t-shirt off and stroked his hand down Merlin's chest. "Don't be ridiculous. You're perfect." He leaned down, pressing kisses from his collarbone downwards, pausing lightly lick Merlin's nipple. When Arthur got to the bottom of Merlin's abs, he didn't stop though, tugging the jeans buttons apart and wriggling the jeans and underwear down. He kissed Merlin's hip, nose nuzzling the tumble of dark curls there. He felt Merlin squirm at the touch so close to his cock, and grinned. He pressed a kiss to Merlin's inner thigh, which was so terribly soft and just begging for love bites; Arthur carried on right down to the side of Merlin's knee, and by then he'd pushed the jeans all the way off. They pooled on the floor, and Merlin squirmed as Arthur gazed appreciatively at him, sliding his hand up and down the warmth of Merlin's thigh. "Perfect," he repeated.
Merlin tittered, a nervous little laugh before twanging the elastic of Arthur's underwear, which he could just see above the line of his trousers. "Yeah, going first didn't feel any better," he huffed as Arthur finally got around to undressing himself. Arthur simply shucked off his trousers before lying back down, his body flush against Merlin's. His leg nudged between Merlin's, and even just rubbing his leg against Merlin's felt tingly and special. He kissed Merlin some more, but his hands took the time to explore new territory. He squeezed the fullness of Merlin's arse, and curled an arm around Merlin's shoulders. He cupped Merlin's balls, and rolled them lightly between his fingers, watching Merlin's cock stiffen before his eyes..
Everything Arthur did seemed to elicit some sort of noise from Merlin. He heard a pleased hum vibrate his earlobe, which Merlin was sucking on, and then there was a gasp, and a small moan. He made sure to treat Merlin with care, dragging everything out so that it felt good, and that in return made everything feel better for him too.
His fingers tracing the puckered skin around Merlin's arsehole in small circles and making Merlin shudder against him, Arthur murmured, "You got any lube?" He might still have a packet hidden away in his wallet, but he couldn't honestly remember. He wasn't going to stop if they didn't, but plans were going to have to change.
Merlin flushed. "Vaseline?" He offered, sliding quickly off the counter to scrabble for the small pot of it in his jeans pocket. Arthur had noticed him using it, actually, for his chapped lips, and understood the blush immediately. There was no way that Merlin was going to be able to use it again without thinking of this moment.
As Merlin groped around for it, Arthur glanced down at him, observing the play of muscles in his back. "Oh, and there's gotta be a condom in my wallet." He lamented that they weren't in a bed somewhere, with silk sheets, so that Merlin could be comfortable. He wished that he'd brought flowers, and the store was a tiny bit warmer. He hoped that Merlin would want to cuddle chronically afterwards. He desperately hoped that they could do all of this again, somewhere more romantic and ideal. After voicing those thoughts in his head coherently, Arthur realised that he had fallen for Merlin badly.
"Here," Merlin finally rejoined him, warm and gorgeous, handing him the condom and popping the vaseline lid open. Arthur swirled his finger around the vaseline, watching Merlin watching his finger as if he was doing something far more obscene than scooping up vaseline. Slicking his fingers up nicely, Arthur returned his hand to where it had been previously: slipping up between Merlin's arsecheeks. Merlin looped his arms around Arthur's neck, and he could see the silent plea to be gentle there. He had every intention of being as gentle as possible.
Starting out with stroking Merlin's entrance, Arthur slowly started to dip his finger in, sliding it in and out. Merlin was still beneath him, watching his face with flickering eyes. Arthur watched what Merlin felt play out over his face: first comfortable, then startled, and then pleasured. He crooked his finger faster now, feeling Merlin's body constantly adjust for him. Time seemed to stand still as Arthur prepared Merlin, but he never got bored of what they were doing. He moved up to two fingers, and felt Merlin clutch his shoulder at the first burn. "Okay?" He asked as Merlin's body stopped clenching so frantically and began relaxing into it, "or more?"
"Always more," Merlin quipped, and arched up against him so Arthur could feel that he was hard. In a slightly quieter voice, Merlin added, "More, please, Arthur. Just a little bit." His eyes flicked down Arthur's body, and Arthur couldn't help but feel a little smug that Merlin thought he needed more preparation before taking him in.
Kissing the tip of Merlin's nose, Arthur said, "As much as you'd like, yeah?" He twisted his wrist, varying his movements so that Merlin's breath hitched, and his eyes struggled to focus. Arthur grinned wickedly. "We'll have you prepared to fit anything," he promised, reaching over and fishing out a plastic Lucozade bottle, the remnants of the drink sloshing about in the bottom. "Even this."
"Arthur!" Merlin's body jerked in laugher as he snatched the bottle, lobbing it across the room. "That is horrible," he gasped as Arthur used the distraction to slide a third finger in. "You are -" The word 'horrible' died on his lips. "Amazing."
Finally, when Merlin's hips were bucking uncontrollably and Merlin's long legs were hitching over his hip and Merlin moaned his name, Arthur held his cock. He'd been hard for a while now, biting his lip every time his body wanted to plunge into Merlin and telling himself to wait, just a little longer. He stroked himself a few times, breathing hard, rolled the condom on as quickly as he could manage and then eased himself into Merlin.
Merlin spasmed around him, getting used to Arthur's thickness. Arthur started to move slowly, watching Merlin's face for any sign of pain. Nothing on that front however, as Merlin's mouth hung half-open as he panted a little, his eyes screwed closed so that he could concentrate on the feeling.
After a while, Arthur relaxed into it, picking up a rhythm and enjoying Merlin's hot arsehole, which was tight but not so much that Merlin must have been in pain. It started out gentle, Arthur rocking his hips at an easy pace, but somewhere in the middle, Merlin started to clench around him, jutting his arse upwards to meet Arthur halfway for every thrust, and the thrusts became harder and quicker.
Arthur grasped Merlin's hips with one hand, keeping him angled so that he could go in as deep as possible, and pumped his cock with the other. Merlin clutched Arthur's hair, urging him for more, always more. Arthur rolled his hips so that he could slide his length against that spot inside Merlin, and Merlin's legs grew limper and further apart to accommodate, sometimes jerking a bit when Arthur rammed in particularly well. His foot connected with the beer cans on the side of the counter, and about sixty of them clanged all over the place; neither of them so much as broke rhythm.
The pressure inside Arthur grew until his thrusts became erratic, speeding up. Merlin raised his hips, crying out as Arthur overwhelmed him. Merlin's arse clenching frantically around him drove Arthur over the edge, gasping as he suddenly came, spurting out thick liquid inside Merlin even as he carried on stroking Merlin's cock. Merlin made a noise like a squeal as he felt the warm, sticky explosion inside him, and Arthur tightened his grip, rubbing his thumb over the head of Merlin's cock.
"Arthur!" Merlin whimpered, his hips stuttering out of control. Arthur's eyes rolled back into his head at the overstimulation as Merlin came, splattering his belly with several jerks of his hips. Arthur collapsed onto Merlin, his come squelching quietly between them. He could hear Merlin's frantic heartbeat mirroring his own as it pounded just under his cheek.
Eventually, Arthur had enough sense to peel himself off Merlin, for fear that he was crushing him. Merlin whined at the loss of touch, and it made Arthur smile. He lay on his side next to Merlin, hand stroking the slightly sweaty skin of Merlin's body. "Now who's amazing?" He asked with a huff of a laugh, peeling the condom off and dropping it into the bin under Merlin's counter.
Merlin squirmed so that they were spooned together, Arthur's nose pressed into Merlin's hair and his chest against Merlin's back. "I could definitely get used to that," he said, still slightly breathless. Arthur linked their fingers together, and he felt Merlin relax back into him.
"I have something to admit," Arthur said, plopping a light kiss to Merlin's shoulder so that he knew it wasn't anything serious, "I never recycled before I met you. I don't know much about it and I don't know much about the environment either."
Merlin laughed, and Arthur found that he liked the sensation of Merlin's back rumbling against his chest. "I figured. Remember the first time when you tried to put the paper into the coloured glass bin?" Merlin rolled over so that he could look into Arthur's eyes, worming one leg between Arthur's.
Arthur pulled him closer, peppering kisses all over his face. "I do want to learn though," he said honestly. "I'd like to know more about it if you'll tell me." He'd like to know what it was that made Merlin's face leap to life at work; he wanted to understand everything about Merlin.
"I'll tell you," Merlin pouted at him, "if you promise to treat me nice and at least get me a cushion or something next time." They laughed, and Arthur felt something warm and fuzzy purring inside him at the mention of a next time.
"Always."
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~4800
Warnings: None
Summary: Written for this kinkme_merlin prompt: Arthur/Merlin, AU, Merlin is the well-meaning hippie who runs the only recycling business in his small town. Arthur is the city-boy stuck there for the summer who starts recycling just to see him. Sex on the counter-top, knocking empty beer cans every which way.
Notes: For bedofpearls, to whom all the countryside-isms are dedicated: the gig, the cider and the lucozade.
Arthur was so screwed. The first time his father's old friend Gaius had sent him to get rid of the recycling, he'd met the man who ran the recycling point. And that man had completely messed up his perfectly planned out life.
He had two bags - paper, of course - jammed full of plastic bottles precariously swinging from his bike handles, and a backpack full of paper on his back; he looked ridiculous. He was riding a bike for goodness' sake! Arthur hadn't ridden a bike before his summer here since he was about seven.
For another thing, putting things on his handlebars was probably the worst idea anyone had come up with. Instead of the weight balancing out, the paper bags swung around precariously threatening to drop their contents and both sides simultaneously unbalanced him now.
On top of this, he was actually buying more drinks in plastic bottles just so he had empty bottles to bring over which, he was sure, defied the entire principle behind recycling.
Arthur finally reached the little store that served as the town's only recycling point and dismounted his bicycle with absolutely no grace whatsoever. It promptly fell over when he completely forgot to use the stand, and he reached for the chain to remember that he'd forgotten it. Oh.
As he stood in front of the store, Arthur reminded himself how stupid he was being. And then he pulled his shirt straight anyway. The door chimed cheerfully as he pushed his way in, and a young man with a mop of dark hair looked up and smiled. "Arthur! Whoa, more already?"
Arthur grinned, raising his bags full of bottles for Merlin to sort out behind his counter. He'd practically lived off bottled drinks this week, drinking his weight in Coke Zero and apple juice. He'd picked up a copy of every single free newspaper and leaflet in town in order to get enough to come back here. He was fairly sure Gaius thought that he was completely crazy.
Emptying his rucksack of paper, Arthur shrugged as nonchalantly as he could. "Well, it was all just lying around and it just needed the effort of someone picking it all up." It was worth the amount of time he spent gathering these things and even the embarrassing relearning of how to cycle to see Merlin beam at him.
Merlin started sorting out the bottles by glass or plastic. "So, city or country?" To anyone else, it might have sounded as if Merlin had completely switched topics, but it was just a continuation of their last conversation. Arthur had found that he liked it; it was like having one really long conversation that spanned a multitude of subjects.
"City," Arthur said with a grimace. "Sorry, but the country is just too quiet and slow-moving. Everyone's asleep by eleven and up with dawn and I can't buy juice when I'm craving it at three in the morning." He didn't want to offend Merlin, but he was a city-boy at heart. The country drove him crazy with its lack of variety. "I love it for holidays and such to wind down, but I couldn't live here permanently. You ever lived in a city?" He moved round the counter even though it was the staff section and started shifting empty cans.
Merlin laughed. "The closest I got to a big city was going to uni at Bath." Bath was by definition a city, but it wasn't what Arthur would consider a proper, thriving city. "I like not having to rush things." He smiled slowly at Arthur. "We don't all just sit around and gossip about the neighbour's new curtains though. Why don't I show you some of our nightlife?"
Nearly knocking a can over and sending the entire lot skittering across the counter, Arthur looked across at Merlin. "Sure," he said quickly, in case his pause had been interpreted as reluctance. Arthur had some difficulty putting the word 'nightlife' in context of the pretty Wiltshire countryside. "Is that a country boy's way of asking someone out on a date?"
It was hard to reach Merlin's expression when his eyes were hidden between the sweep of dark eyelashes, but he suddenly looked straight at Arthur. "Nope. But this is: Want to come to the gig with me tomorrow night?"
-
Arthur stared at his wardrobe, very nearly wailing to the world that he didn't have anything to wear. He rifled straight past the four crisp shirts which were completely unsuitable. He lingered on the section with his more casual short-sleeved shirts and then thought of Merlin in his long-sleeved t-shirt and loose jeans and skipped past those too. He eventually decided against a sleeveless vest and wavered between his grand total of two t-shirts. He needed more t-shirts.
Finally pulling on the more colourful of the two t-shirts, which was to say the one that wasn't black, Arthur dashed out of the door, having said that he'd meet Merlin at the recycling point after work. He jogged to the corner just around the recycling point and paused to catch his breath. Arthur swept his hair back into place, checked that his deodorant was still holding up and dawdled for a moment in despair that he didn't have a mirror to check his appearance before turning up for a date, of sorts. It was no wonder that girls always carried one around with them.
"Hey," Arthur sauntered up as if he hadn't ran the length of the town, nearly getting run over twice in his haste to get here. He surreptitiously checked out Merlin's arse, with its slip of underwear peeking out from over the jeans, as he bent over to lock the iron grate over the point entrance. It was a nice arse.
Rattling the grate to make sure that it was properly locked, Merlin looked up. "Hey yourself. Good timing," he said, falling in step with Arthur as they headed towards one of the fields. "Just so you know, it's all local bands playing. Some of them are great, but some of them... well, stereotypes have to have some basis in truth, right?" Merlin grinned. "Don't worry. Hopefully, we should have had enough to drink to not care by then."
As they tramped across the grass, Arthur slowly started to realise that perhaps he didn't quite know what a 'gig' in the country meant. To him, it was a smaller band in a medium sized establishment such as a bar with a small but intimate crowd. Here, it seemed that the entire village was in the field. The owners of the single local pub had brought along bar equipment and were catering for the drinks. "This is what they mean by a local community, I suppose," Arthur said, trying to take it all in.
Merlin chuckled, heading towards the bar with Arthur in tow. "I bet you don't even know the names of your neighbours." Arthur shrugged apologetically - he knew that Flat 4 had two kids, and Flat 6 had a quiet asian couple, but that was the extent of his knowledge. "Cripple Cock?"
Arthur must have heard wrong. "...Pardon?"
Merlin flushed adorably. "It's a cider," he said, holding out a bottle. "Cripple Cock Farmyard Scrumpy. It's not bad," he added, blushing even more.
"Oh," Arthur said weakly, taking the bottle. Only in the country could someone name their brand of cider 'cripple cock'. "I'm not that fond of cider," he said doubtfully. It seemed to be the only thing they were serving though, so he tried a bit. "You're right, it's not bad. Nothing like cider I've tried before." He made a mental note to buy the next round though.
Merlin tugged him through the crowds of people towards people who seemed more their age. "Let me guess. You've only ever had Bulmers." They both made the appropriate disgusted face that Bulmers deserved. Everything was a step up from Bulmers. "Come on, my friends are over here. This is Will, and Freya." Arthur had also made the mistake of assuming that when Merlin meant a date, he meant an environment where they were together, mostly undisturbed, alone.
Will and Freya waved at them - or rather, at Merlin - and eyed Arthur with interest. The entire affair seemed to be a lot more involved than the gigs Arthur had been to too. Everyone seemed to know at least half the people performing tonight, and there was a lot of bantering and chatting. Some people had brought food for the evening; one group of entrepreneurs had brought along barbeque sets and were selling sausages and burgers. Even the kids were here, running around with bouncy balls and frisbees, getting tangled up and tripping over the dogs.
Some blokes were currently involved in dismantling a lorry, it seemed, which was parked right in the middle of everything. "What's that for?" Arthur asked, leaning in close to Merlin to be heard. He watched as the men tried not to drop the entire side of the truck on anyone.
Merlin chuckled. "That's the stage."
-
Much later that evening, when they had both burnt themselves on the fat sausages and drunk much, much more cider, Arthur grinned as Merlin bounced in time to the music, singing along. The families and elderly had long since gone home, and everyone was at least a little bit drunk by now. It hadn't exactly been dinner and a film, but he had enjoyed himself very much.
The drums were too loud, and the mics were too quiet so it was very hit-and-miss on what songs Arthur could recognise. There had indeed been some cringingly bad music, but they had taken breaks then to get more drinks and chat with Will and Freya. Will had been sceptical when Arthur had said he was having fun, but Freya was lovely and managed to smooth the whole thing over without anyone being hurt.
Finishing off his Black Rat ("Black Rat, Merlin?" Arthur had said disbelievingly, eyeing the cider, which wasn't black and didn't sprout any rats' tails out from it as he had half expected), Arthur left his bottle somewhere in the grass and joined Merlin. "What're you e'en singing?"
"It's a cover of The Killers!" yelled Merlin, words all slurring together. "Well 'think 'tis!" He pulled on Arthur's wrists, flailing them along with his own and Arthur had no choice but to dance along. "Last song!" Even Arthur could tell from the mess of music that it was 'We are the Champions'. They warbled tunelessly together, swaying in the crowd of people, Merlin's arm loosely slung around Arthur's neck. Arthur grinned like a lunatic.
They trampled their way back across the field after it finished, everyone dispersing in the dark, clutching at each other when they couldn't see the way. "SHHHH!" Merlin giggled after almost forty minutes of unsteady walking even though it seemed barely seconds to Arthur, as they finally neared Merlin's home, a place he shared with his mum and presumably the person he didn't want to wake. "Thanks for bringing me home," he said in presumably what was meant to be a whisper and yet was absurdly loud in the silence, leaning on Arthur's shoulder.
"Don't mention it," Arthur said in Merlin's ear, not wanting to try out whispering himself. He slid his arm around Merlin's waist, feeling his weight shift as he rocked a little bit. "I had a great time, thanks for taking me."
"Mm, welcome," Merlin said, words slurred from tiredness as well as drink now. He moved his hands upwards uncertainly, hesitating before combing his fingers through Arthur's hair. Their noses pressed together for a moment, and then Merlin leaned forwards. It was slightly sloppy, but Arthur sighed into the kiss. There was a light touch of pressure and the promise of tongue before Merlin rocked back onto his heels. "G'night," he smiled, soft and sweet and adorable.
"Night," Arthur breathed, letting his fingers trail across the slightly sweat-dampened fabric at Merlin's lower back and watching him open his door. He smiled when Merlin looked back shyly at him just before closing the door, and found it really very hard not to skip back to Gaius'.
-
Arthur turned up at the recycling point again a few days later, this time remembering the chain to padlock the bike to the lamppost outside. Sliding inside, Arthur smiled at Merlin, waving one hand in greeting as he sorted out laminated cardboard for someone else. He flicked Arthur a wave, even as he helped the old lady empty her bags.
Even though he was there a little before the recycling point closed, Arthur found himself waiting impatiently to be able to monopolise Merlin's time, perched on one of the seats made out of recycled car tires. The lady finally left, Merlin seeing her out after having asked about her fourteen cats and two dogs, three children and seven grandchildren, each of them by name. He was just shutting the door with a friendly wave when Arthur came up behind him, looming behind him and resting his chin on Merlin's shoulder. "Arthur!" Merlin swatted him away, turning the sign to 'Closed'.
"Hey," Arthur waited for Merlin to turn around, not entirely sure what was quite appropriate behaviour. He reckoned that like everything else in this small town, he should probably take it slow. "Do I get a 'hello' kiss, or is it early days for that?" Merlin blushed, awkwardly moving his weight from foot to foot as Arthur invaded his personal space. Arthur couldn't help but grin a little; Merlin was adorable.
"I guess," Merlin shuffled, tugging Arthur's collar straight. He went cross-eyed as he tried to watch Arthur lean in, emitting a soft, "Oh!" as Arthur's lips met his. His eyes dropped closed as Arthur massaged his lower lip. "Mmm," he hummed, going in for a second kiss as Arthur pulled away after a brief moment.
Carefully putting his arms around Merlin's waist, Arthur grinned. "I admit I thought I'd have to wait longer than that for more kissing." They perched on the counter, Merlin carefully rearranging beer cans out of the way. "I wasn't sure what the protocol having had one date was."
"Are you calling me easy?" Merlin asked, poking Arthur in what was probably the only soft spot on him: under the ribs. Arthur laughed, grabbing the finger. "Besides, I don't either. I've never really got past a first date." His shoulders hunched over a little.
Arthur frowned. "No?" He scooted right over so that their shoulders bumped. "You've never got past first date?" He tried to keep the incredulity out of his voice, but he just could not understand. Merlin was intelligent, passionate about what he did, and could charm any parent in under ten seconds. Merlin was beautiful. "I can't see why." He ruffled Merlin's hair.
A pink flush rose across Merlin's cheeks, this time in embarrassment. "I don't mean - I'm not-" He flapped a hand in a way that Arthur found surprisingly easy to interpret as 'a virgin'. "I've had -"More flapping that Arthur took for 'sex with people'. His sentences seemed to tumble out of his mouth as he tried to tell his story before he could change his mind and clam up. "And I've had a boyfriend before. Will - he and I were together for ages. We're not any more, obviously," He said, hastening to clarify. Arthur put a hand on Merlin's knee, rubbing one thumb over the worn jeans in reassurance."But yeah," he finished, nervously nibbling his lip, "I've never really done dates."
"So I could utterly debauch you right now, and you wouldn't complain?" Arthur asked, trying to lighten the mood. He was rewarded with a burst of laughter from Merlin, and a sudden soft peck on the cheek. Arthur blinked, freezing in surprise. It was such a sweet gesture that he had never received, and he could feel his heart just melting. "Wow."
Arthur hopped down quickly to pull down the blinds on the small office space. Merlin's nervous, anticipatory expression, accompanied by fumbled wrangling of his fingers, from the implication of pulling the blinds across made Arthur's heart pound in his chest. "C'mere," he jumped back onto the counter, cuddling them closer. One of Merlin's legs ended up hooked over Arthur's knee, and Merlin's hands were warm against Arthur's chest. They snuck up occasionally, his fingers brushing over the bare skin of Arthur's neck as if he couldn't quite believe that he was allowed to touch.
Shuffling the back of Merlin's t-shirt up, Arthur felt when Merlin shivered as his skin met cool air. He played his fingers across the skin, feeling the soft fuzz of hairs. "You okay?" He asked, his voice somehow hoarse, the short phrase encompassing past the surface meaning to asking for permission to go further, asking if he really wanted to do this.
"Yeah." Merlin nodded firmly. "Yeah. It's just been a while." Merlin lifted one shoulder in a small shrug, before tracing the edge of Arthur's jaw. "And I never expected-" he broke off again, not entirely sure how to say it.
Arthur scowled, and pressed against Merlin until he was lying across the counter with Arthur looming over him. "You deserve the best," he said fiercely, surprising even himself. He kissed Merlin roughly, one hand curled in his hair and the other tucked under Merlin's t-shirt at the small of his back. Merlin's tongue lapped at Arthur's, then slid into Arthur's mouth and Arthur responded eagerly. Arthur tried to pull away several times, but Merlin's head tilted up for more, and Arthur could hardly say no.
They finally parted with a few lingering soft kisses, and Arthur looked down at Merlin, who was all rumpled hair, red lips and striking cheekbones. He looked shy as hell, and utterly delectable. Merlin swallowed as they just stared at each other for a bit. "I don't know about the best, but I suppose you'll do for me," he managed cheekily, tugging at Arthur's shirt in that universal gesture that meant 'off now, please'.
Arthur obliged, nearly pulling his buttons off when they wouldn't come out of the buttonholes quickly enough and tossing his shirt onto Merlin's office chair (made from recycled plastic bottles). "Wow," Merlin said, shrinking into himself again even as he reached out to splay a hand across Arthur's abs. "I should have gone first," he said timidly.
With a snort, Arthur pulled Merlin's t-shirt off and stroked his hand down Merlin's chest. "Don't be ridiculous. You're perfect." He leaned down, pressing kisses from his collarbone downwards, pausing lightly lick Merlin's nipple. When Arthur got to the bottom of Merlin's abs, he didn't stop though, tugging the jeans buttons apart and wriggling the jeans and underwear down. He kissed Merlin's hip, nose nuzzling the tumble of dark curls there. He felt Merlin squirm at the touch so close to his cock, and grinned. He pressed a kiss to Merlin's inner thigh, which was so terribly soft and just begging for love bites; Arthur carried on right down to the side of Merlin's knee, and by then he'd pushed the jeans all the way off. They pooled on the floor, and Merlin squirmed as Arthur gazed appreciatively at him, sliding his hand up and down the warmth of Merlin's thigh. "Perfect," he repeated.
Merlin tittered, a nervous little laugh before twanging the elastic of Arthur's underwear, which he could just see above the line of his trousers. "Yeah, going first didn't feel any better," he huffed as Arthur finally got around to undressing himself. Arthur simply shucked off his trousers before lying back down, his body flush against Merlin's. His leg nudged between Merlin's, and even just rubbing his leg against Merlin's felt tingly and special. He kissed Merlin some more, but his hands took the time to explore new territory. He squeezed the fullness of Merlin's arse, and curled an arm around Merlin's shoulders. He cupped Merlin's balls, and rolled them lightly between his fingers, watching Merlin's cock stiffen before his eyes..
Everything Arthur did seemed to elicit some sort of noise from Merlin. He heard a pleased hum vibrate his earlobe, which Merlin was sucking on, and then there was a gasp, and a small moan. He made sure to treat Merlin with care, dragging everything out so that it felt good, and that in return made everything feel better for him too.
His fingers tracing the puckered skin around Merlin's arsehole in small circles and making Merlin shudder against him, Arthur murmured, "You got any lube?" He might still have a packet hidden away in his wallet, but he couldn't honestly remember. He wasn't going to stop if they didn't, but plans were going to have to change.
Merlin flushed. "Vaseline?" He offered, sliding quickly off the counter to scrabble for the small pot of it in his jeans pocket. Arthur had noticed him using it, actually, for his chapped lips, and understood the blush immediately. There was no way that Merlin was going to be able to use it again without thinking of this moment.
As Merlin groped around for it, Arthur glanced down at him, observing the play of muscles in his back. "Oh, and there's gotta be a condom in my wallet." He lamented that they weren't in a bed somewhere, with silk sheets, so that Merlin could be comfortable. He wished that he'd brought flowers, and the store was a tiny bit warmer. He hoped that Merlin would want to cuddle chronically afterwards. He desperately hoped that they could do all of this again, somewhere more romantic and ideal. After voicing those thoughts in his head coherently, Arthur realised that he had fallen for Merlin badly.
"Here," Merlin finally rejoined him, warm and gorgeous, handing him the condom and popping the vaseline lid open. Arthur swirled his finger around the vaseline, watching Merlin watching his finger as if he was doing something far more obscene than scooping up vaseline. Slicking his fingers up nicely, Arthur returned his hand to where it had been previously: slipping up between Merlin's arsecheeks. Merlin looped his arms around Arthur's neck, and he could see the silent plea to be gentle there. He had every intention of being as gentle as possible.
Starting out with stroking Merlin's entrance, Arthur slowly started to dip his finger in, sliding it in and out. Merlin was still beneath him, watching his face with flickering eyes. Arthur watched what Merlin felt play out over his face: first comfortable, then startled, and then pleasured. He crooked his finger faster now, feeling Merlin's body constantly adjust for him. Time seemed to stand still as Arthur prepared Merlin, but he never got bored of what they were doing. He moved up to two fingers, and felt Merlin clutch his shoulder at the first burn. "Okay?" He asked as Merlin's body stopped clenching so frantically and began relaxing into it, "or more?"
"Always more," Merlin quipped, and arched up against him so Arthur could feel that he was hard. In a slightly quieter voice, Merlin added, "More, please, Arthur. Just a little bit." His eyes flicked down Arthur's body, and Arthur couldn't help but feel a little smug that Merlin thought he needed more preparation before taking him in.
Kissing the tip of Merlin's nose, Arthur said, "As much as you'd like, yeah?" He twisted his wrist, varying his movements so that Merlin's breath hitched, and his eyes struggled to focus. Arthur grinned wickedly. "We'll have you prepared to fit anything," he promised, reaching over and fishing out a plastic Lucozade bottle, the remnants of the drink sloshing about in the bottom. "Even this."
"Arthur!" Merlin's body jerked in laugher as he snatched the bottle, lobbing it across the room. "That is horrible," he gasped as Arthur used the distraction to slide a third finger in. "You are -" The word 'horrible' died on his lips. "Amazing."
Finally, when Merlin's hips were bucking uncontrollably and Merlin's long legs were hitching over his hip and Merlin moaned his name, Arthur held his cock. He'd been hard for a while now, biting his lip every time his body wanted to plunge into Merlin and telling himself to wait, just a little longer. He stroked himself a few times, breathing hard, rolled the condom on as quickly as he could manage and then eased himself into Merlin.
Merlin spasmed around him, getting used to Arthur's thickness. Arthur started to move slowly, watching Merlin's face for any sign of pain. Nothing on that front however, as Merlin's mouth hung half-open as he panted a little, his eyes screwed closed so that he could concentrate on the feeling.
After a while, Arthur relaxed into it, picking up a rhythm and enjoying Merlin's hot arsehole, which was tight but not so much that Merlin must have been in pain. It started out gentle, Arthur rocking his hips at an easy pace, but somewhere in the middle, Merlin started to clench around him, jutting his arse upwards to meet Arthur halfway for every thrust, and the thrusts became harder and quicker.
Arthur grasped Merlin's hips with one hand, keeping him angled so that he could go in as deep as possible, and pumped his cock with the other. Merlin clutched Arthur's hair, urging him for more, always more. Arthur rolled his hips so that he could slide his length against that spot inside Merlin, and Merlin's legs grew limper and further apart to accommodate, sometimes jerking a bit when Arthur rammed in particularly well. His foot connected with the beer cans on the side of the counter, and about sixty of them clanged all over the place; neither of them so much as broke rhythm.
The pressure inside Arthur grew until his thrusts became erratic, speeding up. Merlin raised his hips, crying out as Arthur overwhelmed him. Merlin's arse clenching frantically around him drove Arthur over the edge, gasping as he suddenly came, spurting out thick liquid inside Merlin even as he carried on stroking Merlin's cock. Merlin made a noise like a squeal as he felt the warm, sticky explosion inside him, and Arthur tightened his grip, rubbing his thumb over the head of Merlin's cock.
"Arthur!" Merlin whimpered, his hips stuttering out of control. Arthur's eyes rolled back into his head at the overstimulation as Merlin came, splattering his belly with several jerks of his hips. Arthur collapsed onto Merlin, his come squelching quietly between them. He could hear Merlin's frantic heartbeat mirroring his own as it pounded just under his cheek.
Eventually, Arthur had enough sense to peel himself off Merlin, for fear that he was crushing him. Merlin whined at the loss of touch, and it made Arthur smile. He lay on his side next to Merlin, hand stroking the slightly sweaty skin of Merlin's body. "Now who's amazing?" He asked with a huff of a laugh, peeling the condom off and dropping it into the bin under Merlin's counter.
Merlin squirmed so that they were spooned together, Arthur's nose pressed into Merlin's hair and his chest against Merlin's back. "I could definitely get used to that," he said, still slightly breathless. Arthur linked their fingers together, and he felt Merlin relax back into him.
"I have something to admit," Arthur said, plopping a light kiss to Merlin's shoulder so that he knew it wasn't anything serious, "I never recycled before I met you. I don't know much about it and I don't know much about the environment either."
Merlin laughed, and Arthur found that he liked the sensation of Merlin's back rumbling against his chest. "I figured. Remember the first time when you tried to put the paper into the coloured glass bin?" Merlin rolled over so that he could look into Arthur's eyes, worming one leg between Arthur's.
Arthur pulled him closer, peppering kisses all over his face. "I do want to learn though," he said honestly. "I'd like to know more about it if you'll tell me." He'd like to know what it was that made Merlin's face leap to life at work; he wanted to understand everything about Merlin.
"I'll tell you," Merlin pouted at him, "if you promise to treat me nice and at least get me a cushion or something next time." They laughed, and Arthur felt something warm and fuzzy purring inside him at the mention of a next time.
"Always."