~*~
~*~
Morgana struts into his room wearing a shimmering burgundy cocktail dress. The fact that Arthur knows it's a cocktail dress means she's been parading outfits to him for too long, he decides. “What about this one?” she asks.
“Morgana, please, I've told you already,” he sighs. “You look great in all of them. Besides, he's seen you drunk and puking on the side of a road twice and he still wants to go out with you, I hardly think it matters what you wear.”
Morgana puts a hand on her hip and gives him a stern look. “Of course it matters, don't be silly.”
Arthur puts a pillow over his head and growls his frustration into it. When Morgana yanks the pillow out of his hands, he gives her his most saccharine smile. “The green one. Wear the green one.”
“There, that wasn't too hard now, was it?”
“Tell me again, why are you going out with Leon? You've known him forever, he's practically like a brother to us.” He's not sure why it bothers him really, he just knows it doesn't feel right.
“He's smart, he's kind, he's always been there when we needed someone and he asked me,” Morgana counts on her fingers. “Why do you even care?”
“I don't know!” Arthur admits. “Other than the fact that it feels slightly incestuous, I just... I don't know, I think you're forcing it. You're dating because that's what people do,” he says. He expects Morgana to be so mad she screams at him, but instead she just stands frozen in her spot, not moving and not saying anything. Her expression doesn't even change. “I've never seen you do that,” Arthur adds quietly. “Is something wrong?”
Morgana's shoulders slump forward. She sits next to Arthur. “I'm alone, Arthur,” she says, her voice small like they're kids again and she's telling him someone's been mean to her and asking him to teach her to fight like a boy.
“What are you talking about, you have me and your friends - you're not alone,” Arthur tries, even though he knows that's not what she means.
“It's just that you have Merlin and Merlin has you. And Lancelot may not be here with Gwen, but he's out there somewhere thinking about her and that's more than I have,” she says, looking at her hands in her lap.
Arthur puts an arm around her. “And you think Leon is the answer to that?”
Morgana shrugs. “I don't know. Maybe. He's an attempt at an answer.” Arthur kisses her temple and hugs her tighter. “You know how I've always told you I didn't mind being alone? Well, maybe I do mind. Maybe I want to have someone special in my life, maybe I want a family or a cat or... something.”
“There's nothing wrong with that,” Arthur assures her.
“Oh, I know,” Morgana says quickly. “I just never thought of myself as that person. But now,” she waves a hand around, then lets it fall back on her lap with a loud noise, “you practically live at Merlin's, you spend more time there than here and this damn house is so big and empty and it just feels like it needs more people in it.”
Arthur knows that feeling well. He'd always felt the pressure of being alone when Morgana travelled and it always made him think about how he dreamed of having a family some day. Nowadays, when Morgana is out of town, Arthur just stays at Merlin's. Morgana doesn't have that, he realizes.
“Have you ever thought about selling the place?” he suddenly asks, the thought only occurring to him then.
Morgana sighs and leans her head against his shoulder. “Honestly? Yeah, a couple of times.”
“A lot of memories here.”
“I'm not sure if that's supposed to convince me to sell it or keep it,” she laughs.
“Yeah, I don't either,” he admits. “I wouldn't mind getting rid of some of those memories.”
“I wouldn't mind keeping some either.”
Arthur looks around them. He's never seriously thought about giving up the house before. He's always thought of it as part of his father's legacy and therefore something he's attached to, but he's come so far from where his father wanted him to go, and he's actually content with who he's become. He no longer thinks of himself as having failed or betrayed his father; rather, he thinks of himself as someone simply different from his father. The disconnect that's been developing between him and who he remembers his father being takes away some of the value from everything his father left him. Including the house.
He pokes Morgana in the ribs. “You'll be late,” he says. “Don't wanna keep potentially the man of your dreams waiting.”
Morgana laughs. She stands up, then spins around in front of Arthur. “Still think the green one is better?” she asks.
“Definitely the green one,” Arthur confirms.
She leans over and kisses his forehead. “Thanks.”
~*~
It takes Arthur a few moments to recognize the signs of Merlin jerking off next to him. The bed is shaking and Merlin is breathing fast, little ohs and ahs that barely reach Arthur's ears, and then there's the sound of skin sliding over wet skin. Arthur cracks an eye open and looks to his side. Merlin's back is arched off the bed and his eyes are closed. Arthur follows the lines of his body down where his legs are spread and one of his hands is pressing down on his stomach while the other is stripping his cock furiously. Arthur takes in a sharp breath that accompanies Merlin's moan when Merlin's thumb presses under the head harshly. Arthur's cock starts to harden as he watches.
He ventures a hand towards Merlin, touches the prominent bone of Merlin's hip.
“Ooh,” Merlin whispers at the touch, fucking up into his fist. He turns his head to face Arthur. “Good morning,” he mouths breathlessly.
“Morning,” Arthur replies. He walks his fingers over Merlin's hipbone, trails through Merlin's pubic hair. Merlin's hand slows down.
“Join me,” Merlin breathes. Arthur rubs two fingers over the base of Merlin's cock. “No, no,” Merlin stops him. “Touch yourself. I wanna watch.”
Arthur's cheeks flame up. “You wanna watch me jerk off?” he asks, his voice a little higher than usual.
“You're watching me, aren't you?” Merlin replies. His hand keeps lazily moving over his cock, but his other hand migrates further down where he rolls his balls in the palm of his hand.
Arthur's hand settles low on Merlin's stomach where he can feel Merlin's muscles tightening. He lets his other hand trail slowly over his chest, pinching his nipples, then down his stomach. Merlin follows the path his hand takes with his eyes. Arthur still feels a little uncomfortable about this; Merlin has seen him touch himself before, but they were always touch each other as well and this is different. The look on Merlin's face, though, keeps him going. He takes his cock in hand and strokes it to full hardness. Merlin mimics his rhythm.
“Why don't you just fuck me?” Arthur asks, letting go of himself and reaching for Merlin. “I could go for a a nice fuck from behind,” he adds, already turning around. Merlin's mouth opens around a silent moan.
“Keep talking like that and I'll come,” he says.
“Then do it,” Arthur replies, already on his knees. But Merlin shakes his head no.
“No, I'm not fucking you if I can't see your face,” he says seriously.
“I trust you.”
“I'm not doing it, Arthur,” Merlin repeats, looking up at the ceiling and then closing his eyes. “But I'm damn sure imagining it,” he adds with a smile slowly spreading over his face. Arthur leans his forehead on his forearm and looks down his body, his legs spread, his cock hard between them and his ass in the air; he can imagine Merlin behind him. Merlin would hold his hips until they bruised and he'd fuck him hard, but he wouldn't touch him until the very end, the fucking tease, and Arthur would love every moment of it. He's stroking himself again before he's done painting the picture in his head. “Yes,” Merlin hisses next to him.
Arthur turns his head to the side to find Merlin looking at him again.
“Are you imagining it?” Merlin asks, his smirk morphing into another quiet groan.
“Yeah,” Arthur admits, his hand speeding up. He looks at Merlin's eyes and doesn't think about what he's doing, just watches the various expressions of pleasure form on Merlin's face and imagines how much better they would be with Merlin behind him, pounding into him.
“Faster,” Merlin tells him, “faster.” Arthur works himself faster, starting to push into his hand. It's too fast and too rough and it's not nearly as satisfying as Merlin's touch is, but he keeps going when he hears Merlin whine high in his throat.
“Louder,” he replies.
“Wha- oh, fuck, what?”
“Louder,” Arthur repeats. “You wanna watch, I wanna hear.”
Merlin nods emphatically. “All right, okay,” he agrees. He lets his legs fall open, revealing himself completely to Arthur and Arthur watches as Merlin tugs on his balls with punishing strength and then Merlin moans, much louder this time than all the previous and Arthur closes his eyes at the sound.
He hears the exact moment when Merlin's voice breaks on a long whine and he knows Merlin is coming. He opens his eyes again to see Merlin just holding himself, angling his cock so that the come paints his stomach and chest. Arthur bites at his forearm and fucks into his fist with purpose. He's aware that Merlin is watching him, that Merlin is done and he's still watching him. It makes a blush spread down his neck and back, but it also makes his cock throb in his hand and he decides that maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
He comes on the sheets, muffling the sounds in the pillow. It's not the orgasm of his life, but when he opens his eyes and sees Merlin covered with come and smiling like he's high, he thinks his morning started just fine.
~*~
Arthur dials Merlin's number again, but it keeps going to voicemail. It's not that it's unlike Merlin to be late, but it's dark outside and it's raining and Arthur just knows Merlin is not gonna do the smart thing and take the cab. He doesn't want to be the kind of person who runs negative scenarios through his head whenever something doesn't going exactly to plan, but he can't not worry about Merlin, who's gonna end up walking home even though he didn't bring a jacket.
Arthur puts the phone down the moment he realizes he sounds like somebody's mother. He picks a random book from Merlin's shelf, sits down by the window and buries his nose into pages upon pages of the misadventures of Tender Branson.
He's 11 chapters in already when he hears the door opening and closing quickly. He leaves the book on the chair and goes to meet Merlin.
Except, it's not just Merlin. Merlin is standing just inside the apartment, soaking wet and dripping on the floor, and he's holding something in his arms. When Arthur gets closer, he sees it's a puppy.
“You brought a dog in?” he asks, confused.
“Hey, sorry, I wasn't paying attention, you're gonna have to repeat that.” Merlin pets the puppy, his fingers twirling one floppy ear around. The dog is tiny, easily fitting into Merlin's arm, and its coat is short and wet from the rain. It licks Merlin's hand. “Can you hold her for me?” Merlin asks, holding the dog out towards Arthur. Still shocked at the sight of a wet dog in the apartment, Arthur doesn't reach for it. Merlin looks up. “Please tell me you're not allergic.” Arthur shakes his head no. “Good,” Merlin says with a grin and shoves the dog into Arthur's arms. Now that Arthur is holding it, he can feel it shaking and whining quietly. He holds it close, trying to warm it up.
Merlin takes off his Chucks and then peels off his wet clothes, putting it all in a pile that he then picks up. “Okay, I will be right back with you, sorry,” Merlin says before running up the stairs. Arthur looks at the dog that he's holding, not really sure what to do with it. It looks back at him with huge sad brown eyes.
“Ugh, fine, you're cute,” Arthur admits to it. He takes a towel from the pile of folded laundry that he left on the coffee table and luckily forgot to put away. He wraps it around the puppy (female, he notices) and starts drying her. She's filthy, the towel coming away smeared with brown and grey, but she lets Arthur move her around without complaints and by the time he's done, she's even licking his hands too. Arthur tries not to be charmed. He's failing.
Merlin comes downstairs wearing only baggy pyjama bottoms, dry now except for his hair which is still shiny and heavy from water. “That was the fastest shower I've ever taken,” he informs Arthur as he sits down. Arthur drops the towel on the floor, watches, amused, as the puppy starts wagging her tail and moving unsteadily over their legs towards Merlin. Merlin scratches under her chin absently, not looking away from Arthur. “Are you mad?” he asks finally. “My battery died and I was already on the way when I realized. I'm sure you called.”
“Yeah, like seventeen times,” Arthur snorts. He's not worried anymore, and he's gotten over the initial shock of having to take care of a stray dog Merlin brought it, so now he just watches the puppy play with Merlin's hands, following them as Merlin moves them around her head, trying to catch them with her paws. “You brought a dog in,” Arthur says stupidly.
“Okay, I know that's a little... sudden and unexpected and we have never talked about getting a dog, but,” Merlin takes a deep breath like he's bracing for something unpleasant, “she was cold and alone and lost and I couldn't leave her in the street. And then I started thinking about how nice it would be to have a dog and how the three of us could go for longs walks in the park and how we could give her a nice place to live and... And I brought her home with me,” he explains.
Arthur raises his eyebrows. That sounded suspiciously like Merlin was planning on the dog staying. For some time. Some time probably being the rest of the dog's life. “Merlin,”Arthur drags out the first syllable of Merlin's name as a warning, “what do you think you're doing?”
Merlin looks down at the puppy in his lap before Arthur finishes the sentence. He seems to know what Arthur said anyway, because he says, “I think we're adopting a puppy.”
Arthur turns Merlin's head towards him. “No,” he replies clearly, “you are adopting a puppy. I think that's a terrible idea.”
Merlin frowns at him, his mouth morphing into a dissatisfied line. “Why?”
Arthur says and throws his hands up in the air. “Because we're both busy, Merlin, and dogs are a lot of work, they need to be fed and walked and taken care of.”
“I know that,” Merlin replies, “I'm not a child, I get that. You don't have to do it, don't worry, I will do everything.” He sounds disappointed, but when he looks down at the dog, a smile creeps onto his face. Arthur watches the change, fascinated. It makes him smile too, to see Merlin so instantly happy. Somehow, he'd always pegged Merlin for more of a cat person. He's glad Merlin didn't bring a cat in from the street, though, because he is allergic to cats.
He reaches out to pet the puppy that's now happily nestled in Merlin's lap. He can practically feel Merlin's eyes on him. “It's not about that,” he confesses. It's easier when he's not looking at Merlin. “It's just... It's a huge responsibility to share.”
“I know,” Merlin says, putting a hand on Arthur's back. “But I want to. I want to share it with you.” Arthur smiles at Merlin, who smiles back and knocks their foreheads together. “So what do you say, wanna share my dog?” he asks, grinning.
“Yeah, I'll share your dog,” Arthur agrees, laughing at how silly the sentence sounds. He pets the puppy's head, and the tips of his fingers brush over Merlin's arm gently. The dog opens her eyes to blink at him like she's wondering who he is and considering whether to trust him. She seems to recognize him and decide he's okay, because she turns her head and licks Arthur's palm, before settling down again.
“You know, a dog needs a place to live,” Merlin says. Arthur looks up at him, confused. Merlin is biting his lip and his eyes are shiny. He seems a little nervous.
“And?” Arthur prompts.
“Well, if we're sharing her, it only makes sense that...” A nervous laughter bubbles out of Merlin. “I can't believe you're gonna make me spell this out for you, fucking move in with me,” he says in a rush, not really looking at Arthur's eyes.
Butterflies stir in Arthur's stomach at the idea of officially moving in together. It feels like a big step, a milestone, even though they haven't spent a night apart in god knows how long and could be married for all that any outsiders would know. It's still a big step for Arthur, to leave the house he's lived in his whole life. He realizes that he's actually ready for that. It's freeing to leave the family house behind, a metaphorical final breaking off with his father.
“We can live in your house, I don't mind,” Merlin suggests nervously. “I know it means a lot to you.”
Arthur remembers he didn't actually give Merlin an answer at all. “No,” he says, then when he sees Merlin's face fall, rushes to finish his thought, “no, I'm-I'm gonna move in here.”
Merlin makes a funny noise in his throat and lets a long breath out through his nose. “You're moving in with me,” he repeats, grinning. He looks about as giddy as Arthur feels. He leans over and pulls Arthur in for a kiss, jostling the puppy in the process; she whines in protest. “You're moving in with me,” Merlin says again when they part. The puppy head-butts his hand. “Yes, yes,” Merlin agrees, “he's moving in with us.”
~*~
Merlin presses Arthur's legs against his chest when he bends down to kiss him. “Gonna come,” he says.
Arthur tries to get an arm between them to touch himself because he's close too, and god, he wants to come with Merlin, but there's just not enough space. He grabs at Merlin's ass instead, urging him to go harder.
Merlin bites on Arthur's lip, burying himself deep inside Arthur and spilling. Arthur tightens his muscles, delighting in the surprised moan that bring out of Merlin's mouth. When he's done, Merlin collapses on top of Arthur, breathing heavily. Arthur gives him a moment before shoving at his shoulder.
“Can't breathe,” he mouths.
Merlin drags himself up and rolls to the side. “Sorry,” he drawls.
Arthur lets his legs fall down, almost immediately reaching for his cock. He only gets a few quick strokes in before Merlin drags himself closer again.
“Fuck me,” Merlin says. “It'll feel better.”
Arthur looks over at him. “You sure?” he asks before he get too wound up to think properly. Merlin spreads his legs in response. “Oh god,” he moans, climbing quickly on top of Merlin and easily sinking into him. He takes a moment to be grateful that Merlin chose that particular day to want fingers.
Merlin is completely relaxed under him, a dopey smile on his face. He hugs Arthur and brings him closer. Arthur doesn't give him much time to adjust, starts thrusting fast and hard almost as soon as he's in, too close to have much control over himself.
“This is nice,” Merlin purrs in his ear. “I like this.” He even sounds high. “It's like I can really feel you.”
“Shut up, Merlin,” Arthur growls, biting at his neck and fucking him harder. Merlin gasps every time Arthur buries himself inside and Arthur latches on to that sound when he grabs Merlin's hips and shoves them closer, making Merlin's body meet him thrust for thrust. Arthur makes a happy sound and wraps his legs around Arthur, urging him on with his feet on Arthur's lower back. Arthur spreads his legs for better balance and feels Merlin's come drip out of his ass. “Oh my god,” he whispers, only managing a few more shallow thrusts before he empties himself inside Merlin.
The world goes a little fuzzy after that; Arthur is still buzzed on the high and Merlin is still warm and pliant around him, stroking his back gently and whispering in his ear. He only comes back to reality when he hears a quiet whining and scratching behind him.
“This has to be a joke,” he groans, but dutifully gets up on shaky legs to open the door.
“What are you doing?” Merlin calls after him, sounding halfway to dreamland already.
“Jackie wants inside,” Arthur explains, his hand on the doorknob.
“We should clean up first,” Merlin comments, pulling the sheets over himself.
“Right, that's happening,” Arthur snorts. He opens the door and Jackie bounds into the room and jumps on the bed at Merlin's feet. Arthur drags himself over to the bed and falls in it face first, breathing in the combined smell of himself and Merlin that is infused in the sheets. Merlin tucks himself into Arthur's arms, then covers them both with a sheet. Jackie moves over to lie on their feet. Arthur buries his face in Merlin's neck and happily goes to sleep.
~*~
Merlin leans back against Arthur's chest and rests his head on Arthur's shoulder. “You'd think we never take her out,” he comments, watching Jackie run around the park, chasing birds and children alike. “All we need is a red and white checkered tablecloth and we could be in a magazine. A poster couple for the gay movement.”
“You really think we're that perfect, huh,” Arthur says, mostly to himself since the way they're sitting, he can't really talk to Merlin. It's a pleasant spring day, sunny and without a cloud in the sky, a breeze chilling it down pleasantly. Comfortable as he is, Arthur thinks he might fall asleep if he doesn't find something to do soon.
“Look, she found a friend,” Merlin says, nudging Arthur and pointing in front of them. A little girl in a pastel purple dress is crouching in front of Jackie, and Jackie is jumping at her, wagging her tail happily. Merlin reaches into their bag and feels around it, coming up with his sketchbook and a pencil. He quickly outlines the scene in front of them. Arthur is so focused on watching Merlin's work that he doesn't notice Jackie is running back to them, little girl in tow, until they're both already there. Jackie jumps on Arthur's lap and quickly back off it; she goes to run between the girls legs. “Hi,” Merlin says amicably.
“Hi,” the girl replies quietly with a wave.
“I'm Merlin,” Merlin continues, nudging Arthur with an elbow, “and this guy here who's forgetting his manners is Arthur.”
“My name is Hailey.” There's something about the way she talks that sets off some alarms in Arthur's head.
“Nice to meet you, Hailey,” Merlin says slowly.
“Yeah, nice to meet you,” Arthur finally joins in. “That over there is Jackie,” he says, pointing at Jackie who's stretching on her hind legs to get to Hailey. “She seems to like you.” Hailey blushes. Before Arthur can say anything else, Merlin makes what looks like a complicated series of hand gestures to Arthur. Hailey responds in kind.
“She's deaf,” Merlin informs Arthur redundantly.
“I gathered,” Arthur says.
“I just told her she doesn't have to be shy and that we can sign if it's easier for her.”
Arthur nods. Hailey seems to open up to Merlin after that, sitting down with them presumably after Merlin invites her. For a while Merlin talks to Arthur, explaining what they're saying, but Arthur stops him with a hand on his upper arm. He leans back instead to watch the exchange instead.
Merlin rarely uses sign language, at least to Arthur's knowledge. Most of Merlin's friends and all of Arthur's are hearing and of all of them, only Gwaine knows sign language and only some of it too. Merlin's always maintained he doesn't mind, but seeing him now Arthur wonders if maybe their lives would be easier if Arthur did know how to sign. Merlin is smiling at Hailey and easily picking up her responses; he doesn't need to ask her to repeat, doesn't need to drop everything else in order to have a conversation. He looks more relaxed, free from having to concentrate had just to know what someone is saying.
“Hey,” Merlin says, touching Arthur's leg and turning to face him. “Hailey's family is having a picnic here next Saturday. She's invited us to join.”
“Um, okay,” Arthur replies, not sure what else to say. He's long lost the thread of conversation.
“Yeah, you wanna come?” Merlin asks again. “Her parents can both hear, don't worry,” he adds. Arthur wishes Merlin didn't have to assure him of that, he wishes it didn't matter.
“Yeah, sure, let's do it,” he agrees. Merlin flashes him a bright smile.
“Thanks,” he says before turning back to Hailey. They're saying their goodbyes, Arthur realizes, only moment before Hailey turns to him.
“It was nice to meet you,” she says.
“You too,” Arthur replies. She waves at them before she leaves. Jackie looks like she has half a mind to follow.
“Sorry about that, you must have felt quite excluded,” Merlin says, turning to sit so that they're face to face. “She's very nice.”
“I'm sure she is.” Arthur takes Merlin's hand. “Do you think it's weird that we've been together for two years and I don't know how to sign?”
“I don't think it matters,” Merlin says readily. “We communicate just fine. When you can get your head out of your ass for long enough to actually try,” he teases. Arthur indulges him with a smile.
“I'm shit at languages,” Arthur says in lieu of an apology. “And behind all the complicated hand waving, that's still a language.”
Merlin squeezes his hand. “Arthur, it's okay, really. I don't mind.”
Arthur still feels like it's not really okay, at least not from where he's standing, but he lets the matter drop. Instead he pulls Merlin closer, kisses him and says, “You're pretty good with kids.”
“Am I?” Merlin wonders, but Arthur can tell it's just for show. “I guess I am.”
“Is this the time and the place for this conversation?”
“Hey, I sprung moving in together on you by dropping a wet dog on your lap,” Merlin laughs. As if she knows they're talking about her, Jackie jumps between them and puts her head on their joined hands.
“So do you? Want kids?” Arthur asks. He's not sure what he's hoping for. He's always liked the idea of kids, but never having been in a relationship serious enough to lead to this conversation, he doesn't know if he's ready for the reality of having them.
“I've never been in a situation where I had to really think about that,” Merlin admits.
“Same!” Arthur exclaims, relieved that he's not the only one jumping into this conversation blind.
Merlin laughs. “Good,” he says, visibly relaxing. “I thought you'd tell me you already had names picked out for our seven little monsters.”
“Seven!”
“I don't know, you're the big family type of guy,” Merlin defends himself.
“I'll settle for two,” Arthur says, his heart beating a little faster at the confession.
“Adopted?” Merlin ventures.
“Of course, I've always wanted to adopt.”
“Why doesn't that surprise me?” Merlin says, running his thumb over the part of Arthur's hand not covered with Jackie's drool-coated mouth. He looks away from Arthur for a few moments, his jaw set like he's made a decision. When he looks back, there's an unfamiliar glint in his eye. “Two?” he asks.
“Yeah, two,” Arthur confirms.
Merlin smiles. “Yeah, I think I could go for two.” Arthur's heart skips a beat. He's getting rather excited at the prospect of raising children with Merlin now that he knows it's an actual possibility. “Some day. With the right person,” Merlin adds, leaning in to run his nose over Arthur's. “With you.” Arthur kisses him in response.
~*~
“Thank you for coming,” Arthur says solemnly. Across from him, Merlin's leg is jumping and Merlin's hands are lying on his knees, artificially calm.
“Of course,” Merlin says. “Who else was gonna be your lab rat?” he jokes, but it sounds strained.
Arthur bites at the inside of his cheek. He doesn't know what Merlin is hoping for. He wishes he could know for sure that Merlin is hoping the prototype works, but he doesn't. All he knows is that Merlin is nervous, though that may be for a variety of reasons. He reaches out over the small table between them to take Merlin's hand.
“Are you alright?” he asks.
Merlin's face is a strange mix of affectionate and anxious. “I might hear your voice for the first time,” he says.
The thought has occurred to Arthur as well, that Merlin has never heard him and that this may be his chance. If that happens, he wonders if he will be what Merlin expects of him. “Is that what you're hoping for?” he asks.
“Maybe. I don't know,” Merlin replies honestly. “I don't know what I want to get out of this.”
“Well, hopefully, you will get a chance of hearing again and a choice of whether you want to,” Mithian says, leaning over Arthur's shoulder to put a small ear bud-like thing on the table. Arthur wishes he'd thought of that reply. “Now, it's only a prototype and we have had some issues with it,” Mithian continues, looking at Arthur apologetically, “so it might not work exactly as we're hoping.”
“I know,” Merlin replies, taking the ear bud from the table and inspecting it. “What do I do with it?” he asks, looking at Mithian.
“Um, you just put it in your ear and press the button on top.”
“Okay,” Merlin says, taking one last look at the object in his hand before doing as he's told.
There's no change in Merlin's expression, no choir of angels singing Hallelujah, no fanfare. Just Merlin looking at Arthur and Arthur biting the inside of his cheek nervously. He wants this to work. Merlin raises his eyebrows.
Arthur clears his throat, buying time to gather some more courage before he asks, “Any change?”
His face still blank, Merlin says, “I'm still reading your lips, so...” Arthur's heart sinks. He'd been preparing for that, and everyone from Morgana to Gwen to Mithian warned him that the very reason there are tests is that things don't usually work on the first try, but he'd still gotten his hopes up and to have them be for nothing is a disappointing failure. “There's a, um,” Merlin starts. Arthur's head snaps up. “A kind of a buzzing sound? It's not constant,” he tries to explain.
“Oh, that's good!” Mithian says happily, writing down what Merlin is saying. Arthur fails to see what's so good about it. “Anything else?” she asks Merlin.
“No, that's, er. That's it,” Merlin says. He takes the earbud out of his ear and puts it back on the table. “I'll wait for you outside,” he tells Arthur before rushing out of the room. Arthur wants to follow immediately, but he's learnt to know when Merlin needs some time to himself.
“Our main problem is getting both SoundFit and ViviTouch to work when they're combined,” Mithian explains to Arthur matter-of-factly. “It appears that for some reason one of them is interfering with the other when they are in this particular form. Mr. Emrys's comments confirm that,” she says, scribbling furiously on her clipboard. “But that's good news! It means we know what to work on,” she reassures.
Arthur nods, only half-listening. His mind is already outside the room, with Merlin.
Mithian puts a hand on his shoulder. “We'll make it work, Mr. Pendragon,” she says. “That's all for now.” There's an awkward pause when they both realize that she just dismissed him from his own lab. Arthur decides not to bring it up and Mithian apparently decides to pretend that was a perfectly normal thing to happen. He stands up, straightens out his jacket and leaves with a mumbled goodbye.
Merlin is sitting by the door, twirling his thumbs around and staring at the wall in front of him. Arthur puts a hand on his shoulder.
Merlin startles. “Oh, hey. Done already?”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for helping us,” Arthur says, sitting down next to Merlin.
“Sorry I couldn't tell you what you wanted to hear.”
“Sorry it didn't work.”
For the first time since they went into the lab, Merlin's face softens and he smiles a little. “It's not your fault.”
“But I was the one who involved you,” Arthur replies.
“It's okay, Arthur, really.”
“I only wanted to do this for you,” Arthur talks over him.
Merlin covers Arthur's mouth with his palm. “I know. And you've done more for me than you think. So I can probably cut you some slack on this one,” he says, smiling lopsidedly. Arthur can't resist smiling back when Merlin removes his hand. And just like that, the air between them shifts from serious to light-hearted again. Merlin stands up and pulls Arthur up by the hand. “For the record, you definitely need to rename that thing.”
“I don't see you coming up with anything,” Arthur mumbles, following Merlin towards the elevators.
“I don't even know what you said and I'm still sure you want to take it back,” Merlin sing-songs, pressing the button for down.
~*~
“I'm still not sure I'm comfortable with your professors seeing me naked,” Arthur says, moving around on the bed to find a less revealing position.
“Arthur!” Merlin whines when he looks up from his sketch. “It's a work on male nudes, you're not supposed to be covered!”
“Well excuse me if I don't want my junk to end up splayed on some gallery wall,” Arthur grumbles, but he moves back to the position Merlin put him in anyway.
“I can make it bigger if you like,” Merlin says, biting the end of his pencil.
“Oh, ha, ha,” Arthur replies sarcastically. The position he's in is actually more comfortable than he'd expected. He realizes Merlin must have put some real thought into this. He has a few minutes to be grateful before Merlin reverts back to his 13-year-old self.
“Do you mind if I straighten your nose a bit?” he asks sweetly.
“There's nothing wrong with my nose!”
“I'm also gonna trim away a few pounds off you,” Merlin continues, totally ignoring Arthur.
“Oi!” Arthur shouts to no avail. He takes a pillow he's not using and throws it at Merlin's head. He narrowly misses.
“What are you doing!?” Merlin asks in a high-pitched voice that breaks off into laughter at the end. He picks the pillow up and throws it back to Arthur. “I'm trying to work here,” he says unconvincingly.
“You're ignoring me,” Arthur complains.
Merlin looks pointedly at his sketch. “I am hardly ignoring you.”
“You know what I meant.”
“Sorry, didn't hear you,” Merlin says, his eyes glued to the sketch again. His head is shaking a little with quiet laughter that makes Arthur throw the same pillow again. This time he doesn't miss. A giggle escapes Merlin, but he doesn't look up. He also doesn't throw the pillow back.
The room is silent for a while, the sound of Merlin's pencil scratching over the paper the only thing Arthur can hear. Jackie joins him on the bed after a while, draping herself over his leg. Merlin huffs when he notices her. She seems to confuse his irritation with an invitation to play, her tail wagging as soon as she opens her eyes. She jumps off the bed and skips off, trying to climb into Merlin's lap.
“You two are out to get me,” Merlin complains, focusing on where Arthur's hand rests on his thigh. Arthur studies Merlin's face, feeling it's only fair that he watches Merlin as well. He notices the subtle change in Merlin's breathing, the way his fingers squeeze the pencil a little harder. “You moved your leg,” Merlin says, clearing his throat first.
“Sorry,” Arthur replies, purposefully moving his leg even further from where it originally was, putting himself on display even more. Merlin takes a deep, shaky breath. He studiously ignores Arthur's obvious attempts at distraction and lets his eyes trace over Arthur's arm.
Arthur follows the heated look Merlin gives him. He feels it almost like a touch against his skin. He inhales sharply. Merlin is focusing on his drawing like it's the only thing that matters, his bottom lip jutting out and his brows creased in concentration. His tongue darts out to trace over his lips, leaving them wet and shiny. Arthur's cock stirs, filling a little. Feeling playful, Arthur strokes it slowly up and back down, his palm dry and hot. He sucks in a noisy breath.
“That's very distracting, you know,” Merlin tells him, his voice a little gravelly. His pencil is resting against the paper motionless. Arthur just smiles, dragging out the next stroke up his cock, almost fully hard now. “Arthur,” Merlin warns. Arthur responds with an exaggerated moan. “Okay, then, if that's how you wanna play,” Merlin says, amused determination colouring his voice. He turns his head down to where Jackie is still patiently waiting for him to pay attention to her. “Go play with Arthur, Jacks,” Merlin says. “Go, go!”
To Arthur's horror, she obeys, jumping on the bed and knocking Arthur back to lick at his face. “What the- Unfair!” Arthur shouts, trying to fight her off. Merlin just laughs at him, picking his pencil up again.
~*~
Jackie almost knocks Arthur back when she runs into him to greet him. Arthur had never thought she'd grow to be as big as she is. Close behind her is Merlin, who's also taken to enthusiastic hellos recently. He barrels into Arthur, crowding him against the door and covering Arthur's mouth with his before Arthur has a chance to react.
“Hello to you too,” Arthur says when he's released by them both.
“Hi,” Merlin greets breathlessly. “You're early,” he says, taking Arthur's briefcase and putting it away without moving out of Arthur's arms. “Didn't you have that meeting about ViberSound?” he asks, making a face at the name again.
Arthur smiles widely. “I,” he announces happily, “am letting Mithian handle it.”
“Delegating? You? Wow, I'm proud,” Merlin says, pulling on the lapels of Arthur's jacket.
“Not just that,” Arthur corrects. “I am letting her take over the project entirely. I'm not gonna be overseeing it anymore.”
Merlin looks at him hopefully. “Really?”
“Yeah. I'm done with it. I'm done trying to fix you,” Arthur says, remembering all the arguments and discussions he's ever had with Merlin about this.
“Good. Because I don't need fixing,” Merlin returns with a grin.
Arthur schools his face into a serious expression. “Of course, you're perfect,” he says, fighting a smile.
“Damn right I am,” Merlin agrees, spinning them around so that Arthur is pressing him against the door. “Now let's celebrate that you finally figured that out,” Merlin suggests in his best seductive voice. Arthur thinks it's kind of pathetic that it still works on him, but it does. He holds Merlin by the waist and presses against him head to toe. Merlin moans quietly in his ear. “Congratulations on having such a great boyfriend,” he breathes. Arthur bites at his neck, surprising a yelp out of him.
~*~
Arthur watches his fingers dance over Merlin's spine. He bends over and kisses just above Merlin's shoulder blade. His hand slides under the sheets and rests at the swell of Merlin's ass. The naked skin is warm under his palm. Merlin hums into the pillow.
“Go back to sleep,” he says. Arthur smiles against Merlin's skin. Jackie stretches at the foot of the bed, pushing Arthur's legs further towards Merlin.
Arthur closes his eyes. His lips are barely touching Merlin's skin when he says it, without even thinking about it. It doesn't matter because Merlin can't hear him; it makes Arthur a little bolder.
“I love you.”
Merlin's shoulders ripple quickly. “That tickled,” he says, still not taking his head out of the pillow. Arthur rests his head on Merlin's back. He's drifting off to sleep when he hears Merlin say something. It may or may not sound like I love you too.
~end~