Just some more Merthur smut, this time inspired by the season 4 episode of Supernatural 'It's a Terrible Life,' staring IT guy Merlin and corporate douche bag Arthur along with some PWP. And like I've said before, I'm bad at writing sex scenes so this is still a bit of an experiment for me.

I own nothing.

Delayed for a Little While

"Emrys, Pendragon needs you in his office." Merlin groans and lets his head fall to his desk with a resounding thump, almost disappointed that the impact wasn't enough to knock him out cold.

He glances up at Percy, his coworker whose red polo is too small for his muscled biceps, and sighs loudly.

"What for?"

"Something about his computer crashing in the middle of 'finalizing a very important and possibly life changing deal' with that big shot Cenred King, says he needs it fixed immediately or he's gonna fire everyone."

Again Merlin sighs, eyes rolling in on overly dramatic way as he crosses his arms and looks up at Percy challengingly.

"And why does it have to be me? Did he ask for me personally?"

At that Percy smirks.

"No, but everyone who's worked in IT for the last two years knows you're the best we've got and you're the only one stupid enough to pick fights with him while simultaneously being lucky enough not to get fired."

There's a pause as Percy mulls over his own words, glancing at Merlin mischievously.

"Why do you think that is anyways?"

Through a snort Merlin says, "I've no idea and frankly, I don't care," as he comes to his feet and grabs his ID badge, glances back at Percy just as he's about to walk towards the door.

"If I'm not back in thirty minutes send a search party."

Arthur Pendragon's office is on the thirtieth floor of one of the biggest building's Merlin's ever seen, let alone worked in. While he himself spends most days in the basement with the rest of the IT guys, occasionally he's sent all the way to the top floor to deal with the biggest prat the world's ever known.

Most of his co-workers are terrified of Arthur and his practically non-existent patience, which means it's Merlin who answers every one of his calls that has the displeasure of coming their way. Most people tell him it's because he's the best at what he does, able to detect and fix most technical problems in record speed, but he, like Percy, knows it's really because he is the only one brave (and probably) stupid enough to call Mr. Big shot Prat out on his crap.

Percy tries to tell him he's brave for standing up to Arthur when his attitude and cocky personality start to be too much but most of the other's (all of them, really) just think he's plain stupid. And Percy is right, no one knows exactly how Merlin Emrys hasn't been fired or tossed out of Arthur's thirtieth floor window for any of the snarky, quick-witted things he's said in the past two years.

Not even Merlin himself.

He's thought about it before; always coming up empty handed on his quest to find at least one plausible explanation and wondering how the hell he'd managed to keep this job for more than six months. Hell, he's seen Arthur fire a secretary for getting his morning coffee order wrong, which only intensifies the confusion he feels as to why he still has the same, dull and monotonous job.

And don't get him wrong, Merlin loves computers, technology in general, really, but when he graduated from university with his degree, he had his sights set a little higher than 'basement IT guy who deals with the world's biggest asshole on a weekly basis.'

And, speaking of said asshole, just as the elevator door opens and allows Merlin a chance to peer down the hall, he catches the tail end of one of Arthur Pendragon's world famous hissy fits.

"And if this deal doesn't go through I will have all of your heads! Do you understand? Now where is that goddamn computer geek?"

With a deep breath for courage and an attempt to hold on to what little sanity he actually has left, Merlin steps from the elevator and into Arthur's line of sight, the glare coming from his impossibly blue eyes nearly burning a hole in him.

"There you are," he barks, marching forward and grabbing the collar of Merlin's polo and dragging him towards the double glass doors of his office without stopping.

Merlin has to suppress the chill that rips through him when Arthur's fingers touch him, the unfamiliar but not unwelcome feeling somewhat alarming. Unfortunately though, said feeling ends almost as soon as it begins when Merlin is pushed down into Arthur's chair in front of the computer as the blond fumes behind him.

"It just froze right in the middle of a conversation with-"

"Cenred King, head hotshot of the Mercia Corporation, yeah I know," Merlin rolls his eyes as he taps a few keys but the screen stays frozen.

Without bothering to look back at Arthur he asks over his shoulder,

"Have you tried turning it on and off again?"

He hears the sharp intake of breath just seconds before Arthur begins to splutter.

"Have I- are you serious right now? This is a crucial moment for this company and I will not tolerate-"

"Calm down," Merlin interrupts with a sigh, he can practically see the veins bulging and the steam pouring from his ears, "I was joking. I think this problem goes a bit beyond that anyways."

He taps a few more keys and runs his bottom lip between his teeth, finally throwing his hands up in surrender as he leans back in the chair and glances up at Arthur.

"I can fix this but I'll need to run back downstairs and grab a few things and maybe an extra set of hands, I can have it fixed in half an hour."

He watches Arthur's eyes bulge and crosses his ankles, making himself comfortable. He has a feeling this fit will last a while.

And boy is he right.

Nearly fifteen minutes after he walks (is dragged) into the office Merlin exits with a red faced Arthur on his heels, stalking towards the elevator as the tension mounts in his body and he has the strongest urge to just reach out and punch something.

Arthur's still nagging him, going on and on about how useless his IT team is and how he could have gotten anyone to work for him but was instead stuck with the likes of Merlin himself. Merlin does a pretty good job of ignoring him, for the most part, only opening his mouth a few times with a sarcastic, snarky response that has Arthur fuming all over again.

They walk past the front desk, Arthur's newest secretary Vivian giving Merlin a pitying glance as he smiles calmly at her. Next is the conference room where Leon, Arthur's best friend and most trusted of all his colleagues, sticks his head out the door and simply shakes his head at them just as Gwaine's face appears as well, laughing hysterically.

It's the last thing Merlin hears as the elevator doors shut once more.

"Please tell me why you have to accompany me downstairs again? I'm sure you have something better to do like terrorize your assistants or hit on anything blonde with a skirt."

Merlin leans against the wall of the elevator, wondering how long he can get away with sassing Arthur before he finally just demands someone else take care of his problem. He deflates just a bit when Arthur, for once, fails to react to something he's said, instead standing quietly on the other side of the elevator as he stares down at the floor.

Shaking off the unusualness of Arthur's behavior Merlin glances at his watch, opening his mouth to tell him he can have the problem fixed before two thirty but he stops when the elevator gives a violent jolt and the light overhead flickers a few times before going out completely just as they come to a sudden halt and Merlin feels Arthur's body collide with his own.

"Oh no," Merlin mutters, voice muffled by Arthur's blond hair in his face "no, no, no, this is not happening."

Once the elevator has stilled, Merlin feels Arthur push himself up and move towards the keypad, fingers jamming into every button possible as Merlin sits back and watches his lost cause with a feeling of dread weighing heavy in his stomach.

"It's no use," he finally announces when he can no longer stand to watch Arthur frantically try and bring the elevator back to life. "It's stalled; we'll have to wait for someone to fix it before we can even hope to get out of here."

Arthur finally stops harassing the key pad, his hands slapping against his sides as he drops them in defeat, leans heavily against the wall and running his fingers through his hair and tugs at the ends in frustration.

"I can't believe this is happening," he says, "all that preparation, time and money spent to get Cenred to make the deal and I can't even hire someone competent enough to fix my computer."

Through what is possibly his millionth eye roll today Merlin answers his complaint with an, "Oh please, it's not like I crashed your computer. Besides, you're practically a millionaire can't you afford better technology than the crap you have now?"

"It's top of the line equipment," Arthur snaps, "and I wouldn't have to replace it every six months if you could do your job correctly."

Merlin snorts.

"You're right, you're right. It's completely my fault that you're a giant prat who treats his employees like garbage and then expects them to bend over backwards to fix your problems at the drop of a hat; how silly of me not to realize that in the first place."

"Enough," Arthur hisses, stalking towards Merlin with a look of fury on his face that's enough to make Merlin take a few steps back, "I am tired of your blatant lack of disrespect and your piss poor work ethic. I hire you to fix computers and that's it. Not to mock and sass me in my own office."

It scares Merlin a bit, how close Arthur is and how undeniable the anger in his eyes is, but Merlin wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of crumbling beneath him and instead he steps forward, his face mere inches from Arthur.

"If you're so tired of me then why am I still here huh? Two years of the same song and dance and not once have you tried to get rid of me. Why is that Arthur?"

He's waiting for an answer, for Arthur to scream and yell and point his finger at Merlin and place all the blame on him but instead the blond leans in almost too quickly for Merlin to comprehend, his lips colliding roughly against his own. They're soft and taste like coffee and the faintest hint of mint toothpaste, making Merlin dizzy as he feels fingers tangle in his hair and he steadies himself with a hand on Arthur's hip.

Merlin surprises them both when he realizes he can't stop himself from kissing back.

When their lips finally do part, Merlin finds himself pressed against the back wall, the cool metal seeping through his shirt, the warmth from Arthur's breath hitting his cheek as the blond stares at him wide eyed. There's a sudden stirring in his gut that comes from having Arthur so close, his body nearly flush against his own and although the hatred towards him continues to flicker inside him Merlin finds he can't stop himself from leaning forward and letting his lips crash into his once more with a startling moan.

It starts slowly, their lips melding together, tongues seeking entrance for a chance to explore the other. Merlin even feels Arthur nip at his bottom lip, tongue running over the back of his teeth and making his knees shake more than he thought possible until finally they can't breathe.

Merlin pulls back first this time, heaving and drawing in breaths as he braces himself against Arthur and looks up to see him wide eyed, lips swollen and red. There's a bulge straining against the tailored fit of his trousers, pressing into Merlin. He feels the warmth of Arthur's fingers as they navigate their way beneath the hem of his polo, roaming over his body, coming to a stop at his erect nipples before reaching out and pinching one and watching Merlin writhe beneath his touch.

His lips come down, grazing Merlin's so softly it sends chills up his spine. One hand moves up to cradle his face as the pad of his thumb strokes his cheek and Merlin leans into the touch as if he craves it, the other travels over the unmistakable bulge in his pants, stroking it through the fabric as Merlin's hips buck.

"This is why you're still here," Arthur breathes," I don't think you know how long I've wanted this, how long I've wanted you."

Merlin quirks a brow, arching into Arthur's touch as he tries to keep from crying out in pleasure, breath coming in ragged gasps.

"And you didn't think to just ask me sometime? You know, like a normal person."

Arthur shrugs. "I didn't think you'd accept, so I thought I'd wait it out."

He leans down, pressing soft kisses against Merlin's jaw and down his throat, sucking the skin until Merlin gasps and wriggles beneath the weight of his body, lost to Arthur. Sometime between the kisses and the groping, he looks down and sees Arthur kneeling on the floor with his suit jacket beneath him, fingers working furiously to unbutton Merlin's trousers.

Merlin feels Arthur pulling them down past his hips, lifting himself off the wall so Arthur can pull them off before he tosses them aside and grins, toying at the waistband of his boxers and the throbbing erection inside them. Merlin moans, arching forward towards Arthur's touch. The fire in his belly is consuming him, his head thumping against the wall as he throws it back with a guttural groan. Without warning Arthur's hand plunges inside his boxers, grabbing his throbbing member and stroking slowly as Merlin's face morphs into one of ecstasy, afraid he'll come right then and there.

It's been too long since someone's touched him the way Arthur is now.

After a few moments Arthur takes pity on him, hooking his fingers inside the boxer's waistband and pulling them down and exposing Merlin's already leaking erection. He glances up, meeting Merlin's equally blue eyes with a single question posed in them and the only thing the raven haired man can do is nod furiously before Arthur shoots him an impish grin and takes him in his mouth.

The feel of Arthur's tongue circling around his tip is almost the death of him, his fingers tangling in Arthur's hair in an attempt to keep himself sane as the blond moves his head fluidly, teeth grazing the sensitive skin of Merlin's shaft as he squeezes his eyes shut and manages to gasp out only moments after it all begins.

"Arthur I'm so close, I'm gonna come."

But, Arthur doesn't slow down. In fact Merlin's almost sure he quickens his pace, Merlin's body arching and contorting as he whines and moans until finally he comes, hard between their bodies, just as Arthur manages to pull back and listen to Merlin ride out his orgasm.

And for a few moments, time seems to stop.

It takes them both a few moments to catch their breath when they finally , Merlin's chest heaving as he keeps his fingers tangled in Arthur's hair as the older man let's his forehead come to rest against Merlin's hip, the tiniest smile pulling at his lips.

Neither Merlin nor Arthur speaks as Merlin quickly dresses himself after cleaning up the both of them up the best he can with the handkerchief Arthur keeps in his pocket. Occasionally Merlin will look up and catch Arthur staring at him before his eyes dart elsewhere as his cheeks blush a furious shade of red and Merlin can't help but grin. Despite the fact that part of him still can't stand the outrageous level of pratness Arthur possesses, he finds that another part of him may have been experiencing a conflict similar to Arthur's.

More than once he's found himself staring at the blond when they pass in the hallway by chance or when he's called up to that office of the thirtieth floor for God knows what, but every time he's felt something akin to attraction, he brushes it off and puts on his façade he's known so well for.

Now, though, he has a feeling things are going to be a bit different.

Sighing as he runs a hand through his hair, Merlin walks towards Arthur shyly, somewhat nervous despite the fact there are no longer any boundaries between them. Arthur looks up just as Merlin comes up beside him, his chin coming to rest on Arthur's shoulder as he lets out a sigh.

"I don't think I hate you anymore," he says, listening to Arthur laugh as he turns his head, catching Merlin's lips in his own.

"Well, that's good to hear. It'd be pretty embarrassing if you still wanted to punch me in the face every time you saw me."

Through his own laughter Merlin seeks out Arthur's lips again, craving the taste and feel of them each time they leave his. It's like magnets pulling them together, each time they pull apart some invisible force is their pushing them towards each other. And frankly, Merlin doesn't mind one bit. Granted, they may need to work on Arthur's manners and anger issues a bit but Merlin doesn't mind that either.

They have time.

And that's all. I really enjoyed writing this story and right now I'm toying with the idea of writing a follow up story where it's Merlin's turn to pleasure Arthur, but in a bed rather than an elevator, haha! So, thoughts on this story and the idea of a follow up would be awesome, I love getting feedback from you guys!

Hope you enjoyed!