"No," Arthur said, staying calm even though he had explained this point a hundred times already. "If you phrase it that way, the defence counsel is going to tear your story to pieces."

Mithian, they key witness in a major kidnapping case that was going to trial in less than a week, slumped her shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'm just nervous... I'm not used to this."

Arthur smiled as kindly as he could and leaned forward at his desk, trying to put her at ease. "I know. That's why I'm here - to help. I can guarantee you're going to be more nervous at court in front of everyone. Odin's counsel is tough. He's one of the best; that's why he was hired. But we both know that Odin held your father against his will and you've got the best information on what happened. I'm going to work with you until you're ready and then we're going to send Odin to prison. All right?"

"All right."

Mithian looked resolved, but still uneasy, so Arthur offered to get her some tea. As he stood to go to the tiny kitchenette next to his office, his mobile buzzed in his pocket.

Arthur took it out and checked the screen. Leon was calling him.

"Excuse me," he said to Mithian before going into the hallway and closing the door behind him. He waited until he was in the kitchenette to answer. "Pendragon."

"Arthur," Leon said, his voice unsure.

A shiver went down Arthur's spine and he set down the mug he had picked up before he could drop it. Leon was a top police detective under Arthur's father. He was also one of Arthur's oldest friends, but he didn't usually call during the day unless it was work-related, and it was rarely with good news. Leon had been the one to call him when his father had been shot at two years before, and Arthur had barely made it to the hospital without crashing his car.

"What happened?" he asked, keeping his tone calm. He didn't want to assume the worst, but his mind was already reeling.

"Well... there was a protest outside of Parliament today."

"Is that supposed to be unusual in some way?"

"No, no. It was mostly peaceful but some arrests were made, and..."

"Spit it out, Leon, you're giving me an ulcer."

Leon chuckled and Arthur let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the counter; Leon wouldn't laugh if it was serious. He put the kettle on and started leafing through the tea bags, searching for his favourite brand.

"It was nothing too bad, just some brief questioning and scolding... fairly routine business."

"And yet you called to update me...why?"

"Your, um... When we let them go, one of the protesters...he was picked up by your sister."

"Of course he was," Arthur mumbled. He set two tea bags aside and rubbed his eyes. "Did she notice you?"

"She smiled and waved as if it was completely normal for her to be giving anti-monarchists rides homes from the police station."

"Sounds about right, unfortunately. I'll have a chat with her. Thanks for letting me know. Did anybody else see her?"

"I don't think so... No one who knows who she is, anyway."

"Well, thank God for small miracles. Are we still on for Saturday?"

"Wouldn't miss it. I'll be at yours by ten."

"Cheers." Arthur hung up and slipped his mobile back into his pocket. He poured two mugs of tea and brought them back into his office. "Sorry for the wait, I had a call," he said, handing Mithian a mug and settling back into his large chair. "Morgana's up to her usual nonsense."

Mithian smiled and cupped her mug with both hands. "She always seemed like a lot of fun. It's a shame I didn't get to know your family sooner. I suppose that's the silver lining of this whole ordeal...finally being able to count you as a friend. I hope I'm not over-stepping any boundaries."

"Not at all," Arthur said quickly. "I'm glad we're finally getting better acquainted, even if the circumstances were less than ideal."

Mithian's smile changed subtly and there was something in it that made Arthur's stomach flip. "I know it would be inappropriate now, but after this is all over and we're no longer seeing each other in a professional capacity...would you like to go to dinner sometime?"

"I would love to," Arthur said honestly. Mithian was beautiful and charming; over the past few weeks, he'd found his thoughts straying towards her more and more, even when he wasn't working on her father's case. "When this is all over," he stressed, smiling apologetically. "Until then, my hands are tied unless you want a different prosecutor."

"No, I understand." Mithian set her mug down on his desk and changed her smile again, leaving a perfectly neutral and polite expression on her face. "Shall we continue?"

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

When he left his office, Arthur got in his car and headed towards Morgana's flat. He thought about Mithian most of the way - about her easy smile and her sense of humour and the way she trusted him so completely. He was sure he could win the trial against Odin, but he hoped that it would be a short ordeal, for Mithian's father's sake, but also so that he could take her out to dinner sooner rather than later. She was so easy to talk to, and Arthur hadn't found anyone like that in a long time.

As he got closer to Morgana's, his thoughts turned to the conversation he would have to have with his sister for what felt like the millionth time. Their father was the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis and had been appointed by the Queen herself. As such, their family was in the public eye and that meant that Morgana could not get involved in anti-monarchist activities.

Morgana had never been one to shy away from controversy, but Arthur knew that she also loved and respected their father, and he hoped that a reminder of that would be enough to make her realise why such behaviour was inappropriate.

Once he parked, Arthur let himself into Morgana's building with his copy of her key, walked up to the third floor, and knocked on her door.

"Do you want to know how I knew it was you?" Morgana asked when she opened the door and let him inside a moment later.

"Enlighten me."

"You're the only person I know who doesn't call before you randomly show up. Who raised you? Your manners are atrocious."

"It's good to see you, too," Arthur said mildly, shrugging off his suit jacket and hanging it next to her door.

"I know why you're here." Morgana started walking down the hallway and Arthur followed her, determined not to let her brush this off.

"Leon called me today."

"I'm sure he did." She entered her kitchen and when Arthur stepped in a second later, he saw a man sitting at her table. "This is my friend, Merlin. Merlin, this is my brother, Arthur."

Merlin stood to shake Arthur's hand and Arthur suddenly wished that he had called ahead instead of showing up unannounced. He didn't want to call Morgana out about family business in front of her friends.

"I've heard a lot about you," Merlin said, sitting back down. He had a smirk on his face that Arthur wasn't sure how to interpret.

"Merlin is the reason Leon called you," Morgana explained, taking the seat next to him.

"Oh." Arthur took a longer look at Merlin, noticing how his shoes were practically falling apart and how the material of his checkered shirt was thin around his bony shoulders and elbows. "You do understand why he was concerned, don't you?" he asked Morgana. "Why I'm concerned?"

"I wasn't involved in the protest," Morgana said in a bored voice. "I don't have a death wish."

"Glad to hear it." Arthur gave her a smile; even though he wasn't entirely satisfied, he wasn't going to press the issue in front of a stranger. "I should get home. It was good to meet you," he said, nodding at Merlin.

"Stay for dinner," Morgana said, getting up from the table. "I made soup last night and was going to reheat some for us."

Normally, Arthur wouldn't intrude on Morgana's visit with her friend, but he did love her cooking. Morgana also wouldn't normally invite him to stay if she already had company.

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked. "I don't want to interrupt."

"Of course I'm sure. Sit down."

Arthur took the seat Morgana had vacated and watched her transfer a large pot of soup from the fridge onto the stove.

"I hear you work for the Crown Prosecution Service," Merlin said after a moment of silence.

Arthur nodded, but he didn't want to talk about work. He tried to maintain a healthy work/life balance, or at least a minimal one, and that usually meant he tried not to think or talk about work after he'd left his office at the end of the day. Until recently, when thoughts of Mithian lasted long past work hours, he was usually at least mildly successful.

"What about you?" Arthur asked, turning the focus onto Merlin.

"Merlin is the highest paid grant writer in the city," Morgana said proudly as she turned on one of the burners.

"She's exaggerating," Merlin said quickly. "I just got promoted and for some reason she likes to brag about it."

"I'm fucking happy for you." Morgana kicked jokingly at one of Merlin's feet. "You deserve it."

Merlin shrugged and turned back to Arthur. "I'm a grant writer," he said simply.

Arthur nodded, holding back a smile. He wondered if Morgana fancied her friend; she had always been bad at flirting. "Where do you work?"

"Just a small non-profit. We work with kids in the foster care system."

Arthur glanced up at Morgana, who smiled softly at him. She had spent some time in foster care growing up, before Uther had legally adopted her. It turned out she was actually his biological daughter, although he had never publicly admitted it; Uther strove to avoid public scandal at all costs. He had passed on that priority to both of his children, but Morgana's rebellious streak hid that fact at most times.

"Sounds great," Arthur said, looking back to Merlin. "When were you promoted?"

"Just started the new job on Monday," Merlin said, smiling.

"Congratulations."

"Thank-"

"I bought your favourite beer," Morgana interrupted, opening the fridge again. "We're going to have a toast and you're going to get drunk and celebrate properly."

"It's a Thursday," Merlin complained, taking the beer she handed him. "I have work tomorrow. As do both of you, I assume."

"Shut up." Morgana passed another beer to Arthur and then took one for herself. "To Merlin," she said, grinning and holding up the bottle. "May you save all the babies and make all the money."

Merlin chuckled and knocked his beer against hers and Arthur's before taking a sip. "Thanks."

"Speaking of celebrating properly," Morgana said as she turned back to the stove to stir the soup, "we're going to an art gallery opening on Saturday. You should come."

When Merlin didn't respond, Arthur realised she'd been addressing him.

"Me? Um…" Arthur looked over to Merlin, hoping to see him shaking his head or otherwise indicating that he didn't want Arthur to be the third wheel at his 'celebration.' Instead, he saw Merlin leaning back in his chair, looking relaxed, sipping his beer, and watching him with subtle amusement. "I've got plans with Leon," Arthur said, picking up his beer to pretend to read the label. "He's coming over to watch football."

"That's very cultured of you," Morgana deadpanned as she started pulling bowls out of the cupboards.

"I'm cultured," Arthur said, knowing she was kidding but unwilling to let her insult him in front of someone he barely knew. "I went to that photography exhibit with you just the other week."

"That was two months ago," she reminded him.

"Was it?" Arthur asked, frowning. He was sure it hadn't been that long.

"You work too hard." When Arthur simply shrugged, she added, "And you're uncultured."

"I'm not-"

"I'm going to a poetry reading tomorrow. You should come."

"Fine," Arthur said, regretting it as soon as the word left his mouth. The last thing he wanted to do with his Friday was go to a stuffy coffee shop with his sister to listen to bad poetry, but he wasn't going to back down. He was almost 30, but he still felt like a child when he argued with Morgana. He would never admit it out loud, but for some reason he enjoyed bickering with her. He knew that, for whatever reason, this was how they showed they loved each other.

"Excellent!" Morgana grinned a bit wickedly and Arthur turned to Merlin, hoping for sympathy, but only finding laughter.

"You're like the big, gruff dog that's afraid of the small, yippy dog," Merlin said, his wide lips curling into a teasing smile.

"Excuse me?" Arthur asked, trying his best to act offended when all he really wanted to do was laugh.

Merlin shook his head, still smirking. "Morgana was right about you."

"What did she say about me?" Arthur asked, alarmed.

"It's a secret." Merlin winked and stood to help Morgana ladle the soup into their bowls.

Arthur leaned back in his chair and watched them as he drank his beer, wondering what he had just got himself into.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur spent all of Friday morning in his office with the door closed, poring over the files for Mithian's father's case and a few other trials and appeals he had coming up. He had a nagging feeling that he was missing something crucial that would make him lose; he felt that way every time he stepped into a courtroom, and he knew it was just the anxious perfectionist in him rearing its head, but that rationalisation had never stopped him from drowning himself in paperwork. Mithian's father had been a police commander under Arthur's father before he had retired, and Arthur was keenly aware of the pressure on him to win the case. The entire Metropolitan Police Service wanted justice, and it was Arthur's responsibility to get it.

Once he was confident that he had reviewed every statement and piece of evidence, he made visits to a few local police stations to check in with the officers and detectives he would be calling as witnesses during the trial next week.

By the time he was satisfied that everything and everyone was in order, it was nearing the end of the work day, so he went to visit his father at New Scotland Yard. Uther's office was large but minimally decorated; he hated clutter and distractions. Arthur found the room bleak and somewhat sad, but he knew better than to tell his father that.

"How is Rodor?" Uther asked once Arthur was seated in his office with a small glass of whisky.

"Resting," Arthur explained, swirling the light-coloured liquid in his glass. "He had to spend some time in hospital, so I've been focusing trial preparation on Mithian as much as possible, to keep his stress down." He took a sip of the whisky, thinking that he probably should have eaten lunch.

"Reasonable." Uther downed all of his whisky in one gulp and set his glass down gingerly on his large desk. "I've always liked Rodor. Obviously we've had our differences…and I think he took it hard when I was always promoted over him, but he's a good man. I wish you'd known him before this incident."

Arthur nodded. "Yes, Mithian and I were talking yesterday about how it's a shame we weren't friends sooner."

Uther raised his eyebrows and Arthur finished off his whisky with a wince.

"Mithian's a beautiful young woman," Uther said quietly. "She'd be a good match for you…a smart match."

Arthur smiled despite his efforts not to; they hadn't even been on one date yet and he didn't want anyone to get carried away with the idea of them as a couple, especially his father. Uther had been impatiently waiting for Arthur to find "the one" as soon as he'd started university. The pressure had driven Arthur into a few ill-advised relationships before he'd realised that taking the time to look for someone he truly cared about was worth it.

"Yes," Arthur agreed. "After the trial is over, I think we might, um…see where we stand."

Uther beamed and Arthur mirrored it easily. "Excellent."

Arthur set his glass on the desk and stood. "Well, I'm meeting Morgana in a bit so I should go home and change."

"Give her my love," Uther said, shaking Arthur's hand. "Tell her I'll ring on Sunday."

Arthur nodded and gave his father a salute, only half in jest, as he left. He smiled all the way to his car, feeling warm from the whisky in his empty stomach and the unfettered approval from Uther regarding Mithian as a potential girlfriend. Even though he was an adult and had long ago stopped following his father's every order, Arthur still loved Uther's support; he was a powerful and intelligent man, and there was nothing quite like making him proud.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur made himself a simple spaghetti dinner and drank some of his own whisky with it. He had developed a taste for the spirit as a teenager, back when he used to steal from his father's alcohol supply to impress his friends, and it was still his favourite drink.

After he ate, Arthur took a shower and put on a pair of jeans, hoping Morgana's poetry reading wasn't going to be stuffy. She usually preferred underground arts, but he had learned to never put anything past her.

He took the Tube to the address she'd given him and found her smoking a cigarette outside the pub.

"I thought you'd quit," he said, pulling it out of her hands so he could take a drag. When Morgana only lifted one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows in response, he handed it back. "Dad sends his love and says he'll phone on Sunday."

"He phones every Sunday." Morgana took another drag before tossing the cigarette aside. "Did he think I'd forget?"

Arthur said nothing as he followed her into the pub and towards a table near the makeshift stage. She slung her jacket on the back of a chair and then went straight for the bar. Arthur sat down, trusting she knew what to bring him.

She came back a moment later with a bright red cocktail for her and a whisky on the rocks for him.

"I love you," Arthur said as he took the drink from her.

Morgana laughed and sat across from him. "You're pathetically predictable. Next thing I know, you'll be phoning me every Sunday, too."

"Never." Arthur knocked his glass against hers before starting in on his drink.

Less than five minutes later, the lights in the pub grew dimmer and one of the bartenders stepped up to the microphone in the cleared floorspace being used as the stage. He introduced the first poet as a "pub standard." She turned out to be a middle-aged hippie who had never outgrown her flower child phase and seemed to write exclusively about her vagina. Her poetry made Arthur deeply uncomfortable, but Morgana was clearly a fan; she cheered the loudest when the poet finally bowed and left the stage.

"Isn't she great?" Morgana asked, leaning over the table to ask Arthur as the next poet was being introduced. "I'm trying to get her to come do a reading for some of my classes."

"You teach fourteen-year-olds," Arthur said, alarmed.

"She has non-sexual poems," Morgana said dismissively. "Besides, it wouldn't kill my students to have someone her age discuss sex so openly with them. They think it's so fucking perverse."

"We were the same way," Arthur reminded her. "That's part of growing up."

Morgana shrugged. "I was never so cheeky."

"That's a flat out lie. You have never not been cheeky. You've also never not been imprudent and overly emotional. How you got to be a teacher is beyond me."

"The same way you got to be a lawyer or whatever your job title is these days."

"And what way is that?"

"The way of helping people, baby brother."

"I'm older than you," Arthur said sharply. He hated when she patronised him.

Someone at the next table cleared her throat and Arthur turned to see a very perturbed woman glaring at them. He smiled apologetically and smirked at Morgana before turning his attention back to the poetry reading.

Poetry was something Arthur had never quite understood, even after he'd been forced to memorise what he was sure were half of Shakespeare's sonnets in school. Sometimes the language was simply too obtuse for him. He knew that he was smart, and he could break down any legal text into simple terms, but metaphors and symbolism usually went right over his head. He zoned out for most of the readings, drinking more and more whisky and busying himself on his mobile.

"I don't know how you talk me into these things," he said when there was a lull between performers.

"It was shockingly easy," Morgana admitted. "Besides, you need to take a break from work every once in a while."

"I don't work all the time." Arthur closed out of his work email on his mobile before Morgana could see it. "And so what if I do? I like my job."

"When's the last time you had a girlfriend?"

Arthur scoffed, keeping his eyes on his mobile. "That's none of your business."

Morgana rolled her eyes but left it alone. "How's Rodor's case?"

"Trial starts Wednesday," Arthur said, compulsively opening his mobile's calendar. "I'll be spending Monday and Tuesday working with him and Mithian to make sure their testimonies go smoothly."

"What's Mithian like? She always seemed nice… silly, but nice."

Arthur slipped his mobile into his pocket. "Yeah, she's great."

Morgana snorted and Arthur glared at her. "Sorry," she said, not sounding at all sorry. "You're so easy to read."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's kind of adorable, actually," she said teasingly. "The way you try to hide your feelings by being completely stoic about it. It's very masculine of you."

"Fuck you," Arthur said without much heat. He knew she was right.

"She's very pretty," Morgana said after a moment. "You should date more girls like her. You can tell she has a sense of humour…unlike the stuck-up rich blondes you usually go for."

"You'd be surprised at what those stuck-up rich blondes are willing to do in bed."

Morgana looked mortified at the thought and Arthur smiled to himself, satisfied. He went to get them another round and when he returned, Merlin was standing at the mic.

"Why didn't you tell me he was reading?" Arthur asked, sitting down and passing Morgana her cocktail.

Morgana shushed him and turned toward the stage, grinning.

Merlin cleared his throat and the pub quieted down somewhat. He smiled shyly before pulling a wrinkled piece of paper out of his back pocket and unfolding it. His hair looked soft and fluffy, as if he'd taken a shower immediately before the reading, and the bad pub lighting emphasised his already striking bone structure. The man had cheekbones and Arthur couldn't decide if he looked like an alien or a model.

"I'm just going to read three short poems for you tonight," Merlin said, staring blankly at his audience before glancing down at his paper. "This first is called 'I Didn't Know He Liked Me.'"

Merlin licked his lips and glanced at Morgana, who nodded encouragingly.

"He smiled a lot, but I thought there was something wrong with his face. He always laughed at my jokes, but I thought he wasn't very smart. He got jealous of my boyfriends, but I thought he was lonely. He kissed me, but I thought he tripped. He put his cock inside me, but I thought he tripped again. I didn't know he liked me."

There was silence for a moment and then Arthur broke it with a loud chuckle. He didn't know what he had been expecting from Merlin's poetry, but that definitely hadn't been it.

"This next one is called 'I Won at Chess.'"

Arthur tried to keep himself from laughing too loudly, but he was drunk and found the whole situation very funny. He was pretty sure Merlin's lips were twitching as he prepared himself to read his second poem.

"The tea was ready So you got up I switched the knights I thought it was obvious But you didn't notice You just brought me tea I was nervous you'd catch me cheating I drank it too quickly I burnt my tongue You tried so hard But I still won It kept me up at night That pain on my tongue."

A few other people in the pub started laughing. Merlin coughed into his fist, but Arthur could tell he was about to lose it.

"My last piece is called 'Public Indecency' and it's based on a true story."

The audience chortled appreciatively and Arthur covered his mouth to hide his grin.

"We went to a film. I didn't see any of it. I only saw your tongue, And the bulge in your pants. I know you planned it that way. I want a refund for my ticket."

Morgana applauded loudly, catcalling, as Merlin gave the pub a nervous smile and a wave of thanks before heading over to their table.

"You were brilliant, as always," Morgana said, standing to give Merlin a tight hug.

Arthur was still laughing too hard to say anything, so he grabbed an empty chair from the table behind theirs and slid it over for Merlin.

Merlin handed his piece of paper to Arthur as he sat down, and Arthur saw that it was completely blank.

"You're a bit ridiculous," Arthur said, wiping away tears and turning the paper over to make sure it was really blank.

"He's an artist at heart," Morgana said proudly.

"I just really like writing bad poetry," Merlin explained. "And I kind of enjoy it when people miss the joke and get uncomfortable or start complaining about my 'art.'"

"What do you want to drink?" Morgana asked, getting up.

"Whatever that hot bartender is willing to give you for free."

Arthur laughed, but Morgana smacked Merlin on the back of the head as she walked away.

"Do you write anything else?" Arthur asked.

Merlin shrugged. "Sure. I write all the time, actually. It's like a never-ending plot in my head." He smiled and folded his piece of paper back up and slipped it under Arthur's half-empty glass. "Do you dabble?"

"Dabble?" Arthur asked blankly.

"Creative writing," Merlin explained, waggling his fingers goofily.

"Oh. Not anymore, but I did a lot at uni, actually. I took a few classes… I was crap, of course, but it was a lot of fun." He paused and thought about all of the awkward stories he had written, and how strangely freeing it had been to write them. "There's nothing quite like reading the sleep-deprived and drug-fueled writings of uni students."

Merlin nodded in agreement. "One of my classmates wrote this insane story about being sucked down the shower drain and winding up in some woman's uterus with all these other men who were building campfires and pitching tents and… It was maybe the worst thing I've ever read, but it was thoroughly entertaining."

"Someone in my class wrote a story about my hair."

"God, not this again," Morgana said as she sat back down with their drinks. She passed Arthur another whisky and handed Merlin what looked like a mint milkshake.

"Are you drinking water?" Arthur asked, watching Morgana sip at the clear liquid in her glass.

"I have to get up early tomorrow," she said, glaring at him. "Did I hear you telling Merlin about your stupid hair story?"

"It's not stupid," Arthur insisted, turning his attention back to Merlin. "I got laid like ten times in that story."

Merlin's eyes widened as he took a large gulp of his drink. "What kind of person wrote this story about you?" he asked once he'd swallowed.

"Someone who lived on my hall and thought it'd be funny."

"I really regret introducing you two." Morgana sighed dramatically and Merlin stepped on her foot under the table. "Ow!"

"You do not," Merlin said dismissively. "And that didn't hurt."

Morgana made a noise of protest but stayed silent as Merlin started telling another story about his creative writing classes. She looked unreasonably smug, but Arthur tried not to pay her any attention as he reminisced with Merlin.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur was hungover when he answered the door for Leon the next morning, and Leon didn't look much better.

"What were you doing last night?" Arthur asked, letting Leon into his flat.

"Remember that girl I kept taking out to dinner a few weeks ago?"

Arthur racked his brain as he went to his kitchen to dig out some beers. "The one with the really long name?" he guessed, pulling two bottles out of his fridge.

Leon winced. "Do you have any coffee, actually?"

"God, yeah." Arthur put the beer away quickly. "That's a much better idea. You're a genius."

Leon laughed. "How long have you been awake?"

"Not more than ten minutes." Arthur dumped two heaping teaspoons of coffee grounds into his filter coffee machine and added water. He leaned against his kitchen counter and rubbed his eyes, trying to bring Leon's slightly blurry figure into focus. "So, who's this girl?"

"Gwen. Guinevere," he added, and Arthur nodded, remembering Leon talking about how he'd met her online. They'd gone on a few dates, but Leon had said he felt like she was too much of a lady for him to invite her back to his flat. Arthur thought that was ridiculous, but Leon was painfully old-fashioned sometimes. "She asked me over to watch a film last night."

Arthur chuckled, shaking his head. "I bet she'll be the one to propose, too."

Leon rolled his eyes and went out to the living room to turn on the telly and find the match. Arthur joined him with their coffee a few minutes later and they spent the first part of the match in silence, sipping at the mugs and slowly waking up.

"So what were you doing last night?" Leon asked during an advert.

Arthur snorted. "Would you believe I was at a poetry reading?"

"No."

"Well, I was. Morgana dragged me… She's got this new friend, Merlin, and he was performing."

"Merlin, the kid I arrested earlier this week," Leon clarified.

"Oh, right," Arthur muttered. He had completely forgotten about Merlin being involved in the protest outside of Parliament. "Yeah, same guy, but he's not that bad. I thought she liked him, actually, but he's gay. At least, his poetry made him seem gay, but… There's a chance it could have been an act."

"Why would anyone write gay poetry as an act?"

"He's a bit…eccentric? The poems were all purposely bad and he put on this act like he was very shy and serious about his art, but everyone was laughing. The whole thing was a performance, so…it's possible the poems were fake as well."

There was a pause and then Leon shook his head. "He sounds very strange."

Arthur nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah." There was a long pause and Arthur stared hard at the telly.

"How's work?" Leon asked eventually.

"The usual," Arthur said with a sigh.

"Are you still nursing a semi for Mithian?"

Arthur frowned, realising that the only time he'd thought about Mithian after leaving his father's office the day before was when Morgana had brought her up.

"Yeah… She suggested that we get dinner once the trial is over," he said, trying to figure out why the words sounded so hollow.

"You don't sound very excited," Leon noted, his eyes on the telly.

Arthur said nothing in response, sipping at the dregs of his cold coffee and trying not to think too hard about anything other than football as they watched the rest of the match.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

The beginning of the work week went by in a blur. Arthur was spending what felt like every waking moment focused on Mithian and Rodor, and it was overwhelming. The pressure of the upcoming trial was building and Arthur was losing sleep.

On Tuesday night, after a day with Mithian that didn't make him feel quite as giddy as he wanted it to, he tried to go to sleep early. He needed rest before the trial started in the morning. Mostly, he needed his brain to stop running and he didn't seem to be able to achieve that while conscious, so he crawled into bed at 9:30.

Giving himself one last moment to indulge his over-active, work-obsessed mind, Arthur checked his work email on his mobile as soon as his head hit the pillow. When there were no new messages, he checked his personal account instead and found an email from Merlin.

=x=

To: , From: Subject: Bored

Hey,

(Arthur - Morgana suggested I send this to you as well, and gave me your email. I hope that's okay?)

Here's what I've been working on recently.

Best, Merlin

=x=

Attached to the email were four documents. Curious, Arthur set down his mobile and grabbed his laptop off the nightstand. He opened the attachments one by one, finding four short stories that Merlin had apparently written.

Thinking that one short story would probably be good bedtime reading, Arthur started with one called "Dragons" and accidentally read all four before he realised it was almost 11:30. Merlin's prose was simple and straightforward, and his sense of humour was more subtle than in his poems, but still there. The emotions in the story were strong, almost raw in the hands of such a precise writer, even though the characters were all emotionally stunted.

=x=

To: CC: From: Subject: Re: Bored

Merlin,

These are fantastic. Are you a fan of Kurt Vonnegut? Your writing reminds me of his. Not in a copy-cat sort of way, but I get the same feeling from your stories. You also have a touch of Hemingway. AKA - I like your writing a lot. I'll send more coherent thoughts when I'm not about to go to bed.

Thanks.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur tried his hardest to turn off extraneous parts of his brain when the trial started on Wednesday, but fragmented phrases from Merlin's stories kept floating to the front of his mind. He had to tell himself, over and over again, to focus on the trial and his clients. It was maddening how difficult that was; normally, Arthur was all but consumed by his work, and he couldn't figure out why he wasn't able to concentrate as well as he wanted to. Mithian kept giving him concerned looks whenever she noticed him zoning out, and that was just making him feel worse. He didn't want to seem incompetent. All he wanted to do was focus on the trial and think about what awaited Mithian and him once it was over.

He forced himself to go to bed early on Wednesday night, and Thursday ended up being much easier, to Arthur's immense relief. Mithian had her hair down and wore a sensible, conservative dress, but he couldn't stop staring. She looked so intelligent, and so sad, and Arthur found himself wanting to kiss her for the first time since the previous week.

By Friday, Arthur couldn't even remember what had been so difficult about the beginning of the week. There was only one more scheduled day of court the next week, he was entirely sure he would win the case, and then he could take Mithian out for a celebratory dinner.

When he got home from work, after stopping by his father's office to give an update on the trial, Arthur changed immediately into his pajamas and set himself up on the sofa with his laptop, the telly remote, and his mobile. With some bad action movie he'd seen a hundred times playing on the telly, he spent an hour looking up local restaurants on his laptop, trying to decide the best place to take Mithian. He wanted to go to his favourite Italian place and share what he thought was the best wine in the city, but he thought it was too fancy for a first date.

Deciding he would simply ask Mithian where she wanted to go, Arthur began looking at take-away menus instead. He phoned in an order of Chinese food and then pulled up his personal email account while he waited for the delivery. He'd been avoiding it since the trial started so he wouldn't have any distractions, but he had almost forty unread emails as a result.

Luckily, most of them were simply calendar reminders, or bank statement notices, or coupon offers. There were a few emails from his friends, but they were all links to articles about the trial or silly YouTube videos. He sorted through them all, deleting them, moving them to folders, or replying to his friends with simple thank-yous or smiley faces.

By the time his food arrived, there was only one unread email in Arthur's inbox, from Merlin.

=x=

To: From: Subject: Re: Bored

Hey Arthur,

Thanks, I'm glad you liked them! I hope you don't mind that I sent them to you. I send things to Morgana every once in a while because she likes to read them. Obviously nothing I write will be as good as that one story about your hair, but I'll try harder next time.

I do love Kurt Vonnegut…and Hemingway, sometimes. I appreciate the comparison.

I hope you're having a good week. If you're ever interested in local beer, I live near a great brewery and they have specials almost every night.

See you.

=x=

Arthur read Merlin's stories again as he ate, adding comments to parts he liked or parts he thought could be better, and it was past midnight when he finally hit "save" on the last document.

=x=

To: From: Subject: Re: Bored

I didn't realise how much I missed reviewing my friends' writing, although I'm glad it wasn't homework this time. I hope you don't mind that I'm sending back some comments. Obviously I don't mind at all that you sent me the stories to begin with.

I really did enjoy them. The man with the beard in "Untitled" is really promising, but I think you should expand that story. Maybe you're already planning that, since you don't have a title yet. Or were you going for some sort of unfinished feel to the whole thing? I think it's worth expanding, personally. You should give that character a name, or some kind of mysterious nickname (The Exile, for example). I know what you were trying to achieve by not giving him a name, but I think the idea could be a bit stronger, and developed in other details of the story and with the supporting characters.

This is making me want to write again, and I haven't had that urge (or the time) in years. I still don't have the time, but you're making me wish that I did.

What are you reading these days? I like listening to audio books at the gym or while I'm running, because that's about the only time I have for reading. Any recommendations? I bet you have great taste.

Feel free to send me more stuff in the future, if you're not too offended by my comments.

Have a good weekend!

P.S. Which brewery do you live near? I'm free for drinks tomorrow, if you're also free. If not, some other time.

=x=

Arthur hit "send" before he could spend too much time thinking about why his postscript had felt so awkward to write and went to bed.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Leon came over the next morning to watch more football, and this time they spent the first half of the match drinking beer and making fun of the other team's players.

Arthur checked his email on his mobile during an advert and saw a reply from Merlin.

=x=

To: From: Subject: Re: Bored

I'm not offended by your comments, I don't think. You certainly put a lot of thought into them, so thank you! "Untitled" isn't finished, by any means. I'm still working on that character, but I'm glad you were able to at least get some sense of what I was going for. I've been writing that one for a while and I think it will take a while longer before I feel good about it.

I should be free tonight. Send me your number and I can text you the details.

=x=

Arthur wrote back with his number and it only took Merlin two minutes to text him.

From: Unknown Hey, it's Merlin. I live in Hackney. I can send you the address and we can meet around 9? I'm having dinner with a friend beforehand.

Arthur added Merlin's number to his contact list before responding.

Sounds good.

"Who are you texting?" Leon asked.

Arthur glanced up, startled. "Oh, um… well."

"Are you sexting with Mithian?" Leon waggled his eyebrows ridiculously.

Arthur laughed and set his mobile down. "No, I'm just setting up plans with another friend."

"You have other friends?" Leon teased.

"Yes. Well, I guess he's technically Morgana's friend, but…"

"You're going out with Merlin?"

Arthur nodded. Leon looked surprised but didn't ask any more questions.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur spent the rest of the day drinking too much coffee and trying not to think about too much of anything. He was feeling very jittery by the time he got to the Tube stop in Hackney, and wondered if he was even going to be able to act normal. His heart seemed to be beating in every pore.

"Hey," Merlin said, flagging Arthur down on the corner. "How's it going?"

"I've had way too much coffee today," Arthur blurted out. "Sorry."

Merlin laughed and started leading the way towards the brewery. "Were you feeling especially tired or are you just an addict?"

"Both, maybe? I didn't have anything else to do, so…"

"You should get a hobby," Merlin said seriously. "Or take naps. Naps are great. I napped all afternoon and I'm super energized and I'm not shaking. It's a win-win-win situation."

Arthur chuckled and followed Merlin in silence for a few more minutes until Merlin stopped and held open the pub door for him.

"I, um…" Arthur paused awkwardly, standing in front of Merlin and waiting for the rest of the sentence to form in his mouth.

Merlin raised his eyebrows and waited with a patient, amused expression.

"Sorry," Arthur said, finally stepping into the pub. "My brain seems to be crumbling."

"Let's get some food in you first," Merlin suggested. "Grab a table and I'll get something for you."

Arthur smiled and sat down at a table near the back, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. Merlin joined him a few minutes later, carrying a plate of nachos and two beers.

"Thanks," Arthur said, standing to take the glasses Merlin was struggling to hold with one hand.

Merlin set the nachos down and took the seat opposite Arthur.

"How has your week been?" Arthur asked, taking a stab at normal conversation.

"It's been busy," he said simply. "I guess yours has been busy as well?"

"Not too busy, just…stressful. I've been in court most of the week with this sort of high profile case. It's going really well so far but there's more pressure on me than usual."

Merlin nodded and Arthur couldn't stop himself from staring as he lost his train of thought. He'd forgotten how pronounced Merlin's cheekbones were, especially when he smiled, and how softly tufts of his wild dark hair curled around the edges of his large ears.

When Merlin raised an eyebrow and Arthur realised he'd been caught, he blurted out the first thing that popped into his head. "I thought Morgana fancied you, when we first met."

Merlin's brow furrowed. "What?"

"She doesn't," Arthur added quickly. "At least, I don't think she does. I just meant - before I heard your poems, um, before I knew… I thought…"

Merlin glanced down at the table for a moment before looking back up at Arthur, his expression serious. "Do you have any other gay friends?"

"Yes. Well…somewhere, I'm sure."

To Arthur's relief, Merlin laughed. "That's a very strange answer."

"I had two friends at uni," Arthur said slowly. He hadn't thought about them in years. "Neither of them came out until the second or third year, and once they did, they sort of removed themselves from our group of friends and…found new friends. But I would have stayed friends with them, if they'd wanted."

Merlin gave him a soft smile. "Good."

Arthur looked away as thoughts about whether or not Merlin's neck would smell good took over his scattered mind. He wondered if he was only thinking that way because he'd never knowingly gone out to dinner with a gay man before. He wondered if the reason he'd drank so much coffee was because he was nervous about seeing Merlin alone for the first time. He wondered how obvious he was being.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked up, hoping he hadn't been thinking out loud.

"Breathe."

He let out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding and reached for the nachos. "Sorry. It the coffee, I swear. It's not you."

Merlin grinned. "I'm glad it's not me. Tell me about something that isn't going to stress you out."

"Um," Arthur said around a mouthful of food, his mind perfectly blank.

"Or I could talk?"

"Yes, please."

Merlin paused to eat a nacho. "Well, I saw my mum earlier. I try to have lunch with her a couple of times a month."

"What does she do?"

"She knits, mostly," Merlin said, smiling. "She sells things online and apparently makes enough doing it that she hasn't needed a real job in years."

"That's pretty great. If I could sell blankets or whatever… No, I'm lying. I need work to function."

Merlin laughed. "Me, too. I'd go crazy sitting at home knitting all day. I need to feel like I'm accomplishing something, or at least be using my brain. I'm not saying that knitting couldn't fulfill those, but…it wouldn't for me."

"Me, neither," Arthur agreed. He took his first sip of the beer Merlin had bought him and grinned, wondering how Merlin had guessed what he would like. "This is really good."

"I'm a little obsessed," Merlin admitted. "If I could, I would drink it all day, every day."

Arthur laughed and took another sip. "Tell me about your work," he said after a moment of amicable silence. "I don't know any other grant writers. What do you do all day?"

Merlin launched into an animated explanation and Arthur did his best to follow along as the caffeine continued vibrating through his veins.

By the time they were down to the dregs of their beers, Merlin was telling Arthur about his boss, whom he was related to in some distant way, and how involved they were in each other's lives outside of work.

"Gaius is practically my father, or at least my grandfather, or at the very least a much older uncle. Sometimes he seems more concerned about my happiness than he does about his own business. It's sweet but… Honestly, I'm worried he's going to take me on as his new project once he retires."

"How would you be a project?" Arthur asked. "What would he do?"

"He'd probably try to find me a husband," Merlin said, his eyes wide. "Or convince me to take over the organisation for him. I'm not interested in either of those, though."

"No?"

Merlin shook his head. "I don't want to manage people, or a whole company. I like doing what I'm doing now. And I don't want to get married anytime soon. I've got too many wild oats to sow, or whatever. I can barely commit myself to doing laundry on the weekends, there's no way I could commit myself to spending eternity with another person. Maybe someday, but definitely not now."

Arthur laughed. "Yeah, laundry's a tricky one."

Merlin smirked and grabbed another nacho off the plate. "What about you?" he asked, gesturing with the crisp. "Are you looking to get married?"

Arthur shook his head without even thinking about it. Merlin raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, and Arthur ate another nacho to give himself a moment to think.

"I probably could," he said after a minute. "In terms of the responsibility and the commitment or whatever. That wouldn't be the problem for me. It's… Well, I don't have anyone I want to get married to. I never have."

"Dating is hard," Merlin said sympathetically. "Even when you're a…rich and successful white straight cis man, apparently."

"I'm not complaining about my life," Arthur said, feeling judged. "I'm just saying that I'm not in love with anyone right now."

"Fair enough," Merlin said with a reassuring smile. "Besides, Morgana's just as hopeless at dating, so I get it."

"I'm not hopeless! I'm - I'm dating a perfectly respectable woman right now. Or, I will be next week. That probably sounds really bad, but-"

"'Perfectly respectable?'" Merlin teased. "Not 'hot' or 'hilarious' or 'fantastic in bed' or anything? Just respectable?"

"She's funny," Arthur said gruffly, "and beautiful. She's…" Arthur sighed and ate another nacho, feeling the words sitting in his mouth and knowing he wouldn't be able to stop them. "I thought I liked her a lot more than I actually do."

"It happens to the best of us. Just don't let it get out of hand. It's not worth hurting her or yourself if she's not what you want."

"I know," Arthur said, looking down at the rest of their nachos. He suddenly felt very empty, but he didn't want to eat another bite. "I don't know what I'm going to tell her. It's not…it's not her. She's perfect. She's one of the smartest, kindest, sexiest women I've come across in ages, but…"

"There's nothing wrong with being into trashy, uneducated women as long as you're genuinely happy and not doing it to degrade them," Merlin said, giving him a lopsided smile.

Arthur couldn't find it in himself to return the smile. "I've dated them, too," he admitted. "That wasn't what I wanted either."

There was a long, still moment of silence that Arthur broke by reaching for Merlin's glass and draining the last inch of beer. "Sorry," he rasped, setting the glass down. "It must be the caffeine. I'm not usually this pathetic."

"You're not pathetic. And you'll find someone. Waiting for the right person sucks, but it'll be worth it in the end."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?" Arthur asked dryly.

"No. I'm chronically single but if I didn't hold onto some hope, I would drink this beer all day, every day, and then where would I be?"

Arthur shrugged and Merlin pointed at their table.

"I'd be right here," he said, laughing. "For the rest of my life. Alone and drunk and probably really smelly."

Arthur cracked a small smile and Merlin beamed at him. "You're probably right," he forced himself to say. "We'll get there one day."

"That's the spirit." Merlin excused himself to get them more beers and returned to the table with a change of topic. "So, do you write anything these days?"

They spent a while picking at the rest of their nachos, drinking more and more beers, and discussing Merlin's writing. Arthur pulled up the documents on his phone to show Merlin his favorite passages, and Merlin blushed so prettily that Arthur finally found himself smiling and genuinely enjoying himself.

When the pub got too crowded for them to continue talking at a normal volume, Merlin invited Arthur up to his flat. Arthur agreed without taking the time to consider the offer, and took out some money to cover everything Merlin had bought, despite Merlin's protest that he could pay for his own half.

"Shut up and let me use my money on you," Arthur said, stuffing his wallet back in his pocket with one hand and shoving a few bills at Merlin's chest with the other. "I don't have anyone else to use it on."

"That is so not a good reason to buy me drinks," Merlin said, laughing.

"Do I look like I care?" Arthur asked, pointing at his face and trying to maintain a stern expression. "Do I?"

"You look like you care so much that you're going to cry."

Arthur snorted and then they both started laughing. After he finally accepted Arthur's money, Merlin led the way out of the pub and around the corner.

"Fair warning that my flat is very small and very messy and my cat is very friendly."

"You would have a cat," Arthur said, stumbling over an uneven spot on the pavement.

"I have a fantastic cat. She's white and perfect and she loves me unconditionally."

"What's her name?"

"Guess."

"What?"

Merlin stopped in front of his flat and Arthur almost walked right into him. "Guess what her name is," Merlin instructed as he unlocked the door.

"It could literally be anything," Arthur protested. "It could be Potato."

Merlin laughed and jogged easily up a flight of stairs. "It's not Potato."

Arthur followed, realising for the first time just how much beer he'd had and how little food he'd eaten. His head spun a little as he reached the landing and saw Merlin unlocking another door.

"Any other guesses?" Merlin asked, his hand on the doorknob to his flat.

Arthur shook his head, his mouth suddenly dry.

Merlin shook his head in mock disappointment. "You're no fun." He opened the door and the cat was on the other side, waiting to greet him. Merlin reached down to pick her up and hold her as Arthur came in behind him. "Aithusa, this is Arthur. He's a grumpy lawyer who doesn't have a girlfriend or any fashion sense."

"I - hey!"

Merlin laughed and let Aithusa jump out of his arms. He shut the door and kicked off his shoes, indicating that Arthur could do the same.

"I was kidding. Maybe." Merlin winked and led Arthur to the kitchen, where he pulled two beer bottles out of the fridge.

"I never would have guessed that name, by the way," Arthur said, thinking that he probably shouldn't drink any more but taking a bottle from Merlin anyway.

"It's a good name," Merlin said in a sing-songy voice as Aithusa rubbed against his legs. He leaned down to scratch her ears and she meowed up at him before going over to Arthur.

Arthur leaned down to say hello but lost his balance and ended up sitting on Merlin's kitchen floor instead. Aithusa stretched up, her front paws on his chest, and rubbed her face against his.

"Friendly, indeed," Arthur muttered, stroking her soft back.

Merlin chuckled and stepped over them to get out of the kitchen. "Do you want to watch a movie?"

"Only if I can bring this one," Arthur said seriously, scratching under Aithusa's chin as she meowed again.

"She wouldn't have it any other way," Merlin said before heading towards his sofa.

Arthur grabbed the counter above him and managed to get to his feet. He went out to the living room and Aithusa followed him, jumping into his lap as soon as he had sat down.

"Do you have any interest in watching Harry Potter?" Merlin asked, flipping through all the channels on his telly so quickly that Arthur had to look away.

"Should I? I've never seen any of them."

"What kind of childhood did you have?" Merlin asked, reaching over to pet Aithusa's head.

"The kind that was a long time ago and filled with football."

"It wasn't that long ago," Merlin said, pushing himself off the sofa to put a disc in his DVD player. "We'll start with the first one to get you up to speed, but fair warning that it's a little childish and more cheesy and family-friendly than the rest of them."

"Am I going to regret letting you make me watch this? I successfully avoided that whole franchise for years."

"That was a mistake," Merlin said firmly. "You won't regret it."

"We'll see."

Two beers later, Arthur had his head in Merlin's lap and Merlin's fingers running through his hair. He'd long ago stopped paying attention to what was going on in the movie. The only things he could think of were how good Merlin's fingertips felt against his scalp, and how warm Aithusa was at his side. She was sleeping and Arthur was tired enough to join her, but he couldn't seem to turn his brain off.

"Is this weird?" he asked during a quiet scene.

Merlin's fingers stilled for a moment but then shifted and resumed carding through his hair. "Not if you don't want it to be."

"I don't."

"Then it's not weird."

"Okay."

Arthur took a deep breath and resolved to pay attention to the rest of the movie. He didn't understand why three children were going through what seemed to be some sort of obstacle course dungeon, but he made it through without asking Merlin too many questions.

"If you shift up for a minute, I can put on the second movie," Merlin said when it was over. "It's the worst of the lot, but if you can sit through it, everything after it gets better and better."

Arthur grunted and pushed himself up into a sitting position. Aithusa woke up, looked around with a disoriented meow, and then leapt off the sofa.

"You made my girlfriend run away," Arthur muttered.

"She'll come back," Merlin said, sitting back down. "You're a catch."

Arthur put a pillow on Merlin's lap and lay back down. "You have bony legs," he said by way of explanation.

"Well, you have a bony head," Merlin said, slipping his fingers back into Arthur's hair.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur woke up with a jolt the next morning when there was a painfully loud clanging noise nearby.

"Sorry," somebody called out.

Arthur lifted his head and forced himself to open his eyes even though he felt a bit like he was dying. It took him a minute to recognise Merlin's living room. He had fallen asleep on the sofa.

He pressed his face back into the pillow with a groan, wishing ridiculously that he had some kind of Harry Potter magic to cure his hangover and erase the awkward memories of the previous night. He had never let another man play with his hair like that before. He'd never wanted another man to play with his hair like that before.

"Do you want breakfast?" Merlin asked. His voice was annoyingly cheery.

Arthur's stomach lurched at the thought and he forced himself to sit up. "No," he croaked. "No thanks."

"How about water and some paracetamol?" Merlin teased.

Arthur shifted slowly until his feet were on the floor. He put his elbows on his knees, covered his face with his hands, and took a deep breath. He needed to come up with an excuse to leave as soon as possible, but his head was pounding so badly that he could barely think at all.

"Here."

Arthur looked up to see Merlin's hands offering him a glass of water and two small tablets.

"Thanks." Arthur took them and downed the tablets with a few large gulps of water. "I should go. I have - work to do. I need to prep for the trial…" His head throbbed harshly at the thought of seeing Mithian the next day. It was the last day of the trial, which meant that, as long as the jury could agree on a verdict relatively quickly, she would be expecting him to take her out that week.

"Are you okay to get home?" Merlin asked, sounding worried. "You could stay. You should eat, or at least wait until the paracetamol kicks in."

Arthur shook his head and pushed himself off the sofa. "I should go," he said again, still not willing to look Merlin in the eye. "Can I just use the toilet?"

Merlin nodded and pointed towards the toilet. Arthur walked jerkily in that direction, wondering if he was still drunk. Once he was safely locked inside, Arthur relieved himself and then splashed some cold water on his face. He did a few long stretches, working the kinks out of his back and trying to wake up properly.

When he was feeling mildly conscious, he dared looking at himself in the mirror. There were bags under his eyes, pillow lines on his cheek, and his hair was ridiculously messy. Groaning, Arthur wet his hands and did his best to get his hair to lay flat. When it became clear that he wouldn't look presentable until he got home and changed out of his wrinkly clothes, he gave up.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Merlin asked when he reemerged.

"Yeah, I'm just going to take a cab," Arthur said, slipping his shoes on. "Thanks for letting me crash on your sofa."

"Anytime," Merlin said, his voice empty.

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he couldn't think of a single thing to say. He opened the door and heard Aithusa meowing at him from somewhere in the flat.

"I'll see you around," he said, forcing himself to look at Merlin.

Merlin gave him a small, hapless smile but didn't say anything as Arthur let himself out.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur spent most of the afternoon soaking in his bath with a bottle of wine, ignoring his hangover and trying to sort through everything that had happened over the past few days. He'd gone from having a secret crush on Mithian, to finding out that she felt the same way, to looking forward to when they could finally go out and he could get to know her better and kiss her. Mithian would be an extremely appropriate girlfriend for him; she came from the same background, held the same status, was charming and funny and smart and beautiful. She was sexy and Arthur had been truly attracted to her.

Now he just felt indifferent and guilty.

And Merlin - Merlin was changing everything way too quickly. Arthur had never considered being with another man. He had thought about it in passing, in hypothetical terms, but it was never something he had dwelled on. The idea of it didn't repulse him, but he had never thought about it as something that hewanted. He'd never had a reason to think of himself as anything other than straight.

Merlin would be an extremely inappropriate person for Arthur to date. He got arrested at anti-monarchy protests, performed bizarre poetry in public, and…was a gay man.

Arthur reached for the wine bottle and took a few long gulps. He didn't know what he was doing or what he wanted. He didn't know what about Merlin was so different. Merlin was nice and funny and interesting, and Arthur had met plenty of women who had all of those qualities. None of those women had ever got under Arthur's skin so quickly.

"It's been a long time since I made a new friend," Arthur said out loud. "Maybe I've just forgotten what it's like. Maybe that's all this is. Maybe this is totally fucking normal."

But then Arthur remembered Merlin's fingers in his hair, and how much he had wanted to do the same to Merlin, and pull him down for a kiss, and he was back where he started: utterly confused.

"This is so not normal," he muttered, sinking lower into the bath.

When the water was too cold to sit in anymore, Arthur let the bath drain and then jumped in the shower to wash his hair. He dried off, changed into track suit bottoms and an old t-shirt, and settled himself on the sofa.

There were two unread texts on his mobile and it took him a moment to convince himself to read them. Luckily, neither of them were from Mithian or Merlin.

From: Morgana Hey, I'll be in your neighborhood this evening - can I come over for dinner? I'll pay for take away.

From: Morgana You don't actually get a say in this. I'm coming over whether you want me to or not.

Just let me know when I should be expecting you.

Arthur sent his reply and spent a few hours watching mindless shows on the telly until Morgana called him to say she was outside his building.

"You look like a mess," she said when he let her in.

"And you look like Dad," Arthur said, closing the door behind her.

Morgana laughed loudly. "Thanks. Are you sick or something?"

"Just a bit hungover."

"Still? That must have been quite the bender."

"No, I just didn't eat much yesterday."

"That'll do it." Morgana gave him a long, searching look and Arthur pulled a face at her before sitting on the sofa.

"What do you want to get for dinner?"

"Merlin said you went out for drinks with him last night," Morgana said as she sat next to him, her voice anything but casual.

"Yeah, he invited me to a brewery near his flat." Morgana nodded and Arthur sighed, knowing she had something to say. "What? What? Just fucking say it so you can stop looking at me like that."

"I'm not looking at you in any particular way. I'm just… curious."

"Curious about what?"

"About what you're doing with Merlin."

"I'm not 'doing' anything. We had drinks and that's all there is to it, so let's get on with it. The menus are in the kitchen."

Morgana ruffled his hair as she stood to get the menus and Arthur let out a frustrated sigh.

They waited for their food and then ate in relative silence, watching various reality shows that Morgana kept finding on the telly.

"It's okay to be confused," she said suddenly during an advert for an upcoming football match.

"I'm not-"

"I saw this coming from the first night you met."

Arthur huffed indignantly. "How could you possibly-"

"And after his poetry reading you were so happy talking to him-"

"I was being friendly."

"I'm just saying that it's okay if you're confused. And if you need to talk-"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Well, I'm here, anyway."

"Wish you weren't," Arthur mumbled.

Morgana ignored him and went back to watching telly. Arthur tried to forget what she said and focus on the hilarious drama of the reality show stars, but it bothered him that Morgana somehow knew exactly what he was going through. How could she have seen it coming? Arthur hadn't even known that "it" was a thing until the night before. Those thoughts he'd been having about Merlin had come out of nowhere and he was pretty sure he couldn't have been obvious about anything when he had been completely oblivious to it himself.

Except that his feelings for Mithian had all but disappeared after Merlin's poetry reading. Even Leon had noticed that something had changed.

"I'm supposed to take Mithian out on a date," Arthur said to the credits rolling across the screen.

"Do you want to?"

Arthur sighed and picked at the bits of rice that were sitting at the bottom of his Chinese take away container. "I don't know, anymore," he admitted. "I should want to. I should know."

"You don't always have to have the answers," Morgana said quietly.

"Yes, I do."

"Well…then I'm betting you already know what the answer is. And what you're really struggling with is what that answer means."

"I'm not… I'm not…"

"You don't have to be." Morgana's voice was so reassuring and supportive that Arthur wanted to cry. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been so overwhelmed by something that wasn't work related. "Human sexuality is extremely fluid, Arthur. There's more than just gay or straight. There's a lot more and you don't even have to deal with any of that. You should just deal with what you want."

"I don't know what I want," Arthur said automatically. "I mean, I - I can't… I can't want this. My… Everything would… What would our…"

"It was just dinner," Morgana said firmly. "And if it becomes more than that, you'll figure it out. Nothing has to change. Your job won't change, your friends won't change, you won't change. At least, not for the worse. Maybe you'll change, but it'll only be because you're happy. Don't you want to be happy?"

Arthur turned to glare at Morgana. "It's not that simple."

"It really is. What you decide to do in your private life is no one's business and if Dad gives you shit about it, I'll give him shit about it."

Arthur nodded slowly and turned back to the telly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

When she finished eating, Morgana kissed him on the forehead and saw herself out, leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts and her words echoing in his head.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

The week went by so slowly that Arthur wondered if he even really understood how time worked anymore. The trial finished on Monday and the jury declared Odin guilty on Tuesday. Work settled into the typical post-court lull and Arthur had plenty of time alone in his office, finishing up paperwork and piecing together evidence for more upcoming trials. He avoided Mithian or thoughts of Mithian and focused exclusively on work until Thursday when his mobile rang as he was eating lunch at his desk.

He saw Mithian's name on the screen and considered not answering, but he knew he had to face her sooner or later. She didn't deserve to be ignored.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Arthur."

Arthur set down his salad as his stomach dropped at the realisation that he was actually going to do this. "How are you doing? How's your father?"

"He's good. We're both good. It's such a relief to have the whole thing over with."

"Yes," Arthur agreed. "Listen, I-"

"Do you still want to go to dinner?" Mithian asked before he could say anything else. "There's a wonderful Italian place I love - well, it might be a little fancy for the occasion, but we have something to celebrate and they have the most amazing wine, so I was thinking-"

"Mithian," Arthur said calmly, and Mithian stopped talking with a muffled sound. "I think I know exactly where you're talking about and it's actually… It's my favorite restaurant and it's where I wanted to take you but I don't think… I don't think I can. I thought I knew what I wanted but…"

"It's all right," Mithian said after a moment. "I thought something had changed, I just wanted to be sure."

"I'm so sorry. It's - it's not you. You're pretty much perfect and-"

"Arthur, please. You don't need to apologise. We weren't engaged, it was just a date."

"Right." Arthur took a deep breath, glad she couldn't see how badly he was blushing. "I'm sorry, anyway."

"It's fine, I promise," Mithian assured him, and Arthur could hear the smile in her voice. "We should get drinks sometime, as friends, if you'd like."

"I would like that very much. I'm not sure about this weekend, but maybe sometime next week? After work? There are some good happy hours around here."

"Perfect. Just let me know what days you'll be free and we'll work something out."

"I will," Arthur promised. "I'll ring you next week."

"I look forward to it."

Arthur nodded even though she couldn't see him. "I'll see you then."

Mithian chuckled. "Bye, Arthur."

"Bye." Arthur hung up and smiled down at his mobile, relieved at how easy that had been.

After a moment, his happiness wore off as it dawned on him that there was only one thing left to do, now that the situation with Mithian had been resolved.

Hey. Do you want to come over for dinner tomorrow? I could try cooking for you. Or we could do take away if you're not feeling that adventurous. There are some good restaurants near me, too. It's up to you. Let me know if you're free.

Arthur sent Merlin the text without reading it over, knowing he sounded ridiculous but also knowing that if he tried to edit himself, he would never send anything.

When nothing happened within two minutes, Arthur set his mobile down on his desk and went back to eating his lunch. It buzzed when he was on his last bite and he almost choked, but managed to swallow before checking the text.

From: Merlin Hey! Sorry - I already have dinner plans tomorrow with a friend from work. I could head over to your place afterwards if you want to get drinks or something? I'll probably be done dinner by 9.

That sounds great. The Knight's Pub is down the street from me and it's decent - let me know when you're on your way and I'll meet you there.

Arthur typed out the name of the road and sent the text to Merlin, smiling.

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Most of Friday was excruciatingly slow, but when it was finally five o'clock, Arthur couldn't remember a single thing he'd done that day. He stayed in his office until six, pretending to do work but mostly changing the color of meetings and reminders on his work calendar. Then, he went home, took a shower, made himself dinner, and sat on his sofa watching weird YouTube videos on his laptop until Merlin texted him.

From: Merlin I can be there in 20 if we're still on.

See you in 20!

That gave Arthur eighteen minutes to get ready, but he was already dressed, so he put on his shoes and went down to the pub to get started. He didn't have a plan or any idea what was going to happen, but that didn't stop him from being nervous, and he wanted some alcohol to fortify himself.

He sat at the bar and ordered himself a whisky, sipping it slowly and checking the door every thirty seconds until Merlin finally came through it.

Merlin grinned when he spotted Arthur and headed over. "Nice place," he said by way of greeting. He stood in between Arthur's bar stool and the one next to it, his side pressed against Arthur's arm.

"Should we get a table?" Arthur asked, his words a little too close together.

"Sure. What are you drinking?"

"Whisky on the rocks."

"Same," Merlin told the bartender.

They watched in silence as Merlin's drink was prepared, and then headed towards a small table in the back where they could sit across from each other. Arthur kept his eyes on his drink, unable to look up and meet Merlin's gaze.

"I was kind of surprised to get your text," Merlin said after a long minute. "You didn't seem especially happy when you left on Sunday."

"I was just really hungover," Arthur said quietly, still looking at his drink. "I guess I could have texted you sooner, though."

"I'm sure your week was busy. How was the trial?"

"It went well, actually. The good guys won and the bad guy's going to jail, so it all worked out."

"I assume you were on the side of the good guys?"

Arthur smirked and finally looked up to see Merlin smiling at him. "That's the perk of my job. I rarely have to advocate for someone who's done something wrong."

"How noble of you," Merlin teased.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "How was your week, then?"

Merlin shrugged. "Pretty boring, actually. Part of my new job is supposed to be doing some social media stuff when we get new grants, but I wasn't actually doing any of it until this week. Gaius kept asking me to tweet about random things and the external relations person kept asking me not to, so mostly I just sat around waiting for them to figure out what they wanted me to do."

"That sounds miserable," Arthur said frankly.

"It was," Merlin agreed. "But I had dinner with Morgana on Wednesday, and with one of my co-workers tonight, so it wasn't all bad. Although, when I came home from dinner with Morgana, Aithusa had thrown up all over the bathmat. It was easy to clean up and certainly could have been worse, but it was still a nasty surprise."

"Yeah, that's why I don't have pets."

Merlin laughed. "I guess that's fair. I don't mind it, though. She keeps me company so I clean up her sick. It's a good thing we've got going on."

"You make a lovely couple," Arthur teased.

"I'm pretty sure you were the one calling her your girlfriend."

"Wait, what?"

Merlin laughed. "You don't remember that?"

"I don't think so…"

"You were half asleep," Merlin conceeded. "But you definitely called my cat your girlfriend."

Arthur laughed and rubbed his eyes. "Well, that's charming."

Merlin chuckled and took a few small sips of his drink. "So, how're things with your actual girlfriend? Or the woman who was going to become your girlfriend, or whatever that situation was?"

Arthur looked back down at the table, knowing he was blushing. "It worked out pretty well. I told her I wasn't really interested anymore and she was perfectly understanding. We're going to stay friends and… It was all very civil and adult."

"Good."

"Yeah." Arthur reached for his drink and downed the rest of it in one large gulp. He winced as it burned down his throat and he stood to get another. "After we're done here, do you - we could go up to mine and - well, I've got a big screen telly, so…"

Merlin smiled up at him. "Sure. Get me another?"

Arthur nodded and went back to the bar, wanting to kick himself for being so awkward. He ordered their drinks and stayed at the bar for an extra minute or two to compose himself. He knew he didn't really have a reason to be nervous; Merlin probably had no idea what was going on, and Arthur wasn't planning on telling him yet. They were just going to spend some time together, as friends, and Arthur had to focus on that part of it.

He brought the next round back to the table and managed to have a calm, normal conversation with Merlin while they finished their drinks.

"Should we head to yours?" Merlin asked as soon as his glass was empty.

Arthur nodded, steeling himself, and led the way out of the pub. "I'm just down this way," he said, pointing towards his building once they were outside.

"This is a nice neighbourhood."

Arthur shrugged. "It's all right. It's kind of boring, but it's quiet so I guess that's better than living somewhere I'd have to use earplugs."

"Nothing says rich and successful like earplugs to block out the 2AM helicopters and car alarms."

Arthur laughed and unlocked his front door. He led Merlin up to his flat, trying to remember what film he had wanted them to watch.

"Wow," Merlin said as soon as he'd stepped inside. "You're very tidy."

Arthur closed the door slowly. "Well, I guess I should admit that I have a cleaning lady. She only comes by on Fridays, so it's really a lot cleaner right now than it usually is."

Merlin shot Arthur a wide grin before stepping closer for a kiss that ended before Arthur could even close his eyes.

"Sorry," Merlin said, taking a few steps back. "It just didn't seem like you were going to do that, so I thought maybe you wanted me to do it, but-"

"No, it was… good. Thank you."

"You're welcome?"

Arthur laughed nervously. "I'm… This is probably painfully obvious, but I've never done this before, so I don't really know how to go about it."

"It's about the same as anything else, I imagine," Merlin said, smiling. "And I'm really bad at this part, too, so don't worry about it."

"Are you… Did you want to actually watch a movie, or…"

Merlin shrugged. "We could start with that, yeah."

"Okay," Arthur said blankly. Merlin headed towards his sofa so he went to the telly and remembered that he'd put the film he wanted the watch into the DVD player before he'd left. "Sorry I don't have any Harry Potter."

"That's okay, those movies clearly bored you."

"I was just drunk." Arthur flipped off the lights and sat down. Merlin immediately scooted closer. Arthur shifted slightly until their shoulders were pressed together and then he tried to pay attention to the film, but it was remarkably difficult. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be making some kind of move or cuddle with Merlin or hold his hand or what. Merlin didn't seem too concerned with it, so he tried not to worry, but it was hard to think about anything else.

If it was a girl on his sofa, he'd probably have his arm around her, or he'd have started kissing her as soon as the opening credits were done. Merlin had said it was same, but Arthur still felt like the rules were different, if only because he suddenly cared much more than he had in a long time. Normally he just dated women for the company and the sex, but he liked Merlin and he wanted Merlin to like him back, and it was making him feel like a virginal teenager again.

"Hey," Merlin said suddenly. Arthur blinked and realised that the film had ended. "I can hear you worrying."

"I'm not worrying," Arthur said automatically. "I'm just thinking."

"What are you thinking about?"

"Um."

Merlin smiled softly and reached for the back of Arthur's neck, pulling him in for a short kiss. "Would it be easier if we just did this so you could stop freaking out about it?"

"Probably," Arthur admitted, his eyes on Merlin's lips.

Merlin reached across Arthur's lap for the remote. The telly flickered white for a moment and then turned off, leaving them in dark silence. Before Arthur could do anything, Merlin's lips were on his again, this time in a much more real kiss. Merlin's lips were full and insistent and it didn't take more than a few seconds for Arthur's brain to finally turn off so he could enjoy himself. Merlin kissed with a lot of teeth; he kept nipping at Arthur's lips or tongue or chin or ears or neck. Merlin was everywhere and Arthur was pretty sure he hadn't got so hard so quickly in years.

"You taste good," Merlin whispered when he finally broke away for more than two seconds.

"You, too," Arthur said, reaching out in the darkness to get his hands on Merlin's waist.

"It's probably the whiskey."

"Yeah."

"I like your sofa," Merlin said as he pulled out of Arthur's grip and resituated himself. "Come here."

Arthur moved forward, still unseeing in the dark room, until he found Merlin propped up against one of the arm rests. Merlin pulled him closer and he wished they were on his bed so they could spread out properly, but then Merlin yanked off his shirt and he stopped worrying about it. Merlin's fingernails raked down his sides and he shuddered, moaning against Merlin's lips.

All Arthur could think was that he wanted more, so he shifted until he was hovering over Merlin, one leg bent beneath him and the other hanging off the side of the sofa. Arthur leaned down slowly as Merlin's thighs fell open. He put his legs around Arthur's waist and their cocks rubbed against each other through their jeans. Arthur panted into the kiss, his head swimming.

"We can stop," Merlin said suddenly, his voice low and unsure.

"What?" Arthur could see Merlin's face mere inches from his own.

"If you want - we can - we don't have to do anything more than this, I mean."

Arthur grabbed the top of the sofa and struggled to lift himself up slightly. "Do you want to stop?" he asked, confused.

"No. I just meant… Sorry, I don't usually drink whisky and sometimes when I'm…really horny, I start doing this stupid nervous talking thing, so if you don't want to stop you should probably just kiss me again."

Arthur chuckled and sat back on the sofa. "I don't want to stop but I do want to move to my bed, if that's all right."

"Yeah, of course."

Arthur pulled Merlin up and led the way to his room. As soon as Arthur closed the door, Merlin pressed him against it and started grabbing his arse, rubbing their crotches together. Arthur groaned and slid his hands into Merlin's soft hair, tugging at it until Merlin tilted his head back enough to expose his long neck. Arthur licked and bit at the skin he could reach until Merlin moved his hands to Arthur's head, holding him there as he sucked on Merlin's collarbone.

"Bed," Merlin rasped when Arthur pulled away.

Arthur murmured his agreement and pushed Merlin towards his bed, taking Merlin's shirt off on the way. When Merlin sat down on the bed with a quiet 'oompf', Arthur crawled on top of him. Merlin inched backwards and Arthur followed until Merlin was settled against the pillows and Arthur was above him, dragging his hands down Merlin's flat chest.

Merlin reached for Arthur's jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them quickly, then slipping his hand into Arthur's pants and pulling on his cock.

"Shit," Arthur breathed into their kiss. He was already so close. "I'm not-"

"Shush," Merlin said before licking into Arthur's mouth.

Arthur groaned and clenched his eyes tightly, picturing his fifth year teacher and his father's hairy toes. Merlin tightened his grip on Arthur's cock but slowed their kiss down until they were just breathing into each other's mouths and all Arthur could think about then was how warm everything was.

Merlin twisted his hand over the tip of Arthur's cock and Arthur felt it starting low in his stomach and along the backs of his thighs. He gasped and pulled back for a second before pressing his face into Merlin's neck and moaning as Merlin stroked him through his orgasm.

"Fuck," Arthur whispered as he started coming back to his senses. His knees gave out and he fell onto Merlin, panting.

Merlin dragged his free hand up and down Arthur's back until Arthur had enough strength in his arms to push himself up.

"Sorry," he said, embarrassed, as Merlin pulled his hand out from between their bodies.

"Don't apologise," Merlin said, leaning up for a kiss. It went from sweet to messy in a matter of seconds and Arthur realised that it was his turn to make Merlin come. It hit him all at once that he was having sex with another man and that he had never done that before.

"I can hear you worrying again," Merlin said, tugging at Arthur's hair.

"Not worrying," Arthur said firmly, sitting up on Merlin's thighs. He undid Merlin's fly and licked his lips. Merlin's cock was long and hard in his briefs and Arthur was surprised at how much he wanted to see it and touch it. Shifting up, he pulled Merlin's clothes off and dropped them off the edge of the bed, then took off his own jeans as an afterthought.

Merlin's cock was thicker than Arthur has expected, but it fit perfectly in his hand. He pulled on it lazily, trying different grips and speeds until Merlin let out a sigh.

"Are you having fun?" he asked, his voice tight.

Arthur smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I know it's very pretty."

Arthur laughed and licked his palm before taking a tight grip on Merlin's cock. When he was pretty sure he was doing what he usually did to himself, he started working Merlin in short, quick strokes.

"God," Merlin moaned, arching up into Arthur's hand. "Yeah, that's just - right - ah." Merlin's hips rose higher and higher, and all Arthur could do was watch as he drove Merlin closer to the edge. "Faster," Merlin managed, his voice strangled and low.

Arthur sped up his hand and as soon as he did, Merlin let out a long groan, his hips sinking back down onto the bed as he came over his stomach. Arthur continued stroking Merlin even after his orgasm subsided, loving the way Merlin's cock pulsed in his hand and the way Merlin's breath hitched every time Arthur's fingers glanced against the sensitive head of his cock.

"Stop," Merlin finally said, lazily pushing Arthur's hand away. "Come here."

Arthur leaned down for a long kiss, bracing himself on the bed and not caring that he was getting Merlin's come all over his sheets.

"That was fucking hot," he said when Merlin pulled back.

Merlin laughed and gave Arthur's arse a teasing slap. "You're fucking hot."

Arthur grinned and nipped playfully at Merlin's lower lip. "No, you are."

Merlin drew Arthur in for a slow kiss and Arthur almost wished he could fall asleep just like that, with Merlin's hands in his hair and Merlin's lips warm and swollen against his own.

"I don't want to move," Merlin whispered, barely breaking the kiss.

"Me neither."

"But we should clean ourselves up before we pass out."

Arthur sighed and pushed himself up until he was sitting back on his haunches. "Do you want like…a facecloth?"

Merlin propped himself up on his elbows and licked his lips. "Can you just point me in the direction of your loo?"

"First door on the right," Arthur said as Merlin got up. He watched Merlin's arse as Merlin walked out, then fell back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was sleepy and sated and all of his nerves were gone. He was pretty sure it wasn't even because he'd just come; everything about what he'd just done had felt good and right and perfectly normal. It had felt very much like something he should be doing, and he had enjoyed every second of it.

When Merlin came back, he leaned over the bed to give Arthur a soft kiss. "Should I go?"

Arthur sat up quickly. "No. I mean, you can if you want, but you're welcome to stay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Arthur smiled and got up to give Merlin a long, wet kiss. "I'd like it if you stayed."

Merlin smiled and squeezed Arthur's arse. "I hope you don't mind that I sleep naked."

"Not at all." Arthur pressed a kiss just below Merlin's ear and then went to the loo to clean himself up. When he came back to his room, Merlin was already under the covers. "You look cozy," he said, walking around to the other side of the bed.

"This is a really nice mattress," Merlin said sleepily.

Arthur made sure his alarm clock was turned off before crawling into the bed beside Merlin. Merlin reached out an arm under the covers and his hand landed on Arthur's thigh.

"Thanks for coming over," Arthur said quietly, brushing his fingers over Merlin's.

"Thanks for having me," Merlin mumbled, his words barely intelligible.

Arthur grinned and shifted into a more comfortable position, making sure Merlin could still reach his leg. "Goodnight."

—xxx—xxx—xxx—

Arthur woke up the next morning when he realised his mobile had been ringing out in the living room. He opened his eyes to see Merlin staring mournfully at him.

"Make it stop," he said, his voice gruff with sleep.

Arthur smiled and rolled towards Merlin for a quick kiss before he flung back the covers and went to find his mobile.

Morgana was ringing and he knew from experience that the only way to get her to stop was to actually answer the phone.

"It's fucking early, Morgana."

"It's 10:30. I'm at Leon's. Where are you?"

Arthur flushed; he'd completely forgotten he was supposed to go over to Leon's to watch football. "I'm at home. I overslept. Um. Why are you at Leon's?"

"I'm friends with Leon, too."

"Right, but…you hate football."

"Yes, but I love gossip and Merlin told me you were having dinner last night, so…"

"So. Tell Leon I'm sorry but I'm not going to make it. I only just woke up."

"I'm coming over."

"What?" Arthur asked, suddenly feeling completely awake.

"I'll come over and cook you breakfast."

Arthur could hear the smirk in her voice and he wanted to chuck his mobile across the room, but he knew that wouldn't stop her. "Please don't."

"Oh, shut up. I'll be there in ten minutes. Try to be decent. Tell Merlin he can skip the decent…he's got a very cute bum."

Arthur hung up and tossed his mobile on the sofa. He rubbed his hands over his eyes, wishing pointlessly that Morgana had any sense of tact or privacy. Knowing there was nothing he could do, he went back to his room and sat on the edge of the bed next to Merlin.

"Morgana's coming over to cook breakfast."

Merlin frowned sleepily. "Why?"

"Because she's Morgana."

"Okay," Merlin mumbled. He yawned and flung an arm over his eyes. "Do you want me to go?"

"I don't mind if you're here as long as you don't mind that she's going to pry into what we did last night."

Merlin snorted. "Trust me, I can deal with Morgana's nosiness. Wake me up when she gets here."

Arthur pushed himself off the bed and dressed in jeans and a plain white shirt before going to clean his teeth and tame his bed hair. He looked at himself in the mirror for a long time, wondering why he felt so different now than he had after the night he'd cuddled with Merlin during Harry Potter. He wasn't hungover this time, but it was more than that. He had felt so strange in his own skin that morning, almost like a different person. But now, after waking up next to Merlin and minutes away from admitting what they'd done to another person, he felt perfectly normal. Everything felt the same as it always did, except that he couldn't stop smiling and he looked frankly ridiculous.

When his mobile rang again, Arthur opened his door and waited for Morgana to make her way up to his flat.

"Good morning," she said, grinning wickedly.

"Morning." Arthur closed the door behind her and followed her into the kitchen. "Did you really have to say all of that in front of Leon, by the way?"

"Please, he practically already knew," Morgana said as she opened his fridge and started digging around. "I told him you'd been out with Merlin and he asked me what the hell was going on with you two, because he'd never heard you talk about another guy that way before."

"I barely talked to Leon about Merlin."

"You're not the subtlest grape in the bunch," she said simply, pulling a carton of eggs from the cupboard and setting it on the counter. "Don't you have any fresh fruit?"

"If it wasn't in the fridge, I don't have it."

Morgana rolled her eyes and started pulling out bowls and frying pans. Arthur left her to wake up Merlin.

"My horrible sister is here," Arthur said, dragging Merlin's arm off his face. "I think she's making scrambled eggs."

"I like scrambled eggs," Merlin mumbled. He sighed heavily and then pushed himself up into a sitting position. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eleven. I haven't slept in that late in…I can't even remember."

Merlin smiled and leaned up for a kiss. "Help me find my clothes?"

Arthur found Merlin's jeans by the nightstand and his shirt by the door. He watched Merlin get dressed, staring openly at the way his muscles moved as he pulled on his clothes.

"Are you sure you don't mind me being here for this?" Merlin asked, wrapping his arms around Arthur's neck.

Arthur shrugged and rested his hands on Merlin's waist. "There's no stopping her when she wants something and it's better to just get it out of the way."

Merlin pressed their foreheads together for a moment and then stepped away, looking much more awake than he had a moment before. "Then let's go have some breakfast."

Arthur followed Merlin out of his room and back into the kitchen. He watched as Merlin and Morgana hugged each other in greeting and then set to making breakfast together, chatting idly about nothing in particular. Morgana didn't make any lewd or nosey comments; she didn't even give Arthur any annoyingly knowing looks. She simply scrambled some eggs on the cooker as Merlin made a few slices of toast.

Arthur watched them, wondering how he had even got to this moment. He'd only met Merlin three weeks ago and already everything was different. Nothing had really changed - Morgana had at least been right about that - but somehow everything was different. His sister was cooking him breakfast with the man who could become so much more than just a friend and Arthur was happy in a way that he hadn't been in a long time.

"Toast?" Merlin asked, breaking Arthur out of his thoughts.

"Yes, please."

Merlin held out a plate with two slices of toast and when Arthur reached for it, Merlin pulled him in for a kiss. Arthur let Merlin kiss him in front of Morgana, until she cleared her throat.

"I'm really going to regret this, aren't I?" she asked, sliding some scrambled eggs onto a plate.

"Regret what?" Merlin asked innocently.

"Nothing." Morgana let out a world-weary sigh but Arthur saw her winking at Merlin.

Arthur smiled to himself and went to set the table for their breakfast, hoping that things would always be so easy between them all.