A/N: Hmm, this was supposed to be a multi-chaptered fic of mine. I have been working on this for months (I kept losing my muse) but I am nowhere near finish. And I promised myself that I am going to post it only if I finish writing all the chapters. But I'm bored~. So this is going to be a boring oneshot for now.

The thing I have trouble the most is the dialogue because I truly know nothing of social etiquettes. So advice and constructive criticisms are very much welcome.

Unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine.

Disclaimer: In my sweetest dreams, I owned Colin Mor—I mean, BBC Merlin. Then I had to wake and face reality. :'(

Enjoy~

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~Chapter One: Of 3 AM Texts and Annoying Blokes ~

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"~~You've got mail~~"

The pillow that Arthur was lying on smothered his moan. Blinking in the darkness, his eyes met the glare of his digital clock. 3:15 AM, it said.

"It's too early for this." He mumbled, covering his head with a pillow.

Late night mails were not unusual for him—given his job as the temporary boss of Camelot Corps while his father was ill. It was mostly his secretary telling him about a mess a newbie made that he had to clean or Gwaine's drunken texts. Seriously, why was he even friends with that guy? Oh, yeah, the bastard had been there for him when his mother died.

Suddenly, the memory of the night he grudgingly answered the phone just to hear of his father's accident slammed in his mind.

Closing his eyes briefly and exhaling, he reached for his cellphone. He squinted at the bright light it was making and frowned at the unfamiliar number displayed on the screen. Curious, he opened it.

'Hi, I'm Merlin. Got your number by scrambling mine. I'm extremely bored. Who are you? :)'

"What the hell?" Arthur couldn't believe the nerve of this guy. Was this a prank? Was this one of Morgana's prank? He wouldn't put it past her to get a new SIM card just to annoy him.

But as he stared at the number, it did contain Arthur's—just in a different arrangement. It was either Morgana bought SIM cards just to search for the right one or she was secretly a grey-hat hacker who programmed her own cell to display that number. Huh.

Still, it was three in the morning.

'Piss off and go die.' He sent his reply and proceeded to go back under the comfort of his bed. He had work tomorrow.

"~~You've got mail~~" came not a minute later.

Frowning, Arthur grabbed his phone from the nightstand.

'No need to be a prat. Just wanted to talk. :-/'

Growling, Arthur typed, 'You're the prat. It's fucking 3 in the morning and I got work.'

Expecting that would be the end of it, he sighed and started to lie down.

"~~You've got mail~~"

Cursing, he snatched his phone to switch it to silent mode. But then thought better of it. What if there was an emergency call from the office or from the hospital? He wouldn't want to miss it just because of some irritating wanker.

'Oh, same time here. You in Portugal, Ireland or UK?' he read.

'What, you've got the whole Greenwich Time memorized? Leave me alone.' Arthur tried to be snarky, hoping that the bloke would take the hint and leave him alone.

'Yes, because I am a GENIUS. Oxford was begging me to go to them but I declined. Too posh. Besides, it's bloody huge. It'll be midday before I get to my first class.'

Arthur didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was the stress and he was just looking for something to be happy about. No matter what the reason was, he was suddenly gripped by a bout of laughter. He tried to remember the last time he had laughed so hard. Unsurprisingly, he came up with a blank.

Another text came. 'Or I just Googled "Greenwich Time" and got those three as the result. So Portugal, Ireland or UK? :)'

Deciding that it couldn't hurt, Arthur answered, 'Alright. UK. London.'

'Seriously? London's a ten-minute ride here. O.O Wow. Coincidence or fate?'

Raising a brow, then, realizing that the intended recipient can't see him, Arthur replied, 'You sound as if we're soul mates. Are you coming on to me?'

'Yes, I usually flirt with strangers whom I know nothing about. Not even the name or gender.' He didn't know how but Arthur could detect the dripping sarcasm in the words. 'Heck, for all I know, you could be a fat snot-nosed brat who got ahold of daddy's phone.'

Slightly offended, Arthur huffed. 'My name's Arthur. And I'll have you know that I'm fighting FIT and bleedin' GORGEOUS for a 27-year-old.'

'See why I'm a genius? Got your name, description, attitude (which is prattish with a side of arrogant) and gender all in one text. Except if Arthur is actually a short name for Arthuriana or Marthura or Larthurnette or something.'

He didn't know whether to burst out laughing or be thoroughly annoyed at that. He involuntarily chose the former. Though realizing that he had been manipulated, Arthur found that he didn't care. 'No parent in their right mind would name their child something as ridiculous as those. And I'm MALE, you idiot. ' Then, he checked the first message given to him. 'Besides, who names their child Merlin?'

'Only the best parents in the world! Merlin is the most powerful warlock to have ever lived and he was the wise mentor of King Arthur. Wait, you're not shitting me, are you? Is your name really Arthur?'

He realized what the other, Merlin, was getting at.

'Maybe you're the one lying. Arthur is a more common name than Merlin.'

'Need I point out that I said my name first. Man, that thing about being soul mates is becoming more and more likely. Spooky.'

'Don't get any wrong ideas.'

He and Merlin talked and talked about random things. He learned that Merlin was a fresh college graduate. He took Theater Arts and was dreaming to be a big-time actor. Currently, he was being offered small roles but 'it's a start of something grand' or so he said.

Since his current career isn't enough to pay for his rent, Merlin was also working part-time in a café called The Dragon's Riddle. His boss obviously had no sense in naming things. Merlin agreed.

He learned that Merlin was an only child desperately wanting a sibling he could play and talk with. He clearly didn't know the horrors of having one so Arthur was kind enough to enlighten him by narrating Morgana's many schemes. Merlin was not discouraged. The fool.

He also learned that Merlin's parents died in an accident a couple years back. Arthur tried not to feel guilty for touching the subject. He failed miserably.

He couldn't believe he had just known this bloke a couple hours ago. It felt like he had known him for years. Merlin got his sense of humor, knew what subjects not to ask, knew how to get under his skin, knew how to humble him, knew how to make him blush (the last one was quite a surprise because he hadn't blush since 10-year-old Morgana decided to walk around the house starkers). And he hadn't even met him in person.

Time flew by and Arthur was oblivious to it until his alarm sounded. He then realized that he'd been exchanging texts with this Merlin the whole night. How had that happened? Hitting the snooze button, he stared at the phone in his hand as if it turned alien.

Shaking his head, he got out of bed.

'Got to work. How about you?'

It was only after he showered that a message arrived.

'Nah, I'm currently on a break.'

Arthur snorted. 'Or too lazy to get out of bed.'

'I am not! Go to work, you sod. And don't let your sexy co-worker distract you.' Arthur flushed, not quite believing he had told Merlin about his small attraction to Guinevere, his secretary. 'I'll text you later, yeah?'

'Okay.' Contemplating for a moment, Arthur decided to add, 'You can text me anytime you want.'

Dressed in an expensive Armani suit, Arthur grabbed the keys to his sleek black sports car. Preparing himself for another long day, he started the car.

"~~You've got mail~~"

'Don't regret offering, Arthur. Expect at least a hundred messages. ;)'

He smiled and suddenly, the day didn't seem so bad.

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And yeah, this is one of my best written fics. Some people gave me advice on how to correct my grammar and I am really thankful. So should I continue this or leave it as it is?

So, I just learned how to use a cellphone recently. I had embarrassed myself by asking the sales clerk of the difference between a SIM card and a memory card (and that is just so sad). That said, I don't really know much about shortcuts in texts or emoticons. Sorry if their 'conversations' doesn't seem like texts.

Constructive criticisms are hugged and invited to dinner! Flames are alright as long as you don't hurt anyone else.

EDIT: So, uh, I decided to continue it afterall. Though updates may be sporadically. Thanks, everyone!

Have a nice day everyone!

~Vividpast