Fic: Teachers Do It With Class (1/2)
Jan. 3rd, 2010 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fandomcornerTitle: Teachers Do It With Class
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lou_angel and hils
Rating: PG-13
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Words: 17,000
Summary: Merlin's first teaching job isn't going off to a good start. He's got to deal with an infuriating PE teacher who he either wants to punch or jump, he's not sure which, and some of his students bring a whole new meaning to the word evil
Thanks tolady_carfax for the beta work
Merlin hadn’t always wanted to be a teacher. When he was a little boy he wanted to be a magician. He’d spend hours in his room practising card tricks until he got them right. Sadly, though, it wasn’t to be. His mother put a stop to any dream of magic as a profession after an unfortunate incident resulted in him nearly setting fire to the kitchen.
It was the start of term, and Merlin’s first day at work. Nervous butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he stood at the front of the classroom with thirty pairs of eyes watching him curiously. This was the make-or-break moment for him. They were already sizing him up, calculating what they would and wouldn’t be able to get away with.
“My name is Mr. Emrys,” he announced in what he hoped was a confident-sounding voice. “I’m sure you’ll hear it from someone soon enough so I’m just going to say it now: yes, my first name really is Merlin. Any jokes you think you are witty enough to come up with I can assure you I’ve heard them before, so just keep them to yourself.”
There were a few stifled sniggers but nothing like the riotous laughter or jeering calls that all new teachers dreaded that first night before they stepped out from the safety of their training and faced the class alone. Merlin concentrated on taking a few steady breaths before he launched into his explanation of what they would be covering that term; this was familiar territory and he felt his stomach settling.
His first lesson passed quickly, without any remarkable incidents, negative or otherwise, and he soon found himself scurrying around collecting worksheets and scrubbing the board clean as his next class trickled in.
He repeated the performance, calmer and more confidently this time, and was greeted by the unblinking stares of the pupils. There was almost no sound at all and he paused as he tried to read their reactions.
A small child at the back of the class slowly raised his hand.
“Yes?” Merlin said glancing down at the seating plan he’d drawn up while taking the register. It would take a while for him to learn all the children’s names. “Mordred, what is it?”
“Sir, how old are you, sir?”
“Four hundred and ninety two,” Merlin replied in a deadpan tone. Most of the children laughed but Mordred just looked at him curiously.
“Are you married, sir?” Another child asked.
Merlin was used to it. In all the placement schools he’d worked in during his training these were the questions the children always asked first. He considered whether or not to ignore the question but eventually succumbed to a short “No, not yet.”
“Sir, why do we have to do RE?” Another child asked.
Merlin had prepared himself for this question. He didn’t just hear it from his students. “I’m very glad you asked that.” He said as he turned on the projector. “That is actually the topic of today’s lesson.”
He began passing out exercise books as he introduced the aims of the lesson, conscious of Mordred’s cool gaze following him as he walked. There was something a little unnerving about the shrewd look upon the boy’s face. Merlin did his best to ignore it and was relieved when the bell rang. He dismissed the class for break and rushed to the staff room for tea.
“Tea,” he muttered to himself as he rummaged through the cupboards. “Must have tea.”
It took him five minutes to locate the teabags and another five to wait for the kettle to boil. By that time he was wondering if anyone would notice if he added some gin to the mug.
“It’s ok to be nervous on your first day,” said a gentle voice behind him, causing him to almost drop his mug as he turned around to see who was talking to him.
The girl who was addressing him winced and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s ok.” He said quickly, not wanting to frighten off the first friendly face he’d seen. “I was just…thinking.”
She gave him a small, relieved smile. “Hi, I’m Gwen.”
“Merlin, RE teacher.” He said, looking around for milk.
Gwen passed him a bottle and he took it gratefully. “Don’t worry.” She said. “It all takes a bit of getting used to.”
Merlin looked at her curiously. It was obvious that she knew the school well but she couldn’t be much older than him. “Have you worked here long?” he asked.
“A couple of years,” she said making two mugs of coffee; one milky and one strong and black, “I’m Morgana’s teaching assistant.” At Merlin’s blank look she gave a small laugh and explained, “In the Art Department.” She stirred her drinks and darted a glance towards the clock.
Merlin followed her gaze and sighed when he realised break time was nearly over.
“It never seems long enough.” Gwen said as she moved towards the door. “See you around Merlin.”
He watched her go and gulped down his tea, wincing as it scalded his throat. So much for a soothing drink between lessons. Still, at least he’d met at least one person who was nice and friendly. He just hoped the rest of the teachers were the same.
* * *
“What’s this?”
Merlin stared at the piece of paper that was being wafted in front of his face by one of his larger and more athletic-looking students.
“It’s an exemption slip,” the boy explained as though Merlin was some sort of idiot. “I’m on the football team.”
Merlin raised an eyebrow. “Uh good for you… Why does that mean you can’t attend my lesson exactly?”
“Mr P. needs me for practise. We’ve got a big match in a couple of weeks.”
Merlin frowned. It was only the first day of term and already it seemed that students were avoiding his lessons. He took a few moments to quell the brief spell of panic. It was inconceivable that his reputation as the “new teacher” had already spread around the school causing students to flee in horror. He was just thrown by the unexpected situation.
“Um, ok.” He said eventually, tucking the slip into his mark book and waving the boy away with a vague hand gesture. The student gave him an almost pitying look and stalked from the classroom.
Merlin glanced around at the faces of the rest of the class but none of them appeared to have even noticed the boy’s exit so he concluded that this couldn’t be that unusual.
However, he wasn’t quite prepared for how common an occurrence it would be.
“I’ve got a lacrosse game on Friday,” a girl told him at the start of his next lesson, waving a familiar looking slip of paper at him. “Mr P. needs the team to go over some last minute tactics.”
“Does this happen a lot?” he asked her, curiosity getting the better of him as he pocketed the slip alongside the first one.
The girl simply shrugged.
In his next lesson he lost three students to the mysterious Mr. P and by the time they got to the afternoon tea break he had ten slips of paper in his pocket. He headed to the staff room, hoping Gwen would be there so he could ask her about it.
She was there and she wasn’t alone.
“Merlin, this is Morgana.”
“Hi.” Merlin said uncomfortably as Gwen’s regal-looking companion regarded him with sharp, intelligent eyes.
“Nice to meet you Merlin,” she smiled suddenly and her face softened. “How’s your first day going?”
“Not bad,” Merlin said, still uncertain, twisting his fingers together absently.
Morgana smiled at him again and disappeared into the photocopying room.
“She’s not as scary as she looks,” remarked Gwen.
Merlin gave a short, distracted, bark of laughter and slipped his hands into his pockets to still them. He felt the crumple of the numerous pieces of paper inside and his face sobered.
“Gwen, is it normal to have lots of students missing lessons for sports practise?”
“Ah.” Said Gwen.
“I take it that’s a “yes” then.”
She winced uncomfortably. “It’s not all lessons. Just the ones the headmaster doesn't consider important like RE and Art.”
“Oh, so does Morgana lose students too?” Merlin asked hopefully, desperate to not be the only one this was happening to.
“Well, not really,” Gwen replied. “But it’s only because Arthur is scared of her. Not that he’d ever admit that of course. Arthur tried to pull kids from her lessons but...well, Morgana can be quite intimidating when she wants to be.”
“I assume Arthur is this Mr. P I’ve been hearing so much about.”
Gwen nodded. “He’s the PE teacher and…well, he thinks his subject is the most important one in the school.”
Merlin snorted.
“Seriously, don’t let it get to you. He did the same thing to the last teacher.”
“That really doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Well, just don’t take it personally then.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and headed back to his classroom for the final lesson of the day.
He was immediately confronted by a small group of girls all waving exemption slips. His jaw tensed and he almost growled at them “What’s this?”
“We’re all on the Netball team sir.” One of the girls simpered “and Mr. P wants us.” They giggled and Merlin had a brief, glorious, vision of throwing a chair at the mysterious Mr. P’s head.
“Fine, go.” He snapped, harshly enough to send the girls scurrying away. This was the last straw. This was a GCSE class and there was no way these girls were going to pass their exam if they missed every other lesson for some stupid sports thing.
He decided to pay Mr. P a visit after school and let him know just how little he appreciated losing half his students on the first day.
* * *
By the time the final bell rang and Merlin had dismissed his class he was absolutely fuming. He stomped across the field towards the small cabin where the PE offices were and burst inside, not waiting for an answer to his cursory knock.
The sole occupant of the office swirled round to fix Merlin with a brilliant blue stare. Merlin ignored it and launched into his tirade. “Right, that’s it!”
“That’s what?”
The slightly amused smile in response to Merlin’s initial outburst did little to calm his rage. He could feel himself trembling as he continued, wishing nothing more than to wipe that smirk from his face.
“It’s my first day and I’ve lost fifteen students because you apparently think sport is more important than actually learning something. Sport isn’t even a real subject! What the hell gives you the right to pull people out of my lessons so you can play around in the sun for an hour?”
“Sorry, who are you?”
Merlin thought he might explode. “I’m Merlin Emrys.” He said through gritted teeth, and was not pleased when he heard a snort of laughter.
“Well, your parents had a good sense of humour.”
Merlin narrowed his eyes. “That is irrelevant. It’s only the first day of term and you’re already pulling kids out of my classes, even the GCSE ones…how do you expect them to actually learn?”
“Well, unlike you, Merlin, I bothered to learn the names of all the teachers this year and what they teach. Do you really think any of your students will gain anything by learning about going to church?”
Merlin’s eyes widened and his hands clenched into fists at his side. “You are such a conceited ass! If you’d bothered to look at the curriculum you’d know that I teach a hell of a lot more than that. Things like morals and ethics which I’m guessing you know nothing about.” He glared and was not pleased to see his opponents lips curl derisively.
“You can’t talk to me like that.” He said smoothly. “Do you know who I am?”
Merlin huffed irritably.
“Arthur,” came the delighted reply, “Arthur Pendragon. The Headmaster’s son.”
“Well that explains a lot.” Merlin said but he felt the pit of his stomach give way and wished the floor would open up beneath his feet. “I suppose being the Head’s son you’re used to getting your own way all the time.”
Arthur simply shrugged again. “No, I get what I want because I’m focussed and good at my job. Now, this is the part where you apologise and leave.”
Arthur treated him to a smug grin, which just made Merlin’s anger rise again.
“Oh, right, of course,” Merlin replied. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s better.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry you’re such a prat. Really, it’s quite tragic.”
And with that he turned and left, making sure to slam the door behind him. All in all his first day could probably have gone better; he wouldn’t at all be surprised if he found himself fired in the morning.
Great.
* * *
“Arthur’s not that bad really, but you should try not to lose your temper with him.”
Merlin ducked his head to avoid the knowing gaze of his mentor Gaius, a well-liked teacher of an indeterminate age that had worked in the Science Department for as long as anyone could remember. He always mentored new teachers as they settled into the school, and he and Merlin had formed a rapport almost immediately.
“I’m sorry Gaius,” Merlin said honestly, “I was just so angry. I felt…belittled.”
“Arthur doesn’t have it easy either.” Gaius said gently. “You’ll just have to learn to get along. It wouldn’t do to have the students know of anything other than an entirely professional relationship between any members of staff. And it would be wise not to let anything like this get to Uther’s ears either.”
At the mention of the Headmaster, Merlin paled. “I’m not going to get fired am I?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Gaius said, “just don’t let it happen again.”
“I won’t let you down Gaius.” Merlin said.
***
Merlin tried not to react when more and more students dropped out of his lessons to attend various sporting events. He’d promised Gaius he wouldn’t make an issue out of it and, as hard as it was, so far he’d managed it. He was just grateful that the PE offices were so far away from the school’s main building so he never ran into Arthur. Frankly he’d be happy if he never saw the prat again.
Of course it was too much to hope for.
“Nice car,” Arthur grinned when they ran into each other in the car park one evening after school.
Merlin eyed Arthur’s sleek red Ferrari with disdain. “Yeah, well, not all of us can have Daddy buy us whatever we want.”
He was surprised when Arthur actually looked slightly ashamed.
“Well, um…” said Merlin inarticulately, feeling guilty. “Have a nice weekend Arthur.” He wrenched his car door open, wincing at the pained squeak of the hinges, and clambered in without waiting for a reply.
Arthur watched him noisily drive away and smiled reluctantly after him.
***
Merlin’s weekend, it seemed, was filled with writing and rewriting lesson plans, marking, and narrowly avoiding an apoplectic fit when his washing machine stopped working and he realised that a small damp clump of washed exemption slips had clogged up the pipes. He took great delight in cursing Arthur from the safety of his own kitchen. At least there he didn’t have to worry about those stupid big blue eyes of his guilting him into feeling less anger than he was justified in.
He considered giving Arthur the bill for the plumber he called out to fix the machine, but decided there was no point since Arthur could easily afford to pay it without batting an eyelid. He wouldn’t give the prat the satisfaction of knowing that he’d done something as stupid as wash his clothes without checking the pockets anyway.
Monday came all too soon and Merlin was starting to wonder if he’d ever make it through this first term without having some sort of mental breakdown, or winding up in prison for committing murder on a certain member of the PE department.
When lunch time rolled around without Merlin losing any of his students to the sports field he started to feel suspicious, a clear sign of the uneasy relationship he had with Arthur.
He felt vindicated when his subtle questioning of Gwen revealed that Arthur had taken a small group of A Level students to a tournament for the day and so he wasn’t actually on site.
Gaius dropped into his classroom during a free period when he was writing a test and asked politely about his weekend. Merlin thought of the hour he’d spent mopping his kitchen floor and the mountain of unwashed clothes before giving a non-committal murmur to the amused quirking of Gaius’s eyebrow.
Tuesday went largely without incident as well and when Wednesday arrived Merlin was almost feeling kindly towards Arthur until his first class arrived and he was greeted with by a tiny boy brandishing an exemption slip signed ‘Mr. P’ with a flourish that Merlin thought was almost smug. He wanted to question the student, completely at a loss to attribute him to any sport, but refrained certain that the conversation would be reported back to Arthur in an instant. So he dismissed the boy without comment and turned his attention back to the class, only to find himself the subject of Mordred’s disturbingly unfaltering gaze, bolt upright in his seat in the back row.
Although Mordred didn’t say a word during the whole lesson, Merlin could feel the boy’s eyes firmly fixed on him throughout the class. It made him feel so uncomfortable the he started looking everywhere but at the small boy, which in turn made him feel like a bad teacher, which in turn made him feel a little flustered.
To make things worse Mordred loitered at the end of the lesson, eyes still fixed on him as he approached the desk.
“Is everything all right, Mordred?” Merlin asked in what he hoped was a friendly tone.
“Not really,” Mordred replied, leaning on Merlin’s desk and watching him as he sorted through some papers ready for the next lesson.
“Well, what seems to be the problem?”
“It’s Mr. P,” Mordred replied glumly. “I hate him.”
Merlin nearly laughed, but decided it would probably be unprofessional to do so and instead put his serious face in place.
“Well, that’s not how you should be talking about another teacher, now is it?”
Mordred shrugged. “He makes me do PE even when he knows I’m no good at it. Sir, can’t you get me out of it?”
Although there was nothing Merlin would like more than to withdraw students from Arthur’s class he couldn’t, wouldn’t, do it without a legitimate reason so he gave Mordred an apologetic smile and said, “I’m sorry Mordred, I can’t do that unless you have a genuine reason for missing the lesson.”
Mordred scowled, “But Sir, he pulls people from yours all the time.”
“Not because he wants to.” Merlin said, his voice sounding false to his own ears.
Mordred was clearly not convinced. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m sorry Mordred. I would help you if I could.” Merlin said mentally chastising his bothersome conscience for making itself known and not simply allowing him to sign an exemption slip to show the smug prat what it felt like.
Mordred narrowed his eyes and looked almost sinister. “Fine.”
“You’re going to be late.” Merlin said, glancing at the clock.
He watched as Mordred left the classroom dragging his feet.
***
“Do you ever have students that you feel…uneasy about?” Merlin asked Gwen as they commandeered two seats in a secluded corner of the staff room that lunchtime.
“Not really, no.” Gwen replied. “Why, has something happened?”
Merlin thought about it for a moment and then decided he was probably being ridiculous. What sort of teacher was he if he allowed himself to be intimidated by a thirteen year old boy, especially a thirteen year old boy who had done nothing more than asked to be pulled from a PE lesson?
“Oh, nothing,” Merlin replied with a false smile. “Never mind.”
Thankfully Gwen didn’t press the issue and Merlin decided not to dwell on it. He had problems enough without inventing more of them in his own head.
***
His main problem, the tall blond one, relentlessly troubled him through the week and into the last lesson on Friday afternoon, the lesson hated by students and staff alike. An important rugby match meant that Merlin was left examining the ethics of war with a class predominantly consisting of disinterested girls more involved in spying on the rugby game through the windows of his classroom until Merlin almost suggested they all just give up and go outside to ogle men in shorts
After school he marched quickly towards his car, pausing only to poke his head into the largest Art classroom and say goodbye to Morgana and Gwen, eager to leave work –and Arthur- behind him for another weekend. He tore out of the car park as inconspicuously as possible, and pulled into his drive with a relieved sigh twenty minutes later.
He decided not to do any schoolwork that night, deciding instead to catch up with missed TV shows.
He was halfway through a fascinating documentary about meerkats when a knock at the door startled him. Who the hell would be visiting him at this time of night?
He sighed and trudged down the hall to the front door, hoping to get rid of whoever it was quickly.
What he wasn’t expecting was to find Arthur Pendragon standing on the other side of the door, smirk in place when he opened it. Merlin blinked at him in surprise
“Arthur? What do you want?”
“You,” Arthur growled, pushing his way inside and pinning him up against the wall, one large hand wrapped around both his wrists while the other was slowly working at the buttons on his trousers.
“You know we both want this,” Arthur purred in his ear and Merlin could feel his breath tickling him. He put up a half-hearted struggle before relaxing into Arthur’s touch.
“Yes,” Merlin gasped in reply. “God, yes, I do. Now, Arthur, please.”
Arthur lips captured his in a kiss that literally knocked the breath from his body. His eyes rolled with pleasure as Arthur ground his body against his, their erections rubbing against each other through their clothes, and already Merlin knew it wasn’t enough.
“Arthur,” he moaned. “I want you.”
“And I want you, Merlin,” Arthur growled in response, tearing at his clothes while Merlin groaned and writhed beneath him.
He awoke with a gasp, painfully hard and still able to feel Arthur’s body against his even as the dream faded. The documentary was still on TV, the meerkats appearing to stare at him with taunting eyes.
“Oh, fucking hell!”
***
By the time Monday morning arrived Merlin was almost in a state of panic. He’d dreamt of himself and Arthur in increasing states of undress every night over the weekend and was actually praying as he parked his car that he would be spared the sight of the man who stalked his dreams.
His prayers went unanswered.
“All right Merlin?” called Arthur across the car park with a cheerfulness that almost hinted at friendship between them.
Merlin managed to squeak some sort of response that seemed to satisfy Arthur who strode off in the direction of the Sports Hall with effortless grace. Merlin forced himself to stare in the opposite direction.
This was not good. In fact it was downright bad. He had some sort of…thing for the Headteacher’s son, who from what Merlin could tell was very much straight.
As if his life couldn’t get any worse. He was half expecting to get dragged into Uther’s office and fired on the spot for having inappropriate dreams. Nothing of the sort happened though, and there wasn’t even a whiff of an exemption slip, which just made things worse. It would be so much easier if Arthur would do something annoying so Merlin could go back to hating him again.
Instead, Arthur seemed to live to thwart Merlin who, after three exemption slip-free days, was beginning to wonder if he’d simply imagined the first two weeks or if he was, in fact, just going insane.
Although Arthur avoided him during the day, the dream version of him continued to make a nuisance of himself and by the end of the week Merlin was exhausted and almost terrified of running into Arthur again in case something happened.
“Merlin, are you all right?” Gwen asked as they drank tea quietly in the staff room on Friday afternoon. “You’ve been a bit…distracted this week.”
“What?” Merlin asked. “Oh, no, I’m fine. Really.”
Gwen didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Merlin replied with a forced smile. “I’m just tired. Thank God for the weekend.”
“Try and get some sleep over the weekend,” Gwen replied with a gentle pat on his knee. “You don’t want to wear yourself out this early on in the term.”
Merlin couldn’t bring himself to tell her that sleep was what was causing the problem in the first place so he simply smiled and nodded.
He scurried to the car park, looking backwards and forwards to check that the coast was clear. He couldn’t see anyone at all. Heaving a sigh of relief, he started towards his car, digging in his pockets to find his keys.
“Hello Merlin.” Arthur said, appearing out of nowhere in front of him.
Merlin made a startled noise that sounded something like “meep!” Arthur grinned at him in response and Merlin wondered whether he’d been lying in wait
“Can I help you?” he asked eventually when Arthur said nothing more but continued to grin like a loon.
Arthur paused and looked as if he was about to say something but then he appeared to change his mind. “No. Have a nice weekend Merlin.” He said and stepped to one side to let him pass.
Merlin walked the rest of the way to his car telling himself under no circumstances was he to look back. Unfortunately he didn’t have much of a choice given that he needed to use his rear view mirror to reverse out of his parking space.
Arthur was still behind him, watching him with that idiotic smile on his face. Merlin wondered whether Arthur was having some kind of psychotic episode. It would certainly explain the lack of exemption slips this week. Or maybe Merlin himself was having a breakdown and Arthur wasn’t really there at all.
He drove out of the car park, checking his mirror constantly until Arthur was out of sight.
***
The next few weeks were fairly exemption slip-free and Merlin barely saw Arthur at all; when he did it was from the safe vantage point behind his classroom window as Arthur jogged about the school sports pitches waving his arms about and shouting at whichever team happened to be playing there.
Merlin let out a huge sigh as his final class of the half term poured from his classroom, relieved that he’d survived this far without further incidents like those in his first fortnight.
He was completely unprepared when the door to his classroom opened and Arthur strolled in wearing that idiotic grin.
Merlin blinked at him. “Uh…hello. I didn’t think you knew where the main building was.”
Arthur actually, genuinely, laughed, which made Merlin feel even more anxious.
“I was just heading home,” Arthur said. “Thought I’d pop in on my way past. I bet you’re looking forward to the holiday. A week of rest and relaxation. I’m heading to Switzerland tomorrow to go skiing. What about you? Have you got anything fun planned?”
Merlin gestured at the huge pile of mock exam papers sitting on his desk. “Marking and then more marking.”
“Oh,” said Arthur.
Merlin began stuffing the papers into his bag. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when pupils write in your lessons.”
Arthur laughed again. “Well, you’ve got to have some fun. Do you want to go for a drink first?”
“A drink?” echoed Merlin staring at Arthur.
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“No, with David Beckham. Of course with me you idiot.”
“Um.” Merlin was wondering if he’d fallen asleep again and whether this dream vision of Arthur would bound across the room and throw him on his desk without warning and…ok, he really shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. Especially since Arthur was showing no signs of bounding and was in fact looking at him expectantly.
“Um.” Merlin said again.
“It’s not a difficult question,” Arthur pressed. “There’s a pub just around the corner that does a great pint of Guinness.”
Merlin blinked at Arthur again. This definitely didn’t feel like one of those dreams, but he knew that having one drink with Arthur would probably lead to another drink and that would lead to drunkenness and that would lead to drunken confessions of lust. Oh, God!
“Sorry, I can’t,” Merlin replied hurriedly.
“Oh,” Arthur replied and he actually sounded disappointed. “Well, maybe another time.”
“Yeah, another time. Sure. Great. Well, have fun skiing.”
And with that he all but fled the classroom.
***
Half term passed quickly and Merlin soon found himself in front of his classes again. He still tried to avoid Arthur as much as possible and often found himself hiding in Morgana’s classroom, which Arthur never visited unless he absolutely had to.
“You shouldn’t have to run away from Arthur.” Morgana said cheerily and Merlin wondered why he’d ever been afraid of her. “I’ll kick his arse for you if you like.”
Merlin denied that he was running away and ignored Morgana’s disbelieving snort.
“Well I don’t think you hide out here simply for the pleasure of my company.” She said.
“Well why not?” Merlin asked. “And you always have nice biscuits.”
She flashed him a grin. “They’re Gwen’s favourites actually.”
“I always knew she had good taste,” Merlin replied. “Where is she anyway?”
It had become sort of a tradition that the three of them would have tea and biscuits together during the breaks and sometimes after school before they headed home. They were the times Merlin enjoyed most.
“She’s just getting some supplies for tomorrows lessons,” Morgana replied as she dipped her biscuit into her tea. “We’re thinking of going to the pub after this if you want to join us. There’s a nice one around the corner that does a great pint of Guinness.”
Merlin flinched but forced a smile. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
Morgana looked at him curiously and Merlin had to force himself to return her steady gaze without faltering.
“Well,” Morgana said eventually, “perhaps it’s time you found out.”
“I don’t really drink Guinness.” Merlin said, stalling, but he knew he was going to agree and by the time Gwen arrived with her arms full of paper he’d already pulled on his coat.
***
Merlin sat at a table in the corner of The Crown nursing his half of lager and lime whilst Gwen and Morgana went to the bar to order more drinks. He casually glanced around, his eyes drawn to the door as it opened and a couple walked in hand in hand. He wondered whether Arthur was going to turn up for drinks and what he would say if he did.
He watched as the couple settled into a low sofa by the window and wondered where he and Arthur would have sat if he’d accepted Arthur’s invitation to a drink. Then he scolded himself for thinking of the prat and returned his gaze firmly to the bar where Morgana was shamelessly flirting with the barman.
It wasn’t as though Arthur had asked him out for romantic reasons anyway. No one as manly and prattish as Arthur could be anything other than straight. No, he needed to stop thinking about it and concentrate on his friends, who were now heading back to join him.
“William over there just gave me his phone number,” Morgana said with a grin as she settled her Guinness on the table and sat down.
Merlin smiled. “Uh, congratulations. Are you going to phone him?”
Morgana tossed the piece of paper onto the table. “Actually, he wanted me to give it to you. You interested at all?”
Merlin’s eyes widened. “Uh…”
Gwen smiled soothingly. “He seems really nice. Friendly.”
Merlin was blinking rapidly as a thousand thoughts rushed through his head; unsure of how to answer what the girls were really asking him. Morgana’s face softened. “Don’t look so worried.” She said, picking up the scrap of paper and holding it out towards him.
Merlin glanced over at the bar where William was busy serving customers. He wasn’t bad looking, although he reminded him a little too much of someone he used to go out with when he was at college and Merlin wasn’t at all sure that was a good thing. He looked back at Morgana at the proffered paper and realised this wasn’t a trick or a nasty trap. These were his friends. So, he plucked the phone number from Morgana’s fingers in a silent affirmation to their unasked question. Gwen patted his hand reassuringly and suddenly everything was all right again.
The door opened again and he looked up quickly to see a girl push through the increasing crowd towards the bar.
“Are you expecting someone?” Morgana asked looking thoughtful.
“No.” He replied a little hastily.
Gwen and Morgana exchanged glances and Merlin decided he didn’t want to know what they were thinking. He turned his head away from the door and saw that William was staring right at him. He smiled politely and dropped his eyes to his drink and refused to look up again for several minutes until he realised that Gwen had asked him a question and he had no idea what it was.
“Er…” he said. “Yes?”
Gwen was visibly shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter. Morgana was almost cackling. Whatever it was that had them in such a state he really didn’t want to know.
He downed the remainder of his glass and stood abruptly. “It’s been fun. I’ve got to go.”
“Aww! Don’t go,” Morgana pouted as Gwen continued to laugh. “We want to know all about the dress you’re going to buy for the Christmas party.”
Merlin blushed and fled to the sound of laughter.
Sometimes he hated his life.
* * *
Merlin picked at his Christmas pudding whilst Morgana summoned a waiter and, with a gratuitous display of her cleavage, ordered another bottle of wine and made the poor man turn an alarming shade of red.
Merlin snorted loudly which just earned him an amused grin from Morgana as she turned her attention to him.
“I’m not sure whether to be sad or relieved that you’re not wearing the lovely dress you promised me and Gwen.”
Merlin was saved from answering as the waiter returned. He tried to cover his glass with his hand but Morgana was quicker and sloshed wine into it before he could reach.
Gwen caught his eye and smiled at him. “Uther’s picking up the bar tab tonight Merlin.”
Merlin glanced over towards the other table where Uther was holding court, in between Arthur and Gaius.
His eyes settled on Arthur, but definitely didn’t linger there. He certainly didn’t fixate on the way Arthur’s lips indecently wrapped themselves around the end of a chocolate éclair.
“It’s the wine,” he announced suddenly to Morgana, snapping his head around to focus on her. “It’s evil.”
“Don’t be silly.” she said brusquely as she sipped from her glass.
Merlin frowned at his Christmas pudding. He suddenly felt very full and rather light headed.
From the far end of the room there was a sudden blaring of disco lights as the DJ began to warm up.
“Oh good.” Morgana beamed.
Merlin glanced back at Arthur’s table, no Uther’s table, most definitely not Arthur’s. The headmaster looked decidedly displeased at the music that was starting to play and rose from his seat, clapping Arthur on the shoulder before sweeping out of the room with Gaius close behind.
Arthur was watching as the door closed behind the elder teachers. After about a minute he tugged off his tie, unbuttoned the first couple of shirt buttons and settled back into his chair beckoning a waiter over.
Merlin realised he’d been staring and abruptly dropped his gaze to his plate and poked at his pudding with his spoon.
“Either eat it or leave it Merlin,” Morgana said. “Stop playing with it.”
“I think I need some more wine,” Merlin announced, a blush flushing his cheeks a shade of red that he hoped was hidden by the darkness of the room. He pushed his bowl away knowing full well he wasn’t going to eat any more of the pudding.
Morgana smirked at him as he finished his glass with a rather unrefined gulp and filled it to the brim.
Around them, people were pushing their chairs back and edging slowly onto the dance floor, claiming space with the sudden discarding of heels and bags and the flailing of arms
Merlin kept his eyes lowered and fixed firmly on his wine glass, which was now slightly less in focus than it had been at the start of the night.
“Are you coming to dance?” Morgana asked and Merlin could hear the amusement in her voice as he shook his head
“I’ll just…um…” he said inarticulately.
Morgana and Gwen left him nursing his wine as they enthusiastically joined the growing crowd on the dance floor.
Merlin watched as Arthur pushed back his chair abruptly and walked to the bar, beckoning over the harassed-looking barman imperiously and gesticulating wildly as he placed an order.
He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as Arthur knocked back a rather generous glass of whisky before making his way onto the dance floor and starting to...well, Merlin wouldn't call it dancing exactly but he looked happy.
And it was fascinating.
Merlin stared as Arthur gyrated about, waving his arms and even causing Morgana to smile indulgently at him.
Merlin turned abruptly to the person nearest to him. “Have you planned anything nice for this Christmas?”
“Well….” came the rather breathy reply.
Then Merlin looked properly at the person he’d addressed and his heart sank.
Mr Hurt was the school careers advisor, and a man to be avoided at all costs. Not content with offering advice to his students, he seemed determined to dispense wisdom to anyone who would talk to him, which is why Uther had set up the careers office in the most remote part of the school.
“Christmas is a time for celebration, that is true,” Mr Hurt began. “But it is also a time for reflection and contemplation.”
Merlin didn’t quite know how to respond. Fortunately, it seemed that Mr Hurt wasn’t expecting a reply.
“A time to consider all that has come and all that is yet to come.” He gave Merlin a look that implied that Merlin should be immediately struck with wonder at this magnificent pronouncement. Instead Merlin drained his glass and groped around on the table for the bottle.
Mr Hurt gave a long-suffering sigh. “You are young, and have much yet to learn.”
Merlin simply nodded and filled his glass to the brim with more wine. Right now he wanted nothing more than to drink himself into unconsciousness so that this would all be over.
Mr. Hurt leant forward onto his elbows. “None of us can know our destiny Merlin. And none can escape it.”
Merlin was beginning to think that the risk of being caught ogling Arthur and his obscenely clingy trousers on the dance floor was preferable to trying to decipher Mr. Hurt’s well-meaning but enigmatic remarks.
Suddenly someone draped themselves over the back of his chair with their chin on his shoulder.
“Why aren’t you dancing?”
Merlin sighed. Arthur. Of all the people to come and rescue him, why did it have to be Arthur?
“Uh...” he said, and let out a yelp as Arthur tugged him to his feet.
“Come on, Merlin. Stop sitting around like a useless idiot and come and have some fun.”
Merlin wobbled to his feet and watched as Arthur made his way back onto the dance floor. There was no way on earth he was dancing with that prat.
He lowered his eyes and made a hasty retreat to the toilets.
It was cooler in the toilets and the change in temperature made Merlin slightly disoriented as he stumbled into a cubicle and sank down upon the closed lid putting his head in his hands.
Behind his tightly scrunched eyelids the image of Arthur dancing replayed itself over and over again until he groaned loudly.
“Are you all right?”
Merlin didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there but Arthur’s voice snapped him back to reality and he had to resist the urge to bang his head against the wall.
“Gwen and Morgana thought you might have drowned or choked on your own vomit,” Arthur continued, sounding less and less amused with each word.
"I'm fine,” Merlin grunted.
Arthur was clearly unconvinced and rattled the locked door gently. “Can you open the door Merlin?”
Merlin wanted to childishly shout that he didn’t want to open the door and wouldn’t Arthur please just go away so he could be left alone with his inappropriate thoughts. Instead he got up and clicked open the lock.
Arthur frowned down at him. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” Merlin groaned. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“Come on,” Arthur said, offering his hand. “Let’s show the girls you’re still alive and I’ll call you a taxi home.”
“Don’t need your help,” Merlin huffed, suddenly not caring how childish he sounded.
“Well, it’s a good thing it wasn’t an offer then,” Arthur replied, pulling Merlin to his feet and dragging him outside.
Morgana and Gwen were lurking just outside the door. Gwen gave Merlin a sympathetic pat but Morgana bestowed her shrewdest look upon him and frowned in thought.
“I’m not drunk.” Merlin said before he realised that were precisely what he’d say if he were drunk and it was therefore no help at all. Morgana rolled her eyes and fell into step alongside Merlin and Arthur as they headed for the door. Merlin moaned when the fresh air hit him with an icy blast and he pulled his coat tighter around him.
“I’ll go and call a taxi,” Arthur said, addressing Gwen and Morgana more than Merlin. “Will you be all right with him for a few minutes?”
Morgana nodded and took Arthur's place holding Merlin upright.
Merlin watched through hazy vision until Arthur was out of sight before sighing.
“Arthur’s stupid.”
“Yes Merlin,” Morgana said soothingly. “The wine is evil, Arthur’s stupid…anything else?”
“You look better in a dress than I would.” Merlin said shivering.
Morgana laughed softly.
“Taxi should be here in a minute.” Arthur said as he rejoined them.
“Thank you,” Gwen said gratefully. “He’s not normally like this.”
“Are you gonna tell daddy that I’m an alcofrolick?” Merlin asked, pulling away from Morgana and stumbling into Arthur. “You are cos you don’t like me. I know.”
“You don’t have to stay, I’ll wait with him.” Arthur said, ignoring Merlin and looking pointedly at Morgana and Gwen, who were inappropriately dressed for the cold night air.
Gwen looked undecided but Morgana nodded resolutely and marched her back inside.
“I don’t dislike you Merlin.” Arthur said unexpectedly as he slid his arm around Merlin to keep him from stumbling.
Merlin curled into Arthur's warmth, vaguely aware that Arthur was talking to him but he couldn’t hear the words. He was tired and he just wanted to go home and sleep, as soon as everything stopped spinning of course.
“Mmm.” He said sleepily, acutely aware of Arthur’s hand briskly rubbing up and down his arm in an attempt to stop him shivering.
“Not at all.” Arthur murmured.
“Oh look!” Said Merlin spotting the headlights of the taxi pulling into the car park. “Lights!”
He heard Arthur sigh above him as he held onto Merlin with one arm and opened the taxi door with his free hand.
“I ain’t taking him anywhere,” the taxi driver growled. “He might puke in the car.”
Arthur sighed again as he manoeuvred Merlin into the back seat.
“Here,” he said, disappearing from Merlin’s sight. “This should cover everything.”
The driver made unclear noises of acceptance as Merlin fumbled with his seatbelt.
“Good night Merlin.” Arthur said and shut the door firmly.
Merlin lent against the window and slurred his address to the driver, who drove out of the car park and tutted annoyingly at random intervals until they pulled up outside Merlin’s house.
Merlin mumbled incoherent thanks to the taxi driver and after several failed attempts at removing his seatbelt he finally staggered to his front door.
Getting his keys out of his pockets proved another challenge; when he was finally inside he decided the stairs weren’t worth the effort and collapsed on the sofa instead. He fell asleep almost immediately to dreams of pressing tightly against Arthur as they gyrated around the dance floor whilst Mr. Hurt twittered on about destiny.
Part 2
Author:
lou_angel and hilsRating: PG-13
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Arthur
Words: 17,000
Summary: Merlin's first teaching job isn't going off to a good start. He's got to deal with an infuriating PE teacher who he either wants to punch or jump, he's not sure which, and some of his students bring a whole new meaning to the word evil
Thanks to
lady_carfax for the beta workMerlin hadn’t always wanted to be a teacher. When he was a little boy he wanted to be a magician. He’d spend hours in his room practising card tricks until he got them right. Sadly, though, it wasn’t to be. His mother put a stop to any dream of magic as a profession after an unfortunate incident resulted in him nearly setting fire to the kitchen.
It was the start of term, and Merlin’s first day at work. Nervous butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he stood at the front of the classroom with thirty pairs of eyes watching him curiously. This was the make-or-break moment for him. They were already sizing him up, calculating what they would and wouldn’t be able to get away with.
“My name is Mr. Emrys,” he announced in what he hoped was a confident-sounding voice. “I’m sure you’ll hear it from someone soon enough so I’m just going to say it now: yes, my first name really is Merlin. Any jokes you think you are witty enough to come up with I can assure you I’ve heard them before, so just keep them to yourself.”
There were a few stifled sniggers but nothing like the riotous laughter or jeering calls that all new teachers dreaded that first night before they stepped out from the safety of their training and faced the class alone. Merlin concentrated on taking a few steady breaths before he launched into his explanation of what they would be covering that term; this was familiar territory and he felt his stomach settling.
His first lesson passed quickly, without any remarkable incidents, negative or otherwise, and he soon found himself scurrying around collecting worksheets and scrubbing the board clean as his next class trickled in.
He repeated the performance, calmer and more confidently this time, and was greeted by the unblinking stares of the pupils. There was almost no sound at all and he paused as he tried to read their reactions.
A small child at the back of the class slowly raised his hand.
“Yes?” Merlin said glancing down at the seating plan he’d drawn up while taking the register. It would take a while for him to learn all the children’s names. “Mordred, what is it?”
“Sir, how old are you, sir?”
“Four hundred and ninety two,” Merlin replied in a deadpan tone. Most of the children laughed but Mordred just looked at him curiously.
“Are you married, sir?” Another child asked.
Merlin was used to it. In all the placement schools he’d worked in during his training these were the questions the children always asked first. He considered whether or not to ignore the question but eventually succumbed to a short “No, not yet.”
“Sir, why do we have to do RE?” Another child asked.
Merlin had prepared himself for this question. He didn’t just hear it from his students. “I’m very glad you asked that.” He said as he turned on the projector. “That is actually the topic of today’s lesson.”
He began passing out exercise books as he introduced the aims of the lesson, conscious of Mordred’s cool gaze following him as he walked. There was something a little unnerving about the shrewd look upon the boy’s face. Merlin did his best to ignore it and was relieved when the bell rang. He dismissed the class for break and rushed to the staff room for tea.
“Tea,” he muttered to himself as he rummaged through the cupboards. “Must have tea.”
It took him five minutes to locate the teabags and another five to wait for the kettle to boil. By that time he was wondering if anyone would notice if he added some gin to the mug.
“It’s ok to be nervous on your first day,” said a gentle voice behind him, causing him to almost drop his mug as he turned around to see who was talking to him.
The girl who was addressing him winced and gave an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No, it’s ok.” He said quickly, not wanting to frighten off the first friendly face he’d seen. “I was just…thinking.”
She gave him a small, relieved smile. “Hi, I’m Gwen.”
“Merlin, RE teacher.” He said, looking around for milk.
Gwen passed him a bottle and he took it gratefully. “Don’t worry.” She said. “It all takes a bit of getting used to.”
Merlin looked at her curiously. It was obvious that she knew the school well but she couldn’t be much older than him. “Have you worked here long?” he asked.
“A couple of years,” she said making two mugs of coffee; one milky and one strong and black, “I’m Morgana’s teaching assistant.” At Merlin’s blank look she gave a small laugh and explained, “In the Art Department.” She stirred her drinks and darted a glance towards the clock.
Merlin followed her gaze and sighed when he realised break time was nearly over.
“It never seems long enough.” Gwen said as she moved towards the door. “See you around Merlin.”
He watched her go and gulped down his tea, wincing as it scalded his throat. So much for a soothing drink between lessons. Still, at least he’d met at least one person who was nice and friendly. He just hoped the rest of the teachers were the same.
* * *
“What’s this?”
Merlin stared at the piece of paper that was being wafted in front of his face by one of his larger and more athletic-looking students.
“It’s an exemption slip,” the boy explained as though Merlin was some sort of idiot. “I’m on the football team.”
Merlin raised an eyebrow. “Uh good for you… Why does that mean you can’t attend my lesson exactly?”
“Mr P. needs me for practise. We’ve got a big match in a couple of weeks.”
Merlin frowned. It was only the first day of term and already it seemed that students were avoiding his lessons. He took a few moments to quell the brief spell of panic. It was inconceivable that his reputation as the “new teacher” had already spread around the school causing students to flee in horror. He was just thrown by the unexpected situation.
“Um, ok.” He said eventually, tucking the slip into his mark book and waving the boy away with a vague hand gesture. The student gave him an almost pitying look and stalked from the classroom.
Merlin glanced around at the faces of the rest of the class but none of them appeared to have even noticed the boy’s exit so he concluded that this couldn’t be that unusual.
However, he wasn’t quite prepared for how common an occurrence it would be.
“I’ve got a lacrosse game on Friday,” a girl told him at the start of his next lesson, waving a familiar looking slip of paper at him. “Mr P. needs the team to go over some last minute tactics.”
“Does this happen a lot?” he asked her, curiosity getting the better of him as he pocketed the slip alongside the first one.
The girl simply shrugged.
In his next lesson he lost three students to the mysterious Mr. P and by the time they got to the afternoon tea break he had ten slips of paper in his pocket. He headed to the staff room, hoping Gwen would be there so he could ask her about it.
She was there and she wasn’t alone.
“Merlin, this is Morgana.”
“Hi.” Merlin said uncomfortably as Gwen’s regal-looking companion regarded him with sharp, intelligent eyes.
“Nice to meet you Merlin,” she smiled suddenly and her face softened. “How’s your first day going?”
“Not bad,” Merlin said, still uncertain, twisting his fingers together absently.
Morgana smiled at him again and disappeared into the photocopying room.
“She’s not as scary as she looks,” remarked Gwen.
Merlin gave a short, distracted, bark of laughter and slipped his hands into his pockets to still them. He felt the crumple of the numerous pieces of paper inside and his face sobered.
“Gwen, is it normal to have lots of students missing lessons for sports practise?”
“Ah.” Said Gwen.
“I take it that’s a “yes” then.”
She winced uncomfortably. “It’s not all lessons. Just the ones the headmaster doesn't consider important like RE and Art.”
“Oh, so does Morgana lose students too?” Merlin asked hopefully, desperate to not be the only one this was happening to.
“Well, not really,” Gwen replied. “But it’s only because Arthur is scared of her. Not that he’d ever admit that of course. Arthur tried to pull kids from her lessons but...well, Morgana can be quite intimidating when she wants to be.”
“I assume Arthur is this Mr. P I’ve been hearing so much about.”
Gwen nodded. “He’s the PE teacher and…well, he thinks his subject is the most important one in the school.”
Merlin snorted.
“Seriously, don’t let it get to you. He did the same thing to the last teacher.”
“That really doesn’t make me feel better.”
“Well, just don’t take it personally then.”
Merlin rolled his eyes and headed back to his classroom for the final lesson of the day.
He was immediately confronted by a small group of girls all waving exemption slips. His jaw tensed and he almost growled at them “What’s this?”
“We’re all on the Netball team sir.” One of the girls simpered “and Mr. P wants us.” They giggled and Merlin had a brief, glorious, vision of throwing a chair at the mysterious Mr. P’s head.
“Fine, go.” He snapped, harshly enough to send the girls scurrying away. This was the last straw. This was a GCSE class and there was no way these girls were going to pass their exam if they missed every other lesson for some stupid sports thing.
He decided to pay Mr. P a visit after school and let him know just how little he appreciated losing half his students on the first day.
* * *
By the time the final bell rang and Merlin had dismissed his class he was absolutely fuming. He stomped across the field towards the small cabin where the PE offices were and burst inside, not waiting for an answer to his cursory knock.
The sole occupant of the office swirled round to fix Merlin with a brilliant blue stare. Merlin ignored it and launched into his tirade. “Right, that’s it!”
“That’s what?”
The slightly amused smile in response to Merlin’s initial outburst did little to calm his rage. He could feel himself trembling as he continued, wishing nothing more than to wipe that smirk from his face.
“It’s my first day and I’ve lost fifteen students because you apparently think sport is more important than actually learning something. Sport isn’t even a real subject! What the hell gives you the right to pull people out of my lessons so you can play around in the sun for an hour?”
“Sorry, who are you?”
Merlin thought he might explode. “I’m Merlin Emrys.” He said through gritted teeth, and was not pleased when he heard a snort of laughter.
“Well, your parents had a good sense of humour.”
Merlin narrowed his eyes. “That is irrelevant. It’s only the first day of term and you’re already pulling kids out of my classes, even the GCSE ones…how do you expect them to actually learn?”
“Well, unlike you, Merlin, I bothered to learn the names of all the teachers this year and what they teach. Do you really think any of your students will gain anything by learning about going to church?”
Merlin’s eyes widened and his hands clenched into fists at his side. “You are such a conceited ass! If you’d bothered to look at the curriculum you’d know that I teach a hell of a lot more than that. Things like morals and ethics which I’m guessing you know nothing about.” He glared and was not pleased to see his opponents lips curl derisively.
“You can’t talk to me like that.” He said smoothly. “Do you know who I am?”
Merlin huffed irritably.
“Arthur,” came the delighted reply, “Arthur Pendragon. The Headmaster’s son.”
“Well that explains a lot.” Merlin said but he felt the pit of his stomach give way and wished the floor would open up beneath his feet. “I suppose being the Head’s son you’re used to getting your own way all the time.”
Arthur simply shrugged again. “No, I get what I want because I’m focussed and good at my job. Now, this is the part where you apologise and leave.”
Arthur treated him to a smug grin, which just made Merlin’s anger rise again.
“Oh, right, of course,” Merlin replied. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s better.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry you’re such a prat. Really, it’s quite tragic.”
And with that he turned and left, making sure to slam the door behind him. All in all his first day could probably have gone better; he wouldn’t at all be surprised if he found himself fired in the morning.
Great.
* * *
“Arthur’s not that bad really, but you should try not to lose your temper with him.”
Merlin ducked his head to avoid the knowing gaze of his mentor Gaius, a well-liked teacher of an indeterminate age that had worked in the Science Department for as long as anyone could remember. He always mentored new teachers as they settled into the school, and he and Merlin had formed a rapport almost immediately.
“I’m sorry Gaius,” Merlin said honestly, “I was just so angry. I felt…belittled.”
“Arthur doesn’t have it easy either.” Gaius said gently. “You’ll just have to learn to get along. It wouldn’t do to have the students know of anything other than an entirely professional relationship between any members of staff. And it would be wise not to let anything like this get to Uther’s ears either.”
At the mention of the Headmaster, Merlin paled. “I’m not going to get fired am I?”
“Don’t be absurd,” Gaius said, “just don’t let it happen again.”
“I won’t let you down Gaius.” Merlin said.
***
Merlin tried not to react when more and more students dropped out of his lessons to attend various sporting events. He’d promised Gaius he wouldn’t make an issue out of it and, as hard as it was, so far he’d managed it. He was just grateful that the PE offices were so far away from the school’s main building so he never ran into Arthur. Frankly he’d be happy if he never saw the prat again.
Of course it was too much to hope for.
“Nice car,” Arthur grinned when they ran into each other in the car park one evening after school.
Merlin eyed Arthur’s sleek red Ferrari with disdain. “Yeah, well, not all of us can have Daddy buy us whatever we want.”
He was surprised when Arthur actually looked slightly ashamed.
“Well, um…” said Merlin inarticulately, feeling guilty. “Have a nice weekend Arthur.” He wrenched his car door open, wincing at the pained squeak of the hinges, and clambered in without waiting for a reply.
Arthur watched him noisily drive away and smiled reluctantly after him.
***
Merlin’s weekend, it seemed, was filled with writing and rewriting lesson plans, marking, and narrowly avoiding an apoplectic fit when his washing machine stopped working and he realised that a small damp clump of washed exemption slips had clogged up the pipes. He took great delight in cursing Arthur from the safety of his own kitchen. At least there he didn’t have to worry about those stupid big blue eyes of his guilting him into feeling less anger than he was justified in.
He considered giving Arthur the bill for the plumber he called out to fix the machine, but decided there was no point since Arthur could easily afford to pay it without batting an eyelid. He wouldn’t give the prat the satisfaction of knowing that he’d done something as stupid as wash his clothes without checking the pockets anyway.
Monday came all too soon and Merlin was starting to wonder if he’d ever make it through this first term without having some sort of mental breakdown, or winding up in prison for committing murder on a certain member of the PE department.
When lunch time rolled around without Merlin losing any of his students to the sports field he started to feel suspicious, a clear sign of the uneasy relationship he had with Arthur.
He felt vindicated when his subtle questioning of Gwen revealed that Arthur had taken a small group of A Level students to a tournament for the day and so he wasn’t actually on site.
Gaius dropped into his classroom during a free period when he was writing a test and asked politely about his weekend. Merlin thought of the hour he’d spent mopping his kitchen floor and the mountain of unwashed clothes before giving a non-committal murmur to the amused quirking of Gaius’s eyebrow.
Tuesday went largely without incident as well and when Wednesday arrived Merlin was almost feeling kindly towards Arthur until his first class arrived and he was greeted with by a tiny boy brandishing an exemption slip signed ‘Mr. P’ with a flourish that Merlin thought was almost smug. He wanted to question the student, completely at a loss to attribute him to any sport, but refrained certain that the conversation would be reported back to Arthur in an instant. So he dismissed the boy without comment and turned his attention back to the class, only to find himself the subject of Mordred’s disturbingly unfaltering gaze, bolt upright in his seat in the back row.
Although Mordred didn’t say a word during the whole lesson, Merlin could feel the boy’s eyes firmly fixed on him throughout the class. It made him feel so uncomfortable the he started looking everywhere but at the small boy, which in turn made him feel like a bad teacher, which in turn made him feel a little flustered.
To make things worse Mordred loitered at the end of the lesson, eyes still fixed on him as he approached the desk.
“Is everything all right, Mordred?” Merlin asked in what he hoped was a friendly tone.
“Not really,” Mordred replied, leaning on Merlin’s desk and watching him as he sorted through some papers ready for the next lesson.
“Well, what seems to be the problem?”
“It’s Mr. P,” Mordred replied glumly. “I hate him.”
Merlin nearly laughed, but decided it would probably be unprofessional to do so and instead put his serious face in place.
“Well, that’s not how you should be talking about another teacher, now is it?”
Mordred shrugged. “He makes me do PE even when he knows I’m no good at it. Sir, can’t you get me out of it?”
Although there was nothing Merlin would like more than to withdraw students from Arthur’s class he couldn’t, wouldn’t, do it without a legitimate reason so he gave Mordred an apologetic smile and said, “I’m sorry Mordred, I can’t do that unless you have a genuine reason for missing the lesson.”
Mordred scowled, “But Sir, he pulls people from yours all the time.”
“Not because he wants to.” Merlin said, his voice sounding false to his own ears.
Mordred was clearly not convinced. “I don’t believe you.”
“I’m sorry Mordred. I would help you if I could.” Merlin said mentally chastising his bothersome conscience for making itself known and not simply allowing him to sign an exemption slip to show the smug prat what it felt like.
Mordred narrowed his eyes and looked almost sinister. “Fine.”
“You’re going to be late.” Merlin said, glancing at the clock.
He watched as Mordred left the classroom dragging his feet.
***
“Do you ever have students that you feel…uneasy about?” Merlin asked Gwen as they commandeered two seats in a secluded corner of the staff room that lunchtime.
“Not really, no.” Gwen replied. “Why, has something happened?”
Merlin thought about it for a moment and then decided he was probably being ridiculous. What sort of teacher was he if he allowed himself to be intimidated by a thirteen year old boy, especially a thirteen year old boy who had done nothing more than asked to be pulled from a PE lesson?
“Oh, nothing,” Merlin replied with a false smile. “Never mind.”
Thankfully Gwen didn’t press the issue and Merlin decided not to dwell on it. He had problems enough without inventing more of them in his own head.
***
His main problem, the tall blond one, relentlessly troubled him through the week and into the last lesson on Friday afternoon, the lesson hated by students and staff alike. An important rugby match meant that Merlin was left examining the ethics of war with a class predominantly consisting of disinterested girls more involved in spying on the rugby game through the windows of his classroom until Merlin almost suggested they all just give up and go outside to ogle men in shorts
After school he marched quickly towards his car, pausing only to poke his head into the largest Art classroom and say goodbye to Morgana and Gwen, eager to leave work –and Arthur- behind him for another weekend. He tore out of the car park as inconspicuously as possible, and pulled into his drive with a relieved sigh twenty minutes later.
He decided not to do any schoolwork that night, deciding instead to catch up with missed TV shows.
He was halfway through a fascinating documentary about meerkats when a knock at the door startled him. Who the hell would be visiting him at this time of night?
He sighed and trudged down the hall to the front door, hoping to get rid of whoever it was quickly.
What he wasn’t expecting was to find Arthur Pendragon standing on the other side of the door, smirk in place when he opened it. Merlin blinked at him in surprise
“Arthur? What do you want?”
“You,” Arthur growled, pushing his way inside and pinning him up against the wall, one large hand wrapped around both his wrists while the other was slowly working at the buttons on his trousers.
“You know we both want this,” Arthur purred in his ear and Merlin could feel his breath tickling him. He put up a half-hearted struggle before relaxing into Arthur’s touch.
“Yes,” Merlin gasped in reply. “God, yes, I do. Now, Arthur, please.”
Arthur lips captured his in a kiss that literally knocked the breath from his body. His eyes rolled with pleasure as Arthur ground his body against his, their erections rubbing against each other through their clothes, and already Merlin knew it wasn’t enough.
“Arthur,” he moaned. “I want you.”
“And I want you, Merlin,” Arthur growled in response, tearing at his clothes while Merlin groaned and writhed beneath him.
He awoke with a gasp, painfully hard and still able to feel Arthur’s body against his even as the dream faded. The documentary was still on TV, the meerkats appearing to stare at him with taunting eyes.
“Oh, fucking hell!”
***
By the time Monday morning arrived Merlin was almost in a state of panic. He’d dreamt of himself and Arthur in increasing states of undress every night over the weekend and was actually praying as he parked his car that he would be spared the sight of the man who stalked his dreams.
His prayers went unanswered.
“All right Merlin?” called Arthur across the car park with a cheerfulness that almost hinted at friendship between them.
Merlin managed to squeak some sort of response that seemed to satisfy Arthur who strode off in the direction of the Sports Hall with effortless grace. Merlin forced himself to stare in the opposite direction.
This was not good. In fact it was downright bad. He had some sort of…thing for the Headteacher’s son, who from what Merlin could tell was very much straight.
As if his life couldn’t get any worse. He was half expecting to get dragged into Uther’s office and fired on the spot for having inappropriate dreams. Nothing of the sort happened though, and there wasn’t even a whiff of an exemption slip, which just made things worse. It would be so much easier if Arthur would do something annoying so Merlin could go back to hating him again.
Instead, Arthur seemed to live to thwart Merlin who, after three exemption slip-free days, was beginning to wonder if he’d simply imagined the first two weeks or if he was, in fact, just going insane.
Although Arthur avoided him during the day, the dream version of him continued to make a nuisance of himself and by the end of the week Merlin was exhausted and almost terrified of running into Arthur again in case something happened.
“Merlin, are you all right?” Gwen asked as they drank tea quietly in the staff room on Friday afternoon. “You’ve been a bit…distracted this week.”
“What?” Merlin asked. “Oh, no, I’m fine. Really.”
Gwen didn’t look convinced. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah,” Merlin replied with a forced smile. “I’m just tired. Thank God for the weekend.”
“Try and get some sleep over the weekend,” Gwen replied with a gentle pat on his knee. “You don’t want to wear yourself out this early on in the term.”
Merlin couldn’t bring himself to tell her that sleep was what was causing the problem in the first place so he simply smiled and nodded.
He scurried to the car park, looking backwards and forwards to check that the coast was clear. He couldn’t see anyone at all. Heaving a sigh of relief, he started towards his car, digging in his pockets to find his keys.
“Hello Merlin.” Arthur said, appearing out of nowhere in front of him.
Merlin made a startled noise that sounded something like “meep!” Arthur grinned at him in response and Merlin wondered whether he’d been lying in wait
“Can I help you?” he asked eventually when Arthur said nothing more but continued to grin like a loon.
Arthur paused and looked as if he was about to say something but then he appeared to change his mind. “No. Have a nice weekend Merlin.” He said and stepped to one side to let him pass.
Merlin walked the rest of the way to his car telling himself under no circumstances was he to look back. Unfortunately he didn’t have much of a choice given that he needed to use his rear view mirror to reverse out of his parking space.
Arthur was still behind him, watching him with that idiotic smile on his face. Merlin wondered whether Arthur was having some kind of psychotic episode. It would certainly explain the lack of exemption slips this week. Or maybe Merlin himself was having a breakdown and Arthur wasn’t really there at all.
He drove out of the car park, checking his mirror constantly until Arthur was out of sight.
***
The next few weeks were fairly exemption slip-free and Merlin barely saw Arthur at all; when he did it was from the safe vantage point behind his classroom window as Arthur jogged about the school sports pitches waving his arms about and shouting at whichever team happened to be playing there.
Merlin let out a huge sigh as his final class of the half term poured from his classroom, relieved that he’d survived this far without further incidents like those in his first fortnight.
He was completely unprepared when the door to his classroom opened and Arthur strolled in wearing that idiotic grin.
Merlin blinked at him. “Uh…hello. I didn’t think you knew where the main building was.”
Arthur actually, genuinely, laughed, which made Merlin feel even more anxious.
“I was just heading home,” Arthur said. “Thought I’d pop in on my way past. I bet you’re looking forward to the holiday. A week of rest and relaxation. I’m heading to Switzerland tomorrow to go skiing. What about you? Have you got anything fun planned?”
Merlin gestured at the huge pile of mock exam papers sitting on his desk. “Marking and then more marking.”
“Oh,” said Arthur.
Merlin began stuffing the papers into his bag. “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when pupils write in your lessons.”
Arthur laughed again. “Well, you’ve got to have some fun. Do you want to go for a drink first?”
“A drink?” echoed Merlin staring at Arthur.
“Yes.”
“With you?”
“No, with David Beckham. Of course with me you idiot.”
“Um.” Merlin was wondering if he’d fallen asleep again and whether this dream vision of Arthur would bound across the room and throw him on his desk without warning and…ok, he really shouldn’t be thinking about this right now. Especially since Arthur was showing no signs of bounding and was in fact looking at him expectantly.
“Um.” Merlin said again.
“It’s not a difficult question,” Arthur pressed. “There’s a pub just around the corner that does a great pint of Guinness.”
Merlin blinked at Arthur again. This definitely didn’t feel like one of those dreams, but he knew that having one drink with Arthur would probably lead to another drink and that would lead to drunkenness and that would lead to drunken confessions of lust. Oh, God!
“Sorry, I can’t,” Merlin replied hurriedly.
“Oh,” Arthur replied and he actually sounded disappointed. “Well, maybe another time.”
“Yeah, another time. Sure. Great. Well, have fun skiing.”
And with that he all but fled the classroom.
***
Half term passed quickly and Merlin soon found himself in front of his classes again. He still tried to avoid Arthur as much as possible and often found himself hiding in Morgana’s classroom, which Arthur never visited unless he absolutely had to.
“You shouldn’t have to run away from Arthur.” Morgana said cheerily and Merlin wondered why he’d ever been afraid of her. “I’ll kick his arse for you if you like.”
Merlin denied that he was running away and ignored Morgana’s disbelieving snort.
“Well I don’t think you hide out here simply for the pleasure of my company.” She said.
“Well why not?” Merlin asked. “And you always have nice biscuits.”
She flashed him a grin. “They’re Gwen’s favourites actually.”
“I always knew she had good taste,” Merlin replied. “Where is she anyway?”
It had become sort of a tradition that the three of them would have tea and biscuits together during the breaks and sometimes after school before they headed home. They were the times Merlin enjoyed most.
“She’s just getting some supplies for tomorrows lessons,” Morgana replied as she dipped her biscuit into her tea. “We’re thinking of going to the pub after this if you want to join us. There’s a nice one around the corner that does a great pint of Guinness.”
Merlin flinched but forced a smile. “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
Morgana looked at him curiously and Merlin had to force himself to return her steady gaze without faltering.
“Well,” Morgana said eventually, “perhaps it’s time you found out.”
“I don’t really drink Guinness.” Merlin said, stalling, but he knew he was going to agree and by the time Gwen arrived with her arms full of paper he’d already pulled on his coat.
***
Merlin sat at a table in the corner of The Crown nursing his half of lager and lime whilst Gwen and Morgana went to the bar to order more drinks. He casually glanced around, his eyes drawn to the door as it opened and a couple walked in hand in hand. He wondered whether Arthur was going to turn up for drinks and what he would say if he did.
He watched as the couple settled into a low sofa by the window and wondered where he and Arthur would have sat if he’d accepted Arthur’s invitation to a drink. Then he scolded himself for thinking of the prat and returned his gaze firmly to the bar where Morgana was shamelessly flirting with the barman.
It wasn’t as though Arthur had asked him out for romantic reasons anyway. No one as manly and prattish as Arthur could be anything other than straight. No, he needed to stop thinking about it and concentrate on his friends, who were now heading back to join him.
“William over there just gave me his phone number,” Morgana said with a grin as she settled her Guinness on the table and sat down.
Merlin smiled. “Uh, congratulations. Are you going to phone him?”
Morgana tossed the piece of paper onto the table. “Actually, he wanted me to give it to you. You interested at all?”
Merlin’s eyes widened. “Uh…”
Gwen smiled soothingly. “He seems really nice. Friendly.”
Merlin was blinking rapidly as a thousand thoughts rushed through his head; unsure of how to answer what the girls were really asking him. Morgana’s face softened. “Don’t look so worried.” She said, picking up the scrap of paper and holding it out towards him.
Merlin glanced over at the bar where William was busy serving customers. He wasn’t bad looking, although he reminded him a little too much of someone he used to go out with when he was at college and Merlin wasn’t at all sure that was a good thing. He looked back at Morgana at the proffered paper and realised this wasn’t a trick or a nasty trap. These were his friends. So, he plucked the phone number from Morgana’s fingers in a silent affirmation to their unasked question. Gwen patted his hand reassuringly and suddenly everything was all right again.
The door opened again and he looked up quickly to see a girl push through the increasing crowd towards the bar.
“Are you expecting someone?” Morgana asked looking thoughtful.
“No.” He replied a little hastily.
Gwen and Morgana exchanged glances and Merlin decided he didn’t want to know what they were thinking. He turned his head away from the door and saw that William was staring right at him. He smiled politely and dropped his eyes to his drink and refused to look up again for several minutes until he realised that Gwen had asked him a question and he had no idea what it was.
“Er…” he said. “Yes?”
Gwen was visibly shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter. Morgana was almost cackling. Whatever it was that had them in such a state he really didn’t want to know.
He downed the remainder of his glass and stood abruptly. “It’s been fun. I’ve got to go.”
“Aww! Don’t go,” Morgana pouted as Gwen continued to laugh. “We want to know all about the dress you’re going to buy for the Christmas party.”
Merlin blushed and fled to the sound of laughter.
Sometimes he hated his life.
* * *
Merlin picked at his Christmas pudding whilst Morgana summoned a waiter and, with a gratuitous display of her cleavage, ordered another bottle of wine and made the poor man turn an alarming shade of red.
Merlin snorted loudly which just earned him an amused grin from Morgana as she turned her attention to him.
“I’m not sure whether to be sad or relieved that you’re not wearing the lovely dress you promised me and Gwen.”
Merlin was saved from answering as the waiter returned. He tried to cover his glass with his hand but Morgana was quicker and sloshed wine into it before he could reach.
Gwen caught his eye and smiled at him. “Uther’s picking up the bar tab tonight Merlin.”
Merlin glanced over towards the other table where Uther was holding court, in between Arthur and Gaius.
His eyes settled on Arthur, but definitely didn’t linger there. He certainly didn’t fixate on the way Arthur’s lips indecently wrapped themselves around the end of a chocolate éclair.
“It’s the wine,” he announced suddenly to Morgana, snapping his head around to focus on her. “It’s evil.”
“Don’t be silly.” she said brusquely as she sipped from her glass.
Merlin frowned at his Christmas pudding. He suddenly felt very full and rather light headed.
From the far end of the room there was a sudden blaring of disco lights as the DJ began to warm up.
“Oh good.” Morgana beamed.
Merlin glanced back at Arthur’s table, no Uther’s table, most definitely not Arthur’s. The headmaster looked decidedly displeased at the music that was starting to play and rose from his seat, clapping Arthur on the shoulder before sweeping out of the room with Gaius close behind.
Arthur was watching as the door closed behind the elder teachers. After about a minute he tugged off his tie, unbuttoned the first couple of shirt buttons and settled back into his chair beckoning a waiter over.
Merlin realised he’d been staring and abruptly dropped his gaze to his plate and poked at his pudding with his spoon.
“Either eat it or leave it Merlin,” Morgana said. “Stop playing with it.”
“I think I need some more wine,” Merlin announced, a blush flushing his cheeks a shade of red that he hoped was hidden by the darkness of the room. He pushed his bowl away knowing full well he wasn’t going to eat any more of the pudding.
Morgana smirked at him as he finished his glass with a rather unrefined gulp and filled it to the brim.
Around them, people were pushing their chairs back and edging slowly onto the dance floor, claiming space with the sudden discarding of heels and bags and the flailing of arms
Merlin kept his eyes lowered and fixed firmly on his wine glass, which was now slightly less in focus than it had been at the start of the night.
“Are you coming to dance?” Morgana asked and Merlin could hear the amusement in her voice as he shook his head
“I’ll just…um…” he said inarticulately.
Morgana and Gwen left him nursing his wine as they enthusiastically joined the growing crowd on the dance floor.
Merlin watched as Arthur pushed back his chair abruptly and walked to the bar, beckoning over the harassed-looking barman imperiously and gesticulating wildly as he placed an order.
He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as Arthur knocked back a rather generous glass of whisky before making his way onto the dance floor and starting to...well, Merlin wouldn't call it dancing exactly but he looked happy.
And it was fascinating.
Merlin stared as Arthur gyrated about, waving his arms and even causing Morgana to smile indulgently at him.
Merlin turned abruptly to the person nearest to him. “Have you planned anything nice for this Christmas?”
“Well….” came the rather breathy reply.
Then Merlin looked properly at the person he’d addressed and his heart sank.
Mr Hurt was the school careers advisor, and a man to be avoided at all costs. Not content with offering advice to his students, he seemed determined to dispense wisdom to anyone who would talk to him, which is why Uther had set up the careers office in the most remote part of the school.
“Christmas is a time for celebration, that is true,” Mr Hurt began. “But it is also a time for reflection and contemplation.”
Merlin didn’t quite know how to respond. Fortunately, it seemed that Mr Hurt wasn’t expecting a reply.
“A time to consider all that has come and all that is yet to come.” He gave Merlin a look that implied that Merlin should be immediately struck with wonder at this magnificent pronouncement. Instead Merlin drained his glass and groped around on the table for the bottle.
Mr Hurt gave a long-suffering sigh. “You are young, and have much yet to learn.”
Merlin simply nodded and filled his glass to the brim with more wine. Right now he wanted nothing more than to drink himself into unconsciousness so that this would all be over.
Mr. Hurt leant forward onto his elbows. “None of us can know our destiny Merlin. And none can escape it.”
Merlin was beginning to think that the risk of being caught ogling Arthur and his obscenely clingy trousers on the dance floor was preferable to trying to decipher Mr. Hurt’s well-meaning but enigmatic remarks.
Suddenly someone draped themselves over the back of his chair with their chin on his shoulder.
“Why aren’t you dancing?”
Merlin sighed. Arthur. Of all the people to come and rescue him, why did it have to be Arthur?
“Uh...” he said, and let out a yelp as Arthur tugged him to his feet.
“Come on, Merlin. Stop sitting around like a useless idiot and come and have some fun.”
Merlin wobbled to his feet and watched as Arthur made his way back onto the dance floor. There was no way on earth he was dancing with that prat.
He lowered his eyes and made a hasty retreat to the toilets.
It was cooler in the toilets and the change in temperature made Merlin slightly disoriented as he stumbled into a cubicle and sank down upon the closed lid putting his head in his hands.
Behind his tightly scrunched eyelids the image of Arthur dancing replayed itself over and over again until he groaned loudly.
“Are you all right?”
Merlin didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there but Arthur’s voice snapped him back to reality and he had to resist the urge to bang his head against the wall.
“Gwen and Morgana thought you might have drowned or choked on your own vomit,” Arthur continued, sounding less and less amused with each word.
"I'm fine,” Merlin grunted.
Arthur was clearly unconvinced and rattled the locked door gently. “Can you open the door Merlin?”
Merlin wanted to childishly shout that he didn’t want to open the door and wouldn’t Arthur please just go away so he could be left alone with his inappropriate thoughts. Instead he got up and clicked open the lock.
Arthur frowned down at him. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” Merlin groaned. “That makes me feel so much better.”
“Come on,” Arthur said, offering his hand. “Let’s show the girls you’re still alive and I’ll call you a taxi home.”
“Don’t need your help,” Merlin huffed, suddenly not caring how childish he sounded.
“Well, it’s a good thing it wasn’t an offer then,” Arthur replied, pulling Merlin to his feet and dragging him outside.
Morgana and Gwen were lurking just outside the door. Gwen gave Merlin a sympathetic pat but Morgana bestowed her shrewdest look upon him and frowned in thought.
“I’m not drunk.” Merlin said before he realised that were precisely what he’d say if he were drunk and it was therefore no help at all. Morgana rolled her eyes and fell into step alongside Merlin and Arthur as they headed for the door. Merlin moaned when the fresh air hit him with an icy blast and he pulled his coat tighter around him.
“I’ll go and call a taxi,” Arthur said, addressing Gwen and Morgana more than Merlin. “Will you be all right with him for a few minutes?”
Morgana nodded and took Arthur's place holding Merlin upright.
Merlin watched through hazy vision until Arthur was out of sight before sighing.
“Arthur’s stupid.”
“Yes Merlin,” Morgana said soothingly. “The wine is evil, Arthur’s stupid…anything else?”
“You look better in a dress than I would.” Merlin said shivering.
Morgana laughed softly.
“Taxi should be here in a minute.” Arthur said as he rejoined them.
“Thank you,” Gwen said gratefully. “He’s not normally like this.”
“Are you gonna tell daddy that I’m an alcofrolick?” Merlin asked, pulling away from Morgana and stumbling into Arthur. “You are cos you don’t like me. I know.”
“You don’t have to stay, I’ll wait with him.” Arthur said, ignoring Merlin and looking pointedly at Morgana and Gwen, who were inappropriately dressed for the cold night air.
Gwen looked undecided but Morgana nodded resolutely and marched her back inside.
“I don’t dislike you Merlin.” Arthur said unexpectedly as he slid his arm around Merlin to keep him from stumbling.
Merlin curled into Arthur's warmth, vaguely aware that Arthur was talking to him but he couldn’t hear the words. He was tired and he just wanted to go home and sleep, as soon as everything stopped spinning of course.
“Mmm.” He said sleepily, acutely aware of Arthur’s hand briskly rubbing up and down his arm in an attempt to stop him shivering.
“Not at all.” Arthur murmured.
“Oh look!” Said Merlin spotting the headlights of the taxi pulling into the car park. “Lights!”
He heard Arthur sigh above him as he held onto Merlin with one arm and opened the taxi door with his free hand.
“I ain’t taking him anywhere,” the taxi driver growled. “He might puke in the car.”
Arthur sighed again as he manoeuvred Merlin into the back seat.
“Here,” he said, disappearing from Merlin’s sight. “This should cover everything.”
The driver made unclear noises of acceptance as Merlin fumbled with his seatbelt.
“Good night Merlin.” Arthur said and shut the door firmly.
Merlin lent against the window and slurred his address to the driver, who drove out of the car park and tutted annoyingly at random intervals until they pulled up outside Merlin’s house.
Merlin mumbled incoherent thanks to the taxi driver and after several failed attempts at removing his seatbelt he finally staggered to his front door.
Getting his keys out of his pockets proved another challenge; when he was finally inside he decided the stairs weren’t worth the effort and collapsed on the sofa instead. He fell asleep almost immediately to dreams of pressing tightly against Arthur as they gyrated around the dance floor whilst Mr. Hurt twittered on about destiny.
Part 2
no subject
Date: 2010-02-21 02:56 pm (UTC)