Chapter Text
Merlin’s arse was numb, his lower back was aching, and his eyesight was going blurry despite the fact that he was wearing his glasses. He pushed two fingers into the corners of his eyes, fighting back the dreariness threatening to overtake him, and arched backwards, cracking his spine before hunching over his keyboard again.
[03:33] <Emrys> Are we done here? I need to sleep if I’m going to be at least halfway decent in a few hours.
[03:34] <WILL> yeah i think everything’s sorted
[03:34] <Emrys> You /think/?
[03:34] <WILL> no warning or threat detected messages so far, the upload’s got a few more minutes to go
[03:34] <WILL> oh give me a break will you, it’s fine
[03:34] <WILL> if i knew you’d be in my arse about it this much i wouldve agreed to let you do it and save myself the trouble
[03:34] <WILL> but here i was thinking ‘nah, i’ll let the poor chap have a break, he’s starting that snobby office job in a few days’
[03:34] <Emrys> Will.
[03:35] <WILL> well sorrrrry if i don’t do something the exact same fucking way you would have done O Legendary One
[03:35] <Emrys> It was just a question, calm the fuck down.
[03:35] <Emrys> As long as you’re connected and they haven’t traced you, whatever.
[03:35] <Emrys> Can I get some fucking sleep now without having to worry?
<WILL> sighs.
[03:35] <WILL> yeah, go get your beauty sleep. i’ll talk to you tomorrow.
[03:36] <Emrys> Bye.
**** <Emrys> is away (Behave Will.) ****
Merlin pushed away from his desk and stretched his arms over his head before getting to his feet. He yawned as he navigated the wires and various computer parts strewn across his floor, then climbed into bed, set his glasses on the nightstand, and slipped under the duvet.
His tail bone was still a bit sore, so he reached a hand back to rub circles into it. He hoped this new job as personal assistant wouldn’t require too much sitting, because he did enough of that in his free time.
He wasn’t sure what the job entailed exactly. He’d never been someone’s assistant before, but apparently that hadn’t mattered to Uther Pendragon. There’d been a short, to-the-point interview after having submitted his CV, to prove that he was competent with computers and capable of handling confidential files, while also willing to fetch coffee or lunch or whatever the junior Pendragon requested. And after getting the job, he’d had to go back a few days later to get his photo taken for a badge, sign various policy and insurance forms, and receive training using the company’s intranet.
That second visit was also when he’d first met the man he’d be working for: the equally uptight, crisp-suited, posh-mannered Arthur Pendragon, who’d simply shaken Merlin’s hand and said he hoped Merlin didn’t make him regret the decision to hire him. He hadn’t even allowed Merlin a response before disappearing back into his office.
But Pendragon Enterprise was the world’s best computer security company, and merciless against hackers such as him. A job here would give Merlin just the tactical position he needed, so he could maybe find it in himself to put up with proud, ridiculously fit prats.
As he drifted off to sleep, Merlin hoped he wouldn’t regret his decision to apply.
%%%
He woke up feeling like absolute shit. Thanks to his late night at the computer making sure Will established a safe connection to the Odin, Ltd. network, he hadn’t got nearly enough sleep, and was sure he’d have unprofessional shadows under his eyes. But if Merlin was going to keep this job, he didn’t have time to mourn the lack of rest. He dragged himself out of bed, walked half-blindly to the bathroom, and hurried to get ready, brushing his teeth in the shower.
As he put his contacts in (because his glasses were more gangly teenager style than corporate business style), he wondered if Will already inserted the worm into Odin’s system. Had Will stayed connected and seen the job through? Did he get caught, was he being traced by the Pendragon Enterprise team at that very moment? Which account had he wired the funds to if he was successful?
At the same time that Merlin decided to forego shaving in order to save time, he decided he’d ask Will about it when he got home. He didn’t have time to worry about it now, and he doubted Will was still awake, let alone logged on to the IRC.
He put on the same clothes that he’d worn to get his badge photo taken in, then realised that might be pathetic and changed his shirt to a crisp dark blue one. He hadn’t worn a tie last time, and it hadn’t been commented on, but maybe he should wear one now that he was starting. Merlin tried to think of what he’d seen other people wearing—Well, people that weren’t obviously upper echelon staff—but couldn’t remember. He decided he’d be safe and wear a simple black one, then spent nearly ten minutes trying to do the knot correctly because he hadn’t put on a tie in ages.
It was because of the damned tie that he had to skip breakfast altogether, not even a glass of water or anything. And who knew when he’d be getting a lunch break, because he could just tell from that one quick meeting that Arthur Pendragon was the type of man to work his PAs ragged.
Merlin did let himself pop into the IRC on his mobile while he walked to the tube station though, just to see what everyone was up to and to make sure they weren’t planning some elaborate takeover without him. One could never be too careful with that lot. Though usually as long as he left his main console logged in and just set his status to away they didn’t try to do anything major. Merlin could still see his admin username Emrys on the logged users list after he entered the password to join. There were only two other people there, knightstalker and morderator.
Well that’s good, Merlin thought. At least Knight can keep things in order while I’m at work.
**** <mobile_emrys> joined #Legion
[07:49] <morderator> I’m not sure whether or not I envy you or pity you. I’m leaning toward envy at the moment just because the last bolt of lightning made my cat jump out of my lap so quickly that she nearly clawed my dick.
[07:50] <morderator> Oh hi Emrys
[07:50] <mobile_emrys> What exactly have I walked into?
[07:50] <knightstalker> mord was just telling me how he envies my cali sunshine due to the fact that he nearly lost his boy parts.
[07:50] <morderator> Pretty much.
[07:51] <mobile_emrys> Ah. Lovely.
[07:51] <knightstalker> quite. how are you emrys?
[07:52] <mobile_emrys> Sleep deprived and hungry. I’m on my way to my new job and I’m nearing the train so I’ll have to go soon. Just wanted to check in.
[07:53] <morderator> Don’t worry, we’re behaving ;)
Merlin suppressed a cringe. Morderator had always creeped him out, and he honestly hated when he did emoticons like that, but he didn’t say anything. There was a chance the bloke was all of twelve for all Merlin knew, but he’d proved himself capable of at least packet sniffing, so Merlin allowed him in the chat. And Merlin never turned down the opportunity to teach someone who displayed almost more “free the internet” enthusiasm than him.
[07:53] <mobile_emrys> Good. I’m off then. Talk to you later.
[07:53] <knightstalker> goodbye my love! be sure to eat something if you can.
[07:54] <morderator> Bye.
**** <mobile_emrys> quit #Legion.
%%%
The first person Merlin saw when he walked into the tall, shiny, intimidating building of Pendragon Enterprise was the security guard who’d got his badge and information together on his last visit. Merlin couldn’t remember his name, but he remembered the man being warm and friendly—a welcome change in pace among the elite business people walking around. Merlin approached him at the metal detector, going for what he hoped was a pleasant smile as he emptied his pockets.
“Morning,” Merlin said.
The guard simply titled his head a bit to the side at first, and Merlin’s stomach sank when he thought perhaps the man didn’t remember him. But then his eyes widened in recognition when Merlin took his shoes off and pushed the tray on the conveyor belt.
“Oh yeah, Mr Ambrosius! Now I remember,” he said. “Sorry, completely blanked for a moment.”
Merlin walked through the detector, coming out the other side without so much as a single beep, thankfully. “Doing better than me. I remembered your face but not your name.”
“Leon,” the guard said. He quickly glanced over Merlin’s items on the x-ray machine before reaching over and shaking Merlin’s hand. “Sorry again about you having to be Arthur’s assistant. That’s a fate no one deserves.”
Merlin laughed. “You can just call me Merlin. I always feel weird when people address me as Mr Ambrosius.” He picked up his shoes from the newly revealed tray and began putting them on. “So do you know Arthur well then? Sorry, it just sort of sounds like you might.”
Leon nodded. “He’s an old mate of mine. Got me this job actually.”
“Oh, so he does have a soul. I was wondering if there was anything besides a cold, shrivelled heart under that suit.” Merlin promptly blushed. “Not that I was wondering about—I mean—Oh, fuck—”
“Yes, he does have a soul,” Leon interrupted, chuckling, thankfully saving Merlin from making a bigger fool of himself. “Most of his assistants don’t last long enough to see it, though.”
Merlin frowned as he shoved his mobile and keys into his pockets. “Oh. Brilliant.”
“I don’t think that’ll be the case this time,” Leon reassured him. “I’m not sure I should tell you this, but if you’re going to be his PA, you should probably know.”
Merlin glanced around before stepping closer. He felt his hacking instincts kick in—he craved information, any information. “What is it?”
Leon paused before answering. “There’s a rumour going around. Well, not quite a rumour, since Arthur verified it when he told me. But Uther is supposedly retiring soon, and Arthur’s taking his place. The transition could be smooth, or it could be utterly disastrous, but either way, I doubt there’ll be time to look around for a new PA when it happens. If they hired you, it’s because they think you’re a safe, stable choice. Even if you’re not, he probably won’t fire you until after he’s settled into his new role.”
“Um, thanks?”
“I don’t mean to imply that you’re not well-suited for the job, of course.”
“No, I know. I mean it. Thanks. I get that you probably just took a huge risk telling me something that Arthur told you in confidence, and I appreciate it,” Merlin said. “The more information I have that lets me do my job right, the better.”
Leon smiled. “Great. Oh, and Merlin,” he called when Merlin started walking off. Merlin turned back. “In case you were wondering, Arthur usually doesn’t, er, discriminate on gender. And he usually does sleep with his PAs.”
If Merlin had blushed before, he was sure that he was positively flushed red now. He barely managed an “Oh, thanks,” before turning and heading for the lifts.
Anyone with eyes would’ve been able to see Arthur was attractive, but Merlin hadn’t really thought about his chances of getting into bed with him. Their first meeting had sparked more of a passing “Well aren’t you something?” rather than a “Wow, I want you right bloody now.” To be honest, Arthur’s personality had quickly overshadowed any lustful thoughts Merlin had for the man. But now that Merlin had the image of Arthur shagging his past assistants—hell, shagging anyone—Merlin’s attraction maybe spiked up a bit. He’d been in the lift for all of five floors before he remembered to push the button for the top.
As soon as he did, a couple people glanced from him to the illuminated “21” and back. Merlin straightened his tie, trying to tactfully move to the corner of the lift where he could attract less attention. Was he so obviously new? He hadn’t got that many stares when he’d come in the last time. Though on second thought, that had been later in the afternoon, so maybe people had already been half-dead and just not paying any mind.
Merlin was simultaneously relieved and anxious when he finally stepped out onto his floor. He took a deep breath as he squared his shoulders, and walked through the corridor to the desk in front of Arthur’s office, the desk he’d been told previously would be his come this Monday morning.
The door to Arthur’s office was closed, so Merlin plopped down at his desk, trying to get a feel for it. He was itching to log into the computer with his fancy new work credentials and poke around the network, maybe sniff a few passwords just to see if he could. But this was Pendragon Enterprise, and getting caught here would be equal to the death sentence—or very nearly—so Merlin didn’t dare. Instead, he did log in, but went straight to clocking in his arrival time on the intranet (while also noticing that one Arthur Pendragon arrived at 6:47, like the hardworking, stick-up-his-arse, elitist he was) then began boredly drumming his fingers on the desk.
However, after about three endless minutes of that, he figured he probably should be doing something more proactive than sitting around waiting to be told what to do. He got up and went to peek through the window on the side of Arthur’s door to see if Arthur was too busy to be interrupted. He had to scan the entire—ridiculously large—room a few times, just to make sure he wasn’t missing anything.
Arthur wasn’t in there.
Where the hell…
“He’s with my father.”
Merlin jumped at the sound of a curt, female voice behind him. He usually prided himself on being able to concentrate when meeting someone the first time, but this woman’s red shirt had the deepest v-neck he’d ever seen (IRL, anyway) and she had to be wearing one of those uncomfortable push-up bras, because her breasts were perked up in a way that really just wasn’t natural but was also incredibly hot. Merlin wasn’t entirely sure it was work appropriate. And either her skirt was remarkably short or her legs were remarkably long, because the amount of ivory skin on display seemed to go on for miles.
Holy mother of females.
“Um.”
She made a scoffing noise, and when Merlin raised his eyes to her face, he noticed she had her hair tied back in a high ponytail and wore glasses with frames almost as thick as the pair he’d left at home.
“Since you were clearly too busy staring at my chest to hear me the first time, I was saying my brother is down the corridor being yelled at by my father, and he probably won’t be back for another ten minutes.”
Merlin blushed for the third time in less than half an hour. He’d hoped his staring hadn’t been too obvious, but apparently no such luck.
“Okay.”
She sighed, looking at him like he was daft but there was no help for it. “You’re Arthur’s new PA, right? Or are you another one of those virginal programmers who only leave the house to come to work or visit their mum at Christmas?”
“Yes. I mean no. Wait, what?” Merlin took a deep breath. “I’m Arthur’s new PA, yeah.”
Just when Merlin had felt he’d got his courage back, she reached forward and plucked up his badge from where it hung around his neck, making him stiffen at the sudden entry into his personal space. Merlin felt himself blushing again, because the photo they’d taken of him was stupid, and because she reminded him of a vulture circling doomed prey. Also because maybe he was a bit out of practice talking to people who socially intimidated him due to not leaving the house often.
“Merlin. Hmm,” she said, dropping his badge. “Well, you certainly seem to have more potential than the last one.” She suddenly raised a stern finger, pointing at his face. “My father won’t like the beard, though. Arthur won’t care, but Father has this thing about clean-shaven being more professional, whatever that means.”
Merlin rubbed his jaw absently. It wasn’t that bad. Just a couple days’ worth, hardly anything to fuss over.
“The, uh, security guard wasn’t shaved,” Merlin pointed out. He was pretty sure Leon had had more facial hair than him.
She waved it away. “Security guards don’t count. They get paid to look dodgy.”
Merlin frowned. He didn’t look dodgy, did he? For fuck’s sake, it was just some hair! And it wasn’t like he even normally went around this way…
The woman’s finger was in his face again. “Another warning: Arthur likes to have coffee on his desk first thing every morning. He wakes himself up with a small cup of that instant rubbish at home, but if he doesn’t have a caramel latte with two sugars when he gets here, he’ll be intolerable the rest of the day. There’s a Starbucks just two crossroads away where you can get it. Do not let him be intolerable the rest of the day.”
Merlin swallowed, leaning back as she leaned forward. “Caramel latte, two sugars, on the desk. Got it.”
She patted his shoulder, smiling sweetly. “Good boy. As long as you do as you’re told, I think you’ll do very well here, Merlin.”
She turned quickly, whipping her head around with enough force for her long ponytail to lash at Merlin’s face. A strand of her hair caught his eye and he rubbed at it as it teared up.
The tall, slim heels of the woman’s shoes clop-clop-clopped as she walked down the carpeted corridor. “I’m Morgana, by the way,” she said over her shoulder.
Merlin tried to give a shaky smile and wave, while also trying to get across the message of ‘I’m not crying, I’ve just got your hair in my eye.’ It probably didn’t work because she made another scoffing noise before laughing and turning the corner.
Bloody hell. And I thought the male version was bad.
%%%
Merlin was checking the pens at his desk—AKA doodling on a notepad—ten minutes later when he suddenly heard the first words of his new employer.
“You. Up. Come.”
Merlin froze with the pen mid-stroke, raising his head to make sure it was actually him who was being spoken to. He caught a glance of a suit walking into Arthur’s office but not actually Arthur himself. However, he was pretty sure that had been Arthur’s voice, so he pushed away from his desk and got to his feet.
“Are you deaf? What’s taking you so long!” Merlin heard from the doorway.
He quickened his steps, walking through the open door. Arthur was just taking his seat at his desk, leaning back in his high-backed leather chair.
“Sorry, I wasn’t sure if—”
“Shut up. Tell me your name again.”
Merlin fought down a wave of fury, biting his tongue to keep from telling Arthur to go fuck himself.
“Merlin.”
“What, you don’t have a surname?” Arthur said, scowling. He raised a hand. “Wait, no, never mind. You were right not to say it, I don’t care. How old are you, Merlin?”
“Nearly twenty-seven.”
Arthur scoffed, much the same way his sister did, Merlin noticed. “’Nearly twenty-seven,’” he echoed scornfully. “For Christ’s sake, just say you’re twenty-six.”
Merlin grit his teeth. “I’m twenty-six.”
Arthur nodded, swivelling slightly in his chair with his hands folded over his stomach. He seemed to have more questions, but was taking his time before asking, choosing to leisurely look Merlin up and down instead. Merlin tried not to move too much, but Arthur’s gaze on him was uncomfortable.
“Why’d you want to work for Pendragon Enterprise, Merlin?” Arthur asked. His tone was less clipped, thankfully, but the question alone was question to unsettle Merlin. “And don’t give me whatever bollocks you told my father. Give me the truth, even if it’s just for the money.”
Ha. The truth. Like that was going to happen.
Merlin compromised. “I admit I may have exaggerated my dislike of…malicious programmers—”
“Please, Merlin, spare me the euphemisms. They’re hackers, call them what they are.”
“Right. I may have exaggerated my dislike of hackers. They, er, certainly haven’t ruined my life or anything, and I don’t care much either way about them. But I wasn’t lying when I said this was a great opportunity for me. Yes, the money is good, but working at the best security company in the world…That’s an honour, I think.”
Even if I have to work under an arrogant prat like you, Merlin mentally added.
Arthur stared at Merlin contemplatively again, his lips pursed thoughtfully. The room was so silent that Merlin could hear the tick of a clock.
“Are you good at maths, Merlin?”
Merlin burst into loud laughter, unable to help himself. Arthur stopped swivelling in his chair and raised an unamused eyebrow.
Merlin composed his face and cleared his throat. “Sorry, sorry. That’s um, a yes.”
“My father said you’re as skilled with computers as most of our standard staff, but I don’t want just another programmer who happens to follow my every command. Everyone else does that anyway. I want someone who’s capable of—essentially—being me. If I’m not there to catch a mistake or reprimand someone for being utterly daft, you need to be able handle the situation, not just administratively, but intelligently. Can you do that, Merlin?”
Merlin answered without hesitation, nodding firmly. “Yes, of course.”
“Why were you fired from your last job?”
Merlin’s heart stopped. “S-Sorry?”
“Take me through your entire employment history actually. I have a copy of your CV here if you need help.”
“I don’t need help remembering where I’ve worked!” Merlin snapped.
Arthur smiled. “Good. Start with Essetir Digital.”
Merlin shifted on his feet. There were two chairs in front of Arthur’s desk, but he hadn’t exactly been invited to sit. Sod it, he thought, walking round to plop into the soft armchair. Luckily, Arthur didn’t seem upset.
Merlin cleared his throat again. “Right, so. Essetir Digital helps companies develop and design web-based software and mobile applications for their consumers—”
“I’m aware of what Essetir Digital does. Tell me what you did there and why you left.”
“I, um. Was on the mobile application side. It was mostly programming and handling the needs of each individual company as they arose. Very straightforward.”
“But?”
“But some of my—some of our clients were experiencing losses and, er, attacks on their system, supposedly via the software we developed.”
Arthur frowned. “Why didn’t they contact Pendragon Enterprise about it?”
“These were small startup companies. Complete nobodies. There’s no way they could afford your protection.”
Which had been the point. Essetir Digital was—or had been—run by a filthy man named Cenred Jacobs, who’d been trying to get these “poor startup companies” on the same playing field as those like Odin, Ltd. and Caerleon Consolidated. They had been his companies, organised under a false name, and once Merlin had found out, naturally he’d done all he could to shut them down. He’d been able to obtain a connection to their database using a clever snippet of code—if he did say so himself—and take them down from the inside.
Unfortunately, Merlin’s “inability to apply suitable safety measures” ended up costing him his position. Not that he cared. He’d stolen the funds that Jacobs had had stashed away in the companies’ accounts and decided that was enough of a “fuck you.”
“So they blamed you because you fucked up and provided the door for hackers to get in,” Arthur stated flatly.
“Well…Yes. Technically. It was a mistake. And I certainly learnt my lesson.”
Arthur snorted. “I’m sure you did. What about K-Space?”
Merlin groaned, then abruptly stopped, remembering where he was. He met Arthur’s gaze with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry. It’s only my boss there was a complete arse.”
“Clearly, since he fired you.”
“I nearly quit. Do you know about K-Space? Pendragon Enterprise has a contract with them so I assume you do.”
“Internet hosting. I know of them, yes. We have contracts with lots of people, and lots of teams assigned to them.”
“It’s run by a man named Joseph Kanen, but it wasn’t always. It used to be a good place to work, and I loved my job as systems admin. But once Kanen took over, the whole atmosphere changed,” Merlin explained. “And it wasn’t just in the office—it was the service as well. He proposed a raise in hosting fees at the same time as lowered storage space. It was ridiculous and I was the only one who told him so.”
“Didn’t they also suffer an attack?” Arthur asked. Merlin stopped breathing as he watched Arthur look at something on the computer in front of him.
“I don’t know,” Merlin began, rubbing the back of his neck. “That was after I left.”
“They did,” Arthur said. He pointed a finger to his screen, as if Merlin could see. “Some hacktivist that calls himself Emrys infiltrated their network and did a system reset. That’s why they came to us in the first place.”
“I…like I said, I have no idea about that. I’d been fired,” Merlin said, raising his hands to show his palms. But he had to suppress a smile. It had felt really fucking good paying K-Space a secret visit and dropping his name and logo there after resetting the system to its original, fair standards.
But honestly, ‘hacktivist?’ Merlin didn’t think of himself as quite so…politically inclined. Hacktivists were mainly concerned with freedom of information and human rights, and while he was all for that, he’d also done his fair share of purely selfish acts. That was evident in the way he hacked into Kanen’s personal accounts and stole fifty thousand pounds even after he’d already dealt with the K-Space incident. He was technically all over the spectrum.
“Maybe this Emrys person works at a company that employed K-Space and wanted to send them a message or something,” Merlin suggested, shrugging. “Wish he’d done it while I was there. Then maybe I wouldn’t’ve had to leave.”
Arthur clicked his mouse, closing whatever file he’d had up on the screen and turning back to Merlin. “Maybe. Let’s get back to you. Your last job was apparently volunteer work? I’m guessing you wanted something different after dealing with Kanen.”
Merlin nodded. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a job, though. More like taking time off to do some Unix coding in between occupations. Since Unix is all open-source, I just played around a bit. I’d had some money put away from previous jobs,” Merlin added when Arthur’s eyebrows started to raise. “And…this isn’t on my CV, but I have a few apps for sale for both Apple and Android. I certainly don’t get enough revenue to live off of them alone, but it’s a decent amount.”
“Why didn’t you put that on your CV?”
Merlin shrugged again. “They’re just side projects. Nothing special.”
Arthur stared at him, but unlike the other times, this time it seemed to be a bit blank. He blinked a few times, but then shook his head and got right back to business.
“Alright, clearly you have a problem with authority—”
“I do not!”
“Merlin.”
Merlin sighed. Okay, maybe he had a problem with authority. But that was just because everyone else he’d worked for had been total tits. And as Will so helpfully pointed out, always being one for quoting the rules of the internet: The person in charge only wants to make your life miserable. No exceptions.
“I just…haven’t found a boss worth respecting yet,” Merlin mumbled.
“Well, considering you find it such an ‘honour’ to work here, I’m hoping you’ll at least respect me. And if you don’t, then you can find another job. Is that clear?”
“Yes, of course. I don’t go in to a job intending to be—”
“Good. Now, here’s what you’ll be expected to do: Anyone ringing my office will have to go through you, so screen the people on the list I email you later. You’ll be in charge of scheduling all my meetings, as well as cancelling or rescheduling whenever I’m unavailable.”
Merlin was nodding so much that he felt like one of those stupid dolls. And should he be writing this down?
“If at any time I don’t have a spare suit in my office, you’re to go to my flat and pick one up—No, shut up, I’m going to give you a key later, let me finish—Anyone coming up to speak to me personally has to have been invited, so unless I tell you beforehand that someone is coming by, think of some way to politely tell them to fuck off. If one of the Financial Services guys comes up here and says I owe him an hundred quid, he’s lying. If one of the code monkeys from the fifth floor says I promised to take a look at something for him, you do it. If one of the teams working on a contract rings with a problem, you try to solve it first, and only bring it to me if it’s absolutely necessary. And I want a detailed email of the incident afterwards.”
Merlin opened his mouth to speak but Arthur held out a hand telling him to stay silent.
“And now just a few rules. One, you will learn to properly tie a tie. Two, you’ll shave every morning—and this is for your benefit, not mine—Three, you’ll be here at half seven, and no later. Four, you’ll have a caramel latte with two sugars on my desk at half seven, and no later—”
“Yes, your sister told me about that, actually. Apparently, you’re intolerable otherwise? I’m guessing you didn’t have one today.”
Arthur sprung to his feet, his palms slamming on the desk as he pinned Merlin with an icy glare. Merlin felt his blood run cold and tried to disappear into the armchair.
“And five, you will, under absolutely no circumstances, fuck my sister.”
Merlin blushed. Four times in so short a span? That had to be a new record. “I…I don’t want…”
Arthur quirked an eyebrow, challenging him, because who wouldn’t want to fuck Morgana Pendragon?
“I mean, well, I do, obviously, but at the same time I don’t because she’s incredibly fucking scary. So, you know, no thanks. Eheheh.”
“Great. Now get out.”
Merlin scrambled to his feet and ran back to his desk.
As promised, the email from Arthur with the list of calls to screen came about half an hour later.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Rejects
The following people should by no means be allowed to reach me through the office phone:
- Morgana Pendragon
- Vivian Smith
- Thomas Matthews
- Nimueh Blake
- Aulfric Stone
- Catrina Macadoff
- Fred Valiant
- Joseph Ruadan
Anyone claiming to have these names should be told that I’m either not in, or too busy. Also, I’m hungry. Bring me something.
Merlin stared at his screen, not sure he was reading that last line correctly. The longer he stared, the more he realised yep, those words were actually there.
He sighed and started transcribing the names onto the notepad he’d doodled on earlier. Arthur hadn’t even said what to bring him. How the hell was he supposed to know?
%%%
**** <Emrys> is back from away.
<Emrys> comes in and dies.
[18:34] <Null_Impact> O.O
[18:34] <WILL> first day that bad?
[18:35] <Emrys> Worse.
[18:35] <Emrys> My boss is a complete prat. An arrogant, sexy, infuriating, smug, snobby, entitled prat.
[18:35] <Null_Impact> is it time for another war?
[18:35] <WILL> did you just say sexy?
<Emrys> sighs and pulls himself together.
[18:35] <Emrys> No, no war. Just tell me about the Odin worm. I need good news.
[18:36] <WILL> and then you need a wank
**** <Emrys> has taken halfop from <WILL>
[18:36] <WILL> t(^_^t)
[18:36] <Emrys> Is Odin down yet? I just got home and haven’t checked.
[18:36] <Emrys> And I think I would’ve heard something about it at work…
[18:37] <WILL> ooh careful, null might be able to figure out where you live with that info
[18:37] <Null_Impact> the whole clan knows you two live in england, why the fuck would i care where emrys lives
[18:37] <WILL> who /doesn’t/ care where emrys lives? the whole bloody world is searching for him rn
[18:37] <Emrys> FFS Will, the worm? Was it successful?
[18:38] <WILL> yeah, their shit is wrecked, their money is mine
[18:38] <Emrys> Great.
Merlin opened up a private chat with him, not wanting to discuss any other details with Null present. Will had a good point that someone could figure out he worked for Pendragon Enterprise, and therefore where he lived.
[18:38] <Emrys> Hey, did you just now do it? I’m almost positive I would’ve heard something about it at work.
[18:39] <WILL> sort of? i just finished up. it’s been an ongoing process throughout he day
[18:39] <WILL> but hey, it’s good that the pendragons haven’t caught on yet right?
[18:39] <WILL> that means either odin didn’t ring them about the security breach or it was so unimportant that ti didnt reach your level
[18:40] <Emrys> Maybe. I’m still not exactly sure what the setup of the company is yet. Maybe you’re right and it was a lower floor job.
[18:40] <Emrys> Still, Odin is a pretty big name. I’d think there’d be /something/.
[18:40] <WILL> i’m sure tomorrow you’ll go in and get an earful
[18:40] <WILL> now tell me about mr sexy. i googled him to see what he looks like.
[18:41] <Emrys> You Googled my boss? That’s fucking weird mate.
[18:41] <WILL> it was for science. i also saw his hot sister. jfc she could eat me alive and id loveit.
[18:41] <WILL> never wouldve pegged you for blonds though tbh
[18:41] <Emrys> Yeah I’m ignoring this window now, back to main chat, kbye
Merlin shook his head, chuckling as he closed the private message window. He saw that Knight had come in while he’d been talking to Will, and that she’d hugged him for his shit day at work.
<knightstalker> hugs Em.
[18:40] <knightstalker> bad day, love?
[18:41] <Emrys> Yeah, and going to be worse tomorrow. I have to /be/ there at 7.30 and today I didn’t even leave until 7.45
[18:41] <Emrys> In fact I’m certain the days are going to get exponentially worse until I finally can’t take it anymore
[18:42] <Null_Impact> or until the sexual frustration becomes too much and you explode, since apparently your boss is sexy
[18:42] <knightstalker> *gasp* are you cheating on me baby?
[18:42] <Emrys> You know I’d never.
<Emrys> snogs Knight.
<WILL> gags.
[18:43] <knightstalker> ♥
[18:43] <Emrys> I’ll probably turn in early tonight. I barely got any sleep and I don’t think I’ll be able to handle working two days in a row like this.
[18:43] <Null_Impact> they say tuesday is the most productive day.
[18:43] <Null_Impact> not that i’ve been productive…it’s already tuesday where i am and all i’ve done is play bioshock.
[18:44] <Emrys> Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
Merlin stayed up for a few more hours, leaving his computer only long enough to use the loo or make something quick to eat. Unfortunately, he’d been right about his having to sit all day at work, so at one point he booted up his laptop—which he usually only used for hacking, but this was a physical emergency, dammit—and relocated to the bed. Around ten o'clock, he said his goodbyes and went to sleep.
%%%
Merlin made sure to shave the next morning, but grumbled the whole time, thinking the whole thing was stupid and that his appearance didn’t affect his ability to get work done, so it shouldn’t even matter. He also made sure to pick himself up a cheese and marmite sarnie from Starbucks at the same time that he ordered Arthur’s caramel latte, and had a feeling that the beginning of a routine was slowly being formed.
When he walked into Arthur’s office at half seven, Arthur didn’t even look up at him, simply took the cup that Merlin sat on the desk and took a long drink like Merlin wasn’t even there.
“You forgot the two sugars,” he said, scowling as he set the cup back down. “Go back and fix it.”
Merlin sighed and reached out for it, only for Arthur to pick it back up.
“No, forget it, I have work for you. I’ll just have to suffer your complete lack of competence this morning,” he said.
Merlin dug his nails into his palms to keep from screaming. And Arthur still didn’t even look at him. What a fucking arse!
“You see the key and the mobile there? The key is to my flat, which you’re only to visit when I tell you—”
“Like I’d want to go there any other time,” Merlin muttered.
Luckily, his outburst was ignored. “And the mobile is yours, to be used only for work purposes. It’s easier to keep track of schedules and sync with the company this way, and I’ll need to be able to reach you at all times.”
“At all times?” Merlin echoed incredulously. He didn’t apply to be Arthur’s around the clock assistant.
Arthur took a slow drink of his latte, his brow furrowing at the taste he obviously found unpleasant while his right hand scrolled the mouse wheel.
“Yes, Merlin, at all times,” he said finally. “Some of the most critical breaches in security occur during the middle of the night, and though usually it’s another team that handles it, there’s been the occasional project in crisis that’s needed my help. And since you’re so clearly more qualified than the last PA, I’m counting on you to make certain that the number of such occurrences remains low.”
“Meaning I have to do it for you.”
“Precisely. Now, go to the file room—”
“File room? We actually have one of those? Why not keep everything on the computer?”
“Tell me you’re not that daft. Why the hell do you think?” Arthur snapped.
Okay, Merlin supposed it was a stupid question.
“Right, so, file room and then what?” Not that he had the slightest idea where the file room was, but it couldn’t be too hard to find. If all else failed, he’d ask someone.
“Look at every contract I’ve ever had, including the ones that are still current. You need to know all the information that I do, so study each and every one inside and out. Then schedule a meeting for one o’clock tomorrow in the conference room on the eighteenth floor and email those idiots on the Odin team to let them know. They’ll be tetchy about it not being today, but if any of them complain, just tell them I’m too busy and if it matters so much to them, then they can take it to my father.”
Oh good, I’ll be able to keep track of what’s going on, Merlin thought. At least there’s that.
Arthur finally tore his gaze away from his computer screen to look at Merlin. “What are you still doing here? Go!”
“H-How am I meant to take calls at my desk if I’m in the file room looking up contracts?” Merlin asked.
“I don’t know, bring them up or something? That’s not my problem.”
Merlin sighed and turned to leave. He wanted to throw something at the wall. Actually, he wanted to throw something at Arthur. Repeatedly.
“Oh, and don’t bring me another dodgy sandwich like you did yesterday. I want something at least half decent.”
Merlin ground his jaw as he left, and spoke through clenched teeth. “I’ll see what I can do.”
%%%
It only took Merlin about half an hour to find the file room, and that was after pulling aside some amicable-looking bloke who seemed to know what was going on. The bloke had ended up giving Merlin the right floor, but the wrong room. In fact, he’d directed Merlin straight to the women’s toilets—Oh, very funny, arsehole—but at least he’d been able to find his way to the correct location by following helpfully-placed signs.
Now, as Merlin sat covered under a pile of confidential paperwork, he wondered if there’d been any calls for Arthur. Honestly, there were hundreds of contracts filed under Arthur’s name, and Merlin didn’t see how he was supposed to thoroughly learn all of them in so short a time.
At least he finally had the answer to one of the questions that had been nagging at him earlier: Just what the hell did Arthur do here? After looking at the reports of solved conflicts under contract, it seemed like Arthur mostly delegated people—or teams of people—to respond to clients. There were a few instances in the post-breach write-ups where Arthur’s actions were more hands-on, but even then it was mostly debugging someone else’s work or a suggestion of another method of tracking (usually some back-door route that others missed entirely). Did Arthur ever do anything by himself?
Maybe Merlin needed to go further back. He put the strewn files back in order and pulled out the first few folders of Arthur’s employment. They were much more thick, and when Merlin opened the first one, he saw the reason why.
There were many more details here than in the ones before. Tracing methods, programs used, even snippets of code pasted in to show others what to do in future. Merlin was also surprised to note a warning notice among the files in the folder; apparently some of Arthur’s methods had been in the grey area when it came to legality, but the clients themselves hadn’t complained because it got the job done.
And Arthur’s methods…Well, Merlin had to admit they were smart. He would’ve gone for more of brute force approach himself, but he could see why Arthur would take the safe, “grey” route.
Merlin went on to the next few, and noticed that Arthur’s first notable achievement came when he tracked and took down the hacker Phant0m. Merlin remembered hearing about it online. Phant0m had been one of the people in the Third Hacker’s War, most closely engaged in cyber combat with Black Knight, and it’s what eventually led to Pendragon Enterprise being able to catch him. Merlin and his own clan of hackers had sat back and laughed, though of course Merlin had warned them at the time to be extra cautious.
It was also around that time that a lot of the competition had pulled out. The war between the Internet Druids and the Order of Knights had sparked a scare that sent a lot of hackers cowering, many of them disappearing from the digital world. Some of Merlin’s idols—Barcode, Cyber Sword, and Zer0—had been among them, until only he, Emrys, had been left standing.
The details of Phant0m’s file were sparse, though. The specifics of the tactics Arthur used were vague, and there were certainly no code snippets in this one. Maybe Arthur felt it unnecessary to go into detail since his previous records showed he was more than a little skilled at the job. Still—and maybe this was just Merlin’s hacking instincts kicking in again—it didn’t seem lazy; it seemed intentional.
How the hell did he do it? Merlin wondered. How did he catch Phantom?
Merlin made a mental note to ask Arthur later, and was just moving on to the next file—Black Knight, surprise surprise—when a shadow suddenly blocked the light from above.
Merlin looked up. It was a woman wearing a knee-length black skirt and a light purple blouse, the collar of which was slightly open, but thankfully not enough to make Merlin blush like he had with Morgana. She had her head tilted, her brown curls hanging like a curtain off one side of her puzzled face.
“Does this look weird?” Merlin asked, glancing at the mess of papers over his outstretched legs.
“Maybe just a bit. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see a man sitting on the floor looking up all the Arthur Pendragon files,” she remarked. Merlin couldn’t tell if her voice was amused or mocking or both. It sort of sounded like just a statement.
He looked down at the open folder over his crotch, then back up. “Sorry. Am I in your way?”
She shook her head and smiled, her lips stretching her face and changing it completely. Merlin hoped his sigh of relief wasn’t too audible. But truthfully, he was so glad there seemed to be someone here who wasn’t automatically out to get him.
“No, just unexpected, like I said.” She crouched down beside him, her knees cracking as she lowered. “Here, do you need help? What is all this for?”
Merlin shifted, tucking his legs in to sit cross-legged. “Arthur told me to study all his contracts. I’m to know each and every one of them as well as he does apparently.”
“Oh, you’re his new PA then.”
Merlin chuckled at her tone. She said it the same way someone might say ‘Oh, your dog died,’ and Merlin half expected to hear the obligatory ‘I’m sorry to hear that.’
She stuck out her hand, smiling again. “I’m Gwen. If it’s any consolation, I’m Morgana’s PA, so I think I know how you feel.”
Merlin shook the offered hand, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. “I’m Merlin. And really, Morgana’s PA? How? You’re so nice.”
Gwen laughed. “Not everyone here is heartless, you know.” She waved to the scattered files. “So how long have you been at it?”
“I’m, uh…I’m not even sure. I got pulled under the tide of information and haven’t come back up for air yet. They’re really interesting, actually. Almost like an history lesson.”
“Ah, so you’re not just a PA, you’re one of them.”
Merlin chuckled again. “If by ‘one of them’ you mean ‘virginal programmers,’ then yes.” Merlin felt his face heat, and dammit, he’d been doing so well not blushing today. “Not that I’m a virgin. I’ve had lots of sex.”
Oh my God, kill me now.
“Oh, that’s…good,” Gwen said, nodding in amusement. The pinched skin on either side of her mouth suggested she was holding back a much larger smile than the one currently across her face, and Merlin felt like he was in college all over again. “And it seems like you’ve already met Morgana. She’s the only one I know who calls them that.”
“Yes, she’s, um. Something.”
“That seems to be the general consensus.”
“That she’s as frightening as she is fit?”
“Yes,” Gwen said, laughing.
“Good, I thought perhaps it was just me.”
Suddenly another shadow was looming over them, and Merlin’s stomach lurched when he saw Arthur there, standing above them and not looking at all happy.
“Merlin, what the hell are you doing?” he asked.
Merlin scrambled to his feet, folders and paper scattering around him. “A-Arthur. I was just reading all your contracts like you said—”
“And I said to figure out how to do it while still at your desk. The idiots from the Odin team have already sent me another email asking what I plan to do to help them. Do I even want to know if you’ve scheduled that meeting yet?”
Beside Merlin, Gwen got to her feet and slipped away quietly, muttering a “talk to you later” under her breath. Merlin wished he could slip away as well.
“I…I thought maybe this took precedence?”
“It’s called multitasking, Merlin, and if you can’t do it, then learn to. Clean up those files and get back to your desk,” Arthur ordered.
“I haven’t finished—”
“Like I bloody care. I just wanted to see if you’d actually do it, or if you’d try to play me for some fool and only say you did. Now that I know you’ll do the research when I tell you, I couldn’t care less if you read the rest. Hurry up! You’ve already wasted two hours!”
Merlin sighed and bent down to get the files in order. Why is this my life?
%%%
Finally, later that afternoon, after dropping off a hopefully more acceptable sandwich at Arthur’s desk, Merlin found a few minutes to himself. He pulled his personal mobile from his pocket and joined the IRC, hoping Will was awake and on.
Thankfully, he was.
**** <mobile_emrys> joined #Legion
[13:34] <mobile_emrys> Will, PM.
[13:34] <WILL> why we’re the only two here
[13:34] <mobile_emrys> Because I said so. PM.
<WILL> sighs.
When Will messaged again, it was in a private message.
[13:35] <WILL> yeah?
[13:35] <mobile_emrys> Odin alerted Pendragon. I’m in a position where I can oversee the team going after you, just reassure me one more time that you did everything right and we won’t find anything.
[13:35] <WILL> i did everything right
[13:36] <mobile_emrys> There’s not a single chance of a trace?
[13:36] <WILL> it’s getting to the point where it’s insulting mate
[13:36] <WILL> seriously, im not stupid
[13:37] <WILL> if i said it’s fine, it’s fine
Merlin sighed in relief. It’d be easy enough to point the Odin team in random directions—at least Merlin assumed so, since Arthur consistently referred to them as idiots—but it would be even easier if Will did everything Merlin had taught him to.
[13:38] <mobile_emrys> And the account you wired the funds to? That’s secure as well? Tell me you didn’t withdraw it already and transfer.
[13:38] <WILL> don’t worry about it. I didn’t send all the money to one account, it’s spread out among three different ones.
[13:38] <WILL> since obv it would be conspicuous for exactly £67,045 to show up in one account when thats the exact same amount that odin lost.
[13:39] <WILL> like i said, not stupid.
[13:39] <mobile_emrys> Good. Just wanted to check while I had a spare moment. Between being angry, frustrated, and intimidated, I’ve been worrying all day.
[13:40] <WILL> day 2 not any better than day 1 i reckon?
[13:40] <mobile_emrys> No, it’s better. I think I may have made a friend? Or at least someone that doesn’t snap at me.
[13:41] <WILL> do you think you’re in there?
[13:41] <mobile_emrys> Not everything is about sex, Will.
[13:41] <WILL> meaning they’re fit, but not as fit as your boss, who is really the one you want a go with
[13:42] <mobile_emrys> Pendragon’s soul is ugly, therefore his entire being is ugly. Full stop.
[13:42] <mobile_emrys> And okay maybe she is kind of fit. But she’s nice and I feel weird just talking about her this way.
[13:42] <WILL> rule 43, my friend.
Merlin groaned. Not another rule quote. Will seriously needed to get out this phase, or Merlin was going to kick him from Legion.
Okay, not really. Will was the only one in the group who knew Merlin IRL, so not only would it be like losing a real friend, but he’d also risk his identity being exposed. Still, the rules nonsense had to stop.
[13:43] <WILL> the more beautiful and pure a thing is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt it.
[13:43] <WILL> just saying.
[13:43] <mobile_emrys> And I’m just saying if you saw this sweet innocent girl then you’d see my point.
[13:44] <mobile_emrys> I’m pretty sure she’s the only person at this company who knows how to smile without turning it into a smirk
Merlin froze when he felt something suddenly on top of his head, and turned off his screen with a push of the button. A few seconds later, he saw Arthur standing in front of his desk with his arms crossed, but didn’t dare tilt his head further back to look up at him properly.
“Arthur,” he began warily, “what did you just put on my head?”
“Certainly not a sandwich.”
Merlin sighed. That meant it wasn’t acceptable after all then. “So because you didn’t like it, you think it’s alright to give it this use?”
Arthur shrugged, looking annoyingly amused. “I figured it ought to have some use, don’t you think? It suits you, really, you should see. Shall I take a photo?”
“No.”
The amused light left Arthur’s eyes. “Bring me something else, Merlin. And stop sitting around texting like a teenage girl,” he said before walking back into his office.
Merlin mouthed a silent “go fuck yourself” after him and turned his mobile on again. He didn’t even read Will’s response, just typed in a quick farewell before leaving the IRC altogether.
“Merlin?”
Merlin looked up at the sound of his name, forgetting the sandwich on his head. It fell back onto the floor, and Merlin heard the soft pat just as he recognised Gwen.
Merlin ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it free of any crumbs. “Hi.”
“Was there just a sandwich on your head?”
“Oh, um, yeah. Arthur didn’t like the lunch I brought him.”
Gwen sighed, and Merlin went rigid as she reached over the desk to brush a few crumbs off his shoulder. “If it makes you feel any better, you’re not the first he’s done this to.”
“It’s a habit of his to put food on his PAs’ heads?” Merlin asked, quirking a brow.
“No, I meant in general. He’s always hard on his assistants. Tests them. Wants to make sure they’re capable and worthy before he...Anyway, I think it also amuses him.”
Merlin didn’t miss the trailing off. He could fill in the rest himself.
Before he sleeps with them.
“I noticed,” Merlin muttered.
“I’d say you’re doing rather well so far,” she continued.
“Doesn’t exactly feel like it. I still don’t know what I’m going to get him for lunch now. But, uh, did you need something?”
Gwen suddenly seemed uncertain, and looked down each corridor quickly before bringing her head closer to Merlin’s over the desk.
“Do you think I’m nice?” she asked.
Was this a trick question? “Uh…yes? I mean, from what I’ve seen so far. You offered to help me in the file room.”
“Exactly,” she said, raising a finger. “You don’t know me. Because you’re new.”
“I’m not sure where you’re going with this.”
“Can I trust you, Merlin?”
That piqued Merlin’s interest. “Of course. I’m the most trustworthy person ever.”
“It’s just…” She looked left and right again before coming back down. “Everyone here knows me. I’m Morgana’s nice PA. I would never do anything…for lack of a better word, I would never do anything bad.”
Merlin stifled a snort. Okay, now she sounded like a schoolgirl conspirator.
“Uh huh?” he prompted instead.
“So if I asked someone to do something a little suspect for me, it’d be all over the company. They wouldn’t be able to believe it of me.”
Merlin could see where this was going. “You want me to do something for you. Because I’ve just met you and don’t have the nice-girl expectations.”
“Exactly. You’re an opportunity. And a good guy. But also an opportunity.”
“What is it you want me to do?”
Gwen pursed her lips. “I’m not sure it’s legal. I mean, I think it is, but it doesn’t feel like it is.”
Now Merlin was definitely interested. “What is it?”
Gwen took a deep breath. “There’s this guy, Lance.”
“I’ve seen him a few times, but it’s a really big company in a really big building and we work on totally different floors. I don’t exactly have an excuse to go down where all the standard programmers are.”
“Okay.”
“And you said you were good with computers too, so I was wondering if you could maybe…look into him for me?”
Merlin picked up one of his pens and pulled his notepad in front of him. “What were you looking for? Schools, criminal record, family, internet history, bank accounts—”
“Wait, really?”
“Really what?”
“You’ll do it?”
“You’ll have to do something for me, of course.”
Gwen hesitated a moment, but then nodded. “What do you want?”
Merlin hummed thoughtfully. He didn’t have to think long when Arthur suddenly shouted his name angrily, demanding lunch.
“I want that to stop,” he said, pointing to Arthur’s half-open door with his pen. “There has to be something that’ll make him a decent human being.”
Gwen smiled and extended her hand. “Deal.”
Merlin shook, grinning at the turn of events, then looked back down to the notepad. “What’s Lance’s surname?”
%%%
Merlin made absolutely sure to get the two sugars in the caramel latte right the next morning. Arthur didn’t thank him, but then, he also didn’t yell or scrunch his nose in distaste, so Merlin counted it a success. He went to his desk pleased with himself, and got to work on digging up something on Lance.
He figured he’d start with the company’s intranet, since it was completely ethical to look at another employee’s work information. He saw that Lance had been working there for three years as a network operator, and usually got in a little before eight in the morning. There was also contact information, as well as the IP address of the last person to edit the profile. Which Merlin was willing to bet was Lance.
Not very much to go on, and Gwen would’ve been sure to have checked already herself, but it was enough. Merlin moved on to something a little more daring.
There wasn’t much he could do on the company computer, not with all the security measures in place. And he didn’t want to risk installing a program here over something so inconsequential. He would need something discreet.
Merlin took his out his phone and pulled up his Neahtid program. It was a simple enough password recovery tool, and since it ran on Merlin’s home server, it allowed him to remain untraceable. He started up the program and began sniffing the network for Lance’s IP address.
There were a lot of addresses. Possibly thousands. Merlin wouldn’t scroll through all of them—he could just search Lance’s IP specifically—but he wanted to make sure as many as possible loaded first. He waited a few minutes, then searched the number.
Merlin grinned. Lance had just logged into a website called thesixtyone.com, for which Merlin could now see his username and password.
“There you are.”
%%%
Merlin was so caught up learning things about Lance and writing them on his notepad for Gwen that he lost track of time. Luckily, when Arthur’s door slammed open and he stormed out, Merlin had enough time to slip his mobile into his pocket and bring up something that looked remotely work-related on his computer.
“Merlin,” Arthur growled. “What time did you schedule the Odin team meeting for?”
Fuck. “Uh, I don’t—”
“If you say you don’t know, I might throw something at you.”
Merlin tried to remember, but there were so many numbers already in his head, new information that he’d put in, and well, some of the less important stuff had got shoved out. “I think it had a one in it?” he ventured.
Arthur’s jaw clenched, and Merlin thought he saw a vein in his neck bulge. “It was supposed to have a one and a three. You know what you made it instead? A one and a zero.”
“Oh.” Merlin looked at time on his computer. It was just past half ten already. “Shit.”
“Yes, Merlin. Shit. Which is what you are at your job.” He sighed in exasperation and started walking down the corridor. “Get up, we have a meeting to go to.”
Arthur took the stairs down to the eighteenth floor, and Merlin was forced to follow. He tried to keep his head down as Arthur marched through the corridor to the conference room, but he could feel the eyes of everyone they passed regardless. He had a feeling he looked like a wounded puppy trying to keep up with its owner.
Arthur launched right into it when they entered the room, and Merlin softly closed the door behind them before slinking back into the corner.
“Bedivere, tell me the intent,” Arthur demanded as he sat at the head of the table. A man on his left slid him a folder with what Merlin assumed was the Odin contract.
Bedivere opened and closed his mouth, lost. “The, uh, the intent?”
“Owain, tell me the intent.”
Owain was much more prepared. “We don’t have evidence of this being political or for personal revenge, so we’re assuming they picked a large company at random to steal funds from for personal use. There was also a worm, which deleted a large portion of their files.”
Arthur had his chin in his hand as he skimmed the file in front of him. “So they used a worm with a payload to cover the fact that they were transferring money. Sixty-seven thousand pounds.”
“Yes.”
“Or they thought, ‘hey, while I’m leaving this shit storm, might as well rip off this rich sod.’”
“Uh, yes.”
Merlin snickered. It had actually been the other way round. The original plan had just been to steal half a thousand pounds from the corrupt bastard, but then Will thought to add the worm for laughs.
Arthur flipped through the file. “And the means of entry?”
Owain didn’t reply, seeming not to have a response. Instead, he looked around the table anxiously, urging one of the others to speak.
Arthur sighed and stabbed a finger at what must have been the answer. “Well, one of you wrote that they cracked one of the ports. How did you not trace the connection?”
Merlin shifted his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for the answer just as eagerly.
The man who Arthur addressed as Bedivere apparently set out to redeem himself. “They likely had an advanced firewall, and we think they bounced through at least three hosts before attempting to crack the Odin server.”
“What makes you say three?”
“Er, because if it were any less we wouldn’t’ve had difficulty tracing the connection?”
“And do you have any idea which three hosts were used?”
“Uh…”
“That’s what we need you for,” one the men who hadn’t spoken yet said. “We’re not sure where to go from here.”
Arthur raised an eyebrow and Merlin was glad not to be in their shoes at the moment. But then, he wasn’t quite as incompetent as to not know what to do. They really were idiots.
Arthur sighed, pushing back from the table to stand. He turned and walked to the white-board behind him.
“Alright. Let me explain it in the simplest terms possible then,” he said, picking up a blue marker.
He drew a big O on the right side, and three X’s scattered in the empty space to the left of it. At the top left corner, he drew a star.
“Let’s say the star is the hacker’s local host, and the O is Odin’s network. The X’s are the three servers used to stall the trace. With me so far?”
Merlin saw the back of multiple heads nod. They looked ridiculous.
Arthur must’ve thought so too, because a corner of his lips turned up; Merlin could tell all the way from across the room.
He turned back to the board a drew a dotted line from the star through each X until he got to the O. “In order to bounce through these hosts, he—assuming they’re a male—would’ve needed access to connect to them first, either through an unprotected or protected port. Okay?”
There were several more nods.
“There’s two kinds of hackers, really—stupid and not stupid,” he continued. Merlin couldn’t help snickering again.
“Shut up, Merlin.”
Merlin rolled his eyes. Arthur hadn’t even bothered to turn around. How could he tell it was him?
“Getting into a protected port would leave more of a trail for a trace, so he probably had access to three unprotected servers. He’s not the stupid sort; he couldn’t be if he thought he was smart enough to attack someone under contract with us. So after he has the access he needs from each server, he bounces through them—” Arthur tapped each X with the end of the marker. “—before cracking one of the protected ports on Odin’s network. Okay?”
More nods.
“So if you can’t trace him, what do you do?”
They seemed to think it was a rhetorical question at first, that Arthur would answer it for them. When he didn’t, the silence dragged on. Merlin shifted his weight to the other foot.
Arthur sighed and raised the marker, holding it horizontally and following the dotted line from the O back across the board through each X.
“Uh, follow the trail?” Owain guessed.
“Close enough. What did he do to each host?” Arthur asked.
There was silence a few more seconds, but then Bedivere said, “Oh! He connected.”
Arthur nodded, eyebrows raised like Bedivere was slow. “Exactly. And what happens when you connect to a server?”
“It…connects you to the server?” another of them said.
Arthur slapped a hand to his forehead. Merlin bit his cheeks to keep from laughing again.
“It gets logged, doesn’t it?” Arthur exclaimed, throwing a hand up. “There’s a connection log on each server!”
“Oh.”
“So now what do you do?” Arthur nudged.
“Get the connection logs from each server.”
“How?”
“By connecting to them and reading the contents of the log file.”
“And how do you find out which servers he used to bounce through?”
Nobody seemed to have an answer for that. Merlin sure hoped Arthur didn’t.
Arthur capped the pen and crossed his arms. “Merlin? Any ideas from your corner?”
The whole room turned and stared at him. Well fuck.
“Uh, the thing is…”
Arthur quirked a brow. “The thing is?”
“I don’t really think it matters whether or not you find out which servers he used.”
“And why’s that?”
“Because if it was me, I would’ve deleted the connection logs, or at least cleared them. So there’s probably not a trace anyway. Since you said he’s not the stupid sort.”
“So you don’t think it’s worth checking to see if there’re any recurring hostnames.”
“I don’t, and I’ll tell you why.”
“Please do.”
“Alright, well, firstly, if you did check, how much time would that take you? And secondly, the only way to get the connection logs would be to hack into the servers yourself, which, unlike this bloke, we can’t do because of ethical boundaries.”
“We could contact the network administrators and request them.”
“Yes, but then you’re still left with having to trace the hostnames, and how many people have connected to the server since the time of the attack, do you think? It would take ages. It’d be pointless.”
Arthur furrowed his brow. “You’re saying we let him get away with it.”
Merlin swallowed, feeling every pair of eyes on him acutely. “I’m saying…Okay, I’m not an economical genius, but the way I see it, you’re using more time and money trying to catch him than what he stole in the first place. I’m saying the best move from here would be to strengthen Odin’s security measures so it doesn’t happen again.”
“And just let this guy go so he can keep doing it to other companies? Odin lost money and essential data. He’s not going to like us turning the other cheek.”
Merlin shrugged. “Pendragon Enterprise’s protection is top notch, right? If this hacker got in, it’s because someone at Odin fucked up. If we give them the tools and they don’t use them properly, I say that’s not our problem. We can’t do anything to get their money or data back. We can try to catch the hacker responsible, but then we lose money ourselves. What we can and should do, is educate those Odin idiots on how to properly use the security system we provide.”
“All valid points, but—”
“Look, either way, those connection logs are gone! You’re not gonna catch him!”
The silence was deafening for a few seconds, and Merlin’s exclamation seemed to echo in the small conference room. Eventually, all heads turned back to face Arthur, though Merlin didn’t feel like he could breathe any easier.
“I agree,” Arthur said.
Merlin blinked. “You do?”
“Yes. But we risk losing a client if we don’t at least attempt. We may lose money ourselves, but they’re paying us for a service. Even if it was someone on their end who ‘fucked up,’ as you so eloquently put it.”
Merlin could already see where Arthur was going with it. It was what he would do if he were in the situation.
“So we pretend to make an attempt to satisfy an ignorant client,” Merlin said. “And then after we can’t find anything, we tell them how to prevent it from happening again.”
Arthur leaned against the white-board and smirked. “You and I don’t do anything. Odin is their contract,” he finished, jerking his chin at the group.
Merlin couldn’t tell which one, but he heard one of them groan.
%%%
After getting his own lunch—Merlin was perfectly fine with one of the sandwiches from the cafe down the street—Merlin emailed Gwen.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: The way to a man’s heart…assuming he has one
He seemed to like the soup. I think we lucked out this time. I suggest something heartier in future.
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: The way to a man’s heart…assuming he has one
I’ll be expecting heartier information.
(Please do me the favour of pretending that doesn’t sound stupid.)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: The way to a man’s heart…assuming he has one
Of course.
(Of course.)
The phone rang just as Merlin sent it, and Merlin sighed. He hadn’t even taken five bites of his sandwich.
“Hello, you’ve reached the office of Arthur Pendragon, may I ask who’s calling?”
“Oh, joy, he’s got a male PA now,” the woman on the other end said. Merlin frowned, hating her already. “This is Vivian, I need to speak to Arthur immediately.”
Vivian, Vivian…Merlin couldn’t remember if that name had been on the list or not. He searched his desk for where he’d written it down but it seemed to have got lost.
“Uh…”
“Well?” she demanded.
“Sorry, uh, may I ask what you’re calling about?”
Vivian sighed. “His mother’s just died, alright? Will you please let me speak to him?”
Merlin gaped. Of course something like this would happen on his third day. “What?”
“I said his mother’s just died. Put me through, you idiot.”
“Okay…”
Merlin put her through, already dreading the increased workload sure to follow their conversation. He wasn’t sure if Arthur’s workaholic tendencies extended so far, but if Arthur took time off to grieve, it would mean hell for Merlin having to do Arthur’s job. On the third day!
But of course the actual mother-dying part was terrible, too. Not even Arthur deserved that, left with only Uther as his remaining parent. Merlin shuddered at the thought.
Merlin was nearly done his sandwich when Arthur shouted his name. Merlin cringed. He’d been doing so well with the not-shouting.
Merlin took a deep breath, preparing himself for a possibly sad, possibly overcome with disbelief and angry version of Arthur. He hadn’t been put in a social situation like this since…well, since ever. Most of his social interactions occurred online.
“Yes?” he said, peeking his head through the door. At least Arthur didn’t look sad. Though Merlin wasn’t sure his current level of anger was much better.
“Why the hell did you let Vivian reach me?”
“Uh...”
“Uh, are you stupid? I said to never let her contact me! She’s fucking psycho!”
“But she said your mother died.”
Arthur’s hands balled into fists, shaking as though he wanted to strangle Merlin. Merlin took a cautious step back just in case Arthur decided to start charging, which didn’t look too unlikely.
When he spoke, it was through clenched teeth. “Merlin, my mother has been dead. Why d’you think my father’s such an arse?”
“Uh…”
That seemed to make Arthur explode. “If you say ‘uh’ one more time, I’m going to bash in that stupid pretty face of yours!”
“Did you just call my face pretty?”
“GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!”
Merlin shut the door hard enough for it to slam, and stood there a few seconds feeling like he’d just been through a storm. He jumped at the sound of another voice beside him, not having seen them walk up.
“Why was my son yelling?”
Of course, of course Uther Pendragon had to come out of his office—which Merlin had managed to forget was just down the corridor, and therefore within hearing range—at that moment. Merlin’s life really couldn’t get any worse.
“Someone rang and said his mother died but apparently that was just a lie to get me to put them through because his mother died a while ago and now he’s angry.”
Uther’s brows pushed together, deep lines forming in his forehead as his mouth thinned into a straight line, and Merlin’s stomach twisted when he realised what he’d just said and to whom. But it was out now, and there was no glossing over it, not with Uther.
“I see,” he said tightly. “In that case, I’d say he’s justified.” He said no more, only turned and walked back to his office.
Merlin exhaled and returned to his desk. He’d do better tomorrow, for sure.
%%%
**** <Emrys> is back from away.
[18:41] <Null_Impact> Spankm3_ple4se. can you believe that? his fucking password was ‘spank me please’
[18:41] <Null_Impact> it’s always the quiet ones, i tell ya
[18:41] <knightstalker> wow
<knightstalker> kisses Em.
[18:42] <knightstalker> wb love
[18:42] <Emrys> Hi.
[18:42] <Emrys> I hate my life.
[18:42] <Emrys> So, you know.
[18:42] <Emrys> There’s that.
[18:43] <Null_Impact> there there
[18:43] <Null_Impact> chin up buddy
[18:43] <Null_Impact> whatever it is people say
[18:43] <Emrys> Thanks.
[18:44] <Emrys> Any of you heard from Will?
[18:44] <morderator> Think he’s sleeping.
At nearly seven? Merlin found that hard to believe, but then he didn’t know any of their sleeping schedules. It seemed to vary, though usually Will was rather consistent.
[18:44] <knightstalker> this about the odin worm?
[18:44] <Emrys> How’d you know?
[18:45] <knightstalker> i’m your op
[18:45] <knightstalker> i know E V E R Y T H I N G ~ ~
[18:45] <Null_Impact> will was bragging
[18:45] <knightstalker> stfu null
[18:46] <Emrys> Well he’s in the clear as far as tracing goes. I have it on good authority.
[18:46] <knightstalker> ooh, good authority, how top secret of you
[18:46] <morderator> Odin is covered by Pendragon Enterprise.
[18:46] <morderator> That means it’s srs bsns.
[18:47] <Emrys> Exactly.
[18:47] <Emrys> I had to double check. And then I had to triple check.
[18:47] <knightstalker> care to share on whose authority you have it?
<knightstalker> uses bat eyelashes. It’s super effective!
<Emrys> uses dodge!
[18:48] <Emrys> You have your secret sources and I have mine :)
[18:48] <knightstalker> :(
[18:48] <Null_Impact> mate we’re a clan, we’re supposed to pool our sources, irght?
[18:48] <Emrys> There’s pooling your sources and there’s giving things away for free.
[18:49] <Emrys> And if you lot had access to this source I shudder to think what would happen to the world.
[18:49] <Emrys> Almost certainly it would implode.
[18:50] <Null_Impact> damn
[18:50] <Null_Impact> now that is srs bsns
[18:50] <Emrys> Quite.
[18:50] <Emrys> I do this because I care.
<Emrys> touches heart solemnly.
**** <WILL> joined #Legion
[18:51] <WILL> morning
[18:51] <Emrys> Wiiiiiiiiiiiiill
[18:51] <Emrys> PM.
[18:51] <Emrys> Actually I have to pee. And let me take my contacts out. But then PM.
Merlin nearly tripped trying to get to the bathroom—and he hadn’t even been walking particularly fast, which was just sad—but he got there, and after relieving himself, he put his contacts back in the contact solution. He picked up his glasses from his nightstand before returning to his computer.
Will had already messaged him privately in another window.
[18:52] <WILL> yeah?
[18:55] <Emrys> Pendragon’s going to make an attempt at tracing you, but nothing serious. I told them the hacker was probably smart enough to delete the connection logs for each bounced host.
[18:55] <Emrys> Which he was, right?
[18:56] <WILL> yes
[18:56] <Emrys> Cool
[18:57] <Emrys> It was hilarious, the team that has Odin’s contract is full of complete dolts. They didn’t even know what to do until Arthur broke it down for them.
[18:57] <Emrys> Rather inspirational actually.
[18:57] <WILL> wow how can you even see with those hearts in your eyes
[18:57] <Emrys> Ha. If you knew the day I’ve had, you’d know there’s no hearts.
[18:58] <Emrys> Daggers, more like.
[18:58] <WILL> uh huh.
[18:58] <WILL> well thanks for the tip. brilliant that we’ve got you working there.
[18:59] <Emrys> No problem.
Back in the main chat, the others had moved on to food, and Merlin suddenly realised how hungry he was.
[18:59] <Null_Impact> nearly time for breakfast here
[18:59] <morderator> I had pasta. It was alright I guess.
[18:59] <knightstalker> ramen isnt pasta mord
[19:00] <morderator> Oh. Then what did I have?
[19:00] <Null_Impact> a disappointment
[19:00] <WILL> sodium chloride
[19:00] <knightstalker> death in a bowl
[19:00] <morderator> None of that sounds very healthy :/
[19:00] <Emrys> Sounds about like what I’m going to have shortly.
[19:01] <WILL> what no mate we should celebrate my recent bonus
[19:01] <Emrys> Sure. What shall it be tonight then?
[19:01] <Null_Impact> omg are you guys gonna buy each other takeaway again
[19:01] <knightstalker> awww
[19:01] <morderator> That’s fucking adorable.
[19:01] <Emrys> Shut up.
[19:01] <WILL> shut up
[19:01] <WILL> surprise me
[19:02] <Null_Impact> wow did they just do that
[19:02] <Emrys> Alright.
[19:02] <knightstalker> lmao
[19:02] <Emrys> Just curry for me. The one you got me last time wasn’t bad actually.
[19:02] <WILL> and you were afraid to try it. this is why you should trust my tongue
[19:02] <Emrys> Let’s never use that phrase again.
[19:02] <knightstalker> all in favour of not trusting will’s tongue say aye
[19:03] <knightstalker> aye
[19:03] <Null_Impact> aye
[19:03] <morderator> Aye.
[19:03] <WILL> fuck all of you
[19:03] <WILL> whatever you’re getting me, get me a lot. i need that shit to last a few days.
[19:03] <Emrys> Alright. So long as you do the same.
[19:04] <knightstalker> he expects 67k worth of curry.
<Emrys> nods.
[19:04] <Emrys> No more, no less.
[19:04] <WILL> omg could you even imagine all that curry though
[19:04] <Null_Impact> lol will is what i wanna be when i grow up
[19:04] <morderator> …
[19:05] <Emrys> Oh god no. You don’t want to be like this loser. I’ve seen his flat.
[19:05] <WILL> you’re one to talk!
[19:05] <WILL> ok actually your flat isnt that bad
[19:05] <WILL> BUT YOUR ROOM
[19:05] <WILL> that is just as bad as mine
[19:06] <Emrys> Nothing is growing in my room.
[19:06] <knightstalker> ew will
[19:06] <WILL> there’s nothing growing in my room!
[19:06] <Null_Impact> will wtf
[19:06] <Emrys> There’s questionable fungi on the ceiling.
[19:06] <morderator> …
[19:07] <Null_Impact> that’s fucking disgraceful
[19:07] <WILL> that’s not my fault that’s the twats above me!
[19:07] <WILL> you are this close to getting no curry sir
[19:07] <Emrys> Not the curry!
[19:07] <Emrys> No really, I’m hungry, please hurry up and get that.
[19:08] <knightstalker> you heard my Em, chop chop!
[19:08] <WILL> down girl
<knightstalker> claws Will.
[19:08] <WILL> D:
[19:08] <Emrys> Good Knight.
<Emrys> pets.
<knightstalker> purrs.
[19:08] <WILL> one of these days i too will be an evil mastermind with a hot demonspawn minion
[19:09] <WILL> and then you’ll pay
[19:09] <WILL> YOU’LL ALL PAY
<WILL> runs away to buy curry
[19:09] <Null_Impact> was that what i think it was
[19:09] <morderator> I believe that was an Austin Powers reference.
[19:09] <Emrys> I’ve never been more disappointed in my life.
[19:10] <Null_Impact> not even when you went to pee and saw your tiny cock?
[19:10] <Emrys> Knight.
<knightstalker> claws Null.
[19:10] <morderator> Lol
[19:10] <Emrys> Good Knight.
<Emrys> pets Knight on the way out to buy…something.
%%%
Merlin’s fourth day went the best out of all of them. There was a definite routine forming: cheese and marmite sarnie for himself and a caramel latte with two sugars for Arthur in the morning, exchange of information for food with Gwen in the afternoon, and doing everything Arthur said in between. By Merlin’s second Monday, he was certain he’d got the hang of things.
“Rice with steamed vegetables,” Gwen announced, holding up the glass container. “And a Coke.”
Merlin took both items with a pleased smile. “His best friend seems to be one of the security guards named Percival. They’ve got together to play football loads of times in the past year.”
As more days passed and Merlin settled into things—mis-scheduling meetings only once every couple weeks, and forgetting a name on the screened calls list only occasionally—Arthur started looking at him with less and less scorn. Merlin got to know Arthur’s moods as well as he did his own, could predict what Arthur would ask before he asked it and made sure to get it done.
“Potato leek soup,” Gwen said when Merlin had been there two months. “The potato makes it hearty, the leek makes it healthy.”
Merlin laughed. “He’s going to get fat at this rate.”
Gwen held up the bottle of water in her other hand meaningfully.
“Oh, right. Lance is thinking about a getting a dog, or at least it looks that way based on the research he’s doing. Seriously Gwen, just ask him out already.”
“I need to be at the right place at the right time. One of these days.”
“If you say so. Glad to be of assistance until then.”
Merlin also acquired a wealth of knowledge about some of the largest company networks in the world. He felt like a kid at a playground—there were so many possibilities to choose from, so many doors now open that he could just walk through should he so decide.
In the end, he decided on coding a worm (named EmWorm), but unlike Will’s Odin worm, this didn’t have a payload. He would upload it disguised as a work document to each of his chosen servers, and begin the wait. Someone at the target company would download it, and it would make its way to each computer on the network, not doing anything until Merlin activated it himself.
He’d have hundreds, thousands, of zombie computers at his command. A botnet army. Just in case.
And over time, Arthur seemed to have started paying attention to him. More than usual.
One morning when Merlin was setting his caramel latte down, Arthur said, “Did you get a haircut?”
Merlin reached up and rubbed the back of his freshly clipped head instinctively. “Er, yeah. Was getting a bit long.”
Arthur made a noise that sounded like a grunt as he raised the latte to his lips and mumbled, “Looks better.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
Merlin could hardly believe Arthur had just complimented him.
He probably should’ve realised Arthur would catch on about the food eventually, and Arthur’s new streak of paying attention resulted in just that the same day.
Gwen set a bowl of pasta down on the ledge of Merlin’s desk with a grin. “Linguine in marinara sauce,” she declared.
Merlin consulted his notepad and looked back up at her. “His mother’s birthday is tomorrow. He’s taking her out to dinner.”
“Oh my God, that’s so sweet.”
“No drink today?”
“Nah.”
“Getting a bit sloppy, aren’t you?” Merlin teased.
“See you tomorrow, Merlin,” she sang, waving over her shoulder.
When she was gone, Merlin stood and picked up the bowl just as Arthur’s door opened. Arthur looked at Merlin, a brow raised in question.
Merlin opened his mouth and almost began with “uh,” but bit his tongue. He’d been doing well not saying it and didn’t want to ruin his streak.
“Yes?” he said instead. “I’ve got your lunch.” He held it out, fork balanced on the lid.
“That’s where you get it from every day? By flirting with Morgana’s assistant?”
Merlin laughed. “I am not flirting with Gwen. Do you want this or not?”
Arthur grumbled but nodded and turned to go back in his office. Merlin followed, knowing he was meant to set it on the desk like he did every day.
“Surely she doesn’t just give it to you,” Arthur insisted when he’d sat down.
“Gwen and I have a deal of sorts,” Merlin said, peeling the lid off and setting it upside down beside the bowl.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “What sort of deal?”
Merlin shrugged. “I give her what she wants and she gives me food.”
“Which you then give to me.”
“Well how else am I going to please you?”
Arthur froze with the fork poised above the bowl and Merlin felt himself blush.
Damn it, damn it, damn it.
“Right, well, if that’s all?” Merlin said, eager to leave.
“Yes, this is fine, Merlin, thank you.”
Merlin went back to his desk and sank into his chair with a sigh. So maybe he’d got the hang of things finally, but he was still putting his foot in his mouth occasionally. Probably some subconscious part of him was still waiting for Arthur to try something with him, since apparently that was his reputation. He couldn’t imagine how, considering Arthur didn’t seem the least bit sexual. Merlin sometimes thought Arthur lived and breathed Pendragon Enterprise.
But then came a day about a week later, when Merlin was about to leave for the evening and looked into Arthur’s office one last time as he usually did. Arthur had his head in his hands, elbows on the desk, fingers displacing his fringe. He looked defeated and tired. He looked…young, if Merlin was going to be honest.
Merlin paused, halfway into his jacket. He knew Arthur was under a lot of stress. Merlin had been hired to reduce the stress, for fuck’s sake, to help Arthur manage his schedule.
But he’d forgot the most important point of all—Uther was retiring soon. Merlin didn’t know how soon, but the knowledge had to be weighing on Arthur with each passing day. Arthur wasn’t much older than him, after all. That was certainly young to be running the world’s best computer security company.
Arthur didn’t look like he wanted to take over the company in that moment. He looked like he was dreading it, but knew it was inevitable.
Merlin finished sliding his arms into his jacket and made himself enter Arthur’s office one last time.
“Arthur?”
Arthur’s hands slid to the side of his face, and he put his chin in the palms, blinking at Merlin blearily. “Yes, Merlin?”
“Is there anything else you need before I leave?”
Arthur’s eyes closed and he sighed. “It can wait until tomorrow. I don’t want to trouble you with it today.”
That was different. Arthur didn’t want to trouble Merlin for once?
And yet Merlin was going to proceed anyway.
“What is it?”
“Just…one of our biggest clients. Also has a fair amount of stock in the company. They’ve been attacked with a virus. It’s not good for us, or them, for anyone really. Thousands of people’s lives changed because of this thing, and it’s just…” Arthur groaned and his head fell forward onto his desk with a dull thud.
Merlin stared a few seconds, wondering if Arthur would raise his head again. When he didn’t, Merlin said, “Ah, yes. The head desk. That emotion I am familiar with.”
Arthur snorted, and he didn’t raise his head, but he did lift it so that his chin rested on the desk, his eyes looking up at Merlin from below his eyelashes. Merlin couldn’t believe how young he looked and kind of wanted to take a photo so he could have the moment forever.
“Are you going to stay the whole night?” Merlin asked.
“I looked at the client’s file,” Arthur mumbled. “It’s untraceable, like the Odin one. There’s nothing I can do here tonight. No point staying.”
“If you can’t do anything, maybe you should go home, take your mind off it.”
Arthur stared at Merlin unblinkingly, and Merlin felt himself start to sweat, because that wasn’t just any look, that was a considering look. Merlin had a good idea of what Arthur’s next words would be.
“Yeah. Want to help me?”
He knew what Arthur meant. Arthur knew that he knew what he meant. But he asked anyway, to be sure.
“With what?”
“Taking my mind off it.”
Merlin waited until the butterflies in his stomach decided to calm down before answering. “Okay.”
%%%
In the nearly three months that Merlin had worked for Arthur, he’d not once had reason to use his key to Arthur’s flat. He knew where the building was—not too far from his own flat, actually—and he knew the inside had to be insanely posh, but he’d never really got a look at it.
He didn’t get much of a look that night either, not with Arthur’s mouth on his the entire way through to the bedroom. Arthur was a fucking brilliant kisser—as to be expected—and his hands were surprisingly coordinated, pulling Merlin’s shirt from where it was tucked into his trousers and running warm fingertips up the skin of Merlin’s stomach. The only thing taking up all of Merlin’s senses was Arthur, so of course he had no idea how they ended up in the bedroom.
He pushed his hips forward when Arthur pulled off his tie and started undoing the buttons of his shirt, searching for some relief in the form of rubbing his cock against Arthur’s. Merlin panted as he did it, swivelled his hips in circles while Arthur’s fingers snapped button after button, exposing his chest.
Arthur moaned when Merlin’s shirt was finally open, and slid his hands around Merlin’s waist, pulling him close. “Christ, I want you so fucking bad,” he breathed, latching his mouth onto Merlin’s neck.
It was the first thing he’d said practically since they’d left the office, and it went straight to Merlin’s cock. Merlin took a step back and started attacking his belt, sliding it through the loops before letting it drop to the floor.
Arthur was in a hurry again as well, toeing off his shoes and tugging angrily at his tie to get it off. Merlin was nearly undressed and about to pull his shirt off when Arthur threw a packet of lube at him. He just barely caught it between his hands.
Clearly Arthur meant to go fast; he hadn’t even taken his own shirt off, just pushed his trousers and pants down and kicked them across the floor before undoing the buttons of his shirt as he got a condom. So Merlin tried to act as quickly as Arthur was, hastily squeezing lube onto his fingers and bending over the bed, working it in while Arthur kissed him and slid the condom over his cock.
Merlin had just pushed a finger in, twisting and pulling at the rim of his entrance, when Arthur tugged on his sleeve and pulled him impatiently onto the bed. Merlin had no choice but to raise his knees and shuffle forward, straddling Arthur’s thighs. Merlin’s arse was slick enough anyway, and he didn’t think Arthur would rush the initial entry, no matter how fast he wanted to go.
Merlin clutched Arthur’s shoulders as he sank down, Arthur’s shirt bunching up in his hands. Merlin couldn’t even remember the last time he’d had sex—uni, probably—and Arthur wasn’t exactly small, so he took large, unsteady breaths as Arthur’s cock slid deeper, stretching him ever so slowly. He was dimly aware of one of Arthur’s hands rubbing up and down his back, as though trying to soothe him, but he could also feel Arthur’s own laboured breathing, where hot breath danced across his chest, so he knew Arthur had to be having a hell of a time letting Merlin go at his own pace.
Finally, Merlin was there, Arthur’s cock lodged as deep as Merlin could get it, and he bit his lip, moaning as he rolled his hips forward and got used to the sensation. He only noticed he was trembling when his fingers started to go numb from gripping Arthur’s shirt so tightly, and loosened them as he took a deep breath.
Arthur compensated the lack of movement for closeness, pulling Merlin in with a hand on the small of Merlin’s back and making Merlin’s cock press against his stomach. He put his mouth to Merlin’s neck again and Merlin leaned into it as he closed his eyes and let Arthur devour him. It wouldn’t be long now, he just needed a few more seconds, just a moment to let the burn of the stretch recede into something bearable.
He could tell Arthur was impatient when Arthur’s hand fisted the fabric of Merlin’s shirt in his hand, like an insistent reminder. Merlin took another deep breath and gave in, not lifting himself too much, but enough to ease his way off before taking Arthur back in. He used a hand to tilt Arthur’s head back and kiss him to distraction, to make up for the slow tempo he was setting.
Merlin wasn’t sure if Arthur would be the sort to kiss during sex, if it would somehow be too personal. But he seemed to like it just as much as before, using his tongue in the same talented way and driving Merlin mad with its motions. It seemed no time had passed at all before Merlin was moaning and taking Arthur’s cock in earnest, hands holding Arthur’s arms as he picked up speed.
The need for air made Merlin pull away, but Arthur didn’t seem too upset. In fact it was almost weird; they made eye contact for the first time then, and Merlin saw Arthur looking up at him, first at his kiss swollen lips, over his nose and up to his eyes. He saw desire like he’d never seen before in Arthur’s gaze, and it fuelled the fire in his groin at the same time it brought back the butterflies in his stomach.
He gasped when he suddenly felt Arthur’s hand between them, strong fingers curling around his cock. His arse clenched instinctively, and he had a feeling that’s what Arthur wanted, for Merlin to feel the same urge to finish as fast as possible that he no doubt did.
Arthur seemed to always get what he wanted, and now was no exception. Merlin was close; he fucked down onto Arthur’s cock and up into Arthur’s hand, and whined at how wonderfully brilliant both sensations were. He knew Arthur was there teetering on the edge with him, because Arthur’s eyebrows were pushed together at a slant, his expression so wrecked that it alone made Merlin’s balls draw up a little tighter.
It was good that Merlin was nearly there anyway. His legs had started to ache from the angle, because they weren’t exactly supposed to bend that way for long. He’d ignored it for the most part, because Arthur’s cock felt too good, slid inside him so perfectly deep and filled him up enough that a bit of discomfort in the legs didn’t matter. But it was bordering on painful now, so he gave himself one last push, took Arthur’s cock in short, quick, stilted thrusts that had him gasping for breath harder than ever.
“Arthur, fuck, gonna come, gonna—”
He came with his hands clutching Arthur’s collar, and felt Arthur jerk his hips up for the first time as he throbbed in Arthur’s firm hand. He knew Arthur had finished as well when Arthur stopped thrusting and exhaled a breathy “Fuck.”
Merlin stayed unmoving a few seconds, catching his breath along with Arthur, but then he lifted up a final time, letting Arthur’s cock slip free. He’d forgot what it was like to be left gaping and empty, how it felt simultaneously satisfying and hollow.
“I, um.” Merlin tried not to crawl backward awkwardly, but wasn’t surely if he quite managed it. “I guess I’ll go now. Glad I could, er, help you take your mind off things.”
He turned around as soon as he was off the bed, not wanting the awkwardness of looking Arthur in the face. He found his pants on the floor by his trousers and hurried to get dressed.
“Yeah,” Merlin heard Arthur say as he threaded his belt. “You could help again, if you want. You know. Whenever.”
Merlin looked over his shoulder, at where Arthur was still sitting with his legs out, the condom discarded beside him. Now that Merlin had a chance to properly look, Arthur was gorgeous unclothed, just as Merlin had thought he’d be, all muscle and powerful strength. Merlin allowed himself half a smile as he answered.
“Yeah, maybe. I don’t expect to do all the work next time though. I do that enough as it is.”
Arthur snorted. “And you do a barely tolerable job of it.”
Merlin laughed as he turned back around to do his buttons, because he knew Arthur didn’t really mean it. Arthur needed him, whether or not he occasionally mis-scheduled meetings.
“Right. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
“Do try to be on time. This doesn’t mean you can slack off.”
“Didn’t think it would. Bye, Arthur.”
Merlin left with the feeling of his arse still used and stretched, and he knew he would ache for a few days. But he couldn’t wait to take Arthur’s cock again, and wondered when next Arthur would need distracting.
%%%
**** <Emrys> is back from away.
[20:34] <Emrys> :)
[20:34] <Null_Impact> i think emrys is happy guys
[20:34] <Emrys> :)
[20:35] <WILL> you had sex didnt you
[20:35] <Emrys> :)
[20:35] <WILL> grats
[20:35] <Null_Impact> i feel like we should bake him a cake or something
[20:35] <knightstalker> oh i got you!
[20:36] <knightstalker> http://bit.ly/1BzuKK0
[20:36] <Null_Impact> where do you even get gifs like that from
[20:36] <knightstalker> tumblr
[20:36] <WILL> not at all surprised