Work Text:
Prompt: Modern, No Magic
It was curious really. Suspicious even. Merlin’s behaviour had been completely baffling and Arthur had finally had enough of it. He was ready to confront his friend and find out, once and for all, exactly what the hell was going on.
It had all started one Friday night, a couple of months ago, at their regular table at their regular pub. Gwaine, Leon, Lance, Arthur and Merlin all had a weekly pub night, a chance to catch up and blow off some steam before the weekend officially began. This particular Friday night however had stuck in Arthur’s mind as the start of Merlin’s odd behaviour.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Leon was the first one there, Gwaine was the loudest and Lance laughed at everything. Just as usual. The only thing different had been that Arthur had come straight there from work, rather than nipping home first to change. He’d been sitting next to Gwaine who was gesticulating wildly as he told a story when Merlin walked in and joined them.
Merlin was always the last one to arrive on account that he preferred to walk rather than catch the bus. He said that he enjoyed the fresh air no matter how cold it was outside and always preferred to walk home. When he sat down, Merlin smiled at everyone before his eyes fell on Arthur and stuck there.
The blonde man grinned and gave a wave but Merlin seemed transfixed. His cheeks started to heat up slightly and then he was stammering through a hello before rushing off to the bar. The men had guessed that maybe he simply wasn’t feeling well and that’s all it was but something about it struck Arthur as curious. Merlin returned a few minutes later with a pint in hand and his cheeks still a little pink. All that evening he avoided Arthur’s eyeline, scrambled awkwardly to move out of the way whenever Arthur stood up and generally just acted… odd.
As they said their goodbyes, Merlin rushed through, stating he would miss the bus if he wasn’t quick. That’s when Arthur knew something was up.
-
The next Friday, Arthur kept a close eye on Merlin to see if anything was still off with him but Merlin had returned to his usual cheeky self. He sat there teasing Arthur, smiling away and sharing highlights of his working week. It was as if the week before had simply been a dream, an anomaly in their shared evenings together. Everything was much the same as it had always been. Maybe Arthur had been a little quieter due to his observations over Merlin, but, other than that, business as usual.
-
The following Friday, Arthur had to rush to the pub straight from work once more after completing some overtime to catch up on a project. As he settled down into their regular booth, Gwaine squeezed beside him and offered over a drink. Arthur took a long sip, the cold liquid a blessing in the heat of the evening. A few moments later, Merlin finally arrived, late as usual, and pulled up a stool to the edge of the table.
Arthur was ready for another evening of simply relaxing with his friends and catching up on their busy weeks. But as he turned to Merlin to amuse the man with tales of his office, Arthur noticed Merlin’s red face. The brunette had the same look on his face as he had two weeks ago, distracted and blushing, unable to focus his eyes on anything.
“Hey, something up?” Arthur asked quietly. He didn’t want to grab anyone else’s attention in case Merlin was upset about something.
“N-no,” Merlin stammered. “I’m fine. Just… Tired. Yeah, tired. I’m fine.”
Merlin quickly inserted himself into Gwaine and Leon’s conversation, avoiding Arthur’s eye line once again. It’d never been like this between them and Arthur worried that he’d done something wrong. Had he somehow unintentionally upset Merlin somehow? Why was he acting so weird?
Arthur sipped his pint slowly, hardly registering anything else that happened that night. All he could focus on was Merlin.
-
Another three Friday evenings passed and the weekly pub visit had seemingly returned to normal. Merlin wasn’t avoiding Arthur anymore, Gwaine was loudly telling them all about his latest office fling, some guy named Percy, Leon was rolling his eyes at the graphic details which could definitely have been left out and Lance sat between Arthur and Merlin just happy to be there. It was just as it should’ve been and Arthur allowed himself to relax just a little more.
Merlin wasn’t upset or acting weird with him anymore and Arthur really did treasure the time they hung out together. All the lads apparently knew how he felt about Merlin apart from Merlin himself. Gwaine had once told Arthur that he stared at Merlin like a ‘ dog eyeing up a bone’. Arthur had dismissed him but then caught himself staring more often than not and realised his friend might have a point.
Lance had, unsuccessfully, tried on a few occasions to get Arthur to make a move, to ask Merlin out for drinks just the two of them. But Arthur had outright refused claiming that Merlin had never shown an interest in him. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself and risk losing his best friend.
Leon happened to be the best confidant when it came to Arthur and his feelings for Merlin. He was quiet and reserved, always paying attention to people and picking up on small cues that others missed. Leon was usually the first to notice when something was on Arthur’s mind and it’d been Leon who had first guessed about the man's crush.
Arthur had confided in him during those two Friday evenings when Merlin was acting differently, asking if he knew what might be up. Leon was quick to reassure Arthur that Merlin was fine and he was sure there was a reasonable explanation for his behaviour. It didn’t do much to settle Arthur’s mind.
-
The last Friday of the month came quickly and Arthur was frustrated to find out he’d be working late again, he’d have to head straight to the pub. It wasn’t like the group of friends had a set time to meet, but taking a detour home to change would add an hour to Arthur’s journey and he really couldn’t be bothered.
So as soon as 6:30pm rolled around, Arthur pulled off his tie, pushed his shirt sleeves up to his elbow and headed straight for The Avalon Arms. He pushed open the door a little after 7pm and headed straight for their usual corner table.
With a sigh, Arthur fell into a chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “Remind me to get a better job.”
“You work for your dad, Art. Surely you could just speak to him?” Leon questioned.
“You clearly haven’t met the man.” Arthur replied with yet another sigh. “But enough about work, where is everyone?”
“Gwaine and Lance are at the bar getting a round in. Merlin’s in the loo.”
Arthur nodded. He was tired from work but spending time with his friends always lifted his spirits, especially Merlin. Within a few minutes, Gwaine and Lance walked over with drinks in their hands and not far behind them trailed Merlin.
“Alright, princess!” Gwaine chimed, placing a glass in front of Arthur. “Uther still giving you grief at work?”
“You could say that again.” Arthur chuckled.
He took a long sip and when he looked up again, Merlin was sitting opposite him but wouldn’t meet his eye. Again.
Merlin was back to his curious behaviour again and Arthur sighed. It was this night that he decided he was ready to confront his friend and find out, once and for all, exactly what the hell was going on.
“Evening, Merlin,” Arthur began. “Good week?”
“Mhm.” Merlin nodded, his eyes studying the table intently. “Good. You?”
“Yeah, not bad.” Arthur clearly wasn’t going to get much out of him right now but he tried again and again. He asked Merlin about his week, tried to include him in all his discussions, tried over and over to catch his eye but in the end it was a fruitless effort.
Eventually, the bell rang to signal last orders and Merlin rose to his feet. “Well, I should get going. See you soon, lads.”
Gwaine, Lance and Leon waved goodbye and Merlin was gone. But Arthur stood up, followed Merlin towards the door and shouted after him.
“Merlin, wait!” Arthur pushed the door and fell into the street, looking around for wherever he’d disappeared to but Merlin was quick. He was nowhere to be seen but that didn’t deter Arthur.
He waved down a taxi and relayed Merlin’s address.
-
“C’mon, Merlin. Open the door.” Arthur knocked again, certain that Merlin was inside. He could see shadows moving under the door and hear movement coming from inside.
“...What’s wrong?” Merlin called through the wooden door. “Did I leave something behind?”
“No, just open up and bloody talk to me.” Arthur’s voice came out a little rougher than he had intended it to. “Please.” He added, softer.
A minute or so passed and Arthur was about to give up when he heard the lock click. The door opened just a touch and Merlin’s face appeared in the small gap. “What is it?”
Arthur shoved his hands in his pockets, unsure how to phrase his concerns. “Have I… Have I done something to upset you?”
Merlin’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“It’s just you wouldn’t look at me earlier. You kept avoiding me. And it’s happened before!” Arthur felt emotion rising in him as he continued. “A few times in the pub, you keep avoiding me and mumbling and acting as if being near me will set you alight or something.”
“Oh.” Merlin looked down at the floor, his cheeks flushing that brilliant red again. “Arthur, you haven’t upset me. I promise. It’s just me.”
Arthur waited for further explanation. When none came he pushed on the door and Merlin barely resisted, allowing it to be opened enough for Arthur to slip inside the flat.
“Talk to me.” Arthur said softly. “You know you can tell me anything, right? You’re my best friend.”
Merlin finally smiled, but it wasn’t a happy one. More of a scoff, a smile of disbelief. “That’s precisely the problem.”
Arthur was taken aback. “It’s a problem that I’m your best friend? Well, fuck me, that certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.”
Shaking his head, Merlin closed the door and sighed. “No, no, no, that’s not what I meant. I meant it’s just… I…”
“Well what the hell did you mean then, Merlin? Cause it certainly sounded like you don’t want to be my friend anymore!” Arthur heard the rise in his voice, could sense his emotions threatening to bubble over.
What the hell had he done to drive away his best friend? How had they ended up here?
“Fuck.” Merlin clenched his fists in his hair. “Of course I want to be your friend, you idiot! ”
“Then explain to me what the fuck is going on!”
“I want to be more than your shitting best friend!” Merlin shouted, his voice wobbling slightly despite its intensity. “Okay? Are you bloody happy now?!”
Merlin turned quickly and sat on the edge of his sofa, head forward in his hands, his breaths coming in a little heavy.
Arthur was frozen to the spot, unsure if he was having a fever dream or if those words had actually just come from Merlin’s mouth. “You…”
“Please, just… Let’s not, okay? We can forget I ever said that.” Merlin’s volume had greatly reduced and Arthur almost didn’t catch what he’d said at first.
He took a moment to compose himself and then Arthur moved to where Merlin was sitting and knelt before the man. He used a hand to lift Merlin’s face so they were eye to eye and smiled. “I don’t want to forget what you said.”
“Wha--”
“I kinda… Want to be more than your shitting best friend too.” Arthur accented the swear word, teasing just a little bit.
Merlin blinked a few times, his red cheek hot under Arthur’s touch. “You do?”
“I do.”
And then time seemed to stop, a moment stretched into a lifetime as Arthur stared into Merlin’s eyes, an ocean of blues and sapphire.
Merlin took a breath and Arthur hardly had time to think before he was being kissed. Merlin had leaned in and pressed his lips to Arthur’s face, causing Arthur’s brain to almost short circuit with the feeling of it all. He’d dreamt and imagined this so many times, wondered what it would be like if he ever got the chance to kiss Merlin but reality was more than he could’ve hoped for.
Merlin’s lips were soft and full, warm against his own and Arthur wished he could stay there forever, kissing Merlin and holding him close. But then a thought occurred to him and Arthur pulled back in confusion.
“But, wait…” He began. “Why have you been so weird with me at the pub then? ‘Cause sometimes you were fine and other times… It was like you wanted nothing to do with me.”
Merlin blushed deeply, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. “Oh… Well, uh..”
“Wait…” Arthur repeated. “Every time you were weird with me was when… When I’d come to the pub straight from work.”
Arthur wondered how he hadn’t noticed that before, it seemed so obvious now. But that still didn’t explain Merlin’s behaviour.
“Merlin?”
“Okay, so you have to promise me that you won’t get mad or judge me or whatever.” Merlin was avoiding Arthur’s eye once again.
“Whatever it is, I’d rather know. I didn’t like not talking to you those nights.”
Merlin nodded but still averted his eyes. “Well, you came straight from work right? And usually you’re dressed so casually for the pub, in a football top or whatever. But straight from work?”
Arthur wasn’t following so he waited for Merlin to continue.
“Do you have any idea how tight your work shirts are? How incredible they look with the sleeves rolled up? How insanely hot you are in them?”
Arthur glanced down at himself and then back up to Merlin who’s cheeks were now a blazing crimson. “So you… Avoided me because of my… Shirt?”
“Yeah.”
There was silence for a moment as Arthur finally pieced together what Merlin was getting at and then he grinned, a shit eating grin that took over his whole face. “So you like me in a shirt? Enough that it drove you to ignore me, not look at me all night and make me think that I’d done something to upset you?”
Merlin didn’t answer, he nodded in embarrassment but Arthur was quick to kiss his worried expression away. “Oh, Merlin.”
“I can’t help it if you’re incredibly gorgeous and those tight shirts drove my thoughts into the gutter!” Merlin exclaimed, finally breaking his silence.
Arthur’s stomach flipped at that confession. Hearing that Merlin found him so attractive that it was distracting? Well, it sent shivers down Arthur’s spine and he leaned in for one more kiss. “Looks like I’ll be buying some more shirts then.”
“Arthur…”
“And tell me… Exactly what were these thoughts you were having? I want to hear every single detail…”
