Amped - Part 16
Nov. 16th, 2011 11:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwyllionTitle: Amped
Author: gwylliondream
Genre: Modern au
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: NC-17
Words: 57,554
A/N: This was written for NaNoWriMo 2011. For additional notes, warnings, etc, please refer to Part 1 here.
Disclaimer: I did not create these characters. No disrespect intended. No profit desired, only muses.
Comments: Comments are welcome anytime! Thanks so much for reading!
“You sounded great today,” Merlin said, his hand waiting on the Smart Car’s handle for Arthur to unlock the doors. The warehouse was in a shitty part of town and Merlin recalled the time he was knocked down by a hoodlum when he first applied for the roadie job. Christ, was it only a few weeks ago? It seemed like a lifetime.
“Hmmph,” Arthur grumbled, backing the Smart Car out of its parking space.
“And so did Gwen and Nimueh,” Merlin added. “They sounded great together.”
Arthur reached for his shades, although the afternoon sun was obscured by clouds.
“I suppose it can’t be easy,” Merlin said, fiddling with the volume on the radio.
“What’s that?” Arthur asked.
“Being large and in charge,” Merlin laughed.
Arthur pulled onto the main road. Merlin held his breath, wondering whether Arthur would turn toward Mordred’s flat or just continue home.
“Someone has to make the difficult decisions,” Arthur said, his jaw clenched tight. “Even if that means letting everyone else do their own thing, while the so-called leader puts his inclinations aside for the greater good of the others.”
Merlin exhaled the breath that he had intentionally taken and held, as the car sped up.
“You might learn something from that,” Arthur said, nodding Merlin’s way.
Merlin closed his eyes for the ride to Mordred’s flat.
He was a little surprised that Arthur was taking him there... especially after his little speech. As they got closer to the tenement, Merlin nervously jiggled his knee up and down, like it was attached to a runaway sewing machine.
“Would you quit it?” Arthur said.
“What?” asked Merlin.
“All that nervous energy. You’ve been would up tight all day,” Arthur said.
Merlin hoped that Arthur had spoken more harshly than he had intended. “For Chrissakes, Arthur, I’ve just lost my boyfriend of two years. It wasn’t the way I intended the relationship to end, but I’d think you’d show me some empathy. It’s not like you didn’t know how stressed out I was when you picked me up and brought me to your house last night.”
Arthur wheeled the Smart Car into an open space in front of the tenement. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, knocking the aviators out of place.
“I’m sorry, Merlin,” Arthur said. “I’m sure you’re more upset even than you appear. You’ve done a good job holding it together today.”
Merlin sniffed loudly.
“What’s the plan?” Arthur asked, pushing his glasses back into place.
“I need to talk to him. If he’s there, I’ll do my best to start a conversation,” Merlin said, fidgeting with the seatbelt. “I want to explain-”
“Merlin,” Arthur started. “This guy seems like a complete clotpole. Are you sure it’s worth your time to address him? I know it’s been two years... I’m not dismissing that... but maybe if you show some confidence and got out of the relationship while you still could... You might feel better about it.”
Merlin slapped his palm against the radio dial, silencing the music.
“Arthur! Don’t act like you understand, because you don’t!” Merlin shouted.
“Okay, okay,” Arthur said holding his hands in the air. “I just don’t like seeing you get jerked around.”
Merlin opened the door and stepped onto the curb. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t yell at you. It’s not your fault,” Merlin said.
Arthur made a dismissive motion with his hand.
“I’ve got to try,” Merlin said. “He’s all I have. If it’s going to end, I want it to end well. Can you understand that?”
Arthur slumped down in his seat. “No, not really,” he said.
Merlin shut the car door, only to hear Arthur lowering the passenger’s side window.
“I’ll be waiting here... just in case,” Arthur said.
Merlin nodded and walked through the gate.
***
“God,” Arthur said, reclining his seat back and flipping the radio back on.
Why was it that he, as an outsider, could always see the proper course of action, when no one else, who was directly involved, could?
“Shite,” Arthur said.
The minutes ticked by. Arthur checked his watched. He waited a few minutes, then checked the clock in the Smart Car. He checked his watch again.
Just as he expected, Merlin pushed through the gate and slid into the passenger’s seat again.
“I’m sorry,” said Arthur. “He wasn’t there?”
“Take me to your house,” Merlin said. “Please?”
Arthur couldn’t help but notice Merlin’s eyes were red. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand, while Arthur drove. Arthur felt bad. He tapped his ring on the steering wheel as he waited at a red light. He did feel bad, didn’t he? Who was Arthur kidding? Merlin was fucking adorable. And this guy who was treating him roughly was going to pay, if it was the last thing Arthur did. He didn’t feel bad for Merlin. He was pissed off.
They arrived at the Pendragon house well after dinnertime. Arthur tried to avoid dining with Uther and Morgana at every opportunity, so he grabbed some takeaway they had left in the refrigerator, nuked it in the cordless microwave, and took it to his room.
“Sorry, father,” Arthur mouthed to Uther when they passed in the hallway. “My head roadie is very upset about a personal issue and I won’t let you interfere with my methods for resolving it. Thanks, but…” Arthur nodded toward his bedroom door, a plate of steaming Hong Sue Gai in his hand.
“Arthur, I appreciate your willingness to take care of your friend in his time of need, but I would like to have a word with you, when you have a moment.”
“Yes, father,” Arthur said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Arthur carried the dish into the room. Merlin lay on his stomach across Arthur’s bed, technical notes spread across the crimson comforter.
“Here we go,” Arthur said, holding to dish close to Merlin’s nose so Merlin couldn’t avoid the aroma wafting through the air.
“I’m not hungry,” Merlin said.
“Come on, try a little,” Arthur said. “I’ve got two forks.”
Merlin pulled a face and took a fork. He forced a bite of food onto it.
Arthur watched as his pink tongue reached out to taste the morsel.
“See? You’re hungry! You haven’t eaten a thing all day, not since you ate that banana this morning,” Arthur said.
Merlin grumbled.
If it were possible for Merlin to grow any more sullen, it had happened, right before Arthur’s eyes.
“Mordred used to say…” Merlin began.
Arthur listened, but when it became obvious that Merlin hadn’t the wherewithal to continue, Arthur debated about whether to prod him for more.
Arthur chuffed down a few bites of food.
“I was going to leave him, you know,” Merlin said.
The declaration came out of nowhere, and it made Arthur’s heart break a little.
“I don’t think I really could have done it, though,” Merlin said with a sniffle.
Arthur put the plate of food down.
“Of course you could have,” Arthur said. His hands were threatening to get grabby, so he laid one across Merlin’s back where he could smooth it over Merlin’s ratty green T-Shirt. The little quakes Merlin’s chest made, as he heaved on the verge of tears, broke Arthur apart.
One part of him wanted to fuck Merlin silly to make him forget about that asshole he called his boyfriend, but another part suggested a more chivalrous route. Damn it if blasted chivalry won every time with Arthur.
“Everything will be alright, Merlin,” Arthur spoke as his hand soothed across Merlin’s back. “You’re better than that. I know it’s hard to believe it right now, but you deserve so much more.”
Merlin’s sobbing seemed to ease a bit. Arthur almost thought he had fallen asleep.
“Look,” Arthur said. “I need to go talk to my father for a minute. “Why don’t you get ready for bed, and I’ll be right back, yeah?”
Arthur rose from the bed and headed for the door. He opened it, the automatic lighting illuminating the hallway.
Merlin turned his head toward Arthur.
“Thanks,” he said.
***
Arthur wandered into the kitchen and found Uther rummaging through some bills at the granite topped island that stood in the centre of the room. He dropped the dish into the sink, the clattering sound disturbing the silence.
“Arthur, we need to talk about your friend,” Uther said.
Arthur sighed. “Look, I came out here to talk to you because I’ve run into a situation that may make you uncomfortable. I thought we could talk about it, but I suppose that’s too much to ask for.”
“Arthur,” Uther said. “You know I’m always willing to talk with you. I just think it’s inappropriate for you to be hauling your roadie all over town, while he gets his personal life in order. And you haven’t had someone spend the night in two decades. This is not a rooming house.”
“No? Then why is Morgana here?” Arthur asked. “She fell on hard times and you’ve decided to help her out. Why can’t I do the same for a friend?”
“That boy is hardly a friend, Arthur, and you know it,” Uther said.
For the first time, Arthur felt a chill travel down his spine, thinking that his father knew the reason that not one of his relationships with the ladies of Camelot had ever worked out.
He was swift to change the subject.
“Well, maybe he’d like to enter the Police Academy? Did you ever think of that?” asked Arthur.
“Arthur,” Uther said. “I can see this conversation is going from one insane premise to the other. The next thing you’ll be telling me is that you want him to live here as your manservant.”
Arthur snorted. “Well, maybe that’s not a bad idea,” he said.
“Arthur, it’s all well and good to help people, but you need to help people so they can make their way on their own. There’s no joy to be had in enabling someone who won’t help themselves,” Uther said.
“But Merlin’s not like that,” Arthur said. “He will help himself. I assure you, it won’t take long.”
“How long until The Round Table Tour?” Uther counted the days on his fingers. “I trust you’ll be done with this nonsense by then.”
“I suppose I’ll have to be. We’ll be on the road before long. Goodnight father.”
Arthur pressed a kiss to Uther’s cheek and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
Arthur rapped his knuckles on the door softly, but heard no sound. When he opened the door, he saw that Merlin had changed into his sleepwear from the previous night. He was sound asleep. Arthur collected the dirty laundry and tossed it into the hamper. If Merlin’s so-called boyfriend wasn’t going to budge, they’d have to find some clothes for Merlin soon. He couldn’t very well walk around in Arthur’s pyjamas all day, although the thought was sweet. Arthur stripped off his clothes, brushed his teeth, and donned his own T-Shirt and sleep pants.
Merlin looked so peaceful, for a change. Arthur punched the code to dim the light and lay down bedside Merlin. He listened to the soft breaths that emitted from his open mouth. Without thinking twice, he slid his arms around him and fell asleep.
Author: gwylliondream
Genre: Modern au
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Rating: NC-17
Words: 57,554
A/N: This was written for NaNoWriMo 2011. For additional notes, warnings, etc, please refer to Part 1 here.
Disclaimer: I did not create these characters. No disrespect intended. No profit desired, only muses.
Comments: Comments are welcome anytime! Thanks so much for reading!
“You sounded great today,” Merlin said, his hand waiting on the Smart Car’s handle for Arthur to unlock the doors. The warehouse was in a shitty part of town and Merlin recalled the time he was knocked down by a hoodlum when he first applied for the roadie job. Christ, was it only a few weeks ago? It seemed like a lifetime.
“Hmmph,” Arthur grumbled, backing the Smart Car out of its parking space.
“And so did Gwen and Nimueh,” Merlin added. “They sounded great together.”
Arthur reached for his shades, although the afternoon sun was obscured by clouds.
“I suppose it can’t be easy,” Merlin said, fiddling with the volume on the radio.
“What’s that?” Arthur asked.
“Being large and in charge,” Merlin laughed.
Arthur pulled onto the main road. Merlin held his breath, wondering whether Arthur would turn toward Mordred’s flat or just continue home.
“Someone has to make the difficult decisions,” Arthur said, his jaw clenched tight. “Even if that means letting everyone else do their own thing, while the so-called leader puts his inclinations aside for the greater good of the others.”
Merlin exhaled the breath that he had intentionally taken and held, as the car sped up.
“You might learn something from that,” Arthur said, nodding Merlin’s way.
Merlin closed his eyes for the ride to Mordred’s flat.
He was a little surprised that Arthur was taking him there... especially after his little speech. As they got closer to the tenement, Merlin nervously jiggled his knee up and down, like it was attached to a runaway sewing machine.
“Would you quit it?” Arthur said.
“What?” asked Merlin.
“All that nervous energy. You’ve been would up tight all day,” Arthur said.
Merlin hoped that Arthur had spoken more harshly than he had intended. “For Chrissakes, Arthur, I’ve just lost my boyfriend of two years. It wasn’t the way I intended the relationship to end, but I’d think you’d show me some empathy. It’s not like you didn’t know how stressed out I was when you picked me up and brought me to your house last night.”
Arthur wheeled the Smart Car into an open space in front of the tenement. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, knocking the aviators out of place.
“I’m sorry, Merlin,” Arthur said. “I’m sure you’re more upset even than you appear. You’ve done a good job holding it together today.”
Merlin sniffed loudly.
“What’s the plan?” Arthur asked, pushing his glasses back into place.
“I need to talk to him. If he’s there, I’ll do my best to start a conversation,” Merlin said, fidgeting with the seatbelt. “I want to explain-”
“Merlin,” Arthur started. “This guy seems like a complete clotpole. Are you sure it’s worth your time to address him? I know it’s been two years... I’m not dismissing that... but maybe if you show some confidence and got out of the relationship while you still could... You might feel better about it.”
Merlin slapped his palm against the radio dial, silencing the music.
“Arthur! Don’t act like you understand, because you don’t!” Merlin shouted.
“Okay, okay,” Arthur said holding his hands in the air. “I just don’t like seeing you get jerked around.”
Merlin opened the door and stepped onto the curb. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t yell at you. It’s not your fault,” Merlin said.
Arthur made a dismissive motion with his hand.
“I’ve got to try,” Merlin said. “He’s all I have. If it’s going to end, I want it to end well. Can you understand that?”
Arthur slumped down in his seat. “No, not really,” he said.
Merlin shut the car door, only to hear Arthur lowering the passenger’s side window.
“I’ll be waiting here... just in case,” Arthur said.
Merlin nodded and walked through the gate.
***
“God,” Arthur said, reclining his seat back and flipping the radio back on.
Why was it that he, as an outsider, could always see the proper course of action, when no one else, who was directly involved, could?
“Shite,” Arthur said.
The minutes ticked by. Arthur checked his watched. He waited a few minutes, then checked the clock in the Smart Car. He checked his watch again.
Just as he expected, Merlin pushed through the gate and slid into the passenger’s seat again.
“I’m sorry,” said Arthur. “He wasn’t there?”
“Take me to your house,” Merlin said. “Please?”
Arthur couldn’t help but notice Merlin’s eyes were red. He wiped his nose on the back of his hand, while Arthur drove. Arthur felt bad. He tapped his ring on the steering wheel as he waited at a red light. He did feel bad, didn’t he? Who was Arthur kidding? Merlin was fucking adorable. And this guy who was treating him roughly was going to pay, if it was the last thing Arthur did. He didn’t feel bad for Merlin. He was pissed off.
They arrived at the Pendragon house well after dinnertime. Arthur tried to avoid dining with Uther and Morgana at every opportunity, so he grabbed some takeaway they had left in the refrigerator, nuked it in the cordless microwave, and took it to his room.
“Sorry, father,” Arthur mouthed to Uther when they passed in the hallway. “My head roadie is very upset about a personal issue and I won’t let you interfere with my methods for resolving it. Thanks, but…” Arthur nodded toward his bedroom door, a plate of steaming Hong Sue Gai in his hand.
“Arthur, I appreciate your willingness to take care of your friend in his time of need, but I would like to have a word with you, when you have a moment.”
“Yes, father,” Arthur said. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Arthur carried the dish into the room. Merlin lay on his stomach across Arthur’s bed, technical notes spread across the crimson comforter.
“Here we go,” Arthur said, holding to dish close to Merlin’s nose so Merlin couldn’t avoid the aroma wafting through the air.
“I’m not hungry,” Merlin said.
“Come on, try a little,” Arthur said. “I’ve got two forks.”
Merlin pulled a face and took a fork. He forced a bite of food onto it.
Arthur watched as his pink tongue reached out to taste the morsel.
“See? You’re hungry! You haven’t eaten a thing all day, not since you ate that banana this morning,” Arthur said.
Merlin grumbled.
If it were possible for Merlin to grow any more sullen, it had happened, right before Arthur’s eyes.
“Mordred used to say…” Merlin began.
Arthur listened, but when it became obvious that Merlin hadn’t the wherewithal to continue, Arthur debated about whether to prod him for more.
Arthur chuffed down a few bites of food.
“I was going to leave him, you know,” Merlin said.
The declaration came out of nowhere, and it made Arthur’s heart break a little.
“I don’t think I really could have done it, though,” Merlin said with a sniffle.
Arthur put the plate of food down.
“Of course you could have,” Arthur said. His hands were threatening to get grabby, so he laid one across Merlin’s back where he could smooth it over Merlin’s ratty green T-Shirt. The little quakes Merlin’s chest made, as he heaved on the verge of tears, broke Arthur apart.
One part of him wanted to fuck Merlin silly to make him forget about that asshole he called his boyfriend, but another part suggested a more chivalrous route. Damn it if blasted chivalry won every time with Arthur.
“Everything will be alright, Merlin,” Arthur spoke as his hand soothed across Merlin’s back. “You’re better than that. I know it’s hard to believe it right now, but you deserve so much more.”
Merlin’s sobbing seemed to ease a bit. Arthur almost thought he had fallen asleep.
“Look,” Arthur said. “I need to go talk to my father for a minute. “Why don’t you get ready for bed, and I’ll be right back, yeah?”
Arthur rose from the bed and headed for the door. He opened it, the automatic lighting illuminating the hallway.
Merlin turned his head toward Arthur.
“Thanks,” he said.
***
Arthur wandered into the kitchen and found Uther rummaging through some bills at the granite topped island that stood in the centre of the room. He dropped the dish into the sink, the clattering sound disturbing the silence.
“Arthur, we need to talk about your friend,” Uther said.
Arthur sighed. “Look, I came out here to talk to you because I’ve run into a situation that may make you uncomfortable. I thought we could talk about it, but I suppose that’s too much to ask for.”
“Arthur,” Uther said. “You know I’m always willing to talk with you. I just think it’s inappropriate for you to be hauling your roadie all over town, while he gets his personal life in order. And you haven’t had someone spend the night in two decades. This is not a rooming house.”
“No? Then why is Morgana here?” Arthur asked. “She fell on hard times and you’ve decided to help her out. Why can’t I do the same for a friend?”
“That boy is hardly a friend, Arthur, and you know it,” Uther said.
For the first time, Arthur felt a chill travel down his spine, thinking that his father knew the reason that not one of his relationships with the ladies of Camelot had ever worked out.
He was swift to change the subject.
“Well, maybe he’d like to enter the Police Academy? Did you ever think of that?” asked Arthur.
“Arthur,” Uther said. “I can see this conversation is going from one insane premise to the other. The next thing you’ll be telling me is that you want him to live here as your manservant.”
Arthur snorted. “Well, maybe that’s not a bad idea,” he said.
“Arthur, it’s all well and good to help people, but you need to help people so they can make their way on their own. There’s no joy to be had in enabling someone who won’t help themselves,” Uther said.
“But Merlin’s not like that,” Arthur said. “He will help himself. I assure you, it won’t take long.”
“How long until The Round Table Tour?” Uther counted the days on his fingers. “I trust you’ll be done with this nonsense by then.”
“I suppose I’ll have to be. We’ll be on the road before long. Goodnight father.”
Arthur pressed a kiss to Uther’s cheek and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
Arthur rapped his knuckles on the door softly, but heard no sound. When he opened the door, he saw that Merlin had changed into his sleepwear from the previous night. He was sound asleep. Arthur collected the dirty laundry and tossed it into the hamper. If Merlin’s so-called boyfriend wasn’t going to budge, they’d have to find some clothes for Merlin soon. He couldn’t very well walk around in Arthur’s pyjamas all day, although the thought was sweet. Arthur stripped off his clothes, brushed his teeth, and donned his own T-Shirt and sleep pants.
Merlin looked so peaceful, for a change. Arthur punched the code to dim the light and lay down bedside Merlin. He listened to the soft breaths that emitted from his open mouth. Without thinking twice, he slid his arms around him and fell asleep.
