Amped - Part 17
Nov. 17th, 2011 11:34 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!
He wasn’t sure how they got there, but when the protective morning fog lifted and the Valley of Fallen Kings came into view, their dangerous position became obvious. Now, they were easy pickings for the wyverns. The winged predators circled overhead, in search of their prey.
“We need to take cover,” Arthur shouted.
The sun’s morning rays made Arthur’s armour shine in a silver glow that served as a beacon to the beasts who now swooped toward them to get a better look at their breakfast.
“Do you still think it’s such a good idea to go hunting alone?” Merlin asked, with his eyes to the sky. He stumbled on the damp mossy ground, his arms weighed down with Arthur’s crossbow and a brace of rabbits.
Arthur snarled at Merlin from his position, guarded by a jumble of rocks. “It would have been a better idea if I had a manservant who remembered to tether the horses properly.”
“Arthur! Look out!” Merlin had shouted his warning just in time as a wyvern emerged from the sky and flew straight toward Arthur’s left side. He raised his sword at the beast, barely noticing the second wyvern that approached on the right.
Arthur moved quickly and ran the snarling creature through, fresh blood dripping from his sword and dotting the mossy ground while the second wyvern retreated in the sky.
“That’ll show them,” Arthur said, sheathing his sword.
Merlin panted with relief. “Oh, that was a close one,” Merlin said.
But he had spoken too soon. Ready to fight again, the shunned wyvern soared toward Arthur. As Arthur reached for his sword and hoisted it in the air, he knew he’d never make contact with the wyvern in time to save himself from its claws and sharp pincers. He continued in his follow through, hoping to at least deflect some of the wyvern’s impact.
“Get down, Merlin!” he shouted before the wyvern swooped in to tear him apart.
As he turned his head to shield his face from the wyvern’s claws, he caught a glimpse of Merlin, disobeying his commands, as usual. He was standing tall with an outstretched palm and mumbling words that Arthur didn’t understand, Merlin’s eyes flashing gold with fire.
Arthur heard a deafening roar and the wyvern burst into a thousand pieces, each one falling to the ground like a piece of parchment. The force of the explosion knocked Arthur off his feet. He lay there shuddering from the heated wind that filled the valley as if it were struck by a fireball.
Dazed, Arthur waited a moment for the dust to settle.
“Arthur? Are you alright?” Merlin asked, rushing toward him, refusing to make eye contact even as he helped Arthur to rise.
“Merlin?” Arthur said feebly as he crouched on all fours.
Merlin lowered his head, without saying anything.
“Merlin, you saved my life,” said Arthur, gasping for breath. He clutched Merlin’s arm. “I saw what you did… thank you.”
Merlin’s eyes flew open. “Arthur? You’re not angry?” Merlin asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
“You did what you had to do, Merlin,” Arthur said. “If you hadn’t used you magic, I’d have been killed.”
“But Arthur… your father… he’ll have me killed,” Merlin said.
“I’ll protect you Merlin,” Arthur said. “You saved me. Your secret is safe with me. Besides, I saw you with your nose buried in that magic book of yours years ago.”
Merlin looked as if he would nearly bubble over with joy.
Arthur slid his hands through Merlin’s hair and drew him near.
“Don’t ever doubt my word,” Arthur said.
“I promise I won’t,” said Merlin, his eyes filled with adoration for his prince.
***
“Mmmph,” Merlin mumbled in his sleep.
Arthur stretched out one leg and tugged Merlin closer. He could never be angry with him, no matter what, secret magic book be damned. He nosed his way behind Merlin’s ear and smelled his own shampoo that Merlin must have used in the shower.
Sliding his hand down Merlin’s arm, he gave a little shove to the knobby elbow that was prodding Arthur’s ribs. Merlin stretched his arm out and slipped his hand beneath his pillow.
“Mmmm,” Arthur purred, contented as a cat. He flexed his toes and only then froze when he realized that his legs were entangled with Merlin’s. The crimson and gold comforter was draped over them while they slept, but he knew he didn’t put it there. Merlin must have.
Arthur relaxed and smiled at the thought of Merlin waking up, covering them both over, and slipping right into his embrace again.
Merlin felt warm in his arms, and Arthur got a great deal of comfort from knowing that Merlin needed some comfort after the day Merlin had at the hands of his boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, Arthur reminded himself. And he hoped Merlin would be thinking of Mordred as an ex-boyfriend. The sooner, the better.
Merlin must have felt the tension riding through Arthur’s muscles because he fidgeted his way loose and rolled onto his back. Arthur just let his arms stay with the gangly limbs and sharp hipbones that made up the distinctive part of Merlin’s body beneath the covers while he turned. His hand ended up in the soft swell of Merlin’s belly. Not only did the feeling of the springy hair beneath Merlin’s borrowed shirt make Arthur grin like a fool, but it also made Arthur’s cock plump more fully than he was comfortable with whilst sharing a bed with a friend in distress.
He pitched his hips a little bit backwards to give himself some room, should Merlin wake up and be uncomfortable with their proximity.
Arthur wondered what time it was, but he didn’t dare turn his head to take note of the wind-up clock that marked the hours of night for him. A soft moonglow played off the clouds outside, giving the room some dim light, as if they were in a soft summer haze.
For all his sharp angles and point features, Merlin’s lips seemed like they were manufactured in an entirely different factory. They looked as soft as candy floss and as lush as a ripe strawberry.
Arthur was sure that most girls would be jealous of the way they glistened beneath a smeared finger of lip gloss. Merlin’s lips were made to be kissed. After some consideration, Arthur thought he was even more jealous of Mordred, than girls might be of Merlin’s lips. He hugged Merlin a little tighter at the thought, and dozed off to sleep again.
Some hours later, he was awakened by Merlin’s voice.
“Hey, Arthur,” he said, with a nudge of his foot. “Hey, time to wake up, yeah?”
Arthur was pleased that, although Merlin kicked at him, he didn’t push him away. Emboldened, Arthur said, “I don’t want to get up, this feels so cosy.”
Merlin hummed a little sigh and snuggled closer.
“We can just stay like this, yeah?” Arthur said. “And you won’t think I’m weird that I’d want to.”
Merlin propped himself up on an elbow and rolled his eyes at Arthur.
“You act like you’ve never slept with a man before,” Merlin said.
And with that, Merlin rolled out of bed, taking the warmth with him, and leaving Arthur to wonder whether it was that obvious.
***
“You’re looking well, Merlin,” Gwaine said, throwing a few air punches at Merlin when he and Arthur rolled under the corrugated door. “The Princess has been doing a good job of looking after you.”
Merlin blushed adorably as he threw his satchel of paperwork onto the table.
Arthur just shook his head. He’d only rile Gwaine worse if he complained about the nickname. He knew he had plenty more battles to pick with him, so he’d better choose them wisely. A suave guitarist like Gwaine would be sought after as a front man, if he wasn’t spending all his time playing second fiddle to Arthur. It was a strong point of contention between them, and Arthur chose to ignore it as much as possible.
Lance and Percy looked to be nearly ready to begin. Percy tested each drum and percussion piece using various strikes and intensities with the precision of a surgeon, while Lance flooded the warehouse with some jazzy melodies that make Arthur think he was at a Phish concert. Since their instruments took the longest time to set up, the whole band always deferred their timing to meet Lance and Percy’s pace.
Leon and Elyan were engaged in the current diversion of the day, a one-on-one championship ping pong match.
“Hello, Arthur,” Gwen rushed forward to give Arthur a peck on the cheek. “Getting excited now that the opening night of The Round Table Tour is only a few days away, I’m sure.”
“Truth be told, I’ve had so much on my mind, it seems like just yesterday we began planning for this,” Arthur said.
“It goes by quickly,” said Nimueh who was decked out in leather pants although it was twenty-five degrees and noontime.
“Not quick enough,” Arthur said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I really need to thank you, Arthur. You’ve done such a terrific job pulling this together,” Gwen said.
“Yes,” Nimueh agreed. “It’s a thrill to be a part of it.”
“Arthur,” Gwen began. “Nimueh and I were going to stay late this afternoon and do some fine tuning. It would be brilliant if you could hang around a bit after the guys break up.”
“I suppose I could manage that,” Arthur said.
“That’s good indeed, Arthur,” Nimueh chimed in. “With the Black Zigzags as your opening band, The Knights will have to sound their best to avoid being booed off the stage.”
Gwen bit her lip.
Arthur looked at Nimueh sceptically. “Well, let’s work on making sure that doesn’t happen.”
“One, two, three, four!” Percy called out, and so the practice began.
They ran through their set list in a random order. It was always a good idea to mix things up as the tour’s opening night grew nearer. It would keep them fresh when it came time to perform before a live audience.
By five o’clock, they had gone through a half-dozen pizzas, a case of Red Bull, and each song twice.
When Arthur told Merlin that he’d be staying late to help Gwen and Nimueh, Merlin was only too happy to head to the pub at Gwaine and Elyan’s invitation.
“Besides, we need to catch up on old times,” Merlin said. “If you don’t want in, Gwaine can give me a ride back to your house, or I can crash at their place if they’re too pissed to drive.”
“That sounds fine by me,” Arthur said. “I could use a night off from watching over you.”
Arthur turned to Gwen and Nimueh, as the guys headed out to the pub.
“Where do we begin?” he asked.
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!
He wasn’t sure how they got there, but when the protective morning fog lifted and the Valley of Fallen Kings came into view, their dangerous position became obvious. Now, they were easy pickings for the wyverns. The winged predators circled overhead, in search of their prey.
“We need to take cover,” Arthur shouted.
The sun’s morning rays made Arthur’s armour shine in a silver glow that served as a beacon to the beasts who now swooped toward them to get a better look at their breakfast.
“Do you still think it’s such a good idea to go hunting alone?” Merlin asked, with his eyes to the sky. He stumbled on the damp mossy ground, his arms weighed down with Arthur’s crossbow and a brace of rabbits.
Arthur snarled at Merlin from his position, guarded by a jumble of rocks. “It would have been a better idea if I had a manservant who remembered to tether the horses properly.”
“Arthur! Look out!” Merlin had shouted his warning just in time as a wyvern emerged from the sky and flew straight toward Arthur’s left side. He raised his sword at the beast, barely noticing the second wyvern that approached on the right.
Arthur moved quickly and ran the snarling creature through, fresh blood dripping from his sword and dotting the mossy ground while the second wyvern retreated in the sky.
“That’ll show them,” Arthur said, sheathing his sword.
Merlin panted with relief. “Oh, that was a close one,” Merlin said.
But he had spoken too soon. Ready to fight again, the shunned wyvern soared toward Arthur. As Arthur reached for his sword and hoisted it in the air, he knew he’d never make contact with the wyvern in time to save himself from its claws and sharp pincers. He continued in his follow through, hoping to at least deflect some of the wyvern’s impact.
“Get down, Merlin!” he shouted before the wyvern swooped in to tear him apart.
As he turned his head to shield his face from the wyvern’s claws, he caught a glimpse of Merlin, disobeying his commands, as usual. He was standing tall with an outstretched palm and mumbling words that Arthur didn’t understand, Merlin’s eyes flashing gold with fire.
Arthur heard a deafening roar and the wyvern burst into a thousand pieces, each one falling to the ground like a piece of parchment. The force of the explosion knocked Arthur off his feet. He lay there shuddering from the heated wind that filled the valley as if it were struck by a fireball.
Dazed, Arthur waited a moment for the dust to settle.
“Arthur? Are you alright?” Merlin asked, rushing toward him, refusing to make eye contact even as he helped Arthur to rise.
“Merlin?” Arthur said feebly as he crouched on all fours.
Merlin lowered his head, without saying anything.
“Merlin, you saved my life,” said Arthur, gasping for breath. He clutched Merlin’s arm. “I saw what you did… thank you.”
Merlin’s eyes flew open. “Arthur? You’re not angry?” Merlin asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
“You did what you had to do, Merlin,” Arthur said. “If you hadn’t used you magic, I’d have been killed.”
“But Arthur… your father… he’ll have me killed,” Merlin said.
“I’ll protect you Merlin,” Arthur said. “You saved me. Your secret is safe with me. Besides, I saw you with your nose buried in that magic book of yours years ago.”
Merlin looked as if he would nearly bubble over with joy.
Arthur slid his hands through Merlin’s hair and drew him near.
“Don’t ever doubt my word,” Arthur said.
“I promise I won’t,” said Merlin, his eyes filled with adoration for his prince.
***
“Mmmph,” Merlin mumbled in his sleep.
Arthur stretched out one leg and tugged Merlin closer. He could never be angry with him, no matter what, secret magic book be damned. He nosed his way behind Merlin’s ear and smelled his own shampoo that Merlin must have used in the shower.
Sliding his hand down Merlin’s arm, he gave a little shove to the knobby elbow that was prodding Arthur’s ribs. Merlin stretched his arm out and slipped his hand beneath his pillow.
“Mmmm,” Arthur purred, contented as a cat. He flexed his toes and only then froze when he realized that his legs were entangled with Merlin’s. The crimson and gold comforter was draped over them while they slept, but he knew he didn’t put it there. Merlin must have.
Arthur relaxed and smiled at the thought of Merlin waking up, covering them both over, and slipping right into his embrace again.
Merlin felt warm in his arms, and Arthur got a great deal of comfort from knowing that Merlin needed some comfort after the day Merlin had at the hands of his boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, Arthur reminded himself. And he hoped Merlin would be thinking of Mordred as an ex-boyfriend. The sooner, the better.
Merlin must have felt the tension riding through Arthur’s muscles because he fidgeted his way loose and rolled onto his back. Arthur just let his arms stay with the gangly limbs and sharp hipbones that made up the distinctive part of Merlin’s body beneath the covers while he turned. His hand ended up in the soft swell of Merlin’s belly. Not only did the feeling of the springy hair beneath Merlin’s borrowed shirt make Arthur grin like a fool, but it also made Arthur’s cock plump more fully than he was comfortable with whilst sharing a bed with a friend in distress.
He pitched his hips a little bit backwards to give himself some room, should Merlin wake up and be uncomfortable with their proximity.
Arthur wondered what time it was, but he didn’t dare turn his head to take note of the wind-up clock that marked the hours of night for him. A soft moonglow played off the clouds outside, giving the room some dim light, as if they were in a soft summer haze.
For all his sharp angles and point features, Merlin’s lips seemed like they were manufactured in an entirely different factory. They looked as soft as candy floss and as lush as a ripe strawberry.
Arthur was sure that most girls would be jealous of the way they glistened beneath a smeared finger of lip gloss. Merlin’s lips were made to be kissed. After some consideration, Arthur thought he was even more jealous of Mordred, than girls might be of Merlin’s lips. He hugged Merlin a little tighter at the thought, and dozed off to sleep again.
Some hours later, he was awakened by Merlin’s voice.
“Hey, Arthur,” he said, with a nudge of his foot. “Hey, time to wake up, yeah?”
Arthur was pleased that, although Merlin kicked at him, he didn’t push him away. Emboldened, Arthur said, “I don’t want to get up, this feels so cosy.”
Merlin hummed a little sigh and snuggled closer.
“We can just stay like this, yeah?” Arthur said. “And you won’t think I’m weird that I’d want to.”
Merlin propped himself up on an elbow and rolled his eyes at Arthur.
“You act like you’ve never slept with a man before,” Merlin said.
And with that, Merlin rolled out of bed, taking the warmth with him, and leaving Arthur to wonder whether it was that obvious.
***
“You’re looking well, Merlin,” Gwaine said, throwing a few air punches at Merlin when he and Arthur rolled under the corrugated door. “The Princess has been doing a good job of looking after you.”
Merlin blushed adorably as he threw his satchel of paperwork onto the table.
Arthur just shook his head. He’d only rile Gwaine worse if he complained about the nickname. He knew he had plenty more battles to pick with him, so he’d better choose them wisely. A suave guitarist like Gwaine would be sought after as a front man, if he wasn’t spending all his time playing second fiddle to Arthur. It was a strong point of contention between them, and Arthur chose to ignore it as much as possible.
Lance and Percy looked to be nearly ready to begin. Percy tested each drum and percussion piece using various strikes and intensities with the precision of a surgeon, while Lance flooded the warehouse with some jazzy melodies that make Arthur think he was at a Phish concert. Since their instruments took the longest time to set up, the whole band always deferred their timing to meet Lance and Percy’s pace.
Leon and Elyan were engaged in the current diversion of the day, a one-on-one championship ping pong match.
“Hello, Arthur,” Gwen rushed forward to give Arthur a peck on the cheek. “Getting excited now that the opening night of The Round Table Tour is only a few days away, I’m sure.”
“Truth be told, I’ve had so much on my mind, it seems like just yesterday we began planning for this,” Arthur said.
“It goes by quickly,” said Nimueh who was decked out in leather pants although it was twenty-five degrees and noontime.
“Not quick enough,” Arthur said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“I really need to thank you, Arthur. You’ve done such a terrific job pulling this together,” Gwen said.
“Yes,” Nimueh agreed. “It’s a thrill to be a part of it.”
“Arthur,” Gwen began. “Nimueh and I were going to stay late this afternoon and do some fine tuning. It would be brilliant if you could hang around a bit after the guys break up.”
“I suppose I could manage that,” Arthur said.
“That’s good indeed, Arthur,” Nimueh chimed in. “With the Black Zigzags as your opening band, The Knights will have to sound their best to avoid being booed off the stage.”
Gwen bit her lip.
Arthur looked at Nimueh sceptically. “Well, let’s work on making sure that doesn’t happen.”
“One, two, three, four!” Percy called out, and so the practice began.
They ran through their set list in a random order. It was always a good idea to mix things up as the tour’s opening night grew nearer. It would keep them fresh when it came time to perform before a live audience.
By five o’clock, they had gone through a half-dozen pizzas, a case of Red Bull, and each song twice.
When Arthur told Merlin that he’d be staying late to help Gwen and Nimueh, Merlin was only too happy to head to the pub at Gwaine and Elyan’s invitation.
“Besides, we need to catch up on old times,” Merlin said. “If you don’t want in, Gwaine can give me a ride back to your house, or I can crash at their place if they’re too pissed to drive.”
“That sounds fine by me,” Arthur said. “I could use a night off from watching over you.”
Arthur turned to Gwen and Nimueh, as the guys headed out to the pub.
“Where do we begin?” he asked.
