Amped - Part 26
Nov. 26th, 2011 11:13 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!
When Arthur awoke in the morning, it wasn’t to a serenade, although he was quite sure Merlin would be happy to play another song for him someday soon. At least he hoped so.
He assessed his position before he opened his eyes. Mmmm…. Merlin’s warm chest against his back. Merlin’s arm tucked under his. One of Merlin’s feet pressed against his calf.
He could get used to this little spoon thing.
He opened his eyes to the morning light that filtered into the room. He could make out the shapes and shadows of various condom boxes still strewn across the bed. It would be awhile before he’d be ready to use one again, he thought, groaning at the ache in his arse.
He wondered if he could roll over. After some slow stretching and flexing, he decided to give it a try. Bracing himself with an elbow on the mattress for purchase, he held his breath and rolled. It wasn’t too bad, especially considering he ended up face to face with Merlin, his arms encircling him.
Merlin gave him a sleepy grin. He adjusted his embrace and held Arthur gently. His hair was sticking up in every direction, his breath smelled funny, and he needed a shave. On first sight, no one would ever guess that he was the sex God that Arthur experienced last night. Arthur smiled at the thought.
“What?” Merlin asked.
“You deflowered me,” Arthur said, sure he was grinning like an idiot.
Merlin laughed, a blush creeping over his cheeks. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
Arthur bit his bottom lip. “You know those massive machines that drill for oil?” Arthur asked. “I feel like I was explored by one of them.”
“Massive?” Merlin burst out laughing. “You flatter me too much.”
Arthur smiled and buried his face in Merlin’s neck to hear the rumble of his laughter.
“No, it felt good,” Arthur said drawing back. “Feels good. I can’t wait to do it again.”
“Whoa, there,” Merlin said, hitching his leg possessively over Arthur’s hip. “You’ve got a show tonight. We can’t have you limping across the stage when fans are expecting entertainment.”
“I’ll have to make an announcement, apologizing to them,” Arthur said.
“Tell them you can’t keep your boyfriend away from your arse,” Merlin giggled.
“That would go over well,” Arthur said. He slid his hand over Merlin’s hip. His thumb traced absentmindedly over the fine line of scar that he had only seen at a distance.
“I suppose now is as good a time as any,” Merlin said.
He got to his knees and let the covers slide off him.
“Can you see it?” Merlin asked, turning his head sideways to try to get a glimpse of his scar.
Arthur sat up and peered at the expanse of mutilated skin between Merlin’s hip and his arse cheek. He traced his fingers over the raised pentagram lines of white on white.
“He did this to you?” Arthur asked, tempering his tone because he knew damn well there was nothing that Merlin could do about it now.
“It was his birthday prezzie to me,” Merlin said, his voice hard.
Arthur was glad that Merlin seemed angry, rather than sad about it.
“I’m sorry,” Arthur said, letting his hand slide soothingly over Merlin’s bare skin. “I used to think you were accident prone. Getting jumped, a black eye, always trying to wear a game face, when now I know how much you were hurting inside. I wish I knew sooner, Merlin. I would have tried to do something to help.”
“You’re helping now,” Merlin said. He lifted one knee over Arthur’s thighs and straddled him, pressing Arthur’s back against the headboard.
“I hope that’s good enough,” Arthur said. His hands went to Merlin’s hips, his fingers feeling the rough edges of his scar.
Arthur’s cock was achingly hard and it only made it more so with Merlin sitting across his lap and kissing him into senselessness.
Merlin broke away and looked behind him for the lube. He flipped the cap open and handed it to Arthur.
“Prepare me,” he said. “Just because your arse is out of commission today doesn’t mean that I should have to suffer.”
Arthur followed Merlin’s explicit directions and soon had two fingers of one hand sliding into him, while his other hand reached behind Merlin’s neck to pull him in for a kiss.
When Merlin sank down onto Arthur’s cock, sheathing it to the hilt, Arthur was more than happy to help.
***
At the Pendragon breakfast table, Uther had a surprise.
“Sit down, lads, I think you’ll be pleased with what I have for you,” he said.
“I see you’re embracing the deadbeat lifestyle,” said Morgana over a breakfast of French Toast smothered in fresh berries and whipped cream.
“Morgana, if you’re referring to our morning attire, you can save it for the back pages of Velvet Rocks,” Arthur said, spearing a slice of French Toast from the platter.
He and Merlin had stayed in their pyjamas, hoping they’d get a chance for a nap before heading to the Avalon for opening night. Merlin wore a pair of Arthur’s plaid flannel sleep pants with his freshly laundered Death Cab for Cutie T-Shirt. Arthur wore his usual fare of sweats and a sleeveless tank top; he hoped to intimidate Morgana with his shoulders that, by some accounts, made him look formidable.
“What do you have, father?” Arthur asked. He eyed Morgana and decided Merlin’s domestic violence situation was as much of her business as was his sex life. He vowed to keep quiet about both from this point on.
Uther produced a Ziploc bag from his briefcase that was slung over a chair.
“I think this belongs to you,” he said, tossing the packet to Merlin, who had just plopped the last of the raspberries into his mouth.
Merlin caught it in one hand, dropping his fork on the plate.
“Oh, you got it back,” Merlin effused.
Arthur never saw someone get so excited over a little scrap of fabric, especially not the little scrap of fabric that someone tried to strangle him with. He watched confusedly while Merlin got up from his place and hugged Uther in his chair.
When he returned to his seat, he happily removed it from the bag for Arthur to inspect.
Merlin explained that the blue rectangle of fabric was woven by hand when Hunith had taken a weaving class at the community centre. It was clearly one of Merlin’s prized possessions.
“How can you be so happy to see it when Mordred nearly killed you with it?” Arthur asked, forgetting his vow about keeping quiet in front of Morgana.
“Oh, Arthur, that doesn’t matter,” Merlin said. “This is a symbol of my mother’s love for me. Any bad feelings about it that Morded may have caused can’t erase the joy it brings me.”
Arthur admired the weave of the fabric. “I’m glad. I’m glad you can look at it that way.”
Uther looked pleased as well.
Leave it to Morgana to intercede at the most opportune moment of domestic bliss to take Arthur down a peg.
“So, Arthur,” Morgana said, squirting whipped cream onto her finger and licking it with a delicate tongue. “I was about to tell Uther how grateful I am to you for securing a place for Nimueh as a back-up singer.”
“Nimueh?” Uther asked.
The tension at the table could have been cut with a knife.
“Is that the same Nimueh from Glein Midwifery Services?” asked Uther agitatedly.
“The same,” said Merlin.
Arthur looked perplexedly at Merlin. What concern was this of his?
“And she’s a back-up singer for The Knights now?” Uther asked.
“I didn’t want to tell you, father,” Arthur said. “I know how much it upsets you to have reminders of mother’s death.”
Uther looked crestfallen.
“I’m sorry,” said Arthur. “Sorry for everything.”
There was silence at the table, while Morgana smirked in triumph. Arthur bent his head in shame, but Merlin couldn’t take his eyes off Uther.
“Maybe you could look at it the same way I look at my mother’s scarf?” asked Merlin.
Arthur didn’t know what he was talking about.
Morgana looked incensed.
Uther asked, “What do you mean?”
Merlin explained. “If I only had the bad memories associated with my scarf, Mordred would win. I can’t let him do that, so I only accept the good feelings from when my mother gave it to me. When your wife died, it was devastating, I’m sure. And now you’ve built your life around banishing everything to do with those memories. You have no electrical wiring in your house, you regard everything about midwifery with disdain, including Nimueh. Most sadly of all, you shun Arthur because he reminds you of that awful day… when really, he should be your greatest joy- a legacy of the joy that your wife left with you.”
No one spoke for a very long time.
***
Arthur backed the Smart Car into a parking space behind the Avalon Theatre. The parking lot itself was bustling with activity. Theatre personnel, including bouncers and security guards, roamed the lot, checking for gate crashers. Merlin was amazed by the huge crowd of fans who waited outside the theatre for the doors to open. Lance and Gwen had parked their mini-van right next to the huge set of loading doors that opened to the back of the stage. Leon and Percival pulled in right after Arthur and Merlin. Arthur waved to them through the open window, the afternoon air warm enough to drive with the windows down and cool enough to not require air conditioning. Percival leaned over and tried to lift the Smart Car off the ground by curling his massive hands beneath the front bumper.
“Knock it off,” Arthur laughed. “We can’t afford to lose our drummer tonight when he’s suffering from a hernia.”
From where Arthur had parked, Merlin could see The Black Zigzags’ stage set-up through the doors. Their typical red curtains with the black zigzags running over them had been a design element that they had used in the years that they had been successful at performing. It gave them an edgy look. Morgause was already standing on stage, giving her minions orders. Cenred was nowhere in sight at the moment.
Merlin had been busy reconstructing his contact list from Arthur’s mobile. He and Arthur had gone shopping after breakfast and picked him up a new one, since the mobile that was in his satchel that he left behind at Mordred’s when he was attacked had not yet been recovered by the police.
“To think I didn’t know anyone a month ago when I went to work for The Knights,” Merlin said, his fingers flying over the touchpad adding band members, back-up singers, equipment managers, and transportation workers.
Arthur reached over and pinched Merlin’s earlobe between his thumb and forefinger.
“What?” Merlin squirmed.
Arthur gently massaged the tiny bit of smooth flesh.
“You’ve got my attention now,” Merlin laughed. “You only do that because I told you how much it tickles.”
“You are as wise as you are lovely,” said Arthur.
Merlin blushed furiously, like he always did when Arthur spoke to him like that. It was getting to be a regular occurrence.
“What do you want?” Merlin asked.
“I think you already know the answer to that, but it will have to wait until we get home,” Arthur said.
“We’ll see about that,” Merlin said.
Arthur leaned over and kissed Merlin’s neck.
The press of Arthur’s tongue flickering over the sensitive skin made Merlin’s head fall back against his seat.
“I just want to tell you,” Arthur whispered as he pressed soft kisses along Merlin’s jawline. “How absolutely brilliant you are.”
“Because I talked your father into getting some wiring installed?” Merlin asked.
“That, and everything else,” Arthur said with another kiss.
“For showing up Morgana?” Merlin asked.
“And for giving me ideas about things that I’ve never thought about before,” Arthur said.
“I’m not sure I need to know about that,” Merlin said. He tilted his head and dropped the mobiles onto his lap so he could kiss Arthur properly on the mouth, his hands weaving through his silky golden locks. If there was a competition for the best boyfriend in the world, Arthur would win first prize, he decided.
“I just want to say, that if I don’t see you for a while, after we go inside,” Arthur said. “I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.”
“To think that I was simply going to tell you to break a leg,” said Merlin.
Arthur cupped Merlin’s chin in his hand and pressed their lips together. Their kiss was disturbed by the honking of a Beemer horn as Gwaine and Elyan pulled into the space beside them.
The four of them walked into the theatre together and reconnected with Lance, over the roar of the crowd in the audience.
Merlin said his farewells. By the time he got to the control booth, The Black Zigzags were ready to take the stage.
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!
When Arthur awoke in the morning, it wasn’t to a serenade, although he was quite sure Merlin would be happy to play another song for him someday soon. At least he hoped so.
He assessed his position before he opened his eyes. Mmmm…. Merlin’s warm chest against his back. Merlin’s arm tucked under his. One of Merlin’s feet pressed against his calf.
He could get used to this little spoon thing.
He opened his eyes to the morning light that filtered into the room. He could make out the shapes and shadows of various condom boxes still strewn across the bed. It would be awhile before he’d be ready to use one again, he thought, groaning at the ache in his arse.
He wondered if he could roll over. After some slow stretching and flexing, he decided to give it a try. Bracing himself with an elbow on the mattress for purchase, he held his breath and rolled. It wasn’t too bad, especially considering he ended up face to face with Merlin, his arms encircling him.
Merlin gave him a sleepy grin. He adjusted his embrace and held Arthur gently. His hair was sticking up in every direction, his breath smelled funny, and he needed a shave. On first sight, no one would ever guess that he was the sex God that Arthur experienced last night. Arthur smiled at the thought.
“What?” Merlin asked.
“You deflowered me,” Arthur said, sure he was grinning like an idiot.
Merlin laughed, a blush creeping over his cheeks. “Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
Arthur bit his bottom lip. “You know those massive machines that drill for oil?” Arthur asked. “I feel like I was explored by one of them.”
“Massive?” Merlin burst out laughing. “You flatter me too much.”
Arthur smiled and buried his face in Merlin’s neck to hear the rumble of his laughter.
“No, it felt good,” Arthur said drawing back. “Feels good. I can’t wait to do it again.”
“Whoa, there,” Merlin said, hitching his leg possessively over Arthur’s hip. “You’ve got a show tonight. We can’t have you limping across the stage when fans are expecting entertainment.”
“I’ll have to make an announcement, apologizing to them,” Arthur said.
“Tell them you can’t keep your boyfriend away from your arse,” Merlin giggled.
“That would go over well,” Arthur said. He slid his hand over Merlin’s hip. His thumb traced absentmindedly over the fine line of scar that he had only seen at a distance.
“I suppose now is as good a time as any,” Merlin said.
He got to his knees and let the covers slide off him.
“Can you see it?” Merlin asked, turning his head sideways to try to get a glimpse of his scar.
Arthur sat up and peered at the expanse of mutilated skin between Merlin’s hip and his arse cheek. He traced his fingers over the raised pentagram lines of white on white.
“He did this to you?” Arthur asked, tempering his tone because he knew damn well there was nothing that Merlin could do about it now.
“It was his birthday prezzie to me,” Merlin said, his voice hard.
Arthur was glad that Merlin seemed angry, rather than sad about it.
“I’m sorry,” Arthur said, letting his hand slide soothingly over Merlin’s bare skin. “I used to think you were accident prone. Getting jumped, a black eye, always trying to wear a game face, when now I know how much you were hurting inside. I wish I knew sooner, Merlin. I would have tried to do something to help.”
“You’re helping now,” Merlin said. He lifted one knee over Arthur’s thighs and straddled him, pressing Arthur’s back against the headboard.
“I hope that’s good enough,” Arthur said. His hands went to Merlin’s hips, his fingers feeling the rough edges of his scar.
Arthur’s cock was achingly hard and it only made it more so with Merlin sitting across his lap and kissing him into senselessness.
Merlin broke away and looked behind him for the lube. He flipped the cap open and handed it to Arthur.
“Prepare me,” he said. “Just because your arse is out of commission today doesn’t mean that I should have to suffer.”
Arthur followed Merlin’s explicit directions and soon had two fingers of one hand sliding into him, while his other hand reached behind Merlin’s neck to pull him in for a kiss.
When Merlin sank down onto Arthur’s cock, sheathing it to the hilt, Arthur was more than happy to help.
***
At the Pendragon breakfast table, Uther had a surprise.
“Sit down, lads, I think you’ll be pleased with what I have for you,” he said.
“I see you’re embracing the deadbeat lifestyle,” said Morgana over a breakfast of French Toast smothered in fresh berries and whipped cream.
“Morgana, if you’re referring to our morning attire, you can save it for the back pages of Velvet Rocks,” Arthur said, spearing a slice of French Toast from the platter.
He and Merlin had stayed in their pyjamas, hoping they’d get a chance for a nap before heading to the Avalon for opening night. Merlin wore a pair of Arthur’s plaid flannel sleep pants with his freshly laundered Death Cab for Cutie T-Shirt. Arthur wore his usual fare of sweats and a sleeveless tank top; he hoped to intimidate Morgana with his shoulders that, by some accounts, made him look formidable.
“What do you have, father?” Arthur asked. He eyed Morgana and decided Merlin’s domestic violence situation was as much of her business as was his sex life. He vowed to keep quiet about both from this point on.
Uther produced a Ziploc bag from his briefcase that was slung over a chair.
“I think this belongs to you,” he said, tossing the packet to Merlin, who had just plopped the last of the raspberries into his mouth.
Merlin caught it in one hand, dropping his fork on the plate.
“Oh, you got it back,” Merlin effused.
Arthur never saw someone get so excited over a little scrap of fabric, especially not the little scrap of fabric that someone tried to strangle him with. He watched confusedly while Merlin got up from his place and hugged Uther in his chair.
When he returned to his seat, he happily removed it from the bag for Arthur to inspect.
Merlin explained that the blue rectangle of fabric was woven by hand when Hunith had taken a weaving class at the community centre. It was clearly one of Merlin’s prized possessions.
“How can you be so happy to see it when Mordred nearly killed you with it?” Arthur asked, forgetting his vow about keeping quiet in front of Morgana.
“Oh, Arthur, that doesn’t matter,” Merlin said. “This is a symbol of my mother’s love for me. Any bad feelings about it that Morded may have caused can’t erase the joy it brings me.”
Arthur admired the weave of the fabric. “I’m glad. I’m glad you can look at it that way.”
Uther looked pleased as well.
Leave it to Morgana to intercede at the most opportune moment of domestic bliss to take Arthur down a peg.
“So, Arthur,” Morgana said, squirting whipped cream onto her finger and licking it with a delicate tongue. “I was about to tell Uther how grateful I am to you for securing a place for Nimueh as a back-up singer.”
“Nimueh?” Uther asked.
The tension at the table could have been cut with a knife.
“Is that the same Nimueh from Glein Midwifery Services?” asked Uther agitatedly.
“The same,” said Merlin.
Arthur looked perplexedly at Merlin. What concern was this of his?
“And she’s a back-up singer for The Knights now?” Uther asked.
“I didn’t want to tell you, father,” Arthur said. “I know how much it upsets you to have reminders of mother’s death.”
Uther looked crestfallen.
“I’m sorry,” said Arthur. “Sorry for everything.”
There was silence at the table, while Morgana smirked in triumph. Arthur bent his head in shame, but Merlin couldn’t take his eyes off Uther.
“Maybe you could look at it the same way I look at my mother’s scarf?” asked Merlin.
Arthur didn’t know what he was talking about.
Morgana looked incensed.
Uther asked, “What do you mean?”
Merlin explained. “If I only had the bad memories associated with my scarf, Mordred would win. I can’t let him do that, so I only accept the good feelings from when my mother gave it to me. When your wife died, it was devastating, I’m sure. And now you’ve built your life around banishing everything to do with those memories. You have no electrical wiring in your house, you regard everything about midwifery with disdain, including Nimueh. Most sadly of all, you shun Arthur because he reminds you of that awful day… when really, he should be your greatest joy- a legacy of the joy that your wife left with you.”
No one spoke for a very long time.
***
Arthur backed the Smart Car into a parking space behind the Avalon Theatre. The parking lot itself was bustling with activity. Theatre personnel, including bouncers and security guards, roamed the lot, checking for gate crashers. Merlin was amazed by the huge crowd of fans who waited outside the theatre for the doors to open. Lance and Gwen had parked their mini-van right next to the huge set of loading doors that opened to the back of the stage. Leon and Percival pulled in right after Arthur and Merlin. Arthur waved to them through the open window, the afternoon air warm enough to drive with the windows down and cool enough to not require air conditioning. Percival leaned over and tried to lift the Smart Car off the ground by curling his massive hands beneath the front bumper.
“Knock it off,” Arthur laughed. “We can’t afford to lose our drummer tonight when he’s suffering from a hernia.”
From where Arthur had parked, Merlin could see The Black Zigzags’ stage set-up through the doors. Their typical red curtains with the black zigzags running over them had been a design element that they had used in the years that they had been successful at performing. It gave them an edgy look. Morgause was already standing on stage, giving her minions orders. Cenred was nowhere in sight at the moment.
Merlin had been busy reconstructing his contact list from Arthur’s mobile. He and Arthur had gone shopping after breakfast and picked him up a new one, since the mobile that was in his satchel that he left behind at Mordred’s when he was attacked had not yet been recovered by the police.
“To think I didn’t know anyone a month ago when I went to work for The Knights,” Merlin said, his fingers flying over the touchpad adding band members, back-up singers, equipment managers, and transportation workers.
Arthur reached over and pinched Merlin’s earlobe between his thumb and forefinger.
“What?” Merlin squirmed.
Arthur gently massaged the tiny bit of smooth flesh.
“You’ve got my attention now,” Merlin laughed. “You only do that because I told you how much it tickles.”
“You are as wise as you are lovely,” said Arthur.
Merlin blushed furiously, like he always did when Arthur spoke to him like that. It was getting to be a regular occurrence.
“What do you want?” Merlin asked.
“I think you already know the answer to that, but it will have to wait until we get home,” Arthur said.
“We’ll see about that,” Merlin said.
Arthur leaned over and kissed Merlin’s neck.
The press of Arthur’s tongue flickering over the sensitive skin made Merlin’s head fall back against his seat.
“I just want to tell you,” Arthur whispered as he pressed soft kisses along Merlin’s jawline. “How absolutely brilliant you are.”
“Because I talked your father into getting some wiring installed?” Merlin asked.
“That, and everything else,” Arthur said with another kiss.
“For showing up Morgana?” Merlin asked.
“And for giving me ideas about things that I’ve never thought about before,” Arthur said.
“I’m not sure I need to know about that,” Merlin said. He tilted his head and dropped the mobiles onto his lap so he could kiss Arthur properly on the mouth, his hands weaving through his silky golden locks. If there was a competition for the best boyfriend in the world, Arthur would win first prize, he decided.
“I just want to say, that if I don’t see you for a while, after we go inside,” Arthur said. “I’ll be thinking of you the whole time.”
“To think that I was simply going to tell you to break a leg,” said Merlin.
Arthur cupped Merlin’s chin in his hand and pressed their lips together. Their kiss was disturbed by the honking of a Beemer horn as Gwaine and Elyan pulled into the space beside them.
The four of them walked into the theatre together and reconnected with Lance, over the roar of the crowd in the audience.
Merlin said his farewells. By the time he got to the control booth, The Black Zigzags were ready to take the stage.
