Amped - Part 27
Nov. 27th, 2011 11:10 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!
Merlin had never been in charge of the logistics for such a massive tour before. He was pleased that everything seemed to be going according to plan. Not since High School, had he been given free rein over such a complex and detailed project as this opening night. Back in High School, his skills could make or break a band. He was thrilled that The Knights had given him this opportunity, especially Arthur. Merlin beamed with pride because of the trust Arthur put in him. Merlin was sure that he’d do everything in his power to not let him down.
Merlin didn’t have much to do for the Black Zigzags. Their light show was all controlled by electronic timers. As long as there wasn’t a power failure of a blown fuse, Merlin could just sit back and enjoy the show, in relative silence. He could almost feel the stomping of the crowd’s feet through the concrete walls as the fans waited for the concert to begin.
Once the Black Zigzags’ opening act ended, Merlin would have his hands full with his responsibilities for The Knights. He already had his trusty roll of gaffing tape around his wrist, just waiting to tape down Arthur’s set list when Morgause and Cenred’s equipment was removed from the stage.
The vibrations from the stomping became even stronger when the lights went out, signifying the start of the show.
Merlin plugged his headset into the sound board and slung the earphones around his neck.
He watched through the glass as a lone red spotlight flared on Morgause. She sat at her drum kit pounding out a fierce rhythm. She was using a modified kit that Merlin had never seen before. Each strike of her sticks sent a splash of water into the air. The water droplets shimmered in the glow of the spotlight.
The crowd went nuts over the effect. Merlin wondered if it was a building code violation. He made a mental note that one of the stagehands was going to have to take care of the spilled water before The Knights took the stage. In the meantime, Merlin leaned back against a cool concrete wall and tried to enjoy the show.
Morgause was wearing some sort of red catsuit and her trademark tits were flopping all over the place as she drummed. Merlin didn’t know much about the habits of girls, but he did have a mum once. And though she had been gone for a couple years, he could still hear her voice saying that young lady needed a bra.
Merlin laughed out loud. What a funny thing to be thinking about. All the talk at the Pendragon’s this morning about Arthur’s mum and his own mum, put him in the mood to miss her badly. He hoped that she was somewhere looking down on him and feeling proud of what he had accomplished during the past few weeks. She’d be especially thankful that Uther, who had taken pity on him at first, now regarded him as a close family friend. Merlin’s future was looking a lot brighter now, than it ever did when he was with Mordred.
He hopped up onto the rickety stool and watched while Cenred took the stage next to Morgause. The fangirls squealed in delight and some even threw their underwear up on the stage.
Cenred caught one particularly skimpy looking thong and slid it over the neck of his guitar.
The Black Zigzags really knew how to work the crowd. No wonder they were so successful. Merlin couldn’t help but think Arthur was right to worry that they might steal the show. The Knights were good, but tonight they had to be better than the double punch combo of Morgause and Cenred. Merlin knew they could do it.
He put on his headphones and listened to the Black Zigzags work through their set.
***
When the Black Zigzags’ set ended, Merlin sprang into action. He cued the sound board to blare a pre-selected sequence of other artists’ music through the speakers that were mounted to the framework on each side of the stage. He opened the control booth door to listen and see if he needed to adjust the sound further. Everything seemed fine, so he closed the door behind him.
He left the booth and jogged to the stage. He tried to push down any hope of seeing Arthur. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him; it was just that he had so many things to do, in so little time. The band’s success was riding on Merlin’s abilities. He tried to concentrate on doing what needed to be done. He’d worry about flirting with his boyfriend later.
As The Black Zigzags’ instruments were struck from the stage, Merlin changed over the lighting matrix so that The Knights’ stage show configuration was loaded.
He peered out onto the stage to see if one of the hands had taken care of the water. A flurry of activity was taking place there, and Merlin could barely make out the crew members who, like himself, were dressed entirely in black.
Merlin walked out onto the darkened stage. It still looked wet in the various sources of light that shined across the theatre from random cigarette lighters, flashes from cameras, and the emergency lighting backstage. He reached down to the floor where Morgause’s drum kit had been, and he felt the droplets of water that had been spilled.
He got the attention of a crew member.
“Are you going to take care of this water?” Merlin asked.
“Yeah, mate,” he answered. “They’re getting a mop for it right now.”
“Alright then,” Merlin replied.
He taped the set lists in their proper locations. The list had been reviewed by the bandmates so many times that Merlin had the list committed to memory. It was hard to believe that some musicians were known to get a brain cramp and forget their entire set order when they got on stage. It was best to leave little to chance.
The audience was starting to get restless. Merlin took it as a positive sign that they were getting rowdy and stomping their feet for The Knights. It gave him confidence that Arthur and the Knights were going to do just fine.
Merlin took one last look around the stage, to make sure everything was as it should be. The instruments were all in place, the set lists, microphones, the light scheme- finally, this was it.
He sighed as he trotted back up to the control booth. He hadn’t expected to see Arthur backstage, but it was still a tiny disappointment. He shook it off, telling himself that he and Arthur would have the whole night to spend together after The Knights’ performance. Then, Merlin felt confident enough in Arthur and the band’s abilities that he dreamed about going on to The Round Table Tour for the rest of the summer.
***
Merlin passed through the auditorium, climbing through the unmistakable haze of marijuana that had accumulated during the intermission.
When he reached the top of the incline that the rows of seats ascended, he looked back toward the stage. There was Arthur, and the rest of the band. An audience member wouldn’t be able to make them out in the blackened theatre, but Merlin knew exactly the clothes Arthur wore, his white linen shirt over black jeans that were tighter even than the pair he loaned Merlin for this occasion. Arthur’s shirt caught Merlin’s eye as Arthur moved across the stage, taking his place at the microphone.
Merlin smiled fondly.
He supposed no one would notice or care if he blew him a secret kiss. He raised his fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss to the fingertips. Across the heads of the concertgoers, he let it fly. The simple thing gave Merlin a warm feeling of satisfaction. It no longer mattered that he didn’t get to see Arthur one last time before the show. He felt like he had messaged him from the depths of his heart.
When Merlin arrived at the control room, he was surprised to see that he had left the door ajar.
He scratched his head and retraced his steps in his mind. He didn’t remember leaving it open. He felt terrible for committing such a security violation. And on opening night, too. Was he so daft as to leave the door unsecured so any concertgoer could wander in there and take a piss on the control board?
He entered the booth, checking the lock on the door. Everything seemed as it should be. He looked over the matrix of wires and toggles that controlled The Knights’ lighting effects. Nothing looked disturbed. He sighed with relief and resolved to believe that he had simply left the door open in his anxiousness to get to the stage.
Merlin sat on the stool and waited for The Knights’ performance to begin. He fidgeted for a few minutes, although he was well-versed in the common practice of letting the crowd build itself into frenzy before the featured act began to play.
He felt embarrassed for his negligence with the door, and this extra expanse of quiet time was doing nothing to put his mind at ease.
There was one more thing he could do.
In the corner of the booth, the spiral staircase led to the catwalk. If someone had entered the booth in Merlin’s absence, they could do a lot of damage by messing with the wiring and the sprinkler system that they would connect with up there, not to mention the trouble they could cause for the theatre if they got injured doing some kind of prankish stunt.
Merlin decided he’d feel better if he checked it out.
The audience was behaving just as they had been prior to The Black Zigzags’ performance. They stomped their feet and batted a beach ball or two over the crowd, until a security guard put a stop to their fun. Merlin smiled, remembering that he’d be hearing Arthur’s voice any minute. He climbed the spiral staircase, just to have a look across the expanse of horizontal scaffolding that served as a catwalk above the crowd.
Of course he could barely see a damn thing up there, with the stage and the audience blacked out. He went to reach inside his pocket for his lighter, then remembered that it had been lost in the scuffle with Mordred.
No matter, the lighting was all in place, and no one in their right mind would walk around on the catwalk unless they knew what they were doing. He took a few steps out onto it, just so he could look around, when a rare flash of light from a camera reached this height. Below him, the crowd was becoming more excited about the show’s impending start.
Merlin would love to spend the night on the catwalk, watching the show from this strange angle. Maybe someday, he’d arrange it. He gripped the metal railing to make his way back to the top of the spiral staircase when he was stopped dead in his tracks.
“So, Merlin, we meet again,” Mordred said.
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!
Merlin had never been in charge of the logistics for such a massive tour before. He was pleased that everything seemed to be going according to plan. Not since High School, had he been given free rein over such a complex and detailed project as this opening night. Back in High School, his skills could make or break a band. He was thrilled that The Knights had given him this opportunity, especially Arthur. Merlin beamed with pride because of the trust Arthur put in him. Merlin was sure that he’d do everything in his power to not let him down.
Merlin didn’t have much to do for the Black Zigzags. Their light show was all controlled by electronic timers. As long as there wasn’t a power failure of a blown fuse, Merlin could just sit back and enjoy the show, in relative silence. He could almost feel the stomping of the crowd’s feet through the concrete walls as the fans waited for the concert to begin.
Once the Black Zigzags’ opening act ended, Merlin would have his hands full with his responsibilities for The Knights. He already had his trusty roll of gaffing tape around his wrist, just waiting to tape down Arthur’s set list when Morgause and Cenred’s equipment was removed from the stage.
The vibrations from the stomping became even stronger when the lights went out, signifying the start of the show.
Merlin plugged his headset into the sound board and slung the earphones around his neck.
He watched through the glass as a lone red spotlight flared on Morgause. She sat at her drum kit pounding out a fierce rhythm. She was using a modified kit that Merlin had never seen before. Each strike of her sticks sent a splash of water into the air. The water droplets shimmered in the glow of the spotlight.
The crowd went nuts over the effect. Merlin wondered if it was a building code violation. He made a mental note that one of the stagehands was going to have to take care of the spilled water before The Knights took the stage. In the meantime, Merlin leaned back against a cool concrete wall and tried to enjoy the show.
Morgause was wearing some sort of red catsuit and her trademark tits were flopping all over the place as she drummed. Merlin didn’t know much about the habits of girls, but he did have a mum once. And though she had been gone for a couple years, he could still hear her voice saying that young lady needed a bra.
Merlin laughed out loud. What a funny thing to be thinking about. All the talk at the Pendragon’s this morning about Arthur’s mum and his own mum, put him in the mood to miss her badly. He hoped that she was somewhere looking down on him and feeling proud of what he had accomplished during the past few weeks. She’d be especially thankful that Uther, who had taken pity on him at first, now regarded him as a close family friend. Merlin’s future was looking a lot brighter now, than it ever did when he was with Mordred.
He hopped up onto the rickety stool and watched while Cenred took the stage next to Morgause. The fangirls squealed in delight and some even threw their underwear up on the stage.
Cenred caught one particularly skimpy looking thong and slid it over the neck of his guitar.
The Black Zigzags really knew how to work the crowd. No wonder they were so successful. Merlin couldn’t help but think Arthur was right to worry that they might steal the show. The Knights were good, but tonight they had to be better than the double punch combo of Morgause and Cenred. Merlin knew they could do it.
He put on his headphones and listened to the Black Zigzags work through their set.
***
When the Black Zigzags’ set ended, Merlin sprang into action. He cued the sound board to blare a pre-selected sequence of other artists’ music through the speakers that were mounted to the framework on each side of the stage. He opened the control booth door to listen and see if he needed to adjust the sound further. Everything seemed fine, so he closed the door behind him.
He left the booth and jogged to the stage. He tried to push down any hope of seeing Arthur. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see him; it was just that he had so many things to do, in so little time. The band’s success was riding on Merlin’s abilities. He tried to concentrate on doing what needed to be done. He’d worry about flirting with his boyfriend later.
As The Black Zigzags’ instruments were struck from the stage, Merlin changed over the lighting matrix so that The Knights’ stage show configuration was loaded.
He peered out onto the stage to see if one of the hands had taken care of the water. A flurry of activity was taking place there, and Merlin could barely make out the crew members who, like himself, were dressed entirely in black.
Merlin walked out onto the darkened stage. It still looked wet in the various sources of light that shined across the theatre from random cigarette lighters, flashes from cameras, and the emergency lighting backstage. He reached down to the floor where Morgause’s drum kit had been, and he felt the droplets of water that had been spilled.
He got the attention of a crew member.
“Are you going to take care of this water?” Merlin asked.
“Yeah, mate,” he answered. “They’re getting a mop for it right now.”
“Alright then,” Merlin replied.
He taped the set lists in their proper locations. The list had been reviewed by the bandmates so many times that Merlin had the list committed to memory. It was hard to believe that some musicians were known to get a brain cramp and forget their entire set order when they got on stage. It was best to leave little to chance.
The audience was starting to get restless. Merlin took it as a positive sign that they were getting rowdy and stomping their feet for The Knights. It gave him confidence that Arthur and the Knights were going to do just fine.
Merlin took one last look around the stage, to make sure everything was as it should be. The instruments were all in place, the set lists, microphones, the light scheme- finally, this was it.
He sighed as he trotted back up to the control booth. He hadn’t expected to see Arthur backstage, but it was still a tiny disappointment. He shook it off, telling himself that he and Arthur would have the whole night to spend together after The Knights’ performance. Then, Merlin felt confident enough in Arthur and the band’s abilities that he dreamed about going on to The Round Table Tour for the rest of the summer.
***
Merlin passed through the auditorium, climbing through the unmistakable haze of marijuana that had accumulated during the intermission.
When he reached the top of the incline that the rows of seats ascended, he looked back toward the stage. There was Arthur, and the rest of the band. An audience member wouldn’t be able to make them out in the blackened theatre, but Merlin knew exactly the clothes Arthur wore, his white linen shirt over black jeans that were tighter even than the pair he loaned Merlin for this occasion. Arthur’s shirt caught Merlin’s eye as Arthur moved across the stage, taking his place at the microphone.
Merlin smiled fondly.
He supposed no one would notice or care if he blew him a secret kiss. He raised his fingers to his lips and pressed a kiss to the fingertips. Across the heads of the concertgoers, he let it fly. The simple thing gave Merlin a warm feeling of satisfaction. It no longer mattered that he didn’t get to see Arthur one last time before the show. He felt like he had messaged him from the depths of his heart.
When Merlin arrived at the control room, he was surprised to see that he had left the door ajar.
He scratched his head and retraced his steps in his mind. He didn’t remember leaving it open. He felt terrible for committing such a security violation. And on opening night, too. Was he so daft as to leave the door unsecured so any concertgoer could wander in there and take a piss on the control board?
He entered the booth, checking the lock on the door. Everything seemed as it should be. He looked over the matrix of wires and toggles that controlled The Knights’ lighting effects. Nothing looked disturbed. He sighed with relief and resolved to believe that he had simply left the door open in his anxiousness to get to the stage.
Merlin sat on the stool and waited for The Knights’ performance to begin. He fidgeted for a few minutes, although he was well-versed in the common practice of letting the crowd build itself into frenzy before the featured act began to play.
He felt embarrassed for his negligence with the door, and this extra expanse of quiet time was doing nothing to put his mind at ease.
There was one more thing he could do.
In the corner of the booth, the spiral staircase led to the catwalk. If someone had entered the booth in Merlin’s absence, they could do a lot of damage by messing with the wiring and the sprinkler system that they would connect with up there, not to mention the trouble they could cause for the theatre if they got injured doing some kind of prankish stunt.
Merlin decided he’d feel better if he checked it out.
The audience was behaving just as they had been prior to The Black Zigzags’ performance. They stomped their feet and batted a beach ball or two over the crowd, until a security guard put a stop to their fun. Merlin smiled, remembering that he’d be hearing Arthur’s voice any minute. He climbed the spiral staircase, just to have a look across the expanse of horizontal scaffolding that served as a catwalk above the crowd.
Of course he could barely see a damn thing up there, with the stage and the audience blacked out. He went to reach inside his pocket for his lighter, then remembered that it had been lost in the scuffle with Mordred.
No matter, the lighting was all in place, and no one in their right mind would walk around on the catwalk unless they knew what they were doing. He took a few steps out onto it, just so he could look around, when a rare flash of light from a camera reached this height. Below him, the crowd was becoming more excited about the show’s impending start.
Merlin would love to spend the night on the catwalk, watching the show from this strange angle. Maybe someday, he’d arrange it. He gripped the metal railing to make his way back to the top of the spiral staircase when he was stopped dead in his tracks.
“So, Merlin, we meet again,” Mordred said.
