Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For as long as Arthur could remember, he had been allergic to cats. He had a vivid memory of when he was seven and Morgana was nine, she had gotten a kitten for her birthday. Morgana adored that little hellbeast, but Arthur wanted nothing to do with it because of the itching eyes and sneezing, the stuffed up nose he’d have for days after it rubbed up against his legs. He steered clear as much as possible from the white and grey ball of fur and claws and evil.

Of course that meant that Morgana’s little baby, as she called him among other things, seemed to love Arthur almost as much as he loved Morgana herself. He was convinced that the fluffy demon was doing it on purpose because he liked seeing Arthur suffer.

As soon as he moved out of his father’s house and into his own flat, Arthur had sworn off all housepets and as a result his allergies had quieted. He hadn’t had any issues with itchy eyes or uncontrollable sneezing for years.

Which is why he was baffled as to why he was contemplating the merits of different allergy medicines at the chemist’s up the street from The Witch’s Familiar, a new cat cafe that he passed on his way to and from work each day since it had opened a month prior. He held two boxes, one in each hand, looking back and forth between the two of them as he contemplated his life choices.

Side effects can include: headache, dry mouth, nausea…

It was all that guy’s fault. That guy and his huge, adorable ears, and his huge, adorable smile. His black hair that looked as though he’d just gotten up and hadn’t bothered to run a comb through it. His ridiculously cute uniform apron with the crooked bow tied in back. His nametag proclaiming his name to be Merlin.

Arthur wasn’t generally given to flights of fancy and certainly didn’t believe in love at first sight. Such things were patently ridiculous and Arthur didn’t deal in the ridiculous. At least, not until he had seen Merlin standing outside the cat cafe one evening, holding a tray of tiny sample-sized cups of tea and trying to entice people to come inside and have a cuppa and play with some cats.

The smile this Merlin guy had flashed at Arthur as he passed by that day had nearly caused Arthur to walk off the edge of the pavement and into oncoming traffic. He hadn’t been able to tear his eyes from that shy grin and just thinking of the way Merlin’s laugh had sounded as Arthur had caught himself from tripping into the street made colour rise to his cheeks in remembered embarrassment. He had rushed away as fast as possible without actually fleeing from the scene of the murder of his pride and spent the next several days futilely trying not to think about kissing the laughter off Merlin’s lips.

Arthur was no novice in chatting someone up and he was definitely not too shy to go in and try flirting with Merlin once the embarrassment wore off. The only problem was the cats. Since he only knew where Merlin worked and nothing else about him, he couldn’t exactly orchestrate a chance meeting somewhere else. So if he wanted to see him again, it had to be in a place wherein he had a distinct disadvantage. It was very difficult to pull off a sexy vibe when you were reaching for a handkerchief every ten seconds to wipe your nose and good bedroom eyes didn’t generally come in the bloodshot variety.

Putting one of the boxes down at random, Arthur purchased the other and shoved the box of allergy medication into the pocket of his leather jacket and headed home. He’d start taking the pills tonight, and by tomorrow he would be ready.

There was a bell above the door to the cafe that tinkled merrily when Arthur opened it, stepping inside and looking around. For a place that kept so many cats, it definitely didn’t smell like it, which impressed him. Growing up with a cat, Arthur remembered Morgana being obsessive about making sure to keep the cat smell away. He slipped his hands into his back pockets as he lingered in the entryway and let his eyes take in the three pictures of smiling people holding cats, paper plaques beneath the photos declaring that each one was a commemoration of someone deciding to adopt one of the cafe cats.

A cafe with a cause, huh? Arthur could respect that.

After a few seconds more of waiting, Arthur heard a voice float from where he imagined the kitchen probably was.

“Be right with you!”

Arthur rocked back on his heels, glancing into the next room where he saw a large window looking out onto the street. On either side of the window, two huge carpet-covered cat trees with multiple levels sat, each one covered in basking cats. Praying to whatever gods were listening that the allergy medication he picked up was robust enough to go up against twenty cats in all their furry, dander-y glory, Arthur sighed. One of the basking cats looked up at the sound, eyeing him before hopping down from the cat tree and sauntering over, giving Arthur a demanding meow once it was at his feet. It was a calico, or a tortoiseshell, Arthur could never remember the terminology, and it had two perfect white feet in front.

“Oh I see you’ve met Lola,” an amused voice from behind Arthur said, causing him to spin around and nearly trip on the cat in question. What Arthur imagined was a very put out meow sounded from where Lola had retreated to and he sighed once more. What was he doing with his life, again?

He looked up, catching a pair of very amused, very blue eyes and found his breath caught in his throat at how striking they were. Merlin had come out from the back and he was wearing that ridiculously cute apron again. Up close, he could see a light grey pattern of printed cats across the white front of it surrounding the logo of The Witch’s Familiar. He cleared his throat as inconspicuously as he could, offering Merlin his hand. Merlin rolled his eyes, taking it a second later.

“This isn’t a business meeting,” he said with a laugh. Arthur felt his cheeks colouring. Shaking people’s hands was a reflex of being in the business of, well, business. He moved to drop Merlin’s hand, but Merlin held on.

“I’m Arthur,” he said, wishing he could rewind time and start the whole scene over again with ten thousand percent more smoothness on his part. The corners of Merlin’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, and Arthur wanted very badly to kiss him.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Merlin,” Merlin said.

“I know,” Arthur replied.

“You know, huh?” Merlin asked, teasing. Arthur coughed, wishing the floor would swallow him up. In university he’d been able to pull pretty much anyone he set his eyes on. He had people asking him for pointers on how to speak with women. Looking at him now, you’d never know that he had once been that man. Trying desperately to channel his suave twenty year old self, he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Nametag,” he said, gesturing toward Merlin’s chest with his chin while mentally kicking himself for allowing whatever passed as witty repartee in his brain to fall out of his mouth unchecked.

“Ah, yeah,” Merlin laughed again, this time with two spots of colour staining his cheeks. Arthur couldn’t stop staring, wondering if anything else of Merlin’s would flush red in reaction to him if he tried. Absently, he noticed that he and Merlin still hadn’t dropped the hands clasped in a handshake and hoped that the dampness he felt between their palms wasn’t solely because of him. He tugged his hand gently away and wiped it on the back pocket of his jeans, trying to be stealthy about it.

“Can I get you anything?” Merlin asked after a long stretch of silence and Arthur felt himself nodding.

“How about some tea?” he said, flashing Merlin his best smile. The colour on Merlin’s face deepened and Arthur felt a thrill rush through him.

“Sure, of course. What kind?”

“Oh, hm.” Arthur hadn’t thought that far ahead and looked around for a menu. Behind Merlin, in a separate room from the cats, was a register with a menu board above it. He scanned it before shrugging. “Surprise me?”

Merlin bit his lower lip, looking thoughtful, and Arthur had to suppress the urge to reach out and smooth his thumb over it. Merlin’s lips looked slightly chapped, as if he had spent too much time out in the sunshine and wind. Arthur wondered if they would feel as nice against his own as he imagined.

“Wait here, I’ll be right back.” Merlin turned and left Arthur standing there staring at his retreating back. It gave him a good view of his arse, though, so he could hardly complain. An insistent nudge at his ankle startled him and he looked down to find the tortoiseshell cat— Lola, Merlin had called her— rubbing her face against his shoe.

“You remind me of a cat that I used to know,” Arthur said, nudging her gently aside so he could walk into the room with the cat trees and the huge window facing the street where there were cafe tables scattered around. He picked one as far from the cat trees as possible and sat, crossing his right ankle over his left knee and draping his arm over the seat back. Lola had followed him and meowed up at him.

“Aithusa did that, too, you know,” Arthur said with a soft smile. “He just followed you around and rubbed himself against you and meowed and meowed.” Lola looked up at Arthur with green eyes, and Arthur stared back steadily. “I’m pretty sure he did it because Morgana, that’s my sister, she would reward him with treats when he got chatty.” Arthur bent down to give Lola an experimental pat on the head and Lola responded by leaning into his touch, begging to be petted more. He felt his mouth quirk into a half smile and started scritching her ears, pleased when a low rumble vibrated through the cat.

“You like that, huh?” he said in a low voice. As he continued to pet the eager cat, he was gratified to realize that his eyes felt fine and his nose was just as clear as it had been when he walked in ten minute prior. It seemed like the allergy medication was doing its job.

“Careful, or you’re going to make her fall in love with you. Then you’ll be obligated to take her home,” Merlin said from the doorway, laughter in his voice. Arthur pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned and sat up straight, thinking he’d much rather take the proprietor home than the cat.

“I’m not really a cat person,” he said, embarrassed that he’d been caught talking to a cat. Merlin raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing him.

“If you say so,” was all he said as he walked into the room, setting a tray onto the table. On it was a mug filled with steaming tea, and a porcelain creamer filled with milk next to a pot of honey. Arthur could smell the spiciness of the tea and reached out to wrap his fingers around the mug and warm them.

“It smells great,” he said, smiling at Merlin. Merlin ducked his head and smiled back, seeming pleased.

“I blended it myself,” he said, a proud lilt to his voice. Arthur splashed in a bit of milk and stirred it with the teaspoon resting on the saucer as he watched Merlin walk over to pet the cats sleeping on the tree. He took a sip and the flavor of cloves and cardamom hit him with an undertone of hazelnut and the right amount of natural sweetness that he didn’t reach for the honey at all. It was hot, so he set it down to cool and made an appreciative noise.

“It tastes just as good as it smells,” Arthur said, watching the tips of Merlin’s ears turn pink.

“Thanks,” Merlin said, sounding a bit shy. Arthur watched him scratching the ears of a tuxedo cat, idly stirring his tea to help it cool quicker. “My mum really liked to make her own tea blends, so she taught me when I was little.”

Arthur was in the middle of imagining a tiny Merlin with wild black hair and an unfettered smile running around after his mother when an insistent meow interrupted his thoughts. He glanced down at Lola just as she decided to hop up onto his lap.

“Hello there,” he said, feeling as though he should be annoyed, but distinctively wasn’t. He lifted his mug up to his lips and took another sip of the spicy, warming tea, catching Merlin’s eye as he observed what was happening and felt a ridiculous sense of coziness despite being in a place he ordinarily would never have come to.

Maybe he was a bit of a cat person after all.

“So ‘The Witch’s Familiar,’ huh?” Arthur asked, sipping at an iced tea several weeks later. Merlin was sitting with him at a table, taking a break from serving with his own beverage. Merlin laughed and blushed.

“I went through a phase when I was younger where I was really into magic,” he confessed with a grin.

“Oh please tell me you tried to be the next David Blaine,” Arthur said, setting his glass down and leaning forward. “Black clothes, moody aura, street magic, ridiculous attempts at sleight of hand.”

“God no, it was never that bad,” Merlin said with a wave of his hand. “I just liked reading about witches and wizards and daydreaming that one day I’d wake up with the ability to turn myself invisible.”

Arthur hummed, petting Lola. She had been a constant presence in his lap after that first visit whenever he went in and he was beginning to regret that his flat didn’t allow pets.

Also he was still allergic, but with a good allergy medication that was less of a concern.

“Invisibility, eh? If I were to have a magic power, I’d want telekinesis.” Arthur mimed lifting some far off object with his hand and Merlin shook his head.

“That figures, you lazy sod,” he said with a fond smirk and a gentle kick under the table to Arthur’s shin. Arthur feigned a frown at him before the smile took over. The past few weeks visiting Merlin’s cafe had been the most fun he’d had in a long time and it was worth the cost of the allergy medication and the somewhat-on-the-pricey-side drinks to be able to sit and banter with Merlin like this.

“You can’t talk to a customer like that, Merlin,” Arthur scolded teasingly. Merlin scoffed and rolled his eyes. “And it figures you’d want invisibility as well,” Arthur shot back. “Anything to hide those ridiculous ears of yours, yeah?” Merlin frowned for a split second, a real frown, and Arthur instantly felt bad about the jibe.

“You laugh now,” Merlin said softly, “but kids are mean.” Arthur reached over to put a hand over Merlin’s on the table, trying to wordlessly apologize.

“Kids are awful,” he agreed. Merlin shrugged.

“Kids are kids. I’m over it now, pretty much.” Merlin ran his finger over the rim of his tea cup and Arthur wondered how true that statement actually was. “I still think it would be cool to be able to be invisible, though. Imagine the things you’d be able to do.”

“Imagine the trouble you’d get yourself into,” Arthur said, smirking at Merlin and trying to break the tension that had surrounded them. “The things you’d see that you never wanted to. The people you’d accidentally catch naked.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a dirty mind, Mr. Pendragon?” Merlin asked, kicking Arthur’s shin again.

“Why, you interested in cleaning it up, Mister Emrys?” Arthur quipped with a suggestive quirk of both eyebrows. Merlin rolled his eyes again.

“My break is over, you deviant,” Merlin said, standing up and taking his cup with him. Arthur laughed and gently pushed Lola from his lap, who jumped to the ground with an annoyed mrow.

“Same time tomorrow then?” he asked. Merlin gave him a shy smile, nodding. Arthur touched Merlin’s shoulder, a lingering warmth that left Arthur wanting more.

“See you soon,” Merlin said with a small wave.

“I thought cat cafes were really popular, why don’t you have very many customers?” Arthur asked a few weeks later. He had noticed that whenever he had gone in to see Merlin and pet a cat or two— he still wouldn’t say he was a cat person, exactly, but he was warming up to them for sure— that he was usually the only one in the cafe. Which was a shame considering how good Merlin’s specialty blended teas were.

“It can take a while for a cafe to build up a customer base,” Merlin replied, shrugging. “And I do have other customers, they just come in at different times than you do.”

Arthur looked down at Lola, laying in his lap as she usually was when he came in, and gave her a mock hurt frown. “Are you cheating on me with other people? How could you?” Lola meowed loudly, shoving her face against Arthur’s arm to try and encourage him to pet her.

Merlin laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling and Arthur felt his heart skip a beat. “You’re definitely her favorite customer, don’t worry about that.” Arthur slid his fingers beneath her chin to scratch, drawing a loud purr from Lola’s throat.

“Good,” he said with a slight satisfied nod. “I was thinking, though-”

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Merlin interjected and Arthur glared, but didn’t comment on the teasing insult.

“Part of your problem might be a branding issue. Your cafe’s name isn’t all that descriptive of what you are actually offering.” Merlin frowned, and Arthur held up a placating hand. “Not that it isn’t a very charming name. But let me guess, all of your traffic comes from foot traffic, from people passing by?”

“Well, yeah…” Merlin said, sounding thoughtful.

“Do you have a website? Social media? Are you listed on Google?”

“I don’t have a website yet, I really hate social media, and I don’t think we’re on Google, but I haven’t checked.” Merlin’s eyebrows drew together and Arthur nodded knowingly.

“Yeah, I’m not surprised. It’s kind of a rookie mistake not having an online presence. You might hate it, but social media is an important avenue for brand visibility. Have you thought about hiring a marketing firm to help get your brand out there effectively? Someone that can handle your online presence, search engine optimization, advertising-”

“Oh boy, now you’re talking about things I definitely don’t understand and probably can’t afford,” Merlin interrupted again, waving a hand in front of his face with a wry laugh. Arthur stood up for a moment to pull his wallet out of his back pocket, flipped it open and flicked through a stack of cards he kept in the billfold, looking for a specific one that he hoped wasn’t too beat up from being stuck in there for so long.

“Here, if you decide you’re interested, this is the card of a friend of mine that does marketing. He owes me a favor, just mention that I told you to call him. His name’s Gwaine Greene. He’ll give you a good rate and he’ll do a good job.” Arthur held the card out as he slipped his wallet back into his pocket and sat down. Merlin took it with a tentative hand, looking at it as if he didn’t know what to make of it.

“You’d call in a favor for me?” he asked in a low voice filled with awe and Arthur suppressed the urge to reach over and run his fingertips along the contours of the sharp cheekbones that had held his attention for weeks now. “Why? We hardly know each other.”

“We’ve been friends for a while-”

“A month and a half at most and I don’t know if you’d exactly call us ‘friends’ considering we only ever see each other here.”

“Friends for a while,” Arthur reiterated firmly, giving Merlin a pointed look that dared him to contradict what he was saying again. “And friends do what they can to help each other out.”

“That’s really nice of you, Arthur,” Merlin said after several long moments, looking over at him with a soft smile. “Risking your reputation for me and all.”

“It’s really nothing,” Arthur said, returning the smile. “It’s my pleasure.”

“I called that Gwaine guy you recommended to me,” Merlin said a week later when Arthur stopped in for a quick chat on his way home. He had to pack and head to the airport because he was being sent abroad for a series of meetings with the company’s international offices and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Six weeks of surviving on heavy restaurant food and copious amounts of coffee, of living in business hotels convenient to the airport that weren’t exactly renowned for their comfortable beds, and trying to remember etiquette rules for about ten different countries. Arthur was exhausted already just thinking about it.

“Oh yeah?” he asked, crouching down and feeding a handful of treats to Lola one at a time. When he was out, the cat meowed insistently and butted her head against his hand. “Sorry, little girl, I’m fresh out. You’re going to have to go eat your tinned food with the rest of the peasants.”

“He’s really nice,” Merlin said, nodding. Arthur stood, dusting his palms together before brushing them on the tops of his thighs.

“He has his moments,” Arthur agreed. Merlin laughed.

“He’s also a ridiculous flirt.”

“Ah, right. Should have warned you about that,” Arthur said, half frowning in apology. “He doesn’t really mean anything about it, he’s been like that since we were in school. To pretty much everyone he meets.”

“I’ll try not to take it personally then,” Merlin joked, and Arthur wanted to agree that he should just ignore Gwaine’s flirting at all costs, but was a little afraid of coming off as a jealous arse, especially considering he felt like one based on the ugly way his gut twisted at the thought of Merlin flirting back. He laughed instead, hoping that it sounded sincere and not forced. Merlin slipped his hands into the pocket of his apron and looked at Arthur through his long lashes. Arthur’s smiled softly in response.

“He’ll do a good job for you regardless,” he promised.

“Well I haven’t officially hired him, he’s just going to come by so we can talk about what I need and how much it will cost.” Merlin bit his lip, and Arthur couldn’t tear his gaze away, not really hearing when Merlin continued speaking. “What can I get for you today?”

“Huh?” he asked after a second, blinking before shaking his head as he finally parsed what Merlin said. “Oh, no, I can’t stay today. I have to go home and pack.”

“You’re going somewhere?” Merlin asked, with a note of something that Arthur hoped was disappointment in his voice. Not that Arthur wanted to disappoint him. He did want Merlin to miss him, though.

“Yeah, I have to leave for work for a while. It was kind of a last minute decision, finalized today. I’ll be gone for about six weeks starting tomorrow morning.” Arthur offered him an apologetic grimace.

“Oh.” Merlin looked down at his hands in the apron pocket and Arthur’s heart pounded as he thought about reaching out to smooth the crease in Merlin’s brow that had appeared at the news. He looked up several seconds later, breaking the spell. “I don’t know what I’ll do without my best customer, but I’ll make sure Lola keeps your seat warm for you.”

“Can I have your mobile number?” Arthur blurted out on impulse. Merlin blinked, opening and shutting his mouth a few times. “So you can send me pictures of the cats,” he added lamely. Merlin’s cheeks went pink and he laughed.

“Yeah, of course. Here, give me your phone, I’ll put it in there and you can do mine.” He pulled his phone out of the apron pocket, unlocked it and offered it to Arthur to take. Arthur hesitated a moment before he did the same with his own phone, handing it to Merlin. A few minutes later they exchanged phones once more and Arthur looked at his contacts, grinning a little when he saw Merlin had put a cat emoji next to his name. Arthur wished he had done something cute like that, but didn’t know if he could have brought himself to. He’d just gone with the standard ‘Arthur Pendragon’ when naming the contact. Perhaps Merlin would rename it later to something cute. Maybe add a heart emoji. The thought warmed him.

“Thanks,” he said, slipping the phone back into his pocket. He crouched down to give a demanding Lola one last pat on the head.

“Sure,” Merlin replied. “Guess I’ll see you in six weeks then?”

Arthur nodded, straightening up. “Yeah. Don’t worry about bothering me by texting at weird times. I’ll answer when I have a chance. I can try to keep track of the time when I reply, though, if you don’t want me waking you in the middle of the night. Your girlfriend probably wouldn’t appreciate it.”

Merlin laughed and shook his head. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

Arthur raised his eyebrows. “Boyfriend?”

Merlin shook his head again and ran a hand through his unruly black hair, his cheeks turning a fetching shade of rose. “I’m single.”

Arthur hummed and raised his eyebrows, giving Merlin a flirtatious smile. Merlin smacked his upper arm and shoved him toward the door.

“Get out of here! The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back.” Arthur put up a cursory resistance, but allowed Merlin to steer him out of the cafe.

“I’ll count the days until I return back to you and the cats,” he said, raising a hand to wave goodbye. It was a half lie. The one he’d be counting the days until he could see again was Merlin, the cats were incidental.

“Have a safe trip,” Merlin replied. Arthur nodded and as he walked back to his flat he desperately prayed to whatever gods were listening to make the next six weeks fly by as fast as possible.

The next six weeks did not fly by at any sort of acceptable speed. Arthur wanted nothing more than to fly back to London to his comfortable bed rather than the too-firm beds of the hotels he was stuck staying in. He was living in perpetually rumpled suits and missed real food.

The first week of his trip was spent in western Europe so he could send text messages back and forth with Merlin at regular hours, receiving pictures of the cats and Merlin’s experiments with latte art in between meetings. Each time Arthur felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he had to resist the urge to pull it out immediately to look at whatever new message Merlin had sent to him and risk smiling like an idiot in front of people he was supposed to be impressing. It was a test of will and Arthur didn’t know how he was going to last another five weeks. Especially as their messages became more and more flirty as the days passed.

Merlin 😺: Hope you’re having fun wherever you are today 😉
Arthur: I’d be having a lot more fun if I were there with you.
Merlin 😺: You just miss the cats 😺
Arthur: I miss the guy that takes care of the cats, yeah.
Merlin 😺: Don’t lie, you lay there at night thinking about Lola
Arthur: That’s definitely not what I think about when I’m lying in bed at night...
Merlin 😺: Hmm dare I ask? 😈
Arthur: Wouldn’t you like to know? 😉

The first time Merlin sent Arthur a photograph of himself instead of the cats, Arthur laughed out loud in the hallway of a Japanese business office, drawing subtly confused and disapproving stares from the passing salarymen. He had stepped out to relieve himself and take a breather, so when his phone vibrated with an incoming message he figured he had a moment to at least check to see what Merlin had sent. He wasn’t disappointed; he was expecting a text and instead received a picture of Merlin with a strained smile appearing to be wrestling a grumpy Lola that clearly wanted nothing to do with either the picture or Merlin himself. It was completely endearing and between murmuring an apologetic ‘Sumimasen’ to the people he had disturbed and bowing at just the right angle, Arthur tapped out a message and sent it before returning to the meeting he was neglecting.

Arthur: The two of you look very happy together 😂
Arthur: Also, isn’t it a ridiculous time there? What are you doing at the cafe still?
Merlin 😺: She’s being a little arsehole
Merlin 😺: I don’t know what the matter is, she usually loves it when I pick her up
Merlin 😺: Yeah it’s midnight. I took that picture earlier today, I was just about to go to bed.

Later, when Arthur was safely back in his shoebox of a hotel in the business district of Tokyo, he replied, still smiling when he scrolled back up to the picture.

Arthur: Honestly it’s probably the camera
Arthur: She’s shy
Arthur: You need to respect her boundaries
Merlin 😺: She’s a cat you dollophead 😂
Arthur: Excuse you, she’s a lady
Arthur: And what the hell is a dollophead
Merlin 😺: The formal definition is an Arthur Pendragon
Arthur: Cute 😐
Merlin 😺: I know I am 😺
Arthur: You’re ridiculous, you know that?

There was a stretch of time where Merlin didn’t reply and Arthur took the chance to shower and clean his teeth so he could settle into bed. He slid between the sheets wearing nothing but his boxer briefs— he hated being too warm when he slept so he didn’t usually bother with pyjamas— and settled back against the pillows. The mattress was just too much on the hard side so he knew he wouldn’t sleep that well, but he needed to try. No matter how much he would rather stay up and banter with Merlin over text. As he rolled onto his side to plug his phone into the charger, he felt it vibrate in his hand again with a received message and figured there was no harm in opening it and reading before trying to sleep.

It was another photo and there was no reason for the contents of it to have made his mouth go dry the way it did when Arthur saw it. It looked like one of those ridiculous Instagram filters had been used. Merlin had whiskers and cat ears and was smiling widely, his complexion unnaturally smoothed to hide any trace of his pores. That wasn’t what caught Arthur’s attention, though. Merlin looked like he was leaning against the wall across from the large window in the cafe, his head resting on his arm and revealing a long column of neck that Arthur desperately wanted to map with his tongue and lips. He wore his apron and beneath it looked like he was wearing a light v-neck jumper that had slipped down revealing part of one collarbone. The jumper was charcoal grey and made Merlin’s eyes shine a brilliant shade of blue, emphasizing the pale creaminess of his skin.

It was completely innocent, nothing seductive or purposefully sexy about it.

It stole Arthur’s breath away.

Gripping the phone tighter, he tapped the picture so it filled his screen, rolling onto his back and biting his lower lip as he stared unblinkingly at the way Merlin must look right then. It was early afternoon in London, Merlin was probably in the middle of feeding the cats and taking care of whatever customers had come in after lunch. He looked so happy in the photo; Arthur worried at the corner of his lower lip with his teeth and hoped a little breathlessly that the smile Merlin wore was only for him.

Haltingly, Arthur’s free hand caressed light circles over his stomach, raising goosebumps as he thought of Merlin doing it to him. He wanted him to touch him, to explore every inch of his skin, to smile a private smile at Arthur as he figured out what touches would wrench the best noises out of him. His hand slipped upwards, a fingertip circling his nipple while his tongue slowly traced the shape of his lower lip and he exhaled a shaky breath. His eyes were still glued to the screen, staring at Merlin’s neck.

His neck would be delicious, Arthur wagered. He could drag his tongue along the taut line of the tendon that stood out whenever Merlin cocked his head to the side. He could lay the ghost of kisses along the wet stripe of hot skin, his teeth grazing along the same path. Would Merlin hiss? Would he moan? Would he cut off any noises out of embarrassment at the thought of being heard? Arthur desperately wanted to find out.

He brought a finger to his mouth, his tongue flicking out and wetting it. Slowly, he brought it back to his nipple and ran the slick wetness over it, making a small noise of need at the feel of the sensitive skin tightening at the cool slide of skin on skin. He released his lip from his teeth, the tip of his tongue slipping out to be bitten as he took his nipple between his thumb and forefinger and pinched, soothing it immediately after with a flick of the pad of his thumb. Arthur let out another shaky breath and let the hand holding the phone fall to the bed, letting it go so he could snake it toward his thighs. His legs parted, bending at the knees as he let his hand caress his inner thigh with a touch as light as the one he had used on his stomach. As his hand drew closer to the edge of his boxer briefs, he curled his fingers so the blunt fingernails could scrape along his skin.

The sensations hitting him, though familiar, took on a desperate new edge as Arthur let his head fall back and eyes slide shut, imagining Merlin’s lips parted in a breathy moan that Arthur echoed. His fingers slipped beneath the fabric of his underwear and caressed the crease where his thigh met his groin as his other hand continued to alternately pinch and flick his nipple. Heat flooded him, warming his body, and he kicked off the too-crisp sheets to let the air cool the fire that Merlin had unknowingly awakened in him. His cock was rapidly filling, heavy and hard with the need that pulsed through his veins, and Arthur let his fingers brush over the base of it where it met his balls, the twitch that resulted drawing another breathy noise from his throat.

Unable to take the teasing touches for much longer, Arthur shoved his boxer briefs roughly down his hips, freeing his cock and allowing it to bob up and slap back onto his belly as he kicked the underwear off his legs and onto the floor beside the bed. With a firm grip, he grasped himself and stroked once, the warm, smooth metal of his thumb ring dragging along the velvety skin. It was all so familiar, but he wanted the unfamiliar, wanted Merlin. Merlin didn’t wear rings, so Arthur brought his hand back up to his hand, shoving each finger wearing a ring into his mouth and drawing his lips and teeth just tightly enough around each digit as he withdrew it to keep the rings in his mouth, dropping them onto the pillow next to his head in turn. After, when he grasped his hard cock and stroked, it was both a little less familiar as well as a little slicker with saliva. He moaned.

He started with a leisurely pace, not wanting to finish too quickly, wanting to enjoy the thoughts of Merlin that flashed behind his eyes with every stroke of his hand. He could see the way Merlin’s tongue darted out to catch a stray drop of tea on his lips when the two of them were sharing a table on Merlin’s break. The first time Merlin had done that, Arthur fought hard to keep his composure when he wanted nothing more than to use his own tongue in the same way on Merlin’s lips.

His kisses would taste like tea and the day-old pastries that Arthur knew he snuck when he was clearing out the pastry case each morning. Sweet and spicy and so Merlin that Arthur arched up off the bed and into his hand at the thought. The fingers of his free hand twisted into the sheets, gripping them for stability as he sped his hand tugging on his cock. His thumb caressed over the slit on the upstrokes, smearing precome over the swollen head, slicking it further to ease the roll of his foreskin along the sensitive cockhead.

Arthur squeezed his cock, slowing his hand for a moment as he untwisted his fingers from the sheets, bringing them to his mouth to lave his tongue over them, wetting them so he could slip them back behind his balls, caressing the sensitive skin of his perineum and sliding further back to circle his fingertips around the rim of his entrance. With a soft groan, Arthur imagined blue eyes beneath an alluring head of rumpled black hair looking up at him from between his trembling thighs and long, slender fingers teasing at him. He slipped his index finger up to his first knuckle inside himself, a strangled keening noise escaping before he could bite it back. It had been so long since he had wanted this, wanted to be on the receiving end of such attentions. Merlin made him want to give up all control, give himself over to whatever her wanted, though. Merlin would take care of him in all the ways that mattered. And Arthur would care for him right back.

His breathing hitched as he gently worked his finger in and out of his ass, his hand moving along his cock at a faster speed. He wanted to find his release, but the longing was sweet and he wanted it to last a little longer. Arthur wondered what it would be like to feel Merlin’s cock pressing against his entrance, pressing as insistently as Arthur’s own fingers were. With a heavy exhale from his nose, Arthur added a second finger, fucking himself faster and faster as his desire to orgasm grew.

Panting with the need of it all, Arthur’s hand tugged insistently at his cock, feeling his balls tightening as his climax drew closer. Stuttered cries fell from his lips as he murmured Merlin’s name in a litany of need. He bit his lip hard as a blinding flash of white overcame his vision and he spilled his release over his hand and belly. His hand slowed, but didn’t stop its movements over his cock, milking the rest of his seed from his cock until he was too sensitive to continue touching himself. He slowly withdrew the fingers from his ass, feeling the loss of the fullness that had been so good. With a lazy smile, he wiped his hand on the sheets, cleaning the come off and not caring that he was making a mess. He did feel a slight twinge of guilt that housekeeping would have to deal with his mess the next day, but the languid tiredness that overcame him in the aftermath of orgasm overrode it.

He fell asleep, relaxed and sated.

The next morning, Arthur woke with a vague feeling of shame and vowed that Merlin would never find out what he had done the night before, and he’d never do it again.

So of course it happened three more times.

Arthur: These meetings are going to be the death of me.
Arthur: I’m going to die of boredom one of these days.
Arthur: and the worst part is that nobody would even notice if I did.
Merlin 😺: I’d notice when you didn’t come back in… what is it now, three weeks?
Arthur: Yeah, around there.
Merlin 😺: How is it still almost a month?
Arthur: I’m stuck in a time warp that has elongated time for just me.
Merlin 😺: It’s not just you if I’m affected.
Merlin 😺: Also I feel like this would be a prime place for a dick joke
Merlin 😺: Something about a euphemism for elongated time
Merlin 😺: But nothing I come up with is working for me.
Merlin 😺: So I’ll just say [dick joke goes here]
Arthur: Wow
Arthur: [Polite but disbelieving laughter goes here]
Merlin 😺: Shut up, I’m hilarious
Arthur: This would be a good spot for me to make a joke about your dick being hilarious
Arthur: But seeing as I’m a gentleman, I will refrain
Merlin 😺: I’m not sure I’d describe you as a gentleman, exactly
Arthur: Excuse me? I’m the most gentlemanly gentleman you’ll ever meet
Merlin 😺: If that’s true, then why haven’t you asked me out yet?

Merlin 😺: I’m sorry, if you want we can play that last text off as a joke and pretend it never happened.

Merlin 😺: Arthur?

Merlin 😺: By the way, your friend Gwaine is really great at what he does. It’s only been four weeks since you left and you aren’t going to recognize the place when you get back.
Merlin 😺: I’ve had so many customers come in since Gwaine forced me to get an Instagram
Merlin 😺: Turns out the internet loves cats
Merlin 😺: Who knew 🤷

Merlin 😺: Hey can you reply and let me know that I haven’t completely fucked up our friendship?

Arthur stared at the brand new phone in his hand when a series of texts loaded all at once, groaning at the declining mood in each. He bit his lip with a frown, wondering how he could salvage things with Merlin. If only he hadn’t taken his phone into the bathroom with him to message Merlin that night. If only that one line hadn’t surprised him enough to drop his phone.

Into the toilet.

Arthur: God I’m so sorry Merlin.
Arthur: I don’t know if you’ll believe this
Arthur: But literally right after you texted me asking me why I haven’t asked you out yet
Arthur: I dropped my phone in the toilet
Arthur: And it was 2 am, and I was getting ready to go to the airport so I didn’t have time to try and buy a new one
Arthur: I didn’t have time for literally the next week and a half
Arthur: Honestly, I’m a little surprised I remembered to retrieve the SIM card out of the old phone
Arthur: I have a separate work phone so I couldn’t justify taking time to get a replacement for my personal phone until I had some spare time
Arthur: And I would have messaged you on my work phone, but I couldn’t for the life of me remember your mobile number
Arthur: Please believe that I wasn’t offended or upset by what you texted
Arthur: To tell the truth, I’ve been dying to ask you out, but didn’t want to screw things up
Arthur: I had originally gone into your cafe that first time to try and flirt with you, and we ended up becoming friends
Arthur: And you matter very much as a friend to me, so I just didn’t want to fuck up
Arthur: Anyway, when you get this just reply, doesn’t matter what time it is I’ll answer
Arthur: Or if you prefer you can call, that might be better
Arthur: Hope to talk to you soon.

Arthur was about to set his phone aside when it buzzed in his hand, and he tapped the message notification to reopen the conversation with a vague sense of trepidation.

Merlin 😺: Didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s rude to blow someone’s phone up?
Merlin 😺: Especially at 3 in the morning
Arthur: Shit, I’m sorry
Arthur: I just needed to clear things up, I didn’t even consider the time difference
Merlin 😺: It’s fine, I didn’t need sleep anyway

Arthur didn’t know what to say. He stared at Merlin’s message, twisting his thumb ring with his index finger with a restless sort of anxiety as he tried to figure out what the right words were and what the right order for them was to smooth things over and make Merlin believe that he hadn’t just abandoned him for a week and a half after what had been a completely pleasant bout of textual flirting coupled with those shameful wank sessions that Merlin definitely wasn’t ever going to find out about. As he was beginning to compose a reply his phone buzzed again, this time with a call. He felt adrenaline shoot through him as he saw that Merlin had grown tired of waiting for a reply and decided to call. He tapped the accept button and raised the phone to his ear.

“Hello?” He congratulated himself at how steady his voice sounded, even as his hands trembled with sudden nervous energy.

“You said I should call you when I got the messages,” Merlin said, his voice rough with sleep. Arthur shut his eyes, trying not to imagine sleep-mussed hair coupled with lidded crystal blue eyes staring at him. He swallowed thickly, wondering if Merlin slept naked, feeling himself stirring at the thought and attempting to push it from his mind.

“Yeah, I did,” he agreed.

“I thought that I’d screwed up,” Merlin said in a small voice after a few seconds and Arthur felt a fresh wave of displeasure wash over him at the fact that his stupid mistake had made Merlin worry so much. “Did I screw up?”

“No!” Arthur said, too loud. He cleared his throat and shook his head even though Merlin couldn’t see it through the phone. “No, you didn’t,” he continued at a more reasonable volume. “Like I said, I’ve wanted to ask you out for ages.”

“So… ask me out, then,” Merlin said, and Arthur could hear the shy smile in his voice through the sleepiness. Arthur chuckled, low and warm, switching the phone to his other ear carefully.

“Merlin, will you go out with me? Maybe to dinner? To see a film? A walk in a park of some sort? I’m open to anything really, as long as it’s with you.” Arthur wanted to stop talking, to cut the babbling off before he could make a bigger fool of himself than he already was, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Merlin laughed and it did something fluttery to Arthur’s heart.

“Sure, I’d love to. Just tell me the time and place.”

“Can I call you when I get back to London?” Arthur asked.

“Of course,” Merlin replied. “That’s in nine days, right?”

“Right.” Arthur felt his mood lightening even as his impatience spiked, looking forward more than ever to getting back home. “Just do me a favor and keep texting me those silly pictures.”

“Silly, huh?” Merlin said, sounding amused. “For your information they’re very serious social media materials.”

“Gwaine has created a monster,” Arthur groaned and Merlin laughed merrily.

“Thank you for putting me in touch with him, Arthur. Really. I don’t know if I’d be doing half as well as I am now without him, or you. It’s still early, but I’m really hopeful.” The gratitude in Merlin’s voice sent a spike of happiness through Arthur and he hummed.

“I’m just glad I could help. You deserve success, Merlin.” He sighed. “You should get back to sleep, I’m sure you have a busy day of cats and tea ahead of you.”

“Yeah… Goodnight, Arthur.”

“Night, Merlin.”

Chapter Text

When his plane landed, Arthur could have kissed the floor of the Heathrow international arrivals terminal, glad to be back in the same country as Merlin after the longest six weeks of his life. He felt rumpled with a thin layer of travel grime coating every inch of him and wanted desperately to get back to his flat and have the longest shower of his life before brushing his teeth to within an inch of their lives, then have the most boring food he could think of that wasn’t from a posh restaurant before sleeping for eighteen hours straight.

But first he pulled his mobile out of his pocket so he could message Merlin.

Arthur: Finally back home after what was possibly the bumpiest flight in the history of international flights.

He put his phone back into his pocket and made to head toward passport control so he could get the hell out of the airport, but was met with an answering vibration a few seconds later. He was surprised for a few seconds, before his tired brain realized that they were in the same time zone again, it was day time, and he wouldn’t have to wait hours between messages any more. At least not until Arthur’s next business trip. He tapped the display to wake the phone up and looked at the message with a smile.

Merlin 😺: At least the plane didn’t crash and you made it safely!

Arthur laughed and tapped out a response, heedless of the dirty looks he was getting for stopping in the middle of a hallway and impeding the flow of traffic. He knew he was being one of those travelers that he hated ordinarily, but he couldn’t bring himself to care just then.

Arthur: Thank god for that. I’m alive and we’re once again in the same country.

Arthur: Which means that I can take you out, when you let me know when you’re free.

He didn’t put his phone away immediately, waiting on a response with an excited flutter in his stomach. He hadn’t felt so nervously eager since he was a teenager and it felt strange, but in a good way.

Merlin 😺: The cafe is closed on Sundays, if you want to do something this weekend?

He felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a small grin. Normally he wouldn’t want to do something on a Sunday night, having to work early the next day, but since he’d just returned from a lengthy business trip he was entitled to a week off to recover from the jet lag. It also gave him a couple of days to plan something.

Arthur: It’s a date. Send me your address and I’ll pick you up at 5 on Sunday.

There was a new spring in his step as he set back off down the hall towards passport control, not even minding that several other international flights had also landed and he was going to be in line for a while. He was going on a date with Merlin Emrys, finally. Nothing could spoil his good mood.

“This has been a really good night,” Merlin said, looking over at Arthur with what he hoped was an invitation to kiss him. They were walking back to Arthur’s car after what had been a very pleasant evening of a film and dinner at a little bistro he really liked. It wasn’t the most imaginative of first dates, but Arthur hadn’t had time to plan anything more elaborate than that. Throughout the film, their hands had brushed against each other as they shifted in their seats and Arthur honestly couldn’t say what the film had been about because he was so focused on Merlin and how close he was and how much he wanted to hold his hand.

They reached Arthur’s car and Merlin leaned against it, the look in his eyes steady as Arthur stepped closer, placing his palms flat on the roof of his car and trapping Merlin loosely between his arms. Slowly, allowing Merlin time to push him away if it was unwelcome, he leaned in and pressed his mouth against Merlin’s lush lips, the warmth of them sending a rush of pleasurable tingles racing through him. He felt rather than heard Merlin inhale sharply through his nose and as he nudged the length of his body against Merlin’s he let out a soft noise of want, parting his lips just enough to run the tip of his tongue over the fullness of Merlin’s lower lip before ending the kiss with a quiet sound.

“Come back to mine?” he asked, voice low and rough with unspoken need. Merlin’s eyes stared back at him, hooded and dark, mouth half quirked in a smile that Arthur couldn’t read.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

The drive back to Arthur’s flat was the longest of his life between the awful traffic and the interminable need to pull over and put his hands all over Merlin. He gripped the steering wheel and gear stick until his knuckles were white, studiously keeping his eyes on the road out of the knowledge that if he allowed himself to glance over at Merlin he’d never be able to stop. His heart jumped into his throat when he felt Merlin’s right hand cover his left on the gear stick, the pads of his fingers lightly tracing over Arthur’s knuckles, and it took everything in him to keep the car steady as most of the blood in his body abandoned his brain for greener pastures.

An eternity later, Arthur pulled into the parking garage and shut the car off, resting his hands gingerly on the steering wheel and glancing over at Merlin out of the corner of his eye. He saw Merlin smiling fondly back at him as if Arthur was something to be treasured, but also had done something funny. Blush rising to his cheeks, he supposed that he had, driving like a focused maniac. He wondered why he was feeling— and acting— as though this was his first date with anyone ever. He had dated. Once upon a time he had dated a lot. There was something about Merlin that was just different, though. Arthur felt as though with this one, he was playing for keeps.

Opening the door to the car, Arthur got out, hearing Merlin do the same beside him. He offered his companion a smile, holding out a hand for Merlin to take as he walked around to the other side of the vehicle. Merlin took the offered hand and Arthur brought it to his lips, brushing them across Merlin’s knuckles in a whisper of a touch that made a shudder run through Merlin. Unable to help himself, Arthur used the hand to tug Merlin forward, crushing their lips together in a bruising kiss that left him breathless and needing more. He nipped at Merlin’s lower lip, tugging on it before soothing it with a swipe of his tongue. Merlin opened his mouth to breathe a moan, and Arthur stole the chance to slip his tongue past Merlin’s parted lips to brush it teasingly against Merlin’s. The wet, hot slide of their tongues made both of them gasp, and Arthur wound his arms tightly around Merlin, holding their bodies close together and reveling in the feel of the hard lines of Merlin’s figure against his own.

The kiss parted after what could have been moments, but felt like minutes to Arthur and they looked at each other, Merlin shooting Arthur a bashful smile before nudging the tip of his nose against Arthur’s playfully.

“Thought you were going to take me to your flat,” he said and Arthur barked out a short laugh, his heart full of a tentative happiness that he wanted to hold onto forever.

“Come on then,” he said breathlessly, tugging Merlin toward the lifts at the other end of the garage, answering Merlin’s smile with one of his own.

The doors to the lift closed behind them, and Arthur had hardly finished pressing the button for his floor before Merlin pushed him up against the back wall and stole back the kisses Arthur had taken from him, his hands slipping beneath Arthur’s leather jacket and roaming along Arthur’s sides making him squirm from both ticklishness and an electric tingle of want. Merlin’s tongue plundering his mouth made Arthur groan, tangling his own with Merlin’s in a battle for dominance that Arthur wasn’t sure he wanted to win. Merlin had never struck him as the dominant type based on his demeanour and general Merlin-ness, but now that the idea had been planted in his head Arthur felt dizzy with the desire to give up control and let Merlin have whatever wicked way with him he wanted. His mind flashed to that first wank session in Tokyo, the fantasy of Merlin fucking him into the mattress, and felt his cock harden with a speed that almost alarmed him. He swallowed back a groan, squeezing his eyes shut and focusing on real Merlin. Fantasy Merlin had been great, but was nothing to the real thing, no matter how the night turned out.

The lift dinged when it reached Arthur’s floor. The doors slid open and Merlin pulled himself away from Arthur leaving him feeling cold and wanting more. He knew he had a dazed expression on his face and didn’t care as Merlin’s hand slipped into his own and squeezed, leading Arthur out of the lift as if he were the one that lived there instead. Arthur let out a breathy laugh that wasn’t so much a laugh as a sharp, amused exhale, twisting his hand enough to thread their fingers together, leaning in to steal a soft kiss from Merlin as he took over leading them down the hall toward the door to his flat. Every few steps he distracted them both by pulling Merlin in and nuzzling his neck, kissing and licking along the pulse he could feel racing beneath his tongue, inhaling the scent that he was already certain he wanted to surround him for the rest of his life.

Finally, he reached his door and fumbled his keys out, opening the lock and practically kicking the door open with a force rarely seen outside of action films. He dragged Merlin inside, shutting the door with a slam and shoving Merlin against it, ravaging his mouth greedily, hands tugging at Merlin’s button-down to try and slip beneath it and find the skin hidden by the fabric. He moaned, sucking Merlin’s lower lip into his mouth with an obscenely loud noise, the franticness of the moment dampening any embarrassment at the sound. Merlin exhaled into Arthur’s mouth, a gentle keen swallowed into the kiss as he shoved Arthur’s jacket from his shoulders and trapped his arms close to his body. Arthur ended the kiss, blinking at him as Merlin roughly shoved his hands beneath the waistband of Arthur’s jeans, fingertips skimming along the elastic band of his boxer briefs before settling with his palms at his sides, fingers cupping his arse possessively.

“Wanted you since the first time I saw you pass my cafe,” Merlin whispered, harsh in the silence surrounding their desperate pants. Arthur’s eyes rolled back, his eyelids half closing as he felt Merlin’s words hit him like a punch to the gut. He bit his lower lip, worrying it between his teeth before leaning in to nuzzle and lick Merlin’s neck again.

“Yeah?” he asked, mouthing the word against Merlin’s heated skin, breath passing over the trail of saliva he had left and raising goosebumps on Merlin’s neck. He felt him shiver and smiled at the sound he pulled from Merlin’s throat as he started sucking a love bite into the spot just below his ear. As he did, he took the chance to shake his jacket off his arms, the thick leather making a soft whump sound as it hit the floor. Arthur snaked his arms around Merlin’s waist and pulled him closer.

“You almost walked into traffic and I thought maybe you wanted me, too,” Merlin said, a moan cutting into the statement, Merlin’s fingers curling against Arthur’s arse and digging in just enough to draw a surprised noise from him.

“I did,” Arthur confirmed, his tongue running over the purpling mark on Merlin’s neck with satisfaction. “I wanted you so badly, ‘s why I came in that first time.” He kissed the love bite, moving to nip at Merlin’s earlobe before nuzzling his nose against it as he whispered, enjoying the breathy noise that spilled from Merlin’s lips. “The first time I saw you, I wanted to kiss you senseless. I thought you were the most attractive man I’d ever seen.”

“And here I thought you were just in it for the cats,” Merlin said with a short laugh pulling his hands from Arthur’s trousers and moving to fumble with the button to open them.

“I told you,” Arthur said, once more nipping at Merlin’s earlobe, “I’m not really a cat person.” He laughed, bringing his hands up to cup Merlin’s face and run his thumbs over those sharp, beautiful cheekbones that had enchanted him from the first moment he saw them. “It turns out I might be a bit of a Merlin person, though.”

Merlin’s movements paused, and he stared at Arthur with an inscrutable stare before bursting into soft laughter. Arthur didn’t know what to make of it, so he waited for Merlin to gather himself with a confused look. Merlin grinned at him, the corners of his eyes crinkling with mirth.

“That might have been the cheesiest thing anyone has ever said to me,” he said finally, making Arthur’s ears burn with embarrassment. He spluttered, trying to figure out how to turn time back so he could stop himself from saying those words, when he felt Merlin’s hand on his cheek turning his head to face him. Arthur hadn’t even realized he’d turned away from him.

“Hey, it’s okay. It was incredibly sweet,” Merlin said, pressing a soft kiss to Arthur’s lips that he couldn’t help but return. Embarrassment still coursed through him, but the force of his longing and need overrode it and he sighed against Merlin’s lips. The two of them continued to trade soft, eager kisses back and forth as their hands explored each others’ bodies over their clothing. Each touch Merlin pressed into Arthur’s skin left him electrified with the sort of want he wasn’t sure he’d ever felt before and craved more. He pulled away from Merlin, looking at him with what he hoped was heavily lidded come-hither bedroom eyes, and smiled his best smile as he slowly unbuttoning his shirt and exposing his chest to Merlin’s searching gaze. Merlin’s hair was sticking up at all angles and Arthur wanted to reach out and run his fingers through the softness of it to mess it up even further. Biting his lower lip, he promised himself he’d get his fill of that hair and everything else about Merlin. Just as soon as they were both naked.

Arthur let the shirt slip to the floor and moved his hands to start unbuckling his belt when he felt the telltale tingle of a sneeze building behind his nose. His hand flew up to cover his mouth and nose as a truly magnificent sneeze escaped, doubling him over and startling Merlin at the sound.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said, before another took him by surprise. “God, I forgot,” he groaned, rubbing at his eyes. They didn’t burn yet, but they soon would based on his past experience. Arthur couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. Apparently six weeks away from home was enough to make him forget that Merlin worked with cats for a living, and would surely have hair and dander all over him no matter how fastidious he may or may not have been.

“Are you okay?” Merlin asked, sounding tentative. Arthur straightened up shaking his head.

“Yeah I’m fine,” he answered, hearing the start of a stuffy nose in his speech. “I guess I never got around to telling you that I’m allergic to cats.”

“You’re allergic to cats.” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. Merlin blinked at Arthur as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re allergic to cats and you hang out in a cat cafe.”

“That’s the long and short of it, yes,” Arthur said, before another sneeze interrupted. “I usually take allergy medication before I go see you, but since I was away and didn’t need it, I got out of the habit.” Arthur left Merlin in the living room to go grab himself some tissues and try and compose himself.

“So you don’t usually take allergy medication?” Merlin called after him. Arthur shook his head as he walked back into the living room with the tissue box he recovered from his bedroom, wiping at his nose and feeling as un-sexy as one could feel at a moment like that.

“That day I saw you I went to the chemist’s to pick some up. I wanted to meet you, but I don’t do well with cats. My sister had one when we were growing up and I was miserable for most of my childhood until my father finally took me to the allergist’s.” Arthur crumpled up the tissue and tossed it onto a side table.

“Getting rid of the cat wasn’t an option?” Merlin asked. Arthur shook his head.

“You haven’t met my sister. Morgana would have died before she let anyone take Aithusa from her.” He laughed ruefully, running a hand through his hair and hoping that he hadn’t spoiled Merlin’s evening. “When I moved out for uni, I finally didn’t have to take allergy medication any more since I didn’t live with a cat. That was ten years ago. Then I met you.”

“So you started taking allergy medication again after ten years because you wanted to meet some random guy at a cat cafe after you saw him on the street.” Arthur nodded, feeling his whole face burn at how ridiculous it sounded when put that way. Merlin’s lips quirked up in a smile that Arthur thought was incredibly fetching.

“I don’t know if that’s the stupidest or the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” Merlin said, covering his mouth to muffle his laugh. Arthur shot him a wounded look. Merlin was usually so nice— well, when he wasn’t calling him ridiculous made-up nicknames— he didn’t expect him to poke fun at Arthur’s expense. Merlin bit his lip, giving Arthur what he chose to interpret as an apologetic smile.

“Some people would think such a gesture very romantic,” he said, pulling another tissue from the box and dabbing at his nose. He wasn’t pouting. Not even a little.

“Yes, well some people have weird ideas of what is and isn’t romantic,” Merlin shot back. Arthur was working himself into an indignant state when he recognized the teasing tone that went along with the smile Merlin was giving him. It was the banter they had fallen into over the past months at the cafe, barbs they traded that were for fun, no heat behind them. It took the wind out of Arthur’s sails and he rolled his eyes, blinking when he felt the uncomfortable start of the burning sensation at the edges, tearing up slightly.

“Yes well some people have no taste whatsoever,” he said, blowing his nose loudly. He figured the evening was ruined, so there was no real sense in keeping up a sexy front. Merlin gave him a concerned look.

“You really are miserable, aren’t you?” he asked and Arthur shrugged.

“It’s been a while, but I’m used to it.” He gave Merlin a half smile, his head cocked slightly to the side. “It was worth it to spend time with you.”

“If I had known, I could have done something about…” Merlin gestured vaguely to himself, and Arthur laughed, shaking his head.

“It’s fine. There’s not a lot you could have done. Unless you had come freshly showered and naked, since I’m sure all your clothes are catted up.” Arthur waggled his eyebrows and Merlin laughed, a surprised noise that made Arthur grin.

“I’m not sure how well that would have gone over with the other theatregoers,” Merlin said, biting his lip as his nose and corners of his eyes crinkled with the wide smile he wore.

“Would’ve gone down well with this theatregoer,” Arthur replied, his come-on punctuated by another sneeze. “God, I’m sorry I ruined the night,” he said, rubbing his nose with a frustration he couldn’t adequately articulate. “This is not what I envisioned when I invited you over.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s ruined per se,” Merlin said, nudging Arthur’s shoulder with his own. Arthur looked over. He hadn’t noticed Merlin moving to stand next to him. “I mean I’m here, you’re here, you have a shower, I can quarantine these clothes to a plastic bag far, far away from you…” He gave Arthur a smouldering look and Arthur felt his flagging arousal coming back full force. “If that’s something you’re still interested in, anyway. I don’t know how you feel about doing…” Merlin made a suggestive hand gesture and Arthur snorted. Or, he would have if his nose wasn’t so congested. “When you’re feeling like this.”

“Well I do have something I can take,” Arthur began, thinking back to his box of antihistamines he used as a last resort, the kind you took after an allergic reaction to stop it instead of before to keep it from happening.

Side effects may include: drowsiness…

Merlin’s expression brightened and Arthur thought Sod it, I’m getting laid tonight by the man of my dreams. Throwing caution to the wind, he pointed down the hall. “Bathroom’s on the left, clean towels are in the cupboard next to the sink.”

Merlin touched Arthur, a lingering graze of fingers against his bare arm, and headed down the hall toward the bathroom. Arthur shivered, closing his eyes and taking a breath to steady himself before rushing to the kitchen where he kept his antihistamine tablets. He dug them out of the cupboard and popped two out of the blister pack before tossing them in his mouth and dry swallowing them. He heard the water turn on, imagining the naked expanse of Merlin’s body with a needy shudder and for a brief moment considered joining him, before walking briskly toward his room so he could get himself naked and ready.

He lost his trousers, shoving them off his hips and down his legs after toeing his shoes off in the corner of the room by his bed. He kicked them off, rubbing the palms of his hands over the coarse blond hair on his upper thighs nervously. Arthur sat on the edge of the bed in his boxer briefs and nothing else, plucking at the elastic waistband of his underwear and wondering if he should leave it on and let Merlin unwrap him like a gift or take them off and present himself au naturale like a buffet, with the bed being the table.

“Pendragon, stop being ridiculous,” he muttered, finally making a decision and removing his pants altogether. His cock sprang free, half-hard and slapping against his thigh. Arthur sat back on the bed, scooting his ass against the rumpled bedclothes until his back hit the wall of pillows he liked to keep on his bed— for comfort, not decoration thank you very much— and his thighs fell open. He tried several poses while waiting for Merlin, but too many of them felt either too “Paint me like one of your French girls” or “I’m not a model I swear my camera just turned itself on.”

With a huff of annoyance at himself, he took his cock in hand to coax it into full hardness, leisurely pleasuring himself as he listened to the sound of the water rushing through the pipes, imagining Merlin slicked up with soap and wondering if he was touching himself as well. Arthur imagined Merlin’s hands on his own cock, tugging and teasing in the guise of washing, and felt a shudder of desire run down his spine. He took a deep breath, pleased that it was already easier thanks to the tablets he’d taken, and slowly blew it out, drawing one knee up to his chest and bracing a hand against the mattress. His limbs felt pleasantly heavy as he continued to stroke himself and he didn’t notice the water shutting off or the soft footfalls of Merlin leaving the bathroom.

“I see you started without me,” Merlin said from the doorway, amused voice tinged with thick desire. Arthur’s eyes opened lazily and he gave Merlin a slow ‘come hither’ smile as he spread his legs wider to roll his balls in his fingers. His eyes raked up and down Merlin’s body, taking in the towel slung low around his hips exposing hipbones that Arthur wanted to taste, dusky pink nipples that were already peaked and hard, and water dripping from the tips of his dark, dark hair. Arthur’s eyes followed a droplet as it fell from Merlin’s shoulder down one pec and followed the line of black hair that disappeared beneath the towel.

“You’re more than welcome to join me,” Arthur invited, tongue darting out to wet his lips before his teeth caught his lower lip. He saw Merlin’s gaze on his mouth and purposefully let a soft keen spill from his throat. Merlin abandoned the towel as he stepped further into the bedroom and Arthur couldn’t help but stare at Merlin’s hard cock, the foreskin drawn back exposing the purple cockhead. His mouth watered; he wanted to wrap his lips around Merlin’s cock and suck, tasting the shiny precome he could see already dripping from the slit.

When Merlin reached the bed, he put a knee onto the edge of the mattress and paused, staring at Arthur as though he were a meal for a starving man. Impatiently, Arthur reached out to wrap his fingers around Merlin’s wrist, tugging him forward. Merlin lost his balance, falling forward onto the bed with a groan. After a second he scrambled up, crawling toward Arthur with an alacrity that made Arthur grin. Merlin shoved at Arthur’s shoulder, huffing as he fitted their bodies together. The slide of skin on skin made Arthur shudder, his eyes slipping shut as he lifted his hips to press his hard cock against Merlin’s with a low moan.

“God,” Merlin breathed, a hand moving to Arthur’s hip to steady himself. His fingers dug into the skin and Arthur moaned again, letting his head fall back against the headboard with a thump. The heaviness of his limbs increased, languid in the flushed pleasure coursing through him. He lifted his own arms to wrap around Merlin and with a jolt recognized that the languidness wasn’t a result of pleasure— not completely, at least— but that the tablets were working and that the drowsiness promised in the side effects section of the drug facts list was definitely happening.

With a reckless groan, he summoned the strength to flip them over, draping himself across Merlin’s body and capturing his lips in a hungry kiss as he ground his cock down against Merlin’s. Merlin gasped into the kiss, bending his knees and spreading his legs to cradle Arthur between his thighs. Arthur bit Merlin’s full lower lip, moaning in defiance of the fog that had settled in his brain. Licking Merlin’s lip teasingly, he moved to bury his face in the crook of Merlin’s neck and lick at the water left from his shower. He felt rather than heard Merlin moan, and smiled against his skin. Merlin smelled of his shower gel and the scent awoke something powerfully possessive in Arthur. He licked again at the warm skin of Merlin’s neck, inhaling the scent of the soap that was so familiar yet at the same time so different when mixed with Merlin’s own natural scent.

He rutted against Merlin’s inner thigh slowly as he nuzzled against his neck, the easy friction a low thrum of pleasure beneath Arthur’s skin. Precome from his cock smeared over Merlin’s thigh, making the slide of it easier. Arthur clutched at Merlin tighter, moaning happily when Merlin echoed it, nibbling and nipping at Arthur’s earlobe in a way that made him want to stretch out in bliss languorously like a cat.

“Tell me what you want me to do,” Merlin whispered, his tongue tracing the edge of Arthur’s ear and making him gasp even as he burrowed further against Merlin’s neck intent on marking him as his. He started sucking a bruise beneath Merlin’s ear leaning heavier and heavier on him as he felt his arms and legs giving in to the fog in his brain.

“Just…” Arthur said, nudging his nose along Merlin’s jaw as he tried to gather his thoughts. He wanted Merlin to do whatever he wanted, but he didn’t know if he was going to be able to stay awake for it and felt he should probably warn him. He was having a hard time thinking between the medication and the burning need, though.

“Yeah?” Merlin asked breathlessly, his hips undulating to rub his cock against Arthur’s belly in a way that would have ordinarily driven him mad with desire. Arthur shook his head, his eyes sliding stubbornly shut as he nuzzled once more against the comfortable heat of Merlin’s warm neck and felt himself drifting off to the sound of Merlin calling his name with a curious lilt to his voice.

Arthur awoke with a jolt, feeling the cold wetness of saliva on his cheek and chin. He only drooled when he was dead to the world asleep, the medication had really done a number on him. The room was dark except for the glow of a phone screen next to him, and he abruptly remembered that he and Merlin had been in the middle of a very pleasant preclude to having sex when he’d passed out.

“Shit, what time is it?” he groaned, trying to get his bearings and not die of humiliation. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, reaching over to wipe the drool slick from the shoulder his head had been cradled on as he slept. Merlin chuckled, and Arthur wanted to drown in the sound even as he wanted to disappear from the face of the earth. What a way for the first time with a new partner to go. Even if it did register as distressingly nice in a domestic sort of way to wake up pillowed on Merlin’s shoulder.

“Not that late, around midnight,” Merlin said, setting his phone aside on the nightstand and shifting to face Arthur. The sudden darkness left by the absence of Merlin’s phone screen allowed him to not feel as exposed as he would otherwise, and he was privately grateful for it. He stretched, rubbing his eyes with a jaw-cracking yawn. At least he was no longer congested.

“Sorry about…” Arthur started, gesturing vaguely to Merlin’s shoulder even though he wasn’t sure Merlin could see him. “Well, everything really. The passing out, the river of drool, whatever other embarrassing things I may have done while drugged up to my eyeballs. I would totally understand if you were having second thoughts about me right about now.”

Merlin laid a hand on Arthur’s upper arm, his fingers gently stroking his skin. “Arthur, I’m not having second thoughts about anything. So you had an allergic reaction and passed out because of the medication you had to take, so what? You were asleep for two hours and I caught up on Instagram comments while you slept.” Merlin’s hand moved to cup Arthur’s chin, urging him to look at him. Arthur could make out his outline, and suddenly wished the light was on so he could see him fully, regardless of the embarrassment.

“Oh, well when you put it that way,” Arthur said with a roll of his eyes, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Total ‘best fuck ever’ territory there.” Merlin took his hand from Arthur’s face and shoved his shoulder. Arthur fell back against the pillows, rubbing his eyes with a heavy sigh.

“I don’t know about you, but I don’t usually expect a first fuck with someone to be the best I’ve ever had. We don’t know each others’ bodies well enough for something like that. Best fucks ever come with time and experience, you clotpole.” Merlin shoved Arthur’s shoulder again, and this time Arthur retaliated with a shove of his own while mouthing Clotpole? to himself in amusement at another of Merlin’s made up insults. Merlin snorted a laugh, and before Arthur could react he found himself pressed against the mattress as Merlin flung himself on top of him to try and wrestle him into submission.

Feeling surprisingly refreshed after his drug-induced nap, Arthur easily overcame Merlin’s pin to reverse him and press him against the mattress, pressing openmouthed kisses over his jaw and throat. He flicked his tongue out, tasting Merlin’s warm skin. Merlin groaned, shifting to spread his legs so Arthur could settle between them, bringing them closer. Their half-hard cocks brushed against each other, and Arthur gasped as his prick filled, rapidly going from half-hard to fully hard. He canted his hips to grind himself against Merlin and enjoyed the answering moan he received.

“Arthur,” Merlin murmured, his breath stuttering as Arthur wrapped his lips around Merlin’s earlobe and traced the edge of it with the tip of his tongue. He nipped at it, before pulling back enough to nose at it.

“Tell me what you like,” he whispered. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Merlin moaned, pushing his hips up against Arthur’s and sending a shock of pleasure through him. Arthur chuckled against Melin’s ear, nipping at it before once more caressing his lips along Merlin’s jaw. He laid kisses down his throat, choosing a spot below Merlin’s adams apple to suck a love bite. Merlin writhed beneath him, and Arthur could feel the impatience. The same impatience that ran through him, that he was trying valiantly to rein in.

“You’re a tease, Pendragon,” Merlin gasped, arching up as Arthur moved back so their cocks were no longer in contact. Arthur eyed the bruise on Merlin’s throat with satisfaction, a darker stain that could just barely be made out against the shadows that painted over the two of them in the dark bedroom.

“I didn’t know you were in such a hurry, Emrys,” Arthur answered, hearing the besotted smile in his voice but not particularly caring. He had been ridiculously infatuated with Merlin for months, and now that he had him where he wanted him, he had no interest in hiding his feelings any more. “Tell me what you want,” he reiterated. To punctuate his request, he slipped a hand along Merlin’s side, tracing over the line of his ribs down to his hip, letting his thumb caress along his hip bone. He sucked lightly at Merlin’s adams apple, nuzzling against his throat and enjoying the lingering scent of the soap that had driven him wild earlier that evening.

“God, Arthur,” Merlin breathed, reaching over Arthur’s shoulder to dig his fingers in to his shoulder blade. The slight pain of it edged Arthur on, dipping his head down to run his teeth lightly over the edge of Merlin’s collar bone.

“Tell me,” Arthur said, moving lower to flick his tongue across Merlin’s nipple, smirking when it hardened at the slightest touch.

“Ngh,” Merlin said, throwing his head back against the pillows and arching up against Arthur. “I need you inside of me.”

“Yeah?” he asked, before wrapping his lips around the hardened nipple and suckling lightly. “Any particular part of me?”

Merlin exhaled, in exasperation or desperation Arthur didn’t know. It made him smile either way. “Your tongue, your fingers, your dick. Pick one, at this point I don’t care.”

Arthur laughed, grinning down at Merlin as he pulled back to reach for two pillows. “Here, get comfortable,” he said as he urged him to lift his hips. Merlin complied, and Arthur placed the pillows beneath him, moving backwards to settle himself on his stomach between Merlin’s thighs. He kissed the head of Merlin’s cock on his way down, humming in pleasure as it twitched with the need to be touched. Merlin’s hand slipped into Arthur’s hair, fingers tightening and pulling in a pleasurable way that bordered on painful. He slipped his arm beneath Merlin’s waist to hold him steady, and took a hand full of Merlin’s ass, squeezing it lightly as he buried his face between his cheeks, nosing at his perineum and circling his hole with the tip of his tongue.

Merlin moaned, lifting his hips to try and grind himself further against Arthur’s face, but he held him steady, unable to keep a wicked grin from his lips as he laved at the pucker with the flat of his tongue before delving in further, pressing just inside Merlin’s hole and wiggling his tongue as much as he could manage.

“Arthur,” Merlin breathed, the end of his name turning into a deep moan as Arthur thrust his tongue in and out of his hole rhythmically. He glanced up, seeing Merlin’s cock slick with precome, and was unable to stop himself from moving away from Merlin’s arse to lick along the thick vein on the underside of his cock. He pressed a kiss to the head, lapping at the precome and moaning softly in echo of Merlin’s sobbed groan as the saltiness hit his tongue.

“Lube is in the nightstand,” he said before dipping his head down to swirl his tongue around the corona of Merlin’s cock, rutting his own rock-hard erection against the mattress to try and relieve the ache of it, not caring that he was leaving a streak of precome on the duvet. Merlin twisted to reach into the nightstand drawer, rummaging around for a few seconds before coming away with a half-empty bottle of lube and a handful of condoms. He offered the bottle to Arthur, who removed his mouth from Merlin’s cock with a soft kiss that sent a shudder run down Merlin’s spine. Arthur smiled.

“Stop gloating and get on with it,” Merlin said, breathless voice giving lie to the annoyed words. Arthur chose not to respond. Instead, he bent down to kiss Merlin’s knee while flipping the lid of the lube open with his thumb and pouring it over his fingers, rubbing them together to warm it a bit before he slid his fingers between Merlin’s arsecheeks to press his middle finger against the pucker that was still wet with saliva. He massaged at it before breaching it, working his finger in and out of Merlin’s arsehole as he bent over to swallow his cock to the hilt. Merlin arched up, pressing a fist against his mouth to muffle the sounds spilling from his mouth. Arthur pulled off Merlin’s cock, looking up at him with a lidded gaze, biting his lower lip as he gently pulled Merlin’s arm away and down to his side.

“Don’t, I want to hear the sounds you make while I’m doing this,” he said. Merlin’s breath hitched, before he let his head fall backwards and moaned loudly. Arthur grinned and swallowed his cock again, bobbing his head in time with the finger working inside him, soon to be joined by a second. He fluttered his tongue over the underside, humming in pleasure at the feel of Merlin in his mouth, the way he fit, the way the head of his cock bumped against the back of his throat. It had been a long time since he had done this, and he was enjoying every second of it, not least of all because of the fact that it was Merlin beneath him.

He crooked his fingers as he worked inside him, trying to brush against his prostate and knew he’d found it when Merlin arched up again and groaned, “Oh god,” as his fingers twisted into the bedlinens. Arthur hummed in satisfaction as he added a third finger and began pumping in and out of Merlin at a faster clip, sucking and swallowing and doing what he could to urge Merlin toward climax, only stopping when he felt a hand on his head.

“Wait,” Merlin gasped, tugging on Arthur’s hair to urge him off his cock. “I want to come with you inside me.” Arthur’s cock gave and approving throb at the image that brought to his mind, and he let Merlin’s cock fall from his mouth as he eased his fingers out and leaned over Merlin to reach for a condom from the pile Merlin had dropped next to him on a pillow.

“Fuck yeah,” he murmured as he ripped one open, rolling it onto his cock before blindly groping for the bottle of lube to slick himself up. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to last long, but the promise of Merlin’s arse clenching around him as he came was something Arthur wasn’t going to pass on.

As he worked, he kept his eyes on Merlin, who had his eyes squeezed shut as he brought a hand up to flick at his own nipple. Arthur watched him for a moment, before nudging his hand away so he could duck down and circle the nipple with his tongue, sucking it gently into his mouth and flicking against it, drawing delicious gasps from Merlin as he did. He scraped his teeth lightly over the pebbled nub as he lined his cock up against Merlin’s hole and started pushing into him. Merlin lifted his hips and dropped a hand to grasp at the plump roundness of one of his arsecheeks to hold himself open for Arthur.

Groaning, Arthur pushed himself up to align their chests together, kissing Merlin desperately with needy licks against his tongue and lips. “How are you even real?” he panted, eyes fluttering shut as his cock was fully engulfed in Merlin’s tight heat. For several long moments neither of them moved, breathing into each other’s mouths as they both struggled to maintain control over themselves.

“Arthur move, please,” Merlin whispered, the hand holding his own arsecheek slipping up to grasp at Arthur’s, kneading it as his hips hitched up to encourage Arthur to start thrusting. Pulling his hips back just enough to feel the drag of friction against his cock, Arthur snapped forward, making Merlin gasp and his eyes flutter open. Arthur kissed him deeply again, fucking him slowly until he couldn’t hold himself back any more. He increased the pace, the frenetic motion of their bodies moving together causing the headboard to bump against the wall, but Arthur didn’t care one whit for his neighbors at that point. All that mattered was that tight coil of pleasure low in his belly, drawing tighter every second until finally it exploded into a pulsating orgasm. He buried his cock in Merlin’s arse as deep as he could go as he emptied his spend into the condom, eager in the back of his mind to get to a point where they could do this without, so he could feel his come slicking Merlin’s passage.

Movement between their bodies caught his attention, and he saw Merlin tugging at his own angry purple cock with rough strokes, chasing his own completion. Arthur pulled back enough to fit his own hand between them, covering Merlin’s as they wanked him together. It didn’t take long before Merlin found release, spilling come on his belly and over their hands with a deep groan of satisfaction. Merlin’s hole pulsed around Arthur’s softening cock, almost hurting with how over sensitive he was following his orgasm. He slowly pulled out, removing the condom to tie it off to dispose of, and leaned over to lick at the semen on Merlin’s belly, tracing patterns through it with his tongue.

“Arthur Pendragon,” Merlin said, sounding breathless but amused, “you’re filthy.”

Arthur grinned up at him, dipping his tongue into Merlin’s navel to collect the come and sweat that had pooled there, and made a show of smacking his lips and swallowing it down. “Next time, I want you to fuck me, if you’d be into that,” he said.

“God, I just came, you can’t say things like that,” Merlin groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes.

Arthur laughed, pushing himself to his knees then shoving himself to the edge of the bed. “Let me get us something to clean up, then we can sleep.” He stared at Merlin in his bed, surrounded by his linens and pillows, looking disheveled and as though he belonged there. “Stay with me?”

Merlin smiled up at him, and Arthur felt his heart skip a beat. “As if you had to ask.”

Arthur awoke the next morning to the sound of an unfamiliar alarm. He cracked an eye open to find Merlin rolling over and slapping at his mobile to shut it off, before turning his head to squint at the clock on his nightstand. Half past six blinked balefully at him, and he threw an arm over his face to groan.

“I know,” Merlin said, his voice rough with sleep. “But I need to get up and get home to change and go open the cafe. We’re not like Costa, open at five to feed the commuters their caffeine, but eight o’clock does have a tendency to come around faster than I wish it would.”

Arthur gave him an unintelligible groan, flopping onto his stomach and burying his head into the pillows. It was bad enough that he had to go in to work later that morning, but facing the wrong side of seven and having to let Merlin leave were just two things he wasn’t prepared for. He felt the mattress shift as Merlin stood to stretch. Arthur peeked over from his pillow nest, catching the long line of Merlin’s spine, his arms stretched over his head, and felt his cock stir.

“I’m going to go rinse off really quick, if you don’t mind?” Merlin asked with a shy smile, thumb gesturing toward the bathroom. Arthur nodded, forcing himself to roll over and sit up.

“Of course, don’t worry about it. I’ll start the kettle so you can get some tea in you before we leave.”

Merlin’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “We?”

“I don’t have to be at work until late morning, I can drive you back to yours then over to the cafe, if you want.” Arthur smiled at him, wanting to reach over and smooth the wrinkles on Merlin’s brow with a thumb.

“Don’t feel like you have to,” Merlin said, laughing self-consciously, “but I would seriously be grateful.”

“Consider it done,” Arthur said, standing to walk around the bed to meet Merlin on the other side, taking his face into his hands to lean in for a slow, sweet kiss. As they parted, Arthur nudged Merlin’s nose with his own, smiling and feeling his heart clench with the feeling that he wanted every morning from now on to begin like this. “Go on, go wash off.”

Merlin smiled back at him, and their gazes held for a long several seconds, before he turned to leave the bedroom and enter the bathroom. Arthur entertained the thought of joining him, before deciding that they didn’t have time for sex in the shower, or any other kind of sex really, if they intended on getting Merlin to the cafe in time to open it. He pulled on a pair of pyjama bottoms and made his way to the kitchen to fill the kettle with water and start it boiling. As he leaned against the counter, he remembered to pull out his packet of allergy pills and take one, just in case.

He pulled two mugs out of the cupboard and tossed two teabags in as the kettle started boiling, and was about to fill them with hot water when a pair of arms snaked around his waist and teasingly pulled his pyjamas down to the tops of his thighs, exposing his arse and cock. The sudden cool breeze made him gasp, and he leaned back into Merlin’s damp embrace as those hands caressed teasingly over his hipbones.

“God I love your arse, it’s beautiful. I could spend hours composing odes to it,” Merlin breathed in his ear, and Arthur shivered.

“Poetry is not exactly what I had in mind when it came to you and my arse,” he said, his voice strangled as he struggled to maintain control of himself.

“Mm, I’d love to hear what sorts of ideas you have,” Merlin said, tongue caressing the shell of Arthur’s ear. Abandoning the tea, Arthur turned around and put his hands on Merlin’s waist, pulling him closer until their groins were aligned.

“As tempting as you are,” Arthur said as he leaned forward to bite a kiss against Merlin’s lips, his hips pressing forward insistently as his cock filled, “and you are very tempting, but we don’t have time if you want to get to the cafe before opening.”

Merlin groaned as if he were in pain, and Arthur could relate to the sentiment. “I know, you’re right. But god I just can’t help wanting you like this. Next time I spend the night, it’s going to be on a Saturday.” Before Arthur could reply, ask him to stay forever— it was much too soon for thoughts like that, he knew that and yet— Merlin captured Arthur’s lips in a searing kiss, their tongues sliding sensuously against each other and making Arthur rethink his entire stance on adult responsibilities.

Just as he was about to give in and drag Merlin back to bed, Merlin pulled back with a rueful look in his eye. “I’ll just go get dressed then, shall I?” Not waiting for an answer, Merlin disappeared back into the bathroom, and Arthur stared into space for a few seconds as he pulled his pyjamas back up and mentally gave his dick a stern talk to try and coax it into compliance.

An hour later, they were standing in front of The Witch’s Familiar, Merlin unlocking the door and flipping the lights on.

“I wanted to show you the difference that having good marketing made, but we don’t usually get our first customers until around nine. Which is fine, it gives me a chance to feed the cats and get things ready for the day,” Merlin was saying as Arthur followed him in, waiting for Lola to approach as she usually did.

“Why don’t you open at nine, then?” he asked absently, smiling as he saw the new photos of customers with their newly-adopted cats posted on the wall near the entrance.

“I don’t want to leave out the people that come in for an early morning tea and pastry and cuddle with a cat,” Merlin said, shrugging. “I’m here anyway, may as well unlock the doors. Though I’ve been thinking about hiring some more part-time help, now that business is booming.”

Arthur nodded, but was a bit preoccupied with looking for his favorite cat to answer him properly. “Hey Merlin?”

“Yeah?” Merlin called as he ducked behind the counter to drop his bag off and grab his apron off the hook by the espresso machine.

“Where’s Lola? She usually hears my voice and comes to bother me for treats by now.” Arthur ducked his head into the main dining room where the largest cat tree was and saw lounging cats, both familiar and new, but no sign of Lola.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Merlin said, and the regret in his voice made Arthur look back at him, eyebrows raised.

“Tell me what?” Merlin gave Arthur an apologetic smile, and pointed toward the wall of adoptions that Arthur had glossed over on his way in. “She’s been adopted?” He walked over to the wall and scanned each until he found a picture of Lola held in the arms of a scruffy man with a familiar smarmy grin. “You let Gwaine adopt her?!”

“I know, but they got on so well and Gwaine asked if he could take her home with him. I would have said no, but you never said anything about wanting to adopt her yourself, and she deserves a permanent home, don’t you think?” Merlin turned the full force of his most charming smile on him, and Arthur was powerless to do anything but grumble to himself about it. Now that he didn’t need an excuse to come in to see Merlin since they were dating— at least he hoped they were dating, since last night was incredible and he wanted to repeat it as often as he possibly could until they were old and grey together— and it wasn’t as if he would never see Lola again. He and Gwaine got together regularly to watch footie and drink themselves stupid.

“I understand,” Arthur finally conceded with a sigh, and saw Merlin’s shoulder slump with relief. “I just wish you’d told me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know what to say. We were flirting and I didn’t want to mess that up. And then I thought I did mess it up, and this whole thing turned into a big mess.” Arthur shook his head at Merlin, and walked over to the counter to ruffle his hair into unruly tufts to try and wipe the sad look from his face.

“It’s fine,” Arthur said firmly. “Gwaine will take good care of her.”

“Yeah I know, he promised that I could come see her whenever I want,” Merlin said with a short laugh as he tried to pat his hair back down into place. Arthur frowned at him, and Merlin poked the corner of his mouth. “We’ll go see her together, turniphead. I’m officially off the market.”

Arthur grinned at him, and pulled on the collar of his apron to steal a kiss. “Don’t you forget it. I have to get back to get ready for work, but I’ll come in later this afternoon like usual, yeah?”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Merlin said softly, his eyes shining. “I’ll text you?”

“Please, it’s going to be a long day and I’ll need the distraction.” With another sweet kiss, Arthur strode toward the door, lifting his hand to wave goodbye to Merlin.

Later that afternoon, Arthur’s mobile vibrated with a text notification. Thinking it was Merlin, he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it, disappointed when it wasn’t.

Queen Bitch: Guess where I am
Arthur: New phone, who is this?

Smirking, he waited to see if Morgana would reply immediately. Even if it wasn’t Merlin, it was still a break from the endless reports he was expected to write detailing his trip. It wasn’t long until the notification buzzed again.

Queen Bitch: So you don’t want to know that I’m in the cutest cafe right now? Surrounded by such adorable cats?

That was not what Arthur had expected, and he clutched at his mobile as his stomach clenched in sudden trepidation.

Arthur: Morgana…
Arthur: What are you doing?
Queen Bitch: I’m having tea, brother dear
Queen Bitch: It’s what you do in cafes

Arthur brought the phone up to knock the top edge of it against his forehead in frustration, his free hand curling into a fist before he took a deep breath.

Arthur: Cat cafe, huh? You do like cats, so that suits you I suppose

He knew he wasn’t doing himself any favors by playing dumb, but he wasn’t sure that Morgana was in Merlin’s cafe, or if she randomly decided that she wanted to see what the fuss was about one of London’s many other cat cafes.

Queen Bitch: And the man who owns the place, he’s so lovely
Queen Bitch: His name is Merlin, perhaps you two are acquainted?

Shit.

Arthur: Morgana I swear to whatever god will listen, I will end you if you do anything to him.
Queen Bitch: For heaven’s sake Arthur, I’m not going to murder him
Queen Bitch: I’m just here to see what the place is like
Arthur: How did you even find out about it?
Queen Bitch: I ran into Gwaine a few weeks back, and he was telling me about this marketing job he was doing on the cheap as a favor to you

Of course it was Gwaine. Every problem in Arthur’s life seemed to stem from Gwaine or at least be Gwaine-adjacent.

Queen Bitch: And I just wanted to come in and see the young man that has stolen my favorite brother’s heart
Arthur: First of all
Arthur: How do you know he’s stolen anything from me?
Arthur: Second of all
Arthur: I’m your only brother
Queen Bitch: Please
Queen Bitch: As if you’d willingly put yourself in the path of this many cats after Aithusa practically suffocated you when we were kids unless it was for someone important

Arthur glared at the screen, irritated that he was so transparent. Spitefully, he went into his contacts and changed Morgana’s name from what she originally input it as. Not that she’d ever know, but it made him feel a little better.

Demon from the Depths of Hell: I swear, I’m on my best behavior
Arthur: I don’t need you to vet my romantic interests, harpy.
Demon from the Depths of Hell: Sophia
Demon from the Depths of Hell: Vivian
Demon from the Depths of Hell: Valiant
Demon from the Depths of Hell: Cedric
Arthur: …
Demon from the Depths of Hell: I’m just looking out for you
Arthur: If I needed your help I would ask for it
Demon from the Depths of Hell: No you wouldn’t, and you know it
Arthur: Still, it’s not your place to butt into my romantic life
Demon from the Depths of Hell: I know you don’t appreciate my efforts
Demon from the Depths of Hell: But for what it’s worth Arthur, I really like him

Arthur stared at his mobile, unsure what to think of Morgana’s approval. His cheeks were hot, and he felt tongue-tied, grateful that he wasn’t having this conversation in person. Finally, before Morgana could humiliate him further, he tapped out a reply and set his phone to the side.

Arthur: Yeah, I really like him too

Six months later, Arthur was sitting on Merlin’s sofa, waiting for him to change from his work clothes into something more comfortable for a night of telly and takeaway. It was an easy midweek date the two of them enjoyed to help them unwind from stressful days, and Arthur loved hanging out in Merlin’s flat with whatever stray he’d adopted for the cafe and was socializing so he could bring it to play with the customers. He usually only did it when one of the cafe cats had been adopted, but he knew that someone had taken Furry Pawter a few days ago so he knew to expect a newcomer to the flat.

“Where’s the new guy?” he called to Merlin, after a few minutes of not seeing any fluffballs under the furniture or behind the bookshelves.

“He’s around, he’ll come out when he’s good and ready,” Merlin said as he emerged from the bedroom and made his way to the kitchen to put the takeaway on plates. Arthur let his head dip back over the back of the sofa, watching Merlin’s movements with a lazy sort of air when movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned his gaze, and frowned at what he saw.

“I hate to tell you this, Merlin, but it appears your cat is naked. And not so much a cat but a gremlin.” The newcomer had ears that seemed too large for its body, and rolls of skin along its back. Arthur didn’t want to know what it would feel like to touch the little guy, he almost felt sorry for how ugly it was.

“Ah, I see Kilgharrah came out to say hi,” Merlin said, seemingly unfazed by the thing.

“If I had known that encouraging you to name a cat Furry Pawter would lead to you taking in real-life approximations of house elves, I would have thought twice,” Arthur said solemnly.

“Shut up,” Merlin laughed, bringing their food out and setting the plates on the coffee table in front of them. “He’s a Sphinx, and he’s adorable.”

“I’m not sure your definition of ‘adorable’ would hold water,” Arthur said, squinting at the creature skeptically. “Though no fur means no allergies, right?”

“Sorry, that’s not how it works. He licks himself, so he’s still an allergen factory.” Merlin nudged his shoulder against Arthur’s, gesturing for him to tuck in. Arthur picked up his fork, unable to stop looking at Kilgharrah. It warmed him that Merlin had done so much research into his allergies so they wouldn’t have a repeat of their first date. And it helped that after that he never let himself out of the house without taking his meds, whether or not he planned on seeing Merlin that day.

“He is kind of cute, in an ugly sort of way,” he mused, tapping the tines of his fork against his lower lip.

“I bet he’ll get adopted within a month,” Merlin said decisively. “Now eat, I have plans for us later.”

“Do these plans involve you eating my arse like a peach?” Arthur asked with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows. Merlin rolled his eyes, but laughed.

“You’ll just have to find out.”

Arthur tucked into his curry with gusto, sneaking glances at Merlin as he ate. Regardless of the cats, he couldn’t be happier with how things had turned out after a chance meeting on the street. And the weight of the key in his pocket he was going to offer Merlin later, along with the request that they move in together, made him eager to get through dinner.

Next to him on the floor, Kilgharrah meowed his approval and began washing his face.