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Merlin came awake slowly, squinting his eyes into the streak of sunlight that penetrated the curtains of their bedroom. It was too bright and he was too hot, so he detangled his limbs from Arthur’s with a dissatisfied little grunt and flopped over facing the opposite direction, which was blissfully window free. He was just about to doze off again when he felt Arthur stir behind him. A second later, Arthur snuggled himself up behind Merlin with sleepy sigh that sounded so utterly content that Merlin couldn’t help smiling into his pillow.
He and Arthur had been together for nearly a year now, and had been living together for three of the most glorious months of Merlin’s life. He would never get over how amazing it was to be able to wake up next to him every morning, to see all their things slotted in cozily next to each other in his flat, to have it just be assumed that they’d eat all their meals together instead of endless discussions about whose flat and what time and all that rubbish. Merlin settled his body even closer to Arthur’s warm weight behind him and pushed one foot between Arthur’s calves proprietarily.
For a moment it seemed as if they both might go back to sleep after all, but then Merlin practically heard the gears turning in Arthur’s brain and felt him become more alert. He bit his lip and stared at the wall, waiting to see whether Arthur would give in to temptation or whether he’d behave himself. To his surprise, Arthur remained silent -- but he didn’t remain still. One broad palm started rubbing a slow path over Merlin’s bare skin, along the rise of his hip, down the side of his thigh, and back up again. The motion was more soothing than anything, but as the strokes continued and Arthur’s hand inched higher to Merlin’s chest he felt the blood start to pool in his groin.
By the time Arthur propped himself up a bit to kiss the sensitive skin on the side of Merlin’s neck, he was squirming back into Arthur’s heat. Then Arthur brushed the edge of one nipple as he trailed kisses over Merlin’s shoulder and he couldn’t hold back a soft gasp at the sensation of Arthur’s stubble scraping against the sensitive skin. He could feel Arthur’s grin against his neck and gave a retaliatory grind back onto the hardness pressing at the base of his spine. But Arthur just shifted back a little and pushed up with his feet until he could hook his chin over Merlin’s shoulder. He kissed Merlin on the cheek then took him firmly in hand.
Merlin settled against Arthur’s shoulder and hummed happily when Arthur’s lips attached to his neck again while his fist worked over his cock slow and sweet. Arthur worked his other hand free to curl around Merlin and let his thumb brush more firmly over a nipple in that perfect way that had Merlin curling his toes into the sheets. He bit into his lip to keep from crying out, then closed his eyes and turned himself over to the sensations of Arthur loving him. When he couldn’t stop the moans that were escaping his mouth, he tipped his head back to capture Arthur’s lips and kiss leisurely for several long moments. Finally Arthur broke away, brought his hand up to lick a wet stripe across the palm, eyes locked on Merlin’s, then reached back down and set about taking him apart completely. An embarrassingly short time later, Merlin was gasping his orgasm while Arthur panted hot breaths into his temple.
Merlin felt like his bones had been liquified and happy orgasm hormones were swimming in his veins. Arthur, who seemed to have caught the worst of it with his hand, withdrew carefully from under the sheets and wiped it on the resident flannel on his nightstand. He snuggled back up to Merlin and kissed him on the cheek. When that didn’t get a response, he peppered his shoulder with kisses until Merlin laughed and swatted at him. He rolled onto his back and smiled up into the clear blue eyes he loved so much.
“See, now that was nice.”
“Nice! Nice he says!” Arthur said in mock indignation. Merlin just laughed again and pulled him down for a proper kiss.
“What about you though?” he whispered, dragging the front of his thigh against Arthur’s obvious erection. Arthur just grinned at him maniacally.
“I’m saving it.”
“Saving – what?” Merlin spluttered, but Arthur had already hopped up and gone whistling to the closet to pull on some lounge clothes.
“Come, on get up,” Arthur said cheerfully, “You said you’d come for a run with me.”
“I said I’d think about it,” Merlin said, snuggling back down into the duvet and enjoying his afterglow for as long as he could before his terrible boyfriend snatched it away.
Arthur flopped back onto the bed beside him, extracted his hand and kissed it.
“How about I make us breakfast and then you come with me afterward. What?” he said in response to Merlin’s suspicious look. “I make breakfast sometimes – don’t look at me like that, I do -- and I’m making it this morning. Why don’t you just have a kip here and I’ll call you when it’s ready?”
Merlin grunted his assent and tried not to look too pleased at this arrangement – he knew if he gave Arthur an inch he’d take a mile. Arthur just smirked at him and leaned over for a kiss.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you back,” Merlin whispered, then Arthur was headed down the hall to the kitchen.
Merlin didn’t think he’d be able to get back to sleep with Arthur cheerily whistling some corny pop song and bumbling around the kitchen, but he woke up some time later to a delicious smell and Arthur gently shaking his foot.
“Breakfast is ready when you are. Clothing optional.”
Merlin snorted and stretched luxuriously.
“What did you make? It smells delicious.”
“Pancakes,” Arthur said absently. His eyes were fixed on Merlin as if he wanted to eat him for breakfast.
“Hmm, sounds like it could be messy – better wear clothes to be safe.”
“Spoilsport,” Arthur grumbled.
When Merlin sat down in front of his – admittedly, delicious looking – pile of pancakes, he frowned immediately. Arthur suddenly found himself completely absorbed in the task of bringing butter and jam to the table. When Merlin continued to stare at him in silence with one brow raised, he finally asked “What?”
Merlin gestured at the pancake on the top of his stack, which had a suspicious shape.
“Oh that – sorry, for some reason that one came out a little wonky. I think the floor’s a bit uneven in that corner,” he said casually, not making eye contact.
“That’s funny,” Merlin said, “Because it looks an awfully lot like a heart to me.”
“Does it?” Arthur said, sounding surprised. He even went as far as to come stand behind Merlin and look at the single, definitely heart-shaped pancake critically. “No, I think it’s definitely just wonky. Sorry, love – I’ll eat that one if you want.”
Merlin glared at him as he cut into the pancake with the side of his fork. When Arthur sat back down he propped his elbow on the table and held his fist loosely in front of his mouth to hide his smirk, eyes dancing.
Merlin let out an involuntary snort of laughter and then they were both giggling.
“You’re pushing it, Pendragon,” Merlin said through a mouthful of pancake, pointing his fork at him accusingly.
“I live to push boundaries,” Arthur said seriously, then licked jam off his fingers in a way that made Merlin completely forget the errant pancake.
*
While Merlin finished the washing up, Arthur bounded around like an over-excited retriever getting into his running clothes and lacing up his trainers.
“I didn’t say for sure that I’d go you know,” Merlin called from the kitchen. “Wouldn’t you rather go yourself?”
Arthur reappeared in the kitchen looking like someone had kicked his puppy. “But I want to go with you. That’s the whole point.”
“I’ll just slow you down! This time last year I never ran unless there was a bear behind me – shut it, you filthy minded prat,” he admonished at Arthur’s snort.
Arthur insinuated himself behind Merlin at the sink and wrapped his arms around him. “And look how fit you are now,” he said, slipping his hands under Merlin’s hoodie to stroke at his stomach. Now it was Merlin’s turn to snort.
“Flatterer.”
Arthur buried his face in the back of Merlin’s neck and inhaled. “Come on Merlin, come with me. We haven’t gone together in ages. I don’t want to go fast, I wanna go with you.”
Merlin was glad Arthur was behind him so he couldn’t see the way his face went all soppy.
“Fine,” he said, trying his best to sound long-suffering. “But if you set the pace too fast and I throw up all those lovely pancakes, I don’t want to hear a word about it.”
“Best ever boyfriend,” Arthur proclaimed, kissing the side of his neck and shoving him out of the way. “Let me finish these -- you go get changed.”
*
After they had finished stretching – Arthur had been unsuccessful in his attempts to bump Merlin over during his quad stretches – Arthur set off and Merlin trotted after, frowning. He had assumed that they would be running in the park nearby, but Arthur had taken off in the opposite direction. Merlin sighed internally, bracing himself for something ridiculous. He caught up to jog beside Arthur, who gave him the blinding grin that usually meant nothing but trouble.
True to his word, Arthur kept the pace easy and Merlin was able to keep up without struggling or gasping for air. The chill of the morning had burned off a bit in the midday sun, so the temperature was pleasantly cool as their matched footfalls echoed on the pavement. As Merlin relaxed into the run, he realized that they were headed in a familiar route toward Arthur’s old apartment. Twenty minutes later they passed the impossibly posh building that Merlin had always hated and Arthur turned and gave him a soft smile.
“Nice not to have to make this trip back and forth constantly anymore, isn’t it?”
Merlin could still remember how he’d braced himself when Arthur had told him that his lease was coming up soon, and how shocked he’d been when Arthur shyly asked if he could move into Merlin’s much smaller, much older, much more cluttered apartment. When Merlin had asked why, Arthur had gotten flustered and tried to explain how much more it felt like a home, and how safe he felt there with Merlin -- until Merlin had interrupted him wish a kiss and an assurance that of course he could move in, if that’s what he really wanted. Merlin smiled at the memory and swerved close enough that their shoulders bumped.
They continued on for several minutes, Merlin following as Arthur made turns and cut through alleys that didn’t make immediate sense, until suddenly they were running down the block past the restaurant where they had their first date. Arthur’s face was all innocence, but several turns later when they passed the tiny park where they’d had their first kiss, Merlin couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Of course he had it all planned out, the prat. Still, he stopped to herd a startled Arthur into the park where he pushed him up against a tree, for old time’s sake.
“You’re just making an excuse to take a break. You’re going to get your heart rate down,” Arthur complained several minutes of intense snogging later.
“Whose heart rate is slowing down,” Merlin murmured, which made Arthur kiss him again. “I know what you’re doing, by the way.”
Arthur grinned.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, then was off again.
After the park, Arthur seemed to put on a burst of speed that had Merlin struggling to keep up. He paid less attention to where they were and more to keeping up with Arthur and dodging pedestrians, so that when Arthur stopped up short he looked around for moment, temporarily disoriented then laughed when he realized where they were. Arthur brushed back his fringe and smiled winsomely.
“I shouldn’t let you get away with this,” Merlin panted, bracing his arms against his legs. “It’s cheating.”
“What?” Arthur said, all innocence. “You could clearly use a break and I know I’m dying for some coffee.”
Merlin glared at him, but allowed himself to be led to the door of the familiar coffee shop. The shop was cozy and warm and smelled delicious, as usual, and was unsurprisingly crowded with couples making eyes at each other. Arthur held the door for Merlin then slipped into the queue in front of him with a wink. Merlin rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the wave off affection that washed over him. Arthur was ridiculous. After they gave their orders, Arthur hurried over to the till as if he knew that he was pushing his luck.
“I had a vanilla latte and I’d also like to pay for whatever that gorgeous bloke behind me got,” he said, his voice pitched loud enough for most of the café to hear. Merlin, to his annoyance, turned just as red as he had the first time.
“Christ,” he muttered under his breath, pushing past Arthur to apologize to the amused looking girl behind the register. “I’m sorry. My boyfriend thinks he’s funny.”
“I think it’s adorable,” she said, beaming at him. Arthur shot Merlin a smug look. “Are you two having a nice –”
“Saturday,” Arthur cut in urgently, his eyes darting to Merlin. “Yes, we are in fact having a lovely, perfectly ordinary Saturday. Oh, I think that’s me they’re calling, thanks Viv,” and pushing a ten pound note in the tip cup he went to fetch their drinks.
“What’s that about?” Viv asked, regarding Merlin curiously.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know,” Merlin grinned back at her. He made his way to Arthur and pinched his arm. “Pleased with yourself, are you? Cheating bastard.”
Arthur just handed him his coffee along with a quick kiss and offered his hand, which Merlin grudgingly took.
*
Back at the flat, Arthur proclaimed he was taking a shower.
“Care to join?” he asked with a forced casualness. Merlin groaned inwardly as he realized what Arthur had been “saving” his earlier erection for. Because if Merlin knew anything, it was that Arthur absolutely loved a shower blow job. Merlin, not so much -- giving or receiving to be honest, as he didn’t fancy feeling like he was drowning and always had a terror of slipping and breaking his arm. But Arthur was looking at him so hopefully, and the whole stunt with the run had been very sweet, and oh bugger.
Merlin sighed loudly and gave Arthur a slap on the arse.
“Alright, in you go then.”
Merlin still wasn’t a fan of shower blow jobs, but the way that Arthur shoved his fingers desperately through Merlin’s wet hair, the sound of his broken moans echoing off the tiles, and the sweet way he had kissed Merlin as he brought him off with a soapy hand made the effort worthwhile.
After they had dried each other off and changed back into lounge clothes, Arthur stretched out on the sofa and turned on a football match, glancing up at Merlin but not saying anything. Merlin wandered to their room, where he typically retreated when it wasn’t a match he was particularly interested in, but today he found that he just wanted to be close to Arthur. Merlin assumed that Arthur would be smug about it, but when he returned to the lounge with a paperback and curled into Arthur’s side, Arthur’s smile had been nothing but soft fondness. He leaned down to give Merlin several gentle, lingering kisses that warmed him down to his toes, then pulled a fleece blanket over them and settled an arm around Merlin snugly.
Merlin read for a while, listening to Arthur’s breaths and feeling how his body tensed when either team got close to scoring. He must have dozed again, because when he opened his eyes to Arthur carding a hand through his hair, the sunlight was starting to fade in the sky. As he stretched, Arthur prodded and pulled him until he was laying mostly atop Arthur’s chest and licking into his hot mouth. The kissing continued heatedly but without urgency until Arthur pulled back and squeezed his arms around Merlin with a sigh.
“I should probably get started on dinner,” he said, grabbing his phone to check the time. Merlin propped his chin on Arthur’s chest.
“Shouldn’t I be making dinner, since you made breakfast?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Let me,” Arthur murmured softly, tracing one cheekbone with his fingertips. “You cook much more than your fair share, so I don’t mind taking care of it tonight. You relax.”
Merlin kissed him, then pushed himself up.
“Can I help at least?” Merlin called, reaching for his phone and swiping idly through his notifications.
“If you want to help me, lie there and look gorgeous,” Arthur told him. Merlin could feel his cheeks flush, but stayed put.
For a while he did relax, sprawled out on the sofa playing a game on his phone and listening to the sounds of Arthur pulling down pots and pans whilst humming the same pop song slightly off-key. Eventually he got stuck on a level that he couldn’t beat and set his phone down with a sigh. After a moment, the noises and savory smells coming from the kitchen piqued his curiosity -- it didn’t seem like Arthur was just throwing something together the way he usually did when he took a turn making dinner. Merlin craned his neck and smiled to himself when he caught a glimpse of the extreme concentration on Arthur’s face as he transferred something from a pan to a plate with a slotted spoon. Merlin got up and sauntered into the kitchen, brushing his hand lightly against Arthur’s back as he went to peek into the pans on the hob, one of which was boiling several large potatoes and one filled with milk with a bay leaf floating on the surface.
“Arthur,” Merlin asked, trying to bite back a smile. “What are you making?”
“Hmm? Oh, um. It’s uh, just a fish pie,” he kept his eyes trained on the fish that he was diligently flaking with a fork.
“Ah,” Merlin said, keeping his voice neutral. “Just fish pie. Sure you don’t need any help?”
“Nope,” Arthur said cheerily, still not meeting Merlin’s eyes. “I’ve got it fully under control. Shit.”
The potatoes had started to boil over and Arthur rushed to the hob to turn down the flame. He returned to where Merlin was standing with his arms folded across his chest. Arthur grabbed him by the biceps and kissed him.
“Go. Relax.”
Merlin rolled his eyes but retreated to the sofa, this time angling himself so he could watch Arthur. He reached for his mobile and opened a text to his mother.
By any chance has my pest of a boyfriend gotten in contact with you lately? Perhaps asking for some old family recipes?
Now that he was thinking about it, he vaguely remembered a conversation Arthur had started about favorite childhood meals. Sneaky bastard. He mobile pinged and Arthur glared at him as if he knew exactly what he was doing.
BE NICE, Merlin – he told me about your agreement, but he’s trying. I was on the phone with him for over an hour walking him through instructions. Hope you two are having a lovely day. Enjoy the pie xx
Merlin knew he was utterly failing at holding back his fond smile and when he looked up Arthur looked so pleased with himself that Merlin returned to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around him from behind.
“Cheating git,” he whispered in his ear, then kissed the grin off of Arthur’s face. “Let me do the potatoes for you at least.”
*
The fish pie wasn’t quite as good as his mother’s, but it was pretty damn close. Merlin tucked in with unfeigned gusto and smiled across the table at where Arthur was already making a mess and cursing softly to himself.
“What?” he asked in response to Merlin’s fond look.
“I was just thinking about our first date. You remember?”
“The part where I spilled marinara sauce on my white shirt within five minutes? Yes, I remember,” Arthur said, shaking his head. “I was so nervous. I don’t know why you agreed to go out with me again.”
“Because you laughed ,” Merlin said, holding Arthur’s gaze across the table. “Here you were, ordering bloody spaghetti on a first date and then making one of the biggest first date mistakes and you laughed about it. And I said to myself right there ‘oh fuck, I’m going to fall in love with this ridiculous man.’”
Arthur, who had been starting to protest, closed his mouth with a look of surprise.
“Well, it was funny,” he said, his ears turning an endearing shade of pink.
“It was,” Merlin agreed. “And it really put me at ease for the rest of the night. You made me feel safe, like I could mess up too and it would be okay.”
“You never said,” Arthur murmured, keeping his eyes on his plate and shoveling another forkful of fish pie into his mouth.
“Yes, well,” Merlin replied, taking a sip of wine, “Your head was quite big enough already, wasn’t it?”
That got a laugh from Arthur and Merlin reached over the table to squeeze his hand.
“Thank you for dinner. I was a little worried, but it’s really delicious.”
Arthur turned pink again and Merlin thought yes, I could get used to this .
*
Merlin insisted on doing all the washing up this time and reassured a fretful Arthur that there was no way he could have eaten a pudding even if Arthur had remembered to get one. Merlin had suggested they watch something on Netflix, which seemed to cheer Arthur a little. He excused himself to the loo, but insisted that Merlin pick the movie. Merlin scrolled through the options for a bit before finally settling on Before Sunrise.
“Now who’s cheating?” Arthur teased when he returned and saw the screen. He had taken out his contacts and switched to his glasses, which always made Merlin feel a bit soppy. He knew that many men who donned glasses instantly gave off a sexy professor or smoldering hipster vibe – Arthur Pendragon was not one of those men. Despite his gorgeous face, the designer frames, and paying extra to compress the thick lenses, his glasses made him look like a bit of a bug-eyed swot and Merlin adored it. He hadn’t even known Arthur had worn corrective lenses until they moved in together and Arthur had sheepishly told him that his eyes got too dry if he wore his contacts late every night. Despite his ridiculous appearance, when he self-consciously emerged wearing the glasses for the first time, Merlin hadn’t been able to resist going to him and kissing him silly for being willing to make himself vulnerable. Now it was a sort of a Pavlovian response.
“Shut up, I love this film,” Merlin said as he pressed play and settled back on the sofa. And then because Arthur still looked a little dejected over the pudding incident, “Budge up and I’ll rub your feet.” Arthur perked up immediately.
“Really?” he said, looking pleased and already swinging his socked feet up into Merlin lap.
“Sure. You were standing all evening,” Merlin said, pulling one foot toward him and digging his thumbs in. This was another of those things that Arthur adored but Merlin wasn’t too keen on -- but much like the blow job in the shower, the way Arthur moaned made it worthwhile. They watched the film in silence while Merlin worked over one foot and then the other, rubbing the tension out of the sole and instep while Arthur made appreciative little sounds from the other side of the couch.
When he was finished, he crawled up Arthur’s body for a kiss.
“Why don’t you sit in front of me and I’ll do your shoulders too?” Merlin murmured into his lips. “And you don’t need to look so smug about it.”
Arthur ignored him, but did slither obediently to the floor. Merlin rolled his eyes but pushed himself up off the couch, telling Arthur he’d be back in a tick and made his way down the hall to the bedroom. He half-remembered them having some massage oil somewhere and poked around in his nightstand drawers until he successfully retrieved it.
As he made his way back to the sitting room, he paused in the doorway and just looked. Arthur had taken his shirt off in anticipation of Merlin’s touch, but had pulled his knees up to his chin against the chill and was gazing at Ethan Hawke on the screen of the telly. They had turned off most of the lights, so his face highlighted in a bluish light. He looked so small and boyish, which was only exaggerated by the glasses. For a moment, Merlin’s heart clenched painfully with love for this man – he knew that despite all the cockiness and bluster that Arthur did have his insecurities. Knew that he sometimes felt as small as he looked right now, when his best efforts at work failed or when his father berated him or when he found out someone had only wanted to associate with him for his money.
Arthur must have sensed Merlin’s gaze, because he turned his head and it was like a flower blooming – his posture expanded again and his face lit up the way it always did when Merlin walked into a room.
“Hey creeper,” he grinned. “Find it alright?”
Merlin made himself shake off the wave of affection that threatened to pull him under and smiled back, holding up the bottle.
“Nice,” Arthur said, turning back to the screen and shifting up a bit, ready to settle back against Merlin’s legs. Merlin made his way to the sofa, but crouched down to give Arthur a long, thorough kiss before he sat down.
Arthur finally pulled back, looking pleased and a little dazed. “What was that for?”
“Because I love you,” Merlin said, plopping behind him and squirting some of the oil into his hands to warm. Arthur tipped his head back and gave him such a lovely upside-down smile that Merlin had to bend down and kiss him again.
He set to work on the massage, pushing his fingers firmly into the tight muscles and frowning when Arthur winced.
“You’ve been working too much,” Merlin murmured, gentling his touch a bit. Arthur didn’t reply, which Merlin took as a silent request that they not talk about work today. He pressed a kiss to the crown of Arthur’s head to say he understood.
Eventually the knots in Arthur’s shoulders loosened and Merlin moved to the back of his neck and behind his ears, which elicited a promising squirm from Arthur. Merlin smiled to himself and focused back on the screen, his fingertips continuing to caress Arthur’s bare skin almost meditatively. Some time later, when he paused his hands on Arthur’s shoulder, Arthur pulled them forward and kissed his slightly gummy palms, then hoisted himself back on the sofa where he sprawled half across Merlin’s lap. Before he tucked himself up under Merlin’s arm, Merlin caught his chin and tilted him in for a series of gentle kisses.
They stayed curled up for the rest of the film and when it was over, Arthur clicked off the television.
“Bed?” he said. Merlin hummed in agreement.
*
As he brushed his teeth, Merlin considered what a good job Arthur had done following his request. He had certainly pushed his luck several times, but overall there had been no overt mentions of the day, no grand gestures, no tacky displays. In fact, the day had been exactly what Merlin had been hoping for – just the two of them enjoying an ordinary Saturday together. He had to admit that he didn’t think Arthur had been capable of this level of restraint, but he had been proven wrong. Now he’d have to see about rewarding him.
Merlin entertained a brief fantasy of how he might do exactly that as he returned to the bedroom, but he stopped short in the doorway. Arthur was already under the duvet, scrolling through his phone too casually, and on Merlin’s pillow was a red envelope. Merlin shook his head.
“Arthur! You were so close!” he laughed, collecting the card and sitting cross legged on the bed. “We’re literally going to bed!”
Arthur gave him a hangdog look that was only compounded by the glasses.
“It’s just a card! You’re really going to penalize me for that?”
“Yup,” Merlin said cheerfully. He tore open the card and tapped a finger pointedly on the swirly “To My Valentine” printed on the front.
Arthur groaned and shifted so that his face was buried in Merlin’s lap and Merlin could ruffle his hair with one hand while he read. Merlin could feel his face growing softer with each line – Arthur had poured all his devotion and adoration into the handwritten message. His handwriting was so careful and free of scratch-outs that Merlin knew without a doubt that he had written a first draft to copy into the card. When he was done, he set the card on the bed carefully and bent to kiss Arthur’s ear.
Merlin considered everything Arthur had said in his card – everything he had orchestrated the whole day, really – and gave a great heaving sigh.
“Sod it,” he muttered, leaning over to pull open his nightstand.
Arthur followed his movements with a furrowed brow and then scrambled up when Merlin pulled out an identical red envelope and threw it to him.
“You snakey little bastard. Just going to sit on this, were you?” Arthur tried to glare but his grin was too wide for it to be effective. Merlin rolled his eyes and reached into the nightstand again, retrieving a heart-shaped box of Ferrero Rocher and handing it over to a gob smacked Arthur. As he took the box, the look of shock on his face quickly turned to one of glee.
“Now this is unequivocally a Valentine’s Day gift,” he said, looking dead chuffed as he popped the box open and fished a chocolate out before offering the box to Merlin. Merlin took one grudgingly.
“Well, I had to have some thing on hand! I never expected that you’d actually behave yourself and not make a big deal out of it. I didn’t want to look like a total prat if you just woke up, shouted ‘Happy Valentine’s Day!’ and went on exactly as you liked.”
“But I didn’t!” Arthur protested. “You asked me not to!”
“How was I to know you’d actually listen for once!”
Arthur scoffed, then tore open the envelope and pulled out the card. Merlin focused on opening his chocolate, feeling his ears turn red. Arthur read, a grin slowly spreading on his face. When he was done, he carefully set aside the card and chocolate and tackled Merlin to the bed.
“You’re a twee fucking bastard,” Arthur said fondly, pressing their noses together.
“Yeah, well,” Merlin said, squirming under Arthur’s weight. “You make me that way.”
Arthur leaned in to bring their lips together and after a few minutes of breathless kisses Merlin gently tugged Arthur’s glasses off and set them on the nightstand, then switched off the lamp. Arthur buried his face in Merlin’s neck and inhaled. They laid together in the dark for several minutes, each lost in their own warm thoughts about the other and listening to their combined breaths. Eventually Arthur spoke, his voice soft.
“You’re not really annoyed about the card, are you?”
Merlin smiled at the kernel of genuine concern he could hear in Arthur’s voice and rolled to face him.
“No, of course I’m not.”
Arthur groped for his hand and kissed his fingertips, bringing them to rest against his cheek so he could nuzzle into them.
“I know you didn’t want anything over the top, but I wanted our first Valentine’s Day to be special,” he said. Merlin’s eyes had adjusted to the dark just enough to make out the edges of Arthur’s earnest expression.
“It is special,” Merlin whispered, “It’s always special when I’m with you.”
Merlin inwardly cringed at his words, sincere as they were, and braced for Arthur to laugh at him or call him twee again. But Arthur just surged forward, pulling Merlin into his arms and bringing their mouths together desperately.
“I love you,” he said, voice sounding wrecked with emotion and desire. “God, I love you. You’ve no – I’d given up—it’s --”
“Shhh,” Merlin soothed, pressing gentle kisses along Arthur’s cheekbones. “I know, love, it’s okay. I’ve got you now and I’m not going anywhere.”
They traded soft kisses and softer words until Merlin rolled on top of Arthur and started kissing him in earnest. He loved Arthur in all his iterations, but soft and adoring and a bit desperate like this he was irresistible. His warm, heavy limbs twined around Merlin’s body, and as Merlin finally pushed in Arthur gave a blissful sigh below him. Merlin leaned over for a kiss, feeling a bone-deep contentment. Soon after, Arthur cried out Merlin’s name in that broken way when he came. Merlin followed him over the edge and silently vowed that he would love this man until the end of his days.
*
Some time after they had finished, Arthur let out a small laugh.
“Hmm?” Merlin asked, feeling utterly blissed out and a little dazed from his third orgasm of the day.
“You know what this means, right? All the cards and chocolate?” Arthur said with an unmistakably mischievous grin.
“What?” Merlin asked warily.
“Next year,” Arthur said, making sure to catch Merlin’s eye before continuing. “We get to do things my way.”
Merlin groaned and rolled onto his stomach, cursing himself for setting the terms of their agreement. Arthur was pressed against his back in an instant.
“That’s right, Merlin” he practically purred. “Breakfast in Bed. Flowers. Chocolates. Reservations at the poshest restaurant. Slow dancing.”
“If you make me ride in a horse-drawn carriage I’m drawing a line,” Merlin laughed.
“Lingerie. Maybe a marquee of some kind,” Arthur went on, ignoring him. “Ooh, I wonder if I could hire a skywriter?”
“God, you’re going to be insufferable, aren’t you,” Merlin said, hitting him with a pillow and privately hoping that Arthur could be talked down a bit over a year’s time. “Wait, exactly who is going to be wearing the lingerie?”
Arthur just waggled his eyebrows and Merlin collapsed back onto the bed in defeat. Arthur curled around him and kissed the back of his neck.
“I love Valentine’s Day,” he sighed happily.
Merlin couldn’t help but smile and squeeze his hand.
“And I love you.”