A/N: Hey! This is my first fic I've ever done, and it was a dual effort by myself and a friend of mine who goes by the tumblr url spontaneousfangasm. You should look at her page, check out some of her songs and stuff she's posted. Anyways, this is the first of several fics we had ideas about in an AU we thought up one Wednesday night. It's a Merlin AU with the characters being in a modern-day college setting. I'm gonna try to update as much as possible, but I have no idea what my schedule will be like over the holidays so please bear with me! (Also, fyi, the Morgana in this is based off of Morgana from Season 1)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I wish I did.
For Queen and Country
Chapter 1
Merlin exited the taxi slowly, his hand tense on the handle. He had transferred schools this term and was terrified about having to make new friends, deal with a new roommate, and worry about people just being generic assholes like at the last place. He'd lucked out and found a guy who was willing to not only live with him, but also pay his half of the rent just to tutor him.
He grabbed most of his luggage and headed up the stairs. The guy (Arthur) said he had already moved in so he would be in the apartment to meet him. The elevator had a line, and the apartment was only on the fourth floor, so Merlin took the stairs. That ended up being the wrong choice.
By the time he made it to the room, he was just about ready tocollapse. Merlin grabbed the door handle, turned it, and...it didn't budge. Oh you've got to be kidding me, Merlin thought. He knocked loudly a couple of times, and didn't hear anything on the other side.
He pulled out his phone and texted Arthur asking where he was. After a few minutes, when he didn't get an answer, he figured he should get ready to wait it out. He dropped his luggage and slid down the wall, wishing he had grabbed his bag containing his computer. Oh well. He sighed. No changing that now.
Eventually he heard noise coming from down the hall. Merlin turned to see a girl with milky brown skin coming down the hall, playing with her keyring. She noticed Merlin and his bags and smiled.
"Are you Arthur's new roommate?" the girl asked him.
"Yeah, I'm Merlin." He stuck his hand out, grinning up at her.
"Gwen." She shook his hand, smiling back at him. "You can come sit in here if you want. Knowing Arthur, you'll be out here waiting on him a while."
"I don't want to impose."
"Nonsense. Here, I'll help with your things." Gwen grabbed one of his bags and headed into her place, with Merlin right behind her. There was another girl in the apartment sitting on the couch. She had extremely pale skin and long dark hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked at Merlin curiously as he walked in.
"Making new friends already, Gwen?" she inquired.
"Morgana, this is Merlin, Arthur's new roommate." The dark-haired girl–Morgana–nodded at Merlin, and he smiled back, putting his bag down next to the door. Gwen placed the one in her hands next to their little dining table, and then turned to face him, her hands on her hips. "Would you like some water, Merlin?"
"Sure that'd be great," Merlin replied, sitting in one of the chairs.
Morgana leaned over the back of the couch, looking at Merlin. "So. Merlin, have you ever actually met Arthur?"
"Er... no."
"Well that explains it then."
"What?"
"There's no way someone who actually knows Arthur would live with him voluntarily. Trust me, I grew up with him."
"You're his sister?" Merlin asked as Gwen returned with his water. "Thanks," he said quickly, taking the glass from her hands and sipping it.
"Adoptive sister. Lived with him and his dad since I was five." Morgana had a look on her face as if she'd smelled something bad.
"Is he really that horrible?"
"Oh no, he's a nice enough guy," Gwen interjected, "He's just...a forceful personality to be around 24/7. You know, he can just be a bit too much sometimes."
Morgana laughed. "That's a nice way of putting it."
Merlin was getting worried now. Was free rent worth it if his roommate was going to be a huge pain in the ass?
A male voice wafted in from out in the hall. "I'll be in in a sec, I just want to say hi to the girls." A curly blonde-haired head stuck in the door. "Hey Gwen. Hey Morgana."
"Hey Leon," they chorused.
"Is Arthur home?" Morgana asked.
"Yeah we just got in." And then he seemed to realize that there was another person in the room. "Who're you?"
"Merlin. Arthur's roommate." Merlin stood to gather his things. "If he's back I'll just head over. Thanks for the drink and the company ladies."
The girls waved good-bye "Bye Merlin!"
Leon walked next door with Merlin, helping him carry his stuff. "I'm Leon, by the way. I grew up with Arthur and Morgana."
"Merlin. I'd shake your hand, but..." he looked pointedly at the bags in his hands.
Leon laughed, his curly hair bouncing across his forehead. "It's alright."
They entered the apartment to find the living room empty.
"ARTHUR! YOUR ROOMMATE'S HERE!" Leon yelled. An athletic, blonde-haired man walked out from one of what Merlin assumed were the bedrooms. He had on a Manchester United jersey, which was also Merlin's favorite club. At least football matches won't be awkward to watch together.
Merlin dropped his bag and extended a hand. "Hi, I'm Merlin."
Arthur ignored the hand and walked up to Merlin. "You were supposed to be here at 3. It's 3:05. I can't stand tardiness," he stated shortly, crossing his arms. Merlin gaped.
"I was here at 3," he retorted. "You weren't. I was waiting for you next door."
Arthur walked right by Merlin and up to Leon. "We need to hurry up and get back to the house. I need to make sure Gwaine isn't drinking all the beer we bought for the rush party." He walked on out the front door, not looking back or saying good-bye.
Leon looked at Merlin apologetically and placed his bags on the floor. "Sorry about him. He's just a little stressed. Nice to meet you Merlin," he said as he walked out the door after Arthur.
"You too," Merlin muttered. He looked around the place, fully furnished and honestly very homely-looking, and felt oddly out of place. He kept hearing what Morgana and Gwen had said in his mind. "There's no way someone who actually knows Arthur would live with him voluntarily...He's just...a forceful personality to be around 24/7 ...he can just be a bit too much ..."
What the hell had he gotten himself into?
