"He's a brat!"
Morgana had stated it succinctly to Merlin that morning, when they met up. Morgana had wanted to go shopping before the new university year started. She had thought it would be fun to go with Merlin, who had a different view of shopping, but he understood his girlfriend's like of the activity and remained prepared to endure a day of wandering a shopping centre. Merlin had done his own shopping the previous day in less than an hour.
However, that did not take into account Morgana having to bring her four year old brother. Half-brother she often snapped; just to make sure that people knew there was some distance between them.
Merlin had heard some of what she said, and it didn't quite equate with the situation of her father, Uther, finding a younger woman, who had produced a son. It was probably the son, and heir, part that got to her, Merlin thought, and then decided he shouldn't psychoanalyse his girlfriend if he wanted the relationship to last, but;...
On the subject of Arthur, Merlin had to concede, Morgana was accurate.
For a change his girlfriend's ivory pale cheeks were starting to redden as she stared at her screaming, tantruming brother while he flailed on the floor, because she had said no to letting him play on the trampolines in the shopping centre. Arthur had watched a few of the other children strapped into the harnesses and were now happily bouncing at least fifteen feet into the air, sailing about with a grace that impressed Merlin.
Arthur had taken one look and pointed.
"I wanna go!"
"No, I need to get my stuff," Morgana had said, pulling him along by his hand, at which point Arthur threw himself onto the floor and screamed.
Merlin guessed it was a tried and tested method since Arthur had pulled it out early. He eyed the screaming blond boy, whose face was infusing as red as his sister's. Then he looked up at Morgana, who was going to cave in so people stopped staring and so Arthur would shut up.
"No!" Merlin told them both very sternly.
"He won't bloody stop it, and he won't move!"
"He will," Merlin said confidently. Reaching down, Merlin took charge.
Morgana watched with awe, and a large degree of pleasure, as Merlin took a firm grip of Arthur and hoisted the little boy into the air.
At the sudden movement Arthur's screams turned into a startled yelp. Merlin tucked the shocked, wriggling, Arthur firmly to his side, keeping him under his left arm while his right hand took hold of the material of Arthur's hoodie, just by the shoulder, so he could not tip forward and land on his head. Merlin shifted about, ensuring his grip was firm before turning to Morgana, now looking as if he held a blond haired battering ram. Arthur's hair flopped about as he assessed his new position, giving disgruntled whimpers as he attempted to escape Merlin's hold.
Morgana smiled, because despite his slight appearance she knew Merlin was strong. A few years of part-time manual labour during school and college holidays had done that for him.
"Lead on, My Lady."
Morgana's smirk grew and she looked at the list she had made the previous day.
"Right, the bookshop!"
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Tiresome," Merlin sighed as he waited for Morgana outside the fitting rooms. They had moved on to her clothes shopping. As they had paused in the shoe shop Merlin had dumped Arthur over the back of the padded seats on one side of the shop. Arthur had attempted an escape but Merlin pressed a firm hand into the small of his back to stop him wriggling away.
Now, Merlin, aware that his shoulder was starting to throb, swung Arthur in front of him to tuck him under his other arm, turning him so rather than seeing an audience of startled shoppers, Arthur faced the plain, tasteful, wall behind him. Arthur had kept up a steady stream of moans, yelps and whimpers to protest the manhandling and although several shoppers had turned to watch the pair, both in shock and amusement, Merlin had steadfastly ignored all of Arthur's grizzling. Which meant Morgana could happily do the same.
"Very tiresome," Merlin added, addressing Arthur's jean clad legs as it was all he could now see of the little boy. Deprived of his audience Arthur went silent. It had been hard keeping up the chorus of moans and groans and, shockingly to Arthur, it didn't appear to be working.
That was something Arthur couldn't comprehend. Rarely did he ever get refused, and if he was in the presence of Morgana, the housekeeper, or his nanny a quick tantrum would sort that out. Merlin seemed impervious to everything. For the first time in his memory, Arthur realised he might not get his own way.
And he was tired.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Merlin realised the same. As they paused back in the main atrium of the shopping centre Merlin put Arthur upright, rolling his shoulders and also keeping a firm grip of Arthur's hand. The little boy looked distinctly rumpled now, his face still flushed and his eyes red rimmed. He only gave Merlin a brief glance before looking away, his gaze drifted towards the trampolines and the harnessed children flying in the air.
"Arthur."
Looking up Arthur's gaze drifted to the juice drink that Morgana had bought. Arthur reached out to take the carton with his free hand and both of them jumped as it was swiftly plucked away by another hand.
Morgana glanced at Merlin in shock, so did Arthur. Merlin gave Morgana an eye flicker that told her he knew what he was doing before he looked sternly down at Arthur.
"And what do you say?"
Arthur's eyes stared and Merlin saw, in that innocent little face, the sudden calculation. The sky blue eyes darkened and then widened. Merlin started to pass the juice back to Morgana as a timid sounding Arthur said.
"Thank you."
Morgana handed him the drink feeling a little sorry for her young brother who now looked so submissive. A stance that didn't really suit him. Or at least, she had never seen him like it before.
Arthur put the straw in his mouth and slowly started to drink. Morgana looked at Merlin, who smiled at her, Morgana smirked back.
"I guess you don't want to come for the next bit."
Her bags rattled as she lifted her hand to show Merlin the last words on her list. Normally Merlin would have carried the bags and Morgana would have expected it, but since Merlin had his hands full with Arthur she had taken them herself. It made her wonder if she would have asked him or just dumped them on Merlin without thinking. Arthur's behaviour, and how Merlin dealt with it, made her a little uncomfortable about her own thoughts and feelings.
"Probably not," said Merlin. "Unless you are going to try things on and model them for me."
"Later, perhaps," she told him smirking. "Will you two be all right?"
"I'm sure we can amuse ourselves," Merlin said letting his gaze drift. The direction made Morgana raise her eyebrows. "Trust me," Merlin added.
"Okay," Morgana said leaning over to kiss Merlin on the mouth before she turned and headed in the direction of the lingerie shop. She wanted to get herself fitted and also pick out something nice, something Merlin would like, and she would model it later. Quite frankly dealing with Arthur meant that he had certainly earned it.
Merlin looked down at Arthur. He had finished his drink and held the now crinkled carton. His head was down, and his shoulders had slumped. Merlin reached out his free hand.
"Arthur."
Arthur handed him the carton and Merlin walked them over to put it into the nearby bin. He looked down and assessed Arthur again, who was looking at the happy children flying about in the air. Merlin watched his lower lip wobble, since Arthur now realised he wasn't getting what he wanted and Merlin realised, Arthur really, really, wanted to play on it. Probably more so that he had now been deprived.
Merlin, however, was not as heartless as he had seemed. He didn't appreciate the tantrum and if Arthur had given him time to explain he would have said they could have done it at the end and let him play. Morgana sort of expected to get her own way, Arthur's arrival had taught her that might not be the case in life. Merlin had been aware of his girlfriend's attitudes and reactions from the beginning and it didn't really put him off, somewhere in that mess of arrogance and seething emotions was a nice person desperately trying to get out.
That was what his mother had taught him to think like, when a parade of foster children had gone through the tiny home. His mother never gave up and never stopped caring about the children that she had raised. Merlin thought of Will and Mordred who were still his closest friends, and could be such fuck-ups at times.
"Right, I suppose we have half an hour or so," Merlin informed Arthur. "Come on."
Arthur trailed along behind him, keeping up but dragging his feet. Merlin didn't head in a straight line. Instead he walked round a threading booth and then took a right, easing round the benches before turning in the correct direction. That's when Arthur realised where Merlin was purposefully taking him.
The little boy didn't perk up immediately, instead he didn't seem convinced until they had covered a few more steps and Merlin added.
"I think you have earned something nice," Merlin said.
Arthur's feet picked up, and he jogged with Merlin the last few paces, bobbing in excitement. Merlin installed them at the back of the queue.
"We might have to wait a little bit," Merlin mused as he counted five children waiting in front of Arthur. Glancing down he watched Arthur assess the same, look around and then give him a sly little eye lift before he settled.
Merlin got the feeling that if they had caved at the beginning of the expedition Arthur might have moaned about having to queue; but something of the day taught him that causing problems now might result in Merlin taking him away. And Merlin, it seemed, had the power to do that. So Arthur stood still, vibrating with excited tension, but not daring to move.
As the time ticked, and they waited, shuffling further forward Arthur went from simply holding Merlin's hand to easing closer until, at the front of the queue, he was leaning against Merlin's legs, his free hand latched onto Merlin's belt. Merlin could feel the excitement in Arthur especially as one child was released from their harness and Arthur would soon take their place. Merlin squeezed Arthur's hand.
"It is better to earn things than to expect them," Merlin announced sagely. "And behaving in such a silly fashion will mean that people will get very bored of you. You're quite tiresome like that. Come on!"
Merlin lifted him into the air and put him on the trampoline, Arthur bobbed and Merlin held him still.
"If you don't want to go splat, I suggest you wait until the nice man has put your harness on."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Morgana loved underwear. She liked clothes, and shopping for them but underwear had a special, secret quality to it. The current expedition had it's own undertone, if she thought of Merlin. But that was secondary to how she felt, seeing the lace and silk and subtle contours that made so much of her assets.
In the long run it was not important but self-esteem was a good thing. Merlin had said that to her, the geeky boy who hadn't been afraid to chat her up, to persistently do so and be so funny, and kind and... perceptive.
She smiled as she made that connection looking over to see the little blond head flying in the air. The height wouldn't worry Arthur, nothing frightened her little brother, he ran at things with an abandon that would scare most parents. And maybe that was the problem.
Arthur flailed in the air, waving his hands and kicking to try and get himself higher. Stood underneath him, leaning his elbows on the edge of the trampoline, Merlin watched Arthur with a bemused smirk on his face. It could be Merlin didn't entirely understand the attraction of bouncing up and down in the air, but Morgana knew Arthur loved anything like that. He was destined to grow up an adrenaline junkie, she was convinced of that. Nothing seemed to frighten him, and until Merlin came along, no one had every really said no to him.
Morgana slowly walked over, shifting her bags around to make carrying them more comfortable. Merlin spotted her, and waved. Arthur, dropping downwards turned to see who Merlin waved at. There was an odd look of possessiveness on Arthur's face. Morgana smirked and waved at him as well. Arthur beamed and hitting the trampoline launched himself up into the air again. The little girl next to him, bouncing in a sedater fashion watched with awe and put a little bit more effort in.
"Come on, time's up," Merlin said. He reached out to grab Arthur's leg and giggling Arthur shifted to evade him, rising into the air. "Come on, other people want a go."
As Arthur dropped he bobbed lightly against the trampoline so he slowly controlled his drop and he looked at Merlin.
"Can we come again?"
"I expect so, but it's lunchtime, are you hungry?"
Arthur pouted but as Merlin took him around the waist to lift him down Arthur's stomach rumbled loudly.
"That can be taken as a yes."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
Merlin, it appeared, now had a fan club. Arthur had eaten his burger and drunk his juice without any complaint, staring at Merlin with awe. Merlin had hinted at Morgana's lingerie packages and she had said nothing. Arthur just jumped along next to Merlin. Merlin tensed his arm to lift Arthur higher in the air.
It was only as Arthur came home that he seemed to lose his bounce. He watched the scenery pass by as Morgana drove him home.
"You can stay in the car while I drop Arthur off," Morgana said to Merlin. "Father already knows I'm going back today."
"Okay," Merlin said. Morgana had no intention of Uther and Merlin crossing paths any more than they had to. The one and only time they had actually met she had seen the look on Uther's face which indicated exactly what he thought of Merlin, while his voice had remained chillingly polite during the introduction. Thankfully Uther's opinion had bounced off Merlin's thick skin without effort, since he decided that whomever Morgana brought home would be treated with the contempt he apparently deserved for daring to even look at her.
Merlin sat in the car as told while Arthur had to be extracted from the backseat. He pressed the button to drop the window as Arthur's hands pressed against it, and as it completely dropped Arthur's little fingers got hold of the frame to hoist himself up and a hopeful face peered up at Merlin's.
"Can I go jumping again?"
"I'm sure of it."
Arthur looked unconvinced at the reassurance as his face disappeared then his hands unlatched from the car door. He let Morgana lead him into the house and then a minute or so later Morgana left, breezing out with relief written on her face.
"Daddy, daddy! I did bouncing today and..."
Arthur toddled across the hall to his father's study and Uther met him at the door, his hand on the handle.
"That's nice. Why don't you do and tell Mrs Phipps? Daddy has an important phone call to make."
Uther closed the door and Arthur stared at it and then ran to the front door and peered out of the side window just in time to see Morgana's car take Merlin away.
However, Merlin was observant enough to see Arthur's desperate face pressed against the glass.