They met in Mexico.
A bar in Mexico, to be honest.
Arthur was there on business; Merlin was there on vacation.
Arthur was married; Merlin was not.
Arthur had dropped in for a couple drinks to take his mind off work and had spotted Merlin near the bar, staring into his drink intently. Arthur knew he was a visitor – it was clear by how pale his skin was, how he looked helpless whenever someone speaking Spanish was near him. How out of place he looked.
Arthur sat next to him, ordered a drink, and said, "This is the first time you've been to Mexico, right?"
The man looked at him, startled to hear such perfect English in this foreign country. "Yeah," he muttered. "I'm Merlin."
"Arthur."
They continued talking, the drinks kept coming, and next thing they knew they were dancing. Then they were stumbling to the parking lot.
The next morning, Arthur woke up with a horrible hangover, but still found the energy to call Gwen like he'd promised. Merlin slunk into the bathroom for a shower, guilt weighing him down.
As the week passed, though, this pattern continued. They went to the beach once, where they found the bar. They spent the day there, making out and swimming.
On Merlin's last day, Arthur drove him to the airport. He wasn't leaving for another couple of days. With a half hour before Merlin's flight left, Arthur stopped him at the bar, smirk painted on his face.
"One last drink?" he offered.
Merlin glanced at the clock and said, "I don't know…I may miss my plane…"
"Just one drink. That's all I'm asking."
"Arthur…"Merlin stared at him sadly. "One more will never be enough. You know that."
Arthur sighed, then nodded. Merlin kissed his cheek, murmured a soft goodbye, and walked away.
Arthur wondered if he would ever see the man he had half fallen in love with ever again.
A/N: I know this is utter crap, but I couldn't sleep one night at my aunt's house so I set my ipod on shuffle, picked a random ship, and wrote a oneshot based on the song. The song this time just happened to be 'Stays in Mexico' by Toby Keith.