This barely has anything to do with the BBCs characters of Merlin and Arthur but to cover my butt… I DON'T OWN THEM. JUST THIS AWESOME STORY.

Please, Please, Please for the love of Arthur READ AND REVIEW!

The Shield and the Sword

CHAPTER 1

"Just let me talk…" Merlin said in a dull monotone voice as he sat in front of his computer. "All I have wanted to do for months now is just talk with you Arthur. But you just…" Merlin let out a loud long sigh, and it felt good.

Arthur sat staring at Merlin through his computer screen, they had been Skyping for about twenty minutes now and Arthur really didn't feel that strongly invested in the conversation. Merlin could see that because as he watched Arthur's cam feed Merlin could see that Arthur was chatting with someone else as well as him—probably through Facebook.

"Arthur do you care for me at all?"

Arthur blankly stared at the screen with his arms crossed across his chest. After a moment or two he reached his arms out towards his keyboard and began typing his reply. Arthur was in his room but had roommates in his apartment so while he like listening to Merlin speak to him through his PC he didn't want to saying anything aloud so that his roommates might hear.

[I like you.] Was Arthur's reply.

Merlin's heart sunk. "Yes I know that you like me but I mean do you actually care about me?"

[We are friends.]

Merlin looked down into his lap. They were obviously more than just friends, for God's sake they met in a gay sex roulette site. Their first encounter with one another was getting the other off… well it was more than that really. Merlin had been going through a rough time and for days found himself masturbating to porn and to other video chats with men at least three to four times a day. When he met Arthur that night it was only because he left his cam running while he showered after his last messy round. When he cam back to the screen he had the option to click the 'X' and exit the site or hit the 'Next' button. He hit the 'Next' button and there appeared Arthur. They were both clothed (at least what the other could tell from the camera angles) and after only about five minutes of conversation Arthur asked Merlin if he had a Skype. Merlin knowing that one could meet anyone on the net and not know a thing about them, set up an alternate Skype account to give out in shadier situations. Merlin typed back his username: MagicHidden33 and opened up the program on his MacBook Pro.

After they connected once again Merlin began playing a game of twenty questions with Arthur, just to give them the opportunity to talk about something and to avoid awkward silences.

Arthur was beautiful, not Adonis beautiful where every muscle is huge and bronzed and his face is chiseled. But rather beautiful in that when Merlin looked at him, into his eyes and when Arthur would grin or smile (which happened as much as Merlin could make it happen—which was A LOT!) Arthur just melted Merlin's heart.

The two of them talked back and forth for hours. Merlin lived in Saint Louis and Arthur in Los Angeles so when they met at midnight in Los Angeles it was already two in the morning in Saint Louis. Merlin didn't care how late it was he had no classes or work to go to the next day and even if he did spending as much time as he could with Arthur would be completely worth any risk to his life's responsibilities.

Through out their game of twenty questions, which actually wasn't the real game but merely a ruse to get Arthur to talk to him, they kept flirting back and forth. Merlin was always hungering for more of Arthur's smiles and Arthur seemed to enjoy driving Merlin wild for some reason or another.

By the end of their four and a half hour conversation they had readjusted their cams so that they could watch each other jack off. Their only rules were: the cam had to show both cock and face but face was more important than cock if something had to start getting cut off in the camera angle, and that they had to try to come at the same time (that was Arthur's preference, Merlin didn't care one way or another, he just wanted to make Arthur happy.)

It should be noted that during their game of twenty questions Arthur revealed that he was bi and still in the closet not certain he was ready to come out yet. He said he had to keep things on the down low. Merlin understood and agreed but secretly was rather disappointed. 'I would fall in love with a beautiful man who for some reason likes me only to find out he would never be with me openly.' Merlin sighed.

After their time together they were in no rush to hang up on their little conversation but at the same time they were both getting very tired. It was 4.45AM for Arthur and 6.45AM for Merlin. After really no conversation between each other, just looks and happy smirks to one another watching the other blush time after time they finally hung up—after nine different failed attempts to do so and finally agreeing to talk again the next night at 11PM Arthur's time.

Merlin just laid his head on his pillow and looked around his brightening sun-lit room and thought 'there is just no way I can go to sleep right now!' He was too taken with Arthur and the rush of infatuation love to even close his eyes for more than a few seconds. He decided to get dressed and head to IHOP for breakfast and then try to sleep so that he would be rested for his conversation with Arthur once again that night. 1AM (11PM Arthur's time) could not come fast enough!

PLEASE REVIEW!

IT DOESN'T TAKE LONG!