"Merlin, there you are! Honestly, I've been looking everywhere for you!"
Merlin looks up from the desk to see Morgana striding into the studio, mobile phone in one hand and a stack of paper in the other.
"Although I shouldn't be surprised really, because when are you never in here?" Morgana continues as she picks her way through the crowded space, grimacing as she narrowly misses a still-wet painting.
"Lovely to see you as always, Morgana," Merlin replies, dusting his glittery hands off on his jeans. He gestures to the large cardboard sign on the desk. "What do you think?"
Morgana stares critically at it for a few moments. "It'll do." She glances down to check her phone and Merlin hears her mutter, "Bit heavy on the glitter."
"Hey," he protests, flicking his fingers and sending a shower of red glitter towards her. "I like glitter."
She raises her eyebrows and types busily into her phone as Merlin picks up the sign and grins at it. It only took him an hour or so, but he still feels quite proud of it. The glitter-edged letters that spelled out 'Kissing Booth' had been a pain in particular.
Merlin hands the sign to Morgana. "There you go, consider that my contribution to the charity fair."
Morgana looks up from her mobile. "Are you fucking kidding me? I've been planning this fair for months, overseeing every tiny little detail, and this is all you're contributing?"
"Hey, I donated one of my paintings for the silent auction! And you're getting extra credit for planning this thing, while I get nothing in return for my work, I might add."
Morgana rolled her eyes. "Please, this sign probably took like ten minutes to make. Now get your things, we're meeting Gwen for dinner."
"I don't know why I still hang out with you," Merlin shoots back as he packs his supplies away in his locker and gathers his things together. Morgana makes her way to the studio entrance, gingerly holding the glittery sign away from her black outfit. Her mobile rings and she drops the sign unceremoniously on the floor to answer it, ignoring Merlin's exasperated sigh.
"Hello? Oh, hi Mordred!"
Merlin makes a face as he stuffs his sketchbook into his satchel.
"You what-? But you promised! I—,"
Merlin turns to look at Morgana, just in time to see her smile slyly in his direction.
"You know what, Mordred? Never mind…I have just the perfect replacement for you."
X
"No. No way. No fucking way. No, no, NO!"
"Oh, Merlin, please! It's for charity! You'll be helping sick children and abandoned puppies," Gwen pleads with him.
"And possibly contract gonorrhoea or syphilis in the process," Merlin replies.
Morgana snorts, reaching for her glass of wine. "You don't get gonorrhoea or syphilis by kissing, idiot."
"Whatever, I'm still not doing it." Merlin takes a bite of his pasta, then points his fork accusingly at Gwen. "And I still can't believe you are! Lance doesn't mind you kissing strange, random men for money?"
Gwen blushes and looks down at her plate. "It's for a good cause! And he's doing plenty to help out for the charity fair- volunteering at the pet shelter stall, organising the bake sale…and he and the boys are playing in the charity football match too!"
Merlin raises an eyebrow. "Cuddling a few kittens and kicking a ball around is not really the same as letting strangers stick their tongues down your throat."
Morgana swats him on the arm. "Not everyone is as prudish as you."
"Whose stupid idea was this kissing booth, anyway?" Merlin mutters.
"Mine, and it's a fabulous one," Morgana answers. "We'll raise a tonne of money, you'll see. Especially with you working with us, pretty boy."
Merlin splutters. "I said there was no way in hell!"
"But Merlin, we need you! Now Mordred's pulled out it's just me, Morgana and Elena, and we need a boy to bring in the girls and the gays!" Gwen exclaims.
"Don't worry Gwen, Merlin'll come around," Morgana says.
"Like hell I will."
Morgana ignores him and smiles serenely. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to tell everyone that little story about what happened in Edinburgh last semester."
Merlin gasps loudly. "You wouldn't!"
Gwen glances between them interestedly. "Oooh, what happened?"
Merlin narrows his eyes at Morgana. "You utter bitch."
Morgana simply smiles, looking unfazed. "So, either you help us at the kissing booth, or everyone we know will hear that story."
Merlin groans aloud. He was completely screwed.
X
"What's up, princess?" Gwaine ruffles Arthur's hair as he flops down on the couch in their dormitory's common room.
Arthur looks up from his mobile. "Hmm. Thinking of getting pizza for dinner."
Gwaine nods agreeably. "Sounds good. Where are the others?"
Arthur opens his mouth to answer just as Percival and Elyan stroll in, hair still damp from their showers. Elyan snorts and picks up a cushion to throw at Leon, who is fast asleep on the couch opposite Arthur, exhausted from their earlier football practice.
"We still getting pizza?" Percy asks, shoving a grumbling Leon aside to sit down.
"I'm game," Elyan answers. "Where's Lance?"
"Dunno, but let's not wait. I'm starved," Gwaine says. He reaches for Arthur's laptop on the coffee table and clicks on to Pizza Hut's website to submit an online order. "What does everyone want?"
They spend the next ten minutes arguing over their order and Gwaine clicks 'Checkout' as Lance enters the common room.
"Gwen just texted me," he says, perching himself on the arm of the couch. "Guess who Morgana has just blackmailed into working at their kissing booth tomorrow?"
"Who?"
"Professor Gaius?"
"Your mum?" Gwaine suggests, earning a smack from Lance.
"No, idiots! Merlin!"
Arthur sits upright. "M-Merlin? What?"
Gwaine chuckles. "Well, good for him."
"Blackmailed? Why did she- you know what, it's Morgana, never mind."
Percy snorts. "Poor kid."
Gwaine stretches out on the couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table. "Well, looks like I know where Arthur will be spending his day tomorrow," he says, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
The others laughed as Arthur blushed and punched Gwaine in the arm. "Fuck off. For the last time, I don't fancy Merlin."
"Sure, keep telling yourself that."
"I don't!"
Leon leans forward. "Look Arthur, you're my best friend and I love you, but I will have to kill you soon if you don't man up and admit you fancy the shit out of Merlin."
"We're just friends," Arthur mumbles.
"Well then, if you're just friends, I'm sure you'll have no problem kissing him tomorrow," Gwaine replies.
"What?" Arthur frowns. "What does that prove?"
"If you and Merlin are just friends, then kiss him tomorrow at the booth. After all, it doesn't mean anything, and it's for a good cause."
"That makes no sense!" Arthur exclaims.
Percy frowns in confusion. "Are you drunk, Gwaine?"
"Look, this is ridiculous. I'm not going to kiss Merlin, and that's that!"
"Whatever." Gwaine shrugs. "Hey, did I ever tell you guys that story about Edinburgh?"
Arthur's head snaps up to look at Gwaine. "What."
"You mean when you two went on that trip for the art history unit you took?" Lance asks.
"That's the one," Gwaine says, reclining back and placing his hands behind his head. "Morgana and Merlin went too."
"Gwaine…" Arthur warns quietly.
"Yes, Arthur?" Gwaine blinks innocently at him.
"What the fuck are you trying to pull?" he murmurs.
"I'm just telling a story. It's a good one- you were there! So, anyway, it was a cold and rainy night in Edin-,"
"Gwaine!" Arthur stands, pulling Gwaine up with him. "May I speak to you alone?"
He drags Gwaine into a corner of the common room, ignoring the confused stares of the others.
"What is wrong with you?" Arthur hisses. "Are-are you trying to blackmail me into kissing Merlin?"
Gwaine smirks. "You're smarter than you look, Princess."
"You evil bastard!" Arthur exclaims.
"Ball's in your court now, Pendragon. Either you kiss Merlin tomorrow, or I'll tell everyone about Edinburgh." Gwaine's eyes light up as the pizza delivery man enters the room. "Oh look, dinner!"
X
Merlin groans as he looks at the kissing booth, draped in heart garlands and too much pink. He takes a long drink from his takeaway cup of coffee.
"It is way too early for this shit," he says.
Morgana tosses him a tube of Chapstick. "Pucker up, sweetheart. We'll have customers soon."
Merlin gives her the finger and wishes he was still in bed.
By ten o' clock, their booth has already raised well over a hundred quid. Morgana is ecstatic. Lance had stopped by earlier, dropped a fifty pound note in Gwen's jar and planted a long, sweet kiss on her before heading off to the pet shelter stall. The girls have had a steady line of customers all morning, while Merlin had kissed more females than he'd ever kissed in his life, along with a handful of boys, which had cheered him up a little.
In between customers, Morgana checks her mobile and grins. "Arthur just texted. He and the boys are stopping by soon."
"What!? Arthur?" Merlin asks, looking slightly panicked. "Don't they have a football game to be playing?"
Morgana shoots him a weird look. "The game doesn't start til five. They're coming by to support us, what's the problem?"
Merlin forces a laugh. "Nothing! Oh look, a customer!"
Merlin spends the next half an hour looking out for Arthur in between kisses, and is so preoccupied he doesn't even notice when Gwaine pops up in front of him.
"Hello, Merlin!"
"Gwaine! Where did you come from?" Merlin looks behind him frantically, and sure enough there was Arthur, standing with Leon a little ways back. He also spots Elyan in Morgana's line and Percival in Elena's.
Gwaine reaches out and stuffs a twenty in Merlin's jar. "Surely that earns me more than one kiss?"
Merlin rolls his eyes but can't help but laugh. He leans in and pecks Gwaine on the lips lightly, slapping away the man's hand when he tries to get under Merlin's shirt.
"Slut," Merlin says as they part.
Gwaine winks. "You know me." He plants another kiss on Merlin's cheek and walks off toward Arthur, who was scowling in their direction.
X
Leon has just worked up the courage to join Morgana's line at the booth, and Arthur watches him go, chuckling and shaking his head, when Gwaine bounds up to him with a wide grin on his face.
"Enjoyed that, did you?" Arthur asks snidely.
"Oh, calm down, Princess. It's your turn now."
Arthur takes a deep breath and gazes in Merlin's direction, biting on his lip nervously as Gwaine watches him in amusement.
"You know what, I can't do this," Arthur says, turning back to face Gwaine.
Gwaine shrugs. "Fine." He waves to Percival, who was returning from making out with Elena.
"Oi, Perce. I never finished that Edinburgh story. So, after a long day of museums and sight-seeing-,"
Arthur slaps a hand over Gwaine's mouth. Percival merely rolls his eyes and wanders off in the direction of the booth selling cupcakes.
"Alright, alright! I'll do it," Arthur hisses as soon as Percival is out of earshot.
He looks around to make sure none of his other friends were around to witness this. Leon is still waiting nervously in Morgana's line, Elyan is now in Elena's line and Percival is suitably occupied at the cupcake booth. Arthur shoots one more glare at Gwaine, who smirks in return, and heads towards Merlin's line. There are only a couple of giggling girls ahead of him and before he knows it Merlin is staring right at him, eyes wide.
Arthur clears his throat and shuffles forward. "Um, hi."
Merlin smiles awkwardly, seems to pull himself out of his shock and says, "Hello."
"Haven't seen you around much this semester," Arthur says.
Merlin fiddles with the edge of the table. "Yes, well…I've been pretty busy with my assignments. I hardly leave the studio these days."
Arthur nods. "Morgana mentioned."
Someone clears their throat pointedly behind him and Arthur realises this probably isn't the best place to make small talk. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a fifty pound note from his wallet, tucking it into Merlin's half-full jar.
"Arthur, that's too much-," Merlin starts, but Arthur waves him off.
"It's for a good cause," he replies. "Well…we better get on with it then."
"Yeah," Merlin breathes as Arthur leans forward, fingertips braced on the tabletop. He feels Merlin's breath brush across his cheek and the next thing he knows, Merlin's lips are pressed gently against his own. Arthur instinctively brings a hand up to cup Merlin's cheek and Merlin deepens the kiss, running his tongue lightly against Arthur's bottom lip for a few moments before pulling away.
Arthur's eyes are half closed and he gazes at Merlin's wet lips stupidly for a few moments, hand still on his cheek, and Merlin steps back.
"Well, that was…yeah," Arthur murmurs, still staring at Merlin, who smiles tightly back.
Arthur can feel Gwaine burning holes into his back and he looks around. Morgana and Leon, who is next in her line, are both staring and wearing identical, shit-eating grins. Elyan is also smiling smugly at them from Elena's line, and Arthur shoots his friends death glares. He turns back to Merlin.
"I better let you…" he gestures to the line behind him. "I'll see you later, Merlin."
Merlin nods. "Sure. See you, Arthur."
Arthur returns to Gwaine, who is sporting a delighted grin, and slings an arm around him and ruffles his hair.
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now, come on, I'm dying for some popcorn."
Arthur lets Gwaine and Percival drag him around the fair for the remainder of the afternoon. Percival seems determined to try every kind of food for sale, and Gwaine is happy to go along for the ride. After stuffing their faces with cupcakes, popcorn and fairy floss, they stop by the pet shelter stall to visit Lance. Gwaine and Percival fall in love with a couple of puppies there, so Arthur leaves them and rides the Ferris wheel with Leon. He spends the whole afternoon thinking about Merlin's lips on his.
At around three, they decide to head off to prepare and warm-up for the football match. Arthur catches sight of the heinously pink kissing booth on their way out and stops.
"Hey, you guys go ahead, I'll meet you there," he says. The others turn back to look at him, Gwaine raising an eyebrow.
"I just…forgot to tell Morgana something," Arthur lies, gesturing vaguely.
His friends shrug and continue on, Gwaine still shooting him suspicious looks over his shoulder.
Arthur takes a deep breath and heads towards the kissing booth. It is quiet after the rush of the morning, with only a few boys in the girls' lines. Merlin is leaning with one hip against the table, fiddling with his mobile phone.
"Hey," Arthur says as he walks up.
Merlin looks up and straightens, fumbling with his mobile. "Back for more?" he asks with a wry smile.
Arthur huffs out a laugh. "Yeah, I can't get enough," he replies, half-joking, and Merlin grins. Arthur stares at him for a few moments, mesmerised by the way his eyes crinkle up in the corners and his beautiful smile and he just wants to make Merlin laugh every day of his life.
"I just came back to say…I'm an idiot. Or maybe we both are. Because I haven't stopped thinking about you since Edinburgh. And I know we agreed not to talk about that night, but I don't care, damnit. I do fancy you. A lot. And I know our friends are going to tease the hell out of us, but screw them because I want to be with you, all the time," Arthur finishes and breathes in hard.
Merlin is staring at him, eyebrows raised and mouth open, and Arthur reaches out, pulls him in and kisses him hard. He doesn't care if Gwen or Morgana or the whole bloody university is watching, because Merlin is kissing him back, hands cupping his face, and whispering "You utter idiot" against his lips.
Arthur reluctantly pulls away after what feels like half an hour of kissing Merlin.
"Do you want to get out of here?" he asks quietly.
"Fuck yes," Merlin replies. "But what about your football match?"
"Screw them, they can wait," Arthur says, grabs Merlin's hand and pulls him away.
xoxo
"Well, well, well," Morgana says. "And you thought that would never work."
Gwaine rolls his eyes. "Yes, yes, you are the Queen of the Universe."
They watch Arthur and Merlin walk off, hand-in-hand.
Morgana smiles smugly. "I wasn't the only one getting tired of watching them sniff around each other and sending coy looks across the common room. Someone had to kick their arses into motion, and if it had to be me, so be it."
"It was lucky we caught them snogging in Edinburgh," Gwaine muses and Morgana nods in agreement.
"Well, looks like I'm one man down at my kissing booth." Morgana snags Gwaine's collar and tugs him towards the pink-clad table. "Pucker up, pretty boy."