Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of the characters in the series, I'm just borrowing them from their respective owners to play with a little and I promise to give them back when I'm done. No copyright infringement is intended and I don't make any money from writing fanfiction.
"Please, Arthur. Just… please." Merlin sounded close to tears and Arthur grimaced. He really really really didn't want to but he just couldn't refuse Merlin when he sounded like that.
"All right" he muttered grumpily and then had to yank the phone from his ear as Merlin screamed out his heartfelt thanks.
"… and I'll bring over the all the food that he'll need and all his toys and stuff so you don't have to worry about that and thank you so much because I really didn't know what to do since mum's ill and they don't allow dogs there and I just didn't know what…"
"Merlin?" Arthur interrupted. "Breathe."
"Oh, right" Merlin said sheepishly. "We'll be over in an hour."
Arthur spent the hour frantically securing his place so that nothing that he considered to be even remotely valuable or meaningful to him was placed so that Killi could get his paws on it. When he heard Merlin' car pull up outside he sighed and resigned himself to his fate, he was going to celebrate Christmas at home, alone and with Merlin's dog. Splendid.
::
The first thing that Killi did was jumping out of the car and nearly tripping Merlin who carried a giant box, filled to the brim with food, toys, brushes and different kinds of treats. The second thing he did was nearly tripping Arthur when he tried to help Merlin with the box. The third thing he did was nearly tripping Arthur's elderly neighbour before the two men managed to get both the box and the dog inside the house and close the door behind them.
"All right" Merlin sighed in relief, putting the box on the floor and wiping the sweat from his brow. "So, Arthur, this is Killi, Killi this is Arthur who's going to take care of you while I'm away." Arthur and Killi warily eyed each other before Arthur steeled himself and carefully held out a hand towards the small, black Welsh Corgi. Killi's eyes light up with the invitation and he barked joyfully as he pounced at Arthur and attempted to lick his face, all while yipping happily and madly wagging his tail.
"Killi! Down!" Merlin shouted in desperation and tried to rein the dog in with little success. "I'm sorry, Arthur, he's just very friendly and really loves people" he panted and finally managed to get the dog to sit.
"I can see that" Arthur commented a bit drily. "And I have to say, for having such big ears, he doesn't listen very well" he continued and Merlin shot him a heated glare.
"I haven't had time to train him properly, I only just adopted him. And besides, he's had a horrible life and he deserves some slack, and people who loves him for who he is." Arthur's face had softened when he heard Merlin passionately defending the small dog presently sitting at his feet and looking at his owner adoringly.
"I know, Merlin, I'm only teasing you" Arthur said and bent down to pat Killi's head which made the dog do some sort of crazy happy dance that somehow involved both Merlin and Arthur as well.
"You're such a prat" Merlin said, but it was with a smile. Then he launched into a long explanation on everything that Arthur would have to know to properly care for Killi.
"… and his favourite toy is this stuffed dragon and if you forget anything I've written it down." Arthur took one long look at the papers Merlin handed him and decided that if he did forget something he'd just have to call because there was no way that anyone would be able to decipher Merlin's scrawl.
After an eternity of pats and hugs and cuddles and kisses Merlin seemed to have sufficiently said goodbye to Killi and gave Arthur a hug as well.
"Merry Christmas, Arthur."
"You too. Give Hunith my love" Arthur said and felt himself choke a little with emotion. She had always treated him like a second son and he'd been worried sick when she'd fallen ill. He'd sat with Merlin on an uncomfortable hospital chair for all those long hours before the surgery was finally over and the doctors at last dared to give an optimistic response to their anxious questions. After the successful surgery, all Hunith needed was to rest and recover and if there was one fault with the private nursing home that Arthur had insisted on paying for, it was the fact that they didn't allow dogs, which meant that Merlin would have to visit his mother without Killi and that Arthur was on pet-sitting duty.
::
When Merlin had driven off Killi looked at the closed door and whined sadly.
"You miss him?" Arthur asked. Killi cocked his head to the side and whined once more before standing on his hind legs to paw at the door handle. Arthur caught his collar to pull him away from the door and Killi gave him a hurt look.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, but you'll have to do with me" Arthur said. "Let's get you settled in, shall we?" Killi seemed to perk up a little as Arthur filled his bowls with food and water and put them in a corner of the kitchen. When he'd placed the bed in the living room, with the toys and a blanket, he deemed the dog properly settled in and decided to go over some ground rules.
"All right, Giant Ears, listen up. No dogs in my bed, no dogs on the couch and no peeing indoors, ok?" Arthur tried to sound authoritative but apparently he wasn't doing it very well since Killi only yawned and then eyed Arthur's wellies speculatively. Because of this Arthur felt compelled to add another rule:
"And no dogs eating shoes, or boots, or wellies or any other of my stuff, understood?" Since Killi didn't outright protest Arthur figured that it was a good an answer as he was ever going to get and sank down on the couch, turning on the TV, but only after he'd thrown the wellies into a wardrobe. He figured that he'd have to operate according to the principle of better safe than sorry for the duration of Killi's stay and he might as well get used to it from the start.
It wasn't even two minutes into the show before Arthur heard a thump and the couch dipped slightly.
"I specifically pointed out the no dogs on couch-rule" Arthur said warningly to the corgi, but that only made Killi come closer and plop his head down on Arthur's thigh.
"Well, get off then" he said making shooing gestures but Killi only looked back at him pleadingly and Arthur, knowing that he was beaten, threw his hands out.
"Well, I suppose it's really as they say, like owner like dog" he said exasperated. "Both of you have ridiculously large ears and you never listen to what I say anyway." Killi gave a small yip as to confirm this and thumped his tail. Arthur gave up, trying to tell himself that he'd make renewed efforts tomorrow to keep the dog on the floor and got back to watching the show.
"But I don't really mind Merlin's ears" he then added, mostly to himself. "They're kind of cute I guess." Killi fell asleep as Arthur watched the rest of the show absentmindedly stroking his head.
::
By the next morning Arthur felt like congratulating himself. He may not have been able to enforce the no dogs on couch-rule but other than that things had been going much better than he'd dared to hope. He'd remembered what and when to feed Killi, he'd given him fresh water, they'd taken a nice walk and then the dog had obediently padded over to his own little bed when Arthur said good night. All in all, a job well done and he even composed Merlin a text saying as much. Just as he hit the send-button he heard a crash from the kitchen and jumped out of bed swearing.
Killi had apparently been hungry and instead of waiting for Arthur to feed him he'd decided to take matters into his own paws. Somehow, and Arthur didn't really want to know how, he'd managed to open the fridge and munch through the better part of a packet of ham before he toppled a jar of mustard that crashed to the floor and alerted Arthur of the illicit kitchen activity. After taking three deep breaths before he did something stupid Arthur came up with a plan. He shoved his feet into the recently hidden wellies to protect them from the glass on the floor, lifted the dog away from the mess and checked his paws for any glass shards. When he was satisfied that Killi was not hurt, and thanks to the ham no longer hungry, he shooed the dog out of the kitchen to clean up the mess on the floor.
After the clean-up, and some well-deserved coffee, Arthur started to wonder where the dg had gone and it didn't take him long to find out.
"Killi! Down!" The corgi looked guiltily at him but made no attempt to leave the bed, where he'd used Arthur's duvet to build a comfortable little nest to burrow in, and in the end Arthur had to lift him to the floor.
"Out!" he shouted and Killi trotted off while Arthur remade the bed and threw the dirty bed linen in the hamper. Then he heard another crash, from the living room this time, and immediately stiffened.
"Oh no, not again" he groaned as he hurried to see just how big the damage was this time.
It turned out to be just an overturned potted plant that Arthur never particularly liked anyway and it was with a sigh of relief that he binned the broken remains of the flower pot and swept the carpet clean from soil. When he passed the kitchen to wash his hands he did a double take and then just stopped and stared. Killi laid on the floor where he, pleased as punch, was happily gnawing at the sad remains of what once were Arthur's wellies. Arthur had forgotten to hide them again and Killi was apparently not prepared to pass up on such an opportunity. After staring for almost ten seconds Arthur let out a howl of fury and Killi looked up, the boot still in his mouth. When he saw how angry Arthur was he tried to sneak out of the kitchen but Arthur snagged hold of him.
"Oh no, you don't" he said, tugging the boot out of his mouth. "Bad dog." Killi looked sad when Arthur said that, so sad that Arthur almost regretted it in fact, but then he remembered himself of what the four-legged nuisance had managed to accomplish so far and went to get a leash.
Arthur contemplated taking the wretched animal back to the shelter where he came from but realized that this would inevitably destroy his friendship with Merlin and, as much as he was angry for the ruined boots (and the state of his kitchen and bedroom), he didn't really want to lose his best friend over something like that. His next idea was bringing Killi to a dog's hotel but in the end he decided against that as well. It was bound to be fully booked over the holidays and Merlin would be mad at him for leaving his precious dog with strangers. So in the end he resorted to tying Killi's leash to the table while he ate his lunch.
"Well, don't look at me" Arthur told the dog while he shovelled some reheated chicken and pasta into his mouth. "You brought this on yourself." But when he'd finished eating he pretended not to see that Killi jumped onto a chair to lick the plate clean as he went to get his wallet.
::
Going for a walk should have been a good activity considering that they'd gotten along pleasantly the day before, but by now Arthur wasn't willing to take any risks whatsoever and wrapped the leash firmly around his hand before exiting the house. Not that it helped because before they were even halfway to the park Killi wriggled free from the collar and set off. Swearing Arthur ran after him, (and really, how could a dog with legs that short be so damn fast?), and at last he managed to snag hold of Killi, when the dog decided that the lady carrying a million different shopping bags was one that he very much wanted to say hello to. The way she screamed and dropped her bags to the ground suggested otherwise and Killi backed off as Arthur put the collar back on.
"I'm sorry" he panted to the woman looking at him reproachfully as she gathered her shopping bags and swept past him, muttering about how some people needed to learn to control their dogs.
At the end of the, in Arthur's eyes, not very successful day both of them ended up on the couch watching after yet another attempt from Arthur to point out to Killi that dogs were supposed to be on the floor.
::
The rest of the week passed in relative calm after Arthur had backed down on some of his rules and redefined his idea of what a clean home looked like and Killi now came to Arthur's side when called, if he hadn't found something to eat. He also only jumped on the couch after Arthur had dried the mud off his paws and when Merlin called to ask if he could stay a bit longer with his mum Arthur surprised himself when he agreed to let Killi stay.
He soon grew accustomed to the clicking of Killi's claws against the floor as he came to greet Arthur at the door and even the morning walks were bearable if he only got some coffee before going out so Arthur invested in a commuter mug. He might grumble about Killi making a mess of his place, just like Merlin, but in fact he did enjoy the company and his house didn't feel as lonely anymore. He might sigh every time Killi would follow him around to get his attention, just like Merlin did when he wanted something, but he found that he really didn't mind since it usually was a good time to take a break from work or whatever it was that he was doing. He rolled his eyes at Killi's lack of table manners and his clumsiness, but it was mostly because it reminded him of Merlin and he missed his friend.
::
"Merlin!" Arthur tried to get to his friend but an over-excited dog made it virtually impossible to move in the hallway before tripping over a tail or a paw or one of Merlin's bags. When Killi finally had finished yipping and barking and jumping around and licking Merlin's face and instead was busy examining the bag containing the Christmas gifts that Hunith had bought for him, Arthur could get a proper look of Merlin. He'd lost weight while Hunith was ill, too busy worrying about her to care for himself but now that she was on the road to recovery, Merlin looked better. He wasn't as skinny and pale and he looked much more relaxed.
"Arthur!" he smiled, took one step and then was sent sprawling on the floor as Killi ran in front of his feet. Arthur rolled his eyes and pulled Merlin to his feet.
"Still no control over that dog of yours, I see" he remarked and Merlin hit him on the shoulder.
"Be nice, or you won't get any Christmas presents" Merlin said but he smiled. "That goes for you too" he added, looking at Killi who, looking guilty, abruptly stopped chewing at the strap to Merlin's rucksack.
After unpacking presents, drinking some tea and Merlin falling over a second time because of Killi it was time to go home and Arthur went in search of Killi's toys that had managed to scatter themselves all over his home. After finding the last one under his pillow he added it to the pile at the door and went to get what was left of Killi's food. After hauling everything into the car it was time to say goodbye and Arthur felt strangely reluctant. He'd gotten used to having Killi around and he would miss the company. After all, he'd always wanted a dog as a boy but Uther had not allowed it. Also, it had somehow felt so right sitting in his living room with Merlin and the dog and some tea. It had felt like a proper home and Arthur wasn't keen on losing something that he'd so recently found.
And what Arthur Pendragon wanted he usually got, eventually.
::
Six months later
"Merlin, I can't…" Arthur said uneasily as he scrambled to get out of Merlin's embrace and sat up. "Not with…" He waved in Killi's direction and Merlin rolled his eyes.
"Killi, out!" Merlin ordered and the corgi got to his feet, leisurely stretched and then padded out of the room.
"Lo and behold, he actually does listen" Arthur commented and Merlin poked him in the ribs.
"Don't be like that" he scolded. "We have more important things to do" he continued, pulling Arthur down beside him again. "Now, where were we?" Merlin asked and leaned in really close. "Ah! About here I think…" He licked one of Arthur's nipples before biting it gently and Arthur moaned.