"That guy's wearing the same shirt as me," Merlin hissed in Morgana's ear.
"What?" Morgana's voice was ten times louder than it needed to be, and Merlin winced at the sound that was only inches from his eardrums. The room was crowded and buzzing with noise, but not that much noise.
"That guy, over there," Merlin said, gesturing over toward the bathrooms, where a young blond bloke was standing amongst a group of what looked like friends, for they were laughing and smiling together. The blond bloke had a nice smile. He also had a blue plaid button-down shirt that was the exact same as the one that currently hung off Merlin's far less impressive frame. "We're wearing the same shirt."
"How embarrassing for you," Morgana rolled her eyes, volume toned down just a little bit. The crowd was thinning out slightly around them, with more and more people heading into the theatre just off to the right of the atrium. The film festival had another production starting in twenty minutes, something about the Amish, or perhaps corn. Merlin hadn't bothered to read much of the program.
"It's not that," Merlin gave her a light shove with his shoulder. "It's just – he's wearing the same shirt as me."
"…And?" Morgana lifted a perfectly plucked eyebrow as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. Another quick glance at the blond bloke, who was still simply standing in the middle of the atrium floor, looking like some sort of sculpture that belonged with the works of art that littered the Performing Arts Center, was also drinking coffee.
From the same store, actually, a little bistro on the street corner that Morgana insisted they stop at before arriving for a day of films, plays, and other cultural, posh things that she liked.
An idea began to form in Merlin's mind.
Oh, God, he was such an asshole.
Upon telling Morgana his idea, she slapped him across the face. Not hard, but hard enough to cause yet another wince. "You are such an asshole."
The exchange really spoke legions about their friendship.
"I'm gonna do it anyway," Merlin informed her, pushing himself up on the balls of his feet in anticipation. He had never been great at resisting impulses, especially his impulses that told him to do things that would incur Morgana's wrath, and this was no exception. He was almost excited.
According to his friends, namely Morgana, coming up with schemes like this was why he couldn't get a date. Or make other friends, ones that abused him less. She could fuck off, really.
"Of course you are," she sighed before resignedly handing over her coffee cup. "I hope this makes you happy."
"Love you," Merlin grinned, snatching the cup from her outstretched grip.
He knew she loved him too, so he didn't wait for a response before dashing in the opposite direction.
He slowed as he circled around the group congregated in the hall's center. Same Shirt Guy was in the direct middle of his little posse of five or six. His mouth was open wide in laughter at something the man to his left was saying, a tall, curly-haired bloke that was not wearing the same shirt as Merlin.
He waited until the crowd thinned out just a tiny bit more, and then he saw his opening. There was about eight feet of space to the right of Same Shirt Guy that was entirely unoccupied. Merlin took a second to consider just how much of a contemptible person he was before deciding he didn't care.
Without a single word, Merlin stepped forward, sidling up next to Same Shirt Guy, coffee cup pressed to his lips. He held his posture straighter, almost rigid, and slipped a hand into his right pocket in a direct mirror of the blond. He took a sip of coffee, even though he didn't actually drink it.
He determinedly did not even flicker eyes in the direction of his lookalike, just stared straight ahead and made a determined attempt not to smile.
"Holy shit," one of the lookalike's friends stared at him. This one was a girl, with long dark hair and pale skin that was reminiscent of Morgana, only with much softer features. "Arthur, are you seeing this?"
"Yeah, I am," the blond bloke, whose name was quite obviously Arthur, his voice threatening to bubble over with laughter. It was a nice sound, one that reminded Merlin of sunshine and rainbows and other childish, giddy things.
Merlin wanted to turn and speak to him, but apparently his asshole-ish-ness was still shining through stronger than ever, for he still stood there wordlessly, just taking another drink.
"I think this is possibly the most exciting thing that's happened to you in months, Arthur," a long-haired, scruffy man guffawed. He had an iPhone pointed toward them now, and a flash indicated that they had just gotten their picture taken. "I should put this on my blog."
"Not the blog again, Gwaine," Arthur said with a dramatic groan, and out of the corner of Merlin's eye, he could see the man's head thrown backward in exasperation. Oh, that was a nice picture. Gwaine should really capture that moment, too.
After an awkward pause of a second or two, the a girl with chocolate curls who had previously been leaning her head on another curly-haired man's shoulder unlatched herself from him and acknowledged Merlin by reaching her hand out politely.
"Hi, I'm Gwen," she said. "This is so, so great, you have no idea."
Merlin figured it would be safe to stop his act now, even though he was tempted just to fade into the background and leave the group with a really great story to tell the rest of their friends, an urban legend among them.
He wasn't that much of a dick though, despite what some people may think of his character.
"Oh, I do," he said with a grin as he reached for her hand. She had a firm grip. "Kind of why I did it. I'm Merlin."
"Merlin and Arthur," the woman's taller, beardy double reached out to shake Merlin's hand as well. "That's poetic. I'm Leon."
"And I'm Gwaine, and this lovely lady is Mithian," the man who took the picture introduced himself and the dark-haired girl, who gave him a small wave. "That was genius, mate, absolutely genius."
"My pleasure," Merlin considered taking a bow, but that would probably be taking it a step too far, even for his standards. But he was a theatre geek of the highest caliber, and this was truly a performance to be remembered. He wasn't overly focused on that, though; he was far too curious about Arthur.
He turned to the man. Now that they faced one another, they were truly a mirror image. The un-tucked blue plaid with white buttons, the coffee cup in opposite hands and other fingers stuffed in a pocket. But disregarding their similar taste in wardrobe, their appearances couldn't be more different. Merlin was tall and dark, Arthur was a hair shorter and with hair so blond it should come with a warning label. Merlin was skinny, scruffy, and wearing tattered jeans and trainers, while Arthur was fit, clean-shaved, with pristine khaki pants and dress shoes.
It was kind of amusing, really, but not at all off-putting.
"Lovely to make your acquaintance, Arthur," Merlin gave him a beaming smile, which was responded to with a chuckle and a shake of the head that was almost fond. It made Merlin's heart quicken unexpectedly. "I'd say we're long lost twins, but I don't think that's exactly the case."
"More like soulmates," Mithian piped up with a sly grin, and Merlin took a certain joy in seeing Arthur's cheeks turn pink.
"Shut up," he waved her away. "Erm, nice to meet you, Merlin. I guess. You didn't…you didn't plan this, did you?"
"How could I have?" Merlin questioned his faulty logic with a shrug and another drink of Morgana's coffee. It wasn't actually half-bad. It probably had far more sugar than Merlin was accustomed to consuming, though, and chances were high he'd be awake another three hours in the night. Oh, well. "I've never seen you before in my life. This was just a coincidence that I decided to exploit for my own amusement."
"Can we keep him?" Gwaine's look was of pure, nearly demented ecstasy, and Merlin was slightly concerned for his well-being. "I want to keep him."
"We have to keep him," Gwen said with a solemn nod. "This is quite obviously destiny. He and Arthur were meant to find each other."
"I don't know if I'd go that far…" Merlin hated that flush that crept up his cheeks. Damn it, if Morgana could see him, she'd mock him…actually, she probably could see him. She was probably using her supersonic hearing from across the room in order to cackle at every exchange Merlin had with these people.
"Don't listen to them, they're bastards." Arthur probably thought he was being discreet as he made faces at his friends, but even Merlin and his usual oblivious nature could tell he was silently screaming 'Go away!'
If Merlin actually got a date out of this, no one could ever tell him how horrible his ideas were ever again.
Merlin pretended not to notice as Arthur's friends faded into the scenery, splitting off and heading for the theatre that was quickly being filled up. At this rate, he was going to be late for the play, but he could live without the Amish. Morgana could soldier through it by herself.
Then again, she also might murder him in his sleep for abandoning her in favor of an attractive blond bloke. It was probably best not to take chances.
So turning to Arthur and his almost shy smile which was very distracting and picture-worthy, he skipped over the foreplay that was sure to come and said "Can I have your number?"
Arthur opened his mouth to respond, but Merlin, reminding himself yet again that he could be a shitty person sometimes, plowed right over him with "Sorry if I'm being forward, but this is far too much like a fairytale for me not to try."
Arthur was silent for a moment before beginning to chuckle. "I kind of wanted to be the one to ask."
"Because you wanted to be Prince Charming?" Merlin guessed with an undeniable grin forming on his face. "I'm not at all charming, so I wouldn't even be a contender for that position. I'll be Cinderella in that comparison so long as I'm Han Solo and you're Princess Leia."
"Deal," Arthur grinned and held out an arm. Merlin took it, and he couldn't stop smiling at the jolt of electricity that ran down his spine.
Coming back to Morgana a minute later and flashing seven numbers that were scribbled on his right hand at her, he crowed "Guess who just met their soul mate?"