Merlin didn't know why he'd come to the party – Will had managed to convince him to go with the usual "You've got nothing else to do, do you really want to be alone on Christmas Eve?" So there he sat, eating minced pie after minced pie, drowning himself in mulled wine and misery.
"Think you've eaten enough of those yet?" Will smirked, taking a seat next to Merlin.
"Why did you even bother dragging me out tonight? I could've eaten myself emotionless in front of old Doctor Who Christmas specials."
"Where's the fun in that? You've seen them all a million times. Come on," Will ordered, standing up abruptly and extending a hand towards his friend. "Let's socialise."
The house was packed with people, making it too hot for Merlin's comfort. He slipped through the crowd trying to locate some individual who he knew and got along with.
That was harder than first thought.
Will had found the footballers and was now in a conversation Merlin had no hope of following; Gwen was in a gaggle of giggling girls and Merlin was certain that there was no place at the party where he could look more feminine.
In the end he opted for the sparsely populated garden, careful to avoid the discreet mistletoe positioned above the door in case someone coming in the other direction decided to take a drunken advantage.
The cool air was refreshing and Merlin smiled as his breath condensed before him. He tugged at the ends of his scarf to keep his neck as warm as possible and wrapped his jacket tightly around himself, then curled his hands around the steaming cup of mulled wine and held in up to his lips.
Merlin stood for a good few minutes, simply sipping and staring at the twinkling stars overhead; if he couldn't have snowed, he was perfectly content with a clear night sky. The commotion emanating from the house was meaningless and he felt at one with the night.
Eventually, Merlin had to step back towards the warm; his ears were numb and he was pretty sure his nose was bright red from the chill. As he approached the door, he turned back once more to admire the winking lights above him, oblivious to the jeers and shouts behind him of "Come on, Pendragon!" "Next one!" "It's a dare, you can't back out!"
As Merlin turned to re-enter the house, he found himself in extremely close proximity with Arthur Pendragon, who gave a resigned sigh, glanced up for a second then grabbed Merlin's collar and pressed his lips firmly upon the surprised teen's.
The moment lasted forever; the sudden intensity of the older boy's action, his heavy breathing on Merlin's cheek, Merlin melting into the kiss and finally Arthur pulling away a small distance, gazing confusedly into the fluttering eyes of Merlin.
The party cheered and laughed behind them, oblivious to the moment the two seemed to still be sharing.
After longs seconds of stunned silence, Arthur cleared his throat.
"Um… mistletoe…" he muttered distractedly, gently relinquishing his grip on Merlin's shirt and merging back into the throng.