Part 3 of Merlin is Charmed well technically 2.1
First a big thank you for all my amazing reviews and followers. I hope this part lives up to your expectations.
An extra thank you to Triquetra123 and Veneya for your recent reviews, you motivated me to do this sooner rather than later.
I had to re-read the first two before doing this part, to refresh my memory. I hadn't realised I had made so many mistakes. But if I can see mistakes and improvement where I couldn't before, that means I am improving, right?
Chapter two will be up in a few days, a week at the most.
There is no beta for this, so sorry for any mistakes.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, I do not own Merlin or Charmed, this is purely for fun and no profit is made.
Sorry but it looks like fanfiction has taken out all my page breaks despite putting them in twice, hopefully the third time is the charm, if not sorry, I will eventually get the hang of it.
Arthur Pendragon wasn't nervous!
He didn't get nervous.
Ever!
So what if he was getting THREE! New charges today.
So what if they were a special case.
So what if they were The Charmed ones.
He didn't get nervous.
Ever!
Well maybe just a little tiny barely noticeable bit. Hardly worth mentioning really, not that he would ever mention it to anyone, dead or alive.
Arthur had been a white-Lighter for nearly seventy-five years now. And at any one time he usually had around five charges to take care off. Many of them were short term with the odd one or two lasting a few months.
The Elders had promised him a little help when it came to his other charges but they were still his responsibility. Not that he would ever ditch them, no way! They needed his help for a reason and after seventy-five years he was very good at his job. Plus he really cared about his charges, but that was what it meant to be a white-Lighter. His very soul was about caring and love which is why he was given the chance to become a white-Lighter after he died.
There was one charge that he was very worried about. Sefa. She was a new witch and had only just come into her powers, but her family was very anti-magic and had actually descended from witch hunters back in during the witch trials. She was terrified of discovery and to make matters worse she had an active power. Powers are usually linked to emotions, so the more scared got the more risk was involved.
He had tried to get her to break away a little and distance herself a bit, but she was still struggling. He had managed to introduce her to a couple of other witches, who would hopefully boost her confidence and help her gain some control over her power.
But he was still very worried about her and couldn't drop his guard in case she needed him. He had a bad feeling about the whole situation, and after seventy-five years he had learned to trust his instincts.
The three new charges the Elders had just given him were long term, very long term, we are talking years so it was important that they got on. His three new charges were to be his top priority because they were the Charmed Ones, which was what made them a special case.
There had been prophesies about the Charmed Ones that dated back hundreds of years. They were destined to be the world's most powerful magic users for good. But it was still early days for them yet and could easily be swayed to the other side.
They even had a Merlin amongst them who would be extremely powerful just on his own. Merlin wasn't just any wizard, he was a warlock. Warlock were significantly more powerful that the average wizard. The things they were destined to do together baffled even his mind.
However they had not long since got their powers and had been clueless until then. This made them vulnerable as they had yet to grow in strength and knowledge. But even as vulnerable as they were at the moment, they had already managed to take out several demons on their own.
The Elders felt that the Charmed Ones needed a guide to keep an eye on them, to keep them on the right path and to help where ever he could.
Arthur was chosen for this job. He was deeply honoured that the Elders thought him good enough to protect the Charmed Ones, though he had to admit, not out loud of course, that the responsibility was a little daunting.
Too make matters more complicated he had to blend in and pretend to be normal. Like he was ever normal. He had to stay under the radar and not expose himself, personally he couldn't see that working for very long.
This assignment was supposed to be long term, he honestly couldn't see how he could keep his cover for that long. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to try his damned hardest to keep his cover for as long as possible.
The Charmed Ones had already experienced some magical creatures and beings, surely they would be constantly on the lookout for anything remotely suspicious. One of them, Merlin apparently, had even unknowingly dated a demon when they received their powers. This would surely make Merlin extra suspicious of people.
Okay so maybe he was a bit nervous.
It also meant he was going to have to do a lot of lying and a lot of ears dropping neither of which he comfortable with doing, but as the Elders kept reminding him it was for the greater good.
Honestly if he had a dime for every time he had heard that line!
His way in was easy the Charmed Ones had advertised for a handy man so the Elders jumped on it. Given the age and the size of the house there would be always something that would need fixed enabling him to come and go a lot for a while.
Ok he was over thinking this he thought as he rang the doorbell, he has met famous people before and these guys didn't really know they were famous this is going to be easy he thought putting on his best winning smile as the door opened.
A young woman opened the door and he had to admit she was stunning, she had pale porcelain skin, beautiful green eyes and long black hair that went down to her waist. But sadly she did nothing for him, had she been of the opposite sex then it would have been a different matter.
"Hello, Are you the handy man?" she asked, when he didn't say anything, looking him up and down and making no attempt to hide it. Arthur knew he looked good it had been both a blessing and curse during his lifetimes.
"Hello, yes sorry, my name is Arthur." He held his hand out as he introduced himself.
"Morgana." She informed him, smiling sweetly. "Please come in and I will show you around" she said, not yet letting go of his hand and pulling him into the house. "This is the main sitting room. I should warn you now that this house is very old and has a hell of a lot of problems. We are going to keep you very busy and I'm sure there are problems that I don't even know about yet."
"It's fine" he replied, glancing around the room trying to pin point jobs for himself. "I don't have any other jobs on at the moment, so I have all the time in the world."
Morgana moved to stand in front of him and block his view. She was going to be trouble he could already tell. "Excellent" she smiled.
He moved away so he could take a closer look at the fireplace, he could see that a lot of the brickwork would have to replaced. He made a note to check out the chimney later.
"Tell me Arthur" Morgana asked, demanding his attention. "Just how old are you? I have to admit I was expecting someone a lot older. Are you sure you have the experience you will need to do this job?"
When he looked at her she was frowning and biting her lip, he could see she was already suspicious of him. This was not a good start he had only been here five minutes.
"I am older than I look and I am very good at what I do, besides I'm a quick learner so if anything comes up that I am unfamiliar I am sure that I will be able to handle it." Arthur said charmingly.
"Really?" Morgana asked.
"Yes" Arthur insisted.
"Can you fix wiring?" Morgana challenged.
"Yes"
"Plumbing?"
"Yes"
"Heating?"
"Yes"
"Roof work?"
"Yes" Arthur sighed
"Floorboards?"
"Yes"
Morgana fell silent clearly trying to think of something else "Is there anything else?" he asked cheekily.
"Not that I can think of at the moment but I am sure there is more" Morgana said.
Arthur smiled "If it helps you feel better I can provide you with references, who will tell you my work is exceptional" fake ones provided by the Elders but she wouldn't know that. "I'm sure that I can handle anything this house throws at me, I am very good with my hands." He grinned, attempting to put her at ease.
Morgana relaxed a little and got back into her stride "Oh I bet you are." She said flashing him a grin that was supposed to be seductive, it's a shame it was lost on him. "You must let me know if you need a woman's smaller hand for anything, I will be more than happy to help."
"Will do" he laughed. Arthur felt the needed to change the subject and quickly. "So, is it just you in this house?"
"Oh no, my brother and sister live here too. But we don't need to worry about them they are both workaholics so they won't be around much" She informed him.
"Really?!" He was surprised at that. He expected them to be full time witches….and warlock, after all they had an awful to catch up on. Or at least only working part time, enough to pay the bills, but workaholics it sounded like they were ignoring their craft or at least brushing it aside when it should be their main concern.
"Well Freya is" Morgana said, unaware of Arthur's concern. "Merlin just can't say no, he cares a lot and feels he needs to help in any way he can, but his boss takes full advantage of that so he ends up working a lot of hours running the restaurant and keep him happy." Morgana paused "It's a bit of a worry actually and we have many arguments over it."
Well the overly caring attitude was a good sign at least. "And Freya?" he asked.
"Oh, she is definitely a workaholic. She works at the auction house and is extremely dedicated, she would sleep there if she could, actually has a few times."
Okay he has caring and dedication he can work with that, they just needed more focus. "And you?"
"Oh, don't you worry, you will be seeing plenty of me" Morgana said cheekily "But I will be popping in and out a lot as I do have things to do"
"Right" Arthur said, ignoring her first comment.
"Thinking about it" Morgana added "I had probably better give you the spare key, that way you're not waiting around for one of us to come home."
Okay it didn't seem like suspicion was going to be a problem they were far too trusting. He had only just met her and he already knew that they were hardly home, what they did and was given a key. Something else he would need to work on.
"You're going to give me a key? I could be an axe murder for all you know." He said.
"Oh don't worry" Morgana replied. As she walked over to a cabinet and started searching through the draws "I will be checking out your references." That made him feel a little better but not much. It seemed all his worrying was for nothing but he wasn't going to let down his guard. While it was good that she wasn't suspicious he was a little worried at how easily she seemed to trust people he wondered if the others was the same.
"That's fine, I have nothing to hide" he lied.
"Well, I'm also a very good judge of character" She winked at him as she gave him the key. She rolled her eyes over his body again. "And you seem perfectly fine to me."
"Right, thanks, well, I think I have seen enough of this room, are you going to show me the rest of the house?" He asked hoping to deflect the situation, she would catch on soon enough once he showed no interest. He hoped.
Morgana frowned and narrowed her eyes at him a little, clearly trying to come up with her own conclusions.
"Huh…" Unfortunately she didn't let on what conclusion she had come up with. "Right, well you have already seen the fire place, but it's more or less the same thing throughout the house. Plumbing, heating including the radiators, wiring, the basement floods a lot and there are a lot of rotting floor boards especially in Merlin's room, in fact most of the wood work will probably need something doing to it and you will probably find a lot more besides all that" she rattled off. "It's been a long time since this house has had any proper work done to it."
"Merlin? Your brother?" he asked, pretending he wasn't sure.
"My older brother" she confirmed, "he is in bed at the moment, I wanted to let him sleep in a little as he worked late last night, again, as I said he works a lot. But we get the pleasure of waking him up in a bit, he can be funny in a morning as it takes a while for his brain to catch up, which makes him a bit slow" she laughed. "Come on I will show you the downstairs first. Oh and by the way the attic is usually locked, there are a lot of private family heirlooms, so if you need anything in there please come and ask us first" She then took his hand and proceeded to drag him round the house before he could reply. Arthur assumed that the attic must be their alter room, he would try and check it out later.
Morgana showed him round the kitchen, dining room, basement and hallway before making her way up stairs. She kept conversation to a minimum, letting him get to work and have a good look around. Morgana wasn't kidding when she said there was a lot to do. This should keep him here for quite some time and while he was concerned about being given a key he couldn't deny that it would certainly make his job a whole lot easier.
When they got to a closed door on the first floor landing she flashed him a smirk before banging on it very loudly. He realised that this must be Merlin's room. Morgana didn't wait for a reply she swung the door open and marched right in.
"Don't mind sleeping beauty of there!" Morgana said as an introduction. And he was a beauty, a raven haired beauty, with lots and lots of pale skin and cheek bones that could cut ice, gorgeous deep blue eyes. His hair was currently sticking out in all directions, making him look so good that Arthur instantly wanted to ravish him. Merlin had a rather startled expression on his face at being woken up so abruptly. Crap, he could be in trouble here.
"What!?" A confused Merlin asked. Although Arthur noticed he wasn't too confused or slow to give him the once over like Morgana had. Arthur let his eyes wonder down and graze over Merlin's pale chest that had a smattering of dark hair. Merlin was skinny but not too skinny, and he definitely had some muscles of his own. Arthur's eyes shot back up to Merlin's face when he noticed there was a significant tent in Merlin's blankets, Arthur couldn't help but wonder if that was typical morning wood or if it was because of his presence.
"The floor boards are over there." Morgana said, shaking him out of his daze. Looking up he found Morgana giving him a look that said she saw more than he wanted her too. Right, the room, he was here for a reason, ah the floor boards.
He walked across the room taking out some tools to examine what he needed too, whilst keeping his ears on the conversation across the room. Arthur couldn't resist giving them a bit of a show, he knew he was giving them a perfect view of his arse and he knew it would encourage Morgana, which he didn't really want, but he had to see if it got a reaction from Merlin.
"What!?" Merlin repeated.
"This is Arthur, Merlin." There was a pause. Arthur glanced up to see two sets of eyes burning holes into his arse, he smirked before turning his attention back to the floor. "The handy man? To fix the house! Honestly Merlin do try and keep up." Morgana continued.
"Ah right" Merlin said. "You needed me to get up so you can run your errands" Arthur got up and started to examine the radiator.
"No no Merlin, it's quite alright I got this." Morgana said.
"Nonsense! I said I will get up so I will, and you can go run your errands." Arthur stood up and moved over to the door frame, glancing over to them to see them both follow him with their eyes. Arthur ran his hands up and down the frame caressing the wood with his fingers spread wide, in a slow tease. Well, what he hoped was a tease.
"Don't worry about it Merlin it's nothing that can't wait" Morgana replied.
"No no, I'm awake now so I will get up…..in a few minutes." Merlin insisted.
Arthur turned to see Merlin and Morgana locked in a glaring contest, and felt the need to disrupt the tension between them. As he walked over to them he caught Merlin's eye and found he couldn't look away, it was like he was trapped. "The floor boards have rotted and the radiator has rusted, I am going to need to replace them both but the door frame just needs sanding down."
"Excellent" said Morgana jumping up from the bed before Merlin had a chance to reply. "Let me show you my room, it's just down the hallway." She started to shove Arthur out of the room "Let's leave Merlin to his beauty sleep lord knows he needs It." Arthur quickly glanced at Merlin to see he still had the tent in his blankets and flashed Merlin a smirk before he was shoved out of sight by Morgana.
Morgana's flirting seemed to go up a notch or three once they got into her room. She proceeded to drape herself over her bed giving him a very good view of her ample cleavage. He purposely kept his eyes on her face when she directed him to her floor, which he had a feeling would be fine.
Arthur wasn't quite sure what to do other than to play along, he had brought this on himself with his own behaviour in Merlin's room.
Arthur looked up in time to see Merlin appear at the doorway and had to bite back a smile when he noticed Merlin's shirt was on inside out. Arthur was relieved knowing Morgana couldn't do too much with Merlin in the room, although she had yet to notice him.
"Right." Arthur said, as he got up "From what I have seen so far this is going to take several weeks to fix maybe a little longer as I would like to do it properly, a house like this deserves more than a quick fix and a lick of paint." With a bit of luck he could drag this out to a few months.
"Take all the time you need" Morgana leered. "Both Merlin and Freya work ridiculous hours but I will be here to keep you company." She smiled at him sweetly.
"Right." Arthur replied hesitantly, trying to work out what Morgana was up too, he was certain she had figured him out earlier. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
"Well" said Merlin from the doorway making his presence known. "I'm going to get a coffee, would you like one Arthur? While we sort through the paperwork"
"Sure Merlin" he answered with a small smile. "I will just go and get the papers from the van"
"Okay" Merlin said. Arthur quickly made his exit before Morgana could say anything, who he noticed was watching him very closely.
Arthur went to his van to get the paperwork he had already prepared, he quickly added a few notes and jotted down a price. He kept the price really low, he had to make sure they could afford to keep him for as long as possible. Besides being a White-Lighter and all, money was not important therefore he didn't really need it, but he had to keep up the pretence. He just hoped he hadn't made it too low to arouse suspicion.
As he approached the kitchen he could hear Morgana and Merlin talking, he went slowly so he could pick up on what they were saying. "Okay Merlin" He heard Morgana say "We shall see, may the best man or woman win."
Oh no, it sounded like they had a competition over him. On the down side this meant that Morgana had not clued and was going to continue her flirting with him. But on the upside Merlin was interested. Arthur smiled at the thought and decided to interrupt before he could think too much on it, he knew he would do plenty of that later.
"Okay, this is just an estimate for now along with a basic list of what needs doing, I will fill it in in more detail later" he said, giving Merlin the forms. Merlin quickly took the forms from him and started to scan them for something.
"These rates are very reasonable" Merlin said, with raised eyebrows when he found the price. Had he made too low?
"Yes well, I can't very well claim to be the best if nobody can afford me, can I?" He said, moving in closer to Merlin without realising it.
"Oh I'm sure you are very good at what you do Arthur." Morgana said, trying to cut Merlin out of the conversation.
"I am" Arthur answered, not looking up and handing Merlin a pen.
"You seem very sure of yourself" Merlin replied, as he started to fill in the forms. Arthur relaxed a little knowing that the paperwork passed inspection.
"My work speaks for itself" Arthur said smugly.
"I have very high standards you know"
"And I have every confidence I will rise above them, after all they can't be that high seeing how you can't even dress yourself properly" Arthur said, trying and failing to keep the smile off his face.
"Excuse me!" Merlin's head snapped up to look at him.
Arthur grinned at him "Your shirt is on inside out Merlin" he pointed out.
Merlin looked down and his cheeks turned to a pinkish colour that made him look rather stunning. Arthur liked this look on him, he will have to make Merlin blush more. "I knew that." Merlin mumbled.
"Sure you did Merlin" Arthur chuckled. Purposely dragging out his name. He was rewarded when Merlin's blush took on a red tinge, oh yes this was going to be fun. "I would like to start right away if that's okay?"
"You can start whenever you like Arthur" Morgana said, making them both jump. Right, Morgana, can't forget about Morgana.
"Right well I need go get a few supplies, I will be back later." Arthur said and quickly left the room before Morgana could reply.
What the hell am I doing?! Arthur thought as he sat in his van around the corner. It had only taken him a few moments to orb everything in, so that gave him some time to think things through.
He couldn't believe he had flirted so obviously with Merlin. He couldn't date Merlin, he couldn't even think about dating Merlin. Not only was Merlin his charge, but he was also a Warlock and there were rules against that sort of thing. It wasn't allowed. A White-Lighter can't date a Warlock. But he couldn't help himself, it was like he had no control over his actions. There was something about Merlin that drew him in and he was powerless to stop it. He is supposed to watch from the background and not draw attention to himself, instead he bantered with Merlin over paperwork! He was pretty sure he had started it too.
He knew that he should stop this now, he knew that he should go and ask the Elders to reassign him. He knew that there was a good chance that this could end badly especially with so many secrets going around. But he also knew he wouldn't, couldn't. After twenty three years of life and almost seventy five years as a White-Lighter Arthur had never met anyone like Merlin. In all that time no one had ever had such a profound and quick effect on him like that. So he knew that he had to find out what this was. He had learnt a long time ago that things like this happen for a reason and while he couldn't ask Merlin out, he knew that if Merlin asked him he would not say no.
But then there was morgana, he could have sworn she caught him practically drooling over Merlin's naked chest. But all that seemed to do was encourage her. Maybe it would be best if he had a quiet word with her and tell that while he was very flattered, he wasn't interested in girls. He had let enough girls down in the past so he knew how to do delicately. He really didn't want them falling out over him, especially with so much at stake.
With that last thought Arthur started his van and made his way back to the house.
"Hi Merlin!" Arthur greeted. He entered the kitchen to see Merlin fussing over a chicken "I have all the stuff in the van I will unload it all into the garage if that's okay?"
"Sure" Merlin said, flashing him a shy smile.
"I'm going to start on the plumbing first as that is the most urgent there are a lot of rusted pipes that need replacing" he said, as Merlin put the chicken into the oven.
Merlin looked up at Arthur "Yeah that's fine Arthur. Do you want anything to drink? Snack?" Merlin said, smiling more widely showing off his teeth which took Arthur's breath away.
"No I'm fine Merlin" Arthur said, more softly than he intended. Merlin started to grab some vegetables and started to cut them. It all looked a bit complicated to him. But then Arthur was never good with food, dead or alive. "What are you doing anyway?"
"I'm making a roast for the girl's dinner later, if I put it on a slow roast it will be ready for dinner, if I don't make anything they will just eat junk. Will you be here for dinner? There is plenty to go round if you want any?" Merlin explained.
"You really go all out don't you?" Arthur asked.
"I can't really do quick and simple I always get carried away, I enjoy it too much that's why I became a chef" Merlin said.
Chef? He could have sworn Morgana said something about running a restaurant not cooking. "You're a chef? I was under the impression you worked in management" he asked.
"Well I'm supposed to be a chef, I am currently manager/waiter/accountant/barman/chef or dog's body as Morgana and Freya like to put it." Merlin said, still messing with the veg. "Oh I should warn you Morgana is going to come on pretty strongly, she does with ALL the men"
Does this mean she is going to get worse? Yes he will definitely be having words with her when he got the chance.
"Don't worry about it Merlin I'm used to dealing with women" Arthur answered giving him a smug smirk.
Merlin rolled his eyes at him. "I'm sure you are" Arthurs smirk got bigger.
Arthur couldn't resist another chance to make Merlin blush. "Men too" he added. Merlin's head snapped up to look at Arthur and stared at him with wide eyes.
"Erm…yes….well..…wish I had that problem" Merlin replied with another shy smile and a blush that reached his ears. Arthur couldn't help but grin at the sight and was rewarded with a gorgeous smile from Merlin.
A barely clothed Morgana chose that moment to waltz into the room, which was probably a good thing otherwise they would have ended up smiling at each other all day. "Arthur!" Morgana called. And came directly to his side and started brushing his arm with her hand. "I didn't know you were back".
"I am, I'm going to get started now" he said, pulling away and moving over to the sink. Arthur had to remind himself that he had a job to do and not just flirt. A job that he still intended on doing to the best of his ability, he still had to protect them.
He started to empty the cupboard under the sink so he could get the pipes, listening in on Merlin and Morgana, not that they made that very difficult.
"Nice outfit!" he heard Merlin hiss. "Isn't it a bit cold and early for something like that?"
"Nothing wrong with wanting to look good Merlin, you should try it sometime" Morgana whispered loudly.
"Nothing wrong with leaving something for the imagination either" Merlin retorted a little louder. Arthur managed to bite down on a chuckle but ended up coming out like a snigger. He was sure they heard him but luckily they didn't get the chance to say anything as Merlin's mobile started to ring and they all went quiet. Both Merlin and Morgana lunged for the phone but Merlin got to it first.
"Merlin! It's supposed to be your morning off" Morgana shouted. But Merlin ignored her and answered the phone anyway.
"Hello" Merlin answered, while Arthur and Morgana remained quiet to listen.
"Alvarr…..
"I'm a bit bu…..
"But…..
"Now?...
"But…..
"Yes okay, I will be there as soon as I can" Merlin relented, and pocketed his phone.
"Duty calls" Merlin said as started rushing around the kitchen sorting out the dinner he was cooking.
So this was what Morgana meant when she said Merlin worked a lot and not being able to say no.
"Merlin you need to start standing up for yourself more, he walks all over you and treats you like shit and you let him." Morgana ranted.
"It's only a couple of hours extra Morgana it will be fine." Merlin said. It was not fine. Now that Arthur was listening properly and paying attention, he could hear the exhaustion in Merlin's voice.
"How are you supposed to be a powerful….." Morgana cut herself off seeming to remember that Arthur was there. "A powerful chef?" she filled in "if you can't stand up to your boss? Who really needs telling where to stick it?"
A powerful chef? Wow that was bad. Arthur frowned to himself. He knew what Morgana meant to say but even if he didn't it was clear she intended on saying something else. This was not good they had a lot to learn about being discreet and subtle. Things would be very bad if someone found out and exposed them.
"He's my boss, Morgana! He pays my wages." Merlin argued.
"But you hate it Merlin, you won't say it but I know you do" she said, as Merlin finished cleaning up.
"Morgana it's my job and I have to work, if I want to work I have to keep my boss happy-"
"Not at the expense of your health Merlin. I seem to remember us having the same arguments with Freya a couple of months ago" Morgana said.
"Look" Merlin said, calmly. "I am off tomorrow, we will do something together. Me you and Freya we will have a family night maybe go to the cinema together?"
Even Arthur knew that was unlikely to happen he had already seen and heard enough that told Arthur everything, Merlin was desperately trying to please everyone and make everyone happy. And it wasn't working.
Morgana was silent for a moment. "Fine. But I will hold you to it Merlin an entire day AND night with no work"
"Okay, I can do that." Merlin said as he ran out the door.
"You better Merlin." Morgana yelled after him but he was already gone. "He won't" she sighed to herself before leaving the room forgetting all about Arthur under the sink.
Morgana came back into the kitchen a good hour or so later and wearing more clothing. Arthur had made a lot of progress with the sink he had taken out a lot of pipes, but he really wanted to go and check on his other charges. He could easily say it was worse than he thought and needed more supplies.
But first he thought he would take this opportunity to speak to Morgana while it was just the two of them.
"Hey Morgana" He said.
"Hey" Morgana replied distractedly.
"I'm afraid I will have to go, I have to get more supplies some of these pipes are worse than I thought, and it's going to take the rest of the day to track down everything I need." Arthur explained.
"That's ok, you have the key don't you?" She asked.
"Yeah"
"That's fine then, come and go as you need to Arthur" Morgana said.
"Hey Morgana can I speak to you about something?" he asked.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Well I couldn't help but notice that there was a lot of flirting going on earlier" he started.
"Yes there was." Morgana grinned with a knowing look in her eye.
"Right, well I could be wrong but it felt like you were flirting with me a lot, and while I'm very flattered you need to know that I'm gay and I don't have much interest in girls. Sorry. It's nothing personal"
"Really? Not even a little interest?" But Morgana didn't seem too upset about it.
"No, I'm sorry" Arthur answered quietly.
"Well I kind of already knew, but a girl can hope." Morgana said.
"You knew?" Now he was confused.
"Yes, it was kind of obvious earlier when you were drooling all over Merlin" Morgana said.
"I was not drooling" he defended.
"You were, your eyes nearly popped out of your sockets you were staring that hard." She added.
"I was not! Wait if you knew then why were you flirting with me?"
"To wind Merlin up" Morgana answered like it the simplest thing in the world.
"To wind Merlin up? Why?" Arthur asked.
"Because it's fun to do. Merlin is extremely shy and he needs that extra push, so if he thinks that I have a chance with you it will encourage him to make an effort and do something otherwise he would just make cow eyes at you all day and then he would pine after you for the rest of the time." Morgana explained.
"Right, so you are doing all this flirting to help?" he asked.
"Yes that's right, besides its fun to tease Merlin, did I already mention that?" Morgana laughed.
Arthur chuckled "Yes you did, but I don't want to be the cause of any upset between you and your brother."
Morgana sobered up a little "A while ago it would have done, but in these last few months we have all become a lot closer"
Arthur was quite pleased to hear that with the amount of glaring and arguing he had seen he was beginning to doubt the family bond for a moment which was very important that they have. "Well, as long as you are sure" he said.
"I am, and Merlin really does need that extra push. His last boyfriend"- Morgana paused clearly trying to think of the right words. "Well, let's just say it didn't end well. And it shook Merlin's confidence quite a bit" she finished.
Arthur assumed Morgana was referring to the demon that Merlin had unknowingly dated, but he hadn't realised that Merlin hadn't dated since. Not that he could blame him really, it's not every day your boyfriend turns into a demon and tries to kill you.
"Okay I will try to bear that in mind." Arthur said.
"See that you do" Morgana said seriously. "Although now that he thinks I am a threat he should hopefully make a move soon."
Arthur was glad about that, he was breaking enough rules as it was, he wasn't sure he could break that one himself. But he would happily let Merlin break it for him.
"I hope so" Arthur grinned. "I will have to go for now Morgana but I will see you tomorrow" He said, as he got an internal call from one of his charges, thankfully it wasn't Sefa.
"See you tomorrow Arthur, and I will try not to make you too uncomfortable with my flirting, maybe." Morgana teased.
"At least now I know you don't mean it" he answered as started walking out. "See you later." He called back.
Arthur let himself in the next morning and the first thing he noticed was the smell. He could smell bacon, sausage and eggs all of which made his stomach growl in response. Arthur made his way straight to the kitchen as that seemed to be the main room the three tended to gather in and where the delicious smell was coming from.
He heard voices as he approached and paused just before the doorway to ears drop. He could make out Merlin's voice quite clearly but he didn't recognise the other female voice. He wondered if this was Freya, she was the only one he hadn't met yet.
They weren't talking about magic or demons, but they were talking about him it seemed Merlin wanted to make a good impression for him. Maybe Morgana was right after all. He put on his best smile and decided to make himself known.
"Morning all" Arthur called as he walked in. To find Merlin and a woman sat at the table.
"Arthur!" Merlin shouted, and leapt up, grabbed a plate and started running around the kitchen heaping all kinds of food on to it. "Do you want any breakfast? We have toast, sausages, eggs and bacon-, Wait how did you get in?" Well at least had someone sense of security.
"Morgana gave me a key yesterday, said you were all in and out a lot so it would be easier if I had a key." Arthur answered.
"Wow that actually makes sense, nice to see Morgana using her brains for once" The woman at the table said. "Hi I'm Freya, and you must the famous Arthur." Offering him a hand.
Arthur took her hand and shook it, grinning "Yes I am."
"Well Merlin, Arthur, I have to go, don't want to be late, have fun" Freya said as she left the room. Arthur looked at Merlin to find him blushing and wondered what he had missed to cause that.
"Coffee?" Merlin asked.
"Thanks Merlin" Arthur said, as he sat down "This all looks fantastic Merlin, I hope you haven't gone to all this trouble just for me?" knowing full well Merlin had. Arthur pulled the plate towards him and started shovelling food into his mouth, the smells had been making his mouth water since he had come into the house. Arthur couldn't remember the last time he sat down to have a decent meal, a home cooked one was even better.
"No I usually do all this on my days off" Merlin replied. Arthur had a feeling Merlin did usually make breakfast, but he didn't think he usually went to this extent.
Arthur quickly swallowed to reply "Well this is great, I could certainly get used to this." He continued to eat pausing every now and then to wash it down with coffee.
"Thank you" Merlin said. Arthur glanced up to see Merlin eyes had lit up and was smiling widely at him. Arthur ducked his head down to hide his blush while Merlin started to get his own food and sat down next to Arthur.
"Thank you Merlin I really needed that, it was really good, you're a good chef" Arthur said, as he leaned back in his chair once their plates were cleared.
"You're welcome" Merlin smiled at him.
"So who taught you how to cook?" Arthur asked, eager to know more about Merlin. The Elders had only given him very basic information, he didn't even know what powers they had. Only that one of them had the gift of sight. He was not concerned the Elders promised that Arthur would not pop up in any of the visions.
"My uncle Gaius did, he taught me everything I know."
"Your uncle? Not your mum?" Arthur asked quietly.
"No our mum died when we were little Uncle Gaius raised us" Merlin replied, with a sad look in his eyes.
"Sorry I didn't mean to pry. It was the same for me. My mum died during childbirth" Merlin raised his eyebrows in surprise. It was almost a hundred years ago when Arthur's mother died and while he knew it was rare for people to die in childbirth in this day and age, it did still happen so he didn't think it would cause any suspicion.
"Sorry to hear that Arthur, I'm grateful we got to spend some time with our mum before she died." Merlin replied quietly.
"How old were you?" Arthur asked.
"About six" Merlin replied. "But we had our uncle Gaius he took us in and raised all three of us."
"What about your father? Where was he during all this?" Arthur asked.
"We don't know, he ran off before mum died" said Merlin. "We haven't heard from him since."
"Wow that sucks, it takes a special kind of man to run out on his family" Arthur grimaced thinking he might have said too much. "Sorry"
"No its ok, trust me we have all said much worse about him." Merlin reassured. "But I would really like to know why he left. Morgana struggles with it the most because she's younger she doesn't remember mum or dad"
"Maybe one day you will find out" Arthur said, already wondering if could use his contacts to find out.
"Maybe, I'm in no rush though, we are happy at the moment and he would mess that up" They both fell silent and Arthur's thoughts went to his own father.
Arthur's father was a hard man, not an uncaring one but he was very strict and stern man. The loss of his mother had hit him hard and being around Arthur when Arthur looked so much like his mother was very difficult for his father, so he was absent for many of Arthur's younger years, always away on business. He liked things done his way or not at all. Which resulted in them clashing and arguing on a regular basis when he was older.
"It was nannies who raised me" Arthur said after a while. "My father didn't seem to know what to do with a child and he was so lost in his grief over my mother, so he just let the nannies to deal me, he put his two tuppence worth in every now and then. We didn't really get on we were always at odds with each other." Arthur winced internally hoping that Merlin didn't notice his slip up. His language always reverted to old English when he thought about his living life.
Merlin reached over and squeezed Arthur's hand and smiled at him, making Arthur's heart squeeze at the same time. "Was he there when you really needed him?"
Arthur thought to when he told his father he liked men and refused to marry any of the women his father had lined up for him. The arguments were truly epic but it turned out his father was more afraid for Arthur rather than afraid of him.
Being gay was still illegal in those days and those that were was persecuted and badly beaten and often out casted. Arthur's father was afraid of what his life would become, he didn't like it but eventually accepted it. But then war broke out and Arthur saw that as a chance to escape as well as a way of helping people.
"He was" Arthur smiled, squeezing Merlin's hand in return. "I don't know why I told you all that, I never tell anyone" Arthur said, looking at Merlin "There is something about you Merlin you are very easy to talk too." Arthur hasn't ever told anyone so much about his old life before but talking to Merlin was more than easy, it felt natural.
"I'm taking that as a compliment" Merlin grinned.
"It was meant as one" Arthur said. They were still holding hands and staring at each other, Arthur was so close that he could see flecks of gold in Merlin's blue eyes. It would be so easy to lean forward and kiss those lips that keep smiling at him.
"Morning Merlin!" Greeted Morgana as she walked in and making them both jump apart and derailing any of Arthur's thoughts about kissing Merlin. "I hope there is some breakfast left" Morgana said.
Morgana made a clear show of the fact that she was still in her nighty with a dressing gown that was unfastened. "Oh morning Arthur, I didn't see you there" she lied badly. Arthur glanced at Merlin to see Merlin glaring at Morgana and clenching his jaw. Arthur threw a quick smirk at Morgana knowing Merlin's attention was not on him. Arthur cleared his throat "Morning Morgana, well I best be getting to it" he said, and quickly left the room.
Arthur spent the rest of the day teasing and goading Merlin, especially now he knew he had the same effect on Merlin that Merlin had on him. Every time he felt Merlin's eyes on him he conveniently dropped something so that he had to bend down to pick up or made a show of flexing his muscles even exposing a bit of skin on occasion. He couldn't help the satisfied smile that crept across his face when he heard Merlin's breath hitch.
He knew he shouldn't encourage Merlin, it was against the rules. But he had never felt this kind of pull with anyone ever before. He knew things happened for a reason and he couldn't help but feel that maybe Merlin was his other half. Soul mates existed but it was very rare for them to actually find each other, with so many people around it was easy to understand why. There wasn't any other reason or explanation it was something he felt deep in his bones.
At first he thought Merlin was avoiding him, but given his dating history it was understandable why Merlin would be hesitant. It didn't last long though it seemed that Merlin was as drawn to him as he was to Merlin.
But every time he tried to get close to Merlin and have a conversation with him Morgana would show up, in a different outfit each time. Morgana had said that she was trying to help him but he thought she was going a little overboard and wondered if there was more to what she had said yesterday, as she was now becoming a bit of a hindrance and doing the opposite of helping.
Morgana had disappeared again, and Arthur thought about how to approach Merlin before she came back. Merlin clearly had the same idea and acted first. "Hey Arthur, I thought you might be hungry after all the hard work you have been doing today so I made you a snack" Merlin said, as he appeared at his side with a plate that had a large sandwich on it and a tall glass of milk.
"Thanks Merlin." Arthur didn't even try to stop the smirk forming when he saw Merlin blush and shiver a little as he dragged out his name again. Arthur started gulping down the milk as both Morgana and Freya came in from different directions.
"Freya? What are you doing home early?" Merlin asked, looking as disappointed as Arthur felt at being interrupted. Again!
Freya smiled. "I'm not early Merlin, we are going out tonight remember?"
"I haven't forgotten" Merlin said. Arthur had forgotten, damn he needs to focus more and try and pay attention to the job and not just Merlin. People could get hurt if he didn't pay more attention, and he couldn't stand the thought of letting Merlin down, the very idea made his chest hurt.
"Oh! Arthur?" Morgana said, shaking Arthur out of his depressing thoughts. Morgana came so close to him he could the heat coming from her, completely disregarding his personal space. "You have….." then to Arthur's horror Morgana reached up with her hand, cupped his face and dragged her thumb across his upper lip wiping away some milk that he was sure wasn't there. "Some milk on you" she finished. Morgana lowered her hand but didn't move away.
Arthur looked to Merlin who was clenching his jaw so hard that Arthur feared he might break his teeth.
"Oh" Arthur said, stepping back quickly allowing him to breathe properly. He wiped his mouth just in case.
"Morgana?" said Freya, as she started tugging on Morgana's arm "Can I have a quick word with you in kitchen?" and quickly dragged her away. Arthur sighed in relief.
"Sorry" Merlin said, looking at his feet. "I did warn you she would come on pretty strongly"
"Don't worry about Merlin I'm sure I can let her down easily enough." Arthur said. Although he was pretty sure he had already done that. Now that Freya had picked up on it she may back off a little. He hoped.
"So you're not interested in Morgana then?" Merlin asked, looking up and biting his lip which instantly drew Arthur's attention to Merlin's lips and making Arthur want to replace Merlin's teeth with his own.
"No…erm…..She's not really my type" Arthur mumbled, still captivated with Merlin's mouth.
"Good" Merlin said, smirking at him. Damn, did he just miss something? Arthur's eyes flicked up to meet Merlin's and about to ask why that was good, but before he could an annoyed Morgana came back followed by Freya.
"Come on Merlin, we don't want to be late for the movie" Morgana said, as she continued without stopping through the front door not looking at anyone else and still followed by Freya.
"Right" Merlin replied. "I will see you later Arthur" he said as he turned and grabbed his coat.
"Yeah, bye Merlin" Arthur said, still not sure what he missed.
"Bye Arthur" Merlin said again, before following others out the door.
Arthur knew it would be unreasonable for him to still be there when they got back. So Arthur orbed out and went to check in with Sefa and his other charges.
Arthur arrived the next morning to catch the tail of the morning conversation and to see a box of cereal frozen in mid-air. Arthur quickly took a step back before he was noticed and peered through the crack of the door. He watched as Merlin grabbed the cereal and unfroze it.
So Merlin had the power to freeze, a powerful gift, but they were the Charmed Ones he didn't expect anything less. That also meant that it was either Freya or Morgana that had the gift of sight which left one power unaccounted for. Arthur was admittedly curious about their powers but not overly so, he had met dozens of witches all with different powers and had seen them all before.
Arthur was pleased he had managed to find something out and re-entered the room announcing a happy "Morning people" catching the tension then relief on Merlin's face, as he thought he hadn't been caught. "I finished the radiators yesterday and I'm going to get started on the woodwork if that's okay? It will take a few days"
"Sure no problem Arthur" Merlin said "I will get you some coffee" he smiled. But he was stopped when his beeper went off.
"Oh dear Merlin, you're too busy at the moment, don't worry I will get it." Morgana leapt up while Merlin saw to his pager. "I will be right there Arthur" she shouted. Arthur just smiled and laughed then left the room, stopping outside the door way to listen in.
"When are you two going to stop fighting over him?" He heard Freya ask.
"When Morgana realises that she doesn't have a chance with him" Merlin answered, Arthur smiled to himself, maybe Morgana was right and really was helping.
"It's not like I have the time to woo him properly at the moment anyway, I have my innocent to find" Morgana said.
An innocent? Did that mean something had happened last night? He knew it wasn't urgent, his senses would have told him if they were in trouble, but something had definitely happened. It was also very good to hear that they did have some focus and weren't ignoring their calling completely "Not that I know where to start." He heard Morgana add.
"What does she look like?" asked Freya.
"She was about 5'3 with light-ish hair" Morgana replied.
"What? That's all?" asked Merlin.
"Well it's not like I can rewind it." Morgana said. Does that mean its Morgana that has the sight? "It was defiantly demonic though it was like a small shot of lightning or electricity directed at her head." That could be anything, there were plenty of demons that had powers like that. He would have to make sure he paid full attention now he knew they were on a case, he decided to ask the Elders about the demon later.
"You should check the Book of Shadows, see you if can find anything." Said Freya. Arthur should have suspected they had a Book of Shadows. Most witching family's do and considering the Charmed Ones came from a long line of witches, theirs should be quite substantial. It was probably in the attic as Morgana had asked not to go in there. He will check it out later if the opportunity came up.
"I will, will you ask Will if he knows anything? Will could be on his trail." Asked Morgana. Will? This was the first he had heard about any Will? But then he hadn't seen a great deal of Freya at all yet.
"I will try, but it won't be easy to do it without raising suspicion." Freya sighed. Arthur frowned, He will have to try and find out who this Will was, to see if he was a threat.
"Okay" Merlin said. As Arthur heard movement. "Morgana checks the Book of Shadows, Freya talks to Will and I will take this to Arthur." Arthur promptly moved very quickly down the hallway and orbed his tools to him, making it look like he had just come back in.
Merlin approached him as he placed his tools on the floor. Merlin was not looking at him though. Arthur followed his line of sight and noticed Merlin was staring at his biceps.
"Hello Arthur" Merlin said, a little out of breath.
"Merlin." Arthur replied, making sure to puff his chest out a little as he straightened up.
"Here's your coffee" Merlin said, as he gave the coffee to Arthur "Do you need anything else?" he asked.
"Thanks, No, I have everything I need." Said Arthur sipping his coffee.
"Well I can't stay and chat today I'm afraid so you're on own today" Merlin said shifting his clothes in his arms and handed Arthur a slip of paper. "But this is the address and number of the restaurant where I work if you need anything. I will be there all day" Arthur was disappointed that he wouldn't get to see Merlin all day, he just couldn't seem to catch a break with Merlin. With Merlin on a case Arthur wanted to stay as close to Merlin as he could. "And probably all night too knowing my luck". Merlin added.
Arthur noticed that Merlin still looked very tired, considering he had the day off yesterday he should be looking a little better. Whatever happened last night must have kept him up late. Now Arthur was even keener to find out what happened.
"Well I had wanted to go through some stain samples with you for the wood work." Arthur said, in the hopes that Merlin might come back early.
Merlin smiled hopefully at him, making Arthur chest constrict for a moment. "Well if you'd like you could just come by the restaurant later and we can go through them there?"
"I can do that" Arthur smiled as he pocketed the paper. He could definitely do that, Hell if Merlin smiled at him like that Arthur would do anything Merlin asked.
"Right then I guess I will see you later then" Merlin said, as he started to make his way out.
"Count on it Merlin." Arthur shouted back before he was gone.
Arthur started to sort his tools out, he wasn't actually sure what he had orbed to himself, he didn't have time to think it through properly.
"Hi Arthur, Bye Arthur" Arthur looked up in time to see a Morgana shaped blur pass him by and out of the front door.
Morgana was definitely a strange one he thought as he shook his head and got back to his tools only to be interrupted by Freya.
"Hi Arthur" Said Freya.
"Morning" he replied.
"I'm sorry we haven't had much chance to talk or get to know each other, it's been a busy couple of days." Freya explained.
"It's okay, I understand. Everything is okay I hope?" Arthur asked, hoping that she would give him some more information.
"Oh, it's fine." Freya said. "Just work stuff, I have a big exhibition coming up and I am still fairly new to the company so I am hoping to make a good impression."
"Oh okay" Arthur said, keeping a straight face, not letting his disappointment show though "Don't worry about it I know how busy work can get sometimes."
"Do you need anything? I'm afraid there is not going to be many of us going to be about today." Freya asked.
"No I'm fine, and I have Merlin's number if anything comes up." He answered.
"He likes you." Freya stated.
Arthur smiled and nodded "I like him too."
"Good" said Freya "Normally the male of the family has this talk with you, but since the male is Merlin it will have to be me." Arthur frowned not quite sure what Freya was on about "If you hurt him, I will personally chop off your dick and shove it down your throat" Freya smiled widely at him, it was actually a little creepy "And that's nothing compared to what Morgana will do. The two of us will actually work together on something and hunt you down."
Arthur laughed hesitantly but Freya just continued to watch him looking very serious. "Trust me, I have no intention of hurting Merlin." He said sincerely. "I really do like him, I like him a lot" Arthur admitted.
"Good, then we won't need to have this chat again" Freya said giving him a much nicer smile. "And don't worry about Morgana, she has the best of intentions even if she does have a funny way of showing it. She is only interested in you because Merlin is, she will soon give up or be distracted by someone else" Freya informed him.
"That's good to know" he chuckled.
"I really do have to be going now Arthur, have a nice day and don't forget about what I said. I would hate to have to repeat myself." Freya said as she put on her coat and picked up her bags.
"I won't and I will" Arthur said. But Freya didn't move, she just stood there giving him a funny look. He though back over what he said and realised his mistake. "I mean I won't forget and I will have a good day" he smiled hoping she believed him.
Arthur seemed to have passed as Freya nodded and smiled "Catch you later Arthur."
"Bye Freya" and she was gone. Arthur sighed in relief. That was unexpected and a little unsettling but he was grateful Merlin had his sisters looking out for him.
Now time to find the Book of Shadows.