Prompt fill for my lovely Turtle!
Disclaimer: Still don't own this show or the lovely characters!
It was amazing how quickly time flew by.
When the evening had started, Merlin had no idea that it would end the way it did. If he had, he might have been too nervous and worried to go on it. Arthur was his best friend—had been since they were kids. And Merlin? Well, he'd had a crush on him since they were teenagers. It wasn't something he really talked about, and it was definitely not something that he would act on because having him in his life as a best friend was better than not having him in it at all.
It had started out like such a normal outing. Arthur had picked him up from school, listening to Merlin rant about his professors and assignments with a comment of his own here and there. They picked up a snack at a gas station along the way to Arthur's, where they passed a few hours away doing their work. Thursday was one of the only days they were able to really hang out without interruption, and they always made sure to spend the day together.
Neither one of them wanted their friendship to slip away; they'd seen it happen to more than one of their friends in their old school group-it made their Thursday hangouts just that much more important.
Once they'd done their work and relaxed for a while, Arthur suggested that they go out to eat. Despite all of Merlin's protests they ended up having dinner somewhere nice, that was way out of his budget. He should have been less surprised than he was that Arthur had gotten his way; he definitely should have known better than to assume he was going to let him get away with getting the cheapest—and least fulfilling—thing on the menu.
The Pendragon's were a rich family, and though he once had an issue with his wealth, Arthur wasn't the kind to flaunt his money. He had told Merlin time and again that when he invited him to a nice place, he didn't expect him to pay for his meal. It was something they argued about on occasion, but that night Merlin decided to let it slide.
They'd been having such a nice evening, why mar it with an argument?
After dinner they parked down on Main Street and walked, window shopping for a while as they discussed where the wanted to get dessert. They laughed, smiled, just the same as they always did—but there was a certain charge in the air that neither one of them would be able to deny.
It wasn't brought up, or noticed; they had ice cream, and walked around their busy town for hours, occasionally brushing fingers. Merlin couldn't stop the color that flushed his cheeks each time they did, nor his hope when it looked like it did the same for Arthur.
He would have been able to shove his hope back down if it wasn't for the end of the evening; they had found their way back to the car, just noticing the time when they saw how empty the lot was. Arthur opened his door for him, reaching out and grabbing his hand, holding on as they wound their way through the streets. He drove aimlessly, neither one of them wanting the night—their date—to end.
Sharing a shy smile at a stop light, his pulse racing, Merlin couldn't be more eager to discover how the night would end.
So, what'd you think?
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