"...a vicious circle for them. It's nigh on impossible to get a job when you're homeless. No job equals no money. No money equals no rent," Gwen paused for breath and stopped stirring the gloop in the huge vat-like saucepan, turning to glare at Arthur as though the country's homeless statistics were all his fault.
Arthur took the opportunity to interject, "They can claim housing benefit though can't they?"
Gwen snorted and recommenced stirring. "To rent somewhere private you need a deposit. No deposit equals nowhere to rent. They've got bugger all chance of getting a council place because they're over eighteen and childless, they'll be waiting till they're ninety-five on the bloody list! It's just so...so..."
"Unjust?" offered Arthur.
Gwen deflated. "Sorry Arthur, it's not your fault the government spend all their money bailing out bankers and have nothing left to help those who need it." She patted his hand. "Thanks for coming down."
"No – I wanted to see where you vol-worked." He refrained from mentioning that he'd heard her rant about her cause of the month more times that he could mention many times before. Gwen's social conscience was sometimes an albatross around her neck. She wanted to save the world.
Gwen smiled, "Why don't you go and have a chat with some of the clients? I assume you were gonna stay until my shift is over, walk back together?"
"Of course," Arthur pecked her cheek and peered through the hatch at the bustling drop in centre. There were about thirty people milling about, sitting reading, playing pool or darts and chatting with each other. A few were support workers, the rest were homeless clients.
Arthur's eye was immediately drawn to a dark haired young man sitting in the far corner reading a dog eared copy of 'The DaVinci Code'. He wore scruffy jeans, a thin navy blue t-shirt and a red neck scarf. He guessed he'd start with him. He wasn't so good with the small talk at the best of times; small talk with people so much worse off than him...when ihe/i would be going home to his nice warm bed and they would be in cardboard-box city or a soulless hostel – it felt kind of wrong.
Gwen wanted him to mingle though; he had to try.
"Hello," he began as he approached. "Can I join you?"
The boy shrugged and continued reading his book. Arthur sat down beside him.
"How're you enjoying the book?" Arthur had read it a couple of years back and seen the film.
"S'alright," came the reply. "Bit predictable." He lowered the book to his knees and turned his attention to Arthur. Dark blue eyes framed by long silky lashes.
Oh ifuck/i. Arthur felt as though the boy had just kicked him in the gut. His cock twitched with definite interest and he was overcome with an almost irresistible urge to reach out and rub the pad of his thumb over those berry red lips. Fuck fuck fuck.
He shifted uncomfortably and inched further down the old church pew, away from the problem. He must have replied, because the boy was talking now about the last book he read. Arthur's auto response had kicked in, but inside his head was whirring; get away now. You can't do this. You can't be attracted to a man, it's wrong. iUnnatural/i. The devil's work.
If he carried on down this road he would burn in hell.
The lips were moving, moistened intermittently by the tip of a pink tongue and the expressive blue eyes were looking at him as if...waiting for an answer.
"Oh – sorry – what did you say?"
The boy rolled his eyes. "I asked who you are. You don't work here and you're clearly not homeless, so -"
"Arthur Pendragon. I'm a...friend of Gwen's."
The boy held out his hand, "Merlin."
Like a clichéd romance novel heroine Arthur felt that he would have swooned at the boy's touch had he been standing as he literally felt sparks. He snatched his hand back sooner than was necessary as his hand tingled pleasantly.
Merlin laughed, "I don't have cooties you know. I might be homeless, but I shower every day – they have showers here if I don't get into the hostel."
"I wasn't-" Arthur stopped when he realised Merlin was teasing him. He felt a jolt of admiration for him then, such a miserable situation in life yet so cheerful with it, so friendly. "You're winding me up." He grinned back.
"So what are-"
"Arthur!" Gwen's head appeared from the serving hatch. Both Arthur and Merlin turned towards her. "Your phone's vibrating – it's your father."
Arthur's smile died. The tingling in his hand instantly turned from pleasing to idirty/i. He jumped to his feet, "Nice meeting you," he managed before dashing back to the kitchen and making a dive for his phone.
What the fuck was he thinking? He clearly wasn't was he? He was disgusting, reacting like that to a iman/i. He was a pervert. Ungodly...a blasphemer.
He scrubbed his hands in the sink and went outside to call his father.
-0-
That night Arthur couldn't sleep. Dark blue eyes haunted his dreams, and he woke up with a raging hard on which he tried to take care of thinking of Gwen's breasts, but somehow, halfway through, his thoughts always turned to...other things.
He decided visiting Gwen at the shelter had been a bad idea.
Arthur turned his thoughts back to his iunnatural/i desires. He'd sometimes thought about going somewhere anonymous, finding a guy, paying him – because that way he could go back to his normal safe istraight/i life and carry on as though nothing had happened. It always came back to his being too fucking scared...if Uther ever found out...after the last time – Father O'Leary... iPray out the gay/i. It was his own private hell and he never wanted to return.
So...it had been a while since he'd entertained that notion. He was Arthur Pendragon. Even if he found the balls to do it, the last thing he needed was to get caught picking up a rent boy, the press would be all over it. Uther would disown him.
It could never happen.
-0-
Arthur managed to stay away from the shelter for a week. It was pathetic really. The guy Merlin, those blue eyes...it never hurt to ilook/i did it?
Merlin was playing pool with another client, bending over the table to take his shot, his low slung jeans revealing a line of pale flesh above his waistband. Arthur almost choked on his cup of tea, and his cock jumped to attention. He positioned himself strategically behind the serving hatch and only moved when things had calmed down.
Merlin caught sight of him later, waving with a smile. When he'd lost the game, he came over and challenged Arthur to play. Arthur had always been a shockingly bad pool player, and had anyone else asked he would have balked at the suggestion. There was no one else Arthur wanted to watch from the corner of his eye as they poked their tongue out in concentration when taking a shot, or the erotic way they held their cue.
Arthur didn't even bother pretending he was wanking to an image of Gwen's breasts that night.
-0-
Arthur went back to the shelter a couple of times a week after that, in his lunch break, after work, when he had the time, and played pool with Merlin. He learnt that Merlin had been living on the street for over six months and was stuck in a cycle of no home-no-job-no money.
He was dying to ask why he couldn't go home to his family, because it was obvious Merlin was well brought up and well educated; and whilst Arthur wasn't fool enough to think that this meant everything would be rosy at home, but he did struggle to envisage a scenario that meant going home to his Mum (Arthur knew he had one because Merlin spoke of her fondly) was a worse option than living on the street.
Arthur could cut Merlin a cheque right now, enough to pay rent deposit and rent in advance, and he wouldn't even miss the money. Something was stopping him from making the offer though, and Arthur couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it was that he'd happily give the money to Merlin, with no thought whatsoever for all the other poor bastards in the day shelter that had no home to call their own.
Maybe it was because if he gave Merlin the money, he wouldn't have the need to come to the shelter anymore, which would mean Arthur wouldn't see him.
Arthur wanted to fuck Merlin so bad he was semi erect the whole time he was at the shelter. When Merlin leaned into him to show him how to take a complicated shot, Arthur got harder than a virgin on his wedding night.
iWhat was he playing at?/i Coming here like this, getting to know this vulnerable young man like he was. He felt like the fucking child, lying in wait for unsuspecting victims; all he needed was a comedy hat and he'd be all set.
And he was that person, he was the man who waited in the shadows; because even though he was in plain sight for all to see, he was luring Merlin into his net, and he hadn't even realised what he was doing until the idea came to him in a moment of pure genius.
He'd offer Merlin the money for the rent; in exchange for Merlin agreeing to fuck him. Merlin would get a roof over his head, and Arthur would get what he'd been denying himself for so long. Far too long. Then they would part ways and both of them would have got what they needed.
This hadn't been his intention from the start, he wasn't that fucked up. He genuinely liked Merlin. His smile was so heart-warming, his ears were endearing; he was funny, smart and the perfect mix of self-deprecating and witty. He also turned Arthur on more than anyone had since, well, that time ibefore/i Uther had found out about his unnatural predilections.
So this was how he found himself, one wet Friday lunchtime, asking Merlin if he could have a word in private, and how he'd offered Merlin the money, and the boy's face had lit up, and maybe that was because he'd slipped up and said the word 'loan' rather than 'give'...and how his face fell again when Arthur had stammered out what he wanted in return.
"You're all the fucking same!" he'd spat, and walked away.
-0-
Arthur stayed away from the shelter after that. He felt like some kind of freakish sick fuck who prayed on the vulnerable. His father was right, he was a pervert. The guilt plagued him. What kind of a person was he - befriending homeless blokes and then trying to fuck them for money?
He couldn't go back though could he? He knew he should apologise, but that wouldn't make anything better. It would still hang in the air around them, like a bad smell.
Gwen's time at the shelter was coming to an end anyway, Arthur would never need to even think of the place ever again, and he would steer clear of her next project for sure.
"Merlin's been asking why you haven't been in," said Gwen conversationally, totally unaware of the nausea that spread through Arthur at her words. It must have been nearly three weeks later, Arthur was still beating himself up over the incident, and dare he even think it - imissing/i Merlin; the goofy smile, the overly large ears...his kind heart and sunny outlook.
Arthur managed to swallow his mouthful of jacket potato, "Oh?"
"He took quite a shine to you, you know," she continued. "It wouldn't hurt for you to pop in before I leave. Heaven knows the bloke needs a mentor; and he likes you."
"I'll think about," Arthur choked out, wondering if he idared/i, if he could.
"Did he say anything else?"
"No, only to tell you he wanted to see you," she smiled. "Don't forget we're going to Morgana's birthday party this weekend and..."
Arthur tuned the rest out. Merlin had said he wanted to see him? Probably to demand an apology – Arthur knew he deserved one. Wanting to see Arthur was not the same as asking why he hadn't been in either was it?
He didn't sleep at all that night.
-0-
It took him two days to find the guts to face Merlin; he finished work early so he could get to the shelter before it closed for the day.
Merlin was playing pool as usual, and when he saw Arthur watching him the smile dropped off his face as he made his excuses and joined Arthur on the old church pew in the corner.
"You told Gwen you wanted to see me?" Arthur said first, even though the voice in his head was clamouring to just iapologise/i. He couldn't quite meet Merlin's eye.
Merlin's expression was cold, "If that offer's still on the table then I want to take you up on it."
Their eyes did meet then for a moment before Merlin looked away and began to pick at the hem of his t-shirt.
Arthur opened his mouth with the apology and a withdrawal of the offer; he'd had plenty of time to berate himself these past couple of weeks, there was no way he was going to take advantage of Merlin.
Clearly his cock was controlling his speech as no apology spilled from his lips. Instead the words that found their way out were the total opposite of what he had planned to say, "Are you sure?" and when Merlin nodded he added, "When?"
"No time like the present," Merlin said with his eyes down. "But so as you know; iI/i make the rules, I'm in control and iyou/i do as I tell you – or the deal is off."
Arthur's cock went from half hard, which it had been the second he'd seen Merlin, to full mast and pushing uncomfortably against his suit trousers. If only Merlin knew he had just described Arthur's very fantasy to him.
"Do we have a deal?"
Arthur shoved aside his conscience, "We have a deal."
-0-
Merlin nodded, "I want the cash up front," he said, taking that moment to look up at Arthur, and the misery in his eyes almost made Arthur change his mind, but then he thought about Merlin having to sleep in homeless shelters and doorways, and how much this money could mean to him, so he nodded back and there it was; he'd justified what he was about to do in his head.
iIt's for Merlin's own good. /i
"There's a cash point around the corner," he heard himself say, unable to take his eyes off Merlin's dusky pink lips. "I'll meet you out the front in fifteen minutes?"
As he left he hoped Merlin didn't have a change of heart in the meantime.
In the end, he had to go into the bank to get out the large sum of money required, and then he thought it prudent to pop into Boots for condoms and lube. Even at his age he still felt embarrassed buying such things.
On the way back to the shelter to meet Merlin it finally occurred to him that if it were really a case of this money keeping Merlin off the street, he could just gift Merlin the money with no strings and walk away all warm and fuzzy that he'd done something altruistic for someone.
When he saw Merlin huddled into his hoody out the front of the shelter his heart began to pound with nerves, and he knew he couldn't go through with it. He wanted to... He wanted to Merlin to fuck him, he wanted that more than anything, but he's not that person, not really. He's not someone who would take advantage of someone in need and pay them money for sex. He iknows/i the words came out of his mouth, the proposition; he can admit that he entertained the idea...but when it comes down to it now, he ican't./i
Merlin looked so sad and lonely, and Arthur wanted to be the one hugging him, making him smile; instead he's the guy who offered him friendship and then threw it all back in his face.
"I can't do this," he said when he reached Merlin, and to his surprise, Merlin's face fell. It's the money; iMerlin had made plans for the money/i. Arthur reached into his jacket pocket and offered Merlin a cash stuffed envelope. "Here, take the money anyway, consider it a gift. I should never have-"
Merlin leant forward, his hand curling round the back of Arthur's neck and kissed him firmly on the mouth. Arthur groaned and sank into him for a second until a passing bus hissed hot air at him, and he pulled away, guiltily looking around them: he cannot be seen doing this, inot ever/i.
His lustful feelings towards men must remain his dirty little secret.
"I still want to," Merlin said then, taking the envelope out of Arthur's hand. "I need the money, and I'll take it thank you very much, but I've thought of little else but this since you first asked – so this changes nothing."
Arthur watched as he tucked the envelope into his scruffy backpack and grabbed Arthur's wrist, "How far to your place?"
"No," he said, crushing down the rising panic. He can't take Merlin to his flat– someone might see them, and besides, it's over the other side of town, it would take an age to get there on the tube at this time of day. "I want to do it now; there must be an alley or something round here where we can go?"
"This way," Merlin yanked on his wrist and led him down the side of the shelter, which ran alongside a popular nightclub, where several of the shelter clients were starting to huddle now that kicking out time was imminent. Arthur tried to pay attention to where they were going, but failed miserably as all he could think about was what was about to happen.
Merlin eventually pulled him into an empty arched doorway, which Arthur realised must be a fire exit to the currently empty nightclub, secreted around the back, and pushed him back against the side wall. "Here," he breathed and thrust his groin into Arthur.
Arthur groaned, alive with need.
"Get on your knees," Merlin commanded, and Arthur's eyes widened at this confident alien, totally fucking ihot/iversion of Merlin, and dropped to his knees, looking up at Merlin for further instruction, and soon received it in the form of Merlin saying, "Blow me."
Arthur reached for Merlin's fly and undid the top button.
He was going straight to hell, no passing go, no get out of hell free, and in that moment, he really couldn't care less.
-0-
Arthur tentatively slid his hand into Merlin's jeans, one hand on the waistband, edging it downwards as the other found Merlin's cock and released it from its denim prison.
It bobbed out level with Arthur's nose, dark pink and longer than his own, so he leant forward and rubbed his cheek against the head. His stomach churned with nerves. He could count the number of times he'd done this on one hand; fuck it, on one finger. Way back when, back ibefore/i...
He knew what he liked when girls did this to him – heck, it was the only thing he enjoyed about sex with girls – he flicked his tongue out and tasted the precome already forming, and he'd forgotten how good this tasted, how utterly and completely imale/i and in this case, uniquely iMerlin/i. He heard Merlin's breath hitch and looking up at him their eyes met, any trace of his earlier misery replaced with expanded pupils and desire.
Arthur felt relieved that Merlin really did seem to want this, and that it wasn't simply gratitude for the money he'd given him, despite that being the original terms of this unorthodox deal.
He licked small circles down the underside of Merlin's cock, wanting to taste and explore the whole length, returning to the head and slowly easing his mouth lower, trying to take all of him in, hollowing his cheeks for suction, Merlin's, "Fucking hell Arthur!" only spurring him on, one hand wrapping around the root, the other on Merlin's hip holding him still as he moved his head in a once familiar rhythm, loving it when Merlin's hands slipped into his hair and gripped his shoulder, loving it more when Merlin finally gave in to the whimpers and groans that were spewing forth from his lips, uncontrolled mewls of pleasure, sounds which went directly to Arthur's own painful erection, still tucked inside his suit, aching to be touched.
"God Arthur, so good at this," Merlin muttered, and Arthur hummed back in response, not wanting to break the momentum; who knew that doing this to someone else could be so – iso/i - fucking wonderful? The scent of Merlin where Arthur's nose kept tickling in his dark curls, the soft skin of his hips under Arthur's fingers, the unbidden cries and the sensation of long fingers curling into his scalp; Arthur's own need to make Merlin come down his throat, to be the one to undo him...
"Oh fuck, oh I'm – iAr/ithur-" and Merlin was coming in long hot spurts that hit the back of Arthur's throat in a tidal wave of sensation. He looked up to see Merlin's head thrown back, eyes closed, an unguarded expression of pure joy stamped across his features.
It was the most beautiful sight Arthur had ever seen.
When he'd licked Merlin clean, Arthur sat back on his haunches and waited for Merlin to gather his senses; this wasn't over yet, Merlin knew what Arthur wanted, and although they'd agreed that Merlin would be the one in control, Arthur had no doubt he'd give Arthur what he needed.
Merlin untangled his hands from Arthur's hair and opened his eyes, looking down at Arthur through dazed eyes. "Stand up," he said, and Arthur was on his feet in moments, uncomfortably aware of the pressure of his unsatisfied cock against his fly. Merlin wrapped his long fingers around Arthur's tie and yanked him forward into a filthy kiss, licking and sucking Arthur's lips, his tongue seeking entry to Arthur's mouth, tasting his own come on Arthur's teeth; one hand tightly gripping the back of Arthur's neck as though he thought he might make a run for it any moment. As if Arthur could run with the demon grandfather of all erections between his thighs.
Arthur almost didn't notice that Merlin's other hand was working on his belt, so caught up was he in the sensation of his tongue on his, of the hot breathy sighs and groans Merlin was offering into the kiss... It was the cool early evening air hitting his naked arse that first alerted him to that fact that his trousers had just pooled around his ankles.
Merlin pulled back and hissed, "Have you got any-?"
Arthur managed to say, "Jacket pocket." Merlin's hands glided inside and found the lube and the condoms. Arthur had even removed the condoms from the box, not wanting the inevitable fumbling with the cellophane packaging to slow down proceedings.
"Take off your jacket and trousers," Merlin says, raising an eyebrow at Arthur as he opened his mouth to protest. Never more than that moment is he more aware that they are in the middle of Camden, down the side of this seedy looking nightclub where staff might start turning up to bottle up before the place opened later, where anyone who knew the area could cut down here for a short cut.
Merlin is telling him to strip though, so Arthur did as he was told, and as he started to unbutton his shirt and remove his tie Merlin's hands stilled on his, "Leave those on," he said and licked his lips. "Turn around."
Arthur Pendragon was half naked, his cock fully erect and aiming for the stars, in the middle of an alleyway about to be fucked stupid by a homeless guy he'd practically fucking igroomed/i...and he'd never wanted anything more.
He turned around and Merlin shoved him up against the door, parting his thighs with a bony knee and Arthur's cock is pressed painfully against the wood as he felt the cool air around his exposed hole before Merlin's finger traced the rim and Merlin's face was nuzzling his neck, "No touching yourself," he ordered. "If you do, this is over."
Arthur groaned and nodded, his head turned to one side as he strained to see Merlin. Merlin's cold lube covered finger breached his hole, slowly pushing past the ring of virgin muscle there, pushing in as far as the knuckle and curling, "I'm going to enjoy this," Merlin whispered, removing the finger and adding another.
The longest few minutes of Arthur's life passed by as Merlin slowly prepared his arse to be fucked, until he was more than ready, pushing himself back against Merlin's fingers, biting his lip to refrain from begging Merlin to get on with it.
"You know," teased Merlin as he spread the four fingers he had inside Arthur one last time only for Arthur to whimper and push back desperately. "That could almost be construed as touching yourself." Arthur stilled; Merlin could walk away from this yet, and he needed it, he needed Merlin inside him right fucking inow/i.
"You really are going to get it now," Merlin was saying as he turned Arthur to face him, running a hand under his shirt and tweaking a nipple as he dragged him into a swift messy kiss. "Get down on all fours."
Oh my God, this was it. This was it ifinally/i. Arthur was going to get what he'd been craving, wanting, needing for so long, and this was right, it felt as though it was meant to be, as though all those years of deprivation and suppressed desires for ithis/i had all come down to this one moment.
Arthur settled down onto his knees, ignoring the hard brick of the floor beneath, and the dust and dirt that was under his hands as he placed them in front of him and offered his arse up for Merlin.
It briefly occurred to him that if Merlin were a cruel sort he could just take Arthur's clothes and leave him there, unfulfilled and naked in a public place, the stuff nightmares were made of, so he almost collapsed with relief when he felt Merlin bend down behind him, his hands reverently stroking Arthur's backside, parting the cheeks, running his cock down the crack at the back.
The wait was painful. Arthur heard the crackling of the foil and Merlin rolling the condom on, heard him say something that sounded like 'more gorgeous' but he didn't care, because Merlin's cock was at his entrance, pushing past the first barrier, slowly easing inside him; he felt Merlin's balls slap against his hole and this felt so good, being filled, like something had been missing for so long.
"Ready?" Merlin asked, and Arthur grunted in reply, unable to form a coherent sentence, not even wanting to. Merlin withdrew almost entirely, pushing back in slowly, swivelling his hips slightly and brushing Arthur's prostate. "You like that?"
"Mnng," Arthur managed, wanting to beg for Merlin to go faster and harder but Merlin was in control, Merlin had to be the one calling the shots. It did seem that he was a mind reader though, picking up the pace, pulling his cock out and slamming back home again, the pace increasing to meet Arthur's need, and his hand twitched, wanting to touch himself, yet knowing that such stimulation was unnecessary, that he would come soon enough from the friction of Merlin's cock inside him.
Arthur dropped his head down, pillowing onto his arms, his arse raising further in the air, and Merlin changed angle, the soft hair of his thighs tickling against Arthur's outer thigh as he pounded into him, his lips giving air time to the whines and groans Arthur had become so fond of earlier.
Arthur heard a voice, and realised it was him ibegging/i for Merlin to make him come, as the pleasure and the burn all melded into one amazing sensation, filled and complete, as the pleasure inside his lower belly built and built and he was going to–
Out of the corner of his eye he saw approaching feet, vaguely registering three pairs, and Merlin saw them too because he stilled, and there was giggling and a series of gasps and a murmur of "Oh iwow/i."
This was bad, this was ireally/i bad; he needed this, he needed to come, they both needed to come, and one of the observers said as they moved past down the alley, "Please, don't stop on our account," and Arthur thought he heard Merlin start to breathe again, because then he began to move again, because to stop now – well, that wasn't an option. Merlin resumed his previous pace, picking up the tempo slightly, and Arthur pushed back, needing to come, uncaring of what or who was watching, none of that mattered, he ihad/i to come, he had to feel Merlin's climax inside him, nothing else mattered.
i"Merlin!"/i he cried as he exploded, covering the ground in white hot come as it shot endlessly from his twitching, untouched cock.
Merlin lasted for another few thrusts, coming with a lip biting groan, his cock pulsing inside Arthur as he filled the condom. "Oh God, iArthur/i," he sighed, pulling out almost instantly due to awkward angles. "Oh iGod/i that was..."
Arthur wanted to lean back and fall into Merlin, do what couples did after mind blowing sex like that, but he and Merlin were not a couple. They were on the floor in an alleyway in the middle of London. They had been caught. My God, ithey had been caught/i. Those girls might have told someone, the police might come and arrest them for public indecency.
He scrambled to his feet, panicking, looking for his clothes. He hopped on one leg into his trousers, avoiding Merlin's eye, noting absently that all Merlin had to do was tuck his cock back into his jeans.
He felt a stab of something akin to pain. He'd never see Merlin again after today – after the next couple of minutes.
He yanked on his jacket and fiddled around with his shoes and socks. Merlin was watching him silently. Only then did Arthur look up and meet his eye and see Merlin's half smile.
"I have to go," Arthur said, regret hammering a merry tune inside his gut.
Merlin reached a hand forward, through Arthur's hair, straightening out the 'just fucked' mess, his lips twitching. "I don't want this to be the only time," he confessed, not letting Arthur look away. "I wanted you before you...I wanted you ibefore/i…" he trailed off.
"I'm sorry, I can't. This was-" God how he wished things were different. "I'm marrying Gwen next weekend."
Fin
Read on for optional epilogue:
Merlin had snorted and said something under his breath that Arthur was sure was, "I fucking knew it." And he'd walked away without a backward glance. Arthur had watched him until he rounded the corner before he had turned and left in the opposite direction, trying to push down the feeling that letting Merlin walk away was destined to be the biggest mistake he ever made.
To see Merlin now, shaking with laughter, propped up on his elbow as he looked down at Arthur who was lying on his back on Merlin's bed, hard as a rock, hands tied to the bed with one of his own ties and one of Merlin's neck scarves, as Merlin had proceeded to kiss every inch of him bar the few inches Arthur most wanted kissed, driving Arthur to distraction – well, to see him now, no one would ever guess he'd had a few months of homelessness or ever been down on his luck.
No one would ever know that Merlin was the sort of young man to track down someone the day before their wedding, taking a huge chance by telling them he loved them and begging them not to marry someone else; then to stand by his love when his father disowned him and due to his 'sexual perversions'. Who knew Merlin would tell Arthur over and over that he loved him for what he saw inside, what he'd seen right from the start, what he only briefly forgot due to the hurt of being offered money for sex by the man he was falling in love with. He taught him that his sexuality was normal, that he wouldn't go to hell, and that they could be happy together.
Merlin Emrys saved Arthur Pendragon.