Title: Holding Infinity
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Fandom: Merlin
Genre: Angst/Romance
Warnings: Possible future mentions of abuse. slash, so :)
Summary: In which Arthur could save Merlin. If only Merlin would let him. High school AU.
Disclaimer: I do not pretend to own any of the characters I play with here.
For Doggie, and Mieh, and Ahma, and Milled, four of my most favorite people ever, and ironically the four least likely to read this.
collision: in which there is a collision of the big bang sort
It begins like this, because Arthur is sort of an arse when he's groggy and late and he's only had one cup of coffee, and Merlin, although better at mornings, will never, not in any lifetime, stand for Arthur's prattishness, and besides Arthur and Merlin's first meetings will never be what you'd call polite.
And so Merlin is absent-mindedly trudging his way to his first class on his first day in this strange new school, perusing his schedule and rounding a corner, and Arthur is running, first class still two blocks away, late already because he's overslept (on his first day) and still asked George to stop for that essential cup of coffee, and two worlds collide quite painfully.
They both fall gracelessly to the cool hard pavement, Arthur because he had been going rather quickly, Merlin because he's practically skin and bones and has no sense of balance whats oever.
"Ow," Arthur complains angrily, once he's gotten over the shock of the sudden fall on his arse. "Watch where you're going, will you!"
He leaps up, wincing, and surveys the boy, still on his back before him.
He's all pale skin and sharp angles and dark hair, and he's wearing faded jeans and a dark green hoodie and a sudden scowl at Arthur's accusation, and he's got ears which stick out just that much, and eyes a darker shade of blue than Arthur's.
(So very long and so unbelievably slender and so impossibly easily breakable.)
-and Arthur thinks, unbidden, that he's sort of-
-and somewhere inside a long-locked room down the hall of his soul, something-
-finally. It's been too long. I've missed you, idiot.-
-but the boy is talking, and the sudden shoot of something is over.
"Watch where- I wasn't the one going a hundred kilometers an hour!" he snaps, getting to his feet, slower and more painfully than Arthur because he's all bones and no padding and on hard unyielding concrete that's got to hurt.
"If you'd looked where you were going, that wouldn't have mattered," Arthur shoots back.
They are both on their feet now, voices rising in the cool morning air, eyes fixed and glaring, no sign of giving in, or apolopgy, and then Arthur feels a rush of…
Of Hey, this is easy. This is familiar. This is us.
Of Hey, I know you. I've always known you.
The boy looks as confused as Arthur feels. Arthur figures the whole weird déjà vu thing is happening to him too, the rush of far-off memories, almost there, almost within grasp but not quite, still unreachable. I know you.
They stare at each other, silent, wondering, not so hostile now. (I know you I know you I know you.)
But a bell rings, not so far away, and Merlin startles and Arthur curses, because Goddamnit his class is still practically miles away, and the spell breaks.
He has to leave, but Arthur doesn't know what to say. He wants to ask Have I met you before?, but he knows, somehow, that this is so, so much more than a kindergarten buddy or a friend of a friend. He doesn't say Catch you later, because it's so ridiculously insufficient for all that this is (but what is this) and also his arse is still sore.
And he won't say I'm sorry, because no.
He settles for "Uh," and the boy says, "Yeah."
And Arthur starts running again, a myriad of questions running with him through his head, where when how who, and still that constant I know you.
Comments are much appreciated, as they will decide whether there is to be a chapter two /: