On The First Day Of Christmas

DAY ONE:

On the first day Arthur gave him a punch.

Merlin was walking through the park on his way back from school. His backpack was leaden with the heavy textbooks of a Monday afternoon and he was dragging his feet through the thin layer of snow already starting to cover the ground in preparation for Christmas just twenty-five days away.

He hadn't had the best of days but he tried to keep his spirits up despite the cold, dreaming of the warm mug of hot chocolate awaiting him back at his Uncle Gaius'.

He was trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue going cross-eyed in the process when he noticed a group of boys from about year 13, his year, across the park on the side he was walking towards.

He stopped in the snow and squinted through the flurry of snowflakes to distinguish who the boys were. His heart sank as he realised it was Arthur Pendragon and his fellow teammates from the 'Camelot Knights' their school's football squad and local heroes.

Merlin couldn't be sure but from this distance it looked as if they were picking on a smaller boy of about eleven years.

Merlin suddenly felt his temper flare up inside of him as he watched Arthur push the boy into the snow and he couldn't help himself as he stormed over to the bullies his brain not registering how bad his odds were looking. Five strong, well-built football players against scrawny Merlin, it wasn't great.

But Merlin had hated the arrogant, smart-arsed footballers for a long time, especially their captain Arthur daddy's-boy Pendragon and, well, he wasn't in the best of moods.

'Hey, you!' called Merlin angrily at the blonde who, Merlin hated to admit it, looked like a model from a winter catalogue with his hair in the perfect just-got-out-of-bed ruffle, his tanned skin shining against the white of the snow and the snowflakes making his hair look peppered with fairy-dust rather than the dandruff-covered look Merlin was sporting.

'What do you think you're doing?'

Arthur raised an eyebrow staring appraisingly at Merlin with an expression of contempt.

Merlin wanted to punch that smug idiot right in the face.

'Leave him alone,' Merlin pushed on, his anger driving him on even as the team sniggered to each other.

The boy took advantage of his bullies distraction to make a speedy getaway, stumbling over his bag and shoes in his haste to escape to the sound of the boys laughter.

'Or what?' asked Arthur with an arrogant laugh.

'Or I'll punch you in the face,' voiced Merlin, expressing more confidence than he felt.

'Arthur I think he means it,' said a sleek-haired handsome boy with deep brown eyes, smiling at Merlin's adamant expression.

Arthur just laughed along with the other boys.

'I'd like to see him try, Gwaine,' said Arthur patronisingly. Gwaine continued smiling at Merlin as if they were sharing a private joke.

But Gwaine's casual, joking tone failed to quell Merlin's anger and only succeeded in increasing it. He lashed out at Arthur with his fist.

Arthur's expression went dark and the laughter drained from his face as he easily intercepted the punch.

'You will be sorry you did that,' Arthur threatened.

Merlin just grinned and attempted to punch him again.

Again Arthur intercepted.

'Stop it or I will hurt you and you won't like it,' Arthur warned again but Merlin's face remained in a fixed come-at-me-bro expression and he drove his fist once more into the palm of Arthur's hand.

Arthur shook his head disbelievingly.

'You don't give up, do you?'

Merlin shook his head in response, trying and failing again to get a hit on Arthur.

'Who do you think you are, you arrogant prat,' stormed Merlin with a flurry of attempted punches.

'The Captain of the football team and declared 'King of Camelot High',' said Arthur smugly.

'Self-declared 'King', you overgrown pompous good-for nothing prat, who only gets his way because of his daddy,' spat Merlin.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and finally retaliated, his much faster and much stronger punch going into the side of Merlin's nose. Instantly blood spurted everywhere as Merlin's nose-bleed prone nose grew bloody.

Tears automatically welled up in Merlin's eyes, the pain shooting through his face, but he blinked them away, along with the memories that flooded into his mind of similar pain.

'Shit,' said Arthur, actual concern in his voice. Concern that his perfect reputation was going to be ruined thought Merlin coldly.

'Arthur, mate, I think you might have gone a bit far,' spoke a blonde-haired one of Arthur's friends.

'I didn't mean to make him bleed, Leon. Shit,' repeated Arthur, his face pained.

'Are you alright?' said another of Arthur's friends, someone finally actually showing some concern.

'Ob course I'b bloody nob alrigh',' said Merlin heavily through the bleeding.

'I have some tissues?' offered the same friend helpfully but Merlin shook his head, spraying blood as he did so.

Arthur was staring horror-struck at Merlin's gushing nose. What had he expected to happen?

'I'b all bight,' said Merlin, defiant.

'You're a right idiot, Arthur,' said the friend smiling sympathetically at Merlin.

'I know, Lance,' Arthur surprised Merlin by saying quietly.

He sniffed and, giving a final glare to his attacker, walked determinedly home, leaving a violent trail of red on the white powder underfoot, a constant torrent of abuse circulating in his head about Arthur. The prick. Who did he think he was, bullying kids, he was twice their size and scary enough without his band of clowns following him?

He turned back to the gang of footballers most of whom it seemed had forgotten anything had happened and were joking around with each other.

Only the one called Lance was looking at Merlin, an apology in his expression.

As Merlin turned his head to leave he saw Arthur look back at him, his face unfathomable. They stared at each other. Blue eyes on blue and despite the situation Merlin was still able to marvel at how Arthur looked in the winter air, the chill making his cheeks flush and his tanned skin standing out against the blue.

Then he blushed with the absurdity of his thoughts and broke the staring contest, turning round and all but flouncing away.

First Merlin fic publish attempt :/ Hope you like it. The next chapter will be more lighthearted and it's meant to be Christmas-themed but it's not very Christmassy... yet. :) The chapters will probably get longer this is just more of a prologue. x