No copyright infringement intended and all that jazz. Aw great, now the song's in my head… and probably yours too :P

Chapter two: Nighty night

Jack had kept things simple in the meeting. Simple, but not entirely truthful.

"None of us are sorcerers, which means that someone in Camelot must have transported you here, for whatever reason…"

Arthur snorted. "I am the crown prince."

"Yeah… so anyway, you're now in the future. It's the year 2010, and we're currently located in Cardiff, Wales. So children, any questions?"

Silence reigned. Until Merlin managed to shut his previously gaping mouth and ask the obvious question- how were they going to get back?

"We don't know. But it's late, we'll figure things out later. We've got some spare rooms- they won't be what you're used to and are slightly neglected, but they have beds and covers- and we're located in a secret base, we have weapons. You'll be safe."

Merlin gaped. The room was large- about the size of Arthur's chambers. Two single beds had been pushed apart to opposite walls, with identical bedside tables containing a bottle of water and a lamp each.

Ianto had persuaded Jack to let him create the spare room, and it was tastefully designed, with a plush navy carpet and two armchairs before a small television.

Two pillows, a heavy duvet and a small chocolate rested on each of the mattresses. They were nasal designed- God knows, Jack needs as much sleep as possible when he finally drifts off- but Merlin was simply enthralled by the duvet.

Snuggling into it like a kitten, his large ears immersed in the fabric, he grinned hugely. The weak sleeping pills that Ianto had slipped in the drinks were beginning to take effect.

Arthur's reaction was no less comedic. After Jack's modest description of the room, he was prepared for sleeping in a hay stack, some blankets or, God forbid, cold stone floor. Indeed, paying all attention to the floor as he entered the room, he was pleased to find a plush covering that would serve nicely as a bed.

Then he saw the beds.

True, he was used to a double four poster bed, but the fact that there were two beds, in the spare room, surprised him. The immensely warm, soft covering on the bed was satisfying to snuggle up in, and if he was right, it smelt of orange blossom.

Arthur laughed.

Ianto smirked.

Merlin fell asleep.

"Erm, Merlin? Sir?" Tosh entered the room timidly to find the warlock asleep nestled in the duvet, and Arthur lounging on an armchair, eating his, and, Tosh suspected, Merlin's chocolates.

"Oh, Prince Arthur! Hello Sire. Should I wake him, only- you ought to get ready for bed properly- that is, I think your customs may be outdated, I mean…"

"Lady Toshiko, that is quite alright- we will, of course, conform to your customs to the best of our abilities. Arthur leant near to his manservant. MERLIN?"

The poor boy jumped, hair already tousled. Tosh grinned. "Follow me?"

After being carefully instructed how the various bathroom appliances worked, and how to brush their teeth, Tosh handed them each some soft pyjamas.

"To wear in bed. Ianto's father was a tailor- they should fit."

In the main hub, Jack sniggered.

"You gave him children's pyjamas? Merlin. The. Sorcerer. In kiddie PJs?"

Ianto pouted. "They had a dragon on them, Jack. A dragon. And how would he know? Just don't tell him. I bet it makes him feel at home… there was a dragon in Camelot in Merlin's time. Actually, Merlin set it free and it tried to destroy Camelot..."

Jack frowned.

"But as long as that hasn't happened yet, then he'll feel at home."

Jack rolled his eyes, then licked his lips suggestively.

"Bedtime?"

An innocent enough word, but not when it slithered out of Jack Harkness's lips. In Ianto's opinion, it sounded more like:

"Bedtime… do you want to fuck me senseless? Or would you prefer me to do it?"

But who was he to object. Ianto curled his lips upwards, knowing that whilst Jack's bunker was somewhat cramped, the 51st century lock and soundproofing would ensure they had no interruptions.

"Sure."

Jack had a fleeting thought that Ianto was far too sexy for 'sure' to simply sound like 'sure'. In fact, he thought it sounded like:

"Sure… do you want to fuck me senseless? Or would you prefer me to do it… Sir?"

Arthur woke up first. His bright red silk pyjamas and slippers felt majestic, little did he know that he appeared juvenile in the bright primary colour. Merlin's dark blue pyjamas were made of a soft material that got darker or lighter depending on the way you stroked it. Arthur knew, because Merlin had woken him up in the middle of the night after discovering it in the blue gloam of their nightlight.

They also appeared to have a golden dragon stitched onto the front, Arthur noted suspiciously.

Arthur glanced at Merlin. His tousled hair and pale alabaster skin looked simply angelic. And oh gods, his lips. Bright red, slightly parted, simply beautiful. No, it was more than that… his lips were… orgasmi…

Arthur managed to cut his brain off from finishing the word, his whole body horrified at what he was feeling for his manservant. Well; not his whole body…

The prince was suddenly extremely glad for the looseness of his pyjama trousers, and the thickness of the duvet. Thinking of the troll his father had married (brain addled by sorcery, of course) for a few seconds solved his problem, and Arthur rose gracefully in the bed, hit his head on the low ceiling, fell onto the carpet (he was shocked to find how soft the floor was), forward rolled to lessen the impact, then stood up.

Sitting on the armchair in front of the black rectangle, he waited for Merlin to wake up. Surely his clumsy manservant would balls up getting out of bed even worse than he had.

Arthur smirked, and waited.

And waited.

His stomach growled. He didn't know what time it was- the underground room lacked windows (obviously), but he guessed that he had just spent an hour staring at his manservant sleeping, under the pretence of waiting for him to fall out of bed.

"No," Arthur corrected himself mentally. "I'm waiting for him to fall out of bed."

The object of Arthur's attention lay comfortably, eyes shut, thinking.

Reflecting back on what had happened to him, Merlin felt fear sweep through him. They were supposedly with allies; but how could he be sure? How did he know that these weren't the very sorcerers who had pulled them away from Camelot?

Then he saw it. The slip up that "Torchwood" (going by the sign on the wall) had made.

The so- called 'Captain'…. What had he said?

"So children, any questions?"

Children? Merlin's heart almost stopped. Harkness was older than Arthur and him, granted… but, children? No, this man was older than he looked… which made him…

Merlin didn't know. Not a sorcerer, that was for sure. Merlin knew- nothing would prolong death. A life for a life.

So what was he? A monster?

Suddenly, Merlin felt a pang of homesickness. Gaius would know what to do. Deciding to get out of bed, he cracked open one eye.

Arthur was missing.

Sickened with fear and apparent futility, Merlin sprang out of bed.

Then he hit his head on the low ceiling, fell to the floor, jumped up, span around wildly looking for Arthur, and fell onto his bed; eyes searching the room wildly for his prince, no, his King…

Who was staring right back at him, laughing his head off.

Nuzzling into the hollow in Jack's back, Ianto woke up rather contently. For many reasons:

1) He had just woken up next to Jack Harkness after hours of… well, there was no analogy suitable, Ianto thought, disappointed. Heaven must come close, he supposed…

2) Jack was asleep, and had been at three in the morning, giving him at least two hours of sleep, and counting…

3) MERLIN was in his guest room!

Ianto would have jumped out of bed if his lover wasn't asleep for the first time in days.

Instead, he crept out then proceeded to tiptoe to the male changing room, intended for use after trips to the sewers hunting weevils (Jack hadn't wanted separate sex ones, but Owen had insisted).

Showering and putting on his favourite suit, Ianto glanced at his watch. 5.17 am. Two minutes late. Damn.

A bang and a thump alerted him to the fact that Arthur was awake. He would leave him alone until breakfast was ready- the Prince would probably need to contemplate his life for a bit.

Doing his usual checks and making the usual lists lasted until 5.45. Smiling at the fact that he had managed to regain the previously lost two minutes, Ianto prepared breakfast for their guests, plus extra, cursing the lack of maple syrup. Texting Gwen and Owen with the offer of breakfast, Ianto heard a bang, a thump, a muffled thud, and what seemed to be a hyena.

So Merlin had woken up.

Smiling- he knew how treacherous low ceilings could be, Ianto had just sent the text to Tosh as well when the alarms went off and she entered the hub.

"Hey Ianto- I thought you would make breakfast so I came in a bit earlier."

Ianto glanced at his watch- 6.20. By Tosh's standards, she was in fact 30 minutes early. Ianto grinned- Tosh was so in tune with him.

Tosh smiled too.

"I brought maple syrup- I knew we'd run out. Is that right?"

Ianto's grin became wider. He knew that she knew she was right.

Merlin and Arthur jumped in panic as the alarm went off. They did not know what it was, and Arthur grabbed for his absent sword. A couple of minutes later, there was a polite knock at the door.

"Come in!" Merlin yelled- quaking in his… slippers.

Ianto walked in.

"Anyone for breakfast?"

I think I wanna leave it there so that I can write a whole chapter about breakfast- yay Poor clumsy Merlin, I couldn't resist. Reviews… well… they aren't life, but are nearly as good… hmm *racks brain for suitable analogy*… I know. Reviews are cupcakes. (That's so-called "muffins" for all you American's out there… sort of…)