I do not own Merlin
Thanks to all of you who are already following and have favourite this story which is really encouraging, as are your lovely comments! Thank you so much!
Hope the next chapter does not disappoint!
As chapter 2 and chapter 3 are fairly short I decided to post them both today, but I will usually post once a week on Friday!
The wife
She could pass as a film star. Vivien Pendragon is not only slim, delicately toned and perfectly tanned, she is also immaculately groomed in every way – understated make- up, trendy hairstyle, designer outfit, heels and sunglasses to match the Valentino handbag.
She waltzes in the agency as if she owns it. Gwen inwardly rolls her eyes, but still secretly damns she is wearing one of her older outfits today.
"I have an appointment at four." Vivien demands, deliberately not introducing herself. She seems to expect people to know her.
Merlin throws Gwen a look behind Vivien's back. Gwen grins and decides to treat the woman just like everyone else. If anything, she hates pretentious people. She rustles up her sweetest smile and innocently asks, "What is your name, please?"
The woman's jaws visibly tighten a bit, but she makes most of her introduction.
"I am Vivien Pendragon, darling." Her gaze pierces Gwen and the condescending tone of her voice is well practised.
"Of course, Mrs. Pendragon," Gwen replies with a professional smile, taking the wind out of her sails. There's no way she will be beaten into submission by that stuck up dolly bird.
"Hey, you." Vivien continues and waves at Merlin who has just come into reception to meet his client. "Get me a glass of water before I go in there." It's clear this is an order and that she expects Merlin to jump and just do it. "I assume that …. ,what's his name, ... Mr. Emrys is ready for me. I am a bit in a rush."
"I am ready, indeed," Merlin replies, totally ignoring her startled reaction to his revelation. He feels how she is giving him a once over and notices her eyes narrowing and the tiny shake of her head. Obviously he isn't up to her standards when it comes to therapists. "Would you please follow me, ?"
Merlin senses she does so only reluctantly. But, undoubtedly, she's been told what is expected of her just like Arthur, and she knows better than to be uncooperative.
The registration procedure is completed quickly. Then Merlin looks up to Vivien. She has draped herself over his sofa and is in the procedure of checking her mobile.
"Mrs. Pendragon." Merlin draws her attention.
Vivien startles and sighs impatiently at getting interrupted. She locks eyes with him, her gaze suggesting that all she does is humour him.
"Right," she snaps. "Look here. This is very easy. I married Arthur. We're expected to produce heirs. So you just talk to him and tell him to get on with it."
Hmmm. A highly interesting start. Merlin chuckles to himself. This woman hasn't even got the slightest intention of making a go of this. Well, he won't let her off that easily.
"Why did you get married to Arthur?" he asks, knowing that direct questions usually elicit direct answers. Vivien does not disappoint.
"He is a Pendragon and he is rich." Vivien is very matter of fact.
When Merlin gives her a quizzing look, as if to say 'Is that really it?' she adds rather reluctantly. "Okay, he has a gorgeous body and he is hot."
She gives Merlin a derogative smile. "Surely even someone like you can see that."
Merlin isn't sure whether she is insulting his intelligence or whether she's actually taking a dig at his appearance. Although he knows better than to react to impertinence like that he can feel himself blushing and it annoys him. He knows fine he is way too skinny and that his arms and legs have a life of their own. Yes, he is well aware that his cheekbones stick out like pieces of glass and that his ears resemble mini satellites. He knows his hair hasn't seen any decent styling for about a good year. And his clothes, oh well. But that doesn't make him a lesser person.
That woman is so bloody rude she should take a course in manners rather than marriage counselling. But, aware of his position and that this is work, Merlin swallows the insult and maintains his professionalism.
"And the sex was amazing …," Vivien continues just to stop and add, "… to start with anyway." She utters a little frustrated sigh at the end.
"So you were in love with him?" Merlin tries to nail her on the matter.
"I wanted him." Vivien is neither shy nor embarrassed about admitting it. She smirks and explains," I always get what I want."
"Wanting and loving is not exactly the same."
Vivien stares at him for a moment, and her brows wrinkle for a micro second as if she is contemplating his words. A second later she has lost interest in the question and starts eyeing her i-phone. It is blatantly obvious that the point is completely lost on her.
"This…" She waves around …"is starting to get tedious, Mr.Emrys." She draws out the Mister in the most dismissive way to make her displeasure known.
"Are we finished now that you have established the facts?" She pops her head to the side and pouts. It looks like a well-practiced learned pose. Something she clearly does to get what she is after. Merlin wonders if Arthur has fallen for this before. If he has just smiled and given into her.
Merlin smiles. "Not quite. There are a few other questions I have to ask you."
He takes a deep breath and gets on with it. "What do you think is going wrong between you and Arthur at the moment?"
Vivien catches her breath.
"How much time have you got?" she hisses, but then rattles off all the things that annoy her most as quickly as possible.
Arthur is never at home, prefers work to her company, moans every time she goes out with her friends, but then spends more time with his friends than her, gets annoyed when she spends a little bit of money here and there when she so desperately needs a new outfit to go out. He neither cares about the quality of her manicure nor the black stain on the leather seat of her Jaguar. He has done nothing about that and he would just have to snip his fingers. It wasn't her fault that her mascara ended up on the seat. And that is just the beginning of it.
And so she goes on and on, and even Merlin, who's used to stories like hers, starts wearing a little bit after a while.
"Thank you, Mrs. Pendragon." It is funny how they've never gone past the formal address. But he can't even contemplate calling her by her first name.
"I think that'll do for today."
"So you're going to tell Arthur to stop being stupid and to behave, aren't you?" Vivien finishes and fixes her dark brown eyes on his.
"I will see your husband again tomorrow and we will discuss things." Merlin makes sure his answer can be read any way she likes. "Please make another appointment with Gwen before you leave."
"Just phone me, if I need to come back," she snaps, grabs her bag and leaves, mumbling something like "I never even got a glass of water … substandard place." under her breath. She damn well knows Merlin can hear every word.
Merlin is shaking his head in disbelief. How did Arthur, who would have the pick of all women in this world, end up with someone like that? Vivien hasn't just become the obnoxious person she is in the last three years. Why would Arthur ever concede to marry someone like that? Just for amazing sex?
Merlin's insides clench for a second and he swallows – well, having good sex actually can't be dismissed when you are with someone. Of course, as far as relationships go a decent sex life is simply not enough in the long run, but it damn well helps to get along. He should know because that is what he will never have, can't have.
Of course Merlin realizes that his question why Arthur and Vivien are a pair is purely rhetoric. It clearly all comes down to Arthur's relationship with his father. This is at the bottom of all this. This is what he has to resolve before Arthur can move on. To wherever that is. He vaguely notices his heart beating a little faster at that thought, but his mind is already in a different place.
Merlin bites his lips, realizing suddenly that for the first time in his career as a counsellor he feels really strongly that he shouldn't even attempt to bring these two together again. Arthur deserves somebody better, someone who really cares about him, who sees his vulnerability and is there for him. Not that cold-hearted bitch in the body of an angel that has just left.
"Merlin?" Gwen is at the door.
"Sorry, I'm coming!" he shouts and tidies up the papers quickly. He is giving Gwen a lift home today. Well, if Aithusa is willing. Unfortunately she has been even more temperamental than usual since the accident. It seems not only the door was damaged in the procedure, but something has also gone wrong with her insides, too. He really should take her to a garage, but there's just no way he's able to fork out for an expensive repair just now.
Gwen lives in the flat next to him, or rather he lives in the flat next to her. Because she stayed in their block of apartments first. He owes it to her that he got his first decent accommodation after a lifetime of staying in digs of debatable quality.
They stop off at Tesco's on the way home and Gwen offers to cook that night. Merlin accepts gladly. He is quite a dab hand in the kitchen himself, but tonight he is preoccupied. The Pendragon case is bearing heavily on his mind. It isn't like him to take sides. He might have had a preference for one or the other partner in some cases before, but this is on a different scale. He really, really hates the guts of Vivien.
"Looks like Arthur Pendragon and his wife deserve each other;" Gwen states over the vegetarian pasta. She has been trying to make conversation for the best part of an hour, so far with very little success.
"Ah, that got your attention." She grins when Merlin suddenly looks alert. "You have been unusually quiet this evening."
"Sorry, Gwen." Merlin mutters and his ears turn a darker shade of pink.
"Anything you want to share?" Gwen asks, eyeing her friend closely. She knows that something is up. She has witnessed Merlin in many of his moods and she can tell that something has upset him.
Merlin is aware she isn't asking for any morbid details about the Pendragons. Gwen is just not like that, but she wants to find out what is bothering him.
"It is decidedly wrong…," Merlin starts and stops, leaving Gwen with a big question mark on her face.
"It doesn't seem right…." Merlin has another go.
"Oh, for goodness sake, Merlin. What are you trying to say?"
"They shouldn't be forced to live together again." Now, Merlin has said it. "I think it is totally wrong."
"Wrong for her or for him?" Gwen enquires, trying to analyse Merlin's comment.
Merlin visibly blushes now and Gwen's eyes widen, intuitively grasping something Merlin hasn't realized himself.
"This is about Arthur, isn't it?" she enquires quietly.
That is the only option. With Merlin being openly gay, it kind of excludes Vivien. Apart from that, the woman is surrounded by an aura of icy conceitedness and self-importance that no person with a hint of common sense would go anywhere near her.
But Arthur? He is a looker, and Gwen gets why people would be attracted to him. But he doesn't exactly come across as a warm person, either. No, he behaved in a rather arrogant and supercilious way at the office. For Merlin's sake she isn't going to air her own opinion just now though.
Merlin lowers his eyes and stares at his plate, following the pattern around the rim mindlessly. A deep blush is spreading all over his cheeks until it finally reaches his neck.
"You like him. Is that it?" Gwen's tone is a tiny bit incredulous. And from the way she says it, it is clear what kind of 'like' she's referring to.
Merlin hears it, but the words confuse him. In fact, he looks aghast at her. No, he has not said that. He doesn't mean that. Surely not. Where does Gwen get that from? Any why would he? Anyway. The shock of the statement sends his blood rushing through his body at ferocious speed and a wave of heat follows shortly behind.
"No, don't be an idiot, Gwen." He recovers swiftly from the comment. I just think there is no chance of a happy relationship there at all. My job is to heal relationships, to make people want to be together again, to make them HAPPY."
Merlin doesn't realize that his voice has grown louder as he has continued speaking. Gwen just watches him intently, more aware of his emotions than he is. "Arthur has no chance of ever being even remotely happy with her. "
"How can you be so sure?" Gwen can see that Merlin might need an objective point of view.
"We used to take bets that you would not be able to reconcile certain couples. Remember the Butlers? I bet fifty quid that they would never take a look at each other again. But then you simply took them apart and put them together again. They had another blooming baby after you."
Merlin sighs. "There is much more to him that you notice at first sight." He avoids answering Gwen's question directly and lowers his voice, as if speaking to himself. The memory of the connection they shared is very much on his mind.
"Deep down he is a decent man who has a good heart which doesn't deserve to be permanently trampled on by someone who could not give a toss about how he feels."
Gwen bites her lips. She really really doesn't want Merlin to get hurt. Again. She met him not long after he broke up with his last boyfriend. And although pretending to be happy and cheerful on the outside and being a brilliant person to spend time with, she soon found out that he was in shambles on the inside. That he was crushed almost beyond repair. Because he knows that his condition will always make his life really difficult. It's taken him more than a year to get somewhat over it.
Gwen inwardly sighs. "Oh, Merlin, be careful, I …" She puts an arm on Merlin's hand and is just about to finish her sentence when the doorbell goes.
"A registered letter for Mr. Emrys." A courier hands over a thick white envelope. It is obvious that it comes from a rather posh firm. Merlin signs for the letter and checks out the sender. He pales as he opens the letter. It is from Arthur's lawyers. They have requested his presence in a hearing about the accident to determine the damage to Arthur's car.
Merlin's heart plummets, and he has no idea why he suddenly feels so bloody betrayed. It was obvious this was going to happen.
"Bastard!" he mumbles and chucks the letter on the sideboard in the hall. Gwen is right. Arthur isn't much better than Vivien. He couldn't care less what this will do to him, how it will affect his life. Of course Merlin does admit the accident was his fault, but he can't help feel bitter about THIS. It feels like Arthur is dragging him in front of a fucking inquisition and that the sentence to be burnt has been passed before he even gets there.
"Oh, Merlin." Gwen has seen the envelope and realizes by the look on his face that the letter is the bringer of doom.
"You want to talk about it?" she asks, putting her hand on his.
When he shakes his head, she quietly walks to the front door after casting a last look at her friend who has slumped on the sofa staring at the switched off TV.
"Night, Gwen," Merlin croaks. "And thanks. Really appreciate all the …." He waves somewhat lost between her and himself, but Gwen understands and just nods. "Give me a shout if you want," she adds in a sympathetic voice before she leaves.
Merlin collapses on his sofa as soon as the door closes, trying to sort out his tangled feelings. His head is humming in confusion. He is so puzzled about so many things. But, after all this, what is praying most on his mind is the knowledge that he has to face bloody Arthur Pendragon the next afternoon before he meets up with his lawyers on the Monday of the following week.
