"So how was your date?"

"It wasn't a date," Arthur sighed. He should have figured that Gwen's enthusiasm about his Saturday spent with Merlin would be equaled only be Leon's, who gave him a beaming grin when he arrived at work early Monday morning. The two were scarily similar, what with their curly hair and really fucking nice personalities, and if they weren't together, Arthur was going to eat his stapler.

Leon's smile was undeterred by Arthur's short and stifled commentary. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" No.

He really wasn't at all sure. There was some definite flirting, he was almost positive of that, but had Merlin expected a date? They hadn't shagged or anything, they hadn't even kissed, so if it was a date, it was a rather shitty one. If they were hanging out as two friends who just happened to be attracted to each other, it had been phenomenal.

Leon, apparently, didn't believe his blatant lies. Damn him. "Whatever you say, Arthur, whatever you say."

When, five minutes later, Gwen burst into his office unannounced, bouncing toward Arthur saying, "How was your date?" Arthur resisted the urge to slam his head repeatedly against his wooden desk.

That night, there were once again drinks at the Fallen Kings with what Arthur was beginning to dub "The Usual Crowd." Oh, dear God, he was transforming into one of them. This was not in the plans at all.

Merlin gave him a large grin when Arthur purposefully chose the seat next to his; he slid him a pint that Arthur drank eagerly from. Everyone seemed to have beaten him there except for Freya, who appeared to be the topic of conversation.

"I'm just saying, don't buy her a ring now –" Leon said to Lance slowly, as if he was explaining something to a very small child. Lance nodded along diligently, memorizing every word.

Gwaine interrupted him, though, with a cry of "Oh, for fuck's sake! We all know you're going to propose, even she knows, so just get it over with before you leave again, that way she can tell a romantic story about her soldier fiancé instead of her soldier boyfriend and marry her when you get back."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at Merlin, who was watching the banter like a tennis match until he turned back to Arthur and murmured under Gwaine's words. "Lance is trying to decide whether or not he should wait until we get back from Afghanistan to propose to Frey."

"Picked up on that, funnily enough," Arthur whispered back and Merlin smiled as the conversation continued around them.

"All I'm saying is that it's better to wait," Leon said, holding up his hands in defense as Gwaine and Gwen berated his poor choice in stance on the matter. "It'll be more special if you wait until you're back permanently and you can marry whenever you want."

"I don't know," Lance looked like a confused, wounded cocker spaniel. "I just – I want to make it all about her, you know? What would she want?"

As the three voices all began speaking at the same time, building up a crescendo that made Arthur glad that yet again, theirs was the only occupied table in the bar, Merlin heaved an overdramatic sigh before shouting.

"Shut up!" The voices quieted so that three different pairs of eyes could glare at Merlin while Arthur chuckled at the reaction. Lance just turned somewhat hopefully in Merlin's direction. The hope was not in vain, for Merlin said "Lance. Freya's been waiting for you to propose for over a year now. So tomorrow, I will go with you and we will pick out a ring and you will pop the question over dinner tomorrow night and she will say yes and it will be glorious and I will not have to deal with all of you shouting anymore because I am getting a headache."

Merlin's declaration was met by silence from his counterparts. All of them except for Arthur, who snorted under his breath. The snort broke the silence, though, for Lance's face broke the next second as he said "Oh, thank God."

"You can call me Merlin," was the cheeky response, earning him a slap on the back of the head. Arthur had to laugh again.

Naturally, because one topic had been exhausted, another had to rear its ugly head. This time, in the form of Gwaine, who turned to the pair of them with the biggest shit-eating grin Arthur had ever seen. "So, how was the first date, you two?"

Arthur groaned as he slumped into his seat, glaring at Gwaine over his beer. "Not a date."

"Yeah, obviously not a date."

Shit. Arthur had made the comment without checking to see if Merlin's opinion was the same as his. Shit, shit, shit. And now his friend's smile had suddenly become more forced, his teeth clenched as he uttered the words. Buggering fuck.

"Could've fooled me," Gwaine said in a sing-song voice as Arthur leaned forward again, trying to meet Merlin's eyes. The blue orbs were decidedly fixed on his drink, though, and Arthur mentally cursed his ineptness at realizing other people's feelings once more.

Gwen, bless her heart, seemed to realize that whatever this was had reached a breaking point, for she reached a hand out to pat Gwaine's shoulder. "Let's leave it well enough alone. Why don't you instead tell us about every horrible customer you've had today instead?"

This was, seemingly, a bribe and a cue for Gwaine to start ranting on and on about Mr. Lowes, the resident town drunk, and how he had, yet again, broken three wine glasses within one day. When Merlin announced a few minutes into the rant that he was headed for the bathroom, Arthur waited a good half a second before following him.

"Hey," he grabbed Merlin's shoulder, spinning him around just outside the door to the men's room. Merlin wasn't very easy to manhandle; he was slight and probably too skinny, but he had some muscle on him. "Look, I…I'm really sorry about that."

"Arthur, relax," Merlin said with a genuine smile and a hand loosely reaching over to grasp his shoulder. "It's alright. Look, I'm not going to lie, I think you're brilliant, but if you actually did think it was a date…Well, it's a good thing you didn't, right?"

"Wait," Arthur stopped him, confused. "What?"

"All I'm saying is that I'm leaving in two months," Merlin's smile turned bittersweet, nearly self-deprecating. "And there's always a chance I won't come back. Better not to start anything, that way I don't have to stop it."

"That's bullshit," Arthur became more and more agitated as Merlin kept speaking. Sure, he was in the military, but why was he refraining from letting himself have what he wanted while he was home and able?

"It's not like you thought it was a date," Merlin shrugged, turning his eyes downward and Arthur immediately felt the need to correct him, damn the consequences.

"I could be persuaded to think it was a date, though," Arthur tried, and Merlin's eyes jolted back upwards, a mixture of dread and hope reflected in their blue. "Or if it wasn't, then do it all over again and call the new time a date."

This was coming out all wrong, but Merlin seemed to understand him, for he sighed sadly. "Arthur…"

"Did you want it to be a date or not?" Arthur was persistent. "If you weren't leaving, would you want it to be a date?"

"Yes," Merlin's answer came without even a second's hesitation. "Absolutely. But that's not reality, Arthur."

"Nothing feels like reality here," Arthur said with a quiet, slightly desperate chuckle under his breath. "Everything feels…I don't know. Different. Like I fell down a rabbit hole and popped out in Wonderland."

Merlin beamed at him shyly. "Gorgeous, funny, and he makes Alice in Wonderland references, too. Where were you when I was eighteen?"

"I'm here now," Arthur knew he had to keep trying. He didn't know why, he just knew it was necessary. "How about…just for the summer? No strings attached. Two months, and after that, we go our separate ways."

Merlin gaped at him a bit incredulously, eyes widening with some unknowable worry. "I – I don't –"

"C'mon," Arthur said. "You said you didn't want to worry about stopping it. So how about we agree right away that we'll be done with it when September rolls around?"

Merlin hesitated. "…Alright. But only if we're clear on that point. We're done after August is through. No negotiations."

"Done," Arthur said without preamble, without even a second thought to what kind of pain that single word could cause him in the days of the future. He wasn't focused on that in the slightest. He cared much more about the way Merlin looked just slightly down at him through his long eyelashes, eyes sparkling with an emotion that Arthur couldn't recognize. "Can I kiss you now?"

"And he asks permission, too!" Merlin through his hands into the air dramatically. "I give in. You win, universe, you win."

Merlin didn't wait for Arthur to lean in; he just bridged the gap between them in a single bound, capturing Arthur's lips between his own.

The rest of the patrons at their table were going to be absolutely insufferable about this turn of events.