Title: A toy with sadness

Pairings: Merlin/Arthur

Rating: M

Warnings: slash (yaoi), possessive-jealous!Arthur, explicit sexual content, smut, non-con/dub-con, (something similar to) slavery and mentions of under age sexual activities (I will warn you again in the chapters where it appears, but it isn't too explicit and the boys are around 15 or 16 years at that moment)

Summary: modern AU. Merlin has been Arthur's friend/toy since they were children, but could that be changed?

Disclaimer: All credits go to BBC Merlin and the mangaka CJ Michalski.

Word count for this chapter: around 1,800

AN: Thanks for all the followings, favourites and reviews this story is still receiving! It really makes me happy to know that you are liking this. This chapter is shorter than the last one and it ends in a kind of a cliffhanger (please don't kill me), but it's part of an extremely long chapter (in the manga) and I had to divide it in three parts (this one and two more). Remember, the italics are flashbacks. There are mentions of under age sexual practices in there, but nothing explicit. Also, I have answered your reviews for last chapter at the end of this instalment. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Now, enjoy!

-~oOo0oOo~-

Chapter 3.- Forbidden toy.

Merlin had borrowed one of Arthur's toys to play with it for a while. It was one of his remote-controlled planes. He had seen Arthur play with them several times and he had always wanted to try them because he loved the way they soared and flew in the sky when Arthur operated them. That's why he took advantage of one of that rare occasions when Arthur went out with his father to play with the small plane in the garden.

Unfortunately, he wasn't so good at it and the plane ended in the branches of one of the many trees in the garden. At first, Merlin looked at it worried. What the hell was he going to do? He didn't want Arthur to know he had touched one of his toys. So, he climbed up the tree and supported himself on the biggest and strongest branches while making an effort to reach for the plane. He almost had it, just a little bit more...

"Merlin!" that was Arthur shouting. "What are you doing up there?"

"Arthur!" Merlin flinched and turned around to see Arthur running towards him, but the sudden movement made him release a branch. Merlin slipped unable to catch it again and he landed on the ground with a loud thud.

Merlin recovered quickly from the fall. His back hurt a little but he didn't feel like he had broken anything. Then, he noticed the plane was just by his side with a wing cut off. Merlin took it in his hands and tried to fix it.

"The plane... It's broken..." he said still a little out of breath. "I... I'm sorry, Arthur!" And then he lifted his eyes towards Arthur and saw him right there looking at him with frowned eyebrows and a strange expression as if he were trying to control himself. As if he didn't want to... cry? No, it couldn't be, Arthur never cried. It had to be something else...

"Merlin!" Arthur burst out finally. "Don't you ever do this kind of thing again, understood?"

Gods, he seemed so angry. Of course, he wouldn't cry. It was just because Merlin had broken one of his toys.

"Yes," Merlin conceded. "I'm really sorry." And he bowed his head waiting for a reprimand and the punishment Arthur would undoubtedly impose him. But it never came.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Arthur asked instead.

And then he knelt beside Merlin and ordered him to strip right there. Merlin of course opposed. Arthur had done those kind of things to Merlin a few times still and they were right in the open. However, Merlin's protests were ignored and Arthur made sure to examine his body thoroughly in search for any scratch he could lick. He made Merlin pay for the broken toy by replacing it.

-~oOo0oOo~-

As Arthur moved inside him, Merlin remembered that little plane he once broke. They may have grown up after that, but things were still the same. As that plane, Merlin felt like one of Arthur's toys and in that moment Arthur was playing with him.

With a final thrust Arthur came inside an exhausted Merlin. He had already come two times by Arthur's hands or mouth, before Arthur decided to possess him completely. Merlin's pants resonated in the quiet bedroom as he lay naked on the bed. Arthur, on the other hand, stood up and pulled up his underpants and sleeping trousers.

"Sorry, Merlin. I went overboard." Arthur turned towards the bed and stared down at the beautiful boy lying on it, his eyes half closed, his mouth half open and his body covered in sweat and come, irrefutable proofs of their past actions. "But," Arthur continued, "it's your fault for making me angry."

Merlin didn't respond. Arthur sat down on the edge of the bed and caressed his face softly. "I will ask you once more," Arthur asked as Merlin closed his eyes. "Where did you sneak off today, Merlin?" Still no reply. "You should be more inclined to talk now, right?"

Merlin simply shook his head. He wasn't willing to tell Arthur about what he was doing that same morning and that annoyed Arthur so much that he quickly grabbed Merlin's arms and sat him up so that they were face to face.

"Did you do something you can't tell me?" Arthur asked with anger. "Merlin?" And he tightened his hold on him.

"Arthur!" Merlin panted. "Please, stop! We've just..." Merlin trailed off not wanting to mention what they were up to a few minutes ago. However, it didn't help to appease Arthur at all.

"It seems I'll have to make your body clearly understand who you really belong to," Arthur grunted in Merlin's ear and that was all the warning he got before Arthur pushed him down against the bed and pulled down his garments swiftly to join their bodies once more.

This time Arthur wasn't delicate either as he grabbed Merlin's hips with force and ground himself against him. In no time, Merlin was a mess of moans that accompanied perfectly Arthur's groans, the creaks of the bed and the obscene sound of flesh slapping against flesh.

That frenzy pace didn't last too long since both of them were tired and when they came, Arthur collapsed on top of Merlin as they recovered. He was still furious because Merlin refused to tell him about that morning, but sex always seemed to relax him and soon he fell asleep his arms hugging Merlin possessively against his chest.

However, sleep didn't take Merlin so easily. He may have been tired, but he was also very worried. He definitely couldn't tell Arthur where he had gone because then he would be ten times angrier with him and he would surely try to stop him. But at the same time Merlin knew that if things went on like that, he would never be nothing more than Arthur's toy forever.

No, he couldn't tell Arthur he had escaped earlier from school so that he could go to an interview to work for a company.

Some days ago, Merlin had gone to the counselling room and talked with his counsellor about his future. The counsellor had seemed quite surprised when Merlin had told him he wanted to quit his studies. After all, it was his last year at high school and of course with the Pendragon family's support he wouldn't have any problem to attend any university of his choice or, more precisely, of Arthur's choice, since Merlin was sure he would be the one to decide for the both of them.

Anyway, he had thought about it thoroughly and he wanted to get a job after graduating from school so that he could stand on his own two feet. The counsellor had been very shocked at this. He knew he already worked for the Pendragon family and he had their support, so he hadn't seen any need for him to quit his current job, which gave him so many opportunities, and risk with another one.

The counsellor hadn't been very convinced when he had given Merlin some tips to find a job, but as Merlin had seemed so sure himself, he had ended arranging some interviews in companies or shops for Merlin to try and then decide.

As Merlin looked at the face of a sleeping Arthur he knew it was the right thing to do. If he continued 'working' for the Pendragon family, he would continue being a mere toy in a box, Arthur's 'partner' as he liked to call him, for the rest of his life. But now, he had a chance to leave that box and he was going to take it. He would be able to survive on his own, without depending on Arthur or his family and, more important, he could even be able to help his own family too. The decision was made. Merlin was going to leave Arthur.

With that Merlin relaxed and closed his eyes ready for sleep to take him. It was then that Arthur opened his a bit and looked at the boy in his arms with fondness. He was still mad at him and he would discover what Merlin hid from him, no matter the means, but he loved seeing Merlin's sweet face while sleeping as much as having sex with him. He was a partner he could never get tired of.

-~oOo0oOo~-

A few days later, Gwen handed Merlin a letter he had received from the company he had made the interview for. Merlin was so happy about it that although he noticed that it had already been opened, he simply thought it must have been because it was not sealed properly. His mind was too busy hoping it was good news.

And they were good indeed. In the letter he was informed that he had passed the first interview and was included in the next step... A second interview directly with the staff manager of the company. Merlin was very excited about it. In the first interview there were hundreds of people and the interviews were conducted by mere employees. They had told them then that just a few would be taken into account for a second interview with the manager who would assess them more accurately since he would be the one to make the final decision.

Being one of the few people that was going to meet the manager made Merlin feel nervous, but at the same time he knew that meant he had a better chance to obtain the job now. They wouldn't have selected him for that kind of interview if it wasn't likely that he could do it.

Merlin was ecstatic with the possibility of starting a real job very soon. It was true that his education level wasn't very high, after all he hadn't finished high school yet and probably his wage wouldn't be very high either, but they had made clear that with hard work he would be able to climb up in the company. Anyway, he just wanted to be able to maintain himself and send some money to his family.

However, it wasn't definitive. He had to pass that last interview and more important, he had to keep it secret. Arthur couldn't know anything about it or everything would be over. He would be beyond furious and Merlin would have to pay for it. And worse, Arthur would be more alert and Merlin wouldn't be able to look for a new chance again in case this one failed.

Merlin put the letter in his pocket quickly and tried to act as usual in order not to give anything away. Unbeknown to him Arthur was watching him hidden behind a corner of the same corridor with his arms crossed over his chest and a worried frown on his face.

-~oOo0oOo~-

AN2: As I told you this is based on a manga and I have all the story written down (I'm simply editing it before posting), so I know how this is going to end. Here you have some answers:

GoodNight and rhombi360: I'm sorry to say Gwaine isn't going to be back in this fic. I thought he was perfect to fill this character because of his carefree nature. For Merlin it wasn't such a hard blow because he's almost used to being left behind by everyone and Arthur has never let anyone get really too close to him. Another reason for Gwaine to leave it's because Merlin is the one who has to stand up against Arthur and try to change things.

cristina reid and Adnarim Neko: This chapter confirms your fears, Merlin is trying to escape from Arthur. The following two chapters would be about that and then there is only an epilogue left. You will have to wait and see how it ends...

Next chapter will be up in a day or two.

Thanks for reading!