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Random fact about me: I always lock my bedroom door so nobody can come in unless I let them
Chapter 8
"This has to stop." Merlin said in an annoyed tone as he sat at his desk chair. "You can't just sneak into people's houses whenever you feel like it."
"Sorry." Arthur apologized with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You're soaking wet." Merlin pointed out.
"Well spotted." Arthur replied sarcastically.
He placed the teddy bear on the pillow then stood up from the bed leaving a large wet patch from where he had sat. Merlin glared at the wet spot before angrily stripping the covers off his bed and chucking them into the corner. He turned back to Arthur intent on telling him off but when he saw him shaking from cold he didn't have the heart to.
"You shouldn't have walked in the rain." Merlin told him. "You could get ill you know. How did you even get home before us?"
"I'm a fast walker." He answered. "I don't suppose I could have a shower."
"Fine." Merlin agreed since both his mum was out. "I'll find you some clothes to wear and I'll make you some hot chocolate and you can warm up in front of the fire."
"Thanks Merlin." Arthur smiled sincerely before stripping his sodden shirt off and dropping it carelessly onto the carpet.
"You're welcome." Merlin flushed as he took in the sight of his pale torso and the silver piercing in his left nipple.
The older boy then unbuckled his belt and kicked off his jeans and underwear standing unashamedly naked in Merlin's bedroom. Letting out a squeak of embarrassment, Merlin slammed his hands over his eyes. He heard Arthur chuckle in amusement before moving past him and heading to the bathroom for a shower.
Gathering up Arthur's wet clothes, Merlin made his way downstairs and loaded the garments into the tumble dryer. He then headed back upstairs and searched through his wardrobe. Looking through, he grabbed a pair of blue jeans and a plain black jumper. Thinking that offering to lend out his underwear would be a little bit too weird he decided Arthur would just have to go commando until his own boxers were dried.
As he walked across the landing towards the bathroom with the clothes in hand, Arthur emerged with a towel wrapped loosely around his slender waist. Clearing his throat awkwardly and forcing himself to avert his gaze, Merlin handed him the clothes.
"Cheers." He replied without a trace of embarrassment as he returned to the bedroom to dress.
Unable to stop himself, Merlin followed Arthur and his blue eyes scanned over him as he dressed. An odd feeling rippled in his stomach at the sight of Arthur's tightly formed ass before his eyes journeyed up to take in the image of the dragon tattoo on his left shoulder blade.
"Like what you see?" Arthur asked cheekily as he pulled the too small jumper over his head.
"I didn't mean to stare." He muttered as his cheeks pinked. "So, you have an eyebrow piercing, a nipple piercing and a tattoo of a dragon."
"That would be correct." Arthur answered. "Now how about that hot chocolate?"
Merlin nodded before hurrying downstairs and flicking on the kettle. Arthur followed him down and leaned casually against the kitchen wall with his blue eyes fixed upon the dark haired boy as he bustled round the room making them a drink each.
"Sugar?" Merlin asked.
"Nah, just milk." Arthur replied. "So…do you have any tattoos?"
"Haha, do I look like I have tattoos?" Merlin responded.
"Nah not really." Arthur admitted. "But there's no harm asking."
"Here." Merlin said handing him his steaming mug of hot chocolate.
He nodded his thanks and blew over the rim of the cup before taking a small sip. Holding his own drink carefully in his hands Merlin led the way into the living room. He set his cup down on the table then turned on the fire and the two of them kneeled in front of it to warm up.
"Does Lancelot really love me?" Merlin blurted out unexpectedly.
"What?" Arthur replied as he quirked his un-pierced eyebrow in shock.
"Nothing. Forget it." He told him. "Well does he?" He asked.
"Sure he does." Arthur answered. "He's told you that he loves you right, what more proof do you need?"
"I just…at that club, there was a girl." Merlin explained. "Ian."
"Ian?" Arthur asked with a laugh. "What kind of a name is that?"
"Ian is short for Vivian if you must know." Merlin said.
"Right. Well what about this Ian girl?" Arthur asked as he shifted his body round so he didn't burn as much from the heat of the fire.
"She said that Lancelot's a dickhead." Merlin answered quietly.
"Well he is." Arthur replied as if it were obvious.
"Don't say that." Merlin frowned. "He's just misunderstood. All my friends say he's no good for me and this Ian girl basically said the same thing. I don't even know how they know each other."
"She's probably never spoken to him." Arthur said reasonably. "I mean I saw you talking to her at the club and I didn't recognize her so I doubt Lance even knows who she is. She probably just heard stuff about him from someone else."
"What kind of stuff?" Merlin asked. "What could people say about Lance to make random girls declare him to be a dickhead…and why are you calling him one? You're supposed to be his best friend."
"Well I am his best mate." Arthur answered. "So I know better than anyone what a dickhead he can be but when I call him one I mean it in an affectionate way."
"I don't think he's a dickhead." Merlin said vehemently.
"Don't you?" Arthur challenged lifting an eyebrow again.
"No, of course not." Merlin scoffed. "I love him, I could never think ill of him."
"Then why did you bring up what Ian said about him in the first place?" Arthur asked. "If you really didn't think he was a dickhead you would have ignored what that girl said."
Arthur's blue eyes bored into Merlin's and for a long while both were captivated. At some point Arthur's face had moved closer to Merlin's, or had he moved his closer to Arthur's? However it happened, Merlin chose to pull away the very moment he noticed their close proximity. He shattered their eye contact and finished off his drink before standing up and taking his cup out to place in the kitchen sink.
"He left me alone in that awful place." Merlin said when Arthur joined him in the kitchen. "I hated every second I was in there. Why did he leave me there alone?"
"I don't know." Arthur answered honestly. "Maybe that's something you should ask him. The two of you ought to be honest with one another since you're so in love."
"We are in love." Merlin insisted not liking the mocking way Arthur had said it. "Why does everyone find it so hard to believe that? Is it really such a shock that a good-looking guy could be interested in someone like me?"
"Merlin…" Arthur began but he trailed off not knowing what to say.
"Why do you keep coming round my house anyway?" Merlin asked him. "It's weird. We're not even friends; I don't even like you that much. Does Lance know you sneak into my bedroom whenever you please?"
"No." He answered as he hung his head low obviously upset by the words the younger boy had said.
"What would he do if I told him about your secret little visits?" Merlin asked.
"Probably just laugh." Arthur said. "It's hard to tell with Lancelot. The guy's unpredictable and…unreadable. Best friend or not, I never know what he's thinking."
"You're unreadable too most of the time." Merlin told him. "And you're infuriating the rest."
The sound of the tumble dryer stopped and Merlin moved over to it to unload Arthur's now dry clothes. He handed the bundle over to him wordlessly before taking a seat on the couch and flicking on the T.V.
Clothes in hand, Arthur headed upstairs and used Merlin's bedroom to change back into his own clothes. Fully dressed, he looked about the room and spied a bracelet on the desk. The bracelet consisted of three different coloured pieces of leather that were plaited together, blue, black and silver. Without even thinking, Arthur snatched up the bracelet and tied it on to his wrist then covered it with his sleeve before heading back downstairs.
He observed Merlin for a while but the pale boy did not look back at him. Sighing, Arthur looked out the window and saw that the rain had eased up to a gentle drizzle.
"Laters Merlin." He called to him before exiting through the front door and heading home.
To Be Continued
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Love and Hugs, IceQueenRia xxx
