for once i have nothing extra to tell you guys. Be grateful, its a very rare occasion

enjoy :)

Chapter 10

Arthur had waited patiently, well alright not exactly patiently for Merlin to return. He had seen the men that had attacked him, and he had panicked, drawing Merlin's knife to protect him. Though in hindsight, it was probably the worst mistake he had ever made.

"Thank god you're back"

Merlin had looked worried and concerned, and he had crouched down at Arthur's side, reaching out to place his hand over Arthur's wrist, his thumb stroking the skin, trying to get Arthur to loosen his grip on the knife's handle.

Arthur had looked into Merlin's eyes, and had seen the unspoken plea to hide the knife, the worry for his own safety as well as Arthurs. He had slowly prised his fingers loose and Merlin had pulled the knife away, stashing it quickly back beneath his blankets. Merlin had checked over his shoulder to see if the officer had noticed. Officer Elyan had frowned at them both, but had seemed brush it aside. He had leaned down to speak to Arthur.

"Sir? Can you tell me your name?"

"I'm Arthur, Arthur Pendragon, and this is my friend Merlin Emrys"

The officer raised his eyebrows sceptically at the mention of Arthurs name, but didn't comment on it. "My name is officer Elyan, I'm here to help you. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, I was leaving Ealdor, the gay club in south London? And I was walking, well probably more like stumbling, I was pretty drunk, trying to find a taxi to take me home. I don't know how far I'd walked before I realised there was a group of men following me…"

Arthur stuttered over his words and swallowed, trying to calm himself. He looked across the street to see if the men were still there. Yep, they were still loitering by the wall, paying him no attention. Though they were looking curiously at officer Elyan.

"a group of men started saying shit about me, so I turned around to confront them, and that's when they attacked me" His voice got rougher as the anger and panic inside him came out in his words.

"I think that's them over there" Arthur said quietly, motioning his head towards the other side of the street.

Officer Elyan turned around and gave the men a hard glance. He pulled his radio out of his breast pocket and spoke several rushed words quietly into it. He turned back to Arthur and Merlin.

"I've radioed back to the station to have some of the officer's talk to those gentlemen. For now, I'm going to call an ambulance for you" He reached down to his trouser pocket.

"NO!" Arthur flung out a hand, motioning for the officer to stop.

"Mr Pendragon? You need to get to hospital, you're badly hurt. Please try to stay calm; you don't want to make yourself any worse."

Merlin frowned at him, and sat down next to Arthur, shuffling close, so his side was pressed against Arthurs, shoulder to thigh.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Merlin shoved Arthur with his shoulder lightly.

Arthur sighed. "It's just…. Fuck I can't believe I'm going to say this… ah, look, I really care about you. I know we've only known each other for like a few hours, but I feel like you understand me, you know? I think you've been through some tough situations, even worse than mine, and… I don't want to leave you here alone, because, shit, you deserve better than this. I want you to come with me"

Merlin just sat there, unblinking, breathing quietly.

"Merlin, please….. say something" Arthur held his breath. He had pretty much just opened his heart to Merlin, his friend of just a few hours. He'd stepped up and told him how he cared for him, how he wanted to help him and needed him by his side. But that couldn't happen if Merlin wasn't willing to make an equal step of his own, and meet Arthur in the middle of this very new territory

Urgh, why did feelings have to be so complicated?

"Merlin, please… say something"

Arthur had told Merlin how much he cared for him, and that he wanted to help, and it had almost felt like he was reaching down to pull Merlin up, to take him into the light, almost like karma was rewarding Merlin for all the heartache and struggle he'd had to deal with. He had honestly just not known what to say to Arthur, how to express himself. Everything he felt for Arthur was just a bit too well, big to say out loud. If the words had escaped his mouth, they would have become solid, real. Merlin's long ingrained sense of keeping to himself had meant he had been too scared to say to Arthur that he felt exactly the same.

Although, he had tried his best.

Merlin sat there for the longest time, and Arthur had looked like he was about to bolt, his eyes were darting everywhere but to Merlin and his fingers were twitching constantly.

Merlin opened his mouth to speak, but his throat felt incredibly dry. Arthur must have caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, as he looked straight at Merlin. He just looked lost. Merlin's gaze flickered down and rested in his lap, but he could still feel Arthurs stare burning into him. He nervously reached out and clasped Arthurs restless hands in his, feeling their dampness and heat. He watched their hands, the dirt and callouses of his a sharp contrast to Arthur's smooth slender ones.

He spoke quietly, but he knew Arthur could hear him "I'm coming with you, for as long you can stand to have me, I'll be at your side."

They heard the sounds of a heated argument and Merlin looked up to see that there was now a group of officers across the street talking to the group of men Arthur had indicated, and it looked as though it was getting quite intense. One of the men shouted loudly and gestured threateningly towards the policemen. Arthur flinched at Merlin's side, and Merlin gripped his hands tighter, trying to give him some reassurance.

Officer Elyan cleared his throat, trying to gain both of their attentions. "The ambulance is just at the end of the street. It cannot get down here with all the shoppers, so the paramedics are bringing a stretcher for you" He turned to look up the street and gave a slight wave to the man and the woman who were trying to pass through the crowds with a stretcher.

Officer Elyan turned to Merlin "Mr Emrys, if you would step aside a moment, I need to ask you a few questions"

Merlin felt Arthur tense. "Why?" he asked, looking between Merlin and officer Elyan frantically. Merlin gave Arthurs hands a final squeeze before he released them and stood, giving officer Elyan a brief nod.

He turned and smiled down at Arthur, "don't worry, I'm coming back, you can't get rid me that easily, prat" he hoped some humour would help calm Arthurs fears. The paramedics arrived at that moment, and set the stretcher between the two of them.

The female paramedic knelt down beside Arthur. "My name is Gwen, and this is my colleague Gwaine. Can you tell us where you're hurt?"

Merlin felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to find officer Elyan leading him a short way down the street. He kept glancing back to check on Arthur, and he saw the paramedics where strapping him on to a stretcher. He must have been more hurt than either of them had realised.

"Mr Emrys, firstly I want to ask you if you know if that is the real Arthur Pendragon. We have had no reports of him being missing."

"Well, I only just met him this morning" Merlin was reluctant to explain his situation to a policeman. "I was sceptical at first, as he seems so different from the Arthur Pendragon in the papers, but I dunno, he seems so vulnerable and honest, so if that's who he says he is, I believe him."

Officer Elyan gave a firm nod, as if agreeing with Merlin's statement. Then in the blink of an eye, he reached out and clamped his hand around Merlin's arm. Merlin looked at him, bewildered, his body tensing at the subtle threat in the grip.

"I'm sorry to have to do this, but it's my job. Merlin Emrys, you are under arrest for the possession of an illegal weapon. You do not have to say anything, but anything you do say can and will be used in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense"

The knife! This god damn self-righteous policeman had noticed it, and now he was getting punished for it. For gods sake, this is why he never trusted authority.

He felt his arms being twisted behind his back, and the cold bite of the metal handcuffs against his wrists. He pulled and twisted, trying to get to Arthur, to keep them together, to get them away from this living nightmare, but it was no use.

"ARTHUR!"