Arthur woke up with a jerk, looking around. Why was he in the sitting room? But then he remembered, feeling a rather warm thing along his side. He looked down and there Merlin was, practically on top of him. Firmly snuggled into Arthur's side like he was meant to be there or something. Arthur wanted to move, but he didn't want to wake him either, he knew once Merlin woke up he would be regretting it entirely. So, he just lay there, it wasn't that weird, was it? Friends did this sort of thing for other friends, right? Truth be told, he'd never done anything like this with any other friend. It was a bro-cuddle, he told himself. Yes, just bro stuff. But Arthur frowned then, because it wasn't bro stuff.

Merlin didn't seem to understand the word 'bro,' Arthur tried to tell himself it was just because Merlin was gay. But Arthur had known a lot of gay men over the years and they had all gotten what 'bro' means. This was something different entirely, but it really wasn't that bad and if no one else found out, (they wouldn't understand if they did,) then, what's the harm really?

Merlin began to wiggle in Arthur's hold and he let go, as Merlin's head slowly rose off of Arthur's chest, his eyes opened in a start and he looked at Arthur, mouth hung open, and then looked between their bodies.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything to your dignity" Arthur told him, chuckling. Merlin looked back at him now and relaxed a bit. Arthur watched it happen; it looked like a hammer had suddenly fallen from the sky and landed on top of Merlin's head. Merlin let out a moan of pain and fell away from Arthur, mumbling something about being an idiot, as he roll around on the floor.

"Yes, you are an idiot," Arthur told him, sitting up. Watching Merlin closely, he stopped moving then and sagged into the carpet beneath him. "You could go to your people, they might help you feel better…" Arthur chuckled at himself again, and Merlin looked over at him, eyes squinted. "The grass, they are your people."

"How out of it was I?" Merlin asked then, closing his eyes once again.

"You sang Wrecking Ball at the top of your lungs nearly the whole way home and successfully beat Greg in beer-pong," Arthur explained, cleverly leaving the 'I want to kiss you' bit out at all costs. "Honestly, Merlin, your beginners luck is something to marvel at."

Merlin made a moaning sound and rolled over onto his belly, shoving his face into the floor. Arthur smirked, untangling his legs from the blanket as he stood. He was just about to tell Merlin he was going to try to find something for the hangover, when a TAP, TAP, TAP made him and Merlin both jump.

"Who is that?" Merlin asked, voice muffled from the floor.

"No idea," Arthur told him, truthfully. "Whoever it is, I'll get rid of them," he said, heading to the kitchen. "Get on the couch, I'll be right back."

Arthur walked through the kitchen and over to the backdoor, where out of the tiny window, he saw Pepper. Confused about why exactly she was here, he opened the door.

"Hello you," she smiled, kissing him on the cheek and then lifted a blue container in her hands. "I brought chicken soup for Merlin."

"That was nice of you," Arthur smiled, moving so she could come in. Well, at least he didn't have to find something for the hangover now. "He's on the couch, he's just woken up."

"Does he feel awful?"

"Oh yeah," Arthur smirked. "I offered to take him to his people but…" she gave him a weird look and he laughed. "Nevermind, come on."

He led the way back into the sitting room and found Merlin lying on the couch, blanket covering his face. Arthur walked over, and pulled the blanket off of him.

"You're going to suffocate," Arthur informed. Merlin looked up, through squinty eyes and glared.

"My punishment if I do," he said, trying to roll into the couch, to hide from the light. "Someone turn off the sun...hey, I might be able to with my ma-"

"Merlin!" Arthur stopped him quickly, before he uttered the word magic. "Pepper's here, she's brought you chicken soup."

Merlin turned back to look at Arthur with wide, blue eyes. Arthur just smiled at him. And then Pepper came and stood next to him, showing Merlin the container.

"That was nice of you, but I don't fancy puking," Merlin said and Arthur laughed. Pepper nodded, though looked a tad annoyed. So, Arthur took the container from her hands and then took one of her hands in his, leading her away from the sofa.

"Let's let him sleep a bit and he can eat in awhile," he said. "Merlin, you go to sleep!"

Once they were back in the kitchen, Arthur offered her a chair to sit down in and he put the soup in the fridge, before sitting next to her.

"He must be feeling awful, what did he drink?"

"No idea," Arthur shrugged. "But whatever it was, it kicked his ass."

"Poor guy…" Pepper muttered, looking down at her hands on the table. Arthur nodded, poor guy. "How long do you think he'll be asleep for?"

Arthur shrugged again, "A few hours, I hope."

Pepper nodded and then looked over at Arthur quickly, grinning. Arthur looked back a bit confused. Her fingers then landed on his hand and trailed up his arm, to his shoulder, where her nails dug into his skin. He wasn't so confused anymore. A bit affronted, but not confused. Her lips found a spot on his neck and he tried to push her back, but she was like a leech.

"Pepper, I don't really think this-"

She made his voice die away with her lips and he struggled against her kiss. How could she possibly be thinking of such a thing when Merlin was just a few feet away sick with a hangover? It just wasn't the right time, it was rude and…there was a quiet 'umm' and Arthur shot away from his girlfriend like a bullet.

"I can't sleep out there, the sun is a bastard," Merlin was saying, looking down at the ground the whole time he spoke. Arthur felt the embarrassment on his face, but tried to ignore it.

"Did you, um...did you try laying the other way?" he asked, but the glare he was suddenly met with from Merlin, told him he had. The sitting room was so bright in the morning, Arthur had always liked that. "Why don't you try eating a bit then?"

Merlin looked from Arthur to Pepper and took a step back, a judging look on his face.

"It's fine, come sit down," Pepper told him and Arthur nodded. Merlin looked at Arthur once more, then finally came and sat down across from him. Pepper got up and into the fridge, pulling out the soup, she offered it to Merlin.

"I need a spoon, or…" he trailed off and she looked a bit sheepish as she went to the drawer and got him one out. All sitting back down now, Arthur watched Merlin, taking the container's lid off and taking a bite. He made a face. Canned, it must be, Arthur thought.

"Do you like it?" Pepper asked and Merlin nodded, smiling politely. His blue eyes landed on Arthur then and Arthur smirked. "Are you feeling any better?"

"No," Merlin said, taking another small bite of soup. It then dawned on Arthur this was the first time Merlin and Pepper had really been in the same place and talked, for more than a few seconds. He watched them.

"Well, then maybe you shouldn't have drank so much… Pepper trailed off and Merlin glared. Well...that was sort lived.

"I couldn't help it," he said, looking over at Arthur again. As he dropped the spoon into the container of soup. Arthur bit his lip. "I was pushed into it!"

"You are a grown man, you can say no, it's not that hard," Pepper told him, looking over at Arthur quickly, as if he would agree with her. Honestly, he had no idea what Greg had done to get Merlin to drink and he did not want to know. Because if he did, he might kill Greg and quite frankly, jail didn't seem like fun. "I know how Greg is, but you've got to have some back bone."

"I've got back bone!" Merlin retorted, looking a tad more annoyed.

"Obviously not very much!" Pepper barked in return. "Or you're just not very bright!"

Merlin sighed, pushing away the blue container of soup. "Thanks for the soup, but if I eat anymore I'll puke," he said, standing up. "I'm just going to-"

"Go rest in my bed, the curtains are thick in there," Arthur told him, giving him a small smile. Honestly, he wasn't really sure if what had just happened between Merlin and Pepper was a fight or not. Merlin nodded and then walked off, quickly. Arthur wasn't sure if it was because he was sick or because he wanted to get away from Pepper. Arthur turned to her after a second and she looked rather peeved.

"How much longer will he be staying?"

"Um…"

"Arthur!"

"I don't know," Arthur admitted. It was true, he didn't know how much longer Merlin would be staying, to Arthur it was already a permanent thing. He was the crazy man who slept on his couch and had somehow become his friend, even if he was loopy. Arthur thought of how lonely it would be around his house without Merlin, what had he done before Merlin showed up? He couldn't remember…

"There's something off about him…"

"I told you, he's not all up there," Arthur told her. Pepper huffed, pushing her chair back and standing up. "But he's alright though and a great guy."

"I'm not so sure," she said, as she headed to the door, Arthur followed her. "Maybe he's just grouchy from being sick."

"Yeah," Arthur agreed, but it didn't seem like Merlin was being all that grouchy, it was Pepper who seemed to be grouchy. After all, she was the one who had been doing most of the attacking. If it was attacking, Arthur still wasn't sure. She kissed his cheek then and opened the back door, stepping out.

"I'll call you later!"she said, as she headed to the cars. Arthur watched her go, a little bored. Once she was gone he high-tailed it into his bedroom, to check on Merlin, but the bed was empty. The bathroom door was open however, and from his spot, Arthur could hear Merlin moaning. Poor lad.

"Merlin, are you alright?"

"I bet death is less painful…"

Arthur chuckled a little and tensely walked into the bathroom, to find Merlin slumped over the toilet. He walked over to him and helped him up.

"Come on, I'll help you to the bed," Arthur said, dragging him from the room, over to the bed and pushing him into it. Merlin's eyes were on him as he walked back to the bathroom and grabbed a rag from under the sink, letting cool water from the faucet run over it. He rug it out then and brought it back to Merlin, lifting his head and placing it under his neck, to help keep him cool. Arthur looked down at him now and Merlin looked back, with sad eyes.

"You'll be better soon," Arthur said, encouraging, as he walked around and took a seat on the other side of the bed, feeling a bit tired himself. It was a good thing he put Merlin on the right side, Arthur liked to sleep on the left. He lowered himself down onto the mattress and turned to look at Merlin. He looked back and sighed.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess all the time."

"Hey, it's not so bad," Arthur tried. "At least you don't wet yourself."

"I can't make any promises for the future…"

Arthur laughed and lightly punched Merlin in the shoulder. Merlin made a face then and a hand went up to his head, Arthur felt badly for him as he turned back onto his back and breathed in deeply.

"Just sleep, sleep is the best thing for hangovers, tomorrow you'll feel better."


(A/N: This chapter felt kind of choppy to me, that probably doesn't make any sense to normal ppl. But anyway, so...Pepper, eh? I would like your thoughts on her. So comment, ya know. *wink.*)