A/N: I had a blast with this one. Hope you all enjoy it

Title: Connected

Prompt: Go to craigslist's Missed Connections and pick one to write a story about.

Words: 1000

Warnings: None

Summary: They were called Missed Connections for a reason, weren't they?

The airport was bustling with people. Crying infants and their mothers, arms laden with baby bags, car seats, and various toys; absorbed suit-and-tie businessmen with their briefcases delegating on their smartphones; families back from vacation, sunburnt and windblown, dragging their rolling luggage behind them.

But Merlin only had eyes for one person.

A lone fight attendant dressed in the standard orange button up and blue striped tie of Spirit Airlines—Merlin would know, he flew with them often enough—sat two tables down from Merlin's own outside the Starbucks by the eastern terminal. The man was reading a novel straight off the bestsellers list as he sipped his coffee, blond hair tickling his brow. His broad shoulders were set back, at ease, leaning against the back of the chair and even though he was sitting, Merlin could tell he was fairly tall, perhaps almost as tall as him.

Merlin knew he was staring, but he couldn't help it. The flight attendant was gorgeous and part of him wished the man would look up and catch him staring. And if he happened to smile at him in response, that would be warmly welcomed. Or walk over and offer to buy him a drink, maybe even dinner, a hotel room for the two of them, a gold ring. Gay marriage was legal now, it could happen.

Merlin shook his head, dislodging the fantasy before it went any further. A woman's monotone voice sounded overhead, announcing the boarding of a flight heading somewhere from some gate, Merlin wasn't really paying much attention.

But the gorgeous flight attendant was. He looked up toward where Terminal 2 branched off, clearly listening, before he looked at the watch on his wrist. Merlin looked toward the large clock set high above the walkway toward Terminal 2. 2:10. He still had half an hour before his flight even began boarding.

When he looked back over at Blond and Gorgeous, the man had closed his book and was gathering his things. Merlin's heart dropped. He had no idea what he hoped to do or what he thought was going to happen but it didn't matter, really. Nothing had happened. No eye contact, no flirty smile, not even a glance in his direction. The man didn't even know he existed and Merlin didn't have the courage to remedy that on his own. All he could do was watch as Blond and Gorgeous walked away, trying and failing to not gaze longingly at his fit ass.

Just once he wished his life could play out like a cliche romantic film. Though if his life were to be a cliche romance, one of them would have to be a woman. And Merlin just didn't walk that heavily beaten path. He preferred the road less traveled, one ideally shared with a gorgeous blond flight attendant.

He sat at the table for another ten minutes, sulking and sipping his sugary caramel frappuccino, despairing over the possibly-but-not-likely missed opportunity before gathering his luggage and bag and making his way to his gate.

His sulking didn't let up as he boarded his flight, the cheerful greeting of a brunet flight attendant welcoming him on board only managing to make him more disappointed that she wasn't the gorgeous blond man. He sighed, sitting in his seat by the aisle, determined to put the man from his mind. It was over, nothing was ever going to come from his sulking. He needed to move on and forget about the man.

"Hello sir," a voice greeted him from the aisle and Merlin turned his attention to the speaker. His breath caught in his throat. There stood Blond and Gorgeous, a beaming smile on his face, his blue eyes sparkling at Merlin. "My name is Arthur, I'll be attending to you this flight. Would you like something to drink before we take off?"

It took Merlin a few beats to realize he should probably respond if he wanted to not look like a completely fool. "I, um, no thanks. I'm alright. Uh, thank you….Arthur." The name felt like a caress sliding off his tongue.

Merlin might have imagined it but Arthur's smile seemed to grow when Merlin said his name. "Let me know if you need anything," he said, laying a gentle hand on Merlin's shoulder and holy hell Merlin had definitely not imagined that.

"Oh, I will. I definitely will." It was fate, it had to be. And Merlin was so screwed.

He spent the entirety of the three hour flight, watching Arthur stroll up and down the aisle, his fit ass on display and his blue eyes catching Merlin's every once in awhile. Every time the man came by Merlin to check on him or offer him a drink, he would leave with a touch to his arm or his shoulder, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. Merlin had no idea what to make of it, any of it.

But as the plane landed and Merlin retrieved his things, he couldn't help but feel that sense of longing toward the flight attendant and he wanted so bad for something to come from all this, whatever this was. He paused in his seat briefly, allowing his seat mate to squeeze out ahead of him as he quickly prepared himself. Then he gathered his courage and made his way to the front of the plane. The brunet flight attendant stood there just inside the plane, wishing everyone a good day and Arthur waited by the plane door, doing the same. As Merlin approached, he caught Arthur's gaze and the other man's eyes brightened.

Merlin gathered his courage and carefully slipped the folded piece of paper he had been holding into Arthur's shirt pocket, looking up into his startled blue eyes. "If you're ever in LA, call me."

Arthur just beamed at him, holding out a folded piece of paper of his own to Merlin. "I was going to tell you the same thing."