Merlin was lying besides Arthur. He was tired to the bone but somehow he couldn't settle down to sleep. He had moved a bit to make Arthur more room and Arthur had put his arm under Merlin's pillow. Merlin was happy that Arthur was gently doing what he had done before he had known any of this, but Merlin wanted to be closer… He wanted to feel that they were now officially dating. He wanted to hear Arthur say or do something to reassure him one more time before he fell asleep. He knew it was stupid of him, hadn't Arthur done everything for him already? Still it was a stubborn feeling and Merlin found himself restless.
Arthur was lying on his side, facing Merlin, his blanket only reaching to his chest and Merlin did his best to not look at Arthur's bare shoulders in the dim light they had in the room so he kept his eyes on the ceiling. He couldn't ask Arthur for more, so he tried his best not to let his selfish feelings show.
"Merlin… are you still awake?" Arthur whispered and Merlin nodded. He wasn't sure if Arthur could see that but he probably at least felt his head move against the hand under Merlin's pillow. "I just want you to know that I will never do anything you don't want me to… If you don't want me to touch you or- or you know, you can just tell me…I won't get mad or anything like that…" Merlin blushed at that. This statement made just the kind of warmth Merlin had wanted to spread inside of him. He wished he had something to reply to that, but his mind couldn't come up with anything that didn't feel stupid to say out loud, so he nodded again glad that Arthur couldn't see his blush.
"Can I still kiss you?" Arthur finally asked after a moment of quite awkward silence with a quiet whisper and Merlin turned his face towards him. He couldn't see Arthur's face well and Merlin wondered what had he done to make Arthur think that he didn't want to kiss him anymore… He had to do something about that now so he also turned to his side and kissed Arthur on the lips. Arthur seemed to relax and he answered to the kiss first softly and then with a little bit more passion. Or maybe desperation, it was hard to tell after this day.
The kiss didn't last especially long and after he pulled back, Merlin yawned. He really was tired. Arthur had put his free arm around Merlin's shoulder when they had kissed and now he used the same arm to pull Merlin to his chest. There were two thick blankets in between them but Arthur moved his own blanket so he could press Merlin to his chest. Merlin's cheek made contact with his shoulder and he was very aware that Arthur's bare chest was just one layer of blanket away. Merlin could hear Arthur's steady heartbeat and when Arthur didn't move, but relaxed to the soft pillows, he found himself relax in Arthur's embrace. Merlin felt his self-consciousness melt away and he felt sleep wash over him. He fell asleep breathing in the soft smell of Arthur's skin and listening to his heart beat. In his strong arms he was safe and happy.
Arthur saw Merlin close his eyes and fall asleep in seconds. He kept watching his sleeping face in the dark for a while. The light of the city lights wasn't strong this high, but it was coming behind Arthur's back so he could see Merlin's features a bit better than Merlin saw his. Merlin looked thin and tired and Arthur's heart ached of the thought that he hadn't seen this before. Oh, how much he wished that he had talked with Hunith instead of changing the subject every time she had asked how Merlin was doing in school or at football or just generally. He wasn't even sure why he had done that really, maybe it was the same thing he had learned to do with his father? Not trusting adults with his own problems had spread to cover for Merlin too and while Arthur felt that he had been stupid enough not to notice it, he had somehow sensed that Merlin had a secret and he had subconsciously helped to keep it.
Arthur kissed Merlin's forehead softly trying to silently say how sorry he was before settling himself comfortable without letting go of Merlin. He was hugging a cocoon of blanket that held Merlin inside of it. Even if he could do nothing to change what had happened, when he looked at Merlin's sleeping form, he could feel happy and relieved of how Hunith had taken all this and he was full of pride of Merlin's words. Merlin had told his mother that Arthur was his boyfriend… He stored that moment in his mind and played it enough times he wouldn't forget any nuance of it ever. It gave him some peace of mind.
There would be much to do tomorrow and maybe it would take time for them to get another chance to be like this but to Arthur, everything would eventually be alright. He now knew how Merlin truly felt and Merlin knew how he felt and they were not hiding it anymore. They would face difficult times and one of those would be tomorrow when they would probably have to face the reality in some form or the other, but right now Arthur decided not to dwell on that. but concentrate on what was right now instead.
He also fell asleep feeling Merlin in his arms and they both slept until Hunith woke them up at midday to eat some lunch with her. Neither of them had seen any dreams nor moved from their position the whole night. Arthur half heartedly complained that his arm was sore the way even Merlin didn't take him seriously and Hunith just giggled at them when Merlin told Arthur that it was his own fault for leaving his arm lying around.
If it had been up to Hunith, she would have divided herself in two. She didn't want to let Merlin out of her sight, but she had to go. She needed to make sure that legally, whatever would happen, Uther Pendragon would not be Merlin's legal guardian as soon as possible. What had once seemed like a very nice gesture, taking legally Merlin as a part of his family, felt now dangerous and revolting. She also knew that they couldn't stay in this hotel forever and she didn't feel right using that man's money even if there was a hint of revenge mixed in.
After a late breakfast Merlin seemed almost serenely relaxed and when Hunith hesitantly asked if he would be alright if she went to run some errands, Merlin had no objections. He asked if he and Arthur could go and eat out and when Hunith told him that of course they could, Merlin gave her the most beautiful smile. Hunith couldn't even remember when she had seen that smile on his son's face and while it didn't match the mood she was in, it made her heart weep with joy of how happy her son seemed and with agony of how those smiles had been lost for so much time.
After pulling her son to a tight embrace and rocking Merlin back and forth while ignoring how Merlin protested in a 'mom! I'm too old for this' -way, she made them promise to answer Gwaine's phone at all times and stay together and near the hotel before she left. She would have a lot to do and she was determined to get everything done as soon as possible, she couldn't be away long.
The second she was out of the hotel, she took her own phone out. She would ask for all the help she could. It hurt that she would have to lay herself bare and admit how she had failed in the most important purpose of her life, but she would do that. She didn't matter here, her son did and she would do anything to do what little she could.
Gwaine had seen better days in his life. After he had watched Merlin and Arthur leave with Hunith, he had started to work with new vigour. He had been able to complete the timeline with some help from Leon by the time Freya made her appearance.
To Gwaine she seemed a bit shy and he was quite sure that if she wasn't working and depending on her profession, she would not appeared even this confident. Freya had some papers and a memory stick with her and with Percy's (with who she looked surprisingly comfortable with) help she opened a file on the computer that was in the corner of the room and turned on the projector that was connected to the computer. The first wall sized picture that popped in front of them was of Merlin's bruise and Gwaine had to close his eyes for a second to prepare himself for what he knew he would have to see far too soon.
"Based on the answers Merlin provided to me during my interview, it seems that the multiple rapes he has been victim of, have been violent and have damaged his health and mental state." Freya started and Gwaine could just blink of how much surer and more confident Freya sounded compared to when she had introduced herself.
"He has been vomiting on regular bases because of the stress the abuse has caused to him causing him to lose weight. He has also told me that he had been physically restricted and hit and choked during the intercourses. This all can be seen in these photos." She continued and clicked something on the computer and the picture changed.
"Some of the damage has clearly faded and is at least five days old, but I'll concentrate on the most recent rape." The picture was of Merlin's back, he had bruises on his side and when Freya changed the picture to show Merlin's neck better, Gwaine could see dot like bruises all over Merlin's neck.
"There are several spot-like bruises in Merlin's neck and he told me that the predator used to silence him if he yelled. These could have been made by his fingers. The force to make these kind of bruises is intense, we have to be thankful that he didn't brake Merlin's neck or damaged his larynx." Gwaine looked at the bruises in Merlin's tiny neck. It was revolting. This all was revolting.
"There are many bruises and wounds on Merlin's body caused by rough handling and this one in here in particularly, is caused by hitting." Freya changed the pictures while she was talking and Gwaine saw Freya had added a description to every picture, for example 'bruise, left tight, cause: forced legs to open' 'chafe, right and left wrists, cause: handcuffs?'. Gwaine felt ill.
"Moving on from the obvious, here we can see how UV light shows bodily fluids on Merlin's skin. He has obviously showered and he told me as much, but there are still something in his genital area and I have taken samples with it all and the results show that the DNA is not from Merlin. I still need to take a sample from our supposed predator." Gwaine breathed in deeply and tried to forget who it was in the pictures. He would rather concentrate on thinking of how he would find a way to use this all against the bastard.
There was enough material to last over an hour with all the questions they had and even after that Freya stayed to help while Gwaine circled everything from the timeline that matched with the medical examination with red. Leon had printed all the photos out and numbered them.
Freya was still there when the evidence collecting team arrived. It was lead by Pelinor (the second oldest) and he dismissed the rest and left himself to tell everything he had seen. The room Gwaine had seen, had been Arthur's (he had guessed as much even before Arthur had told him so) and there was not much to be found. It had been Merlin's room that had been very much the picture of the abuse he had gone through.
Apart from what Gwaine already knew had happened today, including cans of beer, broken handcuffs and bloodstains on the floor, there had been traces of bodily fluids visible to UV-light all over the place. Some were not so easy to tell what they were, but there were some that held no question of what they were. Spray like patterns in Merlin's mattress and blanket and even pillow and floor suggested that Uther had not only ejaculated inside of Merlin and some droplets here and there could very well match what Merlin had told them about him having to perform oral sex often.
But what really caught Gwaine's attention were large stains on the wooden floor. There were two different kinds and Pellinor was able to tell them that one large one that looked like some-one had dragged himself over it, was most probably blood for it had only shown itself when sprayed with luminol. The same went with many droplet like stains on Merlin's bathroom walls and some other surfaces. There was a sharp line where the droplets stopped and there were none in the floor or toilet seat and Pellinor suggested that their maid might have cleaned the floor with a strong bleach such as peroxide. They had added her to the list of people they would have to interview. That the stains were not removed like that from everywhere suggested that Merlin had cleaned up himself and was not aware that the stains could be seen with this method and most probably the predator had no part in the clean up.
With all this, the team had been able to make a report to a prosecutor and it was on it's way before midnight. After that Gwaine's father drove Gwaine home and told him to be at the station at half past eight. The prosecutor would contact them probably around nine o'clock.
Gwaine had not even made it to his bed, he had fallen asleep on his couch when he had made the mistake of trying to eat something before heading to sleep.
In the morning Gwaine was hungrier that he could ever remember being. He made himself breakfast and he thanked the heavens that a) he owned a store that sold food and b) that he was so used on waking up at seven everyday that he had woken up without the alarm he had forgot to set. He was on his way already when his father called to ask if he needed a ride. As if, Gwaine knew that he had just wanted to make sure that he was awake and not late.
As his father had predicted, they got a call quarter past nine that a lawyer that had been appointed for Merlin was on his way to ask for details. Gwaine was not too happy about that, he didn't like lawyers and he didn't want to leave Merlin's fate in any of them hands. This conversation was going to be hard.
The lawyer turned out to be around his fifties, he was fit and he didn't reek of money and that at least Gwaine could appreciate. He was soft spoken and there was real intelligence behind his eyes and Gwaine was sure that even if Merlin wouldn't be exactly comfortable with him, at least he wouldn't be afraid either. He introduced himself as Iseldir.
After listening almost quietly to Gwaine's summary of the story and listening the record of Merlin's interview, he seemed to think for a moment. "The thing is, that I have no doubt that this boy has told the truth… The evidence and his story are matching in every way and I don't even think he has exaggerated. This is a really horrendous crime." Ok, Gwaine had to admit that he had been a bit prejudiced in this case.
"But I regret to point out that all the evidence up till now have been substantial and I'm sure that the defence will point that out too. They will make it seem it's a word against word." He continued and Gwaine's mood darkened again. "The only opinion we have while hoping the DNA test will give us some definite proof, is to prepare Merlin to stand in the court and do everything we can so he won't crack under the pressure."
Before any of them could even blink, Gwaine had stood up and his chair fell down of the sheer force of the speed of his movement. "There is no way, Merlin is going to have to live through that." He put his foot down firmly. He would not let this happen.
"Unfortunately there is not much choice if we want to take this to court. If the victim wants, I can try to settle this with mutual agreement. We could probably make a deal of Mr. Pendragon having to withdraw his custody over Merlin and we could get a restraining order, maybe even a little money for his pains could be involved, but that would be it. The crime would go unpunished and even restraining order could be quite difficult to arrange if the defence got wind that we are reluctant of going to court."
Gwaine breathed hard and he stayed still only because this person didn't seem to like what he was talking about. "There are some screens we can put in place to prevent Merlin having to see the predator…" Iseldir tried, but that was nearly not enough for Gwaine and he said in a quiet and dangerous tone "That's not enough." That didn't seem to affect Iseldir who continued "Or we could arrange a live chat in the courtroom-"
"Don't you get it, that is not enough! Do you have any idea of how much that would take out of him? He would have to see that slime ball and who knows how his lawyer will try to break him!" Gwaine snapped.
"I know. But the law is how it is and we will need Merlin to be present to fight. I have already given you the other possibility." Iseldir frowned at the lack of Gwaine's professionalism. "But if you believe he is telling the truth, can't we just use what we already have?" Gwaine's tone was getting a desperate edge and Iseldir's features softened a bit.
"Unfortunately not. Even if in this case it would be better for the victim, you have to think about this for a moment. As an officer, you must know that the laws are in place for a reason. If I could now just march in and tell the judge that I think this boy is telling the truth, then how about in a different case? A lawyer with degree, education and contacts stands in front of a judge and tells their client, who has money to pay for them, is innocent or a victim of a crime and someone who wasn't fortunate enough to have that kind of a lawyer would get sentenced or without help because of that. That would damage the foundations of our legal system where everyone has an opportunity to defend themselves. It would be just a debate between two lawyers to see which was better at argumentation."
Gwaine couldn't really argue against that and he slowly sat down. He had forgotten that his chair had fallen down, but to his luck Percy had noticed this and he picked the chair up and placed it under Gwaine just in time. He felt empty and how much he wanted to take this pressure he was constantly feeling out to the lawyer, he couldn't. Iseldir had not given him the opportunity.
"If any new evidence or witnesses would arise, we could maybe have more opinions, but so far we don't and I think it would be better to prepare us to the worst." Iseldir continued with a more gentle tone. He must have seen it all during the years he had been doing this kind of job and still he seemed to believe in justice. Gwaine was starting to find respect for this man. In a bit wary way of course...
"We have a witness." Leon interrupted them and Iseldir snapped his head to look at the officer who had only introduced himself to him so far. "The predators son. He heard it happen once and we have his full testimony." The lawyer was silent for a moment and then he looked at his papers. "I assumed that he was on the witness list for he was living in the same house… would he be speaking in favour of his father?" He asked and to Gwaine this question seemed absurd at first but then he remembered that this man didn't know how much Merlin meant for Arthur…
"No, definitely not. He would tell only the truth of what he heard and what he had seen happen before that even if he had not understood what his father had been doing. Nothing more, nothing less." Leon answered with certainty and Gwaine could see that the boy had made a lasting impression on him. That was not a miracle, Arthur really had just something in him that was hard to ignore. When Iseldir turned to look at him, Gwaine could just nod and second Leon's statement.
"Then it would be possible to have him stand in court instead of the victim. We would still need to interview him with the defence present, but we could record it and he wouldn't need to be there during the court, even in a computer screen."
Gwaine knew he wasn't really happy with this, but it was better than previously and he felt a surreal amount of relief wash over him. But it only lasted for a while. He soon realised what standing against his father would mean for Arthur. How tall he had stood, how much he had placed Merlin's needs before his own and how truthful he had been, he was still a seventeen years old boy and standing against his only family in court would be something Gwaine really didn't want to force him to do.
He had known Arthur only for a short time. He had seen him once shortly before all this and heard some small things from merlin, but he knew with a certainty, that if given the opinions of standing in the court himself or letting Merlin there, Arthur would no doubt rise up his chin and walk in front of the judge. So it wasn't really Arthur's decision. There were five adults in this room who had the power to decide which one of those boys would have to face the legal system in full force in the most personal way there was.
"… I'll ask them…." Gwaine had no idea of what else to do. The least he could do now, was to be the messenger himself. Iseldir nodded approvingly. "Please let them know that the decision is urgent. I have to plea for this arrangement as soon as possible and Merlin's interview would have to take place before the court."
Arthur would have preferred to stay as still as possible, but when Merlin expressed the first hint of wanting to go outside, Arthur gathered himself and followed Merlin out. They walked around aimlessly for awhile and Arthur actually enjoyed it a bit. Merlin was in a mood he didn't remember ever seeing him. He was cheerful and wanted to go everywhere. They visited a cafe and bought some stuff as a take away. They strolled in a nearby park and ate their pastries there. They visited a bookstore and Merlin bought as many books as Arthur could carry. (Merlin had insisted on carrying all himself at first, but Arthur had just unceremonially taken them when it had become apparent that Merlin did not have the stamina of walking and carrying a bag full of books at the same time.) They had paid everything with the money Hunith had left them to go to eat and Arthur wasn't sure if he really was comfortable of using that money this way, but seeing Merlin happy was what kept him from saying anything.
Until he started to see hints of desperation behind Merlin's cheerfulness. "Maybe we should go back to the hotel…" he suggested after one more of what seemed to be impulse shopping on Merlin's side. This time it was a city map.
"Not yet, we still have to eat." Merlin just replied while paying for the map. "I'm not sure if we have money for that anymore." Arthur had to say. He had given Merlin all the rest of his money too. Merlin's eyes snapped at him and then to the ground. "Oh…" he just said and Arthur suddenly understood every partner in the world who doted their loved ones with money and gifts. If he had any money on him, he would have surely given that up just to see that disappointment disappear, but he knew it would have been just pacifying Merlin. That he could be used for money was not new thought for him, his father had warned him about that enough times in his youth, and even if he knew this was not the case here, he also knew that it would not solve anything to just delay the real problem by letting Merlin distract himself with shopping.
"We could just go and sit in the park for awhile… We could read one of your new books, right?" He asked hoping that a compromise would cheer Merlin up and it did. Merlin looked at him again smiling and nodded before turning to the direction of the park they had eaten previously. It was busy and there were lots of different people walking through and jogging or taking a dog out for a walk or just sitting on benches, so it took some time to find an open bench, but they did find one and Arthur made sure to sit in a way that left no room for anyone else than them.
They had read about twenty minutes (Merlin reading and Arthur reading what he could from behind Merlin's shoulder) when Gwaine called them. He had a break and he wanted to eat so he invited them to come with him. Merlin told him that they didn't have any money at the moment and that they had already eaten some pastries. Arthur was a bit pleased to see that Merlin didn't seem so obsessed in spending money as he had previously been.
"Not a problem, my treat." Gwaine replied and now Merlin looked a bit uncomfortable. "I don't want to use your money…" he said hesitantly and Arthur could tell that the food was tempting him, but he really didn't want Gwaine to do anything more for him, so Arthur took the phone gently. "Sounds like a plan, it's my treat the next time." He said smoothly. He was more used to this than Merlin.
They agreed on meeting at the same pub they had eaten just yesterday in half an hour, so Arthur pulled Merlin up by his hand as soon as he had ended the phone call. They had quite a lot to walk and Arthur didn't want to hurry. He let his hand linger in Merlin's much longer that was necessary and Merlin seemed to notice this. He blushed prettily with a small smile on his lips and Arthur would have held his hand all the way if not for the strange look some passerby was giving them causing Merlin to tense and pull his hand back. Loosing the touch this way left Arthur feeling sad and empty, but he managed to act like it didn't matter either way. He would be able to hold Merlin's hand when they were in the hotel again he kept telling himself.
The pub was much busier than yesterday even if the lunch was almost at its end. Gwaine was already there and when Merlin and Arthur had decided on what they would be eating Gwaine ordered for them all adding two beers to the bill. He even asked Arthur if he wanted something to drink, but Arthur said in a tone that suggested that he would pretend that he had no idea of what he had just seen and asked for a soda water.
Gwaine kept himself cheerful and friendly until they got their foods and drinks, but then his tone changed. It didn't surprise even Arthur, Gwaine had seemed a bit tense the whole time they had been here and it just felt that now they would get to know what that was all about.
"I… have to tell you, that we have send your case to a prosecutor and he had agreed to take on the case. The court will take place next wednesday…" Gwaine started slowly. Arthur nodded and Merlin just looked at him blankly. So he didn't have any opportunities for a delay then…
"There are two opinions… we could have you, Merlin, to testify in court against Uther, or… the prosecutor and the defence could interview you in the presence of an officer and those people you want in there. But… then we would need a witness… who has seen what have happened…" He really felt horrible saying this and before Gwaine could see any signs on Merlin's face that he had even the slights opinion on the matter, Arthur already spoke "I'll testify in the court."
This had been what Gwaine had expected and feared. Arthur would go not caring about himself just so Merlin wouldn't have to. This of course made emotion surface on Merlin's features "No! You don't have to! It's- I have to do it, it's me they-" but this was something Gwaine didn't want to hear either so he interrupted. "Merlin, this is not what someone has to do or don't have to do, I hate to admit that this is something we need to punish the predator according the law and I hate to even tell you that you have to do this, but right now, I want you both to think what you can do. Can you stand in the court? Can you take any kind of question, in front of judge and the predator? Can you stand up for yourself in that situation? Because it will not do any good if you can't." He was being harsh, but that how it logically was. He could just now see it that way when he had already said it out loud. The one who could take it, would have to do that for them both. For if they failed to put Uther in prison, even if Merlin's mother would divorce Uther and take Merlin away, by law there would be no means to lift Uther's custody on Arthur and in the worst case scenario Hunith would not have right to just take Merlin away, Uther was his legal guardian after all.
There was the shortest of silences before Arthur spoke again even if in much quieter voice. "I'll do it." There was no hesitation, just understanding of what he would really be needed of him and Gwaine could see how it weighed his shoulders. Merlin looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he just hung his head and looked down. He couldn't do it and he knew it very well.
Gwaine took a moment to just let his emotions show. All the sadness and feeling powerless, he just let it show how he felt for them. Then he collected all cheerfulness he could and changed the subject. "Alright, I'll deliver the message. We'll get back to you tomorrow, I'm sure, but now let's eat."
It was hard at first to find anything at all to talk about, but after some time, the managed to get into conversation and now that Gwaine wasn't wearing his (Leon's) uniform, it was easier to just forget for a while that Gwaine was working in the force. Just once did Merlin hint about the photos and Gwaine managed to answer him in a way that Arthur wouldn't catch that they hadn't been able to find them. Merlin had seemed as relieved as Gwaine had been feeling devastated on the matter and Gwaine almost found himself glad that Uther had thrown his phone amongst the traffic.
After they had eaten, Gwaine had to head back, he told them very openly about what his evening would include, but he was not that sure if it had been a wise decision at all. Merlin seemed to get more stressed the more he heard and even to Arthur him talking seemed to be doing more damage it did good. By God, did he have to really accept that even the 'I'm sorry I have to go, but I have some urgent matters to take care of' way of speaking had its place? He sure hoped not.
Merlin was not alright with this at all. When Gwaine had walked them to the hotel, he had wanted to say at least two hundred times that he would stand in the court and Arthur could stay out of it, but Gwaine's questions prevented him from doing that every time he tried. The thought of seeing Uther again and speaking against him filled Merlin with so much fear it was a wonder how he didn't kneel over and throw up at the mere thought. He just couldn't do it and that was the harsh truth.
They returned to the hotel in silence and only when the door of their room closed Merlin was able to look Arthur in the eyes again. Hunith wasn't back yet so Merlin suggested a bit shyly they could continue reading on his- their bed and Arthur was happy to take Merlin in his arms so he could rest his back against his chest and read from behind Merlin's shoulder again. It was much easier this way and the position was comfortable. Somehow they managed to find the same pace in reading and after that they could comment and joke about some parts of the book with ease.
Arthur let himself stroke Merlin's hair absentmindedly at some point and when Merlin just seemed to snuggle closer to the touch, Arthur got a little braver. His focus on the reading was fading and when his fingers trailed to the nape of Merlin's neck causing him to blush, Arthur lost the interest all together. Merlin didn't comment on the book anymore either, but he was still stubbornly reading, Arthur could see his eyes move and he seemed determined not to move or in anyway indicate that he was affected. Too bad that Arthur could see his blush.
A smile broke to Arthur's features and he snuggled to Merlin's neck and let his nose burry in Merlin's short hair closing his eyes. It was a bliss, he had wanted to do this so many times… and now he could. It felt unbelievably good. Merlin still didn't say anything, but when Arthur opened his eyes, he saw that even Merlin's ears were red. He chuckled softly and placed a small kiss on Merlin's neck. Merlin sighed and he let his head loll slightly to make more room for Arthur.
Arthur nuzzled to the given space and he felt very much encouraged by this small movement. He again closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Merlin's waist. It felt so nice to be in this kind of position and even if Merlin tensed for a moment, when Arthur loosened his hug just the slightest, Merlin relaxed again and continued reading. Arthur didn't mind, he was very much happy to just be like this and enjoy feeling Merlin like this.
He could have continued reading, but his mind wandered to think what Merlin was ok with and what not, it seemed a bit random to Arthur, until he again tightened his hold of Merlin without thinking and Merlin tensed again. Restriction, Merlin had been restricted with no choice or chance to get away, he was feeling scared when he couldn't move away. Arthur loosened his arms and Merlin relaxed to his touch even more.
Yes… that must be it. That's why it was ok for Merlin when Arthur put his arm under his pillow or leaned on him, but he didn't cope well when Arthur was holding him tightly or when he was hovering above him. That's why he had gotten so uneasy that one time Arthur had kissed Merlin with tongue, it had been close that Arthur had guided them to lay on the floor and then he would have been on top of Merlin… That… must have been very frightening thought for Merlin. There was not much strength in his thin limbs and Arthur was the exact opposite of that. Arthur wished there was something he could do to make Merlin understand that with him he would never have to be scared. Arthur would always, always let him go if he didn't feel good about what they were doing, but he had no words.
Instead he loosened his hold even more and buried himself to Merlin's neck. He wasn't feeling that happy anymore, but he found comfort from the closeness he had to Merlin and soon he wasn't thinking anything at all except the soft scent of Merlin's shampoo and his quiet breathing and the soft sound of page turning now and then. They were still in the same position when Hunith came back about forty-five minutes after them.
When they heard the door open, Merlin automatically leaped out of the bed and to Arthur's bed and re-opened the book from different page he had been previously reading just when Hunith called for them. Merlin answered that they were here and soon Hunith came in view looking tired to the bone and carrying some containers that smelled deliciously Chinese.
Arthur let himself slide a bit further to his pillows, his side was feeling cold now that Merlin wasn't there anymore and he lazily turned to his side and hugged a pillow to make the coldness disappear while Merlin told his mother that they had eaten with Gwaine and that he was reading a new book he had bought "…and Arthur is sleeping." He finished and Arthur just nodded lazily realising immediately that he had done it again. Merlin had lied (even if it was just about a small part) and Arthur had seconded it silently to Hunith.
Like this, it was agonisingly obvious what had really happened in between the three of them for the time they had lived together. Merlin told openly what he could keeping his lies in the bare minimum while Arthur never told any of his doubts to Hunith who could have done something. He would have to stop that circle now. He would not let Merlin continue that habit any longer.
Merlin was now looking highly interested on the contest of the containers Hunith had bought and Hunith was preparing them a table to eat. Arthur felt that he had missed his chance this time. He just had no idea of how to open his mouth and say 'actually we were cuddling just a second ago, Merlin just leaped out when you came'. It just… he could see the hurt and shame in Merlin's face and the confusion and hurt in Hunith's. Just… no, not in this way, but he would talk with Hunith about this when they had a change to be alone. Or if neither of them weren't willing to leave Merlin alone (which was the most probably the case) he could, he would address this as something they would need to talk about when the timing was right and preferably when there wasn't anything right at the moment he could have to call Merlin for. It would not be good to talk about a habit of lying at the same time as accusing the other of just that.
Merlin didn't miss Arthur's mood either and he regretted of how he had reacted. His mother already knew they were dating and it wasn't that they had been doing something dirty or even that embarrassing. Merlin had leaped up without thinking when he had heard the door, but it had been a conscious decision to move to another bed. He should have sat down again. But it was too late now and he didn't have enough courage to look at Arthur in the eye and apologise so he focused on the food. He wasn't even hungry, he had eaten well yesterday and today too, but he also knew that him eating made both Arthur and his mother happy so it served as a distraction.
Hunith arranged some cushions on the floor next to a low coffee table and opened the take away boxes. Ok, Merlin wasn't hungry, but especially one container with a chicken in dark sauce and some cashew nuts sprinkled on top of it smelled divine, so Merlin sat down and reached for it with his fork.
"Merlin, that one is chicken, I took this tofu with shiitake and garlic for you…" Hunith said and Merlin stopped his movement midair. He glanced at the tofu and it did look good too, but he really wasn't hungry and the chicken looked the best. He glanced at Arthur who frowned slightly and Merlin understood. It wasn't that he was even now sitting on the opposite side of the table, keeping his distance, but the lying. Arthur didn't like it when he lied.
Merlin sighed and sat down again placing his cutleries back to their original position. "Mom, I… I'm not really a vegetarian." Hunith blinked and then looked worried and confused. Arthur could just stare. While he had found this same confession funny just yesterday, for some reason this felt entirely different. "What do yo mean honey?" Hunith asked and reached for Merlin's hand. Merlin let her take his hand and ran his free hand through his hair seeming to hesitate, but he had already started.
"I have been eating meat for the whole summer and most of the spring too… Just… never at home." He said looking Hunith in the eye. "Why, Merlin, I was so worried of your health and you still-" Hunith didn't sound mad, just more worried and slightly frustrated. Arthur knew that feeling very well, he had felt frustrated many times when Merlin had dodged him when he had been concerned about his health.
"Because I needed to be able to control something." Merlin interrupted his mother and Hunith went silent. This definitely didn't sound as funny as it had sounded yesterday. Arthur felt a chill ran through his spine and he heard a tiny voice inside his head 'control, it's not even about being restricted, but being in control…'.
"Merlin, dear, you will never have to think it like that again. I promise. You can be a vegetarian or you can eat meat, just tell me what you want. With this and with everything else, it's your choice." Hunith said after a pause and squeezed Merlin's hand. Merlin let his gaze drop for a moment before he took a deep breath and said with a steady voice "I would like to have that chicken, please."
Hunith looked at Merlin seriously, but then the smallest of smiles cracked on her features and soon Merlin chuckled. He had to admit that was a bit funny thing to say. "I'm not going to be able to eat that all… I'm actually not that hungry, it just smells good." Merlin said in a light tone. It seemed to be easier for him to be honest now. Maybe next time he could sit next to Arthur?
"I could also have a taste of that. I just bought what the waiter recommended, I had no idea of what you would like, so I thought we could share." Hunith said also sounding a bit happier now. She pointed at the beef in a spicy sauce and looked at Arthur. "Oh! I'll eat anything, really!" Arthur said quickly. He had almost forgotten that he himself was here too. What a strange feeling... Hunith just smiled at him warmly and gave him an one armed hug for she was sitting next to him. Arthur felt a bit warm and a lot out of the place, but all in all this was very nice.
Soon they were eating and the mood was getting lighter and more natural for all of them. When hunith had asked them more about their day clearly avoiding of talking too much of the things she had ran around the city doing the whole day, but Merlin and Arthur got that much that it was some legal this and that and that was enough for them. Especially Merlin didn't want to know anything about things that he didn't have to worry about.
After they had eaten however Hunith had something that interested Merlin very much. "I called some of my friends and I did a brief research in a library to find an apartment for us. I wanted to find something closer to your school… Would you like to go through what I have found so far with me?"
They did. Merlin was clearly interested and Arthur too felt strangely proud of getting involved to this kind of decision.
They went through the layouts and Arthur did his best to make intelligent comments of the layouts and the conditions of the apartments and the areas they were in. Merlin on the other had just looked generally interested and he didn't comment much until Hunith commented on how hard it was to understand the locations when she knew so little of the city "I have a map!" He said excited and jumped up from the floor with more energy that Arthur had seen him perform in ages.
When he returned, he laid the map open in the floor and Arthur started to arrange the A4 papers Hunith had printed in the library next to the locations while Hunith circled the exact locations when she found the right addresses. Merlin helper her to find them all. It really helped a lot and now Merlin had opinions. It seemed that some of the houses were in the area he had grown familiar of during this summer. One of the apartments was quite near Gwaine's shop and Merlin remembered how the building looked like, it seemed nice, but Hunith commented on how the pipes were a ticking time bomb in that one, so Merlin soon focused on a house next to the park he had drunk his first beer.
"It would be nice to live here…" Merlin said and pointed the map "Gwaine lives nearby…" Merlin commented and Hunith looked at what Merlin was pointing. "Oh, that's the one Susan told me about. Her neighbour is selling that one…" She sounded a bit hesitant and Merlin could understand that moving to live that close to a friend could be a bit difficult, but it wasn't like they hadn't been living basically like that in their home village, everyone knew each others there. He pointed this out to Hunith who had to agree to that.
They looked at the info very carefully. The house was a bit more expensive than the rest of the choices Hunith had because the area was nice and the houses were old in a way that there couldn't be anything too wrong with them because they were still standing. The apartment was actually a half of a bigger house divided in two. There were two floors. In the first floor there was a kitchen, bathroom and a small living room with a door to backyard and upstairs there were two bedrooms, one small and one bigger with its own bathroom that even had a small tub in it. There was also a small garden circling the house so they had some grass in front of their house and a place for a small table and few chairs in the back. The back yard was surrounded by a fence and there was a flower bed that went alongside the fence. The fence also separated their side from the neighbours side.
After looking it through and calling Susan once more to ask some details about public transportation and things like that, Hunith wasn't discouraged by the price anymore. She calculated that it would be possible if Arthur could pay for his own car and gas and Hunith would take public transportation to her school. While working three nights a week they would make it somehow. Merlin offered everything he had on his account for his mother and Arthur also told her that he could sell his car when the school was so near. Hunith was moved deeply by their offers and thanked them seriously, but she also told them gently that it would be the last resort.
In the end they agreed to go to look at the apartment as soon as possible and Hunith called the owner immediately. They agreed to go and see it as soon as tomorrow morning and Merlin looked at the street name from the map for a long time. It would be just few minutes walk from Gwaine's shop, past that park. In other direction from the park would be Gaius' home just under ten minutes walk from there. Merlin hoped that the house would be in good condition and that Arthur and his mother would like it.
So much had happened in such a short time that Merlin had forgotten that Gaius still didn't know what had happened and now Merlin remembered that. Would he have to tell everything to the old man? How would he take it? He was sure Gaius would be upset and he didn't want to upset the man he found closest thing he had ever had to a father, but for the same reason Merlin knew he would have to tell him. And Gwen… she was his best friend if you didn't count Arthur, and she had the right to know. But how he would tell her and when he would have the courage and strength to be prepared to hear her feel betrayed, angry or repulsed by him not to mention what kind of risk he took if he told her that he was now with Arthur… Also the school couldn't know. What would Arthur's friends in the football team say? Or others? Their classmates? Merlin didn't want to think about that, but the truth was that there was only two weeks before school started again and Merlin wasn't ready to it at all.
In the evening Hunith again left briefly just to buy a change of clothes for them all and get them somethings to eat in the evening and morning too. The night came quickly and Merlin found enough courage to lie next to Arthur even in front of his mother. Hunith gave them both a kiss on their foreheads like last night and told them good night. She hoped she could make them feel that she was really alright with them dating.
Merlin didn't fall asleep immediately like last night, but he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep just so he could keep listening Arthur's heart beat in the silent room. Arthur didn't object and he stroked Merlin's hair in a calming way until Merlin drifted to sleep.
Hunith was dead tired. She wasn't in the age she could just stay awake the whole night and brush it off as nothing, but she knew that even if she went to bed now, she wouldn't be able to sleep. When she had nothing to do, her mind started to torture her with thoughts of what had happened to her son and her heart ached with constant pain she couldn't ignore even when she was concentrating. She still tried to sleep, she knew there was much more to do tomorrow and she needed to be able to concentrate, for her boys.
Her day had gone well, in the sense of getting everything she had been able, done. She had received a phone call from the police station and she now knew that Uther's hearing would be seven days from now and he would be imprisoned until then. She had dropped the divorce papers to a legal office. She had made a plea to make herself a legal guardian of both Merlin and Arthur and made sure Uther had no saying in hers, Merlin's or Arthur's money. All that while searching for a new apartment.
Hunith turned to another side on her bed. Tomorrow they all would go to the police station to talk with the nurse who had examined Merlin after they had seen what would hopefully become a new home for all of them. Hunith wanted so much to give that to Merlin, to get him away from that house and from that man… It hurt so much that she knew that it had been her who had trusted her son to that man and now… it was just too much. She wanted to yell and she wanted to blame someone or something, but she had nothing, just herself to do that silently inside of her own head.
When Merlin had told how he had needed to lie to get some control of his own life back, Hunith had wanted to ask why, why hadn't he said anything? Why hadn't he told her sooner? Just… why? Why did these kind of things have to happen to her son… But she couldn't ask those kind of things from Merlin right now. Maybe someday when the wounds weren't so fresh anymore, but not now. She would need to be close, she would need to make her son understand that he was not at fault and that she loved him very much and that she accepted him as he was all while being a parent to him. She had said that Merlin could ask for anything he needed, but she would still need to stay as an authority too. She would have to make sure that Merlin didn't try to compensate what had happened to him in the wrong way and that would be hard. Hunith didn't know herself how she would cope with this all, but she did know that she couldn't fail. Not this time.
With these thoughts she stayed awake for hours, but just when the sun had started to peek from the horizon, she did sleep.
The apartment was nice. As soon as Merlin entered the front door with his mother and Arthur, he felt like he had finally come home. The walls were clean white and the floor was wooden in an old way that the thick wood had smoothened during the years. It felt warm under his feet and he liked how it wasn't as overly polished as the parquet in Uther's house. It looked like it had life in it. The entrance was just a one square meter with door to a hallway that led to stairs (on the left side), kitchen (on right side) and to living room (straight ahead). The living room was cozy and it had nice big windows to garden and a door with window. The yard was spacyer than it had looked in the blueprints and it was well taken care of.
Arthur motioned Merlin to come to check out the upstairs and Merlin followed him happily. The bigger bedroom was right next to the stair end. Arthur opened the door and they wandered around in already emptied room. It was hard to tell how big it really was without any furniture, but Merlin could tell it was way bigger than his room back in his home village, but way smaller than his room at Uther's had been. There was a big window on the left wall (when you look from the doorway) and the bathroom was on the right side. There was also a walk in closet in the right corner of the room. It wasn't nearly as big as the one in Uther's house, but big enough. The bathroom was nice. The sink was next to the door and the shower was in the back. The tub wasn't big, but big enough for Merlin to sit in his legs straight if he leaned his back to the edge. He tried making Arthur laugh at him.
Arthur liked the apartment alright, but what he loved was to see Merlin so happy with it. "Is this how you used to live with your mother?" He asked. He knew that they had lived in a small house and this was kind of smallest living form Arthur could imagine. Merlin looked at him amused.
"No. Our home was way smaller. My room was about one third of this room and mother slept in the main room." Arthur looked at him surprised. Merlin's gaze became glassed and there was a fond smile playing on his lips.
"Sometimes it was cold in winters and we didn't have other heating than a fireplace in the main room, so I would take my mattress and sleep on the floor next to it. I didn't use my room much in winters." Arthur had no idea of what to say. He had never thought of asking about how Merlin had used to live and it just seemed so far away that Merlin had lived like- like that.
"Sometimes if there was a storm, the electricity would be cut and we always had candles just in case. My father built the house. It was supposed to be just a part of it, but he didn't have a chance to complete it and we didn't have money so mother sealed the end rather than continue to build it bigger." Merlin looked now sad and Arthur sat next to the tub and listened closely.
"I guess now it's gone… " Merlin sounded like he missed his old home even thought it had been cold and small and in Arthur's point of view, almost rural. Arthur rose to his knees and kissed Merlin's forehead softly. Merlin smiled at him a bit sadly. Arthur understood. That small cottage where Merlin had slept on the floor in winters, was his home rather than the place he had lived over two and a half years now. It was sad. Arthur wished they could make this their home and he decided that he would never ever judge this place by its size.
Hunith liked the place. Somehow it just felt nice and homy and it was just the right size. She talked about the condition and age and prize with the owner and the more she heard, the more she felt that this was a good place. The owner even told her that the neighbours were nice. A family with three adorable girls. Hunith was happy to tell her that she knew that. The only thing making Hunith concerned was the price. She definitely didn't want to take Merlin's or Arthur's money. She knew that she wouldn't have any money to spare for a while and she wanted the boys to have at least some freedom and luxury.
If she would only use her own money, she couldn't pay the whole house. She would have to loan about 10 000, which wasn't that large of a sum, but she could at most count to have three shifts with a trainee salary and with feeding the boys and keeping them clothed plus electricity and heating and such not to forget her transportation to school and to work, she would be on a very tight budget. Of course if there would be an emergency, she could loan some money from Arthur or Merlin… That made her really consider.
When Arthur and Merlin came down telling her how much they liked this house (even Arthur who Hunith had feared wouldn't be happy with a sudden change from luxury to a regular housing) she made a decision.
"When could we move?" She asked. Much would depend on that. "Oh, as you can see, the place is already cleared, you can move in whenever you'd like. I understood that you will still have to negotiate of a loan, but the sum is not that much from the price, so if I could have half of the price now, you could pay the rest when you get the loan." The owner, a sweet looking elderly lady told her lightly. Hunith nodded. Getting to move right now was worth everything. "Alright, Merlin, Arthur, what do you say? Should we move here?" When both boys told her 'yes' enthusiastically, Hunith told the owner that they would move as soon as possible.
After some paperwork and arrangements, Hunith got a spare key and they left. Hunith would go to visit a bank right now and she told the boys to go and get something to eat. They would walk to the hotel together and tomorrow they would go to Uther's house to get all the stuff they would take with them. Arthur didn't know how he felt about going back to the house he had lived all his life, but now felt foreign and somehow dead to him. Merlin on the other hand didn't seem to mind. Or maybe he did, Arthur wasn't so sure anymore how well he could read Merlin's moods.
They were almost at the hotel when Hunith's cellphone rang. It was Freya from the station and she asked if Merlin was there and if they had some time to spare. Hunith told Merlin and Arthur who it was and to the phone that they were nearby so they could come there. Freya seemed pleased and so the three of them turned around to go back to the police station.
Freya was standing in the entrance hall waiting for them. She seemed tired but happy and Merlin felt himself relax at her smile. There was something in her that made Merlin calm down. They took an elevator up and Freya took them to her room. Merlin tried not to think how he had been laying naked on the table just yesterday.
Freya asked if it was alright for Merlin that his mother and Arthur stayed and while Merlin felt uneasy, he knew he would have to repeat everything if he didn't let them stay, so he nodded only a bit reluctantly. Freya asked them to sit on some chairs she had somehow gotten to the room. Merlin wondered what she would tell them and he wished it wasn't anything too embarrassing.
"Well, the positive news are that Merlin, your blood test came back negative. You don't have any STD and there were no signs of infections or other alarming illnesses." This made Hunith let out a relieved breath and cover her mouth with her hand. She was close crying in relief. Arthur also felt some kind of relief even though he hadn't even thought of the possibility of Merlin having an STD… now he actually realised that he should have been worried and it kind of made him feel worry even if there was no reason to it anymore. Merlin just felt like he was saved from a huge shame.
"The thing I'm still concerned, is your weight. Some of your vitals were on a low side and your BMI was way too low to be healthy. I have made you a meal plan for next month and I hope that you will stick to it and have some light exercise daily on the side. I trust that your mother will help you to stick to it." Hunith nodded seriously and Merlin took a folder with papers inside. It was a thick envelope and Merlin wondered when Freya had gotten time to do all this.
"I'd like to ask you if your neck is still feeling alright? Have you had any headaches or pain in the neck area?" Merlin knew what she meant but his mother and Arthur seemed confused. Hunith looked like she was about to ask, but when Merlin told in a calm voice that he didn't have any pains and that even his back didn't hurt anymore and he continued to how much he had eaten yesterday, it seemed that his mother let the subject go. For now. Freya smiled at Merlin warmly.
"I still have to ask, even if your test were negative, have you had any other sexual contact with anybody during all the time you were abused?" Merlin blushed like a tomato at that. Why did everyone have to ask that? He shook his head his hands in front of his face telling her in no way calm and collected way that no, of course no, just no. Freya seemed pleased at that and while Merlin couldn't look even at Arthur's or his mother's direction, he was happy that they both remained quiet.
"Alright, I'm going to want to see you again in two weeks to see how your weight has changed and to take a blood sample. I have my own working space in this address." She said and handed both Hunith and Merlin a card "You can call me next week and reserve a time. I would like to take some samples from you also before you go, but Merlin and Arthur are free to go now." She directed her last words to Hunith and she nodded at her telling Arthur and Merlin go to eat. She would join them soon and then she would go to the bank. Merlin was relieved that he could go and Arthur who looked a bit embarrassed, stood up also glad that they could go.
The night was not so much different from the previous one and they again sat on the floor eating while Hunith told them of the possibilities of the loan. Arthur was still saying that Hunith could use is money and he had some very good arguments to side that, but to Hunith it seemed that Arthur was offering the money for a wrong reason. To her, it seemed that Arthur was trying to make amends for his father's behalf and that just wasn't right, so Hunith kept telling him the best way she could, that Arthur didn't have to give his money to her. That it was not his responsibility and she also told him very openly how he would need to use his own money for things like his car and so on in the future. She knew even if Arthur said now it was fine, he would be in for a shock later. Merlin would be fine, he was very much used to not having any money so Hunith trusted his word when he said that he would be alright with little money, that he didn't need anything that big anytime soon.
That night, however was the first night after Uther had been arrested that Merlin saw one of his regular nightmares. It wasn't that bad, just normal, but it was enough to make him again feel that he wasn't safe. That Uther could still walk and he now knew for sure what Merlin had told the police.
He didn't sleep that night anymore and when Arthur woke up four hours later, Merlin pretended that he had just woken up and had been reading a book. He would stop lying, he promised himself, but just this once. His mother and Arthur had done so much and he didn't want to make them feel on any level that they and not done enough so while they ate breakfast, Merlin sat next to Arthur and he told his mother how nice it would be to eat her cookings again.
Gwaine blinked slowly. He had just opened the door of the windowless room number two and the world was too yellow and too bright. The sun was rising. The sun was rising and he hadn't slept. The sun was rising, he hadn't slept and he wasn't drunk. Why, oh why…
After he had seen Merlin and Arthur in the pub, Gwaine had been a man on a mission. Percy had needed to make him step out once just so he would calm down and more than once so he would slow down. Gwaine had of course given him a silent treatment after those, but in the long run he knew that it had been for the best. When the only action he got was going through interviews and papers and evidence, he tended to get a little bit crazy. Speaking of evidence, there had been plenty.
It was horrendous to watch and the more he did, the more Gwaine had no doubt that even with this the judge should send Uther Pendragon to jail with no rights to see any of his children or Merlin ever again. They had yet to contact Morgana whose phone had been closed but they would keep trying tomorrow- today, Gwaine reminded himself without humour. Now they would only need some evidence that was not substantial. If only they had those photos…
The last days, Uther Pendragon had done everything to delay their work. He had refused to talk, he had refused to give a DNA sample and he had refused to admit anything at all. The DNA sample would be easy. All the circumstances taken into consideration, they would need one phone call and the new search warrant would be on it's way. After that Uther would either give the sample or Gwaine would have the honour of pinning the bastard on the ground while Freya would take the blood sample. They just needed to wait till the office hours and Gwaine almost hoped that Uther would not go down easily.
Getting Uther to talk wouldn't be that easy, Gwaine had actually labeled that opinion as impossible the moment they had heard who would be Uther's lawyer. Gwaine had not recognised the name, but the face Percy had made left Gwaine in no doubt of what kind of a man he was. Ruthless, expensive and highly talented at twisting word and law to his will with no interest of who was innocent and who wasn't. Uther's lawyer would do everything with the delay he could to make his client seem innocent and he had made it perfectly clear that Uther would not talk at all without his presence. The official testimony Uther had made no doubt with some help from his lawyer, was that Merlin had some older flings and that Uther had tried to keep him safe by not letting him out alone, but he had skipped school and drank and got into trouble and finally taken some of these older boyfriends home during the days no-one had been home.
It all was a mess and the major set back they had, was that Freya's samples had been incomplete pieces of DNA save for the skin found under Merlin's nails, but that piece of evidence had soon morphed to be a result of Merlin's hysteria when Uther had tried to free him when he had found him. There had been quite a large amount of hair and even some bubic hair from Uther in Merlin's clothing and his room, but the lawyer had pointed out that the crime scene was not in anyway sterile. Uther lived and worked in the same house and his office was next door from Merlin's room, their laundry was done in the same washing machine and so on so forth. It was all just substantial and in theory could be explained with either of the stories. There had been even some hairs found that didn't belong to Uther or Merlin and boy had the lawyer been happy about that.
This was the side of the law Gwaine hated. It just didn't sit well with him that those with money could win and trample down those who weren't, children, poor and uneducated just because they had money, not because it was right. He swear to himself that he would not let it happen this time. It just couldn't happen this time.
And to top it all, the lawyer (Adr- something, Gwaine was currently calling him 'The Adder') had made an official complaint of Gwaine. He had caught on the detail that Gwaine knew Merlin, had visited Uther without uniform and was still in this case. At the moment he was shouting left and right how he had dug from the records of surveillance camera from Gwaine's store how he had taken Merlin to his back room twice during the summer. It was like a witch hunt really...
Gwaine wandered to his father's office. His father had left just before midnight when his wife had called and made it perfectly clear that it was time to come home. Gwaine had barely noticed when his father had popped by to tell that he was leaving, but now, he kind of wished he was here. It was an unnerving feeling and Gwaine groaned when he sat on his father's desk. The chair was soft and well used, Gwaine could feel where his father's butt usually was. Disturbing, that was disturbing.
The lack of sleep caused Gwaine to just stare into nothingness for a while. Percy had gone to take a nap on a couch about two hours ago and soon after Leon had fallen asleep against a table in the room two while Elena had never returned from the trip to wake Percy up. Gwaine had found her sleeping seated on an armchair opposite of Percy. That had been an hour ago. Gwaine had tried to continue, but he had to admit that he had his limits. He had gone over the same material at least twice and he just couldn't concentrate anymore.
He twirled around with his father's chair and his eyes fell on a book that was he knew very well. It was a collection of children's stories his father had sometimes read to him when he had been small. That it was here was a bit surprising, but that didn't interest Gwaine. The fact that he knew that the book was quite thick and quite tall, but it was not that wide. Its cover was sticking from the otherwise straight line of books and when Gwaine pulled at it, he found a flask hidden behind it. Oh, God bless his father and the slight tendency to alcoholism that ran in their family.
Gwaine opened the flask and by the smell he could tell that it was whiskey and quite expensive one even. He downed it all in one go and he immediately felt better with the world. It was not much but it was more of a mental issue than anything else. He felt like it had been forever since he had gone out with Percy after a long week and this week had been even longer even if it was only wednesday morning.
It was slowly ticking to seven when the phone on the desk rang. Gwaine didn't think much, he just took the phone and answered it with a short "yes?". He would have regretted it if he had been more awake. What the hell was he supposed to answer if they needed something from his father? But he soon forgot that along with his tiredness and the slight haze the strong alcohol had created in unison with his empty stomach.
"IT here… I found the photos you needed, quite amateurish if you ask me, but they are here. You want to get them from here or should I wait for the post?" A tired and slightly bored young voice asked, Gwaine supposed his father would have known who was talking. "What photos?" He asked his hope rising. He prepared himself to hear this had nothing to do with his case, but he couldn't help himself from sitting up straighter and leaning towards the phone while holding his breath.
"The photos for the case number 23-84-" The voice started but Gwaine had no will to listen to some babbling "Yeah, yeah, whatever, are the photos from Uther Pendragon's phone?" He asked with urgency not caring anymore that he had answered a phone that was not his. "Of course not. The phone was closer to a minced meat than an electronically device when I got it, but he had copies on a cloud service and-"
Gwaine didn't need to hear more of the now highly offended sounding voice and he just shot up from where he was seated and practically yelled "I'll be right there!" before he hung up and ran.
The IT department was where all the nerds they wanted to work with the police felt the most comfortable. That happened to be two floors below the ground level. Gwaine could almost smell the electricity and cold pizza when the elevator's doors opened. The lights were dim and the place was empty save one desk, but everything was clean and even if the whole setting looked like an alien spaceship to Gwaine, he could see that the working desks were arranged in a way that made perfect sense for the people working in here.
Gwaine made his way to the desk that wasn't empty and he was greeted with an openly hostile gaze. "I would think that I dialled the wrong number if I hadn't wired my phone myself." Gwaine knew what he was talking about so he automatically tried to explain. "I'm the chief's son…" He had not meant to say it like that, oh God he was tired if he let something like that slip, but the reaction was not what he normally saw. "I don't care." The nerd said with a blank face and with a tone that was so rude that Gwaine couldn't really be happy to hear that like he would normally be.
"What I do care however is that you get this to the team that has this case, if you don't I have lost a memory stick and I'll have to answer an angry phone call. I don't like doing that." The Nerd continued and extended his hand holding a memory stick.
"I'm in that team…" Gwaine said not sure why he felt the need to be very careful with this person. Like if he talked too loud he would not give the memory stick, that felt like the most desired item in the world at the moment.
"Figures…" the nerd scoffed and Gwaine could now honestly say that he didn't like this man. Especially when he retreated his hand while still holding the memory stick.
"This was such a mundane task anyway… nothing too interesting here so what's the rush…" he started to rant and Gwaine lost his cool "So why didn't you complete it sooner then?" He was starting to get really irritated and he was too tired to care at the moment if he was being unreasonable or not.
For a short while Gwaine was sure that the Nerd would be offended, maybe even refuse to give the memory stick to him, but to his surprise, it seemed that Gwaine had awakened some sort of spark of interest in human interaction with his words. "Oh, that's the question. I would have been much faster if the owner of these photos would have had any idea of how to use his phone. That was of course, the luck we had. I started with going through his computer, his laptop, his work laptop and even his tablet that he seemed to use more to reading newspapers than anything else… but, he had connected all of those, or his secretary, I'm sure he had no idea of how to do that himself, to a cloud service. Everything was there." Gwaine could hear from his tone what the Nerd thought of Uther Pendragon based on his way of using his laptop, he didn't even seem to care that much about anything else. Gwaine would have found it quite distracting if he wasn't very much enjoying starting his morning with listening how Uther Pendragon had no idea that he had saved all the child pornography he had made to his cloud service.
"It was literally everything. Apparently this man had no idea how to use scanner, so there were thousands of pictures of some documents, I pity his poor secretary, and so even after I had narrowed it down to the format that his phone model had used, I was able to get that much from the sorry remains your lot bought me, it was still about ten thousand files…" This fellow was young and he seemed like he really understood computers. Gwaine could only think that what he had gained in the intelligence with computers, he had lost in human interaction. He had yet to look Gwaine in the eye.
"…so I have used half of my night to writing a program that differs those files with mostly a white sheet of paper with some text on it while this screen here..." he pointed at one of his screens "had a slideshow of the files. I almost made it work. I just have to solve the problem of if the person in the picture is against a light surroundings… but well, he never was so I think that is covered in this case." Gwaine was momentarily distracted of the memory stick that was still firmly on the Nerd's hand.
"Never?" He asked quietly. "At least not in any of the over two hundred photos I found. I'll double check, but I think you can start with these." The nerd said and finally, finally, gave the memory stick to Gwaine looking a bit pleased with himself.
Gwaine would have run to the lift, but there was something in that pleased face that he couldn't ignore. "Thank you, you have just saved this boy." he said and he meant every word. The Nerd looked a bit taken aback. Maybe he wasn't used of being appreciated. "Yeah ok, well it was not that hard. A trained monkey could have done that really. Just get me the details like the stuff I'm searching for has been taken with a phone next time before I have used a day in a wild goose chase."
Definitely not used of being praised then. "I'll send you flowers when this case is closed!" Gwaine winked and waved at him when he was halfway to the elevators. "I'm allergic!" The Nerd shouted after him and Gwaine could not help but laugh. This character was so stereotypical that he had to wonder if he had been categorising nerds too harshly before. Maybe he could order this one a pizza one day…? He thought slipping into stereotypes again but not feeling it mattered much with this one.
When the elevator stopped, Gwaine practically danced out. He first skipped to the room where he knew Percy was still sleeping and he woke his best friend up with a loud smooch on his forehead.
Percy woke up when Gwaine manhandled his head up and soon after he felt something moist against his forehead and heard a loud 'smooch' sound. "Gwaine what the-" He started highly annoyed and still half asleep, but with no doubt who was the reason of his discomfort.
"We got the photos!" Gwaine just stated sounding far too happy considering the time. Percy sat up slowly just to see Gwaine skipping out of the room. 'Of all the surreal things to see…' he thought trying to get his brain to function. He rubbed his eyes and looked up just to see Elena smiling knowingly at him. Percy hated that knowing smile. He had seen it too often and by God he wished he could do something to get rid of it.
"Umm, Gwaine seems to have something…" He tried and Elena just smiled wider. How, how could he make them all understand that Gwaine just was like that and that they were not secretly dating?! Percy would pay quite a large sum for that answer.
But he had no idea of how to handle the situation, so he just rose up and followed Gwaine before Elena would say anything. It was always the worst when they said something.
A/N Hello, hello! My cousin is here and he shared his internt connection! Damn I'm happy... It feels a bit pathetic of how much it has affected me not to have my own internet, but oh well, I can always blame this story... :P
While you have been waiting for this chapter, I decided to make it a long one, so I hope it makes up to you a little. The last part was not supposed to be in this chapter, but because mersan123 quessed the cloud bit, I just had to add that part, making the chapter even longer than I intended :D
All in all, thank you again for your comments, I adore them all :) Just a small reguest for Guests, if it's not too much trouble, could you make up a name for yourself? That way I would know it's you and you would find my replies I write to you more easily. If you don't feel comfortable with naming yourself, that is very much alright, just a thought :)
Skypeoplephoenix732 Yeah... Gwaine's father knows Gwaine that well that he was kind of prepared that he could change his mind. He was actually quite surpriced that it hadn't happened much earlyer... It's not by the book, but there are some perks if you happen to be a child of some-one in high position. I worked long and hard for Arthur's character and how to modify it to modern day. And it took this long to finaly start to really lay it open what I have been doing with him. I hope it works :) Hunith really accepts her son as he is, it will just need some more time for Merlinto trully understand it even if he can now trust his mother more.
Angel Dove1 I have relaxed quite a lot and the lack of internet doesn't bother me that much anymore, I just went a little bit crazy when I thought that I would have internet and then I didn't... Not a nice surprice... I'm so happy how well you took the delay in updates :) I'm so happy that you liked that scene in the hotel! I thought how that revelation would go quite a long time, how does one tell their mother that they are gay with their step-brother? Really, no idea, but I was writing about them getting a new appartment and it just felt so wrong to go on hiding and sneaking around while neither of them wanted anything more than to be close, so that just kind of happened... At this point I'm not too sure if I'm writing this story, or if the story is writing itself... Gwaine can't fail, he cares for Merlin and he is desperate to make everything right. He's also not so realistic. He hasn't worked long in the force and he feels that Uther has to be punished because he has made a horrible crime. That would be right and there is no way that he can fail so he takes every set back very hard. He is also learning a lot at the moment. It's great you like him :) Uthr really played it safe, he knew that the phone couldn't be found, so he actually deleted all the pictures before he let it fall, but that's not important and only Uther knows it so it's not mentioned in the story. I will hold the right to refuse to write anything from his point of view. I loved how you tod me your favourite line! Please, if you have those, tell me about them more often! Thank you so much, I'm so happy that you liked that one :)
bubzchoc Thank you :) Nice to see you again!
Insanereviewer Wow, I thik you made a new record! I couldn't fit this in my screen even in two parts! Yeah, the time goes by and there is life outside of the abuse and so the time passes... It's the same for Merlin. If you imagine the horror of being raped, how it consumes all ones thoughts, but in this kind of carefully laid, manitpulative sexual abuse, the victim just have to continue on living. Day by day it had become a part of Merlin's life and the time passes... It will be a shock for Merlin too eventually how long this has been going on... We will see more Feaya, don't worry :) They will want her to testify. I'm happy you liked Gwaine's father! And yeah, he has seen everything in his years, so he wouldn't risk anyones life because Gwaine wants to play cop... He knows very well that a criminal can walk free if everything has not been handled according to law. That Elena became an officer, was a bit of a coinsidence actually :D I had named her as 'Eileen' at first, but then I miss spelled it and the autocorrect morphed it to be 'Elena'... And she kind of would have made a great knight, so I decided to give it a go. I also cut her hair because I thought that if it had been a possibility, she would have done that :D I hope you will warm up to her :) I actually originaly had a much shorter legal proces, but it kept bugging me that Uther would have just given up his phone when he knew that those pictures could destroy him... Ending of this chapter should have been in the next chapter, but because someone guessed what was going to happen, I just had to add it here :P So you liked to see Percy in charge, great! I can assure you that Finna did not just drop the bomb :D I could have written it, but this story is long enough as it is and I wanted to keep the focuse on Merlin and Arthur. To do justice on Hunith's feelings in that short time hearing such news, I would have needed to write a whole chapter for that, going back in time and flasbacks and... I gave up that idea very quickly when it crossed my mind months ago. But since you are interested of how Finna told Hunith... Hunith went to the station knowing that both Merlin and Arthur were there and she was fearing for everything from a car accident (since Arthur was supposed to drive them from football to home) to getting into a fight and going in circles of what horrible things could happen in the city if they had not gone straight home (the station in not on their way home, so she assumed they could have gone somewhere on their way and not home like they were supposed to go) But she was atleast trying to saty calm repeating to herself that at least they weren't ina hospital. When she arrived, she met Percy. Not the most calming sight, so she was fist relieved to see Finna and then worried in a whole new way (what could have happened if she was also here?!) Finna then led her to the one of the most comfortable rooms in another floor (making sure they wouldn't ran to Merlin on their way). Percy told her the bare minimum (that Uther was in custody and that both boys were taken care of, stuff like that) and he was left with Hunith when Finna went to find Merlin (that we saw). When Finna had Merlin's premission, she prepared to tell Hunith everything. Mostly she liked to let Tilly learn from experience, but this she wanted to handle with experience. Letting some-one know of these kind of crime is not an easy task. There are some guidelines, but mostly one has to look at the peron very carefully. Finna took Huniths hands to keep her calm and spoke with gentle, but firm tone and started slow, but not too slow so Hunith did have time to understand what had been told to her, but did not have time to start imagining anything that had not happened while waiting. Also is important to tell that everything is alright at the moment and to make sure as a part of the police work that Hunith was not involved or aware of the situation. Basically: "Mrs. Pendragon, your son, Merlin, has been a victim of a crime committed by your husband. At this point I want to tell you that he is safe and that he is well taken care of, but you have to understand that before you can see him, we would like to know if you were aware of the situation as it was." *imagine Hunith's reaction here* When sure that Hunith knew nothing, (not very throughoutly investicaded because of Merlin's word and will) reassure that Merlin is safe now and explain the nature of the crime calmly and without sugar coating, but with no details other than how long and so on... Did that answer your guestion? Huh, you really awaken an insanereplier in me... That Merlin felt and still feels that this is his fault and that he has a reason to be ashamed of himself is because of the predator has morphed his whole view of the world to be such. He doesn't see this as we do, to us it's clear as a day that Merlin is a victim and the poor boy who we all should take care of and Uther is a ball of slime who needs to be locked away, but in Merlin's mind every word towards him that is not angry feels like someone is doing him a favour and he doesn't really see what really has been done to him yet. And all this is new, he is not used to this kind of reaction to his sexuality and everything else and it frightens him in it's own way. He's not sure what to do in this new mental enviroment. You mostly summed it up what makes childabuse such a horrible crime, it was great to read :) And you also understood Arthur so well! It's so nice that I have been able to write him so it shows how I built his character :) As I said, this whole situation is so new to Merlin, so he is kind of testing his boundaries in it and besides, he just couldn't find any will to keep on lying and hiding especially Arthur next to him... Merlin's sexuality was the thing Uther used to his benefit and had Merlin talked it out with his mother before or after, it would have made Merlin doupt Uther's word and it might have ended difrently. He's not stupid, so if he had been able to be like "Oh, my mother knows I'm gay... what of it?" He would most propably got scared of Uther's opinion, but he had been able to talk about it with his mother - Hunith would not have married Uther, if she had suspected a posibility of violence, she would have left. So the lesson of this all, even if you dodn't want to go out and tell your son that you think they are gay when they are yet not even interested in dating, good, but you can still let your opinions show without being direct. I sure as hell hope that I'l be able to do that if I'm ever blessed with children... Umm, be ready to pount... I just checked, we still have at least three chapters to go before Morgana... maybe more, depens of the part I'm rewriting, of how long it will be... But I promise we will get some more Arthur and Merlin moments in between :) God, this was long reply, I'll have to stop here for now, but hope to see you again! These conversations with you sure are interesting :) + Yeah, I thought that your review was cut... there must be somekind of limit... It's a bit weird that it let you type anyway, but well, at least it was proved that you made a new record :D
Guest Yeah the phone... But I hope I made it up to you :D Hunith has a lot to make up with her actions and words to make Merlin feel better and heal. One misplaced word can destroy a lot of effort, it's not going to be easy. Glad you liked her using Uther's credit card, I kind of enjoyed it too... :D
mersan123 Hi! Susan mentioned! I'm glad that you found Hunith's reaction the way you did, I wrote it like ten times to get it right and I still felt it wasn't enough, but then I decided to divide all that I had written to many chapters... I'm very happy to hear that it worked this way :) Merlin is brave, even if he doesn't feel that way because he is so scared all the time, but that is the definition of brave, doing something even when you are scared of it. But to be fair, he needed to get it out for he needed to really know how his relationship with his mother was, he couldn't live in another lie and also the thought of moving into a new home with Arthur still as his 'step-brother' having to sneak around... He just felt it would have been too much. About the phone... This chapter turned out really long, because of your comment. I was planning on cutting it before the part of them going to see the house, but I just had to add the rest because I couldn't find a way to tell you that maybe the pictures might be in the cloud... Hope you enjoyed that part :)
Chibi . warlock I hope I have been able to write how Hunith feels even if it not in her point of view in the future too :) Thank you for your kind words. I kind of enjoyed her using the credit card to pay for the room too... I bet you are not that mad about the phone anymore ;)
Hime-Chan1201 Oh my! Thank you so much! I remember you, you have the cutest picture of Merlin as your avatar, it's easy to remember ;) You make me so proud of myself, I worked a lot for the characters and hearing you tell me that you liked them... I have no words. In the begining I was a bit worried if I could write cute stuff, so I'm also happy to hear I can :D Thank you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter's Gwaine moment ;)
Guest Ah, the internet thing is kind of complicated... I have the story in my computer, it's kind of ready, but I have been rewriting some parts of it and one of them happens to be this one. Basically everything to do with the lawyers are new, because I found some laws I wasn't aware of when I first wrote this. Then, I'm supposed to add it all to a Googledocs so my beta can see it and I can't even write to Googledocs if I don't have internet connection. Then I would again need internet to upload the chapter. And the problem with this all in my grandmother's computer... she had placed it so my back it to the whole house and I'm not sure if I want to explaine this to her... Actually I am sure that I don't want to explain this to her at all. Plus her computer is old and using Googledocs is a p.a.i.n. My native tongue is finnish. I hope to see you review again, maybe you could make up a name for yourself so I would know it's you :)
Ageha18 Thanks! :) I'll try to reply to your both reviews here... I have not seen law and order, I'm not sure if it's aired here... I'll keep the name in mind though, if I happen to come across it :) I thought it through what would have happened if Hunith had not reacted so well, but I really, really wanted a happy ending, so... Uther will try everything he can, as you saw in this chapter ;) But well, let's see, let's see... I'm trying to make the court case realistic, even if this is no my field... You said that abuse could have been mild or extreme and well, Morgana aside (not going to give anything away!) abuse can be a number of things, but people handle it very differently. 'Just' some touching in innapropiate places can make someone feel uncomfortable and avoid touch for years and years while someone else recovers much severe cases of abuse the minute they don't have to see the predator anymore... We will see some reactions in this story quite soon, I hope you enjoy them :) If you feel that I didn't answer all your questions, just leave another review or you can PM me, I'll answer the best way I can :)
coke-river Wow, thank you! :) I hope you will enjoy the rest as much as I do, many thanks for fav, I saw you didn't have so many of those so I feel special ;) I also found some very interesting stories there, so thank you for that too!
thejammysod Awesome! I have to say that I strugled with Hunith. I tried to make her reaction as good as possible while not using the whole chapter for her feelings... So I'm so happy that you found it the way you did :) The phone... I think I covered that one in this chapter, but I'm a bit happy of the plot twist I was able to make with that on :D Basically my plot is that Hunith and Uther get married, Uther abuse Merlin, Merlin and Arthur fall in love, Uther get's what's coming for him, happy ending, yay! ...So every time I manage to make something like a plot to this, I'm secretly a bit happy with myself... :P Ah, the scene in the hotel, nice to hear you liked it, because I kind of made up that boyfriend bit and I created the whole scene around it. But I have to admit that I enjoy it too ;) The credit card... it will be mentioned again, jut wait for it ;)
Guest Thank you so much! That is the best thing to hear, I'll try to better myself in the future too! The happiness is btw mutual, I'm so sick and tired of writing about Uther at this point...