Disclaimer: I don't own Eragon or anything connected to the Inheritance Universe. That belongs to the ever brilliant Chrissy P. I don't own the song used here either. It's called The End and is by Simple Plan. Neither do I own the song Almost Easy that is mentioned here. That belongs to Avenged Sevenfold (A7X).
Claimer: I, SussieKitten, own this plot and the story. Borrow or steal my plot, (when used) my original characters or story and I will report you.
Warnings: Cursing and some boys kissing. I know, I'm going soft! :lol:
A/N The second part of the fic. I hope you all enjoy it! And a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! I found some time and uploaded this chapter early just for you guys. Also, this is not a song-fic. I just wanted a scene where Murtagh could sing. :wink:
EDIT: Just removed a few spelling mistakes. Thanks to those who pointed them out! You know who you are.
COMING BACK TO YOU
Part Two
Eragon was bored. He was, once again, stuck behind the register. Really, it wasn't his fault he was so accident prone! And apparently it had nothing to do about his previous crush on Arya. It had only taken him to get a serious job to get that side of him to jump out. He couldn't figure what else it might be.
Eragon sighed. He had priced a couple of new releases just an hour before, and he was still fiddling with the price-gun. He had priced a couple of items around him, such as the gun itself, Arya; when she hadn't been looking of course, the cash register, and of course; himself. He had made sure to make himself as expensive as the gun allowed, just in case. Strangely enough, even though he now could admit to be bi-curious, he had always been hit on by guys. And it annoyed him to no end! His friends always had to tell him when he was being hit on, something that was downright embarrassing.
The brown eyed young man started to hum along to the new song that came on. He saw a gum-chewing girl change her stance and start to tap her foot to the beat. Eragon sniggered to himself. It was the latest hit. Of course people would stop to listen to it.
"Bored much?"
Eragon, who had been in the process of throwing the gun back and forth in his hands, nearly dropped it when someone spoke to him. He breathed out in relief when he found that he managed to avoid doing that. Then he looked up.
"Err… hey."
Eragon mentally beat himself to a pulp. Really, he hadn't seen the other for weeks, and that was what he said!?
"Hello to you, kiddo." Murtagh said and chuckled.
"Can I… help you with something?" Eragon asked hesitantly.
"Suddenly remembered the policy, did we?" Murtagh teased with a half-smirk.
Eragon glared at him, but found it hard to put as much emotion behind it as he once had. He brushed it off.
"Actually, you can." The older male said, brushing hair from his eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have the newest album to A7X?"
Eragon allowed himself a small smirk. He nodded to the speakers before he walked around the counter.
"We wouldn't be playing Almost Easy if we didn't have it."
Murtagh simply shrugged.
"How could I not know it wasn't the single you were playing?" He said simply.
Eragon hummed in answer, his fingers flicking through the CDs with an impressive speed. A second later he let out a small shout of triumph before pulling it out.
"Here you go." He said and stuck his hands into his pockets.
Murtagh stared at the cover with only a mild interest.
"This is really strange." The older brunet said a small while later.
Eragon had gone over to leaning against a nearby wall, of course making sure he wasn't anywhere close to something he could fall over or break. He looked up from the floor at this.
"What is?" He asked with a small frown on his face.
"This." Murtagh said, letting out a humourless laugh. "You're being civil to me. And here I had almost given up hope."
Suddenly he remembered where he was. He looked around the store only to find that they were alone. He could have sworn Arya had been stocking DVDs not ten seconds ago! When he found her, he was going to kill her for leaving him alone with Murtagh.
"I… I actually know how to, you know. Be civil I mean." Eragon said sheepishly. "I just… seem to lose my head around you a lot."
Murtagh snorted.
"Fine, so I got angry as fuck. What's your point?" The brunet asked, his teeth worrying his bottom lip before he forced himself to stop.
"My point is that you should keep this up. Talking to someone who only can say jerk, fuckwad, bastard, 'leave me the fuck alone', and 'get lost, why don't you', is hardly someone you look forward to talk to."
Eragon winced. He really had been an ass. It had been hard to see then, but it was glaring at him now. An embarrassed flush strained his cheeks.
"Sorry." He murmured quietly.
"Nothing to be sorry for. I'm sure I deserved it."
"You're… sure?" Eragon said, a frown growing on his face.
Murtagh just shrugged.
"Well, I did call you a kid, steal your girl and kept bugging you. I'm pretty sure I deserved it." He answered as if it was no big deal. "I'll take this one."
Eragon just nodded automatically, accepted the CD, ran it and rang up the price on autopilot. He gave Murtagh back his change a second later and handed over the small bag with the store's logo on it.
"I'll see you some other time, Rider." Murtagh said and raised his hand as he walked out of the store.
Eragon watched him leave, the frown never leaving his face as he did so.
"You're just going to let him go?"
Eragon shot backwards, leaning onto the shelves behind him, feeling thankful for a second that for once nothing fell to the floor.
"Geez, scare me a little more, why don't you!" Eragon wheezed out.
Arya shot him an unimpressed look.
"But you are?" She asked.
"Am I what?" Eragon grumbled, picking himself up and wincing when he felt a bruise forming on his lower back.
Damn that girl for managing to catch him off guard, every single time!!
"Are you going to let him go, just like that?" Arya asked again.
"Let who go? Murtagh? I don't see why not." Eragon answered and shrugged.
Arya slapped her palm to her forehead, mumbling under her breath as he did so. And Eragon just knew he had heard something akin to 'stupid moron… doesn't recognise it even if it came and bit him in the ass'.
"Hey, I resent that!" The brunet blurted out sulkily.
Really, if no one told him anything, how was he supposed to know what he had done wrong?!
"Eragon, you really are something." Arya said and sighed. "Ever heard of pulling at someone's pigtails?"
"Sure. A boy likes a girl, so he bullies her to mask it, figuratively pulling at her pigtails by doing so." Eragon answered and crossed his arms. "And this has something to do with me… how?"
"Can't you see it?! Someone has been doing that to you for nearly six months!!" Arya said with unconcealed frustration in her voice.
Eragon had to admire her for her patience. He could see how much she wanted to yell and possibly flick him for not getting her point. Which he still didn't.
"I don't see what that has to do with me. You must have read some signs wrong. Though I have no idea how you could have done that."
"Exactly." Arya said testily. "Which is why I didn't misinterpret them!"
Eragon was now thoroughly confused. Arya's nostrils almost seemed to expand as she let out a frustrated sigh. She glanced around in the shop quickly before hopping behind the counter and dragging them into the furthest corner of it, further out of people's hearing range.
"Alright." She whispered. "You'll listen to me, and you'll listen till your ears starts to bleed. And then you'll listen some more!"
The brown eyed teen blinked. He simply nodded, more than a little spooked by his friend's sudden impatient behaviour, and prepared himself to listen. Because he knew that Arya would see it if he simply pretended to.
"The classic bullying-the-girl-you-like signs; the boy often steals something of hers, refusing it give it back. He calls her names and pulls her pigtails, as we established earlier, but no matter what he does he always pays attention to her. Tell me, has that never happened to you?"
Eragon opened his mouth to respond negatively, but then he remembered.
(Start Flashback)
"So, tell me kid… do they let underage people work behind the counter now or are you just special?"
Eragon felt his glare narrow even further. He really couldn't believe this guy!!
"I'm eighteen." Eragon said in a barely controlled voice, a sneer slowly working its way onto his lips.
"Hn." The stranger before him snorted. "No really, tell me the truth. How old are you? Sixteen, fifteen?"
The nerve of him! Eragon was ready to jump up and knock out his front teeth if he had to. The brunet had thought him to be pretty cool when he first had seen him. Dressed in all black, and a jacket he was pretty sure was leather, he looked like a really cool guy. And perfect. Even his hair looked perfect, even if it was a mess! But then he had opened his mouth.
"Fuck you." Eragon growled. "Mind your own business."
"Eragon!"
Arya strode over to him, a frown on her face. And Eragon knew why. She had never seen him like this before. And with good reason. He usually was very patient and wasn't easily angered. But this guy, it was almost as if he knew which buttons to push and had slammed all of them down at the same time.
"I am so sorry. He's not usually like this." Arya said, starting a long line of apologies that seemed to come to her naturally.
And there was a good reason for that. Eragon had heard that the guy that had worked there previous had had a quick temper, and a violent one at that. She was sure to be used to apologising when the need arose from then.
"That's fine. You know how these kids can be." The stranger said, a small grin working its way onto his face.
Arya stopped her ranting, a soft blush grazing her cheeks. Eragon felt his temper rise even more. Now all of a sudden he was hitting on her?!
"In fact, why don't I make it up to you for this slight disturbance?" He said, his smile widening slightly. "Let me take you out."
Strangely enough, his eyes had been on Eragon as he had said this. Eragon had narrowed his eyes even more, feeling his snarl grow on his lips. Screw being angry, he was livid! He was sure this, this bastard could see how much he liked Arya and was flaunting it in his face!
"Oh, um… sure." Arya answered timidly.
"Perfect." The stranger said huskily. "I'll pick you up after work?"
"Great." The black haired girl said and smiled.
But as he left, his and Eragon's eyes met one last time.
"Oh, and Arya?"
How he had learnt her name Eragon didn't even care. However, how he kept looking at him bugged the brunet to no end.
"The name's Murtagh." The stranger said, his smirk morphing into a smirk.
"I'll see you later then… Murtagh." Arya called after him.
Eragon had hated Murtagh Morzanson ever since.
(End Flashback)
"I…" Eragon was speechless.
Surely, she couldn't be serious?!
"Ah, so you remembered now did you?" Arya said and chuckled softly.
"You've got to be kidding." Eragon said and shook his head. "There is no way he likes me."
"Oh, I don't know. I dated him for six months. I think I know which name he moaned at night."
Eragon felt a hot blush strain his cheeks. He hadn't needed to know that! And he was still sure she was mistaken. Really, what were the chances? Someone like Murtagh liking someone like him, little scrawny Eragon? Zilch.
"You're wrong." The brunet stated. "There's absolutely no frigging way."
Arya sighed tiredly.
"Eragon, I'm telling you, while Murtagh may be bisexual, right now he's more Eragon-sexual than anything." She stated with a small smirk in the corner of her mouth.
Eragon simply shook his head. Nope, Arya had to be wrong. It wouldn't be the first time after all.
"Alright, then tell me why he asked me out while staring at you? Why he always made sure to be around when you were falling over your big feet? Why he kept returning, even when I wasn't working, even if he never bought a thing?" The black haired girl asked.
"Not true! He bought a CD just now." Eragon protested, knowing before he had finished the sentence just how weak his argument was.
And Arya's stare wasn't making it any easier for him to keep up his believes. Whenever people went looking for Murtagh, they would always turn up at the store, even if Arya wasn't working. Murtagh had always been there, to help him up, even if it came with a sarcastic comment it was help nonetheless. He always looked at Eragon when he was talking, even if he was speaking to Arya or some… one…
Eragon buried his head in his hands.
"Oh, God. I'm a fool aren't I?" He mumbled softly.
"Yeah." Arya answered without hesitation. "And let me tell you, the on and off behaviour you've been sporting has thrown him into quite a loop. God, I certainly don't envy him for those headaches."
"But… but he was seeing you." Eragon weakly protested.
"He was just taking away what he knew you wanted but never dared to claim. I was simply on display, a lure to make you jealous." Arya said with a soft smile on her face. "And I don't regret going out with him, even if it was a masquerade. I got a new friend, and that is never a bad thing."
Eragon sighed heavily.
"But why me?!" He asked loudly, not caring anymore who might be listening. "I'm hardly the best looking guy around."
The female sighed. She ruffled his hair fondly, knocking up his down-turned chin with her other hand.
"'Agon, you're hardly ugly. Actually, you are rather cute. Which is why the gay way is your best chance at getting someone." Arya said jokingly.
Eragon pouted; something that sent Arya into a small fit of giggles.
"See? Cute." She commented.
"Shut up." He mumbled, though he had stopped denying it anymore.
"But… what are you going to do now?"
Eragon stopped his thinking. He looked up and into the evergreen eyes of his first crush. There were no feelings left in him for her, nothing more than platonic love.
"I don't know… I mean, I don't even know the guy!" Eragon exclaimed.
Arya smiled secretively.
"Are you so sure about that?" She whispered.
The brunet didn't get to answer before he was hit with another memory.
(Start Flashback)
"Really, it can't be that hard to work at a record store."
Eragon glared at the person that had been watching him for quite some time. He had been busy carrying boxes back and forth, without tripping once thankfully. It was near closing, and Arya was locking up while he was carrying new shipments into the small storage behind the counter. Murtagh had come just before Arya had begun to lower the grid to half-mast. She had eagerly let him in, and he had stayed ever since.
"What do you know?" Eragon growled. "I bet you don't even work."
Murtagh rolled his eyes.
"For your information kiddo, I work at the bar on the corner. Hell, I even play sometimes." He drawled. "Some of us are over eighteen you see."
Eragon was ready to drop the box in his hands and charge at the smirking male. He would have thrown the box if he hadn't known it would have gotten him fired. Stupid breakable CDs.
"Fuck you."
Murtagh just laughed in answer.
(End Flashback)
"He works at the bar just close by… and he likes to play. Guitar I think. But that's all I know." Eragon admitted finally.
Arya's smirk widened.
"And here I thought you said you didn't know anything!" She said and laughed.
Eragon just scowled.
"That took me weeks to find out, and God knows how many dates. Tell me Eragon, how long did it take you?"
"Uh, how do you mean? He told me all of that in one of our so called conversations." The brunet said.
Arya crocked her eyebrow and her eyes started to gleam. Eragon felt thoroughly afraid now.
"I meant that it took me weeks to find that out all together. And even longer until he invited me to visit him at work." The dark haired girl stated simply.
(Start Flashback)
"You're welcome anytime kid. Just make sure to bring your I.D. Or I'll guarantee you'll get thrown out upon sight."
Murtagh smirked. Eragon was ready to punch in his nose. Of course, until Arya had showed up. Instead he had mysteriously tripped over his own feet when she had called their names. Eragon would have fallen over hadn't it been for Murtagh grabbing onto the back of his shirt in time. Even if the other had saved him from falling onto his face, Murtagh had gone home with a bruised cheek and a smirk that day.
(End Flashback)
That had been a month after he had 'gotten to know' him, Eragon realised.
"Starting to believe me yet?"
Eragon sighed.
"Still a bit in denial, you poor thing." Arya cooed teasingly. "Why don't we go there tonight?"
"You don't have to -"
"Thorn, Saph and I agreed to go there tonight anyways. Now I have an excuse to pull you along." Arya stated happily.
"I hate you." Eragon grumbled.
"I know you do, honey." The older girl purred and laughed.
It felt different to be together with them all outside of work. Sure, Eragon and Saphira usually were almost glued to each other, and Thorn seemed to have become a constant in his life, but this was different. When he saw Roran, Nasuada and Katrina sitting seemingly innocently around a table, he knew he had been set up.
"Haha, real funny guys. The joke's over. Can I go now?" Eragon asked tiredly.
"No way, babe." Nasuada said and winked. "You're here to stay."
Eragon groaned.
The group moved to find a larger table that could host them all. Eragon found himself squeezed in between Roran and Saphira. Saphira was halfway in halfway off Thorn's lap, while Nasuada sat comfortably in her chair. Arya was beside her again, chatting quietly with Katrina, who in turn sat beside her fiancé.
The bar was decent sized, and quite a few were there already. A few sat around similar tables as them, but most of the customers seemed to favour the chairs by the bar. The brunet figured it had to have something do with the stage that had been placed in the corner. There was a chair onstage, as well as a microphone, and the lights were lighting it up with a soft glow. And yet Eragon could sense something bad was about to happen. He groaned again to signal his displeasure with being there.
"Ah, enough of that now, hon. Wait for your man, eh?" Arya said and sent him a winked.
"No sex-talk about my cousin around me, please." Roran commented a little offensively. "He's hardly old enough."
"Wha?! I'm eighteen, you bastard." Eragon growled.
"Really? Hey, when did you go and grow up on me?! I refuse to see him loose his virginity to some fucker I hardly know!" Roran nearly shouted to the entire bar.
Eragon moaned in embarrassment and buried his head in his arms. He refused to believe he was in a bar that Murtagh worked in, where just seconds ago Roran had loudly proclaimed his virginity to everyone within hearing range.
"Shout a little louder, why don't you!? I don't think all of Surda heard you." Eragon snapped.
Katrina covered her fiancé's mouth with her hand, who had just been about to say something more.
"Oh no Roran, you won't." She said sternly. "And don't worry so much Eragon. I'm sure no one was paying attention."
"Thanks for trying to comfort me Katrina, but I know that everyone heard him."
"Hey, at least Murtagh didn't. His shift doesn't start in another ten minutes." Thorn commented off-handily.
Eragon stiffened. He hadn't needed to be reminded of that.
"Thanks for reminding me where I've been dragged to." The brunet mumbled darkly.
"My pleasure." The redhead answered nonchalantly.
Eragon was sorely tempted to slam his forehead into the table, but Saphira grabbed onto his shoulder, effectively stopping him from doing so.
"Oh, don't be such a baby, Eragon. I thought Arya had pushed you past the denial stage already." She commented softly.
"Oh no, I'm very much still in Egypt."
Nasuada snorted.
"My, oh my. Tag never makes it easy for himself, does he?" The dark skinned female said with a small shake of her head.
Eragon frowned.
"Anyhow!" Arya interrupted loudly. "It's Friday night people. And well all know what that means…"
Thorn smirked while Nasuada grinned gleefully. Katrina leant back into Roran's embrace while Roran wrinkled his nose. Eragon shared a look with Saphira. She winked at him.
"Err, I don't know what that means." The brown eyed teen piped up.
"You'll learn that very soon, shorty." Thorn said and chuckled.
"Oy! Stop calling me that, you ogre." Eragon protested.
The girls giggled while Roran was nearly howling with laughter. Thorn just continued to smirk.
"I totally and completely hate you all." The brunet informed them sourly.
"Sure you do." Saphira teased.
"We can continue this later. It's starting." Katrina commented quietly and turned to face the bar.
Eragon watched the rest of the table turn that way as well. But they weren't facing the bar, rather the stage he had noticed earlier. The lights had been turned off, covering the stage in darkness. The bar, which earlier had been filled with chatter and laughter, had fallen quiet. They were all waiting for something to happen.
The music started first. It had a quick beat that got louder steadily louder until a second instrument joined the first. And then, Eragon swore the hairs on his arms had risen.
"I've been trying to tell you something but you never understand
I feel like we've been going around in circles
You look at me like I've become a stranger on the street
A skeleton that's hiding in your closet"
The voice was haunting and captivating. And it made Eragon shiver. The lights had yet to be turned on, but he could just barely make out the shape of someone in front of the mike. The show had obviously started.
"I see you next to me but you feel so far away
Where did we go wrong?
Where did we go wrong?
I guess this is the part where you look at me and say goodbye"
The lights were turned on in a quick flash just as the chorus began. And Eragon nearly fell over from the shock.
It was Murtagh. He was dressed in all black, but somehow the colour seemed to make him shine. His hands were cupping the microphone, and his eyes were closed. He seemed to be caught up in what he was singing, like the world ceased to exist around him. And his voice, Eragon was sure he would never forget it. It was husky and oh so deep. It struck a cord deep within him, and somehow something seemed to have snapped into place the moment he had heard him sing. It felt like…. it felt like coming home.
"I've been around the world and I have seen so many things
I can't even tell you where I'm going
But no matter where I'm heading and no matter what I do
What I do
Something keeps me coming back to you
I see you next to me but you feel so far away
Where did we go wrong?
Where did we go wrong?
I guess this is the part where you look at me and say goodbye"
Murtagh's eyes had opened after the chorus, though they never rested one at one place for too long. He seemed to be searching for something. The brunet leant forward a bit, wanting to somehow get even closer to what he was experiencing. It was truly captivating.
"Don't
Don't let me go
It's not the end
Girl you know it's not so bad
It's not the end
You know it's not the end"
A smirk suddenly grew on his lips. Eragon figured Murtagh had found what he had been looking for. He heard Thorn chuckle softly, and his focus shifted for a short second. And during that second, when Eragon finally turned back to watch Murtagh, the other's eyes had shifted. They were now locked at him. The brunet froze.
"What can I do when you're gone
When it feels so wrong
What can I say to make you wanna stay?
So what can I do?
Don't leave me this way
'Cause it feels so wrong
Let's stop all these games
'Cause I just can't say goodbye"
Murtagh paused for a split second. And during that second he managed to grin before jumping right back into the song.
Eragon listened to him as the older repeated the chorus. Their eyes had yet to part. He just couldn't look away.
"Don't
Don't let me go
It's not the end
Girl you know it's not so bad
It's not the end
You know it's not the end"
The song ended almost as quickly as it had begun. Cheers started to sound around in the room, and quite a few girls started to scream and chant Murtagh's name. Eragon cringed at the sound. It wasn't the most pleasant sound he had had the pleasure of hearing. Murtagh bowed and stepped off the stage.
The girls on Eragon's table were whistling loudly while the guys were clapping and cat-calling. Eragon just sat back and frowned. Sure, he was clapping with the rest, but he was again feeling like there was something he was missing.
"My, he sure put his heart and soul into that one didn't he?" Saphira commented.
"It was almost like he knew who was watching him tonight." Katrina agreed.
Eragon let out a disbelieving snort.
"And here I'm supposed to believe that's me?" He drawled.
"Cousin? I hate that guy, more so that you claim to do, and even I can see that." Roran said.
Eragon spluttered. He couldn't believe what his friends were saying!!
"What say we go up there and say hello?" Roran said and stood up.
"So you can smash in his face? Wait until after he's banged Eragon." Thorn said and chuckled. "Besides, the bar's too full of girls and guys eager to get served by him."
"Then we can just leave!" Eragon said and prepared to make a run for it. "He's way too busy to see us by the looks of it."
"Oh, he's never too busy to see you, 'Agon." Arya purred as Saphira dragged him back into his seat. "You're staying put."
Eragon proceeded to sulk.
A good fifteen minutes later, after a real glare-fest with the table for Eragon, Thorn gave a subtle nod and the conversation around their table ended. Nasuada was instantly at her feet and not a second later found Eragon himself being dragged in the direction of the bar.
"Nasuada? I'm saying this as kindly as possible out of the courtesy of you being my neighbour; let go of me!!"
Nasuada laughed.
"No way, babe. We're off to see Murtagh, and that's that." She replied with a grin.
Eragon meeped when he suddenly found himself between two obviously drunk guys and right up against the bar. He vaguely registered that Nasuada was standing behind him, but that was instantly forgotten when the barman approached him.
"You're actually here. And here I was about to give Thorn a real run for his money for trying to scheme me with an Eragon look-alike." Murtagh said and chuckled.
"Err, yeah." Eragon mumbled in answer.
"But no I.D., no drink. Sorry kid." Murtagh said with a smirk.
"I'm not here for a drink!" The brunet exclaimed.
"Oh? Then what?" Murtagh asked and leant forward on his forearms.
"Um… you were good, on the stage I mean." Eragon stuttered.
He wasn't sure why he had been dragged up there in the first place! Like hell he was going to ask if Murtagh actually had feelings for him.
"Thanks." The hazel eyed man said with a small grin. "Glad you liked it."
"A'gh, kissh tha bloke al'eady!" The drunken guy to Eragon's right slurred. "Fo'play ish fo' tha bed'oom, shavvy?"
Eragon felt himself flush a very dark red. But it became even darker when Murtagh leant his head back and laughed.
"I'm sorry, sir. We'll be sure to do that next time."
The guy raised his glass in a swaying toast before drowning half of its content. The other half missing his mouth and joined the previously spilt beverage on the guy's shirt. Eragon cringed at the sight.
"Yo, Tornac! I'll take my break now!" Murtagh shouted to the other end of the counter, where an older man looked up and nodded.
Murtagh grinned and beckoned Eragon to join him. The brunet followed, and was shocked to see that he was the only one who was following. Apparently Nasuada had slipped back to the gang sometime during their 'talk'. Eragon was really starting to wonder if every girl he associated with was sneaky in some form of the word.
"Sorry about that. Customers here are very open when it comes to these things." Murtagh said once they had found a more secluded place to talk.
"It's okay. Better that than the opposite, right?" Eragon said and laughed awkwardly.
Murtagh hummed.
"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" The dark haired male asked and found a comfortable leaning position against the wall.
Eragon bit his lip and looked towards the table he had just come from. Everyone was waving at him, urging him to do… something. He really didn't get his friends and wondered if it was time he got new ones.
"Not… not really." Eragon answered finally.
He was shocked when he could almost hear his friends groan in disappointment. But that was impossible. They were too far away to hear what they were saying! Unless they could read lips, in which case Eragon was royally screwed.
"Forget them." Murtagh said and nodded in their friends' direction. "They're not here. What's on your mind?"
"You're awfully open to someone who just last week was calling you a fucktard." The brunet commented softly.
"Did you actually call me that? I can only remember fuckwad myself." Murtagh said and crocked an eyebrow.
"Maybe that was one of those things I only said to your back then." Eragon mumbled and glared at the wall when he found himself once again blushing.
Murtagh laughed loudly. He shook his head and sent an amused grin his way.
"You never cease to amuse me, even when you were cursing my existence."
Eragon shifted his gaze to scowl at his hands. Therefore he didn't see it when Murtagh moved closer, when he sure felt it when the room suddenly became warmer. He looked up and jumped back when he found himself staring into a pair of hazel eyes. Up close the brunet could even see small flecks of green in his eyes. But all that was lost when he, true to his character, stumbled over a conveniently placed box and started to fall. A second later Eragon felt an arm slip around his waist and pull him up against a firm chest.
"Wow, it isn't just at work you're clumsy." Murtagh chuckled. "And it just makes you cuter."
Eragon blushed and glared up at the other.
"I'm not cute damnit!" He growled.
Murtagh's eyes seemed to almost twinkle under the soft light.
"Sure you aren't." He said amusedly.
"Fuck you." Eragon said and scowled.
He meeped however when Murtagh suddenly pulled him even closer against him.
"Oh no, Eragon. It's fuck you."
And with that said Murtagh swept down and landed a passionate kiss on Eragon's lips. Eragon felt a small sound leave him, but he was too busy feeling Murtagh's lips glide over his to fully comprehend what it had been. Slowly his eyes began to drop close and Eragon began to kiss back.
"Finally." Murtagh murmured and kissed the other again with full force.
Hooting suddenly began to sound all around in the bar. Eragon felt himself blush even more because of it, but as Murtagh pried his lips open and deepened the kiss, he didn't really care anymore.
The next day Eragon found himself up and about like always. But he felt lighter, as if something had fallen into place. He had to catch himself a few times so that he wouldn't start skipping to work or to hum loudly as he fixed the register for a new day.
Brom hadn't noticed anything out of place, but then again the man only opened the store before retiring to the backroom and his small office. Eragon wasn't really sure he wanted to know what his boss did in there. So the brown eyed teen simply busied himself with whatever he could until Arya arrived.
There were few in the mall so early, it was barely after nine a.m. after all. And Eragon liked it that way. Before closing it was usually a couple of late-comers that just had to have something. But in the morning it was usually quiet, and Eragon liked quiet.
"Arya?"
Said black haired female looked up from her work. It hadn't yet been an hour after opening, but Eragon had a question he simply needed to ask.
"What is it, Eragon?" She asked and walked up to the counter.
Eragon tapped his fingers nervously against the plate. He braced himself and met her eyes.
"When did you know? About Murtagh I mean." He asked softly.
"That he liked you, you mean?" Arya asked and laughed when Eragon nodded in reply. "About a month into our relationship. It was too glaringly obvious. Only an idiot couldn't have noticed it."
"Yeah, I guess – wait, are you calling me an idiot?!" Eragon asked huffing.
Arya smirked.
"Your attraction to him however? Maybe a month after that." She continued as if she hadn't heard his response. "All the cute/hot ones are always gay."
"Wha… two months after I had met him?!" Eragon exclaimed.
Arya giggled quietly. She leant forward to whisper her reply.
"Mhm. Really, you weren't jealous of him, but of me. It should have hit you when you started to glare at me instead of him every time we kissed."
Eragon flushed. He hadn't noticed that.
"You were just in denial, that's all." She concluded.
Eragon grumbled soft curses under his breath.
"And talking of the handsome devil… how did last night go?" Arya asked with a devilish grin. "Are you still a virgin?"
"Wha!? I… we didn't!! … Gah!"
Arya laughed loudly at Eragon's spluttering. Eragon blushed again, this time out of embarrassment and of anger. He huffed and turned back to his own work. Arya walked away still laughing merrily. Eragon grumbled darkly and went to check that the CDs were in correct order. The green eyed girl had already busied herself with putting games and such in their proper place. Eragon sighed and stepped clear of a suspicious wet spot on the floor.
Only to slip on another equally wet spot. He really needed to complain to the cleaning crew.
Before he could let out a cry of surprise Eragon was pulled back against something firm. Surprised that he didn't fall the brunet cracked open his eyes. He looked up and right into an amused face. A very familiar and amused face.
"You've got to be careful kiddo. I can't always be around to keep you from hurting yourself."
Eragon blushed softly. He let Murtagh straighten him from the uncomfortable half-bent angle he had found himself in because of his near fall. He opened his mouth to thank the other but was stopped when his mouth was covered.
"Morning." Murtagh purred. "I've wanted to do that ever since meeting you."
"Apparently so have I, according to little Miss Know-It-All over there." Eragon mumbled and pointed in Arya's general direction.
Murtagh chuckled.
"What did I say about that? Ignore them. What's important is what's here and now." He murmured.
Eragon rolled his eyes.
"It's kind of hard when they keep staring at us." The brunet drawled.
Murtagh let out another loud laugh.
"You'll learn to ignore them." He promised huskily.
"What do you mean by - mmf?!"
Whenever Eragon would fall from now on, he would always find himself pulled up and against a very eager-to-help Murtagh. And even if his falls and accidents decreased so quickly that Brom had come to ask him if he was alright, Murtagh still would leave with a bruise here and there that was not made by a mouth. For while his boyfriend was an exhibitionist, Eragon made sure to show just how much he didn't like to be snogged in public.
Of course, that didn't mean that Murtagh stopped doing it. And so life moved on, and Eragon was left to ponder over the irony that the man he now loved most of all had been the guy he had hated from the very start.
The End
A/N And so it ends. I hope you liked it!
As for when my next story will be out, for those who are wondering... in a week at the earliest. I have a lot of exams to worry about right now, and as you may understand this takes up a lot of my usual writing-time. But I have something that I can post soon, I just don't have the time yet.
I'm also sorry if anyone was expecting this to be steamier. I have another fic to make up for that. And God, that was surprisingly a pain to write. Could have something to do with the nonexistent privacy I find myself having lately.
Anyhows, I hope you enjoyed the story. Review and make my day!