Sorry for the long wait. School is kicking my ass lol.

Getting back into the flow of school-Updates should start being regular soon.

This story is NOT on hold!

Enjoy :]

If my man was fighting
Some unholy war
I would be behind him

Arthur's stomach twisted in knots. This is what he wanted…right? Then why did he feel so sick?

Domestic abuse victim's groups aren't like AA. There's no shit coffee or confession podium. To Arthur, it looks like some college hangout. The room was painted a forest green with comfy bean-bag chairs littering the floor.

Merlin stood in the center of the distorted circle they formed. His face was flushed from anxiety. His hands tapped out a nervous rhythm on his leg.

Arthur wanted to gather him close; to protect him. But Merlin didn't want-didn't need Arthur to do that. He just wanted Arthur's support.

So Arthur grit his teeth and listened to Merlin's tale of woe.

"I had only been 18 when I met him…E-Edwin. I had a job that I hated but desperately needed. Ed walked in the room and everything seemed better. He was smart and funny and so so sweet. I thought it was love." Merlin gave a self-deprecating laugh. "He said I was his muse. He offered to take care of me and my financial issues.

It was great at first. I lived with him and we seemed genuinely in love. He listened to me play and helped me further my career: everything was great. Until it wasn't." Merlin snuck a glance at Arthur. "It was the small things that changed first. We stopped going out so much. Instead he would have me practice for longer hours. Whenever I got a call to hang out, Ed would get frustrated and moody. It was easier to just say no. I was slowly weaned off my friends and family. He started pressuring me for…things. And I just didn't understand why we couldn't wait. He threatened to leave me and have my partial scholarship revoked. I believed him."

Arthur's knuckles whitened as he gripped his chairs. The edge of his vision became a red haze.

"After we did…that, he stopped letting me model for anyone but him. I barely left the apartment unless it was for school or at Edwin's behest." Merlin wrapped his thin arms around himself. "The last year was when I finally broke. I had just graduated from Juilliard. Edwin wanted to have celebratory sex-all the time. If I said no, he would hurt me. He said he liked to make me bleed."

Arthur tried to keep his face deceptively blank. The tears freely flowing down Merlin's face caused Arthur's own eyes to sting.

"I couldn't do it anymore. I checked myself into the hospital. That's where I met Gwen. She was my nurse and the wife of a photographer I'd worked with. They helped me reconnect with my family and get my life back on track. I couldn't bring myself to come here-I thought I would be just fine on my own. But that kind of thing had gotten me in trouble in the first place. I just…I needed help. I still do."

Merlin plopped down into the chair next to Arthur. The others gave their support, but Arthur knew that wasn't what Merlin wanted. When those big blue eyes turned on him, Arthur did the first thing that came to his head.

He laid his hand on Merlin's in a sign of support. That's what you do for the ones you love.

With strength he didn't know
It's you I'm fighting for
He can't lose with me in tow
I refuse to let him go

Song: Some Unholy War by (the late) Amy Winehouse