The phone rang, knocking Merlin out of his dreams. He whined, turning over and shoving his head back under his pillow, attempting to block out the cheery tunes of 'King and Lionheart', the new song Arthur was obsessed with and for some godforsaken reason thought it sounded like them. "Turn-off," he grunted into his mattress, pressing his face into the white sheets. "'thur, please..." he begged when the song just got louder.
Then, like a sledgehammer, it hit him. Arthur wasn't here. He was in his dorm room alone, just as he had been for the past three weeks. Frantically he popped up, throwing the pillow off his head with wild abandon and grabbing wildly for the mobile phone, now a beacon of hope instead of the annoyance it was a few minutes ago.
"'lo?" he slurred as soon as he got it open and slammed his finger on the green button. "'lo?"
"Merlin!" Arthur's voice was too cheery for its own good. "Good morning, idiot! Did I wake you? I was afraid you wouldn't answer!"
Merlin was quiet for a few beats, the peppiness of the voice on the other end still too much for his sleep-rattled brain. "Huh?"
"Guess I did. Morning, beautiful."
"Morning," Merlin drawled back. "Gimme two seconds, please."
Arthur's chuckle through the phone sounded like music. "All the time you need, love, but make it fast. I have a limited amount of minutes."
Frantically Merlin threw the phone on the bed, nearly toppling face first as he attempted to climb out, foot getting tangled in the sheets. He glanced blearily over at the clock, blinking 4:45 in a mocking green light.
"Damn you, Arthur," he muttered to himself. Once he was upright a simple dousing spell was enough to shock him into awareness. Another muttered drying spell and he was all set, grabbing the phone from where it was still blinking on his mattress and curling up instead on Arthur's bed, breathing in the fading scent of the pillows. "Morning, my King," he whispered jokingly.
"Good morning, Lionheart," Arthur responded back. Merlin could almost hear the grin of pleasure through the phone. "I'm afraid I didn't look at the time before calling. What is it back in Camelot?"
"Four in the morning. Hungover. Miserable. The usual, thanks so much."
Arthur chuckled again and Merlin smiled broadly. His goal was always to hear that chuckle- that laughter he so missed. "Sorry, darling."
"No worries. I have to finish an essay anyways. So, how's America? New York?"
"Same as the last time you asked me, moron. Not much has changed in a day."
Merlin shrugged although he knew the other boy couldn't see it. "Learning a lot? Internship good? Meeting new people?"
Arthur made a noise of noncommitance. "I... to be honest, I thought studying abroad in the business capital of the world would be more... I don't know. Interesting. But all I'm doing is running coffee and sitting in on meetings. They took my idea the other day, though. And yeah, I am learning a /lot/. But I miss my Lionheart."
Merlin wished more than anything at that moment he could kiss through the phone. "I miss you too, love. Only a few more weeks, right? We can do it. Phone calls, texts, video chats... we can make it." If you don't wake me up at four in the morning every morning, that is.
"I can hear what you're thinking. And again, I'm sorry. I'll remember calling in the night isn't the best idea anymore. It's only eleven here, I only just got in."
"Partying hard over there? I'm being good on my end...," he left the threat hanging.
"I am being very good, Merlin. Don't worry!" Arthur's voice was firm. "No other boys or other girls. Promise."
"I...," Merlin let out a sigh. "It wouldn't do for you to arrive at a party without a girl or a nice guy. As long as it's not steady, then..."
"Merlin. No. I'm not cheating on you."
Merlin grinned widely. "I love you."
"I love you too, my little idiot."
The next time Arthur called was in the middle of class. Merlin considered the merits of three things: one) slamming his fist and the phone into the nearest person or desk; two) blushing and disappearing into the ground; or three) a mass spell to give him a few moments of talking to Arthur.
"Merlin Emrys...," his professor's voice was incredibly firm. "Is that your mobile?"
Merlin shrugged. "It's Arthur. My... you know, my roommate. He's studying abroad and I'm not sure he really understands time differences yet."
She stared at him coldly for a few moments and then sighed, corners of her mouth twitching. "You're lucky I studied overseas quite a lot in my day, boy. I get it. Tell him you can't talk and then get that thing out of my sight. And next time, keep it /off/!"
Merlin nodded frantically, sending prayers of gratitude before ripping open his phone.
"Arthur, I really can't talk..."
He was cut off by the sound of tears on the other end. "Arthur?"
"I was fired, Merlin."
"What?!" His screech of incredulity reverberated through the classroom and the teacher glared at him. "Merlin! Off! Now!"
"Give me one second, love, please..." he begged into the phone and with a broken voice, Arthur agreed. Merlin pressed the mobile against his chest. "Please, mark me down as absent, but Arthur's hurt and I need to talk to him. Please. Give me a few minutes, kick me out of class if you need to, but I need to take this phone call."
She stared at him for what seemed like an eternity and he stared back, all the other students watching quietly, whispering to each other.
"It's obvious this is important to you, Mr. Emrys...," she started.
"It is... please...,"
She shook her head, not forbidding him, but giving in. "Fine, Merlin. But don't try to get back in my class after. And get the notes on your own. Getting you caught up because you need to comfort your boyfriend is not my job."
Merlin's heart leapt. "Thank you!" He clambered out of his seat and ran into the hallway, ducking into a secluded alcove.
"Arthur?"
"Merlin?!" his voice was choked through the phone. "Can you talk now? I'm sorry, but I don't know where else to turn and-,"
"I'm here, love." Merlin soothed. "What happened?"
"I... I couldn't keep my big mouth closed. That's what happened. This is why I need you- to hold me back. I said something I shouldn't have at a meeting. I'm only an intern, I was supposed to stay quiet and serve the coffee, but Father works in the business that they were talking about and I /know/ about that stuff and I tried to butt in and I had a good idea but they wouldn't /listen/ to me! I'm the son and heir to Uther Pendragon, Merlin! Everyone listens to me! But they just called me a pompous Brit kid and chucked me out on my ear. I don't know what to do...," his voice was pleading.
Merlin listened quietly, occasionally making small soothing noises. "Shhh, Arthur. Take a deep breath. You can /do/ this, alright? Go back in and apologize."
"I can't..."
"Arthur. This is the time that calls for swallowing your pride and 'fessing up. You did something wrong. If you follow the correct protocols for submitting your ideas instead of just butting into a meeting, perhaps they'd get listened to. Perhaps not. But this internship isn't just to allow you to see the business of business first hand. It's to teach you how to survive in a job there. This is a learning experience just like any other. Just go in there, put your heart on the table, and beg for another chance. Explain what happened. They'll appreciate honesty."
"Merlin... I..."
"Arthur, please."
"Don't you want me to come home?!" His voice was sharp but incredibly sad. "Don't you want me to come back to you?"
Merlin's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What? What does that have to do with this? Of course I want you home, but..."
"I got fired, Merlin! I can come home! Who needs this damn position- I can come back to you."
"No." Merlin's voice was incredibly firm, almost vicious in its sincerity. "Not a chance. Arthur Pendragon, I will not look at you until the semester is done if you give up on everything you worked for because you want to come home and see me."
"But Merlin..."
"/No/, Arthur. I won't let you give up everything for me. Absolutely not. If you come back early I will act like you never set foot on British soil."
"Lionheart, please..."
"Arthur, will you just /listen to me for once in your goddamn life/?!" Merlin screeched into the phone, sliding down to sit on a bench after having stood up and paced through most of the conversation. "I love you. I love you more than anything in this entire world. And that's why I won't let you jepordize your entire future because you're feeling a bit homesick. We can talk. We can Skype. We will continue to make this work. I am here for you every hour of every day, as I've shown by missing class and getting up at four in the bloody morning for you. But you have to make it work on your end as well. I can't always be the one making sacrifices."
"I'm trying to sacrifice for you, if you'd let me!"
"You need to make the harder of the two sacrifices, Arthur! Give up me for the few more weeks it takes and focus on making yourself the best businessman possible. And then when you come home I'll show you my skills I've been honing in Physics. And we'll both have things to show and awe the other with, and I promise the sex will be the best it's ever been. Just... I'll wait for you. Give me something to wait for. As they say, waiting makes the heart grow fonder."
"I...," Merlin didn't cut Arthur off this time, and finally, after a few seconds of quiet, Merlin could feel him nodding and brushing away tears. "You're right. You're always bloody right. Why is it you're always right, Merlin?"
"I'm wise beyond my years," he smiled softly. "Isn't that what you always say?"
"I love you...," Arthur whispered. "I'll go back in there and beg for them to take me back. I'll learn a lot and then I'll come back to you and I'll give you the best night of your entire life."
"Is that a promise?" Merlin asked, smile bright despite the tears in his eyes.
"It's a demand," Arthur responded, voice still choked but words vehement.
"I have to go," Merlin muttered, glancing back at the students now filing out the door. One of his Physics friends caught his eye and she waved, gesturing for him to join them for lunch. "I'm being summoned."
"Seems I'm not the only one who needs you," Arthur sighed. "Better start working on my speech, then."
"Email it to me," he said quickly. "Let me read it before you memorize."
Arthur closed his eyes for a few moments, leaning back against the wall on his side. "I do love you. Thank you for saving me, yet again."
"It's my job, darling. Talk to you later?"
"Counting down the moments." Merlin opened his mouth to say something else when Arthur clicked the phone off. They always refused to say goodbyes- they were too final. 'Talk to you later' was easier.
Merlin leaned back against the tiled walls, smiling despite the tears coursing down his face. His heart seemed to restrict into half its normal size, but he was happy. Arthur was going to live his dreams, with a little hidden help from his Lionheart back home.