A/N: Happy Belated Valentine!~ Like... really late. ._.) But eh, I did it! :'DD So, for Valentine, I actually make a chocolate for Colin Morgan! / v / Well. Not really for him since it's not him who eats it anyway. :'3 Still, make it for him. Just a simple pudding almond with a chocolate on top and a chocolate syrup~ Dat feeling tho. :'D Well. This is getting side-tracked. Anyways, hope you enjoy the story!~
Warnings: Almost forgot but, there's a bit of a bad word there.. .w.) Like... one, if I remember right...?
English isn't my native language so I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: Merlin isn't mine... though I love to dream~ -w-)
Chocolate
He never thought of himself as a handsome guy. Really, his total number of chocolate obtained in this day of love was zero. That amount increased through the day, the first one was from Freya, and he knew that Freya simply gave him as a friendship chocolate. She knew that he was gay after all, and besides, she and Will was already an item.
The second person to give him chocolate was Morgana. She gave most of the boys on the college a chocolate, just a simple one. The chocolates for their circle of friends was fancier. Still, it was an friendship chocolate.
The third person to give him a chocolate was Gwen. A handmade chocolate. But his chocolate and the other boys' chocolates are simply obligatory chocolate. Her heart was simply for Lancelot's alone. They were a match made in heaven indeed, many couples were jealous of them.
Those three were the chocolate he got today. He considered giving a chocolate to his best friend, Arthur, not a friendship one but really, he has had a crush on Arthur for a long time now. Somewhere along the way, that crush turned into love. He thought of steeling his nerves and gave Arthur a chocolate. It's fine if Arthur didn't know that he was the sender, he simply wanted to give Arthur one as a proof of his love.
He had a box of chocolate stored on his bag already, hoping to find a right time to give Arthur, secretly. It was handmade and he hoped that the packaging wasn't too girly or anything and it didn't taste bad. All he needed now was the courage. Weak he may be but not a coward, never a coward. He actually pride himself as a pretty brave man. On his first day in college, he stood up to Arthur Pendragon, son of a CEO of the Pendragon Company, as well as his love now. He got into a bit of trouble after that. Slowly though, they somehow become friends, perhaps one of the bestest friend actually.
There were a few other examples too but it's not important right now. His point was that he isn't a coward.
But now, he found himself on the men's washroom, looking at his reflection in the mirror, trying to calm his rushing heartbeat and willed the red on his face to go away. He clenched his fist tightly and steeled his nerve. He had to do it now. This was a normal day for someone to receive anonymous chocolates, especially a popular bloke like Arthur. He was sure he received more chocolates than his hands could hold.
He slapped his cheeks and turned away from the mirror, heading out of the washroom. He went to the next class, looking around. Most of the students were out for lunch and the class was almost empty safe for the few students around, most of them those that prefer studying even in lunch and those that loved to play their gadgets.
Merlin walked to his seat beside Arthur, looking around to make sure no one was around, he took the chocolate from his bag and slipped it into Arthur's table, making sure it was in a well-hidden spot but Arthur would still easily notice it if he wanted to take a book.
He slumped on his seat and waited for the bell to ring, when students would enter the class, crowding it once more. Arthur soon entered, followed by Morgana and Gwaine. Their other close friends had different subjects.
"Hey", Arthur called out as he seated himself beside him, "Where were you? You rushed out as soon as the bell rung. We went ahead to eat lunch with the others but you didn't come."
Crap, he hasn't thought of any reasonable excuse. "Um… sorry, nature's calls." It's not really the truth but Arthur didn't need to know that. And he wasn't going to say that he spent the entire lunch time on the toilet, gathering the courage he needed, that would be… weird.
Arthur laughed. "Really? The whole lunch? That's some serious shit you got there."
"What, you got a problem?" Merlin glared at him jokingly.
Before Arthur could retort, however, the teacher came inside, effectively silencing the students' chatters with presence along. Professor Kilgharrah really had that aura around him.
It was at the middle of the class when Arthur discovered the chocolate. He was groping around under the table, searching for a notebook when his fingers hit something foreign. He took out the foreign object to find that object to be a chocolate wrapped in a simple plastic, a fake rose attached to a ribbon adorning it. The ribbon was tied in a knot that looked a bit familiar to him. There was no name or message.
He wondered where he had seen the knot before.
He slowly glanced at Merlin, hoping the other wouldn't notice. His attention was fully on the teacher and his lesson. Arthur wondered if there's a small chance that the chocolate was from Merlin. He really hoped it was. He had this feeling for Merlin for awhile now. He hoped that one day he could actually take a step further from the status of 'best friend' to perhaps 'boyfriend' with Merlin. He hoped this was the day.
He sighed and turned back to the lesson before Professor Kilgharrah noticed that he wasn't paying attention and decided to give him a detention.
Merlin stole small glances to Arthur the whole lesson. It was when Arthur started to search for his notebook under the table when he started to feel embarrassed and decided to give his full attention to the lesson. He didn't dare to glance at Arthur again after that.
The lesson soon ended with the ring of a bell. That was the last of his class. He sighed in relief.
"Merlin", Professor Kilgharrah called him. Merlin lifted his head to meet the Professor's gaze to indicate that he's listening. "Please collect the assignments and bring it to my office."
"Okay."
He went around the class, retrieving the assignments from their classmates. Some groaned In frustration since they didn't manage to finish the whole thing, some complained how hard it was, some gave him their works happily. The assignments all collected, including his own, he then exited the class. It was when he was near the door when Morgana called him.
He turned, facing Morgana, Lancelot, and Arthur. "We'll be waiting for you at the cafeteria with the others, alright?" she said.
Merlin nodded. "Sure."
The trip to Kilgharrah's office wasn't all that long, it was simply the burden of the papers on his hand that made the trip worse. As soon as he arrived, he dumped the stack of papers on the desk, excused himself and exited the room.
As soon as he got back to his class, the whole class was empty save for those who were on duty. Merlin packed his things, making sure nothing was left. He checked under his table, in case he left something there.
What he didn't expect was to find a chocolate there.
He looked around. The others were simply trying to finish their job and wanted to go home as soon as possible. He looked back on the chocolate on his hand and stuffed it into his bag. A note fell out. He picked it up and read it, it has a neat handwriting, a handwriting that looks like a girl's.
Meet me on the roof at first period of lunch tomorrow, please give me your answer then.
He felt his face getting going red and wondered who gave him the chocolate as he walked to the cafeteria where his friends were waiting.
As soon as his friends saw him, they immediately moved to give him a space beside Arthur. They talked and joked for some time before they decided to call it a day and one by one they started to go home.
"I'm going to Leon's today so you can go home by yourself, Arthur", Morgana informed him before she stood and walked with Leon, holding hands, out of the cafeteria.
It was only Arthur and Merlin left. "So, we're going home now?" Merlin decided to start.
"Hm… I don't feel like going home yet."
"How about coming to my house? My mom's not back until night so it'll be a bit boring alone. I could use a company."
"Sure, let's go then", Arthur said, standing up, followed by Merlin.
When they reached Arthur's car, Arthur slid to the driver's seat while Merlin to the passenger seat beside Arthur. The first thing he noticed when he entered the car was the heap of chocolate on the back seat. Jealousy rose in him but he quickly pushed it down, knowing that Arthur wasn't his and would never be, he didn't have the rights to be jealous.
"Whoa, that's really something." Merlin knew that Arthur would definitely get a lot of chocolate, but not that much. Really, Arthur was the heir to the Pendragon Company, he's handsome, smart, he's athletic to boot. He's like the perfect prince for every girl. Merlin was a complete opposite of him. …Well, apart from the smart part, he's one of the scholarship students after all. He sighed internally and opted to scan the chocolate heap instead. His chocolate wasn't there. He glanced at Arthur and wondered where his chocolate is.
"Well, it's not like I can reject them… 'Sides, when White Day come around, I need to give them chocolates, too. It's really tiring", Arthur sighed, starting the engine, "I don't really want to but Morgana will definitely lecture me about girls' feelings and how they're fragile."
Merlin chuckled. "So very Morgana." He smiled at Arthur's annoyed pout. "You really should be grateful though, not all man is as lucky as you."
Arthur rolled his eyes. "Really, I'd rather get a chocolate from one special person that I love than heaps from unknown girls that simply wanted money."
"Oh, how romantic of you. Do you have a 'special person' in mind?" Merlin challenged him, not sure himself whether he's hoping for a 'no' or a 'yes'.
"Hm. Maybe." He looked at Arthur whose head faced the other window slightly, preventing him to see what kind of expression was on his face.
"Oh. Who is it?" Merlin asked in what he hoped a joking tone and looked down. He casted a glance at Arthur and briefly thought, did he just look at me? That thought were gone as fast as they came with Arthur now looking on the street.
"It's a secret."
Merlin's throat felt dry and for a second, he couldn't speak. He gulped and tried again, "Geez, you're no fun."
Arthur simply chuckled.
"…What about a hint, a description?"
"Hm… fine. Black hair, pale, soft skin, blue eyes, kissable lips, and…" he put on a perverted look, "erotic body."
I blushed at the description. "You big pervert!"
"Most men in the world are one anyways."
"Jeez!"
The rest of their journey was laced in silence as Arthur concentrated on the road and Merlin wondered who the luck girl, or guy, was. Though the best bet was a girl. It made him wonder though, what was Arthur's sexuality?
When they reached Merlin's home, Arthur parked the car beside the gate, following after Merlin who unlocked the gate and the door.
"Come in", Merlin motioned at him. He entered and followed after Merlin to his bedroom. He flumped down on the bed, much smaller and less comfortable than his own but its Merlin's. He internally slapped his face for sounding like a pervert. "Tea or coffee? Or I think we have an orange juice in stock."
"Hm… I'll take orange juice then", he said. Merlin nodded and went out of the door, leaving Arthur alone in Merlin's room.
He looked around. No matter how many times he came here, he still loved how the room smelled like Merlin and simply Merlin. He smiled to himself.
Not long, Merlin came back, two glasses of orange juice on hand. "Here", he said as he gave Arthur one.
"So, where do you put that last game we played? We're just a few levels away from finishing it, no?"
"Right, it should be around here…" Merlin said as he bent down to look on the cupboard under the TV which game Arthur a good view of Merlin's arse on the air—Nope, bad thoughts, Arthur Pendragon, he reprimanded himself. "Here it is!" Merlin's triumphant smile as he lift the said game up on the air felt like they could lit up Arthur's whole world.
"Great, insert it then."
"Alright, alright, you prat", Merlin chuckled as he inserted the disc into the PS III driver. Arthur simply 'tch'-ed at that. As the game loaded, Merlin went to his bag, unpacking the books. He also took out the chocolates from Morgana, Gwen, and Freya. It was then when Arthur noticed another chocolate beside the three.
His heart hammered in his chest at the thought of Merlin getting a chocolate or worse, God forbids, a love chocolate rather than a friendly or obligatory chocolate. "So, you got a chocolate. Who's the lucky girl?" he tried to say jokingly.
Merlin shrugs. "Dunno, she simply left this message", he handed Arthur the piece of note.
Arthur frowned as he read it, jealousy bubbling on his chest. "So, what're you going to do?" he said, handing back the note.
"I don't know… I mean, I don't even know the person."
Arthur hummed in response as he started the now loaded game.
"Right, wait here for awhile", Merlin said as he went out of the room.
Arthur played by himself for awhile before he had the need to go to the toilet. Finished, he decided to check on Merlin, who's apparently in the kitchen. He saw Merlin untying a ribbon on a small plastic wrapper, in it a chocolate. He looks at a few others, still tied. He then noticed the knot on each ribbons, that familiar knot. He gasped in realization. This brought Merlin's attention.
"Hey, Morgana and Gwen came yesterday, asking me to make chocolates together. Apparently, they made too much experimental ones that I had tons of it here. Thought I'd make you help me finish it", he said as an explanation. But Arthur wasn't listening anymore as his heart raced. "Arthur?" Merlin asked as he immediately ran to his car, picked up the chocolate in his bag, the one with the mysterious sender, and ran back inside the house.
Holding the chocolate on the air, he asked, "Is this from you?"
He knows.
The first thing my instinct told me was to run and hide and never show my face in front of him again. Ran I did, past him, and to the safe confines of my room. I locked the door behind me and slid down, hiding my face between my knees and arms. Shame coursed through me. I wondered how he will react. Probably disgusted, not wanting to have anything to do with me anymore.
I heard knockings that soon turned into bangings and statements turned into yelling. Is he angry? Cursing at me? Despising me? Possibilities flooded my head as I tried to shut the world down around me. It was between the blurs of it all when I heard, "I love you too!"
My eyes snapped open and I immediately turned back to the closed door. The bangings and yelling had stopped, leaving silence between them. "I love you too, Merlin." I heard his voice came out softly from the other side of the door. I reached out for the door and opened it slowly, peeking out of it.
"You mean it?" I asked meekly, afraid that this was all simply a farce to force me out of my room and make fun of me.
At that, Arthur immediately opened the door widely, causing me to stumble back in surprise. He immediately hugged me tightly, "I love you, Merlin, I always have for awhile now. You won't believe how happy I am, knowing that it was from you!"
I blushed at the open affection Arthur was showering me. "R-really…? I-I… I thought you'd be disgusted at me or thought me as a freak or something…"
Arthur released me from the hug, took both of my cheeks on his hand, he stared deep to my eyes. "I would never ever think of that, Merlin Emrys!"
"I…" I stuttered, not knowing what to say. "I'm glad." A smile bloomed on my face, my eyes getting wet from tears; happy ones.
Arthur smiled back.
We simply embraced each other for awhile before I decided to break the silence.
"So, you think my body's erotic?"
Arthur looked at me surprised before laughing, pressing our foreheads together. "Very much so", he whispered.
~Owari
A/N: So, what do you say? .w.) I don't know how to make Arthur found out that it was Merlin giving him that chocolate so I simply use just that, not the best idea but it should do, I suppose. :'v Anyway, did anyone notice that I took the bathroom scene from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun? XD Probably not, this is not an anime fandom, duh. o3o)a Nah, I'm promoting anyway, that anime is good alright, so hilarious. :'D Totally needs to check it out even if you're not an anime fan.
Another thing I keep on wondering, how inconsistent my POV is. :/ Like. Alright, I change from third person Merlin's POV to third person Arthur's POV on every line break, but, look at that last part? It was in first person, and I did that unconsciously alright. :'v It wasn't on purpose... orz ... This A/N is probably too long so I'm going to stop now. Will upload the cover photo later on~ -w-)
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!
-Kai