Nothing should happen at a small pickup basketball game, right? Let's see!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters, just what they do in this story.

Merlin exited the Vauxhall tube stop, and made the short walk over the park Arthur told him to meet at. Both the tube station and park were close to their station, but the area was still new to Merlin. As he rounded the corner, the park came into view and he saw the court with three men already playing. He would recognize the blonde hair and broad shoulders of Arthur anywhere. He took notice of the red shirt he wore, his arms on full display as the sleeves of the shirt were cut off. Further down his body, his hips were in a pair of silvery shorts and Merlin's eyes trailed down his muscular legs to a pair of black sneakers. He was weaving between two other men, who, as Merlin drew closer, were Gwaine and Lance.

He tugged the small duffle tighter on his shoulder. In it, he had a water bottle, towel, a protein bar in case he got hungry, and a first aid kit. Better to be prepared than not. He was an EMT after all.

Nearing the court, Gwaine noticed him first and waved him over.

"Merlin, my man! Glad you could make it!" Gwaine called as Merlin walked up to the small group.

"Glad to be here."

"You've played before?"

"Yeah, a few pickup games here and there when I was at Uni. It's been a while since I've played because of my training, but I'm looking forward to getting back into the game."

"Sounds good. Arthur and I are picking teams. I'll snag you for mine once I beat him at a little roshambo." Gwain winked as he hustled over to Arthur to get set.

Lance walked up next to Merlin with the basketball under his arm and chuckled.

"You'll get used to their competitive nature."

Merlin shook his head.

"They do know that there's only two of us here, right?"

"Yeah, but they don't care whether it's 2-on-2 or 5-on-5. A game is a game, no matter how many are involved, and they both love to win."

Not surprising. He just wanted to have fun, but I guess it would be what it would be.

"Come on, Princess. Let's get this show on the road. Merlin and I have a game to win." Gwaine's fist was primed and ready on his other palm as he taunted Arthur.

"In your dreams, Gwaine," Arthur retorted back, catching Merlin's eye in the process.

Merlin flushed slightly under his gaze. There was no need to blush, yet he couldn't seem to help it when Arthur's eyes were on him. At least it was a warm day, so he could always blame the weather for his pink cheeks if need be.

He watched the two men as they called out 'roshambo' and you'd think it was a matter of life and death with the seriousness that flowed between them. In the end, it was the best two out of three, and Arthur took the win.

"Ha!" Arthur pumped his fist in victory while Gwaine's hands landed on his hips.

"Damnit!"

"Well, Gwaine. Better luck next time," he said, patting Gwaine on the shoulder as he walked towards the two remaining men. "Alright, Merlin. You're with me."

"That's not fair, Arthur. I already claimed him."

"All's fair in love and war, Gwaine. Besides, you can't just 'claim' Merlin because you feel like it. You know the rules," he called over his shoulder, while taking Merlin to the other side of the court.

Merlin was able to twist his neck to look back at Lance laughing at Gwaine as he tossed the ball at his chest.

Merlin turned back to Arthur.

"What a git," Arthur started, chuckling to himself. "Thinking he could cheat and 'claim' you when you arrived."

"And what do you think you just did?" He felt funny at the idea of being 'claimed' by either man, though his feelings stirred differently at the thought of Arthur doing so.

"Oh, I won you."

"Excuse me? Won me?"

"Yeah…I uh, won the right to choose my team." Arthur paused.

"You know there's a difference between being won and being chosen right?" Raising an eyebrow at Arthur, Merlin waited for his response.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I didn't 'claim' you, like that idiot over there," gesturing to Gwaine, "and I didn't 'win' you." Arthur took a step closer and lowered his voice. "I chose you."

Merlin's head was spinning, from Arthur's closeness as well as his words. He swallowed heavily and opened his mouth to speak.

"Well then, I'm honored to have been chosen."

The two stared into each other's eyes, neither of them speaking, as if it would break whatever spell they were under. A few moments later, a loud whistle broke their reverie, and the two looked back at Gwaine and Lance, who were ready to play.

"Let's go, lovebirds."

Arthur rolled his eyes, and Merlin huffed out an embarrassed laugh.

The game began and the Arthur-Merlin team had the ball first. Lance covered Merlin, while Gwaine covered Arthur. The score remained roughly even in the beginning, each time taking the time to find their rhythm. Then slowly, Arthur and Merlin began to take the lead. It started with Merlin's shot from the three-point line. That silent swish had Arthur jumping in the air with a yell and Merlin's face lit up with excitement. From then on, they were unstoppable.

When Arthur and Merlin were playing on the same team, they flowed effortlessly, cohesion evident. Merlin would send no-look passes to Arthur underneath the basket, which Arthur would accept and lay up easily. Arthur's around-the-back passes would line up Merlin to sink shot after shot at the free-throw or three-point line time and time again.

Merlin high-fived Arthur when the game ended and the blond clapped his arm around the brunette in a manly side-hug, neither ready to release the other.

The moment was broken by a loud guffaw from the other side of the court.

"What sort of magical juju do you two have going on over there? It's like you can read each other's minds!" Gwaine taunted.

Arthur and Merlin looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. It did seem easy for them to be paired up. One of them moved, the other would counter. It was just second nature, though it was the first time playing together.

"Ok, this is horseshit. I've got Merlin this next round. Arthur, you and Lance are paired up."

"Now wait a minute…" Arthur started but Gwaine cut him off again.

"Now-wait-a-minute nothing, Princess. You two won. I demand a rematch, but I want to change the teams up. I want Merlin. Let's see how you do without him, huh?"

Arthur stepped up, wanting to say something, when Lance stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Let him try, Arthur. You know he won't let this go, so don't fight it, ok?"

Lance had some kind of calming effect on Arthur, so blew the breath out of his nose and kept his eyes on Gwaine.

"Fine," Arthur said, with a shrug, shifting his eyes to Merlin, who was being pulled away by Gwaine. He took comfort from the fact that Merlin didn't seem to want to play against him.

The game began again, but this time, the game became way more physical. The blocks were rougher, the passes not as clean. The man-on-man coverage was both expected and unexpected at the same time.

When Arthur and Merlin were playing against each other, there was a tension that was palpable and the physicality dominant. Arthur and Merlin covered each other this time, while Gwaine and Lance covered each other. This round seemed to be more equal, with neither team holding onto a lead for very long and the points remained neck and neck.

Whenever Merlin would line up to shoot, Arthur was there to block. Whenever Arthur was poised to drive, Merlin was there to steal. The physical touches were unavoidable as well. Arthur had to restrain himself from improperly wrapping his arms around the leaner man, while Merlin had to hold back the groans from pressing his back into the blonde's front.

The sweat was falling into all of their eyes as the game continued its constant back and forth nature. It was coming down to one final play, with Arthur in possession of the ball. He and Lance passed the ball between each other a number of times, before Arthur drove down the center of the court.

Gwaine left his coverage of Lance to try double teaming Arthur and steal the ball away. Arthur dodged as Gwaine flew by him. It was now just Merlin who stood between him and the basket. Merlin stayed up in his face as much as possible, shifting when he shifted. In the end, Arthur's size had the advantage as he plowed into Merlin, knocking him back under the basket as he went up for the lay up, scoring the final points of the game.

Merlin hit the court with a thud, luckily keeping his head from the concrete, but feeling the wind knock out of him. He kept his eyes closed as the sun beat down on him. Soon, a shadow covered his face, and he opened one eye to see Arthur with a glow around him from the sun, his hand outstretched towards Merlin.

"You ok?" the blond asked.

Merlin sucked in a deep breath and nodded, grasping Arthur's hand and pushing himself off the ground while Arthur pulled.

"You sure?"

The two men were practically chest to chest, hands still clasped together.

"Yeah, I'm good," Merlin said, finding his voice, and chuckling softly. "It's tough for anyone to stay on their feet when you're barreling into them."

"I don't think I've had to play that hard in a while," Arthur responded.

"Well, I definitely prefer being on your team," Merlin said, continuing to catch his breath. "It's certainly better being on your side, than against you."

"Duly noted," Arthur stated, his own chest heaving.

"Arthur, you ass," a voice called from their right.

"Don't be such a sore loser, Gwaine," Arthur said over his shoulder.

When the two men looked over, they saw Lance helping Gwaine up. Blood was dripping down Gwaine's right leg from his knee to his ankle.

"Shit."

Arthur immediately jogged over to the injured man while Merlin ran to his own bag, grabbing it and running back to Gwaine.

"Man, I'm sorry," Arthur apologized, pulling into Gwaine's unoccupied side.

"Lance, Arthur, bring him over to this bench and help him sit," Merlin called as he neared the men, pulling out his first aid kit.

The two men did just that, each of them under one of Gwaine's arms. They probably didn't need to take such extreme precautions of practically carrying him, but they didn't want to risk it.

"Oh, Merlin, ever prepared. Were you a boy scout?" Gwaine gritted out through clenched teeth as he lowered onto the bench.

Merlin just scoffed and continued to focus on Gwaine's knee. It was a large scrape, but that was it. Just a superficial wound, easily cleaned and treated. Though, you would have thought Gwaine has lost a leg from the way he was wincing and whining.

Merlin unsealed his water bottle, pouring some down Gwaine's leg. Gwaine's grunt from that was nothing compared to when Merlin grabbed the hydrogen peroxide from his kit and dabbed that on his knee. The string of curses that hissed out of Gwaine's body would have led you to believe he was possessed by a demon. Arthur and Lance held him down valiantly.

"That's nasty looking," Lance uttered quietly, looking down at Gwaine's wound.

"Chicks dig scars, man," Gwained grunted.

After Merlin cleaned the wound, he covered it and wrapped it as best he could to protect it.

"Maybe someone will kiss it and make it better, eh?" Arthur said, shoving Gwaine's shoulder playfully. "Nothing wrong with wishful thinking right?" he offered.

"Yeah, maybe," Gwaine said, glancing down at the EMT patching him up. "Hey Merlin, while you're down there…" he trailed off.

Merlin and Arthur reacted at the same time. Arthur slapped the back of Gwaine's head, while Merlin shoved his uninjured knee away, both laughing as they did so.

"Ok, I think you are good to go," Merlin said as he stood from his kneeling position.

"Gwaine, I really am sorry," Arthur began, but was quickly cut off.

"Part of the game, Arthur," Gwaine said, tenderly standing up and testing his knee. "We'll have a rematch soon enough." Winking, he slapped Arthur on the back in jest.

After a few minutes of banter, the guys decided that it was a good time to call it a day. Lance volunteered to make sure Gwaine got back to his flat ok, taking the ball with him and leaving Arthur and Merlin alone at the park. Merlin was repacking his bag as Arthur spoke.

"I'm glad you were able to come out. You play well."

Merlin blushed a bit before responding. "Thanks. It's been a bit, but it all came back to me."

Merlin finished with his bag and stood eye to eye with Arthur. It was quiet for a minute before they both began speaking at the same time.

"So…"

"Well…"

They both laughed, but it was Arthur who regained his composure first.

"Want to grab a coffee or something?"

Arthur hoped he hadn't overstepped by asking, but he wasn't ready to walk away from Merlin yet. Merlin's breath caught for a second before shaking himself out of his stupor.

"Yeah. That'd be great."

Arthur led the way back towards the Vauxhall tube station where they headed into the Starbucks. Each of them ordered their preferred drinks, Arthur with an iced latte and Merlin with an iced green tea, and Merlin tried to fight off Arthur paying for his beverage.

"You got my beers last night," was Arthur's only counter.

Merlin huffed in response, then headed towards a small table towards the back of the shop to sit. Arthur quickly joined him with their drinks.

Their conversation was easy and light, each of them taking turns asking the questions, about how they grew up, school, and careers.

"So, you are following in your father's footsteps?" Arthur asked, nearly finished with his latte.

"Yeah, pretty much," Merlin said while playing with his cup. "It was something I wanted to do as a kid. I'm happy it's worked out for me."

"I'm sorry about your father. I read it in your file when you transferred in. Must be a lot to live up to."

Losing a parent is tough, especially when you are young. Losing one because of their job is even harder. He wouldn't trade his time with his mother these last few years for the world, but Merlin still wished his father would have lived long enough to see him join his own station, like he had years before.

"Somewhat, but I know he'd be proud of me no matter what, so I try not to think too much about continuing his legacy. It's now about my legacy as well."

Arthur raised his now empty cup and Merlin matched him in an informal cheers.

"What about you?" Merlin inquired, putting his cup down on the table again. "You are at the same station as your father. That must be intimidating."

"It was when I first started. I didn't want to ruin the family name, you know?" He joked, but somehow Merlin knew that Arthur's statement probably hit home a little closer than he led on. "But then I realized that I wasn't my father. I was myself, and that meant I didn't have to try to be who he was. It allowed me to breathe easier and become my own man."

Merlin envied Arthur. Arthur had already lived through being in his father's shadow. Even though Merlin felt he was chasing his father while he was in training, he was only just now beginning his process of living up to his father's memory.

"That's actually a really smart way to think about it." Merlin tried to wrap his head around Arthur's words.

"Feel free to steal it."

The two laughed and then fell into a comfortable silence. Just when it seemed to go on a little too long, and the eyes of each man began to linger too much on each other, Merlin cleared his throat.

"This was nice," Merlin admitted.

"Yeah, it was," Arthur agreed.

They both stood and took their empty cups to the trash bin towards the front of the shop. Arthur held the door open for Merlin as he walked through, and they were out on the sidewalk quickly and began walking again.

"So, you are back on shift the day after tomorrow, right?" Arthur asked, not wanting the conversation to wane.

Merlin didn't even have to think to answer that question. He knew his schedule backwards and forwards at the moment. He was still excited about the new opportunity.

"Yeah. The last shift was pretty good, so I'm hoping I continue settling in."

"You'll get used to it pretty quick. I have no doubt."

"When's your next shift?" Merlin asked shyly.

"Same as you. Since I'm overseeing your initiation at the station, we are synced up for the next few weeks."

Merlin could feel his insides twist in a pleasant way. He nodded.

"Makes sense."

They made it to the tube station, which led to the inevitable question from Arthur's mouth.

"Which way are you going?"

"District Line. Sloane Square."

"Great, we can go together."

"Where do you get off?"

"District Line as well. St. James' Square."

Merlin nodded again. They would split at Victoria Station. Apparently, they weren't far from each other, at least regarding tube stations. They walked into the station, pulling out their tube cards and making their way to the right platform.

Once the train arrived, they could see that the car was packed. They made they're way on board and stayed close to each other. Everyone was pressed together, like sardines. They only had two stops, so it wouldn't be uncomfortable for very long, but the more they were pressed into each other, the more their minds began to wander.

Merlin's side was pressed into Arthur's, with their left hips digging into each other. As more people joined at the first stop, Merlin was shifted closer to Arthur, and now the two men were hip to hip, chest to chest, and eye to eye. Merlin nervously licked his lips and tried to look anywhere but Arthur's face, breathing deeply to keep himself in check. As the train jerked to slow down, Arthur had to catch himself before toppling over, grabbing onto Merlin's hip. Quickly looking up, he caught Merlin's eye and the car around them disappeared.

They stayed this way, looking at each other, going from eyes to lips and back again, until the doors hissed open broke their reverie.

They pushed their way out of the car and started the transition to the district lines. They would be separated shortly, each of them taking the same line in the opposite direction. As they came upon the split point, they were once again quiet. Merlin cleared his throat this time.

"Thanks for inviting me to play, and for the tea afterwards."

"Anytime," Arthur said, genuinely.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then." Merlin knew he needed to move away, but he was still reeling from the closeness in the car.

"Yeah." Arthur was having the same struggle. "See you later."

Arthur didn't move, so Merlin took one last breath and turned, starting to walk away, his hands on the strap of his bag, head slightly down.

"Hey Merlin!" Arthur called to him when he had only taken ten steps.

"Yeah?" Merlin whipped around and called back in response.

"Want to meet up again tomorrow? Grab another coffee maybe?"

Merlin's heart skipped a beat before he responded.

"Yeah. Sounds great."

Arthur's smile was wide, and Merlin quickly reciprocated. They gave each other a simple wave and then they were gone, lost in the sea of people just coming off another train.

Merlin wandered to his next platform, easily finding a seat in the tube car, and leaned back with his head resting on the window behind him. He only had one stop anyway, so it would be a quick ride, but with a small smile on his face he couldn't help but think about how he was really looking forward to tomorrow now.

What did you think? Some cute alone time for the boys.