Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, or make any money from this. I mean no harm, just a fun story for those who wish to read it. =)
Author's Note: Well! I've read fanfics here for a while, and occasionally got that tetchy feeling when your favourite story isn't being up-dated often enough for your liking and you just have to know what's going to happen. Know what I mean? I understand now! I love all my fellow authors even more now. You are all brilliant stars. So, in this chapter I finally introduce Arthur to the mix. Fairly slow building, but I hope you all appreciate the ride. Getting there will be even more spectacular!
"Congratulations Merlin, we'd be delighted to offer you the job." Gaius beamed and clapped the young man warmly on the shoulder before moving off to stack the shelves, leaving Merlin standing there stunned and speechless. Will moved excitedly up to fill the space Gaius had left and slung an arm around Merlin's shoulders in a much more familiar manner, grinning from ear to ear. "What did I tell you, mate? The job's yours!" He whooped joyfully, before steering Merlin out of the Naffi. The Naffi was RAF Camelot's version of a corner store, usually staffed by non-military members of the base. Guinevere – the wife of Pilot Officer Lancelot – had just finished working there after five years, having finally called it quits with the impending birth of her third child. Even with the eldest about to enter school she'd stated that she could no longer handle keeping home and holding down a full-time job with three children added into the equation. This had worked in Merlin's favour, offering up a rare full-time non-military job on base, and even though it wasn't a glamorous job he was still thrilled that it was his. As he strolled down the road with Will, he ran it through quickly in his head. Today was Friday, and Gaius said he could start first thing on Monday morning. He shook his head in awe at the sheer luck of it all, before laughing out loud and slinging his own arm about Will. Will was his oldest and best friend who he had met on his very first day at school on base. Merlin had been five, happily playing by himself on the hop-scotch when he had tripped and fallen, scraping his knee. As he had sat on the tarmac, sniffling mightily and fighting back tears, a hand had suddenly reached down to him. Following it up he had been met by a mop of unruly brown hair and a beaming smile, and suddenly his knee didn't seem to hurt so bad. They had been friends from that day forward. It wasn't long now before Will would be leaving for University, and Merlin knew he would keenly miss his best friend. But that time wasn't upon them yet, and with Friday night fast approaching and a cause to celebrate spread before them, their plans for the evening seemed pretty clear – The Soaring Dragon.
The Soaring Dragon seemed like a pretty tacky name but was actually a fairly decent bar, and a very apt name for a base that boasted one of the best groups of fighter pilots. There also wasn't a whole load of options when picking your venue for your evening off on a military base. Arthur shrugged his shoulders inside his crisp white short-sleeved shirt. Even out of uniform he couldn't help but keep his civilian attire neat and smart, shirts ironed and shoes cleaned. Hell, he'd even shaven before coming out. He raised his pint glass and took a sip of the cold refreshing larger, and took a look around him. In his direct vicinity were some of his closest friends; Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan and Leon. It wasn't all that common that they all had the same day off, let alone a Friday night, and none of them were on tomorrow morning either which was an obscene amount of luck. Their plan for tonight was to get drunk – never too drunk of course, they had reputations to maintain – and to relax properly for the first time since their comrade Balinor's death. It was nice to see Lance out and about - with an ever expanding young family free time to spend with the lads was an ever decreasing luxury. Gwaine you could never tear away from the bar if he had the evening off, whereas Leon and Elyan were generally a more laid-back pair. Arthur let a small smile start to play about his lips. He was always being told by his friends that he took life too seriously, that he didn't know how to relax, but he had a feeling that tonight he might be able to unwind a little. This evening looked set to be fun.
Merlin was laughing so hard that he thought he might fall over, so hung onto Will instead. This didn't prove out to be as good an idea as he thought as Will was laughing just as hard as he was. Freya and Morgana were giggling away themselves, reaching for their wine glasses and taking sips in-between hiccups of mirth. The girls were fellow classmates of theirs and they had all been friends for years. As the boys finally calmed down they were able to reach for their own pint glasses a gulp down mouthfuls of beer. The evening had been in full swing for a couple of hours now and most people in the bar were well on their way to becoming inebriated. Merlin leaded back against the end of the bar where their group had gathered and flicked his head back slightly, throwing his messy black bangs out of his blue eyes and allowing him to survey the busy room. It was a very good turn-out tonight, and the feel was one of good-natured humour. Nearly everyone in the room knew everyone else in one way or another; that was how things worked here on the base. His eyes suddenly alighted upon an unfamiliar blond-haired figure with eyes as blue as his own. Even out of uniform it was obvious what his day-job would be. His muscular shoulders filled out his shirt, the short-sleeves showing off his well-muscled arms, and his entire posture and how he carried himself screamed military, quite probably an officer, some hot-shot fly boy. He looked young though, no flecks of silver in his hair or lines etched into his handsome face. And he was undeniably handsome; there was no point in trying to conceal the fact. He could probably smile and have any woman in the bar zipping to his side and hanging off his every word for the rest of the night. So why was it he was in a group that was entirely male? He couldn't be gay surely, that was still something that was rarely encountered in the military and hardly ever publicly announced. Merlin wandered if there could be even the slightest chance that he was… "Hey, Mer!" Will was starting to slur slightly, punching Merlin's arm playfully when he failed to respond to him the first time he called. "Freya was just saying…" Merlin let himself be brought back into the conversation with his friends, trying to rid his mind of preoccupying thoughts about a certain good-looking blond.