Day Twenty Nine: Something Sweet:

(This story is dedicated to my cat, Tootsie, who passed away recently. I miss you Toots, and I love you with all my heart!)

Their last year of Uni was upon them and before they got too loaded down with work, Merlin wanted to take Arthur out, do something special for him.

"Merlin, are you going to tell me where we're going?"

Merlin shook his head, trying, and failing, to keep the laughter from bubbling up, "Now Arthur, if I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise. You're not very good at this are you?"

Arthur slung an arm behind Merlin, letting it rest on the seat of the Tube, "Apparently not." He leaned in and planted a kiss on Merlin's temple, "I'm just worried you're taking me to something where I'll get my shirt dirty."

"I told you to wear something you don't mind getting messy, but did you listen? Obviously not."

He specifically told Arthur, but no, he had to go and wear one of his nicer shirts…one of the shirts that looked ridiculously good on him. He better not get it dirty.

It was a good thing that their destination was kind of a mask of what they would really be doing.

"A pub?" Arthur asked his eyebrows quirking in confusion. "How am I going to get messy at a pub?"

Merlin smiled, "Would you stop asking questions, you'll find out soon enough." He gave Arthur a playful smack on his shoulder before leading him into the pub.

Some of the tables in the back were covered in newspaper and this is where Merlin led Arthur. Arthur's mouth popped open, his lips forming an 'O' shape, thoroughly confused. "Merlin, wha-"

"Sit." He didn't wait for Arthur to finish his question. Putting his hands on Arthur's broad, muscled shoulders, Merlin pushed him down into the booth, and turned to get some pints from the bar. He returned to find a woman with boxes, placing the contents of the boxes on the tables. Arthur stared after her, his mouth still agape with surprise.

"Arthur, close your mouth. It's not nice to gawk," Merlin chuckled. He placed a pint in front of Arthur and watched as the woman placed paint, brushes, and other various art materials in front of them.

Arthur very slowly turned to look at Merlin, "Merlin are we…are we going to do arts and crafts?"

Merlin spluttered into his pint, "Well, when you say it like that." Merlin watched as Arthur looked at the art materials with horror, "You hate it, don't you? This was a stupid idea. I'm sorry. I have something else in mind if you—"

Arthur took Merlin's hands and pulled him across the bench so he was inches from his face. Merlin looked up into Arthur's sky blue's. Arthur smiled and rested his forehead to Merlin's, "No no no, Merlin this is really sweet. I've secretly wanted to learn how to paint." He tilted his chin up until their lips met, "It's a very unique idea. Thank you."

Merlin smiled and closed his eyes, "Kiss me again." He heard Arthur's breathy laugh as he let go of Merlin's hands to stroke his cheek before leaning in for another kiss. Merlin could've lost himself in Arthur's kisses. The soft sounds of want and need tickled Merlin's lips and he did all he could not to let his hands wander.

They were interrupted by the clearing of a throat. Merlin jerked his head back and looked around. A few other groups of people had shown up for the event and they were all watching Merlin and Arthur. Merlin cleared his throat, "Sorry. We're ready." The others laughed and finally turned their attention to the woman standing before them. Merlin glanced at Arthur and took his hand under the table.

Their instructor, Lauri, was an older woman who wore turquoise pants and a black sweater. She was tall with short, spiky hair and had a smile that lit up the room and she was absolutely in love with Arthur. Not in the way that she wanted to take him home and shag his brains out, but in the way that she adored his jokes, or how much of a gentleman he was being, or his subject matter: Merlin.

Arthur had decided to try his hand at pastels and do a profile of Merlin. So far, it wasn't half bad…

It was actually really good.

"Where did you learn to…to…" Merlin waved an exasperated hand at Arthur's piece. He had a spot-on outline of Merlin's profile. The nose, eyes, and lips were complete and he was currently working on Merlin's hair.

"Um…I really don't know. This is the first time I've worked with pastel." He looked to Merlin, his grin reaching ear to ear. The corners of his eyes crinkled and his blue eyes sparkled with amusement.

Merlin gaped at him, "How…what? I've been trying to master pastel for years and here you are whipping out those pastels for the first time like it's nothing." Merlin tossed his paintbrush onto the newspaper and immediately regretted it. He had been trying his hand at water color. He'd managed to splattered paint all down his front and now his carelessness had splattered paint onto Arthur's portrait of him.

Arthur jerked back with a gasp, "Merlin!"

"Oh shite! Arthur I'm sorry I didn't mean to, I—"He quickly grabbed the brush, but the damage was done. There was water colored paint marks splattered across his perfectly drawn face, "Oh Arthur…"

"What's the fuss over here?" Lauri hurried over between the tables and leaned over Arthur's work.

"Merlin uh, accidently, got paint on my um…well here." He held up his picture, his shoulders slumping and a look of defeat on his face. Merlin hung his head in shame. How could he be so foolish?

Moments later, Lauri threw her head back in joyful laughter and took the picture from Arthur, "Darling, if anything, you've added some spice to it!"

Arthur cocked his head, "Spice?" He looked to Merlin for explanation. Merlin shrugged.

"Yes dear, spice," she said, "Here, finish up what you were working on, ignore the paint splatter and let me know when you're done. We'll have this picture looking so marvelous that they'll want to put it in the Tate!" She gave Arthur his picture back and shuffled off to check on everyone else.

Merlin put a hand on Arthur's shoulder, "I'm really sorry Arthur."

"I know love, it's all right. Apparently it can be fixed," he responded. He sighed and leaned over the table, "Here goes nothing."

Merlin continued to paint his picture. It wasn't as 'marvelous' as Arthur's, but it was still pretty fantastic. Once Arthur realized what he was painting he couldn't stop gawking at it. Merlin's dragon was Arthur's favorite thing in the world; he couldn't stop pointing out his favorite bits to Merlin.

"I really like how you put that gold detail into its tail. Oh and its eyes, brilliant!"

Merlin chuckled, "Yes Arthur, you've said."

"Seriously though—" He was probably going to point out more unintentional details that Merlin hadn't meant to add, but Lauri had come over to help Arthur fix his picture.

She held it up to the light and gasped, "Stunning, Mr. Pendragon this is a gorgeous profile of your beau here. Now as for the water color, watch." She took a paint brush she had tucked behind her ear and dipped it into the blue paint Merlin had and made a few strokes here, a couple more splatters there, added some other colors like yellow, orange, and green and finally turned the picture back around to Arthur.

Arthur huffed out a laugh and slumped back against his seat, "Wow, Lauri, that's incredible!"

"What? What did she do?" Merlin leaned across Arthur's lap to get a better view. He gasped at the picture. The little details she added made it look like the viewer was looking at Merlin through the early morning dust that's highlighted by the first rays of sunlight.

"Wow," Merlin exclaimed. It was all he could say. Even if those extra little details weren't added, Merlin still loved Arthur's artwork.

"Thank you, Lauri, truly." Arthur reached out to shake her hand, but Lauri leaned down and gave him a hug.

"You are very welcome. You boys enjoy the rest of your night."

As she walked away, Merlin scooted closer to Arthur and rested his head on his shoulders. They sat there and admired each other's works. Both artworks were pretty well done considering they don't sit there and paint every day.

They waved good bye to Lauri and walked out of the pub, their pictures safely tucked away in a brown paper bag.

They walked hand in hand down the winding roads of London, their arms occasionally swinging between them like teenagers in love. When the wind would pick up Merlin would huddle closer to Arthur who would lay his head on Merlin's. They chose a bench to sit on and watched as the last rays of sun slid behind the skyscrapers of the city. Merlin's head was on Arthur's shoulder and he had started to doze off when Arthur suddenly jerked his shoulder up.

"Hey," Merlin mumbled, "Watch what you're doin'."

"Nope, open your eyes; it's my turn for a surprise."

Merlin's eyes shot open and he jerked his head up, "What? You have a surprise for me?"

"Of course I do! What do you take me for?"

Merlin laughed and followed Arthur as he started walking away from the bench in the park and towards the busy streets. He reached his hand back, waiting for Merlin to take it. Merlin walked next to him, a new bounce to his step as he waited to see Arthur's surprise.

Right before they turned a corner Arthur spun around and stopped Merlin dead in his tracks. A few people grumbled as they had to quickly change their course and walk around the two boys.

"Okay, close your eyes."

"But what if I—"

"Merlin, close your eyes."

Merlin obliged, his heart fluttered with excitement. Arthur took his hand and led him forward, "Trust me love, I got you." Merlin tightened his hold on Arthur and bit his bottom lip, holding back the squeal of joy he wanted to let out.

He ran into Arthur who had stopped suddenly, "What? Are we here? Can I look yet?"

"Just. One. Second." Arthur guided Merlin so he was standing face to face with- something. "Okay, open them."

Merlin slowly opened one eye, then the other. At first all he saw was Arthur's beaming face. He slid his gaze up and gasped when he read the sign above Arthur's head, "The Humane Society? Arthur are we, are we getting a pet?" He bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting for Arthur to respond.

Arthur took Merlin's arms to stop him from shooting off into the kennel, "I know you've been saying you wanted a pet and I've secretly been saving up to get started on raising one."

"Oh Arthur, this is…I love you!" Merlin surged forward and clumsily crashed into Arthur. The kiss was rushed and a bit off target, but Arthur understood Merlin's excitement and he laughed as Merlin pulled him towards the kennel.

Once inside, Merlin went straight for the cats. He had been whining about not having a cuddle buddy when Arthur wasn't around and how he would love to tie feathers and string to a stick and have a cat chase him around. Arthur was more of a dog person, but he agreed that a cat would be a better pet for a flat at the moment.

He watched as Merlin poked his fingers through the slots of the crates, petting the paws and heads of cats that would come up to him. He beamed with joy whenever he asked to hold certain cats and get a better look at them. They went up and down the aisle, inspecting each cat and narrowing the choice down.

Arthur went around the corner to see the last few crates that Merlin had missed. All the cats were quite adorable and Arthur knew they'd be here for a while. Merlin could be so indecisive sometimes.

He was about to walk back to Merlin when he realized that the last crate was occupied. He walked over and peered inside. Instantly, a squashed little face, hazel eyes, and pink little nose greeted him.

"Well hello there," Arthur cooed. Her fur was soft to the touch. The white patches on her nose, chest, belly, and paws stuck out against the black of the rest of her coat. He craned his head back and called for Merlin. While he waited for him to show, Arthur stuck his finger in the crate again and tickled the cat's forehead.

"What? Oh, I missed these guys." Merlin circled the last few and finally stopped at the crate Arthur was at.

"Did you pick one yet?"

Merlin shook his head, "They're all so adorable. It's a hard decision." He took a step closer to look at the cat Arthur was petting, "Well who's this?" Merlin glanced at the little plate with the gender and medical information about the cat, "She's precious."

Arthur stood off to the side to let Merlin take a look. He stuck his fingers in and instead of having to reach in like Arthur did, the cat ducked her head and head butted Merlin's fingers. He chuckled at the gesture and asked the kennel employee if he could hold her.

As soon as he had her in his hands, the cat started purring, the sound rumbling from deep within its chest. Merlin leaned his head down and she met him with another head butt. He turned to look at Arthur, his eyes round with delight and he whispered, "This one. She's the one."

The kennel employee came up to them, "She's a character that one, the perfect essence of a cat if you ask me. I'll take her and put her in a crate for you, if this is who you're settling with?" The employee looked to both of them.

Merlin smiled and nodded and Arthur's heart burst with delight as he watched Merlin fall in love with this cat, "Let's get her home where she belongs." He said, gesturing for the employee to lead the way.

It was love at first sight for Merlin and the newest addition to their family. They discussed for the rest of the journey home what they would name her. They settled on Sweets, both of them feeling that she would most definitely live up to her name and be the sweetest little thing this side of the Thames.

She was the most unique cat they've ever seen. Her meow alone was different, it sounded more like she would mew "ow" instead of "meow" and she actually responded to her name being called.

"So, you like your surprise?"

Merlin turned his head to look at Arthur, Sweets lying comfortably on his chest and purring away, "I love her Arthur, thank you so much." He let himself fall into Arthur's lap, Sweets staying right on his chest. He tilted his head down and made kissing noises at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Just watch. Kisses?" Merlin made the kissing noises again and Sweets leaned up to head butt his lips, "She gives kisses." He chuckled and nuzzled his face against Arthur's thigh to get comfortable.

Arthur beamed and let his arm rest on Merlin, his fingers stroking Sweets' sides. Her purring ruptured through her chest and filled the room. Arthur settled into the couch. He could definitely get used to this new life with Merlin and Sweets.