"Yes, mum... Ye – yes mother... uh hu—no... MOTHER YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!"

Arthur stood on the curb impatiently with his thumb stuck up in the air like he had seen on American movies while Merlin spoke to his mother, who hadn't stopped talking to him since they'd landed.

"Taxi!" Arthur yelled. "TAAAAXXXIIIEEEE!"

Finally, a taxi quickly pulled up to the curb and Arthur and Merlin frantically jumped in and did their best not to make too much awkward contact.

"Whea tew?" the taxi driver asked.

"Uhm, The Star-Crossed Hotel, please," Merlin said as he was fumbling to put his phone back in his pocket.

Arthur leaned against the window and looked up. The sky was amazing here. He had been wealthy but he had never been to a major city like Chicago before, and he watched as hundreds of people shared a side walk, as planes flew overhead, as thousands of people populated stores and streets and stayed out of each other's way while making it all look completely chaotic.

Just as he watched them, Merlin watched Arthur's eyes reflect the day. The beautifully warped buildings and the people in the reflections were only paralleled by the deep blue that seeped out from Arthur's iris. For that moment, the whole world but Arthur was black and white; he was the bright moon on a dark night.

Arthur turned to see Merlin staring at him from across the cab. Their eyes locked and for a split second, the world stopped... until Merlin turned away to look out of his own window, thereby breaking the connection as he blushed fiercely. Arthur sighed, and as he turned back to his own window, a small smile crept across his face.

The hotel was relatively close; it only took ten minute to get there from when Arthur had hailed a taxi. Merlin and Arthur pulled their things out of the trunk and began to walk to the huge hotel that Merlin's dad had booked. After wheeling their luggage in, it was taken by the bus boys and pulled away.

"Welcome to the Star-Crossed Hotel," said a very pretty concierge. "Do you have a reservation?"

Merlin pulled out two tickets and handed them to her. As she scanned the tickets, her black hair fell over her eyes and she rumbled ever so slightly, but just enough for them not to miss it

"And can I see some I.D?" she asked.

Merlin pulled out his wallet and so did Arthur and together handed her their passports. She handed Merlin's back with his keycard but looked somewhat distressed.

"I'm terribly sorry Mr. Pendragon," she began, "but your room is out of commission, and we don't have a single other opening until the day after tomorrow." She looked up at Arthur. "We can relocate you at our other Hotel across town if you'd like? I'm so sorry, but that's really all I can do."

"There's not another single open room?" Merlin asked, astounded.

"No, I'm sorry. I really wish I could be of more help," she said apologetically.

"No, it's fine," Merlin said, and he turned to face Arthur. "Do you mind sharing a room with me?"

Arthur's face went bright red. Of course I don't mind you idiot, I want nothing more than to sleep in the same bed as you and feel your warmth and -

"Arthur?"

Arthur spent a few seconds pretending like he was thinking, trying not to be obvious about it. "I guess not..." he finally said.

Merlin's face lit up as he smiled and he swivelled back to the concierge.

"Excuse me miss, I know it's not your fault but I do want the hotel manager to know that I am Merlin Emrys-Bane, the step-son of Richard Bane, who is the CEO of Camelot Pharmaceuticals, the largest and most powerful multi-billion dollar company east of the Atlantic, and unless you want some extraordinary bad PR and a very irritated guest with mad blogging skills, I suggest that you tell him not only will we be expecting a refund of Arthur's ticket, but free room service, pay-per-view movies, and as many extra pillows as we desire. Understood?" Merlin's eyes had narrowed, and he was glaring at a very intimidated lady.

"Yes, of course Mr. Bane, right away," she said as she shook and picked up her phone to dial the hotel manager.

Merlin's smile was instantaneous and he looked over at Arthur, who looked – irritated, instead of happy. Merlin shrugged it off and walked to the elevator. Arthur followed.

"You know," Arthur began as Merlin hit the "Floor 13" button, "you didn't have to take advantage of her like that."

Merlin turned to look at him. "Are you kidding? Did you know that a hotel could charge as little as $20 a room and still make over 100% profit? Our rooms were $750 a piece per night, for the next two weeks," he said as Arthur's eyes widened, who clearly hadn't realized how fancy a hotel he was staying at. "The fact that they didn't even bother to notify us means that they're understaffed to try to greed even more money into their pockets, which is hundreds of jobs that aren't being put out. Have you seen the economy in the States? It's absolutely irresponsible of a company, and completely outrageous that they didn't even send us an e-mail, let alone notify us at the door."

Merlin looked angry and crossed his arms over his chest, but Arthur couldn't help but feel an extraordinary amount of respect and admiration for him. It was a very mature way to think about things and the fact that he thought of it so fast and on the go and god it was so hot when Merlin was intelligent. Arthur couldn't help but stare, mesmerized by his polished ideals, captivated by the mixture of intelligence and sheer aesthetics of Merlin. He was almost too good to be true.

The elevator door dinged and opened to reveal a large corridor. The rooms were extremely spaced out with only one room every 10 yards or so. Merlin walked quickly as they passed door after door.

"... Twenty-five... twenty-six... aha! Here we are! Room twenty-seven," Merlin exclaimed. He took the keycard that the concierge had given him and slid it into the door. Beep Beep

Merlin opened the door to the very large room and Arthur's mouth immediately dropped in awe of how large this place was. The entire west wall was covered in windows, which left a beautiful view over the city and you could see for what felt like miles. The Sears Tower, Lake Michigan, tens of other skyscrapers and buildings — it was incredible.

Merlin picked up his suitcase from by the front door and carried it back to the room. Arthur followed to get his suitcase, but when he looked around he was embarrassed and didn't quite know where to put it.

Merlin popped his head out from behind the door to his room. "Uhm," he started uncertainly, "you can either sleep on the floor in my room, on the couch out here, on the floor out here, in the tub, the kitchen, or you can share a bed with me."

Or you could share a bed with me.

A bed with me.

With me.

Or you could share a bed with me.

NO! It's a trap! Arthur's mind yelled, and yet he couldn't get the thought of being in only boxers, cuddled up to Merlin's back, feeling the warmth of Merlin against his chest, feeling their legs intertwine, the scent of Merlin hair in Arthur's nose as he nuzzled and kissed and bit and –

"Arthur?" Merlin asked again. Arthur snapped back into reality. Who was he kidding? Merlin wasn't even gay, probably, and all sleeping in the same bed would do would create awkward contact and probably give Arthur the biggest erection in the universe which would probably kill Merlin and then where would he be? A murdering pervert with no job in Chicago and without a way home. He'd have to live on the street!

"ARTHUR!" Merlin said again, louder this time.

"Uhm, I'll sleep out here on the couch," Arthur replied.

"Oh..." Merlin said, trying to hide his disappointment. He'd been really hoping Arthur that was going to sleep in the same bed as him, but then again, who was Merlin kidding? Arthur was not gay and even if he was, he was out of Merlin's league.

It took about an hour for them to unpack and get settled in. Arthur fell leisurely on the couch and looked out the window. It was incredible, the view, and he watched eagerly as the sun gently set on the horizon of the city, the light changing from yellow, to amber, to honey. Arthur couldn't believe anything that beautiful could exist - well, second best to Merlin, of course.

Merlin felt the hot water run over him. He was lucky and had beaten Arthur at rock-paper-scissors and was able to get his shower first. Merlin let the heat roll over and into him, down his back, running against his chest, into his thighs. Merlin dropped his hand. He felt Arthur step into the shower, turn him around, gently lower himself and started to work on Merlin. He felt Arthur's tongue dip, grind, and slide against him pulling him in deeper. Merlin placed his hand over his head, gripping the tiled wall, his hand beating faster and faster. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as his mouth opened, gently moaning Arthur's name.

Arthur knew he didn't have much time. He lay sprawled out on the couch, his pants down around his thighs. He wondered about Merlin, about his shower. He imagined walking in there and seeing Merlin lathered up. He imagined planting kisses on his back and neck while slowly rubbing circles on Merlin's chest, going lower and lower, right until he had a firm grip. He could see himself turning Merlin around, kissing down his neck, down his torso, down, down, down, until he was level with Merlin, all of Merlin. He could feel Merlin inside of him. Arthur slammed his hand down and felt his orgasm over take him and moaned Merlin's name.

Arthur pulled his pants up. Merlin put his robe on. They both took a second to think about the other man in the other room, briefly before shame and guilt corrupted them, and they moved on, trying to get their minds off of each other. Arthur dropped his face into his hands and sighed. It was silly, really, thinking about Merlin that way. It would never happen. Merlin, meanwhile, looked at the fading cuts on his arm, tears formed at the edges of his eyes and he wished he had something sharp, something to cut the pain away.

Arthur turned gently and placed his arm over Merlin. The night air was cool and the moon washed in through the castle windows. Arthur had a weird dream, something about buildings and flying metal beasts. It'd been so strange.

Merlin rustled in his sleep, his snoring briefly interrupted by his body's unconscious movements. Arthur smiled and raised his hand to curl a lock behind Merlin's ear. He loved how beautiful Merlin looked as he slept, how soft and fragile he was. Arthur laid back in bed, his dream in small fragments now, scattered in his mind like stars in the sky.

Merlin rolled over and wrapped his arm around Arthur, waking up just long enough to whisper "I love you," into the kings ear.

Arthur woke up to sunlight piercing the windows of the room. He could feel the warmth of the rays, kissing and caressing his face.

He sat up slowly and felt a sharp pain rush through his back. Damn this couch, Arthur thought. He gently stretched and contorted as he tried to move his back muscles out of insanity and back into commission before walking lazily into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of milk to get ready to wake up and start the day baby-sitting Merlin.

He stood there for a minute thinking back to his old life where he, too, was wealthy. He thought about how he hadn't really done anything with it, albeit he was young and stupid but that was no excuse. His gaze wandered to the door to Merlin's room. Maybe it was a good thing he would inherit the company, he thought. He'll do a much better job than me.

Merlin and Arthur sat in the very slow moving taxi. Their eyes scanned the crowds of people who were protesting some 99% of something that obviously was important. Merlin was becoming more and more impatient and looked ahead with a scowl, because Gaius had been expecting them an hour ago and at this rate it would be sundown before they even got there. Merlin pulled out his, now charged, iPod and started listening to Adele. She was his favorite lately.

Finally, almost three hours later, they pulled up to the small stoop of Merlin's favorite uncle, Gaius. Merlin walked slowly up to the door, before massively spamming the door bell. ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Hold your horses!" yelled an old man from inside the building. A few clicks and a grunt later, the door opened and a tall white haired man approached them, looking down upon them with interest.

"Well, Merlin..." Gaius said. "It's about time you got here. I know punctuality is not your strong suit but at least you got here before the month was out."

The old man's gaze turned to Arthur, who was standing awkwardly behind Merlin and doing his best not to draw attention.

"And who is this young man?" he said. "He looks far too dignified to be in your party, Merlin."

Arthur chuckled, but Merlin kept his cool. "He is. I bought him on eBay. It said: "Free Blond Super Ninja Soldier's" and well, hell, I couldn't give that up—who wouldn't want their own Blond Super Ninja Soldier?"

Gaius looked at Merlin and Arthur and then asked, "Well... how long have you been dating?"

Arthur felt his face turn bright red and he turned away, trying not to make eye contact with Gaius, but he turned even redder as Merlin said, "About a month now, after I bought him he saved me and two kittens from a tree, then teleported us to Wendy's and bought me fifteen burgers and then told me I was a pretty lady while serenading me in his own song that he wrote just there and then."

Arthur was wide eyed and bright red as Merlin and Gaius stared each other down until a smile broke out on both of their faces at the same time.

"Ahh, Merlin, my boy!" Gaius embraced Merlin tightly and ran his hand through his hair. "I've missed you so much."

They're both absolutely insane! Arthur thought as he twiddled his thumbs behind his back and played with his shirt.

"I've missed you too, Uncle," Merlin said into Gaius's chest. After about a minute's embrace, Merlin pulled back and pointed to Arthur. "This is my personal manservent, Arthur," he said proudly, and he popped a smile that stretched ear to ear as he watched Arthur's face contort with embarrassment and shame.

"I'm his baby-sitter," Arthur corrected. He had more to say, but he didn't want to seem like a jerk in front of Merlin's uncle.

"So it seems," Gaius chuckled, Arthur looked over at Merlin triumphantly just as Merlin looked back at him, smiling, content that Arthur was so quick to get along with his family. Gaius turned and walked into the house with Merlin running up quickly so he could get in before Arthur did and then turned around and stuck his tongue out. Arthur laughed and smiled at Merlin.

Merlin, of course, smiled back.

"So, how long are you staying?" Gaius asked over a cup of tea. Merlin, Arthur, and Gaius were all sitting around a large wooden table that looked at least a hundred years old. Merlin was gently stirring milk into his while Arthur poured an almost inhuman amount of sugar into his. Both of them were nibbling on weird American pastries, doing their best to not offend Gaius but, really, they were horrible.

"About two weeks or so," Merlin answered. "Richard wanted me to get out for once in a while I guess..."

"Ah, perfect," Gaius said reaching into his pocket. "As it turns out, I have two tickets to the Adler Planetarium's Though the Cosmos show. I figured you'd be interested." Gaius raised both tickets into the air. A small picture of a planet was on the front and surrounded by pictures of galaxies and stars.

Merlin's eyes widened with surprise, but then it quickly faded. "Only two tickets?" he said, and he looked to Arthur who looked back at him, surprised. Merlin wanted to go, for sure, but he didn't want to leave Arthur by his lonesome. He looked at Arthur apologetically.

"It's no big deal, Merlin," Arthur said, returning a look that said it's alright, I'll miss you, though, but he actually said, "Go! Spend time with your uncle; I'm sure I can find other things to do around the city." Arthur knew he'd just stay at the hotel and rent porn or something, but he didn't want to ruin Merlin's good time. This was his vacation after all, and considering Merlin had scored something fierce on his A-Levels, he deserved it.

Gaius raised a hand to silence both of them. "If you would have let me finish, I have to go to the doctors that day, so I can't go. I figured it'd be a great gift to give you and your – ahem – your friend," Gaius said.

Arthur hung on to the way Gaius said "friend". It made him feel vulnerable. He sipped at his tea, hoping he wouldn't be redrawn into the conversation because it was awkward enough being with Merlin and his Uncle with his Uncle having to insinuate things that Arthur didn't really understand.

Merlin snatched the tickets out of Gaius's hand and carefully looked them over. "This is for next week," Merlin muttered, and then yelled, "Uncle, thank you so much!" and he leapt across the table to give Gaius a hug.

After a few hours of talking, catching up, questions about Hunith and Richard and about Arthur and his family, about life, school and the future, Merlin and Arthur walked out of the house. Gaius stood at the door, watching them as they approached the taxi.

"Farewell, Uncle!" Merlin yelled.

"Good bye, Merlin, don't be a stranger!" Gaius yelled in return. "Oh, and Merlin..."

"Yes?" Merlin asked, one foot in the car.

"Try not to do anything reckless?" Gaius half warned, half asked.

"Never, Uncle!" Merlin yelled cheekily, and he ducked into the car, ready to head back to the hotel, eager to begin tomorrow. He looked over to Arthur and sported a huge grin but Arthur looked back at him, puzzled.

"What?" Arthur asked, annoyed that Merlin was awkwardly staring at him.

"Nothing," Merlin responded easily and he turned to the cab driver. "To the Star-Crossed Hotel please."

It was going to be a great two weeks.

"I'm hungry," Merlin said conversationally in the taxi only a little later. His stomach rumbled and he looked over to Arthur who had a confused look on his face, as if he was pondering whether he was hungry or not.

Arthur turned to him. His face was dark from the lack of night, but he could still make out his cheeks, his lips, his eyes. "I kinda am too."

"Driver," Merlin said, "let us out here, please." The taxi rolled to a stop and Arthur looked at Merlin, puzzled.

"Merlin, you do know we're at least five kilometres from the hotel, right?" Arthur asked irritably. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to get lost in a city and get raped or mugged or killed or abducted or slaughtered by some weird American.

Merlin shrugged. "That's what makes this an adventure, right?" Merlin opened his door and hopped out of the car. Arthur, on the other hand, sat for a second before smirking to himself and following shortly after into the bright city night.