There will be some answers in the next few chapters... I'm just being a tease ;-)

Merlin, from that moment, seemed to take his care seriously. He brought up some sandwiches, drink and antibiotics and shuffled out looking like he wanted to say more. Arthur didn't help him, instead he washed, as best he could with all the dressings, changed his clothes and the easiest thing to wear was a dark blue tracksuit. The material was light and didn't press too heavily on any injured part of his body.

For the rest of the day he sprawled on the bed. No one else came to see him. He heard sounds of activity in the grounds, and in the house but he paid no attention. He had been forced to come here and they might not say he was being kept prisoner, but Arthur's only way of protesting was to make sure he reacted that way. There were just too many odd things going on around him.

Very slowly the afternoon turned into evening and then darkened into night. Arthur saw Merlin at dinner time, bringing up the chilli and he brought two bowls, sitting with Arthur for the meal. Arthur had to admit that Gwen's culinary skills were pretty good, whoever Gwen was.

"She's the housekeeper," Merlin explained as they sat eating the chilli, while he casually spread breadcrumbs all over himself and the carpet. He was sat on the floor, while Arthur sat cross-legged at the end of the bed. Between them, on the linen chest, sat the tray holding a plate of Gwen's bread rolls and a bowl of tortilla chips, which they both delved into occasionally. Arthur wasn't sure why he was letting Merlin sit there, prattling away about irrelevant rubbish. He very carefully steered away from any subject pertaining to where they were, why they wanted Arthur, and Uther. Arthur was certain it didn't have much fatherly concern to it.

"Gwen's really nice, you'll like her."

"I don't like anyone," Arthur said.

Merlin pouted, ate some chilli and thought about that. "No, you don't trust anyone, I think there is a difference."

"What are you, a psychologist?"

"No, I probably couldn't spell it, never mind be it."

"And what is this, an exercise in me trusting you," Arthur snarled. Merlin flinched, his cheeks colouring slightly.

"No, you've just been sat here on your own all afternoon, I was worried. I dare say Uther would see it like that."

"What about your boyfriend, he probably isn't very happy about it," Arthur said. Merlin frowned and the colour on his cheeks deepened.

"Don't act coy," Arthur said to him. "You and Gwaine. I know enough about body language to read that about you. How did you end up with him?"

"I didn't 'end up' with him," Merlin said snottily. "If anything else, I think that actually is the other way round. And I know he's a dollop-head sometimes but if you are going to be rude about him then you can eat the rest of your dinner on your own!"

Arthur frowned. "What is a 'dollop-head' when it's at home?"

"I kind of made it up, years ago. Don't know where it came from, but I don't tell Gwaine that, I just pretend it has serious meaning. I don't think he really believes that, but he indulges me."

"How did you two meet?" Arthur asked. Since he couldn't get any factual information about his predicament, the next best thing was to work out the people around him.

"School, after I came to live with Uther. It was just as I started at secondary school. Gwaine was in the sixth form. He stopped people picking on me."

"And then you ended up shagging him."

"Not exactly," Merlin snapped.

"When did you first sleep with him?" Arthur asked.

"I was fourteen, he was nineteen and he is the only person I have ever had sex with, and that ever want to have sex with and I dare say you don't get that, but I do!"

Arthur blinked, Merlin's tone was getting highly defensive

"I do get it, just because I haven't ever had it. If I put all the people I had slept with as notches on my bedpost, I'd probably carve the whole bed away."

"Sorry."

"Don't be, I started sex about the same time, with someone who was supposed to be looking after me. But you probably know that."

"I know the facts. Well, what was recorded on paper, not what really happened. How did it happen?" Merlin asked.

Arthur shrugged. "I don't think anyone's ever asked me that."

"I'm asking, and I won't tell anyone what you say," Merlin said.

"It wasn't long after I moved into the secure home, which was meant to be temporary. They'd have you showering two at a time. The kid I was with was my roommate, I think he was just glad that he had someone else taking up everyone's attention. The first time it was just touching, hands jobs for a while and then a few weeks later… they used to play cards when they knew they had kids that were virgins. The winner got to break them in."

Merlin said nothing, he put the bowl of chilli down and looked at Arthur. There wasn't anything he could say to that.

"You defended someone else though."

"Much good it did me, a new kid that came in, Will. They did the same thing, me in the showers with him. I guess they thought I would just be relieved it wasn't me."

"And it didn't work like that?"

"No, and I got stuck in that place."

"But you defended someone."

"Who they made sure I couldn't get near again, and he hung himself four months later. I overheard a social worker talking, at the end of the investigation announcing that 'these things happen'. A fourteen year old kid hangs himself and apparently it's something that just happens."

Merlin clenched his jaw and looked down. Again he didn't think that there was anything he could say to that.

"I'm sorry," he said, thinking it sounded rather feeble. Arthur snorted and put his bowl of chilli down on the linen chest.

"It's not your fault."

"I know but… you kind of say it because you think things are bad for yourself and then someone comes along with worse things going on. You feel sorry for feeling sorry for yourself."

"I do not want you feeling sorry for me," Arthur snapped. Merlin looked up.

"Okay, I won't. Is that how you ended up on the street?"

"Are you interrogating me?" Arthur said.

"Just asking, I'm curious, everyone else probably is, but they probably won't ask," Merlin said, he looked up with wide, innocent eyes. Arthur frowned, realising that Merlin was asking, because he wanted to know, he wouldn't judge Arthur on anything he heard, and he probably wouldn't tell anyone else what he learnt. All Merlin wanted to know was what Arthur had to say on the subject, and Merlin looked so unworldly to Arthur as he looked up at him, like a child waiting for a fairy tale to be told.

"It's not that interesting, I was homeless, had no money and my first pimp spotted me, and needed someone for a client that liked two boys together. He said he would give me some cash, and put me up for a few nights. A few nights turned into a few weeks, there were more clients and when I tried to leave, it got nasty."

"You were making him money."

"Defending myself didn't turn out too well. If Cenred hadn't been there, then I dread to think what might have happened."

"Cenred?" Merlin asked. Arthur frowned at him.

"Yeah, he was Aled's second-in-command, why?"

"Just an odd name."

"Is it really… Merlin?" Arthur asked sarcastically.

"What's wrong with my name?"

"Nothing I suppose," Arthur said.

"What will Aled and Cenred make of your disappearing on them?"

"Aled won't think anything, he's dead, and not the pimp I have now."

"Oh, what happened?"

"He was involved in some drug deal or something, crossed the wrong person and got himself executed. Cenred got wind of it I think and went to ground. He was always a bit wily."

"So you got another pimp?" Merlin asked. "How does that work?"

"The other pimps divide the territory up between them. New people muscle in. Kanen took our pitch, he's not too bad really, as long as you don't try to cheat him he's pretty fair, and he doesn't push for freebies."

"They do that?"

"Aled used to, Kanen is a bit more businesslike about it, I don't think he'd take any of us."

"But he doesn't object to taking your money."

Arthur shrugged at that. "It's a business, he gives us our share fairly, as long as you don't try holding back. Anything bad happens he deals with it, and he has a doctor if we need it."

"Pension fund?" Merlin asked. Arthur couldn't help but grin at him.

"Not exactly, you don't end up thinking that far ahead. Even a week seems like a long time into the future."

"It doesn't sound very ideal."

"It was survival," Arthur said. "Nothing else I could do."

"You can now," Merlin said, encouragingly. Arthur looked down at him.

"What are you, the 'kidnappings 'r' us' cheerleader?"

Merlin looked a little crestfallen as Arthur went back to being thoroughly antagonistic. He couldn't help it. If Arthur was honest he wasn't quite sure why he had told Merlin everything just now. Apart from the fact, there didn't seem to be much point in lying, and Arthur didn't think he could make anyone's opinion of him any worse. He briefly wondered what Uther, his father, would make of it. Quite frankly, he ought to think something, Arthur decided. If he had been that bothered about him, surely he would have been able to find him before now, and help him.

"I'm sorry," Merlin said. "We are just trying to protect you."

"From what?" Arthur asked. "Besides big, fuck-off, scorpions."

"I'm not allowed to really say anything."

"Let me guess, that was my father," Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, he is worried about you."

"He really shows it."

"Well, what do you really say? Hi, I'm your dad, you thought I was dead but your mother lied, in the hope she might protect you, but wasn't that a little bit of a fuck up."

Merlin winced as he registered the building fury on Arthur's face. Merlin guessed, a little too late, Arthur's mother was something of a sensitive subject.

"Protect me from what? People are doing an awful lot of trying to protect me, and from what I can see, nobody did a very good job."

"I just can't tell you… yet."

"How is anyone going to know? They haven't bugged the room have they?"

"No," Merlin said in exasperation. "I'm just a really crap liar, I get all fretty and stammer and sound really stupid, and apparently I pull at my hair. I don't do very well at poker."

"Does anyone even bother to play with you?"

"Only Gwaine, and never for money, for a start I don't have any, and it's usually not Gwaine's motivation."

"Strip poker then, I take it?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why he bothers. He might as well just strip me without the playing about."

Arthur couldn't help but grin. For a moment he felt relaxed for the first time since the whole weird scenario had happened. Before he could say anything else, Merlin suddenly frowned and shifted slightly, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his phone. He glared at the display before answering it.

"What are you ringing me for? I'm only upstairs!"

He listened for a moment.

"Oh for heaven's sake Gwaine, would the walk kill you, and are you really that desperate to use up your free minutes?"

Merlin slowly started to unfurl himself from the floor, carefully putting the bowl of chilli he had been eating back onto the tray.

"All right, I'm coming."

Merlin snapped his phone shut and stuffed it back into his back pocket again.

"I have to go and… do something."

Arthur raised his eyebrows. "And what do you do if I decide to some with you."

"You'll probably get left having to have a conversation with Uther," Merlin said. Arthur sighed.

"I think I'll stay here then, and leave you to your little secret society."

"Sorry," Merlin said. "It won't be like this forever. I've got to…" he backed up to the door and fumbled for the handle as he kept his eyes on Arthur. Arthur nodded.

"Fine, just go."

Merlin looked apologetic as he disappeared. Arthur flopped backwards onto the bed, wondering if he felt any better for the conversation, and how much of it Merlin would end up spilling.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

By twelve o'clock there wasn't much else to do but go to bed. Arthur had flicked through the channels, eaten the rest of the bread rolls, and tortilla chips. Gaius had brought him up some coffee, which broke the monotony of the television, to inform him his blood test was fine and make sure he took the next lot of anti-biotics.

He had found a pair of pyjamas in the drawer, rolled his eyes at them and then just stripped down to his underwear. Arthur had just wandered back from the bathroom when he heard voices in the corridor. He crept to the door and opened it a little way.

Merlin had his back to the door, Gwaine was in front of him, arm around Merlin and one hand planted on his backside.

"Come on, Merlin, it's midnight, he's bound to be asleep. Gaius saw him earlier on."

"I just want to check," Merlin said, squirming back, trying to get away from Gwaine. Gwaine didn't let him, and instead backed Merlin up against the far wall. Arthur watched them. Merlin's eyes fluttered as Gwaine brushed his fingertips over his cheek and jaw before leaning down to place a light kiss on Merlin's lips.

"Come on, what with everything going on, I haven't had any time with you for days," Gwaine said.

The next kiss was a little more lingering. Gwaine pressed his lips on Merlin's, tilting his head and pushing his tongue into Merlin's mouth. Merlin responded, rather enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Gwaine's neck, and Gwaine's hips ground against Merlin's, making him moan.

They stayed like that for a minute or so before Merlin eased himself free.

"Just let me check."

Gwaine took Merlin's wrist and pulled him back. "Merlin, come on, he's fine."

They kissed again, and when Merlin pulled back he said.

"Indulge me."

Whatever the expression on Merlin's face, it made Gwaine smile gently, affection in his eyes, and clearly he wasn't about to refuse. Merlin backed up, but Gwaine didn't let his wrist go, he went with Merlin.

Arthur stepped back, shutting the door and he backed up. He wasn't quite sure why he felt it, but he didn't really want to break up what was being started. He scooted to the bed and turned off the lamp before sliding in. As he heard the door click, he had settled down, pulling the duvet up so all that would be seen was his hair. Arthur lay still as the door gave a little creak as it opened and Merlin peered in.

"Arthur?" he whispered.

He didn't respond and he made sure he didn't move. A moment later the door slowly closed again, very carefully, and Arthur heard Merlin announce.

"He's asleep."

"Told you, now can we please go to bed?"

"What and sleep?" Merlin asked.

"No, I was thinking more of having wild, rampant sex."

Arthur had to snigger at the way Gwaine said it, almost as causally as if he was suggesting they play Monopoly.

"Gwaine!"

There was a pause, which Arthur presumed meant more kissing and then he heard Gwaine's voice say.

"Indulge me."

Then it all went quiet.