Hello! Shooting Blindly here. I have three people who have reviewed my story, and i love you all to pieces, thank you so much! It really means a lot to me. For you, and everybody else, i cannot stress enough how happy they make me. keep em coming! Sorry again for the late update. Im trying to do NaNoWriMo (which i encourage for everyone who enjoys writing), but my story is frustrating me, so im back here. Not my best work, but its a bit longer than last time, so enjoy!
Chapter Six:
The next week, classes resumed, so Arthur was plenty busy. All of the teachers were already assigning tons of work, and Arthur had never been one to skimp on homework, and he wasn't about to start now, when learning actually mattered.
Despite this, Arthur was determined to find time every day to go see Merlin. Things between the two of them hadn't changed at all: it wasn't awkward, there wasn't any flirting, and above all, there was absolutely no mention of Merlin's goodnight kiss. And Arthur felt cheated.
Today, he thought. Today I'm going to ask him. He took a deep breath and walked into the shop.
"Merlin!" Arthur looked towards the countertop, where Merlin had frozen while cleaning the countertop.
"Yes, Arthur? What do you want today?" he asked casually, returning to his scrubbing. I want to take you to a fancy restaurant and impress you with my inheritance and then eventually get into your pants, he thought.
"I want to take you on a date," he said instead, hoping it was more appropriate. Merlin froze again.
"Um… what?" he asked, seeming confused.
"I want to take you," he said slowly. "On a proper date." The rag fell from Merlin's grasp, and he blushed scarlet to the tips of his ears.
"Oh," he whispered. He cleared his throat. "Um, ok."
"Ok?" Arthur echoed, delightedly. Merlin nodded. Arthur felt himself grinning like a moron, and he rushed to the counter and gathered Merlin into his arms, laughing excitedly. "Awesome! I'll pick you up from your dorm at six." He kissed Merlin on the cheek, and practically danced out of the store in glee, leaving a very confused Merlin standing at the counter, hand still raised from where he had dropped the cloth.
Several hours later, Arthur was standing in the middle of his room, clothes strewn about everywhere, growling in frustration. He'd texted Lance over an hour ago saying URGENT and he expected him to be there any minute, unless he was making out with Gwen.
He'd called the maître d' of Avalon to make a reservation, and, as a Pendragon, he got the best seats in the house. His car had gas in it and was all shined up, and he was so ready to just go on this date already.
But he had no idea what to wear. He threw a shoe at the door, and just as it was hitting the floor, Lance ran in.
"Are you ok, is the house on fire, did you fail a test, are you dead?!" Lance yelled. He stopped when he saw Arthur seated in the middle of the room in a pile of clothes.
"I have a date. And I don't know what to wear," he said desperately. Lance nodded sagely and sat down in front of him.
"So who's the lucky girl?"
"Not a girl."
"Well then who's the lucky bloke?" he asked without a second's hesitation. Arthur had never advertised his sexuality, but he'd never had a problem with it. When it came to sex, he believed that everyone deserved a fair chance.
"Merlin. Works in a tea shop on the edge of campus. Know him?"
"Merlin Emrys? Oh, sure, I grew up with him! Used to be my best friend. Haven't heard from him in a while, though," Lance trailed off. He shook his head. "So you're going with Merlin, then. At least I know him."
He got up and started picking up clothes, considering them, and then throwing them away. Arthur began to wonder what was wrong with all of his clothes that Lance didn't approve of them.
He ended up choosing a black button-down collared shirt with dark blue, form-fitting jeans.
"You look very nice," Lance said encouragingly. "Now go. Impress Merlin and get into his pants or whatever it is you want. But hurt him, and I'll repay the damage seven fold. Have fun on your date!" Lance finished. Before Arthur even had time to be embarrassed, Lance put Arthur's phone in his hand and shoved him out the door.
Arthur walked down to his car and got in, shivering from the cold because, in true Arthurian fashion, he'd forgotten to bring a jacket.
He drove to Merlin's flat, all the while trying to ease his mind and sedate the butterflies in his stomach. This is going to go great. You're going to be fine. He's going to love you. What's not to love? Arthur shifted in his seat proudly at that thought. There really wasn't anything not to love.
Arthur knocked on the door of Merlin's dorm, and waited for an answer. When none came, he tried to door to find it unlocked, and he walked in. On one side of the room, Laddie was on top of Gawain, and they seemed to be enjoying themselves by sucking the other's face off. The other side of the room was in total disrepair, clothes strewn everywhere, and a disgruntled and very, very shirtless Merlin. Arthur froze in the doorway.
"Gawain! Stop sucking face and help me pick out a shirt! Arthur is going to be here any second, and I need to look perfect!" Merlin whined. Gawain, without detaching himself from Laddie, waved Merlin away. Arthur cleared his throat, and Merlin started at the sound. His eyes darted to the door, and as soon as his mind processed what was happening, his face turned an impressive shade of red.
"You know, if you really wanted, you could just wear those jeans and nothing else and I wouldn't mind. But the place I'm taking you to says 'no shirt, no shoes, no service', so it would be best to put one on," he joked. Merlin grabbed the shirt closest to him (a dark blue shirt much like Arthur's), and hastily stood up. Arthur gave Merlin a once over: hair dishevelled, shirt half tucked half not, cheeks flushed.
"You look perfect," he smiled. Merlin smiled back tentatively. Laddie pushed Gawain away from her and stood up.
"Ok, Merlin, honey. I expect a full report when you get back. All the juicy details." Gawain got up and put his arm around Laddie and fixed Arthur with a glare.
"Treat him right, don't make him pay for dinner. If you hurt him, you'll wish you'd never been born," he growled. Then his face transformed into the typical Gawain happiness. "Now go have fun, boys! Merlin, text me if you're gonna stay the night at Arthur's so that your mother and I don't worry too much," he said, gesturing towards himself and Laddie.
"Please. You and Laddie are gonna be too busy to be worried about me," Merlin said, blushing with embarrassment. He pushed Arthur out the door and shut it behind them. "Sorry about them. They're… overprotective." Arthur kissed Merlin on the cheek.
"I think it's very sweet," he said with as much charm as possible. Merlin wrinkled his nose and bopped Arthur on the head.
"Stop that. I didn't say yes because I wanted you to turn noble and woo me with your charm. I said yes 'cause I wanted to enjoy time with Arthur Arthur. Now stop with this flirting nonsense." Arthur rubbed his head in mock hurt.
"You wound me." Merlin grinned.
"Good." They got into Arthur's car and Arthur drove them to Avalon. When they got out of the car, Merlin gaped up at the sign.
"You took me to Avalon? This is the most expensive place in the area!" Merlin cried, panicked.
"Yes, I know. I was cheated out of a proper first date cause I took you out for pizza last week, so I'm making up for it now. Money is not an issue. I've come into a huge sum of it recently," he finished quietly. Merlin looked at him sympathetically. Arthur shook it off and straightened his back, in an effort to appear taller than Merlin.
"Ok, let's go," he said, gently guiding Merlin into the restaurant. Merlin tried to resist, protesting that it was too lavish for him, and that he didn't need anything fancy, but Arthur put his hand on Merlin's lower back and slowly but surely got him into the restaurant. As soon as they were inside, Merlin shut up, feeling that the atmosphere inside was much too sophisticated for his protestations. The man in the front looked them up and down disapprovingly, and Merlin realised that they were both underdressed for the level of class in the restaurant.
"Table for two. Under the name Pendragon," Arthur said, adding emphasis to his name and glaring at the man. He immediately straightened and he smiled so widely it seemed false.
"Right this way, Mr. Pendragon." He led them to a small table with a small candle in the center. He lit the candle, gave them a small bow, and walked back to his stand. Merlin raised an eyebrow and dropped his voice an octave.
"Right this way, Mr. Pendragon," he mimicked, and then giggled. "Seems like I'm the only person your name doesn't impress." Arthur grinned.
"That sounds about right." A server came to their table and handed them menus. Arthur opened his up and started scanning it. After about a minute, Merlin spoke up.
"Um, Arthur. There aren't any prices on the menu," he said, sounding panicked once again.
"Yeah. People who come here typically don't care how much something costs. Money is no object," he said dismissively. Merlin swallowed.
"What would you say is the cheapest thing on here?" he asked in small voice. Arthur peered at him over his menu.
"Merlin. Just order what you like. It's my treat."
"No, but-"
"Merlin." Merlin shut up.
Arthur got himself a prime striploin along with, as Merlin put it, "a whole bunch of frilly, rich-people extras". Merlin got himself mushroom ravioli, and stood by his choice when Arthur suggested something not as cheap.
"Money may not be an object to you, but as a peasant, I'd rather that your majesty didn't spend much on me," he said with a smirk.
Their food came and they ate. Merlin was delighted with the food, if the sounds he made were any confirmation. At the first bite, he positively squealed at the taste. Arthur found this endlessly amusing.
They had wine, along with their food. Arthur was horrified when Merlin tried to order red wine to go with his pasta, and immediately explained to him what foods red wine are appropriate with, and white wine and rosé. So, Merlin had white wine to go with his pasta, and Arthur had red wine to go with his steak.
"Here, gimme some of that," Merlin said, reaching for Arthur's glass. Arthur batted his hand away.
"No. You can have red wine if you have chocolate fudge cake for dessert. There is a proper way to eat, Merlin, and I will see you do it if I have to feed you myself," Arthur said unrelentingly. Merlin sulked, but obeyed.
Arthur set down his fork and knife, and drained the last mouthful of wine in his glass. "Dessert?" he asked Merlin. Merlin nodded eagerly, and Arthur gestured to a server walking past.
"Yes, Mr. Pendragon. How may I be of service?"
"Merlin here would like to order dessert," he said coolly. Merlin looked at him, alarmed.
"Are you not having any? Oh, no, Arthur if you're not having it, then you don't have to go out of your way to -"
"Merlin. Shut up." The server looked on with a carefully controlled expression. "He'll have the chocolate fudge cake, along with a glass of red wine."
"Yes, sir," the server said. He collected their dessert menus, gave a small bow, and was off to deliver the order to the chef. Merlin scowled at Arthur.
"You didn't have to do that, you know. I don't need dessert. Especially if it's an inconvenience to you."
"Merlin, this is our first proper date, since I was cheated out of our first first date. I'm doing this the only way I know how, alright? I think you can let yourself be spoiled once in a while. It's healthy." I want to show you a good time, Arthur thought to himself. Merlin bit his lip guiltily.
"You didn't have to go through all this trouble, you know. A movie and take-away would have been fine," he said. Arthur grinned triumphantly: he was wearing him down.
"I think not. Take away is hardly appropriate when I could buy you any food you wanted," he said. "And besides, that cake is so rich you'll never be able to finish it by yourself. I'll end up eating most of it."
"Is that so? Well, we'll see about that," Merlin grinned cheekily.
The cake disappeared almost as fast as it arrived. It turned out that Merlin had a massive sweet tooth, and, as a result, Arthur didn't get a single bite. The colour of the wine seemed to dye Merlin's cheeks, and he had a pleasant shimmer in his eyes.
At the end of the evening, Arthur drove Merlin home. The dorm was empty, which was somewhat a relief to Arthur; he'd been expecting Gawain and Laddie to be standing at the door ready to attack him for perceived mistreatment of Merlin.
Merlin grabbed him by his shirt collar and pulled Arthur in for a kiss. He could taste the chocolate cake on Merlin, and feel the aroma of that last glass of wine.
Merlin broke away first. Arthur wanted to chase his lips, but he maintained his control, however little there was.
"I had a great night," Merlin said honestly, hands still fisted in Arthur's collar.
"That was the point," Arthur said. Merlin grinned at him.
"Will I see you at the tea shop tomorrow?"
"Well, I suppose I could make time for some tea. Or, I could spend the night and you won't have to miss me," Arthur said, leaning in again. Merlin chuckled and danced out of Arthur's grip, pushing him gently towards the door.
"You wish. Goodnight, Arthur," said Merlin, shutting the door. Arthur grinned at the wood, feeling light and airy.
"Goodnight, Merlin."
~~0~~
Well? Once again, please review! Your reviews motivate me!