Warning: Uther being quite OOC (and he will be for the rest of this fic).

Arthur hadn't even closed the door completely, or he already heard his father bellow from upstairs, "Arthur is that you?"

"Yes!" Arthur yelled back from down the stairs. "And Merlin's here for your examination!"

Arthur turned to said man and smirked. "Better go up, if I were you."

"I will. After this." Merlin leaned forward, wrapped his arms around Arthur's neck and kissed him on his left cheek, then on his other cheek before finally moving his head to Arthur's lips, but he kept an inch apart from them.

"You little tease…" Arthur whispered softly, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Merlin's lip curved up. "Well, I've learnt from the best." He answered just a soft, but finally closed the small gap between them, pressing a soft kiss on his boyfriend's lips. Merlin smiled coyly and started to walk up the stairs; leaving a love-struck Arthur downstairs.

Merlin reached out for the doorknob of Uther's room, but stopped himself from opening it. He was just struck with the thought that Arthur would've told his father about his sexuality and his relationship, the next time he would walk into this room. That actually scared him a bit, not because of Uther, but for Arthur. Uther wasn't a man to be played with, and he hopes that he would understand and support his son.

Merlin took a deep breath through his nose and opened the door. In there he saw Uther sitting at his desk, typing on his laptop… with both hands.

"I thought I told you to not strain that right arm, Uther." They were on first name base now, something that had surprised Merlin when Uther had suggested it.

Uther looked up like a deer caught in headlights and quickly put the arm in the sling that was casually hanging around his neck. He knew he was caught, so there wasn't really need to act like he wasn't.

"Well, I'm hopeless typing with one hand." The older man started to explain, if not yet moan. "It takes me three hundred hours to type up just one small e-mail. You really can't blame me Merlin." Uther did try to squirm his way out of this by putting up a very exaggerated smile on his face, but Merlin would have none of it.

"And why are you even out of bed at this time of the day? It's not even nine!"

Uther shrugged with his left shoulder, giving Merlin a pointed look. "You should've known by now, that I'm always an early riser. I just simply can't stay in bed being useless. Not even an arm can hold me back." He held his head up like had just won a war that was going on for decades. But that's just how Uther was, he was always trying to be victorious.

"Let's just get on with the examination then shall we?" Merlin commented and made his way to the connecting bathroom. Uther nodded, making his way to his bed. He gently took his arm out of the sling and then gently pulling off his shirt. Merlin returned back in the room again when he finished washing his hands.

"I see the scar is healing up nicely." Merlin said, his fingers running softly over the tender skin. "Is the skin still pulling, or has that subdued?"

"I haven't had any troubles after you prescribed that ointment. It's as smooth as a baby bottom!"

Merlin nodded a couple of times, examining the wound some more by lifting Uther's arm and asking him to hold it in front of him. He watched carefully if the muscles were still working properly. After being satisfied with his examinations he told Uther that he could dress himself again and wrap his arm in the sling. He specifically emphasizes on the latter which he was replied with by a little grunt from Uther.

Merlin chuckled. "Uther, you know you have to if you want to recover as soon as possible."

"I know that! But come on, I can't move at all. That damn sling is going around my torso, pinning my right arm to my chest. I can only move my left arm!"

"Well that is kind off the point isn't it?" Merlin answered with a raised eyebrow.

Uther scowled like a small kid that was forbidden to touch anything in a shop full of glass.

"Ah come on Uther, it's just three more weeks, then you can try to go without the sling. But until then, you're not allowed to remove your arm out of the sling." He pointed his finger with a glare in his eyes to Uther's direction. "Moving on, how are those daily exercises with the stress ball going?"

"Stressful." Uther answered with a sly grin.

Merlin furrowed his brows, not sure why Uther is acting like this. "Seriously Uther, what's going on with you today? I've never seen you so chipper before."

"If I'm scowling; you're angry. If I'm happy; you're angry. Explain that doctor?" He had a point Merlin had to give him that, but that was not the point now. He exhaled loudly.

"I'm not angry, but if you could please just answer the question."

Uther turned serious again. "Okay okay. I have been doing those exercises three times a day like you ask me too, but after ten minutes I get small cramps and I'll stop. Is that okay?"

Merlin let it process for a second. "And that cramp is just in your hand, or is it traveling up to your upper arm?"

Uther thought for a bit, "Mostly just my hand, in the week after the operation it was also going up to my arm. But now it almost never happens again and when it does, it's only for a second."

Merlin nodded once more, processing the new information and starting to write it in Uther's personal chart. "I can assure you Uther, that it's perfectly normal. There is no need to worry about that, just keep your eye on it for if it becomes worse, but I don't think it will. The cramp usually is caused by your muscle trying to adjust itself for being used at full force again. Give it two more weeks and you shouldn't be having any troubles. Although, if it's bothering you, I can prescribe you some painkillers."

Uther shook his head. "No need for that Merlin. I'm not a baby. I can manage the pain perfectly fine. My level of pain management is extremely high as you know." At this Merlin rolled his eyes and started to pack up his stuff into his bag, listening to Uther as he continued. "I'm just telling you, so you won't get on my case again like you did last time when I didn't told you everything." Uther recalled the last time it happened and could barely hold in the urge to shudder.

Merlin smirked. "As long as you know that, Mister Pendragon." With that he snapped his bag close. "Well, I'm finished here, but if there's anything else you want to share with me, then now's the time."

Uther bit his lower lip. "Well there is one other thing, but nothing medical though. It's about Arthur."

"Oh?" Merlin quizzically answered. "Something wrong with Arthur?"

"Oh no, no. Nothing like that. He had told me that you two started to spend time with each other."

Merlin's pulse started to beat faster, he really didn't want to have this conversation with Uther. He gulped before he answered, "Uhm, yes we have. That's not a problem, I hope?" Mentally he was twiddling his thumbs, hoping Uther wouldn't mind.

"Au contraire." Uther replied. "I just want to thank you. I don't know by god what you've done with him, but he seems… happier these past few weeks."

Merlin gulped again… well at least Uther didn't looked repulsed by that statement. But the question was if Uther would still see it that way, if he knew what the actually cause for Arthur's happiness was.

Merlin nervously smiled. "Erm…yes…well… what can I say." He scratched the back of his head nervously. Sweat threatened to break out of every pore of his skin. "I think it's better if you discuss that with Arthur, Mister Pendragon." Crap, Merlin thought. He hadn't called Uther 'Mister Pendragon' in a serious way since the first week, and now Uther would probably think that something was up.

And he was right, Uther did look at him stunned and Merlin wanted to shrug it off as his imagination playing him. He tried to quickly change the subject. "So, keep doing your exercises and you'll be as good as new before you know it. Okay then, see you next week. Of course you can always call me when you need to know something, you have my number."

Merlin didn't wait for Uther to answer him, he just had to get out of there and rushed out of the door and managed to get down the stairs without injuring himself. On the landing he almost collided into Arthur himself.

"You're in quite the rush." Arthur mentioned with a grin and pullled Merlin towards the living room.

~oOoOo~

Uther looked at the open door. Merlin just rushed out of it like his pants were on fire. He shook his head, whatever it was that made Merlin act the way he did wasn't his business and he shrugged it off. He had more important things to do, like work. He looked around his room, ruffling through the papers scattered around and on the bed and desk, in the hope he would find his iPad. He was sure that he left it on his desk the other night, but now it was nowhere to be seen. He frowned and leaned back against the headboard of the bed, thinking about places it could be. Then he remembered; he left it in his office downstairs.

He made sure to secure the straps of the sling tightly so his arm was firmly pressed against his chest; just like the doctor told him too. As he made his way downstairs, he heard voices coming from the living room. Uther reasoned that it must be Merlin and Arthur.

He paid no attention to it, since it was none of his business and walked towards his office. He had to go through the kitchen to get to it, and subconsciously gazed through the glass double doors that separate the kitchen from the living room. He stopped in his tracks, eyes glued to what he saw before him.

Was he seeing things?

Uther blinked, but it didn't change the image that was in front of him. That was really his son, and that was really Merlin… but they were holding each other, and if he didn't know better-

Oh. OH!

His eyes widened immensely.

Kissing.

Both of them kissing… each other.

Arthur? His Arthur! It couldn't be!

Uther was staring for a minute, and then gradually started to come back to his he realized that he was standing in plain view in front of the glass doors, but neither Arthur nor Merlin were even aware that he was standing there. He knew in the back of his mind that he was interrupting a private moment, but he couldn't bring himself to look away; he was like a moth drawn by a flame.

But what surprised him even the most, was that he also couldn't bring himself to go barge into the room to start yelling what the hell was happening here. That feeling was increased tenfold when he saw Arthur's face when the two finally broke the kiss.

He saw his son's eyes were glinting with happiness and a huge smile, that reached those glinting eyes, was plastered onto his face.

His Arthur… was smiling!

Arthut hadn't smiled like that in many years. In fact, Uther couldn't even fathom the last time he saw that kind of smile.

He quietly went back to his room, not even remembering why he came downstairs. He went to lie back down on his bed, and when he was lying comfortably, he looked to his side towards the picture frame on his nightstand. It held a picture of him, his late wife Ygraine and Arthur. He and Ygraine were standing behind Arthur, who was busy with blowing out the birthday candles when it was his thirteenth birthday. It was the last birthday they had spent with all three of them.

Just by looking at the picture made everything click in his brain. Ygraine had told him all those years ago, when Arthur was just eight years old, that she had the suspicion that Arthur might be gay. But back then, Uther had told her she must be joking, that she was just seeing things and that there was no way that his son was gay.

They had a fight about it; Ygraine yelling at him for being a homophobe and him yelling back that she was delusional. They had spent a night apart, but the next day Uther had apologized to his wife and told her that it wasn't worth fighting about it. He did, however, stood by his point that he was convinced that Arthur wasn't gay. Ygraine had sighed and told him that she has been watching Arthur, and she noticed small things that made her realise that he was perhaps more drawn to boys in comparisson to girls. Arthur would give boys more and longer hugs than was necessary, or he would touch them on the arm when there was really no occasion for touching.

Uther didn't completely agree nor disagree with his wife. He just told her that it was probably some phase Arthur was going through and that he would grow out of it with time.

They hadn't spoken about it anymore when Ygraine started to get sick.

But, sure, now he thought back at it, he had seen the signs over the years… but he had been just too stubborn to acknowledge them!

His son was gay.

Perhaps… what's the word… bisexual. Because Uther could still remember all those girls Arthur had been dating through the past years. Surely they came and went within a short period of time; his son had a different girl almost every week. But Arthur never brought home a boy, nor did he ever mention something about his interest in boys.

Had he really been this clueless about Arthur? Was this the reason why Arthur was so angry all the time?

Why didn't Arthur just told him?

Uther's head started to pound. He closed his eyes and brought the fingertips from his left hand up to his temple to massage it. Suddenly his eyes shot open when a thought hit him.

What if he was too afraid to tell me?

No that was just absurd. They weren't perhaps the closest, but Arthur knew that he could tell him everything.

Uther looked back at the picture again; seeing all three of them laughing with broad smiles.

He remembered that day very clearly. Arthur turned thirteen and Ygraine was having one of her good days, even when she was already in the last phase of her life. Ygraine had bought Arthur a small bear that said 'Love U', just for fun and Arthur's face was priceless when he unwrapped it. He and Ygraine had never seen their son scowl so deeply.

That didn't change the fact that that same teddy bear was, till this day, still hidden under his son's bed – even though Arthur thought that he didn't knew about that.

Arthur's mood had lifted when they announced that they had another present, and he actually squealed when he saw his real present; a brand new dirt bike.

Arthur had been on motorcycles ever since he's been four years old and he had never lost interest in them, hell, he even made it his career. Every other year they had given him a motorcycle, but his thirteenth was a special one. That was the year he had gotten his first bigger bike.

That thirteenth birthday was the last happy day for all three of them.

Uther started to think back at the very last day he had spent with Ygraine and it was already bringing tears on the brim of his eyes. He had been sitting next to her on their bed and was holding her tightly to his chest, while she's struggled with every breath she took. He knew it and she knew it; her time was coming to an end.

The last thing she ever told him, after saying how much she loves him and Arthur, was that he had to make Arthur happy.

And he failed in doing exactly that. He failed at making Arthur happy. It was his wife's dying wish and he let her down.

Today, however, brought hope within his heart. He had seen Arthur's true happiness for the first time in… too long!

And Arthur being gay wasn't even bothering him. He thought it would, but it didn't. Not even in the slightest. If anything, he felt relieved! He had gotten the answer he had been praying for; now he finally knew what has been such a burden for Arthur all those years.

He took the picture frame in his hands and let his fingertips slide over Ygraine. He brought the frame close to his heart and whispered, "Darling, I finally know what makes our son happy."