While Uther and Leon were walking back to the dressing room they were discussing which corners of the track could possibly be a difficulty if it would start raining.

Leon held the door open and let Uther get in first and swiftly followed. His eyes immediately fell on Gwaine and Arthur and the way how Gwaine was standing close to Arthur made Leon's blood to boil. He snapped his gaze back to Uther and would wait for a few seconds to see what the other man would do, before he would intervene himself.

Uther was confused, to say the least. He was getting used more and more to Arthur's sexuality and his relationship with Merlin, but it was still so new when he would see it in front of him. And now it wasn't even his son and Merlin that he saw, no it was Arthur with Gwaine off all people. He could've sworn that the two of them were, well, enemies.

He then took a better look though and studied his son's face. And well, Uther thought his son he wasn't looking pleased to be pushed up against the wall, and if he wasn't wrong, his son almost looked… scared.

But that couldn't be, his Arthur wasn't scared of anyone or anything. Especially not of Gwaine, because he seemed to take every opportunity to get into a fight with Gwaine.

Uther just thought this whole thing was strange, for the lack of a better word.

Gwaine had turned when he heard the door open and his eyes were full of thunder and narrowed into thin slits as he glared at the two people that were interrupting him. His glare was especially aimed at Leon, who seemed to be making an habit out of interrupting them.

Leon had now enough of Uther's lack of response and jumped into action. He had seen enough and he couldn't let his friend go through this any longer. He had seen Arthur's eyes, pleading him to save him from Gwaine's clutches. Leon knew that Arthur felt as if there wasn't a way out for him.

Leon made his way towards the two racers and tore Gwaine away from Arthur and pinned him against the wall at the other side of the room. His lower arm was pressed against Gwaine's throat and he applied some extra pressure. Leon turned his head towards his friend and saw how Arthur's legs gave away under him and how he slid down the wall in shock.

Uther looked at the situation with eyes wide open.

"Arthur! ... Arthur buddy come on!" Leon turned back to glare at Gwaine when he didn't get a response out of his friend. "What did you do to him!" Leon yelled. He pulled Gwaine a little bit away from the wall but then forcefully slammed him right back on it. Gwaine grunted pain and Leon felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

"Let. me. go." Gwaine growled through gritted teeth. He struggled against Leon, trying to break free from the tight grip.

"No! Not until you'll leave Arthur alone. Haven't you done enough?"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Uther shouted from his place by the door, but he was getting ignored. He looked between to where his son was sitting on the ground, staring aimlessly in front of him and then towards the spot where Leon stood with Gwaine. He just felt himself being drawn towards Arthur and he knew he had to be there for him.

"You can't separate us!" Gwaine yelled. "We love each oth-" Gwaine was cut off by Leon when he pushed his arm further onto Gwaine's throat.

"You know damn well that Arthur doesn't love you, not after what you've done to him." Leon snarled. "Arthur is with Merlin now and they are happy." Leon lessened the grip on the throat to let Gwaine speak. "Just accept that and move on Gwaine… just, move on."

After some coughs and massaged his throat with his hand, Gwaine was able to speak again. His dark glare was still firmly in place and only darkened after the mention of Merlin's name. Gwaine was now watching how Leon turned his head to look at Arthur and he took that short distraction to snake away from Leon and then to the door. He just briefly stopped to say, "Merlin isn't my problem anymore. I took care of it. Me and Arthur will be together."

He took one last look towards Arthur and then darted out of the door and towards the racing track.

Leon took a step forward. "What do you mean, what have you done to Merlin? Gwaine!" Leon shouted when Gwaine ran. He briefly thought about going after him, but he felt that Arthur needed him more. He crouched down at Arthur's side and shook him at the shoulder, but there was little response from Arthur.

"Arthur, he's gone now." Leon whispered. "Come on buddy."

Leon looked to Uther and then back to Arthur.

"Oh god, I hope he's not going into relapse." Leon muttered to himself and ran a hand over his face and through his hair. There were hundreds of thoughts swirling through his mind and all were connected to the period that Arthur needed to recover after the first assault.

Uther really didn't know what was going on, and frankly that was the least of his worries now. He needed and wanted to comfort his son, but the problem was that he hadn't much experience with that. He just went with whatever struck him and started to run a hand through Arthur's hair.

His son was breathing too fast and was shivering and Uther hoped that the action would somehow calm his son down.

"Leon, you're hiding something from me. What's wrong with Arthur?" Uther looked towards his son. He had never seen his son like this. "Should I call an ambulance, should I call someone?" Uther breathed deeply in. "Arthur…?" He tentatively went to sit a bit closer and was trying his best to get his son's attention. "It's okay, I'm here."

Arthur reached his hands out and grabbed Uther shirt tightly. He stared up to him, but Uther could tell that his son wasn't really recognizing him. Arthur rested his head on his chest, and Uther continued to stroke his son's hair. He didn't know what else he could do, he had never seen Arthur like this. So broken and lost. He wanted to find out, but he didn't know how.

"Please don't tell my father." Arthur whispered softly, keeping his head rested on Uther's chest.

Leon's eyes widened and Uther's brows narrowed. Uther stopped raking a hand through his son's hair and looked down to him. "Arthur?" Uther asked, not sure what was exactly so secret that his son couldn't tell him. He turned to Leon once more.

"Leon, what does he mean with that?"

Leon swallowed multiple times. He didn't know what to answer, because he swore to Arthur that he wouldn't tell his father about what had happened and he couldn't break his oath now.

"I-I…"

Uther's parental instinct were on high and he needed to know what was wrong with his son. He tightened his grip on his son. "Leon, please."

"I really can't tell you Uther. I wish I could, but I made a promise to Arthur."

Uther sighed. He looked at Arthur, and then back at Leon. Leon was a very loyal person and once he made a promise, there would be little to get him to break that promise. He normally applauded the man for that trait, but now it was concerning his son and he needed to know what was wrong with him.

Uther settled his gaze on Arthur. What secret was his son hiding that he could tell his best friend, but wasn't able to tell him. It was all so vague and confusing and Uther wanted it to be clarified, and he wanted it now!

Uther picked his son up at the arms and made him stand up and sit on one of the benches. Arthur went freely, but Uther noticed that Arthur wasn't really paying attention to what he did. He just continued to stare in front of him.

He started to plead his son to say something, and it took a few minutes filled with pleads and touching and smiling to get Arthur responsive again. But when he did, it was like Arthur just came out of some kind of dream.

"Wha-?" Arthur started to look around him to find out why his father and best friend were standing so closely to him. He heard both of them sigh audibly, and I made Arthur furrow his brows. "Did I faint? Am I too late for the race?" He asked, not being able to find another valid explanation for his father's and best friend's worried faces.

"Arthur." Uther's voice cut through. The tone of the voice could easily be recognized as stern, but Arthur knew that it was actually his father being concerned and worried. "Don't focus on the race now. I – just what had happened with you and Gwaine!"

Arthur's breath hitched right in the back of his throat and his eyes widened. His hands were nervously starting to clasp and unclasp and he hoped that he had misheard his father. But he knew he hadn't. His memory came quickly back and he relived the moment that Gwaine cornered him in this very same room and he just couldn't stay here very longer. He needed to get away, but the two people in front of him were blocking his way.

"Arthur, calm down." One of the two told him. He didn't knew who and he didn't care. He just needed to get out of here and onto his motorcycle and then everything would be okay. He would calm down then.

"Please let me go." Arthur pleaded.

Both Leon and Uther were keeping a hand on him, trying to keep him there. They heard the announcement, but they knew that Arthur was in no state to ride.

"All riders to the start. Repeat; All riders to the start."

"I need to go." Arthur announced softly, and he took their brief distraction to elbow his way between his father and Leon. He picked up his helmet from the bench next to the door and ran out. Both Uther and Leon tried to stop him by running after him, but Arthur was already out of sight.

The ran through the corridors and to the tracks where they saw Arthur, they wanted to go to him, but were denied access to go onto the tracks by the racing coordinator as the race was about to start.

Arthur sat on his motorcycle in front of the starting line, ready for the race. Uther yelled to his son, but he got no response back. Leon and Uther went to their booth and tried to get radio contact through Arthur's headset, but Arthur seemed to have it turned off. Now Leon and Uther could only watch how Arthur would behave.

Arthur's mind was still occupied with what had happened that he didn't even noticed that Gwaine had settled on the starting point next to him. When Arthur briefly took his helmet off to adjust it, Gwaine's voice cut though daze and he was immediately snapped back into reality.

"I knew you'd forgive me." Gwaine said. He reached his hand out, but Arthur was standing too far from him that he couldn't touch him. Arthur was all the more glad about that and glared fiercely towards Gwaine.

"Gwaine… Fuck. off." He took a deep breath in the hope it would calm him. "What happened just yet meant nothing you sick son of a bitch. Why can't you fucking understand, that I DON'T want you. I'm with Merlin now, and I will never go back to you."

Uther and Leon watched anxiously to the exchange between the two riders.

Gwaine slammed both his fists on the front of his motorcycle. "Don't you understand! I took care of Merlin for you, he's not a problem anymore. We can be together."

"Wha-" Arthur was cut off by the announcer.

"All riders prepare for start."

Arthur was sure he heard what he heard and he frowned deeply. Had Gwaine done something to Merlin? Because if he did, he certainly wouldn't live another day. "Gwaine what the hell have yo-" He looked to his right, ready to give Gwaine a piece of his mind, but saw that Gwaine had already put on his helmet.

He looked around him. He was on the tracks, and they would start any second now. He could already hear how almost every rider around him was twisting their throttle and an almighty roaring sound of engines filled his ears.

There wasn't any other option now then to finish the twenty laps, before he had the chance to speak to Gwaine again. He pulled his helmet over his head and bend over his motorcycle. His hand twisted the throttle and his eyes were now focused on the green light.

~oOoOo~

The race had begun and normally he would forget everything and anything while racing, but right now there was an odd feeling settling in Arthur's stomach. Gwaine's words just would leave him alone.

I took care of Merlin.

It sounds like a quote from one of those really bad mafia movies, but Gwaine seemed convinced and proud by his own words. Arthur glanced into his rear-view mirror and saw that Gwaine was close to him, just like as always. Arthur gave another twist at his throttle and surged forward, and conveniently further away from Gwaine.

But it still didn't matter how fast he went. Just those five words kept repeating in his mind. When he rounded the corner, Arthur knew that he just couldn't continue the race. He needed to get to Merlin and fast, maybe it was already too late! Arthur remembered how Merlin hadn't picked up his phone and he was now getting even more worried, because what if what Gwaine had told him was true and that he really did took care of Merlin and that that the reason was for not picking up the phone.

All kinds of scenarios flew through his head and he almost crashed as a result from that. He was being too distracted and he knew that he couldn't continue like this. He needed to get out of here.

As soon as he rounded the corner, he turned into the pit stop lane that normally wasn't even available during motor races except in case of emergencies, but it was his only way to get off the track.

Leon and Uther had been sitting nail-biting at the side of the track; anxiously watching how Arthur was doing. Uther almost had a heart attack when he saw his son almost crash.

But now they were both baffled when they saw Arthur throw the race and ride off the track. They hoped that Arthur went to the paddock, but arriving there they were disappointed. There was no sign of him, nor his motorcycle and Uther didn't know anymore what to do.

Uther once again pleaded Leon to tell him what the heck was going on, but Leon told Uther once again that it wasn't his right to tell. He knew that Arthur needed to tell his father himself.

Meanwhile, Arthur parked his motorcycle at the kerb of Merlin's apartment building and ran his leg beneath his body to reach Merlin's apartment as quickly as he could.

~oOoOo~

"Coming, coming." Morgana mumbled softly to herself.

Someone was probably busy trying to tear the door down, if the banging was any indication. Morgana tried to get to the door as fast as she could, if only to stop the banging. Merlin had finally gone to his bed after some discussion, but he wouldn't get any rest if the person on the other side of the door would continue to make such noise.

Hopefully Merlin wouldn't wake up now, so he would feel better in a few hours. Perhaps he would even feel good enough to go out for dinner or something, because Morgana reckoned that some fresh air would do him good. She certainly needed some after spending nearly two days in her brother's apartment.

"Geez, calm down!" She not yet shouted when the person on the other side of the door continued to bang against it. She threw the door open and gave the culprit a piece of her mind. "What the hell do you think you're doing! There are people trying to sle-"

Her eyes widened a bit when she saw the person on the other side of the door. "Arthur?"

Arthur pushed her out of the way and was frantically looking around for any sign of Merlin. "Where is he?" Arthur softly whispered, close to tears. He raked a hand through his hair and walked to the living room to look there.

"Where is he!" He now shouted, looking at Morgana for answers. She slowly approached him with outstretched arms and placed them on Arthur's arms. She tried to make him look at her, but he only wanted to get out of her grip. It was just too much of a resemblance to the grip Gwaine had on him not just an hour ago.

"Calm down Arthur, he's here." Morgana assured.

"Morgana, let him go."

Morgana turned around and Arthur glanced up to see Merlin standing at the entrance of the kitchen with his right hand clutching his left side. Arthur immediately jerked free out of Morgana's hands and nearly ran the distance between him and his boyfriend.

When close, he saw that Merlin was also standing slightly bended forward and the way his hand was clutching his side told Arthur that his boyfriend was in serious pain. Arthur didn't touch him, afraid that he would give his boyfriend even more pain. Instead he let his hand ghost over Merlin's hand. Arthur looked up in the eyes of his boyfriend, it was his fault that Merlin was hurt, it was his entire fault!

"Oh god, you're hurt. If I had just done something when this all started, than none of this would happen. If I just-"

"Arthur stop." Merlin said, cutting Arthur off. "Yes he got me good, but it could've been worse. It's okay, really." Merlin smiled, but Arthur's worried face wouldn't change. In fact it only became more worried and his eyes started to glisten with the tears that were forming.

Before Merlin could even register what was happening, he found himself in a hug. Arthur didn't push too hard on his side, but he still felt some pain radiating through his body, but he bit down the pain that was causing it. He could stand the pain for a minute if that was what it would take to reassure Arthur.

Merlin felt Arthur shake his head on his shoulder. "No, it's not okay Merlin. It's not okay." Arthur repeated, the words were muffled by Merlin's shirt, but Merlin could still understand what Arthur was saying loud and clear.

"Come on." Merlin whispered and took one of Arthur's hands to guide him to the couch. Merlin snuck a glance to his sister as he walked past her, but shook his head when she opened her mouth.

Now all she could do was watching how Merlin led Arthur to the couch and saw them sitting down. She herself perched down on the arm seat she occupied earlier and watched how Merlin tried to get Arthur's attention by caressing his arm with one hand and stroking through his hair with the other. It was certainly a different Arthur she was seeing now than she had seen when Merlin and Arthur visited their parent's manor. Arthur looked far more vulnerable now.

"Arthur-" Merlin whispered and Arthur tilted his head ever so slightly to the side to make eye contact with Merlin. "Why are you here- how did you know, did something happen?"

Arthur bent his head down.

"Arthur you know you can tell me anything right?" Merlin added with a soft touch on Arthur's hand. "Did you saw Gwaine?"

Arthur's breath hitched and he grabbed Merlin's softly placed hand and gripped it tight for his own reassurance. Merlin jerked a bit forward by the sudden tug on his arm, and ignored the pain that caused it to his rib. He just sat and listen to Arthur's frantic explaining that took him some time to fully understand, given that Arthur only said some key words.

"Gwaine… he was in the room… and then he kissed… and then father… Leon…" Arthur sharply turned his head and looked at Merlin. He sucked in a breath. "He-he s-said he took care of you."

"It's okay Arthur, I'm fine, really. Just, please calm down." Merlin soothed in his boyfriend's ear, but Arthur abruptly stood up.

"No!" He started pacing, eyes focused on the ground and he kept repeating the same thing over and over again. "It's not okay, it's not. It's not okay."

"Merlin do something!" Morgana shrieked from her place on the arm chair with her arms held out in front of her.

"I'm trying!" Merlin snapped back. He was thinking of what he could do when he was distracted by Arthur's phone ringing.

Arthur managed to get his phone out while pacing and looked at the screen and abruptly stopped his pace. He looked at the screen of his phone, or more specifically at the caller-id and then resumed walking back and forth. He started to mumble to himself and threw the phone on the couch, next to Merlin and Merlin could see who was calling him.

"No, no, no. He knows. He knows." Arthur muttered. "He'll hate me. I know he'll hate me." Arthur raked a hand through his hair multiple times and his other hand was firmly placed on his hip as if it would keep him balanced. His breathing had picked up and he almost couldn't breathe anymore. He needed to breathe, he needed air.

He stumbled forward until he felt something he could lean against. It was one of the walls and he put his forearm against it and rested his forehead on his arm. He was wheezing, and he desperately wanted to have oxygen. His eyes were starting to get black at the edged and his heart was pounding so hard that he was almost sure that it would break through his chest.

Merlin saw Arthur break down in front of him and he knew he had to act fast. It was probably his father calling him that was the last straw, because Merlin knew how much trouble Arthur had with telling his father about what happened between him and Gwaine.

Arthur was showing signs of a serious panic attack and Merlin gathered his medical knowledge on how to stop such an attack. He walked up to Arthur.

"Arthur - Arthur, relax. Breathe with me."

Arthur closed his eyes, it all became too much. First Gwaine, and now his father probably knew about what had happened, and then Merlin was being hurt by his fault, and just everything.

He faintly heard Merlin talking to him, but he couldn't understand him. He didn't even know what was happening with him right now and he slowly opened his eyes, he didn't even knew he had closed them.

"Morgana find a paper bag!" Merlin ordered. It was an old trick, but it still worked. Morgana immediately fled inside the kitchen to find the required item and seconds later she handed over the bag to her brother.

Merlin scrunched the top of the bag so a smaller opening was made and nudged it into Arthur's hand. He tried to touch Arthur as little as possible, because he knew it could trigger an even worse response when a person was touched during a panic attack.

"Arthur you need to breathe in here." Merlin instructed, hoping that Arthur would understand.

"Arthur please. Listen to me." Merlin's voice was on the verge of desperation, but it seemed that Arthur didn't heard him. Until Arthur lifted his head of his arm and brought the bag to his mouth.

Merlin heaved a sigh of relieve when Arthur had understood and was now watching intensely how Arthur breathed fast in and out in the bag. He wanted Arthur to calm down but there was now little he could do at this moment, he could only wait anxiously and hoping that everything would be alright.

An agonizing long minute went by before Arthur's frantic breathing finally started to even out.

Arthur looked at the bag and just didn't know what to do anymore. He placed the bag at the coffee table and looked at Merlin. "I'm sorry." Was all Arthur said before walking towards the front door.

Merlin looked confused for a second but then ran after Arthur and grabbed his arm at the crook of his elbow and spun him around. "You can't leave in this state. I won't let you." Merlin said stern. He still wasn't sure what exactly had happened that Arthur would react this way, but he would find out sooner or later.

"Arthur, you need to calm down more and you'll have to talk to me. Will you please talk to me?" Merlin pleaded and Arthur averted his gaze to the floor. Merlin closed the distant and tilted Arthur's head by one finger under his chin and looked him deep in the eyes. "Just stay with me. We will figure it all out." Merlin whispered.

Arthur looked back in those deep blue eyes, and they were so full of concern at the moment. It hurt Arthur to see his boyfriend like this so he nodded. He leaned forward and kissed Merlin passionately on the lips and everything felt so right. He broke the kiss and pulled Merlin close to him and placed his head on Merlin's shoulder. He just needed this for a second.

"C-can I have some time alone?" Arthur asked softly in Merlin's ear after a few seconds of silence. Merlin stepped back and gave him a soft smile.

"Of course you can." Merlin said back just as soft. "You can use my room if you'd like, and you can stay as long as you need." Merlin saw Arthur nod and Merlin gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Arthur walked towards Merlin's bedroom and closed the door behind him. Merlin stood there for a few moments, staring at the closed door, before he made his way back to the living room, where a still very much confused Morgana was standing.

"What the hell did just happen!"

Merlin shook his head. "Not now Ganie, not now."