Work Text:
Arthur sighed and took off his glasses. He threw them down on his desk and rubbed his eyes.
It was way too late to be trying to make sense of these figures. But he knew there would be hell to pay if he didn't get them sorted before the morning.
It wouldn't be so bad if his father wasn't such an early bird. He'd be able to go home for a nap, then wake up early and get it sorted with fresh eyes. But his father was not a reasonable man and he had ridiculously high standards for his son.
Arthur stared out over the dark cityscape through the glass windows of his office in the high-rise building of Pendragon Inc.
He felt like he was in a glass cage, on display to the world like some kind of zoo animal.
He sighed and put his glasses back on, pushing them up his nose before turning to his laptop again. The sooner he figured this out, the sooner he could go home.
***
It was Arthur's third late night in a row. He was focusing on a report that one of his team had made a real hash of. The customer had been so displeased it was all Arthur could do to calm him down. Eventually, he did and Arthur reassured him he would make things good and they'd receive a corrected report first thing in the morning.
He didn't trust anyone else not to mess it up, and he wasn't about to ask anyone else to work late. So here he was.
He jumped when there was a tap on his door and looked up.
His sister Morgana was in the doorway.
“Another late night?” she asked.
Arthur hummed, turning his eyes back to the report. He wasn't in the mood to deal with her games at this hour.
“You work far too hard, you know. When was the last time you had a night out that wasn't work-related, or a date for that matter?” She came into the room and perched on the edge of his desk. He glared up at her.
“Are you done?” he asked.
“I'm serious, Arthur. When was the last time you had fun?”
Arthur paused for a moment as he realised it really had been a while since he'd done much else other than his usual routine of getting up, going to work, finishing late, going to the gym and vegging out on the sofa for an hour or so before going to sleep and then doing the whole thing all over again.
His weekends were similar, except a laptop on his dining table became his office as he finished off projects or fixed mistakes made by the newest interns.
He'd blown off Leon's messages asking if he was coming for a kick about more times than he'd like to admit and he hadn't been to a pub in so long he dreaded to think how much a pint cost nowadays.
Ditto to dating.
His last proper attempt at a relationship was years ago.
He'd tried having a hookup with a guy from Grindr, and though it had scratched an itch, he hadn't liked how it had left him feeling.
He just wasn't the random hookup type and couldn't seem to make a relationship work, so he'd resigned himself to his own company.
It was easier that way.
“It's been a while,” he admitted.
“Come out on Saturday. I'm getting together with a bunch of our old friends. I'm sure they'd love to see you, and you need something to drag you away from work. It'll be a win-win.”
“If I say yes will you leave me alone so that I can get this finished?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Fine. I'll go all right? Now leave me in peace,” he said, making a shooing motion.
Anything to make Morgana go away. He'd make up an excuse on the day and get out of it.
“I'll pick you up at seven,” she said.
Damn it.
***
Morgana was as good as her word.
She messaged him several times during the day, threatening him with what she'd do with rather sensitive parts of his anatomy if he tried to back out of it.
So as seven o'clock grew closer Arthur got himself ready to go out.
He might not want to socialise. But he'd be damned if he wouldn't go out looking anything but his best.
He stared in the mirror, ran a hand through his hair to give it that ‘lightly’ tousled look and took a deep breath.
It was just one night. And Morgana was right. It would do him good to get out of the place.
He wondered who would be there. Probably Guinevere. Morgana and her were still as thick as thieves, as they had been all the way through university. That would mean Lancelot would be there too, so at least he'd have someone he could talk with. There’d probably be some of her witchy friends and Morgause, her man-hating half-sister. Plus a few others.
His phone beeped.
It was Morgana letting him know she was outside.
He grabbed his keys and wallet, then headed outside.
***
The pub turned out to be a trendy little place off a busy main street and was much quieter and relaxed than Arthur had anticipated. He sat himself down next to Gwen.
“Arthur, it's been forever!” said Gwen reaching over to give him a hug.
“Oh, it's not been that long…”
“Yes, good to see you,” said Lancelot, returning from the bar laden with drinks for the table.
Arthur moved to make space for him to sit between him and Gwen.
“You must tell us all about what you've been up to,” she said.
“Nah, I don't want to bore you with all that,” he said, taking a sip of his pint. “What about you guys? How are the wedding plans going?”
He listened and nodded in all the right places as Gwen excitedly ran through their plans, Lancelot beamed at her the entire time.
Arthur couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
He didn't want what they had exactly. But it would be nice if he had someone, anyone really, that he could reach out to when he was lonely.
The rest of the group slowly trickled in.
Morgause and her witchy friends gathered on the other side of the round table, and Gwaine turned up with Percival in tow.
Arthur knew them both from football practice, and Leon turned up with someone who looked strangely familiar.
A tall, lanky man Arthur was sure he'd seen somewhere before. One of Morgana's weird friends. Mervin or something?
Arthur was pretty sure they'd taken an instant dislike to each other. Even if there was something about him that Arthur had found interesting. And not just his sharp cheekbones and bright blue eyes. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Merlin gave him a bit of a disdainful look as he looked to be recalling their previous encounter.
It was starting to come back to him now.
It was when Arthur had stayed over at his father's house for the night. Mervin had been studying in the kitchen with Morgana back when they were still at university.
Surely they could bury the hatchet now some time had passed.
Arthur made an attempt at it.
“Hey,” he said, leaning over towards him when Morgana had gone to the bathroom. “I'm Arthur, Morgana's brother. You're Mervin, right?”
“I know. And my name is Merlin,” he said, almost turning his nose up at Arthur. “But I wouldn't expect someone like you to remember that.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You don't remember my name because you didn't consider it important enough to think about it. I remembered yours.”
“That's not fair, it's not my fault your mother named you something ridiculous!”
“Yeah? Well at least she didn't give me a boring old man's name.”
“An old man's name!?” Arthur spluttered. “I'll have you know my mother didn't name me anything. She died in childbirth.”
“Oh,” said Merlin, soberly. “I'm sorry to hear that.”
Arthur shrugged and downed the last of his pint.
He didn't want sympathy, Merlin had just touched a nerve. That's all. He'd grown used to people's reactions finding out about his mother, but he hadn't known any different growing up. There was just this vague sense of loss he could never quite shake.
“I'm going to go get another drink,” he announced, getting to his feet. “What are you drinking?”
***
Arthur didn't end up talking with Merlin again for the rest of the night after getting involved in football chat with Leon and Lancelot. But he did overhear occasional pockets of conversation.
Apparently Merlin was still at university and was working on his PhD. That had surprised him. He hadn't exactly imagined Merlin as an academic. But he supposed the more he thought about it the more it suited him.
He couldn't see Merlin in some kind of stuffy corporate job like his, nor working in retail.
As the night started to draw to an end people started to leave.
Merlin and Arthur were amongst some of the last remaining few.
“Well, I'm going this way,” said Arthur, intending to walk the way home to sober up a little.
He wasn't as used to a night out drinking as he had been and the fresh, cool air would be just the thing.
The rest were either heading in the opposite direction or waiting for an Uber.
“Me too,” said Merlin. “I guess I'll join you.”
They ended up walking along together.
It took a few minutes before they struck up a conversation.
Once Arthur got over his initial dislike, he couldn't help but start to take a liking to Merlin. He was actually quite funny and clever. Arthur liked people like that, feeling that he himself was entirely too serious at times.
As they walked, he found himself smiling and laughing in a way he hadn't done in forever. It was good to just exist and talk without any expectations.
When they finally got to the point where they were about to part ways, Arthur reached out and grasped Merlin's arm.
“Why don't you come back to mine for some coffee,” he said, impulsively.
Merlin glanced at him, confused.
“Coffee?” he asked.
Arthur didn't know why he was confused, wasn't asking someone back to your place for coffee the universal sign that you were interested in continuing the night, in whatever direction you both wanted it to go?
Or had that kind of lingo passed him by? Was it Netflix and Chill now?
Maybe Arthur was reading things wrong and Merlin was straight. Even if he was, Arthur wasn't opposed to hanging out still and getting to know him better. He could always do with more friends.
“Yeah, coffee.”
“Oh,” said Merlin, his eyes widening, then his smile turned soft and sultry. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
Mission accomplished, they both continued on walking back to Arthur's flat.
***
They barely made it through the door of Arthur's flat before Merlin was pressing Arthur against the wall, kissing him.
Arthur was a little taken back for a moment, before he started to kiss back and wrestle back control of the situation. He shrugged off his coat and tugged at Merlin's jacket to get it off. If Merlin wanted to do this, then they'd do it properly.
Merlin scrabbled with the buttons of Arthur's shirt and groaned, his eyes and hands exploring the contours of Arthur's well-toned chest appreciatively.
Arthur couldn't help but grin smugly. He liked to exercise and keep fit, some days it was the only thing that kept him sane, but it was even nicer to have his hard work admired.
Merlin pushed the shirt off his shoulders and struggled out of his jumper and t-shirt before they started to kiss again. Arthur's tongue snaked into Merlin's mouth as he mapped it out.
He walked them backwards towards the door or his bedroom, his hand cupping the hard line of Merlin's cock through his jeans, enjoying the way Merlin groaned as he stroked his thumb along the length of it.
Once they were inside, he flicked open the button of Merlin's jeans and unzipped them, sliding his hands inside to grip Merlin's cock through the thin layer of cotton of his boxer shorts.
Merlin moaned into the kiss as he slowly undid Arthur's trousers. They pooled around Arthur's ankles and he stepped out of them.
Arthur pushed Merlin back on his bed and tugged his jeans off of him.
God Merlin was gorgeous. He was just like the dark-haired twinks that frequented Arthur's internet browsers. Lithe and lean, yet surprisingly wiry.
Perfect.
He crawled onto the bed and kissed Merlin again as he started to grind against Merlin's hip. The fabric of their underwear being the only thing between them, was a delicious tease.
Arthur kissed along the long lean line of Merlin's neck, all the way up to his strangely attractive sticky out ears.
He'd never really thought he'd find such a feature attractive but they just served to make Merlin seem more ethereal. Arthur wondered if they were as sensitive as he imagined they were, and he was determined to find out.
He nibbed lightly on the tip of Merlin's ear and then sucked on a lobe gently.
Merlin went wild underneath him, gasping and squirming as he clawed at Arthur's chest.
“Ah, fuck! Fuck!” Merlin cried out. “Arthur, Arthur that's… Please, ah!”
Arthur continued a little longer until Merlin started to push him away.
Very sensitive then.
He could already tell this was going to be a fun hook up.
Arthur moved back and kissed his way down Merlin's chest, belly and treasure trail until he was at the waistband of his boxers.
He grinned at the tenting of them and mouthed at Merlin's cock through the fabric until Merlin started to beg him for more.
“Please, Arthur. Please…”
Arthur gave him a quick kiss before he got to his hands and knees, leaning over Merlin to open his bedside drawer.
He grabbed the lube and fished around, hoping hadn't used all his condoms and forgotten to replace them. Which was a potential possibility.
He made a triumphant sound when his fingers closed around a packet.
As he returned to the bed Merlin rolled him over so that he could straddle him.
“My turn,” he told Arthur, as his long, curious fingers and soft plush lips explored Arthur's torso.
He made his way down Arthur's body and tucked his fingers into the band of his boxer-briefs.
Arthur watched as Merlin looked down at him hungrily.
He slowly peeled Arthur's underwear down over his cock, which sprung free. Merlin tugged them all the way off, running his hands all the way from Arthur's ankles up to his thighs as he got back on the bed.
Merlin kissed around Arthur's cock.
“Is this okay?” Merlin asked.
“Of course,” said Arthur.
He buried his hand in Merlin's dark locks and directed him towards his cock.
Merlin lapped a few times at the slit before his slid his lips over the head, bobbing a few times as he took more and more of Arthur down his throat
Arthur gasped, gripping Merlin's hair tighter. He'd forgotten how good this felt.
He hitched his hips slightly as Merlin proceeded to suck him off. Merlin certainly seemed to know what he was doing, as he sucked and swallowed around Arthur with gusto.
He had his hand inside his boxers, stoking his own cock as he worked Arthur's.
Eventually Arthur had to tug sharply on his hair. If Merlin continued for much longer he was going to come, and he didn't want that. Not tonight.
Merlin popped off of him, his lips obscenely red and shiny. Arthur kissed his mouth and rolled them over.
He wasted no time in tugging off Merlin's boxers, and getting his hand on his cock. It was long and slim, like Merlin. Arthur was looking forward to pleasuring him.
He settled himself between Merlin's legs and licked a strip along the underside of his cock, ignoring the throbbing of his own. He mouthed at Merlin's balls as his hand reached out to grasp the lube.
He flicked open the lid and squeezed some out onto his fingers before sliding them down under Merlin's balls as he lavished attention on them.
Arthur cast his eyes up at Merlin to ask for permission and Merlin groaned and gave him a nod.
He carded his fingers through Arthur's hair and tightened them with a gasp as Arthur circled a finger around his hole before pushing the tip in.
The tight muscle eased as Arthur inched his way in.
He pumped his finger carefully a few times before adding another digit, scissoring them as he pumped and stretched Merlin's hole.
He crooked his fingers to press deep inside of him and Merlin moaned, his fingers digging into Arthur's scalp.
He slid his lips down Merlin's cock as he pumped his fingers working him open.
Merlin gave his hair a sharp tug.
“You're going to need to— to stop doing that if you want to fuck me,” Merlin said, his voice shaky.
Arthur pulled off of him and removed his fingers.
Merlin pouted at him as he grabbed the condom and tore it open with his teeth. He watched with hooded eyes as Arthur rolled the condom on.
Arthur prayed to God that he'd be able to last long enough to give Merlin a good fucking. But he was so keyed up already and Merlin was so perfect he couldn't be sure that he would.
After adding some more lube and slicking himself up, Arthur lined himself up. He gave Merlin's cock a stroke.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yeah, go on,” Merlin told him.
As he pushed into Merlin Arthur had to close his eyes. God he was so tight. He continued to push in slowly, incrementally, until he was all the way in, his groin pressed against Merlin's.
“You good?” he asked as he paused, still pumping his hand on Merlin's cock.
Merlin nodded and Arthur started to roll his hips, fucking slowly into Merlin, gradually increasing his pace.
He put a hand on the mattress near Merlin's head to help give him leverage, before Merlin batted his hand away and started to stroke himself off.
Arthur started to fuck into Merlin in earnest, thrusting his hips, punching quiet gasps and ‘ah’s out of him.
“Fuck, Merlin,” he groaned, as his arms and thighs strained with effort. “You feel so good.”
“Yeah, that's it," said Merlin. “Harder!”
Arthur snapped his hips again, moving as quickly as he could, pushing Merlin up the bed with each thrust.
Merlin whined at the back of his throat as his hand stripped his cock, almost a blur.
He cried out, his head thrust back against the pillow and his back arched as he came hard and fast between them.
Arthur choked out a moan as Merlin's hole clenched hard around him. He managed a few more rolls of his hips before he came too with a cut off “Ah—!”
He collapsed down on top of Merlin and felt him smiling against his cheek, a hand carding through his hair. Totally satisfied.
***
Half an hour later after they had cleaned up and recovered, Arthur started to get dressed.
Merlin was already gathering his clothes. He had to be at work early the next morning.
“Look, Merlin,” Arthur began, knowing he was about to be a dick, especially after having had such great sex, but knowing he needed to be honest. “That was great, truly. But, well… I can't really do the whole relationship thing right now—”
“Oh thank God!” Merlin interrupted. “Me too. It was great; amazing. But to be honest, I'm way too busy working on my thesis.”
Arthur felt a wave of relief. It had been a good night and he was glad that this wasn't going to ruin it. He hoped that they might even remain friends.
“I know the feeling,” he said as he zipped up his trousers. “My father works me into the ground.”
Merlin hummed as he fished his t-shirt up from the floor and shook it out before pulling it over his head.
“This is going to sound crazy,” he said from inside his t-shirt. “But well, since we're both busy and you weren't half bad—”
“I wasn't half bad…!?” Arthur spluttered as he did up his shirt.
Merlin gave him a beaming grin.
He was teasing him.
“What I meant was; maybe this doesn't have to be a one off? Maybe, we could do this again some time?” He adjusted his t-shirt and shrugged on his jacket. “Look, give me your phone.”
Arthur passed it to him and Merlin fiddled around typing something on it before handing it back.
“There,” he said, handing it back. “You have my number. So, if you're ever at a loose end and fancy another round, message me and maybe we can arrange something.”
“All right,” Arthur agreed, pocketing his phone.
Merlin gave him a quick kiss before he shrugged on his jacket and stepped into his trainers.
“See you around!”
***
Arthur tapped his fingers on his desk.
It was another long night for him. But he couldn't stop thinking about the other night with Merlin.
He wondered if Merlin had been serious about his offer, or if he had just been being polite.
After the day he had had, he could sure do with blowing off some steam, or getting off with someone else.
He reached out for his phone and turned it on, lighting up the screen.
He opened his messaging app.
What the hell. He might as well test the waters. If it turned out Merlin was joking he'd be no worse off than he was now. But if he was serious, well, the whole thing could be a rather good arrangement.
He typed Merlin's name in and started a new message.
“You around?” he sent, before quickly adding, “Sorry, it's Arthur.”
There were dots at the bottom of his screen almost immediately and Arthur's heart rate increased as he waited for Merlin's reply.
“Yeah, I'm around,” he replied. “What's up?”
“I'm just finishing up at work. Want to come over and hang out?” he asked.
“Sure. What time?”
“Half-seven?”
“Cool. See you then!”
***
Merlin arrived a few minutes after seven-thirty and Arthur buzzed him through the entrance and let him into his flat.
It was weird to be with Merlin without the undercurrent of the buzz of alcohol.
“Are you hungry?” Arthur asked. “I just got in and I was going to order something.”
Merlin frowned a little, his forehead wrinkling.
“You know what? Now I think of it, I am. I was so busy researching I completely forgot about dinner.”
“Curry okay?”
“Yeah, anything vegan.”
“Vegan?” Arthur screwed up his nose. “I guess I should have known.”
Merlin shrugged.
“I don't like eating meat and I'm lactose intolerant. But saying vegan is easier.”
Arthur pushed a menu across the kitchen island towards him.
“Let me know what you want,” he said as he got a couple of beers from the fridge.
Once the food arrived, they sat on the sofa and ate whilst they watched a movie on the TV and chatted.
When they were about half way through the movie, Merlin's hand, which had been resting between them, slowly crept towards Arthur until he put it on Arthur's thigh. Arthur stayed still, not sure if he was supposed to reciprocate or not.
As they continued to watch the film, Merlin's fingers started to rub at his cock through Arthur's jeans. It didn't need much encouragement as he'd been half-hard since Merlin's hand had first touched his thigh.
Soon his cock was straining against the confines of his jeans.
He glanced over at Merlin and noticed his jeans were similarly tented, so he reached over and started to rub him too with the heel of his hand.
Merlin's breath hitched, but he kept his eyes on the TV.
He deftly started to open Arthur's jeans and pulled his cock out, exposing it to the cool air.
Arthur shuddered and hurried to do the same for Merlin.
They both took the other's cock in their hand and started to slowly stroke, eyes both fixed on the screen.
It was kind of thrilling to be jacking each other off like this, like it was forbidden or secret somehow, even though they were alone in Arthur's apartment.
Arthur rubbed his thumb over the head of Merlin's cock, earning a shuddery breath from him. He removed his hand for a moment and licked across his palm before he gripped Merlin again, knowing it would feel even better with a little slickness and made a mental note to hide some lube down between the sofa cushions for any future exploits.
Merlin's breath hitched and he let his head fall back against the sofa as Arthur stroked and gave his hand a little twist.
The film was completely forgotten now as Merlin's hand picked up the pace as he varied his grip on Arthur's cock as loose and then tighter. It was driving Arthur closer and closer to the edge.
The slick sound of their hands moving filled the air between the sounds of the movie, along with their laboured breathing.
Merlin crested first, coming with a deep moan, spilling over Arthur's hand.
It didn't take Arthur much longer as he followed coming in strings with a gasp as Merlin stroked him through it.
***
Arthur continued to reach out to Merlin. He was good company and knew the line between teasing Arthur and being supportive. He was a nice friend to have.
They chatted about all sorts of things throughout the day without the expectation that either of them respond immediately; the latest news, football results (Merlin feigned an interest), Merlin's thesis (Arthur did his best to understand) and sent each other ridiculous memes.
And between it all they met up once or twice a week for anything really. Sometimes just to hang out and kiss and fondle each other. Sometimes for a long drawn out fuck. Other times, just blow jobs or hand jobs. It was the most fun Arthur had had in a long time. Especially since there was no pressure from Merlin to make it anything more than it was; two friends just helping each other out.
At home one evening, whilst watching the footie Arthur received a text from Merlin.
“You home?”
“Yeah,” he said.
“Can I come over?” Merlin asked.
“Sure. See you in a bit.”
Ten minutes later Arthur was letting Merlin into his flat. Arthur knew something was wrong the moment he saw him.
“Everything alright?” he said. “You look terrible.”
“I just need to suck you,” said Merlin, his eyes a little manic.
He guided Arthur to the sofa and immediately pulled down Arthur's jogging bottoms and freed his cock.
He coaxed Arthur to hardness fairly quickly, which made Arthur feel guilty. Merlin was clearly going through something and here Arthur was getting hard at his touch.
“Merlin…” he began, tilting Merlin's head up to look at him.
Merlin stared up at him with pleading eyes.
“Please,” he said. “I need this.”
Arthur tried to push his guilt aside as Merlin took his cock in his mouth, using it to work him to full hardness.
And then he settled there, eyes closed, between Arthur's legs with his cock in his mouth. Not bobbing his head, not moving. He just stayed there.
Arthur was confused at first. He didn't know what he should do. He reached out and threaded his fingers through Merlin's hair and stroked him gently. This seemed to calm Merlin further.
It really did seem like Merlin needed this, if so, Arthur would gladly give it.
It was an exquisite kind of torture to sit there watching his club play whilst Merlin had his cock in his mouth; warm and wet. He almost forgot for a few moments, having grown so used to Merlin's mouth, until Merlin shifted a tiny bit or swallowed around him and Arthur was brought back to reality and his cock would stiffen again, ridiculously turned on.
He continued to stroke Merlin's hair periodically and on occasion he thumbed at the corner of Merlin's mouth where it encapsulated his cock. Merlin looked up at him with sleepy, bleary eyes. It was almost as though he was in a trance.
Fuck that was hot.
Why was this whole thing so hot?
Merlin was being so meek and submissive, not like the man Arthur had come to know over the past few months. This had kind of surprised him.
He wondered what other kind of submissive things Merlin might be into and made a note to look into it. He knew he could be domineering and had a possessive streak a mile wide. If this was something Merlin liked, then he was sure he could give it to him. This could be a match made in heaven.
About half an hour after the football ended Merlin pulled off of him and started to move and stretch his stiff body.
He slowly got to his feet steadied by Arthur.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice hoarse.
“Hey,” said Arthur tilting his face up to look at him. “Don't be sorry. Sit down and I'll get you a drink.”
Arthur brought him over a glass of water and Merlin drank it gratefully.
“Feeling better?” Arthur asked as he sat next to him.
Merlin snuggled up to him and Arthur wrapped an arm around him. They never really cuddled. It wasn't really their thing. But Arthur had a feeling this was something Merlin needed too.
Merlin ended up drifting off to sleep.
Arthur sighed as he carefully slid out from under Merlin and placed a cushion under his head as he laid him down on the sofa. He still wondered what it was that had made Merlin so upset. But he was glad that he'd been able to be there for him.
He grabbed a blanket and placed it over Merlin's sleeping form, bending to press a kiss to his forehead.
“Good night, Merlin.”
***
Arthur walked into the pub.
He'd been talked into another night out by Morgana, and he couldn’t say that he really put up much of a protest this time. After all, the last one had re-introduced him to Merlin and their friends-with-benefits situation had proven to be highly satisfactory for both of them.
Arthur got someone who allowed him to get out of his mind-numbing routine and made him think of the world in a different way, and Merlin got… well. Arthur wasn't exactly sure what Merlin got out of the whole arrangement; no strings attached sex he supposed?
“Arthur!” said Gwen, greeting him. “You look well!”
“Thanks,” said Arthur, taking a seat.
He scanned the bar looking for any signs of Merlin. He'd been looking forward to seeing him tonight. They'd already made plans to go back to Merlin's after this.
“Arthur? Arthur?” came Gwen's voice. “I said how's work going?”
“Oh,” said Arthur, blinking at her. How was work going? Truth be told he had started worrying less about it since he had started getting laid on the regular. “It's fine, thanks. Just… ticking along. You know how it is.”
Fortunately he was saved from answering more questions as more of their friends arrived and took seats at the table.
Arthur was just mourning none of them being Merlin when he heard a “Hey” in his ear as Merlin sat down next to him.
He grinned at Arthur and tugged the beanie off his head, leaving his hair all sticking up. Arthur grinned back.
“Hey yourself.”
“What have I missed?” Merlin asked.
Later that evening when he was feeling more tipsy Arthur leaned over and whispered in Merlin's ear, “Come and meet me in the bathroom.”
He got to his feet and headed off to the toilets, he relieved himself in a stall and was washing his hands when Merlin came in.
Merlin gave him a wink as he went into the same stall. Arthur busied himself with washing and drying his hands until the other man in the bathroom left.
As the door swung closed, he made a beeline for Merlin’s stall and pushed open the door.
Arthur closed and locked it behind him.
Inside Merlin already had his trousers down and his cock in hand.
Arthur kissed him and batted his hand away.
“I couldn't wait until tonight,” Arthur told him.
“Me either,” gasped Merlin.
“What do you want?” Arthur asked him, crowded him against the stall wall.
Merlin pulled him close by his shirt and they kissed again.
“I want you to fuck me,” he whispered.
“Here?”
“Yeah, right here.”
“Fuck. All right.”
“That’s the spirit,” Merlin grinned.
Arthur dug around in his back pocket for the condom and sachet of lube he'd stashed there before going out. The last thing he wanted was for them to get back to Merlin's and find they didn't have anything.
But it was also rather handy for a quick fuck like this.
“We'll have to be fast,” Arthur told him. He turned Merlin around and tugged his jeans and boxers down to his knees. “We won't have long to…”
He trailed off as he went to finger Merlin's hole and found it already occupied.
“Fuck,” he whispered with wonder. Then he leaned up against Merlin, muttering into his ear. “My, my… someone was hoping to get fucked tonight.”
Arthur pried out the plug and pocketed it.
Merlin whined as he clenched around nothing.
“Shh,” said Arthur. “I'll be filling you up very soon.”
He pulled out his cock and tore open the condom, not caring where the wrapper went, then rolled it on.
“Arthur…”
“I'm almost…” Arthur muttered as he tore open the lube and spread it over his cock with a quick stroke.
He positioned himself at Merlin's hole, hitching Merlin up a little as he pushed all the way in.
Merlin gasped and his fingers scrambled for purchase on the cubicle walls, blinking and breathing heavily.
Arthur pressed himself against Merlin and pressed his face against Merlin's neck as he started to roll his hips, fucking into him at a pace.
They rattled the stall as they fucked, the slapping sound of their thrusts and harsh pants filling the air.
Both of them froze as they heard the door open.
Familiar voices were talking—Leon and Lancelot—as they came inside.
Arthur’s cock throbbed inside Merlin. He'd already been on the edge, but this whole situation of almost getting caught had him so, so close to coming.
Merlin whimpered from the back of his throat and Leon and Lancelot's conversation stopped.
Arthur covered Merlin's mouth with his hand and slowly rocked his hips, fucking in to him with shallow thrusts. Merlin squirmed and made muffled noises.
Leon and Lancelot started talking again and Merlin and Arthur continued their slow fucking until it was clear they were done, the sound of the taps running and then the hand dryer fading.
Arthur took his hand off Merlin's mouth and reached around to stroke his cock. He fucked into him fast again. It didn't take him many more thrusts before he came, stilling deep inside Merlin.
Merlin hitched his hips trying to fuck into Arthur's fist before Arthur came back to himself and helped him finish off. Merlin came with a groan, splattering against the cubical wall.
***
It was the first late night Arthur had had in a while. He had started to forget what a drag it was, but Merlin was working a late shift tonight, so he wouldn't be coming over until close to midnight. So Arthur figured he might as well stay and sort a few things out in the meantime.
He became so absorbed in his work that I jumped a little at the tap on his office door.
He looked up to see Morgana standing there.
She smiled softly at him with more affection than he’d seen from her in a while.
Immediately Arthur was suspicious. What did she want?
Morgana came swanning into his office.
“Well, I must say it's a surprise to see you here, Arthur. I thought you'd given up burning the midnight oil?”
Arthur just hummed in response.
Best to give her as little ammunition as possible.
“Whilst it's strange to leave and not see your office light on, I'm glad.”
He raised an eyebrow at her as she perched herself on his desk, before continuing with his work. He wasn't sure he liked where this was going.
“You've had such a spring in your step since you met Merlin…’
There it was.
That's why she was here.
He should have known. Morgana always seemed to have a sixth sense about these things, even when Merlin and Arthur had been completely private about their arrangement.
“We're just friends,” Arthur told her.
And it's true. They are.
“Oh Arthur,” she said, her voice dripping with sympathy. “You can't do ‘just friends’. We both know that.”
Arthur rolled his eyes.
“I don't know what you're talking about,” he said. “We really are just friends.”
She didn't need to know that they had agreed to fuck on the side.
“You don’t fool me, Arthur. I know that you know,” she said. Morgana slid off his desk with one smooth movement. “And when you finally admit I'm right. I promise I won't boast too much about it.”
“You're wrong. Go away Morgana.”
She strolled over to the door then turned and looked at him knowingly.
“Fine,” she said. “Anyway. When you get home, tell Merlin I said hi.”