Chapter Text
"Would you let me kiss you?" Arthur asked earnestly. The headphones dwarfed his head, the contrast between the black of the material and the brightness of his hair almost comical but his face was deadly serious.
Yes, Merlin would say. God, yes. Of course. You don't need to ask. If only he possessed that much conviction! But he didn't. He was frozen in his seat.
Looking around awkwardly, he noted Leon in the next seat over, holding his head in his hand, looking like he wanted to be somewhere else. Morgause was standing by the door with her own headset, directing orders to the her guards on the other side of the window, holding back the employees gathered to watch the show. Freya and Gwen were holding each other excitedly, nodding frantically and waving at him so fast their hands were flesh coloured blurs. Merlin gulped, trying to swallow down his anxiety.
Arthur touched his hand then, looking less certain than before, and Merlin realised he hadn't said anything. He cleared his throat. "Um... Now? Really?"
Oh god. What? Didn't that sound like an acquiescence?
Arthur pounced on it immediately. "That's a yes right?"
He hadn't meant to say that! Isn’t there some sort of body language indicating 'hi, hello, how do you do, I have no real sexual experience'?! He'd only kissed three people in his life! And one of them was Will, so that didn't even really count! He was going to suck. He was going to suck, and Arthur would — oh god, he did not want to suck at kissing when it was Penn— when it was Arthur who was on the receiving end! Arthur, who was already leaning in with intent. Frantically, he tried to backtrack. "Are you really... Can we do that?"
Please say no. Please say no. Please say—
Morgause gave them the thumbs up.
Dammit!
"Well..." Leon trailed off, looking at Merlin sympathetically. "We've gotten the okay from the producers and Penn certainly seems willing."
"Yes," Arthur said urgently. He gently untangled Merlin's fingers, anxiously knotted into the soft ends of his scarf and held them loosely in his grip, the warmth comforting and pleasant, racing along the surface of Merlin's skin like magic.
"Yes to everything," Arthur finished softly, looking Merlin right in his eyes, hopeful, sincere.
And really, Merlin thought, still reluctant but so, so happy, as though he was going to say no to that.
Still feeling the slightest bit bashful, he replied, "Oh. Well..." He fidgeted in his seat, giving Arthur a tentative smile. "Alright then, I'll just—" But Arthur was already on him, lips soft and firm. The force of Arthur's eagerness knocked him back in his seat, flailing a little before he settled his arms on Arthur's broad back, trying to respond to the gentle pressure on his mouth. Arthur's hands cradled his face, and Merlin's lips parted instinctively, pushing back and—
And clacking their teeth together.
Fuck!
He backed off immediately, shrinking into himself and covering his bright red face in his hands. His lips tingled strangely, but it felt good. "Sorry, that's my—" fault he was about to say, but Arthur had taken his hands from his face, and he'd looked up. He couldn't finish, voice caught in his throat as Arthur grinned at him, so ecstatic he looked a little deranged, hair a golden glow bathed in the brightness of the studio lights. He chuckled, taking hold of Merlin's jaw gently, guiding him back. "That's okay," he promised, blue eyes smiling. "Just keep your head still."
And even when their teeth clacked together again, Merlin couldn't be too upset about it.