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Mordred was in Merlin’s room.
He had a chemistry test tomorrow and since Merlin was practically a chemistry wizard he hoped that if he had any chance of not flunking out on his first test of the semester, it would be because of him.
So he had knocked on his door and begged him to show him his chemistry magic to which Merlin laughed and invited him in.
They were sitting on Merlin's double bed which was currently functioning as a second desk. An army of class notes, past quizzes, and warm up packets surrounded them. They sat in the middle, cross-legged and facing each other.
Merlin is reading a page from the textbook. It’s about the ionization of chemicals and Mordred tries to pay attention, but really all he picks up is the soft, low tone of Merlin’s voice.
Mordred bites his lip. Ever since he was child, he had an enormous crush on Merlin. He really couldn't help it. He was defenseless when Merlin looked at him with those beautiful eyes, and gave him that smile. Merlin is the type of person that knows how to make anyone feel important and loved.
His head is centimeters away from Merlin’s as they look over the same diagram in the textbook. It's an ionization of Na diagram that the teacher had marked for the test. Vitally important, and yet all Mordred can focus on are the soft exhales leaving Merlin's parted lips and the warm heat radiating from his body.
Suddenly Merlin looks up at him. “Mordred?” His face is extremely close.
Mordred snaps out of his reverie. He hadn’t really been paying attention. He was too busy drowning in those deep blue eyes. He could just pretend Merlin was his boyfriend. They were on his bed after all. Maybe if he just leaned forward a little…
“Um. Mordred, have you been listening to a word I've said?” Merlin moves his head back and looks at him skeptically.
“Oh um sorry. I was a bit distracted.” He doesn't add 'by you' instead he focuses on a spot behind Merlin's head, then straightens himself and tries to focus on the real reason he is here. To study chemistry, not Merlin.
“Which has the larger ionization energy –sodium or potassium?” Merlins asks, moving the book onto his lap and holding the cap of a pen in his mouth. Mordred has never been more jealous of an inanimate object.
“Um.” Mordred wants to say let’s just forget about the test and make out. But instead he answers, “Sodium?”
“Yeah. Brilliant. See, you’re not completely clueless.” Merlin beams at him, and it makes Mordred melt. If not for the grade it certainly gave him the incentive to pay attention if Merlin was going to keep smiling at him like that. Wasn’t there a thing online he read saying that if someone stared at you for more than five seconds that meant that they were in love with you?
The sound of the doorbell interrupts their moment. And Mordred was sure they were having one.
“Oh. Arthur’s here!” Merlin’s whole face brightens and he jerks his head up. He’s not within kissing distance anymore. Mordred sighs. Any previous notion he had of Merlin being secretly in love with him had faded quicker than a flash of lightning.
A single knock is heard at the door.
“Come in!” Merlin yells.
Arthur enters the room all broad-shouldered and beautiful like the sunshine god he was. Mordred notices the slightest clench in his jaw when he spots Mordred, but it’s gone the moment he locks eyes with Merlin, who jumps out of his spot on the bed and nearly tumbles off the edge before throwing his arms around Arthur's torso.
There is a moment where they just stare at one another. Then like two ionizing molecules, their mouths find each other. They don’t separate for a good five minutes. All the while Mordred, sits silently on the bed and pretends to be looking over his notes. He tries not to see how Merlin’s hand moves to rest just above Arthur’s lower back. He wishes he’d never come in the first place.
When they finally separate, Merlin gestures towards the bed.
“We made a bit of a mess.” Merlin says, he blushes, and points at Mordred. “It’s all his fault.”
Mordred forces a smile. “I seem to recall you being the one giving me all this, so it’s really your mess.”
“Right. Well, I guess it was both of ours then. Shall we continue?” Merlin is about to rejoin his spot on the bed but Arthur holds him back.
“Merlin, your mom wanted to talk to you about something. She’s in the kitchen.”
“Oh. Alright. Keep looking over the notes Mordred I’ll be back soon!” Merlin leaps out of the room and Mordred can’t help, but smile after him.
Once he’s gone the tension in the air is so thick, he doubts even a sword forged in a dragon’s breath could cut through it. Mordred doesn’t say anything, just continues to look through his notes, but he cant take in a single word. He's only too aware of the other person in the room.
Arthur is sitting at the desk, looking out the window. He's messing with the ring on his thumb, turning it in circles. It's clear that there is something on his mind, but he's not saying anything yet and Mordred is more than willing to draw out the silence for as long as possible. That doesn't last for more than a minute before Arthur gives in. Mordred figures he was one of those peel-the-bandage-off-quickly types. He doesn’t look at Mordred when he says, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”
Mordred, however prefered to slowly peel off his bandaids. He doesn't answer him, instead he squints his eyes and stares at the paper in his hands wishing they held something more useful. Preferably step by step instructions of how to make Merlin fall in love with him.
Arthur turns to look at him, apparently not taking the hint. His voice is even when he says, “You do like him don’t you?”
“Uh..” Mordred wants to flee. Maybe he can make a break for it and never answer his question. The idea is tempting.
Arthur presses on, clearly trying to get something out of Mordred.“Because Merlin is too nice to tell you he’s not interested…I know he’s been one of the first friends you made. He's very protective over you.”
Mordred's blood pressure rises, he forgets how to form words, his tongue won’t move. He wasn't Merlin's charity case or his little puppy dog, yet that was exactly how Arthur drew him up.
“But I can tell you like him more than that.” Arthur’s tone is so civil, and polite that somehow it makes it worse. Like Mordred couldn't even get a rise out of Arhur without feeling like he was being pittied. Mordred wishes he could tear the gentle words apart and get right to the heart of Arthur's jealousy.
Instead he stays silent. He refuses to let Arthur bring him down.
“He’s never going to love you. At least not how you want him too." Arthur crosses his arms and fixes his eyes on Mordred's. He sees a storm brewing in those cool blue irises.
Mordred swallows a hard breath, and says with a surprising amount of conviction, “He'll get tired of you. Maybe not today, but he will."
Arthur doesn't respond immediately. Mordred looks over at him, and smiles when he sees he's hit somewhere beneath Arthur's shield. He notices his eyes lose some of their intensity and his head lowers the slightest bit. His jaw is clenched tight. Before Mordred can dwell in it too long, it's gone and Arthur becomes his pompous and arrogant self again. "No one loves him more than me."
Mordred's not lowering his sheild now, he's ready to fight back. "That may be so, but have you ever known anyone else? Loved anyone else?"
"I don't need to." Says Arthur.
"So you think if you were to date someone else you would just come right back to Merlin."
"Without a doubt. There's no one I'd rather be with." His voice shows absolutely no sign of hesitation.
"What about him? Do you trust him to date others and come back to you?"
There is a slight pause, that grows longer and gets more intense. Mordred feels himself give Arthur a smug grin. "Having doubts, are we?"
If he were defenseless he would have cowered just from looking at Arthur's darkening eyes. But he wasn't. He had reached Arthur's only point of vulnerability, Merlin, and was prepared to deliver the fatal blow, "If it wasn't for you, he'd be with me. And we would be on this bed doing things other than studying..."
Suddenly Mordred feels his back hit the wall with a loud thud, pain shoots through his spine. Arthur's fist is gathering in the fabric of his shirt by the collar and holding his face up.
"Shut the fuck up." Arthur fixes his eyes on him, unblinking.
Up close Mordred can see the tiny imperfections on Arthur's perfect face. The makings of a crease sure to appear between his brows when he got older. A pimple right under his hairline. A tiny scratch on his cheek. A mark of red by his neck. Oh. He didn't want to think of how that happened. Arthur follows his eyes and smiles widely. "That's exactly what you think it is."
Merlin walks into the room just then. He looks between the two of them and his jaw drops. It would have been funny if the scene didn't look so damning. Arthur was still holding Mordred against the wall and they were practically skin to skin.
Merlin covers a hand over his mouth.
Arthur immediately releases Mordred who slides down the wall in a slump. He doesn't bother helping him up. "Merlin, dear, this isn't what it looks like." Arthur's voice is strained full of worry.
"Really? Because it looks to me like you guys can't even keep your hands off--" Merlin's voice breaks then. "each other for five minutes. In my fucking room, no less!" Merlin turns to run out the door but Mordred is quicker and blocks it.
"You've got to believe that I would never hurt you." Pleads Mordred.
"Well you have a funny way of showing it." Merlin voice is dry, devoid of any emotion.
Arthur approaches Merlin and gently takes both his hands. Merlin flinches away, but Arthur holds him steady. He doesn't meet his eyes, instead he's staring at his feet. "I was actually holding Mordred against the wall because I wanted to bash his face in."
That makes Merlin look up. "What the hell?"
Merlin turns to Mordred questioningly.
"It's true. A moment later and you would have been cleaning my guts off your wall." Says Mordred with a shudder.
Mordred rubs at his chest where Arthur had his fist pressed against it.
Arthur gives him a sheepish smile. "He was trying to make me jealous. I obviously had to assert my dominance."
"Obviously." Merlin rolls his eyes. "This hardly paints you in a better picture, Arthur."
"Duly noted, but at least I'm not a cheater." Says Arthur.
Merlin walks over to Mordred. "Take off your shirt."
Mordred looks at him with wide eyes. He had fantasized about this moment so many times but he had a feeling this wouldn't turn like one of his dreams. Especially since Arthur was in the same room.
"What? Why?" He sputters and looks like a fish out of water.
"If he doesn't want to, you shouldn't force him." Says Arthur.
"Arthur. Shut up. I'm mad at you still." Says Merlin, after sparing him a quick glance.
Mordred gives Arthur a glare and yanks off his shirt. He wasn't opposed to showing himself to Merlin, but did Arthur really have to be there too?
Merlin sucks in a deep breath. He places his hands gently on Mordred's collarbone and moves to his chest. Mordred looks down at himself. He's got red patches spotted all over his chest, no doubt they'll bruise later.
Merlin applies a bit of pressure to the bigger bruises. He studies Mordred's reactions, assesing them to see if they're more than just minor injuries.
"Is it neccessary to touch him that much?" Arthur calls from across the room.
Merlin ignores him. All the while Mordred doesn't look away from Merlin. He's studying the focus of his eyes and feels a great loss when his hand drops away.
Merlin turns back to Arthur. "Look at what you did, come see for yourself."
Arthur walks over to them slowly.
It was a lot worse than he thought. Mordred's chest looks like a test swatch for red paint.
"Sorry mate." Arthur mumbles.
Mordred just nods at him, then he pulls his shirt back on. "I'm leaving now. Thanks, Merlin for everything."
"Wait. Are you sure?" Merlin says.
"I can take it from here." Mordred picks his papers up off the bed and stuffs them into his backpack. He's out the door in less than a minute.
When he gets back to his own room he collapses on the bed. After laying there for several minutes and lamenting about all the reasons that Merlin would never be his, he gets his study material back out.
He's missing his last quiz. Merlin had written the corrections out for him and he must have forgotten to give it back. He searches through his pile one more time to make sure, but it was gone. He had left it Merlin's room.
He makes his way back to Merlin's flat and Hunith answers the door. He tells her he forgot something and she sends him up to Merlin's room.
He’s about to knock when he hears the sound of a heavy thump from the other side of the door, followed by muffled laughter.
Merlin's voice is softened by the walls. Straining his ears, Mordred tries to hear what’s going on.
“Seriously Arthur?”
"He made me angry.” Arthur's voice is a bit louder and easier to make out.
"I make you angry. Will makes you angry and you don't send him flying through walls." Says Merlin.
"Yeah, well Will doesn't want to get into your pants."
"So that's what this is about."
"Let's just move on."
"Why? Are you afraid Mordred will seduce me and leave you all by your lonesome?"
“Don't joke about stuff like that."
"Seriously though, you need to work on your temper."
There's a pause. And then Arthur begins again. "Why the hell did you touch him?"
"To make sure you didn't do permanent damage."
There's silence. "I didn't touch him that low." Merlin voice gets more broken up. "Okay I definitely didn't use my lips."
He hears Arthur's low chuckle and Mordred's stomach twists.
"Cheers to that." Says Arthur.
He listens closely, but no more talking follows.
Mordred is about to knock again, when he hears the sound of a zipper. Soon after he hears rustling followed by heavy breathing.
A loud moan pierces through the quiet room, followed by a jumble of Merlin's words. There's one he can clearly make out. Arthur. Arthur. Arthur .
Mordred doesn’t want to believe what is happening on the other side of the door. His eyes burn and his vision blurs. Damn chemistry, and his stupid forgetfulness. He quickly leaves, giving Hunith a quick wave on his way out and runs back to his flat.
Once he gets home a single thought plagues his mind: He had to get over Merlin.