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“You’re staring again.”
Arthur let out a small, strangled noise, and quickly turned to look out the window. Merlin, who cradled his jaw in the seat next to him, just sighed.
“You boys playing nice back there?” Merlin’s mother called from the front of the car. Arthur winced softly at the accusing tone to her voice and sunk further down into his seat, ignoring the way the seatbelt pressed into the skin of his neck.
“Yes, Ms. Emerson,” Arthur responded, “thank you for picking us up.”
“Of course, dear, though—now, I can’t help but wonder how my son ended up with a bloody jaw,” Hunith hummed, in the tone of innocent curiosity. Arthur knew, though, there was a bite to it—knew she already blamed him for the incident.
“It doesn’t matter, ma, ‘m fine” Merlin groaned, his words slightly muffled and slurred by the injury to his jaw. “Was just a punch…”
“Why on earth were you even in fight, Merlin?” Hunith asked, exasperated.
The silence that fell over the car following her question was deafening. Arthur glanced at Merlin, meeting his eyes as he worried his bottom lip anxiously. Merlin’s brows furrowed, and he tilted his head. A silent question. Arthur just smiled, before letting out a sigh and straightening up in his seat.
“It was my fault, Ms. Emerson,” he announced, ignoring Merlin’s sound of protest, “I’m the reason he was in the fight. I'm sincerely sorry, I never intended for any of this to happen, but I take full responsibility.”
“Oh, really now?” Hunith peered back at them through the rear-view mirror, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, I—”
“Shut up, you prat,” Merlin snapped, cutting him off, before wincing. Arthur looked at him with wide, shocked eyes. “Ma, it wasn’t Arthur’s fault!”
“It was because of me!” Arthur retorted.
“Someone outed you!” Merlin almost shouted, then clutched his aching jaw with an audible wince.
The car came to a stop, and Arthur’s stomach lurched before he realized they were just at a light.
“So, what, Merlin?” Arthur responded, still blaming himself for the situation, ignoring the stab of anxiety he got at the reminder of what had happened online that morning, “so, you go pick a fight with some prick because he can’t keep his camera to himself? You shouldn’t have done it! You're hurt, because of me.”
“When will you get it through your head that this is not your fault?!” Merlin asked, almost hysterically.
Any other time Arthur would have laughed at how silly Merlin sounded with his vice muffled from his injury. This time it just hurt to hear. It just hurt. A constant reminder of the pain Merlin was feeling because of him, no matter what Merlin said.
“Boys!” Hunith exclaimed from the front of the car, her eyes wide as she looked back at them through the rear-view again, “would one of you like to tell me what happened, or not?”
“Someone snapped a shot of us…kissing behind the stands…last night after we won the rugby match,” Arthur explained, looking away from Merlin as he spoke and back out the window, “and they posted it on social media…tagging Morgana, and my father, and some of my teammates.”
Hunith gasped softly as she began to drive again, the light turning. “Arthur, sweetie, that’s terrible.”
“It’s fine, Ms. Emerson, really, I—” Arthur cut himself off, choking on the words. “I’m fine, it’s really not that big of a deal.”
“That’s a fucking lie,” Merlin huffed from beside him,
“Language,” Hunith scolded lightly, before sighing, “but he’s right, that’s a fucking lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
“So, you see why I got in a fight?” Merlin asked his mother. Arthur glanced over to see him giving her a pleading look through the rear-view mirror.
Hunith hummed softly as she pulled into the carpark of the A&E building. “I don’t condone violence, Merlin,” she sighed. She paused as she twisted around in her seat to face the pair with a smirk after parking, “but who wants ice cream after we get out of here?”
“You aren’t mad?” Arthur asked, wide eyed.
Both mother and son stared at Arthur for a moment, like he was truly an idiot. Then, Hunith let out a small sigh and reached over, gently cradling his face in her hands.
“This was not your fault, Arthur,” she said softly, “you’re the victim here, and it’s okay to show that you’re hurt by what happened. Merlin defended you of his own will, because he loves you. And tomorrow? I’m going to go to that damn school, and defend you of my own will, because I love you like a second son, and no one hurts my children and gets away with it.”
Arthur stared at her, speechless, traitorous tears pricking at his eyes. “My father…” He started, only to trail off.
Hunith seemed to understand anyway, because she just nodded.
“You have a home with us, for as long as you need, dear,” she promised, in that kind, motherly tone Arthur was still so unused to hearing.
“We can get a head-start on being roommates,” Merlin joked lightly.
Arthur laughed softly, happily, rapidly blinking away tears but finally letting himself feel everything he’d been bottling.
“Thank you,” he whispered, not too trusting of his voice at the moment. Hunith only smiled, leaning in and pressing a kiss to his forehead.
“You’re the love of my son’s life,” she said when she sat back in her seat again, “it’s the least I can do, really.”
“It’s too much…”
“I don’t think it’s often enough,” Hunith countered with a thoughtful hum. “Anything you need, we’ll have for you.”
Arthur didn’t understand how she could be so kind, but he didn’t speak back again, he simply nodded, biting his lip. A short silence fell over the car, before finally, Hunith exhaled loudly and pushed open her door.
“Well, come on,” she called, getting out, “let’s get this ordeal over with.”