Work Text:
Arthur still couldn’t believe it wasn’t magic. The way that this new world could offer things with the flip of a switch or the click of a button, without any spells needed, just didn’t make sense to him. The first time Merlin showed him a sink, he had to move close and squint to make sure Merlin’s eyes weren’t glowing that entrancing shade of gold they sometimes did.
“Are you sure?” Arthur asked, suspiciously eyeing the steady stream of water flowing into the unnaturally reflective white sink.
Merlin rolled his eyes, which were still a cool shade of blue to Arthur’s surprise. “Yes, Arthur, we’ve been over this. It’s not because of magic. It’s called plumbing.”
“Plumbing,” Arthur repeated slowly. “And I suppose that doesn’t have anything to do with actual plums?” He scrutinized the sink, not spotting any round purple fruits near it.
“No,” Merlin stated shortly, although Arthur noticed a hint of a smirk forming as his lip turned upwards. Arthur hated that smirk. It was a smirk that meant Merlin knew something he didn’t, and one he seemed to be seeing far more often nowadays than he saw back in Camelot. “Come on, I’ll show you the telly.”
And so it went, Merlin showing Arthur each new object around the house and stifling a laugh with most of Arthur’s responses. Arthur took in stride, but secretly he was frustrated. There were so many things that didn’t make sense and he was used laughing at Merlin for not getting things properly, not the other way around.
It wasn’t until one fine Tuesday afternoon that Arthur got his perfect opportunity. He was enjoying his third lie-in of the week, one of the benefits of not having kingly duties to attend to anymore, when he heard an annoyed groan from across the room. He craned his neck over the mountain of blankets next to him to see Merlin running a hand through his hair before urgently shuffling through the papers on his desk.
“What happened?” Arthur asked.
Merlin angrily punched some of the keys on the device in front of him, which Arthur remembered was called a laptop, before turning around to face Arthur.
“Dave told me to spend the week helping out the new records manager,” he explained.
Merlin was a head archivist at the Avalon Heritage Archives near where they lived. In the past week, Arthur had seen him take numerous historical documents and artifacts to work, but this recordkeeping project was something different.
“Not something you usually do,” Arthur pointed out.
“Yeah. And I can’t get this stupid Excel formula to work,” Merlin muttered, shooting an annoyed look at the laptop. “I’m supposed to combine all the data from these old record books into this spreadsheet, but it’s not calculating properly.”
Arthur nodded wisely, pretending he understood more than a single word of what Merlin had just said. He forced himself to drag his body out of bed and walked over to Merlin’s desk, placing a hand on his shoulder and peering at the screen. “Yes, that must be very annoying.”
Merlin quirked an eyebrow, glancing at Arthur and then back at the laptop screen. “Right. Well, did you want some breakfast?” He eyed the clock at the corner of the screen. “Or probably lunch considering the time.”
“Sure,” said Arthur, following Merlin out of the room, but not before making a mental note of the file name containing Merlin’s work, along with the tiny green icon that he seemed to be using.
*~*~*~*~*
Arthur rubbed his eyes open, squinting at the orange light of the rising sun pouring through his window. He glanced at the digital clock glowing on his nightstand, sighing when he saw the time. 6:30am. An incredibly early hour to wake up, and certainly a difficult one since Arthur hadn’t woken up any earlier than noon the past week. But it was unfortunately necessary if he wanted to put his plan into action.
After another ten minutes of arguing with himself on whether it really was worth getting up at such an ungodly hour, Arthur finally relented. He shifted to his side to take one last look at a soundly sleeping Merlin, gently brushing the hair out of Merlin’s eyes before extricating himself from his arms to get out of the bed. Arthur had surprised even himself when he had initially insisted that him and Merlin share the only bed in the apartment, but after over a thousand years of waiting, he wasn’t going to subject Merlin to sleeping on the couch.
And if there were other, more selfish reasons for suggesting it, like how he didn’t completely hate the idea of falling asleep with Merlin’s arms wrapped around him, no one needed to know.
Brushing his teeth and pulling on a soft red cotton shirt, Arthur quietly stepped out of the bedroom. He soon found himself making his way to the kitchen to get breakfast, proud that he remembered how to use the toaster to heat up a slice of bread.
As soon as he set his plate on the breakfast table, a bleary-eyed Merlin stumbled into the kitchen.
“Well you’re up early,” Merlin said, moving sluggishly to turn on the kettle as he usually did before his morning tea. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” Arthur replied. He took a look out the window as he bit into the warm toast, watching the torrent of water raining down with no sign of ceasing. “Are you driving to work today?”
“If this awful rain continues, definitely,” Merlin replied, sitting down across the table from Arthur. He lifted the steaming cup of tea to his lips, taking a long drink. “It’s getting tiresome, don’t you think? Fourth day in a row.”
Arthur nodded. “Do you think you could drop me at the café? The one near the archives with the really good cookies.”
Merlin brightened at the mention of the café’s cookies. Arthur didn’t blame him- they truly were delightful. If such chocolate chip cookies had existed back in Camelot, maybe Merlin really would have had cause to steal from Arthur’s breakfast.
“Yeah of course. Did you want to do anything in particular there? I can meet you for lunch like usual, but that’ll be in a couple of hours.”
“I was hoping to borrow your lap-thingy to pass the time.”
Merlin gave him that amused smirk again. “My laptop?”
“Yes, that thing,” Arthur said, in as dignified a manner he could muster. He ignored the smirk. After today, Merlin wouldn’t be the only one sporting it. “Is it alright if I borrow it?”
“Sure, I’ll give you the passcode. Make sure to remember it and not tell anyone.” He pulled a raincoat off the rack and tossed it to Arthur. “Come on, dollophead, I’m gonna be late for work.”
Arthur bit back a retort and put on the coat, grabbing the satchel with Merlin’s laptop and heading out the door. It was time to put his plan into action.
*~*~*~*~*
The café was bustling with people, but most stood around waiting to grab their drinks before hurriedly heading back outside into the pouring rain. Arthur took a deep breath, inhaling the wonderful aroma of coffee and tea that filled the room, before stepping into the long line. Ten minutes of fiddling with his satchel and slowly stepping forwards later, he reached the front counter.
“Just a small cup of English Breakfast tea,” Arthur ordered. “Oh, and two chocolate chip cookies please.”
The young barista gave Arthur a friendly grin. “Coming right up.” Her eyes flickered between Arthur shifting uncertainly in line and the open tables he kept glancing at. “You can take a seat if you want. I’ll bring your tea and cookies there.”
Arthur nodded, offering the most charming smile he could muster. “Thank you,” he said, making his way over to a corner table with a nice window view of the Avalon Heritage Archives. He carefully placed the satchel down and scanned the building through the window, remembering that Merlin’s office was somewhere on the third floor. Only three more hours until his lunch break.
Not that he was counting down to it or anything. It was just that spending time with Merlin made all the confusion more bearable. With everything changing around him, Merlin was the one constant he could always count on. Whenever Arthur’s heart ached at the long gone memories of Camelot, Merlin’s understanding smile and comforting hand were always there to anchor him. And whenever Arthur wanted to forget about the world around him, he could always count on the brilliant ocean blue of Merlin’s eyes to draw him into their inescapable depths.
Arthur shook his head, breaking out of the trance. He had come here for a job – he had to figure out that thing Merlin was having trouble with. Only then could he wipe the smug smirk off his friend’s face. He carefully pulled the thin metal laptop out of the bag and set it on the table. A sticky note with Merlin’s password fluttered out of the bag and Arthur grabbed it before anyone else could see it.
Once he logged in, Arthur hovered the cursor above the green icon, trying to remember what Merlin had been using. He reminded himself to keep glancing back and see if the barista was bringing his order, but to no avail. Despite the wait, he couldn’t help but be reminded of a young Gwen as he watched the girl patiently attend to the constant barrage of customers with nothing but a sweet smile and energetic demeanor. Spirits brightening slightly, he turned back to the glowing laptop in front of him.
Arthur clicked on the green icon and the words “Microsoft Excel” floated up in front of him. The words then became a bright white screen filled with tables of numbers. At the top of the screen, a rectangle with many confusing pictures and words taunted Arthur.
Okay so maybe learning how to use Excel when Arthur barely knew how to use a laptop was a bit ambitious. But Arthur had literally come back from the dead after ruling a kingdom for years. Compared to that, some newfangled device should be child’s play.
What was that website Merlin had told him about? The one that could give him the answer to whatever he searched. Arthur tapped the café table, frowning. His eyes landed on a colorful icon at the bottom of the screen. Google. That was what it was called. He quickly clicked the icon and typed the name of Merlin’s green application, selecting the first link that showed up.
“HEY GUYS! WE’RE BACK HERE TODAY TO LEARN TO USE MICROSOFT EXCEL.”
Arthur’s eyes widened as the video blasted loudly, clearly audible despite the chatter in the café. He slammed the laptop shut and buried his burning face in his hands, trying to ignore the numerous stares being directed at him.
“Need some help?”
Arthur lifted his head out of his hands to see the young barista standing across from him, holding out his tea and cookies. She placed his order on the table and pointed to Merlin’s laptop.
“My shift ends at 9:30,” she stated, glancing at her watch. “Which seems to be right about now. If you want to learn Excel, I have a couple free hours.”
“That’s awfully kind of you,” Arthur said. “But I wouldn’t want to impose on your free time.”
The girl laughed and took a seat next to Arthur. “I insist. No offense, but you seem to be a bit helpless with technology.”
Arthur tore a hand through his hair. “That obvious huh?”
The girl gave a sheepish smile. “Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as most people think,” she reassured. She held a hand out to Arthur. “My name’s Charlotte. But, uh, I guess you already knew that from my nametag… oops.”
“I’m Arthur,” Arthur responded, shaking Charlotte’s hand. “I’m trying to figure something out for my friend’s job. He’s an archivist at Avalon Heritage Archives.”
Charlotte brightened. “Avalon Heritage? No way! I have a summer internship there!” She placed a finger to her chin. “Arthur, your friend wouldn’t happen to be Dr. Merlin Emrys, would it?”
Arthur nodded. “Yes, do you know him?”
“Do I know him?” Charlotte repeated incredulously. “Dr. Emrys is a legend at the archives. He always has these amazing old artifacts and documents perfectly preserved from centuries ago. Who knows where he finds them?”
The girl was nearly bouncing in her seat, clearly very excited at the mention of Merlin. Or perhaps she had always been a bit jittery. Arthur wondered how much coffee she drank while on her shift.
“That’s actually quite funny,” Charlotte went on. “Merlin and Arthur. Like from the myths.” She turned to Arthur and clapped her hands. “Okay! Sorry, I said I would help you with Excel and here I am just talking. Shall we get started?”
*~*~*~*~*
“Yes, you’ve got it!” Charlotte cheered brightly, giving Arthur a wide smile. “Just remember to always put an equal sign before your formula.”
Arthur nodded, pecking at the keys with his fingers before pressing enter. It turned out Charlotte was right – while Excel seemed incredibly confusing at first, it was slowly starting to seem easier than he had anticipated. He furrowed his brows to attempt handling the next column of data when her voice interrupted his thoughts again.
“So I have to ask…” Charlotte’s voice had softened as she receded back into her chair, twisting her fingers in her hands.
Arthur tore his eyes away from the computer and gave Charlotte the most reassuring smile he could muster. She had been so kind as to teach him patiently for the past hour, so the least he could do was make sure she felt comfortable. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”
“How old are you?” Charlotte paused as Arthur’s eyes widened at the question. “What I mean is- you look pretty young! But you don’t know how to use a laptop? And I mean, it’s totally fine to not know how to use a laptop but I guess.” Her head slumped downwards. “Sorry, that was rude wasn’t it? I didn’t mean to pry, I was just curious.”
Would it make more sense if I told you I’m from over a thousand years ago?
“I just turned thirty a few months ago,” Arthur said, opting for the timeline that excluded over a millennium of being in a semi-alive state under a lake. “I’ve never been all that great at technology because I wasn’t allowed to use it much growing up.”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Charlotte responded. “So what do you do in your free time then?”
Arthur shrugged. “I like to get active and exercise however I can. Merlin’s been teaching me how to use Netflix on our telly, so I usually spend my evenings relaxing and watching it with him.”
Charlotte tilted her head. “You and Merlin live together?”
Arthur nodded. “Why do you ask?”
Charlotte shrugged. “He always struck me as a bit of a loner. I didn’t realize he lived with anyone.” Her jaw suddenly dropped as she stared at Arthur. “Wait, are you together?”
Arthur felt warmth rising to his cheeks at the question and he turned his eyes back to the spreadsheet. “We’re just close friends,” he said after a moment of silence. “But I’m very lucky to have someone like him. Just don’t tell him I said that.”
Charlotte laughed. “It’s cool, friends chill together in the evenings too. Not a big deal.”
“Chill?”
“You know, like chilling. Relaxing.”
A distant phrase echoed at the back of Arthur’s mind, something he had heard mentioned in passing a few days ago. “Is that what that means? Netflix and Chill?”
Charlotte sucked in a sharp breath and suddenly burst into laughter. Arthur frowned, crossing his arms. “What?”
“Not-” Charlotte cut herself off, taking a few breaths to regain her composure. “Not what that means. Definitely not what that means.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes. “Then, what-”
A mischievous smirk tugged at the corner of Charlotte’s lips, hiding something more than Arthur could decipher as she simply responded, “Maybe you should ask Merlin. I’m sure he could explain it better than I can.”
Arthur opened his mouth, about to insist on an explanation after having to have asked Merlin to define every other word for the past week. The gentle chime of the café door opening silenced him as he craned his head to see who walked in.
“Arthur!” A familiar voice called to him and Arthur’s eyes easily landed on the dazzling smile that could light up a room. Merlin made his way towards the table, shrugging off his blazer and casually leaning over Arthur’s shoulder to see the computer. “What are you doing?”
It should be a crime to look that good in a simple button down, Arthur thought to himself, letting his gaze travel over the fabric stretched tightly across Merlin’s chest. His hands itched to just reach up and undo the top few buttons that were barely holding on, before slipping his fingers below the fabric of the shirt.
“Arthur?” Merlin asked again. “Are you feeling okay? You’re looking completely flushed.” He lightly pressed the back of his hand to Arthur’s cheek, cooling the fire that felt like it was burning beneath them.
Arthur’s thoughts flickered back to Charlotte’s question. Are you together? He forced himself to put the idea out of his mind and meet Merlin’s eyes. “Doing fine,” he said, brushing away Merlin’s hand. “Charlotte here was just helping me learn a few basic things in Excel.”
The girl gave a shy wave from across the table and Merlin’s eyes flashed in recognition. “I remember you! You’re one of the summer interns, right?”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, it’s nice to see you again Dr. Emrys. I should actually get going to the Archives now, but it was a pleasure meeting you, Arthur. Best of luck with the Excel.”
“Likewise and thank you,” Arthur said, waving goodbye as she disappeared out the door.
Merlin plopped down in the seat next to him, grabbing Arthur’s tea and taking a few sips before beginning to munch the leftover half of his cookie. “She’s a good kid,” he commented. “Especially managing to deal with you for that long.”
“Hm.” Arthur threw an arm around Merlin’s shoulders and leaned closer, tilting a head towards the plate. “I like her, she doesn’t steal my food.”
“You shouldn’t leave your cookie around if you don’t want me to eat it,” Merlin teased, shoving the rest of the cookie in his mouth.
Arthur gently wiped at the corner of Merlin’s mouth, hesitating for a moment before licking crumbs now on his own fingers. He grinned at the soft blush beginning to spread across Merlin’s cheeks. He let himself stay close for only a moment longer before straightening up and grabbing the laptop.
“Clotpole,” he muttered affectionately. “Here’s your laptop. You need it for work now right?”
“Yeah.” Merlin’s voice came out an octave higher than normal. He cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah. But, I have some time before I need to go back.”
Arthur relaxed, his heart settling into the familiar comfort that was always there when Merlin was around. A part of him wanted to lean his head on Merlin’s shoulder and ask him not to go back, to just come home and sit on the couch doing nothing for the rest of the day.
Instead, he opted for pulling the laptop back towards him, flipping it open and tilting his chin upwards. “Well, then, I ought to continue working on this.”
Merlin laughed. “Why don’t you show me what you’ve learned?”
*~*~*~*~*
Merlin’s eyebrows furrowed as he hunched over the laptop in front of him, hitting the keys furiously. Arthur glanced dim light of the sunset bouncing off the laptop screen, drawing in a deep breath before getting off the couch and making his way to the kitchen. A large pot of stew sat steaming on the stove. He spooned in enough for two bowls and headed back to Merlin, shoving the bowl under his face.
“Eat,” he commanded, ignoring Merlin’s startled expression. “And hand me the laptop.”
“I just have to finish this one-”
Arthur shook his head, sliding the laptop off Merlin’s legs before he could protest. “Let me give it a go. You’ve been working for three hours straight.”
Merlin relented, taking a sip of the stew while keeping his eyes locked on the laptop screen. Arthur carefully made a copy of the file and slowly tried to type the formulas he had learned in the café.
It took him thirty minutes to get a single column to work. It was incredibly frustrating work and he was sure Charlotte could have done it much faster. But when the Merlin’s face lit up at the sight of a functional formula, it suddenly seemed all worth it.
The metal spoon clattered as Merlin set his empty bowl on the table. He reached over to take the laptop, his fingertips brushing against Arthur’s.
“Aww… did you learn all this in the café to help me?” he asked with a sweet smile. He scanned the formula Arthur had written and began modifying it for the other columns.
Arthur nonchalantly picked up his stew and shrugged. “You forgot a bracket in the formula.”
“Oops,” Merlin said, typing to fix the problem. He looked up, his smile fading as he noticed Arthur crossing his arms and sporting a proud grin. “You arse! You didn’t do this to help me, you did it to be better at technology than I am!”
Arthur let out a chuckle. “And what if I did?”
“You probably saved me another hour of work anyway,” Merlin reasoned. He moved closer, planting a soft kiss on Arthur’s cheek. “Thank you.”
Arthur froze, a million tiny sparks still fluttering from where Merlin’s lips had just been. Merlin simply set aside the laptop and grabbed the TV remote. “Want to watch something on Netflix?”
Arthur couldn’t take it anymore. He dove across the couch, capturing Merlin’s lips in his own. His arms snaked around Merlin’s waist, pulling him onto his lap and leaning into the hand that Merlin had now entangled in his hair.
“If you’re going to kiss me,” Arthur said when they broke apart gasping for air. “Do it properly.”
Merlin laughed before closing the space between them, this time with a deeper kiss. His fingers trailed upwards under the fabric of Arthur’s shirt and Arthur leaned back, breaking the kiss to lift his arms so Merlin could pull the shirt off over him.
A loud thud broke the trance as the TV remote hit the floor. Arthur glanced at the red light of the Netflix logo on the telly and then back at Merlin, scrutinizing his expression.
“What’s Netflix and Chill?” he asked, unsure what compelled him to do so.
A dark flush passed across Merlin’s cheeks and he glanced down, tracing his fingers over muscles on Arthur’s chest. When he looked back up, Arthur was met with that familiar smirk again, but for the first time, he found that he didn’t mind it.
“How about I show you?”