Chapter Text
Merlin glanced at his phone for the fourth time. His traitorous clock read one minute later than before, and this made him scowl up at the tube sign overhead, not that it changed the fact his train was still delayed. He sighed in dismay and opened his dating app - Romeo, typing out a message, and hoping that he wasn’t making a bad impression on his first date before even arriving.
I’m running a few minutes late - tube’s a nightmare. Sorry!
Immediately a message pinged back.
Don’t worry. I’ll get the drinks in, what's your order?
Relieved, Merlin smiled and stretched his head to the side, releasing a crick in his neck. He knew the cocktail menu at the bar was as extensive as it was expensive and he wondered about the ability to make a good impression with a simple drink order. Then he wondered what Arthur would order.
From his profile, Arthur seemed outgoing, a tad laddish, and had a slightly self-deprecating sense of humour - all which Merlin liked. As Merlin had messaged Arthur back and forth for the past week he got to know that Arthur was as big of a film nerd as he was. Additionally, he was interested in pursuing an acting career. He had already been cast in some small roles, and loved Shakespeare, although he balanced this with a love of ‘The Beautiful Game’ which had made Merlin roll his eyes.
Merlin thought Arthur might just as easily order a Negroni as he would a pint of Stella. Of course, Merlin didn’t really know Arthur at all. It was Gwen who had bullied him into downloading the dating app. After playing around with it uninterestedly for a few days, ‘Prince Charming’, as Gwen had nicknamed Arthur, popped up and Merlin was suddenly very interested indeed.
He opted for a beer, just to be on the safe side - he didn’t want to get too drunk, and messaged Arthur again. Finally the train arrived and he jumped on, smushing between other harried looking people on their way home from work, to work, and perhaps dates of their own. A troupe of carollers joined, bells tingling and pompoms bobbing merrily around. Despite the squeeze, Merlin smiled again. It might be a good night.
He was a whole ten minutes late, and despite having messaged Arthur, Merlin still felt awful. He half ran, half walked the rest of his journey to the bar, dodging and weaving between the numerous bodies on the pavements, his long red woollen scarf flying behind him until finally, he was there.
Sweating and panting, Merlin caught a look at the state of himself in the dark glass windows of the bar and took a moment to make himself presentable. He unwound his scarf and straightened the collar of his navy shirt so that one side didn’t stick up chaotically above his coat collar. His hair, which he had so carefully coiffed, was now a mess. Desperately, he tried to smooth it down a little so that it at least looked like intentional bedhead hair and not a bird’s nest. Merlin took a deep breath. Here goes nothing, he murmured to himself.
It was at that moment that Merlin caught the eye of someone looking back through the window from the other side. Merlin startled, and took a step back. Arthur, seated calm and composed at a window table, was gazing at him, head cocked and eyebrows lifted slightly. A small smile played on his lips and Merlin cursed under his breath. Suddenly, Arthur smiled more widely, his neat white teeth flashing and he made a motion with his chin. You coming inside then?
In response, Merlin grinned shyly, raised his hand in a little wave and ducked inside the bar. Hoping that this wasn’t ‘strike two’ already because good God Arthur was even more handsome in real life than in his photos.
Like the perfect Prince Charming he was, Arthur stood to greet Merlin and pulled out a chair for him. Waving off Merlin’s jittery apologies for his lateness again, and motioning for him to sit.
“Just breathe,” said Arthur kindly, “It’s only a first date - you might not even like me, then the worry wouldn’t be worth it would it?”
Looking up from under his lashes, Merlin murmured, “Ah but you see, I think I already do like you.” He was pleased to see that this made Arthur turn a tiny bit pink, and he took a satisfied sip of his beer.
He’d been nervous that they wouldn’t have anything in common. On paper they might fit well, but from experience that didn’t always add up to a good first date. However, Arthur was easy to talk to. They discussed working in the theatre, and some of the terrible stage mishaps that had happened to them both - including the time Merlin managed to light himself on fire, which was an embarrassing tale to tell, but it was worth it for the head thrown back laugh that Arthur let out.
When Arthur asked Merlin if he’d like to get something to eat together, he was only too keen to agree.
“We’ll have a job finding a table at this time on a Friday night though,” Merlin mused, trying to think of somewhere that might accept walk-ins without a 30 minute, freezing wait outside.
Arthur turned pink again when he replied, “I don’t want to seem presumptuous but I made reservations at some restaurants nearby.”
“Some?” Merlin asked, “What do you mean?”
“Er yes, three.”
“How much do you think we’ll be eating!?” Merlin laughed.
Arthur laughed with him. “No, no! I just didn’t know what you’d like, or if you have any dietary requirements or you know… what sort of a vibe you go for.”
Merlin couldn’t hide that he was impressed, he grinned at Arthur. “I’m vegetarian, but most places cater for that. What are our options?”
“Either tapas at Barrafina in an hour, Japanese at ROKA in half an hour, or French at Baltazar now?”
“You got reservations at Baltazar!? My friend Gwen’s been trying to get a table since forever, she’s a real foodie,” exclaimed Merlin. “We only arranged to meet this week, how did you manage it?”
“Um so, my family knows the owners,” Arthur replied, a little sheepishly. “If you’re happy to go now, we’ll still make the reservation.”
Merlin began winding his scarf back around his neck, and pushed out his chair. “Well, lead on Macduff!”
“It’s actually ‘Lay on Macduff’ - a common misquote. And ‘lay on’ means, attack so…”
Merlin whipped his head back to look at Arthur with raised eyebrows and an incredulous grin. “Nerd!” he teased.
Arthur’s expression then looked a little contrite, which made Merlin immediately feel a little guilty.
“Oh Arthur, I don’t mean that.” He leaned in gently, as they made their way out of the bar. “Afterall, ‘Knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to Heaven’ right?” And then feeling bold, he gave Arthur’s cheek a swift kiss.
The giddy feeling stayed with Merlin during their walk to the restaurant. He made a mental note to thank Gwen for making him create his dating profile - he’d been adamant that he would only find meaningless hookups or weirdos on Romeo. This date, so far, was proving his suspicions wrong. He caught Arthur’s eye, and they shared a shy smile.
They ordered more drinks at the restaurant bar and were then shown to their table.
“Ah Mr Pendragon, wonderful to see you again,” the hostess greeted them and took their coats. “Your seats are right this way.” She gestured for Arthur and Merlin to walk through. Arthur shot her an anxious look and then scouted the restaurant floor.
“Well that won’t do at all,” he said. An unattractive, pompous edge to his voice.
Merlin cringed slightly and looked at the hostess. She seemed untroubled.
“Of course, let me see what I can do. Please wait here for a moment gentlemen.”
“Is everything alright?” Merlin asked.
“Yes, I don’t want to sit where our reservation is, that’s all,” replied Arthur with a tight smile.
The hostess returned, this time looking a little less poised. “I’m afraid we are very busy tonight Mr Pendragon. Are you sure you won’t take the table already reserved?”
“I’m sure it’s fine,” Merlin offered, feeling bad for the woman.
“Absolutely not, we’ll wait at the bar while you sort it out.”
Then, turning on his heel, Arthur strode back to the bar and promptly ordered a whiskey - an expensive one. He downed it and then looked at Merlin, who was still wondering if he was meant to order a whiskey too while the bartender looked at him impatiently.
“I’m so sorry about this Merlin, I’m going to have to make a quick call. Er, family thing. I’ll be right back.”
Merlin nodded meekly and took out his own phone. Gwen had messaged him.
How’s the date going, do you need rescuing?
He thought about it for a long minute, then typed back.
Jury’s still out.
The hostess returned, and Merlin followed her, a glass of red wine in hand. He was seated at a small table, a little away from the main floor of the restaurant. Merlin wondered if this table would be ok for Arthur. It seemed quieter and more intimate, sure, but he couldn't help but notice it was very near the kitchen door.
Arthur didn't return for another five minutes, and when he did, he didn’t comment on the nearness of the kitchen.
“Alright now?” Merlin asked, taking a sip of his wine and gesturing to their position.
Arthur blew out a breath. “Yeah, I’m really sorry about that,” he said, but didn’t offer any further explanation. Merlin felt it was perhaps unwise to ask.
“So what are we eating then? Everything on the menu looks amazing.”
“Do you like the wine?” Arthur asked.
“Mmm, yes it’s good.”
“Let’s get a bottle then, and order food to go with that,” Arthur suggested.
They ordered the mushroom bourguignon with truffle oil, with Arthur insisting that he would join Merlin in being vegetarian - at least for tonight.
Merlin began to relax a little. However, half way through their starters, Arthur took out his phone and scowled at it.
“Apologies again, I have to take this.”
Arthur dipped away from their table as Merlin decided to eat the rest of their olives. When he returned, Arthur’s collar was done up an extra button and his shirt sleeves were rolled down and cuffed. Most notably and inexplicably, he was also wearing a tie.
Rather than mention it, and possibly make things more awkward, Merlin searched his bewildered mind for something neutral to say, “Freezing out there isn’t it?”
Arthur hastily loosened his tie, undid his collar, and rolled his sleeves back up. It wasn’t that Merlin didn’t appreciate the sight of a little extra skin, Arthur was toned and tanned, but that isn’t why he’d commented.
Their main meals arrived, just as Arthur had to take yet another call. Merlin decided to forgo politeness again, and had nearly eaten half of it when the waitress came to check on them, well - just Merlin.
“Is everything alright with the food sir?”
“Wonderful thank you, though I can’t speak for my date.” Merlin motioned to the empty seat opposite him.
The waitress glanced around and then leaned in conspiratorially. “You know he is spending most of his time at another table here, don’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“See for yourself.”
Merlin stood up and took a few steps in the direction Arthur had gone for his ‘phone call’. Arthur’s back was to him, and he was indeed seated at another table, with a handsome older man. Merlin watched as the man smiled intently at Arthur, and rested his hand over Arthur’s. Suddenly he felt sick. He turned to the waitress who had a glint of interest in her eyes. Great, Merlin thought to himself, his sad date was going to be the gossip of the restaurant.
“Could you get my coat please, I’ll wait at the bar.”
“Of course sir, and would you like to pay at the bar too?”
“I think I’ll leave the bill to Mr Pendragon.”
The waitress nodded.
“Oh, and I’ll take another bottle of the Pinot Noir home please.”
The waitress gave Merlin a cheeky wink. “Very good, sir.”
He took the tube home, feeling disappointed and annoyed at himself for having been so invested in Arthur. It wasn’t often Merlin really liked someone, and felt he had an actual connection with them. He ignored Arthur’s attempts to call him, eventually deciding to block the number.
“So how was your Romeo date, was he like a Prince Charming in real life?” Gwen asked as soon as he stepped through the door.
“You know how Romeo and Juliet both die in the end?” Merlin answered, throwing himself onto the sofa.
“Er yeah… that bad?”
Merlin grimaced and made a show of deleting the app. “I got this though.” He held up the bottle of wine with a defeated flourish.
“I’ll get the glasses,” Gwen said, getting quickly to her feet. “...and some ice cream.”